Jamaica Readies For Sting, Rebel Salute

The major Jamaican concert season is upon us again, and for those that think we’re talking about Reggae Sunsplash, think again. For the past ten years, since concerts like Sunsplash and Sumfest have seen a decline in interest and notable lineups, other stage shows have taken root, namely the late December dancehall extravaganza, Sting, and conscious reggae singjay Tony Rebel‘s January roots showcase, Rebel Salute.

While Sting is often mired in controversy that stems from its onstage DJ clashes (which have turned into personal beefs), rowdy crowds, and incidents of bottle-throwing, the fourteen-year running Rebel Salute is an embodiment of consciousness and culture, right down to its “no meat, no alcohol” policy.

This year’s Salute features a diverse and stellar lineup, including current chart-topper Queen Ifrica (pictured above), the original “Hot Stepper” Ini Kamoze (whose voice is the hook on Damien Marley’s “Welcome To Jamrock”), and legendary Jamaican pianist, Monty Alexander, known for his jazz tributes to Bob Marley. The full slate of performers for the reggae event, to be held January 12 at the Port Kaiser Sports Club in St Elizabeth, will be announced at an official launch on December 27.

Among the more anticipated artists is Jamaica’s most prominent female cultural singjay, Queen Ifrica, known as “Fyah Muma.” Ifrica creates music in the tradition of roots singers Judy Mowatt or DJ Sister Carol, and hasn’t shied away from difficult topics, as on her latest single, “Daddy Don’t Touch Me There.”

If reggae fans needed any better incentive to make their travel destinations Jamaica during its expensive “high season,” Rebel Salute will surely suffice.

Michaela Melián Los Angeles

On Los Angeles, the sophomore full-length from F.S.K. bassist Michaela Melián, the German soloist has finally settled into her surroundings, and the view into her ethereal sound-shifting universe is absolutely breathtaking. Two years after her exquisite 2005 debut, Baden–Baden,Melián is now entering territories uncharted, salting subtle compositions of orchestral beauty with ambient blur, lulling guitar drones, and pinches of electronics. “Locke-Pistole-Kreuz” opens the album with delayed piano, tinted with occasional filtered acoustic guitar and horn before cascading into “Angel”’s heavenly shimmer. Songs such as “Föhrenwald” and “Buchberg” sustain a similar, looping quietude throughout while Melián’s future-pop take on Roxy Music’s “Manifesto” casts a Nico-esque mirror image.

Best Artists of 2007

LCD Soundsystem
2007 will go down as a very good year for LCD with the outstanding Nike album, the extremely well-received Sound of Silver, a pretty fucking tight live show, and “Someone Great,” which is a future classic. Not only that but they’re seriously down with the kids. How do they do that? Inspirational.
Duncan Stump, Tiny Sticks

James, I salute you. You are a mad perfectionist and it comes through live and on record. “I wish that we could talk about it.”
Gabriel Jaffe, Puma

More focused than its predecessor and a damn-near-perfect fusion of dance and rock, Sound of Silver was the record I played more than anything else in 2007. The emotive, thumping, one-two punch of “Someone Great” and “All My Friends” is my favorite stretch, but the whole thing’s brilliant.
Joe Colly, XLR8R writer

EL-P
This guy’s a maniac and serious multi-tasker, but above all, he is obviously super-smart. What other release this year, hip-hop or otherwise, is as remotely rambunctious or original as I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead?
David Ma, XLR8R writer

Truth is a powerful thing, which is why so many artists and politicians avoid it. But El-P packed so much of it into I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, with the help of so many all-stars, that only those who still want to wave their hands in they air like the just don’t care missed it.
Scott Thill, XLR8R writer

R. Kelly
He killed it in 2007 by being the only R&B singer invited to kick cameo verses on every major rap remix alongside a bunch of rappers (“Make It Rain” being the most memorable). On the remix to “Same Girl,” he manages to out-AutoTune T-Pain, kick a little freestyle, and then ask the audience to snap their fingers Michael Jackson-style, while imitating MJ’s signature voice. And he still had the time to come up with a dozen crazy new Trapped in the Closet episodes this year. If anybody was still questioning the fact that R. Kelly’s a genius, 2007 made it totally clear once and for all.
Teki Latex, TTC/Institubes

