All credit goes to my friend Adam on this find ... He introduced me to Shpongle a few years back and I didn't really give it a shot until recently. It's definitely music for current or former users of psychedelic drugs so if that's you, give it a listen!
From Wikipedia ... Shpongle is an English psychedelic downtempo/psybient music project formed in 1996. The group includes Simon Posford (aka Hallucinogen) and Raja Ram (one third of The Infinity Project). Their musical style combines eastern ethnic instruments and vocals with contemporary western synthesizer-based psychedelic music. When asked to describe Shpongle's music, Posford has responded that it is "like nothing you've ever heard before."
Now if that description alone doesn't get you excited about a project, we definitely have different tastes in music. My suggestion is to give it a listen now, and then come back to it at the right moment and the right state of consciousness ... How will you know when that moment will be? you'll just know ....
ACL wrap-up: Great festival. They definitely have things running like a well-oiled machine and you can go have a good time while avoiding many of the usual festival issues (terrible lines, nowhere to pee, dirt/mud everywhere). It was a mixed bag of music like any festival, but the highlights for me were: - Bomba Estereo - columbian female hip hop group with heavy influences from traditional south american dance beats and electronica - Del McCoury - bluegrass man who's been doing it well for a while and shared the stage with a new orleans brass band for this performance - My Morning Jacket - true rock performance and teamed up the same brass band that teamed with Del McCoury
Biggest disappointments were Kanye West, Cut Copy, and Stevie Wonder due to some sound issues.
Anyhow, on to bigger and better things! Here's some dance music to light up your Friday!
tiger & woods - sample old disco tracks with house music. it's an example of the modernized version of disco and i've been hearing it more and more around the douchey places I tend to frequent around dallas
danny daze - miami based DJ with a bass-tastic track and a video that features some excellent dance moves in the video
Thanks to NPR's 'All Songs Considered' for the discoveries ...
'Round these parts, they call Austin the 'Live Music Capital of the World.' Whether or not Austin deserves this self-proclaimed designation could be debated but any way you look at it, there's a lot of live music in Austin.
The Austin music scene has always been one that's been seen as a destination for struggling or developing musicians who can play a vaiety of good local venues. The scene has ties to acts like Willie Nelson, BB King, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, the Skunks, the Police, the Talking Heads, among others. Stevie Ray Vaughn was an Austinite and played in Austin frequently until his untimely demise. There are plenty of legendary spots still in operation such as Waterloo Records (http://waterloorecords.com/), a record store that features a great website with local and national charts and several autograph sessions during ACL. Another famous spot is Antone's club near 6th street that is hosting two of the better Aftershows featuring North MS All-Stars on Thursday and Gary Clark Jr. on Friday (http://www.antones.net/). In addition to ACL, Austin also hosts SXSW in April each year, which is a film, music, and all things creative gathering.
As for Saturday, here are some of the highlights of the lineup:
Federico Aubele - 11:45 - 12:30 (doubt that I'll be up at that terrible hour) - Honda Stage Argentinian band with a great south american sound
Twin Shadow - 1:15 - 2:00 - Google+ Stage
J Roddy Walston and The Business - 2:00 - 3:00 - Bud Light Stage
Skrillex - 5:00 - 6:00 - Google+ Stage A nightmare inducing mess of glitch step
Chromeo - 7:00 - 8:00 - Honda Stage
Unfortunately, Chromeo is at the same time as Del McCoury which might make for a tough decision. Saturday also features Cut Copy, Alison Krauss, My Morning Jacket and Stevie Wonder. Should be a good day ...
In the second installment of the ACL preview series, I'll take a look at the acts on tap for Friday night, bitch about the heat, and discuss the food truck phenomenon in some detail.
