Qawwali music is rooted in spiritual Persian songs and the Sufism faith , and Pakistan-born Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was one of the legendary producers of this kind of music. London-based composer Gaudi uses some recently-discovered vocal samples from one of Nusrat’s recording sessions to create Dub Qawwali, a tribute album of sorts that blends reggae, dub, electronic music, and the late Nusrat’s melodies.
A Lee Norris production is akin to that dog-eared baseball card you placed at the top of your shoebox stacks as a kid-the face of a familiar, yet largely unsung hero gazing outward every time you opened the lid. For some reason that card was always your favorite, despite it trading for a fraction of that commanded by “bigger” stars. Norris is that woefully underrated producer behind the wobbly, tottering funk of Metamatics, with the ghostly shadows of Detroit omnipresent in his work as Norken. With this release, Hydrogen Dukebox has put together a double-disc compendium chronicling many of Norris’ finest moments at bat. And it’s home-run material through and through.
This autumn will definitely be something to behold, as Touch and Go Records’ spazz-punk outfit Enon prepares to run through the US for a brief stint, and Matthew Dear gathers his full band to tour as Matthew Dear’s Big Hands. Also, London-based electro duo Motor brings its heavy post-industrial set to the States, and Modeselektor makes a few stops at a series of huge European fests and super clubs.
Enon
10/30 Seattle, WA: Nectar
10/31 Portland, OR: Doug Fir
11/03 Los Angeles, CA: Echo
11/04 San Diego, CA: Casbah
11/06 Austin, TX: Emo‘s
11/07 Houston, TX: Proletariat
11/09 Tallahassee, FL: Club Down Under
11/13 Atlanta, GA: Drunken Unicorn
11/14 Durham, NC: Duke Coffeehouse
11/15 Washington, DC: The Rock and Roll Hotel
11/16 Philadelphia, PA: Johnny Brenda’s
11/17 New York, NY: Knitting Factory
Matthew Dear’s Big Hands
10/01 New York, NY: Mercury Lounge
10/02 Philadelphia, PA: Johnny Brenda’s
10/03 Charlottesville, VA: Satellite Ballroom
10/04 Washington, DC: Rock N Roll Hotel
10/05 Chapel Hill, NC: Local 506
10/06 Atlanta, GA: Drunken Unicorn
10/08 Austin, TX: Emo’s
10/09 Dallas, TX: Granada Theater
10/12 Denver, CO: Hi Dive
10/13 Ann Arbor, MI: The Blind Pig
10/16 Los Angeles, CA: Echo
10/18 San Francisco, CA: Mezzanine
10/19 Portland, OR: Holocene
10/20 Seattle, WA: Crocodile Cafe
10/21 Vancouver, BC: Media Club
10/24 Minneapolis, MN: Triple Rock Club
10/25 Madison, WI: Cafe Montmartre
10/26 Chicago, IL: Smart Bar
10/27 Cleveland Heights, OH: Grog Shop
10/31 Brooklyn, NY: Studio B
11/24 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon Hollywood
Motor
08/31 Tokyo, JP: Womb
09/01 Yokohama, JP: Wire Festival
09/20 Chicago, IL: Smart Bar
09/21 Seattle, WA: Decibel Festival
09/22 San Francisco, CA: Rx Gallery
10/25 Amsterdam, NL: Milk Weg
10/27 Madrid, ES: Beauty Case
11/22 Paris, FR: La Locamotive
Modeselektor
08/31 Wein, DE: Icke Micke
09/05 Geneva, CH: Le Zoo
09/08 Lissabon, PT: Sonic Fresh Festival
09/14 Brussels, BE: Les Halles
09/15 Milan, IT: Leon Cavallo
09/20 Berlin, DE: Watergate
09/21 Lille, FR: N.A.M.E. Festival
09/22 Den Haag, NL: Today’s Art Festival
09/27 Lyon, FR: Divine
09/28 Marseille, FR: Marstack
09/29 Thessaloniki, GR: Reworks Festival
“We started out as a super-quiet band playing a lot of theaters, and we’d freak out when everyone was talking over us,” Architecture in Helsinki‘s founder Cameron Bird explains via cell phone from London. “We naturally got louder because we wanted to be heard.”
But the excess of energy on Places Like This–the group’s third, and much more rowdy, full-length–can also be attributed to Bird’s recent protein high. “I started eating meat after being a vegetarian for nine years,” he dryly admits. “Any vegetarians out there who are thinking about making the change, I highly recommend it.”
A lot has changed for this Australian noise-pop collective since they released their finicky debut, Fingers Crossed, in 2003. Their sophomore release, 2005’s In Case We Die, was critically lauded for its seamless blend of synth-heavy indie-pop and laid-back reggae. The record launched them into the spotlight, prompting numerous world tours and an expanding fan base. Now, with the release of Places Like This, the group is bigger than ever. “It’s grown so gradually because we’ve never had major-label backing or shitloads of money to spend on videos,” Bird tells me. “We’ve busted our asses touring, and it’s been really satisfying.”
