Here is my latest 60s favorite: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, a British band that existed from 1964 to 1972. My first contact to this band occurred when I was record shopping on the Internet and a best of CD by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (later referred to as DDDBMT) was recommended to me. I read reviews and decided to order the CD ? it hardly cost anything. When I got the CD it ended up in my CD shelf and I never really came around to listen to it. I probably listened to a couple of songs, thought ?sounds weird? and decided to put it away and listen to it some time later. Strangely, this is what happens to quite many CDs I purchase...
Not very many years later I decided to give DDDBMT another chance. I remembered hearing Hold Tight! in Tarantino's Death Proof and that the song was really one of the nicest things in the movie. In fact, I also have a friend who was interested in this band long before me but it didn't result in anything further ? until about a month ago. I simply decided to give The Very Best of DDDBMT a try and put it in my mp3 player. I listened to it and instantly enjoyed it a lot. When I had listened to the whole CD (18 songs) several times I noticed it wasn't just any 60s band. It was a fun, happy-sounding, creative and talented band that never seemed to be afraid of trying different styles, sophisticated instrumentation, big vocal harmonies and big sounds, and most importantly, never afraid (or incapable) to perform amazingly catchy songs.
DDDBMT was a group of friends from Wiltshire, originally called Dave Dee and the Bostons. The band started working with songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, changed the name, and it didn't take too long for the boys to score million-selling hit singles, including The Legend of Xanadu.
Musically DDDBMT are closer to bubblegum than beat music ? two concepts that of course have a lot in common (therefore the title ?Bubble-Beat?). As a result, one could argue that there were also some bubblegum aspects about the Searchers and the Hollies but an even better comparison to DDDBMT would be the Monkees, or, in my opinion, why not a band like Gary Lewis & the Playboys. By the way, why do vocalists from all of the British bands mentioned sound just like each other? I really enjoy all of them, of course...
The really important part is that DDDMBT performed some first-class catchy pop that always makes my day. When I think about the melodic complexity of the chorus of Wreck of the Antoinette (and the harmonies..), or the gorgeous feel of Snake in the Grass, Okay!, You Make It Move, Don Juan (not to mention the awesome sunshine pop of Last Night in Soho!) I can't help thinking to myself: this is how it's really done ? do the same if you can, I dare you!
All in all, I had no choice but to order myself some more stuff by DDDBMT. Gee, I never get tired of happy 60s pop... I want more! The good news is, there is plenty of stuff to choose from.
It?s been awhile since I put together a list of my favorite films of the year. It was a busy year, so I didn't see that many new movies, but I did see some really great stuff in 2010, so here are my top 5 favorites.
5. The Town - directed by Ben Affleck Ben Affleck?s last directorial effort was the arresting Gone Baby Gone about a kidnapping in a Boston neighborhood and ensuing investigation. It was a smart, character-driven crime movie that challenged the audience to decide what they thought of the actions of the characters. With The Town, Affleck continues this train of thought with a story about a group of thieves pulling jobs in a low-income neighborhood in (you guessed it) Boston. Four childhood friends plan and execute bank robberies and armored truck robberies in the tradition of their fathers before them. When the leader of the gang becomes romantically involved with a woman the gang took as a hostage and released, things get complicated. I love a good heist movie and the action here is great, but the core of this film is about the characters. Are we cheering for the gang to succeed or for the leader to walk away from his long life of crime? Are their actions excusable in any way? And what about the low-ball tactics of the police force to corner the gang? This film lives and thrives in the gray areas.
4. Shutter Island - directed by Martin Scorsese The psychological thriller has to be one of my favorite genres of film. The legendary Alfred Hitchcock was the master of this type of story and any modern film owes a lot to his efforts. With Shutter Island, modern legend Martin Scorsese takes a crack at telling a twisted psychological thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio as his leading man. The setting of an insane asylum is perfectly creepy and the foggy cinematography does a lot to set the mood. DiCaprio?s character is a US Marshall assigned to investigate the disappearance of a residence of the island asylum. As he and his partner poke around the facility, however, they uncover many shocking revelations. It?s a film that keeps you guessing and slowly reveals the reality like fog burning off in the sunlight. The film also features a perfectly chosen score with restless strings, 40?s era radio tunes and Max Richter?s neo-classical leitmotifs.
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - directed by Edgar Wright Switching gears completely from the first two entries, I loved Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. I have read the comic book source material and I was thrilled to hear that Edgar Wright (director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) would be behind the camera. His whimsical style and willingness to push the set pieces to their limits really lent itself to this story. Michael Cera plays the titular character who is a bass player in a band, a deadbeat and in love with a mysterious girl. Soon he learns that, in order to date her, he must defeat her 7 evil exes. The dialog is sarcastic and fast and the special effects and scene transitions are downright amazing. Not to mention the craziest fight scenes you?ve ever witnessed. This film didn?t gross much at the box office, but it will definitely capture a cult following on DVD. It?s loud, goofy, random and lots of fun.
