With the release of his full length album Another Door, Brandon Grafius brings an alternative Americana feel to classic folk songwriting. Lush with pedal steel, slide guitars, and bopping harmonica, the songs reach towards becoming southern country anthems at times. Though songs are diverse from one another, there is a glue that holds this record together like a concept album. Most importantly, this album never loses sight of the emotional platform great songs are built from.
The first single "Through The Rain", is a rolling country track that quickly becomes an addicting instant classic.
“Through the Rain” came about while I was lying in bed listening to a thunderstorm. I grew up in Michigan, where thunderstorms are common, but during my time in California I might have heard two cracks of thunder throughout the seven years I spent there. So I always appreciate thunderstorms, and remember what it was like to miss them. During this thunderstorm, I was thinking about someone I wished I was with, and imagining the two of us together. In the last verse, there’s a nod to these thunderstorms representing tough times in life - sometimes, in order to ride out the storm you need to find someone to be close to and share a glass of wine with," explains the songwriter of his single.
Although the single speaks volumes for the album, in order to get the full understanding of where Brandon is coming from, it should be listened to in its entirety. From calm and soothing ballads to up beat folk rock, these songs all seem to hit home. A song like "Lilacs" is a classic rock ballad with elements of country scattered throughout.
As Brandon tells it, “Lilacs” is a deeply personal song, even though it’s a narrative about a woman who’s leaving her husband. My marriage of 14 years ended this year - it’s far and away the most traumatic experience I’ve ever been through. There’s a lot of grief, a lot of anger, a lot of bitterness. One of my closest friends was also going through a divorce at the same time, and she shared a story with me about when she knew she needed to leave her husband. She’s always been drawn to lilacs. They had a lilac bush at the head of their driveway, a wilting, spindly thing that really wasn’t very pretty. But it was still a lilac. They argued for years about whether it should stay, and finally she came home from work one day to find that he’d dug the bush up. In my own house, we had a flowering bush outside of our breakfast nook, maybe a gardenia or something. It would always bloom in the spring, and the morning light would hit it while we were eating breakfast. So those two stories contained the germ of “Lilacs.” As I was thinking about the shape the song might take, I started to wonder what it would be like to write a song about divorce that was from a perspective other than mine, as a way to work towards empathy instead of bitterness or anger."
Brandon Grafius has been performing for over 20 years an running. Having gigged in coffee houses, churches, bars, concert halls, and outdoor festivals, it's clear live performance has always been a huge part of his artistry. After receiving his MA in English concentrating on poetry, Brandon spent three years at a church in Lansing where he led the contemporary worship service and directed a praise band. It was then that he learned to play banjo to add different textures to the songs performed there. The "Another Door" album is a compilation of life experience and personal spirituality.
"There are several major evolutions to my sound in this album. First of all, I’ve become a much better guitar player over the last few years, and I think it shows. (I’m particularly proud of the finger-picking on “Lilacs.”) I’ve also incorporated my banjo as a major feature of several of the songs - “Keep Knocking,” for example, is almost entirely banjo-driven. In addition, I made the decision early on in this process that I wanted to feature top-notch harmonica, dobro, and pedal-steel players as a way to hang the album together and take some of the focus off one guy and his guitar. I think the sound is still warm and intimate, but also expansive enough to maintain interest and keep the songs moving along," says Brandon of his songwriting process and his upcoming album release.
Brandon has been playing around the Lansing area in support of his release and is planning to expand his performance base in the near future. His album is set to be released in early November of this year and will be available on most digital outlets for streaming and download.
To learn and hear more of Brandon Grafius, please visit: brandongrafius.bandcamp.com
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
New Life in an Old Ceremony: Elikeh Experiences Its Kondona
Music can change everything. As the poet wrote, it has charms to soothe the savage breast. And it can also bring a band back from the dead, giving it a new spark of energy and creativity. For Washington, DC-based Afropop band Elikeh, the results of that musical resurrection are proudly displayed on the EP Kondona (released November 20, 2015).
“We were thinking about ending the band,” recalls Elikeh’s founder, Togolese-born Massama Dogo. “We were going to play the shows we had booked and then let it go. We had a meeting to decide what to do and our guitarist kept playing the whole time. He came up with an idea, then someone else joined in with it, and another person, until we were all jamming and we had a song. The sax player recorded it and when we listened back later, we knew it was something great. The feeling was back.”
Going into the studio they recorded the piece, now aptly titled “The Conversation,” along with two other tracks that make up Kondona, bringing the EP out on the fifth anniversary of the band’s first album,Adje! Adje!
“We’re all excited about the band now,” Dogo says. “It’s lucky the guitarist didn’t want to put down his instrument. The EP saved us.”
And as Elikeh moves into its new phase of life, the EP’s title seems just right.
‘The kondona is a ceremony they hold every five years in the northern part of my country,” Dogo explains. “It’s an initiation, a way to welcome the young men into the adult part of the community. It seemed right for what had happened to us, although we still have a long way to go.”
While back in his homeland recently, Dogo witnessed a kondonaceremony and recorded part of it. A chant from that field recording forms the opening of their cover of “Heaven,” by the Ghanaian star Ebo Taylor.
“Being there and seeing that, being back in my village among faces I’d known all my life, it just felt like heaven,” Dogo says. “The sense of the place and the ceremony brought the song into my head.”
With its irrespresible, funky guitar riff, it sits perfectly along the other two tracks, a guitar-driven slice of African music that fires on all cylinders but doesn’t fall neatly into the Afrobeat pigeonhole of so many DC bands.
