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Foxygen SoftSpot Conveyor PEOPLE GET READY DOE PAORO Saadi AVAN LAVA Nude Beach Motive TOTAL SLACKER Night Manager XNY JBM New Beard CLEAR PLASTIC MASKS EULA Life Size Maps FRIEND ROULETTE Town Hall Ms Mr
SNOWMINE Feature
Issue #31 Volume #2 SUMMER 2012
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the deli
the magazine aboutthe emerging nyc scene bands everything about nyc music Issue #31 Volume #2 Summer 2012
EDITOR IN CHIEF: Paolo De Gregorio FOUNDER: Charles Newman EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Quang D. Tran SENIOR EDITOR: Ed Gross ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER: Kaz Yabe (www.kazyabe.com) COVER PHOTO: Emily Raw (www.emilyraw.com) WEB DEVELOPERS: Mark Lewis, Alex Borsody STAFF WRITERS: Bill Dvorak, Nancy Chow, Mike SOS, Dean Van Nguyen, Meijin Bruttomesso, Dave Cromwell, Ben Krieger, Mike Levine IN-HOUSE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Christina Morelli, Charlie Davis, Simon Heggie, BrokeMC, allison levin, Ed Guardaro, Amanda F. Dissinger, Chelsea Eriksen, Molly Horan, Annamarya Scaccia, Tuesday Phillips, Christine Cauthen, Corinne Bagish, Devon Antonetti, Jen Mergott THE KITCHEN: Janice Brown, Howard J. Stock, Ben Wigler, Shane O’Connor, Matt Rocker, David Weiss, Justin Colletti, Gus Green INTERNS: Mijhal Poler, Kristina Tortoriello, Tracy Mamoun, Max Lefkowitz, Joshua S. Johnson, Bob Raymonda PUBLISHERS: The Deli Magazine LLC / Mother West, NYC The Deli Magazine is a trademark of The Deli Magazine, LLC, Brooklyn & Mother West, NYC. All contents ©2012 The Deli Magazine. All rights reserved.
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SNOWMINE
From Afrobeat to Brooklyn’s Freaks
Note from the Editor Dear readers, All rock music fans are familiar with the so-called “rock ‘n’ roll attitude”: picture your favorite rebellious rock star raising a middle finger (figuratively speaking... or not!) to the “establishment.” Well, we occasionally (very rarely!) experience this attitude from emerging artists, in most cases angry or disappointed that we haven’t covered them yet – or because we took too long maybe? It is always a rather sad experience, because we wish we could make everybody happy, but sometimes you just can’t. And maybe we are at a point where some musicians now see The Deli as part of the “establishment.” Kind of an absurd thought, considering what we do and how we do it (yes, we are still very DIY, and 100% independent). Such circumstances also make us rethink that in a world inundated with twenty-somethings who feel fulfilled only when they step on a stage (hey, I was one of those too!), such behavior can be critically counter-productive. Of course, we all have our preferences as far as music, mags and blogs, but in such a crowded scene, I’m not sure how many people want to work with rude, careless musicians. In my experience, assuming you already have great songs and a fantastic live show, public relations for a band are a significant component of “success” (whatever that means). Ultimately, if you’d rather stick with what your gut tells you to do or say at any given minute, then you may end up making things even more complicated than they already are - although that sure is very rock ‘n’ roll! On the other side, there are plenty of bands that we have learned to appreciate over time – patiently working and showing us their progress. The ultimate goal is to be able to continue making music and sharing it with others who will appreciate your work, and that’s what The Deli is here to help you do. -Paolo De Gregorio
the brooklyn Diy Scene (2008)
reaD the paSt iSSueS oF the Deli in pDF !! www.theDeliMagazine.com/pDF
thedelimag.com/articles/DIY
“Vinta ge” Deli article s
grizzly bear (2004) thedelimag.com/articles/grizzlybear
the lower east Side (2007) thedelimag.com/articles/les
Matt and Kim (2006) thedelimag.com/articles/mattandkim
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soundbites
MELLOW CORE
Doe Paoro
D
oe Paoro describes her music as “ghost soul,” due in part to her haunting vocals and the lingering chants that fill her songs. Doe Paoro is actually Sonia Kreitzer, a New York state native who wears the mythical façade after an unforgettable trip through the Himalayas. It was in the southern Asian mountains that Kreitzer discovered “Lhamo,” a Tibetan opera style characterized by songs and dance of the region. With a unique vocal delivery and heavy spiritual elements, Doe Paoro stands out from her Brooklyn peers by truly stepping away from the average guitar or piano ballads, opting for an unusual, but beautiful sound. Studying Lhamo gives your music such a rich, unique quality. What originally drew you to it? I first discovered Lhamo after days of hiking alone. I heard a voice so penetrating that I couldn’t believe it was coming from a human being. I don’t think it was; I believe this woman was merely a conduit for an otherworldly force. “Lhamo” actually translates into something akin to siren or goddess. After asking around, I learned of Lhamo, and met the teacher. He agreed to take me on as an apprentice, and I am ever grateful for his kindness and wisdom. What kind of music did you grow up on? I grew up with many different types of music, but mostly I was fascinated by sound as a child – a stick whipping through space, acorns dropping from trees, a fly in my face. Sound calmed me in a way that the visual world did not. It moved me beyond a sensory level. Full interview by Devon Antonetti: thedelimag.com/artists/doe-paoro
Friend Roulette
T
here’s a perfectly hummable sentiment somewhere in Friend Roulette’s “Sailing Song” that keeps working its way back to the surface, but only after first progressing through all manner of uneven meter changes, brass fanfare and incidental thematic adventure. At times stepping boldly into a space usually exclusive to the imagination of score composers like Danny Elfman, the group essentially writes baroque pop pieces for an imagined Brechtian musical, casting its talented singers/songwriters Julia Tepper and Matthew Meade as the show’s unlikely protagonists. I’m curious where some of your influences come from.
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Friend
R oulette
Are any of you big film music fans? Matt: John (EWI and bass clarinet) is a big fan of film music. He went through a big phase of listening to a lot of Ennio Morricone. I really like the soundtrack to Psycho. But mainly my biggest influences are Van Dyke Parks and Stravinsky. Both those composers carry a cinematic type of quality with their music. I understand you have an LP on the horizon. Tell me what I can expect. A very lush and dense album is what you can expect. We have been working very hard on it. Most tracks have about 3 layers of bass clarinet and EWI – violin as well. Many tracks have 4 layers of percussion. It’s moving into more melted, psychedelic territory, and Julia’s vocals sound amazing. Full interview by Mike Levine: thedelimag.com/artists/friend-roulette
I Am Lightyear
L
auren Zettler is better known these days as I Am Lightyear. The Indiana native is the daughter of chemists, and a former chemistry student herself. But Zettler was never particularly interested in the science world – heading out instead on a musical path. That path led her to Berklee College of Music in Boston where she studied film scoring. After graduating, Zettler packed up for New York to write and perform songs for the first time – showcasing her sweet, poppy vocals. But it wasn’t until a series of life changes that she started performing under the name I Am Lightyear, a moniker that she takes on for its infinite abilities.
I Am Lightyear This musical project deals a lot with transformation and sea change. What kind of life circumstances compelled you in this direction? My artistic life was paralleling my personal life pretty intensely. I was making some major changes (mainly related to a relationship), and so my creative process really needed to reflect that because, without getting too personal, it was the kind of situation that was all-encompassing. The girl-with-guitar singer-songwriter thing didn’t feel right to me anymore, and I wanted to shed that history and start over again. You played under your real name in the past. What is the difference in your sound and approach to music between Lauren Zettler and I Am Lightyear? There is definitely a different mindset – I feel like I can be a bit freer. If I’m performing as Lauren Zettler, that’s me up there, saying things that I would say and thoughts that I would think. When I’m performing under I Am Lightyear, it’s not me anymore. It’s a band. It’s a bunch of ideas that come from places I wasn’t really aware of before, because I feel like I can write about anything. Full interview by Devon Antonetti: thedelimag.com/artists/i-am-lightyear
SoftSpot
Mellow C Orchestral Poore & p Top 20
The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Lana Del Rey Beirut Sufjan Stevens St. Vincent Exitmusic Twin Sister The Pierces Emilie Simon Lia Ices Dark Dark Dark
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17. 18. 19. 20.
