Embrace the Sufjan Machine!

Sufjan's lovely little site is letting us see him communicate with a machine mouth, with a theme more ethereal than a Christmas postcard of Good King Wenceslas.

Art by Royal Robertson, who inspired the album...

Age of Adz is going to be a great 2010 release.  The new decade seems to be a new age of sexuality, love and hope despite the apocalyptic themes.  Seems the apocalypse comes from those who would eradicate the heathens, fornicators, the sodomites...at least from their hateful and fearful mouths.

I welcome the new decade with an open mind...can you?

Like forgetting about Sufjan's 50-state project.

Ritmo Mundial Afrocaribe

I've been obsessing all day yesterday over the complete high quality stream of El Guincho's new album on Drowned in Sound.  Must have played it for at least a couple hours.

Granted there are a few out there who don't like the authenticity to Guincho tracks.  Spain has produced what I've been searching for...which may come under attack as not being latino music.  But what is latino music, other than a localized dialect of the african rhythms brought over to the western hemisphere through slave-trade?

Ejemplo: Prende La Vela (de Colombia)

So what, if it's produced in Spain?!

What I really like about Guincho's work is that it transcends the staid (IMHO) confines of latino big-band dance music (salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata) and latin pop (Enrique Iglesias, Carlos Vives, Shakira etc...).  It's rooty music, but it's not trying to be a journey of academic ethno-musicology or a cheesy house remix that punches some latino rhytm loops.

Album cover for "Pop Negro"

El Guincho's solid as hell follow up to the amazing 2007, "Alegranza!" breakout, goes deeper into the carribean, and touches the shores of central and latin america.  From this you hear clear echoes of West Africa and Mali.  And of course, it seamlessly blends the rhythm and melodic elements from these roots with a modern take on loopy music production.   His voice is also clear.  It's not a cry, or a whisper, but a  steady character, like a good, reliable friend.  He doesn't slather in schmalz, or sleez it up in sex-talk, but expresses the alegria de ser vivo!

Though it does suffer superficial comparisons to Animal Collective and Os Mutantes (which I don't get at all...i think it's just cause it's latino sounding and has some psych-synthpad elements) on the blogosphere, it's not freak-out meets tropicalia.  This is El Guincho!  And he's come with open arms with this new release for all people of all kinds to enjoy...and dance to!

El Guincho's "Bombay" from "Pop Negro"

Granted, I do have a dearth of spanish-language music (I think I have more brazillian tropicalia in my collection than I have tracks of latino performers).  I am happy to snap up all I can from this guy.  His "Pirata de Sudamerica, vol. 1" EP is also great, as it showcases "traditional" songs from latin america.  It's a bit more laid back, but amazing to have it followed up so quickly by "Pop Negro".  I'm excited for more artists to come forward, and embrace new technology and  sound-generation, melding them with traditional latino cultural music.  I feel more comfortable with this music, than dealing with the full-frontal assault of some salsa,  like that of Celia Cruz.

El Guincho's "Frutas de Caney" from "Piratas de Sudamerica, vol. 1"

But to be frank...I must admit this entry is a bit personal.  I confess, that I've always felt a little "on-the-outside" when it came to my own latino roots.  El Guincho's work gives me inspiration; as well as a relaxed, unpretentious setting with which to enjoy the music, and not get caught up in my own self-image and identity issues.  I've always felt really self-conscious and judged when trying to dance to salsa, merengue or cumbia with others.  El Guincho just seems to tell me "Escucha la musica!" and forget how people will judge me.

Don't get me wrong, I love latino music (in spite of my staid comment).  Especially the Andean folk:

Juan Manuel "Vasija de Barro"

Historia Naturalis

If you see this...DRINK IT!

So when I went to Sacramento again recently, I decided to be crazy and drive over 2 hours to the bay area, just to get to the town of Santa Rosa, CA to experience the beer known as Pliny the Elder.  Toted by the Zymurgy Magazine and Beer Advocate as one of the greatest beers in the world, and me having a penchant for a tasty brew, I figured it would be worth the trip.

So yes, it is the greatest IPA I've ever had.  Which is sad, because I had though Bell's Two Hearted Ale was my favorite, and is much easier to get a hold of, not requiring a trip to CA...or even a trip up to Philidelphia.  Sadly the scenery of Napa and Sonoma counties were shrouded in nightfall, as the only the time I could go was after work, and then to the red-eye flight back home...

Did I mention this was the best IPA I've ever tasted?  The balance of mouthfeel with the hoppy character, which never bit hard, but swirled with iridescent characters of pine, grapefruit, pineapple, hyacinth, chardonnay and a hint of strawberry and grass showed a penchant for a deep knowledge of how hop-species play together.  That, and their name alone, took me on a journey of history that I had no idea was the origin of a lot of my scientific background.  The origin, would be his Historia Nautralia, a monumental compendium which tries to condense all of the roman scientific knowledge and and his field observations into a tome for all time.  And which most relevantly, does he identify the lupus Salictarius, "The Wolf of the Willows," a.k.a the beloved hop plant.  

Pliny's wiki article alone is a fascinating read.   In fact, the type of eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, Pinatubo, Mt. St. Helens and the like, where you have the explosion of the caldera into a mushroom cloud is called a Plinian eruption, in honor of this great scholar.

So I recommend on this journey, crack open a fresh bottle and then tune into this fantastic song by local Northern Virginia artist Meredith Bragg called "Plinian ".  Below are the lyrics to the song provided in the link...no youtube vidya this time.

When the stones rained down and smoke rose above the clouds

Dodging debris, my uncle put his fleet to sea

And as he waved and turned away, set his sails across the bay

Who could ever guess, my dear Tacitus

The gods were so enraged

And the lightning arched, and dust turned the daylight dark

And the helmsmen cried, wondered it they’d survive

But through the thickening smoke, they found the harbor choked

Still he urged them on while he stayed calm

And the ash fell like snow

And the mountain ground, tearing the buildings down

And for two dark days, fires lit the Naples Bay

When it came for them leave, there was no escape by sea

And his body fell as the vapors swelled

They say he died as if asleep

On a lonely ridge, a couple focus in

Their lenses trained on smoke and fire and flame

And in unison they rise as the plume reached greater heights

While around the bend a grey cloud descends

That’ll be their demise

And with blinding speed they’re both killed instantly

And the Island roars, boiling the ocean floor

Though their bodies disappear, mingled with the earth and air

They will echo on through the work they’ve done

Projected through the years

Meredith has created something really special here, using only the guitar and mastering effects to produce this haunting narrative as told by Pliny's beloved nephew to the roman historian Tacitus.  What I find fascinating, besides the limitation of using only guitar to make this piece, is the penchant for the classics, and delivering it with an emotional force to make the centuries old story relevant today, with romance, love and wistfulness that stands the test of time.

If only, Meredith were more famous...and his tumblr site more detailed...and he had more videos on youtube.  His label is Kora Records.  Who I invite you to peruse for other gems, like Fredrik.

Video Song "Viskra" by Fredrik