Wednesdays Subtle Twist of Genres

CJ Hooper - By My Side.

Promo words - CJ Hooper is more than just an independent singer-songwriter blessed with oodles of talent, he’s also possibly Australia’s most unknown and understated. By My Side is the first official independent release from the acoustic based Sydney solo artist who plays multiple instruments and delivers distinctive vocal harmonies and falsetto. By My Side was recorded in Sydney at Stereo Missile Recordings with the help of well renowned producer and engineer Steve Peach.

“By My Side is a smokey, atmospheric journey that I loved working on. The acoustic guitars are hypnotic, the vocals are smooth, and the songwriting is top notch. Highly recommended!" – Steve Peach, Missile Recordings, Sydney.

‘It’s an uncomplicated love ballad in appreciation of having someone really special to share life’s journey. Not everyday is perfect, but sharing it with your soul mate is pretty close to it”, says CJ Hooper

Currently recording a new album set to be released in 2016, you may see CJ Hooper playing in a corner at your local bar over the next 12 months as he unleashes his repertoire of songs. Expect to hear more from this solo independent artist who’s inspiring and personal music is destined to connect with audiences.

Calm, collected and yes perhaps understated. For those in need of something a little more gentle and with distinctive vocals, I would suggest CJ Hooper and this tender song.

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The Main Squeeze - Angelus.

Promo words - Chicago-based rock n’ roll-funk band, The Main Squeeze, who just dropped their new single "Angelus.", the track is from their upcoming sophomore album, Mind Your Head which was produced by former American Idol judge, Randy Jackson.

The five-piece, consisting of Corey Frye (vocals), Max Newman (guitar), Ben “Smiley” Silverstein (keyboards), Reuben Gingrich (drums) and Jeremiah Hunt (bass), found its roots in Bloomington, Indiana’s live music scene back in 2010. The band refined their sound with local shows before touring over 160 dates nationally in 2014. They’ve performed at some of the country’s biggest festivals, including Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Summer camp and Gathering of The Vibes. In addition, they were hand selected to play the Rolling Stone Super Bowl XLVI Pre-Party and won the Venetian Macau international battle of the bands in China in 2012.

Vintage soul fans will love this. Everything about this song is classic soul at it's finest and what's more, it's happening now! A modern classic and no less.

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Mieke - Sleeping Alone.

Mieke tells us - I needed to make something honest and raw. Something strange and vulnerable. Something thoughtful and free. Something that was authentic to where I'm at. For this EP I worked with Don Kerr and Howie Beck (Feist, Hayden, Bahamas), people I trust. Don records out of his house so we did the vocals in his dining room and the instruments in his basement. That let me fully connect with the feeling I had wherever I wrote the songs- in Toronto, in Tokyo, in my small town high school, or in London- and to go back to that moment.

I grew up in a forest in Ontario and spent much of my childhood wandering around out there recording songs on my little tape player. I’d mail them to radio stations with my autographed school picture and then listen eagerly to the radio expecting to hear them.

I've played shows for many years, but when I finished university I needed to make money somehow to focus on music. When I found out modelling could be a decent part time job, I started modelling and acting part time. Whenever I travel to make music or model, I learn more about myself as an artist. These songs were largely written on these travels- in Tokyo, London, New York, and LA. Everywhere I go changes me and helps me grow as an artist and a human. :)

Oh this is a really charming song. Making a song that is personal and yet not indulgent is a craft within itself. Excellent vocals and really fine production make it quite special.

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Instanika - Vroom Vroom.

What they say - We are a band that hales out of Toronto Ontario: Carlo Rubino lead vocals, Joe Porier guitar, Gordemsons drums, Micheal Kendel keyboard, produced at Micheal Kendel Studio, in Toronto.

Carlo and Joe got together with Gord to put together the 10-song album. Carlo Rubino had the lyrics and put the music melodies with guitar players Joe and Gord. Mike added his keyboard and Procussion experties after went into their studio to start recording the album Moonrain.

Carlo met Joe Porier at Joes job giving guitar lessons, Carlo approached him with his songs and Joe thought they are worth recording and we started to get together with writing sessions the really worked well, this song came easily to Joe to write the guitar parts and structure.

We played a couple gigs at the velvet underground looking for more gigs to perform around the city and eventually get tour someday. We are currently recording another 10 album, which will be completed next year, and getting distribution starting in America through Zoran distribution looking forward to it.

Well this new music round up has been far to gentle. Fixing that are Instanika and the gritty Vroom Vroom. It's a little rough around the edges, has a live feel and just grooves along fine. An antidote for tedium.
 
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Dub Is A Weapon - Charlottesville 2005 (Internet Archive)

From the Internet Archive this is Dub Is A Weapon performing live at the Outback Lodge, Charlottesville, VA, back on the 9th July 2005. This is a remarkable band whose live dub performances are a real treat to enjoy.

Describing the formation of Dub Is A Weapon we quote the following - “It can’t be done, man!” That’s what Dave Hahn, mastermind behind Dub Is A Weapon, heard when he first floated the idea of a live dub group, as he and his mates listened to some prime 1960s King Tubby cuts in the band van. “Everyone seemed to think you could only do dub in the studio,” Hahn recalls.

Hahn set out to prove them wrong, with skills learned live and on the road, and with help from a Jamaican beatnik percussionist, an old high school friend, and young upstarts from the Brooklyn scene. Together they’ve honed their live take on the genre’s spaced-out grooves.

Concise Background - Founded in 2001, Dub Is A Weapon has set out on a mission to curate the history of dub reggae by offering their unique perspective of dub studio techniques live on stage.The band has spent the last 10 years honing their craft on stage through headlining club tours across the country, supporting the likes of Antibalas, John Brown’s Body, Easy Star All Stars, as well as providing the backing music for the legend of the scene Mr. Lee “Scratch” Perry on his tours throughout North America. 

Dub Is A Weapon’s national debut record titled Vaporized (released on April 26, 2011 by Harmonized Records) has managed to bring all those experiences together in a studio effort that was recorded in the tradition of old jazz records: live in studio. “From the Black Ark days of Lee Perry to Tubby's Waterhouse dubs and discipleship of King Jammy, it's good to see that DIAW are carrying on the torch for dub fans worldwide. Vaporized not only exemplifies the evolution of dub but pays tribute to its history by retaining key characteristics that make quality dub music what it is.” (Chuck Reinemann).

Recording Details: Source mk4 > kc5 > cmc6 > m248 > mme > d8 (48k), Lineage R500 > SRC2000 > DATport > Wavelab 5 > SHNtool > FLAC (lvl 6).

Sound Quality: Very Good - A clear well produced stereo recording, that does this genre proud.

Set List:

Set 1.
01 - Intro/Tuning
02 - Etymology
03 - Insurrection
04 - Rip Van Winkle
05 - Armed and Dangerous
06 - Fever
07 - Han Fei Tzu
08 - Undefeated

Set 2.
01 - Intro/Tuning
02 - Dub is a Weapon
03 - Asheville
04 - Codename
05 - Sadr City
06 - Infinity
07 - Bruce Lee
Encore.
08 - Indestructible

Comments: There are FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and mp3 files along with the streaming material over at the Internet Archive (here).

Stream Below:

Forget The Superlatives - Just Listen!

Science and the Beat - Mean Streak.

Their Bio - This is how the world ends: with deafening indifference and retread of age-old strife. How we choose ride to out this wave varies, but still falls into the principle camps of acceptance and denial. Science and the Beat choose the latter, wanting to live moderately in their impact but decadent within themselves; feeling and loving in productive ways that give meaning to their lives. Science is the means to try and make sense of it all. The beat informs the rhythm and the approach. Nothing else matters.

Multi-instrumentalists Tasha Katrine and Rob Zilla have been carving out their creative vision since being introduced in their teens. The approach has been dexterous, mixing live shows with elaborate video and lighting installations – most notably as More Machine Than Man. As a fixture in the Goth Industrial scene, the pair was conscious of the expectations and rigid identity that develops with a long-term project. To keep those limitations from becoming self-imposed, the mission became letting creativity have free reign.

Future Blue, then, sounds like actualisation: two people growing into their cynicism and finding it to be just as potent as their youthful yearnings. Produced by Wade Alin (Christ Analogue, The Atomica Project) Future Blue pulsates with clean, taut synths that create something like a strop for the sharp and decisive use of guitar. Katrine’s voice has an inherent dewy quality that belies her on-going struggle with Sjogren’s syndrome: an immune disorder that affects the salivary glands responsible for producing moisture in the throat. Their relocation to Seattle from Boston was in search of a more favourable living climate: mild and humid. Extreme cases have resulted in a complete loss of voice and it is pushing Katrine to not only make the most of her voice but to also utilise instruments as well.

The song 'Mean Streak' really does conjure up an element of meanness, the almost stalking vocals will follow you around, warning us not to take any chances. Oh just listen, see if you get my drift.


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Marielle Allschwang - Dead Not Done. (Title track from album).

Background - Marielle Allschwang (Group of Altos, Death Blues, Hello Death) warps and distorts traditional folk music to conjure monsters, angels, and sinister pastures on debut solo album, “Dead Not Done,” to be released Aug. 11 on Gloss Records.

