My friend Jeremy Casella has released “Spirit (Keep On)” as the first single from his upcoming album SPIRIT.
Jeremy says: “The song is called “Spirit (Keep On)” and I wrote it as a reminder to myself and all of us that we are not alone–That God is very very near, and He is so much closer than we realize.”
I often find myself drawn to music that defies easy categorization. I’m not sure how I would describe them to someone who had never heard them. “Long-form, minimalist global drone jazz?” Wikipedia gives it a go by quoting them being called “ecstatic minimalism”.[1]
Like the Necks (previously featured here), the group specializes in long-form, minimalist pieces with unfolding and unraveling melodies that trace themselves insight out. The more I think about it, the more I like the descriptor ““ecstatic minimalism”. There is not not only a sense of introspection to these pieces, but there is also certainly ecstasy to be found for those with ears to hear.
The band’s website says:
“Joshua Abrams formed Natural Information Society (NIS) in 2010. With Abrams' orchestration of traditional & contemporary instrumentation, NIS creates long-form psychedelic environments informed by jazz, minimalism & traditional musics.”
The band’s most recent release, the sprawling 81-minute (with none of them wasted) Mandatory Reality is one of the best releases of 2019 and well worth your time. Pitchfork says the album is a “a minimalist mountain of an album, one whose slow pace and gradual changes prove unusually mesmerizing, even sublime.”
Here is the band performing an amazing set earlier this year Dobialab in Italy. Enjoy.
This lineup features:
Joshua Abrams - guimbri, contrabbasso
Lisa Alvarado - harmonium, gong
Jason Stein - clarinetto basso
Mikel Avery - batteria
Visit the official website.
Support Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society at Bandcamp.
Purchase Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society’s music at Amazon.
Listen to “Maroon Dune” by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society (From the 2017 album Simultonality) on Episode 43 of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow.
Thanks to my good friend Kyle, I had the chance to see Tom Waits at the Palace Theatre in Louisville, KY in 2006. Hands down one of the best live shows I have ever seen and something I will never forget. But forgive me, I’m just bragging.
In 1978, Waits appeared on Austin City Limits. Video of the show sometimes appears on PBS affiliates but to my knowledge, it has never been released in any sort of official capacity (lthough you can watch “Silent Night/Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis” at the Austin City Limits’ page for the show). But that doesn’t mean the concert hasn’t been widely distributed. Along with the 1973 Bob Marley set I posted the other day, this one was a show found on just about every tape trader’s list. At least any tape traders I would trade tapes with.
The night includes a classic setlist:
Summertime/Burma Shave
Annie's Back in Town/I Wish I Was in New Orleans
A Sweet Little Bullet From a Pretty Blue Gun
On the Nickel
Romeo is Bleeding
Silent Night/Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis
Small Change
This is another live recording I’ve held on to for a long time. Just about everyone I know who collects live recordings has it. It’s not a secret recording. It’s not rare. But there are some distortions at as the volume increases and I can see why they did not want it released commercially (at least the recording I have).
But, man, this band is on fire. Don’t let anyone tell you that Reggae is just hippy-dippy beach-bro Sublime with some other singer type-vibes. This band means business and this is one of my favorite recordings. I love the hiss. I love the crackle. I love the distortion. This is protest music, so let’s feel it.
Generally speaking, I have mixed feelings about artists interpreting entire albums by other artists. To be fair, I enjoyed Ryan Adams' handling of Taylor Swift's 1989 more than I thought I would. And some of Phish's Halloween sets are fun (oh, come on, you know Phish is talented). But I could not be more excited about Angélique Kidjo making the Talking Heads classic Remain In Light her own.
In 1983 Angélique Kidjo moved from Benin to Paris. Kidjo recalls that time with NPR:
And when I arrived in Paris, I was determined to catch up with the music I didn't have. I became a music junkie. I went to a party with some friends of mine and somebody started playing the song of the Talking Heads called "Once in a Lifetime" and everybody was standing and dancing weird, and me, I was grooving. And I told them, "This is African music," and they go, "Hell no, this is rock and roll. You Africans are not sophisticated enough to do this kind of music."
The Talking Heads had already made a name for themselves, rising from the New York scene with a fusion of punk, art-school rock, funk, avant-garde and world music. For their fourth album, the band openly drew from Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and African polyrhythms. The band is even reported to have told people that if they really wanted to understand the band's ambition with the album, go listen to Fela.
