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Late Night Listening: Fiona Apple, Every Single Night

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Or Late Night Viewing, I guess. Viewing and listening. This is the video for her new single, Every Single Night, from her new record The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, which will be out June 19.

All I’m going to tell you is she briefly wears an octopus as a hat, there are giant snails, and the power of her voice remains undimmed by time. Also, be sure to hang on to the end. The last frame is the best part.

 

Fiona Apple - Every Single Night

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Second Line Jazzband: St. James Infirmary

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I’m just going to say this up front: You can’t have a second line with a stand-up bass and a full drum kit. That being said, I’ve been up in the New Orleans vibe lately, so this rendition of the classic “St. James Infirmary” by Swedish group Second Line Jazzband is hitting me in my sweet spot. The clearly accomplished musicianship backs a soulful delivery by guest vocalist Daniel Lemma, and I like the way the structure of the song parallels the progression of a jazz funeral/funeral-with-music by moving along slowly and solemnly until they “cut the body loose” and dance down the road.

Listen and download:
SECOND LINE JAZZBAND (w. DANIEL LEMMA) | “St James Infirmary” (2012) by birdswillsingforyou

 

Second Line Jazzband Official Website

Daniel Lemma Official Website

 

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Kebu: To Jupiter and Back

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Kebu is from Finland, and To Jupiter and Back is his debut record. All of the songs on the record were made with vintage analog synthesizers and recorded using only sequencers, tape machines and analog mixers.

The results, while mechanical – it is all made on synthesizers – and somewhat bleepy-bloopy, nonetheless transcends or possibly expands the possibilities of what I had previously come to expect from non-industrial instrumental synthesizer music.

Kebu lists Vangelis as an influence – and I can hear the echoes – but his style is fresh and distinctive: conscious of form, but also shimmery, light, and playful.

This is the video for Samba Saturn, the first single:
 

Kebu - Samba Saturn

 
And this is Pulsar, the second single:
 

 
Also on the record is Michael’s Anthem, which I just really like:
 
09. Michael’s Anthem by Kebu

And finally, Le Carnaval des Étoiles, another one of my favorites:
 
07. Le Carnaval des Étoiles by Kebu

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: The Payroll Union

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Is it right to describe someone’s voice as “woody”? (Another hurdle: is it possible to do so without calling a particular Monty Python’s Flying Circus sketch to people’s minds?) Because I realize that is what Pete David’s voice makes me think of: a dark, polished wood. Perhaps mahogany or a particularly richly-hued and knotty cherry. It’s pleasing to the senses, but its many rings and swirls have stories tucked into them.

So, too, could be described the music of Pete David’s band, the Payroll Union. I’ve heralded the Payroll Union here before for their instantly-effecting music and the rich history that makes up the bulk of the stories told in their songs, and I’m happily anticipating their first full-length album, slated for release this autumn. The band is offering a free track from their forthcoming album, one new track each month, at their site (click “free song” in the header) through September.

Today, Pete shares a few recommendations with us.

 

“Mary Lamson” – The Payroll Union

 

Good Read:
1776 by David McCullough
I’m currently in the middle of The Civil War, Shelby Foote’s epic narrative and though it’s engrossing, he still doesn’t beat David McCullough for bringing history to life. McCullough’s research, his even-handedness and his economy of words all combine to create an incredibly vivid picture. He is able to give such a strong sense of presence to history and show how extraordinary – and in some cases, unlikely – events were. For this reason, I’ve chosen 1776, his book on events of the Revolutionary War during that year. You understand why New York delegates to the Continental Congress were wary of supporting the Declaration of Independence as 30,000 troops gradually sailed towards their city. They would have been hung as traitors, if caught. To give that figure some context, Philadelphia was then the largest city of the thirteen colonies, with a population of around 30,000. The sense of fear and trepidation is brilliantly conveyed by the author. Ultimately, McCullough’s skill is in presenting ‘his’ characters as real people and not just impressive figures. Washington, Howe, Greene, they all emerge with their flaws and strengths painted without – seemingly – any great bias.

