BECAUSE IS ENTERING ITS SEVENTH YEAR, HOPEFULLY AS A RESPONSE TO A WORLD OF POPULAR MUSIC THAT HAS SOMEWHAT LOST ITSELF.
SCAN MY HEAD TO HEAR SOME COOL MUSIC
THIS LITTLE ARTISAN’S VILLAGE HAS DECIDED TO RESIST THANKS TO AN OPPORTUNISTIC ARTISTIC DIRECTION. YES, WE ARE NOT GOING TO COMPETE WITH MAJOR LABELS BY SIGNING SHORT TERM POP ACTS THAT EVAPORATE LIKE SOME CHEAP PERFUME. WE ARE GOING TO TAKE PLEASURE AND LET OURSELVES BE GUIDED BY COURAGE, BOLDNESS AND ARTISTIC FREEDOM, OUTSIDE OF THE STANDARD PATHS. NOR AGE, NOR CONTINENT COMES SHAPING OUR DEALS. WE WORK WITH CONTENT AND THE TALENT OF SINGERSONGWRITERS THAT SURPRISE US AND DEVELOP WITH EACH NEW SONG. WHETHER ONE FOLLOWS METRONOMY OR AMADOU & MARIAM, JUSTICE OR MANU CHAO, EROL ALKAN OR PEDRO WINTER, DJANGO DJANGO OR SOKO, ONE RECOGNIZES IN ALL OF THESE ARTISTS A STRONG THIRST TO GO FORWARD, A GREAT HONESTY IN CREATING, THAT WILL MAKE SOME OF THESE ALBUMS THE MILESTONES OF THEIR TIME. BECAUSE IS MERELY A FILTER WHOSE SOLE AMBITION IS TO SHARE THOSE RHYTHMS AND MELODIES THAT COME TO US FROM SCOTLAND, MALI OR NEW ZEALAND, WITH THE ENTIRE WORLD. WHAT PLEASURE I HAD ARRIVING IN SYDNEY AND, IN JUST A WEEK’S TIME, BEING ABLE TO SEE MANU CHAO FOR HIS FIRST AUSTRALIAN CONCERT, PERFORM FOR MORE THAN 50,000 PEOPLE AT THE SYDNEY FESTIVAL. AND TO TAKE THE NEXT DAY’S FLIGHT TO MELBOURNE AND SURPRISE METRONOMY AND JUSTICE IN TWO DIFFERENT VENUES IN FRONT OF A FEW THOUSAND FANS. THESE THREE ARTISTS WHO PERFORMED DURING THREE DAYS IN AUSTRALIA SHOWED US THAT, EVEN IF WE AT BECAUSE REMAIN UNDENIABLY SMALL AND AS ARTISANS IN OUR APPROACH, THEIR MUSIC CAN REACH TENS, EVEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE GLOBE. I HAVE FINALLY UNDERSTOOD WHY OUR ARTISTS LOVE TRAVELLING THOUSANDS OF MILES TO PERFORM IN AUSTRALIA: IT IS A COUNTRY SO WELCOMING, SO OPEN TO DIVERSE CULTURES THAT ONE FORGETS ABOUT THE DISTANCE AND SIMPLY FEELS GOOD. THANK YOU. EMMANUEL DE BURETEL WWW.BECAUSE.TV
W H AT T H E H E L L
IS A DJANGO? It must be pretty important to British indie act Django Django for reasons that should be obvious. I’ve only heard the term in one other instance: in the title of Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming Western, Django Unchained, which looks like it’s going to be off the chain (sorry)! A Google search unturned a plethora of answers, mainly relating to Spaghetti Westerns. This made a lot of sense. Django Django’s self titled debut is a psychedelic Western mirage. It’s a trippy Sergio Leone film that unearths images of rolling desert, chasing bad guys on horses and rubbing shoulders with Clint Eastwood, except that the desert is purple, the horses are robots and Eastwood is a lizard. It’s all at once refreshing and suffocating, and entirely hallucinogenic. The introduction track is imbued with Ennio Morricone references, the revered Spaghetti Western composer over a wobbling synth sound. This sets the scene for the rest of the album with heavily layered and distant sounding vocals, crisp guitar rhythms, the odd synth effect, and a strong Western flavour. Most of the tracks bleed into each other, painting a blurry desert journey throughout the album, taking us through the rolling hills, cracked river beds, horse chases and dingy bar fights. Every track has a great beat that fits nicely within the groove of modern taste, which is then layered with psychedelic sound. It’s just accessible enough to hook
you in, sucking you into this cowboy fever dream. Default, the current single, is easily the most accessible track. With its hypnotic beat and creative vocal sample, it makes you want to jump into the album with both feet, its beating tambourine like spurs stamping across the saloon floor. This is a highly creative album. It’s daring and experimental and boldly explores a forgotten musical theme. Love’s Dart is a driving, galloping track peppered with sounds reminiscent of a rattlesnake, while Skies Over Cairo is their answer to Arabian Nights. Really, the whole album is a modern homage to the epic adventures of classic Hollywood long faded from popular fascination. Django Django update this fascination for modern audiences, putting classic adventures through a psychotropic filter and making it one hell of a ride. Though this is an undoubtedly fascinating project, I wonder what could possibly be next for Django Django. This album, their name and their concept are so heavily intertwined, what direction could the next album possibly bring? A hallucinatory take on film noir? An old school science fiction trip? Would the band have to change their name to make something new? What ever comes next, I’m excited to discover it, but for now I can’t wait to watch A Fist Full of Dollars with this album blaring over the top. Nat Tencic
DJANGO DJANGO
OUR INFLUENCES
BEACH BOYS
PET SOUNDS People who I’d see out every week at clubs in Leeds were obsessed with the Beach Boys but it wasn’t really until I started listening to jazz whilst working in a jazz cafe in London that I really started to love them. Brian Wilson was using alot of jazz scales and chords in Pet Sounds and from sitting down and learning the songs on guitar you realise what an amazing album it is. It changes everytime I listen to it, there are so many layers to it something new jumps out on every listen. I don’t think I’ll ever bore of it.
