“I believe in terms of feelings about music, music remains constant, fundamental to consciousness. I cannot imagine life without music!”
Author Archives: Ross Simonini
Ross Simonini
13 Questions with the Experimental Delta Blues Junkyard Band Califone
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.”
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 […]
Posted in Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged Gang Gang Dance, God's Money, Ross Simonini
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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: A Brief Interview with Seth
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.
Interview with Ariel Pink
Ariel Pink was born Ariel Rosenberg in 1978. He was raised in Los Angeles in an area that is sometimes called Pico-Robertson and sometimes called Beverlywood. He still lives there, in an apartment, next door to the house where he grew up. His music is not contained within any genre. It is contained within every […]
Interview: Geologist and Avey Tare of Animal Collective
“I don’t necessarily think lyrics are that important to getting into a song, as long as the feeling stays intact and the emotion doesn’t get lost.”
Posted in Music Interviews Tagged Animal Collective, Avey Tare, Geologist, Prospect Hummer, Ross Simonini, Sung Tongs
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“The Energy of Death”: An Interview with Andrew Whiteman of Apostle of Hustle and Broken Social Scene
Andrew Whiteman talks with Ross Simonini via email Andrew Whiteman seems to be the force behind Apostle of Hustle. He sings, songwrites, plays several instruments and pushes the band further toward integration of Latin music elements. The story goes that he started the band after a short junket to Cuba, where he was inspired by […]
Posted in Interviews, Music, Music Interviews Tagged Andrew Whiteman, Apostle of Hustle, Broken Social Scene
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Iron & Wine’s Woman King EP Review
“No hands are half as firm or gentle as they’d like to be.” -Sam Beam
Posted in Music, Music Blog Tagged Album Reviews, Folk, Iron and Wine, Ross Simonini
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