Showing posts with label surf rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surf rock. Show all posts

Friday, July 28, 2023

SadGirl - Water

Suicide Squeeze: 2019

”So [Vol. 3 – Head To The Mountains] wasn't what I expected or hoped for, not really convincing me SadGirl was actually a contemporary surf rock band. And yet, I still went and ordered their debut album, Water. Go figure.”

Flash forward nearly four years later, and here I am, finally reviewing the darn thing! If you ever wanted an idea of how backed up my queue has gotten, that's as good an indicator as any. I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother with the alphabetical stipulation at all. Like, it was a handy bit of organization when I was initially going through my original music collection, a definitive end-point to work towards. Now that that's done and dusted, however, what real need for it is there? Legacy? Maintaining a gimmick well past its usefulness? What I'm getting at is, for all practical purposes, shouldn't I now review items I get as I get them, rather than let them languish in a 'To-Review' pile for years, long after their 'hot on the streets' drop dates have cooled? Mind, if I was doing that, I'd probably still be going through all those goa trance CDs I bought earlier this year. Yeah, maybe let's keep things as are for now...

Anyhow, SadGirl. The band was tapped by Bandcamp as one of the nu-surf scene's ascendant acts, and at the time, they certainly seemed primed as such. A run of solid singles with eye-popping artwork, a debut album primed for launch... What could go wrong? Oh, yeah, that whole pandemic thing. That would stall any musical career dependent upon live shows for sustainability, and it seems SadGirl stalled indeed, nothing new released for a couple years now. Maybe they'll reconvene for a comeback, but as it stands, Water remains their lone LP.

They don't waste any time letting you know you're in for 'life's a beach' vibes either. Opener The Ocean immediately drops you into a lazy, hazy, dreamy bit of echo-drenched croon, organs swaying and electric guitars sliding. Follow-up Chlorine gets more into the cabaret side of classic rockabilly, while instrumental Hazelnut Coffee may have your Khruangbin triggers flaring. If you have any Khruangbin triggers to flare in the first place, that is. Y'know, the sort of easy-peasy tiki lounge jam music best enjoyed while laying in a hammock, frilly drink in hand.

Water mostly flits about such songs for its duration, unashamed in its ultra-retro aesthetic, never upping the tempo to more than a lukewarm simmer. I guess that doesn't really make it a proper surf rock album, even though you can't help but be reminded of endless waves as the sun sets below the distant ocean horizon. Forever remembering those loves lost, drifting somewhere out at sea while you remain landlocked and moribund. Oh yeah, the metaphors on this album are rather blunt and obvious, but hey, it is a surf record, a genre of music that was seldom ever subtle in execution.

Saturday, September 3, 2022

La Luz - La Luz

Hardly Art: 2021

It feels weird being invested in a contemporary rock band. Heck, any rock band, come to think of it. Yeah, I've done discography dives on many, but almost none have intrigued me enough to scope out their full catalogues, much less keep tabs on every new release. Like, here I was, on the edge of my seat, wondering whatever would La Luz do about the departure of drummer Marian Li Pino? Oh, that pandemic thingy put a hold on all that anyway, so don't have to worry about it just yet.

So La Luz was on hiatus, lead singer and guitarist Shana Cleveland whiling the downtime doing some solo work. When I heard the group had finally reconvened after such a long absence, I was honest and truly excited to hear how they were going to move forward, especially who the drummer would be. Holy cow, I'm excited about a rock band's new drummer! What a strange sensation this is!

Then I was thrown for a complete loop and a half when I heard it was Adrian Younge. Wait... waitwaitwait! That Adrian Younge? The ultra-talented funk-n-soul jazz musician? The one who produced those fantastic Ghostface Killah and Souls Of Mischief albums? That Adrian Younge!? How on Earth did he get involved working with an all-lady psychedelic surf rock band? This is a 'Worlds Colliding!' pairing I never would have dreamed of, yet here it is, within my hands, La Luz' latest, self-titled album with the two least expected genres of music merging together. Well, unless you count 'psychedelia' as a bit of glue.

And while this is unmistakably a La Luz album, Mr. Younge's influence definitely is felt, especially on the rhythmic end of things. I don't think I've ever heard Lena Simon's bass playing given such prominence before, and there's no mistaking those drum tones as anything other than an Adrian Younge joint. Incidentally, these were performed by Riley Geare, the drummer for an indie psych-rock band called Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and a definite dude (that much beard gives it away). I assume he just happened to be in the neighbourhood when Adrian and Luz went into the studio to record this album, as he's not listed as the group's official new drummer on Wikipedia, she currently being Audrey Johnson. Aww, just missed the recording sessions, I guess.

Meanwhile, it's clear keyboardist Alice Sandahl was encouraged to 'jazz' up her playing, and I'm all for it. This includes adding more instruments to her arsenal, such as Mellotron, harpsichord, and... cowbell? Heck, you should see the amount of extra instruments Shana brought in: steel guitar, 12-string guitar, sitar. In typical Younge fashion, no instrument is left off the table!

Which unsurprisingly leaves La Luz a fair bit more funky than some might expect, but never to the loss of a general dream pop and psychedelic soul vibe. The core essence of a La Luz record is here, just with a lot more studio indulgence than past outings.

Saturday, May 22, 2021

La Luz - Floating Features

Hardly Art: 2018

And so we come to a conclusion in my little excursion into the world of surf rock. As my music collection currently stands, I've no more items waiting in the never-ending queue, and it's appropriate La Luz brings things to a finale. They were the first band introducing me in my initial wanderings into 'nu-surf', and with the dust all settled, remain my favourite of all my samplings. Just a shame the band's been stuck on hiatus these past few years.

Of course, it's not their fault, the 2020 Pandemic putting a halt on the careers of many musicians. Small, underground artists especially felt the crunch, and while band leader Shana Cleveland did release a solo folk album in the interim, one hopes this forced interlude hasn't put a permanent mothballing of Lu Luz. There's only so many 'retro dream pop by way of contemporary surf rock' all-women bands out there.

More so, their last album was showing some growth in musicianship, leading to potentially fascinating avenues in the future. I've mentioned before the band's version of surf rock wasn't really what you'd think of traditional, in that their aesthetic didn't always reflect southern California vibes. For sure there's the dream pop attributes, but location more often than not influences art, and La Luz' Pacifc northwest heritage could not be ignored (erm, especially if you're intimately familiar with the lands). With Floating Features, the band looked to shake off some of that greytone, fully embracing the summery Cali sound, with a sprinkle of psychedelia.

You can just feel it from the opening few tracks on the album, things just a little on edge even as the production is more expansive than ever. The titular instrumental opener is big and strident, letting you know you're in for an adventure in sun-baked clime's rather than insular coastal forests, while follow-up Cicada quickens the pace some, sparing no space in the reverb. Loose Teeth gets fuzzier and full of guitar grit, and Mean Dream... Well, it sounds more like traditional mellow La Luz, but the music video certainly dips deep into retro substance shenanigans. Blacklights will never grow old.

