Nothing says indie music Halloween more than black hair, angry lead singers, and strange neon faces beaming through dark backgrounds. Such are the elements of “Trash,” lead single off The Whip‘s debut album, X Marks Destination (you might also recognize the track from way back in 2006, when it appeared on Kitsuné’s Maison 3 compilation). The video may start in a fairly ordinary fashion, just the four members of the Manchester, U.K.-based outfit slugging away at their instruments, but something rather creepy happens towards the end. Suffice to say, I would not want to be in a dark room facing a hundred furry creatures clad in the aforementioned neon masks and teetering on the brink of revolt. Jennifer Marston
Little Jinder “Polyhedron (Black Holes Remix)”
A little while back, we predicted that Trouble & Bass signee Little Jinder–whose ethereal, melody-driven Polyhedron EP is something of an anomaly amid the label’s pile of bass-heavy releases–would soon get the remix treatment. That time has now arrived. The T&B crew recently held a remix contest for the EP’s title track, with winning tracks by Supra1, The Boys and Girls Club, Aumenaire, and our personal favorite, Black Holes. The latter slides a meticulously programmed beat underneath the original melody, then adds some trademark T&B elements to the track. Dark synth lines, deep bass, reverb-heavy vocals, and high energy reign here.
The T&B crew is compiling the aforementioned remixes, plus ones from label members Drop the Lime, Math Head, Goon & Koyote, and others, onto a 10-track release titled Polyhedron Remixed, headed for record stores in the near future. Jennifer Marston
Rocksteady Icon Alton Ellis Passes On
The reggae world is currently mourning the loss of one of its greatest singers. Alton Nehemiah Ellis (1939–2008) died Friday at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, 10 months after he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. He was 70 years old. Ellis was prolific in the 1960s and ’70s and known as “Mr. Soul of Jamaica” for his pioneering rocksteady hits, “I’m Still In Love” (covered in 2004 by Sasha and Sean Paul), “I’m Just A Guy,” “Dance Crasher,” and others.
In 2007, Ellis received Jamaica’s highest national honor, the Order of Distinction on Heroes Day, and also participated in a film documentary and concert about rocksteady music, even as he was undergoing cancer treatment. According to BBC news, Ellis was still performing until August this year, when he collapsed after a concert in central London.
Jamaican minister of Information, Sport, and Youth, Olivia Grange, credits Ellis and keyboardist Jackie Mittoo with creating the rocksteady beat in the ’60s. “Like thousands of other Jamaicans, I deeply mourned the passing of Jamaica’s most famous exponent of rocksteady,” she told the Observer on Sunday.
After a brief career as a boxer and frequent dance contest winner, Ellis formed vocal group the Flames in the early 1960s. Group members included reggae greats Lloyd Charmers and Winston Jarrett. Ellis recorded for rival labels Studio One and Treasure Isle and delivered hits for both, including the signature “Get Ready (Rocksteady).” While the influence of American soul artists like Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Marvin Gaye is apparent in his work, Ellis was a singular vocalist, influencing several generations of artists in Jamaica and abroad.
Ellis had lived in London since the late 1970s, where he owned the Brixton-based Altone record shop. He continued to record music into the ’90s, as well as tour with his son Chris Ellis, who is blessed with his father’s sweet vocal intonation.
For a thorough history of Alton Ellis’s music and legacy, check Trojan Records’ reverent obituary.
Alton Ellis “I’m Just A Guy”
Photo by Kat Geb.
Free Next Stop Comp From PTR
Toronto, ON-based broken-beat, hip-hop, and nu-jazz label Public Transit Recordings (PTR) is offering an exclusive 15-song compilation at its online store. The comp, titled Next Stop, features a comprehensive look at the label’s diverse roster and includes music by broken-house star Arch_typ, deft MCing from L.A.’s Voice, chunky beats from LAL, and PTR founder Moonstarr’s own leftfield beats.
PTR has been in business since 1999 and has carved out its own unique contribution to the North American electronic jazz sound, joining L.A.’s Ubiquity and New York’s Bagpak as one of the strongest and most consistent deep beat providers.
New artists to the roster, Karma & Lotus, Think Twice, Tony Ezzy, and Incubator, have been busy with single releases and remixes for various labels. Their collective electronic soul shines on comp.
Next Stop is a free download and available only at the PTR site.