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Joan as Police Woman MS MR High Highs Chris Garneau Nicole Atkins Miracles of Modern Science Ida Clare and the Reasons Elephant Parade Bryan Scary
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MS MR
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Production Corner
By Paolo De Gregorio
The Interaction of Vocals and Mics
Doe
SoftSpot
B
ushwick’s own SoftSpot was founded by Sarah Kinlaw and Bryan Keller who have been friends “since the sandbox.” With the help of drummer Blaze Bateh, the band charges through their art-rock compositions with vehement wails – channeling their inner-Jonsi. The trio released the EP Nous in the fall of last year, with a new single “The Cleansing Hour” that followed in February. Kinlaw’s operatically-trained voice soars through each song as ambient guitars guide the group through sonic and visual ingenuity. Part of her magnetism on stage may come from her high school theater days, giving their performances a moody, organic appeal. What finally made you start making music together after having known each other since kindergarten? Bryan: Since knowing each other, we have always had a mutual appreciation for music. I had been making music for a long time with lots of different people, and when Sarah started writing some songs of her own, I would help texturize them. We really liked working together. Over the years, we started collaborating more and making more songs as a unit. Sarah: Yeah, even though we met when we were so little, our actual friendship was always formed through music. I
Paoro
remember bringing Green Day’s Dookie on the school bus and showing it off to Bryan. He thought I was so cool which meant that my plans to reel him in as a cool bus buddy were a complete success. Honestly, from that point on, our friendship was heavily built from our passions and the need to share what we love with each other and other mutual friends. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I felt comfortable playing my own songs, and I was so grateful that Bryan was able to help bring me out of my own private song-world. Full interview by Devon Antonetti: thedelimag.com/artists/softspot
MS MR
A
fter months of ambiguity, MS MR have finally begun performing out live – giving only a slight glimpse into the world of the mysterious duo. MS MR, comprised of a woman and a man (the MS half may or may not be named Liz), have released a demo album and a single, with accompanying music videos, but that’s about it. They don’t want to divulge their identities, they don’t show their faces on any album work, and they certainly don’t grant interviews. But it’s that perfect amount of tease that piques a listener’s
e the Slow, sparse songs allow the vocals to becom the central focus of the recording, and that’s when make choice of microphone and mic preamp can nn a big difference. Not many can afford a Neuma a limited U47 through a Neve channel, but even with be done microphone/preamp arsenal, a lot that can of to improve your vocals’ tone. There is a degree eamp enigmatic “chemistry” between some mic+pr combos and some voices – to be discovered simple through trial and error – but here are a few s: tips that can help fix some common problem hone 1. The distance of the mouth from the microp ity is crucial: vocal mics feature the so called “proxim at close effect” which exaggerates low frequencies a distance and reduces them progressively after lly a certain range. 8 inches from the mic is norma tone, good place to start, try closer for a warmer farther for a tinnier one. 2. Excessive sibilance can be very distracting in vocal tracks. To fix it try these tips and/or any combination of them: a less bright mic (maybe even a Shure SM58), a better a/d converter, singing to the mic on an angle, sticking chewing gum between your upper front teeth. If you realize about this problem after the recording, try a de-esser plug-in. 3. Plosive consonants (“P”s and “B”s) can create weird artifacts in your recordings. The solution in this case is very simple: use a pop shield between the vocalist and the mic, and also filter out with Neumann U47 EQ anything under 100-150 Hz.
interest and makes everyone a bit more curious. MS MR may be hiding their identities, but their music does speak for itself. The band is mixture of sweet and severe, with light and ambient vocals against pounding pop melodies. The duo is also likely to be British, which is possibly where their dream and drone sound originates. They may not be eager to expose their inner workings, but MS MR do have a musical focus to back their secretive attitude. Article by Devon Antonetti: thedelimag.com/bands/ms-mr
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soundbites
Electro nic Top 20
ELECTRONIC
The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts 1. Lemonade 2. Blood Orange 3. Ratatat 4. LCD Soundsystem 5. A-Trak 6. Teengirl Fantasy 7. Tanlines 8. Porcelain Raft 9. Com Truise 10. St. Lucia 11. Amon Tobin 12. El-P 13. Battles 14. Laurel Halo 15. Discovery 16. Bikini 17. Thieves Like Us 18. Caged Animals 19. Mindless Self Indulgence 20. The Golden Filter
Avan Lava
A
van Lava, as a whole, is a mindblowing spectacle that takes time to behold. The band is a mix of seasoned pros and otherwise unknown underground talent. Ian Pai and Le Chev of Fischerspooner theorized this upbeat hard hitting disco-rock side project while on tour in Brazil four years ago. They sought to remove themselves from the chilled out ambient norm, and erupted onto the indie music circuit with high-energy tracks that get people off the wall and back onto the dance floor. In a realm of indie music dominated by angsty words and feelings, you guys are a fresh burst of positivity. How do you relate to other acts within the burgeoning indie scene in NYC? The great thing about being in music (especially the NYC scene) right now, is that there’s room for everyone. We feel like we’re not alone in being positive and energetic, but part of a new movement with bands like SSION and Body Language. Angsty sentiments have become the norm in indie music, and now energetic upbeat stuff, like what we’re doing, is the new counterculture. And we’re happy to wave the flag. How do you feel about the recent rise in electro-rock and dubstep when compared to your musical styles and tastes? It’s amazing that it’s become so popular. I remember playing with Skrillex in a bar about 2 years ago, and now he has a Grammy. CRAZY, sexy...cool. The rise of dance music in the states, in general, is incredible. It’s totally inspiring to see the biggest stars all testing the waters on big room house sounds. This explosion is definitely doing something bizarre for house music, and my relationship to it, in that it’s not underground AT ALL anymore. But, I think it’s important to remember that dance music has always been huge, and I think always will be, in whatever form it’s in. Full interview by Ed Guardaro: thedelimag.com/artists/avan-lava
Avan
Check out our self-generating onlin e charts:
l ava
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Saadi
S
aadi is a swirling, vibrant portal into Boshra AlSaadi’s eclectic musical mind. The former Looker vocalist brings together a cornucopia of influences that transport Saadi listeners through her musical metamorphosis. Born in Syria, AlSaadi tastefully carries over an Arabic feel to her sultry beat-driven electro-pop tunes that also calls on post-punk, reggae, dancehall, rock and No Wave. AlSaadi writes boisterous songs that command attention like other fiery femme fatales such as M.I.A. and Grace Jones. The diverse list of artists that have remixed her music matches the collage of sundry genres AlSaadi blends. Delicate Steve, Prince Rama, Lemonade and The Soundmen have all had their hands in reimagining the songs while maintaining the intoxicating exotic essence and integrity of the originals. When did you decide to embark on a solo project? It was strange, after years of collaboration in Looker, there was a part of me that started going its own way musically. I found myself saving up for a
Photo: Alberto Milazzo
laptop just to use the primitive recording software on it. The first few songs I wrote by myself on my computer were pretty magical. I knew they wouldn’t be right for Looker, and I knew I had opened some kind of floodgate. There have been strange mutations since with changing lineups, backing tracks, configurations and instrumentation. What’s your songwriting process like? I write everything and make demos. Until now, all Saadi releases have been my demos souped up by talented collaborators like Tim Wagner (from Dither Down). With this band, I hand over what I’ve recorded, and they run with it. The record I’m wrapping up is a real testament to the magic of a live band.
Production Corner
triggered by the snare, or even a more textured sample that you may find in your library or out in the world.
By Paolo De Gregorio
Reverb Doesn’t Have to Be... REVERB!
The gate, of course, will allow you to control its decay. If the sound is mono or doesn’t give the snare that roomy quality conferred by reverb, you can try and apply a stereo enhancer to it, or maybe some very short stereo delay. Some EQ might be necessary to blend the sample in with the rest of the track.
Electronic music thrives on the creation of new sounds and textures. Here’s a cool idea that’s also CPU friendly – since it implies using samples instead of computer power-hungry reverb plug-ins. With the help of a virtual sampler (like Drumagog or any of the free samplers available online), a simple noise gate and a stereo enhancer plug-in, any more or less “linear” sound can be transformed into an
Full interview by Dean Van Nguyen: thedelimag.com/artists/saadi
Free PlugIn, Drum-Trig effect similar to a reverb – but more interesting. For example, you can try some white or pink noise
This kind of effect can sound very intriguing, but also get a little repetitive, so in most cases, it’s better to use it sparingly on sections of songs or maybe even one occasional hit.
soundbites
People
AVANT INDIE
Get Ready
Foxygen
Photo: Jenn Nielsen
Foxygen
Conveyor
lot of Foxygen’s music feels entirely off the cuff, even while sounding like a lot of time was spent on the tracks. Occupying that historical space somewhere between the hippie psychedelia of 13th Floor Elevators and the glam rock of Roxy Music, it’s hard to tell what era their music exists in. Frankly, this is a band that can’t seem to make up their mind about much of anything, and it’s probably for the best. The twin vocals of songwriting team Sam France and Jonathan Rado seem to switch genres entirely mid-verse or mid-hook, going from a tumult of horns and organs to jangly guitar and back again. Leaderof-the-pack motorcycle rock ‘n’ roll gives way to Shirelles fanfare and Beach Boy anthems, all fronted by something close to Mick Jagger… it’s retrolicious – through and through.
rooklyn’s Conveyor presents an intriguing blend of styles and influences on their sonic palette. Combining onveyor the percussion of Afropop with moody electronics and rhythmic patterned vocal placement, their sound is bouncy and creative. Time signatures that break out of the 4/4 mold suggest artists not content to rely on the safety of familiar patterns. The band will be releasing their debut full-length album later this year on Paper Garden Records.
A
I have to ask: How does your writing process work, especially when you both live across the country from one another? Sam: We recorded Take The Kids Off Broadway when we were living together in New York. We share a psychic vision of the album. I make up the title. We think of the album cover, and go from there. Jonathan: A lot has been made of us being a “bicoastal” band, but the truth is that we’re not doing a Postal Service thing or anything. We live in different places, but we always record and play in the same place. We’re both on the west coast right now – monocoastal. Who determines the direction and style of your recordings? Jonathan: Both of us. We’ve been doing this for a long time. We don’t even really talk that much when we record anymore. Full interview by Mike Levine: thedelimag.com/artists/foxygen
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B
C
Your song “Woolgatherer” emphasizes syncopated vocal rhythms with a variety of percussive elements and keyboard flourishes. How does a track like this come to take its musical shape? That track kind of came together all at once in the studio; we didn’t really play around with it as a band first. It started with the percussive vocals and a drumbeat, and then we layered guitars and synths on top of that. The lyrics were written pretty stream of consciousness, which explains the different lengths of all the verses. I think, in general, “Woolgatherer” is reflective of how we approach writing songs: Sing over a part until it feels like the part should change, and then go to a new section. “Anne” takes your cascading vocals even further – into “Beach Boys” territory. Is or was Brian Wilson an inspiration or influence to you? Definitely – it’s hard to find modern pop music that doesn’t take a lesson from the Beach Boys. All four of us like to sing, and when you’re looking for inspiration or references for male vocal harmony, the Beach Boys are such a powerful starting point. Full interview by Dave Cromwell: thedelimag.com/artists/conveyor
People Get Ready
P
eople Get Ready is a perfect example of what can happen when vastly different personalities come together and become something greater than their sum. James Rickman composes many of the band’s guitar parts, and also writes equally well for many of New York’s art house musicians (Playback), while co-conspirator Steven Reker moonlights as a professional dancer for several artists (including David Byrne), and that’s just what two members of the quartet are up to. Referring to themselves as interdisciplinary, you’re just as likely to find physical acrobatics and light shows at their gigs as you are to hear a schizophrenic jungle of sounds tangled together in a loosely defined version of Afrobeat(y) groove music. There is so much going on in your records. Tell me where you get some of your sounds from. Most of the sounds are from old Casio keyboards – I became obsessed with them a couple years back! The songs from the EP were originally guitarbased – then I distilled those ideas into the keyboards, which left a bunch of room for Luke to add percussion and for Jherek Bischoff (our producer) to work his magic. Tell me some more about your upcoming residency at Process Space. Sounds very exciting!
