Musical Perspective From The Musically Talentless

Foals - Last Night Brilliant track off the Oxford quint’s...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 22:38:12 -0400

Foals - Last Night

Brilliant track off the Oxford quint’s third album. The third album is generally considered the turning point in the life of a band as it has to breath new life into the project, while staying true to the success and sound of the previous two. Foals not only nailed it, but became even edgier, while appealing to a wider audience, slotting to headline several festivals this year.

Despite the graphic nature of the video, its worth noting that the translation of the sign above the hotel reads; “Hotel of Life”. Essentially, the visual representation of conception, birth, life and death. With that being said, be warned that the director employes the use of shock value and disturbing images, in order to illustrate the intense subject matter being covered.

Clark - Ted Found this while listening to Foals, Tapes, this...

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:43:00 -0400

Clark - Ted

Found this while listening to Foals, Tapes, this morning. Some of the heavier and more experimental of the Indie Rock genre, its a cross between dance, rock and electronic with a pervasive beat that won’t quit. Ignoring the creepiness of the video, this is one of the best things I’ve heard in the last six months

La Roux / Jack Beats - I’m Not Your Toy La Roux,...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:12:06 -0400

La Roux / Jack Beats - I’m Not Your Toy

La Roux, who’s name alludes to and are widely believed to be a solo act, are in actuality an electronic duo hailing from Brixton. After winning the Grammy for best electronic / dance duo in 2011, La Roux went on to work with other prominent London based producers, most notably Skream, Major Lazer (Switch) and Jack Beats to remix their entire self titled debut album. From Skream’s subtle, yet explosive version of In For The Kill to Major Lazer’s remix of the album from front to back with Lazerproof, La Roux showcases their adaptability and ability to be innovative. Despite their collaborative nature on other projects, this track isn’t so much of a blended union of the two distinct sounds, it’s about 20% La Roux, 80% Jack Beats oddly addictive, overwhelming nonsense.

Goblin City - Jamie Jones / Holy Ghost! Found this a few weeks...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:46:43 -0400

Goblin City - Jamie Jones / Holy Ghost!

Found this a few weeks back going thru one of Jamie Jones’s sets. Although relatively unknown to much of the public, he’s touted as the number one DJ on the planet according to Resident Advisor (subject matter expert on all things electronic and dance music if there was one).

Jamie Jones is an interesting producer. Born in Wales, but developed musical stylings in London and Ibiza. He generally does not play large shows favoring intimate club gigs. Following Jones only briefly via social medial, its apparent he has a knack for discovering music that has been overlooked or was created before its time, pulling heavily on disco and funk influences. Producing one of the most pure examples of house and techno around, Jones samples tracks from different genres and decades, transitioning seamlessly throughout via a steady pounding bass line.

Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine Just over a year after the release of...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:58:00 -0400

Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine

Just over a year after the release of Suck It And See (aggressive name, passive feel), the Arctic Monkeys released a new single to kick off their domestic stadium tour supporting the Black Keys, which has the look and feel of the Arctic Monkeys circa 2008. Down, dirty, simple, “chip shop rock”. Suck It And See was a real departure from the Arctic Monkeys 3rd LP, Humbug, and unrecognizable from their first two albums which brought them so much critical acclaim. Not that the album was “bad” by any means, it was just bland in comparison to their earlier work as teenagers and some of their more mature work in the production of Humbug, partnered with Josh Homme.

The band described the new sound as “vintage”, a style they clearly jumped head first into with Alex Turner appearing to have been mugged by a doo wop / greaser gang. But with progress comes a level of trial and error. Some tracks on the album worked better than others, but nothing truly stood out. Thankfully though, R U Mine is a departure from this new style, and more along the lines of the Arctic Monkeys Circa 2008.

Stereophonics - Dakota Welsh britpop-indie rockers,...

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:11:32 -0500

Stereophonics - Dakota

Welsh britpop-indie rockers, Stereophonics, achieved wide mainstream in the UK throughout much of the early to mid 2000’s, but never recreated the same success stateside. Stereophonics are a four piece group whose, tenure at the top of UK rock has spanned more than a decade and have over seven albums to show for it. Like much of the britpop today, their sound is catchy, memorable, yet appeals to a wide audience. Although one of the most revered groups of the mid-2000’s, its hard to argue that Stereophonics have an entirely unique sound of their own. The Cardiff foursome have the nostalgic feel and sound of an Oasis or The Verve, but with a more modern, upbeat and pop sound.

