Crumb and Juan Wauters

Today two albums that were in fear of dropping of the list but together found a spot on the blog: Ice Melt by Crumb and Real Life Situations by Juan Wauters.

Ice Melt. Crumb

It took Crumb five years to release it's second album, following 'Jinx' (2016). While working on Ice Melt the world caved in on itself and that affected Ice Melt according to the band. What I hear is an alternative indie band presenting itself as if in lockdown. The mood of the album in general is closed and subdued. The sound is kept small with only mild excursions into beats or exuberance. The voice of singer Lila Ramani is soft, always just above the music, making band and singer almost one.

The New York based band went to L.A. to work with producer Jonathan Rado (of Foxygen fame) on Ice Melt. If I had to point to his influence, it is e.g. in the change in 'Trophy', where the tempo and mood of the song totally change into something else.

What I notice is that the rhythms on Ice Melt are extremely bare and dry in sound. Almost as if recorded from under a thick eiderdown, synthetic in sound. This results in the subdued sound of the album. This is rather surprising as drummer Jonathan Gilad is capable of playing, in my ears, complex rhythms like in 'Balloon'. A fact that deserves some more emphasis in my humble ears.

All in all it makes Ice Melt an album that is hard to instantly like, while at the same time I think it is an album that is more than just nice to know. It's an album that takes more effort to appreciate. That is one step ahead of Jinx that I remember not taking up all those years ago. Just listen for starters to that lazy rhythm of the title song and I'm sure you'll know what I mean, when I tell you that listening to Ice Melt is worth the effort.

Real Life Situations. Juan Wauters

The track list of Real Life Situations is 21 songs long. Are you kidding me?, I found myself asking before listening to the album. Especially because it was announced as a Latin album and that is not my music.

It turns out to be an album with spoken word sections in between and a hybrid of many musical styles. A little Latin, modern rhythms, hip hop, pop and even more. It results in an album that is free flowing, interrupted by the spoken word that is not for me. I was quite happy to hear a song like 'Locura'. Jarabe de Palo has stopped because of Pau Dones' death last year and now I hear a song like 'Locura'. Dones' lives on alright in a more modern setting.

Juan Wauters is not afraid to throw in a little alternative rock-hop like the Beastie Boys were capable of or Dog Eat Dog, but all a little softer and nicer. 'Presentation' is softer of tone while also edgier. A lot is going on in the song besides the groove that certainly is going and going.

The dance influences are not all on my good side ('Unity') but as a whole Real Life Situations is an album that is quite nice. All these influences blend in into the groove Wauters created. The spoken word section reminds me of Manu Chao's successful solo albums of the 00s. Juan Wauters is a less radical descendent, as he is far more easy going in his songs. The songs as such are no amalgam of street recording, just the interludes are. It's his ode to radio and to surrender. As such it works.

And for all those English speaking folks wondering how to pronounce my name, you all go 100% wrong, for which you are excused, it's the same as Juan's family name, but how does one pronounce that in English? (Spoiler, it's like wow, with a t at the end, dropping the second w.)

Wout de Natris

You can listen to and order Ice Melt here:

https://crumbtheband.bandcamp.com/

and Real Life Situations here:

https://juanwauters.bandcamp.com/album/real-life-situations

 

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

When I Wake Up. Maverick Sabre

There's something strange going on here. It is as if I have seen the picture on the cover before, although I strongly doubt it to be true. There's more strange things going on here. When I Wake Up is not an album that ends up on my good side in general, yet I am writing. And now I'm at it, the third strange thing is that I like the album distinctly better when listening on the stereo than with earphones in.

Maverick Sabre or Michael Stafford as his family knows him, grew up in Wexford in Ireland before re-migrating back to the U.K. where he was born. When I Wake Up is his third album.

The basis of this album is soulful beats. There is a hint at hip hop and rap that is overlain with soul, a basic form of gospel and jazz. It makes When I Wake Up pleasant to listen to, where usually I will have turned an album like this off fast. In part this is prevented by the voice of Sabre. It has a very nice edge to it. The other part is the way the soft beats are incorporated into the songs and melodies. Listen to a song like 'Don't Talk About It'. An electric guitar plays a small, simple but oh so effective riff over and over. The female choir singing the title adds a soft, floating touch in the way it is recorded and mixed into the song.

