It was quiet and dark today. The first time it’s been cool in I don’t know how long, and it rained for a lot of the day. Stars of the Lid are the perfect band for a day that's had me thinking a lot about loss and how things change. They're a duo from Texas, and they create slow, lethargic, sad and incredibly beautiful music. This track is off their most recent album, And Their Refinement of the Decline.
Showing posts with label Sunday Afternoon Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday Afternoon Music. Show all posts
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sunday Afternoon Music
Last week, I talked about a Congolese band that I enjoy a lot, Kasai Allstars. I hope some of you guys checked it out and enjoyed it. This week, I’m going with something a little bit different.
One of my favorite albums of this year has been a 2006 album by the Denton, Texas band Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther. I caught up to it a bit late, but when it put its hooks into me, it was hard to get away from it. Midlake have evolved quite a bit since their earlier material, from a totally different band with a jazz fusion sound to their current incarnation as an indie rock band deeply indebted to classic rock of the seventies. This album, especially, sounds like Thom Yorke of Radiohead fronting Fleetwood Mac. The song above, “Roscoe,” opens the album. The whole album is great, but other tracks especially worth checking out are “Bandits,” “Head Home” and “Young Bride.” They’ve got great videos as well. Can’t ask for too much more than that, can you?
One of my favorite albums of this year has been a 2006 album by the Denton, Texas band Midlake, The Trials of Van Occupanther. I caught up to it a bit late, but when it put its hooks into me, it was hard to get away from it. Midlake have evolved quite a bit since their earlier material, from a totally different band with a jazz fusion sound to their current incarnation as an indie rock band deeply indebted to classic rock of the seventies. This album, especially, sounds like Thom Yorke of Radiohead fronting Fleetwood Mac. The song above, “Roscoe,” opens the album. The whole album is great, but other tracks especially worth checking out are “Bandits,” “Head Home” and “Young Bride.” They’ve got great videos as well. Can’t ask for too much more than that, can you?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday Afternoon Music
Well, it’s Sunday evening, and there’s not a whole lot going on today. People are still absorbing the Palin announcement and waiting for the Republican Convention to start tomorrow. So, with that in mind, let’s listen to some music.
Kasai Allstars are a supergroup from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I first became exposed to them on the Crammed Discs release, Congotronics 2. Congotronics is a series of albums that Crammed has been releasing over the last few years. The first was an album from another band in Kinshasa, Konono N°1. This week, Crammed releases the third album in the series and the first by Kasai Allstars, called In the 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy by Magic.
Kasai Allstars are quite different from Konono N°1. Konono N°1 have a buzzing, distorted, propulsive sound based on electrified thumb pianos called likembes. Their sound, while based on traditional melodies and forms is very close to post rock and other avant garde kinds of indie rock. Kasai Allstars have a more traditional sound, using electrified traditional instruments like the likembes Konono N°1 use, but they use a wider array of instruments, including electric guitars and traditional acoustic instruments and percussion. They have a complicated, polyrhythmic sound that’s less aggressive and more open than Konono N°1’s.
Kasai Allstars is made up of members of different musical groups from around the Kasai region, as well as from five different tribal groups, each with a different language and musical tradition. The fusion of these different styles has helped to produce a really fascinating mix of music, complexly rhythmic and melodic.
The new album is a vibrant example of an exciting music scene in a troubled part of the world. Both Kasai Allstars and Konono N°1 are worth checking out if you find the airless, suffocating feeling of most “world music” boring. I saw Konono N°1 a few years ago when they toured the US and I definitely found the bleeding edge where chin stroking hipsters met dancing hippies, but it was still a great show. Take a few minutes this Sunday and check it out. I promise it’ll be more fun than reading more about Sarah Palin.
Kasai Allstars are a supergroup from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I first became exposed to them on the Crammed Discs release, Congotronics 2. Congotronics is a series of albums that Crammed has been releasing over the last few years. The first was an album from another band in Kinshasa, Konono N°1. This week, Crammed releases the third album in the series and the first by Kasai Allstars, called In the 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy by Magic.
Kasai Allstars are quite different from Konono N°1. Konono N°1 have a buzzing, distorted, propulsive sound based on electrified thumb pianos called likembes. Their sound, while based on traditional melodies and forms is very close to post rock and other avant garde kinds of indie rock. Kasai Allstars have a more traditional sound, using electrified traditional instruments like the likembes Konono N°1 use, but they use a wider array of instruments, including electric guitars and traditional acoustic instruments and percussion. They have a complicated, polyrhythmic sound that’s less aggressive and more open than Konono N°1’s.
Kasai Allstars is made up of members of different musical groups from around the Kasai region, as well as from five different tribal groups, each with a different language and musical tradition. The fusion of these different styles has helped to produce a really fascinating mix of music, complexly rhythmic and melodic.
The new album is a vibrant example of an exciting music scene in a troubled part of the world. Both Kasai Allstars and Konono N°1 are worth checking out if you find the airless, suffocating feeling of most “world music” boring. I saw Konono N°1 a few years ago when they toured the US and I definitely found the bleeding edge where chin stroking hipsters met dancing hippies, but it was still a great show. Take a few minutes this Sunday and check it out. I promise it’ll be more fun than reading more about Sarah Palin.
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