Much of Floating Features carries on various dream rock vibes, Lonely Dozer and Don't Leave Me On The Earth the only other times things get 'surfy'. It's honestly hard pegging this album as surf rock though, as the reverb is much more vast than the frenetic shredding of the genre could allow. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some folks get turned off by the grand sonics on display. It's certainly far removed from the basic garage production of earlier La Luz, but the song-writing is still top notch.

Whether we'll get another La Luz album remains to be seen. There were some personnel changes before everything was put on hold, but I can't imagine this being a final outing. Shana Cleveland seems far too motivated to end a band just because a global virus stalled momentum.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

La Luz - Weirdo Shrine

Hardly Art: 2015

Just how '60s retro did La Luz intend to initially go anyway? For sure you had the dreamy, psychedelic pop overtures and the surf rock nods, but the band's debut album didn't completely sell you on being there, in the era of mini-skirts and beehive hairdos. Which is understandable, La Luz undoubtedly concerned they'd seem more of a gimmick if they went all The B-52's with their presentation. They were already battling assumptions being an all-girl band to begin with. The indie rock scene is already a difficult one to crack with that feature over-hanging, so no need to complicating matters with pageantry. Get in, establish your stylee, then expand if the results turn successful.

I guess that's why I feel like La Luz' sophomore effort, Weirdo Shrine, hits so many similar beats as their debut, It's Alive, but does it all better. These gals are more assured of what their music can be, tighter as a unit, fully embracing the dream-surf rock jams such that they sound more attuned to the decade they're drawing influence from. It's to such a point that they even included chintzy 3-D glasses into the package, with art that pops at you from the second dimension! Well, kinda'. I don't think these glasses fit my face too good, seemingly made for petite ladies. Like, the little doggo figurine in the assemblage of knickknacks forming the inlay's weirdo shrine looks well removed from the pile, but not much else. To say nothing of the lack of depth from the hands playing cat's cradle on the cover. Maybe it works better with the larger vinyl canvas.

Anyhow, Weirdo Shrine opens with the dream pop of Sleep Till They Die as felt being sunkissed by California shores, then kicks out the surf jam right after with You Disappear. Okay, not a 'pure' surf jam, since this is still an actual song with actual lyrics and stuff, but its hard not to feel the waves beneath your plank of fibreglass as the splashy guitar reverb hits when it kicks off. And speaking of reverb, is it just me, or do the vocals sound more airy as well? Like, everything just has a richer texture about it, my ears breathing in the resonance as guitars and drums and organs sound both up front and distant as a canyon's walls.

It feels weird(o) to say this next: I'm not sure if there's anything else I can say about Weirdo Shrine. Detail all eleven tracks by track? So, Don't Wanna Be Anywhere does that Khruangbin loungey thing. I Can't Speak and I'll Be True slow things down, while I Wanna Be Alone and the titular song pep things up. Hey Papi and Oranges are the token instrumentals, while True Love Knows is the sort of ballad you can imagine swaying back and forth with your sweetie in your arms, as the malt shop nears closing. Mush, but eh, I'm sure I'll be able to relate again, one of these days.

Thursday, October 1, 2020

ACE TRACKS: September 2020

Time for another round of Sykonee Vs The Work Radio. Today's case study features what happens when being transferred to a brand new location with the station defaulted to the most modern music you can play for a clientele of all ages, but secretly wanting that younger, affluent demographic. Logic dictates it'll be pop music, with a heavy favouritism towards timeless hits of the '80s and '90s, but that's old people music now. You need something that connects with millennials, and hoo boy, do they love 'em some Marshmello. Or so whomever is in charge of curating these work radio playlists assumes.

That wouldn't be the worst of it though. Oh no, our mysterious taste-maker knows we can't subsist on a steady diet of Marshmello forever. There's just too much nutritious '80s and '90s pop to ignore, but we can't have the originals playing - it'd make Marshmello sound bad. Somehow, then, our faceless music merchant has found modern covers of all the old hits, and by modern, I mean tropical house remixes, with the occasional Ed Sheeran-style acoustic ditty thrown in. I'm honestly more flabbergasted and even a touch bemused by the fact there exists such an extensive library of this music now, enough to fill a contemporary pop playlist.

Needless to say, this stuff was rapidly annoying as all hell, but fortunately, I got my hands on the music feed (re: was asked to install some additional wiring, because I'm apparently The Guy who knows how to do such things). And while I couldn't change the music selection (don't have that authority), I did adjust all the volumes so it wasn't so blaring in the areas that it mattered. Where I can play my own stuff on my own portable speakers, away from discerning ears. Oh yes, there's a party in the Sykonee work corner! Even playing music as found in September's collection of ACE TRACKS!


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
RX-101 - Like Yesterday
Buttertones - Midnight In A Moonless Dream

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 0%
Percentage Of Rock: 36%
Most “WTF?” Track: Sunscreem - Love U More, just for *that* lyric.

Is this the highest percentage of rock music we've ever had in one of these playlists? Maybe when I did that Neil Young boxset, there was more, or perhaps when I took on a sizeable chunk of Ishkur's CD collection from his angsty rock teenage years. Aside from that though, yes, I do believe it is. And how could it not, what with two offerings of Viking metal and two offerings of surf rock. Heck, could have been three of the latter, if the band hadn't deep-sixed their prospects with awful behaviour.

Saturday, September 19, 2020

Tijuana Panthers - Max Baker

Innovative Leisure Records: 2010/2015

It was bound to happen sooner than later. As much as you'll find throwbacks and homages to the genre throughout the decades, surf rock is just too niche a style for any modern band to make hay playing only that genre. Heck, it was lucrative for a mere half-decade to begin with, and while five years in '60s time is, like, eleven years in modern time (somehow), it's so intimately tied to a specific setting that a lasting rebirth simply can't happen again. Even Bandcamp, the last refuge for any band or musician who just don't give an f' so long as their craft is out there, freely admitted that its surf rock recommendations quickly disintegrate into indie pop or garage rock standards, some included bands barely touching the vintage shredding instrumentals with splashy reverb.

Tijuana Panthers fall into this category, a three-piece band having far more in common with Violent Femmes than anything Dick Dale turned out. On the other hand, their lyrical content sure brings to mind the simpler antics of teenagers hanging out at malt shoppes than all d'at angst of later generations. Never before has getting a crew cut sounded so daring and rebellious! No, wait, wasn't getting a crew cut the norm of ye golden oldies days? Like, having a mop-top hair-do, or something as scandalous as side-burns, those were the styles that gave young women their sexual awakenings. So is proudly proclaiming you're getting a crew cut an act of preppy defiance, or are Tijuana Panthers just playing up the stereo-type in a modern era? So much contemplation for a song that has a chorus of “I gotta crew cut baby; I gotta crew cut baby; I gotta crew cut baby; I gotta crew cut baby.”

Still, as a band that hails from Long Beach, Tijuana Panthers do bring a 'carefree fun in the sun' vibe to their music (including the song Summer Fun), which was aesthetically part and parcel to surf rock as the shredding and reverb ever was. The Beach Boys continuum, if you will, and this debut album of theirs is brimful of the stuff. Tunes like New Boots, Red Headed Girl, Two Step, and Angie will transplant you to the era of mini-skirts and little deuce coups no problem. If you want something a more 'rebellious' and rockin', however, how about rabble-rousers like This Town, and Girls Gone Wild. And yes, a couple songs do get more proper-surf (for lack of a better term), the aforementioned Summer Fun almost entirely a reverb-heavy instrumental, while Prayer Knees meets things in the middle.

