Mixcast #1: Oasis of Horror

Hello meine Wünderkind! Today is a very exciting day! Do you know why it is an exciting day? Because I’m posting the first of what will (hopefully) be monthly Mixcasts! I have shamelessly stolen this idea from this guy, but I hope you will enjoy this nonetheless.

(right-click the picture)

Track List:

1. No Hope Kids//Wavves

2. Let’s Go Surfing (Knight School Version)//The Drums

3. Laura//Girls

4. Shelia//Atlas Sound

5. Overnight Religion//Kurt Vile

6. Edge of Our Lives//Holiday Shores

7. Deadbeat Summer//Neon Indian

8. New Theory//Washed out

White Lies Concert Review

While I was at home, coughing like an 83 year old chain smoker, my friend KG attended a White Lies gig. Although the concert didn’t go exactly as planned, her night of music certainly won out over my night of respiratory illness…

He said to lose my life or lose my love: melancholic words like that just sound so much better when they are not spoken lazily by a tired looking IB student sitting in front of a laptop. Instead, close your eyes and imagine that you are sandwiched in a very mismatched crowd of people and from onstage these words are sung in a deep, yet soft voice with a heavy drum beat and slow growl of a guitar accompanying it in the background. Yes! Let’s do grow old together and die at the same time… Thankfully I am not old (Editors Note: This is highly debateable), so my time has not come just yet. However the time has come to spend another Monday night not at home being a good girl attending to her studies, but at a White Lies Gig in Munich at the Backstage Werk venue.

When Martin and I arrived shortly after 8pm, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people that were already waiting outside. It had never occurred to me that White Lies would be so well known here in Munich where Lady Gaga and Flo Rider reign supreme. No one was of the same age group. Well not entirely. Some looked my parent’s ages, some were college students and a fair amount ( mainly girls) barely seemed to be 16.

The opening band Darker My Love were good in their own right. Funnily enough, I thought they were British at first judging by their accents, which was only slightly embarrassing when the lead singer announced they were from California….whoops.  I didn’t find too much to complain about, only that the lead singers microphone was slightly too quiet and his voice just sounded a tiny bit whiney after two songs and I had the urge to plug my ears.

Eventually, White Lies trudged onstage after a painful 30 minute wait in which the crowd grew more and more impatient. Finally, there was an explosion of sound as the band launched into their first song “Farewell to the Fairground”.

Already, even at this early point, one could tell that Harry was having problems singing. At first I thought it was simply because he had just began and wasn’t warmed up yet, but with each passing song it became apparent that some thing was not right.  By song four which was “To Lose My Life” his voice had become very scratchy and you could tell from the pained look on his face, singing was hurting him. As the song came to a conclusion, he quietly whispered some thing to his band mates then addressed the audience to say, “Sorry guys, but I feel like shit. I love Munich, but I simply can not sing on, I apologize” and with that he and the band walked off stage.

An official looking woman came on stage a few minutes later confirming that which we had already been told, the concert would not go on. However she promised they would be back in either February or March and we were too keep our tickets as they would be valid for the next gig. Still, no matter how sick Harry was, he sounded great. Any band that is as obsessed with death as I am and can sound that amazing despite a sick lead singer is definitely worth seeing.

Just  make sure to remember that White Lies will not leave you with a upbeat and optimistic feeling in the pit of your stomach but  rather a feeling of that fear getting on hold you!

It’s always a bummer when a band has to stop halfway through their set, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a bit excited at the fact that their coming back to Munich at the beginning of next year. For all of you Müncheners who, like me, were not able to catch White Lies this first time, they will be returning Sunday the 21st of February with Enter Shikari at Backstage Werk. See you there!

Death – White Lies

…Fancy meeting you here?

Goodness gracious!

Well hello there! It’s been a really, really long time hasn’t it. Have you gotten thinner? I swear you’ve done something with your hair! Anyway, you look great, I mean that, really great…

Look, I know I didn’t call or text and you probably feel used. I just kind of left you there to make the proverbial walk of shame alone. But you know what? What we have is special, and nothing can change that. OK? We’re GOLDEN.

Whew, I’m glad we’re past that.

