THIS IS EAR CANDY
The British have done it again, this time in the form of 21 year old, James Blake, who’s self titled debut studio album James Blake to be released February 7 is very likely to be on many top albums of 2011 lists and here’s why. For starters, it’s incredibly well produced. Just give Wilhelm’s Scream a listen and you may be running the risk of an ear orgasm. Now due to the internets viral tendencies, James Blake has been classified as “downtempo dubstep,” which may be the case for track 6, Limit to Your Love, a Feist cover which undoubtedly evolves into downtempo dubstep half way through the song. However, I believe the album as a whole would be more accurately described as Minimal Electro-Soul—the first album of its kind if there were such a genre. He released 3 EP’s in 2010, and 1 in 2009. The many positive reviews of EP’s CMYK and Klavierwerke in this last year, seem to have put Blake in a place of being known first and foremost as a producer, and force to be reckoned with at that. Bear in mind, he is only 21 and now with his full length studio, he has introduced his voice: a soulful cascade of vocal pulse, as minimal and refrained as the music itself. With every instrument and software synth at a producers disposal, it is hard to follow the less is more mantra except for the truly musically sensitive such as the likes of James Blake. He goes the analog route, and produces majority of his synth drones on his very cool Prophetic ‘08 Voice Analogue keyboard. The same device is used in his live performances. Most tracks on the album follow a pattern of very minimal beginnings, with a transform point about halfway through the tracks bringing in more instrumentation and rhythm. Tracks 4 and 5, Lindesfarne I & II, is a perfect example of this structure, where you will find the one song split into two separate tracks, working as an illustration of my point. Some may find his vocal production style similar to that of Imogen Heap, and this may be especially true for Lindesframe I. But I wouldn’t just leave it at that, as the genius goes far beyond poetry and minimal vocals. Track 10, I Mind is another example of this “per-track evolution” I’m trying to describe. For the impatient listener, I urge you to give a track its full listen in order to fully appreciate how this evolution takes place. Now do your self a favor, find some headphones lie down on your bed, and treat your ears to track 2 on the album, Wilhelm’s Scream, uploaded by me just for you. If you like it, buy the album when it is released on February 7.
I spent the beginning of this year combing through various lists of upcoming album releases for 2011, hoping to mark down things which would excite me, in my calendar. Of these exciting things, the first exciting moment would arrive on 1/11/11. For all of us not American, that’s 11/1/11, when CAKEreleased Showroom of Compassion. Don’t ask me how, but 3 weeks ago, I got possession of an early release of the album, and like a secret stash of candy is to a fat man, I’ve been nibbling on the album in bite size portions, hoping that my 21st century A.D.D doesn’t get the best of me and turn me off the excitement and on to something else prematurely. Some of you may know that I am writing this article from India. It has been 7 years since I’ve been back here, and its been 7 years since Cakes previous album Pressure Chief. I find it rather serendipitous and fitting, that I am able to receive the new album in the brief window when I am back in India—the country I was in when I last had a fresh Cake album. Cake fans will be happy in that the band hasn’t compromised their original sound for anything. The band stays true to themselves, giving us exactly what it was that we loved all 5 albums past. Cake is one of the few bands who because I dig and respect, will not just give their music a 3 time listen, or even a brief listening period of a few months. Albums such as Motorcade of Generosity, Fashion Nugget and Comfort Eagle have been a Ganta family staple since the days of our cross country road trips in Oman. I really wish I was with my siblings right now, because I know all to well that songs such as “Federal Funding”, “Long Time” and “Mustache Man” would instantly become new numbers in our road trip hymnal. There are very few bands which allow us to sing along in partially-discordant-belting-on-the-top-of-our-lungs unison, and Cake is definitely one of them. I won’t splice apart individual songs, because even after listening to Showroom for 3 weeks, I know that melodies, riffs and John McCrea’s brilliant singing/songwriting still has more to show me in its simple ways. Cake is one of the few honest, consistent bands of our time, and people can only come to this opinion once Cake, and their every sound and lyric is made family. This is not an article promoting Showroom of Compassion, rather this is an article through which I can brag about some of the goodness brought into my life by Cake the band. Friends, if you want something consistent, in what you see as your A.D.D life of shifting sands (with music and everything else), accept Cake into your life if you haven’t already. Just ask any Cake fan who has sung “Stickshifts and Safetybelts” with another, top-lung in a car…. There are few bonding moments that can compare.
