On April 25th, 2002 Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of one of the best worldwide selling and critically acclaimed female groups TLC was involved in a car accident in Honduras which took her life and the music industry lost one of the most creative, rambunctious, and innovative women in all of all time.
Since her death, we’ve lived through her final moments in a respectful VH1 RocDoc The Last Days of Left Eye (Amazon), received a less than stellar post-posthumous solo album called Eye Legacy which rehashed the majority of her 2001 Alternative Hip-Hop record Supernova, and a few one off underground collaborations that were never brought to live on various records have been strung up on Soundcloud and storage websites to be shared with fans still in mourning.
The surviving members, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas intend to march on as TLC this year to celebrate what would have been their 20th year together as a trio. VH1 has a biopic based upon the entire time the girls spent together, and a new album package has also been confirmed to be in the works which will include remixes of old tunes as well as a few new ones.
According to a press release, a tour is also in the works.
The girls commented on the healing process and what 10 years passed has meant for them: “The word anniversary means a celebration. For us her death will never be a celebration, it’s still something that hurts,” stated T-Boz. Chilli agreed and added on, “Lisa is our sister. You never get over losing a family member. We love her and we miss her and that isn’t ever going to change.”
On a personal note: TLC was one of my first loves in music. At six years old, “Waterfalls” was the second music video I’d ever seen on MTV and by the release of their 1999 Fanmail album they’d already had a hardcore fan at age nine that carries on to present day.
Their music is authentic, the production value is top notch, and the songs themselves cross-genres so effortlessly. From the funk beginnings of the tracks off their debut album Oooooooohhh…On the TLC Tip to the empowerment anthems “No Scrubs” and “Creep”, plus the pop-folk feel of “Waterfalls”, “Unpretty”, and “Damaged” made the trio out to be some of the most versatile threats to the music industry..ever.
We’ll leave you with one of her finest collaborations. A timeless R&B song with Donell Jones titled “U Know What’s Up” in which she politely asked the producers to extend her rap from the standard 16 bars to a small bit more of an allotted timeframe because she had written too much. The end result? Absolute lyrical fire featuring line after line of optimistic fury and self-motivation that Lisa and the rest of TLC were most noted for.
“My eyes don’t lie, see how they glisten when you pass me by? You and I don’t need permission to be unified. Surely, I done seen and heard a million places. Then, I traveled around the world, seen many faces. Don’t let another one get near me if you wanna be true, And show me that nobody else can do it better than you. So if you’re serious, I’m curious to see what you got. My love is furious cause I believe in blowing up spots”
Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes – May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002.
Supernova was released August 14th, 2001. [Amazon]
Hot off the heels of her late 2011 release “Shake,” Little Boots continues on the 21st century throwback-forward pop sound with “Every Night I Say A Prayer” off her upcoming sophomore release.
Though next to no information on the record has come to surface, the music that’s been featured from it so far has been exquisite and smart pop music at it’s best. While the bulk of it is loud and contains the common four-to-the-floor dance beat, it’s gritty and contains down to Earth mixing styles that are a force to be reckoned with when so many contemporary artists seem to stick to glistening high-frequency vocals and autotuned monotony.
Victoria Hesketh does not stick to the book to many of today’s standards. Known to rock a mean Tenori-on while recording and on the stage, her vocals remain more stripped on the majority of tracks we hear from her and rely more on reverberation and experimental throwbacks to productions that are sometimes dynamically competitive, but more often than not shine through with authentic sonic passion and in an old-school/new-school interpolation.
We see this amalgamation in “Every Night I Say a Prayer” as Little Boots production soar with with experimental background effects and a rhythmic synthbass that plays a repetitive and funked out lead while it’s dated percussion samples thrive through the song.
From stripped down verses, to a full on commanding chorus structure this is a great way to continue ringing in the next era from one of England’s prized, underdog Pop stars.
Snag a listen through Little Boots’ official Soundcloud and download it for free off the same page!
Today we step away from the bootleg performances from SXSW and the first leg of her mini-tour to hear the first finished, studio version of “Every Single Night,” the debut single off Fiona Apple’s highly anticipated fourth album The Idler Wheel…
Uploaded as a lone song on an official Soundcloud page, the quiet track holds par with the emotional impact and untouchable songwriting skill the world has come to non-disputably appreciate from Apple. A poetic piece clocking in at three minutes and thirty-three seconds carries the torch of self-awareness, the psychological conflicts inside oneself, and the strength to preserver.