So yeah, I’ve been gone for a REALLY long time. If that seriously affected any of your internet reading habits, I am well and truly sorry. To make a long story short, some crazy shizz has been going down on my end like you wouldn’t believe. That shizz includes, but is not limited to H1N1, stomach flus, viral bronchitis, train delays, crazy university admission crap, Shakespeare, Wii Sports, and communism. I wish I was joking, but I’m not. If you want the full story of why I’ve been AWOL, email me and I can write you a fucking novel. Otherwise just humor me and get ready for the awesomeness to come.

But before that, one factor contributing to my extended absence that I will elaborate on is my affliction with a variety of respiratory illnesses. I know truly understand the nature of the phrase “bed-ridden”. I was so sick that at one point I couldn’t even be asked to turn the light off in my room when I was ready to sleep. Indeed, my brothers, those were dark times (ha. see the pun?).

The only plus side was that I got to troll the internetz like no other, with, wait for it, A LEGITIMATE EXCUSE. It was crazy! Then again it was the only thing I was physically capable of doing other than drinking orange juice out of a silly straw and complaining. Even so, it was liberating to relinquish all responsibility in the name of convalescence.

As such, I had a lot of time to watch movies, find music and just generally get back in touch with the world. I’ve renewed my love of Audrey Tatou and Stanley Kubrick and strange documentaries (future reference: hallucinogenic antibiotics and specials on cannibalistic serial killers do not mix) so I’m rearing to get this show back on the road.

I’ve been really, REALLY into more lo-fi chillwave type stuff lately. It probably has to do with the fact that I’ve been either over-medicated or delirious for the past couple of days, but even after having come through the fever-dream haze, I’m still digging this schtuff.

One artist that has been on non-stop repeat in my iTunes is Washed out. He’s just one dude from Georgia (Iwasbornthere), Ernest Greene, and he is awesome. His LastFM page describes his music as “bedroom synthpop that sounds blurred and woozily evocative, like someone smeared Vaseline all over an early OMD demo tape, then stayed up all night trying to recreate what they heard“. I’d be lying if I pretended like I knew exactly what that means, but I can vouch for his sound being dreamy and evocative.

If you’re one of those who likes shallow band comparisons, think Neon Indian with better vocals and more chill than wave. It’s layered and it’s thick without being “busy” and it kind of makes me feel like I’m lying on an air mattress in the middle of a glittering ocean, floating along aimlessly and completely at ease.

I bought the Life of Leisure – EP after only having heard Feel It All Around. I was not disappointed. The 17 minute disc is exactly what an EP should be. It’s good enough to stand-alone, but it makes me crave the full length album. Feel It All Around is, for me, the stand out track with its plaintive, dreamy vocals and the drum machine pulsing just under the surface like a palpitating heart; but tracks like Get Up display a more groove-worthy quality which could for shadow some downright danceable numbers on his debut.

Although some of the tracks are more like elaborately fleshed out demos than actual songs, this EP makes me really excited to hear Greene’s debut. If you like your lo-fi thick and icy, then be sure to download these tracks, as they will not disappoint.

In the meantime, forgive my absence and the crazy random nature of this post. I need to get back into the swing of this whole blogging thing, and it will take time. In any case, be sure to keep an eye out for new posts as I really have got some interesting things to share.

Thanks for not abandoning me.

Feel It All Around – Washed out

Get Up – Washed out

Assalam Alaikum Tinariwen

I really hate the term “world music”. I mean not only is it terribly vague in its actual utility as a description of a distinct musical style, it’s also just reductive and condescending. It’s as if we in the West (and I’m assuming you’re Western here, if that is not the case then just ignore what I’m about to write) have taken the time to identify our music in terms of musical similarity and then just thrown everything else in a globby badly assembled amalgamated heap. It kind of reminds me of when I first moved here to Germany and was surprised/amused at the fact that there was a clearly demarcated “black” music section in my local music store… people had grouped music together on a purely non-musical basis, which is, in my opinion, utterly pointless and completely stupid.

This is why I yell at my computer.

