#eric emm

[spilladabalia]

Don Caballero live May 6, 2000

[pleasant-canadians-music]

Storm & Stress - Under Thunder and Fluorescent Lights

Experimental free-improv/noise/ambient/post-rock album from an early musical project by guitarist Ian Williams (of Battles, one of my favorite bands). Listen to it long enough and you’ll start to hear melodies and grooves where there didn’t seem to be any previously. Or maybe I’m just pretentious. All I know is that I really liked this album when I first heard it in high school, and still really do.

The Sky's the Ground, the Bombs Are Plants, and We're the Sun, Love

An Address That Was to Skip Ahead of the Gallop of Its Own Sperm and Eggs

Meet Me in the Space They Stare at Leaving Their Seat During a Show

It Takes a Million Years to Become Diamonds So Lets Just Burn Like Coal Until the Sky's Black

The 1st, Our Lady of Burning Thorns

O, When My Lady Comes

The 2nd, Perpetuate the Beautiful

And Third and Youngest, Unnamed

Forever, Like Anti-Oxidants (Listen to the Sound Our Cells Make)

[theseventhhex]

Tanlines Interview

Jesse Cohen & Eric Emm

Photo by Alex Trebus

Comprising of creative maestros Jesse Cohen and Erim Emm, Tanlines have garnered widespread acclaim for their compelling musical ventures to date. The duo return in 2018 with the unlikeliest of formats – a kids record. Feeling elevated and privileged to be able to make an album for parents all over, the duos latest ‘Presents EP’ consists of five classic kids songs with a Tanlines signature synth pop style. Despite the notable shift with genre, this latest release has a comforting sound, laced with warm vocals and alluring tones that resonate throughout. It serves as a reminder that Tanlines is dedicated to making music on their own terms, even if the results are polarising, nonetheless the impressive productivity remains intact… We talk to Jesse Cohen about taking a DIY approach, podcasts and Top Chef…

TSH: Since you and Eric are both stay-at-home dads now you thought it would be fun to make a kids record to share with others. Talk us through your intentions as you readied this release...

Jesse: Eric and I both had to take a lot of time off from doing music to be with our families, just like most people do when they have kids. We were really just looking for a way to do a creative project together that was sort of fun and with lower stakes than working on a Tanlines album. I suggested a children’s album because I feel it’s always a good starting place for creativity when you make something directly related to your current situation. For us, children’s music is a reality that we are facing on a daily basis, so making this record was a way for us to work on something together and contribute to a genre that doesn’t really have much for parents.

TSH: This EP is also the first DIY release for you guys in quite a while. In terms of distribution and getting it out there, what was it like to take this route again?

Jesse: Doing a DIY release has changed so much in the 10 years since we last did one. There are so many new companies and outlets for distribution, which meant there were a lot of things to educate myself about. I found it all so interesting. Also, it’s definitely liberating to just be able to put something out and to see what happens, which is how we started making music all those years ago. It’s a fun place to be in and a nice way to handle a one-off departure like this project.

TSH: You worked one day a week on this release, whilst a babysitter watched the kids. What was the pace like overall whilst forming this EP?

Jesse: It’s definitely different to what we are accustomed to. We worked a lot faster than we normally do, which I really liked. It can be very difficult to work at home when you have a kid around; there isn’t as much time to be had for yourself as most would think. Overall, it felt great to just have this time aside to work on music, and it was cool for our kids to get to know each other better too.

TSH: Also, the kids on the cover of the EP are not yours or Eric’s...

Jesse: No, they are not our kids. I don’t really share photos of my kid, not even on Instagram. We had friends that were down to have their kids on the cover. So yeah, both these kids are anonymous stand-ins. Besides, they both manage to do the pensive Jewish face that we usually have on our records, ha!

TSH: How did you go about ensuring these children’s songs would have a distinct Tanlines touch to them?

Jesse: Well, we reached way back to a lot of the sounds that we used when we first started out doing Tanlines. We basically wanted all of the these kids songs you’d heard so many times to sound like us, and delving into really old Tanlines sounds is what did the trick.

TSH: What was the defining factor in putting your own spin on ‘Old McDonald Had a Farm’?

Jesse: My kid suggested the animals that we used. Also, we realised we needed a bit more guitar as we’d not had much for this batch of songs up until we did our version of this song. Eric’s guitar definitely brings to mind the Tanlines style, so we used more of his guitar to carry this song.

TSH: For previous works, you’ve noted the best things come from a really mysterious place; this couldn’t have been the case for a children’s record...

Jesse: Certainly not, haha. I don’t think mystery works that well for children’s songs. The songs on this record are for ages 1-4, when the kids are really young. I guess from 5 onwards kids become more interested in Frozen and pop cultural things. So yeah, the idea was to go very slow and to be open and inviting. There was definitely no room for mystery.

TSH: How would you assess your working relationship with Eric?

Jesse: Well, we see a lot less of each other and that’s the problem really. Regardless, when we do get together to make music, even something like a kids record, it feels the same as it used to in both the good and hard ways. Like any creative partnership, when things go well, we have an amazing chemistry that I don’t think I could ever replicate with anyone else. However, we have friction too, which came back even with this project, but we went back and forth and figured out what was needed. Just like always, it came out really naturally, like it always does with Eric.

TSH: You also carry out interviews on your No Effects podcast. Is this an outlet that you find to be particularly gratifying?

Jesse: Definitely. I started the show in 2014 and my intention was to create a space that consisted of long-form discussion. I wanted to do interviews that didn’t include the bulk of the material being based on an artist’s press release. I’ve really enjoyed doing it and it’s been great. I sit down, I talk and I try to listen for an hour. I believe that the listeners that sit through it will leave with a portrait of the artist that they can’t really get anywhere else, and that’s my goal really. I’ve received some great feedback to date and it’s been very gratifying for me.

TSH: Is getting lost in parenthood a refreshing way to temporarily escape the bedlam in the world today?

Jesse: One of the benefits of spending the majority of my time with a two year old is that I’m spending it with someone who doesn’t know who Donald Trump is. I try to see the world through my child’s eyes whenever possible. This outlook definitely helps me to keep my focus on what is important in my home. Also, I’m an avid reader and I do not believe in blocking out the world, nor do I believe in ignorance. I like to know and care as much as possible. But yeah, it is a release to spend as much time with my kid as possible, as well as it being satisfying to know that these heavy questions and tough worldly issues do not affect him.

TSH: Tell us more about being a fan of Top Chef...

Jesse: Top Chef is the only reality show that I watch and care about. I do a lot of cooking so that’s a part of the reason why. Top Chef is a perfect example of why people like reality TV - there is an intense amount of drama and even with a replicable format and the feeling that each show is the same, you still don’t know what’s going to happen in it. However, narrative television has huge arcs and swings, but there’s something sort of satisfying about Top Chef because you kind of know exactly the feeling you will have as you watch it.

TSH: Do you have much perspective on the immediate future of Tanlines?

Jesse: I wish I could say something more definite, but what I will say is that I do want to have more music out this year. I would like to do another record, not a children’s record per se, but I’d like to keep releasing music in this DIY orientated sort of way and see what comes out of us - without the massive investment of a full album. I really would like to get back to a place of pure creativity with Eric. I’m not sure when that’ll happen, but that is one of the goals for me this year.

TSH: What is your biggest drive with Tanlines’ music as you look ahead?

Jesse: I think what felt very good about doing this children’s record is that it came from a very honest place. For the first time I felt like I opened up about my current life, which is being a stay-at-home dad. I think when we first started doing music we were much more focused on certain sounds, technology and creating cool stuff, but then we drove ourselves to no longer thinking about our material in this way. Soon enough our music was based on our emotional honesty, and I’d like to find a way to continue to tap into this type of output on some scale. Whilst taking this route I hope we can resonate with our listeners in a satisfying manner too.

Tanlines - “All Of Me”

Presents - EP

[bengiles]

Want to go back in time and see American Don performed live

[janglybones]

Storm and Stress - 'Under Thunder and Flourescent Lights'

I had been a big fan of the Ian Williams-era Don Caballero recordings when I came across this album. So I already some context as to what this 'side-project' was trying to do. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s not an easy listen. It’s incredibly disjointed. There’s no tempo. There are no chord progressions. All the familiar signs of rock music are stripped away. For me, it was (and still is) incredibly beautiful. It’s as close to ‘high art’ (urgh) as guitar music has ever been. Bearing in mind almost no effects were used in the recording (a volume pedal on the bass is all, as far as I’m aware), no simple string of symbols and words could describe the way it sounds. Like..the first computer to become self-aware, and then to realise it’s loneliness. Like…being the only awake passenger on an aeroplane and seeing the most beautiful sunrise stream through the cabin windows and across the drooling, wrinkled, unaware faces. Beautiful-ugly. Happy-sad. The placement of every note, the unexpected little bursts of vocals, the gorgeous, cello-like bass swells, Ian’s jarring, atonal, freeform riffs, the rolling, tempo-free drumming (there’s seashells on that kit. I’m sure of it).Storm and Stress. Not for everyone, but then what that’s great is?

[seegaugeblog-blog]

Tanlines - Mixed Emotions

I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a good opener, but this Brooklyn duo is so much more than that. I once saw them open for The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas and they truly gave me goosebumps. Following a shrill and shrieking female scream-band, somehow Tanlines was able to coax the entire floor of Terminal 5 into a little whirl. 

Since their humble formation in 2008, percussionist Jesse Cohen and guitarist/vocalist Eric Emm have had the pleasure of playing with the likes of Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, and even Sir. Diplo himself. I can only hope that their first full length release, Mixed Emotions, and whatever gorgeous sounds they produce in the future will pull them out from behind these big names and into the spotlight they deserve. 

This album is way more polished than any of their individual singles. Although many of these tracks could stand alone and charm effortlessly, as a whole, the album presents as a unified display of the band’s steady talent and humble malleability. They’ve been criticized for re-releasing their old hit “Real Life” on Mixed Emotions, but in truth it just shows how full circle they have come as musicians.

Mixed Emotions isn’t overwhelming, nor is it underwhelming, because you let it hit you exactly as you want it to hit you. Some tracks are perfectly dance-y, while others become surprisingly cerebral. 

Without a dobut, “All of Me” off Mixed Emotions is my purest ecstasy. This is the song that will take me to my happiest - barefoot beating skipping screaming jungle swing. “Bejan” is a little off the beaten path, coming from a (perhaps forgotten) 2009 compilation but a banging percussive like no other. The beginning builds in a tantalizing progression, moving to ethereal vocal musings, and finishes with a push push push of conventions that Tanlines does so well. 

“Brothers” sports simple lyrics that reach listeners universally, asking the kind of point-at-the-sky-ask-what-if questions whose answers range vastly between listeners. Often overlooked “Cactus” exists in that same incandescent ambiguous, echoing, “what’s that saying / what’s that old philosophy / what’s that saying / what’s that old mentality.” The latter song absolutely epitomizes Tanlines’ perfected juxtaposition of lightness and strength, bolstering this duo with sunning lyrical images, “you notice everything, you can tell there’s a force from the trees.”

Tanlines disregard their titles and their need to d-r-o-p with EDM convention, instead progressing at their own pace, leaving a great amount of interpretation to their audience.

I don’t think you can sit still for a single second of this album. It’s so much more than synth-pop, so much more than two Brooklyn hipsters. They’re a kind of bottled happiness, the greatest kind of musical bliss.

Chin up arms up stand up - take yourself a listen.

-Maggie Ambrose

[maxshh]

Visit Original Link

Every day I’ll post a song to which I was rocking out during the previous day. Today’s selection is:

Guitar Cabinet Stack Way High Is Freedom Or Gravity Gives Us Rhythm - Storm & Stress - Storm & Stress

[berniegelman]

Visit Original Link

________________________________ Well, here's another lengthy rant about music (and other things that I like).

I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago about the nature of electronic music. Several years ago, I was of the mindset that electronic music (that is, music created and performed using solely electronic instruments) was inherently inferior to acoustic music. My primary justification for this notion was that, in the end, electronic music is fundamentally limited in terms of possibility. Electronic instruments have an infinite (or nearly infinite) number of parameters. Adjustments to these parameters can be made, which in conjunction with "analog" instruments (i.e. memory degradation and other pseudo-physical digital factors that play into the sound of an instrument) can really provide a nearly endless wealth of sounds.

The issue that I have with the possibility of electronic instruments is that they will always sound the same no matter who is playing them. I can go over to a sampler or keyboard that my friend has set up to make a wacky sound or unique timbre and I can recreate the sound simply by pressing a button. Yes, there are velocity-sensitive keyboards/settings, but these settings are not really efficient enough in terms of their thresholds to provide any real sense of individuality. Unlike electronic instruments, acoustic instruments will always sound different when they are played by someone else. The factors that go into the sound of an acoustic instrument are ridiculously complex. Take, for example, the guitar. Assuming that two individuals play the same guitar, there  are several very obvious factors at play. Firstly, the individual's fingers: are they big or small?; do they have callouses?; how hard are they pressing the strings down with their left hand?; what kind of vibrato do they use?; are they playing with nails, finger-tips, or a flatpick? I could go on and on, but the point is that, ultimately, there is no correct way to play a guitar. Everyone approaches the instrument in an entirely new and unique way (some more so than others...). With an electronic instrument, the sounds available while actually playing are incredibly limited; it's the setup (i.e. all the knob-turning that goes on before actually playing) that emphasizes individuality. The way that I like to phrase this is that, while electronic instruments have an effectively infinite number of possible timbres and tones available, acoustic instruments inherently have a greater infinite number of sounds. 

Of course, in my discussion with my buddy, none of this was really relevant. From his perspective, I am a musician and he is not. I hear things "from a musician's ear" while he is more of a listener/appreciator. In the past few years, I've slowly changed my views about electronic music and grown to accept electronic instruments as a tool that musicians can use as part of the creative process. Fundamentally, however, I always seek out the "organic" (read: acoustic) qualities of an electronic performance. Lots of IDM music achieves this (or at least strives to); the instrument is approached in the same fashion as one would approach a saxophone or a drum kit. I think a lot of my resentment towards electronic instruments has to do with the implied laziness of electronic performances. We live in an age of rampant narcissism and instant-gratification. The idea that someone can buy a sampler and find some presets that sound cool and suddenly deem themselves a musician (and post their music online for the world to see) is a complete fucking joke to me. Maybe I'm jaded because I consider myself a musician, but I still believe in the idea of craft. A musician is someone who spends their time honing their craft. We spend countless hours improving on our technique, phrasing, and the way that we think about music. And you know what? In the end, we will never, ever be finished. We just want to be the best good that we can. The instant-gratification of electronic instruments deprives a lot of aspiring music-lovers of that opportunity. Yes, I will concede that there are plenty of musicians out there who are making a concerted effort to take their electronic instrument as far as possible (Aphex Twin is a great example of this), but, by-and-large, these electronic instruments are crutches, not aids. 

Next time: playing the guitar versus playing the speaker versus playing the string.