KTRU 91.7 FM The Thresher is not responsible for the content of the rice radio folio. SPRING 2009
Various Artists Year in Review: African Scream Contest Analog Africa This new compilation of recordings from the 1970s in Benin and Togo present a broad and vibrant blend of traditional rhythms, Cuban and Brazilian drumming Best Albums of 2008 styles, psychedelic flares, and a healthy funk that draws equally from Fela Kuti and James Brown. Benin and its neighbor Togo Rap and folk, soul and post-punk—2008 brought albums for every taste, and with this round- are couched between social and musical powerhouse Nigeria up of our favorites, KTRU presents a musical smorgasbord with an emphasis on the local scene. (home to Fela and his Africa 70, the fountainhead of afrobeat) and Ghana (the home of highlife), two sounds that are very In no particular order, here’s some of the best the year had to offer. influential on the local music. But Benin also houses a large B L A C K I E Studemont Project population descended from the repatriated slaves of liberated Wilderness of North America Warmth of the Midnight Sun Brazil, who brought the musical styles and rhythms from their Self-Released Self-Released erstwhile home. And finally Benin is the place of origin of the B L A C K I E’s live set, framed by his cus- One of the hardest working acts in the Vodoun (or Voodoo) religion, where music holds a special trance- tom multi-kilowatt wall of sound, has quickly local scene, Studemont Project not only of- inducing power. Add in a healthy measure of recorded western become the stuff of Houston legend. The fers up a solid album, but do something that soul, funk, and psychedelia, and the results are a unique, power- monolithic rig is best seen as a projection of very few hip-hop acts can—perform with ful funk with incredible energy and rhythm. This compilation B L A C K I E himself; a dangerous, hand-built pastiche of circuits, live instrumentation. Their style ranges farther than hip-hop, delivers not only the music, but interviews with the musicians driven deep into the red, reeking of ozone and one cycle away incorporating elements of electronica, blues, and more. Check themselves and a great deal of information about the music scene from cascading electric disaster. It inspires some combination of them out live—they play reasonably often—because as good as in Cotonou in the 70s. Apparently there was enough raw mate- awe and fear to stand there and watch the two spill out impossible the album is, they’re better live. rial to provide a second volume, to be released soon featuring energy—it’s no surprise that every show only ends, and always in particular the Orchestre Poly-rythmo de Cotonou. abruptly, when one of them can’t take any more. Nicolay and Kay Wilderness of North America, self-described as transatlantic TIME:LINE Gas grime, is no different. The album explodes open, casting you Nicolay Music Nah und Fern right into asynchronous, looping vocals and his characteristic Technically, the duo isn’t local—Dutch Kompakt glitchy sampled beats. Tracks hop between deeply industrial producer Nicolay currently resides in North Is it cheating to nominate a reissue as and atmospheric, painting the continent as an expanse of chain- Carolina, but Kay (of the Foundation) is best of the year? What about four reissues in link-fenced backyards shadowed by chemical plants, bleak and a Houston-based MC, and several of the a single package? Because Wolfgang Voight, tortured by the establishment. Two years in the making, the guest MCs and singers are Houstonians as well, including the proprietor of the Köln-based minimalist lyrics chronicle moral desperation, suicide, the disintegration Luv Bugz and Mic of the Legendary K.O. Sonically, both Kay techno label Kompakt, has finally decided to reissue the bulk of of society, helplessness and redemption—nothing pop-rap can and Nicolay’s sensibilities lie in jazzy soul with smart lyrics, the back catalog of his solo project Gas in one finely packaged touch with the same sincerity. echoing the Native Tongues movement of the late 80’s and box set. The set goes back to 1996’s self-titled album, a slightly Wilderness is a towering, enormous sound, artist Michael early 90’s, but with a modern, smoother update to the sound self-conscious work that very carefully balances the breathy, LaCour’s own anger terrifyingly articulated. It’s an incredible partially paralleling the neo-soul movement of the past decade. dreamy soundscapes that he later became well known for with album and easily one of the best of this year. It’s an interesting collaboration born out of internet forums— low, thumping dance floor beats. The second album in the set, something of a modus operandi for foreign-born Nicolay, who Zauberberg, originally released in 1997, brings ethereal strings Balaclavas also has released two albums with Phonte of Little Brother as and a more dissipated, almost airy feel to the music. The beats Inferno The Foreign Exchange. remain as distant footsteps in the mist, and the album plays Phonographic Arts (LP Version) almost as a single entrancing piece. The beat carries on into Balaclavas have played around with their Devin the Dude 1999’s Konigsforst, only to be lost somewhere in the depths of sound a bit since their first release—the days Landing Gear the subtle electronic rainforest that occupies the bulk of the of shouting into a car muffler are largely Razor and Tie album. The final piece of the puzzle is the masterworkPop , which over—and have really hit their stride with Devin Copeland, aka Devin the Dude, brings both serene confidence and a glitch-prickly texture, per- Inferno. They still have the dirty, spaced-out post-post-punk sound has oft been described as “your favorite fectly coloring the gentle synthetic strings. Words like calm and (I think I called it Big Black with reverb once), but it’s become rapper’s favorite rapper,” though he has relaxing don’t even apply, there’s an electricity here that grabs heavily reinforced by an almost tribal drum-and-bass section that never become a commercial success. With your attention while allowing the mind to wander quite freely. adds considerable, almost danceable punch behind a guitar jagged a laidback (read: weed and booze fueled) feel, Devin’s first And all four full-length albums are handsomely packaged in a enough to give you tetanus. The band explains that a balaclava is release after leaving Houston’s Rap-a-lot Records continues in card paper box covered in soft, dark, blue-green photos of thick an ominous looking full-body jumpsuit, ninja-esque, something the trademark humorous and fun style for which he has become forest underbrush that excellently matches the cool, textured similar to what a terrorist in a video game might wear; if their known. Landing Gear might not be his strongest effort ever sounds found on the cds. first album is sonic terror, then let this one be the sound of an across the board, but there are definitely a couple of gems on elite international anti-terrorist task force– devastation practiced the album. While we can’t endorse his lifestyle, we can support Mark Flaum, Dennis Lee and Ian Wells and contributed in short, controlled bursts. It’s less than half an hour, but “Own one of Houston’s best kept secrets. to this article. Me” and “Mecca” stand out as centerpieces. It’s also worth noting that this album is exceptionally well- The Bug recorded—engineers never get enough credit, so hats off to Chris London Zoo What is the Rice Radio Folio? Ryan at Dead City Sound for an excellent mix. The vinyl LP has Ninja Tune been given a full remastering and is the authoritative release. Londoner Kevin Martin has been cutting The Folio is first and foremost a programming and Watch for their upcoming third LP, Roman Holiday, out in edges in electronic music and electronic listening guide designed to help you keep up with early 2009. dub since the late 80s, with projects includ- what’s on air. For your pleasure, our DJs also generate ing GOD, Ice, and Techno Animal. Rather a healthy serving of album reviews, playlists, band Nosaprise than fade away like many other producers, Martin continues profiles, concert calendars, interviews, and news and information about KTRU and the Houston music scene. Grown Folks Music to be active and influential with his latest project, The Bug. Self-Released Launched in 1997 with a tribute the film The Conversation, the The Folio was a more regular feature from the 1980s After rhyming at shows for years, Nosa project eventually became the feature outlet for Martin’s hard through the early 1990s, when it educated and has finally released his debut album. Jamaican-style dancehall production work. Now in 2008 he entertained readers on a weekly basis. The station’s Production is good for a self-released has delivered The Bug’s third full-length album, a production boost to 50,000 watts and resultant lack of a reliable album, but it definitely doesn’t have the powerhouse that smoothly interlaces the hard bounce of his on-campus signal until the late 1990s contributed to flash and polish of a major studio album. That said, he slashes dancehall style, low bubbling dubstep, and erratic UK grime. its (partial) abandonment. Now the folio lives again, through several styles—the most prominent is a straight-forward The beats are enormous, the bass drops breathtaking, and there in a longer, if less frequent form. If you are new to underground sound, but one track with local singer Karina Nistal are tender touches just where they need to be. Roll Deep MC KTRU, the Folio is an excellent place to begin what is almost a modern take on hip-house—proving his versatility as Flow Dan, reggae old-timer Ricky Ranking, dubstep pioneer will no doubt be a long and fruitful love affair. If you’re an MC. Dropping largely positive rhymes, Grown Folks Music voice Space Ape, and rising star Warrior Queen are among the already hooked, the folio is just another way to get is a nice breath of fresh air. vocal contributors. more of what you love.
