Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 29

Funk With Global Flair | Disaster Relief: Back Into It (Ravine Records / 27 July 2021)

Global Funk
Disaster Relief: Back Into It
(Ravine Records / 27 July 2021)

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The sound is classic and the mood definitely funky on this instrumental release by Disaster Relief, the brainchild of Michigan based music producer, songwriter, and guitarist Darrin James.

Back Into It, the title track, has a vintage funky groove that doesn't quit. James blends interesting influences with that sound in the other tracks. 

Kalamatianós for Alexander riffs on the traditional Greek wedding dance rhythms, part of James' heritage. Beach Song has a sound clearly influenced by West African and Caribbean rhythms, and Weekend Čoček blends traditional Balkan dance tunes with surf rock.

It was 2018 when James veered away from the blues and roots-rock sounds of his previous work with his own band. What he wanted was a sound that was more improvisational, and had a groove. The horns and guitar combination create a fat, satisfying sound, with the underpinning of a tight rhythm section (especially notable bass by Breannan Andes). Their sound is always upbeat, and inspired by the sounds of New Orleans funk, Memphis soul, Motown, and Afrobeat.

The musicianship and energy light up the music. The band plays with a lot of passion for the music, and you can hear that. It's as much an album to listen to carefully as it is to dance and party to. 

Tracklist: Back into it; Kalamatianós for Alexander; Beach Song; Weekend Čoček; Ostinato Eleven; What Day Is It?

Personnel: Brennan Andes: Bass; Rob Avsharian: Drums; Dan Bennett: Alto and Bari Sax; Josef Deas: Organ, Electric Piano, Moog Synth; Tim Haldeman: Tenor Sax; Ross Huff: Trumpet; Darrin James: Guitar, Organ; Randall Moore: Percussion

Stay in touch:

Official Website: www.disasterreliefmusic.com / www.darrinjames.comFacebook: facebook.com/disasterreliefmusic.com

Experimental Electronic: Electric Treatment Free EP (Independent / 9 May 2020)

Experimental Electronic:
Electric Treatment Free (EP)
(Independent / 9 May 2020)

Stream It On Bandcamp

Melodic and hypnotic, Electric Treatment Free is a solo experimental electronic project by Ottawa musician/producer Mark Uygur. 

Uygur studied music for many years with private teachers and completed university courses in theory and composition. He cut his teeth performing as a guitar player with various bands locally, and the album is a huge departure from that realm.

study 4, an original composition, is inventive, bright, and bubbling, a mesmerizing track. maths (conlon guitars) is an interesting mashup of video game music with classical and even jazz elements. 

The list of sample credits for three of the tracks on the five-song EP is two pages long, and includes archival material as well as free tracks used under a CC license. andrei's bright day combines spoken sound and jangly piano. the brother of sleep uses a recorded phone message, among other sound bites. 

He juggles the source material electronically to come up with new edges and juxtapositions. It's an intriguing collection of tracks that plays with idioms and sounds, and never gets boring.

All music written by a human (Mark Uygur) and played by a computer.

Tracklist: 1) study 4; 2) andrei's bright day; 3) the brother of sleep; 4) maths (conlon guitars); 5) fort smith

Stay in touch:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/electrictreatmentfree0 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElectricTreatm1 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electrictreatmentfree/ 

The Reggaestra: Tribute to Bunny Wailer (Picaxe Production / 14 May 2021)

The Reggaestra: Tribute to Bunny Wailer
(Picaxe Production / 14 May 2021)

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When reggae legend Bunny Wailer fell ill earlier this year (he passed on March 2, 2021), the community knew it was time to make a record in tribute. 

Grammy-nominated producer and Roots Reggae artist Picstitch was approached by Solominic Reggaestra, the band that had backed Bunny up for many years. PicStitch has worked with artist such as Sizzla, Half Pint, Mighty Diamond, Trilla U, George Nooks, Lukie D, and Daddy U Roy. He leads The Reggaestra in this full-length album.

 "I was approached by the Solomonic Reggaestra and they informed me that they are planning to record a tribute album for their lead singer Bunny Wailer who at the time was falling ill and could not perform.  I was asked to step in and cover some of his iconic hits. I took the opportunity right away and the rest was history!" - Picstitch

"Tribute to Bunny Wailer" features 14 of Bunny Wailer's classic tracks performed by musicians with Roots Reggae in their DNA. The sound, needless to say, is authentic.

Roots Man Skanking is a standout track, one that perfectly suits Picstitch's raspy delivery. With Cool Runnings, and all of Bunny's familiar hits, it's a treat for Roots Reggae fans, even if the occasion was sad.

Tracklist: 1. Rock and groove; 2. Roots man skanking; 3. Ballroon floor; 4. Cool runnings; 5. Don dadda; 6.Conviction; 7. Hypocrites; 8. Mr. Collie man; 9. Ram dancehall; 10.Dream Land; 11.Love fire; 12.Dance rock; 13.Amagedeon; 14.Reggaestra

Personnel: Picstitch, Lead singer; Danny Axeman, bass guitar; Keith Sterlyn, Keyboard; Aubrey Manning, Drums; Barry Bailey, Trombone; Craig Henry, Trumpet; Tafane Buchsaecab, Saxophone

Stay in touch:

Website: https://picstitchreggae.com/homeFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/picstitchreggae/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picstitchreggae/Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thereggaestra/sets/tr

Fall for Dance North Hits Toronto With Seven Weeks Of Live And Digital Dance Programming Sept 11 - Oct 29 2021

From a media release:

Fall For Dance North 
Live + Digital Dance Programming
September 11 to October 29 2021 In its Seventh Annual Fall Festival, FFDN presents largest line-up in seven-year history, with seven weeks of original programming featuring international and Canadian dancemakers

Check it out 

TORONTO, ON – Toronto’s premier international dance festival Fall for Dance North (FFDN) is thrilled to announce its seventh edition from Sept. 11-Oct. 29, 2021. FFDN will present its largest festival line-up to date, showcasing a hybrid mix of electrifying in-person performances and original digital content for its local and global audience, including the world premiere of 10 festival commissions.

