If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past three weeks or so. you may recall that I’ve written a little bit about ACES, a Brooklyn-based electro pop duo comprised of Russ Flynn and Alexandra Stewart. The Brooklyn-based […]
Tag: The Joy of Violent Movement
Multi-Grammy nominated, Grammy-winning, Canadian-Jamaican DJ and reggae vocalist Shaggy is probably best known for his mega-hit singles “Boombastic,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Hey, Sexy Lady” and “Angel.” More than enough ink has been spilled throughout Shaggy’s career but I will say that “Boombastic” and “It Wasn’t Me” are so hugely popular that you’ll still occasionally hear both of those songs at parties, more than 15 years after their initial releases.
Miami, FL-based pop artist Brika has been something of a mainstay on JOVM as I’ve written about her a number of times over the past year or so. And in that time, Brika received attention across the blogosphere for an electro pop sound that at times seemed to owe a debt to trip-hop and jazz. Interestingly, Brika recently covered Shaggy’s mega-hit “It Wasn’t Me,” turning the uptempo reggae song into a slow-burning, sensual neo-soul-leaning reggae reworking that completely changes the song’s melody while employing the use of strummed guitar, organ, skittering percussion, double bass and Brika’s breathy coos. Certainly, by having a woman sing the song’s lyrics, it creates a completely different interpretation of the song while retaining the original’s spirit.
New Audio: Rhythm Scholar’s 70s Jazz and Funk Reworking of Audio Two’s Classic “Top Billin'”
Although “Top Billin’” relegated Brooklyn-based duo Audio Two to one-hit wonder status, the song has managed to be one of hip-hop’s most beloved. most important, most sampled songs as a number of artists across both […]
Over the course of this site’s five year history, I’ve written quite a bit about New York-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rene Lopez, who is among a group of incredibly talented and shamefully under-appreciated artists I’ve covered and have gotten to know in some fashion. And throughout those five years, Lopez has uncompromisingly refused to be pigeonholed into one particular genre. E.L.S. (short for Electric Latin Soul), Lopez’s 2011 release, saw the New York-based artist meshing salsa, boogaloo, old school hip-hop, merengue and electronica to create a sound that was a loving homage to Latino New York and to old school New York I grew up in, but with an inventive, modern re-interpretation. It’s an amiably swaggering, upbeat party album with sounds that grab you by the hand and pulls you towards the dance floor.
Paint the Moon Gold, his last and most recent full-length released in 2014 was comprised of stripped down compositions consisting of live instrumentation only — vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, horns, flute, etc. — while drawing deeply from salsa, and 70s Brazilian music. In some way, that material brought Lopez back to the music that his father played as a member of Tipica 73 — and is just as danceable; but importantly, the material on that album seemed to come from a deeply personal place, as lyrically and thematically, the material expresses the thoughts, sentiments, regrets, compromises and desires of a worldly, experienced man, who has looked back at his life with a sense of amazement and disbelief and the recognition life is at times remarkably painful, remarkably strange and incredibly, profoundly wonderful — sometimes simultaneously.
Lopez’s most recent recorded effort, Love Has No Mercy was released at the end of last year, and from his previous efforts it would seem to be the most dramatic change of sonic direction in his career as the material is comprised of slinkily seductive synth-based R&B and funk, inspired by Prince, The Gap Band, Rick James, Chic and others. However, as Lopez had told me in an interview, he grew up in a household where salsa and merengue and disco were routinely played, and his first band The Authority was deeply influenced by his love of the aforementioned Prince. So in some way, Lopez has come back full circle.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of months, you may recall that I wrote about Lopez’s then-recently released single “Heavy, Baby Heavy,” a single that not only continues Lopez’s long-held fascination and love of all things funk, but was also the first released single in his Jam of the Month series. (Presumably, the Single of the Month series is meant to build up buzz for a new recorded effort, which he and his backing band have been working on for quite some time.) The third single of the Single of the Month series, “Trouble Lovin’ Lady” consists of squiggling and trembling synths, a brass section that punctuates the song’s chorus, a sinuous and funky bass line, propulsive drums in a song that channels Rick James’ “Ghetto Life,” “Give It To Me,” and “Superfreak,” The Gap Band’s “You Dropped A Bomb On Me” and others — but with a sexy horn solo at the song’s bridge; in fact, the song sounds as though it could have easily been released in 1982. Simply put it’s a funky, party-friendly song that drive you to the dance floor — right now.