Stefan Goldmann
Do I want to make sweet love or do I want to stab someone in the face repeatedly? Either way, Stefan’s tracks are the perfect soundtrack to my more “expressive” moments.
JPLS, Minus

Boys Noize
We play probably 15 of his tracks every night. That German guy could have been an Ed Banger artist. Respect!
Pedro “Busy P” Winter, Ed Banger

Lil’ Wayne
He came and ripped rap apart. His artistry and output grew this year like an angry Bruce Banner. You can’t turn a radio on in the South without hearing a Wayne track. And his impact on the mixtape scene was phenomenal; I especially loved the Drought series and DJ Benzi’s mixtape.
Oliver Mak, Bodega

Has he lost his mind? To quote: “Swimming laps around a bottle of Louis the 13th/Jumping off of a mountain into a sea of codeine.” This dude seems like he’s in a downward spiral into infinite genius.
Curses, Institubes

Surkin
I have been intrigued, perplexed, excited, and scared by everything the boy has done this year. And he dances like Bryan Ferry.
Shaun Roberts, Fabric

Efdemin
He is really talented and made some of the deepest tunes this year.
Dirt Crew

Ghostland Observatory
Ghostland’s music is pretty much an amalgamation of all my favorite genres, past and present, rolled into one. That’s what’s up.
Dust La Rock, graphic designer

Digitalism
Just when everyone thought that the best thing this year was gonna come from France, these Germans surprised a bunch of people by pulling off a great album, with the new songs being as good as all the killer singles they had released so far.
Bruno Natal, XLR8R writer

Worst Artists of 2007

Kanye West
The tired ramblings of an inept trend chaser. What’s next, a collaboration with Iggy Pop and walking the runway for Jeremy Scott?
Cameron Cook, XLR8R writer

Kanye’s megalomania finally became unbearable this year. Even his publicist’s a dick. And after drunkenly dismissing Justice and Simian Mobile Disco at the European VMAs, he co-opted Daft Punk for his lead single. Don’t front like you appreciate French house, dude.
Joe Colly, XLR8R writer

Panic At the Disco
They’re the worst and I love their music so much. That’s why they’re the worst; it’s a guilty pleasure.
Dorian Dumont, The Teenagers

Dan Deacon
That guy’s a penis party.
Stephen Christian, Warp

Akon
He gives me the creeps. Plus, I think he’s, like, 55. And has a zillion kids, Shawn Kemp-style.
Marah Eakin, Touch and Go

Amy Winehouse
It’s tragic when your serial rehab visits, fugly tats, undead beehive ’do, and filthy ballerina slippers sing louder than your golden voice.
Cameron Macdonald, XLR8R writer

Juiceboxxx
As electronic musicians I have always joked that we should all just use iPods when we play live. I had no idea people actually did this on a mass scale. I saw Juiceboxxx with Bonde Do Role and all he had was a iPod nano plus a microphone. The first 15 minutes was the best thing I’ve seen all year, however the last 15 minutes was probably the worst I’ve seen all year.
Mochipet, Daly City Records

Vampire Weekend
Dude, I just really don’t get this band. I’m sure there’s worse out there, but when I hear it I think of people playing Paul Simon covers at your local college pub’s open-mic night.
Celeste Tabora, Modular

More Best of 2007
Switch: Artist of the Year
Sage Francis’ Top Five Albums of 2007
Best of 2007 by Cameron Bird
Best Albums of 2007
Best Singles of 2007
Best of 2007 by Busy P
Best Live Events of 2007
Best of 2007 by Dust La Rock
Best Visual Artists of 2007
Best of 2007 by Dirt Crew
Best Music Trends of 2007
Best Style of 2007
Best of 2007 by Mochipet
Best of 2007 by DJ Ulysses
Best Music Technology of 2007

High Five with Justice

French duo Justice is easily the most influential band of 2007. Their rock-heavy beats are coveted by the likes of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, while their style and art direction inspired a stage-crashing outburst from sore loser Kanye West last year at the MTV Europe Video Awards. Here, Xavier de Rosnay, the awake half of Justice, gives us a handful of his top fives–from the albums that influenced him to what he’d like to say to Kanye.

