930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Fico on July 27, 2004, 11:11:00 am
-
Greetings~
My band's website www.carteldc.com (http://www.carteldc.com) is up and running...we are uploading a couple of tunes from our upcoming EP and if you like what you hear come and check us out saturday Aug.7th at DC9..
Cheerios,
F.
-
I like the site!
I downloaded the song "Polly Jean" and am listening to it now (and liking it very much).
I tried to download the other track "Fleets" - but I got a message saying, "Internet Explorer was not able to open this Internet site. The requested site is either unavailable or cannot be found. Please try again later."
Hopefully that track will be available soon! :)
Cheers
DJ Medusa.
-
Nice. I really like Polly Jean. Good song!
-
Thanks a bunch for taking the time to visit the site and check out the song. We have the EP finished but decided to re-mix a couple of things in order to make it as good as we feel it can be. We wanted to have the EP ready in time for the DC9 show but the deadline might be pushed a good two weeks back..such is life.
Medussa, we are trying to get Fleets up and running, maybe sometime during the afternoon we'll have it ready...we are also looking at ways to stream the full EP so you guys can check it out.. again thanks for visiting and all comments be them good or bad are appreciated.
Cheerio,
F.
-
Much as I would like to say that you were a twat and your band was crap, unfortunately, at least the later would not be true.
Polly Jean was quite fine, it was much better than I was expecting. I quite liked most everything about it, bar the slightly painful, Tall, Fall, All, rhymes.
I will probably come along to see you again.
-
Are you going to mess around with the production of Polly Jean?
You need to spend more time trying to get you live sound to be as good as the your recorded sound.
-
yay, local band does not have crap website, good job
-
Cool stuff! Nice website. Hope there are more dates forthcoming (I'm out of town for the Aug 7 DC9 gig).
Good luck, Fico!
-
<img src="http://internet.watch.impress.co.jp/www/column/surfusa/images/spam.jpg" alt=" - " />
-
This may be boring information but i'll try and clear some things up...
To Mark E's. comment about toying with the song/live setting:
- the EP is finished (mixed and mastered). However, we feel some things don't sound as we thought we'd heard them in the studio. In Polly Jean's specific case we want the kickdrum to be louder and more pulsing and fix the very last part of the outro where some guitar part got a bit lost. If you're wondering why this even happened it's because we had to send the disc for mastering to Portland (Jeff Saltzman's location)on a set date and we hadn't had time to really get into the mixing. We spent 20 hours straight on mixing and at 4am many things that don't sound ok now, did sound ok at the time...we sent the record to get mastered without really listening to the final mixes outside the studio...such is life..we were tired, over budget, etc, etc..
As for the live sound..we are working hard on it and getting better..it's hard with our 3 guitar dynamic plus occasional keyboard..but we are getting there..we are 3or4 gigs young and we're taking steps to be a better band everytime you lot come to see us..stick around..
Thanks for the compliments on the website..we felt simple was the way to go and we are quite happy with it..the EP artwork is also pretty cool and you will all get a chance to see it in the next few weeks when the EP comes out..oh and yes, it will be only $5.
Things are happening slowly but surely and we in the band are over the moon at having you guys join us for the ride..
-
cool website..........
very impressed by it's prettiness..........
-
very pretty tune, fico. how the hell are you guys from DC?
by the way, I second that observation about the kick drum sound...a little more pulse/danceability would do wonders.
-
Originally posted by walkie hearts you all:
very pretty tune, fico. how the hell are you guys from DC?
"how the hell are you guys from DC?":
- Brian, by way of some small town in Pennsylvania...
- Mark, a place called Redmond, Oregon..
- Luke, army brat, calls Sacramento home..
- Ed, Born and raised in Maryland (via India)..
- Me, Born and raised in Dominican Republic..
We were lucky enough to find each other...not many people out there with an affinity for Elbow, Doves, Stone Roses, U2, etc.. it's funny you would say that cos if you read the Bio on our webpage we touch on that.. the last thing we are is a "dischord" band...
-
I'm getting Kinky Wizards flashbacks.
Remember in "High Fidelity" when Rob walks into the record shop and Barry and Dick are listening to "Minor Threat meets Brina Eno" and says what the hell is this? No one can believe it's those little skater fuckers Vince and Justin.
That's kind of how I feel right now.
