The name “Mr. Oizo” is somewhat of a legend around here at SCV. We started enjoying his ‘soundscapes’ back when “Analog Worms Attack” released in 1999. Remember that crazy music video that Oizo directed with the psychedelic puppets for hit single ‘Flat Beat?‘ It was straight out of a nightmare scene, yet hypnotizing along with Oizo’s insane beats. For the past several years Oizo has been going by his birth name and writing, producing, directing incredible feature films breaching subjects never touched upon. His debut feature, Rubber, released around the world and succumbed to rave reviews. Quentin Dupieux is now coming to Sundance 2012 with his brand new film Wrong. It has been fun watching the updates via social networking by Oizo during the filming of Wrong. We are told the film is about a man who suddenly wakes up and realizes he is missing his dog. I also cannot wait to see Flying Lotus play as a fireman in the film. Quentin is also set to shoot his third feature film in two weeks. Many more Sundance 2012 articles to come soon.

-Pouya Asadi

Calvin Keys "Shawn-Neeq"

In the Early 70′s Jazz hit a high water mark in an expressiveness that was truly free from all boundaries. Music like Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi albums, Chick Corea’s Circle, and even Duke Ellingtons’ output at the time showed the world what freedom truly is. To be able to express, from the heart, the soul, creating whole new universes in sound, tapping into the divine imagination to create a world of American music where anything is possible….What great times. It’s no wonder that Calvin Keys’ Shawn-Neeq is the shit. Recorded in 1971 for the infamous ‘Black Jazz’ label, Shawn-Neeq grooves, swings, and takes up back to that time when jazz wasn’t scared to say what it wanted to. Calvin, it seems, had a lot to say.

A native of Nebraska, Mr. Keys was born into a musical atmosphere, thanks to his father, “Omaha’s Greatest Drummer” in 1943. By the time he was 17, he had played guitar with Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson, bassist Gerald Holts, and went on the road with sax player lil’ Walkin’ Willie. He ended up in the famous musical center of the day, Kansas City, where he went on to play with greats like Preston Love (of the Count Basie Orchestra), Frank Edwards, and finally the legendary Jimmy Smith in his organ trio. He soon played with all the great organists in their trios such as Jimmy Mcgriff, Jack Mcduff, and Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes. From there he moved to Los Angeles in 1969, where he eventually hooked up with Gene Russell and his famous Black Jazz Label, which led to this album, his first recording. Shortly afterwards he was called to work with Ray Charles, and later on began working with piano great Ahmad Jamal. Over the years he also played with more amazing musicians such as John Handy, Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Marshall, Leon Williams, Bob Braye, Ed Kelley, Eddie Duran, Bruce Forman, Junius Simons, Eddie Moore, Tony Bennett, Pharaoh Saunders, Sonny Stitt, and even Luther Vandross. Talk about a resume. He continues to play to this day in the Bay Area with his trio, which has also begun performing this album live, in commemoration of its re-release on the label Tompkins Square this year.

The first track of the album, ‘B.E.’, starts off in a free expressive rubato tempo in the minor key that reminds us of the musical innovations of John Coltrane (bless his soul). It is perfect testament to the rest of the album. Slowly the small army of musicians pull the sounds forward into a vintage funky modal groove set up by Calvin’s juicy melody. Then Calvin rides the groove for an opening solo that refers to Wes Montgomery, George Benson, John Coltrane, and of course Calvin’s own soul. Listen to this improvisation. I wonder what would have happened if jazz guitar would have gone in this direction. Goddamn the 80′s. But back to the album… A screeching high note starts the Bass Clarinet solo. It sounds like somebody listened to Eric Dolphy, and the sonic distortions of the bass clarinet push and pull the band into freer territory for a few minutes, almost threatening to tear the groove apart in moments, but the drums just won’t let the head bobbing cease. The Fender Rhodes is next. Its been holding the harmony/groove in its hands but now its time. Starting off in a soulful motif, the jazz modality takes hold of the brief electric piano improvisations. A fragment of the melody calls the band back into the head (main melody) which ends the piece. The next tune in the program is ‘Criss Cross’ (a Calvin Keys original, not the Thelonious Monk tune of the same name). This time the band comes out swinging, with Calvin in an opening statement before the melody comes in. I would call this a bop-blues with plenty of fire to go around. Please though. Don’t forget to listen to the drummer on this track. Raw. I wish he were in my band….He propels Calvin’s bebop-soul into outer space with intensity on the entire kit, never losing the time or the hard swing. The bass is also another important part of the groove, swinging the rhythm with excellence and fury. The electric piano knows this as he begins his solo. Jazz at its best. Calvin once again takes it out and ends the piece with the melody.

