SOUNDTRACK: SALTLAND-I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us [CST094] (2013).
Becky Foon, who is one of the main creators of Esmerine has another band on Constellation called Saltland. The big difference with this band is that she sings as well. And that this album is much more mellow–full of droning sections and a slow, deep bass that keeps the songs moving along.
This disc is very mellow, with lots of slow beats and electronica sprinkled around it. When Foon sings, she sings in a deliciously slow voice. So this album is a good one for chilling out.
The disc opens with “Golden Alley” which has some big slow bass notes and strings urging the song along. When she begins singing, he voice is deep and hushed–an almost whispered sound that feels practically percussive. There are words, but her voice also works as part of the music. A bit of a shift in the music occurs near the end that makes it seem like it’s going to be a long song–especially when Colin Stetson starts blowing some saxophone notes–but it actually just signals the end.
“I Thought It Was Us” is an instrumental which features harmonium and cello. It also has some interesting noises from Stetson. About a minute and a half in, it shifts to a really catchy melody that runs through much of the rest of the song while the saxophone solo takes off. It’s a highlight.
“Treehouse Schemes” really stands out as something familiar. I don’t know if it sounds like something else or if Foon’s voice is so much more distinctive. But I really like this track a lot. It has a slow bass line and some stretched out guitars and then Foon sings a simple and lovely melody line.
“Unholy” is a bit more droney with some well used kalimba and Foon’s voice providing mostly wordless notes. I really like the way at about a minute and a half, fast drums come in and seem to push the song faster, although the tempo never actually changes. Theres some great tension and then a nice denouement.
“But It Was All of Us” is another slow droning instrumental, with some wordless vocals and some occasional bass notes. It feels almost like Western movie but with a Middle Eastern feel, a Middle Eastern Western?
“Colour the Night Sky” has some quiet, heavily distorted vocals that swirl with the pulsing beat of the drums and bass. And then about midway through there’s a clean section where the vocals shine through the din, with the words “I have a fairy tale that I read when I’m feeling down.”
“ICA” has some quiet cello swirls and low voices. And the album ends on a highlight with “Hearts Mind.” It’s another one with a prominent bass while swirls of sounds float around Foon’s vocals. It’s the last-minute or so Foon’s multitracked voices create some lovely ascending ooohss.
This album feel s a lot longer than its 38 minutes, possibly because most of the songs are quite long. It’s definitely a mood creating album, although not as despairing as the album cover hints at.
[READ:February 21, 2016] Prince of Persia
The evolution of this graphic novel is pretty fascinating. And it is one I was completely unfamiliar with since I’m not a gamer.
Back in the 1980s Jordan Mechner created a video game called Prince of Persia. It was popular and there was a sequel. And then it kind of went away for a while, but people always loved it so then it came back again as a new series of games. And a film (released in 2010). Finally in, 2004 First Second (shoutout to #10yearsof01) contacted Mechner about making a story (not the same story as his games) into a graphic novel. Mechner has always wanted to make a comic book (he had all the gear before he switches over to video games. And here it is.
From what I gather, Mechner didn’t really write this story so much as inspire it (and I’m sure he had editorial control or whatever). The book was written by A.B. Sina. And it is a new story based on the nebulous ideas of the universe that Mechner had created.
I had actually not even heard of the video game (or the movie) so this was all lost on me. But that’s fine and is not necessary for enjoyment of the book. Although I admit I found the story a little confusing (not because of not knowing the games), although by the end the way the stories linked up was pretty cool.
This story is set in two different eras (the 9th century and another prince in the 13th century) and has two stories paralleling each other. The two men of the story are linked by a prophecy. The story opens with Guiv, a (9th century) prince who had attempted to kill his brother Layth, fleeing the city of Marv after escaping death from Layth’s guards. The story then jumps to a young (13th century) woman, Shirin, who flees the city of Marv in an attempt to escape her father. She soon meets up with Ferdos,
Since Guiv was nearly killed by his brother he leaves the city. He walks into the mountain where he is accompanied by a spirit animal (a peacock) and is able to fend off lions and boars until he encounters a door. But inside is a pit made of human skeletons.
I was more interested in the story of Shirin. She is a rebellious woman who would rather do gymnastic dances than hip shaking ones. So she cuts her hair and leaves her palace behind. Frankly her story of learning how rough things are outside of the palace was more interesting than the story of the men. I guess it is also kind of that we follow her for many pages before she meets Ferdos and then his story takes over. Not to mention, he seems like he’s just crazy for a while.
Ferdos is full of stories about Layth and Guiv and he imagines that he and Shirin will reprise the roles of these past rulers (Shirin will be Guian, the sister/lover–I’m a little unclear about that).
Eventually we learn that Ferdos has ties to the city of Marv, and that his story is linked to the past in unexpected ways.
The end o the story goes very fast with intense pacing and crossing of stories. It definitely demands careful reading and maybe even a second reading, to see how the stories line up.
Th one great thing about the book is the way the two story lines are never visually confused–the color palates change depending on the century and the main characters all look different enough (especially Shrin, who looks incredibly sexy with her short hair and different colored eyes).
It’s a really clever and intricate story. I wonder what fans of the game thought of it.
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SOUNDTRACK: NELLIE McKAY-Tiny Desk Concert #117 (April 4, 2011).
Nellie McKay is a singer I’d never heard of. She is a blonde woman in a kind of yellow kimono and looks like she might be a funny folk singer as she plays a ukulele which is cut to look like an electric guitar. But rather unexpectedly, she and her band burst into a reggae song.
I Just Read About That... 