As usual, ALARM leaves no genre unexplored in our list of this year's overlooked gems.

Sigh: Scenes from Hell (The End, 1/19/10)

Sigh: "The Summer Funeral"

With a history of fusing other revered genres to a doomy combination of black metal and thrash, Japan's Sigh used its eighth studio album to deliver symphonic, epic metal that calls upon classical instrumentation to top its rock foundation.

Brass, woodwind, and string instruments — as well as organ and piano — accent as well as lead sinister melodies that take surprising turns through fanciful themes. Raspy, menacing vocals coat each track, resulting in a dramatic presentation that isn't much at odds with its complex backdrop.

RJD2: The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections, 1/19/10)

RJD2: "Games You Can Win"

Following a divisive album that saw the introduction of poppy, soulful vocals, producer RJD2 returned with something of a split release — an album that leaves no shortage of accessible, vocal-driven tunes but that emphasizes some inventive instrumentals.  Whether or not you dig the soulful RJ, there's no doubt that the music on The Colossus is some of his best to date.

Chicago Underground Duo: Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey, 1/26/10)

Chicago Underground Duo: "Spy on the Floor"

For 15 years, the Chicago Underground Duo (and Trio, Quartet, and Orchestra) has been an avant-garde jazz outlet for prolific Chicago musicians Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Isotope 217) and Chad Taylor.  Boca Negra is an interesting dichotomy, as spiraling vociferation leads to upbeat grooves, shifting piano chords, harmonic electronics, and ambient samples.

Algernon: Ghost Surveillance (Cuneiform, 1/26/10)

Algernon: "Broken Lady"

The brainchild of guitarist Dave Miller, Algernon walks a thin line between melodically driven post-rock and instrumental unconventionality.  Ghost Surveillance places greater emphasis on synthesizers and sprawling song structures, but at its core is the combination of accessibility and technicality that has defined Miller's style. Noisy, circular rock riffs transform to tranquil, wandering passages. "Timekiller," the album's fourth track, is a beautiful, buoyant number — and one of the band's best creations to date.

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: Into the Wind (Ubiquity, 1/26/10)

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: "East"

In the hands of a marvel, the guzheng — a gorgeous Chinese zither — resonates with tactile beauty as its many strings are plucked with precision.

Bei Bei, a native of Chengdu, China, is one such musical technician. And this collaboration with Shawn Lee, a prolific producer who can man as many genres as he sees fit, is undoubtedly one of the year's finest albums.  Together, the two use Into the Wind to navigate through funky down-tempo jams, Kung-Fu flavor, hip hop, soul, and driving grooves.

Daníel Bjarnason: Processions (Bedroom Community, 2/1/10)

Daníel Bjarnason: "Bow to String I: Sorrow Conquers Happiness"

Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, composer Daníel Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé. Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work.  Powerful cellos scale and race with crackling percussions before settling into gently bowed and pizzicato string accompaniments; easily half a dozen strings battle for dominance in a sorrowful, harmonic piece that resonates long after hearing it.  Undoubtedly, Processions is a daring and original debut.

Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings / Distribution, 2/2/10)

Shining: "Fisheye"

Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, Norway's Shining — the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby — transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before delving into its darker side for a collaboration with black-metallists Enslaved.

Blackjazz pushes deeper into the band's dark recesses, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century.  Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams.  In all, Blackjazz is a new epic — and perhaps the best metal album of 2010.

Pillars and Tongues: Lay of Pilgrim Park, LP + download (Endless Nest, 2/9/10)

Pillars and Tongues: "The Center of"

With just three members, Pillars and Tongues manages to craft powerful folk abstractions and interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics. Both composed and improvisational, these shifting forms evoke spiritual vibes in their soulful essence, heavenly harmonies, and repeated patterns.

Dessa: A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree, 2/9/10)

Dessa: "Dixon's Girl"

The only female member of Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree, Dessa is a spoken-word vocalist, singer, and MC whose awaited full-length was finally released earlier this year.

On A Badly Broken Code, her true solo debut, Dessa's vocal diversity is matched by its underlying music, ranging from hard-hitting beats and rhymes to lilting harmonic overdubs.

The Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade: The Red List (20 Buck Spin, 2/16/10)

The Bastard Noise: "Mutant World of Shame / Underworld"

A spinoff of treasured "power-violence" hardcore group Man is the Bastard, The Bastard Noise is approaching its 20th anniversary of creating noisy electro-doom brutality.  For this split release with hardcore/punk experimentalists The Endless Blockade, the group utilizes the trademark drum-and-bass style of Man is the Bastard in combination with its far-out sounds.  The Endless Blockade contributes three tracks to the release — one 14-minute epic and two avant-garde remixes.

Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (Rhymesayers, 2/16/10)

Freeway & Jake One: "Know What I Mean"

Continuing his life after Roc-A-Fella Records, former freestyle star Freeway now makes his debut on Rhymesayers, a fitting new home — if only temporary before a move to Cash Money.  Fellow Rhymesayers standout Jake One provides a funky, malleable backdrop for Freeway's fiery delivery and lyrics that are alternately personal and light in content. And though Freeway deserves his accolades, Jake One's production is the MVP of this collaboration.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch, 2/16/10)

Carolina Chocolate Drops: "Hit 'Em Up Style" (Blu Cantrell)

Beholden to the traditions of Americana and early African-American folk, the string trio Carolina Chocolate Drops continues blurring the lines of old and new. On Genuine Negro Jig, the group's fifth album, a few original numbers and a trove of traditionals take root in banjo, fiddle, and percussion. Three-part harmonies shimmer on the famous folk tune "Trouble in Your Mind," and simplicity shines on gripping renditions of "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Kansas Joe McCoy and "Trampled Rose" by Tom Waits.  Most surprisingly, Genuine Negro Jig includes an enjoyable rendition of "Hit 'Em Up Style," an unintentionally farcical pop hit by Blu Cantrell.

Mako Sica: Dual Horizon LP (La Société Expéditionnaire, 2/16/10)

Mako Sica: "I'Itoi"

A translation of the phrase "land bad," Mako Sica has more than a nominal Native American influence; the trio's distant vocal reverberations and dirge-inspired tunes recall the spirituality of America's original inhabitants.

Between the vocalizations of Brent Fuscaldo, the melodies of guitarist Przemyslaw Krys Drazek, and the rhythms of drummer Michael J. Kendrick, Mako Sica maintains a strong balance of abilities — with a brooding combination of jangly guitars, reverberated vociferation, and instrumental dynamics.

High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music, 2/23/10)

High on Fire: "Snakes for the Divine"

Stoner-metal trio High on Fire has built a devoted following over the past dozen years as fans fell in love with Matt Pike's gruff vocals and thunderous guitar riffs. On Snakes for the Divine, Pike uses his throat to channel Lemmy Kilmister; meanwhile, the band has picked up its pace and crafted an album that isn’t as outstretched. Hard-hitting riffery leads an effort that, though diverse at times, may be the band’s most driving release.

Jaga Jazzist: One-Armed Bandit (Ninja Tune, 2/23/10)

Jaga Jazzist: "One-Armed Bandit"

Five years have passed since we've heard the powerhouse melodies of Norway's Jaga Jazzist, the post-rock/"nü-jazz" conception of brothers Lars and Martin Horntveth.

One-Armed Bandit, immediately the group's best album, resembles symphonic prog rock, arguably a few steps removed from parts of Frank Zappa's expansive catalog and closer to countryman Jono El Grande's diverse and theatrical style.  This album, however, is much more cohesive than either of those comparisons suggest, and at times it is nearly overwhelming with grooves and harmonious refrains.

Rob Swift: The Architect (Ipecac, 2/23/10)

Rob Swift: "The Architect"

Turntablist/DJ Robert Aguilar, formerly of the X-ecutioners, has long utilized his love of jazz, R&B, and other musical movements to create compelling hip-hop instrumentals while displaying his tight beat-juggling skills.

The Architect is Swift’s foray into the classical world. In addition to a multitude of sampled styles and sounds, classical cuts comprise a substantial chunk of this Ipecac debut. Rearranged strings, organ, and horns often make the foundation of a given track, occasionally evoking high-tension Italian Westerns, as Swift’s scratches dance atop banging beats.

Rotting Christ: Aealo (Season of Mist, 2/23/10)

Rotting Christ: "Aealo"

For more than 20 years, Athens' Rotting Christ has traversed different directions on the metal path.  With its previous release, Theogonia, the group released a striking, original album that fused its dark sound to the ethnic sounds of its ancestors.

Like its predecessor, Aealo features female Benedictine chants, lingual pipes, and a medieval feel. Combined with dueling high-pitched harmonies and powerful guitar work, these new elements highlight an album that should be among the most original metal releases of the year.

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani (Nonesuch, 2/23/10)

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: "Ruby"

As two of Africa's most internationally renowned musicians, guitar legend Ali Farka Touré and kora phenom Toumani Diabaté have displayed impeccable abilities while integrating the styles of other cultures into their ethnic sounds.

Each Malian, the two collaborated for the acclaimed In the Heart of the Moon in 2005, shortly before Farka Touré's passing in 2006. Fortunately, the two set aside time to record new material before touring for In the Heart of the Moon, and the result is another beautiful set of duets that sees a posthumous release.

Throughout Ali and Toumani, Farka Touré roots each creation in melodious African-blues pieces. Diabaté's virtuosity accents each track in the form of fanciful scales, which at times evoke classical harpsichord passages, perhaps most notably on "Sabu Yerkoy."

Fang Island: s/t (Sargent House, 2/23/10)

Fang Island: "Sideswiper"

Mostly comprised of ex-Daughters, the good-time rock quintet Fang Island was one of the most quickly ascending bands of 2010, jumping onto tours with The Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots following the release of its first full-length album.

The self-titled release is chock full of palm-muted and speed-infused indie-prog anthems, with über-layered vocal harmonies to go with a triple-thick guitar assault and distorted-bass bludgeoning.  It's one of those rare releases that feels absolutely radiant and thrashing at the same time.

