AF THE NAYSAYER is one of my favorite beatmakers, and he’s back again with a new tune. R-96 is a collaboration with Shizuku Kawahara of tinörks. It’s a rollercoaster, but a very chill one.
Check it out:
Also, special alert to our Southern readers, he’s helping Step Pepper Records celebrate their 5th birthday tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 14) in Birmingham, AL, so get out and join the party if you can.
A year of rock n’ roll, in pictures, including two shows from late December 2013, which I shot after I posted last years’ Year in Pictures.
Tonight I’m headed out to dance the New Year in with Erasure (!); have fun and be safe, y’all, and I’ll see you on the other side.
The Felice Brothers, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, Dec. 30, 2013
Team Spirit, Irving Plaza, New York, NY, Dec. 31, 2013
Andrew W.K., Irving Plaza, New York, NY, Dec. 31, 2013
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, NGHBRS, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, States and Kingdoms, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, Frank Iero, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 001, The Gay Blades, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, Jan. 10, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, Fred Mascharino, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, States and Kingdoms, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, Geoff Rickley, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, Frank Iero, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, I Hate Our Freedom, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014
Fadeaway Friends Benefit 002, The Gay Blades, St. Vitus, Brooklyn, NY, Jan. 18, 2014
Deep Pockets, Santos Party House, New York, NY, Jan. 19, 2014
Patrick Kindlon with Loss Leader, Santos Party House, New York, NY, Jan. 19, 2014
Ovlov, Santos Party House, New York, NY, Jan. 19, 2014
Pity Sex, Santos Party House, New York, NY, Jan. 19, 2014
Patrick Kindlon with Self Defense Family, Santos Party House, New York, NY, Jan. 19, 2014
X Ambassadors, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, Feb. 4, 2014
The Colourist, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, Feb. 4, 2014
Panic! at the Disco, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, Feb. 4, 2014
Rob DiPietro, Subculture, New York, NY Feb. 7, 2014
The Grahams, Subculture, New York, NY, Feb. 7. 2014
Z Berg, The Deep End Club, New York, NY, Feb. 9, 2014
The Grahams, Chez Andre, Feb. 17, 2014
Phone Home, Shea Stadium BK, Feb. 20, 2014
Weird Womb, Shea Stadium BK, Brooklyn, NY, Feb. 20, 2014
The Dirty Nil, Shea Stadium BK, Brooklyn, NY, Feb. 20, 2014
Samantha Crain, Mercury Lounge, New York, NY, Feb. 27, 2014
Murder By Death, Mercury Lounge, New York, NY, Feb. 27, 2014
Sleepwave, Best Buy Theater, New York, NY, April 15, 2014
tonightalive., Best Buy Theater, New York, NY, April 15, 2014
Taking Back Sunday, Best Buy Theater, New York, NY, April 15, 2014
The Used, Best Buy Theater, New York, NY, April 15, 2014
Andrew W.K., Subculture, New York, NY, April 25, 2014
Kate Myers, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, May 3, 2014
Sean Van Vleet, empires, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, May 3, 2014
Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, May 3, 2014
Rhymin’ and Stealin’, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, May 6, 2014
LaToya Kennedy with Rhymin’ and Stealin’, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, May 6, 2014
Leroy Justice, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, May 6, 2014
Bottom Dollars, Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY, May 6, 2014
AF THE NAYSAYER, Trash Bar, Brooklyn, NY, May 26, 2014
Durazzo, Trash Bar, Brooklyn NY, May 26, 2014
Brendon Urie, Panic! at the Disco, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, August 5, 2014
Alice Cooper, Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY, August 29, 2014
Mötley Crüe, Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY, August 29, 2014
Slomile Swift, Spike Hill, Brooklyn, NY, Sept. 11, 2014
SKYES, Spike Hill, Brooklyn, NY, Sept. 11, 2014
AF THE NAYSAYER and friends, Spike Hill, Brooklyn, Sept. 11, 2014
Rosie Flores, Hill Country BBQ, New York, NY, Sept. 13, 2014
The Dirty Nil, Brooklyn Night Bazaar, Brooklyn, NY, Sept. 20, 2014
Cory Branan, The Mercury Lounge, New York, NY, Oct. 1, 2014
Mumblr, Shea Stadium BK, Brooklyn, NY, Oct. 4, 2014
The Eeries, Irving Plaza, New York, NY, Oct. 20, 2014
Gerard Way, Irving Plaza, New York, NY, Oct. 20, 2014
The Eeries, Webster Hall, New York, NY, Oct. 23, 2014
Gerard Way, Webster Hall, New York, NY, Oct. 23, 2014
NGHBRS, Baby’s All Right, Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 14, 2014
Cold Fronts, Baby’s All Right, Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 14, 2014
Sean Van Vleet, empires, Baby’s All Right, Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 14, 2014
Tom Conrad, empires, Baby’s All Right, Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 14, 2014
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.
AF the Naysayer (Amahl Abdul-Khaliq), founder of Dolo Jazz Suite, and co-founder of Self-Educated Vinyl, makes some groovy beats, and this is his debut music video:
He’s currently out on tour with Prism House and Slomile Swift, and they are working their way around the country.
New York, your show is on Sept. 11 at Spike Hill, in Brooklyn; Ohio, yours are on Sept. 19 at Bourbon St. in Columbus and Sept. 23 at Chameleon in Cincinnati.
The last time he came through New York he sat down and did the very first live-action A Good Read, A Good Listen and a Good Drink, outside the aptly-named Trash Bar, also in Brooklyn. The following is a transcript of that conversation:
NTSIB: All right, let’s go, let’s hear about your favorite book, album and drink. Tell me all of your nerdy LBJ thoughts.
AF the Naysayer: Ok so I’m really not much of a fiction reader. I don’t know why, even though as a kid I did like comic books, I just was more interested in history. So the last book I read that I was really intrigued by that wasn’t music related was Flawed Giant, the biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) [by Robert Dallek]. It was strictly only on his Presidency, from Vice President to President. And it was really extensive, like over one thousand pages. It was like reading the New Testament and the Old Testament. It was about that long.
He was just such a mafioso president. He got the most bills passed during his time as president than any other president in history. He did the most underhanded things and got away with it, it was just insane. He was really a watch-dog president. He was an anomaly. He was just an interesting person. I was just so intrigued by it. It’s a really long book, not necessarily a good read for a lot of people. But I was very intrigued. That’s my recommendation for a book.
NTSIB: And for a record, to go with that book?
AF the Naysayer: Oh, I don’t know what record would go with that book. I’m just going to name one of my favorite records.
NTSIB: Okay, that’s good too!
AF the Naysayer: Gil Scott Heron, one of my favorite artists of all time, favorite singer/songwriter, his album Winter in America, it’s not one of his most popular album, due to I guess the record label, but it’s an amazing album, from track one to the end. One of my favorite albums of all time, so that’s why I’m going to nominate it.
And I don’t drink alcohol, so –
NTSIB: Well that’s all right, you can tell me about your favorite soda. Or hot chocolate.
AF the Naysayer: I love ginger beer. Ginger beer is amazing. So is a good root beer. But I guess since I’m at a show [in a bar]-lots of time they don’t have those. I’ll be lucky if they have ginger ale. Sometimes they do, for mixing drinks. So I guess my go to drink at a bar would be club soda with a squirt of lemon juice and a splash of cranberry juice. And if I want to get fancy with it I’ll get a crushed mint leaf.
There are actually two songs here; I’ve embedded them together rather than separately because they flow into each other so neatly and naturally.
The first one is Imagerial Denouement by AF THE NAYSAYER, with Myka Nyne on vocals. The second song has the same name, but is an instrumental track.
They are, collectively, a little bit funky and a little bit bluesy and all excellent.
DON’T FORGET TO FILL OUT THE NTSIB READER SURVEY! 10 questions that should not take more than 10 minutes of your time. Please stand up and be counted and give us your unvarnished opinions!
In the department of “electronic music I really enjoy”: AF THE NAYSAYER, of New Orleans, with a sampler for An Agglomeration of Thoughts, his most recent record:
AF THE NAYSAYER – An Agglomeration of Thoughts (Album Sampler) by AFTHENAYSAYER
Just so you can hear one all the way through, here’s Imagerial Denouement:
AF THE NAYSAYER – Imagerial Denouement by AFTHENAYSAYER
