moog

Evidently Air is re-releasing Moon Safari in celebration of the album's 10 yr anniversary. Upon perusal of the reissue's bundle of goodies, I was surprised to see a remix of "Kelly Watch the Stars" by The Moog Cookbook included in the bonus material.

I basically knew The Moog Cookbook (Brian Kehew & Roger Joseph Manning Jr) for their 90s revival of the 'moog tributes' that flourished during the 70s after Walter/Wendy Carlos' Switched on Bach hit platinum. Many of the selections the moog-synth duo chose were heavily covered & parodied pop tunes (ie, "Black-Hole Sun") and therefore the few songs that I heard from their debut album didn't hold a lot of weight.

Perhaps since "Kelly ..." is a remix rather than a cover, I'm a bit more engaged (not to say the Moog Cookbook albums aren't worth listening to//give them a try) It is also worth noting that both Kehew & Manning Jr. have toured with Air on keyboard & each have independently supported/collaborated with a diverse range of musicians including Beck, The Who, Hole...

anyway, enjoy the funk

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lemon friskies

This evening as I was in a bit of a funk trying to organize my mess (the result of living out of a suitcase the past 2 months ...or arguably for the past 2 years), my ears perked as aural waves from the other room lapped in.
-"Where do I know this music from?"
- 5 secs. later - "ah-ha! wow....I need to see this"
so I quickly ran into the living room where the television had been left on - to see a huge cat prancing around in a bright saturated field, romping with purple turkeys and synchronized fish to none other than Lemon Jelly. For a moment I could have been fooled into thinking that this was another one of their psychedelic music videos.

but, alas....

Friskies - "Feed the Senses"

here is the official "Space Walk" music video...

white flight..

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the conversation starter with rrrratatat:

Justin Roefols aka White Flight. (not to be confused with the social phenomenon of white suburbia)

Evan & Mike are friends & fans of the Lawrence musician - who my friend/roommate knew during the year he lived in the oasis of the Kansas prairies.

Justin Roefols -(formerly of the band The Anniversary)- after a soul-searching/herbal experimentation stint in South American, returned to create the framework of his debut solo self-titled album in the basement of a suburban middle-class family's house during the days when he had the place to himself. He later finished the vocals in a friend's apartment in Lawrence.

White Flight is a creature containing lo-fi yet catchy psychedelic tunes & bizarre, engrossing samples and sounds. While the music is quite unique, perhaps my best comparison would be to The Unicorns....but whatever, just give it a listen.

According to his label - Range Life Records, we can expect more tunes sometime this summer.

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oh & here is a remix of "Deathhands" by Superargo

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memories

1 year ago today:
Amsterdam, Van Gogh, Ratatat, & Mike Stroud's dancing uncle...

A bit crazy - Ratatat put on a mesmerizing show at the intimate "small room" of the Paradiso. With Ratatat's progressively building cloud of sound, the concert seemed to come to an abrupt end - a startling jolt back to reality - leaving everyone dazed, waiting & wanting more. Eventually as seconds felt like hours, the lights went up and the post-set began. Mike & Evan (I'm not sure what happened to the keyboardist - though he was fairly wasted during the performance)came out to mingle with the crowd & were flocked by young girls (oddly predominately American).

After discussing Guggenheim & the new mixed tape with Evan, meeting Mike's uncle (it was/(is) his b-day)who when I last glanced was doing some crazy dance-moves with a group of girls, and hanging with Mike in the venue's lounge, the evening finished in bliss wandering the canals of Amsterdam.

This year it is Bloody Valentine. Wish I was there.
happy valentines day

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Ladytron vs. Apop

Upon learning that Ladytron has a new album in the works – I thought I’d check around to see what they have been up to since Witching Hour. I was well aware they had some live acts, including the much coveted Ratatat/the Faint/Ladytron concert last year in LA & a few scattered D.J sets here & there. So, I decided to do a search of remixes – particularly in light of the enjoyable Hot Chip remix of “Destroy Everything you Touch” - to see what ladytron have ‘touched’…

Lucky for us Ladytron don’t destroy everything they touch (har har)– as they have been quite active over the past 2 years & have turned up a range of remixes including reworkings of Goldfrapp, Bloc Party, NIN , Cities, She Wants Revenge, Looper, Bonde Do Role, and Placebo.

One interesting find was Ladytron’s ‘De-shape remix’ of Apoptygma Berzerk’s “Until the End of the World” found on the bonus cd of Sonic Diary.

If you’re not familiar with Apoptygma Berzerk (commonly referred to as Apop), they are a Norwegian band with a post-industrial / future-pop sound. I saw them last year at England’s Infest – where they headlined with VNV Nation. While I was only truly familiar with their track “Rollergirl” from Harmonizer, I thoroughly enjoyed their energetic live show: dancing through a human carwash of neon orange, yellow & blue dreadlocks. I’d highly recommend checking out “Kathy’s song” off Welcome to Earth or the aforementioned “Rollergirl”

Apoptygma Berzerk have songs featured on the new German film Lauf um Dein Leben & Ladytron’s new album is out June 3

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kneebody

Sun-soaked jazz that action-heroes dwalk (dance-walk) by.