The first reference coming to mind is G. Love and Special Sauce's first record. I haven't heard it for circa 24 years, so it may be total rubbish to write so, but it does. It is the mood brought on by the drums I would say. There are a few more modern ones. Because of the female voice in 'Slow Down' Amy Winehouse joins the references. I never listened to her beyond a single song on the radio though. Finally I hear some Seal like in his first hit songs.

When I Wake Up presents a mix that goes down fairly well with me and yes, it is a surprise. The album mixes a few atmospheres really well. It is not a happy sounding album, yet it brings me ease and faint smiles on my face regularly. A rare combination, like I wrote: with When I Wake Up something strange is going on.

Wo.

Listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

Boarding House Reach. Jack White

The story on the writing of this album is a bit odd, the cover somewhat disconcerting and the music said to be weird; if I was to believe the media. And that was all before I had heard a single note. Last week I bought the cd, yes, it was very neatly priced on #RSD18. So I decided to emerge myself in Boarding House Reach, to find out whether I would be confronted with a 'Metal Machine Music' or 'Kid A' kind of album or with an album that, with some stamina, would prove to be another fine solo album by Jack White.

So Jack White hired an apartment, set up gear that limited his options considerably, just like he had as a teenager and recorded the basis of the songs he wrote in the apartment. The result, after a lot of workovers, is released as Boarding House Reach.

The beginning of the album, 'Connected By Love', starts with a fairly strange noise but turns out to be a fine song in the now quite familiar Jack White style. Some rock, a little country, some alternative rock for good measure and a great organ solo. The chorus is well worked out with different voices joining White in a, near, vocal, gospel like battle. The slow down to a piano vocal is a tell-tale sign things may be different from usual.

The next song is much slower. 'Why Walk A Dog?' is a song with a totally familiar structure. It's the uncharacteristic emptiness and the slight treatment of Jack White's voice that give it a somewhat eerie atmosphere. The heavily distorted solo guitar throws in a killing sound. There's nothing much wrong with this song.

The funk comes in with 'Corporation'. It includes a Zappa circa 1973 instrumental sequence combined with 'Superstition' keyboards and dance drums. 'Corporation' is different from what we're used to. In Jack White and in general. The female vocals in "who's with me?" give the song a distinct funky, disco flavour. Sly Stone or Prince is not far away here in feel. The music is allowed to go a long way but not all out. The scream takes care of that. Overall 'Corporation' is too strange to be truly danceable. Funky, yes.

'Hypermisophoniac' is where things get weird. Strangely enough it is extremely easy to imagine a White Stripes song here. Despite the fact that there are some jazzy elements, this is a The White Stripes song laid out on a very strange bed. 'Ice Station Zebra', I faintly remember a book I may have read long ago, hip hop elements come by, as does Prince. That typical way of singing Prince could apply. The keyboards and piano also give the tune a jazzy flavour. So here is an overarching theme occurring. Jazz. Is that what makes Boarding House Reach so a-typical?

'Over And Over And Over' starts out with a cool riff on a loud guitar. Things get weird in the "over and over" part. This "chorus", end of a verse is a better description, is sang in a strange way, giving the song a strange feel. Some other weird shit takes place in the instrumental part as well. There is simply no rule in the song. Anything goes and was tried out. Probably a lot of ideas were discarded before the song took on this definite shape. It may well be the only rule for Boarding House Reach: there were no rules, except when something did not work. Just listen to 'Everything You've Ever Learned'. No one thinks up such a sequence in a song if there had been rules. 'Respect Commander' takes even more turns in the intro. Out of the chaos something may rise or fall. It comes as it goes.

By now you should have gotten the gist of this album. Only an arrivé artist can afford to come up with an experimental album like this. It seems even Jack White had doubts whether to release the album as is. He did and that takes courage. I can't say I like all I'm hearing but as a whole this certainly is a nice addition to his now three album solo career. There's no guessing what he will come up next. It seems there's a new The Raconteurs album in the making. Let's see and be patient.

Wo.

Here's the link to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

The infosec review of Tripwire by The Herbaliser

The infosec review of tripwire.

Believe me, it is funky.

===============================================================================

Report Summary:

===============================================================================

Host name:                    prod-db-srv

Host IP address:              192.168.1.10

Host ID:                      None

Policy file used:             /opt/tripwire/etc/tw.pol

Configuration file used:      /opt/tripwire/etc/tw.cfg

Database file used:           /opt/tripwire/lib/tripwire/prod-db-srv.twd

Command line used:            ./tripwire --check --interactive

Remove the "x" from the adjacent box to prevent updating the database

with the new values for this object.

