New Music: Rafter, The In-Kraut Vol. 2, Roger O'Donnell

Rafter - Bicycle - 10 Songs (Asthmatic Kitty 2006)


Rafter – 10 Songs / Asthmatic Kitty

Strangely enough, while listening to Rafter’s charmingly strange pop album for the first time through, the name Rob Crow kept jumping to mind; there is just something about Rafter’s homely falsetto and canonic song structures that mirror’s Crow. And lo and behold, I pull out the press release and this album was actually recorded in 1998 while Rafter was living in the Go-Homes, a small artsy San Diego community where Pinback was recording their debut record at the same exact time (hell, there’s even a song called My Friend the Crow). Now some time later, Asthmatic Kitty has dug up this hidden avant-pop record so it finally receives the attention it deserves. The limited budget forced Rafter to be immensely creative with the materials at hand and his clever production techniques and unorthodox sounds absolutely shine. The description that keeps popping in my head is a late 90s collaboration between Crow and Beck, where Beck handles the music and arrangements with limited funds while Crow handles the songwriting and vocal duties. For the time period in which it was created, this is a phenomenal record, not that it would lose much of my respect if it were made in the last year. Either way, 10 Songs is a wonderful patchwork pop album where the financial and equipment restrictions actually enhance the heart of the music.





Kai Rautenberg & Orchester Jurgen Ehlers - Moon Mission - The In-Kraut, Vol. 2 (Marina 2006)


Various Artists – The In-Kraut, Vol. 2 / Marina

So let’s be honest, when you think of German music, it’s not likely that hedonistic party music is the first style that popped in your head, probably more along the lines of mechanical electronic music or experimental krautrock. But compilers Stefan Kassel and Frank Jastfelder have once again returned to their crates to prove those stereotypes wrong by assembling yet another compilation of hip-shaking, booty-scooting German grooves from the late 60s and early 70s. The 2nd volume of The In-Kraut unleashes 20 more rare selections of soul, beat, now sound, mod and even soundtrack cuts that totally dispel any notion of the stringent, button-downed society that most people associate with Germany. And to add to the attraction, there is always something slightly off-center as the ambitious underground bands attempt to infuse elements of funk, jazz, psychedelia and swing into their sound completely tearing away the boundaries between the genres and creating a style very much their own. Each track has its own quirky story, and the ample and colorful liner notes tell them beautifully with each of the original cover designs. Listening to this wonderful comp really makes me long for paralleling cinematic scene to round out the experience… if we only had Germaxploitation films. Sigh.




Roger O'Donnell - For the Truth in You (Four Tet Remix) - The Truth in Me (Great Society 2006)


Roger O’Donnell – The Truth in Me / Great Society

It goes without saying that Bob Moog was an amazing and inspiring man who was essential in the development of modern music. And now even the recent documentary of his life has proved to be somewhat inspirational as it led to creating of this very cool album. Roger O’Donnell, the man stroking the keys for both The Cure and The Psychedelic Furs, was asked to contribute a song to the Moog soundtrack and he enjoyed the experience so much that he upped the ambition and set out to create an entire album solely composed and performed on the Moog Voyager, an updated monophonic analog synthesizer based on the popular keyboard of the 70s. While using a restrictive and essentially cold-sounding instrument, O’Donnell was able to side-step a sci-fi sound and instead crafts a very warm and endearing album that relies heavily on timing and tone due to its monophonic restrictions. I find it enjoyable on the same level as the gentler tracks of Les McCann’s amazing 1972 album, Layers, which was solely composed on the then new ARP synthesizer. A bonus disc is included with quality remixes by artists who owe a lot both to Bob and Roger, Kieran Hebdan (Four Tet), Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel/Postal Service), Martin Gretschmann (The Notwist/Console) and Jimmy LaValle (The Album Leaf). Upcoming vocalist Erin Lang also contributes to three songs as well.