Living life the Rhymesayers way! An interview with Sean Daley aka Slug of Atmosphere

It’s a crisp clear afternoon in the beach town of Santa Cruz California on Wednesday September 29 and the farmers market is in full swing. This is where you will find 38-year-old Sean Daley, aka Slug, one of underground hip hop’s reluctant champions sauntering through the crowd looking for something to eat before his sold out show at The Catalyst. He finally settles on the vegetarian crepe for lunch as people walking by smile at him and stop to say “what’s up” as if he were their neighbor.

Rapper Slug is one of the founding members of the emotionally charged underground hip hop group Atmosphere. DJ/Producer Anthony Davis, Ant, guitarist Nate Collis and keyboard player Eric Anderson form the rest of what is now known as Atmosphere. After taking a year long hiatus from touring the group decided to put out some more music for the fans. On September 7, Slug’s birthday, they released the double EP To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy.

“We knew our next record was going to come out in the spring, like our next real record,” says Slug. “We wanted to do something that wasn’t going to be considered a real record, just music. But I think that happens to us on a regular basis. We start to get neurotic about not having new material out there for people to (pause) hate.”

The music on To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy was inspired by a photo book coming out this fall called Seven Years on The Road with Atmosphere by photographer Dan Monick. Dan asked the group to put together a set of songs for a 10-inch record to go with the book and the six songs for the EP turned into an entire album that spawned the current tour.

“We were just due for another tour, I mean we took a year off to go make babies and to make music,” says Slug. “Since I started touring this is the first time I ever really had a full year to stay off the road and I wanted to take another year off, but it was too late, the tour was already booked. I just wanted to stay home and keep makin’ more music.”

On tour with Atmosphere are Grieves and Budo from Seattle, Blueprint from Columbus, and DJ Raregroves from Cincinnati who are all a part of the Rhymesayers crew. Slug along with his partner Siddiq, Brent Sayers, make up the bedrock of the do-it-yourself hip hop empire that is Rhymesayers Entertainment. Through a series of baby steps, common sense, and an incredible work ethic the independent label has become a driving force in the underground hip hop world.

“There’s such a family way that we did things (in Rhymesayers) where we stayed true to each other and stayed true to this unified goal,” says Slug. “In the long run, I think there’s something to be said for that for people who have similar goals. I feel like we did things the way that history never even had an example of. We didn’t do things the business way. I want to learn how to take the things we did with Rhymesayers and apply them to everything else in my life, even like fixing the exterior of my house. I wanna do it the Rhymesayers way. Common sense, baby steps, get it done, so I can step back and be like ‘ah, look what I did’.”

Slug has an incredible air of humility about him that only someone with his grassroots background could possess. He grew up in south Minneapolis and is firmly planted there now and forever. Slug is “every man” and the essence of good, hard working people is exactly what he pours into every song he makes. When you listen to songs like ‘The Best Day’ and ‘Freefallin’ on the To All My Friends album you can easily picture Sean Daley (Slug) as the guy next door or your quirky co-worker.

Having grown up in a working class American family in the same neighborhood that he lives in now, Slug describes himself as “common.” Both his parents worked in a factory and got divorced when he was 11 years old. His childhood was magical and tragic all at the same time.

“Being from south Minneapolis in a neighborhood that grabbed on to hip hop music in the early 80’s, I think all of the kids in my neighborhood were affected,” says Slug. “It was a neighborhood thing. We all had to submit to it, it was like a gang…hip hop was like our gang. I just happen to be one of the ones that still, at 38-years-old, listens to it much less makes hip hop music.”

Music is a big part of the Daley household because everybody in the house appreciates it. Even the new baby knows that he loves music.

“Aside from family and friends I’m not sure what’s meaningful to me anymore besides music,” says Slug. “I don’t have any hobbies anymore. I don’t even care about collecting records anymore even though I’ve got a huge record collection. I’ve been collecting music and spending all of my time and energy on music since I was 11. But now that it’s become like a career there’s so much more thought put into it than just being an advocate or a fan of music that it kind of consumes everything.”

Atmosphere has a cult following of fans who have become like family over the last ten years. The tour stops for the “To All My Friends” tour were focused on some mid-western towns and some smaller west coast towns. Serving as a dedication to cities that have always been there for Atmosphere even when nobody in the major markets cared about them. This tour was really focused on the cities where they built their original friendships.

