Special Podcast: Ars Poetria 08/07/08 Live + Interview

Attention Deficit

An Interview with Attention Deficit's Michael Manring and Alex Skolnick

Interview by Clayton Walnum

There's no question of the appropriateness of the band's name. Attention Deficit's music is what you might expect from a bunch of guys who have forgotten to take their Ritalin. Not that I'm suggesting that Michael Manring (bass), Alex Skolnick (guitar), and Tim Alexander (drums) have ADD, but you gotta wonder. Often fusion-like in direction, but sometimes almost avant garde, AD's compositions are a complex collage of sounds that take you from spacey landscapes to power-driven jazz-fusion to pitch-black themes that would fit perfectly in an X- Files soundtrack. Having now released two albums -- the self-titled Attention Deficit and the newest The Idiot King -- these guys are developing a style that is as hard to label as it is to listen to alone with the lights off -- and I mean that in the best possible way. To dispel some of the mystery, Michael Manring and Alex Skolnick graciously agreed to answer a few questions for ProgressiveWorld.net's readers.

Clayton Walnum: Okay, let's take care of the most important question first, the one that all Attention Deficit fans want to know the answer to, and the one about which a lot of folks stay up at night worrying. What's with that goofy dog?

Alex Skolnick: The image of the silly dog was presented to us by Magna Carta, our label. We're not sure if he belongs to someone, or where they got the image. But somehow, he fits like a glove!

Michael Manring: He's the Idiot King! He's sort of our mascot and a good representative for attention deficiencies of all kinds, especially ours.

CW: Thinking of both the first and second album, I'd describe your sound as a cross between fusion and dark ambient. How would you describe your sound? What did you set out to do?

MM: I like the term "dark ambient," but we didn't think much about genres or labels when we recorded our records. We mostly just wanted to see what kind of sounds we could come up with by drawing on our collective experiences and preferences. I don't think we were consciously trying to come up with an unusual sound, but we all come from such different backgrounds that playing together gives us the opportunity to work in unusual ways. How about "Dark Ambient Fusion"?!

AS: I would describe it as instrumental improvisation that has elements of rock, jazz and avant-garde. I think we set out to bring forth all our individual qualities in a way that would compliment our unity as a trio. We weren't sure what the end result of this would be, so it has a very experimental element as well.

CW: How did the three of you come to decide to create Attention Deficit?

AS: We originally came together for Michael's release Thonk," although we didn't record together at the same time. A few years later, Magna Carta approached us about doing a trio album, somewhat along the lines of their other releases in which they put musicians together in various combinations that have never been recorded before, such as Bozzio, Levin, and Stevens.

MM: Magna Carta had asked Alex and me about the possibility of doing a record as part of the series of trio projects they've been releasing. I suggested that it would be fun to have Tim as the third member, and fortunately the folks at Magna Carta liked the idea, too!

CW: The second album seems to be more in the fusion direction than the first. Was that a deliberate choice?

MM: To some extent. We wanted the first record to be very jam oriented, very cut-up and disjointed with lots of attention deficiencies! Since we had taken that approach on the first one, we decided to be a little more organized for The Idiot King. Mostly we just wanted to have the opportunity to work in a slightly different way.

AS: We didn't set out to do a "fusion" album. However, there are elements of that which became apparent for a couple reasons. I think we all have an appreciation for some of the great jazz/rock groups of the 70's (Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report etc..). Also, I recently got my music degree from the jazz program at New York's New School University, and I think these studies affected my contributions, both compositionally and improvisationally.

CW: Alex, a lot of fusion bands with guitarists -- take Scott Henderson's group Tribal Tech, for example -- spend a lot of time trying to blow their audience away with guitar pyrotechnics. You take a more restrained approach to your playing on the Attention Deficit albums. Your playing is wonderful -- no one questions that you've got the chops! -- but more subtle than one might expect. What are your goals as a guitarist in Attention Deficit?

AS: I really didn't want Attention Deficit to be just about my guitar solos. This project is about the three of us, not myself and a rhythm section backing me up. I'm much more interested in the compositions and communication between the musicians. Even when I release my own albums, this will be the case, although you'll probably hear more guitar solos. I should point out that I love Tribal Tech, and Scott's a real inspiration.

MM: One of the things that's fun about playing with Alex is that he enjoys exploring texture and vibe as much as soloing and blowing.

CW: Michael, I understand that you were a student of Jaco Pastorius. Pastorius's melodic style of bass playing pops up here and there on Attention Deficit albums. What was working with Pastorius like? How is his influence felt personally by you and the other band members?

