Onra – Chinoiseries (Favorite Recordings)

November 26, 2009

Arnaud Bernard aka Onra is a French-Vietnamese beatmaker living in Paris, who’s amazing debut “Chinoiseries” somehow remained unknown to me until very recently. The album was released in 2007 and is a slick and unusual collection of instrumental hip hop reminiscent of everyone from Dilla, Madlib, Doom, and Flying Lotus, yet with a twist. “Chinoiseries” was created after Arnaud went on a trip to Vietnam and picked up a dusty stack of old Chinese and Vietnamese vinyl to use as his source material. The result is a brilliant foray in avant-garde beat making, which never once sounds clichéd or cheesy. The hiss and crackle of the warped vinyls add to the album’s charm, as you wonder what musty basement the records had been hiding in for the past 20 years.

“Chinoiseries” is made of 32 snippets, none longer than two and a half minutes, similar in fashion to Dilla’s “Donuts”, and each track is like a brief vignette into the far east of the past spliced with dope beats for the future. I am totally digging it and highly recommend for all fans of hip hop. Onra has also released his second album “1.0.8” this year, which features the same style of sampled Asian beats.

Check it and mafuckin’ wreck it! Won’t dissapoint! Here is a delicious sample of the good stuff…

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Monster Mash

November 24, 2009

Southwest corner of Queen and Sherbourne, Toronto, Ontario

Toronto is home to an amazing abundance of street art and graffiti artists. I’ve spotted this particular piece in two different spots along Queen Street, and I’m sure there’s more around the city. They appeared about a month or so before Halloween, and I kept noticing them out of the corner of my eye as I zipped by on my bike en route to work. There’s something about the childlike simplicity that I find appealing. I really dig the use of an already existing “framed canvas”, with the basic squares of complimentary colours, coupled with the pre-designed decal monsters, which the artist lovingly arranged to create what I have dubbed ‘The Monster Mash’. It’s simple, catches the eye, and for some reason makes me happy when I see it.

That’s all. Peace.

Northwest corner of Queen and Vanauley, Toronto

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Dog Day at The Horseshoe Tavern

November 8, 2009

5 November 2009

dog day

Halifax quartet Dog Day played The Horseshoe in Toronto on Thursday as part of their extended Pop Explosion tour. The group played a tight and energetic set, clearly in the groove from playing shows every night for the last two weeks. Their new drummer Rob Shedden was a welcome addition, giving hell to his kit in perfect time. The band played their set unabashedly, without a hint of rock star—just good old DIY indie rock. As if we’d been invited to their jam space for a party where they just happened to blast out a set of tunes before they joined us for a beer and a joint. I was impressed and had a really fun night.

Yes, they do sound like Eric’s Trip, but it’s all part and parcel of the Halifax music scene. The Maritime provinces have been producing lo-fi and moody power pop for decades now, and Dog Day fit right in. It’s a sound I yearn for in a sea of ‘dance-rock’ bands, it brings me back to my high-school days, and churns up some heavy nostalgia. Dog Day are one of my favourite ‘newly discovered’ bands of the year, and I expect only more great things from them. Check out their recently released “Concentration” on Outside Music, you will dig.

I didn’t see openers The Balconies or Immaculate Machine because we drank a few pops at home first due to a shortage of beer funds, but the buzz from the crowd seemed very positive. All in all a great night of Canadian indie rock. Peace.

dog day

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Waxing Electric with Wax Stag

November 5, 2009

wax stag

Wax Stag – Wax Stag (People in the Sky Records)

The multi-talented Rob Lee has recently dropped his first album as Wax Stag. It is an impressive debut of rich analog synths and old-skoool IDM beats reminiscent of Warp releases from the late 90’s. Lee also moonlight’s as Clark’s drummer for his live shows, and plays bass for the hip and much-hyped Friendly Fires.

But Wax Stag is all Lee’s—his sonic and bleepy love child, and it’s infectious as hell.

Part of the album’s charm is how it makes me think of Plaid and CiM and Solvent and early Autechre and Aphex as Polygon Window. It even reminds me of Metro Area at times . . . there’s a warmth in his heavily-layered synth lines that you just don’t hear any more unless you go back and rediscover the early Warp, Rephlex, and Skam releases that made you love electronic music in the first place. Plus, his music is a lot of fun. I hate being one of those head-bobbers on the streetcar in the mornings, but it’s hard to keep your head still when blasting this one in your Grado’s. A definite must-hear before the year is out.

Also, his remix of Bibio’s track “Sugarette” is a brilliant re-interpretation and a highlight on Bibio’s just released “The Apple and the Tooth”.

Listen, enjoy, repeat.

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Losing my memory with Seek Magic

October 23, 2009

seek magic

Memory Tapes – Seek Magic (Rough Trade)

When Dayve Hawk appeared in the blogosphere last fall posting free tracks and mixes under the names Weird Tapes and Memory Cassette, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to his website by my friend Mat. With Weird Tapes, Hawk crafts sample-heavy party music, where he uses familiar samples that trigger vague memories of drunken parties from the past. The bottom line: the stuff is fun and catered towards uninhibited booty shaking. And at the same time, he was also putting out tracks under his Memory Cassette moniker, a more pop-oriented project of dreamy songs with a strong 80’s bent.

