New Orleans / Memphis Funk Reissues

Thanks in large part to turntable culture and entrepenuering young record labels (mostly run by DJs themselves) classic soul, deep funk and regional R&B have seen a rebirth as of late. Peanut Butter Wolf’s Stones Throw imprint Now-Again Records may be the most notable, reissuing and beautifully packaging funk and soul gems from groups like Kashmere Stage Band, Detroit Sex Machines and L.A. Carnival. U.K.-based Soul Jazz has down the same with region-centric releases like Miami Sound, Philadelphia Roots and New Orleans Funk.

Similarly capitalizing on import status, Australia’s AIM recently released a trio of records from little-heard funk and soul pioneers. Picking up where the must-own Night Train To Nashville (Lost Highway, 2004) left off, Moody Scott’s Bustin’ Out the Ghetto, Lattimore Brown’s Little Box of Tricks and Bobby Powell’s Louisiana Soul document the bluesy Nashville R&B sound and its gospel-infused New Orleans soul cousin.

As all great reissue discs should, the three records reviewed here come with adequate liner notes, covering the artists’ work from start to finish in concise manner and name-dropping when necessary to create a decent frame of reference. More would be nice but for a tiny import label, what we get seems fine.

Moody Scott
Bustin Out The Ghetto
AIM
2006

Despite roots in New Orleans, Moody Scott found most of his success recording for Nashville-based Sound Stage Seven, run by renowned coast-to-coast disc jockey “John R” Richbourg. Here Scott helped define the Nashville R&B sound. “Bustin Out the Ghetto,” the title track from this collection of all Scott’s Sound Stage Seven recordings, is considered by some to be a “proto-funk” classic. With its shuffling beat, anti-drug message and boisterous horns, “Bustin Out” recalls the great Curtis Mayfield as Scott calls on his people to “stop the Pusherman.”

Contributions from the legendary Muscle Shoals Horns, who recorded with Elton John amongst others whilst building a career as studio musicians, help to define Scott’s sound. More often than not the blaring horns outdo Scott’s hectic vocalizations, both giving the tunes a vibrant, lively vibe, perfect for your next party.

Scott’s roots, and most of his early success, were in Gospel music and his organ playing reflects this. Vocally, Scott mixes things up. From one track to the next, the organist varies from compassionate crooning on “May I Turn You On” to the “dig on this” call and response of the player-hating “I Don’t Dig No Phoney.” A lot of funk and soul pioneers show up in Scott’s music: Sly Stone (“We’ve Gotta Save It”), Bill Withers (“Groovin Out on Line”), and with orgasmic “ughs” and “yeah, yeahs,” James Brown (“I Don’t Dig No Phoney”).

Lattimore Brown
Little Box of Tricks
AIM
2006

Unlike Scott, Lattimore Brown was a Tennessee native, born and bred on Beale Street in Memphis. Brown was not a gospel singer by trade but a blues man, a point reflected in his instrument of choice, the guitar. An early partnership with Nashville-based Excello Records (who also recorded Scott) led to modest success and a roadlife with the chitlin circuit. Little Box of Tricks collects Brown’s recorded works for Sound Stage Seven.

Again, familiar names pop up, in support of Brown. “Don’t Trust No One” and ‘I’m Not Through Loving You” were recorded at Stax studio and feature Booker T & the MGs, unmistakably so. “Cruise on Fanny, Cruise On” plays off the popular “Mustang Sally.” Brown’s sound contains strong elements of “Sally” singer Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and even some Solomon Burke.

“I’m Not Through Lovin” is a superb, plodding blues number; likewise with “It’s a Sad, Sad World.” “So Says My Heart” has the sort of funky drummer breaks that make DJ’s mouths water. While Little Box of Tricks wins in the novelty category, its dissimilarity from more well-known blues artist renders it dismissible.

Bobby Powell
Louisiana Soul
AIM
2006

Bobby Powell, like Scott and many others, cut his teeth in the world of Gospel music, drawing influence from Ray Charles (like Powell, a blind piano player). Louisiana Soul collects Powell’s recordings for Hep Me Records, recorded between the years of 1979 and 1985.

And with an opening track titled “Queen Size Woman” how can you not fall in love with Powell! Like most of Louisiana Soul, “Queen Size Woman” is a gospelized southern soul ballad of earth-shattering proportions. “I got room in my king size bed for all you queen size women,” Powell croons over searing keys and sexually charged rhythms. Like Dr. John or Allen Toussaint, Powell’s music is full of Crescent City grooves and laid-back night moves.

Complete with handclaps and silky keyboards, “Let Me Love You” is a fantastic R&B number, with Powell’s voice literally soaring above his band, exhibiting an immense vocal talent. “Spread You Love,” “A Fool For You,” and “Drifting Blues” are all great numbers, with Powell raising his passionate and sensual voice to higher and higher heights.

Moody Scott still records and disc jockeys, living in Las Vegas he runs Creole Home Records and still performs, opening for Buckwheat Zydeco and the Nevilles from time to time. Lattimore Brown disappeared from music in the ‘80s and is rumored to have passed away. Bobby Powell has revived Hep Me Records and continues to be active performing Gospel music. All three deserve a close listen, for their contribution to Nashville, New Orleans, funk, soul, R&B and blues music.