Calvin Keys

‘Shawn-Neeq’ is next, and takes things down with a chill-out eight note groove in a major key vamp. The melody and textures are beautiful and paint a picture of someone sweet that you love (without the sentimentalism). The drums once again are a high light to piece, especially on the cymbal work. Calvin’s solo takes the piece up a little but never destroys the feeling, highlighting a sensitivity within his improvisations. A hint of flute appears and the song fades out nicely. ‘Gee-Gee’, the next track, is a little bit of funk, little bit of Brasilia, and a little bit of jazz. The rhythm section once again soars on the pieces soulful bossa nova groove. The melody statement is in a nice harmony with guitar and flute. But once Calvin starts to solo, the band turns up the heat. The band rages at high points and grooves at sweet spots, taking the listener through waves of emotional music. The flute improvisations are especially tasteful and you can tell the band feels it. The Rhodes solo is the height of the piece, taking the band to a firey peak at times. By the time the band comes back to the melody, you should have been moving your body for about 8 minutes. But don’t fret. The next and final track of the album is a Miles-esque jazz-funk work out. The groove is deep and soulful, with a drum beat that speaks to the DJs of our era. The electric piano is wah-wahed and distorted, the bass is pulsating, and Calvin is wailing. Everybody seems to be making a statement simultaneously at the same time, but leaving the ego behind, creating a tapestry of sound and groove that is a perfect end to a kick ass album.

If I had to rate this album, I’d give it a 10 out of 10. Its a rare gem from an even rarer era, a time when black pride was at its height, coinciding with the free thinking consciousness that allowed for such timeless music. It is music that this that tell us that no matter what the academic state jazz is in today, free, creative spiritual American music is always and will always be possible.

-Tony Martin

Calvin Keys “Shawn-Neeq”
Black Jazz Records (1971) / Tompkins Square (2012)

Track Listing

1. B.E.
2. Criss Cross
3. Shawn-Neeq
4. Gee-Gee
5. B.K.

Purchase the 180g vinyl from Tompkins Square Records

Rockers

-Erik Otis

Cast:

Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace
Richard “Dirty Harry” Hall
Gregory “Jah Tooth” Isaacs
Jacob “Jakes” Miller
Robbie “Robbie” Shakespeare
Frank Dowding : Kiddus I
Winston Rodney : Burning Spear
Manley Buchanan : Big Youth
Lester Bullocks : Dillinger

Wikipedia Description of the 1978 film Rockers

Rockers is a 1978 Jamaican film by Ted Bafaloukos. Several popular reggae artists star in the movie, including Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Big Youth, Dillinger, and Jacob Miller.

Rockers was originally to be a documentary but blossomed into a full-length feature showing the reggae culture at its peak.

In this film, the culture, characters and mannerisms are authentic. The main rocker Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, for example, is shown living with his actual wife and kids and in his own home. The recording studios shown are the famous Harry J Studios where many roots reggae artists recorded during the 70s including Bob Marley. Samples of the film’s dialogue were used in the early 1990′s jungle track, “Babylon” by Splash. The Jamaican Patois spoken throughout the film is rendered with English language subtitles for a foreign audience.

Yellobone EP by Salva on Friends of Friends

West coast electronic producer and owner of Frite Nite Paul Salva has been in our rotation pool of artists we have been going back to for multiple listens. With tons of recommendations from so many different types of people I know for over a year now, I knew something good was happening every time I kept feeling the buzz around him. To summarize his background would be a hard task, as his trail of work extends from Mary Ann Hobbs exclusive track features on her very influential radio show to bass heavy and mind liberating sets at the infamous Low End Theory curated weekly by The Gaslamp Killer, DJ Nobody, D-Styles, Nocando and Daddy Kev. As of last year, Salva is a proud member of the Red Bull Music Academy alumni and has been proving his stability in the touring world with constant guest appearances in all the right spots for his type of sound. With his first official full length album Complex Housing released on Tall Corn Music and the Los Angeles based imprint Friends of Friends in 2011, everyone at Sound Colour Vibration was really taken by the sheer beauty and presentation of it all. Atmospheric nuances, west coast electronic funk, experimental sections and some of the most tasteful house music we have heard in years sprawl all over this record, never dwelling in one place or genre setting and always pulling from the electronic foundations that are so wide and vast now. Salva quickly left the world with another release late last year called Yellobone. Prepared as a limited edition vinyl, Yellobone comes in a lavish format that is a must own record visually and sonically. The mastering is superb and the record hits on every perfect level because of it. The track ‘Komodo’ has to be one of the best things we have ever heard from Salva and makes us anticipate his future material even more.

