Tied & Tickled Trio: Aelita

Bob Burnett: Tied & Tickled Trio, like Tin Hat Trio, are not a trio. But that doesn't matter. It just seems to be one of those things that for some reason needs mentioning. Maybe it's because I used to get the two bands mixed-up. Why? I don't know.

Tied &Tickled Trio sometimes are six, sometimes twelve or some other number and regardless of their line-up they never sound the same. On their current release Aelita the Tied & Tickled Trio happen to be Caspar Brandner, Andreas Gerth, Markus and Micha Acher and Carl Oesterhelt. In one form or another they've been something since 1988. Just like previously reviewed Contriva, they are part of Morr Music's artistic roster.

They describe themselves as "a band that listens very carefully to what their sounds do. A band that permits them to be surprised by themselves." They continue to surprise me too. I probably have about 4-5 of their various releases and they all strike me as incredibly diverse and very different from each other. I hear smatterings of On U Sound, Miles Davis, King Tubby, Peter Brotzman, Terry Riley, Gong, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Cluster, on and on and on. They take all these pieces and many others and make incredibly interesting music.

I was originally drawn to them in 1998 when they were one of the strongest contributors on Derek Bailey's album Playbacks. If you have any interest in improvised music and you've never heard Playbacks I suggest you do something about that--and head straight to cut 5. The story on Playbacks is that New Yorker magazine music critic Sasha Frere-Jones assembled a number of musicians to "create an active rhythm track that (guitar improvisor) Derek would like playing with". The participants on the project included Henry Kaiser, Jim O'Rourke, John "Plunderphonics" Oswald and nine others. Tied & Tickled's rhythmic offering was infectious and Bailey quickly caught their bug. (note: I later heard the Tied Tickled Trio's stand alone version used on Playbacks on a CD compilation c60 pal Kim put together for me. And by the way, Sasha Frere-Jones wrote a very controversial review of The White Stripes that caused fevered discussion amongst the c60ers)

So, after several albums that touch more on driving, jazz-based rhythms and textures of energetic sonic concrete overlays they came up with "Aelita"--a quiet, meditative, slowly pulse-based effort. They write about Aelita on their myspace page as music that was quickly created for a concert. "That's why this album exists today" they write and continue by saying the music was, "created only in three days. Recording, arranging, mixing. As rough and open as possible and still very concentrated, minimal, melancholy and excessive. A slow and well-travelled dub, "tamaghis", echo-chamber-music, the orbit as sounding space. "

I find Aelita to be an obsessive listening experience; I've probably put it on twice a day since I got it last week. It is quiet and contemplative; touching on electronica but is not a genre-fitting electronica effort. It features slowly building vamp-based grooves, melodic layers and gentle rhythms. I am amazed that this came about as a sudden effort--it sounds very complete, polished and thought-through.

There are soundtrack-like elements in it which makes me wonder if it was influenced by its namesake--a long lost and practically forgotten 1924 Soviet era science fiction silent film .

Whatever the intriguing mystery may be, this is an excellent effort--by the way pay no attention to Pitchfork's 5.2 rating. They missed the mark on Aelita.

Efflugent effluence

The following is from a recent Wire Magazine review of a Fennesz/Sakamoto duet album:

"Fennesz's evocative,transcendent sounds go beyond the materiality of
the now, dripping with efflugent nostalgia and irradiated with palpably
erotic afterglow."

Whew.......I think......speaking of magazines--check out Wax Poetics if you haven't already. Really interesting historical pieces about soul, funk, hip hop, reggae, jazz, etc. All that and top notch graphic design.

Contriva: Separate Chambers

Bob Burnett: I have Ben Bailes of Chessie to thank for leading me to Contriva's 2006 release, Separate Chambers. Contriva is a Berlin-based group made up of Masha Qrella, Max Punktezahl, Rike Schuberty and Hannes Lehmann, who have known each other since their youthful school days where they became a band in 1997. After several 7" and 10" vinyl releases and a few previous albums, "Tell Me When" (2000) "8 Eyes"(2001) and "If You Had Stayed..." (2003), on Monika Enterprise (CD) /Lok Musik (LP) Separate Chambers introduces them to the like-mindedness of the Morr Music label with colleagues such as Tied and Tickled Trio, B. Fleischmann, Lali Puna and the American Analog Set. At this point I could describe how their low key, delicate pop-instrumental sound works well for me, or I could let them speak for themselves on myspace:

"Its just singer / songwriter music mostly without a singer. Our actual interest is to create pop music that makes a human voice unnecessary. It may be never 100% like that, but this is what keeps us trying... Even if there are no stories or statements, pictures can bloom in someones mind. From the very beginning, people tended to bring our music in the context of travelling."

