Adventures in Paradise

Getting lost in music is a trick my mother taught me. Headphones are your best friend. Tonight, after 11 hours at the office, I had to decompress.
I was poking around for something funkier – but really, if this don’t stink, then I don’t want to smell. Or something like that.
And now, we can’t get enough of Minnie Riperton and “Adventures in Paradise.” This is what Ms “lady with the high voice and flowers in her hair” decided to do after “Lovin You” and being one of Stevie’s Wonder-women. A perfect, dreamy sleeper. Her crazy vocal range is in smooth check. It all goes down nice n easy.
Yeah, I’m still stressed and this new moon’s not helping. So this, and a little help from our best friend down the hall, and we were both gay-ok. Take it away, Minnie, take it far, far away….

Dream Works

Blame it on the heat. Blame it on the moon. Blame it on the serotonin. Blame it on the pheromones. Blame it on karma. Blame it on the self-medication. Blame it on the stress of work. It’s Dream Time! And you know what the means – a steaming hot pile of nonsensical blogging. It’s been a while, so indulge me. As some of you know, I’m quite fond of sorting my life out while I’m unconscious – well, subconscious, anyway. Most of us do some kind of dream work, but to me, it is a form of meditation, of encantation, of manifestation. So here we go.

I’m in California, in a house in “the hills” overlooking the city. Angelina Jolie follows me from room to room. We are the debating the cultural significance of “The Jeffersons”. After listening to Miss Daisy prattle on about the low-brow nature of TV and that show, I cut her off – “Who the hell are you to understand anything about the meaning of The Jeffersons, anyway?” In my dream, it reminds me of another dream, one in which I was roommates with Cindy Crawford. In that dream, I came tearing up the driveway, past the paparazzi, slammed the door, shut the curtains and declared – “I can’t live like this any more! You’ve go to do something about this!” But I don’t tell La Jolie about that. In both my sleeping and waking mind, I’m wondering – “How do I get mixed up with these high-maintenance bitches?!?” (Ahem.)

Exit AJ, cue a time-lapse sunset, and I am asleep on a couch overlooking Hollywood. I roll over and I’m back on my futon in Manhattan. As I turn on my side, I become aware of three male shadows in the room. They came in through the open window. One is still stepping into the room, the other is sitting on the love seat across from me, and the third is – leaning over me, caressing my face, and then… sucking on my toes. They are all three mumbling, “Don’t go…”

(Later, the next day, Terre says, “I had a dream that this guy was standing at the edge of my bed and we were having this conversation about moving…”)

Startled, I sit up. I’m in a church. I run down the aisle, to the side door. It opens into another church. Another aisle, another door, another church. The faster I run, the bigger the churches, the heavier the doors. Until – one opens.

I’m in a desert, alone, looking around at the clear blue sky, a cell phone in my hand. A wind sweeps down and lifts me up, I drop the phone as I’m dialing the ex. I’m floating freely on my back, in an iron cross position. On the ground, my cell phone is ringing. I try to see who’s calling but the breeze quickens, lifts me higher, faster. And then, the breeze becomes a wave and I am plunging down in pike position across blue sky into turquoise water. I am mesmerized by the sparkling bubbles. I follow their trail to the bright light above. I reach the surface and look around – there is an island nearby, and people are partying on it. I begin to swim toward the beach, eager to know them…

So Special – Bomb the Bass are Back

These are the kinds of emails we like to get.

BOMB THE BASS
FUTURE CHAOS
!K7
Out September 30th 2008 – cover in September / October / November issues
File Under: POP

Additionally the following singles will be released
August 26th – DIGITAL ONLY – “So Special feat Paul Conby” with remixes by Michael Fakesch & Toob
October 28th – “Butterfingers feat Fujiya and Miyagi with remixes by Adam Sky & others

Note: the initial copies of the CD will be a limited edition double disc with a bonus disc of remixes

