By the way, I have access to a computer again. If you have any requests, please ask me!
During the past two decades several months, I’ve been spending a good deal of time immersing myself in music. While I’m working at and running Retrofit Records, I’ve also been hosting a soul music night at a local bar while also digging for new sources of inspiration for my guitar playing. As of late, I’ve half ditched the folk world I’ve always been moved by and turned my attention to the world of black music, paying attention not just to the playing, but also to the moods and feelings their performances created. I’ve been infuriated by Fela Kuti, smitten by Teddy Pendergrass, and psychedelicized by The Chambers Brothers. But nothing I’ve found has compared to the jazz that emerged after the death of John Coltrane.
John Coltrane’s work was best known for tearing asunder the nature of bebop and the bluesy side of jazz in order to explore altogether unknown territory more staunchly influenced by subconscious urges and eccentric religious views. Before the death of Coltrane, jazz literally exploded with creativity in a way that’s almost unparalleled by any other period from any genre of music (and that’s not even including the further explorations of Miles Davis into altogether new forms of music). Many musicians during this time turned increasingly inward, creating very personal and spiritual works; others exploded with rage and let their instruments wail like infuriated sirens. But after Coltrane’s death, jazz became even more eccentric. Many leading players saw Coltrane as a guiding light leading them through unknown territory; without him, the scene expanded in new directions.
Along with Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders perhaps best exemplifies the free playing that emerged as a phoenix from Coltrane’s ashes. Both players had performed with John Coltrane before, and both had vast experience with non-Western religious thought and musical ideas. As leaders of their own groups, they helped expand the language of jazz in their own, personal way. Among Sanders’ works, Karma is easily my favorite. Issued by the Impulse! record label in 1969, it largely consists of one lengthy piece called “The Creator Has a Master Plan”. Although it is over 30 minutes long, there are few extended solos from any of the musicians included; instead the musicians work hard at maintaining the tranquil and meditative mood of the piece. Much of the piece consists of rather free vamps by the rhythm section, with the horns’ chanting mantras on top. The most unique element of the album is the presence of Leon Thomas, an absolutely unique vocalist in the history of jazz. During most of the album he is content to wordlessly yodel; in this, he comes the closest out of any vocalist to reflecting the expressions of a master saxophonist. Yet instead of sticking out, he glides thoughtfully in and out of the piece’s trance alongside Pharoah and the other players. Indeed, after the first couple of listens, it seems almost imperative that he be a part of the piece. In fact, it is the wholeness of the finished piece that make the album so impressive; it is hard to imagine it existing any other way, and for me at least, nearly impossible to imagine composing.
Here’s the nighttime mix I made for Serena. I personally think this one may be better than the daytime one, with a really solid mix of soul, disco, and indie pop. Dig.
Tracklisting:
1. Electric Wire Hustle - Waters
2. Big K.R.I.T. - Dreamin’
3. 10cc - The Worst Band in the World
4. Hodges, James, and Smith - I Who Have Nothing
5. The Impressions - Check Out Your Mind
6. The Clientele - Graven Wood
7. Patti Jo - Make Me Believe in You (Tom Moulton mix)
8. Martha Reeves - No One There
9. Yo La Tengo - Moonrock Mambo
10. Toro Y Moi - Go With You
11. Budos Band - Budos Rising
12. Telefon Tel Aviv - My Week Beats Your Year
13. Destroyer - Savage Night at the Opera
14. Lindstrom & Christabelle - Baby Can’t Stop
15. Robyn - We Dance to the Beat
16. !!! - Take Ecstasy With Me
A friend of mine recently requested that I make her a mix CD for the summer. I’m fairly proud of this one, even though most of the songs aren’t necessarily too obscure. It just works fairly well as a snapshot of what I’ve been obsessing over lately. Here’s the tracklisting:
