Susumu Yokota Mother

Susumu Yokota is no stranger to drastic change—the veteran Japanese ambient artist actually began his career in the early ’90s as a techno producer. Now, after more than a decade primarily producing instrumental soundscapes, he releases Mother, a collaborative and almost entirely vocal album. Enlisting a variety of vocalists (members of U.K. outfit The Chap are the most noteworthy), Yokota has created a pleasant, albeit somewhat bland, album. The music is lovely, full of delicate arrangements and drifting pastoral synths, but the vocals add little to sonic palette; while perhaps this makes the songs more palatable for the “average” listener, it ultimately detracts from the emotional heft of the music itself.

K’NAAN: Lost in Translation

Like his good friend Emmanuel Jal, Somalia-born rapper/poet K’naan was exposed to civil war in his native land before coming to the West as a refugee and becoming an internationally respected artist. An emissary of lyrical consciousness who combines rap, poetry, reggae, and world music influences, he’s compiled an impressive resume: He’s chastised the UN for its lackluster relief efforts in Africa, won Juno and BBC Awards for his 2005 debut, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, and collaborated with Chubb Rock, Damian Marley, Kirk Hammett, and Adam Levine on his new album, Troubadour. Though he downplays notions of an “African scene” taking over pop culture, K’naan represents a movement in and of himself, having performed everywhere from Humboldt, CA to Djibouti while eschewing commercial-rap clichés.

XLR8R: Your aunt was a singer and your grandfather a poet, and your name means “traveler” in Somali. Traveling seems to be in your soul, and music and poetry in your DNA.

K’naan: It really is. I think the naming process is pretty real.

Your new album is called Troubadour, which means ‘traveling musician.’ How have your travels influenced the music you make? It’s given me a unique perspective and therefore I think that the music I create is something that’s often hard to classify as any genre, ya know? I think that’s a result of restlessness and development as a human being.After fleeing Mogadishu, you came to New York in 1991, a time when hip-hop culture was at its peak. Is that where you got exposed to rap music? That’s kinda where I got exposed to the bulk of it. I got exposed to one album when I was still in Somalia during the war, Eric B & Rakim’s Paid in Full. But I began to hear more music in the early ’90s. Hard to Earn, that album by Gangstarr, Nas had Illmatic, Ready to Die byBiggie Smalls. That new culture-painting MC sort of defined how we are supposed to see their experiences in the world that we live in. That was kind of the most influential aspect of hip-hop to me. ’Cause [now] I had a place of my own that I sat musically. Did studying rap help you to learn English? Yeah. It helped me learn not just English as far as words, but also culture—this new culture that I was kind of a part of as a black person coming out of Africa. You know, there was a way that the world saw these artists and the communities that they come from. Coming to North America and being a visible person of color already, [it was like] I belong in that group. So it helped me that way. When people talk about “the black experience,” they usually refer to the African American experience. How does the African immigrant experience in the West fit into that? It has elements of it that are pretty much the same but it has elements which are different. With the African immigrant experience, we’re just trying to get through the daily things like language, know what I mean? Not even having language on our side, not even having properly gone through the channels of education, the opportunities are different for us. The stresses and the pressures [are different for] African immigrants: We have to take menial jobs just to support people back home. The weight I feel is sometimes even greater in a way because we’re starting at the bottom. MP3: “Strugglin”

Week in Tours: DJ Hell, Mr. Lif

DJ Hell

Gigolo Records’ head honcho may only have a few Stateside appearances scheduled thus far, but those include none other than a couple WMC appearances, a performance at MUTEK’s annual Piknic Electronik event, and a warehouse party to boot. His new album, Teufelswerk (that’d be German for “devil’s work”), will be released on April 27. Photo by Daniel Mayer. djhell.de

03/21 New York, NY – Resolute Warehouse Party
03/26 Miami, FL – Goldrush Strip Joint
03/27 Miami, FL – Miami Shore Club Hotel Party
04/03 Toronto, ON – This is London
04/04 Montreal, QC Piknic Electronic

Mr. Lif

Meanwhile, Mr. Lif won’t have three spare minutes to himself this spring and summer, as he’s about to embark on a tour that will take him up and down the coasts, over the Canadian border, and through major and minor cities along the way. myspace.com/mrlif

04/09 Portland, ME – Asylum
04/10 Northampton, MA – Pearl Street Nightclub
04/11 New York, NY – The Studio – Webster Hall
04/16 Minneapolis, MI – Cedar Cultural Center
04/17 Victoria, BC – Sugar
04/18 Vancouver, BC – Richards on Richards
04/20 Seattle, WA – Neumos
04/21 Portland, OR – Holocene
04/23 Eureka, CA – Nocturnum
04/24 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill
04/25 Claremont, CA – Pitzer College
04/26 Los Angeles, CA – Echo
04/27 San Diego, CA – Casbah
04/28 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
04/29 Scottsdale, AZ – Chasers Bar and Nightclub
04/30 Flagstaff, AZ – The Green Room
05/01 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
05/02 Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre
05/19 Philadelphia, PA – The Barbary
05/20 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
05/21 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
05/22 Mt. Pleasant, SC – The Village Tavern
05/23 Atlanta, GA – The Earl
05/25 Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits
05/26 Orlando, FL – The Social
05/27 Gainesville, FL – Common Grounds
05/29 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
05/30 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
06/01 Dallas, TX – Palladium Loft
06/02 Austin, TX – Red 7
06/03 St. Louis, MO – The Gramaphone
06/04 Little Rock, AK – Sticky Fingerz
06/05 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
06/06 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
06/08 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
06/09 Chicago, IL – The Abbey Pub
06/10 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
06/12 Columbus, OH – Skullys Music Diner
06/13 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop

The Show is Rainbow

The Show is Rainbow just kicked off a tour this past weekend, and the man otherwise known as Darren Keen will stay busy through the end of April, performing his witty and often quite bizarre songs around the U.S. If you’re reading this from Austin, catch him at the Terrorbird/True Panther SXSW showcase. myspace.com/theshowistherainbow

03/20 Austin, TX – SXSW
03/23 Tucson, AZ – Rhythm Room
03/24 Phoenix, AZ – AZ Rhythm Room
03/25 San Diego, CA – Bar Pink
03/26 Los Angeles, CA – Knitting Factory
03/28 Houston, TX – Free Press Block Party
03/29 Portland, OR – Someday Lounge
03/30 Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
03/31 Olympia, WA – Jakes
04/01 Boise, ID – Neurolux
04/02 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
04/03 Denver, CO – Larmier Lounge
04/04 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room
04/06 Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
04/07 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
04/08 Dekalb, IL – The House Cafe
04/09 Minneapolis, MN – Uptown Bar
04/10 Hougton, MI – Keweenawesome Fest
04/11 Dayton, OH – South Park Tavern
04/12 New York, NY – Cake Shop
04/13 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas
04/14 Washington, DC – Velvet Lounge
04/16 Charlotte, NC – The Milestone
04/17 Athens, GA – Caledonia Lounge
04/18 Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
04/19 Orlando, FL – Backbooth
04/20 Tampa, FL – New World Brewery
04/21 Tallahassee, FL – Engine Room
04/22 Gainsville, FL – 1982
04/24 Springfield, MO – Outland Ballroom
04/25 St. Louis, MO – The Firebird

Rafter

Speaking of witty and often bizarre music, Rafter Roberts will also hit Austin this week, before continuing West on tour. His Sweaty Magic EP recently dropped on Asthmatic Kitty, so expect to hear songs off the release at these dates. Note: we have it on good authority that currently hanging off his tour bus is a banner that reads “SXSW or bust.” Photo by Lizeth Santos.myspace.com/rafterroberts

04/19 Austin, TX – Flamingo cantina
04/19 Austin, TX – The Iron Gate Lounge
04/20 Austin, TX – Ms. Beas
03/21 Albuquerque, NM – Burt’s Tiki Lounge
03/22 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
03/23 Salt Lake City , UT – Kilby Court
03/24 Boise, ID – Neuroux
03/26 Kennewick, WA – The Red Room
03/27 Yakima, WA – Yakima Sports Center
03/28 Portland, OR – Aladdins Theater
04/09 Salem, OR – Ike Box
04/10 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
04/11 Tacoma, WA – The Helm Gallery
04/12 Portland, OR – Rontoms

Pictured: DJ Hell. Photo by Dirk Merten.

Jesse Rose “Toca Pra Mim Feat. Deize Tigrona (Radio Edit)”

Jesse Rose teamed up with Brazilian funk artist Deize Tigrona for this track, a slinky, sultry favela number rooted in a house beat and heavy on the percussion. Here’s the radio edit of the track. The track is taken from Man Recordings’ Daniel Haaksman Presents Funk Mundial, release, the first-ever compilation to pair baile funk MCs from Rio De Janeiro with producers from the Northern hemisphere.

Jesse Rose – Toca Pra Mim

The Prodigy, Carl Craig Play Movement

Detroit’s annual Movement Festival will once again invade Hart Plaza over Memorial Day weekend, and the powers that be who are in charge of this year’s festivities announced an initial lineup this morning. According to Jason Huvaere, president of Paxahau, who’s been organizing Movement over the last four years, this year’s three-day event—set for May 23, 24, and 25—will feature “a major Detroit presence, as well as some performers that rarely set foot onstage in the United States.”

One such treat will be a performance by The Prodigy, back after a number of years with a forthcoming fifth studio album, Invaders Must Die. Liam Howlett and Co. will open Movement festivities with a performance at The Fillmore, and any good fan of electronic music would be wise to pull out the credit card on Friday, March 20, when tickets for that event go on sale.

Elsewhere in the plaza that weekend will be Detroit techno legends Carl Craig, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson, a hip-hop presence from Z-Trip and Flying Lotus, and a strong European contingent that includes Ellen Allien, Heidi, Tiefschwarz, and Steve Bug.

Weekend passes are available now, for $35, via Paxahau’s site. Post March 23, the price jumps to $40.

