It’s rare for a label to offer up a free track from their catalog, from one of their bread and butter albums, the albums that pay their bills year after year (not that Laurie Anderson is bringing in barrels of cash for WMG…). Even more rare is finding Laurie Anderson, the iconoclastic musician-artist-instrument maker (the tape-bow violin), revisiting her older projects. “Let X=X” can be found on her 1982 album Big Science, an early mainstream electronic album. The lyrics are wonderfully disjointed, seemingly found sentences, notes and conversations woven together with swelling synths, handclaps and doubled vocoder vocals. I believe this re-issue will be the first of several from Anderson’s catalog. Take advantage! If your music collection is void of Laurie Anderson start filling that void today and expand your education in American electronic artists.
South Central
Leave it to a couple Brits, thousands of miles away from the hood, to snag South Central as the moniker for their punked-up, electronic efforts. Don’t, however, expect them to address gang politics or aesthetics in their dance floor offerings. On their forthcoming single, due August 13th on Regal’s Single Club, the b-side track, “Revolution,” and its refrain “Can’t stop the wheel,” pays homage to both Spacemen 3 and to the novel of Russian philosopher/mystic P.D. Ouspensky, The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin, who explores the idea of eternal recurrance. Deep, trippy stuff to be sure. Catch their DJ sets or live appearances (with a five piece band) this summer in London and its surroundings. If they ever slow down their remix work, hopefully South Central will concentrate on banging out their very own, proper album. An archaic wish I know…
Various – From L.A. With Love
Andrew Lojero brings musical and visual artists together as a collection and an introduction to the prolific art movement currently unfolding in Los Angeles. Usual suspects like Madlib, Daedelus and Nobody all provide tracks under various monikers. But newcomers such as Georgia Anne Muldrow and Gaby Hernandez also make significant contributions. Lojero passed the tracks along to visual artists with the mandate to produce works of art inspired by the songs. Several of these works are provided below. No stranger to this vibrant art scene, Andrew Lojero curated this collection as he has been curating live gatherings, er, parties, legal and otherwise, all over the L.A. area: in lofts, under bridges and in warehouses. From L.A. With Love places the power to party likewise in the palm of your hand.
Detektivbyrån
I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with instrumental music. As a compulsive reader, songs have often been an extension of that compulsion, and I’ve always been drawn to verbose, dense songs that have something to say aside from the music itself. And if I can relate to what is being said, then all the better. But every once in a while songs sans words manage to tickle some small place in our brains and can speak to us directly without having to say anything. I don’t know if this is that for you, but without getting into it, DetektivbyrÃ¥n is from Goteborg (Sweden’s second city) and with their simplicity, chimes, accordians and ethereal Amelie-esque charm, they have managed to thrust me straight back to the time I was in their city and I’ll be damned if this isn’t the wordless soundtrack to my time there, only discovered after the fact. And so, they must be added to the short list of musicians who work in the instrumental form who just plain old move me
E18 [MP3, 5.2MB, 206kbps]
Nattopet [MP3, 5.2MB, 128kbps]
Dansbanan [MP3, 5.6MB, 200kbps]
Transformantra
Today, thanks to the folks at Canadian net-label Decibel Palace, we rediscover a rare electronic quartet with a taste for techno, funk, and 80s synth-sounds. The resulting output resembles Mr. Scruff circa year 2099, a playful, futuristic-nostalgia. Toronto’s answer to Kraftwerk? Unfortunately the band disbanded eight years ago after releasing an initial 12″ (with “Liquor Mart” as the a-side) and a 10-track debut featuring a remix by Freaky Chakra. Dave Allen (Gang of Four, Shriekback) planned on releasing their sophomore effort on his World Domination label. When his domination attempt failed the album was shelved and the band went on their separate ways. Live, Transformantra employed live instrumentation and improvisational re-mixing and set King Svenie (a veteran rave dancer/illustrator) loose on the stage, dancing around, costumed like the cosmos. Here’s hoping for a Transformantra reunion show in the Gobi tent at Coachella!
65 Days of Static
Just read my original post…so much has changed and so much hasn’t. Same goes for 65 Days of Static. They’re still making instrumental rock that I actually like. But they’ve since matured their sound a bit. It’s less of an aural blitz and more of subtle, studied sound. Don’t get me wrong, they still have an edge to them: they had to kick a Scottish after-school dance troupe out of their own auditorium to record the grand piano for this album. Now that’s rock ‘n’ roll.
Original post (12/20/2004):
I just got back from two weeks of working in London. Sounds great, I know, and for the most part it was. But, as a wise man once crooned, “being apart ain’t easy on this love affair.” So, as I fought jet lag and IMed my wife at 2am, I’d leave the TV on in the background for a little company. I usually kept it on mute, but when the video for 65 Days of Static’s “Retreat!Retreat!” flickered on, I turned up the volume and got sucked right in. Why can’t we just swap these guys for Linkin Park and make the charts a better place for everyone? Here are a couple secular tracks, plus a seasonal treat to play in your iPod as you fight through the crowds at Toys ‘R’ Us. Ho ho ho, indeed.
Dntel
Lately there have been all these commercials for the NYC “easy listening” radio station and despite my general aversion to anything “easy” (especially when “listening”), I’ve been fascinated by how calm the woman on the advertisement is. One has to wonder… is it the music? Well I’m not ready to throw in the musical towel yet and so my latest solution to needing a little sonic R&R is going to have to be Dntel. Dntel is definitely not going to make the evening drive line-up next to Celine Dion BUT Dntel is Jimmy Tamborello (also part of The Postal Service and Figurine)–which earns him some cred in my book. His vocals are calmer (and prettier) than Ben Gibbard’s (although BG gets points for style) and the beats are a little lighter and more folky-playful. The end result is that I can’t turn it off. It’s a lovely and complicated melange of bips and tics that also manages to calm and soothe. Interesting. It ain’t easy like I thought I wanted, but it’s just right. As always, some tracks are included here, but the intrepid listener can find the whole album on Dntel’s Myspace page…
The Go Find
More goodness from Morr Records. The Go Find, which began as a solo project of Dieter Sermeus, has developed into more of a full band affair. To get a sense of where The Go Find searches for inspiration, consider the artists they covered for a recent 7″: Hall & Oates backed with Pavement. A winning combination in my book. “Dictionary” blends both sounds well—understated, indie vocals over soft, 80s-style, electro-disco instrumentation (complete with echoing handclaps and Roxy Music-esque guitar riffs).
Hooray for Earth
Given the season, it’s appropriate that “Simple Plan,” one of my favorite songs of late, could be described as triumphant. Don’t get me wrong, ain’t nothing preachy about Hooray for Earth. Though you could say they’re on a bit of a mission. They appear determined to make every one of their songs sound freakin’ epic. They start with the big-guitars-meet-big-synths sound—then proceed to send it skyward and never look back. “Simple Plan” is a classic example. For the first 20 seconds it rumbles through low-gear grunge, then bursts into a glorious, spiraling new wave anthem that would make Icicle Works blush. “So Happy” picks up the pace, like Self jettisoning in an escape pod from his bedroom studio. Their self-titled debut is worth it if only for the ridiculously catchy (as proven by the track’s popularity on iTunes) vocal hook from “Everything We Want”: “Put on your makeup, I want to get out.”
The Blow
It’s been a little bleak here on Wednesdays, and I’ve been MIA for a couple of weeks — but hopefully you will all enjoy today’s musical selection and forgive the midweek blackout of late. The Blow, consisting of Khaela Maricich & Jona Bechtolt from Portland, OR, have been carrying me through a busy time. The music is rife with slick modern beats, but there is a super pop, super earnest candy center. Throughout the album there are many, many references to how hard it is for girls and boys to come together and I admit (with a blush and an eyeroll) that when Khaela sings “really you just injured my pride” I had a moment where I was like “um, did I write this song???” As usual, file under: better late than never.
Pile of Gold [MP3, 2.9MB, 160kbps]
Sam’s original post: 01/10/05
I was going to wait for Valentine’s Day to post this, but couldn’t because I’ve been waiting long enough as it is. The Blow is one unassuming Khaela Maricich whose catalog of come-ons is sultry, clever, and disarming enough to lure even the most reluctant players to bed. When I say players, I don’t mean Fabolous or Jermaine Dupri. I mean the mysterious outsiders, the John Cusacks of the world. To some such player, Khaela sings, “I’d love to make you nervous/I’d love to make you sweat/I’d love to make you breakfast the morning after…” How you gonna say no to that? And if you do, would you be pal and pass her number along?