Album Review: Headboggle DIGITAL DIGITAL ANALOG

The latest from Ratskin Records is a project led by Derek Gedalecia under the name Headboggle. Since 2006 Derek Gedalecia combined highly experimental with electronics to form rich, textured sounds. The sophomore album is based on the works from POLYPHONIC DEMO which Gedalecia expanded on for this album, spanning 24 songs in total. The songs average a length of roughly a minute, so it feels like a bold choice to create a full length album this way. However, it is a bold choice that pays off in the end.

The album as a whole plays with theme and variations, and one overarching one is the arrangement from a slow to extremely fast tempo, expressed in beats per minute (or, at noted in the songs, bpm). With this gradual speed in tempo the complexity grows. However, this isn’t apparent right away. When one listens to the album at the beginning with “Ancient Trap (45bpm)” the droning tempo is mired in dark tones and cacophony albeit lacking in complexity, and that introductory song doesn’t fully prepare the listener for what’s ahead. In fact the complexity doesn’t start to drastically change until “Ballroom Psych (80bpm)” with its jive ballroom style layered with distortions and sliding octaves that provides as much of a descant found in a typically composed song. The gradual elaboration within a sonic world of pixelated and digitized sounds arouses a sense of wonder as well as a series of emotions between saudade like in “Epic Soundtracks (86bpm)” or a hushed sense of urgency in “Spy Show (100bpm)” display the creative prowess and the musical execution that Headboggle produces.

Whether it’s the crunchy harmonies found in “Embers (80bpm)” or “Skip Pop (117bpm)” the segues between each song serve not only as a stylistic or bpm transition but also a tone transition. Sometimes this doesn’t always reach its fullest potential, and I wonder if lengthening some of these segues would accomplish this. It would allow a smoother transition between styles that clearly build off the previous song and it would lead to less awkward endings like in “Nightmare Crew (88bpm)” where cutting off leaves it unresolved, which is always an interesting creative choice, though in doing so doesn’t help “Do You Like Mush (88 bpm)” build off of it. Despite how I feel about this artistic choice it doesn’t weaken how each song will build off earlier aspects, like “Breakdown Music (104bpm)” or “Screenshot (117bpm)” seeming to reference earlier basic structures only to build to a complex end. In songs like that I wonder how mixing those songs together would sound and how much it would enhance some of the stylistic and tempo themes.

In general, some of those songs could have been mixed together to add more depth to the overall concept that Headboggle aims in respect to tempo and complex structure. While this would prove problematic in songs where dissonance appears prominent in the song like “Data Entry (100bpm)” or “Skip Pop (117bpm)” I also think aesthetically pleasing isn’t meant to be forefront of the album and would add a new concept to explore. That said I understand why that creative choice wasn’t pursued. In some cases that choice would hurt songs like “Skywriter (120bpm)” that seemingly references back to “Data Entry (100bpm)” and would lose that effect of building off of other songs.

These issues seem minor with the ending of the album culminating into, while roughly a minute per song, three songs that tie all the themes and genre explorations into deeply complex pieces of “The Great Chicago Jam (130bpm)”, “Gutter Boys (135bpm)”, and “Synthi Robot (152bpm)” where the fusions of funk, rock, and frenzied digital sounds produce a sound that resolves the earlier pieces into a final passionate throe of joy in the chaotic and sometimes unsettling tones. It creates a sense of intense evolution and a bookend to the album of an experimental odyssey.

3.48 / 4

Headboggle’s DIGITAL DIGITAL ANALOG is out now and is available on the Ratskin Records website. You can keep up with the artist on facebook, twitter, as well as other platforms.

Obligatory Birthday Post

Yep, I’m that sap that still likes to celebrate her birthday! Since I actually love music I thought I’d share some of my favorite songs via YouTube. You can also check out my playlist from last year if you need more for enjoyment or future mockery.

The Soundtrack: 2018

After picking four songs that describe each month I thought I’d do something different. I figured to I’d take from all the songs I picked each month and, with a clearer view of how the year played out, pick 12 songs that best describe the year. It was difficult picking one song to represent each month, but I think I managed it. If you want to see which songs I picked this year you can check out my other posts or check out my Youtube playlist.

I hope you enjoy the soundtrack, and I hope all my readers have a safe and happy new year.

1. Joe Satriani “Energy”

2. Pop Evil “Waking Lions”

3. Dorothy “Ain’t Our Time to Die”

4. Theivery Corporation “Music to Make You Stagger”

5. John Hopkins “Luminous Beings”

6. Florence + The Machine “Hunger”

7. Wet “11 Hours”

8. Foxing “Heartbeats”

9. Eminem “Kill Shot”

10. Atreyu “Anger Left Behind”

11. Dead Can Dance “Act II: The Mountain – The Invocation – The Forest – Psychopomp”

12. Alan Walker “Interlude”

Getting Psychedelic with Scott Yoder

Some bands when they’re experimental try to emulate other bands. Some bands when they’re flamboyant lack the musical substance to match their flare. This isn’t the case with Scott Yoder.

The psychedelic and experimental nature of Scott Yoder’s music will enchant the audience and lure them into another world of rockstars depicted with distortions and and atonal vocals matched with the pitfalls that come with that world, marked with break downs that were syncopated or polyrhythmic. While sometimes the lyrical content was a bit lacking I think that’s only a problem on my part. Otherwise when the mics for backup vocals were up (more on that in a moment) the blend was amazing and added much more depth to the music. There was a lot of thought put into both the music and the performance.

There was equal thought placed in the stage effects as there was with the music. At times, though, I felt it was too much for such a small stage. Even though the fog was a bit overpowering at times (but at least it smelled a bit like cotton candy and not the usual dust smell) it complimented the psychedelic elements of the music quite well. The strobe light effect also added to the performance, I personally don’t care for them. That said I won’t count it against them, just as I’m not counting the issue with the back up vocal mic. It doesn’t seem the sound engineer wanted to pay attention to back up vocals in anyone’s set and this is no exception. The audience ended up liking it anyway. It took a while for the audience to warm up, but with the help of some of the people involved with the band that happened. It probably would have happened eventually but it helped give the extra push.

With an influx in the revival of experimental and psychedelia Scott Yoder is a shoe in to rise to the demand. It will be interesting to see musically where this artist goes and grows .

Technique-3.9

Presentation-2.7

Audience Interaction-2.6

Brownie Points-0

Total-9.2

The Soundtrack: August 2018

Those who are new to this I pick 4 songs from music released in the particular time, in this case June of this year. These 4 songs I feel capture the emotion of the month. I don’t look at which songs I like, or genre, or anything of the sort. It’s all about the music and capturing the mood.

Incidentally most of the mood this month is pretty much that transition from summer to autumn with a bit of YouTube drama mixed in. It seema like just some things finally came to light. I tried to capture all of that with the music, but not too many songs this month reflected those sentiments.

Honne “Location Unknown”

Jason Mraz “Making It Up”

Troye Sivan “What a Heavenly Way to Die”

Foxing “Heartbeats”

If you want to check out what I picked in previous months you can check out my other posts or go to my YouTube playlist.

An Evening with The Company: Final Thoughts

After looking over all my reviews of the night there are some overarching things I noticed. Since this was an event hosted by a record label I called it a showcase, and that may be a misnomer on my part. I’m not sure this was an actual showcase. If it was a showcase it wasn’t featured as such and was definitely meant to be more of a concert. Here are some further thoughts on the night.

Introductions

Most of the bands this night didn’t introduce themselves. There wasn’t even so much of a hello or any acknowledgement of others unless it was for other bands or some merch plug for many performing. I understand most of the audience is probably familiar with the bands playing, but it never hurts to provide an introduction within the first song or so. It could even be as simple as, “Hiya, we’re Anal Sex Horror Stories, and boy are we gonna rock that anus tonight!” The fact it was a common occurrence leads me to believe either bands didn’t want to play or there was supposed to be a host introducing them. If it was the latter it certainly fell through and could have been easily resolved. If it was the former that can be solved with a reality check.

Lots of Afterthoughts and Haphazard Planning

It seemed to be while everything started on schedule (an unexpected but welcome phenomenon) there was not too much effort into other set ups. The merch tables were on one side of the house, and inexplicably on the other side of the house a table for local organizations sparsely set up. These could have been combined with the merch table or perhaps set up in the unused bar outside the house doors. Honestly I’m not sure I would have included them at all. It wasn’t a charity concert, it wasn’t something completely sold as a general local event, and while featured mostly local bands from a local label not cohesive to the theme of the night…whatever that may be.

The reason I thought it was a showcase is because it was billed as a concert hosted by the label. It seems like most, if not all, of the bands playing were signed to said label. However when I looked at the event on facebook it was not billed as a showcase, but “An Evening with The Company.” If this was a showcase more planning should have been put in to it. Consider the purpose and the audience. If it was intended to be a concert more consideration should have been invokved anyway, especially because…

Long, Long Soundchecks

I get soundchecks and set up can take time. I get that soundchecks are also done when the house is full. What I don’t get is why this ran for so long. Soundchecks with a full house are usually brief to make adjustments for the amount of people. I suspect there wasn’t an initial soundcheck and that’s why it took so long.

A Positive Note

I personally appreciated the warning about strobe and flashing lights outside the venue. I know folks love them, but I personally dislike them. I find them disorienting and headache inducing. That warning allowed me to better prepare myself and minimize the headache.

I have no idea what went on during the show to end up with these issues. I can only imagine what happened behind the scenes. If my theatre experience taught me anything it’s how if the audience can tell something’s up it must be chaotic behind the scenes.

Orphans of Doom Rocks It Live

Next up on the showcase is Orphans of Doom. As some of my secret fans will recall I reviewed their latest album a few months back. Seeing them live wasn’t too much of a difference musically and there are some variants performance-wise, but that’s about it.

I suspected Orphans of Doom was opening as some of the music sounded familiar, so I do need to rescind some of my earlier comments about their music being indistinguishable from other stoner metal songs in the genre. However it seemed like some of the songs they played live were songs I mentioned as being their standout songs, so that’s why I only partially rescind. That said there’s not much I can add that I haven’t already said about the band’s music before. Those who are into stoner metal will enjoy their music as they are mostly standard with some songs where they explore slow tempos and prog elements to create a stoner-prog fusion. To this end, however, it’s explored in a separate way.

Orphans of Doom love to put on a light show, and in this case there were strobe lights at the most intense parts of the songs (thank you, Granada, for posting warnings). It certainly intensified and added to the extra energy and tenacity that wasn’t captured on the album. While I wasn’t able to observe how the audience reacted specifically to the light show there were people enjoying it, and as the set went on the audience’s adoration grew, albeit not as intense as it could have been. I can only assume it was effective even in a small amount.

Orphans of Doom bring an intensity that wasn’t observed in the album. Other people enjoyed it as the band allowed it to be extreme tempered with slow tempos. I feel like if the band didn’t try to hide their intensity they will give a more genuine performance onstage and on the album.

Technique-2.5

Presentation-2

Audience Interaction-2

Brownie Points-0.5

Total-7

Opening Night of Pride for the Masses

As most people are aware in the US June is Pride Month, a month where people of the LGBT+ community celebrate who they are. There are a lot of politics involved with both pride month and various LGBT+ issues, of which I won’t delve into much. What I delve into is the opening night of Pride for the Masses, a Pride event hosted by I Heart Local Music. Everyone hosting the event was a member of the LGBT+ community and brought an incredible performance.

The night started off with Cuee, a local rapper and hip hop artist who brought finesse and aggressive lyrics that attack each song. The combination of at times smooth beats with strong drill elements brings a down to earth reality often ignored or, at best, overlooked in the music scene. The music brought an incredible vibe that welcomed everyone to join.

Gritty reality was certainly not ignored this night, however, Wick and the Tricks brought their high-octane performance of glam punk that covered many political issues while being risque and off the wall.

The last musical act of the night was DJ Candyass, who brought a plethora of music guaranteed to please everyone. The music playlist ranged from hip hop to EDM and even more obscure genres. Everyone had a reason to dance.

Of course, this was all tied together by the wonderful hostess Miss Amanda Love. Her comical stylings and lip syncing had the audience roaring with laughter while applauding her ability the match the energy to the song, be it a moving ballad or fast tempos. She also showed the audience as much love as she was given.

This is certainly a great event, one which I hope is repeated in the future with the same fervor and tenacity. I also hope that it continues to be fully run by members of the LGBT+ community with all profits going back into the same community that put it together. That is something I’m glad I Heart Local Music seemed to care about and hope other places wanting to participate in Pride month will consider as well.

Album Review: “Prequelle” by Ghost

Lots of attention focused on Ghost this year with their theatrics of introducing new characters, such as the newest frontman Cardinal Copia, to the legal theatrics surrounding the band. The drama proved to be a winning combination with climbing sales. Add a creative deviation from previous works and “Prequelle” will hit the spot for many listeners.

Ghost fans have nothing to fear with the drastic changes. The familiar combination of macabre, tongue-in-cheek humor, elements of psychedelic and progressive music tempered with gothic tones still remain strong. Great examples include “Witch Image”, “See the Light”, and especially “Life Eternal” ending the Ghost album in typical Ghost fashion: strong ballad movements with dark tones paired with an eerie choir. Satanic lyricism and gothic elements along with bits of psychedelic music still remain at the core of the music while providing something new.

The creative direction taken this album not only provides something familiar for old fans as not to isolate them, but provides something to lure in fans of various genres. As promised there is a grittier tone with songs like “Rats” and “Faith” which will bring in more heavy metal fans and are guaranteed to be hits. Listeners who enjoy more progressive elements of the band will appreciate certain themes repeated throughout the album, namely the rat theme, most notably found in “See the Light” as well as complex instrumental like “Miasma” and almost Gershwin-like rhapsodies of “Helvetesfönster” that play with influences of folk metal. There is something for everyone this album and it’s pulled off magnificently.

Despite the remarkable endeavor pulled off there were some problematic things. Not all of the transitions were smooth and felt a bit clunky, as seen in the interlude of “Rats” or the introduction of the saxophone solo in “Miasma” doesn’t seem to fit into the whole of the song. There is also the song “Witch Image”, where the word play was welcome but the lyrics felt a bit phoned in. I’ll chock it up to my disdain for heavy-handed end rhyming, and what the song lacks in lyrical composition it’s certainly made up with power chords and psychedelic musical composition. I also found myself questioning the artistic intention of some of the things which were off, as sometimes it was hard to determine if stuff like off-key singing was intended in “See the Light” or having an overload of low ends and synthesizer were meant to convey something deeper in “ Helvetesfönster”, or perhaps this was the best take. Regardless everything else was put into consideration, including songs bleeding into one another and a continuation of elements.

Ghost’s latest album delivers everything and more, and is one of the rare moments where an album lives up to the hype that I can recall. As promised it is a grittier, more arena-type direction as opposed to other albums, but it combines enticing music for everyone without leaving longtime fans behind. If this is a transition into a more theatrical one for Ghost it will certainly be an interesting ride.

3.5/4

The Future of Pop Stars Probably Aren’t AI

I read an article on Pitchfork the other day where it was another puff piece about whether or not future pop stars will actually be human or not. One thing I definitely appreciated about the piece was how it went into the history of AI pop stars leading all the way up to well-known programs like Vocaloids. Otherwise I felt it was another “future of” puff piece, but I want in on the puff piece pretension. It lets me pretend my opinion matters to the occasional person who actually reads my blog. Moreover I feel the topic presented was rather short sighted.

Does the future of pop music lie in something like Vocaloids? The short of my long-winded opinion is not yet and not necessarily with an AI image as the pop star. There. You now have debate fodder.

Now for the long answer…

Even though technology is moving at incredible rates not much is geared towards creating vocal synthesizers musically. I’ll use Vocaloids as my example since they are currently the most well known for singing synthesizers. Vocaloids were developed by Yamaha, which also isn’t the best when it comes to any sound synthesized. There’s a reason it’s one of the “go-to” brands for beginners of something like piano. They’re relatively inexpensive, and it’s reflected in the quality. The timbre is tinny, the clarity is lacking, the synthesizer sounds nothing like the instrument in question, and the sound variety tends to be – in my opinion – poor. This is especially reflected in the older generations of their Vocaloid line. In addition to the typical Yamaha sound quality older generation Vocaloids also lacked enunciation necessary for singing. Based on other opinions of Vocaloids in the West I’m not alone in this sentiment. There were some modulations, updates, and newer versions where these issues were somewhat addressed.

One of the ways the synthesizer shortcomings are addressed is the newer Vocaloid editions use actual samples of singing and speech instead of analytics. Combined with the updates the quality results in less tinny, less muffled, and more importantly more organic sounds. The technology still has a ways to go, but Yamaha made some strides. The only issue I see is whether or not Yamaha will continue to keep improving the technology and updating the language library to improve the overall quality.

Vocaloids, however, aren’t known just for being software. Many know them for their mascots like Miku Hatsune. While I surmise this is the direction Pitchfork was heading with the “future of pop stars” remark I still disagree. One part of the reason is despite internet popularity it hasn’t translated to widespread popularity outside of Japan. Another part of the reason is with software like Vocaloids the mascots are copyrighted to where if one uses the image for fan-made work it’s fine, but for commercial use it needs clearance with the copyright owner—which if I recall is Crypton Future Media with Vocaloids. Conversely the software is free to use without the same restraints. People are free to use it in conjunction with other instruments while recording their own music. It’s no different than using other similar licensed software for creating music. This disconnect of the image of the pop star from the “voice” creates not a future icon in the way the Pitchfork article insinuates. Rather than creating a platform for holographic stars to appear on a world tour it creates an opportunity for the future of pop stars to be the music creators themselves. There exists a few examples with Livetune being one of the more prominent ones. While it’s fair to assume we wouldn’t necessarily see the artist featured in any music video, people familiar with a particular artist’s work still would clamor to attend a concert of said artist. Various artists in electronic music come to mind as established examples. If anything I see a trend of focusing more on the music thanks to increasingly available technology to artists not otherwise accessible in earlier periods.

More easily accessible technology has and will contribute to changing how we consume music. Music synthesizers, while full of potential, are not up to snuff just yet for serious consideration when associated with a particular image for replacing human pop stars. This opinion may change if said technology improves, but even then I think the future pop stars will not morph into some image of a particular character, but the image of the artist behind the song. The voice synthesizer will become another instrument with its own malleable characteristics suitable for the artist’s desired outcome. Rather than what will the future pop star be artificial we should as will future pop stars be the ones behind the mixer.