Eclectic Vibes - April 2014
by Andrew Frey
Let’s percolate us up a fun, funky, and fantastic summer. WOOT WOOT! I’m envisioning it now…are you?
SPEAKIN’ DEACON
If Daffy Duck and Alvin and The Chipmunks got “experienced” together in a recording studio, it would probably sound something like Dan Deacon’s frenzied electronic mania unfolds live. I have been to a lot of shows over the years and this was decidedly something different. From the large-scale audience participation and manipulation to the seizure trance lighting to his quirky self-deprecating stories to the fact that he set up in FRONT of the stage, at audience level, his approach was different and quite entertaining. Even though I’m told these activities are typical for him, this was my first experience in his world. He undeniably got the audience into what he was doing and his hyper-stimulation was greatly appreciated by the many children of the stim that attended this short but sweet solo performance sandwiched into a larger Arcade Fire stadium tour that he was also a part of. www.dandeacon.com
SHPONGLETRONIC
Simon Posford’s original Shpongletron was landmark amazing so when the Shpongletron 3.0 came to the Majestic Theater on 3/26 I was there! This totally sold-out show opened with the Australian duo known as Desert Dwellers spinning their meditative dancetronica while being relegated to a small corner of the stage. Dominating most of the stage was the spectacular Shpongletron 3.0. When Posford fired up it with the magical Shpongle vibrations, it became a multilayered, multifaceted, multimedia stage device that utilizes incredible video projection flows and landscapes during mind-bending song after song. Even though Simon wasn’t feeling 100% that day, he knocked out a memorable journey into the Shpongle dimensions and beyond. What will the Shpongletron 4.0 look like, I wonder? desertdwellers.org shponglemusic.com
KOAN ESOTA
I’ve been waiting for the funky dubstep duo from Bristol England known as Koan Sound to tour through (in support of their newest EP Dynasty released on Skrillex’s OWSLA Label), but when I found out they are on the bill with fellow dubstep producer Minnesota (the DJ from Santa Cruz, CA) makes this a nearly mandatory tour to catch! 4/29 at Segredo in Madison, WI, and 5/3 at The Loft in Minneapolis. www.koansound.com www.minnesotadubstep.com
MICRO REVIEWS:
This Month's Rating Scale is from 1 is Malformed 10 is Formed
Jaro Milko and the Cubalkanics - Cigarros Explosivos!
Jaro Milko and the Cubalkanics
Album title: Cigarros Explosivos!
Record Label: Ashpalt Tango
Rating: 9
Sunny days are ahead when you jump right in and start gyrating to this electrifying Balkan and cumbia hybrid. Gypsy brass is fused with Latin inflections and more as this 5-piece produces pulsating poly-rhythm after rhythm, through mood after mood. Tantalizing, titillating, troubadours of world music.
(2614) Page Views
Jaro Milko and the Cubalkanics online:
• Website • Facebook
• Download Cigarros Explosivos! from Amazon
• Purchase Cigarros Explosivos! on Amazon
Mire - Inward/Outward
Mire
Album title: Inward/Outward
Record Label: self-published
Rating: 9
Touted as being the heir apparent to the long vacant TOOL throne of progressive rock, Montreal’s Mire provide a convincing display of aptitude, depth and prowess, while sounding a LOT like TOOL. These complex compositions with delicate dynamics captured my attention from first listen and continue to provide satisfaction as more layers unfold.
(2688) Page Views
Mire online:
• Website • Facebook
• Download Inward/Outward from Amazon
Opiuo - Meraki
Opiuo
Album title: Meraki
Record Label: Slurp Music
Rating: 10
Vibrant snappy funky glitch hop always brightens my day and few have made it brighter lately than this new Opiuo, which was released on his own newly-formed Slurp Music label. His prior efforts have reached #1 chart positions on Beatport, Addictech, and iTunes while the new one has already bumped into the top 10s of many playlists, so the word is getting out!
(2238) Page Views
Opiuo online:
• Website • Facebook
Soulacybin - Gratitude
Soulacybin
Album title: Gratitude
Record Label: Merkaba Music
Rating: 9
Some music is meant as a journey. Other purely for enjoyment. Yet this one is designed to include an activation. A metaphysical activation for your heart to enhance beyond your ears and mind. The music to push the activation is a succulent dub swirl soundscape of glitch hop and soultronica with mystical blurs and psychedelic bends.
(2140) Page Views
Soulacybin online:
• Website • Facebook