B. Dolan: Fallen House, Sunken City (Strange Famous, 3/2/10)

B. Dolan: "The Reptilian Agenda"

Going way back with Sage Francis, rapper B. Dolan is a like-minded MC and slam poet whose style isn't terribly dissimilar to that of his long-time friend. Fallen House, Sunken City is Dolan's second full-length for Strange Famous, and it's full of the sociopolitical themes (if often in quick blasts or asides) and contentious delivery for which he's known.

In addition to some seemingly personal lyrics, Dolan takes passing shots at big business, taxation, the pharmaceutical industry, the concept of ownership of natural resources, the Israeli razing of Palestinian developments, and, among many other things, the so-called New World Order — dropping clips of Dick Cheney and George H.W. Bush in "The Reptilian Agenda."  On top of Dolan's socially conscious rhymes, A-list production by Alias makes this one of the year's top hip-hop releases.

Archie Bronson Outfit: Coconut (Domino, 3/2/10)

Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"
Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"

With its warbled vocals and driving percussion, British psych-rock trio Archie Bronson Outfit is like a more adventurous Wolf Parade — as comfortable burning up the dance floor with clean, bouncy riffs as it is turning up the reverb and rocking in a garage.

Coconut is the band's first LP in nearly four years, and it kicks off with a crunchy, swirling guitar line and a hypnotic bongo-laden beat. Produced by DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, Coconut gets spaced-out and drone-like at times, but it always offers a hint of pop accessibility amidst the static and haze.

Download the podcast for This Week’s Best Albums: November 30, 2010 and subscribe to This Week’s Best Albums for free with iTunes.

Stream the podcast for This Week's Best Albums: November 30, 2010.

God of Shamisen: Smoke Monster Attack

God of Shamisen: "Last Shamisen Master Attack"

Featuring a pair of members from genre annihilators Estradasphere, God of Shamisen is a boundless project of East/West fusion combining heavy metal, improvised Japanese folk, and much more.  The four-piece is led by Kevin Kmetz, a US native who grew up on a military base in Japan and later mastered Tsugaru-shamisen, a striking, percussive style that developed during the late 1800s and early 1900s in the north of the island of Honshu.

The band’s music is built on Kmetz’s mastery of the shamisen, a slender, three-stringed Japanese instrument, but it has drawn the ire of some traditional shamisen masters for adding thrash riffs and rapid-fire metal beats. (Read the band's story in our newest book, Invisible: Overlooked Albums and Unseen Artists, and online here.)

On the band's 2008 debut album, Dragon String Attack, its aggressive blend skips from blast beats to reggae jams to Turkish folk. There are plenty more tangential visits to other styles, but at the band’s heart is the mixture of metal and shamisen.

Smoke Monster Attack, the band's digital-only second release, accentuates that mix. It features a few unreleased originals as well as a handful of video-game and movie covers, including wild renditions of the themes to Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Star Wars. The album was co-produced by Billy Anderson, a brief member of the Melvins who has produced or engineered for dozens of excellent heavy bands, and his presence makes Smoke Monster Attack that much stouter.

Tristeza: Paisajes (Sanity Muffin / Better Looking)

Tristeza: "Newbury"

Over the past 13 years, this highly melodic group of post-rock instrumentalists has released a constant stream of LPs, EPs, and outtakes.  And though Tristeza has slowed in recent years, Paisajes — the band's latest full-length — is another beautiful batch of churning rock tunes.

The group’s lineup has shifted a bit since former member James LaValle left to focus on The Album Leaf, and it has since added and lost a keyboardist. Paisajes is back to the basics, in a sense – at many points, it’s just the harmonic interplay of a reverberated guitar and bass on top of drums. However, there are accents of vibraphone and violin as well as a few funky horn cuts, and the band is billing this as an "album of sound, color, and textures."

No matter the context, Paisajes excels with more pretty rock instrumentals — recorded, notably, by Tim Green of The Fucking Champs, helping recapture some of the vibe of the band’s classic album Spine & Sensory.

Locrian: The Crystal World (Utech)

Locrian: "The Crystal World"

Not to be confused with the metal band of the same name, this Locrian is the dark noise duo-turned-trio from Chicago that has released dreary, droning, long-form experimental soundscapes.  The Crystal World is the group’s first album as a trio, and though it still builds slowly and is noisy and dark, it’s Locrian’s most palatable release yet for casual listeners.

Also sharing its name with the Locrian musical mode, which is built on tension and dissonance, the group has added more live instrumentation to make what might be the most melodic, accessible, and structured of its releases.  The Crystal World is, at times, essentially a cousin of brooding post-rock and horror-score atmospherics, but it walks a fine balance between order and chaos.  In all, it’s another evolution of a band that’s still coming into its own.

Honorable Mentions

King Cannibal: The Way of the Ninja (Ninja Tune)

Jason Stein’s Locksmith Isidore: Three Kinds of Happiness (Not Two Records)

God of Shamisen: Smoke Monster Attack

Despite a predilection for combining the shamisen — a fretless, three-stringed Japanese lute — with any dissimilar musical style, God of Shamisen’s Kevin Kmetz is very much the traditionalist. Kmetz is a student of Tsugaru-shamisen, a striking, percussive style of performance developed during the late 1800s and early 1900s in the northern region of Honshu (the largest island of Japan). Evolved in part by players such as Takahashi Chikuzan, who contributed to the “Tsugaru boom” of the 1950s, Tsugaru-shamisen eventually adopted long improvisations and began to reflect American influences such as the burgeoning free-jazz movement.