Next Stop
01 Voice “Fantasy – Pt.1 (Think Twice Remix)”
02 Karma & Lotus “The Notice + Lost Beat Revised”
03 Think Twice “Stars”
04 LAL “Erase Me”
05 Tony Ezzy “Give A Damn”
06 Moonstarr “Broken Bossa”
07 Arch_Typ “3333”
08 LAL “Saturn (Alister Johnson Remix)”
09 LAL “Dancing the Same (Abacus Remix)”
10 Murr “Addiction”
11 Incubator “Dakar Pockey”
12 Grahmzilla “Bionic”
13 Moonstarr & Sarah Linhares “Into The Out”
14 iNSiDEaMiND “The Tiniest Spy”
15 Aadm “Piercing”
Pictured: PTR founder Moonstarr. Photo by Trevor Moon.
Inbox: The Chap
Sure, we’re always curious to know about an artist’s upcoming release, most recent tour, or arsenal of analog gear, but XLR8R‘s also got a curiosity for quirk. Thus, each week, we email a different band or artist and find out what makes them tick, in the studio and in life. Today Johannes Vonweizsacker of U.K.-based experimental pop outfit The Chap talks about Zeppelin, abusive venue owners, and his trusty duvet.
What are you listening to right now?
In the last 24 hours, loads of Beatles, some really bad so-called world music, some very good so-called world music, a bunch of death-metal groups, such as Vomitory and Dying Fetus, Hall and Oates, Burial, Clipse.
What’s the weirdest story you ever heard about yourself?
Nobody ever attributes anything weird to me. A friend of mine insists that I am very conservative. That feels pretty weird. What if it’s true? Doesn’t make for very exciting copy, though. Sorry.
What band did you want to be in when you were 15?
Led Zeppelin. Still do.
Worst live show experience?
In a club, with a sound guy who didn’t know how to switch on a P.A. and who was highly abusive at the same time. Not as abusive as the venue owner though, a bald and rather, shall we say, compact-looking South London gangster type who, as we were getting ready to play, jumped onto the stage and attempted to beat up Panos. Panos was brandishing a large, blow-up plastic banana, which he had found in the backstage room, and the banana must have been of personal value to the venue owner, so he urged Panos to put it back, or else: death!
Favorite city to play in?
Paris, Berlin, Hamburg. They’ve been sooo good to us.
Have you really, as your press states, “never been influenced by anyone or anything, at any time, ever?”
Of course we haven’t. Okay, maybe Led Zeppelin.
What is your favorite thing you own?
My duvet.
Name one item of clothing you can’t live without.
Right now, my winter coat. It’s bloody freezing ’round here.
What’s more annoying: copyright laws, gas prices, or airport security?
Airport security. Then again, it can be quite fun. The conversations and poses it involves could be subsumed into many a classic surrealist film.
What did you always get in trouble for when you were little?
Not eating my greens.
What other artist would you most like to work with?
Dying Fetus.
What’s the last thing you read?
A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments, by Roland Barthes. It’s a very sharp, philosophical analysis of how being in love turns you into a total idiot. Great stuff. Also, it’s organized in, as the title suggests, small fragments, which you don’t need to read chronologically. Which makes it a great toilet read!
Complete this sentence: In the future…
There will be no gas (as in: petrol), and subsequently, no airport security issues. Hooray!
Stupidest thing you’ve done in the last 12 months?
Continuing to play in this loser band. I love being stupid.
What’s next?
Touring the U.K. and mainland Europe. In March, The Chap hits the U.S., apparently. I can’t wait to tour your surreal country.
Last Week: Tanya Morgan
Bag Raiders “Turbo Love”
The sound of Aussie exports Gus Da Hoodrat, Jack Sabbath, and Chris Brave (a.k.a. Bag Raiders) is, according to their buds at the BangGang 12 Inches label, “a bit familiar but you can’t pick it so you just keep dancing.” “Turbo Love,” from their forthcoming EP of the same name, set for November release, opens with victory instrumentals soaring over a short snippet of demented, tweaky, heavy beats. Then in bounds the rich, feel-good 4/4 party chords accompanied by electro-funk talk-box vocals and synthetic handclaps. After a brief, sentimental interlude, the trio summarily rebuilds the cheerful layers, carrying the party to its full potential and then leaving before everyone else does. Lulu McAllister
The Imps Bring Out the Imps
This strange electro-acoustic enterprise features the talents of Sweden’s Minilogue, an electronic duo known for its minimal acid-trance productions, and Australian jazz musicians Ian Chaplin and Phillip Rex. The four recorded a jam session over a two-week period, mixed the live results in the studio and came up with much more than the sum of its parts. On “Almost Live But Definitely Plugged” you hear treated guitar and viola filtered through tape delays, echoes and other effects. The adventurously quirky “Bubble and Squeak” spins atop a dubby techno heartbeat, slows to a crawl then rides into inner space on the back of a digitally tweaked soprano saxophone.
