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From DIY to the pier YUNA AND KING HEADLINE THIS WEEK’S SHOW
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n a remarkably short period of time, Yuna has risen from regional DIY notoriety to full-on international stardom. In the process, the charismatic young singer-songwriter from Malaysia-who makes her Verve Records debut with Nocturnal-has become the first artist from her homeland to conquer the American market. The ease with which Yuna has transitioned to border defying mainstream success shouldn’t be surprising, considering the effortlessly universal appeal of her organic blend of contemporary pop, acoustic folk and soulful R&B. The artist’s personally charged songs are deeply felt yet melodically irresistible, combining her engaging voice and expressive songcraft with imaginative production to create wholly distinctive music that’s won her comparisons with the likes of Feist, Adele and Norah Jones. Recorded in Los Angeles, Nocturnal marks a major step forward for Yuna, expanding upon the achievements of her self-titled 2012 debut album and its Pharrell Williams-produced breakthrough hit “Live Your Life.” Nocturnal’s 11 sparkling new originals include the warmly intoxicating first single “Falling,” produced by Robin Hannibal of Quadron and the soul-pop group Rhye; the effervescent, uplifting “Rescue,” produced by English pop auteur Chris Braide; the breezy, upbeat “I Wanna Go,” produced by Michael Einziger of Incubus; and the hauntingly bittersweet “Someone Who Can,” produced by Chad Hugo of the Neptunes. “I feel like I get to show a more mature side of myself on these songs,” Yuna states, adding, “I’m a different person than I was when I made the last album. I’ve seen and experienced a lot of new and exciting things, and I was inspired to write about those things. “I also got to explore a lot of different genres and different sounds on these songs,” continues. “We did a lot of experimenting, doing things like working with traditional Malaysian instruments and making them work in the context of a pop song that sounds current. Because I come from a folkie-singer-songwriter background, in the beginning I was really stubborn about trying new things. But I learned to enjoy the beauty of what can happen when creative people get together and come up with something new. I love mixing all these genres together, and I was fortunate to have all of these really talented producers to help bring these ideas to life.” Yuna’s North American breakthrough in 2012 saw the artist winning widespread acclaim while achieving several significant career milestones. Rolling Stone praised her combination of “certified indie cred and massive pop potential,” while The New York Times described her music as “gorgeous.” She performed high-profile sets at the Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo festivals, and appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Yuna’s music was also fea-
YUNA
tured in several films, including her stellar cover of The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” in Oliver Stone’s Savages and her collaboration with Owl City on “Shine Your Way” for the hit animated feature The Croods. Growing up in Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur, Yuna Zarai was exposed to a wide variety of homegrown and western music, thanks in large part to her father’s wide-ranging tastes in American rock, pop, blues and jazz. She began writing her own confessional songs, most of them in English, at the age of 14. She was still in her teens when she began performing her compositions in public, initially accompanying herself on acoustic guitar and later forming a full band. Yuna experienced success early on, with a quartet of popular indie releases in Malaysia, beginning with her self-titled 2008 EP. That debut disc became a major seller at home, producing the hit single “Deeper Conversation.” The following year, Yuna won the first of several Anugerah Industri Muzik awards, Malaysia’s equiva-
lent of the Grammy. During the same period, the artist also found time to attend law school and open IAMJETFUEL, a successful women’s clothing boutique. Thanks to a powerful online fan base and international word-of-mouth, news of Yuna’s talents reached the United States, where she signed with the American management firm Indie Pop. She also took her first steps into the American marketplace, releasing the five-song sampler EP Decorate on the Fader label in 2011. “Live Your Life” and the Yuna album arrived on the American scene the early months of 2012, establishing her as a popular stateside presence. She performed “Live Your Life” on the late-night TV shows Conan and Last Call with Carson Daly. She was also featured on NPR and the CBS Evening News, and in such notable print outlets as The New York Times, Billboard, Elle, Vibe, Allure, Seventeen, Marie Claire and even National Geographic, which described as being “as fresh, honest and deeply personal as anything by Bon Iver or tUnEyArDs.”
