Post No Bills
Monday, February 6, 2012
Music, Post No Bills Discovering the groovy sounds of Calvin Keys
Posted by Peter Margasak on Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 3:03 PM
Music, Post No Bills 12 O'Clock Track: Ane Brun, "Do You Remember"
Posted by Peter Margasak on Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 12:00 PM
There are moments when Norway-born, Sweden-based singer Ane Brun seems a bit too in love with the swoops, dips, and warbles she can execute with her lovely voice, but at her best she's got great pop instincts. Her latest album, It All Starts With One, has been out in Europe since the fall and will finally arrive in the States on May 1. I don't like everything on it, but the first U.S. single, "Do You Remember," has been stuck in my head all week—it's good enough that I'm prepared to forgive the missteps. The percussion-heavy song features typically angelic harmony singing from Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg (aka First Aid Kit, who will play Lincoln Hall on April 6), and its retro-pop melody reminds me a whole lot of Lykke Li, except without the electronics. That's high praise in my book. The song is after the jump.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Music, Post No Bills A new direction for Viennese electronica kingpin Patrick Pulsinger
Posted by Peter Margasak on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 1:59 PM
In the 90s Patrick Pulsinger was a kingpin of the Austrian electronic-music scene, both as a producer (Sluts 'n' Strings & 909) and a label owner (Cheap), so I was surprised late last year to see his name on a new recording from contemporary classical label Col Legno. Besides Feldman captures a live performance during the Wien Modern 2010, a cutting-edge multi-arts festival in Vienna. The concert was part of a series called Feld(man) Forschung that Pulsinger curated. He assembled an unusual quartet to perform a piece that considers brilliant American composer Morton Feldman as a thinker and composer, without touching his actual music.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Music, Post No Bills 12 O'Clock Track: Cate Le Bon, "Fold the Cloth"
Posted by Peter Margasak on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Cyrk (The Control Group), the recent second album by Welsh singer Cate Le Bon, is the year's first great record. I loved her debut, but this one is even better: her sophisticated singing traverses some cosmic British folk-rock terrain, but she doesn't sound remotely retro. Le Bon returns to Chicago for a show at Schubas on February 14, and I'll be writing a preview for that; in the meantime, here's a little taste. After the jump is the video for "Fold the Cloth."
Friday, January 27, 2012
Music, Post No Bills My last year-end music list from 2011, I promise
Posted by Peter Margasak on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Like it or not, and even though it's almost February, I've got one more year-end list for you. If it helps, you can see it less as a list and more as a road map for this evening's episode of WBEZ's Radio M. I'll join host Tony Sarabia for the full two hours, and we'll both play some of our favorite international music from 2011, both new and reissued. The show airs tonight from 9-11 PM on 91.5 FM. After the jump, my picks in both categories, many of which I'll spin tonight.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Music, Free Shit, Post No Bills Claire Chase premieres a Marcos Balter work inspired by Cy Twombly
Posted by Peter Margasak on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 4:04 PM
In March extraordinary flutist Claire Chase, founder and director of International Contemporary Ensemble, will release her second collection of solo performances, Terrestre (New Focus). I was a huge fan of her 2009 debut, Aliento, and the new one looks equally tantalizing, with works by Kaija Saariaho, Franco Donatoni, Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, and Dai Fujikura (who wrote his piece, Glacier, specifically for Chase). Yet the energetic flutist is already on to the next thing, and this Friday evening she'll give a free concert at the Art Institute's Fullerton Hall with a totally different program.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Music, Post No Bills 12 O'Clock Track: Albert Ayler, "Our Prayer—Bells"
Posted by Peter Margasak on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Monday, January 23, 2012
Music, Post No Bills Ethnic 78s come to life on the Internet
Posted by Peter Margasak on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 4:24 PM
In recent years—thanks in large part to amateur music blogs—popular interest has surged in early examples of international music originally released on 78 RPM discs. For many decades, record companies in the U.S. released music from all over the world—some recorded abroad, some by immigrants living here—and marketed it to immigrant populations hungry for the sounds of home. Record companies in Europe, Asia, and Africa were doing the same, putting out everything from traditional music to various stripes of pop. For the most part, all of that music has been lost to time, and despite occasional efforts like Yazoo's great The Secret Museum of Mankind series, it seemed unlikely that anyone but record collectors would ever get to hear this stuff. That's all changed in recent years, of course, as great blogs like Excavated Shellac and DIY producers like Ian Nagoski have taken matters into their own hands.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Music, Post No Bills Bassist Marlene Rosenberg plays Room 43 on Sunday
Posted by Peter Margasak on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 4:30 PM
Music, Post No Bills 12 O'Clock Track: Thaís Gulin, "ôÔÔôôÔôÔ"
Posted by Peter Margasak on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Keeping up with Brazilian music isn't easy. Few record stores in the U.S. bother to carry it, and even fewer distributors bring it into the country (though it's getting easier to find downloads on iTunes and eMusic). It's more than worth the extra effort to scan Brazilian music blogs like Notas Musicais—the Portuguese-language site doesn't seem to do much curating of what gets posted, but it's how I learned that young singer Thaís Gulin made her second album late last year. I enjoyed her debut, but ôÔÔôôÔôÔ (Slap) is one of my 2011 faves. It was produced by Kassin (of +2 fame), and both Chico Buarque and Tom Zé make cameos. This is squarely in the MPB camp (musica popular Brasileira), and there are plenty of quirky arrangements and production flourishes to really drive home the lovely melodies and Gulin's terrific singing. For today's 12 O'Clock Track I'm posting the trombone-stoked title song for stream or download, but the entire album is great.
