8 minute read
Music
A sonic trip An interview with the genre-bending band Saajtak, plus our picks for 11 other acts to catch at Hamtramck Music Fest
“I knew I wanted this to be an exploration,” says Ben Willis, recollecting his first year in music school and admitting his motives may have been different from those who were predominantly focused on technique or theory. illis is one of four multiǦinstrumentalists comprising Saajtak, a certifiable oltronǦlike convergence of virtuosos who each share that resolve, that embrace, of eploration. The band is one of ͞00 artists to be featured throughout the seventh annual weekendǦlong Hamtramck Music est, taking over ͟͞ venues across the city, the culmination of entirely volunteerǦrun coordination and community support.
illis ȋwho’s on bassȌ met his bandmates le oi ȋvocalsȌ, Simon leanderǦdams ȋelectronicsȌ, and onathan Taylor ȋdrumsȌ when they were all studying in the ǦM School of Music back in ͞0͝͞. leanderǦdams says illis was the “missing piece,” who joined just after this group’s first few months together, when Saajtak was a trio. The word “eplore” continually comes up in our conversation, and it couldn’t fit the band’s aesthetic any betterǣ Saajtak utilies each instrumentalist’s training in ja and improvisation to arrange transfiing suites that sound invigoratingly untamed, like sevenǦ minute odysseys through eperimental electronica, postǦrock, tripǦhop, and cosmic opera. The band has released y eơ Milo
four Ps in four years, including f o Ask, from the late summer of ͞0ͥ͝, featuring an acoustic version of one of their songs, a cameo from nn rbor emcee adence, and a remi treatment from onathan Snipes of the band lipping.
“s avantǦgarde as we come off, this is actually the most commercial band I’ve been part of,” illis says. “To me, I think ȑSaajtakȒ is like a rock band.” The band credits its strength to its omnivorous musical habitsǣ “y listening to a lot of very diverse music and musicians, you start to more rapidly understand different structural languages,” leanderǦdams says. Taylor says that a strict digest of challenging music can wind up being enlightening — to where, after consistent listens, something can spark, “and suddenly, this dense, incomprehensible cloud suddenly has clarity.”
“There’s something so interesting about an artist who shares their true, authentic self through their work,” says oi, who called in to this interview, as she splits time between etroit and ew York ȋmore on that laterȌ. “Something about fringe art, especially fringe music, really captivates my attention because often times you’ll hear people taking risks in order to convey essentially what they’re really feeling. vantǦ garde music and art very much gets at the root of something and is about peeling back layers and looking at the thing — as it is, as it’s eisting. That’s always been something that, naturally, I want to do with my music.”
oi credits supportive parents who encouraged her from a very early age to pursue her vocal talent. “It’s a gift that I don’t take lightly,” says oi, who recently performed at a gala event honoring aurie nderson, a pioneer in modern eperimental music. She also auditioned for and joined the cast of an opera piece by Toshi eagon adapting ctavia utler’s arable of the ower. Meanwhile, as a solo artist, she just released her debut single, “ast Goodbye.”
ach member has interesting and noteworthy projects on the side of Saajtak. leanderǦdams specialies in interactive media development, programming projections and visuals, and recently had the opportunity to design a light show for a largeǦscale adornment in Shenhen, hina. He says he was exposed to an eclectic range of music in his youth, but that acts like phe Twin, oards of anada, and Portishead really had an impact. hen leanderǦdams got his first digital audio workstation, it didn’t occur to him to try any YouTube tutorials, and instead “eplored everything about it until I understood it.” He grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota — crediting, like oi, an upbringing that was very supportive of music and creativity. It led him to “be very openǦminded about music, and art in general.”
Taylor grew up in nn rbor, e- pressing gratitude for a band director in school who, as it happened, “was really into very percussiveǦheavy pieces.” “I was eposed to lots of music from my brother, which ranged from The ho to Method Man to harles Mingus, and had some very forwardǦ looking friends that got me into the M label ȋdition of ontemporary MusicȌ and weird metal,” he says. hile Taylor played in the genres of rock, ja, metal, and even marching band, he said that, as a drummer, he felt frustrated before he got to college, as he was eager to find a means of taking “all of these different ȋmusical stylesȌ I was pulling from” and find “an outlet for all of them to be filtered through. I didn’t understand why they all couldn’t just communicate with each other.”
