Health - "Health"

Health - Crimewave (Lovepump United 2007)

Health - Health / Lovepump United

We were going to write about the new Liars record at one point, just like we were going to write about M.I.A. Honest we were. And it's not because they stand as Important in the broad scheme of indie schmaltz. It's because Liars are genuinely interesting at what they do, and their sound never stays the same; for M.I.A., the difference is in using ethnic instruments you otherwise never would've heard of.

But for one reason or another, the opportunity passed us by, and unless Michael decides he has it in him to give a dissertation on The Evolution of Angus, you won't be hearing anything from us about it. Instead, we thought we'd highlight yet another group coming out of The Smell scene in LA (although Health are more frequently found at Il Corral when in town). No Age, Silver Daggers, The Mae Shi, Mika Miko, Barr, you know the list. These like-minded outsiders have put together one of the most ceaselessly inventive rock scenes of the decade, and in the past year or so their finest have put out some really stellar records that we've covered occasionally here on Audiversity.

Health is next in line and the quartet have already been trumped for their split 7" with lauded Canadian duo Crystal Castles, which features the Italians-don't-necessarily-do-it-better no wave masterpiece "Glitter Pills." The self-titled debut on deck stands as one of the better outsider records of 2007. In keeping with both their kindred spirits in Toronto and in New York (or Berlin, or wherever the nomadic Liars are playing with Interpol tonight), Health demonstrates that it is possible to mix the unpretentious party atmosphere with avant-garde sensibilities for a brief but furious lesson in just not giving a fuck.

And with eleven songs on the ballot, there are plenty of opportunities for you to dive in. From the celestial wrath of opener "Heaven" to the thorny aggression of "Triceratops," you keep hearing sounds you swear you recognize - if it's not Crystal Castles (as "Glitter Pills" appropriately nods to), it's Health's mid-July tourmates in Aa (and you'll definitely hear that Amazonian no wave in "Crimewave" here with its big drums and demanding beat). Sure, there are Liars... But it's more like if Liars had been birthed in the past two years instead of in 2001 when we hadn't yet drowned because they were wrong. It's also more like if Black Dice had kept to their hardcore roots a little more instead of diving off the deep end of the beaches and canyons that paved the way for what they've mutated into.

In some ways it also brings to mind nu-rave and the busy sonic structures of the younger kids out of Britain, say a Hadouken! or somebody like that. I'm not sure Health would argue - having just returned from a visit over there, I doubt their brightly colored outfits and in-your-face analog style would have gone down poorly. But they're carving out their own niche (and I'm sorry I haven't done more justice to it here by namedropping everybody under the sun, but trust me when I say Health are well on their way to creating a distinctive sound of their own), bred on the streets of the fashion-dominated LA scene where a small but vibrant arts community is keeping alive the spirit of the new millennium: Party, but party with an informed sensibility of where you come from. Health seem to know where they've come from, but more importantly, their self-titled debut gives a good indication that they don't know where they're going. More than anything else on this lively but lightning-quick record, it's the thrill of meshing those sounds together that keeps it interesting. Young, fresh, brilliant and bullet-fast: Health have arrived.

Les Savy Fav - "Let's Stay Friends"

Les Savy Fav - Patty Lee (Frenchkiss 2007)

Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends / Frenchkiss

Guitars. Yes, guitars. A good guitar band is hard to find, right? Especially one that's been around for ages. Les Savy Fav know. They've been around since forming at RISD in '95. If that feels like the Bronze Age, think about how long it's been since we last saw actual new material from these guys (proverbially, natch). Go Forth? I mean, people were still thinking New York was the next big thing in those days. Remember when everyone was comparing bands to Les Savy Fav a few years ago? Now people are comparing Les Savy Fav to bands that have been formed in the interim. If that doesn't say it all, The Bravery have had an entire career arc in the time it's taken Les Savy Fav to put out something more than a comp with "The Sweat Descends" on it.

So what is it about Les Savy Fav that has given them the staying power to keep themselves in the media mix? Part of it can be attributed to Inches doing so well and the fact that Pitchfork loves them and the fact that Tim Harrington is a maniac and the fact that their live shows are still unparalleled and the fact that Frenchkiss is still a reliable label after all these years. But maybe it's time to confirm what their fans have been proffering for years: That Les Savy Fav are simply a band built on a foundation of deceptively good rock songs. If Inches wasn't enough for you (like it and the 3/5 reissue last year weren't for me), then let me say that the tides have finally, finally turned. Let's Stay Friends? Deadly, squire.

For a long time it was suspected this band was just a joke, albeit an elaborate and intimately scene-devoted one. But the quality of the music here is better than they've ever produced. The pre-Let's Stay Friends Les Savy Fav was unhinged, chaotic and occasionally melodic; erratic but brilliant; sometimes deadly, sometimes dudly. I never felt that was the case with this record. Strong across the board (and they even have the ballad "Comes & Goes," one of the most affecting tunes out this year), this album deserves to be on some year-end best-of lists when all is said and done.

And it's not just the restraint that Harrington is showing with his vocals. He can be crazy on the mic, loud and aggressive (as on "The Equestrian"). We always knew he was a sharp lyricist, and he's no duller for having stayed in the drawer for so long. But the quality and quantity of his vocal work, that's just as much the revelation as Seth Jabour's guitartistry. The exercised breathers you get in tracks like "Scotchguard the Credit Card" are spectacular. I mean, even here on "Patty Lee," you see what I mean? He's not dumping sweat all over the kids on record, which can only mean that when they play it live the kids are all the more surprised.

It's a measured recording, more melodic and to-the-point than ever before. It is, to be more blunt, Les Savy Fav's own The New Romance. Phil Ek didn't man the boards on this album - Chris Zane did - but that ringing guitar sound will no doubt remind you of "All Medicated Geniuses" or "This is Our Emergency." Maybe this is the album Pretty Girls Make Graves would've made had Nathan Thelen not quit and everything gone to hell thereafter. The difference comes with some outside assistance: Eleanor Friedberger sings a duet with Harrington. Unicorns alumnus and current Islands member Nicholas Thorburn helps sing. Enon is in the mix somewhere. Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live?) plays drums on "Pots & Pans" and "Patty Lee." Metric's Emily Haines plays piano. Modest Mouse/Black Heart Procession guy Joe Plummer drums. There's a lot going on here, as you can see.

But that's not a bad thing. In fact, it helps Les Savy Fav sound more complete, more fluid, more mature than ever before. Horns on "The Lowest Bitter." I know indie-rock types can be suckers for horns, but hearing it give this album just a touch of color at the last gasp is a masterstroke and one that duly deserves recognition. It's exactly the masterstroke that exemplifies the whole reason this band made this record: They were unwilling to give up.

"It's a resolution to defy the forces which wear away at our innocence and enthusiasm." There's no doubt that the innocence and enthusiasm of the group that first got them noticed with Rome (Written Upside Down) is still there. But it's tempered by the underlying factor that drives the very forces they seek to defy: age. Les Savy Fav are one of the smartest bands in music, and with Let's Stay Friends they've married the consistent with the inconsistent to produce their most fully realized release yet. Descending sweat never felt better.

Supermayer - "Save the World"

Supermayer - Please Sunshine (Kompakt 2007)

Supermayer(?) - Save the World / Kompakt

It would be easy to set this review up as the collaboration between two of electro's most nimble minds in two of Kompakt's brightest talents, Aksel Schaufler aka Superpitcher and Michael Mayer, brought together under the umbrella of, um, saving the world. But from what? The Field for one proved earlier this year that it certainly wasn't bad techno we were being saved from as there's already a healthy crop of good stuff already out there. No, Supermayer is more the collaboration between two of electro's most nimble minds brought together under the umbrella of a loose aural narrative better explained by the remarkable booklet that accompanies the gatefold vinyl as well as the plastic.

The big story here, then, is not that Schaufler and Mayer have brought more amazing electronic music into this world, but that these two masters have been one-upped by the visual accompaniment. The duo emblazoned on the cover is given a plot to follow by this dudette Kat Menschik. Menschik's stunning work here is the fruit of years of cultivating her art.

My German is pretty rusty (It's been several years since I've used it), but here's her background as best I can read: Though she was always fond of the visual aspects of books, East Berlin didn't really have any creative outlets for her as a child. It wasn't until the mid-90s that she really plugged in with her talent. As a design and communications student studying "abroad" in Paris in 1995 (In those days, they still used francs and marks), she got hooked on this fanzine called Spunk; it is unclear if that is the same Australian-based Spunk that has now blossomed into a record label, but I can't find evidence of a Paris-based Spunk so I'm guessing it is. A year later she was working in a comic publishing house called Millions, and since 2000 has been freelancing out of Berlin. Her work has been seen in Germany through Daily Kat and "Frankfurter Allgemeine."

The technique starts with a frame that is drawn with a feather spring and india ink on paper, then scanned. There, the white spaces are filled in with color electronically. This comicbook style is incredibly effective when it comes to narrating a plot where Supermayer try to save the world. With its execution, it's hard to imagine anything else going together.

And the songs. It's almost a foregone conclusion to say that Schaufler and Mayer bring their best to the table, but for the sake of saying so, these two are on form here. "Hey!" leaves you a little leery as it functions solely as an intro (As Soul Seduction said, "Who needs a techno Tommy?"), but "The Art of Letting Go" is more in tune with the rest of the album. "Let's get to it / Relax / Let me go" they sing over handclaps, strummed bass and plucked guitar. And there, about midway through, Schaufler and Mayer hear the audience's cries for "more cowbell." Yes, they have a cowbell.

Horns also dot the landscape of Supermayer's Save the World. Daintily at first, then more so as trumpet intrudes. There's saxophone prominently in the mix of some places ("The Lonesome King"). There's melodica. There's flute. There's the minimalist bangers you're expecting ("Saturndays" in particular is worth checking out). And "Please Sunshine," featured here, is a swank astrological burner, piano-driven for that extra touch of humanity.

In fact, that's one of the greatest bits about Save the World. It's not afraid to brashly mix the organic with the electronic and, in keeping with other great records this year that were willing to do the same thing (Matthew Dear's Asa Breed is probably the closest contemporary I can think of), Schaufler and Mayer have delivered the goods in a record that wasn't necessarily one of the most highly anticipated of the year, but which certainly delivers tenfold on the hype. If Kompakt is your kind of label, you won't be disappointed. If electronic isn't your thing, maybe this can go some way toward keeping you interested.

Baja - "Aloha Ahab"

Baja - A River Splits Love and Spits Out Bones (Arctic Rodeo 2007)

Baja – Aloha Ahab / Arctic Rodeo

As much as I hate to say it, the most refreshing music is near always poured from unexpected sources. Listening to music you have heard time and time again by your utmost favorite artists is more giving in to your comfort zone than trying to revitalize your ears. For me at least, to truly replenish those weary, jaded eardrums, and really reinvigorate my interest in the entire medium of sound manipulation, I have to explore completely unknown territory, listen to an artist I know absolutely nothing about or just blindly start pulling music from the shelf. Thankfully, working in the music department of the independent radio business presents me with multiple bins of unknown sounds on a weekly basis, almost to an annoying degree at times. But unearthing that one mysterious gem from the mound of manila madness makes the entire process completely worth it every time. That inspired jubilation is exactly what happened when I stumbled upon the German sound designer Daniel Vujanic last January and his two-sided debut on the wrongfully unheralded Belgian label Stilll Records. Maps/Systemalheur consisted of seventy minutes of melodic excursions throughout a series of touchstones in experimental folk, post-rock, jazz and electronica broken into two separate parts: forty minutes of cut-and-paste experimental prog-folk followed by a half-hour of jazzy post-rock. Granted Vujanic wasn’t tapping into any particular sound that had not been tweaked before, but he had a refreshing approach to the music that very much reminded me of the reason we are continuously digging so whole-heartedly for new music.

When I got an email from Daniel a few weeks back letting me know he was shipping me his sophomore effort, I was both excited and impressed; two albums in only six months apart? Nice. Maybe we’ll have to start dropping the prolific tag with his name. And even better, when his second full-length of 2007, Aloha Ahab, finally made its way stateside and started spinning in my CD player, it sounded nothing like his previous release. Instead of the swirling tunnel of pieced together chamber music that made up Maps/Systemalheur, Aloha Ahab is a soothing ray of melodic sunshine pop more interested in swooning than spurring challenges. Don’t get me wrong though, if this album proves anything, it is that Vujanic is an ambitious sound designer above all else. Because surrounding the lulling hooks and delicate melodic interplay are continuously shifting song structures, heavily manipulated instrumentation and interweaving found sounds (which according to the liner notes were captured throughout Pula, Copenhagen, Venezia, Prijedor, Bayonne, Stuttgart, Berlin, Cabarete and Kuala Lumpur). This is rippling, stuttering pop music with as much emphasis on plucking your desire for easily accessible melodies as it places on surrounding them with as much accentuating musical quirks as possible.

The most surprising new characteristic of Aloha Ahab is that Vujanic has found his voice, which was completely absent from his previous release. Unassuming and comforting, the vocals help create more of a storybook narrative to accompany the pleasant interlacing tones. I am personally a bit partial to the instrumental tracks, but when he starts manipulating the vocals in the same manner as he does the instrumentation, I believe the combination excels. For example, “From Slogan to Spectacle” features both Vujanic and his wife/sister(?) Mariana trading simple lines that become increasingly interweaved in between near schizophrenic ambient conversation, or during “European Pillows” where the soft-spoken lyrics ever so slightly stutter beneath lush acoustic guitar melodies increasingly being manipulated by echo and vocoder like effects. And most surprisingly, Tim Kinsella of Joan of Arc/Make Believe/Cap’n Jazz/Owls fame shows up for an extremely brief vocal interlude during the shimmering two-minute piece “Gibraltar Sequence.” I wonder what the story is behind that collaboration. The instrumental numbers are my personal go-to points though, like “A River Splits Love and Spits Out Bones” (which in all honesty features a guitar part that would not at all be out of place in a Joan of Arc song), which blossoms with dueling clarinets, horns and sparse electronic twinges, or “Waterthreads,” which utilizes a ridiculous amount of instrumentation continuously passing off the melody for a song clocking in less than three minutes.

Aloha Ahab is sequenced perfectly between the instrumental and vocal-led numbers with only two songs actually surpassing the four-minute mark, which is another striking difference between this sophomore effort and the sprawling Maps/Systemalheur. And to be completely honest, I was slightly taken aback with my first impression of the complete package between the album’s near-Chill Out artwork and the opening indie-pop track. But in the end, Vujanic won out, and I was once again very impressed by his output, perhaps to an even higher degree now that I know he is more than a one-trick pony. And get this! I got another email from Daniel this morning saying he just wrapped his third album of the year(!), not to mention he described it as “Scandinavian blackmetaltronica.” Whoa. The man is prolific. You better believe I’ll be checking that one out on the wonderful day it arrives in my mailbox, though I might have to pass it off to Dave to actually review.

X:144 - "Scribble Jam Battle Beats"

X:144 - Last Sample Rounder (Nonsense 2007)

X:144 - Scribble Jam Battle Beats / Nonsense

You know what happens when we assume, so here's a little about Scribble Jam for the uninitiated. Held in Cincinnati every year since 1992, the festival attracts thousands of people annually to see the best and brightest mix with the up-and-coming hip-hop stars. Famous acts who've graduated or passed through the Scribble ranks include Slug, Murs, Sage Francis, Blueprint, and arguably the greatest freestyle battle ever in 1997 between MC Juice and some kid named Eminem. I'm personally entertained by this one between Justice and Thesaurus (2006)... And of course, everybody knows this guy. So you see, Scribble Jam sets the stage for not just the best masters of ceremony but some of the finest turntablists on the planet as well. DJs and MCs alike flock to Ohio every year to see who's packing the sonic heat.

This year, the organizers introduced something new. In addition to competitions on the deck and the mic, Scribble Jam included a Production Battle Championship. The man behind production company Transparent Dark is an MC who's been working hard out of Orlando, Florida to make a name for himself. X:144 first came to national prominence last year with a critically lauded but quiet debut partnering up with Berlin-based scratcher SPS. M.E. was easily one of my favorite hip-hop records of the year, and not just because of X's lyrical dexterity. The beats were incredible, fusing jazz together with rap together with dance together with crate-digging funk. It was sadly ignored on a lot of year-end lists, but it's good to see that he hasn't given up the ghost in O-Town. If anything, this six-song set showing how he progressed through each round at Scribble Jam is a reminder that X:144 is not just a sharp MC but easily one of the best producers out there.

It's not like he was coming in to the competition as an unknown quantity. X has competed in and won DMC's South Eastern and Regional Championships as well as Orlando Music Awards' best hip-hop solo and producer of the year awards. He's got some bling for the shelf, but Scribble Jam is one for the well-lit trophy case.

Here's how it works: Two weeks before the competition, each producer is sent an acapella of Brother Ali's "Pedigree." With only 14 of the original 32 contestants showing, the elimination round was skipped and it was on to the remix. That's the first round and it's featured here, a reworking that duly won him the acclaim and support enough to carry him through to the next round. The sample and remarkable live rounds follow, the latter a totally off-the-cuff recording that is possibly one of the best on this short-player. Busta Rhymes' "Woo Ha!" is included here towards the end with muted, retro bleeps and bloops providing further entertainment.

The final round, the main stage, is where the magic happens. "Four crates of records, two producers, and sixty minutes to make history." That's the "Last Sample Rounder" here, a cut-up mixture that he actually didn't get to play all of because the judges cut him short by 20 seconds. Nevermind as it didn't matter. Good enough to win, X:144 had already made history by the time his kill was supposed to come.

For the average hip-hop fan, listening to what basically amounts to an EP might not engage you from a lyrical standpoint. But check out his recount on the Numark website and you can almost feel the excitement and the pressure of being on that stage, of digging for the right beats at just the right times. This is the thrill of being in one of the most competitive atmospheres in all music (Take that, "Rock of Love"). X:144 has flown below the radar up to this point, but it is my sincere hope that a Scribble Jam title will aid in vaulting him to the national pantheon of underground hip-hop's elite. Someday, maybe we'll be able to look back on this and say, oh yeah, Scribble Jam? That was just another stopgap to greatness.

Redhooker - "The Future According to Yesterday"

Redhooker - Twelve Times Goodbye (Soft Landing 2007)

Redhooker - The Future According to Yesterday / Soft Landing

A few weeks ago we featured a record here on Audiversity by Brooklyn group Slow Six. Its gentle mixing of post-rock and classical was well executed and our enjoyment of the record did not go unnoticed: Just one week after that, the group's guitarist Stephen Griesgraber got in touch with me about an album of his own that he was in the process of putting out. As my ongoing personal sagas with trying to move to Chicago continue to get in the way of the important things (like, y'know, blogging), Redhooker's The Future According to Yesterday is very much a record I'll be needing for today as much as for the past or the future.

Some facts: The Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn is the home of "Crazy Joe" Gallo, Kentler International Drawing Space, and Charley Goldman. It's also the setting for H.P. Lovecraft's "The Horror at Red Hook" and Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge." A public high school principal was once killed in the crossfire of a drug-related shooting while looking for a kid who'd taken off from the school. It's the only part of New York City that has a full view of The Statue of Liberty from land.

I spend a paragraph telling you this because I feel that as the inspiration for the quartet's name, a great deal of the neighborhood informs this album (despite the fact that it was recorded in a vacated law office in downtown Manhattan). Griesgraber says as much, too. "The stark contrast of these two environments yields a four-piece program that is spacious but dark, dense yet fluid, cautious while extreme." I don't know about that last bit when it comes to the music, but there's no doubt in the space, darkness and fluidity of this album.

Its density is as good a place as any to start, though. An argument could be made that these songs aren't dense; there is no percussion and the instruments (limited mostly to the violin, clarinet, Rhodes piano, and guitar) are all about as far from the climax to "My Father, My King" as you can get. Its density instead comes from the amount of notes packed into each line of music, the interplay between Griesgraber and his colleagues as evidenced by the opener, "Sometimes She Speaks Gently."

If you think it sounds a lot like Nor'easter, you're not far off. Violinist Maxim Moston and clarinetist Peter Hess are both members of Slow Six. But Redhooker is like a pop version of Slow Six. The songs are a little more succinct, they're not quite as minimalist, and hooks (for whatever pun that's worth) are occasionally identifiable.

And this is one of the more interesting things for me, to listen to this and describe it as a more "pop" Slow Six. I don't know if that's the right word, but it is more immediately accessible. Someone can turn on Redhooker and understand right away what is happening with "Animus." Slow Six requires a little more time, a little more patience, and an altogether different approach. They are not the same beasts. Think of Redhooker as a less band-ish Tortoise or Hylozoists. Chamber music released into a cold, rainy sunset at Prospect Park.

Griesgraber and his cohorts do a lot with a little on the opening three tracks. But he saves the best for the longest and last with "Twelve Times Goodbye." "Animus" is pretty great, but it's like the abridged version of "Twelve Times Goodbye." This is a slow-burning near-nine-minute epic, brilliantly building tension and setting a somber mood straight from the moment the Rhodes kicks in over the strings that have bled in from "Sunday Silence." Like Slow Six, Griesgraber is using technology to his benefit too: In this case, it's Max/MSP, another real-time audio editing program most famously used by Autechre and not unlike the Audiomulch Erdem Helvacioğlu used to great effect on Altered Realities. The great relief is that, also like Slow Six, it does not distract from the superlative arrangements and interaction of the players. You hardly notice it happening at all, in fact.

There are still some people who think that, going into a review of something even vaguely classical, a guitar is some kind of shock or an instrument that should sound out of place. Griesgraber is exactly the guy you want to talk to about what should and should not belong in music, because he's demonstrating with Redhooker that anything can belong when played effectively. It's not a revolution, it's not an albatross, it's not to be ignored. Hear what the annoying intellectual at work who's been listening to way too much NPR is fawning about; hopefully this review will go some way toward helping you understand why it's so good on your own terms.

The Dirty Projectors - "Rise Above"

The Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Dead Oceans 2007)

The Dirty Projectors - Rise Above / Dead Oceans

When I saw The Dirty Projectors play with Hella last November, the name was familiar thanks to their recent signing with Dead Oceans and I had heard a song or two from their LP The Getty Address. The performance was solid and I thanked them for playing, but an innocent chat and brief handshake did not transmit anything special. Maybe Dave Longstreth had no idea where he was going to go next at that point, or maybe Rise Above was already fully formed in his head. Whatever the timing, no one beyond maybe Longstreth himself could've anticipated the palpable excitement and widespread curiosity that's been simmering in lieu of the announcement that Longstreth had attempted to record Black Flag's Damaged from memory. On the other hand, this is a dude who has seen musical inspiration in finches. The point: One of the most intriguing efforts of the year is here. So what do we make of it?

"What I See" is the start of a long, strange journey. In fact, at 45 minutes, it is nearly ten minutes longer than the source material. When you have a track like "Spray Paint (The Walls)" at about four times the length of the original, the explanation for these albums being so close together is that Longstreth simply forgot "T.V. Party," "Damaged I," "Damaged II," "Padded Cell," and "Life Of Pain." That said, there is a bonus untitled song at the end nearly four minutes in length. It doesn't feel out of place among the, er, "covers."

Interpretations is a better way of putting it, actually. It's really interesting to hear how a guy whose favorite instruments are the piccolo and the double bass can go back in his memory bank and try to produce listenable arrangements for an audience more in tune with The Arcade Fire and Bishop Allen than The Minutemen and Saccharine Trust. A very different experience altogether, so much so that comparing these songs to the source material is spiritual and nominal at best.

Instead, The Dirty Projectors' Rise Above must be judged on its own merit. One of the reasons this album sounds better than any other this band has put out has very little to do with Black Flag and everything to do with a steadying line-up. Longstreth is the only constant in the band's history, but now with touring hands Angel Deradoorian (It's Armenian, and she's not actually credited on the record), Amber Coffman and Brian McOmber, Dave has with him a competent group of young musicians looking to stake their claim on the freshly laid turf of Dead Oceans.

They're demonstrating it best on songs where the vocals (always one of the best parts of a Dirty Projectors record) can shine. Blast beats and windmills? Go play somewhere else. We're talking one-one-one-one-ones and Yellow Houses. This means "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie," and the undulating "Depression," and the orchestral manipulations of "No More." Speaking of Grizzly Bear, fellow Brooklynite and suspenders aficionado Chris Taylor lends his production skills to great effect here. He's able to let Longstreth's wandering vocals and the girls' backup complement the music without letting one or the other dominate. Polished? Let's just say Taylor sounds like he nailed what the band was going for.