When I recently purchased Tinariwen’s newest album, Imidiwan:Companions, I was appalled to see it listed under the genre “world music”. It’s comparable to buying a James Brown record and then seeing it listed under “earth sounds”; it’s a throwaway term and does nothing in the way of actually describing the music. There’s also the fact that if anything, Tinariwen’s brand of Tuareg desert-rock should be described as, forgive my corniness, “out-of-this-world music”… but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

You see Tinariwen, in Tamashek, means desert boys. As tempting as it is, I’m not going to try and romanticize the story of these desert boys with their guns, violence, rebellion, and amazing music. I’m also not going to give you a history lesson about the Tuareg region of Mali (although it’s actually really interesting and has everything to do with who Tinariwen are and the music they make). What I will say is that Imidiwan is not just a record. I know it’s cliché to say so, but this time I really mean it. Tinariwen aren’t making music to get girls, or to make money, or to be able to afford new Bentley, they’re doing it because it is what they do, it is the embodiment of their entire being. Their songs of political awakening, nomadic life, and desert nights, despite their delivery in traditional Tamashek, will resonate in the truest part of your soul. When I first heard Lulla with its souring chorus and uplifting, sparkling guitar, it was like a revelation, an appeal to the joy in my heart.The best part is that, althought Imidiwan is informed by the rythyms and melodies of traditional Tuareg music, you can still hear traces of Led Zepellin, or Jimi Hendrix or even Bob Marley. It’s an eclectic musical mix in the best sense of the word.

I really feel like it’s pointless for me to write more about how much I love this band (although it seems a pit paltry to call them that), and this music. Instead I’ll end with a bit written by Andy Morgan about the origins of Imidiwan:

“‘Imidiwan’ is one of those big Tamashek words, to which no single English word can ever do justice. Just like ‘Assouf’, the name which the Touareg themselves often give Tinariwen’s guitar style. ‘Assouf’ means the blues, loneliness, heartache, longing, homesickness, the darkness beyond the campfire. ‘Imidiwan’ means friends, companions, soul-brothers, fellow travellers.”

When you listen to this record, you feel as if you have been inducted into this Imidiwan along with the entire human race. You can only smile in the warm light of your communal campfire.

Lulla – Tinariwen

Ahimana – Tinariwen

Tribal Electro Rocks My Socks Off

I dunno what happened. I used to swear by my aversion to the female singing voice. I was so ridiculous that I actually, physically refused to listen to females (other than my mother and Dionne Warwick) sing. Call it what you want; sexism, idiocy, gender issues, or hell maybe even too much Michelle Branch in the late nineties, in any case until very recently I was a musical sexist.

I can’t exactly pinpoint the exact moment I saw the error of my ways and realized I was being a douche, but I think it had something to to do with seeing Florence & the Machine open for MGMT on their ‘08 tour. She was just so charismatic and had all of this amazing talent and presence. I guess it made me see that my ill founded prejudice was just keeping me from a whole world of girly musical opportunity.

But, as per usual, I digress.

You see, there’s kinda this band called School Of Seven Bells (SVIIB for short… Get it? It’s clever!) and they kinda are amazing and wonderful. I hate to arbitrarily pin down types of music to decades because I find it ineffective and reductive, but it’s got to be said that there’s a definitive revival going on of that special 80’s brand of “tribal” electronica (think Strange Charm era Gary Numan)/70’s prog rock going on. In  a lot of ways the extended single from SVIIB’s re-released debut Alpinisms, falls into that tradition, but not in a kitschy “oh-let’s-make-an-eighties-sounding-song-cuz-it’s-ok-to-be-nostalgic-about-the-eighties-now” kind of way. To superficially compare the track to other artists, Iamundernodisguise sounds a bit like Telepathe and Fever Ray’s trippy love child.