Channelling her first-generation American ancestors as inspiration, Allschwang revels in the sadness and strength of exile, poverty, and identity. Though not overtly political, Allschwang explores feelings of distance, separation, and being a stranger in the world. Intimate tales emerge from minimalist soundscapes.

Milwaukee born and raised by a memoir-writing grandmother, poet father, and singing mother who learned guitar from a nun in the Philippines, Allschwang is now a frequent collaborator in the city’s burgeoning experimental and folk scenes—contributing vocals (and gong) to Jon Mueller’s multi-disciplinary project, Death Blues, violin and vocals in the 16-piece post-rock super group, Group of the Altos, and guitar and vocals to dark-folk outfit Hello Death. All the while, Allschwang has been exploring her musical identity as a solo artist.

Allschwang credits her involvement in Altos as a turning point in her artistic path. Here she had a fertile arena for collaboration and exploration, and formed a close artistic relationship with fellow band mate Adam Krause, who nudged her to compose songs together for the audio-visual zine, Lemon o Books, in 2012. That collaboration introduced more experimental elements into Allschwang’s music, many of which appear on “Dead Not Done.”

Delicate guitar melodies and tape loop murmurs are now familiar friends, but “Dead Not Done” also features numerous contributions by members of Altos. Bowed metal chair legs and sounding barn wall tremors marry Allschwang’s storytelling with tactile mystery. Generations old, the narratives are animated and revived by a daughter, a granddaughter, and her guitar.

There is a certain beauty here that reminds me in part of Kate and Anna McGarrigle at their most intimate and traditional. Add to that a more electric and heavier sound on some songs and I think, I am as close as I ever will be, in describing this album. In summary a brilliant surprise and an album to play over and over.

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The Rightovers - Blue Blood (Album).

Background and Bio - The Rightovers' ten song LP Blue Blood was released on July 31, 2015, (on aquamarine vinyl via the band's Trebleplane imprint, and on CD and digital via Seattle's Jigsaw Records. Both the vinyl and CD will be distributed worldwide by Darla).

  The Rightovers began under the name Conceptus in the mid-2000s as an outlet for Chris Holmes’ first crudely-recorded songs. Taking inspiration from lo-fi forbears like Pavement, Ween, the Television Personalities and the Clean and combining it with the peerless pop of The Records and The Raspberries, Holmes spent his nights and weekends recording modest odes to fun, fear and failure in his L.A. apartment.

After relocating to San Diego, Chris found a group of like-minded collaborators, and first group Conceptus took shape as a fully-functioning band. The lineup remained together for three years, performing frequently and recording a debut full-length, Trebly Feelings. After growing weary of the crowded Southern California indie scene, Holmes pulled up stakes and relocated to Hawaii to pursue a Master's degree (and further indulge his surfing obsession). The isolation of island living turned out to be a musical blessing, allowing him to refocus his songwriting. Holmes spent his first summer off back at his parents’ house in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he set about tracking a second record, the new Blue Blood.

Holmes recorded instruments and vocals for the chiming, charming collection of songs in his basement over the course of three months before calling in pals Mike Kamoo (The Loons) to play drums, and Sarah O’Brien to add backing vocals. Holmes mixed the record upon returning to Oahu’s North Shore. The release of Blue Blood is already drawing close interest from pop devotees from around the world, and Seattle’s indie pop-centric Jigsaw Records is helping get the word out about The Rightovers’ new record as well.

Keeping it upbeat, straight down the line and thoroughly enjoyable, The Rightovers have a natural flare for jangle come indie pop and rock. What's more important they don't follow a 'safe' format and can mix it up without losing their core style.

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Sundays Alternative Take - Someone Stole The Genre

Basecamp - Watch My Back.

Intro words - Nashville trio Basecamp announce their new EP, Greater Than out August 21st via OWSLA. The EP is a fully realized collection of R&B-tinged dance tracks inspired by the group’s admiration for art and the more technical aspects of electronic music.

Cool vocals over a sparkling soundtrack that pauses and shifts along, their delight in the art of electronic music is clearly defined.

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Pure Phase Ensemble 4 - Morning Rise - (from the album).

The details - Pure Phase Ensemble 4 feat. Mark Gardener (RIDE) to release 'Live at SpaceFest' LP - Pure Phase Ensemble is an international music collective, created especially for the SpaceFest festival in Gdansk, which takes place annually in December and is organised by the Nasiono Association. The city of Gdansk plays host to this blossoming music festival each year in the first week of December, at which time numerous select musicians from Poland and abroad gather to take part in a special workshop series. They collectively compose a concert's worth of music, which they then present live to the festival-goers. Each year, this unique performance is recorded live and subsequently released as an LP.

