WHILE I POWERED through shoveling by listening to Motorhead, the music that soundtracked most of Snowmageddon 2.0 came from the 12k label.
Run by all-around artist Taylor Deupree, whose work encompasses sound sculpting, graphic design and photography, 12k specializes in minimalist electronic music that often beats with an acoustic heart. There's also a D.C. connection with the New York-based 12k: In 2000, Deupree teamed with the District's own internationally known microsound guru Richard Chartier to form the LINE sublabel, which focuses on installation works and digital minimalism.
Updated Feb. 8, 1 p.m., via Sonic Circuits, the promoter for the concert: "Sorry folks, due to the current travel conditions & limited metro service tonight's show has been canceled. We'll try to reschedule Mountains in the near future."
IT STARTS WITH a low, quiet drone. Soon, a gentle guitar arpeggio starts to sing, followed by a whoosh of synths and the most subtle percussive ticks tip-toeing through the tulips of sound.
A flowery mood has been set, a deep sonic meditation has started and ... then a guy yells, "Dude, gimme another PBR."
And just like that the ambiance is bulldozed, and the momentary attention paid to the band on stage is quickly diverted to texting, babbling and the arhythmic clicking of beer bottles.
These are just some of the issues that musicians playing ambient/instrumental/experimental music face on a nightly basis, especially when playing rock clubs instead of, say, art galleries, where decorum demands a certain amount of respectful silence.
New York City's Mountains and Stockholm, Sweden's Tape are going through the ups and downs of presenting their wordless soundscapes in live settings with a short American tour that stops at Bossa in D.C. on Feb. 8.
But even though the two bands share similar musical roots, the way they attack concerts is entirely different.
Continue Reading "Noisy Ambiance: Mountains & Tape at Bossa in D.C." »
SINCE "ALTERNATIVE" MEANS "mainstream" and "indie" means nothing, we feel comfortable using the heading "Pop" to describe the stellar slate of sound hitting D.C. this spring.
Death metal, hair metal, black metal; London teens, hip-hop mainstays, African legends, cool electronica, blazing guitar rock, Scottish indie rockers holding foil balloons — if you least expect it, expect it.
I DIDN'T WATCH the Grammys, and I unfollowed anybody live tweeting it. Because though I like some of the artists up for awards, I didn't care if they won — and truly didn't need to read grown-ups complaining about who should have won in this childish contest.Whining about how bad the Grammys was/is/will always be is just a whole lotta noise — whereas you could have visited District of Noise to hear actual noise and all sorts of other live recordings from our small-but-thriving experimental-music scene, covering free jazz, psychedelia, modern classical and avant electronics.
The highest-profile event from this underground world is the annual Sonic Circuits festival, whose organizers also produce concerts throughout the year; their next features ambient groups Mountains (New York City) and Tape (Sweden) playing Feb. 8 at Bossa in Adams Morgan. But there are house shows and small-venue gigs going on all the time.
So, next year, instead of sitting home and complaining about what commercial slop the Grammys "have become," visit Districtofnoise.org and DC-soniccircuits.org to discover music and concerts by artists who don't care what you think about awards shows, either. Some video clips from the DoN archives below:
THERE IS AN amazing Toronto band whose name I can't write. The group's two-word sobriquet includes a past-tense verb that starts with "F" followed by an innocuous "Up." It's a union that features six volatile people, but this collective manages to shake off its differences and go into creative bursts to produce some of the most experimental and rousing punk rock of the past 25 years.
The Band That Cannot Be Named has a new collection out on Matador — a major independent label and current home to artists such as Cat Power, Sonic Youth and Ted Leo. But unlike those acts, the group behind "Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009" cannot have its moniker in newsprint. But in the broadband Internet age, it's debatable whether or not this Canadian ensemble's cuss-laden name will deter folks from listening to its music. After all, in 2009 the band managed to nab the Polaris Prize (and its attendant $20,000) for best Canadian album with "The Chemistry of Common Life." It's the rare case where artistry trumped prudery.
Online, we're not so restricted: read the band's name and hear its music after the jump.
Continue Reading "Expletive Deleted: The Band That Cannot Be Named" »
» RELATED: Click here to find out about Haiti relief efforts and events in the D.C. area.
WHEN DISASTER STRIKES, many people turn to music for empathy.
Soon after the earthquake reduced Port-au-Prince to rubble, I dug out the Haitian field recordings Alan Lomax made over a four-month period in 1936 for the Library of Congress. A 10-CD box set came out last November that highlighted the best bits of Afro-Haitian percussion jams, early merengue, European balladry, New Orleans-esque jazz bands and Vodou ceremonies that Lomax documented in 50-plus hours of recording.
Musicians have also mobilized to perform benefit concerts, and record labels and collectors have put up rare releases on eBay to raise money for the relief effort.