of Hip Hop),” could be said to be the first new pop songs created entirely out of other people’s music. True, DJs had been cutting back and forth between tracks for years, and Steinski and the artists like John Oswald and Negativland had long been creating new work from bits and pieces of pre-existing music. But this was something new, an aesthetic that took in a wide range of pop culture, chopped it all up, and manically reassembled it as something you could Origins of Mashup bop your head to. Stein and Difranco were unlikely musical hip-hop By Matthew Brownlie up: “You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!” progenitors: white guys, comparatively old (33 and 27 In many ways, today’s mashup culture kicked off in and in drops “Rockit” by Herbie Hancock. After a brief respectively) and nonmusicians. “The Payoff Mix” was earnest in 1983, when a couple of ad men spent a weekend flashback to the original track, the chorus of “Stop in the their entry for a Tommy Boy Records remix contest, and putting a song together in a New York City apartment. Name of Love” blasts through. All of this happens in just when they won they received $100, a Tommy Boy t-shirt, “The Payoff Mix,” by Steve “Steinski” Stein and Doug over a minute. the opportunity to meet the judges (Afrika Bambaataa and “Double Dee” DiFranco, starts off as a fairly straight- The rest of the song unfolds in the same fashion, Jellybean Benitez among them) and, most importantly, forward remix of a fun but unremarkable hip-hop track. whipping from one incongruous musical quote to the next club distribution and airplay. And although “The Payoff A couple of minutes in, though, things get surprising. A with spoken word clips thrown in on top. It’s a fun dance Mix” was a club hit, it couldn’t be released commercially— few seconds of “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya” by Culture Club are track that sounds like it could have come out yesterday, at the time there was simply no mechanism by which to jarringly looped in. Then, out of nowhere, Little Richard but it’s 25 years old. clear the multitude of samples. starts a-wop-bop-a-loo-bopping. After some instructions This track and the two that follow, 1984’s “Lesson Two on how to do the bunny hop, Humphrey Bogart shows (James Brown Mix)” and 1985’s “Lesson Three (History Continued on page 2
1 Events and Artist Profiles From the music department rice radio folio SPRING 2009 rice radio folio SPRING 2009
top 35 for the week of 01.12.2009 ARTIST ALBUM LABEL Artist Profile: Charalambides Various Artists Radio Myanmar (Burma) Sublime Frequencies Tobacco Fucked Up Friends Anticon By Mark Flaum of other editions: the band released a CD voice is powerful but still ethereal, now around 3 years, during which time the Fight Bite Emerald Eyes Self-Released Tom Carter and Christina Madonia met version with a reduced track list a few years not afraid of ululations and taking comfort- Charalambides residency in Austin ended as co-workers at Sound Exchange, back ago; the Time Lag label released a deluxe able lead of a song. She also plays piano and the band divided, with Christina and Various Bollywood Steel Guitar Sublime Frequencies before it moved to its current location on 2LP version more than a decade after its on one of the tracks, with confidence and Heather moving to Philadelphia and Tom Gang Gang Dance Saint Dymphna The Social Registry Richmond Street. Tom was playing in the original release; and finally the Kranky lots of sustain. Tom adds percussion and to San Francisco. They had several more Menahan Street Band Make The Road By Walking Dunham Mike Gunn, and Christina added guest label produced a 2CD version (minus a saxophone to his portfolio, as well as con- CD-R releases in that era, as well as the Hearts Of Animals Cave Lights Artstorm Records vocals on a couple of that band’s explosive couple of cover songs) that remains in print tinuing to introduce field recordings and monumental Joy Shapes, which grew The Lines Flood Bank Acute Records psychedelic rock albums. Around the today. An early copy of the cassette made tape effects. The haunting drift that first from the sound of “Unknown Spin ”but O9 Church Of The Ghetto P.C. Asphodel same time, the two started playing music its way to Tom Lax of Siltbreeze records, appeared on Market Square still makes an reintroduced words to the songs in the J-Live Then What Happened? Barely Breaking Even (BBE) inspired by blues and psychedelic folk who offered to release their music on his appearance, though overall this album is form of Christina’s poetry, delivered with a DJ Baba James The House Of Good Juju Funketabla but with a definite interest in escaping label and opened up another chapter in among their most optimistic releases. spacious grace well in tune with the songs DJ Sun Para Alternate Take any traditional form of song. They chose the history of the band. The move to Austin somewhat coin- they were making at the time. The Scorces Pumice Quo Soft Abuse a name for their project—first the Mutual Siltbreeze was a vital label in the cided with an increasing number of solo were also very active at the time, including Appreciation Society, then Charalambides, American underground through the 90s. recordings for Tom and Christina. Tom’s a celebrated 2003 collaborative perfor- Various Artists Calypsoul 70: Carribean Soul & Calypso Crossover 1969 – 1979 Strut a common Greek surname that has no They introduced the Dead C and other solo work tended to be long-form explora- mance with the fiery free jazz sax/drums Lucky Dragons Dream Island Laughing Language Marriage translation. A friend invited the band New Zealand lo-fi bands to the country, tions of the lap steel guitar and roaming duo of Paul Flaherty and Chris Corsano, a MARS The Complete Studio Recordings: NYC 1977 – 1978 No More Records to perform on KTRU, but instead they as well as even stranger acts such as the flares of electric guitar. Christina’s solos union eventually referred to as Babes on Femi Kuti Day By Day Mercer Street recorded a cassette of material for him to Shadow Ring. Domestically, they cham- were more subdued affairs, sparse and the Loose. Heather departed for Scotland Antony and the Johnsons Another World Secretly Canadian play on the air. That tape evolved into their pioned the Strapping Fieldhands, Harry delicate, her explorations more introverted to help found the Volcanic Tongues record Thomas Ayresol Hell Level Self-Released first release, Our Bed is Green. Pussy, and of course the Charalambides. and private. She also devoted time to her store and label, and Charalambides was Golden Cities Golden Cities Esotype Records The Our Bed is Green cassette first ap- Siltbreeze released two LPs of Charalam- duo with Heather Leigh Murray, called once again reduced to a duo. Richard Pinhas & Merzbow Keio Line Cuneiform peared in 1992, just as compact discs were bides material—the fuzzy, blues-touched Scorces. In that duo the two women While Tom and Christina are now Various Artists Poetry On Record Shout Factory starting to replace the cassette and the Union in a gorgeous hand-made sleeve matched their voices and farfisa organ separated, they continue to perform and Kevin Ayers What More Can I Say… Reel LP as the music medium of choice. Some and the altogether more haunting Market drones, eventually introducing the pedal record together regularly. CD-R releases of tracks feature fierce, noisy blasts of guitar, Square. The duo became a trio at this time, steel guitar with guidance from Houston new and archival recordings continue, and Lukas Ligeti Afrikan Machinery Tzadik while others are small and acoustic, with inviting their friend Jason Bill to join the pedal steel legend Susan Alcorn. Around Kranky has released two Charalambides M. Fulton, Tim Clark & Tom Lopez 2 Minute Film Noir ZBS Audio hesitant, shy vocals from Christina (soon band. The three of them were also very 2002 Heather was invited to join the albums since Heather’s departure: A Vin- Group Doueh Guitar Music From The Western Sahara Sublime Frequencies Christina Carter) struggling to lead the active in Houston’s budding improvisa- Charalambides, debuting on an untitled tage Burden and Likeness. Both feature a Sprawl America Is Dying Of Wetnurse Self-Released song forward. Some feature tape treat- tion scene, and several other musicians CD-R split with the Scorces that was later sound similar to Joy Shapes but necessarily Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Repentance Narnack ments and other experimental techniques. from that scene appear as guests on the reissued by the Kranky label (minus the sparser with the absence of the pedal steel. Various Artists Doubledown Merck The lyrics