what will we be

heard this playing in amoeba, apparently the guy is from california. when it came on the speakers, i thought, "wow, this sounds like a follow-up to windsurf's 'coastlines.'" according to his myspace thing, it is indeed the same bloke that makes this music. it seems that hatchback + sorcerer = windsurf. how about that. a simple lil' equation for ya.

sorcerer - neon leon


sorcerer - algorhythm
sorcerer - chemise
sorcerer - el condor
hatchback - closer to forever
hatchback - white diamond
windsurf - pocket check
windsurf - future warriors

gaslamp killer is another amoeba pick. this guy is also making music in california; more specifically, he's located somewhere around los angeles. more good mashup sampling and dark mixing styles happening here. "all killer" is one track yielding just under an hour of music that will make your head nod affirmatively. "hell and the lake of fire" is broken into five tracks and runs like a precursor to his newer stuff. not quite as fluid, but choppy beatmaking has its place, too.

the gaslamp killer - all killer


the gaslamp killer - hell and the lake of fire are waiting for you


the gaslamp killer - part 3


5: 5 years of hyperdub (cd 1)


black chow - purple smoke
quarta 330 - bleeps from outer space
zomby - tarantula

5: 5 years of hyperdub (cd 2))


burial - south london boroughs
burial - distant lights

on a radically brighter note: ralfi pagan knows what's up. he will get your hips a'shakin', and may lure you into his bedroom if you're not paying close attention to his flouncing ways.

ralfi pagan - with love (1972)


ralfi pagan - mi chamaco
ralfi pagan - to say i love you
ralfi pagan - make it with you

closely related: michael ian black - captain's blog

been waiting on the new devendra for a while now. it does not disappoint. his music always speaks for itself, whether it's intolerably goofy or intolerably heart wrenching. i like a singing guitarist who's in touch with more than just his emotions, and devendra covers that base with grace. this has been on repeat since i acquired it last week. "what will we be" holds my attention longer than his previous "smokey rolls down thunder canyon." the latter is very scatterbrained and hops from one theme to the next and across disparate genres at the drop of a hat. it's a fun listen, but doesn't hold my attention from start to finish on a standard run-through. this new album feels like a longer, more focused glimpse into a slightly more experienced devendra, if not a more mature banhart. at the end of the day, i just enjoy the muck out of the noise made by devendra & co. i've yet to be significantly disappointed by anything he's piloted.

devendra banhart - what will we be


though every song is legit dy-no-mite, and one link in an unbreakable devendralbum chain, here are SOME standouts:

devendra banhart - angelika, this guy's getting into the habit of weaving differently shaped and sized themes through a commonly threaded song, and i approve wholeheartedly. "la lágrima en tu corazón / suéltala, suéltala, mi amor." devendra comforts me poetically and bilingually.

devendra banhart - chin chin & muck muck, one of the goofier tracks on the album, this song sings like a story of two hyperstrange friends who are perfect for one another. any tune that analogizes thoughts with hairs on a wild boar's head (and continues the conceit over multiple verses) is a friend to me.

devendra banhart - rats, this record's seahorse.

devendra banhart - walilamdzi, listening to this song is to contemplate devendra's most powerfully delicate composition since korean dogwood. it takes my mind to another place, and it's so lush with soft beauty that i never want to leave.