Genre: Indie Folk/Blues

Year: 2010

Label: Dead Oceans

Country of Origin: Sweden

Rating: 9.5/10

The term ‘Dylan-inspired’ is off-handily used by critics umpteen times to describe a particular folk singer’s songwriting capabilities, but in the case of

Kristian Matsson

Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson a.k.a. The Tallest Man on Earth, this term is dead on target. Not only does he have the raw, energetic and southern accented voice, he has the panache of writing earthy folk songs deeply indebted to 60’s roots music. His inspirations maybe antiquated but he is young blood; his spunkiness injects an extra dose of adrenalin into the songs he writes. This lineament drew the attention of listeners towards his critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Shallow Grave’ which ultimately landed him a touring opportunity with notable folk band Bon Iver for whom he was the opening act.

In the second record, Kristian shows an increased maturity in his approach towards writing songs and this new record, dare I say, has the catchiness of pop music. While his earlier record was melancholy tinged, this new record seems like Kristian has exorcised the ghosts of his past and has learnt a lot of lessons. Instead of dwelling on sadness he is embracing it as a part of life and being hopeful that things will improve and that he will set the trend of making changes himself. On this record Kristian seems like a man possessed; his voice commands presence on the record and the songs radiate so much brilliance that it sometimes can be blinding! It’s a perfect record to listen to when you think that your life has been smoked out like a cigarette and all that is left of you is the butt. The Yang of the record will overpower the Yin of your mind. Like the title suggests, Kristian pictures himself on a wild adventure not only to free himself from the chains of quotidian drudgery but also to find the love of his life and to trace his roots. The deft lyricism and the guitar strumming play stellar parts to sink this feeling deep into you. Sample the track ‘King Of Spain’ in which he metaphorically sends the message across that one should pursue our dreams however trivial they may seem to the others by singing “Well if you could reinvent my name, well if you could redirect my day, I wanna be the King of Spain” and by playing the chords on the guitar that sound like a galloping horse on which he is seated to conquer unknown lands. While he is busy being the king of Spain, he also has this eternal longing of being the king of his lover’s heart by singing of his heroics, “You know it’s a Lion’s heart that will tumble and tear apart, when he(himself) is coming down the hills for you” in the track ‘A Lion’s Heart’. This feeling is also echoed in the delicate and sentimental “Love Is All”.

The Tallest Man On Earth

He may be crafting such adorable and accessible songs about love, which will strike a chord with a lot of listeners; on this record he also displays that he is a master storyteller, like in the second track ‘Burden Of Tomorrow’ where he vividly describes his bizarre origins and the reason for his wild hunt by wording, “The rumour has it that I wasn’t born, I just walked in one frosty morn, In the vision of a vacant mind” and “I will find this stranger (himself) that you fear, so that I am not a burden tomorrow dear”. Even on the track ‘The Drying of the Lawns’ his words create a mental picture of the dingy wooden room it is inspired by. All along on these stories of adventure and rollicking in the nature’s bounty, the guitar is his faithful companion. On the subdued songs his guitar strings can be heard plucking and reverberating airily corresponding with the toned down and sometimes detached voice while on his poppy numbers, the guitar takes centre stage and help in creating an ecstatic atmosphere. Like all master craftsmen he saves the best for the last in the form of a ballad ‘Kids on the Run’ which sounds like Bruce Springsteen singing ‘Tears in The Rain’ accompanied by Sir Elton John on the piano. It is a beautiful track that encapsulates his mature understanding of emotions. He sings, “No we have not grown a day from the poison we share” and then laughing it off by singing “Will we ever confess what we’ve done? No, we’re still kids on the run”.

Like a wandering sage, Kristian Matsson crafts tales of his experiences and presents it to the listeners in the form of this phenomenal record that sends the message of bringing positive changes to life by breaking the fortress in which our mind is trapped. This record is lyrically adept and the production is spellbinding. Well, a lot of people may be put off by his raw voice (the same happens with Dylan’s voice too) but after listening to this record they will be reassured that Kristian Matsson’s voice is not gimmicky but has such infectious energy that it will definitely make them swap sides, in favour of The Tallest Man On Earth.

