en·sem·ble noun \än-ˈsäm-bəl, äⁿ-\ : a group producing a single effect
Sprung from the mind and pen of one Olivier Alary (London ex-pat, now resident of Montreal), and performed by a group of musicians fittingly called Ensemble, Excerpts displays the magic that can come from the efforts of many focused on one single aim.
That aim?
Beautiful music.
Excerpts is front-to-back gorgeous, playing like a blissful dream [I had thought of referring to it as a 'fugue' but it turns out that's a disturbed state of consciousness, and not something altogether pleasant] that you won't want to wake from.
Amongst his collaborators, Aliary is most capably assisted by vocalist Darcy Conroy, whose voice is the first heard on "Things I Forget," which follows the instrumental "Opening" (a track that bears a similarity to an orchestra warming up, but in a more unified, purposeful way). The pizzicato violin that pushes the song forward is in marked contrast to Conroy's gauzy, melancholic delivery, creating a strong tension that draws listeners in. Once in, you won't want to come out.
The mixture of folk, classical and post-rock elements in the compositions (they seem to be weightier than 'songs') are meant to invoke some of the trippier folk recordings of the '60s an '70s according to Aliary and it certainly brings to mind artists like Jay Bolotin, Rodriguez and Vashti Bunyan, but Excerpts' inclusion of orchestrated elements pushes it outside any boundaries those might have established in their musical exploration.
Here's the understated and lovely video for album closer "Before Night"
I know that February is the shortest month, and it flies by really quickly, but that's really no excuse for not updating Ear To The Sound since February 4th. Things have been crazy at the station as the large portion of our renovation project was completed and we moved back into our offices and broadcast booth. Unpacked LOTS of CDs that had been boxed up and re-organized our library on our beautiful new shelves.
But while I may have been dealing with a lot of old albums in the past weeks, there's still been time for more recent music so there are some impending ETTS pieces about great new music to listen to. First up is Toronto quintet Hands & Teeth. This pop act released a fantastic EP late last year and are starting to spread it far and wide with the help of the fine folks at Audio Blood.
"Missing" isn't on the Enjoy Your Lifestyle EP, but the video is from the ever-reliable Southern Souls and shows Hands & Teeth's live chops and demonstrates that their songs hold up in an acoustic treatment (which is a departure from the lushly produced EP).
Over the course of just five songs, Hands & Teeth manage to deliver a lot while still suggesting there is more great music on the horizon. Boy/girl harmonies, layered, shimmering guitars, and atmospheric mixes that are all in service of tunes (i.e. melodies worth humming) will leave you hitting repeat on your iPod, willing the EP to last longer than its brief but weighty 22 minutes.
Take a listen to "Until The Night" and then head over to Bandcamp and download Enjoy Your Lifestyle. If you're still into things like Myspace pages just click on the link.
Thanks to the fine folks at CJSW in Calgary, the album featured in this entry just fell into my lap this week. Included as part of their mailer to fellow campus/community stations and spotlighting the latest and greatest to come out of Cowtown, heRajiKa Tracks full-length Love Universal is instantly in the running for best albums of 2011. Front to back it is a beautiful piece of work that is all of a note without succumbing to monotony.
One of my all-time favourite "slept on" albums is Ki-Oku, the collaboration between DJ Krush and Toshinori Kondo (FYI: I bristle at the Chris Botti comparison in the AMG review... way off mark). Love Universal instantly took me back to that 1998 record though with its blend of manufactured beats and live instrumentation. But where Ki-Oku featured Kondo's fantastic, restrained trumpet work balanced against Krush's dynamic beats, Love Universal is weighted towards Koki Aihara's exceptional piano work - just listen to "Shi-gure" below to hear how Aihara's trills and repeated patterns draw you into the center of the song while Ryuto Shibata's beats construct the sonic buildings that surround the listener. In my mind's eye, the picture this track paints is standing still in the middle of Trafalgar or Times Square, surrounded by bustle and buildings.
Haven't heard anything but the one song, courtesy of Paper Garden Records' Lovely Hearts Club (where it's available as a download), but Dutch-French brother/sister duo the Narcoleptic Dancers song "Not Evident" is catchy as hell. I usually try to wait until I've heard a full-length before posting here on Ear To The Sound, but this song seems so promising, I'd be surprised if the EP isn't as winning and wonderful.
Halfway through the last decade, Wroclaw, Poland produced one of the most interesting acts on an already interesting label when Ninja Tune released the self-titled album from electronic duo Skalpel (and followed it up with their sophomore release Konfusion). Blending the jazz traditions of Poland (which had a strong underground scene during the Soviet occupation of the country) with contemporary electronic sounds, Skalpel produced music that was at once familiar to fans of jazzy downtempo music, but with a distinct flavour that set it apart. The duo dropped off the map since then, but Igor Pudlo has resurfaced under the moniker Igor Boxx and his debut album, Breslau, is the first Ninja Tune release of 2011.
Breslau isn't a big step away from Skalpel and Konfusion, but seems to come from a darker place at times. "Festung" to take one example, has a foreboding tone with its thundering bass and skittery drums. "Fear Of A Red Planet," which follows "Festung" seems considerably lighter in comparison, but still sounds like the music in a chase scene from the POV of the pursued and not the pursuer - it's vaguely sinister and unnerving. Boxx dabbles in funkier tones on "Street Fighting" and "Last Party In Breslau," but even at his most exuberant, there are vague overtones of menace (which may well be an echo of Poland under Russian control). None of this is to say Breslau is not also an enjoyable listen.