Year 1982: Ever wondered what Hindustani raga would sound like when coming from a Roland TB-303, TR-808 and Jupiter keyboard? How about this; Synthesizing: Ten Raga’s to a Disco Beat , is a super vintage album find, as it mirrored and more importantly, pre-dated the first acid house record - Phuture’s ‘Acid Track’ by five years, and even preceded Chip E’s 1985 Album ‘Jack Trax’. This is the Raizuli giving Charanjit Singh, the bloody genius some well deserved respect. Some of these out of print records are very difficult to find. So for the fiend who would like to check out Charanjit Singh’s, 1982, Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat album, here’s a download link courtesy of Ghost Capital:
Tennis releases full album
There seemed to be a bit of hype regarding the Fat Possum signed duo Tennis over the course of 2010. They had only released an EP’s worth of songs then but the music magazines never ceased to stop discussing the girl/guy (and married) duo, Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore. It seems that over the course of 2010, there has been a slow shift of attention in the indie-pop world, from indie-electronic to indie-surf pop. Bands such as Best Coast, Cults and Surfer Blood have had their fair share of reviews over the last year. I believe the reason for this stems from the world of the indie musician, where in trying to produce “fresh” material, they feel a strong need to go back to lo-fi; back to musicianship in its form of fuzz guitars and basement drums as oppose to the over dependence on samplers, kaoss-pads and the like. Cape Dory might not be everyones preferred cup of tea, but it is nonetheless a simple herbal tea blend that will go down quite easily. To those with the electro-beat bias, this could be a nice change. Cape Dory is good in that it has a consistency to the following mood; which is a resultant of the creative process the duo embarked on, in sailing along the eastern seaboard on a seven month boat trip. Listen to track 4, Marathon and you may feel a brief relief from the computer, your cell phone, and if you’re a New Yorker or city body—the concrete. The music is simple, and the DIY lifestyle that comes from sailing for months on end on your own is reflected in the albums’ final outcome. They produced and mastered this record on their own. So musicians who feel they have to conform to an “industry standard” or mass consumer trend, may feel comforted, and here’s why. Judging by the outcome of Tennis’ upcoming tour and sold out status of many of the venues, they seem to have done the right thing for themselves. Cape Dory was released yesterday, Jan 18. And I have a feeling we may hear a lot more of this band as we go into 2011.
N.A.S.A and a “7 years in the making movie….”
Sam Spiegel (Squeak E. Clean) and Ze Gonzales (DJ Zegon) are N.A.S.A, aka. North America/South America. In case you didn’t know, the two of them released an album called The Spirit of Apollo in 2009. This album is special for a few reasons. One would be the badass collaborations they have going on in there with folk such as Tom Waits, Spank Rock, Method Man, M.I.A, Cool Kids, Santogold, Amanda Blank, Ghostface Killah and David Byrne to name a few. Two would be the bad-ass music videos they have going on for these songs. If you haven’t seen their collaboration with Tom Waits in Spacious Thoughts, (posted above) then please stop, watch it and continue your reading.
Now if you were a fan of this in 2009 and/or if you are a new fan since right now, you should know that the album took over 5 years to make. The “Movie” for the album apparently according to N.A.S.A’s twitter this week is “finally finished” after seven years of work. This sounds pretty cool. I would love to see what they’ve come up with.
I don’t know how much Spiegel being Spike Jonzes brother has anything to do with it, but I must say N.A.S.A is genius in their blending of art and music. We all love that, and it’s always better when collaborations cut across genre’s because in the days of pro-tools-logic-every-ones-a-producer-beware-of-beat-inflation as I like to call it, the best way to stay fresh and ahead is to find those interesting, unique or lost samples, as well as bringing to fruition the odd genre-bending-collaboration. For any artist who wants to survive 2011, I urge you to remember some of the good shit 2009 brought us, such as N.A.S.A, and I’m gonna throw in Fever Ray just because Karin Dreijer put on the best live show of 2009 which crossed over into 2010 and this new year :)
PANDA BEAR SKATE VIDEO
I’m not a skaterboy, but I have a lot of skater friends and I want to say this. I love the skate culture and I really admire what you guys do. Despite the dexterity that is demanded of you, you have no problem burnin’ one down before you hit the streets, weavin around pedestrians with noise cancelling headphones plugged in. The best part is, almost every skater I know has great taste in music (the weed must have something to do with this), and a damn good sense of style. Some of my closest friends to this day are skaters. You guys (and girls) know who you are. And I love you all dearly. Now about this video, some of you may already know that Animal Collective member Panda Bear is coming out with his long awaited LP Tomboy on April 19. For those of you who didn’t know, now you do. If past experience serves us well, i’m pretty sure it’s gonna be a damn good album. So buy the album on 4/19, and burn a fat one on 4/20 and listen to it. For the MP3 for the above vid, go here to download. I’m not sure if this track is gonna be on the new LP or not but it’s great all the same.