Was Max Baker the sort of album I was after, then? Not really, but I do enjoy it for the time it plays. As mentioned, finding bands who specifically play the specific style of surf I like is a nigh impossible task. If my explorations cross paths with those who dabble though, who am I to complain? Beggers can't be choosers, and all that rot.

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

La Luz - It's Alive

Hardly Art: 2013

That there would be modern bands making early '60 rock music isn't surprising. They've been doing that since the '80s. But while the surfer style has received minor bumps of recognition over the decades (thanks, The B-52's and Quentin Tarantino), it's never seen anything close to a real revival, forever remaining this quirky niche thing. Still, I'd totally expect a band or three to have their stabs at it, and Bandcamp has proven it to be so. What I hadn't counted on was one of those bands – indeed, one of the highest rated ones – would be an all-girl group called La Luz.

And I know that comes off completely sexist on my part, because I honestly did not even consider this could be a thing. A lady or two in a band, sure, no problem, but for whatever reason (one of its originator's being named Dick?), surf rock has forever remained an extremely male-dominated genre of music. What's great about La Luz, though, is they don't come off like a gimmick in the slightest. Yeah, they're a unique quartet in a relatively obscure music scene, but that's just circumstantial. No one would have bat and eye if they'd gone punk or country instead (well, fewer). It just so happened they were into making these kinds of tunes, and the world of dreamy surf jams is all the more richer for it.

I suppose you could say La Luz isn't a strict surf rock band either, blending somewhat into that nebulous indie dream pop world. The vocal harmonies are certainly there, and I'm sometimes reminded of Khruangbin when they slow the tempo down some. And Khruangbin has that 'lazy times in beach-fronted tiki lounges' vibe going for them, which is surf adjacent, right? Gotta' relax after hitting those waves, dude.

Anyhow, that's beside the point. La Luz has a drummer, a bassist, an organier, and a guitar lead with that distinctive 'splashy' reverb you can't help but think of when surf rock comes to mind. Some light shredding too, though obviously nothing to the level of Dick Dale. Nor is there any need for Shana Cleveland to go there, her guitar strums fun and jammy when called upon, while Alice Sandahl gets occasional turns for solos on the organ too. It's Alive breezes by at eleven songs long, flitting between the peppy upbeat rockers and dreamy downtempo ballads. It may be surf rock with modern indie rock overtones, but it still feeds that need of mine to hear-

No, I can't hide it any longer. There's another reason I dig the La Luz style, something entirely geographical. See, they hail from Seattle, which has somehow imparted a rather... foggy aesthetic, I want to say? Like, surf rock typically has a very sunny, southern California feel to it, but listening to this, I imagine the waves of Tofino instead, surrounded my misty mountains overgrown with thick rainforests. Such an easy sell for a West Coast lad like myself, that.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The B-52's - The B-52's

Warner Bros. Records: 1979

I never thought I'd get a The B-52's album. Like so many folks out there (so very many), my first contact with them was via their omnipresent late '80s hit Love Shack. And like everyone else, I loved the song, until I heard it too many times to the point I didn't really want to hear it again. I also recall Kate Pierson's guest spot on REM's Shiny Happy People as being the first time I realized there was such a thing as artist guest spots (“gosh, that lady singing in the chorus sure sounds like the lady singing in Love Shack!”). Following that, there was The Flintstones Theme, which forever marked the band to me as just some cheese-ball, cartoony throwback group. Which, well, was kinda' true, but Cynical Teenager Sykonee thought that a Bad Thing.

Fast forward many years (over a decade?), and I hear Rock Lobster on a classic rock station. And I thinks to myself, I thinks to myself I do, “Wait, is this the same group as who did Love Shack and Flintstones? How can that be, this tune's awesome!” Not that I rushed out to nab more of their music or anything, but it definitely forced a much-needed reassessment of their work, such that when Spotify Discovery discovered me another of their older tunes, I decided it was finally time to do the deed and dig into The B-52's discography proper-like.

While I know pretty nearly anyone reading this blog should know who The B-52's are, they may not know much about them prior to Love Shack (erm, like me, once). They started much earlier than that, forming in the late '70s, getting lumped in with that new wave of rock bands taking the music down roads yet adventured. Only, the five-piece didn't. Rather, they set their sights on rock music from its earliest days, after the rockabilly era, but prior to the Mersey beat era. Yes, I'm talkin' up that most wonderful vintage rock era of them all, the surf rock era!

I get why that style of guitar action had fallen by the wayside, a genre of music commonly associated with thoughts of preppy white kids getting into safe, society-acceptable hi-jinks. Just wasn't as sexy as the gritty greasers from which punk rock was getting its aesthetic from. Irony was on the cusp of musical birth though, and while they were quite sincere in their cribbing from white-crust Middle-Americana, one couldn't help but take The B-52's antics just a tad tongue-in-cheek.

Still, such sincerity makes their self-titled debut album the fun romp that it is. Not only did it trigger plenty of nostalgic endorphins for the Boomer sect, but posed the question of what such music would sound like if it took things an extra level. Rock Lobster was such a hit not just for its cartoony charm, but because it just keeps going! Imagine a Hanna-Barbara cartoon featuring Frankie Avalon on all the amphetamines. Oh, and the rest of the album's pretty cool too.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

SadGirl - Vol. 3 - Head To The Mountains

self release: 2016

You gotta' hand it to Bandcamp newsletters: they are committed to deep dives within the website's archives, unearthing potential up-and-comers so you don't have to. I can't imagine the soul-sucking experience it must be, sifting through so many amateur musicians, some of which have clearly just cracked open their first freeware producing studio and uploaded their first sessions onto the website in the hopes of a few takes. Not that Bandcamp is anywhere near as bad as Soundcloud in this regard – I'd like to think Bandcamp is where artists release the material they at least believe has some potential of actual money being earned from it – but how many mediocre items must the newsletter writers go through before stumbling upon something worth consideration of a spotlight? Why, it's just like the street 'zines of old!

For sure I'd never have had SadGirl brought to my attention without one such Bandcamp newsletter. Indie rock with influences of archaic surf rock is so far outside my usual wheelhouse, I wouldn't have any clue where to start looking for a fix, much less the commitment to do the necessary digging. If a Bandcamp newsletter promoting surf rockers on their website claims this is a band worth checking out though, then by g'ar I'll check 'em out. Or a tidy little EP on the cheap at least.

And had I first heard the opening song Going Down without that recommendation, I probably would have skipped on by. There's nothing wrong with it, of course, indie rock that's enamoured with the scraggly aesthetics of '60s garage rock and all the punky attributes that'd be adopted in later decades. There's even some nifty echo and reverb on those guitar tones, though nothing that gives me those 'surf' feels, y'know? What's always drawn me to this genre is the open vista it creates with its sonics, and Going Down feels like its still sprung from the tiny rock halls SadGirl cut their mustard in. But hey, they're at least Californian, so some ties to the surf and all.

