Hooray, one year of urbanology and I never intended it, but this is also post number 100. Rise the glasses, light up the spliffs!
If you had just some of the fun I have running this blog, to present and share music with you, get some feedback and discuss the music - then it is a great success. I hope you enjoyed urbanology this far and got into some fresh music you didn´t know before. Until today my blog stats count 65,554 total visits, shit man, you can´t compare it with the big blogs, but it never was my intention to be one of the blogs with daily updates etc and so many visits from all over the world are much more than I ever expected one year ago.
It´s always very interesting to see which records are well received and which are less. Sometimes it is really surprising, sometimes it was very predictable. Instead I wondered several times which classic tunes still got this attention, I thought everybody would knew them. But fantastic music will always be explored by new people and that´s great. In general I can say that indie, punk, hardcore seems always less interesting for you compared to the jazz, funk, soul and hip hop stuff. Besides the sureshots it´s also great so see how more unknown acts received attention by you. Anyway, I wish some records would receive more, but there´s so much good music in the world and so less time. Aahh how melodramatic… buzzword.
If you are interested to know which bands from the past year I mean, leave me a comment, because I now will stop spamming you. Enjoy urbanology!
Ophir Kutiel a.k.a. Kutiman from Tel Aviv is just 25 years old, but he incorporates James Brown and Sly Stone type funk beats, complete with sinewy wah-wah guitar licks and popping backbeats, in his soulful afrobeat creations like an old funk player from the 70s. The multi-instrumentalist, who impressively plays the majority of the instruments on the album and also plays drums in the moog funk group Koliphones from Tel Aviv, merges a contemporary mindset with the sounds and styles of funk and psychedelic lore throughout this melodically-rich album. To diversify his aesthetic, he draws a little bit of reggae into the fold as well, clearly moved by the time he spent in the Caribbean traveling and taking in the musical culture. Kutiman invited some of the greatest musicians from the Israeli scene, on three tracks Karolina is featured with her beautiful voice, frontwomen of the soulful reggae group Funset and part of the chart breaking trio Ha-Banot Nechama, which are real superstars in Israel. Also on three tracks is Elran Dekel featured, maybe a nobody to you, but he is the leadsinger of the Israeli funk band Funk’n’stein, attracting international attention. For the extra kick the whole Funk’n’stein brass section is featured too.
“There are some great and gifted musicians in Tel Aviv, but the scene is so small we could all meet up in my room” explains Kutiman, this small scene must be superb.
Erlend, for now, is going it alone, Mr. Garfunkel don´t want to be Garfunkel anymore. The concept of Unrest is a result of Oye’s nomadic tendencies, as well as his growing infatuation with the mellow electronics of Versus, the remix album of the “Quiet is the new loud” record from the Kings of Convenience duo. After this successful record Erlend Oye worked together with Royskopp, moved to Berlin and started to travel the world. His destinations: 10 different producers from all over the word, with every laptop-head he recorded one track and for an album where each track is under new management from the one before it, Unrest remains remarkably consistent in tone and quality, Oye lends his melancholy but confident voice to every song. Most everything is soft focus, slightly downcast, and heavily reliant upon mid-tempo rhythms that are danceable; however, this is definitely a home-listening album, or one that would also work well during night train trip. Sounds much like a more considered version of the Kings of Convenience remix album.
Unrest is an exercise in restraint; very little overt sentiment is displayed throughout the album. But in the same way that anticipation is often better than the real thing, the smoldering emotion buried just below the surface works beautifully on Unrest. Oye has produced a seductive collection of songs that are, for the most part, described by the title of the closing track: “Like Gold.”