Preserve the Sound - "Writ in Water"

A lot of Preserve the Sound’s music is dated. Wait… that term, “dated,” typically carries a negative connotation, I know. Preserve the Sound’s music brings me back to 1999, the year I graduated high school a meathead metal fan and matriculated to University of Texas, where I discovered hipster hangouts and bands like The Promise Ring, The Get-up Kids, Mineral and Sunny Day Real Estate. Knapsack, The Casket Lottery, American Football and Death Cab For Cutie – for most males my age, these bands should ring a bell. They sang the Diary of my life, a Photo Album I referred to when the smoke left things hazy and I struggled to find Something To Write Home About feeling the EndSerenading me.

Hailing from Austin TX, Preserve the Sound mark their independent debut with Writ in Water, a record that explicitly makes reference to just about all of the above mentioned bands over the course of twelve comfortable cuts.

A “Prelude” sets the tempo for Writ in Water, quite literally. Slow moving like an October morning, Water is just a few degrees short of freezing, slow enough to numb us from distraction without freezing the blood cold.

“Dark Horse Candidate” and “Maze of Highways” are strong songs introducing Preserve the Sound to the world in unbeatable fashion. Lead singer Kevin Stutz tends to hold out syllables for several beats, akin to the droning and oh-so-emo vocals of Chris Simpson (Mineral, The Gloria Record). Stutz brings a strong voice to the record and tasteful (but bordering on overdone) post-production on those vocals give the record a full, atmospheric feel.

Acoustic interludes help piece the album together. It’s hard to tell whether these are incomplete songs included in haste or if they are purposefully placed mood pieces. “Saved” is the first, an unsettling minute of melodrama with confessions that “I am evil and I must be saved / from temptation / it is surrounding me / and I need direction.” “Richmond Station” follows later, with more thickly layered vocals and plenty of wavey atmospherics. Despite missing the rhythm section of bassist Marcos Lujan and drummer Jayson Cruz, this tune may be the best cut on Writ in Water.

The title track follows, with little in the way of vocals and Cruz’s most aggressive and impressive drumming. As the centerpoint for the record, “Writ in Water” makes a strong transition into the No Knife-like “Where Nothing Comes Between Us.”

“Girls on Bikes” is the bands nod to pop music of afore – Beatles, Beach Boys, the classics, you know – and “Endless Cycle” is another, standout song.

Preserve the Sound rest comfortable between the wintery wear of Mineral and the summer loving sounds of Recover – two Austin bands that represent different eras in the cities indie rock scene. Could PTS be the harbringers of a new era? Time will tell but for now, Writ in Water is a testament to the shape of things to come.

Converge - "No Heroes"

In the years since Caring and Killing hit the scene, Converge has spawned a legion of imitators. Hell, the band themselves hasn’t done much to discourage this behavior either. Guitarist Kurt Ballou has lent his magical touch to records by bands like Great Redneck Hope, Curl Up and Die and Give Up The Ghost while lead vocalist Jacob Bannon’s Deathwish Inc label has released album’s by Breather Resist and Some Girls.

And in every small town hardcore scene, there are angry teens playing as hard, fast and recklessly as possible. They take their names from Converge songs and throw their bodies and instruments to the mercy of the music at house parties, VFW halls and laundromats – wherever they can plug in and let loose.

With this in mind, Converge releases their sixth full-length. No Heroes is the follow-up to 2004’s You Fail Me and their second record with legendary Epitaph Records. While You Fail Me saw Converge at their most experimental (and was thus lauded with criticism and shunned by the scene police), No Heroes finds the band narrowing their sights and taking aim on the imitators and haters everywhere.

I’ll say it now, so read no further if you disagree – No Heroes is the best Converge album to-date. Hands down, bar-none, without a doubt – THE BEST.

“Heartache” introduces us to No Heroes with thick and doomy minor chords that abruptly give way to Converge’s signatures thrashy punk sound. “Hellbound” has an old school Minor Threat/Black Flag brand of hardcore thing going on – wailing guitars and driving bass – while “Vengeance” is :58 of pure, unchecked aggression.

By track five, the blood-and-thundered “Weight of the World,” Converge is ready for a break it seems, slowing things down to the dirge tempo that littered You Fail Me. Not for long though, as the standout title track brings things back to speed.

The mid-album trilogy of “No Heroes,” “Plagues” and “Grim Heart / Black Rose” is the most satisfying section of music No Heroes. Taken as one whole piece of music, this may be the best stuff to come from Converge or any other band in the hardcore, punk, or metal scene in years. “Plagues” and “Grim Heart” see the band returning to the gloomy, jamming style they experimented with so successfully on You Fail Me. For real – this is the sound a post-apocalyptic jam band would produce.

Bannon does his best singing yet on “Grim Heart.” And while hearing the bleeding throated Bannon produce some heartfelt crooning may cause When Forever Comes Crashing- fans to cringe, they should really get over it. “Grim Heart,” like the rest of No Heroes, represents a band coming into it’s own, defining and refining itself and its sound, perfecting something that was first attempted in juvenile fashion on earlier albums. No Heroes is the product of a band with over ten years of experience under their belt – a mature production from a maturing band, perhaps the most influential hardcore band since Minor Threat. Coverge completely redefined this music.