are, I suspect, often improvised, series of compact discs they continued to Scorces track) as Unknown Spin. Lyrics take an even larger role than before, Duchess Says Anthologie Des 3 Perchoirs Alien8 bedroom musings and an expression of the release on their own Wholly Other label. Unknown Spin is the title of the first with the latter album drawing lyrics from Harvester Hemat Silence frustration of using words at all. Tellingly, Many of those recordings have gotten song on the album, which opens with traditional or well-known songs, though Funckarma Vell Vagranz N5md after only a couple of more releases, the very hard to find over the intervening a delicate pulse that is slowly, gently the music remains freeform. Both mem- Rosalie Sorrels Strangers In Another Country Red House Charalambides would abandon words en- years, though the last CD they recorded absorbed into a glacial flow of voice and bers remain active as solo performers and tirely and turn to wordless vocals for nearly for Siltbreeze, entitled Houston, still turns steel guitar. The album continues through collaborators: Christina performs in a duo Aelters Misitch Mjeuga Djisc Sonig a decade. Perhaps the most moving song up on occasion. four long tracks of spacious, slow-moving, called The Bastard Wing and Tom works Sugar Minott Dance Hall Showcase Vol II Wackie’s on the cassette is the fuzzy and sincere Houston was released in 1998, a couple and gently haunting music. The addition in the Friday Group, Zaika, Spiderwebs version of ‘I Bid you Goodnight,’ a tradi- of years after Jason Bill moved on, and was of a second voice allows the vocal portion and more. The two of them have generated tional folk tune from the Bahamas, most the first Charalambides release from their to maintain a presence even as the guitar a substantial catalog and mapped out a KTRU FALL Hits 2008 familiar from the work of Joseph Spence new home in Austin. The songs are calm, layers build up deep beneath the voices, unique corner of the musical world. ARTIST ALBUM LABEL but also integrated into the Incredible distortion is nearly absent, and many of and Heather’s pedal steel adds a warm String Band’s ‘A Very Cellular Song.’ Over the tracks use a gentle balance between gliding tone to the whole affair. Alva Noto Unitxt Raster-Noton the years this album has seen a number acoustic and electric guitars. Christina’s The trio with Heather continued for Boom Pam Puerto Rican Nights Essay Denice Franke Gulf Coast Blue Certain Eddie the Rat Eddie the Rat Edgetone Eden & John’s East River String Band Some Cold Rainy Day East River Steinski and the Origins razorblades). The first disc is made up of Evangelista Hello, Voyager Constellation Hit the Ground Running: of Mashup Continued from page 1 one-offs: “Jazz” and “Voice Mail (Sugar Hill Suite)” are further collaborations with Free Radicals Funk From the First 3 Self-Released SPRING 2009 Recommended shows By Matthew Brownlie Double Dee. The latter is a sampledelic Gang Gang Dance Saint Dymphna The Social Registry Nonetheless, being heard was enough jaw-dropper, spinning through 23 of the Group Doueh Guitar Music From the Western Sahara Sublime Frequencies Houston’s scene runs the gamut from experimental to bubblegum of a thrill that Steinski and Double Dee legendary hip-hop label’s hypest moments Hearts of Animals Cave Lights Artstorm pop, death metal to gamelan, so mark your calendars and check assembled the aforementioned Lessons in about five minutes. “I’m Wild About That J-Live Then What Happened? Barely Breaking Even Two and Three. Again, neither would be out KTRU’s upcoming shows page, and other sites that note Thing” is built on hilarious and raunchy Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry Repentance Narnack released commercially, but all three would upcoming shows in the area. Don’t forget to ask around or make clips of what sound like sex-ed and porno Lot 49 Music for “I, Robot” Self-Released exist as bootlegs in one form or another. records. a call to see if the show is sold out. Also, stay tuned to 91.7, Lesson Three, in fact, has never gone out Lovely Little Girls Glamorous Piles & Puffy Saddlebags Apop It’s not all fun and games. “The Motor- Lucky Dragons Dream Island Laughing Language Marriage and you just might pick up a few free tickets. of print despite never seeing an “official” cade Sped On” is an intentionally disturb- Megaphone Megaphone Natural High release (until recently). In hip-hop, lumi- ing collection of spoken material connected Pick your BATTLES: naries like De La Soul and DJ Shadow have to the assassination of JFK over a loping Menahan Street Band Make the Road by Walking Dunham each recorded direct homages to these beat. “Number Three on Flight Eleven” is O9 Church of the Ghetto P.C. Asphodel tracks, and artists such as Coldcut and Kid a beat-less and harrowing meditation on Sprawl America is Dying of Wetnurse Self-Released Saturday, January 24: Leave Your Genre at the Door 2, featuring Sad Go- Koala owe much to Steinski and Double rilla, Heptic Skeptic, Satin Hooks, Brains for Dinner, Perseph-1, Fat Tony, 9/11. And “It’s Up To You (Television Mix)” Two Star Symphony Love & Other Demons Self-Released Dee’s spirit of funky mischief. is a party-for-your-right-to-fight anthem in Various Artists Lagos Chop Up Honest Jon Nosaprise & News on the March @ Fitzgerald’s Earlier this year, Illegal Art released opposition of the first Gulf War and the Various Artists Radio Myanmar (Burma) Sublime Frequencies What Does It All Mean? a two-CD ret- Monday, January 25: Wheatfield @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck first President Bush. It sounded relevant Various Artists Technicolor Yawn: KVRX Local Live Vol. 12 KVRX rospective of Steinski’s work (including in pre-election 2008, too. The Lessons), making them available to Vibracathedral Orchestra Wisdom Thunderbolt VHF Friday, January 30: Waverly Hills and Lift The Veil @ Javajazz Coffee House Disc two is another previously hard-to- Yuganaut This Musicship Esp-Disk everyone for the first time. Illegal Art is also come-by masterpiece: “Nothing To Fear: home to Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, whose A Rough Mix” is an hour-long set Steinski Saturday, January 31: MV & EE, The Linus Pauling Quartet & Wols @ albums Night Ripper and Feed the Animals Rudyard’s created for Coldcut’s Solid Steel radio have taken the art of the mashup remix to show. Densely packed with dope beats and hyperactive, schizoid, joyous new heights. Monday, February 2: Broken Social Scene/Lymbyc Systym @ Numbers punchlines, everything shows up: from It’s almost impossible to imagine those The Music Man to Alec Baldwin’s famous two albums existing without The Lessons. Saturday, February 7: The Bad Plus @ Cullen Theater Glengarry Glen Ross monologue to Nelly’s Indeed, “The Payoff Mix” was arguably the “Country Grammar” (reimagined here as Night Ripper of its time, cannily connecting Tuesday, February 10: Loney, Dear @ Rudyard’s a stoner anthem). It would be exhausting disparate pop-musical ideas and signifiers if it weren’t so fun. from various genres and time periods with Thursday, February 12: Annuals @ Walter’s on Washington “What Does It All Mean?” is a revela- a sense of frantic glee. The results of both tory release for those unfamiliar with *All items subject to change— are fascinating and, more importantly, Saturday, February 14: Heartless Bastards @ The Continental Club Steinski’s music. For remix and mashup Stay up-to-date at ktru.org with maps, seriously entertaining. fans, it doesn’t answer its titular question times and lineups. The rest of the retrospective shows Thursday, February 17: Brentano String Quartet / Poetry and Music @ (how could it?), but it does tell us a lot Steinski refining his aesthetic, honing about where it all started. The Menil Collection his skills and updating his gear (The Les- Friday, January 23, 5 p.m. sons were constructed using tape and Deadline: Fall DJ Applications Sunday, March 3: Juan De Marcos & The Afro-Cuban All Stars @ Warehouse Live Friday, February 6, 2009, 5 p.m. Deadline: Battle of the Bands Demos and Applications Sunday, March 28: Willie Colon and Soulsa Caliente @ Miller Outdoor Theatre Friday, February 20, 2009, 7 p.m. Make sure you check out calendars online for a full list of upcoming shows! KTRU Battle of the Bands @ Lovett Undergrounds / Lyles, Rice University http://www.spacecityrock.com/ David Rosales http://www.namelesssound.org/ Saturday, April 11, 2009, Noon to Dark http://www.superunison.com/ KTRU Outdoor Show (Date is Tentative) http://bang.rice.edu/shows.shtml Rap at the RMC Some Field @ Rice University Houston rapper B L A C K I E played a surprise show at Rice on September 9th.
