It seems that only the legendary Herb Alpert could combine spaghetti western horns with late 1970’s synths and make it work. He did exactly that on his 1979 album Rise – his first without the Tijuana Brass backing him.
The opening track, “1980,” was originally written for NBC Sports’ coverage of the 1980 Olympics and sounds like a vision of what the next decade was going to sound like for all of us – full of futuristic gadgets and obsession over the coming new millennium clashing with old school thinking and ideals (pretty much the 1980’s in a nutshell). The title track is one of the funkiest things ever put on a record, so much so that it was heavily sampled by Biggie Smalls on “Hypnotize” (Abe Laboriel’s bass riffs alone could power two dozen hip hop records). Mike Lang’s piano work mixes well with Alpert’s expert trumpet work, and Alpert knows when to put down his horn and let his band jam.
“Behind the Rain” sounds like unused music from a Roger Moore-era Bond movie with its thrilling string and horn arrangements, machine gun-like drums, and car chase guitar. “Rotation” has this cool, quirky beat to it that mixes simple drum chops with electro-beats that are peppy yet subtle (and Alpert’s trumpet, of course, roots the entire track).
“Street Life” is sassy and brassy, with Alpert’s trumpet taking center stage throughout it while some funky slap bass struts alongside him. Speaking of slap bass, it’s even funkier on “Love Is,” a song that I’m sure was remixed for discos across the country at the time. Louis Johnson practically puts on a clinic on how to lay down a snappy bass groove. Alpert, again, smartly lets his instrument be the backup on the track.
“Angelina” brings in the Central American flair found on so many of Alpert’s records and even some Caribbean beats to boot. That south of the border sexiness continues on “Aranjuez (Mon Amour),” which also throws in disco beats and bass for good measure.
One can’t write about Rise without mentioning Herb Alpert’s nephew, Randy “Badazz” Alpert, who co-produced the record and brought in a lot of the disco / nightclub / funky touches. He helped bring his uncle’s work to even more people by getting “Rise” and other cuts into the hands of club DJ’s. It’s a classic record and worth a listen.
Keep your mind open.
[Slide over to the subscription box before you split, daddy-o.]
“Claude Fontaine’s music perfectly captures the thrill that comes with discovering an excellent old LP at a record store.” — Noisey
“The Los Angeles-based Fontaine is preparing for the release of her debut album […] ‘Cry for Another’ is a wonderful early warning.” — Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles-based songwriter and singer, ClaudeFontaine, announces her debut, self-titled album, out April26th on InnovativeLeisure (LA-based label who has worked with the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD, Rhye, Allah-Las, NosajThing, HanniElKhatib, NickWaterhouse, Classixx, etc). Today, she shares lead single, “Pretending He Was You,” which premiered this morning via Noisey.
Last month, Fontaine presented listeners with early single “Cry For Another,” a track praised by the LosAngelesTimes as “a straight-up rocksteady song that conjures the essence of Kingston, Jamaica, in the late 1960s” and a “wonderful early warning” of what’s to come. Fontaine even made a special appearance at Ulla Johnson’s NewYorkFashionWeek show in support of the single; Johnson, immediately upon hearing the track, personal reached out to Fontaine to perform it.
A love song to classic reggae and Brazilian music, ClaudeFontaine is an album honoring that feeling of finding a home away from home. Fontaine wrote and demoed her debut album after living in London off Portobello Road and stumbling into Honest Jon’s, a long-lived spot for fringe records collected from the furthest edges of the world.
She was immediately captivated by the old StudioOne, Trojan, and TreasureIslerecords she was discovering—the same records that got TheClash covering “Police And Thieves,” and the Slits sharing a bill with SteelPulse. “I wandered in one day and from the first moment I was under a spell,” Fontaine says. “I was transfixed.”
Tracked at both KingsizeSoundLabs in Northeast Los Angeles and SageandSound, Chet Baker’s legendary old studio in Hollywood, ClaudeFontaine was recorded with a murderer’s row of session players, including AirtoMoreira, the Brazilian drummer whose work both solo and in collaboration—with MilesDavis, AstrudGilberto, ChickCorea, AnnettePeacock—make him an actual living legend, TonyChin, (Althea and Donna, King Tubby, Dennis Brown), RonnieMcQueen (Steel Pulse), RockDeadrick (Ziggy Marley), AndreDeSantanna (Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim), GibiDosSantos (Sergio Mendes), NandoDuarte (Gal Costa, Elza Soares), FabianoDoNascimento (Mia Doi Todd), and JaimeHinckson (Hollie Cook, Daniel ‘Bambaata’ Marley).
