The thing that I've always loved about Soul music is it's ability to be in two places at once. On one hand, Soul music can be deep, painful and even at times depressing. Equally, it can provide such a wonderful ray of light to cut through the pain and be such an energizing form. It's soul's ability to both sympathize and uplift that keeps me coming back for more.
Not in a while have I found an artist who has embodied this mantra more than Fink. Fink is an acoustic singer/songwriter currently based in Brighton. He was a DJ in London for the longest time. Strangely, his first record deals were for the dub mixes he used to throw together of James Brown, Kool and the Gang, and Sly and the Family Stone.
I watched an interiew with him where he talked about aging, and realizing that he couldn't keep living the self-abusive London night life. So, he dissapeared from the city, and for a while off the face of the earth. He would approach his label (Ninja tunes) a while later with a work of staggering genius titled Biscuits for breakfast.
Now onto his second body of work Distance and Time, Fink continues to write painful stabs from the heart which one can't help but feel akin to. Yet at the same time, listening to his simple, relatable and yet bold lyrics, I feel completely and utterly empowered.
-I haven't been drinking too much, I've just been sobering up less.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Time for Your Daily Beating!
So, stop me if I'm just repeating myself, but a few weeks back, I found myself waiting for a bus just outside of The Bear; a pub in Oxford just off High St. In the distance, I heard a sound which grabbed a hold of me. It was rock.
You have to understand something; when it comes to rock... Oxford... just... doesn't. The music scene here is already a bit barren compared to Montreal (justifyiably, the place is only 100,000 people). However, the few bands that do exist are artsy-post-modern-emo-indie-holier-than-thou pieces of tripe, whom are primarily just trying, and failing, to be as innovative as Radiohead.
But what I heard that night was the good stuff. I walked away from the bus stop, fully aware that I was likely to miss the bus and have to wait a while for the next. When I arrived at the stage, I knew it was worth it. A simple 2 piece adorned the stage; a drummer, and a guitarist playing an old Fender through... what the fuck... a distorted to hell bass amp.
No vocals, no pretention, no bullshit... pure riffs. And their name was 50ft Panda. I liked these boys. I stuck around for the rest of their set and then skamperd off to catch a late bus. The next day, I did some research, and was continually impressed with what I saw.
I'll let you dig a bit on your own though. I highly reccomend the song Gen Dinn which is on their myspace or available for download off their site. In addition, I stumbled upon a pretty cool gem of these guys in the studio, which you can see below.
-Does this taste like recycling to you?
You have to understand something; when it comes to rock... Oxford... just... doesn't. The music scene here is already a bit barren compared to Montreal (justifyiably, the place is only 100,000 people). However, the few bands that do exist are artsy-post-modern-emo-indie-holier-than-thou pieces of tripe, whom are primarily just trying, and failing, to be as innovative as Radiohead.
But what I heard that night was the good stuff. I walked away from the bus stop, fully aware that I was likely to miss the bus and have to wait a while for the next. When I arrived at the stage, I knew it was worth it. A simple 2 piece adorned the stage; a drummer, and a guitarist playing an old Fender through... what the fuck... a distorted to hell bass amp.
No vocals, no pretention, no bullshit... pure riffs. And their name was 50ft Panda. I liked these boys. I stuck around for the rest of their set and then skamperd off to catch a late bus. The next day, I did some research, and was continually impressed with what I saw.
I'll let you dig a bit on your own though. I highly reccomend the song Gen Dinn which is on their myspace or available for download off their site. In addition, I stumbled upon a pretty cool gem of these guys in the studio, which you can see below.
-Does this taste like recycling to you?
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Good news evil dooers!
Well, Mutemath is back in the studio. These New Orleans based genii (genus, geniueses... fuck it) are creating yet another round of magic after their last epic.
Being quite handy with gear, they seem to be recording the whole thing themselves, and also doing so in quite the environment. Instead of diving into a studio like so many bands, Mutemath appears to be piecing together the album around someone's house, and having a lot of fun doing it. They've even taken to recording some parts in the bathroom, to get the porcelain reverb effect.
To tease their fans even more, they've been releasing little tidbits in video blogs through youtube. While I highly recommend you check out all of them, you can find my personal favorite below.
-Standing on the shoulders of midgets
Being quite handy with gear, they seem to be recording the whole thing themselves, and also doing so in quite the environment. Instead of diving into a studio like so many bands, Mutemath appears to be piecing together the album around someone's house, and having a lot of fun doing it. They've even taken to recording some parts in the bathroom, to get the porcelain reverb effect.
To tease their fans even more, they've been releasing little tidbits in video blogs through youtube. While I highly recommend you check out all of them, you can find my personal favorite below.
-Standing on the shoulders of midgets
Friday, September 5, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Rock and Roll Transcendance
Granted, this may have been the first real band I was ever a part of... but to me, this night was something sad, beautiful, hazy and euphoric all in one. Think of it as whiskey and rock induced nirvana.
http://blip.tv/file/1064107
Think of this video as 2 hours of tantric sex, featuring The Doppler Effect, Shaking Judy, and your love and mine; Paper Street.
http://blip.tv/file/1064107
Think of this video as 2 hours of tantric sex, featuring The Doppler Effect, Shaking Judy, and your love and mine; Paper Street.
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