Non-Traditional African Music

Masanka Sankayi + Kasai Allstars feat Mutumilayi – Wa Muluendu – Congotronics 2 (Crammed 2006)


Michael Brook & Hukwe Zawose - Ntambalize Lijenje/Pumpkin Life – African Xpress (Shakti 2003)


The Yahoos – Mabala – Afro-Rock, Volume 1 (Kona 2001)


Last night, while doing my best not to over-heat in my sauna of a studio apt, I watched the accompany DVD to the latest Congotronics comp, Congotronics 2: Buzz ‘n’ Rumble from the Urb ‘n’ Jungle. Listening to the album is a treat enough as it contains some of the most truly original sounds and rhythms that I for one have heard in a while, but watching these groups in action was an experience in itself. These ensembles of musicians, recorded by engineer/producer Vincent Kenis, have left the Congo bush to settle in the capital and are bringing their individual musical styles with them. The need for more amplification has led the groups to concoct their own equipment of homemade instruments and amplifiers that has heavily influenced the evolution of their music. The result is a new genre of African music that is almost indescribable, less formulaic than afrobeat or highlife, more African than krautrock, less repetitive than ethnic dance music, and more modern than tribal music. Every one of the 6 groups featured on the disc is bringing their own style, instrumentation, equipment and culture to their music, so every song is one in it’s own. It makes for a very interesting and intriguing listen that is like nothing else; trash can percussion, layered harmonies, over-amplified electronics, lead singers screaming through megaphones and swirling, half-working keyboards all float in and out of the mix. Seeing the musicians nonchalantly fuse immensely complicated polyrhythms and harmonies is simply amazing, maybe because western music is so simple in comparison. On top of that, dancers accompany each loosely collected band and somehow move their bodies within the rhythm of the song. Again, they seem very calm and unconcerned, in a sort of rigid start-and-stop booty dance in which they only move their bodies from the hips down. It’s definitely something I wish I could witness live, and since Konono N°1 is playing in Chicago on July 11 I may just get the chance. I decided to include a track from Congotronics 2 as well as two more of my favorite non-traditional African songs.

Masanka Sankayi + Kasai Allstars feat Mutumilayi – Wa Muluendu – Congotronics 2 – Crammed 2006
This is the opening track from Congotronics 2, and it sets the raucous tone for the entire album perfectly. The song is centered around the overamplified likembés (or thumb pianos) popularized by Konono N°1 on the first Congotronics, which creates a strange percussive melody that sounds like a cross between a steel drum and an Atari. Proper percussion is handled by an array of traditional African drums, congos and a man tapping on the wide part of a glass bottle to create a high-pitched ting. It also sounds like there is some kind of over amplified electric guitar that is again played very percussively and rhythmically. Vocals are handled in a call-and-response manner as the front man, which is either Masanka Sankayi or Mutumilayi (I’m honestly not sure), chants/sings/screams into a megaphone or badly amplified mic while deeper voices respond from all sides thanks to clever mixing by Vincent Kenis. It’s a very layered and interesting song that is an excellent introduction to what is still to come on the album.

Michael Brook & Hukwe Zawose - Ntambalize Lijenje/Pumpkin Life – African Xpress – Shakti 2003
This song is a fun combination of traditional African music ridiculous 80s-inspired over-production care of Michael Brook. Brook, a producer, innovative guitarist and self-made ethnomusicologist, spent most of his career working with the like-minded Brian Eno and blended Western ambient and pop sounds with ethnic Eastern music. Dr. Hukwe Zawose is the championed musical icon of Tanzania, the biggest (land area) among East African countries. While gaining popularity in and outside of the country during the 80s with his mastery at the thumb piano and his reported 5-octave vocal range, Zawose also brought a lot of attention to his home country and developed music ensembles and musical education within Tanzania. Together the unlikely pair create and otherworldly sound taking the best pieces of their respected musical backgrounds. The production is so over-processed that it takes on a life of it’s own and the songs progresses in fractured segments. A truly ridiculous song that is probably my favorite product of the 80s.

The Yahoos – Mabala – Afro-Rock, Volume 1 – Kona 2001
This compilation collects an assortment of experimental African tunes recorded between 74-78 and is far from rock or traditional African music. Remember that during this time period, the music of James Brown and Fela Kuti dominated the continent of Africa, and this comp heavily reflects that giving you the chance to hear what Funkadelic would of sounded like if they called Africa home. I know absolutely nothing of The Yahoos except that they apparently are Booker T. & the MG’s apparent African counterparts. This psychedelic funk tune doesn’t sound nearly as ethnic as the previous songs but I’ll be damned if it does not find heavy rotation in your personal library. It makes you wonder what other kinds of amazing groups went overlooked during that time period from all over the world (you have got to love reissue compilations).

Numero Group

Ed Henry - Your Replacement is Here - Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label (Numero 2006)


Manhattens - The Feeling is Mutual - Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label (Numero 2006)


Bob & Fred - Bob & Fred - Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label (Numero 2006)


So I have been ridiculous busy lately not to mention my interweb has been down since Friday, so I apologize for the lack of updates. And sadly, they will be continuing for a bit longer since my sister is coming into town tomorrow and I will probably not get a chance to add something substantial till next Wednesday. Exciting news though, Napster has contacted me about maybe teaming up with the music wiki (Your Subculture Soundtrack) I started a little less than a year ago. That would be an amazing boost for the site that has been stagnating a bit as of late. We are over 2000 pages though, so I don’t think that is too shabby for a start up wiki in 10 months. Do you have some music knowledge? Why not drop a few pages on your favorite artists/albums/labels/etc? Jump on the bandwagon while it’s still cool to jump on. Check it out now.

Chicago’s amazing reissue ‘non-label,’ Numero Group deserves a lot more attention than I’m about to give it now, but as I mentioned earlier, I’m pretty busy at the moment. But they just released a new comp, Eccentric Soul: The Big Mack Label, and it is the best thing I’ve come across lately, so I will spill a few words on it.

Chicago’s Numero Group may very well be the best product of the recent crate digging epidemic infecting music lovers and audiophiles everywhere for the last 10 years. America’s only counterpoint to the UK’s amazing Soul Jazz records (except L.A.’s Now Again), Numero has been bringing lost eclectic music out of dusty crates and into eager ears for three years now and the releases keep getting better and better. The most popular of their releases are included in the Eccentric Soul series, rediscovered soul, funk and R&B gems that were ignored upon initial pressings for one reason or another. Included in the series are collections from Columbus, Ohio’s Capsoul Label, Chicago’s Bandit Label, Miami’s Deep City Label and the latest Numero release, Detroit’s Big Mack Label. Other releases include acts as diverse as French-Belgian electro-samba from Antena, power-pop curated by Jordan Oakes in his Yellow Pills comps, a collection of Fern Jones tracks cleverly described as ‘Elvis without the pelvis,’ amazing and much recommended Brazilian R&B, calypso, disco, funk, reggae and soul from Belize City and deep folk billed as ‘Ladies from the Canyon.’ Numero is one of those labels that you know every release is straight quality no matter whether you are into that particular album’s genre or not. It is certainly one of the few labels that I will purchase an album from without a screening first.

