Time only moves one way

Just a few notes and jottings here.

This article on Monoloc and production is worth hanging on to.  Some good stuff about the use of space, background noise.  And the tunes aren't bad either.

https://www.xlr8r.com/features/2017/03/artist-tips-monoloc/

Prolific rapper Oddisee's got a dancey track, Things, on his latest album, the Iceberg, that I didn't want to get overlooked.  As usual  you can hear the entire album at the bandcamp page.



Another boring technical thing here -- Four Tet talking about how he does his thing live:



I've read that he does everything in Ableton when it comes to making music, but it's interesting how he changes things up to play out live.  I've seen him live, actually playing out the album that you hear bits of here, so it's extra interesting to see how he did it.

Finally, I've got around to listening to the third XX album, I See You.  Haven't heard it all yet, and I know I'm late to this track, but really like it -- it's got me looking up how-to bits on dub rhythms and bass lines:



Two things really get me on this track -- the lovely nostalgic feeling has me looking back to college and all that emotional up and down; and I'm really impressed by the singing -- both singers really displaying that they've got great voices when the raise the volume a bit.  Looking forward to seeing them next month.  

Bookmarks

I've had a fair few favourite bands in my time.  The first one I can remember is U2, back in their 'Achtung Baby' days, but it's never been just one band for life.  There have been different ones at different stages, including a pretty long period of the Clash.  One from the mid-90's was the Prodigy; in fact, 'No Good' may have been the first piece of dance music I liked; before that I was all about the indie and rock sounds, but 'No Good' got me on board with electronic music.  I lost track of the Prodigy after 'Fat of the Land' and the "electronica" push in the US, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who did.  But they made a bit of a comeback a few  years ago and I caught them live at the 930 club.  I can't say I really paid any attention to their new stuff, but I didn't mind it; live it all seemed to slot right in with the hits.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't go to the (sold-out) show just for nostalgia; I went because I knew it was the closest I'd come to a rave, and I wasn't wrong!  They're back again now.  I wasn't too impressed by what I heard at first, but this song has grown on me a little bit -- it's not very deep but it's got some classic Prodge elements to it and will probably sound good live.


Also back is Gaz Coombes.  I've no idea why this track is called Detroit, but I like it -- I like the quiet bits more than the loud bits, they remind me a bit of Supergrass' 'Road to Rouen' album, which is a great one in my opinion.  The video is just a bloke running in great scenery, with a silly bit in the middle (it is Gaz Coombes after all); makes me want to go for a jog somewhere nice.


Lastly, Oddisee's back with some solo stuff and it's rather good:

More Bangerz

Mostly from Jarvis Cocker's recently revived show this time (though I think it was a one-off).

First up, Dean Blunt, who seems like a bit of a mysterious chap.  Can't find a dedicated website, facebook, or anything for him, just artist pages at various music sites.  So a bit of a mystery for now, but I like this track and hope there's more goodness to discover by him.


Next, this bit of funky awesomeness by David Axelrod.  Jarv had this nicely mixed with a Kate Bush track, but it stands up just fine by itself too.


This I've been hearing all over Radio 6.  It's another Kate Tempest track, this time a collab.  I went a bit off her after I last posted about her, but then I read a bit more about her and learned she'd won a poetry prize, so she started to seem a bit more real to me.

The bloke she's collab'ed with, Loyle Carner, is pretty good on his own too -- very good actually:


OK, last up a new Oddisee track that he tweeted about.  It's quality, check it out.

White Hot Funk

I've written about the band Metronomy on this blog a couple of times before (here and here).  They're one of these bands that seem to improve with time as the ideas flow and their creativity and skill increases.  The second album was better reviewed than the first, and their third is the best reviewed so far.  I think it's rather good (it's called Love Letters by the way) and so when I heard they were coming to the 930 Club I knew it would be well worth checking them out.

