Aurgasm

norwegian singer/songwriter // guitar

Back in 1998, Ane Brun (real name Ane Brunvoll), used to play in the streets to anyone who’d listen to her songs while travelling around Spain. Few years later she moved to Stockholm, Sweden where she started her own independent record label, performing live a lot and recorded the debut album Spending Time with Morgan (named after her beloved acoustic guitar, Morgan). After taking in Grammys in Norway and Sweden, she spent the past couple of years touring, playing at many festivals, supporting such artists as Keren Ann and A-HA. This last year she sat down to deliver her sophomore release, A Temporary Dive, a minimalist masterpiece of songwriting.

A less quirky Ani Difranco, shooting straight from the heart.
Ane Brun – My Lover Will Go
Ane Brun – Rubber & Soul
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1950’s rock ‘n roll // boogie woogie
Following the footsteps of great New Orleans pianists like Professor Longhair, Huey made piano tracks to dance to. In 1957 he signed with Ace Records and formed ‘The Clowns’ with transgender artist Bobby Marchan at the helm. The two saw chart success multiple times, but none of the other records get me screaming along quite like this one. (turn it up!)
A good hearty 1958 rock ‘n roll rag.
Huey ‘Piano’ Smith & The Clowns – Don’t You Just Know It
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percussion // contemporary instrumental classical

You’ve heard Carl Orff’s composition in the trailer of some movie, I’m sure. From the opera Carmina Burana, “O Fortuna” has appeared in countless contemporary contexts, from Walt Disney World to internet video memes. ‘Gassenhauer’, or ‘Street Song’, was arranged from a lute setting by Hans Neusiedler from 1536. Orff used basic orchestra percussion, layering each one one top of eachother to create a vibrant crescendo of sound. If it comes off as familiar, you’ve likely heard it in one of these films: Badlands, True Romance, and Me and You and Everyone We Know.

Xylophone, marimba, timpani, shaker, castanets, then snare.
Carl Orff – Gassenhauer
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80’s rap remixed

I imagine it’s pretty hard to remix songs that are as oft-played and over-sampled as much of the Sugarhill catalogue– and when I saw Still The Joint: Sugarhill Remixed in my local music emporium a few summers ago, I was a little dubious. But hey, it was the right price, so I picked it up and let it grow on me. Roots Manuva’s remix of ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash, particularly, has been a regular fixture on my headphones ever since, with its shadowy horns and tight, controlled bass. Even better, though, is the way other tracks slink out of my iPod’s shuffle mode and take me by surprise, like the strut-worthy Two Lone Swordsmen remix of The Sequence’s ‘Funk You Up’.

A chilled bag of electro funk.
Sugarhill Gang – The Message (Roots Manuva Remix)
Sugarhill Gang – Funk You Up (Two Lone Swordsmen Remix)
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I need to share with you an encounter I had with a superstar French MC.

Poking around my myspace two weeks ago, I noticed a bulletin from the French rap group TTC, signed to Ninja Tune’s Big Dada label. This bulletin contained two interesting facts:

1. Two of their members, Cuizinier and DJ Orgasmic, were touring the US
2. They were looking for a place to crash in each of their stops

TTC – Dancingbox (Modeselektor remix)
Ever since hearing the Modeselektor remix of Dancingbox, I’d been deep into their sound. I figured I could offer up my pad, so I fired back a reply.
Cuizinier replied and was down for it:

hey thanks a lot man
i’ll call you when we’re in town
i already putted you on the guest list
peace
cuiz

Thursday afternoon I got a phone call from a number with seemingly too many digits. Hello? “Hey this is Cuiz”. After a short chat, I was set to meet up with him at the show. Going to the show I realized I didn’t really know what Cuizinier looked like, but I figured I could recognize a skinny white French rapper. On my way out the door I had grabbed my three bangin pairs of sunglasses so I could look my flyest; DJ A-Trak (Kanye West’s dj and 5-time World DMC Champion) and Brooklyn’s favorite dj duo, The Rub, were spinning.

The Rub warmed everything up with some reggae, then dropping into their signature dance/soul sound. Midway through their set we learned that this was the “Sunglasses Is A Must” tour and the three pair I brought along seemed fortuitously apropos.

A-Trak tore up his set, as usual, with some old classics and brand new hiphop– and of course he brought his turntablism a-game:
Video of A-Trak mixing it up (live)

Cuizinier took the stage around midnight and when I first realized the guy wearing the XXXL Celtics shirt was actually sleeping on my couch, I pretty much blew my shit. His set was hype as hell, bringing out the fire jams from both TTC’s Bâtards Sensibles and Cuizinier’s own Pour Les Filles records.
Video of Cuizinier – L’encule le plus cool (live)
Cuizinier – L’enculé le plus cool from Cuizinier’s Pour Les Filles Vol. 1 (2005)
Cuizinier – Seulement Toi (feat. Tido Berman) from Cuizinier’s Pour Les Filles Vol. 2 (2006)

After the show, me and my girl Anne waited for Cuizi to collect enough cash from the venue to pay for the next day’s train to New York. Cash in hand, we started heading back to my place. Cuizinier told me about the rest of the tour and TTC and Big Dada and all the news, accidentally slipping into French for several sentences, apologizing once he realized, and continuing. Off the stage, Cuizinier and DJ Orgasmic were surprisingly polite and well-spoken Frenchmen. We crashed at my pad, I woke them up at 9am and they took off for the subway shortly thereafter.

Before leaving however, my boy Cuizi Cuiz insisted in giving me a couple “presents” as thanks. I wound up with some goodies: copies of vols. 1 and 2 of his Pour Les Filles records, some flashy stickers and a dope ass Cuizinier sweatshirt.
So of course,

Contest!!!

As this was the Sunglasses Is A Must tour, y’all gotta email me your best photo of you rockin out in sunglasses.
Prizes will be awarded based on how fly y’all look. You might get just a sticker, or you may get all the booty.

intimate songwriting // feminine rock and roll

American born Brisa Roché (real name La Brisa Day Roché) has traveled all over the world from her hometown in the north of California and currently residing in Paris, where she’s released her debut album The Chase (2005). After spending time in such countries as Russia and Romania (where she toured as a young teen), New Mexico (where she continued pursuing her private vision of jazz) and plenty of other places, she finally gets back to Paris where she dives into jazz as a way of life.
Intimate, jazzy, widely influenced yet so very individual.

Brisa Roché – Mystery Man
Brisa Roché – Coco
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chilled electro // synth-dance

Observing a healthy balance between pop appeal and experimentation, the German duo Booka Shade concoct unusual blends of modern 4/4 sketches and timeless listening titles. They emerged as an electro-house outfit, but their latest CD, Movements, takes a more measured, deliberate approach to electronic music, reminiscient of Sasha’s excellent work on Airdrawndagger. My fave from their new LP, “Body Language”, has this round bass from the keyboard dials intermingling with a surgical precision with a guitar sounding like its strings are wet bamboo. A remixed cut of the track won the last “Ibiza Track of the Season” award. “Mandarine Girl” features heavier synth chordal progressions posed against a four-to-the-floor bass beat.
Considered musical taste with mass-appeal sensibility.

Booka Shade – Body Language (interpretation)
Booka Shade – Mandarine Girl (album version)
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french vocal // avant-pop

A month before my Italian tipster, my gal in Lithuania led me to the talented and innovative French vocalist Camille. You probably know her from her vocals on the Nouvelle Vague album, but her solo talent is impressive. She recently released Le Fil (trans: the wire, the yarn, the string) an album done mostly a capella. This effort learned from Björk’s botched attempt and delivers songs that let you enjoy the levels of voices only if you desire to. Taking on the wire metaphor, throughout the album is a sustained vocal note, like line noise, but on top are created catchy rhythms with adorable melodies.
Filling the spectrum with sounds and voices.

Camille – 1,2,3 from Les Sac Des Filles (2004)
Camille – Ta douleur from Le Fil (2005)
Camille – Au Port (music video) from Le Fil (2005)
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Nomisong is this week’s winner! He will be getting a brand spanking new copy DVD of Jarhead with promotional dogtags! (Psst, email me, man!)
The best reactions follow:

chill hip hop // california groove
One Self – Bluebird from Children of Possibility (2005)

grime // montreal bounce
Lady Fury – Too Much Drugs in Ur System (Ghislain Poirier Remix) from Ghislain Poirier – Bounce Le Remix (2006)

baltimore/philly club // dancehall remixed // electro-baile
Sizzla – I’m With The Girls (DJ ABCDEFG Remix) from Hollertronix – #3 EP (2005)

glitchy folk // experimental indie

“It’s surely the most poignant songwriting ever to be underscored by toy animals and kitchen utensils“. The pleasure of listening to Psapp (pronounced sap) is how the two, Carim Clasmann and Galia Durant, develop songs with beautiful melodies accompanied by a tasteful touch of found sounds. After their 2004 release on the amazing Leaf label, Psapp took off with appearances all over the net and landing the Grey’s Anatomy theme song. In May, they’ll be releasing their second LP, entitled Only Thing I Ever Wanted, a strong collection of tracks that sneak fun into great songwriting. While you wait for that record to drop, pick up Tiger, My Friend if you don’t already have it. You need it.
Songs with little noises poking out.

Psapp – The Words from Only Thing I Ever Wanted (2006)
Psapp – Tiger, My Friend from Tiger, My Friend (2004)
Psapp – About Fun (video) from Tiger, My Friend (2004)
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