Kidjo has stripped away some of the 80's sheen from the album and brought the Afrobeat influence to full bloom. The music is vibrant and joyful even while many of the lyrics take on added poignancy considering the struggles of Africa and the music grows in urgency. NPR says:
Kidjo's interpretation feels more legitimate and offers an unfiltered representation of the Motherland's polyrhythmic dance. Take "Listening Wind" as an example: above a gentle mix of djembe drums and oscillating synths, Kidjo tells the story of a man named Mojique, who sees first-hand the colonization of his village. "He sees the foreigners in growing numbers," she sings. "He sees the foreigners in fancy houses." There's a measured sadness to Kidjo's voice, as if she's living the trauma herself.
This is where the album succeeds. Kidjo uses well-known source material but makes it her own; adding depth and perspective. And moving your booty. Watch the video for "Born Under Punches:"
Watch the video for "Once In A Lifetime:"
Visit Angélique Kidjo's official website
Stream Remain In Light at NPR
Follow Kidjo on Facebook
Follow Kidjo on Twitter
Read Allmusic's profile of Kidjo
Read Pitchfork's review of the album
Listen to Kidjo on Spotify
Purchase the album at Amazon
Hear Angelique Kidjo on Episode 25 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow
I don’t remember anything about this band, but I dig this 2004 set at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA and apparently, I helped upload it to the Live Music Archive in 2004. Sorry, but apparently in 2004, I didn’t know how to title the files. But we do have the show information.
I don’t think this band is still around, but I’d like to be proven wrong. Funky soul with groove galore. The perfect soundtrack to your late Summer cookout jam.
Tracklisting and Notes:
First Set
(first tune of the night was Living Like a King but did not get recorded)
Freeman (beginning cut off)
Untitled new tune
Left For the Last Time
Better Than Yesterday
One More Once
Two Steps Away
Cover tune medley
Kings of Kingsford (end cut off)
Second Set
Trouble
Rhythm & Sunshine
Nine to Five
One Way
Keep On
As it Was
Step Down (end cut off)
(Encore was “Living For the City,” Stevie Wonder cover, but did not get recorded)
Unfortunalety there is some distortion in parts. It was recorded off the board into a four track but the gain was just a little too high.
If you don’t know the music of One Eleven Heavy, then what kind of friend have I been to you? I’m sorry. Allow me to remedy that. Aquarium Drunkard says:
A transatlantic affair, the group features songwriters James Toth (Wooden Wand) and Nick Mitchell Maiato (Desmadrados Soldados De Ventura), along with bassist Dan Brown (Royal Trux), drummer Ryan Jewell (Solar Motel Band), and pianist Hans Chew (Steve Gunn, Hiss Golden Messenger).
There's a dancing bear slapped on the back of a station wagon cranking out a copy of Europe '72 — it's no deep dive from one of Dick's Picks, but it's a solid collection of live sets, with Grateful Dead at the top of its game. You exchange eyes with the driver, acknowledge the good-times jams, and counter with a '77 date. Soon enough, you're holding up traffic, but the songs keep on truckin'.
This wasn't quite the Cosmic Americana meet-cute for James Toth (Wooden Wand) and Nick Mitchell Maiato (of Manchester psych-rockers Desmadrados Soldados De Ventura), but it's not too far off. When Toth was on a U.K. tour 10 years ago, the two bonded over Crazy Horse, the Dead and Little Feat — rock bands that thrived on wild-eyed improvisation, but still knew how to write an easygoing melody.
The band’s debut Everything’s Better is a terrific slice of Cosmic Americana and the band’s second album Desire Path is due out September 20 and is available for preorder now.
The fabulous NYC Taper recently recorded and posted the One Eleven Heavy 09/01/19 show at Union Pool in NYC. Stream here and head over to the show’s page at NYC Taper to download for yourself. And, please, thank and support tapers and the bands they tape.
And, as if that fabulous recording is not enough, the fantastic Detroit Lightning blog recorded and posted the band’s 09/05/19 show at Outer Limits Lounge, Hamtramck, MI. You can stream the show here but head over to the show’s page at Detroit Lightning to download the show for yourself. And, please, thank and support tapers and the bands they tape.
Hear “Mardi Gras” from the upcoming album Desire Path.
