Toumani Diabaté’s newest solo effort “The Mande Variations” is out on World Circuit and is available from Amazon and .

MP3: Toumani Diabeté - “Cantelowes”

OK, that’s not exclusively true - this guy was one of the biggest rock stars on the planet at the time, so flattery is an understatement. As for my heterosexual roots, I’m not sure how far my protestations and denials would have stretched.

I used to get teased incessantly by friends and co-workers about this incessantly. They would call me Mrs. Rock Star X, they would turn on some of his more suggestive songs as soon as he walked into the coffee shop and so on. One late Friday night I had been drinking in the way I drank, immoderately, at the bar next door. I stumbled over to the coffee shop to try and straighten up a bit. I came up to the counter and asked one of my coffee-slinging colleagues for a perk me up. My barrista buddy started giving me the business about my rock star paramour and, in a fit of frustrated drunken rage, I loudly proclaimed: “I will not fuck Rock Star X!”

The rest happened in slow motion. My friend’s face dropped and his eyes focused on a point behind me. I knew before I turned, but I turned anyway and saw not only Rock Star X, but his manager, lawyer, and another well known chanteuse of the day, let’s call her “Ophelia”. I couldn’t actually tell you the expressions on their faces as I was sprinting in shame out of the shop.

From that point on whenever Rock Star X came into the shop, I would dart to the back and swap with whoever was doing the dishes so I didn’t have to deal with my shame. I did that for months.

There’s a happy ending. One day, whilst I was washing the dishes, Rock Star X poked his head around the corner and said in his inimitable voice, “Hi Chris, long time no see. You OK?” That’s why I still buy their albums even though they haven’t done a great one since 1996.

And that’s why I bought “Accelerate” on the release date. It’s good, it’s not what a lot of the critics had hyped it as - the new “Monster”. I’m not sure the new “Monster” is something I would want to hear. It’s a good late career R.E.M. album and that’s a pretty damn good thing. Stipe, Buck & Mills are never going to make another “Murmur” or “Fables” or “Automatic” or “Hi-Fi” nor should we expect them to. To use the currently most hackneyed catchphrase, “Accelerate” is what it is. I’m a fan and I’m enjoying it - you?

MP3: R.E.M. - “E-Bow The Letter”

R.E.M.’s essential “New Adventures in Hi-Fi” is available from and Amazon.

-The Black Angels - “The Return (a warning to prepare)”

Austin’s The Black Angels sophomore LP stomped its’ way on to the interwebs this week ahead of its CD release date in May. A Free Man is still feeling the aftershocks. The Texan sextet is capable of a big sound. “Directions to See A Ghost” is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Passover” and represents a musical progression from the debut. The new record is dark, droningly hypnotic a mixture of harmonic riffs and pounding martial rhythms. The Black Angels are recognizably the band that played “Passover” but they’ve nailed down a sound that they are happy with, they rarely diverge from a trudging tempo - reminiscent of the Velvet Underground or the Melvins, they lean heavily on 60’s inspired vocals in the style of Grace Slick or Jim Morrison and they throw in the occasional psychedelic guitar or sitar solo.

The Black Angels, however, are far more than apologists for 60’s music or a house band for a “hippie party”. There are songs like “18 Years” that open with the sunshine chimes of a 60’s girl band before Dave Gahan-esque vocals and dirging guitars take the listener to a place that hasn’t seen the sunshine in quite some time. The faster tempo and brighter tone or “Science Killer” is sucked back down to the dirt as “Mission District” creeps, predatory with glimpses of the Lizard King in the vocals. The sitar chimes in sporadically hearkening the music of the East but, In general the record stomps forward with an almost militaristic rhythm as if The Black Angels would destroy anything in their wake - like Hannibal’s war elephants.

