Mass Echoes & Dust Update 2

Here’s a bunch of things I’ve done written for Echoes & Dust over the last few months – including one of the best and most in-depth pieces I’ve ever written.

Echoes of the Past: Frank Zappa

I interview a series of musicians, from Zappa alumni like Robert (Bobby) Martin and Mike Keneally through to Thighpaulsandra, Matt Stevens and …probably too many others, asking them about what Zappa record they’d recommend as a starting point.

Interview: Kavus Torabi

I talk with Kavus about the (then) upcoming Knifeworld tour, as well as Guapo, Gong, new music and raves.

Echoes of the Past: Fela Kuti

This is the piece I’m most proud of – it also took me fucking forever to write. A look at the role of revolution in the music of Fela Kuti, as inspired by Albert Camus.

Review: The Display Team – Shifts

I review The Display Team’s latest record and all the crazy prog-punk insanity therein.

The Crux of The Biscuit: Aural Conceptual Continuity in the Music of Frank Zappa

Project/Object is a term I have used to describe the overall concept of my work in various mediums. Each project (in whatever realm), or interview connected to it, is part of a larger object, for which there is no ‘technical name.’

Think of the connecting material in the Project/Object this way: A novelist invents a character. If the character is a good one, he takes on a life of his own. Why should he get to go to only one party? He could pop up anytime in a future novel.”

“…In the case of the Project/Object, you may find a little poodle over here, a little blow job over there, etc., etc. I am not obsessed by poodles or blow jobs, however; these words (and others of equal insignificance), along with pictorial images and melodic themes, recur throughout the albums, interviews, films, videos (and this book) for no other reason than to unify the ‘collection.’”

 –  Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso, The Real Frank Zappa Book

“Like Mandelbrot’s fractals, every Zappa grotesquery springs from some tiny detail in previous work (the celebrated sex yarn ‘Dinah Moe-Humm’ was heralded by a phrase in the sci-fi story inside the booklet that accompanied Uncle Meat).”

– Ben Watson, Frank Zappa: The Complete Guide to His Music

“The official Zappa discography is often an unreliable indicator of chronology; therefore, one cannot necessarily assume that the composition of a given piece is concurrent with its first official release on an album.”

– Brett Clement, A Study of the Instrumental Music of Frank Zappa

tl;dr version: I made an interactive map of Frank Zappa’s conceptual continuity, and you can see it here.

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February Album Writing In Retrospect

So part of what I spoke of in my update post is completed, with me completing February Album Writing Month (FAWM) for the 4th time. It’s a great way to break through any creative blocks you may be having, and just fun in general (albeit life-consuming fun). You can view all 16 tracks on the link above, but as that page will be wiped by the next February, I thought I’d chuck a few permanent links up for some of my favourite tracks I wrote. And a few vaguely related images to pretty it up a bit!

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A Galoot Up-Date

No, all is not lost, In Disciplined still exists. The Project/Object I’m next working on is just taking…well it’s taking over my entire life. I cannot even escape the title of this update![1]

I’m currently attempting to map out the conceptual continuity of Frank Zappa’s work, focusing just on the music and lyrics (i.e. not liner notes or artwork, which would expand my job tenfold). What is conceptual continuity? I will most likely elaborate far more in the article itself, but just so you have some idea why don’t I hand you over to Frank Zappa himself:

Project/Object is a term I have used to describe the overall concept of my work in various mediums. Each project (in whatever realm), or interview connected to it, is part of a larger object, for which there is no ‘technical name.’

Think of the connecting material in the Project/Object this way: A novelist invents a character. If the character is a good one, he takes on a life of his own. Why should he get to go to only one party? He could pop up anytime in a future novel.”

“…In the case of the Project/Object, you may find a little poodle over here, a little blow job over there, etc., etc. I am not obsessed by poodles or blow jobs, however; these words (and others of equal insignificance), along with pictorial images and melodic themes, recur throughout the albums, interviews, films, videos (and this book) for no other reason than to unify the ‘collection.’”