MM: Jaco was a complicated guy, simultaneously admirable and pitiful. He had been my hero as a teenager, so I felt lucky to have the chance to study with him. It's a long story, but I found I got more personally than musically from spending time with him. He made a big contribution to music, and I feel that every bassist now has to come to terms with the depth with which he played the instrument. He came along at a time when the bass was just starting to define itself, and he helped establish the possibilities for the future. I hope that my playing will always show his influence, as well as the influence of all the other artists whose work has had a big effect on me. Alex and I have talked about Jaco's music a lot, but actually I don't know if Tim was ever particularly a fan or not.

CW: What other artists are you listening to these days?

AS: Lately, I've been listening to a lot of albums that combine world music with jazz improvisation. I opened for Strunz & Farah, the Spanish style guitarists and had forgotten how much I love them. Bassist Matt Garrison's new CD is amazing, with great guitarists that aren't widely known outside of New York, David Gilmore (not from Pink Floyd!) and Adam Rogers. I also really like African bassist Richard Bona's album, even though it's much mellower than his live shows.

MM: I listen to kind of a strange collection of folks: Morton Feldman, Egberto Gismonti, Gyogy Ligeti, Tarika Sammy, Srinivas, Clastrier/Riessler/Rizzo, Alban Berg, Bill Evans, Paolo Angeli, Little Feat, Mafua, Sly & the Family Stone, Harry Partch, Oregon, Charles Mingus, XTC, Ralph Towner & Gary Peacock, Patrick Brayer, Thinking Plague, Meshuggah, Bela Bartok, Elis Regina, Anton Webern, Morphine, L. Subramanium, Mozart, Nguyen Le, Adriana Calcanhotto, Shakti, Meat Beat Manifesto, Wayne Shorter, Squarepusher, Hermeto Pascoal.

CW: Alex, parts of the first album remind me very much of the sort of thing Hendrix was trying on Electric Ladyland's "1983...(A Merman I Should Turn To Be)." Really beautiful stuff (in a spacey way) and not as dark as most of the rest of the album, although the things do get more intense as they go on. Did Hendrix play a key role in your development as a guitarist? Who are your major influences? Whose playing blows you away today?

AS: Hendrix was and is a major influence on me. It's funny because I was never a hippie or a big psychedelic fan. But if you were studying guitar, you had to learn Hendrix, and I fell in love with a lot of his music, especially the live stuff. I was also a big fan of Jeff Beck and Leslie West. A lot of guys thought I was nuts because at this time (the early 80's) this was considered "old." However, I still liked the modern guys at the time, Van Halen, Michael Schenker, Malmsteen, and especially Randy Rhoads. It's interesting that nearly twenty years later, Hendrix's music seems the most fresh and timeless, not to take anything away from the others as far as playing ability.

For the past ten years or so I've gravitated toward more jazz oriented players. Today my favorites are: Jimmy Herring (of Aquarium Rescue Unit and Phil Lesh & Friends), Scott Henderson, gypsy/fusion guitarist Bireli Lagrene, Wayne Krantz, Strunz & Farah, Junion Brown, Dave Gilmore (of New York, although I love the English Dave Gilmore's playing, too), Dave Fuzinski, Paul Bollenback, Ron Affif, Pat Metheny (preferably with his trio and with Kenny Garret, Michael Brecker and others) and of course John McLaughlin

CW: What's your approach to composition? Much of the music sounds improvisational. Do you jam to come up with ideas? Do you write a loose framework for a track and just go with it? Or do you just run the tape and keep the best bits?

AS: I do all of the above.

MM: The concept of Attention Deficit is to keep things pretty open and collaborative. Certainly a lot of the first record was as you described it. We actually didn't want it to sound too focused! When we composed the music for The Idiot King, we took a little different tactic. We each brought in ideas in various states of complexity and preparedness, but nothing completely finished. Then we all worked together to try to organize the ideas in ways that would make sense and be fun to play. Everybody really contributed equally, and it was fun to see whose skills would end up bringing an idea into focus each time.

CW: Michael, you have a big following in the New Age genre. In fact, in that context is the first time I saw your name (a long time ago!). New Age music and Attention Deficit are kind of diametrically opposed stylistically, what with New Age being thought of as relaxing and Attention Deficit being energized and dark, even to the point of approaching sonic rampage. So, Michael, where does your musical heart really lie?

MM: Both places! I guess I'm a little strange, but I really kind of enjoy moving through different moods in music. One of the things that makes music so vital for me is that it has the power to express and process all kinds of human experience. Sometimes I enjoy the relaxing vibe of New Age music and sometimes I feel more like going more in that rampage direction! Music has a way of making sense and meaning out of all of it for me. I think all three of us are a little that way, actually. We have some pretty diverse listening habits.

CW: Where does Attention Deficit go from here?

AS: Hopefully every couple years or so we can get together to record a new record which reflects our growth both collectively and individually. We'd also love to tour and are hoping to make this happen at some point in the near future.