And for me, that works. This is a dark album and lyrically abstract, the songwriting showing an appreciation for or acceptance of pain and evil. There are thinly veiled political tracks like the nod to election day in “Vikings” and historical interpretations “You In Color”. But in general the lyrics are poems to personal darkness:

The curtain surrounds you
you begin to forget
The hammer cracks
the iron core of your mind

The verdict: If you liked the first Black Angels, you’ll love this one. If you’re a fan of Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, Jefferson Airplane, 60’s garage bands, The Doors, or The Velvet Underground - you’ll probably like it. If you’re open minded about your music, “Directions to See A Ghost” is definitely worth a punt.

MP3: The Black Angels - “Science Killers”
MP3: The Black Angels - “You On The Run”
MP3: The Black Angels - “The First Vietnamese War” (from “Passover”)

The Black Angels “Directions to See A Ghost” (Light In The Attic) was released for download on Tuesday on or eMusic. Order the wax, due on May 13, from Amazon

One of those is Orlando based Deaddolphin, the vessel for Greg Harned’s musical explorations. Deaddolphin makes a strange brand of bluegrass influenced hip-hop, or hip-hop influenced bluegras, that is refreshing amongst the formulaic power pop bands that seem to be rife in the Sunshine State. Musically, Deaddolphin rests somewhere between Beck’s early work with independent labels like K and Georgian rapper Bubba Sparxxx. Deaddolphin’s new EP “This Youth” is out now. Certainly one of the most creative Floridian artists that I could find, Greg was kind enough to sit down for a chat on A Free Man’s virtual couch.

AFM: Tell me about yourself. What, or who, is Deaddolphin?

GH: I began to use “Deaddolphin” after my brother coined the name from a dolphin skull I had resting in my studio. I had been tinkering around with computer music software (Ableton 4 and Reason 2.5 at the time) and needed a vessel to send it off into the world. Deaddolphin followed.

AFM: I believe that you and your brother make music together. Who does what in Deaddolphin? What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of being in a band with your brother?

GH: My brother has taken a less prominent role in Deaddolphin as he is currently pursuing his Masters in Divinity. Whenever he has time, he will drop in and lay some keys down. The advantages are he has a lot of musical theory background, and enjoys exploring non-traditional sounds and time signatures.

AFM: You do an interesting melding of bluegrass and hip-hop, a formula that doesn’t work well most of the time. Beck did it a little and you hear some ironic banjo on the occasional hip hop track. Where did your inspirations for this kind of odd partnership come from?

GH: I have had a passion for hip-hop and bluegrass since I was a teenager. My uncle is a fantastic banjo player, and whenever we would get together we would pick some bluegrass tunes and there’s something about playing songs that have been around 50, 75, sometimes over 100 years old is really something special. I picked up the mandolin a couple years ago and have been enjoying that too. I hope to incorporate it into my music more in the future.

AFM: How much of your music is synthesizer and samples and how much “real” instruments? For example, where’s the banjo in “Monkey & Tiger” coming from? Where did you learn to play?

GH: The banjo and the mandolin in “Monkey and Tiger” are both me playing. I learned guitar from my father when I was a boy and actually borrowed a banjo for about a year from my uncle, I had to give it back but I had fun with it for awhile.

AFM:What is Galvanized Caterpillar and how does it relate to Deaddolphin?

Galvanized Caterpillar is a local consisting of myself and rapper Journ. He has played many shows and festivals in the Central Florida area in the past year following the release of our EP “The Rise of Change”.

AFM: What other collaborations have you participated in?

GH: I work with Collie Bucky on a regular basis in a group called the Terror Pins. Also a couple of guys from Canada, Locution Revolution and I collaborated for a song “Luv Hate Soulmate”.

AFM: In an ideal world, with which band or artist - living or dead - would you most like to collaborate?

GH: Bob Dylan
AFM: OK, it’s time to deal with your home state (and mine actually). Don’t take this the wrong way, but I really struggled to find any decent bands from Florida. Is the Sunshine State a cultural wasteland or am I missing out on a scene? To rephrase, does Florida really just suck musically?

GH: I think they are out there for sure, but they are all in little enclaves that make finding them very difficult. Hopefully there will be a seachange soon.

AFM: What other Florida bands should I know about?