Having traveled extensively and absorbed a wide array of English-language music early in life, Yuna was able to make a comfortable transition to creating music in America. “Coming to America was a lot of fun for me, because it’s an amazing working atmosphere for musicians and artists,” she says. “I had fun when I recorded in Malaysia, but America is so big and so inspiring, and there are so many talented people to work with. “I don’t really like the idea of putting myself in any category now,” she concludes. “But as a pop artist, I feel like it’s easy for me to maneuver from one thing to another and try different things. To me, it’s all just music, and if you have good lyrics and good melodies and good production, people won’t care what you call it. I think that people are looking for music that’s real and honest and that they can relate to emotionally. I think we’ve created that with Nocturnal. The whole project was a challenge for me, but I’m very happy with the way it turned out.”
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Ditch the ride for a stress-free time BIKE IT, WALK IT OR BUS IT TO TWILIGHT CONCERTS
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veryone knows that parking blows in Santa Monica, but you don’t have to give up on the city by the sea. Just leave the car at home and walk, bike or bus it down to the Santa Monica Pier for this summer’s edition of the famous landmark’s 29th annual Twilight Concert Series. The most convenient way to play is by hopping on your beach cruiser, using pedal power. It’s a great way to lose weight, stay in shape and avoid traffic jams Downtown. The city by the sea has an extensive network of bike lanes; a Downtown Bike Center complete with showers, lockers and a repair shop; as well as a free bike valet just south of the pier for those attending the concerts. It’s right off the beach bike path for easy access. If you are riding from the northern side of town, Montana Avenue to Ocean Avenue is a great route with plenty of scenery. You may want to use one of the walk bridges that connect Palisades Park to the beach bike path or take it all the way to the pier’s entrance at Colorado Avenue and walk it down to the valet.
If you are coming from the south, try Main Street, Neilson Way (which turns into Ocean Avenue at Pico Boulevard) or for a great view of the ocean hit Barnard Way. Make sure to turn west on Bicknell Avenue to get to the beach bike path for the last mile or so. Those coming from the east side of town by bike should take bike lanes on Arizona Avenue or Broadway for a stressfree ride. Both streets hit Ocean Avenue, which will lead you straight to the pier entrance. Always remember that a white head light and red back light are required when riding at night and that it is illegal to ride on sidewalks or fail to stop at all traffic signals and stop signs. Helmets are not required for adults, but they are recommended. You just might need that brain of yours. And don’t forget to bring a trusty, strong U-lock to secure your cycle if you decide to stop off for some snacks before the shows. For more information on biking in Santa Monica, visit www.bikesantamonica.org
PARK IT
BIG BLUE FOR YOU If biking isn’t your bag, check out the award-winning Big Blue Bus, Santa Monica’s public transit system that has hubs at UCLA and Culver City. Most routes end in Downtown, so no matter which one you take you’ll be able to get to the pier by walking only a short distance. And the cost is cheap; only $1 per ride for most passengers. Big Blue has added extra service on Line 3 in anticipation of concert crowds. Line 3 runs along Lincoln Boulevard and Montana Avenue. And if the Big Blue Bus doesn’t work for you, there’s always the Metro system of Rapid and regular buses that run regularly on Wilshire, Santa Monica, Pico and Lincoln boulevards. For a detailed map of BBB routes, visit bigbluebus.com, and for Metro hit www.metro.net.
OK, so we know that taking alternative forms of transit is not that difficult, but if you must hop into your car, there are plenty of places to park in Santa Monica, the best and most affordable being those structures farther from Downtown. Santa Monica has a new parking app for your iPhone that makes finding spaces easier than ever before. Santa Monica Parking, powered by ParkMe, provides real-time parking information for City Hall’s 28 lots, 12 structures and 5,967 on-street metered spaces. The app also includes information on privately-owned parking facilities. iPhone users can download the app for free via the Apple App Store by using the search string “Santa Monica Parking.” Sorry Android users, but your app isn’t online just yet but check back soon as city officials promise to have one up shortly. Parking at the Downtown structures after 6 p.m. only cost $1 for 2.5 hours verses the previous rate of $5. Reduces parking rates at the Civic Center and the Main Library are $1 per hour and a $5 daily maximum, just in case you want to head down early for some shopping on the popular Third Street Promenade. For a complete list of parking resources and pricing, visit www.parkme.com and search “Santa Monica.”