2. Toy Story 3 - directed by Lee Unkrich The first Toy Story film has become a classic in its own right. When Pixar chose to produce a sequel, cautious optimism paid off with another great film. But a 3rd film was stuck in development hell for years as Disney and Pixar sparred over a worthy storyline. [It?s interesting to note that a rejected storyline featured the toys going on a trip overseas and now the next Pixar film, Cars 2, features a storyline about the cars going overseas.] Finally, everyone agreed on a story about the toys being abandoned to a day car center when their owner (Andy) goes away to college. On the surface, it sounds like a decent plot, but nothing too deep. But if Pixar excels at one thing it?s crafting a story. The film spins a beautiful picture of a group of characters struggling with being forgotten and abandoned. They believe they will be thrown away and make a break for it. Throughout the film, their leader, Woody, pleads with them to believe that Andy didn?t intend to throw them away and he wants them back. The group ends up in extremely dire straights and plummets into darkness and despair as they give up on ever being loved and cared for again. No spoiling the ending, but the beauty of the conclusion cannot be properly put into words. This could be Pixar?s finest hour. Any studio attempting a ?three-quel? should take notes - this is how it's done.
1. Inception - directed by Christopher Nolan My favorite film of the year was definitely Inception. Nolan is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors working today. The idea for this film was hatched 9 years ago as Nolan was playing around with the concept of stealing people?s dreams. The idea was then spun out into a labyrinthine story about a group of thieves that steal ideas out of people?s heads as they dream by ?breaking into? those dreams. However, the main thrust of the plot surrounds the gang attempting to do the opposite: planting an idea into the mind of an individual who would then believe it to be his own. Inception. In order to do this, they construct an enormous plan involving dreams within dreams, complicated setups and lots of guns. Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic here, as well, as the leader of the gang who is haunted by memories of his wife invading his own dreams and sabotaging his schemes. As the story folds over itself again and again, the viewer is tasked with distinguishing what is real and what is a dream. All that and some of the most amazing action sequences you?ve ever seen combine to form a blockbuster film with a lot of brain power too. This film has been endlessly analyzed since its release and that, too, is a testament to its greatness.
There are a lot of movies I haven't had a chance to see yet, so what was your favorite film from 2010? What should I add to my Netflix queue?
The wait is finally over! You can stream Dream Theater's new track "On The Backs Of Angels" at Roadrunner Record's YouTube Page! The new album A Dramatic Turn Of Events, which features new drummer Mike Mangini, is due out this September.
It is time for an update after another quite long break. Sorry again for not posting anything but I've been busier with school than ever...
I had a Lord of the Rings board game evening with my friends a few weeks ago and this song became a small hit then. I had actually never thought that Leonard Nimoy would sing but here he is, singing a cool little bubblegum/sunshine pop/novelty song about Bilbo Baggins. Despite not being perfect I think it is a really catchy song.
Hello, as the Japan week draws to a close with a beats post, which isn't as dance as you might have gotten use to. Trouble with Japanese dance music is it's unstoppable culture of kitsch, where layer-upon-layer of irony free, synthetic cultural artefacts are produced in aid of an innocent good life. One of those turbo dance acts is, Capsule..it ain't spacey thats for sure. DJ Krush and Cornelius provide a more intellektual and laid back attitude towards beats here.
To most of us it's hard to understand this speed of life in Japan, specially Tokyo, all this keeping up appearances as prescribed by it's culture it would drive most westerners to rebel yet you see little of that in Japan. They believe there's a solution to every problem, even the social ones, rent a friend, have a robot pet and the way they drive ahead with their robotic and virtual culture, in ways they leave the West behind. Take a look at some examples on how the Japanese music industry forges ahead. .. xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Music industry's wet dream, total control over their artist Eguchi Aimi she looks and talks to order.
AKB48 - The Making of Eguchi Aimi
They took computer images of each girl's eyes, nose, mouth, hair and body, face outline and eyebrows. Each feature was then digitally merged to create the 'perfect' group member. The video shocked fans of Eguchi who were convinced that her features were more the result of good genes than the skillful use of computer graphics,' according to ChannelNews Asia.
