24-10-2014 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1995-1999 (2h 26m)

24-10-2014 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1995-1999  >>King Crimson, Monster Magnet, Beck, dEUS, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Mick Harvey, Portishead, Lauryn Hill, Tindersticks, Sleater-Kinney<<

 M U S I C  (2h 26m)

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1995-1999

Arguably the definitive exponents of British progressive rock, spurred on by Robert Fripp's innovative guitar work. If there is one group that embodies progressive rock, it is King Crimson. Led by guitar/Mellotron virtuoso Robert Fripp, during its first five years of existence the band stretched both the language and structure of rock into realms of jazz and classical music, all the while avoiding pop and psychedelic sensibilities...

King Crimson 

Dinosaur (Adrian Belew / Bill Bruford / King Crimson / Robert Fripp / Trey Gunn / Tony Levin / Pat Mastelotto) 6:37

Coda: Marine 475 (Adrian Belew / Bill Bruford / King Crimson / Robert Fripp / Trey Gunn / Tony Levin / Pat Mastelotto) 2:41

Walking on Air (Adrian Belew / Bill Bruford / King Crimson / Robert Fripp / Trey Gunn / Tony Levin / Pat Mastelotto) 4:38

from THRAK 1995

...King Crimson returned from a ten-year exile in 1995 with THRAK, their first album since 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair. As with the '80s band, guitarist/ringleader Robert Fripp recruited singer/guitarist Adrian Belew, bassist Tony Levin, and drummer Bill Bruford for this incarnation of his classic band. However, he added to this familiar quartet two new members: Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn and ex-Mr. Mister drummer Pat Mastelotto. Effectively, Fripp created a "double trio," and the six musicians combine their instruments in extremely unique ways. The mix is very dense, overpoweringly so at times, but careful listens will reveal that each musician has his own place in each song; the denseness of the sound is by design, not the accidental result of too many cooks in the kitchen... King Crimson came back in a major way with THRAK, and proved that, even in its fourth major incarnation, Fripp and company still had something to say. High-quality prog.

New Jersey retro-rockers who delivered sludgy, drug-fueled, and feedback-heavy hard rock from their debut in the late '80s. Retro-rock visionaries Monster Magnet spent much of the 1990s struggling against the prejudices imposed upon image and sound by the alternative rock elite...

Monster Magnet 

Dopes to Infinity (Dave Wyndorf) 5:44

Look to Your Orb for the Warning (Dave Wyndorf) 6:32

Ego, the Living Planet (Dave Wyndorf) 5:07

from Dopes to Infinity 1995

Expecting Monster Magnet to change from art-sludge-psych monsters into sweet cuddlebunnies from album to album clearly demonstrates a loss of reason. Wyndorf himself doesn't need to worry about losing his reason in particular, given how psychotically entertaining his band already is, and Dopes to Infinity is about as far apart from Superjudge as the original Siamese twins were to each other. Maybe "Dopeheads to Infinity" would have been the better title, but as the title track fires up into another rampage of excessively flanged guitar, storming lead riff, and steady drum stomp, all criticisms get left behind along with any sort of sanity. Wyndorf's singing is a touch crisper in the mix this time out, while the guitar playing is even more powerfully direct and epic amidst all the space-out swirl and rockets to the moon. ..

One of the most inventive, eclectic figures of the alternative era, the epitome of post-modern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture. Initially pegged as the voice of a generation when "Loser" turned into a smash crossover success, Beck wound up crystallizing much of the postmodern ruckus inherent in the '90s alternative explosion, but in unexpected ways. Based in the underground anti-folk and noise rock worlds, Beck encompassed all manner of modern music, drawing on hip-hop, blues, trash rock, pop, soul, lounge music -- pretty much any found sound or vinyl dug up from a dusty crate -- blurring boundaries and encapsulating how '90s hipsters looked toward the future by foraging through the past...

Beck

Devils Haircut (Beck / James Brown / Phil Coulter / John King / Bernard Purdie / Thomas Scott / Mike Simpson) 3:14

Hotwax (Beck / Alexandra Brown / George Douglas / Monk Higgins / John King / Horace Ott / Bernard Purdie / Mike Simpson) 3:49

Lord Only Knows (Beck / Mike Millius / Don Thomas) 4:15

from Odelay 1996

Unlike Stereopathetic Soul Manure and One Foot in the Grave, the indie albums that followed his debut Mellow Gold by a mere matter of months, Odelay was a full-fledged, full-bodied album, released on a major label in the summer of 1996 and bearing an intricate, meticulous production by the Dust Brothers in their first gig since the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique... Like Mellow Gold, Odelay winds up touching on a number of disparate strands -- folk and country, grungy garage rock, stiff-boned electro, louche exotica, old-school rap, touches of noise rock -- but there's no break-neck snap between sensibilities, everything flows smoothly, the dense sounds suggesting that the songs are a bit more complicated than they actually are... Like a mosaic, all the details add up to a picture greater than its parts, so while some of Beck's best songs are here, Odelay is best appreciated as a recorded whole, with each layered sample enhancing the allusion that came before.

