August 2024 - Talk-Singing. Talk-Singing. Music-Binging. Talk-Singing. TALK-SINGINNNNNG! [talk-singing]
Albums
SIPHO. - PRAYERS & PARANOIA
From the first moments, it’s clear that PRAYERS & PARANOIA is shooting for something ambitious. It’s temping to call it R&B or soul because of the emphasis on his voice, but there’s so much more going on here. The instrumentation is lush, at times overwhelming. It careens from jazz beat patterns, to rock, to jungle, to trip-hop. Sometimes his voice is powerful and gospel-like, sometimes it’s drenched in delay and ethereal, and sometimes he just shouts at you. As he says, “it sounds like I’m in the middle of a breakdown [laughs].”
In spite of the title of the album, the album art, and his previous EP (And God Said), SIPHO. emphasizes that this album is not about religion and he wants to get away from being pigeonholed in that way. Not to contradict, but there’s no question that religion is a major motif.
Verse 2 of “The Chemicals”:
Don't try sell me your prayers
My church beneath her layers
Inhale my Holy Spirit
Bless my unholy mouth
Chorus of “Sober”:
'Cause I'm in need of an angel, a savior
To hide me from myself
My behavior is mayhem
Only sober when I inhale
Verse 2 of “Run for Your Life”:
Where you go, I will follow
Show me the promise of your ways
I don't care for tomorrow
The taste of your sins won't go away
If you stay
And then of course there’s a song that’s just called “Prayers.” As he explains it, though the overall theme is really just the experience of Gen Z: searching for meaning, finding a place in a world in crisis, learning about yourself. It’s possible that he’s just telling this story with religion as a lexicon.
It’s an intense, beautiful, and complex album. One that deserves to be heard in a sitting.
Rogér Fakhr - Fine Anyway
In interviews, Rogér Fakhr paints a fascinating picture of what it was like to be a musician in Beirut in the 1970s. As he tells it, the city was teeming with musical life from all over the globe - Arabic music was dominant, but they were also flooded with recordings from the US, UK, France, and Italy. He was deeply inspired by the English language stuff, even though he didn’t really understand the words (there’s an anecdote in which he learns the words to Sgt. Pepper only because they were printed in the LP’s sleeve), and as he put it, he “wanted to record and produce music that would put Lebanon on the map and show the extent of the talent existing there at the time.”
However, in 1975, a civil war broke out in Lebanon that would continue for the next fifteen years, and that vibrant music world collapsed before Fakhr had the opportunity to put out an album. He describes a painstaking process of recording on the few resources he had available - tearing the tape out of cassettes and splicing it together by hand, recording and overlaying over and over until the tape was such poor quality that he had to start over, getting into the studio for a few scant days before skirmishes broke out again, and never having enough money to make a real go of it. It sounds excruciating, but as he points out, everyone was hunkered down trying to avoid conflict, so there was a lot of time to do things like that.
Fine Anyway is a collection of songs that were produced during this time, some of which were released on 200 cassettes and handed out to friends and family, and some of which were never released at all until Habibi Funk put out this record. Fakhr still talks about re-recording everything now that he has more resources, but personally I think there’s nothing wrong with the way it appears here.
It’s wonderful stuff. The 1960’s-70’s Western influences are immediately obvious, but I think you can get a sense of the difficult circumstances in which it was created. If you’re interested, I’d definitely recommend that interview I linked above. There’s a lot of interesting social/cultural context there, plus you get to read Fakhr answer questions about his influences by saying things like “Personally? My family and friends and my brothers and sisters in Art. Also the eternal research for a common Spirit.” Did I mention that he lives in San Francisco now?
HiTech - DÉTWAT
Before I say anything else: don’t listen to this album unless it’s on headphones. Ok now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about ghettotech.
As pretty much always happens with dance genres, the exact timeline for the development is somewhat in dispute. Did ghetto house influence ghettotech or the other way around? Was juke/footwork part of the equation or did that come later? Do we count the rap tacks that led to the development of ghettotech or should we strictly limit it to the techno-y stuff? The thing that everyone agrees on, though, is that its story is inextricable from the Detroit music scene of the 90’s-2000’s.
