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Issue 7, Nov. ‘08
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Contents
Lead Feature:Vampire Weekend Cover illustration: Scalder - www.scalderville.com
Interviews
Features
Albums
8. Au Revoir Simone
5. St Dorians Day
32. Album Swap: Paul vs. Shauna
16. Percolator
10. Music Subcultures: Rockabilly
36. Reviews
18. Vampire Weekend
14. D’you know any good Techno albums?
22. Built to Spill
26. Is cover art still relevant?
28. Katie Kim
38. The Analogue Guide to Obscure Electronic Genres Part 3: Skacid
30. Birsy Nam Nam
Gang Gang Dance Robert Wyatt Sunken Foal Deerhoof Of Montreal Marnie Stern & more
3
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Built to Spill
EDITORIAL Welcome to Issue 7 of Analogue. First off, I just want to say thank you to everyone who came down to the Twisted Pepper to help us celebrate our first birthday. It was a great night with brilliant performaces by Villagers, Patrick Kelleher and Spilly Walker. We’ve had some really positive feeback about the compialtion that we put out with the last issue, Peek! An earful of Irish Underground. The 12” Vinyl finally arrived back from the pressing plant in the Czech republic so it should available soon, check our website for a list of places to get it.
This is our last issue before Christmas but don’t worry we’ll back in the new year revitalised and ready to churn out many more great issues of Analogue. In the meantime, check out our website for updates and info about future Analogue events. www.analoguemagazine.com Brendan McGuirk, Analogue Editor
We’re really happy with this issue as it features one of our favourite newcomers, Vampire Weekend alongside one of our favourite bands of all time, Built to Spill. It took me two and half months to track down the interview but Darragh finally got to talk to Doug Martsch. Homegrown talent Katie Kim is also interviewed in this issue.
STAFF Publisher & Editor: Brendan McGuirk Assistant Editor: Ailbhe Malone Copy Editor: Ciaran Gaynor Features Editor: Paul Bond Art Director: Garrett Murphy Design: Garrett Murphy, Brendan McGuirk, Zoe Manville Illustrations: Scalder (www.scalderville.com) Photography: Loreana Rushe, Sinead Kelly Writers: Paul Bond, Shauna O’Brien, Karl McDonald, Olwyn Fagan, Daniel Gray, Aidan Hanratty, Ailbhe Malone, Darragh McCausland, Ciaran Gaynor, Conor O’Neill, James O’Rourke, Mark Jennings Contact: analoguemagazine@gmail.com Website: Check out our www.analoguemagazine.com for the full transcripts of interviews, a daily blog, vidcasts and plenty more web only interviews and reviews... To advertise in Analogue: contact advertising@analoguemagazine.com Analogue Music Magazine is published monthly by Shady Lane ltd. The opinions expressed within the magazine are those of the individual writers or the interview subjects, and not necessarily those of the publishers or the magazine as a whole. All content, copyright Analogue Music Magazine, 2008.
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ST. DORIAN’S DAY
Of course, when we’re 16 we all have bands
tween albums one and two, and an encapsula-
like that. We weld lyrics to suit our needs for
tion of everything that’s perfect about the
them, beat them into neat summations of our
quintet. The opening puckered-lipped “People
angst, wittily-expressed and ready-packaged.
think I’m being perverse on purpose” of “Ful-
When I listened to “Lust In The Movies” for
wood Babylon” is all-too-knowing of the per-
the first time Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karina,
ception of the band as an up-their-own-hole
The 20th of October was a day of deep depres-
and Eileen Dahl (the chic film-studies
art student outfit. In reality, despite the some-
sion for me. On this gloomy Monday I unsus-
favourites name-checked in its yelped chorus)
times pretentious name-drops lining his
pectingly opened a bulletin from The Long
may as well have been make-up designers for
lyrics, Cox wrote truly from the Jarvis Cocker
Blondes, more affectionately known person-
all I knew. However, proof of the potency of
school of kitchen sink storytelling, always
ally as the Only British Band of the Last Five
Cox’s song craft, for me, lies in the fact that
compelling and never alienating. Leading lady
Years Worth Bothering About, to discover a
his band are the only love left alive from that
Kate Jackson’s voice may have chafed some
fateful message regarding the band’s break-up
muddled period of brainwashed hype-follow-
treble-trifled ears, but her role was never so
due to a recent stroke suffered by chief song-
ing hat I have no qualms about admitting I
much singer as actress, playing out the confes-
writer, guitarist, and sporter of fine apparel,
still adore. I don’t have The Rakes’ seven inch
sional monologues of troubled characters her
Dorian Cox. The articulate core of everything
vinyl sleeve blue-tacked on my bedroom wall
guitarist (and sometimes she herself) crafted.
that made the Blondes such an irrepressible
beside the cover of “A Weekend Without
proposition, Cox once wrote about “pinning
Make-Up”.
Daniel Gray mourns the passing of The Long Blondes, who split up last month.
himself into a social corner” by listening to “St. Scott Walker on headphones on the bus”.
While The Long Blondes endured a blizzard of comparisons to bands like Pulp and Blondie
In a self-critique Cox admitted the Blonde’s
(the former only half accurate, the latter pa-
first album was intially exciting, but lacked
tronizing), for me the only other outfit they
longevity. Thankfully, the band has left a fully
echo with any fidelity are late 70’s post-punk
fleshed-out legacy for both casual listeners
obscurities Delta 5. Sonically and geographi-
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I discov-
and devotees alike. The recently-released Sin-
cally speaking the two share many similari-
ered The Long Blondes, but it was almost cer-
gles (a banal, self-explanatory title in the
ties, but more poignantly alike is their early
tainly striking a pose on the Radar pages of
hands of any other band, a clever play on sec-
demise before releasing a truly accurate state-
NME. Suggestible to the indie-pop charms of
ond album Couples with the LBs), allows us
ment of their simple-but-effective brilliance.
file-sharing age Sheffield as I was, thanks to
an insight into to the rawer, chipped nail-pol-
Someone To Drive You Home and Couples are
the emergence of a certain troupe of cheeky
ish state of the band’s glamourous garage
both fine records; thrilling, emotional pieces
Monkeys, “Separated By Motorways” made its
rock, when they could still wear their “best
of art-pop, but the latter felt like a transitional
way onto my Limewire to-download list. Soon
unsigned band in Britain” tag like their bar-
album, a taster of a craft-perfect masterpiece
afterwards debut album Someone To Drive
gain-bin charity-shop fashion. Proof in the
to complete the triumvirate. The Long
You Home saw me succumb to obsessive-lis-
no-wave ideology that an amateurish band
Blondes have given the world a potential bona
tening-disorder. Despite the female-centric
tends to make more exciting and energetic
fide pop star in Kate Jackson, who will never
slant of Cox’s lyrics, to this 16 year old songs
music, songs like “Autonomy Boy” and “Ap-
have trouble finding an indie fashion or music
like “You Could Have Both” seemed to docu-
propriation” remain irresistible prospects for
magazine cover, but really it’s the image of the
ment the relationships of my teenage life as
unreleased tracks. Outside of that, the outfit’s
architect of the band, Dorian Cox, that ought
accurately as Michael Palin in the Sahara
b-sides often equalled their singles for genius,
to become gilt-framed pop iconography.
Desert, via the hushed dialogue of Cox and
and are worth hunting down. In particular
Jackson, playing out like the Nancy Sinatra
“Fulwood Babylon” and “5 Ways To End It”
and Lee Hazelwood of 21st century art stu-
are probably the most minimalist and inspired
dents
Blondes moments - the perfect bridge be-
Well I propose a new addition to the eloquent art-rock canon: St. Dorian.
Feature
presents
presents
12th-16th NOVEMBER 12
wexford street/camden street
12th-16th NOVEMBER
wexford street/camden street
12th-16th NOVEMBER
wexford street/camden street
venue the village whelans
weds 12th
thurs 13th
fri 14th
& TREATMANTICS
+ THE MERCY ARMS
& COLLIE
+ MARGARET HEALY
tripod anseo shine
sun 16th + LE GALAXIE
& THE GORGEOUS COLORS
whelans (upstairs)
sat 15th
& SAFETY BOY
+ SO COW
+ THOUSANDAIRES + MICK DUFFY
+ RICHIE HAWTIN
+ THE BIG PINK
& TOM BEARY
+ STEE DOWNES
+ THE URGES
+ STEE DOWNES
& RAY RUDDELL
+ G-FREQUENCY
solas
for more information visit www.heinekenmusic.ie 0907 HKN Synergy A3 G.indd 1
10/31/08 4:05:27 PM
presents
presents
12th-16th NOVEMBER 12
wexford street/camden street
12th-16th NOVEMBER
wexford street/camden street
12th-16th NOVEMBER
wexford street/camden street
venue the village whelans
weds 12th
thurs 13th
fri 14th
& TREATMANTICS
+ THE MERCY ARMS
& COLLIE
+ MARGARET HEALY
tripod anseo shine
sun 16th + LE GALAXIE
& THE GORGEOUS COLORS
whelans (upstairs)
sat 15th
& SAFETY BOY
+ SO COW
+ THOUSANDAIRES + MICK DUFFY
+ RICHIE HAWTIN
+ THE BIG PINK
& TOM BEARY
+ STEE DOWNES
+ THE URGES
+ STEE DOWNES
& RAY RUDDELL
+ G-FREQUENCY
solas
for more information visit www.heinekenmusic.ie 0907 HKN Synergy A3 G.indd 1
10/31/08 4:05:27 PM
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Photo: Oliver J. Lopena
Au Revoir Simone The Brooklyn-based trio talk to Ailbhe Malone about remixes, artistic
When Au Revoir Simone perform live, it feels like one is watching a trio
control and why they dislike being called an “all girl band”.
of primary-school-age best friends. Their instruments are lined up; hard Casio edges touching one another. Fringes in their eyes, they sway to the music as if it’s a big secret; a boy they all have a crush on. They are less a girl-group, more a self-monikered “informal all-girl keyboard club”. Heather D’Angelo comments “Sometimes the ‘all-girl’ thing annoys me because I think that there is more to say about us than just that, but we are, in fact, a band that only has female members. You could also call us an ‘all-brunette’ band, or a ‘tall’ band.” The band’s origins are mired in a self-perpetuating myth that’s a little too twee for its own good. Two of the three members met by chance on a train to Brooklyn and decided to form a band on the spot. The truth is more organic and less like a Nora Efron movie, says Heather: “it was hardly the first time that they (i.e. Annie and Erika) met since Erika was the keyboard player in Annie’s husband’s band, Dirty on Purpose.” Au Revoir Simone have a lot of willing - and talented - friends, it seems. “We had a lot of friends ask to do remixes for us, and they all ended up turning out really well, so putting them together for an album seemed like a good idea.” Equally, songwriting is quite a fluid, unproblematic process. “We’re all songwriters, so the process is completely collaborative. Either one of us will come into practice with a song that needs work and we’ll all work on it together, or we all write a song from scratch together. Sometimes we get asked to do remixes, but only Annie as taken up the offer so far.”
