Love Trio in Dub feat. U-Roy: "Lovers Rock" Video
Related Videos
With the desire to express yet another facet of his musical persona, one that would explore with density the boundaries between jazz, rock, pop and world music, it was decided to record with guitarist/arranger Thor Madsen, drummer Jochen Rueckert, bassist Jesse Murphy and songstress Marla Turner . These, with Ilhan on tenor and keyboard would be the latest incarnation of a continuing project known as Wax Poetic. The pun intended, Wax Poetic was both to go vinyl and to be an armature on which to drape the mnemosonic and dreamy cinematic soundscapes that ilhan sought. Think Dance of the Penguins. Earlier incarnations of the project including a then?unknown Norah Jones, N'dea Davennport and Saul Williams. Skating on glass, dancing on twigs, exploring crisp edges of dub and electronica, this version of the band continues in a tradition begun some 6 years ago. Characteristic of Wax Poetic's web of voice and the effusive persuasion of Thor's and Ilhan's electronic meanderings through levels of the band's id are the pulsating bass of Murphy and the chugging, rock steady backbeats of Rueckert. Says singer Marla Turner, "I don't want to sound like anybody else. I just want to do what I'm doing. That's why I'm with Wax Poetic." In response to comparisons to bands like Thievery Corporation or tenor riffs that conjure those of John Coltraine on electronics, Ilhan has said "There are always going to be influences. You hear them, you reconfigure them and you arrive at something new. That is what I want to do with all my bands, and particularly with Wax Poetic. I wanted a vocally?led situation - you know, songs - and a little improvisation with the emphasis on sound rather than on solos. In fact there is actually not that much saxophone except as obligato behind the band and Marla. It's mostly keyboards with Thor's guitar and beats added to Jochen's, with Jesse's bass. If we happen to sound like somebody or remind you of somebody, maybe we meant that to happen and maybe we didn't. I guess that is the price of being contemporary, you hear things and you accept them or reject them in accordance with what you intend to project. Sometimes it's not what you intended, but I think - insofar as I even do think about it - that that is what makes it art."
In the summer of 1998 ? brought together by a slew of disparate-yet-alluring musical reference points ? high school friends Eddie Baranek (vocals/guitar), Mike Trombley (drums), and Mark Leahey (bass/vocals) formed The Sights. The trio began playing around their hometown of Detroit shortly thereafter, around which time Trombley, founding drummer, headed to California for what would come to be a three-year respite from the band and also the impetus for a revolving door of drummers, bassist and keyboard players. Undaunted , The Sights took to the studio and began recording their debut album, Are You Green?, at Jim Diamond?s Ghetto Recorders in Detroit . Originally released in June of 1999, Are You Green? was picked up by L.A.-based Fall of Rome Records and re-released the following year. Never big on rest, The Sights went to work on their sophomore album, Got What We Want (released in 2002). With this, the band?s freakishly precocious ability to blend frenetic garage rock, Motown and 60?s pop into something equal parts classic and catchy got them noticed. Got What We Want was released in the U.K. a year later, garnering them some very nice words from both the British press ("Got What We Want is a revelation - a treasure trove of sparky and wildly immediate songwriting." --NME) and the not-so British press ("At last - a new Detroit-garage band that comes in colors." --Rolling Stone). The Sights hit the road for a year of touring both countries, including a 10-week stint sleeping inside the group?s 1991 Ford Econoline van and stealing bagels for sustenance. In the spring of 2004, The Sights - now including relative newbie Bobby Emmett as organist/bassist and Keith Fox as drummer- caught the ear of ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, who signed them to his own Scratchie Records ( an imprint of New Line Records). And with that, the band headed back to Ghetto Recorders to record their self-titled third LP, The Sights, due out in April 2005. No small feat, the album combines the unobtrusive honesty of The Band with slivers of influence from The Sights? own personal record collections: Ike & Tina, Solomon Burke, Everly Brothers , Bob Seger, Tim Hardin and all manner of raucous songwriting. The end result is an album that?s classic, not derivative?filled with swagger and deference?and ridiculously catchy. Really.