the deli Summer 2012
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soundbites
Life
NOISE ROCK
Size Maps
Photo: Danny Krug
We are making a performance piece that will premiere at this incredible theater in October – New York Live Arts. Lower Manhattan Cultural Council has these programs where they offer artists residencies/places to make new work – they are an awesome organization. We’ll be doing some open rehearsals of what we’re working on – basically it’s like a performance “mixtape” that is scored by the band – and it’s over on Governors Island. You should come by! Full interview by Dave Cromwell: thedelimag.com/artists/people-get-ready
Life Size Maps
L
ife Size Maps have amped up the oddities on their new EP Weird Luck. Venturing off from their more traditional indie pop debut Magnifier, the band’s sound has come into its own, establishing the trio in the noise pop genre. Their latest, three-song record employs random sounds and seamlessly incorporates them into their music, which is also fed with impressive hooks and occasional doses of math rock. The EP’s opener and the title track, “Weird Luck,” is a speed-pop tune that finds a unique balance between synthetic cello riffs and Nintendo beep solos. In both “Wind in the Furnace” and “Copper Mirror,” hummable melodies coexist with frenzied noises, making the group
E uLA
sound like an intriguing mix of Parts and Labor and They Might Be Giants. How did you come up with the band name? Mike: We used to be a 6-piece miniorchestra. Our bassoonist got high one day and asked to see a “life size map of the world.” I felt like Magnifier was sort of an exploration into what kind of band you wanted to be, and Weird Luck was the result. Was this a conscience transition or did the band just evolve naturally? Mike: Weird Luck is more sleek and streamlined. The songs are simpler, but the sounds are weirder. Jordyn: I think it also has something to do with me joining and having a presence in the sound. Drummers make more of a difference in the sound than people realize – a certain feel, energy, and limitations or expansions. Full interview by Jen Mergott: thedelimag.com/artists/life-size-maps
EULA
I
f Captain Beefheart was reincarnated as a petite blonde woman from Connecticut, he’d be fronting the post-punk band EULA in the guise of Alyse Lamb, the vocalist for the now Brooklyn-based trio that also consists of bassist Jeff Maleri and drummer Nate Rose. They’ve released 6 videos
Photo: Matei G
Avan & Nois t Indie eR Top 20ock
The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Yeasayer Animal Collective Dirty Projectors Black Dice Grizzly Bear A Place To Bury Strangers 7. Emil & Friends 8. Yo La Tengo 9. Department of Eagles
Check out our self-ge
10. Kaki King 11. Gang Gang Dance 12. Faun 13. Rubblebucket 14. The Fiery Furnaces 15. Son Lux 16. Rasputina 17. Delicate Steve 18. Mice Parade 19. Marnie Stern 20. Ava Luna
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in support of their 2011 LP Maurice Narcisse, including a new documentary about their recent show opening for post-punk icons Mission of Burma. How did the Mission of Burma documentary happen? It came about by accident. Mission of Burma chose us to open for them at MIT in 2009 after seeing our video for “Fight Riff.” They asked us back, two years later, to open for them at Music Hall of Williamsburg. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but they requested US. It was beautifully surreal! A couple days before the show at Music Hall, I thought, “They are the forefathers of post-punk. We need to document this.” Burma is such a huge influence, and I really wanted to capture the experience. We worked with Collabo!NYC on our “Live from Big Snow” video, which was amazing, so it made sense to work with them again. They are magic. Full interview by Shanda Boyett: thedelimag.com/artists/eula
Production Corner
Thurston Moore’s effects pedal board as reported in August 2008.
By Paolo De Gregorio
Thurston Moore’s Pedal Board Sonic Youth is a band that like no other brought innovation to the sound of indie rock – particularly in the guitar tones and playing style departments. But unlike many contemporary Lo-Fi, noise rock bands, Thurston Moore and co. always devoted a lot of resources to researching the sonic possibilities offered by different guitars, amps and pedal effects. So much so, that over their tri-decennial career, they slowly accumulated an incredible equipment arsenal.
• Mutron Wah-Vol • Electro-Harmonix/Sovtek Big Muff • Crowther ‘Hot Cake’ Overdrive
What you may not be aware of though is that the band went to extreme lengths to document each piece of gear they used and how they employed it in their many releases. More
• Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Octave Fuzz • MXR Phase 90 • Sitori Sonics ‘Harem Fuzz’
important – all this information is accessible for free on their website (www.sonicyouth.com – Archives/Gearography), and represents a treasure of details for all those interested in replicating some of the band’s insane guitar and bass tones.
soundbites
INDIE
Night Manager
Motive
Indie Top 20
The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts
Motive
A
long time ago, the founding members of Motive were shredding through jazz lead sheets and getting carted across the U.S. and Europe to showcase their young talent. Nowadays, Motive populates a different scene. Erupting from a Clinton Hill practice space onto stages and club circuits around the city, the band is taking NYC – and the internet – by storm. In the dawn of a quintessential political election, their song “Nobody Eats Dinner” was synced to clips of Mitt Romney at his worst. This video went viral and with it, Motive. Their music is masterfully layered and meticulously produced. With a new age, larger than life sound that slowly seeps into your brain, it’s hard not to hum the enchanting hook of “What’s So Bad” right before drifting into a rock and roll daydream. When creating songs, does one of you come to the group with an idea, or is it more of a collaborative process? Nick is the primary song writer, although the entire band writes. Usually, someone comes with an idea or pieces of an idea, and the band works out the other parts. We like it to be collaborative, and it’s pretty easy to hear each member’s individual voice. Your track, “Nobody Eats Dinner,” was featured in a politically-charged video, Nobody Loves Me: A Mitt Romney Music Video. How far do politics play in your songs? We never intended for that song to have any political meaning, but we support anyone who wants to use our music for good. Full interview by Ed Guardaro: thedelimag.com/artists/motive
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Total Slacker
Night Manager
C
ombining powerful dreamy female vocals with a band of dudes chunking out chimey guitar chords and distinctive rhythmic bass/drum patterns, Brooklyn’s Night Manager is a rising new force on the local indie music scene. The fact of the matter is that their presence has already gone national/international. To the extent that their Ghost 7” EP caught the attention of labels Rough Trade in the UK and Big Love in Japan, and have since released it in those countries. With lead vocalist Caitlin Seager providing soaring melodies that come off relaxed but defined at the same time, the boys in the band provide a solid rock backdrop. Night Manager comes along as a breath of fresh air in a scene that has simply duplicated itself one too many times. How did your distribution relationship with Rough Trade come about? Who contacted whom? Did someone there hear your Big Love release? I have no idea actually. We never talked to them. We found out about that at the same time everyone else did. I assume it was Haruka at Big Love who took care of that – cheers to her. How is the songwriting developed? Is it the predominant work of one member or a collaborative process between multiple members? Typically, it’s not collaborative. But, we now have two guitars, which means Tassy can write guitar lines over chords he or I write. I think it’s gonna be more of a group effort in the future. Full interview by Dave Cromwell: thedelimag.com/artists/night-manager
Matt and Kim The Walkmen The National The Rapture The Strokes Yeah Yeah Yeahs Interpol We Are Augustines Yellow Ostrich Blonde Redhead
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11. White Rabbits 12. The Men 13. The Front Bottoms 14. Eleanor Friedberger 15. Cymbals Eat Guitars 16. Julian Plenti 17. Bear Hands 18. Les Savy Fav 19. We Barbarians 20. French Kicks
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Total Slacker
S
omewhere, creeping through scattered reverberations of vocals and guitars, Total Slacker’s sonic beauty splinters through their sarcastic lyrics and lethargic lo-fi vibe. There is a distinct feeling of nostalgia that the band evokes, with drawn out ride cymbal eighth and sixteenth note grooves and clever, tight choruses. Total Slacker brings all the warmth and charisma of Summer of Love surf music, with a witty side that was all too ironic to rear its stylized head in the ’60s. Your sound harkens back to a psychedelic time of excitement and mystery. Is this rendered from a deliberate, conscious effort, or a result of a strange sense of empathy to the idiosyncrasies of the modern world? Yeah, it’s about needing the tangible world again, where records and tapes brought music to people. The empathy is more linear. Your video for “Secret VHS Collection” looks like a pretty wild time (other than the video). Did anything extraordinary come out of the shoot or the party that inevitably ensued? We raged hard on the roof that night. Cole Smith of DIIV and Beach Fossils does a cameo along with Matt Molnar of Friends and Ezana Edwards of Night Manager. That was a great night. Full interview by Ed Guardaro: thedelimag.com/artists/total-slacker
the deli Summer 2012
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soundbites
ALT FOLK
JBM
J
BM, the moniker of solo artist Jesse Bryan Marchant, underscores each song with a howl of the isolation and yearning of a much older soul. Originally from Montreal, Canada, Marchant is now based in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, and has released a follow-up to his only in July debut called Stray Ashes. The singer has already drawn favorable comparisons to Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Jim James of My Morning Jacket, due in large part to haunting reverb on songs like “Only Now” and “Winter Ghosts.” JMB recorded most of his work in a cabin in a rainy northern New York town, giving his music an undertone of isolation as he searches within himself. Though he may not initially strike an immediate chord with all listeners, it’s in his music’s subtleties that channel his emotionally wrought spirit and draws in audiences. You started playing music at such a young age. Do you come from a musical family, or was it something you got into on your own? My family was musical, but they did not play. My grandfather was a musician, but I was not around him much. I began showing an interest in playing instruments at an early age, and my parents were very supportive in helping me along with that. Where did you record Stray Ashes, and how did that experience differ creatively from recording not even in July in an old church? I recorded Stray Ashes in an old log home in North Argyle, New York. It was in the spring of 2011, and I could swear that it rained every single day. I was there alone and I worked on it daily over the span of a few months. It was different from the last record in that there was no time constraint,
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j BM and no other people were around or involved in the recording.