MM: We're not sure! It's always been kind of an experimental project, so we wouldn't want it to fall into any pattern that was too predictable -- even by us!

Thanks very much to Michael and Alex for taking the time to share their musical musings with ProgressiveWorld.net.

Attention Deficit - l to r: Michael Manring, Alex Skolnick and Tim Alexander

Discography

• Attention Deficit (1998)
  
• The Idiot King (2001)

Check out Attention Deficit on LastFM

Philip Glass

I cannot describe Philip Glass in a summary but all I can say is that this man inspired me to become a composer. So here's what Wikipedia had to say about Philip Glass:

Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated American Western classical-music composer. He is considered one of the most influential composers of the late-20th century^{[1][2][3][4][5]} and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public (along with precursors such as Richard Strauss, Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein).

Glass's music is frequently described as minimalist, though he has distanced himself from that description, calling himself a composer of "music with repetitive structures."^[6] Although his earliest music could be called minimalist, his style has evolved enough that the label is inappropriate for many of his more recent works.^[7][8]

Glass is a prolific composer: he has written ensemble works, operas, 8 symphonies, 8 concertos, film scores, and solo works. Glass counts many visual artists, writers, musicians, and directors among his friends, including Richard Serra, Chuck Close, Doris Lessing, Allen Ginsberg, Errol Morris,Robert Wilson, JoAnne Akalaitis, John Moran, actors Bill Treacher and Peter Dean, Godfrey Reggio, Ravi Shankar, Linda Ronstadt, Paul Simon,David Bowie, the conductor Dennis Russell Davies, and electronic musician Aphex Twin, who have all collaborated with him. Among recent collaborators are Glass' fellow New Yorkers Leonard Cohen, and Woody Allen.

Glass describes himself as "a Jewish-Taoist-Hindu-Toltec-Buddhist",^[9] and a strong supporter of the Tibetan cause. In 1987 he co-founded the Tibet House with Columbia University professor Robert Thurman and the actor Richard Gere. He has four children: two (Zachary (b. 1971) and Juliet (b. 1968)) with his first wife, the theater director JoAnne Akalaitis (m. 1965, div. 1980); and two (Marlowe and Cameron) with his current, fourth wife, Holly Critchlow.^[10] Glass lives in New York and in Nova Scotia. He is the first cousin once removed of Ira Glass, host of the nationally syndicatedradio show This American Life. Philip Glass's father is Ira Glass's great uncle.

Check out Philip Glass's Official Website

Check out Philip Glass Videos on Youtube

Check out the Full Wikipedia Entry here

mewithoutYou

Not since hearing about the Deftones in '98 have I been so excited about a band. I got a call in '05 from my roommate when he was in Florida and he told me to check out this song called  'Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt' by mewithoutYou. At first listen, I noticed right away the soft vocal harmonies accompanying the bass line and the guitars adding that extra emotion to the drums that bring in the mood progression to the song. The band brings in the perfect climax where Aaron Weiss takes control of the song with his powerful spoken words. All the instruments there after add just the right emotion to make this song brilliant. I chose Disaster Tourism as the song to put on the Volume 6 because I love how the guitars start the song off and Aaron's lyrical approach.

Found this on Wikipedia about mewithoutYou:

mewithoutYou is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Christian experimental rock band. The band consists of vocalist Aaron Weiss, guitarist Michael Weiss, bassist Greg Jehanian and drummer Rickie Mazzotta. mewithoutYou's music is generally dominated by spoken-word vocals and free-ranging drums, bass, and guitar. In their most recent album, Brother, Sister, the band incorporates more varied instrumentation including percussion instruments, accordion, and harp. Aaron Weiss writes lyrics about issues such as unity or division in the church, suicide, money, war and love. They tour in a 40 foot 1976 MC8 Charter bus that runs on vegetable oil. ^[1]

The band was originally conceived as a side project. The Weiss brothers and Kleinberg were playing together in another band called The Operation (who released one album, 2001's There Is Hope for a Tree Cut Down, on Takehold Records), but Aaron wanted to start another band to experiment with new sounds. After picking up Rick Mazzotta on drums and Ray Tadeo on bass, Kleinberg and the Weiss brothers released their first EP (I Never Said That I Was Brave) in 2001 and shortly thereafter signed to Tooth & Nail Records after a show atCornerstone Festival the same year. Around this time Tadeo had moved on, Daniel Pishock picked up as the bass player, and The Operation disbanded soon afterward. mewithoutYou's debut full-length album, [A→B] Life, was released in 2002. The band garnered more attention for their second release, 2004's Catch for Us the Foxes, which was produced by Brad Wood(Smashing Pumpkins, Fire Theft). In December of 2004 Pishock had made a decision to retire as the bassist for the band and former Operation frontman, Greg Jehanian, was selected to replace him. In 2005, mewithoutYou won mtvU's "Left Field" award for most original artist. Their third album, Brother, Sister, again produced by Wood, was released on September 26, 2006. In late 2007, guitarist Christopher Kleinberg left the band, to pursue a career in medicine, however, he is still supporting the band with their summer 2008 tour, since school is not in session. He is currently working on becoming a Doctor. mewithoutYou posted a blog on their myspace page on Saturday, May 17, 2008 about them booking studio time to record the follow-up to Brother, Sister.

