Page 2788 – XLR8R

Femi Kuti Day By Day

Nigeria’s Femi Kuti has long looked for ways of evolving his father Fela’s Afrobeat creation without straying too far from its roots. He has done this previously by chopping down the 15-, 20-, and 30-minute songs into more digestible five-minute tracks, with varying success. Following his brilliant live recording on Palm Pictures, from which many of Day By Day’s songs are derived, he has finally created a rich, full album that includes a dozen songs in under 54 minutes. For Kuti, less is more and he creates a magnificent blend of horns, drums, bass, and guitars alongside his distinct and powerful vocal arrangements. The evolution continues.

Another Electronic Musician Five

Ignore Jase Rex’s self-belittling name, as the Southern California IDM artist’s fifth album is filled with grooves and atmospherics that easily surpass the efforts of the average bedroom electronic musician. He molds a typewriter’s clacks into a drifting soul groove on “Conjecture Correction,” while the excellent “Low Company” interweaves birdsong into a drizzling space-jazz ballad. Elsewhere, the interlocked synth melodies and darting, UFO-like noises on the ambient “Congee” hark back to the dank, VapoRub-smeared chill-out rooms of raves past. With any luck, this music will play in the hospital waiting rooms and drunk tanks of the future.

Best of 2008: Peter Beste

The NYC photographer filled his year with black metal and Devin the Dude.

Who was the best artist of 2008?

For me it’s a tie between Devin the Dude and TV on the Radio, both of whom continue to release classic albums.

Who was the worst music artist of 2008?

Soulja Boy, who I believe is responsible for dumbing down rap music to a whole new level. Trying to take on Ice-T was the final nail in his coffin.

What was the best album of 2008?

I am currently stuck between Watain’s Sworn to the Dark and The Tallest Man on Earth’s Shallow Graves. Two great albums for very different moods.

What was the worst style trend of 2008?

The return of the Slick Rick look, which is nowhere near as cool on these youngsters.

Best of 2008
Drop the Lime
Abe Vigoda
Bradford Cox
Andrew Jeffrey Wright
eLZhi
Cut Copy
Fucked Up
Evidence
Vivian Girls
Matt Furie
dj/ Rupture
Telepathe
The Death Set
Holy Ghost
Mochipet
CTRL
Plump DJs
Jose James
Worship Worthy
Magda
The Alchemist
DC Recordings

Michael Santos The Happy Error

A decade ago, so-called “glitch” techno was a call to arms against synthesizer presets and cliché dance rhythms. Yet such subversion quickly gave way to convention, and in many sad cases, after-dinner comfort. Michael Santos’ aptly titled The Happy Error embodies the latter. The opening title track sets the album’s floatation-tank atmosphere, where the “glitches” are mere bits of static that bathe aquatic synth drones. “Swing Deluxe” sounds like a Mouse on Mars b-side from ’97, as Santos releases bubbly synth pops and yelping electric feedback. But just when it’s time to doze off, tension finally arrives on “Upper Cosh,” where his static noises overload into busted-TV-like dissonance.

Best of 2008: Worship Worthy

Jennifer Wannarachue of the style blog and clothing brand Worship Worthy talks cut-offs and snap caps.

What was the best style trend of 2008?

Denim cut-offs worn with tights, cardigans, platform booties, and oversized beanies. I’m still rocking that look this winter. Oh, and Frogskins.

What was the worst style trend of 2008?

Oh, man, I might get hunted down for this one, but I think the whole “flouro pixel tech” look was only good for a few months, therefore it tops my list of worst style trend of ’08. Let’s pray the rest of middle America doesn’t catch onto it.

What was the best clothing label of 2008?

I would have to say the best clothing label of the year is the man who took my fave look of “casually awesome” to another level, Mister Alexander Wang.

Who was the best visual artist of 2008?

Neckface. Some people don’t get his work, but I absolutely love it. I aspire to be as intricately deranged, strange, and twisted.

What will be big in 2009?

WW†, the Worship Worthy brand, is going to be huge in ’09, as well as baggy jeans on women, snap-back caps, zig-zags, black, Blake Lively, and Ws.

Various Artists Fabric 43: Metro Area

With disco’s undeniable resurgence in recent years, it comes as no surprise that Brooklyn duo Metro Area would be tapped for its own installment of the vaunted Fabric mix series. Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani have been releasing top-shelf disco for nearly a decade, and Fabric 43 provides a great window into the sounds that inspire them. Digging heavily into oddball later disco from the mid-’80s, many of the tracks show flourishes of electro and ’80s funk, sounds oft-ignored by disco revivalists. The boys also mix in a few offbeat early NY house cuts and even tap songs from ’80s powerhouses Ministry and Devo, ultimately crafting a mix that is both impeccably curated and ready to party.

Casiokids “Fot i Pose (Axemax Remix)”

Norwegian electro group Casiokids likes to blend theatrical visuals with its trademark Afro-, techno-, and Northern-influenced style of danceable pop. After the success of their first single, and an exciting 12-date kindergarten tour to promote their first album, the band is set to release its next offering, Verdens storste land/ fot I hose EP, on March 2. This will mark the first in a series of 7-inches the band plans to release in 2009 on Moshi Moshi. This Axemax remix of “Fot i Hose” sullies the already dirty single with grimy machine-gun synths, cut-up reggae counter tones, and ratchet accents.