“Lonewolves” is just waiting to be sung back in the face of Bannon by devotees everywhere – so learn the words kids, for you will be tested. “To The Lions” take the best of everything that surely influenced Converge when they were young and brings it up to speed – thrash metal punk extremism that is ready to fuck your face then kiss you goodnight.

And maybe it’s not the best way to judge an album, but in the case of Converge it just may be: No Heroes sees Converge returning to the no-frills world of the minute long song. When short and sweet ditties like these are juxtaposed with the 9:00+ “Grim Heart,” you get an album that just makes sense, an album that can be listened to from start to finish without interruption (such a hard task these days) because Converge took the time to construct an album, complete with highs and lows, push and pull.

Released so late in the year, it’s easy to want to toss out all those “Best of 2006” lists and place No Heroes firmly in the top five. Perhaps it is a top-fiver. Or maybe this grim and grey-skied album just feels right, right now, with the seasons changing and the rain never-ending. Converge’s No Heroes is the soundtrack to your Fall.

SeaFlea - "The Vendetta EP"

SeaFlea’s debut release, “The Vendetta EP,” tells the tale of a young man scorned by love. Over the course of just eight tracks we hear his tale of abandonment and loss; compelled to thoughts of violent redemption we ultimately see him find peace in himself, taking solace in six strings, writing anthems for the heartbroken.

“Fuck my last letter,” go the opening lines of “Me Against You.” The tone is set for an angst-filled love note, written but never sent. Vocals dance back and forth between Jeremy Bolin’s feminine cry and Jon Michael Rogers more soulful croon. As the record progresses, it becomes clear that Rogers’ voice is the more mature of the too. But the battling voices fit, echoing the way Bolin and Rogers’ guitars wrap themselves around one another.

“Apology Accepted” features big riffs – think Mettalica gone emo – and bigger drumming from Matt Crawford. “Diety” is the albums emotional climax – a diary-like confessional of wrongs and rights, self-pity and defeatism.

“The Vendetta EP” culminates in the hand-clapping, anthemic chant of “Inside – no better place to hide,” at the closing of “Sunday Spent.” SeaFlea’s best effort by far, “Sunday Spent” features Rogers taking full control of the vocal duties and, fittingly, the band is at it’s best here. Midway through the song, the guitars engage in argument, screaming at one another, as the lovelorn storyteller embraces a less violent eruption.

From a more technical standpoint, two things hurt “Vendetta.” The record seems to be covered in a sort of audio haze, resultant from a poor mastering job, which leaves the songs begging for better production. And in a similar vein, drum loops, samples, overdubs and other elements of studio chicanery litter the record. Fun stuff, no doubt, but not the sorts of things that can be reproduced live in most cases. It’s like the band got in the studio and said, “Oh boy, look at all these neat things we can do when we put our instruments down.” But hey – if that’s your thing.

For a debut, “The Vendetta EP” is a respectable effort that showcases a band quickly coming into its own, maturing as songwriters and working on developing a unique and intriguing sound. Pick this record up at SeaFlea’s next show, July 24th at Plush (7th and Red River), with Whitman and Ithaca, New York’s Speria.

Jeremy Enigk - "World Waits"

Sunny Day Real Estate changed my life. When I heard How it Feels to be Something On in the Fall of 1999 I was opened up to a whole new world of music. No longer was music about chunky guitars, baggy pants, dirty dreadlocks and shell toes – ADIDAS-rock if you will. How it Feels opened my eyes to a whole new world of music, of melody, sensibility and real emotion, not faux-posturing and braggadocio. Sunny Day vocalist Jeremy Enigk was captivating without saying “Hey, look at me and the mic in my hands.”

That fateful afternoon spend sitting in a friends dorm room fully enthralled by “Pillars” and “Guitar and Video Games” led to the discovery of Diary, The Pink Album and Enigk’s eclectic solo record, Return of the Frog Queen and nothing, and I mean nothing, has been the same since.

Fast forward to 2006 and Enigk is back again, faced with a much different music industry. The indie music scene that Sunny Day Real Estate inspired has bubbled up from the underground to go mainstream and, quietly it seems, since retreated back. For a band to look to the progressive rock era of Yes, Rush, Genesis and the like, is no longer an oddity. The world has waited for World Waits – thankfully Enigk is back, to inspire anew.

Sunny Day’s history need not be recounted here. Neither should we get into the histories of short-lived, The Rising Tide-revisited project that was The Fire Theft, Dan Hoerner and Dashboard Confessional linkages or the Foo Fighters for that matter. All that matters here is Enigk, just Enigk, and his powerful, angelic and enthralling voice. Few vocalists posses the sheer range of Jeremy Enigk and as such, his voice really carries World Waits. Each song seems to have been constructed around a particular vocal line or idea, with textures added to accent whatever feeling the vocalist is attempting to convey.

Pipe organs bring chills to the skin before the band launches into a huge, Brit popping melody on the first cut and first single, “Been Here Before.” But Enigk hasn’t! That’s what makes this album so special. The songwriter here treads new water, churning up new melodies, textures and moods. Breathtaking moods. Inspired melodies.