Check out mewithoutYou on Myspace | LastFm |Official Website

Check out mewithoutYou Videos for January 1979 |Paper Hanger | Nice and Blue (Pt. Two)

Penuckle

Something I found on Penuckle's Myspace:

Penuckle is a lyricist hands down. He has this way of reaching your ears and staying there for a while. He has many names in the industry: The iron lion, The sales man of Life, or just plain o'l P. Born in a drug infested neighborhood, the odds were already stacked up against him. He grew up seeing his Mother abused mentally and physically by the men in her life. His peers around the tender age of 9yrs began to explore the lifestyle of gang culture. Everything around young Tim Ballard was absorbed into his mind; instead of becoming his surroundings he opted to relate on another level. At age 9 he used his love of poetry to further develop his skills as a becoming lyricist. Fast forward thru the years of shcool and community talent shows and the many nights of banging beats out on the wall with his fists, and Penuckle arrived at age 20 when he released his first release. The independent album 'The Feminine Face of God' was considered classic material by the local community of hip hoppers. After giving out all 500 copies that were pressed, he began working on his next album Dysfunctional Ante Colony. This album was then re-released as The Sun Beckons which was embraced by the press world-wide for its honesty and subject matter. Now, he returns with Blunts and Roses and is enthusiastic with this latest effort. 'Being independent in this business means one thing, you have your work cut out for you for sure..." -penuckle With that in mind, he has nurtured relationships with key people in the business to ensure more publicity for his work. Enlisting the help of music supervisors and college radio promoters Penuckle is again bringing attention to himself and the fact that he is one amazing song-writer/lyricist. 

Buy Penuckle on Itunes

Check out Penuckle on Myspace | LastFm

Check out a Video of Penuckle for Hot Life 

Kaddisfly- Set Sail The Prairie

Happy Summer Solstice Day? Well in tribute of the day I'm sharing a full download of a quite clever album, which references specific months and locations in a year. The albums begins with the Summer Solstice and includes a Winter Solstice interlude within it's month. Kaddisfly put out Set Sail the Prairie in 2007 and showed us that their EP broadened their minds with experimentation.  Kaddisfly already releasing several different albums with different individual influences helped them define their sound today. Set Sail the Prairie contains many different textures showing us that Kaddisfly's ensemble of musicians are open to trying new ideas and still keeping their first nurtured sound. Enjoy!

Download Kaddisfly- Set Sail the Prairie from MegaUpload

Check out Kaddisfly on Myspace | LastFm | Wikipedia | Official Website

Check out some Kaddisfly Videos for Empire | Waves (Live) |

thanks to sordo music archive for the download and evasivetear, jeremyejackson for the videos.

Idiot Pilot

In 2005 I attended a show that I remember almost perfectly, the 3 groups performing in order were Scene Index, Idiot Pilot and Team Sleep. The base reason in why I attended this show was for Team Sleep and to catch some other tunes before their set. Scene Index, a band composed of 2 keyboardist, one guitarist and one drummer created such a melodic sound. The sound was very ambient I loved their strong influence towards keyboards. Next up Idiot Pilot, I was very much astonished by the vocal ability of the vocalist of Idiot Pilot, combing high pitched melodic vocals and loud shouts and screams by the guitarist brought to the sound. They have come out with a new album as of last year in titled 'Wolves'. Their electronics and rock sound come out evenly with 'Wolves' because of the addition of a drummer in the production and combining more guitars and keyboards it showed a different direction from their very electronic debut album. Check out their debut album 'Strange We Should Meet Here'. You can hear Michael Harris of Idiot Pilot on Deftones remix of 'Teenager' on their B-Sides and Rarities CD. Enjoy!