Their busy schedule has brought them everywhere from Barcelona’s Primavera Sound festival to a rare show in Malaysia, a country that had, at one time, banned rock shows altogether. “[We played at] this super-futuristic nightclub in the middle of Malaysia, where the big techno dudes like John Digweed or Carl Cox usually play,” he explains, “We could’ve gone out and played one song for two hours and they still would’ve gone insane. It was really humbling.”
With so much time spent on the road, managing their friendships has gotten easier. “We’ve become really aware of each other’s mannerisms,” says Bird. “Chances are that there’s usually one of us who’s having a shit time, but we get along really well. We don’t have to avoid eye contact.”
With more touring and an inevitable press frenzy following the release of Places Like This, the group will not be slowing down anytime soon. “We really want to perfect what we’re doing at the moment before we move on to the next chapter,” he says. Regardless, Bird’s mind never strays from the next project. “It might be hardcore techno, or it might be a 48-piece folk record. If we ever did the same thing twice, the band would be over.”
Daddy Kev and his finance Danyell Jariel are running their Alpha Pup label like a top-flight, pure-breed kennel. They’ve planned a slew of new albums from some of L.A.’s finest underground hip-hop acts, and, along with labels like Plug Research and Mush, are defining the new century L.A. sound.
Albums are on the way from acts familiar to the dublab or East Hollywood set: Daedelus, Omid, edIT, Carlos Niño & Gaby Hernandez, and Kail are all certifiably dope, but their music spans many genres and categories, from electronic and folk, to hip-hop and dub. Kev and Jariel have their finger on some emerging talent reminiscent of great labels like Ninja Tune, Lex, and Domino. AP’s output may be varied, but listeners trust labels that pursue good art. Alpha Pup’s busy release schedule should engender plenty of trust.
First out will be tasty releases like Omid’s Afterwords 3 (8/24, digital only), edIT’s “Battling/Crunk DeGaulle” (8/21, digital single), edIT’s Certified Air Raid Material (9/18: digital, 10/9: physical), and Carlos Niño & Gaby Hernandez’ La Voz Sabia De Los Cosmos (10/16). Later in the fall, we will see new records from L.A. rapper Kail (True Hollywood Squares) and knob-twiddling extraordinaire, Daedelus (Live At Low End Theory).
In addition running a label and digital distribution, the couple organizes the cutting-edge, always-packed weekly Low End Theory club night (at the Airliner in Lincoln Heights every Wednesday), and operate one of L.A.’s most in-demand recording studios (the Echo Chamber). Somehow, Kev still has time to play in the Hawaii-inspired indie superduo Reefer, with Nick Thorburn of Islands/ex-Unicorns.
Alpha Pup is a label that sees the connections between diverse genres; their heads are full of anything from Prefuse 73, Mix Master Mike and Chromeo to Flying Lotus and DJ Nobody. With tons of projects planned for 2008, Alpha Pup is set to romp offleash through the streets and clubs near you.
edIT’s Certified Air Raid Material, Kali’s The Hollywood Squares, and Omid’s Afterwords.
One can pretty much assume at this point that Madlib will try anything production-wise. We’ve seen this guy tackle hip-hop, broken beat, nu-jazz, and numerous themes, including Movie Scenes, the first installment of his Beat Konducta project. Vol. 3-4 of this series sees him exploring Eastern sounds with as much gutless energy as a chef might experiment with spices. What’s next? Madlib does alt-country?
Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.
One can pretty much assume at this point that Madlib will try anything production-wise. We’ve seen this guy tackle hip-hop, broken beat, nu-jazz, and numerous themes, including Movie Scenes, the first installment of his Beat Konducta project. Vol. 3-4 of this series sees him exploring Eastern sounds with as much gutless energy as a chef might experiment with spices. What’s next? Madlib does alt-country?
Bad Brains is one of American punk’s great underdogs. They wrote the book on harDCore in the earliest ’80s, and seamlessly integrated Rasta spirituality into the noise. Sadly, they went from being brush-clearing pioneers to becoming a footnote too often overlooked in punk history. On Build a Nation, produced by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, we have vintage Brains: H.R.’s reggae croon still walks peacefully in Eden amid the noise, and the band still grooves well at 120-BPM hardcore excursions and roots-dub retreats. However, the album’s traditionalism handicaps them–so many hardcore bands have copied Bad Brains’ sound over the past 25 years, the music ends up sounding generic.
Anime music is pretty bad, but after you listen to anything over and over again for 10 years it begins to sound good. This is my favorite single/EP right now. It manages to use the exact same elements as music from the ’80s and yet sound nothing like ’80s music. There are giant robots and the songs are called “Flying in the Sky” and “Trust You Forever.” What else do you want? Go buy this now!