27-08-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1991-1996 (2h 49m)

27-08-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1991-1996  >>Massive Attack, Gong, Peter Gabriel, Medeski Martin & Wood, Anekdoten, Helmet, Grant Lee Buffalo, King Crimson, Monster Magnet, Beck<<

 M U S I C  (2h 49m)

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1991-1996

Bristol collective whose combination of dark rhythms, reverb-laden guitars, and atmospheric samples helped pioneer the sound of trip-hop.

Massive Attack 

Daydreaming  (W. Badarou / Robert del Naja) 4:14

Be Thankful for What You've Got 4:09

Five Man Army (Robert del Naja) 6:04

Unfinished Sympathy  (Robert del Naja) 5:08

from Blue Lines 1991

The first masterpiece of what was only termed trip-hop much later, Blue Lines filtered American hip-hop through the lens of British club culture, a stylish, nocturnal sense of scene that encompassed music from rare groove to dub to dance. The album balances dark, diva-led club jams along the lines of Soul II Soul with some of the best British rap (vocals and production) heard up to that point, occasionally on the same track... Flaunting both their range and their tremendously evocative productions, Massive Attack recorded one of the best dance albums of all time.

Anarchic, experimental, and whimsical ensemble originally led by guitarist Daevid Allen, a founding member of the Soft Machine.

Gong 

Shapeshifter (Daevid Allen / Didier Malherbe) 4:43

Hymnalayas (Daevid Allen / Keith Bailey) 7:38

Dog-O-Matic (Shyamal "Banana Ananda" Maitra) 3:00

from Shapeshifter 1992

For their first album of new material in over 20 years, the real Gong (i.e., one led by Daevid Allen and containing a number of players from the classic '60s-'70s period) offer -- well, much of what made them so popular in the first place. There's an impish sense of humor to the lyrics, Gilli Smyth's deeply echoing space whisper, stunning sax and flute work from the criminally underrated Didier Malherbe, and plenty of trademark glissando guitar from Allen himself. Goddesses are invoked, gnomes are mentioned, and rhubarb is eaten, among many other things. Guitarist Steffi Sharpstrings fills what was Steve Hillage's role with plenty of post-punk energy, but really it all revolves around Allen's personality and some stunning music. Time's been kind to Gong. Their pioneering space rock ways found a home with the ambient crowd and their music shows they've listened to what's gone on and incorporated it into their sonic journey, which is part prog rock, part jazz, and part just out there...

Daevid Allen

Theatrical leader of '70s-era Genesis and a bona fide pop star by the '80s despite his experimental, often exotic, material. As the leader of Genesis in the early '70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his eponymous debut solo album in 1977, he explored dark, cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music.
Peter Gabriel 

Come Talk to Me (Peter Gabriel) 7:05

Only Us (Peter Gabriel) 6:32

Digging in the Dirt (Peter Gabriel) 5:18

Kiss That Frog (Peter Gabriel) 5:19

from Us 1992

Six years after earning his first blockbuster, Peter Gabriel finally delivered Us, his sequel to So. Clearly, that great span of time indicates that Gabriel was obsessive in crafting the album, and Us bears the sound of endless hours in the studio... Since the music is so muted, it's no surprise that the album failed to capture a mass audience the way So did, but it's foolish to expect anyone but serious fans to unravel an album this deliberate. Gabriel is as adventurous as ever, yet he is relentlessly sober about his experiments, burying exotic sounds and percussion underneath crawling tempos measured atmospherics -- this is tastefully two-toned music, assembled by a consummate craftsman who became too immersed in detail to make anything but an insular, introspective work... But it takes a lot of spins and patience to get to that point, since this is an album he made for himself, and only those dedicated to the artist will have the patience to decode it.

TROUBLE iN PARADiSE alter:MiX # 33 alter tracks in PRSNT_PRFCT_MiX

Rufus Wainwright

TROUBLE iN PARADiSE alter:MiX # 33 alter tracks in PRSNT_PRFCT_MiX [from recent past] # Rufus Wainwright, Benjamin Biolay, Beck, Spice Boys, Khruangbin, Algiers,Steve Gunn,Dream Wife,Jon Spencer, Cat Clyde,The Sufis,Arbor Labor Union,CocoRosie

M U S I C

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Juno-winning singer/songwriter from a famed musical family but with a style all his own drawn from influences spanning Tin Pan Alley and opera.
Rufus Wainwright
Trouble In Paradise
Unfollow The Rules
from Unfollow the Rules 2020
His tenth album overall, Unfollow the Rules signifies an emphatic return to pop for Rufus Wainwright following a recording of his first opera (2015's Prima Donna) and a set of Shakespeare sonnets set to music (2016's Take All My Loves). It also represents a career marker of sorts; returning to Los Angeles and specifically Sound City Studios, where Wainwright recorded his 1998 eponymous debut, the songwriter has described it as a bookend to the first part of his career. A lush, theatrical, nearly hourlong 12-track set recorded with legendary producer Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Crowded House), it opens with the sleek pairing of Wainwright's vocals and a drum beat by Matt Chamberlain before "Trouble in Paradise" breaks open with dense, pointed vocal harmonies...

