Laneway aptly marked it’s humble beginnings in a Melbourne laneway in 2005. It has since built a reputation as a festival with it’s finger firmly on the pulse of the music industry, despite canning one of Australia’s foremost up-and-coming artists from the bill this year (cc: Kirin J Callinan).
Nevertheless, we savour the release of each lineup with intense anticipation because the event delivers a solid slew of talent from around the world every single year; from artists who we don’t usually see in this neck of the woods, to absolute crowd favourites we can’t get enough of.
Part II had us at Mac DeMarco, who is and always will be a festival favourite with his random tangents, on-stage quirks and warm adoration for his fans. We caught the enigmatic Moses Sumney next who walked out in a black cloak, surrounded in mystery. Anderson .Paak and his band The Free Nationals were arguably the most anticipated act of the day and they delivered in droves. BADBADNOTGOOD served up some sonic smoothness before we caught Father John Misty changing guitars several times due to technical difficulties. “I think ODESZA has, like 60 acoustic guitars. How can I compete?” And, on cue, the Seattle producers took the Garden Stage with their shiny new drumline (sans the guitars) and gave us a taste of their impeccable live show.
Then we headed over for POND who never fail to amaze, with manic frontman Nic Allbrook fawning over the stage and amongst the crowd all at once. Thirsty for some heavy electronica, TOKiMONSTA’s set was exactly what we ordered before we rounded out the night the only way one should, with a wall of hot shoegaze and Slowdive came correct. Another hectic time full of unforgettable moments.
Until next year, Laneway.
Photos: Dani Hansen
Mac DeMarco
Moses Sumney
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals
BADBADNOTGOOD
Father John Misty
ODESZA
POND
TOKiMONSTA
Slowdive
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
The latest record from Toronto rap influenced jazz quartet Badbadnotgood has been hailed as their best to date; an expansion on their versatile and all-encompassing finesse that fuses everything from R&B, jazz, Hip Hop, electronic and beyond. Seeing these guys in action, however, is a whole other spiritual experience. Walking into the Metro Theatre, the space was brimming with a buoyant electric buzz, but there was nothing anxious or impatient about it. Just a gung ho crowd breathing in that faintly spiced aroma from some lit incense on stage and lucidly vibing on the smooth beats provided by Brisbane producer Sampology. The mood was soulfully set and lasted all night long. We took some shots to document this beautiful occasion.
Live review: Badbadnotgood in Sydney
Read our interview with Badbadnotgood
Photos: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes
Earlier this year Badbadnotgood released their stellar new album, IV. The release, their best to date, expanded on their sprawling and incredibly diverse range of sounds and melodies that marry jazz with R&B, hip-hop, and even some electronic elements. The quartet (formerly a trio) have an unbelievable hold over a remarkably detailed, rich sound unlike any other music being released today. On record, it’s brilliant. Live on stage, it truly is something else.
I’ve been lucky to catch BBNG live four times over the years, and they outdo themselves each time. This Thursday at Sydney’s Metro Theatre was no different.
There is something truly amazing about seeing a completely heaving, sold-out room of mostly millenials cheering and dancing to intricate instrumental jazz. I arrived at the tail-end of Sampology‘s opening DJ set to see that the crowd were already feverish with energy and ready for the main act. With only about ten minutes between sets, the energy didn’t lull for a moment.
The band walked on stage, and drummer Alexander Sowinski, who doubled as hype man for the night, welcomed the audience and invited them to cheer and clap as the band whipped themselves into a musical frenzy. From here on out, the group took the audience on a incredible journey through wicked-fast jazz, hip-hop infused rhythms, melodies and solos.
While many in the audience are no doubt more familiar with Badbadnotgood for the radio-friendly songs which feature vocalists like Sam Herring and Mick Jenkins, or production assistance from Kaytranada, the band did not hold back when it came to unleashing the jazzy madness. It demonstrated a faith and confidence that the crowd would be as responsive to their musically intense tracks as they are to the more digestible numbers, and that faith was rewarded by an audience who were mesmerised from start to end. We were treated to a set which focused on their new music, but was peppered with older tracks, all curated with a dynamic flow that kept the pace up throughout each twist and turn through rhythm and sound.
The best thing about a live Badbadntogood show is how remarkably different their music is on stage. Like with all jazz performances, the setlist wasn’t long; rather, the tracks were extended to include improvisation and jamming out in a way that really showcases their tremendous talent, not to mention gifting the crowd with something wholly unique and inimitable. The biggest highlight was IV opening track And That, Too, which was extended into a lengthy, hypnotic jaunt; the audience was puppeteered through each section of the piece, stretched and warped into a grand jazzy opus.
Throughout the entire night, the group took turns showing off with jaw-dropping solos, with particular props going to newest member Leland Whitty, who switched between two kinds of saxophones and a flute, sometimes multiple times within a single track.
Toward the end, Badbadnotgood brought out Stones Throw artist Jonti to perform what would be revealed as their triple j LIke A Version the following morning, a cover of the Beach Boys classic God Only Knows. They explained that they had first come across Jonti back at Sydney’s OutsideIn Festival 2013, when Jonti led a group through a completely live run of the Avalanches‘ Since I Left You (which is still one of my all time favourite performances). As the group explained to me in a recent interview, they don’t perform their tracks with vocalists unless the vocalist is there to play with them, so the extra layer was a welcome addition after an incredible hour or so of instrumental jams.
The Metro Theatre probably wasn’t the right venue for the group, as depending on where you stood, the bass and lower key sounds were muffled into oblivion. Apart from this, however, the show, like their album, was an unforgettable experience – one that everyone should enjoy if they have the opportunity.
Read our interview with Badbadnotgood
Review: Badbadnotgood, IV
Top image: Supplied
Images: Dani Hansen for Howl & Echoes
Welcome to The Soundtrack, a column where we plumb the depths of our musical knowledge to bring you the best* (subjective) music to listen to for very specific life situations. This week, we tackle a loaded situation: introducing your partner to your family on Christmas.
It is Christmas, my dudes. Well, not quite, but it’s only a couple paychecks away (so if you haven’t shelled out for presents yet you better get cracking). For many of us, Christmas is less of a religious holiday and more of a chance to visit your family and eat ridiculous amounts of fresh fruit and ham on the bone. It’s the only day of the year where it’s socially acceptable to regress deep into the safe memories and rituals of your childhood while simultaneously getting completely sloshed before lunch. Of course, there are pratfalls to watch out for – racist grandparents, the unbearable sticky heat, and most notably, the dreaded litany of “soooooo how’s your love life?” enquiries. Let’s be honest here, that question isn’t really a comfortable one to chat to your Aunt Rachel about even if yours happens to be going well. But maybe you’ve decided to grit your teeth and jump right into the deep end – by introducing your paramour to your clan. On Christmas Day. Sure, love makes you do crazy things but this is downright tumultuous. The mood has to be just right – comforting for all parties, interesting enough to be a point of conversation if all else fails, showcasing your partner’s ultra-cool tastes but still something your ‘rents are going to dig. We gotchu!
Summer Flake – Son Of A Gun
Summer Flake, aka Stephanie Crase, makes wonderful washed-out music that is both 1) very cool and 2) beloved by Double J listeners, so this one is neatly appropriate for all involved. You want to be able to set a tone that’s breezy and unchallenging for your parents, but still something you and your babe would listen to, allowing a comfortable first introduction for everyone. Son Of A Gun is sonically quite timid, so it won’t encroach on your space while you’re making all the rounds upon arrival. Crase’s lofty vocals, a floaty guitar – it’s all extraordinarily lovely despite its quite emotional lyrics. It’s like taking a nap in the sun, which is, as we all know, what you’ll be doing once you’ve all sufficiently stuffed yourselves with mum’s patented potato salad. If you’re feeling a little uncomfortable or have some trepidation about this introduction, you can hold onto the chorus hook like a handy little mantra: Don’t turn on me, members of my family who have been known to say exactly the most inappropriate things at precisely the absolute worst time. Hum it under your breath while praying nobody brings up anything untoward, like your wild younger years or that time you peed your pants way past the age that’s actually ok.