It’s song structure leans a line beginning with sparse, delicate atmosphere and triumphant hollers that mirror the euphoric amount of space shown through newcomers Florence & The Machine’s works, but aiding more to the song’s creative ambition than leasing from contemporaries. “Every single night’s a fight with my brain” actually contains a bit of a frantic call to realization; a moment where the song takes a direction opposite than cemented expectations and into the psyche of the listener, presenting unnerving vocal calls that strike brashly harmonized chords both figuratively and literally.
Broken down after the chorus contains a post section that laments “I just want to feel everything,” repeated over slightly evolving melodic elements that are accented with minimalist, brushed percussion that creates a subtle foundation which stays constant through the entire song’s run.
The last note of the piano leads off into a long reverb that cuts off before a full fade out if you listen close enough. It’s abrupt, but imperfect and understandable considering it’s realism theme.
“Every Single Night” is part title track from 2005’s Extraordinary Machine, part new endeavor, and all a one hundred percent flawless establishment of continuation in regards to one of the greatest songwriters of our generation.
Track rating: 5/5
The Idler Wheel… by Fiona Apple has been pushed forward and is now due out June 29th, 2012. Click here for more details on the record including the album cover and track listing.
*Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook as we’ll be heavily covering this anticipated era
Lana Del Rey has unleashed a new do it yourself video in the same vein as her debut “Video Games” and follow up, first draft “Blue Jeans” video (which was later polished) with the track “Carmen” taken from her first record Born To Die.
According to the description of the video, Lana states: BIO PIC
JOSH RACHLIN THE SWEETHEART
THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE BEAUTIFUL FILM MAKERS THAT HELPED MAKE THIS VIDEO.
At the end, a timeless classical music piece by Erik Satie begins playing while images of dancing and walking women swiftly move throughout the final film’s minutes. Originally, “Carmen” is one of the tracks off the debut record that didn’t quite effect us as much as the others, but with this ending the entire concept of the song suddenly clicks. We see “Gymnopédie No.1” in another light: this time both terrifying, haunting, but still elegant.
We congratulate Lana for the effectiveness in her visual and audio elements. They truly are refreshing. (We also like the milisecond snippet of sound in the video’s last frame).
Word on the street is “Summer Time Sadness” will get a more professional video treatment with a release coming soon. Del Rey tweeted a couple pictures, but in the meantime we have Carmen in all of her explanitory glory.
Check out the video below and our review of Born to Diehere.
Indiana based Jared VanMatre, better known under the moniker Kinesthetiac was born in 1997 and has released a slew of ambitious chill out/downtempo Electronic music in the underground, independent music music scene. Filled with evolving melodies, driving percussion samples, and do-it-yourself programming, composing, mixing, mastering, it’s refreshing to hear the emotional depth and sonic layers within his music would pin him right up in a category of musicians that make a living off of labels like Ghostly International, Warp, Music70, Mute, etc, etc.
Though right now Kinesthetiac and his releases reside at Retronym records, where Fields Of Thought has just been released and has grown to become one of our top records of 2012 so far.
It’s opening track starts off with a piano-based introduction called “Empty Corners” and continues sprinkles of melodic solo pieces mid-way through the album on “A Garden Path” and the outro track “Free”. It’s an interesting way of allowing the album to flow through natural, mechanical means and barrows from the approach Aphex Twin took on Drukqs, but simply allowing the piano pieces to melodically further the album and allow established breaks between the highly programmed tracks.
“Mind Castles,” the third track on Fields of Thought plays like a track we’d hear from Orka Veer, but with progression. Toward the middle of the song, the structure steers far away from it’s original foundation and laments a minimal and sentimental synthesized solo that provides a unique breakdown before trudging right back into the Dream-pop champion feel of the flowing production.
A remix of a Memoryhouse track called “Bonfire” also makes its way as one of two Kinesthetiac remixes on the record, and also contains the same creative mixing technique, while manipulating vocals to give the song a Pogo or even, sometimes, a slightly dark Crystal Castles feel, recalling the vocal warping on “Violent Dreams” off their sophomore release.
Don’t let all of the comparisons to noted artists fool you, as you can clearly hear influences from all over the EDM spectrum, Kinesthetiac stands self-rulingly on his own. “Head Cold” is one of the more experimental pieces on the record that contains a sort of brass section that interestingly has a delay on it to give a trance feel it. It’s not often that a brass-esque feel has been brought to Electronic music in this manner, and the progressive build up is one to be commended for as well.
Chillwave influences make their way on “Transends” with a nicely used parallel compression technique that uniquely squashes the pads with each strike of the kick drum. Later on, “Fragments in time” sets its song structure up to a warm synth-bass feel and sampled vocal stutters that experimentally drive the track along it’s stream of consciousness, but is fearless in that it will occasionally break away for a measure to allow the other instruments and musical bits to have their own moments in the track before building up to yet another wonderful euphoric climax.
The most absorbing part about the entire Kinesthetiac experience is that this amount of emotion, this programming, the melodies, the rhythms, song structure, mixing, and mastering are all from VanMatre and he is just fifteen years old. While must teenagers are going through their high school years trying to find their niche and hone in on their craft, Jared’s got it and if he knows what’s good for him, he won’t let it go. Fields of Thought is a brilliant accomplishment for a musician of any generation and to hear a cohesive piece of music to this extent is a privilege.
Download Fields of Thought for free at Retronym.co.uk by clicking here & grab the previous release Gander here. Several self releases and new projects are also housed over at his Soundcloud page.
Erykah Badu news has coyly been making its rounds that two albums are set to drop in 2012 that highly involve the Queen of Neo-Soul. According to an interview with Essence Magazine, we can expect a debut album by the Cannabinoids in which she’s involved with and a new record by Badu herself!
A side note: one of the more interesting parts of the interview is when the songstress takes a second to let us know what drives her. She states, “May sound odd but my fears have been my biggest driving voice. When I know they’re there it helps me to conquer them one at a time.”
The interviewer followed up by stating she just goes out there and does it, to which Erykah said “I do but that’s called bravery, I think. The fear is still there but I get the bravery from my Mother. She instilled in me that I couldn’t lose and everything that I do would be fine, and okay, and satisfactory to her. I think we all have fears whether we use the bravery to fight through them, I think it’s up to us.”
S2S also spoke to Badu and confirmed that these two records are indeed in the works.
Again, this is news to be taken lightly. As we spoke of in our last Badu feature, Erykah is known to make promises that don’t seem to come the whole way to fruition. The “Jump Up In The Air (Stay There)” remix bundle with every rapper under the sun is nowhere to be found, the “Real Thang” remix contest winner was never announced, and we were supposed to receive three installments released in the same year of the New Amerykah albums (the third being a USB stick), but wound up getting two records split two years apart.
We’re not complaining. We know she’s busy..so the remnants of our feelings toward these projects remain hesitant until we see some promotional movement.
Updates will follow as they appear. (Please lets see those sessions with Lotus Flower blossom!)
Reports have been completely swamping the blogosphere as well as the internet in general, because of an extreme amount of anticipation surrounding Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg’s headlining slot during Sunday’s conclusion of the first of two weekends for 2012’s Coachella festival (located in Riverside County, California). It’s not enough that we’re still waiting for the follow up to Dr. Dre’s sophomore release 2001, but apparently two of Rap music’s most respected members were making their appearances during the set: Nate Dogg and Tupac Shakur.
If you just looked at your computer screen and went “what the hell?” so did we when the news broke. As a matter of fact the news even caused Jesus Christ himself to tweet about the event, asking the Twitterverse where the hell Tupac was at.
Turns out Dre and Snoop decided to contact Digital Domain Media Group to create a hologram image of infamous and wildly renowned 2pac, who died almost sixteen years ago to gun shot wounds could also join the pair on stage during the event. Nate Dogg, who died March 15th, 2011 due to complications of multiple strokes sadly did not make it to see the light of day during the set for undisclosed reasons.