Added:

[x] "/usr/home/olaf/Music/BOS/The Herbaliser - Bring Out The Sound - 09 Tripwire.mp3"

Added object name: 
/usr/home/olaf/Music/BOS/The Herbaliser - Bring Out The Sound - 09 Tripwire.mp3

  Property:            Expected                    Observed

  -------------        -----------                 -----------

* Object Type          ---                         Regular File

* Device Number        ---                         2049

* Inode Number         ---                         8606391042

* Mode                 ---                         -rw-r-----

* Num Links            ---                         1

* UID                  ---                         olaf (501)

* GID                  ---                         staff (20)

* Size                 ---                         7385430

* Modify Time          ---                         Tue 22 Feb 2018 10:01:51 AM PST

* Blocks               ---                         14432

* CRC32                ---                         f84880a3

* MD5                  ---                         5c4206b8095aeac

Please enter your local passphrase:

Incorrect local passphrase.

Please enter your local passphrase:

Wrote database file: /opt/tripwire/lib/tripwire/prod-db-srv.twd

https://github.com/Tripwire/tripwire-open-source

https://theherbaliser.bandcamp.com/track/tripwire

OMK

Listen to the WoNoBlog Playlist here:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g

RE:Freshed Orchestra, Melkweg, Amsterdam, Maandag 4 april 2016

Foto: Jan de Bloois

Release party

Een crowdfunding met tot doel het eerste complete album te maken. Dat is geen simpele opdracht met 17 muzikanten die allemaal ook solo optreden en andere projecten doen… En wat is het toch geweldig die dan weer samen te zien als Re:Freshed Orchestra! 

Voor mij de sensatie in Nederland van de laatste 3 jaren ! Want het is alweer meer dan 3 jaar dat ze bij elkaar zijn in nagenoeg dezelfde samenstelling. Ze hebben twee keer de Uitmarkt in Amsterdam geopend.

Met bandleider Alexander van Popta (keyboards) en mede-oprichter  Furlan Felter als de as van het collectief, omringd door zeer goed geschoolde muzikanten. Van hip hop tot R&B met klassieke invloeden gemixed met funk, soul en jazz. Ja, wat niet?, zou ik bijna zeggen.

Foto: Jan de Bloois

De frontvocalisten Poliana en Esperanza (Pink Oculus) stelen samen met dr. Rum de show. Het is een waanzinnige belevenis dit collectief live te zien. En ja, het was een album release, dus als donateur heb ik trouw de CD meegenomen. Maar eigenlijk is er maar één manier om Re:Freshed te beleven en dat is live! Hopelijk volgt er snel weer een tour.

Foto: Jan de Bloois

Eigenlijk doe ik al het talent ernstig tekort door niet iedereen apart te benoemen: de blazers, cello, violen, drummer, DJ, gitarist, bas, percussie... Ik ga dat nu niet doen, maar ik merk daarbij wel op dat iedereen

in deze band een toptalent is. En dus zeg ik "ga ze gewoon zien binnenkort! En laat je re:freshen."

 

Jan de Bloois

 

Foto: Jan de Bloois

http://www.uitzendinggemist.nl/afleveringen/1363316

Je koopt het album hier op Bol.Com:

 

O. De Staat

Album number four O is. For De Staat it is an important album. With its previous effort 'I-Con' it seemed to have reached the pinnacle of its sound. The influences were integrated in a most organic way, creating a form of hip-hop rhythms infused industrial rock that could upset every place it was played into involuntary and voluntary movements called dancing. The sound was blown up into humongous proportions, as big as it was organic. That was what made 'I-Con' so good.

With the in between mini album 'Vinticious Versions' the band showed that it could alter its own songs into someone else's. As if The Beastie Boys played De Staat e.g.. So where is De Staat early in 2016?

That question is easy to answer. At the top of its game, but different. The band has let in some pop elements, without losing a centimetre of its own identity. The first listening session is extremely pleasant. O is certainly less confronting, so pleases more instantly. There's no need for me to go looking for the beauty in a thorny bush first.