Article by Vikrant Dev

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Genre: Dubstep/House/Techno/Experimental

Year: 2010

Label: Hotflush

Catalogue No.: HFCD003

Country Of Origin: U.K.

Rating: 9/10

Dubstep it seems has a dark future, not in the sense that it’s coming to an end, but in the sense that the number of followers of dark dubstep has increased over the years. Not only are there more number of producers making such kind of music, they are also receiving plaudits from critics and listeners alike for creating dark, wistful and inhabitable sonic landscapes. Burial’s eponymous album and the sophomore Untrue, Boxcutter’s Oneiric, Kode 9 + The Spaceape’s Memories of the Future, King Midas Sound’s Waiting For You, etc. and even compilation albums like Appleblim and Shackleton’s Soundboy Punishments and Mary Anne Hobb’s Warrior Dubz have proved that dark dubstep is here to stay and that it is burgeoning. You can add Scuba, who has created a stunning record that delicately balances dance floor frenzy with ambient sounds and field recordings, to the aforementioned list. But, Scuba is not new to this scene. His 2008’s debut and the singles and remixes he released prior to and after that displayed his penchant for drawing influences from industrial sounds. But, what separates Scuba from these other artists is his eclecticism and his experimentation with techno and house music. Part of his eagerness could be explained by his Djing stints at the now famous Berghain night club in Berlin.

Paul Rose

In this record, Scuba creates a more cohesive and tighter sound than his debut simultaneously breaking through the clutter of the deafening slabs of bass driven records that have become synonymous with dubstep. Like Burial, he creates a sound that is cold, detached, robotic, futuristic, and industrial, which mirrors our mechanical existence in the concrete jungle. Though the sounds are cold, they never embrace misery and stay true to the dance floor. To correctly reflect this alien sound, Scuba uses paraphernalia in the form of field recordings of rustling, clattering and clashing objects, falling drops of water, metallic sounds, etc. and uses them as embellishments on the record rather than mere inutile static sounds. These sounds add chaos, liveliness and motility to these tracks. Accompanied by these is the effective and emphatic use of synths like in the barren and beatless album opener ‘Descent’ which dwells on synths that sound like subdued industrial sirens and landing spaceships or like in the third track ‘Three Sided Shapes’ that features droning synths sounding like machines doing menial work. Also, tracks like ‘Tracers’ do have swollen synth passages and uplifting crescendos, but they are either stabs or are short lived, maintaining the frigidity of the record. The sultry and soulful female vocals make an appearance only at the opportune moment, and steal the show away. The vocals are cut up and most of the times echoic. While most of the songs have industrial leanings like the songs crafted by minimal techno artist JPLS, there are songs that use the emptiness of the deep oceans as the muse like in the track ‘Minerals’ which is set amongst beats but uses ambient sounds that are characteristic of whales. Also the near silence of the ambiance contributes to this feeling.

Holding all these elements together are the skeletal beats of the songs. The album opener which is beatless serves as a prelude to the tracks that follow. Most tracks are genre defying and effortlessly and smoothly change from house to two step garage to techno to downtempo and everything in between. Case in the point is the magnanimous track ‘Tracers’; it starts out like it’s a trance song with an intoxicating synth stab, but later gives way to amazing dubstep beats. Even latest trends like UK funky have been incorporated into the songs as can be seen in the track ‘On Deck’. The last song on the record ‘Lights Out’ shows best the ingenuity of Scuba as far as experimenting is concerned. One is left bewildered as to when the transformation has occurred on the track if one gives the track a passive listening. There is a lot of attention to detail here so this record demands a careful listen to enjoy all the nuances.