The latest installment of the Eccentric Soul series highlights Detroit’s Big Mack label, a record studio that doubled as an ice cream truck dispatcher and gave everyday people a chance to record whatever they wished for the more than affordable price of $14.95. Imagined and brought to life by music lover/business man Ed McCoy, Big Mack recorded anyone who was able to pay the fee, and thanks to it’s prime location in Detroit, the funk/soul capitol of the late 60s, McCoy recorded some of the most infectious music of the time, though the boxes and boxes of homemade 45s were never given a chance lost deep in the shadows of Motown and other majors. This comp features 19 tracks of butter funk, sugary doo-wop, driving instrumentals and pristine soul-pop, all featuring that raw, unpolished sound that is cherished among crate diggers everywhere. I’ve included three tracks to give you an idea of the amazingness you are in store for if you pick up the album.

Now 9 albums deep, Numero has not come close to letting us down.

Live Soul

Jamie Lidell – You Got Me Up (Live at the Scala, London) – Multiply Additions (WARP 2006)


Otis Redding – Respect – Live in Europe (Atlantic/Stax 1967)


Donny Hathaway – What’s Going On – Live (Atlantic 1972)


First of all, I absolutely love soul music. Everything about it appeals to me; the pure emotive power, the full-bodied, octave-scaling voice, the usual mellow funk accompanying as background music, the lyrics either filled with extreme longing, undying love or political prowess and the way it demands me to sing along with my constantly cracking, completely horrible voice and that squinty impassioned facial expression. Absolutely my favorite genre with vocals. The soul greats like Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, James Brown and Otis Redding are constantly on the top of my Itunes ‘Top 25 Most Played’ and Last.fm pages, because once you start listening to soul music, there is no turning back without a significant silence break.

My favorite album of 2005 was without a doubt Jamie Lidell’s Multiply, a futuristic take on Stax and Motown of the late 60s, early 70s. Goddamn did I wear that album out in the first few months I had it, but it still has yet to get old even with listen after consecutive listen and only at a brief 10 songs. Well imagine my excitement when in my office yesterday I opened a package from WARP and slowly slid out Multiply Additions, an accompaniment including live tracks, remixes and even a ridiculously amazing Mara Carlyle cover of ‘Game for Fools’ featuring just her deep soul voice (which is amazingly similar to Lidell’s) and a ukulele of all instruments. Since it has been a year since Multiply did drop, a new record would have also been more than welcomed, but honestly this is just as exciting. Lidell absolutely kills 2 live tracks, Four Tet, Herbert, Luke Vibert and Mocky all contribute quality remixes, the title track and the first single, ‘When I Come Back Around,’ are reworked for freshness, Herbert concocts a ridiculous instrumental version of ‘Multiply’ and of course the fantastic Carlyle cover. Needless to say, I am more than content, if not ecstatic. Lidell’s voice is pristine on the live tracks and is accompanied by a band of surnames (mostly Berlin scenesters) including Mocky, Taylor, Savvy, Shax, Feist and Gonzales on keys. It got me to thinking about some of my favorite live soul tracks, which I have included for your ears’ enjoyment.

Jamie Lidell – You Got Me Up (Live at the Scala, London) – Multiply Additions (WARP 2006)
Jamie Lidell is a skinny British late 20-something year old white kid who was blessed with a voice that conjures memories of Otis Redding with the vocal range of Al Green. Before this Multiply, and album 5 years in the making, he was part of the experimental electronica duo Super_Collider with Christian Vogel, which was a pretty far reach from his current material. Lidell inspirited the powerful soul music of the late 60s, early 70s from labels like Stax who were not afraid to experiment with their music. Multiply is far from retro though, it also enlists finely programmed electronics and playful synths to create a timeless sound that looks forward while embracing the past. The possibilities seem endless for the young Lidell, and I for one will be eagerly following him every step of the way.

Otis Redding – Respect – Live in Europe (Atlantic/Stax 1967)
Otis Redding ranks up there with the likes of Buddy Holly and Jimi Hendrix as far as ‘what if’s’ are concerned in the history of popular music. At the time of his death, a very young 26, the Georgia native was just beginning to tap into his near endless potential, recording '(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay' just days before the tragic plane crash that claimed his life as well as four members of his backing band, The Bar-Kays. Redding’s popularity at the time was so great that he was crossing racial and genre boundaries culminating with his breakout performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival in the spring of 1967 (the same year of his death). He single-handedly built Stax Records from the ground up with his record sales in the 60s, epitomizing deep soul in the process.

Backed by Booker T. & the MG’s, this is the opening cut from Live in Europe, a collection of songs recorded during his first (as well as the first Stax tour across the Atlantic) and only tour through Europe. It was the last album he would see released before his untimely and tragic death in 1967. ‘Respect’ in it’s original form has a quite different meaning than Aretha Franklin’s much more popular female-empowering version. In any form, it is a wonderfully written song.

Donny Hathaway – What’s Going On – Live (Atlantic 1972)
Hathaway is sadly often left out of the big soul names these days (Redding, Wonder, Green, Gaye, Brown) mostly because of his scant output and tragic suicide in 1979. His voice is extremely smooth and romantic, but he also has the chords to really wail on a song. Hathaway got his start in the 60s mostly behind the scenes, working as a session keyboardist, songwriter, arranger and producer for everyone from Aretha to the Staple Singers, but didn’t really start gaining momentum until teaming up with Curtis Mayfield. While working as the house producer for Mayfield’s Curtom label, he put out his own material including the socially aware classic soul cut, The Ghetto, which was a precursor to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Hathaway’s only stint with chart-topping success was while teaming up with Howard classmate Roberta Flack. His career slowly declined as the 70s progressed, but was revitalized in 1978 with another Flack duet. In 1979 though, Hathaway was found dead after falling from a 15th floor window with no apparent struggle (the glass had been removed neatly). Though the truth was never uncovered, investigators deemed it a suicide after finding no evidence of anything else.

I included Hathaway’s take of ‘What’s Going On,’ recorded less than a year after it was originally written by Gaye. I would of certainly used ‘The Ghetto,’ because it is certainly a much better track on the same album, but it is 12-minutes long. So do yourself a favor and go get this album, because it is absolutely amazing.

Covers are Fun

Thee More Shallows

Thee More Shallows – I Can’t Get Next to You – Monkey vs. Shark (Turn 2006)


Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination and Brass – A Day in the Life – Touchdown (Polydor GER, 1977)


Toots and the Maytals – Louie, Louie – Funky Kingston (Mango 1973)


Cover songs are fun. And for the most part, that’s about it. Rehashing your favorite bands’ hits has been a staple in the development in young musicians since… well since favorite bands existed I presume. You have to start somewhere, and if you are not fortunate enough to be able to afford proper lessons in your instrument of choice, the next best thing you can do is mimic other more skilled musicians. After perfecting song after song after song in your bedroom, eventually you should start developing skills of your own and in time begin writing your own compositions. Songwriting is a true test of musicianship, copying others is not. Now, truth be told, there are a couple of good cover bands out there, but they are few and far between, and not really worth more than a night of kitschy fun. Now an occasional cover song by an established musician (i.e. have proved that they have their own songwriting chops) can be a great thing as well. Songwriters’ influences are innately included in their own compositions, whether it is apparent or not; the only truly original piece of music would have to be composed by a person who has absolutely never come in contact with another note of music or deaf from childbirth. This is not a bad thing, its just fact; we are constantly influenced by our surroundings. So when a musician attempts to idolize a favorite artist by covering a song of theirs, its time to take notice because their songwriting skills and individuality is going to be on display. Do they just regurgitate the song note by note without any creativity at all? Or do they re-imagine the song, bringing new life to the composition while putting their personal stamp on it? This reinventing talent, in my opinion, is a characteristic of a truly good musician/songwriter.