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Twilight Concerts insider’s guide TICKETS
BIKE & SKATEBOARD VALET PETS
No tickets necessary, this is pure free summer fun (remember that?) all thanks to our partners and sponsors who have brought us another season of awesome free concerts at the beach. Make sure to show them some love.
Park your wheels at the free bike and skateboard valet located next to the beach bike path just south of the Pier.
TIME 7 p.m. — 10 p.m., but those in the know stake out a good spot early.
PARKING Parking is available in the 1550 Pacific Coast Highway Lot next to the Santa Monica Pier on a first-come, first-served basis. Those wanting to avoid long waits should try one of the municipal lots around Second Street and Colorado Avenue or grab the ParkMe app for live data of parking availability and prices. Go technology!
FRIENDS & FAMILY Bring them, the more the merrier. You will not regret it. This is one epic summer tradition.
FIRST AID/LOST & FOUND If you need first aid or assistance, please visit the Pier Tent or flag down a security officer. If it is an emergency, please call 911.
SMOKING Don’t even think about it, it’s a 100year-old wooden Pier, and we really like it.
Friendly dogs are welcome on the Pier only and must be on a leash.
during the show. As a reminder, alcohol consumption is not permitted in public spaces, but there are several full-service bars in the area.
WEATHER & ATTIRE
THE CONCERT GARDEN
It never gets too cold, but sometimes it gets a little chilly once the sun goes down. So bring something or head up to the Pier Tent on the deck to grab this year’s limited-edition sweatshirt or T-shirt!
There is a 21-and-over Concert Garden featuring Michelob Ultra, Barefoot Wines, an assortment of cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Do not miss this view.
SEATING
E-MAIL LIST & SPECIAL OFFERS
Seating is not provided, so feel free to bring your own chairs, blankets, etc ...
Sign up at TwilightSeries.org for special announcements, offers and invites.
FOOD & DRINKS
TAXIS
There are plenty of great food and beverage options on the deck and at the various restaurants on the Pier. Most even have to-go options perfect for munching
Let someone else do the driving. Download the Taxi Magic app and use promo code TCS2014 for $10 off your first ride.
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2014 Twilight Concert Series bios WEEK 3
JULY 24
Cayucas WITH
PAPA
No one knows summer like Santa Monica’s Zach Yudin, a man of leisure who recognizes “the epic” in something as simple as a twilight bicycle ride or a short drive up the coast. As Cayucas, Yudin has set about creating an impressionistic portrait of summer’s long, bittersweet dazzle. An avid bird-watcher, Yudin majored in both Music Theory/Production and Japanese. He spent a post-grad year living and teaching in Tokyo, then taking the past couple of years to hone the sound of Cayucas. He posted a couple of songs online, picking up a lot of love and attention, but it was only when he entered the studio with producer/multi-instrumentalist Richard Swift last year that Cayucas was truly defined - sun-inspired jams that touch upon The Animals, Harry Belafonte and the surfer-folk mysticism of the Northwest.
WEEK 4
JULY 31
Omar Souleyman WITH
DE LUX
Omar Souleyman — the Syrian artist who not only changed the vibe of weddings throughout the Middle East with his Shaabi street sound but also brought it to the West through his notorious late night festival slots — has finally recorded an album. After three compilations and a live release, Wenu Wenu is his first album to be recorded in a studio and was produced by Kieran Hebden (Four Tet). Born in 1966, Souleyman grew up in Ra’s al’-Ayn, a Syrian town in the northeastern region of Jazeera. That’s where he first heard Syrian folk music played on a longnecked lute called a bozouki and rebab, a single-stringed fiddle. He enlisted Rizan Sa’id from a local Kurdish combo in 1996. The pair electrified Souleyman’s acoustic music - playing it harder, faster, louder, and more thrilling than ever before. He became an increasingly prominent act on the local wedding circuit, eventually generating an estimated 500 bootleg recordings and plenty of wild YouTube videos. Dabke is a foot-stomping circle dance popular throughout the Middle East; in Syria, men and women perform it together. The one-time mason has been updating his native land’s traditional dabke dance music since 1996. Speaking in Arabic through a translator from his - let’s hope - temporary home in nearby Turkey, Souleyman describes Wenu Wenu as being “nearly live.” Clearly delighted by the results, Souleyman tips his keffiyeh to Hebden for capturing the singer and his longtime musical partner, the keyboardist-composer Rizan Sa’id, at their purest, with very little overdubbing. Although he’s received many impressive recent offers, Souleyman says wedding
CAYUCAS
gigs are a thing of the past for him, due in part to the situation in Syria, and that he now prefers to perform in concert. His international audience is expanding, thanks to projects such as his wellreceived remixes for Björk’s Biophilia, and he’s seen his influence spread around the Middle East. Souleyman characterizes his dabke style as particularly flexible. Where as localized, rural dabke known as baladi is inflexible, Souleyman’s dabke can be played faster or slower, with different words and tunes. “It works with everything,” he says. Title track “Wenu Wenu” is relatively new and, according to Souleyman, a real crowd pleaser. It’s a four-on-the-floor dynamo, with brain-melting synthesizer accompaniment reminiscent of a space ship landing in the desert. “Ya Yumma,” on the other hand, has been in Souleyman’s repertoire since 1995. According to
Souleyman, the hard-charging “Nahy” refers to an older style of poetry in which each stanza contains six lines. And “Khattaba” became a much-covered Arab-world hit after airing on TV in 2006. With words by the poet Madmoud Harbi, Souleyman describes it as a sort of “remix” and points out that the rhythm is baladi rather than shaabi. Souleyman sings in Arabic and Kurdish on the traditional Kurdish song “Warni Warni,” which contains some nifty electronic percussion on top of its technofolk beat. In the mysterious “Mawal Jamar,” Souleyman sings about being willing to walk over hot coals for his beloved, adding that “mawal” is a form of Arabic improvisation. And, finally, “Yagbuni” (a term of endearment from Souleyman’s Jazeera region) ends the album with an electro-shaabi bang. Often described as “Syrian Techno”
and recorded primarily live in the studio, Wenu Wenu distills Omar’s live performances into a fireball of Middle Eastern passion and excitement.
WEEK 5
AUGUST 8
Jagwar Ma WITH
FASCINATOR
Jagwar Ma is a musical project, est. Nov 2011 by Jono Ma and Gabriel Winterfield. It all starts with the single “Come Save Me”. A celebration of love and loss, lifted by human harmonies only to be sliced apart by the sharp contemporary programming of the song acting as dagger to the tale. This juxtaposition of voice and elecSEE BIOS PAGE 10
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tronics being a signature of Jagwar Ma. Their collaboration started in 2010 at a performance by FLRL, the Sydney based kraut-experiment that was “a band without members” and a stage of revolving musicians. Their musical history already well known to each other at the time, Jono from the band Lost Valentinos and Gabriel from Ghostwood. Those shared stages at FLRL shows gave way to studio jams and home recordings, radio frequency manipulation, TR808 patterns, MPCs loops, vintage amps and a treasured 7 inch collection. Jagwar found a soul in and amongst all that electricity. Described as sounding like J-Dilla playing Primal Scream covering the Beatles. In Australia “Come Save Me” has been embraced by Triple J who spun it to the #1 most played spot on the station. In the UK it was released through a new 7’s label started by two A&Rs from the legendary XL Records. In the US the song finds high rotation on airwaves of the lauded KCRW and the bands signs with the Windish Agency. Currently the band is ensconced in a castle in France bouncing beats through the dungeons, singing through its hallowed hallways and breathing life into their debut album for the summer of 2012. The first ever festival appearance in Australia for Jagwar Ma will be the 2013 Big Day Out! JAGWAR MA
WEEK 6
AUGUST 14
La Santa Cecilia WITH
SERGIO MENDOZA Y LA ORKESTRA
La Santa Cecilia consists of accordionist and requintero Jose “Pepe” Carlos, bassist Alex Bendana, percussionist Miguel Ramirez, and lead vocalist La Marisoul, whose captivating voice sings about love, loss and heartbreak. Their influences range from Miles Davis to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin to Janis Joplin and Mercedes Sosa to Ramon Ayala. Their common love of music and openness to all genres led them to the concept of La Santa Cecilia in 2007 named after the patron saint of musicians. In 2013, the band released their major label debut Treinta Dias (30 Days), which featured a captivating collaboration with fan Elvis Costello on “Losing Game.” Now, just after their GRAMMY win for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album, the band presents their new album Someday New. The album features seven new tracks, which include a heartfelt Spanglish rendition of The Beatles iconic “Strawberry Fields Forever”,plus the unforgettable new Mexican classic “Como Dios Manda”; as well as a fresh new radio-edit of their single “Monedita” and the full version of their moving, and militant “ICE - El Hielo.”
