Tag Archives: dance

Colleen Green: On Challenging Herself to Record Out of Her Comfort Zone

Colleen Green. She’s a woman who proudly marches to the beat of her own drum – literally. With her latest album, Sock It To Me, Green’s exuberant personality comes to life, dripping in this funky punk distortion and of course, a drum machine. Green’s latest masterpiece packs quite the trendy, yet edgy, punch to the throat, with an underlying sexy girl power vibe. (Think more Meg White than Alanis Morissette.)

What’s refreshing about Green is her ability to strip down and be vulnerable, yet somehow she manages to be impressive both through her music and in her life. Green’s the type of musician who’s uniqueness is charming, prompting you to be an immediate fan. And even though she hasn’t uncovered the big mystery to success (has anyone?), we think it’s safe to say that this lanky girl with groovy bangs from New England has enough gumption, charisma and party-all-night-long drumbeats to get her feet marching in the right direction. Or at least a really, really fun one.  Continue reading →

The Art of the Dance Accompanist

An Inside Look at a Ballet Pianist’s Process

Deep in the heart of Music City, USA lives a 23-year-old pianist by the name of Eric Burgett. He is small town, central-Illinois native who moved to Nashville this past August to pursue graduate school at Belmont University as well as a career in performing, songwriting, and teaching. Thus far, he has had the opportunity to teach private lessons and group classes at Belmont, co-write with a few folks around town, attend workshops, and carry out duties as the music director of Glencliff United Methodist Church, a small but mighty church in town. Burgett claims the most exciting part of his weekly schedule is playing piano at the School of Nashville Ballet, where he accompanies in the dance studios, providing music that fits the many dance steps taught by the instructors. Eric provides his view on the art of accompanying dance and shares some of his own experiences.  Continue reading →

Krewella

Culling Metal Influences into EDM

GENRE: Dubstep/EDM
HOMETOWN: Chicago, IL
ARTISTIC APPROACH: To create bone-rattling beats.
URL: www.facebook.com/krewella

Chicago-based EDM (electronic dance music) trio Krewella has only been around for four years, but has worked out a killer combination of collaborative music making and explosive live performances. Continue reading →

Spotlight: Saucy Lady

Networking to Unite a Divided Local Scene

GENRE: Soul/Disco
HOMETOWN: Yokohama, Japan / Boston, MA
ARTISTIC APPROACH: Blending sexuality, soulful vocals and attitude.
WEBSITE: saucyladymusic.com

Any musician knows that the live performance is key to cementing your persona and validating your talent. Noe Carmichael, also known as Saucy Lady, has been working the Boston circuit for years – as a prominent DJ and a lovely songstress. Her debut album, Diversify, is a multifaceted display of the raw and undeniable passion she possesses for the vibrant house and soul genres. And for Saucy, inspiration comes from everywhere. “I look for inspiration from local artists, friends, and great leaders I’ve met.”

She continues, “I usually take mental notes on what to do and not to do in a performance setting.” And inevitably, it becomes about influencing other people, as well. “I want to export that experience to others, too. It’s sort of a domino effect.”  Not that she can’t stand on her own when it comes to performing, by any means. Her live show is a decadent parade of unapologetic sexuality and vocals that sneer breathlessly, making it clear that Saucy is fiending for no one’s approval.

“Too many people have little hope for Boston being a cultural leader in music. I’m planning events with a network of artists instead of sulking.”

And of course, she has planned all of this purposefully. “The Saucy persona [has] attitude, overt sexuality, humor, innocence, and a little absurdity. She knows what she wants and takes shit from no one. When I perform, the mood of the songs would just naturally channel those energies.” Although she is building a solid cult following, Saucy Lady is starkly realistic about the future of music in Boston as a whole – and refuses to take it lying down.

“Too many people have little hope for Boston being a cultural leader in music. I’m planning events with a network of artists instead of sulking; little by little, I try to be proactive about making this change.” And while she realizes that change doesn’t happen overnight, she relies on her music to express her admirable intentions. “The ultimate wave of feeling that I want everybody to feel is communal bond and love – music is my vehicle to achieve this.”

photo by Justin Keena

Record Review: Mouse on Mars

Mouse on Mars

Parastrophics

Düsseldorf, Germany

“ADDreams”

It is not yet possible to experience another person’s dream, to inhabit their mind while they navigate their subconscious in strange and wonderful ways, to see their memories take physical and ethereal shapes to uplift, energize, and haunt them, to hear their mind speak to itself in a voice no one else may ever know. Parastrophics comes very close, though.

It inhabits a mental space unbeknown to other musics, hiding messages behind bubbles of sound while blips of incomplete memories float by. Every note has a second meaning hidden just beneath its surface, and styles drift by each other like dandelion seeds. Pop music folds in on itself to reveal melodies on the B-side of its sound wave. Dance grooves clear the air to reveal hidden rhythms in the empty space around the beat. Parastrophics is the dream that happily keeps you asleep, content to drift through the infinite worlds within the mind. This is a journey you take without knowing, arriving with music and ideas swirling around your head but with no recollection of how you got there. (Monkeytown Records)

Produced by Andi Toma and Jan Saint Werner

parastrophics.com

Record Review: Animal Talk

Animal Talk

Animal Talk

Boston, MA

“Upbeat, strong and invigorating, this Boston band holds great promise”

Animal Talk, a relatively new band out of Boston, recently released their self-titled EP and is quickly gaining recognition within the New England area.  A band that has played gigs with Young the Giant, it is only fitting that the two groups share a similar sound.  Think Young the Giant meets Lenny Kravitz, and there you have the distinct sound that is Animal Talk.

The EP’s opener, “Into The Sun,” is a track that features fast-paced drum beats along with instrumental hooks that will leave anyone dancing for days.  “Enough is Enough” follows the upbeat track with a somewhat angry feel, which is understood since the song is about the end of a relationship.  “Obvious” is a track that is also about relationships and is saturated with an intense bass line from Rob Johanson.

A standout track, “Can’t Dance With It,” features smooth guitar riffs along with a touch of electronic beats.   The track also showcases the impressive vocal range of lead singer Steven Kilgore. Wailing in the best way possible, Kilgore’s voice seems to serve as an extra guitar riff on this track.  The album ends with another upbeat, full-sounding number in “Monster.”

Animal Talk’s self-titled EP signifies the promise of a local band and leaves listeners wanting more. (Self-released)

Produced and Engineered by Ducky Carlisle at Ice Station Zebra in Medford, MA

animaltalkmusic.com

Rocking Vintage Gear and Getting Sexy on 2” Tape: In The Studio With Eksi Ekso

BASIC INFO:
Interview subjct: Tom Korkidis from Eksi Ekso
Album: Archfiend
Recorded at Baucom Road (Unionville, NC), Florida Keys (NYC)
Record label: The Mylene Sheath
Release date: Spring 2012
Recorded, Engineered, Mixed and Produced by Scott Solter
Mastered by Dave McNair at Sterling Sound, NYC

CRUCIAL GEAR:
microKORG
Toy Pianos
Tack Pianos
Reverb, Delay and Octave Pedals
Fender Rhodes
Hammond Organ
Baritone Guitars
Vintage Rickenbacker Bass

PRE-PRODUCTION

Your last album took a lot out of you. This one seems less textured and a bit dancier. Can you explain your artistic approach going into the new record?

Upon finishing our last record, Brown Shark, Red Lion, we had a very solid set of parameters that we wanted to implement for our next recording. BSRL was a collection of songs that took the three of us about two years to write and record. It was an extremely taxing process.

With this record – we knew that we wanted to impart the following rules: focus on a more song oriented approach, bring some “sexiness” and dance tendencies into the mix, no guest musicians, no strings, keep the tempos “up,” keep the arrangements concise, bass by committee (lots of synth bass, baritone sax, baritone guitar as opposed to bass guitar), and utilize more space.

Did the new direction for the album affect your songwriting process?

Our writing approach is typically collaborative in nature; we always start out by improvising and looping ideas. Sean [Will] has a Nord (and a KORG) keyboard, as well as a few KAOS pads and mics (to record trumpet/brass) running into a mixer and then out to a RC-50 loop station. I use a similar set up with two samplers (SP 404 and 303; one for keys, one with a mic for vocal loops and bari sax ideas) connected to a microKORG and an old Omnichord, then out through a Line 6 DL4.

My guitar set up goes through some typical pedals (reverb, delay, octave) and then through an RC-50 looper. Our tendency is to set up an Edirol stereo recorder in our space and capture everything we do. We then catalogue what parts worked and hone in on piecing ideas together. Since we all have home Pro Tools rigs, it allows us to workshop ideas at home separately, and then start writing arrangements. The other thing we did to expedite the writing process was to bring in almost fully realized song ideas. Since our tendency in the past was to over-arrange, we did the exact opposite as songs started to take shape; we would cut ideas out, keep things concise, and purposely didn’t finish arranging songs so that we could experiment a bit in the studio, and leave a lot of sonic space for vocals.

And you decided to head down South to record with Scott Solter, right? What was his studio setup like?

Scott Solter (John Vanderslice, Spoon, Mountain Goats), who the three of us are big fans of, mixed our last record. While mixing, we realized how much Scott was on the same page as us, and we knew we wanted him to produce our next record. He’s the ultimate craftsmen and sound designer, not unlike Tchad Blake or Jon Brion.

Scott’s studio is in rural North Carolina and is set up in a very “home-y” fashion. The main tracking room has a combination of high vaulted ceilings and some low overhangs. His arsenal of instruments is extremely impressive – timpani, steel drums, tack piano, toy pianos, a number of vintage organs and synths, a wall lined with percussion. Since leaving Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, Scott’s done a bunch of work in that space, and he obviously knows the personalities of his rooms very well.