Pam: That’s just about as open as two people can be.
Full interview by Devon Antonetti: thedelimag.com/artists/jbm
Jacob, I understand your musical training stems from jazz. How are you able to pull that background into XNY’s drumming? Jacob: Elvin Jones said, “The smaller your drumset is = the less equipment you have to break down = the quicker you will get laid.” Pam and I like to keep that mindset when creating and playing our music. It keeps things simple so you can focus on what really matters.
XNY
X
NY have that rare kind of chemistry that must make other bands wonder what they’re doing wrong. It isn’t every day that you hear something so large and well thought out, channeled through such piecemeal instrumentation. On the surface, it’s very simple. Pam Autuori sings her tensions, and releases over Jacob Schreiber’s booms and grooves…but really, these are some heroic jams that carve out an enormous territory with each song. With just two members, XNY have managed to build a world larger than most ensembles plenty times their size. You two seem really supportive of one another. Does your friendship help fuel creative expression and openness? Jacob: We’ve eaten food out of each other’s mouths.
Full interview by Mike Levine: thedelimag.com/artists/xny
Town Hall
I
n between dorm life and mid-term exams, NYU trio Town Hall released their full-length debut Roots and Bells this spring. Though maybe not your typical college undergrads, the band met as students at the Clive Davis Institute of Recording Music in 2010, and have been jamming together ever since. With the poppy, upbeat vocals of Stefan Weiner and Phoebe Ryan, Town
Rootsy Songwri & te Top 20 rs
Town Hall
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Photo: David Kepner
Cat Power 11. Citizen Cope Norah Jones 12. Punch Brothers Regina Spektor 13. Deer Tick Ingrid Michaelson 14. Langhorne Slim Sharon Van Etten 15. A.A. Bondy Devendra Banhart Theophilus London 16. Daniel Merriweather 17. Phos phorescent CocoRosie 18. Titus Andronicus Family Band 19. The Felice Brothers Antony and 20. River City Extension the Johnsons
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Production Corner
By Paolo De Gregorio
Slide Guitar Tone Secrets
xNY Hall charges through Roots and Bells with songs about mischief and longing that mix playful humor with a diverse set of stirring melodies. Together with multi-instrumentalist Jesse Kranzler (yes, that is him on the glockenspiel) and an array of crack backing musicians, Town Hall brings together ’90s-inspired pop with murmurs of folk. As band of music students, do you worry about losing any creative spark through an instructional structure? We all study Recorded Music at NYU, so we spend most of our time focusing on the business and behind-the-scenes aspects of the music industry more than actually working on music in school. It’s nice to be able to bring our music into
the classroom as a real-life application of what we’ve learned, and we’re lucky to have teachers and mentors who support us in and outside of the classroom, and are willing to work with us so we can get as much out of school as possible. How do you balance school and work? Not only are our teachers cool about us playing shows (as long as we have enough notice and get our work done), but also we’re often playing with our teacher’s bands. Usually school doesn’t get in the way of what we are trying to do, but when it has, we’ve been able to find ways to make it work. Full interview by Devon Antonetti: thedelimag.com/artists/town-hall
When playing slide guitar, different materials used on your strings will create slightly different tones. If you are after a smooth slide with long, clean sustain, you should try a cut-off bottleneck, which was Ry Cooder’s choice. If you are aiming at something less atmospheric and with more “bite,” go for the classic metal slide. A non-round surface like a blade can bring out a more “grating” sound by slightly scraping the thicker strings, while plastic round containers will create a more dull sound. Heavy brass slides work better on the acoustic guitar’s “harder” strings, while the softer strings of the electric will require a gentler action and lighter slide. Assuming that you know that when playing in this style you don’t have to press the strings down to touch the neck, bear also in mind that damping the strings behind the slide with the free fingers on your left hand will give you a cleaner tone without too many ringing notes.
Try a cut-off bottle neck for a smooth, long, clean sustain and a metal slide for more “bite.”
the deli Summer 2012
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soundbites
ALT ROCK
New Beard
S
o, New Beard is not just a clever name, as the band is indeed dominated by facial hair. The Brooklyn-based five-piece, consisting of Tony Waldman, Ben Wigler, Yazan, Maria Eisen, and “Tuba” Joe Exley (not just a clever alias either), adding a creative take on the low end, is not just your average rock band. The title track of their upcoming album New Beard City combines feel-good, jazzy melodies and bouncing rhythms, while “I Walk the Streets” features intricate percussion and moments of calypso beats, haunting distortion, and unexpected modulations, which contrasts with somber, low-key, tubacentric, “Terran Holiday.” New Beard’s self-proclaimed “weird rock” genre is infectiously entertaining and builds the anticipation of their upcoming record due out by the end of 2012. What is the story behind your newest release, New Beard City? What is your favorite song and why? The record is an homage to New York, as well as other interesting cities like Tokyo and Stockholm, which have influenced the process. I was in a NYC band called Arizona, which graced the cover of The Deli in 2006. Immediately afterward, we moved to North Carolina, which was a great journey filled with amazing friends, but a disaster for our career. I started writing “New Beard City” just as Arizona broke up. My favorite song from the album is “Doom” because it came to me absolutely effortlessly. I recorded it on my own without the full NB band while Gustav was mixing the record, and some of the AZ guys play on it. Gustav sings with me at the end and really produced the sound of the track. It’s got an amazing hook, and I actually wrote the hook in 2003. It was the first thing I wrote after I moved to NYC the first time. Full interview by Meijin Bruttomesso: thedelimag.com/artists/new-beard
Nude Beach
I
t’s quite interesting and somewhat bizarre to see a band emerging from the Brooklyn DIY scene like Nude Beach rehash influences from the very mainstream genre which expressed artists like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Graham Parker – that genre being Classic American Rock of the ‘70s - ‘80s. Considering that since 1977, hardly any alternative band wanted to sound like the Boss (until… now!), we
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Nude
Beach Photo: Joel Barhamand
New
Beard
can’t say that Nude Beach’s scruffy approach to this best-selling musical tradition lacks courage. Getting the American Rock thing to sound right is not an easy task though, and it took the band 4 years – an eternity in a band’s lifespan – to perfect it. For this sound to work, there are a couple of ingredients you need to get right: The swagger needs to make the band look like you don’t care much about anything (that’s probably why Nude Beach declined to be interviewed), but the lyrics need to come across as passionate and heartfelt. Most importantly though, you need to be able to write well-structured, catchy, energetic and uplifting rock songs, and perform them with a punch – all things the guys in Nude Beach are able to deliver. In the fast-stepping rocker “Walkin’ Down My Street” or the lonely hearts anthem “Some Kinda Love,” both marks are hit. For being just a three-piece, the group has somehow managed to sound like The Heartbreakers, The E Street Band, Bob Seger and Rick Springfield
all rolled up into one. It’s quite an accomplishment. Now signed to Manhattan’s legendary and immortal record store Other Music’s label, Nude Beach will surely enjoy a hot summer, probably at some point on tour with their friends The Men. Article by Mike Levine: thedelimag.com/bands/nude-beach
Water Knot
W
inners of Sonicbids’ “Road to Roo,” a contest that awarded a slot at this year’s Bonnaroo Festival, Williamsburg-born Water Knot has been riding an upward wave. The quartet’s sound channels the late Bruce Lee’s philosophy to essentially “be water,” and their music takes the shape of undulating melodies, angst-ridden multi-part harmonies that crescendo with sweeping guitar solos and instrumental interludes. Their track “Home” opens gently with minimal instrumentation and evolves into spacey rock melded with pop
Water Knot
Alt Ro c Top 20 k
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Screaming Females The Pretty Reckless Star Fucking Hipsters Taking Back Sunday Rhett Miller The Parlor Mob Brand New We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves 9. We Are Scientists 10. Locksley
11. The Bouncing Souls 12. Gung Ho 13. Jennifer Warnes 14. Andrew W.K. 15. The Dig 16. New Politics 17. The Hold Steady 18. Alberta Cross 19. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion 20. Devin
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rts
Photo: Rafaella Bachmann
dream where Bruce Lee was hitting a bucket full of water and the splash from the hit created a figure on the adjacent wall spelled “Water Knot.” Sounded like a good name for a band. What have been your greatest accomplishments of 2012 so far? Being on the same lineup for Bonnaroo Festival 2012 with heavy guns as Radiohead, The Beach Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many other artists we like. Full interview by Meijin Bruttomesso: thedelimag.com/artists/water-knot
c lear Plastic Masks sensibilities, and on their latest single, “Big Brother,” which has a video to accompany it, sonic layers echo with ringing guitar arpeggios and glowing vocals over crashing drums. Can any of you tie a water knot, or is that completely unrelated? What is the story behind the band name? Completely unrelated. We were looking for a band name for quite a while with no luck until one night I had a
Clear Plastic Masks
R
ecent Deli Artist of the Month winners Clear Plastic Masks are a rootsy, bluesy 4-piece rock band in the classic mold. Rough, raw guitars, loose, jammy drumming and passionate build-ups throughout are best displayed on their song “When The Night Time Comes.” Other songs like “Outcast” channels Keith Richards’ Rolling Stones aided by a motown
Production Corner
By Paolo De Gregorio
Drum Recording “Secret” There are a gazillion articles out there about how to record drums, but I’ve always thought that the best possible advice in this regard is not how to record but… what to record. Yes, mic positioning is challenging when recording a drum kit, but even the most sophisticated and flawless micing technique won’t be very helpful if the kit sounds bad and the drummer is no good. So, provided you have a tight and mean drummer who can hopefully also play to the click (important if not crucial skill), your first priority – rather than the mics – should be
DrumDial®, Precision Drum Tuners Made in the USA.