Caleb Teicher & Co in More Forever (Photo by Robert Altman)

The innovative program will feature a collection of real-time, livestream performances from Toronto and films shot on location in India, Cuba and London, UK; the launch of a new outdoor performance series, Heirloom – performed in Toronto’s surrounding communities; the premiere of an interactive, jazz-themed photo and augmented reality exhibit at Union Station – curated by FFDN Artists-in-Residence Natasha Powell (Toronto) and Kimberley Cooper (Calgary); and a short documentary that follows the development of a new creation during a two-week, isolated residency in Orillia with Powell and 11 students from The School of Performance Dance program at Ryerson University.*

“This year's hybrid edition of FFDN brings us one step closer to our vision for a new festival format fit for our changing and increasingly virtual world,” says Ilter Ibrahimof, FFDN Artistic Director. “We are thrilled to partner with acclaimed filmmakers to elevate the quality of our digital dance presentation with striking original content produced specifically by FFDN for a worldwide audience. With our continued presentation partnership with Union Station and our new outdoor performance series Heirloom, we are excited to bring safe and sustainable in-person dance experiences to life.

“I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge and thank our incredible audience, supporters, board and team for their tireless support and efforts throughout the challenges of the last 18 months. I am very proud to say that, through our collective efforts, FFDN has not only weathered the storm but has emerged revitalized and ready to continue our work bringing the best of Canadian and international dance to as wide an audience as possible, in more places than ever and with a continued focus on accessibility.”

*The name of the university is currently under review by the Standing Strong (Mash Koh Wee Kah Pooh Win) Task Force.

This year’s festival presents a strikingly diverse series of works from some of today’s finest international and Toronto-based dance artists. Premiering on October 13, the 2021 Signature Program features a hotly anticipated, globally-inspired three-part performance film directed by acclaimed Indo-Canadian filmmaker Vikram Dasgupta. The program captures the world premiere of Bloom from Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton performed by Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, filmed in Havana; and My Mother’s Son by South African choreographer Mthuthuzeli November (Ballet Black) performed with his brother and one of The National Ballet of Canada’s newest principal dancers, Siphe November, in their first-ever duet, filmed at the Battersea Arts Centre in London, UK; as well as a transcendent performance by the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, filmed in Bangalore in the dynamic dance community, Nrityagram Dance Village, where dance is a way of life.

Additional livestream presentation highlights include 

an Ontario premiere of the full-length work +(dix) from Côté Danse, choreographed by Guillaume Côté, live streamed from Harbourfront Centre Theatre on Sept. 23; a double bill presentation directed by William Yong, featuring world premieres by Toronto choreographer Sara Porter and Dancemakers resident artist Danah Rosales, live streamed from The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance on Oct. 7; and a Canadian premiere of More Forever from U.S. collaborative duo, tap and jazz dancer Caleb Teicher and contemporary pianist and composer Conrad Tao, live streamed from Harbourfront Centre Theatre on Oct. 26. Mthuthuzeli & Siphe November in My Mother's Son (Photo by Sky Weiss)
Fall for Dance North 2021 Festival HighlightsIN-PERSON EVENTS (TICKETED)Heirloom

Featuring performances by by Lua Shayenne Dance Company (Peterborough); Arzoo Dance Theatre (Hamilton); Sandy Silva & Rick Haworth (Niagara); and Caleb Teicher & Nic Gareiss (Peterborough, Hamilton & Niagara)

Sept. 11: 1pm @ Millennium Park (130 King St., Peterborough) and 6pm @ Isabel Morris Park (20 Concession St., Lakefield, ON) Co-presented with Public Energy Performing ArtsSept. 16: 6pm @ Bayfront Park (200 Harbour Front Dr., Hamilton, ON) Co-presented with Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts Dance TheatreSept. 18: 1pm and 5pm @ Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery (1469 Pelham Rd., St. Catharines, ON) Co-presented with FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

Lua Shayenne (Toronto) creates work that radiates joy and a profound sense of connection to the moment. Driven by her commitments to social good and spiritual progress, Shayenne integrates dancing, live drumming, singing and storytelling from African and African diasporic traditions in her work.

As Artistic Director of Arzoo Dance Theatre and an exponent of the elegant Kathak style of Indian dance, Deepti Gupta (Toronto) creates new works that transcend geographical and cultural boundaries. She relentlessly experiments with a variety of theatrical interests, regularly collaborating with musicians, designers, and new media artists.

Sandy Silva (Montreal) engages the percussive dance practices of Hungary, Appalachia, Cape Breton and Andalusia, and the idioms of circus, contemporary dance and theatre. She and guitarist Rick Haworth combine the nuance of emotion and the flash of technique in palpable form.

In their collaboration as a duo, acclaimed solo artists Caleb Teicher and Nic Gareiss (USA) weave nonchalance and informality with virtuosic technique in a physically witty dialogue of movement and sound. They draw on tap dance, jazz, swing, Lindy Hop, Appalachian clogging and Irish step dance.

