May 31, 2022

Kaytranada - 99.9% (2016)

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Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian record producer and DJ. 
Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of mixtapes, remixes, and original music projects beginning in 2010 under the alias Kaytradamus. 
By 2013, and under the moniker Kaytranada, he began gaining wider recognition and, the following year, signed a deal with XL Recordings, with whom he would release his critically acclaimed debut studio album 99.9% in 2016.

99.9% is the debut studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Kaytranada, released May 6, 2016, through XL Recordings worldwide and Ultra Records in Canada. The 15-track album features guest contributions from by Anderson .Paak, Vic Mensa, Little Dragon, Syd, Craig David, AlunaGeorge, and BadBadNotGood amongst others. 99.9% was supported by five singles: "Leave Me Alone" featuring Shay Lia, "Drive Me Crazy" featuring Vic Mensa, the Karriem Riggins and River Tiber-assisted instrumental "Bus Ride", "Glowed Up" featuring Anderson .Paak, and "Lite Spots".

The album was named as the winner of the 2016 Polaris Music Prize, and won Electronic Album of the Year at the 2017 Juno Awards.


Kevin Celestin's stature grew through woozy dancefloor funk remixes that led to DJ gigs, including European dates and opening for fan Madonna in North America. 

Despite the acclaim, along with admiration from the likes of Janet Jackson and Teedra Moses -- two of the major figures whose material he transformed -- the Port-au-Prince-born Montreal native wanted to be known as an artist in his own right. 

A low-profile series of digital and vinyl releases dated back to 2010. In late 2014, he graduated to XL as he expanded his production discography for other artists. 

The dazzling 99.9% follows some of his best work in that nature, including Freddie Gibbs' "Dope House," the Internet's "Girl," and Katy B's "Honey." 

The album likewise is mostly collaborative, with only four of the 15 cuts created by Celestin alone. During the solo moments, the producer radically flips, with joyous and glistening flair, choice early-'80s R&B from Delegation, and the System-produced Attitude. 

On "Lite Spots," sampled Gal Costa is whipped into a state of delirium over a beat that alternately whomps and tickles. Separate pairings with BadBadNotGood and Karriem Riggins offer dreamy instrumental highlights. 

The assortment of vocalists -- rappers, singers, and a few who pull double duty -- naturally results in a diverse set of perspectives, most of which regard love and relationships of short- and long-term natures. Combined with beats seemingly tailored for each voice, the album could have resembled a disorderly production showcase, yet Celestin applies his experience as a deeply knowledgeable selector to stitch it all together with few obvious seams. 

He excels most at bold modern boogie with spring-loaded drums, zip-and-glide basslines, and radiant keyboards, as laid out for the Internet's Syd and the Foreign Exchange's Phonte. 

The harder-edged tracks that support Vic Mensa and Paak are likewise accented with sweetening, whether through levitating harmonies or spangly synthesizers. 

One of the more stupefying instances where Celestin layers dazed and robust sounds is buried toward the end. "Leave Me Alone," surrogate Quadron with bounding low end, brings it home with a giddy vocal from fellow Montreal native Shay Lia.


Track listing


1.  Track Uno - 5:44

2.  Bus Ride  (featuring Karriem Riggins and River Tiber) - 2:13

3.  Got It Good  (featuring Craig David) - 3:48

4.  Together  (featuring AlunaGeorge and GoldLink) - 3:17

5.  Drive Me Crazy  (featuring Vic Mensa) - 4:37

6.  Weight Off  (featuring BadBadNotGood) - 2:35

7.  One Too Many  (featuring Phonte) - 3:38

8.  Despite the Weather" Celestin - 2:01

9.  Glowed Up  (featuring Anderson .Paak) - 4:58

10.  Breakdance Lesson N.1 - 4:28

11.  You're the One  (featuring Syd) - 3:47

12.  Vivid Dreams  (featuring River Tiber) - 4:36

13.  Lite Spots Celestin - 3:50

14.  Leave Me Alone  (featuring Shay Lia) - 4:37

15.  ullets  (featuring Little Dragon) - 4:59


All tracks produced by Kaytranada, except "Bus Ride" by Kaytranada, Karriem Riggins and River Tiber, and "Weight Off" by Kaytranada and BadBadNotGood.


Notes

  • "Track Uno" contains a sample of "I Figure I'm Out of Your Life" by Delegation, written by Kenneth Gold and Michael Denne.
  • "Bus Ride" contains a sample of "По садочку хожу", written by Валерий Колесников, Вячеслав Новиков, Владимир Молотков and Александр Христидис.
  • "Got It Good" contains a sample of "Olho de Vidro" by Jaime & Nair, written by Jaime Alem.
  • "Drive Me Crazy" contains a sample of "Bermuda Triangle", written by Alan Hawkshaw.
  • "Despite the Weather" contains excerpts from "Camouflage" written by Bob Selvin.
  • "Glowed Up" contains a sample of "Raindrops" by Bobby Heath, Eric Peters and Robert Hunter.
  • "Breakdance Lesson N.1" features samples from the Attitude recording "Love Me Tonight", written by David Frank Michael Murphy.
  • "Lite Spots" contains a sample of "Pontos De Luz" performed by Gal Costa, and written by Jards Macalé and Waly Salomão.


Credits

Notes
Released:  May 6, 2016
Recorded:  2014–16
Genre:  Electronichip, hopalternative, R&B
Length.  59:08

Label - XL Recordings - HW&W

Martha And The Muffins - Danseparc (1983)

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Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present.
The group's initial line-up came together in Toronto in 1977, when David Millar asked his fellow Ontario College of Art student Mark Gane to help him start a band. Millar recruited Martha Johnson to play keyboards; Johnson brought in a friend from high school, Carl Finkle, to play bass; and Gane's brother Tim signed on as the drummer. 
With Millar and Mark Gane as guitarists, and Johnson as lead vocalist, this is the line up that debuted at an Ontario College of Art Hallowe'en party in October 1977.
They chose the name "Martha and the Muffins" to distance themselves from the aggressive names adopted by many punk bands of the era. According to Mark Gane: "We decided to use it as a temporary name until we could all agree on something better." 
The name ended up sticking for the next seven years. 

Danseparc was Martha and the Muffins' fourth album, recorded in 1982 at Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and released in 1983. The title single reached #31 in Canada.
A new label, and the beginnings of a name change. 
Working with Daniel Lanois again, M + M managed to produce another album full of beautiful, layered sound, not entirely unlike the previous release, This Is the Ice Age. 
In fact the two releases are good companions. Mark Gane and Martha Johnson, the writers and main creative forces behind the band, once again expand the pop music form into ambient sounds mixed with solid dance beats, augmented by thought-provoking lyrics and top-notch playing. 
And, not forgetting the wonderful layered sounds created from a variety of sources, from the powerful, driving "Obedience" to the somber, yet beautiful "Sins of Children" and the almost bittersweet, beat driven yet melodic "Danseparc (Every Day It's Tomorrow)." 
An excellent album, and once again, the band shows a continuation, yet also a progression from their prior releases. It's also amazing to hear how far they have come since their Metro Music debut a mere four years prior to the release of this album.


Track listing​

1.  Obedience  (Martha Johnson) - 3:28 
2.  World Without Borders  (Mark Gane, Johnson) - 3:05 
3.  Walking into Walls  (Gane, Johnson) - 2:56 
4.  Danseparc (Every Day It's Tomorrow)   (Gane, Johnson) - 3:18 
5.  Sins of Children   (Johnson) - 5:35 
6.  Several Styles of Blonde Girls Dancing  (Gane, Johnson) - 5:50 
7.  Boys in the Bushes  (Gane) - 4:42 
8.  What People Do for Fun  (Johnson) - 4:00 
9.  Whatever Happened to Radio Valve Road?   (Gane, Johnson, Jocelyne Lanois, Nick Kent) - 2:51 


Personnel

with:


Companies, etc.
Credits

Notes
Release Date:  1983 
Recording Date:  1982 - August 15, 1983
Recording Location:  Grant Ave. Studio, Hamilton, Canada / The Forum, Ontario Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre:  New Wave, Post-Punk
Duration:  54:03 

Label - RCA 

May 30, 2022

G. Love & Special Sauce - Electric Mile (2001)

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G. Love & Special Sauce is an American band from Philadelphia. 
They are known for their unique, "sloppy", and "laid back" blues sound that encompasses classic R&B. 
The band features Garrett Dutton, better known as G. Love, Jeffrey Clemens on drums, and Jim Prescott on bass.

