I have been pretty busy lately, so I'm sorry that I've been in hiding.
This will be a short update just talking about a couple of albums worth picking up.
The new Brendan Canning album that I mentioned in my last update is pretty fantastic. Much different from his "Broken Social Scene Presents..." Album that was released a few years ago. The albums feels like it is an intentional departure from BSS and all their splendour. He keeps everything very down to earth and organic. The name of the album (you GOTS 2 CHILL), though it hurts me to look at, is a great representation of the feel you are in for. I do recommend this album on vinyl over CD.
I have been playing way too much of the new Pokemon game. Don't judge me. It is awesome.
I have started scripting out an album idea I had been playing around with. It will take me forever to finish, but I'll keep everyone posted on the progress.
My beard is getting ridiculous. It may be incredibly awesome.
Chance Procedures has been writing and experimenting lately. New stuff will hopefully be available come the early new year.
Have I mentioned that I have one of those Tumblr things? I have this habit of calling it several different names. I mostly use it when I am avoiding boring everybody with personal stuff. If you find my personal life somewhat interesting, you should follow my Tumble-Dryer! I update it every time I get sad or depressed or alone and use the publicness of it to search out for comfort. I also like posting letters to nobody and the occasional thing that Jhonen Vasquez posts.
I will leave you to your weekend now. I am currently listening to Death Cab For Cutie and trying to figure out what to do with my Saturday Evening.
-J
P.S. ALY COMES HOME TONIGHT! Holy Fuck.
P.P.S. I may at some point post pictures from Iceland, but I am ridiculously secretive about that whole adventure.
Saturday 26 October 2013
Thursday 10 October 2013
Iceland.
Hello, I have returned from a dream composed from a total of 12 hours sitting on a plane.
My brother and I have very recently returned from a trip to Iceland. Reykjavik has become one of my favourite cities for so many reasons that I am going to avoid gushing as much as I can.
We all know me, though. I went to see what their music scene was like. Of course; I picked one of the worst weeks to go ever. It seems like they were still half recovering from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds curating an All Tomorrows Parties event a month or so prior. They also have their Airwaves festival coming up at the end of October, which looks like a very (VERY) good time. I actually didn't get to see a single live act while I was there. The only bands that were billed to be playing around the city (from what I could see) were all cover bands. So, I took my show money to a local record shop and bought an album I had never heard of or seen in our shops.
This album stood out to me based on the fact that the label that released it in Iceland was actually the record shop I was standing in at the time. 12 Tónar seemed to be the bigger of the record shops in the downtown area in Reykjavik. Their selection was far from massive, but what they had is what stood out. Once you get past the stacks of Sigur Rós and Björk CDs, there was a wealth of interesting imports and alluring independent and small local bands. The only reason I only picked up once CD was the sheer price of everything (which makes sense considering everything would be an import).
I made a fantastic choice, though. From what I can read on the internet (because the liner notes are all in Icelandic), Samaris is 3 teenagers from Iceland who made a pop album. It's somewhere between dream pop and Triphop. Everything is etherial and dreamy, yet the backbeats are all hiphop based. This creates the strangest and most trance-inducing sounds I have come across in a while. The vocal styling is what grabbed me instantly. I hate to compare the band to other Icelandic bands, but the singer really does sound like the middle between Björk and Fever Ray. There is that innocence behind it that just gives me goosebumps.
Everything is incredibly minimalistic and sparse. I initially did not enjoy parts and pieces of the instrumentation; but the more I listen, the more I realize the subtle brilliance in every layer constructed. There always seems to be one instrument that feels placed on top of the mix, very similar to where the vocals usually sit. Instead of moving the other sound out of the way when the voice comes in, they meld the two to create this strange third melody out of the dissonance.
The album wraps up with 4 remixes of songs found prior on the album. Normally I am not a fan of this sort of track progression, but I was not initially aware that this was the case. Instead, it feels like a revisitation to themes found earlier. I will admit that a huge part of this is the language barrier.
Overall, I would recommend this album to anyone looking for a wicked album of sweet jams. I usually hate it when reviews use lines like "chill out" to describe sounds, but it works so damned well in this context. It's only 9.99 on iTunes, go pick it up.
Here's a track
My brother and I have very recently returned from a trip to Iceland. Reykjavik has become one of my favourite cities for so many reasons that I am going to avoid gushing as much as I can.
We all know me, though. I went to see what their music scene was like. Of course; I picked one of the worst weeks to go ever. It seems like they were still half recovering from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds curating an All Tomorrows Parties event a month or so prior. They also have their Airwaves festival coming up at the end of October, which looks like a very (VERY) good time. I actually didn't get to see a single live act while I was there. The only bands that were billed to be playing around the city (from what I could see) were all cover bands. So, I took my show money to a local record shop and bought an album I had never heard of or seen in our shops.
SAMARIS
I made a fantastic choice, though. From what I can read on the internet (because the liner notes are all in Icelandic), Samaris is 3 teenagers from Iceland who made a pop album. It's somewhere between dream pop and Triphop. Everything is etherial and dreamy, yet the backbeats are all hiphop based. This creates the strangest and most trance-inducing sounds I have come across in a while. The vocal styling is what grabbed me instantly. I hate to compare the band to other Icelandic bands, but the singer really does sound like the middle between Björk and Fever Ray. There is that innocence behind it that just gives me goosebumps.
Everything is incredibly minimalistic and sparse. I initially did not enjoy parts and pieces of the instrumentation; but the more I listen, the more I realize the subtle brilliance in every layer constructed. There always seems to be one instrument that feels placed on top of the mix, very similar to where the vocals usually sit. Instead of moving the other sound out of the way when the voice comes in, they meld the two to create this strange third melody out of the dissonance.
The album wraps up with 4 remixes of songs found prior on the album. Normally I am not a fan of this sort of track progression, but I was not initially aware that this was the case. Instead, it feels like a revisitation to themes found earlier. I will admit that a huge part of this is the language barrier.
Overall, I would recommend this album to anyone looking for a wicked album of sweet jams. I usually hate it when reviews use lines like "chill out" to describe sounds, but it works so damned well in this context. It's only 9.99 on iTunes, go pick it up.
Here's a track
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