beat, with a conversational testifying vocal style that has been a rock staple from Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels all the way through to present day bands like The Jim Jones Revue. The guitar chords and mournful organ of “Working Girl” suggests a longing for passionate encounters, flirting with the more timelessly direct interpretation of the song’s title. Talking about the recording session for your latest album, was it as loose and live sounding as it appears? It was as loose and live as it sounds. That being said we spent all day everyday for 8 days in the studio peelin’ it off. We also had way more fun than anybody is supposed to when making a record. Anytime the four of us are together it’s hard not to have a good time. Andjija Tockic, our producer, instantly understood what we’re all about and has a really powerful set of ears and killer intuition. He’s someone I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet. Which do you prefer – writing and recording music – or presenting it to a live audience? All of the above. It’s all a release. It’s obviously very rewarding to play a killer show with a bunch of psychos screaming and running around, but the studio can have a lot of energy too. It’s more like launching the missiles from some remote bunker as opposed to being on the front line. Full interview by Dave Cromwell thedelimag.com/artists/clear-plastic-masks
is the actual drum kit sound (and how that sound but that’s a affected by the room you are recording in, whole different story). that In most occasions the snare is an element (unlike the requires a lot of attention, mostly because mix and kick) it’s likely to be very exposed in the final hout the (unlike the toms) it appears regularly throug than track. This is why it’s a good idea to have more sounds one snare available in the studio, to see which best in each song’s context. tuning But finding the right snare isn’t enough if its cymbals) isn’t right. Properly tuned drums (and quality great are the absolute basic requirements for any I would drum sound. When I used to record bands come in to sometimes pay a professional drummer to invalutune the skins, which would also serve as an s, tuning able lesson for the band’s drummer. Beside can do miracles on kick and toms as well.
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FROM AFROBEAT TO BROOKLYN’S FREAKS HOW AFRICAN GROOVES BECAME OUR INDIE MUSIC BY MIKE LEVINE ILLUSTRATION BY J.P. PEER
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the deli Summer 2012
I
t’s a weird sort of anachronism. When something so distant fits right in… like it was there all along. I felt this way when I listened to Animal Collective for the first time. There was so much going on at once, but somehow it all came together. And I remember thinking: “How is this working?” Listen to “Brother Sport” or “Lion in a Coma,” and you’ll hear the Brian Wilson harmonies and dense synthesizers working together like they’ve always existed in the same universe – only it hadn’t really been done like that before – interesting stuff. But for me, the real magic is what happens in the beat. Usually a dense polyrhythm with a steady pulse, it’s what keeps the band’s madness dance floor-ready. Animal Collective didn’t invent the endless groove; they just helped give it a new home.
But before these beats found themselves accessories to beach bum harmonies and mini-Korg embellishments, the tribal, ritualistic sound had a long and messy history, stretching back to the Afrobeat music of 1970s Nigeria. Here it existed as a genre in relative isolation for the next twenty years. This piece picks up when it took its first flight over to America in the 1990s. More than almost any other genre I can think of, nothing seems less likely than what happened to Afrobeat music when it finally made its way over to NYC. No matter what you say about Brooklyn, the town has an inexhaustible thirst for its endless grooves, and the pioneers that had brought it over here have influenced countless groups being talked about today, from The Rainbow Children and Ms. Lady, to Nomo and The Rex Complex.
WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN
Ironically, a lot of Afrobeat’s sound was inspired by New York, even before it hit Africa. Political dissident Fela Kuti was looking for something like this when he came over to Harlem from Nigeria in the late 1960s to find out what James Brown was up to. Turned out, Fela was a big fan of funk music. Fela Kuti was the outlaw of outlaws. Eventually setting up a musician’s commune in Nigeria with his 26 wives and scores of musicians, his colorful lifestyle was responsible for inventing the hybrid of high life and funk grooves which he labeled “Afrobeat.” He built this sound as a monument to challenge political discourse in his home country. And from its start, it was never a sound to stand still. Fela and his group Africa ’70 revolutionized ideas of musical structure at the same time it altered the politics of his native land Nigeria.
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without giving due justice to Fela Kuti, it’s near impossible to discuss how Brooklyn inherited all the action without paying ode to Antibalas, one of the first groups to pick this sound up from Nigeria and give it a home here in New York. Antibalas basically picked up right where Fela left off. Vocalist Amayo grew up around the corner from the Shrine nightclub where Fela first curated his sound, and group founder Martin Perna directed the music for Fela, the Broadway musical tribute to the man. They’ve even played and recorded with Tony Allen. This is a group that takes their shit seriously. Says Perna: “I wouldn’t call it a mission, but playing the music correctly is something we take very, very seriously, and within the group we are our own biggest critics.” Back in the ’90s, and before Brooklyn became the center of everything, Antibalas held an exclusive mandate on this sound. For much of their audience, the band’s heartfelt and dutiful obligation to preserving Fela’s vision for New York was all most people thought of when they thought of Afrobeat. And then Animal Collective moved to town…and the doors flew open.
BIG, WILD BANDS
In the early aughts, AnCo came around and brought their friends over to Brooklyn with them. These were freakier bands like Yeasayer, and groups from Wesleyan University that freaked out at Todd P’s loft parties. It’s hard to say why Afrobeat took off the way it did here. Maybe something in the water drugs? Only the bands know the story. I don’t even think Animal Collective had any idea how much influence their insistence on tribal dance groove would be to the next generation of Brooklyn’s tinkerers.
The music brought together an anti-imperial mesh of cultures that bound together the country’s underclass as nothing before. In rejecting fascist government, the new sound grew to become the soundtrack of Africa. This was a big event – even attracting Ginger Baker from Cream to record with legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, a man who practically invented the “endless groove” drumming of the genre single-handedly. According to Fela, “without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat.”
But today, Tanlines pick up right where “Lion in a Coma” left off, synthesizing percussion with sequenced vocals and chopped up guitars – creating a messy bunch of loops that work together in a sun-soaked haze of endless grooves. From their dense sound alone, you’d never know that there were only two people in this group. (No, they’re not anti-social. Members Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm also head Restless People, a dance/pop quartet nodding vigorously toward West Africa.) But who knows? If Fela was given a Juno to mess around with, maybe he would have come up with something even dirtier to get down to.
From its nascent roots, Afrobeat held as its mission, the goal of building a sandbox where western funk, psychedelia and African high life grooves could play in together. A lofty goal, but that’s how novel approaches to music get started. And while it’s sacrilegious to talk about Afrobeat
If larger groups are more your thing, Rubblebucket feature at least eight members when they perform. Traditionalists who got freakish after they signed with James Murphy’s DFA dance label, Rubblebucket are big fans of Antibalas themselves. Singer Kalmia Traver
the deli Summer 2012
Funk Guitar in Afrobeat Music By Howie Statland (www.RivingtonGuitars.com)
A
frobeat was born when Funk music reached Africa, and it was picked up by some local musicians (Fela Kuti for example) who integrated it with African rhythms and singing stiles. Therefore the guitar style in Afrobeat owes a lot to the Funk rhythmic way of playing the 6 string.
The Basics
The secret to the “funked out” guitar tone starts with the guitar itself: in most cases a Telecaster and Stratocaster, sometimes an ES-335, ES-175 or Les Paul. Fender amps are standard, usually a Fender Twin or Showman or other similar amps. These amps tend to have a clean, bright sound that works for this style, with lots of headroom to let the funk out, as opposed to Marshall amps, which tends to sound more compressed.
The Chicken Scratch Sound
Jimmy Nolan of James Brown created the so called “Chicken Scratch” sound. This sound is achieved when the guitar strings are pressed lightly against the fingerboard with the left hand and then quickly released with the strumming and picking of the right hand near the bridge. Often this effect was used with three note augmented 7th and 9th chords using the higher notes on the guitar and strumming straight 16th note patterns. “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” is a perfect example of “Chicken Scrtatch” guitar in full effect.
Wah-Wah
The key to the funk, besides what’s in the fingers, are guitar effect pedals. The funkiest of all is of course the wah-wah. The Cry Baby is the most popular and is actually the pedal that has sold more than any other in the history of stomp boxes. As you certainly know, this effect applies a highly resonant, variable EQ to the guitar’s tone, with famously “weeping” results. Most funk tunes have a wah wah guitar happening here or there, it’s a sound that defines what funk is: “wackah wackah wackah….hit me!!” The Godfather of all wah wah pedals is a vintage Clyde McCoy, with its warm tone and very wide EQ sweep.
Auto-Wah
Vintage Vox Clyde McCoy Wah
Auto-wah pedals create the wah-wah effect without using your foot to make the EQ variation, relying instead on an LFO and on the intensity and pitch of the strings that are played. The best sounding auto-wah is a vintage Ibanez AF-201. This effect is often used by bass players too - a Musitronics Mu-Tron III is a staple used by bassists like Bootsy Collins of Parliamant and Funkadelic, and by Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone – it also works well on guitar. Its filter is remarkably warm and analog sounding, and cries “funk” as soon as you hear it.
Phaser
Another staple of the style, used prominently by Eddie Hazel of Parliament and Funkadelic, is a phaser, in particular the MXR Phase 90. This swooshing, spacey effect was Eddie Hazel’s signature sound. The earliest versions have a signature script logo on a classic orange pedal and they sound the best.