BadBadNotGood – Time Moves Slow
If you’re like me, maybe you shamefully grew up thinking that jazz was weird and boring and liking it made you Lisa Simpson. By now, you should realise that jazz is weird and AMAZING, and that being Lisa Simpson is an actual #lifegoal anyway. If you haven’t arrived at this true conclusion yet then BadBadNotGood will take you there. Subdued and ambling, Time Moves Slow isn’t unlike something the older members of your family would have listened to on the radio way back when. Its unmistakeable modernity reveals itself a little more as the track progresses, but things never get too out-there, making it a great salve – a marriage of two worlds. Plus, Samuel T. Herring’s voice is as entrancingly silky as they come. By this point, it’ll likely be lyrically appropriate as well: time certainly does tend to move slow when you’re anxiously watching everyone’s body language and internally begging with some universal force that this is going well.
The Goon Sax – Anyone Else
This one might skate right on the edge of what your family would be into, but just preface it by saying the frontman is Robert Forster from The Go-Betweens‘ son and they’ll be chill about it. There’s something to be said about the perfect amount of jangle in a song, especially if you’re going to play it in a romantic or romance-adjacent situation. It lends a Wes Anderson-esque touch that’ll help you gloss over any foibles that occur with a deadpan blank stare and a long sip of your drink. Bonus points if you’re wearing bright yellow or heavy eyeliner. See, it’s not so bad that someone just asked a super awkward question. It’s quirky! Your life is full of misadventures and idiosyncracies! In all seriousness though, The Goon Sax are a national treasure and have so much crossover appeal when it comes to different ages that you’re actually being musically irresponsible if you don’t play them for your family.
Crowded House – Weather With You
This is what I call an intergenerational banger. I’d like to say something to the effect of “if you don’t know the words you’re unaustralian”, but as Flight Of The Conchords pointed out at the ARIAs, us Aussies have a very annoying habit of claiming successful NZ musicians as our own, so I won’t. I’ll just say that if you don’t know the words you probably suck as a person. There. Much less inflammatory. Anyway, your parents probably gave Into Temptation and have their buzz on a little by this point and so do you, so now is the time for a nice, bonding sing-along, creating your own little Private Universe. Something So Strong like music really works as a social unifier, and the older people at the table will just adore that “the youths” are still fangin’ Crowded – although, let’s be real, It’s Only Natural. As you sit there on the porch under the sweltering yet Distant Sun, eyes twinkling with the effects of too much bubbly and paper hats lopsided, you’ll relax, knowing this day can only improve because your grandma totally brought her famous Chocolate Cake.
Wham! – Last Christmas
If you try to make a Christmas playlist without either this or Mariah Carey in it, Santa gives you coal in your stocking, and I’d much prefer normal things like sunscreen, socks and a new toothbrush. I guess you could sub in Mariah for this if you wanted to, but I guarantee you that more of your family will appreciate Wham!, unless you have some homophobic relatives. I’ll let you be the judge on this one. Honestly though, for this Very Specific Situation, the whimsical drama of this one works better than the grandiose begging of All I Want For Christmas. But hey, I don’t know your life.
Image: Universal
BADBADNOTGOOD – Lavender ft. Kaytranada
Now, we’re not saying that Dungeons and Dragons was the reason Will Byers ended up in The Upsidedown in Stranger Things, but the video for BADBADNOTGOOD‘s collab with Kaytranada isn’t exactly helping the case. Lavender is the second video to come off the back of this year’s album IV and centres around a D&D campaign gone horribly wrong. Seemingly all hope is lost after a shady as hell Dungeon Master shackles the band to their chairs and even a holographic Kaytranada can’t rescue them when they’re forced into a game of Russian Roulette.
