Various Artists – The Roots Of Chicha (Barbès Records)
The British Invasion didn’t limit its dominating influence just to the states. Worldwide, in various ethnic locales, musicians reconfigured their bands to the format of drums, electric bass and guitar, emulating the sound transmitting from pocket radios and television broadcasts, and out popped such genres as Cambodian rock, Mexican garage rock, and Malaysian pop. Similarly, Peruvians translated the cumbias they’d imported from Columbia, but dropped the featured accordion for a steel twine of the electric guitar. Now outfitted with a surf twang and the modern sound of the Moog synthesizers and Farfisa organs, this new sound -titled Chicha after their native corn drink- was distilled for the working class dance floors in Lima. Recorded between 1968 and 1978, this compilation triumphantly recovers this instantly danceable merging of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Andean melodies and western psychedelia from overlooked, discarded international record bins. Recommended for salsa dancers, fans of underground garage, and discriminating lovers of artistic international hybridization. A true knockout.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Pedro
Pedro – You, Me & Everyone (Mush)
As the alias of James Rutledge, Pedro could easily be the name taped across his computer monitor. With bedroom technicians, who shuffles around programmed beats with odd snatches of instrumental sounds lifted from vinyl records, the art is in the execution. On You, Me & Everyone, the final assembled output combines the looped steady rhythms of hip-hop with the wild frantic energy of free jazz, a musical structure that rapidly pivots between head-nodding pulses to mind-freeing combustion. Rarely does the drumming seem complacently looped. On “I’m Keeping Up” and “Spools”, the percussive barrage can shift time-signatures instantly, and with the wild saxophone riffs blasting out, you’re likely to think of John Coltrane accompanying Elvin Jones as opposed to an electronic creation. With a continuous propulsive drive, squiggles of synthesized keys, xylophone melodies and found sounds all compositional arranged to magical seem organic than crafted, Pedro is a master hand in the confines of the “cut and paste” electronic field.
As the alias of James Rutledge, Pedro could easily be the name taped across his computer monitor. With bedroom technicians, who shuffles around programmed beats with odd snatches of instrumental sounds lifted from vinyl records, the art is in the execution. On You, Me & Everyone, the final assembled output combines the looped steady rhythms of hip-hop with the wild frantic energy of free jazz, a musical structure that rapidly pivots between head-nodding pulses to mind-freeing combustion. Rarely does the drumming seem complacently looped. On “I’m Keeping Up” and “Spools”, the percussive barrage can shift time-signatures instantly, and with the wild saxophone riffs blasting out, you’re likely to think of John Coltrane accompanying Elvin Jones as opposed to an electronic creation. With a continuous propulsive drive, squiggles of synthesized keys, xylophone melodies and found sounds all compositional arranged to magical seem organic than crafted, Pedro is a master hand in the confines of the “cut and paste” electronic field.
Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear – Friend EP
Swirling with layers of delicate acoustic instrumentation and voices layered until they can harness the power and beauty of an operatic choir, Grizzly Bear opened up ears with the psychedelic-drenched folk sounds on their sophomore album, Yellow House. Returning with a bulging EP that offers eleven tracks of re-assembled songs as well as covers of their material by close associates (Band Of Horses, CSS, and Atlas Sound), the Friend EP shouldn’t be view as an emptying of the closet. Receiving help from Beirut’s Zach Condon and Dirty Projector’s Dave Longstreth, “Alligator”, a track from their debut Horn Of Plenty, is expanded from a quick, loose keyboard tinkering into a expanded avalanche of bristling noise-pop. Brazilian art-punk band CSS transforms “Knife” into a giddy new-wave synth track, while Band of Horse takes “Plans” to the back porch with their banjo picking, erupting with a bluegrass sing-a-long. For newbies and fans alike, the Friend EP offers Grizzly Bear a unique chance to re-fashion their tunes with tremendous results.
Swirling with layers of delicate acoustic instrumentation and voices layered until they can harness the power and beauty of an operatic choir, Grizzly Bear opened up ears with the psychedelic-drenched folk sounds on their sophomore album, Yellow House. Returning with a bulging EP that offers eleven tracks of re-assembled songs as well as covers of their material by close associates (Band Of Horses, CSS, and Atlas Sound), the Friend EP shouldn’t be view as an emptying of the closet. Receiving help from Beirut’s Zach Condon and Dirty Projector’s Dave Longstreth, “Alligator”, a track from their debut Horn Of Plenty, is expanded from a quick, loose keyboard tinkering into a expanded avalanche of bristling noise-pop. Brazilian art-punk band CSS transforms “Knife” into a giddy new-wave synth track, while Band of Horse takes “Plans” to the back porch with their banjo picking, erupting with a bluegrass sing-a-long. For newbies and fans alike, the Friend EP offers Grizzly Bear a unique chance to re-fashion their tunes with tremendous results.
Scout Niblett
Scout Niblett – This Fool Can Die Now
Existing somewhere between the plaintively-voiced catharsis of Cat Power and the raw emotionally power of PJ Harvey, Scout Niblett has made an album that can lull your child to sleep one minute, and shake a filling loose the next. Counting the four wonderful slices of precious folk duets with Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy / Palace Music) along with a few others, Scout Niblett’s minimal-arranged compositions can dazzle you with merely a drum kit and a voice (“Moon Lake”) or the soft-rock aesthetics of her Van Morrison cover “Comfort You“ (and Will Oldham has never sounded more delightful in-key and warbleless). But when the ferocious pounding opens on “Let Thine Heart Be Warned”, Scout Niblett matches the bruising heavy blues energy with full-throated vocals that can curl your fingers into devil horn. Recorded by the exacting hands of Steve Albini (who also produced PJ Harvey’s early albums), This Fool Can Die Now captures Scout’s spunky roar with precision and clarity. Recommended.