Good Listen:
Tonight’s the Night, Neil Young
There’s plenty of good recent music I’m listening to at the moment – Slim Cessna’s Autoclub, Neva Dinova, Waters – but there are only a handful of albums I consistently return to and one I’ve recently put on the player again and have done for the past 11 years, is Neil Young’s Tonight’s The Night. A couple of years ago, I finally got round to getting it on vinyl and it’s given me another burst of enthusiasm for what is probably – if I really had to pick one – my favourite record. To describe it as ragged would be an understatement. The vocals, cracked and drunk, are beautifully broken; guitars crash and tumble; piano keys are clumsily tinkled. It swells around you in a similar way to Exile On Main Street, but Tonight’s The Night is both drunk and sad. This is an album about grief, and the sense that the band are on the edge of falling apart pervades the whole record. I love Neil Young, and he has consistently made great records, but none better than this.

 

 

Good Drink:
Timothy Taylor’s Landlord
No doubt about this one. My desert island beer is and always has been Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. Full, hoppy but not overpowering and a perfect 4.3% ABV. Every pint is deeply satisfying. Tastes great from a bottle too, which has, on the label, a lovely picture of a jolly, bald, rotund man (presumably the landlord) grasping firmly a tankard of the foamy beverage. Great beer from one of the many great Yorkshire breweries.

 

“Jake the Pistol” – The Payroll Union

 

The Payroll Union @ Bandcamp

The Payroll Union @ Facebook

 

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Kojo “Easy” Damptey: A Revolution Full of Uncertainty

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Arriving in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to study chemical engineering at McMaster University, Kojo “Easy” Damptey noticed obvious differences between his new northern home and his birthplace of Accra, Ghana, Africa, like the overwhelming cold. But a perhaps more affecting difference he found was in the people.

“In Ghana there is a proverb that states ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, this is the driving force for most communities back in Ghana,” Damptey says. But in Canada, he found people kept to themselves, “black people would only interact with black people, Italians would socialize with Italians, etc.” Even something as simple as a ride on public transit, where most Ghanaians are open to personal interaction, became an illustration of social divides as most Canadians seemed hesitant to interact. (This is, at least, Damptey’s experience and points out that others have had different experiences, but I think most Canadians and Americans reading this find truth in his assessment.)

But Damptey found connections with like-minded people through his discovery of FruityLoops and MPCs (MIDI/music production centers). As he began to produce beats like those of the hip hop artists he had listened to in his youth – DMX, Nas, Tupac Shakur – he became involved with other musicians at his university, musicians who were playing instruments and touring. He was then inspired to teach himself piano, which Damptey says, “took years, but eventually I pulled through.”

Broadening his artistic skills and drawing on his hip hop influences as well as soul and reggae influences, Damptey began collaborating with other artists, including Kae Sun, whose Damptey-produced album Soliloquy album won Rap/Hip Hop Recording of the Year in the 2006 Hamilton Music Awards.

Now Damptey has self-released his own EP, The EP – available via Bandcamp and iTunes. An artist of strong social conscience, Damptey highlights issues of immigration, apathy, and a common factor he finds between the people of Ghana and the people of Canada, poverty and the struggle to find jobs and support families.

“All these issues are complex issues that are never discussed out in the open unless it affects someone we know. My aim is to bring these issues to the forefront so we can talk about it and hopefully find a way to deal with it in our society,” Damptey says. “I would like people to listen to the words, ponder over the words, and realize we are all connected in the world by the choices we make everyday.”

 

 

When first listening to The EP, I was struck by Damptey’s soulful approach to hip hop beats and the large amount of heart poured into the music, words, and vocals. The track “Africa” is easily my favorite on the ep, inspiring me to play it repeatedly the first night I listened.

 

 

Damptey’s future holds a collaboration with hip hop group Canadian Winter (Daylight Robbery, due out later this year), as well as a documentary centering on the efforts of Hamilton community organizations, agents and low-income leaders to provide a living wage for all Hamilton citizens.

 

Kojo “Easy” Damptey Official Website

Kojo “Easy” Damptey @ Bandcamp

Kojo “Easy” Damptey @ Twitter

 

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Y’all Need to Listen to This: Blind Pilot, We Are The Tide

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Right now, as I am writing this, it about nine million degrees in my apartment – hello, early summer heatwave, how are ya? – and Blind Pilot are like a cool refreshing glass of lemonade.

There are six of them – Israel Nebeker (vocals, guitar), Ryan Dobrowski (drums), Luke Ydstie (upright bass, backing vocals), Kati Claborn (banjo, dulcimer, backing vocals), Ian Krist (vibraphones) and Dave Jorgensen (keyboards, trumpet) – and they come from Portland, Oregon, bearing delicious harmonies and lush, complex lyrics.

(Which they provide in PDF format on their website, thus endearing themselves to me even further. GO TEAM LINER NOTES!)

This is Half Moon, the first song on their new record, We Are The Tide:
 


 

And this is New York, the last song on the record, which I am posting partially because it is lovely and partially because they are playing here, in New York, at Webster Hall, on June 5:
 


 

After that the tour winds around quite a bit. And finally, for those of you squinting at festival line-ups and trying to decide which acts you’d like to catch: they’ll be at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, the Newport Folk Festival and Firefly.

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Late Night Listening: Danny Fujikawa

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Late Night Listening: This is what I’m putting on at the end of long days in a summer that is going to be chock full of long days. It’s also what I’m listening to while I’m making flash cards for bar review.

Some of it will be soothing, some of it will be weird. Some of it may be soothing and weird, since I’m into that kind of thing. In any case, I’m listening to it and I like it, so I’m going to share it with y’all.

Today in the category of soothing and also delightful: some new(ish) tracks from Danny Fujikawa, formerly of Chief, which represent one of his many on-going projects. These are rough mixes, but I’m fond of them anyway.
 
The newest one; one of the lyrics is True love is a lie, a sentiment which warms the cockles of my blackened heart:
 
True Love 2.1 by DannyFujikawa
 
This one is actually my favorite, shhhh, don’t tell any of the other songs. Also, I kind of wish I had a car so I could drive around with the windows rolled down and this tune turned up really loud:
 
Ballad of Prince Harry by DannyFujikawa
 
This one is heavier on the guitar, and, actually, just heavier in general. Don’t let the bouncy tune fool you, this is a sad song. (Click on the song title to get to the lyrics.) (GO TEAM LINER NOTES!)
 
The Gods Must Be Crazy by DannyFujikawa
 
Because tiny blackened heart or not, I’m also always on Team Nerds In Love:
 
Science Girl by DannyFujikawa
 
And finally, have some reverb-dusted choppy synths:
 
We Aren’t We In Love by DannyFujikawa

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Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real : Wasted

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Album art by Micah Nelson

Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real are: Lukas Nelson (vocals/guitar), Anthony LoGerfo (drums), Tato Melgar (percussion), and Corey McCormick (bass).

If I had to find a place in the canon for them, I’d put them in next to Dan Baird and Homemade Sin and/or the Kentucky Headhunters. They have the same kind of fusion of country, blues and pure rock and roll swagger.

For example, here they are performing Wasted, the first single from this record, on Letterman. Be sure to turn it up, and then get out of your chair, because you will want to clap your hands and shake your booty around.
 

Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real - Wasted - David Letterman 4-3-12

 
Though Mr. Nelson can croon with the best of them. Here’s another one from the record. It’s called Can You Hear Me Love You and it’s a sweet, beautiful love song that melts my heart every time I listen to it. Which is frequently, because I love it.
 
Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real - Can You Hear Me Love You

 
And finally, just for fun, here is Mr. Nelson singing with his father:
 
http://youtu.be/aysCPYgMQlk

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Give: T-Model Ford

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Stolen wholesale from Deep Blues:

UPDATE! The good folks at SavingCountryMusic.com have set up a PayPal button for donations towards T-Model’s care. You’ll find it in the top right corner of their page. Thanks Triggerman!

 

T-MODEL FORD HEALTH UPDATE via Roger Stolle:
Hi y’all. I just talked to T-Model’s wife Miss Stella. As many of you know James “T-Model” Ford has unfortunately suffered another stroke over the past week. He is to undergo angioplasty and start physical therapy “soon.” Since the medical bills are adding up, and he is currently unable to work/play, the Ford family is seeking donations to help with expenses. At 91 years old, T-Model is one of the last Delta bluesmen of his generation. He’s also a heckuva tough old dude, and as he sings, “Nobody Gets Me Down!” Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and send him a little something if you can. (Red Paden is also talking about trying to put together a blues benefit for T down the road, so stay tuned on that.) Thanks.

SEND DONATIONS DIRECTLY TO BANK:
James Ford
Routing# 084205708
Account# 4700445890
Planters Bank
424 Washington Ave
Greenville, MS 38701
PH: 662-335-5258
FX: 662-378-4429

OR MAIL CARDS, CHECKS, ETC. TO HOME:
James Ford
443 South 7th Street
Greenville, MS 38703

photo credit: Lou Bopp