“We’re Afrobeat but not Afrobeat,” Dogo agrees. “We’re very diverse. With members from all over, that’s inevitable. We’ve never covered a Fela tune, but there are elements of Afrobeat and Afropop in what we do, along with Ghanaian highlife and funk, rock, some of everything.”
But deep at the core of Elikeh’s sound is the abadja beat, common across Togo and beyond.
“We share plenty of musical ideas and rhythms of Africa’s West Coast,” Dogo agrees. “The abadja originated with the Ewe people, and like everyone else, they spread across national boundaries. That’s the beat that powers “The Conversation.” On the record you can hear the trumpet getting wilder and wilder in the call-and-response with the other brass instruments until it’s almost insane – just like the meeting that gave us the tune!”
The beat is there on the EP’s other cut, “Adja.” It’s a cautionary tale, a fable.
“It’s about a big man in the city,” Dogo says. “He comes from a tough place and he’s always the toughest, constantly have to prove himself. But then he’s caught by the police and even his toughness can’t help him.”
With these three tracks released on Ropeadope Records as a foundation for the future, Elikeh plan on recording a full album next year. But the more immediate focus is the big release show at the Rock & Roll Hotel on H Street in Washington, DC on November 6.
The gig will be both a celebration of what they’ve achieved in their five years together, and also the start of their journey into the future; their own kondona ceremony.
“The cover of the record is a stairway,” Dogo recounts. “That’s what this all feels like. We’re slowly making our way up there.”
A great deal can happen in five years. A band can be born, flourish, and then come close to the end. But never underestimate the power of music to breathe new life and offer a fresh start.
“Five years, growing, climbing those stairs, that new feeling?” Dogo asks. “Really, how could we call it anything but Kondona?”
Flipswitch
“We were thinking about ending the band,” recalls Elikeh’s founder, Togolese-born Massama Dogo. “We were going to play the shows we had booked and then let it go. We had a meeting to decide what to do and our guitarist kept playing the whole time. He came up with an idea, then someone else joined in with it, and another person, until we were all jamming and we had a song. The sax player recorded it and when we listened back later, we knew it was something great. The feeling was back.”
Going into the studio they recorded the piece, now aptly titled “The Conversation,” along with two other tracks that make up Kondona, bringing the EP out on the fifth anniversary of the band’s first album,Adje! Adje!
“We’re all excited about the band now,” Dogo says. “It’s lucky the guitarist didn’t want to put down his instrument. The EP saved us.”
And as Elikeh moves into its new phase of life, the EP’s title seems just right.
‘The kondona is a ceremony they hold every five years in the northern part of my country,” Dogo explains. “It’s an initiation, a way to welcome the young men into the adult part of the community. It seemed right for what had happened to us, although we still have a long way to go.”
While back in his homeland recently, Dogo witnessed a kondonaceremony and recorded part of it. A chant from that field recording forms the opening of their cover of “Heaven,” by the Ghanaian star Ebo Taylor.
“Being there and seeing that, being back in my village among faces I’d known all my life, it just felt like heaven,” Dogo says. “The sense of the place and the ceremony brought the song into my head.”
With its irrespresible, funky guitar riff, it sits perfectly along the other two tracks, a guitar-driven slice of African music that fires on all cylinders but doesn’t fall neatly into the Afrobeat pigeonhole of so many DC bands.
“We’re Afrobeat but not Afrobeat,” Dogo agrees. “We’re very diverse. With members from all over, that’s inevitable. We’ve never covered a Fela tune, but there are elements of Afrobeat and Afropop in what we do, along with Ghanaian highlife and funk, rock, some of everything.”
But deep at the core of Elikeh’s sound is the abadja beat, common across Togo and beyond.
“We share plenty of musical ideas and rhythms of Africa’s West Coast,” Dogo agrees. “The abadja originated with the Ewe people, and like everyone else, they spread across national boundaries. That’s the beat that powers “The Conversation.” On the record you can hear the trumpet getting wilder and wilder in the call-and-response with the other brass instruments until it’s almost insane – just like the meeting that gave us the tune!”
The beat is there on the EP’s other cut, “Adja.” It’s a cautionary tale, a fable.
“It’s about a big man in the city,” Dogo says. “He comes from a tough place and he’s always the toughest, constantly have to prove himself. But then he’s caught by the police and even his toughness can’t help him.”
With these three tracks released on Ropeadope Records as a foundation for the future, Elikeh plan on recording a full album next year. But the more immediate focus is the big release show at the Rock & Roll Hotel on H Street in Washington, DC on November 6.
The gig will be both a celebration of what they’ve achieved in their five years together, and also the start of their journey into the future; their own kondona ceremony.
“The cover of the record is a stairway,” Dogo recounts. “That’s what this all feels like. We’re slowly making our way up there.”
A great deal can happen in five years. A band can be born, flourish, and then come close to the end. But never underestimate the power of music to breathe new life and offer a fresh start.
“Five years, growing, climbing those stairs, that new feeling?” Dogo asks. “Really, how could we call it anything but Kondona?”
Flipswitch
The DOVES
W. Wade and Trena Stooksberry (The DOVES) hail from beautiful Macon, GA – a town located an hour south of Atlanta, renowned for it amazingly rich musical heritage (Lena Horne, Little Richard, Otis Redding, James Brown, The Allman Brothers and Capricorn Records, Mark Heard, Mike Mills and Bill Berry of REM, et. al.), as well as its signature antebellum architecture, which was spared by Sherman during his march to the sea. Wade also claims musical DNA from his childhood in Memphis.
They have taken all these influences, and many more, to forge a sound both immediately familiar, and uniquely their own; spanning a gamut from Classic AOR to Adult Contemporary to New Wave, Blues, British Invasion, Southern Revival – and of course, being Southerners, Spiritual.
The DOVES have been capturing attention and acclaim from radio stations and bloggers both at home and abroad: New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, LA, Seattle, San Francisco; London, Wales, Germany, the Netherlands, Paris, and elsewhere.
From the “musical smorgasbord” of their 6-song EP, “Day (One)” which ranges from acoustic lament (“Dirty Words”), to guitar-driven New Wave (“Day”), to electronic synth (“Some More Than Others”), to glorious chorale (“Out of the Wood”), to “grunge meets Latin in Motown” ("Angeline"), to soulful blues (“Everybody’s Happy But Me”) –
to their follow-up “double-sided single” of catchy pop-rock, “Wild and Strange"/"Shut My Mouth” —
to their more recent offerings, “Why Did You Hurt Me?” (a universal plaint, Trena’s soulful vocal evoking the classic radio style of Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Patsy Cline; with Wade’s matching retro guitar work); “Mirage” (a galloping reflection on the boundaries of reality: is our world really a “Mirage”?) and “The Fine Line” (the pathos involved with choosing to “walk the line”, a la Johnny Cash – or not to) —
And now, with their foray into Gospel, “King of Kings” — “an old-fashioned, drop-beat, stomp-your-feet praise and worship song: marked by its stately, unhurried rhythm” (its accompanying video hailed as “Stunning, ethereal, unexpected, joyous…”) — which extols Jesus Christ in HIs exclusive office as Creator of “time and space (and) energy…”
The DOVES express an effortless shifting of musical genres that confirm what Dan Herman of Radio Crystal Blueremarked on his “Novus Ordo” broadcast: “they have something unique up their sleeve…”.
Call it “the superior arrangements… and perfect harmonies of the couple” (German blogger Walter H., “A Few Good Times in My Life”); call it
"Lush melodies, mystery and simplicity,
the profane and the sacred, driving
acoustic lyricism. The alternative to
the alternative”
Whatever you choose to call it, The DOVES hope you will be blessed by “King of Kings”!
_____________________________
The DOVES website:
The DOVES facebook:
CD Baby:
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Friday, November 13, 2015
Alba's Edge; A Wonderful Concoction of Scottish Latin Jazz
Groundbreaking Celtic/Jazz group Alba's Edge recently celebrated the local release of their debut album Run to Fly (Paddledoo Music) in front of a packed house at the back room of the Burren in Davis Square, Somerville, MA.The concert was presented by WGBH's Brian O'Donovan, who called the band “innovative, unbridled, adventurous.” The energy in the room was electric as fans lined up to experience the quartet's enthralling performance and get a copy of the new album. Alba's Edge is fronted by Neil and Lilly Pearlman, a brother-sister powerhouse on piano and fiddle, and grounded by a rock solid bass and drum rhythm section in Doug Berns and Jacob Cole. They have been rapidly garnering industry attention and gaining fans for their original brand of music, the product of their myriad musical backgrounds in Jazz, Scottish, Funk and Latin music traditions.
Run to Fly was produced and mixed by Aidan O'Rourke, the 2014 BBC Folk Musician of the Year, one of Scotland's greatest living fiddle players and a member of the experimental Scottish folk trio Lau (“The UK's best live band” -The Guardian). O'Rourke's involvement in the album marked a major milestone for the band, whose music has been heavily influenced by his work over the years. As Neil puts it, "working with Aidan was a dream come true. Lilly and I grew up listening to his work and couldn't think of a more perfect fit. We were blown away that he wanted to work with us and that he believes in our music." The first full length release from Alba's Edge, Run to Fly presents music written and developed over the past year. The music draws on the imagery of sunrise, life cycles and cosmic cycles, inspired by the double meaning inherent in the band's name: the word “Alba” as both Gaelic for “Scotland” and Spanish for “Dawn”.
Neil and Lilly Pearlman grew up in a family steeped in Scottish traditional music and dance. Neil has gone on to become an innovative pianist who has received international acclaim for his work blending traditional Celtic accompaniment with modern Jazz and Latin piano techniques (“a tremendous pianist” -BBC Radio Scotland). His piano blends seamlessly with Lilly's fiddle. A recent graduate of Barnard College, Lilly is turning heads as one of the top Scottish/Cape Breton fiddlers of her generation, touring the country with multiple projects and teaching at fiddle music camps such as Maine Fiddle Camp and Alasdair Fraser's Scottish Fiddle & Cello Camp at Ashokan. Holding down the low end, Doug Berns brings a wealth of experience to the table from years of playing Jazz, Funk and Afro-Beat in New York City. Doug is a part of countless projects around the city, most notably the Afro-Beat band Emefe, who are on the rise as a new voice in the genre. Rounding out the rhythm section is Jacob Cole, a versatile drummer from California by way of Puerto Rico. Although he holds a degree in Jazz Performance from New England Conservatory of Music, Jacob's varied musical chops have found him playing with established groups in a variety of genres ranging from Indie-Rock (Eksi Ekso) to Ska (The Toasters).
