I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I got on the phone with Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez, and Sean Kinney of Alice in Chains (William DuVall was unfortunately unable to make it, but the guys had plenty of good things to say about their friend and fellow band member.)
I wanted to ask them about Layne Staley, and reforming as a band, and adding a new member (William), and their new album (Black Gives Way to Blue), but I thought they might be tired of answering the same old interview questions. Fortunately, however, conversation flowed freely, and the guys were a lot of fun to chat with. They were genuine, honest, and engaging, and it shows.
What I found most eye-opening was their story of how Black Gives Way to Bluecame into being (it wasn't planned!). Listen to this story and more in the 17-minute interview, and check out song samples from the new album below.
Earlier this summer, on one of the hottest days in the history of Seattle, I sat down with Mercury Prize-nominated artist Elly Jackson, half of British electronic pop sensation La Roux, before one of just a handful of stateside club shows she played prior to her band's domestic release. With her partner-in-music Ben Langmaid, the 21-year-old Ms. Jackson has created one of my favorite records of the year, La Roux's self-titled debut, which made its much-anticipated appearance on American shores just this week.
With a bevy of UK top 10 singles ("Bulletproof," "In For The Kill," "Quicksand"), critical acclaim, and superstar status across the pond, La Roux is poised to make a big splash here in the states. We talked about songwriting, the '80s, and the band's international potential, among other things. Check out the interview below.
David Gray
has come full circle back to his roots on his latest release, Draw the Line, which is
significant given the fact that he could have easily succumb to the many distractions
of success. Long-time fans of David Gray who gravitated to his earlier releases including A Century Ends, Flesh, and Sell, Sell, Sell will be happy to know he has
not wandered far from the musical path he set out on nearly 20 years ago.
The
result is a humble album punctuated by his gritty baritone, layered acoustics,
and a sobering thrush that comes across as an amped-up middle-aged confession
half the time, and a sweet lullaby the rest.
After the
overwhelming success he garnered from 2000’s White Ladder, followed by an introspective period that
included more down tempo and ethereal albums, Gray returns with a bit of idyllic
hope delivered with his own brand of cynicism and irony.
In my
interview with him, David Gray was gracious with his time and quite conversational
in talking about Draw The Line
and the multiple journeys that inspired it. He admitted to being full of
confidence following a long period where he was stuck in the “shock of success” that
descended on him with the ubiquitous accolades and critical acclaim of White Ladder. Now liberated from that
period that tested his personal demons, David Gray feels a new presence and sense of
purpose as he reflects and bears his musical soul to us all, more content than
ever with his life and his music.
Hear it all in the 14 minute interview, and enjoy.
Ex-Dire Straits guitarist and front man Mark Knopfler has a new album, Get Lucky, and we talked to him about in this recent interview. Mark sounded pretty mellow, and so does the album. But fans of Dire Straits and his solo material should enjoy another fine offering from the Sultan of Swing.
And no, I did not ask him if he still wants his MTV. Damn, I wish I had thought of that one sooner. Then again, not.
"Coldplay, currently on tour...." That statement will probably be accurate for the next few years,as the band seems to be on the road permanently. In the early stages of the Viva La Vida tour, after postponements for illness, permission for music etc., we got a slot to speak with the famed front man of the British mega-group.
I wondered how he'd be. There are topics you obviously steer away from with Mr. Martin, if you want your full ten minutes, so I stuck with the world of live performance and he turned out to be attentive and worthwhile (you'll let me know if you disagree. :) He probably did a score of similar length "phoners" before and after our time together that day, but I was struck by how well he chooses his words. -- Hugo Munday
The last place in the world I would have expected a musical revolution to take place would have been renaissance vocal music. How many different ways can a group sing "Now is the Month of Maying"? Beginning with The Deller Consort in 1948, we've enjoyed a usually high standard of vocal ensembles and since the 1970's the major universities and conservatories of the world have gestated a group of note every five years or so. Making things more unlikely, the newest kids on the block have arrived on the most well-beaten path for groups like this. Most are ex-choral scholars from Cambridge University.
The ensemble in question is Stile Antico and over the last few years they have broken into a different paradigm of performance for vocal groups of this sort. Recently harmonia mundi released their third recording Song of Songs and they've just completed their US debut at the Boston Early Music Festival.
As the title suggests, this recording is a compilation of renaissance compositions using texts from the Song of Solomon, the biblical collection of love poetry, purportedly written by King Solomon to a Shulamite girl.
Many groups have fished in this pool before, but Stile Antico's repertoire choices and exquisite program notes (written by Matthew O'Donovan, one of the basses) draw a well delineated link between the surge in medieval popularity and the suitability of these texts for the purposes of the Marian 'cult' that portrayed the Virgin Mary as the representation of the church as a whole.
This album holds together as a concert and a concept better than any other attempt at this repertoire that I have heard (actually, all three of their albums do that) but Stile Antico really set themselves apart in the way in which they perform. These musicians work without a conductor, which is common practice for chamber instrumentalists, but uncommon in a group of this size. Perilous as the concept might sound for a group of singers, I've never heard people present this repertoire with such a high level of commitment.
I'm currently mixing an interview with Carris Jones, one of the Altos in the group, that I'll post here, but far better than I can, Carris sums up the quantum shift the choice of no conductor makes in the collective consciousness of the group.
"It give us, most importantly, a direct communication with our audiences and it means that we cannot, any of us, go on what I would term "choral autopilot." We're not conveying what one other person, i.e. a conductor, wants us to convey. We're conveying a message what we have got together as a group, agreed corporately, rehearsed over many weeks and then put that practice into performance and it's a very different discipline to singing for a conductor."
I include a couple of samples so you can judge for yourself, but any of the tracks on the MP3 page show what this group is about. Also their other releases, Music for Compline and Heavenly Harmonies offer the same exquisite ensemble and intelligent programming choices. I know the group will be in New York in October, this year, but for a full breakdown of their concert itinerary I'd check their website. This repertoire has never been more engaging. -- Hugo Munday
Plenty of rappers rhyme about the hardships of their origins, but few hail from 'hoods like Mogadishu. The Somali capital has been one of the world's most violent cities for at least a generation, so when K'Naan portrays poverty and lawless gangsterism, you know you're not in the presence of hip-hop's historically familiar posing.
K'naan's debut album, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, was nothing short of revelatory. A musical and lyrical masterwork, the bilingual album won him major accolades in Canada--his adopted home--and yielded some of the notable connections who joined forces for the follow-up, Troubadour (coming out Feb. 24).
ChordStrike recently caught up with K'Naan in New York. Listen in:
I recently had a chance to talk to Lost Highway recording artist Johnny Flynn when he came through Seattle on his tour (which also featured ingenue Laura Marling). Listen to what this Shakespearian scholar, poet, and songwriter had to say about his 2008 release, A Larum, Superman outfits, and Levon Helm.
--Renata Sadunas
P.S. Our music team granted A Larum a spot on their list of top 10 folk albums of 2008. Click here to see our complete array Best of the Year lists.
I recently had the chance to speak with Ziggy Marley, son of the legendary reggae star Bob Marley,
and an accomplished musician in his own right. Listen to what he had to
say about his dad, Barack Obama, and life on other planets.
I had the chance to talk to Ziggy Marley earlier this week. In prepping for my interview I came across this video of Ziggy performing "Redemption Song," with Lauryn Hill. Remember her? (Oh Lauryn, where have you gone?) She has five children by Ziggy's brother Rohan, to whom she is "spiritually" betrothed (i.e. they're not legally married). I was dying to ask him if he knows what Lauryn is up to, but I totally chickened out. We did, however, talk about his upbringing, his legendary father, and the recent elections. Stay tuned for the interview. I'll post it as soon as it's edited. In the meantime, check out Ziggy and Lauryn, in her former glory.
As music lists go, author Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die is pretty much the mother lode. And if you hang around music journalists, or music junkies of any stripe, you might expect the writer of such a list to be of the sort who likes to bludgeon you over the head with the encyclopedic breadth of his or her knowledge, before impaling you with his or her tastes. Which is why a conversation with Moon is such a welcome surprise. To wit:
As I mentioned a while back, the lovely, bespectacled Lisa Loeb recently stopped by our offices to chit chat and play us a few songs from her recent release Camp Lisa. We are thrilled to announce that we're the exclusive retailer for the digital version of Camp Lisa, which releases today. Hear what Lisa had to say about her own summer camp memories; dating advice; and yes, for all of you reality TV junkies, #1 Single. Has she found her Prince Charming? I couldn't resist asking. Listen and find out.
Makana recently dropped by the Amazon Music offices to chat with
Chordstrike
about his new album, and give us a lesson on the traditional Hawaiian
art of slack key guitar. If you like music of any kind, I think you'll find the history of slack key fascinating, and Makana's talent humbling.
Makana was recently invited to compete live in
Guitar Player's Guitar Superstar Competition: an honor bestowed
to only 10 artists. The winner will be decided in San Francisco on
September 13. Take a listen and let me know what you think.
You know and love her from the big screen, but more than just a lovely face on camera, Scarlett Johansson also has a powerfully evocative singing voice. On her first album of Tom Waits covers, Scarlett proves that she knows a thing or two about picking good music to showcase her voice while surrounding herself with talented musicians including TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, as well as the one and only David Bowie.
Check out Chordstrike's latest new music interview to learn more about Scarlett Johansson's self-defined inner free bird, her baritone singing voice, her approach to covering venerable Tom Waits tunes, and the collaborative partners she worked with to foment a solid soundscape for her sultry vox.
Esperanza Spalding is the freshest face in jazz today. Exhuberant and youthful, this 23 year-old stand-up bass player and vocalist is the youngest professor ever at the renownedBerklee College of Music. She recently stopped by Amazon for a performance and a chat before her stint at Seattle's Jazz Alley. Unfortunately, the Editor (read:me) in question had some technical difficulties with the recording, and it came out sounding like garbled fuzz. So, in lieu of that, check out Esperazna speaking for herself on the clip below, or watch her on the CBS Saturday Morning show tomorrow. If you are not a jazz fan, you will be soon after you see her perform.
My colleague Matt Wold and I recently caught up with the Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, and Cindy Wilson, collectively known as the B-52s, backstage at the Seattle leg of True Colors tour. Listen to what America's favorite party band had to say about their new album, Funplex; spontaneuous combustion; and selling herring off the back of a mule in Ireland. (Yes, you read that correctly.) The Bs haven't aged a bit, and were ebullient despite having just finished their high-octane set, which just goes to show that all of that fun does a body good. Conclusion: these Bs still have their sting.
My colleague Matt Wold and I recently had the chance to speak to '80s icon Cyndi Lauper backstage at her True Colors tour. Still fiery, Cyndi talked to us about her new dance album Bring Ya to the Brink; her business savvy 10.5 year-old; and the importance of having a disco ball in your kitchen. Though she's probably best known for her single, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," I found she's pretty hell bent on the serious matter of making the world a better place for all of it's inhabitants.
There's no shame in being smitten, so I'll admit it openly. Despite there being good reason to be turned off by Ingrid Michaelson's wider cultural associations, I just can't help myself. Sure, she's inextricably linked with Grey's Anatomy (slobber, drool, mawk) and the Gap (need I go on?), but nevertheless, I'm hooked.
Which is why I cut as much of my fawning as possible out of my interview with her. (Thank God for the fact that puppy-dog eyes don't come through in a podcast...)
Since we spoke, Michaelson has floated a new single, "Be OK," a track from her upcoming CD of the same name--a benefit project for Stand Up to Cancer--due October 14. Check it out.
