musique, je t'aime

ah, the classic love triangle situation… two people are already involved but one person’s eyes are a’roving, giving an outside party false hopes. such is the topic explored in “Hurry Up and Choose” by Mozella - a moniker for Detroit native Maureen McDonald who decided to use her childhood nickname after procuring a record deal.

technically, i first encountered Mozella when she originally signed with Maverick Records in 2006. at the time, i was a frequent contributor on the message board site of another Maverick artist and heard her name mentioned a few times though i never really took much notice. fast forward from then to… well, about 2 or 3 months ago when i went to CVS and found myself curious about whose song was playing through the overhead speakers. i distinctly recall being instantly intrigued by the singer’s slightly raspy yet jazzy voice and the ease of the flow of the lyrics, and decided i needed to find out who this musician was right away. since my iPhone is more or less perpetually with me wherever i go, i immediately opened Safari and Googled a line of lyrics. a few seconds later, the name Mozella popped up onto my screen and i knew i had some investigating to do.

Mozella’s most recent full-length album is entitled Belle Isle, released on Universal Motown Records in 2009 and “Hurry Up and Choose,” featured in this post, is from said album. the record is full of melodic, catchy, jazzy soul-pop songs that get stuck in your head without feeling like a guilty pleasure. Mozella’s songwriting style is natural and confessional, and the production style is a perfect mix of vintage soul and modern pop perfection. there are only one or 2 tracks i’ll occasionally skip over when listening through this album so it was hard for me to choose which song to feature here. i decided to go with “Hurry Up and Choose” since it was the first song from her album i actually heard. if anyone reading this is interested in checking out more of her music, my second favorite would probably have to be “More of You” - overall, a very solid and highly-recommended album. well, as usual, listen and enjoy… and feel free to leave your opinion!

notable: relatable lyrics/story, jazzy soul-pop vocal stylings, solid production

for fans of: Kate Earl, Meiko, Christina Perri, Toby Lightman, female singer-songwriters

hellllooo. is it dark where you are? (hopefully yes…) ok, well this should about do the trick then. this post features a song called ‘Homme’ by a quartet called Brazilian Girls. ironically though, only one member of the group is female, and she is not Brazilian (though she does sing in no less than 5 languages).

one of the things i love most about this group is how they manage to meld various genres into one big melting pot of aural bliss. the group’s bio on LastFM states that “Brazilian Girls’ music incorporates bits of reggae, electronica, jazz, bossa nova, and various other influences.” if that sounds like a nice way to say ‘elevator music’ to you, fear not - i think it’d be safe to place ‘Homme’ in the trip-hop box, a genre blending hip-hop & downtempo electronica made popular by groups such as Portishead and Massive Attack.

the piece opens with a slightly somber, almost classical sounding string riff in the wonderfully melancholy key of F# minor (listen carefully for the piano chords that chime in every 2 beats in the background). after this main theme is established, with a few light cymbal brushes, singer Sabina Sciubba’s sultry voice enters the equation singing en français in a low, dusky, sensual croon. sidenote: if memory serves me right, this song was originally a Brazilian tango, but the group changed the lyrics to French and then changed the mood of the song to suit their style. regardless, at the same time Sabina’s voice enters, a lazy downtempo electronic groove sets the mood for the rest of the song which generally continues along the same lines, adding or subtracting the occasional flourish (melodica solo, stereo-panning trickery). however, my favorite moment occurs at 3:58 when an epic trip-hop groove shows up with its best gameface on. the song eerily fades away at the end with some delayed piano, cymbal hits, and some ghost-like effect i can’t quite place that sounds like some sort of theremin.

so plug in some headphones, sit back, and enjoy this little aural headtrip. feel free to leave your opinion…

notable: dusky croon en français, trip-hop groove, general noctural perfection (imho)

for fans of: Bitter:Sweet, Supreme Beings of Leisure, Goldfrapp, sultry electro-jazz

hello, here i am. i have a whole slew of music to write about, just need to take the time to sit down & do it… you know the deal.

so today found me home by myself for the day, mostly sitting at my computer obsessing over random music videos, and constantly refreshing FB/Twitter hoping that something earth-shattering would appear and entertain me (such did not really occur, sadly).  so eventually i decided to start sifting through the small backlog of new music on my hard drive i’ve been meaning to listen through.  one album is the self-titled album by Rwandan-born, now Berlin-based electronic artist Barbara Panther.  i’m assuming that that is, indeed, her actual given name and not a pseudonym though i haven’t been able to verify said info.  nonetheless, with a name like Barbara Panther, i envision someone… well… fierce, and she doesn’t fail to live up to this conception.

i’ll be honest: most of this album seemed a little “out there” to my ear upon first listen.  the songwriter in me likes some type of hook (kinda hate that term but i’m using it regardless) to sink my teeth into, so to speak.  however, album opener “Rise Up” reached out and grabbed me instantly.  there’s something unmistakably bold and immediate about it…

Barbara’s album was produced by noneother than Matthew Herbert, and this fact became immediately apparent to me upon first listen.  i’ve loosely followed Herbert the past few years in projects that he has lent his production credits to - artists such as Dani Siciliano (also his wife) and Róisín Murphy as well as his own solo projects under various monikers.  ”Rise Up” follows suit with the bulk of his other work which widely features electronic elements, glitchy beats and samples, and inventive means of incorporating ‘found sounds’ into the production.  after listening to only the first 8 seconds of this song, i recall being about 99.9% sure that what i was hearing was something Herbert-related, without having had even done any research.

anyway(s), i find this record a bit hard to pin down - i guess experimental electronic fits about right. i kinda picture robots in the Serengeti (ha!) when i hear this.  there’s a visceral tribal element to the song (almost MIA-like), amidst a few occasional Bjork-like yelpy vocal outbursts. then there’s also the aforementioned Herbert glitchy electronic element to boot - all in all, it’s quite the interesting conglomeration. i’ve probably listened to this song about 15-20 times today (sounds pretty bad-ass playing in the car).  i’ll try to give some of the other tracks another chance but as i said, this one just jumped out right away and grabbed me.

pardon the less-than-formal writing and the abundance of commas & parentheses - i believe this is the first post i’ve written on here at night… hmm.  anyway, enjoy & feel free to leave an opinion.

notable: glitchy electronic production, tribal element, rhythmic chant-like vocals with occasionally shouting outbursts

for fans of: Matthew Herbert, MIA, Bjork, Dani Siciliano, experimental electronica

lalalala. i’m still here, or shall i instead quote a certain person: “i’m still doin’ things, so don’t cue the strings.” goin’ with an informal vibe today…

my latest obsession the last few weeks has been Chilly Gonzales, who i know i already wrote about on here previously. Chilly (real name: Jason Beck)’s latest album The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales delves into what may indeed be a groundbreaking genre: orchestral rap. yes, take a second to think about that for a moment & look at this instead…….

ok. so while i am not usually one who is a fan of rap, i do indeed love this album… so much. the man is a little bit insane but i love him all the more for it. his musical persona is a bit schizophrenic: composer, pianist, rapper, producer, Feist collaborator, etc.; sometimes in listening to his wordplay, i get the impression that he is both proud of his musical MPD and that he is somehow simultaneously rolling his eyes at himself…. if that makes sense. listening to the tracks on The Unspeakable… feels, to me, like being a fly on the wall at a therapy session (in a good way!). Chilly practically psychoanalyzes himself from different angles and at one point quips “you’re out of dumb questions cause the song has ‘em all answered,” addressed to music nerd hipsters.

there are many things that i love about this album, first and foremost being the clever, semi-confessional wordplay and the orchestral backdrop aesthetic; not a single programmed drumbeat nor sub-bass riff are to be found anywhere on this rap album. all of the instrumental arranging was done by his brother, film-score composer Christophe Beck - Chilly makes appearances on the piano and the bongos. but what i think i love most about this record is how Chilly manages to put himself out there, to a degree, in his dialog but at the same time leaves you wanting to know more, wanting to dig deeper and find out more about his slightly crazed but extremely intriguing self. this is a man who i’d love to sit down with and pick his brain, both from a musical and personal perspective.

notable: orchestral rap aesthetic, clever wordplay, intellectual intrigue

for fans of: Feist, Peaches, Boysnoize, Mocky, Tiga

album video medley/teaser: