Music Monday

If you happen to have frequented this here Web log much over the past couple years, it's likely no news to you, friend, that we totally love the Danish band, Efterklang. When we first heard them a number of years ago, we were totally blown away. From their early glitch electronic days to the sprawling epic choral feel of their album, Parades, the sound was wholly new to us.

So, needless to say, we were ophidset (um..."excited" in Danish)when their frontman, Casper Clausen, agreed to e-sit down with us for a brief chat on the heels of their superb 2010 release, Magic Chairs, and mere days before their US tour.

Kindness of Ravens (KoR)—For anyone familiar with Parades or any of your previous work, Magic Chairs definitely sounds like a departure. To us, it captures Efterklang's unique sound and song structure and concentrates it into something that's more likely recognizable to most listeners—more accessible. Was that an intentional move or just the way things were evolving with your writing?

Casper Clausen (CC)—Well, kind of both of them in one. We wanted Magic Chairs to sound more like the live band that we've been for the past 2 years. Compared to our earlier work, we wanted to make a simpler album, both time- and setup-wise. We were aiming for fewer elements—choral voices, lighter instrumentation, and fewer and more focused melodies. Generally speaking, we're always trying to move somewhere new for each album/project we do. I believe the most essential will always stay wherever we move.
KoR—Speaking of your live show, when we've seen you in the past, you definitely seem to have a unified style in the way you dress. As a band, you give off a bit of an 'old-world' feel. I think we had even heard you had your suits and such hand-made for the Parades tour. Is that true and why do feel that's an important aspect of the presentation of your group?

CC—It's true. My sister and I made some stage clothing for the Parades tour, sort of to combine all the people on stage. I guess we're thinking about and discussing our stage outfits more than most bands...even though we're wearing more or less "casual" clothing these days. I think it all comes down to the fact that we have quite a few people on the stage, and it feels both nice and right for us to visually "join forces" and make the overall look slightly more focussed.
KoR—Well, I like the resulting effect. Can you talk a little about the album art for Magic Chairs? We're obviously always interested in the design aspect of the music industry. Hvass&Hannibal managed this one again for you, correct? Are they personal friends of yours?

CC—Yeah, the artwork for Magic Chairs is indeed made by our friends, Hvass&Hannibal (H&H). The photo was taken in the courtyard of Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen, and the idea for the cover started out with those homemade ribbons that are floating in the air in the picture. H&H have done all of our album artwork (and a lot of other things as well) for the past 5 years or so. Rasmus (far left above; bass, guitar, etc. in the band) and Nan Na (Hvass) are a couple too, and when they met, Rasmus introduced us to their work, so that's how it all started.
KoR—Very cool. Well, in closing—and most importantly as we delve into the deep social psychology of Efterklang—can you share with us the most bizarre dream you can recall?

CC—Last night I dreamt that I was curating a big dance party, and I got this great offer from the most famous danish folk/rock singer ever, Kim Larsen. He wanted to DJ for the first time ever. But the resident DJ protested and left the party before it even started, because he didn't liked Kim's dj'ing...

KoR—That was ever the more bizarre once I look Kim up... Thanks much Casper for taking the time to talk with us.

This week's Song of the Week is Efterklang's "Alike" from Magic Chairs. You can listen to a number of other songs on their site, and be sure to catch them on tour in the US in September and early October with fellow Kindness of Ravens alumni, Buke and Gass. They'll be in NYC to end their tour at the beginning of October with shows at Santos and Glasslands. Photo by Nikolaj Holm Møller.

