Sepultura and Bamboo Flute

See these drums?
They're called Taiko

picture from www.disturbing.org.uk

Each drum is made from a single piece of wood and can be up two 2 metres in diameter.

They need incredible rich, strong, dense, old pieces of wood to make these drums.... They'll last forever.
Trees in Japan that come with trunks of beautiful wood several metres wide aren't exactly a dime a dozen. In fact wood of this quality takes at least three hundred years to grow.

It makes these drums priceless.

There are only a few Taiko craftsmen in the world, they come from families that have been making the drums for centuries... A Taiko drum maker today uses wood from a tree planted by his great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather in 1709. He tends to trees planted by all his forefathers since that day and this year will plant a couple more in order for them to be used by his descendants in 2309.

The music is amazing. The tradition is ancient. The performances are equal parts brut force, delicacy, coreography and athleticism.

A good friend of mine is part of amazing Taiko ensemble in Sydney called Taikoz... Check it.
Also if ya want, check out Kodo (the worlds leading Taiko ensemble) play in this video.


When i was a pimple-faced kid in year 9 i had a rather heavy crush on a girl... she was heaps dfrnt to the other girls in my school because she wore more black and liked heavy metal... (sigh). Because of her, my two favorite bands were Alice In Chains and Sepultura.

The point of the story is that we used to listen to a song called Kamaitachi. By Sepultura (who if ya didn't know, are a metal band from brazil). Kamaitachi was an instrumental track which featured KODO (the worlds leading Taiko Ensemble). They recorded it at Kodo Village, Sado Island, Japan.

Brazilian Metal, Ancient Japanese Master Drumming and Shakuhachi. The drums pound, the music is heavy and the combination is haunting and pretty powerful. Unlike a lot of the metal I listened to in those days, I still dig this song.





(Bonus creepy Sepultura claymation film clip of classic song Ratamahata)

Damon Albarn is better without Blur

I wish the Dean of Melbourne "Con"servatorium of Music had told me that I could become Damon Albarn if I continued studying ethnomusicolagy.

H1 = First Class Honours = I heart Music Cultures of Asia

I could have done 2nd, 3rd and 4th year Ethnomusicology subjects too but I thought there was no future in studying world music.

I've just been looking at an extremely high resolution picture of my hero. Click it... it's massive. I get a bit gooey when I think about him. Even when he's covered in tomato.

For a Britpop sun of a gun, he's released some seriously out there sh*t. Travelled the world, researched his arse off, immersed himself in African and Asian music cultures and written produced some amazing music.

BLUR told everyone (a couple of months ago) that they're reforming... I don't know whether to lose my shit in excitement or crack the shits out of disappointment)

Damon, doesn't need Blur...

Here's a reverse chronological 5 song tour of Damon "tomato lover" Albarn and some of the amazing music he's written and played since. He don't need Blur.


Heavenly Peach Banquet - Monkey
One of the best songs written last year. Full stop. It's From his Chinese Opera. "Monkey - Journey To The West"
Continues my love of songs where I can't understand the words... I actually found a translation to the words while researching this... a little disappointing... its about a garden full of tasty Peaches. But it's wayyyy better than anything made by 'the presidents of the USA' Oh Yes the music is blissful. Blithful.

Kingdom Of Doom - The Good The Bad and The Queen
take 1 part Blur add, 1 part The Clash (Paul Simonon), add to one part Afro Beat Legend (Tony Allen, Fela Kuti etc...) and one part The Verve (Simon Tong)... This is a supergroup I'd love to cook to breakfast with. mournful, acoustic, afro, dub, pop, ballad - never heard anything like it.

The Last Living Souls - Gorillaz
Gorillaz first album was good... but had some filler. Gorillaz 2nd album was ridiculously freakin awesome... produced by Danger Mouse... this is the first track off that album... it sets the tone for a hip-hop, rock, pop, jazz, gospel, cartoon musical adventure. I think this is where Damon entered the stratosphere. The Live DVD of the album is a feast for the eyes too.

Niger - Mali Music
In 2000 Mr. Albarn traveled to Mali as an ambassador for Oxfam, along the way meeting and playing with dozens of musicians.

"He recorded his collaborations and returned to his London studio with more than 40 hours of music. "I spent two years figuring out how I could turn it into something that would satisfy me as a musician but also make some kind of cross-cultural link" - BBC

Then released this dreamy album in 2002.