Alba's Edge is the synthesis of these musical backgounds. Their music layers fiddle tunes with cycling and building motifs, Jazz improvisation and Latin/Funk grooves to create a momentum that makes each piece a journey, pulling the listener along for the ride. Run to Fly is available online through iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby.
flipswitch
Run to Fly was produced and mixed by Aidan O'Rourke, the 2014 BBC Folk Musician of the Year, one of Scotland's greatest living fiddle players and a member of the experimental Scottish folk trio Lau (“The UK's best live band” -The Guardian). O'Rourke's involvement in the album marked a major milestone for the band, whose music has been heavily influenced by his work over the years. As Neil puts it, "working with Aidan was a dream come true. Lilly and I grew up listening to his work and couldn't think of a more perfect fit. We were blown away that he wanted to work with us and that he believes in our music." The first full length release from Alba's Edge, Run to Fly presents music written and developed over the past year. The music draws on the imagery of sunrise, life cycles and cosmic cycles, inspired by the double meaning inherent in the band's name: the word “Alba” as both Gaelic for “Scotland” and Spanish for “Dawn”.
Neil and Lilly Pearlman grew up in a family steeped in Scottish traditional music and dance. Neil has gone on to become an innovative pianist who has received international acclaim for his work blending traditional Celtic accompaniment with modern Jazz and Latin piano techniques (“a tremendous pianist” -BBC Radio Scotland). His piano blends seamlessly with Lilly's fiddle. A recent graduate of Barnard College, Lilly is turning heads as one of the top Scottish/Cape Breton fiddlers of her generation, touring the country with multiple projects and teaching at fiddle music camps such as Maine Fiddle Camp and Alasdair Fraser's Scottish Fiddle & Cello Camp at Ashokan. Holding down the low end, Doug Berns brings a wealth of experience to the table from years of playing Jazz, Funk and Afro-Beat in New York City. Doug is a part of countless projects around the city, most notably the Afro-Beat band Emefe, who are on the rise as a new voice in the genre. Rounding out the rhythm section is Jacob Cole, a versatile drummer from California by way of Puerto Rico. Although he holds a degree in Jazz Performance from New England Conservatory of Music, Jacob's varied musical chops have found him playing with established groups in a variety of genres ranging from Indie-Rock (Eksi Ekso) to Ska (The Toasters).
Alba's Edge is the synthesis of these musical backgounds. Their music layers fiddle tunes with cycling and building motifs, Jazz improvisation and Latin/Funk grooves to create a momentum that makes each piece a journey, pulling the listener along for the ride. Run to Fly is available online through iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby.
flipswitch
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Mike Thompson
On song writing
My approach to creating music is very straightforward and honest. I get an idea for a hook, a melody, a phrase. I kick it around for a while and see where it goes. Does it feel right? Is there some experience in my life that I can tie to it? Is there something to make it be meaningful, moving, or even funny? If it resonates with me, it grows and takes on a life of its own. All that is left is trying to capture the thought so that it can be communicated to others. Rik Emmet wrote that music is "...not just a game of notes, it's the sounds inside your soul." I couldn't agree with him more.
On the new album
I am thrilled at, and fiercely proud of, how well the new album came out. Some of those songs have been bouncing around my head for decades. It’s been a fantastic experience working with the amazingly talented people that came together for this effort. The tracks all have stories of their own. While never intended, there are themes of compassion and caring, nostalgia, love found, and friends lost woven all through the album. It is where I am in my life. Dealing with the loss of family members and friends, the joy and hardships of raising kids, and the bitter-?sweetness of looking back on a life lived. Not every part of every song on there is about my life, but if you listen to it enough times, you will know a lot about me.
On working with music industry heavy-?weights
I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with several big names in music. My producer, JJ Crews, arranged for a local session guitarist to lay down the lead tracks for the entire CD. Before that could happen, he was killed in a horrible accident. Needless to say, we were all shaken. Once we got past the human tragedy, we had to find a replacement. JJ told me he would check with some of someone he had worked with in Nashville to find a session player up there. It turns out the "someone" was engineer Michael Wagener, whose credits include work with Dokken, Metallica, Alice Cooper, Queen, and on and on. He made a few calls, and I get asked if I would like to work with Mark Slaughter (Slaughter, Alice Cooper)? I jumped all over that offer! We sent up a few tracks for him to listed to and chew on. After a few weeks, JJ and I flew up to Nashville to work in Wagener’s Wire World Studio. Mark was great to work with. He brought in ideas and angles that really brought the tunes to life. All of which were recorded with Michael Wagener’s signature guitar sounds. Amazing!
Country star Collin Raye has been a friend of the family for the last 5 or 6 years. He has done several shows for varies charities we support. I let him know I was working on an album of my own and joked that he should come sing on it. He said he would love to and I thought that would be the end of that. A few months later I’m chatting with him and he brings it up again. He was good as his word! So, we made the arrangements, he flew down to Panama City to record at JJ Crews’ Boogie Tracks Studio. We decided to do a cover of one of a fun song from Jay Ferguson called Thunder Island. To say that I was a little nervous to be singing on the same song with a guy that has sixteen number one hits is a bit of an understatement! Collin is a heck of a guy and a real pro. He took all the tension out of the room and it was a fun evening of music. He is a closet rocker, and really had it going on in the vocal booth.
While the average music lover might not have ever heard of Eric Conn, the client list of his Independent Mastering service in Nashville ranges from Ted Nugent to Garth Brooks. His final treatment of the tracks was spot on and makes them really explode out of your stereo.
About Mike Thompson
I was born and raised on the beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida. My travels have taken me literally around the world, but I always seem to follow my wondering feet back home. I love the slow pace, friendly people, and the connection with nature that you get here.
I've played in lots of bands, from jazz, to country, to modern rock. When I wasn't being too hard-?headed to pay attention, I learned a lot from all the great musicians and friends that I have had the pleasure to work with. I try to pour all of those lessons and a little bit of myself into everything I do now.