Every once in a while, a band comes along that undoubtedly evokes something special. You don't know what it is, but you are certain that they belong set apart from amongst the crowd of musical peers in which they lay. You quickly find yourself coming to the foregone conclusion that this band's music is to be revered and will remain relevant for some time to come. Midlake has not only embodied this idealism in the hearts of many already, but with the introduction of their latest album, The Trials of Van Occupanther, they are making it a reality. Midlake formed in the small, quirky Texas town of Denton. There the five diligent musicians toiled to create a sound that was pleasing, as wellas their own. Soon enough they were discovered by Bella Union Records owner and Cocteau Twins bassist, Simon Raymonde. Simon fell deeply in love with the band, and together they began to cultivate a relationship built upon sharing Midlake?s music to the world. The band continuously worked day and night to create what would become their debut album, an album of incredible vision, talent, dedication and eccentricity: Bamnan and Slivercork. Released in June of 2004, Bamnan and Slivercork became a instant favorite for many critics and fans worldwide. After a series of touring stints both domestic and abroad, Midlake rapidly found themselves being embraced by a much larger fan base than ever before. Included in the group was actor and skateboarding legend Jason Lee (My Name is Earl, Mallrats, Almost Famous, etc.). Jason joined forces with Midlake as a huge supporter, promoter, and collaborator, directing and filming a video for their single, Balloon Maker. In June of last year, Midlake appeared with Jason on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson where they were received with an overflow of wonderful reviews. Midlake then retreated home to begin work on their next musical venture. With a desire to reach further within and accomplish something even more unique and of their own, Midlake's determined efforts produced The Trials of Van Occupanther. Tim Smith, Singer/Songwriter for Midlake says, Compared to Bamnan and Slivercork, this album uses less keyboards in favor of acoustic guitar, piano, more vocals and electric guitar. The sound is something more related to 70s folk rock but not in a gimmicky way, hopefully. I have a great affinity for those bands from the 70's, the music just seems to move me more. So when writing this album of course those sounds came out in the music. With the album available worldwide, and critics touting them as a 2006 ?Band to Watch", Midlake is set to further the momentum rapidly growing by delivering an album that is sure to merit such high expectations. Midlake are paul alexander (bass, keys), eric nichelson (keys, guitar), eric pulido (guitar, keys, bgv), tim smith (vocals, keys, guitar), mckenzie smith (drums)
The Shins: "Basement Recording"
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
The Shin's debut full-length, 2001's Oh, Inverted World, was a stunner; resoundingly well-received and landing itself on numerous year-end best-of-lists. MOJO placed it at #14 of the year and commented, "This quartet from Albuquerque, New Mexico captured our hearts this summer with their pristine pop perfection." And, Seattle's The Straner went even further with, "...a referential, brilliant record which had better blow up, or the world has forgotten what pop music is all about." As far as we're concerned it did blow up - seems there's still some hope for the world and its conception of pop music. Since that first record, singer/songwriter/guitarist James Mercer and drummer Jesse Sandoval moved from Albuquerque to Portland, OR and bassist Neal Langford was replaced with Dave Hernandez (ex-Scared Of Chaka), who played bass on the stand-out track from the first record, "New Slang." Chutes Too Narrow, their heavily anticipated follow-up, was recorded in James' basement home studio, with later mixing assistance from Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, David Cross, Les Savy Fav, etc.). And, with 10 songs, clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the new record is a brief yet entirely scintillating glimpse at chiming, reflective and perfectly skewed pop innovation.
Longtime musical collaborators Kyle Fischer (guitar, vocals) and William Kuehn (drums) began writing a new batch of songs in the late summer of 1995, thinking they lacked only a bassist. When they found Caithlin De Marrais (vocals, bass), they knew they had found a uniquely captivating voice to front the band as well. Fischer and Kuehn had met at all-ages shows in Madison, Wisconsin, where Kuehn was cajoled into replacing Fischer on the drums in Ezra Pound (with Matt Tennessen of Pele). Fischer switched to guitar, and the two departed together a year later in search of broader sonic horizons. Meanwhile, Fischer had met De Marrais in a University of Wisconsin poetry workshop where the two had organized extra evening sessions of the class and soon found they were the only ones attending. Here they wrote the poems that would later become songs on the band's first album. Rainer Maria's various releases began mapping their trajectory. The original demo cassette, a run of 350 now long out of print, documents the excited initial efforts of a band just 6 weeks old. Their debut self-titled EP appeared on Polyvinyl as a result of the experience of early tours, playing house shows or all ages "spaces" from Austin TX to Kent OH, even a double-wide house trailer in rural Mississippi packed with 100 melting kids. With the "New York, 1955" single, the band began experimenting with what happened when they turned the volume down. Past Worn Searching signaled the beginning of Rainer Maria as a full-time band. Recorded at the sweltering hot, now defunct Ghetto Love studios in Chicago during Summer 1997, Past Worn Searching and its stripped-down production ushered the full arrival of dueling vocals, sonic excess, and youthful exuberance. That fall, Rainer Maria toured the entire continental U.S. for the first time--more than 50 shows booked by Kuehn himself, including a west coast tour with Braid. The band?s second LP, Look Now Look Again, was released in April 1999 to the open arms of fans and critics alike. Look Now Look Again climbed to 19 on CMJ?s top 200 and spent 16 weeks on the charts. Stellar reviews and write-ups appeared in The New York Times, Alternative Press, Magnet, CMJ, and The Village Voice to name a few. Rainer Maria appeared in Spin three times in the latter half of 1999 and Look Now Look Again was named one of the magazine?s 20 best records of the year. The band would go on that year to record and release Atlantic, a three-song CDEP recorded at Pachyderm Studios (P.J. Harvey, In Utero) in August. Just days later, they band relocated to the East Coast. Rainer Maria then spent the better part of a year holed up in a converted cow barn, the previous home of Pepperidge Farm Bakery?s original dairy farmer. There, they wrote their third and most ambitious album, A Better Version of Me, which was released in January 2001. The album hit the #1 spot on CMJ and was supported by a relentless tour schedule of over 200 shows. Fall 2002 the band again returned the studio to record Long Knives Drawn, their fourth album. As a teaser, the Ears Ring EP appeared early November 2002 and was the band's first new material in over a year-and-a-half. Two months later Long Knives Drawn was released and the band embarked on a two month tour with Mates of State followed by a mini-tour in Canada, and then a tour with Denali. Next up for Rainer Maria is a three week tour with Coheed and Cambria in support of their newest release, Anyone in Love with You (Already Knows) , a DVD of their 3/11/03 Cat's Cradle show filmed by members of Bifocal Media (Braid Killing a Camera, Michigan Fest 2002) which includes a bonus audio CD featuring selected various live tracks the band has been accumulating over the years. Anyone in Love with You (Already Knows) will be released on March 9, 2004.
Get a first look at Project Gotham Racing 3 in action.
This is the film version of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling with life, love and AIDS, and the impacts they have on America.