Nothing sells the punk vibe more than a one-minute ten follow-up in Drowning though, and Someone Else's Skin is a right noisy little number too. I like it fine, I guess, and there's some cool, wavy, echoing solo action, but still not really what I was expecting out of a surf rock newsletter recommendation. Fortunately, we have The Hand That Did The Deed, one of those jangly instrumental ditties that's as much spaghetti Western rock as it is surf rock – the two were synonymous back in the day anyway. Up to this day too, come to think of it. Desperado rock. That's the name it should be called. Someone should make a guide to classic rock to make the name authoritative.

So this EP wasn't what I expected or hoped for, not really convincing me SadGirl was actually a contemporary surf rock band. And yet, I still went and ordered their debut album, Water. Go figure.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Dead Coast - Shambolic

Annibale Records: 2016

It honestly could have remained a singular compilation indulgence. A specific genre itch that was tied to a specific period of time, and needn't be explored any further. Maybe I'd have gotten myself a Dick Dale collection as well, but surf rock wasn't something in need of diving fully and completely into. Much less wade through the vast, murky shores of indie rock seeking any contemporary bands carrying the music's legacy into the modern era, because there always are a few who find inspiration in super-niche styles of a bygone time. It's just what indie rock do, mang!

Fortunately, and remarkably coincidentally, I stumbled upon a Bandcamp newsletter highlighting all the contemporary bands carrying the music's legacy into the modern era. Like, almost instantly after I'd picked up that Surf Beat compilation. The only explanation for this astounding timing is the sweet Sirens of surf rock heard my longing wail across the Pacific shores, sending me a serenading screed whence I needed it most. Yeah, that tracks.

Thus here I am (rocking you like a hurricane?), reviewing the debut album from Dead Coast, a band out of London that clearly has its ears turned to the early '60s of the California coast. And not only am I reviewing their debut album, but I'm going with the digital copy, because all the hard copy versions were already sold out, but I wasn't gonna' deny myself some fresh musical exploration based on outdated conditionals.

And no, this isn't an all-in surf outing, just as much a 'Merseybeat' and psychedelic rock showing too (Lord Discogs also lists Garage Rock, Blues Rock, Stoner Rock, and Space Rock among the genres Shambolic entails, but what does Discogs know?). The most surfy of the songs on here are probably Ask The Dust, Hills Made Of Sand, Good In Her Blues, and Because I Know You. Mmm, such lush, dreamy reverb, bringing to mind lazy hazy days swaying by sunny shores under palm trees, salty waves lapping at your feet and all that good summer stuff. Plus, can't knock that authentic lo-fi recording quality, as though ripped from the sixty year old, 7” records.

That's only four songs out of a tracklist of thirteen. If the surf-inspired tunes don't cut it for you, you can always vibe on the garage-beat outings like Jenny Loves The Sun, Why Are We Still Together, and Just Don't Give Yourself (ooh, getting a White Stripes feeling off that one). Then there are the weirdo tunes, like ESP that's got that blues thing going, but features a Theremin (or approximate) solo. Or Overcome, an instrumental psychedelic freak-out that pauses at points for some slow jam time in a Tiki lounge (oh hi, Khruangbin, fancy seeing you here); Bossa For Stanley would fit in that lounge too.

So overall, a good first outing in this strange yet familiar musical realm I'm treading out into. I mean, it ought to have been, what with this album coming recommended by Bandcamp and all.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Various - Surf Beat

Not Now Music: 2016

At some point in my past, I realized I liked surf rock, even beyond it's starring role in Pulp Fiction. For sure there was that childhood interest in the Beach Boys laying the foundation, but it's more than that. The energetic pace, the abundance of echo and reverb, the general lack of vocals – why, it could almost be a form of 'techno'! My interest was cemented when a former boss put a bunch of it on the work playlist, a wonderful counter to the bland contemporary rock and pop we endured throughout the day. It got deep enough into my head that I concluded this was a genre of music that might be worth a little further exploration, just how fruitful a scene had sprung from Dick Dale's innovative guitar shredding.

However, the music came about when the single dominated the industry, and if I honestly wanted to take in all that this scene had to offer, I'd have to engage in some serious spelunking. Scouring the local used shops for records of various inches and lengths. Move beyond the famed bands like The Surfmen, The Revels, and The Champs, and discover unheralded acts like The Fireballs, The Frogmen, and The Trashmen. Then I'd have to go to the Meccas of surf rock itself: Malibu, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Topanga, Lower Trestles, Venice Beach, Zuma. Where surfers far and wide inspired musicians near and thin with their wave-ridin' skills, and undoubtedly flooded the market with a soundtrack to their carefree crazy pastime. Oh, the abundance of early '60 vinyl one is sure to find in all the pawn shops along the SoCal coastline, draining me of so much of my financial means, so very much.

Or I can pick up a 2-CD compilation of the stuff. That'll work too.

There's forty songs on Surf Beat, which may seem like a lot, but considering each tune only averages around two minutes, things breeze by like Frankie Avalon skimming the inside lane of the blue pipeline (is that how you do surfer jargon? I really haven't a clue). And while most of the famous ditties of the day are included, (no Wipeout, thank God), it isn't all surfer music all the time. Really, the term 'surf rock' only included a select few acts that made their mark in the surfer locales, while a lot of other rock bands of the day had their instrumentals often lumped in with the scene. Songs like The Ramrods' Riders In The Sky and The Outlaws' Indian Brave have more lineage with country music, painting pictures of galloping through the Sierra Range or Chihuahuan Desert. Ain't no surf in those parts of America, I reckon.

Which just confirms my inclination that 'surf rock' is but a small part of what I like to call 'desperado rock', taking the music's rebellious overtones and applying it to Americana like The Old West and The California Coast - a romanticism of an America that never was.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

The Beach Boys - Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of

Capitol Records: 2003

First, it was The Police and Boney M. Then, it was Raffi and Disney singalongs. After that... not a whole lot. Music, which had been such a vital part of my early childhood, ceased having much influence. It was those darn Transformers, you see, taking my attention away for a few years, soon replaced by all sorts of marketable cartoons and media. Who has time for bands and songs when there's more The Real Ghostbuster toys to get, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bubblegum cards to buy, or Star Wars movies to obsess over? I still played the odd CD from my folks' collection, but seldom gave it much more thought than a passive distraction. One day though, after listening to a cheery compilation called Sun Jammin', the final track caught my attention like few songs had for a very, very long time. I had to hear more from this group, those sweet vocal harmonies, those starry-eyed lyrics of fun in the Caribbean sun and holiday bliss. The song was Kokomo.

Look, it was the '80s, and The Beach Boys’ most recent hit, so it was about the only way I'd have 'stumbled' upon them back then. Man though, after hearing that song, I scoured for more, the first time in my life I started digging for a specific group. It probably didn't hurt I was heavy into Archie Comics at the time (shad'up, we've all been there!), and saw kinship between the two representatives of clean-cut, all-American youth culture as envisioned by the late '50s and early '60s. I even compiled my findings onto my very first mixtape. True, all I had to work with was whatever was in my father's CDs, but as an initiation into the glorious world of music hunting obsession, The Beach Boys wasn't such a bad place to start.