Thankfully, when the pizza (food of Gods and basement nerds alike) arrives, they have time to poison his drink, leading him to a gruesome and bloody death. Honestly, all the kidnapping and death could have been avoided if they’d just gone with John Dempsey -a far more legit-seeming Dungeon Master 4 Hire whose infomercial runs at the end of the clip- instead of some dude whose ad was stapled to an electrical pole.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AJOqx6_UKQ
Emeli Sandé – Garden
The video for Scottish singer Emeli Sandé utterly dreamy track Garden is, as expected following the track’s October release, exquisite and ethereal. Set on the grounds of a resplendent estate in the country-side, the clip has Sandé, along with an entourage that includes featured artists Áine Zion and Jay Electronica surrounded by greenery and shrouded in mist and smoke as Sandé distinct, hypnotic, haunting vocal refrain echoes throughout. Speaking about the song, which she says is her favourite on the album, Sandé said it was “an expression of freedom and passion, two important parts of life, which I hadn’t really explored until a few years ago.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqlf9FAKPRc&feature=youtu.be
All Our Exes Live In Texas – Tell Me (Live)
Heartache personified is a song called Tell Me by Sydney’s All Our Exes Live In Texas. So poignant is the song –a one-sided conversation between two former lovers– that the folk quartet didn’t need to make use of an overly conceptual music video. Instead, the live clip consists of a stage, beautiful soft lighting and places all the focus on the raw emotions of rejection and longing brought to life through the swaying group harmonies and poignant instrumentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xTyQu6iz68
Alicia Keys, Blended Family (What You Do For Love) ft. A$AP Rocky
Following the release of her latest album Here, Alicia Keys has returned to her heartfelt sound with second single, the beautiful Blended Family. With a laid-back guitar driven beat, Keys’ tone glides beautifully over the track, only to be contrasted by a similarly sincere verse from A$AP Rocky. The video too continues this genuine feel, exhibiting people and families as they laugh and interact, not to mention the chemistry that Alicia Keys and Rocky show in the video; feel good is an understatement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbGm5f5PR2o
A Tribe Called Quest, We The People…
After releasing their final album just two weeks ago following the passing of the legendary Phife Dawg, A Tribe Called Quest have now continued their incredible takeover with visuals for We The People… It couldn’t have come at a more better time; with America split in two ahead of the recent presidential election, Tribe’s empowering track has been given an equally powerful clip. Fronted by the group’s surviving members, along with collaborator Busta Rhymes, the pioneers broadcast their conscious message to a sea of supporters. Of course there is a touching tribute to Phife, which showcases through the video, proving while they may be one man down, Tribe’s spirit will continue to break down barriers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO2Su3erRIA
Spring King, City
The sequel to their incredible last clip Detroit, Manchester’s own Spring King are back with an equally hilarious video for City. The clip follows characters Roderick and Penelope in an 80s inspired European dating show, as they stumble through a number of hilarious dating scenarios and situations, from bumper carts to roller-skating. As funny as it is, in the end it’s the explosive tune that keeps you watching, with jangly riffs and throat scorching sing-alongs, Spring King know how to rock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgwm9wrbL7Y
Bassnectar, TKO ft. Rye Rye & Zion I
After releasing his tenth studio album back in June, Cali’s dance king Bassnectar has returned with a powerful clip for this heavy single TKO. A genre defying mix of glitch, electronic and hip-hop, the gritty synth driven banger features both rap verses alongside a smooth hook from collaborators Rye Rye and Zion I. Bassnectar has always been known for pushing the boundaries with his music videos, and this was no different. An incredible mix of lo-fi and futuristic twangs, the clip is a testament to modern visual effects and editing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kekmipvfZ2I
Washington, Saint Lo
After releasing her last album back in 2014, there’s been quite a wait for fans of Megan Washington, but luckily, her newest video lives up to expectations. Written in LA, the track builds upon her relaxed electronic style, with her voice soaring smoothly over the wavy instrumental beneath. Playing along an equally powerful, experimental video, no doubt we can’t wait to see what Washington has next up her sleeves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40S9VeTrYA0
Words by Ruby-Rose Pivet-Marsh and Martin McConnell
Image: ATCQ
GoldLink has teamed up with Ciscero to create a funk-filled track called Fall In Love, a gorgeous new tune dripping with good vibes, via walking bass lines and gentle vocals. With collaborative production efforts from BADBADNOTGOOD and Kaytranada, Fall In Love‘s merit comes as no surprise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQmltBqeoZw
There is a noticeably increased level of finesse in GoldLinks flow and style since his last two albums. His delicate vocals swim smoothly above the complex instrumentals and are refined enough to melt into the track and play the part of another instrument.