Taylor leads several other groups, including Teiku, which reframes his family’s ancestral Passover melodies in a creative music setting, and he’s developing a new project ƪourishing his curiosity with ȋand inspiration fromȌ the natural world, particularly the way that root systems of plants echange nutrients and information.
illis says that it can sometimes be a struggle, but also quite a strength “that we’re all doing so much outside of the band. e all come to the table with so
11 other acts to catch at Hamtramck Music Fest
Starting Thursday, Hamtramck turns into an odyssey of live local music. Thursday’s kickǦoff festivities will be hosted at Bar/ter and High ive, and then the Hamtramck Music est epands to more than ͞0 venues, each hosting fourǦband lineups. Purchasing a wristband will get you allǦaccess to various venues throughout the weekendǢ you can find a list of locations selling wristbands at hamtramckmusicfest.com ȋor follow HM on acebook or InstagramȌ. You can also pick up your
wristband, will-call style, on the night of the kickǦoff party, tomorrow, at arȀter. ate to the partyǫ You can stop by HM headquarters ȋat ͝00͟͞ oseph ampauȌ on riday or Saturday evening to grab lastǦ minute wristbands. Proceeds from this grassrootsȀvolunteerǦpowered event go toward the purchase of music and art equipment for local public school students.
long with Saajtak, we’ve got ͝͝ more can’tǦmiss acts for Year 7 of HM ǣ
Bad Fashion
hrsday, ih Dive, ͩǣͣ͠ .m. ecently featured in M’s rtists to atch in ͞0͞0, this solo project by songwriter ustin arpenter combines surfy riffs, newǦwave, and electroǦpop.
Maiyana Davis
hrsday, arȀter, ͡͠ .m. Maiyana avis will supercharge the kickǦoff festivities with a fiery blend of garage rock and blues. There’s grit, moie, and mightiness in both her impassioned lead vocals and the faceǦmelting capacities of her riffs and solos.
Girl Fight
riday, hisey in the ar, ͩǣͣ͠ .m. Girl ight is punk rock that gets right down to the pointǣ forthright lyrics, fierce vocal delivery, primal drum pounds, guttural guitars, pure adrenaline tempos, and statusǦquo shattering urgency.
much more because of that.” Willis, meanwhile, just wrapped up recording a new album with Madison, Wisconsinbased jazz group Lovely Socialite (in which his membership predates Saajtak). He has a solo performance piece he’s been adapting for the last five years called “Subatlantic Songs,” a featured piece in the Ann Arbor Film Fest (a music video for local punk-rock auteur Throwaway), and he’s developing his composition for four double basses, “onewater,” into a short film.
As Saajtak, Alexander-Adams says, “most of our ideas emerge through improvising. We’re working on streamlining our process so that we can write something that has complexity and depth, but do it faster.” As Koi puts it, with poetic urgency, “Everything happens simultaneously … but we’ve gotten faster at completing the songs.”
It’s the tricky balance of thinking, unconsciously, like a composer, and having a keen sense of structure, even in the midst of explorative improv. It evokes an analogy to the careful but hurried art of throwing clay into shape while it’s on a spinning wheel. “Earlier in the band, we may have tended to throw the clay on the ƪoor and take time figuring out what to make,” says Willis, embracing that comparison.
Pancho
Friday, Painted Lady, 10:30 p.m. rothers Tino and olando find a universal strand of musical DNA that’s shared between punk and mariachi — as awarenessǦspreading, fiery folk music.
Ilajide
Friday, High Dive, 12:15 a.m. A solo artist known from the last decade’s worth of recording and performing with hip-hop group Clear Soul Forces, Ilajide has a powerful stage presence, with bold, defiant, and socially conscious lyrics threaded through conceptual metaphors.
Earth Engine
Friday, Ghost Light, 12:15 a.m. An adventurous and experimental ensemble with grand space-rock ballads that forge funk with free-jazz and their own signature psychedelia.
Milk Bath
Saturday, Outer Limits, 10:45 p.m. This punk-rock power trio gracefully balances grit and volatility with tight hooks, solid grooves, and anthemic harmonic blends of two lead vocalists threading inventive progressions and melodies throughout stormy and intensive dynamic shifts.
Raazzz
Saturday, Ghost Light, 10:45 p.m. Jump on the proverbial bandwagon right from the get-go when you see this debut performance from Raazzz: this newer group’s comprised of longtime local players who just put out their first album combining melodic alt-pop, twangy country, and raucous garage rock.
Ultimate Ovation
Saturday, Polish Sea League, 11:15 p.m.
This legendary local soul and R&B trio was founded back in the late ’60s, running its own label (Ultimate 1999)
NOEL WOODFORD
“Now, the process is very much, ‘Let’s make a pot! Let’s make a jar! Let’s make a vase!’ ... We have a language of our own now.”
Saajtak performs on Friday, Feb. 28 as part of the Hamtramck Music Festival a the New Dodge Lounge, 8850 Joseph Campau Ave., Hamtramck; 313-874- 5963. Full schedule can be found at hamtramckmusicfest.com.
and releasing singles like “Mountain of Love.”
Dani Darling
Saturday, Whiskey in the Jar, 11:30 p.m.
Ypsilanti’s soul-rock songstress leads a fantastic ensemble of players keenly capable of conjuring a dreamy, cosmic vibe.
Bave
Saturday, Ghost Light, 11:30 p.m. A tremulous duo unleashing an intense post-rock thrash-up of mathy arrangements and punk-metal energy.