Of course, had Tween Sykonee been around when Sounds Of Summer came about, I wouldn’t have needed to bother. There were numerous ‘Best Of’ and ‘Greatest Hits’ and ‘Essential Sounds’ on the market up through the ‘80s, but it didn’t seem The Beach Boys were quite done scoring the occasional charter even long after most figured their music way dated. Then the ‘90s hit and, well, yeah. With no new hits for a decade, the new millennium seemed as good a time as any for an authentic, definitive gathering of all their memorable, classic, vintage, glorious tunes. And Getcha Back, for some stupid reason (ugh... those ‘80s drums, so bad).

Sounds Of Summer is about as perfect a collection of Beach Boys music you could want without splurging on a zillion LPs for three or four great tunes surrounded by filler. It’s got all the surf rock hits, the hot-rodding car odes, the rowdy party tunes (Barbara Ann, so drunk), their introspective aging songs, and an assortment of odds and sods in the ensuing years. The only thing missing is selections from their wonderful Christmas album, but that’d defeat the ‘summer’ theme, wouldn’t it.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Brian Wilson - Smile

Nonesuch: 2004

Smile was meant to be Brian Wilson's magnum opus, a career defining album that would elevate Americana songcraft above anything those UK invasion bands offered. He had the creative drive, the resources (studio equipment access, peerless harmony group in The Beach Boys), and the benchmark to top with Pet Sounds. Unfortunately, he didn't have a Paul, John, or even Keith on his side, and when The Beatles came out with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, poor ol' Brian realized he couldn’t top that ridiculously successful album. Despite having blueprints laid out, and even recording a few would-be singles that would feature in Smile, his efforts seemed so easily trumped by the Liverpool Four, it was more than he could take. Nervous breakdown beckoned, much of Smile abandoned, and one of rock music's most famous non-albums entered the realm of tantalizing “what if?” discourse.

And so it looked to remain as such, B. Wilson's mental acuity taking years upon decades to find its way out of grim-dark murk. Perseverance paid off though, eventually finding it within himself to write new music without the crushing pressure of critical and commercial success. Good thing too, because much of his output during the ‘90s wasn’t overly memorable. Old time fans supported him, but folks suspected his creative spark that propelled The Beach Boys to the top of the pop charts had long since faded. Just as well, Wilson truly no longer made for those ‘90s times anyway.

Then out of the blue, Brian announced that he’d finish his super Smile project after all, as it was intended way back in the ‘60s. Well shit, son (dad?), that’s awesome. Is there really any interest left for this album though? It’s a new century, a new millennium, and most ultra-fans of The Beach Boys had already pieced together finished songs and studio scraps for their own Smile bootlegs. Hell, Brian’s voice had considerably aged, and good luck getting the remaining actual Beach Boys into the studio after the bitter estrangement all those years had festered between the two parties.

All those concerns were for naught, the finished Smile a wonderful, amazing album from front to back. Essentially three parts, the first captures the nostalgic memories of carefree, youthful summers, especially while vacationing in touristy American locales, with Heroes And Villains the main attraction here. The second part goes more wistful and reflective, the big song off here being dreamy Surf’s Up. And the final part gets goofy and experimental; some pieces mere snippets of sound effects before changing gears to something else. Like, hot damn, that transition from the fire-storm of Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow into the desolate In Blue Hawaii! Then to cap the whole experience off with the mighty Good Vibrations, you can’t help but want to stand and cheer for Brian Wilson, for seeing his vision come into being, triumphant in all the adversity he’d faced. Plus, y’know, there’s just a ton of great music all throughout Smile too.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Various - Pulp Fiction

MCA Records: 1994

Shame I didn't get to this CD a little sooner – say, last yearish. I could’ve generated cheap traffic by piggy-backing off clickbait articles like “Hey, It’s The 20th Anniversary Of That Movie You Can’t Stop Quoting!” But alas, we're already two weeks deep into 2015, long past the expiry date of people nostalgically revisiting Pulp Fiction's 1994 release. Who cares that it came out mid-November of that year, thus making us but two months late for twentieth-anniversary prestige. Hell, as I recall, Tarantino's opus to the mush of storytelling didn't catch popular buzz until well into '95, finding more fanfare on the home video market where all us impressionable underage Gen-X types could finally watch it. And hoo, what a movie to behold, making not a lick of sense but strangely captivating as Hollywood stars waxed bullshit over obscene circumstances.

Plus the music! Wow, where did ol' Quentin find all that awesome music? His personal record collection apparently, turning many of his flicks into as much a mixtape as they are ‘70s genre-sploitations. Of course, with over two decades to study his methods, having rare, odd, and perfect tunes’ become the expectant norm, and unfortunately nothing’s made quite the impact that the surf rock of Misirlou did. Still, Tarantino made a style of music that had been absolutely dead for three decades hip again. That’s quite an achievement, and though it didn’t resurrect into a reinvigorated scene, it did create a new generation of crate divers digging a little further into obscure musical cul-de-sacs. Erm, not me though – I still had ‘techno’.

So the surf rock is primarily what Pulp Fiction’s music is remembered for, and for good reason. Beyond the killer opener, at least a third of the music on this soundtrack is in that style. Another significant chunk is taken up by dark, bluesy country, though not always specifically from that scene. Heavy rockers Urge Overkill do a cover of Neil Diamond’s Girl, You’ll Soon Be A Woman, and then-newcomer Maria McKee goes full-on whisky folk, but every track has that ‘outlaw’ feeling that Tarantino loves writing into protagonists. Not so much always the ‘bad guys’, as he’s featured his fair share of vigilantes too. More like desperados, and can you think of any sub-sub American culture that was filled with those sorts than the outlaws of the country? Sure, the surfer nation! Nothing caught that vintage American West desperado spirit like freeloaders taking on the mighty waves of the Pacific Ocean, risking life and limb to prove Man was undefeatable in the face of his Mother Nature’s fury. Well, the music suggested as such.

Look, I’m just waxing bullshit here for the sake of my own ego (like a Tarantino movie!). Even if you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction (!), you’ve probably seen a parody or two, and know its music and culled bits of dialog from those. You don’t need me telling you to check this out, because you already have, even if only by cultural osmosis.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Neil Young - Archives, Vol. 1: Disc 0 - Early Years (1963-1965)

Reprise Records: 2009

It figures. No sooner do I finally start on a new letter than I get hit with a bloody box-set. So long, forward momentum. Tackling this sucker will easily eat up a week's worth of reviews. True, I could give a quick overview and be done with it, but as with The Electro Compendium from last year, it'd leave an obscene gap of content on this blog if I didn't keep some record of my progress. Fortunately, Neil Young: Archives is nicely divided up into manageable chunks, so at least things will move along in a logical fashion. Obviously, if you don't give a flookin' Canook about Neil Young, check back in around seven days – I should be back to regular(ish) electronic music again.