UNCLE JOHN & WHITELOCK
THERE IS NOTHING ELSE One of my favourite albums of all time. I’ve been to a handful of their gigs when I lived up in Glasgow when they were still together. They were always on the edge of the art scene up there and I remember seeing them playing quite a few exhibitions in warehouses around the city. Their lyrics were always quite dark. One minute talking about estates in Glasgow, the next Aleister Crowley and then the Iraq war and American Imperialism. The album is a mix of blues, rockabilly, surf, 60s psych. They broke up in 2006 but have gone on to form new bands and projects, Tut Vu Vu being one of them. Well worth a listen.
PRINCE JAMMY
COMPUTERISED DUB Brilliant instrumental dub album that came out in the wake of Jammy’s successful Sleng Teng riddim the year before. Cheap digital keyboards replace live instrumentation to create this unique sound. It’s a really positive record which embraces technology in a really playful manner. The track titles are amazing: “Modem”, “Megabyte”, “256K RAM”
DE LA SOUL
3 FEET HIGH & RISING This is my favourite hip hop lp and so one of my all time favourites. Funny, charming, funky, danceable. It’s got it all. This and Paul’s Boutique must have the most samples used in hip hop. Either people weren’t into litigation or they spent a fair whack on clearing this record. Any way prince paul is one of my favourite producers and this is a great record.
KLF
CHILL OUT Ambient record made by the KLF back when you could get away with wholesale sampling (see 3 feet high & rising). Like Computerised Dub it shows how inventive you can be with limited means. It’s the ultimate late night driving record but I listen to it a lot when I’m working in my studio. I guess the idea that a record can take you elsewhere is something that stuck with us when making our debut LP. We’re big fans of The Orb and I think there are a lot of crossovers here as I think Alex Paterson contributed to the record. I think Bill Drummond is pretty inspirational figure and a great artist too.
GEORGE HARRISON
WONDER WALL MUSIC Yes, the Beeeedles again. Well, one anyway. I discovered this at art college in Edinburgh. I was in second year and I stayed at home listening to records all day instead of going to college. I listened to this an awful lot. It’s a good record to listen to in the dark. You need to shut out your other senses and let it take you somewhere. He made a film that goes with it. I’ve only seen bits but I don’t want to watch it all cos if it’s crap it might spoil things.
MY BOOK GEORGE BATAILLE’S STORY OF THE EYE : IT’S MY DISCOVERY OF EROTICISM, THROUGH LITERATURE. MY ACCESSORY THE ENGLISH COWBOY BOOTS THAT I STOLE FROM MY SISTER LOU DOILLON. MY DESIGNER NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE. I LOVE FOLLOWING HIS WORK: HE SURPRISES ME, HE’S WITHOUT COMPROMISE. INSPIRED, HE INSPIRES ME. MY FEMALE SINGER FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE. A RECENT DISCOVERY FOR ME. WHAT ENERGY! WHAT A VOICE! MY PERFUME L’ESSENCE BY BALENCIAGA. THE FIRST PERFUME THAT I EVER WORE. IT GIVES ME ASSURANCE AND… I’M THE MUSE. MY DESTINATION DEATH VALLEY, FOR ITS NAME WORTHY OF A WESTERN. FOR ITS EXTREME SIDE. MY FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHER ANDRÉ KERTESZ (1894-1985), FOR HIS DISTORTIONS OF REALITY.”
IN THEIR SHOES
COMING LATE 2012. STAY TUNED TO COOLACCIDENTS.COM FOR ALL THE INFO.
LOCATION ALL OVER THE PLACE BUT MAINLY LONDON STAR SIGN LEO WHY I MAKE MUSIC BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE LIKE THE SPICE GIRLS AND BECAUSE I LOVE CREATING BEAUTIFUL MELODIES AND WRITING MELANCHOLIC LYRICS.
CAN’T SAY NO TO MEXICAN FOOD.
DOGS OR CATS? CATS
CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF WEDNESDAY ADDAMS
FAVOURITE PLACE ON EARTH NEW YORK ON EARLY MORNINGS IN THE WINTER
CELEBRITY CRUSH BILL NIGHY PEOPLE SAY I LOOK LIKE MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS AND THE CARTOON VERSION OF CLEOPATRA FROM ASTERIX AND OBELIX MEET CLEOPATRA. LOL.
PEOPLE THINK I’M WEIRD CUZ I SOMETIMES PICK MY NOSE IN PUBLIC PLACES CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT MY PLATFORM LEATHER GOTH BOOTS!
