Had the distinct pleasure of spending a fair amount of time with Robin Hannibal and Coco of Denmark’s Quadron just before Halloween. I actually picked up Robin & Coco and drove them to KPFK for the interview, so we spent a long time discussing a number of topics, only some of which makes it into this interview. At slightly over one hour all together, I decided to split up the interview over two weeks on Melting Pot, but it’s here as the full session.
Quadron sign copies of their CD for KPFK listeners
We cover a number of topics, from the origins of the band, a bit of their influences, the state of soul music in Denmark and here in the States and a really interesting discussion of issues of race, which finally solved the puzzle behind the band’s name. The songs here are different versions of tracks that can mostly be found elsewhere, stripped down versions performed in the KPFK studios, via keyboards and laptop and that exceptional voice from Coco. Included are VERY different versions of “Simili Life” and “Pressure” from the album and a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Baby Be Mine.”
I’m really happy that the group has found a number of kindred spirits here in the Los Angeles area, it will be very interesting to see how being in LA will affect the group’s sound on the next record. This one is definitely a group to watch here in coming years and this is one of the most special sessions I’ve been a part of since I got started in radio. Big big thanks to Andrew Lojero for setting things up and Stan Misraje for doing the sound and most importantly to Robin & Coco for sharing their music with us on Melting Pot.
Yesterday’s show felt a bit schizophrenic. Perhaps it’s just because my mind has been in so many different places lately, tons of grading from work, getting ready to move to new digs, simultaneous surprise and ambivalence about the recent election and absolute shock over the sentence of Johannes Merle, who killed Oscar Grant, and the apparently small price of a human life. With all that as the backdrop, the show swings in two directions, mostly soulful or garagey rockin’, not sure why, but that’s the way it went. There were a ton of giveaways during the show (a big reason to listen live if you are in the LA area, though a few of these do make their way here), but really it was about the music, with new tunes from Dum Dum Girls, Zion I, Depedro, Frankie & the Outs, Chico Mann and Mansfield TYA. At the start of the second hour there is the second half of the Quadron interview (you can hear the whole interview right here), for which there was a tremendous response, which I’ll definitely let Robin & Coco know. Matter of fact, there were just a bunch of calls about this week’s show, and I really do appreciate how things are going as we continue to build on KPFK. Next week I’ll be moving, so you’ll be left in the very capable hands of Soul-sides.com’s Oliver Wang.
{opening theme} Booker T. & the MGs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)
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TL Barrett – Nobody Knows – Like A Ship (Light In The Attic)
Zion I – The Sun Came Out – Atomic Clock (Gold Dust)
Myron & E with the Soul Investigators – Pot Club – 7” (Timmion)
Ronn Forella – Crystals – Groove Merchant 20 (Ubiquity/Luv ‘n Haight)
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Mayer Hawthorne – No Strings (Jazzy Jeff’s Roller Boogie Remix) – 12” (Stones Throw)
Chico Mann – Mentirosos – Analog Drift (Wax Poetics)
Belleruche – You Me Us Them – 270 Stories (Tru Thoughts)
Bill Frisell – Dec. 25th – Beautiful Dreamers (Savoy Jazz)
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Warpaint – Shadows – The Fool (Rough Trade)
Frankie Rose & the Outs – Little Brown Haired Girls – Frankie Rose & the Outs (Slumberland)
Corin Tucker Band – Riley – 1,000 Years (Kill Rock Stars)
Best Coast – The End – Crazy For You (Mexican Summer)
Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Come Saturday – Pains OF Being Pure At Heart (Slumberland)
Real Estate – Let’s Rock The Beach – Real Estate (Woodist)
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Quadron – Simili Life – Quadron (Plug Research)
Quadron Performance and Interview at KPFK Part 2
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Quadron – Average Fruit – Quadron (Plug Research)
Depedro – Eternamente – Nubes De Papel (Nat Geo)
Ikonika – Yoshimitzu – 12” (Hyperdub)
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Sleater Kinney – The Remainder – One Beat (Kill Rock Stars)
Dum Dum Girls – Last Caress – 7” (Slumberland)
Mansfield TYA – Refair Tout Comme Hier – 7” (Vicious Circle)
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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar (Kemado)
Last Call at a bar like Footsies requires a proper soundtrack...
With all the attention on 45s this past week, seemed like the right time to do another all 45 post. The prior two have been around a theme, so I thought I’d keep that with this one too and play some slower tracks that seem oh so appropriate as the night is winding down just after the bartender lets you know it is “Last Call.” I haven’t always put it into practice when I’ve spun out, but I feel like a good night of music should wind itself down to the end, with some deep soul. So, I’ve picked out a couple of favorites of tunes I have on 45 that would work nicely as the night ends.
Franciene Thomas - Too Beautiful To Be Good - Tragar
Franciene Thomas – Too Beautiful To Be Good
The pace on this one might be a little too quick, but I love the sentiment and the interplay of the horns and the strings which give it this epic quality that definitely does fit the mood of an end of the night. Thomas’ vocals are beyond raw, even on a slower song like this, she just knocks you out with the strength in her voice, as she runs down one hell of a dilemma regarding her doubtful man. This one is the flipside to one of my all-time favorite dancefloor burners, “I’ll Be There,” a truly dynamite bit of wax on the Tragar label out of my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. It is a tragedy that Franciene Thomas did not record any more sides than these two, but lord am I thankful that she did these.
Linda Jones - Hypnotized - Hot Groove
Linda Jones – Hypnotized
This one has been in my mind quite a bit lately, since Mayer Hawthorne sampled it in one of his more recent singles. I’d never heard it before running into a copy of this split 45 at Bagatelle a couple of years ago. I’m still blown away by all the elements, the made for Hip-Hop production sound with those drums and the bells, the background singers and above all else the performance from Jones. She just kills it throughout, but especially when she sings “I’ll Go Wherever You Want Me To Go…” and those “La Da Da, Ha Ha”‘s she does a couple of times…slays me everytime.
Rudy Ray Moore - Easy Easy Baby - Generation
Rudy Ray Moore – Easy Easy Baby
Rudy Ray Moore is best known as Dolemite, but he’d cut a number of LPs and 45s before becoming immortalized by his run of blaxploitation films. Like several other tracks in this post, I’d picked this one up for the flip side, a nice and playful mid-tempo track “Put Your Weight On It,” but over time this track on the flip side has become a personal favorite, maybe because “slow and easy is my style” or maybe it’s just the drunken slightly debauched vibe of the whole piece, it just sounds like “Last Call.” Whatever the case, “Easy Baby” definitely shows that Moore could have been a pretty decent soul singer if he’d wanted to be.
Betty Harris - Can't Last Much Longer - Sansu
Betty Harris – Can’t Last Much Longer
No post on slow deep soul tracks would be complete without some New Orleans soul. I’d had this one in my collection for probably a good ten years before I finally checked out this super slow soulful number produced by Allen Toussaint (who I imagine is responsible for the lovely descending/ascending lines on the piano). Betty Harris lays down such soulful vocals that you’d swear you can hear the tears fall in the background, especially when Harris and the background singers mention that this man won’t even call. You almost don’t even notice that this is another in a long line of cheatin’ songs where the singer is waiting for some other woman’s man…
Toussaint McCall - Nothing Takes The Place Of You - Ronn
Toussaint McCall – Nothing Takes The Place of You
The final track for this particular post also has a NOLA connection to it, from Toussaint McCall. It’s interesting to me that most of us DJs who dig on raw funk and the like, would only pick this up because of the flipside, the upbeat organ-grinder “Shimmy,” but “Nothing” was actually a really big hit for McCall back in 1967 (which explains why “Shimmy” is almost always to be found for a reasonable price, despite it’s speaker burning potential). With lyrics full of deep longing for the one you love, it’s the perfect song to close out a night of fine music, and it also will close out this particular 45 edition of Dig Deep.
I’ve been a fan of the Heavy ever since I first heard a few of their songs on an advance single ahead of their first release “Great Vengeance and Furious Fire” in 2007. Kelvin Swaby, lead singer, was already on my radar because of some work previously done with one of my favorite trip-hop acts, Alpha. The Heavy on record are largely a rock group, often aided by samples. Live they are nothing but a high octane rock’n’roll act, with Swaby bouncing all over the stage. In a relatively short period of time they’ve moved from playing smaller venues like the Echo, to being a supporting act for the likes of Sharon Jones to headlining the El Rey all by themselves.
A measure of their success is based on the ace placement of one of their songs in a KIA commercial, but the boys (and girl, perhaps, if Little Hannah Collins is still in the group) have the chops to stay in the game a bit longer than some of their commercial assisted peers. If you want tickets to the see UK’s The Heavy perform at the El Rey in Los Angeles, make sure to e-mail me at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before Noon on Friday 11/5!
For your musical enjoyment and general bemusement, here’s the KIA commercial that made the boys stars…one of the better stories to come out of the use of music in commercials.
Just as an additional track, here’s one of my favorites from their superior debut record:
Everytime I hear this song from Real Estate, it makes me smile, widely. For me it’s got a very specific kind of vibe, late summer, when you’re 18 and everything in the world is full of wild promise and anxious uncertainty at the same time. I’ve loved just about everything I’ve heard from this band, but this song might just be one of my favorites of this year. The flip side on this 7″, “Out Of Tune” is also rather lovely, with a slower tempo and a very different late summer vibe. Right now, this band can do no wrong in my book.
Scott Craig lays some serious funky treats on Melting Pot's listeners!
Scott Craig of Records LA was our second guest DJ during this October’s end of the month all vinyl shenanigans on Melting Pot, appropriately held on Halloween. As I’ve mentioned before, since opening it’s doors almost exactly one year ago, Records LA has been and remains one of my favorite record stores in Souther Cali. Like Groove Merchant up north, there’s a little bit of everything for people at this store, from the mega rare to the super solid. What sets Scott’s store apart from others is the wealth of quality 45s, often at rock bottom prices.
For his guest spot on Melting Pot, Scott layed nothing but heavy funky treats on listeners during his 30+ minute guest spot, all on original 45 vinyl, with one exception…an honest to goodness Keb Darge dub plate of the already absurdly rare Pearly Queen 45 “Quit Jivin.”
A Keb Darge Dub Plate of Quit Jivin from Scott Craig's collection
The story that Scott relayed to me was that at one point Keb Darge sold a lot of his rare records, but cut dub plates of many of them, only to subsequently depart with some of these Dub Plates too. As rare as the original is, I wonder how many of these Darge Dub Plates are out there!
The jams just kept coming after that, with a super rare private press Little Anthony (yes THAT Little Anthony) record with some super fresh vocalizing, M.D.L.T. Willis’ Jackson 5 produced, “What’s Your Game” and one of the oddest and illest funky tracks I’ve heard “Key To Your Love.”
According to Scott this one is a mega rarity out of Detroit, recorded in the 1980s with some of the craziest sounding production I’ve ever heard on the drums and guitar…just insane production, like I mean that literally, was there a mentally unstable person at the board? When you hear those drums you’ll see what I mean. Scott closed things up with some righteous soul sounds from Main Events, a 45 I’ll definitely be on the look out for, in addition to all the rest as will you as soon as you heard this set.
Gene Anderson – Gigilo
Marboro Men – Ride On
Incomparable 7 – Funky Grandpa
Prolifics – Guts
Pearly Queen – Quit Jivin’
Shackleford Singers – God Is All Over Me
Belita Woods – Grounded
Little Anthony – Nothing From Nothing
M.D.L.T. Willis – What’s Your Game
L. Lavollis – Key To Your Love
Main Events – I Want You To Remember
{Not Included: Instrumental during the on-air break Eunice Collins – At The Hotel}
Had a truly fine time yesterday on the radio show, even though some Gremlins apparently were playing some tricks on me with technology issues (or perhaps the vinyl gods were displeased that I was going to use a bit of Serato during my Halloween set at the end of this otherwise all vinyl show…), but thankfully they didn’t stop all the treats we had for you during yesterday’s show. Started things off with a big thank you, via Sam & Dave, to everyone who pledged during KPFK’s recent fundraiser…you didn’t have to, but you did, and I thank you as does everyone else at KPFK. Also played “Willow Tree” from Gregory Isaacs, just as a far to short tribute to the amazing singer who passed away earlier in the week.
This show featured a couple of really special treats. In the first hour we had a truly dynamite guest set from Scott Craig of Records LA, (click here to hear this set all by itself) and in the second hour we had the 1st part of an interview and performance I did this week with Denmark’s Quadron! I’ll be posting up the full interview early next week, after I air part 2 this sunday. They performed “stripped down” versions of their tracks “Simili Life” and “Pressure” during this part of the interview and we talked about how the group got together and also about their take on a truly modern soul sound. Part 2 next week also includes a couple of exclusive performances just for us so you definitely want to tune in to hear it!
The show closed with a special Halloween inspired set. In the studio there was another sneak attack of Gremlins messing with my recording, so I had to redo the set at home and mix it into the original show. You miss my final break, but you get a nice mini Halloween set that I hope you enjoy. Next week we’ve got a TON of new music that’s been accumulating since the October fundraiser began, plus the second half of the Quadron interview (this time with a giveaway)!
{opening theme} Boris Gardiner – Melting Pot – Is What’s Happening (Dynamic)
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Sam & Dave – I Thank You – I Thank You (Stax)
Jun Mayuzumi – Black Room – 7” (Capitol)
The Inner Drive – Party Man – 7” (Zodiac)
The Style Council – Headstart for Happiness – 12” (Polydor)
Gregory Isaacs – Willow Tree – Best of Gregory Isaacs (Heartbeat)
Jimmy McGriff – Fat Cakes/New Volume – Soul Sugar (Capitol)
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Scott Craig Guest DJ Set
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Quadron Performance and Interview at the KPFK Studios
Quadron – Day – Quadron (Plug Research)
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Halloween Spooky Set:
John Carpenter – Halloween Theme
The Heavy – Sixteen
Screaming Jay Hawkins – I Put A Spell On You
The Frantics – Werewolf
The Creation – Nightmares
Michael Jackson – Thriller
Peter Bardens – Don’t Goof With A Spook
Peter Bardens – I Can’t Remember
Peter Bardens – The Answer
Picked this up recently at Atomic in Burbank. Sometimes when I’m at record stores as I’m flipping through 100s of records that I don’t think I want, I wonder how many albums I’ve passed by just because for whatever reason the cover didn’t spark anything with me. Conversely I can’t quite figure out why certain albums seem to stick out from the rest. I’m not sure what it was about this one that got my attention, the cover isn’t that striking, though it does have a bit of an odd color scheme and design. The fact it was a rock record on Verve probably piqued my interest, but I’d never heard of Peter Bardens before happening upon this album.
Turns out, Bardens was more than just a bit player in the British blues/rock scene of the 1960s, playing along with Ray Davies of the Kinks, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, Rod Stewart and was even a member of Them with Van Morrison. When I run into records from artists like this, who seemed to work with everyone, but I still didn’t know their name, it makes think that there must be a reason for that and my expectations for the music get lowered tremendously. In this case I chose to side with pedigree, and picked up the LP to give it a shot.
“The Answer” was Bardens’ proper debut as a solo artist and it’s largely a mixed bag. It does have some really strong moments, with eccentric vocal stylings from Bardens and some pretty fantastic guitar from a person who is credited as “Andy Gee” but sure does sound a lot like Peter Green. Green’s sound on guitar is one of my all-time favorites, so it’s virtually unmistakeable when you hear that trademark use of feedback especially on the just in time for Halloween, “Don’t Goof With A Spook” and the title track.
“I Can’t Remember” is a super-sized stoner anthem, replete with toking sound effects, “I Don’t Want To Go Home” features some nice flute work though that musician also is uncredited. I could have done without the rambling workout on “Homage To The God Of Light” or the forgettable “Let’s Get It On” but I’ll likely hold on to this one just for the Peter Green connection and the tunes that take up the whole first side (all posted here). Apparently there is a alternate version of this with a mildly salacious cover that is fairly collectible, but all in all, really solid work from a diggin’ leap of faith.
One of the most iconic DJs in all of turntabledom will be in the Los Angeles area for two shows this upcoming week, DJ Shadow. We’ll be giving away tickets to his Anaheim show during Melting Pot this weekend, but I also have tickets to see him in Los Angeles at the House of Blues on Sunset on Halloween night! If you’d like to go courtesy of Melting Pot, just drop me a line at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before 12noon on Saturday, October 30th, and don’t forget about the other DJ extravaganza that we’re giving tickets away for too, Ninja Tune XX!
The Cool Ruler...Gregory Isaacs. May you rest in peace...
Just yesterday I found out that legendary singer Gregory Isaacs passed away due to complications with lung cancer. For longer than I can remember I’ve had a love affair with the music of Jamaica. Beginning with Bob Marley and moving through Roots to Dance Hall to Ska and Rock Steady and all points in between and back again over the years. Of all the artists from JA that I’ve loved, I’m not sure there’s a better singer than Gregory Isaacs. In truth, I’d rank Isaacs up there in a list of great soul singers of any genre and any locale. For me what separated Isaacs from the others was the intense intimacy of his phrasing and his voice. Like other great singers, it didn’t matter how many times you’d heard a song before Isaacs sang it, when he sang the song, it was his. Below are a few of my favorite performances from the legendary Cool Ruler, whose voice will continue to make the lover’s rock…
{honorable mention…or maybe 5 1/2} “Let’s Dance”
For me this is the quintessential “lover’s rock” jam, built for late nights with your one and only. It features some very rare admissions of tenderness from a man as Isaacs sings “As we embrace and your heart gets close to mine, I get so excited I could cry.”
5. “Storm”
One of my favorite King Tubby riddims pared with Mr. Isaacs equals nothing but pure gold to the ears and the call to remember, “whenever there is a storm, I know there’s got to be a calm.”
4. “One More Time”
From what remains my single favorite Reggae album of all time, 1978’s Cool Ruler, is this upbeat roots rocker where Isaacs begs for his woman to “cool down” and give him “one more chance.” How could anyone resist the Cool Ruler?
3. “My Number One”
Certainly one of his greatest sides, as he attempts test his lover and determine her “future plans” to see if her love is truly true.
2. “Native Woman”
Also from 1978’s Cool Ruler, this one might be the best, most honest and deepest expression of love I’ve heard in a reggae track. I love how this “Native Woman” does not seem to be perfect, as Isaac’s says “she brings me joy into the morning, sometimes.” but its this woman who occupies his mind so totally that “her voice awakes [him] sometimes out of [his] sleep.”
1. “Willow Tree”
I don’t think “Willow Tree” is really considered one of his great sides, Isaacs fans would probably be shocked that “Night Nurse” isn’t even on this list, but “Willow Tree” remains my favorite track from Isaacs because of the deep feeling of intimacy he expresses through his phrasing. When he sings to the Willow tree, “cry not for me, my willow tree,” you can almost picture Isaacs caressing the face (if trees had faces) of the Weeping Willow, pleading with it to stop its tears, because Isaacs has found all that he’s ever been looking for in the love of his life, a “love I’ve searched for.” When Isaacs sings those lines he sounds as if he himself is on the verge of tears, which is exactly what I’m almost brought to everytime I hear it because of range of emotion brought out by Mr. Isaacs, a talent that this world is going to miss dearly.