Yesterday, while receiving new music in my office at the beautiful WLUW, I came across an EP from a band called Thee More Shallows. I was not familiar with the band or the label, Turn Records, but it came from a trusted promotion company and had an eye-catching press release. The selling point for me was that the band covered Al Green’s “I Can’t Get Next to You,” and being the rabid Al Green fan that I am, I immediately took notice. Thee More Shallows completely reinvent the song, turning the once deep soul unconditional love ode into a spooky, eerie, brooding, almost stalkerish rock song. I’m rarely sold on a band by a cover song, but Thee More Shallows certainly earned themselves a rip into my selective music catalog and obviously the inspiration for this post. I’ve also included two more of my favorite cover songs, including an amazing rendition of The Beatle’s “A Day in the Life” by the Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination and Brass and an incredibly addictive rendition of “Louie, Louie” by Toots and the Maytals.

Thee More Shallows – I Can’t Get Next to You – Monkey vs. Shark (Turn 2006)
Thee More Shallows are an indie-rock trio out of San Francisco consisting of Dee Kesler, Chavo Fraser and Jason Gonzales. For a relatively young band, they have a very mature sound, enlisting characteristics of chamber and post-rock with just a touch of goth and electronics strewn throughout. The perfectionists spent three years mixing their sophomore album, More Deep Cuts, and it has been well received causing a bit of a stir in the indie-rock press. This EP of loose ends was put out in only months and includes five new songs as well as the cover and a remix by Anticon’s Odd Nosdam and Why?

“I Can’t Get Next to You” was written by legendary Motown writers Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield, who were also responsible for “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” among many others. It was originally written for The Temptations and first appeared on their “Puzzle People” album in 1969, but did not receive the attention it deserved until Al Green’s rendition of it heard on 1971’s “Gets Next to You.” Since then, it’s been covered numerous times by artists as diverse as Annie Lennox, Toto and Savoy Brown.

Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination and Brass – A Day in the Life – Touchdown (Polydor GER, 1977)
I copped this song from the amazing audioblog, Soulsides, a few months back. Trombonist and progressive big band leader Peter Herbolzheimer completely re-imagine the song into a 7-minute prog-soul epic. With Don Adams on vocals, the RC&B bring out some amazing fusion and R&B chops in outbursts while somehow the tempo remains steadily mellow throughout; a wonderful late-night bring-the-party-down track.

As the cinematic closer to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the song remains the epitome of what The Beatles could create utilizing both John Lennon and Paul McCartney as songwriters. Juxtaposed, it’s easy to hear the differences between the more withdrawn, cerebral Lennon and the more jovial and jaunty McCartney. A classic Beatles tune no doubt.

Toots and the Maytals – Louie, Louie – Funky Kingston (Mango 1973)
The least restructured of the covers songs I’m including, Toots and the Maytals’ version of the classic reggae cut “Louie, Louie” is incredibly infectious to say the least. Incredibly energetic and utilizing the best characteristics of reggae-soul, Toots Hibbert screams and belts James Brown-stylee over the Maytals’ heavily percussive backbeat and striking brass punches. Two blasting sax solos act as bridges to the energetic chorus, and the song closes with a strange, almost guttural vibrato. One of my favorite all time songs.

Made infamous by the slurred vocals of Ray Davies and the Kinks, the song was actually originally written in 1962 by Richard Berry and The Fabulous Wailers and found on the heavily influential rock’n’soul record, The Fabulous Wailers at the Castle. The Seattle group was one of the very first American garage rock bands anticipating the British Invasion and have either directly or indirectly influenced every rock & roll group to come out of their parents’ garage since.

From the Underground of Chicago to São Paulo

São Paulo Underground - Olhossss... - Sauna: Um, Dios, Três (Aesthetics 2006)


São Paulo Underground - Afrihouse - Sauna: Um, Dios, Três (Aesthetics 2006)


This is an article I wrote this weekend on Chicago's Rob Mazurek's new project, the São Paulo Underground. It is really an amazing album, and deserves all the attention it can get. I am hoping to get it published, especially since it has such strong local roots, but I am trying not to get too optimistic about it. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I'd be let down. Anywho, it was a fun exercise and a well spent Sunday afternoon, followed by a busy evening at the WLUW radio station. My show, Soundtracking Your Insomnia, is now officially alive, airing sunday nights/monday mornings 2-4am (cst). A shitty time slot I know, but I'm new to the station and have to pay my dues before I move into prime time. At least I'll be making a few cab drivers' night a bit more enjoyable. Feel free to stream the always magnificent WLUW here.


From the Underground of Chicago to São Paulo
Michael Ardaiolo

“…I am trying to find those frequencies that project both visually and sonically. I have a history like anybody has a history but I choose not to think on this but to constantly move in one of many directions and none at all. I am a human trying to locate things and crack them.” - Rob Mazurek in an interview with Italian weekly Succoacido.

Mazurek describes his musical approach in contradictions, “how to evolve that and get to an area that is wide as it is tall, as small as it is big and dense as hell and not at all… A thing with time not really existing but perhaps constantly folding on itself or in on itself, etc.” The forward-thinking proto-Renaissance man spends his life creating in a variety of mediums from his magnificent cornet playing to abstract paintings to digitally constructed soundscapes to multi-media projects of every kind. He tends to combine these methods whenever possible as well, like his “Music for Shattered Light Box and 7 Posters” installment, where a light source is reflected off his paintings and the resulting light-wave manipulation is translated into sound frequencies creating a aural-visual experience like no other. His music, whether with any configuration of the Chicago Underground collective or Mandarin Movie or Isotope 217 or as simply a contributor, always adheres to this multi-medium aesthetic, transforming his surroundings into music. That’s why his current home in Brazil is especially important, because you can guarantee that he is absorbing his environment and the influence will present itself in aural form. And as if on cue, the São Paulo Underground appears, a project featuring percussionist and electronics manipulator Mauricio Takara of Hurtmold and M. Takara as well as a slew of local Brazilian musicians. The music, as expected, his heavily influenced by Brazil and it’s wide variety of traditions and customs, especially the rebellious Tropicália, the heavily percussive maracatu and Brazil’s most famous native style, samba. Of course Mazurek and Takara also enlist their personal styles deriving from free jazz, minimalist electronica and dub. The Underground’s first album, Sauna: Um, Dios, Três, was released on May 9th through the Portland’s Aesthetic label in the US.

Rob Mazurek is a true product of Chicago’s immensely variant music scene. He was schooled at the Bloom School of Jazz and at a young age developed an acute ear for improvisation and the ability to transfer his cornet into a wide variety of musical styles. His initial influence was with Blue Note’s premier hard-bop trumpeters, Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, etc. But, as with any absorbent young mind, he began to explore further into the wide possibilities of jazz where he discovered free jazz cornet player Don Cherry and local avant-garde heros, the Art Ensemble of Chicago. In the mid 90s, with his ever-growing repertoire of styles, Mazurek formed weekly jam sessions that resulted in the Chicago Underground collective featuring Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker, Brokeback bassist Noel Kupersmith and drummer Chad Taylor among others. Also during this productive time period, he contributed his skills to bands of all genres including Tortoise, Gastr del Sol, Stereolab and Sam Prekop to name a few as well as being a main force in the cultivating of Chicago’s popular fringe-rock scene. Shortly there after, the jazz-funk fusion band Isotope 217 was formed, letting Mazurek, Parker and others stem out into even further musical ideas. His latest project, other than São Paulo, is Mandarin Movie, a Sun Ra-influenced escapade of experimental electronica, free jazz and hard-bop also released on the Aesthetic label. All the while, Mazurek continually traveled, making friends all across the US as well as in France, Italy and Brazil, taking bits of influence from each person and location he came across.