The involved producers: Morgan Geist (New York, USA), Soviet (Shelton, USA), Kompis (Uddevalla, Sweden), Jolly Music (Rome, Italy), Mr. Velcro Fastener (Turku, Finland), Prefuse 73 (Barcelona, Spain), Minizza (Rennes, France), Björn Torske (Bergen, Norway), Kilogram (Helsinki, Finland), Schneider TM (Berlin, Germany)
First I thought I didn´t presented you so much dark music yet, but that´s not true. You can find a haunting collection of dark, enigmatic tunes here, from really depressive tunes, to melancholic gloriousness, technical cold and dark soundscapes or dark, psychedelic and bitter-sweet tunes, which come closest to Black Heart Procession. A uniquely dark and theatrical Americana, a singular mixture of Calexico, Tindersticks, Angelo Badalamenti and then some. The band from San Diego, with a Three Mile Pilot based core and fame, has used saws, stripped-down unconventional percussion, Wurlitzer piano, subtle Moog, and other nontraditional instrumentation to create the kind of carnivalesque dirges we’ve come to expect from Tom Waits over three records before the release of “amore del tropico” 2002. With this fourth release the BHP forges new paths, seemingly inspired by tango infusions the group has left behind their infamous funereal gloom for a noir-laden land of intrigue. The only thing they packed was their trusty saw and a suitcase full of heartache. Or like pitchfork wrote:
The Procession was once funereal through and through, keeping the same slow pace and lonely lyrics throughout. Here, however, they’ve taken their march somewhere south of the border. Judging from the instrumentation and odd flourishes, the narrator of Amore has ventured to a small Central American country of beauty and intrigue. Wherever he is, one thing’s for sure: things are not going quite as planned. The first track, after all, is called “The End of Love”, a 12-second instrumental spurt that introduces the listener to what will be a 55-minute tale of lost love and vengeful murder. The subsequent titular track, “Tropics of Love” (in translation), opens with the band’s trademark instrument, the saw. But then deft strings and hip-swinging percussion set a sexy, noir-ish scene suffused with whispering men and crooning female gypsies. With this record, the band has taken a risky, ambitious leap forward, ditching the capable producer of their previous records, Ryan Hadlock, in favor of manning the boards themselves. The move has paid off in a dense, inspired musical narrative that should, dare I say, surprise fans old and new.
The Black Heart Procession has seamlessly integrated their trademarks—low, strained vocals, eerily whining saw, organ, piano and strings—into an entirely new sound that they wear so naturally. Sometimes darkness is so beautiful!
From a shoeshine boy in Rio to one of the most famous brazil music acts in the 70s, Antônio Viana Gomes aka Toni Tornado´s life offers some fascinating aspects. He toured across the world as a musician with different groups after he quit his shoe polisher job and candy selling on the streets, afterwards Toni Tornado moved to New York City and stayed for 3 years. In the USA he came in contact with soul music, the Black Panther movement and he also later met Tim Maia, the founding father of brazilian soul. Maia, who was forcibly repatriated from the U.S. for marijuana possession some years before, slowly established soul music in Rio. After recording two singles in 1968 with little success, more and more of his songs found their way onto albums by some of Brazil’s biggest stars. Most important on Elis Regina´s 1970 album “Em Pleno Verão” where he joined her in a duet for his song “These Are the Songs.” His first self-titled LP was released that same year with no less than three hit singles, remaining on the Rio pop charts for twenty-four weeks. The Black Rio movement was born, weekly parties were established and they opened for young blacks in Brazil a new world of sound, style and a new self-confidence in the time of the military dictatorship. Besides the music and the fashion political ideas filtered down to Brazil through these weekly parties, mainly remigrated blacks brought the new music and black power ideas with them. Also Toni Tornado was one of these guys.
More and more artists started to play soul music, of course they not only did play a blend of American funk and soul, but also added traces of other Brazilian arranging styles, often complex (Afro-) Brazilian rhythms and melody, injected it with some additional percussion and samba swing.
But let´s focus on Toni Tornado again: 1970 he performed at the 5th International Festival of Songs, a very popular festival in Brazil with live concerts, TV broadcasts and accompanying albums. He recently returned from living in New York City and was backed by the black vocal group Trio Ternura, made his debut with a powerful Solomon Burke styled ballad: “B.R. 3″, written by Antonio Adolfo, who you already might know as a reader of urbanology (by the way, with facts like that (guess which colour of skin Adolfo has…), how can people still divide music into black and white musics?).
Standing at over six feet tall, dressed in the latest Harlem fashions and sporting an Afro, Toni Tornado and his performance made a larger-than-life impression on the Brazilian public. With a powerful soul-inspired vocal style and the image to match, he challenged the traditional image of a Black Brazilian performer forever. The Festival of Song proved to be a breakthrough for soul-styled brazilian artists. A controversial performance by Erlon Chaves and Banda Veneno, who showcased a Jorge Ben song, where two blonde dancers lavished kisses on the Black bandleader in a choreographed routine offended the dictatorship’s social and racial sensibilities and resulted in a short jail sentence for Chaves, replete with interrogation and torture. Toni Tornado´s appearance at the festival resulted in two LPs, a bunch of singles, and persistent attention from the military police for wearing his modern Black identity on his brightly colored, polyester sleeve. He was falsely accused of starting a Brazilian chapter of the Black Panthers and routinely harassed for his relationship with a popular white actress.
B.R.3 was originally released in 1971 and opens with a sultry groove, layered horns, and chorus of vocalists, an inspired arrangement which is matched in inventiveness throughout the entirety of the album. The frequent polyphonic play between the horn splices and the legato strings on tracks like “Não Lhe Quero Mais” and the stunning female backing vocals, most notably the title track, judiciously poured over the tight and heavy rhythm section, the lilting current of piano, and plucky guitars are clever and incredibly complex melodically, truly making this a standout in the soul and funk genre.