{Congrats to Stephanie A. and Greg E. winners of the tickets to Ninja Tune XX!!!}
Ninja Tune is one of the longest running and most respected electronic music labels out there with a roster that has featured some of the best DJs and producers in recent memory, including Kid Koala, Amon Tobin, Coldcut, Bonobo, The Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Vadim, Up Bustle & Out, Deadelus, The Bug and the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a series of shows all over the world and will be here in LA on Oct. 30th, taking over both the Echoplex and the Echo as part of the festivities. if you’d like to go to join in the revelry with Kid Koala, Amon Tobin + special guest Cut Chemist, just drop me a line at michael[at]meltingpotblog.com before 12noon on Friday.
Couple of high concept examples of what you’ll hear from two of my favorite DJ/Producers of all time:
For those of you who don’t know Chico Mann is a long-time member of the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. You certainly catch some of that afro-beat feel on several tracks (of which “Mentirosos” is my current fave) on this new album “Analog Drift” but much of it is squarely in a very interesting latin+electro style. Not having heard much of his solo work, I don’t know what I was expecting, but the whole record has been a pleasant surprise, including the fact that it’s put out by Wax Poetics.
Arnold Bean – I Can See Through You
Arnold Bean – Captain Marvel
Arnold Bean – Fortune and Fame
Found this thumbing through some uncategorized LPs lying around over at Action Records in Hollywood (previously known as A-1 Records and As The Record Turns, and it seems a few other names over the years). It was right next to a sealed copy of the US Apple Corps’ debut, (the one they released prior to this one) and being on SSS, I figured it might have a similar style. Additionally, with the hippified cover art and a song called “Daddy’s Got The Clap” I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Without a price tag on the LP though I was a little worried, since I didn’t know what Kevin was going to put this out for. Action records is a pretty high-end spot, a place to hit up when you are looking for a rare record and can’t seem to turn it up anywhere else…Kevin’s probably got 4 copies of it sealed. Surprisingly, the price turned out to be the best possible one, absolutely free. Dude just threw it in after I bought a couple of other records (something he’s done most everytime I’ve been, with the free records being almost as good as the ones I actually paid money for, mighty mighty cool).
From what I’ve been able to gather, primarily from their facebook page, Arnold Bean was not a person, but the name of a group that featured a couple of brothers, Michael & Herb Guthrie, as the primary members and a slew of their good buddies from time to time. They appear to have been based in Georgia, which might explain some of the attraction I have to this music. The sound of the album definitely has a bit of a country-fied feel to it, not quite blues based enough for it to be Southern Rock, not quite psychedelic enough to be considered Acid Rock, just some place in the middle. There are times where they sound very polished, other times where they sound pretty amateurish, like a band some of your high school friends used to be in, you know the music doesn’t quite stack up against more adept players, but it just has a special charm to it.
“I Can See Through You” showcases the best aspects of the band, really easy style to the vocals, nice rolling guitar lines and extra crisp drum work. It’s the combination of these elements, especially during the chorus, that makes this song my favorite on the record and one that I find myself returning the needle to the grooves again and again since I picked this one up. “Captain Marvel” has a nice style and sound to it too, with its breaktastic opening bass, poppy snare and cymbal crashes. “Fortune & Fame” is one of the more solid tracks on the album and serves as a nice closer for our purposes. Turned out that “My Daddy’s Got The Clap” actually ended up being one of my least favorite tracks, a very conventional rocker that sounds a bit like the Beatles’ “Get Back,” that never cashes in on the promise of its title. Thankfully the rest of the album did not disappoint, despite not costing me anything but some dusty fingers and a bit of time.
