Amon Tobin: "Lost and Found"

At the beginning of a track-by-track commentary that accompanies a preview stream for his new album ISAM, DJ and electronic artist Amon Tobin states, "Anyone looking for jazzy breaks should look elsewhere at this point. It's 2011, folks. Welcome to the future."

That may be so, but given his dramatic shift in direction with his 2007 album, Foley Room, Tobin's followers shouldn't be surprised by the challenges that lie in wait for them on ISAM, a dense, elaborately constructed work that doesn't necessarily reveal itself to casual listening. Like Foley Room, ISAM (pronounced "eye sam," an acronym for "invented sounds applied to music") consists mainly of sounds that Tobin recorded and later manipulated, in many cases beyond recognition. But if Foley Room represented an inquisitive step into unfamiliar creative terrain, ISAM may come to be regarded as a firm declaration from an artist who has not only mastered that terrain but is now unequivocal about the sense of purpose that he picked up along the way.

Longtime BBC Radio 1 DJ and electronica advocate Mary Anne Hobbes once said of Tobin that "there's virtually no one on the face of this planet who achieves sonically what he's doing." That was at a time when Tobin, for most of his career, had relied exclusively on vinyl samples and flirted with the dance floor via the aforementioned jazz breakbeats (albeit in a more impressionistic way). Critically acclaimed, widely recognized albums like Bricolage and Supermodified made Tobin something of a household name, at least on a modest scale. Now, though, there's nary a dance-friendly moment to be found on ISAM's rugged, perhaps even inhospitable, thicket of sounds. And this time around, the music's nooks, crannies, and shaded corners are inhabited by menacing, skeletal fairies courtesy of Saatchi Collection artist Tessa Farmer, who created a series of pieces based specifically on ISAM's individual tracks.

Whereas Tobin's back catalog allowed listeners to supply their own visuals, the packaging for the limited-edition physical release of ISAM — an elegant, oversized hardbound book with vivid color prints of Farmer's works commissioned for the album — provides ample material to fuel the imagination. Yes, those tiny skeleton creatures on the cover art are in the process of causing grievous harm to the butterfly over which they're swarming. In fact, Farmer's fairies are, by her own description, a murderous bunch. Like Tobin, Farmer appropriates details from nature and shapes them into intricate new structures: rib cages out of tiny twigs, wings out of decayed leaves, etc. And, befitting of Tobin's methods, Farmer also blurs the distinction between the natural and the synthetic.

"It just happened," Tobin says, "that her work really fitted well with the whole idea of using natural things and constructing unnatural creations out of them, which is very much where the album is going — trying to imagine things and make them out of familiar pieces."

Tobin describes ISAM as the product of a "personal quest for control over nature." In fact, Control Over Nature is the subtitle of the Farmer-Tobin joint installation that opens at London's Crypt Gallery on May 26 and tours the USA later this year.

"Neither of us is trying to be god or have some sort of say in what happens naturally," Tobin laughs. "It's more to do with adapting natural things into a form that you can work with and taking something you imagine and trying to realize it. The word 'control' is maybe a bit over-emphasized. It's maybe more to do with organizing and adapting natural things to do what you want them to do."
 

"The process is all about different kinds of synthesis, algorithms, and computer stuff — nerdy stuff, which I love — but at the end of the day, I respond to music in an emotional, physical way."

Tobin's decision to go from vinyl sampling to original, field-recording-styled sound sources (that he captured by working the microphone and directing himself) is well documented in the short making-of film that comes with the Foley Room release. For ISAM, Tobin has ventured further into a live approach that reflects his newfound working methods. In the past, Tobin's live show consisted of a more (or less) traditional DJ set. With ISAM, it's only fitting that he would feel compelled to go further out on a limb before live audiences.

"Of course, if you listen to the record," Tobin says," it's not going to work as a DJ set, or as a live set with a band. We needed to figure out a way of presenting this music to people in a way that would be engaging. The approach was to try and make a loose visual narrative. It's a very different kind of a show from what I normally do. People know what they're going to hear when they come to a DJ set, at least to some degree. I know they're going to dance at some point anyway. With this show, it's much less focused on making people sweat. Although there are definitely points in the show that might do that, it's a much more personal performance. It's more of a 'This is what I've been doing, and I want to share it with you' kind of thing."