2 3 programming guide programming guide rice radio folio SPRING 2009 rice radio folio SPRING 2009
goose bumps. At the beginning it was collage of bluegrass, folk, rockabilly, classical and tionist Grand Guignols and a myriad of tangents in between. A rotating crew of hosts and events in and around Texas. In the past, the Revelry Report focused on just about every- jazz. The idea comes from a thought that all music from A to Z is related, and can be played hostesses gives each show a constantly shifting center of gravity, with each DJ formulating thing, including Austin City Limits, national art openings (occurring locally), SXSW (South together. It’s just a matter of how you get from A to Z. Live guests have always been a part his or her own definition of “music minus one chromosome.” On Monday nights, from 10 by Southwest, for newcomers), College Music Journal and a number of major benefits for Specialty Shows of the show. Over the years we’ve hosted Lyle Lovett, Eric Taylor, Jason Eklund, The Neville p.m. – 1 a.m., follow the unraveling strands of Genetic Memory. various charities in and around town. Brothers, James McMurtry, Preston Reed, Sue Foley, Tish Hinijosa, Ani di Franco… and In its current incarnation, the show also places a strong emphasis on live studio per- Specialty shows make up around 30 percent of our programming hours, most the list goes on. during the evening hours between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. These shows endeavor to play Hip Hop formances by local and touring musicians, interviews with artists and musicians, and an unexposed music from genres other than rock. Some of our specialty shows, such as Electronic The Vinyl Frontier airs every Tuesday night from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. The show primarily overall coverage of events in Houston. By doing so, the Revelry Report has narrowed its covers the latest releases from the underground hip-hop world with the occasional classic focus, aiming to introduce our audience to alternative outlets for nightlife while exposing Chickenskin and Jazz, have been going strong for over 20 years; others, like Africana, First there was the theremin, humming like a flying saucer to the wave of a hand. Then thrown in. Multiple styles are covered—from abstract ruminations backed by laptop glitch the many wonderful events in Houston that might otherwise go under the radar. are brand new. KTRU strives to play the greatest variety of music with the least trash along came giant modular synths and Australian computer music. As the twentieth century to gritty street tracks from upcoming MCs and even a club banger thrown in for good of any station in the Houston vicinity, and specialty shows help us toward this goal. trickled onward, electronic music developed from an academic experiment to the dominant measure. force on many dance floors. It has rewritten pop music, re-arranged the classical canon and Spoken Word Select invited local DJs will occasionally appear on the show to illustrate their turntab- The Spoken Word show offers performances from musicians, writers and poets, and played a key part in the development of hip hop. But today, electronic music has emerged Africana lism skills. Short interviews are also sometimes conducted with local and national hip-hop politicians and random diatribes. Saturdays 7 – 8 p.m. into an abundance of music in a genre all own. Undanceable IDM, blast-happy breakcore, The African/African Diaspora show celebratesexplores the music of Africans and com- acts, and the roots of hip-hop and rap are explored by delving into the funk, soul, and jazz synth-buzzing electro, glitch, lap-pop and more. You can sample the spectrum every Friday munities of African descent wherever one finds them. This last is what is sometimes referred breaks that started it all. evening from 7 – 9 p.m. on the Electronic show. As a special treat, on several occasions, Ska to as “the African diaspora.” Africa is home to some of the world’s greatest musical traditions. Tune in every Sunday evening from 9 – 10 p.m., as we explore the origins and reincar- the electronic show has presented electronic works from students in the Shepherd School Our goal on the Africana show is to expose introduce the Rice communitylisteners to the nations of ska. Ska was the direct predecessor of Reggae, and is characterized by upbeat of Music here at Rice. Jazz/Improvised Music rich diversity of some of the world’s greatest, and still evolving musical traditions. We to The KTRU Jazz and Improvised Music Program presents the living legends, unsung emphases, high quality horn sections, and influences from other traditions, including jazz, the rich diversity of these still evolving musical cultures. Hosts Joe and Chris have spent Funk & Soul heroes, rising stars and timeless pioneers in the world of creative improvisation, from the soul, punk and more. It sounds like reggae, but often with a quicker tempo, and built to be years collecting African music, and we play everything from traditional and folkloric music innovations of classic American jazz to the rigorous explorations of today’s European and danced to. From the rude sounds of the 1960s Jamaican originators, to the two-tone UK The Funk show airs every Thursday evening, from 7 – 8 p.m. What began as monstrous to the classic recordings of the sixties and seventies toand today’s dance hits. Not only do Japanese free improvisers. From New York’s downtown sounds to regional styles and beyond. anti-racist ska of the 70s and 80s, through the third wave ska of the 1990s from America drum lines, super rhythmic electric guitar rifts, and an extra tight brass section has since we present the music of 54 African countries, but we will also explore African music in the The Jazz and Improvised Music Program presents the vast spectrum of the music of the and across the globe, we seek out the best, the obscure, and the unusual from around the evolved into one (wo)man bands intent on conquering the same soulful journey foreshad- Americas, Europe and the Indian Ocean: everything from reggae, to jazz, to Columbian moment which you can hear broadcasting every Sunday from noon until 9 p.m. world, as we give you an international take on the scene. Rude! cumbias, and Cape Verdean mornas, and more. Tune in to KTRU every Saturday from owed by their imaginative ancestors decades ago. Henceforth, each week, the Funk show 12:00 – 3:00 pm and join Joe and Chris us on an exciting journey into the music of the Africa sets out to pay proper homage to the commendable funk purveyors, while acknowledging the soul scholars of today and introducing the mission controllers of tomorrow. No corner Kids Scordatura and its Diaspora. Do you remember Saturday morning cartoons? Do you remember the joyous anticipa- The Scordatura Show explores modern and contemporary classical music: i.e. ex- of the world or era of time is left uncovered. The declaration remains: “One Nation Under tion that you felt on Friday night, knowing that Heaven was only a few hours away? Well, perimental, electronic, or otherwise unusual music voiced for more or less traditionally A Groove.” Americana you can feel that joy, again! Every Saturday, the KTRU Kids’ Show digs up the songs that orchestral instruments, generally since 1900. Representative artists would include Glass, Every Monday night from 9 – 10 p.m., the Americana show explores the roots and history Genetic Memory made your childhood. Old favorites and forgotten memories are intermixed with new clas- Reich, Cage, Stockhausen, Pierre Schaeffer, and the like, though we try to emphasize lesser of American music (and sometimes, American history through music). For example, on sics and rarities that you may have never heard before – and they are all family friendly known material, as our show bleeds across into the glitchiness of the Electronic Show, the Genetic Memory is a series of three-hour experiments within the sonic void. It is a continu- MLK Day, we played speech excerpts from MLK, RFK’s famous speech on the assassination, and youth oriented! Hear cartoon theme songs, stories, children’s artists, child artists, and experimentation of the Jazz Show, and the noisiness of Genetic Memory. We also regularly ously redefining aural enigma, wrapped around a divergent collection of reference points, plus songs by Otis Spann, Nina Simone, the Staple Singers and others who recorded civil more! Hosted by the lovable DJ crew of Jane, Jenny and Tom, it’s sure to be the most fun feature material composed or performed by members of Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, from percussive implosions to explosive decompressions, from trepanned sound poetry to rights and MLK related material. On the birthday of the Houston blues legend Big Mama you’ve had on a Saturday in a long time! (Don’t forget to let your kids listen, too!). Saturdays, including live performances. doomed Grimmrobe sludge, from the meticulous and improvised to the orchestrated and Thornton (now deceased), we played a selection of her music, and on Election Day we’ll play noon – 1 p.m., only on KTRU! appropriately themed songs (Blue Mountain’s “Jimmy Carter,” the Austin Lounge Lizards’ chaotic, from old school industrial to new school drone, from free-jazz freakouts to freaky prog noodlings, from primitive electrons to digital dust devils, from Dadaist spasms to Ac- Treasures of the Sixties “Ballad of Ronald Reagan”). We try to cover as many American genres as possible—jazz, Local If you enjoy the music of the Sixties, but are sick and tired of the same old, played-out blues, bluegrass, gospel, cajun, zydeco, rockabilly, country, western swing, etc. Other themes The Local Show brings Houston musicians to the forefront, with occasional forays into the rotation of classic rock radio, you’re not alone. Every Wednesday night from 9 – 11 p.m., have included Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Sarg Records (an obscure but important indie label rest of the Lone Star State. From Lightnin’ Hopkins to Jana Hunter, from The Red Krayola the Treasures of the Sixties Show revisits the decade of boundless energy with an ear for from central Texas), the best of Bob Wills, the accordion, Motown, songs about food, Sam The General Shift to The Fatal Flying Guilloteens, and from ZZ Top to Drop Trio, the show presents over five what sounds fresh. You’ll hear cult artists such as Spirit and Love who deserve more, well, Cooke (on his birthday) and Townes Van Zandt (on the anniversary of his death). What does a general shift, which makes up around 70 percent of our sched- decades of Bayou City punk, jazz, blues, psych, noise, and everything in between. Tune love. We like to play Texas legends like the 13th Floor Elevators, Sir Douglas Quintet, and ule, sound like? The answer is as varied as the DJs that spin tracks, but there are in from 8 –10 p.m. every Tuesday to delve deep into the scene. Bi-weekly feature shows Mayo Thompson. You’ll even hear album cuts from the likes of the Kinks and Otis Redding, Blues certain commonalities. broadcast live sets and interviews with Houston heavyweights and newcomers alike, direct artists with much deeper catalogues than commercial radio would have you believe. And Join us on Wednesday nights for an exploration and insightful look at the world of blues. our “playlist” consists of around 100 albums. General shift shows include 4 from our studio. Listen and discover the incredible bands you share this city with. with the armies of pop culture archeologists out there who make new discoveries every Taking the genre beyond 12 bars and 3 chords, this two hour program brings the stark playlist tracks per hour, plus one each shift. The hope is for DJs to try out new and week, we’ll prove the saying, “If you haven’t heard it before, it’s good as new.” Fight the beauty of Billie Holiday, the pleading of James Brown, the delta sound of Robert Johnson, challenging music, while leaving them by and large free to select their own tracks. Metal tyranny of Oldies radio! Catch the Sixties show on Wednesdays. and the relentless sounds of Howlin’ Wolf, Otis Rush, and many others to one meeting place You also will hear at least 2 tracks from underrepresented genres each hour, From The Depths, KTRU’s metal show, features 3 hours of underground metal, without here on KTRU. It’s Blues in Hi-Fi; Wednesdays 7 – 9 p.m. on KTRU Houston! including blues, jazz, world music from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, improvised and a trace of commercial pseudo nu-metal. Death metal, black metal, thrash metal, raw, ugly, World experimental music, and even pure noise. It’s not uncommon to hear a modern and heavy, with an impressive amount of vinyl: 7 inches, 12 inches, etc. Real metal from From ancient Asian traditions to highly innovative Brazilian jazz, the KTRU World Music Chickenskin real metal-heads. From the old school to the newest underground releases. Sundays from Show covers the globe. Natural indigenous music of the rainforest gets equal play with ex- Chickenskin Music airs Thursday Evenings on KTRU from 8 – 10 p.m. The show gets classical track, followed by indie pop, chased with drumming out of Cameroon, followed by hip hop. It’s eclectic; it’s challenging; it’s KTRU. 10 p.m. – 1 a.m. citing Indian Bhangra and African pop. From the most talented musicians the world has to its name from an old blues expression referring to music that gives you ‘chickenskin’, or offer to the most joyous and liveliest, listeners can hear it all on Monday nights from 7 – 9 MK Ultra p.m. A rotating volunteer staff with experience in international music and cultural education Please note that once our newest crop of DJs us on air, all spaces marked “Robo” and “WRN” will be filled with live bodies. Need a fix of the latest in underground electronic dance music? Not to worry - MK Ultra curates diverse set lists each week. We present acclaimed musicians like Talip Ozkan, Ali has you covered, and we’re one of the very few Houston radio shows that does. Every Friday Farka Toure, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, and Mongo Santamaria, as well as many underrepre- Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday night from 9 p.m. – 12 a.m., we showcase three hours of live in-station DJ-mixes from the sented and independent musicians around the world. Listeners will find out about world cream of the crop of local acts (and every now and then some international acts). We hit all music events in Houston and the surrounding region. Occasionally the World Music Show the sub-genres, whether it’s house, drum n bass, progressive, breaks, etc. You can check may highlight regional events that feature international music, as well as Native American 1 am 1 am us out on the web, at www.mkultra.us for recordings, details on sending promos, and how powwows and regional traditions with international origins. to submit DJ demos. 2 am 2 am Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour 3 am 3 am Once upon a time, when today’s college freshmen were little more than a staring complex ROBO ROBO ROBO ROBO ROBO ROBO ROBO and a bad perm, alternative, indie rock, garage, emo, grunge, and hardcore all had the same 4 am 4 am name: punk. Every Thursday night from 10 p.m. – 1 a.m., the Mutant Hardcore Flower Hour explores the genre that gave birth to all the lame bands that annoy your parents, your room- 5 am 5 am World Radio World Radio World Radio World Radio World Radio World Radio World Radio mates, and your friends, proving that nothing is more cathartic than giving everyone the News News News News News News News finger at the same time, including yourself. Like Steven Van Zandt, we play the Ramones, 6 am 6 am everyone who influenced the Ramones, and everyone the Ramones influenced. If it’s fast and loud, if it’s angry, if it rocks, we’ve got it—but it’s more complicated than that. D. Boon 7 am 7 am of the Minutemen put it simply: Punk is whatever we make it to be.