“I hope this record will transport people,” said Fontaine. “I want it to feel like those lost records, like it got lost in the dusty bottom bin of some world music store in London because that’s how I felt when I walked in to that record store. I want it to be its own world.”
For those in the LA area, Fontaine will celebrate the album’s release with a showatZebulon on Fri. April 26th. Ticket are available here.
ClaudeFontaine Tracklist: 01. Cry For Another 02. Hot Tears 03. Little Sister 04. Love Street 05. Play By Play 06. Pretending He Was You 07. I’ll Play The Fool 08. Strings of Your Guitar 09. Footprints In The Sand 10. Our Last Goodbye
We’re less than three full months into 2019 and I’ve already found what is likely to be one of the top 10 albums of the year – American Love Call by Durand Jones and the Indications.
Blending soul, jazz, and funk, American Love Call is a love letter, sermon, and warning to the United States in times of sound and fury and fear.
Starting with the beautiful “Morning in America” (My top single of the year so far.), Jones and his crew bring us tales of average people across the country trying hard to just get by while the rich get richer and Congress does nothing but sling mud. “It’s morning in America, but I can’t see the dawn,” Jones sings. It’s a soulful gut punch. The psychedelic touches on “Don’t You Know” take you straight back to vintage soul records from the 1960’s. It makes you want to dress sharp. “Circles” has Jones so spun up in love with someone who doesn’t care about him that he doesn’t know where to turn or what to do next.
“Court of Love” is a soulful ballad with slow-dance guitar and sad doo-wop backing vocals. The groove on the lovely “Long Way Home” is as downright wicked as the lyrics about trying to work one’s way back from sin are relatable to everyone. The love of family, and love in general, is prevalent throughout the record, of course, and this track is a standout on that theme. You’d swear “Too Many Tears” was part of a collection of tracks from early Motown B-sides.
Speaking of Motown, “Walk Away” brings the Temptations to mind with its lush string section and sultry sound (and that flute solo!). “What I Know About You” is another lesson in sexy grooves. The simple organ chords add a layer that almost carries you away with them. Another jaw-dropping groove comes with the drums on “Listen to Your Heart” – a song about giving into love and passion that the band does so well. It’s probably on five thousand make-out playlists by now.
“Sea Gets Hotter” is a song about holding it together with the one you love while the world falls apart around you. “How Can I Be Sure” has a bass groove suitable for a 1970’s bachelor pad in outer space. The closer is the slow dance-inducing “True Love.” The drum beats in this are slicker than clarified butter in a hot skillet.
I wrote earlier that American Love Call is a love letter, sermon, and warning to America. It’s a love letter to the country that inspires so many, a sermon to a country that needs to embrace love more than ever, and a warning against turning away from love and chasing after things that will only bring heartache in the end. Embrace your neighbors, lovers, friends, strangers, and foes. It’s the call we all must heed.
Keep your mind open.
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Working as both a loving homage to his (in)famous home town of Endicott, New York and as another weird walk through the world of bedroom rock, Gary Wilson’s newest record, The King of Endicott, is another bizarre, romantic, funky, fun piece of work from him.
“Don’t be afraid when I hold your hand,” Wilson sings on the intro of the record as Captain Beefheart-like warped saxophone warbles behind him. Then “The Town of a Thousand Lights” kicks in with peppy organ and electric drums as Wilson offers to be your tour guide / date for the night in a town he finds as enthralling as Paris. His vocals are particularly happy throughout it. It sounds like he’s having a blast.
He’s having a blast on his keyboards on “The Lonely Park,” too, as he sings about taking his girlfriend (Linda?) to a quiet park before it gets too late and before she changes her mind. The walk continues on “Walking in the Rain Tonight.” Wilson just wants to hold hands with his girl (Linda? Karen?) and stroll along as smoothly as his keyboard riffs without a care. Isn’t that what we all want?