Austin is a city known for taking the extra step to ensure that it is doing things in a little different way than the ordinary. T-shirts suggest that we should all "Keep Austin Weird" and I'm sure sure shit will inevitibly get weird at ACL. One positive example of this weirdness materializing in edible form is the food truck explosion that took place in Austin over the last few years. Most big cities have food trucks so that isn't all that unusual, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find the quality, quantity, and diversity of the trucks that you'll find in Austin. From the mexican roach coach to duck on wheels, here are a few trucks that I feel the reason to comment on for one reason or another:
- Chilantro: http://www.chilantrobbq.com/schedule - Korean bbq and mexican fusion served from two locations around dirty sixth street. I think the Kimchi fries and pork tacos are the best on the menu. My fav spot in ATX - Torchy's Tacos: http://torchystacos.com/company/torchys-story/ - What started as a truck is now a good taco chain throughout ATX. A bit overpriced for tacos, but delicious. Original truck is still open in South Austin. I suggest the Mr. Pink ahi tuna taco or the Green Chile Pork - Kebabalicious: http://www.austinkebab.com/ - Turkish kebab truck that is usually hanging around dirty sixth. Haven't been, but have heard from reliable sources (UT grads, bike cabbie) that the food is good. - Odd Duck Farm to Trailer: http://oddduckfarmtotrailer.com/ - With a seasonal, locally sourced menu, this trailer is said to bring high quality food to a trailer setting. Today's menu offered duck egg, pork belly, quail, and other local goods for $5 or less per plate. Located south of town on S. Lamar. Haven't had a chance to go before, but plan on making a trip during ACL! - Gordough's: http://www.gourdoughs.com/ - This looks like a truly unique trailer. Located on South Lamar, this trailer serves donuts topped with everything from fried chicken, to bacon, to pepper jelly, to brownie batter, to grilled bananas, to a bunch of other shit that will make you fat, to any combination of any of the aforementioned.
It's been interesting to see the food truck industry evolve in Austin. The trucks now utilize twitter, blogs, other social media platforms and even have a unified iphone app. Check out a good general guide to the other trucks here: http://austinfoodcarts.com/
As for the music on Friday night, here's a few of the folks who will be participating:
Santigold: Friday 7:10 - 8:10 - Honda Stage
Pretty Lights: Friday 7:30 - 8:30 - Google+ Stage
Plus, Kanye and Coldplay after Pretty Lights if you're still going after the PL show
And now to bitch about the heat, it's hot, it never rains, and people are starting to lose it down here. Hope we get some rain and cooler weather before ACL or we could see a whole new level of weirdness ...
From Friday September 16 - Sunday September 18, the Austin City Limits festival comes to Zilker Park in Austin for the 10th year. It will be my first time attending and I wanted to do some research in advance to maximize. I'll be attending with some fellow TSAD-ers and loyal TSAD readers, so hopefully others can benefit from some published research.
If you haven't been to Austin, TX and you like music, put it on your list .. Known around here as the Live Music Capital of the World (Texans like to make everything 'of the World' because they only consider the world to be contained within the Texas borders), Austin is always hosting a good act. Throw in an awesome food truck scene and an interesting mix of cowboys, hipsters, students, politicians, minorities, homeless people, drunks and general revelers, and you've got yourself a pretty damn good time any given weekend.
What I'm going to do is throw a few artists up that I am excited about and list the time of their performance for to-be attendees. For those you that are not attending, you may continue to read at your own risk of becoming extremely jealous and depressed thinking about how much fun I am going to be having while you are sitting home watching your college football team that is probably much worse than mine (go cocks) and re-reading all of my ACL Preview posts.
Asleep at the Wheel - AMD Stage Friday 12:25 - 1:10 - Texas music
Reptar - Austin Ventures Stage Friday 1:20 - 2:00
North MS All Stars - Austin Ventures Stage Friday 5 - 5:30 - not to be missed
And the show I wouldn't be caught dead at ... The Secret Sisters - The Zilker Stage Friday 1:30 - not soon enough
That takes me through 5:30 on Friday ... more to come later including two and a half more days of artists, drunken Austin food truck reviews and a transportation issue that I need help with ...
I've been absent from TSAD for quite some time doing some "field research" ...
Somewhere along the line, I came across Eek-A-Mouse. Straight out of Kingston, Eek-A-Mouse produces his own very unique reggae style. Eek's music is super-chill, using a wide variety of musical instruments, and featuring some strange vocals ..
Most famous track is "Ganja Smuggling," which was recoreded in '82
Personal favorite is "Noah's Ark"
And since there's nothing better than the classic rasta in a colored suit and matching hat, a live version of "Ganja Smuggling"
The roots of the Grateful Dead run deep into the history of music. Several genres inspired the development of their material and style, with this post focused specifically on the blues influences that turned into songs that were frequently performed live by the Grateful Dead. Most of the traditional blues songs were performed by Pigpen prior to his passing in the early 1970s. Pigpen was the first of several Grateful Dead keyboardists to experience untimely deaths, and he was one of the original members of the band. After his death, Bob Weir did his part to carry the torch, but couldn't totally match Pigpen's chops.