Now, there’s no point in telling you that Detroit was a great place to be in the 90’s-2000’s, but the music scene was tight-knit and hyper-productive. Rap and club music was exploding there at that time - off the top of my head, you’ve got Eminem, Binary Star, J Dilla, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Robert Hood… the list goes on - but what’s most interesting to me is how integrated all the musical platforms were. The DJs on the radio might be the same as the DJs in the club, which might also be the same as the DJs at the titty bar (that’s not my term. Without exception, in every interview I’ve ever read with someone from Detroit, they refer to strip clubs as “titty bars”). The integration of all those musical outlets explains a lot about why ghettotech sounds the way it does.
Ok so what is it?
Well, for one thing, it’s fast; roughly 145-170 bpm. For reference for non-DJs, house music is almost always 120-130, and rap (non-ghettotech rap, that is) is often as low as 80. So yes, it’s very very fast, which is likely at least in part attributable to the influence of Jeff Mills. Techno is always fast (120-150bpm), but Jeff Mills pushed it to levels no one had ever seen before, and he was omni-present in the scene leading up to the birth of ghettotech. I have to take a moment to mention DJ Godfather, who was one of the essential creators of ghettotech, and its undisputed champion DJ. I’ve seen him spin and it’s truly something to behold. I could pick pretty much any moment in pretty much any of his many videos to make the point, but we’ll go with this one, moments before he takes off his jacket and drops into some of the most mind-blowing turntablism imaginable.
Ghettotech is also characterized by very short vocal samples, sexually explicit to the point of being wildly over-the-top. If you were in high school or college at the turn of the 21st century, you almost certainly saw at least one video making use of DJ Assault’s “Ass N Titties.” And if so, you probably thought it was hilarious, which, of course, it was intended to be. You’re not supposed to take this stuff seriously. You can imagine, though, that it would work pretty well at the titty bar.
Ok, back to HiTech. These guys are clearly inheritors of the ghettotech sound, but this album is definitely stretching the genre quite a bit. The overwhelming “NU MUNNI” alone is taking it into a totally new place.
Interviews with the group are satisfyingly chaotic. Read any two of them and you’ll see direct contradictions in the answers to any personal questions. I’m pretty sure it’s all made up on the spot. The only subject on which they give consistent answers is their vision. They hate the club scene today. Bottle service, VIP areas, people standing around staring at one another. I very much relate to King Milo’s description of the current club scene: “it’s looking real jacked-up because the safe space has been compromised. So we have to have an understanding, we have to save the culture by implementing these safe space rules. Because the first rule is you gotta make sure everybody knows it’s OK, to do this music and dance with people and have human interaction. Because right now, it’s icky for a lot of people.” This idea of the club as a safe space is interesting to me - unfortunately, I don’t think that’s how people normally think about it. He goes on to talk about how metal and punk shows succeed at self-selecting a crowd that you feel safe with because they’re chaotic. Man, I really hope they succeed with their project of making clubs not suck.
Now that we’re at the end, I’ll admit that I did not read this 100-page Master’s thesis about the cultural and sociological history of ghettotech. But you should!
The Volunteers (KR) - s/t
There’s precious little I can tell you about The Volunteers, unfortunately. The English language internet just doesn’t offer all that much about Asian bands unless someone at Rolling Stone or whatever picks it up for some reason.
I can tell you a few things, though. The frontwoman, Yerin Baek (Baek Ye-rin in the Korean name order), was already a pop star when The Volunteers formed. She was in a long-running girl group called Oh My Girl that released a few albums and appeared on TV regularly before she went solo in 2015. Oh My Girl is still going strong without her, and in fact just released a “mini-album” a few days ago.
The other musicians were formerly in a band called Bye Bye Badman, which had some success in South Korea’s rock scene, but the band acknowledges that their success is probably due to Baek’s existing celebrity.
Um, that’s it. Hope you like grunge!