It's always nice to imagine that a band like The Dirty Projectors, who have never sounded like Black Flag and carry with them a very different audience from the inspiration to this record, have the potential not only to reach out to kids with the four bars tattooed on their arms, but enlighten their own on another History, a History where Damaged leads to Incesticide leads to Siamese Dream leads to Ships and back again; maybe there's something to that title, then. Rise Above is the sound of convergence in the 21st century, the sound of one man's musical evolution turning around on itself and doing a self-assessment. Imagining a world where everyone understands that growing beyond Black Flag doesn't mean having to stop loving them might be naive, but Rise Above is as convincing an argument as you're likely to find.

Madlib - "Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4: In India"

Madlib - Indian Hump (Stones Throw 2007)

Madlib – Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4: In India / Stones Throw

I pretty much splurged all of my love and appreciation for Otis Jackson, Jr. during my Yesterday’s Universe review, so retreading that territory seems somewhat unnecessary. If you did not read it yourself (or don’t care to), then a brief summation of the article can be wrapped up in pretty much four words: I fucking love Madlib. Thanks to being exposed to his exceptionally wide array of influences and source material, my own tastes have been significantly widened. And really, for the entire crate-digging appreciation society, he has basically become that friend who comes over to hang out for a chill listening session and spends the entire time controlling the tunes. “Yea, that’s pretty cool, but have you heard this!” … “Oh not bad, not bad, but wait wait, check this out, this shit will blow your mind.” You want to hold your own, but that shit did blow your mind, and you are left to just accept that fact that there is no way you are going to one-up a man who has spent his life digging for music. Thankfully though, this dude is cool, and he is not snobby with his knowledge, but would rather share it by any means necessary. There is no established absolute good or bad when it comes to the quality of music, it’s all personal opinions that can only be classed in a hierarchy by ranking the amount of exposure one has had to the exceptionally large amount of music out there. Basically, the more you have listened to should translate to surer, more knowledgeable opinions on the subject. Madlib has proven time and again over the last decade that he has been exposed to an unreasonable amount of sounds, so when he has got something to share, you have no other choice but to listen and be amazed.

Jackson returns… well not really returns, Yesterday’s Universe was released not even two months ago… Jackson continues his string of 2007 releases by revisiting the Beat Konducta series. First established with 2005’s vinyl only release, Volume 1: Movie Scenes, the Beat Konducta moniker was an outlet for Jackson to return to… well beat conducting… by utilizing one particular range of source material and concocting brief instrumental loops out of them. Volumes 1 and 2, compiled together for a CD release, intricately explored 70s soul samples, pieced creatively together in two minute outbursts of funky breaks and seemingly stewed into a soundtrack all its own. Volume 3 of the series just dropped a few weeks back on wax, and features Jackson on a trip to India, scrounging old Bollywood films for the colorful music of the late 70s and early 80s in the South Asian country. Very much akin to the recently started Bombay Connection series, which explores the same source material but presents it its unedited glory, Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4: In India spins the energetic action soundtracks into thirty-four compact Madlib ditties, each exceptionally intriguing for both their origins and the manner that they were flipped.

Sometimes words just don’t do the same justice as actual visuals, so I want to present you with the trailer (how amazingly appropriate) compiled and edited by James Reitano for the album:



If you need any more motivation than that, then my friend, you are on your own, because there is not a damn thing I can say to top it. As you can hear from the music, Madlib extracts the finest of samples and masterfully flips them, both giving minute attention to the percussive and melodic side of the track. Though I am not sure exactly how much, if any, accentuating drum machine was used to give that extra thump to each song, but tracks like “OnThatNewThing” and “The Rumble” definitely bounce on original drum samples, which chug with near tribal inflection and jubilant celebration. On the opposite side, examples like “Indian Hump” or “Smoke Circle” definitely sound MPC-driven, though it is impossible to tell whether the percussive sounds are sampled and sequenced from the same source material or from elsewhere. Either way, the samples making up the melody are enough justification for flipping and easily carry each track, the former riding a decisive piano loop and a climactic, fuzzed-out string sample and the latter utilizing dramatically stuttering action-sequence string flourishes and rattlesnake hand percussion. Though the majority of the material is minutely chopped and reassembled, you can still almost tell the cinematic settings they are stemming from. For example, “Raw Tranquility Pt. 3” definitely accompanies a more somber sequence on screen, while “The Rumble” has to be soundtracking some eerie stranglehold for the film’s protagonist. This is why Madlib is so potent in this setting; yes, each track may average at only a minute-and-a-half and the album strings along for an hour, but if the sheer creativity of the sample flipping is not enough for you, the music carries enough of a narrative to keep your undivided attention throughout.

Like Vol. 1-2, Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4: In India is a hell of a cinematic journey, pimped and primed especially for hazy, late night car rides or as wonderful thematic party-accompanying music. It can comfortably sit in the background adding constant intrigue to a setting’s ambiance, or can act as the center of your ear’s attention, aiding inquisitive thoughts on the origins of the source material or the fascination of how it was reassembled. It is not easy crafting lengthy instrumental beat-oriented music as the focal point of an album, just ask all of the contenders to Dilla’s sequencing throne, but if there was ever a name to blindly depend on, it is most definitely Otis Jackson, Jr. Madlib once again delivers the goods, and we get to bask in its searing, wonderfully exotic Indian sun.

Devotion #3

I hate everything. But it’s not hate in the customary sense. It’s hate in the musical sense. And it’s not even “hate,” but more like a feeling of apathy towards much of what other people consider to be good music. Unfortunately, if you don’t like something nowadays – or just don’t have an opinion either way – you’re branded a “hater,” which really puts a music critic in a tough spot. In fact, we might as well stop using the words “music critic” and refer to ourselves as “music haters,” because by these new rules, that’s what most of us are.

Personally, I’m learning not to put the blame entirely on the artists and their work. It’s often a matter of my own musical maturity and changing tastes. I can’t be expected to like the same things at 22 as I did at 12 or the same things at 32 as I did at 22. The music isn’t the same, the business models aren’t the same, and I’m definitely not the same. So I always try and look at the glass as half full. If your music stinks, I’m at least going to try and understand why your music stinks. It’s only fair.

And a lot of the time, I’m not the only crooked eye in the crowd. Your music really does stink.

In the end, to paraphrase a disco classic: I don’t want to be a hater but I just can’t help myself. More often than not, it’s justified.

With that being said, here are two songs that I absolutely love right now…











Eugene Blacknell – “I’m So Thankful” – We Can’t Take Life For Granted (Luv N’ Haight 2007)










Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra – “Hey Ya!” – Hits The Hits (Ubiquity 2007)

Which makes today Luv N’ Haight/Ubiquity day. This cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” is a must-hear collaboration with renowned pianist Mick Talbot (Style Council, Dexy’s Midnight Runners) that “sounds like vintage Ramsey Lewis,” according to the label. It’s an accurate description, but what Ubiquity fails to mention is the harmonica that colors the track in place of the chorus vocals, which makes this an off- but still on-beat rendition and a rave-up of the highest order. Somewhere, Magic Dick is smiling.

For a long time, all that most people knew about the late Eugene Blacknell was this retarded open break in the intro to his “Gettin’ Down” single. Thanks to Ubiquity, however, it’s time for the Oakland guitar master to be known to the world. I can’t say enough about Blacknell and his work. He was an activist, business pioneer, and a prodigy as a musician, becoming the youngest Bay Area artist to play the legendary Apollo Theater in New York. Throughout his almost 30-year career, his style ran the gamut of popular black music – from prototype R&B and funk to sleek ‘70s soul and disco – and by all accounts, he was just as wonderful a person as he was a performer.

We Can’t Take Life For Granted is Blacknell’s painfully overdue official debut. And remember, I don’t like anything. But this album hit me like a Joe Louis left hook, and so did this YouTubage.














Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings – “Nobody’s Baby” – 100 Days, 100 Nights (Daptone 2007)

I recently wrote a review of the new album from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights, and promised Jones that I wouldn’t mention the name of the Dap-Kings “other” lead singer anywhere in it. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to mention Amy Winehouse here. It’s funny how things work out. Almost a year or so ago, I was talking to a colleague who works closely with Daptone Records about the effect that this most recent British invasion was having on Jones, who had been down with the Dap-Kings since day one. It seemed as if it had taken Winehouse just months to achieve what Jones and her boys had been chasing for the past ten years. There were awards, tours, platinum albums, magazine covers, and Late Show with David Letterman appearances, all the while Miss Sharon sat on the sidelines, watching.

Now, the tide has turned a bit. As Winehouse deals with problems of a personal nature, Jones and the Dap-Kings are back on track with an upcoming Rolling Stone feature, some MTV love, 100 Days, 100 Nights set for release in October, and a world tour to follow, including a night at the Apollo on October 6. In the end, the Amy Winehouse phenomenon turned out to be a blessing in disguise for everyone involved but Amy Winehouse.

I talked to Jones recently, and it was interesting to hear her take on the situation and how the “competition” between the two is being played up in the media.

“People compare me to some singers that I’ve never even heard – blues singers, R&B singers – but Amy, that’s a child. She’s just 23 years old. I’m old enough to be her mother. I ain’t got no time to be playing around. And don’t compare me to no child. What’s wrong with you? She’s just a baby, and I think the record label and the guys managing her are taking her through that. And the poor thing is out here with the drinking and drug thing. I pray for her… I pray that she gets to be my age.”

Altered Beast - "Demo"

Altered Beast - Morbid Collection & Computer Generated Bullshit (Self-released 2006)

Altered Beast - Demo / Self-released

Yes, a demo. Yes, they still exist. Yes, they're awesome.

Way back before the Internet, self-made tapes were the release of choice for bands that couldn't afford a 7" or later, CDs. A number of these tapes are still quite collectable, and a number of bands still stick to the release-a-demo-before-you-actually-release-something mindset. Unfortunately, only a strong few are sticking to the cassette-tape format, and one of the few faults I can find with Chicago-area Altered Beast's demo that it's begging to be released on a cassette instead of a CD, but what are you gonna' do? Formed as a side project by the drummer and vocalist (Aaron and Josh, respectively) of local grindcore band Tower of Rome, Altered Beast is to powerviolence and grindcore what House of 1000 Corpses is to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: pure, serious tribute created not with the intention of a nudge and a wink, but with the idea of carrying the goddamn torch for those who miss the old days. The 12 songs on this demo only add up to about six-and-a-half minutes of music total (that's not a typing error), but what a six minutes they are.

Grounded in the style of powerviolence-superstars Spazz, as well as lesser-known bands like Crossed Out, Despise You, and Lack of Interest, Altered Beast do the dual-vocalist thing (one screamy, one more throaty), the no-bass-guitar-on-the-recording thing (though the bassist from Tower of Rome now seems to be part of the live show), and the now-I'm-thrashing-now-I'm-blasting-now-I'm-breaking-it-down song-structure thing with glorious results.

The topics of the songs are true to typical '90s-hardcore themes: songs about friends ("Jay Who Corrupts"), beer ("Cold Style"), slasher flicks ("Voorhees Rage"), and people they don't like ("Sick Mosh Brah"), Altered Beast are clearly having fun, but it's obvious that these topics are near and dear to their hearts, otherwise they'd just find something else to write about.

Though the music may have not taken the longest time to write (as the longest track clocks in at 1:33 . . . also the only song over one minute), the lyrics very clearly had time spent on them. Either that, or Aaron and Josh are just lyrical geniuses, because lines like "Habitual line stepper / wrongful shit talker / turn your ass / into a shallow-grave inhabiter" are just brilliant, even if the "habitual line stepper" part was stolen from Chappelle's Show, and "inhabiter" doesn’t sound like a real word (it is, though), you not only know exactly what they're talking about, but it's fucking funny in the process. Clearly, someone's unnecessarily talking shit, and they're going to pay sooner rather than later.

Next up on the praise list for this amazing release is the packaging. A CD-R housed in a paper sleeve (which itself is a mini-poster), the disc also comes packaged with a bigger, fold-out poster, a button, and the whole thing is kept together in a sandwich bag. Brilliant. The liner notes are sure to remind us that everything was recorded in one take ("fuck ups intact"), and there's also a photocopied picture of Aaron with Gunnar Hansen, AKA the original Leatherface.

OK . . . so this demo is technically almost a year old at this point, but Altered Beast has been much more active lately with the hibernation of Tower of Rome, and this demo finally landed in my hands after a refusal to just have the songs emailed to me. Clearly, with the packaging, this is well-worth seeking out and will only run you a cool $3 (well-hidden cash only) to the address below. Just fucking go, already!

Altered Beast
c/o Aaron Gutierrez
15601 Orchid Drive
South Holland, IL 60473

Interversity: Odd Nosdam

Level Live Wires is the kind of free-thinking collage album anyone with a keen fondness for sounds will enjoy. The man behind its broad sonic spectrum is Anticon.'s Odd Nosdam, aka David Madson, and he kindly joins us this week to answer some Interversity questions ahead of the album's Tuesday release date. Read, digest and enjoy the hell out of this album. We still are.














Odd Nosdam - Fat Hooks - Level Live Wires (Anticon. 2007)

1. I hear a lot of shoegazer in Level Live Wires, but there's a plethora of sounds hidden throughout. What sorts of ideas and sounds were you looking to most closely for this album, and how are they different from past efforts?

Im always lookin and listenin for anything that moves me.

2. What do you make of the whole downloading thing, and how often does it come up with other members of the Anticon. collective?

I personally dont seek out and download music. it does have it's advantages though. I mean, I make music and some of my music I wanna share with other folk. I cant control how people find or hear my shit. but the least I can do is give people the option of experiencing my music as close to how I want it experienced, on vinyl or CD and loud.

a couple friends of mine will often float me mp3s online through sendspace. I suppose everyone should just enjoy stuff while they can, regardless of how they get it.

3. Level Live Wires is a title open to a number of interpretations. What did it mean to you when you were christening the album? Has that changed at all since?

the way it looks on paper. the way it rolls off the tongue. a rusty pin removed from a bible...

4. The idea of a bonus ambient EP of the sounds that constructed the album is really interesting. At what point did you decide to use it in a limited edition version?

over the years, I collected a bunch of shit in itunes like early versions and raw sounds of LLW tracks. when LLW was done, it made sense to put together a companion CD of this stuff.

5. How much did Odd Nerdrum paintings influence Level Live Wires, and do you have a favorite of his?

I havent thought about Odd Nerdrum for a long time... one painting that comes to mind is his self portrait with an erection. that is dude is a fucking twisted modern day Rembrandt.

Audiversinquiry (10 questions we ask everyone)

1. What did you specifically remember listening to as a child that triggered a notable response?

my parents had Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here' on wax. the synth sounds and the cover photo of the dude on fire used to freak me out.

when rap got big, I was way into scratching. it was the craziest stuff Id ever heard. my favorite was the scratch "solo" on The Furious Five's 'Step Off'. The vocoder used on 'Scorpio' was pretty wild. mid 80s rap was the first music I took seriously. I used to dub stuff off the radio, never knowing what the hell I was listening to. 'La Di Da Di' was the first song I memorized.

2. You are heading across town this moment and will have time to listen to one complete album during the trip, what would you listen to?

'Revolver'

3. Are there any other media that you draw inspiration from? Books, authors, painters, actors, movies, celebrities, etc?

I love the work of Dali, Basquiat, Bosch, David Lynch, Akira Kurosawa, the Cohen Bros., Kids In The Hall, The Chapelle Show, Mr. Show, Monty Python's Flying Circus. Ive watched John Lennon's 'Imagine' like a million times. skateboarding. I really enjoy reading music biographies.

4. Where do you go to discover new music and sounds?

'Out The Closet', a non profit thrift store on University in Berkeley. Ive scored hundreds of great LPs there. for most everything thing else its Amoeba and Rasputin's in Berkeley. and I have a few generous friends that hook me up with random shit.

5. What question do you get most often that you hate answering?

dont get it as often anymore but Ive been asked "whats the future of hip hop?" way too many times. another one, regarding my music: "is this hip hop?"

6. Favorite instruments or specific sounds?

Favorite instruments: SP 1200.

specific sounds: 50's - 60's vinyl. drones.

7. The record store is closing in ten minutes and you are hell-bent on buying something before they close, what section do you head immediately towards?

"oldies" vinyl

8. What is the last notable daydream you had and where did it take place?

[N/A - Ed.]

9. What is the perfect album to you? Are there any? Is it possible?

De La Soul '3 feet High And Rising'
The Beatles 'Revolver'
Flying Saucer Attack 'Distance'
Serge Gainsbourg 'Histoire De Melody Nelson'

10. Do you keep up with blogs? Which do you read if so?

no.

Singleversity #24

Audiversity’s weekly column, slightly modified, on random music in a predetermined number of words between 1 & 150. This week's randomly generated number: 85.

MA:



Though John Fahey seems to get the majority of the props for the genre-bending experimental folk movement in the early 60s, I have always been a bit biased towards Sandy Bull. Released in 1964 (the same year of Fahey’s debut album, Blind Joe Death), Bull’s sophomore effort, Inventions, featured the inventive guitarist blending characteristics of folk, jazz, modal, raga and Middle-Eastern music into one pulsing sound. Joined by ingenious drummer Billy Higgins, "Memphis, Tennessee" is an elaborate and swinging re-imagination of the Chuck Berry-penned classic.

PM:














"What Joe Trofino gives to his girlfriend Vickie." There it is, right there in the Urban Dictionary. And here, as an “original rock” band from Dublin. Yet Barakas has as an added benefit the pleasure of another definition: Brighton-based DJ Simon "Bonobo" Green. After DJing in the UK for years, Green conspired with Tru Thoughts A&R Robert Luis for a few tracks and demand was so high, he decided to release this vinyl single earlier this month, "Stabilo Bossa." Dance floor wobbly goodness? I’d say.

Prefuse 73 - "Class of 73 Bells EP"

Prefuse 73 - The Class of 73 Bells feat. School of Seven Bells (WARP 2007)

Prefuse 73 – Class of 73 Bells EP / WARP

Oh busy schedules. Finding time to write about music here at Audiversity HQ is easily our biggest concern. Hell, finding spare moments to spend a sufficient amount of time just listening to the records is hard enough, nonetheless securing a block of a couple hours to think critically about them. But we do it because we love to (and don’t mind sacrificing other time-consuming tasks), just like artists who get readily labeled “prolific” for their constant output of high quality music. This tag has often been dropped when discussing Guillermo Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73 aka Savath y Savalas aka Delarosa & Asora aka Piano Overlord aka A Cloud Mireya aka La Corrección (if you would like brief descriptions on the particular sound of each of these monikers, check out my review of Golden Pollen from a few months back). Herren is just one of those cats who are constantly brewing up delicious aural treats in his ever-mobile kitchen, and we get to enjoy the fruits of his seemingly nonstop labor with an elaborate discography of exploratory sounds. The Prefuse 73 alias has been the bread and butter for the traveled musician, and any time a new album is on the horizon I get giddy. We are still a couple months off from the October 23rd release of Preparations, but there is a new teaser EP hitting the streets in a few weeks, so let’s take a look at that.

A four-song twelve-inch, the Class of 73 Bells EP finds Herren in a familiar setting: collaborating with talented, like-minded folks. While not everyone is partial to such things (see the critical reaction to the underappreciated Surrounded by Silence from 2005), I for one am always down for it. As far as I’m concerned, two creative minds are always better than one. For the first single from both the EP and the upcoming LP is a collaboration with a few familiar faces under an unfamiliar moniker. New York City psyche-pop band and Blonde Redhead openers School of Seven Bells is made up of the Deheza twins, Claudia and Alley, from On!Air!Library!, Ben Curtis of the Secret Machines and James Elliott of Ateleia. Herren has often teamed with Claudia Deheza, and even put out a full-length featuring them as a pair under the name A Cloud Mireya. “The Class of 73 Bells” features a traditional Prefuse beat (read: chopped, screwed and incredibly catchy) and his penchant for glitchy ambient noise, as well as swirling flute samples, chiming church bells and other bubbling melodic undertones. Overtop, the Deheza twins brilliantly harmonize lyrics with elongated syllables for a final product of soothing, head-nodding psyche-hop.

The more abrasive second track, “Smoking Red,” features the percussive mania of John Santier, most recently known for his incredible drum performances as the Battles backbeat, not to mention the time he spent with Helmet, Tomahawk and The Mark of Cain. The song features a much more aggressive backdrop from Herren with searing waves of high pitched electronic noise and slightly disturbing vocal samples, but grounded by a subtly melodic undercurrent. Next, “En Blanco” is listed as “A Prefuse/Epstein Production,” though I am not completely sure who Epstein is exactly (Ed. Note -- Thanks to Rodolfo, here are links with more information on Epstein: www.robertolange.com & www.arepaz.com) Either way, it’s a classic Herren production with a steady, head-nodding, hip-hop backbeat overdubbed and overlapped six-fold, continually erupting electronic sunspots, shifting synthesizer hooks, string flourishes and a few keyboard lines pulled out of the Alice Coltrane repertoire. The EP rounds out with “The Classical Sounds of 73 Bells,” a revisit to the opening track with the percussion replaced by heavily sighing string sways. The Deheza twins sound even more angelic as they are free to glide and sashay over the free-flowing track.

The Class of 73 Bells EP may not be overtly surprising for longtime Prefuse 73 fans, but at the same time, it will definitely have you salivating for a new full-length. Go ahead and circle October 17th on your calendar, and I’ll meet you at the record store with a broad smile on my face.

Aesop Rock - "None Shall Pass"

Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass (Definitive Jux 2007)

Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass / Definitive Jux

You would think that the more you are into an artist, the easier it would be to write about them when the opportunity presents itself. Personally, I find it to be tougher. There is this thought that lingers menacingly in the back of my head, peeking out from behind my eyeballs after each line to criticize what I wrote. It is this ridiculous notion that I owe the artist my best work, since they inspired me so greatly with theirs. As if I owe, in this case Ian Bavitz, the same level of quality workmanship that he has given me over the last seven years. Am I doing him justice? Am I being honest with myself at the same time? Why do I even think, number one: Bavitz will ever actually read this? And number two: would ever truly give a shit about my personal opinion? At which point, the next floodgate of doubting questions open up and I start asking myself: does anyone give a shit about my opinion? Why should anyone give a shit about my opinion? Who am I to be criticizing music in the first place? Why am I even a part of this ridiculous, ever-scrutinizing blogosphere? What the hell am I doing with my life? And so on and so on until I end up in the middle of the floor, rocking steadily in the fetal position as the cat curiously stares at me from her cozy perch on the windowsill. It is the sick, ruthless cycle I put myself through nearly every time I write, which is only amplified when it is about an artist I truly admire. And goddamn, all of this inner turmoil for a simple page-and-a-half album review for a self-made website that is barely making a blip on the music critic radar. I could only imagine what must go through the heads of cats like Bavitz who relatively put their soul on wax and spin it for the entire world to judge. Basically, you do it because you have no other choice; you have got to occasionally open that creative faucet and drain those artistic urges or it will drive you mad. Some of us do it by dropping a few of the most idiosyncratic underground rap albums ever produced, some of us do it by obsessively wasting away each and every one of our coveted mornings on a blog with minimal (but very welcomed) readership amongst thousands of near identical ones. At least in the process we are supporting each other’s mania and teetering sanity, whether we know it or not.

But enough about my nonsensical thought processes, let’s get back to the matter at hand: Bavitz, aka Aesop Rock, has got a new album out and the indie music world is salivating for new material from maybe it’s most talented lyricist. Like I am sure most of you were, I was introduced to the NYC emcee by way of 2001’s heavily applauded Labor Days, an album that now stands as perhaps the epitome of emotional underground rap. Truth be told though, it is just another album in his incredible discography to me. I find 2000’s Float on Mush Records, the first proper release following two self-released LPs (Appleseed, Music for Earthworms, neither of which I have had the privilege of hearing), even more rewarding with it’s minimal beat accompaniment letting Bavitz’s never-ending stream of visceral lyrical imagery completely grapple the listener’s ears. And you know what, I wore out 2003’s Bazooka Tooth as well. Granted it was a completely different beast than the previous albums with its incredibly dense production, but nonetheless contained intricately interesting innards. And yep, I was at the record store the day the Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives EP dropped, because I was hella excited not only about the new, increasingly funky and confident music, but about that 88-page lyrical booklet that came in the same packaged. What can I say? I am a big fan of his near impenetrable lyrical flow, imaginative poetic imagery and that intelligent, blue-collar, pissed-off-at-the-world-because-it-is-fucking-insane attitude.

