Mike Hansen loves his turntable so much, it’s almost hateful. The Toronto-based sound artist takes just about any sound that can be produced by a turntable and flips it into thick, piercing screeches of blistering noise. Not far from the tree of Mute’s legendary noise-monger NON, Hansen has created a world that may make one’s headphones feel as though they’ve been possessed by a gnarly nocturnal force.
Summer Reggae Heat
Jamaica, Queens, New York reggae imprint VP is preparing for one of its most active summer album release schedules in recent years. The label has recently seen success with ’07 recordings from Richie Spice (In the Streets to Africa), Lady Saw (Walk Out), and the King JammySelector’s Choice series.
The label’s summer cornucopia kicks off with ladies’ man and rising lovers-rock singer Da’Ville’s (pictured below) debut for VP, On My Mind, available May 22. Currently the album’s namesake single (featuring Sean Paul) has been in the top five of London’s and Japan’s charts. Da’Ville’s silky voice, gentle harmonies, poppy arrangements–imagine a Jamaican Ne-Yo–should assure his long-term presence in Jamaican music.
Rasta singer Ras Shiloh’s Coming Home, produced by reggae legend Bobby ‘Digital’ Dixon, is slated for June 19. The album features the singles “Give a Little Love” and a remake of Aswad’s rootsy-lovers track “Need Your Love.” Coming Home features guest collaborations with Morgan Heritage, Natural Black, and Bascom X, and listeners can expect smooth, conscious singing in the vein of Garnett Silk.
Compilations will round out the summer and allow listeners to catch up with the best of the dozens of new singles released daily in Jamaica. Reggae Gold 2007 (out June 19) contains hits like Pressure’s “Love and Affection,” Shaggy’s “More Woman,” “Bring It” by Elephant Man, and Sean Paul’s “Watch Them Roll”.
The summer doesn’t slow down, with big, big deejay albums from Mavado (Gangsta For Life), Assassin (Gully Sit’n), and Shaggy (Intoxication), planned for July and August. VP has also tentatively announced new releases from Elephant Man (June/July), I Wayne (August), Morgan Heritage (Sept.), and T.O.K. (Sept).
Yacht Extends Tour
Portland-based weird-rocker YACHT takes his art (and name) pretty seriously. Also one-half of K Records’ electro-pop duo The Blow, Jona Bechtolt’s work under his solo moniker is about as punk as you can get without actually being punk.
Headlining his first tour ever, Bechtolt is no doubt staying true to that course. In fact, his record release party will unfold in two parts. Part 1: get on an actual yacht with a bunch of bros and party. Part 2: get dropped off at Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry and tear the roof off the place with performances by E*Rock, DJ Beyonda, and Adrian Orange with the Child Slave Rebellion, before Bechtolt himself takes the stage accompanied by a live band.
The implicit Part 3 is the rest of the tour–on a slightly less dramatic scale. But after listening to his newest offering, I Believe In You. Your Magic is Real, drama is a completely relative term.
Tourdates
05/05 Portland, OR: 2 Part CD Release Party
05/15 Salt Lake City, UT: Kilby Court
Historic Castle Succumbs to Graffiti
Blame it on Brangelina’s presence at Banksy’s Barely Legal exhibition last September, Neck Face’s foray into the gallery scene, or even Claw Money’s overpriced fashion line, but street art–at least a large portion of it–is no longer the stuff of train yards at midnight and other dark places of the urban netherworld.
The latest proof of this? Scottish Heritage, charged with preserving its nation’s historical landmarks, supportsThe Graffiti Art Project, a multi-day event in which Brazilian street-art masters Os Gemos, Nina, and Nunca join forces with local talent to cover the south side of Kelburn Castle with, yup, graffiti. Said artists will work on the collective project for 30 days, marrying historic preservation with an art form once run by street gangs. Even if it’s weird, you have to give ’em props for the most creative interpretation of mainstream graffiti to date. Shame about the castle though.
The Graffiti Art Project begins May 12, 2007 at Kelburn Castle, Glasgow, Scotland.
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Motown Gets Remixed, Latin-Style
Though Motown has been lauded as defining one of the most innovative and energetic eras in American musical history, there are still people courageous enough to refute such genius and try reinterpreting the hits. On Motown Remixed Vol. 2, 11 different producers chop up and reinterpret classics from Diana Ross, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and The Jackson 5 (pictured below), to name a few.