Boxcutter Glyphic

What a ride! Ireland’s Barry Lynn is back for a follow-up of 2006’s Oneric and he’s managed to best that album’s strengths, broadening and tightening his sound. You’ve still got the crashing drums sent through filters set to “zoom” or “zing,” the mystical keyboards, and echoes that last for days. But now you also get an almost pure dub song (“Windfall”), a languid groove that could have been written by Strategy (“Bloscid”), a techno thumper (“Lunal”), and the Jungle tune that Equinox forgot to make (“Fieldtrip”). And despite all those comparisons, this is rabidly original stuff, held together brilliantly, orchestrated and sprawling like a Bitches Brew or Herbie Hancock’s Sextant. A superb record from the Amon Tobin of dubstep.

Kap10Kurt “Dangerseekers”

Kap10Kurt first released material on John Selway’s MemoryBoy imprint in 2003. Since then, the Switzerland-born, New York-based producer has enjoyed spots on many label compilations, from Plantmusic’s The Sound of Young New York series to Kitsuné samplers, as well as making a few remixes–alongside fellow Europeans Booka Shade and Digitalism–for Dave Gahan’s Hourglass album. “Dangerseekers” finds the producer rolling out the usual tech-heavy beats and epic synthesizer progressions.

Kap10Kurt – Dangerseekers (X10ded Mix)

Oren Ambarchi In the Pendulum’s Embrace

This Australian’s 2004 album, Grapes From the Estate, took the mighty drone metal associated with Sunn 0))) (who Ambarchi sometimes joins on stage) and turned down the volume, creating bucolic, ambient soundscapes drenched in sustained notes as rich and viscous as honey. Now he’s at it again, adding piano, strings, bells, shimmering percussion, and even a few (incomprehensible) vocals to three new tracks. He drops one speaker-vibrating note after another, then lets the tones swell and ripen while laying down a few melodies. The result is somewhat darker than the last outing, but overall is pretty much the same. Does that mean we’re fed up? Not at all! After music this good, we’re ready for thirds.

Pinback, Datarock Headline Charity Toy Drive Concert

Indie acts just can’t stop doing good. If they’re not making charity lunch boxes for the Lunchbox Auction and Christmas ornaments for Glass Caster’s Union they’re headlining toy drives hosted by the Los Angeles Fire Department. The latter is exactly what Pinback, Sea Wolf, and Norwegian electro outfit Datarock will be up to on December 5, at the Bands in Toyland show at L.A.’s Avalon venue. The concert will feature the above acts, as well as a few others, and attendees are asked to bring a non-wrapped toy to donate to the L.A. Fire Department’s annual holiday toy drive.

Tickets are a steep $30, not including the obligatory toy, or, for the lazy, $35, with additional proceeds going directly to other gift items.

Top 10: Steve Bug, Ghislain Poirier, Envy

Autistic Daughters
Uneasy Flowers
Kranky

The second album from Kranky’s intercontinental trio, Autistic Daughters, is appropriately titled, and an enormously satisfying trip through the world of “free noise” (if we must call it something). Dean Roberts’ vocals are impassioned and tortured enough to rival those of Conor Oberst, but laid over an intricate musical framework where guitars start and stop abruptly, fractured loops fade in and out, and dozens of subtle electronic touches give each track its own individual personality. JM

Ghislain Poirier
No Ground Under
Ninja Tune

Whoa. Ghislain Poirier’s grime-fueled bass riddims on No Ground Under have reached another level of sonic insanity. With many tracks featuring vocalists like French MC Omnikrom, singjay Face T, and Mr. Lee G, this album strikes a fine balance of between abstract hip-hop and dub-fueled bass power. FM

Mike Ladd
Nostalgialator
Definitive Jux

Mike Ladd delivers a Definitive Jux debut that’s predictably varied–in the best possible way. He’s well-known for dropping spoken-word, rock, and electronics into his particular brand of hip-hop, and the Boston-born, Paris-based producer employs his adeptness at mash-ups in full on Nostalgialator. But then again, would you expect anything less from a guy who, in addition to making music, publishes literary journals and collaborates with world-renowned pianists? JMListen to the track “Troubleshot”.

Envy
Abyssal
Temporary Residence

Japan’s Envy has always been an entity far outside of the typical instru-metal and screamo genres, and for its Temporary Residence debut, Abyssal, the band is in extreme shoegaze mode. This is mandatory listening for anyone with a love for epic vibes. FM

Chris Schlarb
Twilight and Ghost Stories
Asthmatic Kitty

Former insurance man Chris Schlarb has been fairly public about his devastating divorce, unemployment, and how those things led to the four-year project that eventually became this debut album. The progression of loss, realization, and eventual gain is apparent in the composition of Twilight and Ghost Stories. Strings, bells, pianos, guitars, and dozens of other instruments are pitted against one another in abstract soundscapes, and the overall effect is melancholy, yet somehow uplifting, and a delightful listen all around. JMListen to the track “Section I”.

