I have a sneaky suspicion my friend Pat Campbell, jazz & hip-hop drummer extraordinaire, is gonna email me as soon as I post this, “Sean, I gave you Lullaby Baxter’s CD seven years ago! Where have you been??” In fact I remember sitting in Pat’s San Francisco apartment listening through his music library and I’m sure he gave me her album, Capable Egg. You can hear Pat’s work on “Knucklehead,” a subtle, space-agey jazz number. See, Lullaby Baxter used the band Pat played with back in those days, Oranj Symphonette, as her studio band on the record. Seven years later, and Lullaby Baxter is back with a new album. She’ll smite you immediately with her sultry-smooth voice that lends a timelessness to her songs. Musically, she’s a more straight forward Stereolab, slightly less whimsical, but equal in charm. I’m not sure if Lullaby is her given name, although I’d be impressed if her parents had the foresight to give her such a name. Your life would be made all the more sweeter if Lullaby sung you to sleep everynight.
Solo Andata
My family is about 1700 miles away right now, which probably makes me even more of a sucker than usual for this meditative, lonely man’s free jazz. Or maybe there’s an even deeper connection I’m feeling… Solo Andata is a long-distance duo as well: Paul Piocco and Kane Ikin, who live in Perth, Australia, and Stockholm, Sweden, respectively. They collaborate by means of modern connectivity, as I do with my wife and kids, which is great but means you kinda have to fill in the gaps in time and distance with your own imagination and memories. The resulting sessions are sparse, yet richly textured and nuanced, giving you the sense—and I know I sound like Abe Simpson when I say this— that you can actually hear the wear and tear that comes from sending their tracks back and forth over such long distances.
Be sure to check out their remix as part of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Stop Rokkasho project, available on their MySpace page.
The Brand New Heavies
“Michael Ross is the genie, he’s giving our wishes…” At long last, The Brand New Heavies have reunited with N’Dea “The Voice” Davenport and their formal label Delicious Vinyl. The Brand New Heavies have stuck with their funky soul power sound and while they haven’t been in the spotlight as much lately you can hear their influence throughout the R&B world. They’ve supplied the soundtrack to so many fond moments in my life I don’t know where to start. Perhaps I’ll just dedicate their new single, “Right On,” to Matt and Julie’s forthcoming twins. Matt, go on and place those speakers right by the lads in utero and they may just develop a sense of rhythm…
The Book of Daniel
When Jan suggested The Book of Daniel a few months ago, my first thought was of E.L. Doctorow’s novel of the same name, which was my least favorite of the texts we read in my most favorite grad school class, Prof. William Veeder’s “Contemporary Historical Fiction.” Every year I try (and invariably fail) to teach Eudora Welty’s wonderful and little-known short story “Where is the Voice Coming From” as finely as Bill did. Oh well. Anyway, here’s what Jan had to say about The Book of Daniel: “Daniel Gustafsson (who is the brother of Swedish Bright Eyes-type singer-songwriter Boy Omega) has written some awesome songs recently. Imagine John K. Samson of the Weakerthans playing beautiful jazz versions of Buckley or Wainwright songs.” Exactly. I’ve included three of the six songs available for free and legal download from Gustafsson’s EP; the rest are available at Daniel’s website, and there’s more info at Swedesplease, a really cool version of 3hive (free, legal MP3s) specifically for Swedish bands. (Who would have known there’d be enough to keep it going?)
Isabelle Antena
Isabelle Antena is a Parisian songbird whose bossa- and samba-inflected electro-Francopop is as glamorous as it is playful. And she’s been making hip jingles for almost three decades. Antena released Camino del Sol 25 years ago on Benelux, the continental stepchild of Factory Records. So while New Order et. al. were taking over clubs worldwide, Antena were mostly, and criminally, overlooked. Yet, you listen to the coy cover of “The Boy From Ipanema” and, beyond sounding like it could have been recorded this year in a Williamsburg loft, you realize where bands like Stereolab got their groove. Antena is back with Tujours de Soleil, ostensibly a follow-up to Camino. “Spinner” is perfect for urban adventures, but unfortunately the only version I can find for download is only two-thirds the length of the original. Fortunately, Isabelle has a career-spanning catalog of MP3s on her site, so make a sampler and plan that trip to Paris sooner than you thought.
