Week 5: John Carpenter - Lost Themes (2015)

For many, John Carpenter is a guy who made horror films. Yes, most of his films are in the horror genre, but he was equally good at comedy, adventure,, suspense, and science fiction. Not only that, but he was a great auteur on these films. As if making a film was not enough work in and of itself, John Carpenter frequently composed and recorded the soundtracks to his films. These scores were often as memorable as the films themselves. When someone mentions Halloween, how can one not hear those suspenseful piano notes spring to mind. When you think of Escape From New York, how can you not hear those futuristic, synth rhythms.

It is now 2015 and we now have John Carpenter's first solo non-soundtrack album, Lost Themes. These are instrumental, synthesizer driven motifs with single word titles for the listener's imagination to build a vision or movie in their own head. These songs easily sit side-by-side with his soundtrack work and the works of his modern contemporaries such as Zombi.

The opening track, "Vortex," begins with sounds and noises reminiscent of the Ligeti prologue of 2001: A Space Odyssey. These grumblings are silenced by simple, naked piano chords playing the track's theme. The synthesizers come in with a pulsating beat and guitars similar to Tangerine Dream's soundtrack to Thief. The trademark John Carpenter sounds are all here. For me, this track in particular conjures images of Kurt Russell wearing an eye patch in a post-apocalyptic future. This is my favorite track on the album right now and I would direct you to test the waters by listening to it.

"Obsidian" follows and could easily be the background music for a Castlevania game. As the longest track on the LP, the song goes into different moods that cohesively fit together as if telling a wordless story. "Fallen" has a touch more of a science fiction feel to it and the driving beat of the second half is great. "Domain" is a straight up synth rock number that I also feel could lend itself to the world of Castlevania. "Mystery" is a very fitting title. The opening chimes do evoke a feeling of mystery and the heavy guitar and drums in the latter half feels like your exploring an old abandoned house. "Abyss" has a similar air of mystery for the first half of the song, but switches to a more science fiction atmosphere before a huge synth pulse theme begins hammering with some tasteful guitar licks. "Wraith" begins like a latter day Skinny Puppy track with synths that sound like water dropping into puddles. There is a lot of nice guitar on this track. "Purgatory" is sorrowful and soft for the first half and then the drums come in and the song takes a tangent into Escape From New York territory. The final song, "Night" has a fantastic bass synth chug and when the background synths come in against the main theme you can almost see the fog rise from the darkness.

Yes, I am a long time John Carpenter fan.
Yes, I love his soundtrack work.
Yes, I lament his absence from moviemaking.
Yes, I think this new LP is superb.

Here is hoping there is more where this music came from and that it may revitalize his film career.

Keep listening and thank you for reading this.

By the way, John Carpenter's The Thing is the greatest horror/suspense film ever made.

Week 4: Various - Nordisk Sang (1991)

Nordisk Sang is a compilation album I stumbled upon while searching out traditional folk music of Norway. While I enjoy having a physical album in hand, getting a copy of this album was more feasible digitally. My first experiences with the music of Norway were through the extreme metal bands Enslaved and Emperor. While both of these bands have roots in what is termed black metal, their musical palette grew more progressive with each album including touches of traditional folk music. Ihsahn, the mastermind of Emperor, even produced an album of material blending metal and the traditional hardingfele, a type of fiddle, called Hardingrock.

Nordisk Sang is a mix of traditional instruments ranging from flutes to fiddles and hardingfeles with some songs featuring female vocals in Norwegian. I like these vocal tracks, because I think hearing vocals in a foreign language you do not understand allows you to focus solely on the musical quality of the voice without the distraction of the lyrics or message.

The standout track for me is "Heiemo Og Nykkjen" sung by Kirsten Braten Berg. The song would be the perfect piece of music to hear at daybreak to accompany a sunrise camping in the mountains. The vocal delivery is equally haunting and uplifting.

"Nils Og Jens Og Gjeidung" begins with a playful vocal melody also by Kirsten Braten Berg giving way to a hardingfele duplicating the dancing melody. 

This album is a departure from my usual listening habits, but it has really grown on me the past week. I was unsure I would dig it, but I have and it encourages me to search out more music from other countries. 

If you are a fan of traditional folk music or like to explore the music of different cultures and countries, then I recommend checking out this album.

Keep listening and thank you for reading this.

Week 3: Tinariwen - Emmaar (2014)

I enjoy reading Henry Rollins' books chronicling his adventures exploring other countries and people and his latest book, Grim Detail, has a lot of new countries and experiences. The first journey in this book is to the country of Mali in Africa. I admit I had to look at a map to understand its place in relation to the countries I am familiar with. Henry traveled to Mali to go to a music festival called the Festival Au Desert held in the Sahara Desert to see a band called Tinariwen, which I had never heard of, who are from the desert in Mali.

I was able to hit the web and find some videos of Tinariwen and became mesmerized by their style of music commonly referred to as desert blues. I did some research on the group and chose to pick up their latest album on vinyl, Emmaar. Curiously, side four contains three songs not on the accompanying CD included with the vinyl. Amazon's automatic digital download includes these vinyl only tracks.

Tinariwen blend electric guitars, electric bass, hand percussion, claps, and native vocals to make a truly unique sound. I find the mixture very relaxing. The grooves and vocals are soothing to me and I have really enjoyed taking this songs with me on my neighborhood walks and plugging them in when I feel stressed.

Tinariwen have six albums and all of them were recorded in the Sahara Desert except Emmaar. Due to government changes in Mali regarding music, Tinariwen have relocated to the Unites States and Emmaar was recorded in the deserts of Joshua Tree.

Tinariwen have been a breath of fresh air to my listening repertoire and I plan to explore some more of their albums and the other African desert blues artists.

The album is great from beginning to end, but I would recommend "Chaghaybou" and "Emajer" as starting points to see if you dig this style of music. Always try to expand your listening, because there are some great songs out there in every genre in every country around the globe. Try not to limit yourself. Try something new.

Keep listening and thank you for reading this.

 

Week 2: Hans Zimmer - Interstellar - Illuminated Star Projection Edition (2014)

Film score soundtracks form a small percentage of my music library. I may pick up a score once every two or three years when I feel a strong connection with a particular piece I hear in a film. When I pick up a film score, it is usually with severe trepidation that the piece of music that moved me in the first place is not even on the record.

Interstellar hit theaters November 7th and when I walked out of the theater opening weekend, I ordered the score by Hans Zimmer on my phone. Looking back over the past 15 years, the majority of the soundtracks I have picked up have been by Hans Zimmer ranging from Gladiator (with Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard) and Hannibal to the more recent The Dark Knight/The Dark Knight Rises sequels and Man Of Steel.

The initial CD release of Interstellar contains 16 tracks from the film's score. I found out later the digital version has 24 tracks. A few weeks later, I ran across an article mentioning this extended 28 track boxed set was available for pre-order online. The pre-order stated to allow 8-10 weeks for delivery so I waited. After a little over a month, the box arrived.

The box contains a second disc featuring even more music than the digital download, an extended booklet, and a flashing constellation with a coded message.

As I waited for this to arrive, there were a lot of folks clamoring online for the music used during a docking scene that had been omitted from the CD and digital versions. When I saw the film a second time, I really took notice of that piece in the film and wondered how such a powerful part of the score was left off of the releases.

At first glance, the docking music was not on this boxed set either, but the second disc does have an unlisted 13th track containing this missing piece raising the total to 29 tracks. The piece is titled "No Time For Caution" according to Hans Zimmer's Facebook. The track has now been added to the digital edition as well. Disc one is the same 16 tracks on the original single CD release.

I will not give away the code used or the message the stars convey. The constellation cutout can be removed to expose the LEDS, wiring, and two AA batteries. The box closes tight with a set of magnets and there is a small switch that turns off the lights - similar to a refrigerator.

Now, to the music. The interesting color to the Interstellar film score is the pipe organ. I had never realized how earth-rumbling a pipe organ can be. This score can really test the limits of your sound system.

Before Christopher Nolan told Hans Zimmer anything about his next film project, he did an experiment. Nolan wrote a note to Zimmer and asked him to spend a day writing a piece to reflect the written words. The note did not mention space travel or anything that would reveal the science fiction epic Interstellar would become. This piece was entitled "Day One" and became the main theme throughout the film. I believe the note presented the premise that a father had to leave his young son and would not know how many months or years he would be away. The final version of "Day One" is on disc one and the demo is on disc two.

 
There are three standout tracks I would recommend for the curious to listen to.

"Stay" is an emotional piece of music that builds to a heart wrenching climax and if you are familiar with the film, then you will instantly know what has just happened. "No Time For Caution," a last minute addition to this set it seems, builds increasing layers of tension. The piece seems too short leaving you wanting the crescendo to keep going. "Mountains" is my favorite piece on the album. The corresponding part in the film is a grandiose scene you have to see on a big theater screen to truly share the sense of awe the onscreen protagonists must feel as they see what you see. The sliding bass noise gets me every time. I am not sure what instrument is making that noise, but it invokes the sense of bewilderment that matches the jaw-gaping visuals of the film.

Week 1: Yob - Clearing The Path To Ascend (2014)

I have started 2015 with the latest LP by Yob, Clearing The Path To Ascend (released in 2014). Yob are often called a doom/sludge metal band, but I think that is far too limiting a label - I find most labels are. Genre labels can be used as a high level indication of style or feel, but you will never fully describe a band with so few words. You have to take a chance. You have to listen to know the truth.

Mike Scheidt, guitarist and vocalist, has a unique guitar style ranging from very gentle unaccompanied melodies to earthshaking power and emotion. Once you hear a Yob song and Mike's unmistakable voice, then you will get a good idea how limited a label like doom/sludge metal is for these guys.

The album opens with "In Our Blood" and begins with soft, dissonant guitar before pounding the ears with classic Yob power. "Nothing To Win" ups the pace with a tom filled tribal riff and breaks down into a tremendous locked-in drum and bass groove about half way through the song. I have yet to resist the urge to crank this every time. "Unmask The Spectre" starts the second half of the album with trance-like guitar lullaby, which pummels when the band turns it full on.

The album closes with my favorite song on the album, "Marrow." Yob have created another grand, majestic slab of music tapping into the listener's emotions. The song has a kind of melancholy sense of victory like it could accompany the end credits to a film. The outro is one of the finest endings to album I have heard in some time.

Please give Yob a spin. Listen to "Marrow" to test the waters. That song is worth the price of admission alone. If you like "Marrow," then check out an older song of Yob's called "Catharsis," which has been my go to Yob fix for many years.

Keep listening and thank you for reading this.

The 52 Project

As 2014 comes to a close, I have been thinking about the past year of music I have picked up and the idea of "The 52 Project" began taking shape. As many of my friends and family know, I am a huge music fanatic and I am always looking for records to add to my collection whether it is vinyl, CD, or even the occasional digital download.

My self-proposition for 2015 and "The 52 Project" is to limit myself to one new album per week. I will spend the week soaking the album in and throw out a review when the week is done.

I have not quite made my mind up on how to handle a multiple disc release, the occasional digital song, or finding a treasure trove of vinyl on a particular visit to the record shop. I am also not sure I can stick to one album per week. I suppose it depends on the release schedule of the bands I follow as well.

As this 52 week project goes on, I am sure I will figure out how to address these special cases in an effort to stick to the 52 premise. I am up for the challenge and experience.

Please feel free to follow me and read...or ignore and laugh at me.

January 1st is around the corner.

Brian