Scuba Triangulation

Lot of people will crib endlessly about the obvious reference point- Burial’s records. But, Paul ‘Scuba’ Rose has really moved on as can be seen from the plethora of activities going on deep under the cold surface of the tracks. Some tracks may not be dancefloor scorchers like others or may not really give away entirely to adrenalin junkies, but this does not mean they are not doing their job well. In fact that territory is a virgin territory for remixers or for Dj’s who want to slow things down in their set. This record is amazing from head to toe and easily the contenders of the top ten albums of 2010.

Article by Vikrant Dev

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Mrigya

BLUEfrog, Mumbai

Mrigya played at BLUEfrog, Mumbai on Thursday, April 15^th

15^th April at Blue Frog saw the stage set for the fusion band Mrigya. They combine varying influences like jazz, funk, blues etc and produce a sound that renowned percussionist Fazal Qureshi (chief guest of the evening for the Mumbai launch of Mrigya’s album ‘The Composition of World Harmony’) aptly phrased as ‘a new sound’.

Mrigya at BlueFROG

The 7-member band started off with some mellow strains on the violin that heralded their original ‘Ganga’. Right from the first note, it was evident that Mrigya belongs to a truly rare breed; a fusion band where each member is phenomenally talented in his own genre and all these genres actually merge into a coherent whole. Once the song peaked in a magnificent violin solo by Sharat, the class act that is Mrigya had proven itself. Next came a deliciously chirpy little tune that grew into their composition ‘Pahari Funk’, followed by the beautiful sufi composition ‘Ali’. But the favorite for the night was their next track ‘Procession’. This piece of genius (aimed at religious harmony/unity) began with Sukriti (Hindustani classical) mouthing verses from the Rigveda. Next, Qadir Bhai followed with Muslim religious verses while the Rigveda continued in faint strains in the background. This somewhat serious composition with darker undertones went on to really capture the audience. Mrigya was also joined by flamenco dancer Sharmini for a song where Qadir Bhai’s mischievous vocals had everyone in splits.

On the flip side, while the Blue Frog has fantastic sound, the stage was somewhat too small to accommodate a band the size of Mrigya, particularly when Sharmini joined in. Also, Mrigya could consider experimenting more with their vocals; ‘Scottish Moors’, for example, had the audience cheering its heart out when other band members also joined in to make a moving vocal experience. More of this could be incorporated into their songs. Overall, however, the musical genius that is Mrigya is truly one to watch out for.

Hanging Gardens, Mumbai

Seher & Shor Bazaar played at Hanging Gardens, Mumbai on Saturday, April 17^th

Seher at Hanging Gardens

A beautiful Saturday evening spent with some good live music at a picturesque venue; what more can one ask for? 17^th April 2010 was just such a day, when two good rock bands Seher and Shor Bazaar played at the Hanging Gardens in Mumbai. The evening was kicked off by Seher with an original ‘Sirf Tum’. Seher, which plays songs (mostly soft rock) in the good ol’ Rashtrabhasha, was a fairly decent band with five members on stage. The opening track was followed by another song titled ‘Huve’. The mellow music appealed to the crowd and Seher managed to rouse a good bit of applause especially with their last song, which was faster than their previous tracks. Although the small stage limited mobility somewhat and the acoustics were not of top quality, overall it was a good set by Seher.

Shor Bazaar at Hanging Gardens

Next came Shor Bazaar, and completely stole the audience’s hearts. The five-member band walked onto the stage and spent a long time checking sound, giving away little strains of music here and there which hinted at their brilliance. And once they started playing in earnest, they went all out; amazing music, some really smart (and different) Hindi lyrics and a killer stage presence were all part of the package. They even interacted with specific people in the crowd (including some foreign nationals, who were seen hugely enjoying themselves despite not comprehending a word, as lead singer JD pointed out) and made sure everyone had fun. Songs like ‘Rasili’, ‘Pagli Ladki’, ‘School’, ‘Jaisalmer Express’ and their very own version of Javed Jaffrey’s ‘Mumbhai’ were played. The overall effect of these really good musicians and performers is best summed up by the words of one lady in the audience, “They are so wonderfully talented. Especially that boy (vocalist JD). They will go very far.” Amen to that, and many thanks to both Seher and Shor Bazaar for a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Café Goa, Mumbai

Spook played at Café Goa, Mumbai on Wed, April 21^st

Spook at Cafe Goa

What would you expect from a place named Café Goa? Aesthetics, mellow lighting, chilled beer, good food, and – some great music! Alternative band Spook provided the perfect setting to this place in Bandra on Wednesday 21^st April, at an evening organized by Bombay Elektrik Projekt.