Szymanski
The 2006 Detroit Electronic Music Festival kicks off in about two minutes. One of the first live acts to take the stage will be Detroit’s own Mark Szymanski. While these tracks are a few years old, they showcase his knack for refined, jazzy grooves and excellent taste in guest vocalists (Michael Scamardella on “Tranquillamente” and Perilelle on “UTKY”). Thanks to Moodmat (a new blog run by a team of established music fools, including Techno Rebels author Dan Sicko) for the tip. Check them out for more in-depth coverage of DEMF ’06.
The Silver Hearts
We’ve done some orchestral pop here recently, with posts on Architecture in Helsinki and The Heavy Blinkers. The Silver Hearts — an Ontario ten-piece band — use a lot of the same instruments, but really without the pop part. Think a hundred years ago and you’re headed in the right direction. Think Tom Waits vaudville and you’re even closer to home. In fact, available from The Silver Hearts is their own song-by-song interpretation of Waits’s 1985 classic Rain Dogs (click here if you’re curious). Their “beer and brothel orchestra” sound is probably a pretty good fit.
Slaraffenland
It’s been saddening for me to watch this whole Danish cartoon scandal go down because Denmark has always sat on a pedestal in my memory after I spent a few of the more peaceful and pleasing days of my life there back in 1999. Not much I can do about the recent events, except for this small gesture of distraction: Slaraffenland’s slow-burning instrumental jazz/rock goodness from Denmark, done with the effortless, artful precision Danes ought to be known for.
Blue Bone Express
I often wonder what kind of music my children will end up listening to. When I was their age I was fed a steady diet of The Beach Boys, The Carpenters, Bee Gees and Roger Miller, so my parents were understandably distraught when the sounds of Dead Kennedys’ Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables blasted out of my room. I had a peek into my future when I mentioned to my son that if he kept practicing the piano and clarinet he’d soon be playing music like the punk rock that was shuffling through the car stereo at the time. “No dad,” he said, “I want to play in the Disneyland band.” Well, thanks to Patti Bao, one of our fine readers, I’ve found possible musical mentors for the kid. Straight outta Oakland, Blue Bone Express — nothing but lively traditional Dixieland jazz here. Look, I’m always worrying that he’ll end up bringing home a pan flute, or let his appearance deteriorate like this, so I am extremely relieved at his choice of aspirations.
Lewis Taylor
Apologies in advance: Today’s post may be yesterday’s news and I may just be late to the Lewis Taylor party. Sorry, it’s just a bit of a shock to find something so great that I overlooked for so long. But enough about this blogger’s insecurities. Lewis Taylor is a British soul singer/multi-instrumentalist with a voice like warm butterscotch and an ear for music like no soul you’ve ever heard. Before you conjure images of Joss Stone or Jamiroquai, rest assured that Lewis Taylor is for real – he’s not simply playing his parents’ vinyl collection, he’s taking soul to places it hasn’t been before. But, it doesn’t hurt that he hits with velvet gloves like Marvin Gaye and arranges with the kaleidoscope mind of Prince. (He also goes his own way under the radar like the inimitable Joe Henry – not a soul man, but a darn fine musician you should seek out.) As you browse through these highlights, you’ll hear some guitar and crooning that could be Ben Harper on a rainy day, some space-jazz this side of Miles Davis fusion, and even a few moments that are more electronically out there (Radiohead’s name pops up often in other people’s Taylor descriptions, and Kruder + Dorfmeister offer a remix here). Or, you’ll hear all of the above in the same track. And, if you haven’t already fallen, you’ll love it all.