From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V13 #358 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, January 3 2008 Volume 13 : Number 358 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Notable norwegian releases in 2007 [Yngve Hauge ] Re: Efterklang, Espers & some recommendations on decent freak-folk & folktronica [Timothy Jones-Yelvington ] Re: Just a little question about 2007 [morayati@email.unc.edu] Re: Who is Basia Bulat? ["Paul Blair" ] Re: Who is Basia Bulat? [meredith ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 00:39:19 +0100 From: Yngve Hauge Subject: Notable norwegian releases in 2007 Hi you all, For those not keeping track of norwegian releases I'll list a few (I'll come back with more later) ... Ane Brun - Live in Scandinavia I've always loved her studio recordings, but she is amazing live. Katharina Nuttall - This Is How I Feel She is known for her work on Ane Brun's recordings, but solo she is just amazing. Hopefully she is gonna release more beyond her debut. Probably my favorite album released in 2007. Anne Marie Almedal - The Siren And The Sage This is her first album solo and what an album it is. For those into Velvet Belly it is a must have. Unni Wilhelmsen - Til Meg Unni's first album with norwegian lyrics. The music is way too good for those not knowing the language not to appriciate. - -- Yngve ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:17:51 -0600 From: Timothy Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: Efterklang, Espers & some recommendations on decent freak-folk & folktronica I was sort of underwhelmed by "Knives Don't Have Your Back" when it first came out, maybe b/c it was a sound in which I was already feeling sort of oversaturated. But it's a serious grower. The melodies are a lot more haunting and sturdier than you realize upon first listen. And whenever they come up on shuffle, I'm always transfixed. My favorite is "Crowd Surf off a Cliff." On 1/2/08 3:14 PM, "Leonora Christina Skov" wrote: > Hi there, > > I have listened to Efterklang and Espers for a couple of years now and > especially Efterklang is highly recommended  and not only because they're > Danish ;-) In a way the sound is pretty similar to that of Sigur Rss, but > Efterklang is a ten-piece ensemble and their albums are more orchestrated with > strings and horns and male/female voices that blend effortlessly with the > instrumental arrangements. Don't expect any traditional songwriting here. All > their albums are very ambitious, though I tend to prefer their debut Tripper > over their later material. Tripper is just so inspired and beautiful. > > Espers is freak-folk and personally I prefer Orion Rigel Domisse who released > her debut album on Espers' new label Language of Stone earlier this year. It's > produced by Greg Weeks from Espers and it's a true danse macabre with cello, > harp, violin, vibraphone, keyboards and Orion Rigel's high whisper of a voice > all over the place. On top of it all the lyrics are very dark, sometimes even > freaked out. For instance there are four titles with the word 'death' in them > (Fake Yer Death, A Faceless Death, Suicide Kiss (Because Dead) and Drink > Yourself (to Death)) but it works for her. Like Marissa Nadler and Fern Knight > she really succeeds in creating a universe that recalls Angela Carter's The > Bloody Chamber and similar neo-goth masterpieces. A reviewer called her style > "a new kind of goth for the morbidly romantic" and I totally agree. While I > have heard several bands that remind me of Espers I have never heard a sound > like Orion Rigel's. > > Oh, and by the way, if you're into folktronica and like Tunng you should check > out Psapp, especially their debut Tiger, My Friend. The tracks are simple yet > multilayered, combining conventional instruments, traditional song structure > and sultry female vocals (by Galia Durant) with madcap sounds like whirrs, > music boxes, bells, whistles, what sounds like a rubber duck on "Rear Moth" > and a cat purring on "About Fun." An infectious and highly original collection > of glitch-pop goes blip electro. Very accessible and good fun. And then, of > course, there are CocoRosie, Mzm, and Colleen's masterpiece Everyone Alive > Wants Answers. And Lali Puna, the German folktronica band. I only know their > 2004-release Faking the Books which is a combination of lo-fi electronics, > live instruments and lush female vocals (by Valerie Trebeljahr). Obviously, > the band is quite inspired by My Bloody Valentine with plenty of guitar > right-hooks and garage drum workouts and while I find Lali Puna a bit too > noisy at times I really enjoy their quieter moments that share a great > repetitive quality and that extra edge. > > Finally: I can't recall if you have already discussed Emily Haines and the > Soft Skeletons here on Ecto?! I'm listening to her 2006-release Knives Don't > Have Your Back right now and it's a splendid and remarkably quiet > singer/songwriter-disc. Especially in comparison to her work with Metric. It > takes a few listens to sink in - which is a good thing, in my opinion. I > expect to