What’s new?

Soon I’m off to bed after having a very nice day. Before I turn out the lights I just have to listen to the latest album by Tv On The Radio a while. Dear Science is the title of this excellent album and you can find it here.

Tv On The Radio is one of those bands that can save contemporary music from being shat on by overhyped attention whores, or at least stear your attention away from them.

I understand modern times, I’m not a conservative in any way. I’m all for progression, innovation and pushing the envelope. There is, however, a difference between new music and the latest music. New music is innovative. New music is a cumulative progression of musical history. The latest tracks, trends and hypes are marketing schemes.

Sometimes it’s hard to differentiate the hype of excrement from the well deserverd attention of truly innovative and exciting new stuff. Sometimes I feel so jaded I will categorically refuse to listen to artists that are the talk of the town.

Jumping on that wagon of being into the latest music is the same as being a follower of fashion trends. If you get on, you can never get off. The orthodox assumption of what it is to modern is an illusion created by capitalist society. You will never catch up. If your style is based on the latest trends you are a victim of market schemes to capitalize on your lack of individuality. The market capitalizes on stupidity, on people becoming sheep. Don’t let capitalism rape you and steal your sense of dignity.

Reality is that a song can get hyped up merely based on a title that is cool to throw around for people who have nothing to say themselves. The latest shit this week will be out of style the next and embarrassing to even mention. This is how capitalism fosters our fashion victims.

Certain bands or songs are hyped like the latest anti wrinkle cream that’s going to raise your human value. Our values, tastes, preferences, likes and dislikes are largely products of the society we live in. Society is immerged in us, how else could the 80’s hairdo’s have happened? Bon Jovi made a mistake. He knows it now but he had no way of knowing it then. He thought he was modern.

You will never be modern, don’t believe the hype.

PEACE

Palace Brothers – Days In the Wake

One of my all time favourite Will Oldham-albums is “Days In the Wake”, released in 1994 under the Palace Brothers-moniker.

This is one of the most pivotal albums of my life, I need it to get by. The more I listen to it the more I need to listen to it. There is so much to be discovered, lyrics to be untangled and melodies that seem to change with every listen. You can hide out in this album like in the home of a friend who’s parents take you in like you were their own. If momentarily you can be humored by it, I’m happy for you. If you listen to it and you really can relate to it, I’m sorry and I know exactly how you feel. Either way, it’s a record to love and hold dear.

The mood of the record is a sort of quiet desperation. There is an underlying frustration in his voice, yet he seems a little too jaded to make a fuss about things. There are certain moments when his voice breaks or the way he constantly takes the most unexpected melodic routes that gives me the chills. It’s like he deliberately sings off key sometimes as a middle finger response to..everything! Will Oldham’s lyrics are always clever and has this tongue in cheek-quality to them. They are filled with subtle sarcasm and comedy. I love his laid back way, it’s what makes him so likeable.

My favourite song on the album is “(Thou Without) Partner”. I can listen to it over and over again and I just fall more in love with it. No one but Will Oldham sings or makes songs like this. This song is like the rowdiest and angriest punk rock song unplugged. It’s like there is madness in the melody, it twists and turns in the most peculiar ways. Occasionally it sounds like he’s just crying out the words. I can’t even explain what this song does to me but it reaches a place in me that few things do.

There is a strong sense of isolation in this album, not just because it consists of one voice and one guitar. The records starts off with the line “When you have no one, no one can hurt you”, which pretty much sets the tone. This has got to be the most devastating line I’ve ever heard. It says everything about the way you feel in your darkest hour. With one line he conveys the feeling of total hopelessness. Whether or not you take this literally, it makes you feel the full weight of your heart.

If you have even the smallest soft spot for minimalist acoustic/lo-fi/folk music you can not let this album slip you by. But I’m warning you. If you choose to listen to it, and I mean really listen to it, it will make you a part of its life. This will not be taken lightly. You might have to accept Will Oldham as your personal saviour. I know I have.

Palace Brothers – Days In the Wake

Sami Kukka

It hurts to think that an artist like Sami Kukka almost fell into obscurity all because of bad timing. When he emerged twenty years ago the musical landscape wasn’t ready for him. He released his debut album in 1988 to lukewarm reception and didn’t get the recognition he deserved. His minimalist acoustic songs drowned in the sea of overproduced music of the time.