A Midsummer Night at the Winter Garden

…with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz. The other night Terre and I went to meet up with Anna for a rare gig by Mr. Sakamoto, in preparation for an upcoming interview. It was strange to be down by WTC again – I haven’t been there since before you know what. Not out of any kind of reverence, just because like many longtime NYers, I’ve become an increasingly provincial urbanite, rarely venturing below Midtown. We almost got lost along the way, but we wisely followed the stylish Japanese girls, the neo-retro hipsters, and anyone in black-frame glasses. Anna was coming anyway, so I asked her if she’d take pictures in case Earplug wanted them. We’ve been talking about her accompanying me to gigs, and it feels like we’re on to something good. Backstage, I met Taylor Dupree and reconnected with Tina Paul and her girlfriend Arlene. As Tina did her pro thing, Anna used an old Russian manual camera that Fennesz recognized. I think they turned out great. Check her Flickr! here and peep a sample below. After a couple of minutes, we were escorted out, past the uneaten gourmet sandwiches and fruit in wicker baskets and into the real world through a backstage door that opened next to an adjacent men’s room.

It takes a Quiet Village

My interview with Quiet Village is online at BPM. By coincidence, right below it is a tribute to Marvin Gaye’s “Here My Dear.” Weird. Enjoy!

Life, Music, Personality

Quiet Village

Joel Martin and Matt Edwards (aka Radio Slave) explore the eclectic range of crate-savvy styles, from tropicalia to psych-rock, surf-pop, and dub

Joel Martin is a Peep Show junkie. He said so when I called him at his London home on a Friday night. “It’s a great show. If you come to the UK or can find it, check it out; it’s funny stuff,” he promises, referring to the TV comedy. Martin, one-half of downtempo duo Quiet Village, has had a long, sensuous affair with moving images. “I used to be a film editor. The thing that got me interested in the cutting room was walking in and smelling the gear and the film and everything in there. But a year or so into it, everything went online. And having missed the computer generation, I was very upset for many years. I thought that my career had been stolen from me.”

Circus of Horror

Fortunately, he paired up with Matt Edwards (aka Radio Slave) and channeled that energy into five rare, jazzy, electronic singles—and ultimately an album-length homage to exotica kingpin Martin Denny. Edwards, who famously mashed New Order’s “Blue Monday” and Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” has a rap sheet steeped in techno works and re-works, but clearly there is a kinder, gentler side to him. Because of their connection to DJ Harvey, the duo has also been lumped in with the “nu-disco” crowd, although there’s very little outright boogie in their work. There is, however, an eclectic range of crate-savvy styles, from tropicalia to psych-rock, surf pop and dub.

Martin’s music-buying evolution charts a convenient arc. “I was a big fan of Mick Ronson, and the first record I bought for myself was the Motors’ Airport. And then I obviously discovered hip-hop and caught the back end of late ’80s electro; that kind of changed it all for me. Around the same time I also heard go-go and it blew my mind, made me sit up and go ‘Wow, what is this shit?’ I was also buying breaks and beats albums, and that turned me onto soundtracks and jazz fusion—it was endless. Those albums were highly inspirational, like an education to me. When the first house records came around, the Chicago stuff…it was all music to us, we weren’t thinking division. It’s quite sad because there are all these subgenres, [but] good music is good music.”

Asked if he’s worried that the record will slip through the cracks because of the lounge or easy-listening tag, Martin responds forcefully, “Look, we don’t want to take over the world. We want it to be a slow-burner, something that we would put on when we felt like relaxing. We wanted to make mood music. On the surface it sounds light, but deeper down it’s darker. We want it exposed to the people that like it; we don’t want to be the next big thing.”

All of which is fine and dandy…for a one-hit wonder. “But,” Martin interjects, “it’s not a one-off, either. There’s going to another album, even weirder, more of a concept. We’d like to incorporate some musicians and use samples. This time around Matt and I are getting this laptop show together, incorporating these great visuals that will blow people’s heads off. It’s kind of annoying that we’re playing (Barcelona festival) Sonar in the afternoon, because you won’t be able to see any of the visuals!”

Which means that audiences the world over can hold onto their heads just a bit longer. All the better to ultimately pull a Kylie, and go out of them when Quiet Village’s unassuming Silent Movie show comes rolling into town…

Posted By: Jorge Hernandez |
Tags: Joel Martin Matt Edwards Quiet Village Radio Slave Silent Movie

All Ears, Summer ‘08

I’ve been fed so many fresh new tunes lately that I’ve decided two things. One, I’m going to combine all these recent music postings into one single music entry; and, two, I’m likely going to take up my friend’s offer to fund – just what the world really needs – another music web/zine. I could just go knocking on more magazines’ doors and asking for them to throw me a freelance bone (and coins), but there’s a lot of music I like that editors pass on because it doesn’t “fit” that outlets target, mission, or suit their taste. So, rather than posting a dozen different blog entries of music videos (which seems like a lazy excuse for personal blogging), I’m going to start bundling my discoveries (here, and a on a separate site) and editing the bundles into something like a seasonal magazine. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you can think of any names for this new venture, I’m all ears. ["All Ears", hmmm....]

