Hi everybody. The first week of school has been very hectic for me. I’m running around like a chicken with its head cut off, one that is going to meetings and interviews anyway. Even decapitated chickens need jobs. So this week’s post will be rather succinct.
Everyone has heard of the Gorillaz song “Feel Good Inc.” right? Just in case you haven’t, here it is.
The song is an amazing rock, hip-hop fusion which become incredibly famous and rightfully so. The song flows so naturally from rapping to acoustic guitars that it actually allows rap haters to appreciate the art (yes me). Also, being the first band to really try something like this successfully has helped them become famous.
Now, I want you to compare the original version of the song to this cover, performed by a girl named Josie Charlwood.
The first thing you have to realize is that this entire song is done real-time with a couple of loop pedals and other hardware. Not only is this girl musically talented, but she is also technologically savvy. I am almost convinced by now that the cover is better than the original. The sound of her guitar mixed with her voice creates a milky sweet sound which does the original justice. The rap line blows me away with ending slur and the “hahaha’s”. There’s something incredibly attractive about a girl who can do that.
Hi there everyone. My last semester at Binghamton University is coming up and I’m slowly preparing to be pushed out into the working world in an attempt to make a living. My time at this school has been very interesting to say the least. It was kind of like a personal social experiment. I would subject myself to various humiliating or mentally trying situations in order to see my own reaction. And of course I was only aware of it in hindsight, so as to obviously not upset the delicate nature of the experiments. I must say that some of the results were quite informative.
Actually, all that I really learned is to not mix large quantities of alcohol and magic. Weird things happen then. My results are also slightly inconclusive on that, because my notes become a bit fuzzy, so actually never mind.
To kick off this final semester I have but one amazing song. This time it is a song by Mono/Poly entitled “Forest Dark” off of his Manifestations – EP. Signed to Brainfeeder (Flying Lotus’ label), this LA based artist shook the foundation of the experimental trip-hop scene with this 2011 release.
The song begins in some rainforest with a deft synthesizer riff that sets a sort of neutral -1 mood. An outstanding setup for what is to follow: a dark explosion of hip-hop madness. Deep pulsating bass lines envelop your brain like slow vibrating tendrils while the main melody of a slowly stuttering synth distracts you.
This furious break skyrockets the mood to +8, pretty much right on the cusp of inciting riots. But Mono/Poly realizes this and in order to maintain the mellowness he initiates a sort of descent which creates an entirely unheard effect in the face of hip-hop. Basically the synths from the beginning make a miraculous return to calm everyone down, forgetting that all they really do is just set up another drop.
This time it’s even better, with a +9 to face-melting, the retriggering of the different instruments display the advanced level of beat making that this artist is on. Like some giant monster crawling out forest, this song is trying to eat you, but only to regurgitate you so that it can eat you again.
The last part is basically one giant softening and a return to neutrality. The monster threw you up a second time and has left you on the forest floor to ponder what just happened. It actually becomes very ambient and trippy towards the end proving that Mono/Poly has many different tricks up his sleeve. I recommend listening to the rest of this album and gazing at the pretty cover art:
Wish me luck as I try to find a job. I think I’m going to actually have to start going to company information meetings. I always thought those were some kind of jokes.
Hey everyone. I have a quick little post about a strange little Flying Lotus EP named Pattern + Grid World. First and foremost, this EP has probably one of the best album covers out there and needs some words about it.
The picture above is the said cover art. Is it a man hiding in bushes or a strange space monster? The level of detail is astounding up close, but as you move further away the pictures seems to change. The leaves fade away like an illusion and only the eyes are left staring at you from a blur. Pretty trippy is you ask me.
Released in 2010, Pattern + Grid World is considerably different from his previous release, Cosmogramma. Whereas Cosmogramma was out there and focused more around inflections of jazz, Pattern + Grid World is simply out there. Take the first song for example:
“Clay” is only the spacey introduction to some cosmic drama. Once Flylo’s signature tribal sounding beat drops in it becomes a completely revolutionary experience. It hovers right there on the edge of being completely out there and bizarre, but just relaxing enough to listen to in any situation. The different melodies are interchanged frequently and partially drowned out by random sounds that really it just is an airy blur, sort of like the front cover art. It all makes sense!
The next song is the single. I put down below because musically it is much different from the rest, but it has a really cool and music video. Don’t forget to watch it, but now listen to this:
As aside from its completely cool name “Time Vampires” is in every way similar the first song yet bizarrely different. It begins with strange voices and again a nice beat. But this whistle begins to play that makes you begin to question your current situation. Like telephone hold music from hell, it mocks you by being pretty yet infuriating. Only a man like Flylo can pull something like this off.
“Jurassic Notion/M Theory” is definitely the weirdest song on the album. This song is the quintessential modern tribal experience. Rollercoaster noises, strange people cheering, and a bass line which gives up way too easily. Nothing more can really be said. You just have to let this one sink it on its own.
Flying Lotus is releasing his brand new album at Coachella this year. I won’t be there since I’m poor and in need of a job, but I’ll be watching the stream. Sort of like the album art.
Hey everyone. I’m going back to the UK for some moody electronic music. I’m not going to say much in order to sound depressing. Only just that I love dark wet lukewarm winters.