WEEK 7
AUGUST 21
The Zombies WITH MYSTIC
BRAVES
The second UK group following the Beatles to score a #1 hit in America, The Zombies infiltrated the airwaves with the sophisticated melodies, breathy vocals,
LA SANTA CECILIA
choral back-up harmonies and jazzy keyboard riffs of their 1960’s hit singles like “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No”. Ironically, the group broke-up in 1968 just prior to achieving their greatest success the chart-topping single “Time of the Season”, from their swan-song album “Odessey & Oracle” (recently ranked #100 in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”). In the intervening years, while lead singer Colin Blunstone went on to
develop an acclaimed solo career, and keyboardist/songwriter Rod Argent rocked ‘70’s arenas with his eponymous band ARGENT, the legend of The Zombies took on a life of its own. Generations of new bands have cited The Zombies’ work as pop touchstones, including such artists as Neko Case and Nick Cave (who have recorded “She’s Not There” for the popular HBO series True Blood), She & Him, Beck, Belle and Sebastian, The Black Angels, The Fleet
Foxes, Beach House and The Beautiful South. Decades later, Blunstone and Argent have resurrected The Zombies, recruiting bassist Jim Rodford (formerly of ARGENT and The Kinks), Rodford’s son Steve on drums, and renowned session guitarist Tom Toomey. 2013 marked a major year for the band, with three U.S. tours (which included six SRO performances during the SXSW SEE BIOS PAGE 12
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Music Conference in Austin, plus stops at NYC’s Central Park SummerStage, Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival and Milwaukee SummerFest) … the American release of their new album, “Breathe Out, Breathe In” the debut on RollingStone.com & VEVO of their first-ever music video for “Any Other Way"… and the announcement of their nomination to the 2014 Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The ten songs that make up their new album, “Breathe Out, Breathe In”, are impeccably crafted; the harmonies are rich, the melodies full, the arrangements exquisite, the organ and piano fresh and the production intuitive. The Huffington Post’s David Wild called the album “inspired” and said “some songs recall the haunting melodic heights of the group’s 1968 masterpiece Odessey and Oracle.”