French pop singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer who is the only loigical successor in chanson to Serge Gainshbourg.
Benjamin Biolay
Comment est ta peine ?
Idéogrammes
from Grand Prix 2020
France's Benjamin Biolay left behind his provocative Buenos Aires cycle after two acclaimed albums, Palermo Hollywood in 2016 and the platinum-certified Volver in 2017). Grand Prix is nostalgic and unquestionably autobiographical. Its title references Formula 1 racing's excitement, drama, heroes, and tragedies. "Grand Prize" artfully contrasts racing with his own life experiences and the sacrifices he's made in pursuit of art...  with a small band, analog synths, complete guitar and drum takes, and live vocals in songs that caress elements of Krautrock, post-punk, Brit-and electro-pop, Euro-disco, chanson, and MPB.

One of the most inventive, eclectic figures of the alternative era, the epitome of post-modern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture.
Beck
Hyperspace
Dark Places
from Hyperspace 2019
Hyperspace is one of those Beck projects that came together quickly. At the conclusion of the supporting tour for 2017's Colors, Beck headed into the studio with Pharrell Williams with the intention of contributing to a new N.E.R.D album, but they wound up hitting it off... With its layers of analog synths and drum machines, it's hard to escape the new wave trappings of Hyperspace, yet the album is devoid of nostalgia or irony...  Beck never lingers upon either his melancholy or his celestial flights of fantasy: they exist simultaneously, resulting in a tremulous and pretty soundtrack for moments of fleeting introspection.

Raucous Swedish garage punks Spice Boys formed in Umeå in late 2015, establishing themselves quickly in the local scene... The quartet of Adam Forsberg, Jesper Lindkivst, Emil Uppenberg, and Sebastian Holmlund returned in January 2018 with their first full-length release, Glade.
Spice Boys 
Spice City Boys
Mirages
from Glade 2018
A raucous garage punk quartet hailing from Umeå, Sweden, Spice Boys follow up their 2017 Spice City EP with Glade, their first full-length outing. Formed in 2015, the group is a natural fit for Stockholm label PNKSLM, whose roster of similarly irreverent lo-fi acts includes London duo Shit Girlfriend and fellow Swede ShitKid. With the help of producer/collaborator Simon Skeleton, Glade's 13 cuts were banged out in one presumably deafening weekend followed by a handful of overdub sessions to complete the Boys' cultivated vibe of ramshackle, surf-inspired, urban disillusionment. Despite their Nordic climes, their loose and clamorous guitar attack shares plenty of similarities with the D.I.Y. sounds of California's Burger Records empire. The songwriting and vocals are shared by guitarists Sebastian Holmlund and Adam Forsberg, who take turns exchanging abrasive leads and sprightly strumming as rhythm battery Jesper Lindkvist and Emil Uppenberg hasten to keep the train on the tracks...

Khruangbin (Thai for airplane, or literally "engine fly") are a jet-setting trio from Texas whose smooth, groove-heavy music is heavily inspired by Thai rock and funk from the '60s and '70s, as well as a multitude of other influences ranging from surf rock to dub to Iranian pop.
Khruangbin
Cómo Me Quieres
Shades of Man
Rules
from Con Todo el Mundo 2018
Texan trio Khruangbin named themselves after the Thai word for airplane, which couldn't be more appropriate for a band whose influences imply heavy passport usage. Of course, the band are inspired by Thai rock and funk from the '60s and '70s -- sounds most easily available to Western ears via releases like the Thai Beat a Go-Go compilations or anything issued by ZudRangMa Records. The group also draw from the bass pressure of vintage dub reggae, the free-spirited haziness of California psychedelia, and the gritty passion of '70s soul, with hints of Iranian pop, Afrobeat, Spaghetti Western film scores, and countless other styles. While this sounds like it could be an impossibly tall order, or something that requires an encyclopedic knowledge of music just to listen to, the band achieve a remarkably, almost effortlessly cohesive sound, and it goes down much more smoothly than one might expect...