I like to read. I make things. I take pictures. I try to be a good friend, a good husband, and a good father. I like how a great song makes you feel. I love the energy of a concert.
Connect with Mike and his music
Website: http://www.mikethompsonmusic.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inmikeshead/
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Ethno-Chaos: DakhaBrakha Reinvents Ukraine’s Unsung Roots Music With Global Finesse
A shadowy procession to the pounding of drums, to the murmur of a cello, morphs into an anthem, an invocation, a wild and wacky breakdown. Drones and beats, crimson beads and towering black lambs-wool hats all serve as a striking backdrop for an unexpected, refreshingly novel vision of Eastern European roots music. This is the self-proclaimed “ethno-chaos” of Ukraine’s DakhaBrakha, a group that feels both intimately tied to their homeland, yet instantly compelling for international audience.
“We just want people to know our culture exists,” muses Marko Halanevych of DakhaBrakha, the remarkable Kyiv-based ensemble that has broken down the tired musical framework for Ukrainian traditional music. “We want people to know as much as possible about our corner of the world.”
The quartet does far more than introduce Ukranian music or prove it is alive and well. They craft stunning new sonic worlds for traditional songs, reinventing their heritage with a keen ear for contemporary resonances. With one foot in the urban avant-garde theater scene and one foot in the village life that nurtured and protected Ukraine’s cultural wealth, DakhaBrakha shows the full fury and sensuality of some of Eastern Europe’s most breathtaking folklore.
Fresh from lauded appearances on Prairie Home Companion and at Bonnaroo, the group is touring the U.S. this autumn. Rolling Stone dubbed the band Bonnaroo's "Best Break Out," gushing that they had "one of the most responsive crowds of the weekend."
Refined yet saucy, eerie yet earthy, Ukrainian music has languished in relative obscurity, though its achievements are diverse and sophisticated: complex polyphonic singing with interlocking lines so tight the ears buzz, long and philosophical epics, humorous ditties, instrumental virtuosity, and raucous dance tunes. Ritual and ribaldry, urbane composition and rural celebration, Asian influences and Western harmony all combined to give contemporary musicians a true wealth of potential sources.
DakhaBrakha knows these sources well: the three female vocalists have spent many summers traveling around Ukraine’s villages collecting songs and learning from elder women in remote areas. Like these village tradition-bearers, they have spent years singing together, a fact that resonates in the beautifully close, effortlessly blended sound of their voices. Marko grew up steeped in village life, and draws on his rural upbringing when contributing to the group.
Yet the young musicians and actors were determined to break away from purist recreations and from the stale, schmaltzy, post-Soviet remnants of an ideology-driven folk aesthetic. Urged on by Vladyslav Troitsky, an adventuresome theater director at the DAKH Center for Contemporary Art, a cornerstone of the Kyiv arts underground, the group resolved to create something radically different. They wanted to experiment, to discover, to put Ukrainian material in a worldly context, without divorcing it from its profound connection to land and people. That’s why tablas thunk and digeridoos rumble, filling out DakhaBrakha’s sound, and yet never overshadow the deeply rooted voices and spare, yet unforgettable visual aesthetic.
“The beginning was pretty primitive,” recalls Halanevych. “We tried to find rhythms to match the melodies. We tried to shift the emphasis of these songs. We know our own material, our native music well, yet we wanted to get to know other cultures and music well. We started with the Indian tabla, then started to try other percussion instruments. But we didn’t incorporate them directly; we found our own sounds that helped us craft music.”
Through this experimentation and repurposing of instruments from other cultures to serve DakhaBrakha’s own sound, the band was guided by the restraint, the elemental approach that owed a debt to the emotionally charged minimalism of Phillip Glass and Steve Reich.
“At the same time as we explored ethnic music, we got interested in minimalism, though never in a way that was literal or obvious,” Halanevych explains. “The methods of minimalism seemed to us to be very productive in our approach to folk. The atmospheric and dramatic pieces that started our work together were created by following that method.”
This mix of contemporary, cosmopolitan savvy and intimacy with local traditions and meanings cuts to the heart of DakhaBrakha’s bigger mission: To make the world aware of the new country but ancient nation that is Ukraine. “It’s important to show the world Ukraine, and to show Ukrainians that we don’t need to have an inferiority complex. That we’re not backward hicks, but progressive artists. There are a lot of wonderful, creative people here, people who are now striving for freedom, for a more civilized way of life, and are ready to stand up for it.”
flipswitch
“We just want people to know our culture exists,” muses Marko Halanevych of DakhaBrakha, the remarkable Kyiv-based ensemble that has broken down the tired musical framework for Ukrainian traditional music. “We want people to know as much as possible about our corner of the world.”
The quartet does far more than introduce Ukranian music or prove it is alive and well. They craft stunning new sonic worlds for traditional songs, reinventing their heritage with a keen ear for contemporary resonances. With one foot in the urban avant-garde theater scene and one foot in the village life that nurtured and protected Ukraine’s cultural wealth, DakhaBrakha shows the full fury and sensuality of some of Eastern Europe’s most breathtaking folklore.
Fresh from lauded appearances on Prairie Home Companion and at Bonnaroo, the group is touring the U.S. this autumn. Rolling Stone dubbed the band Bonnaroo's "Best Break Out," gushing that they had "one of the most responsive crowds of the weekend."