WEEK 8
AUGUST 28
Lee “Scratch” Perry WITH
MEXICO 68
The man who long ago named himself (and his record label and his band) The Upsetter knows whereof he speaks. As a producer, mixer and artist, Lee “Scratch” Perry has been overturning tradition and confounding conventional wisdom for more than five decades. In the process, the widely acknowledged father of dub reggae became a major player in Jamaican music and international pop. Born in Jamaica in 1936, Perry began in the music business in the late 1950s, working with the island’s mobile sound systems and such artists as Prince Buster, best known for the ska hit Ten Commandments. Subsequent work assisting famed producers Coxsone Dodd and Joe Gibbs prepped him for his professional coming-out. In 1968, he formed Upsetter Records and, throughout the early ‘70s, issued a profusion of recordings (under his own name and various pseudonyms), pioneering a radical form that utilized reggae rhythms and the loping instrumental “spaghetti Western” style of music featured in Sergio Leone’s neocowboy movies, on cuts like Clint Eastwood and The Return of Django. Concurrent with his own releases, Perry produced numerous reggae artists, including, early on, Bob Marley and the Wailers (Duppy Conqueror, Small Axe). By the mid-’70s, the myth of Lee “Scratch” Perry was commanding as much attention as his innovative productions, as spats with artists, lost tapes and a mysterious fire that burned down his Black Ark studio occupied ardent scene-watchers. Still, Perry continued his onslaught of atmospheric dub releases, next capturing the attention of Britain’s punk movement; Perry even produced tracks for The Clash, who’d covered his production of Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves on their 1977 debut album. Numerous post-punk bands, most notably John Lydon’s Public Image, created music based on a template first fashioned by Perry. By the mid-’90s, his legacy had spread into rap and hip-hop; the Beastie Boys gave Perry a shout-out on their Ill Communication album and sparked yet another revival of interest in
THE ZOMBIES
LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY
his work. Not slowing down after the turn of the century, Perry won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2003 with the album Jamaican E.T.. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Perry #100 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He teamed up with a group of Swiss musicians and performed under the name Lee Perry and the White Belly Rats, and toured the United States in 2006 and 2007 using the New York City-based group Dub Is A Weapon as his backing band. After meeting Andrew W.K. at SXSW in 2006, Perry invited him to co-produce his album Repentance. The 2008 album featured
guest artists including Moby, Ari Up, producer Don Fleming, drummer Brian Chippendale, and bassist Josh Werner, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album on the Narnack Records label. In 2008, Perry reunited with Adrian Sherwood on The Mighty Upsetter. Between 2007 and 2010, Perry recorded three albums with British producer, Steve Marshall, at State of Emergency Limited in England. The albums featured performances by Keith Richards and George Clinton. Two of these albums, End Of An American Dream (2007) and Revelation (2010), received Grammy nominations for Best Reggae Album on the
MEGAWAVE Records label. In 2009, Perry collaborated with Dubblestandart, on their Return from Planet Dub double album, revisiting some of his material from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as collaborating on new material, some of which also included Ari Up of the Slits. Dubstep collaborations with New York City’s Subatomic Sound System included Iron Devil, Blackboard Jungle Vols. 1 & 2 featuring dancehall vocalist Jahdan Blakkamoore, and Chrome Optimism featuring American filmmaker David Lynch. In 2011, Perry recorded Rise Again with bassist and proSEE BIOS PAGE 13
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SEPTEMBER 4
OK Go WITH
ALLAH-LAS
Formed as a quartet in Chicago in 1998 and relocated to Los Angeles three years later, OK Go (Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, Andy Ross) have spent their career in a steady state of transformation. The four songs of the allnew Upside Out EP represent the first preview of Hungry Ghosts, due out in the fall on the band’s own Paracadute. This is the band’s fourth full-length and the newest addition to a curriculum vitae filled with experimentation in a variety of mediums. The band worked with longtime producer and friend Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Weezer, MGMT), while also enlisting a new collaborator in Los Angeles, veteran Tony Hoffer, (Beck, Phoenix, Foster the People) to create their most comfortable and far-reaching songs yet. Building on (and deconstructing) 15 years of pop-rock smarts, musical friendship, and band-ofthe-future innovations the EP, Upside Out, offers a concise overview of forthcoming Hungry Ghosts’ melancholic fireworks (“The Writing’s on the Wall”), basement funk parties (“Turn Up The Radio”), IMAXsized choruses (“The One Moment”), and space-age dance floor bangers (“I Won’t Let You Down”). Drawn from the same marching orders issued to big-hearted happiness creators as Queen, T. Rex, The Cars or Cheap Trick,
and a lifetime of mixed tapes exchanged by lifelong music fans, Upside Out is a reaffirmation of the sounds and ideas that brought the band together in the first place. The four songs provide an assured kick-off to a new sequence of interconnected performances, videos, dances, and wild, undreamt fun. “As the band has evolved over the last 15 years, the creative palette we work with has expanded in so many unexpected and gratifying directions,” says frontman Damian Kulash. “This record feels like it’s the musical manifestation of that — like we can speak in a clearer voice when we are playing in a bigger sandbox. Just as the band’s whole project became clearer to us as we learned to find more homes for our creativity — we triangulated it from more directions. And, I think the music itself has gotten more focused for similar reasons. We went in with fewer preconceptions of who we are or what our sound is, and came out with a record that sounds much more uniquely our own because of it.” Continuing a career that includes viral videos, New York Times op-eds, a major label split and the establishment of a DIY trans-media mini-empire, collaborations with pioneering dance companies and tech giants, animators and Muppets, OK Go continue to fearlessly dream and build new worlds in a time when creative boundaries have all but dissolved.