The Gadget Zone has a great video based upon the technology & Wall Street Journal takes a look in their article on the holographic performance, which is actually more of a projection technique:
“First, the image was created on a computer, using physical characteristics and movements captured from recorded performances.
Advances in computer graphics and video projection allowed Sunday night’s illusion to be far more lifelike than other recent efforts.
For the projection aspect, a San Diego company called AV Concepts used a variation of a visual effect that was discovered in the 19th century, known as Pepper’s Ghost.
Though the projected image has been widely described as a “hologram,” it is a 2-D image and not a hologram, which is 3-D.”
The article goes on to state that a Tupac Shakur hologram tour may be in the works..but we hope that doesn’t truly pan out. They’ve already slain his name by the four thousand horrible remix and post-pothumous releases since 1996. (But, we digress).
All in all, this made for one powerfully, emotional set. To make this even better, fans were able to watch both at the show and live via YouTube streams. Check out the entire stream below and brace yourself for two huge hits: “Hail Mary” and a live performance with Snoop Dogg during “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted”
In continuance of releasing one song/visual aspect from Iamamiwhoami’s debut album Kin until it’s anticipated June 11th, 2012 release, the band is forwarding their consistency and examining experimentation by quietly releasing one of the more minimal put together tracks, “In Due Order”.
The more important aspect of this song is the music video of which accompanies the song. It’s more of a performance piece when placed in line with he filmography of Iamami so far, with a strict dance direction and a minimalistic approach to cinematography. Jonna Lee bounces to the track amateur-esque in several close up scenes while giving away the attitude and stylish presentation of a futuristic 90’s Rocker and sportively holds the clumps (or mops, large hairballs, weird stringy things..whatever you call them) in the palm of her hand by appointing them supporting background dancer positions in a white room with an Ikea looking shelf set intimidatingly standing in the room perfectly aligned, properly aligned.
The video could also be viewed in the opposite direction, with the clumps leading Lee into a false sense of security to believe she’s a part of them and that everything will be okay. After all, as the lyrics state, “we don’t ask you to give all, it won’t make us more than what is reflected.”
Collaboration between all aspects of “In Due Order” is extremely apparent in that it all has a very nominal point of view. The majority of the instrumentation focuses around simplified, rehashed melodies that repetitively chug in conjunction with the rhythmic portions the track and hold a unified, musically theoretical connection. Several cleverly programmed synthesizers make their way to the song’s core, including a high pitched, semi-hoover sounding synth that comes in through the the middle portion of the song. It’s slide-effect greatly makes the sonics pop a bit before the heavy-kick and bass make their way into the track to give it it’s quick, industrial vibe. The last melody, though repetitive as well, that comes in through “In Due Order” also adds to the track’s chaos.
It’s only when two sections of the song break away from the traditional song structure that a sense of intrigue spikes up in the mix. Once, when all instruments stop and Jonna lets out a rapid “ah!” and another moment toward the end of the track when a measure of trickling melody, four to the floor kick, and 2 & 4 snare take a swift hold and control the direction of the Iamamiwhoami production.
“In Due Order” clocks in at a quick three minutes and twenty-four seconds, but it’s song structure follows that of a pop song so closely that it seems to end all too quickly without really going that far into sonic territory. While it’s not their best, it inanimately remains concrete and will most likely sound great once the full tracklisting flow of Kin is thrusted upon us.
Track Rating: 2.5/5
Check out ForsakenOrder’s Stunning video Analysis by clicking here!
Purchase “In Due Order” [iTunes]
Purchase “In Due Order” [Amazon]
Purchase “In Due Order” [Juno Download] *lossless
Once upon a time in 1989, Nine Inch Nails were booked for a show called Dance Party USA to promote their debut album Pretty Hate Machine. The result is a 100% lip sync extravaganza filled with teenagers gleefully dancing and an enthusiastic big-haired host cheerleading them on.
Don’t believe us? Take a look below.
This video’s been making the rounds for a few weeks now, and we’ve been giggling profusely since it’s internet debut. Luckily, frontman Trent Reznor took to Twitter with a sense of humor about the incident:
“Many years ago, a young and naive Nine Inch Nails were asked what TV shows they’d be interested in appearing on. As a joke (and likely drunk), they thought of the most absurd choice they could come up with at the time. They were then informed their bluff had been called and were actually booked on said show (thanks again Sioux Z).