The show, which debuts in Montréal on June 1, features a 25 x 14 x 8-foot 3-D installation that changes shape in sync to the music via various high-tech mechanisms.  Visuals were co-developed by Vello, founder of V Squared Labs (a firm that has supplied live 3-D imagery for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, and others), and a set was built by Alex Lazarus (Coachella, Massive Attack, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg).  For Tobin and everyone else involved, the show is a labor-intensive labor of love, and — for now, at least — finances dictate its short-term run.

"Absolutely nobody involved with this show — including myself — is making any money from it," Tobin says. "In fact, everyone's losing a great deal of money. We can do that for a certain amount of time, but then after that, we have to think about where to go from there. It's not a practical approach by any means, but it's something that keeps us all excited about working."

"I have to say," he adds, "that I can't complain, because this approach has worked for me so far. I do commercial work to subsidize what I do, because I know that the music I make isn't, strictly speaking, commercial. It's not built to appeal to the widest possible audience. But I've been very lucky, because when I get approached to do a soundtrack or something along those lines, it tends to be on the basis that people already want what I do."

With the music for the Sony video game Infamous, for example, Tobin worked with Chuck Doud and Jonathan Mayer, the music team for Sony Computer Entertainment America. Doud and Mayer sought to mold music out of non-musical found sounds and vice versa, extracting non-musical sounds from traditional instruments. For obvious reasons, this resonated with Tobin, who already had worked that way on Foley Room. It also says a lot, for example, about how much Tobin is in his element with video-game scoring that his label, Ninja Tune, released his work for Splinter Cell 3 as an actual album, titled Chaos Theory, in 2005.

Just as it's difficult to draw a hard line between Tobin's "commercial" and "artistic" output, there are commonalities between his breakbeat-heavy back catalog and his more recent work. His last two albums are more pointedly challenging offerings, but it's telling that certain rhythmic and harmonic preferences recur throughout his entire catalog, regardless of the source material. Likewise, the character of how his music builds remains strikingly consistent across the board. Tobin also, thus far, has taken his time, exploring possibilities within one working method over several releases before moving onto a new angle. Still, his strong drive to keep evolving dictates that change is an unavoidable aspect of his future too.

"There will always be people who are going to be like, 'Oh fuck, I wanted to get my rave on!'" he says. "But it was the same when I started deejaying. I got shit thrown at me for the first year. I mean, people hated what I was doing. It took a long, long time before anybody accepted my tastes on the dance floor. And, even though that was uncomfortable, I felt like it was very important because it helped establish something for me that was quite particular. I guess it's the same with making albums as well. It's very easy to fall into a comfort zone that is perpetuated by your fan base, which expects certain things. And when you deliver those things, there's a comfort to that. But I think that's a very unfortunate thing to do, given how much there is to explore in the world, and in music in particular. It would be very sad just to say, 'Well, I know how to do this, and I know they're going to like this, so I'm just going to keep doing this again and again.' The downside to not doing that is that you always meet a degree of resistance."

When all is said and done, though, Tobin would prefer that people not focus on the nuts and bolts of his process so much as the results.

"I want the focus to be emotionally driven, and not so much about the technical aspects of it," he says. "I feel like there's been a lot of focus on that, particularly with this record, because it is such a technical thing. The process is all about different kinds of synthesis, algorithms, and computer stuff — nerdy stuff, which I love — but at the end of the day, I respond to music in an emotional, physical way. And I hope that people will be given a chance to respond to my music in that way, and not be too sidetracked by what goes on behind the scenes."

And they’re nice — like deep-South nice.  Maybe that’s why Robert Moog decided to spend the last 25 years of his life there.

Moog, an innovator in electronic music, created his legendary Moog synthesizer after experimenting for years with the Theremin.  His patented Moog equipment gained popularity at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and now, because of the newly reimagined MoogFest, Bob Moog has again been introduced to a new generation of music lovers.  In the midst of the irony of this throwback to analog, when people are arguing its merits against digital, Moogfest brings it all together, hosting a diverse lineup of artists that blend electronic elements with spellbinding showmanship (Jónsi), face-melting pop rock (Sleigh Bells), and folksy acoustics (Mountain Man).

After five years of being a low-key, one-night show in New York, this year AC Entertainment took the reigns, moved Moogfest to Asheville, and turned it into a three-day celebration, complete with performances, workshops, and lectures.  This year also marks the first year that big-name national acts like Big Boi, Massive Attack, MGMT, Thievery Corporation, and Hot Chip all converged over the course of a full weekend, joining a jam-packed list of talent that also included El-P, RJD2, Bonobo, Matmos, Jon Hopkins, Emeralds, Omar Souleyman, Four Tet, Dan Deacon, The Octopus Project, DJ Spooky, and many more.

The move is indicative of AC Entertainment’s desire to create more “lifestyle” festivals, like its already-established Bonnaroo.  Asheville is the right kind of town for such events, with its bohemian demographic and geographic accessibility.  Set in the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville is home to great natural and architectural wonders, like the Biltmore Estate and the Grove Park Inn.  Citizens have easy access to outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and rafting, yet Ashevillians also enjoy the pleasures of urban life with a downtown that’s walkable and filled with unique local businesses.

Music and art have become an important part of the community landscape, and Moogfest gives credit to what locals already know:  Asheville is a hub for culture.  There’s a thriving “busking” (street-performing) scene and a weekly drum circle.  Residencies by the Smashing Pumpkins and Beastie Boys at local venue The Orange Peel first brought attention to the Asheville music scene.  Band of Horses and the Avett Brothers (both have native NC band members) have recorded at Asheville’s Echo Mountain Studios. And The New York Times recently ran an article titled “36 Hours in Asheville,” whose 2007 article of the same name dubbed the mountain town the “Appalachian Shangri-La.”

As proud citizens, Ashevillians speak incessantly about maintaining the tradition of the town. They are adamantly focused on sourcing locally, from food to culture.  There were protests when the new Urban Outfitters went in downtown.  Ask almost anyone to share a CSA (community-supported agriculture) membership, and they’ll be down for it.  They take their community seriously.  They also take leisure time seriously.  In a town where people want substance with their good times, a festival with a focus on educating its attendees fits right in.

The design of the festival also fits Asheville’s vibe and Moog’s focus on connectivity, via electronics or people.  Taking place across multiple venues, MoogFest 2010 (October 29-31) allowed local businesses to show guests what Asheville is about (Asheville Brewing Company, for example, made batches of “Moog-filtered ale,” commemorating the festival and its namesake’s legacy).  The boutique approach to the festival allowed each show and venue to foster a unique music adventure, and the proximity of venues to local bars, coffee shops, restaurants, and galleries made it possible for festival-goers to truly experience the town.

Moog would’ve been proud.  This year, nearly 8,000 people attended each day of the festival, bringing awareness, commerce, and an eclectic mix of costumes through a small town in North Carolina.  “He planted the seed,” said Michelle Moog-Koussa, Moog’s daughter and the executive director of The Bob Moog Foundation.

He did.  And it’s blooming in Asheville.

Download the podcast for This Week’s Best Albums: October 19, 2010 and subscribe to the free podcast via iTunes or another application.

Squarepusher presents Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator (Warp)

Squarepusher presents Shobaleader One: "Megazine"

Bass/electronic guru Tom Jenkinson has covered astounding turf in his 15-year career as Squarepusher, fluctuating between fusion-filled drum-and-bass, jazzy IDM, classical-guitar pieces, pure dance tracks, and experimental electronica.  Depending on how you count certain releases, he's up to 14 full albums and more than 20 EPs (either under Squarepusher, his own name, or a different alias).

There isn't too much that he hasn't done with his bass, synthesizers, and drum sequencers, but d'Demonstrator is new territory — a new, funky "space band" project as Shobaleader One.  Jenkinson is responsible for the compositions, and the mysterious extra "players" don't play anything that he couldn't record on his own, so the band thing seems bogus.  It doesn't matter, though, because the first in a series of Shobaleader releases is enjoyable with or without the back story.

Most songs are rooted in synthesized vocals and pop hooks — a definite first for Squarepusher.  Though melodies abound in Jenkinson's back catalog, they've never been as streamlined.  Some older releases have been fully danceable, but again, never in the airy and almost strictly 4/4 manner of d'Demonstrator.

And though it's not an unadulterated riff bonanza as on albums past, the album has enough of Jenkinson's technical skills peeking from behind the grooves.  It's another new turn in a constantly twisting career — and one that makes for a slinky good time.

Zach Hill: Face Tat (Sargent House)

Zach Hill: "Memo to the Man"

In 2008, drumming dynamo Zach Hill took time from his impossibly crammed itinerary to release his first solo album, Astrological Straits.  Packed with friends and guest musicians, it showcased his pop side — albeit one with crazy beats, complex polyrhythms, and weird vocals.

Face Tat is the second in what should be a long line of solo releases, despite Hill's renewed activity in Hella and more releases with Marnie Stern, Bygones, and others on the way.  Though still intricate, noisy, and strange, it's a little easier to follow than its predecessor, with a few more parts being focused on a single melody, rhythm, or vocal line.

The vocals again are doubled, distorted, or half-spoken, but they're all Hill.  Plenty of other random parts come via guests, but like the debut, they might be rearranged or cut up by Hill to mesh however he sees fit.  This time around, those guests include Guillermo Scott Herren (a.k.a. Prefuse 73), Devendra Banhart, Nick Reinhart from Tera Melos, and various members of Hella, Deerhoof, and No Age.

If you missed it in ALARM 33, check out music editor Scott Morrow's interview with Zach Hill about Astrological Straits and its inspirations.

V/A: From the Land of Ice and Snow: The Songs of Led Zeppelin (Jealous Butcher)

Portland Cello Project: "Dazed and Confused"

There's no shortage of Led Zeppelin cover albums, but the newest — courtesy of Portland's Jealous Butcher Records — is both a community-focused project and an interesting mixture of restyled classics.

Over two discs (33 songs), From the Land of Ice and Snow features a cavalcade of Portland artists — mostly in the indie-rock and folk realms but also expanding into alt-country, chamber music, and a little noise rock.

Some of the bigger and more noticeable names include M. Ward, the Portland Cello Project, Kind of Like Spitting, and Tu Fawning.  But the lesser-known artists hold their own, and there are few duds.  The digital edition offers 18 more bonus tracks — enough for an entire third disc — and this is worth checking out for most Zeppelin fans.

Dustin Wong: Infinite Love / A Square Defining a Circle (Thrill Jockey)

Dustin Wong: "Brother (Talking Walking Cloud)"

For his debut full-length, guitarist Dustin Wong has delivered a rather peculiar package — two discs that each represent a sort of "what if?" take on the same album.

Infinite Love / A Square Defining a Circle is two variations on 40 minutes of melodic, multi-layered guitar instrumentals.  Each disc is approximately the same until its midpoint, when the two split for six or seven tracks until they rejoin with the same conclusion.

Using loop, delay, octave, and other effects pedals, Wong crafts slowly building pieces out of sounds that often no longer resemble a guitar. Many passages build upon one simple repetition until the whole piece is nearly unrecognizable from its start, turning into a pulsating swarm of riffs.  The combined presentation is an interesting concept, but the real appeal is Wong's melodic layering.

Martina Topley Bird: Some Place Strange (Ipecac)

Martina Topley Bird: "Sandpaper Kisses"

For more than 15 years, Martina Topley Bird has been one of the leading female voices of trip hop, lending her talents to Tricky and Massive Attack in addition to a host of other guest spots. She has released a pair of solo albums — one produced by Danger Mouse — before putting out Some Place Strange, a stripped-back recreation of older material.

There are a handful of new tracks here as well, but they all scale back the instrumentation to feature Topley Bird's voice in a new way. That instrumentation, in fact, is assorted, but there seldom is more than one or two parts to accompany the vocals. The album is sparse, and though existing fans may appreciate it more by contrasting it familiar old tracks, first-time listeners should enjoy it as well.

Honorable mentions

Brent Amaker and the Rodeo: Please Stand By (Spark & Shine)

Eskmo: s/t (Ninja Tune)

How to Dress Well: Love Remains (Lefse)

Gaucho: Pearl

Radio Citizen: Hope and Despair (Ubiquity)

Scott Amendola Trio: Lift (Sazi Music)

Soars: s/t (La Société Expéditionnaire)

Named after music pioneer Dr. Robert Moog, Moogfest gathers some of the biggest and most exciting names in electronic music and beyond. Normally held in NYC, the festival moved this year to Moog's hometown to honor the career of the inventor of the Moog synth. In addition to the copious amounts of music being offered, there will also be an art show, showcasing handmade, limited-edition prints inspired by Bob Moog’s legacy.

Some ALARM favorites include Alex B, Cee Lo Green, Dan Deacon, DJ Spooky, El-P, Four Tet, Jon Hopkins, Jónsi, Massive Attack, Matmos, Omar Souleyman, and RJD2. A full lineup and schedule can be found here.

To enter to win, fill out the form below. By entering your information, you’ll also be signed up to receive ALARM’s biweekly E-mail newsletter, The ALARMIST.

Update: Contest has ended.

Taking place over Halloween weekend, from October 29-31, Moogfest 2010 will host performances in venues all over the historical city. Our favorites include El-P, Matmos, Jon Hopkins, Dan Deacon, DJ Spooky, Massive Attack, Four Tet, Jónsi, and RJD2.

In addition, attendees can watch big names like MGMT, Big Boi, Hot Chip, and Girl Talk.  No matter who you see, however, the three-day festival should be a pretty monstrous Halloween bash.

Tickets will be available to purchase starting on August 13, at 12 p.m. EST. Individual day passes and weekend passes will be on sale. Fans can get an extra level of interaction from the festival's workshops, installations, film screenings, panel discussions, and art exhibitions.

To buy tickets or to view the complete festival lineup and venue information, visit moogfest.com.

An iconic poet/musician whose soulful spoken-word style helped give rise to rapping, Gil Scott-Heron has been proclaimed a major influence in hip hop, neo-soul, and acid jazz. His political activism has been at the forefront of his noted career, which includes the acclaimed poem/song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Now, marking another landmark moment in his career, Scott-Heron has released I'm New Here, his first full-length since the 1994 album Spirits, which too was something of a "comeback" — his first studio album since 1982.

Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, who convinced Scott-Heron to go back into the studio, I'm New Here is an atmospheric, down-tempo disc of diversity.

Acoustic pseudo-ballads are accented by electronics, dramatic strings, and piano in a combination of new poems, covers, and interludes. It's a release that feels extremely personal, whether from the lyrical content or Scott-Heron's familiar voice.

Gil Scott-Heron: "Where Did the Night Go"
Gil Scott-Heron: \"Where Did the Night Go\"

Pillars and Tongues: Lay of Pilgrim Park LP + download (Endless Nest)

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.

Violin, upright bass, and drums and other percussive elements slowly build and fall. Each member contributes to the layered vocal harmonics, often trading rounds of the same melody or balancing pitches as a low or intermediate voice begins a wordless refrain. Fans of Huun Huur Tu, Charming Hostess / Jewlia Eisenberg, and other vocally driven experimentalists will love this.

Pillars and Tongues: "The Center of"
Pillars and Tongues: \"The Center Of\"

Arsis: Starve for the Devil (Nuclear Blast)

A major force in metal just six years after its debut, Arsis is a Virginia quartet that boasts tireless harmonized shredding. Thrash and black metal, gently crossing into death metal, form the basis of a sound that leans on flawless technical proficiency in accessible time signatures.

Starve for the Devil trends towards the melodic end of the band's material, but there's no shortage of full-speed aggression. Riff lovers will get their money's worth with this one.

Hot Chip: One Life Stand (Astralwerks)

Hot Chip's brand of synthesized dance pop has allowed the keyboarded quintet to climb the UK charts and garner heaps of attention in the United States.

One Life Stand is another disc chock full of dance-floor albums, albeit a bit more restrained than on albums past. The gentle vocals of Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard will continue receiving much of the attention from casual listeners, but One Life Stand really shines with its diversity of synth sounds and instrumental complements (such as the touches from Trinidadian steel-pan player Fimber Bravo).

Massive Attack: Heligoland (Virgin)

Seven years after its last studio offering, commercially thriving electronic producers Massive Attack — closely tied to the trip-hop explosion of the early 1990s — have finally released their long-awaited fifth album, Heligoland.

With Grantley Evan Marshall, a.k.a. Daddy G, back on board in the studio, the group attains a multitude of electronic styles on Heligoland, thanks to its divergence of tastes as well as the usual assortment of guests.

This time, Massive Attack collaborates with Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), Damon Albarn (Blur), Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), Martina Topley-Bird, Adrian Utley (Portishead), and Billy Fuller (Beak). The result is a minimalist electro dreamscape, one that should appeal to a sizable cross-section of music fans.

Honorable Mentions

Bluebrain: Soft Power (Lujo)
Galactic: Ya-Ka-May (Anti-)
Georgia Anne Muldrow: Kings Ballad (Ubiquity)
Shining (Sweden): VI / Klagopsalmer (Indie Recordings)
This Moment in Black History: Public Square (Smog Veil)