April 2024 - Long-Form Music With Long-Form Names
Albums
Kosmischer Läufer - The Secret Cosmic Music of the East German Olympic Program 1972 – 83, Vol. 3
In East Germany from 1972-1983, a composer named Martin Zeichnete produced an incredible body of krautrock and ambient music to be used as a soundtrack while potential Olympians trained and qualified. Within the past ten years, five volumes of his music has finally made it to the West, and there’s more on the way.
Not really. Actually it’s a guy in Edinburgh named Drew McFadyen. But the backstory he came up with for all this stuff is so complicated that he’s been able to stick to the bit since 2013 without once admitting to anyone that it’s all just a gag.
Take Vol 3. The block of text on the Bandcamp claims that “Für Seelenbinder” is a tribute to Werner Seelenbinder the wrestler, and then goes on to claim that tracks 4-10 are the soundtrack for a 20-minute animated propaganda film, which it then describes in detail from beginning to end. The whole thing is so charming and just barely outside the realm of plausibility that I find myself trying to forget that I know it’s just a story. The only real giveaway I’ve noticed, other than the fact that the recording techniques seem pretty modern, is that each volume has at least one track in which someone says “zeit zum laufen” over and over, which translates as “time to run.” It would be a little on the nose as training music, but as pastiche it’s pretty fun. They even did an “exposition” of the uniforms, cassettes, and other paraphernalia that supposedly came out of the training program. If someone sees that polo anywhere, I wear a Large.
At any rate, all five “volumes” of this “collection” are pretty wonderful, and the album art is absolutely gorgeous. McFadyen has some other electronic projects out there that I’ll be spending some time with in the coming weeks as well.
Tidal’s recommendation algorithm seems to have noticed that I’ve been listening to a couple krautrock albums lately and it’s like “Oh you like that? Well buckle up because I’m out of other ideas.”
Lime Garden - One More Thing
Here’s a funny thing about music journalism: everyone writes about the same bands at the same time. Not just because all the journalists are suddenly paying attention when the album comes out, although that’s certainly part of it. It’s also because new bands only do interviews during press runs, typically in support of a new album or a tour. I currently have five interviews with the members of Lime Garden in front of me, all of which open with some comment on how cold it was during the interview, which is because all five of them took place between February 12th and March 1st of 2024, which is because the album came out on February 16th. I love that I don’t need to pump out content when it’s relevant, I just do it whenever.
Anyway.
This album is a really interesting combination of influences. Obviously it’s heavily indebted to The Strokes, but it also dips into territory like The Breeders and (as all five of those articles mentioned) Charlie XCX. There’s a lot of interesting experimentation happening here. The Charlie XCX thing obviously refers to “Pop Star,” but for my money the most interesting tracks are in the second half, like the jagged guitar part of “Fears” and the weird hyperpop of “Floor.”
I like almost every song on the album, and it has that quality of pop music where I constantly find myself thinking, “I’ve heard this. Where have I heard this?” and eventually deciding that no, I’ve never heard it, it’s just really great.
Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp - We're OK. But We're Lost Anyway
I’m finding it a bit frustrating to research these guys. They’ve existed since 2006, but they don’t have a wikipedia page? I even tried the French version of wikipedia. Nothing. And yet, this year alone they’re traveling through fifteen countries on three continents. Go figure.
Here’s what I do know:
Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp is kind of a loose collective led by Vincent Bertholet, a self-taught musician from Geneva. What we’re hearing on this album is very precisely orchestrated with little or no improvisation, which makes a lot of sense given how complicated it is. It kind of reminds me of Kate NV in how intricately layered the rhythms are. It’s kind of hypnotic. The album was created in the midst of the Pandemic (which also makes sense, given the title), and there’s a lot of political frustration in the lyrics. “So Many Things (to Feel Guilty About)” is just pretty funny.
It’s a powerful album if you give it a chance to build. It took me awhile to find an ear for it, but now that I have, I really like it.
Otim Alpha - Gulu City Anthems
One takeaway I have from researching Otim Alpha is that I should really try to get myself invited to a Ugandan wedding.
Alpha is a bit of a legend in his world. He and his collaborator Leo Palayeng invented the genre Acholitronix by taking traditional Larakaraka wedding songs and recreating them using synths and electronic drum kits. The result is a frenetic dance music that’s totally unlike anything we get in the West.
Alpha himself is an interesting character who went on a journey from being a farmer, then a boxer, then an acclaimed adungu and nanga harp player, then a wedding band leader, and then finally an international musician.
It’s interesting how this stuff eventually gets here. In this case, Alpha caught the attention of Damon Albarn, aka the guy from Gorillaz and Blur, and their collaboration brought him to the UK. It’s easy to make fun of Damon Albarn - he’s a weirdo, Gorillaz is a goofy project, he seems to have built the latter half of his career entirely on collaborating with people, etc etc - but he has a long history of bringing in artists who deserve to be heard and probably wouldn’t get a chance in the West otherwise.
There’s an awful lot to say about the Ugandan music scene. Certainly much much more than I’ll have space to write here (or time to learn tonight), so I’ll leave it there, except to say that this festival show he did in Paris was obviously a bangin’ time (and it apparently featured “The Sisters of Twerkistan”).
The Bug Club - Rare Birds: Hour of Song
Asked for comment on this album as compared to their previous, guitarist/vocalist Sam Willmett said “Just more songs, really.”
