Emerging Fervour

First of all, I’d like to dispose a persistent rumour of once and for all: the sauna was certainly not a Finnish invention. After last Saturday I believe devoutly that it has a Norwegian origin called “Kakkmaddafakka”. This was literally one of the hottest gigs I’ve ever been to.
The lovely Norwegian girls “Razika” supported Kakkmaddafakka with Ska influenced Indie Pop/Rock and proved again that the world needs more girl-bands. Check out their myspace site and bookmark it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=74t603vtV0c&feature=related

Kakkmaddafakka did what I expected them to do: make the audience go crazy. It’s hardly possible to escape with their Rock/Pop/Funk/Disco music mix. They played a lot of songs from their recent album “Hest“, including “Restless”, “Self-Esteem” and “Gangsta”. The three piece backing vocal choir, dressed like triplets deserves a special mention here. The John Travolta workout choreographies were brilliant, especially for the song “Heidelberg”. Kakkmaddafakka are known for their rousing live shows by now. And rightly so.

Last weekend started off on the right foot, because I had my tickets for the perfect musical weekend foray. Düsseldorf, Albuquerque, Jönköping and Gothenburg. And again I had to realize that expectations are a funny thing. They rarely come up with what you expect them to.

First of all, I went to see Hauschka for the first time ever. I totally devoured Volker Bertelmann aka Hauschka‘s last album “Foreign Landscapes” and was really curious about his prepared piano show. There is just one word for this guy and his music: ace. He was using tape, little tambourine metal jingles, marbles and some other weird stuff I couldn’t identify, to put it on the piano strings. The sounds he created were savvy and magical, I haven’t seen anything like this before. Although he was “just” playing his instrument, watching him add and remove things to change the sound of the piano, felt like watching a scientist inventing something. His idea of making electronic music without using any electronic devices works quite perfect.

I remember having a discussion a few years ago with some guy about the song “Personal Jesus” on Johnny Cash’s album “American IV: The Man Comes Around“. He thought the Depeche Mode cover version was pretty neat, but couldn’t come up to Johnny Cash’s original. Due to my sense of justice (and my strong devotion for Depeche Mode), I tried to explain that it’s actually the other way round, but he wouldn’t believe me. And to be honest with you, who could blame him?

This conversation could happen again, when I would talk with someone about Bart Davenport‘s current album “Searching For Bart Davenport“. Twelve songs and he embraces every single one, it would never occur to you that he hasn’t been the composer.

The first song “Come On Let’s Go” originally by electronic/Dream Pop band Broadcast, is a worthy follower for José Gonzáles‘ version of The Knife‘s “Heartbeats”. Davenport created an intimate song, boiled down to the root of the matter.

After the first time I listened to Silent Devices and their EP “Two Decades“, I was left with two questions. Why haven’t I heard of this band until now? And why are they apparently unsigned?

The most beautiful thing about their music is the way they avoid this miserable apocalyptic atmosphere that often comes along with post rock. Josh, Scott, Alex and Charlie make something you could call “lyric post rock”. Layers of sounds and vocals intertwine and become some sort of a magic carpet. Make yourself comfortable and fly away!

“Two Decades” stands out, because it’s genuine. Silent Devices have a keen sense for their own musical strengths and I guess that’s why they’re not afraid to set priorities. I’m pretty sure we’re going to hear a lot more from the Leicester based band soon. Until then you should check out the interview with Silent Devices’ drummer Alex:

I’d like to start this review by making a daring case. The extraordinary thing about Kid Decker’s music is, it’s ordinary. I know this sounds absurd and you may ask yourself why I would recommend an ordinary album.

I do so, because “Your Kind” reminds me of something really important: you should never take things for granted. And the funny thing is, we usually just take the ordinary things in life for granted. So much for the philosophic part.

Craig Saunders aka Kid Decker is a singer-songwriter from Somerset in South West England. He decided to move to Germany a few years ago and made his mark by playing live a lot, co-organizing the folk festival Melodica and winning the German music contest Krach & Getöse (which means something like Noise & Bluster). His music is neither noise nor bluster, but straight folk. Sometimes uplifting, sometimes melancholic, the Lo-Fi production of “Your Kind” teases out a lovely private and homey feeling.

There is no excuse or explanation why Codes In The Clouds is still a Post-Rock insider tip. Their second album “As The Spirit Wanes” is what you might call a pretty neat piece of work. And I don’t do this very often, but the Dartford based quintet released an album I would entitle a must-hear. And why is that? I know you usually don’t link this word to music, but their sound is sustainable. It’s sustainable in being timeless and luscious apart from the musical genre. Stephen Peeling, Ciaran Morahan, Rob Smith, Jack Major and Joe Power (what a name!) are without a doubt extremely talented musicians with that rare gift of taking vivid speeches without using a word. Their instruments take over that part and just as intangible and floating as their songs might seem, you’re immediately roped in and shaken up.

It’s the time of the year, where apparently nothing has changed in music for the last 50 years. No matter where you go or what you do these few weeks, you’re being persecuted by ‘Silent Night’, ‘Winter Wonderland’ or ‘The Little Drummer Boy’. Only the interpreters slightly vary here and there. Finally most of the people have come to terms with the fact that there is no other sound between mid-november and the end of december. So you might enjoy these three christmassy sound alternatives. Merry Christmas!

“That Fuzzy Feeling” and is a compilation made by LOaF Recordings and the Arctic Circle. 15 tracks from artists like Isan, Peter Broderick, Hauschka, Rothko and the Sleeping Years or the North Sea Radio Orchestra look into this particular mood, and this certain melancholy that’s wafting all around this time of the year. All tracks tend towards electronic music or/and contemporary classic, but without avoiding typical christmas sounds. And all the songs on the album prove, that you don’t have to reinterpret the same old classics again and again. There is a fair amount of space in this musical universe to add some new christmas sounds.