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Vampire Weekend & Black Mountain Listening Party Don't forget, tomorrow night (Saturday, January 19th) we're throwing an Other Music listening party at K&M Bar, and this one's going to be a double header! The party kicks off at 9PM, when we'll put on In the Future, the new, heavy psych-rock masterpiece from British Columbia's Black Mountain (out Tuesday, January 22nd on Jagjaguwar) followed by the much anticipated, self-titled debut album from Vampire Weekend (out Tuesday, January 29th on XL). Afterwards, Other Music DJs Gerald Hammill and Duane Harriott will take over the decks for the rest of the night. There'll be give aways (including posters, promos and a pair of tickets to Black Mountain's upcoming show at Bowery Ballroom on Friday, February 22nd), plus a drink special with $2 Amber Bock Draft Beer from 9 to 11PM and then $3 for the rest of the night.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 19
This Week's Featured Downloads
Utterly beguiling sounds from the Asphalt-Tango label, whose new series, Sounds from a Bygone Age, is swiftly doing for Roma (Gypsy) music what the acclaimed Ethiopiques series did for Ethiopian pop. That is, releasing heretofore unheralded masterpieces that have only ever barely registered as a blip on Western consciousness. Both Romica Puceanu and Dona Dumitru Siminica were born in Bucharest, Romania in 1926 to Roma families. Romania witnessed one upheaval after another throughout the twentieth century; they entered World War II on the side of Nazi Germany and engaged in the strident persecution and annihilation of Jews and Roma before allying themselves with the Red Army. After the war, they were essentially an annex of the USSR until becoming a non-Soviet aligned Communist dictatorship under the despotic rule of Romanian nationalist Nicolae Ceausescu. Needless to say, it was nearly impossible for a Roma artist to receive proper recognition in a state that categorically refused to even acknowledge the existence of its Roma minority, despite its having an enormous and prolonged impact on the cultural fabric of Romania. The word Gypsy was banned from the lexicon while the people themselves where shunted to the ghetto. However, for a brief period from the mid-'60s to the early-'70s, the country went through a (very) relatively liberal phase, and it was during this time that Roma records began to be released in earnest -- they just couldn't have the word Gypsy written anywhere on them. Puceanu and Siminica are generally recognized as being amongst the most popular and talented of all the urban Roma. At the tender age of fourteen, Puceanu was discovered by her cousins, the legendary Gore Brothers, and they immediately began arranging gigs for her on the wedding performance circuit. Although illiterate, she was a singer possessed of an uncommonly poetic depth. She excelled at the ballad, with her stunning and ethereal voice so ably and beautifully embodying the soul and tribulations of her people that it is no wonder she's been dubbed the Billie Holiday of the East. Dona Dumitru Siminica was just as adept at the slow and mournful Roma ballads as Puceanu. He sang songs of irresolute and unrequited love at cafes and restaurants, where he was apparently much-adored by countless female fans. His airy falsetto is mesmerizing, bizarre even, in the way it simply floats mellifluously over an accompaniment of cymbalom, violin, accordion, and bass. If Romania hadn't been so culturally, geographically, and politically isolated they'd have both been huge stars; as music this gripping rarely goes for so long without being noticed. There's been a burgeoning interest in Gypsy music of late, what with the success of the faux Balkan-pop of Beirut and the tireless efforts and proselytizing of Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hutz. Puceanu and Siminica represent but one small strain in a vast and complicated musical heritage, but for those looking for a lovingly compiled introduction into the world of the Roma, these two titles would be hard to beat. -Michael Klausman
Biagio Marini lived during the first half of the 17th century. Though he composed both vocal and instrumental music, today Marini is best known for being a pivotal figure in the development of the violin idiom. Considered avant-garde in his day, Marini's considerable contributions to violin technique include the use of 4th position, double and triple stops, tremolo, scordatura (alternate tunings) and so on. Though technically innovative, the "inventioni" collected on this album -- from Marini's Opus VIII -- are first and foremost lyrical explorations of the emotional possibilities of purely instrumental music. The rigorous elegance of the sonatas and lush ensemble arrangements of the sinfonias in particular are testament to the enduring power of Marini's vision, as well as exemplary of the period's tendency for lively experimentation; instrumental music was a new thing in the early 1600s and Marini was one of the first and most capable to prove that music without voices could be emotionally evocative. The chamber ensemble includes Romanesca regulars Andrew Manze (violin), Nigel North (chitarrone and guitar) and John Toll (harpsichord) as well as Caroline Balding (violin), Jap Schlapp (viola) and David Watkin (cello). -Che Chen
Released in 1997 to great critical acclaim, Arvo Part's De Profundis is, like many of his choral works, a work of majestic religiosity. These compositions, which date from the rather wide range of 1964 to 1990, are beautifully set modern liturgical pieces and include some of Part's earliest work in the tintinnabuli style that he is most often associated with in which great emphasis is placed upon the scale and triad, which often can be heard in various voicings through out the entirety of these compositions. This continuous chord tends to lend the compositions a timeless or modal feeling reminiscent of medieval choir music. The choir here, led by Paul Hillier, one of the foremost interpreters of Part's choral, is supported by subtle use of organ and percussion. Deep and profoundly moving, De Profundis is an impassioned meditation on spirituality by one of the great composers of our time. -Che Chen |
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