This transcontinental trio formed in Georgia, playing an urgent hybrid of gospel, blues, and noisy post-punk. Algiers are a politically conscious indie trio who combine elements of post-punk and no wave with raw blues, gospel, and even early industrial music.
Algiers 

There Is No Year

Losing Is Ours

from There Is No Year 2020 

There Is No Year, the third album by Atlanta-based Algiers, was co-produced by Randall Dunn and Ben Greenberg. It further extends the reach of their previous outings while offering a more strategically articulated, disciplined musicality without sacrificing their core sound or blunting their emotional impact. In a scalding gumbo of post-punk mania, mutant gospel, shambolic blues, and ravaged funk and soul, they add more grimy electronic and industrial elements to their attack. Pulsing synths and electronic, clattering, mechanized beats (recalling the manic approach of Suicide's first album) introduce the opening title track. Vocalist/lyricist Franklin James Fisher begins testifying with an activist's conviction and a soul man's heart. His urgency offers keen, righteous, social and cultural critique rather than indictment and judgment. A sax breakdown by guest Skerik pushes the margin... On "Losing Is Ours," Lee Tesche's squalling, acid-drenched blues guitar meets dissonant synth, harsh noise, and Ryan Mahan's processional piano as Fisher's vocal soars above it all; Skerik's horn once more adds an out-jazz dimension...

Virtuoso guitarist, songwriter, and producer best-known as a go-to musician, a member of the trio GHQ, and frequent solo recordings.

steve gunn 

new moon

new familiar

from the unseen in between 2019

Annabel Mehran's black-and-white cover photo for Steve Gunn's The Unseen In Between is a portrait of the guitarist and songwriter seemingly on the move. It evokes those found on early- to mid-'60s recordings by Bob Dylan, Koerner, Ray & Glover, Jackson C. Frank, Bert Jansch, and others... Gunn's also a more confident, capable singer than he was on 2016's Eyes on the Lines and it shows. He places his voice at the center of producer/guitarist James Elkington's beautifully layered, multi-textured mix. Gunn enlisted Tony Garnier, Dylan's bassist of 30 years as his musical director, along with Elkington (who also contributes guitars, harmonica, and keyboards), drummer T.J Mainani, keyboardist Daniel Schlett, string players Macie Stewart and Lia Kohl, and clarinetist Jacob Daneman. Opener "New Moon" commences with an acoustic guitar and bassline delivering a syncopated psych-folk vamp before a heavily reverbed electric guitar paints over them both. His delivery walks the line between folk, blues, and psychedelia as the tune unfolds its suggestive, fleeting landscapes and emotional states... "New Familiar" utilizes a hypnotic drone and repetitive single-string guitar lines done raga style to introduce a sprawling, labyrinthine rock number...

Arty, all-female British trio influenced by '90s indie rock, punk, and ambient pop. With their brashly catchy mix of punk and pop and proudly feminist viewpoint, Dream Wife continue the empowering lineage of the Slits, Debbie Harry, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Le Tigre. Thanks to their clever songwriting and abundant hooks -- and Rakel Mjöll's ability to shift from a coo to a howl in an instant -- Dream Wife's manifestos about gender roles, body image, and identity feel thrilling rather than pedantic.

Dream Wife 

Let's Make Out

Fire

Hey Heartbreaker

from Dream Wife 2018 

Infusing the angular sounds of the early aughts with a healthy dose of riot grrrl power, indie rock outfit Dream Wife delivered a fierce debut packed with jagged guitar riffs, sneering kiss-offs, and irresistible charm. On Dream Wife, the trio of Rakel Mjoll, Alice Go, and Bella Podpadec channel their predecessors with precision and ease, distilling the grit and groove of early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sahara Hotnights, and the Sounds, while paying their respects to forebears like Sleater-Kinney and Kathleen Hanna's Bikini Kill, and Le Tigre... Dream Wife have seized a certain energy that is undeniable and -- despite the myriad inspirations and easy comparisons -- feels so fresh and alive, enough to make their trailblazing influences proud.

Scuzz-rocking guitarist who fused ernest traditionalism and destructive tendencies fronting Pussy Galore, the Blues Explosion, and Heavy Trash. Best known as the leader of punk-blues firebrands the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jon Spencer became a major figure in noise rock and alternative rock circles for his gritty, combustible songs, fiercely minimalistic guitar work, and over-the-top performing style.

Jon Spencer 

Trash Can

Love Handle

I Got the Hits

from Spencer Sings the Hits 2018

...More than anything, Spencer Sings the Hits suggests the Blues Explosion without the same degree of fire and gravity, and with a little bit of noisy clatter and keyboard blurt added for seasoning. The high-attitude strut of Spencer's vocals is as loud and proud as ever, and the minimalist snarl of his guitar work is similarly confident. But where Judah Bauer and Russell Simins pushed Spencer forward, giving as good as he gave out, percussionist M. Sord and keyboardist Sam Coomes follow the star rather than walking in formation with him, and it makes a difference... 