WEEK 10
SEPTEMBER 11
Charles Bradley WITH
KING JAMES & THE SPECIAL MEN
If you’re looking for a story that best summarizes the last year in the life of Charles Bradley, you’d be hard pressed to find a better one than the night he and his
band showed up in Utopia, Texas to play an outdoor show in the middle of a thunderstorm. “It was just raining, raining, raining,” Bradley recalls. “I walked out onstage, and there were about 800 people there - maybe more - all of them just standing out there in the rain and the mud.” The band settled in and fought their hardest against the elements, but - for a moment, anyway - it seemed that nature was too much for even the mighty Charles Bradley. About halfway through the show, the power went out, leaving both the band and the drenched fans in total darkness. At any other show, that would be understood as the meteorological signal for “Quittin’ Time,” but if there’s one thing the last year of tireless touring before enrapt audiences has proven, it’s that Charles Bradley does not put on typical shows. “I could hear them screaming, ‘Charles Bradley! Charles Bradley we love you,’” Bradley smiles. “And so when the lights came back on, I said, ‘If all of you can stand
out there in the rain and get soaking wet because you want to see me perform - to see me do something that I love to do then you know what? I’m gonna get wet, too.’” And with that, Bradley jumped off the stage and into the crowd. “They went completely crazy!” he laughs. “We were laughing. We were hugging. We were getting muddy. It was just love.” That’s his whole persona in a single tiny scene: Charles Bradley, victim of love. Other artists appreciate their audiences, just as many are grateful for them, but few artists love their fans as much and as sincerely as Charles Bradley. By now, his remarkable, against-all-odds rise has been well-documented - how he transcended a bleak life on the streets and struggled through a series of ill-fitting jobs - most famously as a James Brown impersonator at Brooklyn clubs - before finally being discovered by Daptone’s Gabriel Roth. The SEE BIOS PAGE 14
WATCHING THE SHOW from the beach tonight? Don't forget to recycle your glass bottles and aluminum cans.
Aluminum Plastic Glass Bi-Metal Newspaper CardboardWhite/Color/Computer Paper Copper & Brass
Santa Monica Recycling Center 2411 Delaware Avenue in Santa Monica
(310) 453-9677
MICHIGAN 24TH
WEEK 9
OK GO
CLOVERFIELD
ducer Bill Laswell, with the album featuring contributions from Tunde Adebimpe, Sly Dunbar and Bernie Worrell, and released on Laswell’s M.O.D. Technologies label. In 2012, Perry teamed with The Orb to produce The Orbserver in the Star House. Perry remixed the Thor’s Stone single by UK producer Forest Swords in November 2013. Perry recorded an album with Daniel Boyle in London, due to be released in April 2014 as Lee “Scratch” Perry – Back on the Controls. Currently, there are two films made about his life and work: Volker Schaner’s Vision Of Paradise and The Upsetter by American film-makers Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough and narrated by Benicio Del Toro. In 2010, Perry had his first ever solo art exhibition at Dem Passwords art gallery in Los Angeles, California. The show entitled Secret Education featured works on canvas, paper, and a video installation. Perry is featured as the DJ on the Dub and Reggae radio station Blue Ark in video game Grand Theft Auto V. The station includes a number of dubs by Perry and the Upsetters including Disco Devil and Grumblin’ Dub. In August 2012, it was announced that Perry would receive Jamaica’s sixth highest honour, the Order of Distinction, Commander class, and in October 2013, it was announced that he was to be awarded a Gold Musgrave Medal later that month by the Institute of Jamaica. Perry now lives in Switzerland, where he continues to create unique, categorydefying music. He remains one of the world’s most imaginative sonic architects.
