Ludovicotechnique

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Genival Cassiano dos Santos is a hard sell. Sure, he wrote “Primavera,” one of Tim Maia’s first hits. He was a founding member of the primal samba-soul outfit Os Diagonais, and before that part of Bossa Trio. But record companies had a difficult time commodifying his style. In spite of his obvious skills—he’s routinely referred to as a founding father of Brazilian soul music—he bounced from RCA to Odeon to Polydor for his three solo albums, defying categorization, as song-to-song he touched on MPB, sweet soul, funk, and even psych rock.

This single is taken from the last of these records, 1977’s puzzlingly named Cuban Soul 18 Kilates, which I’ll go ahead and proclaim his best. There’s something charmingly apropos about the “18 Karat” part of that title: he’s not trying to come off as pure gold, more like seventy-five percent—which pretty much nails the composition of the album. Fortunately, the two songs on this 12-inch, licensed for the U.S. (and, nerds will note, distributed with no catalog number), are firmly on the solid side of the ratio.

English-language accounts of this multi-instrumentalist singer invariably peg Cassiano as a sweet-soul guy. You know, the Chi-Lites, the Delfonics, that kind of thing. “Onda,” the nominal A-side here, affirms this with a hypnotic Barry-White-meets-the-Moments groove and feathery falsetto vocals. At close to eight minutes, complete with seagulls and crashing waves on the intro/outro, “Onda” is a bona fide mellow masterpiece that holds its own with “Playing Your Game” or “Sexy Mama.”

Truly perfect singles should have contrasting but complementary flip sides, and this one certainly makes its bid. “Central do Brasil” immediately signals we’re back from the beach with a train station announcement and a rubbery bass line Larry Graham would’ve been proud of. As for a “song,” well, it’s nothing but three and a half minutes of dance-across-the-floor groove. Indeed, the chanted vocals and prominent tambourine/hi-hat combo betray an unmistakable debt to a certain South Florida label, but that’s the way Cassiano liked it.

melpaget:

Gord.

In 1979, seminal poet and spoken-word godfather Gil Scott-Heron reigned in the end of the decade with the same determination and grit that had opened his career ten years earlier with his debut album, Small Talk at 125th and Lenox.

While Small Talk helped establish Heron as one of the great African American poets/singers/writers in modern history, with poignant critiques that called out the inadequacies and rampant racism that Blacks faced in the late ’60s and early ’70s, it would be his fourth album, Winter in America, that would mark the first time that collaborator Brian Jackson’s name would be listed on the album’s front cover. First collaborating with Gil on 1971’s Pieces of a Man, Jackson would compose music and play keys for nine albums.

The LP 1980 would be the duo’s last full-length work together. The record features Jackson on the TONTO, an amalgamation of classic and custom modular synthesizers built by creator Malcolm Cecil, who coproduced the album. Emitting deep-bass tones and warm timbres, the TONTO is in full display, both on the album’s cover, where Heron and Jackson sit side by side with the massive instrument in the background, and on tracks like “Shah Mot” and “Late Last Night.”

Like many of Heron’s prior releases, the lyrics on 1980 still resonate years later, even more so since we are just now entering a new decade ourselves: “The turning of the decade like a marker hung in space / is a man-made definition like the bending of a page,” Gil sings on “Corners,” a song that meshes sounds from two different decades: the spacey synthesizers, a staple of new wave ’80s music, and an earthshaking bass riff and wah-wah guitar from the funk of the ’70s.

As a whole, “Corners”–the last official song on which Jackson and Heron collaborated—speaks to the state of mind Heron was in while recording this album, writing that signals an impending sense of doom for the upcoming decade. Jackson confirms this notion on the record’s liner notes: “To those of us living in 1979, it felt like 1980 was the twenty-first century. With 1984, the Orwellian doomsdate, right around the corner, we were concerned… Even though the Vietnam War was years away, many of us still saw a glimmer of hope in the seventies. But now there really wasn’t, as Gil laments in the song ‘1980,’ ‘Even no way back to ’75, much less 1969.’ ”

The lyrics of 1980 were classic Gil Scott-Heron: fearful of what the future holds, but conscious of the effort we as individuals need to make in order to keep society functioning for all.