The Sea and Cake “Car Alarm”
It has been a busy 15 years since The Sea and Cake formed, but even a hectic performance schedule can’t keep these indie-rock veterans out of the studio for long. The Chicago-based group’s eighth full-length record, Car Alarm, is set to come out at the end of October. “Car Alarm,” the namesake single, features fuzzy guitars in balance with charming, sharp counter-guitar in the background. Lead instrumentalists Sam Prekop and Archer Prewitt deliver sweet, breathy vocals that coo and dance around a richly layered pop melody and hard-hitting percussion. This luscious track seamlessly translates the band’s live performance into the studio setting. Lulu McAllister
Yo Majesty Futuristically Speaking…Never Be Afraid
Dirty South dyke club rap, what? Futuristically Speaking…Never Be Afraid, the debut LP from Yo Majesty, is all over the place. While there’s plenty of the clubby electro beats and Sapphic sex raps the Florida group have become known for, there’s also comedic ’80s boogie (“Leather Jacket”) and a guitar-laced album opener (“Fucked Up”), which comes across like a Domino-influenced attempt to punk up their act for the label’s indie-rocker audience. The stylistic gumbo, while odd to say the least, is probably more endearing than 14 different versions of their early single, “Club Action” (the only previously released track included here), would have been. Prior to hearing Futuristically it was hard to imagine Yo Majesty as anything more than a singles group, so the fact that they’ve kinda sorta pulled off an LP is impressive in itself.
Duane Sorenson: Responsible Coffee
Duane Sorenson can sum up Portland in one short sentence: “People here are passionate about their bicycles and their coffee.” He should know. Less than 10 years after founding Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Sorenson’s influential business has become the final word on coffee in this caffeine-fueled city (and points beyond). But that’s not enough for Sorenson. His goal is to make Portland the most “coffee educated” city in the world.
“I don’t feel we’re there yet,” he explains. “But it’s always been my goal that the fine folks here be in tune with coffee processing–the brewing, the roasting–but also coffee farming and all the steps to making the finest coffee in the world.”
Those steps–from brewing the perfect cup to finding good beans–are something that Sorenson is not only in tune with, but working to change. By forging personal relationships with farms in Latin America and Africa, he’s been able to push the limits of quality while paying prices far above fair-trade levels. In 2004, Stumptown broke the world record for the highest price paid to a grower for coffee beans.
“I’ve traveled all over the world to work with farmers and I always make a habit of asking what I could do to improve their communities,” he says. “While I was in Rwanda, every person was saying [that having] a bicycle would make [their] life easier.” Realizing this need would resonate with Portland’s passionate cyclists, himself included, Sorenson founded the Bikes To Rwanda non-profit, which built two bicycle shops and put 400 bikes on the ground in the war-torn nation.
Of course, this all wouldn’t work if the coffee and cafés weren’t so damn good. Stumptown’s in-house roasters craft the sort of complex and unusual batches that please connoisseurs and occasional drinkers alike. The ambience isn’t lacking, either, as each location keeps turntables and stacks of vinyl on hand. Unsurprisingly, more than few musicians are working behind the counters. Sorenson counts The Thermals’ Hutch Harris and Jordan Hudson as former Stumptown employees.
Sorenson was born raised in Tacoma, WA, but frequently came down to Portland to skate Burnside. “When I was a kid, Burnside was the only skatepark in the Northwest,” he recalls. Skating sessions under the bridge at the legendary DIY park made a lasting impression on Sorenson. “After I had spent some time working with other people, learning to roast, I decided to open my own café,” he says. “Because of Burnside, I already knew that Portland was the place to do it.”
Favorite Portland artist:
The Thermals