Staying to true BBNG’s form, the track hints at 1940s jazz with a groovy upgrade. Bands like Digable Planets and A Tribe Called Quest have been fusing jazz with hip-hop for decades, and GoldLink is among those carrying the flame today. Yet instead of employing looped samples, Kaytranada and Badbadnotgood’s production has created something truly unique and polished as heck.
https://twitter.com/KAYTRANADA/status/769227176055017472
GoldLink last visited Australia for Laneway Festival 2016, and will be back across New Years, having been announced to perform at Perth’s Origin NYE and Beyond The Valley. Meanwhile, Kaytranada will be touring Australia in late October, and Badbadnotgood will be in town in December. It’s a shame they won’t all be here at the same time to link up, but we can no doubt look forward to great performances from all three.
Image: Michelle Grace Hunder for Howl & Echoes – full gallery here.
Fresh from their announcement as part of the 2016 v2 Meredith Music Festival Lineup, Canadian experimental act BadBadNotGood have announced a handful of shows on the East Coast, along with one in Adelaide. The early December dates serve as a precursor to their appearance at the Supernatural Amphitheatre and are in support of their latest full length release, IV, which followed last ear’s incredible Ghostface Killah collaboration Sour Soul.
With fans stretching far and wide (try both Tyler, The Creator and Gilles Peterson) and collaborators ranging from Frank Ocean to Kaytranada to MF Doom to saxophonist Colin Stetson, there is little doubt that their live shows will be something of a wonder to behold.
A collective of incredibly talented improvisers, BadBadNotGood are constantly pushing the boundaries and challenging the conventions of jazz. We saw that with last year’s jazz hip-hop fusion Sour Soul and now IV continues in that vein, calling on a wide number of varying collaborators and influences to not only challenge but take traditional jazz music well into the future. When we spoke to them earlier this year about the inherently exploratory approach they seem to have to music, their explanation was wonderfully simple. “Making music is so fun for us it’s impossible to stick to one sound!”
The four piece, whose journey began when they met at music school as teenagers and found a common interest in Odd Future, going on to combine a love for hip-hop with their training as jazz musicians, will be hitting up four lucky Australian capital cities before they appear at Meredith.
BadBadNotGood Australian Tour Dates
Sat 3 December – Fat Controller, Adelaide
Tickets
Wed 7 December – Wooly Mammoth, Brisbane
Tickets
Thu 8 December – Metro Theatre, Sydney
Tickets
Fri 9 December – Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Tickets
Tickets on sale midday Monday August 22
Live Nation pre-sale: August 19 3pm-August 21 5pm
Image: supplied
This Friday, Canadian quartet BADBADNOTGOOD will be releasing their fourth solo album, IV, having last releasing Ghostface Killah collaboration Sour Soul last year, and third solo LP III the year prior. The album, as we have discussed in our review, is simply phenomenal. Incredibly rich and versatile, it traipses from jazz, to hip-hop, to electronic and beyond. This marks the first time that the quartet (who were previously a trio but have now officially welcomed Leland Whitty to the group) have brought vocalists into their tracks, as well as other collaborators including Kaytranada and saxophonist Colin Stetson.
It has been an unbelievably fruitful year for amazing new music, and this is easily one of my favourite albums of 2016. I was lucky enough to interview the band ahead of their official release. If you can’t wait, the album is already streaming on Apple Music.
BBNG III was your first album of totally original work, and on IV you’ve taken that so much further with piles of new instrumentation and guest vocalists. How far did you want to stretch your sound? What was behind the decision to bring guests on board?
Since we recorded and released III, we’ve been writing tons and tons of stuff inspired by all different sources. We were touring heavy after the release so we got exposed to a huge range of really talented artists at different festivals, and had many friends putting us on to great music from the past also. We wrote a whole batch of songs that were instrumentals early on in 2015, and recorded a few of them. After sitting on those for a while we decided to start from scratch, so starting in fall 2015 we began writing and recording the songs that became IV. We had a bunch of sessions booked with the very talented artists that appear on the album, and had some amazing creative times with them. There was no defined direction when we started, and we reached a point when we had so many different styles of song that we didn’t know what the album would even sound like all together! For a while we were still going to make it an all-instrumental album, and then we tossed together a salad of some of the amazing featured tracks, along with some instrumentals and it ended up working out!
There’s such a range of sound and style on this album; at some points it feels your most identifiably jazziest, like the Coltrane-sax on IV, but then you’ve got this spooky, slinky instrumental on Structure No 3, and obviously the features with Kaytranada, Mick Jenkins etc. are so diverse. Did this spread happen consciously, or more a result of just everything you’ve been listening to and playing?
It wasn’t very conscious when we were writing everything. We didn’t have any idea what the album would end up like, and I think the spread that happened is an honest reflection of where we are at musically. Making music is so fun for us it’s impossible to stick to one sound!
The tracks with guest collaborators are incredible for many reasons, notably including their diversity. Time Moves Slow feels so heart-wrenching, soulful and incredibly responsive between vocals, instruments and rhythm, while Hyssop of Love has this woozy eeriness that complements Mick’s vocal tone perfectly. Can you tell us about how these collabs came to be, and if each was written with or for the guest artist, or ahead of time?
Thank you! The song with Sam Herring (of Future Islands) came about because we did a remix of “Seasons” by Future Islands in 2014. As part of that agreement, us and Sam were supposed to get together at some point to work on original music. He came through our studio last fall and we spent three days in a magical creative journey! Time Moves Slow took shape with all of us sitting in the live room of our studio and tossing around ideas. The four of us were on instruments, and Sam was sitting with a notepad, pointing whenever he heard something he liked. That’s actually the way all the collaborations worked out, we were very lucky to have everyone to our space and create everything all in the same room, it was a very special process because it’s hard to get people to record in person in 2016!
Hyssop of Love came about in much the same way. We had been fans of Mick’s music because he’s an incredibly talented rapper/lyricist (and singer!), and got the chance to meet in the studio last summer through a Red Bull session. The song was again made in our studio, with all of us in the same room recording, which is super rare especially for hip-hop these days. We basically tried to make something that was atypical for a rap beat, and it worked really well because Mick is such a versatile artist. His own music has so much variety to it so it was a really natural process. It was a real pleasure to work with both of those guys.
Despite all that diversity, it still flows remarkably well, and is a genuine pleasure to listen to start to end. How difficult was putting this tracklist together?
Very difficult! I think we kept having the problem that we would like a few songs together, and then the rest as stand-alone tracks. Until we just committed to making it work we had no idea what the trackless was going to be. Even then we were skeptical on it, but our final thoughts were basically that it’s a honest representation of how wide our influences are and the range of what we like to do. One of the unifying factors is that we wrote and recorded everything at our studio, including the collaborations, so there’s a consistent sound because of that.
How much of the music is planned ahead of recording, or does it all evolve more spontaneously in the studio? Do you ever use scores or written down chords at all?
It’s very spontaneous! For some songs they’ll evolve from a little idea someone has, but they always go through a stage where all four of us play them in the room and try random ideas. It was great to write the feature songs with all the different artists, adding another mind to the process is really interesting and fun for us. We never write anything down but we’re working on putting together sheet music for the album in case anyone wants it!
Leland Whitty is now an ‘official’ member of the group, although he’d been playing with BBNG on and off for years. What led to the official addition?
We’ve wanted to play with him full-time for a while, but it’s only been a reality in the last year and a half or so. As we kept growing as a band and getting more incredible opportunities, one of the first things we wanted to do was play more shows with Leland. When the Ghostface album came out and we had to play shows with him, we brought Leland on to play guitar, and following that he did every show with us! For the past year or more he’s been at every studio session and writing session too. He plays about 25 instruments so it’s been a blessing to have him in the band.
One of my favourite instrumental tracks is Chompy’s Paradise. It’s so subtly sublime, and feels like it could have been lifted from the soundtrack to an early episode of Charlie’s Angels or something like that (in a good way). Could you tell me a bit about this track and its composition? Also, who or what is Chompy?
Thank you!! That song came about in a really special organic way. We set up a bunch of synthesizers in the live room and were jamming on them, which is something we normally do after the rhythm track is cut already. It led to some really cool sounds, like the Juno-60 chords under the whole thing, and the weird slide-guitaresque sounds played on a CS60. We also added a pretty elaborate arrangement with different woodwinds and horns which made a really neat dichotomy of acoustic and electric. Chompy Lee is actually Leland’s nickname!
In fact, almost the whole album feels like it has a very 1970s feel to it. Not necessarily the vibe of each specific track – it’s so varied, as aforementioned, but the chords, keys, progressions and smooth rhythms, as well as a lot of the percussion, and strings, like In Your Eyes. Am I totally off the mark or was there a sort of vintage influence to the overall composition?
You’re totally on the mark! The vast majority of the music we listen to is from the 60’s and 70’s. We’re obsessed with Brazilian music, which is where a lot of those elements come from. We also have a deep love for old soul, psych, and jazz music, and newer electronic and hip-hop stuff, but the overall sound we go for is heavily informed by records from that era.
Confessions Pt 2: wow, this track is particularly ridiculous. Will you be performing live with Colin any time soon? Also, what connected Confessions Pt 2 with Confessions from III?
Thanks!!! He’s a very busy guy but we would be honoured to play live with him. That track shares a lot of nerdy musical similarities but it also just has a similar feeling. It’s like the more aggressive intense cousin of Confessions.
For your live performances, what are you planning for the tracks with vocals? Will you be performing them as instrumental tracks, or with pre-recorded vocals etc.?
We will probably not be doing any of the vocal songs in our own set, unless we’re lucky enough to have them out to sing! The songs are so special and we feel we couldn’t really do them justice. We are doing quite a few instrumental songs from the record and trying to work in a lot of new material. Maybe one day down the road we could do a show with a few of the different artists! We had the chance to play the song with Charlotte live a few times, and the Sam song once as well which were both great experiences.
You’re essentially jazz musicians in a world where many people aren’t that interested, or perhaps less comfortable with the notion of ‘jazz’ than other areas. Through your music, are you trying to introduce jazz to someone who might usually ignore it or is it more that you just wanna make the music you wanna make? In other words do you want to educate, or simply play?
We just try to make the music we like that combines all our different influences! We wouldn’t even call ourselves jazz musicians necessarily, although jazz determines how we write and play everything. It’s such a valuable field of music and if you learn anything about jazz it’s applicable in any situation.That said, we take influence from so many other places and just try to do our thing! If we are encouraging people to listen to jazz who wouldn’t have otherwise then that’s amazing, but it’s not something we set out to do.
Moving forward, do you feel like you’ll work with even more guests for V or other releases, or will you keep it a split between instrumentals and guest features? Similarly, are you planning any more Sour Soul-style full collaborations?
We are definitely planning all of the above. We have quite a few friends and people we’ve met along the way that we would love to work with, on full albums or single songs. We want to basically be in studio 24/7 creating! Delving into film scores and video game soundtracks and things like that have always been an interest for us as well.
BADBADNOTGOOD’S IV is out this Friday, July 8 via Innovative Leisure.
Image: Consequence of Sound
Three Odd Future fans walk into a jazz school. No, this isn’t the setup of an obscure joke; it’s the story of how Toronto teenagers Matthew Tavares, Chester Hansen and Alex Sowinski combined their shared love of hip-hop with their training in jazz to form BADBADNOTGOOD. Despite being panned by their stubbornly orthodox teachers (one of whom wrote ‘sucksucksthissucks’ about them), the band has played with Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt, among others, and has forged a reputation as one of the coolest, most imaginative names in modern jazz.
IV is BADBADNOTGOOD’s fourth album (notwithstanding 2015’s terrific Sour Soul collaboration with Ghostface Killah) and by far their most vast and exploratory. Much of IV exists at the border of chaos and control. Solid, structured foundations tremble under loose instrumental interludes. No track encapsulates this notion better than the turbulent Confessions Pt 2, which features acclaimed American multireedist Colin Stetson. Stetson’s musical expertise has seen him work with the likes of Arcade Fire and Bon Iver (not a bad CV) and Confessions Pt 2 shows exactly why. Blasting the bass sax like he was born with a reed in his mouth, Stetson’s playing is ferocious, yet cathartic. There are also moments of urgency, reminiscent of James Bond being pursued through the streets of New Orleans by a trio of villainous saxophonists.
Stetson is not the only collaborator on IV. Three very different vocalists lend their voices to the record, each adding depth and personality to the band’s impeccable instrumentals. This is rather new territory for BADBADNOTGOOD, whose only previous work with a vocalist was with Ghostface Killah on the Sour Soul record. Time Moves Slow features the inimitable Samuel T. Herring from Future Islands. Chester Hansen’s bass is prominent and lush throughout, and the elements of the track ebb and flow harmoniously, resulting in a moment of unusual purpose and clarity on an album fuelled by imagination.
Hyssop of Love showcases the immense talents of Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins, whose polished flow adheres to the shifting cadence of the music, proving yet again that BADBADNOTGOOD and hip-hop is a seriously good combination. This is true even of the tracks without vocals; Speaking Gently, for example, is manifestly an intricate, jazz-infused hip-hop track. Indeed, their ability to seamlessly merge classic jazz techniques with hip-hop instrumentals and manic improvisations makes BADBADNOTGOOD one of the most interesting bands in modern music.
Album opener And That, Too is smooth and sultry, chiming gently below regimented woodwind and percussion, before saxophonist Leland Whitty’s abrupt, roiling solo. It’s not the only time on IV that Whitty – who has joined the band properly after a long period as a touring member – lets loose. He’s presented with significant room to move on Chompy’s Paradise, as well as the album’s title track, on which the speed and dexterity of Alex Sowinski’s drumming is equally noteworthy. Sowinksi was recently recruited as a guest percussionist on 99.9%, the debut album from Haitian-Canadian producer Kaytranada. On Lavender, Kaytranada returns the favour, co-composing a track characterised by a deep, rubbery groove and warbling interjections of synth. I could listen to a whole album of this collaboration.
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The third and final vocalist to feature on IV is another fine Toronto artist in Charlotte Day Wilson. Her low register and soulful delivery provides a lovely counterbalance to the soaring strings on In Your Eyes. It reveals a delicate side to BADBADNOTGOOD, which sits comfortably alongside the record’s diverse textures and sprawling instrumentation. On III, they crafted a definite sound and identity; on IV, they’ve expanded into purposeful ambiguity once more, inviting a disparate collection of guests to add their own flavours to the musical pot. The outcome is an album that thoroughly explores the manifold styles and capabilities of BADBADNOTGOOD. It expresses a swathe of moods and emotions, communicated as much through bold improvisation as structured melody. And isn’t that what jazz is all about?
Canadian jazz-hop maestros BADBADNOTGOOD tore it up at the Cape Town National Jazz Festival in South Africa earlier this year, but details of one particular highlight of their set are only now emerging.
Recently released footage of their set shows that the band were joined onstage by none other than Yasiin Bey (the man formerly known as Mos Def) to perform one of his new and presently unreleased songs. Titled Arcade, Bey and BADBADNOTGOOD made a formidable tag-team in the live arena, the former spitting the bars with the latter providing the backing instrumentation.
Speaking to 10and5, the BADBADNOTGOOD lads stated that they had been contacted by Yasiin’s team about a possible team-up a few days out from the festival.
“Of course we said yes, then the next night we went to meet up with him. After a couple of rehearsals we figured out what to play and ended up doing six songs. Three by him, as well as two Rodriguez songs, and Buggin Out as a tribute to Phife Dawg. It was an incredible experience! The rehearsals were magical, we really connected musically which is difficult sometimes after first meeting someone.”
You can watch some of this fantastic mash-up of talent below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEcIUQESfBc
The performance has to be a much-welcomed positive experience for Bey, who has been relatively quiet following his arrest in South Africa earlier this year for attempting to leave the country on a “world passport.”
In the aftermath of the arrest, Bey announced his retirement from the rap game, indicating that he would release a final album later in the year. We’ve already had an indication of how this retirement album may sound, Bey releasing Dec 99th – N.A.W. earlier in 2016. This recent performance with BBNG may be a further taste of what is to come and it bodes well if it is, the smooth groove of the track allowing Bey to show off his incredible vocal control.
Despite the mystery surrounding Yasiin Bey’s future, there are no such issues with BADBADNOTGOOD, their latest record IV streaming courtesy of Apple Music ahead of its official release on July 8th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBY_LrxNX3I
Image: 10and5