New Music: Antibalas, Tim Hecker, The Black Swans

Antibalas - Hilo (Anti- 2007)

Antibalas – Security / Anti-

The opening track of Antibalas’s fourth proper full-length kicks off with staccato horn flares and a tinny polyrhythm, which is nothing too much out of the ordinary for this band of afrobeat, afro-latin and deep funk connoisseurs, but about half-way through it falls into a grooving rhythm of slightly overmodulated drums, a weird kind of space-funk keyboard bounce, handclaps and subtle touches of electronics followed by a breakdown consisting solely of percussively played metal (not the genre but the element, duh). When the horns reappear a minute later all the pieces of the song come together in a rather odd exclamation of genreless, geographicless music. Right from the beginning, the Brooklyn collective known mostly for bringing Fela’s music to the uncultured youth of America have broken into new ground of music that… wait for it… is not afrobeat; it’s Antibalas and nothing else. Really though, this should not be that surprising since they’ve been paving their own musical path since the 2002 sophomore release Talkatif which saw the group adding their own personal touch to the heavily inspired sound. 2004’s Who Is This America? garnished a lot of due acclaim and the 12+ member collective have been staying busy in the interim by heavily touring, contributing their talents to recordings by TV on the Radio, Medeski Martin and Wood, Baaba Maal and Gomez, and continuing to progress their own sound. Now signed to Anti-, the Antibalas crew brilliantly relocated to Chicago for a brief period to record with engineer/producer/drummer extraordinaire John McEntire at the studio Mecca known as Soma Electronic Music Studios (I’ll give you a second to wipe the drool). His influence can be easily heard as the band once infamous for paying homage to Fela expands on their usual musical penchant in a number of ways including the aforementioned album-opener “Beaten Metal,” the almost Caribbean groove of “Hilo,” the minimal approach of “Sanctuary” and solemn album capper “Age” (solemn! what happened to the rebellious party music??) I have to admit though, my favorite track, “Filibuster XXX,” harkens back to earlier Antibalas and is decisively afrobeat-driven with an excellent trumpet solo and vocalist Amayo rattling off quick vocal snaps of political confrontation. At only seven tracks, the shortest of which clocks in at just under 5 minutes, each song is given ample attention and features a different sound thanks to the many songwriters available in the group, but still sound particular to the band. Security is an excellent and diverse album from the purveyors of the worldly niche of American independent music that is thankfully ever expanding, and I can only hope that this post-afrobeat punch is only the tip of the iceberg.






Tim Hecker - I'm Transmitting Tonight (Alien8 2007, originally Mille Plateaux 2002)

Tim Hecker – Radio Amor / Alien8

Running a little bit of clever compare and contrast to really tie things together here at Audiversity (we do enjoy kidding ourselves to be clever people), I'm taking a look at Tim Hecker's recently re-released 2002 album, Radio Amor, that approaches the ambient genre from the opposite side of the recently reviewed Cirque from arctic sound pioneer Biosphere by utilizing a slow-burning sound rather than a decisively icey one. This ominous wave of heat comes care of a Caribbean sun that relentlessly duals the splashing sea Hecker is crossing in his album-inspiring quest towards neighboring Honduran islands way back in 1996. Listening to the record, you can almost see Hecker sitting starboard, feet dangling from the edge of the hitched shrimping vessel as he lets the environment settle into his ears: the sputter of the water against the side of the boat, shortwave radios crackling with static, wind blowing through and across surfaces causing natural harmonics to hum, the clang of iron latches pinging the metal mast, exotic tongues acting more as instruments than communicating devices. It's the music of a pre-ipodian civilization; it's pure, unadulterated ambience and Hecker's ability to recreate it is what's gained him such a surprisingly large audience. The Montreal producer began his musical career as laptop glitcher Jetone but since reverting to his given name in 2001 for more ambient work, he's accumulated quite an audience for the genre at hand. 2006's year-end list staple, Harmony in Ultraviolet released on Kranky, no doubt has a little to do with re-releasing this album that was initially put out by Mille Plateaux, an experimental sublabel of Force Inc, and out of print for the last few years. Hometown Alien8 is behind the push this time (they also put out his early recordings under their Substractif imprint), and it's revisiting, while hype driven, is well worth your time. As I dramatically introduced earlier, Radio Amor is an album inspired by voyaging the sea and the encapsulating ambient music that may not by realized by a pair of distracted ears. He achieves this organic sound through digital manipulation of subtle melody, controlled feedback and white noise. The album seems to progress with Hecker's voyage; the first four tracks contain a significantly greater amount of discernable melody (created from piano flutters), symbolizing the excitement and intake of this new environment. By "7000 Miles" though, the trip seems to be wearing on the passengers as the waves of static are noticeably more menacing, but settles into acceptance with the low frequencies of "Careless Whispers" two tracks later. "Azure Azure," the album's longest song, is an enclosing band of frequencies that builds by interconnecting the highs and lows as one, just like the blue of the sky and sea seems to become one in the same the longer you are surrounded completely by both. Thankfully though, "Trade Winds, White Heat" closes on a gentle vibe as resonant wind-chime-like tones tingle with care. As his acclaimed discography and wide audience attests, Hecker is a talented producer and musician. Revisiting Radio Amor is a welcomed glance and satisfying nod back that will rekindle prior praise for the record and educate newcomers on how he has progressed to Harmony in Ultraviolet.