Sauna: Um, Dios, Três is as collage of Brazilian influences and ideas, taking as much significant inspiration from Pernambuco’s colorful Afro-Brazilian maracatu nação performances as São Paulo impossibly dense traffic jams. In just one song, styles weave in and out of electronic noise while Takara holds down a drumbeat buried softly in the background, Mazurek’s cornet appears sporadically adding a splash of color to the musique concrète, and instruments are reversed creating sweeping brush strokes that lavishly paint over mysteriously dubbed vocals. You can hear Gilberto Gil’s mutinous Tropicália calling for a just government, Lee “Scratch” Perry’s quirky dub giving comic relief to his people living in extreme poverty and John Cage’s aleatoric compositions leaving audiences both confused and intrigued. Mazurek and Takara masterfully fuse these otherwise unconnected genres into as Mazurek would put it, “constantly [moving] in one of many directions and none at all.”

The opening title track introduces the album with panning electronic hum, a detached, ghostly voice and brooding free jazz attacking from every side. This surprisingly evolves into an enchanting musical array that decomposes into a coda that wouldn’t be out of place on a Tortoise album. “Pombaral” begins with a samba-flavored cornet solo before Takara’s engrossing drums and dual subdued guitars point the song into a post-rock direction. The latter half of the nine minute track deteriorates into eerie electronic noise before coming full circle. The third song, “The Realm of the Ripper,” acts as an unfocused transition of repeating synthesizer lines and various ethnic percussion into one of the album’s most enticing tracks, “Olhossss…” Being the only song that solely features Mazurek and Takara, you would think that it would be more restrained, but these are musicians of many talents and the song reflects that perfectly. Beginning with layered snyth pads and a buried and reverberating drum pattern, “Olhosss…” completely changes directions at the three minute mark, sparking an animated blend of vibrating cornet, twinkling sine waves and flickering programmed percussion. “Afrihouse” is definitely the most ethnic song of the bunch, and at times even reflects Fela Kuti’s afrobeat, “Balão De Gás” strategically combines musique concrète with Afro-Brazilian percussion and chanting, and the album wraps up with a very quiet track featuring the manipulated voice of a man simply credited as ‘Chico.’

Albums like this one are significant because such rich musical explorations don’t come along everyday, but neither do musicians like Mauricio Takara and Rob Mazurek. Sauna: Um, Dios, Três in a way draws a direct line between Chicago and São Paulo revealing similarities we would otherwise never even consider. It is extremely important to not only realize other cultures, especially ones as artistically rich as Brazil’s, but to also embrace them as our own, because while we may be separated by thousands of miles of land and sea, we are all human beings and all share that same instinctive artistic sense. In this case, Mazurek is acting as a sort of diplomat, showing both sides the similarities between themselves, all the while creating something completely new we can both claim as our own. Because just like all of us, Mazurek is just “a human trying to locate things and crack them.”

Guillermo Scott Herren

Prefuse 73 - Storm Returns - One Word Extinguisher (WARP 2003)


Savath & Savalas - Rolls and Waves of Ignorance - The Rolls and Waves EP (Hefty 2002)


Delarosa & Asora - Airbrush (Clogged) - Crush the Sight-Seers (Pearineel 1999)


Piano Overlord - Walk Home - The Singles Collection 03-05 (Money Studies 2005)




I’m extremely excited because tonight I will be trekking my way (a long way via a decent walk to the train, a timely train ride, a lengthy bus ride and another more than likely damp walk) to the Empty Bottle to see Prefuse 73 do his thing. Guillermo Scott Herren is one of my favorite artists and it’s been a good three or four years since I’ve seen him perform live. Last time it was at MacRock located somewhat nonchalantly at James Madison U. somewhere in the many foothills of Virginia. It was my first time seeing Herren, and I was a pretty big fan at the time but nowhere near the obsessed follower I am now (in fact that was probably the turning point from interest to infatuation). He performed in a small bar outside of most of the MacRock stages, I think so that the audience could drink, and confusingly followed a Dischord showcase (El Guapo, Beauty Pill, Antelope and Decahedron I believe, and a ridiculous set from Books on Tape). Accompanying Mr. Herren on turntables/samplers/random electronic equipment was Nobody along with a fantastic female Japanese drummer who would pick up any beat he threw out her in a matter of seconds. I stood on a bench in the corner on the right side of the room with the drummer from Christiansen and bobbed and shoulder-popped and attempted to look cool (I’m sure I just looked ridiculously white). After being completely blown away from an hour-long set, like the dork I am, I made my way to the stage where Herren was packing away his equipment. I climbed up on stage, introduced myself, and bluntly let him know that he was my hero. Being the amazing person that he is, he shook my hand and said that was dope and we chatted for a few minutes before I left an enlightened man. Ever since that moment, I have been a diligent and faithful fan and loyally pick up every album that he puts out or appears on and scoffs at any unpleasant review I read. I really owe him a lot as far as being pointed in the direction of electronica, hip-hop and jazz and away from the silly effeminate screamy art-punk I was into at the time (though that genre will always have a special place hidden deeply in my heart).

Guillermo Scott Herren is a man of many faces. He drops meticulously sliced and sequenced hip-hop as Prefuse 73, paints avant-glitch soundscapes as Delarosa & Asora, embraces Spanish folk and ethereal post-rock as Savath & Savalas, tinkers with Rhodes, Wurlitzers and other acoustic keyboards as Piano Overlord and occasionally remixes rebelliously with friend and collaborator Nobody as La Corrección. None of his projects sound alike, but they all secrete a sort of mystic and omnipotent vibe that simultaneously embodies musical pioneers of the past while always sturdily looking forward. According to the ‘about’ from his and Peter Rentz’s Eastern Developments label’s website, Herren’s musical influences derive from Thursday night radio shows on WREK while a high school student in Decatur, GA. College/independent radio is truly a wonderful source for expanding your musical knowledge, it’s been the single most important influence to me as well and without it… well I certainly wouldn’t be doing this. He developed his craft during the usual early 20s shit-jobs hysteria, and broke on the scene in the late 90s with releases under the Delarosa & Asora and Savath & Savalas monikers. His 2001 release Vocal Studies & Uprock Narratives, the first as Prefuse 73, is what launched Herren to the elite producer status though, and the momentum has not slowed down since.

Prefuse 73, derived from Herren's biggest musical influence, pre-fusion jazz circa 1973, is synonymous with incredibly creative hip-hop that pushes the genre to the outer possible limits. Equal parts hip-hop, electronica and jazz, Prefuse's sound is characterized by the meticulously sequenced barrage of samples that would be considered overwhelming if not so perfectly in step with each other. Basically, Prefuse 73 is to a song what a mosaic is to a painting. It does not matter what the original source is, be it a sample, vocals, an acoustical instrument or a sine wave; it will be sliced, chopped and manipulated into completely new, even more intriguing sounds. This method keeps Herren's music fresh because with each spin, the listener hears something different every time. As quoted from his WARP bio, “The name Prefuse 73 comes from my devotion to pre-fusion jazz circa 1973. A lot of records that I cherish and get the most inspiration from were recorded between ‘68 and ’73. During that time there seemed to be an extreme amount of exploration and integration of new sounds drawn from electric and foreign instruments into an otherwise traditional format, “ eulogizes Scott. “This new approach went hand in hand with these musicians’ emerging spiritual awakenings,” he continues. “In my opinion, there isn't another area of time within any genre that holds such a prolific outpouring of beautiful, mind expanding music.”

