"Couldn't get a grip with a wish and a fat chance..."
(Click to download from Bandcamp)
Tracklist :
The Danger Room
Embrace Before The Fall
The Seed & The Sower
All Things Shining
Showing posts with label Rifle Eyes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rifle Eyes. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 July 2011
Review : Dream Jefferson - Punch Perm
If you remember a couple months ago I snuffled through a cold and completely destroyed any self respect I had by butchering a post about Dream Jefferson. Sadly enough I didn't expect anyone to see it let alone Corboe and Owel, their labelmate Danny Deleto, and their record label crew... I butchered it completely. So today lets see if I can redeem myself and spread the word.
Its amazing really how they've managed to capture the first moment you hear their music in the label art and I'm not the first to say that. I've been a fan of Dream Jefferson since their debut album Sasquatch Bury Their Dead. Since then I've explored almost everything that's been done under Rifle Eyes Music, featuring at least 1, 2, 3 other ear raping artists here on the blog and saving the rest for the most opportune moment. I feel like there should be a break into another paragraph here but I'm done taking English probably forever. So grammar aside we can get into the meat of the post as it were. Consisting of two Canadian rappers, Corboe and Owel Five, Dream Jeff has a flow like no other. Thier newest tracks feature lyrics about the royal wedding, the X-Men, and Final Fantasy and Beyonce in the same song, and it doesn't stop there. With the amount of generic rap that's oozing out the radio these days isn't it nice to have something that will hit mainstream media when hell freezes? Their sound has evolved into something a bit more new age, with synths and backup vocals not very apparent in their debut, but I guarantee it will stick the name Dream Jefferson in the mind of everyone who hears it. I think I should end this on the note that I'm not amused at having missed the release party in Ottawa but making this EP free kind of makes up for it.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Suggestion Saturday 2 Anniversary Edition : Tim Hecker, KWES, and Hartford
One month, truthfully longer than most people can see me being committing to anything besides an asylum. Aside from the obvious its been a good month, surpassing my expectations as we hit over 1000 views as of sometime yesterday (when I couldn't check the stats cause blogger was down). This has gone so well I thought we would do a special suggestion Saturday for our one month showcasing some great Canadian artists suggested by our readers. So without further ado let the celebration begin.
One rainy day while swapping music with an old friend of mine I was passed an album by Tim Hecker, contrary to popular belief I had never heard of his work or him for that matter. Upon doing a bit more digging I discovered that he was a B.C. born producer based out of Montreal, and the most interesting fact was that he had toured with Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It was an obvious branch off of the post rock that I was indulging in at the time, ambient. Not a term I use very often as, besides for Atticus Ross and some of Trent Reznor's work, I barely listen to it at all. I realize now that is my downfall. His work has been described as "structured ambient", "tectonic color plates" and "cathedral electronic music". Personally I would just call it mind wiping. This is the music you put on when you need to leave this place, and we all do sometimes.
(Click to download)
This is a gem that I have been saving for today, my pick for the anniversary edition, KWES. I don't really know what it is that my caffeine addled mind loves about Rifle Eyes experimental musicians so much. Maybe its the blending of genres so the music never quite gets old enough to take it off your favorite playlists. Maybe its the driving hip hop beats layered with witty lyrics that not only drive your day forward but bring a smile to it. Maybe its the samples or hidden political undertones that make it so I can't stop checking to see if theres anything new dropping from these great artists. KWES is no different from the artists we've featured before, Dream Jefferson, Danny Deleto, and James Hancock. He takes his music as seriously as we should, and don't forget to actually listen to the words as they flit through your brain, you might learn something. Grab the album below and read a full album review by Lesson Six here.
(Click to download)
Our last group today is on the complete other end of the musical spectrum, but thats what we do here. Hartford, a four piece pop-punk band from Ottawa, again props to Don for laying this stuff on me, as it isn't my piece of the musical cake. But as far as punk goes I understand that they are quite good, it just makes me wish my dad had left me warm coffee before he scooted off to Peterborough, not this drearily freezing sludge, so maybe I could have enough energy to properly appreciate this music.
(click to download)
I love these suggestion days, as it lets me post artists in the same article that have no right being on the same site let alone post. It amuses me to no end having an ambient producer, a political MC and a pop-punk band all kicking around. It makes it even better when they're all from the great white north. To risk being long winded thanks everyone who suggested music, and keep it up, as we love your feedback and there is nothing better than free music... well maybe if music came with coffee... Aside from that thanks again for checking in and your continued support as we enter into our second month of posting, and my sincerest apologies for blogger being down yesterday, if I could've this post would have been up then.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Wandering Wednesday : James Hancock, Hope of the States, and 65 Days of Static
I think we all need a little down time once in a while, some time to relax, to think. When I need some time I usually break out the post rock, the instrumental, the thought provocking masterpieces of our times. Go to Wikipedia sometime and just cruise around for some inspiriation, I do it alot from my mobile when explaining different genres to my father. They have great lists of musical artists with discographies and links, specifically a great list of post rock artists that reminded me of a great many bands I had nearly forgotten. So I plan on sharing some post rock I found myself and a couple suggestions, so lay back and close your eyes....
So I realize that I have posted a great many Canadian artists from Rifle Eyes recently, but in all truthfulness I just keep finding more and more amazing artists on their page. Plus the fact that they have given the blog so much hype over the last few days, its kind of impossible to not feature another one of the music collective's artists once again. Enter James Hancock. I'm not enitrely sure how to classify his music, but what else is new? Its a blend of hip hop beats, jazzy instrumentation and talent, and it knocked me right on my emotional ass. For me its tough to commit to one artist at a time as I pull so much music everyday, it takes something special to make me actually right it down on the "Listen To" list next to my laptop. Top of the list is the album Cognitive Dissonance by James Hancock, a masterpiece to rival anything in the art gallery. Ladies and gentlemen, representing the world of audio sensory art, James Hancock.
(Click to download)
The second group today is a six man group from Chichester, Great Britain, Hope of the States. Sadly this band was only in action from 2000 to 2006 and one of their members commited suicide in 2004. I actually first heard them on the soundtrack of the game Driv3r, their song Static in the Cities... took a long time for me to understand really. This was back before I was that into music, in fact I think this was back when I had just progressed from classic rock to metal. The song is a melancholy take on the end of the world and it is actually the very end of the song that hits the hardest. The vocals cut into a prolonged note which evolves into a heart wrenching mandolin solo that slowly transforms into a full post rock intrumental with screaming guitars and soft background percussion. If you have been listening with your ears and your heart, when the vocals kick back in you'll be lucky to not have a tear in your eyes...
"...Forget it all just let it go..."
(Click to download, you might need WinRAR or a program along those lines)
Our last group today is 65daysofstatic, a four piece instrumental post rock band from Sheffield, Great Britain. This band is a little different from most post rock bands I would say. They blend the standard posts rock sounds of guitars and string with electronic synthesizers and electronic drums, to make something a little more uptempo and interesting than most post rock. A friend of mine originally included their song Retreat! Retreat! on a mix tape for me in high school. Truthfully I had no idea that it was classified as post rock, but then again what is post rock? What is music? We strive to strain the barriers of labels in this life and the easiest place to do it is musical expression. So go for a drive and slot in 65daysofstatic and let the day fly away.
(Click to download)
*Thanks everyone for all the views, we passed six hundred and sixty six last night around midnight and the other publishers and I sacrificed a goat. Jokes aside it hasn't even been a month and we're almost to 700 views, with the hype we've been gettinig from Rifle Eyes Music Collective and their artists we've seen a massive spike of views. Thanks everyone for spreading this, don't forget to like us on Facebook and keep coming back for more exceptional music. I've also been notified that a friend of mine is making t-shirts, so if that would be something you would want let us know.
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