MUSIC THAT INSPIRES ME “I WAS ABOUT 16 WHEN I DISCOVERED LAURYN HILL. NOT EVEN THROUGH THE FUGEES OR MISEDUCATION. BUT HER MTV UNPLUGGED ALBUM. I REMEMBER WATCHING IT ON TV, AND BEING TOTALLY CAPTURED TO THE SCREEN… HER VOICE, RHYTHM, WAY OF PLAYING GUITAR, SINGING AND RAPPING, LYRICS, MELODIES. IT SOUNDED PERFECT TO ME. THROUGH THAT ALBUM I LEARNED PLAYING CHORDS ON GUITAR MYSELF. BIT LATER I DISCOVERED ERYKAH BADU. I GUESS THOSE TWO WOMEN WERE MY BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO SOUL MUSIC. IN THE LITTLE TOWN I GREW UP IN, LEEFDAAL, THERE WAS A LOT OF YOUTH. AND I REMEMBER THE ‘OLDER KIDS’ LISTENING A LOT TO RAGGA MUSIC. PLAYING GUITAR AND SMOKING JOINTS AT THE PLAYGROUND NEARBY... SO I GOT INFLUENCED BY THAT AS WELL... NOT REALLY REGGAE MUSIC, MORE RAGGA. LIKE SIZZLA, CAPLETION AND ESPECIALLY DAMIAN MARLEY. ALSO HIP HOP MUSIC, LIKE THE FUGEES, COMMON, NNEKA WERE THINGS I LISTENED TO A LOT. I LOVED THE BEATS ON THE ALBUM ‘NO LONGER AT EASE’ OF NNEKA, SO I CONTACTED HER PRODUCER FARHOT. HE, TOGETHER WITH PATRICE, PRODUCED MY FIRST ALBUM. IT WAS A GOOD FIT. NOW I LISTEN MORE TO ELECTRONIC MUSIC LIKE DUBSTEP AND WARP- ARTISTS LIKE FLYING LOTUS, BATHS, ESKMO, SHLOHMO, SQUAREPUSHER. PROBABLY MY NEXT ALBUM WILL BE MORE INFLUENCED BY ELEMENTS OF THAT.”
It all started in 1989, I visited my brother in Canada, where he was living with my dad. We went record shopping, probably one of the first time I was buying my own records, my first real choices let’s say. Before that I was just the little brother, listening to what the family was listening, following my brother’s music taste ; Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Metallica, The Cure etc…I ended up with a bunch of cassette tapes : RUN DMC “Tougher than leather”, THE CULT “Electric” and BEASTIE BOYS “Licensed To Ill”. Don’t ask me why, but a funny name appeared on the credits of each tapes! produced by RICK RUBIN No need to lie to you, at that time I did not know what was the meaning of it and I don’t
“Justice répondre à Rick Rubin” think I reallycared… Skateboarding was all I had, every week-end, then almost everyday, I cruised in the streets of Paris. Naturally (thanx to Thrasher magazine) I discovered SLAYER, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and DINOSAUR JR (but we don’t need them here) And again! THAT name RICK RUBIN was written in the credits, even in capitals on the back of the records. Who’s that guy ? Is he the manager of the bands ? nop. Is he running the label or something ? nop… errr I mean YES! not always, but wait, are you telling me that man created DEF JAM with Russell Simmons ???? The label of LL COOL J, BEASTIE BOYS, PUBLIC ENEMY… OUI it’s him! Oh I see now, he’s also behind the clash AEROSMITH vs RUN DMC “Walk this way”, what’s wrong with that man, sorry I meant how cool is that ? I remember watching the video on MTV (hello Headbangers Ball!), probably one of my first musical shock, that man is a genius! Time goes on and here we are in 2008, Ed Banger records is only 5 years old, we released JUSTICE first album † and the band is touring the USA. RICK RUBIN is running Columbia records from his house in Malibu. Our friend Kevin works at Columbia emailed me saying RICK RUBIN loved the album! “guys” (me speaking) “i just got a message saying RICK RUBIN loved the album!” “shut up Pedro!” (the boys spitting on me) “and he wants to meet you…” (me almost crying, yes yes I’m not shy sharing this with you now). We drove all the way to Malibu and entered RICK RUBIN’s world. For privacy reasons I will not speak about it here. Rick asked the boys about sampling, compression, and few other producers fantasy, me I was just dreaming (awake). We hang out, had a tea and took this memorable photo. Time goes on and here we are in 2012, Ed Banger records is now almost 9 years old, we just released JUSTICE “Audio Video Disco” second album and the band is about to tour the world. RICK RUBIN is running Columbia records from his house in Malibu. Our friend Kevin is now Diplo’s manager emailed me saying RICK RUBIN loved the album! “guys” (me speaking) “i just got a message saying RICK RUBIN loved the album AGAIN!” I will not waste your time repeating the same jokes… This time RICK RUBIN accepted to RUIN (or remix) JUSTICE new single Not only it’s a dream, it’s an honor to have him on board. Monsieur DJ Double R I salute you! Pedro “Busy P” Winter
Gary and Santigold...
Southwest, and it’s not were referred to as the king and queen of this South By The Black Keys, the with mixed gh McHu Mat own our Like why. hard to see Michael Kiwanuka, to r Simila Austin native is sultry and bluesy to the max. but also delivers effect, great to soul and blues mixes the Bright Lights’ singer it with a serving of raw, emotional rock’n’roll. Tasty.
– Triple J
A BIG THANKS TO ALL OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS DJANGO DJANGO, CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG, CHARLI XCX, SELAH SUE, SANTIGOLD, EMMANUEL DE BURETEL, NAT TENCIC, BUSY P, KASEY CHAMBERS, SIMON FELICE, JARRAD BROWN, ED NIMMERVOL, HENRY DILTZ, DEAN RUDLAND, BT, PETER MITCHELL, ALEX MUSTAKOV, TONY HARLOW, BOOM BOOM COMBE, D.O.B. AND THE OTHER PEEPS WHOSE STUFF WE STOLE BORROWED FROM THE INTERNET. THIS ZINE WAS PUT TOGETHER BY
FOR COOL ACCIDENTS.
