Take Your Vitamins Aurally According to Wikipedia, vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is the timbral foundation of the Hammond B3 organ. I didn't know that before today and I'm too lazy to look up why that's true. All I know is that the members of this vitamin's musical namesake have chops that would make Hugo Weidel proud.
Before you read any further, and in the interest of full disclosure, I feel obliged to admit that Niacin's music is full on, prog rock wankery at its finest. I was raised from an early age on my dad's Emerson, Lake and Palmer collection and am still blown away by Keith Emerson's keyboard skills. This fact easily explains my recent fascination with the works of Niacin.
The similarities are there. They're a power trio consisting of a drummer (Dennis Chambers), bassist (Billy Sheehan) and lead (yes, lead) keyboard player (John Novello). That Emerson-esque Hammond sound is prevalent throughout and, most of all, the music critics' favorite prog rock descriptors like "pompous" and "bombastic" apply in full.
But that, folks, is why I like it. So have a listen.
Both of these are opening tracks for the albums "Organik" and "Time Crunch" respectively. Now if those song and album titles don't scream "progressive neo-fusion" then nothing ever will.
But seriously, the technique and instrumental proficiency are there in spades and that, at least for me, makes up for any lack of "soul" this music may have. For greatest effectiveness, shift your focus from the ridiculous keyboard playing to the background bass lines. Do you hear that? I know right?!
Folks, I just spent a ridiculous 5 nights in Telluride Colorado for the 36th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival. I had ambitions of providing a full review for you all but I am still recovering my ability to create a coherent thought at this point.
I really want to do it justice as well so it may take a while to gather all of my thoughts together. So in the meantime, and in observance of our new format, here is a somewhat related video.
Gonna be a short post this week as I'm knee deep in getting ready to head to Southwest Colorado for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival this weekend. Watch this space in about a week for a full trip report.
Lately I've been listening to a Podcast at work called Endless Boundaries Jam Radio. Its a weekly Saturday night radio show broadcast out of the Northeast that archives their shows and releases them in podcast form. I like it because they play a lot of my favorite bands but also feature a lot of music that is completely new to me. One genre that gets a lot of play is dub reggae which I have really taken a liking to.
Because the copyright restrictions for podcasts are different from live radio play, some songs that were on the nightly show cannot be put on the podcast. Recently the host Jaybird has used the song "Herb Tree" by Collie Budzz a couple of times to fill that blank space on the podcast.
Obviously, its not difficult to see what the subject material of the lyrics are but that's not why I like it. The guy's voice is so chill and the song so relaxing that I can't get enough of it. He has only released one album, a self titled effort from 2007 but there is a new on in the works. To hear more, check out some tracks from "Collie Buddz" below.
Ever spend time on Google just searching for random things for no good reason? No? Well, I do. And recently one of the things that came to my mind was my place of employment, Ptarmigan Sports. After finding our comically out of date webpage I looked through the remaining results and stumbled upon a band from Toronto called Ptarmigan.
At the time, they were allowing for free downloads of their new album "Our Ancient Friends". Being one to never turn away from free new music, I snatched it up and gave it a casual listen. Well it didn't take long for that casual listen to turn into a fully focused aural experience.
If you at all liked my review of the band Tapes 'n Tapes then it won't take you long to get into the musical offerings of Ptarmigan. They have a spacey, reverb heavy sound with guitar work and crescendos that are often reminiscent of post-rock. You can listen to the entire album below thanks to lala.com
Raq is a jam band. Phish are a jam band. Raq are from Burlington, VT. Phish are from Burlington, VT. Raq recorded their third studio album "Ton These" in The Barn, Trey Anastasio's recording studio. People have even said that Raq guitar player Chris Michetti tries to look like Trey on stage. The comparisons between Raq and Phish could (and have) gone on and on but the fact of the matter is that Raq just rock.
Or at least they did...
I didn't expect my research into the band to lead to the revelation that they are no longer touring together. While not officially broken up, things don't look good. The quartet of Michetti, Jay Burwick (bass), Greg Stukey (drums) and Todd Stoops (keys) have called it quits for the time being but have tentative plans to play again in the future. This is really too bad as they were one of the most energetic and entertaining live bands I've seen.
