THEESatisfaction Talk ‘EarthEE,’ Working with Meshell Ndegeocello
THEESatisfaction have always defied easy categorization, even on their acclaimed Sub Pop debut album AwE NaturalE. The R&B/neo-soul/hip-hop duo composed of Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White — commonly referred to as Stas and Cat — have since decided to befuddle expectations and conventional genres even more for their upcoming sophomore release EarthEE, out February 24 via Sub Pop.
With Cat splitting her time between Seattle and L.A., and Stas now based out of Brooklyn, THEESat (as they affectionately refer to themselves) embraced a more collaborative spirit, both within the band and with outsiders. Whereas Stas took care of the bulk of production for the project in the past, Cat flexed her production muscles on this new release, such as on album highlight “Post Black, Anyways.”
“We became better musicians and writers, learning how to use the equipment and software that we have,” Stas tells Exclaim! “[Recording EarthEE] was just more freeform, a lot more jamming, we were more focused on what we wanted it to sound like, and it was a different experience.”
There are some constants on both albums, though, including contributions from labelmates and longtime collaborators Shabazz Palaces — no strangers themselves to genre-bending hip-hop, as attested by last year’s standout release Lese Majesty — and a more assertive presence by “secret THEESat member” Erik Blood, the Seattle-based musician and producer who was also instrumental in many Shabazz Palaces efforts. Both Stas and Cat release music independently of THEESatisfaction — Stas under her Stas the Boss moniker and Cat as Sassy Black — which allows them “to be super creative all the time, and then really start honing in what the THEESatisfaction sound is,” Cat says
The two also operate a series of popular parties entitled Black Weirdo, which have attracted a whole new subset of fans, including legendary soul and funk singer/rapper Meshell Ndegeocello, who appears on two of EarthEE’s tracks.
“I don’t think we could even imagine that she would reach out to us. It was just really magical, and the work she did, was so… it just sounded like us and felt like us, without us actually having met yet. It was really special to collaborate with her,” Cat says.
EarthEE’s first single, the brilliant “Recognition,” was an odd choice, given that it isn’t necessarily representative of the album as a whole. That was the point, Cat says: “It is kind of a standout, and that’s why we decided to lead with this one, and to see how people respond to the next singles that we have.”
Their next single will be the album’s title track, which features Shabazz Palaces, Erik Blood and fellow Sub Pop signee Porter Ray, whose debut album will also be released later this year.
THEESatisfaction have a pile of North American tour dates coming up, including several opening for Sleater-Kinney. You can see their schedule here. And Canada is definitely on their radar. “We go to Toronto all the time,” Cat says, “and we’ve been to Alberta twice, so we know the rest of Canada’s like ‘What the hell is going on with you guys?’ We’re definitely going to make it happen.”
(Source: exclaim.ca)
Top 10 Dance & Electronic Albums of 2014: Caribou - Our Love
Published December 9th, 2014
1. Caribou
Our Love
(Merge)
If 2010’s phenomenal Swim was Dan Snaith showing us what he was capable of making, then Our Love is him showing us what he wants to make. While not a monumental sonic shift in sound, Our Love is imbued with an enveloping warmth that was only hinted at on his previous material. First single “Can’t Do Without You” was a mission statement, an undeniably “Caribou” track that masterfully incorporated the sound of Swim with a new twist, lifting the fog at the 90-second mark to reveal a crisp, explosive and colourful climax, only to slowly ebb away and expand its lyrics in its final 20 seconds.
While his Daphni moniker grants him the freedom to explore his techno and house sensibilities, it also allows Snaith to make more pop-leaning material under the Caribou name. His vocals, while present on previous releases, are at their clearest and purest here, with minimal manipulation and multiple appearances throughout the album’s ten tracks. But this isn’t to say that Our Love doesn’t include some truly experimental cuts, such as the brilliantly unpredictable “Mars” and the pulsating “Julia Brightly.”
