I was reminded of Matthew Ryan earlier this week when I got my contest prize. See, One Little Indian Records who sent us our prizes also is the label that Matthew Ryan is currently signed to in the UK and honestly, I would have loved to have gotten something of Matthew Ryan's as an extra.
Matthew Ryan's a singer-songwriter from Nashville who has been making albums for just over a decade now. He released his first album May Day in 1997. Last month, he released his eleventh album Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State.
Two of Matthew Ryan's songs appeared on the site in March. These were both from his tenth album From a Late Night High Rise released in 2006. The songs came together at a time in his life right around when two pivotal events occurred: a close friend died of cancer and his brother was sentenced to a 30 year prison term. Ryan's said that he wanted this album to sound like sorrow; "'High Rise' is about all the thoughts that haunt you when you lose someone and you realize that there will never be enough time." His music on this album is actually markedly different from much of his previous work with a more electronic sound and more use of synth.
His eleventh album Matthew Ryan vs. The Silver State in many ways represents him recovering. The music moves back out of the electronic phase of his last album back towards a more roots-oriented flavor, but again he produces music that examines emotions in moving ways. Below are two songs from this album as well as one from his 2003 album Regret Over the Wires.
While thesixtyone appears to be more geared toward indie rock, every so often we get a refreshing addition to the site. If you like CéU, you should definitely like the sounds of Luisa Maita, another native of the Brazilian São Paolo music scene. Modernizing traditional Brazilian music, she delivers a variety of samba, jazz, afrobeat, and soul, creating an eclectic sound that makes for easy listening.
Just in case you were unaware, she actually debuted on thesixtyone months ago with this track below. Took a while for it to take off from what I remember since some listeners told me it wasn’t there cup of tea at the moment, so I’m really glad she received a better reception this time around.
Lastly, she has also been featured on Musica de Bolsa, which is like Brazil’s equivalent to La Blogotheque’s Take Away Shows.
Sidenote: Once again, I highly recommend Aurgasm, a music blog that deviates from reporting the usual rock form and focuses on presenting a variety of other musical styles such as downtempo, folk, nu jazz, chanson, scandinavian, jazz, cuban, brazilian, electro, soul, jump blues, bluegrass, film score, and electronica.
Dicky Moore, English singer/songwriter/guitarist, chatted with me last week. Moore formed the band Scintillate in 1994, who disbanded in 2005, and is currently playing with Scritti Polliti. He is also working on a solo album.
Batface89: Dicky, thank you for talking with me today. The second I heard your music on The Sixty One I was waiting that first second to bump it! Your musical style have a very upbeat, layered, complex, lush feel to them. They make me happy, yet they are not at all sacchariney. How would you describe your sound?
Dicky Moore: Thanks for that very flattering description. I try to be as positive as I can, both in my life and my artistic ende vours, so I'm glad that this comes through in my music. I've tempered the complexity of the music I've made in the past as I've worried about excluding potential listeners, but recently I've been making the music I want to make rather than worrying about what people want to hear, and ironically this seems be more successful in achieving the effect I formerly craved.
Batface89: Your first solo album is coming out soon. On The Sixty One, your Albums area say "Forthcoming Dicky Moo album". What is it called?
Dicky Moore: I haven't decided on the title yet, but the working title is "Transhumanism and the Omega Point". I had the album finished a couple of weeks ago, with 11 tracks, but have now decided to ditch half of them! So expect an astonishingly well refined album in... a few years ;-)
Batface89: I was reading on your website that the album holds a theme of escapism. Can you elaborate on that, and can you talk about your song writing process?
Dicky Moore: When listening to the E.P. released last year I realized that a theme of escapism running through it, ranging through dreams of spiritual liberation, escape from pop-song protocols, freedom by exclusion (on a desert island) and the fantastical story of future revolutionaries colonising a new galaxy. I am constantly trying to find new ways of writing songs, but find the best songs come to me deep from the subconscious, which I can then decorate using conscious processes. The Omega Point, for example came to me in a dream. I then imposed a Bach-style 4 part harmony on the chorus, which was a more conscious and mathematical development.
Batface89: How did you record the album?
Dicky Moore: I've got a very humble studio setup in my flat in Dalston, London, running Pro-Tools on my laptop, and arranging using Finale. I absolutely love the editing and mixing process. Once I've got the sounds in the box - that's when the magic begins.
Batface89: Speaking of magic, we exchanged a couple of emails about consciousness and lucid dreaming (and thank you for that very interesting information). I interviewed a musician/videographer a while back who has synesthesia, where different notes would appear to him as different colors. Do you ever involve your other senses in the process of creating your music? Have you given any thoughts about how you would interpret your songs visually (e.g., for a video)?
Dicky Moore: Hmmm - that's a really good question. When composing, I try to feel the music rather than think the music, but I'm not sure if that is specifically using senses other than hearing. I have to be cautious of using my eyes too much when post-recording - something might "look" out of tune but sound great! I'm hoping to make a video for 'The Omega Point' soon, and am keen on making videos that compliment the music rather than detract from it like the censored version of the Cardigans' "My Favourite Game" and "Last Nite" by the Strokes.
Batface89: Can you talk a bit about your musical history? How old were you when you started playing guitar and singing? Do you have formal musical training?
Dicky Moore: I grew up having access to different musical instruments, but didn't start playing guitar until I was 14. I taught myself some chords from books friends of my family had given me, but my Mum took me to a guitar tutor to tame my strumming. I then studied A-level music at sixth-form college, which I found fascinating, although I went off the rails a bit before I could complete the course.
Batface89: I'm glad you came back to it. You are currently playing guitar with Scritti Politti. How is it playing with Scritti Politti, who have reformed after more than 20 years? Is Green Garside, singer-songwriter the only original member? How did you get hooked up with Scritti Politti?
Dicky Moore: Green Gartside is Scritti Politti, and I'm incredibly lucky and honoured to be playing guitar for him on his live performances. We knew each other from our local pub, and I was drinking in the pub when he was recruiting his live band. I was very lucky, really.
Batface89: Right place, right time! The Scritti Politti album 'White Bread, Black Beer' got an 8.1 rating at Pitchfork, and was also nominated for the Mercury Prize awards. Congratulations. I fully agree. The album is beautiful and I love the layering of vocals. Can you talk about recording the album? What have you learned from working with Green Gartside?
Dicky Moore: I don't have anything to do with Scritti's studio recordings, as Green plays everything himself, but I deeply learned and loved the songs on that album and it was an absolute pleasure touring it. I've learned a lot about the music industry from playing with Scritti Politti, and have learned a lot from Green Gartside as a musician, songwriter and person.
Batface89: I can imagine. 'The Perfect Way' by Scritti Politti was a big hit when I was a tween. I never thought the lyrics were deep back then but listening to it now, I listen with a whole new set of ears. I remember borrowing the record from the library. Finding new music was much more difficult back then - I either had to dig through the shelves at the local independent music store, or see what the library had to offer. The Sixty One is made music discovery so easy for me. What has your experience been like with The Sixty One so far as an artist and as a listener? How do you think the musical landscape will change with artist and listeners interacting, such as at The Sixty One?
Dicky Moore: Experiencing thesixtyone.com has solidified my opinion that the demise of mass media will liberate many artists, be they poets, musicians or illustrators. I now feel that I can reach a wide audience without needing to be accepted by the broadcasting establishment. Now music will be judged more on its merits than it ever has been since the media age begun. However, it doesn't look like the large record companies are keen on giving their power away voluntarily.
Batface89: I have to say, I like the way the music industry is headed. I've really discovered more new bands thanks to the internet than I ever did by watching MTV or listening to the radio. Do you have any favourites among the bands posting music on The Sixty One?
Dicky Moore: I've discovered some great music on thesixtyone.com, namely FryArs's 'Happy', Steve Heftner's 'Why a Lawyer?', shockingly, both are yet to hit the frontpage, and music by more established artists that I wouldn't have heard of otherwise such as Kaki King.
Batface89: (Both of the songs you mentioned hit the home page right after the interview!) It seems like you are keeping very busy with your solo work and playing with Scritti Politti. Any other exciting news you'd like to share? A US tour perhaps?
Dicky Moore: I would absolutely love to tour the U.S. again! We toured in late 2006 and we made so many fabulous friends on our way and saw wonderful places. We were supported by the multi-talented Jeffrey Lewis band, who I highly recommend to music lovers. Sadly there are no tours planned at the moment, but I'm currently very excited about an environmental campaign led by Friends of the Earth, which is trying to get our government make it law that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced each year, totalling in an 80% reduction of 1990 levels by 2050. The most amazing thing about this campaign is that it just involved normal people talking to their MPs candidly about the fears they had of climate change and the action they thought should be taken. And it worked! The bill is due to go through parliament in the next few months and similar campaigns are now cropping up around Europe! It's completely restored my faith in democracy. It's people power that's gonna save the world!
Batface89: Thanks so much for the interview, Dicky. Best of luck with your solo album and with Scritti Politti.
I’m a bit surprised Electric President didn’t take off immediately when it was uploaded to thesixtyone, especially when their sound reminds me of Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service, and Styrofoam. A few weeks versus a day sort of shows how reliant we are on familiar names. Anyway, Electric President is comprised of two guys, Ben Cooper and Alex Kane.
….and I literally kept playing these two songs over and over again.
From last.fm: The songs are characterized by nasalized voices, acoustic riffs, MD-four tracks, SM58, and some computers.
Also, to find out more about Ben Cooper’s other music projects, you can visit his website at this link. If you’re interested in checking out his artwork, you can click here.
P.S. I sent a brief message over myspace letting him know the songs were sitting at the top of the homepage at the time. He replied and was appreciative. So he knows about thesixtyone now, but I think it ends there.
Radical Face’s Website Radical Face’s Mypace Electric President’s Mypace (I think this one is run by the label)
Excuse me if I gush, but I *LOVE* Liam Finn. Liam is a Kiwi and son to the beloved singer/songwriter Neil Finn, and nephew to Tim Finn. The boy has some musical genius flowing through his veins. (I warned you I would gush).
Liam's video for Second Chance, easily my favorite Liam Finn song, is directed by Angus Sutherland. The video looks as if it was filmed on 8mm and the projected video was cut up and effected. There are lots of interesting stop motion effects and the video works extremely well for the song, as it crescendos near the end and the speed of the video picks up. I'm very glad to see that the video is as original as the song.
'Gather to the Chapel' video is one continuous shot. This video has gorgeous camera control. Either Liam can run really fast behind the camera and get himself set up for the next shot, or they've really done a great job of matching shots. I'm sure this was programmed camera control, but it's so well done. It's seamless, not like they've made a quick cut on the back of a guys suit as they did in Hitchcock's rope. (Oddly - 'Everyone Gather to the Chapel' and no one is there.)
I had no luck finding any information on the director of this video.
If you haven't heard of Jim Noir, you may be a bit more familiar with his music then you think since his music has graced TV shows and commercials. Most recently his song My Patch was adapted for use in a commonly aired 2007 holiday commerical for Target.
The plucked descending scale was what really drew me into this quirky and fun number that has about as repetitive lyrics as could possibly be imagined. He simply repeats the same line of words over and over again. However, the way he plays with the music really keeps the song fun and upbeat and anything but repetitive.
Jim Noir is a singer-songwriter from Manchester and his music sits in that realm of psychedelic electro-pop using a lot of those electronic effects that were popular back in the sixties. He makes great use of melodies and hooks as well as making good use of counterpoint in his layered vocal lines. His first album Tower of Love (which My Patch was on) released in 2006 was a self-made effort; the songs were recorded at his home in Chorlton and he played all the instruments that you hear in his songs.
Don't You Worry, which appeared on the site in March, is off of his self-titled album that was released last month. He hit the road and recorded this album at Abbey Road, but he still played all the instruments himself and did all the finishing work himself.
Below are two more songs by Jim Noir: one more from his first album and one more from the new one.
On today's Apoc Rock, I got a chance to pick the brain of the wickedly witty Ian White of The Wendys. The Wendys, who have become a staple sound on The Sixty One and have a strong following, took time out of their schedule to answer a few questions.
Apoc: So, who are the Wendys?
The Wendys are four Scottish guys who met in Edinburgh, except for the brothers that is, who met at home at a very young age.
Jonathan Renton - Vocals Ian White - Guitar Arthur Renton - Bass, backing vox Johnny MacArthur - Drums and drum programming
Apoc: What got you guys started in music? Was it the easy money, the easy wimmin, drugs or the prospect of someday being an interviewee on the MaxBumps blog?
Arthur and Ian (now to be referred to as me or I) met as students and shared flats and houses. This was the early 80s. Arthur played music in his head and reckoned he had about 30 tunes in there written since he was in his mid teens. He later brought some of those out into the world when he bought a bass guitar. The common bond between all our friends was music. The more underground the better. Mainly post-punk or something a bit odd or violent sounding. Wire, Killing Joke, Bunnymen being some of the more recognizable. There was always music blaring out and I had my guitar and a home made speaker cabinet and old amp to make even more noise.
In the meantime a young, odd, school kid with ever changing dyed hair would occasionally appear at our flat in the big city to stay over and buy records and go to gigs. That was Arthur's brother, Jonathan. About four years later Arthur bought his bass and the two of us started to write tunes on Jonathan's 4 track. Jonathan then stole it back and put vocals on and thats how he gatecrashed and made us into a band.
First gig was in a big house the brothers were living in. We had a friend, Pete, on keyboards by then but no drummer. Johnny, being a quiet soul, came up to us straight after we played and introduced himself as the drummer we were needing. A few weeks later and Pete was out of the picture. He admits that the drink and posing was more up his street than playing. So that doesn't really answer your question but thats how we started. We just loved music and wanted to make our own.
Apoc: Are you currently touring? If so, what are some of the spots?
We aren't touring and the last time we played was 2003. We live too far apart but never say never.
Apoc: One of my favorite things about having musician friends is hearing about their GREAT 'on the road' stories. I'd love to hear one from you guys.
There is a great one about Jonathan and a hotel cupboard but not for here.
Tours for smaller bands tend to be about the grime more than anything else, which in itself is funny to remember but maybe not so interesting to retell. Stories of being stopped by the police, stolen jackets, fishing boat taxis to a festival then supporting the Happy Mondays and stepping up a gear.
Maybe one of the memorable ones was mooning ex-Olympian and, at the time, Conservative Party man Seb Coe on a motorway jam outside Birmingham, from our van. Another is that while still in the process of being signed to Factory Records, we played gigs in Manchester. There was an ITN TV news crew filming clips for a 'Madchester' scene article and ended up in our sound check and stayed for about half an hour filming. We thought 'this is it!' fame!!! Unfortunately, they were later filming in a club and got beaten up outside by drug dealers and their tapes and equipment were wrecked. We should have seen it as a sign!
But I prefer our studio stories. We recorded our Factory album with Ian Broudie of Lightening Seeds and Bunnymen production fame. That was amazing and we were star struck a bit to start with. We also recorded with Rolling Stones producer the late great Jimmy 'Sympathy for the Devil' Miller and got a whole load of Stones stories and Priscilla Presley stories from him. He chaperoned while the king was off on business. (On one of our songs he did a bit of his 'ooh ooh' backing vocals). There are lots of other little meetings and anecdotes but mainly getting to do music fulltime for a few years and meeting and playing with some great people. Having said that I've just remembered playing with The Fall and Cabaret Voltaire in Birmingham, driving about 400 miles and going straight on stage. Then our Roadie reached through a curtain and liberated half of Cabaret Voltaire's booze for good measure. Sorry guys!