“I see a lot of familiar faces at the shows, but I’ve seen them get older now,” says Slug. “I’ve seen some of these faces for eight years and then there’s always some new faces too.”

Many people have pulled strength from Slug’s raw and penetrating lyrics to get them through troublesome times in life. There is a humanness that is effortlessly portrayed in the stories he tells with a backbone of palpable earthy beats fine-tuned by Ant, Nate and Eric. This combination produces some of the most innovative underground hip hop that is currently out there.

“I think that some kids might grab on to songs just like all of us as kids did,” says Slug. “We grabbed on to certain songs and they helped us get through some of the tough times when I was a kid. I think now that I’m on this side of the dichotomy, I kind of look at it like, it’s not really me that helped you…you helped you. You just put a few things in your pocket to take with you. A song, a book, a scene from a movie, but at the end of the day it was you that did it.”

Slug has infused the lyrics of Atmosphere songs with many different messages and themes over the years. Right now his focus is mainly a familial one with an emphasis on new life. He has a very interesting theory on how we can save the planet.

“I don’t know if I have one message because it changes. It changes every week, month, I don’t know,” says Slug. “Like right now my message is that people should go make kids especially if they consider themselves to be smarter than the average bear. There’s all this worry about ruining the planet and destroying it or whatever. We’re not really worried about ruining the planet, the planet is gonna be there. We’re just killing the ability for our species to exist on this planet, I mean lets be real. I think the best thing that we can do to ensure the existence of our species is to balance out all the idiots who are having children by making sure some of the smart people have kids too. So I’m gonna get married and have like eight more children, if I can afford it.”

His son Jacob has played an important roll in his song writing throughout his career. Helping Slug to steer clear of subjects that are often approached in mainstream rap like “bitches” and “sellin’ drugs.” Jacob is now 16-years-old and his life has been a strong influence in the more emotional lyrics that Slug writes.

“Jacob is a fan of music and he’s gonna discern what he thinks is good or not,” says Slug. “I’m tryin’ to quietly actively play a role in that without pushing anything on him, but I have to live by example. So that’s why I rap about the shit I rap about, because I have kids.”

Being in his late thirties and a father of two, Slug is no stranger to the strains of living a full life. You may think that limp in his step is just his swagger, but he really does have some lower back pain to contend with. Just like all of us when we start to rack up the years.

“When I’m on stage, I guess it’s adrenaline,” says Slug. “But any headache, hip pain, lower back ache, ankle pain…it all goes away. It’s like the healer of all ailments and it’s just a lot of fun. I like to see people smile and put their hands in the air.”

Slug finds a fountain of youth in his onstage performance. A feeling that he can’t get anywhere else. There is a definite progression in his lyrics that seems to be directly linked to his maturity.

“I think my music has become more direct and straight forward,” says Slug. “I’m really trying to communicate points. I’m not as ambiguous as I used to be and a lot of that is based off of the fact that I’m getting older and hopefully wiser and trying to live by example.”

The album To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy is peppered with conflict and cynical views on friendship. The song ‘The Major Leagues’ depicts a dream lost and traded for a life of drug addiction from the perspective of a helpless friend. While ‘The Loser Wins’ speaks freely about gettin’ burned by a friend and cutting ties, no second chances. It makes you curious about what kind of company Slug keeps.

“Most of the songs I do are generally inspired by a handful of experiences that I’ll take and meld into one story in order to create one point,” says Slug. “The negative tracks are from the 10-inch called ‘Blood Makes The Blade Holy’, we tried to be clever with that. My friend circle is like four people. It’s very tight knit, very close.”

Slug will continue to mold his experiences into new lyrics and produce music with the Atmosphere crew for as long as he possibly can. While he doesn’t know what the future holds for hip hop or Atmosphere he certainly plans to stick around.

“I’ve never really had an idea of what the music should look like in the future for us,” says Slug. “It’s kind of been a learn as you go experience. I think with the music that we write, record, and make, a big part of it is that we all are looking for growth out of each other. And a lot of times that growth might not even be synonymous with the growth of the culture or where raps is going or where music is going. It’s more so just growth that we’re trying to identify and acknowledge in each other just within the friendship. I think that’s kind of been our thing for a while and I would say…so far so good.”

