Showcasing his repertoire on the keyboard, sampler and mixing consoleunder the alias of A Grape Dope, Chicago-based drummer John Herndon(Tortoise, Isotope 217) presents six new varying tracks that make uphis latest EP. No stranger to the producer's chair, in recent yearsHerndon has provided re-mixes for other artists, while also releasing afew of his own dub-influenced compositions via the Hefty Records Immediate Actionseries. "Action: Showered Us" leads off the disc with its infectiouslive samba school-styled rhythms and muted basslines that kick thetrack into high gear, complete with handclaps. From the Hip Hopcollective Anitcon, Dose One lends his distinct, multi-layered vocalsto the bouncy "Red Hat Attack" over busy programmed machine beats,staccato low-end and near dissonant organ drones. The compositionalsounds and juxtaposition of car crashes and toddlers-in-the-park themesmake for an odd yet very interesting track. The disc's biggest surpriseand definite highlight is the soulful ballad "I'll Spread It" whichfeatures Herndon's emotional vocoder stylings along with some tenderbass and chord progressions that lilt and sway just beautifully. Theunderlying purr of additional electronic elements round out thecomposition nicely. Herndon's interesting compositional style andshifting rhythms draw from several different influences, yet still comeacross as distinct in their own setting. The strong, at times angularcompositions on Missing Dragons should dispel the myth that drummers are only capable of counting and hitting stuff.
Two new shows just for you. We have squeezed out two extended release episodes for this weekend to get you through this week. They contain mostly new songs but there's also new issues from the vaults. The first show features music from Rider/Horse, Mint Field, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Anastasia Coope, ISAN, Stone Music, La Securite, Bark Psychosis, Jon Rose, Master Wilburn Burchette, Umberto, Wand, Tim Koh, Sun An, and Memory Drawings. The second episode has music by Laibach, Melt-Banana, Chuck Johnson, X, K. Yoshimatsu, Dorothy Carter, Pavel Milyakov, Violence Gratuite, Mark Templeton, Dummy, Endon, body / negative, Midwife, Alberto Boccardi, Divine. Cow in Maui from Veronika in Vienna. Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images! |