Let me explain. This band, in both their philosophy and their music, seem more like a religious sect than a musical group. Bandmates and twin sisters (how often does that happen?) Alejandra and Claudia Deheza met their musical soulmate Benjamin Curtis while they were both opening for Interpol in their respective (and at that point separate) bands. I’m assuming that at some point some sort of crazy 5th dimensional soul connection took place because shortly after the three moved in together and boarded the resplendent dream-glass vessel that was to be Alpinisms. Psychotic right? But as cool as all of that is, my favorite thing about this band (other than the fact that they’re named after a mystical South American Oliver Twist, kid thief academy kind of deal), is that they write their lyrics before they write their music. As said by Benjamin Curtis in an NPR interview, the lyrics and vocals are the most important part of the sound:”To me, that’s the most important part of School of Seven Bells,” Curtis says. “Everything else is accompaniment, you know, in my opinion.”

That’s not to say that instrumentation, melody and nuance gets left on the back-burner. If anything, listening to SVIIB is a complete experience. It doesn’t flaunt its decadence, instead it allows you to float in a kind of nebulous ethereal sea of focused chaos. For me, it’s a thing of beauty.

Give Iamundernodiguise a listen, and even if you don’t love it, it will at the very least make your life more interesting. I cannot wait to hear the rest of the album!

Iamundernodisguise (Alternate Version) – School of Seven Bells

Cool! Right on! Sweet!

I’ve never met a Swede I didn’t like. Seriously, it’s messed up. They’re all so blonde (well most of them), and chill, and funny! In homeroom I sit in between two Swedes and it’s kind of like being in a lovely, confusing, viking sandwich. They jabber on in their strange nordic language while I sit, bewildered but amused, annoyingly interjecting with the few random phrases they’ve tought me.

In any case I love Sweden, and now I have even more reason to love it.

Sweet Serenades is an aptly named duo from the white north, and they’re mega-cool. I got their album for review and I couldn’t stop smiling through the whole thing. When I saw that they were from Sweden, I expected to hear the kind of dirty garage-rock sound that we’ve all enjoyed from Sweden’s premier musical exports ( The Hives & Mando Diao*). It just goes to show that musical racism and stereotypes are plain old wrong. Don’t do it kids! If anything, these guys sound like a mix between the lo-fi nostalgia of Girls and the melodic-rockyness of The Strokes. The album is full of single-worthy tunes, catchy hooks and saucy vocals.

My only problem with this record has really nothing to do with the record itself. Unfortunately it’s only being released in Sweden, Germany, and Benelux (you can order off of Amazon here). Hopefully *crosses fingers* these guys will make the jump over the pond/channel to the UK and US. Untill then all my yanks and limeys out there are going to have to sit tight and enjoy this little taster.

Sweden FTW!

On My Way – Sweet Serenades

*Please don’t shoot/maim me if you’re a hardcore fan and you’re insulted I’ve grouped these two bands together. It was done purely for the purposes of convenience.

White Denim *insert girlish squeal here*!

I haven’t known about White Denim for very long (only for a few months and only because of those ever-lovely Neon Enlightenment girls), but it’s been an intense relationship to say the least. I immediately fell in love with their psychedelic brand of neo-blues garage rock from the very first aggressive chords of Shake Shake Shake, and I’ve been whipped ever since. Taking this into consideration, you could understand my excitement and near epileptic elation when I heard they were coming to München. Even though it was a Wednesday night, AND I nearly had to cut off my own right foot to convince my parents to let me go, AND I had a math test the next day, it was soooooo worth it!

I’ve seen a few bands live, but let me tell you, these guys are musicians in the most genuine sense of the word. Just watching them play made me tired. I was constantly in awe of the singer’s (James Petralli) otherworldly and soulful vocals, or a particularly complex drum pattern mastered by Joshua Block, and especially Steven Terebecki’s crazy bass riffs. Every song in their set melted into the next in complex medleys that I wish completed the record.

Only adding to the gorgeousness of the experience was the audience. It’s gotta be said, to their credit I might add, that White Denim’s fan base (at least in Munich) is more varied than any other “indie” band I’ve ever seen live. While the guy next to me looked like he could very well be an accountant, the girls behind us were fashion conscious university students. Next to the accountant was an awesome metal head and his girlfriend and the remainder of our fellow concert goers were just as diverse. As you probably know from previous posts, Germans aren’t typically the most animated concert goers. However, by the end of the set, the White Denim boys had everyone dancing and clapping along, making the gig feel more like a block party than a concert. All in all, it was an amazing night….