EVERY NOW AND THEN THE WORLD MAKES SENSE
Every now and then
The world just makes sense
A melody is formed
By eight random tones
A monkey at a typewriter
Composes a poem
And a homeless man
Walks into a 7-11
Plays his mother’s birthday
On the Lotto and wins a million
Every now and then
The world just makes sense
This is verse 20 from Tom Wait’s soon to be released chap book poem, Seeds on Hard Ground. I can imagine Tom reading this out in his gravely voice; poignent meaning and insight made through the waitsesque metre. This is the first poem released by Tom Waits. I have read numerous web reviews on this poem, and made a funny observation in a statement shared by many of said reviews, in that waits in an interview in 1975 said that poetry is a dangerous thing and would much preferred to be called a musician than a poet. I have over the years read and watched (thanks to youtube) many an interview of Tom Waits just for entertainment sake. I wouldn’t be surprised if Waits somewhere down the line said that poetry was a dangerous thing, but nowhere have I found these douchebags actually citing this statement made by Tom Waits. In fact, I think someone made the initial remark and everyone looking for reviews on this subject matter to help their writing just said the same thing because it sounds kinda sensational considering the fact that this is indeed Toms first published “poem”. The closest thing I have found to this “1975 interview” can be read here. If any of you comes across the actual interview please do let me know. In any case, as much as the then 26 year old Waits wanted to be called a musician, he is indeed a poet. I don’t know how else to describe the lyrical genius of a song such as, The Piano Has Been Drinking, or Franks Wild Years without calling him such. And I think the bastard knows that. Now before I digress, I must say this. The Chap Book (or pocket book) can be pre-ordered right now, but it is officially on sale in America and Europe on Feb 22. They have made only 1000 hardback copies of these babies, so order one now if they aren’t sold out already. All proceeds go to three catholic Santa Rosa charities which I think is kinda neat. Also, if you are lucky enough actually get your hands on one of these copies, the re-sale value on ebay will get you one hefty dime I guarantee.
Now to digress… In my last post, I briefly discussed the influence Jim Morrison had on my life in terms of the start of my musical journey, perhaps paralleling a similarity in the discussion on Indian youth today and their own journey of self discovery. What’s interesting about this interview remark on poetry’s danger made by Waits is that it is very much true. Morrison knew this as well, but unlike Waits, he would have loved to be called a poet more so than a musician. To Morrison, poetry was eternal. And even in his depression in the latter months of his career, he inherently knew that the cure to his despondency was poetry. See according to Jim, even if he were to die, his poetry would live on forever. This is why, at least in Tom DiCillo’s 2009 documentary we see Jim being temporarily relieved from his sadness when he for the first time has an opportunity to record some of his poetry as a part of a birthday present. Morrison’s poetry is evident in all of his songs just like it is in Waits’. It is this kind of poetry that I would say in agreement with Tom, is indeed dangerous. I hope that I in my simple attempts articulated this point in my last post. Now, Tom Waits just like Jim Morrison, played a huge part in the development of my musical being up to this point. For me, Jim Morrision is to Tom Waits as Modernism is to Post Modernism. In its broadest sense, modernism and post modernism are a part of the same movement, but the differences are subtle, and lie in the method to the madness. Here’s why, and it’s not going to sound quite as profound as I just made it out to be…. As a teenager I loved Morrisons hair, and used to in fact have long hair. As stupid as I looked, it made me in the deepest sense feel like a rockstar. I wanted to be like Jim Morrison (mind you I didn’t have the balls to work the leather pants until some years later). It was freshmen year in college when Tom Waits made his impact on my life. Now I had always been a fan of Copolla’s Godfather. I loved the way Michael Corleone held himself. I loved his suits. I loved the way he sat on a chair, the seriousness, the manliness, the poise. I tried to emulate that for a short while, but it all changed when I came across an interview of Tom Waits on Fernwood Tonight. I can honestly say that that was the moment I made the decision to sport the skinny pants. Tom had the suit, he had the hat, but he was so disheveled, he looked like he lived in a barrel. He was so damn cool. He was the anti-hero to the Godfather—he was a rockstar. I know from stories from my recording arts professor in college, who was friends with Tom, that he was just as crazy as any rockstar as far as the drugs and the drinking went. But unlike Jim, Waits was still alive, and unlike some of his contemporaries he never seemed to get old. And so started my hat wearing, skinny pants sporting days; the post modern age of my life. I’ll have you know that during the end of my college years and the time after in New York, I started going back into glam attire, tenfold to the wanabe Jim Morrison that I was freshman year. This was also reflected in the music I listened to; a lot of synth-pop, electro-pop and the like. Perhaps this was the post-post-modern phase of my youth. Not to say that the evolution has in anyway ended, but I would not be able to tell you about my state of my music or fashion affairs in a statement right now. Maybe if you checked into the blog a couple years from now I would hopefully be able to enlighten you (and myself).