Herren describes his folk infused side project as this, "if Prefuse is my best friend, then Savath & Savalas is my baby." While listening to any of his releases under this moniker, one can immediately understand the tenderness and love he puts into each one of these albums. Each song sounds like it has been intensely studied, understood and deciphered into a series of acoustic melodies and electronic excursions. Of all Herren's projects, Savath & Savalas is the most acoustic based, though there is without a doubt no lack of electronic manipulation. In fact, this is the only moniker prior to Piano Overlord that lets the glitches and white noise take a backseat to experimentation with an array of acoustic instruments. Each album has its own unique sound from the pastoral and glitch-lite post-rock of Folk Songs for Trains, Trees and Honey to his Spanish-roots seeking Apropa’t, but they all share a very patient aesthetic and the ability to transport the listener into a state of cathartic bliss.

Delarosa & Asora is a far cry from his other aliases, exploring the darker and less song-based characteristics of electronica. Herren creates large palettes of minimalist trance where every speck of white noise in an essential part of the moment. A sort of breeding ground for his early ideas, Delarosa may not appeal to some of his more recent and less in-depth fans, but they are crucial elements in his musical evolution and on each concurrent listen, each song reveals another subtle layer of inspiration.

Piano Overlord is his latest side project, and features Herren’s music at its simplest level. Usually just stripped down cuts of assorted pianos, Rhodes, Wurlitzers and other non-synthesized instrumentation accompanied with little bit of boom here, a tiny bit of bap there. Apparently started as a favor to the label Money Studies for ‘fucking up and losing the parts to remix my man: Diplo’s first 7” on the label,’ some fans may be confused by the simplicity of the music; but when taken at face-value, your left with an assortment of very enjoyable 2 and 3 minute consciously straightforward tunes. How can you hate on that?

Piece-ing and Layering

Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda - Journey in Satchidananda (Impulse! 1970)


Squarepusher – Iambic 9 Poetry – Ultravisitor (WARP 2004)


Battles – Ipt-2 – EP C (Monitor 2004)


I spent the afternoon wading through a sea of sawdust while helping a new friend of mine shoot some extra footage for a project he is working on. The woodshop, the renown Bauhaus Institute run by an amiable and quirky German master craftsman, had a character all it’s own. Located unassumingly on a not-so-elegant street in North Chicago, flanked by a number of authentic Mexican restaurants and Asian dry cleaners, the Institute was an older warehouse stacked to the roof with countless varieties of wood, circular saws, half-made furniture and enough sawdust to asphyxiate a pair of asthmatic lungs (like mine) in a matter of seconds. Add in the fact that the room was softly lit by a series of slightly damaged, overhead frosted windows, and the word texture repeatedly flashes in large, bright red capital letters as far as descriptions go. I listened to the award-winning furniture maker and artist, Berthold Schwaiger, talk about his work for a few hours, and never have I been so inspired by woodworking. He approaches every project individually, enlisting century old math theories and philosophical ideas into each one of his pieces. To give you an idea where he was coming from, his office bookshelves were stacked with obscure art collections, D.H. Lawrence novels and trigonometry textbooks. From his adjacent window, he watched his young apprentices behind his graying beard and with one good eye, the other permanently staring to the left.

Because of my audio production background, I tend to see music the same way he would look at furniture, in pieces and layers (especially sample-based music) finely chosen and crafted into a seamless final whole. A good musician should compose music the same way Schwaiger would create a bureau or a chest: 1. Know your customer, don’t just take assignments, sit down with each particular customer and get to know them, come to understand exactly what they have in mind and use that as your starting point. 2. Select the perfect materials, individually choose every single piece of wood so that the grain, flow and natural beauty will accentuate the overall piece of furniture. 3. Devise an unconventional method, don’t just repeatedly use the same process, draw inspiration from a variety of sources and incorporate them into your work. 4. Don’t rush and make sure the product will withstand the test of time. Schwaiger was also insistent that each piece of custom-made furniture would take on a life of its own, outliving the initial buyers and creating it’s own legacy. I believe that a good piece of music should meet these criteria as well, except maybe not the first one word by word, maybe replace ‘customer’ with ‘idea.’ So I chose three songs, built mostly in layers, where I think the artists met the parameters and succeeded in creating a song that not only takes on a life of it’s own, but can (or have) withstand the test of time.

Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda - Journey in Satchidananda (Impulse! 1970)
Alice Coltrane is without a doubt one of my favorite musicians, sometimes I think even more than her late husband, John. Always deeply spiritual and infusing ethnic Eastern instrumentation into her compositions, the songs project an earthy drone, a meditative tunnel if you will. This is the title track to my favorite album and its built in a series of thick layers. Cecil McBee’s extremely deep bass, remaining the somewhat consistent anchor throughout, roots the track. The other consistent sound is the rhythmic drone of a tambura, and unfretted string instrument usually found in India; it adds a definite character to the song. Glittering bells and tambourine accentuate Rashied Ali’s sparse drumming, and Pharoah Sanders adds a welcomed solo on soprano sax. Ms. Coltrane plays the meanest harp I have ever heard, meticulously and passionately plucking the strings to create an indefinable sound. Each layer complements the next, combining to form unprecedented depth.

Squarepusher – Iambic 9 Poetry – Ultravisitor (WARP 2004)
Firstly, this song sounds nothing like Tom Jenkinson’s early music. Coming from an experimental IDM background where each manic drum skitter and synth blast came quicker than the next, Jenkinson’s much calmer ‘Ultravisitor’ was a breath of fresh air. Utilizing his jazz drumming background, his father was also a jazz drummer as well, he created a much more ambient and thoughtful album than his previous urgent outings. This song is the best example of what Jenkinson can do with acoustic instrumentation if he gives it time to grow and breath on it’s own. Beginning very quietly with a soft bass line, the song progressively builds layer by layer into a rampant array of scattered jazz drumming, brooding synth pads and echoing organs. This is without a doubt my favorite Squarepusher song, and makes a case for breaking into my all time top 10.

Battles – Ipt-2 – EP C (Monitor 2004)
I wanted to include something a bit different into the mix, something utilizing not only layers by unconventional design and math as well. Battles is the closest thing you can find to musical mathematicians. Featuring John Stanier of Helmet/Tomahawk, Ian Williams of Don Caballero/Storm & Stress, David Konopka of Lynx and always-inventive solo artist Tyondai Braxton, Battles is essentially a math-rock super group. This song can be found on EP C and is a prime example of what unorthodox design can bring to music. The drumming is played through one speaker, then reversed and played out of the other speaker after a slight delay. A simple guitar riff is added on top of that, then also reversed, and just like that, and incredibly interesting song is created. There is nothing too complicated here, but the overall effect is compelling.

