Pirate radio

Documenting London's underground music movement, VBS.TV feature Pirate Radio is a fascinating look at music promotion and broadcasting in the face of established sources.

THE WOODEN SKY

  

It's early morning far beyond sunset yet hours until the sun rises. I'm thinking about passages from Beautiful Boy, a father's novel on his son's drug addiction. This year I read a piece about Connor Oberst in Rolling Stone, saw an interview with Stephan Jenkins, and read His Bright Light, biography of Nick Traina on their experiences with life and drugs. Subtle but pervasive is an undercurrent of influence in tones of drugs, aimlessness, and at times a disenfranchised youth coming into our culture. Capturing the experiences and thoughts of this generation quite well, folk can be captivating and deeply personal. The Wooden Sky is folk rock at it's best and perhaps one of the best bands you've never heard of. The 2009 release of If I Don't Come Home I'm Gone uses acoustic melodies, a touch of blues, and well written lyrics to guide you through the lyrics inspired by frontman Andrew Wyatt. Sometimes dark yet candid, personal, and beautiful; TWS is a great contrast in folk to fellow musicians like Ray Lamontagne or Dawn Landes whose song Lullaby For Tony is included. Something Hiding For Us In The Night and When Lost at Sea are among my personal favorites of TWS. 

                                                                                                

MIIKE SNOW

Swedish producers Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg combine forces with American songwriter Andrew Wyatt to create sensation Miike Snow. With singles "Animal"," Silvia", and "Black and Blue" featured in gossip girl and MTV's The Buried Life, Miike Snow is quickly crossing into American Mainstream. Enjoy the remix by Emalkay of "Silvia".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 2010

Psychedelic Surf

I heard Congratulations, MGMT's sophomore release, and at first had mixed feelings, unsure if I liked the new style and sound. Andrew and Ben decided as a means of creative expression, not to release any of the songs as singles. They instead chose to allow the media to release songs at their discretion. While this will be confusing for industry folks in radio, I think it will be an exciting experiment. Giving the new tracks a second chance with several more listens, I was pleasantly surprised. Congratulations plays like a psychedelic surf-rock album in which pieces of songs may stand out more than the songs as a whole. Subtle in sound many of the songs are more personal and mature, moving away from their previous DIY format. Unlike Oracular Spectacular,Congratulations is a concept album and is best heard straight though as a whole for the first time. I liked it overall and was impressed with how catchy, "I Found a Whistle" to be with feelings of opiatic highs and tinges of loneliness in its melody. Another tune that is nonconventional yet interesting was lengthy track "Siberian Breaks" not for those with a short attention span. Overall there will be mixed reviews, but I find that an indication of good art and not a reflection of failure. The Album drops April 13'th.

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2010

Skream

It's the winter of 2002 and I'm standing in the middle of a dispersing crowd waiting for the next act to start. Nearly a century old, the Sunshine Theater was originally a massive movie theater constructed in 1924 bolstering feelings of desert culture and decay. There is a static in the air, typical of shows in Albuquerque. The crowd is restless waiting in anticipation. Crammed behind two large bodies, I struggle towards the bar area when suddenly I'm struck by a song so unusual I decide to instantly switch direction and head to the DJ booth. The song is synth, high in syncopation with dark melodies, it's captivating. When I get to the booth chaos around us, all I can hear is a part of a name, something... "cheeba". The exact song would allude me for the rest of my life, but not it's style or origins. I would find it's home midway through 2006 in the UK garage scene. Mary Hobbs would bring it to the public via Radio 1 in London.



It's summer of 2009 and I'm attending dance parties in NY, LA, and Alb. Electronic music has taken root and sees no sign of slowing down. Synth pop is leaking into American mainstream and while there is something new about it, the sound takes me back to that song I heard years before. 



Today I'm listening to West Wickham's Oliver Jones AKA Skream. Brilliant in the art of dubstep, he has taken the London scene by force, producing music since age of 15. Jone's has gained notoriety for his remixes; including La Roux's "In for the Kill" and "Midnight Request Line", dubstep's most recognizable crossover hit. Today I feature his collaborative work with Dave Gahan from album, "Hourglass". I Saw is a beautiful and captivating piece that reminds me of underground parties in the warehouse district in Manhattan. As synth and dubsteap become more popular I predict an American following in Skream's work similar to that in the UK or Germany. Enjoy, the fade into 1:32 on this track, its filthy.

SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2010

Future Islands

Future Islands will take you by surprise. Startling in appearance and sound but bursting in gritty captivating vocals, frontman Sam Herring's 3 year project is guaranteed to leave an impression. Claiming both NC and Baltimore as their home, Future Islands' sound has combined elements of southern rock blues with synth-pop. Like Wesleyan Mafia members MGMT, Future Islands is a group of friends and art students who broke new ground in self proclaimed "post wave" music. Audiences will likely enjoy "Tin Man" or "Vireo's Eye". ⌘ copy will stand behind "Beach Foam" as their best track yet. Inspired by the death of a close friend, "In early 2006, right before we started writing songs for Future Islands, after funeral ceremonies, me, William [Cashion, bassist] and our friend Kim went to the beach to smoke and reminisce about Jim. When we got out to the water there was [sic] one to two feet walls of foam in parallel lines as far as we could see in both directions. I'd never seen anything like it and, of course, in our fragile states we saw it as some divine providence. The song was penned a week or two later. The song isn't about death. It’s more about looking out into nothing and everything, just wanting something... which in a way, when a friend passes, you always look for answers wherever you can." - Sam Herring on "Beach Foam". The song speaks for itself, listen once hate it, listen twice fall in love. It is difficult not to respect the authenticity of this song in the context of living in fast times with simple dreams and living it with humility. Future Islands is sometimes a hard sell but ultimately a band you won't want to part with.



April 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands (w/Air Waves, Guardian Alien)

JÓNSI GO

Jonsi is the nickname of Jon Thor Birgisson, openly gay Icelandic post-rock band singer of Sigur Rós. Well known for their beautiful and haunting melodies highly acclaimed and winner of best MTV video 2003. This week Jonsi drops "Go" a predominantly acoustic and string arrangement composed by Nico Muhly. The album takes you through a journey that is serene, beautiful, and haunting with songs like Tornado. 





Tornado

"Although disguised

I know you

you grow like tornado

I wonder if I'm allowed ever to see

I wonder if I'm allowed to ever be free

You sound so blue

You now are gloom

I wonder if I'm allowed just ever to be" 



Sometimes hard to understand because of his ambiguous lyrics and falsetto voice, this album will take you through a journey of lighthearted tones from "Animal Arithmetic" to the somber "Tornado" which I think to be about love and hardship. I agree with writer Chris Azzopardi in that "Go" says,

"Life is beautiful. Live it. Feel it and Make out".

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