[Free Singles] Death, BONES, Toks', Mystified

Death - Politician In My Eyes (Demo)

 A very interesting story, and a band that could have changed the face of culture history. Imagine the face of the newly desegregated America, had the growth of the Motown era of R&B been only one part of our culture spearheaded by black artists. Imagine if the rise of punk had been a black culture phenomenon, and what that might have looked like by the time of the 90s.



Anyway, Read about them, and watch the trailer. Consider buying their album, as they waited 30 years just to share it.

BONES - The Dirt #131Toks' - The Dirt #131

A collection of remix tracks that will definitely have at least one dance track for your tastes. Here's the whole track list.

BONES picks:
Drake - Hold On, We’re Going Home (TJR Refix)
Skanky - 1 More Night (AMTRAC Dub)
Kanye West - New Slaves (DJ Snake Remix)

Ingwell - Let’s Get It On (Marvin Machine)
Adrian Lux - Teenage Crime (Thomas Jack Remix)

TOKS picks:
Jim James - Know Til Now (Pixelated remix)

Klaves - Without You

Eagles for Hands - Blushed

Dru Hill - How Deep Is Ur Luv (Jaw Jam Bootleg)

Ellie Goulding - Tessellate (Kastle Remix)

Mystified - Love Hiatus

Not a single per se, this is 3 tracks, just short enough that I'd rather share it under a singles post this time. It is a dark ambient, IDM, and Illbient set, which reminds me a lot of some early Aphex Twin. There are elements of breakbeats in it, and some soundtrack feeling in parts.

Mystified has been releasing on Treetrunk Records pretty steadily for quite a few years. This is what this release is described with;

Three songs created mainly for emotional content. No weird sources or strange ideas here, other than that finding love has changed the life and music of Mystified.

Alright well thats it. Hope you enjoyed this set of singles.

New Dehli FM - Daylight confusion

Band / Artist: New Delhi FM
Year: 2005
Genre:Illbient, IDM, Ambient, Chillout

My Review:
A great album of Illbient, a darker, more triphoppy ambient techno. If you put "Music is for children" (from Boards of Canada), and "i care because you do" (from Aphex Twin) in a mix with this, you'd hardly know which was which. I'm really enjoying it, though I feel like it needs more quirk in places to keep it from getting too vanilla.

 New Dehli FM is an artist from Stuttgart in 2001, made by Sandro Böge. He has some really interesting ideas on IDM and what it should represent. Apparently he has some really awesome live sets.

Here is his page
http://newdelhifm.com/

Enjoy the music.

New Dehli FM - Daylight Confusion

Harq al'ada - Heat Ritual

I posted things from Nick Vanderveldt before, and one of his projects' band name was Harq al'ada.

Its a kind of experimental Prog-Rock/ Psych-Rock sound without really a whole lot of lyrics. When I started up this album, I knew almost immediately that it is definitely a maturation of their sound. Nick described the new release like this;

The name itself came from when my wife and I first moved to St. Louis a few years ago. It was September of 2011, it was hot, I wasn't sure where my life was really going, so I would get up in the morning and record on the 3rd floor, before the heat of the day. I called it my heat ritual.

Heat Ritual took about 2 years to record, compared to our first EP which took around 3 months. So there's a bit of overlap between the two. 

In "A Puck", I was very focused on trying to imitate this Miles Davis funk sound, I think Alex and I talked for hours about improvisation, and how the performance was so important, yet "A Puck" could never really be performed. So when we got together for vocal sessions on Heat Ritual in February, we kept a line on the same tangent. The song "Boninosuccinea" is a perfect example, both the main vocal track and the lead guitar were done in a single take. Alex had scribbled some ideas down on a notepad, and just sort of riffed on these lyrical themes. It wasn't for a few weeks that we went back to it, and thought wow, that's pretty good, and Alex did some backing tracks. The song "Useless" was written a little differently, though I feel like it was following the same thread. Alex, Ryan and I wrote that tune somewhat whimsically before a rehearsal for "The Difference Engine", just the real simple riff, which I think started off at first as a rip-off of "Communication Breakdown". As we played it, this form just took shape, and I started to add effects, Ryan started in on this Chemical Brothers kind of percussion part. It all just sort of fit. The real beauty of it to me is how open ended it is, we could play a different version of the same song every night, with different people.

