Eclectic Grooves

I can remember a time when Portland's sole representation of community radio was KBOO. While KBOO still featured a few interesting musically curated shows in the first part of 00's, it began to slowly but surely eschew music shows to make way for more politically-minded talk radio shows around the middle of the decade. Recognizing that there was a serious void to be filled, an innovative community radio station named XRAY fm debuted on the airwaves in the Spring of 2014, promising to focus on free-form music shows that would challenge the current status quo of radio.  One of the unique things about XRAY was that it would be available not only to locals in Portland via FM radio, but streaming on its website xray.fm to the entire world. Another way that XRAY got the jump on the aforementioned KBOO was to archive a couple of their shows to be available to listeners on-demand, alleviating the need to be listening to the broadcast while it happens.  Consid...

The Trees- The Garden of Jane Delawney [CBS Records International, 1970] The 1970 debut from this British folk rock band starts out unassumingly enough with the chiming guitars and slow moving bassline of the opening track "Nothing Special" easily drawing comparisons to Sandy Denny and Fotheringay.   In fact, on the surface, most of the songs on the Garden of Jane Delawney sound like traditional folk ballads, but the band's sense of musical timing and dynamics will undoubtedly hold your attention. The first track that blew my mind was the second one on the album entitled "The Great Silkie".  While the beautiful vocal phrasings in the first verse of the song put the listener in a relaxed state of mind, it suddenly turns on a dime with a face-melting guitar solo that completely comes out of nowhere. Other standouts on the record to me are the haunting ballad "The Garden of Jane Delawney," the entrancing, bold and explosive "...

I'm sure that most of you will notice that some cosmetic changes were applied to the layout of Eclectic Grooves last week. These changes were mostly necessary due to the blog taking almost a minute to load in the past few weeks. I tested the site with the layout changes before finalizing everything, and was happily pleased that it now opens immediately. There are some things that I still need to tweak like getting the podcast player to work properly again, but it's mostly ready for prime time. I would love to hear what you guys think of it, as well as if you have any thoughts on making it even better. Onto the music... Mdou Moctar - Chet Boghassa and Maheyega Assouf Igan From: Afelan [Sahel Sounds, 2013] I first became aware of Mdou Moctar's music when I heard "Tahoultine" from the compilation called Music From Saharan Cellphones , released on Sahel Sounds in 2011.  This track was dominated by drum machines and Moctar's specially treated...

Desert Heat- Cat Mask at Huggie Temple [MIE Records, 2013] With a new Gunn- Truscinski Duo album on the horizon, I figured it would be fitting to explore one of Gunn-Truscinski's other projects called Desert Heat that was released in 2013. Admittedly, this post would have made more sense earlier in the summer when the blistering heat in Portland was almost akin to a desert heat. While most of Gunn's output of late has been of the laid-back variety, this record really kicks up the dust with two side-long epic jams filled with vitriolic guitar solos cranked to eleven and tempo changes that turn on a dime. Also along for the ride on this one is the equally talented guitar virtuoso Cian Nugent, who combines with Gunn for a dynamic one-two punch that never quits. The first track "Cat Mask at Huggie Temple" starts out with a transcendent guitar melody that slowly but surely kicks into a frenzy with Truscinski's drums serving as a sturdy backbeat...

Frank Zappa- Willie the Pimp and The Gumbo Variations From: Hot Rats [Bizarre Records, 1969] With the sweltering heat wave coming through the Pacific Northwest region as of late, temperatures are set to average between 95-100 over the next several days in Portland. With that said, I plan on writing this post as quickly as possible while not sacrificing the quality of the review. I have never been the biggest Frank Zappa fan, mostly because the material I had heard up to that point was of the hokey parody variety, and it didn't sit quite right with my tastes at the time. Over the past couple years, I've grown an appreciation for the skilled musicianship and innovative ideas contained in much of Zappa's recording output from '66 to'72, especially Chunga's Revenge and Freak Out. Considering this, it's odd that I had yet to give Hot Rats, one of the most critically acclaimed records in Zappa's discography, a true listen until thi...

The last Choice Cuts was posted over four years ago, so I figured that it was high time for a new entry in this series. It is once again time for me to reach back in the refrigerator for some "choice cuts". Each time, I will be featuring sizzling and succulent morsels that are grabbing my ear right now that range from funk to country, from afro-beat to garage rock, etc. Sometimes there will be a theme to these songs that ties them all together in a nice bow, but other times the songs featured will just be a musical hodgepodge of eclectic delights. Without further ado, lets see what "choice cuts" the vinyl butcher has prepared for us today. Blo- Chant to Mother Earth From: Chapter One [1973, EMI] Last week I was in my car listening to the Nigeria 70 compilation from Strut Records when this song by Blo instantly captured my attention. It starts out with a shimmering cymbal splash that segues into a slow groove featuring b...

Eddie Harris- Free Speech [Atlantic Records, 1970] Many moons ago, I wrote an in-depth feature on Eddie Harris and his pioneering use of the varitone saxophone on the now defunct blog Ear Fuzz . Today's edition of Rediscoveries of Lost Gems will focus on Eddie's oft-overlooked LP called Free Speech . In the canon of jazz, and specifically in Eddie's discography, this album was never fully appreciated when it was first pressed in 1970.   In a sense, Eddie Harris was an anomaly in the world of jazz, always looking for what's next while the rest of the jazz scene was struggling to keep up with him. He could have very easily stuck with the tried and true soul jazz sound that got him noticed, but instead he chose the road less traveled filled with potholes, bumps and dead-ends. The opening cut "Wait Please," starts out unassumingly enough with a slow drum and bass groove accompanying the intoxicating sound of Harris's Varitone sax. I...