In our 2010 Year In Review feature we stated “Caribou will be remembered for Swim”; Our Love will be remembered as the album that established Caribou’s sound and brought it to the masses. (Scott Simpson)
(Source: exclaim.ca)
Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums of 2017: Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams
Published December 8th, 2014
7. Timber Timbre
Hot Dreams
(Arts & Crafts)
There’s a lot to be said for albums that have the ability to establish a mood for itself and then immediately plunge the listener into it. Taylor Kirk’s vocals have never sounded more at home, going full film noir on the band’s fifth studio album, one that found universal love within their sizeable fan base. The album first started to take shape while Kirk spent some time in Laurel Canyon, and appropriately, Hot Dreams incorporates elements of country, rockabilly and Americana, with songs like “Grand Canyon” and “Run From Me” evoking Elvis Presley at his melancholic best. There’s a sense of fatalism that permeates the album, especially on cuts like “The New Tomorrow,” and while the dark subject matter combined with the gloom of Simon Trottier’s arrangements can be utterly depressing, it’s also exactly why Hot Dreams is such a singular release.
Enlisting the usual suspects — including Olivier Fairfield, Mathieu Charbonneau and Mika Posen, not to mention saxophonist extraordinaire Colin Stetson — Kirk manages to include everything from the Mellotron, the Fender Rhodes and the Theremin and somehow make is seem easy and spontaneous. Hot Dreams is a cinematic masterwork. (Scott Simpson)
(Source: exclaim.ca)
News: Montreal’s Divan Orange Launches Fundraising Campaign Following $15,000 in Noise Complaints
Published December 5th, 2014
Montreal institution Divan Orange, a local cultural cooperative and concert venue, is reaching out to the local community in hopes to guarantee its survival. It recently launched a new Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign running until January 30 ironically titled “Levée de Son,” which roughly translates to “Sound Raising,” a play on words on the generally used term “levée de fonds.” Combined with a series of benefit concerts, the Divan Orange is hoping to raise a total of $25,000. The funds are necessary to cover the costs of planned expansions, as well as a recent barrage of noise complaints, resulting in fines totalling $15,000.
Divan Orange has seen its existence threatened by the recent noise complaints from tenants living on the third floor of the building it occupies at 4234 Boulevard Saint-Laurent. While many have argued that noise is to be expected when you move above a concert hall, Divan Orange general director Carolyne Normandin doesn’t fault the tenants for being displeased, telling Le Devoir newspaper, “They’re frustrated with the sound, and I understand them."
The second floor space is currently vacated, which has been amplifying the sound emanating from the concert venue since its tenants moved out. Divan Orange recently revealed the acquisition of this second floor space to open a broadcast centre that will help promote the emerging music scene. The space will house affordable office spaces for various local music stakeholders, including long-term partners such as the many festivals that take place at the downstairs venue. Ironically, these offices would have helped create the necessary sound barrier between the concert venue and the third floor tenants.
A resolution seems imminent thanks to the collaboration of borough councillor Christine Gosselin, who has been instrumental in helping both parties find common ground. It had recently been announced that the tenants have decided that the only long-term solution would be to move out, with Normandin currently helping the tenants in finding more suitable living arrangements.
But the fines still remain, and the Divan Orange is forging forward with its fundraising campaign, with the first of its planned benefit concerts to take place on December 20 in Montreal. Performers include local darling Bernard Adamus, musical collective Canailles, two-man rock back Les Deuxluxes, and musical troubadour Le Winston Band, all performing at the venue. Tickets are $25 and are available for pre-sale online through Point of Sale. You can find more information about the concert here on Facebook.
(Source: exclaim.ca)
Album Review: Mr. Mitch - Parallel Memories
Published November 28th, 2014
Rating: 8/10
UK producer and Gobstopper Records founder Mr. Mitch has worked steadily to reimagine what grime music should sound like in 2014. Taking a decidedly more instrumental approach to a traditionally bass- and garage-indebted genre, Mr. Mitch has since created the influential Boxed nights in various London clubs alongside fellow grime DJs Oil Gang, Logos and Slackk, finally giving a home to a genre that had lost a bit of its lustre. For his debut album Parallel Memories, released on Planet Mu Records, Mr. Mitch goes full experimental, recalling the work of similarly minded artists such as Evian Christ and Shabazz Palaces, albeit in a more muted way.
