Pomrad
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Out and About, Pop Culture, Sounds on May 17, 2012
Pomrad is a synth-funk electro freak from Antwerp, Belgium (which right there…those sonic elements are not what you expect to find in Antwerp, Belgium), and he’s bloody good. A bit cheeky with the keytar fetish -something I have a hard time forgiving hipsters for, because if you aren’t Herbie Hancock or the late Roger Troutman, you really don’t have the swerve to wield such an instrument casually- he nonetheless drives a funky, bubbling, hook laden course. I first discovered his sound via the ever awesome Beyondjazz program, and now I’m pretty much sold on the whole audio package.
A Devils Beach Near a Floating City
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Out and About, Pop Culture, Sounds on May 7, 2012
Caught Thomas Dolby at the Red Devil Lounge last month. First time in several years (since I got to have my artwork used during intermission between Dolby and BT at the House of Blues in Anaheim some 5-6 years ago, a personal high for me), and while there were some elements I missed from that show (the steampunk stage visuals and the more acerbic arrangements) this was a fun gig in an intimate setting. Extra thanks to Meg and Squeedle for letting the Missus and I hang with them. I wish he would have played Windpower, but he gave the best consolation prize of I Love You Goodbye.
Dolby has retained an edge conceptually in much of what he does (he released an entire RPG to go along with his new album, A Map of the Floating City), while also aging gracefully in that he doesn’t feel like he has to hew a trendy line.
Kudos.
mr. hormozi
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Visual Arts, linkedin on May 3, 2012
I previously did a portrait of Naomi …this is her husband (and a former member of my technical staff at the last company I was employed by, as well as a Taiko drummer and once threatened to stab me with pasta…amazingly, I didn’t fire him).
Levon Helm is gone
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Observations, Pop Culture, Sounds on May 1, 2012
I, being of a certain age, was going to inherently be a latecomer to knowing about The Band. Right around mid 1987, MTV was making a big deal about some guy named Robbie Robertson and how he had an all-star guest-studded debut solo record (it was a really, really good record by the way)…but they fixated for some time on his previous band…The Band. Right around that time, MTV decided to do several showings of a concert film called The Last Waltz from this important band called The Band. It was directed by some guy named Martin Scorcese.
I didn’t see the big deal at the time inasmuch as I didn’t know all the big guests on it that well, but I watched it all the way through once. Most of it didn’t quite gel with me at the time, but one part did; a single song called The Night The Drove Old Dixie Down, and it was sung not by Robbie Robertson, but by drummer Levon Helm. His voice hit me almost the same way Johnny Cash did. Earthen, somber, but with glints of hope and defiance.
Over the years I would grow to love The Band and the work of Helm and Robertson in their solo work. Those two men, along with their cohorts really helped establish what would musically be called alt-country or Americana, and their body of work is as solid as anything ever set to wax.
Levon Helm died last week. He was 71. He was a national treasure.
Fark Flips Off a Patent Troll
Posted by zeruch in FOSS, Law, Observations, Politics, Pop Culture, Technology on April 19, 2012
Bravo!
All stupid patents (which is most of them) should be destroyed.
the hollow man
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Visual Arts on April 17, 2012
pencil, acrylic ink, gouache, Photoshop CS3
Sy Smith – The Fast and the Curious
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Pop Culture, Sounds on April 15, 2012
I’m not a hardcore devotee (and she does enjoy a certain amount of underground fanaticism in nu/neo soul/blacktronic circles) but this latest drop is pretty listenable, with a solid mix of classic soul and retro sci-fi synth funk thrown in; the overal sound I attribute to the Pastor of Church in LA, Mark de Clive-Lowe.
Subnav + Goju + Zeruch 2012-03-29 Taste the Breaker
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Observations, Pop Culture, Sounds, Visual Arts on March 29, 2012
The latest mix curated on Subnav is up, and the accompanying image is one of my mid-2000s works that I still think is one of my best:
The mix by Goju (from Migrations radio) itself is impeccable: Ray Lugo, United Future Organization, Renegades of Jazz and Neko Neko are in the setlist. Spacey, cosmic, spartan funk and groove for a Thursday night here in the art lab.
VoTD: Thomas Feiner, Steve Jansen – Sow The Salt
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Sounds on March 23, 2012
Steve Jansen‘s work is consistently great, whether ambient or aggressive, it’s always something fascinating in tonality and atmosphere. This is no exception, working with vocalist Thomas Feiner, this is an achingly melancholy, evocative track. Lush strings, processional drums, and layers of sound build across the tune like a cinematic piece.
Nick Cave and the Bad Hair
Posted by zeruch in Uncategorized on March 20, 2012
I drew this melancholy rendition of Nick Cave while seated comfortably…and seemingly invoking the style of Keith Giffen in the process.
VoTD: Jakwob with Jetta: Electrify (acoustic)
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, Pop Culture, Sounds, Visual Arts on March 17, 2012
I’ve liked just about everything I’ve heard from Jakwob, whether it be original or remixes (his version of Ellie Goulding’s Starry Eyed is canon for me) and I very much liked the original release of Electrify, but this acoustic, in-studio retake just impressed me as a chamber jazz-pop flip that shows once again that good tunes work beyond their own initial context, especially in the hands of good performers. Anyone know more about the vocalist, Jetta?
WIP: Fuzzy Boombaklaat
Posted by zeruch in Aesthetics, FOSS, Technology, Visual Arts, linkedin on March 14, 2012
…this week has been David Bowie and dubby bumpy sounds. Done with lots of paint on bristol and hot press board, Photoshop CS3 and a two year old experiment with Aza Raskin’s AlgorithmInk. It’s an interesting use of .js