These are the basics of FUNKING IT UP!!!
“loves big, wild bands like Antibalas,” from an interview with Glide Magazine. But Rubblebucket have made Afrobeat their own by re-purposing the genre’s exotic percussion with n’gonis and doumbeks and synthesizers like Junos and Minimoogs in songs like “Came Out of a Lady” and my favorite, “Silly Fathers.” Many of the bands carrying Afrobeat’s torch these days care less about preservation, and more about bringing the party. It’s one thing to curate a sound, but quite another to integrate it with psychedelic music far removed from the Ivory Coast, and that’s exactly what happened when the freaks started moving to Brooklyn in
MXR Phase 90
Vintage Ibanez AF 201 Auto Filter
the early aughts – giving rise to an unlikely merger between Afrobeat and freak folk that I’ve been known to carelessly shorthand as “afrofreak.”
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A BAD DAY
Today, the sound is everywhere. And its spirit of funk fusion, freak posture, and endless groove
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indoctrinates a newer generation of bands as far-flung from the Chinatown hip-hop grooves in The Notorious MSG to the party down soul of Deathrow Tull and EMEFE. With Deathrow Tull, the politics live in the percussion. Tracks like “Hella Keller” challenge the listener to close our eyes and find a different sense to make sense of our world. Fave group Dinosaur Feathers strikes a great balance between high life roots and funk future, pressing West African polyrhythm right up against the boundaries of Brooklyn’s beach music. For their track “I Ni Sogoma,” they respect the song’s African origins while making it their own. The title is taken from Dioula, a regional dialect spoken in the West African province of Côte d’Ivoire. “I Ni Sogoma” means “you and morning,” which is a way of greeting one’s beloved. While things don’t turn out well for the lover/protagonist in the song, the tone is surprisingly optimistic:
“…you’re taking off And I had my say One thing I have learned
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There’s no such thing as a bad day.” Are these bands this music’s next generation? Are they removing Afrobeat ever further from its origins…or extending the genre’s mandate by building a home large enough for all these sounds to live together? Martin Perna of Antibalas claims the interest that folks have in Afrobeat today stems from the lack of rhythmic diversity found in much of Western music: “…the US is not a very rhythmically sophisticated country compared to Cuba, Brazil or other countries in the African diaspora.” Harsh words, but he’s probably right. There’s a desire in a lot of these bands to catch up with a lot of what Africa has known about for years already. Whatever it becomes, Afrobeat is not going away anytime soon, and probably won’t be used the same way next year as it’s used today. Fela put it best: “I did not want to waste my time splitting hairs over definitions. What I was trying to do was evolve a unique and authentic style.” So maybe doing things our own way is the best way to honor the tradition after all.
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SNOWMINE Games of Light
I
By Nancy Chow / Photo by Emily Raw
n the midst of the tense Korean War, Snowmine frontman Grayson Sanders’ grandfather found surreal beauty one quiet night in the winter of 1952. He was ordered to lead his platoon on a night patrol, only to accidentally stumble into a snowy minefield. What started off as a remarkably picturesque evening ended in one of the most harrowing experiences of his life. This haunting tale would inspire Sanders to name his band Snowmine nearly six decades later. 26
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RIYL: Fleet Foxes, High Highs, Local Natives
“The story kind of represents this Taoist ‘you can’t have the light without the dark, and you can’t have the dark without the light’ mentality, which came to embody what we do,” says Sanders. Snowmine’s music is a study in acute dichotomies. The acoustic and electronic elements in the music waltz, pushing and pulling, contrasting and harmonizing. The lyrics, often pensive and melancholy, swim through tribal, cathartic and occasionally dancey beats. While even the energy of the pop rock songs swings immensely, the transitions, though unconventional, are seamless. These dynamics often shift so quickly that even notions of musical comparisons and inspirations are fleeting. There are traces of Animal Collective, Dinosaur Feathers, Department of Eagles, Wild Beasts, Fleet Foxes and Local Natives brusquely referenced.
The band’s debut album, Laminate Pet Animal (a clever palindrome), is a bright, industrious exploration of a precocious band’s sound. A smattering of musical imprints tie into a spiritual episode of swells and contractions, of peaks and valleys. Although the band experiments with polarities, there are always nuances and undertones that color and bring dimension to the songs — straying away from the black and white. The songs hold a tenuous balance of modern and classical elements that inspires a meditative, dreamlike state. Snowmine was built upon a chance encounter between Sanders and bassist Jay Goodman. It was Sanders’ second week at NYU, and he was sitting in the Steinhardt building, killing some time. Enter Goodman carrying his trusty bass, which prompted Sanders to strike up a conversation; they ended up playing an impromptu jam session soon thereafter. Friendships and musical connections brought in drummer Alex Beckmann, guitarist Austin Mendenhall and multi-instrumentalist Calvin Pia to fill out the rest of the band. Although Snowmine is comprised of learned musicians, who have either studied jazz or classical composition, they are not ones to go by the book. It perhaps may be unexpected to hear such experimentalism from classically-trained musicians, but it is actually the band’s collective lenience that drives the quintet. “I like to live life by the mantra, ‘Life is about finding safety in the open mind,’” says Sanders. The adage appropriately describes the group’s flexibility in terms of its songwriting and musical ideas. Despite being well-versed in music theory and jargon, they speak in visual terms to each other to describe sounds and concepts during rehearsal.
A lot has happened since they recorded the album in 2010. They completed a residency at Pianos, played CMJ and SXSW, signed to Billions Corporation to expand their touring reach, and received some serious praise. “What’s exciting is that we have five people that have grown together and sort of come of age as people as well as musicians, so we’ve known each other through major life experiences and a lot of major life changes,” says Sanders. “Those phases have directly impacted what we’ve written about and how we approach our music.” The band is “a little less totally broke,” and has grown dramatically since its inception. Most of Laminate Pet Animal was actually recorded in Sanders’ apartment. They got creative with the limited and unusual recording space, such as working in the bathtub and achieving reverb from the toilet. This time around they will be working with Jake Aron (Grizzly Bear, Yeasayer) and Yale Yng-Wong, who recently assisted Nigel Godrich with Here We Go Magic’s A Different Ship, to realize a more focused sound. If the band’s latest single, “Saucer Eyes,” is any indication of what to expect from the upcoming sophomore album, fans should be excited about the band’s shimmering yet smooth blend between earthy and synthetic elements that has been elevated to a new level.
“Since we’re a very textual group, we tend to try to mimic our textures with our lyrics. So sometimes you’ll hear a lyric and the sound will happen shortly thereafter – or at the same time – that we are trying to have represent, whether it’s a dark beast, a barbarian or some sort of flowering opening.”
“Since we’re a very textual group, we tend to try to mimic our textures with our lyrics,” says Sanders. “So sometimes you’ll hear a lyric and the sound will happen shortly thereafter – or at the same time – that we are trying to have represent, whether it’s a dark beast, a barbarian or some sort of flowering opening. We definitely speak in those terms in rehearsal all the time. We talk in imagery like, ‘play that flower sound again’ or ‘go to that cymbal part that sounds like a breeze.’” All the whimsical magic happens in their practice space in Bushwick. While it may be difficult to imagine the band speaking of flora and fauna at their space in the industrial neighborhood, the inspiration for the nature-nourished lyrics comes from another place and even another time. Sanders fondly remembers his childhood growing up in the mountains of California and spending an abundance of time outdoors with his sister. “I think oftentimes songwriters pull metaphors from their nostalgia – a lot of times from their memories,” says Sanders, who carries around a notebook to write in when inspired. “It helps contextualize their current adult lives.” The band is heading into the studio to record a follow-up to Laminate Pet Animal. Although the debut was only released about a year ago, they feel miles away from it.
“This time we’re going to be working a lot with distance,” says Sanders. “We’re going to be working a lot with big spaces. We’re going to be working in a church. We’ll try putting amps outside of the rooms and having our friends come in to sing, string players and woodwind players; we’ll have in a big family. So it’ll be a different experience from last time.”
The band plans to complete the album in a mere six weeks compared to the six months for Laminate Pet Animal. They are eager to bring the new songs on the road for their fall tour. Since the band’s SXSW shows, they have added a visual facet to their live shows with the help of Sanders’ roommate, Leia Doran. The band developed iPhone/iPad application called Colorbeast that allows users to manipulate video in a more intuitive way with finger gestures and swipes. Doran uses the app to yield a stimulating visual experience that compliments the music. “We want to make visual music,” says Sanders. “Exciting the eyes is one of the most powerful senses. Connecting the eyes and the ears is even more powerful, so if you can draw people in with multiple levels, it’s a big success.” While the band is extremely effective in relaying the fascinating paradoxes they explore on their record live, the emotions are palpable as the crowds dance and sway along to the music, taking in the soundscapes the quintet carefully constructs. Their live performances are an aweinspiring experience as the band takes command of the stage with such raw energy that hits with a gradual build. “I think, in the end, we just want a dynamic set; something that engages the audience that takes them through a journey, so they’re like, ‘I experienced something,’” says Mendenhall. “Whatever they take from it, hopefully they think it’s a journey that they’ve gone through with our set.”
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snacks highlights from the Deli’s NYC blog band from the legions of loop machine tinkerers surrounding Brooklyn, it’s the unexpected humanity and simple fun that the band always make sure to include in their experiments.