Cat Clyde is a new artist out of Stratford, Ontario. A fresh take on the classic sounds of yesteryear. She breathes new life into the velvety vocal, tack-piano, slide-guitar-style that can instantly walk you through the swinging doors of a packed saloon. With influences ranging from Etta James to Kevin Morby to Lead Belly; hers is a mix that goes down smoother than a neat glass of mellow Kentucky bourbon. No longer do you need to reach for your trusty sifting pan and river boots to find gold. You just need to know one name

Cat Clyde 

Bird Bone

Not Like You

Reach It

from Hunters Trance 2019

The melodies of Hunters Trance will inspire you to pour a glass of whiskey and sulk at a bar; it epitomizes the grudge and allure that is notorious of blues-truly authentic and particularly chilling. Cat's voice encapsulates the essence of inspirations such as Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin to remind us that music that comes from the soul is never outdated and forever transformative. Whether you’re a die hard bluesy-folk fan or not, Cat Clyde’s velvety voice will bury into your heart, stick in your mind, and leave you with that familiar bittersweet taste in your mouth.

Nashville duo dedicated to reviving mid-'60s garage rock and psychedelic pop. The Sufis began their career dedicated to excavating garage rock nuggets and re-creating them in lo-fi, bedroom psych style. After releasing two albums that sounded like a cross between the Byrds, (the original) Nirvana, and the house band on Shindig, the duo added synthesizers, dubby post-chillwave psych, and smooth soft rock textures to their sound on a pair of albums that brought them up to date.

The Sufis 

Find Your Friends

Cleveland

Too Far

from Double Exposure 2020 

The Sufis' fourth album, Double Exposure, follows in the same lo-fi, weird, and woolly bedroom psych footsteps as their previous album did. Only this time the duo have a much more focused and animated approach to the writing and recording process and punch their performances up just a touch. The sound might be oddly smooth and bathed in cheapo synths, warbly vocals, and drums that sound like they have an inch of water sloshing around inside them, but the songs are shiny and sharp as diamonds. Each track connects like a sucker punch, whether it's the bubbling post-Ariel Pink pop of "Find Your Friends," the compressed jangle pop of "Cleveland," the moody new wave of "Too Far"... they vault to the forefront of the style with an album that shows off their skills as writers, performers, producers, and arrangers like none of their other records has, and few other bands of their ilk have either.

Georgia-based rock band combines philosophical trippiness with stoner rock firepower; formerly known as Pinecones.

Arbor Labor Union 

Riddle Snake Blues

How Long Was I Gone

Highway Loop

from New Petal Instants 2020

After changing their name from Pinecones to the even-greener Arbor Labor Union, this Georgia four-piece debuted on Sub Pop with I Hear You, a peculiar mix of stoner rock, post-punk, and psychedelia with a just a touch of twang. The album introduced the group's core guitar duo of singer Bo Orr and fellow axeman Brian Adams who, when not chugging mightily at a middling pace, were prone to writing spry and intriguing circular riffs that spun neatly throughout the songs. It's the latter of those two tendencies that comes to the foreground on New Petal Instants, the band's eccentric 2020 follow-up...

Duo formed by sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady, whose distinctive and beautiful sound draws on indie, electronic, and lo-fi. The project of multi-disciplinary artists and sisters Bianca and Sierra Casady, CocoRosie combines a wealth of influences -- hip-hop, folk, opera, electronic, found sounds, and more -- into an unmistakable and often poignant sound.

CocoRosie 

High Road

Hell's Gate

Slow Down Sun Down

from Put the Shine On 2020

Since La Maison de Mon Rêve's "By Your Side," CocoRosie have juxtaposed old and new sounds and attitudes towards relationships in intriguing ways. They continue to mine this territory on Put the Shine On, but this time, Sierra and Bianca Casady's tales of girls and women dealing with men -- especially fathers -- who are absent and abusive are more bemusing than thought-provoking. This is due in large part to the album's sound, which polarizes CocoRosie's collages of unexpected elements into extremes...

2019

17-07-2020 > ALTER:MiX # 33 alter tracks in PRSNT_PRFCT_MiX [from recent past] (2h 20m)

Kate NV

17-07-2020 alter:MiX # 33 alter tracks in PRSNT_PRFCT_MiX [from recent past] # Kate NV, Poppy, Jeff Parker, Bambara, Habibi,Georgia, Nicole Bus, The Messthetics, The Good, The Good the Bad & the Queen, Ducks Unlimited, Rufus Wainwright, Benjamin Biolay, Beck, Spice Boys, Khruangbin