BIG SPECIAL - POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES
You can probably guess from the title of the album what it’s about. Here in the US, we’d think of the Rust Belt, with its decaying factories and emptying industrial towns. In the UK (I’m taking BIG SPECIAL’s word for it), it’s the West Midlands, Black Country, and Birmingham. It’s about the experience of the working class, the depression and the oppression of living in a place that’s forgotten and derided.
BIG SPECIAL have a lot to say about what it’s like to live there. As they see it, the Midlands are looked down on by every other part of the country, and the minute someone hears their accent, they’re treated differently. And even at home, artists are looked down on. As Cal Moloney said while comparing their music to Detroit’s, “It all comes out of the struggling, working-class musician, even if the music they're making isn't necessarily political. The fact that they're making music at all is inherently political. Society wants us to be factory workers and 9-5ers.”
It’s inevitable to compare this album with other bands from the current post-punk revival like Yard Act or Sleaford Mods. There’s a tendency toward poetry in this genre, and BIG SPECIAL is practically spoken word. As compared to a lot of other contemporary post-punk albums, though, POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMETOWN BLUES comes off pretty primal. It’s heavy, and it’s generally much less self-aware. It’s not a post-ironic take on douchebaggery, it’s a scream.
Tracks
The Scratch - Another Round
The Scratch have a lot of great songs, including a few good ones on their recent album, Mind Yourself. For some reason, though, this track never found its way to an album, in spite of having been released back in 2022. They have an interesting sound - a combination of Irish rock, a lot of more intellectual rock forms, and even some (mostly terrible) attempts at punk. At any rate, I really hope I get to see these guys someday, but they seem to be in their phase of opening for much bigger bands at the moment.
Getdown Services - Crisps
Need more talk-singing? Here’s some. But silly this time!
Omar Souleyman - Rahat Al Chant Ymme
Omar Souleyman is the guy for electrifying Arabic music. Back when I taught international students, I would ask people for their favorite musician in their own language, every single person from an Arabic-speaking country said… well, they said Umm Kulthum. But when I specified that I was looking for a contemporary musician, one that a person might dance to, they almost always came up with Omar Souleyman. And it makes sense, the guy’s been at this since 1994! I’ve been meaning to dig into his back catalog, but to be perfectly honest, I find it kind of intimidating. Who has the time to look at the 90’s when there’s all these Japanese girl groups and Satan-worshipping novelty bands to talk about?
Rymdem - A Walk in the Woods
This lovely jazz piece comes from a concept album called Valleys & Mountains. It kind of reminds me - and I mean this as a compliment - of the music from some recent exploration-focused indie video games. The whole thing is worth a listen. It’s a pleasant little journey.
Just when I thought I had found some new artists, I looked up Rymdem and discovered that it’s Bugge Wesseltoft, Dan Berglund, and Magnus Öström. I know the Berglund and Öström by name, and I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about Wesseltoft on this blog more than once already. Music has a tendency to lead you around in circles this way.
Kid Kapichi - Artillery
There a few great things on this album, There Goes the Neighborhood, but this strikes me as the most interesting in 2024. It channels some of the “heavy” energy of a 2000’s era horror movie or maybe one of the early Guy Ritchies. They’ve been around for awhile, so go explore.
Tove Lo & SG Lewis - HEAT
I heard this track in a brewery recently. Shazam told me it was SG Lewis and I was like, “Ah.” (If you don’t know him, check out times).
Laura Mvula - Got Me
I won’t fault anyone for ripping off a Michael Jackson song. Frankly, it’s just a good idea.
Suki Waterhouse - My Fun
Suki Waterhouse is a busy girl. She’s been a model for Hugo Boss, an actress in movies like Divergent, Detective Pikachu, and Billionaire Boys Club (I don’t judge, but here’s a Metacritic page. I guess I judge a little), head of a cosmetics company, and, more relevant for us, a singer.
I admit that I’m curious about her upcoming album, Memoir of a Sparklemuffin. Some of the singles are actually pretty great, and I appreciate that title. Apparently a sparklemuffin is a species of cannibalistic spider. She’s got a sense of humor, I’ll give her that.