Catch these crazy kids on tour with Of Montreal next month if you are in or around Europe. Or check them out at SXSW in March. Lulu McAllister

Fot i Pose (Axemax Remix)

Best of 2008: Jose James

Brownswood’s acoustic jazz vocalist, Jose James, got inspired by dubstepper Benga and hip-hop experimentalists Gnarls Barkley.

Who was the best artist of 2008?

Benga. A contemporary genius: live and direct.

What was your favorite album of 2008?

Benga’s Diary of an Afro Warrior (Tempa). This album showed me how musical and creative a mind he has; “Night” is an instant classic, a very important song. Artists like him and Flying Lotus help me to understand the world I live in as an international artist.

What was the best music trend of 2008?

There is a return to the love of the music in general and of live performance, going back to the roots. Also, the continued blending of genres and artistic sensibilities, as showcased by artists such as Gnarls Barkley, Beck, and M.I.A.

What was the worst music trend of 2008?

The intense focus on music for 10-year-olds.

What will be big in 2009?

Great songs by individualistic artists and producers that reflect the growing multi-cultural worldview. Mix it up!

Various Artists Kitsune Maison Compilation 6

Blog-friendly electro is (deservedly) an easy target these days, but it sure is hard to hate on the folks at Kitsuné. Although the Parisian tastemakers continue to trot out a steady stream of artists mining electro, disco, and all the other en vogue sounds du jour, the label proves that it is possible to exude style and substance at the same time. Don’t miss the Nintendo fetish of bands like Heartsrevolution and You Love Her Coz She’s Dead or the raved-up bangers of A-Trak and Etienne de Crecy; Lo-Fi-Fnk’s midtempo dance pop and We Have Band’s post-punky electro also stand out. This compilation delivers actual songs with actual replay value—those looking for tossed-off remixes of ironic ’80s cuts need not apply.

The 12 Days of Christmas, Day 8

Each December, the XLR8R staff takes a few minutes every morning to spout off about what we’d like to see wrapped up and under the tree come December 25. Next, Ken Taylor takes us on the ultimate “un-pro photo experience,” with the Pentax SMC DA* Series 16-50mm F2.8 and 50-135mm F2.8 DSLR lenses.

Working in the magazine world for a few years, one tends to learn to absolutely despise anything less than perfectly crisp images. With the advent of digital photography, and the instantly gratifying display screen on the back of just about every camera made these days, there’s simply no excuse for fuzzy pics—of any sort. (I’m looking at you, Facebook friends.)

Now, I’m by no stretch a photographer—a dabbler, maybe—but I can appreciate a good image, so when it came time to make the leap to the digital SLR world, I chose Pentax… for a few different reasons. For starters, my first camera was a Pentax K-1000, and it saw me through my high-school and college years of dark-room foolery with ease. Also, I’ve still got all its lenses, and they work just fine on my new Pentax K200D body, save for having to make some adjustments for frame cropping due to the new body’s sensor size. As well, when it comes to upgrading to higher-end DSLR lenses, Pentax has made the smart move of keeping a lot of the mechanical controls in the camera’s body (as opposed to in each of its lenses), so that keeps the lenses a bit cheaper.

But what’s stunning is just how cheap Pentax has made their pro-line of SMC DA* Series lenses. Comparatively, they’re some of the most affordable pro-level lenses on the market, yet they perform like the most costly.

This past weekend I shot with both that series’ 16-50mm F2.8 and 50-135mm F2.8 lenses, and got some absolutely amazing results—at least for my completely un-pro photo experience.

Despite it being pretty cool out, Saturday had some great sunlight. I tested the 16-50mm F2.8 outside of XLR8R’s new digs, and noticed the lens’ sharpness to be impeccable. Focusing in daylight was great, and the amount of available light and resultant bokeh with the F2.8 was delicious. I mean, I’m taking pictures of a heap of garbage with a dirty pig toy in it, for crissakes!

I couldn’t help but check back on the piggie later that night (the trash heap just kept on piling up, as you can see). And while I had some very minor low-light auto-focusing issues in the super-close range, when it hit, the sharpness was incredible again.

Day two was a dreary one in the Mission District of San Francisco. But I had the great fortune of running into a friend, who made for both a willing participant and great model. Again, amazing bokeh and luscious color.

A little motion—and rainy lighting—never hurt a lens test either.

That afternoon, I also took the Pentax SMC DA* Series 50-135mm F2.8 into the studio for a bit more of a portrait test. I’ll reserve my only complaints here for my not-so-great computer monitor, as, on a big screen, these images’ clarity and color pops with amazing brilliance. Sometimes the focus seemed almost too sharp, revealing facial blemishes that were virtually unnoticeable to the eye. And let me say, that’s no criticism of this lens. It simply blew me away.

So, the bottom line: If I can scramble enough post-holiday gift money together, I’m going in for the Pentax SMC DA* Series 50-135mm F2.8 first… and then the 16-50 as soon as the next $900 shows up.

MSRP:
Pentax SMC DA* Series 50-135mm F2.8 $999.95

Pentax SMC DA* Series 16-50mm F2.8 $915.95

Day 1: Keurig Platinum B70 single-cup coffeemaker
Day 2: Score! Merge Records: The First 20 Years
Day 3: Low Self-Esteem by Katie West
Day 4: New Balance 420 and PF Flyers’ Number 5
Day 5: Janus Films Presents: Essential Art House Vols. I and II
Day 6: Kenwood TT756SL 2-Slice Radio Toaster
Day 7: The Ghostly Box
Day 8: Pentax SMC DA* Series 16-50mm F2.8 and 50-135mm F2.8 DSLR lenses

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