Friday 27 June 2008
Oxford Comma
Following Vampire Weekend's widespread success they've been able to turn their attention to working on new tracks and creating music videos. Their latest piece of work, under director Richard Oyade, is a video for one of their hits, "Oxford Comma." The whole thing was apparently done in one straight shot that took seventeen times to get right. Overall, the result is a pretty interesting music video that has the feel of a Wes Anderson movie. Richard Oyade does a nice job of doing a performance scene in an atypical way. The band definitely looks comfortable as they keep moving into the eye of the mainstream.
Old New Music: Ratatat Remixes Vol. 2
Looking to add some flavor to the favorite rap songs you've played over and over again? Brooklyn electronica duo Ratatat have composed just what you need to feed your ears. Ratatat has created interesting music over the past couple of years by expertly blending guitar riffs into a synthetic sonic landscape. The results were two great LPs, Ratatat and Classics, but after these projects were completed the band decided to turn their attention to rap music. They carefully selected songs from popular rap and completely reconstructed the beats. Beat building was achieved through the use of their guitars and synth savy , which developed a sound that could surely be the direction hip-hop is heading towards. Electronica music has already been becoming more prominent in Hip-hop and for good reason. The two genres work really well hand in hand and Ratatat gives you a glimpse of how great the union can really be. Jay- Z's "Allure" and Beanie Sigel's "Glock Nines" sound so fresh over Ratatat's beats that they could've easily been put on any of their LPs. Do yourself a favor and download the entire remix Vol. 2 album off Ratatat's myspace page (scroll down a little, it's on the right side). Apparently Vol. 1 is tough to find, but if your interested try to grab that too.
http://www.myspace.com/ratatatmusic
Thursday 19 June 2008
Afro POP
Every so often a particular influence affects music in a way that can be seen through widespread artist convergence. Some band or some artist starts the trend and other groups latch on until, in retrospect, it can be officially looked at as an era. There are plenty of examples ranging from the days of disco to the birth of grunge. Right now indie music is experiencing a similar stimulation with the growth of a genre that has largely been away from the mainstream. This genre is global music and it's making a footprint on the sonic landscape today. Early rumblings of pounding African drums and Caribbean beats started way back with the release of Paul Simon's Graceland. His work faded away until a now widely popular group, Vampire Weekend, picked up on his brand of catchy Afro pop. Vampire Weekend achieved great levels of success with their global music, and the trend quickly caught on and has proliferated throughout music today.
Esau Mwamwaya is from the heart of Africa and his music is now able to come to the forefront of the indie scene due to this recent explosion of global sound. People like M.I.A, Animal Collective, and Architecture in Helsinki have paved the way for Esau. Through their use of eclectic instrumentation that takes root in tribal African sound, Esau has been able to generate a great bit of hype for the release of his upcoming LP. However, in the meantime he has teamed up with the very people that are allowing him to become a commercial success. "Kamphopo" is an excellent single that has Esau singing over Architecture in Helsinki's "Heart it races." He really outdoes the original track as he puts an extremely uplifting voice to an already perfectly constructed "global" beat. Esau claims to be "the African Phil Collins", but Phil could never achieve the kind of euphoria that Esau makes seem so routine. Keep a look out for a mix tape to be released shortly with collaborations between Esau, M.I.A, Vampire Weekend, Santagold, and others.
Tuesday 17 June 2008
Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand is now generally regarded as a solid band that makes quality music. Their first two outings were critically acclaimed and widely regarded as some of the best new music available. However, no one had heard from them for a while until they recently leaked some samples of what's to come on their next LP. Band members claim that the album is going to have an African feel, which is surely becoming one of the fastest growing influences in indie music today. Take a look at their website, it's actually pretty neat, and bits of the new tracks sound really good.
http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/music.html (copy and paste into browser)
Friday 13 June 2008
A-Track of The Day
Tuesday 10 June 2008
Fleet Foxes
Oh boy! Folk music! Yeah, I said it, and for good reason. The Fleet Foxes have just come out with a stunning Folk album in their first official LP, Fleet Foxes. During this 11 track odyssey, the Fleet Foxes construct tightly knit pop tunes that could be enjoyed by you or your grandpa. The key to their success lies in their comfort as a band. They accept their AM radio rock and Folk influences, while managing to breathe fresh air into the storied genre. The Fleet Foxes expertly employ the heavy use of a cappella and reverb to give their album a unique feel. They then build off of this originality by using lush instrumentation to create landscapes only possible in dreams. However, at some points the Fleet Foxes only appeal to a patient listener that appreciates both lyrical content and composition. Basically, I'm saying that these guys can be a little boring if your looking for a quick hitting pick me up. So, if you have some time and enjoy classic music give the Fleet Foxes a shot. In the meantime check out their myspace to get a picture of what's going on. After playing through the LP a couple of times, the Fleet Foxes can really grow on you. Just like a good water ice Fleet Foxes is a nice summer treat. Standouts include; White Winter Hymnal, Ragged Wood, and He Doesn't Know Why. Cool album cover too..
Tuesday 3 June 2008
A- Track of The Day
Ratatat will shortly be releasing their third full- length LP, aptly named LP3. Based on a couple of tracks, Ratatat seems to have shifted gears to a more diverse sound that's clearly influenced by global instrumentation. "Mirando" is a bit choppy in the beginning, but as the song grows all the individual monkey and robot noises fuse together with Ratatat's signature guitar rifting to create some fire. Worthy of a listen, keep an eye out for LP3's release on July 8th under XL. Above is a nice little video for "Mirando", it shows off some nice editing using an old Shwarzenegger film. Very cool, enjoy.
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