And here’s the lineup:

Adam Beyer, Adultnapper, Afrika Bambaataa, Bad Boy Bill, Benny Benassi, Buzz Goree, Carl Cox, Carl Craig, Chloe Harris, Damian Lazarus, Dennis Ferrer, Derrick May, Ellen Allien, Flying Lotus, Francois K, Guy Gerber, Heidi, Kero, Kevin Saunderson, Loco Dice vs. Luciano, Los Hermanos, Luke Hess, Marco Carola, Mike Huckaby, Onur Ozer, Osunlade, Rick Wade, RJD2, Seoul vs. Linder 2×4, Steve Bug, Tiefschwarz, Tiga, Wighnomy Bros, Z-Trip

Pictured: The Prodigy.

MSTRKRFT Fist of God

Sometimes “bad” just isn’t strong enough. Fist of God is one of those albums that should be known as “dangerously bad.” Three years removed from their respectable debut, The Looks, Jesse Keeler and Al-P should have been able to come up with more than a warmed-over collection of jock-friendly, fist-pumping Justice and Daft Punk retreads with all the subtlety of your favorite nu-metal anthem. The parade of awful guest vocals does little to help their cause, as Lil’ Mo, N.O.R.E., and John Legend (I’m just as confused as you are) serve up one insipid offering after another. They even found a way to make Ghostface Killah sound trite—that takes special skill. Avoid at all costs.

The Strange Lives of Pan/Tone

Sheldon “Pan/Tone” Thompson is a man on the run. In the past five years, he’s moved from Toronto to Cologne to Berlin with numerous waypoints in between; he’s fresh off a season of festivals and an Amsterdam holiday, and there’s a criminal on the loose with a grip of his gear. Yet It’s all much less sinister than it sounds, explains the creator of the thick, bouncy dark techno/house hybrid album Skip the Foreplay. “When I moved from Cologne, the final week, my studio got broken into,” explains Thompson, who now calls Berlin his home base. “More than 60% of it got destroyed or stolen. That was my ‘Goodbye Cologne’ party!”

Not that it was a bad run for Thompson. Lured away from Torontonian punk and hip-hop bands by a well-established techno community centered around the Kompakt label (and, of course, a girl), Thompson expanded upon the rock-infused electro of his Sid Le Rock alias, the dubby, bedroom-eyed tech-house of his work as Gringo Grinder, and the globalized techno of Pan/Tone, which touches on early Detroit, the arpeggiated synths of ’90s Europe (Orbital’s footprints are all over “Falcon & the Snowman”), and the distorted rock aesthetic of Justice.

The call of Berlin proved strong, not in the least because fellow Canadian cronies Jake Fairley and The Mole (a.k.a. Colin de la Plante) had already made the jump. “For the five years that I’ve been living in Germany I was dead-set against moving to Berlin even though so many of my friends were living here,” says Thompson. “I’m glad I did it finally. Everyone’s gravitating towards here so it’s bound to happen. As I was moving here it was springtime, so the tulips were rising from the ground and everyone was in a great mood; everyone’s out of hibernation mode. With that comes a lot of parties and it kind of rattled my brain but now I see that everyone does eventually rest… So time to record!”

If you’re getting the idea that Thompson likes to upset straight-laced genre tags, you’d be right—and don’t expect any less from his chaotic, high-energy live sets, which tend to cycle through his aliases depending on the gig or festival. “It gets a bit confusing,” he informs. “When I get booked to play somewhere, I always have to come with three different live sets and then ask the promoter, ‘Who am I tonight?’ Split identities work against me!” And despite his name, the one identity Pan/Tone doesn’t assume is that of graphic designer. “I like color but I’m not actually a designer,” he avers. “After a while it’s kind of a stupid nickname but you just go with it anyway.”

Loco Dice The Lab 01

In the fast-changing world of electronic music, it feels like a millennium or two has passed since the heyday of deep house. Yet the sound still has its torchbearers, including Tunisian-born DJ/producer Loco Dice, whose devotion to all things dark and chunky has been well documented. On The Lab 01, the first installment in a new mix series from the long-running NRK label, he explores the darker side of house music over the course of two expansive mixes that ultimately clock in at more than two hours. Disc one is an upbeat assemblage of chugging house tunes, while the second CD offers a soulful, spaced-out mix that would serve as the perfect soundtrack to some sultry late-night dancefloor debauchery.

Blaq Poet and DJ Premier Tour

Euro b-boys and girls will be have a chance to get crazy when Screwball member and MC Blaq Poet teams up with long-time collaborator DJ Premier, for a seven-date tour that kicks off at London club Fabric. Show-goers can expect to hear some tracks off BP’s upcoming album, Tha Blaqprint, which will be released via Premier’s Year Round imprint. He’ll also jump on stage during the latter’s sets to do a little mic-rocking.

Dates
03/20 London, United Kingdom – Fabric
03/21 Zurich, Switzerland – Club Harterei
03/22 Bucharest, Romania – The Silver Church
03/23 Sofia, Bulgaria – Club Escape
03/26 Rome, Italy – Club Akab
03/27 Dusseldorf, Germany – 3001 Diskotheken
03/28 Amsterdam, Holland – Melkweg

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