From Funk to Thunk

Georgia Anne Muldrow
James Brown - Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (Parts 1 & 2) -
Revolution of the Mind (Polydor 1971)


Georgia Anne Muldrow - Lo Mein - Worthnothings EP (Stones Throw 2006)


Dudley Perkins - Testin' Me - Expressions (2012 A.U.) (Stones Throw 2006)




I came home at the end of last week in a good mood. One of those effervescing moods that can only be accentuated with a hardy helping of bread, wine and wonderful music. So I purchased a $1.50 loaf of bread, broke out my gallon of cheap, but remarkably tastey table wine and put on my newest acquistions from Stones Throw Records, a personal favorite label of mine. Needless to say, three glasses and half a loaf later, my effervesing mood was now boiling in a pot full soulful expressions and future-funk breakdowns. It got me thinking about the roots of funk music and how it has evolved into it's current state. So I did what I always do in situations like these, I broke out the laptop and sent my thoughts on a rollercoaster ride starting at my brain, down my arms, through my fingertips and on to the keys. After my creative outburst I slept for a good three hours to recover. When I woke up this article was meandering on my screen and all in all, I am impressed with my inebriated composing. I'm attempting to get it published in The Reader, Chicago's weekly free newspaper, but they have not responded. Oh well, I live to drink and write another day, and in the mean time enjoy the samples from Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudley Perkin's amazing new albums along with a classic James Brown cut.

From Funk to Thunk
From its very conception, funk was the epitome of sheer emotional outburst. As James Brown continually upped the energetic ante of each concurrent soul single, an extremely powerful genre began to take form. Brown understood what his people felt, what his people needed, more rhythm, more blues, more soul. These innate feelings were always there, they just needed a catalyst, a vent to let the boiling expression free. Musicians had attempted this before; great voices like Otis Redding understood the possibilities of endless energy and unsuppressed emotion and the unparalleled power that came from combining the two. Maybe Redding would have been able to unleash this primitive spirit if he was only given the chance, but its time had not come just yet. Then, in the mid-60s, James Brown had an idea. What if he played the music he wanted to, what if he played the music he could feel stirring in the deepest regions of his soul? Fuck restrictions. There is no template for pure expression. Songs needn’t be confined to just three minutes, if he feels like jamming for seven, eight, fifteen minutes, he would; he embraced that freedom. Brown understood where he came from, where he was going. He knew that he was free, no matter what society told him. He reached back and embraced his roots enlisting African rhythms into his already powerful Southern soul. He understood the entrancement of a deep electric bass line, he understood the bright accentuations that blaring brass horns provided. He championed his fellow black musicians, infusing their personalities into his music. He heard Jimi Hendrix’s intoxicating psychedelic blues and shared his penchant for epic electric guitar solos. He heard Otis Redding’s unprecedented soul scream and shared his vocal urgency. He heard Coltrane’s deafening tenor, Grant Green’s intricate guitar, Ornette Coleman’s early explorations into discordant sounds, Art Blakey’s perfectly timed groove. He heard the preaching of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and understood the need for a singular voice. He heard black America and he manifested it into what we now call funk. And great musicians like Sly Stone, George Clinton and Curtis Mayfield heard it too, and innately came to the same conclusion, but in styles each their own. Popular music would never be the same, and this new funk energy spread like wildfire from southeast America to Chicago to New York to L.A. to Africa to Europe to every corner of the Earth that had ears and a soul.

Music was never the same, and the world was never the same; and both were far better for it. Funk had an essential hand in the birth of everything from hip-hop to disco and was now a permanent staple in popular music and black culture. Today funk lives on in many different shapes and forms, but there is a specific niche that is moving forward by embracing its roots, just like Brown had done in the 60s. Sometimes dubbed ‘future-funk,’ the style stems obviously from the foundation eagerly set by George Clinton and later, Prince, but with the opportunity of being able to look back, especially on the now well established rap genre, with 20/20 retrospective vision. The style may contain some of the musical characteristics usually associated with rap and the more party-oriented funk, but definitely not its superficial qualities. Deeply introspective and observational, this new approach would be better called thunk than funk, which still retains the original connotations as being a slang word for ‘stink.’ And where is this music coming from? Well, all over thanks to our newly interconnected internet-oriented worldwide society, but more specifically, L.A.’s premier indie-hip-hop label, Stones Throw Records. DJ/producer Peanut Butter Wolf’s record company has been growing exponentially since the mid-90s thanks to its addictive and highly creative hip-hop and electro-funk output, and especially thanks to its most ambitious and extremely productive artist, Madlib. But last week, Stones Throw released two amazing records from two of their lesser known artists, new signee Georgia Anne Muldrow and soul singing oddball Dudley Perkins.

Stones Throw’s roster is as diverse as it comes, but they have been missing an essential component of any good ensemble, a strong-minded woman. Georgia Anne Muldrow’s future funk-soul sound fits so snuggly into the Stones Throw niche its eerie. Written, composed and produced solely by her lonesome, the debut EP, Worthnothings, is an emotional, multi-layered take on deep soul with a gritty hip-hop pulse that echoes back to free jazz and more specifically, Sun Ra vocalist June Tyson. Coming from a deeply musical family, her fathered invented instruments for Eddie Harris and her mother performed with experimental soul-jazz pioneer Pharoah Sanders, so its easy to decipher Muldrow’s influences, but her strongest characteristic seems to be the freshness she brings to the hip-hop/soul/funk genre. The EP, originally self-released in 2004, sounds simultaneously modern and classic, not to mention light-years ahead of what the now 22-year-old singer should sound like at her age. For the limited experience, she sounds abnormally mature and a bit jaded by the every day’s of life, which is reflected heavily by her poignant lyrics. With only one EP, Muldrow already seems to be distancing herself already from the forward-funk collective that’s groomed her (L.A.’s Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Detroit’s Platinum Pied Pipers), and I have a feeling that this is only the very beginning for the blooming songstress. She has that unteachable talent of being able to absorb and utilize her surroundings into her music without copping someone else’s style. You can easily hear her more successful contemporaries like Madlib and the late, great J Dilla within the EP, but it remains to be distinctively Muldrow. It seems unfair that Stones Throw is now not only the home to most creative male mind in modern hip-hop/soul/jazz/funk, Mad ‘there is no genre I can’t create’ lib, but also his possible female counterpart.

I don’t know if anyone was really predicting a significant amount of progression from Stones Throw’s warbling crooner Dudley Perkins; in fact, I’m pretty sure most people took his confusingly addictive debut album as Dudley (he also used to rap under the moniker Declaime), ‘A Lil’ Light,’ as nothing but humorous kitsch. But as his sophomore album Expressions (2012 A.U.) blatantly states, whether by Madlib’s A-game beats and production or Dudley’s progressive strides in songwriting, Mr. Perkins is a significant force all his own in modern funk-soul music. Carving an immensely individual path, Dudley pairs a truly distinctive voice with mischievous lyrics about his favorite subjects: weed, music, women and his god (whom, in the final track, he has a conversation with about his proud addiction to marijuana). While the album is solid as a whole, just the first few tracks are simply amazing in comparison to his sporadic debut. Madlib paints a colorful canvas of 70s funk and soul, while Dudley enlists his strongest assets to the nth degree, unconventional note-hanging and scatting with unparalleled adlibs and vocal layering. ‘Funky Dudley’ is the perfect introduction, as he repeatedly asks himself over Parliament funk, ‘how’d you get so funky, Dudley?’ ‘Testin’ Me’ with its instantly familiar piano loop may be the pinnacle Dudley Perkins track, simple, laid back and chock full of rhetorical questions and comments about the hardships of life and the pursuit of personal happiness. On ‘Inside,’ Dudley speak-sings deeply introspective observations about himself, and in turn reflecting his surrounding society and aptly concludes the song with ‘one day when you listen, you might be a better person.’ His debut definitely left questions about where he could go, if anywhere; ‘Expressions’ is a potent answer, but only really entices more questions about the possibilities of Dudley and his beloved music.

