Thursday, October 2, 2008

Even Dwarves Started Minimal






Here are some reasons not to be afraid of dread minimal. Because even dwarves started that way: as one can see, it doesn't mean you have to stay there. You can get up on that big-person Harley and kill that shit.

1: Every generation gets the "Sinnerman" remix it deserves. Who takes care of it for us? Luciano, aka Villalobos Jr. It sounds like he's using a live recording, so he includes the applause but drenches it in trebly reverb, which sounds cool. Actually using the live version in general is a cool idea. This mix is pretty great, now that I think about it. It cuts out alot of the verse, loops the piano riff forever, and then all of sudden Nina's free, impassioned pleading soars like a fiery eagle. Intense - it sounds like she's slamming her body on the keys in exhaustion. I picked it up from the Dirty Sound System blog, Alain Finkielkrautrock, which you should read. It's what I would do if I were French and awesome. I'm only one of those things (not French). 




Nina



Luciano

2. Brooklyn Club Jam. Jacques Renault is a much-lauded NY dj who plays at 205 every Tues.



Jacques Renault

I recommend riding for his skills and for this track produced under the "Runaway" alias. Surprisingly it has very little to do with NYC or what New York sounds like, which is good. There's no no wave parts or ESG brittle-bone funk parts or schizo-posturing parts, it's just a deep kind of lo-fi minimal burner with heavy tribal beats and uplifting piano. very solid. It gives me faith that New York can produce straight dance music and not have to 'hot chip'-it up or anything for indie fascism. 






3. Stimming's "Una Pena". More latin-tinged minimal. Very danceable, heavy clap, with a gorgeous, invigorating Espanol vocal from Violeta Parra, an older Chilean singer.


Violeta Parra

Guess what? Her brother is the famous Chilean anti-poet Nicanor Parra, who I know about because my friend Pia is writing on him. The Parras were heavily involved in reviving the Penas in Chile, community, arts and political activist centers that became banned by the military coup that overthrew Allende in the 70s. 

Here's Parra's original. It is pretty great. Youtube = the whole universe.

Violeta Parra - arauco tiene una pena

1 comment:

Sovietpanda said...

I think the 205 Tuesdays are dead