Michael Nolledo, Author at ALARM

World in Stereo: Psych Funk Sa-Re-Ga!

Each week, World in Stereo examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.

Various Artists: Psych Sa-Re-Ga! Seminar: Aesthetic Expressions of Psychedelic Funk Music in India, 1970 to 1983 (World Psychedelic Funk Classics, 12/7/10)

R.D. Burman featuring Asa Bhosie and Kishore Kumar: “Lekar Ham Diwana Dil”

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World Psychedelic Funk Classics has released a mind-bending collection of Indian grooves that draws heavily from ’70s and ’80s Bollywood. A treasure trove for groove seekers, Psych Funk Sa-Re-Ga! includes a number of wild and tripped-out numbers that speak directly to the melodic wonderland that is India.

Music nerds will be pleased by the limited-edition package, available as a double LP or deluxe digipack CD, and equipped with hefty in-depth liner notes and photos of the thick mustaches and permed hairdos behind some of the the grooviest music that the world has ever heard.

The Groove Seeker: Epstein’s Prefuse 73 / Jaytram / Epstein

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Epstein: Prefuse 73 / Jaytram / Epstein (Asthmatic Kitty, 12/14/10)

Jaytram: “You Know They Out”

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Though Roberto Lange’s year has been busier than usual, the multitasking musician (also known as Helado Negro) has found the time to pack in another release before the year is over. Well, kind of. The back catalog of Epstein, Lange’s longtime electronic project, has received a complete cut-and-paste overhaul by beat conductor Prefuse 73 and drummer Jaytram (of Yeasayer), making for a record aptly titled Prefuse 73 / Jaytram / Epstein.

It is a fitting year-end release for the NYC-based artist and producer, who, in 2010 alone, released a new Epstein full-length, a new Helado Negro EP, worked on a number of remixes, and saw Asthmatic Kitty reissue four Epstein records that were never released outside of Japan until now. The re-releases spawned not so much a remix album but an absolute dismantling and revision of his obscure recordings. The albums, recorded with Miami-based Beta Bodega label, serve as a wealthy groove print for Prefuse and Jaytram, who respectively split the duties.

World in Stereo: Ranjit Barot’s Bada Boom

Each week, World in Stereo examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.

Ranjit Barot: Bada Boom (Abstract Logix, 11/16/10)

Ranjit Barot: “Dark Matter”

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Dividing his formative years between England and India, Ranjit Barot falls at the crossroads of two cultures, with an aesthetic that draws heavily on Indian harmonic and rhythmic accents and R&B and jazz-rock fusions. In addition to having dozens of film scores credited to his name, Barot is also known as one of the most versatile drummers in the world, and most recently a part of the impressive roster of contemporary Indian musicians on John McLaughlin’s Floating Points.

But now Barot is finally taking a break from the film scripts and featured spots to make his debut as a leader. Bada Boom is Barot’s long-overdue solo debut, an album showcasing a musical approach crafted and shaped from a long career of session playing and film scoring. As a bilingual play on the Big Bang theory (“bada” is Hindi for “big”), Bada Boom is an epic in concept with a cast of players following suit, including John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orhestra) and legendary Indian tabla player and close family friend Zakir Hussain.

The Groove Seeker: Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Daft Punk: Tron: Legacy soundtrack (Walt Disney Records, 12/7/2010)

Daft Punk: “End of Line”

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Daft Punk fans have been waiting five years for this. Tron fans have been waiting close to thirty years. As the Tron: Legacy soundtrack is Daft Punk’s first release of new material since 2005 album Human After All, there seems to be no other logical way that the French DJ duo could have staged its return.

In a perfect marriage of aesthetics that only the Master Control Program could have arranged, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter have left their grand discothèque anthems and enlisted an 85-piece orchestra to build an ambitious sonic accompaniment to Tron: Legacy’s parallel digital universe.

World in Stereo: Rikki Ililonga & Musi-O-Tunya’s Dark Sunrise

Each week, World in Stereo examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.

Rikki Ililonga & Music-O-Tunya: Dark Sunrise (Now-Again, 11/23/10)

Musi-O-Tunya: “Dark Sunrise”

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Gritty garage-rock grooves from mid-’70s Zambia comprise Now-Again Records’ latest release, Dark Sunrise, the double-disc (or three-LP box set), 31-track chronicle of Zambian “Zam Rock” godfather Rizketo Makyua “Rikki” Ililonga and his groundbreaking band Musi-O-Tunya.

The anthology fits Now-Again’s current obsession with Zambia’s 1970s music scene, whose landmark bands WITCH and Amanaz have seen record reissues from the specialized global funk label. But after one listen to the killer rock grooves from Dark Sunrise, with its furious fusion of US/UK/African rhythmic dynamics, fuzzed-out electric guitars, and hypnotic brass sections, audiences will come to understand why the obsession is exceptionally reasonable, if not completely necessary.

The Groove Seeker: Woima Collective’s Tezeta

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Woima Collective: Tezeta (Kindred Spirits, 11/15/10)

Woima Collective: “Wayna”

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The Woima Collective has produced a remarkable set of Ethiopian-styled grooves with its debut record, Tezeta, released on the Netherlands-based record label Kindred Spirts. Including the brass-section members of the internationally respected German funk outfit Poets of Rhythm, the Collective channels the sweet funk and jazz rhythms of Mulatu Astatke, with a sound that matches his legendary 1960s and ’70s recordings.

World in Stereo: Christopher Cavaliere’s Monrovia Suite

Each week, World in Stereo examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.

Christopher Cavaliere: “Étude 7 (Brazilian March)” (Monrovia Suite, self-released, 8/13/10)

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With his self-released album Monrovia Suite, multi-instrumentalist Christopher Cavaliere presents a tightly wound collection of worldly instrumental tracks. Accessible yet avant garde, the album exudes a patience and grace towards composition that may be best demonstrated by those schooled in jazz and classical music.

The young virtuoso, hailing from Bridgeport, Connecticut, has a knack for turning his solo routine into a swelling symphonic experience. In the same style as Frédéric Chopin and other great composers, Cavaliere has titled his songs as études. It’s a compelling choice warranted by the album’s dynamic lushness, timeless guitar intercessions, and rhythmic complexity. The songs can be heard as studies in the sense of composition, arrangement, and tone. For listeners, it’s a helpful way to frame the album, imagining the songs more like movements or motifs in the traditional classical sense.

The Groove Seeker: Black Mountain’s Wilderness Heart

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Black Mountain: Wilderness Heart (Jagjaguwar, 9/14/2010)

Black Mountain: “Wilderness Heart”

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Thanks to endless comparisons to bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, and tagged as a band obsessed with ’70s stoner rock, Vancouver-based rock outfit Black Mountain has a lot to live up to. But beyond the umbrella terminology and exhaustive retro comparisons, the group doesn’t receive enough credit for striking a modern chord with mainstream and underground-minded audiences alike.

The Groove Seeker: Majeure’s Timespan

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Majeure: Timespan (9/14/2010, Temporary Residence Limited)

Majeure: “Teleforce”

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Majeuere is the side project of A.E. Paterra, drummer and one half of Pittsburgh-based electronic prog-rock duo Zombi. Much like the Lovelock moniker of bandmate Steve Moore, Majeure doesn’t stray too far from Zombi’s glimmering, cinematic, sci-fi synths, stabbing analog Moog lines, and minimalist Krautrock grooves. But for Paterra’s debut release, Timespan, the drummer brings a whole new meaning to the long player. The album is a grand, three-track journey through the nebulous ocean of space — an ambient and energetic sci-fi rock record in a musical universe where the Solaris and Bladerunner soundtracks merge into one.

World in Stereo: Angola Soundtrack: The Unique Sound of Luanda, 1965-1976

Each week, World in Stereo examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.

Various artists: Angola Soundtrack: The Unique Sound of Luanda, 1965-1976 (Analog Africa, 11/22/2010)

Ngoma Jazz: “Mi Cantando Para Ti”

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For its ninth catalog release, Frankfurt-based record label Analog Africa digs deep into the soul of Angola, the former Portuguese colony in south central Africa. The compilation gives yet another exciting perspective into the remarkable number of African music styles that have bore into the global sound stage. Angola Soundtrack: The Unique Sound of Luanda, 1965-1976, with its 44-page accompanying booklet, is one of the most complete Angolan music exhibitions released to date, bringing to light one of Africa’s most underestimated music scenes.

The Groove Seeker: Free Moral Agents’ Control This

On a weekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Free Moral Agents: Control This (Chocolate Industries, 10/12/2010)

Free Moral Agents: “North Is Red”

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Mars Volta fans know Isaiah “Ikey” Owens as a master keyboardist, also lending his talents to the related experimental dub/reggae side project De Facto. But Owens’ own one-time side project, Free Moral Agents, has transformed into a full-time band with a second studio release, Control This. Though his musical associations are enough to give him reputable standing as a versatile and adaptable session player, Free Moral Agents is far from sounding like a complex math-rock outfit.

The band’s music is, however, complex in its own way. Control This is an omnivorous kind of record — as diverse as it is visionary — and is comfortable in taking on different musical personas at once. Over a combination of ambient pop and trip hop, crunchy guitar riffs and avant-garde fusion motifs construct a critical foreground, and the esoteric vocals of Mendee Ichikawa make for a strong and fitting melodic element.

World in Stereo: The Sound of Siam: Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & Molam in Thailand 1964-1975

Each week, World in Stereo examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.

Various artists: The Sound of Siam: Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & Molam in Thailand 1964-1975 (Soundway, 11/29/2010)

Chaweewan Dumnern: “Sao Lam Plearn”

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In characteristic Soundway Records fashion, the crate-digging UK label’s newest compilation documents a flourishing music scene that few people even knew existed. Over the years, Soundway has released a number of afro-centric compilations filled with rare gems and obscure grooves, but its newest is an unexplored taste of Asia with The Sound of Siam: Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & Molam in Thailand 1964-1975.

The 19-track set is a fascinating exploration that spans North and South Thailand (known as Siam until 1939). It’s a retrospective that reveals one of the most experimental time periods in Thailand’s music history. Scouring the old and forgotten vinyls of Bangkok and unearthing the genres of luk thung, molam, funk, and spaced-out jazz, The Sound of Siam will surprise listeners with moving vocal performances, groovy rhythm sections, and surf-rock guitar riffs while being entirely Thai and Western chic at the same time.