The name Tsugaru-shamisen, however, didn’t gain popularity until the ’50s and ’60s, an era when America again declared itself protector to Japan. Military bases had sprouted up in the region, and with them came American music suddenly filtering through the radio. Influences of jazz, blues, and rock ’n’ roll were added to the Tsugaru repertoire, and just as quickly, the shamisen community named the folk-infused improvisations as the true tradition of Tsugaru-shamisen — a tradition that must stay rigid, according to some.

It is particularly apt, then, for an outsider who spent his youth in the 1980s going to school on an American military base in Japan to advocate a tradition of change inherent in the beginnings of Tsugaru-shamisen.

"I feel like if you’re pissing people off, you’re making an impact."

Kmetz had a desire to play the shamisen during his early teens — something that he says was impossible for a gaijin, an outsider, to do at the time. “There was no way I could have gone into a shamisen school,” he says. “It was just closed off to foreigners. You just wouldn’t see a gaijin going to a shamisen master and learning. I had to wait until I was an adult to go into shamisen.”

Since picking up the instrument, Kmetz has become the first foreigner to win the honorary Daijo Kazuo Award in 2005, as well as finish as a runner-up in 2006 and in second place in 2007 — honors that he hopes to surpass by becoming the first foreigner to win first place in a Tsugaru-shamisen tournament.

Apart from the tournaments, however, Kmetz leads God of Shamisen (www.godofshamisen.com), a conduit for the change that he sees as paramount to Tsugaru-shamisen’s continuity. Dragon String Attack, the band’s 2008 debut, deftly weaves metal, funk, ambient electronic, and even a sense of the 8-bit-music renaissance into an effluent, funny, intelligent mess of Eastern and Western influences.

The album, including contributions from Trey Spruance of Secret Chiefs 3, fellow shamisen player Masahiro Nitta, and bansuri maestro Deepak Ram, has at its center the shamisen — with a rhythmic, buzzing, and tonally striking sound that is never out of place yet always surprising in its context.

For Kmetz, the band’s changes in style — from blast beats to reggae jams to Turkish folk — are a natural progression for Tsugaru-shamisen.

“I feel there’s a duty to keep adding to it,” Kmetz says, “because that’s what it was originally about. People forgot that you could add a phrase and still call it Tsugaru-shamisen. You’re going to make people mad, but that’s really what it’s supposed to say. To me, that’s the only way to keep a tradition alive.”

Those whom God of Shamisen are angering, surprisingly, are not the Japanese masters — a group, Kevin admits, that is not the most vocal in its true opinions.

The most outspoken individuals come from the USA. “I’m thrilled to report I’ve actually been making a lot of fellow American shamisen players quite upset,” Kmetz says. “I’m really taking huge authorities with the instrument, which is one of the major complaints I’m getting from a lot of fellow American players. They’re saying, ‘You can’t really call yourself Tsugaru-shamisen, because you’re not sticking to the language.’ It’s been sort of a satisfactory moment for me, because I feel like if you’re pissing people off, you’re making an impact. Finally, I’m considered worthy enough to get upset about.”

It’s been two years since the release of Dragon String Attack, and despite the distance between players, God of Shamisen has released a follow-up digital album titled Smoke Monster Attack. Kmetz, after spending most of his adult life in the States, has moved back to Japan to study under the current masters of the shamisen.

Bassist/producer Mark Thornton and guitarist Karl Schnaitter reside in California, and drummer Lee Smith — a fellow alumnus, along with Kmetz, of genre annihilators Estradasphere — resides in Seattle, where some of the recording for Smoke Monster Attack was completed.

Produced by Thornton and Billy Anderson, a name very familiar to metal heads, Smoke Monster Attack continues to blend the shamisen’s unique sound with Western music. Anderson has produced for the likes of Sleep, Secret Chiefs 3, and Mr. Bungle, and he brings to Kmetz’s instrument a frantic immediacy that hits at every note. The rhythmic, acoustic strikes somehow fit right in with heavy riffs and video-game covers.

The metal influences heard on the first album take center stage with Anderson’s production, and Smoke Monster Attack is less likely to bound from one genre to another. The music loses none of its spontaneity or humor, and if anything, it feels like a stronger, more cohesive release than the first.

Within the time between albums, God of Shamisen has been as active as a band can be with its members spanning the globe, playing Japanese-American festivals, dive bars, and concert halls. The band plans, however, to accomplish one elusive goal: to tour Japan. “We’ve never done that, and that’s always been weird,” Kmetz says. “It’s like, ‘Wow, you’re doing this thing that’s mixing Japanese culture with American culture, and you’ve never gone to Japan and showed that to anyone.’”

This means that Japan has something wholly original coming, derived from the best that American and Japanese culture could birth, flitting between two worlds despite the tendency for stagnation in the name of tradition. As Kmetz so rightly says, tradition is about keeping things alive enough to change.

Though many players adhere to the traditional Tsugaru-shamisen repertoire — a complex, improvisational style popularized in northern Japan — others have stretched the instrument’s boundaries.  The Yoshida Brothers are one such set of risk-takers, meshing a fast, traditional style with rock, bluegrass, and cinematic styles.

Separated by just two years, Ryōichirō and Ken’ichi Yoshida have found success in their homeland, but they’ve become just as popular in the USA, where they began touring as a duo before even doing so in Japan.  Amid the brothers’ current US tour — a trip that they take each year — they spoke to ALARM about what is “proper” for the shamisen, being seen as a novelty, and the differences in US and Japanese audiences.

(Answers translated by Tatsuya Hayashi)

What do you accomplish together with two shamisens that you could not with just one?

We have more variety of music by playing two.  Basically, a shamisen is a unison instrument, so by using two shamisens, we can divide the parts into two.  …  Sometimes one plays lower and one plays higher.  We can sometimes harmonize, but sometimes one plays a rhythm part and one plays the melody.

Have you encountered people who view your music as a gimmick or novelty?  How would you respond to that?

Sometimes it is good for us, because the shamisen has a lot of potential for many genres of music, and that’s our mission – to show the potential of the instrument.  There might be [criticism], but we don’t really care. (Laughs) The main thing is that we enjoy the music, and we want our audience to enjoy the music.

I interviewed an American shamisen player, Kevin Kmetz, who has a band called God of Shamisen.  The band combines Tsugaru-jamisen with heavy metal and dozens of other styles, and he talked about traditional shamisen masters being upset at what he does.  Have you encountered the same type of anger or opposition?

Heavy metal is going a little far.  (Laughs)  Some people think that our music is not proper for the shamisen.  In our music, we always try to leave some elements that can be performed only by shamisen.  That is something we always keep in mind, so that’s why we really don’t care what people say.

When you recorded Prism in LA, you worked with a number of great American musicians, including Matt Chamberlain and Jesca Hoop.  Who else would you like to collaborate with on future albums?

We don’t have many ideas for vocalists.  [Ken'ichi] mainly listens to jazz and respects artists like Pat Metheny and Chick Corea.  Someday in the future, [we’d love to] collaborate with them.

We haven’t done any shows with a full band yet.  So in the future, if we have a show with a full band in the States, we’d like to have [Matt Chamberlain] as the drummer.

Ken’ichi has said that eating local foods are the “only way to feel or enjoy cities.”  What food have you enjoyed in Chicago, and what do you like about playing in America?

Pizza!  More than food, we really enjoy the reaction from the audience; it’s very different and depends on the location.  It’s very different from Japan too.  We sense a freeness from the audience [in America] – clapping hands and shouting.  Tsugaru-shamisen music is very improvisational, and it’s fun to [communicate in this way] from the artist to the audience.

As one of the principal songwriters in Estradasphere, guitarist/composer Jason Schimmel has always loved combining disparate styles in new and jaw-dropping ways.

But with Estradasphere on hold and a wealth of solo material, Schimmel now leads Orange Tulip Conspiracy, a similarly constructed but substantially different enterprise.

OTC's music worms through prog fusion, psychedelic rock, 1950s-style jazz, avant metal, Romani melodies, and much more. Its debut album, released last September on Mimicry Records, is nearly as diverse as an Estradasphere disc, but it's more focused from song to song.

Online editor Scott Morrow speaks with Schimmel to discuss this album's creation, the next album's sound, and the logistics of his nationwide May tour.

Orange Tulip Conspiracy: "Ignis Fatuus"
Orange Tulip Conspiracy: \"Ignis Fatuus\"

Did these songs originate out of Estradasphere's downtime, or were they older and always meant for another project? Was there anything specific that you wanted to accomplish with this mix of styles?

These songs were always meant for another project. I've always written way too many songs to be used by just Estradasphere. Though these songs seem new to most people, I actually have been working on some of these since the early Estradasphere days — it has just taken me this long time to finally finish them off and make a complete record.

Since I have always been very interested in many different styles of music, it has always been hard for me to write in just one style. I like to mix things up and give the listener a unique experience — an unpredictability that keeps people on their toes, so to speak.

After your coast-to-coast US tour in May, what are the plans for Orange Tulip Conspiracy? If a future recording is in the works, how might it sound?

Well, for the first time ever, I have actually written an entire new record before setting out on a tour. The goal is to perform these new songs for an audience to get a feel of what is going to work the best.

By doing this, we can take a song and transform it into something greater by feeding off the audience's natural reaction to the music without a previous point of reference. That way we can add or subtract things based on real musical experiences.

In the past, I have always written the music first, then made the record, and then finally set out to play the tunes from the record live. What happens is that the playing on the record is very stiff and tight in comparison to how we usually play the song after we tour on it. So I want the looseness and freedom that comes from the confidence of having played the songs many times before setting out to record them.

Directly following the tour, I mean literally the day after the tour ends, we are heading into a studio to record this new album. I am very excited to finally see this new process unfold on a recording.

The new record will sound similar to the first one in that there are many different types of compositions. Avant rock, groove, improv, jazz, and ambient are some of the first thoughts that come into my mind. There will also be a a few covers on there as well.