Norway´s duo Kings of Convenience, Eirik Glambek Bøe and Erlend Øye (he also released solo records), handed over source material from their folky “Quiet is the new loud” record to a batch of remixers that included both people they knew, as well as others suited for the task that they hadn’t yet shaken hands with. The source record you can pick up at the me myself and mary jane blog, here you´ll get the reinterpreted versions by artists like Röyksopp, Four Tet, Alfie, Riton and many more. And if you might ask yourself now if electronica remixes of acoustic folk songs can be worth a try or just have to be trash, I can assure that versus is a fantastic remix compilation. This is masterful; a piece that should be viewed as a model for what remixes of folk should look like. The artists on this disc recognized the essence and soul of the music it is derived from and the experience this creates is an even more passionate rendition of the same emotions of the first album. Taking the brilliant originals, recognizing the reason they exist as their own exceptional works, and reworking them to make those points even more prominent. The group of remixers picked for the disc seem to be on the same wavelength as the duo. While they’re for the most part in completely different genres usually, most of the time the feel of the original track - even if completely different elements are introduced - is kept intact. A perfect example of this is the remix of “I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From” by country-mates Röyksopp. The group keeps the almost flamenco guitar bit of the track and the vocals, but they add a subtle groove and some sampled wind noises that keep the track light yet slightly on the pensive side. And after you have listened to both records you have a dilemma. Which one is better? The original “quiet is the new loud” which defined the neo-acoustic sound with their Nick Drake meets Simon and Garfunkel diamond sharp songs and managed to sound new and surprising although traveling in a well-established path (you might say this made their achievement even greater)? Or the electronic remixes? I just love both records.
I guess it is something you have to deal with if you run a blog like urbanology, but in this case it is really annoying. Without any warning the file spread service xirror.com, which I used very often in the last months has end its service from one moment to the other. All xirror links are dead and for sure I´m not the only one who has some fuckin´trouble now.
You can be sure all the records are going to come back in the next days, but I’d ask one and all to please be patient, ´cause it is a lot of work. If you are interested in a speciall record and think it should be reupped first or next, just drop me a comment and reupp will be on its way. Thank you.
greetings,
urbanology
post scriptum: on the off chance that somebody has bookmarked one of the files (not the xirror.com links, but one of the four hosts xirror did link), please leave a comment with the url, would be very kind and save me from labour.
ps II: all repaired postings will be listed in the comments!
After 12 years of Endstand, the band decided in January 2008 to take a break - Endstand is fuckin´ dead. The band was formed early 1996 in a small town called Riihimäki based in Southern parts of Finland - 60 kilometers away from Helsinki. And like many bands from the countryside, the basic idea was to create something passionate and interesting to kill the boredom in their lives. After 6 months of practicing Endstand played their first show and started to tour constantly - over ten European tours done, one tour in Japan and numerous shows in Finland have been a base for the strong following they have nowadays.
12 years is a long period, especially for a hardcore band and they have released a lot of good albums, EPs and split releases, the “hit and run” EP is from 2003 and contains four intense hardcore-punk songs with lots of guitar melodies and screaming vocals, worth a try if you don´t know them until today. But I guess you aren´t from Europe or not into hardcore at all if you didn´t recognized them.
Lou Courtney is one artist (among many others) who deserves to be held in the same esteem as Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson and dozens more. The record is Lou Courtney’s masterpiece and got a wonderfully full soul sound and mellow tracks. Many soul albums of the 70s which hit the charts have only one or a few worthwhile tracks. This one is packed with gems and the whole ting really comes together the way a good album should, in my eyes you should sort it directly beside “What´s going on?”, but it´s less orchestral than Marvin Gaye´s all time classic. A mix of moody keyboard driven groovers and ballads, all topped by excellent vocals from Lou (who also co-produced the record), miles ahead of any work he did in the early days, all surrounded with magnificent arrangements and high-class production jobs! Majestically arranged and produced by the legendary Jerry Ragovoy. This wonderful set of songs contains dancefloor groovers, mellow mid-tempo swayers, and late-night romantic ballads but all tracks are infinitely soulful. The best thing, though, is the songwriting, as these tracks rank right up there with the best underground mellow soul we can think of — sophisticated yet not soppy, filled with soulful lyrics about - of course - love and losing it, never giving into cliches of other soul from the time.
Some bands are desperately on the search for a record deal and many never reach their aim. I guess only really few would deserve a record deal, but never get one - the most artists just suck too much to have success. It´s not only about the major record companies (their politics are abhorrent, I don´t doubt that) which keep good music down, because almost every music genre has some very fine independent record labels. Club 8 are a good proof, after formed 1995 by Karolina Komstedt and Johan Angergård this swedish group made simple bedroom recordings and sent them to their ten favourite labels. Half of the labels wanted to release the band, good music always finds it way to be released.