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Tim Buckley
Goodbye and Hello Tim Buckley grew out of and was part of the folk rock of the mid sixties. With this second album he quickly showed the sense of experimentation and adventure which would mark his all-too-short career. ‘Goodbye And Hello’ came in the aftermath of the Beatles’ ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, recorded the month of its release. That album threw away music’s rule book and Tim Buckley was one of the artists who heartily embraced the opportunity to go in brave new directions. A few tracks were co-written by poet Larry Beckett.
Grateful Dead Buffalo Springfield Retrospective:The Best Of In their short lifetime – two years – Buffalo Springfield met with so little success they broke up. As soon as they did everyone started to notice. The other reason they broke up was that there just wasn’t enough room for two talents as big as Stephen Stills and Neil Young. Ironically of course their careers WOULD intersect again. As far as Buffalo Springfield is concerned, it came together and ended quickly, without a chance to consolidate. A ‘Best Of’ is the best way to appreciate this music at its best, characterized by strong song-writing, vocal harmonies and stunning guitar solos. Buffalo Springfield was the blueprint for so much that happened afterwards.
Workingman’s Dead There’s almost no band that represents Americana more than the Grateful Dead, godlike as far as American audiences were concerned, a mystery for the rest of the world. So much of their reputation flowed from epic jamming live performances. Their records were a chance to push in new directions. This album was a dramatic change of gear. They had already taken on a poet as lyricist adding concise song-writing to their tools of trade. Here they chose to be “naked”, playing acoustically to expose the country, blues, and folk roots of their music and, inspired by Crosby Stills and Nash gave themselves the chance to explore their vocals.
Fleetwood Mac
Rumours
If ever a collection of songs grew out of real life, ‘Rumours’ was it. The success of the previous album took everyone by surprise. Could they do it again? As the band worked on answering that question, internal relationships fuelled the songs. There were two couples in the band, coming apart. One couple divorced. Without the rest of the band realizing it, as Stevie Nicks’ relationship with Lindsey Buckingham was fracturing she was romancing Mick Fleetwood. What the band members felt about each other spilled into the songs, raw and uncensored. That might have made an uncomfortable experience for the listener, but in the end musicality took over, and while the songs’ genesis might have been painful the result was enjoyable to hear.
Tom Waits
Closing Time
Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris
Every now and again an artist and a record comes along and we all have to ask ourselves – where did this come from? – an artist and record without reference, when we can’t find a place of comfort – “it sounds like”. With his rasping vocals Tom Waits sounded like no-one we’d encountered before and his songs took us places we’d never been to. It might have all been fiction, a made-up persona, Waits more a character than what he seemed to be, but as the years rolled by, and more and more albums followed we realized Tom Waits really was what we thought, which makes this debut album all the more remarkable now than it was then. Not many artists come to us with so much originality.
Gram Parsons single-handedly changed the course of music. This was the album released after his death, his second with singer Emmylou Harris who Parsons literally plucked out of obscurity and put in his spotlight. That’s the way Parsons was. He had a passion for music, especially country music. He infected other people with that passion, his fellow musicians and ultimately we the people who heard the music he made and inspired. Emmylou Harris has carried the torch and become a superstar. Here she is with Gram and Elvis Presley’s band plus the odd Eagle and Linda Ronstadt. A mile-stone release.
Randy Newman
Grievous Angel
James Taylor
Sweet Baby James This is the seminal “singer songwriter” album, the one that opened the door to everyone that has fallen into that category since. There were solo singers of course, but this album inspired a need breed. He sang songs that contained pain and introspection – ‘Fire and Rain’ about the suicide of a fellow inmate when Taylor admitted himself into a mental institution – but it was the warmth of his voice and his sense of melody which made the listening experience so palatable. As much as the songs it was the acoustic qualities which made this such an enjoyable and significant album.
Joni Mitchell
Sail Away
Warren Zevon
Court and Spark
There’s nothing more precious than a songwriter whose songs nakedly and courageously share their innermost emotions with us. Randy Newman is the exact opposite. He writes nakedly and courageously about the rest of us, an even rarer skill. Not many have it. Randy touches subjects that others wouldn’t dare. He’s a philosopher, he’s a satirist. He makes us think and lets us off the hook with a laugh. We laugh at his expense. But the seed is there. He’s made his point. This album contains ‘Political Science’ where he happily pushes the A-bomb button to “pulverise them”.
Warren Zevon announced himself with an impressive self-titled album. This was the follow-up, always a telling measure of an artist’s significance. Zevon’s appeal was the dark sarcasm in his lyrics. We discovered him through others. His “excitable” twisted view of the world appealed to his contemporaries. Jackson Browne produced this and the previous album. Linda Ronstadt made a hit of his ‘Poor Poor Pitiful Me’. The hit from this album was ‘Werewolves of London’. Ah-hoo!
Buffalo Springfield’s Stephen Stills then teamed with David Crosby and Graham Nash under Joni Mitchell’s wing. She’d been their mentor, their song-writing equal and inspiration, but Joni was not one to rest on her laurels. With this 1973 album she surprised both her peers and her fans by fusing the folk she was known for with both rock and jazz. She’d had more than professional relationships with her circle of music notaries. Lyrically she explored the pitfalls of romance. Already famous this sixth album became her most successful and acclaimed.