8 am 8 am Navrang The Navrang (“Nine Colors”) Show covers the music of the Indian subcontinent, naturally 9 am 9 am with a focus on music from films, but also capturing the diversity of the region with Indian 10 am 10 am classical, folk, Indipop, Asian underground and “Western fusion” music out of the region in a “spicy musical curry.” Check it out Saturday mornings, 10 a.m. to noon. Navrang 11 am 11 am KTRU News 12 pm Kids 12 pm KTRU News focuses on local (and especially Rice Community) leading thinkers, pro- fessors, news makers, community organizations, nonprofits, arts organizations, politicians 1 pm 1 pm and the like, in a talk format, trying to capture what others might miss. If you have story Africana ideas or want recordings of past shows, check our page at www.ktru.org. Tune in Fridays 2 pm 2 pm from 5 – 6 p.m.
3 pm 3 pm Post Punk Jazz & The Modern Dance, KTRU’s post-punk show, airs every Tuesday night from 7 – 8 4 pm Improvised 4 pm p.m.. Focusing on underground music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, we play all genres of Scordatura Music post-punk, from the mutant disco of Cristina to the avant garage of Pere Ubu. Despite their 5 pm News 5 pm differences, almost every artist that we play exhibits a willingness to play with—and rebel Reggae New Specialty against—pop music clichés. Take the rebellion and brashness of punk rock and add an Show 6 pm Revelry Report 6 pm experimental aesthetic edge and you have post-punk. In addition to playing mixed sets and taking requests from our listeners, we often build 7 pm Funk Spoken Word 7 pm World Post-Punk the post-punk show around a theme. This year, for example, we have devoted entire shows to the Rough Trade label, to inaccessible music, and to synth pop. Tune into the post-punk Music Blues Electronic 8 pm 8 pm show and you’ll get “The Modern Dance.” Local Chickenskin 9 pm Americana Ska 9 pm Rice Radio Reggae Sixties Wednesdays from 5 – 7 p.m., KTRU’s Rice Radio Reggae takes listeners on a tour of some 10 pm MK Ultra 10 pm of the many facets of Reggae music. While having its origins in Jamaica, Reggae now comes Genetic Metal from countries across the globe, and each week Rice Radio Reggae attempts to present an 11 pm Hip-Hop 11 pm overview of the genre. You’ll hear the Roots Reggae Bob Marley made famous, instrumental Memory Hardcore Dub, Dancehall, and more. It’s eclectic (just like KTRU!) and, who knows? You could just 12 am 12 am hear a side of Reggae you never knew existed!
Revelry Report KTRU 91.7 FM RICE RADIO CURRENT ON-AIR SCHEDULE The Revelry Report airs Friday nights from 6 – 7 p.m. and focuses primarily on local
4 5 Interviews and Artist Profiles ALBUM REVIEWS rice radio folio SPRING 2009 rice radio folio SPRING 2009
Artist: Carolina Chocolate Drops Artist: Various Artists Title: Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind Title: Poetry on Record: 98 Poets Read Their Work Label: Music Maker (1888-2006) By Josh Levin Label: Shout Factory By Rose Cahalan An Interview with Huey Long The Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind is an indispensable contribution to the old-time music revival that’s This ambitious collection—128 poems read by their authors over By Ayn Morgan 1930s. Fletcher Henderson, staff arranger rhythm & blues, rock & roll and doo-wop. HL: Well, it seems there is a future. been increasing in popularity in recent years. Old-time music, an the range of 118 years—is a near-comprehensive oral history, both At age 10, Huey Long got his first for Benny Goodman, was amazed by When bebop grew in popularity, he had Change has come to America. antecedent of modern-day bluegrass, is frequently associated of American literary movements and the evolution of the poetry job in Sealy, Texas selling produce. His Huey’s chord melodies and original musi- studio sets with Al Haig, Gene Ramey and AM: Awesome. with white musical traditions of Appalachia. However, an equal reading as performative art. From Romanticism to Modernism to grandmother had sold eggs and produce cal arrangements. He sought out Huey to Denzil Best. He later toured with the USO HL: That IS awesome. contribution to the form comes from African-American styles developed in North and South the Beats to 21st century political protest, it’s all here in a hefty to both Stephen F. Austin and Santa Anna also arrange pieces for Benny Goodman in the 1950’s, entertaining troops in Korea Ayn: Do you think this will help improve Carolina. Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson (both from North Carolina’s Piedmont region), four-disc box set. Essential listening for anyone with an interest before the Texas War of Independence in New York City. and Japan with “The Huey Long Trio”. He civil right issues? and Dom Flemons (from Arizona) are part of a new generation of young black musicians in poetry, this release also holds surprises for those who’ve never given the genre a chance. exploring this under-recognized part of American heritage music, and their is an album that’s Think Yeats and Browning were stuffy old men? The sheer musicality of Yeats’ “The Lake of from Mexico. Huey used his earnings to Most big bands used black arrangers also performed for the USO in England Huey: I think so. both enjoyable and educational. buy a ukulele. When not working at the which were not publicly acknowledged. with “The Snub Mosley Band” and while AM: There is a possibility that Michelle Inisfree,” more sung than spoken, may shock you. And if Sylvia Plath has always seemed The musical vocabulary here resembles that of similar bands such as Old Crow Medicine miserable and moping, prepare to be burned by her fiery delivery of “Daddy.” These and 96 market, he practiced and learned ragtime Benny Goodman was the first bandleader there, he recorded with “The Ravens”. Obama’s mother may also move into the Show; throughout the album, rolling banjos and scratchy fiddles dominate. The best songs are other poets—whether famous or obscure, long dead or Generation X, come alive in their own chords by ear. to put black musicians in the orchestra. He later returned to New York and had White House to help out with the Obama the ones that deviate slightly from the formula: “Rickett’s Hornpipe” pops along with the help voices in Poetry on Record. Making trips to Houston, Huey’s next As a result, Huey performed with Lionel his own music studio, taught students his daughters. Do you think having an extended of a snare drum and a particularly creaky string part, “Little Sadie” projects urgency with its The first disc juxtaposes Walt Whitman reading from “America” with Gertrude Stein’s job was shining shoes at the legendary Rice Hampton, Fats Navarro and Gene Krupa. chord method and was a music columnist First Family will set a positive example? frantic male vocal and up-and-down fiddle riff, and “Tom Dula”, part of an extensive American wonderfully bizarre verbal cubism in “A Completed Portrait of Picasso” and Langston Hughes’ Hotel. He used the nickels he earned to Through these associations, he played for the New York Age Defender, which HL: I think so, yes. tradition of murder ballads, contrasts its dark lyrical matter with a woozy slide guitar part and mournful crooning in “The Weary Blues.” Part of the delight of these recordings comes simply warm vocal harmonies. On the a cappella “Little Margaret”, Rhiannon Giddens’s wistful solo from the qualities of the readers’ voices: Ezra Pound croaks and rasps like a vampire with buy sheet music and saw popular bands at frequently at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. originated from the first African American AM: What do you do on “Huey Long masterfully unravels yet another grisly love story that’s more creepy than romantic. The song, emphysema, while Elizabeth Bishop just sounds like a nervous schoolgirl. the hotel which advanced his understand- During this time he also performed with newspaper. Day”? [Declared by Houston’s mayor, it’s which sounds like it could just as easily have been sung in the English countryside in the late There’s something intimate and thrilling about hearing these historical giants actually speak ing of music. He later met bands when the Earl “Father” Hines Orchestra and When I talked with Huey Long, now 104 April 25th every year, which is also Huey’s 1600s (when and where it did, in fact, first surface), further reveals the multi-cultural nature of for themselves rather than from the pages of a poetry anthology. Shouting and quavering, introducing them to audiences played alongside such legends as Billy years old, it soon became clear that he was birthday.] our nation’s folk history. bee-bopping and stuttering, they suddenly become real people—and this makes their words In 1925, when the banjo player for the Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie most excited about the recent election of HL: We do something here [at the While the songs on Dona Got a Ramblin’ Mind are strictly in the traditionalist vein, the Carolina Chocolate Drops spike the old-time aesthetic with a modern sensibility (go to YouTube all the more powerful, as on disc two when, in the exhilarating epic “America,” Allen Ginsberg’s “Frank Davis’ Louisiana Jazz Band” missed and Charlie Parker. Barack Obama. museum]. rhythmic reading grows more intense as he feeds off the cheers and hoots of his audience a show, Frank asked Huey to play with In 1944 Huey Long formed his first trio I’d like to add that Huey has a fantastic to check out their unforgettable cover of the cheesy 2001 top 40 hit “Hit ‘Em Up Style”). For anyone interested in time-weathered American music from a refreshing and under-exposed (some of whom may have wept at the end). them instead. Huey immediately went as the house band at New York’s Three Ayn Morgan: What do you think about light blue suit that he wears each year angle, this album is not to be missed. Discs three and four are the most overtly musical, with blues poems from Amiri Baraka to the only music store in town and got a Deuces Café on 52nd Street, the legend- Obama? on his birthday. He has a great time and and “Logan Heights and the World,” Juan Felipe Herrera’s account of a rough immigrant banjo on credit. He tuned it down to play ary street of jazz. One year later, while Huey Long: [smiles] I like him. I like enjoys visitors who come by to help him childhood—a dark poem made brighter by lively acoustic guitar. Overall, my only complaint by ear and later paid the banjo off with playing at the café he was approached to him. celebrate. For more information on Huey Artist: Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins is that some of the choices are uneven. While I commend the inclusion of poets from a wide shoeshine nickels. join The Ink Spots. AM: Did you think you would ever see Long, visit www.inkspotmuseum.com or Title: Clutch of the Tiger range of cultural backgrounds (Latin America, Asia, and Native America to name a few), the Label: Ubiquity Several years later, he switched to the Huey is the last living original member a black man elected president? the Huey “Ink Spot” Long Living History repetition of some writers and not others is odd. Why choose three poems by Amiri Baraka By Jae Mills and only one by Adrienne Rich, two by Adrian Louis and none by Louise Gluck? In a collec- guitar and moved to Chicago, performing of The Ink Spots, one of the first African HL: No. Music Museum at 117 East 20th Street tion that attempts such grand inclusiveness, the decision to highlight a few poets more than with Texas Guinan’s Cuban Orchestra. American vocal groups to cross the racial AM: Do you think things will be different (713.677.9736). Clutch of the Tiger brings us an unlikely pairing, to say the least. others feels erratic and maybe a bit biased toward personal favorites. He practiced during the day; by night, he barrier in radio and live performances. They now, since this has happened? Both Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins are among the most active The compilation tracks not only literary changes but also technological ones. The solemnity joined the active Chicago nightlife of the helped define the musical genre that led to producer/ musicians on the funk/ jazz-fusion scene today. So it’s of Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “The Change of the Light Brigade,” recorded in 1888 by Thomas rather rare to see the two find time to collaborate outside of the Edison on wax, seems a far cry from Anne Waldman’s postmodern “Uh Oh Plutonium,” a worlds they both have managed to create for themselves. Take synthesizer-enhanced response to the nuclear age—yet each is revolutionary in its way. The Shawn Lee for instance: sixteen albums released in the past fourteen years (not counting thorough booklet included in the set does an excellent job of explaining the cultural context various motion picture and video game soundtracks) is nothing to laugh at. As for Clutchy, of each work, and even includes portraits and short biographies for most of the writers. From since his teens, extensive travels through musical holy lands such as India, Japan, Nigeria, Dorothy Parker’s twenty-second zinger “Resume” to Jack Kerouac’s voice as a jazz instru- and Mexico have led to lifelong lasting teachings from the likes of Oba-lu-Funke, Moondog, ment in “American Haikus,” Poetry on Record is endlessly dynamic and widely varied—this and the Renzai Zen monks just to name a few. isn’t your junior high school English class. However, one listen to the LP seems to put it all in its place. Inspiration isn’t something strived for in uncomfortable amounts by either of these heavy musicians. Clutch of the Tiger displays how the somewhat strange pairing itself serves as enough ammunition to turn out an album to be remembered by jazz funk aficionados and the like, for some time to come. Artist: Silent Land Time Machine Fans of the quick boogie action which funk is known for will find themselves a bit challenged Title: And Hope Still… by this selection. Clutch of the Tiger is simply for the mellow. The infectious grooves take such Label: Indian Queen/Time-Lag a toll on the listener, however, such that it’s hardly noticeable that most of the album’s tempos By Lance Higdon rarely reach above 96 beats per minute. Both “Bill Blows It” and “So Easily… So Naturally” exploit the jazz grooves Shawn Lee so frequently flirts with. Meanwhile the mellow funk flow Silent Land Time Machine is an Austin band working in that found on cuts like “When I Was Young” or “Bad Influence” manage to marry soul vibes with woozy, gauzy area between lo-fi bedroom experimentalism, the perfect hints of sixties psychedelic and mod styles. cinematic end of 90s post-rock and the ongoing psych revival. The At times it becomes obvious with which tracks Clutchy takes a more hands-on approach album blends the sounds of viola, violin, accordion, piano and the than others. His love for all things Navrang and Far Eastern make “Indian Burn” a shoe-in for human voice, all delightfully processed through a variety of filters Artist Profile: the Clutchy Hopkins signature sound library. Here, the duo seems to seamlessly melt tastes of and oscillators to create a relaxing jaunt through joy, despair, introspection and, yes, hope. the Indian city of Serampur with the South Bronx. Much of the native percussion work found Each song takes its time to arrive, arching (“I Shouldn’t Be In School”) and aching (“Memory on the intelligent “Till Next Time” piece is an easy giveaway to Clutchy’s influence as well. Resister”) across a panoply of textures and dynamics. Released jointly by Time-Lag Record- Of all listeners, fans of funk and soul soundtrack/ scores will seriously get a kick out of the ings and Indian Queen on beautifully-packaged, 180-gram vinyl, the palimpest-vague artwork collection that is Clutch of the Tiger. The duo serves up truckloads of soulful goodies, that of some washed-out rocky shore matches the sonics perfectly. could’ve easily been found during the same pivotal scenes of sixties and seventies action films Weasel Walter many of us have come to love (Shawn Lee’s currently enjoying well deserved accolades for By Lance Higdon “1389 Seconds Of Noise”. It is also where the compositions he’s contributed to the wildly popular Ocean’s Thirteen score). “Leon Me” Weasel Walter is a composer and multi- he recorded Revenge, beginning to tell a and “Full Moon” instantaneously have you reaching for that extra large bucket, easy on the Artist: Richard Pinhas and Merzbow instrumentalist renowned for writing and sprawling and apocalyptic narrative of the salt and butter please. It isn’t hard to tell where iconic hip-hop producer turned actor and film Title: Keio Line performing music on the margins. His demise of planet Earth and the interstel- score composer RZA gets his modern inspiration. “Across The Pond” could’ve easily been Label: Cuneiform career is marked by periodic vacillation lar spaces inhabited by various beings sampled and placed on Wu Tang’s masterpiece Enter The Wu Tang (36 Chambers) [though, By Alyssa Ibarra between meticulously composed and thereafter. Their stories are told on The obviously it wasn’t]. Meanwhile, split into two compositional parts, “Dollar Short” (reviewer’s spontaneously generated music, always Void and Systems Emerge From Complete pick) is ready-made instant Hip Hop vintage. This September brought the release of the double-CD album marked by “speed, velocity and violence,” Disorder. In short, file Clutch of the Tiger in your stack of wordless albums. No vocals are found Keio Line, a collaborative project between Richard