Georgia Anne Muldrow, Dudley Perkins and Stones Throw all share the same forward-thinking characteristic with the original pioneers of funk music. They are embracing rather than shedding all of their truly individual characteristics, just like James Brown did in the 60s. There is no limit to the possibilities for these creative minds, and with a growing audience, they will soon enough have a sturdy enough platform to support yet another musical revolution.

'Love' Songs

Savath & Savalas - Balcon Sin Flores - Apropa't (WARP 2004)


Aloha - You've Escaped - Here Comes Everyone (Polyvinyl 2004)


Ryan Adams - I See Monsters - Love is Hell Pt. 2 (Lost Highway 2003)


Lateduster - Shaker/Flicker - Easy Pieces (Merck 2004)





Today, riding home from work on the El, a girl sat down two seats ahead of me facing in the same direction. I never actually looked up from my book, but utilizing my cute girl sixth sense (an awareness I’m assuming most other guys also have), I instinctively knew she was there. My face remained buried in Hunter S. Thompson’s drug-induced prose, but my mind’s eye was focused on the back of this girl’s head. Before the train even left the station, she turned around and glanced in my direction. Was I the cause for that coy glance??? No way… she must’ve been looking at something behind me, maybe checking the station map or maybe there was a frisky bum scuffling around conspicuously. Doesn’t matter anyways, it’s not like I’m about to get up and take the seat next to her; courageously striking up an intriguing conversation that immediately sweeps her feet from their firmly planted position on the stained floor. Not to mention, Hunter’s lawyer was threatening him with a Gerber Mini-Mangum while sitting in a bathtub full of mysteriously green water hopped up on a head full of acid… I had more important matters to attend to.

Six stops later and a cunning escape by Thompson, my stop at Addison station was quickly approaching. Headphones set, music chosen, Collections of Colonies of Bees seemed appropriate for my current state of mind and the dreary, overcast day, it was time to strategically position myself for a quick escape from the train. It was a no-brainer to chose the door directly in the sight-path of my backwards-glancer, you know, just in case. I moved quickly from my seat to the door, strapping my backpack and slipping the flypod into my back pocket in one fluid motion. Now standing in front of the door, my eyes firmly planted on my feet (I really could use a new pair of shoes), I tried to decide what was the most non-chalant (sp?) way of sneaking a quick glance at my new lady friend. Wrigley Field now clearly in sight, and the station immediately approaching, I had to act quickly or it would be too late.

When I was in eighth grade, I had to get a physical to run track. I never really liked running at all, so why I was actually going out for the track team is still beyond me to this day, but nonetheless, I did it. Anyways, at my physical they discovered a light heart murmur; nothing serious, but my heart on occasion was beating irregularly, skipping the occasional beat. It didn’t keep me from running track (the broken foot I suffered after my second practice took care of that), but two lengthy doctor visits later, I now was very educated on the possible side effects of a heart murmur. Those side effects were the first thing that popped in my head when I glanced up at my mystery girl, because she was staring directly back at me with a coy smile planted firmly on her gorgeous face and my heart, without a single doubt in my mind, skipped a beat, if not fourteen. Being the person I am, my eyes were back on my feet within moments, and seconds later I was off the train heading for the stairs, daydreaming about running back o to the train to forever steal the lady’s heart away.

While walking the necessary 7 blocks back to my apartment, I pondered over the fluttery feeling that I couldn’t shake, and how a good ‘love’ song should produce that same sensation. I use quotation marks around ‘love’ because it’s a word I’m not too big on. Being in ‘love’ with somebody designates having a perfect relationship. While having this supposed perfect relationship would not only be incredibly boring, it is also impossible to achieve; two people can never make a complete subjective connection no matter how much time they spend together. So being in ‘love’ would denote an impossible perfection, which adds a tremendous amount of unneeded stress to try to retain this perfect state, while the two people should be just enjoying each other’s wonderful imperfections. But I digress; my goal here is to share four of my favorite ‘love’ songs, which more than likely are not even supposed to be ‘love’ songs but I’ve adopted that as my personal interpretation, that are now dedicated to my glancing mystery lady.

Savath & Savalas – Balcón Sin Flores
To me, foreign languages will always be leaps and bounds sexier than the English language. Maybe it’s the mystery of the meaning or the fluidity of the syllables, but either way, I find it incredibly sensual. Savath & Savalas is one of Guillermo Scott Herren’s many monikers, which also include Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Piano Overlord, La Correccíon and whatever he is stirring up this week. This is by far his most delicate project though, and for his second proper full-length under the alias, Apropa’t, he enlisted Catalan singer/songwriter Eva Puyuelo for vocals. Her sweeping and incredibly sexy voice is the perfect match to Herren’s downbeat melancholia meets Spanish folk music. I have absolutely no idea what Puyuelo is saying in the first half of the song, and I never wish to find out, but the real entrancement is during the latter half. The music all but goes silent right after the 1-minute mark, and then slowly broods into a wonderful soundscape of intertwining accordion, muted trumpet and cello (I believe). It is absolutely the sexiest song I have ever encountered.

Aloha – You’ve Escaped
Aloha’s fourth album, Here Comes Everyone, came along at about the same time I started dating this wonderfully intriguing girl. Every night that I drove to her house, I would play this song on repeat, and it became closely associated with that particular journey. Tony Cavallario and company have always created low-key and melodic songs, but with ‘You’ve Escaped,’ they really found their own sound. There is not really any significant difference as far as instrumentation is concerned, acoustic guitar, a light, unrepetitive bass line, simple piano riff, off-beat percussion, Cavallario’s ambiguous lyrics and their signature marimba/vibraphone presence, but it just seems like it all came together seamlessly. I really like the quivering sine wave they use to accentuate the chorus; it really adds that extra little bit that really individualizes the song. And to top it off, what may be Cavallario’s best lyric off any of their albums, ‘Do you see/out of the corner of your eye/that I’m standing by your side.’

Ryan Adams – I See Monsters
I’ve never really been a big Ryan Adams fan; in fact the only music of his I own, and really even listened to, is his two amazing Love is Hell EPs. The song, ‘I See Monsters,’ off the second EP, especially moves me. Musically, it’s incredibly simple, just a deeply resonant acoustic guitar, unassuming electric bass and occasional string swells. But what makes it stand apart are some of my favorite lyrics ever, especially the chorus, ‘when she calls/know that she’s the one/makes me want it harder/makes me want to be a little stronger/but still I see monsters.’ Maybe it’s the helplessness of the song that is so accessible, I’m not completely sure; but it’s without a doubt the best ‘all alone on a rainy night in the city song’ that exists to my knowledge.

Lateduster – Shaker/Flicker
Lateduster’s only album, 2004’s Easy Pieces, was sorely overlooked by most everybody in my opinion. Featuring members of Fog, Hymie’s Basement, Neotropic, Dosh and Sans Le Systeme, it’s no wonder how the group found it’s melodic and minimal post-rock sound. ‘Shaker/Flicker’ is an incredibly sexy instrumental song that is hard to define because it enlists so many different musical characteristics. The best definition I can come up with is quiet psychedelic post-rock, but that sounds very cold to me. Believe you me, if you are into any kind of deeply melodic instrumental music, you will absolutely love this album. It’s sensual and deeply textural sound makes it one of my favorite make-out albums of all time.