Buy Idiot Pilot albums on Amazon

Check out Idiot Pilot on Myspace | LastFm | Official Website

Check out Some Idiot Pilot Videos of To Buy a Gun | A Day in the life of a Poolshark | Planted in the Dark (Live) 

Tomahawk

Certain talented individuals conceive a notion of their own talent or gift and can weave in their creative influences with their music, not just towards one style but different blends in various musical collectives. Mike Patton has become one of my biggest influence, not just for his captivating voice but for his creativity. Creativity bring success, Originality brings success, boldness and confidence brings success. Tomahawk to some a super group of musicians, consisting of ex-helmet drummer, ex-jesus lizard guitar player, and ex-melvins bass player. A collective creating bright experimental hard rock with colorful metaphorical lyrics captivating Mike Patton's brilliant wordplay. Releasing 3 Full length albums all expressing a different experimentation coherent at the base of their style. The song I featured on May's playlist has instilled many emotions to a certain resemblance in my life, lyrically and emotionally. The Powerful and constant drum rhythm hypnotizes the bass line, the screeches of the guitar and the gloom of versus bring stubborn in mind. Something deep in a sense. In my lyrical comprehension, Point and Click relates to the obsessive character brought to us through the film 'Taxi Driver'. Tomahawk well surely impress you. Give them a liste, check out 'Captain Midnight', 'Pop 1' , and '101 North'

Tomahawk on Mysapce | LastFm | Official Website

Check out some Live Tomahawk Videos for God hates a Coward | Flashback | May Day

Lyrics to Tomahawk- Point and Click

Portishead

A soft female vocalist backed by a DJ and jazz influenced guitars complete what Portishead first delivered with their 1991 full length release 'Dummy' and are now known for that sound. There music touches many different styles mainly electronic, down tempo and trip hop but when it comes to influnces they are very diverse ranging from dr. dre to old jazz. On the other hand, Portishead has influenced many musicians new and old. Releasing three full length albums and one live album they sink you into it's sounds and create your love for down tempo. After 1997 Self Titled effort they went on a hiatus from 1999-2005 the members all pursued solo projects or other pursuits. On February 2005 the band played live to support Tsunami Benefit in their hometown of Bristol; their first show in 7 years, soon after Portishead released some demos on Myspace and came out with the long awaited third full length release titled simply 'Third'. From the sound of things they're just like before but with a little love for old hip hop with still that slow tempo feel. We are to expect more from this creative bunch, keep your eyes open.

Check out Portishead on Myspace | Lastfm | Official Website

Watch Porishead Videos on YouTube

Peter Gabriel

After departing progressive band Genesis Peter Gabriel went on to pursue his thoughtful solo project. His first four albums were self titled and are known either by I, II, III or also by Car, Scratch, Melt and the last one being also self titled but known as Security in the U.S his other albums were titled by one word either Us, So, or Up. So saw the biggest success and grew his fan base to not just Genesis fans. Peter's love for world music and soul musicians such as, Otis Reeding clearly explains his open mind. Peter Gabriel has collaborated with many different musicians such as, Stewart Copeland, Robert Fripp, Trent Reznor and producer Bob Ezrin. Peter has created or been apart of many different organizations to show his love of awareness and passion towards certain ideas. Some organizations include WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance), Real World Studios, WITNESS, On Demand Distribution, and Mudda. He has won many awards and has been apart of music for more than 30 years now either playing it or contributing to further improve certain musical endeavors. His music has been featured in many films and tv shows and i highly doubt you haven't heard his music in some form or another. His lyrics are realistic and express a lot of meaning. Peter Gabriel to me is a big inspiration to move forward with what I love to do and I'm certain I'm not the only one inspired by this brilliant mind.

Check out Peter Gabriel on LastFm

Full Peter Gabriel Biography on Wikipedia

Watch Peter Gabriel's Videos for In Your Eyes | Don't Give Up |

Watch Peter Gabriel's Live Videos for Solsbury Hill | Sledgehammer | 

Menomena

Individual instruments to individual musicians has gone way past Menomena's thought process when it comes to song writing lyrically and musically. Menomena came about as a side project of Danny Seim, Lackthereof and came fully assembled in late 2000. Menomena consists of three musicians which all members share singing duties and frequently swap instruments while recording. Menomena blossoms with brimming intricacy in some songs and others portraying crashing drums with piano driven bass lines. Music this full of ideas, can lead the mind to believe as overstuffed but then the next song plays on and you forget what you were thinking about it. The band's technique of building songs from improvised loops arranged with custom software make it even more appealing Knopf created what they call Deeler, read more about it here. Furthermore, their use of colorful language and words combine the art of music and poetry perfectly. Believe when i say you've found your new favorite band, Menomena.

Buy Menomena's Music on Amazon

Check out Menomena on Myspace | LastFm

Watch Menomena's Videos for Wet and Rusting | Rotten Hell 

Watch Menomena's Live Videos for Muscle N' Flo | Weird

Koushik

Soft Soothing Samples reminiscent of Manitoba and Madlib mixed in with that 60's Psych Pop Feel. Such Talent needs be recognized by other great musicians, that's why he's floating in the mist of all that's Stone Throw Records. He's collaborated with musicians such as Four Tet, Caribou and Madvillian and he's a resident of Ontario, Canada. Koushik is the son of Indian immigrants and growing up around that lifestyle Koushik took classical indian singing classes. Whilst his trips to the local farmers market in his town he visited the record shops and grew a strong love for hip hop. You can hear his vocals in some tracks on his album 'Be With' , I highly recommend this artists to everyone but if you're a fan of any of the aforementioned artists, you need this record.