After twenty years fronting seminal Tokyo psych band Yura Yura Teikoku, Shintaro Sakamoto released his sublime solo debut How to Live with a Phantom last year on his own Zelone Records in Japan, and Other Music Recording Co. in North America. The album is a haunting psych-pop concoction that draws on the diverse sounds of 1970s pop from around the globe, and now Other Music is announcing a new 7-inch single of similarly breezy, percussive pop, “Don’t Know What’s Normal” b/w “From the Dead,” out July 9. Sakamoto directed the dancing skeletons in this great clip for “From the Dead,” premiering here on Wax Poetics.

Title of publication:“€ KICHIJITSU #1”　(If you read in English)
Name of artist: Takagi Hirosh
Design: self-designed
Editor: self-edited
Series name: KICHIJITSU
Press:“HATENA PUBLISHING”
Publication date: April,2013
Place of publication: Tokyo Japan
Edition size: 30
Format: Softcover
Size: (14.8×21.0cm)
Number of pages: 28
Type of printing: Black and white copy
Type of paper: Plain paper
Number of pictures: 21
Price: ¥500
Description of book: There are two meanings of lucky day and crazy day in the “KICHIJITSU” Today is the day.
The best thing about self-publishing: That individuals with each other related to the world infinitely
Artist website: http://www.takagicamera.net/
Book Soundtrack:

The pioneer of jazz fusion and one of most talented percussionists ever to be committed to record, Billy Cobham spoke to us for the iCrates Drum Issue.

A Q&A with a legend was only ever going to scratch the surface; but scratch away it does, revealing the thoughts of humble man, whose impact on modern improvisation cannot be understated. Recording with Miles Davis on A Tribute to Jack Johnson among other titles from Miles’ early 70′s electric phase, a founding member of the spaced-out power unit Mahavishnu Orchestra with further Miles alumnus John McLaughlin and a leader on several iconic fusion records like his ubiquitous Spectrum, Cobham has seen it all. He’s collaborated with artists from across the board, including Chaka Khan, George Duke, Airto Moreira and Manu Katché and has even performed as an unlikely part of Grateful Dead tribute band Jazz Is Dead.

In this revealing if somewhat enigmatic Q&A he likens working with Miles to “post-graduate music school at the University of Hard Knocks”, talks about the issues of composing as a percussionist and why drummers of today have had to work twice as hard.

Were drums and music a part of your life from an early age?

Yes, I was born into a musical family so, music is my life.

What was it about the drummers were you most influenced by during your formative years that really connected with you?

I liked to watch Sonny Payne and Louis Bellson for they’re supportive measures within large jazz ensembles such as The Basie band or The Duke Ellington Band. Being a young person at the time, I would see them from time to time on television shows.

How did growing up and working in New York affect you?

Growing up in New York developed within me a level of confidence at an early age that I continue to nurture today. It is an invaluable asset.

Miles and Coltrane must have been big influences, but were you also getting influence from the rock and pop side of things in the late 60’s and early 70’s?

I was not interested in the rock scene of the 1960’s but started to get into it in the 1970’s more. I believe that was because I have never been a very strong supporter of vocalists nor have played in many bands with vocalists so my exposure to the rock & pop scene became very limited. Unfortunately for me, I missed great opportunities to develop a stronger musical position and opinion in this regard.

What was it like to work with Miles during that time?
For me, it was attending post-graduate music school at the University of Hard Knocks.

Were you all aware that the fusion sound you were developing with Miles would become so seminal?

I can’t speak for the others but I know that I had no idea of what was happening with the music from a position of popularity, be it past present or future. I was only interested in performing where ever and when ever I could.