Otis Redding - Hard To Handle
Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning
Jimmy Reed - Big Boss Man
Mississippi Sheiks - Sitting on Top of the World
No GD post would be complete without the boys themselves, so here is a showcase of Pigpen's blues vocals on 'Hard to Handle.' This clip is an excellent video from a GD concert in 1970.
Pigpen's grave marker in Palo Alto is inscribed:
RONALD C. McKERNAN 1945–1973 PIGPEN WAS AND IS NOW FOREVER ONE OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD
This song by Drake caught my attention because it was about Houston, and interestingly enough, it sounded like he was rapping fondly about it. No mention of traffic, humidity, or illegals, but only 'f*cking bitches like I'm in Houston.' Strangely, the majority of my time in Houston is spent dealing with the former rather than the latter.
Upon further inspection, Drake is actually the most interesting person I've ever Wikipediaed. Heres why: - He was born in Canada. Why he made a song about Houston is beyond me - He was an actor on DeGrassi: The Next Generation. He played a basketball player (shocker) on the series that never quite live up to the original DeGrassi. Doesn't that officially ruin all of your street cred? - His dad is a Memphis African American and his mom is a Jewish Canadian. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that hook-up - Drake is apparently good friends with Coach Cal from UK. Coach Cal officially has the strangest group of famous black dudes as friends. Seriously, how does he make these friends? Something about that guy just doesn't sit well with me.
Apparently, the Black Eyed Peas covered one of my favorite Brasilian songs. I found this out moments ago when searching for the original 'Mas Que Nada' to post to the blog. I have to give them credit, they had to dig deep to find this one to steal and they tried to keep it original. Looks like they got classic artist Brazilian Sergio Mendes to participate as well. They even kept a good bit of the original portugese lyrics intact.
This is by far my favorite Cypress Hill / Pitbull, half English / half Spanish track with an oldie background ever! I can't figure out who does that background oldie track .... extra TSAD points to whoever figures it out. Is it CSNY?
Gipsy Kings are technically French (why do you think they have this outraaaaaageous accent?!?), but their style is Catalan. Catalans are the proud people from Northwest Spain who think they are too good for the rest of Spain, similar to those arrogant misplaced French fools up in French Canada. They are credited with bring 'Rumba Catalana' to a global audience. And bringing me to reenact bull fighting scenes and chug sangria every few weeks.
This hungover afternoon, I decided to embark on a musical analysis project that might give me some sort of perspective into my musical tastes and inventory. So, what I did is I let my iPod play 10 songs chosen at random from the general song population. Its fun to rediscover songs you haven't heard in a while and to even hear songs on you iPod that you haven't ever heard before.
Heres the list: (Artist - Song - Album) - Tosca - Busenfreund - Suzuki
- Grateful Dead - Dark Star - 10/31/91
- Gas Face - Tong and Spoon
- Soggy Bottom Boys - Man of Constant Sorrow - O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack
- Mo Horizons - Remember Tomorrow - Putamayo Asian Groove
- I'm on the Wonder - Buckwheat Zydeco - Putamayo Zydeco
- STS9 - Glogli - Arifact - Elvis - Surrender - M.A.N.D.Y. - Put Put Put - Santanta - El Corazon Manda
Lets break it down: - GENRE: Depending on how you look at it, you could argue 8 to 10 different genres are represented - ORIGINATION DATE: 60% of the songs were from the 2000's, one song from the 1990s, two from the 1970s, and one from the 1960s. Clarification: Dark Star was created in the 1960s but this version was played in the 1990s. Some could argue that this would be placed in the 1990s category, because each version of Dark Star was unique. I put it in the 1960s slot after consulting with myself - BEATS: 40% of the songs sampled had beats that originated from an artificial beat machine - LYRICS: 40% had no lyrics whatsoever. 40% had English lyrics. One had Asian lyrics, one had Spanish lyrics
In conclusion, did this exercise and analysis provide me with any new insight into my musical tastes? Not really, but I got to jam out to some good tracks in the process.
This past Presidents Day, I was excited to have the day off and make the trek down to the DMV. Sounds odd I know, but this was a big day for me. I finally was going to have a chance to pay my $95 'New Resident' fee and officially become a Texan! I figured that all of the city workers would be waiting for me at the Dallas Department of Public Records with my obligatory 'New Resident' set of shiny spurs. I figured that they would have a new Cowboy hat with a new Texas nickname embroidered on it ... something like Big Stevie Red or Steve Bob. Enchiladas stuffed with brisket would be served by the oversized plate with my meat straight from a freshly killed cow that had been raised on a ranch somewhere just outside of Mesquite or Frisco .... This was going to be a big day for me!