You’re still with me? Aww, you're awesome, really you are. Gotta know what's up with some more good ol' Shakey, does ya'? Well, if you stick around, you'll find out just about everything there is to know about the first ten years of Mr. Young's musical career. More than you'll likely care to know, if I'm honest – heck, it was more than I cared about, though it is interesting from a fan's perspective. Whether you got the CD, DVD (yo), or Blu-Ray version of Archives, Vol. 1, everything was split into chronological sections. It also includes Live At The Fillmore East and Live At Massey Hall, which I've covered already; plus his oddball movie Journey Through The Past, but I won't cover that since this isn't Musician Movie Critic. Oh, and Live At Canterbury House was apparently a bonus DVD/Blu-Ray, but since it wasn't part of the original Archives, Vol. 1 MP3 download bundle, I won't cover that either. Whoa, a breeze of wind all of a sudden rushed through my apartment, as though dozens of people breathed a sigh of release.

Okay, let’s get this thing started, by starting at the start of Young’s career – back when he was still young-Young! (eh? eh...? No, wait, come back...). Most were first introduced to ol’ Neil when he was part of the Los Angeles band Buffalo Springfield, but before heading out there, he played for an old-timey surf-rock band called The Squires. Since they were still teens, the boys mostly played high-school dances and community halls around Manitoba and Ontario, hardly the sort of exposure one could hope for breaking into the big time. They did manage one official single with a couple instrumentals called Aurora and The Sultan though. It’s, well, surf-rock. Cowabunga?

Everything else on Early Years (1963-1965) is previously unreleased material. This includes leftover Squires material that never saw the light of day, a few blues numbers he recorded with Comrie Smith, and an extended recording of a studio session featuring early takes of Sugar Mountain and Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing. These sound like hastily recorded demos likely intended to spread around Toronto or Motown. Pft, you’ll never make it there with such folksy songs, kid. Go west, my son, go west.