And now the seemingly prolific Hawk has released “Seek Magic” using the name Memory Tapes — where he weds the best aspects of his earlier projects with refreshingly awesome results. Instead of building tracks with layers of sound, the songs on this album are filled with catchy hooks, choruses, and refrains, in proper pop song fashion. Guitar licks reminiscent of New Order, and analogue synths suggestive of Aphex Twin are meshed together to smashing effect in “Green Knight” and “Bicycle”. The choruses of “Stop Talking” and “Graphics” are so infectious you’ll find yourself singing them for days. Album closer “Run Out” is a perfect come down track, it’s emotional and harmonious, and could easily be stretched out to ten minutes in length and I’d still want to play it over again.

“Seek Magic” is a first-class debut. Compelling, melodic, fun, nostalgic, and steadily climbing ever higher on my top ten for 2009. The bonus track “Treeship” is also a beautiful addendum to the album. Twenty minutes of chilled out ambience. Do yourself a favour and check out Memory Tapes now, as well as, all of Hawk’s nom de guerres.

Peace.

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Lusine – A Certain Distance

October 18, 2009

lusine

Jeff McIlwain aka Lusine recently released his new long player “A Certain Distance” on Ghostly International. Fans of his Detroit tinged IDM have been waiting for this since “Serial Hodgepodge” came out in 2004. While McIlwain also released “Language Barrier” under his Lusine ICL moniker in 2007, it’s his beat-oriented material that his fans were itching for, rather than his more stripped down atmospherics, and he does not disappoint with “A Certain Distance”.

I am a fan of all his stuff, ambient or 4/4, and for me “A Certain Distance” seems a perfect blend of McIlwain’s musical aesthetic. An album of deep, emotional IDM which rewards a little more with each listen. Some critics seem wary to accept the album’s slightly more “pop” sensibility, wishing it was colder or more clinical, unable to embrace the addition of female vocals to a few of the tracks, but I find the cut-up and skewed vocals a welcome addition. They add a warm feel to Lusine’s clipped beats and deep synth lines. The track “Gravity” with its stuttering voice and plunging bass drops is definitely a highlight. “Crowded Room” follows and gives fans close to six minutes of sprawling Detroit techno bliss, sure to be a part of many a DJ set this year.

I think Lusine is one of electronic music’s underrated darlings, and I don’t care if “A Certain Distance” is perhaps a bit more accessible than “Serial Hodgepodge”, because I am happy to see McIlwain grow as an artist and continue to refine his sound(s). Seeing him this spring as part of Ghostly’s 10th Anniversary Bash was one of the year’s highlights for me – and even though his set was short and he played a bit too early in the night he still absolutely killed it. His music is melodic and rich and worthy of both headphones and the dance floor. “A Certain Distance” has been on constant rotation for me since its release, and no doubt will be, for months to come.

Check it and wreck it.

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The xx

October 15, 2009

the-xx

Yes, I know this album came out a few months back, and yes of course, I know that it’s been Pitchfork’d and deemed by the ostentatious reviewer as a winning album worthy of repeat listens, but guess what? The P-fork team actually got it spot on for a change. The xx‘s debut album really is a melancholic grower of ambient indie-pop goodness.

The band are mere kids, just graduating from the Elliot School of Music in London where Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet are also alumni. But whereas the latter graduates are all heavily steeped in leftfield electronica, The xx are writing sparse pop songs for shattered hearts, introspection, and the coming grey weather.

Upon first listens, I kept feeling like I wanted more. A loud distorted swell of guitars at the end of a song, a ridiculously catchy hook, or at least one verifiable “hit” for Christ’s sake, but the album gave me no such thing. I thought back to Bloc Party’s “Silent Alarm”, and how infectious “Banquet” was – aka the verifiable hit. I also remembered that even though “Silent Alarm” was uber-hyped, it was still an amazing album that you couldn’t help but want to slap on repeat and play extra loud. But The xx’s debut is a different beast entirely, and should really in no way be compared to Bloc Party or any other “rock” band coming out of the UK at this time.

The album is minimal, slow, and moody. The vocals a very accomplished attempt at the boy and girl back and forth. Their lyrics contemplate sex, the idea of love, and experience. The drums are programmed but done with style and class. The guitars jangly, reverbed, and simple, but every so often the bass will just drop about 50 decibels and wobble your chest (and maybe your heart?) and this is when you begin to notice there’s quite a lot more going on here. And of course, this is when the album grows like an ill-fated relationship, doomed to cause that beautiful sadness you hate but also secretly love to wallow in.

A damn good album, an impressive debut, and pretty much all alone when it comes to trying to classify. Give it a few listens in the mornings, or better yet, try it out at night with candles flickering on the nightstand and lips puckering on the bed.

Cheers.

Edit: The XX’s self-titled debut hits number 7 on my Best Of 2009 List!