Excitable Boy
But anyway, I settled in to my seat and they appeared, CSN and array of other players, drummer, guitarist, bassist and Crosby’s kid on keyboards. Off they trip into the set with Carry On…magical. They sound great, harmonies are sweet, Cros and Nash sound great. Stills is a little rough vocally, but this is made up by his incredible guitar playing. I hadnt smoked any weed for a couple of weeks, maybe even 3 weeks…that’s a big deal. But I was seeing Crosby, Stills & Nash, I had to be adjusted. The only show I could get to was Wollongong Entertainment Centre. As it turned out, this was a sweet deal. No hangers on, no one to talk to during the show, just me and Cros, Stephen and Graham. The Ent Centre is located right on the water and an easy drive from Sydney. So, half a spliff preshow and in I go. Now, those 3 cats are getting old, real old, and the thing that stuck out the most was the age of the crowd…they were REALLY old. At 45, I was the youngest by 20 years I reckon. OK maybe 10.
Cant help but think their recent times on CSNY tours give Stills a kick in the ass to rock harder, and he truly does. The sounds is incredible as they rip thru Marrakesh Express, Long Time Gone, Military Madness and the song they always love singing down here, Southern Cross. Military Madness is prefaced by Nash berating all war as he has done for so long. It feels so hippy, so love in, but he as fucking true as the first time he spoke. These guys are the 60/70s’ flower power….its awesome. Next up Almost Gone, then Just a Song Before I Go then they rip into Buffalo Springfield’s Bluebird. Mind blowing guitar play from Stills. Deja Vu and Wooden Shjips close the first set. Everyone is happy, band, punters, merch sellers! Set two kicks in with Helplessly Hoping, In Your Name then Johnny’s Garden. Cros then steps up for a sweet Guinnevere with just he and Nash onstage. Next up is What Are Their Names? Which features a long rant from Nash and Cros about the senselessness of war and how love can beat it all, it’s all we have to give. It’s quite humbling and soul stirring really.
These guys has been preaching it for so long, it can only be believeable when they deliver it. Even the old crowd who you think may not give a shit, are warmed by it all. Next Stills comes up with an idea, lets play Radio a newish song they were meant to play in the first set. Fucking Stills, is he really with us mentally?? I say this because the song he replaced, and didn’t get played, was Suite Judy Blue Eyes…. maybe Judy Collins being in the country at the time was too heavy vibes for him…even in Wollongong! Oh well. Cathedral, Our House, and incredible Almost Cut My Hair and a beautiful, singalong of Love The One You’re With close out the second set. Standing ovation by the 1600 punters in the house, so back they come for Woodstock and finish with the Springfield’s For What It’s Worth.
But the crowd wont let them go, and back they come for Teach Your Children well, which I’ve always thought was a little cheesey, but here I was in full voice singing along with everyone…. the weed was strong! So that’s it, about 2 hours and 15 on stage. No bad for some old dudes. I spoke to Nash after the show and shared how great a feeling they gave me, and he said something along the lines of “That is what we do. We have been doing for so long, we should know how to do it well. People pay a lot of money each night to see us and we have to put on a show, or we wont eat or survive”. Amen brother.something along the lines of “That is what we do. We have been doing for so long, we should know how to do it well. People pay a lot of money each night to see us and we have to put on a show, or we wont eat or survive”. Amen brother.
by BT
Thinking about the music of the West Coast I found myself musing not on catalogue but on the summer I’d spent enjoying the soul of Jonathan Wilson’s “Gentle Spirit” long player (for its certainly a long player in the old style rather than a collection of tracks). In 2012 I liked that record as much as any I had heard, and it seemed to capture the Laurel Canyon spirit as well as anything: the floaty electronics of nuproduction a perfect updating of the melding sunburnt acoustic guitars and the blissed out winding electric guitar leads. “Desert Raven” with Wilson’s understated storytellers vocals to the fore created a picture in words and music – mood board: Laurel Canyon. I locked the song onto a playlist alongside David Crosby’s enigmatic Cowboy Movie from stoned out and frankly cosmic “if I could only remember my name” album and span the two in heavy rotation. It was a heavy soul in the strangest way – as if the vibes of the two beautiful and mellow pieces had coalesced and in some way “come together”. Wilson is an interesting character who’s sense of timelessness links two eras of California music, even if hes actually from North Carolina.. At face value he looks the part, and his flowing hair and classic T;s would fit easily amongst Herb Diltz’s catalogue of photoscapes from the original Canyon Crew. It is easy to picture almost every shot with Wilson in picture – flitting easily between Stills and Young, looking just like Dan Fogelberg, jamming with Crosby and chatting with John Phillips and watching over the angelic Joni Mitchell whilst swapping songcraft with Jackie de Shannon and Carole King. But there is more to it than just the eye – Wilson plays as beautifully as any of them with a warm and sunny tone, and he is a producer and guitar maker of note. He is in short a craftsman in the way that we imagine these great names of yore to have been. His lyrics have a dusty sunlit feel that echo strongly of spiritual matters and the “times before” – images of an old America of Indians and deserts refracted through a the sort of lens that wraps a soft rainbow around pictures of our impossible young heroes. He channels the spirit of a Canyon long gone, and its a conscious decision as he ssays: I loved living and recording in Laurel Canyon,” he reflects. “I wasn’t trying to find a sound of yore or duplicate any guitar sounds ala Buffalo Springfield or Crazy Horse. But what ends up happening is that the vocal harmony on the album does have a certain type of a tonality and that indeed is the sound of the canyon.”and he jams with a bunch of like minded individuals deadest on creating their own music whilst channeling the spirit of the past into a thoroughly modern “homage”. Delving through the normal seven degrees of separation I found Wilson’s hand spread wide as the leading auteur in a scene creating “the new West Coast”. His recommendations (as set out in Uncut magazine) take the listener on a road both past and present. The semi acoustic jam session of ex-Jayhawk Gary Louris is a good starting point. Wilson is featured on a set abounding with sweet mellowness as a gun guitarist alongside musical notables such as Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes (both the Jayhawks and the Crowes are bands who improve by being absent from the marketplace) and the “Laurel canyon Choir” on b/vs. And in amongst it all – as if linking the ages, Jackson Browne. I was never really taken by Browne’s work – a lack of familiarity that breeds contempt, but as I’ve grown older his work has unquestionably grown better. Its as if you need a little age and wisdom to understand it properly. Without doubt the suite of four albums that include Jackson browne: Saturate bfore using, Running on Empty, Late for the Sky and The Pretender epitomize the art of the singer songwriter and are worth an investigation. Browne leads straight to his fellow sophisticate and most beautiful man in rock, James Taylor and the beautiful albums Sweet baby James and Mud Slide Slim.