Well it didn't quite turn out to be the spectacle that I had envisioned. After my 2 hour long wait (the suspense was building) I finally had my chance to talk with the plump lady behind the plexiglass barrier in the basement of the facility. She kindly accepted my sum with no fanfare, so I asked about what I had in store for me now that I was officially a Texan. According to her, 'nothing much, now you just have to pay our taxes' was all I could get out of her. Pretty disappointing considering my expectations, but at least the good news is that now I can officially be called Head of TSAD - Texas Division ... in charge of all things Texas Country, Honky Tonk, Mexican Carnival Music, Dallas Hood Rap, and all other forms of auditory enjoyment that we receive in these parts. Normally I post on Mondays when I get around to it, but I decided to post today on Saturday because now that I'm a Texan I just don't give a shit about a whole lot .... and if you dont like that, then you can kiss my dusty white ass
On the the content, I enjoy my forays into Houston for one reason and one reason only: 105.3 Texas Mix. (listen live: http://www.texasmix1053.com/) Texas Country is its own genre and it differs greatly from the Nashville or Pop country sound that is more common nationally.
Of course, Willie Nelson is a Texas National hero. He is playing here at the World's Largest Honky Tonk, called Billy Bobs in Fort Worth. A pilgrimage is in the works.
Besides Willie, there are several smaller artists that have notoriety throughout Texas only. My favorite find so far is a Brian Burns, who I've heard on Texas Mix a few times. He's not on YouTube with this track, so follow this link to catch an excerpt of my favorite song thus far:
Its quite a ballad, but I have no way to deliver the entire track through the blog, so I highly suggest you download the entire track through iTunes. Its 99 cents, which is like not even a whole taco, or like a micro-drop of oil
His general website is here for your perusal: http://www.brianburnsmusic.com/aj_song_04.htm Interestingly enough, the song and the content on the website pertains to making rattlesnake tequila. I know nothing about Rattlesnake Tequila, but it does have a strange appeal to me as the effects of just 'regular' tequila were starting to become a bit of a bore.
Anyhow, I'll keep y'all posted on any good new finds. When I really want to torture everyone I'll post about the type of shit you hear on every other radio station is Houston.
Somewhere amidst my stumbling through a date last evening, the topic of musical tastes came up. Stating that you 'like everything' seems like an overly standard response to the question, so I thought I would narrow it down to about four genres that I am digging right now. Genre preferences are subject to change frequently, but this is what I'm rocking for the present moment. Fortunately, shes a cool chick and didn't decide to cancel the rest of the evening based upon my unique and abnormal musical preferences.
Here's the list: - Brazilian - includes bossa nova, samba - Club / House - Dance Hip Hop - Bluegrass
Here's why:
Brazilian - The ultimate relaxation tracks. Brazilian music seems to embody the culture, at least as much as I understand it. Flowing grooves, beautiful vocals, a variety of instruments, and distinct rythyms make it stand out as an outstanding member of the latin music realm.
Club / House - People incorrectly generalize that all Club music is 'techno,' which is an incorrect assumption to make. I think when people want to avoid the uncoolness of 'techno,' they overlook a much more diverse genre that includes a variety of different sub-genres. House, Electro House, Ibiza, Club, Trance, Big-beat, etc. all offer a different take. Plus, like eating a hot dog at the ballpark, it all depends on the environment. Don't go to a douched out club, find someone decent to dance with, spend a long period of time on floor and tell me you didn't have fun.
Dance Hip Hop - Love to hit the dance floor!
Bluegrass - It takes me back to earlier glory days carousing around the Blue Ridge Mountains, fishing and kayaking, and basically causing trouble. Bluegrass fits the region perfectly, and the region is one of my favorites. I generally stick with the old favorites, but the track below is actually from a newer group.
The Williams family changed music in the Music City forever starting with Hank Sr. in the late 1940's. Hank's tumultuous career was brief, but changed a budding country music genre.
Hank Jr., subject to more than his fair share of teasing from folks like me, also had a rather interesting career. He started out as somewhat of a Grand Ole Opry novelty at an early age. He eventually became a mainstream country act with classics about why he smokes, drinks, and what his goals are when doing so (to get laid!)
