Product Placement
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
we're not kids anymore.
Janaina Medeiros
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styofa doing anything
Love Begins
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@markerstarling
New Discoveries - The Loni Gamble Band featuring Lisa Warrington, “I Like The Way You Do It (Tom Noble Edit)” (1983/2010)
Got another earworm for ya...try getting the “don’t stop, keep takin’ me higher” break from this song out of your mind once you’ve heard it...you’re welcome.
New Discoveries - Lincoln Olivetti & Robson Jorge, “Aleluia” (1982)
The manic nature of 80s Boogie combined with the manic nature of Brazilian music in general produced an explosion in this song (especially the hyperactive horn breaks).
New Discoveries - Gwen Guthrie, “Padlock” (1983)
I’ve been a fan of Gwen Guthrie ever since hearing her insanely catchy 1986 hit “Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On But The Rent.” I never heard this song until this year, which, according to wikipedia, was recorded in 1983 but didn’t become popular until 1985. I had always assumed she was British because her songs always seemed to have been bigger in the UK than in North America. Turns out she was from New Jersey, worked with Ashford and Simpson, and was called the Queen of the Paradise Garage after a string of club hits. I also didn’t know that she’d sadly passed away in 1999 at age 48.
New Discoveries - Candi Staton, “Victim” (1978)
Very surprised that I never heard this 1978 song until this year - that it wasn’t on any of the many disco compilations I’ve owned and listened to over the years is a strange omission. It’s a classic, with the unforgettable recurring line “I’m a victim of the very songs I sing.” Autobiography in the form of lines from prior songs. The strangely cheerful yet melancholy chord change of the main part is also another reason I’ve gone back to this track again and again.
New Discoveries - Slave, “Just A Touch of Love” (1979)
I mostly know Slave through the ATCQ-sampled track “Slide” (1977). This is from a later, smoother version of the same group. Around the four-minute mark is where it really kicks into high gear for me. Steve Arrington, whose later work I also greatly admire, was involved in the group at this point.
New Discoveries - Gloster Williams and Master Control, “No Cross, No Crown” (1979)
Early 80s gospel was on a roll and this storming track is one of the gems of the genre. The extended outro beginning at 3:32 is one of the biggest earworms ever to make its way through the earth of my brain.
In many ways, the video for "Uphill Battle" is representative of the entire attitude behind the new album from Marker Starling (aka Chris A Cummings), Rosy Maze. Cummings has been a mainstay in Tor...
Marker Starling, formerly known as Mantler, and real name Chris A. Cummings, is unveiling his new visuals for latest track “Uphill Battle” on Best Fit.
RIP Clark Terry (1920-2015).
Inspirations - Joe Raposo I’ve read interviews with many people my age who say they were profoundly influenced by the music in the early years of Sesame Street. In my case, it gave me a lifelong love of jazzy chords and the life-affirming qualities of jazz itself. In particular, a it was a short-lived brand of jazz that only existed for a few short years in the late sixties and early seventies that I liked. When I rediscovered it in the early nineties, mostly through jazz-sampling hip-hop artists, it was a revelation.
Inspirations - Creative Source This whole album, Pass The Feelin’ On from 1975, is a gem of arrangement and production. The layered vocals are stellar throughout (even if the lyrics are a little strained at times). Every song is well plotted and planned, with lots of surprise moments. I love the extended outro to this song, with the repeating phrase “good to me” punctuated by the longer line “some-thin-bout-the-way-you-make-me-feel-it’s-re-ally-good-to-me-hee” that seems to carry all before it.
Here's a new Von Spar video with vocals by yours truly!
Inspirations - The Diddys I first heard siren call of Intergalactic Love Song via the instrumental Charles Earland version which is also stupefyingly great. This turned up, I believe, on a Gilles Peterson comp about 9 years ago. Hearing those long-memorized melodies with lyrics attached added a whole new layer to the listening experience. The cosmic romantic voyage described in the lyrics suits the mood of the melody so perfectly. Also I love the dry, low-budget sounds, especially the high, keening keyboard that solos throughout.
Sat Feb 28 - Holy Oak
I’m very pleased to announce a Marker Starling Band show at the Holy Oak in Toronto, on Sat Feb 28. Details are below: Marker Starling Band show (Jay Anderson and Matt McLaren) Sat Feb 28 Holy Oak Cafe 1241 Bloor St W 10:00pm PWYC Hope you can make it!
Husbands single - A Digest of Reviews
Here’s a brief digest of some of the (incredibly good!) reviews the Husbands single has been getting:
Clash Music: “...shades of Beach Boys baroque pop in the arrangement, while the vocal delivery has traces of David Byrne's off kilter approach.”
http://www.clashmusic.com/news/listen-marker-starling-husbands
Exclaim!: “...rife with electric piano tones, cocktail lounge marimba and a full-bodied brass section.”
http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/marker_sterling-husbands_video
Middle Boop: “With certain spheres heralding the rise and return of the 70s singer songwriter, it would be criminal if Marker Starling don't get some recognition within this wonderfully new (yet recycled) arena.”
http://www.middleboopmag.com/news/radar/marker-starling
The Guardian (!!!!): “...his narrative exacerbates the sense of hungover wooziness; a traumatised glaze that follows the post-drunk fug, distant memories distracting from the gravitas of last night’s events.“
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/feb/11/the-playlist-indie-unknown-mortal-orchestra-swim-deep-gaz-coombes
The Underground of Happiness: “...like a great short story, you are left with the feeling that you’ve been lead in one direction but somehow ended up somewhere else altogether.”
http://theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.ie/2015/02/marker-starling-husbands-tin-angel.html
Inspirations - Donald Byrd
This is a sequel to my Grant Green post from the other day. Both this and Grant Green’s Alive! were reissued at the same time in 1993 and had a profound effect on my musical development. This song in particular had a marked effect on one of the Rosy Maze songs. Driving yet breezy, the track is set in the style of Herbie Hancock’s epochal Maiden Voyage, yet somehow sidesteps the whole issue. Produced by keyboardist Duke Pearson - check out his astral Rhodes solo at 6:57! - his guiding spirit seems to preside over the whole song.
Inspirations - Antonio Carlos Jobim
I spent the entire summer of 2004 listening to Antonio Carlos Jobim, especially his CTI-A&M records from 1967-70. God they were good. This track is unusual as it contains an electric harpsichord (as mentioned in the liner notes). Stone Flower is the best album but the other two (Wave and Tide) have good songs throughout as well. The arrangements may sound like elevator music at first, but the more you listen, the more the obsession deepens. These song structures are DEEP.