Sunday, April 3, 2011

Just A Number 05272011-"Business"

Two days ago,  Just A Number 05272011 quietly released a new mp3 to The Fader. "Business" indulges a more club-oriented vein than the earlier tunes, "He Didn't Want a Love Song," and "The Pain," both of which we covered a few weeks back

Just A Number 05272011, "Business" by The FADER

In our minds, the rise of Just A Number 05272011 is inseparable from that of the rather unfortunately named Christian AIDS (also on our blog some weeks ago), maybe because they caught our attention--and then everyone else's--at nearly the same time. In that respect, we hope (or do we?) that the two outfits aren't somehow playing a nasty trick on us: if you asked a paranoid, he might say you could hear the rave-happy Christian AIDS producing the track behind those shrieking vocals. They're probably not one in the same, but still. Now we've got you thinking.

That said, this is excellent music, and we should all be happy for the mystery...while it lasts*.

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*We would like to throw our hats in here to offer, perhaps, a possible solution to the mystery of Just A Number 05272011. Now, while the moniker sort of suggests that we not question whether the number is anything other than a number--it's "just a number," no need to investigate--the opening line of The Fader's post caused a thought to pop miraculously into our heads:
Just A Number 05272011 have, bar none, the most unwieldy name ever in the history of time and all names in all art forms ever. Just kidding probably. It’s up there for sure though.
It just sort of occurred to us--and I'm sure to many before us--that the number is a date. Maybe for an album: 05/27/2011. Who knows? 

Feature: Visions of Trees









Visions of Trees, the London duo of Joni Juden and Sara Atalar, are probably best thought of as near relations to the wonderful jj pair--the flower children to jj's gangsta, we might say. That is, Visions of Trees' atmospheric conditions are close to the phantasmagoric--their tunes have a nostalgic affinity with, we like to imagine, Druid societies and small towns with co-ops, where the young go partying with every substances you can think of off the top of your head, lost in the woods.

The cuts below are only a sampling of the groovy, Balearic-leaning duo's best work. For a thorough introduction, one might best start with the title track from their February EP, Sometimes It Kills (Moshi Moshi Records), the body of which is as impressive and perhaps, on a track to track comparison, more pop-oriented than the single.

Sometimes It Kills by Visions of Trees

Don't forget to check out the exuberant video for "Sometimes It Kills," either:




The "No Flag (ANR Remix)" and the unexpected but dead pretty Ariel Pink cover, "She's My Girl" are our particular favorites, the Ariel Pink cover offering a spot-on and meaningful correlate for the group artistically. They, like the lo-fi king they honored, seem to be interested in the intersections of nature, sound, and transcendence. The floating, chilled-out quality of their work is miles away from Pink sonically, but they share an obvious, kindred heart.

No Flag (ANR Remix) by Visions of Trees

She's My Girl - Ariel Pink Cover by Visions of Trees

As holds true for a group like, say, Keep Shelly in Athens, Visions of Trees can remix with the best of them. To wit, we give you their remix of oOoOO's "Burnout eyess"

Burnout eyess - oOoOO (Visions of Trees Remix) by Visions of Trees

For a comprehensive look at their work, check out their Souncloud, visit their Myspace, follow them on Twitter and, for the love of God, someone get some blog love on these folks.

Feature: Matthewdavid

Matthewdavid--the moniker of L.A.'s Matthew David McQueen--has been called, depending on where you look, "lo-fi electronic," or "experimental," or (idiotically) "glo-fi," but none such characterization quite fits, partly because what Matthewdavid deals in couldn't really be labeled a "school" of music. More aptly, he plays with the genre of electronic music, and what it means for an artist to be, at once, electronic and intertextual with the world of music beyond his genre. His recent mix for Altered Zones--which runs the gamut from rap, to jazz, to African cassettes, to indie (Puro Instinct's excellent "Stillyagi," specifically)--exhibits a typically modernist approach to music: He finds a way to bring many genres, ideas, and disparate sounds together to create a fresh whole. He follows the old Pound adage: "Make it new." 


Given his inclination towards synthesis, it is maybe unsurprising that Matthewdavid's forthcoming LP, Outmind, is dropping April 18 via Brainfeeder, the label headed by resident genius Flying Lotus, the grand master of synthesizing experimental and avant-garde concepts into listenable, lovable art.


            
             Tracklist

              1. Los Angeles is Beautiful
              2. Noche Y Dia/ San Raphael
              3. Prayers at Bedtime
              4. International (ft. Doggie)
              5. Group Tea (ft. Flying Lotus)
              6. Like You Mean It
              7. Epic Swan
              8. Floor Music (ft. Niki Randa)
              9. Cucumber-Lime
             10. Today, Same Way
             11. Being Without You
             12. No Need to Worry/ Mean Too Much




From Outmind: "Like You Mean It," a cut with a gargantuan punch behind it:



The buzz around Matthewdavid is, pretty much without contest, deserved. His International EP from earlier this year is described (accurately) by Ninja Tune thusly:

A pleasurable pastiche of hazy beats, spectral synth work and saturating textures, International is a deep and dreamy endeavor. From diaphanous vocal samples to the silken strum of a guitar, soft ocean echoes to a laid-back 808, the EP lures the listener into a plush world that teems with sensory treasures. Drums glimmer like a musical mirage, gossamer melodies mingle with scattering beats while smooth waves wash over shuffles of sound.
The video for "International (ft. Doggie)"--a grainy melding of VHS-quality images--can be viewed below: 



Matthewdavid - International (feat. Dogbite) from BRAINFEEDER on Vimeo.

A smattering of Matthewdavid's work will be evidence enough of the gamut he can run--from sunny but intelligent electronic, to Animal Collective-style inventiveness, he's pretty much soaked up the best of the current music scene and found exciting ways to re-imagine it:

Trusss by matthewdavid

outdoor racket by matthewdavid

And...before he had quite the buzz he has today, Matthewdavid did some interesting work with Sun Araw, if they're your thing, that you can buy over at Leaving Records. They've put up the "Third Movement from the A-Side" for free download, if you want to dip a toe in first.

Anyway. Matthewdavid: Monitor his Soundcloud, peruse his Myspace--he's going to be big, so remember: it's not that much money, just buy the album.
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