The last half of the EP is a little more prescribed as it were. "Lobster Fist" was a little bridge instrumental I wrote probably 4 or 5 years ago, and just got shelved, and then I heard the demo again when I was doing sessions for Heat Ritual, and thought about how well it fit, this odd little tune, with these odd chords, and this odd meter shift. Prunus on the other hand, began as an experiment in prescribed improvisation. I wrote out the head of the tune, and then left the bridge open for free improvisation. I had initially envisioned this sort of Eric Dolphy w/guitars and synths piece, but instead I just kept filling in counter melodies until it sounded right. Obviously it didn't wind up being anything at all like Eric Dolphy, but that's where I got the idea anyway.

This is totally worth a listen. It reminds me a lot of songs like "tomorrow never knows" from the Beatles and a mix of early and very late Pink Floyd. The vocal progressions and the rhythms are very interesting, and worth a good afternoon with headphones and a nice sunny place to lay back and listen. It's definitely worth checking out.

Harq al'ada - Heat Ritual

Loom - Coffee For The Kids

Band / Artist: Loom
Year: 2009
Genre: IDM, Acid House, Illbient, Glitch

My Review:
This reminds me strongly of Mouse on Mars and Garren Epley, with the quirky beats, "jazzy" mood, and mangled, goofy bouncing rhythms. I've been holding onto it for as long as it has been out, and I still love getting the chance to play it on a roadtrip or while walking around town.

The guy, now playing music as Kinskop, was a part of a group called Various Vegetables Crew, which has a ton of interesting acts on it. His stuff now is evolved into something much different, which i'll likely share in the future. You can check the group out here.

http://www.various-vegetables.org/

I'll leave this one a little sparse, just sharing what this album was originally released with.

Loom's second album is a childish little bastard.

Just turn on your Fisher Price Cassette-Recorder and let your mind wander to the first time you played with fire. Or when you swiped your little brother's matchbox cars. It's all hidden between the stumbling beats and the squeaky little melodys. And remember: you don't have to like this music, you have to nurture it!

Don't let it cock a snook at you!

 Loom - Coffee For The Kids

Week break.

My grandmother passed away this past week, and I'm far too out of sorts to keep up at the moment. I will resume posts in about a week, possibly shorter.

Thanks for all those who've been sticking with me all this time.

A Problem Like Maria - Bonsai

Band / Artist: A Problem Like Maria
Year: 2013
Genre: Indie pop, RnB, Hip-Hop

My Review: 
I got an email from the other part of the song lwuaxana from the Rabbit Hole Revelations post. I have been watching A Problem Like Maria for a good 6 months now. I dig her stuff, and would love to get a chance to chat with her. Turns out, she was totally willing to make that happen..

Jumbly Music: Hello howdy hey

A Problem Like Maria: Hi what's up?

Jumbly: Not much. I'm just enjoying a chunk of day off for the first time this week. How about you?

APLM: About the same. It's the weekend! there's time for me to recharge and relax, and that's good.

Jumbly: so.. where to start.. Whats the back story? Where are you from, and how did you get into making music.

APLM: I'm from the Philippines. I grew up part of a musical family, so it just made sense to make music. It's always been a creative outlet and a comfort.

Jumbly: Do you ever feel like your history has any influence on your music now?

APLM: Yes, of course. But it's all sort of funneled into this huge vat of ideas, you know? personal history is thrust against historical fiction. what I've been noticing more recently is that it's my perception of social interaction that stands out. my songs are almost always about misunderstandings or wanting to be understood.

Jumbly: I can understand that. (badum tss) Well, do you tour? Or have you any plans to?

APLM: I don't tour. i do play local gigs with a band I'm in called the cellar doors, and rarely, I'll play as just me. performance isn't a big thing for me, but I'm hoping to change that soon. i just don't don't really know which direction to go, you know? i love jumping from one genre to another, it feels like such a heavy commitment to suddenly think of a regular live accompanying outfit for APLM--but the more i think about it the more i want to find out how that will sound.

Jumbly: I can understand that completely. I've been trying to branch my own music out toward something a little new, and considering where I started and where I'm aimed, I'd imagine that it will be a fun experiment...   Who do you have doing your album art?

APLM: Felipe (of new motive power, a great musical act from Brazil) has done three: for the decompose remix LP, for 99 problems and for the new EP, Bonsai. I'm fond of working with visual artists, too, so there are really a lot more names I should be mentioning, but as bonsai is the newest EP, I'll just mention the names involved with that: Aspen Sañez, Wilson Dela Fuente, Tristan Yuvienco, Quincy Gonzales, Dean Africa, David Alegre, and Corpse Corpuz. Each song is represented by one of their works, it's included in the EP download.

Jumbly: Cool. I love visual influences. How would you say is the best way to experience your music?

APLM: Wrap yourself up in a blanket, have a hot/sweet beverage at hand, lean back, put your headphones on and close your eyes. Unless we're talking about my upbeat songs, in which case swaying back and forth might help, haha.

