This Is Book's Music

Sene is here to test your limits, and I really think he’s also here to test his own. His music is about going beyond any level of limits, and he does this in the video made for his track “Backboards”, which features Blu.

t=”254″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/2tMFalvTq1A” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>
The video for “Footprints” is a very simple approach, but for Sene, it works quite well. Watch the video, and there are no hidden meanings: what you see is what you get. Then let the song simmer for you.

“Sisterly” is the brand new digital single by Fang Island on Sargent House, and if you get it, the B-side is a remix by the awesome Anamanaguchi. If you think the mixture of Fang Island and Anamanaguchi seems odd, you can take a listen to it here and find out for yourself.

The single is a preview of the band’s forthcoming Major album due out on July 24th, and with the album comes a tour that will take them… well, places. See what places they’ll be:

July 19 Danbury, CT @ Heirloom Arts Theatre (w/ The Hold Steady)
July 20 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
July 21 Philadelphia, PA @ Morgan’s Pier
July 22 Washington DC @ U Street Music Hall
July 23 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
July 25 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
July 26 Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot – Pike Room
July 27 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
July 28 Chicago, IL @ Wicker Park Music Festival
July 29 St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
July 30 Kansas City, MO @ Czar Bar *
August 1 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *
August Salt Lake City, UT @ Vertigo *
August 3 Boise, ID @ Neurolux *
August 4 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre *
August 5 Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile *
August 7 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall *
August 10 Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour *!
August 11 San Diego, CA @ TBA *!
August 12 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room *!
August 13 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *!
August 14 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad *!
August 16 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada !
August 17 Austin, TX @ Mohawk !
August 18 Volente, TX @ Beachfront Boat Studios
August 19 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live – Studio !
August 20 New Orleans, LA @ Parish at House of Blues !
August 21 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree !
August 22 Gainesville, FL @ Double Down Live !
August 23 St. Petersburg, FL @ The Local 662 !
August 24 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits !
August 25 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade !
August 26 Asheville, NC @ Asheville Music Hall !
August 28 Raleigh, NC @ Kings !
August 29 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter !
August 30 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg !

* w/ Zechs Marquise
! w/ Adebisi Shank

His cover artwork has Sébastien Tellier looking like a holy man, but his music… well, it would be easy for him to reach higher plateaus if he wanted to, and he does so with a brilliant looking video for his track “Russian Attractions”.

AMPP: Return Of The Groovebox is not only a new album by d.o.n., but it seems to be a continuation and appreciation of the kind of gritty hip-hop that sounds as rough and raw as something someone made down the street, but can sound more powerful than what you might hear on the radio or TV.

I think the subtitle Return Of The Groovebox is a slight indication as to what it might sound like: going back to basics, going back to the basement, going back and seeing how old tools of music creativity can be used to make the music of today. d.o.n. used the Roland MC-505 Groovebox to create the entire album, and while not considered a tool of most hip-hop production, it was one of his first ways to make music. The end result is a satisfying album that shows no matter how you do it or what you use, you can still make some hot music when you put your mind in to it. All of these tracks sound like they were recorded on and mastered to cassette, and without samples or recognizable hooks, d.o.n. relies on his lyrics and his creativity to show that it can be done. For some listeners, it may very well remind them of their first experiences with hip-hop music and why they were floored by it, perhaps for the feel of the words, the way sounds collided with one another, or it becoming some people’s first taste of minimalism. It might remind people of the hybrid of music that came out in the late 80′s/early 90′s when dance/techno/house artists were using hip-hop style production to push themselves, and hip-hop tried a bit of house to get their music to a wider audience by exploring the dance floor. It sounds like the origins of hip-hop’s own exploration, and it’s nice for that to be continued on in 2012.

Some grimey shit from the UK, this is the brand new video by Fem Fel, who brings on Splurgeboys for a delight to the ears and eyes with “Frigid”.

CAUTION: Some of the images in this video include:
1) pound notes
2) women kissing a bottle of Crystal Head Vodka
3) lingerie
4) women gyrating figure eights with their buttocks

Can you handle it? Welcome in.

There is a holy trinity of guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck, which came about because they were all members of The Yardbirds. Depending on who you favor, there are some who will say Beck got the raw end of the deal. Yet when you ask diehard Beck junkies, they’ll tell you that he and his guitar work will outshine everyone else, including those within that “trinity”. One of the more celebrated album’s in Beck’s career is the fourth album by the Jeff Beck Group. The self-titled album, which at this time featured Bob Tench on vocals, Clive Chaman on bass, Max Middleton on piano, and the immortal Cozy Powell on drums, was merely a continuation of what Beck and his band had been doing since Truth, his post-Yardbirds album that introduced visual twins Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to the world. That album was a blues rock masterpiece that many fans consider to be a huge influence on many hard rock and heavy metal bands primarily because of Beck’s incredible work. Check out their version of “I Ain’t Superstitious” for how great they all worked together. Truth kept Beck in the scope for many years. Both Stewart and Wood stayed for another album before Stewart deciding to branch out on his own, and Wood eventually becoming a member of The Faces. In time, Stewart and Wood would unite once more.

By the time 1972 came around, Led Zeppelin were one of the biggest bands in the world with the success of their (untitled 4th album), and fans were waiting for Clapton to return with great music during a time he was having issues with heroin. He would return a year later with the Rainbow Concerts. Some felt Beck was at his peak, but he would show fans that he was far from reaching the top, and offered up a record that known by some as “the orange album” due to an orange that is shown on the front cover. Unlike the first three albums, this album was recorded in Memphis with producer Steve Cropper, known for his guitar work and extensive songwriting within the Stax Records empire. Some weren’t sure if Cropper’s collaborative powers would work, but again, Beck showed everyone what he and Cropper had to offer.

The album has held up incredibly well, continuing to bring young guitarists into the chemistry everyone had in the studio. It would become the last album The Jeff Beck Group would record before Beck helped to form Beck, Bogert & Appice, which would eventually lead to a series of albums that made Beck a force to be reckoned with not only among blues and rock guitarists, but for the growing jazz fusion movement at the time.

Audio Fidelity just released this pressing on 200g audiophile vinyl, beautifully remastered by Kevin Gray.

The passing of Levon Helm left a number of being devastated because of the influence he and his music had on their lives. As a longtime member of The Band, his drumming, voice, and lyrics moved a generation, as if it was a familial “passing of the torch”, that metaphorical “handing down” of words, traditions, and emotions that felt common in music years ago.

Canadian Buck 65 honors his country’s favorite band by honoring the man who was the group’s only member from the United States. It was Helm who formed the group, and while they did not become an immediate hit, they were a favorite among many until they called it a day in 1976. Perhaps through this song, Buck 65 will make it possible to pass down the power and influence of Helm and the music of The Band.