M U S I C

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Kate NV is the solo persona of Moscow-based experimentalist Kate Shilonosova, front girl of new wave/post-punk band гш, English name: Glintshake. Kate NV is also a performer in the experimental Moscow Scratch Orchestra, and draws inspiration from Russian and Japanese pop music and film from the '70s and '80s, (specificially Akiko Yano, Haniwa-chan).
Kate NV
Ça Commence Par
Plans
Telefon
from Room for the Moon 2020
The Russian experimental pop performer Kate NV has her feet in two worlds. In one, the artist born Ekaterina Shilonosova sings and plays guitar in the fiery post-punk band ΓШ (Glintshake). In the other, she works with the Moscow Scratch Orchestra, an ensemble inspired by the improvisational pieces of the English composer Cornelius Cardew. In her work as Kate NV, she commits fully to the unpredictability and openness that unites them both... If NV’s striking voice was largely absent from для FOR, here it springs forth like an acrobat who has been waiting on the bench for her time to shine. Alongside a cast of musicians who help bring her kaleidoscopic world to life, NV emerges with a visionary avant-pop record that offers an escape from gloom...

Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and performance artist who crafts catchy pop and subversively humorous videos.Los Angeles-based performance artist turned pop star Poppy -- born Moriah Rose Pereira and formerly known as That Poppy -- gained a substantial following on social media with her videos, the subjects of which grew ever more absurd and bizarre. 
Poppy
I Disagree
Anything Like Me
from I Disagree 2019
Starting in late 2018, pop artist and Internet personality Poppy teased a drastic stylistic shift, moving beyond the alt-pop earworms that amassed a cult following and embracing her metal-loving side. Disregarding genre restrictions, the result of that evolution, I Disagree, is a metallic storm, informed by pulsing beats, thrashing riffs, and crushing breakdowns. That fury is punctuated by atmospheric electronics and sugary vocals that support her deceptively confrontational lyrics... Speaking of Manson, bits of "The Beautiful People" can be heard on "Anything Like Me," a demonic kiss-off that sounds like an alternate-reality cousin of Billie Eilish's "Bury a Friend."...

Highly versatile, prolific guitarist (and Tortoise member) who has collaborated with numerous jazz, experimental, and indie rock musicians.
Jeff Parker
Fusion Swirl
Max Brown
from Suite for Max Brown 2020
Guitarist and composer Jeff Parker made a name for himself first with Tortoise during the '90s, and then as an integral member of the experimental music scene in Chicago. He's made a career of jumping the dimensions between rock, soul, funk, and jazz. Unknown to all but his contemporaries and musician friends, he also pursued his intense love of hip-hop without recording any of it; that is, until he released The New Breed from his adopted home in Los Angeles in 2016. He became a mad beats pilgrim, melding bass-throbbing, spine-quaking, bass-centric, hip-hop production inside improvised music, threaded through with R&B, dirty funk, and his own vision of glitched-up future jazz... "Fusion Swirl" claims the fore, turning on a collision of clattering breaks, droning synths, and popping, propulsive bass... The title-track closer is a ten-minute suite played by a quintet including trumpeter Nate Wolcott. While firmly rooted in soulful post-bop, its organic rhythms are adorned by shimmering ride cymbal work from Williams. The interplay between Nate Wolcott and Johnson's alto saxophone is canny, and songlike in its melodic expression through the first half, even as Bryan asserts a third harmonic line with his bass. Parker's analog synth adds pillowy textures, as he comps, fills, and slides on guitar. Johnson's horn eventually moves afield before the entire thing turns inward during its final third as synth and guitar create a mantra-like vamp...

066 ALTER.NATION.MiX weekly favtraX 01-12-2019

ALTER.NATION #66

Sorry, Cornershop, Weaves, The Tippo Allstars & Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, Tom Waits, Haim, Leonard Cohen, Nicolas Godin Feat. Cola Boyy, Beck Feat. Sky Ferreira, City Girls, Kvelertak, Pop. 1280, Marilyn Manson

weekly favtraX

0 1 - 1 2 - 2 0 1 9

"Rock ‘N’ Roll Star"

ALTER.NATION #66 on DEEZER

NEW NOISE: SORRY
Every time we listen to Sorry, the four-piece rock band from North London, we can’t help but feeling as if what is blaring through our headphones is unlike anything we have heard before. The music is rock, grunge rock, with strands of electronic coursing through it, and deliciously moody vocals from lead vocalist Asha Lorenz completing the circle.
Tags: alternative rock grunge post post-punk post-rock London
Sorry - Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
...Although they’re known for switching up their style from song to song, one thing this new one has in common with its predecessor is a reliance on wild saxophone trills. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” is a bit more deconstructed at first, like Sonic Youth attempting a nasty jazz track that eventually morphs into idiosyncratic pop music. Amidst the minimalist chaos, Asha Lorenz sings, I stayed up all night with a rock ‘n’ roll star/ He said you gotta just follow the part, you are not who you are.” From there it keeps transforming, always maintaining its unique aesthetic no matter how much the turmoil transforms....