Well that finally brings us to None Shall Pass, Bavitz’s third official full-length for one of underground rap’s defining labels, El-P’s Definitive Jux. Being released nearly six years to the day that Aesop Rock shed a little “Daylight” on the possibilities of indie-rap, None Shall Pass is being strewn from a completely different perspective. Bavitz is not out to find, establish, reveal or defend himself, but to simply make a quality rap album. He has crossed each of those necessary bridges in his highly nitpicked career, and now, as we discussed earlier, he is just re-opening that creative faucet, because creating rap albums as Aesop Rock is purely how he suffices those artistic urges. Now relocated to San Francisco, None Shall Pass was crafted over two years in what is seemingly a more relaxed setting than what I would imagine living in New York is for him. Producer and frequent collaborator Tony Simon, aka Blockhead, is back in abundance, appearing on eight of the fourteen tracks, the most since he steered the boards for Labor Days. Def Jukies El-P, Rob Sonic, Camu Tao, and Cage all make appearances, as well as the Juggaknots’ Breezly Brewin’, DJ Big Wiz (who scratches on nearly every track) and The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle. There is also an abundance of live instrumentation on this album, mostly electric guitar and bass, which is a first for his Aesop’s mostly sample-based back catalogue. Honestly, I have never been much for the combination of electric guitars and rap music, but for the most part, it is utilized and mixed in a much more intriguing manner than past concoctions I have come across. With a heavier emphasis on story telling rather than, in Bavitz’s words “braggadocio”, None Shall Pass displays maturity and creativity without sacrificing one iota of urgency from his quick-tongued baritone.

After a lead-footed opener, which I feel suffers from the thick, almost Rage Against the Machine electric guitar riffs, Blockhead provides his best beat in years for a future classic Aesop Rock song. Carving his way through an almost steel drum keyboard loop, meandering flute wisps, driving kick drum beat, contemplative electric guitar noodling and schizophrenic pitch-shifted vocals, Bavitz does what he does best: spits ridiculously wordy verses with relaxed aggression, enunciating every syllable into an inimitable been-there-done-that flow. The guests start giving their two cents about halfway through; Breezly Brewin’ and Cage provide archetypal tag-team Def Jux verses to the amped “Getaway Car,” while “39 Thieves” is yet another great Aesop-El-P collaboration. Menacingly interweaving a great Bavitz production of late night trumpet coos, an acoustic Spanish guitar loop and Mr. Lif’s sampled vocals, Aes rhymes potently, seemingly propping the listener up for El Producto to swing in and knock out, but it never happens. Not until “Gun for the Whole Family” anyways, which not only features El’s dense, stuttering space-funk production, but a bravado-dripping verse as well. After a quality pairing with maybe Def Jux’s most underrated producing emcee, Rob Sonic, in “Dark Heart News,” comes the most curious collaboration of the album. Very much a kindred spirit to Bavitz, The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle provides ghostly, modulated backing vocals to Aes-Rock’s masterfully odd rhyme flow syncopation on “Coffee.” Darnielle is barely recognizable though until the final minute of the song where his vocals erupt into an almost anthemic coda. It is an odd teaming for sure and even slightly uncomfortable at first, especially with Darnielle’s more effeminate alto completely counteracting Bavitz’s deep-throated baritone, but it works and is more effective with each concurrent listen.

With great artwork provided by Jeremy Fish, who Bavitz collaborated with for a children’s story, None Shall Pass is a complete package. The production, much like the type established on the Fast Cars EP, is a nice middle ground between the resonating sparseness of Labor Days and the intimidating density of Bazooka Tooth. Bavitz’s vocal rhythms remain one of the most idiosyncratic styles in the game, and the lyrical imagery is as potent as ever, though perhaps slightly less visceral. It doesn’t sound as much like he is straight venting through the Aesop Rock moniker as he is utilizing its now-well-established voice to tell the kind of struggling blue collar stories that made Labor Days so relatable. Does it potentially have that same kind of longevity that the 2001 breakthrough has had though? Probably not, but that is somewhat of an unfair comparison being as they were created under such expansively different circumstances. It is a solid album though and certainly another strong entry into Bavitz’s increasingly diverse discography, which is really all you can ask for as a passive listener. And besides, it’s a new Aesop Rock album, and any new material from the never ending lyrical well that is Ian Bavitz’s mind is more than welcomed as far as I am concerned.

Radio Show Playlist 8/22/07

6a:
1. The Jam - Going Underground - Dig the New Breed (Polydor 1982)
2. Gary Walker & the Rain - Magazine Woman - Album No. 1 (Shanghai 1968)
3. The Zombies - Care of Cell - Odyssey & Oracle (CBS 1968)
4. Fiery Furnaces - Duplexes of the Dead - Widow City (Thrill Jockey 2007)
5. Turner Cody - Buds of May - Buds of May (Digitalis Industries 2007, recorded 2004)
6. Woods - Hunover - At Rear House (Shrimper 2007)
7. Saturday Looks Good to Me - Spiderbite - Cold Colors EP (Polyvinyl 2007)
8. Angels of Light - The Man We Left Behind - We Are Him (Young God 2007)
9. Akron/Family - Blessing Force - Meek Warrior (Young God 2006)
10. No Age - Boy Void - Weirdo Rippers (FatCat 2007)
11. Don Caballero - Trey Dog's Acid - Singles Breaking Up, Vol. 1 (Touch & Go 1999)

7a:
1. Sonic Youth - Death Valley '69 - Bad Moon Rising (DGC 1985)
2. Dirty Projectors - Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie - Rise Above (Dead Oceans 2007)
3. Weird War - See About Me - Illuminated by the Light (Drag City 2005)
4. The Make-Up - Gospel 2000 - Sound Verite (K 1997)
5. Pumice - Stopover - Pebbles (Soft Abuse 2007)
6. John Dwyer - Fretting and Fussing - 2 (Narnack 2004)
7. The Bird Names - Nobody Loves Me - Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner (Unsound 2007)
8. Caribou - Sundialing - Andorra (Domino 2007)
9. Jab Mica Och El - Haircut from the Above - ABC Hej I'm Cola (Ache 2006)
10. Baja - A River Splits Love and Spits Out Bones - Aloha Ahab (Arctic Rodeo 2007)
11. Odd Nosdam - Up in Flames - Level Live Wires (Anticon 2007)
12. Eric Copeland - Hermaphrodite - Hermaphrodite (Paw Tracks 2007)

8a:
1. Bird Show - Greet the Morning - Lightning Ghost (Kranky 2006)
2. Charles Mingus - Track C-Group Dancers - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (Impulse! 1963)
3. Boxhead Ensemble - Coastal Boarder - The Last Place to Go (Atavistic 1998)
4. Bobbi Humphrey - New York Times - Satin Doll (Blue Note 1974)
5. Marvin Gaye - "T" Plays It Cool - Trouble Man (Motown 1972)
6. Joe McDuphrey Experience - Song for Airto - Experience EP (Stones Throw 2002)
7. Shape of Broad Minds - They Don't Know feat. Stacy Epps - Craft of the Lost Art (Lex 2007)
8. Psalm One - Beat the Drum - The Death of the Frequent Flyer (Rhymesayers 2006)
9. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass - None Shall Pass (Def Jux 2007)
10. People Under the Stairs - Empty Bottle of Water - O.S.T. (Om 2002)

Shape of Broad Minds - "Craft of the Lost Art"

Shape of Broad Minds - Changes (Lex 2007)
(mp3 taken down by request, but they gave an option of this 20-minute mp3 featuring samples of the album mixed by DJ Jamad from Atlanta)

Shape of Broad Minds – Craft of the Lost Art / Lex

A little less than a month ago, I nearly proclaimed Shape of Broad Minds’ Craft of the Lost Art the hip-hop album of the year. Being as I actually just heard their debut full-length for the first time a few days ago, my hyperbolic statement may have been slightly premature, but if you had a chance to cop the teasing Blue Experience EP, I sincerely doubt you would be able to contain your excitement either. I am just a sucker for innovative rap music, and Jneiro Jarel and company bring the creativity, and in the process deftly establishing himself as an up-and-coming force in the underground hip-hop game by very much carrying the torch lit by the late James Yancey. 2006’s Beat Journey under the Dr. Who Dat? guise entrenched Jarel as a master beatsmith, teasing, twisting and twirling worldly samples through wormholes of synthesizer swirls and stuttering boom-bap foundations. Craft of the Lost Art, as well as furthering his development as a sought after producer, introduces us to the verbal and lyrical side of Jarel’s talents, an aspect not quite as individual, but definitely worth merits. At twenty-three tracks and an hour-plus collection of musical exploration, Craft will definitely be making it’s case come December to sit atop my ‘Year’s Best Rap’ list, and may even be pushing the ‘Best of 2007’ as well.

I may be getting ahead of myself though, so just in case you are not yet familiar with the Shape of Broad Minds pseudo-super group, let me introduce them. The official members of the group are Jarel, Jawwaad, Rocque Won, Panama Black and Dr. Who Dat? Four of these five members are the multiple personalities of Jarel, each distinctive to the city they were conjured up in during his traveled upbringing as the son of a U.S. Army mother. According to the press release, Jawwaad is the Houston-raised multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, trumpet), Rocque Won is a west coast psychedelic singer inspired by Hendrix and Prince, and finally, Philadelphian Dr. Who Dat? is known as an introvert, record collector and studio wizard. Panama Black is (at least to the best of my knowledge) a real living, breathing person, a rapper from Atlanta, GA to be precise. Together they form the Shape of Broad Minds, primped and poised to inspire pseudo-genres like psych-hop or rapadelia.

Sitting comfortably on the one-time WARP offshoot Lex Records, alongside the equally prolific Danger Mouse, Jarel and company’s sound crosses the path of a number of different artists, all very much respected for their own creativity. The music of Craft is a saturated, deeply thudding combination of Outkast, Slum Village, the Soulquarians, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Madvillain and Gorillaz, of which they share Albarn’s penchant for cinematically quirky compositions. From a musical standpoint, Jarel is definitely building off the sound he established as Dr. Who Dat?, synth-heavy, cleverly syncopated and continuously morphing with amoeba-like compositional structures. Yancey’s instrumental work as J Dilla is definitely a reference point, as is Madlib, especially in his Beat Konducta or Madvillain monikers. It also is very reminiscent of Sa-Ra’s space-stoned remix work and even Outkast’s more tripped-out numbers. Verbally and lyrically, Jarel’s best attribute is his ability to never flat-line in one particular flow. He as easily lays back into free-flowing, smooth-voiced delivery as he can up the ante and spit with speed, running circles around the beats with his delivery. What the EP didn’t reveal was his fondness of abstract interludes, from jazzy scatting to schizophrenic pan-heavy half-phrasing that maybe slightly too akin to the Quasimoto technique. Panama Black, on the other hand, is a straight-up rapper with a flow similar to one of the Clipse twins but without the snarl. When they team their vocal prowess, the album really shines.

There are also a number of guest artists along for this psychedelic boom-bapping trip. As you heard from the Blue Experience EP, MF Doom kills an all too brief verse on the wonderfully urgent “Let’s Go.” Stacy Epps, of Sol Uprising and who you may remember from the standout Madvillainy interlude “Eye” or Oh No’s The Disrupt, also completely demolishes a verse upset-Lauryn Hill-style during one of the album’s best moments, “They Don’t Know.” Her Sol Uprising partner, Lil’ Sci, is also granted a guest spot during the drama-filled “So Much (Chaos),” which stutters superbly over an instrumental that Madlib really should have made; and the always dependable Count Bass D flows effortlessly on the briefly laid-back “It Lives On.” Of the non-guest spots, “Changes” maybe the go-to track, with it’s deeply saturated, heavily modulated melodic beat, of which Jarel verbally glides swiftly over and Black keeps grounded. “Opr8r” shows the more spacey soul side of the group sounding like a collaboration between Andre 3000 and Clipse remixed by Sa-Ra, and the finger-snapped bump of “Stiff Robots & Drunken Horses” comes off like an El-P and MF Doom (though he’d have to inhale a balloon full of helium) pairing.

So, the question I keep asking myself is: “can Craft of the Lost Art be the best rap album of 2007?” Absolutely, but it is still August, so let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. It is an incredibly solid and interesting record that though clocking in at over an hour, never seems like it’s dragging on thanks to the myriad of styles Jarel explores throughout. He is a free spirit experimenting with his tools at hand, and the album very much excels because of it. Craft very much should establish Jarel as an act to watch, and my guess is that future collaborations are imminent. In fact, there already are rumors of Jarel, ahem Roque Won, teaming with Khujo of Goodie Mob for a pairing that can only lead to good rap music. But until his next endeavor, Craft of the Lost Art is plenty of music to keep your head-boppin’ and your mind swirling, so do your ears a favor and introduce them to some psych-hop care of a few Broad Minds.

Roam the Hello Clouds - "Near Misses"

Roam the Hello Clouds - Pretender's Hand (~Scape 2007)

Roam the Hello Clouds - Near Misses / ~Scape

With the recent passing of Max Roach and a reflection on what we've been going over here at Audiversity in the past few weeks, Roam the Hello Clouds came at just the right time. It had been a while since I'd listened to a proper jazz album; Blockhead and Arts the Beatdoctor danced around the genre with a jazz flair but a hip-hop base. I can't remember the last time I'd listened to an album that had jazz inklings but wasn't a straightforward affair.

Luckily, the ever-reliable, Berlin-based ~Scape label has read my mind. Upon arriving back in Chicago yesterday, I was quickly rifling through some of Michael's albums that had yet to be reviewed - sometimes I just have to make do with leftovers, y'see - when I stumbled upon the sleeve for this record. Interested almost entirely because they're on ~Scape, I went ahead and popped it in. I was greeted with an excellent jazz album that is alternately light on the foot and loaded on the gravitas.

Who is Roam the Hello Clouds?

Roam the Hello Clouds is a talented Australian trio consisting of Phil Slater (who beautifully handles the trumpet as well as a few bells + whistles scattered throughout the record), Dave Miller (mixing n' mingling the organic base of the songs with his laptop), and Laurence Pike (who cleverly flavors tracks with drums, the glockenspiel, and some vibraphone).

These three have a proven record when it comes to former groups: Slater was in Band of Five Names and has recorded with Lou Reed and Perth rock heroes The Sleepy Jackson. Miller has been a member of Pivot as well as a solo artist with a robust back catalog; in addition, it would seem that Miller is our kind of guy. Not only does he knock around East London, he also drinks "real ale." Pike was also in Pivot, but he's recorded and toured with Burnt Friedman and, wait for it, Prefuse 73. Jackpot.

What Can They Offer Me?

Near Misses is about as good as you're going to get when it comes to electrically enhanced jazz. This isn't a total reworking of the music, but the added touch of a little laptop work brings that much more depth to the fore of this ten-track debut. And that's not the only kind of experimentation going on here: Roam the Hello Clouds was built on the idea that trial and error can produce something fruitful. Miller and Pike met in October of 2003 playing the Sydney Opera House on what was apparently a "musical blind date." Their styles gelled and one week later they were playing again - this time with Slater added to complete what they thought would be a one-off. Thank goodness it wasn't: After their second performance, the three men got together and recorded what was to become Near Misses.

What's so remarkable about these performances is that they are group improvisations recorded in just one day. Banging out a track with such a dramatic dynamic as "Pretender's Hand" as well as the woozy nightclub funk (rather than funky) feeling of late-album highlight "A Life of Near Misses" (which arguably could not have been titled any better) can only mean these three musicians have the natural talent to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses.

It plays brilliantly. The highlight of several of these tracks is Slater's excellent trumpet playing, but pay attention to the textures that Miller is slipping in almost unnoticed. You think you're hearing another trumpet in a track like "Twenties in the Eighties," but you've been had. That's Miller working his magic, adding color and panache to an already admirable trumpet performance.

The unheralded hero of this review is Pike. I'm not an expert on the technical aspects of drumming and percussion, and I'm certainly no Max Roach when it comes to playing them, but Pike adds his own improvised flavor to each song by holding together the wandering sounds of his bandmates. To me, that's the mark of a great percussionist: Someone who can keep the beat interesting without stealing the spotlight John Bonham-style and simultaneously pin down surrounding sounds as a kind of anchor, a counterweight to the freeform experimentation of backward percussion or a lonely trumpet stumbling through dark back alleys at night. Pike duly performs this role and there's no question the occasional glockenspiel will bring a smile to your face.

It's that added element of playfulness that weaves its way in and out of the many sobering and contemplative moments dominating the tone of this record. It's also what makes Roam the Hello Clouds' debut so fascinating. If you're at all looking for a jazz record with the feel of something traditional and a touch of the modern improv, or if you just happen to have a hard-on for the trumpet, this is your record right here.

Can They Come and Play My Town?

Sayeth the men themselves: "Sure. Contact us." Now you have instructions. You know what to do.

Devotion #2

People talk a lot about how busy they are. “I’m so busy with this, I’m so busy with that, busy, busy, busy…blahbity blah blah gooney goo goo.” It seems to be an adult thing, because I can’t remember ever being busy with anything when I was a shorty except for eating, playing, and falling asleep in a church pew every Sunday.

Time is much more precious nowadays, but occasionally, I’m able to roll one project into another and keep things running somewhat smoothly. One of the things I’ve been working on recently is a piece on the late Marvin Gaye, one of most influential artists in the history of R&B and quite possibly its most self-destructive. When Gaye was shot and killed at the hands of his father on the afternoon of April 1, 1984, I was a bit too young to understand the full scope of his life and work. I remember “Sexual Healing,” of course, which was the hit that solidified his comeback after three years in European exile. But a more vivid memory is of this chubby kid named Kelly Ford who lived down the block, running up to a group of us playing in the alley behind my house on the day Gaye died and exclaiming, “Marvin Gaye got shot ya’ll!” I don’t recall much after that. We thought it was an April Fools joke.

Marvin Gaye – "Heavy Love Affair" (previously unreleased version) – In Our Lifetime Expanded Love Man Edition (Hip-O-Select 2007)

As I’ve learned more about Gaye in the decades since then, I have a better understanding of just how much of a force the man was. He was a natural talent whose approach to recording music was effortless, which is remarkable when considering the demons – both mental and material – he struggled with throughout his life. Marvin at 60% was better than the majority of his contemporaries. He could make beautiful music by accident, and often did, occasionally recording vocals while lying down on a couch. Gaye wasn’t a planner – the word “structure” didn’t fit into his realm of comprehension – but if the conditions were right, all a producer had to do was let the tape roll.

This version of “Heavy Love Affair” is an unreleased recording from 1981’s In Our Lifetime sessions. The circumstances surrounding the In Our Lifetime project are a mystery and a complete and utter mess, and well-documented in Steve Turner’s superb Trouble Man biography. The music, however, set standards that have yet to be reached by many artists since his passing. Such was the life of Marvin Gaye. His death didn’t register at the time, but in looking back, his presence is missed.

Elzhi – "Boomerang Slang" – Out of Focus EP (unreleased 2000)

Keith Murray – "Whut's Happenin'" – Enigma (Jive 1996)

I’m new to this blogging thang (yes, thang). I peruse a lot of auditory blogs, in all shapes and sizes, but having to contribute regularly is an entirely different animal – an animal with unforeseen challenges, in particular, like a pet chimp.

For one thing, there are many of them that simply aren’t very good. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of a problem for such a quality online resource as the one you’re reading now, but such low expectations across the board tend to dilute the gene pool. This makes it even harder to stand out, but I like to think that we do. And there is some quality out there, you just have to know where to look.

More important, and more specific to blogs of a musical nature, is how to go about picking these damn songs. I’ve been collecting recorded music since 1982, when I purchased my first 7-inch single, the Dazz Band’s “Let it Whip.” (NOTE: I don’t remember the b-side because it never got played.) Needless to day, the music acquisition thing is out of hand in these parts, so this go-round, I’ve decided to make it easy on myself.

The Elzhi and Keith Murray selections each feature samples from Marvin Gaye’s personally and socially liberating 1971 landmark, What’s Going On. Both artists have long been favorites of mine – Elzhi raps circles around just about anyone – and represent two areas of great cultural symbolism: the city of Detroit and music by MCs who have spent time in prison. Coincidentally, the parts sampled for each come from the opening and closing portions of side A of What’s Going On, including deft “Hey, what’s happening…” usage by producer Erick Sermon of the vocal party banter intro to the album’s title track.

It’s a slight flip like this which separates the men from the boys. And people say this thing of ours isn’t creative.

The Red Chord - "Prey For Eyes"

The Red Chord - It Runs in the Family (Metal Blade/Black Market Activities 2007)

The Red Chord - Prey For Eyes - Metal Blade/Black Market Activities

It's been obvious from 2002's Fused Together in Revolving Doors (Robotic Empire) that there's something different . . . something not quite right about the Red Chord. As with many debuts, the listener has no idea what they're in for. With the knowledge that then-drummer Mike Justian has previously played for lesser-known hardcore outfit Hassan I Sabbah, I eagerly listened to Fused repeatedly, allowing lyrics like, "I'd like nothing better than to sever your head and set that pig on fire" and "it's not going to be all right; it's not going to be OK," sink in and do their dirty work. Plus, the album was a lesson in making hardcore-laced metal songs interesting, saving the sweet, crooning choruses for radio bands and relying instead on musicianship and unbridled anger to get their points across.

Fused Together made quite a splash in the "extreme" music world, with Metal Blade snatching up the band and vocalist Guy Kozowyk landing his label Black Market Activities a distribution deal in the process. Three years and a lineup change later (which found Justian leaving the band), the band released their second album, Clients, a loose concept album centered around various run-ins with regular crazies Kozowyk encountered while working as a pharmacist. Songs like "Antman" and "Black Santa" are clearly based off nicknames given to frequent visitors of the pill counter, which added a nice human element to Clients, along with the continued barrage of riffs, blastbeats, and bizarre lyrics ("I'm almost sorry that I must do this to get my name in lights").

Two years have passed since Clients, and the Red Chord have managed to keep their music as interesting as it was five years ago, which may not seem like a long time, but may as well be an eternity in the metal/hardcore world, where debut albums sprout up and give birth to carbon-copy discographies all the fucking time. Hatebreed, anyone? 2007's Prey For Eyes again takes the band's music one step further (and introduces yet another drummer), creating an album that's destructive, musical artwork.

Beginning with the minute-long frenzy "Film Critiques and Militia Men," the Red Chord showcase every tempo from slow, beatdown riffs to disjointed, Discordance Axis-style blasting, with the guitar line inching along and the drums grinding away with little regard for the stringed instruments' tempo. This pattern continues over the course of Prey For Eyes, each song a well-organized outburst of ideas somehow corralled into a cohesive but demanding listen. Themes appear throughout the duration of songs like "Send the Death Storm," popping up in one form or another but backed by a different drum pattern or second-guitar accent, evolving slowly. Before you know it, the song has moved from the beginning to the point of no return.

So finely are the Red Chord's songs constructed that it's never too obvious where a verse, chorus, bridge—or anything else—begins, ends, heads off to, comes back from, or when it completely abandons you. The pieces of each song meld seamlessly into one another, adding to the band's steamroller effect. This density, while appreciated for its force, can be overwhelming with the guitar and bass somewhat buried (of course . . . this is metal!) below Kozowyk's various vocal variants (low, high, yelled, gurgled) and newest drummer Brad Fickeisen's incredibly clean-sounding drum kit. There's plenty of crunch when the guitars are chugging along, but more intricate elements of the faster riffs sometimes prove to be a conundrum when the track's setting moves from "ear chop" to "aural puree." Minus a pair of headphones, the listener just needs to concentrate on the music instead of letting it ramble on in the background.

And therein lies the balance of a good, technical metal/hardcore album: forcing you to listen closely while at the same time doing its best to make sure you feel as uncomfortable as possible: "Thanks for listening, hope this hurts!" The Red Chord generally find this balance, but go one step further, letting you catch your breath with the mid-paced instrumental "It Came From Over There," just to knock it back out of you with "Intelligence Has Been Compromised."

The album closes like both previous Red Chord records have, with a six-minute-plus track of slow-building termination (although Fused Together's last track was a noise piece that seemed more like a final "fuck off, we're really trying to decimate you" to the listener), and ends with what sounds like a funeral march on the snare drum. Yes, you’ve killed me . . . I appreciate the built-in memorial service.

Interversity: Githead

To put it very, very lightly, we are ridiculously excited about this week's Interversity. The one and only Colin Newman of art-poppers Githead, post-punk inventors Wire (!!!!!!!!!), co-founder of Swim~ Records, and mastermind behind experimental music hub PostEverything.com has answered a few questions for us, as well as included a few excerpts from an interview he did with a French mag a few months back (of which will be italicized). His last album with Githead, Art Pop, has been swirling through our heads in wonderfully groovy pop circles for the last month, and this interview reveals a little more insight into what exactly makes the band tick in such precise rhythms. So without further delay, we hand the mic over to the legendary Colin Newman:



Githead - All Set Up - Art Pop (Swim~ 2007)

1. For more than three decades you have been creating music whether with Wire or as a solo artist. You have obviously explored a massive amount of styles throughout your career; what were you aiming to achieve musically by starting Githead? Was there any particular inspiration that motivated you to form the band?