Show at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA September 29:

Hip hop and strippers brought to you by The 87 Stick Up Kids

Last night I set out to see Intuition lay it down at Crazy Girls (the strip club) in Hollywood. This was my first experience being a patron of such a fine establishment. Contrary to popular belief, I have never set foot in a strip club until last night. It was pretty mellow and mild as far as the girls were concerned...a lot of fun really. I'm a fan of burlesque, but this was much more obvious than a saucy burlesque show. Aside from my shoes sticking to the floor it really wasn't anything like I had pictured it to be. While the hip hop show was the main draw for me the girls definitely helped with the ambiance. They all looked like they could easily be suicide girls especially my favorite Miss Malice. It was kind of like being in a rap video LOL.

When I arrived at Crazy Girls I walked straight to the back of the club where there was a merch table and asked about the other artists performing that night. I had never heard of The 87 Pick Up Kids before last night and it was their merch table that I wondered over to. They eagerly tried to explain what their style of music was and then I just decided to buy the EP. I often spend $5 bucks on a cup of coffee so why not spend that on some local independent talent. The 87 Pick Up Kids are made up of Deacon, Nashville, Squishy, and DJ Rockwell and their EP is titled Out 4 Fame. I spent some time chattin it up with DJ Rockwell about MC's, influences, and his personal style while watching the girls shake their money makers.



Intuition was first up on the line up and he killed it. The girls were on stage dancing and flirting with him during his set which made it even better. Next up was King Fantastic with some gritty and grimy beats and hard hitting lyrics. They weren't quite as playful with the girls, but gangster as f**k! And last but not least, The 87 Stick Up Kids brought the house down. Their big & bouncy booty shaking beats got the crowd movin and shakin along with all the lovely stripper ladies. Not to mention the diverse rap style of all the MC's that mix together perfectly to make a delicious hip hop smoothie. They were playful, silly, and wildin' out. These boys are clearly overflowing with love for hip hop. When I left the show I instantly popped the EP in the CD player and I had to listen to it on full blast. The influences of the Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, NAS, and De La Soul are strong in the Out 4 Fame EP. Honestly the best $5 dollars I've spent in long time and such a happy accident.




The 87 Stick Up Kids are holdin down a residency at Crazy Girls once a month I believe. If you don't have an aversion to strip clubs and you've got $10 bucks to go to a great local show, you should definitely make it out to see these guys. Check out their website to get a taste and get info on upcoming shows www.the87stickupkids.com.

It’s a School Night with Voxhaul Broadcast and Robotanists at Bardot

LA natives Voxhaul Broadcast stole the show Monday night at Bardot with their incredibly abundant energy and engrossing sound. Delivering an infectious set that was saturated with powerful and passionate vocals layered over psychedelic guitars. David Dennis (lead vox/guitar) possesses amazing range and sounds like Jeff Buckley reincarnate with a dash of Hamilton Leithauser from The Walkmen. Pouring every ounce of their hearts into each and every song.



The band is as tight as a sailor’s knot with a very charming stage presence while they engaged with the audience in banter. Almost every person in the place was on their feet and bouncing around. Voxhaul Broadcast is comparative to the old school 70’s progressive jam bands with a definite surf rock vibe. It’s clear that they are influenced by the music of The Doors and The Beach Boys. A layer of soul floats on top of Voxhaul Broadcast like whipped cream on a sundae.

The Robotanists closed the set out with a more melodic style reminiscent of Radiohead with a female singer. A little electro pop synth mixed in underneath lead vocals of the sun kissed bleached blonde Sara E. Deblanke. Drawing the audience in like kittens to a saucer of milk. The mike stand covered with a strand of sparkling star shaped Christmas lights that danced to the beat of every song.



At Bardot it feels almost like the band is playing a private show in your living room. Crimson walls surround the lush vintage style couches and armchairs scattered throughout. As soon as you make your way up the staircase to the club that sits atop Avalon, you are transcended to another place in time. Chris Douridas (kcrw), MFG, and Valida present School Night every Monday at Bardot and it’s free if you RSVP at www.itsaschoolnight.com.

FYF FEST at Los Angeles State Historic Park on 09/04/10

Check it out on TicketWeb - FYF FEST at Los Angeles State Historic Park on 09/04/10

The line up for this is absolutely amazing! And right in my very own back yard. If you live in the LA area and you're into indie music at all, you kind of have to go to FYF Fest. This will be right after Sunset Junction as well. The summer is ripe with luscious live music all around.