Efterklang US Tour 2010:
September

07.09 – Montreal, CA / La Sala Rossa / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
08.09 – Toronto, CA / Lee’s Palace / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
09.09 – Cleveland, US / Beachland Tavern / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
10.09 – Chicago, US / Empty Bottle / w. Buke And Gass + more / Tickets
11.09 – Minneapolis, US / Walker Arts / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
12.09 – Kansas City, US / Crosstown Station / supp: Buke And Gass
13.09 – Denver, US / Hi Dive / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
14.09 – Salt Lake City, US / Urban Lounge / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
16.09 – Vancouver, CA – Media Club / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
17.09 – Seattle, US / Chop Suey / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
18.09 – Portland, US / Doug Fir / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
20.09 – San Francisco, US / Bottom of The Hill / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
21.09 – Los Angeles, US / Troubadour / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
24.09 – Austin, US / Mohawk / w. Bowerbirds & Buke And Gass / Tickets
25.09 – Frisco, TX / Oysterfest / Tickets
26.09 – Memphis, US / Hi Tone / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
27.09 – Atlanta, US / Earl / w: Field Music & Buke And Gass / Tickets
29.09 – Washington, DC, US / DC9 / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
30.09 – Philadelphia, US / Johnny Brenda’s / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
October
01.10 – New York, Manhattan, US / Santos / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets
02.10 – New York, Brooklyn, US / Glasslands / supp: Buke And Gass / Tickets

Friday Fave Five Fer

Call us lazy (go ahead, I dare you), but we're deferring to The Washington Post for this week's Friday Fave Five Frirah.

Please read this brief piece by Edward E. Curtis IV for The Post. Then, if you have a free 17 or so hours, you can take a look at the comments. Ooh, and, Curtis, if you're listening and have any nice vegan recipes for next Wednesday—we've got nothing, man.

Music Monday

Blonde Redhead is one of those rare, amazing bands that seems to evolve effortlessly. Since their debut in 1995, they've traversed no wave, noise rock, avant-garde, and straight-up indie before settling on something wholly themselves. Upon hearing a Blonde Redhead song, it's hard to not recognize the band behind it. So I'm understandably excited that they have a follow-up to their sublime 23 (2007) coming out September 14th.

Also exciting? In looking about online so as to catch up with the band since their last album, I found that they wrote a 15-song soundtrack to a documentary that came out earlier this year called The Dungeon Masters. Guess what it's about. You guessed it, my friend. You guessed it. Here's the official synopsis:

"An evil drow-elf is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A sanitation worker lures friends into a Sphere of Annihilation. A failed supervillain starts a cable access show involving ninjas, puppets, and a cooking segment. These are the characters, real and imagined, of The Dungeon Masters: Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role-playing game, and its various descendants. As their baroque fantasies clash with mundane real lives, the characters find it increasingly difficult to allay their fear, loneliness, and disappointment with the game's imaginary triumphs. Soon the true heroic act of each character's real life emerges, and the film follows each as he or she summons the courage to face it. Along the way, The Dungeon Masters re-imagines the tropes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of minor struggles and triumphs writ large."

Watch the trailer below. Then, as an obvious immediate next step, click here to add that gem to your NetFlix queue.

Oh, right... Also, Blonde Redhead's "Not Getting There", from the forthcoming album, Penny Sparkle, is this week's Song of the Week. Check it out. If you like it, you can head over to their site for another free download.

The Dungeon Masters from Dungeon Masters Movie on Vimeo.

Journal of the Movement of the World

Last Tuesday, Katie and I had the honor of being invited to an artists' reception at the Nu Hotel in downtown Brooklyn. I know, right? What were THEY thinking? We promptly attended, drank all the free wine, and then ate all available vegan hors d'oeuvres, meaning the pile of baby carrots. Then we realized we should probably check out some art. Turns out, our borough produces some right nice pretty-picture-makers.

All of the artists being featured were Brooklyn-based (holla) and their backgrounds, mediums, and aesthetics ranged widely. There was stunning urban portraiture by Tim Okamura, abstract street scenes form Denitza, and old-skool graffiti-style work by Adam Suerte. Defining the atmosphere for the evening was a really superb violin-cello duo that teetered between classical staples and enthusiastically-played punk and metal covers. Their rendition of Fugazi's "Waiting Room"? Très Magnifique! Oh, and Marty "fugetaboutit" Markowitz was in attendance, though, to judge by his tone and odd, mid-speech topic shift, he was pretty bummed about Aretha Franklin's recent fall in the tub and resulting Brooklyn concert cancellations. Seriously. He was flashing puppy dog eyes and pretty much fell just short of asking for a group hug from the audience.

But, looking past Marty's musings and the works of the other fine artists present, one person's work stood out especially for us—that of one Maria Baraybar (thus the big title at the top there). Her paintings, which we saw when we toured some of the rooms where her work was hung, looked entirely different and refreshingly new to us. According to Maria, who talked a little about her work in person, the paintings we saw were based on images pulled from video stills of things like reality shows and late-night infomercials. A number of the paintings show a strange little character, apparently named Artie, who seems to be peeking into scenes and interpreting the strange happenings around him/her. According to the artist's bio:

"Peruvian native Maria Baraybar, came to the United States at the age of 8 with white sand in her shoes and a head full of questions. The youngest of an immigrant family moving around in the US shaped a young Baraybar’s sensitivities. Trying to answer those questions through poetry, she found her self-expression through the Visual Arts. A coping mechanism soon turned into a lifeline. Eschewing conventional art school studies, Baraybar opted for broader education, embracing non-traditional channels to creativity."

You can see a few of Baraybar's paintings below (the bottom two of which are on display in rooms at Nu) and see more painting work along with journal pages of Artie on Maria's site. Check it out.

Linked photos by THE SHALTZES (look, that's us WAY in the background). Below, Untitled—oil on canvas, 48"x48", 2009; One String—acrylic on wood panel, 20"x30", 2010; Untitled—oil on canvas, 24"x48", 2009; all by Maria Baraybar.

From the Nest

Look! We designed a salad!

Mmm. Logos taste like dirt, but this salad we had the other day blew our socks off. I'm kidding. Who wears socks in the summer?

So, to take a page straight from the talented book of Lauren Willhite of Color Collective + Design Sponge, we're pulling a color palette, not from a beautiful room or set scene, as she does, but from...um...yesterday's lunch.

This well-coordinated roughage features baby yellow tomatoes, watermelon radishes, and farm-fresh red beets, all from the Carroll Gardens Greenmarket; wild arugula from New York's Satur Farms; and homemade croutons, made by pan-searing part of a left-over baguette we froze before it went stale. We'd never had watermelon radishes before and have to recommend them. Not only do they handsome up a salad, they're totally tasty, lending a sweeter and noticeably spicier taste to the meal than conventional radishes would. They'd definitely go over well with adventurous Fraggles. Say, Red, for instance. Wembley, not so much.

Now get out there to your local farmers' market! Summer's a' wastin'!

Music Monday

What happens when you back up the smooth, Nick-Drake-like stylings of José González with driving drums and a droned out, rhythmically churning organ sound? Junip, that's what. The Swedish trio releases their first full-length album, Fields, next month, and a song from it, "Rope and Summit," is this week's Song of the Week. If you like it, visit Junip's site to download their new EP for free.

Photo: Jon Bergmann.

Friday Fave Five Fuh

It's been a while since we've done a Friday Fave Five Fer...in fact, we've only done this one...but, with the tangibly fleeting feeling of summer in the air, and the inevitability that fall is going to roll in from the west any moment, we wanted to post our five current favorite dace songs. Because what's better than a summer dance party? ...what? A fall dance party? Hm. Pumpkin pie and dancing. That's a pretty valid point. Well, silently contradictory reader, regardless of when you employ these fine tunes, enjoy.

Delphic • Doubt

Who does dance music better than the brits? No one. That's who. This is actually the song that inspired the whole post. It's really hard to walk down the street and not look like a total dance-walk nerd listening to this. We don't know a ton about these guys, but they sound like Electronic combined with really awesome, high-energy Underworld, so we're down.

Kele • Everything You Wanted (RAC Remix)

Honestly, we're not super-impressed with what we've heard so far from Bloc Party frontman Kele's solo album, The Boxer (he knows about that little band, The National, right?), but the guys at RAC can make anything awesome. Like, I bet if I made farty noises with my armpit, they would be able to turn it into a arty dance hit. Hmmm.... Anyway, check this track out. They've managed to strip it down and build it up better than before.