Their debut was heavy bossa-nova influenced with a naive sound as well as shiny pop melodies, but soon they moved away from these direct pop songs and got darker and slower, the progress culminated in their third album “spring came, rain fell” from 2002, their most creative to date recording with diversified, semi-electronic and slightly experimental, but intensely emotional songs.
It´s obvious that songwriter and über-instrumentalist Johan Angergärd had Air’s “Moon Safari” in power rotation, with bubbly space synthesizers and fat bass keyboard. His writing and production is generally spare and simple so the little bits of color (a guitar lead here, a synth swoosh there) linger memorably and makes space for Angergård´s tenor that’s almost as light as bombshell singer Karolina Komstedst’s airy alto. But the real appeal of the album comes from Karolina Komstedt’s pillow-soft, slightly accented vocals, which have the kitschy allure of Claudine Longet, only with better enunciation and much less tendency to go off-key; Angergård only raises his voice on few tracks. The songs are mostly based on subtle layers of acoustic guitars, hand percussion, and rubbery, surprisingly melodic electric bass. They always keep the melancholic dreamy edge, now matter if they mix up Dub, C-86, triphop, chill out, 80’s or bossa nova, without ever losing focus on those wonderfully Scandinavian and melancholic pop melodies.
By the way, what´s wrong with Sweden? From jazz, hardcore/punk to indie in general, this country with only 8 millions inhabitants offers an above average count of bands with surpassing quality. Why is so much good music coming from Sweden (and Scandinavia in general)? I only can explain it with the short summers and cold winters, without nothing else to do than jam in rehearsal rooms (which you can find in almost every village around the country), because Gothenburg, Stockholm, Malmö or Umeå are much too far away.
An instrumental hip hop record that explores the twilight world between the light of life and night of death. Mr. Hill of Oldominion from Seattle has done production for acts such as Boom Bap Project, Grayskul, Kool Keith, Akrobatic and of course Oldominion - and many more, but he has always been the one to play the humble part, no matter how many topnotch projects he’s involved with.
After started as a DJ in the early 90s, n the mid-90s his passion for DJing started dying down when Hill felt less inspired by the output from the hiphop community. He got into beat-making instead in 1997 when Swope got a Dr. Boss sampler. “We would mess around on it and eventually he ended up buying an MPC 2000. I hit that thing every day until I bought my own gear,” he notes.
The beats on this record never leave the truth of that old boom bap. They are as hard and fixed as the concrete of a city street. But above the hard, no-nonsense beats float elegant phantoms of strings, classical piano, soul horns, and whispers of those who have lost everything and long for everything. This is a very sad but beautiful record, one that matches the mood of Seattle - many months with too much rain and too little sunshine.
Beyond the darkness. (file is down, please leave a comment if you wish a re-up)
One of the greatest soul voices, Otis Redding, was famous for his sudorific live shows, it were those live shows that cemented his reputation amongst the kids. Redding also was one of the first soul artists that gained attention across a white audience, especially the young Hippie movement. The whole Southern Soul movement was like a living materialization of Martin Luther King´s dream, a fusion of so-called “white” and “black” culture. With Booker T & the MG backing him Otis had also a thunderous impact on the European crowds, where soul still almost wasn´t recognized.
1967 the Monterey Pop Festival in California was the starting shot for a worldwide Hippie subculture. Organized by John Phillips (The Mamas and the Papas) and others, it was the first international pop festival, two years before Woodstock. Besides classic Blues and Folk acts, also Rock and Soul groups were invited and the line-up of the three day festival today reads like a who is who of the flower power movement and the 60s at all: The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, The Mamas and The Papas, The Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, Lou Rawls, The Who, Eric Burdon and The Animals (and a dozen more acts). The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan were invited too, but couldn´t appear on stage. And there were two acts for whom the Monterey festival was a breakthrough: Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding.
After a short set of Booker T. & the MG - Otis conquered the stage and within minutes the hearts of the 70.000 people in front of the stage. His energetic show is legendary until today and the start of Reddings international career. His performance to mainly white rock fans was enthusiastically received by them. The opening song “Shake” blasted like a storm over them, the pumping beat - played tight by Booker T. & the MG - is forcing you to dance. “Respect” followed up this fantastic performance, a song from Otis which was played with greater commercial success by Aretha Franklin, one of her super hits. Here the drums are more kickin, almost like a rock´n´roll band and fits so well with the relaxing bass, which later speeds up too. After this 6 minutes of a fat kick in the ass, Reddings slows down with “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” - but not for too long. The Rolling Stones cover “Satisfaction”, interpreted in his very own way, eye witnesses reported that it let the audience go crazy, really ecstatic. He dropped the tempo once again for his last song “Try A Little Tenderness”, but his caws stimulated the masses more and more.