“I Think I’m Falling in Love” has Wilson wondering what’s wrong with his girl (Linda? Karen? Debbie? Sheryl?) as he sees her crying at her own reflection while he declares his love for her (from outside her room, or her house?). The bouncy beats and keys keep you upbeat despite the sad nature of the tune. “The king of Endicott is sad tonight,” Wilson sings on the title track. He’s lonely on another Friday night. He’s a king without a queen, but he never gives up hope. Wilson never gives up hope on this or any other record, really. He’s an eternal optimist, and determined to find love someday. That’s evidenced on the near-slow jam “I Don’t Want to Be Alone.”
“I Dream of My Secret Girl” could be the title to every one of Wilson’s records, or even his songs, because they all share the theme of unrequited love, being a gentleman despite heartbreak, romance, and thrilling adventure in magical lands – even if that land is as simple as Endicott, New York. Speaking (again) of Endicott, “Midnight in Endicott” is a recap is a bouncy “part two” of sorts to “I Don’t Want to Be Alone.”
“A Perfect Day in Endicott,” according to Wilson, involves him crying “a million tears” after a friend leaves town, but getting cheered up by his remaining pals after he calls them up on his new telephone and asking if they want to hang out with him (and why wouldn’t you?). Wilson’s synths on “Mary Walked Away” are positively groove-inducing. “Another Dimension” is a warped instrumental that borders on dream and nightmare.
“Where did Linda go?” Wilson asks on “It’s Summer Time.” It’s a question he’s asked for years. In this instance, Linda has ditched him during a date at the movies. He tries to remain upbeat with the pleasant weather and all the pretty girls partying at the city pool, but he’s still blue. The album ends with “Hail to the King” – a pitch-shifting declaration from Endicott’s king that fades out just as Wilson is about to give us a history lesson of the town and probably his heart. It leaves you with questions, as most of Wilson’s albums do.
Wilson is an odd duck, but he’s a romantic odd duck and that’s why us fans of his love him. His albums are the soundtracks of loneliness and hope. He’s the king of not only Endicott, but forlorn lovers everywhere.
Los Angeles-based songwriter and singer, Claude Fontaine, is thrilled to announce she’s signed with Innovative Leisure (LA-based label who has worked with the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD, Rhye, Allah-Las, Nosaj Thing, Hanni El Khatib, Nick Waterhouse, Classixx, etc). Today, she shares her debut single, “Cry For Another,” a heartfelt nod to the Studio One, Trojan, and Treasure Isle records that inspired it. “‘Cry For Another’ is about the feeling when someone is slipping through your fingers, and even though you know that person may not be right, you’re still pining for more,” says Fontaine. “Possibly to remind yourself of why they’re wrong for you, or perhaps to remember what you’re going to miss.”
Watch Video For “Cry For Another” – https://youtu.be/ztHTOL_EJWM
Fontaine wrote and demoed “Cry For Another”, a track which sounds like it came out of Jamaica in the 1970s, after a living in London and stumbling into Honest Jon’s, a long-lived spot for fringe records. Recorded at Chet Baker’s legendary old studio in Hollywood, Fontaine recorded the track with a murderer’s row of session players, including guitarist Tony Chin, (Althea and Donna, King Tubby, Dennis Brown), drummer Rock Deadrick (Ziggy Marley), bassist Ronnie McQueen (Steel Pulse), and piano/organ player Jaime Hinckson (Hollie Cook, Daniel ‘Bambaata’ Marley).
Set to be released later this year, Fontaine’s debut album is a love song to classic reggae and Brazilian music, and an album honoring that feeling of finding a home away from home. In addition to Chin, Deadrick, McQueen, and Hinckson, Fontaine is joined in the studio by Airto Moreira, the Brazilian drummer whose work both solo and in collaboration—with Miles Davis, Astrud Gilberto, Chick Corea, Annette Peacock—make him an actual living legend, Andre De Santanna (Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim), Gibi Dos Santos (Sergio Mendes), Nando Duarte (Gal Costa, Elza Soares), and Fabiano Do Nascimento (Mia Doi Todd).
“I hope this record will transport people,” she Fontaine. “I want it to feel like those lost records, like it got lost in the dusty bottom bin of some world music store in London because that’s how I felt when I walked in to that record store. I want it to be its own world.”
