Eclectic Vibes
by Andrew Frey
Dubtonic Kru - Evolution
Dubtonic KruEvolution
Label: VP Records
Appealing to a wide range of audiences through their eclectic range of influences, rhythms and dueling vocals, this award winning, highly acclaimed and hard working reggae dub outfit based out of Jamaica will certainly awaken the Jah within. Appearing July 4 with DJ Trichrome at High Noon Saloon in Madison.
• Dubtonic Kru Website • Dubtonic Kru Facebook • Dubtonic Kru WikiVarious Artists - The Unscratchable Itch: A tribute to Little Fyodor
Various ArtistsThe Unscratchable Itch: A tribute to Little Fyodor
Label: Public Eyesore
Little Fyodor is a twisted and wacky SubGenius superstar from Denver that has been spreading his bent mania for over 20 years; far long enough to deserve a tribute, so this is it! Featured here are 21 mind bubbling retakes on Fyodor songs including the classics, You Give Me A HardOn (Dan Susnara/The Inactivists), I Wanna Be The Buddha (Evan Cantor), The Blackness (Boyd Rice) and Everybody’s Fucking (Lasse Jensen). Who really needs a firm grip on reality anyway?
• Various Artists Website • Various Artists Facebook • Various Artists WikiASG - Blood Drive
ASGBlood Drive
Label: Relapse
Somewhere between the vocality and alt pop of Jane’s Addiction and the infectious sludge metal of Baroness is where ASG (Amplification of Self Gratification) find their strongest footings. This mega-riffing North Carolina crew knows how to pour on the body-waving grooves and mate them with melodic vocals to scorch your lobes.
• ASG Facebook • ASG WikiMaracatu New York - Baque de Brooklyn
Maracatu New YorkBaque de Brooklyn
Label: Nation Beat Music
If there is to be an Ambassador of Maracatu, Scott Kettner, percussionist, band leader and drummer for Maracatu New York and Nation Beat would be a great choice. After years of study and immersion into this style, while living in Brazil he was able to become a master in the field and take the sound worldwide. Experience the evolution of this unique drumming style through the 12 tracks here and expect the unexpected when they slip in a great cover of Led Zepplin’s “Over The Hills and Far Away.”
• Maracatu New York Website • Maracatu New York FacebookSpiral Rhythm - Rise Up
Spiral RhythmRise Up
Label: self-released
Rise Up is the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign and so it sparkles and shines from community involvement. In fact, they were a favorite at the spirit festival (PSG) we attended over Summer Solstice. Their multifaceted pro-Goddess a capella pagan chants will warm your heart and soothe your soul as they are caressed with gentle percussion and the vibrancy of the many Goddessy voices that make up this 7 member group. Experience what these sacred space makers have to offer!
• Spiral Rhythm Website • Spiral Rhythm FacebookValient Thorr - Our Own Masters
Valient ThorrOur Own Masters
Label: Volcom Entertainment
Balls-to-the-wall slip sliding stoner sludge metal from North Carolina has never sounded so good! Pulsing and pounding riffs and rhythms spiral and surge, blistering with unvarnished intensity and brilliance. Grab hold!
• Valient Thorr Website • Valient Thorr Facebook • Valient Thorr WikiThe Green - Hawai’i 13
The GreenHawai’i 13
Label: Easy Star Records
After chart-topping success (#1 Billboard and iTunes Reggae) and high profile awards (iTunes Best Reggae Album 2010), The Green’s third release focuses on their homeland by charting a journey through Hawaiian life and music in 2013. Boasting 4 singers amid the 5 separate song writers in a 6 member group results in grand diversity amongst the stability of their reggae roots.
• The The Green Website • The The Green Facebook • The The Green WikiMichael Franti and Spearhead - All People
Michael Franti and SpearheadAll People
Label: Universal
Celebrating the beauty of diversity through peaceful, loving melodies and lyrics is a trademark of Franti and crew. Now, 8 studio albums in, Franti has still managed to cling to the peace-loving, socially active principals that propelled him to this point. Supremely danceable grooves and compelling anthemic pop delights will again and again have you on your feet and shaking your wild thang. See them on 9/25 at the Orpheum Theater in Madison, WI.
• Michael Franti and Spearhead Website • Michael Franti and Spearhead Facebook • Michael Franti and Spearhead WikiPretty Lights - A Color Map of the Sun
Pretty LightsA Color Map of the Sun
Label: Pretty Lights Music
After three years of gestation, experimentation, and community-building, Derek Vincent Smith, AKA Pretty Lights, has unfurled one of the most anticipated releases of 2013. Over the last year he collaborated with fellow musicians of all ages and genres, creating a musical journal of their activities (and made a video of it) that emulated time periods spanning the last century, which were then pressed to vinyl and used in conjunction with a custom built analog synth to create his latest masterpiece, with the title inspired by Isaac Newton.
On first listen, the release might blend into a jungle of glitch-ridden jazzy atmospheres, but soon your mind will decipher and unravel the many layers of depth and beauty hidden in each track. Ear candy of the highest order! Like all of his music the entire thing available completely for FREE. But he has also printed hard copies on CD and Vinyl which along with an enormous amount of other fantastic and fashionable PL goodies are available at the PL web page.
• Pretty Lights Website • Pretty Lights Facebook • Pretty Lights WikiTal National - Kaani
Tal NationalKaani
Label: FatCat
Before becoming the national treasure and pop phenomenon of the West African country of Niger, Tal National honed their craft for 6 long years before recording their first release. Known for their playing all-night-long shows five nights a week in their native country, the band rose to huge success and are in high demand.
Kaani, their first international release, is sung all in Zarma, Haossa (Niger’s main languages), and French. It is a non-stop flurry of Afropop with dancing guitar melodies combined with traditional regional inflections and percussion plus touches of desert blues and soukous that deftly combines the traditional with the modern. Their first international tour stops on 9/21 in Milwaukee, WI at Global Union Festival: Humbolt Park Bandshell.
• Tal National Website • Tal National FacebookLegendary Pink Dots - The Gethsemane Option
Legendary Pink DotsThe Gethsemane Option
Label: Metropolis
Dark numbing droning rhythms intersect warbling dissonances and copulate with the soured Jesus thematics of the release. After 32 studio albums in 33 years the LPDs still retain the reins on unsettling minimalism that draws listeners in via some creepy beauty and psychological titillations.
• The Legendary Pink Dots Website • The Legendary Pink Dots Facebook • The Legendary Pink Dots WikiSnoop Lion - Reincarnated
Snoop LionReincarnated
Label: RCA/Red
“The only way to get love is to give love,” states Snoop Lion (the reggae version of rap icon Snoop Dogg) at the beginning of Reincarnated, his chart-topping first musical venture into reggae. Embracing a change of perspective in addition to lifestyle, he traveled to Jamaica to immerse himself in the Rasta of it all. In conjunction with the album, Snoop released an acclaimed feature-length documentary of his journey and career, explaining his change of perspective as well as how the songs on this release came into being. Maybe not be best reggae or dancehall album ever, but this release contains some big name guest appearances and a couple unbelievably catchy songs that will be retained in your brain for many days to come. But with 1.7 billion views on YouTube alone, this may be nothing new to you.
• Snoop Lion Website • Snoop Lion Facebook • Snoop Lion WikiView More
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