There’s a nice pacing to the album, which starts off very smoothly with more ambient cuts “Afternoon After” and “The Night,” picking up steam midway and then simmering down in time for album closer “Hot Air,” a fantastic cut that invites you to start the whole experience over again. “Don’t Leave,” a standout track from his preceding EP release of the same name, finds itself on the LP and instead of feeling like a leftover, integrates into the track list nicely, offering up some production flourishes that evoke Kanye West’s “Lost In The World.” Much of the material is minimal, such as the Dark0 collaboration “Sweet Boy Code,” but doesn’t feel out of place. “Bullion” is one of the package’s more aggressive cuts, combining an electronic twang, as if someone were unspooling metallic twine, with repeated box spring patterns that abruptly end. It’s followed by “Denial,” which crafts a beat of disparate glitches around a pitched vocal sample and backing synths that build up before dropping off, revealing a dark backing pattern.
The release raises the question of whether this can still really be considered grime, but that’s probably the point: to challenge pre-conceived ideas as to what a grime release should sound like.Parallel Memories is a testament to Mr. Mitch’s dedication to the craft, and in a year that saw the release of Arca's Xen and Aphex Twin's Syro garner widespread critical acclaim, it would be a shame to see it get lost in the shuffle.
(Planet Mu)
(Source: exclaim.ca)
M For Montreal: Slow Down Molasses at Casa Del Popolo
Published November 23rd, 2014
Rating: 5/10
Saskatoon five-piece indie rock band Slow Down Molasses performed a short and bombastic set that saw the members taking turns on various instruments and sharing vocal duties, to differing degrees of success. Their live set tends to drown out any sense of the original recorded material, making it difficult to discern their lyrics and arrangements. Their live performance ticks can also be quite distracting, with a somewhat ridiculous amount of kicking and lifting guitars up in the air to add a layer of false complexity to some pretty simple instrumentation.
Whereas on record they perform a nice blend of shoegaze, pop and rock with pretty harmonies and pleasant strings, their live set sees the five-piece try their hand at noise rock, making it nearly impossible to recognize the original material, ultimately proving a detriment to the whole experience. Still, every time the band would scale it back slightly, one could catch glimpses of the type of performance they’re capable of, such as on a promising slow number reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen. The fact that most of the members performed with their back to the crowd certainly didn’t help, giving the impression they were too self-impressed to realize they were performing for others. But if they can work out these kinks and concentrate on engaging the audience instead of themselves, they have the potential to be a great live band instead of a mildly appealing one.
(Source: exclaim.ca)
M For Montreal: Noni Wo at Casa Del Popolo
Published November 23rd, 2014
Rating: 7/10
In its short existence, Pat Jordache’s Montreal-based record label Banko Gotiti has already released an impressive collection of records from its strong roster. Jordache rightly used the M For Montreal festival as a platform to showcase his label’s talented trio of acts, which includes Vesuvio Solo and the Group Sound. Full disclosure: As many of the preceding sets that I attended ran late, I was only able to catch the last few tracks of Noni Wo’s set, but the little I did see was charming and pleasant.
There’s an ease with which four-piece performed that was refreshing, and they know how to get a groove going. And while their brand of indie pop is nothing groundbreaking, their assuredness in their material, most of which was recently released on their U S B E P through Summer Cool, makes them a promising act to look out for. Sometimes a nice pleasant set is all you’re looking for, and Noni Wo managed to end our M For Montreal experience nicely.
(Source: exclaim.ca)
M For Montreal: Gazelle Twin at Divan Orange
Published November 23rd, 2014
Rating: 9/10
For what was her final date of her tour, and also the final Divan Orange-hosted set at M For Montreal, UK experimental musician Elizabeth Bernholz, alias Gazelle Twin, made sure the performance would be remembered. Sporting her now famous blue-fleeced tracksuit, face-obscuring mask and long-flowing dark curly hair, Bernholz crept up on stage and crouched down, while her partner crouched over a simple drum pad, clad in a red hoodie. It made for an unsettling opening, but this is the captivating world explored on Gazelle Twin’s recently released sophomore album, Unflesh.