-
Originally posted by Fico:
...not many people out there with an affinity for Elbow, Doves, Stone Roses, U2, etc..
Except nearly everyone on this board... :D
-
thanks for taking the words right out of my mouth
Originally posted by Bagalicious Tangster:
Originally posted by Fico:
...not many people out there with an affinity for Elbow, Doves, Stone Roses, U2, etc..
Except nearly everyone on this board... :D [/b]
-
It's been said so many times, but that movie is so damn good. They got those skater brats down perfectly.
Originally posted by vansmack:
Remember in "High Fidelity" when Rob walks into the record shop and Barry and Dick are listening to "Minor Threat meets Brina Eno" and says what the hell is this? No one can believe it's those little skater fuckers Vince and Justin.
-
Nice website by the way, Fico. Seriously, the information is easy to get to and there's no flashy stuff getting in the way. I'll have to check out your songs when I get home. My work computer doesn't have speakers.
-
Wow, if you had played that song for me and told me it was the next band that NME was going to hype, I would have had no problem believing it.
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Wow, if you had played that song for me and told me it was the next band that NME was going to hype, I would have had no problem believing it.
Wow! A compliment from the contrarian, the bonhomie almost brought a tear to mine eye.
-
Originally posted by mark e smith:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Wow! A compliment from the contrarian, the bonhomie almost brought a tear to mine eye. [/b]
I had to run to CVS and get a box of Kleenex wipes..thank god for Aloe cos I've been sniffing ever since I saw this...
-
cartel & carteldc.com are so pretty! BTW, can i become a cartelite? surely, this band deserves a fanclub. STILL can't believe u guys are from dc...
-
I'm trying to earn my street team credentials.
Originally posted by mark e smith:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Wow, if you had played that song for me and told me it was the next band that NME was going to hype, I would have had no problem believing it.
Wow! A compliment from the contrarian, the bonhomie almost brought a tear to mine eye. [/b]
-
cartelite.............hmmmmmmm
sounds good...........
-
I'm quite surprised about the way the "DC scene" is viewed around here...I thought people were really into the garage aspect of most of the local well-known indie bands...I guess it works for us to have a bit of a different sound to separate us from the pack...must confess that the only local DC band I've seen and liked is Monopoli...heard some of Metropolitan's songs while in the studio..and they were good to..I don't dislike the rest of the well liked local bands I just haven't gotten around to listening to them...talking about the "Fort Reno" bands, etc...
-
WE HAVE UPLOADED ANOTHER SONG... go and check it out...
-
We have uploaded track 2 from the EP "Fleets".. the link is working (for those of you who had problems earlier)...
-
well, i tried to elicit some unbiased opinions on the robbie fulks chatboard, and sorry to say, this is the only one i got...
Well, I'm not thrilled, but that's probably because I only like pure, old-fashioned country music. Nothing else registers. My idea of a good song (playing now) is I Know One, by Charlie Pride. They sound a bit like Train to me, sort of generic.
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
well, i tried to elicit some unbiased opinions on the robbie fulks chatboard, and sorry to say, this is the only one i got...
Why don't you try the NWA message board next and see what gangsta rap fans think? It would be just as useful(less).
-
Sorry Fico, but I played your songs for my 2 year old daughter and she didn't really like it. She said the Wiggles are better...even that Barney was better. Sorry man. Good luck with future endeavors.
Personally, I really liked it....esp. song #1...quite good as I stated earlier. But Sophie knows best.
-
Liked the site, but the songs are not my type of music.
Anyway, good luck.
-
Why would you say that? People on the Robbie Fulks chatboard like all types of music, and they don't have a pre-formed opinion of the band based on knowing a band member. I'd say they are more capable of forming an objective opinion than people who are responding to someone they know, posting a "What do you think of my band?" posting on a chatboard on which he regularly posts. Right?
Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
well, i tried to elicit some unbiased opinions on the robbie fulks chatboard, and sorry to say, this is the only one i got...
Why don't you try the NWA message board next and see what gangsta rap fans think? It would be just as useful(less). [/b]
-
Yeah but they guy who replied said in no uncertain terms that if it wasn't country he could care less.....the point being that posting his response was unconstructive in the context of this thread.