Edit 2: Check out my review of the xx in Toronto on April 4, 2010.

xx

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Mayer Hawthorne loves up The Drake in Toronto

September 28, 2009

27 September 2009

mh

Mayer Hawthorne & The County brought the love to the Drake Underground on Sunday to a sold out crowd. Opening the set with “Maybe So, Maybe No”, an energetic Hawthorne and his tight band, had the crowd immediately loving it – dancing, singing along, and blowing bubbles. Yes bubbles. They totally added an old-timey feel to his old school sound. I was happy to hear Mayer have his vocal chops live and not just on the album. He seems to enjoy having fun with the crowd, making us move in tight to dance, confiding with us about love, and even stopping in the middle of “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out” to ask us if we like heavy metal and country, and then starting the song again with a reggae beat. Fun stuff.

The group played the hits from his just released “A Strange Arrangement” as well as a few covers, including a great extended version of “Love is All Right” from Cliff Nobles and Co, because as Hawthorne kept telling us: it was all about the love. Overall, it was a tight and fun set and there were a lot of pretty girls in the crowd, but unfortunately they only had eyes for the Mayer. The one thing missing from the band was some live horns, but all in due time . . .

Opening DJ mymanhenri is consistently awesome at his craft, always setting the mood with his 92bpm hip-hop vibe. I unfortunately missed BUFF1 throwdown his smooth Ann Arbor hip-hop, but did get to see 14KT‘s set before the headline and BUFF sat up behind the drums during his set and chilled out as 14KT dropped dope beats. Check out their collab track “Real Appeal” on BUFF’s latest album “There’s Only One”, it’s a winner. All in all, it was a great night of Detroit soul and hip-hop with mymanhenri representing for the T.

Keep it coming y’all.

sold out

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The Antlers at The Horseshoe in Toronto

September 26, 2009

24 September 2009

antlers

Brooklyn trio, The Antlers played to a full house at The Horseshoe on Thursday September 24th in Toronto. Their quiet/loud dynamic worked well in a live setting and the crowd greedily devoured it with their ears — ears which the next morning would still be ringing from the cranked speakers at the Shoe. Nevertheless, the trio played a tight set, relying heavily on the strongest tracks from their debut album “Hospice”. They opened the show with “Bear”, which immediately drew the crowd in, as Peter Silberman crooned in his eerie emo falsetto, slowly building towards the song’s powerful kick. It definitely started their set off with a bang.

At their best moments, I found myself thinking they sounded like shoegaze heroes Ride, while at their worst, I couldn’t help think that Silberman’s voice was veering off into Thom Yorke territory with his uber-emotive oooh’s and ahhhh’s. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but overall, I like listening to their album at home more than I enjoyed their live show. Part of the reason for this might be because the album is conceptual, meant to be listened to from start to end in its entirety, and their live show diffused the stirring emotion of the album by playing it out of order. Still, this is all purely subjective, as I’m sure others would say the show absolutely kicked ass and made them want to laugh and cry and give Silberman a big hug.

The Antlers are still a fledgling band, and I think they have the skills to surpass the simple grandeur of “Hospice”, but they really gotta stop listening to “The Bends” right this very instant, because the rest of the world forgot about it years ago. I guess I’m just afraid they have the potential to turn into schmlatz if they’re not careful, and this would be a bad thing for a band that’s got a good thing going.

I unfortunately missed opening band Arietta, but I did get to see most of second-billed Holly Miranda, who played a beautiful set of sparse and angular southern-tinged rock and roll. Comparisons to Cat Power and perhaps Stevie Nicks will no doubt abound, and that’s because Miranda’s voice is achingly beautiful and full of range. I think seeing her in a venue where no one is talking throughout the set would be really quite moving. Still, I was glad I was introduced to her music, as I’d never heard of her before the show.

All in all ’twas a good night. Peace.

antlers

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Floating Points

September 24, 2009

floating points

Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points is having a good year. Hailing from London, this upstart producer mixes the best of dubstep, Detroit techno, hip-hop and soul into one hell of a pleasant sound. I can’t help but think of him as the Theo Parrish for the 2010’s. Because just like Theo’s music, you cannot help but wanna get up and dance. Shepherd’s track “Love Me Like This” from earlier this summer is one of my favourite mixes of the year. I defy you to listen to it and not shake your ass, ’tis near impossible…

Floating Points’ sound is kinda hard to pin down as he changes and grows with each new release. His newest EP “Vacuum” is spacey soul house with beautiful bass drops that again recall the glory days of Detroit’s renaissance. While his 12 inch “J&W Beat” is a stab at Burial-inflected two step, and both the tracks are dark and heady burners, probably some of my favourite tracks of the genre released this year. Shepherd has skills. Whereas Planet Mu labelmate, Falty DL sounds pedestrian attempting the same thing, Floating Points really sounds fresh and new and deep and groovy. I give him three thumbs up.

2010 could be an even bigger year for him. Full length debut maybe? Floating Points is one to watch out for and one to check out immediately.

Dig it.

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