I came cross to Carmen Rizzo's new work with Huun Huur Tu this morning and started listening one of the songs from their album, all of the sudden tears came out from my eyes! It's that emotionally beautiful and powerful. His work is always so amazing especially the sound quality and has some magic that connects me to his music deeply at soul level. His work with Lal Meri was great! And this time with this band called, Huun Huur Tu, which consists of four guys from ex-Soviet Autonomous Republic of Tuva, located at north of Mongol, and they use their traditional instruments plus style called 'throat singing'. When the beautiful melody and romantic ethno tribal sound are mixed with Carmen's dynamic production it is so emotionaly beautiful....
Carmen Rizzo & Huun Huur Tu
Here is a free sample MP3. And they will come to NYC and perform on 9/23 at Le Poisson Rouge!
Lal Meri
This is another Carmen Rizzo's production. This is a band consists of Carmen, Nancy Kaye, and Ireesh Lal. Their music sound like, R&B mixed with Indian, Trip-Hop beat, and sometimes Jazzy. Their album was released beginning of this year, each song has slight different style and successfully delivered a joy and beauty of music...
I've been really into some type of latin music this one or two years, the one has latin/caribean/columbian flavor and if it has some twist with jazz, soul, and funk! Some latin music but it's today's, can be modearn, something new yet soulful and sweaty! And I think it's really interesting and excisting thing is happening in this area these days globally.
And here are two musicians came to my favorite recently. These guys are absolutely bringing the latin music to the next level and keeping us shaken!
Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro
Quantic is an English man and has released many albums. Based on his past album I had this impression of him being soul/funk/jazz/hiphop musician and produces the kind of music Giles Peterson would like. So I had no idea this guy has moved to Cali, Columbia!!! and has been performing and producing music there. And the latest album definitely has definitely a lot of influence from Caribbean and Colombian music and rhythm and it's so nicely blended into his style of soul/funk/jazz, and it's really funky! I love especially Un Canto a MI Tierra and Linda Morena but mos def the whole album is worth the check. Oh, and he'll be performing at Governor's island on 22nd this month (August), can't believe it and I will be there!!!
And here is another example of Europeans takes latin music and bring it to the next level. There are two guys and both are German. Their music sounds Caribbean/Soul/Jazz kind to me, but it's very soulful and smooth, the melody is beautiful and a bit french melancholy. My favorite is Clear As Water (Mo 'Horizons Rmx), you can find it from their myspace page.
So another weekend is coming up and looks we'll have a great one not just because of the weather but because of the good music paaaarteeeeeies! So here is my weekend music party plan...
This bar, Barbes, in Park Slope in Brooklyn always has very interesting and unique musicians playing at the night. I have been there a couple of times to see Slavic Soul Party!, who plays there every Tuesday night. However, the last Tuesday night they had a different set of bands playing. I got there with my friends and as often it goes I was drinking and enjoying conversations with some of the folks at the bar area, which is right next from the room where bands play music. So I totally missed the first band while I was having a good time at the bar until the next band all the sudden got my attention.
The band called, El Haru Kuroi. They were playing something like Bosanova type at the time I went into the room where they were playing at. The music was beautiful and chill, it's like the music you want to listen at week nights and feel your life through it. And they went on to more Mexican, Colombian style of folk music, which were very lively and sweaty yet beautiful. Everybody was dancing and some folks were clapping their hands like Framenco, which totally added great sound of latin ethnic spice.
Anyway, this was a total surprise but it was so greatful that I have encountered this band who played such a soulful modern latin music. It was so easy to feel the music and let myself into the vibe created by the audience in the room.
Even luckier, after they finished their play I got to talk with the singer woman and found out that they were all teachers and go off for the show to play their music when they are off. (What a lucky students at the school!) Also the band name is coming from Japanese word 'Harakuroi', which means that you have something behind you that I don't know when we talk or negotiate, umm, yeah it's not so happy name, kind of dark side.... I don't know who taught them the name, whoever that was, hope that was not the lost in translation.... :)
Anyway, I had a great music at the Tuesday night, and this proved again that this bar, Barbes, knows what they are doing. The vibe is always good, great bar with local hang out feeling with bohemian vibe and good sophistication. I'd love to talk to the people at the bar who are booking these great musicians some time.