After listening to “Cannons” I would like to proclaim that every other sensitive, self-denying “emo” singer/songwriter out there should just give up – you will never write a song this good Ben Gibbard.

“Wayward Love” has this very operatic feel – Pink Floyd or The Who – stuff along those lines. Symphonic drums, lightly plucked acoustic guitars pushed up against legato synths and Enigk doing his best Jon Anderson (Yes) impersonation here gives way to Flamenco-like guitars on “Dare A Smile.” “I am drained of all of my hope,” Enigk sings in over enunciated fashion. You need not be, sir. “I need something new to keep me going” he laments. World Waits is just that. “Can I run back to you?”

“City Tonight” seems out of place, simply because it pushes forward at a faster tempo than the rest of World Waits. Bursting and vibrant, “City Tonight” is in sharp contrast to the dreamy tug and turmoil of the albums other nine tracks.

There is a lot of Peter Gabriel on World Waits, definitely some Roger Daltry and a bit of Bono – great artists with even greater egos. There’s a lot of that grandiose sort of songwriting – self-indulgent in the most beautiful sense of the world.

Enigk receives credit for a large amount of the instrumentation of this record. And for the record, there are a host of “guest” artists, helping to guide Enigk’s vision, and some odd ones to boot: Andy Meyers, who designed the layout for both of Fall of Troy’s record, sings some vocals; Josh Meyers, who did orchestration for people like Mandy Moore and Unwed Sailor, does the same here; Joe Skyward, former bassist for The Posies pops up; Sub Pop chauntuese Rosie Thomas also guests. Man… now I feel like Matt Pinfield playing six degrees of seperation.

There is nothing more to say that hasn’t already been said. In closing, this record is simply fantastic.

Steve Lantner - "Paradise Road"

Three tracks and 56 minutes deep, Steve Lantner’s latest, Paradise Road is a workout – for listener and artist alike. Moods range from caffeinated and frenetic to thoughtful and subdued, with each member holding the spotlight for a moment and none outshining the other.

Lantner’s compositions bring together the best of the American and European avant-garde. A comparison to Matthew Shipp would be justified, as the two seem to associate with the same circle of friends (Mat and Joe Maneri, Joe Morris) though Lantner also finds congress with the Chicago scene of Ken Vandermark, Nate McBride and co.

Paradise Road is culled from a December 2005 live performance at the Skycap Arts Festival and presented here unedited. Lantner’s regularly trio, consisting of Joe Morris on bass and Luther Gray on drums, is augmented by the addition of saxophonist Alan Chase. Morris, whose guitar playing is in the same vein as Eugene Chadbourne or Derek Bailey, sounds outstanding here on bass – just check out his solo in the closing moments of “Shaking Hand.”

To give his free improvisations more structure Lantner experiments with pitch-class sets, with each tune revolving around a specific three note pitch-class (on this particular recording, the sets are 013, 025 and 024, respectively). This idea is intriguing and certainly gives his tunes a dynamic structure, but you don’t need to know music theory to appreciate what’s going on. Simply put, Paradise Road is loosely structured free improvisation at its finest.

The Steve Lantner Trio +1 hits to road running with the opening cut, “Shaking Hand.” All four members are engaged in choppy, static exposition. Lantner drops blocky chords akin to Cecil Taylor, while Chase’s alto darts in and out of the melody and Morris and Gray get lost doing their own thing. You could separate what’s going on here into two distinct conversations: the rhythm section is deeply involved in its own thing, while Chase and Lantner engage in theirs. Chase drops out for a section and we hear the core trio of Morris, Gray and Lantner playing with unmatched energy. One bass solo and drum solo later and the full quartet is back at it again.

Chase’s baritone on “Barrelhouse” is smooth and rich. Shoot – you could dub a swinging hard bop band over the Lantner trio and not notice a difference in Chase’s playing. Gray attempts to swing appropriately, but Lantner does his best to keep things disjointed.

“Two Step” opens with a solo by Lantner. The pianist’s playing here and throughout is lyrical and punchy. Like a fast talker eager to make his points felt just as much as heard, Lantner weaves his topics of conversation in, out and around the loose rhythms of Gray and Morris. As “Two Step” progresses, the tune evolves into a soft and subtle conversation between Chase and Lantner, with the two playing at their absolute best (note to Lanter: next project – a duets album. Do it!)

Paradise Road is an outstanding showcase of new and unheard talent – not just Lantner, but Morris, Chase and Gray as well. All four participants shine.

DJ Shadow LIVE review

Turntablist, scratchologist, crate-digger, mix master and cut chemist DJ Shadow graced the stage at legendary Stubb’s BBQ in Austin this past Sunday. Like so many others in attendance on this muggy September night, I had been a fan of Shadow’s experimental instrumental sounds since first hearing the classic Entroducing, in 1999 (three years after it’s initial release but oh well). Nearly ten years later, I still hadn’t had the opportunity to see Shadow perform live – tonight would be a special night.