Things started off at a bit of a low, as the sound was way too loud for my ears.  It seemed like the club's sound people noted that too though, and after the first couple of songs either my ears adjusted or the sound was lowered; either way, it was better, and clearer.  The place was about 60% full, which doesn't sound too great, but all it really meant was that the balcony was quite empty as most people filled the main floor to dance.  Yes, dance, cos Metronomy are pretty funky and they put on a good show too!  From matching white suits to a few synchronized moves here and there, they seem like a band who know they're in the entertainment business and don't mind embracing that too much, even if it may be in a somewhat ironic way.  I like that -- definitely prefer it to po-faced bands who want to pretend they're normal people who just happen to be in front of a paying crowd playing music.  It reminded me a bit of seeing Peter, Bjorn, and John at 930 a few years ago -- a really happy and joyous show that went on til it seemed they'd played their entire catalogue!  This wasn't as up there as that, possibly because of the smaller crowd, but the people who attended were definitely enjoying themselves and seemed to know Metronomy's songs well.  It was a diverse crowd too, especially for an act who could probably still be categorised as UK indie pretty easily.  Overall it was a good show -- highlights included three keyboards, the afore-mentioned white suits, on-stage dancing and funkiness, a singing female drummer, and the fact that main Metronomy man Joseph Mount reminds me a bit of Nick Frost.  I don't mean that in a bad way.  Bassist Olugbenga Adelekan (pictured above) really stood out to me too -- the basslines are really prominent in most Metronomy songs, but add to that his lively demeanour, cool look, and classic funky bass-player moves (how do they move their heads like that without getting a pain in the neck??).  He would've stolen the show if it weren't for the fact that almost all the other four members of the band were working it too.  I just found out that he also works solo, under his first name, so will definitely be checking out more of him.  I learned that dancing in Birkenstocks is bit tricky.  Oh, and the stage set-up -- they actually put some effort into that too.  Check out the live video below, it's pretty much what I saw last night, just on a different stage.  The Upsetter is one of my favourite tracks from Love Letters:



Couple of other quick things:  First off, it's weird how different the area around the 930 Club is now!  I haven't been to a show there in a while and the change is pretty astounding.  It used seem that 930 was the one place to go to in a pretty grotty (and dangerous-seeming) area of warehouses and surface parking lots.  But now all that's gone and it's being surrounded by new apartments/condos!  Literally!  There's one being built next door and one right across the street.  I'm not saying it's good or bad, but it'll definitely change the atmosphere around the club once the changes are complete.  I guess, for me, part of the appeal of going to a concert is also going to a part of town that I wouldn't normally go to.  That's probably because almost all of my concert experiences have been in slightly shitty areas!  Downtown Detroit and Pontiac in the late 90's, then DC in the early and mid-00's...  So in my mind, concerts are associated with the illicit thrill of being in a "bad" area. I suppose it doesn't have to be that way though.

Second, one of my earlier Metronomy posts is also about the rapper Oddisee.  There was a nice write-up about him, the trio he's a part of, Diamond District, and their new record, in last week's DC City Paper. It's a good long read so check it out.

Oddonomy

I take the subway to work here in DC and, most mornings, I pick up the free rag that's handed out at the stations, the Express.  The paper has a music column on Tuesdays, written by Christopher Porter.  Almost every week I find myself shaking my head at whatever he's written about -- usually some obscure 90s local hardcore, which I'm pretty sure almost no DC commuter cares about -- yet somehow he still retains his column!  Last week was different though, and I found myself slightly intrigued.  The column was about a young local MC/producer who goes by the name of Oddisee.  What intrigued me was his real name, Amir Mohammed el Khalifa -- a Muslim, like me!  Or at least that's what his name implies.  The column went on to detail some of Oddisee's work, which only intrigued me further, as it sounded like he had some pretty eclectic tastes.  So I looked him up, and found out that as well as being a local artist, he spends a lot of time in London!  After that I ended up listening to some of his music, reading some articles, and even checking out his thoughts on gentrification.  I was well impressed all round . One of his tunes really stood out to me, and I'm going to stick it in below.  It's off the "Odd Renditions" EP, which can be downloaded for free at bandcamp, and it samples a Metronomy song I hadn't heard before: 


I really like the way he uses the Metronomy sample in this track -- it sounds more like a collaboration than a sample.  The original Metronomy song, which I heard after the Oddisee version, now sounds like something's missing from it to me:



Oddisee has already put out a lot of work, as a solo artist, a producer, and as part of local hip-hop trio Diamond District.  He seems to be one of those artists who's a lot bigger abroad then he is even in his hometown, let alone the States as a whole -- in my experience that usually equals quality.  He's just put out a new solo album, People Hear What They See, and is currently on tour in Europe.