Just in time: back-to-school music! Below are reviews for three K Records releases, all very different genre of music: DIY punk/pop, hip hop, and electronic dance music. K remains one of the most interesting and diverse record label out of Olympia, Washington. It's no wonder that I love K and so does Kurt Cobain (who had a tattoo of the K shield).
|
09/16/09 Craig’s House! Olympia, WA
Discography
09/26/09 Olympia All Ages Project, WA 09/28/09 Comet Tavern Seattle, WA
|
Amazon tells me that Hornet Leg's Ribbon of Fear will be "will be released on September 22, 2009", but K Records is telling me that it's available today, September 8th.
This band's debut Blood Trilogy 7" consisting of these "bloody" songs: "Bleed the Blood", "Covered in Blood", and "Bloody Hands", certainly left an impression on critics, citing them as "blazingly prophetic soul, erratic punk and garagey drone". While I would agree on the punk and garagey thing, based on their new record, Ribbon of Fear, I feel that they remind me a lot of early Violent Femmes (especially the Devil-may-care vocals of Chris Sutton).
Like most DIY punk records, this record seems to have been put together quickly, resulting to some very minimalistic and raw sound. Most of these rather short songs (under three minutes at most), and since some songs are cute ("My Baby" and "We're so Ugly") - they seem disposable.
There are some gems on the record, though. Whenever there's a woman singer (I am assuming it's ex-drummer Claudia Meza since there are no liner notes on my review copy) like on "I'm Leaving You" and "Ribbon of Fear", they definitely perk my interest.
My favorite song on Ribbon of Fear is "Night of the Phantom". This rock-pop song does get a bit cheeky when you hear the "phantom", but the catchy surf guitar rifts makes up for its cheesiness.
According to their blog posting, Chris Sutton officially joined one of my favorite group, Gossip, so I'm not sure how often Hornet Leg will be promoting their record. Well, catch them in Washington before Sutton join Gossip on tour in October.
This band's debut Blood Trilogy 7" consisting of these "bloody" songs: "Bleed the Blood", "Covered in Blood", and "Bloody Hands", certainly left an impression on critics, citing them as "blazingly prophetic soul, erratic punk and garagey drone". While I would agree on the punk and garagey thing, based on their new record, Ribbon of Fear, I feel that they remind me a lot of early Violent Femmes (especially the Devil-may-care vocals of Chris Sutton).
Like most DIY punk records, this record seems to have been put together quickly, resulting to some very minimalistic and raw sound. Most of these rather short songs (under three minutes at most), and since some songs are cute ("My Baby" and "We're so Ugly") - they seem disposable.
There are some gems on the record, though. Whenever there's a woman singer (I am assuming it's ex-drummer Claudia Meza since there are no liner notes on my review copy) like on "I'm Leaving You" and "Ribbon of Fear", they definitely perk my interest.
My favorite song on Ribbon of Fear is "Night of the Phantom". This rock-pop song does get a bit cheeky when you hear the "phantom", but the catchy surf guitar rifts makes up for its cheesiness.
According to their blog posting, Chris Sutton officially joined one of my favorite group, Gossip, so I'm not sure how often Hornet Leg will be promoting their record. Well, catch them in Washington before Sutton join Gossip on tour in October.
09/08/2009 00:12:54 ♥ vu (
) ♥ krecs.com ♥ myspace.com/hornetleg
|
Let me tell you that Eprhyme's new album, Waywordwonderwill, comes out today on K Records (a strange release by this wonderful indie label, as it is the first hip hop album from them in over a decade).
Waywordwonderwill is a really hard album for me to nail down, there's elements of jazz, funk, hip hop, and rap, throughout the album. One thing is certain is that Eprhyme's music, with other Jewish hip-hop artists (Matisyahu, Y-Love, Describe, C-Rayz Walz and Kosha Dillz, and others), it would seem fans of this music genre can't get enough of it.
From my experience with this Jewish hip hip, is that they are generally about freedom, peace/unity, God, and love. Many of these themes are shared by Jamaican reggae, so it's no surprise that artists such as Matisyahu blends reggae and hip hop. What set Eprhyme apart from his peers is that he doesn't rely on reggae, but leans more towards rap and hip-hop with middle eastern influences (such as the stand-out track "Fixing Midnight", entirely sung in Hebrew).
Eprhyme's rapping style, which I quite like, reminds me a lot of Non Phixion, not because these guys are white, but because his lyrics flows like an uncontrollable, unstoppable river.
Unlike rappers that are quick on their feet with ab-lib lyrics, coming off their heads, I believe Eprhyme's music might be more planned out. Take for instance, the song "Beggin For Change", on first glance it sounds like the song is about children begging for your change, but a closer look and you hear that Eprhyme is really saying that they're begging us to change our world.