another successful virtual band from Japan, Ho-kago Tea Time
GO! GO! MANIAC! - ..japanese avant-garde jazz metal
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Toshinori Kondo (December 15, 1948 in Ehime Prefecture) is an avant-garde and jazz trumpeter and the most celebrated improvising musician of his country. He has lived in Japan, New York City, and Amsterdam. In college he was a member of the band "Funky Beaters" and by 1976 he was a member of an ensemble which gained some notice in his native Japan. His early influences were Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis. That said, his style is quite distinct from theirs and influenced by his religious studies, among other things. In the mid-1970s his career gained new momentum on moving to NYC, where he worked with members of the 'Downtown' scene, including Bill Laswell and John Zorn; his first solo album coming out in 1979. Back in Japan, Kondo formed International Music Activities (IMA). Releasing "What Are You Talking About?". "Kuuchuu Fuyuu". Taihen backed the trumpet with the rock format of guitar-drum-bass. Metal Position used a similar setting with the addition of Haruo Togashi's synthesizer and piano. Later he moved to the Netherlands where he lives today. In 2002 he worked on an international peace festival in Hiroshima after being approached by the Dalai Lama about organizing one. Kondo is currently known for Free jazz and electronica music. In these, or related, capacities he has worked with DJ Krush and Tom Cora. He is also known for being avant-garde and was a former member of Praxis.
Japanese turntablist and producer DJ Krush is one of the few island-nation throw-ups to be embraced by the global hip-hop world. Releasing material through Sony in Japan, Mo'Wax and Virgin in the U.K., and Axiom, Shadow, and A&M in America, Krush's heady brand of experimental, (largely) instrumental hip-hop has been praised by everyone from hardcore underground hip-hop 'zines like The Bomb to the speckless offices of Rolling Stone and Spin. Beginning as a bedroom DJ in the mid-'80s following the Japanese leg of the Wildstyle tour, Krush moved into mobile DJing, backing up rappers, and eventually solo production. Although his Japan-only debut freely mixed elements of R&B and acid jazz with the beefy breakbeat backbone of mid-tempo hip-hop, Krush's work has since tended more toward the abstract, applying heavy effects and sample manipulation to thick, smart breaks, layered, almost ambient textures, and subtle, inventive scratching.
Krush came to larger acclaim in the mid-'90s through his association with the London-based Mo'Wax label, which released his Strictly Turntablized in 1994 and Meiso in 1996. In addition to 1997's Milight, Krush also featured on a number of various-artists collections, Kakusei appeared on Mo'Wax/Columbia in 1999, followed by the mix albums Code 4109 and Tragicomic the next year. Zen from 2001 was filled with guest MCs while The Message at the Depth from 2003 featured far fewer and focused on instrumentals. Jaku landed in 2004, and two years later the Stepping Stones collection featured Krush remixing highlight from his back catalog.
Kakusei ("awaken" ) is the eighth album released by DJ Krush. It is generally considered to be his most acclaimed work Continuing his series of solo albums as collaborative efforts, DJ Krush touched down after a slight absence with Kakusei, another invigorating, moody, and powerful release. Krush once again lets his abilities at both musical creation and turntablism work together for great results. Some returnees from Milight surface, including members of Kemuri Productions, who appear on the quietly head-nodding "Inorganizm" and "No More," and Shawn J. Period, who on "The Dawn" works with Krush on a great series of orchestrations to flesh out the track. Vocally, there's not as much going on this time around; aside from brief shout-outs here and there, it's strictly an instrumental affair.
01 Intro 1:03 02 Escapee Feat.Asa 3:50 03 Parallel Distortion (Feat. DJ Sak) 3:25 04 Inorganizm (Feat.DJ Hide, DJ Kensei) 6:38 05 Deltaforest (Feat.Jun Sawada) 5:14 06 Crimson 2:33 07 The Dawn (Feat.Shawn J Period) 5:15 08 Interlude 2:08 09 85 Loop 4:57 10 Rust (Feat.KK) 3:14 11 1200 (Feat.Hideo) 5:15 12 Krushed Wall (Feat.Rhythm Troops) 5:01 13 The Kinetics (Feat.Mista Sinista) 3:15 14 Final Home 4:37 15 No More (Feat.DJ Hazu, DJ Yas) 6:09 16 Outro 1:47
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Cornelius (born Keigo Oyamada January 27, 1969 in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese recording artist and producer. Oyamada's first claim to fame was as a member of the pop duo, Flipper's Guitar, one of the key groups of the Tokyo Shibuya-kei scene. Following the disbandment of Flipper's Guitar in 1991, Oyamada donned the "Cornelius" moniker and embarked on a successful solo career. Release first solo album, ?First Question Award? (94) followed by a remix album ?96/69 ?Cornelius Wakusei Kengaku?. In 98 he got his first international release with Fantasma, after the succesful release in Japan the previous year.
Fall 98, the remix album FM/CM came about, released in 99 in which year he would be seen at Glastonbury and Roskilde to name some. Being a true multimedia artist he released a movie "Eus" and another book ?Cornelius Wakusei Kengaku?., more remix work and all that not withstanding in 2001 he released "Point" in Japan , a year later the rest of the world got to hear this masterpiece. Point is the best-sequenced and smoothest album I heard that year. It is very clearly set up to be an album as opposed to a collection of singles. It may well have turned out too perfect, too cool, when after 45 min the silence lingers it can only be to wonder how full it was..