Not that I care, just pointing out the obvious.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Why would you say that? People on the Robbie Fulks chatboard like all types of music, and they don't have a pre-formed opinion of the band based on knowing a band member. I'd say they are more capable of forming an objective opinion than people who are responding to someone they know, posting a "What do you think of my band?" posting on a chatboard on which he regularly posts. Right?
Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
well, i tried to elicit some unbiased opinions on the robbie fulks chatboard, and sorry to say, this is the only one i got...
Why don't you try the NWA message board next and see what gangsta rap fans think? It would be just as useful(less). [/b]
[/b]
-
Actually Chaz, it was a woman, but you do have a point (at the time I posted it, it was the only comment that had been made). Here's some more comments. These by people I know to be fans of varying types of music:
Eh...not bad but not something I would probably listen to. Sounds like what Will Wheaton would be like if he had a band.
I'm finding it a bit ponderous. Going over old ground that was unproductive originally. That's only my opinion.
U2 for the aughts? I don't hate them as much as Eraserhead (Radiohead). I hope they don't open for anyone I have tickets for.
-
All very valid points... many thanks for taking the time to listen to the songs and following up with your opinions. If you like the songs, great, come check us out...if you don't, then that's fine too.
-
I dig it Fico. What do you do in the band?
-
Originally posted by chaz:
I dig it Fico. What do you do in the band?
I play bass and do some minor background vocals live..
The verses to Polly Jean and another song called "At Night" are sung by the rythm guitarist/keyboard player (Luke)
the second song "Fleets" and pretty much the rest of our catalog is sung by our singer/guitarist (Brian)..
Ed does the drumming and Mark the other guitar wizardry...
Pictures to the website should be coming soon...
-
I think Fico, should feel very positive about the criticisms..... It is their first recording and the are already getting mentioned in the same breaths as U2 and Radiohead. Things could be a lot worse than that. No one is coming back saying it sounds half-arsed or poorly done, badly produced or bad songwriting.
For a first attempt I would take that as being hugely positive.
Well done Fico and Cartel.
-
I would agree. It's defintely not my thing, but I think it's well done.
-
Polly Jean is quite good. It's not often that you listen to a "hey - check out my band's songs" and come away impressed.
You really nailed it with the vocals - which has to be the hardest component to find/fit.
I'm giving it a second listen now. I'd be sending this out to any/all potential outlets...like WOXY. Not sure if they'd pick it up, but what a break if they did. It's surely radio ready & would fit right into their format. Maybe one of the local DC radio stations also has a local or new music segment that this would fit nicely into & really stand out.
-
First off, thanks again for your criticisms (be them accolades, slams, suggestions, etc)...
We did take our time trying to get the recording right..I'm sure that a year from now and with hindsight we'll wish we'd done some things different..but with the budget at hand (which we went over), time-constraints, etc...we are as proud as we can be at the outcome of things. We will be printing the EP as soon as we finish the final mixing & mastering within the next 2 weeks, and hopefully you'll hear me blabbing in about a month about the places to buy our EP or some cd release show. We will try to get our EP in as many hands as possible and see what comes of it...I talked to redsock about getting a bigyawn review and if any of you know anyone who might be interested in doing a write-up for their blog, website, etc let me know and I'll be happy to get the cd to them ASAP...
BTW, thanks to the person who some two years back told our guitar player through this forum that I played bass and was looking for people to play with who were into much of the bands people here talk about..if it wasn't for you the Cartel of today wouldn't have existed...so thanks to whoever it was(methinks Jaguar)...
-
I can tell you I will be spinning your songs at the next upcoming ATMOSPHERE! :) (Sunday 15 August 2004).
Cheers
DJ Medusa.
-
Originally posted by Medusa:
I can tell you I will be spinning your songs at the next upcoming ATMOSPHERE! :) (Sunday 15 August 2004).
Cheers
DJ Medusa.
Wow thanks a bunch...I will contact you as soon as we get a master copy back =)
-
Fico, did you get into rock music in the Dominican Republic or in the US. Not a criticism (actually I liked a lot the country and its people, I´d like to work there again), but there is not much rock music in the Dominican Republic. However, I remember a rock music bar in downtown Santo Domingo called Proud Mary, in the old neighborhood, close to all the historic monuments. Great bar. They played mostly rock from the seventies.