Burial released his award winning album Untrue in 2007 – his second full length album. He himself actually remained anonymous until 2008. He revealed his identity in order to accept his award and stated that he just wants to remain a low key music producer.
People say that he redefined dubstep. His music has elements of 2-step, ambient, and house. If you think you are about to hear dirty wobbles then please leave. Or stay. This is much better than any wobbles could ever be.
“Archangel” begins with one of the coolest beats out there. You try to wrap your mind around it, but you cannot comprehend what is going on. The vocal samples are cutup in such a manner that it sounds like you listening to a ghostly love-story. The way the pitches of the samples are altered create a mock-melody which when supported by the violin-synths creates a rather atmospheric experience.
The music is technically dance, so yes it does drag out with a repetitive beat, but don’t let that distract you from the small changes going on. The general feeling is what counts. The burning crisp in the background, changes in frequency, as well as changes in the vocal samples all make for the effect as if the song was angry and therefore ending in a moody upset sort of way.
“Ghost Hardware” is one of the dreamiest dubstep songs out there. An ambient synth and female vocal samples introduce the beat. The beat again is unmatchable and this time random noises are included. My favorites are the bullet casings falling to the ground and the sound of the tape being ejected. The different vocal samples are what really shine here. He picked the perfect samples to make those important builds and then relieves them with the suddenness or the “Love you” sample. A very circular experience. Wait for the random Brittish man to speak towards the end because it signifies a pretty nice stall. All I can picture is floating in a dark tide.
Listen to this song while driving on a rainy night. Only then will you truly be able to appreciate this song as well as all of Burial’s music. Such complex music is far above any sort of simple wobbles and don’t be upset if you don’t understand it. You probably just don’t have the proper range of emotions.
And if you choose to challenge that then maybe listen to the song below entitled “Ego”. It’s actually a collaboration between Burial, Thom Yorke, and Four Tet and slightly more on the house side. Regardless, this song is how I got my superior sense of emotions and moodiness.
Have we all heard of the terms Utopia and Dystopia before? The latter is a perfect society while the former is the opposite. A Utopia can be anything ranging from Heaven to being born rich while a dystopia can be anything ranging from the zombie apocalypse to being forced to watch the Jersey Shore. Obviously this is all relative. For example, some people may actually enjoy watching the Jersey Shore, in which case having to share a planet with such people can be considered a dystopia. Of course some restrictions apply to the entire concept, yaddy-yah, some more relativity, etc.
I have an important point to make about all of this. It’s actually an observation of the world and our culture. Think about every single dystopian movie or novel you have ever read or watched. Anything to do with the apocalypse, any type of horror, or just any world you would prefer not to be in will do. Okay good. Now try to think of every single utopian movie or novel you have read or watched. Anything depicting your idea of a perfect world or coming close to it would do. Ok now is just me, or are there significantly more dystopias in modern culture than utopias? It probably just means that we like to get scared. But does it also have any deeper implications? Can the stories that we surround ourselves with actually transform our course in history? How much does a novel like 1984 affect were we are today as a society?
This was just an observation I made, and something to think about.
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The Most Serene Republic is a Canadian rock group from Ontario. I would to talk about their second album, entitled Population. The only way I can describe this band is Indie. For all intents and purposes, this band shall be named the “apex of indie music” until further notice. Listen to this song.
“The present of Future End” opens with a gentle guitar line. This ends as a drone-pop with horns segment create the ground for a cool song. This part subsides to lyrics. The vocals in this band are an amazing mixture of three vocalists. It creates for a great listening experience as their voices phase in out, taking turn speaking the lines, while the other two offer harmonics. It pretty much approaches downright trippy if you ask me.
Also, you can’t possibly ignore the VOCAL SOLO at 3:25. I don’t know what else to call it, but all I know is that it sounds amazing. The song returns to the drone-pop with horns for an outro and the song ends well.
A strange piano riff and a sleigh bell play around. They give way to “A Career in Shaping Clay.” This song, for simplicity’s sake, is like the others. But one thing that I would like to address is the band’s drummer. This is a great song to appreciate how great drumming in an Indie band can completely make the experience. The lyrics in this song are actually slightly in slow motion, which creates even greater contrast for the drummer to work with.
The ending part at about 3 minutes throws in a beautiful amount of violin and some sort of gypsy flair into the mix. The solo is interesting and ends the song with the perfect amount epicness.
“Solipsism Millionaires” is my favorite song on this album. Another piano intro, but this time much quicker, falls away to some great vocals. The drumming and relaxed guitar strumming make the song sail until hitting a field of sudden cutoffs. The ‘La la la’s’ setup a climactic bout after which the song continues as if nothing had happened. This happens once more and the song ends coolly with some fast singing.
The professionalism of this band is evident and something characteristic of Indie bands. They don’t allow emotions obscure the vocabulary and excellent musicianship. Honestly this all that one can ask for. There’s nothing like some philosophically stimulating music for everyday easy living. And on that note, listen to this final instrumental piece of theirs and enjoy the rest of your day.
&)
-oko
P.S. That last piece is pretty much jazz. Indie is going places I tell you. I also know that this band has had releases since this one. You should go check them out.