I see a lot of lazy journalism (present company excepted!) amongst reviews of Art Pop by US journalists. It would appear that not many actually read the press release that accompanies the album. Githead is always at great pains to point out that it is a real band and a genuine collaboration between its members. I took a decision in around the mid-90’s that I didn’t really want to do any more “solo” albums. My last one Bastard was in fact just another collaboration between Malka & myself (as were her solo albums & the work as Immersion). Since the early 90’s, in terms of having the studio, I’ve been perfectly capable of making genuine “solo” records (on which I do everything). This very fact has rendered the proposition far less interesting. It’s just more fun to collaborate!

Technically, Githead started as a one off. It was just originally conceived for a performance at our label Swim’s 10th birthday bash. It snowballed because it was obvious right from the outset that even with Malka, Robin & myself jamming along with a drum-loop it was special & somewhat unique. All its development has been organic, it’s much more about what feels right than any master plan. Obviously we’ve gone into the general pop/rock area with this but this is simply because of the time it is being done. This is definitely a mid ‘00’s band. This is a decade when electronic musicians are coming out from behind their laptops and doing songs (Ulrich Schnauss, Styrofoam), electro has got dirty and allowed its post-punk roots to show (Justice, LCD Soundsystem) and indie rock has absorbed every strand of influence ranging from euphoric orchestral folk to beat driven dance-floor anthems. This is the context in which we work. One advantage of this being considered “our” band rather than “my” band is that it only has to be true to itself & its time. With Wire it’s something different, it is also a creature of the present but also has this amazing history to draw on. Githead is more about drawing on the divergent interests of its members. This is a very interesting collaboration!

Robin actually grew up 10 minutes walk from where Malka & I live and work. We've known him since the very early days of his Scanner incarnation. He was the first person who did a remix for our 90's Immersion project and Malka & I (as our label Swim ~) were one of the first people to do a label night at Robin's "electronic lounge" (his groundbreaking "ambience & networking" club in the mid 90's at the ICA). We've often talked about doing stuff together but never quite got round to it until the right opportunity arose.

The opportunity turned out to be the 10th birthday night we put on for the anniversary of Swim ~. We got various people from the label (Silo, Symptoms, Lobe etc.) to play live and Malka felt very strongly that we should do a show ourselves as a "band".

Although we have done shows as a 2 piece we really felt that a larger unit was called for. Meanwhile we'd been chatting to Robin about maybe doing something for the Swim ~ night, perhaps DJing, but he really wanted to play live so we decided to combine the two things and all play together. This was around New Year 2004.

The thing is, we've known Robin for years and pretty much always known he can play the guitar. I don't think it was even a discussion, it was just obvious he'd play guitar. If you check the Githead web-site (www.githead.com) you can see that the first rehearsal was on January 30th 2004 and it was literally just a try out to see if we could make something for a one off collaboration. Our studio is very small, no room for a drum kit, so it was just 2 guitars, bass & a drum loop and off we go. No one would have predicted what would happen next, we just started playing and it gelled immediately. Within literally 10 minutes we had our first tune "Reset" (which is also the first track on our debut EP "Headgit") it was obviously meant to be! One thing we all have in common is that we know when something is good, it's not something you need to discuss too much (we are often too busy laughing!) It would have been unthinkable not to have continued it was like a world of possibilities opened up in an instant. When you get the key, you don't throw it away! This is why Githead is a real band, there is natural sympathy among the players and it's not a struggle to make ideas together. It just works!

The other thing about Githead is that it's very open about how things are written & constructed. Because what we mainly do in our studio together is just play I record everything and then pieces are constructed out of the played elements. Sometimes what we record is pretty worked out, sometimes it's very loose.

2. Between 2005's Githead debut, Profile, and Art Pop, the band's sound has incorporated heavier influences from post-punk, dub and funk within the shoegazing Brit-pop sound; was it a conscious decision to diversify the sound? Would you consider it more of a natural progression of musicians establishing a sound and then expanding upon it, or was it in reaction to anything in particular after Profile's release?

There’s a definite creative arc between the 3 releases in fact. Headgit was done really fast and really captures that initial energy that created the band. Profile was more considered and took a little longer, but not much longer! However Art Pop took over a year to come together. It wasn’t planned like that it just happened. After the Euro tour in 2005 the idea was to get together fairly soon in our live sound man Frankie Lievarts’s Metropolis 22 studio in Rotterdam and do some recording as a band and use the live room to develop sounds and ideas to be continued at are own studio. However Frankie was still building the studio through the winter months of 05 into 06 so stuff started to get developed here instead. In the end we finally got intro the studio in October 2006. Even at that late stage we actually added a lot so it was really useful but we didn’t exactly stick to the plan! In the end the album draws on a pool of performances & experiences and I think that’s what gives it it’s diversity.

For Githead "Art Pop" is the biggest canvas we have painted on so far. There is a big diversity in creative means, musical context and emotional landscapes. The album was constructed over quite a long period of time considering we did "Headgit" really quick and were not that much slower about "Profile". Quite a lot happened in that period and we even worried at times if we'd ever get it finished. The hardest part was last summer when it was just too hot to even turn on the equipment in the studio (above 30 degrees London just doesn't function). We also waited while our live sound man Frank Lievaart finished his "Metropolis 22" studio in Rotterdam. We became a really tight unit as a 4 piece during the dates we did in 2005 and although I have lots of Max recorded multi-track which we can can play over in London and construct perfectly great sounding pieces with, there's a different energy when we play as a 4 piece. In the end it was October last year before the studio was ready and we could provide what I regard as an essential element in the mix of what "Art Pop" is.

The Rotterdam trip was also really, really important for the band. On one hand Githead is like "the field of dreams" we believe in this band 100% . If we make it good enough people will love us. In fact making it good is the only thing we can really control! On the other hand there is no earthly reason why Githead should exist, every member of the band has a perfectly viable project which people are interested in and which are already famous. The reason for Githead has to be that it is not only fucking good but also that it has something which people can emotionally connect to (you can be really impressive as a band but somehow it presents something which people can't identify with so you will be admired but not loved) . We are real people who have real lives and not everything goes well. "Lifeloops" for example is pure existential despair. The vocal Malka did was not repeatable in that moment, it's completely heartfelt but she was not yet completely consumed by the emotion. Meanwhile "Live in your Head" (as in "I wouldn't like to live in your head") is putting the final nails in the coffin of a relationship (not between Malka and I should stress!!) with someone you've just had enough of. "Drive By" is in your face London life, there really is a boy from one of the local estates who goes around with an iron bar, "Fish & Chip hop" is comic London slang for British Hip-Hop, "f-bombs" are American slang for inappropriate and very public use of the word "fuck" (I should point out that Americans are much more prudish in the main that the British, who very often use the "f -word" as humour). I can go on, although a lot of the reflections are personal we hope that people can connect them with stuff in their own lives.

3. I feel that replacing "the Beat Monster" (the drum machine used extensively on the first two releases) with drummer Max Franken was instrumental in loosening and in turn humanizing Githead's sound somewhat on Art Pop; at what point did you decided to try out a live drummer? Did it have any effect on the songwriting process?

The way Githead started is Malka, Robin & me with a beatbox (or drum loop actually). When we jam in our studio that’s how we play, there isn’t room for a drummer in our studio (it was originally a garage!) BUT we always intended that there should be a real drummer for live shows and Max was perfect from day 1. From the production side I came to the conclusion a couple of years back that I really needed proper full kit recorded drums, done in a nice room to be the real basis of creating a band sound on record. Now Frankie’s studio is operational we’ve been able to record not only Max but also Rob from Wire. This is a bit technical but there’s something about drums recorded this way that really adds space (you get something special if you also record vocals in the same room). We can’t afford to be months developing stuff in Rotterdam but employing some of that nice room sound has given Art Pop something it wouldn’t have otherwise. Creatively some tracks are also developed over trademark Max beats although we’ve yet to seriously try he experiment of developing stuff from the ground up with Max.

Actually there's no real set formula about how anything is constructed. If I go through, say the 1st 4 songs it might give you an idea about how we work. On one level "On your Own" is pretty much played as a band, we recorded the basic track in Rotterdam but it was based on a previous piece which had a chorus we really liked but a verse we didn't like so much. Once I got into mixing here I discovered that I could incorporate elements from the original song (even though the verse was in a different key!) so although it sounds simple there are elements that actually come from somewhere else! "Drop" is classic Githead, an absolutely irresistible Malka bass-line that everything sits on. On a track like that it's all about following the logic of keeping the arrangement spare enough to feel the bass/ drum groove. "Drive By" is another turn around, the main riff is Malka playing guitar with Robin on rhythm guitar & me playing bass. Everything is in service of the driving rhythm, even the voice! "Lifeloops" is just Malka & I. I had this acoustic guitar part and Malka wanted to sing on it. it was done very quickly it absolutely captures a moment in time, and so it goes on through the album.

The sound is not decided in advance, it's just about following the logic that the piece suggests. We want to embrace the music's organic nature and follow trails to see where they lead. It is after all Pop which is informed by Art practice (that's the literal meaning). Actually we are extending that now with an "alternate" Githead which you might call "Art Git" (we even got t-shirts :) which is a version of Githead designed for high culture venues. Githead can be many things in many places and we are resolutely interested in opening possibilities rather than closing them.

4. Malka Spigel's supple bass lines always feel like they are in the forefront on Art Pop; does the band write from the rhythm section on up? Was it a conscious decision to emphasize the bass in the mixing process or was it more of a natural evolution? Did any bass-heavy styles or artists influence you in particular while crafting this album?

Every band has to work to it’s strong points and if you’ve got a fantastic bass player like Malka then not to take advantage of her skills would be self defeating! I think there’s another point too which I see much less understood in the USA than in Britain. As a “producer” (i.e. someone who crafts music in a recording studio) my roots are very much in the late 80’s “midi revolution” which was really the point at which musicians themselves could start to produce stuff in their own spaces that didn’t shout “home recording”. It was all about rhythm! So I learned my art in this respect (as did Robin) from what was basically about making dance tracks. Even though I now am able to work in much more advanced ways there is a definite influence from those days and still a lot of stuff from Githead is based on a solid groove. For people who appreciate a sublime groove then “Drop” is THE track on the album, on that track, for the rest of us it’s about getting out of the way! For mixing, it really depends on the track but if a track sounds already cool with just the bass & drums then it sets the direction for how you bring the other instruments in. It’s ultimately all about feel!

5. PostEverything.com (amazing name by the way) has become one of the internet's premier hubs for experimental and genre-bending music and labels; how has creating the site influenced you as an artist and a musician? What are your ambitions with the site? Any large-scale plans in the future concerning it?

Thanks for the compliment! The name was Malka’s actually, even though English isn’t her first language she’s got a knack for coming up with cool names.

Obviously the big thing at PE right now is the fact that’s we’ve re-launched the site and added digital to the offerings (we also re-instated the radio BTW – tip, log in to hear full tracks). It’s taken a while to get there and we are still tweaking (which is why we “soft launched”) but over the next couple of months we will start to publicize the changes more. Right now however people reading this should know that there are quite a few things associated with me that were completely unavailable in any format without paying “collectors prices” now available in digital (320Kbps No-DRM MP3) these include the early Pinkflag releases by Wire (Twelve Times You, The Third Day, It’s All in the Brochure), Wire’s Vien and my It Seems. Obviously the Pinkflag & Swim catalogues are available in digital as well as a lot of Robin’s work, although we haven’t come up with a digital format for t-shirts yet ☺.

For the future we are looking at increasing the formats, adding digital video for example, as well as strategic collaborations & adding a lot more labels & artists. We’d also like to increase the editorial side, give more potential for people to interact as well as finding ways to allow people to stream the radio independent of the site. In other words get a bit more web 2.0

We are still turning over the artistic possibilities. Certainly the possibility of “digital only” releases does open the door to other ways of getting stuff out there but one still has to deal with the basic fact that attention needs to be focused o the site in order to make that effective.


Audiversinquiry (10 questions we ask everyone)

1. What did you specifically remember listening to as a child that triggered a notable response?

Well I remember hearing “Telstar” by the Tornadoes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telstar_(song)) when I was 6. Beyond it’s squeaky charms the thing that really got me interested was the fact that I heard somewhere that it was the “music of the future”. I loved that idea!

2. Let's say you are heading across town this moment and will have time to listen to one complete album during the trip, what would you listen to?

I’m not sure if I actually listen to complete albums any more. I think many artists (Githead excepted) don’t actually make albums any more… I’d probably fire up “Lime Light” by Mrs. Tanaka a very obscure release from the equally obscure Town Tone label from Osaka. I’d skip the re-mixes at the end which don’t really help but the first part (which is really an EP to be honest) is Japanese indiepop gold!

3. Are there any other media that you draw inspiration from? Books, authors, painters, actors, movies, celebrities, etc?

Definitely no celebrities! I recently re-mixed a band called Celebricide and subscribe to the concept (even if the band split up). I’m generally interested in culture inn all forms but I’m not sure about specific influences, it’s more about the milieu one swims in.

4. Where do you go to discover new music and sounds?

It kind of changes all the time, there’s the general background radiation of stuff you hear from people you know, that weird osmosis that enlivens the “chattering classes” with the new genre, band and artist everyone talks about. I’m also pretty much responsible for maintaining the rather popular Wire myspace, which I’m pretty conscientious about and try to check out (however briefly) ALL the friend requests so I get to hear a lot of bands and while the vast majority are of limited interest I have discovered a few gems and even if they’ve only got one thing that’s really good it’s one more than most bands will ever have!

Here’s a selection of recent ones I’ve come across, some are obscure & unsigned, others have achieved some measure of success. Malka & I feature artists we have discovered through myspace alongside more established ones on our occasional [supposed to be monthly] radio show, now syndicated! You can check out a recent play list here - http://www.swimhq.com/mp3/Radio/Radioshow6.html -

http://www.myspace.com/parsleysoundmusic - Parsley Sound - "House is Shaking Demo"

http://www.myspace.com/lesbiansonecstasy - Lesbians On Ecstasy - "Tell Me Does She Lo.."

http://www.myspace.com/bichi - Bichi - "my footfalls are superfluous"

http://www.myspace.com/gustavosantaolalla - Gustavo Santaolalla "De Usuahia A La Qui.."

http://www.myspace.com/thewns - The White Noise Supremacists - "She's Soft Inside"

http://www.myspace.com/lastdaysmyspace - Last Days - "The Safest Place"

http://www.myspace.com/monostars - Monostars - "Wenn Du Mich Suchst"

http://www.myspace.com/monkeemanmusic - MONKEEMAN - "Moving In Circles"

http://www.myspace.com/marconiunion - Marco Union - "Sleepless"

http://www.myspace.com/jerryandthesuits - jerry and the suits - "Shooting At The Moon"

5. What question do you get most often that you hate answering?

Probably this one… (Ed. Note -- hahahhahhaha.. damn.)

6. Favorite instruments or specific sounds?

I like to get sounds to work together so I’m quite agnostic on specifics.

7. The record store is closing in ten minutes and you are hell-bent on buying something before they close, what section do you head immediately towards?

Art pop ☺

8. What is the last notable daydream you had and where did it take place?

I wish I had time for daydreamimg!

9. What is the perfect album to you? Are there any? Is it possible?

Hmmm.. I’ve got pretty broad taste, I like different things at different times & I’m one of those people who feels at home with (and connected to) many diverse genres in music so I think it would be hard to have one album that “said it all”… The trick of really good music is to make you feel you are having the best experience ever when listening. It’s just that so many share that skill!

10. Do you keep up with blogs? Which do you read if so?

Sometimes I read people’s myspace blogs. I tend to enjoy stuff that’s written by people who don’t really expect anyone to read it. British bands have the tendency to the funniest blogs. Self depreciation comes naturally to Brits!

On the more “public” scale I no longer really see any difference between paper & online publications. A lot of writing about music has always been pretty informal and you can arguably save the planet (or at least some trees) by publishing online. Obviously Audiversity is the best ☺ (Ed. Note -- We agree, and would like to add a ☺ of our own)

Singleversity #23

Audiversity’s weekly column, slightly modified, on random music in a predetermined number of words between 1 & 150. This week's randomly generated number: 83.

MA:



Charles Mingus - "Track C - Group Dancers; (Soul Fusion) Freewoman and Oh, This Freedom's Slave Cries" - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (Impulse! 1963)

After years of ridiculous delay, I finally went out of my way to collect a chunk of Charles Mingus’s fascinating discography. Though I honestly love every second of every album so far, it’s hard for any of them to top the tonally saturated, incredibly textural music of The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady from 1963. Mingus’s eleven-piece band pirouettes through shifting rhythms, harmonic bliss and jarring dissonance with grace that could only be written as a ballet. Absolutely stunning and idiosyncratic.

PM:



Is it better to pay tribute to Max Roach by showing what he can do with a full set or just a foot cymbal? I opted for the latter to pay my respects, as Roach duly does the same to Papa Jo Jones (possibly during Jones’ 1985 American Jazz Masters fellowship award?). The North Carolina native moved to Brooklyn in 1928 and his distinguished drumming career includes backing up Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis to name but a few.

Max Roach R.I.P.

I honestly don't have time to pay proper respects, but I am deeply saddened by the passing of percussive genius Max Roach this morning. Here is a proper summation of his unbelievable 70 years of jazz drumming, and here is a comprehensive discography of his work. I wish I could spend a little time giving my own tribute, but all I have time for is posting a few tracks that will hopefully push you to check out some of his phenomenal and groundbreaking work.

Charlie Parker - "KoKo" - Bird/The Savoy Recordings (Savoy 1944)

Miles Davis - "Jeru" - The Birth of Cool (Capitol 1949)

Clifford Brown & Max Roach - "I Get a Kick Out of You" - Brown and Roach, Inc. (EmArcy 1954)

Thelonious Monk - "Brilliant Corners" - Brilliant Corners (Riverside 1956)

Arts the Beatdoctor - "Transitions"

Arts the Beatdoctor - Transitions (Unexpected 2007)

Arts the Beatdoctor - Transitions / Unexpected

Now here's another record, slightly downtempo, definitely laid-back, that will hopefully see a Stateside release soon. You can only wait so long when a record like this is as good as it is. In fact, we here in the US aren't the only ones suffering: Currently, Transitions is available in exactly three countries. So obviously, they're in the minority when it comes to seats at the UN, where 192 nations are currently recognized. Or is it 194? Ah well, nevermind.

Point is, this one's for the books. And as a full-length debut, the Utrecht, Netherlands-based beatsmith has done well for himself. His web presence is minimal and biographies are hard to come by, but we know this much about his catalog: It's equally thin, limited in fact to a single EP called Fragments that came out on Unexpected Records in February of last year. With just two official releases to his credit, the Beatdoctor dropped Transitions in Japan and then released it in the Low Countries late last month. All of the songs from that EP are included here in this seemingly bulky 15-song debut.

In fact, it is the unbearable lightness of beating that inhabits this very nocturnal album. Jazzy beats and smoove grooves give way to occasional dips in the hip-hop pool. Hey, chill out man. It's summer. You can't always have the density of El-P as the soundtrack to your skinny dipping. Beware that the vinyl version, should you choose to purchase that over the CD, omits a few interludes ("Blending Quality," "Revolve," "Reprise," and "Mellow Drama" all get the boot on wax)... But the celerity of that version actually makes for a tighter record.

The secret to this record is thus: Both work depending on your mood. If you're feeling a little more thoughtful and need a little more time to soothe down and cool the jets, the elongated CD version is bound to appeal to you. If, however, you're looking for more of a chilled hip-hop vibe, get the plates. Both are sublimely executed and would go well alongside Yesterdays New Universe or maybe that Urbs release that came out last year, Toujours le Même Film. Of course, their excuse was that they were reworking 60s Paris. The guest appearances here by Pete Philly, Sense and The Proov are more reworking Jurassic 5 and others from the early- to mid-90s. On "All of Us," Pete Philly's caught red-handed rapping the all-together-now lines "This is for you, this is for me / this is for us, can't you see? / This is for everybody all over the world." I find it pretty hard to take overly positive or socially conscious hip-hop seriously, but what can I say? The beats are the star here.

Horns, nothing says NPR background music like meandering horns floating through a mix. Arts has got that in spades, surgically inserting them in cuts like "Fragments" to great effect as sampled movie scenes add a vocal element that would otherwise make for an instrumental affair. There are quite a few clips sampled on this record, but they never intrude in that annoying ClearChannel rock commercial way, the ones where it's like "Aliens? Don't you know what that MEANS?! *Static* [Hysterical laughter] *Static* New rock. *Heavy riff, Broseph* NOW." Yeah, it's not like that.

All in all, I'm digging it. With five guys composing Arts the Beatdoctor Quintet, you can see how effective this might be in a live lounge or, conversely, live festival setting. Intimate venue or not, this music has the potential to reach so many people partly because it doesn't intrude. The featured guests here can swear all they want, but the effect is dulled by 60s keyboards and subtle effects wizardry that brings the jazz-hop closer to the realm of noise-collage (as on "Transitions"). This is a hard record to scratch the surface of, and it's likely that you'll not want to given that it's strong enough as a downtempo record. But look a little closer, listen just that little bit harder, and you'll hear something more. It's the sound of people in more than three countries being exposed to aural goodness. Who among the represented delegates would want to argue with that?

Extra Golden - "Hera Ma Nono"

Extra Golden - Hera Ma Nono (Thrill Jockey 2007)

Extra Golden – Hera Ma Nono / Thrill Jockey

Last September (2006), I made it a priority to catch Extra Golden play live during at least one of their multitude of performances at Chicago’s excellent World Music Festival. I was already infatuated with their debut album, Ok-Oyot System (which not only made Audiversity’s Top 60 of 06 but was in my Top 10 as well), and seeing as how half the band was from Kenya and could very well never make the trip to the states again, it seemed slightly urgent. The surreal night still rings in my head as if it happened just hours ago: I took the bus down to the South Shore Cultural Center and entered the walled compound fifteen minutes after the show had started. It was my first trip to the Southside Center, and with it already being a visceral fall night, as I was walking up to the mammoth, almost plantation home-looking building in the center of the large walled-in park it honestly felt like I was being geographically transplanted to accommodate the music. After entering the near empty, antiquated Center, I followed the distinct syncopated rhythms to the dimly lit auditorium where Extra Golden was performing. The room already looked like it hadn’t been refurbished since the 40s and with the array of metal chairs set-up, the low, glowing lights and the small number of people dancing dreamily to the music, I swear I had to forcefully shake off the feeling that I was just somehow transported sixty years back to an East African performance hall. Extra Golden’s music just has that effect on you; it’s nostalgic, hypnotic and transcendent.

The original line-up of the cross-cultural quartet Extra Golden is the unlikely pairing of two Washington, DC musicians, Ian Eagleson (Golden) and Alex Minoff (Golden, Weird War) and two Kenyan artists, Otieno Jagwasi and Onyango Wuod Omari (both of the Orchestra Extra Solar Africa). Eagleson and Minoff were already exploring multi-culture infusions in their band Golden (also featuring Philip Manley of Trans Am and Jon Theodore of Royal Trux, Palace and the Mars Volta), but it wasn’t until Eagleson traveled to Kenya to work on his PhD in ethnomusicology that a true cross-cultural fusion of sounds could be made. Kenyan popular music is mostly dominated by a guitar-heavy style called benga music, which was popularized in the late 60s when Luo musicians looked to mimic the sound of the traditional nyatiti, essentially an eight-string lyre, on electric guitars and teamed it with East Africa’s polyrhythmic musical foundation. In the mid-aughts, Eagleson was in Kenya recording modern benga bands when he formed his own group with two of the local musicians, Jagwasi and Omari, and invited Minoff to join them. The result was Ok-Oyot System which was released via Thrill Jockey in 2006, but recorded a year or two earlier. Eagleson infused American boogie music and shards of almost Dischordian angular rock into the benga foundation to produce a sound near completely individual. Sadly, it looked like Ok-Oyot System would be a one-off project when singer/guitarist/co-founder Otieno Jagwasi passed away in 2005, but thankfully singer/guitarist Opiyo Bilongo of the Bilongo Golden Stars stepped up to keep the band afloat. The Chicago shows were the first international performances for the group (and the first trip out of East Africa for drummer Omari and Bilongo) and was followed by six weeks of touring, which ended in a secluded recording session in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Utilizing the same recording equipment, lovingly dubbed the “Nyathi Otenga Flying Studio,” but with an expanded array of instrumentation and gear, Extra Golden recorded their sophomore effort, Hera Ma Nono.