But times changed and so did the musical landscape. In 2007 he appeared with a record called Kuolema Tekee Tuloaan. This time around he was received with open arms, praised by critics and garnered attention from the younger generation of folk artists and fans alike. On this record he worked with the brightest star among the younger generation of Finnish folk artists, Joose Keskitalo, amongst others. Since then he’s been a rising star. He is now getting the attention and visibility worthy of this kind of music royalty. This year sees the 20th anniversary of his self titled debut album, which was re-released in CD format earlier this month. Both aforementioned records have been put out by Helmi Levyt, the banner carrier for contemporary finnnish folk/lo fi/experimental music.

Sami Kukka makes me think of winter. His music makes me visualize those clear winter days, when the air seems cleaner and everything is peaceful. All I ever wanted was some peace and quiet. When people talk to me about the greyness of everyday life and mundane things I politely sing the same chorus, but really I long for that stability of consintency. It seems as if there’s always been turbulence in my life, somehow a lack of consistency to time. But there is one thing that has never failed to bring stillness and a sense of calm. When winter comes around it makes everything quiet down. This is why I love it so much. I feel as if it slows down time. When I was little I could lose track of time sitting in the window and just watch the snowflakes falling down. It was as if they forced everything to move in their speed. There is calm in winter, it silences everything. Whenever I think of  those winter days I get a feeling of lightness in my chest.

But I don’t have to wait for winter. Sami Kukka’s music puts me at ease in the same way, only it doesn’t leave me cold. You have to slow down when you listen to him, he forces you to move in his speed. It’s impossible to not be moved by his tender voice and heartwarming songs. The beauty lies in the melancholy, in the realisation that death is around the corner. The brilliance lies in making the bleakness appear in such vivid colours.

Visit his myspace page for sounds and info.

Heathers

On Saturday I found the most amazing shop in town where they sell second hand dvd’s. The selection was just ridiculous. You could find all kinds of classics and cult movies, zombie movies, anime, film noir, horror, documentaries, tv-series, splatter, you name it! As if this wasn’t enough to make me feel like I was in dreamland, the Neurosis-shirt wearing man behind the counter was sitting there playing Hope Sandoval&The Warm Inventions. I even found the complete box set of The Munsters, my favourite 60’s sitcom! I’ll have to go there on a shopping spree soon.

I was also thrilled to find a copy of Heathers, which I bought for a silly price. Heathers is the high school movie of all high school movies. I love the concept of a dark comedy about teenage angst and popular kids vs. unpopular kids. If you’re familiar with the petty cruelty that this environment can produce than you get my fascination with this movie.

I’ve always been fascinated and humored by social cliques and social hierarchies. I honestly think it’s interesting how it all works, how these things are sustained, how easily we all can conform. I thought high school was hilarious, yet horrible at times. It was all like watching those MTV reality shows, like Laguna Beach or The Hills, only you didn’t have the freedom to change the channel.

My Dad Is Dead

My Dad is Dead is the best thing I’ve heard in a long time. This is basically a one man and a drum machine combo started by Mark Edwards in Cleveland, Ohio back in 1984. You immediately think of Joy Division, The Cure and even R.E.M. in the Murmur-days. This unit has included a revolving line up o musicians over the years but remained a solo project.

MDID spells DIY and stands for genuine, impeccable songsmithship. Oh, and darkness!

It’s almost too good to be true but you can download all of MDID’s releases from the homepage. I’m thinking that the guys in Interpol have done just that and taken thorough notes.

Goldmund – The Malady of Elegance

I’m a little stressed over school and other issues at the moment. Headaches and long naps have messed with my to do list for the first part of this week. Thankfully I found a record over at Blood Is Truth to ease the tension.

I’m referring to the second full length release by Boston based composer Keith Kenniff, who goes by the name of Goldmund. The album is called The Malady of Elegance and is an instrumental ride to serenity. It was released earlier this summer through Type Records, where you can find a lot of interesting experimental music. Under the Goldmund moniker Kenniff creates hauntingly beautiful soundscapes that make you think of misty Twin Peaks days. The Malady of Elegance is a very simplistic affair, with only a melancholy piano to take you away to another place.