Keep your mind open.
[I could always use another subscription. Could it be you?]
“…its exploration of social and economic challenges (‘It’s morning in America/But I can’t see the dawn’) makes it resonate deeply in the present…” – Billboard, on “Morning In America”
“Is it any wonder that y’all about to blow up!” – Robin Roberts, Good Morning America
“…I can attest that witnessing Jones live is very much akin to how I imagine the early shows of his heroes from the ‘60s and ‘70s – tight as hell, bursting with raw emotion and drenched in sweat.” – Variety
“Durand Jones & The Indications bathe in the glimmering afterglow of early ’70s soul on this stunning track, with occasional nods to heartland folk.” — Bandcamp, on “Don’t You Know”
“From the start, the band’s laid-back, early-’70s groove, when paired with the two impossibly smooth vocalists at the forefront of the project, allowed Jones & The Indications to reach an almost nostalgic, ridiculous level of cool.” — Paste
Durand Jones & The Indications will release their sophomore album, American Love Call, on March 1st via Dead Oceans/Colemine Records. After sharing lead single, “Don’t You Know”, the band returns with the follow-up cut: the poignant, politically charged album opener, “Morning In America”. “It’s a fraught moment in our history. ‘Morning in America’ is a song for this moment,” says the band. Penned by drummer Aaron Frazer, the band has this to say regarding the track:
“The lyrics speak to how many of us feel every day in this time of political and environmental uncertainty— flitting between anger, despair, anxiety but ever returning to a sliver of hope that there’s still a path forward.
“We so often divide ourselves by our differences. Acknowledging those differences is crucial; listening to those different from us is crucial. But viewed solely through that lens, we are fragmented and few. When we look at the country along economic lines, however, a different picture emerges. Suddenly people of all of colors, in every part of this country, can find themselves on the same side, united by a shared struggle to simply survive in the richest nation to ever exist.
“This song was inspired by The Poor People’s Campaign, a movement started by Martin Luther King Jr. shortly before his assassination. It functions today as a nonpartisan organization that promotes intersectionality and inter-movement unity as a tool of addressing systemic injustices.”
It’s accompanying video, directed by Ellie Foumbi, find’s immense inspiration in the song’s message. “It’s impossible to hear this song and not connect its message to the current political climate in America,” says Foumbi. “It makes you stop and question the ways in which our country has changed and whether we’re as far along as we should be. The themes of inequality, social and economic oppression, and the disparity between the haves and the have-nots jumped out at me. The juxtaposition between past and present, rich and poor, black and white are so prevalent in our society that it only felt right to highlight them in the video.”
Watch Video For “Morning In America” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SANEafqL5io
Helmed by foil vocalists Jones and Frazer, The Indications’ sound of “old-school soul with a new-school honesty” (NPR’s All Things Considered) is rounded out by Blake Rhein (guitarist), Kyle Houpt (bassist), and Steve Okonski (keyboard). The Indications will tour the US extensively this spring in support of American Love Call. A full list of tour dates are below.
Watch Video For “Don’t You Know” – https://youtu.be/A9rDPXoGSDg
Durand Jones & The Indications’ Tour Dates : March 18 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Tue. March 19 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada Thu. March 21 – Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroots Fri. March 22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom Sat. March 23 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah — SOLD OUT Mon. March 25 – Tustin, CA @ Marty’s On Newport — SOLD OUT Tue. March 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom — SOLD OUT Wed. March 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom — SOLD OUT Thu. March 28 – Santa Barbara, CA @ SOhO Restaurant & Music Club Fri. March 29 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish — SOLD OUT Sat. March 30 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent — SOLD OUT Mon. April 1 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Tue. April 2 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Thu. April 4 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room Fri. April 5 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater Sat. April 6 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar Sun. April 7 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room Tue. April 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Wed. April 10 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon Thu. April 11 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. April 12 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar Sat. April 13 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Sun. April 14 – North Charleston, SC @ High Water Festival Tue. April 16 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel Wed. April 17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Fri. April 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church Sat. April 20 – Uncasville, CT @ Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun Resort Sun. April 21 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall Mon. April 22 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar Wed. April 24 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Woodward Theater Fri. April 26 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East Sat. April 27 – Oxford, MS @ Double Decker Arts Festival Sun. April 28 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West Sat. May 11 – Bloomington, IN @ Indiana University w/ Neko Case Sun. Sep. 15 – Telluride, CO @ Blues & Brews Festival
Pre-orderAmerican Love Call* – https://ffm.to/americanlovecall
*Dead Oceans exclusive bundle includes the album on limited transparent orange vinyl, limited edition transparent purple “Morning in America b/w Cruisin’ to the Park” Colemine Records white label promo 7”, a 7” adapter and poster.