PRODUCTION

What kind of sound were you looking for and how did you achieve it?

I don’t know that we had a collective idea of what sounds we wanted for the entire record, per se, but we certainly all would reference other recordings or techniques we liked based on the particular song we were working on. The terms “economy” and “dance” kept coming up, which didn’t necessarily dictate specific sounds. Instead, we got at the core of the songs.

The majority of our parts and the instrumentation were in place before we got to tracking, but we developed and refined those sounds in the studio, communicating to Scott a certain path we had in mind for the sound but allowing him the space to use a bevy of outboard gear and even old guitar pedals to tweak and slide parts into place.

Did you use any special gear or recording techniques on this one?

We tracked the second full session’s live takes (for drums) to 2″ tape, and then would record those takes into Pro Tools HD. Every song had a different approach, especially as it pertained to the drums – different instruments within the kit, different mics, and different mic placements. Sometimes we’d use a smaller room to house the drums. This technique resulted in each song developing its own character.

All of our sounds, especially keyboard sounds, were done using real instruments: grand piano, upright tack piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer 200A, Roland String RS-101, Casio SK1, Hammond M1, KORG, and microKORG.

For guitars, we blended a 1963 Guild T50 with a gritty 1950s reissue Fender Tele through an old 1960s Ampeg guitar amp and a Fender Twin Reverb. A few songs utilize other strings to beef up the color like baritone guitar, banjo, and acoustic guitar.

Bass sounds were usually recorded with either one of the organs, the KORG or the microKORG (using Scott’s wall of outboard gear to manipulate accordingly). There are a few tunes that use real bass guitar, a 1976 Rickenbacker 4001, to reinforce the bottom end.

What did you try to accomplish in the studio that you’re not able to do live?

As much as we try to stay true to a sonic idea, it’s sometimes impossible to recreate sounds or parts live, unless you bring in laptops and samplers – which we do integrate to an extent. Our idea was that we’d use live loops to build these songs up on stage, not unlike how tUnE-yArDs or Andrew Bird never play the same arrangement twice.

POST PRODUCTION

How will you handle final mixing and mastering?

Scott will handle final mixing. Since a lot of the sounds were printed as we were tracking, the mixing process will most likely be more about balancing and creating the stereo field. We usually get one track sent to us a day, and we make comments, Scott sends us a revision, and then we move onto the next tune. Dave McNair [Sterling Sound] will master the record. Dave’s a great guy with great ears, knows Scott’s work, and will put the final touches on it. Dave mastered our last record, and hearing your record at Sterling Sound is an unforgettable experience; it’s a beautiful facility.

I heard you’re keeping the packaging more low key this time around.

We probably won’t go crazy with the packaging – our last record had a 24-page book accompanying it – but we will do some different vinyl packages and may not print any CDs.

Spotlight: Pop Campaign

 

Transcending the Predictability of an Electronic Show

WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN: Because sometimes you never want to stop dancing.

GENRE: Electropop

HOMETOWN: Berlin, Germany

WEBSITE: www.popcampaign.tumblr.com

“People find it refreshing that we don’t stick to the norm of hiding behind our laptops and not engaging with our audience.”
-Exclamation Mark

After meeting at a party and running into each other a few times at clubs and venues around Glasgow, Exclamation Mark and Anna Gram’s friendship was cemented by their joint love for one of England’s foremost pop rock bands. Still, it took nearly five years after their drunken night of nonstop Duran Duran videos before deciding to form PoP Campaign. They won’t come right out and tell very much about themselves, but the straightforward boy-girl duo are out to change the trend of music-lovers paying too much attention to who’s playing the music instead of what it actually sounds like. “We would rather our music was accepted on its merits rather than based on our characters,” they reveal when asked to describe their personalities. Clearly, their sound is their top priority.

PoP Campaign Theme Tune by PoP Campaign

Their punchy, synth-driven jams are heavily influenced by Brit electro-rockers The Human League and experimental maestro Brian Eno. And thanks to their light equipment load, the recording process is made simple: “We don’t need rehearsal space or a studio.”  Armed with two laptops, two MIDI keyboards, a mic and what they’ve described as the “all-important” Ableton Live, these two prefer the energy and excitement of interacting with the audience during live shows, to the admittedly isolating comfort of their homes.

Although they haven’t had the opportunity to embark on a proper tour, they take their roles as musicians seriously and seek to challenge the current artistic landscape where they feel that “most bands have no imagination musically or visually.” After seeing what they describe as “phenomenal” performances from iconic bands like Parliament/Funkadelic and Pet Shop Boys, they aspire to transcend the predictability of being in an electronic band. “I think people find it refreshing that we don’t stick to the norm of hiding behind our laptops and not engaging with our audience,” Mark reveals.

With an album due out on CARP Recordings in February, PoP Campaign has just one simple message for their potential slew of future fans: “Just judge us on the music.”

photos by Sarah Steffen