(p 139-140: The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa with Peter Occhiogrosso 1989)

I’m also only listening to the 62-ish albums released when he was alive, although I am including Läther (which was compiled by Zappa as a 5 disc monster only to be rejected by Warner Bros.) and Civilization Phaze III (one of the last works Frank completed, but hadn’t released before his death). I’m a good chunk of the way there with 49 albums considered, but there’s still a ways to go!

In betwixt all of this, Montresor’s second album is on its way! I’ve just received the physical albums and they are looking splendid. I am currently auditioning drummers in order to get a few shows organised, ideally with a nice big album launch before I send this album off into the world.

I am also planning to partake in February Album Writing Month (or FAWM). I’ve done this I believe a total of 3 times in 5 years or so, and it’s always been a blast. Essentially, you have to write 14 songs in Feb (That’s a song every two days, dummy.) Some years I’ve completely smashed it out of the park and done 23 songs, other years it’s been tough going just getting to 14, but really it’s about just running headfirst through any writer’s block you may have and not stopping until you’ve collapsed from exhaustion. Creatively, that is.

So, that’s it for the moment! I leave you with some beautiful music that is currently playing as I type this. Take a wild guess at who it is?

[1] “Galoot Up-Date” being a track off the rather controversial 1984 Frank Zappa album Thing-Fish, and itself a reworking (or update) of “The Blue Light” from 1981’s Tinsel-Town Rebellion – see?! I cannot escape seeing links. I am basically John Nash. It’s only a matter of time before I am portrayed by Russell Crowe in a major motion picture.

Mats/Morgan – [schack tati] (2014)

This is the first studio album by Mats/Morgan since 2005’s Thanks for Flying With Us. For those not initiated with the singularly unique sound of these skilled Swedes, the brains behind Mats/Morgan are Morgan Ågren (drums) and Mats Öberg (keyboards). Both child prodigies on their respective instruments, the duo became of particular note when Frank Zappa met them while on tour. Suitably impressed at their mastery of his own work, he took them under his wing and acted as a teacher and mentor.

The technically challenging and playful qualities of Zappa’s music have definitely carried over to Mats/Morgan’s own work, but the band certainly aren’t restricting themselves to pure Zappa worship. On their latest release [schack tati], Mats/Morgan delves into old school progressive rock, jazz fusion and dance music to name a few genres. “Dracul of Nancy” is where 8-bit Nintendo music collides with saxophones and polyrhythms, whilst things take a more introspective turn for the mainly keyboard-driven lengthy instrumental “Mr. Piccand”.

Limitless textures and sounds are explored here. You’d expect so much from such a skilled keyboardist (who’s blind, by the way!), but it’s pleasantly surprising to hear so many different styles employed by Ågren. Acoustic and electronic drums are both utilised to their full ability, alongside samples, electronic glitches and a variety of percussion. Pick any two tracks and there’s a different keyboard patch, a different drum sound. These subtle changes add a lot to [schack tati] overall, and that the album still manages to escaping sounding schizophrenic is admirable.

If fact, the incorporation of the aforementioned glitches into their already expansive palette of rhythms leads to some of the best parts of the album, the heavily electronic “Walk Here” and the much jazzier and frenzied “Rappel”.

However, the stand-out track has to be the album opener “Rubber Sky”. Keyboards dance around the simple yet killer groove set in place by Ågren (playing drums, guitar and bass). The groove drops away completely for some of the only vocals on the album – sung by Morgan’s son, Alvin Ågren. The childish (literally) vocals add that playful, undeniably Zappa-esque quality to the music, particularly when juxtaposed with the heavy bass and guitar grooves. “Rubber Sky” rocks hard, fitting a lot into its three minute runtime without sounding like it’s doing so. Part of me laments that the track isn’t particularly indicative of [schack tati] as a whole, as I’d love to hear more music in this vein.

To their credit, no track overstays its welcome. Mats/Morgan manage to fit their unique brand of experimental instrumental music into short nuggets of gold – most of the 12 tracks sit comfortably between 2 and 4 minutes. Everything is honed down to a fine art, so not surprising it was 9 years between albums. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another 9 years for another, but if it’s generating music of this quality I certainly won’t mind too much.