Arriving late, minutes before Shadow would take the stage and well after supporting act and Shadow’s Quannum labelmate Lateef the Truth Speaker had completed his set, we worked our way through the crowd to get in prime position to watch Shadow’s hands work their magic. Upon taking the stage to uproarious applause, Shadow welcomed his audience and briefly acknowledged a rather unwelcoming visit to Waterloo Records for a scheduled-but-forgotten-about in-store earlier in the day. Shadow also made mention of his “special” relationship with Austin TX (no doubt a reference to the illegally bootlegged Shadow performance dubbed Live in Austin that hit the market in the downtime between Entroducing and it’s follow-up Private Press.)

Shadow’s set began with a quick review of classic material from both Endtroducing and Private Press, sometimes combining tracks from both, creating his own personal mash-ups of sorts, with beats from one track making love to melodies off another. “Six Days” had the crowd singing in unison while bangers like “Giving Up The Ghost,” a sped-up “Fixed Income” and the breakthrough cut “What Does Your Soul Look Like” brought the crowd to a fever pitch.

After thirty minutes of recap and review, the DJ unveiled one of his newest tracks. “Seein Things” featured hardcore Southern rapper David Banner waxing about Katrina and the failure of government while images of New Orleans touched the screen behind Shadow. The just-as-banging “3 Freaks,” featuring Bay Area up-and-comers Turf Talk, followed. As far as crowd-moving goes, this was the height of the evening’s performance, for as impressive as Shadow’s instrumentals are, something about an emcee can make a crowd go crazy.

With our ears still ringing from the trunk-rattling bass of Banner’s track, Shadow paused to chat with his audience. Addressing the criticism Outsider has received on the Internet and in print (for being too diverse, a schizophrenic escapade or just plain escapist) Shadow explained how he understood his audience, how he knew his fans were smarter than the critics and we could get down with a folk song followed by a hardcore rap song, even if the industry “didn’t get it.” This was the motive behind Outsider and clearly this struggle to communicate a deep appreciation of sound and rhythm of every variety to music fans everywhere is what keeps Shadow on the road, bringing his art to the masses.

So with that acknowledgement of mutual understanding, Shadow announced the presence of a very special guest. British vocalist Chris James then came out from behind the stage to perform his Shadow-produced contributions to The Outsider. On “You Made It,” James’ voice oozed over electropop beats coupled with shoegazer melodies a la Album Leaf, Blockhead and others. “Erase You” found James doing his best Bono impersonation, his falsetto moan reaching orgasmic climax and even ripping the line “under a blood red sky.” It was unclear how much of the audience was interested in this excursion and while Shadow’s appreciation of Brit-pop is surely applaudable, a DJ’s primary role is to rock a party and in this moment, the vibe suffered.

No worry, as Shadow soon brought out another guest, his traveling hypeman and longtime collaborator, Lateef the Truth Speaker. Showing up late my guests and I had missed Lateef’s warm-up act so catching this amazing emcee with Shadow was a bonus for sure. Lateer is a crowd pleaser of the finest caliber and the audience was clearly stoked to hear some of his and Shadow’s classic collabos, including the Latyrx gem “Lady Don’t Tek No.” Getting the crowd thoroughly involved with “repeat after me” and “let me hear some noise” demands is the primary (and original) roll of the emcee, to get the crowd appreciating the DJ and what he is doing, and in this, Lateef excelled.

Following a brief intermission, Shadow returned to the stage and the crowd exploded in excitement as the DJ began the unforgettable melody of the Endtroducing standout “Organ Donor.” Sticking with the save your best for last mantra, Shadow next went into a much harder beated remix of his Thom Yorke collaboration “Rabbit in Your Headlights” from the UNKLE record Psyence Fiction.

DJ Spooky in Austin for AT&T Fuzion Series

Several hours prior to heading down to see That Subliminal Kid DJ Spooky at Waterloo Park in downtown Austin, I spoke with a friend from college now struggling to survive in New York City.

“What are you up to tonight buddy,” he asks.
“DJ Spooky is playing Waterloo Park tonight for free.”
“Sick. I saw Spooky perform here last week on Broadway. Dude – he had Matthew Ship, Rob Swift, Vijay Ayer and Guillermo Brown come out and perform – two hours in this seated theater – wow. Two months ago, I saw Spooky at Central Park with Guru [of Gangstar-fame].”

This is how my night started, expecting an amazing live performance from the much heralded and so-far-ahead-of-his-time-it-hurts, DJ Spooky. The same Spooky whose Dubtometry, Optometry, Celestrial Mechanix, and Riddim Clash I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing for various publications. One of the few DJs embraced by the jazz scene at-large, most notably the Thirsty Ear-affiliated players William Parker, Shipp and Brown, Spooky has taken the turntable to a totally new level of musicianship, rivaled only by fellow New Yorker DJ Logic.

The AT&T Fuzion series is billed as the latest in audio and video technology presented live, for free, in the city widely touted as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Previous Fuzion performers have been Cut Chemist and RjD2.

The air was cool and the crowd thin but growing as we entered Waterloo Park. Local “DJ’s” – if by “DJ” you mean cats who mix tracks on their MacBook or tap buttons on an MPC processor – Supercontinent were warming up the crowd for headliner Spooky. Club music, white kids with nice computers and an ill-advised beatbox session did little to warm this noticeably chill Austin crowd.