Grieves & Budo - Cloud Man

I'm just finding out about Grieves & Budo and can't believe I didn't find out about them sooner. They will be supporting Atmosphere with Blueprint on the To All My Friends Tour beginning September 8. Grieves mellifluous voice is layerd smooth on top of the eclectic beats and live instrumental accompaniment provided by Budo. The song Cloud Man is somewhat of a detour from their previous sound, but this is the song that hooked me into google searching all damn day! They provide a very diverse collection across the board and lyrically cut deep enough to make a wicked flesh wound. Check it out and enjoy!

Intuition, serves everyone well!

I went to a little show at a hole in the wall in Echo Park last night and discovered this guy Intuition. Hailing from Alaska, he’s a white guy covered in tattoos with a shaved head and somewhat resembles a young Henry Rollins. His voice is soulful and emotive while he spits tales about booty calls, future ex’s, his love of California, and a kismet connection to Otis Redding on his album Girls Like Me that dropped earlier this year. The beats remind me of something straight out of the early 90’s hip hop scene. Bumpy, jazzy, sweet, and chill. Lyrically witty and intelligent with humor laced throughout. Some of the songs are a bit explicit so if you are squeamish with stuff like curse words, this may not be your cup of tea. His honesty and talent far outweigh the naughty bits in this album. I, for one, love the naughty bits!

The player above is from the album I Ruined These Songs For You that came out in March 2010 available as a free download on his website.

About the album from Intuition:

Remember when you used to make actual tapes for your friends, or a girl you liked? You'd spend hours trying to come up with the right songs in the right order, trying to appease your friend's preferences but show your tastes as well. This side project uses that exact idea, but takes it one step farther. I took a collection of 11 songs that I love (no rap music), songs that I think fans of any type of music would love, and I added a verse to each. I didn't chop the songs up and flip the samples for brownie points. I didn't try to make something new out of these songs. I just tried to leave the original songs alone as much as I could, and added one verse over each song to make it seem as if I was invited into the studio with the band to collaborate. All of these collaborations are, of course, unauthorized, but I tried to make each verse as relevant to the songs' original lyrics as I possibly could. The genres range from classic soul to modern indie rock, with a little bit of everything sprinkled in between. Some of the songs might be very familiar to you, and others may not, but I feel that I've added a nice little compliment to each of them (you might think I ruined them though). Enjoy.

www.intuition.bandcamp.com

Maxence Cyrin - Where Is My Mind (The Pixies Piano Cover)

Bon Iver - Skinny Love (Music Video)

I Blame Coco feat. Robyn - Caesar

The best thing that I’ve personally experienced from New Jersey since Birch Beer – Steel Train!

New Jersey indie rockers Steel Train released their third album today on their new independent label Terrible Thrills, coupled with Terrible Thrills, Vol. 1 featuring covers of all 12 tracks on the album by female vocalists including Tegan and Sara, Amanda Palmer, and Scarlett Johansson.



In a heartfelt blog on the bands website (www.steeltrain.net) singer Jack Antonoff (vocals/guitar/piano/drums) tells the story of where the band started and how they got to this eponymous release today. Jack met Daniel Silbert (guitar/backing vocals) and Evan Winiker (bass/backing vocals) at a private Jewish school when they were 10 years old and dreamt of being in a band. It wasn’t until years later that they got back together and hooked up with Jon Schriffman (drums/percussion) and Justin Huey (vocals/piano/wurlitzer) to form Steel Train.

The overall spirit of Steel Train is clearly influenced by early Beatles and Elvis Costello. They seems to take the best bits of modern sound from bands like Vampire Weekend and MGMT and mix in their own secret sauce to create and exhilarating resonance. Although Steel Train has more of a pop sound their lyrics are jolting and passionate, reminiscent of Radiohead.

The song S.O.G. Burning in Hell creates a waterfall of harmony that pours over you creating the most rejuvenating outlook and inner motivation. The chanted repeating lyric “And I pick up the pieces and run…” particularly makes me feel like I could start over again no matter where I am in life.



Song writing skills are abundant in this bunch of jersey boys. Perfectly illustrated in the song You and I Undercover with the lyric “so if you’re gonna leave, you cut the cords to those you know will love you back.” Slowly building on a lightly playing piano to lead and then breaking into an epic rumble that drives right in to your heart like cupid’s arrow.

Discovering Steel Train today felt like coming upon a lemonade stand on a blazing hot summer day, a pleasant surprise and unbelievably refreshing in so much of today’s stale music climate. Their DIY attitude and newly formed independent label embody the devotion that these East Coast boys have to their music. Having formed the label precisely to preserve the integrity of the album they released today. You can listen to it on their website for free and if you like it, you should buy it.