GH: Discovery of Magnetic North

AFM: Describe Orlando to me in ten words or less.

GH: Mickey Mouse bunks with Satan.

AFM: Well said. Which of your songs is the most “Floridian”?

GH: Probably “Sunk Sun” instrumentally, “Facemask” lyrically.

AFM: What’s next for Deaddolphin?
I am working on another album with Collie to complete soon, and Galvanized Caterpillar should have a new album out at the end of summer.
13. Bonus: Best Orlando band - Matchbox 20, O-Town or the Disney Main Street Band?

Britney Spears.

——

Whoa, Greg, going outside the parameters of the bonus question is cheeky! Nonetheless, check out these tracks from Deaddolphin’s EP “This Youth”, available from .

MP3: Deaddolphin - “Sunk Sun” ft. Kat Hedd and Katis Pavis
MP3: Deaddolphin - “Facemask”

A Free Man is away. Next stop - Florida.

MP3: Eric Clapton - “Mainline Florida”

Image

Eric Clapton’s “461 Ocean Blvd.” is available from or Amazon.

AFM: I’ve only recently been turned on to your music and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a swirling, lo-fi, folk-tinged pop sound – that is regrettably uncommon on the Kaiser Monkeys ruled British Isles right now. Where are your musical influences coming from?

FR: Anything we’ve been listening to that particular day. We’re all big fans of pop music, and get a kick out of taking pop principles and twisting them ever so slightly. We all love The Band, TV on the Radio, The Twilight Sad and Band of Horses. To name a few…

AFM: What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of being in a band with your brother?

It’s not something that i think about a great deal - I suppose he doesn’t always feel like my brother as much as just a very close friend that it’s ok to argue with on a regular basis.

AFM: Where does the name Frightened Rabbit come from?

Again, its a family thing - my mother used to say I had a frightened rabbit look about me when I was wee and I was thrust into social situations with other children. Did not really enjoy that kind of thing and I still struggle with social situations today.

AFM: Scotland is home to some of my favourite British artists – Bert Jansch, Jesus & Mary Chain, Belle & Sebastian - The Bay City Rollers. Who’s the best act to come from Caledonia?

There’s a lot to be proud of… I personally feel like Idlewild have been producing great music for a long time now, but the Bay City Rollers were so very pretty. Tough call…

AFM: You guys made your second trip to SxSW this year. How did that go? How do the American audiences receive you?

FR: Americans always seem to tap into our music very easily, without the same concern for whether its ‘hip’ or not that exists over here. We’ve yet to have a shitty trip to the US and we hope to take in the delights of SXSW many more times over the next few years.

AFM: What British bands are flying under the pundits’ radars? Who should we be paying attention to that we’re not?

FR: Glasgow wise, I’d say We Were Promised Jetpacks and El Padre won’t be flying under that radar for too much longer. Great bands. UK wise, I love a Leeds band called Sky Larkin.

AFM: Fantasy time. One show, one night. What venue, anywhere in the world, would you choose and what two acts (living or dead) would you ask to support you?
FR: I’d take the Barrowlands in Glasgow, with Right On Dynamite from NYC on first, then The Twilight Sad. I’d rather have my buddies there than anyone else.

AFM: What’s the best song that you’ve written? Or is that like asking a parent what’s the best child they’ve spawned?

FR: I feel very proud of a song called “Poke”, it’s on the new record. It was one of those ones that just appeared from nowhere and I still can’t figure out how I wrote it. It really does justice to a very weird yet wonderful part of my life.

AFM: I asked my Scottish colleague what she would ask a band from Selkirk – “Selkirk is south from the borders, ask them if they see themselves as Scottish or closer to English or maybe they’d get offended?”

FR: We are Scottish! Its about 50 miles from the border and even people who live 1 mile from the border count themselves as Scottish. Very, very offended!

AFM: Your second long player “Midnight Organ Flight” is due out on April 14. What has changed since your debut? What differences will fans notice between “Sings the Greys”?

FR: Sonically, its a bigger more produced affair. Lyrically its a little more intense. I’m happier with it.

Bonus: Who’s the best sibling act: The Jackson 5, Donnie and Marie or Lynyrd Skynyrd?

FR: Jackson 5 had some good moves. Great hair. Great clothes. Everything we are not, i’m afraid. Wish i had those moves…

————–

We all do. I’d be particularly grateful for the hair. Thanks to Frightened Rabbit for taking the time to talk to A Free Man. Their second LP “Midnight Organ Flight” comes out Monday. It’s available for preorder from FatCat Records or Amazon. They’ve also got a live EP available exclusively from eMusic. Frightened Rabbit is currently on tour in the UK and come back to the US in May and June. Check their myspace for dates.

MP3: Frightened Rabbit - “The Modern Leper” (Live)
MP3: Frightened Rabbit - “Head Rolls Off”

Fellow music blogger Marcy of Lost In Your Inbox (LIYIB) turned me on to the Moonbabies. Since it was such a great tip, I thought it only fair to give her the opportunity to ask a few questions. Ola Frick, the male half of the Malmö duo, joined us for a chat on A Free Man’s virtual couch.

MP3: Moonbabies - “War On Sound”
MP3: Moonbabies - “Take Me To The Ballroom”

AFM: You have an incredibly rich and full sound for a duo. How do you achieve this? Are you guys playing multiple instruments or do you bring in additional players?

OF: We both play all the instruments on the records, but sometimes bring in some friends on drums. I’m pretty good at drumming, I guess, but sometimes the song demands a bit more “solid” work, and I’m not that solid. More like playing way too fast and crazy. Carina usually does most of the piano, vintage Moog synths & vibrafone or Glockenspiel or those kinds of sounds. I play the guitars & bass.

LIYIB: I love that even though your music is melodic and poppy, it very often has a chaotic edge to it or a sense that there is something off kilter happening right under the surface. You referred to it once as “messed up frenzy and beauty.” Is that something that one of you brings to the songwriting process more than the other?

OF: Nah, I think Carina and I feel the same thing most of the times. We both have our roots in melodic music as well as noisier stuff, so it’s a natural thing when we feel that something need to be messed up. But it’s not that we plan it, it’s just something that comes out of intuition.

AFM: I’m not a production wonk, but he production on your latest record is very clever - a little bit of distortion, enough to make the record the sonic equivalent of the visuals from the “War On Sound” video. Who turned the knobs for you on “Moonbabies at the Ballroom”?

OF: I did the recordings and mixing, and produced it together with Carina. We’ve recorded all our albums ourselves in the same room here in Malmö. We use it both as a rehearsal place and a recording studio. The inspiring part is that we can go in any direction we’d like with a song, and not like most bands write songs, then rehearse, then go into the studio. With our songs it happens everything at the same time. We write as we are recording, and trying out different arrangements. That’s why we got loads and loads of alternative versions of our songs. For some songs we have like 5-6 different versions that are so different in tempo, instrumentation it’s almost like a completely different song. Sometimes we change the lead vocals, or change the key of the track, cause it suits one of us better to be the lead singer. It’s great fun, but takes a lot of time. But we always take as long as it takes to record an album, both of us hates rushed-productions. You want it to last for years ahead. And I still love all the albums we’ve done.

AFM: Who did the video for “Take Me To The Ballroom”? The “Eyes Wide Shut” homage is fantastic.

Both the “Take Me To The Ballroom ” and “War on Sound” videos were done by two of the greastest people I know - Eric Althin and Shannon Henegan of Zombieduck Productions. They’re destined for greatness, and I really hope we will continue working together with them for many years more.

AFM: You guys have been in action since the late 90’s and thus are well placed to have observed the absolute cascade of indie-pop bands to come out of Sweden in the last few years. Why is the Swedish soil so suddenly fertile for great music?

OF: I think Swedes are raised with a good sense of melody and hooks. Swedish people like to be productive and find happiness through their work, so it’s more about putting a lot of hard work in it then anything else, I reckon. Also it’s bloody cold and rains for 8-9 months a year here. I mean it’s no place for humans to peacefully roam around outdoors. (more…)

AFM: First things first. Can you introduce yourselves and tell me how you guys got started?

RC:We started out in the summer 2006. Both of us had been in this other band for some time and the music were heading in a weird direction…lots of syncopes, it ended up sounding like Dreamtheater. That didn´t feel right, we wanted to do something more simple and lo-fi, so we wrote and recorded a few songs, that later became our first EP “Low at the disco” (Best Kept Secret). After that we just quit the other band.

AFM: What’s the story behind the name?

RC: It was a joke at first about this super-christian guy named Robert Church…and he, of course, had his holy community… Too much beer, but we think it sounds really good though.

AFM: I hear echoes of a lot of great lo-fi artists in your music, like Beat Happening, Guided By Voices and Yo La Tengo. Who do you consider strong musical influences?

RC: We like stuff like Bob Hund, Firehose, Ramones, Dinosaur Jr, The Haircuts…

AFM: Robert Church and the Holy Community have been very prolific, three EPs and an LP in the last year. How do you maintain that pace of songwriting and recording?

RC: The songwriting came very easy for us from the start and it has been like that for some time now. After the Series Two release we have not written anything, but we are back in the studio right now so more will probably come. We hope to be able to keep up the same pace in the future. As long as it´s fun to write and record we will keep on doing it.

AFM: Until the last few years, most of what I heard coming out of Sweden was either slightly scary death metal, The Cardigans, or Abba. But lately there’s some really great Swedish music getting some exposure - Peter Bjorn & John, Jose Gonzalez and I’m From Barcelona to name three. What’s changed in Sweden that’s inspired so many great new bands?

Guess lots of people are tired of Abba and all of that, we are. But Sweden has always had good indie-bands. The difference is now there are a lot of good bands coming out of smaller labels. Bands releasing the music on their own labels. You don´t have to have a major label to reach people any more, that is a good thing. And there are a lot of indie-clubs popping everywhere, new places to play.

AFM: What other Swedish bands are making great lo-fi pop similar to you guys? Who else should we be listening to?

- There are a few on Series two…Oh! Custer, Tafra and Klas to name a few. The Medalist (not so lo-fi but good) on Cloudberry Records, The San Marinos… Horowitz from the UK are really great! You should check them out. We were supposed to play with them in April but we had to cancel that show, unfortunately.

AFM: Most Swedish bands that I’ve heard record in English rather than their native language. Why do you think this is the case? Have you recorded any tracks in Swedish?

RC: We have not recorded anything in Swedish yet. Guess that most of the bands we listen to write in english, maybe we are influenced by that. English sounds more melodic…and you reach more people. If we were writing in Swedish maybe lots of the foreign blogs and stuff wouldn´t write that much about us.

AFM: I know that you guys are from Stockholm, but I always spend time on the west coast of Sweden - what do you know about bands from from Gothenburg or Malmo?

RC: Check out Springfactory, The Electric Pop group from Gothenburg and Oh! Custer, Brotherhood of Broken Hearts from Malmö/Lund.

AFM: What’s been the biggest “break” or success for the band thus far?

RC: We have not had any “break” as you call it so far. But having almost all our songs we ever written released by indie labels all over the world is really great to us. We are still waiting for our big “break” ☺

AFM: If you could play your record for any artist, living or dead, who would it be?

RC: That would have to be the multi-talented Swedish hi-fi artist Rolf Pilotti.

AFM: What’s next for Robert Church and the Holy Community?

RC: We are going to record a new EP this spring or maybe a full-length…and hopefully get some gigs. Plus we will be on a few compilation-releases this year, keep your eyes open.

———-

Thanks to Rickard & Joel for taking the time for a virtual chat. Here are a couple of tracks from their recent release:

MP3: Robert Church & The Holy Community - “Sunday Love”
MP3: Robert Church & The Holy Community - “Train To Asia”

Robert Church & The Holy Community’s most recent LP “Le Rouge” is available for $13 US from Series Two (seriestworecords[at]gmail.com). Previous releases are available from the band’s myspace page.

AFM: First off, let’s make the standard introductions. Who’s who in Blah
Blah Blah?

J: I’m Jay I sing and play guitar, Chris plays bass and backing vocals and Tom hits things, does backing vocals and don’t you think he looks like Harry Potter?

AFM: How did you guys get together as a band?

J: Chris insisted I let him join me on bass as he had no real purpose in life. Tom we met when he got confused one night and got onstage with the wrong band. I’m not sure that he’s realised that he’s not in a function band yet. He calls me Amy. I think that must be the function band singer’s name. He should have gone to Specsavers.

AFM: I’m struggling to pin your music down, which is most likely a good
thing. The best description I’ve come up with so far is that Blah Blah
Blah occupy that musical chasm between Blur’s wilder music, Suede’s
cheekier and Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s saner.

J: That’s really nice of you. Would you like to come for tea? I like loads of different music and we try and have fun with all different genres so you’ll find elements of punk or samba depending on what song and what part. Indie has been hijacked to mean schmindie and I guess, if anything, we’re nicking back the true meaning of indie and legging it out of the shop before we get caught.

AFM: You guys are a prolific live band, with shows on an almost nightly basis. Does that leave you any time to record? Or to eat? When can we
expect to see the Blah Blah Blahs on vinyl, or whatever material music
is played on these days?

J: Thanks very much. We’ve substituted sleep for recording and we haven’t eaten for a year now. It’s done our waistlines the world of good. We’re putting out Death To The Indie Disco on vinyl on April 7th. You can get it as a download too but you’ll miss out on the hand-sprayed artwork if you do that. I could come around and spray computers if anyone wants?

AFM: I’ve heard rave reviews of your live shows, with some folks going so far as to describe you as the best live act in Britain right now. What’s going through your head when you’re on stage in front of a crowd?

J: Thanks again. You’re saying very nice things. I think I like you. We enjoy it and we want whoever is watching to enjoy it so we try and give everything we can each time we play. We’re not into shoegazing or being miserabilists on stage. We’ve got all day to be like that.

AFM: What’s your most embarrassing live show moment?

J: I’m often found with my flies undone. It’s not intentional but it does show up my bright underpants. I’ve got over the initial embarrassment of sharing a stage with Chris and Tom.

AFM: What’s your favorite song to cover?

J: We just did an acoustic cover mash up of Primal Scream meets Marvin Gaye for Xfm. That was fun.

AFM: Where’s the best venue that you’ve ever played?

J: Busking beside the burger van at Wireless Festival. I still get stopped on the tube by people that saw that. We’ve even ended up playing wakes, and weddings but in terms of “rock n roll” dreams the biggest gigs we’ve played so far with the biggest response was playing shows like Manchester Academy with Kate Nash and Liverpool Academy with Jack Penate. Am really looking forward to playing places like Sheffield that we haven’t played enough yet.

AFM: I think that you guys hail from London? Which part of The Big Smoke
do you call home? What should we know about your ‘hood?

J: We don’t wear hoods though a couple of us wear caps. Our cap is mostly all over.

AFM: What other Londoners should we be paying attention to?

J: Talk Taxis, Jay Jay Pistolet, there are loads but my minds just gone blank at the moment. I really like Dockers MC a poet that’s doing great things.

AFM: Fantasy time - If you could add any musician, living or dead, to
the Blah Blah Blah roster, who would it be?

J: Elvis. That man knew how to make a sandwich but otherwise Buddy Rich, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones……

AFM: And finally, you guys seem to have a legion of smitten female fans. What’s your secret for success?

J: Socks in Tom’s pants and airbrushing.

————

Good to know, that. Thanks to Jay for taking some time out from a busy road schedule. Blah Blah Blah’s “Death To The Indie Disco” is available from today in the UK from hmv.com.

MP3: Blah Blah Blah - “Hopeless & Lazy”
MP3: Blah Blah Blah - “Cheated”