Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25122
column: bluenote text: dan santucci Whatever happened to "shoegazer" music? You know, the bands that played an entire set of blissed out rock tunes whilst staring at their feet? Through the passage of time few bands have successfully cap- tured the sound of a dreamscape. But some still do it today-and with the confidence that those before never had. Echoing and reverberating from Austin, TX, Seven Percent Solution pays homage to a scene that once was. The guitars harmonize in a bat- tle of delay and flange as the soft vocal styling of Reese Beeman drifts in and out (sometimes way out). Perfect companionship for rainy day introspection or a long flight. IF YOU LIKE THIS, CHECK OUT: WINDY AND CARL, As the legend goes, Toumani Diabate is the irrefutable princ~ of the kora (a 21-string West African harp-lute) i the kingdom of traditional music, from Mali, where hi father reigns king. Diabate has been playing since th age of five and is responsible for introducing this age-' old tradition to Western ears. On this third release, his style is fluent, as if he is speaking with his hands. Through the kora, Diabate conveys an innocence and joy seldom found in Western music. IF YOU LIKE THIS, CHECK OUT: KETAMA. The .band's sophomore effort, Black Foliage, continues to meander through the field of joy that is psychedelic pop. Touching on the '60s- inspired sounds that made their first album (music from the unrealized film script Dusk at Cubist Castle), they have gone one step further into the realm of musica concrete. Each song is comprised of bits and pieces from previous (and future) songs, building and inspiring the next track. Amazing melodies and vocal harmonies combine with surreal lyrics and abstract rep- resentations of the environment. Pure strokes of genius. IF YOU LIKE THIS, CHECK OUT: THE APPLES (IN STEREO), ZUMPANO, NEUTRAL MILK HOTEl. 1> ARTIST: Seven Percent Solution ALBUM: GABRIEl'S WALTZ Lobel: X-Ray Records 2> ARTIST: Toumani Diabate with Ballake Sissoko ALBUM: NEW ANCIENT STRINGS LABEl: Hannibal Records Singer/songwriter David returns with rst album in almost five years. Full of romantic notions and spiritual subtleties, Dead Bees on a Cake shines with emotion. "Krishna Blue" is undoubtedly the pin- nacle of the album, overflowing with the musical tal- ent of percussive genu is Talvin Singh. Sylvian comes clean when he whispers, "She's here in the snowfall the dead of night." The mood is of courtship, th~ final fire. "She's all that I need, all that I am. The voice of compassion inside the man. She's here in the life- lines and every curve, suspended in silence between each word." Other tracks sway with the breeze of string arrangements, courtesy of composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and ambience by a host of other talents. Definitely down tempo and calm. IF YOU LIKE THIS, CHECK OUT: JAPAN, BRIAN ENO, HOLGER CZUKAY. Yazoo records have done ethnic music aficionados a great favor. All the recordings in this series, dated from 1925-48, have been digitally remastered from old 78s (records). One could argue that the sacrifice of sound quality is a small price to pay to have all these histori- cal samples on one disk. Each volume stands alone; its songs are handpicked and there is a brief commentary on the players and the instruments used. Pat Conte spans the world over and comes up with the most tra- ditional music from Lesotho to Poland to Rajasthan. That's diversity. In addition, Secret Museum also puts out Ethnic Music Classics by region (Central Asia, North Africa). Essential cultural listening. IF YOU LIKE THIS, CHECK OUT: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: ENDANGERED MUSIC PROJECT.