Some people turn up they radio, others watch one of the music channels on TV, others buy and read music magazines or on-line sites, others got their music from they friends. Some says music should be free. Some people think that music is a product, others that is an expression, a form and manifestation of art. Everybody is absolutely right. I guess. I’ve got a friend who still listening exclusively his old MCs (mechanical cassettes), other friends of mine still collect vinyl records, some people buy CDs while others are completely satisfied by mp3s. Some of my friends listening all kind of musics, don’t bother label and sort them by genre and style, others listening exclusively Metal, Jazz, Punk or whatever they prefer. Love – I doubt it, but music definitively is in the air.
Sometimes I see an interesting cover, sometimes I read somewhere something about an artist or a band, sometimes a friend recommend me something, sometimes the bands send me materials for review, sometimes the record labels or some agency. I never listen the radio, I do not watch music channels, I don’t care what’s on the top of any charts, I don’t care what the critics, “the experts” says about… anything.
I stumbled accidentally into Cartographer and I liked what I heard from the very first moment. Read more Cartographer – Hats, Capes, Dark Arts (2011)
Yearly Archives: 2011
Skrillex – Bangarang (2011)
Dubstep became mandatory, it’s sold as the new revolution and definitively it’s the rising trend for 2012. Originated in south London, England, back at the end of the 90s, Dubstep get far and from an alternative street music became institution in America. This is embezzlement, it happened to Rock And Roll, to Punk and to Grunge, this is the so-called evolution, the way of art from creativity to mainstream and from self-expression to industry. Art might become a product, but rarely a product contains artistic values. Although I like those wobbling basses and ass kicking hits or contorted twists, Dubstep get patternized, becomes predictable and kind of meaningless, emptied of itself.
This “Bangarang” EP’s highlight is probably the collaboration between keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, the surviving members of the legendary rock band of the 60s and 70s, The Doors and Sonny John Moore aka Skrillex, ex-rocker, nowadays famous and appreciated electronic dance music producer. They get together for the Re:Generation Music Project, and the result is the song called “Breakn’ A Sweat” and the movie comes out February 2012.
I wonder, there’s still any fire left to light? Read more Skrillex – Bangarang (2011)
The Thing – Mono (2011)
Mats Gustafsson (saxophones), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (double bass), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) also known as The Thing, are back. Those who know them, know exactly what I’m talking about, what to expect from them, those who never had the chance – or misfortune – to collide with them until now, can’t even imagine what’s this trio about. Avant-gard, free jazz, action-jazz, 101% improvising, no grooves, riffs, themes, nothing to hang on, this is quite something anti-establishment, anti-pattern, anti-structure, and not at least anti-music form of expression. Art – or madness, quite impossible to drew a line between them. Far as I know, no MySpace, no Facebook or Twitter page, not even official web site, this is an old-style, hardworking band, taking the world club by club, selling their CDs after their tumultuous gigs and going further, eventually sometimes looking back, but not necessarily and not in anger. Read more The Thing – Mono (2011)
Dungeon Elite [**] – New World Disorder (2011)
Emocore, NintendoCore, Happy GrindCore, Electro Metal, label it as you please, this is extremely intense and murderous s*it. Fada (Screaming), Becko (Synthesizers and Vocals), and finally Maia (Vocals) formed the group in Rome, Italy and their released their debut, “Make Love Not Warcraft” in 2007. Described on their MySpace profile as “Techno/Grindcore/Emotronic”, their music is a refreshing mixture of Hardcore, Nintendo and Game sounds like elements with Dance and Electronic musics, it’s extremely pulsing, dynamic, Metal and Techno melt into one and explode. Read more Dungeon Elite [**] – New World Disorder (2011)
4Star – Daylight (2011)
If you’re looking for some biting hip hop mixed up with cutting edge industrial, this is it, no use to looking further. Obviously the first thing coming on my mind is Saul Williams’ 2007 album “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!”, and actually there’s a quite impressive vibe of Nine Inch Nails behind these songs, but still, 4Star sounds different, more aggressive, more intense, eventually raw in its very positive – street – sense. “Daylight” probably is not a radio-friendly product, not something build upon the public and mainstream taste, still, it sounds simple and massive simultaneously, blow your head off.