Interview
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The trio produces pop-based, melody-driven electronica, with a nice
whelming if the crowds are too large, but meeting fans is really impor-
line in subversive lyrics. The closing lines on “Stay Golden” (from
tant to us, so we’ll always make time to do that after a show regardless
Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation) thread the words “A
of whether we’re selling our merch or not.” They’ve got one foot in the
careless bird is complicated/ an empty nest still leaves a space”, over a
modern world, and one in the pastoral. While they understand the im-
quietly flowing piano line. Though it appears that the band trade solely
portance of touring, D’Angelo reveals her nesting tendencies, admitting
in Moog-endorsed products, “there is a common misconception that we
that she prefers recording to playing live. Equally, although “music def-
only play three keyboards live, but the fact is that we actually play five
initely sounds better on vinyl, and we were thrilled with our pressing of
keyboards on stage, one drum machine, and a bunch of other things
The Bird of Music - it just sounded so much better than the CD!” they
like tambourines, glockenspiel, maracas.” I suggest that they could do a
concede that “not everyone is into collecting vinyl, so mp3s have to suf-
special gig, with only three grand pianos on stage. It’s not an entirely
fice.” However, just when one worries that Au Revoir Simone have lost
implausible concept. “Three pianos wouldn’t really cover all our bases,
the sense of adventure and whimsy that inspired their name (it’s a
but it would make for a pretty interesting show. I find that having to
quote from ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’), D’Angelo wryly (and only half-
‘make do’ with what you’ve got in front of you often yields pretty great
jokingly) adds that the band doesn’t need to be based in Brooklyn, or
results. After British Airways lost my drum machine last summer, we
even the U.S., in order to make music. They could compose and per-
had to do an entire tour without it and consequently some of the shows
form “anywhere. Preferably a garden or a forest.”
were horrible, but others were more loose and lively. It was fun.”
It’s fitting that their most recent LP was called The Bird of Music. The trio come across as positively avian - both flighty and grounded at the same time. They combine their neo-hippy leanings with a hardworking business ethic. “We definitely veto projects because they don’t appeal to us. Not everyone and anyone can use our music in their films - for instance, we don’t like our music scoring a violent scene, or an offensive scene. We’re extremely involved in every aspect of our band, from management to touring to album art, etc. This is our life, so we obviously make all our own decisions. Sometimes doing merch can be over-
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Musical Subcultures: The Irish Rockabilly Scene Words: Darragh McCausland Photos: Loreana Rushe
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Boom-chicka-boom-chicka-twang-a-lang. That’s the rockabilly sound, a rattling collision of rock and hillbilly that came steam-rolling out of America in the 1950s. Played by a young Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, The Comets, Elvis Presley and The Burnettes, Rockabilly was the sound of teens gone wild, all slapped bass, echoing guitar riffs, gleaming chrome and slicked back hair. For many of us this scene is the stuff of TV, movies, or novelty bars and diners like Eddie Rockets. But, for small bunch of people it is a real way of life. There is an extensive rockabilly subculture throughout Europe, a mixture of old and young who embrace the 1950s sound and look, some to the point of fetish. Dublin’s Dice Bar on a cold October night is a long way from 1950s Memphis, but in Ireland too, for the gang down to see local rockabilly outift Aces Wild, Saturday night means the smell of Brylcreem and cigarettes, the sound of a slapped double bass and the taste of whiskey. I often noticed people dressed up this way around Dublin and asked myself about them. Especially with the younger types. Why this scene? Goth and metal I can understand, I think. But this always seemed so obscure to me. I found it hard to see how a kid at school might find their way into this style, which always appeared to me to be a sort of stylish offshoot of punk. A scene with some of punk’s attitude, but the chance to dress up slick and shiny. Indeed, looking at some of the girls, covered with tattoos and Betty Page hairdos, my overactive man imagination wondered if there was a sort of hidden S&M side to the whole thing? With all this in mind, I head down the quays to chill with the ‘greasers’ (trust me, its not a term of abuse) for a crash course in rockabilly. Dice Bar near Halloween turns out to be the ideal venue for the thrashy B movie vibe that goes with Rockabilly culture. Skeletons hang from the ceiling and pumpkin fairy lights illuminate a space that has more than a touch of the dark and seedy at the best of times. A chick in horn-rimmed glasses with a fantastic upswept hairdo and an eight ball tattooed on her calf fits right in, as do the dudes with bowling shirts and leather string ties. Its Happy Days shot by David Lynch, the Rocky Horror show in Folsom Prison, a fun illusion that is punctuated by the odd shout of “howareye bud?” and “story mate?” I’m here to meet Mo, who plays bass with Aces Wild, but in the meantime want to meet and chat to some of the others. So I order a Jim Beam on the rocks (what else) and mingle. Outside Dice a bar a few rockabillys, who I approach, are huddling around smoking fags. I notice the studied way one or two of them light up, hands cradled dangerously over their zippos like young Marlon Brandos. It’s got plenty of crafted style, has rockabilly. With the red neon in the window, and that urgent twangy guitar ringing out from inside, once again, its easy to suspend my disbelief and imagine I’m somewhere else. An American biker bar? A prison yard? A film set? I figure escapism is an important part of this scene. Amongst the crew of cheery greasers outside, is a salty character called Paddy De Quiff. Grey haired and resplendent in plaid, he is every inch the elder ‘50s wildman. He’s friendly and knowledgeable. He’s also willing to chat about rockabilly until the cows come home. Paddy reckons he was one of the first rockabillys in the city back in the ‘70s. “I was the only one on the Northside”, he says. “But there were three lads from Drimnagh. Teddy Boys. Where it came from with them either I don’t know. It was never a great music scene, like for people being into it and that.” This makes me curious. I want to know then, what got Paddy into it, how a kid growing up in Dublin during the ‘70s found themselves drawn to musical subculture that was so specific to a time and a place (America during the ‘50s)? Joking, he starts to jerk and jump “It’s Rock’n’Roll!” he exclaims, grabbing his head. “It’s the devils music. It’s the beast. I got it into my head in the ’70s and I can’t get it out.” As he elaborates further, Paddy bolsters one of my frail theories, explaining that he found his way into Rockabilly through punk. “The Ramones were one of my favourite bands and they did a lot of covers. 1950s covers. So I looked for the original ones of those and I got into it that way.” In contrast, Mo from Aces Wild, later says that he got into Rockabilly in the ‘80s “when there was a rockabilly revival with bands such as The Stray Cats, The Jets and the Pole Cats in the charts.”
11
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Curiously, famous welsh hip-swiveller Shakin’ Stevens played a big part into getting people involved in the rockabilly scene throughout the ‘80s. According to Mo, “even though he is deemed as cheesy he had a band called the sunsetters who were very influential.” Elvis’s popularity too, plays an obvious influence in the roots of rockabilly culture in Ireland. Mo explains to our photographer Loreana later that when Elvis died in ’77, there was a renewed interest in his career, particularly his lean mean early days when he was signed to the seminal label Sun Records. The young Elvis ‘look’, and indeed the ‘look’ in general is as integral a part of rockabilly as the music. I ask Paddy De Quiff about the look. “How you look is all part of it”, he tells me. “Some heads go to extremes, like they’d invest in ‘50s bikes and cars.” Paddy nods toward a huge bike (about the size of a Fiat Punto) parked right outside the door of Dice Bar. The opening chords of Wild Thing start playing in my head. He elaborates, “it’s a whole culture. Like some people go the whole hog and would buy things like bakelite radios and all that.” Mo later agrees “that the style is very important. Its mainly a 50’s style of clothing, furnishings, cars, and most importantly the hair, if youre lucky to get into a quiff at this age.” Thankfully, Paddy De Quiff has managed to avoid the unfortunate irony that might have been bestowed upon his nickname had he gone bald. His hair is grey, but he still manages a bit of a quiff. Looking so idiosyncratic must draw stares on the street though? “Some people look at you and think Happy Days and Grease, and ignorant people shout howareye Elvis on the street”, says Mo. “But some people do take it to extremes where they have it forced upon their children, decked out in the clothes and quiffs. The most bizarre thing I saw was a dog with a quiff. For God’s sake. I thought I’d seen it all! You wonder why people look, but everyone is rubberneckin’ when a dog has a quiff.” The funny looks don’t bother Mo though. He figures that “educated people who are into music don’t need Rockabilly explained to them”, and he’s right. It’s a genre that played a fundamental role in the ‘50s brew that gave birth to modern rock’n’roll and pop.
Feature
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Paddy describes how rockabilly in Dublin, like elsewhere, spawned the Teddy Boy scene and regales me with a magnificent anecdote about how Dublin had its own Mods versus Rockers fight at the top of Grafton Street in the 1970s. “As young fellas we used to fight and we had a fight against the mods up around Dandelion market,” he tells me. “There were loads of mods out last night”, he says, referring to a mods versus rockers night that was on in town, “And some fella says to me, how do I know you? And I says I’ll tell ye how. Back in 1979 I kicked your arse up and down Grafton Street ye fucker.” Paddy roars with laughter. I do too. I could listen to this sort of shit all night. But it’s time step back into the hot neon gloom of Dice Bar and watch Aces Wild. I really don’t know what to expect from Aces Wild who have been around for six years and who Mo has described as neo rockabilly. I fear it might be a bit of a pastiche, like a covers band. Before they play, I’m reassured by a dude (slicked up with so much brylcreem I fancy I can see my face reflected in his hair) that they are one of the best live bands going. A biased opinion surely, but Aces Wild really do hold their own on stage. There is a terrific tightness about them and a sense of release and abandon that possibly goes with being family men let loose on the weekend. Amongst a bawdy set of original tunes I’m impressed with bone rattling stomp through Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, replete with that wild echoing guitar twang that Carl Perkins perfected back in the good ol’ days. The crowd are jiving, and some are even in goth rockabilly fancy dress (two 1950s skeleton women and an undead sailor). There is a palpable sense of camaraderie in the room reminding me of the time I spent with Death Metal fans a few weeks ago, but it’s different too. The word that keeps springing to mind is fun. This scene is all about fun to me, escape. The dressing up, the playful banter, the sense of another time, and most importantly of all, that boom-chicka-boom-chickaboom that is running through these people’s veins. Darragh McCausland
13
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D’you know any good Techno abums? Words: Mark Jennings When I first got bitten by the techno bug - and began fiending for as
Techno tracks are made to be mixed. It is not uncommon for a tune to
much of this perfect music, hitherto overlooked as being a low brow
belt on past the 7 or 8 minute mark, often with little development or
drug soundtrack for scaldies, as I could get my hands on - I was given a
necessity, if it were meant to be a stand alone song. The reason for this
few pointers by a friend of mine with a techno pedigree far more com-
extension of the song becomes obvious when a track is listened to in its
prehensive than my own. Coming from a decidedly non-techno musical
proper context - the DJ mix.
past, my naive enquiries regarding stellar albums had to be forgiven. I was informed early on that the long player format and techno are not a
The DJ mix is somewhat similar to the concept album, but only in the
good marriage. The track and the resulting mixes rule supreme in this
fact that there is a theme linking the tracks. This rarely successful, diffi-
genre. The sequence develops like so: tracks are made by producers,
cult to master format assumes a new relevance in the hands of a DJ.
pressed onto vinyl, to be sold to DJs, who put them in a mix, to make
Unburdened of the task of creating the music, the DJ’s job is now simi-
us dance (or whatever other method we chose to enjoy the finished
lar to that of a curator or guide, selecting music to fit his/her idea of
product).
how you should feel at the end of the hour or so of the experience. This freedom from creative pressure allows the DJ to focus on the concept –
There are surprisingly few classic techno albums. This is evident in the
generally making you dance.
general practice where CD filler tracks are dropped for a vinyl LP. The producer is aware that a DJ will often only have use for the out and out
The order and execution of a mix is as important as the track selection.
stormer tracks, making it pointless to waste wax by pressing the little
Obviously, in album format the idea of execution and order has a rela-
diversions he/she decided to nestle in between the goodness on a CD
tively tiny impact on the overall sound. The original and inventive utili-
release.
sation of both manipulative and digital techniques lends new dimensions to the sound of tracks, often elevating them above their original sound.