1. The Free Design - Kites Are Fun
2. The Monkees - Can You Dig It?
3. Love - A House Is Not a Motel
4. Smith - Baby It’s You
5. Ennio Morricone - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Main Title
6. Scott Walker - The Amorous Humphrey Plugg
7. Renaissance - Trip to the Fair
8. Stereolab - Fluorescences
9. Junip - Rope and Summit
10. Dungen - Det Tar Tid
11. King Khan & the Shrines - 69 Faces of Love
12. Frank Wilson - Do I Love You
13. Beach Boys - Break Away
14. Broadcast - Before We Begin
15. Manitoba - Hendrix with KO
16. Thee Oh Sees -Stinking Cloud
17. Jr. Walker and His All Stars - I Ain’t Going Nowhere
18. Kate Bush - Big Sky
19. Black Star - Definition
Hope you enjoy!
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Ramases - Earth-People
Where to begin with this band? That it’s the brainchild of an army instructor who believed himself to be a reincarnation of the Egyptian god Ramases? That he somehow managed to get the entirety of soft-rockers 10cc involved? That he was even able to get signed at all?
I cannot take such an approach to this band because that would make the music seem secondary. Nobody would give a shit about some crazed sociopath and his beliefs unless something remarkable came of it; thank god their debut album Space Hymns definitely is one of a kind. Created as a way to get his message to the broader masses, “Ramases” (born Martin Raphael, sometimes known as Barrington Frost) had an incredible knack for writing songs, which, combined with the studio trickery of 10cc, resulted in one of the best psychedelic albums of the 1970s. Here, the gamut is run between hard rock (Life Child, You’re the Only One), folk (Earth-People, And The Whole World, Jesus), space rock (Balloon), and bizarre gems that would make Animal Collective jealous (Quasar One, Journey to the Inside, Molecular Delusions); each track is a masterpiece. The only band I can think that comes close to this sort of schizophrenic genius is The Incredible String Band.
I’m sharing this because I want others to know about this classic album. And I want everyone to know that it’s available on LP again, thanks to Mexican Summer.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
The Reatards - Out Of My Head, Into My Bed
This should be the part where I apologize about not updating this blog too often, but I refuse to do so. I’ve been too busy in the real world doing real things. Namely, myself and some friends started a record store in Tallahassee, Florida and we’ve been working our asses to get it going strong. And it’s been a struggle worth doing - so far, Retrofit Records has been doing well! We’re actually preparing even as we speak for a show tonight with Nobunny, but during the lull I thought I would post on here. Updates unfortunately have to be sporadic, only because my laptop got stolen, and, well, using an iPad to update a music blog isn’t going to work out.
My soundtrack for this journey in my life has largely been influenced by my business partner, Sharod Bines. He’s worked for years under the name Back to the Garage to bring a metric fuckton of garage and punk to the Tallahassee area, including groups such as Jacuzzi Boys, Shannon and the Clams, and The Spits - all bands I’ve mostly ignored in the past, but began closely listening to now. When we first started getting the store together during the summer, he was constantly blasting garage rock in the store, and he nearly pissed himself when Goner reissued the first Reatards album. Teenage Hate was recorded and released when Jay Reatard was still under 20 years old, and even though he was young, he exhibited a tremendous skill with melody as well as a deep knowledge of early rock and roll as well as punk. This, for us, was our holy grail for the start of the store, and this (combined with a shitload of beer) fueled our late nights stripping, painting, and preparing our space. Every track on Goner’s reissue is a rugged little lo-fi gem, but this one grabbed me the hardest. It’s an ultimate expression of longing, with all the rage and despair of every teenage boy’s heart. Who hasn’t had an unrequited love? And who hasn’t felt anxious about sharing those feelings? Underneath Jay’s shouting and the rowdy playing, this is actually an extremely tender song. I felt his near obsession rivaled my desire for the shop to get started.
RIP, Jay. You were a fuck-up, but you were a great.
Numero Group — Eccentric Breaks and Beats, Vol. 2
Last year, Numero put out Eccentric Breaks and Beats, a 12” bootleg-turned-legitimate release by the Shoes production team. It’s 40 minutes of mashed-up bliss, woven together with samples from some 50 Numero platters.