Michetti absolutely rips on guitar with intense and intricate face melting solos. Stoops is also super talented on the keys and makes sick, technical progressions look easy. Plus the guy has such a goofy, infectious stage presence that you can't help but smile when hes tearing it up.
On another personally depressing note, all of the good video I could find of Raq's live performances come from an '05 recording at Vail's now defunct Club 8150. The loss of that place was a huge blow to the area's music scene and, coupled with the devastating fire at State Bridge, basically saw the end of Vail's days as a touring stop for up and coming jam bands.
Anyway, I'll stop crying into my mustache and give you what you all came here for.
First up is Beauregard, a fast paced pure rock song.
Next is Brother From Another Mother, a funked out rocker that segues into a spacey psychedelic jam.
If you don't think they're at least Phish disciples yet, then listen to Nancy's Jig.
At the end of the day, Raq are (were?) a great band to see live, especially in an intimate venue surrounded by like minded individuals.
If you want to hear some more live Raq, check out their recordings at The Live Music Archive by clicking here.
My personal favorite show is from January of 2004 at Cervantes in Denver. The set kicks of with an unbelievable "Carbohydrates are the Enemy". You can hear it by clicking play below.
Nostalgia makes me feel good. I was recently recruited to make a mix for a Memorial Day party and in my searches for music I came upon a host of artists and songs that used to get a lot of play in my rotation years ago. Rediscovering these tracks ended up being a big distraction from my original duty but it was definitely rewarding.
The group that is the focus of this weeks post, however, succeeds in bringing out that big time nostalgia but with newly created music. Anamanaguchi, according to their website, "makes loud, fast music with a hacked NES from 1985". There really is no better way to describe it. Being a 26 year old kid who still remembers unwrapping his Nintendo on Christmas Eve, this music hits a sweet spot.
It started back in high school with the Minibosses who recreated songs from NES games like Contra and Castlevania with a full band ensemble. Anamanaguchi takes it one step further by literally playing a Nintendo but as an instrument rather than a gaming console. And unlike the Minibosses, Anamanaguchi's songs are all original compositions.
They recently released their second full length album "Dawn Metropolis". You can use the handy little tool below to check out some tracks from the album with 8-bit video accompaniment (definitely listen to Blackout City).
This stuff falls nicely into the guilty pleasure niche for me. I'm not going to blast it at parties or fire it up on a road trip, but, if I ever need to get out of a bad mood or just want to grin and bob my head a bit, Anananaguchi are the perfect medicine.
Here is a some unfortunately sub par video that will give you an idea of what the setup looks like.
If you didn't grow up playing Nintendo for hours on end then this stuff may not be your thing, but, if you're interested in more from Anamanaguchi check out these links:
Festival campsites and concert parking lots are prime locations for finding new music. The sheer volume of like minded people you are bound to run into means that your odds of hearing something new and interesting are extremely good. It is also very likely that there will be a handful of diligent promoters, artists and street teamers at these places handing out samples of their band's music.
An encounter with one of these folks at my second 10,000 Lakes Festival in the summer of 2004 facilitated the discovery of a band called New Monsoon. The disc was a recording of their performance earlier that year at Last Concert Cafe in Houston, TX. After plugging it into the CD player right then and there it didn't take long for us to realize that these guys had something special going.
In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a big fan of jam bands and New Monsoon fits that niche extremely well. But that's not all they have going for them. I also really enjoy bluegrass and occasionally play some banjo. My favorite New Monsoon songs are mostly banjo driven and adopt the best elements of bluegrass to create upbeat, extremely danceable music.
A great example of that fusion is the song "Daddy Longlegs", which also happens to be the first New Monsoon song I ever heard. Here is a two part video of them performing it.
Like any good jam band, however, New Monsoon also like to groove. Here is an older performance (2003) of an excellent song "Double Clutch".
My favorite commercial release of theirs is their "Live at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival" recording and is definitely a good introduction to the energy and versatility of the band. The opening track, "Mountain Air" definitely rips and can be heard by clicking below.