With Salva heading out to Europe this February with Friends of Friends label mate Shlohmo, we contacted Salva to ask him about the recent EP release Yellobone, his tour coming up and more. We really believe this producer is going to emerge in a very huge way in the coming years as his catalog expands and his concepts and techniques do the same. If you are in Europe, don’t miss one of the performances on the 2012 Friends of Friends European Tour. Enjoy this exclusive interview Sound Colour Vibration held with Salva this last week.

Sound Colour Vibration Interviews Salva
Conducted by Erik Otis
January 2012

‘Komodo’ by Salva off Yellobone

Before we dive into the interview, we wanted to say thanks for your time and that we are really enjoying your latest EP Yellobone. What were the deciding factors to doing an EP over a full length and how did you come up with the name?

Salva: Well I just released an album Complex Housing on Friends of Friends earlier in the year (we’re talking 2011 now) so really the label and myself wanted to just follow up with a 12″, sort of extending where the album left off. The name Yellobone is a play on “yellow bone” — here in the states its southern slang for a light skin black girl — for which I had sampled many of fine black women in my records, hahaha. That was the name of the first tune the label liked so I went with it.

Did you build your tracks over long periods of time for Yellobone, periodically going to tracks for more production while finding the right remixes or was the EP shaped in a small window?

Salva: No it was all written in the late spring and early summer of 2011, released in November. For remixes, I’ve always wanted one from my label mate Shlohmo, and the LOL Boys started coming into the FoF fold and I always play their stuff when I play dance music…so we just kept it in the family.

The artwork for Yellobone is lovely, who did the art and how much time do you put into molding the designs and overall vision of how the finished package will come out?

Salva: You know, I feel it goes the same with the art as the music. You can’t force it. I tried a ton of different designs that didn’t work, and finally I asked a designer/photographer named Oliver Kish who’s part of the FoF-affiliated Young Adults crew in LA, and a good friend of the FoF label owner Leeor Brown. Once Oli got involved it sort of took shape very easily. It looks really nice on the vinyl.

I really love the remix work Shlohmo did on Yellobone. How did you guys link up and is there any other people you are linking up with for collaborations or remixes that most might know about yet?

Salva: Shlohmo is family. I’ve known him I think before he was even old enough to get into the clubs…and I’ve always loved his music. Now as he’s on his way to becoming a household name, him and I are a part of the same label (FoF, LA) and we’ll be touring together in February. I’ve remixed lot of of artists over the past year or two that I definitely plan on tapping them for return favors! I’m collaborating with a slew of my close friends and new friends I’ve met on the road….but keeping it all secrets for now.

Salva / Photo by Trevor Traynor

Your collaboration with B. Bravo on Yellobone is a lot different than anything on the EP, a lot more Dâm Funk influenced from what I can hear. How did the piece come together in terms of composition and was there anything else completed by the two of you outside of ‘Obsession’?

Salva: We have some demos in the can for sure. B. Bravo is one of my best friends and one of the reasons I started and continued my own label — Frite Nite, of which he’ll be dropping a new record this spring. I wanted to make sure to drop a west coast funk joint on here because again I wanted it to be a mini extension of Complex Housing, which had some dark grime and garage stuff, as well as shimmery funk and beat stuff. Much of my music that sort of carries that funk aesthetic is thanks to lots of work and shows with B. Bravo and another one of my funk mentors J. Todd.

The LOL Boys present the final remix of Yellobone and brings the EP to a close. What was your first introduction to LOL Boys and do you plan to work with LOL Boys again?

Salva: Yeah I hope to work with them again for sure. They’re a dual-country act, one lives in Montreal and one lives here in LA, but I’ve been fortunate enough to play with both of them in their respective cities — great people, great DJs. I had them do one of the most recent podcasts for my label Frite Nite as well, and I know they they have some special things in the works that are really going to put them on the map this year.

You will be headed to Europe in February with Shlohmo and I recently saw a list of 9 dates in the UK, Poland, Germany, Denmark, France, Romania and Italy. What type of rehearsal schedule are on right now and what type of equipment set up will you bring on this tour?