Kneebody is a LA-based quintet - masters at fusion - taking cues from a variety of genres. They mash together a delightful catchy, brazen-grooved funk.

Their sophomore album Low Electrical Worker was released last year through ColorToneMedia. With a Creative Commons license, Kneebody encourages listeners to sample or "remix" music from their album and even have a page dedicated to the remixes.

Have at it.

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oh sweden

Why Stockholm's Musikmuseet ends with Abba, I do not know....



Meet yet another Swede.
Lykke Li recently put an album out - check it

skål

bulgur brothers

Bulgur Brothers
: : :
self-described as "Techno/Disco House/Indie" & “the ultimate Scandinavian boy band”

hmm

I came across them during a recent trip to Cincinnati – browsing (once again) through a used cd shop’s collection. To be honest - - I was drawn to the album cover & upon finding out they are from Sweden (home of the Knife, Peter Bjorn & John, Dungen, the Sounds & countless others… yes, even ABBA...), I figured it was a good bet.

The Bulgur Brothers, while not biological siblings, are ‘brothers’ of the Swedish minimal scene. The group consists of 3 musicians: Mikael Stavostrand, Andrea Tilliander & Johan Skugge all of whom are independently at the forefront of “minimal tech” music in Sweden.

Their album Smoothie Man which was released in 2006 has minimal tech glitches driving their electronic soundscapes with a rusty coat of darker brooding sounds. While the music may be ‘difficult’ for many & fairly inaccessible particularly to those unfamiliar with electronic music, the album has some rich texture and a creative batter of unique and intriguing sounds.

Here is the first (and shortest) track of the album

“Downwards”

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steel train

On a snowy December day in Durango, Colorado, I found a stack of newly released ‘used’ cds for 3 or 4 dollars a piece. Not a bad offer – so I grabbed a couple that caught my eye. One which I wasn’t quite sure of was Steel Train’s Trampoline. Now with a name such as Steel Train, I was imagining they’d probably be middle-aged men doing ‘southern adult rock’ ….not something that would really excite me. Despite this premonition I thought I’d give it a chance. (Though I have since found out that they take their name from a Bob Marley song….go figure)

Lucky for me, I made a good choice… while there is an element of the southern rock in the album, its life (& their youth) is breathed through some catchy indie-pop/rock tunes. Many of the songs are summer jangles sounding like a blend of Phantom Planet & My Morning Jacket - though the final song "Women I Belong To" does have more of a country kick & a twangy hidden track.

Through a first listen, I was sparked by the song “Dakota” (S. Dakota being the land of my birth) While the song begins mentioning a girl named Dakota, it is transformed into a ‘place’ where everything is alright - “like heaven” – lead singer Jack Antonoff adds in an interview with Daytrotter. Welp – obviously not the Dakota I live in (with 40 below gusts of wind and empty desolation to drown in) Ah..

Anyway, Steel Train has an all-star cast with the original Broadway Simba (Scott Irby-Ranniar) & a former lover of Scarlett Johansson (Jack Antonoff).

Speaking of Johansson – she is popping up all over in the music world. Beyond being inspiration for Steel Train songs & singing karaoke in Lost in Translation, she starred in a Bob Dylan & a Timberlake music video, the new ‘viral’ Yeswecansong video and has a rumored Tom Waits cover album coming out this year. I’m curious how she will compare with other actors-turned-musicians…. Well, I give William Shatner credit for working with the Lemon Jelly.

-----
steel train is currently on tour - check them out.

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B-grade is 'in'

whats up with all the 'B-grade-epic' music videos?

(retro) // Zongamin-AZZAZZA

(nu) // MGMT-Time to Pretend

Harry Partch

Harry Partch:
Composer-Hobo-Musician-Sculptor-Theorist

I recently spun his musical essay: And on the Seventh Day, Petals Fell on Petaluma (1963-64) preformed by Gate 5 ensemble. Since I grabbed the record out of a stack of other 60's avant-garde LPs, I wasn't shocked by the unique sounds emitting from the stereo's speakers. After a brief perusal of the recording's notes and a bit of research, however, I was intrigued by Partch's 'process.'

The record is built of 34 verses, the first 23 being duets or trios of a mix of Partch's sculptural microtonal instruments with names such as 'Blue Rainbow', 'Spoils of War' and 'Cloud-Chamber Bowls'. The following 11 verses are pairings of the previous duets/trios through over-dubbing to create 10 quartets/quintets and a final tumultuous septet.

Partch is known for his 43 tone scale (adding to the exotic sound of his music) - where each octave rather than using the traditional 12 tone scale, manages to fit 43 tones into one octave. Since Partch created his own system, he needed to create a collection of instruments that could accommodate to his 43 tone scale. Consequently over time he built an extensive collection of instruments - some of which can be explored here. As you can likely see the instruments can double as sculpture (several of which have been exhibited) thus adding another dimension to the experience of music - experience being an integral component of Partch's art. As Partch states, "This is my trinity: sound-magic, visual beauty, experience-ritual."

Harry Parch making rose petal jam . . . .