Next would have to be their most recent studio album "V" which is their best in studio work to date. One of my favorites from that album is "Romp" another high energy instrumental that you can hear by clicking below.
For more songs these guys, check out the plethora of tracks that are available at lala.com below.
You may have noticed that in recent years that some artists have started to go all out with their album releases. Additional content above and beyond the album has become the norm as a reaction to slumping album sales as internet downloading (both legal and illegal) has increased its foothold. Bands are now faced with the choice of either taking the risk on an album only release or offering bundled incentives that will entice listeners and fans to buy a hard copy rather than download.
One recent example of this phenomenon are the three recent "Flatlands" releases from West Coast electronic artist Nalepa. The original album was released earlier this Spring on the 1320 Records label (STS9, Pnuma Trio, Eliot Lipp, JFJO) and features the gorgeous and cerebral ambient music of Steve Nalepa. Self described as "glitch-dub", Nalepa's style of music seems initially understated and relaxed but after only a short time of listening the atmospheres he creates become unique and engrossing.
Around the same time, another album was released entitled "Flatlands: Remixes" which, as you may have guessed, contains remixed versions of tracks from the original album. This round of songs feature a host of artists and a much wider variety of styles ranging from downtempo to dub to dance. Here is a side by side example of an original Nalepa track "Monday" compared to its remix by the Glitch Mob.
Third in the trilogy of Flatlands releases is "Flatlands: Video", a stunning compilation of visual interpretations of Nalepa tracks. Having not only been an influential musician, Steve Nalepa is also heavily involved in the visual end of artistic expression often combining both in his performances. This video is a nod to that cooperative creativity and showcases some truly amazing talent from a handful of visual artists. Here is a taste of what "Flatlands: Video" has to offer (watch full screen in High Quality mode):
All three of these releases are available on their own but can also be bought as a bundle at a discounted price giving listeners (and watchers) a chance to try one or two or to go the distance and get all three. The full package is definitely worth it.
Though it may seem historically appropriate, no, this post is not about U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's economic programs of the 1930s. As matter of fact, the subjects of this post are not even American. Drummer Darren Shearer, bassist Dan Kurtz and keyboard player Jamie Shields are all members of Canadian group The New Deal. Formed in 1998 after a jam session in Toronto, The New Deal have been offering their unique "progressive breakbeat house" to listeners across the world.
In recent years, however, The New Deal in its purest form has been an elusive gig only performing a few shows a year. But, rather than become reclusive the members of The New Deal have branched out and formed/joined new groups with equally as impressive results. When Kurtz left the band to form Dragonette, Shields and Shearer formed The Join...kind of. The Join is a constantly evolving group of musicians with only Shields and Shearer as the constants. Their first iteration featured David Murphy of STS9 on bass. Other shows have seen then play with Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner of the Disco Biscuits. Tom Hamilton and Clay Parnell of Brothers Past have also joined in on the experiment. This approach, while ambitious, leads to a unique experience for every show.
Shields and Shearer have also recently formed a one-off group with Ryan Stasik (bass) and Brendan Bayliss (guitar) of Umphrey's McGee called the Omega Moos. For these gigs its really all about throwing off each respective band's expectations and mixing it up.
These guys are all over the place under a bunch of different names but they still haven't lost their roots. The New Deal proper are playing a couple of U.S. dates (Chicago 5/29 and Red Rocks 5/30) before heading to Japan.
If you're looking for more from The New Deal check out their catalog of live shows at The Live Music archive here. You can do the same for the Omega Moos here as well as The Join here.
This my personal favorite New Deal show from the Palladium in Worcester, MA back in 2003. Highlights are the 3rd track "VL Tone" and the 13th "Gone, Gone, Gone". For a detailed setlist click here.
We are all acutely aware of how rare it is to see music videos on television anymore. Its almost become cliche to mock MTV for its lack of actual musical content. And what they do show is only available to the insomniac viewers who like artless, self promoting crap. I've simply come to expect that in order to find anything good anymore, you have to look online.
So, in the interests of brevity, I'll jump right in.