Apoc: Now I promised not to talk about your influences and such, but you have such a unique sound that, trying to box it in any sort of genre is nearly impossible. Psychedelic, post punk, electro-funk sound with clipping baselines, dangling guitars, pointed vocals and catchy hooks seems to suit your music well. Based on that, my question is: Obama or Clinton?
For me its Obama. I emailed his campaign, suggesting Bendy Toy's 'Man for the Job' as his theme toon and he has since kept emailing me twice a week with his plans for USA. Its great what a fake DC zip code can get you... But then again, maybe Hillary has some Can, Joy Division, Shriekback, John Martyn, Wire, Bunnymen, Leftfield, Underworld, TPE, JAMC music on her iPod, so she would be allowed to play some tambourine with us.
Apoc: You have taken a very active role in thesixtyone and seem to be enjoying the concept of the site. As an Artist, what turns you on about the site and on the flipside, what do you think are the limitations of the site?
I like the voting (bumping) game play aspect. It is the differentiator, however it also is what annoys me. Limits here there and everywhere and strange changing rules that I don't understand. I have a listener account too and I now mainly add rather than bump so limitations suddenly disappear however so, maybe, does the difference? Great stuff on there. I love >A Faulty Chromosome, kosmischeboy, Dawn Landes, HAM, Whitey Houston, Bendy Toy, Swim Party, Birdlips, Muse Ritual amongst many others.
Apoc: Everyone talks about how the music industry is not the same any more. That the direct interaction between Artists and Fans is breaking the traditional barriers of the music business. Do you think that's true? How has it affected the Wendys music?
It hasn't impacted The Wendys music but it has rekindled our enthusiasm, and it's like a virtual after-show chat with fans without the record signing, etc. There are more opportunities to do the Indie thing and sell direct which is great for many people but may limit potential for getting some corporate record company cash.
Apoc: Do you find that new mediums like t61, where you can get instant, direct feedback on your music affect the way you make, produce and promote your music? How?
Encouragement. Thats the great thing about t61, the community and its willingness to get involved by commenting sending tunes to others etc.
Apoc: Every band has a talent that they are most proud of... Whether it's their live shows, personal antics, musical diversions, or what-have-you's! What aspect of the band are The Wendys most proud of?
Jonathan was always an inventive cocktail maker. He invented a cocktail called a Pink Bastard that was basically beer cider (alcohol, not fruit juice) and several different spirits topped off with a dash of black currznt. All in a pint glass. Classy boy! Johnny, our drummer was always good at wearing kilts and singing Scottish traditional songs at arty showbiz type parties.
Apoc: To get prepared for this interview, I listened to your songs on thesixtyone over and over for nearly three days. I must admit that by doing that, I really gained an appreciation for the layering of your music and the basslines, especially Dean Martin's Hangover. What is the process of music-writing for you guys?
Usually, (but not always), the guitar and bass combo would come first. Often the bass. Sometimes it happened organically in rehearsal and once we hit something good Jonathan would start singing a repeated phrase over it. Arthur is the only person with whom I have been able to write music, that has felt 100% natural.
Apoc: Tell me about Art Plastic.
Art Plastic is where Jonathan and I put ideas and basic recordings. They may make their way to t61 at some point. We have another four ideas at a basic stage just now, so maybe in two years or so...
Apoc: I always find conflict a lot more interesting than harmony. What band/Artist should not be making music and whose ass the Wendys would like to kick?
Theres a load of great stuff at the moment. The UK is overflowing with bands, as always, but they are getting a lot more exposure. I would rather old bands didn't turn up with tours and new material. I loved The Who but please, YOUR NEW MATERIAL IS CRAP!
Apoc: What are your future plans with your music? Any new albums in the works? Concerts?
We may do something with some old material but can't say more than that. We have some unreleased tunes that we will make available at some point.
Art Plastic is the only concrete thing just now and that is really just playing at being a bedroom band again the way we started, only our bedroom is the size of the interweb...