be listening to this for quite a while. > > Thanks a lot for your lists of favourite music this year. I have so many new > artists to explore.. > > Cheers, > Leonora > > "My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist" (Bette > Davis) > Forfatter, mag.art. Leonora Christina Skov > H.C. Xrsteds Vej 35, 3.tv., 1879 Frb. C. Tlf 38 19 03 81 / 26 85 67 27 > > > > www.leonorachristinaskov.blogspot.com > www.leonoraschoice.blogspot.com > > >> Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 11:26:08 -0800> From: silme13@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: > My favourite music of 2007> To: ecto@smoe.org> > --- neile > wrote:> > > My favourite musical discoveries:> > * Tunng> > * Efterklang> > * > Espers> > * Lisa Knapp> > * Rachel Unthank and the Winterset> > * The > McCarricks> > * Bellowhead> > Neil, I'm with you on Tunng, Lisa Knapp, Rachel> > Unthank and Bellowhead. I don't know the other groups,> so I should seek them > out. I saw all four live in 2007> and was very impressed by them. Rachel > Unthank and the> Winterset, in particular, put on a fantastic live> show. (We > saw them with Devon Sproule opening, so it> was a wonderful night.) Both Lisa > Knapp and Rachel> Unthank and the Winterset are up for some Folk Awards.> > > Another UK folkie-type discovery I made this year is> Steve Tilston's > daughter, Martha. Good stuff that> woman. > > > > > > (No, Happy isn't on > either of these lists. _Find Me_> > just isn't my kind of> > music. While > _Warpaint_ and _Many Worlds_ are among> > my favourite albums> > _ever_, _Find > Me_ just doesn't work for me. Believe> > me, no one is sorrier> > than I am > about this.)> > Me too, me too. I like some aspects of 'Find Me', but> > overall, I'm more into her earlier albums. I'm sorry,> I really am. I first > listened to it in the car on a> road trip, and my husband, whose musical > tastes are> very similar to mine, was rather unsure about it --> liking her > voice a lot (he's not familiar with Happy),> but not thrilled with the > production. Oh well. :(> > Ellen > _________________________________________________________________ > Fe styr pe dine billeder gratis med Windows Live Billedgalleri > www.windowslive.dk/billedgalleri ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:24:57 -0600 From: Timothy Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: Just a little question about 2007 Ooh.... Good one. The last month of 2007, I actually went into scary year-end list mode and started replaying my top 11 in order to settle on rankings. Which is kind of freakish I guess. I'll own that I have a disease. But I think I listened to Meshell Ndegeocello and Nellie McKay's releases the most, b/c they were the freshest. I also had a little bit of a Roisin Murphy's "Overpowered" kick... Not my favorite album of the year (not as wild and creative as "Ruby Blue"), but a fun one to "get ready" while playing -- and I had a few holiday parties to prepare for. I also had a weird Tegan and Sara's "The Con" kick in the very last week of December. Maybe I needed some good pop-punk dyke angst. "The Con" is my favorite Tegan & Sara album I've heard. I still don't think they're singular or inventive enough to be great Artists with a capital A, but they make really solid pop music for smart people, and their sound is a lot more distinctive than it was back when they were another Melissa Ferricky dyke-folk soundalike. ~tim On 1/2/08 3:36 PM, "Yngve Hauge" wrote: > I did start and give up on several best of lists for 2007 as I did for 2006. > The problem for me is that I have a huge problem picking something over other > somethings. > > I got a little question to you all though: > > Which album or albums did you play the most the last month of 2007? > > For me it was Over the Rhine Trumpet Child and Snow Angels (the last one is a > kinda obvious choice kinda like :) > > -- Yngve ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:29:26 -0600 From: Timothy Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: My favourite music of 2007 There actually aren't any tracks on Volta that I dislike, and I think parts of it are really wild and inventive and awesome. I'm especially fond of the songs with "Antony" from Antony and the Johnsons. It's not a year-end lister for me because it swings to spastically between up-tempo and down, and I prefer albums that arc. Also... And maybe this is the pretentious elitist in me, but I find after a series of really sculpted, high-concept, high-art recordings by Bjork (Medulla, the Matthew Barney score, etc.), I find it hard to take a less deliberate, less artful project as seriously. ~tim On 1/2/08 3:58 PM, "morayati@email.unc.edu" wrote: >> Not as interesting as I hoped: >> Bjork's Volta and Christine Fellows' Nevertheless. Both are among my >> favourite artists and neither of these are bad albums, it's just that both >> have shown in previous albums how much more interesting they can be. > > A lot of people seem to be disappointed by Volta. I didn't put a > 'disappointments' section on my "best of 2007" list but it'd be there > for me too. I've heard several