For obvious reasons, the biggest difference between the two albums is the buoyancy of their sound. Though the same recording equipment was used, the more technologically advanced setting and, most likely, a less restrictive timetable let the band further explore their infusion of styles by experimenting with different sounds and techniques. The guitars, which now are occasionally strewn through effects pedals, chime even more colorfully than before, and Omari, getting to work with a full drum kit for his first time ever, experiments with an array of percussive toys throughout the album. As well, Bilango’s voice is significantly more melodic than Jagwasi’s low-key delivery. Those details paired with the fact that at the time of recording, it was most likely a very jovial period for the musicians involved no doubt led to the increased spiritedness of the already vibrant sound.

The album opens surprisingly with “Jakolando,” which relies more heavily on the American boogie side of the stylistic pairing with a rollicking piano, an animated acoustic guitar and handclap-enhanced beat. The melodically arcing benga guitars and Bilango’s singing in luo quickly remind you that this is cross-cultural music though. An ode for the Illinois Senator and presidential hopeful whose office was instrumental in helping the Kenyan musicians retain their visas to make the international trip in 2006, “Obama” sees the group in a more traditional benga setting, though it erupts with distorted wa-wa guitars, a first for the group, during the more urgent second-half of the song. My personal favorites come in the second half of the album with the haunting “Brothers Gone Away” and the phenomenal album closer “Hera Ma Nono,” which is luo for “love in vain.” The former features Omari taking advantage of his newfound percussive toys, seemingly exploring his entire enhanced drum kit, and the odd but invigorating vocal experiment of Bilango subtly backing Eaglson’s lead vocals. The title track is at first the most similar track to the Ok-Oyot System sessions, but blossoms brilliantly when a echo-effects take over the instrumentation and bright, psychedelic pedal transforms the lead guitar into a sound like none I have ever heard.

To be honest, my initial opinion of Hera Ma Nono was not overtly positive as I was so taken by Extra Golden’s debut. But truth be told, there are such different circumstances between the two albums, it is almost impossible to consider them in one mindset. The increased vibrancy of the band’s evolution is absolutely a good thing, and their newfound ability to explore new sonic possibilities only further intrigues their sound. Hera Ma Nono does not lose any of the hypnotizing nostalgic vibe of Ok-Oyot System, which I am greatly thankful for, though I think the more polished recording settings did strip away just a bit of the idiosyncratic character of the debut. All in all though, I am just happy that a sophomore album from Extra Golden exists at all, and I hope I get the chance to experience their transcendent live show once again.

Aril Brikha - "Ex Machina"

Aril Brikha - Leaving Me (Peacefrog 2007)

Aril Brikha - Ex Machina / Peacefrog

There's a certain sound that instantly reminds me of European bullet trains and modern fashionistas hitting the clubs. Interestingly, this sound is not all that far removed from the recent resurgence in 80s Ital-disco and minimalist synth-based techno. Iranian-born Swedish producer Aril Brikha manages to hit the head of a nail that lies somewhere in between these two groups, and the latest of his efforts, Ex Machina, is the product.

Brikha's smooth, Detroit-esque sounds come from early listening to electronic and electronic-influenced music such as Jean Michel Jarre and Depeche Mode. Though he initially did not receive much attention in Sweden, Derrick May's Fragile Records picked up on it and in 1998 they released Brikha's first official release, The Art of Vengeance. This EP (plus a couple of one-off appearances) and the critical hit "Groove La Chord" (which Brikha is still trying to live down) led to a consistent stream of output and an association with another one of May's imprints - motherlabel Transmat - that's been on form since 2000's May-produced Deeparture in Time. In a crowded genre, it's tough to pick Brikha out.

That won't stop him from trying again here on Ex Machina. As Beatport's album of the week last week, Brikhan has certainly demonstrated that even the most flavorful connoisseur's palate can get excited over the classic sounds of futuristic space, or maybe it was early 90s ambiance, or maybe it was old skool Detroit stylings, or it must've been an amalgam of the three. Point is, this here's good stuff.

The tone of Ex Machina is set on the opener, "Last One." Fading in on a haze of synths that would play on "Beyond 2000," the chirping melody is eased in and, as the haze fades in and out, Brikhan introduces the stittering beat. After a minute and a half, we're off. It doesn't take long to burn up on the single "Room 337" either, which has the vague pings of trance.

Ah, there it is. That's what's made me so uneasy about this album: It could pass for trance if you weren't paying attention. As much as I love electro and I like giving nods to the folks who are taking it and dragging it through the mud of history to produce something new and wonderful and different, there's a grudge I'll never get over when it comes to trance. In fact, Aril Brikha is about as close to trance as you'll probably ever hear for this website. We love music, and we love krautrock, and we love drone... But trance is a dirty word 'round these parts. It's tough to find something redeeming in it, but if anyone has an argument for actually giving it more than a roll of the eyes and a flip of the bird, it's Brikha.

He makes it seem convincing, like there's something to trance that wasn't there before. It's probably just his minimalist techno touches that have tricked me, but so be it. While Brikhan might've played Fabric and earned the plaudits of the Motor City's most electro-minded madmen, his head is still in a cool, calm place. The reflection is in this album.

Radio Show Playlist: 8/15/07

6a:
1. Pink Floyd - Interstellar Overdrive - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Captiol 1967)
2. Earthless - Cherry Red - Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky (Tee Pee 2007)
3. Life on Earth! - Life Turns Fast - Look!! There is Life on Earth! (Subliminal Sounds 2007)
4. (((Powerhouse Sound))) - Old Dictionary (for Bernie Worrell) - Oslo/Chicago: (((Breaks))) (Atavistic 2007)
5. Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake - Strut Time - From the River to the Ocean (Thrill Jockey 2007)

7a:
1. Chris Connelly - The Son of Empty Sam - The Episodes (Durto Jnana 2007)
2. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks - Astral Weeks (Warner 1968)
3. Turner Cody - Lashes That Go Wide - Buds of May (Digitalis Industries 2007, recorded 2004)
4. Patrick Cleandenim - Until You Said I'm Gone - Baby Comes Home (Ba Da Bing 2007)
5. Saturday Looks Good to Me - Idiots - Cold Colors EP (Polyvinyl 2007)
6. The Sea & Cake - All in Throws - Fall Tour Bonus Single (Thrill Jockey 2007)
7. Shrimp Boat - What Do You Think of Love - Cavale (Bar/None 1993)
8. Mirah & Spectratone International - Gestation of the Sacred Beatle - Share This Place (K 2007)
9. Low & Dirty Three - Lordy - In the Fishtank (Konkurrent 1999)
10. Department of Eagles - Sailing by Night - The Cold Nose (American Dust 2007, originally 2003)
11. No Age - Everybody's Down - Weirdo Rippers (FatCat 2007)
12. Mannequin Men - Telemarketers - Split 7" with Shopping (Do the Math 2007)

8a:
1. McLusky - Without MSG I am Nothing - The Difference between Me and You is that I'm Not on Fire (Too Pure 2004)
2. Q and Not U - Hooray for Humans - No Kill No Beep Beep (Dischord 2000)
3. Fog - Inflatable Ape pt 3 - Ditherer (Lex 2007)
4. The Bird Names - New Mexico - Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner (Unsound 2007)
5. Dirty Projectors - No More - Rise Above (Dead Oceans 2007)
6. The Budos Band - Ride or Die - The Budos Band II (Daptone 2007)
7. The Gentle Rain - Use Me - Moody (Sunbeam 2006, recorded 1973)
8. Piano Overlord - Diplo Electric Manatee Remix - Tease EP (Money Studies 2004)
9. Deadbeat - Where Has My Love Gone? - Journeyman's Annual (~scape 2007)
10. Roots Manuva - Man Fi Cool - Dub Come Save Me (Big Dada 2002)
11. Shape of Broad Minds - Changes - Craft of the Lost Art (Lex 2007)
12. Big Daddy Kane - Set It Off - Kings of Hip-Hop (BBE 2005)

The Bird Names - "Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner"

The Bird Names - New Mexico (Unsound 2007)

The Bird Names – Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner / Unsound

I lost faith in the buzzing freak-folk style tag a few months back. Not that I decided to completely dismiss the genre, but I stopped associating a particular style of music when someone used it to describe a band’s sound. I actually can pinpoint the exact album that near completely dissuaded me from ever using the description again: Lavender Diamond’s Imagine Our Love. Not that the album is necessarily bad or anything of that nature, but is it freak-folk? Not even close. It’s indie-pop with folksy influences. C’mon blogosphere, sure it was quirky, sure it was hippie-ish, sure it was daffy, but freak-folk it was not. Where is the freak? When I see that tag used, I want my folk confusingly endearing, poorly recorded, slightly alienating and tough to wrap my head around. Whether its laced with pop sensibilities or not, it should be strewn through unyielding carnival rides, doused in moonshine and baked through and through. I want the antithesis of Lavender Diamond’s crystal clear, unabashedly innocent, nearly new age folk; I want The Bird Names.

Though they have been minstrels of Chicago’s underground art-space scene for a number of years now, my first encounter with The Bird Names (I am not completely sure the “The” is how they prefer it; I have never seen it written that way before, but everything their new CD suggests points towards the inclusion of the proper “The”) came a few months back at Version Fest 07. Surrounded by a nearly living mosaic of local art, the quirky collective filled The Co-Prosperity Sphere (a gem of an art-space on the South Side) with ragtag jubilance by way of mushy soundwaves and group vocals. At the time, I suspected that the space had more to do with the poor sound quality of their continuously instrument-swapping set, but now that I have heard the album, it may have been designed to sound exactly like it did. The endearing five-piece somehow perfectly recreated the feeling of an in-the-bathroom with a handheld-tape-recorder seven-inch, which always gives the listener a misguided sense of “hey, I can do that,” though it is always much harder than it seems. And The Bird Names first effort for Portland’s Unsound Records, Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner, may just give you that exact same feeling, though repeated spins of the album reveal songwriting much deeper than the initial “art kids tomfoolery” sense you get after just the first listen.

Album opener “Tepid Waters” commences with a lo-fi, slightly melodic “la la laaaaa” undercut by a near-sinister baritone (which makes frequent appearances throughout the album) that I think is saying “owwww.” My initial reaction was “oh god, here we go again,” but then the song opens up with a catchy keyboard melody, shaker-heavy percussion, glockenspiel pings and multi-layered sing-a-long la la la’s that at some point transform into the song’s chorus. It is crunchy, poorly recorded and at first, slightly annoying in that unshowered-nomadic-folk band kind of way, but it grows on you; much like that flower growing out of a hippie’s dreads-turned-garden hairdo. And while there are a few songs that don’t quite escape this pigeonhole, the ones that do very much carry the album. “New Mexico” has an enchanting melody carved out by wordless vocals, acoustic guitar and a near unrecognizable keyboard; with the gong-like cymbal crashes, it almost sounds Oriental. “Smoovebiz” is on a similar tip, swelling with magnetic melodies and ebbing back into a lo-fi pond of moss-like soundwaves. You have to imagine these recordings are very similar to early outings by bands like Akron/Family or MV & EE. “Nobody Loves Me” may be the most infectious track of all with its round-robin title-chorus and lines like “nobody loves me, but that’s ok, I’d almost rather have it that way.” Under-laced by a toy piano and echoing coos, it’s as wonderfully innocent as only D.I.Y. collective-folk can be.

This being The Bird Names’ third full-length album, it makes sense that their songwriting is maturing and escaping the typical confines of early, let’s-get-baked-and-jam folk. There are still aspects of makeshift song structures, but they are increasingly seamless and on their way to transcending the two-minute everyone-yell-along mold. Wooden Lake/Sexual Diner’s four-track quirk-folk will absolutely leave all of the Lavender Diamond fans scratching their heads in utter confusion, which perhaps is the best compliment I could give the Chicago collective. It’s freak-folk for all the best reasons: confusingly endearing, unabashedly lo fidelity and tough to understand at first. It’s melodic, textural and innocent without being annoyingly so. It’s an album that is obviously not for everyone and probably not for most people, but if you are searching for the true definition of what freak-folk should sound like, look no further than The Bird Names.

A Place to Bury Strangers - "A Place to Bury Strangers"

A Place to Bury Strangers - Ocean (Killer Pimp 2007)

A Place to Bury Strangers - A Place to Bury Strangers / Killer Pimp

It's been an exciting few weeks here at Audiversity. Starting with a trip to Chicago that I thought was for apartments and a job turned into WLUW being taken over by Loyola turned into Michael losing his job down the line turned into we're getting the former editor of Punk Planet and a guy who basically lives the dream of every half-bit blogger this side of Brooklyn Vegan. When Ronnie said you never seem to find anything on a regular basis here, his words in retrospect seem especially appropriate. We don't just mean the music. We mean everything.

But just as times change and people move in and out of a frozen Antonioni frame, there are constants and these constants deserve their split second in said frame just as much as the brightest new supernovas. New York City's A Place to Bury Strangers is one such band. This is only their debut album, but a rich history informs an album that would otherwise have many Jesus & Mary Chain fans scratching their heads at what the big fucking deal is.

There is one, and its name is Skywave. Lead singer and modern guitarchitect Oliver Ackerman's pedigree as one-third of the Fredericksburg, Virginia-based garagegazing group led to an almost legendary reputation. These were the same guys you might've read about who soundchecked at half-volume and then cranked it up to 11 for the fans when showtime came around. Synthstatic was also one of 2004's most fearsome albums: At low volume it sounded like My Bloody Valentine, but at full tilt it sounded like My Bloody Valentine from hell. A lo-fi shoegaze aesthetic that worked in their favor thanks to Ackerman's Supersonic Fuzz Gun and Total Sonic Annihilations, I still defy anyone to listen to "Don't Say Slow" and not be blown away. It's as close to God as Skywave ever got.

The primary concern for this band, then, is how it will measure up sonically not just live but on record. They are the self-proclaimed "loudest band in New York City," and while I cannot testify to this personally (unfortunately), have a quick look around the Interweb and you'll find reports of impossibly loud playing and wasted nights spent recovering from splitting headwounds and "bad EQs." This trio arguably has a lot to live up to, and though some of these songs have been around for over a year, putting them all together for the first time is something else entirely.

Or rather, it isn't at all. There's little doubt that Skywave placed a great deal of emphasis on Ackerman's tools (the latest of which is his company Death By Audio), and confirmation is given straight away here on "Missing You." It's uncannily like Skywave, in fact, and initially you may be confusing this for Ackerman's previous band. "Don't Think Lover" is exactly the kind of song that shows what made Skywave great while demonstrating that the basic formula and sound have not changed a great deal in three years. I could believe they're the loudest band in the Big Apple, and the sheer aural assault of the white noise in this track (and album) is a graphic demonstration why.

There's a certain tone and timbre to A Place to Bury Strangers that is unmistakable, and it's all in the effects pedals. It's like a sheet of noise, like static at a high pitch cranked to the maximum and unleashed on an otherwise innocuous song. It's like pre-Tremolo My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus & Mary Chain with a little echoing jangle in there for good measure. It happens virtually every time, and you know it's coming, and yet still you can't get enough. "The Falling Sun" crashes with different time signatures and Ackerman's decidedly Bauhausian vocals, rarely changing, rarely clear.

Gradually, A Place to Bury Strangers start to carve out their own niche. "To Fix the Gash in Your Head" is the earliest indication that this band is just as heavily indebted to the post-punk luminaries of the late 70s as any shoegaze or noise-pop group. "I Know I'll See You" also has a more danceable beat than most Skywave songs, and here is the critical difference between the groups: With Skywave, it was well and dandy to rock out, but dancing wasn't really part of the routine. Here it's almost a drum machine sound and Jay Space's straightforward skin-beating keeps the emphasis on the feedback frenzy of Ackerman's guitars and anchoring accompaniment by stalwart bassist Tim Gregorio (ex-Virus). Together these guys are bringing the old noise back in a new incarnation. They're still young and they've still got a lot of growing to do, hopefully out and beyond a sound they have clearly already conquered.

A Place to Bury Strangers is an ideal canvas for painting the dark portrait of a modern "American Gothic." They initially took fodder for having the band name of a bunch of angsty teenaged boys with ex-girlfriends and axes to grind; as their self-titled debut demonstrates, there aren't any lip rings or designer t-shirts involved here. It sounds like a graveyard, at night, in fog. That's rarely sounded like a better proposition than on these ten songs.

Devotion #1

(Ed. Note – After getting the pleasure of introducing Dave last week, Audiversity is proud to present you with yet another amazing addition to our team. Fellow Chicagoan Ronnie Reese will be joining us on a weekly basis dropping knowledge and experience to further enlighten your hopefully already expanding musical tastes. Ronnie basically blows the rest of us out of the water with his résumé having graced nearly every one of my favorite mags and companies, including but not limited to Wax Poetics, Stop Smiling, Stones Throw, Allhiphop, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Defender, Chicago Innerview, Rollingstone.com, and on and on. Basically, Ronnie is our hero and we are ridiculously excited that he is on board with our cause.)



It’s 7:51am. I’ve been up all night working on a story, but slowed down as the procrastination bug hit. Now, I’m just kind of chillin’ – eating blueberry yogurt, waiting for bacon to thaw, and clearing hard drive space. It’s casual.

I’m thankful for the time to go through some of these tracks, because in doing so, I’ve found the missing piece needed to pop my Audiversity cherry. When I first contacted Michael about contributing, he was as happy to have me as I was to be down. I just wanted to get started sooner rather than later. I had a couple of tracks in mind, but was holding out for a third. Three is the magic number, you know, so when I found this:

Four Tet – "As Serious as Your Life" (Jay Dee Remix feat. Guilty Simpson) - Remixes (Domino 2006)

We were in business. This song has long been a favorite, and because of the close relationship I’ve had with Jay Dee/J Dilla’s music over the past couple of years – the past 11 or 12, really – it was an obvious choice for this inaugural post. If you’re not familiar with Dilla, you will be soon. He is arguably the best hip-hop producer of our generation, and I enjoy this track in particular because it showcases all facets of his approach, from rapping, to singing, to production, of course, and finally, DJing. This is how it should be done, and fortunately, many others are following his lead. You’ll be learning more about them as well.

What I eventually hope to bring to Audiversity is a mix of a lot of different things, old and new – a little hip-hop, a little funk, some soul and R&B, some jazz, and perhaps the occasional albino Scientologist blues-rocker. Pretty much everything you can’t find here on a regular basis, which I say without full conviction, because there doesn’t seem to be anything you find here on a regular basis. Audiversity is the ideal blank canvas. If I had one concern (which I don’t), it would be how well I fit in on a site that features material from a lot of artists that I’ve never heard of. But I realize that is part of the fulfillment found in “music appreciation.” Some of us know a lot, but no one knows everything, so we learn together.

Alright – enough of that corny bullshit. I stand behind those words, but I’m content letting the music speak for itself. Which is why I’m going to avoid a long-winded introduction of who I am and what I do. Some of you know of me, but most do not. In short, I collect vinyl, but I’m not heavy-duty, and was a both radio and club DJ in my younger days. Now, I’m just a moderately-talented journalist with some good music to share.

Herbie Hancock – "Gentle Thoughts" - Secrets (Columbia 1976)

Exile – "In the Night 22" - Artdontsleep Presents From L.A. with Love (Milan 2007)

These represent then and now. Michael, for the time being, is the musical director at WLUW-FM Chicago, where I was a DJ and co-host of a funk show from 10pm to 2am on Wednesday nights in the late ‘90s. From midnight on, my partner and I would mellow things out in a portion of the evening known as “Gentle Thoughts,” where this nice Hancock piece from the Secrets album set the tone. Long before then, I checked Secrets and Hancock’s Mr. Hands out of my local library on cassette and dubbed them up. I wore that tape out, so this track has been in the memory bank for a minute.

The bass is what grabs you from the start, courtesy of Oakland native Paul Jackson. His playing brings to mind something I heard from drummer Mike Clark, also of Oakland and a longtime friend and musical partner of Jackson’s. Clark performed and recorded with Hancock during his electric period in the ‘70s, and once told me that he, Jackson, and other players actually had to teach the legendary jazz keyboardist how be funky. “When I played with Herbie, he wasn’t like that at all,” said Clark. “He could hint at that, and he understood it, but he wasn’t playing like the really funky B-3 players because he didn’t live like that.” This came at a bit of a surprise, based on the success of Hancock’s electro-funk opus, Head Hunters, but then again…



Polka dots? That ain’t gangsta.

“In the Night 22” is a chilling downtempo instrumental from producer Exile. Exile is one-half of Emanon with Stones Throw artist Aloe Blacc, and also half of a more recent collaboration with rapper Blu on Below the Heavens. I first heard this in a Jay Scarlett mix on BTS Radio and it blew my face off. I didn’t own it at the time, but desperately had to track it down, eventually scoring this mp3 from the man himself. It’s also featured on the From L.A. With Love compilation. I’ll make a note to post a track from both albums in the upcoming weeks.

I don’t have much to say about this Exile beat that would do it proper justice. If I were to ever die in a car crash, however, this is the song that I would like to be playing loudly at the moment of impact. If that sounds morbid, forgive me. I can be a sick fuck, sometimes.

Death Breath - "Let It Stink"

Death Breath - Lycanthropy (Relapse 2007)

Death Breath - Let It Stink / Relapse

The argument for metal not just being a bunch of noise has always been how difficult of a genre it is to perform. Faster bands have always been at the forefront of trying to make their light-speed riffing and drumming clearly heard, and the advancements in technology over the past decade to 15 years created a strong trend in metal which saw bands gravitating towards crystal-clear production to the point of being completely devoid of personality. While nerds like myself could headphone it up and hear each stroke of the guitar or snare hit with amazing ease, a good amount of these albums all ended up sounding the same, despite differences in style, region, or personnel. Honestly, a lot of the fun was taken out of the genre; bands sounded more like Kraftwerk's robot alter-egos than human beings.

Maybe it's the fact that the most classic metal albums were created before programs like Pro-Tools or drum triggers existed, or maybe it's just the fact that history repeats itself, but the last few years have seen a backlash against the mechanized, robot-metal that has dominated for quite a while. Enter Sweden's Death Breath, a project from the versatile Nicke Andersson (Entombed, the Hellacopters).

Let It Stink is Death Breath's third release in two years (a self-titled EP and the Stinking Up the Night full-length were both issued in 2006), an like its predecessors, loves hanging out in the grime and filth of raw production and sloppy, fun performances. It's obvious from the get-go that Death Breath isn't a completely serious band. First, there's the name. Next, there's the Beatles-parody artwork (Macabre did it better on Sinister Slaughter, though), then there's the first song, "Giving Head to the Dead." All of this is enough to make someone who already dismisses metal as a bullshit genre laugh this release off, and that's fine . . . we don't want you around anyway.

Death Breath manages to perfectly straddle the line that metal permanently resides on: joking around vs. taking things seriously. There's an ingrained humor in metal that's been there since day one (Venom and Slayer were just trying to make a buck, people) and will always be there. If you're really trying to make it as a metal band, the best method is just to ignore the humor aspect and do your thing, but it's clear that Death Breath aren't trying to make a living off this.

Let It Stink features old-school death-metal legend Scott Carlson (of Repulsion fame) on a few tracks, which makes sense considering the debt Death Breath owes to him and his old band. There's the basic one-two, slow-grind drumbeat, the minimal-chords-punk-style riffing, and the echo-y, shouted vocals. Death Breath also embraces the California-style mid-tempo thrash ("Lycanthropy") that is custom made for circle pits and sweaty dudes with their flannels tied around their waists.

There's also minimal guitar soloing on this EP, but when it happens, it's loud, screechy, and like the rest of the music, not too fancy . . . yet another throwback to the '80s-style Death Breath is paying respects to. The last song on Let It Stink, though, is a mid-paced romp that settles into the slowest groove of the EP around the two-minute mark and boasts a monumental solo which also serves as the focus of the disc's fading moments.

Be sure to check out the black and white video on this EP for their eponymous song from Stinking Up the Night. It involves a zombie, a chase through a graveyard, and actual death breath. There's also a colorized version that serves as a mini horror flick instead of a music video, in case you hate that particular song, I suppose.

With work already beginning on their next album, let's just hope that the nostalgia trip doesn't get old, and that Death Breath are going to continue writing quality, old-school death metal. I leave you with these words of wisdom from their website (remember, they're Swedes): "This is the record on which we are we going to use triggered drums and write lyrics about philosophical stuff . . . well, let’s hope we don’t do that."

Interversity: Educated Consumers

College Park, Maryland duo Educated Consumers are our featured artist for this week's Interversity. Released in July, Write/Hear is a back-to-basics approach to hip-hop that MC Seezmics and DJ t.E.C.K! have been working to create since they first formed in 1999. Their third and most accomplished work to date, Educated Consumers are holding it down in the shadows of the nation's capital. Seezmics took the questions for us.