By this time the crowd had grown and Spooky was busily connecting his audio gear and adjusting the dimensions of his laptop-fed video projector. Two two-story inflatable projection screens graced either side of the small stage where Spooky stood. Seated comfortably on the grace, I figured as long as I can see these screens I’ll be all right, and thankfully, you can’t miss these screens.

Grabbing the mic, Spooky explained how tonight’s performance would be a mix of audio and synchronized video, compared the area codes of Austin (512) and Brooklyn (212), and encouraged fellow laptop owners to make their own remixes.

For thirty-minutes, Spooky displayed the latest in video remix technology, mashing the Stones’ “Satisfaction” with Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” or cutting audio and video of Kurt Cobain’s “hey!” of “Smells Like Teen Spirite”-fame in and out of Ludacris’ guest verse on Missy Elliot’s “One Minute Man.” What about Prodigy circa Music For the Jilted Generation mashed with Stereo MC’s “Connected” – incredible.

This sort of performance is one those “you gotta see it to get it” scenarios. You can imagine how DJ’s cut and paste records together; now imagine the same concept but with music videos as the template for manipulation. Get it?

The mash-up has certainly become the technology du jour of disc jockey galore, made easier by the laptop, digital audio tape and internet downloading. The art of digging crates may be a dying art indeed, but Spooky himself, ever the forward thinking artists, encouraged fans to max and mash on their own, acknowledging the user-friendly nature of digital remixology. Yes, kids, you too can be a fantastic DJ, rock a party like a pimp and shake rumps with remix recipes.

In the evening most impressive moment, Spooky chopped up a vid of Jimi Hendrix’s classic Woodstock exposition of “Star Spangled Banner” that Jimi himself would have approved of, no doubt appreciating the philosophical and artistic relevance of a modern mixmaster dissecting Hendrix’s anthem. Slowly and rather gently, Spooky brought in a DMX verse. DMX mashed with Hendrix – and Hendrix at Woodstock no less?! Unreal.

So for thirty-minutes, Spooky was cutting edge. It was better than anything I had heard on any of his records, and while Shipp, Iyer and/or Guru weren’t there, it was impressive nevertheless. But still an hour-plus was left in the scheduled ninety-minute performance.

So for the next hour, That Subliminal Kid mixed pop tracks with drum ‘n bass, trance and all-too typical four-on-the-floor house music. A sped up “Message in a Bottle” followed by “Mirror in the Bathroom” tightly wound with throbbing house rhythms that had the diverse crowd moving in unison – save those of us content to sit on our blankets.

As for the video, by this point Spooky had settled on cueing preproduced videos from his Apple – repetitive flicks featuring the kid himself, bugs crawling on microchips and other images of technology gone haywire. By this point Waterloo Park had become the host of the first rave I’d witnessed since high school and was hardly what I was expecting for this calm cool Friday night in late September. With fifteen-minutes to go in the scheduled set time, my friends and I left to purchase Sparks and Lonestar.

Nagasaki Got Nothing

i
this is the aftermath
of a nuclear
disaster
ii
I climb a treetop
and look out past the fallout
this is where you left me
the oceans are rising like
the earth is crying
she called this the danger zone
“zen”

I wipe the table clean to serve the nuclear family dinner
my blood
now radioactively charged

“I need a new form of transportation
something better to ride.”

nuclear fission is the hyperactivity of my soul
I’m in danger of splitting atoms
this is the splitting of you
and I
could wipe out the fucking planet
and leave nothing
behind
this is your pride
poisoned
“with my ego I could kill continents”

“Alas, Babylon”
“where do we go from here?”

this is the point
of catastrophic conclusions
and I’m standing in the middle of it
like standing in shit
and I
ignite, and radiate the croplands
this is the feeling you feed off
“and for my next trick…”
iii
without me
to point the finger at you, your
pride
will be drained
“by the power
vested in me
I now pronounce you
a wasteland,” wetlands

your flesh will burn when you enter, “me
I’ll be ok.”

“look at the big picture”
look at what you caused

when you die of cancer with lesions on your skin
and legions at your feet
they’ll proclaim
my name
for the horror’s you’ve inflicted.

like anthrax
or syntax error, you
will burn
with the sinners
and sluts.

This Day & Age - "The Bell and the Hammer"

Throughout The Bell and the Hammer, Buffalo, NY newcomers This Day & Age blend skillful musicianship with pop sensibility – a task that all too often escapes most young bands. The musicians in This Day & Age are impressive in their ability to navigate the confines of their instruments and stretch beyond those limits. It may seem like a stretch, but the closest comparison that comes to mind is Queen – another band that wrote popular and memorable songs that also featured incredibly talented playing.

“Always Straight Ahead” opens with lively uptempo bass playing from Joey Secchiaroli over a sixteenth note, dancey drum pattern from Steven Padin. Secchiaroli’s bass serves as a strong undercurrent throughout The Bell. Downtempo and emotive heartbreakers are given life by Secchiaroli’s constantly entertaining bass, always in lockstep syncopation with Padin’s drums. “More of a Climb, Less of a Walk” again showcases Secchiaroli’s bass – and deservedly so. This Day & Age have a rhythm section worthy of accolades.