Steve Bug
“A World Without/Cru Sauvage”
Poker Flat

Damn. Steve Bug has done it again with his latest single. Side a is a slow, rather ominous build-up of smashing synths, steady beats, and a bassline so deep I thought San Francisco was having another tremor when I listed to this. Flip for “Cru Sauvage,” which employs a lighter techno touch, but whose pace is so fast it is almost dizzying. JM

Skullflower
IIIrd Gatekeeper
Crucial Blast

While Skullflower may not be a band you’ll see featured on the pages of our beloved print mag, know that a record like this is gold to a few of our staffers (well, me at least). Crucial Blast has finally reissued 1992’s IIIrd Gatekeeper (originally released on Sympathy for the Record Industry), and damn was this shit ahead of its time. Filled with Sabbath-esque basslines, My Bloody Valentine guitar work, and an infinite amount of psyched-out feedback, this piece of stoner-rock history induces the best kind of paranoia imaginable. FM

Atlas Sound
Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Kranky

With all of the hype surrounding Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, it was hard to know what to expect with his solo debut under the Atlas Sound moniker. The answer? Some of the best tripped-out and textured pop to surface in ages. This record has it all–’50s pop melodies, mid-’90s indie undertones, and whirlwinds of blissful, atmospheric noise. Why on earth would you not own this? FM

No Kids
Come Into My House
Tomlab

It isn’t every day a band can pull off straightforward electro lounge-pop that sounds comparable to Arthur Russell. No Kids, formerly known as Vancouver-based band P:ano, is a troupe of songwriters who know the virtues of jazzy drum programming, soulful vocals, and infectious key melodies. Not weird enough to be annoying and too creative to be merely classified as pop, this innovative band is destined for greatness. FM

Various
B.I.P.P.P. French Synthwave 1979-85
Everloving

If you, our faithful XLR8R readers, perused the pages of our recent Paris Issue, you will know that the current French wave of music has a definite set of roots. Indie label Everloving Records has dug up said roots, with a compilation of underground French music from the late ’70s and early ’80s. B.I.P.P.P. is a comprehensive history of the original robot rock, as told by a sampling of acts who are now defunct, dead, or doing other things, but who left a distinct mark on the French sound forever. It’s like uncovering the original blueprint for Ed Rec Vol. 1. JM

Photo of Envy by Yoshiharu Ota.

diskJokke Preps Debut Album for Smalltown Supersound

What do you do for fun when you hail from a remote Norwegian town? First, you study classical music on the violin. Then, you discover electronic music and make friends with the likes of Linstrom, Prins Thomas, and the Get Physical crew, who will eventually release your classically-influenced electronic tracks that start a buzz about your abilities as a producer.

So goes the story for diskJokke (born Joachim Dyrdahl), the latest personality to rise from the Oslo music scene. In March 2008, Dyrdahl will release his debut album on Smalltown Supersound, and like the aforementioned Linstrom and Prins Thomas, his is a musical blend of house, Italo, and disco, with his classical influences woven between catchy hooks and sweeping melodies that are cinematic in scope. If now is the season to make obligatory predictions about who will be big in 2008, then we have a feeling this mathematics student–who has already had Spektrum and Bloc Party commission him for remixes–will be seeing many more tour dates next year than the handful listed below.

Photo by Carl Ählström.

Tracklisting
1. Folk i farta
2. Staying In
3. Større enn først antatt
4. I was Go to Marroco and I Don’t See You
5. Interpolation
6. Cold Out
7. Flott flyt
8. Glatt
9. The Dinner That Never Happened
10. Some Signs are Good

Show Dates
12/05 Oslo, NOR: Pigalle
12/15 Oslo, NOR: Cosmo
01/05 Stavanger, NOR: Sting
01/25 Oslo, NOR: The Villa
02/02 Oslo, NOR: Kharma
02/09 Oslo, NOR: Fabrikken
02/22 Oslo, NOR: By:Larm Festival
02/23 Oslo, NOR Nomaden

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