I find this album kind of refreshing. It’s lo-fi, most of the songs are less than 2:30, and most of the lyrics are cute and simple. But also, the harmonies are really beautiful and interesting, almost Beatles-esque structures. If you’ve ever looked at Beatles music in a Real Book, the chords are often listed as like C/E- or something, indicating that this music doesn’t easily settle into a single scale or chord structure. That’s the kind of thing that’s happening here (I think. I doubt that The Bug Club appears in a Real Book). They’ve said that they try to write and record in one sitting, ideally getting all the thought work done during a cup of tea and then just going into the studio and doing it. The music certainly sounds unpretentious and spontaneous in that way, but I have to think they’re being a little coy.
I haven’t figured out what all the little poems are about, except that they’re supposed to be spoken by the bird on the cover. I think maybe the thing to do with these guys is just not overthink it. They’re not. (supposedly).
Tracks
Nadine Shah - Food for Fuel
I absolutely loved most of this album, Filthy Underneath. I could easily have put it in the ALBUMS section. It tells the story of her descent into addiction following the traumatizing death of her mother, then her journey of recovery through rehab, as told through a slinky, psychedelic post-jazz sound and elements of Pakistani music as well.
Biig Piig - Watch Me
Biig Piig continues to surprise me by getting harder and harder and dancier and dancier. When I first became aware of her I thought she was going to live in the alternative pop territory of Japanese Breakfast or U.S. Girls, both of whom I occasionally like. But no, it seems like she’s just going to put out more and more stuff for headbanging. I’m down.
Lol Tulhurst, Budgie, Jackknife Lee, Isaac Brock - We Got to Move
This is an awesome, infectious groove that I never would have expected from the guy from Modest Mouse, the keyboardist from The Cure, and the drummer from Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Corb Lund - The Cardplayers
Country music can be great, sometimes, especially when it’s this kind of uptempo narrative. Something like the Charlie Daniel’s Band. Interesting fact: Corb Lund is from Alberta, Canada. I don’t know why that’s so surprising to me. Alberta is at least as “Western” as anything in the US.
Anita Velveeta - Jet Set Radio Futureless
Ok. Anita Velveeta. Sometimes I put something in here that I feel like I need to defend. Anita Velveeta is abrasive. I can’t pretend that her voice isn’t incredibly grating, chipmunks-y. But of course, it’s supposed to be. She has a lot of music out there, and it all has this kind of hyperactive vibe-hopping energy. This track feels like it’s going to be something from Beck’s Tropicalia, but instead it’s an insane screechy rap thing. I can’t really come away from this without suggesting some of her other stuff, which is pretty varied. For something that seems like it’s going to be a straightforward dance number, but turns out to be some hyperpop by way of 2000’s pop/rock, try “TIE ME TO THE BEDPOST.” For something more like a 90’s indie rock event that turns out to be a 2000’s era bar chant, try “milk.” I don’t know how often I’ll just put her stuff on, but I really admire how many directions it goes and how well she identifies the moment when it’s about to be unbearable.
AKINI JING - Black Widow
I need to do some exploring with Akini Jing. This is an awesome, broken percussion collage that suddenly drops into a nice piano/vocal section. A lot of the other stuff I’ve heard is kind of generic pop stuff (to my ear, anyway), but I have the feeling there’s a lot more out there that I’ll like.
KNOWER - Overtime
KNOWER is kinda all over the place in their takes on electropop. “Overtime” has just the right amount of hyperactive staccato synth stings to keep me involved.
Smerz & ALLINA - My Producer
I’m not sure what happened that caused these two pop artists to make this electro-punk track, but I hope it happens again.
a.s.o. - Rain Down
There’s a lot of Portishead in here, but the melodies and sudden trills are pretty unexpected. It’s beautiful, although I can’t help but think of Garbage when she says the stuff about “the rain com[ing] down.”
Das Koolies - Out of This World
I’m a little confused about what this track is doing on the album DK.01. The rest of the album sounds like it comes from the same universe as the members’ former band, Super Furry Animals, but this sounds like it could be a Chemical Brothers track.
Black Svm & Pilotkid - thebreakers
These beats are really beautiful and they match perfectly with Black Svm’s low-key delivery. The album, jetsvm, is extremely solid and could have been in the ALBUMS section above, except that… well… all the tracks sound exactly like this one. It’s a good track! But not so good that you need seven.
Alogte Oho Jonas & His Sounds Of Joy - O Yinne!
I’m going to have to get a lot better at identifying the influences of all these African artists. Alogte Oho Jonas is from the Ashanti Kingdom in Ghana. Apparently they call it “gospel” over there, but in that region, the term only refers to the textual content and not the sound. The writer on Bandcamp suggested “Frafra-Gospel.” There’s a lot of fantastic music on this album, which is also called O Yinne!.
Jackie Hayes - omg
I wish I could place the melody of this song because I know it sounds exactly like something else, but I can’t quite come up with it. It’s a great hook, and I really like the chaotic arpeggiation that comes and goes in the background.
Lonely Guest, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Tricky, & Marta - Atmosphere
I’m not as familiar with Lonely Guest or Marta, but the presence of Lee “Scratch” Perry and Tricky is immediately obvious.
Changri-Lass - Parallel
I could’ve picked almost any of the tracks on this EP, Over & Over. They’re all very good, languid 60’s-y grooves with interesting vocal lines.
Kristin Hersh - Ms Haha
I had to be told that Kristin Hersh is the person from Throwing Muses, but it makes a lot of sense now. It’s a jagged, folky take on 90’s rock, which is right in her wheelhouse.
Heartworms - May I Comply
I feel like the moment is almost here for a Heartworms album. She’s got a number of pretty good singles and has very much cemented her sound. It’s defiant, gothy, and noisy - all very good adjectives.