Check out Koushik on LastFm

Buy Koushik- Be With on Amazon

Watch Koushik- One in a Day on Youtube 

Jeff Buckley

Out of the many solo artists that I admire Jeff Buckley's music touched me instantly from the first time I heard 'Grace' to living his memory through Youtube videos, Jeff Buckley will undoubtedly be a great memory in our minds. Imagine not reaching stardom until after your death, Jeff Buckley came out with 'Grace' and saw some small success, but than after his departure his music was featured in Movies, TV Shows, and Soundtracks as being that one guy in that one song from that one show or movie. Jeff Buckley was raised in California and was the son of Tim Buckley which he hardly even knew. His cover for Lenoard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' gained the biggest popularity reaching #1 on itunes selling charts. He was known for his high falsetto voice and emotionally melodic lyrics. He'll always be known as that one musician that captivated our ears with his smooth smooth sound in acapella.

Check out Jeff Buckley on Myspace | LastFm

Check out Jeff Buckley Videos for Grace | Last Goodbye | Hallelujah | So Real

Check out Live Videos from Jeff Buckley of So Real/ Last Goodbye | Grace

Read more about Jeff Buckley on Wikipedia

Atmosphere

Collective thought about arguments, respect towards what's right and what's wrong, creating lyrics that melts the brian in meaning. Two Musicians, with a live band create passionate and meaningful hip hop music. Starting off with just a DJ and an Emcee, Atmosphere grew to become the core of Underground Hip Hop Music signing artists to what is now known as one of the most talented hip hop record labels out there, Rhymesayers Entertainment.  With 6 Full Length Album, Atmosphere brought hip hop music what it needed A Meaning. I guess you can call it complaining but others call it awareness, just releasing their 6th Full Length 'When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold' Atmosphere is looking to optimism and hope creating maturity in their lives mentally and musically and hopefully in the ones they grap through their music. 

Check out Atmosphere on Myspace | LastFm | Facebook | YouTube

Full Biography of Atmosphere on Wikipedia

Interview: Charts and Maps

Jemayel bass player for Charts and Maps took time off his busy schedule to support the Musical Brochure with this Interview, Enjoy!

I always start with this question just cause it's something on peoples' minds, Charts and Maps where did you guys come up with that name, reminds me of Maps & Atlases, we need to get you guys to open up for them that would be interesting?

Yeah, we were just sitting around after we started jamming, trying to think of a name. Charts and Maps was the only one that everybody could agree on. I found out that Maps and Atlases existed literally a week after we named ourselves, but we figured it didn't really matter. I mean, yeah, we're both progressive bands but we do sound quite different. There's another band called Maps as well, so all three of us could go on tour together, charts and maps and maps and maps and atlases"

When did you guys become a band?

John and I have been playing together since we were 15-ish. We had a band in high school called Soli i Sombra. The rest of us all met at USC--we all actually lived together for a year. We began jamming in this format in like May of 2007-

I enjoyed 'Charts and Maps Killed a Man' from the controlled chaotic solos to the organic fills.  What's your favorite song to play live off that EP?

As of this point, the only song off of that EP that we play live is Bury Pierre. We sort of discarded the rest. We often discuss bringing 10:58 back, but it's just so long that it takes up a significant portion of any set we're likely to play. We just think our new material is better.  Charts and Maps Killed a Man has pretty much the first five songs we wrote together. 

How did you guys get involved with The A.M.A.R. Collective and what is your opinion on the collective organization?

I think I started chatting with Andrew Newton (of ars poetria and like 10 different bands) on the 'ol interweb-- i think he was into our really old project Soli i Sombra-- and things just sort of rolled on from there. I think AMAR is excellent. Not only as a conceptual idea, but also the people involved that I have met have all been so open minded and laid back. AMAR really gives bands and artists of all kinds an opportunity to showcase their talents, involve themselves with a community of like minded individuals and grow through connections with people. We're really happy to be involved with them. 

Growing up as a kid I was forced to listen to Bob Marley, Carlos Santana, Talking Heads and because of my mother Prince but I thank my parents for that because it's made me so open minded. What did you guys listen to growing up? what influenced you to pick up a musical instrument and make that a passion?

When we were in high school John and I both had musical awakenings of sorts to the album 'El Cielo' by Dredg. It really showed us what music could be and made us begin to look outside of the box with our creative impulses. Before that we hadn't necessarily sought after music that challenged us. After El Cielo, even to today, we try to challenge ourselves in the composition of every song.

I read up on the interviews Jemayel did and he always asked this question so looking it from a different perspective. What do you think about filesharing?