I especially like the "singer/songwriter music mostly without a singer" line because they achieve the qualities of a singer's voice---melody, bridges, etc. but from the perspective of an instrumental ensemble. Granted, there are a few instances of Masha Qrella's subtle vocals on the album--and when they appear they work well within the framework of the songs and the overall feel of the album.

Separate Chambers is also a meandering, day-dreamy listen. As with the band's description of themselves I am reminded of taking trains across the countryside in Europe ---albeit not because this plays as a soundtrack for such a journey but Contriva ties into the feeling of the actual journey itself--the look and sense of a place very different from what I am used to and the curiosity that comes from the overall experience. Contriva brings to mind the feelings I got from listening to early '80s bands like Young Marble Giants and Durutti Column---granted the music doesn't sound like those bands; there's just something about their vibe that connects them together for me. As another sidebar, I am occasionally reminded of Andrew Coleman's Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt as well as the Chessie duo of Stephen Gardner and Ben Bailes.

Nevermind what I say, there are also a few cuts on their previously mentioned myspace site so you can get a sense of what I'm attempting to describe.

I just looked and discovered their Monika releases are on emusic. I'll use some of my downloads to check-out those releases as well as Masha Qrella's highly regarded solo work. Separate Chambers is on iTunes (where I found it after not finding it in local music store bins) and by the way, Morr Music has some excellent additional offerings from other groups on emusic too.

Anberlin

Blueprints For The Black Market (2003)
Never Take Friendship Personal (2005)
Cities (2007)

Kim Kirkpatrick: I have hundreds of CDR’s on various spindles, all from numerous, kind friends trying to expand my musical interest. I get to them all eventually, embarrassingly, it might take a year or two, but I do hear them all. In particular, I put off listening to Anberlin’s Blueprint’s For A Black Market for so long I could not track down who sent it to me*. One of the more amazing parts of this experience was seeing this disc pop up in the iTunes genre column as Gospel & Religious -- say what?

Anberlin was formed in 2002 in Florida and quickly released a full length CD on Tooth And Nails Records, a label known for Christian Rock releases. Personally I don’t get the religious link, not only for Anberlin but several other bands I have explored on the label. Ya know what, I am going skip most of the specific facts, and background this time around. Rather then figure out how they fit in to the history of Rock (or Christianity, Kings X anyone?) I want to just write about the music, how I reacted to all three releases as a whole.


Fast, tight, high-energy rock n roll, with an intense appeal to teenage boys and young men (I imagine), Anberlin is full of musical chops, emotion, and thoughtful perspectives on life. In spite of three different guitarists in the line up, they have matured, maintained, and refined themselves over five years and three full length CDs. Granted, I had to listen to the newest one (Cities) several times to appreciate it as much as the other two releases, but at this point I think all three present a logical and improving progression.

One powerfully consistent element, in sound, philosophy, and attitude is the founding member and vocalist, Stephen Christian (...coincidence?). He sings all of the lead and significant back up vocals, practically a call and response experience on many of the songs. His vocals remind me a bit of Jon Anderson but I shall not explore that thought, going back to Yes’s catalog would probably be too painful. Christian is way up front with his vocals and he projects a personality of being an intelligent young man with an underlying sensitive nature. His intensity and strength as a singer and leader is sure to make the girl’s swoon (with a complete absence of any cock rock attitude).


Christian’s vocal delivery is high pitched on their debut, Blueprints For The Black Market, (2003) he is clearly young and in comparison to just a few years later, inexperienced**. The guitar playing on the first release is straight ahead rock n roll, bit of that '80s MTV sound but also displaying an awareness of the straight edge movement and much of the guitar work of recent origin. Never Take Friendship Personal (2005) has more of a progressive metal sound, with deeper, heavier playing from all of the members. The title came from the exit of guitarist Joey Bruce, this due to creative (and lifestyle) differences with Stephen Christian and the band. It is admirable to hear Anberlin step up their intensity and skills on this second release, in spite of the loss. Also surfacing on this release are a couple of songs with a slower ballad style, showing Christian’s sensitive side***. This is an expansion in their sound, with cascading (even chiming) guitars, vibes, romantic atmosphere, a shift away from the relentless speed and push of the debut release. More positively, I’d have to say this is just one example on Never Take Friendship Personal that reveals the maturity and diversity the band had grown into, in just two years! Move ahead another two years and Cities (2007) continues the rise in strength and improvement of Anberlin. Stephen Christian’s lyrics are emotionally more interesting and his singing voice is much stronger, superior to the hard rock vocalist that generally make me cringe and wish for an instrumental version****. Anberlin’s drummer, Nathan Young really shines on this latest release. He pushes the band now, with more powerful, complex patterns and accents. Deon Roxroat on bass is forceful as well, with occasional bursts worthy of John Entwistle. The lead guitarist, Joseph Milligan is more on the edge then ever, with incredibly tight, highly compressed playing, and excellent spot on interaction with the other guitar player, Nathan Strayer*****. The soft side reappears on a track or two, and the CD has an overall more atmospheric sound, one that is darker and heavier (by far) in tone. Cities shows a powerful and improved ability to change the dynamics of Anberlin’s sound to serve the music, both the pace and volume are tightly under control. Anberlin is a fine example of a band that has played together and worked really hard for years. Four of the five members have been together from the start, and you could hear their maturity and seriousness from the start. But with the release of Cities the band’s progress towards a tighter, more powerful destination or expression is palpable. I’ve said it before in other musical reviews but once again with feeling, these guys rock!