I saw a video on YouTube (Face Change) and it was bloody murderous. I put 4Star on search at Google and I got myself a serious list of 4 star Hotels from the whole world. Gee! Read more 4Star – Daylight (2011)
Man Overboard – Self Titled (2011)
It is not very clear when the term pop punk was first used, but pop-influenced punk rock had been around since the mid- to late-1970s. In ’77 in an article title published by New York Times appeared “Cabaret: Tom Petty’s Pop Punk Rock Evokes Sounds of 60s”, but regarding the merging of sounds between pop/new wave and punk were all over the 80’s and several bands merged pop melodies and catchiness with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and dirty guitars. In the mid-1990s, the California pop punk bands Green Day and The Offspring set the new trend and ever since even new sub-genres – eventually labels – rose: “happy punk”, “faux-punk”, “mall punk”, “pseudo-punk” or “bubblegum punk”.
I admit it unconditionally, I’m an old – stubborn – hardcore punk fan, even mentioning pop and punk in the same phrase sometimes I might consider it at least a deadly sin, but I’m old – and hopefully wise – enough not to generalize, not to reject “by default”, not to hate anything or anybody and I know for sure, every genre has its diamonds and pearls, just like its dirt.
And it’s the Holidays season, Hanukkah, Christmas – or any other pick – , and if your looking for some free downloads and cookies, definitively you will find some taste stuffs on these guys web sites. But for some good stuffs always worth to pay. 🙂 Read more Man Overboard – Self Titled (2011)
Mr. Pan[k]sament – Mashed, Scratched, Trashed (2011)
Free download, but this isn’t a regular album, rather a collection of remixes, but featuring two original songs and the cover of Nine Inch Nails’s “Hurt”.
Regarding my remixes, as a fellow producer noticed, I do some creative work, actually I re-write, re-perform most of the instruments, not only “remixing” the songs, so this might be an exciting listening mainly for those who know the originals, but not exclusively for them. I twisted off, smashed and mashed, scratched and trashed songs by Nine Inch Nails, Ghostland Observatory, Paper Diamond, Archnemesis, Lloyd Banks, Peter Gabriel, Jane’s Addiction, She Wants Revenge, Jessie and the Toy Boys, WormZ and Family Force 5.
Download, have fun, Happy Holidays Everybody! Read more Mr. Pan[k]sament – Mashed, Scratched, Trashed (2011)
naisian – Monocle (2012)
I was quite impressed by naisian’s debut album “Mammalian” (review HERE) back in July and now Adam Zejma hit me with their upcoming new EP called “Monocle”, scheduled for a 3/2/2012 release.
As they says, “the two tracks that make up Monocle have been written and recorded throughout 2011 and are inspired by the insipid Sheffield music scene and the bitter cold of the Northern winter (we failed to fully winterize our practice room and paid the price).
“Welcome to the Cool Club” is a spiteful rant designed to distract attention from our lack of fashion sense. “Cptn. Cluedo” is a tour story about how we were nearly killed at Watford Gap service station by two fiery (ginger) builders.” Read more naisian – Monocle (2012)
Monarchy – Hysteria (album teaser)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXphJZwOsQw&w=540&h=396]
Formed in the early 90s, Read more Monarchy – Hysteria (album teaser)
Superbutt – Music For Animals (2011)
I was waiting for this one. I know András since he was the frontman of his previous band, Fresh Fabrik back in the mid 90’s and I was there when he decided to leave the uprising band and take his chances with a brand new project. And it seems he was right. Superbutt became pretty soon one of the most strongest Hungarian metal combo. “2 Minutes For Roughing” released in 2001 was an angry, raging hardcore/metalcore album blowing right in your face. Two years later the band returned with “The Unbeatable Eleven” only to prove that they are here to stay. “Black Soup” in 2006 and “You and Your Revolution” in 2008 showed a more mature band, but without they loosing their edge. Superbutt has toured all across Europe since 2001 and played over 500 gigs, sharing the stage with bands such as Clawfinger, Ignite, Pro-Pain, Soulfly, In Flames, Prong, Mucky Pup and Rollins Band, among many others.
I was waiting for “Music For Animals” and Superbutt didn’t let me down again. Read more Superbutt – Music For Animals (2011)
