Benjamin Lamar was born and
raised in the south side of Chicago and has absorbed all its musical
lessons from the last 50 years. Currently based in Brazil, the
sunniest aspects of these traditions are all on display with Orange.
Common, circa Electric Circus, is a decent point of comparison for
the overall sweep of the album, from to fragile samba to booty bass
to the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The album starts with an inside out
dub bass line behind the samba-centric “Tomorrow.” Lamar’s vocals
are reminiscent of Michael Franti’s but are more versatile. The
entire album is bathed in dub and all the elements of the mix are
highly spatial-ised and often subject to liberal amounts of delay
and reverb. But the sound is never diffused — a track like “Union
Hall” nails itself to a two-beat 808 throb with all the other
elements floating through the mix, Lee Perry style. “Willow Blues”
features front porch acoustic guitar blues; it meanders a bit, like
certain other tunes, but the looseness does not distract. The last
third of the album contains several of its best tracks. Blending
spacey, late ’60s Chess string passages with Donny Hathaway’s social
consciousness, “Adams and Wabash” and “Orange” are the disc’s
emotional high points. (Audio 8)
Antibalas -
Security
With their fourth full-length release, Brooklyn-based collective
Antibalas have reached a new plateau. Co-produced with Tortoise
auteur John McEntire, who also mixed, it’s more of the Fela-inspired
Afrobeat that the band have perfected over the last near decade,
with new sonic dimensions and ...Read
More
Nostalgia 77 - Everything
Under The Sun Nostalgia 77’s sound
has coalesced even further since their last domestic release, The
Garden, in 2005. “Wildflower” lays this new sound out, a disciplined
Latin kit drum pattern driving an early ’70s salsa groove, complete
with bellowing trombone. Vocalist Lizzy Parks is warm and open, her
...Read
More
Martin
Tétreault Martin Tétreault’s
studio in Montréal’s East End looks like the back room of your local
electrical repair shop — tables are covered in turntables, wires,
tone arms, electric motors, mixers, and, incongruously, a recently
acquired laptop. This friendly jumble of gear speaks to his unique
approach to... Read
More
Mike Watt
on What’s Watt Mike Watt is not simply
a musician’s musician; he is a legend’s legend. While he has never
quite cracked the mainstream, the influence of his entirely unique
way of playing the bass and his dedication to the purest ideals of
the ideology of punk rock can be felt in even the most saturated
parts of... Read
More
Digital
Rights Management, Part I Copyright has always been a bit of a slippery
concept, because it’s about intangible, intellectual property rather
than, say, sandwiches — stuff you can get your physical mitts on....
Read
More
With their fourth full-length release, Brooklyn-based collective
Antibalas have reached a new plateau. Co-produced with Tortoise
auteur John McEntire, who also mixed, it’s more of the Fela-inspired
Afrobeat that the band have perfected over the last near decade,
with new sonic dimensions and ...
Nostalgia 77 - Everything
Under The Sun 
Nostalgia 77’s sound
has coalesced even further since their last domestic release, The
Garden, in 2005. “Wildflower” lays this new sound out, a disciplined
Latin kit drum pattern driving an early ’70s salsa groove, complete
with bellowing trombone. Vocalist Lizzy Parks is warm and open, her
...
Martin Tétreault’s
studio in Montréal’s East End looks like the back room of your local
electrical repair shop — tables are covered in turntables, wires,
tone arms, electric motors, mixers, and, incongruously, a recently
acquired laptop. This friendly jumble of gear speaks to his unique
approach to... 
Mike Watt is not simply
a musician’s musician; he is a legend’s legend. While he has never
quite cracked the mainstream, the influence of his entirely unique
way of playing the bass and his dedication to the purest ideals of
the ideology of punk rock can be felt in even the most saturated
parts of... 