Damn!!! This Rusko's live was one of the best Dub Step shows I've even been to!!
After the BLVD's show at Bowery Ballroom and a few drinks at another bar on that Friday, we headed to Studio B in Brooklyn for a good Dub Step party where Rusko and other dub step DJs were playing.
I knew some of the Rusko's songs and really liked them. But I've never seen his show and to be honest I had no idea how he looked or how he would play until the night. But when he came up on the stage with a MC, Rod Azlan, he was carrying a bass. I was like what??? But it turned out that he played his laptops/DJ thing AND actually played bass together on the stage! And he dropped really heavy and thick base dub step sound while he was playing either laptops or bass. His play was such a journey that sometimes he went playing more minimal house or trancy type of sound then he immediately brought us back in heavy duty dub step sound!! And all we could see was his super funky energy exploding on the set and he knew he was teasing and playing with us.
The audience was all dancing so hard and enjoying with the journey with him going back and forth between heavy dubstep and a bit light sounds. His joker kind of looking and the performance was definitely the entertainer. He makes really cool dubstep music and he was playing them at the show. But with his performance, with his playing bass, with his maneuver and the way he created the journey, it brought the show to the next level and earned the best dubstep show I've ever seen.
Man, that's why I love Dubstep so much right now, there are so many different styles and many musicians are trying many different creative things. And I really appreciate the creativity and freestyle! Right now there is no establishment around here, many musicians from different background making what they want with this Dub Step sound. There are a lot of room out there where musicians can do a lot of funky things! Viva la Freedom!
Anyway, Rusko, we got to keep our eyes on this guy!
At April 10th Friday evening, my friend from Japan just made all the way from Tokyo right before the show BLVD was going to start at Bowery Ballroom. BLVD is a band I have seen in S.F. and their sound is something like Rock, Hiphop, Electro mix. Their show is always lively and has good drive and groove that gets our ass shaken. This time they were going to play opening up for a main band, Lotus. I like Lotus's sound but not so much that I want to pay for their show, not really my type of music. So this time I purely went for the front act!
And the show turned out to be a lot of fun and good music through out the show. I liked the way they drove the music and audience. It's like when people realized they were already dancing and smiling. Even though the singer guy wearing sun glasses on the stage looked a little cheesy to me, but the performance was great. It's not too crazy, kind of mellow, so it was perfect to start the night yet got good sweat.
Haven't been able to update the blog though I've been going out to many good music parties. The reason is now my friend from Tokyo has been visiting me and so I've been out every night until last night for the last two weeks or so. Finally I've got a little off this evening and find it as a good timing to update my music life in NYC!
First, I went to S.O.B. to see Midival Punditz for their new CD, 'Hello Hello' release party. They played with Karsh Kale and Vishal Vaid. I've seen them played together at Joe's Pub almost a year ago, but the set at the Joe's Pub was not really fun, everybody had to sit down at the tables and listen to their music as if they were playing classic music or something. Especially being from S.F. that sucked and I was so dissapointed. But this time I knew how the parties at S.O.B. typically go so I expected the Midival Punditz show will be a good one. And it turned out to be a good show. Well, the crowd didn't go crazy, only the people in the front area were dancing, but it was much much better than the one at the Joe's Pub...
The music was beautiful, I really like the combination of the band, Midival Punditz, Karsh Kale, and Vishal Vaid, each of them brings different beautiy of sounds. Karsh Kale's tabla/drum and Vishal Vaid's peaceful and soulful singing definitely adds excitements of live to the sounds by Midival Punditz. Though I danced a lot and enjoyed the music, I have to say two things....