Wait, I think I’m forgetting something. Oh yeah! I got to interview Joshua Block and Steve Terebecki before the show I’ll be the first to say that they are total sweethearts. They made me feel really at ease while doing my first interview (nerve-wracking) and also put up with some of my more bizarre questions. But anyway, here’s the interview:

My first question is about the origins of the band,  you started off as a four piece called Parque Touch and you played under some really interesting pseudonyms…I was wondering if you could divulge those?

ST: That’s right Parque Touch; I was Terrence Beckins this (motioning to Josh) was Nicholas Mallard and then we had the guitar player  who was Bop English and then the other guy who isn’t with us now was Bishop Massive, he was the singer. It was just like fake names rock and roll names

I also read that you started your early recording is a Spartan trailer. I actually didn’t know what that was so I google imaged it and looked really small…

JB: You might have found the wrong  one

Maybe? Because it was really tiny and I was wondering how you configured all of your recording stuff?

JB: The first record was in one that was kind of small maybe 20 roughly 27 feet but it was hitched at the ends so maybe 21 to 25 feet and that was actually plenty of space at the time I think. But at first it was just kinda jam packed full of gear and we just kind of fell all over each other when we were  trying to move around. Everyone had a station. And now the new one, we still record in a trailer  by the way,

(At this KG and I giggle)

JB: The new one’s much bigger but it’s still older. It’s called the imperial mansion. You have to check that one out, it’s very impressive

Well that’s my next question, because I read that you guys record in Driftwood Texas is that right?

JB: Yeah same one.

I read that it has a population of 21 people, does that include you? Or is that a wrong statistic…

SP: That’s probably like from 1994

It’s from 2004

JB: She said its from 2004 but there are two Driftwoods

Oh so maybe I was looking at the really small Driftwood…

JB: The one I live in might be 900 to a couple thousand people

I guess I was looking at the wrong one then. But I was wondering if being cut off from other stuff is important in your composition process? Is important for you to be isolated; does that improve the quality of the music?

JB: It still applies to the landscape because it is kinda out there but James does a lot of the writing.

ST: But it helps, I think it helps being isolated because you can focus out there on the recording process, we don’t really get distracted once we’re out there, it’s cool

Going back to the music, are your songs autobiographical? Because for me  when I listen to them I really like them on a musical level, I mean I like the sound and the way it makes me feel, but I don’t really know if I can relate to the lyrics so much . I was wondering if you are more geared towards creating a certain kind of sound or theme or if it’s an organic autobiographical thing?

JB: I think it’s a little of both. I mean I’m sorry to give the easy answer like that. James might be a better person to ask because he writes  pretty much all of the lyrics. But I know that, just talking to him about lyrics and just knowing him personally, I think they’re coming from a very personal space. But I mean a lot of it the subject matter’s kind of general.

ST: Like ‘Let’s Talk About It’

JB: Yeah there are a lot of language issues, but on the new album it’s still really personal but I think it’s still stuff we want everyone to understand like stuff about music, and playing for people,

(At this point KG is run over by a bike. Josh continues unperturbed.)

and interactions with people in general. I think you’re right in the fact that it might be tough to relate to because it comes from a personal place but at the same time I think its something that you can easily put yourself in that situation.

My last music related question is about your video for ‘I Start To Run’. It so awesome, like that guy at the beginning with the gun? I want to be his best friend; the guy with the orange suit?

ST: That was great

Yeah it’s pretty amazing. I was wondering about how the concept of the video was developed. I know Tom Haines directed ‘Shake Shake Shake’ so what was your relation to him?

ST: He wrote treatments actually for both videos and we read them and just accepted them because we liked the kind of post apocalyptic, weird, filled with weirdos thing that he had going on. And our label introduce us to Tom Haines right?

JB: Yeah

ST: Full Time Hobby. He had done some other videos for other artists on the label and we just met him through that. We liked his treatments so that was that.

Was it filmed in a rock quarry?

ST: Yeah in Wales.

Really? I showed the video to my mom and she was like “That’s Texas!”

ST: It was actually freezing cold!