The music of Cornelius could be described as experimental and exploratory, and often incorporates dissonant elements alongside more familiar harmonically "pleasing" sounds. This tension, plus his practice of bringing in sounds and samples from mass culture, pure electronic tones, and sounds from nature ( Point) lead him to being sometimes categorized as an "acquired taste"
Even sleeker and more stylized than Point, Sensuous lives up to its title, with intricate textures and lush atmospheres that are almost tangible, and melodies that evoke visions of lines stretching off into the horizon or tunneling into infinite spirals. However, this is also Keigo Oyamada's most thematic and conceptual Cornelius album, concentrating on just a few well-chosen elements -- wind chimes, delicate acoustic guitars, precise electric ones, fuzzy '80s synths, and layers of vocals -- and either elongating them to the point of no return or chopping them into pointillistic pieces. With all of its lines, loops, and fragments, at times Sensuous feels more like an ever-changing sonic painting than an album of individual songs, a concept brilliantly illustrated by the flowing paint on the album's cover. And while repetition is one of Sensuous' major themes, Oyamada never applies it the quite the same way twice. When the last song fades out on the wind chimes that opened the album, Sensuous becomes one giant, dazzling loop. (Iin Flac and Ogg)
Capsule is a Japanese eletronic duo formed by Yasutaka Nakata (co-producer, art director, responsible for all lyrics and music) and Toshiko Koshijima (vocals). They debuted in 2001, when their their first single was released by Yamaha Music. In 2003 Yasutaka created his own label Contemode and has produced other artists on the label. On their first album, their sound was standard J-Pop, but with "Cutie Cinema Replay", they changed to Shibuya-kei sound, then later, slowly moved towards Electro Pop. Meanwhile they've released 11 albums in 8 years, busy bodies aren't they and they even took some time out in 2007 duh, their last currently is World of Fantasy. Well this here is their 8 th album released 3 years ago. Somewhere between Cutie Cinema Replay and this record, Capsule went from an adorable Shibuya-kei duo with memorable hooks and sterling production to a full-on techno pop duo with memorable hooks and sterling production. While their previous joyride FRUiTS CLiPPER was coated with syrupy goodness, this is definitely an edgier album, with only "Pleasure Ground" and "Adventure" capturing some of that that major chord bliss that was the bulk of their repertoire prior. Capsule have morphed here into a Daft Punk-ravaging, electrofuzz monolith, and their 2008 album More!More!More! was a huge success.
Austin, Texas is the home of husband & duo Donnie Herrera and Ashley Glover, otherwise known as Dn'A. Glover grew up in Oklahoma, singing in her father's bluegrass gospel band and going on to study vocal performance in college. Herrera, from New Mexico, discovered the guitar early on, becoming an accomplished axe man and composer. Blending their music and their lives together, Dn'A is a powerful force in minimalist country/folk. Their debut album, Headin' Home, is a stripped down affair generally featuring just Herrera's guitar and Glover's voice, on ten original songs that come straight from the heart.
Dn'A opens with "Headin' Home", a heartfelt tribute to a grandfather and his ideals. Ashley Glover's voice fills this song from the bottom up with a mature voice full of flavor, life experience and just a hint of grit. Both celebratory and funereal in nature, the song is an intriguing opener. "The Maze" points to hope for all who are lost in a bland but well-voiced effort. "The Simple Life" sticks with a straightforward singer/songwriter sound that is compounded by a general lack of dynamic range. "Shades Of Winter" juxtaposes a message of hope and moving forward with a dark, melancholic arrangement that seems to say quite the opposite. It's an interesting choice for a song of self-discovery that doesn't entirely work but makes a game effort.
"Love & Lies" features another dichotomy. The song is well written, and Ashley Glover's voice sounds wonderful, but the emotive ballad style she pursues here doesn't fit well with the story-teller style of the song. It's as if Glover is trying to make the song into something it doesn't want to be. "Two-Way Mirror" works better; Glover's emotive style is more effective in a musical self-analysis based in imperfection and insecurity. "Wheels Of Time" is a heartfelt message to a beloved grandfather who has passed on. It's the best effort on the disc, with Glover breaking out of her comfort zone and tackling her upper range. "I Wanna Know" is a straightforward confrontation about a lover's whereabouts that winds up with him kicked to the curb. Glover plays this too straight, substituting an emotive state for emotion in a performance that falls flat. "Breathe" is a solid tune, but a bit out of context as a closer here.
Dn'A has a lot going for them. Donnie Herrera and Ashley Glover have created songs full of potential, but often these songs don't actualize the same. What are missing here are two or three more instrumental voices to help fill out the sound and challenge Dn'A in the creative process. Glover is far too comfortable in the arrangements, relying on a gorgeous alto voice with amazing tone to make up for a lack of conviction in the songs. Glover knows what the songs and respective emotions should sound like, but it?s hard to know whether she ever feels them on Headin' Home. Likewise, the arrangements are safe and unencumbered. The result is a homogeneous sound that never changes a great deal, and wears on the listener by the end of the album.