A spiritual experience with Mumford and Sons and The Middle East at the Music Box

People began slowly trickling in at the Music Box at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood June 4. This was just the beginning of the most memorable Friday night show that I’ve ever gone to. The crowd was extremely eclectic with people of all ages ranging from the teenage girls with their chaperone to the bearded indie wool cap-wearing guys and their stringy haired moccasin-wearing girlfriends. And I wonder if Mumford and Sons knew that they had a fan in Jake Gylenhall as he sat looking on from the front row of the balcony.

The Middle East, an Australian collective from Townsville, Queensland, have opened for Mumford and Sons on this tour. There are seven members in the band with one token woman who played everything from tambourine to flute and keyboard. The two main singers each had significantly distinct sounds that balance each other well and brilliant harmony from several members of the band. They all ran around switching up instruments between songs, which made it seemed as if there were more than seven members in the band. A banjo, percussion instruments, multiple guitars, bells on a stick, keyboard, flute, mandolin…I think they covered it all. Each song felt like a slow burning house on fire and before you know it you are engulfed in flames that are inextinguishable. A tingle set out through my body from the tip of my head through my spine and all the way down to my toes that grew with each song. The song that stuck with me the most was called “Blood” and can be downloaded for free by signing up to their mailing list on the website: www.themiddleeastmusic.com.

They were deliberately selected said Ben Lovett who plays keyboard and accordion for Mumford and Sons. “After touring with Middle East through Australia in January we became quite close and it just made sense to have them open for us,” said Lovett. He was barefoot in a white tank top and dark gray trousers, lingering in the backstage area when I caught him for a few questions.



The curtain went down and about 40 minutes passed before the four handsome young Englishmen humbly entered the stage to thundering applause layered over non-stop cheering. They opened with the song “Sigh no more” and it seemed as if the entire audience sang along. They presented an inimitable sound of four-part harmony and a resonance that rumbled from the lowest depths of your belly straight up to your soul. Marcus Mumford sang with a slanted mouth at times to get to just the right tone in his extremely unusual and anomalous voice. There is an incredible sincerity poured out of the lyrics that are poetic, fulfilling, and prophetic at times. The crowd was screaming and rumbling the floor with stomping feet. The members of the band showed a sweet and silly sense of humor by telling stories about one another through shared banter in the breaks. Wonderfully coupled with a properly British politeness displayed by the meek acceptance of wild adoration from the crowd. Ted Dwane alternated between the stand up bass and the electric bass throughout the night. "Country" Winston Marshall played slide guitar and electric guitar, but there was particular rapture in the way he handled the banjo. As if he were channeling a force much greater than himself during the show. Ben Lovett played the keyboard with incredible passion and even hopped on the accordion for a couple songs. Every song, with the exception of the new ones, gained intensity with the harmony of the entire crowd singing along. Many people shouted out “I love you” to the band and requested select songs during quiet moments between songs.

The spirit of the four men and their fervor for life filled the Music Box creating a boundless energy in the room. “Tonight’s show was significantly better than last nights show,” said Lovett. All four in the band are songwriters making them unique and powerful when it comes to the creation and structure of their songs. “We’ve known each other for 16 years and we have a lot of respect for what everyone brings to the table,” said Lovett “we need each other massively.” At the moment they have 15 new songs in early stages that will be on a future album. Mumford and Sons plan to come back to Los Angeles in October to play to another hopefully sold out crowd. If you didn’t get a chance to catch them this time in Los Angeles, I would recommend you get your tickets early to the next show…it’s worth every penny!

Mumford and Sons are the brazen and bold!

Mumford and Sons was born out of the London underground folk scene that surged up from across the pond a couple of years ago. The folk quartet started playing together in 2007 and quickly bonded over a love of rootsy music, romance, and honest lyrics. The toothsome sound really is something to sink your ears and your heart into. It’s easy to get caught up in the rapture of the strumming banjo and four-part harmonies, but don’t miss the heartfelt and brazen lyrics.

Marcus Mumford on lead vocals presents an incredibly raw and distinctive sound that is matched perfectly by the sincere rich sound of the band. Made up of Country Winston (vocals, banjo, dobro), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, accordion), and Ted Dwane (vocals, double bass). It is impossible to sit still while listening to Mumford and Sons debut album “Sigh No More” released February 2010. At very least my toes are tapping incessantly and usually my body follows suit shortly after with good old fashioned English folk music.