One, the Punditz guys need to be more entertainers! If they're just smiling and staring at their laptop computer all the time we didn't really need them on the stage especially when we had Karsh Kale and Vishal Vaid doing some actions getting attention from audience. It's a show, so I expect them to entartain or show some energy or something otherwise I can listen their music at my house with good stereo speakers.
And two, looks Karsh Kale was having a hard time to adjust a microphone sound level for his tabla and looked being frustrated while communicating with the audio setup folks at upstairs. At the beginning that was ok, but towards the end that was too much and the stress he was carrying and showing through out the show totally turned us off as well. And maybe that's one of the reasons not many people were dancing. Sound check before the show was needed or he should have made it though with what he had ? I don't know, but it was unfortunate that the great music live show couldn't connect with the audience because of such thing....
Overall, I still love their music and again I enjoyed the show. But I'm not sure if I'll go to their next live show if I have to pay.
I was in San Francisco last week where I used to live for 6 years and went out with my great SF friends. One of the high lights is the last Saturday night when we went out for Four Tet/Jon Hopkins at Mezzanine and later to The Triple Crown for Surefire Sound's dub step party. When we arrived at Mezzanine Four Tet was already planing and we missed Jon Hopkins, which is such a bummer.... Four Tet was ok, nothing really special about. But the thing impressed me was the SF audience. I saw Four Tet/Jon Hopkins a week ago at Museum of National History in NYC and saw only about 20 people out of 500 (or so) were dancing. But at this show at Mezzanine most of people were pumping and dancing. I actually thought the SF crowds would be dancing hard because the electro music in SF is really hot and people in SF love dancing and feeling the music. But it was great to see that was really happening.
After we couldn't get to where we wanted to be at Mezzanine, we moved to The Triple Crown for a dubstep show. Man, this show really kicked our ass so hard and shaked all of our bodies! MC and the dubstepping style was so cool and the DJs were droping from dypical dubstep to crossover style and kept the crowd moving and pumping. I still remember we were all sweaty and screaming and smiling at each other.
So that's my music high light in SF this time until right before I was getting my flight at San Francisco airport. After I was closing my laptop and was about to join a long queue to the gate, when I looked up there was a guy who looked so familiar. And then boom, wow Mike Relm ! He was just standing in front of me. He is one of my current top 5 most interested Producers/DJs so I was so stoked! Of course I started talking to him and he was such a cool guy as expected. We talked about the audience in West coast/East coast, Burning Man, etc till I almost missed my flight! ;-) He'll coming back to NYC for opening up for Dell the Funky Homosapien on 4/29 at BB King, so I'm already looking forward to it.
There is a show tonight where Fernando Otero will be playing at Joe's Pub. I actually don't really know about his music, I checked his music at youtube and sounded very acoustic or classic kind of music plus Algentine tango influence. My friend Steven told me about this show so it's got to be good, and I'm always very excited to explore new music & sound. Stay tuned for an update....
----- SHOW DESCRIPTION Argentine composer and pianist Fernando Otero found his voice as writer, musician and bandleader when, at the urging of one of his music teachers, he began to incorporate the indigenous sounds of his native Buenos Aires into his work. Twenty years have passed since Otero opened his ears to this wealth of ideas, and ever since he has pursued his vision of X Tango. On his Nonesuch debut "Pagina de Buenos Aires", he does evokes a feeling of Buenos Aires – something you can sense even if you've never been there --through his innovative use of the bandoneon, the accordion-like instrument at the heart of all tango. But the world Otero conjures up is really all his own.
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Usually I don't go to this type of music show especially the one where I need to sit down the whole time. But this one turned out to be a great beautiful music show that kept me feel good. It was great modern Jazz influenced by Argentine tango. It is always nice to explore new music...
Wow, his new album is due out on May 5th this year and given the show I went two days in row I'll definitely buy more than one! And as a great surprise, he's made one of the songs from the album available for free download! And that is the song that really drove my ass shaking those two nights! The song is Wire, and here is the download link....
Be careful, because this song will shake you up so hard that you want to go out and party! ;-)