Jeffrey Martin’s lead vocals are laden with reverb and chorus, giving them an ethereal and clouded texture, reminiscent of Elliot’s False Cathedrals. On “Second Star to the Right…” he is at his best, his voice dancing around Padin’s stick and move drumming. Martin’s intelligent lyricism and thoughtful phrasing is a welcome respite from so many of today’s juvenile songwriters. Secchiaroli, Padin and guitarist Michael Carroll also contribute vocals, mostly in the densely layered and effects ridden fashion made popular by Jimmy Eat World on the all-time classic “Clarity.”

Kelly Sciandra’s keyboards are used thoughtfully throughout. The album’s title track is built around a soothing Rhodes line, again kept alive by Secchiaroli, while Sciandra’s conjures images of Chick Corea with his very 70’s melody on the aforementioned “More of a Climb.” The 70’s vibe continues on “Of Course We’ve All Seen the Sun” and the closing “All We Thought We Could.”

“Sara Poor Sara” is too sunny to be written by upstate New Yorkers, but somehow This Day & Age pull of the beachy “OC”-vibe with ease. “Building a Home” features the same sort of classic pop style – like Beach Boys gone emo. “Winter Winter Spring” and “We’ve All Seen the Sun” are further highlights on this outstanding debut.

Four Tet - 'Remixed'

Kieran Hebden’s latest release as Four Tet, the moniker he has recorded under since disbanding late-90s post-rockers Fridge, is a double disc collection of remixes. While a remix album may seem superfluous in the catalogs of many artists as young as Hebden, Remixes in all actuality serves as a stellar introduction to one of the brightest young talents in electronic music today and is an essential and timely addition to the Four Tet collection.

Remixes compiles two different approaches to Four Tet’s music. Disc one is a concise selection of the best remixes Hebden’s hands have touched while disc two collects every remix of Four Tet’s own work done by other artists.

Many jazz fans may not be familiar with the work of Four Tet – but they damn well should be. Hebden is a student of music, versed in a variety of sounds and styles from acoustic folk to jazz, ambient dub and the avant-garde compositions of Steve Reich (who recently began working with Four Tet on a series of collaborations).

And if you think about it, the remix really is a sort of post-modern form of composition, not unlike jazz and other composed mediums. Rather than manipulating sounds in ones head and transcribing those ideas to paper, the composer here digitally deconstructs and then reconstructs actual, tangible prerecorded sounds to produce something wholly new and original. The art of the remix isn’t easy - to make a track your own, to keep the integrity of the original work and add one’s own artistry takes a deft knowledge of sound construction and an almost instinctual musicality. Hebden is perhaps the most apt remix artist around, and this shows throughout.

Remixing (disc one) begins with a surrealist, nightmarish reworking of Lars Horntveth’s “Tics.” Radiohead’s “Skttrbrain” follows with glitchy layers of percussion and Thom Yorke’s signature falsetto. Two tracks from Madvillian, the collaborative effort of Stones Throw soldier Madlib and multi-personalitied emcee MF Doom, receive the Four Tet treatment. “Money Folder” is highlighted by video game tech keyboard samples while “Great Day” brings Hebden’s signature acoustic guitar to the mix, layered over loose, jazzy drumming.

Post-punk buzz band Bloc Party sees their wonderful “So Here We Are” dissected in minimalist fashion and Australian chanteuse Sia gets the funk treatment on an Issac Hayes-influenced rendition of her “Breathe Me” – what a voice! And in a most outstanding effort, Four Tet tackles folk songstress Beth Orton’s “Carmella,” creating a twelve-minute overture that truly showcases Hebden’s talents.

Remixed (disc two) is highlighted by an appearance by the late J Dilla, who beautifully reworks “As Serious as Your Life.” Sa Ra offers a beach blanket version of “Sun Drums and Soil” and underrated emcee Percee P shows up on “A Joy” (a track that actually appears in three different forms here). Manitoba and Boom Bip, two artists in the same vein as Four Tet and equally as deserving of recognition by jazz fans, also lend their talents to Remixed.

Clip

his words were
vulgar
like breast strokes
in
Babylon. I tried to tune him
out
but
he
was so off
key I want to pick
his lock
or
was it pick his brain
“she left bloodstains on the carpet.”

John Medeski/Matthew Shipp "Scotty Hard's Radical Reconstructive Surgery"

Matthew Shipp. John Medeski. William Parker. Enough said.

But alas, you want more. The latest Thirsty Ear Records release, Scotty Hard’s Radical Reconstructive Surgery sees modern jazz powerhouses Shipp and Parker teamed with Medeski of Medeski, Martin, and Wood-fame. And while those three names may be familiar to many, Scotty Hard’s may not be. An acclaimed producer and remix wizard, Scotty Hard has worked with Wu-Tang Clan, MMW and most recently DJ Logic.

Rounding out the lineup for Radical Reconstructive Surgery are drummer Nasheet Waits (Antonio Hart, Michael Marcus) and DJ Olive, with additional drumming by Brazilian percussionist Mauricio Takara.

Medeski and Shipp haven’t shared a session since the two were students together at New England Conservatory of Music. Surprisingly, or maybe not, the duo dive into conversation like two old friends and throughout the record, Medeski’s organ effortlessly navigates the spaces around Shipp’s big, chunky piano chords.