“I got to go now, but I don´t wanna go!” he yells at the end of his last song, but a new legend already was born.
Only 6 months later, on December 10, 1967, a plane crashed into a Wisconsin lake, killing Redding and four members of his backup band, the Bar-Kays, who were on board. On December 6, 1967, Redding recorded at the end of a long session ““(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”. The song was inspired by his performance at Monterey and a gesture of thanks to the enthusiastic crowd. It would become his biggest hit, yet Redding never lived to see its release.
I took the five songs of Otis Redding´s live show from the 4 CD Box “Monterey International Pop Festival“, the live recordings I can commend to everybody. I also added the three songs played by Booker T. & the MG direct before the Otis set, which were also played by the MG.
Antônio Adolfo was an important composer and arranger for brazil music scene, having written songs recorded by so many artists… the list would be too long write down here. In the 60s he played piano in different small bands, he took part in the music scene of the “Beco das Garrafas” in Rio, where in the bars and clubs bossa nova, MPB and jazz met. In these eventful years from the late 50s and 60s musicians from all over the world found musical inspiration in Brazil. The Copa Trio started to play “samba-jazz” there, fusing jazz with bossa nova. Brazilian greats Leny Andrade, Sérgio Mendes and Elis Regina performed there, too, and foreign jazz artists started to appear at the “Beco das Garrafas” late at night, after their performances in Rio’s concert halls. Horace Silver, Paul Winter, the Modern Jazz Quartet and other jazz legends jammed with the local musicians. In the eye of the storm the young Antonio Adolfo, who started accompanying important artists of Brazilian popular music, including one of Brazil’s best-known singers of that period, Elis Regina. At the age of 20 Antonio Adolfo collaborated with lyricist Tibério Gaspar (the start of a lifelong collaboration for both) and their song “Sá Marina” became a hit, it catapulted Adolfo into his new career. During the mid-60s, Adolfo was a frequent guest at Antônio Carlos Jobim’s home in Rio, a popular gathering place for musicians.
After he lived some years in Paris he returned to Brazil in 1975 and started to launch his own record label, one of the first independent labels in Brazil. Adolfo was sick of working together with the major labels and released 1977 his own second record on Artezanal records: “feito em casa”. After some releases with his former group “Brazuca” and his first solo record “Venice” 1972, a moody masterpiece - a real treasure of brazil music. A moody jazzy piano, played with this indescribably ease, breezy tunes. This marvelous album sold like crazy and went from having a hand-pressed cover and distribution out of Adolfo’s car to mass production.
Started with a screamo sound close to San Diego style back in 1995, Standstill themselves wouldn’t probably think that they would become, through the years, the influential and respected band they are nowadays. So what happened, why is Standstill not another average hardcore, later post- and nowadays ex-hardcore band?
Besides the fact that they´re from Spain and that you still can reach at least an exotic touch with this origin in that genre, it was in first line their ability to play hardcore music in an aggressive AND melancholic way, with no lack of power. Their debut from 1997 was good and reached attention outside Spain, but their second full length “The Ionic Spell” from 2001sent shockwaves around Europe. That record put a start to the next era of Standstill, when they started to play continuously around Europe, causing a strong influence over a number of british, french, german and belgian bands who wanted to have the same punch, attitude, sound and songs that Standstill was showing successfully wherever they played. The post-hardcore/screamo scene in Europe pulsated and Standstill were on of the leading bands. “The Ionic Spell” awarded like best spanish album of the year by Rock Sound and Mondo Sonoro and highlighted by most of the main spanish specialized magazines. It showed how the rage of the screamo roots can fit with the beauty of the instrumental landscapes, using samplers and keyboards with dexterity.
But one year later, 2002, the next album “Memories Collector” did go one step beyond with the addition of trumpets, vibraphones, upright basses and other instruments really uncommon in the “hardcore” scene. Like 4 years ago with “the shape of punk to come” from Refused hardcore-music was reinvented (or killed? to invent something new?), last time the storm came from Sweden, this time from Spain. And for me it came at the right time, once again I thought that hardcore was dead. Refused legendary last release from 1998 became something like a blueprint, hundreds of bands just copying them, hardcore music (with all its different subgenres) once again was trapped into stagnation. Standstill´s “Memories Collector” broke up that stagnation and the record title was perfect: the music collected all the tendencies and developments that took place over the last years and transformed the whole into a new sound. Hardcore (and of course Punk) has a long history of that kind of important records (we can argue if Standstill´s “Memories Collector” is one, in my eyes it is, especially for the european hardcore scene), that ended stagnation (and hardcore is full of stagnation and conservative nostalgia), aggregated and evolved new directions (and since some years I´m waiting for a new milestone in hardcore music or did I just miss it? tell me if you think so!)