The song “The Cave” ruminates with hope and wonder while it eloquently displays a transformation in three and a half minutes with lyrics like “I’ll find strength in pain and I will change my ways…” Each song tells a story that feels as if it could have been pulled from any of our lives creating a universal bond amongst listeners. With songs like “Little Lion Man” that possesses an intensely guttural chorus “It was not your fault, but mine and it was your heart on the line. I really f***ed it up this time, didn’t I my dear.” Anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows exactly what that feels like. I’m looking forward to the future of Mumford and Sons and definitely excited about seeing them at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood on June 4.

The xx have made their mark!

Until just recently, The xx was a four piece band consisting of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith and keyboardist Baria Qureshi who only just left the band citing exhaustion as the reason for her departure. They formed a band in 2005 in Wandsworth, south west London, when the four met at Elliott School. Romy and Oliver, lead vocalists, have known each other since they were 3-years-old and started creating music together at 15-years-old. The female vocals and guitar are delicately delivered by Romy with Oliver pouring deep vocals and bass in for the balance. Jamie is the master beat maker on the MPC and he is absolutely brilliant to watch live. Some people say beat machines have no soul, but arguably Jamie truly does bring The xx songs to life.

Croft and Sim’s voices are like crushed velvet and cashmere together while they envelope and caress you with each word. And slow driving bass lines that drip into your ears like warm honey. The backbone is in the MPC with the beats cleverly arranged to give a little toe tap. I close my eyes and listen to her and then to him and get a warm fuzzy feeling that pours through my entire body. The breakdowns and the build ups lead into a full sonic island of melodic sound. The lyrics that sound like something Thom Yorke may have written in his journal when he was 19. On the song Crystalised lyrics like “…I’ll forgive and forget before I’m paralyzed…” hook straight into a dark place that exists in all of us. Helping us find and heal some buried hurt from a long lost love ages ago with each tender tone. Each song leads perfectly into the next for a body shaking ear-gasm.



The xx songs are brooding and mellow with some introspective rhythms. There is a modern goth feeling that oozes from this band while they don all black attire and new wave haircuts. If you could imagine New Order and The Pixies having a baby band…this would be it! Their debut album, xx, was released on Young Turks Records on 17 August 2009 and ranked #9 on Rolling Stones “best of the year” list. They have quickly become one of my favorites and I know I’m not the only one who can’t get enough of The xx from the looks of their healthy tour schedule. They will be at Coachella on April 17, 2010 so if you get the chance, catch this British wave of electro-goth goodness.

Who knew Broken Bells could sound so good?

Broken Bells eponymous debut album was released in the U.S. and Canada on March 9, to the delight of many. Brian Burton, a.k.a. Danger Mouse, and James Mercer of The Shins are the connoisseurs of this fine project. Each man a powerhouse in his own right, they found out that they were fans of each other’s work after a fated meeting at a Danish music festival in 2004. Thus spawn the inception of Broken Bells.

Mercer and Burton began laying the foundation for the album in secret at Burton’s Los Angeles based studio in March of 2008. When asked they described their new material as “melodic, but experimental.” I believe it was early in January when I heard the song “The High Road” played on KCRW and about lost my little mind. Immediately following the song I looked up Broken Bells and was just tickled to find out who was involved. Pretty much anything involving Danger Mouse is going to be at least good…if not mind-blowing!

Listening to a full album is not a common occurrence anymore, but when played from start to finish the album tells a wonderfully melodic and inspired story. Like fine wine, each taste has new notes and slowly developing undertones that resonate within. Broken Bells presents a rich and robust resonance that makes you want to come back for seconds…thirds even! The influence of The Beatles and folk music in general is apparent in their sound, while there is also a deep affection for synth-pop laced throughout the album.



In an interview on KCRW, Danger Mouse mentioned that he drew inspiration from 80’s music in producing this album. This is particularly evident on songs like “The Ghost Inside” and “Trap Doors” where the bond to the beat is in the clapping. In the song “Mongrel Heart” the composition is extremely evocative and when you least expect it, it breaks into this epic lingering spaghetti western type solo that is simply marvelous.