Parker and Waits are generous in laying down beats for Medeski and Shipp to get lost in. Their rhythms provide space and get busy at the same time - a daunting task that only talents like these could pull off. The chameleon-esque Parker sounds amazing here playing the roll of Ron Carter on People’s Instinct Travels (A Tribe Called Quest) - jazz bass master fashioned as hip-hop head bopper. His ability to transition from abstract aural adventures with the likes of Hamid Drake and Peter Brotzmann to funky, on-the-corner jams with the Thirsty Ear fam makes Parker one of the most sought after bassists today and a true representative of the modern voice in jazz.

A brief introduction segues into the tempo-shifting, scatter brained opener “Chance Operation.” On “St. Clare’s Hospital,” Medeski plays the right hand to Shipp’s left.

“Joint Desease” begins with Shipp disjointedly wandering through the city lights, dodging a sonic assault of sirens and cries from the city at night. The drums here, for the first time on the record are DJ-produced and give the tune a New York circa 2012 vibe. Waits slowly and gently brings live drums in over DJ Olive’s MPC-processed beats while Medeski introduces his organ in a schizoid android fashion. The band brings a smoking groove beat back for “The General.”

Most of Radical Reconstructive Surgery sounds like John Medeski participating in a Thirsty Ear session, which, ostensibly, is the case. “Eclipse” however, sounds more like Matthew Shipp guesting on a Medeski, Martin and Wood record with a vibe far more reminiscent of MMW’s funk-filled vamps. Midway through “Eclipse” everything drops out and Shipp jumps in, pounding the keys with Cecil Taylor-like intensity.

“Eclipse” segues perfectly into the walking bass of “Cocktail.” Imagine two great pianists strolling the avenue after a few drinks, talking jive and arguing in loving fashion, stepping over each other and never letting the other finish a sentence. Then 1:20 later the conversation is over, neither one winning the argument.

The way Waits subdivides the beat on “The Peeler” is magnificent and “Anatomy of Melancholy” is again disjointed and angular in true Blue Series fashion. “Round Two” closes Shipp and Medeski’s Radical Reconstructive Surgery.

Bottom line: we want more!

Billie Blue

“you got to
chill
baby…” Bille told
Miles
but the way she made
his stomach
get tense
made it hard to blow.

you can’t find the rhyme
with love and longing
on the mind

so Billie blew
kisses
when
no one else was looking
“what they don’t know
keeps us free”
“be a mystery”

"Pica Pica" Brotzmann/Mangelsdorff/Sommer

Pica Pica is an all-star affair featuring the trio of Peter Brotzmann, Albert Mangelsdorff and Gunter Sommer originally recorded in 1982 at Jazzfest Unna in Germany. Dug out of the Free Music Production archives by the good folks at Atavistic, Pica Picais now available here in the states as part of the label’s Unheard Music Series.

The pairing of Mangelsdorff, an innovator on trombone through his use of polyphonics, with the gut busting, reed-biting tenor of Brotzmann is intriguing to say the least. Not to say that Brotzmann is any less technically sound than Mangelsdorff, but the elder trombonist clearly has pedigree in the classical tradition of his instrument and thus has a, let’s say, calming affect on his counterpart.

And that’s not to say Brotzmann doesn’t blow his little heart out on Pica Pica - he most certainly does that. Jesus - a mere three minutes into “Instant Tears” he’s wailing, exorcising the ghost of Albert Ayler or conjuring images of contemporaries like Anthony Braxton or Ken Vandermark. But mere second later, the moment is more subdued, and Mangelsdorff takes the lead.

What makes Pica Pica so amazing is not that Brotzmann backs off or confines himself to give Mangelsdorff space. The trombonist offers respite to the fits of aggression from the saxophonist and Brotzmann can’t help but adapt to the repetitive accompaniment of Mangelsdorff, which makes Pica Pica far more listenable that much of Brotzmann’s catalog.

Brotzmann is fantastic in support of Mangelsdorff, when he chooses to do so. See, whereas Mangelsdorff never seems to stop playing, with a note here or there while Brotzmann and Sommer get lost in their own world, Brotzmann on the other hand seems to just stop playing when Mangelsdorff solos. Maybe this is best, as Brotzmann’s meaty tone would surely overpower the sometimes-delicate Mangelsdorff.

Sommer’s drumming gets busier on “Wie Due Mir, So Ich Dir Noch Lange Nicht,” filling in the empty space behind Mangelsdorff and Brotzmann with snare rolls and rudimentary exhibition. It’s hard to tell throughout Pica Pica whether Sommer’s low levels in the mix are a result of live recording methods or if the drummer just plain plays soft and if the case is the latter, kudos to Sommer for not trying to compete with Brotzmann in volume. Mangelsdorff’s multiphonics on “Wie Due Mir” are magnificent, so much so that the listener can actually ignore Brotzmann’s alto sax, which here sounds like he is strangling a small puppy.

The fifteen-plus minute “Instant Tears” and “Wie Due Mir” are followed by the briefly entertained title track, which closes the session perfectly. “Pica Pica” is more playful than the two previous tracks, with Sommer almost sounding like his trying to swing on his ride cymbal.

More avant-garde classical than jazz per se, Pica Pica is an outstanding addition to the Atavistic catalog and another great release from the often unheralded, and even sometimes discredited, Brotzmann.