It’s not often that whole new sounds or genres are born. What was it about the electronic fusion sound that excited you?

The fact that a bridge was being created to combine acoustic sounds with electronically induced tonal characters so that I might perform with both either serially or simultaneously.

What prompted the decision by you and John McLaughlin to split from Miles Davis and set up the Mahavishnu Orchestra?

There was no decision to formally split from Miles Davis since I never worked with Miles on live shows. I recorded with him exclusively.

What was it that attracted you to being a band-leader as opposed to accompanying?

Desperation to ‘write my own ticket’ in choosing the musical direction I felt worked best for me.

How do you approach composition as a percussionist?

I compose at the piano since it is a very universal instrument from which to emulate musical environments. I also work quite a bit with Sibelius music publishing software through my computer and have enjoyed very positive results over the years.

What influenced your decision to move away from the States?

The lack of musical platforms that I felt were friendly to my musical mind set.

Your output has been consistently prolific. Do you still get the same buzz from recording and performing as you did at the start?

No, the effect is that of maturity, contemplation and thought.

Did you expect to still be gigging and recording so regularly?

I had hoped that I would and so far things have worked out. Let’s see what tomorrow brings…

Has the drummer’s role within the band set up changed since you first started out?

I think that you will find that the drummer has pressed forward as the voice of solidarity that the other members of the band will rally around more for musical support and overall security since the drummers of today are more well rounded musicians and not just rhythmatist specialists.

You have talked about drums as being a ‘sonic’ or two-way mirror between you and the audience. Could you explain this idea a little more?

I play my history through the drums – “Past” (All that I have learned up to the present), “Present” (What I play and control in performance which is based upon my past) and “Future” (my mistakes or the ideas that are not yet fully formed in my mind)

You’re one of the most respected drummers in the world, but is there anything you still find particularly difficult in terms of drum technique?

Being able to repeat a musical idea when I want to do so.

What are the most important aspects of the art or technique of drumming for you?

Being musically creative.

Is there anything you’re still desperate to achieve?

Controlling my stream of thought so that I can replay what I did previously but seamlessly.

Do you ever reflect on your career so far?

No, not very much unless asked.

Surely there are things that stick in the memory for you?

Everything and yet, nothing.

Originally posted 2013-06-16 18:49:55.

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Chida, party starter and passionate force behind record label ENE, is one of the great facilitators of the underground Tokyo scene. While most Japanese imprints have a very domestic concentration, Chida is more interested in bridging the gap between his country and the Western world, issuing a carefully selected combo of artists and remix producers from both sides – The Backwoods, Cos/Mes, Tiago and Lord of the Isles to name a few. For a DIY vinyl only label, it has generated international recognition as a trademark of quality.

A phenomenal DJ and talented producer, you can find Chida Djing in Tokyo most weekends, usually at concealed listening hole Aoyama Tunnel or commanding the heaving dance floor at club Eleven. Andrew Weatherall recently playlisted his production ‘Danca’, originally co-released with US allies ESP Institute as a fundraiser for Japan’s earthquake and tsunami relief, on his entry into the Ministry of Sound Masterpiece series.

For this special Noise In My Head contribution, he reels in all his cronies for a 100% local affair.

Playlist

land of light – higher love (the backwoods remix)
inxs – mechanical
tornado wallace – desperate pleasures
johnny wakelin – in zaire
calderon – assassination
boris midney – d-d-d-dance
vangelis – multitrack suggestion
david chesworth – spiral rebound

**chida (ene records) mix **

00 00 taiki / daikoukai
03 45 kenkou / a new demention of the world
13 38 calm – light years
23 24 kaoru inoue – field recording
25 06 blast head – catch a fire
31 37 mandog – guitar pop
43 44 chari chari – enter the metal circle
47 16 sly mongoose – come closer
52 20 chari chari – spring ocean (smoker’s delight)
57 24 the backwoods – awakening (cos/mes morikawa remix)
63 00 kaoru inoue – kamui fuchi feat. d.g (lovelight)
69 28 oilolop – aberabavoe

[Download Part One]
[Download Part Two]

Today is the first day to sign up at http://wethinkalone.com/
A new project in collaboration with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dahn Vo, Lena Dunham, Kirsten Dunst, Lee Smolin, Sheila Heti, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, Etgar Keret & Catherine Opie.
I think you’ll like it.