Need For Mirrors Need For Mirrors, otherwise known as Joe Moses...

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:33:00 -0500

Need For Mirrors

Need For Mirrors, otherwise known as Joe Moses & Emilio Dimitri, joined forces to create music which draws from all of their electronic music influences and reflects them back. An intriguing idea, but one that’s fraught with potential disaster; trying to mingle a million elements into one project can often sound messy. Instead, what you get is two producers with a wealth of experience stepping up and taking control of their sound. A majority of the work they do is dnb heavy, but they often dabble in other styles, most notably working with grime/hip-hop/reggae artists such as Drs.

Four Tet - Angel Echoes Besides being incredibly...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:42:17 -0500

Four Tet - Angel Echoes

Besides being incredibly musically talented, Ellie Goulding apparently also has impeccable taste in music. Somewhat surprisingly, this is posted via her Facebook account with the caption; “Ni Night”. Couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Blur - Brit Awards Despite the Brit Awards being overshadowed a...

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:05:00 -0500

Blur - Brit Awards

Despite the Brit Awards being overshadowed a clearly agitated Adele (cut off midway thru her acceptance speech, she responded with a well timed middle finger), the return of Blur was the big story of the night. Closing out the show and accepting the Outstanding Contribution to Music award, Damon and crew brought the rough around the edges grunge synonymous with 90s English Rock at London’s O2 Arena. The group played a five song set highlighting Blur thru the ages, opening with Girls & Boys, eventually closing with This Is A Low, but not without allowing with the staple opening drum beat of Song 2 to creep in and cap off the appearance.

Although a bit of a surprise to see Blur making an appearance, last week it was announced that Blur would be headlining the Best of British show in Hyde Park this summer for the olympics, so it was not terribly shocking. It seems that the full Gorillaz project will take a hiatus for at least the time being, as the Blur frontman has been busy in the past 12 months, writing and directing a musical and working on numerous collaborations. Most recently Albarn worked on a project with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and Andre 3000 of Outkast which releases tomorrow called DoYaThing.

Pinch – Fabriclive 61 Pinch, hailing from Bristol, is a UK...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:36:00 -0500

Pinch – Fabriclive 61

Pinch, hailing from Bristol, is a UK Bass producer who works in the deep basslines associated with the roots of traditional DubStep, incorporating elements of House, Dance Hall and Reggae to create a dark and somewhat morbid sound. Since the release of his Fabriclive album this past Winter, his work has had resounding success, being picked up by the likes of Resident Advisor and DJ Mag.

This is a piece of work that truly relies on bassline manipulation, blending multiple levels of bass at the 130 bpm mark to create his dark sound. It is a rather progressive set, as it never really hits the peak and valleys so many others artists work to achieve, as a recent Pitchfork review put it: “never really ends, the same bumpy journey over and over again, bubbling and bubbling but refusing to boil over”. Throughout the set, it just constantly hits its groove, pulling back only slightly at times to push the track even harder following the recess. Most of the recording sounds like what I imagine it would sound like to record in a empty metal chamber submerged in water, giving an eerie echo to the pervasive lingering beat.

Despite lacking an incredible memorable few minutes that other Fabriclive albums achieve by building throughout the set, this album feels more complete. Pinch enters and exists the set on the same beat giving a completeness and familiarity to what you have just audibly ingested.

DJ Mag Interview - (http://www.djmag.com/news/detail/3191)

Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks Childish Gambino is the...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:09:07 -0500

Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks

Childish Gambino is the stage name of Donald Glover, member of NBC series Community and web series Derrick Comedy. Before releasing his first EP in 2008, Donald starred in several web comedy series while studying at NYU, gaining a cult web following, eventually culminating the in production of a full length movie. After graduating from NYU and before his work on Community, Glover was a staff writer for the show 30 Rock and The Daily Show.

Clearly a man of many talents, Glover began his music career under the name Childish Gambino, taken off a Wu-Tang Clan name generator he was playing around with. Absolutely fluid delivery partnered with progressive beats integrating classical, hip hop, R&B and electronic elements have become the staple of Childish Gambino. Despite his fun loving and cheerie exterior portrayed thru his work on the screen, his music delves into some serious topics covering pain, loss and acceptance. Without a doubt, making the jump from comedian / film student at NYU to hip-hop mogul is not going to happen over night, but its hard to deny the talent, can anyone say EGOT?