If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past two months or so, you’d know that I’ve been experimenting with a monthly Spotify playlist, which features the songs I’ve reviewed throughout the past month, as well as the songs I’ve mentioned as references or influences. It should create an extremely eclectic and extensive playlist, and can sever as a way for you to catch up on the past month. In fact, this month we start off with the legendary Lee “Scratch” Perry, cover punk rock, indie rock, indie electro pop and more, before we end with the Danish indie electro pop duo, Reptile Youth.
Of course, there are a few occasions where some songs aren’t available as of the time of posting — and there’s a chance you might see them later on in the process. But in the meantime, check it out; it’s the perfect way to catch up with the goings on over the month.
New Video: The Haunting and Troubling, New Video for Reptile Youth’s “Arab Spring Break Parts 1 and 2”
Reptile Youth – Arab Spring Break (Part I & II) from Reptile Youth on Vimeo. If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past 15-18 months or so, you would have likely come across a couple […]
New Audio: Kishi Bashi’s Swooning and Romantic Cover of The Talking Heads “This Must Be The Place”
As a child, I was a huge fan of Talking Heads. I’ve probably seen and heard Stop Making Sense more times than about 80% of the population before I turned 15 and several of their albums — […]
Comprised of Rishi Dihr (lead vocals, sitar, bass), Jean-Gabriel Lambert (drums, backing vocals), and Miles Dupire (drums, backing vocals), the Montreal, QC-based trio Elephant Stone have become something of a mainstay on JOVM, as I’ve written about them quite a bit over the past couple of years.
Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the site or with the band, some back story is necessary: the band led by Dihr, a renowned sitar player, who’s formerly a member of The High Dials and has collaborated with members of the renowned, Austin, TX-based psych rock band The Black Angels, has developed a reputation for a psych rock sound that frequently employs elements of traditional Eastern instrumentation with Western songwriting in a way that’s reminiscent of the 60s psychedelic sound pioneered by The Beatles, The Kinks and others. With the release of Canadian trio’s third full-length effort, The Three Poisons last year, the band’s sound went through a major change in sonic direction in which the sitar wasn’t as much of a primary focus; in fact, sitar was retained here and there to add sonic coloring — and to retain the overall psychedelic feel.
The band’s latest single “The Devil’s Shelter” is a collaboration that features The Black Angels’ frontman Alex Maas. And as Dihr explained in press notes, “I knew all along that the dark mood of this song needed something even darker. Lo and behold, a Black Angel came to my rescue. Alex Maas and I have been friends for well over 10 years and I try to collaborate with him as much as possible. I sent him a bunch of my demos for our new album to get his feedback. Of all the songs, I felt this one was missing something. He offered to re-sing this whole song and I could do with it what I wanted. On the first playback of his vocals, I knew the song had what it needed. His voice can summon Tibetan monks, Nico and the devil all at once. He definitely brought the darkness to my light.”
Interestingly, the latest Elephant Stone single is a marked change in sonic direction as it begins with a tense, undulating synths, shimmering sitar chords, propulsive drumming paired with Dihr’s vocals on the song’s verses and Maas’ vocals on the chorus and hook to create a song that feels and sounds ominous and murky — and as though it channels The Black Angels “Don’t Play With Guns.”
The band will be embarking on a West Coast tour throughout November. Check out the tour dates and info below.