Educated Consumers - Catch a Glimpse - Write/Hear (VeriZum 2007)

1. Just to be clear: What was the story behind the release of Write/Hear? You guys were saying it was pretty much set in mid-'05 on your blog...

Write/Hear had been completed from a music standpoint since ‘05, but we kept waiting for the right business situation to present itself. We had already done the "cd-r self release" thing with our first album, Educated Consumers. Our second album, Aisle 2, was released by a small label with limited resources. We'd learned from those releases and wanted to wait for something better, if not perfect. We were also getting some feelers for tours with bigger acts, and were hoping that would lead to signing with a bigger label.

Basically, we were hoping someone else would do the hard work so we could sit back and eat sandwiches made of diamonds. Big mistake.

I eventually got tired of hoping/waiting/wishing for better days, so I decided to start making them. We put the finishing touches on Write/Hear and I planned a release party in DC for July of ‘07. Next thing you know, we’re getting interviewed by Audiversity and performing at the Grammy’s. What a life.

2. How did you guys acquire your stage names, and what does the " t.E.C.K!" acronym stand for?

My little tag used to be “sieze,” which obviously evolved to seezmics when I started rapping for the masses. “t.E.C.K!” stands for The East Coast Kid and was born during the era of boom-bap beats representing the east coast style of production.

3. I'm loving the beats on this record, and I'm not the first to point out an early-90s influence. Is there any one album in particular that you'd say united you two and helped define the sound you're pursuing now?

The most obvious comparison is Gang Starr because my voice is similar to Guru’s and DJ Premier has been t.E.C.K!’s biggest influence. Hard To Earn is an incredibly complete album, both technically and conceptually, so I’d say that’s the best middle ground for us both.

However, we aren’t the next anyone. We are the first and only Educated Consumers. If it sounds like I’m being assertive, it’s because I am.

4. The vibe I get from interviews, shows and your site is that you have a great sense of humor. Whose sense of humor would you say you most admire? Why?

I like the quirky, self-deprecating style of Conan O'Brien blended with the razor-sharp semantics of George Carlin. Anne Coulter is also one funny broad. The whole "it's wrong when you do it but great when I do it" routine never gets old.

I admire these people because they can get the crowd open with a good fart joke, then bring down the house with an intellectually stimulating look at life and whether or not it has meaning. Then end things with another fart joke.

5. Educated Consumers are now nearly eight years old. What sorts of changes have you seen in the hip-hop scenes of College Park, DC and Baltimore during that time, and where do you think it's going?

I’ll use our release party as an example. I promoted the show in DC for over 2 months using Myspace, flyering local shows, word of mouth, threats of violence/financial ruin, calling radio shows, and T-shirts with the flyers printed on them real fancy like.

Essentially, I had all the bases covered: the heads who would come as long as they knew about the show, the heads who would come after they checked the website and fell in love with our sound, the heads who never come to shows because we have so many but knew this one was important, the heads who owed me money and figured showing up would make us even, and the local heads who we’ve supported through the years.

The show was on a Sunday, which was obviously problematic in terms of getting a maximum draw. However, since the venue owners also own several larger venues in the area, my plan was to get a large draw for a Sunday and use that momentum to convince the venue owners that DC hip hop acts are worth working with.

Several of the DC acts I spoke with while promoting wanted to be on the release party bill. I told them while that bill was already full, my plan was to impress the venue owners with the solidarity among DC artists and use this show as a tipping point for locking down the city. Several of these artists supported the idea and said they’d be there, both to show love for the release and to help us help them.

I spent a lot of money on promoting the show, and I can live with taking a loss on my own release party. I can even live with taking a minor loss helping other local acts, which was the plan going forward. However, of the 75+ people at the show not including the acts, 3 were DC artists. That is not a typo. Three. One. Two. Three.

This would not have happened when I first started getting involved in the scene. Heads supported each other, and not just out of some artificially benevolent hippie bullshit. They supported each other because they knew it would come back to help everyone. Apparently, people are too shortsighted or lazy to see that now.

Audiversinquiry (10 questions we ask everyone)

1. What did you specifically remember listening to as children that triggered a notable response?

I used to dig all the hair metal bands and their cookie-cutter song structures. Gotta have a snare-free intro. Gotta have tinny vocals. Gotta have a guitar solo. Then I got into Cypress Hill and moved on.

I’ve also always been a big sports geek, and I used to imitate the speech patterns of the guys calling/analyzing games. Steve Buckhantz is currently my favorite play-by-play guy. Howdayalikethat.

2. You are heading across town this moment and will have time to listen to one complete album during the trip, what would you all collectively listen to?

I would force t.E.C.K! to listen to the Modest Mouse’s Lonesome Crowded West. He would bludgeon me with a shoe and throw on Smif N Wessun’s Da Shinin.

3. Are there any other media that you draw inspiration from? Books, authors, painters, actors, movies, celebrities, etc?

I read a lot. Vonnegut, Orwell, Palahniuk for novels. Bill Simmons, Bethlehem Soals, DJ Gallo for sports. I recently started using netflix and it's become my codependent lover. I like checking out the groundbreakers like Peeping Tom and All The President's Men, but I keep it simple stoopid with Beerfest and Grandma's Boy. People, I implore you: check out Alien Vs. Predator. The contained explanation of mankind's evolution makes more sense than you'd expect. Celebrities... but aren't we all?

4. Where do you go to discover new music and sounds?

I ask my girlfriend what she thinks is cool, then I say "That sounds so lame!" but then I go check it out and inevitably like it. My sister also has ill taste in music and literature, so I pick her brain for new stuff. I've read a couple of the books being peddled on The Daily Show, and they have been hit or miss.

5. What question do you get most often as a band that you hate answering?

"Did you really turn down a max deal to sign with Wizards?" I'm like, yeah, I decided to forgo a Hall Of Fame career in the NBA so I could rap in front of strangers for pennies on the dollar. I've learned to live with it, and it's time all these interviewers just let it go.

6. Favorite instruments or specific sounds?

I love the crunchy sound from an SP1200, especially what it does to snares. t.E.C.K! does a great job of layering drum kits and gets a great sound from his MPC. I prefer groove samples to trumped up keyboard samples. I like recording using sports broadcaster mics because they isolate the better parts of my voice. I hate crying babies, bragging men, and nagging women.

7. The record store is closing in ten minutes and you are hell-bent on buying something before they close, what section do you each head immediately towards?

Soundtracks or comedy.

8. What is the last notable daydream you guys had and where did it take place?

N/A.

9. What is the perfect album to you? Are there any? Is it possible?

To me, the perfect album is Aceyalone's "A Book of Human Language." Concise, tangible, entertaining, and challenging. I don't think a perfect album is possible for more than one listener. Life is like a box of... what's that saying... oh yeah, condoms.

10. Do you keep up with blogs? Which if so?

Again, I'm a sports geek so here's the list: freedarko.com, kissmesuzy.blogspot.com, wizznutzz.com, Aol's NBA fanhouse, and of course audiversity.com. I also write a basketball blog, postgrotto.com (Incidentally, Kelly Tripucka was a golden god. - Ed.)

Singleversity #22

Audiversity’s weekly column, slightly modified, on random music in a predetermined number of words between 1 & 150. This week's randomly generated number: 73.

MA:



Indianapolis vibesman Billy Wooten has had a career buried miles below the radar, never even approaching the level of reputation held by similar artists like Bobby Hutcherson or Roy Ayers. Thanks to a few compiled tracks by Stones Throw and Japanese reissues, his music is thankfully still available though rare. This live cover of Al Green’s "Let's Stay Together" should be all the proof you need that the man is worth seeking out.

PM:



Xhol Caravan (nee Soul Caravan, nee Xhol) was one of the many lost prog groups of the 60s, a West German quintet who changed names with virtually every release. This performance of “All Green” from 1970 on WDR showcases a group at the forefront of experimentation, using a wah-wah sax and organs plus that trippy manipulation of your screen… and your mind. Interesting to note that one member later quit to join Embryo.

Turner Cody - "Buds of May"

Turner Cody - Lashes That Go Wide (Digitalis Industries 2007, recorded 2004)

Turner Cody – Buds of May / Digitalis Industries

I have never been overtly interested in the folk or singer/songwriter genres, typically opting for more multi-hued or densely layered music. But the fact of the matter is that folk done right can be as multi-dimensional as an experimental big band; it just takes an artist whose lyrical imagery can conjure captivating tales with little more than the help of an acoustic guitar and voice. It seems rather simple on paper, but there is absolutely a reason why Bob Dylan or Neil Young songs have near flawlessly held up over the last forty years with wave after style-copping wave of impersonators failing endlessly to dethrone the now-legends. And perhaps because of its rather simple, stripped-down state that so many musicians are drawn to its accessible boundaries, but for that very same reason, it also takes the most personality and idiosyncratic style of any genre to truly differentiate oneself from the masses. So basically, I pay attention when a folk or singer/songwriter album captures my attention, and concurrently attempt to figure out why the troubadour at hand is striking such a chord with my tastes. Turner Cody strummed that very chord with folksy fervor with his now re-released 2004 CD-R, Buds of May, on the always intriguing Digitalis label, and I plan on figuring out just why.

A talent being groomed by the New York City almost always-curious anti-folk scene, Turner Cody is beginning to capture interest worldwide after self-releasing a good number of cassettes and CD-Rs since 1999. Doubling as the bass player and opener for the similarly minded Swedish folk outfit and John Peel favorites Herman Düne, Cody has had the opportunity to be exposed to an international array of receptive audiences and even secured a spot on the Moldy Peaches-compiled Antifolk, Vol. 1 compilation on Rough Trade back in 2002. It is almost a shame that even with such widespread exposure, Cody has still yet to make a significant blip on the American indie radar, but thanks to a new compilation of his best material from 2000-2005 being released on Belgium’s b.y_records, at least his stock is steadily rising in Europe. Hopefully though, with the support of the amazing online music mecca that is Digitalis Industries and industry love from the likes of Wooden Wand, Skygreen Leopards and other off-center folk outfits, Cody will starting getting some stateside attention.

Comprised of twelve two-to-three minute folk ditties, Buds of May is both easily approachable and increasingly hypnotic with each concurrent spin. It is a nice middle ground between the odd anti-folk warble of contemporaries like Jeffrey Lewis, the more nostalgic tinny country-folk of early Dylan, and even the sparse, buoyant British singer/songwriter bounce of Donovan, but without the psychedelic paint job. Cody’s voice is emotive and multi-dimensional enough to jump from a country twang to lovelorn tenor to a playful, backwoods warble. And most importantly, he does a great job of never flat-lining with his vocal melodies; they seem to continuously waver contrasting the straightforward acoustic guitar strums brilliantly. Along with a few other players, Andre Herman Düne contributes buoyant bass lines both underpinning and adding welcomed depth that is so often lost on self-produced folk albums.

I am quite partial to the first half of the album, though not to say it drags on for too long as it registers just over thirty filler-free minutes. When Cody is lovesick, he is at his best. The title track is a springy yet melancholy tune of jubilant emotions sung over wonderfully pinging acoustic guitar melodies, while “Lashes Gone Wide” find Cody dropping his voice an octave and irresistibly cooing lines like “lashes that go wide, angelic dough eyes, none I could wish I blissfully say, could do what you so instantly do to shoo my clue away.” He sounds his most Dylan on “Cry With Me” by upping the twang and opting for lines of multi-layered rhymes with wide acoustic strums, bass line walks and a perfectly brief country-folk bridge. The album closes with the plaintive “When These Sands are Beds Again,” further establishing himself as a very talented songwriter by lacing each line with lyrics that both paint a near-tangible tale and roll gracefully off your tongue.

Being as Buds of May is the first and only Turner Cody album I have listened to, I have to wonder how it stacks up to his previous and subsequent efforts. Is there a reason Digitalis chose this one in particular out of his ever-growing collection of self-releases? And being as this was recorded in 2004, I definitely would like to hear how his songwriting has evolved over the last three years, because it sounds very matured and playful already at this point, a tough bridge to cross in any genre. Hopefully Cody will get some stateside love soon, because I am now quite addicted to his brand of endearing folk but the cost of Belgium-to-Chicago shipping is not enticing at all.

Golden Boots - "Burning Brain"

Golden Boots - Cellophane (Park the Van 2007)

Golden Boots - Burning Brain / Park the Van

Lala la luh la, la. First impressions can be pretty important when it comes to an album. At times, it's a red herring and a barnburner of an opening track gives way to a sadly (or rightfully) overlooked remainder (e.g. Wiretap Scars or That Much Further West); other times, it's just the beginning of something great (e.g. Hell Hath No Fury or Sound of Silver). Those are just some recent examples straight off the top of my TGI Friday's-infested head, but you get the picture. A first track can say a lot. More flair?

So when Golden Boots drunkenly stumble into one's proverbial Headphones Saloon with their lackadaisical "Ancient Buried City," you're not initially holding out much hope for cohesion or even the end of the song. Will it all just fall apart, much as Lucero does live? Or will they actually fight their way to the end of the first song of their, um, first album (for Park the Van)? Initially it doesn't look too promising.

But like a lot of quality alt-country, you never really know what you're going to get right out of the gate. Also, country n' western destruction can be a beautiful thing... And at the heart of Burning Brain, that's what this is about. It's an album about destruction. Maybe not Appetite for Destruction destruction, or collapse of the Aladdin destruction, but destruction all the same. Dirty, dusty, desertesque destruction. Yeah, desertesque. Sounds legit enough to be in the dictionary, right? Vote that in for me.

And give Golden Boots a whirl, because the Tucson, AZ duo are bringing something to the table, a local sensibility, that seems to be lacking in, say, Bark Bark Bark. Ryen Eggleston and Dimitri Manos, both their God-given names, are clever lads. They seem to know that with limited resources, you can still fuck around with people's expectations. So they do, and willingly: If it's not eight-track rickety porch folk on the appropriately titled "Rubble," it's the slow-moving beauty of "Buildings," a lo-fi psychedelic pop fragment. And holy hell, is that a bedtime nap they accordion'd their way into "Cellophane"?! We're talking true magic here. Though the recording quality is better than their 2005 debut Bland Canyon Adventure, the tape hiss can still be either real or imagined on these songs.

The la's come back for "West Nile Isle," a desolate tune for all the fictitious cow-herders in Gary Larson's vivid imagination. When the campfire goes out and all the horses have passed out from exhaustion, that's when Golden Boots come in, shimmering in the chilled air of a desert moonlight. Likewise "Diamond Eye (Classic Rock Mirage Version)," where reverberating guitars spend their time bouncing off the walls of their hole-in-the-wall studio to great effect. It makes the song sound bigger than it is. "Head Without the Man (Man Without the Head)" is the final song here, and one of the best. It's a straightforward "crumbly western" cut that lives up to the description the duo gives itself. The best part is a cello (or viola?) that comes in between chorus and verse. Sort of like a Murder By Death with less people and pageantry.

In effect, Burning Brain is the sound of a little alt-country group that can. The production isn't sterling, the vocals are scattershot, information on the group is sorely lacking (though that's more my problem/complaint than yours)... But Golden Boots is a lot like Wilderness Pangs in that they are doing so much with so little. They are a small town fireworks display of ideas, blowing across a clear desert sky. There is so much emotion packed into this little album, from jubilation to longing to dazed indifference to utter despair, that bulky big releases would do well to pay attention. Dr. Dog and The Teeth may be grabbing all of Park the Van's headlines, but as ever at Audiversity, we like pulling for the little guys out there. That said: Welcome to the slightly disoriented, sundazed and blissfully honest world of Golden Boots. Boys, a marketing suggestion: The Octopus Project may have taken "Roo!," but "La!" is up for grabs. Just throwing that out there.

Kaman Leung - "Lacrimal"

Kaman Leung - Lacrimal (z5 2007)

Kaman Leung - Lacrimal / z5

I'm not sure how much attention Kaman Leung will be getting in the next few months, but this one's a sleeper to be reckoned with: Though some have suspected that the Swedish-Chinese producer (Hell of a combination, for starters) is really the alias of a dubstep producer incognito, I can assure you that the man is a musical wizard of his own order. In fact, Kaman Leung has been doing his thing for quite some time now. In 1998 he released his first EP on the officially obscure A PMS Plan label, A Paroxysm of Excellence. A consistent flow of output between '98 and 2004 was enough to establish the name, but nowadays Leung hangs out in Norway under his Lacerated imprint and with the assistance of Japanese-based label z5, he's sending this one out to all the low-enders. Here's to you, kids. You're gonna like what you hear.

Lacrimal is actually Kaman Leung's first full-length, so at nine songs, it's a bit modest. A remix of Viktor Vaughn's "Rae Dawn" on a 7" earlier this year was the first for z5, but this is a proper introduction with no two ways around its brilliance. What makes it so good is that Leung is able to capture the vibe of a downtempo trip-hop record while still burning up subwoofers with some sick bass action. In particular, I'm thinking of "Stretchmarks" here. My laptop can't handle it, the subs on my computer can barely handle the middle section, and even a good stereo system struggles not to get eaten up by the deceptive power this track possesses. It's frightening, but the almost cheesy, summer strumming of the guitar notes give it a laid-back feel before the evil alien bass returns. Scary maybe, but scarily good might be a better summation. Back and forth this track goes, and the album isn't entirely unlike it.

The rubberband synth action continues on "100 Year Anniversary" and you can feel this as less a Burial record and more something along the lines of Nightmares on Wax or something like The Orb. Lots and lots of downtempo goodness to soothe the soul, but when the chips are down and it looks like you're going to be fading off into lounge-snoozing territory, Leung is smart enough to burn up your speakers (as he does on "As Hope Fades"). In nine short tracks, his handling of the evil with the calming is the mark of an artist who's been around the block a time or two. Having officially been on the release sheets for nearly a decade now, Kaman Leung is no stranger to doing things right. He had a little help with this release, though much of the recording was produced primarily by him: Mastered by Andreas Tilliander (who's had some releases out on Type helping Mokira and a slew under his own name over at Mille Plateaux) and produced by Golden member Natsuki "Dopement" Rai (who are virtually impossible to find anything about, but we know Japanese minimalist Salmon was another member of the troupe), at least Leung wasn't going it alone.

Beachy guitars set the scene on the title-track, one of the best here. The echoing vibe and transistorized accents bring the den dwelling of the bassline, as the guitar plucks its way back from the ocean to see out the end of the song. It's just that little bit funky, and it takes the edge off of what would otherwise be a deep, dark, bass-driven monster of a track. The beauty is in the clash, and while the edge may be taken off, worry not because your speakers are still getting the proper whipping about they deserve while your ears hum the notes over and over. This is straight del.i.cious, first-rate main course dubstep on abstract electro. Autechre, meet Kode9. He'll be taking you on your blind date this evening.

Electro junkies and hip-hop heads alike, fetch this however you can. Maybe it's hard to find in all the shops and shoppes, respectively, but dig deep and spend your hard-earned money on this record. It plays like a dream and a nightmare; what more could you ask for? Heaven knows where this cat is now, be it Osaka or Stockholm or Oslo or whatever, but wherever he is and whatever he's doing, let this be a desperate plea from one dude digging his songs to keep it up. Sounds pretty pathetic I know, but you'll see what I mean when you hear Lacrimal. Even your speakers, roughed up and tossed around by the stuttering wickedness of "Stillborn," will be begging for more. It may not be PC to say, but secretly, all speakers are "in to that." Thanks to Kaman Leung, the cat's now outta the bag.

Saturna - "Some Delicious Enemy"

Saturna - Periwinkle (Nexus Underground 2007)

Saturna - Some Delicious Enemy / Nexus Underground

When you think Portland and music, what do you think of? If you've been reading a whole lot of Spin or Tiny Mix Tapes, you may be thinking in the vein of The Decemberists or Mirah or The Thermals. If you've been reading us, you may be thinking Lifesavas or Gouseion (you music-savvy devil, you). If you don't read any of those things and don't really care about music, maybe you think of Portland as a hippie outpost or a scag den. I have no defense for the former, but the latter now has a soundtrack courtesy one of its own: Welcome to the world of Saturna, where drugs and swirling guitars and Spiritualized are all part of the repertoire.

You never know what you're going to get when people send you their music. Sometimes it's a dude with a four-track and a six-string at home singing about his ex-girlfriends; other times it's Educated Consumers. Vocalist n' guitarist Ryan Carroll was coy enough to suggest that I might be interested in his band given how much I constantly rave about A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Cyann & Ben and My Bloody Valentine and pretty soon you'll be hearing about A Place to Bury Strangers also. Michael and Dave would not have fallen for this as easily, but what can I say? Words just don't matter to me unless you're Frank Turner or Beans on Toast.

Carroll understands that, and in turn I understand that words are emphatically not at the center of Some Delicious Enemy. This is a grand, epic-sounding album... But it has very little to do with the words. For better or worse, the group knows how to put guitars at the fore of the mix. Shortly: It pays handsome dividends. In the best traditions of somebody like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club or Spacemen 3 or even Deerhunter as of late, Saturna build sonic monuments out of reverb and delay, crushing cymbals and elephantine roars. But unlike a Lush or a Chapterhouse, you can understand what Carroll's saying most of the time. But when a harmony is as pleasing as "Much More," who cares what he's saying? At the end of the day, it's not so much about the words as it is about the music.

Okay, so the dead horse has been sufficiently flogged by now. Let's talk about some choons: First single "Pop Rocks" is what it is because, perhaps more than any other song on this album, you can hear something like The Brian Jonestown Massacre in here. It's a little garage, a little psych, a lot of throwback, but it's also the album's outright weakest song. It does, however, possess the same lineage as the rest of the album; when listened to as a whole, Some Delicious Enemy works it in seamlessly. That's one of the best parts of this album. Everything goes together so well, and not because every song sounds the same. There are definite differences in tone from "Fall" and "Chasing the Unpredictable," but the way the quartet comes across never has you wondering why this was included in the final tracklisting, or why they tried to do that with a perfectly good solo. It's loose, fluid and consistently strong as a direct result of not trying to sound too much like any one progenitor. They just happen to come together at the apex of all their influences in the best possible way.

This band sounds like it's got a healthy helping of the spirit of Saturn in it. Celestial interludes mingle with psych-rock freak-outs mix with white torrents of noise mix with pleasant, poppy choruses. And if you're into heroin, you should probably be listening to Saturna. Psychedelics worshippers also welcomed. I feel like I listened to a thousand of these albums during my stint in college radio, but Saturna stick out to me now not just because of their circumspect solos but also because of the inherent strength in the structures of songs like "Periwinkle." Deep beneath the haze of amplified guitars and relentlessly powerful drums of Matt Badger, there are innocent pop songs. Saturna understand perhaps better than their influences right now (Seriously, did you hear Baby 81?) that you cannot build a musical monolith without strong foundations. That is what makes Some Delicious Enemy so incredibly appealing.

Blockhead - "Uncle Tony's Coloring Book"

Blockhead - Put Down Your Dream Journal and Dance (Ninja Tune 2007)

Blockhead - Uncle Tony's Coloring Book / Ninja Tune

Another hit from the Ninja Tune camp this late summer, Blockhead is not one of the independent hip-hop scene's brightest stars. What that means is, while he's worked with a host of notable MCs from Aesop Rock to Murs and El-P to DJ Signify, his name is not one to be bantered about often. That's a shame too, because it's not just his production work with these guys (Aesop Rock's Float and Labor Days in particular) that should've garnered him more attention than he's gotten. The New York beatsmith has also released a few of his own albums: 2004's Music By Cavelight was a finely honed album of instrumentals that Mush are probably still kicking themselves for letting go. 2005's Downtown Science was pretty good too, though not as many heads were turned.

But Blockhead is sure to turn heads with this album. He's pushing all kinds of stylistic boundaries, so that by the end of its 13 tracks, you're not sure whether this is trip-hop or jazz-hop or merely instrumental hip-hop. That sounds like such a pedestrian tag, but it's about as close as you're gonna get to describing how much is going on. And it's not even entirely accurate: "Put Down Your Dream Journal and Dance" features vocals and there are plenty of other voices as either samples or harmonies on here (See also: "Do the Tron" or "Cheer Up You're Not Dead Yet"). Rather than a mere record of beats, this is a very human-sounding album. It's approachable, it's diverse, it's vibrant. It is colorful.

No doubt about it, the Ninja Tune description "An upbeat collection of fun instrumentals" holds sway here. The jazzy horn of "Squirmy Worm" is one of the best bits, wildly flailing about as a lock-solid groove undulates beside. There's a lot of jazz and funk sounds going on here, the first official leak on his MySpace "Not So OK Corral" being a good example with its ascending-and-descending guitars and synths giving off a funk vibe initially before mutating into an almost Eastern sound.

