Feature & Reviews – Vol.5
Stereomovers – Changing of the Times
Since their ten year inception in Montreal, The Stereomovers, composed of Alexandre Dionne and Simon Roy, have taken their music to France, England, Italy, Malaysia, and the United States. They have worked with producer Pierre Bazinet and have collaborated with Sultan and Ned Sheppard on a single for the “GLOBAL UNDERGROUND Mix” CD. Their influences stem from Primal Scream to The Dandy Warhols and writing music is preferred to the art of lyrical prose. However, their modern 80s electro synth sound evolved from the beatbox world. This transition offers strong song writing experience, which is evident with their four track EP entitled “EP ONE”. Believe it or not, this EP is exclusive to iTunes, a commercial portal created to solve the music industries biggest challenge: illegal downloading of music.
iTunes, as founded by the American Apple Corporation targeted a platform demand where people could download music legally. The music industry saw a significant drop in sales due to file sharing where copyright infringement was of great concern. People were getting music for free and the crack down, whether one disagrees or not was in 2003/4. iTunes eventually caught on publicly and thus, a product snowball took hold with MP3 players such as the iPod itself, an Apple Product. Labels, both big and small accompanied by independent artists got onboard. Simon Roy claims that, “we spent a ton of hours spreading the news about what was happening with us. It really worked as we sold a lot of songs on iTunes across North America and Europe. We would of never sold as much without it….” As it seems, iTunes made every one happy: the industry, the artist and the consumer.
Once upon a time however, 8-Track, cassette, and vinyl were the ruling formats. Then came along compact disc technology and DVD. Now we have vinyl, Cds, DVD and MP3, all of which exist back to back with some claiming that MP3 will dominate especially as ’single’ track sales. Alex Dionne notices that, “albums are meant to be heard and written as a whole album experience. You miss what the artists are trying to do when you dissect the album into singles….you still cant get Led Zep on itunes”. It is true that times have changed and we need to adapt but with all things new, an artistic compromise also exists. Surprisingly, Simon remains confident, “ I think that CDs will keep dropping in sales and will perhaps cost a little more in the future because of the smaller demand for it. But I don’t think it will completely disappear because of the beauty, and the genuine feel of a physical product. Vinyl is still around today!” Technically, no one said that an MP3 had to be just two minutes long. It could be 60 minutes, the entire composition of song(s). After all, it is only a format and when push comes to shove, there truly is a solution to all things considered problematic.
ALBUM REVIEWS
The Kills —— “Keep on Your Mean Side”
The Kills strip it all down. They are very minimal in their instrumentation with often just vocals and one lonesome guitar. This sound is raw, soulful, charismatic and determined. The vocals are are flavorful and play with a 1960’s groove coming to us on behalf of the label Rough Trade. Song two is the real foot stomper which chants, ‘You Got it. I want it’. Song four offers a southern country feeling and song five is a strong foot stomper about party escapades. Lyrically, they are also rather provocative and trash about the nitty gritty of relationships. Like The Beehives & The Barracudas, The Kills provide and right down dirty garage beat but with out much base. That is the separation of the two. Other artists of similarity or scene are The White Stripes, The Von Bondies and so forth.
The Music —— “The Music”
This Britpop band who call themselves, The Music are a relatively new band who struck the top 10 with their fist album. Their music is over the top, orchestral, and it is a sound designed for stadiums. This album is a creative mixture of blues, soul, and rock. The key songs are: ‘Take The Long Road & Walk It’, ‘Human’, ‘The Truth Is No Words’, ‘Float’, and ‘Turn Out The Light’. The band speak a lot about the quest for freedom and the truth, a philosophical expedition. Many of their EPs were released only in Japan and have 7 singles under their belt. This is a band to watch out for if you haven’t done it already. The air in Leeds must be exceptional.
Angie Reed —— “Presents the best of Barbara Brockhaus”
This Italian-American electro clash musician who lives in Berlin constructed a rather amusing album for all of us to love and enjoy. This album is a story rather, about an office clerk, call her a receptionist who has an enthusiastic employer. I like this album. It is terribly funny and has a few hit singles such as ‘I don’t do dirty work sucka’, ‘I think I love him’, Jungle gigolo and ‘Cosmo ho’. Angie Reed who is on Chicks on Speed Records from Germany is quite the talent. She has not only toured her albums but she has also exhibited her drawing, animations and has apparently done a great deal of voice work for film. This lady is versatile, excellent!
Death in Vegas —— “Dead Elvis”
Death in Vegas are a psychedelic rock band whose sounds are electronic in different capacities and there are hints of jazz, ragga, dub and ambient. They come from the United Kingdom and the tracks on “Dead Elvis” are well engineered and you can hear that clearly. My favorite songs on the album are: ‘GBH’, ‘Twist & Crawl’, ‘Rocco’, ‘I Spy’ and ‘Sly’. Fans of Primal Scream, Fatboy Slim, Moby, The Chemical Brothers and Error 144 will like this band as well. It is definitely worth dancing over. Their music tends to start off very simple with two or three monotonous sounds that venture into the world of total orchestration, like any crescendo but not exactly. Sure, this could sound like the framework of any techno act. However, Death in Vegas put their own spin on things of course. It also bridges the gap between electronica and rock with out sounding all industrial. One could say that the music from this band gels the best of several worlds. It is possible to get lost in the music for all the moods at inspires as a result.
Boards of Canada —— “Geogaddi”
Boards of Canada, from Scotland are truly celestial. Their music is all about the planetary soundscapes and it a pleasant surprise. The atmospherics are charmingly war, decisive and carefully maneuvered. Their rich textures are multilayered on “Geogaddi” and swarm all amplified sound systems. This leaves significant room for this listener to not only appreciate what they hear but also to interpret the music the best ay they see fit. Yes, it is called an imagination. Things are not so easily spelled out for you and it certainly keeps you on your toes. Other bands with a similar approach are Dada Pogrom, My Bloody Valentine, Jean Michael Jarre and so forth. There is no point in telling you what songs I like the best because the music is so intertwined and free flowing that it is simply impossible. One could call this s sound track to your life… if you dare to imagine so.
July 25, 2007 at 5:41 pm |
After reading all 5 volumes of reviews, I was intrigued with the scale and depth of musical knowledge the contributers have in the contemporary pop world. Even artists I’m not familiar with, the features written give me a good base to go on before I give a listen or make a purchase (which I already have). I will certainly recommend to all my music lover friends to check out mmhm musiczine. My only question is, will there be any mmhmmusiczine T-shirts avail. in the near future?
-Rob Bub˙