Sophie Powers & Ashley Sienna - Obsessed
We’ve finally reached an age in which hyperpop is actually just part of normal pop. We knew this, of course. Charli XCX is basically hyperpop lite. This track isn’t especially hyperpop, but a lot of the stuff on the album Glitch: Lvl 1 is. PC Music is dead; long live PC Music.
Anz - Clearly Rushing
You’ve heard of acid house (maybe), but have you heard of acid techno? (also maybe)
Ahadadream, Priya Ragu, Skrillex, contra - TAKA
Taka-taka-ta.
Shire T - Blue Kiss
I guess maybe I’m just in an electronic mood? I haven’t been to a great DJ set in awhile. I guess I need to do that. For journalism!
Ezra Collective, Sampa the Great, Joy Anonymous - JOY (Life Goes On)
I don’t have a whole lot of interest in Ezra Collective’s stuff, but Sampa the Great can make anything cool. Or irritating. But in this case cool.
Noga Erez, Reo Cragun, ROUSSO - Views
I really like the main hook in here, with its washed out vocal effects and the way he kind of trails off on “everybody.”
Habibi - On the Road
It seems to be a thing to be a little detuned right now. The vocalist here is a little flat, and I think the guitar isn’t quite right either, giving this kind of a Beck-ish ramshackle feel.
Taqbir - Aisha Qandisha
Although the political project of punk music is usually characterized as being about class, there’s a long history of punk music focused on sex/gender rights. Think X-Ray Spex or The Slits. In this case, it’s a North African band talking about women’s rights and individuality, particularly in the North African and/or Islamic world. Plus they’re loud.
Y U QT - Y’all Ready for Dis
Yep.
I love that there are now electronic dance covers of other electronic dance songs (I guess you might call it a “rework” instead, but I mean the original is over 30 years old now). Jock Jams this is not. Or maybe it is; what do I know about jocks?
Sababa 5, Yurika Hanashima - Tokyo Midnight
Sababa 5 has been around for awhile, merging Middle-Eastern grooves with funk and psych sounds. I can’t find much on Yurika Hanashima apart from the bandcamp blurb which simply states that she’s “a Japanese singer and belly dancer.” At any rate, this album Kokoro is a pretty interesting cross-cultural collaboration.
Fixate & DBridge - Programmed to Fail
I’ll freely admit that this blog has been missing half-time dance music lately.
BIBI - Bang Yung Gang
This lovely little loungey piece sounds absolutely nothing like anything else BIBI has ever done.
Kaeto - Don’t Ask
When I first started researching her, I was pretty sure that this was a case of 3-4 artists having the same name. Kaeto is the name on this TLC-esque song, this trip-hop track), this funk song, and this god-awful brostep album. But now that I’ve looked at a few music videos, I’m pretty sure that it’s the same person in all of them (minus the brostep. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she had nothing to do with that atrocity). There’s no album yet, so I’ll be waiting for that to happen. In the meantime, watch some of her music videos. There’s a lot of them, and they’re all very weird.
Brittany Davis - Sepricon
This is the only song on the album Image Issues that sounds anything like a party. It’s also the only one I like, and I’m tempted to think that means that I’ve missed the point. Most of the album is experimental or spoken word tracks about body dysmorphia and the only one I like sounds like Mystikal? That seems like a bad look, but here we are.
The Zawose Queens - Maisha
According to a brief bio I read, The Zawose Queens are doing the music of the Wagogo people in central Tanzania, which is intended to mirror the sounds of nature. They’re also the descendants of Dr. Hukwe Zawose, who was a legend in Tanzanian music.
Lip Filler - followup
Lip Filler doesn’t have an album yet, but they have a lot of EPs. This track seems to be quite a bit chiller than their usual vibe. It works a little better for me, but I’m curious what they’d do if they had 13 tracks to work on.
Anna Calvi - As a Man
I like this kind of art-rock, but I didn’t need a whole album of it. One track, sure!
Wordcolor - Breathless
I talked about a different Wordcolor track last month. I didn’t get a lot out of the album The trees were buzzing, and the grass. but both of the tracks I highlighted came out after that, so I still have high hopes for what’s to come.
Kassian - Pulgueiro Baile
Bweeoooom.