Welcome To Michigan. Great Lakes! Great Times! I still remember driving to the state surrounded by great lakes in the autumn of 1998 for a job interview and the first sign that welcomed us as we drove into this new land. "Look, they are welcoming us. With a catchy slogan! The possibilities are gonna be endless!" So for me and my wife (then girlfriend) this was our land of opportunity. Our first address at a really terrible apartment complex in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We were ready for the world. The state with my favorite running back of all time Barry Sanders! A place giving you ten cents for each beer and pop bottle and can you return has got something going for it! And there's lakes!
Then the first winter hit. It was the most snow I'd ever seen, something like 30 odd inches of white stuff in a weekend. And the locals told me it was a relatively mild winter. The winter also made my girlfriend's jeep a casualty to mother nature. Amy ended up buying another car buried in snow out of necessity. The color is not important when you need to drive sixty some miles to Lansing overnight for a job, so she got a teale Sunfire (that was some hot shit!).
Spring thawed the ground and we found solace come summer in Grand Haven, a wonderful beach town on Lake Michigan where we would go in the mornings after Amy got off her overnight shift. The sun was wonderful. It was also the place where we got sunburdt worse than we ever have before as we fell asleep one July morning on the beach (We've been to St. Thomas, the Bahamas and Aruba and never got THIS bad).
When Barry left, we felt it was time to also
West Michigan is also home to a couple other fantastically odd sights. The "Michigan Adventure" theme park, kind of like Cedar Point, except no good rides except for a large wooden roller coaster named Shivering Timbers. Also, there's Holland, Michigan. A dutch settlement whose economy strives on tulip festivals (I love the Dutch). Knowing summer was winding down, we hatched a plan to move south before another winter. (Did you know there is a place called Hell, Michigan?) And we succeeded, even if it was neighboring Fort Wayne, Indiana we relocated to. Barry Sanders had retired, it was time we too get out of Michigan. Don't get me wrong, we had a lot of great memories in Michigan and have frequented Detroit multiple times for sports events since we left and spent our first wedding anniversary outside Saugatuck.
I know Sufjan Stevens designated a whole album to Michigan, but he did the same with Illinois, so he's got that covered. Let's give Michigan the Red Hot Chili Peppers who wrote a song called "Especially In Michigan". I don't know how they're addressing the state except for ("Lions and Tigers come running to steal your luck", alright then.) So the tour keeps on moving through 50 states as we pass through the ever fascinating Michigan. Grab yourself a punchki and some Peter Piper pizza and settle in.
Together since 2005, MayOrWest got their start practicing at guitarist Pete Cataldo's apartment on Hoboken's Jackson Street. The four-piece alternative punk rock band has since performed throughout Mile Square City at venues including Maxwell's and The Dubliner, the location of their first show.
"Our friend bartended there and said he could get us a gig. We only had three original songs, [so I told him] we could play a bunch of covers," Cataldo said.
The band played nearly 30 songs for three-and-a-half hours. An enjoyable experience, they've been performing and recording ever since.
I sat down with the quartet outside Hotel Victor Bar and Grill over beers as they filled me in on their lives as musicians, the inspiration behind their songs and near death van experiences traveling to gigs. Easy-going personalities coupled with a hard work ethic, MayOrWest is one Hoboken act to pay attention to.
Squeeze will mark the 30th anniversary of their seminal album East Side Story in true South East London style. Since reuniting in 2007, Squeeze have undertaken four major sold out tours of the US and UK and have become firm festival favourites, with hits like Up The Junction, Tempted and Cool For Cats. Long-time friends and collaborators, The Feeling, will be special guests on the night, alongside a few other surprise appearances.
Full line-up below for the annual week long Teenage Cancer Trust event listed below, the time and effort put into these shows is a credit to all the artists involved. Long standing Teenage Cancer Trust patron Roger Daltrey CBE comments on this year?s line-up, "These gigs have raised nearly �10 million in 10 years and they make a real difference to the lives of thousands of young people with cancer. We?ve had both legends and rising stars play for Teenage Cancer Trust over the years and 2011 is no different. I?m truly grateful to everyone for their support.?