These aren’t mere producers, though. Vol. 2 focuses specifically on Latin producers, namely SPK (Ruff Ryders, Jennifer Lopez), George Noriega, Jodi Marr (Ricky Martin), and Randy Cantor (Ricky Martin). In other words, this is no Nortec Collective spin-off–these guys have been behind commercial Latin hits for a minute, not to mention some Grammy awards.
Even with such industry credibility, can anyone really remix The Temptations’ “Poppa Was A Rollin’ Stone?” Or better yet, Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine?” It may be sacrilege in some circles, but if anyone needs an über-produced Latin remix of “Square Biz” by Teena Marie for one of those moments, Motown Remixed is the best (and probably the only) place to turn.
Motown Remixed is out May 22, 2007 on Universal Music.
Tracklisting
1. J Walker & The All Stars “Shotgun (Los Amigos Invisibles Mix)”
2. Martha & The Vandellas “(Love is Like A) Heat Wave (David Elizondo Mix)”
3. The Temptations “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (David Elizondo Mix)”
4. Jackson 5 “I Want You Back (SPK Mix)”
5. Diana Ross “The Boss (Chosen Few Mix)”
6. Jackson 5 “Dancing Machine (Miami Mix)
7. The Temptations “I Can’t Get Next to You (Randy Cantor Mix)”
8. Marvin Gaye “I heard It Through the Grapevine (Fun Machine Mix)”
9. Teena Marie “Square Biz (Sonidero Nacional Remix)”
10. Dennis Edwards feat. Seidah Garrett “Don’t Look Any Further (DJ U.F. Low Mix)”
11. Smokey Robinson “Aqui Con Tido (Being With you) (Eric Bodi Rivera Mix)”
Clara Hill All I Can Provide
Cutting her club-land teeth with the likes of King Britt and Vikter Duplaix (who produces and sings here on “Paper Chase”), Clara Hill is in good hands on her sophomore solo effort. All I Can Provide ranges from dancefloor cuts with beautiful vocal embellishments to soft, jazzy ballads, like the excellent “Endlessly,” on which she takes lead. The stellar guitar line on “Just Paradise” is reminiscent of a funkier Nikka Costa, and while the record turns a bit poppy (“Run,” “Hard to Say”), her dusky vocal integrity alleviates any grievances.
Cougar Law
Produced by Tortoise’s John McEntire, Cougar’s debut LP Law is a nearly flawless example of intelligent musical design. The Madison, WI-based quintet seamlessly melds electronics and traditional instrumentation into an unclassifiable mixture of instrumental bliss that, while immediately listenable, grows in complexity with each successive spin. Throw the “cinematic” tag on road-trippers like “Strict Scrutiny” and “Interracial Dating” if you like, but the truth is that these two electro-acoustic numbers (and the remainder of Law) are so much more fulfilling than any film score of recent memory. It’s a compelling, infinitely satisfying execution of melodic subtlety and understatement.
4Hero Play With the Changes
Six years after Creating Patterns, 4Hero’s Mark (Marc Mac) Clair and Dennis (Dego) McFarlane return with their eagerly anticipated fifth LP Play With the Changes, perhaps a reference to how things have evolved for the duo over their noticeable absence. What remains the same is the pair’s penchant for crafting soulful, complex songs for an expertly assembled group of vocalists, here including Jody Watley, poetess Ursula Rucker, rappers Darien Brockington and Phonte of Little Brother, and funk legend Larry Mizell. The result is a studio-perfected and inspired exploration of various types of fusion. Leaving no stone unturned, 4Hero jumps headlong into a blend of jazz, soul, R&B, breakbeat, and funk, showing a passion for all forms of black music past and present. Once again, Marc Mac and Dego humble fans with their encyclopedic musical knowledge and masterful production.
Dntel Dumb Luck
This song just washes over you. Its four parts are each so perfect that on a lesser artist’s album they would be stretched out to four full-length tracks. The synth that opens the track is probably the best single sound I have heard all year.
Now Playing At Peepshow: Christopher Glancy
While foraging through the XLR8R archives, we came across this photo shoot from Issue 85 of the magazine. Mort a l’Aube, shot at Freeman’s NYC in October 2004, features photographer Christopher Glancy behind the lens, a striking title design by Surface To Air, and a slew of stick-thin models showing off their goth side.
See Mort a l’Aube now, only at Peepshow.