Personally I fully support it in all forms. The majority of media companies are run by corporations who are selling a product more than they are facilitating art. Independent and smaller labels will be able to do fine by adapting to a new business environment. ---in my mind music is free. I'd be quite happy if all the major labels crumbled. 

I saw you guys had some shows up north how did those go and how did you guys get those gigs?

Fervent e-mailing by us and the danger bees.Pretty much we were willing to play anywhere that would house us, and if they gave us gas money, then excellent. We got lucky that a couple of really cool venues were into us. Specifically, The Comet Tavern in Seattle  was a lot of fun with a real cool crowd.

What's Charts and Maps plan for this year?

Well, we're recording again in June with Chris Schlarb, whose projects are on asthmatic kitty records. So that's really exciting. We're in the process of replacing Alec, our rhythm guitar player who was just so busy he couldn't commit fully to our band. Instead, Jay Watford, who also plays in Danger Bees, is gonna be playing with us. We finished our new EP (finally), titled 'Trouble at the Old Mill,' so we're trying to get that into as many ears as possible in the meantime. People can download it free from our myspage page. Um, also, we're in the process of starting an art collective with Pride of Kenya, Danger Bees, us, and a few visual artists--it's gonna be called Heard of Elephants (i think) and we're gonna get going in July. It should be fun.

Recommend me some music?

Well, I know you keep up on your music, jerry, so here goes anyway: tinariwen, dosh, harry nilsson, we're all massive battles fans, extra golden

Why should people listen to your music?

Well, if it brings them pleasure, they should do it

Show Review: Dulce De Leche

I was invited to attend Dulce de Leche's musical presentation at the Cobalt last Sunday. It was an early show and I got their just in time to hear the opening song, which is named 'Two Tone Jack'. For you's that don't know Dulce de Leche, they are a lovely duo compromised of mainly Guitar and Percussion/Drums. They evoke colorful melodies and foot tapping rhythms that conjure a cohesive acoustic sound. A different direction from the last venture the Lead Guitarist was involved in, growing up with punk rock he provided Lead Guitar for San Fernando Valley Punk Band, Blasphemy Squad. Furthermore, Percussionist/ Drummer met Jose (Lead Guitar) of Dulce de Leche back in the Punk Days and for fun started Dulce de Leche.  The show was something different from what I expected the two sat on stage after 'Two Tone Jack' composing acoustic ballads and soft sound effects provided by the percussionist, the songs were switched up lyrically with english and spanish compositions and fast and slow paced lyrics. The set ended with fellow Blasphemy Squad musicians sharing the stage with an improv track led by offbeat rhythms and jazz filled sax solos I felt like I was back in Venice's Infamous Drum Circle. For the man that missed the show check them out at Make Music Pasadena 2008 in June.

Download Dulce de Leche- Valley of Death through Mediafire

Check out Dulce de Leche on Myspace

Charts and Maps

I emailed an interview to Charts and Maps but they've been a little caught up so it's been a bit time consuming for them not only playing in Charts and Maps these lads are in other bands and are also students but nevertheless I've spoken to Jemayel the low end of Charts and Maps and he's gonna try to cut it out to me sometime soon. From reading the interviews Jemayel did for Menomena, BATTLES, and The Books i'm interested to read what Jemayel has to say, on the opposite side of the table. Charts and Maps are a Los Angeles based instrumental ensemble that brings in jazz rhythms, experimental sounds, post-rock elements, and nifty solos, keeping this bands progression balanced within the quartet. With Two EP's recorded and up for free download under Wise Owl Records these guys are getting straight to it and really expressing their love for these arrangements. Only being a band for about a year these guys have a great road ahead of them imagine when show 100 comes. The chemistry will be there even tighter and stronger. love. peace&absolut happiness are the motive. You can check them out Friday, May 23 at the Knitting Factory in the alterknit lounge or at The Cocaine Saturday, June 21. Charts and Maps musicians will also be performing that same night at the knitting factory with another other project, Pride of Kenya

Buy Tickets to the Knitting Factory show here

Download Charts and Maps- Charts and Maps Killed a Man and Trouble at the Old Mill'

Check out Charts and Maps on MySpace LastFm Facebook

Check out Jemayel's Interviews for hatesomethingbeautiful.com

Charts and Maps Net-Label Wise Owl Records

Soft Machine

They are nothing new to the psychedelic spectrum, highlighting improvisation, jam sessions and carefully and carelessly improving the real meaning of psychedelics and progressive music. listening to bands like king crimson, emerson, lake and palmer, and Can, Soft Machine is a must for those captured by the 70s psychedelic movement. Soft Machine went through many line up changes and grew into many different styles. Robert Wyatt the form of Soft Machine grew the band and increased it's popularity in the Canterbury Music Scene in the Mid 60's to early 70's. Robert Wyatt left the band in 71 but the band lived on to many lineup changes. 1976 saw the end of all Original Members and was carried on till 1977 where Soft Machine saw their last show as a working band. Soft Machine only lives on as a memory some slid towards other projects and interest and some fans left but not doubt that all will remember the talent of Soft Machine and others may never.