Indian-influenced indie band led by Tjinder Singh, who mix dance, reggae, dub, hip-hop, and rock. 
Cornershop - No Rock: Save In Roll
It’s been 22 years since Cornershop, the great Britpop-era genre-melters, scored an out-of-nowhere UK #1 with Fatboy Slim’s remix of “Brimful Of Asha.” And it’s been almost eight years since Cornershop released Hold On It’s Easy, their most recent album. So it’s cool to learn that Cornershop, a band that many of us remember fondly, is planning a big return... “No Rock: Save In Roll,” the first track we’ve heard from England Is A Garden, has a Stones-y guitar riff and a funky tumble of drums. It’s Cornershop doing Primal Scream — specifically the Primal Scream era when Primal Scream were doing the Stones. Maybe there’s some complexity to the lyrics that I haven’t figured out yet, but right now, at least to me, it’s just a big and sunny rock song.

Toronto-based indie rock outfit whose music is sharp and angular, but with a genuine sense of fun and exploration.
Weaves - Internet Tears
That’s both a musical and emotional statement: The song, their first since 2017’s Wide Open, is called “Internet Tears,” and it’s built around Jasmyn Burke’s refrain, “Sometimes the internet makes me cry at night/ Sometimes I cry at night looking at the internet.” If the last album found them embracing classic-rock grandiosity, this song goes way in the opposite direction, toward abstraction and absurdity and an extreme closeup of one person’s anxiety... In a press release, Burke explains, “I was watching something on the Internet that made me cry and started thinking about how ridiculous and funny and peculiar it is that we can sit alone staring at a screen and feel such strong feelings of happiness or sadness or anger while just browsing. It’s like imposed feelings or something. Maybe you can relate.”

Fiona Apple defied categorization or any easy career path, almost running the pattern in reverse, opening her career as a highly touted and popular alternative singer/songwriter, then transitioning into a cult artist.
The Tippo Allstars & Fiona Apple - Your Molecular Structure (Mose Allison Cover)
Not unlike his namesake, Luther Allison, pianist Mose Allison suffered from a "categorization problem," given his equally brilliant career. Although his boogie-woogie and bebop-laden piano style was innovative and fresh-sounding when it came to blues and jazz
The jazz and blues piano legend Mose Allison died late in 2016, just a few days after his 89th birthday. In the three years since, Fat Possum Records has assembled an all-star tribute to Allison... Apple has been pleasantly active in surprising, idiosyncratic ways this year: covering the Waterboys for The Affair, contributing an original Halloween song to Bob’s Burgers, guesting on a King Princess track, covering the Beach Boys alongside Jakob Dylan for the Echo In The Canyon documentary.  And now she’s teamed with the Tippo Allstars on a jaunty cover of Allison’s “Your Molecular Structure.” Who are the Tippo Allstars, you might ask? They are indeed an all-star band, named for Allison’s hometown of Tippo, Mississippi. Benmont Tench on piano, Fred Tackett on electric guitar, David Garza on nylon string guitar, Sebastian Steinberg on bass, and Don Heffington on drums.

Fiona Apple

A Los Angeles, California-based folk-rock artist with a dreamy and hook-filled indie pop heart.
Phoebe Bridgers - Georgia Lee (Tom Waits Cover)
Phoebe Bridgers is a great songwriter, and she’s also a great interpreter of other people’s songs... Today sees the release of the new tribute compilation Come On Up To The House: Women Sing Waits... Bridgers covers “Georgia Lee,” a deeply sad song from Waits’ 1999 album Mule Variations. The song is a tragedy, a true story about an impoverished black girl who, in 1997, was abducted and murdered at the age of 12. Bridgers gives a sensitive, tremulous reading of the song, really driving home how upsetting it is.

American sister act that creates infectious pop/rock with influences ranging from Fleetwood Mac to '80s synth pop.
HAIM - If It Be Your Will (Leonard Cohen Cover)
...HAIM’s contribution to this project is a Leonard Cohen cover — but not Cohen’s oft-covered “Hallelujah,” despite the fact that they did release a song called “Hallelujah” this week. Rather, they’ve taken a crack at “If It Be Your Will.” Their treatment of the classic is sweet and sentimental, with Danielle Haim’s voice totally commanding Cohen’s oft jaunty cadence. Este and Alana come in to harmonize during the chorus, and within the swell of reverb, their delivery is absolutely haunting...

Composer/multi-instrumentalist, best known as one half of Air, who embarked on a solo career in 2015.
Nicolas Godin - The Foundation (Feat. Cola Boyy)
Nicolas Godin — one-half of the French duo Air... Godin is sharing a new track, “The Foundation,” which features guest vocals from the California singer Cola Boyy. Godin had this to say about the track in a statement: "Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #21 was the starting point for this song. Well, at least that’s how I presented the music to its future singer, Cola Boyy. I told him about the project’s architectural origins, explaining that he must let his own personal inspiration run free for the lyrics. I always thought that a concept was always the perfect way to start a record, but then you should soon let the music take over..."

