The Perlich Post: October 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

RIP Terry Callier, 1945-2012

The Stepkids light up The Drake Sunday

After playing a short set opening for Kimbra at the Danforth Music Hall last night, Connecticut's Stepkids will get to stretch out with a headlining gig at The Drake tonight (with Slakadeliqs opening at 9 pm) where the Stones Throw signees will be better able showcase the strengths of the group's three singer/songwriters. “A lot of what excites us about this band is this band itself,” says bassist and keyboardist Dan Edinberg. “It’s not either of us; it’s about creating an entity where the entity itself is what’s important.” As a result, every song on the Stepkids self-titled debut album is written with equal input from each member. “All three of us write and all three of us sing,” says Jeff Gitelman, who resigned from touring as Alicia Keys' guitarist to concentrate full-time on recording the Stepkids self-titled debut album. Drummer Tim Walsh continues, “There's an equal split in the creative process. Any lyric, any melody, any idea could have been done by any of us.”

This approach comes from more than a decade of musical experimentation and experience. Raised on the East Coast jazz and R&B circuit, individual band members went on to share stages with 50 Cent and Lauryn Hill, tour internationally with indie punk band Zox, score movies and commercials and produce solo albums. The Stepkids groove is an amalgam of punk and jazz, West African and 1960s folk, electro-soul and old school R&B, deep funk and modern classical.

The band produce, engineer and record themselves on a reel-to-reel. There’s no singular icon, no singular sound, and no singular way of making it happen for the Stepkids. It’s psychedelia for the 21st century, where the focus is on the whole.

"Sweet Salvation" is the first single off The Stepkids forthcoming album Troubadour (due in 2013), and the title of their new 4-track 12-inch, Sweet Salvation EP. The video was directed by Jesse Mann who helped develop the Stepkids' light show and continues to tour with the band as their "fourth member." If you've seen them perform, you'll know why he's considered such an integral part of the Stepkids' concept. Jesse enlisted Big Nazo’s puppets along with friends from his early work in the puppet/prop world for Broadway, TV and Film. Think H.R Pufnstuf with three part harmonies. Have a look...

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Analog Africa dips into Colombian melting pot with pounding new comp

The Colombian Melting Pot: Diablos Del Ritmo 1960-1985
1. Wasamaye – Rock Group
2. Shallcarri – Grupo Abharca
3. Amampondo – Miriam Makenwa
4. Cumbia San Pablera – Grupo Son San
5. El Caterete – Wganda Kenya
6. Eco es Estéreo – La Sonora Dinamita
7. Pájaro Madrugador – Alfredo Gutierrez y sus Estrellas
8. Lumbalú – Calixto Ochoa y Los Papaupas
9. Itácole – Son Palenque
10. Quiero a mi gente – Abelardo Carbonó

Listen to Lucas Silva discussing The Colombia Melting Pot compilation on this Spanish language podcast and check out a couple of tracks below:

Lumbalú by Calixto Ochoa y Los Papaupas

Schallcarri by Grupo Abharca

Busca la Careta - Andrés Landero

Bajo El Trupillo Guajiro by Sexteto Manaure

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Jack Black stars in epic OFF! music video

OFF! - Wrong with Jack Black

Abdominal's Sitting Music release party @ Supermarket tonight – stream the new album!

Exceptionally skilled Toronto hip hop MC Abdominal is celebrating the release of his well-chilled Sitting Music (Pinwheel Music) album with the Obliques at Supermarket tonight. Laidback and largely acoustic yes, but the personally revealing performances of Abs still swing hard thanks in no small part to the on-point support of guitarist Andrew Frost and percussionist Colin Kingsmore.

Along with a sharp shout-out to Buffalo's famed Anchor Bar on A Brief History of the Chicken Wing and a fiercely flowing collabo with Jurassic 5's Chali 2na on Balance Both, the album also features a hip hop first: a mother/son rap duet on track Courage which you can hear by following this link to the full album stream of Sitting Music. And check out the Abs interview conducted by Vish Khanna below...