Refined yet saucy, eerie yet earthy, Ukrainian music has languished in relative obscurity, though its achievements are diverse and sophisticated: complex polyphonic singing with interlocking lines so tight the ears buzz, long and philosophical epics, humorous ditties, instrumental virtuosity, and raucous dance tunes. Ritual and ribaldry, urbane composition and rural celebration, Asian influences and Western harmony all combined to give contemporary musicians a true wealth of potential sources.
DakhaBrakha knows these sources well: the three female vocalists have spent many summers traveling around Ukraine’s villages collecting songs and learning from elder women in remote areas. Like these village tradition-bearers, they have spent years singing together, a fact that resonates in the beautifully close, effortlessly blended sound of their voices. Marko grew up steeped in village life, and draws on his rural upbringing when contributing to the group.
Yet the young musicians and actors were determined to break away from purist recreations and from the stale, schmaltzy, post-Soviet remnants of an ideology-driven folk aesthetic. Urged on by Vladyslav Troitsky, an adventuresome theater director at the DAKH Center for Contemporary Art, a cornerstone of the Kyiv arts underground, the group resolved to create something radically different. They wanted to experiment, to discover, to put Ukrainian material in a worldly context, without divorcing it from its profound connection to land and people. That’s why tablas thunk and digeridoos rumble, filling out DakhaBrakha’s sound, and yet never overshadow the deeply rooted voices and spare, yet unforgettable visual aesthetic.
“The beginning was pretty primitive,” recalls Halanevych. “We tried to find rhythms to match the melodies. We tried to shift the emphasis of these songs. We know our own material, our native music well, yet we wanted to get to know other cultures and music well. We started with the Indian tabla, then started to try other percussion instruments. But we didn’t incorporate them directly; we found our own sounds that helped us craft music.”
Through this experimentation and repurposing of instruments from other cultures to serve DakhaBrakha’s own sound, the band was guided by the restraint, the elemental approach that owed a debt to the emotionally charged minimalism of Phillip Glass and Steve Reich.
“At the same time as we explored ethnic music, we got interested in minimalism, though never in a way that was literal or obvious,” Halanevych explains. “The methods of minimalism seemed to us to be very productive in our approach to folk. The atmospheric and dramatic pieces that started our work together were created by following that method.”
This mix of contemporary, cosmopolitan savvy and intimacy with local traditions and meanings cuts to the heart of DakhaBrakha’s bigger mission: To make the world aware of the new country but ancient nation that is Ukraine. “It’s important to show the world Ukraine, and to show Ukrainians that we don’t need to have an inferiority complex. That we’re not backward hicks, but progressive artists. There are a lot of wonderful, creative people here, people who are now striving for freedom, for a more civilized way of life, and are ready to stand up for it.”
flipswitch
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Serial Obsession
Obsession: The total and complete domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire…or ROCK’N’ROLL
New York City’s Serial Obsession is a band that would sound right at home had it emanated from the sleazy Sunset Strip of the late 80‘s early 90s Hollywood where Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crue first held court. Yet they’re on the other coast, bashing away with their stylistic synthesis of hard rock, glam, grunge, classic rock and metal, all with a punk attitude, all original, and instantly memorable as hell. In an era where new, young, exciting, melodic rock bands have decidedly taken a back seat, Serial Obsession dredges up the kind of glory that came with the likes of Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, Velvet Revolver and KISS yet has faded into distant memory.
Until now.
with the release of their 2015 ,4 song EP “Pull The Pin”, Serial Obsession takes their influences from the past and injects a modern attitude that is pointed towards the future.
Singer Shawn Sugrue has the kind of voice that stops traffic. Emotional, passionate, his pipes are only exceeded by his stage presence. He’s the visual magnet. Bassist Jason Rosin joins with drummer T Motts as the anchor, the tightest rhythm section in town, one that will give your sub-woofer a real work-out. Guitarist Andrew Kadar is under the radar now, but watch out! He’s a six-stringed hero, well-versed in his forebears enough to assimilate the aesthetic of Van Halen/Slash/Page into his own unique captivating style.
Ultimately, words are meaningless, you have to hear them, see them, feel them. They get under your skin. It’s in the almighty riff, the hummable melodies and the attitude. Their bombast is infectious. Audiences at Irving Plaza, CBGB, BB King’s, The Highline Ballroom and Terminal 5 in Manhattan know. So do crowds in Brooklyn, Ithaca, Syracuse and Connecticut.
Serial Obsession is on a mission to bring back the kind of rock that rolls with soul and doesn’t mind getting up and in your face so that you’ll be reminded of the heights that this great music of ours—rock’n’roll—can still achieve.
They say that there is no obsession like a serial obsession. One listen and you’ll be obsessed. Mike GreenBlatt-Rock Journalist
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A Freer Sound: Ozere Strides from String Quartet to Anyplace, As Globally Inspired Traditions Collide with Classical Technique
There’s the rigor and structure of the string quartet. Then there’s the freewheeling ethos of an Irish session, when it’s about participation and camaraderie, not performance. Classically trained, free-spirited Toronto-based violinist Jessica Deutsch has worked to unite both, with her roots-meets-classical group Ozere.
Ozere thrives in that peculiar space where chance encounters--a stranger on a plane’s lively turn of phrase, a sign on the side of a Toronto landmark--spark complex pieces. By turns folky and refined, the band sounds at home inFinding Anyplace (album release: October 19, 2015). Though the strings take center stage, vocalists Emily Rockarts and Deutsch, who found her voice recently, as well as sprightly mandolin (Adrian Gross), expand the sonic palette, as does the subtle edge contributed by David Travers-Smith’s imaginative production.