This is another great live show that I’ve been holding on to for years. Why not share it?! I just realized that this show also has a page at the Live Music Archive and it says that I was involved in uploading it, which I only vaguely remember. In keeping with looking back on the incredible Fog City Records lineup, here is Papa Mali Live at The Catacomb in San Francisco on 2001-07-08.
This is not a complete show and was recorded from a stream that was presented by Fog City’s Dan Prothero.
Tracklisting:
01. Talking
02. Sugarland
03. Sweet Potato Vine
04. Talking
05. Walk on Guilded Splinters
06. People Get Ready *
07. Feel Like Going Home
* w/ Chuck Prophet
This is not a complete show. I don’t know of any recordings of the full show. This was originally posted to the Web by Dan Prothero as a streaming REAL media file. It was captured from this streaming file and as such, may have a couple of very minor dropouts. While this is not a complete show, it is terrific! Great sound quality and absolutely solid playing. This is a solo performance by Papa Mali (with the exception of Chuck Prophet sitting in on one track), which seem hard to come by in the download world.
Here is another live show that I acquired somewhere along the way when I used to do a lot of trading.
You can visit the show’s Live Music Archive page to download the show for yourself, or you can stream it below, download it here as one big file.
I think this was still when they were just going by Mofro and were associated with the Fog City Records label. There was a period when I would buy any album on Fog City. Papa Mali, Galactic, Mofro, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress, Stanton Moore, Garage a Trois, come on, son. Fog City ruled.
Anyway, enjoy JJ Grey and Mofro live at the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco, courtesy of Fog City’s Dan Prothero.
Tracklisting:
Chickens on the Lam (Intro)
Easy Street
Rotten Alabama
Interview: Nic Harcourt and Ramsay Midwood
Boxwine Ruth E
Planet Nixon
When God Dips His Pen
Pflugerville Gazebo
Monster Truck
Chickens on the Lam (Outro)
Blathering:
Ramsay Midwood plays what I like to call Psychedelic Honky Tonk. Or maybe Cosmic Space Americana? Western Boogie for Heads? Whatever you call it, I dig it. Yes, that is the back of our van pictured above. We’ve even hosted Ramsay and Jeff Johnston for a very poorly attended house show, which, despite the low attendance remains one of my favorite house show experiences. We didn’t get great video of the night, but Ramsay did sign a hamburger and he and Jeff Johnston wore Habañero Collective shirts, so I’d call it a win. No, we don’t have the hamburger any more.
Here’s a recording of Ramsay Midwood’s 2007 appearance on Nic Harcourt’s KCRW show “Morning Becomes Eclectic.” There was a very limited release of Midwood live recordings called Undone which I think was before this so none of this material was featured on that release if I remember correctly, though it does include tracks from a previous Midwood Morning Becomes Eclectic appearance. The album is super hard to find these days, but believe it or not, I am thanked!
Anyway, here’s one section of banter a little less than half-way through which isn’t too bad because the voices are clear and Ramsay’s lackadaisical responses become part of the entertainment. He just seems completely uninterested in self-promotion. My favorite part of the banter is when Harcourt hears the title of Midwood’s third album “Larry Buys A Lighter,” as “Larry Buysalighter” and can’t figure out what kind of name that is.
As always, I am simply passing this show along as it came to me. I have no information about who recorded this show or how they did it. And somehow, with Ramsay Midwood, that just adds to the whole experience. I remember hearing his first album Shootout At The OK Chinese Restaurant and feeling like he was some long-lost Americana voice that just appeared from the ether.
“That’s my state of mind right now I think I’ll go out and eat a cow And if you don’t like it you can kiss my ass ‘Cause I drive a monster truck”
Here’s a nice live set from January, 1992 by Lyle Lovett. I don’t remember where I got this recording but it’s a clear and clean soundboard recording and includes a nice selection of early-ish material including one of my personal favorite songs “If I Had A Boat,” from the 1987 album Pontiac. This show also features a terrific version of “LA County” from the same 1987 release.
I couldn’t find out anything about this show but it would have been between 1989’s Lyle Lovett and His Large Band album and Joshua Judges Ruth, which came out March 1992, about a month after this concert. He previews several songs from the album and references it being released.
This show features Lovett on acoustic guitar, accompanied by bass, cello, and percussion. The song audio quality is clear and audible but the talky parts (and there are several) are very quiet. This show came to me as-is as one complete file. It did not include any source information. You know what I do. I have not done anything to it other than hoard it for many years and now pass it along for you.