With the addition of Carlos on second guitar and Damià on the saxophone Standstill added a touch of experimentation to their emotional sound, losing agressivity but not power. Surprising from the very first breaks of “Ride down the slope” until the Black Sabbath inheritance of “Memories Collector”, passing through the quiet lyricism of “Dead man picture” or the apic intensity of “Always late” or “Not the place”, this record simply broke up with anything else done before in the international post-hardcore scene, left impress also in the indie scene.
The following releases, all on highly respected spanish indepentend label BCore, led Standstill more into a quieter, smoother sound rather than the explosive output of their previous stuff. Their same titled third record from 2004 is their most mature, profound and eloquent album ever, as it is the first release they have sung in spanish. A few weeks ago they released “Viva la guerra” continuing on that way.
“Memories Collector” is until today one of the most important european hardcore records, that broke up with typical hardcore sounds and arrangements, completed a musical development that was on the rise for years in the european scene.
Ride down the slope! (file is down, please leave a comment if you wish a re-up)
Averaging well over 100 shows per year, ‘Foreign Beggars’ are one of the most prolific and versatile Hip Hop outfits to emerge from the UK. Consisting of MC’s Metropolis and Orifice Vulgatron, Producer Dag Nabbit, Human Beat boxer Shlomo and DJ Nonames.
With roots ranging from jazz and classical training, to years of writing recording and performing hip hop, death/power-metal and drum & bass the group’s varied experiences combine to create one of the most explosive live rap showcases on the planet.
The Second Installation from the Beggar Camp, ‘Stray Point Agenda’ has a more introspective tone than their debut ‘Asylum Speakers’. A darker, edgier beast than its predecessor, with featured production by Stones Throw protégé, Oh No and Ninja Tunes DJ Vadim, the release re-establishes the Foreign Beggars benchmark, but with a lyrical maturity that puts the album in a more progressive context. With rappers Orifice and Metropolis dealing with a variety of subversive topics from conscious socio-political realism to sci-fi horror core, the listener is confronted with their typically schizophrenic approach to life, love, spirituality and death. With featured guest spots from Dr. Syntax, Skrein, Dubbledge, Graziella, Wildchild and Dudley Perkins, the album spans the spectrum of rhyming styles from straight punchline to complex multi-syllabic flow patterns, doing justice to Dag Nabbits trademark versatility of dark electro synthesized basses, intricate sample work and filthy drums on futuristic soundscapes…disgusting!
If you want to hunt out some fresh stuff in the hip hop game, Britain should be on your map and I´m not only talking about Grime & Dubstep, two of the main hypes in the last years. With Manchester´s finest hip hop heads Broke ´n´ English I am going to start, more music out of Great Britain is going to follow.
On the cover of their 2003 Nothing Will Come Of It EP, the image of Broke’n'English (MCs Strategy & DRS) staring comically into a bare fridge containing only a half-eaten pattie and an old bottle of Encona Hot Pepper Sauce rang true across the UK’s streets and beyond. As their MySpace page jests they even state they sound like “some Manc doleys that aint got shit else to do.”
“I was on the dole for so long,” describes Strategy, “they said ‘either you get a job or go to college’, so I was like alright then I’ll go to college! Ha-Ha! I went and learnt music production and the first tunes I made was Weekend Love and Foolish, Giles Peterson played them and 1Xtra played them. Listening back they sound raw and you can almost hear the hunger.” Seriously you can nearly hear their stomachs groaning with the need to succeed and not only was the music vital - check the killer horn blasts on Weekend Love - the tunes had inspired lyrics like “…there must have been something special in my pop’s crotch”.
Strategys talents were respected early on; his first guest appearance being alongside Roots Manuva on the Track Trade Study which featured on the LP From the Country.
Joining forces with Konny Kon amoungst others, he joined up with legendary Mank hiphop supercrew the Microdisiacs and released material with them working from their base up north. Several releases from Broke ´n´ English made soon some noise and helped their status escalate. Slowly but surely the boys have been deservedly gaining recognition and a reputation for having one of the hottest live shows in the country. 2007 their full length debut “subject 2 status” was released, with a self-tribute to the art work of the first EP. This 18 track Manc opus features previous favourites such as Squeeze and last years smash single Tryin as well as more recent bigguns such as Who’s that Kid? and This is our Life. Listen to their music and you can hear the northern accents, but furthermore that besides the big british heads like Roots Manuva, Ty, The Streets etc. there are more ill acts who know how to rock.