Salva: Have to keep it light…I’ve broken some important pieces of gear going through airport security, and going through international customs I don’t like to risk it. I have more of a mobile setup with includes most midi stuff and I use Touch OSC on my iPad to control ableton Live. I also will probably pop in and do turntable style DJ sets if its more of a dance club instead of a concert venue…I love DJing on turntables.

As this tour approaches, have you set out time for yourself to see the cities as much as possible or will the press responsibilities and a tight travel schedule prohibit enjoying the cities on your own terms?

Salva: A little bit of time for play on this run, but really we have a ton of press stuff to do and also visiting the Red Bull Music Academy offices and I’ll be doing some lectures actually too. I’m lucky to be an RBMA alumni from this past session — so I hope to visit as much staff and participants as I can that I shared the experience with since a lot of the crew is based in various countries around Europe, specifically Cologne, Germany.

For this tour of Europe, will there be a visual team involved? Do you see that as an essential element for a live performer in your field of music?

Salva: I’m on my way to building a true live show that will be festival stage ready, in which case yes I think visuals could be crucial. It’s obviously become a staple in many of the big touring acts, and it’s an undeniable point of energy and entertainment for the show..especially for an electronic act that many times is just sitting behind a laptop. It happens to be crazy costly though! So I’m hoping to do my own visuals, been working on it for a while — the technology in Ableton for meshing A/V is almost there.

Salva

Are you a producer that tries to balance out the use of hardware and programs with studio recordings and your live presentation or do you sway to one side more heavily?

Salva: I feel my best records have always had a combination of samples, outboard synths and yes I sequence everything in Logic. It all depends track by track, especially when I tread through completely different genres and styles. ie., for like a straight House or Techno track I won’t be noodling funk synths on top of it, I’d want everything real tight on the grid…as where with Hip Hop and Boogie, everything has to be nice and free, so a lot of real recording takes are what makes those feel right.

Do you compose new songs with headphones and studio monitors or do you try to place yourself in a situation closer to a live performance with a full sound system?

Salva: Yeah studio monitors and headphones for sure, but I love testing out my mixes in my car. I have a decent stock system so it’s a good indicator. Of course for any system-heavy music though — only one way to be sure, test it out at your shows. I love testing my stuff out at places I’ve played and frequented a lot like Low End Theory here in LA…I know that system well so even during sound check I sneak in a ton of tunes and hear how they pump.

I have always been intrigued by the culmination of human energy in a club or performance hall, especially with a situation where large waves of people are dancing and taking part with the experience, including myself. What have been some of the most intense states of energy exchange between an audience and yourself while in performance?

Salva: I go back and forth. Sometimes I think nothing can top DJing in a real club with a proper dance floor, big sound system and people that really want to DANCE, not pump fists, not stand around and observe. Especially with 4×4 music that a lot of beat kids don’t understand and find even find boring — it’s actually really interactive, we’re all in the groove together. But some of my live performances last year where some fans (to my delight!) actually knew my material and would go crazy for a track, it feels so humbling and incredible for people to actually cheer for music you’ve put your heart into.

Out of all the work you have done, remixes and all, is there one track in particular that you are proud of the most?

Salva: I think one of my most celebrated remixes and my personal favorite is of Om Unit’s “Prawn Cocktail” that came out early last year on a Civil Music 12″. It just speaks to everything I love — it takes from his original which is old school Electro influenced, it’s very 808, it’s foortwerky, dark, and even has elements of deep Dub. For originals I think “Wake Ups” and “Obsession” are always the tracks I get the most love on…I’m proud of those.

With a new year here and the Yellobone EP so new, what are some of your biggest goals for the future?

Salva: Lots of collabs. Continuing to build my own label Frite Nite. Touring as much as possible, and overall I want to step my game up musically. I really just want to impress my peers and myself really, do things I haven’t done before. All I hope for is longevity. I will never stop making music, but hopefully I can keep doing it as a career for the rest of my life in some form…I can’t really see myself being in any other industry, I love the game.

Thanks for your time Salva, we wish you the best of luck on your tour coming up with Shlohmo this February.

Salva: Thanks very much!!! My pleasure.