Marimba and hand drums merge with the band’s core sound. American spiritual gem “Wayfaring Stranger” gets an old-world twist, while pieces like “Anyplace” swirl with melodies that hint at everything from hardanger tunes to Carpathian dances and that converse with all the beauty of classical technique. Deutsch weaves original works with traditional pieces, sometimes on a single track (“This and That Set”). For all its far-flung tendencies, the music feels grounded, of a piece, and yet never too comfortable or settled.
“The identity of the band doesn’t fit neatly into something. There are songs that we can learn by ear, and then there are pieces like ‘Moment,’” notes Deutsch. “It’s a short tune but everyone needs a chart for it. Even then, I don’t want them to do exactly what I’ve written. I want to maintain a freer sound.”
The group will bring this sound to the US for the first time in October, to celebrate the new album.
{full story below}
Deutsch comes by her anyplaceness honestly. She grew up playing music with rather strict, if engrossing classical discipline. Youth orchestras, lots of practice at home, parental insistence. Yet it didn’t change her passion for music. In university, she stumbled across a Celtic music jam at a pub not far from her place in Vancouver. She was intrigued--and when she started to join in, she was hooked.
“Anyone of any background and training could go. It was completely different from my experience,” she reflects. “You could be a complete beginner, or very good. It didn’t matter. You drank beer and learned tunes.That approach to music stuck with me: Learning by ear, jamming, having a drink while you play. I had a thirst for that.”
It proved remarkably freeing. After her studies, Deutsch took to the road, travelling around Europe with a cheap violin, playing anywhere and with anyone. She absorbed tunes from fellow travellers, learned as much as she could, from Barcelona to Istanbul. “When I liked a place, I stayed there,” recalls Deutsch. “I had all these positive experiences of people showing me their music. But I never found one style that fit.”
Her road led back to Toronto, where she became a key player with city’s notorious Balkan-powered party band the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, among other musical adventures. Revelling in her newfound musical direction, Deutsch decided to put together her own group.
“I wanted to put together a string quartet--that’s what I grew up playing--but I wanted to extend the form to include improvisation, to include anything that fit, really. At that time, I happened to be playing a lot with Adrian, the mandolin player, and this made me reconsider the instrumentation. I started to move away from my original idea and to invent something new.”
The group began to evolve, thanks to the musicians who joined Deutsch. Guest singer for a show, Rockarts eventually became a vital part of the sound. Gross’s mandolin begged for bass. Cello rounded out the band and forefronted the chamber sound.
“I teach people the music, but they bring their own sound to it and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” says Deutsch. “The people on the album contributed so much to the arrangements and style, to the vocal harmonies [to lovely effect on “The Keeper”]. I want that input; it’s very important to me.”
Input comes from all around. Some of Ozere’s inspirations are whimsical, offhand comments from fellow plane passengers (“The Sun Ain’t Down”) or Toronto landmarks (“Anyplace” is a wink to Toronto landmark store Honest Ed’s unforgettable signage, which Deutsch glimpsed as she worked on the piece in a cafe). Some are serious, like “Song for Tina,” a tribute to Tina Fontaine and the missing and murdered Indigenous women, or “The Parting,” a meditation on impermanence and mortality.
“This album celebrates Anyplace, that door that opens into a world and reveals all there is to play with and explore,” reflects Deutsch. “There really is no destination, or if there is, it’s always shifting. It’s the best place to be, and I’m thrilled. We’ve really hit our stride.”
rock paper scissors
Ozere thrives in that peculiar space where chance encounters--a stranger on a plane’s lively turn of phrase, a sign on the side of a Toronto landmark--spark complex pieces. By turns folky and refined, the band sounds at home inFinding Anyplace (album release: October 19, 2015). Though the strings take center stage, vocalists Emily Rockarts and Deutsch, who found her voice recently, as well as sprightly mandolin (Adrian Gross), expand the sonic palette, as does the subtle edge contributed by David Travers-Smith’s imaginative production.
Marimba and hand drums merge with the band’s core sound. American spiritual gem “Wayfaring Stranger” gets an old-world twist, while pieces like “Anyplace” swirl with melodies that hint at everything from hardanger tunes to Carpathian dances and that converse with all the beauty of classical technique. Deutsch weaves original works with traditional pieces, sometimes on a single track (“This and That Set”). For all its far-flung tendencies, the music feels grounded, of a piece, and yet never too comfortable or settled.
“The identity of the band doesn’t fit neatly into something. There are songs that we can learn by ear, and then there are pieces like ‘Moment,’” notes Deutsch. “It’s a short tune but everyone needs a chart for it. Even then, I don’t want them to do exactly what I’ve written. I want to maintain a freer sound.”
The group will bring this sound to the US for the first time in October, to celebrate the new album.
{full story below}
Deutsch comes by her anyplaceness honestly. She grew up playing music with rather strict, if engrossing classical discipline. Youth orchestras, lots of practice at home, parental insistence. Yet it didn’t change her passion for music. In university, she stumbled across a Celtic music jam at a pub not far from her place in Vancouver. She was intrigued--and when she started to join in, she was hooked.
“Anyone of any background and training could go. It was completely different from my experience,” she reflects. “You could be a complete beginner, or very good. It didn’t matter. You drank beer and learned tunes.That approach to music stuck with me: Learning by ear, jamming, having a drink while you play. I had a thirst for that.”
It proved remarkably freeing. After her studies, Deutsch took to the road, travelling around Europe with a cheap violin, playing anywhere and with anyone. She absorbed tunes from fellow travellers, learned as much as she could, from Barcelona to Istanbul. “When I liked a place, I stayed there,” recalls Deutsch. “I had all these positive experiences of people showing me their music. But I never found one style that fit.”
