Sir Richard Bishop: "Kaddak El Mayass"

Sir Richard Bishop isn’t the type of artist who makes the same type of record twice in a row. He spent 25 years as a member of genre-bending, melting-pot post-punk act the Sun City Girls, whose music ranged from simple punk-rock songs to tape-loop experiments, free jazz, and, quite often, performance art.

And as a solo artist, his material runs a wide gamut, ranging from the lengthy improvisational acoustic pieces of While My Guitar Violently Bleeds (Locust) to the vibrant and eclectic Polytheistic Fragments (Drag City) — which saw Bishop’s instrumental tracks incorporating elements of Appalachian folk, samba, and Django Reinhardt-style jazz into a unique blend of sounds unlike anything else.

True to Bishop’s pattern of experimenting with new styles, the guitarist’s latest album, The Freak of Araby, finds him delving into Middle Eastern sounds. Much of Bishop’s interest and inspiration from Middle Eastern music comes from his own Lebanese heritage. After a childhood spent hearing Lebanese music in his home environment, Bishop has come to embrace the sounds as an adult. He had previously incorporated some elements of Lebanese music in his music with Sun City Girls, but The Freak of Araby stands as his first album of exclusively Middle Eastern sounds.

“I’m half Lebanese, and I grew up in Michigan, in Saginaw, which actually has a large Lebanese population,” Bishop says. “My grandfather used to play the oud, so when I was pretty young, he would play. We just didn’t really appreciate it at the time. Eventually, it did influence my way of playing guitar. It’s always been ingrained in my playing.”
 

"I catch myself going back to the same safety net. I had to step away from playing acoustic guitar, or I’d be playing the same kind of stuff all the time. I knew I had a lot more options.”

What’s most striking about The Freak of Araby is how accessible the music is in comparison to his past catalog as a solo artist; over the past decade, Bishop has frequently opted for a looser, more free-form style. Tightly structured, brief, and even catchy, the 10 tracks on this album reveal a new aspect to Bishop’s musical persona. What’s most ironic, however, is that the idea for his least improvisation-based album came about unintentionally.

“It wasn’t the plan to do a record of Middle Eastern songs,“ Bishop says. “There was a plan to do a cover of a Lebanese song, so I recorded that, and the basic tracks for three or four other songs — just pop songs — and a couple of other songs that had a Mediterranean feel. Listening back to what I had recorded, the Middle Eastern songs stood out, but the others weren’t really doing it for me. So the plan changed in mid-stream."

Once a stylistic theme began to take shape, Bishop called on his friend Ahmed Sharif to contribute bass to the sessions. Sharif, in turn, invited two of his friends — percussionists Mohammed Bandari and Abdullah Basheem — and from there, the four musicians put together the basic structures of the songs on The Freak of Araby. Unfortunately, Bandari and Basheem were unable to finish recording with Bishop, due to visa problems (they live in Canada), and Sharif’s other obligations kept him from being able to make it back to the studio again as well. In spite of the limitations, Bishop and engineer Scott Colburn finished up the record.

“I had these guys for one day, and it was up to me and Scott to finish the percussion, and that’s just kind of how it ended up,” Bishop says. “I’m kind of pleased with how it came out.” Another notable difference between The Freak of Araby and Bishop’s recent solo albums is that it’s all electric, whereas the bulk of his other material is acoustic-guitar based and highly improvisational.

“My main focus was that it would be electric guitar-based, no acoustic,” Bishop says. “It was a conscious choice. I was touring endlessly with just acoustic guitar, and I can flesh out acoustic improvisation anytime. I just wanted to step away from that. I had all these songs written that would be electric pieces. I had all these melodic pop songs I wanted people to hear. I knew I wanted it to be something different. I catch myself going back to the same safety net. I had to step away from playing acoustic guitar, or I’d be playing the same kind of stuff all the time. I knew I had a lot more options.”

As an artist, Bishop is continually evolving and changing course, both in his recorded material and in live settings. For the past several years, his performances have primarily consisted of solo, acoustic compositions, but as with the restlessness Bishop displays in his own ongoing, recorded stylistic shifts, he plans on shaking things up when touring behind The Freak of Araby as well.

For starters, he’ll be working with a four-piece band rather than playing purely solo shows. And while he plans to play the more accessible, song-based material from the new album, it won’t be immune from his natural tendencies toward experimentation and improvisation. Bishop says he isn’t particularly interested in keeping every note of every song intact when performing.

“If you’re filling open space every night, you know exactly how to fill it,” Bishop says. “There’s no improv after a while. In the studio when we were putting it together, we were going against the idea of having improvisation. That’s kind of how I approached it. Some of the guitar solos were just improvised in one or two takes. But it’s designed to play live. I’m hoping we’re going to open it up quite a bit, have some open spaces for whatever to happen. It’s the only way it can be challenging to me. If I was playing it note for note every night, I’d get tired of it pretty quickly.”

Recorded at Southern Studios, the Latitudes series reaffirms the bond between studio, label, and individual artists with the opportunity to record spontaneous, collaborative, or experimental work in the studio in a one-day session.  The result is truly unique, offering a more personal and relaxed experience from bands to their fans.

The packaging itself is complementary of this, distributed in limited runs primarily through small independent distributors, mail orders, web shops, and retailers.  The artwork for each cardboard CD case is personally embellished by the bands and framed within a template by cult musician/designer Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O)))).  In addition, an artisan sleeve motif is designed by each band with an insert bearing the details of the session, along with a photograph from the tour or session.

Gang Gang Dance’s Kamakura consists of one 15-minute track, recorded in August of 2007.  The group blends genres from indigenous to familiar Western forms, celebrating organic sound with non-verbal communications.

Sky Burial, by Nadja, is a 38-minute, two-track instrumental CD recorded in September of 2009.  Appealing to fans of Sunn O))) and Pyramids, the two lengthy tracks are crushing yet ethereal, in the habit of the group's usual doom-infused "dream sludge."

Distribution for both recordings is limited to 1,000 hand-numbered, rubber-stamped CDs and 1,000 vinyls.  Previous releases in the series, as well as upcoming recordings, can be found here.

Perhaps the poster group for its genre, Sunn has spent the past 10 years experimenting in epic, doomy sound and noise.

Now, with Monoliths & Dimensions, the core duo of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson teams with guests galore to create, in the words of the group, "the most musical piece we've done."  Guest musicians Eyvind Kang (John Zorn, Bill Frisell), Jessika Kenney (Eyvind Kang, Asva), Oren Ambarchi (Burial Chamber Trio), Dylan Carlson (Earth), Julian Priester (Sun Ra, John Coltrane) and others help make that so, while retaining the creeping, end-of-the-world vibe that persists thoughout Sunn's work.

Khanate: Clean Hands Go Foul (Hydra Head)

As the belated swan song for the super-group collaboration between Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O)))), James Plotkin (Phantomsmasher), Alan Dubin (OLD), and Tim Wyskida (Blind Idiot God), Clean Hands Go Foul is a fitting endgame for Khanate's aural presentation of desolation and despair.  Evil ambience crests and falls, working with ominous chords and soul-shredding screams; naturally, fans of O'Malley's other work will love this.

Khanate: "Wings from Spine" (excerpt)
Khanate: \"Wings from Spine\" (excerpt)

Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest (Warp)

Unconventional indie darlings Grizzly Bear have pushed three years since their last full-length release, and the passage of time hasn't diminished the band's creative stroke.

On Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear's trademark vocal harmonies and layered orchestrations are still present, but the album features a slightly heavier touch of electronics and chamber elements.  By and large, however, this is the same Grizzly Bear, and preexisting fans won't feel alienated by this disc.

Sir Richard Bishop: The Freak of Araby (Drag City)

In his solo creations and many collaborative endeavors, ex-Sun City Girls guitarist Richard Bishop weaves through Arabic, Indian, flamenco, African, and Gypsy influences in both composed and improvised settings.

With his new album, he employs a clean, reverberated electric guitar in place of his usual acoustic sound, and he adds a bit of percussive assistance. For spring and summer tour dates, Bishop will perform with a full ensemble, which should make his ethnic creations even more compelling.

Master Musicians of Bukkake: Totem One (Conspiracy)

Milky and Don McGreevy of Earth, producer extraordinaire Randall Dunn (Secret Chiefs 3, Sunn O)))), Bill Horist of Ghidra, and other noted Northwest musicians comprise this collective that designs psychedelic, ethnically inspired folk freak-outs.

With Totem One, the group begins a musical trilogy while expanding and maturing its expansive sound.  The album's guests include Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls and Timb Harris of Estradasphere and Secret Chiefs 3.

Vieux Farka Touré: Fondo (Six Degrees)

The son of musical Malian icon Ali Farka Touré, guitarist/singer Vieux Farka Touré has garnered international distinction since the release of his self-titled debut album, issued the year after his famous father’s death.

That disc, which was remixed later in the same year, featured kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate on a pair of tracks and combined Mande and Sonrai folk styles with pop and a touch of reggae.  Diabate is back to help with Fondo, which finds Vieux taking more of a distinctive direction while improving his songwriting chops.