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FoF European Tour w/ Schlohmo and Salva

2012 Friends of Friends European Tour w/ Schlohmo & Salva

• Feb 01 Donky Pitch, The Green Door Store, Brighton (UK)
• Feb 02 Ernest Endevours, Camp Basement, London (UK)
• Feb 03 Zak Club, Gdansk (Poland)
• Feb 04 Gretchen, Berlin (Germany)
• Feb 06 KB18, Copenhagen (Denmark)
• Feb 08 Subway, Cologne (Germany)
• Feb 09 Le Social Club, Paris (France)
• Feb 10 Popa Nan, Bucharest (Romania)
• Feb 11 Mattatoio Culture Club, Modena (Italy)

Order the Yellobone EP from Friends of Friends Music

’40 KARATS’ by Salva feat. Zackey Force Funk from Complex Housing

Paul Butterfield Blues Band at Monterey '67

Download Part 1 / Part 2

Original notes from the torrent at Dimeadozen

Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Fillmore Auditorium,
San Franciso, CA
10/14/1966

source: sbd > ??? > cdr > eac > wav > flac

01 Born In Chicago//
02 Shake Your Money Maker
03 The Sky Is Crying
04 Pretty Woman
05 Help Me
06 Never Say No
07 You’re So Fine
08 tuning
09 East West

Paul Butterfield – vocals, harmonica
Mike Bloomfield – guitar, vocals
Elvin Bishop – guitar, vocals
Mark Naftalin – keyboards
Jerome Arnold – bass
Billy Davenport – drums

Notes:

- I compared this to the version that is currently available to stream from Wolfgang’s Vault and found that for most of it the channels had
been swapped over. This has been corrected.
– I also found thast the pitch was slightly off, so I have also corrected that.
– Crossfades have been put in to smooth transitions between some tracks.
– I also applied a little NR using iZotope Ozone.
– I originally seeded this in April 2008 and have now patched it so that it is more complete, and have tracked it a little differently.
– I had to correct the speed of the patch source as it was running a little slow. I’ve also repaired a few artifacts, done a little work on
the levels, remixed it to expand the stereo field a little, and applied a small amount of noise reduction using iZotope RX 2 Advanced

The patch source is that recently seeded by Paul56: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=388970 for which I thank him.

Lineage: low gen cassette > wav > flac
Transfer: Pioneer CT-S405 Deck > Harmon Kardon 3500 > Creative Soundblaster Soundcard

Patches:

- Born In Chicago
– The last 3:31:57 of East West

Comments:

- The mix on this is a little different to the version on Wolfgang’s Vault

edited and remastered
SIRMick
January 2012

Paul Butterfield Blues Band performing ‘Born in Chicago’ at The Newport Folk Festival 1965.

So much has been said about Frank Zappa that whatever I could add to it would be superfluous. More important is whats inside this mix. The man created so much that albums are released from beyond the grave. I had 60 albums to choose from. This is like a fantasy concert that spans time across his different band formations from the first mothers of invention, to the Flow & Eddie period, to the incredibly crazy good mid-70′s jazz-fusion group, and to some of his earliest recordings. Lots of rarities and live recordings. ~ Ramzi Jamal Shalabi

Sound Colour Vibration Podcasts Volume 115
Trudgin’ Across the Tundra: The World of Frank Zappa
Compiled and mixed by Ramzi Jamal Shalabi

Track Listing

1. Petroushka
2. The Dick Kunc Story
3. Wedding Dress Song
4. Handsome Cabin Boy
5. Drooling Midrange Accountants On Easter Hay
6. Dupree’s Paradise
7. Holiday In Berlin
8. Rdnzl
9. Be-Bop Tango Of The Old Jazzman’s Church
10. Wait A Minute
11. Chunga’s Revenge
12. The Uncle Frankie Show

This work was created by Akiyoshi Kitaoka in 2003 as an illusion design of the optimized Fraser-Wilcox illusion. Copyright A.Kitaoka 2003 (September 2, 2003)

King of Devil's Island from director Marius Holst

The new year is upon us and the many highlights recent film festivals are seeing further exposure with screenings all over various theaters in the world. At Sound Colour Vibration, we centralize much of our promotional pieces for film screenings of this nature in California. Laemmle Theatres is one of the most cutting edge and inventive theaters out there and whenever we get promotional materials from Jordan Moore of the Lammle family, we are always blown away by the contents. This week was one of those times when they sent us press news for a film we had really wanted to get our hands on for awhile since we first got news of it. This film is Marious Holst’s psychological thriller King of Devil’s Island. Released in 2010, this film has seen rave reviews from many prestigious and underground outlets and is the latest directed release in the canon of Holst. Set in a correctional style facility for teen boys almost a century ago, the raw realities presented to these kids and the implications of morality that it reflected to its time and the human condition of the world at the time is emotionally startling. Lammle Theatres does a phenomenal job with their curation / production and they will be doing a special screening of King of Devil’s Island that starts on the 3rd of February. This film will screen multiple times a day for at least a week! Everyone I know who has seen this already tells me it is a must see film in theaters.