In addition to many other guests, almost all of Estradasphere (past and present) helped record this album. How does the live presentation of Orange Tulip Conspiracy differ from the studio version?

OTC's live presentation could be considered a much more organic version of the record in that it is just five musicians playing the songs. With the recording, I had the liberty to have all sorts of various orchestrations coming in and out, massive production changes, drastic arrangement alterations, etc., which I don't have the liberty to completely accomplish in a live context.

In the live setting, I play guitar and bazouki (8-stringed Greek instrument) and do some vocals. [Former Estradasphere member] John Whooley plays tenor and baritone sax, keys, and vocals, Luke Bergman plays upright and electric bass, Zach Cline plays rhythm guitar, and [current Estradasphere / God of Shamisen member] Lee Smith plays drums.

A solid and bombastic rhythm section holds it down while electric guitar and sax cover most of the lead aspects of the music. This is augmented by another guitar that plays most of the harmonic aspects of the music.

Will this solo project continue as a major priority if Estradasphere gets back into full swing?

Yes, I think that OTC will be a major priority for me regardless of whatever bands I am playing in at the time. The reality is that I need another outlet for the plethora of material that I compose. No one band can satisfy all my needs as a musician and creative force.

There are all sorts of compromises and considerations that music goes through being in a democratic band situation. I think that it is very healthy for me to have a project where I can focus all my attention.

- Scott Morrow

1. Books to Give for the 2008 Holiday Season

Covering politics, comic books, nude self-portraits, futuristic architecture, and humorous basketball profiles, ALARM lists five awesome books as gift ideas for your musically, artistically, or culturally interesting friends.

2. Commentaries on the Golden Path: The Allure of Belonging to America

Columnist Andrew Williams analyzes his love of American creations and how they often conflict with his sociopolitical ideology.

3. DIY Venue Spotlight: The Dayton Dirt Collective

ALARM's ongoing series exploring the best grassroots, non-traditional music venues profiles The Dayton Dirt Collective, a punk/experimental establishment situated near a local porn shop and church-supply outlet.

4. Lollapalooza 2008, Day 1: A Diverse Collection of Garbage

With pie chart in hand, publisher/editor Chris Force breaks down the whack hip hop, corny music for alt-jocks, sleepy singer/songwriters and more from Day 1 of last year's Lollapalooza.

5. Q&A: East Coast Avengers Discuss War Obsessions, 9/11, and Fox News

Following national notoriety for the release of "Kill Bill O'Reilly," politically outspoken hip-hop trio East Coast Avengers spoke with ALARM online editor Scott Morrow just before the historic 2008 election.

6. Q&A: God of Shamisen's Shredding Cultural Collisions

Led by Tsugaru-shamisen master Kevin Kmetz, Santa Cruz's God of Shamisen creates cultural collisions in the form of shredding, Japanese-infused progressive metal.

7. Q&A: Grails Guitarist Discusses Creating Album Art for Doomsdayer's Holiday

Fusing Indian music, 1970s film noir, and psychedelic sounds into heavy acoustic and electric rock, Grails is a wonderful anomaly. Publisher/editor Chris Force recently spoke with guitarist Alex Hall, who created the artwork for the group's new album.

8. Tim Fite: Tears of a Clown

Genre-defying folk rapper Tim Fite discusses the making of his most recent creation, Fair Ain't Fair, an album of violent regrets recorded during one of the lowest emotional points in his life.

9. Tinariwen: Malian Rebel Rock and Roll

Members of the nomadic Tuareg ethnic group, Tinariwen sings of independence from the Malian government. And despite a lengthy international touring schedule, the group's songs still tell the stories of its home — bleak tales of survival and cautious hope, desperation, and escapism.

10. The Top 10 Cover Songs by The Bad Plus

Hard-hitting jazz trio The Bad Plus knows how to pen pieces of proprietary gold. But its three members are also known for their genre-leaping renditions of rock songs, propelled by the chops of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer David King.

11. The Top 10 Parts of The Shape of Punk to Come

Just prior to an acrimonious breakup, Swedish hardcore group Refused released its magnum opus, The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts. It was as much an assault on capitalist philosophy as it was a striking stylistic evolution, and it did its best to advance hardcore in the way that its titular influence, Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, did with jazz.

12. The Top 10 Songs by Faith No More

Faith No More didn't revolutionize the rock landscape, but for much of its tenure, its members created some of the genre's best mainstream songs while courting radio success. Along the way, Mike Patton and crew peppered other styles into their expanding repertoire, wedging lounge sounds, incoherent squeals, and even an angelic choir into songs that ran alongside pummeling rock tunes.

The group released a phenomenal full-length late this year on Reptile Records, and now Kmetz is working on a major-label release for EMI Japan.

After the jump, you can watch a few exclusive videos of the group in the studio.  Make sure to throw those horns up for the double bass, and be sure to geek out for the Star Wars cover.

Also, be sure to read our web-exclusive interview with God of Shamisen.

- The London Sinfonietta has announced Sinfonietta Shorts, a series of miniatures by some of the world's leading composers to celebrate the ensemble's 40th anniversary. Contributors include Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher), Mira Calix, Hans Abrahamsen, Luke Bedford, Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, Jonathan Harvey, Anna Meredith and others. The event will be held Saturday, December 13 from 9 PM to 1 AM at Spirit Level of the Royal Festival Hall in London.

- Google is putting together a YouTube Symphony Orchestra that will hit Carnegie Hall in five months to perform — for the first time together — Chinese composer Tan Dun's Internet Symphony No. 1, Eroica. Classical and non-conventional musicians can submit YouTube videos of themselves playing Tan's composition and a piece of standard repertoire in order to get into the orchestra.

- On December 11 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, Dan Deacon will unveil his new live set, which features a 15-piece live ensemble performing material from his forthcoming album, Bromst, which will be released on Carpark on March 24, 2009. Deacon plans to tour with an ensemble in 2009 in support of the new record, which promises to be a prominent new chapter in his musical career.

- Bassist Kevin Rutmanis (Cows, Melvins, Tomahawk) will have his first solo art gallery showing of paintings and sculptures from January 7 to February 17 at DIY Gallery in Los Angeles. His latest musical offering, Hepa-Titus, plays at The Smell in LA on February 12.

- For The Ichthyologist, its upcoming album, prog/doom-rock band Giant Squid has announced the appearance of a few guest musicians — Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-Gathering, Agua de Annique), Karyn Crisis (Crisis), and Kris Force (Amber Asylum, Neurosis; no relation to ALARM publisher Chris Force). The album was recently recorded with producer Matt Bayles and will be limited to a few thousand copies, available only through the band.

- The Dead Kenny Gs began a West Coast tour last Thursday that runs through December 13. Led by saxophonist Skerik and percussionist Mike Dillon of Critters Buggin fame, the trio grabs a third member for performances — recently, bassist Brad Houser, also of Critters Buggin — and throws down some wild grooves.

- Fantômas has been added to Australia's Big Day Out festival, performing The Director's Cut in its entirety.

- Kevin Kmetz, the heart of Japanese/metal fusionists God of Shamisen, joins with two additional shamisen masters to perform the Monsters of Shamisen California tour through December 20.

- Chicago saxophonist Charles Gorczynski, one half of Ropeadope ambient jazz/IDM duo Silences (Sumire), has released a pair of solo releases for free download on his personal website, claritymusic.net.

- Rapper Yak Ballz of the Brooklyn hip-hop collective Weathermen has issued the online video premiere of "Dirt Empire," a solo single produced by Aesop Rock.

- Melodic/experimental indie rockers The Appleseed Cast will release Sagarmatha, their follow-up to Peregrine, via The Militia Group in January. A West Coast and Midwest US tour will follow in February.

- Three One G is offering 20% off of everything in its online shop. Holiday deals!

Kmetz and drummer Lee Smith have experience with unorthodox stylistic convergence as members of Estradasphere, but guitarist Karl Schnaitter and bassist/producer Mark Thornton provide just as much inspiration to shift sounds — Thornton, in particular, describes the band's sound as something of a crazy mixtape.

ALARM caught up with Kmetz and Thornton following a West Coast tour and the release of the group's full-length debut, Dragon String Attack (Reptile Records).

Kevin, how has your heritage as a Japanese American influenced your interest in playing the shamisen, and is your multiethnic upbringing responsible for your interest in combining traditional Japanese sounds with rock and metal?

Kmetz: I grew up in northern Japan and went to high school on an American military base, where I would hang out with the sons and daughters of Unites States Air Force people, so in a sense I was always part of these two worlds. My family lived outside of the base, so when I went home I would be called "gaijin," or "outsider," by the neighboring Japanese kids.

In Aomori Prefecture there is a well-known establishment called Yamauta where live Tsugaru-shamisen is performed every night. As a kid, I used to travel by train to go and check it out. I was also deeply moved by Takahashi Chikuzan, whom I saw when I was 14 at a concert in Hachinohe city.

At the time, I never dreamed that a gaijin kid could become part of the mysterious world of northern Japanese shamisen music, so I stuck to my electric guitar and music theory studies and formed a metal band with my air force brat friends on the base for fun. When I was 18, I moved to America for the first time to study music at Cal Arts in southern California. Among the items in my suitcase was a small collection of Yamauta and Chikuzan shamisen cassette tapes.
 

Japanese shamisen masters have a tendency to be very firm about what "cannot" be done on shamisen. I wanted to kind of piss them off.

The shamisen/metal fusion is the group's driving force, but what was the impetus for including elements of other genres like jam rock, funk, reggae, and Turkish music?

Kmetz: I have always been a huge fan of many different styles of music (rock, jazz, funk, classical, folk music from around the world, crazy modern stuff, etc.). Mark and I met through Estradasphere, and that whole approach to music — throwing together different musical elements — seems to have been a basic assumption of the band from the very start.

I guess part of what I always envisioned was that the shamisen would be presented in the most versatile way imaginable. Japanese shamisen masters have a tendency to be very firm about what "cannot" be done on shamisen. I wanted to kind of piss them off by breaking as many traditional shamisen rules as possible while still maintaining a sound and presence that shows I actually do have roots in northern Japan.

