July 2009

The drastic effect of colonization on African nations won’t and probably can’t be fully realized. Obviously, the subjugation of a continent to various European nations can’t be perceived as positive in any way. The rape of the African continent for its resources and its people isn’t going to be explained away be any of the potential ‘civilizing’ tendencies that colonizers may have left behind. The one effect of this process, though, that resulted in something positive – apart from the realization of unity and a culture unique to individual locales – comes through the recorded music of the continent.

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cHRiSgOEsROCk has had a rough six months or so. His earlier blog had a run in with some deleters eventually resulting in the sites permanent closure. And only about a month or so back, he returned with a new offering to internet geeks called Huddinge Hill – which is no doubt in reference to some esoteric music or place, but I have no idea what. Regardless of that, Huddinge Hill soon suffered roughly the same fate as Chris’ first site. But as many things can be said about bloggers, Chris seems to be rather persistent giving Huddinge Hills a go. And while the disc that’s cued up for the write up is from that second site, it’s good to see that Chris is back. Pay him a visit and learn something.

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Dan Nigro, Julio Tavarez, Saen Fitzgerald and Cliff Sarcona of As Tall As Lions, deliver a sophisticated space lounge sound and romantic Buckley-esque lyrics lined with the silky scream of beautiful guitars. Their modernity is underpinned with clean, classic cohesion while layering ephemeral keys, piano, trumpet, and passionate stream of consciousness-like trailings. The combination of electronic effects and keys mixed with the intimate texture of the vocals and intelligent, deliciously bruised lyrics, make As Tall As Lions a must-have this summer.

"In Case of Rapture" is a brand new song of passion and the out of reach desires of life as an adrenaline junkie (my interpretation) while "Circles", which is another favorite of mine- very soft and dreamy, like watching smoke drift and curl, in slow motion in the sun.

As Tall As Lions

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Some ‘60s groups took an overtly poetic approach to writing lyrics that were able to confuse censors as well as the legion of concerned parents that grew up around the ever expanding cohort of kids getting high and diggin’ on beat combos, psych and jazz. While this obscure approach to writing may have saved a few groups some hassles, just as many bands decided to be heavy handed with either their name or their lyrics – the Mothers of Invention were initially called the Motherfuckers and that obviously wasn’t gonna fly. And while Zappa and his brethren were uniquely American, some Dutch players decided to forego any sort of decorum and boldly advocate the use of weed and LSD.

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Kraut sounds may or may not have gained footing amongst the rock intelligentsia over the last decade or so, but even if it hadn’t I would guess that Blues Control would be plying roughly the same territory that the duo’s in now. There’s not a straight cop from any one specific place – it’s all a mix up of cheapo electronics, a mess of keyboards, drums that don’t drop the beat and enough background atmospherics to disallow any Blues Control track from having empty space at all. None of their works are masterpieces, but I’d assume that they’d not want it that way.

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It almost sounds like a ska beat for a minute...but it's not. Rad either way.

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The pedigree of the Artwoods is as impressive as any other underappreciated ‘60s beat combo – the Pretty Things or otherwise. Fronted by the eldest brother of Ronnie Wood, Art Wood – yes the band’s name is clever – wrangled a clutch of British blues and RnB players to go in over a spate of covers that drew specifically from American soul music. That aspect doesn’t make the Artwoods unique in the least and it could be argued that the Animals pulled off a similar coup to better effect. But what Art Wood and his cohort did well – in addition to just re-working some good tracks – was to inject enough soul jazz keyboard as to enliven works that could otherwise have been perceived as average fare.

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The hippies that seemed to grow ever more troublesome as the ‘60s progressed weren’t always so politically motivated – which, I believe, in turn makes one callous and disposable. But while there were cults cropping up here and there in addition to the ever popular veganism and healthful lifestyles of the time, no one group fully embodied the whole deal like the Source Family. Yep, they’re still a moderately creepy cult who yielded to a guy named Father Yod (or Jim Baker), but some of the cult’s members played a few good tunes as well.

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An odd public figure if there ever was one, the musical legacy that John Fahey left behind isn’t done being played out. His ideas and praises can be heard in an ever widening circle of musics. Everything from rock to folk and avant garde noise have embraced the peculiar tunings and odd amalgam of influences that Fahey strove to incorporate in his work during his lifetime. And even if there were times when it seemed as if no one was paying attention, they were. The vacuum that was Fahey’s career in the ‘80s would be exploded during the following decade as he appreciated a second round of much deserved acclaim. He never became a house hold name, but no one really did out of that Takoma roster of folk players.

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Teen clubs apparently were the testing grounds for some groups that ended up breaking into the radio. Performances and the fervor around them wasn’t always a good indicator of a group’s ability to entertain in the format of a record, but the scouting worked out some times. And while Mainstream Records and its head, Bob Shad, were generally more interested in working with jazz acts, the label snapped up an East Coast psych ensemble called the Jelly Bean Bandits based upon the group’s local following. What resulted from the deal might be considered a success, but it still lead to a let down eventually.

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Being born to an acclaimed local teacher and musician who would eventually become a player in the court of the Maharaja probably had at least a little to do with the fact that Ali Akbar Khan become one of the most well known proponents if Indian classical music in the world. Watching his father, and witnessing the respect that he no doubt garnered, Khan would begin vocal training at a young age. And after moving through a series of different instruments, including percussion, he decided that he was most comfortable on the sarod – a string instrument mostly used in Northern Indian classical music.

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The future of Germanic rock and the world’s predilection for more experimental leaning combos might be drastically different if not for Ohr label honcho, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser and his sometimes blatantly duplicitous business dealings. After watching the continuation of some other worldly and problematic conduct, Bruno Wendel and Gunter Korber left Ohr to found Brain Records in 1971. While relatively unknown to the passing enthusiast, Brain would go on to release genre defining work by the likes of Neu!, Klaus Schulze, Guru Guru and some other folks. And while some of those efforts probably have ended up being relegated to a life of obscurity, a few have found a new light in this digital age.

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Noise into a breakdown...

Figuring out which kraut related bands one should delve into is never an easy decision. It is, however, made a bit easier if one’s inclinations towards the use of electronics and synthesizers, in general, isn’t too strong. That being said, there are countless bands to be ignored if the electro-rock thing isn’t up one’s alley. And for that very reason, I ignored Popol Vuh for a pretty long time. Any write up of the group – invariably led by pianist and all around arranger Florian Fricke – gets into his pioneering use of electronics. And while that doesn’t really do it for me, not all of the work in the pretty expansive Popol Vuh catalog is overwhelmed by analog synths and the like.

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