-Erik Otis

The following press statement was sent to Sound Colour Vibration from Jordan Moore of Lammle Theatres:

Laemmle Theatres and Film Movement are pleased to present the  Norwegian Academy award winner for Best Picture—KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND.  This edge-of-your seat thriller from Norwegian filmmaker Marius Holst is based on the real-life story of a notorious reform school uprising in 1915 that forever altered the way juvenile delinquents are thought of and treated in Scandinavia. An official selection at the Rotterdam, Seattle and Edinburgh International Film Festivals, where it won a Best Breakthrough Performance Award for its young lead actor, KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND stars Berlin Silver Bear award winner for Best Actor Stellan Skarsgård (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Good Will Hunting). KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND will open at the Music Hall in Beverly Hills on Friday, February 3rd, 2012.

Bråthen (Kristoffer Joner)

This true story of the infamous Bastøy Boys Home correctional facility in Norway begins with the arrival of seventeen-year-old Erling (Benjamin Helstad), a rumored murderer.  He immediately clashes with the island facility’s governor (Stellan Skarsgård), who believes manual labor, rigid discipline, and harsh punishment are the only methods that can turn the boys into honorable members of society. Refusing to accept the constant abuse, Erling slowly rouses the rest of the boys out of their resigned existence, and encourages them to fight to lift up their spirits. When tragedy finally falls at the hand of the sadistic dorm master, Erling leads his comrades in a courageous and vicious rebellion that will bring them head to head with no less than the Norwegian Army.

This is a story that had been germinating in Marius Holst’s mind for a long time. He was inspired to film KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND after speaking to a man who had been one of the boys on the island during the uprising.  From first learning of the tale, in his words, Holst “felt this was a story that begged to be made into film….[one that was] an epic and thrilling European drama, with both the tough, physical action of the story and its intimate portraits of the group of boys.” KING OF DEVIL’S ISLAND is both a personal film about a group of children changing their fate, as well as a universal story of the dangers of authoritarian regimes, isolated and unchecked by society at large.

Lammle Theatres opening screening on February 3, 2012 / Screening Details
Purchase the film from Film Movement

“Haunting! Skarsgård is excellent as always and moody atmospherics enchance the conventional structure.”
– Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

“Excellent! Marius Holst gives the proceedings a fresh look, thanks to his sturdy acting, direction and cinematography.”
– V.A. Musetto, New York Post

“Conceptually ambitious…[KING OF DEVIL'S ISLAND] evokes a blood-chilling climate of eternal winter.”
– Stephen Holden, The New York Times

King of Devil’s Island official trailer.

Every once in a while, there can be great pleasures revealed in the research that is done for our music review sessions here at SCV. Early last year our team sat down in LA and Chicago and electronically listened to a record by Ilyas Ahmed while transcribing notes back and forth with each other. We called these special meetings, “listening sessions.” During one of our listening sessions, we at SCV discovered a frequent collaborator of Ahmed’s called Liz Harris or “Grouper.” Grouper is basically the definition of flawless beauty. Whether it’s her instrumentation, production or ornamentation, the music speaks for itself when it comes to Grouper. That brings us to Sundance Festival 2012, where Weston Currie’s film PERCEPTION OF MOVING TARGETS premieres alongside the wonderful score by none other than Grouper.

-Pouya Asadi

In this haunting feature, director Weston Currie stages an intervention into habituated and supposedly natural ways of making meaning onscreen. In collaboration with Grouper, who provides an exquisite musical soundscape, he offers an extremely stimulating experience, as viable as it is unconventional.

Divided into four chapters that seemingly involve distinct settings and characters (for example, a young woman running track, an infant taking in visual phenomena), the film depicts these subjects in exquisitely layered aural and visual compositions, handily subverting expected narrative connections along the way. Indeed, searching for a traditional plot is missing the point and the pleasure of this film, where ambiguous visual figures and emotionally specific sound cues fairly curl around one another, overturning conventional structures where one usually punctuates the other. The result approaches that realm where the art object seems to breathe with a life of its own, hinting at the beauty and power that are the exclusive province of cinema – S.K.-Sundance

The Perception of Moving Targets / Photo by Wyatt Garfield

Big Sir / Sargent House Photo by Marianne Williams

An interview is one of the most authentic and honest windows into the hearts and minds of the artists and musicians we’ve come to admire. And, in this particular case… an added dose of humility. Logistics and self-deprecating humor aside, there is no better approach towards familiarizing yourself with the music you know and love, than by speaking with the musicians who have created the compositions that their fans have come to hold dear to their hearts. Throughout the years Lisa Papineau and Juan Alderete of Big Sir have created a fan base dedicated to the evolution of their multifaceted sound.

