Brooklyn-based five-piece Extra Life will release their second album, Made Flesh, on LOAF Recordings in March 2010. Extra Life is the primary musical vehicle for Charlie Looker, singer, guitarist and composer, who has become one of the most intense and respected voices in the New York experimental underground. Looker was a core member of legendary brutal chamber ensemble Zs and has also worked with diverse artists such as Dirty Projectors, Glenn Branca, William Parker and the S.E.M. Ensemble.
Sebadoh / On Fire So gorgeous in such an understated way. When I was a kid, I really rejected this whole scene of bands because it was just too Indie and “tasteful” for me. Now I can really feel the elegance. Our drummer Nick got the whole band obsessed with this song on our last big tour. I have a really beautiful memory of a long night drive through Utah, laying in the back of the van curled up among the bags, this song playing, slightly tripping on a low dose of mushrooms, with the rattling van gently vibrating my entire body like a big filthy massage chair.
Combining the playfulness of Passion Pit, the dreaminess of School Of Seven Bells, and the electronic abandon of The Postal Service, Deastro is a pop prodigy like no other. With an unhinged imagination that extends throughout every facet of his output, the 22-year-old has recently released his new album Moondagger on Pod Records [Inertia].
Wavves / Cool Jumper I really liked the last Wavves album and hearing this new stuff really makes me excited to hear what he will do next. I always liked the synth/loop interlude stuff that he would do in between songs and I was stoked to hear it integrated into this track. I like this song because it makes me want to buy a skateboard again it reminds me of this venue called the Wired Frog that I used to go to when I was younger. Kids would freak out strip to their whities and mosh like primitives. I am glad music like this is coming back.
The latest release from the revered Kronos Quartet, entitled Floodplain, contains works written for Kronos by composers from Palestine and Serbia, traditional works from Lebanon, Turkey and Iran, contemporary interpretations of the classical music of Azerbaijan and India, and popular music from 1940s Egypt, and 1970s Iraq. Over the course of more than three decades, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has commissioned more than 600 new works, performed thousands of concerts world wide, released more than 50 recordings, and collaborated with dozens of artists.
Omar Souleyman / Dabke 2020 (Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria) I’ve always been a fan of wild singers, and Omar Souleyman more than qualifies. The label Sublime Frequencies releases some wonderful CDs and Dabke 2020 is one of my favorites. What a vital sound. Distortion rules!
Based in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, Loop 2.4.3 has toured throughout North America, Europe, Scandinavia, South Korea, and Australia, and has performed for radio, film, and television, including footage for The Learning Channel and MTV. The group’s debut recording, Batterie, was released in 2007.
Morphine / Candy This is from the record Cure for Pain, which is an old favourite of mine. The bass line is addictive. The lyrics have this romanticism that ultimately feels tragic in a Nietzchian way. Mark Sandman died just a few years ago, which was a great loss.
Medeski Martin & Wood’s new album Radiolarians II is the second installment of The Radiolarians Series where Medeski Martin & Wood subvert the age-old music industry cycle of write, record, tour by convening for brief writing retreats, performing only that new material on tour, and then recording the material immediately after getting off the road. Chris Wood selects the first three songs here, followed by the other two members.
Nina Simone / Tell It Like It Is She is the ultimate combination of jazz and R&B. Her voice is totally unique and mesmerizing, without being flashy.
My Secret Playlist is a music discovery website and weekly email publication. We invite our favourite bands and musicians to give us the rundown on their eight favourite songs right now. These are their words on the music that inspires them.