Part of the magic of this album is the guitar, interestingly. The guitar flourishes are a welcome addition to an album that often feels like there's live instrumentation happening. One of the best examples of this comes early with the Japacid solo on "Dukes of Hazzard" that would make Uganda or Les Rallizes Denudes proud. That very sharp guitar sound doesn't dominate by any means, but it adds a live vibe that would otherwise be lacking. Scratching is another thing that is thankfully lacking: Though "Coloring Book" opens up with a scratch and they dot the landscape elsewhere on the album, it never feels like Blockhead is trying to show off how he can work a turntable. Instead, he lets the perfectly competent music do that for him. His disparate influences work wonders and that tinge of turntablism is just one more ingredient to throw in the pot.

"Squirmy Worm" was already mentioned, but jazz is another genre that keeps cropping up. It's never quite as overt anywhere else. "Cheer Up You're Not Dead Yet" is a spacey noodler but its laid-back vibe is almost reminiscent of somebody like Medeski, Martin & Wood. And the keys that accentuate all the other instruments on this album can sound anywhere from straight out of the early 60s to somewhere in the mid 80s: "Grape Nuts and Chalk Sauce" sounds like either a lost spaghetti western score or the soundtrack to an old NES game with flourish, maybe "Sky Shark."

Originally this album was slated for the spring, but its delayed release date shouldn't matter to fans of instrumental hip-hop or beats in general. Tough beats and catchy grooves this time around? I'll back that up with saying that Uncle Tony's Coloring Book is one of the best instrumental hip-hop records of the year. It's also one of the best trip-hop records of the year. It's also one of the finer electronica releases this year. You get the drift: Blockhead isn't lying down now, and nor should you if you're into the beats. A thrilling release with a variety of different styles covered, Blockhead is merely doing what he does best. The good news: This might be the best of his best yet.

Radio Show Playlist: 8/8/07

6a:
1. My Bloody Valentine - Soon - Loveless (Sire 1991)
2. Trembling Blue Stars - This Once Was an Island - The Last Holy Writer (Elefant 2007)
3. Mazzy Star - Halah - She Hangs Brightly (Capitol 1990)
4. Spaceman 3 - Walkin' with Jesus - The Perfect Prescription (Glass 1987)
5. Helios - The Obesiant Vine - Ayres (Type 2007)
6. Stars of the Lid - Fac 21 - The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid (Kranky 2001)
7. Sodastream - Reservations - Reservations (Hausmusik 2006)
8. Tiny Vipers - Campfire Resemblances - Hands Across the Void (Sub Pop 2007)
9. Califone - Pink & Sour - Roots & Crowns (Thrill Jockey 2007)
10. Sandy Bull - Gospel Tune - Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo (Vanguard 1963)

7a:
1. Begushkin - Nightly Things - Nightly Things (Locust 2007)
2. Animal Collective - Winters Love - Sung Tongs (FatCat 2004)
3. Tim Kinsellas - Faith Can Mean Can't - He Sang His Didn't He Danced His Did (Troubleman Unlimited 2001)
4. Fog - What Gives? - Ditherer (Lex 2007)
5. Pumice - Stopover - Pebbles (Soft Abuse 2007)
6. Alastair Galbraith - For Free - Mirrorwork (Emperor Jones 1998)
7. The Bitter Tears - Farewell My Lovely - The Bitter Tears (Roydale 2007)
8. Patrick Cleandenim - Hollywood - Baby Comes Home (Ba Da Bing 2007)
9. David Bowie - Drive-In Saturday - Aladdin Sane (Virgin 1973)
10. Lou Rawls - You've Made Me So Very Happy - You've Made Me So Very Happy (Capitol 1970)

8a:
1. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - If This Ain't Love (Don't Know What Is) - Keep Reachin' Up (Light in the Attic 2007)
2. Copperpot - I Put a What feat. Valeska Jakobowicz - WYLA? (What're You Looking At?) (EV Productions 2007)
3. Arthur Prysock - In the Rain - Arthur Prysock '74 (Oldtown 1973)
4. Billy Wooten - Let's Stay Together - Lost Tapes (Blues International(?) 2007, recorded 197?)
5. Charles Tolliver's Music Inc. - Felicite - Live at Sugs Vol. 1 (Strata East 1972)
6. Modern Jazz Quartet - Django - Django (Prestige 1955)
7. DJ 2Tall Presents Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow - A Tall - Beautiful Mindz (Eclectic Breaks/Amalgam Digital 2007)
8. Shape of Broad Minds - Electric Blue - Blue Experience EP (Lex 2007)
9. Deadbeat - Deep in Country feat. Moral Undulations - Journeyman's Annual (~scape 2007)
10. Sound in Light - Free Your Mind - Now-Again Re:Sounds Vol. 1 (Now-Again 2007)

Ovipositor - "Pirate Flag at Half-Mast"

Ovipositor - Harbor Mine (Arbeit Macht Dinge 2007)

Ovipositor - Pirate Flag at Half-Mast / Arbeit Macht Dinge

I had to look up what an ovipositor was before listening to the album. It had been awhile since I'd studied insects, or turtles, or other creatures which lay eggs sans internal embryonic development. This process of laying the eggs, oviposition, is enabled through the ovipositor organ. Placement of the eggs so they can hatch is essentially the ovipositor's job.

The correlation is going to be loose here, but Oakland group Ovipositor seems to be a band that acts as a burrowing arm for their numerous influences (whether they be real or imagined). About 800 different bands come to mind as you listen to Pirate Flag at Half-Mast, not to mention this whole thing. And in some ways, that helps define this band: You know exactly what they sound like if you've ever listened to Arab on Radar or imagined vague elements of The Fall and They Were Wrong, So We Drowned-era Liars orgying it up with Firehouse or a less frightening version of The Pope or something. That's the vibe that we're getting here.

What exactly that means is captured accurately on pretty much every song here. There are few deviations from the sound initially explored on "Duck is Down." Guitarist and singer Colin Frangos jumps straight into the act with a sarcastic monotone that isn't worlds away from Mark E. Smith; the difference is that Frangos starts off excitable at the beginning of the album, but gradually seems to get bored both of himself and of his delivery... To the point that, by the time you reach "Bow Down to the Beer God," he's hardly singing at all (which makes sense because, as Frangos personally pointed out to me, "Bow Down to the Beer God" is an instrumental; well played). The thing is, there's nothing half-assed about Half-Mast: The excitement may be dead by mid-album, but it's an intense apathy that carries itself through to the end of the album.

"Li'l Foamers" is another testament to the sarcastic rants that Frangos utilizes for so much of this album while drummer Mark Pino beats away on the skins with little care for texture or tone. This is straight-ahead rock and there will be nothing but brash beats. The avant-rock squalls and metallic-draped feedback dirges that dominate this record are not unlike the latest incarnation of Hella if they were less about Zach Hill and more about making a farce of their audience. Ovipositor, doing much the same thing, are all about making life difficult for the listener. But repeated plays can yield reward on the lyrics and even catchy melodies. I can't believe I just said that. Ovipositor can be catchy.

Laurin Askew's bass also stands at the head of the class on occasions but on the, um, natural single "Ronnie & Chad," it's Frangos who comes through with his most noticeable delivery since the"Duck is Down." Their dialogue back and forth is mundane at best, but Frangos' shouted chorus over the atonal wails of his guitar adds an epic air to it. "I'd give my lunch hour up for you," he says, and you can just see him rolling his eyes.

But don't roll your eyes at these barely adequate descriptions. Though tons of names can be dropped as reference points (SST to Dischord, Big Black to Scratch Acid), Ovipositor is trying to carve out their own niche in the hills of the Bay area. As one of the most challenging sounds to master (mostly because doing it wrong makes you sound comically boring), this particular kind of lo-fi noise-rock has few currently decent purveyors. That Ovipositor is willing to try may be by accident, but that their success is sufficient to light a fire under this review may say more than the words that are actually here. Something about this band sticks, and even if I'm not quite sure what it is yet, I believe it's coming soon. There is no doubt, at least, that their total commitment to this album has me nodding my head in approval.

Deadbeat - "Journeyman's Annual"

Deadbeat - Deep in Country feat. Moral Undulations (~scape 2007)

Deadbeat – Journeyman’s Annual / ~scape

The first thought that crossed my mind when I slipped in Deadbeat’s fourth full-length for the ~scape label was “cool… a dubstep album with a Berlin approach to post-techno.” But upon further listening and research, my initial reaction was a bit erroneous and more specifically, backwards. This is a post-techno album heavily influenced by dub, which obviously spins it into dubstep territory, though with a significant increase in the bpm department. And designating geographically to Berlin was incorrect as well (damn I’m ignorant in the world of electronica!), though it is being released on Stefan Betke’s (aka Pole) ~scape label, which is located in Berlin. Scott Monteith, who explores the overlapping characteristics of dub and electronica as Deadbeat, is actually very much intertwined in the Montreal digital music underground. So, I was near completely wrong with my initial assessment of Journeyman’s Annual, but really, that only makes it significantly more intriguing. Monteith has crafted a sound near impossible to categorize in both a geographic and stylistic sense as it encompasses so many different influences, not to mention it can double as a club banger.

Like most intriguing artists, Monteith’s sound evolved from odd, sometimes conflicting influences during his formidable years as a musician. According to his bio, he stumbled through church choirs and acid rock high school bands before discovering the sinister beat of industrial music. This led him to increasingly more beat-oriented styles and into the mid-90s rave scene which was thriving in Toronto, a short trip from his hometown in Ontario, Canada. After hooking up with Mike Shannon and Jeff Milligan (aka Algorithm), Monteith began to explore the possibilities of DJing and relocated to Montreal where thanks to being in the right place at the right time, he helped sprout the city’s potent laptop techno scene. But perhaps the most important musical exposure he gained was from his first roommate in the French-Canadian city who hated techno but loved dub reggae. This led to Monteith’s infusion of both genres and with the help of a fertile scene and a job at a music software company (Applied Acoustic Systems), he was able to carve out a niche that wouldn’t be internationally popular until nearly a decade later in the mid-aughts (dubstep, though perhaps ambient-techno with a heavy dub influence may be a better description of his sound) and grab the attention of Betke’s then blossoming ~scape label. Monteith and the Montreal scene garnished more and more attention as the years passed, and now fully established and with hefty fan-base, the fourth Deadbeat album drops with eager international anticipation.

This first track of Journeyman’s Annual, “Lost Luggage” is a bit misleading, which is why it led to my initial incorrect assessment. It is near wholly in the menacing dubstep mode with deeply resonating dub-like effects and a sinister, slow-moving beat. The song opens up about halfway in where rich, booming string plucks provided by fellow Montrealer Stophie Trudeau of Godspeed! You Black Emperor and A Silver Mount Zion fame which completely encompass your speakers. From here on out though, it’s as if each subsequent song increases in bpms and you are repeatedly remind that this is a techno album laced with dub elements rather than the other way around. “Melbourne Round Midnight” thumps with bone-rattling low frequencies and sparse rocksteady organ chops, “Night Train to Paris” stutters with increasingly overlapping high frequency clicks and taps before opening up with a head-nodding bass line and echoing sound effects and “Where Has My Love Gone.,” which may be the strongest song of the disc, bumps into a danceable dub-techno array of swirling acoustic guitar-like sounds, drum washes and enveloping organs. Monteith enlists a few vocalists as well who all excel with their individual styles, mostly dancehall derived though. Bubbz, a Bristol-based emcee, is first on deck and rips “Refund Me” with a rap-like approach though he is buried in a sea of chugging white noise and hollow drum sequences. “Deep in the Country,” featuring the unearthly grunting of Moral Undulations, definitely reminds me of Kode9 & the Spaceape as he gutturally narrates and cackles underneath a typewriter beat and deep-thudding bass. And finally, Deadbeat goes dancehall as Montreal deejay Jah Cutta expresses his irresistible love for ladies of all sizes on "Gimmie a Little Slack." The album closes with a much-revered remix of what is easily def poet Saul Williams’ finest moment, “Black Stacey.” Up until now, it was a much sought after promo-only 12 inch and the trademark set capper for Deadbeat live sets.

Journeyman’s Annual is undoubtedly a very strong album, and most importantly, it helps bring the dubstep sound to techno-friendly dance floors as Deadbeat has been successfully purveying for years now. Like ~scape label owner and mentor Stefan Betke, whose minimal dub-techno alias Pole is heading in the same direction, Monteith is increasingly accessible, probably thanks to the international recognition and acceptance of the similar dubstep genre. Journeyman’s Annual is less ghetto though and more… well Montreal… than the majority of the stuff dropping from London, but there are very few who can drench what is essentially a techno beat with such saturated dub elements than Monteith. It is an album that can be comfortably listened to in both your home and in the club, which is maybe the toughest characteristic to achieve for electronica producers everywhere.

Patrick Cleandenim - "Baby Comes Home"

Patrick Cleandenim - Hollywood (Ba Da Bing 2007)

Patrick Cleandenim – Baby Comes Home / Ba Da Bing

When I was in school studying audio production, I was one of those cats who booked overnight sessions in the studio, brought in aspiring rappers or music students and attempted to make a name for myself as a producer before even receiving my diploma. As you can probably tell since I am writing about music and not making my own, I failed. I failed utterly and miserably. Though maybe my ambitions and work ethic are in the right place, I just don’t have that natural knack for studio wizardry or for that matter, an ear for songwriting, arranging or producing. As much as I fought against drifting into the world of critiquing instead of creating, it was apparently inevitable. I think if Patrick Clendenin Roberts, who now records under the name Patrick Cleandenim, and I had taken classes together, we would have been good friends. We both share lofty ambitions, a love for old-school Axelrod-like studio production sound, and apparently the ability to herd university music students into graveyard shift studio sessions; but as Baby Comes Home proves, Roberts has much, much more talent and the ability to manifest his ideas into lush, infectious and very classic sounding productions. I am jealous. Sigh.

Not to further frustrate any aging, aspiring musicians, but Roberts wrapped the Baby Comes Home sessions on his twenty-first birthday. Already by this point, he had established himself in the Lawrence, KS scene with the “prog-styled indie-noir” trio Clockwork, who became the de facto opener for big-name indie-acts coming through the city. In 2002, Roberts went solo at the age of 17 (precocious is the word that comes to mind) and began to establish himself as an artistic force increasingly elaborating on a folk-pop sound. After leaving town to study at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in NYC, he returned home to begin the yearlong recording process of his debut full-length as Patrick Cleandenim. Captured to tape during graveyard shifts at the Black Lodge Recording Studio (co-owned by local favorites The Get Up Kids) with the help of an excellent rhythm section (drummer Stuart Perry and bassist Brandon McGuire) and a mini-orchestra of University of Kansas music students, Baby Comes Home is a greatly ambitious and wholly infectious debut from a young, multi-talented artist who should soon have the indie world at his beck and call.

Easily the most impressive aspect of Baby Comes Home is from the production viewpoint. Arranged with minute precision and recorded in an impeccably old-school manner, the album sounds mostly like a lost orchestra-pop gem from the very late 60s. Accompanied by his horn and string-heavy orchestra, Roberts easily conjures names like Spector or Vannier with his classic pop arrangements, but both of those still seem not quite right. With his knack for jazzy undertones, string flourishes and sassy melodies, I would almost describe it as David Axelrod producing a Bacharach-penned Bowie record. And the utilization of solely live, acoustic instrumentation definitely works wonders; it easily puts most laptop-orchestras to shame. With Roberts’ melodic alto vocals narrating over-top, it also draws comparisons to the skewed pop of acts like Sparks (the younger generation can seamlessly replace of Montreal here as well) circa the early 70s, though much less quirky and psychedelic. Really, a better vocal parallel may be that of Scott Walker especially with Roberts’ phrasing and the orchestrated backing, though much, much less guttural and menacing. Roberts’ lyrical content is the only aspect of the music that gets lost in the mix because it doesn’t really draw attention, for better or worse. It is not necessarily bland or poorly written, but just sort of generic-leaning pop content; plus, his vocal melodies are infinitely more interesting than anything he is actually saying.

All of you saddened by the early retirement of Patrick Wolf should run out and buy this record right away, though don’t expect anything nearly as flamboyant. There is definitely a similar aesthetic though with both incredibly ambitious acts exploring the confines of chamber art-pop. Roberts does a much better job of paying dues to his predecessors though, and he is definitely making a case for becoming the Bacharach of our generation, though hopefully without the incredible amount of accompanied cheese. To say Baby Comes Home is a promising solo debut is putting it lightly; this is a phenomenal debut of sheer (and somewhat already met) potential. If you are digging the retro-Spector sound bubbling up from the indie scene (see Pipettes), than do yourself a favor and check out Patrick Cleandenim. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Slayer - "Christ Illusion" (CD/DVD Reissue with Bonus Tracks)

(Ed. Note--Audiversity is very pleased to kick off this week by introducing the newest writer to our music nerdery team. The former Review Editor for Punk Planet (R.I.P.) and an expert on all things metal, deviant and sinister, Mr. Dave Hofer is here to add a little more chutzpah to our weekly content. As a near perfect introduction, Supreme Overlord Hofer is debuting with a review of what may be the quintessential metal band, Slayer. We are ecstatic to have Dave aboard as our newest Audiversitarian, and hope you will share our excitement in the further diversification of our content.)











Slayer - Black Serenade (alternate version, American 2007)

Slayer - Christ Illusion (CD/DVD Reissue with Bonus Tracks) / American

Slayer is one of those bands that only seem to release new albums so they can tour and play a handful of new songs mixed in with a high percentage of older, classic material. Summer of 2006 brought us the band's ninth studio album, Christ Illusion, and as is the norm these days, summer of 2007 delivered a reissue of the same album, but with (gasp!) bonus material! Christ Illusion is already a great thrash album that gets the job done: it placates Slayer fans until the band can come through their town and lay waste to whatever venue they're booked in.

There's really not a lot to speak of here. The Christ Illusion reissue features two bonus tracks, only one of which is previously unreleased. "Final Six," the until-now unheard song, was left off of the album due to incompletion because of bassist/vocalist Tom Araya's gall-bladder surgery. Seriously. "Black Serenade" should look familiar, because it's already on the album. This version is slightly different: some arrangement changes that make little—if any—difference unless both versions are listened to back to back.

The DVD packs a little more punch, but not a lot. First up is a five-minute "documentary" of Slayer on tour, which is little more than quickly-edited scenes of them playing live in Florida and Australia (and also some shots of them sitting on couches backstage) set to the tune of "Jihad" from Christ Illusion. The footage is cool enough, unless you've seen their live home videos Live Intrusion, Still Reigning, and War at the Warfield, or have ever listened to their double-live album, Decade of Aggression. The most clever part is a shot of a "No Crowdsurfing" sign, and then shots of people crowd-surfing anyway.

Next is the video for "Eyes of the Insane," also from Christ Illusion, which is neat and all, but I've already seen this for free numerous times after I taped it off of Headbanger's Ball onto my metal-video VHS tape. Finally is a live clip of "South of Heaven," recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is a teaser for Slayer's fourth live home video! Good lord. It's cool seeing the lights that project inverted crosses onto their giant backdrop and all, but enough with the live footage already.

Here's an idea: the Slayer box set sucked. It was filled with rarities I could give a shit about (a live performance of "Bloodline" from ESPN France?) Why don't you release a proper double-DVD set with a full-length documentary about life on the road with Slayer (much like any of Pantera's immensely entertaining home videos), couple it with a bonus DVD of all the Slayer videos, which are never aired on TV, and offer a deluxe version of that with a CD or two of rarities?

Here's this entire review in a nutshell: the bonus features aren't worth it if you already own Christ Illusion. The fancy cover art may be fun to look at while stoned, but the "documentary," the different version of "Black Serenade," and the live version of "South of Heaven" are good for one, maybe two spins, tops. You'll probably want to listen to "Final Six" a few times because it's a good song, but it's not spend-an-additional-15-dollars good.

Interversity: Fog

Fog mastermind Andrew Broder was nice enough to answer a few questions for this week's Interversity column. His latest release on Lex Records, Ditherer, is a hearty helping of anthemic avant-pop, and it has yet to leave my CD player since I got a hold of it a few weeks back. His answers may not be as quirky as his lyrics, but they still provide plenty of insight into the wonderfully unpredictable musical world that is Fog:



Fog - "I Have Been Wronged" - Ditherer (Lex 2007)

1. I credited the eclectic mix of styles strewn throughout Fog's avant-pop sound to your unconventional evolution as a musician, which I roughly and broadly described as "punk rocker turned acclaimed hip-hop DJ turned 4-track experimenter turned bedroom singer/songwriter turned quirky avant-rocker." Firstly, how accurate was my assessment? And, are these stylistic transitions inspired by a need to branch out and take on new challenges, out of boredom with revisiting a particular sound, or is it something completely unconscious?

I'd say that's reasonably accurate. Being the typical, whiny artist(e), I can say honestly that in the moment, I was never trying to be any of those things (except maybe the hip-hop DJ part), that I always just try to think of myself as a musician, and that I make an effort to transcend those boundaries, blah blah blah. The changes over time have been a result of all the reasons you mentioned- plus, in general, I have a tendency to mimic what I am predominantly listening to at a given time, and that changes frequently due to short-attention span.

2. Ditherer sounds to me like the most assured, accessible and anthemic Fog album to date; was it intentional to write a lot of anthem-like songs or was it more an unforeseen characteristic that arose while writing the album?

It was very intentional to write songs with a certainty to them, and more thoughtfully structured and arranged. A lot of that has to do with a) recording demos first, which I had never done before and b) recording as a unit, rather than on my own.

3. You collaborate with a number of different artists on Ditherer (including members of Dosh, Why?, Pedestrian Mount Eerie, Low and Andrew Bird); how much influence did they have in rounding out the sound on the album? Has it caused you to approach writing music in any different manner than before?

I don't know if it had an effect on the songwriting itself, but it certainly helped the songs achieve more of a universal feel to have different voices and ideas in the mix. The album is in large part an attempt to get rid of the insular feel of one-man recordings.

4. One of the most idiosyncratic and intriguing aspect of the Fog sound is the endearingly quirky lyrics; does anything in particular influence your writing style? Are the lyrics written prior to or in response to the music?

Prior to in the sense that I usually amass a bunch of different ideas, and them try them out over different musical ideas in progress and see what works. Usually, something subliminal happens where I am working on some chords or a basic phrase, and some lyrics I wrote before that will magically slide into place. There is some luck involved. In particular I have influenced lately by books, rather than song lyrics. I like writers like George Saunders and Donald Bartheleme. I also draw from the language of day to day culture whether its slang, or things you see printed on products or in advertising, or just something you overhear somebody say that sticks with you.

5. With so many stylistic influences and such an unpredictable and diverse discography, do you strive to reinvent the Fog sound with each successive album? Is it getting easier or tougher from a songwriting perspective with each record?

I guess so. We don't want to be reinventing the wheel for it's own sake, but why be a musician if not to grow and change? That's where the excitement is, at least for me. As far as getting easier or harder, I don't know. After a record is finished, I usually experience a total drought of ideas, and have to force myself to get back into writing again. By the time I do, my tastes have shifted, and I want to hear new sounds.

Audiversinquiry (10 questions we ask everyone)

1. What did you specifically remember listening to as a child that triggered a notable response?

Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot. Then, U2. Then, Jimi Hendrix. Then Miles Davis. Then stuff like Living Colour and Fishbone, then De La Soul, and so on up until present day... Lots of different "phases."

2. Let's say you are heading across town this moment and will have time to listen to one complete album during the trip, what would you listen to?

Right now, either Panda Bear's album or Lil Wayne Drought 3.

3. Are there any other media that you draw inspiration from? Books, authors, painters, actors, movies, celebrities, etc?

See above authors... Right now, I am reading a book called "Gargoyles" by Thomas Bernhard. Amazing. "Three Novellas" by him is also amazing. I don't really watch movies. The last movie I watched was the one where Harrison Ford is the president and has to save Air Force One. I believe it's called "Air Force One", and it may be the stupidest film of all time.

4. Where do you go to discover new music and sounds?

Our drummer Tim has gotten me hip to lots of Black Metal, as has Aquarius Records(.org) where you can listen to samples online. There's a radio show in Mpls. called Strictly Butter that plays Minimal and Dubstep that I like quite a bit. The Wire is a good magazine to discover new stuff. Other than that, mainly friends just telling me about shit. I despise 90% of new music that I hear, particularly in the "indie" realm, but there's definitely a lot of wonderful stuff still, to seek out and is exciting.

5. What question do you get most often that you hate answering?

There's no question that I HATE answering, but I do think it's incredibly boring to talk about what label we're on, or things like that, un-related to what the music sounds like. Any question that is a re-wording of something stated on a press release.

6. Favorite instruments or specific sounds?

It's very hard to argue with how an 808 drum machine sounds.

7. The record store is closing in ten minutes and you are hell-bent on buying something before they close, what section do you head immediately towards?

Yo, it's 2007: What's a record store? What are records?