This first video comes from Kwoon, a French post-rock band. The art is exceptional and the action follows the story arc of the lyrics. The song is very dramatic and really fits what is on screen. Title is "I Lived on the Moon" from the album Tales and Dreams.
Next is a great stop-motion video from Oren Lavie, a folk/pop singer from Tel Aviv Israel. While stop-motion is nothing new in the music video world (just ask Peter Gabriel) it can still be done right. The tone of the song mixed with the whimsical nature of the video make for a good combination. Title is "Her Morning Elegance" from the album The Opposite Side of the Sea.
British artist Jarvis Cocker gave is this next video in 2006. After fronting the band Pulp for years, Cocker released his first solo album, Jarvis, in November and from that came his first single "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time". The video for this song is a creative play on fake, in-studio car scenes and made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it.
For those of you familiar with Boards of Canada, you already know of their great music but reclusive nature. Not ones to favor the camera's eye, it took until their 2006 EP, Trans Canada Highway, for them to release their first official music video. While the beginning footage for "Dayvan Cowboy" is not original it has an amazing story behind it. The man falling from space is Joseph Kittinger, an Air Force officer who, in the summer of 1960, leapt from a weather balloon at an altitude of almost 103,000 feet. The music really fits the video here.
Last, but not least, is one of my favorites of all time. Kung Fu fighting Cowboys on Mars, Scantily clad damnsel in distress, robots, unicorns, lasers, etc. etc. You name it Muse had it in their video for "Knights of Cydonia". I actually owe my discovery of this video (and Muse) to MTV's extremely late night block of music videos. This video and its album Black Holes and Revelations started a coming out party for Muse and started it right.
Thats all for now. If you have any suggestions of your own music video favorites from classic to contemporary, feel free to post them in the comments below. You can even post bad ones if you're so inclined. Sometimes those are more entertaining than the good ones.
There is often a fine line between genius and insanity. Both sides of the spectrum constantly toiling for dominance. Aaron Funk, known more commonly as Venetian Snares, has forsaken this psychological battle entirely, choosing instead to fully embrace the best (and worst) characteristics of both sides. As one of the premier names in electronic breakcore music, Funk has composed a massive discography (21 albums since 1998), the lion's share of it imagined, devised and performed by him alone. The music that comes from this man's head is some of the most complex and creative music I have come across.
It is, however, very difficult to write about the music of Venetian Snares primarily due to the fact that I actually dislike most of the songs he has released. His discography is a veritable minefield of insane, unlistenable and frankly terrifying tracks that it seems no one in their right mind would ever want to hear. His style is often abrasive and his album and song titles can be dubious in nature. But sprinkled into that giant mess are some gems that truly shed light on this man's talent and dedication to his craft.
One of Venetian Snares' most ambitious, and probably most accessible, albums is 2005's Rossz Csillag Alatt Született. In Hungarian, Rossz Csillag Alatt Született translates to "Born Under a Bad Star". The album, inspired by a previous visit to Hungary, combines traditional orchestral compositions with Funk's shattering break beats. Compared to his previous body of work, this album was truly a departure from Funk's previous electronic-only releases.
The fifth song on the album, Hajnal, opens with terse staccato strings including samples from Niccolò Paganini's 7th Caprice in A minor. Piano and horns enter as the song progresses leading into a short, jazzy break. A return to the opening theme puts the song on an inevitable collision course with Venetian Snares' signature drill-and-bass attack. Elegant Baroque strings coexist with relentless, skittering beats and diverse electronic samples.
Editor's Note: If you really want to hear the intricacies of each recording I recommend skipping the videos and clicking the link for high quality audio below each one.
Now, I completely understand if I've lost some of you already. This style of music is not for everyone. It took me a while to wrap my head around it, but I think that aspect is what I find most attractive about it. More traditional electronic music relies on simple themes and sections repeating over and over, while Funk's music is meticulously crafted and wholly unique from one bar to the next. Your brain is constantly at work trying to analyze what you just heard but the sounds change so quickly it forces you to completely release and just absorb it as it comes. This is not background music.