The second thing that catches my ear is that the sound is certainly more down-sized. The rhythms are there, the keyboard sounds are there, the guitars are there and still it is different. The studio the band built for itself in Nijmegen has a quieting influence on De Staat.

What I'm still deliberating is whether the band simply plays less instruments or softer or that the sound is mixed in a more spacious way creating a wider sound. The effect is that O is less directly in my face than 'I-Con' was (and those albums that went before). 'Make The Call, Leave It All' certainly falls into the latter category. It is poppy, sung high-voiced in the choruses. The typical De Staat elements are all there and yet it is so different. Like a prickly pear trying to please, that comes close as a description. Admire the plant without touching. In the same way I enjoy being exposed to this music tremendously.

Where De Staat excels in, is to play what does not seem obvious to play. Usually that tends to dissonance, but not here. The riffs are not standard but remain organic. The album is full of songs holding stranger rhythms, notes on the keyboard that are not aimed to please in a direct way, but together can make a crowd go mad. Like a typical Carnaval hit of the 70s infused with a load of red peppers in darker, nether regions. Where melody was somewhat neglected on the first two albums, it has risen to prominence since and the mix is what makes De Staat exceptional.

It is a step too far to write that De Staat has reinvented itself. Far from. On O the band manages to achieve the same maximum effect without having to go all out. Over the past now seven years I've followed De Staat with interest, reported on it, albums and live, and can let you all know that the band has released another fine album.

Wo.

You can listen to 'Peptalk' here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Rpr-uMg14

or buy on Bol.com

Freedom tower. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Jon Spencer and his Blues Explosion is around for over 20 years by now. I remember listening to some of its albums, but they were not for me. After that I just didn't bother or this is the band's first album in years. Lo and behold, either in 2015 my musical taste has changed considerably, yes it has somewhat. There's no denying there or the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion shifted towards my taste some more. It has. In other words: We have a match.

Freedom tower is funky, it rocks out in an alternative way and there is some hiphop in the rhythms that blends superbly with the rock side of the band and beneath it all there is the elements of electric blues and 60s garagerock. Earth & Fire made a song about this sort of music in 1970. The music on Freedom tower certainly is 'Wild and exciting'.

"Come on, fellas. We've gotta pay some respect" And a killer riff is let loose on the unsuspecting world and starts off a "New wave dance party 2015". Garage rock meets hip hop rhythms and singing and a truckload of self-confidence on display. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is around since 1991 and only has (had) three members: guitarists Jon Spencer and Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins. Although the band lay low in the years around 2010, in one year time it can celebrate its silver band anniversary.

If I had to pick one word only for this review, it has to be "energy". Energy just bursts from this record. Frontwise, up, down and through the seams, from all angles it just oozes out. Simins pounds away herding the other two like cowboys a herd on the plains of the Midwest. Bauer and Spencer play their guitars like there's no tomorrow. Some Lou Reed and his guitarist of choice, let's say Robert Quine, except more dirty than the late Reed could ever have imagined. And no discriminating the other guitarist. Both play an equal role in driving the song on. Together the band does everything between fired up electric blues and the Beastie Boys, with all this energy in abundance.

As such it doesn't make too much sense to pick out different songs. Although I want to pick out the The Rolling Stones sounding guitar sequence in 'Crossroad hop'. Some Richard or Taylor bluesy guitar playing shines through in a small part of the song. A lot of fun. For the rest the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion rocks. One song is better than the other, but rock it does and keeps me smiling through the whole record. And that is something this band has never done before. So there's something to check out as well, as who knows how I favor the band's music in 2015?

Wo.

You can listen to 'Do the get down' here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jBXbzIf7qo

.NoWordsNeedeD, 25-03-2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNZBSZD16cY

.No

Stromae steelt de show. Live Ziggo Dome, 20 november 2014

Na een heerlijk maal bij exclusief sterrenrestaurant Febo Boulevard ben ik getogen naar het concert van Stromae in de Ziggo Dome. Goed geregeld daar: met de Amsterdam Arena en Heineken Music Hall zijn er veel voorzieningen en is bijvoorbeeld de mate van filevorming  na een concert acceptabel.