JB: And the first one, ‘Shake Shake Shake’ was done in South London.

And now I have some really stupid questions, so prepare yourselves. Don’t think, just answer.

JB: Easy.

ST: These are my favorite kind of questions.

So, would you rather: spend time in a hot tub with Prince or in a fishing boat with Stevie Wonder?

ST: I’ll go with the fishing boat…

JB: I’ll take a cruise in a hot tub with both of them. You know, switch it up a little.

Next, would you rather do a gig naked, or do a gig dressed up as Sailor Moon characters?

ST: I’d rather go naked.

JB: Yeah. I’d have to agree with that.

Would you rather play SXSW or Glastonbury? Cuz you’ve played both right?

ST: Well SXSW is just like driving down the street.

JB: Well yeah there’s that aspect.  But I just like Glastonbury better.

Ok last question, can you laugh without smiling?

JB: Do you want us to demonstrate?

I dunno… You can if you want, or not. It’s more just something to contemplate.

KG: Why don’t you show yours?

How about no…

ST: Yeah I think I need a demonstration.

KG?

(KG feebly laughs without smiling while the band look on in amusement.)

JB: No I don’t think I can do that. I can laugh and cry at the same time. Like, I can’t force myself to do it now, but it can be done.

ST: You know there’s that really common like snooty kind of like nose turned up kind of laugh (does snooty french waiter laugh) That’s what I think of, I guess.

If you don’t already know of White Denim, get crackin’! Their music is making real rock cool again, which I think is totally awesome! They also put on an amazing show, so take note! I like exclamation marks!

I Can Tell – White Denim

I Start To Run – White Denim

Fourth Dimensional Transition

As most people who know me well are aware, I am not the best authority on art. Ever since I was little I’ve always been a more verbal, auditory person. I remember my excitement in fourth grade when we were asked to do some watercolors representing “A day at the Zoo”. I eagerly assembled my brushes and paints, embarking on what I thought was to be my formative mecca to the shrine of artistic brilliance. To make a long story short, my art teacher took one look at my toils and said with the gravest of tones, “Honey I’m glad you’re expressing yourself, but I think you’re going to have to label next time.”

As such I’ve always been a little bit wary when it comes to the visual of artistic media. However, now and again I see the work of an artist that really strikes me and, despite my reticence to relive the horror of my fourth grade artistic failure, feel the need to share it with others. Drew Turner is one of those artists.

I came across his work through Kitsune Noir’s desktop wallpaper project. If you don’t already know about it, it’s really worth a perusal. Basically, the project gives great up-and-coming-artists a platform to display their work in the form of free desktop wallpapers. It’s really a great setup because not only do art-challenged morons like myself get exposed to wonderful artists that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, but it also means that my desktop looks hella-cool with minimum effort.

Anyway, a few weeks ago Drew Turner was the featured artist with this image:

I was immediately struck by the seamless integration of the image of the lion and the nebula, the color transition, and just the amazingly simple yet otherworldly quality of it. Later I checked out his website. As far as I’m concerned, this man can do no wrong. The majority of the images follow the same formula as the image above: geometric structures, an animal, and beautiful space inspired textures. Although the pieces are similar in that respect, they are in no way derivative. Each has its own animalistic intensity and feel, immediately affecting the viewer with its mystical allusions. Suffice it to say I am a Drew Turner fan.

Check out his website and you will be too. If not, then we shouldn’t hang out.

Neo-Hippies Make My Life Worth Living

If you don’t know what the IB is, God bless you. If you do, God save you. Luckily there’s tons of good music to keep me sane. Check out this track by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. I love it! It also makes me wish I had a “magical mystery guide” to help me not mess up my life.

40 Days Dream – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

Sorry this post is so small and crappy. I have a lot on my plate at the moment. Despite my incessant whinging, keep a watch on this space over the next week and a half or so as I have some very exciting posts that are just floating around in my head waiting to be written… TO BE CONTINUED

How did I miss this?!

I am so incredibly excited. According to his website, Phrazes For The Young is set for UK release October 19 and in the US just a day later. However before that, it’ll be available for pre-order on his website.

Oh Julian, how I’ve missed you.