The Necks - Silverwater

Read the entire review on The Silent Ballet

There is a lot to like about "Silverwater," with all the different textures, pulses and instrumentation weaving in and out of each other.  The music is pretty mellow overall, and the album's lack of core melody or theme will likely deter many folks in our McCulture.  There is a lot more sense of play, more dancing around from part to part than on previous Necks releases, but the way in which it is executed and produced never clues us into the fact that things are changing.  It all blends together quite fluidly, and certain dynamic changes that alter the mood entirely are meant to be that way. The only unnatural moment seems to be the ending.  Really, how do you end a sixty seven-minute song that is all over the map?  It's like cutting off the seasonal cycle of a fish species, saying "That's enough now." It's unnatural.  One would think that if this trio had the technology and eternity to play along with the cosmos, they would.  For now, The Necks and all the red-throated fish are keeping this world beautiful.

Interview with Ben Frost

I didn't conduct the interview, but after reading this very brief seven question chat with the Australian man living in Iceland, I probably wouldn't want to make the effort.  I don't think interviews really make sense with him. And yet, Frost's take is so highly entertaining, and true to how intense artists operate. Interviews SHOULDN'T work well with these folks. Because if they gave a shit about what people think, forcing answers where there are none, then we wonder who they're trying to please. Anyway, do take a look. It's super short, and great no-nonsense words from the fellow who wrote one of the best albums of 2009, By The Throat.

Chicken Beatbox

One of our hens finally laid her first egg, and so, at long last, we will have fresh eggs every day!  We are so happy about this, as it has been a lot of work without payoff, until now!  Glorious.  In celebration, here is a lady beatboxing, chicken-style:

Mogwai Film

Mogwai Live Film "Burning" Teaser from Nathanaël Le Scouarnec on Vimeo.

The Scottish band Mogwai performs an incandescent show in front of a stunned crowd. As if time stood still, the audience is transported along by musical waves, both poetic and violent. 'Burning' dives into this wild sensual flow. Directors Vincent Moon and Nathanaël Le Scouarnec guide us into a dream where there is no tomorrow. This is a black and white experience of the senses carved by the raw emotion of this pioneering band that doesn't need any words to touch the heart of its listeners. Layered and innovative, the movie has its finger firmly on their pulse, a sonic adventure between hope and rebellion. A lifetime of feelings in just one night.



Presented in Copenhague, during CPH DOX, 13 november 2009.

Press +

Woa.

PRESS + from benjamin ducroz on Vimeo.

Top Five Albums to Put My Baby Asleep To

This list has little to do with 2009. Only one album is from said year. I just find it fascinating what helps calm my 1 year old son Everest to sleep when it's time to hit the hay. Distorted white noise is the champion, but there are many variations on this sound that can involve rhythm and melody. Let's check out the winners:

Expo '70 - Black Ohms
There's something special about droning guitars, and in this case the maker of this music reminds me of the kind of stuff I like to jam on my own pedal setup. Black Ohms is far and away the go-to album to put E-Man to sleep. The music is foggy and dark, but not foreboding. It's more like hanging wisps of velvet caught in a dream breeze. All the delay and reverb clips the minimal guitar riffs into syncopated mantras, which beautifully mirror the human heart. Babies love that, and Easy-E is no exception!

Nadja - Touched
This is the album that got the Nadja project its big credibility, and comes from a time when Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff hadn't released over 50 albums yet. This was one of the first, and its alien distortions and plodding drums represent the quintessential Nadja sound. The noise is enormous, and amazingly beautiful despite its mega-dark tone. There's something warm about it all, and since the metal shoegaze style creates tons of white noise, this is perfect stuff. Relentless and effective.

Caspian - Tertia
Oh jeez. More Tertia worship. I can't help it. No matter what the pundits on my website say about this being a slog in the Caspian discography, I rebel and say this record is stunning and triumphant. Better than everything they've done. The first three tracks have LOTS of guitar distortion. There's a drummer in there, keeping time, but he gets so buried in the collossal storm of noise that these guys crank out. This was the first album I ever put Everest to sleep to, realizing that I could rock while I rocked in a chair. Since the narrative is spicy and rich, it's a special treat to put Tertia on. Especially on vinyl!

Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of...
This band's name must be referencing the magical moment when wake becomes sleep, so who better to help a baby go down? It's not a loud fuzzy affair that fills the air with nowhere to go but the Land of Nod--but it is gorgeous and droney enough. The ambiance is created with symphonic instruments and a lot of long-decaying guitars. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I consider this album to be one of the best of the decade (if not THE BEST). It accompanied Everest's first few weeks of existence, on constant repeat, so it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

Machinefabriek - Slaapzucht
This is a tricky one, because the music sometimes goes dead quiet. This was a compilation of two Machinefabriek records (Slaap and Zucht) along with a single "Still." It's the two Zuchts at the end that are the true dreamcatchers, with "Zucht 2" being the absolute mind-frier. Relentless buzz and static absolutely consume the air, making it impossible to remember that you wanted to breastfeed ten minutes ago. The only escape is easy-breezy dreamland. This record stands as a bit of a wild card, as the consistency of sound is not there. In the same way, his album Marijn does the trick as well. Just skip to the end to end the day.

Vinyl: Game On!

Julia got me a record player for my birthday.  Craigslist strikes again, and this time, the item found was brand new, never opened.  The man sold it cheap to piss off his ex, apparently.  One man's broken relationship is another's warm, analog listening bliss.  I can finally share needles!  Spin the black circles.  I have amassed a decent collection of vinyl leading up to this, and I've been listening every day.  Here is the vinyl I want to get next.  You gotta admit this is pretty cool:

The Mystical Shogun Kunitoki Strobe Light from Sami Sänpäkkilä on Vimeo.

Erik Enocksson - Man Tänker Sitt

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet.

People often talk about the music when they see these films, what a dramatic addition it is.  There is something about Enocksson's minimalist approach that is hard not to like, but the music of Man Tänker Sitt is somewhat bland when compared to his other work. Farväl Falkenberg was so bright and diverse musically, and it's as if the subject matter of this newer film set big limitations on the composer, subduing his talents into drab territory.  There's really no way to make Latin sound cool, is there?  I certainly applaud Erik Enocksson for, again, doing something different.  We can hear the talent trapped below the surface, but one gets the feeling that the Latin verses and the repetitive themes are best spread out within the context of the film and not jammed into twenty-seven short minutes.  It's all pretty heavy handed, and may or may not scare parents come caroling season.  If you see a lost child with a byzantine halo wandering around the Christmas tree this year, maybe give this soundtrack a spin.

The Muppets do Bohemian Rhapsody

Black To Comm - Hotel Freund

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Here Be Dragons

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet.  It's a good one...

Here Be Dragons possesses a unique quality of being stylistically special while at the same time striking a very strong vibration of nostalgia.  Time slows down and folds over as the myriad forms and styles are sent through a kaleidoscopic opium den.  The album cover is a striking acrylic painting done on wood by one Luke Berliner.  The girl depicted in the painting appears to be in a deep trance, eyelids heavy, casting a spell upon those who dare lose themselves within her gaze.  Her androgynous appearance as well as the dark, ambiguous nether-scape sets the mood up convincingly for sultry violins, burly trombones, haunted electronics, and a cast of other earthly and cosmic sounds to conjure a most splendid nocturne.  

Dock Ellis Throws a No Hitter on LSD

This is just a great story and a great montage of images/animation.

Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No - watch more funny videos

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - "Lead Squid" - Video

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble "Lead Squid" from TheKilimanjaroDarkjazzEnsemble on Vimeo.

Pelican - What We All Come To Need

Read my entire review on The Silent Ballet

Pelican have been using the heavy riff platform to capture a pop sensibility for years, and here on WWACTN we have catchy proto-metal storytelling along with the first taste of the band incorporating vocals. Whether they continue doing this is another matter, but the band sounds more crisp with its song writing. At times their riff-to-riff style can smell a bit like riff-by-number, arbitrarily piecing parts together, but Pelican get to the point more quickly here than on past albums, and it makes for a very satisfying listen -- Maybe as satisfying as the new Pelican Burger at Kuma's Corner in Chicago, who name all their burgers after famous metal bands. A ten ounce beef patty with pan-seared scallops and lardons in a garlic white wine sauce on top of a parmesan crisp, served with white wine-garlic aioli sounds good. If all this doesn't whet your appetite for a band that is doing metallic post-rock as good as anybody, then not much else will.