Electric Mile (2001) is the fifth album by G. Love & Special Sauce, released in 2001. 
Like G. Love & Special Sauce's previous albums, The Electric Mile isn't easy to categorize. Is it alternative rock, psychedelic rock, retro-soul, funk, or hip-hop? Actually, this diverse, unpredictable album is a combination of those things -- and the group also shows its appreciation of reggae, blues, and folk. 
True to form, vocalist G. Love and his colleagues keep things unpredictable; you never know from one song to the next if they will tend to favor retro-soul ("Night of the Living Dead"), hip-hop ("Parasite," "Electric Mile"), folk-rock ("Sara's Song"), psychedelic blues-rock ("Poison"), or reggae ("Unified"). 
And the impressive thing is that G. Love can go in so many different directions and never fail to sound distinctive, which is something he has in common with Prince and David Bowie. But while The Electric Mile (which is G. Love's fifth album) has more plusses than minuses, it isn't perfect. A few of the tunes sound unfocused, and not everything that G. Love & Special Sauce try is successful -- occasionally, a song will miss its mark. But more often than not, the trio's risk-taking pays off on this generally rewarding, if imperfect, album.


Track listing

  1. "Unified" (G. Love, RAS) – 3:07
  2. "Praise Up" – 3:43
  3. "Night of the Living Dead"  (Jeff Clemens) – 4:36
  4. "Parasite"  (G. Love, Jimmy Prescott, Jasper Thomas) – 6:17
  5. "Hopeless Case" – 3:43
  6. "Free at Last"  (G. Love, Prescott) – 2:22
  7. "Shy Girl" – 3:32
  8. "Rain Jam" – 1:04
  9. "Electric Mile" – 3:40
  10. "Sara's Song" – 4:59
  11. "100 Magic Rings" – 3:52
  12. "Poison" – 4:19
  13. "Free at Last (Reprise)"  (G. Love, Prescott) – 5:55
All tracks by G. Love except where noted.


Personnel
  • Garrett Dutton – guitar, vocals, harmonica
  • Jeffrey "Houseman" Clemens – percussion, drums, backing vocals
  • Jimi "Jazz" Prescott – string bass
  • Alma – vocals
  • Arty – viola
  • Hoch – Cello
  • Dave Geller – Congas
  • Jamie Janover – percussion, dulcimer
  • John Medeski – organ, keyboards, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, clavenette
  • Jasper Thomas – vocals
  • Billy Conway – percussion
  • Nancy Falkow – backing vocals
  • Little Frankie – lap steel
Technical
  • Michael Barbiero – producer, mixing, assistant producer
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Chris DiBeneditto – producer, mixing
  • Sean Murphy – photography
  • Thomas Smith – photography
  • Special Sauce – producer
Notes
Release Date: April 24, 2001 
Recording Location: Inore Studios / Longview Farms Studios 
Genre: Indie Rock
Styles: Alternative hip hop 
Duration: 51:09 

Label - Brushfire, 550, Okeh

May 29, 2022

Beach House - Bloom (2012)

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Bloom is the fourth studio album by American dream pop duo Beach House. 
It was co-produced by the band and Chris Coady, and was released on May 15, 2012, by Sub Pop, in Europe by Bella Union, in Australia by Mistletone Records, and in Mexico by Arts & Crafts. 
The album was written over two years of touring and was recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas, over seven weeks. Building on their previous album, Teen Dream (2010), the duo continued to add live drums to their song arrangements for Bloom, supplementing their drum machine rhythms.

Bloom was written "between countless sound checks and myriad experiences during two years of tour", and was recorded at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. It was co-produced by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead), who also produced the band's previous album Teen Dream. Beach House chose to record in west Texas after being captivated by the area while resting there during a tour. Bloom was mixed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The album took seven weeks to record.

Victoria Legrand described the album's title as an "abstraction of many feelings". Legrand continued:

"To find a word or a set of words we felt curated the whole thing, Bloom was it. And it was based on feeling and just a belief in the word. It actually has more weight for me than it has an ethereal quality. It came about where it made sense. [...] For things to feel right, it definitely has to sit for a while and I think that's why it's not ethereal for me. I associate that word with fleeting or not having any substance, I don't know. [...] I'm just saying that for us there's a certain intensity with this record, and I think the word "bloom" is an attempt at that."
"It's a strange paradise," Victoria LeGrand sings at one point on Beach House's fourth album Bloom, and there isn't a more apt description of the beautifully heartbroken mood that she and Alex Scally create here. Reuniting with Teen Dream engineer Chris Coady, the duo designed the album to be listened to as a whole, and fittingly, it often feels more like a suite than a collection of songs. 
This ambition is admirable, but it also means that it takes a while for individual moments to emerge from the album's beautiful haze. Indeed, Bloom may be Beach House's most sonically gorgeous album yet, with an icy sheen that doesn't warm up much, even when recordings of locusts and seagulls show up between tracks; it's easy to imagine LeGrand exhaling clouds of mist while singing the backing vocals on "Lazuli." 
While the endearing, sometimes awkward intimacy of Beach House's earlier work -- which felt like LeGrand was crooning confessions over creaky, vintage keyboards and drum machines just for you -- is missed, Bloom's shimmering remoteness enhances the album's philosophical, searching approach to love and loss. 
It's a mood and setting perfect for LeGrand's vocals, which have never sounded richer or more world-weary: "What comes after this momentary bliss? Help me to name it," she calls out on the opening track "Myth," a sentiment echoed later by "Wishes," where she wonders, "How's it supposed to feel?" Emotional moments such as these take their time to emerge, but when they do, they're riveting, particularly on "Troublemaker," which recalls Beach House's previous albums in its delicate dance between sad, stark verses and more hopeful choruses, and on the beautifully resigned "Irene," where a whimsical keyboard melody offsets and underscores the feeling of loss at the same time. 
Since Bloom's suite-like flow downplays Beach House's poppy side (with the notable exceptions "Other People" and "The Hours"), it's not the band's most immediate music, but the album's challenging mix of heartbroken words and aloof sounds rewards patient and repeated listening. 


Track listing

A1.  Myth - 4:19
A2.  Wild - 4:58
A3.  Lazuli - 5:02

B1.  Other People - 4:25
B2.  The Hours - 4:12
B3.  Troublemaker - 4:56

C1.  New Year - 5:26
C2.  Wishes - 4:47

D1.  On The Sea - 5:32
D2.  Irene - 6:45
D3.  Wherever You Go - 3:35


Beach House

  • Victoria Legrand – vocals, keyboards, organ, piano
  • Alex Scally – guitar, basses, piano, organ and keyboards, backing vocals; drum machine edits/programming

Additional musicians

  • Daniel Franz – live drums and percussion
  • Joe Cueto – viola (track 9)

Production

  • Chris Coady – production, engineering, mixing
  • Beach House – production
  • Manuel Calderon – assistant engineering
  • Brooks Harlan – engineering
  • Phil Joly – assistant engineering
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering

Artwork

  • Beach House – photography
  • Brian Roettinger – design

Notes
Released:  May 15, 2012 
Recorded:  2011 Studio Sonic Ranch in Texas / Magpie Cage in Baltimore (additional vocals)
Genre:  Indie Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Alternative
Length:  60:28 

Label - Sub Pop

KMFDM - Adios (1999)

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KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project. 

Adios is the eleventh studio album released by German industrial band KMFDM. 
The album was originally conceived as the group's parting shot to its longtime record label, Wax Trax! Records, but it ended up also signaling the break-up of KMFDM itself until the band reformed in 2002. Recorded in Seattle, Washington, this was the last album to feature En Esch and Günter Schulz, who both went on to form Slick Idiot. 
Following the break-up, founding member Sascha Konietzko created the band MDFMK, before reforming KMFDM in 2002 without Esch or Schulz.

The album was released on April 20, 1999, on the same date the Columbine High School massacre took place. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two perpetrators of the massacre, were both avid KMFDM fans. Eric Harris noted the coincidence of the album's title and release date in his journal.