� Monday 21st March : Comedy with John Bishop, Kevin Bridges and Greg Davies � Tuesday 22nd March : Squeeze and The Feeling � Wednesday 23rd March : Biffy Clyro � Thursday 24th March: Roger Daltrey CBE performs The Who?s Tommy � Friday 25th March : Beady Eye � Saturday 26th March : Editors � Sunday 27th March : Tinie Tempah
I guess a Polaris Music Prize win doesn't guarantee a lineup down the block for a band's Canadian Musicfest set that's in a relatively intimate venue, well at least if your Montreal Francophone act Karkwa. I generally didn't line up all that long arriving about half an hour before their scheduled set time and when I got in I found the venue to be have ample elbow room amongst those already inside. Members of the band had actually sauntered past us in line as they arrove and entered the venue through the front door with the person behind me in line saying in jest to Karkwa's drummer as he walked past something along the lines of "thanks for showing up". The humour was somewhat lost on the drummer before he realized the guy was making a joke. Except for the exquisite French-pop of their song "Oublie Pas" which I'd heard on the soundtrack of a Francophone film(whose title escapes me) I wasn't at all familiar with the band's music. A person in the audience I introduced myself too, who happened to work for chartattack, upon me asking her what the band's music was like described them as band who some have described as a French Radiohead. And after hearing Karkwa perform, they didn't really remind me of Radiohead at all - Karkwa were far more conventional when compared to Radiohead's current experimental-sounding output and Karkwa didn't sound at all like old Radiohead in my opinion. However, like Radiohead, I guess Karkwa do possess a certain amount of dramatic tension within their pop-rock tunes. The level of musicianship in the band was exemplary with vocalist/guitarist Louis-Jean Cormier and his band which included two drummers/drumkits, a bassist, and a keyboardist equipped with an arsenal of keyboards. And so while the band defintely has chops, I felt a disconnect overall which had not even so much to do with the fact I don't understand French. It was a good set overall, though not the great set I'd hope would prove to me why they won the Polaris Music Prize.
Similarly, UK's trio Esben and the Witch were a generally unknown entity with a lot to prove given all the buzz they've been garnered by the music press. Word is that when the band opened for Foals at Lee's Palace last September, they'd put on a good show. I'd only sampled a bit of their music prior to their show, and it's funny how a came to describe them in my mind as new-goth even before I read a lick of press on them which bandied around the term 'goth' ad nauseum. There was a tangible excitement for the young trio as they took the stage, the band composed of guitarist/keyboardist Thomas Fisher, electronics/guitarist Daniel Copeman, and vocalist/percussionist Rachael Davies. The band concocted an intoxicating mix of stark vocals, dark pop atmospherics, threatening guitar attacks and primal / electronic beats that had the crowd intrigued for the hour and a half or so they'd played. The band's admitted in interview that while everyone likes to describe them as goth(bands like Bauhaus, This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twins), it was only after they were compared to them that the band discovered these bands. One wonders where the band did then get their influences, but if it is from within, it is one deep dark place. Intriguing. The band's Matador Records-released debut Violet Cries is out now.
I have always had a soft spot for BJORK and her avant garde pop sensibilities. From her work with THE SUGARCUBES on through to her outstanding early solo work, Bjork has set the bar for the melding of electronic and pop. I have often thought that Madonna's later work was her trying to cop Bjork's sound for the mainstream. Here is the first new track from "Biophilia" due out later this year. It encompasses all wide range of genres as it starts with a tinkling piano before exploding into a full on Drum and Bass cacophony at the end. I have high hopes for the entire album.
Hello, as the Sun will pass summer solstice this week, evoking the Wicca's of this world into action, the eyes are on the currently more demure sun and it all starts in the land of the rising sun, Japan. That's a good reason for me to have a bit of a Japanese artists week,. Starting off with Ryuichi Sakamoto, he works the keyboard as a go-player, his output is phenomenal and of the highest quality, one of the worlds music greats and yet he is obscure for a large part of the world. I hope to lift the veil somewhat here...enjoy !
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Ryuichi Sakamoto (born January 17, 1952 in Tokyo, Japan) studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he graduated with a BA in composition, and a Master's degree with special emphasis electronic and ethnic music. Sakamoto began his career in the late 1970s, working as a composer, arranger and producer with some of Japan's most popular rock, jazz and classical artists. He released his first solo album in 1978 but came to fame as a member of Japanese synth-rock outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra with co-founders Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. He collaborated with David Sylvian on a number of singles and most of Sylvian's albums.
He appeared in the 1983 Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence alongside British rock singer David Bowie; he also wrote the film's musical score. He won the Academy Award for his score to the 1987 Bernardo Bertolucci film The Last Emperor, and has also won two Golden Globe Awards for his work as a film composer.In addition, he also composed music for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics opening ceremony. In the early 1990s, he briefly reunited with YMO, playing an instrumental role in the techno and acid house movements of the era, before parting ways again shortly afterwards.
His 1999 musical composition "Energy Flow", also known as the alternative title of the single disc Ura BTTB, was the first number-one instrumental single in Japan's Oricon charts history. He has also occasionally worked on anime and video games, as a composer as well as a scenario writer. In the late 2000s, he reunited once again with YMO, while continuing to compose film music.