Feature
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Some of the most brilliant moments in techno come during the segue
teresting for more than a minute or so. I wouldn’t hold as extreme an
of two (or more!) tracks in a mix, completely altering the way we think
opinion as the man, but I certainly agree with the sentiment.
about each of the tracks and creating a sound which is much more than the sum of its parts. The sense of progression and excitement one feels
So why do so many techno producers insist on churning out mediocre-
as the beats of a song interlock with its predecessor, driving the sound
to-abysmal techno albums? I have a couple of theories. The first is a
forward, is impossible to replicate in album form. Of course things can
simple “well if they can do it, so can I” attitude. Balancing the dual
often go the other way…there are few things as jarring and disorienting
identities of DJ and producer is a role that not everyone plays grace-
as a “ropey” mix. The beats confront and attack each other, and every-
fully. Most of these people make their money from playing out. This
thing you’ve spent the last minutes building up to falls to bits on the
doesn’t leave the requisite amount of time to dedicate to the creation of
dance floor…but I digress.
ten or more tracks following more or less the same train of thought, at a similar high level of quality. Let me put this attitude to rest with a
There are of course, exceptions to the rule; perfect techno albums. Two
simple retort of “unfortunately, in most cases, you can’t”. These pro-
worth mentioning that are playable ad infinitum are Aril Brikha’s De-
ducers would be better served sticking to the decks and occasionally
parture In Time, and Uusitalo’s Tulenkantaja. Each track on these al-
producing a brilliant track or two. Leave the LP to the masters. I have
bums is perfectly crafted, and the albums flow and take the listener on
been turned off so many producers by their oft hyped, lame album re-
a coherent sonic journey the way an album at the zenith of any genre
leases, despite the fact that hearing a cracking track in a mix first
should. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Astral Weeks by Van
sparked my interest.
Morrison spring to mind as examples of peers of the above. The second theory is what I would dub the “DFA Effect”. James MurOf course not every track on these albums would fit into everyone’s
phy of LCD Soundsystem once said, “I heard that you and your band
perfect DJ set. Some of the songs are not necessarily made for the
have sold your guitars and bought turntables, I hear that you and your
dance floor, but there is a shared level of quality linking every track.
band have sold your turntables and bought guitars”. As relevant and
Electronic producers often seem to neglect the tracks they know won’t
observant as this was as a statement of the way music was moving in
be played out. (As a side note, I have danced many times to these al-
New York in 2002, it’s just as relevant when it comes to figuring out
bums in their entirety.)
why, in 2008, “minimal techno” producers continue to make albums padded with fluff. If Murphy’s prophecy came true, it was due in no
Decent techno mixes are much easier to come by than albums. CD re-
small part, to his own efforts. DFA bands like Hot Chip and The Rap-
leases, live bootlegs, podcasts released both by the DJs themselves, and
ture seemed to begin, or at least heighten, the cross pollination of the
by those commissioned for websites such as resident advisor, little
“band” and the “DJ/producer”. As the two mutated, fans at either end
white ear buds and bodytonic are excellent sources for mixes. Although
were exposed to the different styles and techniques that the other
podcasts can be of wildly varying quality, and are often just a promo-
utilised. For example: Hot Chip made indie electronica albums, they
tional spot for the DJ, there are some absolute gems to be found if you
now also remix songs and have a DJ Kicks series release. People like
regularly check these websites. The fact that they’re free and download-
Matthew Dear made banging techno, now he has a (brilliantly exe-
able in minutes can’t hurt eitherThese podcasts can be of wildly varying
cuted) indie-electronica album and a band (who were one of the high-
quality and are often just a promotional spot for the DJ. In saying that,
lights of the Richie Hawtin and m_nus led Sunday Adventure Club
there are some absolute gems to be found if you regularly check these
festival in Berlin). Techno producers seem to be aware of this cross-
websites. The fact that they’re free and downloadable in minutes can’t
pollination of their fan base, and also that a large part of their audience
hurt either.
has grown up on the album as a musical format. Despite the fact that it is obviously not their forte, they attempt to pander to, or cash in on, the
Just because a mix is commercially released doesn’t necessarily mean
expectations of their fans.
that it will be superior to a bootleg either. My favourite mix has to be a 2005 Joris Voorn live PA from Gorod Club in Moscow. Do a quick
Every theory has its limits, exceptions and dissenters. There will always
Google search for it and you’ll never look back. A thousand thanks to
be exceptions to the rule. A techno/electronica album may regularly fall
whoever decided to plug in a recorder to the mixing desk at that show.
near the top of your listening pile, but this does not mean that some of its tracks could not be presented in superior form by a person whose
It would be wrong of me to harp on about the joys and advantages of
job it is to do so. Listening to mixes is a far more interesting and re-
techno mixes over tracks and albums without mentioning one of the
warding way of either getting into, or expanding your knowledge of
most glaring and pure pieces of evidence available to me. In 1995, in
techno. Interaction of old and new, the inevitability of hearing some-
the Liquid Room in Tokyo, Jeff Mills recorded his set, including mis-
thing unknown and the rush when the sum of the parts combine, en-
takes and crowd noises, and released it commercially. This mix is re-
sure that the DJ mix is the ultimate way to process techno.
lentless, with each track used as a single piece of the musical whole. Each of the tracks, generally employed for a nosebleed 30 – 60 seconds, ignoring their average 5 - 7 minutes runtime, drive you further and faster into the mix. Mills produced a huge amount of the tracks played in that set, but admits himself that most techno tunes aren’t in-
15
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Percolator Words: Paul Bond Illustration: Captain Beans They’ve got My Bloody Valentine comparisons coming out of their ears. Paul Bond chats to the upcoming Waterford band. “We are Ian, Jason and Eleanor. We’ve known each other for a good while.” So says Ian Chestnutt, guitarist and vocalist of Percolator. They’re based in Waterford which, as Ian admits, “is a pretty small place and most musicians here know each other or know of each other.” From their Waterford base they’re currently polishing their debut EP while notching up some live gigs. Not that they need the experience. Ian and Ellie Myler (who plays drums and also sings) know each other from being in Dae Kim, the band formed by former Ten Speed Racer drummer Terry Cullen. And to round them off Percolator’s final member Jason Grant, on bass, is on loan from another Waterford based group Dinosaur Petshop. They sound nice and muddy. Rough, feedback laden, sometimes quite dissonant, but with some dream pop touches too. Remind you of anyone? Just to get it out of the way I put it to them that My Bloody Valentine comparisons will be inevitable. Ellie responds: “Yep it’s an expected comparison I suppose. Ian sure does like a jazzmaster or jaguar sound and a good an’ bendy tremolo arm. On top of that there’s the girl/boy vocals. We’re a bit more stripped down though.” Which is true, I’ll give them that, and as Ian says “we prefer for each instrument to be more defined, and for the songs to be straightforward.” Apparently though they never made any conscious decisions about their sound. Ian says, “It’s just how we play. Ellie drums from a musician’s perspective, Jason uses overdrive on his bass and plays chords which can make it sound like another guitar. I use alternate tunings so the chord changes are strange and also make the guitar sound bigger.” Overall it’s a versatile sound that can go from stomping to serene at the flick of a switch, or as Ellie puts it “from song to song we can go from almost aggressively noisy to fuzzy and melodic and at other times eerie.” For Ian at least, Percolator is just about enjoying playing music and “playing our instruments, trying to make something that’s different to other Irish bands.” Their first EP Lead Salad should be out in March, but don’t bank on a definite date, as Ellie points out “since this is our first release we’re sort of playing it by ear as far as the release date goes. All the recording is finished, we did that in Ilya K’s house in the Cork countryside. We’re mixing it with Spud from Ilya K, and John Haggis from Granny Its Ok is doing a couple of mixes too.” It will be released on vinyl and CD, but more importantly they’ve got material to follow it up. “Right now we probably have enough songs for another EP” said Ian, “we could even have it recorded by the time Lead Salad comes out, then again we could hold off for an album. It all depends on how our first release is received, really.” I expect it’ll go down well.
Interview
17
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VAMPIRE WEEKEND They stand accused of exploiting African music, of capitalising on
Have you been playing any new stuff?
economic oppression and of being over-hyped. In response they tell Karl McDonald “you can’t win with some people”.
Ezra Koenig (singer and guitarist): Yeah, we’ve been playing a couple of new songs, but we’ll have a lot of work to do when we finally get
How important is it really, in the après punk era that we live in, to pay your dues? Why is it that so many people need to see the false
home and start working on another album. We haven’t wanted to do too much stuff live.
starts and battle-scars before they will admit to liking a band’s music? One of my friends saw you play in Sweden, and he said that
How easy is too easy?
one of your new songs sounds like Animal Collective? Vampire Weekend adorned the cover of Spin Magazine before they had even released their debut. Nine months later, questions
C: A little bit.
still abound about their bona fides. As Columbia University graduates,
E: I could see that, yeah. Definitely more so than some of the older
they are denounced as rich boys. The blog-based mega-hype monster
songs.
that slung them into the public eye is derided as artificial. And the fact that these wealthy, upstart college kids could have the gall to incorpo-
Is the rest of the stuff a lot different?
rate the celebratory melodies and rhythms of African music into their
E: Well, we still have to work on it, because especially when you get
sound has annoyed no small number of people, whether they be inter-
into the studio, there are so many ways you could approach a song.
net commentators or lead singers in indie rock bands.
Even if you have ideas for melodies, or little parts, you’ve yet to see how
Nick Thorburn, former Unicorn and frontman of Islands, was quick to separate his own African-influenced music from Vampire Weekend’s, which he denounced as “parroting the genre”. Stephen Malkmus was less critical of their music, but did feel that they “had it
it’ll turn out. But I think the song that he’s probably talking about is fairly different in that it uses some electronic beats. But then, at the end of the day, the way the song is written has a lot in common with what we’ve already done.
easy”. Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound pulled no punches,
Did a lot of the last album only come together in the process
painting the band as the beneficiaries of economic oppression.
of recording it?
But politics, as is too easily forgotten, cannot play the guitar.
C: Some songs, yeah, I think it would depend on the song. We played
And no matter how many people come out with criticisms of the band’s
Oxford Comma at our first show and it’s pretty much identical to how
class or the legitimacy of their African influence, Vampire Weekend
it’s recorded. But then there’s a song like “Kids (Don’t Stand A
still made a clever, refreshing and addictive album. That is something
Chance)” where we didn’t really know where it was going to go until we
that is too rarely factored into discussions on the matter.
started recording it. There was a lot of editing and Rostam added a
This writer has been engaging in that discourse on the Analogue blog, in print and in the pub with his friends for as long as he has been aware of the band, and has found that there is no such thing as a
string arrangement later on. The same with “M79”, Rostam finished writing it that morning and we recorded it. So it varies from song to song.
neutral reading of Vampire Weekend. For this reason, and because the
I was wondering, you get a thing with rappers where their
conversation was interesting enough to allow it, the interview will be
first album is all about the struggle on the streets, and then
left in mostly unedited question and answer format. To allow the band
their second album is just about money, because they’re not
to speak for themselves, as it were.
out there any more... if the first album is based in and
So how’s touring going? Chris Baio (bassist): It’s been good, we’re in the first week of the tour. It’s our last big tour for this album in Europe. We started in Iceland, in Reykjavik, which was really cool, and then we’ve been in the UK and the shows have been good.
around college then... E: Our first album is kind of about money too. So I don’t know what the second album will be about. But you’re right, a lot of the first album was about college itself specifically, and being college-aged, and all sorts of the issues that surround that age. I mean, our lives have changed a lot since we made that album. That was reflective of what we
Were you in Iceland before or after the collapse?
were doing at the time, which was being students, and having all the time in the world. After that we had jobs, our first real jobs, and then
C: Yeah sure, the banking stuff. Well it’s hard to tell something like that
we had this, starting out being a band, being on the road and travelling
when you’re just there for a day, but they were saying that the tickets
everywhere. So things have definitely changed. It’s still coming to-
were selling for the festival, and people seemed to be in good spirits.
gether so it’s hard to say exactly what it’ll be about, but hopefully it’ll still reflect the mental state that you’re in, a few years after the stuff that’s on the first album.
Interview
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Do you have an opinion on the idea of hype and backlash in
I don’t want to keep going on about this, but I have a quote
general?
from Bradford Cox from an interview he gave with us a couple of months ago...