It’s my second week in Bangalore, and yesterday evening was spent at Club Cirrus. I say “evening” and not “night” because new laws in Bangalore mean that last call happens at 11PM, followed by bouncers kicking the party people out at around 11:30PM, least the cops swing by and do it themselves. So having spent the last year clubbing in NY with some scenes winding down at 5:00AM, I hesitate to describe my Bangalore evening frolics as that of the “Night”. Granted, it would be more accurate to describe activities taking place past 12:00AM as that of the morning, but that is often taken as a party no-no to even look at one’s watch past midnight, so “night” it stays until one drunkenly stumbles home in the early hours of the morning, at least in the big apple. For Bangalore it is a different story. In fact dancing is not even allowed at clubs according to this new law. But don’t let any of this government conservatism fool you, least you be beguiled in to thinking that Bangalore is the last place to grow musically. I say musically, because in my opinion (and love of electro-pop) it is crucial for music in the dance genre to grow in the soil of sweaty clubbers bouncing to strobe lights, unbeknownst of the time in a preferred inebriated state. Straight Edge folk may disagree with my last statement, but if you fall into their category and still love electronic dance music of all forms, more power to you! Now the point of this blog entry is to draw your attention to my “after party” experience while car pooling with a bunch of 20 year olds amongst whom is my cousin Sudeep. As Sudeep weaved around the near empty streets of night time Bangalore, dropping of his friends from door to door there were calls from the back seat for some tunes. I was all to quick to whip out my ipod, more than ready to satiate the appetite for a bangin beat. But to my surprise it was not a beat that they wanted, rather the age old staples— the likes of Led Zepplin. Now based on previous discussions with other Bangalore youths, I have found that a lot of kids are passionate about their classic rock; ranging from Black Sabbath, to the Beatles, to AC/DC. Of course I had none of this on my ipod (except for the Beatles) because the 9th grade is distant history. And all I could fit on my 8 gig itouch was a small collection of my favorite albums from 2010, and a few staples of my own amongst which is the entire Doors discography. Don’t ask me why I leave that on my itouch, but I just can’t seem to part with Jim Morrison: the man who showed me the light in junior high, and set in motion a life long journey of musical discovery for me. So the Doors it was, and the compromise from Led Zep was readily accepted as Touch Me was played and sung at the top of post adolescent lungs (mine included). Now there is a point to all this and it is a certain deduction I have made based on my observations and questions regarding musical tastes in the Indian youth. Lets start by saying that the mainstream radio in Bangalore plays the same billboard shit rubbish that it does in most other parts of the world. Of course there is a fair proportion of folk that listen to the charts, but there is still a greater proportion listening to their classic rock staples, more so now then it ever was even in the actual hay days of classic rock. I would even argue that you would find more Led Zepplin cover bands here in India than you would in all of the west. Now as part of my observations, I had noticed a Jim Morrison visage in the stairwell of a popular bar, Jimmy’s in Bangalore earlier in the week. I paused for a moment as I reflected upon this painted epitaph; a shrine to the late Jim Morrison, who’s words are known by heart by many an eager Indian youth 35 and under. In their time, the Doors represented new age thinking, mysticism, revolution, and some would go as far as to say anarchy. Today, the true spirit of rock and roll is honored by the Indian youth, as a new media savvy generation, growing in a globalized world understand that progress means independent thinking. It means testing the boundaries both in entrepreneurship and creativity. Generational change and evolution is evident all over the world, but none is as great as it is in India. Just as the baby boomer generation of the west changed their social constructs in their time, today, the Indian youth are being prepped for their own revolution of sorts, and it’s only a matter of time before they “break on through to the other side.” The Indian youth are awakening. And though it seems the music scene is in its infantile stages in this country, India is going to be the place to be in 10 to 15 years. Not just in terms of music; but the arts as a whole, technology, commerce and democracy. Oh and by the way, back to last nights experience at club Cirrus, (where by law dancing is not allowed) there was no doubt that over 300 people jumped and danced their butts off as the DJ blasted M.I.A to a house beat…10mins past 11:30.
