Much like the ascending Koonyum Sun ushers in a new day in New South Wales, the record of the same name by world son Xavier Rudd carries a similar aura of refreshment, of rebirth.
From 2002’s To Let, his first studio album, through to 2007’s White Moth, Rudd gradually refined his globally-influenced collage of world music – a matchless mixture of reggae, funk, blues, folk, and nearly every other sort of song with the ability to stimulate people’s spirits. With 2008’s Dark Shades of Blue, though, the world was welcomed into a darker, more somber side of Rudd’s music. The album was indeed musically rich, with an international influence still inherent; however, the overall aura carried a different tinge compared to that of his previous work. As he explains it, his musical output at that time may have been a slight glimpse of what was soon to come.
“Dark Shades Of Blue represented what was coming to me,” explains Rudd, “and it was something that I didn’t realize at the time. It was like I could feel the shudder of an earthquake, but I didn’t know it was coming.” That metaphorical earthquake manifested in the form of the most tumultuous year in Rudd’s personal history, and one he was more than happy to put behind him when starting to pen Koonyum Sun.
The album marks a fresh, new musical and spiritual awakening for Rudd, perhaps most notably as it’s his first with bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo under the unified banner of Xavier Rudd & Inzintaba. Though the trio has been performing together for many months, Koonyum Sun is their first collaborative collection of songs – a triangle of influence that carries a piece of each individual member, yet keeps them all connected. Thanks to the input of Inzintaba, there’s a staggering amount of vigor to this release that Xavier Rudd fans haven’t seen to date. There’s also more vocal variation, with colourful harmonies in several different languages soaring atop the music.
Everybody loves surprises, that feeling of not knowing what might be around the next corner -- and that’s exactly the vibe that Widespread Panic gives off every time they unleash a new album. Sometimes that means taking listeners on a nice, smooth ride, and sometimes it means making ‘em hold on tight, but either way, it means the trip is gonna be worth it.
On Dirty Side Down, their ATO debut and 11th studio offering overall, Widespread Panic offer listeners the sonic equivalent of a dip in a cool mountain stream. At once bracing and cleansing, invigorating and soothing, the album is something of an emotional travelogue, its ebb and flow evident in every aspect of the instrumental interplay -- skittering rhythms, fanciful guitar flights and low-slung melodies alike -- as well as the pensive-but-not-ponderous lyrical tone. “We didn’t necessarily have an overall vision for the album going in, because we never really have things that cut and dried,” says singer-guitarist John Bell. “We all came in with some ideas, and had a few bits of subject matter that we really wanted to touch on, but the one thing we all agreed about was the fact that we wanted to make sure we could play every song live and really enjoy playing all of them.”
Widespread Panic cut its teeth, like so many of its forebears, on the southern bar circuit, where winning fans and influencing patrons takes a unique combination of musical panache and from-the-gut persistence. John Bell and Michael Houser had spent the better part of five years writing, playing and racking up life experiences as collaborators and friends by the time the fully-coalesced band’s first official show took place in 1986. From there, the Panic spread stealthily but immutably, via disc -- their first full-length, Space Wrangler, followed in 1987 -- and, even more importantly, the constant gigging that shaped them into one of the era’s most extraordinary live bands. Panic separated themselves from the crowd by working both ends of the sonic spectrum -- crafting tightly-wound and memorable songs and using those as jumping off points for improvisations that turn heads and then keep them bobbing.
Even within the eclectic world of alternative rock, few bands were so brave, so frequently brilliant, and so deliciously weird as the Flaming Lips. From their beginnings as Oklahoma weirdos to their mid-'90s pop culture breakthrough to their status as one of the most respected groups of the 2000s, the Lips rode one of the more surreal and haphazard career trajectories in pop music. An acid-bubblegum band with as much affinity for sweet melodies as blistering noise assaults, their off-kilter sound, uncommon emotional depth, and bizarre history (packed with tales of self-immolating fans and the like) firmly established them as true originals.
After a three-year absence from the shelves, 2002 brought several new releases, including the new record Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and a two-volume retrospective of the Restless years. Yoshimi won the group even more popular and critical acclaim than The Soft Bulletin, which the group maximized by spending half of 2002 appearing with Beck on his Sea Change tour as both his opening act and backing band. The Lips kept busy over the next two years by touring in support of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and working on their movie Christmas on Mars. They returned to the studio in 2004 and spent much of 2005 recording; that year, the Flaming Lips documentary, The Fearless Freaks, and their VOID video collection were both released, whetting fans' appetites for the band's 2006 album, At War with the Mystics.
In 2007, the Flaming Lips were nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Album for Mystics and won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album. One year later, the band's long-awaited, seven-years-in-the-making film Christmas on Mars made its debut at the Sasquatch Festival in George, WA; that fall, the movie and its soundtrack were released as a CD/DVD set. During 2007 and 2008, the Lips began working on the follow-up to At War with the Mystics, taking a looser, more experimental approach than they had in years. The results were released as Embryonic in fall 2009, followed by the band's quirky remake of the Pink Floyd classic Dark Side of the Moon. The Flaming Lips worked with several different artists on the latter album, which was billed as The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing the Dark Side of the Moon.
"Radio Retaliation is definitely a more overt political statement," says Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation. "There�s no excuse for not speaking out at this point, with the suspension of habeas corpus, outsourced torture, illegal wars of aggression, fuel, food, and economic crises. It�s hard to close your eyes and sleep while the world is burning around you. If you are an artist, this is the most essential time to speak up.� So that�s exactly what they do with their new album.