Things I've Talked About

...txt 10 Records 16 Bit Lolita's 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2 Play Records 2 Unlimited 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 20xx Update 2562 3 Loop Music 302 Acid 36 3FORCE 3six Recordings 4AD 6 x 6 Records 75 Ark 7L & Esoteric 808 State A Perfect Circle A Positive Life A-Wave a.r.t.less A&M Records A&R Records Abandoned Communities Abasi Above and Beyond abstract AC/DC Ace Trace Ace Tracks Playlists Ace Ventura acid acid house acid jazz acid techno acoustic Acroplane Recordings Adam Beyer Adam Ellis Adam Freeland Adham Shaikh ADNY Adrian Younge adult contemporary Advanced UFO Phantom Aegri Somnia AEI Music Aes Dana Afgin Afrika Bambaataa Afro-house Afterhours Agoria Aidan Casserly Aira Mitsuki Airwaves Ajana Records Ajna AK1200 Akshan album Aldrin Alex Smoke Alex Theory Alice In Chains Alien Community Alien Project Alio Die All Saints Alpha Wave Movement Alphabet Zoo Alphaxone Altar Records Alter Ego alternative rock Alucidnation Ambelion Ambidextrous ambient ambient dub ambient techno Ambient World Ambientium Ametsub Amon Amarth Amon Tobin Amplexus Anabolic Frolic Anatolya Andrea Parker Andrew Heath Androcell Anduin Andy C anecdotes Aniplex Anjunabeats Annibale Records Anodize Another Fine Day Antendex anthem house Anthony Paul Kerby Anthony Rother Anti-Social Network Anzio Green Aoide Aphasia Records Aphex Twin Apócrýphos Apollo Apollo 440 Apple Records April Records Aqua Aquarellist Aquascape Aquasky Aquila Arcade Architects Of Existence Archives Arcturus arena rock Arista Armada Armin van Buuren Arpatle Artifact303 Arts & Crafts ASC Ashtech Asia Asian Dub Foundation Astral Engineering Astral Projection Astral Waves Astralwerks AstroPilot AstroPilot Music Asura Asylum Records ATB ATCO Records Atlantic Atlantis atmospheric jungle Atom Heart Atomic Hooligan Atomine Elektrine Atrium Carceri Attic Attoya Audiobulb Records Audion AuroraX Autechre Autistici Autumn Of Communion Auxilary Auxiliary Avantgarde Avatar Records Aveparthe Avicii Axiom Axs Axtone Records Aythar B.G. The Prince Of Rap B°TONG B12 Babygrande Balance Balanced Records Balearic ballad Bålsam Banco de Gaia Bandulu Barker & Baumecker Battle Axe Records battle-rap Bauri Beastie Boys Beat Buzz Records Beat Pharmacy Beatbox Machinery Beats & Pieces bebop Beck Bedouin Soundclash Bedrock Records Beechwood Music Benny Benassi Bent Benz Street US Berlin-School Beto Narme Beyond bhangra Bicep big beat Big Boi Big Dada Recordings Big L Big Life Bill Hamel Bill Laswell Bill Leeb BIlly Idol BineMusic BioMetal Biophon Records Biosphere Bipolar Music BKS Black Hole Recordings black metal black rebel motorcycle club Black Swan Sounds Blanco Y Negro Blasterjaxx Bleep Blend Blood Music Blow Up Blue Amazon Blue Hour Blue Öyster Cult blues blues rock Bluescreen Bluetech BMG Boards Of Canada Bob Dylan Bob Marley Bobina Bogdan Raczynzki Bombay Records Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Boney M Bong Load Records Bonobo Bonzai Boogie Down Productions Booka Shade Botchit & Scarper Bows Boxed Boys Noize Boysnoize Records BPitch Control braindance Brandt Brauer Frick Brasil & The Gallowbrothers Band breakbeats breakcore breaks Brian Eno Brian Wilson Brick Records Britpop Brodinski broken beat Brooklyn Music Ltd Bryan Adams BT Bubble Buffalo Springfield Bulk Recordings Burial Burned CDs Bursak Records Bush Busta Rhymes Buttertones bvdub C.I.A. Calibre calypso Canibus Canned Resistor Capitol Records Capsula Captain Hollywood Project Captured Digital Carbon Based Lifeforms Caribou Carl B Carl Craig Carlos Ferreira Carol C Caroline Records Carpe Sonum Novum Carpe Sonum Records Castroe Casual Cat Sun CD-Maximum Ceephax Acid Crew Celestial Dragon Records Cell Celtic Centaspike Cevin Fisher Cheb i Sabbah Cheeky Records chemical breaks Chihei Hatakeyama Children Of The Bong chill out chill-out chiptune Chris Duckenfield Chris Fortier Chris Korda Chris Liebing Chris Sheppard Chris Witoski Christmas Christopher Lawrence Chromeo Chronos Chrysalis Ciaran Byrne cinematic soundscapes Circle of Pines Circular Ciro Berenguer Cirrus Cities Last Broadcast City Of Angels CJ Stone Claptone classic house classic rock classical Claude Young Clear Label Records Clementz Cleopatra Cloud 9 Club Culture Club Cutz Club Tools Cocoon Recordings Cold Spring Coldcut Coldplay coldwave Colette collagist Columbia Com.Pact Records Coma Eye comedy Compilation Comrie Smith Congo Natty Conjure One Connect.Ohm conscious Control Music Convextion Cooking Vinyl Cor Fijneman Corderoy Cosmic Gate Cosmic Replicant Cosmo Cocktail Cosmos Studios Cottonbelly Council Estate Electronics Council Of Nine Counter Records country country rock Covert Operations Recordings Craig Padilla Craig Richards Crazy Horse Cream Creamfields Creedence Clearwater Revival Crockett's Theme Crosby Stills And Nash Crossing Mind Crosstown Rebels crunk Cryo Chamber Cryobiosis Cryogenic Weekend Cryostasis Crystal Moon Cube Guys Culture Beat Curb Records Current Curve cut'n'paste CYAN Cyan Music Cyber Productions CyberOctave Cyclic Law Cygna Cypher 7 Cypress Hill Cyril Secq Czarface D-Bridge D-Fuse D-Topia Entertainment Daar Dacru Records Daddy G Daft Punk Dag Rosenqvist Damian Lazarus Damon Albarn Damon Wild Dan Terminus Dan The Automator Dance 2 Trance Dance Pool Dance With The Dead dancehall Daniel Heatcliff Daniel Lentz Daniel Pemberton Daniel Wanrooy Danny Howells Danny Tenaglia Dao Da Noize Daphni dark ambient dark disco dark psy darkcore darkside darkstep darksynth darkwave Darla Records Darren Emerson Darren McClure Darren Nye DAT Records Databloem dataObscura David Alvarado David Bickley David Bridie David Cordero David Guetta David Morley DDR De-tuned Dead Coast Dead Melodies Deadmau5 Death Grips death metal Death Row Records Decimal Deconstruction Dedicated Deejay Goldfinger Deep Dish Deep Forest deep house Deeply Rooted House Deepwater Black Deetron Def Jam Recordings Del Tha Funkee Homosapien Delerium Delsin Deltron 3030 Denshi Danshi Depeche Mode Der Dritte Raum Derek Carr Detroit Deviant Records Devin Underwood Devroka Deysn Masiello DFA DGC diametric. Dido Dieselboy Different DigiCube Dillinja Dirk Serries dirty house Dirty South Dirty Vegas Dis Fig disco Disco Gecko disco house Disco Pinata Records disco punk Discover (label) Disky Disques Dreyfus Distant System Distinct'ive Breaks Disturbance Divination DJ 3000 DJ Brian DJ Craze DJ Dag DJ Dan DJ Dean DJ Gonzalo DJ Heather DJ John Kelley DJ John Storm DJ Merlin DJ Mix DJ Moe Sticky DJ Observer DJ Premier DJ Q-Bert DJ Shadow DJ Soul Slinger DJ-Kicks Djen Ajakan Shean DJMag DMC DMC Records Doc Scott Dogon Dogwhistle Dooflex Doom Poets Dopplereffekt Dossier Dousk downtempo dowtempo Dr. Alban Dr. Atmo Dr. Dre Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show Dr. Octagon Dragon Quest dream house dream pop DreamWorks Records Drexciya drill 'n' bass Dronarivm drone Dronny Darko drum 'n' bass DrumNBassArena drumstep drunken review dub Dub Pistols dub techno Dub Trees Dubfire dubstep Dubtribe Sound System DuMonde Dune Dusted Dyadik Dynatron E-Mantra E-Z Rollers Eardream Music Earth Earth Nation Earthling Eastcoast Eastcost Eastern Dub Tactik EastWest Eastworld Eat Static EBM Echodub Ed Rush & Optical Editions EG EDM World Weekly News Ektoplazm Electric Universe electro Electro House Electro Sun electro-funk electro-pop electroclash Electronic Dance Essentials Electronic Music Guide Electrovoya Elektra Elektrolux em:t EMC update EMI Emiliana Torrini Eminem Emmerichk Emperor Norton Empire enCAPSULAte Encym Engine Recordings Enigma Enmarta Ensiferum Enya EP Epic epic trance EQ Recordings Equal Stones Erased Tapes Records Eric Borgo Erik Vee Erol Alkan Escape Esko Barba Esoteric Reactive Espacio Cielo ethereal Etic Etnica Etnoscope Euphoria euro dance eurodance eurotrance Eurythmics Eve Records Everlast Ewan Pearson Exitab experimental Eye Q Records Ezdanitoff F Communications Fabric Facture Fade Records Faex Optim Faint Faithless Falcon Reekon Fallen False Mirror fanfic Fantastisizer Fantasy Enhancing faru Fatboy Slim Fax +49-69/450464 Fear Factory Fedde Le Grand Fehrplay Feist Fektive Records Felix da Housecat Fennesz Ferry Corsten