Since 78 he has released almost 80 albums (solo & soundtrack) , on top of that 2 dozen collaboration albums and YMO 33 years 110+ albums , every 16 weeks an album for 33 years, amazing workethic, puts lots of artists to shame. The 2007 jpg shows a 55 year old man that has greyed considerably, but he looks sharp and balanced into the lens back at you.
He is also known as a critic of copyright law, arguing that it is antiquated in the information age. He is a member of anti-nuclear organization Stop Rokkasho. Married life obviously suffered and he has been unattached for most of his career, still he has two daughters one of which has stepped into her parents career (mother=Akiko Yano), the J-pop singer Miu Sakamoto.
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All compositions are by Ryuichi Sakamoto except "23rd Psalm," which is traditional. Lyrics are sung by David Sylvian on "Forbidden Colours". Sakamoto later won the 1983 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music for the film's soundtrack. In 94 Orb man Alex Patterson named it as one of his top ten ambient records. It's in flac , enjoy
01 Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence 4:36 02 Batavia 1:18 03 Germination 1:49 04 A Hearty Breakfast 1:23 05 Before The War 2:15 06 The Seed And The Sower 5:03 07 A Brief Encounter 2:22 08 Ride, Ride, Ride (Celliers' Brother's Song) 1:04 09 The Fight 1:30 10 Father Christmas 2:07 11 Dismissed 0:10 12 Assembly 2:17 13 Beyond Reason 2:01 14 Sowing The Seed 1:54 15 23rd Psalm 2:03 16 Last Regrets 1:43 17 Ride, Ride, Ride (Reprise) 1:06 18 The Seed 1:04 19 Forbidden Colours (Voc.David Sylvian) 4:42
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BTTB (1998) ? an acronym for "Back to the Basics" ? was a fairly opaque reaction to the prior year's multilayered, lushly orchestrated Discord. The album comprised a series of original pieces on solo piano, including "Energy Flow" (a major hit in Japan) and a frenetic, four-hand arrangement of the Yellow Magic Orchestra classic "Tong Poo." At the time that Sakamoto began composing for BTTB, he thought that a CD of piano music felt right, though he was not sure of what kind of styles he wanted to play around with. Instead of settling on one or two styles, the renowned pianist and composer experimented with several. For instance, on BTTB, Sakamoto delves into avant-garde piano techniques, playing a prepared piano on the gently circular "Prelude" and "Uetax." Sakamoto's two choral-inspired pieces, "Choral No. 1" and "Choral No. 2," were born out of his fascination with Bach's "St. Mathew Passion" and medieval-esque Gregorian chants. On the BTTB U.S. tour, he opened the show performing a brief avant-garde DJ set under the stage name DJ Lovegroove.
01 Energy Flow 4:34 02 Put Your Hands Up - Piano Version 4:51 03 Railroad Man - Piano Version 4:41 04 Opus 4:25 05 Sonatine 3:38 06 Intermezzo 3:44 07 Lorenz And Watson 3:57 08 Choral No. 1 2:27 09 Choral No. 2 2:05 10 Bachata 8:14 11 Chanson 2:23 12 Prelude 4:07 13 Uetax 0:26 14 Aqua 4:29 15 Tong Poo 5:03 16 Reversing 3:56
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Sakamoto collaborated with Alva Noto (an alias of Carsten Nicolai) to release Vrioon, an album of Sakamoto's piano clusters treated by Nicolai's unique style of digital manipulation, involving the creation of "micro-loops" and minimal percussion. The two produced this work by passing the pieces back and forth until both were satisfied with the result. Pure tones, bleeps, and buzzes are so contrasted to the minimal, nearly ethereal piano of Sakamoto, especially as the piano is heavily treated with sustain, they create structured glitchy soundscapes where the organic fuses and seperates from the mechanical.
This debut, released on German label Raster-Noton, was voted record of the year 2004 in the electronica category by British magazine The Wire. No suprse then that recently they released their 5th album together, Summvs.
01 Uoon I 13:51 02 Uoon II 9:40 03 Duoon 5:47 04 Noon 10:13 05 Trioon I 5:09 06 Trioon II 9:57
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Since the 90s, Fennesz and Sakamoto have performed live, with Sala Santa Cecilia being their first collaborative EP (Touch, 2005), recorded live at Auditorium della Parco Musica for the Romaeuropa Festival. Two years later, the duo got together to compose their first full length LP, Cendre. Sakamoto is back at the piano, this time bathed in a warm lush of ambient bliss, as flooded by Fennesz. The reverberations of drone-like pads almost swallow the notes whole, occasionally letting them cut through the descending fog, and shoot up like a sparkling reflection of a dying star. A modern classical marvel was the conclusian at Boomkat.
Held on Boxing Day at Stadium Bukit Jalil, it's the 10th year running for this annual indie Rock Music Festival which is no stranger to rock & alternative music fans all around.