With the two having such a diverse creative output that extends far outside of their album releases, Lisa and Juan always seem to give the time needed to Big Sir for stages of growth in the bands legacy to continue and 2012 marks the next cycle. The ethereally haunting vocal and synth work of Lisa Papineau along with the sea of effects bassist of The Mars Volta Juan Alderete utilizes combine for a compositional mastery in which the sum is greater than the parts. With this Los Angeles dynamic duo’s third full length album, Before Gardens After Gardens, set to release on February 7th of this year with Sargent House, Big Sir has created an authentic and diverse harmonious experience bound to have you yearning for more. When we received the album from Sargent House and dove in together, it felt like love at first sight.

Sound Colour Vibration was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with Big Sir and get a firsthand look at the creative dynamic behind this band and their insight regarding a shared passion for music enriched with Los Angeles tradition, trust and mutual respect for one another, the influence of fearless whip-cracking manager and Sargent House matriarch, Cathy Pellow, creative contributions and unique signature musicality of fellow artists, and the strong camaraderie setting the foundation for their beautifully cultivated sound. Ladies and Gentlemen… It’s our pleasure to present to you Sound Colour Vibration’s exclusive interview with LA band, Big Sir.

++++

Sound Colour Vibration interview with Big Sir of Sargent House
Conducted by Wai Trask
January of 2012

The both of you met through Pet in 1999. February 7th marks the release of Big Sir’s latest album. How does it feel to be together after twelve years releasing Big Sir’s third full-length album, Before Gardens After Gardens?

Lisa: We actually met doing Pet in 1996, and Big Sir really started solidifying and taking its present form in 1999. Feels great. Feels always… new.

Considering the fact that the both of you have created music expanding throughout a melodic spectrum (Lisa, from your acoustic and ambient approach towards your solo material, and Juan with the music you’ve created throughout your career with The Mars Volta), how do you feel the both of you compliment each other’s approach towards Big Sir and creating such an organic sound?

Lisa: We talk a lot about how much beloved music we share. And where each of us diverge, both in music and living our lives, we have an avid interest in each others perspectives or tastes that are new or different, respectively. You develop trust in the reasons why, enough to explore what isn’t immediately understood of the other person’s choices.

Juan, I’ve read that you make it a point to run everything you have created with Lisa. There’s definitely a strong camaraderie between the both of you. What do you feel to be the foundation of Big Sir that maintains this creative momentum?

Juan: Our mutual respect of each other.  We both knew at meeting each other that we had a strong camaraderie between us.  Our love for hip hop as much as The Jesus Lizard or Carole King or Dali’s Car made us realize we should make music together as long as we live.  Our confidence in each other cuts out a lot of decision making based arguments.  For example, Lisa handles the artwork because she has the eye for it.  I handle beat juggling because I have the computer for it.

Lisa: I juggle dropping the beats.

Due to your demanding schedules and commitments with other projects, I understand that Before Gardens After Gardens was created virtually over constant exchanges, building off of each other’s edits and input, eventually creating these tracks. Do you feel this less conventional (or less formal) approach towards creating an album has built on the character of the album’s entirety?

Juan: “Less conventional” may not be accurate anymore.  We believe this is a very conventional approach in today’s laptop studio world.  We are definitely not the first band to work over the internet.  This album contains both old school and new school approaches.  The first set of tracks were via the internet for sure but the second half of the record was recorded mostly at Infrasonic studios with Robert Carranza engineering.  Both approaches have value and both approaches were utilized.

Lisa: Whatever gets the song out of our heads and into the mix the best.. that’s all that matters…  whatever is available and makes most sense, in the end all that matters is the song coming together.

In what way has the creative process of Before Gardens After Gardens served as catharsis and personal and spiritual growth for the both of you? 6) It’s been six years since Big Sir released Und Die Scheiße Ändert Sich Immer. How do you feel you have evolved in these last six years, and has your approach towards Before Gardens After Gardens changed or evolved from your previous two full-length albums?