This past summer Anberlin were on the Warp tour and if I’d had an idea when they’d be on stage I would have happily gone to see them. I would have taken my thirteen-year-old Punk/ Goth daughter to see them as well. She is into the heavier aspects of the band, not the softer ballad material, just like her mother. I have made sure she does not know Anberlin previously toured with her fav band My Chemical Romance, not sure she would ever recover. I hope to see Anberlin soon, while they are still on the rise, possibly at the peak of their creativity. I’d expect them to have a blow you away intensity live. These guys are smart, musically talented, technically adept, and I suspect perfectionists. Finally praise to Aaron Sprinkle who has superbly produced all three releases for Anberlin.

*
Having asked numerous friends I now believe it was a brief contact I had with a young guy from Oklahoma. I had outbid him for a CD on eBay and he offered to pay me for a copy. We subsequently had a short but intense exchange of ideas and music.

**
Roll through the videos from each release chronologically, you’ll see Christian and the entire band mature in just a few minutes:

"Ready Fuels"

"A Day Late"

"Godspeed"

***
Christian and Anberlin have more going on then what is on the surface, more diversity and interests then a casual listener might note. Check out these various cover songs they have recorded:
“Like A Rolling Stone”, Bob Dylan
“Love Song”, The Cure
“There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”, The Smiths
“Enjoy The Silence”, Depeche Mode

****
I could write pages about this subject but I will make it brief. I have always been attracted to hard rock guitar, AC/DC to Death Metal, etc., but 98% of the time I cannot handle or ignore the vocals. Must be the macho nature of it, or the growling, seemingly possessed singing… I don’t believe them, their darkness and bad boy personas, so it makes them silly and really annoying. Anberlin and Stephen Christian’s excellent singing voice are a big exception to this chronic problem for me.

*****
Strayer left the band as Cities was being released, replaced by Christian (...coincidence?) McAlhaney.

Seefeel: Quique

Another c60 music cohort, Marc, has just waxed enthusiastically on his blog about the 2 cd re-issue of Seefeel's early '90s work Quique. Marc is well versed in the "shoegazer" "dream pop" genre. (he's also quite good at playing it himself on guitar, bass and drums)

Marc occasionally blogs on music he likes----plus---if you ever need a source for My Bloody Valentine or Sonic Youth guitar tunings and treatments then you've found someone who can help.

Trixie DVD

Bob Burnett: A quick nod to our friends Brendan Canty and Christoph Green over at Trixie DVD. The music/music documentary production duo recently updated their webpage to include hi-quality video clips from some of the music DVD releases they have produced in the recent past. In addition to being able to screen a great clip from an upcoming October release of a spirited live gig with Bob Mould (featuring Brendan's driving drums) there is the trailer from the DVD they did with Wilco for the Sky Blue Sky album (reviewed here a few months back), a clip from Jeff Tweedy's solo tour, Sunken Treasure, a Decemberists clip from a concert that is currently unreleased and the big prize of all--the full 12 minute performance of Wilco percussionist Glen Kotche's solo composition "Monkey Chant"--which isn't available anyplace else. I raved about Glen's solo album Mobile (where "Monkey Chant" was initially released) back in January on c60. The video clip gives you a great look at the ingenuity,skill and creativity of Kotche. The Trixie team had great angles for shot selection--they are able to reveal the hardware store-like menagerie of cricket sounds, springs, mounts, etc. sound enhancers used in the score. c60 cohort Kim and I saw him perform this composition in DC at the Black Cat back in the springtime and were both smitten. As I've said before, Glen Kotche is in a league by himself--and this video shows why.

Take some time and check the clips out--and by all means visit their store! They have some terrific work on DVD available.

No One Sets Out To Be A Smooth Jazz Musician

"Look, I'm not going to lie to you. Nobody ever just woke up one morning and thought, "Of all the things possible in the vastness that is life, what I'd really like to do is play smooth jazz 250 nights a year." It just doesn't work that way."

The rest of this telling confession is available in the online version of The Onion. A must read. (Thanks to DROP! for this.)