Maybe the most slept on black-and-white posse cut video. Directed by Jim Jarmusch.

cabbagingcove:

Sainte Valérie, by Jaques Laudin II

St. Valerie of Limoges was one of many Catholic saints who was a cephalophore - a martyr who carried their head in their hands. Many of these cephalophores supposedly spoke, prayed, or walked somewhere, after being beheaded.

Painting circa 1700, via Wikimedia Commons.

Consider me intrigued by the bioscope, a project by Jon Stam & Simon de Bakker. It was inspired by an early movie projector of the same name and is a medium to experience memories in relative time. By rotating the handle, the digital (or digitized home) movie is animated frame by frame, forward or in reverse, relative to the speed and direction that is used to turn the dial.

More info.

(via kidsroomzoom)

One of the earliest recorded examples of Prince’s musicianship is the Minneapolis Genius record, credited to 94 East. The album, a paragon of Prince-sploitation, was released in 1985, when Purple Rain was in the midst of a twenty-four-week run at the top of the Billboard album charts and the eponymous tour was presenting “the pinnacle of the Prince and the Revolution experience,”as keyboardist Lisa Coleman put it. The cover bludgeons the viewer with as many oblique Prince references as the art director could get away with, from the Minneapolis Genius title (hint: they weren’t talking about Bob Dylan) and dove holding a single rose to a background that’s a primer on various shades of purple.

With one exception, the LP’s songs were cobbled together from two recording sessions, one in 1978 in Minneapolis at the Sound 80 studio and another in early 1979 at NewYork’s Music Farm. Both occasions were under the aegis of Linster “Pepé” Willie, a New Yorker who was Prince’s cousin by marriage and for this short window of time the most musically connected member of the family. Pepé Willie’s uncle was Clarence Collins, one of the founding members of Little Anthony and the Imperials. The New York session was intended to serve as a demo for Tony Silvester, lead singer of the Main Ingredient, who was slated to produce an LP for the Imperials. Silvester did not find the songs a good fit, and the group returned to Minneapolis empty-handed (the Imperials gig went to Leroy Burgess collaborator Stan Lucas).

Willie himself was a keyboard player, but what he actually contributed to these songs is a matter of conjecture, since Prince is credited with both guitar and synthesizers. The other individual who features heavily here is André Anderson, later to rename himself André Cymone, who played most of the bass parts. The teen Prince Rogers Nelson (“Skippy” to his school friends) had moved in with neighbor André and his mother after leaving his parents’ house sometime around 1973. It was shortly after this that he met Willie, who took the boys jam band under his wing. In 1975, he began using them on sessions for his nascent 94 East project, a group he hoped to get signed to Polydor (the LP’s earliest cut, “Games,” dates from this period).

The 1979 session gave birth to the album’s most popular cut, “If You Feel Like Dancing,” a favorite of Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage crowd. It was later remixed by house DJ Tony Humphries and issued as a 12-inch single, but the more organic LP version is the preferred take (as evidenced by its inclusion on the notorious Paradise Garage Classics bootleg series). The blistering ribbon of lead guitar that unwinds over the course of its seven minutes is testament to the possessed musical imagination belonging to the twenty-one-year-old guitarist.

The tracks were never used for the Imperials, and Willie’s wooing of Polydor fell flat. But in 1985, Prince blew up.The odds and ends that had been gathering dust gained new life as the debut of the Minneapolis Genius.