Thornton: I think the influences for the band come from a lot of different places, and of course you have to have a sense of humor. Busting out into reggae is pretty funny. Sometimes pieces fall into place; it just makes sense, and we have to go reggae here.

That was the case in "Bad Dog Attack," when band members are jamming and there is an urge to just go reggae. You have to follow the will of the music, however convoluted. Other genres just make sense for variety's sake. If you have some guitar shreddage and you have some crazy blast beats, those moments are even more powerful when you have a fake new age song, for example.

The whole concept of Dragon String Attack is sort of like a mixtape, or some crazy set list, but I think future songs will be more concise and still have the same style.

How was the recent West Coast tour? What other plans do you have as a group or as individuals?

Kmetz: Tour was great fun, and I am very thankful to Mark for all the work putting that together! We had great luck with people offering us places to stay and got to see many old friends. Right now all of us are going to be working off and on throughout October on a new CD project for a Japanese release.

Thornton: The West Coast tour was incredible. It was the most shows we've ever played together, in a row, and the timing was pretty remarkable. Reptile Records got our CD out, a total rush manufacturing, to meet our crazy tour requirements, so we couldn't have done it without them.

Individually — Karl's in grad school, I'm an occasional DJ, and Lee is drumming for another project called Isle of Black, which is a two-piece involving the guitarist from Girth. That stuff is pure shred.
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Estradasphere is maintaining a low profile for a few months. In the meantime, will Kevin and Lee make GOS their top musical priority? How does the geographical difference (Santa Cruz vs. Seattle) affect the relationship of the two groups?

Kmetz: I don't know how much of a priority it is for each one of us at the moment. Being far apart is kind of weird, but it seems like the kind of thing that happens more and more these days with all kinds of projects.

Thornton: Estradasphere still does occasional private shows, but it does appear that as a full band they're on a sort of hiatus. I know that along with traditional Tsugaru-shamisen performance, GOS is a musical priority for Kevin. Lee again is involved in other bands.

The geographical difference definitely gets in the way of random one-off shows, which makes GOS pretty much a tour-only band. We still will do major shows, though, like anime and sci-fi conventions. Anything geek or metal I think we can sneak into, thematically. But for our next projects, we'll be recording it in pieces — drums in Seattle and everything else in California.

God of Shamisen: The Science Fiction of Ray Bradbury Attack

God of Shamisen: www.godofshamisen.com
Reptile Records: www.reptilerecords.com

- Scott Morrow

Glasgow instrumentalists Mogwai return with an album full of beautiful minor-key epics-including a few seriously heavy tracks like "Batcat," which nicely contrasts "I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead," the album's droning, thudding, tinkling opener. Sporting a still-life portrait of a bald eagle's mug on the cover, The Hawk is Howling is one of Mogwai's most diverse releases this decade, possibly since Rock Action or EP+6 2001.

*Read Drew Fortune's lengthy feature on Mogwai in ALARM 33, available soon.

Mogwai: \"The Sun Smells Too Loud\"

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God of Shamisen: Dragon String Attack (Reptile)

If you're into the fusion of metal with traditional Japanese music (and who isn't?), pick up Dragon String Attack by God of Shamisen. Shamisen master and Estradasphere member Kevin Kmetz leads the group with his acrobatic finger work on the fretless Japanese instrument, infusing said sounds with any other genre that feels appropriate (reggae, Gypsy, jam rock, funk). The shredding riffs of guitarist Karl Schnaitter and the detonating beats of fellow Estradasphere cohort Lee Smith also propel the band, which you know will be good given that two of Kmetz's listed influences are ultra-heavy death metallers Cryptopsy and classical legend J.S. Bach.

God of Shamisen: \"The Science Fiction of Ray Bradbury Attack\"

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Lymbyc Systym: Love Your Abuser, Remixed (Mush)

As Lymbyc Systym, brothers Mike and Jared Bell released a beautiful 2007 debut full-length, Love Your Abuser, on Mush Records. The album's heartening tunes used piano, synthesizers, organs, xylophones, brass instruments, and much more to provide a gorgeous multi-layered mix. Now the album gets a remix treatment with clicky electronic beats and thematic revamps by The One AM Radio, The Album Leaf, This Will Destroy You, Daedelus, and others. Magic Bullet Records will also soon release a This Will Destroy You / Lymbyc Systym split 10"/CD as well as re-release Lymbyc Systym's first studio EP, Carved by Glaciers.

Lymbyc Systym: \"Fall Bicycle\" (The Album Leaf Remix)

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Genghis Tron: Board Up the House, Remixes Vol. 1 LP (Temporary Residence)

Normally on the Relapse roster, electro-metal trio Genghis Tron has its crushing sci-fi sounds reworked as part of a five-label LP project that includes 20 mixologists. This first volume has been available for a few months, but now it has its official release, featuring renderings by Steve Moore, Justin K. Broadrick, Rob Crow, and Eluvium.

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Ten Kens: Ten Kens (FatCat)

The debut album from this Toronto-based quartet is an eclectic combination of power pop, folk, and droning, experimental rock.