I like messages like that, but it's probably too heavy for most people (like the politically-charged, seeking freedom and justice on "Shomer Salaam"). Instead, I have to direct you to his brilliant debut song, "Punklezmerap". This is a quick-rapping song with lots and lots of that flowing lyrics about his love for music - a little biographical. What makes this song work for me is this mistakable Arabian background music loop.
Waywordwonderwill is out now and you can purchase it directly from K or amazon.
Waywordwonderwill is a really hard album for me to nail down, there's elements of jazz, funk, hip hop, and rap, throughout the album. One thing is certain is that Eprhyme's music, with other Jewish hip-hop artists (Matisyahu, Y-Love, Describe, C-Rayz Walz and Kosha Dillz, and others), it would seem fans of this music genre can't get enough of it.
From my experience with this Jewish hip hip, is that they are generally about freedom, peace/unity, God, and love. Many of these themes are shared by Jamaican reggae, so it's no surprise that artists such as Matisyahu blends reggae and hip hop. What set Eprhyme apart from his peers is that he doesn't rely on reggae, but leans more towards rap and hip-hop with middle eastern influences (such as the stand-out track "Fixing Midnight", entirely sung in Hebrew).
Eprhyme's rapping style, which I quite like, reminds me a lot of Non Phixion, not because these guys are white, but because his lyrics flows like an uncontrollable, unstoppable river.
Unlike rappers that are quick on their feet with ab-lib lyrics, coming off their heads, I believe Eprhyme's music might be more planned out. Take for instance, the song "Beggin For Change", on first glance it sounds like the song is about children begging for your change, but a closer look and you hear that Eprhyme is really saying that they're begging us to change our world.
I like messages like that, but it's probably too heavy for most people (like the politically-charged, seeking freedom and justice on "Shomer Salaam"). Instead, I have to direct you to his brilliant debut song, "Punklezmerap". This is a quick-rapping song with lots and lots of that flowing lyrics about his love for music - a little biographical. What makes this song work for me is this mistakable Arabian background music loop.
Waywordwonderwill is out now and you can purchase it directly from K or amazon.
09/08/2009 00:12:54 ♥ vu () ♥ krecs.com ♥ myspace.com/eprhyme ♥ twitter.com/EPrhyme
|
It's really hard to write about an artist's work based on one or two songs, so please forgive me if you think I'm giving Joey Casio the shaft with his new 7" called Debtors Prism (released September 8th on K Records.)
Between the two songs, I did prefer "Artists in Times of War", which I think is fitting to the time that was recorded. The message is clear, not only is there this physical war, but also an artistic war on two fronts: "content and form".
It should be noted that K Record owner/one-man-band himself, Calvin Johnson (with Joey Casio), recorded and mixed these songs from the Dub Narcotic Studios... so it does have that nice DIY element to them.
What's cool is that K is still doing the vinyl thing - as most modern record labels are doing. Fans are screaming that we're in love with records, and in fact, record sales in American rose 89% last year. The trend is telling us that record sales will continue to climb, as a new generation are using MP3 as samples and still buying physical media for their collection. Check out Debtors Prism is only $3.75 on 7".
It would seem that Casio spent the better part of 2000 with the Crunks Not Dead record label, doing a variety of mixes after his nine-track Attack Decay EP. From my understanding of these one-man-band, the "studio" recording of their works will never quite capture what they are like when they play live and/or with audience participation. So as much as I think the remix of remixes of the very bassy title track Debtors Prism might sound fantastic, it will always pale in comparison to hearing it live. And apparently Casio is quite popular with his "brandished unkempt house parties", so keep an eye out for any last-minute tour dates.You're just a node on the network of bone
No eyes to stare at the soil you own
You feel nothing so you grab all you can
But who gets cut by the invisible hands?
Between the two songs, I did prefer "Artists in Times of War", which I think is fitting to the time that was recorded. The message is clear, not only is there this physical war, but also an artistic war on two fronts: "content and form".
It should be noted that K Record owner/one-man-band himself, Calvin Johnson (with Joey Casio), recorded and mixed these songs from the Dub Narcotic Studios... so it does have that nice DIY element to them.
What's cool is that K is still doing the vinyl thing - as most modern record labels are doing. Fans are screaming that we're in love with records, and in fact, record sales in American rose 89% last year. The trend is telling us that record sales will continue to climb, as a new generation are using MP3 as samples and still buying physical media for their collection. Check out Debtors Prism is only $3.75 on 7".
09/08/2009 00:12:54 ♥ vu () ♥ krecs.com ♥ myspace.com/joeycasio
Comments