Bernholz slowly crept up and started shouting “Coming at me, coming at me” from the album’s title track while jumping side to side. Her performance was dark, entrancing and completely absorbing, while retaining a refreshing simplicity. She maintained her mysterious persona throughout, never breaking character, and the minimal interaction with the crowd felt warranted. She alternately pounced around the stage and then crouched down, using her pedal to manipulate her vocals, rocking back and forth using her voice as looped beats. Her long swaying wig was as much part of the performance as anything else, taking a life of its own. When she did acknowledge the audience, it was either face down or with her back to us, muttering a quiet “thank you, thank you for this.”
Still, Bernholz is completely dedicated to the performance, using her powerful vocals for various effects. “This is our last song, last song on our tour,” she suddenly announced in guttural fashion, turning her head away and crouching Gollum-like before launching into “Exorcise,” during which she ironically performed tuck jumps, as if from an ‘80s exercise video. And just as suddenly as the performance started, Bernholz jumped off stage into the crowd and disappeared into the night. While it may be hard to define what exactly we had just experienced, everybody in attendance knew it was like nothing we’d seen before.
(Source: exclaim.ca)
M For Montreal: Choses Sauvages at Divan Orange
Published November 22nd, 2014
Rating: 7/10
Being a French musician in Montreal, while it affords many advantages, also means making the difficult decision as to the language in which one should record. If you do so only in French, you are limiting your market and restricting your export potential; do so in English and you lose the fluidity of your words, making your lyricism and delivery suffer accordingly. The Choses Sauvages showcase at M For Montreal was a pretty apt representation of this problem: the Montreal four-piece alternated between both languages, with their French compositions faring much better, while songs they did perform in English suffered from clunky lyrics and mumbled delivery.
They attempt to marry the two in certain songs, such as the Franglais “Violence,” to better results, which may offer them the solution they need to tighten up their discography. But there’s definitely a lot of potential, as the band have only been performing together for a little over a year and have already managed to release the digital-only Late Night EP earlier this summer, which includes some pretty catchy tunes. The four members traded places throughout the set, with the bassist jumping on keys and the guitarist switching to the saxophone at the end of “L'Épave Trouée,” and they all did respectably on each respective instrument. Vocals were equally shared, mostly by the lead bass player and keys player, but to mitigated results; their voices aren’t horrible, but aren’t great either, and some of their harmonies left a lot to be desired.
Most of their material is characterized by their love of funky bass lines and glittery synths, and combined with their stage presence and performing tics (like all four lifting their hands up quickly at song’s end) it made for an enjoyable set that was a good indicator of the band members’ respective musical strengths.
(Source: exclaim.ca)
M For Montreal: Seoul at La Sala Rossa
Published November 22nd, 2014
Rating: 7/10
It was nice to see La Sala Rossa finally starting to fill up after it had been borderline empty during a great set by local “fuzz pop, haze rock” band CTZNSHP earlier that evening. While it’s likely that many of the people in attendance were simply waiting for Dan Boeckner’s set with his band Operators — which boasts a pretty fervent fanbase — they were treated to a pretty excellent set by Montreal dream-pop band Seoul. While the four-piece’s image can be a bit contrived and they have a tendency to sometimes take themselves a tad too seriously, it’s also this rigorous attention to detail that make their live set sonically complete.
Their set included the few tracks they’ve released thus far, such as “White Morning” and early highlight “Stay With Us,” and a handful of other tracks they’ve been performing for the past year. The band performs in a subdued manner with very little interaction other than the occasional “thank you,” which can be somewhat off-putting, but it didn’t seem to deter the crowd from swaying along and enjoying themselves. Any fans of fellow purveyors of ambient pop Toro y Moi and Twin Shadow should do themselves a favour and catch Seoul at their next live performance while we wait for their next official release.
(Source: exclaim.ca)