Spook is a relatively new five-member band with Akshay on vocals and rhythm, Clavell on violin, Anis on keys, Sonam on bass, and Zain on drums and percussion. The band played an acoustic set without drums, and were still really tight, which is commendable in itself. The music area was full long before the band was done with the sound check, and it was evident that Spook has a fairly loyal fan base already. The set list for the night was a healthy mix of covers and originals. Some of the covers were the Superman song ‘It’s not easy to be me’ (extremely well done) and Greenday’s ‘Time of your life’. The originals included ‘Screwdriver’, ‘Imagine’ and ‘Funky Monkey’, which was a merry song about their bass player. Another original ‘True’ with some great vocals was very reminiscent of Pearl Jam, while the violin was exceptionally memorable in ‘Crayons’. In fact, much of their music has a great Pearl Jam-esque chilled-out-merry-happy feel to it, so it comes as no surprise that the band counts Pearl Jam as one of their influences. The extremely interactive band also had a lot of jokes going, and altogether, Spook set a great tone for the evening.

Hanging Gardens, Mumbai

ToT & The Mavyns played at Hanging Gardens, Mumbai on Saturday, April 24^th

Tough on Tobacco at Hanging Gardens

Yet another great Saturday evening event to revive Bandstand Culture, starring Tough on Tobacco and The Mavyns on 24^th April at the Hanging Gardens. First on stage was Tough on Tobacco, the musical genius/prodigy that is the offspring of artistes from Helga’s Fun Castle and Zero. This band has a completely different sound from most artistes on the Indian music scene, with a rare and brilliant reggae feel, especially the vocals. Soulful originals like ‘Yahweh’, ‘Do what you gotta’, ‘Alone’ (this one was especially good, and is not included in their already-released album, hope to see it in their upcoming one) and ‘Love Love Love’ had the audience completely into them. Their last song ‘Wonder’ had a more powerful beat, and they signed off on a great note. The Indian music scene will definitely have to keep an eye out for this rising star.

ToT was followed by The Mavyns, who are a four-member band with a very refreshing blues/jazz Beatles feel. They played some very happy tunes (one of their songs is even called the ‘Happy Song’), dedicated a song to their guitarist’s hair and even had some people in the audience dancing. The vocalist Vivek (also on keys) dished out some decent vocals. The entire evening had a ‘let’s go to Goa’ feel about it, courtesy both ToT and The Mavyns. A big smile and an ‘It’s all good’ is probably what these bands intended to leave their audience with; they definitely succeeded.

Article by Akshata Bhat

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IWA boasts of 400+ whistling members - both male & female, ranging from ages 10 to 75 years.

‘phhhh…phhhh’ that’s the sound of a whistle that most of us can get out. Fortunately, that’s not the case with the members of the Indian Whistlers Association. It was one of the ‘see it to believe it’ moments, or rather a hear it to believe it moment. On 14^th February the members of IWA performed at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival as a tribute to the great Mohd. Rafi. They kept the huge audience enthralled with their impeccable whistling for well over an hour!

The kurta clad, well shaven, smart members of IWA belonged to various different fields. Some were doctors, some senior managers in MNCs, some owned their own businesses, etc. But they all had one thing in common. They could whistle any tune to perfection. The members showed no signs of inhibition in donning a colourful ‘topi’ while performing a qawali, ‘parda hain parda’.