“This is one of the most beautiful days in my life” - Esther Bejarano
Just like for the time witness and Auschwitz survivor Esther Bejarano May 8th is for all those humans, who became victim of the destruction and conquest illusion of the Germans, a day of joy and liberation. The Nazis were defeated, german barbarism and the Holocaust had an end.
With the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht on 8 May 1945 the civilization rapture was brought to an end and meant the liberation of several millions prisoners of the concentration camps, hard labourers, political opponents and prisoners of war. They survived the incomparable terror of the camps, the death marches, the exploitation in war economics, the euthanasia programs and the racist human attempts, while millions of people became victim of the collective destruction of the Germans - alone 27 million humans from the Soviet Union, among them 14 million civilians. Six million Jews and half a million Sinti and Roma were murdered in the concentration and extermination camps of the Nazis; hundred thousands died in captivity or in hard labour for German companies like IG Farben, Flick or Deutsche Bank. Those who didn’t meet the eugenic expectations and the civil sexual or work moral were murdered; just as communists, social democrats and all others who offered resistance against fascism.
May 8th - Liberation Day!
Thanks to partisans and resistance fighters and all who took part in the war of liberation. Thanks goes besides to the partisan federations under Tito or the French Maquisards, which followed the numerous partisan federations of the Résistance, likewise the fewer well-known partisan groups like the “Jewish Brigade” and the innumerable nameless survivors and the dead. We thank the Allies and not least the soldiers of the Red Army, who achieved the crucial contribution for the German defeat.
Am Israel Chai! The People of Israel are still alive!
After 2000 years of pursuit and pogroms, german National-Socialism “invented” in the last century the industrial murdering of the jews in the concentration camps, the aim was “simple” - to kill all the jews, worldwide. Fortunately the Germans were stopped - but they murdered 6 million jews in the 12 years lasting time of the regime, most of them from 1942 - 1945. After that barbarism the mankind was still unwilling to destroy once and for all the roots of antisemitism. But on May 14, 1948 (in the jewish calendar this year the date is on May 8th) David Ben-Gurion declared the creation of the State of Israel, in accordance with the 1947 UN Partition Plan. This plan would have partitioned the territory of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with the Greater Jerusalem area, including Bethlehem, coming under international control. Uhm yes, exactly what many peace activist nowadays demand, but the Arabs rejected the plan - instead Egypt, TransJordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq declared war on Israel only a few hours later. Saudi-Arabia and Yemen also sent forces to participate in the invasion.
Sadly antisemitism was on the rise in the arab population of Palestine since more than a decade (reanimated religious motivated Antijudaism from within the Islam was mixed with secular “modern” Antisemitism in the tradition of the Nazis) and antisemitic motivated terror started a lot of years before (!) the state of Israel was born. Even jewish communities which lived for hundred of years in Palestine were attacked and not only zionist immigrants. The reason is simple, they not only wanted to prevent an jewish state, they wanted to wipe all the jews out of the “holy land”. Since then almost nothing did change, antisemitic terrorists still try to kill as most jews as possible and to destroy Israel, but today political Islamism is more widespread under palestine people.
Ben Jehuda Street, Jerusalem. 52 died and 31 injured in a bomb attack by arab nationalists, February 2nd 1948
Never Again!
Thankfully Israel did win all wars, many started by different arab neighbour countries, others were enforced by terrorist activities. Until today Israel exists and the people of Israel are alive. Antisemits weren´t able to reach their goals, which would be again a nightmare for the emancipation of mankind. In a world were antisemitism is still alive and on the rise again, Israel is a necessity to secure the lives of the jews - today and in the future. With good reason urbanology supports a strong and secure Israel, because of Israel jews never again have to wait for salvation that never comes. Happy Birthday Israel!
May 8th, 2008 - 63rd years after the defeat of Nazi-Germany and 60th birthday of Israel, what a beautiful day.