Keep your mind open.
[I’m sending out a love call for you to subscribe.]
Turning Jewels Into Water is a live electronic duo led by Indian-born drummer/producer Ravish Momin along with Haitian electronic percussionist Val Jeanty. They seamlessly blend futuristic turntables, ritual chants, polyrhythmic percussion, live loops and synth melodies along with rhythms inspired by global dance music. Their new album, Map of Absences, will be released March 15th via FPE Records. They share the lead single, “Dark waters rushing in,” with an accompanying video directed by Travis Williams and featuring Flex Dancer Infinite.Brynn and Fire dancer RaNubi.
Watch Turning Jewels Into Water’s “Dark waters rushing in” Video – https://youtu.be/TAKwMvOgri0
This new project with Val Jeanty arose from her participation in a jam session at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, NY while Momin was artist-in-residence there in September of 2017. Their collaboration, rooted in improvisation, evokes the esoteric realms of the creative subconscious. Drawing from the voodoo religion, Val recreates the ancient rhythm and pulse of Haiti through digital beats, while Momin, whose own musical background is rooted in Indian, North African and Middle Eastern traditions, has developed an original blend of electro-acoustic beats, drawing together the improvisational traditions in Jazz and Indian folk music. Together, they employ cutting-edge music-technological tools such as acoustic drums outfitted with Sensory Percussion triggers, Force Sensing Resistor (FSR) drum pads and Smart Fabric MIDI Controllers, but still emphasize the ritual aspects of creating music in the digital realm.
Their unique sounds quickly caught the interest of music curators and in 2018 they performed at the Bang On A Can Marathon (NYC), ZEZ Festival (Croatia), Tarcento Jazz Festival (Italy) and various venues in Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Italy. They closed out the year with a two-day run in Washington, DC where they performed at the Flash of the Spirit Festival at Georgetown University and the Anacostia Arts Center. They released a critically-acclaimed EP on FPE Records entitled Which Way is Home, which featured remixes from rising-stars Slikback and Zilla, both of whom came heartily recommended by the crew that operates the Kampala, Uganda-based Nyege Nyege Tapes record label.
“Our full-length record, Map of Absences, is a reflection on the regressive state of human rights, deepening refugee crises and the worsening impacts of climate change worldwide. Imagine a world where refugees of color are free to cross borders, LGBTIA people are treated fairly and respectfully, and environmental healing technologies are widespread. These ideas are unfortunately absent from our current reality. We say ‘absent’ instead of ‘forgotten’ as the latter implies an instance of memory or a record of those things having existed. Musically, we drew inspiration from artists such as DJ Lag, Nidia, DJ Rashad, Nihiloxica, and Epic B amongst our other varied global influences. For the album artwork we tapped Marissa Malik, a UK-based artist whose work evokes the mystical and empowered mythical beings. For remixes, we returned to Kenyan maverick Slikback (Hakuna Kulala) and also approached PlayPlay (who ran the legendary Party Illegal in Durham, NC for years) and the modular-synth wielding producer Nueve Vidas from Mexico City.”
Turning Jewels Into Water will tour in support of Map of Absences this spring. A list of dates is below with more to be announced soon.
Watch “Dark waters rushing in” Video – https://youtu.be/TAKwMvOgri0
Pre-orderMap of Absences – https://fperecs.bandcamp.com/album/map-of-absences
Turning Jewels Into Water Live: Saturday, March 16 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Warhol Museum Wednesday, March 20 – Boston, MA @ MassArt Friday, March 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Arete Saturday, March 23 – Williamsburg, MA @ Grange Hall (Collider 5 w/ Noura Mint Seymali)
Keep your mind open.