Araabmuzik Abraham Orellana, aka Araabmuzik, is without a doubt...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:17:00 -0500

Araabmuzik

Abraham Orellana, aka Araabmuzik, is without a doubt going to be a major player in the rapidly evolving music scene this year following the release of his LP, Electronic Dream. Originally a hip-hop producer from Rhode Island, Araabmuzik blends established hip-hop and trance sounds, relying heavily on a MPC (Music Production Center) drum machine to create a self symphony of sound. Pitchfork did a full write up on Araabmuzik this week, profiling him as an artist and investigating where his unique sound derives from. While intermittently watching the Grammy’s last night, its become very apparent that the the music industry has been turned upside down, seemingly overnight. Emerging electronic artists, such as Araabmuzik, are changing not only the sound of the music industry, but that way in which music is delivered, forever.

Chemical Brothers - Swoon Chemical Brothers are a byproduct of...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:07:30 -0500

Chemical Brothers - Swoon

Chemical Brothers are a byproduct of the early 90s Big Beat genre, which developed famous artists such as The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim and The Crystal Method. Big beat is a different type of electronic music, and probably one of the first genres of electronic sounds to hit a mainstream audience. Big beat was almost an answer and played off of some of the large sounds that developed in the same time period (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Nine Inch Nails). The early 90s was a departure from the hair bands of the 80s, in which these artist paved the way for a grunge based counter culture of youth. The very same culture that re-spawned the original American creation of the music festivals with the revival of Woodstock and the creation of Lollapalooza, established as a traveling festival.

Big Beat artists, such as Chemical Brothers, encountered a great amount of success, developing lyrical last beats and producing music with the same energy and hyped up sound that rock bands of the same era were unable to create, utilizing different instruments. Listening to Big Beat now, it hardly sounds like electronic music at all, it sounds more like an over produced stadium band, but for the time, it was revolutionary.

Unlike most artists of the 80s, which was almost a fad era for music, many of the larger artists from the 90s are still creating new music and actively touring. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, the Smashing Pumpkins, etc… along with all the Big Beat artists mentioned above, still draw massive crowds, even headlining festivals in some cases. The track above is off the Chemical Brother’s last album, released this spring, partially in conjunction with the release of Hanna, whose entire musical score was composed by the Chemical Brothers.

SBTRKT – Right Thing To Do Electronic artist from East London,...

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:24:00 -0500

SBTRKT – Right Thing To Do

Electronic artist from East London, operating under the moniker SBTRKT, is an anonymous DJ who performs behind the vale of a tribal mask during the production and performance of his work. SBTRKT claims to be the fusion of post-dubstep and soul, but most of his work sounds like a one man collation of pop icons Friendly Fires. Although most of his album, which has been highly touted by the likes of Annie Mac sounds manufactured and uninspired to me, it does have it moments of originality and redeeming qualities. The track listed above is one of those exceptions, it mixes thick bass lines with R&B overtones which work harmoniously, sort of reminiscent of Pretty Lights original mix of Finally Moving.

The XX – Night Time Its interesting to learn some of the...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:03:00 -0500

The XX – Night Time

Its interesting to learn some of the history of where music specifically derives from by region. There was a documentary made about a year ago about the uniqueness of Oxfordshire, who has derived notable acts including Radiohead, Supergrass and more recently, Foals. In one specific case, musical talent has not just spurred out of a region, but rather a school. The Elliot School is a state foundational comprehensive (public school) in the south west region of London, Putney, with an emphasis on the visual performing arts. Its unique because of the notable artists who have spurred out of the Elliot School, many of who I have mentioned previously on this blog including, but not limited to; Hot Chip, Four Tet and The XX.

The XX are a somewhat unique sound, in that they have a blend of electronic and traditional methods used to create a dark, subdued ambiance. The XX trio, took home the coveted Mercury Prize last year and have had some level of commercial success with their other singles Intro and Crystalized. Two of the parts hold up more of the traditional pop side of the music, imploring the use of bass and electronic guitars to create the melodies. Whilst the percussive side is comprised of Jamie XX, the notable electronic artist who spun off from the group in the last year to pursue his own career on the side. Jamie XX has worked both in collaboration with pop artists such as Drake, as well as developing a following by creating successful remixes of pop artists such as Adele and Florence and the Machine.