Those beautiful singer songwriter works also took my head spinning through the catalogue wildernesss of Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon to a truly uniue act, Stephen Stills” Manassas. I first heard this amazing act when Acid Jazz label head and mod supreme Eddie Piller suddenly freaked out and went hairy, spending most of his time extolling the values of his unlikely and somewhat eccentric collective. Bored of the constraints of musical labels, and of the politics of the various Crosby/Nash/Young politics, stills got his freak on and perhaps challenged by Gram parsons’ idea of “cosmic American music” decided to take the challenge head on. Manassas rode a wave of rock and roll, bluegrass, country, folk pop into a funky stew that even headed into a little latin groove. Great players, great musicality. The Treasure is a masterclass in lengthy guitar jamming, Rock N Roll is here to stay proves just that, and there is the beautiful Jesus gave Love Away For free to groove on. Naturally it sold nothing compared to “love the One you’re With” but its lasted beautifully and if you want to get your head on that’s a place to go. File it next to little Feat and the masterpiece of cross genres Dixie Chicken and the original gender bender of the Flying Burrito brothers as good things to find. Equally eclectic is another of Wilson’s picks, the extraordinary Benji Hughes whos Love Extreme double is also an eclectic LA masterpiece. I hear it with the vague sense that Neil Young would understand the ambitions of this music and approve of it. The musical base is left field pop but Hughes wanders freely across styles and production formats like a laurel Canyon beck. The tunes come with a spirit of alchemy and mischief that inform the best of Young’s work and which he carries to this day (the latest, and electric boogie riff on traditional “Americana” tunes is not available via any digital al la carte services!). It’s a feeling that Young’s magic isn’t carried or conveyed in any one show or particular record and that only a wander across the career will give you a sense of his greatness. It’s a sort of “understanding through oeuvre” principle that makes the famous court case with Geffen over albums that “don’t represent Neil young” seem particularly foolish in retrospect. The Young catalogue is too wide to point to in any detail – he would probably disagree but my own feeling is track based services are a unique and interesting way to rethink his work. Like on, and move on! Some more of the linked product to Wilson yields more gems. Two beautiful albums of thoughtful country rock with the rather wonderful Dawes show great songwriting and thoughtful playing linked to a sweet production. Dawes North hills has full on Canyon feel; the second Nothing is Wrong channels Jackson browne and Warren Zevon into a set that captures their live virtues more than the first. Similarly All Night Radio make a very psychedelic pop with lush vocal harmonies where a little Beatles and Byrds meet the new psychedelia of the likes of The Flaming lips.. Beechwood Sparks have often been compared to Gram Parsons but for me are closer to the Grateful dead and their wonderful side project New Riders of the Purple Sage and finally Wilson’s production of the amazing Mia Doi Todd and the amazingly titled Cosmic Ocean Ship on City Zen records. This album – which is amazingly her 8th or so – comes with truly mystic pyramid cover and includes the amazing acoustic bossa nova “paaraty” which captures the Wilson beauty and vibe as well as any single track I’ve heard (which probably means he didn’t produce that one!). In her work is the jazzy stroll of Joni’s Ladies of the Canyon and the hip beat styles of Ricki Lee Jones. In short, to wander in Wilson’s world is to wander in the history of California Soul and to meander through its back pages to today. Its any record shoppers idea of heaven – interconnecting references taking you forward to discover new sounds, and back to classics you loved and lost. Wilson hasn’t made it to Australia yet, or produced for anyone here, but hes top of everyone’s list and a busy European summer should lead him to someone brave enough to bring him down here. Hes one artist I’ll be watching and waiting for – and thinking of the spirit of the canyon.
by Tony Harlow
Balmy summer night, warm breeze, Adelaide South Australia. Go Your Own Way takes on substance as older teenage brothers dart and leave me to tackle the crowd. Alone, in the grandstand. Dark is the night and darker is the stage - billowing chiffon, humble bass, salient guitar solos, commanding drum beats, intense faces, lofty men. Long hair flaxen princesses. Songbird, grace, keyboards... Susan Dey now a distant memory.. Unique, gravel voice, tambourine, angelic aura, floating, flirting... absolutely fixated, heaven has arrived. Magical, magical memories... I’ll be going back again.
