Michael Jackson‘Who is it’ (original mix): ‘Ice Cap Zone 1′ Sonic the Hedgehog 3 OST
So electronic artist Fluorescent Grey out of California believes he has discovered a link between Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and bits and pieces of MJ’s catalog. Here is what he posted this morning:
“for those unaware of this piece of music history trivia, Michael Jackson was hired by Sega to compose the music for sonic the hedgehog 3, for whatever reason he was let go from the project. Sega ended up using the songs anyways with minor changes done to them, and Michel Jackson himself used several of these original versions to later make the hits ‘Black and White’ ‘Remember the Time’ and ‘Jam’. Most of the Sonic music was sped up to double time and keys changed. I made adjustments to each song to match them up with one another.
Since MJ is dead now we will probably never know the actual truth about what happened, but as i listen to more Dangerous and post Dangerous Michael Jackson i keep imagining Michael Jackson busting out some awesome sega genesis fm synthesis music and taking it just as seriously as he would one of his hit singles and i respect him a lot for that.”
Fluorescent Grey has created a blog to distribute is reconstructions that contrast Sonic 3′s music with MJ lyrics etc. They are most definitely worth a listen and you will want them at you’re next party. They are sick! Click the links below.
Is it true? This might not be a hoax, but it certainly could be a cleverly and intentionally perpetuated conspiracy theory with little or no merit. But if something interesting comes of it, then I suppose who cares…
Overdub Bootleg- Five Step (Radiohead vs Dave Brubeck)
While I am on the topic of remixes, I thought I’d pass along this remix of Radiohead’s 15 Step and Dave Brubeck’s Take 5, creating the amazing, yet predictably titled 5 Step. The piece was created by Overdub, an artist who makes many so-called mashups. I hate that term…but I love this track. Down load It Here. Thank TJ Broockerd for the tip.
Green Go- We’re in a Thunderstorm (Gentlemen Reg Remix)
Green Go- This Sentence Will Ruin Save Your Life (Born Ruffians Remix)
Ontario illectronic indie dance meisters Green Go have released a remix album of their favorite fellow Canadian acts including Women, The D’Ubervilles, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Gentlemen Reg, and our favorite Born Ruffians. These tunes are a taste of their fuzz filled style. The band sports their original music on their Myspace page, which I find to be twice as interesting as their remixes, but this record of reworks is certainly worth a listen. It will give you a taste of what’s to come this month as they release their debut LP, Borders. So Cheers, and enjoy! We hope to report on their release this month.
With one month left in Darla Farmer‘s remix competition the people over at Paper Garden Records are reaching out to the people, encouraging them to “bring the heat!”
The project will allow fans and professionals alike to appear on the upcoming Remixing the Electric Forest to be released at the end of summer 2008. In addition, the record will be on iTune’s front page for featured releases.
This gives people like me and you the opportunity to share a platform with the likes of Tom Campesinos of Los Campesinos, Optronix, among others. If you are interested in the contest, email Paper Garden at darlafarmer@papergardenrecords.com. They will hook you up with the song stems you need to construct your redux.
As Jeff Martin has proved, remix albums can make excellent venues for discovering new artists. This could definitely be your opportunity for exposure to an entirely new fan base. Get to it…
Given the breadth of contributors, it is difficult to describe the myriad of styles that reform Martin’s work. What makes this record so excellent is the consistency provided by the base that Jeff Martin has constructed. While nearly every track is laden with electronic beats and celestial atmospherics, the meat of the music is rooted in the organic, natural sounds of the acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, mandolin, violin, and cello. Indeed, most of the tracks are instrumental, flowing into the limbo that is post-rock. A few songs include Jeff Martin’s voice which has a surprising smoky quality that contrasts sharply with the velour texture of the music.
The most outstanding track off the Spoons remix record is its first. Shuttlecock is energetic, voluminous, and expansive. It comes to us remixed by Bristol’s Minotaur Shock from 4AD. The song begins with a beautiful interplay of strings and xylophone, which is then mixed with a syncopated acoustic guitar riff, a clarinet, and brass. As Shuttlecock accelerates and builds, it perfectly exemplifies the beauty that electronic/organic fusion achieves; the fast paced beats layer the spaces between the chimes of a dozen other rhythms; it increases in velocity, but remains measured and deliberate. This track is simply ridiculous.
Spoons: RCI has many other gems as well. Strange for a Tuner by Chequerboard is sequenced perfectly. Balancing Act by Decal has a latent retro 80s structure that becomes fully born as the track concludes. Some tracks lack many of the electronic elements that are so prevalent throughout the record. Plays Music by Mice Parade and the impassioned Augustine by the Dublin Guitar Quartet are both gorgeous instrumentals. For those of you who love multi-instrumentalists like Sufjan Stevens and Tortoise, the beats of the Album Leaf, or even if you are a listener of the more ambient songs from God Speed You Black Emperor, Spoons: A Collection of Remixes, Collaborations, and Interpretations is a perfect addition to an ever growing and diversifying, nameless genre that flees moment to moment and movement to movement, renegotiating our expectations of complexity and simplicity, tonal dialectics and the subtlety of repetition.
Tokyo Police Club
Elephant Shell
April 22nd 2008
Saddle Creek
Tokyo Police Club‘s new album, Elephant Shell, is everything but the shot of adrenaline that was the band’s explosive debut, A Lesson in Crime.
We were so impressed with A Lesson In Crime, a 6-song EP released about two years ago, that we wanted more of the same. An album about robots taking over Earth, A Lesson In Crime begins with this warison call: “Operator, get me the President of the World!” From there, the listener becomes lost in a 16-minute maelstrom of grinding guitars and synthesized clapping.
Those things are present on Elephant Shell, but the volume has been turned down. The album features a calmer, almost restrained Tokyo Police Club, with front man and chief lyricist David Monks in a much more contemplative mood. “You and your soapy eyes called it off so late at night, but your hands and your heart and your head’s always right,” Monks sings on the song Juno. The album is a slapdash collection of childhood memories. It’s all sprained ankles, kickball games and awkward romantic encounters on schoolyard jungle gyms.
The lyrics are smart; there’s no doubting that. Monks quips on Listen to the Math, “If I am the joke, then you’re the punch line.” We’re just concerned he and his band mates are growing up too fast. It’s not just the lyrics either. The somber sound of a cello heard on the ballad The Harrowing Adventures Of…– while perfect for the song – seems out of character for a group that describes itself on its My Space page as a “swift kick in the pants followed by a raucous dance party.”
Nevertheless, Elephant Shell gets a passing grade. But here’s to hoping Tokyo Police Club shapes up and stops acting their age on the next album.
Other Music
A Lesson in Crime EP- 2006
Smith EP- 2007
Tour
May 12 2008 8:00P @ The Starlite Room Edmonton, Alberta
May 14 2008 8:00P @ The Habitat (SOLD OUT) Kelowna, British Columbia
May 15 2008 8:00P @ Plaza Club Vancouver, British Columbia
May 16 2008 8:00P @ Plaza Club Vancouver, British Columbia
May 17 2008 8:00P @ Sugar Nightclub Victoria, British Columbia
May 18 2008 8:00P @ Neumos Seattle, Washington
May 19 2008 8:00P @ Hawthorne Theatre Portland, Oregon
May 22 2008 8:00P @ Bluebird Theatre Denver, Colorado
May 23 2008 8:00P @ Slowdown Omaha, Nebraska
May 29 2008 8:00P @ Barfly Cambridge
May 30 2008 8:00P @ Bodega Nottingham
May 31 2008 8:00P @ Cockpit Leeds
Jun 1 2008 8:00P @ Night & Day Manchester
Jun 3 2008 8:00P @ Barfly Birmingham
Jun 5 2008 8:00P @ Le Bontanique Brussels
Jun 6 2008 8:00P @ Rock Am Ring Nurburgring
Jun 7 2008 8:00P @ Rock Im Park Zeppelinfeld
Jun 8 2008 8:00P @ La Maroquinerie Paris
Jun 10 2008 8:00P @ King Tuts Glasglow
Jun 11 2008 8:00P @ Other Rooms Newcastle
Jun 12 2008 8:00P @ Academy Oxford
Jun 13 2008 8:00P @ Marquee Hertford
Jun 16 20088:00P @ Digital Brighton
Jun 17 2008 8:00P @ Thekla Bristol
Jun 18 2008 8:00P @ Scala London
Jul 20 2008 8:00P @ Rogers Picnic Toronto, Ontario
Sep 14 2008 12:00P @ Monolith Festival Red Rocks, Colorado
This remix of Dublin’s own Jeff Martin by the Bristol band Minotaur Shock is freakin’ excellent. The song is called Shuttlecock and will be well received by people into Chicago indie jazz acts like Tortoise, or eclectic instrumentalists like Sufjan Stevens. In fact John McEntire from Tortoise also happens to contribute to the album of Remixes, Collaborations, and Interpretations. This incarnation of Shuttlecock incorporates bells and horns for a multilayered, textural composition, which never sounds cacophonous; although, Minotaur Shock makes clear that chaos could happen at any moment. Minotaur Shock is on 4AD
Jeff Martin is on Casino Gravity Records and a member of the electronic group Halfset. Martin releases a new LP on May 27th and Halfset releases their second album in September. We look forward to reviewing these releases. Heads up, don’t confuse him with the other Jeff Martin from Ireland…the pirate look alike.
Amplive
Rainydayz Remixes
February 15th 2008
Self Released
After we were told that Amplive was not going to release the Radiohead remix album Rainydayz because of copyright issues, today at 12:01am, Amplive announced that a compromise had been reached by both the Radiohead camp and himself. He admits that he “probably should have contacted Radiohead” before he committed to the remix project, but something tells me that this regret is not entirely genuine. His confidence and intuition told him that if it were crafted with sincerity and talent no amount of legal maneuvering would prevent his work from seeing the light of day. The record is now available for the next few days on his website free of charge. The record is a bit choppy, but it successfully experiments with and reconceptualizes Radiohead’s defined style. While the bulk of the seven Radiohead remixes are compelling interpretations, there are certainly times when Amplive’s creativity strays from innovation and resigns to sounding like a manufacturer’s scratch on an In Rainbows disc. The third track, Nudez, succeeds overall, but on occasion it devolves into a irrelevant display of blended and broken beats. Conversely, songs like 15 Stepz and Faustz transform the song while retaining important core elements, utilizing Radiohead‘s innate compatibility with electronic beats. Rainydayz sports the talent of Too $hort, MC Zumbi of Zion I, Chali2na of Jurassic 5, Codany Holiday, and Del The Funky Homosapien. I enjoyed the phonic dialectic.