Jumbly: I imagine that on the more dancey tracks that a nice venue like the Publiq House near where I live would be a great space for you. its dark, well lit with colored show lights. They serve good drinks, and make tasty food.

APLM: It would be fun to see how people dance to songs I sing that are dancey, since I'm not a dancer myself... Hahaha now I'm imagining it, how odd! 

Jumbly: I come out of the goth scene. Nobody dances well.

APLM: When I dance, I sort of look like a plate of jello on a table during a mild earthquake.

Jumbly: Hahahahaha! So what are you happiest with as far as distribution of your music? Pay as you will? Free giveaways? Where would you like to take it?

APLM: When I was a lot younger, I got caught up in the idea of being a professional musician... and it really did nothing but stress me out. now I just make music because I want to, because it feels right, because not doing it will have me cranky for weeks on end. I like it that way! Sure, it's nice when someone actually names a price higher than $0 on my bandcamp, but it's not a requirement. 

Jumbly: Do you like collaborating with new artists?

APLM: Yeah! I'm always open to new ideas and collaborations, the only problem is time. Sometimes things don't fall in place. When they do, though, it's beautiful. Some of my favorite songs and releases are the result of collaborations.

Jumbly: If any artists want to collaborate, how should they contact you?

APLM: Soundcloud works. or my site: aplmaria.thehai.org

Jumbly: Do you have any projects on the horizon you're planning for?

APLM: I may be working on a solo effort much like my EP Saudade, soon. and WGWGSA and I are working on Decompose 2, too. Right now I'm actually working on a few collaborations that got sidetracked during the making of Bonsai.

Jumbly: What about music/bands you're into right now?

APLM: I cycle through favorites more than listen to anything new. right now on my playlist are Chvrches, Com Truise, Similarobjects, The Uncluded, run the jewels and a heavy dose of Bjork to round it out. And Dillinger's new album on a different player so they don't shuffle together

Jumbly: Which Bjork? Selmasongs and debut are my tops. I liked Medulla as a third choice.

APLM: Post and Homogenic! and Biophilia actually. I had debut in tape, though. It's probably somewhere in my childhood bedroom still.

Jumbly: Never got the chance to check out Biophilia. to be honest, I've been feeling less interested in music outside of the realm of music I'd promote on Jumbly

APLM: I feel the same. I keep up with my favorites and re-listen to old reliables but for the most part a huge chunk of what i listen to is music my friends make.

Jumbly: Speaking of the blog, do you frequent Jumbly? Got any suggestions or things you'd like to see?

APLM: Regular unique (to your blog) content would be nice. Like come up with a unique rating system or a weekly/monthly/arbitrary reason to make a list of songs or albums... stuff like that. I mean the music is all already there and it's good, but it think if you wanna compete with the other music blogs out there what your blog needs is for your identity and how YOU enjoy/curate your music to shine through.

Jumbly: Hmm.. i do wish i could work more on the blog. Its a matter of lack of time, and keeping myself from burning out on all that new music. My goal is to continue to grow, and i want to find ways to reach out to more things as possible options. Really I'd like to have the chance to make Jumbly stronger and more like itself, if that makes sense.
 
Alright, so last real question. Whats your favorite guilty pleasure? Mine is watching star trek.
 
APLM: Are you kidding me? That's not even a guilty pleasure for me. I love star trek. Finishing battlestar galactica now. I guess the only real guilty pleasure i can think of is the occasional well written pop song. the last one to work its way into my ipod is Selena Gomez's "who says." hahaha

Jumbly: Thank you so much for sharing your music. I really like it.

___________________________________________________________

So here's a review. I had originally planned on doing a review of Lagniappe soon, but this one is good just as well. I'm more a fan of her singing tracks than of the hiphop duets. The beats are a little bit jazz, a little bit electro, and a really pleasant ethereal ambient. Altogether its a really wonderful sound, and i often wait for a moment where a symphonic part would rise up in the second half of a track, and she'd get a very diva-ish emotional part in there. Since I know you'll read this, you should totally do that in the future APLM.

She does a lot online, and keeps a tumblr for all those who are into that. Check it out.
http://a-problem-like-maria.tumblr.com/

I'm still not sure if I like bonsai more or less than the others I've been listening to. My favorites on this album are bypass, lutang, and DEFINITELY storm and the sea. That song is absolutely beautiful. That glitchy drum beat over such a mournful crooning is gorgeous.

Look up A Problem Like Maria, and then look up her friends. They are doing huge things right now, and they deserve the attention.


A Problem Like Maria - Bonsai