by Anne C
I have come to realise over the years that my love for Gram Parsons is as much ‘a love’ for ‘what he was a part of’ as it is for him really. My dad used to play a lot of Gram’s music to me as a child-although I wasn’t even born until 3 years after Gram died. My dad was drawn to this music as much because of the musicians who surrounded Gram as the songs and the voice. Musicians like James Burton, Herb Pederson, Barry Tashian and Al Perkins. Gram founded ‘The international Submarine Band’ in 1966 then joined the already established ‘The Byrds’ in 68 and not long after, him and fellow bandmember ‘Chris Hillman’ formed ‘The Flying Burrito Brothers’. But it was not until the early 70s that Gram would find a young folk singer by the name of ‘Emmylou Harris’ and the blend of their harmonies(obviously influenced and inspired by ‘The Louvin Brothers) would become one of my most favourite sounds of all time. Still to this day this blend brings a warmth and comfort to me like no other sound. Songs like ‘We’ll sweep out the ashes in the morning’ and ‘The Return Of The Grievous Angel’ are some of my most treasured musical memories. Obviously, with the help of other musicians and songwriters Gram left a legacy after his death in 1973 that influenced many and maybe even his greatest achievement was helping to introduce the world to one of the most important and beautiful voices of all time-Emmylou Harris. But-for me personally-I love Gram mostly for the connection he created between my dad and I. Gram Parsons was my earliest lesson in ‘The Power of Music’.
Kasey Chambers
It was September 1971 and I was employed as Promotions Manager for a small Aust. Record Company – Astor Records in QLD… Warner Bros. one of the leading US Record companies had just opened their offices in Australia and the first MD Paul Turner invited me to Sydney for an interview to head up their QLD. Branch operation…. Paul was a loveable character with a dry sense of humour…..After reviewing my Year 12 school results (2 Cs), Paul commented he was very surprised that I actually attended school at all, considering my rather poor academic achievements…However he somewhat reluctantly offered me the job remarking “you’ll do as I don’t need anybody smarter here than me”…...that moment changed my life forever as I ran the QLD Office for the next 30 years through to 2002…. In early 1972, Warner Bros merged with Atlantic & Elektra/ Asylum Records to become WEA RECORDS, a powerhouse of amazing artists & talent throughout the US.. These labels had been previously distributed in Aust. by CBS Records now Sony Music… We held the first company conference in Sept. 72 prior to commencing a full Sales, Marketing & Distribution operation in Oct. 72….this conference was a marathon 10 day/night event , working solidly each day then partying to the early hours of the morning…the final night turned into a red-hot affair when the kitchen behind the bar caught on fire…. However in true company bonding nobody would leave the bar (despite the ensuring flames) until the fire brigade arrived and forced everyone to evacuate with the Doobie Bros album “Toulouse Street” blaring out in the background… I can clearly recall the first WEA acts to break here were The Doobie Bros., Carly Simon, Seals & Crofts & Bread and the company was on a roll….in fact we achieved the first year’s budget in just 6 months… One of our first WEA acts to tour Australia in the mid 70s was The Eagles on the back of their first hit single“ Take It Easy”……The band had just flown in from NZ to commence their Australian tour in Brisbane ….the band was then (and still is) managed by Irving Azoff, now the legendary US Music mogul….I met Irving & the band at the airport …..In those days the Record company advanced touring artists $10,000 in Aust. currency (a shit-load of money) to use for sex, drugs, whatever…
Irving and I headed to our local Bank near the office and withdrew the funds in $50 notes which he counted each one carefully….. After an hour or so we then headed to the Hotel where the band was staying and he handed out bundles of notes to the band like choco frogs at a kindergarten picnic…. In 1974 the now famous ABC music program “Countdown” commenced hosted by Molly Meldrum.. This program had a major influence on music sales (albums & cassettes) and sales skyrocketed ….I remember clearly the impact overnight when the program screened the Fleetwood Mac clip “Rhiannon “ and sales of the self –titled album exploded……the band toured Aust. not long afterwards to sold out concerts throughout the country…… In Brisbane the normal scenario for overseas Touring artists was to take them by cruise launch up the river to The Lone Pine Sanctuary to see the koalas and kangaroos…Fleetwood Mac’s management requested we arrange a classy vessel stocked with very expensive liquor and heaps of food as Stevie Nicks & Christine McVie were extremely keen to see the local wildlife….. we in turn hired a 40 foot Police launch fully stocked with supplies and waited for their arrival at the departing pier…. we sighted three white limousines heading down towards the pier with anticipation……however as they exited the vehicles there was no sign of anyone from the band albeit a dozen or so road crew…...apparently the band members decided at the last moment to go shopping instead…... no doubt it turned out a very expensive event for the Record company but bloody hell the roadies had a fantastic day… Throughout the 70s & 80s I was privileged to see some amazing concerts The Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Bros, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Little Feat , Bonnie Raitt and of course ZZ Top just to name a few…. In 1980 , FM Radio commenced in this country and along with Countdown drove music sales (albums & cassettes) to phenomenal heights…Also CDs were launched in Australia around 1984 which propelled new releases and catalogue sales of earlier “Classic Americana” artists to even greater levels.. I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to spend nearly half my life working for a fantastic company and in an Industry I dearly loved…
by Peter Mitchell
If I Could Only Remember My Name David Crosby It’s so easy to attribute reasons for the fractured crystalline beauty of David Crosby’s first solo album, and its initial lack of success. The death of his girlfriend Christine Hinton, the alienating effects of the massive success enjoyed by CSNY with their album ‘Déjà Vu’, or a too keen enjoyment of the chemical world. Certainly in comparison to the solo albums released by Neil Young or Stephen Stills, it was a failure, receiving lacklustre reviews and reaching only number 12 in the US Charts. It leads you to wonder if Crosby’s notorious behaviour had managed to piss off anyone who may have wanted to be nice to him. Listening back it is clear that this isn’t an album aimed at the pop charts, the hits songs he contributed to both the Byrds and CSNY, are replaced with wordless vocals, folk melodies and other forms of mood music. For the album’s opener ‘Music Is Love’, Neil Young and Graham Nash are the only musicians who appear and throughout Nash and sometimes Joni Mitchell provide the perfect vocal harmonies that make this such a wonderful record. This is an album that for all the talk of drugs is carefully and deliberately thought out and sequenced. Its end is no casual meander but the vocal masterpiece of ‘Orleans’ – Cosby playing a guitar accompaniment to his multi tracked vocal – into the a capella simplicity of ‘I’d Swear There Was Somebody Here’. It’s a breathless ride, and one which Cosby never made solo again for 18 years.