Major Lazer - Original Don Major Lazer, due to release an EP...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:09:00 -0500

Major Lazer - Original Don

Major Lazer, due to release an EP sometime this year, leaked the title track a few weeks back entitled Original Don. In unison with the announcement of the upcoming release, is an ad campaign which could have been put together by a 3rd grader thru majorlazer.com. The campaign is mostly made up of ”Original Don” photos featuring everyone from Don Trump, to Don Glover, to Don Duck. Because Major Lazer is produced under Diplo’s own label, Mad Decent, he can essentially do what he wants with it. While 10 years ago, the release of an EP would be backed by a major corporation with a structured ad campaign, its now as simple as announcement thru social media and a crudely slapped together blog. The crazy thing is that thru this one to one media marketing, the artists themselves are able to reach a specifically targeted solicited audience at the click of a button. No fancy ad agencies, no cost to themselves, just effective one to one interaction with a user who has willingly subscribed and has an active interest in what they are seeing.

Although a terrible example of this, Skrillex is walking proof of the power that social media has over the music industry. In one year, he went from being the creepy lead singer of a skreamo band, to filling entire stadiums, becoming grammy nominated and topping the BBC polls, just by tapping into an emerging market and distributing his EP for free on Soundcloud. In the coming years it will be interesting to see the path which the music and festival scene will take as many artists now freely give away their music in exchange for a Like on Facebook or an email address. Essentially, what shows is the monetary value in the potential ability to reach people, one to one, is greater than the value of the cash itself.

Richie Hawtin (JackMaster / Plastikman) - Bang The Box Richie...

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:41:00 -0500

Richie Hawtin (JackMaster / Plastikman) - Bang The Box

Richie Hawtin, producer and musician, active since the early 90s operating under different aliases from his most famous, Plastikman, to some relatively unheard of names. Hawtin was born in the UK, but grew up in Ontario, right across the boarder from Detroit, where the techno genre was developing during the mid 80s. Hawtin not only dabbles, but was a driving force behind the minimalist techno movement, which is still prevalent today in many underground scenes. When listening to this genre its important to realize what its not as importantly as what it is. Its not a a club banger which has an instant appeal and hook. Its subtle and has a developed sub bass line, which needs to be recognized to start to mentally build the beat.

Hot Chip - Crap Kraft Dinner Hot Chip, indie electronic...

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:39:46 -0500

Hot Chip - Crap Kraft Dinner

Hot Chip, indie electronic residents of Putney who time and time again create incredible new sounds, as often as they flop using non traditional methods (mixing the synth and steel drums over a scrawny white kid rapping). More times than not its difficult to listen to an entire Hot Chip album all the way through as the tempo and feel switches from day to night track by track. On the other hand its refreshing to have an artist with no discernible style push boundaries as its also very difficult to listen to any of the alums from artists such as the Wombats and Florence all the way thru as it feels like the same tune has been repackaged 12 times and called an LP.

Manchester Warehouse Project Loud. Abrasive. Sensory Overload....

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:01:00 -0500

Manchester Warehouse Project

Loud. Abrasive. Sensory Overload. The Warehouse Project is actually a converted air raid shelter from WWII under Piccadilly Station. Unfortunately, this the last year the Project is going to be taking place in the shelter, but it has become a trend with dancehalls springing up in converted bunkers, power stations and other under former underground municipal areas from a previous era. There is nothing charming about these locations, as most of them are pretty dark and dingy, but it does provide a unique experience and an alternative to the typical club setting.

Coldplay - Charlie Brown Coldplay started touring Mylo Xyloto...

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:14:00 -0500

Coldplay - Charlie Brown

Coldplay started touring Mylo Xyloto this past summer, prior to the release of their 5th studio album. Pervasively, the album was well constructed and has an organic flow to it, despite a collaboration with Rhianna, whose harsh tone didn’t fit the bill at all. Although this album wouldn’t win the innovation award of the year, Chris Martin and crew were able to transcend their trademark sound which is prolific throughout their previous four albums and create an album based on the spectacle that we have come to know as Coldplay.

The style of music and feel of Coldplay’s sound has grown along with their success. You can hear the intimate nature of Parachutes, aptly suited for a small venue, versus the louder and richer sounds developed for stadium venues with the release of X&Y and Viva La Vida. The culmination of a Coldplay performance is a pretty unique experience with 50,000 people walking away all belting the staple riff of Viva La Vida at the top of their lungs into the night sky. With the release of this newest album, its not too far fetched to say that this group has risen to the ranks of artists such as the Rolling Stones, Oasis and U2.