For me, a great deal of Venetian Snares' albums are complete throwaways. Some may have a good track or two but cannot be listened to in their entirety. If you are interested in hearing more from him, I'll save you the trouble of wading through the entire catalog.
Aside from Rossz Csillag Alatt Született also check out its 2007 follow up release My Downfall (Original Soundtrack). Don't be fooled by the title, there is no film involved. Instead, it is meant to be the soundtrack to Aaron Funk's figurative "downfall". My Downfall carries on in the style of its predecessor mixing classical instruments with spastic breakbeats. Here is my favorite track from this album, Integraation.
For more "traditional" Venetian Snares, try The Chocolate Wheelchair Album. The fourth track, "Einstein-Rosen Bridge", is probably my favorite of all of his songs. It is a bit more structured and has a great beat.
Another good starter album is 2006's Cavalcade of Glee and Dadaist Happy Hardcore Pom Poms (yes that is the title, I told you this guy embraces his insanity). One of my favorites from this release is the third track "Pwntendo". This one is for all of you who played too much NES as a kid. Funk incorporates some nostalgic 8-bit sound samples too good effect.
You can also access all of the over 200 Venetian Snares songs that I have in my iTunes library by downloading Simplify Media and sending an invite to my screen name, "steveklay". Explore at your own risk.
For the last two to three years of my college life I subsisted musically on an almost exclusive diet of live recordings. My taste was unrelentingly entrenched in what could be loosely (and for lack of a better word) described as the "jam band" genre. Phish, String Cheese Incident, Umphrey's McGee, and a host of lesser known but no less cherished bands were my food and drink. The Live Music Archive was my mecca.
Due to the nature of these bands' heavy touring schedule and improvisationally tilted approach to performance, they had a tendency to be amazing on stage but entirely underwhelming in the studio. Because of this phenomenon, I almost completely lost my faith in album rock and rarely sought out commercially released music.
It took a thousand mile move across the country, a new job at a music store, and a debut album from a quartet of unseasoned Minneapolis indie rockers called Tapes 'n Tapes to change all that. Freshly settled in Colorado, I was still green at the new job but already loving the employee discount. I spent a lot of time (both on the clock and off) familiarizing myself with the product.
Impulse buys are always done with the best intentions and never for the best reasons but we are all guilty of it on occasion. It was the album cover of The Loon (pictured above) that facilitated this musical pot shot. If there were any other reason for me to pick this one out from all of the others, the memory of it has long been washed away due in large part to my appreciation for its contents.
The blunt and ringing opening notes of the first track "Just Drums" quickly make way for dense guitar strumming, heavy drums, deep bass and the distorted, gritty vocals of front man Josh Grier. To someone more familiar with the genre, it may have sounded like just another wannabe indie group grasping for a foothold but for me it was different. There was an irreverence about their sound, an edge that was completely missing from everything else I was listening to at the time.
What comes out of that irreverence is what I admire most about The Loon. The band could have stuck with that style that drew me in from song one, but instead the album jumps from one style to another, highlighting nearly each of the band's musical influences in the process. And the best part is, it never loses its impetus or that newly discovered audacity.
One of the best tracks on the album, "Insistor" is a fast paced, country infused, polka chorused assault with excellent vocals.
"Omaha" is a complete change of pace from "Insistor" but shows how the band can switch gears stylistically.
The pace picks back up again with "Cowbell"
Another favorite, "In Houston", mellows a bit but is lyrically charged.
Before hearing this album, I was content to leave Indie to the "hipsters". Now I'm waist deep in a genre so expansive and full of creativity that it is impossible to keep up.
Thanks to lala, you can listen to all of The Loon right from this page:
I've decided to dedicate this weeks post to my mom, Dayna, who just celebrated her birthday on Sunday. I have no reservations saying Ozomatli is her favorite band on the planet right now and she was lucky enough to see them on Friday night (with a rare appearance by longtime collaborator Chali 2na) at the House of Blues in Chicago.