-
Originally posted by Barcelona:
Fico, did you get into rock music in the Dominican Republic or in the US. Not a criticism (actually I liked a lot the country and its people, I´d like to work there again), but there is not much rock music in the Dominican Republic. However, I remember a rock music bar in downtown Santo Domingo called Proud Mary, in the old neighborhood, close to all the historic monuments. Great bar. They played mostly rock from the seventies.
Yes I did...as you know "rock en español" had it's heydey some 10 years ago with Soda Stero from Argentina and Caifanes/Jaguares from Mexico being the Beatles/Stones of spanish rock respectively. For some reason (and I've found it to be the latin case in general)bands like the Cure, the Police, Rush, the Smiths, New Order, U2, etc.. seemed to be massive in our spec of the woods..aside from these bands it was growing up to whatever was on MTV or FM radio...hence my poor knowledge of indie-music/college radio rock... Proud Mary is still there, actually some 2 years back my friends spotted Chris MArtin having dinner there (he was en route to Haiti for some Make Trade Fair ordeal)...I'm not sure when was the last time you were there but the city has changed a lot...the old city (Zona Colonial) has had a huge uplift and it's very hip nowadays...international DJs seem to be spinning every weekend and they opened a great small rock club which 9:30 aside blows away any DC venue.. as far as local acts Toque Profundo may be the only one around from your heydey back in 'Mingo...but some bands such as Auro&Clemt, Gonzalez, Sonico and Tribu del Sol have kept things really interesting... Assuming yer from Barcelona have you heard of a band called Aina?? they are from that area and they came to DC once with Burning Airlines and just left everyones jaw on the floor.. was never fond of Heroes del Silencio, Jarabe de Palo, Oreja de Van Gogh, etc... Mecano tho' is one of my guilty pleasures....and I absolutely luv Pedro Guerra.
For those reading this thread and curios about the bands I've mentioned:
Soda Stereo: seek Sueño Stereo, Dynamo or El Ultimo concierto I&II (live discs from their last show)
Caifanes/Jaguares: Caifanes: El Nervio del Volcan, Historia (Greatest Hits). Jaguares: Bajo el Azul de tu Misterio (live disc included), El Equilibrio del Jaguar.
-
Originally posted by chaz:
Yeah but they guy who replied said in no uncertain terms that if it wasn't country he could care less.....the point being that posting his response was unconstructive in the context of this thread.
Not that I care, just pointing out the obvious.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Why would you say that? People on the Robbie Fulks chatboard like all types of music, and they don't have a pre-formed opinion of the band based on knowing a band member. I'd say they are more capable of forming an objective opinion than people who are responding to someone they know, posting a "What do you think of my band?" posting on a chatboard on which he regularly posts. Right?
[/b]
Thanks Chaz. That was exactly my point.
I think Fico is looking for opinions from a target audience, that's why he posted here. I don't think he has the expectations of making people who like a different type of music have an epipheny and say "wow, this is what I have been missing in the indie rock world all my life."
That being said, I think Fico can feel proud that people who are into the type of music he plays (which are usually the toughest critics and capable, when willing, of giving the constructive feedback) are impressed with his work not withstanding the fact that they know him on the board. Well done.
-
Exactly what "type" of music do you assume people on the Robbie Fulks chatboard to listen to? I've found people on that chatboard who are well versed and offer an objective opinion of music from just about every genre.
And c'mon, there's nothing really "indie" about a band whose stated influences include U2 and Stone Roses. That's music that pretty much has mass crossover appeal.
Originally posted by vansmack:
Originally posted by chaz:
Yeah but they guy who replied said in no uncertain terms that if it wasn't country he could care less.....the point being that posting his response was unconstructive in the context of this thread.
Not that I care, just pointing out the obvious.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Why would you say that? People on the Robbie Fulks chatboard like all types of music, and they don't have a pre-formed opinion of the band based on knowing a band member. I'd say they are more capable of forming an objective opinion than people who are responding to someone they know, posting a "What do you think of my band?" posting on a chatboard on which he regularly posts. Right?
[/b]
Thanks Chaz. That was exactly my point.
I think Fico is looking for opinions from a target audience, that's why he posted here. I don't think he has the expectations of making people who like a different type of music have an epipheny and say "wow, this is what I have been missing in the indie rock world all my life."