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year following the release of his debut, No Time For Dreaming, was one triumph after another: a stunning performance at South By Southwest that earned unanimous raves; similarly-gripping appearances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival and Outside Lands (to name just a few); and spots on Year-End Best Lists from Rolling Stone, MOJO, GQ, Pasteand more. Victim of Love, Bradley’s second record, is a continuation of that story, moving past the ‘heartache and pain’ and closer to the promise of hope. “The first record taps into maybe two or three feelings,” explains Thomas Brenneck of Menahan Street Band, Bradley’s producer, bandleader and co-writer. “But the range of emotion on this record is huge. The last record was written by a man living in the Brooklyn projects for 20 years. This record is more than just a poor man’s cry from the ghetto. This time, he’s grateful.” Bradley agrees. “I was singing about all these hardships that I’ve been through. I wanted people to know my struggles first, but now I want them to know how much they have helped me grow.” Drop into any moment of Victim of Love at random and that message is immediately apparent. Where the last record opened with the apocalyptic “The World (is Going Up in Flames), Victim begins “Strictly Reserved For You,” a track that sees Bradley grabbing his girl, jumping in a car and hitting the highway for a romantic getaway. In “You Put The Flame
on It,” Bradley sings “My life is gold - you put the flame on it,” backed by a horn chart that sounds like it was lifted from a lost Four Tops single. And on “Victim of Love,” the song that gives the album its name, Bradley sings, “I woke up this morning, I felt your love beside me,” over the kind of gentle acoustic guitar that wouldn’t sound out of place on a classic Neil Young album. Which brings up another point: with the new subject matter comes a broader musical scope. Where Dreaming hewed close to the rough-and-ready R&B sound Daptone has become known for, Victim is stylistically more restless, edging closer into the kind of psychedelic soul The Temptations explored in the early ‘70s. “I’ve been calling it ‘New Direction Daptone,’” enthuses Brenneck. “People are not going to expect this. There’s a lot of psych influences on this record, a lot of fuzz guitar. I’m pushing the band & the arrangements further out, which in turns has to make Charles go further out.” That new direction is most apparent in “Confusion.” Opening with the kind of echo-drenched vocal and charging rhythmic cadence that characterized Curtis Mayfield’s “(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go,” Bradley calls down fire on crooked businessmen and duplicitous leaders. “That song is about a lot of those big politicians who think they can make everybody’s decisions for them,” says Bradley. “The higher class think they can make up the rules for us. But a lot of those big wigs have never really been down to the harsh life. They don’t know how it feels. So I’m trying to talk to
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CHARLES BRADLEY
people who are going through those hardships.” As is typical of Bradley, the song comes off not as a roaring jeremiad, but as a deeply-felt note of sympathy for the oppressed and beaten-down. But if the album has a summary statement, it’s “Through the Storm.” Over a deep gospel groove, Bradley expresses his gratitude - to his fans, his friends and to God - for their support, their dedication and their devotion. “When the world gives you love,” he sings, “It frees your soul.” This is the new message of Charles
Bradley, the Bradley who has emerged from the heartache stronger and more confident, overflowing with love to share. This is Charles Bradley, victim of love — gratefully returning the joy that has been given to him.
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30TH ANNUAL TWILIGHT CONCERTS
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JAMES SUPERCAVE
CULTS
Week 1 and done TWILIGHT CONCERT SERIES GETS OFF TO ROCKING START
J
ames Supercave and Cults opened this year’s concert series will a little bit of alt flare.
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30TH ANNUAL TWILIGHT CONCERTS
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