Come on, say it: Prog. Go on, say it: Prog. Ok and now forget it, cause this is not the prog stuff from your fathers record collection, no old men with Yes posters in their bathrooms. 31 Knots pronounce prog like math rock and they´re speaking a punkrock slang. Minor Threat beats up Pink Floyd, for sure, maybe it will also please your dad. With the second full length from 2003 the band from Portland/OR
continued to impressive with the kind of precise guitar chords and steady rhythms found on the opening track, “A Half Life in Two Movements.” That song seamlessly gives way to the frazzled and charming “Darling, I,” which offers a staggeringly restrained sound that seems ready to blow up at any moment, yet doesn’t. Joe Haege leads the way on guitar and vocals, while bassist Jay Winebrenner and drummers Joe Kelly and Jay Pellicci combine to form one of the more irreverent rhythm sections in indie rock. Kelly left the band soon after the recording of four of the album’s songs in 2002 and was replaced by Pellicci, who took over drumming duties for the March 2003 sessions, which completed the disc. Haege is center stage throughout, setting up the disc’s highlight reel with unconventional guitar chords, unwaveringly fiery vocals, and continuously challenging lyrics on songs like “No Sound,” “We Still Have Legs,” and “At Peace.” “Without Wine” slows down the album’s pace with a reflective acoustic bass dancing with Haege’s narrative metaphors. A mesmerizing bassline leads into the entrancing “Played Out for Punchlines,” while the unsettling “Matters from Ashes” mixes tender tones and vocals with a disconcerting electronic backdrop. Pushing the envelope of the math rock sound throughout, the band’s brash post-hardcore impresses most of all because if its seeming lack of obvious influences. Taking cues from a large pool of bands on It Was High Time to Escape, 31 Knots paints a sound with a wide brush and an array of colors. (Stephen Cramer, All Music Guide)
Catchy and complex, always thrilling - a tight, clean, passionate set of 10 songs that will take more than one listen to understand fully.
When this record was released in 2002 only some local sceneheads knew of these three MCs. Today Othello, Braille and especially Ohmega Watts are well known to a lot of people who love sweet flows over some soulful and jazzy soundscapes. Their debut album produced by Muneshine, featuring a sample heavy vibe of jazzy and funky tracks, is refreshing like a clear glass of water to the thirsty until today. Feelgood vibes don’t necessarily strike the right note with everybody, especially if they seem forced or too simplistic. But Lightheaded really have found the right formula for grooving, engaging, soulful, uplifting music. All three have released solo albums and each toured almost all around the world, always supported by the other guys from the Lightheaded crew. So Ohmega Watts shows almost always are a Lightheaded show too and vice versa. And the live gigs are always presented with the same enthusiasm as on their records, “pure thoughts” is a strong proof.
Spaceways Inc came into existence out of a need to pay dues to the music of Sun Ra and George Clinton. Thirteen Cosmic Standards (Atavistic) was the immediate result. On its sequel, Version Soul, Chicagoan reedman Ken Vandermark and drummer Hamid Drake and Boston-based bassist Nate McBride open their hearts with a set dedicated to various heroes.
Six Vandermark compositions have explicit dedications: reggae keyboard maestro Jackie Mittoo, musical director of Coxsone Dodd’s crucial Studio One label; Serge Chaloff. One of the finest exponents in jazz of the baritone saxophone (Vandermark has now added baritone to his armoury); Larry Graham, pounding electric bassist with The Family Stone and Graham Central Station; drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, swamp-funk engine of The Meters; righteous free jazz saxophonist Frank Wright; plus painter Mark Rothko, whose meditative wavelength has harmonized with an astonishing range of musical sensibilities.
Other unidentified currents flow through this taut, vital music. McBride’s three pieces name no names but key presences are felt, not least on the concluding “AII Frequencies”, where Vandermark’s clarinet sounds like a melodica as he engineers a real time virtual encounter between King Tubby and the Upsetter in Chicago. Drake is a marvelous reggae drummer - make that a marvelous drummer, full stop. In particular, McBride (on electric bass) is outstanding, technically and emotionally. If Version Soul invites influence-spotting, you can also listen to it straight, as these three superb musicians are making music that’s incredibly alive.
By mixing funk and reggae with some old-fashioned Hard Bop and a touch of free, the saxophonist lets the listener know this is something somewhat different than usual. From the opening sluggish “Back of a Cab ” it is clear that this is anything but a high-energy session. The trio rides through a series of dedications, including the airy “Reasonable Hour (for Serge Chaloff)” the powerful “Force at a Distance (for Frank Wright) ” and the introspective “Rothko Sideways (for Mark Rothko).” There are times when it seems to drag a bit, but much of what is heard is not about impressing with power, but instead exploring a range of emotions, something which Hamid Drake and Nate McBride do particularly well. For those tired of the saxophone trio - a format that has sometimes exhausted itself - Vandermark tries partially successfully - to resurrect it as a vehicle of broadened inspiration, where the traditional functions of sound, melody, and rhythm are primary, but where limits are transcended.
A power trio in the truest sense of the word, Spaceways Inc. takes its riddim responsibilities quite seriously. It’s a funky job, but somebody has to do it.
(I stole several parts from reviews by Steven Loewy/Cadence & Julian Cowley/The Wire)
always open minded! feel free to leave a comment if you like or dislike the music, the review or just this blog in general. make the monologue a dialogue!