One of the most inventive, eclectic figures of the alternative era, the epitome of post-modern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture.
Beck - Die Waiting (Feat. Sky Ferreira)
Beck releases his new album Hyperspace, a fascinating piece of work that he largely co-wrote and co-produced with Pharrell Williams.... We don’t get to hear from Sky Ferreira enough. Her great debut album Night Time, My Time is now six years old. This year, Ferreira has released the single “Downhill Lullaby” and sung with Charli XCX on “Cross You Out,” but that’s pretty much been it. So it’s cool to hear Ferreira’s voice on the new Beck song “Die Waiting,” even if she’s really just singing backup. “Die Waiting” is an interesting amalgam of dancey beck and folksy Beck. Beck co-produced the track with Pharrell Williams and David Greenbaum, and he co-wrote it with Cole MGN and Kossiko Konan. It’s a midtempo track, driven by an acoustic guitar strum and a synthetic beat...

Brash Miami duo who scored a deal with the Quality Control label after the recording of their first track, "Fu*k Dat Ni**a." Irreverent rap duo City Girls had no ambition beyond recording a diss track in 2017 and by the end of the next year signed with Quality Control, released their charting first two albums with Period and Girl Code, and contributed to Drake's number one pop hit "In My Feelings."
City Girls - You Tried It
City Girls are back at full strength. Last year, when the Miami rap duo was on the precipice of breaking through, group member JT was sent to federal prison for credit card fraud. But Yung Miami, her City Girls partner, kept working and shouting out JT. Last month, JT was released from prison, and she immediately released the new song “JT First Day Out.” Today, City Girls are back with their first song as a duo since JT’s release... “You Tried It,” the new City Girls track, is pretty much exactly what you want from a new City Girls track. JT and Yung Miami rose to fame by talking mercenary sex stuff over hard, simplistic old-school Southern rap beats. “You Tried It” is two minutes long, and it’s got a big, heavy, uncluttered DJ Chose beat. And the two group members talk so much shit in those two minutes.

Kvelertak's fusion of raw punk 'n' roll with harsh, shrieking black metal fury and lyrics in Norwegian was a surprise global hit.
Kvelertak - Båtebrann
For many years, the Norwegian band Kvelertak have been arguably the most straight-up fun band on the entire metal underground. They’ve got a sound that’s entirely their own: chest-puffed roaring, Motörhead riffage, tremendous singalong hooks, and occasional flashes of classic-rock choogle, all tied to an unrelenting ferocity that splits the difference between black metal and crust punk...  “Båtebrann,” we get to hear Nioklaisen at work. He’s got an impressive growl of his own, one that’s got a higher pitch than what Hjelvik brought to the table. The seven-minute single pushes even further in the classic rock direction that band was moving in on Nattesferd. There’s some Mötley Crüe in their riffage now, and there’s also a big, harmonized chorus that reminds me of Queen or Kansas or something. Nioklaisen introduces the guitar solo by deadpanning, “Ay, guitar, come on!” (It’s also possible that he’s saying, “Air guitar, come one!”) ...

Noisy, minimalist Brooklyn quartet influenced by post-punk and no wave. Indebted to no wave and post-punk, and named for one of noir novelist Jim Thompson's bleakest tales, Brooklyn's Pop. 1280 was started by Chris Bug and Ivan Lip in 2009.
Pop. 1280 - Under Duress
...“Under Duress,” a nervy and oppressive growl, and had this say about it:
"‘Under Duress’ started out as just a drumbeat that sounded like it had a song inside of it.  We layered synthesizers and samples onto it and took it into the studio.  There was an upright piano there, and spontaneously we decided to play that on the intro and throughout the song and it affected the mood incredibly.  The swells of analog synth and samples that bounce off each other like waves after the choruses really affect us and are very satisfying to play live."

Controversial singer known for his outlandish outfits, skillful media manipulation, and deceptively melodic hard rock.Iconic rock frontman Marilyn Manson became a mainstream antihero in the '90s -- much to the chagrin of conservative politicians and concerned parents -- before settling into a goth elder statesman role in the 2000s with a matured blues-rock reinvention.
Marilyn Manson - The End (The Doors Cover)
Right now, Marilyn Manson is riding a nice little career renaissance, mostly because rappers keep namechecking him... Manson recorded “The End” with the country rocker Shooter Jennings producing; they’re apparently now working on an album together. It’s not Manson and Jennings’ first time covering an iconic movie song; they recorded a version of David Bowie’s “Cat People” together a couple of years ago.

Sorry, Cornershop, Weaves, The Tippo Allstars & Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, Tom Waits, Haim, Leonard Cohen, Nicolas Godin Feat. Cola Boyy, Beck Feat. Sky Ferreira, City Girls, Kvelertak, Pop. 1280, Marilyn Manson