Pinhas of Helden whatsoever; strictly mood music here. Your tempos are down and midtempo- heavy (with fame and the renowned Japanese noise artist Merzbow. More than Walter’s defining aesthetic concepts. Operating initially in improvisational the exception of a couple). More importantly, it’s amazing what blending two unlikely sources an effort to simply push two prolific electronic artists head to head Growing up in the relative tedium of idioms, Walter’s subsequent interest in can yield as a collaborative effort. The result, Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins’ Clutch of the to marvel at what such a collision may bring, the album shows the Rockford, Illinois, Weasel Walter gravi- highly detailed yet savage-sounding com- Tiger, is a natural flowing stew of funk, soul, international, and nostalgia worthy of its place beauty of true collaboration as Pinhas and Merzbow play off each other with great ease, the tated naturally to the punk rock scene. position led to The Flying Luttenbacher’s as a “keeper.” guitar and looping of Pinhas weaving seamlessly through the analog synths and noise brought However, his dollar-bin discoveries of free “brutal prog” phase. The intensity of the on by Merzbow. Heavily layered and sonically expansive, this album is very spatial. Sit down jazz and no wave records (on which he is music is reflected in the volatility of the Artist: Frick the Cat/Fuzzy Wuz She in an empty room on a cold, concrete floor while closing your eyes and you’ll find yourself regarded as an expert—he has written lineup. Subsequent years saw Walter play- Title: El Gato & Frick It! 7” completely surrounded from all angles and losing your balance without ever moving an inch. liner notes for James Chance album reis- ing with as many as four other musicians Label: Abaton Book Company You’ll slowly regain control through much of the repetitious looping only to be taunted with sues) set him on a sonic path that strained and as few as none, performing as a one- By Ayn Morgan the indiscernible whereabouts of fading and reemerging pulses, compelled to forget trying to determine what is coming from where. the naked aggression of punk through the man whirlwind of tightly-scripted fury. This 7” single features the energetic debut vocals of Frick the The album’s first track, “Tokyo Electric Guerilla,” has a gradual build as it starts with noise complex sound-systems of the avant-garde. Having become frustrated by tepid that feels almost cleansing, purifying the listener to enter a state of true engagement. I took the His avant-garde appetite led him down the support in Chicago (and the self-confessed Cat with the musical accompaniment of guitarist Mark Dagley from Girls (part of the late 70’s Boston post-punk scene) and Hi track to be the invitation of sorts—perhaps even a warning—to embrace myself for the outright highway to Chicago, studying at Columbia sabotage of many relationships in his Sheriffs of Blue (modeled after the 1950s electric blues bands dizzying loops and pounding industrial synths found throughout the second track of the first College with Hal Russell and immersing younger, testier days), Walter decamped from Chicago and Detroit). He currently performs with Pothole CD. The track, by far my favorite of both CDs, ends with static and utter exhaustion. Pinhas himself in improvised music. to Oakland, where he felt there was a more Skinny and Marianne Nowottny and The All American Band. Dagley is an abstract artist who and Merzbow don’t aim to intimidate, though, for tracks like “Shibuya AKS” and “Chaos Line” It was here that he formed his longest- receptive scene for his hard-fast-and-weird exhibits his geometric paintings, supergraphics and kinetic works internationally. A recent (a play on the title of the album, perhaps?) offer a more soothing touch. Here, the collabora- running ensemble, The Flying Luttenbach- approach. Whatever his motivations, the show in Brooklyn reintroduced works he made in William S. Burrough’s Bunker space on the tion is more apparent as synths flow with rhythmic guitar loops that build intricately upon one ers, in 1991. The band has since become Bay Area has been an inspiring home base Bowery in New York City and exhibited in 1978 at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in Soho. Dagley’s another. The electronics in the album are, in essence, more exploratory than explosive. synonymous with Walter and a revolving for Walter. Along with new incarnations understanding of the abstract certainly influences his music. As if the woven texture of their combined sounds weren’t enough, Pinhas and Merzbow’s unity throughout Keio Line is apparent even in song titles: Track 2 from the first CD mixes door of players, ranging from initial mem- of The Flying Luttenbachers (which had The first track, “El Gato,” brilliantly blends Frick’s low, tender and rapturous purr bursts with Dagley’s skillful and seductive Flamenco guitar. The recording is fine and simple, allowing Japanese with French in “Ikebukuro: Tout le Monde Descend!” (Ikebukuro is an entertainment bers Russell and Chad Organ to Ken Van- moved back to a more improvisational district in Tokyo) while Track 1 from the second CD, called “Merzdon/Heldow Kills Animals dermark, Fred Longberg-Holm and (after approach), he joined the notorious hard- stark focus on the artful and calming guitar work. “Frick It!” on Side B, incorporates the vocals of Frick’s feline housemates, Hissy and Killers,” not only displays a switch in the very letters of their names but merges both artists Walter’s relocation to Oakland) Mick Barr. core band XBXRX on drums, garnering Bony. Together they create “Fuzzy Wuz She”, a fast-paced cat-yelping punk rock endeavor. into one singular being out to kill the animal killers… which brings me to my only concern with Other Chicago-era projects include Lake critical acclaim and bans from venues The recording is gritty, lo-fi and energetic. While listening, you may forget that the vocals are the album: when you first open the CD case, you are met with a photo of Masami Akita him- Of Dracula, To Live And Shave In L.A. 2, with equal intensity. Though The Flying feline. The cats are a wise choice, as they compliment the music instead of seeming like a self working away on a laptop that displays a rather conspicuous sticker that reads, “Meat is and Miss High Heel (with Jim O’Rourke), Luttenbachers were officially retired in novelty. My cats gathered attentively near the speakers and got hyper during “Frick It!”. After Murder.” Below that you find another sticker opposing fur. I would have thought nothing of it, all of which mined similarly complex, cor- 2007, he keeps busy playing drums with it stopped, they looked around and slowly walked away. but with the song title and an empathic call written in the insert to “Stop Consumption! Stop roding musical caverns . Albums from this XBXRX , Burmese, and Contradiction, in This is not a comedy album. These aren’t cat samples on a keyboard but emotive com- killing animals! Ni Dieu ni Maitre!” I’m left wondering how this fits into the concept behindKeio Line. Did I miss something within the dense looping? I still don’t quite get it, but I do know that period include The Flying Luttenbacher’s ponents that fit naturally on both tracks. It’s a real accomplishment to blend these elements addition to improvising with a wide variety Their four favorite letters never did the image of a cow pop into my head when listening to this album. So if that were first singles “546 Seconds Of Noise” and of players on both coasts. KTRU News Directors Carina Baskett and Helen Shaw attended the College Broadcasters, Inc. and produce something this fun yet in no way annoying, weak or embarrassing. Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, in October. Keep track of Frick, as he is currently working with playwright Lauri Bortz on an independent the objective, then by far Pinhas and Merzbow have hit this one out of the park. kung-fu book and film project.
6 7 KTRU Staff/Folio Staff/Contact KTRU rice radio folio SPRING 2009
How Can I Contact KTRU? KTRU SPRING 2009 Folio STAFF Listen to or read about KTRU at www.ktru.org. Editor: Rose Cahalan On air music requests: 713.348.KTRU (5878) Copy: Nick Schlossman, Carina Baskett, Alyssa Ibarra You can also find email addresses for all of our directors at ktru.org. Layout and Design: David Wang General correspondence can be directed to [email protected] Contributors: Matthew Brownlie, Mark Flaum, Lance Higdon, Alyssa Ibarra, Dennis Lee, Josh Levin, Jae Mills, How Can I submit music? Ayn Morgan, David Rosales, Nick Schlossman, Ian Wells To submit music for airplay consideration: Music Directors C/O KTRU MS-506 P.O. Box 1892 • Houston, TX 77251
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