Wax Poetic: "Swing Swing" Video

Video description: 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."

Related Videos

Dead Poetic: "New Medicines"

Dead Poetic explores the transformative powers of metal riffs in this video from "This is Solid State - The DVD".

Love Trio in Dub feat. U-Roy: "Lovers Rock"

Hearing a compilation containing a track by U-Roy, the legendary Jamaican dub master in Sweden when he was 13 years old, Ilhan Ersahin, in what was one of his first record purchases was transformed by his experience, realizing in that moment that music would be his calling. With the accusation of a tenor saxophone and a latter ticket to gotham, his fate was sealed. A nine year apprenticeship at downtown Gotham's then?famous Sweet Basil led to association with outstanding denizens of the jazz world and weekly workshops with the like?minded. These nine years were to culminate in a shift to the Lower East Side and Nublu. The genie was now out of the bottle. From this long gestation, Love Trio was born. Among those making the trek east with Ersahin were bassist Jesse Murphy, a young California native who would become bassist with Brazilian Girls, and drummer Kenny Wollesen of Tom Waits renown. The music the trio would make would seek to defy genre. It would be, as Ersahin would insist - just music - his music: "It's the city - its also where we live. I live here, and on the road, and there is the night life mixed with studio life; in a way also DJ life gotten to our compositions because every where we play there always electronics and DJs. In the culture now, it is really a part of everything. I am just trying to live in the moment, in what is now." Borrowing from the dub and rock steady beats of his earliest influences in programming the various keyboards and electronica added to his oeuvre as well as the jazz legacy of his apprenticeship and the sonorities of his ancestral Turkey, the result of the varying styles as an approach to the music the trio would make has been broadening of the possibilities of his composition and trio's improvisation. Working often with guest artists among whom have been the aforementioned U-Roy, trumpet legend Eddie Henderson, vocalist Marla Turner and DJ Logic as on their seminal, eponymous recording, Love Trio, the music arrived at suggest a hypnotic journey through a spare yet muscular landscape that might best be described as a quest in a minor mode - the ethereal quest for the fabled Nublu. A land far away from Tin Pan Alley.

The Analog Girl: "Motionless"

A live presentation of electro-meets-trapeze. Do you see the Montmarte in the background? It is so poetic.

Citizens Here and Abroad: "Appearances"

A lush video accompanies the dreamy tune by this San Francisco band.

Phiaton PS 300 Primal Series Noise Canceling Headphones

The Phiaton Primal Series 300 Noise Canceling headphones are supercompact and packed with features any frequent flier would lust after, but only those with a particular penchant for dance pop, electronica, and hip-hop should consider picking up a set.

"Down in the Valley" trailer

When Harlan Carruthers, a charismatic cowboy who seems as if he would be much more at home in Monument Valley than in the San Fernando Valley, has a chance encounter with Tobe, a bored and restless suburban teenager, both of their lives are turned upside down. To Harlan, Tobe embodies all the purity and innocence impossible to find on the mean streets of L.A., while Tobe is drawn to Harlan's poetic charm and romantic spirit. Despite the obvious difference in their ages and backgrounds, the couple pursues their passionate furtive romance until it becomes apparent that Tobe is unprepared for the intensity of Harlan's love. Then, things take a sudden dangerous turn when Tobe discovers that Harlan is not at all what he appeared to be.

Overdrive PC Torque SLI

Overdrive PC continues its high-end dominance with this latest incarnation of its Hyperclocked Torque SLI system.

The Jive Aces: "Fish Fingers"

The Jive Aces live at the Saint Hill Charity Concert, Sussex, England. Jump, jive and wail to the UK's No.1 jive and swing band and one of the hardest working bands on the road today!

Jack DeJohnette: "Ocean Wave"

The longer versions of these tracks, featuring Jack DeJohnette and Foday Musa Suso will be available on the album by "The Ripple Effect" :"Hybrids" released October 4th 2005 on Jack's label "Golden Beams Productions".

The Project: The Ripple Effect was conceived of as a project to blend some of the elements of modern electronica/dance music with previously recorded music by Jack DeJohnette and some of his collaborators. All of the music on this album was taken from multitrack recordings. Some elements were added, sometimes overdubbed and edited, while other parts were omitted. The structure and composition were altered, but the musicality was retained. While staying true to the original?s feel, a new piece of music was created.

We believe this hybridization of styles is a part of the natural developmental flow of music. Enjoy.

The Artists: As a leader, composer and drummer, Jack DeJohnette has supported some of the most important and innovative musicians of our time, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Carlos Santana, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny. Widely regarded as one of jazz music?s greatest drummers, DeJohnette?s playing has long drawn on sources beyond "jazz." Never willing to sit still long enough to be categorized, he was already describing his work as "multi-directional music" thirty years ago. See http://www.jackdejohnette.com for more information.

Foday Musa Suso is an internationally recognized kora (West African 21-stringed harp lute) virtuoso and a Mandingo griot.Born in The Gambia, Suso grew up in a society where griots function as walking libraries, singing their stories for the community while providing history, wisdom and entertainment. Suso has performed and recorded worldwide with many prominent musicians including Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, Pharoah Sanders, Ginger Baker and Bill Laswell. See http://www.fmsuso.com for more information

Composer/multi-instrumentalist John Surman is one of the key figures in a generation of European musicians who have crucially expanded the international horizons of jazz. He is acknowledged as an improvisor of world class, and composer of a body of work which extends far beyond the normal range of the jazz repertoire. He has performed and recorded with musicians including Elvin Jones, Gil Evans, Karin Krog, John Taylor and Dave Holland. See http://www.johnsurman.com for more information.

Remixer/Musician Ben Surman is involved with electronica projects including Third Zomby and Mind over Rhythm. He is also currently working on remixes for Karin Krog, Colin Walcott and various other artists. As an engineer he has worked with many artists including Herbie Hancock, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Holland, Hermeto Pascoal and Jim Hall.

Marlui Miranda is the most acclaimed and recognized performer and researcher on music from the Brazilian Indians. She has interpreted and adapted traditional chants and songs from many Brazilian Indian nations. Miranda worked with Hector Babenco in the film At Play in the Fields of the Lord. She is a recipient of several grants including a Guggenheim and the Cultural Merit Medal and has recorded and performed with leading Brazilian musicians including Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Egberto Gismonti and Nana Vasconcelos.

Producer/Engineer Big Al is best known for his work with various projects including Mind Over Rhythm, Clone Theory and Clip. His recording studio "The Sonic Kitchen" is responsible for some of the highest quality electronica and dance music to come out of the UK in the past 15 years including work with Plaid, The Black Dog, John Holt, Youth, Dennis Bovell and Zomba Records.

"Ancient Techno" and "Ocean Wave" appear in their original form on Jack's previous release on "Golden Beams Productions": "Music From the Hearts of the Masters."

For more information please visit http://www.jackdejohnette.com

Crossfade TV: Orgone, Foals, Gutter Twins

On the latest Crossfade TV, the Download Music crew checks out soul-funk group Orgone (as Mike Tao says, it's a no-brainer for fans of Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse), and a pair of new Sub Pop bands: Oxford dance-pop group Foals and the dark, moody new Gutter Twins project featuring Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan.