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Manu Chao & Radio La Colifata's "Viva La Colifata" - Radio Crazy

Gabriel — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:00:22 +0000

Quick. Grab everything you know about what a music album should be. Now, grab everything you know about what music should be. Got it? okay. Put it in a box and hide it under the bed or tucked in a closet where it'll be safe from Manu Chao's latest musical project "Viva La Califata."

Manu Chao is no stranger to pushing the limits of music and it's conventions. In fact it would be rare to find any of his music settled in a clearly defined genre.

Manu Chao is usually found expanding musical concepts; from its inception passing through the way it's recorded, until it reaches a finished state that isn't always a stable one.

However, with all this said, "Viva La Califata" will stand on its own as one of his most interesting and expressing works of music. Recorded in conjunction with Buenos Aires' notorious radio station, Radio La Colifata which is notorious by being staffed by current and ex-patients of a psychiatric hospital in the area.

That should give you a sense of what you're getting into with this album. A sense that may or may not be completely wrong. If your brain told you it expected some psychedelic gabbercore like hrvatski or kid606 (both great artists if you like to experiment and have your mind blown at the same time, in the good and bad way), it is my pleasure to tell you that you're completely neither wrong nor right.

There is certainly no techno or electronica in this piece as we know it, but you can certainly get the feeling of unbound freedom of expression in this piece as you would in some of the most notorious and genre defining gabbercore songs. By this point, you're probably wondering if the author of this post is himself a current or ex-patient of the psychiatric hospital this piece of music came from. I assure you I am nowhere near Buenos Aires.

What you will find in this album is 30 of the most interesting minutes of free flowing musical creativity. A very lyrically heavy piece that relies on spoken language to deliver its sharp message. This is certain to alienate any non-spanish speaking listeners but, granted you speak the language, will take you on a trip through the minds of these patients and ex-patients.

Imagine having a brain upside down and emptied of its contents, contents which are then mixed around, some duplicated, others cut, and most stacked on top of each other, to then all be presented in rapid succession stumbling on the way. This is the only way in which I can fathom describing the music contained in this album. The messages in this pool of thoughts range from insightful critics of the psychiatric system, to observations of the world passing throughout the state of the world and their feelings about love.

This is all I can say about the music itself, but I hope that I managed to transmit at least a small piece of the powerfulness of the emotions this album evokes.

If you enjoyed this album like I did, please head over to the donation section and make a donation to keep this station going.

State Shirt - "This is Old"

Gabriel — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:00:51 +0000

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The LA-based "one-man band" State Shirt's newest album, This is Old, is one of the best indietronic rock album's I've heard in a long time. Coming across this album by accident while looking for bands like Brad Sucks, it has quickly become one of my favorites this year with heavy rotation on my iPod. Ethan Tufts (vocals, drums, guitar, overall cool guy), demonstrates the power of well done loops to showcase his mellow rock tunes that sound far from anything recycled.

Track #4 "Computer" is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. An instant classic in my opinion. It's layered, well composed, fluid and, most importantly, interesting. The vocals blend perfectly with the music in such an amazing way that they are one; the vocals aren't an addition to the instruments playing, rather another layer of them. The rest of the album is no different, maintaining a solid consistency throughout.

If you like his stuff and can afford some merchandise, head over to his store and buy as much as you like/can. It's the only way that we can guarantee more music from him, and can also serve as an incentive for others to distribute their art for free.

Pencil - An incredible animation tool

Gabriel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:00:49 +0000

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Ever feel like creating a great animation or drawing, but don't have Adobe Flash or Illustrator? Or maybe you have them, but you know they will take forever to open and set up when all you need is a quick canvas to work on. These situations are where the free, open source Pencil application comes in. This multiplatform application allows for quick and easy animations and drawings, using both bitmap and vector graphics. It's only real limitation is your talent and imagination.

Being complete robbed of any drawing ability, I can't give a testimonial on how awesomely it can display my "art". However, I have seen in interface with everything from a trackpad to a Wacom tablet, and it looks fluid and behaves as it is expected to. Despite it being in beta, the application is very stable and has never crashed on me.

There is a very detailed user manual, and a very active community forum filled with people that will aid you should a problem arise.

Related Links:
Pencil Forums
SourceForge Project site.
Development Wiki

Resplendent/Downey - "Respondent EP"

Gabriel — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:06:15 +0000

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The Respondent EP by the Chicago and Stockholm based Resplendent/Downey is certainly one oldy-but-goody release, in internet years anyway, and certainly one of my all-time personal favorites. Released in the summer of 2007, this 3-song digital EP which is available for download here, coagulates a massive amount of feeling and idealism, that is beautifully transmitted in a mix of electronic music and good, heartfelt vocals. If I had to name the genre of this EP, it would definitely have to be "emo-tronic." Now, I hate the whole "emo movement" as much as the next guy, but this kind of emotional music will not make you suffer, instead it will make you appreciate life more and more.

The history behind this album is almost as interesting as the music itself. The duo has never met, and they worked on the project directly -or indirectly- through email. Something I find enormously inspiring; nowadays you don't need to meet a person in order to feed off each other's creativity.

Keyboard Rebel - "Pop Grenade"

Gabriel — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:00:09 +0000

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Keyboard Rebel is part of a new batch of indie British pop artists surging from across the pond. This aaahh-records release is a mix of mainstream rock with creative influxes of folk, that still manages to keep its British feel. The album "Pop Grenade" - which you can download here for free - contains a wide range of moods and tones. From the droppy-voiced, armonica-filled "Lonesome George", to the happy feel-good tunes like "Pop Grenade" and "Abigail," you are sure to find your "true pop" favorite in this album. You won't find complex musical composition here, but instead a solid concept that has very high replayability value.

Another important note about Keyboard Rebel is that all of the profits they make from performing and merchandise go straight to the Amnesty International Foundation. So if you like them, then please buy some swag or order a physical CD to help this honest cause.