That being said, I think Fico can feel proud that people who are into the type of music he plays (which are usually the toughest critics and capable, when willing, of giving the constructive feedback) are impressed with his work not withstanding the fact that they know him on the board. Well done. [/b]
-
thanks for all the info, fico. I just started scraping the surface with cafe tacuba, so I'll keep listening.
by the way, cafe tacuba @ the birchmere 8/2
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Exactly what "type" of music do you assume people on the Robbie Fulks chatboard to listen to?
Uh...well since it is a Robbie Fulks chatboard I'd say it's not too much of a stretch to assume that many of the visitors listen to alt country or whatever you may prefer to call it.
-
Why would you assume that people who listen to alt-country ONLY listen to alt-country? I, for one, listen to alt-country amongst other genres. On this board, Grotty, Twangirl, IMRotten, and others are fans of alt-country, but their tastes certainly aren't limited to alt-country. Why would you assume the people their limit their taste to alt-country?
Originally posted by chaz:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Exactly what "type" of music do you assume people on the Robbie Fulks chatboard to listen to?
Uh...well since it is a Robbie Fulks chatboard I'd say it's not too much of a stretch to assume that many of the visitors listen to alt country or whatever you may prefer to call it. [/b]
-
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Exactly what "type" of music do you assume people on the Robbie Fulks chatboard to listen to? I've found people on that chatboard who are well versed and offer an objective opinion of music from just about every genre.
And c'mon, there's nothing really "indie" about a band whose stated influences include U2 and Stone Roses. That's music that pretty much has mass crossover appeal.
I refuse to humor you in your constant ongoing diatribe about "type's" of music.
-
Originally posted by walkie hearts you all:
thanks for all the info, fico. I just started scraping the surface with cafe tacuba, so I'll keep listening.
by the way, cafe tacuba @ the birchmere 8/2
Cool..they are definitely an eclectic bunch. I saw them live some 6 or 7 years ago and they were excellent..one of my bandmates caught them last time around at 9:30 and having never heard of them was quite impressed... you can also see a videostream of them performing on Nic Harcourt's Morning Becomes Eclectic... www.kcrw.org (http://www.kcrw.org) ..
-
I never said they listened to only alt-country. Would you just listen to yourself sometimes...you're ridiculous!
How about this scenario:
Ok...you're hanging out on the Cure message board. Do you think it is more likely that a regular poster there is a fan of (in addition to the cure) bands like Siouxsie, Love and Rockets, Bauhaus or artists like Steve Earle, Old 97's, and BR5-49?
Making geralizations based on one's existing surroundings is not necessarily close minded and derogitory...in fact many would argue it's a valuable coping skill necessary in daily social interaction. However, you often seem to be lacking in that area, at least in your exchanges on this board.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Why would you assume that people who listen to alt-country ONLY listen to alt-country? I, for one, listen to alt-country amongst other genres. On this board, Grotty, Twangirl, IMRotten, and others are fans of alt-country, but their tastes certainly aren't limited to alt-country. Why would you assume the people their limit their taste to alt-country?
Originally posted by chaz:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Exactly what "type" of music do you assume people on the Robbie Fulks chatboard to listen to?
Uh...well since it is a Robbie Fulks chatboard I'd say it's not too much of a stretch to assume that many of the visitors listen to alt country or whatever you may prefer to call it. [/b]
[/b]
-
edit...whoopsie wrong button
-
Not really a good analogy. Given that acts like the Cure (and U2 and Stone Roses to some extent) have had much mainstream success, you're going to find people who are fans of music of that ilk on ANY chatboard.
Alt-country, on the other hand, is much more commercially marginalized.
Thus, I'm probably much more likely to find a Cure or U2 fan on a Robbie Fulks chatboard than I am a Robbie Fulks fan on a Cure chatboard.
Originally posted by chaz:
Never said they did listen to only alt-country. Would you just listen to yourself sometimes...you're ridiculous!
How about this scenario:
Ok...you're hanging out on the Cure message board. Do you think it is more likely that a regular poster there is a fan of (in addition to the cure) bands like Siouxsie, Love and Rockets, Bauhaus or artists like Steve Earle, Old 97's, and BR5-49?
Making geralizations based on one's existing surroundings is not necessarily close minded and derogitory...in fact many would argue it's a valuable coping skill necessary in daily social interaction. However, you often seem to be lacking in that area, at least in your exchanges on this board.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Why would you assume that people who listen to alt-country ONLY listen to alt-country? I, for one, listen to alt-country amongst other genres. On this board, Grotty, Twangirl, IMRotten, and others are fans of alt-country, but their tastes certainly aren't limited to alt-country. Why would you assume the people their limit their taste to alt-country?