Blonds Probably because they only recently relocated to NYC (they originally hail from Florida), we somehow missed BLONDS’ rise to seminotoriety. The duo, comprised of dating, non-blonde couple Cari Rae and Jordy Asher, is partial to slow tempos and intense, almost Lynchian dreamy atmoshperes. A rather sexy video of the Portishead-ish single “206” raised their profile this past winter, and to take things to the next level, the band recently released the single “RUN” from their upcoming full-length album The Bad Ones. We can’t help but notice spaghetti Western references both in the record’s title and in the single, which sounds very much like a revisitation of Morricone’s dramatic approach to Country ‘n’ Western music. This band seems to have a rather big music vocabulary at their disposal, and this is a very good sign – looking forward to the full-length. (Paolo De Gregorio)
Sewing Machines If Brian Eno produced a slightly more Americana version of TV on the Radio, you might get a band sounding something like Sewing Machines. The group has a penchant for sculpting beautiful weird soundscapes out of the most synthetic of sources. Keyboards and drum machines overlay functionally tweaked vocal energy… and still, all of it is catchy as hell. But if there’s one thing to separate the
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If this duo is halfway serious about their band name, they could not have done any better. Between the inspired, heavily looped banjo and violin work of Sam Moss and the well-positioned vocals (and drum machine madness) of co-conspirator Max Horwich, this band is more than apt to cut and purl their way to an entirely new means of utilizing sonic materials. (Mike Levine)
The Inner Banks Active since 2006, Brooklynbased couple The Inner Banks released their third album Wild on June 12 via DAG! Records. The band’s sound, mostly acoustic but fast-paced, is suspended in a place between foggy nostalgia and traditional American roots music: Is this dreamfolk? A driving snare drum beat propels single “Ana Peru” forward, as a brightly textured guitar line weaves around Farfisa organ stabs. Layered female vocals tell a tale of how the song title’s subject matter is “just like one of us” and “not like none of us,” while the chorus plays around the phrase “hey, not ordinary, hey, just ordinary,” transformed in a catchy hook. The other single, “Box and Crown” confirm this band’s noteworthy melodic talent, offering tasteful string arrangements reminiscent of R.E.M. from the Out of Time period, while title track “Wild” betrays the group’s country influences. Not unlike Michael Stipe’s band, The Inner Banks have found a convincing middle
ground between Americana and Dream Pop in the form of a mature, arousing pop with orchestral tendencies. Wild has all the right features to be the album we were waiting for to properly celebrate the summer. (Dave Cromwell)
Zulus There are plenty of noisy and loud bands out there, but few of them are also tight, fun and… insane. These 5 things combined can conjure up some outstanding rock madness. Zulus is a Brooklyn band that should be forbidden to adults or something… Their songs sound like a tribal celebration of chaos. Although respectful of the genre’s typical droney tendencies, these guys are actually very inventive – in some kind of quirky way. We hear that in “Black Out,” the song that ends and starts 4-5 times; or in the signature never ending delay on their vocals. They also don’t disdain to introduce some melodic lines here and there – mostly in the form of backing vocals. Noisy fun lovers, this is a band for you. (Paolo De Gregorio)
Moon Hooch Let me introduce you to one of the most unlikely dance groups around New York. Made up of four-on-floor drum patterns, contrabass clarinet and tenor saxophone, Moon Hooch is just as likely to start a rave on
an A train’s platform, as they are to light up any NYC venue (Brooklyn Bowl hosts them regularly). Whether you call it Jazz music for house fans, or house music for hipsters, the band’s natural settings give the project an organic touch too often missed in the club atmosphere. Their latest track ‘Contra’ neatly occupies both worlds, featuring lovely guest vocals by local jazzcat Alena Spanger, coupled with an equally brutal house mix by Wenzl McGowen. Whether you call yourself a dance fan or not, it’s time you started respecting these fantastic horn players, and let your body move to the rhythm of their stabs. (Mike Levine)
Family Band From moody folk and gospel, to unexpected marches and screaming fireworks, Family Band moves its way through some heavy material in the EP Cold Songs. Though she could reasonably be accused of the kind of drawl singing usually associated with folksy singers like Chan Marshall, Kim Krans is no direct descendant of Cat Power either. She uses her powers in quite different ways. In the track “Beg” for instance, there are plenty of twists and turns reminiscent of Radiohead’s moodier journeys. Likewise, album opener “Cold Song” begins innocently enough, before knocking you over the head with its drum lines midway through. For this band, it’s the unexpected unfolding of these songs that makes it really come together. This is a record that abandons you in the middle of the forest for an evening, and comes to find you joyous in the morning, after experiencing the full range of that journey. (Mike Levine)
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The bands featured on this page rehearse at The Music Building in Manhattan. If you rehearse there, submit your info to be covered in the next issue of the deli at: www.thedelimagazine.com/musicbuilding ous and speedy drumming. Recently released “M.A.R.V.” is a two-track EP that was out this past February and showcases ATOM STRANGE’s top tracks from their previous two records, “ATOM STRANGE” and “Cosmic Disturbance.” The progressive rockers take an out of the box approach to create multi-dimensional music that will bring terrestrial head banging delight.
Atom Strange By Meijin Bruttomesso
R
ick Dunn(vocals), Matt Volpe (bass), Alex Rude (guitars), and Vinnie LaRocca (drums) are New York City’s ATOM STRANGE. Formulating spacey hard rock, Dunn’s high register and virtuoso vocals breaks through a cosmic swirl of intertwining guitar solos and strums, intricate and booming bass lines, and thunder-
What’s your funniest tour/show story? One time while out on tour, one night we were driving to or from Atlanta and needed to get gas. We took this incredibly long, lonely and dark road that looked like it lead to nowhere when we finally found a gas station. It was really creepy along the lines of Texas Chain Saw Massacre! Well we get to the gas station and we all get out to stretch our legs. As we walk towards the gas station we keep hearing all this crunching. It was quite dark so we couldn’t see very much. We fuel up and on our way back to the van there is still lots of crunching beneath our feet. Dead leaves? Maybe. We get in the van and turned on the headlights and notice that the ground looked like it was moving. There were millions of what looked like giant cockroaches or beetles all over the ground! We were all pretty disgusted by the scene until our then drummer Tony, started screaming because he had a bunch of them all over his shirt! The scene could have been out of a horror film or maybe some slapstick comedy with the way our drummer was freaking out! We got the bugs off of him but I think he will never be the same!
By Meijin Bruttomesso
T
hough the members of The Dirty Grand developed out of different backgrounds, the three minds meet on the grounds of dark and haunting electro-dance rock. The band consists of Lou Reed’s touring guitarist, Jake Bernstein, on electronics, and former members of BM Linx, Tony Diodore and Andrew Griffiths, on bass and drums. The trio introduced themselves in the form of The Dirty Grand last October, but these New York veterans wasted no time releasing material. Their grungy and echoing soundscape can now be heard on their second EP, “Facedown,” which was released just this April. Ominous and reflective, the seasoned rockers maintain the dancey qualities New Yorkers crave while sustaining the underground grit on which the Big Apple’s music scene was founded.
THE DIRTY GRAND
What makes you dirty? What makes you grand? What’s the story with your name? Our bassist’s (Tony) friend made thirty grand and said “I made dirty grand”…and we just liked the name. How did you all meet and form The Dirty Grand? We all knew each other from previous bands. Tony and Griff used to be in BM Linx together and Jake was/is good
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friends with them. Once BM Linx split, we all decided to work with each other on something new. What is your favorite track on your EP, “Facedown?” What inspired that track? Probably the title track “Facedown”. Over the winter, we partied way too much…up until 6am all the time, out and about from club to club. In the end, we just had felt “Facedown” about it all.
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kitchen recording equipment news
yo Brought to
Arturia Wurlitzer V Review by Eli Janney
F
rench synth manufacturer Arturia came out with a Wurlitzer software “emulation” that uses physical modeling to recreate one specific synth: the model 200A. It’s the one most people want when they buy a real Wurlitzer – they can cost up to $3,000. So how does a $99 piece of software sound compared to a real one?
When I first loaded up Arturia’s Wurlitzer V plugin (RTAS, VST, AU) on a basic setting it sounded good – not great, but good. The low end was awesome, and the mids were decent, but the high end didn’t sound as sparkling as I had hoped. BUT as I started to play around with the presets, I began to see inside the entire device and could hear bits of what I wanted. One preset had the killer grit on the hi-mids, another one had the smooth wide stoner chorus, the funky talking basslines were all there. I just had to open up all the hidden settings to dial in what I was looking for. There are two important buttons along the top menu that give you access to everything you might need to create the perfect sound. Hitting the Open button pulls down the two sidespeakers and the front silver panel, and gives you a slew of options for carving your sound. You can fully adjust all the parameters for dynamics, velocity curve, a graphic EQ, hammer noise (grit upon
You can fully adjust all the parameters for dynamics, velocity curve, a graphic EQ, hammer noise, hammer hardness, note off noise, sustain pedal noise, pickup distance and axis.
impact), hammer hardness, note off noise (VERY realistic sound of the hammer coming back to rest), sustain pedal noise, even pickup distance and axis can be adjusted! All this is before the pedals and the output stage. Now we are getting somewhere! From there on out I could really get the exact type of sound I wanted for each song – from groovy ’70s Billy Preston smoothness, to insane distorted ear worms, it really is all here. There’s even a parameter for making it play out of tune with itself, just like a real vintage wurli!
For more reviews, visit www.SonicScoop.com! “There’s an amazing feature called ‘Radius RT,’ which keeps the playback length/speed the same no matter where you play a sample on the keyboard.”
iZotope Iris Review by Nathan Kil
i
Zotope’s new sampling re-synthesizer, Iris, is a creative sandbox that lets you quickly create/ transform sounds that you’d have otherwise never imagined from your source material. iZotope defines Iris as a “visual instrument” – and I was excited to dive right in with original sounds of my own, to try and “paint” on the spectral map of a sample. The plug in lets you literally draw the frequencies you want to be passed through (or muted).