Back when they were known as the Neighborhood Council, I had the good fortune of participating in a late-night recording session with vocalist/guitarist Raphaelle Standell-Preston (along with Mark Andrew Hamilton of Woodpigeon and Mike Hanson of These Hands). Since that time, Standell-Preston and the rest of her band have moved from Calgary to Montreal and changed their name to Braids.
I'm pretty certain the name change followed a sonic shift and not the other way around, but as to whether the music Braids makes could have been birthed in Calgary or is the direct result of their relocation I can't say. Regardless what's done is done and we have the recorded result on their full length debut Native Speaker (out January 18th on Flemish Eye).
The songs are complexly layered soundscapes that don't sound difficult or inaccessible - in fact they're willfully catchy, engaging songs that only reveal their depths on repeated listens. And repeated listens won't be a problem since one pass at Native Speaker won't be enough
Teen Daze has remixed "Glass Deers" and it's floating around the interweb as of today (which actually prompted this post). Strong work by both parties, and it hints at what kinds of directions Native Speaker can be taken in beyond the far-reaching sound of the album itself.
Well here you go - after 70+ records that didn't make the cut, here's the rundown on what survived the longlist to end up on my Top 20 for 2010.
20. Clive Tanaka y su orquestra - Jet Set Siempre No. 1 (Tall Corn Music)
I'm guessing from the .jp on his (their?) website, Clive Tanaka is actually Japanese, but regardless of origin, this music is unquestionably beautiful chillwave.
19. Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own (Secret City Records)
It's quite something when your unquestionable #1 from a few years ago releases a solid sophomore record and can only hit #19 - but Heart Of My Own held on for dear life to crack the Top 20 from the very start of 2010.
18. Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This (Carpark)
Dude dropped an amazing debut in 2010 and will follow it up with Underneath the Pine this February. Might have to reserve it a spot on my 2011 longlist...
17. Christian Scott - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow (Concord Jazz)
Big ups to Paul Nolin and the rest of the folks at the Jazz Winnipeg festival for bringing in New Orleans' native Christian Scott. Not only was this the highlight of the festival, it was a top 5 show ever for me - and I've been to A LOT of shows.
16. Bei Bei & Shawn Lee - Into The Wind (Ubiquity)
West Coast meets Far East on this collaboration between the musical chameleon Shawn Lee and Bei Bei, who plays a two-thousand-year-old stringed instrument called the gu zheng.
15. Kacey Johansing - Many Seasons (Porto Franco)
I had never heard of Kacey Johansing prior to this album arriving at the station this past summer and it was one of the best discoveries of the year. Fantastic songwriter, stellar arrangements, beautiful tunes.
14. Breathe Owl Breathe - Magic Central (Hometapes)
I was just as happy to watch opener Calexico when Arcade Fire played the MTS Centre this year, but was pleased to note how touring has tightened the communication between AF's members since they played the Walker years ago - there was definitely charm to their sloppiness back in the day but they're quite the polished unit now.
12. The Roots - How I Got Over (Def Jam)
Okay, for a lot of folks THIS was the highlight of the Jazz Winnipeg festival this year and the Roots crew brought their best. I had a blast, it just was on a different level than the magic that happened with Christian Scott.
11. Ana Tijoux - 1977 (Oveja Negra / Nacional)
French/Chilean MC Ana Tijoux dropped some serious science on this partially autobiographical and partially socio-political effort. Hip hop is a global form and while I might need to look up translations of her lyrics on Google, the beats and cadence of her delivery can be appreciated in the same way that not understanding Sigur Ros doesn't detract from enjoying them.
10. Yeasayer - Odd Blood (Secretly Canadian)
I agree with Pitchfork when they declared this one of the worst covers of the year - the artwork is terrible. But as we all learned in the historic case of Book v. Cover, it's what's inside that counts. Check out "Ambling Alp" which unfortunately can't be embedded.
09. Sam Amidon - I See The Sign (Bedroom Community)
This one skirts dangerously close to the edge of my rules about qualifying for the year-end list. The lyrics aren't original, but the the musical arrangements Sam Amidon has written for this 19th century folk and spiritual songs are. In the same way I considered Mermaid Avenue eligible back in the day, I See The Sign made the cut. What a tremendoustly beautiful record.
All credit for this one goes to my lovely wife. She put me on to Cris Derksen after catching her performance at Manito Ahbee - she came home raving about the music Derksen makes. Using her cello and looping and effects pedals, Derksen crafts works at the intersection contemporary classical, folk, electronic and Aboriginal traditional musics. Amazing.
06. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (Warp)
Like what Cris Derksen is doing to point to the future of classical music, FlyLo is strongly suggesting where jazz might be headed.
Full disclosure - I sang on a couple songs on this record and am credited as the Moustache Tree. But that's not why this made the list - my contributions account for only a few bars on this fantastic rock record.
04. Beach House - Teen Dream (Sub Pop)
While Baltimore gets credit for being known for The Wire, Beach House stake a strong claim to being great ambassadors for B-more.
03. Quadron - Quadron (Plug Research)
Much as I love me some Sade, this was the soul/beat-driven record of the year.
02. Shad - TSOL (Black Box Recordings)
First he gets robbed for the Polaris this year, then I rob him of top spot on my list. I waffled back and forth on this one and the eventual number one - I even considered naming them both 1.5 as a shared top pick. This was a record that stood up to a LOT of repeat listens.
01. The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans)
Phenomenal. Dude just keeps on doing what he does, so very well. The song below slays me every time I hear it.
From Merriam Webster:
