Antonionian: "Into the Night"

Antonionian, a.k.a. Anticon affiliate and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Dalyrmple, is known for his drumming and production work with Subtle, General Elektriks, and 13 & God. His solo-project name, Antonionian, is inspired by Italian cinema auteur Michelangelo Antonioni. In this piece, penned exclusively for ALARM, Dalrymple picks four upcoming film releases to watch and, more specifically, hear.

Four Forthcoming Film Scores
by Antonionian

1. Cosmopolis by Howard Shore

The general public might know him from the Lord of the Rings movies or, more recently, the Twilight series, but to me, Howard Shore's most compelling work has been in collaboration with director David Cronenberg. Starting with The Brood in 1979, Shore helped introduce the "body horror" genre with his dissonant orchestration and spooky synth washes. Videodrome and Naked Lunch wouldn't be the surreal classics they have become without his otherworldly aural vision. I'm very interested to hear and see what the duo does with a Don Delillo adaptation. Info at www.cosmopolisthefilm.com.

2. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Jonny Greenwood

I've always considered Jonny Greenwood to be the most interesting member of Radiohead, and after hearing his scores for Bodysong and There Will Be Blood, I was no less impressed. When the "Popcorn Superhet Receiver" excerpt kicks in with that clattering, cult-y percussion during the pivotal scene in P.T. Anderson's epic, I still get chills. Greenwood's accompaniment to the recent Norwegian Wood is also an intriguing melange of somber string arrangements with lesser known Can jams. Looking forward to his tonal choices for this forthcoming Tilda Swinton thriller.

3. The Future by Jon Brion

Synecdoche, New York's brilliance as a film is only matched by its surreal, light-hearted soundtrack by Jon Brion. Punch-Drunk Love was another triumph of wit and beauty that really jelled with its score. With that being said, it makes sense that he would team up with someone as artsy and forward-thinking as Miranda July for her new film, The Future. Brion's Nilsson-esque charm and July's hopeless romanticism should make for an engaging experience. Info at www.mirandajuly.com.

4. Khu by Jonathan Bepler

Matthew Barney's Cremaster series was so visually arresting that one might overlook the genius of Jonathan Bepler's scores. With Khu, an interpretation of the Norman Mailer novel Ancient Evenings, Barney and Bepler seem to have integrated performance art, music, and film into an entirely new form. I'm not sure that it qualifies as a proper film score, but with a sonic palette incorporating such unusual elements as trombone choir, giant harp, and breath mask, its inclusion on this list seemed to be a necessity. There's a short clip from the score on Bepler's website, www.jonathanbepler.com.

[Have you pre-ordered yet? Don't forget to visit the Kickstarter page for Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music, our next book that profiles independent musicians and artists who explore color in unorthodox ways.]

Antonionian: "Into The Night"

This MP3 premiere comes courtesy of Antonionian, a.k.a. Anticon stalwart / multi-instrumentalist Jordan Dalyrmple. Dalrymple is known for his drumming and production work with Subtle (with Dose One and Jel), French-pop act General Elektriks, and experimental super-group 13 & God (The Notwist and Themselves).

Long behind the scenes, Antonionian is Dalrymple's solo project — a name inspired by the work of Italian cinema auteur Michelangelo Antonioni. Just as Antonioni's films explored themes of inescapable, materialistic hedonism, Antonionian's "Into the Night" features glossy, sparkling '80s synth lines, a dance beat, and funk guitar hurdling towards ecstasy. Watch for Antonionian's self-titled, full-length debut to drop on March 15 via Anticon.

Themselves: "You Ain't It"

Themselves: Crownsdown

Meet Adam “Doseone” Drucker and Jeff “Jel” Logan. Raised in completely different fashions — Drucker in hippie idealism in Idaho, and Logan in the city of Chicago — the two simultaneously developed a love of hip hop. When they met through a tape trade in 1998, and joined forces as hip-hop duo Themselves, it was the beginning of journey filled with triumphs, tragedy, experimentation, and perseverance. After a six-year hiatus, Themselves came back in 2009 with its most impressive album to date, Crownsdown.

In 1997, the members of Themselves helped to co-found Anticon Records, an artist-run hip-hop collective that early on was based out of Drucker’s adopted homes of Cincinnati, Ohio and Portland, Maine. Themselves released its debut album Them in 1999, which featured Drucker’s machine-gun-paced introspective rhymes (which had landed him victories in countless underground freestyle battles) and Logan’s fresh-beat machine and unique, ear-catching production.

Themselves and the Anticon cooperative stood with the elite of the late-’90s underground: artists like Atmosphere, J Rawls, and Aesop Rock. “Back then we considered ourselves the next Guru and Premier,” Drucker comments. That same year, Themselves and the Anticon collective uprooted themselves from the Midwest and relocated to Northern California. As Drucker and Logan moved into a house with nine people and got jobs at the Bay Area’s iconic Amoeba Records, everything about how they saw life and hip hop changed.

“Prior to moving west, I considered myself a rap elitist, meaning I only listened to rap,” Drucker explains. “When I lived in Cincinnati, I only knew rappers, not musicians. When Jel and I moved to Oakland in 1999, we started meeting a ton of musicians. Right away our perspective started to change. Then we hooked up with Dax, a keyboardist and coworker at Amoeba. He opened the door to a whole new world for Jel and I.”

The addition of keyboardist Dax Pierson signaled big changes for Themselves. “Things were shifting,” Drucker says. “Before Subtle, Dax was in [Themselves] playing our music. After a while, it was apparent that Dax was experiencing angst about playing music he didn’t help create. Also, the exposure to new genres and sounds made us want to journey deeper into music, but Jeff and I were fairly limited in what we could do. Jeff was just starting to do live beat-machine playing, and I had never really picked up an instrument, much less a keyboard. We formed Subtle to go back to the basics [with instruments].”

Subtle, a six-member indie-electro ensemble, proved to be about far more than just going back to the basics. Driven by innovative, instrumental electronic music, a massive infusion of Jack Kerouac / Bob Kaufman-inspired poetic prose, and telekinetic improvisation, Subtle became a phenomenon that crossed into indie-rock audiences as well.

After releasing several well-received singles, “Long Vein of the Law,” “F.K.O.,” and “The Mercury Craze,” the group attained street credibility, which gave it the opportunity to travel the world several times over. “Things that seemed unattainable in Themselves suddenly became within sight in Subtle,” Drucker notes.

Though Subtle was praised for being creative and original, it also was on the receiving end of criticism. “There was all this back talk,” Drucker says. “People and rappers alike were like, ‘What are these guys doing?’ and ‘Where’s Dose’s rhymes?’ But I was making what I had to make. There is no oath I took that binds me to a sequence of doing certain things, or paying a definite amount of dues. The more that people expressed their issues about what they felt were my issues, the more their angst became apparent to me.”

A tragic tour-van accident in 2005 left Dax Pierson paralyzed from the neck down. “Dax’s tragedy was a nightmare that none of us wanted to live,” Drucker says. “But luckily, with technology today, he’s able to live a meaningful life, and he continues to contribute to what we do musically.”

Armed with lessons learned from artistic growth, human tragedy, and everyday life, Drucker and Logan decided to pick up where they left off with Themselves. “We’ve always been a rap group,” Druker says. “And although some people out there forgot that, we never did.”

To signify the return, Themselves produced two releases. The first was the FreeHoudini mixtape, an album disguised as a mixtape available for free download and made “to be more boundless and to get the stupid shit out of our system — like playing the refrigerator.” The second album, Crownsdown, is “the record that we wanted to make when we made the Them record,” Drucker says.

“Crownsdown is our interpretation of a classic rap record, meaning that it has certain types of songs on it that all of the records we consider classic contain,” he continues. “There are ‘don’t fuck with my crew’ songs, ‘don’t fuck with me’ songs, ‘don’t fuck with what I’ve worked so hard on’ songs, love songs. We tried to build this record from an architect’s perspective.”

From the first moment of the first track to the end of the last, Themselves fans and newcomers alike will be knocked back by the intensity, clarity, and catchiness of Crownsdown. It is a record full of thick, gritty beats, 100-MPH rhymes, and — perhaps most importantly — focus. “In Subtle and before, I was rhyming about death and really [a] broad scope [of] stuff that were more of inner monologues. In Crownsdown, I’ve really zoomed in on specific topics, which allowed the rhymes to come together and sound cleaner instead of forced or even contrived.”

With one listen to Crownsdown, released in late 2009, it seems that the six-year hiatus paid off. Logan and Drucker now have skills in hand to both reinvent the genre they helped define and to make an impression on the music world as a whole. “We’d like to think that this record will change things, make a statement,” Drucker says. “But who knows? All I know is that we play a style of live, improvised hip hop that doesn’t seem to exist yet.”

Heavy Trash: Midnight Soul Serenade (Fat Possum)

As Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray unleash their third disc of old-school roots rock and rockabilly as Heavy Trash, the duo collaborates with a bona fide cast of contributors to create some of its finest tunes on a disc that expands its repertoire.

Accompanying organ is spread throughout Midnight Soul Serenade, an album that also contains splashes of piano on "Gee, I Really Love You," vocal gentleness and female vocal backings on "Good Man," vocal eccentricities on "Bumble Bee," Southwestern guitar and baritone harmonies on "Pimento," and low tones and acid flair on "The Pill," a tune evocative of Twin Peaks that tells its own psychedelic tale.

Top-end players Simon Chardiet, Sam Baker, Powersolo, Mickey Finn, Daniel Collas, and Those Darlins lend their good graces. If this kind of music piques your interest, pick this up.

Themselves: CrownsDown (Anticon)

After six years of silence (spent on countless other projects, many with each other), no-nonsense rap duo Themselves — Adam "Doseone" Drucker and Jeffrey "Jel" Logan — returned with a free "mixtape" earlier this year. Now the two have released their proper third album, CrownsDown, a sample-driven album that is both experimental and traditional.

The gritty, nasally intonation and rapid-fire delivery of Jel are slathered up and down the disc, which is based on hip-hop and dance beats and patchwork samples. Subtle founder Dax Pierson and 13 & God bandmates Jordan Dalrymple and Markus Acher make cameos.

Minamo: Kuroi Kawa: Black River (Tzadik)

Avant-violinist extraordinaire Carla Kihlstedt (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, 2 Foot Yard, The Book of Knots) and prolific classical pianist Satoko Fujii (Satoko Fujii Orchestra) spend much of their time on the outskirts of musical convention, combining their desired genres in whichever ways that they see fit.

Here the two create two worlds on two discs: one of dutifully recorded compositions and one of live, stream-of-conscious improvisations. Fans of experimental chamber music should dig this.

Honorable mentions:

Dave Douglas: A Single Sky (Greenleaf)
Jesu: Opiate Sun (Caldo Verde)
Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things: About Us (482 Music)
Jessica Pavone: Songs of Synastry & Solitude (Tzadik)
Pyramids with Nadja: s/t (Hydra Head)
Rupa & The April Fishes: Este Mundo (Cumbancha)
The Squirrel Nut Zippers: Lost at Sea
John Zorn: Femina (Tzadik)

Diamond Watch Wrists

Each maintaining a busy 2009, Guillermo Scott Herren (Prefuse 73, Savath & Savalas) and Zach Hill (Hella, Bygones) join forces to create Diamond Watch Wrists, a project that holds elements of each artist but sounds unlike what one might imagine their collaboration to be.

Like Hill's 2008 solo record, Ice Capped at Both Ends is very much a pop record, for as unconventional as both records may be.  Reverberated, multi-layered vocals guide each track, similarly to Savath & Savalas, and Hill's beats are as focused and straightforward as they've been in a while.  Effects and ambiance hold important roles, but Herren's electronic Prefuse work essentially is a nonfactor here.

Given the impending release of the next Savath & Savalas release, it's an interesting time to release Ice Capped at Both Ends, but at first glimpse, the S&S disc contains more elements of Herren's initimable work as Prefuse 73.  It seems that we've entered an impressive stretch of Herren's creative legacy.

Themselves: theFREEhoudini (Anticon)

After a seven-year hiatus, Anticon hip-hop duo Themselves (Doseone and Jel) has returned with this free (for 90 days) "mixtape."  Consisting of one 39-minute track, the release serves as a self-remixed album and teaser for the duo's third full-length album, CrownsDown, due in August.

Doseone's nasally delivery is as aggressive as ever, presenting less of the high-pitched anti-raps from his work in Subtle. Jel's breakbeats carry the well-balanced mix, and hip-hop bedfellows Aesop Rock, Slug, Busdriver, and Yoni Wolf make well-placed appearances.  Like the duo's respective careers, theFREEhoudini is a compelling, original endeavor.

Soap&Skin: Lovetune for Vacuum (PIAS)

Austrian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress Anja Franziska Plaschg holds musical ability and power that is stunning for her age of 18.

On Lovetune for Vacuum, Plaschg's debut album, powerful, melancholy harmonies pour out of her throat and piano in contrast to softer, somber exchanges.  Vocal overdubs, pounding low keys, ominous sample, and bits of violin and electronics augment the main melodies as Plaschg channels influences from Bjork, Aphex Twin, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.  Prepare to hear a lot about Plaschg in the coming years.

Soap&Skin: "The Sun"
Soap&Skin: \"The Sun\"

Nadja: When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV (The End)

This interesting cover EP continues a highly prolific streak for Canadian heavy/ambient duo Nadja, which has a pair of upcoming albums due later in 2009 — one of which is a double release.

Foreseeable innovators like My Bloody Valentine and Swans are covered in baths of fuzz, feedback, and synthesizers, but less-predictable favorites such as Slayer, The Cure, Elliot Smith, and A-Ha also are turned on their heads.  Preexisting fans of Nadja and electro-noise dirge enthusiasts should both greatly enjoy this one.

Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse: Cries from tha Ghetto (Pi)

Trumpeter Corey Wilkes' debut album as a bandleader, Drop It, was released just 10 months ago on storied jazz/blues label Delmark Records.  The funky debut contained quirky soul jazz with moments of extended solos and improvisation, but Wilkes digs back to a bebop-fueled sound for this new release with his group Abstrakt Pulse.

Featuring the reed work of Kevin Nabors and the exemplary melodic guitar licks of Scott Hesse, the sextet fuses some 1960s Blue Note-era jazz with the freeform influence of Lester Bowie, a lauded experimentalist whose seat Wilkes filled for the Art Ensemble of Chicago.  The fusion on Cries from tha Ghetto isn't smashing any boundaries, but its execution is top notch.  Highly recommended for jazz heads.

Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse: "Visionary of an Abstrakt"
Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse: \"Visionary of an Abstrakt\"

1. Subtle: "Nomanisisland" (For Hero: For Fool)

One of the melodically and structurally odd songs from this album, "Nomanisisland" isn't a great starting point for Subtle's idiosyncratic indie hip hop, but it's a great mid-album respite on the group's best album.

2. An Albatross: "Cosmic Gypsy" (Blessphemy [of the Peace-Beast Feastgiver and the Bear Warp Kumite])

Here we have 1:19 of organ-fueled shredding.  An Albatross' newest album, The An Albatross Family Album, is more epic and twists many different ways, but this song's album takes no prisoners with its unadulterated force.

3. Phosphorescent: "Wolves" (Pride)

As the third track on Pride, Phosphorescent's beautiful and minimalist 2007 folk album, "Wolves" has prime sonic real estate.  Though we're not major folk fans, Pride is so pretty that it made ALARM's Top Ten Albums of 2007.

4. Tomahawk: "Sun Dance" (Anonymous)

Wow…another entry from ALARM's Top Ten Albums of 2007.  This song's album, Anonymous, was a spectacular homage to Native American material that was re-imagined by the lineup of Mike Patton, Duane Denison, and John Stanier.  "Sun Dance" is one of the most rock-driven numbers on the album.

5. Genghis Tron: "I Won't Come Back Alive" (Board Up the House)

From melodic new wave to crushing metal breakdowns, "I Won't Come Back Alive" is a great track to experience this trio's musical dichotomy.  The song's album, Board Up the House, is an extremely unique album and one of the best of 2008.

6. Luis Bacalov: "Suspense" (The Italian Western of Luis Bacalov)

First, this piece from the soundtrack of 1972 spaghetti Western film Si Può Fare…Amigo revisits the main melody of "Can Be Done," a preceding piece that features vocalist Rocky Roberts.

Shortly, however, the tune shifts to an upbeat theme that recalls the circus or a cheery old-time saloon.  "Suspense" then fittingly moves to a dramatic string passage before the main melody is revisited once more.

7. Amon Tobin: "Marine Machines" (Supermodified)

The deep sea beckons on "Marine Machines" with countless samples, including dark brass accents and creature-like gurgles.  This song's album, Supermodified, is the best album from this big-beat DJ.

8. Femi Kuti: "Wonder Wonder" (self-titled)

As group vocals join Femi in the song's pensive but sunny chorus, the opening track from his 1995 self-titled album brings a great live feeling to a studio recording.  Following in his idolized father's footsteps, Femi uses his funky Afrobeat to raise political awareness.  Here he asks, "Will Africa ever unite?"

9. Secret Chiefs 3: "Hypostasis of the Archons" (Book of Horizons)

Entirely composed by multi-instrumentalist Trey Spruance, the creations of Secret Chiefs 3 span an incredible range of beautiful, cinematic, and heavy sounds, often working with Indian, surf, and spaghetti Western styles.

This track, however, showcases another of Spruance's loves: rapid-fire, end-of-the-world death metal.  Otherworldly screams, demonic vocals, and quick-twitching strings join to make this unlike anything on the album other than "Exterminating Angel."

10. Matt Ulery: "Would You Remember my Song?" (Themes and Scenes)

The 1:48 closer to this great chamber-score album uses harmonium, toy piano, and whistling to create a quirky, merry romp.  A one-time refrain from the composer gives an Old World feel to the album's final seconds.

(To hear one of his creations, check out my Q&A with Matt Ulery.)

- Scott Morrow

The Lonesome Organist

Care to stalk us this weekend? Search for us around Chicago as we see Subtle, The Lonesome Organist, Eastern Blok, the Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Young Widows, and more. And maybe you'd care to see The Dark Knight with online editor Scott Morrow…

Thursday, November 13

Eastern Blok, Lamajamal @ Darkroom

A pair of Chicago groups with Balkan flair take the stage at Darkroom on Thursday, presenting different levels of cultural influence.

Led by classical guitarist Goran Ivanovic, Eastern Blok swirls bits of the region's music into accessible jazz passages and melodic guitar work. Lamajamal, on the other hand, takes a more authentic approach to the genre, running through dexterous Gypsy folk tunes.

Friday, November 14

Subtle, Zach Hill @ Empty Bottle

Fronted by the idiosyncratic styles of rappers Adam "Doseone" Drucker and Jeffrey "Jel" Logan, Subtle is an often unclassifiable mixture of hip hop and indie rock.

The group is joined here by Zach Hill and Peer Pressure, which is actually a moniker for the wild, improvisational drummer's kit. Hill will have a group with in the future, but for his current tour, he's using his drum set, an iPod, and a laptop to recreate his long-form improv jam "Necromancer."

Andreas Kapsalis Trio, The Lonesome Organist @ The Morse Theatre

As a globally influenced finger-tapping acoustic guitarist, Andreas Kapsalis is limited only by his imagination. His beautiful, complex arrangements are complemented by percussionists Jamie Gallagher and Darren Garvey, who join Kapsalis here for the trio's release of Original Scores, its first new album in four years.

The show has an excellent opener in the form of Thrill Jockey one-man band The Lonesome Organist, whose driving rhythms, fearsome organ, and instrumental arsenal are often played simultaneously.

Saturday, November 15

Finally seeing The Dark Knight?

Somehow, online editor Scott Morrow missed his second straight chance to see the new Batman series in the theater. He blew it for Batman Begins, which he has since bought on DVD but has yet to watch, and he's done it again for The Dark Knight. As much as it pains him to watch it at the cheap theaters, he's plum out of luck.

Sunday, November 16

Young Widows @ Beat Kitchen

Punishing mid-tempo rock trio Young Widows is back in town to tour on its great new album, Old Wounds, released through Temporary Residence. The group gets a strong opener in the form of metal/jazz crossover artist Bruce Lamont, who heads Yakuza.

Hauschka @ Schubas

With a new album released on the same day as that of Young Widows, German pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann, who goes by Hauschka on record, comes to our town on the same night. His musical foundation is built on a decade of classical studies, but he modernizes his repertoire with home-rigged piano effects, acoustic and electric instruments, and structural influences of electronica and minimalism.