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I pulled in a stem from a recent project – a piano track which went through a 4 bar progression. Within Iris, I singled out a section of the audio within the progression so that it would loop evenly. Next, I engaged the Magic Wand tool and began to experiment. What I created was something that sounded vaguely like a music box instead of a piano. Washing it out with reverb and some distortion – both Iris’ post effects – I achieved something so far-flung from a piano sound that it was immediately inspiring. I then created some dark pads using sounds like timestretched single-violins, or a single vocal “aah” sample. There’s an amazing feature called “Radius RT”, which keeps the playback length/speed the same no matter where you play a sample on the keyboard. Take a single note of a piano, map it somewhere low on the keyboard and then enable Radius RT. Now, all of the notes you play in the upper registers sound – though familiar like a piano – oddly eerie and ghostly. It’s also extremely simple to do something like create a pink-noise wash, which I did in the opening moments of my project. Iris is also faster in things like filter automation compared to your DAW: I just painted in a curve over the pink noise and I was there!
NYC Studio News Degraw Sound Opens in Gowanus
Ishlab Studios Adds Neve Console
Brooklyn-based producer Ben Rice (Blackbells, The Mooney Suzuki) has opened a new recording studio in Gowanus – Degraw Sound. Located in a new building across from Littlefield, Degraw offers a newly designed creative environment for record production – including an accommodating band-sized live room and drum-sized iso booth. The studio is centered around a vintage 36-channel Trident Series 24 analog console and Pro Tools HD2 DAW with well-sourced outboard gear and mic cabinet, amps, instruments (including Ludwig drum kit and Wurlitzer 200A) and guitar pedals.
The producer/engineers behind Ishlab Studios have taken the DUMBO recording/mixing studio to the next level, installing a newly refurbished Neve v55 analog console to compliment the colorful array of mic preamps and outboard processing, Pro Tools HD, Logic and Ableton Live, vintage and modern synths and samplers, instruments and amps. This is the studio where A$AP Rocky largely recorded/mixed Live, Love, A$AP and continues to work on upcoming material (recently with Skrillex), where Hoodie Allen recorded All American, and where regular clients include Das Racist, Chaz Van Queen and Empty Chairs. With the new Neve console, producer/engineers Daniel Lynas and Frans Mernick have created a studio environment befitting all kinds of sessions, from rock bands and rappers to singer/songwriters and electronic artists.
Nova Studios: A Destination Studio in Staten Island You’ve heard the term “destination studio” – when a band with a budget decamps to some remote studio where they can live while they make their record. Well, how about seaside Staten Island as a destination? Nova Studios is a commercial/residential studio in Eltingville, a quiet hamlet on Staten Island’s South Shore, owned and operated by filmmaker and music enthusiast Frankie Nasso. Originally a private studio before opening to the public in 2012, Nova Studios represents a rare one-stop shop for musicians and producers. Whole bands, and up to a 10-piece orchestral recording ensemble, can comfortably track together in the living room. But its standout strength may be for capturing drums: By moving the kit or the microphones, anything from a Bonham-sized earthquake to airtight close-miked sounds are available.
Studio Sweet Spot: Crosby Collective Studios in SoHo The Crosby Collective Recording Studios are full-service recording and mixing ateliers located in the heart of New York City’s SoHo district. Founded in 2010 by the trio of A. Bains, Michael Brian, and Billy Gastfield, Crosby Collective has a focus on vocals, but excels at a number of other functions as well. The collective encompasses a team of in-house producers and songwriters. Clients include Busta Rhymes, Chiddy Bang, Consequence, Skyzoo, Neon Hitch and The Mystery Lights. The studio recently acquired a Neve 5116 48-channel analog console for its main control room, and counts a 1961 Neumann U67, Blue Bottle mic, SSL Alpha Channel and UA 610 among its select gear.
Find more news about NYC based music businesses on www.SonicScoop.com!
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kitchen recording equipment news
MOD Kits DIY The Persuader Review by Ron Guensche
T
he Persuader from MOD Kits DIY (available at modkitsdiy.com for about $65) is a U-build-it, starved plate, 12Ax7 distortion box kit. It arrives as a collection of parts to be assembled into a powder-coated purple, pre-drilled Hammond-style cast-aluminum box. A 16 page assembly manual identifies all the included components, and has a solid, but brief tutorial on soldering. At the end of the manual are various tear-out drawings to use as guides in the build process. The step-by-step build instructions were clear, and if you’ve built a few kits of reasonable complexity, it’s fairly straight-forward process.
I was surprised the kit is point-topoint wired on terminal strips. I was expecting it to be a PCB build. Assembly took me 3 to 4 hours in spite of having being interrupted a few times. If you’re good at this sort of thing, it should take only a couple hours. Definitely read through the instructions until you understand them before starting, and go slowly, ticking off each step as you complete it.
higher gain settings, but what distortion box doesn’t? The only thing that’s a little bit of a bummer in terms of noise is the GAIN knob is a bit scratchy, especially when going from moderate to higher settings. The Persuader also wants a regulated power supply, as the generic supply I used caused a fair amount of hum. This wasn’t a problem with a Voodoo Labs unit.
The overall signal quality of The Persuader is good. In spite of having a lot of gain on tap, it’s fairly clean at moderate gain settings. It will hiss at
The strong suit of The Persuader to me is its touch-sensitivity. One of my favorite things about playing guitar into a loud sounding setup is being
Pigtronix Fat Drive
Review by Howard Stock
I
n a world where you can’t swing a guitar without knocking 10 Tubescreamer clones off the shelf, new entrants to the oversaturated overdrive market had better have something new to say. Pigtronix’s new Fat Drive (street $140) accomplishes this by exploiting what some might perceive as a weakness in Fender-style guitars—it adds girth to thinsounding single coil pickups. Don’t get me wrong: It works just fine with humbuckers too, but the sound this pairing creates, while perfectly proficient, isn’t as remarkable. Where it really shines is in letting a Strat play in Gibson’s sandbox with a click of a toe, giving Fender players the best of both worlds at a relatively reasonable price.
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able to play gently and have clean tone, and then jumping on the strings and having everything get gritty. The Persuader does a good job of this. It also complimented my JCM800 nicely by having the JCM set to fairly low input gain, and using The Persuader as a semi-clean boost to overdrive the input of the Marshall. I’d recommend this pedal to guitarists looking for a simple, yet flexible boost/grit box.
Compared to its Pigtronix siblings, the Fat Drive is a simple affair, just volume, gain, tone (turn it all the way up to disengage the tone circuit altogether) and a “more” switch, which doubles the buzz. It comes with an 18 volt adapter for more headroom, but it works just fine on a standard 9 volt daisy chain and, in truth, it’s hard to tell the difference when you aren’t listening for it. The pedal is also smaller than its brethren, which means it doesn’t take up too much space on a pedal board. This is good news, because it plays so well with others. For a full rhythm sound, just leave it on all the time, clicking in other effects at will. But it also works great as a lead boost in conjunction with another overdrive pedal. In short, while it doesn’t do much to distinguish itself with humbuckers, the Fat Drive is a superb pedal for players who generally prefer single coils’ nuanced tones but want to be able to step up when called on to bring the rock.
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making the world a better sound ing place.
10 jay street suite 405 brooklyn, ny 11201 (718) 797-0177 www.joelambertmastering.com
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the deli's Pedal Board More pedal reviews at delicious-audio.com!
Mad Professor Golden Cello
Way Huge® Red Llama MkII
• An Overdrive/Fuzz with a Delay circuit, designed to give you that classic late ’70s/ early ’80s lead sound – using only one stompbox. • Delivers a “sweet cello-like singing fat lead tone with the most luscious open ambient tape delay.” • Internal trimpots allow you to slightly adjust the delay time and level of the repeats.
• It does one thing awesomely well: highly musical overdrive/ distortion, pairing its meaty growl with abundant headroom. • No tone control, but it responds exceptionally well to the guitar’s tone and volume controls. • A cousin of the fuzz pedal, it sounds awesome on its own, but can get a little drowned out in a band with lots of competing mid frequencies.
Overdrive w/Delay
Overdrive
VFE Pedals Enterprise Phaser • Very warm and fat tone characteristic of phasers used in many make-out tunes of the ’70s. • Tons of options with Mode (which controls the phase’s character) and Stages (4, 3 or 2) switches. • The feedback section can get really nasty and when used with the Level and BIAS trim pots under the hood, you can really tweak it to perfection.
the deli's Plug-in inserts
Source Audio Soundblox 2
Multiwave Bass Distortion • A great pedal for the experimental bass player. • Versatile but complex, provides some truly original tones from the natural sounding to the super-synthy. • Normal, Foldback and Octave distortions provide oodles of options, and Morph function allows you to slowly progress from one preset to the other.
if you are interested in reviewing pedals and plug-ins for The Deli and Delicious Audio, ple ase contact delicious.editor@the delimagazine.com.
Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machine • Emulates 16 track 2” machine and 1/2” mastering deck. • 2 tape formulations and speeds, plus calibration, bass alignment, wow & flutter, constant gain I/O, grouping, and noise reduction. • It’s presented as a dynamic, interactive replication of tape recording — no static modeling.
Subsonic Labs Wolfram
Waves InPhase
Eventide Blackhole
• A Multi-Effect processor that combines several powerful sound-shaping capabilities into one interface. • All sorts of effects from modulation, pitch shifting and filtering to distortion, cabinet emulation. • Its semi-modular design allows you to route FX blocks freely anywhere, allowing for separate processing for L and R channels.
• Dedicated plug-in tool for correcting phase shift and alignment problems between audio tracks during recording, mixing or mastering. • It allows to align different tracks in order to minimize or solve phase problems, through a intuitive instant A/B system. • Very effective tool for addressing everyday phase issues for engineers at a very reasonable price.
• A Reverb plug in that offers endless possibilities from subtle to sound design. • It’s a software version of Eventide Space Stompbox pedal. • It’s a development from Eventide’s flagship processors DSP4000 and H8000.
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More plug-in reviews at www.SonicScoop.com!