13 Questions with Steve Parry
"I believe in terms of feelings about music, music remains constant, fundamental to consciousness. I cannot imagine life without music!"
13 Questions with the Experimental Delta Blues Junkyard Band Califone
"The songwriting and melodic approaches on Roots & Crowns feels like a new direction for us. The way we're using sound, noise and collage on this one feels like we're digging deeper into the roots of where we started."
An Interview with The Double
"Ambient noises and strange sounds in general tend to filter in all on their own. We enjoy this."
11 Questions for Belong
"Anybody, with just a little money saved, can produce and record a quality album in their bedroom. This has lead to an extreme amount of crap, but it also has allowed other people with great ideas to realize them on their own without having to spend a ton of money."
13 Questions for Electronic/Ambient/Rickety-Old-Machine Composer Ethan Rose
"Music is expanding and fragmenting into all of these amazing things. It is scary and beautiful."
New Music Survey: New Flesh
Artist: New Flesh Album: Universally Dirty Label: Stones Throw Release Date: Summer 2006 Attempts at Comparison: Buju Banton, The Roots, Dizzee Rascal, Early Nas, Royksopp, Sage Francis, Crystal Method Adjectives: Original, Hard-hitting, Gravely, Justifiably dirty, Artfully strained, diverse Nouns: Dancehall, British Grime, Dub, Delay, Attention to Detail, Four-on-the-floor, Night, Coughing Notable Musicians: Juice Aleem, Toastie …
Gang Gang Dance
Ross Simonini interviews the percussion-heavy, experimental, psychedelic band that created God's Money The music of Gang Gang Dance is a close relative of religion. Wild chanting and ritualistic drumming. Kate Bush and Grime and Oliver Messiaen. Every note used in a sort of ceremonial function. Song structures induce blurry meditation and psychedelic dance. There are …
New Music Survey: Dr. Who Dat?
Album: Beat Journey Artist: Dr. Who Dat? Label: Lex Records Release date: Summer 2006 Attempts at comparison: Digible Planets' Blowout Comb, Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory, DJ Krush, Pharcyde's Bizarre Ride, Questlove's Babies Making Babies, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, Dub (King Tubby, Keith Hudson), Dalek, DJ Shadow, Qbert. Adjectives: instrumental, cosmic, pre-Dr. Dre, Brazilian, sedate, …
Tristeza’s Harmonic Sea and Liquid Pyramids
Recently, San Diego has become one of the country’s musical breeding grounds. Bands like Pinback, Castanets and GogoAirheart have surfaced, one after another, each with their own, unique voice, each representing an entirely different genre of music. Among the first of all these groups was Tristeza, an instrumental quintet (two guitarists, bassist, keyboards, drummer), who …
Akron/Family
Akron/Family has written some of the best songs of the current century. They have released two albums on Young God Records, both of which juxtapose musical sensibilities of the most diverse sort. To love them is to love music, not genres.