NEW MIXTAPE FROM KiD SiSTER
I am always down with good female MC’s and Kid Sister is definitely one of them. There is a lot of good hip-hop coming out of Chicago. One of my favorite rap groups in recent years has had to be The Cool Kids. I went to college in the mid-west, and The Cool Kids being from Chi-town have a great way of reminding me about the fun things life has to offer. College was quite possibly one of the best times in my life, and their song Basement Party captures the essence of those Friday night college house parties. It was around this time when I got into hyphy, high-top-kicks, and girls with outlandish nail-art. When A-traks, Fools Gold Label released Pro-nails I was all about it. Kid Sister was a damn good rapper, and she seemed to be all about the fun behind the music. Now, Fools Gold has released a free mixtape from Kid Sister called Kiss Kiss Kiss. Give it a listen. If you own an SUV, I say pop this in your CD player and bump it. If you are from Chi-town, do your city a favor and support good music by downloading this shit and playing it out loud. Props to the mid-west.
BUKE & GASS: Among the Best 2010 had to offer
I never made a top 10 album list for 2010, but if I did, I’m pretty sure I’d put Buke and Gass’s, debut Album Riposte on that list. Out of the many girl/guy duo’s such as the Sleigh Bells, Phantogram, Crystal Castles and even The Knife, that have been making it big on the scene, Buke and Gass seem to be the most innovative. Just like many of the other BK bands starting out, we find that even the most talented of musicians have to work the odd job to make ends meet. Sarah Barthel of Phantogram only just stopped her waitressing gig, which up until now had been a key means of financial support for her and Josh and their music. Now Arone Dyer’s (the lady part in Buke and Gass) odd job is that of a bike mechanic in good old Brooklyn, and it is the nature of this messy hands on job that has a very unique influence on Buke and Gass’s sound.
Lets first take a muinte and unpack Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez’s band name of Buke and Gass. The Buke is Dyer’s Baritone ukulele, one of the ensemble of instruments she and Sanchez fashioned for their band needs. Sanchez’s Gass is a Guitar/Bass hybrid, which allows him to play both the rhythmic guitar parts and/or driving bass parts that we hear along with Dyer’s Buke and voice. Because it’s just the two of them, they have home made amplifier’s which give them that big sound, of which the percussion can be attributed to the kick drum being pounded by Shanchez’s right foot and a home made device Arone calls a to-bourine attached to her left foot.
So to make my point about their sound being unique, I want you to think about their instrumentation and lack of samplers and loop pedals which we have so gotten used to in the sounds of our other loved girl/guy-duo-bands. Buke and Gass have a certain jam band like quality to their sound, with every song split in to several parts; a sort of fruit salad plucked and chopped from their garden of home recorded jam sessions, and served tastefully on a plate, for all willing to eat and be nourished.
I have posted a 5 min clip of their Tiny Desk, NPR concert to give you a taste. To see the full 16 minute show go to the NPR music website. The song you see here is called Revel in Contempt, track 6 on the album. For anyone who likes quality music as a part of their growing eclectic collection of music, Riposte will not disappoint, and the Raizuli says buy it.