Ozomatli has been around since their formation in Los Angeles in 1995 and still retain a core of six original members: Asdru Sierra (lead vocals, trumpet), Raul Pacheco (lead vocals, guitar, tres, jarana), Justin Poree (rap vocals, percussion), Wil-dog Abers (bass, backing vocals), Jiro Yamaguchi (tabla, percussion, backing vocals) and Ulises Bella (sax, clarinet, requinto jaracho, keyboards, backing vocals).
Their first album, the self titled Ozomatli, was released in 1998 and was my first exposure to their music. Many of the songs on the album feature the vocals of rapper Chali 2na as well as Cut Chemist's turntables, both of which I was familiar with from their work with Jurassic 5. The album is full of energy from front to back and, while retaining an overall Latin sound, draws from a host of musical genres.
One of my favorites from Ozomatli is "Cut Chemist Suite" which features, you guessed it, Cut Chemist and Chali 2na.
Another highlight and a great example of Ozo's blend of Latin and Hip-Hop is O Le Le, performed live with Chali 2na in this video.
Their live performances are rowdy to say the least. It would be difficult for even the most self conscious concertgoer not to move their feet at a show as Ozomatli love to get the crowd into it as much as possible. They are even know to enter the audience on occasion and roam the venue forming drum circles/conga lines.
Since their first album, Ozomatli have released four other LPs, Embrace the Chaos (2001), Street Signs (2004), and Don't Mess with the Dragon (2007), all of which are solid but never hit me the same way as their debut effort.
Here are a couple of favorites from those releases.
"Performance is the Product" That is the motto of The Bays, a UK improvisational dance music outfit who have neither a record label or commercially released music. It basically means that they are defined solely by the music they present on stage each night and nothing else. The Bays do not rehearse before shows nor do they even have "songs" much less a set-list. What comes from this group on a nightly basis is always new and purely a result of their interaction with the crowd and each other.
You could argue that this is a dangerous way to approach a live performance where a paying audience is expecting success. Even bands that only "jam" for parts of their shows can disappoint listeners who are expecting more from their improvisation. To do so for an entire set is asking for trouble. But that's the way The Bays like it. For them, every show is a challenge to be met and they do it well.
Former member Simon Smugg explains The Bays' performance strategy best when he says “If you do like 70 gigs of a set that you’re just doing every night, I would imagine that you were not actually giving value for money near the end. You’d just be sort of pissed off and know it back to front. But every gig, we’re basically shitting ourselves a lot of the time because we have no idea what’s gonna happen. Not only do I not know what they’re gonna do, I don’t know what I’m gonna do, and that applies for all of us, so it’s very edgy all the time. That tension comes across and that’s why people get into it.”
This attitude was taken to the extreme in 2008 when The Bays decided to perform a live improvised set with The Heritage Orchestra during Liverpool's Fresh Festival. Not only were they taking the usual risks of an off the cuff performance but they were also adding to that mix an entire orchestra that was wholly unfamiliar with their style. The results, however, were outstanding and reaction from the band, orchestra and audience were overwhelmingly positive.
Check out a short video about the performance here:
The Bays are Andy Gangadeen (drums), Chris Taylor (bass), Jamie Odell (keyboards), and Simon Richmond (effects and samples). Their style is influenced by many different forms of electronica (a term that is as frustrating to me as it is to Steve P) which manifest themselves in a different way each set. Some nights will showcase their grasp of washy, synthed out ambience while others will be a straight up drum and bass throwdown. Their sets are seamless and sections blend in and out of each other on the whims of the members.
Though there isn't much quality video of their sets online, there are plenty of places to get live audio. Here are a few links to get you started on listening to The Bays:
TheBays.com (featuring mp3 downloads and videos) Spoida's Web: Set a Day (download links seem to be broken, I'll re-upload and link these sets later tonight)
EDIT: Here is the audio I promised. 6 different recordings, 2 per download. Part One 2001.06.09 - Drum Rhythm - Amsterdam, 2002.08.24 - Hotaka Festival - Japan Part Two 2002.10.30 - Boat Club - Nottingham, 2005.01.08 - Jazz Cafe - London Part Three 2006.03.04 - Rhythm Factory - London, Jockeyslut Presents
The Bays gained some notoriety amongst American jamband fans after their performance prior to the 2006 Jam in the Dam festival in Amsterdam. After befriending the members of Umphrey's McGee and The Disco Biscuits, The Bays were invited to Camp Bisco 6 in the summer of 2007. This was their first performance on American soil and, as far as I can tell, their last. They don't make their way accross the pond very often but keep an eye out just in case.