KMFDM's final album starts out with a bitter goodbye on the title track, and the usual mechanical sonic assault continues on tracks like "Witness," the Kraftwerk-inspired "R.U.OK?," and "Full Worm Garden." Some songs are more club/dance than industrial; "Today" depicts a calmer eye before "Rubicon" and "Bereit" resume the high energy and aggressive stormy ambience that are the band's trademark. KMFDM sound smoother yet maintain their emotive mayhem in all its glory. 
When KMFDM say goodbye, they do it with style. "Adios" is without any doubt the best album of their whole fifteen year carrier, alongside the 1995 masterpiece "Nihil".
Who could have known that Tim Sköld, once the singer of Swedish L A style sleaze rockers Shotgun Messiah, would end up in KMFDM? But "Adios" sees him and Sascha Konietzko doing the main work behind the KMFDM wheel. The two of them have managed to make "Adios" sound classic KMFDM style, and still incorporate a new, inventive touch. It sounds more electronic than ever before, the live drums not present, and the guitars more integrated into the music.
Most of the songs are so brilliant that it does not even matter that much that Raymond Watts does not contribute to the album. "D.I.Y" might be the ultimate KMFDM song, with bombastic orchestral samples, splendid guitar work, and lines like "Rip the system, blow it away" and "The world rotates to the Ultra-Heavy-Beat". "Sycophant" sees them returning to the dub and reggae influences that characterized the 1989 album "UAIOE", but here it is much more refined, with crazy echo effects on Günter Schulz' guitar and Cheryl Wilson's fabulous wailing.
It may be due to Sköld's presence that "Adios" sees KMFDM display a melancholic side, that previously only has been hinted at in the Raymond Watts sung "Unfit" of their last album. Here Sköld sings "when you leave it's like I disappear" and "everytime you go it feels like/.../a month of Sundays coming up" in "Today", accompanied by mellow electronics.
"I couldn't even begin to understand where KMFDM stands politically", Nivek Ogre said with a laughter when I interviewed him last October. Regardless of that, he stands for the lead vocals on "That's All" and "Full Worm Garden", two of the absolute highlights on "Adios". The former being an electro rock hit in the way only KMFDM can make them, while the latter is a sadder, guitar free song.
"Adios" also has the trademark female wailing and political statements, and contributions from German punk rock legend Nina Hagen. 


Track listing

1.  Adios - 3:56 
2.  Sycophant - 5:13 
3.  D.I.Y. - 4:51 
4.  Today - 4:57 
5.  Witness  (Konietzko, Skold, Nina Hagen) - 7:23 
6.  R.U.OK? - 4:46 
7.  That's All   (Konietzko, Skold, Nivek Ogre, En Esch) - 5:08 
8.  Full Worm Garden  (Konietzko, Skold, Ogre, William Rieflin) - 5:03 
9.  Rubicon - 3:44 
10.  Bereit  (Konietzko, Skold, Esch) - 4:53 

All tracks are written by Sascha Konietzko and Tim Skold, unless otherwise noted.


Personnel
  • Sascha Konietzko – vocals (1–3, 6–10), synths, programming (1–10), guitar (10)
  • Tim Skold – vocals (1–4, 6–10), programming (1–10), bass (9)
  • Günter Schulz – guitar (1–3, 7, 9, 10)
  • Cheryl Wilson – vocals (2, 4, 7–9)
  • En Esch – hi-hat & cymbals (2), vocals (3, 7, 10), add. programming (7)
  • Frank Chotai – add. programming (4)
  • Paul de Carli – digital editing (4)
  • Nina Hagen – vocals (5, 10)
  • Nivek Ogre – vocals (7, 8)
  • William Rieflin – programming (8

Companies, etc.
Credits

Notes
Release Date:  April 20, 1999 
Recording Location:  Bad Animals, Seattle, WA / Ladies Room Maschinenraum
Genre:  Electro-industrial, industrial metal 
Duration:  49:21 

Label - Wax Trax!/TVT

May 25, 2022

Tritonal - Piercing The Quiet (2011)

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Tritonal is an American music duo from Austin, Texas consisting of producers and DJs Chad Cisneros and David Reed. 
They are also known for hosting the Tritonia radio show, broadcasting from Sirius XM BPM channel 51.
Formed in 2008, Tritonal, the Texas-based production and DJ duo consisting of Chad Cisneros and Dave Reed, are #65 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs of 2012 and one of MTV Clubland's "10 Artists to Watch in 2013".
In their early years, they often collaborated with Austin-based vocalist Cristina Soto on their vocal tracks. They also hosted a trance radio show known as Air Up There.

Their 2011 debut artist album Piercing the Quiet produced eight top 20 Beatport singles, including five that held the #1 position on the trance chart for over three weeks.

Tritonal has become one of the most recognizable names on the modern trance and progressive world stage. 
Within the very first year of united production, Tritonal’s remixes and original tracks were being pored over and supported by some of the most renowned and respected DJs in the world. Just three years later, the duo have released in excess of 100 original productions and remixes on labels such as Above & Beyond’s Anjunabeats, Ferry Corsten’s Flashover Recordings and Armin van Buuren’s Armada, as well as Enhanced and their new Enhanced sublabel Air Up There Recordings. 
In doing so they’ve cemented their position as America’s leading trance duo, and subsequently rocked Americas leading events – Electric Daisy Carnival, Spring Love Festival and Ultra Music Festival as well as touring the world with their Tritonal sound.