They hopped in their Honda Civic touring vehicle (hatchback) and travelled many miles to (I think) NJ for the big show. They had a laugh making fun of the people, their fashion choices and hairstyles. Life was good. Years later, the internet is discovered…
There’s a moral in there somewhere.”
Then, Deadmau5 replied, “Dude, it always takes a Zimmerman to seriously fuck something up that bad. Sioux, Joel, WMA Joel.. its no coincedence.” In which Reznor replied, “Come to think of it, Skrillex may indeed owe me some publishing on that hairdo…”
Everything about this is amazing, right?
Also, remember that time a news report found footage from the “Down in It” video and they thought it was a piece of film affiliated with a murder? No? Do your homework, click here, and have yet another laugh.
“You may not have heard of Trent Reznor. I know I haven’t, but if you’re a kid you may have his picture on your wall.”
Pretty Hate MachineRemastered Edition was released on November 22nd, 2010. Check out phm.nin.com for more details and to snag a CD, vinyl, or digital copy.
Chris Clark’s diversity creates it’s own musical universe. As an artist, he’s explored jazz drums paired with intricately programmed synthesizer melodies on Body Riddle, offensively loud territory on Tuning Dragon, and a profusion of genre bouncing and chaos on 2009’s Totems Flare. Whether the records were hit or miss, the six Long Play releases on his Warp Records catalog show evolution served as sonic keepsakes in the eyes of inspired listeners and contemporaries. His latest release, Iradelphic, delivers yet another stirring movement in Clark’s archive and exceptionally explores ground uncovered by the experimental producer’s previous works.
As stated in our announcement of the album, Clark disclosed that Iradelphic was a more expansive step for him and his elaborate approach is aurally apparent. “I don’t think I’ve ever recorded in so many diverse locations; there was a lot of field recording going on in Snape, Sussex, harpsichords and orchestral drums. All recorded with a variety of tools. From £8k Cold War microphones, bling studio set ups, to laptop microphones, crumbling cassettes, Dictaphones. It all got used.” Lo-fi recordings integrated with high fidelity ones can usually amount to one of two extremes: great or terrible, butluckily Iradelphic succeeds in the positive side of things.
While it proves true for the entirety of the record, it’s clear on lead promotional track “Com Touch” that the boundless actions toward the construction of the album are to be commended. Explosive sounds toward the tracks end are actually balloons recorded by Clark that were popped in Teufelsberg (Berlin, Germany) by Mike Jefford and Chris Jeffs. They’re intriguing in regard to the way they’re incorporated into the mix by being warped into compressed and delayed firework infused gunshots that stretch and make for a uncomplicated rhythmic effect that plays overtop of the intensely melodic structures.
Melody seems to be the main point on Clark’s latest and again, “Com Touch” is the most perfect example of driving this point home. It’s a constantly building piece that explores vast melodic pieces while having it’s rhythmic elements playing a more supportive and backseat role, but still remaining strong. As the song fades out, “Tooth Moves” approaches in as the next track and actually barrows one of the melodic synth lines from it’s predecessor and applies it into the opening measures of it’s piece. While it’s the absolutely insane synth that drops in a little over a minute into the track, it’s the underlying guitar that is a reminder of Iradelphic’s march into more acoustic grounds.
In fact, guitar overshadows over half of the album’s run (which clocks in at a little under forty minutes) and makes itself extremely known from the first second of the first track, “Henderson Wrench.” Two guitar melodies, one which plays an uncompressed acoustic vibe creates the introduction and sparse treatment before another joins it by creating a stereo, compressed, and reverberated treatment to the song. The guitars battle in and out of the mix and while shaker elements also dive in and out of the song to create a dense woodwork out of the open air. It’s the humanist element and experimental mixing techniques that take you through several spaces which contain a visual focal point. Dare we say it’s very Electronic-folk sounding in appeal.
Purely Electronic tracks like “Skyward Bruise/Descent” still thrive and live on their own support through the twelve tracks, but are more toned down and ambient compared to the rest of Clark’s latest cohesive piece. More filled with drones and somber moods, they’re necessary and a throwback to what Warp records pumps out most of: unapologetic, esoteric Electronic music that makes sense to the Intelligent Dance Music genre in it’s most adulterated form. “Broken Kite Footage” plays out like a Belong song in it’s drone atmosphere and is one of the highlights of the album, being a track that could be played low or at blasting volumes while still maintaining status as one of the most demonstrative, nerve touching remnants of the album.
“Broken Kite Footage” is based off of repeating melodies, full of dense reverberation and synth pad envelopes that are bewilderingly programmed and set up to convey a moving feeling throughout the music. Ambient field recordings can also be heard through the track’s background and have been stretched out with effects that add nostalgic sensation and focused feeling. It’s optimistic, but broken. Lethargic and melancholy all of the same.
Backtracking through Iradelphic, we have a quick piano solo entitled “Black Stone” (video directed by The Vikings can be seen here) which is a no frills, completely stripped down, talent filled two minute vision of Clark and piano. While repetitive, it’s necessary to carry the artistic vision of the album across and still manages to maintain handfuls of power in the two minutes and three seconds it has to prove itself beautiful enough to fit amongst the conjectural atmosphere that a Chris Clark record is made out of.
It does substantiate and does so elegantly by weaving together the first seven tracks with the three part “The Pining” epic that makes itself known toward the later parts of the disc. It’s also noted that this is the first piano solo piece to be featured on a record by this artist and something that leaves the imagination impassioned to know if it will be looked into on further records.
“The Pining” is broken down into two parts that contain even more live instrumentation and contain such authentic value to them that it tells a story from start to finish. The bossanova-esque vibe of part one punches as it ducks in different instruments and brings in a strapping and attention getting brass section, which blends in with smartly programmed synthesizers that take us into the next level of the trilogy. Parts two and three differ and vary greatly from each other, but it’s interesting to note that the dynamic range in part two is creatively squashed so that it becomes the glue between parts one and three so that the tracks can come together to create one big come up and come down.
Martina Topley-Bird vocalizes with Chris on two tracks and it’s the more simplistic “Open” which is the sparkle between the two collaborations. After a brief rhythmic absence through the intro of the track, a recapitulating and slowly transforming melody ducks in and out, all equally aiding the structure in a droopy, downtempo-inspired sluggish four to the floor-esque drum beat with sparkling panned hats. “Ever flow of a thousand lonely outlines” is repeated by the two through what seems like countless measurements but encompasses such core consciousness that it seems senseless if the phrase should ever stop repeating. It does eventually stop, and Clark ends the track with a solo vocal performance that’s vigorously drenched with a reverb effect that obscurely ends the track and makes for an abrupt, but satisfying conclusion.
The other Topley-Bird track, “Secret” plays like anything she’s ever sang on. From the Tricky collaborations to the later Massive Attacktracks, anything Martina touches seems to absolutely ooze with sentimental despair and the undemanding delayed and stuttering song structure is the pilot that provides the dark transportation before it’s eventually lightened up by a surprise ending of optimism with a playful “Ba-ba-bum-bum-ba-dum-dumm-dum” trot through sonic landscape that brings the morphing feeling together with a distorted and stretched sounding instrument that’s played out and struck in different velocities until it’s close finally voids anything but the reoccurring guitars.
Iradelphicplays strong with reoccurring elements but transports them through a musical landscape that’s heterogeneous in thought and painstakingly unique from start to finish. Though the mixing is a bit loud in some parts, the album never contains a mix that’s clipping and Clark has always been one to be full of volumes in his work. The two tracks with dynamic ranges of 11 deceibels rock just as hard as the ones with 3 or 4 dB of dynamic range and Iradelphic seems to be Clark’s most cohesive and greatest records in his growing body of work and is a chronicle in which gives hope to the full-scale ground Electronic music can cover.
Album Rating: 4.5/5
What do you think of Clark’s Iradelphic? Drop us a line in the comments section and let us know! Also, hit us up on Facebook or Twitter to further engage with other fans of Clark and 2020k. You can let us know what you think of the record there as well…or tell us what a good looking guy he is (we digress). You’ll also want to like us on Facebook because we have a musical giveaway coming up very soon as a thank you for us hitting 100 likes on the page!
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