of the tracks and they all have one > thing in common, which is that they did nothing for me. Everything I > read gushed in particular about Earth Intruders, the single, which was > alternatingly tuneless and irritating to my ears. Perhaps I just need > to listen to the whole thing a few times to get it, but I have too many > albums on my "to-buy" list right now to buy something that's currently > batting 0. > > -Sarah ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 19:42:40 -0800 From: Joshua Yu Burnett Subject: Re: Efterklang, Espers & some recommendations on decent freak-folk & folktronica On Jan 2, 2008, at 1:14 PM, Leonora Christina Skov wrote: > Finally: I can't recall if you have already discussed Emily Haines > and the > Soft Skeletons here on Ecto?! I'm listening to her 2006-release > Knives Don't > Have Your Back right now and it's a splendid and remarkably quiet > singer/songwriter-disc. Especially in comparison to her work with > Metric. It > takes a few listens to sink in - which is a good thing, in my > opinion. I > expect to be listening to this for quite a while. Emily Haines also released an EP in 2007, called What Is Free To A Good Home? It's pretty similar to the full-length album, but it has a couple of very nice songs, so if you like the full-length album, it's worth picking up. It's one of several EPs released last year I quite liked, along with ones by Flight of the Conchords, The Rentals, and Sea Wolf. Oh, and the All Songs Considered podcast also broadcasted an Emily Haines concert a while back - I assume it's still available. If so, it's definitely worth the download. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 23:09:25 -0500 From: "Paul Blair" Subject: Who is Basia Bulat? I'm seeing a Basia Bulat on the schedule at Joe's Pub in NYC for Thursday 1/10. I've never heard of her before, but the clip they have up sounds very promising: http://web.joespub.com/caltool/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&performanceID=3663 She's from London, Ontario. Sheesh, it's almost like anyone can just say, "I make music and I'm from Canada" and I'll say "I love you." She'll also be (among other places) at Schubas in Chicago Feb 7, then on the West Coast in the middle of February, and at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia on Feb. 28th, and at New York's Bowery Ballroom with St. Vincent on Feb. 29th. http://www.basiabulat.com/ http://myspace.com/basiamyspace Anyone know anything else about her? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:57:05 -0500 From: morayati@email.unc.edu Subject: Re: Just a little question about 2007 American Doll Posse, probably. It's a great collection of songs. - -Sarah > On 1/2/08 3:36 PM, "Yngve Hauge" wrote: > >> I did start and give up on several best of lists for 2007 as I did for 2006. >> The problem for me is that I have a huge problem picking something >> over other >> somethings. >> >> I got a little question to you all though: >> >> Which album or albums did you play the most the last month of 2007? >> >> For me it was Over the Rhine Trumpet Child and Snow Angels (the last >> one is a >> kinda obvious choice kinda like :) >> >> -- Yngve ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 23:30:45 -0500 From: "Paul Blair" Subject: Re: Who is Basia Bulat? Whoa. Listening to "Little Waltz" on her MySpace page I thought I was listening to Susan McKeown. http://myspace.com/basiamyspace On Jan 2, 2008 11:09 PM, Paul Blair wrote: > I'm seeing a Basia Bulat on the schedule at Joe's Pub in NYC for > Thursday 1/10. I've never heard of her before, but the clip they have > up sounds very promising: > > http://web.joespub.com/caltool/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&performanceID=3663 > > She's from London, Ontario. Sheesh, it's almost like anyone can just > say, "I make music and I'm from Canada" and I'll say "I love you." > > She'll also be (among other places) at Schubas in Chicago Feb 7, then > on the West Coast in the middle of February, and at the Tin Angel in > Philadelphia on Feb. 28th, and at New York's Bowery Ballroom with St. > Vincent on Feb. 29th. > > http://www.basiabulat.com/ > http://myspace.com/basiamyspace > > Anyone know anything else about her? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:14:07 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: Who is Basia Bulat? Hi, Paul Blair wrote: > She's from London, Ontario. Sheesh, it's almost like anyone can just > say, "I make music and I'm from Canada" and I'll say "I love you." *snerk* I suffer from the same affliction. Seriously, it's like there's something in the water up there. (I have actually been introduced as "my friend who loves all those Canadian singers".) Haven't heard of this one, though -- I shall have to rectify that. - -- =============================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =============================================== hear at the HOMe House Concert Series http://hom.smoe.org =============================================== ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V13 #358 ***************************