Piercing The Quiet is the culmination of two years of intense studio work, seeing Tritonal push their sound to the next level and the results are absolutely stunning.
Opening with the film score styled Poem Of Angels, it becomes instantly apparent that this is an album that will stand head and shoulders above the majority of trance long players. Songwriting being a key factor that has separated Tritonal from the masses, the duo have teamed up with long term release partner Cristina Soto to craft three new originals including the beautiful downtempo offerings “Everafter” and “Still With me”, as well as a stunning update their breakthrough record “Piercing Quiet”. 
Further collaborations see Winter Kill’s singer Meredith Call on the gorgeous “Broken Down”, Fisher with the upbeat “Slave”, and relative newcomers Jeza, Jenry R and Bethany all providing outstanding performances to make this an album packed with memorable lyrics throughout, whilst peak time trancers in the form of “Ziziki”, “Retake” and “Murakami” will no doubt be ripping the roofs of nightclubs all summer long.


Track listing

1.  Poem of Angels - 5:44
2.  Can't Keep It In  (feat. Jeza) - 5:31
3.  Ziziki - 4:38
4.  Broken Down  (feat. Meredith Call) - 5:49 
5.  Retake - 4:24
6.  Piercing Quiet  (Album Mix) - 5:35
7.  Sometimes I Wish  (feat. Bethany Cosentino) - 5:30
8.  Something New  (feat. Jenry R) - 6:02
9. Everafter  (feat. Cristina Soto) - 4:50
10.  I Can Breathe  (feat. Jeza) - 5:55
11.  Lifted  (feat. Cristina Soto) - 5:19
12.  Murakami - 4:12
13.  Slave  (feat. Fisher) - 5:35
14.  Shapes Revolve - 4:41
15.  Still With Me  (feat. Cristina Soto) - 5:50


Tritonal
Chad Cisneros 
Dave Reed  

Guests
Jeza
Meredith Call
Bethany
Jenry R
Cristina Soto
Fisher


Companies, etc.

Notes
Release Date: 2011
Genre:  Electronic
Styles:  Club/Dance, Trance
Duration: 1:19:27

Label - Enchanted Recordings

May 24, 2022

Kittyhawk - Kittyhawk (1980)

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Kittyhawks is a fusion jazz/rock group formed in 1977, from the Los Angeles area. Instead of traditional bass, one of the main instruments played by this group is the Chapman Stick Touchboard, a.k.a. The Stick.
Occasionally, a new musical group emerges which not only captures and audience’s attention with its special sound, but also with the particular instruments that produce it. Kittyhawk is just such a group. 
Daniel Bortz and Paul Edwards had been playing the Chapman Stick Touchboard separately for quite some time when they first met at the L.A., home of stick designer Emmett Chapman in 1977. 
Their initial exposure to the unique, 10 string stereophonic electric instrument came from articles they read in Guitar Player and other publications, and shortly after this printed introduction to Chapman’s creation, they eagerly sought out the real thing.
On that February day in 1977, Bortz and Edwards jammed with sticks and composed “Islands”, a spirited uptempo jazz-rocker which, three years later, would become the opening cut on Kittyhawk’s debut LP, Kittyhawk. 
Both musicians were so confident of the Stick’s and their own melodic potentials that they began appearing as a duet in clubs around Southern California.
As Daniel and Paul’s reputation grew, so did their desire to further enhance their jazz-rock compositions with different harmonic textures. 
They engaged two other like-minded instrumentalist to round out their conceptualized sound: Michael Jochum was picked for percussion duties, and Richard Elliot was chosen to add Lyricon [a wind synthesizer] and saxophone. 
Kittyhawk was now complete, ready to make its solo flight into the highly charged and highly competitive atmosphere of popular music.
Kittyhawk quickly evolved and refined its music and personnel: Bortz added fretless guitar and Roland guitar synthesizer to stable of instruments. 
While the band made further additions with Richard Elliott on Lyricon and saxophones, LA Stickist Randy Strom, Steve Reed Percussion and Dan DeSousa on Keyboards. 
The focus of the band was always on composition to include the diverse talents of each player and instrumentation to make the unique sound that is Kittyhawk.