The programme for each workshop is jointly curated by Ray Dickaty, a British saxophonist improviser and former member of Spiritualized (1997-2002), and Karol Schwarz (KSAS), who also manages Nasiono Records. Along with these two key figures, every festival involves a new musical director - a legendary, internationally recognised musician, who is invited to co-curate the workshop.

During the latest SpaceFest, Mark Gardener, the frontman of celebrated shoegaze pioneers RIDE who also recently released an LP with Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), occupied this seat of honour.  Past participants include Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Chris Olley (Six By Seven), Steve Hewitt (ex Placebo), and Jaime Harding (Marion).

This is a fascinating album and the genres delved in to include - shoegaze, space rock, indie rock, alternative rock, post-rock, dreampop, and ambient. Therefore the featured track is just part of the story, one that has so much to offer and in my opinion, something quite special.

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Wallace - Beauty (Ft. Sampa The Great).

Background - Australian based future-soul singer Wallace has followed up her stunning debut with another stellar track. Beauty is song is about finding beauty wherever you are and finding strength and inspiration internally.

"This is essentially me talking to myself (which I do a little too often). The chorus is me reminding myself that I create my own success: "Caught ya, caught ya, caught ya sewing new starts into my sky" and for lack of a better metaphor every cloud has a silver lining: "Caught ya, caught ya, caught ya re-arranging my clouds", says Wallace.

Inspired by Electric Wire Hustle, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Muhsinah, each verse explores different concepts. The first, stumbling across beauty in a place you didn't expect to find it. The second, realising it's ok to pursue something you're passionate about, and the third learning from a bad experience and growing despite it. Sampa The Great lends a rap to the track,  with her strong, sincere lyrics adding an even more "girl power" element to the music. Be sure to check out Wallace's debut Vinyl Skip, released earlier this year.

Future soul singer and songwriter Wallace Gollan’s music is an exciting mosaic combination of blues, soul, and jazz. She creates music in spaces unfamiliar, addresses silences with harmonies so detailed it is simple and expressive that words are not needed to understand her message. She possesses a type of sound others have labeled in the vein of Erykah Badu, Little Dragon or Carmen McRae. With a contagious smile, a humble personality and a rare name to begin with, Wallace Gollan is set to make some serious heads turn in the music industry.

Soul grooves over a modern soundtrack, Sampa The Great provides a 'pause' that works and the whole thing has that timeless soul feel through Wallace's stunning vocals.

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Silvertron Youth Choir - Spaceship Sunlight (from debt album).

Biography - Doubling down on the zany, beer-battered inflorescence of past projects such as Mongoose Thompson and Nodding Tree Remedies, Thomas Mudrick and the Silvertron Youth Choir take the more hilariously warped happenstances of previous projects and turn them up to 11 with Our God Is A Possum God, the newest release from Mudrick and his Oregon based crew of merry pranksters. As with the aforementioned projects, as well as the prodigious and ever-expanding back-catalogue of Thomas Mudrick’s own solo records (most recently 2013’s (((boing))) and 2014’s Abiqua), Our God Is A Possum God draws listeners into a web of sprightly, imaginative musical vortices that follow none but their own internal piper. With the Silvertron Youth Choir, Mudrick and long time co-conspirator and drum whiz Ian Hartley (The Shivas) cobble together a gem of a record that’s both hilarious and strange, often at once.

Silvertron Youth Choir isn’t short on inanity, assembling what could at times be described as children’s music made for (and seemingly by) mightily stoned adults; a pin wheeling, day- tripping, hipping and hopping, skipping and jumping ramble through the worm hole into a range of delightfully visual and guffaw-inducing ditties tackling all manner of subjects, such as: pies made of whiskey and bacon, soda pop downloading computer programs for red necks, water spider birds on the tundra, philosophical mayonnaise, peanut butter trains, cosmic hybrid creatures riding forklifts, pamplemooses, and, as a lyrical coup-de-grace of sorts, Justin Beiber mounted triumphantly atop a giant rodent.

If all that sounds like an earful of nonsense, it is, and that’s the point. The crux of Silvertron Youth Choir’s tune-wrangling is in their ability to spool out numbers that make liberal use of deft musicianship and pop/folk song craft while remaining ridiculously irreverent and often wickedly funny, eliciting a sense not unlike those uncontrollable belly laughs one gets after too many bong rips. As with so much of Thomas Mudrick’s past work, Our God Is A Possum God is firmly indebted to the Old Masters’ use of dada-inspired non-sequitur as a way to contort the quotidian nature of mainstream pop and rock: early Beck, Zappa, Ween, the Residents, They Might Be Giants, etc..

Weirdly wonderful and the vision of Justin Beiber mounted atop a giant rodent is reason enough to include. Featured track is one dimension of a genre undefinable album, hence the Zappa & They Might Be Giants references above.

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