Lisa: I think this has always been the case with Big Sir, but more than ever, we have just made music we want to shake our asses to, or music to pop in the car for a long road trip… kool taste-maker-ing or hole-pegging be damned. Less trying to bend the initial song idea to go away from that gut impulse that created it in the first place. Continuing to trust some of the “mistakes” in demos, because the occasional glitches and weird squawks feel groovier than perfection.  I could think of  a number of reasons, but I don’t know if they are correct or redundant, but there is no doubt for us that this body of songs feels like they belong together. We worked very hard on the flow from the dancier beginning of the album into the dreamier/ heavier second half, to make sure it felt right and true.

There are many great cameos in Before Gardens After Gardens (Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Jonathan Hischke, Matthew Embree, Deantoni Parks, just to name a few). When the two of you have worked together for all these years, how did you approach creative input from these additional artists, and do you give these musicians a sense of free reign regarding their part in Before Gardens After Gardens or the album as a whole?  8) What is it that you look for, or take into consideration, when throwing out names of guests for a Big Sir album?

Juan: We have an idea of what we are hoping to hear from our cohorts and that is, what they seem to always bring to anything they work on…their musicality.  Money Mark for instance, always brings in some crazy keyboard or plays a keyboard at the studio in some unconventional way yet, still, you know it’s him.  Cedric has such a unique approach to drums that is not like any drummer.  His Defacto records prove it.  Hischke always has some new bass sound that never sounds like any bass you have ever heard.  It’s that uniqueness that we both love and how it always fits in our music.

Lisa, in your last interview with Sound Colour Vibration you mentioned the amount of mental discipline and self-motivation required of a career in music. Both of you have numerous projects outside of Big Sir. Considering the commitment the both of you have towards each other as artists, would you say that coming together for Big Sir makes you at ease regarding the stress of creating quality material (that the both of you are proud of), or would you say that due to your respect for one another, there’s an added pressure (or higher standard) in that the both of you hold each other’s respect and artistry in such high regard?

Lisa: I think there is always pressure and anxiety to get the song right, to be true to what you hear in your head, no matter what the project is.

Big Sir is part of the RLP and Sargent House Family. There’s no denying that Cathy Pellow is one of the most admirable and hard-working Managers out there. How do you feel your label and management have added to the creative success of your material?

Lisa: Cathy is an incredibly creative soul, so she “gets” her artists’ processes, how they can differ from band to band, how to be supportive but not invasive, how to be constructively critical when it’s time for it, how to use her creativity in marketing and management to work organically for the music and collectively with the artist, so nothing ever feels contrived or false once it enters the “release and promotion” phase. She doesn’t assume we are dummies about the rest of the process and that inherent respect, and her expectation of us to be responsibly active in our own business is fresh and for my part, very welcome.

Juan:  Cathy cracks the whip, cracks heads.  She is fearless.  She stands up for what she believes in and it works.  We all want more labels like Sargent House in this world.

Juan, you’re from El Paso/Juarez, and Lisa, you currently reside in Paris, both locations extremely vibrant with culture, art, and music. What cultural elements do the both of you instill in your music, and how have you bridged those elements in Big Sir’s music?

Juan: I am from Los Angeles…born and raised. I never lived in El Paso or Juarez.  Lisa lived in Paris but has over the past few years been splitting her time between there and LA, and now is for the most part back in Los Angeles.  We, as Big Sir, have always been a 100% Los Angeles band… a Cali band. We especially share a common love of low-rider oldies and slow jams,  and other music that have a rich Los Angeles tradition: hip hop, 70′s AOR, early new wave and post punk.  All of that is strongly there in our way of creating our music.

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Big Sir have announced two live dates in Southern, CA for February, below are the dates. Also, don’t miss out on pre-ordering the CD of the new Big Sir album Before Gardens After Gardens coming out next month. The band is also offering a really nice package deal for $30 that includes the Digipack CD release, 11×17 poster, canvas tote bag and a choice between two shirts printed on American Apparel. Check out the pictures and links to buy from the Big Sir Hello Merch Store.

From Big Sir: We are very excited to announce two new west coast shows for Big Sir with Marcel Rodriguez Lopez of (Zechs Marquise & The Mars Volta) electronica project called Eureka the Butcher featuring Sadah Luna don’t miss them if you are in the  area:

BIG SIR & EUREKA THE BUTCHER feat Sadah Luna
2/19 @ Hemingways Lounge - Hollywood, CA w/ Gregory Rogove
2/20 @ Harvellle’s - Long Beach, CA w/ The Vespertines