Recording in their Washington DC based studio, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, better known as the international DJ and production duo Thievery Corporation, have managed to blossom in the heart of a city they often refer to as �Babylon;� a poignant reference to the traditional Rastafarian distaste and distrust of a corrupt and unjust modern system. Although the city is best known as the seat of an aggressive American Empire, paradoxically Washington DC has long been the home of a music subculture legendary for fierce independence, a staunch do-it-yourself work ethic, and conscientious social activism exemplified by genre-defining pioneers like godfather of go-go Chuck Brown and indie punk rockers Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Fugazi.
The pioneering force behind the rise of trip-hop, Massive Attack were among the most innovative and influential groups of their generation; their hypnotic sound -- a darkly sensual and cinematic fusion of hip-hop rhythms, soulful melodies, dub grooves, and choice samples -- set the pace for much of the dance music to emerge throughout the 1990s, paving the way for such acclaimed artists as Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, Beth Orton, and Tricky, himself a Massive Attack alumnus. Their history dates back to 1983 and the formation of the Wild Bunch, one of the earliest and most successful sound-system/DJ collectives to arrive on the U.K. music scene; renowned for their seamless integration of a wide range of musical styles, from punk to reggae to R&B, the group's parties quickly became can't-miss events for the Bristol club crowd, and at the peak of their popularity they drew crowds so enormous that the local live music scene essentially ground to a halt.
It will be “Jamband Heaven” when the “First Annual Southern Monster Smash Music Festival” comes to the Pompano Beach Amphitheater on Saturday, October 30. It’s an all day Festival with doors opening at 11AM.
For the first time in South Florida the “Southern Monster Smash Music Festival” will feature two stages filled with the top stars in jamband circles, all in one venue. The Pompano Beach Amphitheater will come alive with the outstanding talents that include:
JJ Grey and Mofro
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Ivan Neville and Dumpstaphunk
The Lee Boys with Oteil and Kofi Burbridge
Bobby Lee Rodgers Trio
Hill Country Revue
The Heavy Pets
The Auctioneers
Crazy Fingers.
If you missed this year’s Wanee Festival (or even if you didn’t) you won’t want to miss the “First Annual Southern Monster Smash Music Festival!”
The genre-spanning band Perpetual Groove has had a “record” year in 2010. With the release of two new studio projects, Heal, a full length record, and Honey Cuts, an EP and a slew of sell out performances, the band has been reinvigorated with the addition of new keyboardist, John Hruby. Hailing from Athens, GA, this legendary band has once again reinvented their sound. A line-up adjustment and a change in scenery have given way to a beautiful, timeless set of recordings that signifies the rebirth of a band that’s carved out their own unique sound by performing nearly 1000 live shows in their brief career.
The sound of Heal combines Perpetual Groove’s famed melodic tunes with highly personalized lyrics in order to create an entirely new experience. “We wanted to make a record unlike any previous effort,” says new keyboardist John Hruby, “to expand upon the elements of Perpetual Groove that fans are accustomed to, with a new sense of vigor, sparked by the lineup change.” With their new keyboardist comes new lyrical influences and harmonies, as demonstrated in “40 Roses”, written by Hruby. Other standouts include the strong opener, “No Directions” and “Honeycutt”, the only instrumental track of the album. The lone instrumental features the band’s only recorded banjo part, a first for guitarist Butler. “Too Close To The Sun,” is destined to be the sleeper favorite of the album. The composition’s soaring lyrics typify the sound that has been so prevalent in helping to grow their expansive fan base.
Heal, their first album recorded in Athens, GA, was produced and engineered by David Barbe (Drive-by-Truckers, Cracker) at Chase Park Transduction. In a departure from previous experiences, the sessions were recorded entirely to tape in preparation for release on different mediums and mastered by Sterling Sound mastering engineer, Greg Calbi in New York. “We opted to go
for a warmer sound on this record,” says Hruby. “So many of the instruments and sounds were organic, we felt as though recording to tape might enhance the overall 'sound' we were going for on this particular record.” The group feels that Heal will provide their audience with something deeper than a simple party soundtrack. According to lead vocalist Brock Butler, the listeners should experience “a cathartic cleansing experience. Music that can turn a bad day around, or lighten heavy times.” In times such as these, this is the kind of record that anyone will enjoy. The band is confident with the outcome, as well. “In short,” says Brock, “the record sounds exactly how it did in my head to begin with.”
Much like the ascending Koonyum Sun ushers in a new day in New South Wales, the record of the same name by world son Xavier Rudd carries a similar aura of refreshment, of rebirth.
Everybody loves surprises, that feeling of not knowing what might be around the next corner -- and that’s exactly the vibe that Widespread Panic gives off every time they unleash a new album. Sometimes that means taking listeners on a nice, smooth ride, and sometimes it means making ‘em hold on tight, but either way, it means the trip is gonna be worth it. 
Even within the eclectic world of alternative rock, few bands were so brave, so frequently brilliant, and so deliciously weird as the Flaming Lips. From their beginnings as Oklahoma weirdos to their mid-'90s pop culture breakthrough to their status as one of the most respected groups of the 2000s, the Lips rode one of the more surreal and haphazard career trajectories in pop music. An acid-bubblegum band with as much affinity for sweet melodies as blistering noise assaults, their off-kilter sound, uncommon emotional depth, and bizarre history (packed with tales of self-immolating fans and the like) firmly established them as true originals.
"Radio Retaliation is definitely a more overt political statement," says Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation. "There�s no excuse for not speaking out at this point, with the suspension of habeas corpus, outsourced torture, illegal wars of aggression, fuel, food, and economic crises. It�s hard to close your eyes and sleep while the world is burning around you. If you are an artist, this is the most essential time to speak up.� So that�s exactly what they do with their new album.