Here we are playing 2nd year in a row for one of the biggest musical events held in this country
Weather was fine despite the overcast skies as we go LIVE!
Frontman Darren Teh gets up close with the fans
Turn out was pretty awesome I would say.....
Yours truly
Darren goes up up and away (and disappeared into thin air) in the finale before we were ushered off stage.
"That Tune-yards album is so disjointedly catchy I either want to jump up and dance or jump out a window to get the hell away from it!" This is what I texted co-worker and friend Troy the other day from my edit bay at work I was listening to the new album from Tune-Yards, "Whokill", an album that throws everything from funk and afro pop rhythms to free form jazz bass lines all in a casserole of WTF is going on in my eardrums right now. It has no respect for genre and that's quite alright. Tune-yards is a project of singer, drummer, ukulele playing Merrill Garbus whose voice rides the spectrum from robust to slight and tender. To say "Whokill" is all over the place would be the understatement of the year. But once the melodies and rhythms hit you, oh look out, take shelter and maybe have a bad REO Speedwagon song nearby to help clear out your short term memory. If not you'll have "Gangsta" and "Killa" and "You Yes You" and the biggest offender of being so damn catchy, the first single "Bizness," all stuck in your head for hours or, worse yet, days. In a week and a half time, these songs creep up on me at the most unexpected times doing idle things and it kind of drives me mad. I'm showering the other day wondering what's a boy to do if he'll never be a gangsta or singing don't take my life away to myself as I make shells with sauce for dinner. Yes Merrill Garbus, you've pleasantly found a place in my head.
As it happens, those four songs are my favorites in this ten song affair, all ramped up with pinpoint energy and patchwork vocals. They're also the songs where Garbus demands your attention with her unique robust vocal pipes ravaging through every nook and cranny of the song. On the chorus for "Bizzness" she morphs "I'm addicted yeah" into "I'm a victim yeah" while a mix of "Don't take my life away" follows on it's tails. It is hands down the most buoyant use of a double chorus I've heard on a song in two years. "You Yes You" brims with a Rastafarian attitude as Garbus states "Now that everything's gonna be O.K." until she reaches a completely different octave as a counterpoint with "What's that about/What's that about?" while "Killa" is just a mish mash of everything great about the album as it flows along on a quirky soulful beat. And while the vocal sirens that lead into the first verse of "Gangsta" may off-put first time listens, they quickly lend to the mischief through the rest of the song as the chorus has Garbus boldly stating "Never move to my hood, cause danger is crawlin' out the way..BANG BANG Boy-oi" until the song collapses into fragments of studio snippets and bad cell phone reception audio until it reaches a proper ending. "Gangsta" has at least twelve head scratching moments the first time you hear it leaving you bouncing from thoughts of "that was a bad idea" to "that was near genius" all while making your head bop to it's incessant beat.
Thank goodness the whole batch of songs here don't rage with that same intensity because it would be exhausting. Slower and more seductive numbers also make there way in to making it a nice quilt. The addition of a full time bass player Nate Brenner helps flesh out the sound that was very sparse on Garbus's first album with songs like the free jazz flow on the seductive "Es-So". "Powa" takes a straight ahead guitar sound out of Nick Lowe's book to good results and Garbus visits her lo-fi roots again with the sparse and delicate "Wooly Wooly Gong".
A couple weaker moments in a few songs stops this from being an essential item. Refreshingly, Garbus is very straight forward in delivery but never preachy. But the question rages inside of me that "Whokill"'s themes of violence and self awareness makes me wonder if this is genuine or just another outfit borrowing from other cultures to make it the new indie "buzz" sound of the moment. It can be, at moments, a little shallow in conviction. ("What's that about? What's That About???")
But just taken at face value, "Whokill" is a great binge album that you can take in a large dose at one time and get a special buzz from the barrage of disjointedness running amok with it. You can't identify any other band to it. Maybe Dirty Projectors but they're too vocal oriented with not enough rhythm. Or maybe the early back-beat of Soul Coughing but their vocals don't match the creativeness and range of Garbus. So how about a marriage of Dirty Projectors' vocals and Soul Coughing's back-beat?
I leave you with the question, "What's a boy to do if he'll never be a gangsta?" Now go listen to "Gangsta" and try to get that filthy, addictive song out of your head. I dare you. Have some REO nearby as a remedy.
Here is my latest 60s favorite: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, a British band that existed from 1964 to 1972. My first contact to this band occurred when I was record shopping on the Internet and a best of CD by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich (later referred to as DDDBMT) was recommended to me. I read reviews and decided to order the CD ? it hardly cost anything. When I got the CD it ended up in my CD shelf and I never really came around to listen to it. I probably listened to a couple of songs, thought ?sounds weird? and decided to put it away and listen to it some time later. Strangely, this is what happens to quite many CDs I purchase...