E: I think it’s almost become this concept that people are talking about too much. Like I saw this thing recently where people were talking
E: Sure, let’s hear it.
about if there’s going to be a Tina Fey backlash. I don’t know if people follow that here, but her impersonation of Sarah Palin is like this huge
“Indie rock to me is safe, like college rock in the 80s. It has a
thing in America, and she’s really at the top of her game. And people
lot to do with economic oppression. It has a lot to do with
are like, uh oh, there’s going to be a Tina Fey backlash around the next
rich kids. When I think of indie rock I think of the sort of
season of 30 Rock [i.e. Fey’s US sitcom]. You get to that point where
bands whose names I won’t mention, appropriating African
anything that becomes successful, people start plotting its backlash, it’s
music.”
almost like a cliché that people repeat. I think it’s very true that some bands can get over-exposed before they’re ready to release an album, and I think if you have all sorts of people criticising you, and breathing
E: Well, he’s someone that we’ve met... C: He was nice in person.
down your neck, and you haven’t even released an EP yet, that’s a lot of pressure. And I think some bands have wilted under that pressure. For
E: Yeah, he was very nice in person. So the truth is, if you hear people
us, we’ve had people hyping us up as the band you need to hear, your
pretending that they’re some sort of class warrior, and that they view
new favourite band, and also saying we’re never going to be able to sell
us as indicative of some sort of economic oppression, and then when
out a two-hundred person venue, since the beginning. So at that point
they meet us, instead of saying “hey, what’s your background, I’m in-
it’s like you instantly have hype and backlash. And I have a feeling that
terested in talking about this”, they just say “hey, you guys are really
people are going to be talking about hype and backlash with us forever.
good”, I mean, that just goes to show how shallow their feelings are
“Oh Vampire Weekend, they’re still over-hyped”... it’s like, you can’t
about these things. I found that people who are actually interested in
win with some people.
understanding what they perceived to be our background, or problems with our band, whether they were journalists or musicians, ended up
Do you think it puts undue pressure on the next record? C: I don’t think so. At the end of the day, it’s going to be us making the record. We didn’t get to where we’ve gotten by worrying about hype or backlash, so why would it matter now? You get a lot of artists, in our magazine and elsewhere, expressing opinions about you, or about how you came to popularity. Some people say you got it easy, some people say they have no opinion on the matter. How do you react to that, if there’s an artist you listen to, and they’re complaining about Vampire Weekend?
talking to us, and usually ended up understanding better. I don’t know why someone would want to make those assumptions based on the way we dress or our lyrics. I think as an artist, they need to give people a little more credit than that. That’s just Bradford I think. He went after a lot of people in that interview. E: Those people exist outside of music too. They usually have some insecurities, and they express it through demeaning other people, rather than making positive statements about what they want to do. The truth is, if you’re a musician and you think music is boring, all you have to do
E: I mean, I find it, I don’t know, a little bit pathetic when artists start talking shit about other artists. It’s okay to have an opinion about things in general, and we try to be positive, but when I’ve seen people get into this NME-style shit-talking and bringing that into the world of indie music or whatever you want to call it, it just seems so silly. I think it undermines what you’re trying to do as an artist if you’re just constantly being negative, it’s pointless. What about Nick Thorburn’s comments? E: People ask us about that guy, but the truth is, we’ve actually never had any interaction with him. None of us know him, we’re only vaguely aware of his music, and the only time we ever had any interaction with anyone connected to him was other people in his band coming up to us at a festival saying how much they liked us and saying he was an asshole. There are always going to be people who have to get their anger out and express themselves negatively, and usually if you just let them say their piece, it fades away.
Interview
is make interesting music. And the people who talk about it so much are usually, I find, not the ones who are pushing things forward. In the context of that comment about oppression, but even outside of it, I was wondering about the idea of taking music born in really harsh circumstances and relocating it to a metropolitan, wealthy situation. What do you think about doing that, should it attract criticism, or should it not be read into that much, to take African music and relocate it to Cape Cod or wherever? E: I think it’s worth talking about. I think the idea that listening to African music from the perspective of someone who is fortunate enough to live in America and making music that reflects your interest in it is somehow negative, is this twisted, angry way of looking at the world. Again, I find that people who are genuinely interested in talking about class difference and the inequalities of the world economy, tend to look at things in a more positive way, about how you could change things.
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Photo: Esther White And one small step towards making the world even a tiny bit better is
E: More the latter. I mean, we formed as a band with an interest in a lot
just to stop thinking about different parts of the world as off-limits or
of different types of music, and one of them was African music. Part of
exotic. I think the idea that you can only appreciate African music by
the connection with African music is as simple as playing electric gui-
associating it somehow with poverty is just as ridiculous as saying you
tar. I mean, if you grew up playing electric guitar, why shouldn’t you be
can only listen to African music if you’re some rich safari hunter. It re-
interested in a guitar tradition? Besides British blues rock or some-
ally is nothing to do with it. I hope that people who listen to African
thing. Like, why not? Why should that be off-limits to your listening or
music, just because they like the sound of it, would also take it upon
to your influences?
themselves to be a moral, ethical person. But, you know, those are two separate things. I find that the people who get angry about an Ameri-
Is there any other influence outside of that that you wished
can band being interested in African music aren’t offering any alterna-
people would notice more?
tive. They tend to be the people who exoticise African music, and ghettoise it, as something that can only be appreciated in this particular way. And that’s not how we talk about the Rolling Stones, it’s not how we talk about Bob Dylan.
E: I think on the album, classical and baroque music plays just as much a part as African music, and I think it’s indicative of the mindsets of journalists that people would rather only talk about African music, because for them it seems like this kind of juicy talking point; because
So how do you guys relate to African music then? You get a
they can make it a little controversial, or try to weave in some light-
lot of British ska bands in the late 70s, early 80s, talking
weight politics around it. But the truth is, there are songs on our album
about bringing something that is sort of ghettoised to other
where if you listen to the string arrangements, you’d probably be think-
people. And people would complain that they were just white
ing of Beethoven or Mozart.
boys ripping off the music, but they considered that they were just bringing the music to people, rather than trying to parody it or whatever. Do you see anything like that in what you’re doing? C: We’re always quick to acknowledge albums that have influenced us, whatever the genre is, so I think that’s part of bringing it to other peo-
Did Peter Gabriel ever do the “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” cover? E: He did, and we’ve heard it, and we’re very excited for it to come out. It’s just been getting delayed as it’s being worked on, but we know it’s going to come out some time.
ple.
Did he say “Peter Gabriel” in the song in the end?
Did you form as a band to do African music, or did you just
C: You’ll have to see.
form and it happened to come out that way?
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Built to Spill Self-professed “fanboy� Darragh McCausland talks to Built To Spill main man Doug Martsch about their upcoming tour dates.
Interview
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For their current series of European gigs, Built To Spill are playing all of their epic 1993 alt-rock classic Perfect From Now On in its entirety. The album is a true benchmark. Not only did it define their career, it married the questing, far out guitar sounds of Dinosaur Jr and Crazy Horse to a whimsical, melodic and lyrical sensibility redolent of contemporaries such as Pavement. It is a meandering, cosmic sprawl of an album that always chooses the scenic route; only one song clocks in below five minutes.
Ahead of their Irish date in Whelans, I get a rare opportunity to talk to their frontman and songwriter, the wonderfully bearded and angelically voiced Doug Martsch. Now is about the right place for my disclaimer. I am a drooling fanboy when it comes to Built To Spill. A sick, irrational, drooling fanboy idiot, like a ten-year-old McFly worshipper. Getting a chance to talk to someone like Doug is one of the reasons I started writing for Analogue in the first place. So when I pick up the phone to chat to him, I am experiencing a dose of dishwasher tummy, a mixture of raw nerves (what if he’s a grump?), excitement, and the obvious need to temper my sycophantic instincts. Thankfully, I manage to keep my inner teenage girl in check and ask Doug (who turns out to be very soft spoken and open) some sensible questions. Beginning with the current tour. I ask him what it is like to return to the Perfect From Now On material in such an exhaustive way after what must presumably have been a long break from most of it? “Yeah”, he says a little wearily, “we started working on doing this a long while ago, and now I really don’t know what to make of it.” How come? “Well we’ve been doing that album for about two months now, and I don’t know. I mean it’s just a bunch of fucking music.” He sounds a little exasperated. Perhaps it is because with Built to Spill being a constantly evolving touring force, he now feels constrained by having to play this stuff in full every night. I ask him if there is anything he would change in those songs, now that he’s coming back to them, especially considering the bands reputation for tweaking things live? Or is the album like Ronseal and, like it says on its tin, perfect?
Doug tells me “You know when we first came back to the album we tried to play everything as close as possible because we had been playing some of the songs and they had changed over the years. We never try to stick closely to our records that way. So we did try to do that. But now, we’re sort of fucking around with it a bit. To some people it might sound changed. To others it might not.” I’d warrant that for fans of Built To Spill, a bit of tinkering with the source material will be forgiven. After all, the band thrives on a live reputation that sees them playing lengthy sets with beefed up versions of songs, which often sound even better live than on record. For my money, the definitive version of “Stop The Show” is on their live album, Live.
For a band that tends to look forward, two months is a long time to be spending in bed with so many old songs. Considering that they are reportedly putting together songs for a forthcoming release, I wonder if working with the old stuff will have a creative impact on their new material? Doug tentatively admits it might. “Maybe so”, he says. “The new album was going to be a bit more stripped down and coming back to Perfect From Now On has me thinking more in terms of adding layers and stuff. I think we were starting to do that anyway, but I think with the Perfect From Now On stuff at the fore, I’m a bit more excited about getting back to do that.” But first there is the question of the road.
23
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Built To Spill seem to be always on the road. Like Bob Dylan, the last few years saw them on a seemingly never-ending tour that has criss-crossed North America and Canada with the odd jaunt across to Europe. You would imagine that Doug would enjoy touring. I ask him if, like in the Lee Marvin song, he was born under a wandering star? Funnily enough, he doesn’t like being on the road.
“No I’m not the travelling type at all”, he says. “I do like playing live and doing all of that. But if I didn’t have a reason to be out in the world, I wouldn’t be at all.”
In saying this, he does acknowledge that after so many years playing in the States, they want to bring live shows further afield. Ireland is a case in point. Doug says that “the tour was all set up but we didn’t have any shows in Ireland but we made sure with the booking agent that we get to play there and Scotland.” This meant the band adding ten days onto their tour in order to play for two dates. I secretly and deludedly fancy that this is because of the begging messages I personally left on their MySpace page to play here.
Another MySpace page that sees its fair share of begging messages belongs to The Halo Benders, Doug’s on-off project with K Records main man Calvin Johnston. Fans are always anxious to hear new material from this group, whose brilliantly odd songs have to be heard to be believed (much of their material sounds like two completely different songs being sung at once and, curiously, works brilliantly). He tells me that this project is still alive, if a little delayed.
“We got together a couple of years ago and wrote some songs. But then Built To Spill became so overwhelming and it just fucked with the schedule of everyone. One of the guys went to school full-time. But we have a batch of songs that everyone is pretty excited about, so maybe when Built To Spill have a break we’ll get back around to it,” he tells me, providing a bone for material-hungry Halo Benders nuts to chew over. He also laughs when I request “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain” as an encore in Whelans. “Maybe if you or someone else shouts it out loud enough, sure,” he says. Well, Mr Martsch, that better be true because I can shout pretty loud.
Something casual Built To Spill watchers may not know about Doug is his interest in Reggae music. One of the more recently recorded Built To Spill tracks, “They Got Away” has a distinctly reggae sound. He tells me he only got into reggae in his 30s, when “someone gave me a really nice Lee Perry compilation. From listening to that stuff for a couple of years that song grew out of a sort of a jam that we did.” The song marks an interesting departure for the band and although Doug tells me “it’s just a one off”, it will be fascinating to see if any of Perry’s vibes rub off on the next record’s sound.
