So Rob M. suggested this one because his cousin’s roommate’s best friend’s brother is in the band, or something like that; I coudn’t keep it straight. What I do get is the ambient beats and noise laid down by Corwin Trails. Pleasant melodies, event bouncy at times, coexist among fractured and warped samples and scratches. Walls are built and crumble, time stops and starts — it all reminds me of this paper I wrote in college about how, in his poem The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot subverted the Second Law of Thermodynamics. (Sure he did!) Providers of the soundtrack to the film version of this epic battle between physics and literature: Corwin Trails.
WJ Kington
WJ Kington spends lots of time around his house recording found sounds, tapping on walls and household appliances and recording the results. Sometimes he just sits at the piano and records his improvisations. Rather than “perfecting” the recordings he’ll leave in sounds of passing trains and the crows scratching at his roof. What’s left are highly engaging compositions. I found these tracks via boingboing.net (if they’re not already a habit don’t start!) which linked to “I’m Talin,” a track made from samples of his young son ripping apart a cardboard box which he’d strung with rubber bands. Be sure to stop by his site for stories on each of the songs.
Apes and Androids
Despite the fact that I’m sensing a whole lot of holiday spirit from the 3hive dudes this week, I’m going to have to deviate from the norm and express my relief that the world has returned to its normal state of affairs. And in the coming days, I’ll have to step aside and let someone else find you all that hot new ghettotech version of Auld Lang Syne. In any case, the seasonal lights may still be up, people may still be out of town, but the madness is over. And for a grinch like me, that means some celebration is in order.
Who knew that NYC band Apes and Androids would provide just the kind of relief I was looking for? I’m naturally arrhythmic and dancing has just never been my thing, so what a miracle it is that I cannot stop dancing around my apartment to “Radioâ€! Seriously, this is huge. I’ve been dancing all weekend! There was a time when uber-electronic music that made other people want to bump and grind really didn’t speak out to me, but times are a-changing and Apes and Androids happen to be clever about the placements of their bleeps and zips and pings, which helps. Of course, let us not discount the value of hearing something fun after all these days of cheer and sentimentality. A&A are new to the game, and will be releasing their album in early 2007, but while I wait, I plan on buying a pair of good flat shoes to dance in ALL NIGHT LONG. Ah, how sweet to remember just how fun life can be when you need a holiday from the holidays.
PostPrior
As my friends and family will attest, I’m a big fan of Christmas-y songs — new and old, classic and offbeat. So I’m always thrilled when I hear a new entry in the genre, such as this ditty from PostPrior (Midwest Product’s Ben Mullins and drummer/descendent-of-circus-acrobats Michael Kuzmanovski). PostPrior’s Touched Pilot EP is an icy cool treat in its own right, with its intricately composed and delightfully goofy new wave soul. But, for now, the lyrics to “Snow Orge” so you can sing along on the way to Grandma’s house:
“Confusing Scientists
With Conscious thought and moving limbs
The sun comes out and then he melts
Only to re-form again
Avoiding Mobs and cops
Because they know not what he does
Cause this his life ’twas forged in ice
And so misunderstood
GO SNOW OGRE, POUND YOUR FISTS AND ROAR
GO SNOW OGRE, A FINE AMBASSADOR
GO SNOW OGRE, LET THE SNOWFLAKES FALL
GO SNOW OGRE, THE ICE CONSUMES US ALL
Mom and dad, are just a lab, he has no place, of residence
Alone on Christmastime
Speeding Sleds, Gingerbread, Hyper kids, packages
Rotate through his mind
In the snow, he built a fort, with fine decor and even more
The Ogre trims the tree
Down below, warmer homes, throw a bone, and telephone
Say Ogre PLAY WITH ME.
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, go snow ogre go!
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, pound your fists and roar
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, go snow ogre go!
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, a fine ambassador
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, go snow ogre go!
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, let the snowflakes fall
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, go snow ogre go!
Go snow ogre, go snow ogre, the ice consumes us all”
Happy holidays, one and all 🙂
Thieves Like Us
A great tip from Lismore’s email blast. The two bands just played Friday at the Delancy in NYC. I can’t stop listening to the 12″ from Thieves Like Us. This A-side plays like a lost track from the Trainspotting soundtrack. A little New Order, a little Daft Punk, a lot of dance floor fun. A tribute to tripping. 3hive does not condone illegal drug use (at least not before breakfast), but we fully support dropping beats that induce body moving euphoria. Tune into these two Swedes and a Yankee and let yourself go.
For those of you keeping score at home, this post marks 3hive’s 1,000th entry. Make some noise!
L.A.O.S.
I’ve been holding out on posting this one…holding out for the day when L.A.O.S.’s brilliant (not to mention educational!) “Panda Style” single becomes available to the masses—or to me, at least. Alas, it’s not widely available in any format and I can’t, according to the 3hive Oath, keep awesome free MP3 downloads to myself. L.A.O.S. (Large Amount of Soul) are a drum ‘n’ bass trio from Helsinki with a great ear for deep hooks, cheeky samples, and beats that won’t quit. “Drowning Deep Inside Your Soul” is a good taste of their sound. However, if you want to hear “Panda Style” you can stream it from their MySpace page, or download the DJ Abraham (1/3 of L.A.O.S.) mix from their old school site where it sits alongside some other killer dubplates. Also, if you don’t mind voiceover—and in this particular case I really don’t—I’d recommend the thrilling Hospital Records podcast where I first heard “Panda Style” (thanks Moodmat!). Rumor has it, L.A.O.S. will release at least one title on Hospital in the near future. Fingers crossed it’s you-know-what…
Caural
Caural is short for Chicago’s Artful Underdog Resists Abstract Labeling. Okay, I made that up. Caural is the stagename for multi-talented musician Zachary Mastoon whose off-kilter beats, found samples, and moody synths often find him compared to Four Tet, Prefuse 73, and Daedelus. Flattering company as far as I’m concerned, but not necessarily satisfying as a description. He’s got a sound all his own and each track packs its own little surprises if you listen carefully.
Huma
Huma started out as a duo of New Jerseyites who wanted to counter the smothering influence of malls and suburban sprawl. Their answer: Folktronic pop blessed with a childlike innocence. Score one for the good guys.
Roger O’Donnell
A man and his Moog. Not just any man mind you, Roger O’Donnell has tickled the ivorys for The Cure and Psychedlic Furs. However, don’t expect his solo album to flash you back to the glitter and glam of the 80s, rather, The Truth in Me is an exercise in limitation. All the music here is composed using one instrument, the Moog Voyager, an analog synthesizer (a few tracks feature vocals by Erin Lang). You’ll hear that what Roger O’Donnell discovers is both warm and chill, human and machine, the collision of opposites that makes truth possible.
Boyskout
I originally posted about Boyskout two years ago when they released their debut. As you can see below, I was quite smitten. I still am…this time by the range and sophistication of their follow-up, Another Life. They go from fragile innocence (“Everybody Knew”) to smoldering spite (“Happy Yet?”) without letting up on the sexually charged energy. Welcome back, girls.
Original post from 8/25/2004:
Boyskout are not boys at all. In fact, I don’t even think they are “into” boys, if you get my drift… So why is it that I feel all special inside every time I listen to “Back to Bed”? Because something about their black magic new wave transcends sexual politics and brings out the freak in me.