The Like • Release Me (Viking Remix)

Again, not a *huge* fan of The Like themselves—it's not their Wilson-Phillips-like formation story, I'm just not super-into the straight retro doo-wop sound. But this remix again builds off the strong points like the interesting rhythms of the vocal lines and the basic musical structure to make it better than what it was. Plus it's done over by some dude from Richmond, VA. Represent!

Dan Black • getintocloudbusting

I feel like we've talked about this guy one million times (here's the GIGANTIC interview we did with him way back in February—it's long because it was our first phone interview and we didn't know WHAT we were doing), but, in case you missed it the first 999,999 times, this guy is really talented and nice to boot. This track's from a free mash-up mixtape he released earlier this year, which you can find on the right side of his site. It's a mash-up of Madonna's "Get Into the Groove" and Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting."

Kylie Minogue • Love at First Site

This isn't even slightly new, unlike the rest of these, but not having this song on a favorite dance songs list, for me, would be like having a hot fudge sunday without the hot fudge. ...ew. I don't think I've actually written 'hot fudge.' It's weirdly disturbing when you dwell on it.... UNLIKE THIS SONG, which I am unashamed to say is, in all sincerity, one of my favorites ever. So there.

Music Monday

This past February, we caught Syracuse's blissfully superb Ra Ra Riot at BAM (I know, we're always talking about BAM). Katie was kind enough to get us tickets for my birthday, despite the fact that I was quickly and obviously becoming far too old to attend such cool events. But, walker and ear horn in-hand, I did very much enjoy the show and noticed quite a few catchy new tunes. Kids say 'tunes' now, right? That's what I thought.

The Ra Ra's are now gearing up to release their sophomore recorded tune performance—or 'record,' as I've heard them called for short—and a track from it entitled "Boy" is our Song of the Week. Their new record, The Orchard, is due out August 24 on Barsuk Records, but you can pre-order it here.

Now get off my lawn, you pesky kids!

Journal of the Movement of the World

Suck it, Edward. Wait...

Tired of hot, super-emo, kind of controlling and emotionally-abusive vampires? Us too. As is the Brooklyn Academy of Music, it would seem. The cure? Nearly two months and 33 films to celebrate the classic vampire in all it's cinematic, anemic, photophobic glory.

BAM puts it best:

From Lugosi to the lesbian undead, Murnau to Maddin, camp-horror staple to postmodern, society-as-sickness metaphor, the vampire’s reign over popular imagination continues to seduce filmmakers over to the dark side.

Face it: There are PLENTY of days left where we're gonna need some major movie theater air-conditioning breaks. If you're in the NYC-area, stop by BAM for Bela Lugosi’s Dead, Vampires Live Forever from now all the way through September 30th for their tribute to all things vampiric. Our must-see? The Addicition, Septmber 29. Who knew Lili Taylor (our NEIGHBOR!) and Christopher Walken were in a campy, mid-90s, NYC-based vampire movie with a "dark hip-hop soundtrack." What?

Wait.... What?

From the Nest

First off, can I get some props for not taking a totally gross-looking photo of a casserole? Secondly, does anyone know a cool, new-foodie word for casserole? It doesn't seem to fit in the whole arugula-replaces-lettuce, heirloom everything world of Brooklyn food.

Anyway, DESPITE the fact that it's nasty humid out today, we have happily experienced some weirdly, awesomely crisp days in the northeast lately, and we here at KoR have decided to celebrate that, looking forward to the cooler, less sweat-stained weather with, what else? Food. We've been lucky enough to be asked by not one, but two sets of friends to take over their CSA for the week, and the result is a beautifully gigantic pile of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. Seriously. 22 peaches? Thank you very much. Seven ears of corn? Don't mind if we do. 5 weird green squashes? We will totally figure out something to do with those.

Additionally, our favorite vegan cheese that both vegans and non-vegans should try if they haven't already, Daiya, is finally starting to pop up in various natural/fancy-ass food stores. Most notably for us, Park Natural Foods on Court. Don't live near us? Move! Or check the Daiya site to see where it might be carried near you. It really is good stuff. So, bringing all that together—wishing for fall-like weather, random fresh vegetables, and the abundance of vegan cheese that for real melts—we present to you, dear reader, the following recipe for vegan cheddar potato leek casserole. Give it a go and let us know what you think.

Vegan Cheddar Potato Leek Fancybake

• 2 Cups Fingerling Potatoes, un-peeled and diced into 2" squares or so

• 2 Leeks, cut into 2" strips or so

• 5 Cloves Garlic, smashed, peeled, and finely chopped

• 1 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs

• 4 Ounces Daiya Shredded Vegan Cheddar Cheese

• 2 Cups Vegetable Broth

• 1 Ounce Fresh Thyme, finely chopped

• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Salt + Pepper to taste

In a large, heavy, cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and then throw in the bottom halves (more white than green) of your chopped leeks and your garlic. Cook uncovered and allow the leek become translucent—usually takes five to seven minutes. Now throw in your diced potatoes and toss. You can use any kind of potatoes here, we just happened to have fingerlings on-hand when we made this, which are nice for dicing and tasty to boot. Cook the potatoes covered for five to seven minutes, allowing them to brown but stirring occasionally to make sure they don't burn or crisp up too much. Once browned well, add a cup of your broth and cover again.

We've said this before and we'll say it again—homemade broth is the bomb-diggity. ...maybe we didn't put it in those exact words. But it's true. Making broth at home is easy and results in a much tastier and far less sodium-sodden product than anything you'd buy at the store. Here's a great piece on making broth at home with fresh vegetables, but we've taken to collecting vegetable trimmings in a freezer bag (think carrot tops, leek bottoms, and any sort of cast-off bits or peels of vegetables) over time and then cooking up a broth from just that hodgepodge and maybe a clove or two of garlic. Highly-recommended, dear reader.

So, anyway, allow the potatoes to absorb all of the broth over medium-low heat, which'll usually take about ten minutes. Once that happens, add your second cup of broth and repeat. Once that cup's absorbed, check the tenderness of the potatoes with a fork. They should give a bit, but not break apart completely. Get them to a point where the corners of the pieces start to round a bit and they're just a touch too firm to eat. If they're not quite there, add a little water to the mixture, cover and cook a bit more. Once they're there, throw in the rest of the leek (the greener halves), add half (2 oz.) of the Daiya shreds, remove form heat, and add as much pepper and salt as you like, stirring as you do.

Now to the breadcrumbs. As with the broth, you can buy these in store, but making them at home gives you a better—and cheaper—product. We totally love bread. Especially the lovely, fresh bread that abounds in our heavily Italian 'hood. That said, we have a problem. We're just not that great at eating entire loaves of preservative-free bread before they go stale. Solution? We freeze it just as it's cresting the hill of freshness. Then we've got bread to use for fresh croutons (toast 'em in a pan and sprinkle with dried basil), crostini, or—you guessed it—breadcrumbs. Just take some of the frozen bread and grind it up in a mortar. Not grinding up well? Toast it in the oven a bit then give it a try.

Whether you use homemade or store-bought crumbs though, mix them in with your fresh thyme leaves. Now add the potato-leek mixture to a medium baking dish...or, if you're feelin' all minimalist, leave it in the cast iron skillet and bake in that. Either way, pat the mixture down to give it a flat top and then sprinkle with the rest of your Daiya (2 oz.) and then your breadcrumb-thyme mixture. Cover with foil and then throw the whole thing in a pre-heated oven at 350°F. Cook about 25 minutes—until the whole thing is bubbling at the sides and looks to be cooked pretty thoroughly throughout—and then cook another five to ten minutes uncovered, allowing the top to brown a bit. Take it out and let it cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve.

Alright, now everyone keep your fingers crossed for some oven-worthy weather!

Music Monday

Everything will be alright. Everything will be alright. Everything will be alright.

Repeat that over and over again in your head.

Or just listen to Arcade Fire's new album, The Suburbs, and feel it. It comes out tomorrow on CD, double LP, and various fancy digital formats. This week you can hear "Ready to Start," our favorite track of the album so far, as our Song of the Week.

Ah, awesomeness. Breathe it in.

Album art by Caroline Robert.