Well now they’re back with Vol 2, this time courtesy of Adam Calman, of the label and music collective Parallel Thought.
And… drumroll… you can get it FOR FREE. (well, for the price of your email & ZIP)
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Quintron - Waterfall
Nobody knows how to have a good time like Quintron. Not nobody can make his lo-fi organ jams like he does. Nobody else is so goddamn cool. Fuck all y’all motherfuckers.
All of his jams sound like this, but I’m not complaining. He makes his jams with two things: his organ/drum setup (pictured above), and his homemade drum buddy, which is a light activated drum machine/synthesizer thing. Look at this shit:
Damn, right? Basically the multicoloured things poking towards the coffee can read the light that runs through the punctured holes to create sound. You can hear him do a (rather brief) solo on the drum buddy in the middle of the above track, which comes from the album Too Thirsty 4 Love, but if you want to learn more about how the drum buddy works, Mr. Quintron made an excellent video to explain it.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Six Organs of Admittance - Light of the Light
Like many music nerds, I first fell in love with Ben Chasny’s project Six Organs of Admittance because of his 2005 album School of the Flower, which is an utterly unique and entrancing psychedelic folk album. Combining his excellent raga-esque fingerpicking skills on his guitar with the bombastic, chaotic and totally balls-to-the-wall free drumming of Chris Corsano, School of the Flower was a layered album which took almost all of its structural influence from Talking Heads’ Remain in Light. Listening to his back catalog, School of the Flower feels like it came from out of nowhere. His work prior to this album was mostly recorded at home on a 4-track, and while there are still layered overdubs, nothing really approaches the utter mind-fuckery of School of the Flower’s intricately layered electric guitar workouts. His work since then, while not as complicated as that album, is definitely still working in a same vein.
Which makes his latest album, Asleep on the Floodplan, odd. Recorded in his bedroom between 2007 and 2010, the songs are a return to his earlier days. Although not as dark or mystical (or even as openly psychedelic) as albums like Dust & Chimes and Dark Noontide, they retain a similar simplicity as the songs on those albums. Minimally recorded, and sparingly overdubbed with harmonium or voice, Asleep focuses more on Chasny’s songwriting chops and guitar virtuosity than on production. And you know what? He can write a hell of a song. This one was my favorite “song” on the album. Listening to this, I picture myself on a hazy autumn morning lying under a tree soaking in the sun through the golden leaves above me. It’s calm, peaceful, and gorgeous, much like the rest of the album.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Vesa-Matti Loiri - Itkeva Huilu
Finnish jazz of the 60’s and 70’s was best known for its willingness to incorporate non-jazz musical forms into itself. The big guns in Finnish jazz, such as Eero Koivistoinen and Esa Pethman, would use elements of folk and classical music from various countries as well as rock instrumentation to create a sound entirely different than the jazz fusion of America or England.
Flautist Vesa-Matti Loiri is an oddball in this scene. Although he performed with many members of the Finnish jazz scene, he cannot really be grouped in with the rest of them. He is best known for his acting ability as well as representing Finland in the 1980 Eurovision song contest, not for his LPs. Yet his debut album, 1971’s 4 + 20, is exceptionally great. 4 + 20 doesn’t really stick to any specific style, let alone jazz; there are elements of folk (i.e. the title track, which was written by Stephen Stills), waltzes, and Latin music. Most interesting is the track Itkeva Huilu, which is a poem by Larin Kyosti set to music by the classical composer Oskar Merikanto. Both funky and serious, the music reminds me of the theme to some long-lost PBS special. Vesa-Matti Loiri’s baritone singing on the track sticks out from the fun music, yet I’m still pretty delighted at the combination. Good thing too, because this is the direction most of his music went in after this album.
This is available through Winter Park, Florida’s Porter Records, one of the most interesting labels around today. Their jazz reissues are always solid.