The song structures on previous Built to Spill records can be crudely divided into two different types, the eight minute round-the-solar system epic (“Goin’ Against Your Mind”) and the punchier, hookier short track (“Centre Of The Universe”). Doug says that he doesn’t deliberately plot a course toward either one of these poles. “The songs sort of tell me what they are doing themselves”, he laughs, sounding a bit Zen. “The song is there and it looks after itself. There are lot of songs where we have done everything we could to shorten them but they just won’t let us.”
This is a lovely insight. It’s nice to think that Built To Spill songs exist somewhere “Out There” and that Doug just plucks them from the ether. It certainly befits a catalogue of music which, for all its catchiness and big hooks, has at its heart a sort of cosmic unknown; an awestruck wonder at the universe around us. Such wonder is beautifully expressed in the first song the band will play in Dublin next week, “Randy Describes Eternity”, where phased, squalling guitars carry a beautiful vocal line which contains the best metaphor I’ve ever heard to describe infinity. Amidst all of this, Doug decides he’s going to be “perfect starting now.” With a bit of luck, it will be the perfect start to a perfect show.
Interview
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BIRDY NAM NAM SOUNDSYSTEM 4 hour solo DJ set with DJ Pone, Lil Mike, Crazy B and DJ Need.
Friday 12th December Andrews Lane T heatre Door s at 11pm â‚Ź15 from Ticketmaster, Tickets.ie and usual outlets.
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Is Cover Art Still Relevant? Words: Ailbhe Malone
In 1939, 23 year old Alex Steinweiss was hired
of 78’s were moved from sharing space with
to design promotional materials for Columbia
fridges and hardware at the back of the store
Records. Columbia allowed Steinweiss to de-
to being prominently displayed in the
sign five test covers, the first of which was for
shopfront. Cover art acted as a mirror to the
a collection of Rodgers & Hart’s musical hits
social values of the society of the time. In the
in 1939. Steinweiss’s graphics were bold,
1950’s, vinyl covers showed happy families,
colourful and punchy. Strong typset was com-
with the father in charge and the kids looking
bined with careful line drawing, against a
peachy keen. Black artists were substituted for
block colour background. The main function
white teenagers, in keeping with certain racial
of the album cover was to attract the buyer’s
policies. Despite rock and roll bursting from
eye, resulting in the sale of the record- and it
within the record sleeves, the art on the cover
worked. Sales of the illustrated albums rock-
continued playing it safe.
eted, some by more than 800 percent. Stacks
feature
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Near the end of the 1960’s, the full potential of
vinyl. Bands- Fight Like Apes amongst them-
fact, other than if it might have been men-
cover art was being realised, both in terms of
straddle both markets. Advance downloads
tioned on the Bullpen Bulletins page, or
artistic expression and as a marketing tool.
are coupled with once-off especially designed
shown in a house ad, you didn’t have any idea
Californian surfer Rick Griffin was given a
vinyl singles. A cursory glance shows that
that a new book was coming until it arrived.
free reign to design the psychadelic cover art
Black Keys, Thomas Function, Psychadelic
So the cover was a crucial component in mak-
for the Grateful Dead’s ‘Aoxomoxoa’, and,
Horseshit and Of Montreal all currently have
ing your title sell.’ However, now that comic
consequently, the masthead for the first ever
limited edition runs of singles, re-released
distribution is so widespread, a strong cover
issue of Rolling Stone. The 1967 release of
EP’s or new LP’s, on clear vinyl, coloured
image is not relevant to the sale of the comic.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
vinyl, or wax. Zeitgeisty bands like the Ting
‘We still put crazy amounts of effort into our
utilised all the marketing tricks at its disposal.
Tings sell customisable records at their gigs,
covers—but one of the unspoken truths of the
The record had cut-out inserts, lyrics, and
in keeping with their art-scene ethos.
industry at this point is that the cover is no
even though it was a single album, a gatefold
longer responsible for selling the magazine,
sleeve. Warhol’s cover for the Rolling Stones’
Above all, there has been a movement to have
and may in fact have a negligible effect on the
‘Sticky Fingers’ (complete with an actual zip-
cover art considered as, well, art. In 1998,
total sales. Sure, a really good cover may be
per on the jeans), and pop-art practically pee-
rockartpictureshow.com, an online vinyl
able to hook a few extra people into picking up
lable banana on ‘The Velvet Underground &
framing service, was founded. The site offers a
the book off the racks, assuming it’s there for
Nico’ tied in with the bohemian, rock and roll
variety of black and acrylic frames- selling for
them to find, but the whole mechanism of our
image the bands embodied. This ‘Golden Age’
about $18.95 each. However, more than a
distribution and retail system makes the cover
of record sleeve design gave birth to teams of
third of its orders are for a $49.95 package in-
close to superfluous.’ While Brevoort’s point is
star designers- among them Hipgnosis.Hipg-
cluding three frames, six randomly selected
valid, there still remains a market for memo-
nosis consisted of, among others, Storm
record-less album covers and a book about
rable cover art- reverting back to the main
Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell and Peter Christo-
evaluating the value of LPs. Its customers are
reason for its invention in the first place- to
pherson. They designed the cover art for Pink
not record collecting afficianados. They are
sell a product. Once an artist is associated
Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Genesis, using a
young professionals, decorating their office,
with an image, they become a brand. Think of
strongly photography-based design schema,
sitting room, or bedroom. Where their parents
Run DMC’s adidas runners, The Beatles’
consisting of elaborately staged photos, air-
might have invested in a painting, they are in-
Abbey Road crossing, or Springsteen’s tight
brush retouching, and some darkroom know-
vesting in a record cover- and not without rea-
white t-shirt on the cover of ‘Born in the
how. Thorgerson’s credo has always been-‘We
son. The main criterion for a record sleeve to
U.S.A.’. Memorable cover art becomes a mem-
do it for real. Why use trick photography that
become a collector’s item is rarity, and quality.
orable logo. Absolut Vodka’s 2001 ad cam-
looks fake when we can set up 200 beds on
For example, the “Yesterday and Today”
paign recognised the power of strong cover
the beach for the shot and flip everybody out.’
album with a picture of the Beatles in blood-
art. The campaign inserted the Absolut brand
When weekend rockstars Hard-Fi released a
stained butcher’s coats surrounded by hacked-
into classic album covers, including ‘Bitches
record with anti-cover art- ‘Once Upon a Time
up dolls was recalled by Capitol Records
Brew’, ‘Aladdin Sane’ and ‘Unfinished Music
in the West’- they were, in fact borrowing
shortly after its 1966 release. Some of the cov-
No. 1: Two Virgins’. Richard Lewis, the world-
from a Hipgnosis design (XTC’s 1978 Go2
ers were pasted over with a less shocking shot
wide account director in charge of the Absolut
album).
and re-released. An original cover is the
account declared that -‘we look at this as a
mecca of record collecting, and sells for
piece of art and album covers are a lost art’.
Given the advent of the music video in the
around $25,000 while a pasted-over cover is
1980’s, and the move from vinyl to CD, the
worth $5,000.
popularity of a cover art has not significantly lessened. However, the scope for design has
Perhaps the question of cover art’s relevance
shrunk by a ¼. An LP is a perfect one foot by
can be answered by a man who has had no in-
one foot square. A cd is 5’ x 5’. The same ca-
teraction with the genre. Tom Brevoort, the
pacity for detail is not provided by a CD. That
executive editor for Marvel Comics faces the
is not to say that cover art is a redundant
same quandary as many bands do now. On his
medium, however. The Grammys have had a
blog, he addresses the issue of the fading im-
category for Album Artwork since 1959. The
pact of iconic cover art in comic books. ‘It
nominees for 2008’s Grammy for Best
used to be, back when comic books were sold
Recording Package included Bright Eyes’ ‘Cas-
exclusively on the newsstand, that the cover
sadaga’, The Fold’s ‘Secrets Keep You Sick’
was what sold the magazine. That’s why so
and Black Sabbath’s ‘The Dio Years’. Mean-
much attention and effort was spent on the
while, despite the fact that sales of physical
cover image. There was no advertising, no
cds dropped 13% between 1997 and 2007 (ac-
promotion, no Wizard magazine or Previews
cording to the International Herald Tribune),
catalogue or Newsarama to let people know
there remains a market for limited edition
what was coming out months in advance. In
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KATIE KIM New album Twelve is receiving deserved plaudits, but singer Katie
Katie Kim’s singer Katie Sullivan is moving to Canada soon and plans
O’Sullivan has had to survive computer viruses and the ruination of
to work on a new album when she gets there. I ask her what prompted
three years’ work to get here. Ciarán Gaynor hears of how she
this decision to move. “To be honest, I really just want to wake up in a
picked herself up again.
different space every morning and be around a few new faces, walk down different streets, sit in different cafes and bars and play in different venues... Not to take anything away from what’s going on in Ireland at the moment and especially Waterford, because I’ve never been more excited about the music that’s bleeding out of this country right now. There’s so much happening and the majority of it is all really, really good and daring and special.” There are some bands who feature in the pages of Analogue, and on the website, with alarming regularity. It transpires that Katie is mates with most of them. “Bands like Percolator, Ugly Megan, You’re Only Massive, Saviours Of Space, Deaf Animal Orchestra, Ilya K, Dinosaur Petshop and us, are all living within a 5 minute radius of each other”, she tells me, “and we’re all helping each other out. The atmosphere is so good right now that I’m changing my own mind about going [to Canada] as I speak.” Nothing can persuade her to stay, the mere whiff of an American accent and she’s off. “We did a gig with Two Gallants a few months ago and even hearing the sound technician’s American accent made me feel...different or something. I dunno. I suppose I’m kind of looking for a muse, and Canada has always stuck out to me.”
Interview
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Last year, 50 tracks (three years of work) were accidentally erased
tough in the music biz].” She sounds quite confident in saying this. “I
when Katie’s computer failed. I ask her how she dealt with that crisis.
haven’t really experienced barriers. It might have been harder back in
“Yeah, that was a bitch. I drank quite a bit through that period. I really
the record company heyday, when people needed an image...” At Ana-
can’t think about it too much. I got a small computer virus and the guy
logue we get a lot of press releases from Irish artists who claim they
I brought it into to fix just wiped everything. I could barely hear the
“just want to get their music out there” which seems to me to be a very
words “don’t you have back-ups?” through the rage and the tears. It
unambitious thing to aim for. Is it really that difficult to get heard in
was my first computer, and it had the first song I ever recorded myself
Ireland? What sort of problems has Katie encountered in that regard?
and nostalgic stuff like that.” I could probably be releasing my 6th
“Maybe bands and artists just don’t know what to do. They know they
album by now if I had back-ups…” The woman sounds crestfallen, but
want to make music and tour it and not have to work the day job, but
soon perks up again: “I believe things all work out and I’m happy with
there are so many bands around right now and a lot of them don’t have
this album being the first release. The real kick in the teeth about that
a clue how to ‘sell’ themselves. They don’t know what to do with it once
whole thing was that I left a great music course in college and used the
they have it on a disc. I certainly didn’t before I met John Haggis. I re-
money to start home recording. When all the stuff I did was trashed I
alise that most of the music on my album isn’t going to get on prime
took it as some divine sign or something…” It’s like God wasn’t happy
time radio. We’ve been doing loads of gigs and though not every one is
with the demos. If only He would step in more often, vetoing the em-
packed, the people there really get into it and are really responsive. So
barrassing first efforts our less imaginative musicians. Katie has heaps
really, everything’s going at a nice, cool pace. Like I said before, I’m
of imagination – even the “influences” section on her MySpace page
loving Ireland at the moment - perfect time for me to leave!” I ask how
reads like a surrealist poem (e.g. “wicker stringed high pitch glam
she came to meet John Haggis? “John kind of managed (Katie’s previ-
metal” etc). I ask her if she’s worried about being pigeonholed in some
ous band) Dae Kim. He had set up Sofa Records with a friend in Cork
way? “Hmmmmn... I don’t think so. I just find it difficult to stick a
and they put out our first album Matador. Then he set up Granny It’s
genre on it you know?” Yes, because I suppose that’s the music journal-
OK To Experiment and they’re helping me put out Twelve. I can safely
ist’s job. “I work in a record store part-time too and I’ve really never
say that I had a hand in turning him to the drums and I’m so proud
gotten any better at describing music...” Shouldn’t be an obstacle to be-
that he’s one of the key members of Katie Kim now. He’s released four
coming a music journalist, but sorry, carry on. “I just like it or I don’t.”
albums and they’re all exceptional. I can’t say enough really. I don’t
Phew! Dangerously close to “Well-I-Just-Make-Music-For-Myself-
think this album would have ever been released if not for him.”
And-If-Anyone-Else-Likes-It-It’s-A-Bonus” territory there. Katie continues, “I know the MySpace description is a tad over zealous, but way
It’s surprising how many people seem to see being in an alternative,
too many people influence me everyday so I couldn’t name a select few.
“edgy” band with a cult following as a career opportunity. Yet when
I like ‘surrealist poem’ though. ‘Surrealist poem music’.”
they manage to achieve this aim, they’ll often complain about it. When I hear a musician bemoan the trappings of fame, when The Streets or
The album “Twelve” sounds very good at 3 o’clock in the morning -
Radiohead tell us that being famous causes them to suffer from a sort
very “ambient”. I wonder to what extent does Katie think her music
of crippling existential ennui, I thank God that nurses and mortuary at-
benefits from the context in which it is heard? It appears she has given
tendants don’t release concept albums. Thankfully, Katie is chipper
this some thought: “When I gave a few copies of the album to friends, I
and sounds happy with her lot; but what would she do if she didn’t
did tell them to stick it on in the car if they’re driving late at night or
have the band? “I would transform radio, beef it up! I do a two-hour
sitting with a glass of wine, or going to bed. Hopefully not to bore them
slot on Beat FM sometimes and I love it. I really want to get into [radio]
to sleep or anything but I think it’s a good sign when you can fall asleep
over in Canada too. Otherwise, I’d be a goat herder in France or some-
to something and for it not to impose on you. Certain places and times
thing.” I ask whether she prefers recording or playing live: “I’m only re-
of the day and moods all affect how it sounds. For example, I really
ally discovering the joys of playing live. I love recording though. You
wouldn’t get the same shudder in my bones if I was listening to Atlas
can get lost for hours with the headphones on, although at the moment
Sound or something at 9.30 in the morning, as I would at 2am. It goes
my cantankerous neighbours have been unwilling to accommodate me
well with the night. Also, I’m completely nocturnal and listening to
with this.” Those bastards. Should people dance to Katie Kim’s music?
Donal Dineen every night might have something to do with it too.”
“Hahaha. If they like. I’m sure they’d get some funny looks though. I’d love to get a group of tribal dancers for the live gigs. That’d be amaz-
I’ve just been reading Lucy O’Brien’s book “She Bop”, which is about
ing.”
the history of women in rock and pop. Is it difficult to be female in the music industry? “The old ‘hard done by woman’ issue? I don’t know. I just do what I do and if people like it, that’s even better.” Hurrah! “It
Katie doesn’t have a “message for her fans”, but she does have a re-
might be different if I was in a metal band or something, but really I
quest: “If anyone can help me find a home in Toronto that’d be great...”
can’t imagine what the songs would sound like if a guy was singing
Note to self: we should have a small ads section in Analogue. Think of
them. Also, a lot of people still think ‘singer-songwriter’ straight away
the possibilities.
when I say I make music so I suppose it’s still there a little bit, but really there’s so many women in music that are getting attention right
The vinyl version of Twelve is available by request. Contact Katie Kim
now that you can kind of wave goodbye [to the idea that women have it
at their MySpace page for details.
29
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Birdy Nam Nam Brendan McGuirk chats to DJ Need from
Did you find it hard for the four of you
- Birdy Nam Nam are
the French turntable crew about their begin-
to come together and find a middle
Crazy-B, DJ Pone, DJ
nings, working with Yuksek & Justice on the
ground between each of your styles and
Need, and Little
new album and why they “want to create a riot
influences to enter the competition and
Mike.
in the crowd”.
work together?
How did the four of you come together
The first thing that Birdy Nam Nam is about is
name from a line in
to form Birdy Nam Nam?
that we have a lot of different influences but
Peter Sellers’ 1968
the point where all our influences are linked
film ‘The Party’.
- They take their
Before, we were all competing in a DJ compe-
together is Birdy Nam Nam. We know that we
tition (DMC), so we were doing the world
can’t use all of our ideas in Birdy Nam Nam,
- Fusing hip hop,
championships as individuals and a team as
but like any other band, some ideas can’t be
jazz and electro, BNN
well. We formed a team in France and won the
used. So they can be used in a solo project or
are famed for their
French title and in 2002 we won the DMC
on another side project. It’s mainly kind of a
eclectic mixing skills
world title. That’s about it. We were compet-
democracy, everybody has to be ok and some-
and
ing before and after winning this champi-
times three of us are ok and the one who is not
performances.
onship in 2002, we stopped doing battles and
sure at the time is ok.
did the album. That was released late 2005. Do you find sometimes you’re fighting your corner for a little more jazz or hip hop in the mix or are you all pretty much on the same wavelength?
Interview
energetic live
issue 7:Issue 6
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Page 31
No, no… at the moment we are pretty much
Yes but the goal was not to do electro music -
Yeah definitely, before we weren’t feeling that
all on the same wavelength. After doing the
it’s to do modern music. Music that adapts to
we had an album but now for us it seems like
first album, which was mainly downtempo
this time, we did the first album in Crazy B’s
being an album from beginning to end and it’s
music, we toured a lot. So we only played the
place and we were using only records, most of
telling something [sic].
tracks that had some kind of energy. After that
his records and we also brought our own too.
we also did new music for the live versions
He has a record collection of 10,000 - mainly
Just to go back to the title of the album,
and played that because we wanted people to
jazz, soul, disco…mainly black music. That’s
Manual For Successful Rioting. Could
enjoy it; we weren’t on stage just to play jazz
why the first album has a lot of sax, contra
you explain what the concept behind
music. We wanted that kind of energy. Now
bass and flute samples. After that, we realized
the album is and where you got the title
with the experience of doing a lot of concerts,
playing live that we wanted the kind of energy
from?
we did a new album that is more electronic in
that’s in rock n’ roll music and electro music.
its sound and there are also a couple of dance-
We used vintage synthesizers and drum ma-
We liked that word, “riots”. We have this en-
floor songs on the album.
chines [on the new album], so now the sound
ergy when we are doing the music and playing
is more electronic. We didn’t want to do elec-
the music live. I guess we act like a rock band,
With your new album, Manual for Suc-
tro music, we just wanted to have a modern
jumping on stage and giving it a lot of energy.
cessful Rioting, are you still working
sound and powerful sound and a lot of energy
That’s how we see ourselves playing on stage,
from the traditional point of view with
in the music.
we want to create a riot in the crowd. That’s
turntable as before? Nowdays a lot of
also how we want people to hear the music so
people are using Ableton. One thing
it’s logical to have this word [in the album
that is very distinct about Birdy Nam
Yuksek has been producing the album.
title] because it’s the kind of energy we want
Nam is that you haven’t done that be-
Is that right?
to give on stage. At the time of the first album,
fore.
a lot of people were telling us that they Yeah.
On the first album, we did it with only turnta-
weren’t finding the same energy on the album compared to the live version. We hope for new
bles and a multi track recorder, recording on
Has that helped to bring things forward
album that people find that energy on the disc
pro tools. The moment the first album was
a little more and make the sound more
itself.
finished we already knew that the next album
modern like you spoke about?
would not only be turntables, we knew we
You also worked with Justice on a song
wanted to use synthesizers and program the
Yeah, we tried to mix it on an analogue mixer
for the album. How did that come
beats and that’s what we’ve done on the new
in the studio with only analogue things and
about?
album. I guess most of the songs begin from
the sound was not what we were looking for.
samples manipulated or played on the turnta-
Because we’re on the same label and Yuksek
The last song of the album is produced by Jus-
bles, but most of the beats are programmed
did a remix of “Trans Boulogne Express”, we
tice. At the time of our first album, they
on a computer. Some are played live, some hit
asked him - because we weren’t happy with
weren’t as known as they are now and we were
hats, some effects are played live to keep that
the first mixes of the album - if he would be
talking about doing a remix already and we
human groove, but there is a lot more pro-
down for trying to mix some of the tracks. And
didn’t, unfortunately. This year we played on
grammation [sic] and we also created our own
after he had done a mix, we gave him the right
the same stage a couple of times and the first
sounds, recording synthesizer.
to touch things. When you are always working
time they saw us, they told us they liked the
on the same songs, you don’t really know what
live thing. And at that moment we were think-
So the album definitely has a lot more
is good and what is wrong. That’s what Yuksek
ing about finishing the album with Yuksek.
composition to it and is a little less
brought, a fresh point of view. Sometimes he
They told us one or two songs that they liked
sample based than your debut album…
changed an intro or an outro, or structures.
and they were two songs that we didn’t plan to
He also mixed the thing and sometimes he
add to the album. We gave them the separated
Yeah we tried to make our own sounds with
added one or two melodies or arrangements.
tracks, mainly the live version where a lot of
the drum machine and stuff like that.
So we can say he produced it but most of the
elements were played live and they produced
songs were already done when he arrived, but
it their own way and added a melody, an elec-
Earlier you mentioned that you
he changed enough things to be considered a
tric piano melody. We were really happy, it’s
couldn’t play a lot of songs off your first
producer.
the last song of the album and it’s a great
album when you were playing live be-
outro for the album. A great ending.
cause they were too downbeat. Is the
After working on the album for how-
new album taking a more electro ap-
ever many months, are you content
proach? Is there a slightly more upbeat
with it?
electro feel to it?
31
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Album Swap Paul Bond vs. Shauna O’Brien Boards of Canada Geogaddi Shauna says: If it hadn’t been for Boards of Canada, I fear I may have degraded into an indie scenester mess. Being partial to day-glo colours and having been known to dance to volleys of soulless bleeps, the threat was always there. Fortunately though Boards of Canada, and more specifically Geogaddi, diverted me from that jaded amble down a skinny jean, Afghan scarf festooned path into the more unkempt regions of electronic music. Geogaddi for me marks the initial point of my rapidly increasing obsession with electronic music and although I’m reluctant to choose, it remains one of my favourite albums. In fact, this was the only CD I brought with me when I went inter-railing so there’s a certain rosy nostalgia attached to it for me also. Whether it’s nightclubbing in Sarajevo or consequently getting robbed and sleeping on a bench in Zagreb, it’s all soundtracked by Geogaddi. With this album Boards of Canada struck a perfect balance between the experimental glitch saturation of Autechre and Aphex Twin and the cinematic soundscapes of artists like Philip Glass and minimalists Seefeel. From the first track, ambient drones yawn between speakers in one of the several short interludes that break up the album. Crackle, broadcast fragments and children’s laughter all served to gild Boards of Canada’s sound with their now characteristic nostalgia, adding a warmer glow to their tracks -although this is generally ebbing just above an undercurrent of menace, giving tracks like “Beach at Redpoint” and “Gyroscope” a welcome subversive slant. For me it’s this corruption of the more widely heard “anxiety-diffusing” ambience with a sound that embraces a more baleful atmosphere that really gives Boards of Canada the edge on other electronic artists.