Originally posted by chaz:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Exactly what "type" of music do you assume people on the Robbie Fulks chatboard to listen to?
Uh...well since it is a Robbie Fulks chatboard I'd say it's not too much of a stretch to assume that many of the visitors listen to alt country or whatever you may prefer to call it. [/b]
[/b]
[/b]
-
<img src="http://robbiefulks.com/images/profiles/00358_0.456049141547741.jpg" alt=" - " />
Alt-Country fans recently seen on the Robbie Fulks board.
-
Originally posted by Fico:
Originally posted by Barcelona:
Fico, did you get into rock music in the Dominican Republic or in the US. Not a criticism (actually I liked a lot the country and its people, I´d like to work there again), but there is not much rock music in the Dominican Republic. However, I remember a rock music bar in downtown Santo Domingo called Proud Mary, in the old neighborhood, close to all the historic monuments. Great bar. They played mostly rock from the seventies.
Yes I did...as you know "rock en español" had it's heydey some 10 years ago with Soda Stero from Argentina and Caifanes/Jaguares from Mexico being the Beatles/Stones of spanish rock respectively. For some reason (and I've found it to be the latin case in general)bands like the Cure, the Police, Rush, the Smiths, New Order, U2, etc.. seemed to be massive in our spec of the woods..aside from these bands it was growing up to whatever was on MTV or FM radio...hence my poor knowledge of indie-music/college radio rock... Proud Mary is still there, actually some 2 years back my friends spotted Chris MArtin having dinner there (he was en route to Haiti for some Make Trade Fair ordeal)...I'm not sure when was the last time you were there but the city has changed a lot...the old city (Zona Colonial) has had a huge uplift and it's very hip nowadays...international DJs seem to be spinning every weekend and they opened a great small rock club which 9:30 aside blows away any DC venue.. as far as local acts Toque Profundo may be the only one around from your heydey back in 'Mingo...but some bands such as Auro&Clemt, Gonzalez, Sonico and Tribu del Sol have kept things really interesting... Assuming yer from Barcelona have you heard of a band called Aina?? they are from that area and they came to DC once with Burning Airlines and just left everyones jaw on the floor.. was never fond of Heroes del Silencio, Jarabe de Palo, Oreja de Van Gogh, etc... Mecano tho' is one of my guilty pleasures....and I absolutely luv Pedro Guerra.
For those reading this thread and curios about the bands I've mentioned:
Soda Stereo: seek Sueño Stereo, Dynamo or El Ultimo concierto I&II (live discs from their last show)
Caifanes/Jaguares: Caifanes: El Nervio del Volcan, Historia (Greatest Hits). Jaguares: Bajo el Azul de tu Misterio (live disc included), El Equilibrio del Jaguar. [/b]
I will check Aina, don´t know them, have been living around Latin America and US for the last six years. However, a new band from Barcelona who got a good review in the NYT and is being listened by people I know in Latin America is Ojos de Brujo. Below is a review from the NYT. I was never into Spanish rock from either Spain or Latin America, but i know Soda Stereo. As for Mecano, I guess they are amongst the bands I dislike the most.
The last time I was in Santo Domingo was in December of 2002. I want to go back there, will check the zona colonial, I like that city a lot.
By the way, what did you think about Vargas Llosa's "La fiesta del Chivo"? don't like him too much, but the book might be one of the best books I have ever read, or the best.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/24/arts/music/24OJOS.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/24/arts/music/24OJOS.html)
A Hybrid From Spain Connects Past and Future
By BEN RATLIFF
Published: July 24, 2004
Ojos de Brujo, a nine-piece punky flamenco-reggae-hip-hop band from Barcelona, looks and sounds unbearably appealing. Like a lot of bohemians from that part of Spain, the members seem something like traditionalist anarchists, growing up with the prickly temper of the Catalan separatist movement and the mute weight of a multimillenial history.
From that apparent contradiction can come an artistic breakthrough. Connecting a culture's vernacular past with its vernacular present and future is an attractive philosophical ideal, and these days doing this means diversifying into other cultures, too. Street music everywhere has become mongrelized.