Track listing

A1.  Islands - 4:47
A2.  Never Once - 4:03
A3.  Chinese Firedrill - 4:14
A4.  Once Upon A Time - 6:33

B1.  Big City - 6:00
B2.  Wooed But Not Wed - 6:35
B3.  Piper's Romp - 3:36
B4.  Aerial View - 5:11


Musicians
          Paul Edwards: Chapman Stick & Vocals 
          Daniel Bortz: Cello, Fretless and Fretted Guitar, Chapman Stick 
          Richard Elliot: Tenor, Alto, Soprano Sax, Lyricon 
          Mike Jochum: Drums & Percussion 

Additional Musicians
          Randy Strom: Chapman Stick and Piano 
          Dan Desousa: Piano, Synthesizers 
          Steve Reed: Percussion 
          Brandon Fields: Tenor & Alto Sax


Companies, etc.
Credits

Notes
Released:  1980 
Genre:  Jazz, Funk / Soul 
Style:  Fusion 
Length:  40:53

Label - EMI America

May 23, 2022

The Independents - The First Time We Met (1972)

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The Independents were an American R&B vocal group active from 1971 to 1975. 
They scored several hits on the U.S. Pop and R&B charts. Their 1973 song "Leaving Me" reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained on the chart for 14 weeks. Sales of over a million copies led to a gold record being awarded by the R.I.A.A. on May 23, 1973.

Probably the biggest album by this Chicago soul group, and the one that yielded up their big hit “The First Time We Met“. The set’s got some excellent Chicago arrangements by Tom Tom, and a good bunch of tracks that includes all original material, like “Here I Am“, “Just As Long As You Need Me“, “I Just Want To Be There“, and “Leaving Me“

The Chicago-based R&B/Soul vocal group The Independents (Charles “Chuck” Jackson – half-brother of civil rights leader the Reverend Jesse Jackson – Maurice Jackson (no relation), Helen Curry and Eric Thomas) had what can only be described as a strange recording career when you look at the chart results. 
Recording for Florence Greenberg’s Wand Records, they only had 8 singles released from 1972 to 1974 and 7 of the 8 made the R&B Top 20, with the other one making the Top 40 (see the list in the Comments below). 
That is almost unheard of as most contemporary artists had one or more releases that fizzled. And yet, despite their soft, smooth and pleasant-to-the-ear harmony, just 5 crossed over to the more lucrative Billboard Pop Hot 100, the best of which was a # 21 (also their only R&B # 1), with two making the Hot 100 Bubble Under charts and one being blanked entirely.

A stellar debut from Chicago’s the Independents, a quartet that featured activist Jessie Jackson’s younger brothers: Chuck on lead vocals, and Maurice; the other members were Marvin Yancy, who wrote and produced the tunes with Chuck, and lone female member Helen Curry who blended with the guys and added some eye candy for the fellows (she was fine). They were at their best on southern drawl-slow, meandering ballads with hitches in the rhythms.

Four of their finest, “First Time We Met“, “Leaving Me” (a million seller), “Just As Long As You Need Me” (a duet featuring Chuck and Marvin), and “Baby I’ve Been Missing You“, stand out like diamonds among coals when compared to the other selections.

Picking their A-sides was a piece of cake as they waxed either hits or garbage (a term Berry Gordy, Jr. used for songs that didn’t get enough votes by his quality control panel to get released as singles).

After the group broke up and recording the solo albums, Passionate Breezes and Gonna Getcha Love, Chuck Jackson, along with fellow group member Marvin Yancy, achieved success as the producers and writers for most of Natalie Cole's early chart releases, and also had success with Phyllis Hyman and Ronnie Dyson. Jackson is the half-brother of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and is not related to singer Chuck Jackson. In 2019, Maurice Jackson reformed The Independents with Theo Huff, Rashan Thompson, Vanessa Lainey, Parkas Alexander and himself. 


Track listing

A1.  I Just Want To Be There - 3:23 
A2.  Our Love Has Got To Come Together - 3:13 
A3.  Can't Understand It - 2:45 
A4.  Just As Long As You Need Me (Part 1 & 2)- 6:08 

B1.  Leaving Me - 3:14 
B2.  Baby I've Been Missing You - 3:48 
B3.  I Love You, Yes I Do - 2:50 
B4.  Couldn't Hear Nobody Say (I Love You Like You Do) - 4:31 
B5.  Here I Am - 4:18 


Companies, etc.
Credits
Notes
Release: 1972
Genre:  Soul
Length:  34:05

Label - Ward

May 22, 2022

Jackson Browne & David Lindley - Love Is Strange: En Vivo Con Tino - 2-CD live set (2010)