Feature
Photo: Sinead Kelly
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Paul says:
The magic of Point is in the detail, once you listen to it you realise it’s incredibly intricate, and I dare say jaw-droppingly good. It’s so obvi-
Geogaddi is one of those albums that I’ve known about for years yet
ously composed with ideas of inventiveness and melody at its heart
never got round to listening to. Actually this really applies to all of
that it’s impossible not to admire. What really speaks volumes though,
Boards of Canada’s stuff. At times I’ve had opportunities to listen to
is that as good as Point sounds as an album, it has some great individ-
Music Has The Right To Children, Boc Maxima and The Campfire
ual tracks. Songs that easily stand their ground once detached from the
Headphase but for some reason I just haven’t done so. Which I’ve just
rest of the record. “Drop” which is constructed out of water sounds and
realised may have been one of my less well-informed musical decisions.
a simple acoustic guitar riff, is incredible. As is the vocodered “Brazil”
However, in my defence I’ve always had the feeling that I could guess
and “Bird Watching At Inner Forest” and the meditative “Tone Twilight
what they sound like. A bit like an organic, more squelchy, version of
Zone” and…Sorry I’m getting ahead of myself. Listen to Point, I can’t
Aphex Twin, right? In my head it’s all fractured snippets, samples and
recommend it enough.
soundscapes. Interweaving drones and flat packed drums. Maybe that’s why they’ve never appealed to me.
Shauna says:
Now that Shauna’s given me Geogaddi it’s time to wrestle with my
This album from Cornelius is one of the most varied albums I’ve lis-
Boards of Canada aversion demons and face this head on. Two things
tened to in a long time. Starting off with a simple sonorous note, it her-
immediately surprise me. It sounds like I’d imagined it would, well
alds the opening of an album that has everything from moments of
with maybe a bit less Aphex Twin than I’d thought. But more impor-
shrieking guitars to ethereal chords and even waves crashing against
tantly, I really liked it. Which now seems like a really odd thing to say,
the shore.
since if you were to describe their sound to me my response would be: “that’s not my cup of tea.” Very strange. Either way I now have the
One of my favourite tracks on it “Point of View Point” showcases Cor-
pleasure of Geogaddi, and that’s no bad thing.
nelius’ affinity for chopping up vocal fragments and utilising them, not only for the foreground melodies but also in the background. This gave
It’s an odd album, constantly interspersed by these short tracks be-
it something of a choral quality while retaining its warmth with its
tween the longer pieces. Naturally for an electronic album there’s noth-
acoustic guitars and optimistic summery easiness. Definitely an album
ing really approaching a song here, at least not in a traditional sense,
of escapism from the snow/hail/rain come-what-may weather we’ve
but there is that organic texture to the sound that brings these syn-
been inflicted with lately.
thetic creations to life. However it’s definitely an album to listen to from beginning to end. If you let all the pieces flow together and it
Although just when you think it’s all mojitos and tiny paper umbrellas,
sounds almost orchestral.
you’re hit with electronic klaxons and a stomping bass in “Another Point of View” and while this is sinking in he goes all South American on us and we’re left to enjoy his Samba-esque sensibilities in tracks such as “Bird Watching at the Inner Forest”. “I Hate Hate” interrupts
Cornelius Point Paul says:
this with another change of direction with its high BPM drums and guitars being quenched only by a shushing of Bossa Nova in “Brazil”. Here “Aquarela do Brasil” is resurrected through the medium of some sort of
Well in return I gave Shauna Cornelius’ Point. As averse as I am to
distorted Gilberto-bot vocals. After this we are flung back into the more
claim a favourite record on paper, this comes pretty close. It’s taught,
aggressive side of Cornelius in “Fly”, until eventually we’re allowed to
tight, toned and intelligent. A strange, experimental medley of rock and
sit back and relax for the final track.
pop. It takes the sounds of regular instruments and cuts them up into pieces. It then rearranges them in a way you would never have thought possible, constantly layering and sampling, striking you from every direction. It makes beats out of water gurgles and vocal snippets, melodies out of percussion and overall it is just masterful.
“Nowhere” concludes the album much the way it started, with a deep resounding note. On this, and most other tracks, from the beginning Cornelius presents us with all the elements of the song in a sort of sparse introduction, but as you progress through the album you see that all these are building towards an inevitably great conclusion. This,
I guess Point is particularly great because it lands right in between the
along with my closet affinity for Bossa Nova has assured Cornelius at
rapid-fire head-over-heals rush of Cornelius’ breakthrough record Fan-
least two more record sales.
tasma and the luxuriousness of his most recent release Sensuous. For although it sounds like Sensuous, mostly lush instrumentation and veering towards the downtempo, it feels like Fantasma, it feels like one big experiment. However it’s not as wildly hyperactive and playful as Fantasma was. It’s a bit more considered and restrained. This is a good thing.
33
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Gang Gang Dance St. Dymphna Warp Records
On this their fourth album (and first on Warp) NYC’s third finest ex-
album, before finishing off on the slow groove and ethereally Kate
perimental group Gang Gang Dance refine their phantasmagorial
Bush-like “House Jam”, and the Outhud-styled guitars and accom-
charm beyond that of their patchy back catalogue. Like Black Dice,
plished polyrhythm of “Desert Storm” and “Dust” .
GGD have sometimes existed more comfortably as an idea, or flattered
As with their most common (though sonically incompatible) reference
to deceive. St. Dymphna stands out as their first concise and represen-
points, Black Dice and Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance thrive on
tative statement.
indefinability. St. Dymphna, like the releases before it, is a conglomer-
The album opens with an orgiastic double header in “Bebey” and “First
ate of the most diverse styles carried out with the least pretentious of
Communion”, segued gloriously together with a decimated synth attack
intents. GGD have picked the wisest time to return, too: the wider
and highlighting one of GGD’s two areas of expertise: multi-instrumen-
indie-mainstream market has opened up to their sound, thanks to the
tal frantic rhythm-smithery. The quartet’s second trump card is its tex-
diluted Kia Ora versions of the band’s freshly squeezed psychedelia
tural adroitness, as highlighted by St. Dymphna’s second movement.
courtesy of chorus-happy MGMT and Yeasayer. Unlike the contrived
An intertwined mesh of vocals make up “Blue Nile”’s sonic pallette,
inclusion of world music influences in these crossover hit-merchants
with instruments I can’t claim to know the names of adding in brief
though, Gang Gang Dance’s stylistic experimentation translates more
moments of melody, while “Vacuum’”manages to be both an exercise in
sincerely, making “First Communion” a guilt-free “Sunrise” to drop on
easy-listening music and actually memorable - a feat in itself.
the dancefloor. It’s finally time for one of NYC’s finest outfits to be-
Never one to pander to expectations, Dymphna’s next technicolour
come more listened-to than name-dropped.
drop is “Princes”, a bizarro dub-rap turn with some trance-like arpeg-
Daniel Gray
gios surrounding the familiar delayed vocal stylings of Lizzi Bougatsos. Delayed drum samples, glitchy electronics, computerized brass riffs and a very definite Warp attitude make up the middle section of the Robert Wyatt Back Catalogue Reissues Domino
Robert Wyatt’s music, we are told, sends people running out of the pub
first two albums - all odd-time signatures and chaotic instrumentation.
screaming and clasping their hands over their ears. The act of subject-
1981’s Nothing Can Stop Us is a terrific set of other people’s songs; the
ing people to difficult music in public places has been referred to as
highlight is a surprisingly faithful version of Chic’s “At Last I Am Free”.
“Wyatting” in recent times. Where? On “blogs” - where else, eh? If
His cover of Elvis Costello’s “Shipbuilding”, which was a minor hit in
you’re unfamiliar with his work and count yourself among those of us
1983, can be found on EP2 and remains one of the great singles of the
who have never been lucky enough to find a Robert Wyatt record on a
1980s. Since then, Wyatt has continued to release brave but honestly
pub jukebox, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Wyatt
brilliant albums like Shleep and the Mercury Prize nominee Cuck-
was the drummer in Soft Machine and a member of Matching Mole –
ooland. It’s a genuine pity that they will not be appearing in a pub near
in a nutshell, jazz-rock bands from the early seventies, connected with
you soon. End Of An Ear (50%) Rock Bottom (90%) Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (70%) Nothing Can Stop Us (80%) Old Rottenhat (70%) Shleep (80%) Dondestan (Revisited) (80%) Cuckooland (80%) Theatre Royal Drury Lane In Concert(90%) EPs (80%)
the so-called Canterbury Scene, which also gave the world Henry Cow and Daevid Allen’s bonkers-but-brilliant Gong. After falling from a window in 1973, Wyatt was left permanently paralyzed from the waist down. While he recuperated in hospital he got to work on his second solo album Rock Bottom (the follow-up to 1970’s patchy End Of An Ear). It has been said before but I’ll say it again, Rock Bottom is one of the most brilliant albums of the early seventies. The balmy loveliness of opener “Sea Song” is as therapeutic to listen to as it apparently was to make. It’s just one of the many highlights of this career-spanning reissue programme. Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard recalls Soft Machine’s
Reviews
Ciarán Gaynor
issue 7:Issue 6
06/11/2008
14:37
Page 35
Bonnie Prince Billy
Sunken Foal
Is It The Sea?
Fallen Arches
Domino
Planet Mu
This is Bonnie Prince Billy live. This is Bonnie Prince Billy mellowed
Fallen Arches is the new album from Sunken Foal, aka Dublin
out and warmed up. The ghosts and demons that usually haunt his
producer Duncan Murphy, formerly of the duo Ambulance. The first
songs have all been exorcised. What we’re left with is a live show that
time I heard Sunken Foal he was supporting Plaid, which is a pretty
completely reinterprets his back catalogue. Whereas Greatest Palace
good indicator of the type of sound that he evokes when you first listen
Music re-cast his lo-fi Palace years in polished Nashville country, Is It
to him on this album. Unlike his work with Ambulance, this album sees
The Sea? removes as much country from his songs as possible. Instead
him explore a more organic sound. Acoustic guitars and domineering
it brings the more traditional folky elements to the fore. Considering
pianos take the place of overpowering electronics. Like Plaid, he
this album was recorded with the help of Scottish folk troupe Harem
weaves in some atonal melodies but he does it in such a way that it
Scarem and English percussionist, and Jandek collaborator, Alex Neil-
retains its warmth, something which can be lost with seemingly
son, this is no surprise. There are a few classics here, such as ‘A Minor
aimless sounds. Instead he adorns his tracks with oriental tones and
Place’ and ‘Master and Everyone’, but although it draws on material
echoing vocals making tracks like “A Bear in the Hermitage” sound like
from albums as early as Arise Therefore and touches on nearly every-
“Moonlight Sonata” played out as hollow twinkles on a music box. This
thing since, the best tracks are the lesser known. They also tend to be
album is for fans of the more acoustic side of electronic music. Sunken
the longer ones that slowly unravel in a ballad style, such as the tradi-
Foal shares his affinity for unusual instrumentation with artists like
tional tune “Molly Bawn”. Overall the set-list, while certainly not a
Colleen, while his take on the electronic side veers more towards the
greatest hits, works well – this is no cash in. Is It The Sea? can confi-
more expressive sound of Chris Clark. This is a good thing.
dently stand alongside BPB’s studio albums as an integral part of any
Shauna O’Brien
fan’s collection. Paul Bond
Deadbeat
Deerhoof
Roots and Wire
Offend Maggie
Wagon Repair
Kill Rock Stars
Bookended by two emotive performances from the voice of Berlin dub,
It’s a testament to Deerhoof’s genius that they can be simultaneously
Paul St. Hilaire/Tikiman, each track on this album is built on the foun-
considered too proggy and too poppy. They are neither, and if you had-
dation of electronic dub.
