12 Short Films By Seamus Murphy out on DVD

12 Short Films By Seamus Murphy is a beautiful series set to the equally beautiful album Let England Shake. The short films were commissioned by Pj Harvey, after she came across Murphy’s war-reportage photographs from the United States’ war in Afghanistan.

“I wanted to look at the enigma of England, its island mentality and complicated relationship with its past. Contemporary England springs from a history of colonial adventures, military ambitions, industrial prowess and a rigid hierarchy. Now it is also defined by its waning power and role in modern geopolitics. And it can be a gratifyingly odd place.” – Seamus Murphy, from his introduction to the Let England Shake DVD

The dvd is now available on Amazon.com

Soft Metals Interview

Portland, OR has been the home to quite a few memorable bands in recent memory, but one of the most remarkable from its new class, Soft Metals, is an impressive duo featuring Patricia Hall and Ian Hicks. The duo just relocated to Los Angeles, and are quickly making a name for themselves as one of the best live bands in town, and one of my personal favorite new bands anywhere. They don’t easily fit into any category, their sound is informed by 80′s electronics, New Wave and Minimal Bands, with an elegance and modernity to their programming and sound choices most recent electronic dance bands lack. Here we talk with Patricia Hall about how their band came to be, and find out more about what it’s taken to get Soft Metals to the place where they are today, making some of the best dance music in the world.

MC: Can you tell me about Portland’s Electronic music scene, and what it was like to be a band there?

Patricia Hall: There are a lot of great electronic bands in Portland- The Miracles Club, Arohan, Finesse, Reporter, Asss, The Crow, Vice Device, and Tunnels to name a few. It’s a small scene, but everyone seems to be pretty supportive of one another. We had a good experience with being a band in Portland thanks to the support of the venues Holocene, East End, and Valentines.

MC: Are you both from Portland originally, and how did you meet and come to making music together?

PH: Ian’s originally from Berkley, CA but he went to middle school and high school in Portland. He went to college in Wisconsin, then lived in Glasgow, Scotland for a bit, then Chicago, then San Francisco, then Portland again for 2 years, and now in Los Angeles. I am originally from Virginia outside of DC. I met Ian at a dance party I thew in Portland, but he was living in SF at the time. He was recommended for the party by a friend. I really liked what he played. We kept in touch and when Ian moved to Portland he invited me to make music with him.

MC: Who are the most inspiring artists for each of you? What do you see or hear and it excites you to create?

PH: For me it’s Chris & Cosey, Jeff and Jane Hudson, The Units. Not only do they make fantastic music, but they are hopelessly in love with one another to this day. They’re also still making music even though they all got their start in the 70s. I hope we continue making music together our whole lives.

I pull inspiration from my own life- the lessons I am learning at the moment or the feelings that are the most intense. I’m also inspired by science, nature, the cosmos, art. Lately I’ve been really inspired by the artist Yayoi Kusama. I want to turn our music studio into an infinity room.

MC: What are each of your favorite shows you’ve been to, why was it such a special concert?

PH: I love seeing my friends in bands play live. For instance Jewels of the Nile, Violet Tremors, Innergaze, Cosmetics, Blouse, Reporter, //TENSE//, Glass Candy, Chromatics, The Miracles Club. It’s exciting to see how people grow, how their music evolves, how stage personas develop, and differ from how you know them in real life. It’s good to see the people you know shine.

MC: What were each of your first bands like?

PH: Soft Metals is my first band and it’s been fun and challenging. Ian’s been making music by himself and with friends since high school, but nothing had ever been released, nor had he done any touring. In a way it’s his first band, too.

MC: How did you hook up with Captured Tracks, what is it like to be on the label?

PH: Mike from Captured Tracks heard about us when we only had two songs written. He offered us a record deal and we happily took it. We put out the EP “The Cold World Melts” a few months after that. We love being on Captured Tracks. Mike and Katie at the label are very helpful and supportive. They give us complete creative freedom and compensate us fairly. We lucked out.

MC: Lyrically what are you most excited to express these days, how do your songs evolve, do they usually come quickly or develop slowly over time?

PH: I think the same themes will always be present in our songs: love, conflict, death, mystery, science. Our songs begin with Ian and I improvising together. The music will make an impression on me- it will remind me of something in my life that I’ve experienced or witnessed and a theme for the lyrics emerges. We take that material and arrange it to fit more of a song structure and then I write words for it. The music usually comes quickly. The hardest and longest part of finishing a song is writing the lyrics.

MC: Can you give us any clue what the new material you’re about to work on will be like, are you playing some of it in your recent live sets?

PH: From playing shows we have decided that we want our new material to be a little more outgoing, danceable, but also otherworldly. We have a lot of fun playing live when we see the audience dancing and getting lost in our music. We feed off of that energy and that will come back to the audience. We haven’t played any of the new stuff yet in our live shows, but we will before the summer.

MC: If you could design a perfect concert bill that would be your dream show, what bands would play with you?

PH: For me, Chris & Cosey, Jeff and Jane Hudson, The Units, Innergaze, Xeno & Oaklander, Terminal Twilight, Violet Tremors, Jewels of the Nile.

MC: Are you into films, what would each of you describe as one of your favorite movies and why?

PH: Yes, we’re into films. I’d say together Ian and I have really bonded over Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. Ian really likes Barry Lyndon, Videodrome, Terminator 1 & 2, Blade Runner. I really like Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Mademoiselle, Daisies, Pierrot Le Fou. We both liked The Lives of Others, The Baader-Meinhof Complex. We’re really looking forward to Prometheus coming out in June.

MC: What are your signs? Do you feel they describe your personality?

PH: I’m a Pisces and Ian is a Taurus. I would say those sign’s descriptions fit our personalities, but I also think those are written vaguely so that anyone could fit them. Carl Sagan had a logical explanation as to why astrology doesn’t work and I believe him.

MC: You’ve recently relocated to Los Angeles, is the city what you expected, how have your perceptions changed if not?

PH: It is what I expected, but the bonus is that a lot of my friends from Portland have recently moved here so I am surrounded by familiar faces.

Support Soft Metals

Michael Cameron

Sinead O’Connor @ The El Rey 2/20/12

Lights go down, curtain opens, band plays, she glides out onto center stage looking sharp in a black bustier and paint suit, and finally Sinead’s voice flows forth into our eager ears and hearts. She opened with Take Off Your Shoes from her new album How About I Be Me (And You Be You)? She sang straight through two more songs, which thankfully included The Emperor’s New Clothes, before she began to open up to us with a little banter. She incessantly teased she would make an inappropriate joke and was proud of herself that she hadn’t yet. But the audience pleaded and she obliged by sharing with us that when she first met her husband she told him she had a penis. And with this, all were satisfied with some inappropriate storytelling.

The set continued on with new songs with great titles like The Wolf is Getting Married, Queen of Denmark, and I Had a Baby but of course there was the hit, and no matter how many times we’ve heard it before we anxiously awaited to hear it again, this time LIVE! But playful Sinead was so joyful she told us she needed to bring the celebration down a notch and tried to compose herself as she joked, “ok, this next one is very, very serious,” and then broke out into that unforgettable first line “It’s been seven hours and fifteen days.” Nothing Compares 2 U still had its ability to open the floodgates of emotion.

Sinead’s voice, the one full of passion, angst and love, hit its peak in Jackie. Bouncing up and down, giving us everything she had, we felt it and loved it. It made no difference if we were familiar with the new songs or not, we were there to see the woman with the voice. Sinead showed us she is more than just a pretty shaved head up to controversial antics. She’s a woman on fire, exuding pure joy with a mature sense of gratitude for life and love. And in turn, we left the night with that same sense of appreciation, knowing we had seen a living legend.

Trisha Velez

WINDY AND CARL – WE WILL ALWAYS BE

It’s been about four years (several lifetimes in the blog continuum, I suppose) since Dearborn, Michigan based ambient/drone/beauty merchants Windy and Carl released a LP. Maybe you forgot they were still active or maybe you’ve never even heard of them. Well, We Will Always Be is as good an entrance as any into the delicate, shiver-inducing, sometimes unsettling, aural landscapes conjured by Windy and Carl. Giant spiderwebs, pools of warm light, dark mists and fog, bio-luminescent creatures, dying leaves, ink dipped oceans, whispers in caves. These are some of the treasures you may encounter while visiting Windy and Carl World.

Okay, the first track might throw you a bit. For longtime fans of W & C opener “For Rosa”, while gorgeous in its own right, is kind of an “uh oh…” moment. Unprocessed acoustic guitar strumming by Carl Hultgren and relatively clear vocals and lyrics by Windy Weber? There’s a flash of fear that this is going to be some kind of transitional album into a more traditional, singer-songwriter-y affair…but then I’m aware of the weird, gravelly, sample undulating underneath everything in the mix. Fear dismissed. This is an ambient album. Soon enough I’m drifting away with the blissed-out guitar swells of “Remember.”

The most exciting passage of the album is the second half. “The Smell of Old Books” is as ethereal and tranquilizing as anything the couple has ever recorded and there’s a dark mystery hinted at on “Nature of Memory” that is fully explored by the near 20 minute closer “Fainting in the Presence of the Lord.” In that final track the guitar scrapes away on top of the drone; the hand of God slowly tears apart her own creation.

We Will Always Be is the first Windy & Carl release I’ve purchased on vinyl and, believe me, it is completely worth it if you have a decent turntable and speakers/headphones. There are wonderful details throughout the mix and the mastering job by Steve Swartz sounds ace to my ears. A needle should touch these songs.

Support the artist: http://kranky.net/

-Christopher Dreisbach

Catwalk @ The Smell 2/17/12

♥ aida

Secret Chiefs 3 – Resonance Reviews – Rating new releases and classics from years past…

Secret Chiefs 3 (Trey Spruance from Mr. Bungle) have released two more singles in anticipation of their long awaited album Book of Souls and if these songs indicate anything it’s that Trey’s compositional, producing and arranging skills are being stretched as he records the new album. Secret Chiefs 3 still sound the same but that’s not a bad thing when your music has always defined the boundaries and possibilities of genre.

La Chanson de Jacky 7” by Secret Chiefs 3 (Traditionalists) (2011)
7.5/10

Though similar to both the Scott Walker version and the Original Jaques Brel version, La Chanson de Jacky as interpreted by Secret Chiefs 3 is a great treat for those that enjoy elaborate orchestration, those who like The Traditionalists strange mix of film composers (Ernest Gold, Morricone, Goblin, Elfman) and in this case traditional French music, the source of the music.

But especially if you love Mike Patton.

Yes, this single is notable because Patton collaborates with Spruance for the first time since 1999, making all Mr. Bungle nerds cream in anticipation of a Reunion. No dice yet, keep creaming though.

It’s also notable because Secret Chiefs 3’s music is usually instrumental and Patton does a great job in crooning his way through, imitating Scott Walker. Though I don’t speak French I’ve read that Patton’s French is a bit sloppy, but since I’m a complete ignorant there I enjoy his theatrics.

I will say that I didn’t enjoy the song fully the first time that I heard it. Having heard the Walker version beforehand it was a bit too similar for me to take too seriously at first, but I did notice that the third verse goes into French, which Walker’s doesn’t do and ties this new version with the original Brel version. Changes like those and Spruance’s decisions in scoring eventually pull you in.

It’s an amazing song so you can’t help but enjoy it, so well constructed and arranged by Spruance that by the time you get to Patton’s emotional and invested delivery (not phoned in, as he does sometimes) you’re singing along with the chorus. Great song, hear the originals too. All great.

In the end, though, the show goes to Spruance and his keen sense of instrumentation, really enjoyable.

The Western Exile is a more Morricone like version of Exile from their 2004 Album Book of Horizons (their Masterpiece thus far in my opinion) A Melvins/ZZ Top rhythm pounds through the song and the strange mood and style changes keep it from being too similar from the original. I prefer the original version, but as a curiosity and b-side it’s a great companion to Jacky

Saptarshi 7”– by Secret Chiefs 3 (Ishraqiyun) (2010)
7/10

Ishraqiyun is my favorite of the 7 satellite bands inside Secret Chiefs 3. Their brand of Electric Arabic/Eastern with a dash of rock has always intrigued me. Not only because of its alien nature but because it truly transports me to a different world, one I have invented in my head and would like to live in. Though I described it as Eastern and Arabic, Spruance has said in interviews that to those cultures the songs would sound just as strange because he didn’t really base his music on theirs, he just incorporated their concepts of scales and structure.

Just like Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3 jumps wildly among genres. But Ishraqiyum is a bit more subtle in the way they incorporate various influences. Here, along with the Electro Indian structure, there are moments of Giallo that become strange Danny Elfman interludes, mixed with Heavy Metal barrages that become an jazz/Arabic solo.

But that’s getting too technical. Lets just say if David Lynch and Dario Argento did a movie this is the guy they would hire to score it.

B/side

Which takes us to Radar, an Electronic re interpretation by FORMS of Bernard Herman’s theme of the Day the Earth Stood Still. More Elfman sounding than the A side, with crazy changes between each bar daring you to get lost but the constant beat and repetition keep you inside. A bit less enjoyable than Sptarshi, I wished the song went somewhere else before it ended.

Support the artist and buy the singles here: http://www.webofmimicry.com/store/index.php?cPath=21

-César Ochoa

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra @ The Troubadour 2/8/12

Aida and I arrive at the Troubadour about half an hour after the doors
open. It’s possibly my favorite venue in LA. The sound ranges from good to
great and the size is just right. It’s a little empty tonight but people
always seem to arrive at shows right before the main act begins.

– - – - – - – - – - – -

Opening act Matana Roberts plays solo improvised saxophone. Her sound
embraces every kind of texture or noise her instrument can produce mixed
with beautiful melodic runs and arpeggios. Between songs she speaks with
charisma of the weirdness of Santa Monica (“Where are all the black
people?”, Botox on the Beach, etc.) as well as her project tracing her
family history to slave manifests in the UK. Her music leaves me feeling
refreshed. I can’t remember the last time I saw a live musical performance
that didn’t involve guitar, keys, or voice.

– - – - – - – - – - – -

The band takes the stage beneath a slightly crooked, completely flipped
portrait of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Guitarist/lead vocalist
Efrim Menuck thanks the now nearly capacity crowd and introduces the group
as Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra “from Montreal, Quebec.” The
roster also includes Sophie Trudeau and Jessica Moss on violin, Thierry
Amar on bass, and David Payant on drums. All five members of the band sing.

Efrim politely, charmingly, insults the city of Los Angeles (with the
caveat “but good people live here”) then announces the first song,“13 Blues
for 13 Moons”. The musicians dig in.

I’m immediately struck by the quality of Efrim Menuck’s voice. On the last
few Silver Mt. Zion albums, Menuck’s quavering, plaintive, howl
occasionally kept me at a distance from the music but here, tonight,
despite barely being able to decipher most lyrics, I find his vocals warm,
inviting, and harmonious with his band and guitar playing. It occurs to me
that his gorgeous, reverb and tremelo drenched, electric guitar tone is an
alien presence amongst the folk instruments of the rest of the band. That’s
not to say the guitar sounds incongruous, in fact, it weaves perfectly
between the violins, bass, and drums. The electric guitar coats the earthly
music with an otherworldly glow.

The band works hard. There are frequent dynamic changes, unconventional
time signatures, and two, three, four and five part harmonies. There is no
light-show, projections, or visual atmospherics to speak of. All eyes are
on the musicians. Violinists Moss and Trudeau create shimmering layers of
precise melody and dense drone. Bassist Amar switches between bowed and
plucked double bass and traditional electric bass. Drummer Payant moves
from gentle dirge to majestic march (and back again) without once stepping
into Kroq territory.

They play material from their last three albums including standouts
“BlindBlindBlind”, “There Is a Light”, and “Horses in the Sky”. I feel most
energized, however, by the (three or four?) new songs which include “What
We Loved Was Not Enough” and encore “Psalm 99”. Suffice to say the next
Silver Mt. Zion record will be powerful.

Between songs Efrim tunes and opens up for questions from the strangely
irreverent crowd. I thought we were done with the drunken, half-ironic,
requests for Freebird? Anyway, Menuck takes the opportunity to respond
with sarcasm and non-sequiturs about Limewire, Mitt Romney and Walker Texas
Ranger. I feel a little embarrassed to be a part of this belligerent Los
Angeles audience but Efrim thanks us for coming out and I can tell he’s
being sincere even if he’s a little annoyed too. At one point someone asks
“When’s the next Godspeed album coming out!?” to which Efrim, who clearly
hears him, responds “What’s that? I can’t hear you.” This exchange repeats
three (or four?) times until the next song silences everyone.

– - – - – - – - – - – -

After the encore we leave and I feel stirred and satisfied. I look at my
watch (my phone); it’s a little after midnight. “They played for two hours,
I think.” Aida says. “Wow.” I say.

Christopher Dreisbach

Soft Metals/Com Truise/Teengirl Fantasy/Green Horse @ Echoplex 02/07/12

Soft Metals were way too fucking great, 2nd time seeing them, loved it even more. Hands down my favorite new band, they play the exact music I like to dance to. Live show is so well arranged and executed, walks the line between the dance world and still maintains a pop sensibility. Brought uninitiated friends, and they were converts by the end of their set. I can’t say it enough, amazing!!!

Com Truise were great as well, heavy bass lines, mid-tempo stuff mostly, quality arrangements, it’s missing like 5% of something I can’t quite place, so I shouldn’t go hunting for what that is, they get an A++ for projections, really well put together visuals, well thought out for their set.

The first song Teengirl Fantasy played out of the gates went from basic kick drum to rainbow-unicorn-fantasy faster than I could even process what happened. It caught me so off guard that I laughed, really good opener! On the whole the set had some great moments, wasn’t falling in love with it, but they drove me to move a few times.

Green Horse, as my friend pointed out, appeared from a distance like Future Wild Stallions from Bill & Ted. Quality set, they did a good job. Just lacked magic. Can I penalize a band for lacking magic? I guess learn magic, then book shows.

Michael Cameron

New Magnetic Fields video (NSFW)

Prison for Kids/Guy Blakeslee/Los Angeles @ Three Clubs 1/25/12

Written by Julian Sosa
Photography by Aida Daneshvar

The Wednesday night show at 3 Clubs (a gorgeous double-bar venue, with a small stage in its main room, very much in the vein of the Mint or the defunct Fairfax Ave Largo club, but with a darker, sexier look) featured three bands I did not know much about going in, but I left pleasantly surprised by them and quite inspired by their performances.

The first band to come on was Prison for Kids, a two-man group consisting of Christopher Dreisbach and Cesar Ochoa, but that also counted with the presence of Mike Cameron as guest bassist and Andrew Behjatnia as drummer. Dreisbach’s strong voice ranged from a gentle dreaminess to an exuberating passion, showcasing the band’s distinctive sound, unafraid of juxtaposing softer and louder beats. The transition to Ochoa’s vocals was also seamless, as he displayed great chemistry with Dreisbach on stage, striking their perfect musical balance. This was particularly true during the closing track of their set, one that started with a captivating soft intro before their guitars took over. Overall, it was an electric performance by a group that feels fully realized and ready for prime.

Guy Blakeslee (of The Entrance Band) was next after a relatively long set up time. However, he proved to be worth the wait and when his act began all my doubts raised by his unusual outfit and anxiety by the minor delay dissipated. His haunting voice, combined with some powerful guitar riffs, was as moving as anything I’ve heard in a live show in recent memory, on a quite epic set opener. Blakeslee was truly fearless during a couple of acapella songs, as he dug deep within himself and brought out his heart to put on display. It was definitely visceral, to say the least. This man is genuinely intense and radiates an overwhelming energy and it’s impossible not to get caught up in it.

Mike Cameron’s Los Angeles was the last of the night. This collective, with a wide range of guest vocalists, also features Nick Cullen on guitar and back-up vocals. They opened with some instrumental electronic tracks that made several people in the crowd immediately jump to the dance floor. Christopher Dreisbach, who provided some vocals for Los Angeles, did his part to inspire the audience also, dancing enthusiastically while on stage. Cameron’s presence was something to behold though. It was a show of pure confidence and pure energy, and the dancing crowd fed off of that energy and asked for more and Cameron continually gave it to them. It was a set that made everyone in the club want to jump out of their bones. Nothing but love for Mike Cameron’s exhilarating vocals: his voice becomes very brooding, in the style of an Ian Curtis, behind his synthesizer beats and the result is just intoxicating. Los Angeles feels like an electro ode to that city one can’t help to have a never-ending, torrid love/hate relationship with.