So far, so good. And on Thursday night at S.O.B.'s, Ojos de Brujo sparked a crowd with sweaty energy, revving it up with buleria rhythms, dancing, background visuals, improvised turntable-scratching and the blizzardy strumming of the flamenco guitar style. The band appears again this weekend, headlining tomorrow afternoon's bill at Central Park SummerStage.
And yet the strong hippie vibe about Ojos de Brujo makes blurry relativism of the project. The band's mixtures seem historically inevitable, but they're not easy. Ojos de Brujo has a lot of elements to balance: two women in front (one, Marina La Canillas, a good Gitano-style belter, and the other, Elisa Belmonte, a good flamenco dancer), two guitarists, a trap drummer and two percussionists, a bassist and a member on turntables and samplers.
Finally, the band isn't quite control-freakish enough to make imposing flamenco, angry enough to make imposing punk, cool-headed or vulgar enough to bring off the playfulness of hip-hop and dancehall. And the flamenco at the core is the new sort, in which the fast, popping precision of jazz-fusion chops are all important; the purely professional touches somehow lessen the street-realism.
But this band worked hard, playing in front of film montages showing police barricades, street protests, nuclear reactors, death heads, and morphing Guernicas — a sort of Catalan Rage Against the Machine video.
And here and there the musical juxtapositions achieved their intended power. One song, "Zambra" (the name means a kind of song and dance for a Gypsy feast or wedding), cultivated a minor-key drone, solidifying it through concentration, then broke it open at its climax with a hip-hop groove and a wordless, improvised rap. The crowd did what it was supposed to: it erupted.
-
Originally posted by Fico:
BTW, thanks to the person who some two years back told our guitar player through this forum that I played bass and was looking for people to play with who were into much of the bands people here talk about..if it wasn't for you the Cartel of today wouldn't have existed...so thanks to whoever it was(methinks Jaguar)...
Yes, that was me.
Glad it all worked out.
I knew it would.
Nice. Very nice.
-
Barcelona, "Fiesta del Chivo" is outstanding..really loved that book..I've given the english version to a few non-spanish speaking friends and they've loved it to. I would also recommend "in the time of the butterflies" by Julia Alvarez...it's the story of the Mirabal Sisters..I admire them immensley...don't know if you remember them but they were also murdered by Trujillo's regime and their faces appeared on the 25c coins back home...
Jaguar,
Yeah, eternally grateful for hooking us up..in Cartel's book that will get an EP sent your way :p
-
Originally posted by Fico:
Jaguar,
Yeah, eternally grateful for hooking us up..in Cartel's book that will get an EP sent your way :p
:cool:
-
do you lot know of any other webzine/blog that covers DC music aside from bigwayn/net?
-
Originally posted by Fico:
Barcelona, "Fiesta del Chivo" is outstanding..really loved that book..I've given the english version to a few non-spanish speaking friends and they've loved it to. I would also recommend "in the time of the butterflies" by Julia Alvarez...it's the story of the Mirabal Sisters..I admire them immensley...don't know if you remember them but they were also murdered by Trujillo's regime and their faces appeared on the 25c coins back home...
Jaguar,
Yeah, eternally grateful for hooking us up..in Cartel's book that will get an EP sent your way :p
Fico, I have heard about the Mirabal sisters, but not about the book. I will try to find it. Thanks for the recommendation.
-
I just downloaded both tracks. I really like "Polly Jean" and "Fleets" is good too. I'll probably by your EP once it's available, assuming I can make it to one of your gigs.
I would like to give some very important advice to you and, for that matter, any other band getting started out there that posts MP3s on their Web site: Always make sure you add ID3 tags to your band's MP3s. Good file names (with the band's name and the song's name) are required too. Fortunately, you nailed that part at least, but a lot of people use applications to index and store their MP3s (e.g., iTunes, MusicMatch, etc). These applications by and large index the MP3s by their ID3 tags, not the names of the files. If your MP3s don't have ID3 tags, they can be hard to locate, and, after a week or so, they'll be impossible to identify. Besides identifying the song and the band, with ID3 tags you could include some notes to the listener, a picture of the cover of the album, maybe even lyrics, and most importantly a link to your band's Web site. That's the kind of stuff that will make your MP3s stand out over those of other bands. Probably 80% of the MP3s I download from Web sites belonging to bands don't even have basic ID3 tags. Those that do have a tendency to stick around on my hard drive longer and inevitably get played more often.