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Love Is Strange: En Vivo Con Tino is the fourth live album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, and 16th official studio or live album. A 2-CD live set released on the Inside Recordings label in 2010, the album documents a March 2006 tour of Spain that Browne and David Lindley took part in with Spanish percussionist Tino di Geraldo. The seven shows of the tour in Spain were followed by four in the United Kingdom. 
The album preserves performances by guest Spanish musicians flutist Carlos Núñez, vocalists Kiko Veneno and Luz Casal, and banduria player Javier Mas. Some songs have introductions spoken by Browne in Spanish.
The album won at the 2011 Independent Music Awards in the Live Performance Album category, and was nominated for a 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. 
It peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Magazine Folk Albums chart. It reached No. 17 on Billboard's Rock Albums chart and No. 5 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart.
While the song titles may be familiar to fans of both men, they don't begin to tell the musical story on display here. Lindley and Browne were accompanied on all dates by the great flamenco percussionist, rock drummer, and producer Tino di Geraldo, and on select concerts by well-known Spanish musicians including flutist Carlos Nunéz, vocalists Kiko Veneno and Luz Casal, and bandurria player Javier Mas. Beautifully recorded, this set shows what Browne is capable of when he has musical foils who will not allow him to simply rest on his laurels. 
Lindley is, as expected, brilliant in shaping the textures and surfaces of these songs as well as highlighting the more subtle melodic touches in them, and di Geraldo's rhythmic interactions push these two to play at their level best. 
The interplay between him and Lindley is near symbiotic, even on the most basic of tunes like "Mercury Blues" or "For Taking the Trouble," where the percussionist plays tablas to Lindley's bouzouki. The Latinization of "El Rayo X," with Browne on a baritone guitar and stellar harmony vocals by Lindley, is a high point. 
Lindley plays fiddle on "Take It Easy," and transforms it into something that envisions a Spanish bluegrass. "These Days," with Casal's heavily accented guest vocal, the fiddle, and di Geraldo's cajón, makes an already beautiful song exquisite. Lindley's Hawaiian guitar transforms "Running on Empty" from its former place as a rock anthem to '70s-era alienation into a haunted warning filled with regret and loss. 
A full-band performance of the nine-minute closer "The Next Voice You Hear," featuring Veneno on duet vocals, also includes the cajón, tres player Raul Rodriguez, Hawaiian guitar, Charlie Cepeda on baritone guitar, and Nunéz's whistle. It becomes a dry, arid, funky blues that sends the whole package off on a soaring though lonesome note. 
This could have been an experiment that failed miserably, drenched in nostalgia and excess; instead, it succeeds grandly because of a sparse, tasteful approach with excellent arrangements and genuinely inspired performances. 


DISC 1

  1. "I'm Alive" (Jackson Browne) – 5:03
  2. "Call It a Loan" (Browne, David Lindley) – 5:02
  3. "Looking East" (Browne, Luis Conte, Mark Goldenberg, Mauricio Lewak, Kevin McCormick, Scott Thurston, Jeff Young) – 7:02
  4. "The Crow on the Cradle" (Sydney Carter) – 6:01
  5. "Mercury Blues" (K.C. Douglas, Robert L. Geddins) – 5:16
  6. "El Rayo X" (Lindley, Jorge Calderón) – 3:59
  7. "Sit Down Servant" (Traditional) – 4:04
  8. "Take It Easy" (Browne, Glenn Frey) – 4:13
  9. "For Taking the Trouble" (Browne) – 4:38

DISC 2

  1. "For Everyman" (Browne) – 5:36
  2. "Your Bright Baby Blues" (Browne) – 6:40
    • Featuring Javier Mas
  3. "Tu Tranquilo" (Browne, Frey, Kiko Veneno) – 6:04
  4. "Late for the Sky" (Browne) – 6:03
  5. "These Days" (Browne) – 4:39
  6. "Running on Empty" (Browne) – 6:34
  7. "Love is Strange/Stay" (Bo Diddley, Mickey Baker, Sylvia Robinson, Maurice Williams) – 7:46
  8. "The Next Voice You Hear" (Browne) – 9:05

Personnel
Production
  • Jackson Browne – producer
  • Paul Dieter – producer, recording, mixing
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Sangwook "Sunny" Nam – mastering

Notes
Release Date:  May 11, 2010 
Recording Location: 
   Galileo Galilei, Madrid 
   Palau De La Música, Barcelona 
   Sala Galvé Del Auditorio De Zaragoza, Zaragoza 
   Sala Santiago, Bilbao 
   Teatro Campoamor, Oviedo 
Genre:  Roots Rock, Tex-Mex
Duration:  1:46:33 

Label - Inside