In keep with the South Asian theme of yesterday, we just discovered this sweet track from Apache Indian (he’s not Native American) entitled “Om Numah Shivaya”.  Produced a few years backs, it combines reggae and the sacred mantra of Shiva, “Om Namah Shivaya”. (Yes, the song name is spelled differently.) Not only is the song haunting, but the lyrics carry a message appropriate for the vehicle. But instead of posting them here, you can let them speak for themselves.

Tags: Apache Indian, mantra, Om Namah Shivaya, Om Numah Shivaya, reggae, Shiva

Back in my college days on the East Coast, I always had Talvin Singh’s compilation Anokha: Soundz of the Asian Underground playing in the background. It was one of those discs that heralded the arrival of the Asian sound into electronica and the greater mainstream music consciousness. Just think it would only be one year later that Madonna ended up worshipping “the guru’s lotus feet” on Ray of Light’s “Shanti/Ashtangi” produced by William Orbit. (On a digressive note, I recently realized that her VMA performance of “Shanti” – - was probably the first time any thing in Sanskrit was broadcasted on MTV. Unfortunately, though replete with bharata natyam dancers and projections of Hindu deities, the performance was vocally far from Ms. Ciccone’s best.)

In any case, more than a decade had passed since I originally chilled out to Mr. Singh’s fine selections brewing organic Chai in college housing when I ended up coming across the original clip for Mr. Singh’s “Jaan”. Directed by Mr. Rob Howard, “Jaan” feels likes a step back into a recent but far different time. (One more digression: is this how people feel when they look back at the sixties?) One thing for certain is that “Jaan” is certifiably one tripped out video: lots of soft-focus close ups of a statue of Buddha merging with Mr. Singh’s eyes, then long haired women in flowing fabrics, and finally feeding of farm animals. I think this would be a textbook example of what could be called an impressionistic non-narrative. Perhaps, knowledge of Hindi (I hope I’m not making a linguistic faux-pas) would help understand the context, but at least the vast intellectual storehosue of the Internet has left me with no answers.

Here is Mr. Singh’s in more recent times in a stunning tabla performance entitled “Devotion”. I can’t help but think that Hawai’i is in need of more tabla-injected dance parties.

Tags: electronica, Jaan, Madonna, tabla, Talvin Singh

Yes, we’re feeling Washed Out, and that’s not a bad thing.

Washed Out is a one-man ensemble by up-and-coming musician Ernest Green, who hails from Georgia. (Yes, we wouldn’t have thought Southern boys like electronics, but we’re glad  to be proven wrong.)   This track “Feel It All Around” is a perfect soundtrack for hot summer weather and cooling off in the water… or with liquid refreshments. The appropriately directed clip was produced by Fiction.

DETAILS

“Feel It All Around” is off Washed Out’s Life of Lesiure EP now available on iTunes and Amazon.

Mr. Green has quite a groovy photo blog along with a MySpace music page, which features the great non-EP track “You and I,” replete with old-school but tastefully subtle Madonna sample. We spotted other current fav, Toro Y Moi, who we’ve been listening to on our blip.fm station.

Tags: electronica, Ernest Green, Washed Out

We’re currently loving “Future Days (Getting High)” by Brit duo electronic duo Society. The clip is a veritable venture in altered states directed by fashion photographer Pierre Debuschere. Belgian actor Jey Crisfar – best known for his work with Canadian director Bruce LaBruce (no commentary here) – plays the starring role here, either dancing or running by the forest, torches in hand. (Your interpretation is as good as ours.)

LISTEN MORE

“Future Days” is off Society’s 4-track EP The Rules of Attraction, currently available on iTunes and Amazon.

Tags: Future Days, Jey Crisfar, Pierre Desbuchere, Society

Danish group Selvmord’s hot track “OK” has quickly become one of our favorite track of Summer 2010. From what we’ve seen online, Selvmord is marketed in Europe as a rap group. But their sound has a bit too much of a teutonic slickness to file them neatly away somewhere between Tupac and Ludacris. If anything, Selvmord’s aesthetic, built upon its phat beats tastefully dusted with rough and dirty electronics, reminds us of Brit band Massive Attack - a kind of Nordic cousin to Massive Attack’s Mezzanine from the late nineties.  Selvmord’s music is the kind of thing you’d want to brood fashionably to in a loft while sipping gin and wearing vintage Helmut Lang… well, before the economic. (Actually, perhaps afterwards.)

THE MEANING

We realize, of course, that some people have a hard time listening to music in a language they don’t understand. Consider, for instance, how many people listen to American music around the world without knowing much English.

But we’re not ones to leave people lost in translation. The video does a good job at conveying the jist behind “OK.” A young Nordic vixen with smoky eyes reminiscent of Helena Christensen and guys with tats and a pissed off attitude, who, despite all their big words and macho posturing, still get paint thrown right in their face.

When we put the lyrics for “OK” through Google Translate, we were faced with a stormy tale of love, jealousy, sex, and betrayal, covered by silence but immediately revealed by a simple look in the eyes–all understandably laced with a dash of tasteful profanity.

THE VIDEO

MORE ON SELVMORD

• Check out the band’s YouTube page by Copenhagen Records right here.
• “OK” and Selvmord’s self-titled album is now available on iTunes.

Tags: Denmark, OK, rap, Selvmord

I was reminded how much I love Montréal by the new video “Yellowbrite Smile” from Israeli-South African singer Yoav. It’s a journey through the city’s streets and network of underground tunnels… but backwards, with what seems to be stop-start photography, slightly dizzying visual effects, and a jaunt through the California desert. The track is off Yoav’s second studio release, entitled A Foolproof Escape Plan.

MORE ON YOAV

Yoav’s first studio release Charmed and Strange was released in 2008, gaining recognition in Russia (a #1 single), continental Europe, and Canada. Despite his electronic-like sound, Yoav makes most of his music off  his Lowden acoustic guitar. The lean and mean “Club Thing” shows all the things one can with just one guitar and a little equipment.

YOAV ONLINE

Follow Yoav as he promotes A Foolproof Escape Plan on his official website, www.yoavmusic.com. The album is already out in Canada, and a worldwide release is just around the corner. (Sorry, it’s only an import in the States for now.)

Tags: Montréal, Québec, Yellowbrite Smile, Yoav

Beautiful cherry blossoms against a spring sky, perhaps?

Think again, and be sure to not get too close or you’ll feel a sharp sting.

These delicate, flower-like petals belong to a jellyfish. Combing by beauty and the potential for pain, the undulating sea creature is the key motif of the clip for “Graceful Ways” by Japanese electronica act Mondo Grosso headed up by Shinichi Osawa.  Made in the early 2000s, the clip is a great example of how one can make a powerful aesthetic impact with a small budget. The combination of sinuous beats and sultry vocals by Anis with footage of ghostly, pulsating jellyfish with tentacles beckoning can conjure an odd range of associations. Of course, the associations all depend on the person viewing it — very much Reader Response theory, for you lit theory junkies.

More Info

“Dangerous Ways”
Vocals by Anis (Monoral)
From Next Wave (2003)
Official Site | www.mondogrosso.com

Tags: electronica, jellyfish, Mondo Grosso, music video, Shinichi Osawa

Time to start practicing your tāmurē, ladies. And gentlemen, better learn how to impress your girlfriends with fine, thigh-firming paʻoti before a tāne with smoother moves beats you to it. Why, you may ask?

Because the biggest Tahitian party to rock the Hawaiian archipelago in 2010 is about to go down Saturday, March 27, 2010. Nella Media Group (the folks behind Go Airlines’s eco-chic in-air magazine Innov8) and Maʻohi Nui, purveyor of the finest Tahitian dance moves, have come together to rock Aloha Tower with earth-shaking ʻōteʻa and local grooves for Spring Broke III. And what better excuse is there party when it all benefits a local charity? Party down guilt-free to the sounds of Miko Sweet, Beach 5 and OOKLAH THE MOC and check out the latest fashions from Hinano. So even if you can’t make it for Hawaiian Airlines’ Honolulu-Papeʻete flight for spring break, you can still experience the full māʻohi flavor right here at home.

Interested?

Check out ticket details in the Kaila Hawaiʻi ʻAlemanaka (Calendar). And if you’re not convinced yet, check out some these clips of Maʻohi Nui at last year’s Spring Broke.

Tags: Hinano, Maʻohi Nui, Nella Media Group, Spring Broke III, Tahiti

“Kareho Koe”, the new clip from Tikahiri’s new album Merahi Kerekere, is finally up on YouTube in high resolution. Its dark, gothic atmosphere and slick production make it one of the more original clips out of Tahiti and French Polynesia to date.

Like Tikahiri’s video debut “Tapea te paari”, the band maintains its special brand of smoldering and brooding. But on this occasion, a female element appears as a mysterious woman who seems to lure one of the men into her grasp during the darkness of the night. Unfortunately, you need to speak pa’umotu (the language of the Tuamotu Archipelgo) to get the complete meaning of the song, and, alas, no translations have appeared yet. Somehow, I think you can get the song’s jist just by watching.

More Tikahiri on Kaila Hawai’i:

• Polynesian Gothic: Tikahiri’s back with new album & clip
• Tātau and leather – “Tapea te paari”, Tikahiri’s debut clip
• Polyneisan Paradoxes: Tikahiri

LISTEN TO TIKAHIRI’S MERAHI KEREKERE

Tags: Acoustic Rock, goth, Kareho Koe, Merahi Kerekere, pa'umotu, Tahiti, Tikahiri

Though this song sounded vaguely familiar when I first heard it on the excellent soundtrack for the  By Malene Birger’s Autumn/Winter 2010 show, I couldn’t think of the name of the song or the band. Because of its genius refrain, I found it quickly enough: “Bus Stop” by the Fatback Band. This particular version dates from a 1975 broadcast of the one and only Soul Train. I’m just in love with the style here, not to be mention the moves. Enough to show they can dance but not too much to seem like they’re showing off. Unbeatable.

Tags: 1975, Bus Stop, By Malene Birger, Fatback Band, Soul Train