“You Can’t Resist it” and “North Dakota", both from Joshua Judges Ruth are standouts for me, but this show includes a performances a performance of one of my favorite songs: “If I Had A Boat” and closes out the night with the Dead’s “Friend of the Devil.”
Definitely worth a listen.
The Necks are a piano jazz trio from Australia. Though it’s probably a bit misleading to let you think that they are filling smoking bars with jazz standards. “Avant-Jazz” might be a bit more appropriate. The Necks specialize in long-form improvisational pieces that blur the lines between jazz and minimalism.
As you might expect, they develop a theme and then deconstruct and recreate that theme. Their typical track is about an hour long. The Free Music Archive has made available three different radio appearances, which you can stream or download below.
Sitar and electronics your thing? Want some flute too? Cosmic jams for the Global Elite. Not to be confused with Vindaloo Against Violence, Naan Violence plays sitar-based cosmic jams that are right up my alley.
Arjun Kulharya of Atlanta, GA heads Naan Violence, which Aquarium Drunkard describes as:
“Cosmically and spiritually in line with forebears such as Sun Ra and Ravi / Ananda Shankar, Kulharya’s work also finds itself of a piece with fellow chromatic travelers and contemporaries such as Bitchin Bajas.”
Kulharya told Memphis Magazine: “With this band, I wasn't interested in playing traditional music," Kulharya says. "I really dig Sun Ra and I think that probably has something to do with our sound."
Yes, please. The fine folks over at Southern Shelter have made two live tracks available, which are certainly worth sharing. These were recorded and made available by Southern Shelter, so if you can donate, please send a little support their way.
Naan Violence @ Caledonia Lounge 2013-11-21.
“Brown Summer”
“Eight Trips From The Moon”
I haven’t been feeling well lately, so I missed out on seeing Ryley Walker at Valley Bar, one of my favorite Phoenix venues. But don’t worry, I’m sure that staying home sick as a parent to 8 kids was just as fun as seeing a great artist in an intimate venue.
Though I have been tempted to drown my sorrows in Hot Toddys (or is the plural “Hot Toddies”?), instead I am listening to Walker’s “Psych Jam” set at NYC’s Union Pool from NYC Taper.
The show’s page provides context:
“Ryley Walker’s March residency at Union Pool covered all the bases of Walker’s sound, from relatively “straight-ahead” song-based performances to instrumental blowouts with friends and colleagues like Ryan Jewell and Steve Gunn. Count this final night’s performance firmly in the latter camp, as Walker and residency mainstay Jewell were joined by David Grubbs (Gastr del Sol, others) and C. Spencer Yeh (Burning Star Core) for a full set of avant-garde experimentation that found Walker stepping away from the mic but fully present as guitarist and spiritual force.”
Enough talking. Let’s jam.
Elkhorn often includes a rotating cast of musicians but is centered on the dynamic guitar duo of Jesse Sheppard and Drew Gardner. The group’s Bandcamp bio says:
“Folk/psych-rock guitar duo featuring Jesse Sheppard on twelve-string acoustic and Drew Gardner on electric, interweaving the extended folk tradition with psychedelic improvisation, moving freely from pre-rock to post-rock, from the 1860s to the 1960s and beyond.”
The group recently released two albums of fantastic guitar explorations: Sun Cycle and Elk Jam on Feeding Tube Records, both of which are highly recommended. The terrific sweetblahg recently posted a terrific recording of Elkhorn with drummer Charles Rumback at Elastic Arts in Chicago, saying:
“Most appropriate for this first-time meeting of the minds, only one of these jams has been released - Song of the Son on the aforementioned Sun Cycle. The opening Raga > Distances, while technically two songs, plays as one flowing multi-section suite that I hope gets studio treatment sooner than later. The closing number, Train, is one that they try to play whenever they encounter a capable drummer, and Rumback really shines on it.”
Here’s the deets including setlist:
Elkhorn + Charles Rumback
4.14.2019 @ Elastic Arts
Chicago, IL
Raga > Distances
Song of the Son
Train
Watch the official video for “To See Darkness” from the album Sun Cycle on Feeding Tube Records.
Visit Elkhorn’s official website.
Follow Elkhorn on Facebook.
Purchase Elkhorn’s music at Bandcamp.