Check out Soft Machine- Theatre De La Musique 1970 (Live) on YouTube

Check out Soft Machine- Moon in June 1969 (Live) on YouTube

Soft Machine on WikiPedia

Soft Machine Legacy on MySpace

BATTLES (i'm an architect and here's my prison)

The diamond that was stolen held the code that melted water into letters spelling where it had been taken to. In fact, I had a vision of the numbers corresponding with the letter T-H-E-D-I-A-M-O-N-D

"I think it would be next to impossible to be less than amazed by the musical qualities exhibted by BATTLES. Their music is legendary when you listen to it and differs from the lyrics when you read it. Very few artists can claim such talent and BATTLES definitely falls into the category. The lyrics seem quite metaphorical and deep, and seem to signal a struggle or fight within an individual leaning opposite of the optimism. Whatever the meaning, the lyrics show a complicated thought process that cohesively builds the lyrics and vocals as Mike Patton does with Fantomas using less the vocal as a mainstream instrument, by as staccatos and tones that are musically cohesive with the rhythms of the other instruments in the song." 

This whole band highlights creativity in general. Promising band for the future, and the best thing about this band is that every song on Mirrored challenges the last one.

Check out BATTLES on Myspace

Check out the video for BATTLES- Atlas on YouTube

Buy BATTLES- Mirrored on Amazon

DJS/ Producers Stay Away from Mac OS X 10.2.5

Mac Audio Glitches: ; Avoid 10.5. 2,
AirPort For Now

As more readers send in reports, the picture looks something like this: both Mac OS X 10.5.2 and an AirPort update for Tiger are suspect in problems causing audio dropouts and other issues on some (not all) recently-updated Macs. Serato is joining Native Instruments in saying 10.5.2 is "officially unsupported." At the same time, a number of readers on Tiger are reporting dropouts with their AirPort switched on; if you haven’t installed the AirPort update, I’d avoid it just in case, but in the meantime, try switching off your AirPort card while doing audio work if you run into trouble.


Here’s the Serato report:

Mac OS X Version 10.5.
2 not officially supported

Scratch LIVE users have reported various problems, including increased USB dropouts, after installing the 10.5.2 update of Mac OS X.


While these are yet to be confirmed and followed up with Apple, it is currently not recommended that users update to 10.5.2.


Users who have already updated and are experiencing problems should start a topic in the help forum to let us know the details and receive technical support.


In case this comes as a surprise to anyone, it shouldn’t. Real-time music applications are very probably the most timing-dependent of any consumer application. If only we could get every software engineer in the world to do real-time music making. (Well, at least a fair number do.
)

Speaking of real-time, we appear to be getting this news close to real-time. Be sure to send detailed results to software you’re working with — as precise as possible — and hopefully this issue will be resolved soon. And be sure to comment here, as well, as all that data really is helpful.


AirPort fix upcoming? If it makes you feel any better, 10.5.x Leopard could generally screw up your AirPort, too. MacFixIt reports that 10.5.3 will resolve these issues and suggests some fixes. I hope that music playback issues get on Apple’s priority list with these fixes, as well, with these other fixes — rather than music users getting left by the wayside. At least AirPort seems to be the target of the updates, which suggests that whatever is causing this issue may be in the process of getting fixed, as well.




Read The Full Article: 
http://createdigitalmusic. com/2008/05/09/mac-audio-glitches-serato-reports-avoid-
1052-airport-for-now/

Wagon Christ

Such a clever name right, I thought so to. Wagon Christ is another creative venture of Luke Francis Vibert. You may have heard some of his music on compilations and or with his other projects; Plug, Ace of Clubs, Butler Kiey, Amen Andrews, and Kerrier District. He's a British recording artist and producer known for his work in the many subgeneres of electronica. Vibert originally became involved in electronic music through his interest for hip-hop as well as the environment of bedroom experimentalism associated with the swelling late-'80s U.K. dance scene. He's put out five albums under the alias Wagon Christ and 16 albums all together and many EPs. He's collaborated live with Aphex Twin and Aphex Twin used the song name 'Analord' from Vibert's album Lover's Acid.  Luke Vibert is alongside Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, µ-Ziq, and Cylob as redefining the rules of electronic music in the UK in the early to mid '90s. My roommate likes this song because he can break dance to it. Enjoy the song 'My Organ in Your Face' on Volume 6.

Check out Wagon Christ on LastFm

Check out the Video for Wagon Christ- Lovely on YouTube

Buy His Music on Amazon