But it's not just those of us lucky enough to be far away from the epicenter who have turned to song for solace.
From the 9:30 Club press release:
D.C. ARTISTS ARE coming together Monday, January 18 at the 9:30 Club to raise much-needed financial support for earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Wale, coming off of two sold-out shows at the 9:30 Club earlier this month, will headline. He'll be supported by other D.C. area artists including D.C. Don Juan, Tabi Bonney, Phil Ade, XO, Kingpen Slim, K-Beta, Que (formerly of Day26) - and special surprise guests will take the stage as well. The benefit concert will be hosted by Chris Cole of BET';s "College Hill South Beach".
Organized by DMV Helps Haiti, all ticket sales will be donated to the Partners in Health Organization and Yele Haiti, founded by Wyclef Jean.
The artists are donating their performances, the 9:30 Club has donated the use of the venue, club employees are donating their wages and the advance ticket sales service charge also will be donated.
General admission and VIP tickets are available at the 9:30 Club box office and at 930.com. The 9:30 Club is located at 815 V St NW, Washington, D.C. Doors for Monday's show open at 6pm.
Continue Reading "Press Release Play: Wale Headlines Haiti Benefit Concert" »
EVERY TIME I tried to start this column about the overwhelming amount of free-and-legal music online, it seemed like I was interrupted by another downloadable compilation that ended up in my RSS feed, Twitter and e-mail. I'm not talking single MP3s; I mean full-blown collections of songs. In three days I've downloaded more than 20 free-and-legal mixtapes, online-only collections, promo podcasts and concert recordings. The music spans hip-hop, metal, techno, punk, indie rock, noise and six volumes of Kraftwerk covers.
The idea behind most of these freebies is to introduce new listeners to a band and inspire consumers to purchase the group's music. And if you want a band's full album, or a specific song — of if you still like to own a physical object — then, of course, you'll have to buy it. (We keep things legal here, Jesse James.)
But if you want to stay frugal (and lawful), you could overload your iPod every week with quality gratis goodies without spending a dime. Throw in free Internet radio services such as Pandora and Slacker, add compilable playlists on YouTube, as well as streaming sites such as Last.fm, Swift.fm, Blip.fm, Soundcloud and MySpace, and it's debatable whether you need to spend any money on music. (Again, not even talking illegal downloads, Ned Kelly.)
Below is a massive list of links to downloads that have invaded my hard drive recently. The only problem is actually finding the time to listen to them.
Continue Reading "Compilation Compulsion: Mixtape Meltdown" »
ADULT SWIM ISN'T just a bastion of mature insanity on the kid-friendly Cartoon Network. The station that has produced gonzo animated series such as "Metalocalypse" and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" is also a solid source for new music, especially quality underground boom-bap.
The network has a partnership with the essential hip-hop/funk label Stones Throw, and it also works with numerous electronica and rock artists to produce compilations for its Williams Street Records imprint. Even better, many of these comps are freely available on Adult Swim's Web site.
WHAT WAS A BOY TO DO? It was New Year's Eve 1983. I was in my teens but not yet able to drive, though I'm sure there were teen parties going on in my small Michigan town ... but my invites must have been lost in the mail (again).
There I was, living in the sticks, a TV antenna on the roof and no prospects for cable, and I was supposed to look back on the year that was while anticipating the year that would be — alone?
Except, I wasn't lonely.
That's because then, as now, music was a constant companion, a source of solace, a glass of reflection.
While I surely watched Dick Clark count down and rock in 1984, the bulk of my time was almost certainly spent watching a music video countdown. I don't recall which station it was — again, no cable means no MTV — but I'm guessing it was NBC, since that network had the foresight to program "Friday Night Videos" into its lineup starting in July 1983, giving rural kids access to the revolution that was changing the music industry.
I happily spent the evening dancing with myself, in the safety of my living room, a fridge full of junk food at my beck and paws.
Of course, once I acquired my driver's license, I don't think I ever spent a New Year's Eve at home — though I did spend one in the rain (long story) — until my early 30s. Now, it's a matter of course for me to stay home: the invites seem to be lost in the mail (again), and two little boys under the age of 3 wouldn't appreciate being out at midnight.
But again, I'm not lonely — and not just because my wife is with me; it's because of music. We spend the evening clicking through the year in videos. Though we'll play some catch-up with today's popular music, we much prefer to be sucked into VH1 Classic, reliving our music-obsessed youths and remembering what it meant to dream of getting cable TV while eating a whole pizza, a box of ice cream and an entire bag of Doritos in one sitting.
But just in case the "Classic" part of "VH1 Classic" now means 1993 — or even 2003 — I've compiled all the videos for the Top 50 songs of 1983.
Pop open a bag of Funyuns, crack open the Faygo, and let's get wild, you party animal.
Continue Reading "Safety Dance: New Year's Eve Party Like It's 1983" »
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