Existing somewhere between the plaintively-voiced catharsis of Cat Power and the raw emotionally power of PJ Harvey, Scout Niblett has made an album that can lull your child to sleep one minute, and shake a filling loose the next. Counting the four wonderful slices of precious folk duets with Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy / Palace Music) along with a few others, Scout Niblett’s minimal-arranged compositions can dazzle you with merely a drum kit and a voice (“Moon Lake”) or the soft-rock aesthetics of her Van Morrison cover “Comfort You“ (and Will Oldham has never sounded more delightful in-key and warbleless). But when the ferocious pounding opens on “Let Thine Heart Be Warned”, Scout Niblett matches the bruising heavy blues energy with full-throated vocals that can curl your fingers into devil horn. Recorded by the exacting hands of Steve Albini (who also produced PJ Harvey’s early albums), This Fool Can Die Now captures Scout’s spunky roar with precision and clarity. Recommended.
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós – Hvarf / Heim
Comprised of two separate EP’s, Iceland’s Sigur Rós highlights the two distinct aspects of their recorded sound: their expansive, monumental compositions that climb to massive codas versus meticulously arranged, lullaby-like songs whose very fragility underscore it with attentive power. Hvarf captures the dramatic grandeur of Sigur Rós with five older titles, three of which having never been captured to disc. “Hafsol” from the group’s debut Von, is recaptured, rising from a its opening subtle drone to an apex of bombastic drums, strings played with blurring hands, and a full harmonic range emitting from your speaker. Heim or “home” is Sigur Rós re-imagined as a chamber orchestra. Recorded live within odd venues across Iceland (darkened caves, deserted fish factories), many of which lacked electrical power, there is pure beauty in translating their monolithic sound into the natural world. With assistance from string quartet Amiina, Sigur Rós accents the gentle beauty of their songs that become as tranquil as snowfall, as intimate as a whisper. Recommended.
Comprised of two separate EP’s, Iceland’s Sigur Rós highlights the two distinct aspects of their recorded sound: their expansive, monumental compositions that climb to massive codas versus meticulously arranged, lullaby-like songs whose very fragility underscore it with attentive power. Hvarf captures the dramatic grandeur of Sigur Rós with five older titles, three of which having never been captured to disc. “Hafsol” from the group’s debut Von, is recaptured, rising from a its opening subtle drone to an apex of bombastic drums, strings played with blurring hands, and a full harmonic range emitting from your speaker. Heim or “home” is Sigur Rós re-imagined as a chamber orchestra. Recorded live within odd venues across Iceland (darkened caves, deserted fish factories), many of which lacked electrical power, there is pure beauty in translating their monolithic sound into the natural world. With assistance from string quartet Amiina, Sigur Rós accents the gentle beauty of their songs that become as tranquil as snowfall, as intimate as a whisper. Recommended.
Dynamics – Version Excursion
Dynamics – Version Excursion
Cover bands, though often viewed as a step-child when compared to the innovative sibling they imitate, can easily provoke a smile of acknowledgment when done right. Forming its multi-national act within the confines of France, The Dynamics select a variety of tunes from several different canons – rock, jazz, and soul – and filters them with a reggae-inspired soul that harnesses the thick, relaxed groove of Thievery Corporation’s best downtempo beats. Whether they’re covering Curtis Mayfield (“Move On Up”) or Cymande’s rare groove classic (“Brother On The Side) with smooth high falsetto perfection, or crafting rock-steady versions of the Rolling Stones (“Miss You”) and Led Zeppelin (Whole Lotta Love”) with sublime seduction, there’s a lot here to appreciate. Despite the small missteps of their lover-rock version of Dylan “Lay Lady Lay” and a less than electrifying cover of “Land Of A 1,000 Dances”, the Dynamics rebound with a disco-reggae renditions of Madonna’s “Music” and a version of D’Angelo’s “Feel Like Making Love” that could possibly increase the world’s population.
Cover bands, though often viewed as a step-child when compared to the innovative sibling they imitate, can easily provoke a smile of acknowledgment when done right. Forming its multi-national act within the confines of France, The Dynamics select a variety of tunes from several different canons – rock, jazz, and soul – and filters them with a reggae-inspired soul that harnesses the thick, relaxed groove of Thievery Corporation’s best downtempo beats. Whether they’re covering Curtis Mayfield (“Move On Up”) or Cymande’s rare groove classic (“Brother On The Side) with smooth high falsetto perfection, or crafting rock-steady versions of the Rolling Stones (“Miss You”) and Led Zeppelin (Whole Lotta Love”) with sublime seduction, there’s a lot here to appreciate. Despite the small missteps of their lover-rock version of Dylan “Lay Lady Lay” and a less than electrifying cover of “Land Of A 1,000 Dances”, the Dynamics rebound with a disco-reggae renditions of Madonna’s “Music” and a version of D’Angelo’s “Feel Like Making Love” that could possibly increase the world’s population.
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