Stromae is een samensmelting op diverse fronten: nationaliteit (vader Rwandees, moeder Belgisch), sexe (vader man, moeder vrouw) en taal  (Nederlands en Frans). Ook zijn muziek is niet-conventioneel; een unieke combinatie van (softe) hip hop, pop, afrikaanse muziek en ballads. En bijna alles gezongen in het Frans. Zelf kende ik Stromae alleen van 'Alors on dance', een simpel maar pakkend nummer van alweer vier jaar geleden. Tot vorig jaar ik bij toeval de clip van Papaoutai (Papa ou t'est?) zag. Zie ook http://youtu.be/oiKj0Z_Xnjc .

Een van de weinige keren dat ik werkelijk gegrepen werd door muziek en clip. Prachtig opgebouwd, creatief, swingend. Ook een aantal  andere nummers zijn écht heel goed. Dus toen ik door had dat hij zou optreden in Nederland gelijk maar kaarten gekocht.

Op 20 november 2014 gaf hij een twee uur durende show. Samen met vier bolhoedmannetjes, die de voornamelijk elektronische instrumenten bespeelden, en een wervelende lichtshow, enthousiasmeerde hij het publiek in de uitverkochte Ziggodome. Bijna al zijn nummers kwamen voorbij. Het middengedeelte met de paar saaiere nummers (Formidable) gaven mij en vele anderen de gelegenheid om nog even te whatsappen, mail te checken e.d. Gelukkig was dat maar kort. Erg leuk was de Alors on dance uitvoering in jaren 90 stijl met onder andere Faithless, Crystal Waters, Snap (Rhythm is a dancer) en The Nightcrawlers (impressie http://youtu.be/XW9GeAOPFG8 ). De toegift bestond uit het a cappella gezongen 'Tous les mêmes". Ook weer geweldig. Eindoordeel 8.5.

Na afloop van het concert sprak Stromae me nog aan met het verzoek om met me op de foto te mogen.

Bernd

Marrakech (EP). The Future's Dust

Another band that made De Wereld Draait Door this week was The Future's Dust. Another band that in the most recent edition of Oor Magazine is mentioned as Dutch talent for 2014. As my girlfriend regularly watches this show, again she sent me a message to check The Future's dust out. Which I did. The song they played in DWDD was quite special. (Watch 'Tinderlight' here). The four songs on the EP even delve deeper. What moodswings, sinister playing on emotions, emptiness, mystique. The Future's Dust puts itself on a map. Which one is not exactly clear, as this is so far from your everyday music, while at the same time it performes estranged beauty of a superb order.

Yes, it is quite easy to start throwing names around. From Kate Bush's mysticism, to The xx's emptiness and boy - girl singing, to someone like James Blake (who I do not appreciate very much). It is ultra modern music, it is age old and above all complex in the rhythms. Listening to 'Dreamer', the third song on the EP, with its electronically treated vocals, I can imagine ghosts being evoked in the woods of the prehistoric age. The ultimate darkness, the fluttering of leaves and the shapes on the thick tree trunks, the moving, large and heavy branches. The scariness of it all, that moved and inspired our prehistoric ancestors into the fear of Gods and witches.

The Future's dust is a new band from Leeuwarden in Friesland. The five band members also met at a Popacademy. The education must have become very good as one band after the other leaves the academy with a great album and first prestigious show under their belts. Marrakech does not leave much room for another conclusion, than that it is a great debut of this young band.

The music of The Future's Dust is all mood and atmosphere. From this the shapes of songs are built. Starting with the very clear and dry drum sound. Many rimshots come by, laying dry accents underneath each song or carrying whole parts of songs as all melody comes just from singing. Less is more for large parts of The Future's Dust's songs. When 'Dreamer' finally goes off with the guitar and the synths, it comes like a welcome release.

Another thing I notice that the songs seem to go over into each other without a stop. The same drum sound, as if nothing has changed. The difference comes with the singing. It's all of a sudden a different melody, catching me by surprise.

Single 'The fields' is majestic. There are elements that remind me of symphonic rock, without it ever coming close to prog. It is in the mood that The Future's Dust manages to conjure up. Dreamy, a summer holiday on a small boat drifting on the slow current of a river, without knowing what is around the corner. Ideal relaxation, but always a need to be on the watch out. Just as mysterious as the covers of the EP and the singles. Beautiful artwork by Luca Venter, that plays with the light and the shade, just like the music of the Future's Dust.

No one knows what the future will bring, but it does not take much imagination that The Future's Dust first album scheduled for the second half of 2014 may be a stunner of a record.

Wo.

You can listen to and buy Marrakech here.