Visit the recording’s page at sweetblahg.
Thanks to the wonderful Milwaukee Taper site, here are two performances from Dire Wolves Just Exactly Perfect Sisters Band (We’ve already highlighted the band here). Both shows were April 13, 2019 with an afternoon show at Acme Records and Music Emporium and the evening show at the Milwaukee Psych Festival.
Here is the afternoon show at Acme Records and Music Emporium in Milwaukee on April 13, 2019. Download the show from the Milwaukee Taper site.
Here is the evening show Milwaukee Psych Festival on April 13, 2019. Download the show from the Milwaukee Taper site.
Louisville’s Jamie Barnes is one of my favorite Louisville artists. And that’s saying a lot. He’s recording new material and I was so excited about that I wanted to share the lead single “Low To The Bird,” now available at Bandcamp.
The new track picks up right where 2007’s Recalibrated Heart left off, with thoughtful lyrics and warm instrumentation in the “Soft Indie/Pop/Folk/Americana” vein. Has it really been that long since we’ve had a full-length featuring just Barnes’ music? That’s far too long. The track was produced by House Ghost and certainly leaves us wishing there was more.
There is no title or release date yet, but color me excited. You can stream the track below, and please consider heading over to the Bandcamp page and supporting Jamie’s work. Until then, enjoy some great music.
Stream “Low to the BIrd”
Since there’s only one new track, that gives us the opportunity to visit a couple of old favorites.
Stream the lead track from 2007’s wonderful Recalibrated Heart, “Vampire Movie”
Stream “You Can’t Go Wrong” the 2006 Paper Crane EP.
Like many of you, I am shocked and saddened by the recent unexpected death of guitarist Neal Casal. I only got to see him play a couple of times, both with Chris Robinson Brotherhood, but Casal was one of my favorite guitarists. Darryl Norsen summed it up nicely:
Neal casal is one of the few modern side players i can think of that the old jazz lp rules of if his name was in the lineup then you knew it was going to be good. From beachwood sparks to Phil Lesh and everything inbetween. RIP.
What better way to honor Neal’s legacy than by browsing some of his deep and impressive catalog. First up, we have him with the Skiffle Players (his band with Cass McCombs) performing “Cuckoo” live at McCabes, 1-23-2015.
Next, we have a live set from Casal’s band Circles Around the Sun. Originally commissioned as the soundtrack to the in-between-sets-slidesshows for the Grateful Dead’s 50th Reunion shows, the project quickly took on a life of its own. Here’s the band Live at Brooklyn Bowl on 2019-06-01.
Here is Neal with Chris Robinson Brotherhood (Radio Woodstock WDST 100.1 - 8/24/12).
And here is Neal performing one of his own songs, “Need Shelter” with Lauren Barth for Guild Guitars in 2014.
“Sonoran Trance Music” from Tucson via Fuzz Club Eindhoven 2019.
Check out this live set from 23.8.19 at Fuzz Club Festival, Eindhoven.
As much as enlightened minds want to move beyond labels, labels can be helpful communication tools. They can at least give us conversation-starting-points. Saying things like: “It’s got that Laurel Canyon Sound” or “They draw heavily from the Chicago Blues” help us at least know which ballpark we’re playing in.
But what do you do with a band that forces you to combine musical touchpoints in ways you might not have previously considered. English-folk flutes, cello, skronky saxomophones, folk guitars, whispered vocals and Krautrock motorik rhythms all come together on the bold debut from Modern Nature.
Pitchfork says: “New band from former Ultimate Painting songwriter Jack Cooper blends introspective songwriting with churning experimentation in earnest search of a different plane of existence,” while Aquarium Drunkard says: “While anchored by Cooper, the record’s grooves find a formidable cast of players exploring myriad veins of Kosmische Musik, British folk traditions and beyond – all underpinned by oblique sense of atmospheric otherness.”
The band’s Bella Union profile says: “Modern Nature – the name taken from the title of Derek Jarman’s garden diaries – is the new project of Jack Cooper, ex of Ultimate Painting / Mazes and Will Young of Beak featuring Aaron Neveu of Woods and Sunwatchers’ Jeff Tobias on saxophone.”
I very much dig this album and highly recommend it to you, my discerning friends.
Watch the official video for “Nature”
Watch the official video for “Footsteps”
Watch the official video for “Peradam”