8. What is the last notable daydream you had and where did it take place?

Whew- I do a lot of that... Difficult to pick one out. I daydream about having my own professional recording studio. I guess that's the most prominent one right now.

9. What is the perfect album to you? Are there any? Is it possible?

Yeah, perfect is a funny word, but sure, I have albums that in my mind can do no wrong: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Ask the Ages by Sonny Sharrock, Illmatic.... way way too many to mention.

10. Do you keep up with blogs? Which do you read if so?

I do, but only in the vain and desperate search for my own name, or the names of my friends. My eyes glaze over the rest.

Singleversity #21

Audiversity’s weekly column, slightly modified, on random music in a predetermined number of words between 1 & 150. This week's randomly generated number: 129.

MA:



Some Saturday mornings are meant for inspired production with no other obligations clogging up the day. Then there are Saturday mornings like today’s: hung over, unmotivated and set to help a friend move in the scalding summer heat. These are the mornings when soothing pop music comes in handy, and the first single, "Bricks", off the upcoming full-length from the U.K.’s Tunng is just the cure-all I need. Now signed to Chicago’s Thrill Jockey, studio wizard Mike Lindsay, singer/songwriter Sam Genders and company conjure a folksy, delicately buoyant brand of poptronica. A pleasant collage of irresistible male/female vocal melodies, ornate instrumentation and clever studio manipulation, Tunng is closer to the equivalent of waking in a lush pasture surrounded by playful robotic bunnies than my current futon-draped, head-pounding state.

PM:

…And some Saturday mornings you don’t even see because you stay up too late and don’t wake up until noon. Somewhere after a move-in and a recharge, that’s where The Durutti Column comes in. Still one of the most underappreciated groups in the blogosphere, The Durutti Column has been around from the time of the first incarnation of Factory Records and main man Vini Reilly took took its name from a group of Spanish anarchists in the 1930s. Their debut album was recorded by Martin Hannett (also known for his work with the Buzzcocks and Joy Division), while 1987’s The Guitar and Other Machines became the first British album to be released to DAT. Using a sequencer, drum machine, and here an “Arpeggiator,” Reilly continued to generate fresh sounds.

Erdem Helvacioğlu- "Altered Realities"

Erdem Helvacioğlu - Shadow My Dovetail (New Albion 2007)

Erdem Helvacioğlu - Altered Realities / New Albion

Turkey is a nation rich with history and tradition. From the time of Constantinople to its heyday as the center of the Ottoman Empire to its critical current placement as the literal bridge between Europe and Asia bordered by no less than eight countries, Turkey reaps massive rewards from so many cultures converging in one place. It may not always be pretty politically (especially in the east), but the opportunity for connecting people cannot be ignored.

Erdem Helvacıoğlu is a graphic demonstration of this principle. Though he initially studied engineering and electroacoustics, Helvacioğlu has also made a name for himself globally as one of the foremost modern Turkish composers. How many beyond Ilhan Mimaroglu can you name, after all? He has produced and scored for multimedia, dance, theater, film, and you might remember his name from a well-received 2004 field recording called A Walk Through the Bazaar. He's done everything from San Francisco to Seoul with his compositions, but the effects-laden acoustic works that make up Altered Realities are where the strongest of his many strengths lie.

To get a general idea of what Helvacıoğlu is all about, check out his website where he vaguely describes his blending of "the sounds of traditional Turkish instruments and contemporary versions" along with guitars and electronics. So far it sounds intriguing, but what really makes Altered Realities so spectacular (and which has already been pointed out in numerous places, but you deserve to hear it from us as well) is that these songs were recorded directly to Digital Audio Tape with absolutely no overdubs, post-processing, mixing, or editing. That Helvacıoğlu used only the sounds of his Ovation Custom Legend 1869 acoustic guitar to find the right celestial tones that permeate the record. Throw in a dash of MIDI foot controllers and some Audiomulch and you've got yourself a real thing of beauty.

The way it works is that he will strum a note or chord and then feed them through his limited arsenal of processors. Everything is done in real-time, so while he may have a TC Electronic Fireworx multi-effects processor, it's only being used when Helvacıoğlu is actually playing the instrument. And it's the only instrument on here, too.

It hardly matters. "Bridge to Horizon," the seven-minute opener, sets you in the right frame of mind with its heavenly guitars. In the middle of the high plateaus that dominate the central part of the country, out there where few tribes are willing to live, this is what Turkish moonlight sounds like. All of these songs has a pastoral feel, but album highlight "Shadow My Dovetail" hits the most striking emotional heartstrings as it evolves from a lost, wayward landscape into an almost trad-alien conclusion; there's evidence of Turkish traditional folk songs but they don't sound traditional coming through the real-time processors. The finishing track, "Ebony Remains," is a sparse, open piece dominated more by the spaces between chords than the chords themselves and is a gentle way of easing out of the album.

Separately, these songs sound like an excellent way to end a mix CD or maybe set the mood of a night out in the backyard stargazing in the company of close friends. Together, Helvacıoğlu has composed one of the best starglazed records of the year. In some ways its challenge is that it doesn't often jump out and grab you, preferring instead to play quietly and keep to itself. An unobtrusive album that rewards close listening, Altered Realities is an excellent piece of work from one of Turkey's brightest artistic stars. For a label that's best known for guys like John Cage, New Albion certainly has an ace up their sleeve in a man ideally placed to bridge brand new musical gaps every time he touches an instrument. That's worth hearing.

Okkervil River - "The Stage Names"

Okkervil River - Savannah Smiles (Jagjaguwar 2007)

Okkervil River - The Stage Names / Jagjaguwar

Well, it's nearly time for Austin's Okkervil River to drop what might be the most important album in the band's sizable career. After all, this is a group that perennially fought as the neglected underdog until 2005's Black Sheep Boy rolled around and suddenly everyone was jumping on them faster than a whore with four kids to feed.

What was it about that album that people loved so much and somehow didn't see in their three previous records (2000's Stars Too Small to Use, 2002's Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See, and 2003's Down the River of Golden Dreams)? That's a pretty hefty discography for so many people to supposedly not notice. But then it's like, oh right, Will Sheff is playing in the same ballpark as Win Butler.

Except Sheff is operating on another level from Win Butler. Okkervil River describe themselves as "folk-punk rock" on their website, and for a time they were good at that, but with The Stage Names I'm thinking less folk-punk and more alt-country this time around. Actually, what was Bright Eyes? There's a lot of that in here too.

Really though, listen to "A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene." Somewhere a kid just caught a fever in the mirror listening to all those handclaps and happy-go-whiskey choruses, not that it has to mean that's such a bad thing. Sheff's vocals are less trembly, less erratic, and ultimately less annoying than any Conor Oberst vocals could ever be. They're also way more polished here than they've ever been before. In that respect, I guess he's not so far from Win Butler after all.

He's also ditched the female backing vocals that could be found in past releases. In some places, they would be a little helpful as added texture to a track as straightforwardly male-backed as "Plus Ones." But this is an internal debate of mine; the best part of The Stage Names is its quieter tracks. Their out-and-out rockers are enjoyable and opener "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" is one of the best songs on the record. There is, however, a stretch of songs from "Savannah Smiles" to "A Girl in Port" that stands as one of the best mid-album runs this year. Each of these songs has an excellent dynamic, spot-on lyrics (which have not grown any lazier with this release, thankfully), and a penchant for distinctive instruments like bells and tasteful slide guitar. That's the Okkervil River that made its name so dramatically two years ago. Or was it nine? Point is, the group are at their best here when they're playing to quiet strengths rather than string- or horn-induced hysteria.

In short, Okkervil River have gone the way of The Arcade Fire rather than Lucero, but they've done it on a different, much more interesting scale. I wouldn't go so far as to say that The Stage Names is their Neon Bible because this isn't quite as boring or as tidy; the band may have recruited Spoon's Jim Eno for the recordings, but it looks like their long-time engineer and producer Brian Beattie has done more than his fair share to keep things honest.

Sheff intended to make this the band's "modern" record, and they've succeeded. This sounds like an updated version of the band we once knew, but now that it's done, why press any further forward? The Southern Gothic influences of previous releases are just as intriguing and Okkervil River are at their best when they're shaking their head and looking at the ground rather than shaking their head and looking skyward. The Stage Names is worth the price you pay, but where they go from mere may yet be the most intriguing development in the ever-growing history of this group. Alternately, it may yet be their most boring development. Stay tuned.

Eric Copeland - "Hermaphrodite"

Eric Copeland - Tree Aliens (Paw Tracks 2007)

Eric Copeland - Hermaphrodite / Paw Tracks

It took a long time for me to warm up to Black Dice, but once I finally understood that the noise was an end unto itself rather than a means to something "greater" à la post-rock, I began to appreciate what they were doing more. I appreciated their hardcore background, and how by some miracle that eventually led to Beaches & Canyons and an EP I used to loathe in Miles of Smiles and Broken Ear Record and all these other challenging musical experiments I'm still really getting familiar with.

It's an inevitable intro, but speaking of Hermaphrodite without the context of Eric Copeland's day job is less impossible and more necessary as a frame of reference for the experiments he proffers here. Somewhere between the primordial muck of Terrestrial Tones and the ever-evolving terrain of the Black Dice sound, Copeland has made his first full-length.

Interestingly, it isn't so far removed from Person Pitch that namedropping Panda Bear's album here is a stretch. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that, you know, it's Paw Tracks and everybody on the label hangs out with one another and their sounds rub off into one big noisy happy freak-folk party and all that. Part of it can also be attributed to the fact that Hermaphrodite rarely sounds menacing or even resigned and contemplative. Like Person Pitch, it's fun imagining what Black Dice would sound like if only brother Bjorn Copeland and Aaron Warren were there to do the noodling. There's a lot less inward meditation than on Black Dice records, and this ebullience (in its own way, of course) exemplified during tracks like "Green Burrito" marks a significant departure in tone.

Of course, there's a strong possibility that I'm totally wrong and that Hermaphrodite is really just a preview of what lies ahead. Are these castaways for something else? Are they mere millimeters of smiles and nothing more? Each of these dozen songs does its best to carve out a unique aural angle in the repetition of ideas. Each evolves in its own way, but never does it evolve too far or stray from where it starts; "Scumpipe" is an excellent example of this, all frayed electronic wires and barely-there beats. Same thing with the faded-in siren stuttering of "Dinca." It's frightening, but the melody looped underneath it adds a funhouse feel to what would otherwise be a song full of fear in a way that blurs the line between seriously macabre and humorously macabre. Here, it is easy to tell the difference.

The press page for this record explains that, "Like a good mix tape, Hermaphrodite flips the listener with each new song, engaging them to keep up, make the connections, and, ultimately, enjoy." Yes, ultimately we should be enjoying Hermaphrodite not for the reasons that, well, he's in Black Dice and he's on Paw Tracks. We should be enjoying this for its twisted human voices and its squishy bubbles in the waters of "Wash Up" and Southern folk sing-a-long-gone-awry "Spacehead" and African carnival "La Booly Boo" and every other sonic snippet puréed into the mix. There may be a new 'Dice record coming in October, and I'll be excited to hear how it sounds... But for now, Hermaphrodite showcases the solo talents of one of that band's creative forces. Long may it linger.

DJ 2Tall Presents Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow - "Beautiful Mindz"

DJ 2Tall, Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow - A Beautiful Mind (Eclectic Breaks/Amalgam Digital 2007)

DJ 2Tall Presents Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow – Beautiful Mindz / Eclectic Breaks/Amalgam Digital

The partnership between Dudley “Declaime” Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow was inevitable. Both blossoming Stones Throw artists in early 2006, the infectious and warbling oddball crooner/rapper Perkins and the multi-talented soul-dripping songstress Muldrow, though maybe miles apart on paper, share a similar aesthetic when approaching their personal takes on music. An afro-strutting hybrid of rap, soul, funk and jazz, the pair head down the future-funk road (Sa-Ra, Platinum Pied Pipers, etc) but veer off just before losing track of that mind-blowing era in the very early 70s when butter funk and increasingly experimental spiritual jazz lived in harmony. In fact, it’s a sound I dig so much, that I devoted Audiveristy post 004 to it. My mini-essay tackled both of their then-new albums, Perkins’ Expressions (2012 A.U.) and Muldrow’s Worthnothings EP (both on Stones Throw), drew comparisons between the two similar-minded acts, and pondered on the new style they were concocting. It is incredibly fitting that since then the pair have been collaborating on an increasingly frequent basis; and they have not only released this album, Beautiful Mindz with producer/DJ 2Tall leading the way, but have another one on the horizon, The Message Uni Versa, due out September 25th on Look Records.

Though both Perkins and Muldrow have proved themselves able beat-makers in their own right with prior releases, they are limited to vocal duties on Beautiful Mindz, letting turntablist extraordinaire turned producer DJ 2Tall provide the music. A member of the UK DMC 2003 Team Championship-winning Truesicians, Jim Coles had quite the daunting task of providing effective backing tracks for the eclectic vocalists to elaborate over, and for the most part, he comes through. His production method is not too far from Muldrow’s actually, and can be paralleled to cats that bridge earthy jazz elements with futuristic synth bounces like Jneiro Jarel but without the quirky syncopations. Since Perkins already sing-raps with wavering, unpredictable verse structures and Muldrow emotively yelps with June Tyson-like vocal chops, a sturdy rhythm is pretty essential to keeping the tracks from completely toppling and Coles delivers. Though the simple drum machine rhythms rarely inspire awe, he does a great job of coloring each track with an eclectic array of samples from free jazz cellos to future-funk synths to wispy flutes. He hasn’t quite carved out an idiosyncratic style, but he is certainly heading in the right direction.

For the most part, Beautiful Mindz doesn’t quite live up to the solo projects of the artists involved, but it doesn’t really disappoint either. In a manner of speaking, it’s predictable, but only because Perkins and Muldrow don’t reach out beyond the quirky, soulful styles they have established. Perkins rants and pleads and coos for social, environmental and idealistic change using his rarely closed Parliament thesaurus, while Muldrow sounds especially restrained and, for the most part, only utilizing her incredible vocal cords for adlibs and depth. She excels during her only solo track, “Ain’t That Strange,” but lacks some of the urgency she’s displayed on previous releases. When both vocalists join forces though, typically with Muldrow supporting Perkins’ rants, the album shines. “A Beautiful Mind” is the prime example of this: a simple beat supported with electric piano chords and a delicate flute melody back first Perkins’ most focused verse on the album before Muldrow belts, chirps, chants and croons soulful adlibs and an all-too-brief bridge. “U R” also heads in this direction, but never really solidifies as a song instead settling as an excellent deep synth and handclap beat with a decent vocal hook. I also really dig “Messagez” where 2Tall finally steps out from solely the producer chair and provides some of his award-winning turntable skills, an element he should have taken advantage of much more.

Beautiful Mindz is a solid and interesting album with all three of the artists involved supplying their evolving crafts to one intriguing sound, but for some reason I want more. DJ 2Tall shows infinite promise with his backing tracks, but he sounds like a producer still discovering his own personal style. I could also say the same thing about Georgia Anne Muldrow, but she is definitely farther along with an amazing voice that continues to blow my mind (and she is still in her early 20s!). But Dudley Perkins on the other hand sounds like he is peaking with both his delivery and lyrical content. Not that this should be considered his apex, but along with Expressions (2012 A.U.), he is definitely fulfilling the creative promise he displayed on A Lil’ Light. I hope to hear from DJ 2Tall again, and would definitely be interested to hear him working with different emcees to help compare and contrast. And I will definitely be snatching the The Message Uni Versa when it drops, because this is a duo existing on a completely different level then most of the known musical universe, and I want to experience that myself.

In Gowan Ring - "This is a Spiral"

In Gowan Ring - Beat of the Moon (Clear Spot 2007)

In Gowan Ring - This is a Spiral / Clear Spot

I first heard In Gowan Ring alone in the middle of a night with a full moon. The indelible impression This is a Spiral has left on me may never be equaled, but if it isn't then there's a good reason and the reason is the music. If all albums were so simple to describe, music critique (or even discovery) would be not only monotonous but redundant. In that sense, it's nice to have records that demand critical analysis and repeat listens... But this isn't one of them. This is a Spiral is an immediate recording, but it's less about scales or lyrical adroitness and more about impressionism, a walk through your local Renaissance Festival after the families have gone home and the jousters have retired for the night.

In some ways, I feel it's better not to know anything about In Gowan Ring when you listen to this (or any other) release. Something about its fragile intimacy incorporates an innate sense of medieval mystery, and you'll see what I mean when you play this 10" all the way through on both sides.

But since this is a blog and you don't just come here for the songs (I hope), there's no harm in telling you everything I know about In Gowan Ring. In short: Not much. The "band," if it can be called that, is the nom de plume of a man they call B'eirth (or Bee to his friends). There are a revolving cast of characters to the collective, but the only constant is the voice behind these six songs. And what delicately wonderful songs they are: "Beat of the Moon" is the kind of song you can listen to during the day and not feel the same thing as when it's late at night and only the moon knows what you're really thinking. It has to be the pan flute, which is so tastefully placed throughout this mini-album that it is not only impossible to ignore but genuinely revelatory to hear. Hell, the whole A-side is killer: "On the Straglin' Way" and "Morning's Waking Dream" are not dissimilar, and when you reach Side B "The Seer and the Seen" is there to pick you up and carry you, quiet acoustic strumming and pan flute meandering, right through to the hippie-esque "Dandelion Wine." It's like something straight out of either 1968 or 1168. The fluidity of these songs is remarkable.

Fluidity as remarkable is a bit suspicious when it comes to acoustic-based acts, I know. But I say that because this recording is the first of a special series with a running theme: It is recorded live. Alkmaar, Netherlands-based Clear Spot International are better known for their distribution, but In Gowan Ring are kicking off the first in a series of 10" vinyl plates commemorating Berry Kamer and his excellent radio program "Dwars" on another Netherlands-based operation, radio station VPRO. Interesting digression: "Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep" was what VPRO stood for, which translates to "Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcasting Company." Though it was founded in 1926, the actual meaning of the acronym was dropped in the 1960s and nowadays VPRO operates sort of like the BBC in that it's got radio and television stations.

When This is a Spiral was recorded in June of 2003, there's no way B'eirth could've known he would be the inaugural release for the "Dwars" series, but fast forward four years and here we are with a fantastic bit of vinyl that is sadly limited to 500 copies. It's been out a while now but hopefully this will be the kick in the pants you need to pick this up.

I post this late because I want you to feel the same effect I felt; if you're in another timezone and cannot relate or read this much later, I'm sorry. I've failed you. In Gowan Ring hasn't, and his massive back catalog suggests as much. Should this be sold out by the time you fetch it or maybe you just aren't up for a 10", seek something else of his out. And try to play it on a night when the kids are away to bed, the moon is out, and thoughts of "Jane and the Dragon" are far, far away.

Paper - "As As"

Paper - Cloudy, Cloudy, Cloudy (States Rights 2007)

Paper - As As / States Rights

A change of pace as we crawl sweating profusely into this month of August. It's always a tough time of year mandhandling this heat; for those of you reading this from your outpost in Antarctica, know that the sun is overrated. In fact, a year ago today Michael wrote something to the very same effect, and "Dream Evokers" vividly describes what happens when you're stuck listening to psychedelia without AC. The dreams are awesome but the frequent awakenings in the middle of the night are hell.

A suggestion: Try Paper. Don't chew it. Don't tape it to your eyes. Don't draw air conditioning units on it and pretend you feel colder. Listen to it instead. The Paper we present here today is two pieces thick: Aaron and Adrienne Snow, who are married and as of May happily have a daughter to their credit in addition to this wonderful album, As As. Actually, no, scratch that. I'm making young Elise sound like a commodity, so I take it back. A daughter is far more important than any musical endeavor, but what I mean to say is that the heat is getting to me and As As is helping me cope.

The Connecticut duo have conjured up the perfect album both for blissed-out sunbombed days and streetlight-driven after-the-parties. This is a great nine-song album and at last my desire to never miss another album again (courtesy Fog) has paid off. Though my mind might be melting because of the relentless sun, family Snow are there to guide me with dreamy space-pop. It's not the first time they've indulged in musical pleasantries: the Snows were also in Landing (mainly), White Rainbow and Surface of Eceon to name three. You may also know States Rights from the tremendous success YACHT has had recently.

In some ways, you could liken this to Asobi Seksu's Citrus last year: An album that arrived with little fanfare but revealed layer after layer of sound with every new listen. That's how As As works, too: "Love" starts off with the feeling of a science special you watched in middle school, but its airy dynamics and tonal steadiness allow for you to breathe a little. Citrus had many moments of density, but this song (like the album) is full of space. The synths don't hurt, and vocals are used sparingly. Aaron does bit singing on "Love," for example, but this never dominates the mix. The music is the star here, and rightfully so. One listen to the kraut-flower jig "Underground" and you'll see why. That sun never felt so fine melting your face off, now did it?

Adrienne holds up her end of the bargain on "Cloudy, Cloudy, Cloudy," another of the album's best songs (which is ironic given how we started this post out). The switch between instrumental and vocal tracks is hardly noticeable, but it's also negligible: The sound of Paper is so fully formed at this point that the difference between ring-riding around Saturn with a voice to guide you and ring-riding around without is marginal at best. It's a lot like Telepathe without overt dance overtures. The sound, the feel of this record as a whole, that's what matters. That's why it's here.

So let the sun come. Let it come closer than its 93 million miles (or whatever it is now). Let it burn away the morning mist and scorch my dark brown hair and sizzle my eggs on the tarmac. As As is the only argument I need for Paper beating Giant Burning Ball of Gas. Come on, kid. Best two out of three.

Radio Show Playlist: 8/1/07

6a:
1. Nico - You Forgot to Answer - The End (Island 1974)
2. St. Vincent - Paris is Burning - Marry Me (Beggars Banquet 2007)
3. Tiny Vipers - On This Side - Hands Across the Void (Sub Pop 2007)
4. Helios - The Obeisant Vine - Ayres (Type 2007)
5. A Perfect Friend - Welcome Aboard - A Perfect Friend (Stilll 2007)
6. One Second Bridge - Keep on Falling - One Second Bridge (Buro 2006)
7. Githead - Rotterdam - Art Pop (Swim 2007)
8. Tunng - Bricks (Edit) - Good Arrows (Thrill Jockey 2007)
9. Broadcast - Man is Not a Bird - Haha Sound (WARP 2003)
10. Caribou - Melody Day - Melody Day EP (Merge 2007)

7a:
1. Madlib - Where Do I Go - The Now Sound Redesigned (Light in the Attic 2005)
2. Koushik - Too Much Tenderness - Now-Again Re:Sounds (Now Again 2007)
3. Fog - I Have Been Wronged - Ditherer (Lex 2007)
4. Thee More Shallows - Oh Yes, Another Mother - Book of Bad Breaks (Anticon 2007)
5. Coach Fingers - A Pine Bush Fantasy - With Friends and Family (Locust 2006)
6. Clinic - Harvest (within you) - Visitations (Domino 2006)
7. Pumice - Greenock - Pebbles (Soft Abuse 2007)
8. Lichens - Vevor of Agassou - Omns (Kranky 2007)
9. Sir Richard Bishop - Provence Unknown - Improvika (Locust 2004)
10. The World on Higher Downs - Two Aged Windows - Land Patterns (Plop 2007)
11. Rainstick Orchestra - Electric Counterpoint Fast - The Floating Glass Key in the Sky (Ninja Tune 2004)

8a:
1. Artanker Convoy - Geyser - Cozy Endings (Social Registry 2007)
2. The Jahari Massamba Unit - Umoja (Unity) - Prepare for a New Yesterday (Vol. 1) (Stones Throw 2007)
3. Cannonball Adderley - Leo - Soul Zodiac (Capitol 1972)
4. Josh Abrams - Background Beneath - Cipher (Delmark 2003)
5. Copperpot - WYLA? feat. Prince Po - WYLA? (What're You Looking At?) (EV Productions 2007)
6. El Michels Affair - PJs feat. Raekwon - The PJs...From Afar (Truth and Soul 2007)
7. Shape of Broad Minds - Let's Go feat. MF Doom - Blue Experience EP (Lex 2007)
8. MF Doom - Rapp Snitch Knishes feat. Mr. Fantastik - MM..Food (Rhymesayers 2004/07)
9. Danger Mouse & Jemini - What U Sittin On? DM's 26" Remix feat. Cee-Lo and Tha Alkoholics - Twenty Six Inch EP (Lex 2004)
10. Sagan Jagmohan - Meri Akahon Mein - Sitar Beat Vol. 1 (Guerrilla Reissues 20??, recorded 197?)
11. Ananda Shankar - Streets of Calcutta - Ananda Shakar and His Music (Fallout 1975)