Her road led back to Toronto, where she became a key player with city’s notorious Balkan-powered party band the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, among other musical adventures. Revelling in her newfound musical direction, Deutsch decided to put together her own group.
“I wanted to put together a string quartet--that’s what I grew up playing--but I wanted to extend the form to include improvisation, to include anything that fit, really. At that time, I happened to be playing a lot with Adrian, the mandolin player, and this made me reconsider the instrumentation. I started to move away from my original idea and to invent something new.”
The group began to evolve, thanks to the musicians who joined Deutsch. Guest singer for a show, Rockarts eventually became a vital part of the sound. Gross’s mandolin begged for bass. Cello rounded out the band and forefronted the chamber sound.
“I teach people the music, but they bring their own sound to it and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” says Deutsch. “The people on the album contributed so much to the arrangements and style, to the vocal harmonies [to lovely effect on “The Keeper”]. I want that input; it’s very important to me.”
Input comes from all around. Some of Ozere’s inspirations are whimsical, offhand comments from fellow plane passengers (“The Sun Ain’t Down”) or Toronto landmarks (“Anyplace” is a wink to Toronto landmark store Honest Ed’s unforgettable signage, which Deutsch glimpsed as she worked on the piece in a cafe). Some are serious, like “Song for Tina,” a tribute to Tina Fontaine and the missing and murdered Indigenous women, or “The Parting,” a meditation on impermanence and mortality.
“This album celebrates Anyplace, that door that opens into a world and reveals all there is to play with and explore,” reflects Deutsch. “There really is no destination, or if there is, it’s always shifting. It’s the best place to be, and I’m thrilled. We’ve really hit our stride.”
rock paper scissors
Friday, November 6, 2015
REBELMANN
Teen Brothers Clayton Mann, 15, and twins Johnathon and Bryce Mann, 18, are REBELMANN. Because of their musical accomplishments, REBELMANN was voted into The Recording Academy, aka The Grammys, in 2013. Working on their debut album, the title track,INDIAN LAND, was released May 1, 2015 along with State of Mind and California Mann.
REBELMANN captured "The Most Talented Teens" at the Chicago Music Award in 2012. The young band of brothers write, arrange, produce, and perform 100% of their own music.
Clayton, Johnathon and Bryce have already taken advantage of opportunities that would make some veteran bands envious. One of their most memorable shows came when the teens opened for LA Guns. Making that performance even more memorable was the fact that it took place on New Year's Eve at the popular Whiskey-a-Go-Go on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.
REBELMANN is influenced by arena rock acts AC/DC, Guns' N Roses and KISS. REBELMANN has backlined Gene Simmons and Sebastian Bach at Rock 'N Roll Fantasy Camp Las Vegas; rocked the famed Whisky-a-Go-Go on Sunset Strip, the Hard Rock Chicago to Music Row Nashville. REBELMANN placed 2nd at the Hard Rock Chicago Battle of the Bands; and placed 3rd in the Best of the Midwest Battle of the Bands in 2013. REBELMANN has been a touring artist on the anti-bullying The Teen Nation Tour 2013 and 2014.
And while some artists admit to being “late bloomers” when it comes to developing their musical, vocal, and performance skills, it was apparent from an early age that Clayton, Bryce, and John had their combined sights set on careers in the music industry.
John is my twin so we always did everything together when we were younger,” says Bryce. “John started taking drum lessons so I started taking drum lessons too. We can be competitive so I had to be better than him. And now I am!”
John shrugs off Bryce's banter saying he was actually drawn to guitar since he was around five-years-old. He became even more enthralled with the instrument when he started performing at recitals. Clayton tells a similar story.
“I have always loved music. I remember being hooked on guitar after playing in a recital when I was ten,” Clayton remembers. “I knew I wanted to do it again and again. I wanted to take it bigger and to the next level even then.”
Even with such great opportunities presenting themselves for the band, all three members of REBELMANN have focused on keeping their feet on the ground and using their music to help others. They were part of a recent Teen Nation Tour, which reaches out to youth all over the United States to deliver a strong message against bullying. Teen Nation shows saw REBELMANN performing in several states, including Texas, Michigan, Mississippi, Georgia, and more.
“Bullying is such a big problem,” states Clayton. “Making a difference in the schools is a big deal and it is better for kids to hear about bullying from kids their own age instead of an adult. We shared our stories of bullying and that helped them share their stories.”
John echoed Clayton's comments knowing full well what it is like to be a little bit different from everybody else. The energetic guitar player was diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder. APD encompasses a wide range of hearing problems but, in John's case, it makes it difficult for him to process differences in vowel sounds.
“Kids are intimidated to tell their stories,” he points out. “No one wants to tell an adult but, after they hear us tell our stories and how we pushed through it, they're more confident to tell their story. But we let them know bullying won't stop us. It just makes me more determined.”
Being involved in the Teen Nation Tour was important to the band not only because of the message the tour carries to children around the country, it was also consistent with the band's emphasis on engaging their fans. While the music industry has become overpopulated by “me first” personalities and egos, the guys making up REBELMANN have made it a point to put fans first.
“Fan interaction is awesome,” says Bryce. “There is nothing like playing live.”
“There is nothing better than being on stage making the fans feel something good,” John says in agreement. Clayton is also a big believer in putting the spotlight on the people supporting their music.
“Living a positive impact on people, on the fans,” he reiterates. “It is about what I leave for them. Not the money you make, not the car you drive, or the house you live in. I plan on making a positive impact on other people's lives.”
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