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
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!
Danny Boy
Lately I cannot get Danny Tenaglia out of my life. In Miami, I was at almost every gig. For my birthday last Thursday, we were at Cielo for an old school set by DT. We came across Cevin Fisher at the door, and Joeski in the bathroom – the ones with no urinals, only stalls with chest-high demi-shelves. Andy, (s)natch, was “at the booth”. And now, after several weeks of back and forth between the publicist and Resident Advisor, it looks like I’ll be hanging out with Danny at his famed Long Island City loft. Allegedly, he has the old Paradise Garage “Levan” speakers. Of course, I’ll be asking him to drop the lost New Order remix that Simon Dunmore mentioned when I interviewed him. Then there’s the fact that his latest CD is on Tommy Boy, and that Andy is helping with the publicity. They used to be tight, I’m told. I’ll be sure to hit up Andy for some grease. It’s supposed to be a definitive feature, which means lots of typing. I’ve never owned a Danny Tenaglia CD, and I don’t think of him as an album artist. To me, Danny means after-hours and marathon sets of tribal, progressive house. Back in the, um, late 90’s the Friday night sets at Vinyl were essential. It was something a broad mix of people could agree on, from the bridge-and-tunnel set to the industry hipsters and downtown dimming luminaries. M.(dealer), W.(porn star), Terre and I often found ourselves prancing the dawn away in the stripped-down sweaty beat box that also hosted Body & Soul on Sundays. Man, once upon a time, Manhattan was a great place to dance. I guess when I finally sit down with Danny, I can start there…that is, once he “gets back from Ibiza…”
DANNY TENAGLIA Ultra Music Festival WMC Miami 2008
[via FoxyTunes / Danny Tenaglia]
WMC08: Long Days Journey into Disco Nights
Something I typed up on the Crackberry, waiting for the plane to take off from Miami to NYC:
When I think of Miami, I think of Brian de Palma’s 80’s gangster flick Scarface – of Tony Montana and his “liddle fren”. Because I’m a House music head, I also think of his other friend, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Elvira, in her plantinum bob and razor sharp bangs, in her slinky, silky dresses, all coked up in the nightclub, dancing to Debbie Harry’s (Moroder-produced) “Rush, Rush”.
And from the moment you land in Miami, rush, rush is all you do, for Miami is not only home to one of the most chaotic airports in the country, it is also home to the Winter Music Conference. And every year, like migrating birds, media and party people from all corners of our increasingly warmer planet alight on the silicone and steroid-powered strip of sand known as South Beach to schmooze and celebrate this thing we call DJ Culture.
From the moment you step out of the terminal and the warm air hits your face, to the moment you jump in a cab and race down the causeways as palm trees zip by while Latin Jazz plays on the radio, to the moment you berate your concierge for botching your overpriced reservations and hustle the publicists and door whores who wield clipboards like Saint Peter – Miami is all about the rush, rush. How you manage to survive the week is likely best kept “off the record”.
The final Earplug piece is here.
The Resident Advisor group feature is here; there’s a sample below.
Ultra Day 1 at Bicentennial Park
Roots and youth collided full force at the 10th Ultra Music Festival at WMC 2008. On day one, the audience at The Crystal Method’s afternoon set on the Rabbit Hole stage looked like a casting call for the latest Larry Clark flick. A plethora of ravers roamed the grounds decked out in neon fishnets, flashing rainbow pacifiers, sparkly butterfly wings, and fuzzy Pocahontas boots. It was like the Summer of Love had never ended. I am seriously considering moving my stocks from eco-energy to glo-stix. Elsewhere on the grounds, every other DJ had one or two classics ready at hand. On the main stage, Eric Prydz threw the already hyped crowd into a tizzy with a reworking of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’, and a mashup of Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ and Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good.’ Later in the evening, Justice unleashed a brutal electro-grime set, including their own ‘We Are Your Friends’ and Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’. Justice were all fist-pumping revelry until the finale when they closed with ‘Modern Love’ by Bowie, which sent me scampering to the Amnesia Ibiza stage where Lee Burridge, and earlier James Zabiela, were both dropping chugging, Balearic sets that seemed almost designed to make me forget about the Justice finale. The place to be hands down on day one, however, was the Carl Cox and Friends tent. Carl, if you’re reading this, you owe me a new pair of pants because I crapped my old ones. From the second Cox took over from Danny Tenaglia, the tent nearly collapsed in excitement. Earlier in the day, Josh Wink had jumpstarted the rumble on Biscayne Boulevard with an acid-laced tech-house set that segued perfectly into a takeover by Ritchie Hawtin. By the time Tenaglia showed up, Hawtin was tearing through a retro conclusion, mashing up the Track’n The House mix of ‘House Nation’ by the House Master Boyz and the Rude Boy of House, ‘Reach for Me’ by the Miami-homegrown, Murk-produced Funky Green Dogs, and UK acid queens Wee Papa Girl Rappers’ ‘Heat It Up.’ Not to be outdone in the classics department, master of ceremony Cox looped Giorgio Moroder’s ‘The Chase’ through Ian Pooley’s Hyperdisco mix of Dave Angel’s ‘This is Disco’. When he got around to Inner City’s crossover hit ‘Big Fun’, Bicentennial Park was seconds from becoming Atlantis. Cox’s undulating, spine-snapping rhythms and steel-toed backbeats kicked relentlessly. Was it tribal, Italo, techno? Were we in Detroit, Berlin, Manchester? By the time I tore myself away, blissfully deaf, dumb and numb it didn’t matter. Bouncing around under glitter confetti beside an electric android on stilts and witchy-poo go-go wenches, I was so out of sorts I even drank from the communal water bottles which were coming around without even thinking about cooties. Cox and friends had ripped open a wormhole in Miami, we all gladly drank the Kool-Aid and like randy time bandits, jumped right in. For the sake of my own ears and sanity I even checked in on Tiesto and the rest of the festival – all of which seemed suddenly underwhelming. Feeling born-again, I felt like testifying “Take the needle off the record, y’alls and take some notes!” So, go ahead, call me a Cox sucker – I’m the smilingest sucker this side of the emergency room. –Jorge Hernandez
Global Inheritance
I got a package at work today. It was a couple of back issues of BPM magazine. The clips are nice to pin up in the office for reassurance; a check would’ve been nice too. I spotted the Tony Wilson article in the contents, but I overlooked the Global Inheritance piece. While I was researching it, I stumbled on another interview with the group’s founder by one of my old high school classmates. Here’s my crack at breaking down one of the key players in the Green youth movement. Ahem.
Gui Boratto’s Beautiful Life
Deep House / Gui Boratto – Its Majik (Terry Lee Brown Junior [via FoxyTunes / Gui Boratto] Mashup Missy Elliott vs. Gui Boratto – Gossip Folks [via FoxyTunes / Gui Boratto] Terry Lee Brown Jr. – Terry’s House (Extended Mix) [via FoxyTunes / Terry Lee Brown Jr.]
While we’re waiting on Laurent Garnier who postponed at the last minute, we’ve moved on to interviewing Kompakt’s resident swarthy Brazilian platter maestro Gui Boratto for Resident Advisor, my latest online outlet. Below, a static clip of a mix by Teutonic disco-tech guru Terry Lee Brown Jr, and a mashup of Boratto and Missy Elliott. Boratto’s 2007 CD “Chromophobia” made several Best lists; his remixes and live sets have further assured his place on the international DJ circuit. Here: more on Boratto – and TLB just for kicks.