ELEPHANT STONE WEST COAST TOUR
11/06 – Montréal QC – Turbo Haüs (Info)
11/12 – San Diego CA – Whistle Stop (Info)
11/13 – Los Angeles CA – Hotel Cafe (Info)
11/14 – Santa Ana CA – Constellation Room (Info)
11/18 – Seattle WA – LoFi (Info)
11/19 – Vancouver BC – The Cobalt (Info)
11/20 – Portland OR – Bunk Bar (Info)
11/21 – Oakland CA – The New Parish for Echo Fest (Info)
11/12 – San Diego CA – Whistle Stop (Info)
11/13 – Los Angeles CA – Hotel Cafe (Info)
11/14 – Santa Ana CA – Constellation Room (Info)
11/18 – Seattle WA – LoFi (Info)
11/19 – Vancouver BC – The Cobalt (Info)
11/20 – Portland OR – Bunk Bar (Info)
11/21 – Oakland CA – The New Parish for Echo Fest (Info)
If you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years, you may be familiar with the Jersey City, NJ-based trio Overlake. Comprised of founding members Tom Barrett (vocals, guitar) and Lysa Opfer (vocals, bass) and Nick D’Amore (drums), the trio can trace their origins to when Overlake’s founding duo Barrett and Opfer were in a previous band, and the duo began bonding over a mutual love of shoegaze and 80s and 90s alt rock. As Opfer recalled in press notes, her and Barrett would often stay late after practices normally with Opfer on a Rhodes piano and Barrett on drums, jamming and creating songs that were largely influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Pavement and Sonic Youth. And about a year after those jam sessions, the band started working on the material that would become their debut full-length, Sighs which Killing Horse Records released last year.
Initially, the band started as a duo but they recently recruited local drummer, Nick D’Amore to help flesh out the band’s sound. Since the release of their debut effort Sighs, the newly constituted trio have worked on a 7 inch, “Travelogue”/”Winter Is Why,” which officially drops today.
The 7 inch’s A side single “Travelogue” is a breezy refinement of the sound that first captured my attention as its comprised of shimmering reverb-y guitar chords, propulsive drumming, ethereal boy-girl harmonies and an anthemic hook that makes the song sound as though it draws influence from the pioneers of shoegaze, RIDE. The trio will be embarking on a tour through November and more extensively through 2016, as they put the finishing touches for their much-anticipated sophomore effort slated for a release late in 2016. Check out tour dates below.
FALL TOUR DATES
11/1 – Brooklyn NY – The Grand Victory w/ Sink Tapes, Superpony
11/2 – Bethlehem PA – The Funhouse
11/3 – Raleigh NC – Slim’s w/ Make Light, Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
11/4 – Athens GA – Flicker Theatre & Bar w/ Sound of Ceres, Spaceflyte
11/5 – Nashville TN – Springwater Supper Club w/ Nightblonde
11/6 – Memphis TN – Murphy’s w/ Jack Alberson, Matthew Trisler
11/7 – Kansas City MO – Record Bar w/ Birth Defects, Wet Ones
11/8 – Lincoln NE – Duffy’s w/ Powers, Gordon
11/9 – Des Moines IA – Lefty’s w/ Men in Lead Masks & Special Guest
11/11 – Columbus OH – Broken Records & Beehives In-Store
11/11 – Columbus OH – King Avenue 5 w/ Tethers
11/12 – Philadelphia PA – The Fire w/ Teeel
11/13 – Asbury Park NJ – Asbury Park Yacht Club w/ Dead Stars, Seaside Caves
Although the Providence, RI-based trio Atlantic Thrills were officially formed in 2009, the origins of the band comprised of Eric Aguilar (vocals, bass), Daniel Tanner (vocals, guitar), and Josh Towers (drums) can be traced back even earlier — to the early 00’s when the band’s founding members Aguilar and Tanner met at a loft party. At the time, Aguilar was an emcee and producer studying at the Rhode Island School of Design and Tanner was a DJ. Along with another emcee, the duo of Tanner and Aguilar formed a hip-hop act Exile and Lokey and released an album; unfortunately, something felt off and the project disbanded.
While Aguilar and Tanner were crate digging and pouring over Nuggets Vol 1. and Pebbles Vol 1., freakbeat and fuzz compilations for new sounds and unused breaks, they realized that they needed to make the music they wanted to hear — scuzzy, garage-based psych rock. Towers was then recruited to flesh out the band’s sound on drums, and the newly formed trio recorded a debut effort, which puts them on a growing list of acts that have specialized in an old-school garage psych sound including Raccoon Fighter, who I’ve written about on JOVM in the past.
“Vices” the first single and album title track off the band’s forthcoming sophomore effort, Vices slated for a December 4 release through Almost Ready Records consists of chiming guitars played through copious layers of reverb, propulsive drumming and ethereal harmonies to craft a sound that’s lo-fi scuzzy and trippy — and in many ways the overall sound channels the psych rock sounds of the early 60s.