n’t found that out on one of their nine previous releases since 1997, this
Influence from Basic Channel, deep house, dubstep and Detroit techno
is the perfect place to start. There is nothing inherently new about this
are obvious, but Deadbeat is no mere imitator. Building different bod-
album compared to their previous work, but it is better in a number of
ies around the skeletal form of each track, he applies these influences
important ways. There is less space given to unfocused messing around
to the dub template. The sound is crisp and decidedly modern without
here, and every song is packed with more off-kilter melody. The run of
sounding overproduced. This approach suits the album very well and is
five songs, from the opener to the title track, hints at an unbeaten
evidence that electronic music is still making forward progress. One of
streak of complex pop magnificence that Deerhoof have neared but
my favourite moments of this album comes as early as the second
never reached before The track that breaks it, “Basket Ball Get Your
(title) track. The bass takes a nosedive and is replaced by ethereal elec-
Groove Back’” is not nearly as annoying as it probably should be. In
tronic flourishes. On its return, the song has gone from laid back dub
fact, Offend Maggie has an almost jazz-like swagger, and there is cer-
groove to fiery dubstep clatter without a misstep. Roots and Wire is
tainly rhythmic influence from those quarters. The absence of a truly
aptly named. The songs melt into each other with impressive ease de-
weak song is proof that the band have very much hit their stride. Prob-
spite their varying dynamics, and display a quality of narrative usually
ably their best yet.
absent from electronic music albums. Deadbeat has been releasing for years. Looks like it’s high time for yet another retrospective…
Karl McDonald
Mark Jennings
35
issue 7:Issue 6
06/11/2008
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Of Montreal
Marnie Stern
Skeletal Lamping
This Is It and I Am It and You Are It
Polyvinyl
and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That Kill Rock Stars
Remember Georgie Fruit, Kevin Barnes’ transexual funk singer alter-
So trailblazing is Marnie Stern’s second and more refined LP, you can
ego from the latter stages of last year’s incredible Hissing Fauna, Are
probably hear the art-rock copyists of the future practising their ham-
You The Destroyer? Of course you do. Well, he’s back. Through the
mer-ons in their bedrooms right now. Stern’s unique style (virtuosic
avatar of an absurdly sexualised and uninhibited character, Barnes
fret-work, yelped vocals, a seemingly ADHD-attention span, and taut
throws off all vestiges of reservation. While its predecessor was tightly
rhythmic interplay) makes her the sort of artist you feel put off reading
focussed, Skeletal Lamping is a map of a very fucked up mind,
about, but bewitched by when listening to.
consisting of around fifty ‘idea’ fragments that segue for over an hour. It’s like a dream that’s neither happy or sad, just bizarre, with new
“Prime”, the album’s cheerleader-like opening, is a fair summation of
scene seamlessly replacing one another with no concern for reason.
This Is It...‘s content, playing out like an Animaniacs song with ear-
The voice of Georgie Fruit makes outlandish pronouncements about
splitting guitar terrorism to harmonize with her Wakko-Zakko-and-
“biting the prick that feeds me”, and it really is borderline offensive
Dot-like chanting. For every math-rock riff there’s a simplistic
stuff at points. But just as the music morphs and mutates between the
drum-beat from Hella‘s Zach Hill as counter-balance and every sta-
conventional, the sublime and the ridiculous, Barnes drops in and out
dium-sized finger-tap trick has a sweetie-pie vocal hook to counteract
of Georgie Fruit territory, especially as he vents unreserved
the cockiness. Her most impressive turn though, is making it all as ad-
frustrations on the ubiquitous “you”. It’s not hard to make the leap that
dictive as a bucket of popcorn and Minstrels, and taking the cock out of
the “you” of Skeletal Lamping is the “her” of recent albums. It can be
phallic guitar music while she’s at it.
uncomfortable to listen to. It rewards patience, however, and Kevin Barnes, no matter how unhinged he may be starting to seem, is
Daniel Gray
probably the most fascinating person making music at the moment. Karl McDonald Little Joy
Various Artists
Little Joy
Back In The Box (Mixed
Rough Trade
by Dave Clarke) NRK Music
Little Joy is comprised of Binki Shapiro, Rodrigo Amarante, Noah
Another day, another retro-house mix album - but this one is superb.
Georgeson and Fab Moretti. Little Joy however, whatever else, is not a
Dave Clarke has been piecing great mixes like this together for a couple
Fab Moretti side-project. The record immerses itself in the various
of decades and the years haven’t dimmed his ability for unearth a great
backgrounds of its contributors- from Shapiro’s multi-instrumentalism
track in the slightest. This contains 70 minutes of continuous “old
to Amarante’s (Los Hermanos) MPB leanings.
skool” house from the likes of Fast Eddie Smith, Mr Lee and T Coy. The gunshot sounds on Foremost Poets’ “Reasons To Be Dismal”, set
The opening track is carried by Moretti’s so-laid-back-they’re-supine
the tone rather well as much of the mix is rather “dark”. The sort of
vocals, before it bursts into a Phil Spektor Wall of Sound, overlaid with
doomy, stentorian spoken commands to “daaaance”, which made lots
mariachi guitar riffs. ‘With Strangers’ is a sleepy, subversive waltz, and
of mid eighties Chicago house records sound rather frightening, are
on ‘Unattainable’, Shapiro sings like a forlorn Jenny Lewis, or Nico the
very much in evidence throughout. The relentless house beats and
night after all tomorrow’s parties.
spooky snatches of melody make for a potent mix. The Rude Boy Farley Keith’s “Give Yourself To Me” remains one of the most captivating
Lyrically, Moretti eschews the conventional in place of the heartfelt.
tracks of the period. Some imaginative inclusions like the Paul Waller
Instead of singing ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’, he opts for
mix of Gil Scott Heron’s “Space Shuttle” and Blake Baxter’s “When A
‘Nothing ventured, nothing learned.’ By combining his Brazilian roots
Thought Becomes You” should be enough to recommend this mix
with Beach Boy harmonies, Fab has made sure that ‘Little Joy’ will put
album to anyone.
paid to any ‘dumb drummer’ jokes that are knocking around Rough Trade for the foreseeable future. Ailbhe Malone
Reviews
Ciarán Gaynor
issue 7:Issue 6
06/11/2008
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Page 37
Various Artists
Bear Hands
BNR Volume 1
Golden EP
Boys Noize Records
Guerilla Music
BNR Vol. 1 is a collection of singles from Alex Ridha’s label Boys Noize
Bear Hands’ Golden EP plays like one of the early Wolf Parade or Tapes
Records. Bringing together 30 tracks, many of them previously avail-
N’ Tapes releases, a hype-building exercise for a Pitchfork Festival
able only on vinyl, it is an unabashed voyage into the noisier side of
main-stage star of the future. They’re not even remotely coy about their
house and techno. While not an album one can easily listen to start to
North American ambitions: they have “bear” in their name, for good-
finish, it is a welcome showcase of a label that is growing with each re-
ness sake.
lease.
The BH sound matches their pretensions. Guitars ripped from Built To
Unsurprisingly, BNR Vol. 1 is dominated by Ridha, as both Boys Noize
Spill and Pavement, drums informed by disco and punk, and of course,
and together with D.I.M. as Puzique. With eight tracks under the two
emotions. A couple of years ago in fact, Bear Hands would have been
aliases, it is clear that this is Ridha’s compilation as well as his label.
maligned as part of the kneejerk reaction to all things remotely emo.
His is not the only talent worth noting, however, as Siriusmo and
Now, however, a little Sunny Day Real Estate will go a long way. Thus
Housemeister both make great efforts to prove their worth. The compi-
vocalist Dylan Rau’s chorus “Long live the queen” yelps on “Long Lean
lation suffers from a lack of variety, as several tracks serve as little
Queen” and the immediately affecting guitars of the EP’s title track are
more than functional club tools. That said, it is not without its special
guilt-free pleasures on a release you may well soon be pretending to
moments. Standouts include Housemeister’s amusing We Need Cash,
hate. The pastiche new-wave guitars of “Sickly Brunette”, however, vin-
D.I.M.’s emotive remix of Darmstadt’s Out of the Blue and Ridha’s own
dicate any criticism you care to lever at this band of few ideas, but
remix of Siriusmo’s Mein Neues Fahrrad’. Most impressive is Puzique’s
many hooks.
Don’t Go, which is at times funky, glitchy and beautiful. Ultimately this collection is a must for any budding DJ, although casual
Daniel Gray
listeners may think twice before splashing out. Aidan Hanratty Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid NYC Domino
Hebden and Reid have been working together for a while now. Their last collaboration saw Hebden join the Steve Reid Ensemble to record the ambitious Daxaar. This time it’s just the two of them, Hebden on electronics and Reid on percussion. The result is NYC – an attempt to channel the soul of the city. To aid this process NYC was recorded in the famous Avatar studio in Hell’s Kitchen, which in previous times has seen Miles Davis, Steven Reich and Missy Elliott pass through its halls. This is Hebden and Reid’s first attempt to produce an album that isn’t improvised. And as New York is Reid’s hometown the idea of capturing its essence was his. To an extent it works. It constantly pushes forward, rushing almost, encapsulating the spirit of insomniac city. However it can also feel muddled, at times lapsing into a melting pot of ideas that never really form a coherent whole. There are a lot of strands of music that never emanate from a central point and never really go anywhere. It’s a bit of a jumble. Just like New York then. Paul Bond
37
issue 7:Issue 6
06/11/2008
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Page 38
The Analogue Guide to Obscure Electronic Genres Part 3: Skacid
Words: Olwyn Fagan Photo: Ulf Bertilsson
This month dear readers, Analogue is going to take you on a trip down memory lane, all the way back to 1989. Picture the scene. It was a time when acid house was at its peak, when baggy tshirts and pacifiers were acceptable going-out wear, it was a time when rave was religion and yellow smiley faces, icons for the masses. Well, at least that’s the picture I have in my mind, although I was but a few months old at the time… But let us not nit-pick. This was a time during which house was more than just a genre of music, it was a unifying force for thousands of young people, an escape from the misery of 80s recession. Hell, it has even been credited with reducing violence and ‘football hooliganism’ through introducing E to a generation of gurriers! Well, you know, you can’t fight the facts. Skacid is a product of this, ahem, glorious time. As the name might suggest, it is a subgenre of acid house that combines Jamaican ska vocals and sped up reggae riddims with the hypnotic grooves of acid house. Pioneers of the genre kept with the acid house model basing their tunes on TB 303 bassline synths while employing frequent use of the TB 909 drum machine. Add a few horns, some good vibes and a few Caribbean style ska vocals and hell, you’ve got yourself a subgenre! Skacid enjoyed a brief period of minor popularity in the late 80s and has largely been forgotten about since. How and ever, don’t be too quick to dismiss it. While sometimes referred to as a predecessor of Jungle, in reality it has a considerably more mellow sound. Longsy D is quite widely acknowledged as the enfant terrible of the genre but also worth checking out are Double Trouble and the Rebel MC, whose 1989 track ‘Just Keep Rockin’ features a tasty ska-influenced sample of ‘I’ll Take You There’ by The Staple Singers. Another feel good hit as it were is Beat Masters ‘Ska Train’. While Beat Masters are, by definition, a Hip House act and not a Skacid band, when dealing with a genre that really only counts one compilation album in its entire discography, you can’t really be too picky. A more recent revival of the genre has been attempted by Revl9n, a cooler than thou electro rock outfit hailing from Stockholm. Earlier this year they released an EP entitled Waiting for Desire: 9 Nuances of Skacid which featured their original track and 9 skacid remixes by artists such as In Flagranti and Sci-Fi SKANE. While the sound on the album differs from the original skacid vibe of the 80s, it’s still definitely worth a look for a more modern take on the original sound.
Feature
Still Curious? The Sound: Ska Beats 1 on Beechwood Music. The Look: Presumably smiley face t-shirts and neon dreadlocks… The Lingo: Referring to mental acid remixes of your fave ska tunes while also soliciting for bizarre cocktails of spliff, pills and LSD, one would assume.
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+ Analogue Djs til late www.analoguemagazine.com 06/11/2008 14:51:26