Hank III joined the family music biz back in the early 90's as a way to 'pay child support' and his career blossomed from there. He still carries on that country rebel tradition that is missing in today's typical country music scene. Check out Hank III's thoughts on pop country in 'Dick in Dixie'
You pick your favorite Hank ... I've got mine and I'm seeing him TONIGHT in Nashville. Look for a show report tonight, tomorrow or whenever I get around to it.
Ferry Corsten is one of the trance originals, and he's still busting it out. I rock out just about daily to a live DJ set from the Winter Music Conference, which is held in Miami, FL in conjunction with the Ultra Music Festival each spring. Information on the UMF can be found here: http://www.ultramusicfestival.com/
I'll be in attendance in 2010, so expect a full review of the events. Hoping to see Ferry, as the lineup this year hasn't been announced yet.
From Wikipedia:
Ferry Corsten, also known under the alias System F, (born December 4, 1973 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer.
1989–1999: Early years
Ferry Corsten produced and remixed under many aliases since the release of his first record at the age of sixteen,[1] but he officially started to work as a musician when he was 27 years old. As a teenager he would listen to his father's record player and he would save money to buy his first keyboard by washing cars, and selling mixed tapes to kids in his neighborhood. He later began to perform live performances with a friend and won his first award "De Grote Prijs van Nederland" at Holland in 1989.[2] He eventually released a record with a couple of friends when he was just sixteen years old and later began releasing self-made productions while he grew up in Rotterdam in the 1990s, producing underground hardcore gabber tracks, later expanding into club-house and trance music. His first single to reach a chart position was "Don't Be Afraid" under the alias Moonman, which was only the start for becoming a composer as well. In 1997 Corsten and his partner Robert Smit established a dance label named Tsunami with the Dutch based dance company Purple Eye Entertainment b.v., this junction made the creation of another label possible; Polar State.[3] Ferry Corsten was studying to become an Electrical Engineer, so he went to the Technical Training School and after that Higher Technical Education.[4] [edit] 1999–2002: Rise to fame Main article: Gouryella
In February 1999 Corsten's second solo project, System F, was released on the Tsunami imprint along with the album Out of the Blue, including the same-named melodic tune that became a hit on dance floors all over the world, achieving a top twenty position in the United Kingdom single chart. The follow up single was "Cry", produced together with Robert Smit which reached the UK Top 20.[5]
His growing popularity in the late 1990s led to cooperation with many famous trance DJs and musicians like DJ Tiësto (Gouryella, Vimana), Vincent de Moor (Veracocha), and Robert Smit (Starparty). The track "Gouryella" by the act Gouryella was released in May, the single entered the UK Singles Top 75 at number fifteen and achieved various hit positions throughout the world. The next single was entitled "Walhalla" which entered the UK single chart at number twenty-seven. In 1999 Ferry was elected as producer of the year at the Ericsson Muzik Award in London.[6] In September 2000 the third Gouryella single entitled "Tenshi" was released. In 2000, Corsten also remixed William Orbit's "Adagio for Strings" as well as "New Year's Day" for U2. His remix of Barber's "Adagio For Strings" was awarded at the Dancestar 2000 awards. The Ministry of Sound dance compilation series entitled Trance Nation became one of the best selling dance compilations in the UK and was awarded the platinum status.[7] In 2000 in his home country Corsten got awarded the Silver Harp award for his numerous outstanding contributions made to Dutch dance music.[citation needed]
In 2001 Ferry contributed to remix projects of tracks by Japanese superstar Ayumi Hamasaki. He went on to compose and arrange her heavily trance-based song "Connected," which was released in 2003, along with remixes, as a single in Germany which has sold 4 million copies to date, making this Ferry's most successful song to date.[8]
Ferry Corsten is the electronic dance music artist with the highest amount of dance singles in the UK charts[citation needed]. He currently[when?] has 10 gold singles, between those his 1999 remix of "Madagascar", "Out of the Blue" as his alias System F, both "Gouryella" and "Walhalla" in 2000, "Cry" and the "Dance Valley Theme" in 2001 with "Exhale" which is his latest as System F with Armin van Buuren; and his 2003-2004 singles "Punk" and "Rock Your Body Rock".[citation needed]
In 2004 he launched his first album as Ferry Corsten, Right of Way, in Heineken Musical Hall with 4,500 clubbers at his eight-hour set.[9] The music video of the song was nominated in the TMF Dutch MTV Awards in Netherlands. The album spawned three singles, "Punk" (UK #29), "Rock Your Body, Rock" (UK #11), and "It's Time" (UK #51).