FFRR Fictivision field recordings Filter filters Final Fantasy Firescope Five AM Fjäder Flashover Recordings Floating Points Flowers For Bodysnatchers Flowjob Fluke Fluxion Flying Lotus folk Fontana footwork Force Intel Fountain Music Four Tet FPU Frame Francis M Gri Frank Bretschneider Frankie Bones Frankie Knuckles Frans de Waard Fred Everything freestyle French house Front Line Assembly Frou Frou fsoldigital.com Fugees full-on Fun Factory funk future garage Future Sound Of London Futuregrapher futurepop g-funk G-Prod gabber Gabriel Le Mar Gaither Music Group Galaktlan Galati Gang Starr gangsta garage Gareth Davis Gary Martin Gas Gasoline Alley Records Gee Street Geffen Records Gel-Sol Genesis Geometry Combat George Issakidis Gerald Donald Get Physical Music ghetto Ghostface Killah Ghostly International Glacial Movements Records glam Gliese 581C glitch Glitch Hop Global Communication Global Underground Globular goa trance Goasia God Body Disconnect Gorillaz gospel Gost goth Grammy Awards Gravediggaz Green Bay Wax Green Day Grey Area Greytone Gridlock grime Groove Armada Groove Corporation Grooverider grunge Guru Gustaf Hidlebrand Gusto Records GZA H:U:M H2O Records Haddaway Halgrath happy hardcore hard house hard rock hard techno hard trance hardcore Hardfloor Hardly Art hardstyle Harlequins Enigma Harmless Harmonic 33 Harmonic Resonance Recordings Harold Budd Harthouse Harthouse Mannheim Hawtin Headphone Hearts Of Space Hed Kandi Hefty Records Helen Marnie Hell Hercules And Love Affair Hernán Cattáneo Hexstatic Hi-Bias Records Hic Sunt Leones Hide And Sequence Hiero Emperium Hieroglyphics High Contrast High Note Records Higher Ground Higher Intelligence Agency Hilyard hip-hop hip-house hipno Hollywood Burns Home Normal Honest Jon's Records Hooj Choons Hope Records horrorcore Hospital Records Hot Chip Hotflush Recordings house Howie B Huey Lewis & The News Human Blue Humanoid Hybrid Hybrid Leisureland Hymen Records Hyperdub Hypertrophy Hypnotic Hypnoxock I Awake I-Cube i! Records I.F. I.F.O.R. I.R.S. Records Iboga Records Icarus Music Ice Cube Ice H2o Records ICE MC IDM Iempamo Ignis Fatum Igorrr Ikjoyce illbient ILUITEQ Imogen Heap Imperial Dancefloor Imploded View In Charge In Trance We Trust Incoming Incubus Indica Records indie rock Indisc Industrial Infastructure New York Infected Mushroom Infinite Guitar influence records Infonet Inhmost Ink Midget Inner Ocean Records Innovative Leisure Records Insane Clown Posse Inspectah Deck Instinct Ambient Instra-Mental Intellitronic Bubble Inter-Modo Interchill Records Internal International Deejays Gigolo Interscope Records Intimate Productions Intuition Recordings ISBA Music Entertainment Ishkur Ishq Island Def Jam Music Group Island Records Islands Of Light Italians Do It Better italo disco italo house Item Caligo J-pop Jack Moss Jackpot Jacob Newman Jafu Jake Stephenson Jam and Spoon Jam El Mar James Blake James Holden James Horner James Lavelle James Murray James Zabiela Jamie Jones Jamie Myerson Jamie Principle Jamiroquai Javelin Ltd. Jay Haze Jay Tripwire Jaydee jazz jazz dance jazzdance jazzstep Jean-Michel Jarre Jefferson Airplane Jerry Goldsmith Jesper Dahlbäck Jessy Lanza Jimmy Van M Jiri.Ceiver Jive Jive Electro Jliat Jlin JMJ Joel Mull Joey Beltram John '00' Fleming John Acquaviva John Beltran John Digweed John Graham John Kelly John O'Callaghan John Oswald John Shima Johnny Cash Johnny Jewel Jon Hester Jonny L Jori Hulkkonen Joris Voorn Jørn Stenzel Josh Christie Josh Wink Journeys By DJ™ LLC Joyful Noise Recordings Juan Atkins juke Jump Cut jump up Jumpin' & Pumpin' jungle Junior Boy's Own Junkie XL Juno Reactor Jupiter 8000 Jurassic 5 Kaico Kay Wilder KDJ Keith Farrugia Ken Ishii Kenji Kawai Kenny Glasgow Keoki Keosz Kerri Chandler Kevin Braheny Kevin Yost Kevorkian Records Khetzal Khooman Khruangbin Ki/oon Kid Koala Kiko Killing Joke Kinder Atom Kinetic Records King Cannibal King Midas Sound King Tubby Kitaro Klang Elektronik Klaus Schulze Klik Records KMFDM Koch Records Koichi Sugiyama Kolhoosi 13 Komakino Kompakt Kon Kan Kool Keith Kozo Kraftwelt Kraftwerk Krafty Kuts Kranky krautrock Kriistal Ann Krill.Minima Kris O'Neil Kriztal KRS-One Kruder and Dorfmeister Krusseldorf Kubinski KuckKuck Kulor Kurupt Kwook L.B. Dub Corp L.S.G. L'usine La Luz Lab 4 Ladytron LaFace Records Lafleche Lamb Lange Large Records Lars Leonhard Laserlight Digital LateNightTales Latin Laurent Garnier Layer 3 LCD Soundsystem Le Moors Leaf Leama and Moor Lee 'Scratch' Perry Lee Burridge Lee Norris Leftfield Leftfield Records Legacy Legiac Legowelt Lemony Records Leon Bolier Les Disques Du Crépuscule LFO Linear Labs Lingua Lustra Lionel Weets Liquid Frog Records liquid funk Liquid Sound Design Liquid Stranger Liquid Zen Literon Live live album LL Cool J lo fi Loco Dice Lodsb LoFi London acid crew London Classics London Elektricity London Records 90 Ltd London-Sire Records LongWalkShortDock Loop Guru Loreena McKennitt Lorenzo Masotto Lorenzo Montanà loscil Lost Language Lotek Records Loud Records Louderbach Loverboy Lowfish Luaka Bop Lucette Bourdin Luciano Luke Slater Lunarian Records Lustmord M_nus M.A.N.D.Y. M.I.K.E. Mack 10 Madonna Magda Magik Muzik Mahiane Mali Malignant Records Mammoth Records Mantacoup Marc Simz Marcel Dettmann Marcel Fengler Marco Carola Marco V Marcus Intalex Mark Farina Mark Norman Mark Pritchard Markus Schulz Marshmello Martin Allin Martin Cooper Martin Nonstatic Märtini Brös Marvin Gaye Maschine Massimo Vivona Massive Attack Masta Killa Master Margherita Matthew Dear Max Graham maximal Maxx MCA MCA Records McProg Meanwhile Meat Loaf Median Project Medicine Label Meditronica Melusine Records Memex Menno de Jong Mercury Merr0w Mesmobeat metal Metal Blade Records Metamatics Method Man Metro Area Metroplex Metropolis MF Doom Miami Bass Miami Beach Force Miami Dub Machine Michael Brook Michael Jackson Michael Mantra Michael Mayer Mick Chillage micro-house microfunk Microscopics MIG Miguel Migs Mike Saint-Jules Mike Shiver Miktek Mille Plateaux Millennium Records Mind Distortion System Mind Over MIDI mini-CDs minimal minimal tech-house Ministry Of Sound miscellaneous Misja Helsloot Miss Kittin Miss Moneypenny's Mistical Mixmag Mixmaster Morris Mo Wax Mo-Do MO-DU Moby Model 500 modern classical Modeselektor Mohlao Moist Music Moljebka Pvulse Moodymann Moonshine Morgan Morphic Resonance Morphology Moss Covered Technology Moss Garden Motech Motionfield Motorbass Mount Shrine Move D Moving Shadow Mr. Scruff Mujaji Murk Murmur Mushy Records Music link Music Man Records musique concrete Mutant Sound System Mute MUX Muzik Magazine My Best Friend Mystery Tape Laboratory Mystica Tribe Mystified N-Trance Nacht Plank Nadia Ali Nano Records Napalm Records Nas Nashville Natural Life Essence Natural Midi Nature Sounds Naughty By Nature Nav Bhinder Nebula Neil Young Neo Ouija Neo-Adventures Neon Droid Neotantra Neotropic nerdcore Nervous Records Nettwerk Neurobiotic Records neurofunk Neuropa Records New Age New Beat New Jack Swing New Order new wave Nic Fanciulli Nick Höppner Night Hex Night Time Stories Nightmares On Wax Nightwind Records Nimanty Nine Inch Nails Ninja Tune Nirvana nizmusic No Mask Effect Nobuo Uematsu noise Noise Factory Records Nomad Nonesuch Nonplus Records Nookie Nordic Trax Norken Norman Cook Norman Feller North South Northumbria Not Now Music Nothing Records Nova NovaMute NRG Ntone nu-italo nu-jazz nu-metal nu-skool Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast Entertainment Nulll Nunc Stans Nurse With Wound NXP Nyquist Oasis Ocelot Octagen Offshoot Offshoot Records Ol' Dirty Bastard Olan Mill Old Europa Cafe old school rave Ole Højer Hansen Olga Musik Olien Oliver Lieb Olivier Orand Olsen OM Records Omni Trio Omnimotion Omnisonus One Little Indian Onyx Oophoi Oosh Open Open Canvas Opium Opus III orchestral Original TranceCritic review Origo Sound Orkidea Orla Wren Ornament Ostgut Ton Ott Ottsonic Music Ouragan Out Of The Box OutKast Outmosphere Records Outpost Records Overdream Owl P-Ben Pale Glow Paleowolf Pan Sonic Pantera Pantha Du Prince Paolo Mojo Parental Advisory Parlaphone Part-Sub-Merged Pascal F.E.O.S. 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