Malpaso Dance Company (Photo by Todd Rosenberg)
DIGITAL EVENTS (TICKETED)

Côté Danse: + (dix) by Guillaume Côté; livestream directed by Vikram Dasgupta

Sept. 23, Harbourfront Centre Theatre

This new full-length work by Guillaume Côté connects to the myth of Odysseus, about journeying far but always desiring to return home. The piece explores the notion of the “inner compass” and the idea that “home” may be a state of mind. Five performers from the newly formed collective Côté Danse share a minimalist stage setting amplified by the surging and sculptural sounds of American experimental band Son Lux.

Night Shift

Sept. 29-Oct. 2, The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance - Livestream directed by Barbara Willis SweeteMestiza by Olga Barrios (Sept. 29)New Work (Double Bill) by Kean Buffalo and River Waterhen (Sept. 30)Grandmother’s Drum by Sashar Zarif (Oct. 1)SpiritYouAll by BaKari Ifasegun Lindsay (Oct. 2)

Night Shift offers a powerful examination of resonant current issues over four livestream evenings featuring Toronto-based artists. Curated by Indigenous dance artists Penny Couchie, Christine Friday and Tekaronhiáhkhwa Santee Smith, this highly anticipated late-night dance series is directed once again by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Barbara Willis Sweete. Pre- and post-show conversations are hosted by Citadel + Compagnie’s artistic director, Laurence Lemieux. Co-presented with Citadel + Compagnie

Double Bill: Sara Porter / Danah Rosales and House of Siriano

Oct. 7, The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance - Film and Livestream directed by William Yong

This double bill features Toronto-based artists Sara Porter and Danah Rosales in a juxtaposition of works that finds shared ground in theatricality, spectacle and Queer identity – directed for film and livestream by William Yong. Rosales, a.k.a. Maldita Siriano 007, Mother of the Kiki House of Siriano’s Toronto Chapter, presents The Grand March of the House of Siriano, a new contemporary group work based on the traditional ballroom custom of the grand march, which happens at the start of a house ball and introduces the house and its members to the community. And Porter presents a new filmed version of her acclaimed solo Getting to know your Fruit, woven from movement, memoir and wit. Co-presented with DanceWorks. Additional support for The Grand March of the House of Siriano by Dancemakers 2021 Signature Program

Performance FilmMy Mother’s Son by Mthuthuzeli November danced with Siphe November; Bloom by Aszure Barton for Malpaso Dance Company; Lalita Lavanga by Surupa Sen for Nrityagram Dance. Ensemble performed with Pavithra Reddy. Directed by Vikram Dasgupta 

Oct. 14, Three-part performance film, shot in London, UK, Cuba & India

Travel through the filmmaking of award-winning director Vikram Dasgupta. South African brothers Siphesihle and Mthuthuzeli November dance an ocean apart. Their long-awaited new work unites these siblings in performance for the first time since their childhood in Zolani. Malpaso Dance Company welcomes the return of renowned Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton to Cuba for a second new creation. Returning to the festival, this time from afar, Nrityagram Dance Ensemble shares an effervescent performance by the company’s artistic director, Surupa Sen and Pavithra Reddy.

Caleb Teicher & Co: More Forever 

by Caleb Teicher (choreographer) and Conrad Tao (composer); directed by Barbara Willis Sweete

Oct. 20, The Fleck Dance Theatre

In this subtle and textured percussive dance and music work, the gifts of choreographer / performer Caleb Teicher and composer / musician Conrad Tao (U.S.) unite in a powerful cascade. Tao’s score, which he plays live on an amplified grand piano and electronics, merges completely with Teicher’s sonic movement vocabulary, performed by Teicher and six of their company dancers. Co-presented with Harbourfront Centre.

Nrityagram Dance Village: Surupa Sen, Pavithra Reddy in Nrityagram  Lalita Lavanga, Choreographed by Surupa Sen (Photo by Narendra Dangiya)
FREE PROGRAMMING (IN-PERSON & DIGITAL)Mambo – Season Two

PodcastPremieres Sept. 11 at ffdnorth.com

Co-hosted by FFDN’s artistic director Ilter Ibrahimof and Turn Out Radio’s producer Nicole Inica Hamilton, Mambo – Season Two takes you behind the scenes of the festival’s seventh season and beyond. Each episode offers unique perspectives on festival works and insights into the creative process. Over six special episodes, join Ilter and Nicole – on a film set, at a studio, on the road – for candid conversations that are sure to enhance your festival experience.

her body as words 

by Peggy Baker Dance ProjectsFilm Appears Nightly Sept. 15-17 & Sept 19-30 at Yonge-Dundas Square

her body as words, a new work by Toronto-based choreographer Peggy Baker, fragments and explodes notions of female identity as expressed by nine Canadian dance artists, through film by Jeremy Mimnagh (Toronto). Sensing, sensate and sensual, these bodies of light and sound signal to the world from an installation on screens at Yonge-Dundas Square. Dancing the complexities of their lived identities, these artists offer gestural renderings touching on themes of race, gender expression, sexual orientation, sexual appetite, pregnancy, miscarriage, motherhood, disability, physical labour and aging.

her body as words is part of ArtworxTO: Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021–2022, a year-long celebration of Toronto’s exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it.

Visit artworxTO.ca for full details.