GRACE JONES
Miss Jones is calling your bluff, you Digital Criminal, you Corporate Cannibal. Here’s the new clip from the upcoming album Hurricane, due out October, 2008. To make sure you don’t miss a thing, subscribe to the GraceJones TV channel on YouTube. You know I already did.

FUJIYA & MIYAGI
If David Best knew what a nerdy man-crush I had on him (and the way he sh-sh-shimmies his funky white boy booty), he might not have spoken to me so freely for over an hour when I interviewed him just before F&M quit their day jobs and hit the road for their first tour. Now comes good news that Fujiya & Miyagi is back with a follow-up to Transparent Things. Lightbulbs will be out in early September; the new single, “Knickerbocker” is out now – stream it at Pitchfork. And next time you’re watching TV, you can catch them in the new “Bar Stool” ad for Miller Genuine Draft – Lite. (They previously also shilled for Jaguar.) Hey, as many an interview victim has stated, you don’t make much from sales these days. They also did a cute track/video with Bomb the Bass. Guess what brown stalker is already lining up the chat times and hustling his way backstage?

NAT GEO MUSIC
I know I just started a new job and I’m in the middle of buying my first apartment, but like many 30-somethings, I’ve had a lifelong love affair with Nat Geo. Lately, they’ve been seducing me, not with centerfolds of naked natives that look like relatives, but with their sound offerings on their music channel. The lure of traveling the globe in search of emerging hybrid sounds is almost irresistible. They’ve got the TV and Web elements down, I’m sure they could use some help growing things on the mobile tip. And there may be plenty more qualified, and younger, eager interns out there willing to shill for cheap, but the thought of joining this venture gives me pause and I know I could turn this project out. It’s something to shoot for, anyway. Maybe for my 40th birthday, I’ll sell the place, quit the job and run away with the Nat Geo Music Circus. Below, Bibi Tanga et le Professeur Inlassable, just one reason why…

PIVOT
We feel like sharing. Here’s Pivot, an Australian act that name-checks Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Talking Heads; the tip sheet from the publicist refers to “apocalyptic joy”.
Still there? OK. They recently opened for Massive Attack, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Sigur Ros. And, oh yeah, they’re on glitch-pop imprint Warp. Stop scratching your head, and just shake your artsy fartsy booty already.

LYKKE LI
Behold Lykke Li, yet another loverly, quirky Swedish chanteuse. The tunes are smart, breezy, funky excuses for her bright, perky voice to tickle the scales. Clearly, there’s something in that ice water. Produced by Bjorn Yttling (Peter, Bjorn & John), her debut Youth Novels features tracks like “Little Bit”, “I’m Good, I’m Gone”, and “Everybody Like Me”, with remixes by cool kids CSS, Tim Goldsworthy (DFA), and one of our favorite Nordic Disco dollies, DiskJokke. We caught her when she opened for El Perro Del Mar at the Bowery Ballroom this spring. She was so enchanting, I almost forgot about doyenne EPDM. Check the video below, and stream the tunes courtesy internationalist tastemakers, Giant Step.

PADDED CELL
Short but sweet props for a pleasant discovery – UK’s Padded Cell. Bedroom grooves rooted in that No-Wave/Italo/Psychedelic Disco style that’s got the kidlets dancin’ and a’prancin’ their wee hooves off. These two are veterans of uber-cool labels Heavenly and Wall of Sound, so expect clever, abstract, dubby grooves. Our favorite track so far: Far Beneath London. Freaky video for Word of Mouth below. Check their Myspace for more.

Earplug #124: Jamie Lidell

My interview with Jamie Lidell is (finally) online at Earplug. Enjoy!