New Video: The Hallucinogenic Video for Heaters’ New Single “Kamikaze”
Certainly, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the better part of this past year, you may have come across a post or two on the Grand Rapids, MI-based psych rock trio HEATERS. Comprised of Andrew Tamlyn, Nolan Krebs and Joshua Korf, […]
Long Island-born, Brooklyn-based DJ/producer/emcee J57 is probably best known among hip-hop heads as a member of the Brown Bag All-Stars, one of the more prolific and underrated crews in contemporary hip-hop. And over the last couple of years in particular, J57 has received attention and critical praise for a production style that channels the sound of hip-hop’s golden age — i.e., big, boom bap beats, heavy synth-based orchestration paired with ridiculously tight, catchy hooks. As a result of being mentored by the legendary DJ Premier, the Brooklyn-based producer, DJ and emcee has assisted Premier on production work with the likes of Nas, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith. And naturally, those contributions have directly led to collaborations with Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Method Man, Raekwon, Mack Wilds, The Roots and others; in fact, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past few months, you’d likely remember that J57 produced “The Purple Tape” off Method Man’s recently released The Meth Lab.
Also, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past couple of years you’d also be familiar with local emcee Koncept, who like the aforementioned J57 is a member of Brown Bag All-Stars. Over the past few years, there have been few emcees who have been as productive, prolific and consistent as Koncept, who has released a number of impressive singles and albums. Of course because of their connection in Brown Bag All-Stars, it shouldn’t be surprising that J57 and Koncept have been frequent collaborators, including for Koncept’s forthcoming EP The Fuel, slated for a November 20 release.
EP title track “The Fuel” featuring guest vocals by Akie Bermiss features Koncept dexterously rhyming about having the desire and determination to succeed in even the most difficult of situations, including desperate, hand-to-mouth poverty, working soul-crushing jobs with you dignity and sense of self intact. And he does so over a soulful production that features soaring organ chords, Akie Bermiss’s earnest vocals, and boom-bap drums. It’s conscious and thoughtful hip-hop based around deeply personal experiences and hard-fought wisdom — and it clearly draws from hip-hop’s glory days, when a song like “The Fuel” would dominate even mainstream radio. But no worry, real hip-hop featuring emcees actually saying something important over dope production is still alive and well; sadly, we all have to make more of a concerted effort to find it and support it.
Interview: A Q&A with Jamil Rashad, a.k.a. Boulevards
As the son of a renowned jazz radio DJ, Jamil Rashad grew up in a musical household in which, a passionate interest in music was fostered and encouraged. And as a result, the young Rashad […]
Bay Area-based duo Maybe the Moon, comprised of Karmen Kimball (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Lasner (guitar, keyboards) can trace their origins to when the two met at an “End of the World” Party — a party on December 21, 2012, the end of the 13th cycle of the Mayan calendar, and the alleged end of the world as we knew it. While at the party Kimball and Lasner chatted and bonded over a mutual of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music. As the story goes, during their conversation the duo discovered that at one point, they had attended the same elementary school. Shortly after their meeting, the duo got engaged and they started working on the material that would become the singles that they’ve released over the course of the past year to 18 months or so.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting JOVM over the past 12-18 months, you’d likely come across a couple of posts on the Bay Area-based duo. Their latest single “Washout” continues the duo’s burgeoning reputation for carefully crafted, thoughtful electro pop with lyrical content that possesses a novelist’s attention to their character’s psychology and psychological motivations, and nuanced psychological states; in other words, the song’s characters speak and feel like fully-fleshed out people — like someone you may have known or dealt with at some point. In the case of “Washout,” the song’s narrator regretfully and candidly speaks of a relationship that she sabotaged. She speaks of that period with a little bit of perspective, and with the recognition that she had someone who lovingly dealt with her until they couldn’t deal with her anymore. Of course, the duo has also maintained elements of the sound that have caught my attention over the past few months — moody and minimalist production composed of slowly cascading synths and sparse yet propulsive beats paired with Kimball’s ethereal and mournful vocals, which evoke a desperate and urgent desire to connect with another, and a fear of the heartache that connection can bring. Thoughtful and detailed pop is sadly relegated to misfit status, and it’s shameful because in the increasingly perilous times we live in, we need music that forces us to think and moves us to feel something.