by Dean Rudland
America: F*** Yeah! I had this strange revelation recently that I sometimes feel more connected to American musical culture than Australia’s musical culture....sometimes...but..it makes sense!!- TV every day when you’re a kid watching American cartoons, American bands on the radio every day, Even my favourite childhood band U2- wanted to be American for a time. Being slammed with tracks like Born in the USA, Learning to Fly, Big Old Jet Airliner, California Girls. When I was 10 years old- America was a fantasy worldwhere everything was bigger, better and cooler. It’s not like I tried to hunt outAmericana, it was just kind of there before i started looking. My older brother- id flick through his records when i was 10/11/12 years old, and find myself listening to Harvest for the first time, or listening to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers for this first time. And it wasn’t/isn’t just the records that were the hook- It was the
whole thing. These were the records that formed my idea about what being a musician actually is. Then came my own discoveries, like the Band, the Last Waltz, Janis Joplin. Rick Danko, Robby Robinson, Levon, Dylan- The whole gang. Rick Danko in particular made a pretty big impression on me, just seeing a bass player sing like that, was really something else. I’ll never forget going to America, for the first time, when i was 10. With my Family. Everything really was bigger, better, cooler. And, even if now, in 2012, the times they are a changin’, but every time I go back to L.A, I am transported into this place- this fantasy world, where I still get to be the 10 year old kid, staring at the billboards/flashing lights/ hotdog vendors/rollerbladers...livin’ the dream.
Jarrad Brown www.eagleandtheworm.com
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FOR THE TURNSTILES
A GEM ON ONE OF THE DECADE TAPES I FOUND LEFT ON ATRAIN WHEN I WAS 16, THE FIRST NEIL SONG TO BLOW MY MIND AND MAKE ME A BELIEVER.
BROKEN ARROW
AN EARLY BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD NUMBER, A HARBINGER OF THE WEIRD GENIUS TO COME...
AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
A DREAMSCAPE, A MASTERPIECE, HIGH POETRY, ULTRAPENETRATING VOCAL DELIVERING THE DEEPER MEANING.
TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT
A DESPERATE REQUIEM FOR ANOTHER GOOD FRIEND WHO FELL TO THE NEEDLE AND THE DAMAGE, SENDS A CHILL UP AND DOWN YOUR SPINE.
SUGAR MOUNTAIN
A FAREWELL TO YOUTH AND INNOCENCE, A SAD SURRENDER TO THE ‘GROWN-UP’ WORLD.
ALABAMA
SOME OF THE DIRTIEST GUITAR AND MOST DESPERATE MESSAGE EVER,SEE THE OLD FOLKS TIED IN WHITE ROBES, HEAR THE BANJOS, DON’T IT TAKE YOU DOWN HOME?
HANK TO HENDRIX
THIS IS 90S ‘GROWN-UP NEIL AT HIS BEST, VULNERABLE,WORLD-WEARY, STILL IN LOVE AFTER ALL THOSE YEARS.
LOVE IN MIND
NEIL YOUNG
‘AMERICANA’ OUT JUNE 1
THE LIVE ACOUSTIC VERSION FROM MASSEY HALL IS BREATHTAKING, SO FRESH AND PURE, NOTHING TO HIDE.
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH
I KNOW, I KNOW, IT’S A STEPHEN STILLS SONG, A BUFFALO CLASSIC, BUT NEIL’S GUITAR PLAYING ON IT IS MAGICAL, THE SONG WOULD NOT BE AS SPECIAL IF NOT FOR THE DIRTY HARMONIC NOTES HE ADDS, THEY ABSOLUTELY SET THE TONE.
OLD MAN
POSSIBLY MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITE, A PASSING OF THE TORCH, A PERFECT MEDITATION ON LOVE AND MORTALITY. WWW.SIMONEFELICE.COM
DEBUT SOLO ALBUM FROM SIMONE FELICE OF THE DUKE & THE KING AND THE FELICE BROTHERS IS OUT NOW! CLASSIC LAUREL CANYON SING/ SONGWRITER SONGS PLAYED AND SUNG WITH THE EFFORTLESS SKILL OF A TRUE CRAFTSMAN.
SCAN THIS CODE TO HEAR SIMONE’S SELECTIONS