Away to Create

Short documentary film by Jeremy MimnaghPremieres Sept. 17 at ffdnorth.com

FFDN’s artist-in-residence Natasha Powell – artistic director of Holla Jazz (Toronto) – creates a new work with 11 students from The School of Performance Dance Program at Ryerson University* in a two-week isolated residency. The resulting creation will be shared through in-person pop-up performances – set to new music by composer Sabine Ndalamba – in outdoor spaces around Toronto (date and location information to be announced in September), plus a live streamed performance on Oct. 15 as part of Orillia Jazz Festival. Co-presented with The School of Performance Dance Program at Ryerson University* and Orillia Centre for Arts + Culture

Jazz in Motion: Portraits of Syncopated Souls

Exhibition curated by Natasha Powell and Kimberley CooperPremieres Sept. 20 at Union Station (Digital Edition Premieres Oct. 1)

Experience a visual feast of jazz dance imagery co-curated by Fall for Dance North’s artists-in-residence: Natasha Powell – artistic director of Holla Jazz (Toronto) – and Kimberley Cooper – artistic director of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (Calgary). Transformed into a dynamic gallery, Union Station’s Oak Room and West Wing feature larger-than-life photographs of dancers from these respective companies, along with an augmented reality experience and a playlist collaboratively curated with JAZZ.FM91. Co-presented with Union Station and in collaboration with Dance Collection Danse

***

Single tickets and festival passes are on sale at ffdnorth.com. Festival passes provide unlimited access to FFDN’s full line-up of five livestream and filmed presentation events. Passes are $45. Single tickets are $15 per livestream and filmed presentation events. Tickets for FFDN’s Heirloom dance series in Toronto’s surrounding communities are $15 per performance.

Developed in strict compliance with current public health recommendations, FFDN’s 7th Edition offers audiences performance options for all comfort and accessibility levels, through socially-distanced outdoor live performances as well as livestream and filmed presentations. 

Folk Veterans | The Furious Seasons: Home All Day, Home All Night (Stonegarden Records / 20 August 2021)

Folk Veterans
The Furious Seasons: Home All Day, Home All Night
(Stonegarden Records / 20 August 2021)

Preorder/Order

Whether you call the sound folk or Americana, it's both familiar and new on this release by veteran musicians The Furious Seasons.

Focused on nimble acoustic guitar and strong rhythms, the music is lit by expressive vocals that deliver the emotional heart of the music, bolstered by lovely harmonies, and warm production that builds rich layers of instrumentation.

In folk tradition, the lyrics deal with real issues and the stories of real Angelinos of today. Lovely Backyard is about finding somewhere safe in the middle of the madness. Long Vacation, a country-rock song, is about taking a break that may never come back to the beginning.

The song 7420 talks about a couple in Los Angeles during the COVID-era lockdown and the then-current political atmosphere as they watch an Independence Day nighttime display.

The fireworks, in the L.A. sky
feel like an act of pure defiance
(...)
You'll be home all day
we'll be home all night
Laying low and abstaining
From all of our non-essential activities
They boil down to just four or five things
Still we're left here with a whole lot of nothing

Interestingly, the only cover on the release is David Bowie's Changes, turned into a slow country ballad.

Instrumentation is varied, and aided by the work in isolation mode of the pandemic, as it worked out. Along with the base trio of David Steinhart (guitar, vocals, drums), Jeff Steinhart (bass, piano, organ), and P.A. Nelson (acoustic and electric guitars, dobro, weissenborn, vocals), there is violin on one song (Aubrey Richmond), and accordion on one song (Arlan Oscar).

Los Angeles songwriter David Steinhart's work has appeared on over 20 album releases, and with his brother Jeff toured the U.S. and Europe in the '90s and '00s in bands Smart Brown Handbag and Pop Art. As a trio, the group has provided support for Americana legacy artists such as John Hiatt, America, and Judy Collins.

Because of the pandemic lockdown(s), the tracks were recorded in four different commercial and home studios, teaming up with 5-time Grammy winner Alfonso Rodenas.

The band will be out on the road as soon as they can.

Personnel:
David Steinhart-Guitar, Vocals, Drums, all songs David Steinhart except Changes by David Bowie; Jeff Steinhart - Bass, Piano, Organ; P. A. Nelson -  Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Dobro, Weissenborn, Vocals

Additional Players: Aubrey Richmond-Violin; Eduardo Tancredi-Drums on "A Puff of Smoke"; Arlan Oscar-Accordion on "Down For Me"

Tracklist:
Is This Happening; Down for Me; We Finally Get Fall; Lovely Backyard; We Go Down; Birthday Song; Long Vacation; The North Valley; A Puff of Smoke; Changes; The Smallest Beach; 7420

Stay In Touch:

Official Website: thefuriousseasons.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefurioussessonsTwitter: https://twitter.com/furiouseasonsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefuriousseasons/

Rock of Asia: Asian Anthology (Independent / 7 April 2021)

Rock of Asia: Asian Anthology
(Independent / 7 April 2021)

Stream/Buy

Japanese taiko drums, flutes, and acoustic guitar swirl around hypnotic rhythms in Lal Dhaga, the title track of Asian Anthology by Rock of Asia.

It's a typical blend of sonic flavours and colours on this quirky and distinctive release. A combination of folk/traditional and elements of rock music fuse in imaginative ways throughout the 14 tracks.

Solitary Friend blends orchestral pop rock with a melody that veers from anthemic rock song to Asian folk. It's an idiosyncratic approach that keeps it interesting from track to track. The violin is perhaps the most unexpected addition to the mix.

Vocally, Matsumoto is expressive, capable of holding the interest melodically as well as delivering an edge where needed.

The album's mood ranges from the orchestral and romantic folk of Kojo No Tsuki to art rock of Vision Led On, with Asian and Western musical idioms sprinkled and blended together. The Parallel is straight up modern folk. 

BELIEF is a standout track, strongly rhythmic and compelling. The Unsaid is another, with its seamless folk/rock fusion.

Rock of Asia is the brainchild of Japanese musician Nikki Matsumoto. Matsumoto spent 15 years playing and writing rock songs in Los Angeles. He formed Rock of Asia in 2010, and the band toured the US in 2010, and the Middle East in 2012 and 2019.

Matusumoto is also an activist and volunteer, the founder of NGO "Others 1st Initiative" and director of "Japan Palestine Friendship Association".

Tracks:
Lal Dhaga (4:36); Solitary Friend (4:35); Belief (4:13); Guardian Of The Sea (3:26); MIKOTO (5:54); Kojo No Tsuki (3:00); Vision Led On (4:40); Ocean (4:18); The Parallel (5:36); Nanimo Shirazu Tada (4:52); The Unsaid (4:13); FUNATO (5:34); The Son (3:52); The Daughter (4:03)

Personnel:
Nikki Matsumoto (Vocals, Biwa, Guitars, Bass, Sanshin, Percussions, Taiko); Yasuhisa Murase (Acoustic Guitar）; Kizen Ohyama (Shakuhachi); Kay Suzuki (Violin); Kouzan Oyama (Shamisen) & others

Stay in touch:

Websites: https://www.n1m.com/rockofasiaOfficial Website: http://www.rockofasia.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockofasiaSpotify: https://www.tunecore.co.jp/artists?id=296970

Adult Contemporary | Ajay Mathur: I Need You Now (Yaketeeyak Music / 30 July 2021

Adult Contemporary
Ajay Mathur: I NEED YOU NOW
(Yaketeeyak Music / 30 July 2021)

Stream It/Buy It

An infectious beat and a simple romantic message are at the heart of I Need You Now, a new single from singer-songwriter Ajay Mathur.

At times, the vocals reminded me of the artist who used to be known as Cat Stevens, with a melodic resonance. Harmony vocalists are a nice addition to the mix. Along with the acoustic guitar and rhythm section, keyboards and a little electronic enhancement add to the texture of the sound. 

Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Ajay Mathur was born and raised in India, and lives in Switzerland. Ajay's album Little Boat was awarded Germany's Best English Language Album of the Year 2018 at the 36th German Rock & Pop Awards 2018.

I NEED YOU NOW by Ajay Mathur

Moscow Rocks | Apache Rose: Attention! (Independent / 27 January 2021)

Moscow Rocks:
Apache Rose: Attention!
(Independent / 27 January 2021)

Stream It On Spotify

"We wanted to make an album like the ones we love, the one you could listen on repeat. Like Aerosmith's Rocks, Metallica's Kill'em All, Sex Pistols' Nevermind the Bollocks, Nirvana's Nevermind, Soundgarden's Superunknown, Stone Temple Pilots' Core, Arctic Monkeys' first album. We hope we succeeded."

Melodic and radio-friendly hard rock is on offer with Russian rockers Apache Rose on their debut full-length release. Easy, the first single, is a satisfying ride of guitar licks and crashing cymbals. Singer Ilya Novokhatskiy has a perfect voice for rock - strong and strident, with enough flexibility for expression. They list a variety of influences, but vocally he reminded be most of Ian Astbury of Cult fame. 

As songwriters, the band has a talent for crafting rock with earworm hooks that showcase Novokhatskiy's compelling vocals and poetic lyrics. 

Hit Me is the latest single from the album, a song that begins softly for the rockers, and tackles the serious subject of abuse. 

"As with all our songs the theme of the track came about unintentionally. We had no intention of pursuing this sensitive subject matter. Somehow the words «Hit me like you don't want me to go/Hit me like you don't want me» just came to mind over the chorus and the other lyrics just let themselves be found," says Ilya Novokhatskiy.

"While "Hit Me" is a song about serious and depressing stuff, it didn't come out all that sad. Instead it goes into something dynamic and uplifting reflecting the notion that there's a solution, a way out," comments Novokhatskiy. 

Brought up on American and British rock bands of the 1970 to 1990s, rockers Apache Rose hails from Moscow, Russia. They released a series of singles through 2019 and 2020, with their debut album coming out this year in 2021. They've gained an international following, largely through social media.

Personnel on the album:
Ilya Novokhatskiy - vocals, guitar, bass; Vladimir Kornienko - backing vocals, guitar, bass; Stas Opoichenkov - drums; Maxim Vinokurov - drums

Tracklist: Easy, On my watch, Tiny love, Backdoor man, Hell, Hit me, Blind spot, Attention!, You kiss like a girl, Some kind of LoveTracklist: Easy, On my watch, Tiny love, Backdoor man, Hell, Hit me, Blind spot, Attention!, You kiss like a girl, Some kind of Love

Stay in touch:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ApacheRoseMusicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/apache_rose_music/Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/apache_rose_moscow

Southern Rock Redux: Crossroad Saints: A Song of Your Own (Independent / 20 August 2021)

Southern Rock Redux:
Crossroad Saints: A Song of Your Own
(Independent / 20 August 2021)

Preview/Order on Apple

Classic Southern rock, with its swell of fat Hammond B3, strident guitar, and tight rhythm section, gets a makeover with modern sensibilities on this album by the Crossroad Saints.

The lyrics are thoughtful and observant about life and love, with none of the bombast that's sometimes associated with Southern rock. Darryl Venable is vocalist as well as keyboardist, with a nice range and raspy edge just right for the genre. My one quibble would be that the vocals, and mix in general, are a little too clean - Southern rock needs a little dirt to give it more grit than polish.  

The title track adds a horn section in an upbeat song about making your own way in the world. Legacy takes the pace down to an organ-fuelled ballad with a soulful feel.

The band is adept in writing and playing in a variety of styles. The Game is a standout track with an infectious bounce and upbeat vibe. Ain't Goin' Down Again has a slow and sexy groove, in a song about staying away from those places that tempt you. Cleansing Time has a reggae-ish beat and social conscience. 

Based in Indiana, Crossroad Saints consists of a core trio of veteran musicians, keyboardist Daryl Venable and rhythm section duo Mike Slack (drums/percussion) and John Slack (bass). The album was largely written and recorded during the past year and a half or so of the COVID pandemic. 

They're hoping to get back to playing live soon.

Tracklist:
Cradle to the Grave; A Song of Your Own; Legacy; The Game; Ain't Goin' Down Again; Cleansing Time; Just So You Know; Pride; Look Around; You & Me; What's It Mean

Personnel: Daryl Venable: Hammond B3/keys, vocals, songwriter;  John Slack: Bass; Mike Slack: Drums/percussion

Guest Musician Names/Instruments: Mark Lindsey: Guitars; Paul Holdman: Guitars; Tim Wright: Pedal Steel Guitar; Jeff Conrad: Trumpet; Michael Stricklin: Saxophone; Richard Dole: Trombone;    Corey Miller: Strings

Stay in touch:

Official Website: https://www.crossroadsaints.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crossroadsaints/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crossroad_saints/

Cradle to the Grave is the first single:

Art/Activism: Digital Artist Yucef Merhi At The Bonnier Gallery Miami FL September 2 To November 20 2021

From a media release:

Digital Art | The Bonnier Gallery Presents
Yucef Merhi: Open

Opens September 2 at the Bonnier Gallery in Miami's burgeoning Allapattah art district
On view Sept. 2 - Nov. 20, 2021

Find Out More 

In 1985, when pioneer digital artist Yucef Merhi was only eight years old and growing up in Caracas, he reverse-engineered his ATARI 2600 and turned it into a programmable computer. 

Yucef Merhi

He used the Atari Video Computer System to produce generative videos based in language instructions. A leading art critic at the time saw this and proclaimed: “What you have created here, Yucef, will be considered a work of art in years to come.” 

Decades later, Merhi’s seminal creations would be exhibited at the New Museum in New York and would travel all over the world in international exhibitions, celebrated as the first works of art crafted from a videogame console. Watch a video that demonstrates one of these original 1985 works at youtu.be/zvcDaDcYo6g. 

One year later, at the age of nine, Merhi figured out how to calibrate the atomic clock of Venezuela, and the National Ministry of Defense commended him for achieving this breakthrough. 

 From data hacking as protest art against totalitarianism and police brutality, to his new vision called Retrocycling that rescues obsolete tech devices from landfills . . . from perfecting a universal language as new source code for planetary awakening, to digital interventions that make poems come alive . . . throughout his 30+ year journey, the artist’s work has remained front and center in the current thinking about art, and especially digital art.

Opening up a panoramic view of Merhi’s inner worlds, the new show Yucef Merhi: Open at The Bonnier Gallery captures the far-reaching consequence of his orbit around contemporary culture. For the viewer experiencing Merhi’s art, this often results in mind-expanding encounters with language.  

The gallery show presents 15 works, from five different series that map out his creative diaspora. The show ushers in the eagerly anticipated return of Miami’s Art Basel season, and opens on September 2 at the Bonnier Gallery in Allapattah, Miami’s burgeoning art district. 

“This new show will allow people to experience digital art that is of substance, as opposed to the speculative NFTs that seem to dominate that conversation,” says Grant Bonnier, the curator of this show and owner of the Gallery. “Yucef Merhi has packed the equivalent of several lifetimes leading up to this critical mid-career point of his trajectory,” adds Bonnier. “Merhi is poised at the leading edge of the technology and art.” 

Yucef Merhi has produced bodies of work that engage a wide spectrum including poetry, facial recognition, artificial intelligence, sound, virtual reality, hacking, and retro video games. By ensuring that his works always connect with the warmth of human engagement through language, Merhi’s momentum continues ahead of the curve. 

Sorry, by Yucef Merhi, is one of the digital art works in the exhibition at the Bonnier Gallery. Pictured above is a photograph of the artwork when it was shown in Toronto as part of a public art installation series, called the Art in Transit - Luminato Festival.

Merhi was also recently selected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the MIT Open Documentary Lab ‒ opendoclab.mit.edu. 

For this MIT fellowship, Merhi will be investigating how to reduce the massive amounts of electronic waste on our planet that comes from obsolete technologies, by re-purposing outdated devices and transforming them into new artistic enterprises. 

Many of these discarded devices were designed and engineered to last longer than we expect from today’s appliances. Merhi is calling his new vision Retrocycling ‒ yucef.mit.edu/home. 

The Tech Savant that Pioneered Digital Art  

“As a child, I felt I could actually communicate with these ATARI machines back in the 1980s. Electronic toys were so important to me because I built my reality with them,” says Merhi.   

When he was 15, in 1992, Merhi was already consulting for AT&T, and created one of Venezuela’s first electronic communities by programming a Bulletin Board System (BBS). 

The child prodigy even built his country’s first-ever website (for a local Mayor who was also a Miss Universe).

As time progressed, however, these whimsical connections between his home country and his art would take a more somber turn: reflecting the years ahead filled with turmoil and painful obstacles to restoring democracy.   

Hacking as Protest Art 

By 1998, Merhi had developed his first Datagram, a concept Merhi coined to visualize the movement of hacked information (he prefers the term “intercepted data” instead of hacking). 

Throughout the years, in protest of the dictatorship, Merhi intercepted Venezuelan government email accounts and databases, turning these revealed secrets into art that raises awareness. 

The Chavez regime in Venezuela feared Merhi because they realized he was able to access any server and any email platform in the country ‒ he even intercepted the emails of Hugo Chavez.  The government in Venezuela stopped inviting Merhi to exhibit at museums and even blocked him from representing Venezuela at the Venice Biennale in 2013. Merhi was put on a cultural blacklist. 

No Fly Security, by Yucef Merhi (2018-2019). Intercepted data on laser paper.

One of the works from his Datagram series in this show is a study for No Fly Security. This study was the starting point for what would later become a large-scale, immersive installation comprised of official reports, testimonies, and leaked data from the No Fly List, a list created and maintained by the U.S. federal government's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC). 

The list identifies people who are prohibited from boarding commercial aircraft for travel within, into, or out of the United States. All the content has been kept secret until now. The work demonstrates evidence of the initial errors of the agency, as well as the struggle of many citizens from the U.S. and abroad whose identities have been mistaken.  

Fast-forward to now, and Merhi has reached international acclaim with major museum exhibitions, biennials, and gallery shows across the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia.  

He is the recipient of several awards, and his work is represented in the permanent collections of numerous museums and private collections. 

“Yucef Merhi is precisely the type of artist we should be focusing on coming out of the pandemic. He is like an antenna, with an uncanny ability to internalize the energy of others around him and reflect it in his work. He’s a beacon of hope ‒ what we all need right now,” says Grant Bonnier. View all of the works in this show at this link.

Compassion: Responding to Our Turbulent Times 

The Gallery show’s largest installation, Compassion (2020), was created in 2020 during the pandemic and responds to the turbulent times we are living through.

Compassion, by Yucef Merhi (2020). 5 CRT TVs, 5 Atari 2600 game consoles, custom Atari cartridges, directional sound system. Photo by Zachary Balber.

The artist repurposed television sets that were manufactured for use in jails by incarcerated Americans ‒ reclaiming them with new, positive meaning. The viewer is drawn into the experience by their unusual transparent cases, originally meant to prevent prison-related smuggling. 

The installation Compassion features ATARIs that he programmed and connected to each of the television monitors. The ATARI cartridges interface to spell out one of Merhi’s epiphanies: Compassion is the Divine Compass, integrating language, video games, the sound of a Tibetan bell, and consciousness. Watch a video demonstrating this installation at vimeo.com/417787505.

Artificial Stupidity 

Another work featured in this show, entitled Artificial Stupidity, tackles the decline in Venezuela through a rare use of humor. 

Merhi dissects politics with primitive notions of artificial intelligence. What appears to be a harmless throwback to vintage video arcade games turns out to be the cartoon-like head of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro chasing Venezuelan flags. 

Every time Maduro's head eats a flag, it becomes a poop emoji ‒ vimeo.com/582241974. “These patriotic symbols that have been hijacked by the dictatorship in Venezuela end up being transformed into digital excrement, alluding to the systematic destruction of the country,” says Yucef Merhi. 

Artificial Stupidity, by Yucef Merhi (2019). Metal stand, iPad, custom software. Watch the video at vimeo.com/582241974

Merhi has earned international acclaim throughout his career with major urban digital art installations, often because of his keen abilities to embed a feeling of human connection and the spirit of curiosity into the experiences. 

This includes a skyscraper’s 40,000 square foot building façade in downtown Sao Paulo wrapped with LEDs. 

It featured a vintage ATARI device from 1976 that translated spoken words and music from people on the street into gigantic, colorful geometric light patterns. Watch a video about this massive work: youtu.be/tW5voFrEWaI. 

C-240, by Yucef Merhi (2001-2014). LED building facade, modified Atari device, analogue-digital adapter w/software, 40,000 square feet.Racing the Beam

Leading tech scholars have long recognized Yucef Merhi as an influencer and thought leader at the intersections of technology and art.

In the groundbreaking book Racing the Beam (from The MIT Press), two of the country's leading tech scholars (digital media professor Dr. Nick Montfort, and his co-author Dr. Ian Bogost, the academic and award-winning video game designer), also point to the avant-garde pathways that Merhi has blazed.

They write about how these digital domains are “Blasting into the space of the museum and the worlds of art." Racing the Beam develops a critical approach that examines the relationship between platforms (the systems underlying computing), and creative expression in digital media. 

In the recent book Video Games and the Global South (from Carnegie Mellon University: ETC Press, edited by Phillip Penix-Tadsen), Merhi's pioneering contributions to digital art are valued.

In the book's chapter entitled The Nuances of Video Game Curation by Maria Lujan Oulton, she states: "Video games have managed to permeate all levels of society and are fast on their way to becoming the dominant medium of the 21st century, like the moving image was for the 20th century and the photograph was before both of them . . . So powerful is video games' capacity to break down boundaries that even the normally hermetic and impenetrable art world has been drawn into their technological magic circle . . . The first approaches within the art field can be located in the early works of artists such as digital art pioneer Yucef Merhi, who began working with video games in the mid-1980s."

Dr. Christiane Paul is a renowned theoretician, and is the Whitney Museum of American Art's Digital Art Adjunct Curator since 2000. She recognizes Merhi's breakthrough work in her film documentary for Aspect: The Chronicle of New Media Art (watch an excerpt video featuring Merhi's work at youtu.be/DQeHQ30eG30). Dr. Paul is widely known as the author of the book Digital Art, published by Thames & Hudson. She also serves as Chief Curator/Director of the Parsons School of Design/SJDC, and she is a Professor at The New School.

Soulless Security

Soulless Security also highlights the act of hacking as an instrument to create protest art. 

Merhi uses intercepted data to expose the full names and identity numbers of 50,000 officials from Venezuela’s notorious secret police (who wear hoods and use other means to hide their identities while committing atrocities on their fellow citizens). 

Soulless Security, by Yucef Merhi (2001-2014). Intercepted data on paper. 

The data is presented using the spatial ordering system initiated by the artist in 1998 (Datagram), which he created from the basic protocol of data transfer on the Internet.

Once the data is intercepted, the information is laser printed and organized using a geometric pattern that fills the space with a dense textual mass.  

The Bonnier Gallery will exhibit detail sections of this work, which was bravely shown in its entirety in Caracas as a form of protest in 2017. The files were digitally “smuggled” into Venezuela and the large-scale installation mounted onto a wall.  

More About the Exhibition "Yucef Merhi: Open"

The five series of works in this show are: Datagrams, ATARI, Digital Artworks, Perfect Language, and Poliverso. The exhibition’s 15 works and installations span the entire gallery space. Merhi is also creating a new work entitled Open, named after the title of this show, which will be exhibited for the first time.  

“The unifying element is language, in all of these bodies of work,” says Yucef Merhi.

“Language carries energy. We are made out of language. We breathe language. And ultimately, we end up spending most of our time inside either the prism ‒ or the prison ‒ of language, depending on our intention.” adds Merhi.  

Perfect Language 

About his Perfect Language series, Merhi states: “While many of the world’s great thinkers have arged through the ages about the possible existence of a perfect language, only a few have tried to find it.”

He created a sensorial metalanguage that can be applied to any language, making it automatically understandable to anyone. An example is the artist’s use of a thousand nails to depict the word nail in Korean. 

Perfect Language (Aluminum), by Yucef Merhi (2014). Eight letters made out of aluminum, aluminum shelf.

In another work from this Perfect Language series, Merhi used eight letters made out of aluminum to depict the word aluminum in English. “I want people to go back to the primordial act of seeing the word itself,” says Merhi.

Merhi lived and worked for an entire year in the ancient town of Antigua, Guatemala, researching Proto-Mayan language alongside archaeologists, historians, philologists, and epigraphists. 

There, he created works that tackle the atrocities of colonialism, called Perfect Language: Maya. When the Spaniards subjugated the Maya peoples they were intent on destroying their culture by erasing the Mayan visual language and making them dependent on the Latin alphabet instead.

Some of the works by Merhi were carved in wood with the aid of master woodwork craftsmen. They symbolize the word “wood” in Mayan. “If we could disconnect from the occidental-colonizing view of art, we might be able to see and experience languages that are connected to the Divine,” says Merhi.

Left to right: The master woodwork craftsmen that Yucef Merhi worked with in Guatemala, and the artwork entitled Perfect Language (Wood: Te #1), by Yucef Merhi (2014). Guatemalan cedar wood.  The Poetic Clock 2.0 

Merhi’s Digital Art series is represented on large-screen televisions facing each other. 

One of these works, entitled The Poetic Clock 2.0, is a digital time machine that transforms time into poetry and generates 86,400 different poems every 24 hours, displaying through language the movement of time. 

The artist’s reflection is captured in The Poetic Clock 2.0, by Yucef Merhi (2000). Computer, and custom software.

Every time an hour changes, a new verse is digitally imprinted on screen, as the new first line of the poem. 

When a minute changes, a new verse pops up on the second line. The change of seconds is represented by the change of verses on the third line. The results are poems that mutate each second, minute and hour, continuously becoming another poem.  

Poliverso

Merhi has even discovered an astonishing new literary form that he unlocked using the Fibonacci sequence, amplifying the meaning of words in a creative way that has never before been accomplished. 

While the Fibonacci sequence has been applied to music and artistic composition, no one has ever applied it to language in this manner ‒ Poliverso. 

Poliverso (detail) by Yucef Merhi (2012-2014). Wood boxes, glass and vinyl. 

The photo above shows how Merhi uses three-dimensional layering to illustrate his discovery: words that become two words, then become a sentence, the same way the golden ratio of the Fibonacci sequence causes similar patterns in nature. 

About The Artist 

Yucef Merhi is an artist, coder, and academic researcher based in Miami. He explores the interconnections between language, technology, politics, and history primarily through computer-generated experiences. 

Merhi has a Master’s from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. His work has been shown at museums and galleries worldwide, including:

The New Museum (New York); LACMA (Los Angeles); The Bronx Museum of the Arts (NY); El Museo del Barrio (NY); Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin); De Appel (Amsterdam); La Colonie (Paris); Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul); The Bass (Miami Beach); Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Caracas; the Coral Gables Museum (Miami), and Locust Projects (Miami); as well as the 30th Ljubljana Biennial; the 13th Cuenca Biennial; and the Bienal de São Paulo-Valencia.

Merhi’s work is represented in numerous collections, including: the Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach); Library of Congress (Washington DC); Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporaneo (Bajadoz); Galeria de Arte Nacional (Caracas); and the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation (Miami).

He is the recipient of several awards, including: a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Digital/Electronic Art; a CIFO Grant & Commissions Program Award; AIM Fellowship at The Bronx Museum of the Arts; and an Ellies Creator Award/Oolite Arts. View the artist’s complete bio here. 

The Bonnier Gallery -- 3408 N.W. 7th Ave, Miami. Open Tuesday–Saturday, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.