Runners Up:
Adem – Ringing in my Ear, Bear in Heaven – My Chair, anything by Al Green, Cee-Lo – Spend the Night in your Mind, Cursive – The Recluse, Four Tet - Unspoken, The Go Find – Summer Guest, Jim Guthrie – Lovers Do, Karate - Cacophony, Milosh – You Make Me Feel, n. Lannon – The Catch, TV on the Radio – Wear You Out

Funky Synthesizers

Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock - Watermelon Man - Head Hunters (Columbia 1973)


Les McCann - The Harlem Buck Dance Strut - Layers (Rhino 1972)


Yesterday's New Quintet - Sun Goddess - Angles Without Edges (Stones Throw 2001)





I'm not sure where my obsession with keyboards really started. Watching someone play the piano has had an entrancing effect on me for as long as I could remember. Maybe because I have never been able to master the instrument, hell, I've never even reached the novice level. Sure, I know the keys and the theory behind it, but as far as being able to play an actual song, I am hopeless. My hands seem to share the same frame of mind and refuse to move in seperate rhythms of one another; which also has been the downfall of my ficticious percussive career. While at USC, I recorded countless classical solo piano recitals which exposed me to the many possibilities of a musical mind paired with cooperating hands. Watching someone play a 20-minute composition from memory is absolutely mind-boggling to me, not to mention being able to create the harmonious and overlapping layers of sound that come from an echoing grand piano. As I dived further into jazz and funk, I found myself naturally attracted to the funkier keyboads and synthesizers like the Hammond B3, the Fender rhodes, the Hohner clavinet and even David Axelrod's repetitive use of the harpsichord. Today I own a slew of 3 and 4 dollar used records from Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack MacDuff, etc. just because I know that while they are far from the most groundbreaking albums you can find, they feature my favorite instrument and the music is always on point. Today I included three of my favorite funky synthesizer tracks, because on top of having all the attractive qualities of a keyboard, they also are able to create an infinite number of variations and manipulations of sound adding a whole other layer of color the artist is able paint with.

It is impossible to talk about synthesizers within jazz and funk without starting with Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, the best selling jazz album of all time at one point. By 1973, the 33-year-old Hancock was well revered in the jazz communities after blossoming under the likes of Donald Byrd and Miles Davis and had experience playing everything from avant-garde to modern classical on any instrument controlled by a keyboard. The studied engineer and tech-head was one of the earlier supporters of electronic synthesizers and realized the possibilities within them. Inspired from the funk of Sly Stone and Curtis Mayfield, he left his avant leanings aside and dove right into creating the all mighty groove. It goes without saying that he was abundantly successful and really helped catalyze the burgeoning soul-jazz and jazz-funk movements of the 70s. The track I included, 'Watermelon Man,' was written by Hancock more than 10 years before its inclusion on Head Hunters and appears with a very exotic, almost Brazilian tint to it.

For me, Les McCann is either hit or miss. Albums like Layers and Swiss Movement (recorded with Eddie Harris) are included among my personal all-time favorites, but a very large chunk of his discography to me comes off as straight cheese. I included a track from 'Layers' for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a truely groundbreaking album; not only was it the very first album to be recorded on 32 tracks, but it also features the newly conceived (at the time) ARP synthesizer and was one of the first jazz albums with a heavily electronic concentration. It's astounding to hear the harmonic layers produced by McCann's nearly one-man-show (hence the title), and the range of emotions he evokes throughout it's 45 minute duration. I chose the funkiest track because it fit my motif the best, but the album is as much jazz as funk and is really in my opinion a must have for jazz and funk fans alike.

Albums like 'Layers' and 'Head Hunters' are few and far between, if not completely extinct, but thankfully there are artists like Madlib (which include... well actually, mostly just Madlib) who are able to reach back to create fresh new music. Yesterday's New Quintet features Monk Hughes, Ahmad Miller, Joe McDurfey and Malik Flowers, all of which are seperate mental manifestations of Madlib himself. Angles Without Edges, the first full-length to appear under the YNQ moniker is a seemless blend of 70s era jazz-funk and modern day instrumental hip-hop. And if you ask me, it easily holds up to a lot of the original albums to pioneer jazz-funk the sound. There has yet to be a proper full-length follow-up of original YNQ songs (though another moniker, Sound Directions, is sometimes considered YNQ), but there is also an excellent YNQ homage to Stevie Wonder called 'Stevie,' released in 2004 (also a Monk Hughes & the Outer Realm ode to Weldon Irvine). Thanks to Madlib, wondeful music like this lives on and continues to evolve in a day where popular music has been worn down to redundant templates and shallow cliches (for the most part).

Minimalist Fusion

Collections of Colonies of Bees

Collections of Colonies of Bees - Fun - Customer (Polyvinyl 2004)



Fonica - Coda - Ripple (Tomlab 2003)




Miles Davis - John McLaughlin - Bitches Brew (Columbia 1969)





Minimalist music always seems to find its way into my personal heavy rotation. It's not that I don't enjoy more aggressive styles, but softer, more intricate music seems to find a deeper emotional level within me. There is also the notion that it is tougher to create, which is argueable, but the truth is anyone can make noise (though only a handful can do it well). Minimalist music comes in all shapes and sizes, from ambience to post-rock, but it all concentrates on manipulating tiny intricacies and snippits of sound into a sparse soundscape of emotive abundance. Today, labels like Leaf and Tomlab make a living on these moody atmospheres, and have formulated niches all their own within the style. For this post, I'm concentrating on the evolution of free jazz fusion from the late 60s to today.

The first track I selected is from Collections of Colonies of Bees, a side project of Chris Rosenau and Jon Mueller of instrumental post-rock group, Pele, fame. While I'm not familiar with their self-titled debut on U.K.'s The Rosewood Union label, their second full length, Customer, has repeatedly found its way into my heavy rotation. Originally recorded by a full band in the studio, Rosenau and Mueller used electronic manipulation to create 10 different versions of the same song. Repeatedly sliced, tweaked and reorganized, the music puts a strong emphasis on the relationship between space and time, along with acoustic and electronic. The notion that a piece of music can always be re-imagined and is never completely finished may be the underlying lesson here, and one that is sometimes lost in modern music. Customer was released on Polyvinyl Records (home to Pele), which is strange considering that they are most known for their highly addictive indie-pop (Mates of State, Aloha, Of Montreal).

The second track comes from a somewhat mysterious pair who call themselves Fonica. The japanese male-female duo of Keiichi Sugimoto and Cheason seem to have the same overall minimal aesthetic as C of C of B. I found a college-radio promotional copy of their album, Ripple, which is the only one that I am aware of, in the used bin of a record store, clearly tossed away by some clueless music director. I'm not sure what attracted it to me, but I was pleasantly suprised. Like Customer, it is a minimal blend of acoustic and electronic elements that seems crowded and sparse at the same time. Probably the result of clever mathmaticians, Ripple is an amazingly apt title seeing as each song seems to have one focal melody that transcends in any number of varities, each interweaving seemlessly with the next. The song I chose features oddly timed acoustic guitar strums that garnish more and more manipulation as the song progresses. Ripple was released on Tomlab Records, home to similarly creative artists like The Books, Final Fantasy and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.

I decided also to include a track from the album that is claimed to be the starting point for free jazz-rock fusion, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. I don't think that I really need to get into it that much, being as popular as it is, but it should be noted that it is somewhat responsible for opening the free jazz world to rock musicians and vice versa. Its easy to hear the influence of it even on just these two tracks. Named after the jazz guitar player featured on the infamous sessions, I chose 'John McLaughlin' simply for it being the shortest track. While there are many mixed reactions to Bitches Brew, it was clearly a revolutionary idea brought to masterfully to life by Miles Davis at his creative high.