Mercer’s distinct vocals almost serve as an instrument on their own while Danger Mouse’s wealth of knowledge from instrumental to production automatically put this album near top of the pops. The album is masterfully composed and I would expect nothing less from Burton who has worked with artists ranging from Sage Francis, The Black Keys, Beck, and Bright Eyes. You really must check it out!

Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM…scrumptious industrial brainwaves

Anglo-French actress and singer-songwriter Charlotte Gainsbourg was born in London on 21 July, 1971 as Charlotte Lucy Gainsburg. She was raised in Paris by her mother British actress and singer Jane Birkin and her father French actor/singer Serge Gainsbourg. In 2006, Gainsbourg released her second album 5:55 to critical acclaim and commercial success, reaching the top spot on the French charts and achieving platinum status in the country. Charlotte Gainsbourg seems to have truly found her individual style in her recently released third studio album IRM.

Gainsbourg claims she handed Beck some sounds of whirring MRIs (the album title is the French term for the machines), and the pop eccentric took care of things from there. Beck is a whiz kid on Production and performs vocals with Gainsbourg on “Heaven Can Wait”. The two of them singing together strikes a palatable dream for fans and followers of Beck, Charlotte, or both. Without much training, Charlotte possesses a whisper of a voice delivered with intent that bathes in the albums extraordinary production. A sonic wonderland created by Beck is the ideal chariot for Gainsbourg’s floating fluttery haunting vocals to resonate from your ears to your belly and right down to your toes.



IRM is largely influenced by her roll in the 2009 horror film “Antichrist” with Willem Dafoe as well as an experience in September 2007 when Gainsbourg was rushed to a Paris hospital where she underwent surgery for a cerebral hemorrhage. She had been experiencing headaches since a minor water skiing accident in the United States several weeks prior.

Big lo-fi booming and gritty distorted guitar are the undertow that sucks you in on the song “Trick Pony”. With a brilliant use of percussion ala stomp in the song “Greenwich Mean Time” enveloping Gainsbourg’s somewhat monotone vocals that sound as if they are being delivered over a loud speaker in your high school cafeteria. It feels as if they channeled Elliot Smith on the song “Heaven Can Wait”. While the song “Voyage” has an evocative tribal feeling with a sub-orchestral string arrangement that peeks in and out between sounds of birds cawing. And if you close your eyes, you can almost imagine yourself on safari.

IRM is a modern pop-folk dream with an alternative influence and sprinkled elements of shaved industrial lo-fi sound that are surely the influence of Beck himself. I tip my hat to Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck on a wonderfully composed album that seems to take folk in 2010 in high form. Well done!

Keep it simple...and dirty!

I had heard the name before, but never bothered to listen to anything by them for some unknown reason. Yesterday I was guided by a force to listen to The Black Keys. After discovering their recent project with hip hop veteran Damon Dash called Blakroc which features The Black Keys, Mos Def, Q-tip, RZA, Jim Jones, Raekwon, Pharoahe Monch, Nicole Wray, Ol’ Dirty Bastard and several others seamlessly combining rap and rocky blues. I felt like a kid on Christmas when you get that one gift that makes you so happy you could just cry.



A two piece band comprised of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. The band formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001 and masterfully shaped 5 albums to date with the latest album Attack & Release produced by Danger Mouse and put out in 2009. The band released their debut album, The Big Come Up, in 2002, followed by Thickfreakness in 2003, Rubber Factory in 2004, and in 2006 they released their fourth album, Magic Potion. With many of their songs appearing in popular TV shows and commercials, you may have heard The Black Keys before and not even known it.



Their sound is raw and pure as if they connect you straight to the earth with each rugged riff and thunderous beat. If they were fresh produce, they would surely be the homegrown organic variety. Every line delivered by Dan Auerbach’s wonderfully soulful voice reaches right into your chest, grabs your core, and shakes it with the truth. A dash of Jimmy Hendrix, a cube of Vanilla Fudge, a pinch of Zeppelin, and just a drop of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins will bring you close to the recipe for a mouth-watering taste, The Black Keys. Stripped down and gritty, the production style makes each album seem like an old time rockin’ blues treasure uncovered from your grandfather’s closet. The Black Keys could very well be the incarnation of many great music Gods.



After listening to all 5 albums and some tracks off their EP’s, I am madly in love with The Black Keys. I’ve got it bad and all I want to do is share it with the world. Each song seeped into my skin and slowly made a footprint on my heart that I hope never disappears. Next on my list of things to do before I die: See The Black Keys LIVE!!!

Check’em out: