We mentioned briefly last week that we had two big finds at this year’s BKLY DESIGNS exhibition. Well, the second is none other than Brooklyn’s own, Grow House Grow—AKA, illustrator and designer, Katie Deedy. Katie designs what’s probably the coolest wallpaper we’ve ever seen. I know, I know, “Wallpaper cool? That’s like nerds playing football good!” That’s what I thought too, reader. That’s what I thought too. But you sit there and try to tell me that wallpaper designs based on little-known nineteenth century female scientists is not cool. And that’s just what Deedy’s latest collection—Naturalist—is all about. From an American-born scientist exploring the intricacies of carnivorous plants (Ms. Treat, above in two of three available colors) to an Irish lass smitten with bugs (Ms. Ward, to the right), the Naturalist is anything but boring, and Deedy’s skill is channeled into bold, elegant illustrations that we’re straight up jealous of. Ooh, that reminds us—we recently learned that ending sentences in prepositions is totally coolio now. So suck it, 5th grade English teacher…since. Back to the point, take a look at Grow House Grow when you get a chance and be sure to check out the back story behind each of the prints. Educational AND easy-on-the-eye. Can’t beat that. On.
The Find
May 18, 2010
Music Monday
May 17, 2010
Buke and Gass (pronounced ‘Buke and Gase’) is not your average super-creative, instrument-making, Brooklyn-based duo. Er, wait, maybe they are. If the average of one is one…then yes, the average of literal uniqueness is… Anyway, point being, Buke and Gass IS a super-creative, instrument-making, Brooklyn-based duo and, luckily, they’re one that produces infectiously enjoyable music. Music that—because of bells strapped to legs, kick drums on the periphery, multi-purposed hot-wired stringed instruments, and, undoubtedly, a lot of talent—sounds like it’s being played by a small army, not a mere band of two. Their sound is hard to describe—it’s somehow mechanically rolling and rollicking and edgy but it channels a woodiness, a kind of wiry, rasping, somewhat deranged natural element. In their recent interview on WNYC’s quirky show, Radiolab, one half of the band—Aron Sanchez—describes the sound as, “the loudest miniature fuzz.” In the same interview, the other half of the band—Arone Dyer—gives a somewhat otherworldly and wholly descriptive analogy for the sound. You’ll have to check it out when you get a chance. In the meantime, you, dear reader, are here and, as luck would have it, the Aron(e)s also graciously agreed to talk to us here at KoR about making instruments, biking around NYC, and various forms of Tom Hanks. Take a look. Live photos by Dominick Mastrangelo.
Kindness of Ravens: So, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. We’re afraid we have to start the interview off with a question you probably get a lot—For those unfamiliar with you, can you explain the origin of your somewhat unusual band name?
Arone Dyer: The Buke was originally a baritone ukulele, that has since been rebuilt into a 6-string guitar… basically a miniature guitar, the Gass is a homemade hybrid between a bass and a guitar, with 4 guitar strings and 2 bass strings, hence the Buke and the Gass. We’re also a couple of highly opinionated individuals, and we simply couldn’t agree on any other names that weren’t automatically easy to dismiss.
KoR: Were you worried at all that the name might conjure up less than desirable images of gassiness and the like?
AD: Sure, but really, you’d be very silly to think we don’t make fun of the name, ourselves.
KoR: Fair enough, Buke. At the very least, there’s no fear of not being easily Googled. So, is there a particular reason you all sort of play double duty with the instrumentation, handling both percussion and your respective stringed instruments, rather than, say, getting another band mate or two?
Aron Sanchez: Well, we started out with another musician, but it wasn’t working out, and so we were left to fill in the empty space by ourselves. Both of our personalities make for good filling-out-ness.
KoR: Fat personalities. Nice. Aron, we read somewhere that you designed some of the instruments used by the Blue Man Group. How did that come about? AS: A friend of mine was performing in the Blue Man band. He introduced me and after a few years of performing I migrated to the production department as their musical instrument designer. That lasted for about 10 years.
KoR: So you’re not really working with them anymore?
AS: I still freelance for them building instruments on occasion.
KoR: How about you, Arone? Any crazy moonlighting? Broom-making for Wicked or something like that?
AD: No, I’m a bicycle mechanic by day.
KoR: Right right! We heard you used to work for Recycle-A-Bicycle! We got our lovely wheels there, in fact. So, are all the instruments you play in the studio and on-stage designed and made by the two of you?
AD: Pretty much. Almost everything but the Whammy pedals.
KoR: Yeah, that’d be a tough one to do, I imagine. Any plans for new instruments you’d incorporate down the road? Maybe a tuba-harpsichord hybrid? Ooh, or a homemade keytar?
AS: There’s already been a homemade Bulbul Tarang incorporated in our local shows, which is actually really close to what you might think a keytar would be… surely there’ll be more along the way.
KoR: How did you all start playing music together? Was it tied up with the instrument design or did you rely on more conventional instruments at any point?
AD: Its been a long, treacherous road, my friend. A long and windingly dangerously hectic-ly musical road. (Ed. – They were actually both in a short-lived Brooklyn band prior to B+G named Hominid)
KoR: …I…see…. So, moving on, are you both from New York originally?
AD: I’m from Minnesota, Aron is from Maine. We’ve both been living in the city for more than 10 years.
KoR: Gotcha. So, your music really seems to invoke an almost mechanically rhythmic structure but one that—because of the instrumentation—arrives at that structure through a thick layering of what would almost be folksy sounds. Like a crazy wooden clockwork golem. Did you have that particular sound in mind when you started playing together or was it born more naturally?
AD: Natural. Like how water spills. Given our instrumental circumstance, we don’t go into the writing with anything in particular in mind as far as how we want it to sound, which may mean that we’ll have to make some instrumental changes some time in the near future in order to avoid becoming bored or musically monotonous…but we’ll see what happens.
KoR: Well, it’s a very cool sound, so don’t stray too far. And you all have your first full-length coming out soon, right?
AD: Si, claro.
KoR: ¡Muy emocionante! We know you recorded your 2008 EP, +/- (which, on a side note, is the name of another great Brooklyn band) at Aron’s home studio. Did you do the same for the full-length or does it involve more outside infuence or creative input?
AS: We recorded the full-length the exact same way as the EP, except that it took us almost 5 months to finish it, and we probably got the same amount of “outside” influence as last time. It’s mostly just the two of us in the basement everyday. Arone either nods off or makes wild sounding gestures while I geek out on the kick drum’s snap or decay.
KoR: Do you feel like the album explores any particular new realms, musically or thematically?
AD: Certainly, it explores a new realm of what the term “quality” means to us. We’re learning something new each time.
KoR: And it’s being released on Brassland, correct? The label started by Alec Bemis and the Dessner twins from the National? How did you all hook up with them?
AS: The Dessner twins have a sister, Jessica, who needs proper recognition for this. She somehow browsed her way to our myspace page, and invited us to play at her fantastic venue in Ditmas Park, called Sycamore. She invited her brothers, Aaron and Bryce… and they liked it. Alakazamwingboombam and history has it all recorded in 3D!
KoR: Very cool. I love that bar’s logo, by the way. Yeah, we went to one of the two surprise shows at The Bell House where you opened up for the National. And we noticed you’ve been playing quite a few shows with them lately. That must be really great, to be able to get your music in front of such a new, very large audience. Was it kinda nerve-wracking though playing for such a large crowd of people who were likely new to your music?
AD: It’s slightly nerve-wracking whether the audience is new to the music or not, however, (as we just got back from our tour through London and Berlin with them) hindsight is 20/20… regardless of the size (1500+heads per show!), I think we handled it pretty well. It’s been an extraordinary experience to support them!
KoR: I bet. Are those guys nice? They’re totally jerks, aren’t they?
AD: They’re so nice! Allofum! (jeez, don’t be so cynical…)
KoR: I kid, I kid. You know bloggers. Always looking for dirt. Like, “Oh, Matt sleeptalks in Dutch,” or “Scott thinks cats are huge racists.” So, any advice for the hard-working, little-heard bands out there?
AS: Isn’t that what we are? Um… I can’t imagine we’re that far along where we can claim to know what the best way to do this is…
KoR: Pish posh. Ya’ll are going to be on a Grey’s Anatomy episode before you know it. Alright, that’s enough of this substantive, meaningful talk. Lightning round time, ya’ll. Ready?
AD: Yes, ready.
KoR: Best city/town/village that isn’t New York?
AD: Well, aside from the weather, a toss up between Minneapolis and Berlin.
KoR: Are there any bands we may not have heard of that you’re liking lately?
AS: Hmm, probably none you haven’t already heard. Had I time lately to explore new music, I would surely tell. We should be asking you that question.
KoR: Have you heard of this band, the National? Favorite companion animal?
AD: Crow.
AS: Dog
KoR: Arone, you’re totally trying to butter us up aren’t you? Best show on TV? …Ooh, you didn’t make your own TV, did you?
AD: I don’t watch TV, not even on the computer. Nothing on it makes any sense to me any more. Even the time spent watching it doesn’t make any sense.
KoR: The juxtaposition of those two replies is superbly profound. Nice segue though: If you had to re-enact a Tom Hanks movie, which one would it be?
AS: Big.
AD: Pilot for Bosom Buddies
KoR: Aron, most admirable trait of Arone?
AS: Most musical ear of anyone I know, and she’s not afraid to use it. Good organizer.
KoR: Arone, for Aron?
AD: I really admire the way he finishes his work. Super clean, nice-looking work. Like on his instruments and pedals. I’m too impatient to finish things nicely, so my aesthetics are influenced by that, but I certainly appreciate that detailed part of his work ethic.
KoR: Funny nicknames growing up?
AD: Macaroni.
AS: Skeet
KoR: See, Macaroni & Skeet, THERE’S a band name… If you were a mythical animal, what would you be?
AD: A flying pet rock.
KoR: That’s extra mythical! Favorite vegetarian dish ever?
AD: The Falafel mit Haloumi from Mo’s in Berlin. YUM!
KoR: Best bar in New York?
AD: Where the fancy drinks are free.
KoR: Nice! A mere jaunt down from our neighborhood. What not-often recommended thing would you recommend a visitor to New York do? You know, besides going to a Buke and Gass show.
AD: Get lost! I mean that in a fun way. As in, borrow a bike, get on the subway and exit somewhere random, then take your time trying to find your way back home without asking for directions. HA! Fun.
KoR: Spoken like a true bike enthusiast! And, finally, if you had to choose another name for the band, it would be…?
AD: Math Debate! …okay, maybe not.
Keep an eye out for B+G’s debut full-length record, due later this year. In the meantime, you can listen to their EP here, and check out a superb track from said coming full-length as this week’s Song of the Week. Finally, if you’re in New York, you can catch their terribly impressive live performance June 1, at Radiolab’s Awe-Magedon (nice, right?), and then on June 27 at the Bang on a Can Marathon.
The Find
May 11, 2010
This past Saturday, we ventured down to DUMBO for this year’s BKLYN DESIGNS exhibition—our borough’s presentation of the best and brightest in interior home design. After almost literally blowing into St. Ann’s Warehouse (seriously, were you all out in the perpetual wind tunnel that was the weekend in New York?), we began to take in the many wares that the 45 Brooklyn-based designers were showing off. Overall, we were really impressed—lots of well-designed furniture, some truly amazing wallpaper designs (more on that in a coming post), some nerdily bizarre motion sensor light paneling, and, overall, lots and lots of wood. Just, like, everywhere. I know it’s old news by now, but solid, quality wood is in, man. The days of the Ikea composite are long gone, friend. Long gone. Remember that scene in It’s a Wonderful Life when George’s friend wants them all to invest in plastics? Well, I say invest in sustainable, fancy wood. Maybe I can find an abandoned barn upstate, and…
Anyway, overall—minus the REALLY weird psychedelic ant farm ‘art’ (no joke)—great stuff. One our favorites, though, were newcomers Colleen & Eric—two Pratt grads who share a birds-in-design fascination with yours(es) truly and create some simple-yet-quirky pieces. It seems like they’re just kicking things off with the BKLYN DESIGNS exhibition, but, based on what they showed us this weekend, we’re very excited to see what else these two might have up their collective, sawdusty sleeve. Their Northstar Table (above), with its true-to-sky table-top star pattern totally wowed us—the metal North Star acts as a button that, when pressed, opens up a hidden drawer. You HAVE to love a hidden drawer. And we loved the utilitarian smoothness of their Hold on Tight bookshelves (below), with brightly-color wing-nut blocks that slide into place, warding off the risk of pesky, potentially gasp-inducing book topplings. Now if they could just teach us how to install shelves without having them totally rip out of sheetrock in the middle of the night, we’d be set!
You can order their ornamental bird sets (below) for $55 from their site and can contact them their for pricing on their other items. Go Brooklyn!
Photos by Colleen & Eric.
Music Monday
May 10, 2010
When a friend first described the music of the British band, Foals, to me, he told me it sounded like a cross between Bloc Party and Minus the Bear. Mind you, this was back when both of those bands were really good. Not purveyors of awful Brit-dance-trance or bizarre Yes-ate-Journey prog rock, respectively. So, back when the statement was made, it was very much a compliment and more referring to really awesome Brit Pop peppered with hyper guitar lines rooted in good old fashioned emotive math rock. Foals’ last record, Antidotes, was one of our favorite releases of 2008 (no really, check out this post from December 2008—one our FIRST EVER…and yes, we used to have a feature called ‘Reviewsday’… .) Their sophomore release, seemingly named by a super-psyched vampire, is called Total Life Forever, and has us super-psyched as well. Though not undead. Or being written into romantically dramatic goth roles by Mormons.
From what we’ve heard so far, the record seems like it’s retained much of what made Antidotes unique and catchy the first time around, but the overall sound definitely seems to be stepping into satisfyingly more mature territory, both musically and with the overall tone of the instrumentation and voice of the singer, Yannis Philippakis. Or, to quote the frontman himself on the new album, it will sound ‘like the dream of an eagle dying.’ Not sure if that’s a commentary on the collapse of traditional Western ideals, but, regardless, it’s emo as shit. The full-length’s being released tomorrow on Transgressive Records in the UK and later next month state-side by Sub Pop. In the meantime, you can enjoy the spectacular, “This Orient”, as this week’s Song of the Week and, assuming you like what you hear, you can wander on over to the band’s site to stream the whole thing. FOR FREE! Take that dying dreaming eagle of commerce!
Journal of the Movement of the World
May 6, 2010
From the Nest
May 5, 2010
We’re trying to post more of these here article type things—due to the OVERWHELMING demand—and, as a result, we’re doing some smaller, more frequent posts. Ones where we don’t necessarily pour ALL of our heart, soul, and spirit into. Ones where we maybe don’t pull out all the stops with the electronic thesaurus. Plus it’s like nuts balls awesome out. Who wants to work/blog/pretend to work in an office on a day like this? Who? Dimwits, that’s who. Dunderheads. Real saps. Clods, in fact. Mmmm. Right-click thesaurus.
Ooh. Perfect segue though… Speaking of clods… Inspired by a photo shoot in we had in the park yesterday (suck it, other jobs), we are reminded of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s Annual Plant Sale. It started this morning and boasts the “largest and most exciting collection of quality plants in the metropolitan area.” I don’t know how they know what plants excite me (have you ever seen a Devil’s Tongue in person? It smells like “rotting flesh” when in bloom. That’s EXCITINGLY unpleasant), but I do know it’s Spring and, like us, you may have some vacant spots in your window boxes, gardens (lucky), or, I don’t know, hearts. The sale ends tomorrow at noon, so GET OUT THERE.
I know. We’re weirdly capital-y today. WEIRDLY. Oh, and for those of you who, again, like us, have thumbs that are not so much green as they are the representation of the very absence of light—not only glowing black, but pulling all color and greenness and life from the very space around them—check out this Guide to Houseplants. It’s even got a page entitled, 10 House Plants You Can’t Kill.
We’ll see about that. We’ll see….
Music Monday
May 3, 2010
Why would you NOT like beat-laced, blip-laden music made by a dude who sings in falsetto and seems to have very specific fascinations with small furry animals, tracksuits, and lazer beam sound effects? Um, of course you would.
Therefore, we present to you the London-based producer/rapper/singer/laserbeamer/musician, Jai Paul and his song BTSTU. Little’s known about Paul and he’s barely got more than a couple full songs out there, but we’re going ahead and calling awesome on this uniquely intriguing dude. Stay tuned, kind readers.
Music Monday
April 26, 2010
I’ve always assumed that I should hate LA. Sort of the same way that I’ve always assumed that I should root for the Mets and tell the Yankees to shove it, despite the fact that I have absolutely no desire to follow, much less watch, baseball. You know, root for the little guy and hate on the rich kids. Since the Mets only have a payroll of $134 million and all, as compared to the Yank’s $206 million. But I digress. Point being, I live in New York, so LA must totally suck, right? But, lately, I’ve noticed more and more of my friends are moving out there and kinda lovin’ it. I’m also noticing that I keep getting TRICKED into liking bands from LA—damn the indie subterfuge! First Giant Drag, then HEALTH, then Edward Sharpe + the Magnetic Zeros…now Local Natives. The five-piece produces a somewhat familiar, laid back sound that’s popular with the kids these days, but one that’s irresistibly catchy, harmony-filled, and beautifully rhythmic. They root their work—from the actual music to artwork—in total collaboration and their debut album—Gorilla Manor—is named after the house where most of the songs were written and where they all lived in the OC (mmm…seasons 1 and 2). Their insanely addictive track, “Airplanes,” is this week’s Song of the Week. And, being that they now call Silver Lake home, we’re dedicating it to our friend, Martha, who moves out there Wednesday. Silver Lake, never break, M-dawg.
You can download Gorilla Manor with a bunch of perks or order the vinyl over at the band’s kinda bizarrely plodding site. And check out their live session over at Daytrotter.
As the Crow Flies
April 23, 2010
Quell Your Cookie Cravings for a Cause
This Sunday, MooShoes (78 Orchard St) is hosting a vegan bakesale to benefit our friends at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. They’ll be peddling home-baked goods alongside gems from Blossom and Babycakes (pretty, pretty cookies pictured above). MooShoes will be giving 10% of all in-store and online sales that day to Woodstock too. So, stop by between noon and 5PM to shop, socialize, and cram your face, all for a good cause.
Boobies
Speaking of causes, if you’re looking for something to do Monday night, catch Philly’s rapper/singer/performer extraordinaire, Amanda Blank at Bellhouse performing a benefit for Keep-A-Breast.org, an organization that works to eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection, and support through education and events like this. Get $5 off your ticket with the code IHEARTBOOBIES. Blank’s performances are legendarily party, as the kids say, and you can here some of her music on her site and, one of our favorites, Make It Take It, here. Manhattan, the New Brooklyn
It seems there’s a little jealousy brewing over in the wee borough of Manhattan for the awesomeness explosion that is the Brooklyn Flea. The Big Social—a collaboration between four media-/architecture-/real-estate-type Manhattanites—is celebrating the inauguration of the Hester Street Fair this weekend in the open-air park at the corner of Hester + Essex in the LES. According to the organizers, the fair will be much smaller than it’s gigantically obese brother in Brooklyn, featuring a list of vendors that is “curated very carefully.” There should be about 60 booths in all, split pretty evenly between local crafters, foodies, and purveyors of things vintage, and the market will be open both Saturday and Sunday.
See That Dog?
Back over in Brooklyn, if you ever walk the stretch of Bergen between Court and Smith over in Boerum Hill, you’ve likely noticed the bizarre, monster-size, translucent ant with a top hat sculpture in the up-until-recently vacant old factory there. Well, that ant is happens to be the brainchild of artist, Xavier Roux, and it’s guarding the main exhibition hall of The Invisible Dog, the new thee-story arts center in the ‘hood. This weekend marks the center’s official opening, with their store opening party tonight, and open studios all day Saturday. Photo, Malcolm Brown.
Early Violet
Finally, Brooklyn’s indie darlings…er, like, one of Brooklyn’s 5 million indie darlings…The National are set to release their highly-anticipated follow-up to The Boxer, High Violet, on May 11. Today, via The New York Times, the band posted a high-quality streaming preview of the album. So that’s a good 18 bonus days of quality moody listening enjoyment there. Check it out along with writer, Nicholas Dawiduff‘s profile of the band.
Journal of the Movement of the World
April 22, 2010