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“…a fervent after-hours sound world, complete with woodwinds, in which euphoria and melancholy collide.” — Pitchfork, on Adjust EP
“Bendik Giske makes dazzling saxophone music.” — Resident Advisor
Norwegian saxophonist, Bendik Giske, will release his debut album, Surrender, on January 25th via Smalltown Supersound. After sharing advance singles “Adjust” and “High”, today Giske is pleased to shared “Up”, a euphoric collage of sound, driven by Giske’s saxophone and rhythmic finger tapping on the instrument’s keys. “Up. A direction. A state of flux. In direction of an elevated state,” says Giske. “I often find my self aware of where I want to be, but uncertain of how to get there. My chosen city of residence offers many remedies, music being just one of them.”
Listen to Bendik Giske’s “Up” — https://soundcloud.com/smalltownsupersound/3-up-1/s-Qh1HM
Surrender takes listeners on a true journey through the wanderlust of nights spent clubbing — using little more than his voice, his instrument of choice, and more than a few well-placed microphones. Recorded in Oslo’s Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, Giske and producer Amund Ulvestad conceived of the method in which they placed tiny microphones over the saxophonist’s instrument and body, right down to being able to capture his breathing between notes.
An impressively coherent statement that brims with purpose and energy, Surrender heralds Giske’s arrival as an artist unafraid to think outside the confines of his artistry and pursue the furthest-flung ideas with successful aplomb.
Bendik Giske Tour Dates: Sun. Jan. 27 – Berlin, DE @ CTM Festival Thu. Feb 7 – Mexico City, MX @ Material Art Fair Sun. Feb. 10 – Mexico City, MX @ Traición Fri. Feb. 15 – Utrecht, NL @ Uncloud Festival Wed. Feb. 27 – Graz, AT @ Elevate Festival Fri. March 1 + Sat. March 2 – Oslo, NO @ byLarm Festival Sat. April 20 – Rotterdam, NL @ Motel Mozaïque
Pre-order Surrender — smarturl.it/sts334-preorder
Purchase Adjust EP — https://bendikgiske.bandcamp.com/album/adjust-ep
A friend sent me this album for Christmas last year and mentioned how Vulfpeck‘s bass player, Joe Dart, was “a monster.” He’s right, and the rest of the band are beasts as well. The Beautiful Game is a wild blend of funk and modern jazz played by expert craftsmen.
The album starts with a haunting clarinet solo on “The Sweet Science” – a brief instrumental intro for the wild tunes to come. The handclaps, bright synths, and bouncing beats and vocals of “Animal Spirits” make you feel like you’re in a hip romantic comedy. That monster bass comes out on “Dean Town.” It sounds like a Giorgio Moroder riff from the 1970’s. “Conscious Club” brings in German disco riffs to the band’s funk grooves.
“El Chepe” is almost blues-funk. “1 for 1, DiMaggio” has groovy Hammond B-3 organ and is a wild funk tune about baseball. How can you not love it? “Margery, My First Car” is not only a loving tribute to a car, but also the most psychedelic song on the record. Jack Stratton’s trombone work on “Aunt Leslie” is so good that it practically wallops you upside the head when you notice it. The album ends with “Cory Wong” – a song named after one of the band members who excels at fingerpicking guitar work. It has great organ work on it, too, and it a wild, funky track that’s a great cap to a wild, funky record.
Toronto, Ontario’s Qarafa is a four-piece outfit that somehow combines jazz with psychedelia, low rock, and even drone rock. It’s hard to describe, but it’s beautiful.
Tape I is just two tracks (sides A and B of a cassette, really). Each is about fifteen minutes long and each is its own hypnotic meditation. Alex Howard‘s tenor saxophone on “Side A” immediately hooks your brain, Anthony Abbatangelo‘s bass and synths blow peyote smoke in your face, Tyler Bontje‘s drone guitar keeps you just on edge, and Jason Chow‘s jazz drumming holds you on the Earth so you don’t drift off to Jupiter or somewhere else.
The low rock elements come out hard on “Side B,” which sounds like a long Morphine cut recorded in a Marrakesh speakeasy in the back of a spiritual bookstore run by a old man who might be a wizard and his wife who might be a succubus.
This is good, groovy, and trippy. I hope they come out with a full-length album soon.
Keep your mind open.
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