You would question the variety that a group of whistlers can probably bring to the stage. But the audience was in for a surprise. The performance ranged from solo whistling to duets and even to a symphony like effect brought about by the whole group. One of the youngest performers on stage was Sweta, all the way from Chennai. She is a trained classical singer and a classical dancer. She displayed her art in unique style when she performed a dance and whistled at the same time on ‘Madhuban mein radhika nache re’. As versatile as Rafi sahib himself, the performance included romantic numbers, classical numbers and even qawalis.

IWA has entered the LIMCA Book of Records 2009 with 28 whistlers from all over India whistling "Saare Jahan Se Accha..." in unison

At the end of their performance, the IWA in order to promote whistling as an art held a small competition. They would whistle a tune and the audience was to respond by whistling the paragraph of the song. The audience showed tremendous enthusiasm but no one could elicit a whistle half as clear and accurate as the members of the association.

The roar of the applause at the end of the show depicted that the audience understood and appreciated the rare talent that these members had displayed and that they were in fact willing to accept whistling as an art form.

Do visit http://www.whistleindia.org/ for more info on IWA.

Article & Images courtesy: Nikunj Bhaiya

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A look back at the best gigs by international artists performing in India in the year gone by.

Benea Reach @ Oasis, Pune

To be honest we had absolutely no expectations from Norwegian metal act Benea Reach. The thirteenth edition of Great Indian Rock came to Oasis, Pune with a lineup that included Indian metal pros Scribe and Bhayanak Maut. So, even without the Scandinavian band, one was guaranteed a reasonable quality gig. While the Indian bands efficiently went about creating mayhem at the scenic outdoor venue, the seven-piece from Oslo delivered their hardcore with a battering ram-like efficiency and an act that screamed “pro”. Pune was left sufficiently shocked in the best way possible.

The Giraffes @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

We knew we were going to like The Giraffes after watching some of their eccentric music videos. We knew even more that we were going to like them when the Israeli band still went ahead with their gig in Mumbai, which was held barely a month after the terrorist attacks in November. What we didn’t know just how compelling an act the five-piece from Tel Aviv was. No matter that they were singing in Hebrew, The Giraffes were a garage rock band, in both sound and spirit and once lead singer Gilad Kahana got into the zone no one could stop him, not even the bouncers at the Frog who tried in vain to prevent him from walking on (and eventually breaking) the glass between the pods.

Grand Pianoramax @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

We were impressed by electro-jazz keyboardist Leo Tardin aka Grand Pianoramax the first time we saw him at the Frog in 2008. When he returned this year, he brought along trusty percussionist Karsh Kale and slam poet Celena Glenn aka Black Cracker and together they gave us plenty of both groove and grit. Though Tardin was as skilful as we remembered him to be, he almost saw himself being overshadowed by his guests. The highlight of the gig came when he briefly left the stage, leaving Kale and Clen to treat the crowd to a spontaneous freestyle jugalbandi.

Porcupine Tree @ IIT Bombay

An hour before the Porcupine Tree gig, staged as part of IIT Bombay’s annual cultural festival Mood Indigo, it seemed like the college  students were clearly overwhelmed by the logistics of an event of such  scale. Once the British prog-rockers took the stage however everything, from the inefficient booking process to the absurdly stringent security restrictions, was forgotten and forgiven. This was a band a significant portion of the city – and the country – had been waiting years to see and ultimately, we got everything we were hoping  for. We got the lights, we got the sound but most importantly, we got the songs. A set of greatest hits, on a tour specifically designed to promote a new album, left everyone in the audience smiling, swaying and satisfied.

Bauchklang @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

Bauchklang have made India, and particularly Mumbai, their second home. Every time the Austrian beatboxers make their way to the city they are greeted by manic audiences that go mental to the sound of their vocal techno. It helps that they know exactly how to work the crowd with their set of ‘vocal groove’ that’s instantly engaging and loads of fun. While this set wasn’t as enthralling as their sets in 2008, it was another killerific performance by the quintet.

Image & Content Courtesy: Indiecision.com