The Black Swans - I.D.W.2 F. (Bwatue 2006)

The Black Swans – Sex Brain EP / Bwatue

"I don't want to fuck / I just want to spoon / I'm too sensitive of a man / To be any closer to you." Hmmm… is Jerry DiCicca sincere or is he pulling the ol' sensitive/reverse psychology card to… er, get a little sentimental action? Maybe it's his thick as tar drawl or the upbeat country-folk surrounding the lyrics, but I'm kinda leaning towards sincerity in this case. He elaborates a bit further: "And it's not really you / It's all about me / I get weird just thinking about / Being inside someone so pretty." Yeah, I think I'd call that sincerity or at least brutal honesty or perhaps a little self-loathing or possibly just straight creepiness. Either way, DiCicca and his fellow Black Swans tackle the immensely awkward subject of sex and the psychological games that are inescapable when it comes down to those intimate/dirty moments of being completely exposed to another. Released mid-06 but just making it's way around the radio circuit, the Sex Brain EP is one of those recordings that is just so odd it becomes fascinating. Musically, the closest and most-often used comparison is to 90s British indie act the Tindersticks who share their penchant for mumbling vocals, bizarre subject matter and dark romanticism. The Black Swans utilize a more country-folk foundation though and garnish it with atmospheric electric guitar, a moody violin and even a bit of avant-garde saxophone. But even though the music is captivating in it's own right, the lyrics are just too hard to ignore. Following the aforementioned "I.D.W.2 F." (ahem, I Don't Want 2 Fuck) opener, "Friends" narrates the relationship with a certain menacing friend we've all spent a regrettable night with, lady tequila, and the resulting consequences: "She pulled my pants down / And said she knows / My girlfriend" (gulp). "Your Hands" finds the inevitable partner-less evening, "It was sweat and shampoo / Now it's cocoa butter lotion." And for a little bit of a break from the stark forwardness of the rest of the EP, DiCicca goes all metaphor with "Dark Plums," "My body is a plum tree / Reach between my legs / Ripe are the fruits / You keep turning away." "My Lips" closes on a slightly optimistic note… musically at least (the female presence of Sara Jurcyk is to thank for that)… but the unattainable satisfaction of repeated sex with one person, even if the mutual feelings are strong, is just too much: "Will we wear out our welcome / As closeness grows dull? / Our bodies too familiar / My hard-on sinks into a lull." The Black Swans create an awkward sound, but how else can you really tackle subjects as… well awkward as sex. No matter how much we kid ourselves with the manufactured sexiness and plastic romanticism of displayed fornication, the act (and especially the steps leading up to it) is just strange and most of the time uncomfortable. But we do it nonetheless for as much emotional resonance as bodily satisfaction (oh… and I guess procreation is kinda important), and the awkwardness is something we should embrace just like the sound The Black Swans have cultivated. And truly, could there be a better way to really connect with someone than giggling at the intimate situation you've both found yourself stumbled into?