Flamenco

The best thing about traveling a lot with my family as a child was that I got introduced to flamenco. It spawned a fascination that has not left me since. I was also so violently affected by the arabic style of singing that it still conjures a feeling in me that I can’t quite explain.

It was always a dream of mine to learn flamenco dance and I thought it would end there. I settled for practicing ballet and modern dance for six years. Then when I got older and moved to Turku I finally found a great flamenco school and I immediately enrolled. This Autumn I’m starting the first semester of my sixth year there. This is one thing that always makes me happy.

Whether or not you’re into flamenco I would like to recommend a movie by Carlos Saura called Iberia. The narrative of the movie is basically created through as series of Flamenco dance and music performances. It’s full of striking imagery and moving performances. I think it’s worth watching solely for the aesthetic value.

My favourite scene in the movie is a dance sequence which features the amazing Sara Baras, a superstar in the world of flamenco. I mean, look at this madness. The song alone is almost too beautiful.

Jesu – Sun Day

I’m not that good when it comes to finding songs about love, at least not about the brighter side of it. I’ve searched for the perfect one for a while now. Along the way people like Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Nick Cave have tried to tell me about it. Bonnie Prince told me all his dirty secrets, Nick Cave gave me beautiful lines, but they could never really reach me.

Then I found a band that gets to me on a very fundamental level; Jesu. It’s seems very natural for me that I would be drawn to a band such as this. Their music is strong, calm, beautiful and has a fascinating dark side to it. This band completely disarms me. They have made that perfect love song which I was searching for. It’s called “Sun Day” and can be found on their self titled record from 2005. The lyrics are pure and honest, as is the sound of Jesu.

Jesu – Sun Day

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Estrella Morente

When I experience something really overwhelming I usually need a lot of time digest it and take it all in. I suppose that’s true for everyone but I think the process could be a little faster. It may take a week, it may take six months, it can even take years. Then when the time is right I can sit back and think wow, that actually happened. Then it ceases to appear to me as some sort of fuzzy dream.

This is what happened when I saw Estrella Morente, my favourite flamenco singer or favourite singer overall, almost two weeks ago. It has now somewhat accured to me that this was no dream. I went to Helsinki to see her perform at Helsingin Juhlaviikot and I had been preparing for it for months. I was so excited and full of unparallelled suspense that when she finally came out on stage I just burst into tears from the release of tension. I was exstatic the whole concert. It felt so unreal that she was actually on that stage in the flesh. I kept thinking about the absurdity of it; only hours earlier I was listening to her in my dorm room and now we were under the same roof. The show was absolutely amazing. Her presence was so dominating and her voice flawless. The way she sings is extremely powerful and gut wrenching.

You may be familiar with Estrella Morente through Pedro Almodóvars movie “Volver”, to which she provided the main theme of the original soundtrack. She is the daughter of renowned flamenco singer Enrique Morente, a groundbreaking artist in contemporary flamenco. He has pushed the limits through continuous innovative merging of traditional flamenco with various music styles. In 1996 he released one of the most important albums in contemporary flamenco, entitled “Omega”. An album which is considered a reference point for flamenco fusion.

On this album he collaborates with Spanish punk rock group Lagartija Nick and several top flamenco artists, amongst them his daughter Estrella. The album is based on texts by Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and songs by Leonard Cohen, fusing rock and flamenco in a previously unmatched way.

It is thus no surprise that Estrella Morente is following in her fathers footsteps, on a path that leads towards a modernisation of flamenco music. Although flamenco may just be one of the finest preserved historical treasures in the world, I think it’s important to push the envelope.

I dare you to listen to a song by Estrella called “En Lo Alto Del Cerro”. This one of my all time favourite songs. It gives you an idea of what it would feel like to be struck by lightning.

Mp3: Estrella Morente – En Lo Alto Del Cerro (zShare)

I also wanted to include a download link to aforementioned album by Enrique Morente:

Lagartija Nick & Enrique Morente – Omega (Megaupload)

Paavoharju – Musta Katu

Somehow Paavoharju came up and now I can’t really listen to anything else. I like that they have their own little mystical world. One of my favourite Paavoharju songs is “Musta Katu”, from the 2005 album Yhä Hämärää. This is especially dear to me because it features the vocals of my favourite Finnish folk artist Joose Keskitalo.

Paavoharju – Musta Katu