Coffee and TV - BLUR
Back to his roots. Nuff Said. Pretty wickid but he's moved on.

Mango Pickle Down River

I was listening to MIA (daughter of a terrorist/freedomfighter... with questionable politics... watch this video for something heavy... it's a can of worms that I'm not going to get into. It's pretty graphic... definately MA15+...).

I thought her first album (Arular) was overrated... but I'm only just getting into Kala (the second one), I think it's brilliant... It's been out for, like, 2 years now, I'm hip.

Its got some mad tracks... party bangers galore, tasty beatz etc.
But among the hits is this understated, low fi sample of a disgeridoo and rhythm sticks

Mango Pickle Down River is an almost completely untreated version of the song Down River, which originally released by a 4 Aboriginal kids (aged 8 to 12) from Wilcannia. They were called The Walcannia Mob.
It came in at number 16 in Triple J's hottest 100 in 2002... I don't remember it (but my housemate Pineboy does).

The treatment of the music is so subtle that it could be a field recording. I've never heard the didgeridoo sound so right in a popular music style. Normally the Didge in rock, or sampled in dance or hip hop just SHITS me.

Here's a list of didge players that shit me...

1. Xavier Rudd. Australia's answer to Jack Johnson... music to fall asleep at the wheel to. And he plays 5 different didgeridoos... and a guitar... and some drums... and a djembe... jack of all trades, master of__________?
   
2. Cockatoo Pete - Have you ever been to Byron Bay? Have you ever stayed at the arts factory? Ever done the bushtucker tour with Cockatoo Pete? Need I say more?
3. The raver trance didge player on Bourke Street Mall that drones away with a hard progressive beatz in the background... very loud... not cool.
   

Sorry, I don't mean to get all Robert Doyle on you (idiot mayor of Melbourne).

Anyway, now for the music

Kudos to MIA. She found this slice of wonderfully innocent Aboriginal life (we don't always get to see that side of it) and gave it a worldwide audience. I think MIA's treatment of the music and lyrics is sensitive and clever. Sounds like she had fun doing her verses.

I get the same feeling from a series photos taken by an Australian artist Belinda Mason. This is one that one a human rights and equal opportunities commission award for best photo in 2008.

It's got the same vibe of valuing the simple life... although in this case, it's simple comparison between aboriginal life in the northern territory and white life in the city.

I think its a beautiful photo. (click to enlarge)

Ethnomusicology

When I studied music at 'The Con' in Melbourne. I got an outrageously good mark for this subject we had called "Music Cultures of Asia".
I rocked that sh*t. Ask me anything about Ragas, The Music of the Highland Hmong or Kecak. I can tell you soooo much stuff!

Anyway, I think you should watch this. It's mesmerising.




Now watch this (below).
The video is really bad, (so listen to it, you don't have to watch) but its the only way I could stream the music.
Indonesian KECAK, heavy metal stylee... At 2 minutes 40 into this video. Amazing. Inspirational. Crazy. Ridiculous. I miss Mr. Bungle, but I'm happy that Mike Patton is back playing with his second best band eva. Faith No More.

Goodbye Sober Day



i got sent a letter from the Dean of my university advising that I should specialise in ethnomusicology.
Not much in the way of a career path if you're an ethnomusicologist... There ain't a big demand for them. No-ones paying big money for ethonomusicologists...

But maybe I should have become an ethnomusicologist because I LOVE it when I'm listening to some cool music and I hear a band that have looked in interesting places for their influences. My ears prick up and try and place the heritage of the sounds.

So. Listen to this. It's my favorite song of the last 2 days. It ticks all the boxes for me.





It's cacophonous at times and pulls it's influences from all over the world. So many different sounds that it's kind of created something new...

Dig it!

The other boxes they tick are.

Asian/middle eastern Sounds.
Medievil Choir Chanting Harmonies
Cool Voice, sounds like she's the chick from THE KNIFE
Can't understand the lyrics (i love not understanding lyrics, or not having any at all)
Radicool Synth Bits.
Great Guitar work.
Funny/interesting song structures
it's released on WARP (which makes me go weak at the kneeeze)


GANG GANG DANCE - HOUSE JAM...