"If you're free to choose which model you employ / might as well pick the one that brings you joy" -The Ally, "Amop"-
These days it's easy to take for granted the music that we are lucky enough to hear on a daily basis. It is available to us nearly everywhere; from established mediums like radio and music stores to the newest and most accessible venue, the internet. Practically any music imaginable is available right at your fingertips every minute of every hour of every day.
Gone are the days of going to the record store on the day an album dropped or seeing your favorite bands new video on television for the first time. These traditions have been replaced by the “convenience” of iTunes and YouTube. Every once in a while, however, you stumble across something meaningful in such an unpredictable and capricious manner that it reminds you of how fortunate we all are to be able to enjoy the music we listen to.
It started with The Disco Biscuits. When you delve into the catalog of a band with such a massive base of live recordings to choose from you will inevitably come across that group’s side projects which, for the Biscuits, are many. One of those uncovered side projects was JM2, a group that existed briefly toward the end of 2003 and beginning of 2004. JM2 consisted of Marc Brownstein (bass) and John Gutwillig (guitar) of the Disco Biscuits along with Jamie Shields (keys) of The New Deal and Mike Greenfield (drums) from a band I had never heard of called The Ally.
Already familiar with the work of the first three members I decided to see what I could find out about this new group The Ally but was met with brick walls in every direction. Nothing on Wikipedia, no MySpace page, no listing on All Music, not even Google could help. Jambase offered a hint of an album called “Action” but the link to buy it was long dead. More confused than angry I gave up the search and called it a day. They must not have been that good anyway.
Not long later, however, I was reading a music blog not too dissimilar from this one and the writer was describing his admiration for a “hidden gem” of an album called “Action” from a now defunct Philly band called The Ally. I couldn’t help but ask for a copy and he thankfully obliged. It took one listen for me to be hooked by The Ally’s self described “roots fusion” sound. Having emerged from the Philadelphia jam band scene at the same time as The Disco Biscuits, their lone release is fittingly tinged with multiple musical influences ranging from funk and reggae to electronica and drum and bass.
For me, the highlight of this album are the vocals of lead singer John Yohan Kim (Kimbo) and bass player Ira Wolf Tuton. While the style of their songs range from one genre to the next, Kimbo and Ira’s voices have no problem keeping up. Their smooth harmonies create an extremely infectious, chilled out vibe and gives the songs an ambiguous familiarity like you’ve been grooving on them for years. In addition to Kimbo’s singing he also displays his chops on violin and sax. The album also features the drumming of the aforementioned Greenfield, as well as Eric Zeiler’s guitar.
Since no decent recording of the albums songs exist on the web I've uploaded a few tracks from "Action" for you to check out. Once you click the links you have the choice to either stream the track or download it.
"Wooden Boat" is the first track on the album and does a great job of setting up the rest of the album. Tight harmonies and rhythm section and a flowing upbeat groove throughout.
On the fourth song on the album, "Options", The Ally shows their affinity for reggae and Kimbo's voice really shines with a little added edge to his delivery.
The biggest grin inducer of "Action" comes with the fifth track, "Amop". Unabashedly poppy but equally as optimistic this song has the most infectious chorus of the entire album.
As we get deeper into the album things get a bit heavier and a lot more experimental. Tracks 6 through 9 all flow seamlessly into one another creating a 21 plus minute block of eclectic groove. It starts of with the blues/funk of "Inner Pilot" which then, without warning, drops into the thumping beats of "Dear Mr. Gold". Next is the more subdued and cerebral electric groove of "Touching" which gradually climaxes into the Latin and hip-hop infused "2CE".
I hope you enjoyed my first post on Top Shelf Audio Daily. Be sure to share our blog with your friends along with your own music and experiences. See you next Tuesday.