When it comes to playing that funky music, any white boy can sashay into a studio, push some buttons, and walk out a blue-eyed pop star. But few vocalists of any shade can carry a tune while simultaneously carrying off a range of absurd antics. In addition to breaking out the beatbox, Jamie Lidell samples and loops himself into a howling chorus of banshees, unleashing his inner soul-man in a caped romp across the stage. Dressed to the nines, but no less naked for it, Lidell has banged his sweet pipes at Warp over the course of three albums, making the former IDM label sound more like Stax or Motown. On his latest release, the intimately titled Jim, Lidell brings Burt Bacharach-style harmonics to the dub plate. Earplug’s Jorge Hernandez asked the man about his unlikely career trajectory, his sartorial prowess, and how “the voice” reacts to a specific nightmare scenario.

Earplug: The “Sonic Scientist” has a band now. How’s that going?

Jamie Lidell: For once in my life, I’m not alone anymore. I’m just surrounded, in fact, by wood and brass, plastic-coated chunks of pain. And primitive-looking sticks. I guess that’s what they call progress. Hard to see how, but hey, I just sing, baby! No, in all seriousness, it’s like breaking out of a drug habit. I’m learning how to rip again, to take the mic and treat it to a night out. There’s more of me on the walkabout now, promenading about with the powerhouse behind me. A feather in a hurricane was how it felt. Now I am like a windsock — letting it blow and never suck.

EP: Jim is a patchwork of an album. How do you decide what to leave out?

JL: If I told you that, you might try and become me. That’s why all I’ll say is, everyone gets me wrong. It’s not simply a question of what stays and what goes; it’s a question of why go at all. This is far more fundamental, and crushes journalistic concerns about time and relevance, which are purely concerns about fashion. It’s as important as a haircut. That’s all.

EP: What solidified this more pop direction?

JL: All that glitching was making me itch. I’ve made electronic music for around 20 years. Now that’s scary for me to imagine, and even admit! This album was my attempt to unify the Venn diagram of “pop” and “things I like” — glitch also fits the things I like, but was not in my pop. Not this time. Just enjoy it people. There’s plenty more glitch in me.

EP: Any more Bacharach cooking at Warp?

JL: Ah, I think I’m the only one that is throwing in the Burt. Shame. Maybe the new Aphex [Twin] might surprise. I hear he’s doing a sort of Riverdance thing. Dancing and everything, but all very classical. Bagpipes, yodeling, and glock. The label is really happy about it, as there’s just four people left holding the fort. Some of them are mute. It’s pretty odd, but you know what? I love Warp [because] they let me be a spazz, and that’s all I know how to be. So, so be it!

EP: Any other soul singers to reference, besides the obvious?

JL: Chas & Dave are lesser known outside the UK. They had a few notable hits in the UK. Also Dave Lee Travis, the radio DJ from the UK. He always inspired my tone. He’s always so there and just to the point. Like a good steak.

EP: Amy Winehouse seems like an obvious duet. What’s the hold up?

JL: Well, if you could sort it out, I’d be down. Could you have a word? She’s gotta hand me one of those Grammys first.

EP: Describe your Berlin.

JL: Well, I left. I was bored of getting stopped in the street. I couldn’t get a wurst even; it was bizarre. The press in Germany and around the world went crazy after Multiply, and short of a facial op, I could see no way forward except to leave the gaff. “But I will always love Berlinnnn…” Well, that’s a lie. I hated Berlin for a long time. Then she showed me some leg, and I saw the garters.

EP: If you lost your voice, what would you do? Ever had any nightmares about that?

JL: Well, I have been having some bad times of late. Even went to a voice doctor. She told [me] that I better let off some steam. But I didn’t hear a word she said. There’s too much pressure building in my head. It’s a recurring nightmare where my voice box leaves me and walks off into the sunset… singing. I am left trying to cry for it but I can’t make a sound. Ho hum.

EP: You’re a dapper chap. Are designers just throwing clothes at you?

JL: My ladyfriend has all the taste. When she’s not around, I go back to jeans ‘n t-shirt and all that. I love it all though; you gotta wear it, after all, before it wears you and wears you out. It’s a game. Sometimes you can’t win though. You just look shit. No clothes can fix you now. Rarely happens, thankfully.

EP: Would you ever guest judge a competition show? Did you ever perform in one?

JL: [I] only performed in front of the world press. They are simply poorly paid judges of the vanity/musical contest that is forever ongoing. Everyone always respects the hard critic. And as Prince says, “All the Critics Love U in New York.” La dee fricking dah!