Cool Video Funtime #16 - Werewolf (Live) / Requiem For A Werewolf

I'm pretty sure I prefer the live hip hop version. Just for contrast sake, however, I found the original version stylishly synced with scenes from Requiem For A Dream.

EIC'S10Q'S w/Odawas

"The Blue Depths", has completely knocked us off our feet.. We had to get to the bottom of this by asking it's creator:

Odawas (#1 album of the year.)
California's finest table top dancers..

Odawas Bio:
Named for the Great Lakes Native American tribe the Odawas, the Indiana indie pop trio's quirky tales of myth and mayhem bring to mind everyone from Randy Newman and the Beach Boys to Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamanti. Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/harmonica player Mike Tapscott, keyboardist/songwriter Isaac Edwards, and drummer/flautist Jessica Halverson released their Vitamin City Demo on Birds and Rockets Records in 2003. They signed with Jagjaguwar the following year and released their full-length debut, The Aether Eater, in June of 2005. The LP-only Raven and the White Night (whose purchase was accompanied by a complimentary CD version) came out in early 2007, and featured Brad Cash as a replacement for Halverson on drums. Blue Depths arrived in 2009.

Hello, how are you?
(He left this blank, we'll assume he's ok..)

I often have problems placing your “brand of music” in a genre.. Can you please tell me, in your own words, what kind of music Odawas are?
Mike Tapscott: Well, the "brand of music" is constantly changing and evolving around a solid base of singer-songwriter. We want to always have great songs and experiment with sound around it. So we've moved from theatrical to psych-rock to folk to new age to electronic. Right now i would say it's new age-folk.

Growing up were you often fascinated by “experimental” music? How did Odawas sound become what it is today?
MT: I grew up listening to musicals and that progressed into a love of obscure lyrics and good stories - i think that can explain what I want to do with the songwriting. From high school on it was a typical progression from classic rock to the pretentious soundscapes and sound experiments i'm into now!

What are you currently listening to?
MT: I can't stop listening to Bernd Witthuser's "Lider Von Vampiren, Nonen Und Toten," i'm also loving Xela, Scott Tuma, and lately all sorts of reggae that's being played at the place i work...

Your newest album “The Blue Depths” is one of the most warm/lush/gorgeous albums I‘ve ever heard, an “obvious contender” for top music of 2009... How do you feel about the outcome of this album?
MT: Isaac and I were extremely proud of the new record, I don't know what will happen this year, maybe it will be nothing new at all, but it's exciting to have made a piece of art that will open new doors and opportunities.

Is there a theme with “The Blue Depths“?
MT: There is a running theme of water and the longing for a passionate lifestyle lyrically. Musically - it was all about the spirituality of machines and there tempting of us into nothingness through beauty - yeah that's right!

Can we expect a full US tour any time soon?
MT: Sure, the economic situation is rough here, we live in one of the most expensive places in the world here in the Bay Area of California, there are student loans, rents and jobs to hold onto however tenuously. We will be doing some touring and we will do as much as we can without completely ruining ourselves financially...

Is there a reason you named your band after the Great Lakes Native American tribe?
MT: As a boy i spent summers with my family in a little green cabin we shared with another family in northern michigan. off in the distance on lake michigan was the island, beaver island. whenever we got in the water or in our blow up boat we'd always say we were going to Beaver Island. In reality it was like 20 miles off shore and we would never get there - it's populated by the odawas indians and it is in economic depravity and is slowly sinking into lake michigan - it's very sad, but to us it was a magical place. It's a nod to the distortion of childhood memories.

Are you living your dream?
MT: um...well this isn't a dream, it's pretty real. music business is full of bitterness and jealousy and being constantly frustrated. it'll never be enough...

THANK YOU ODAWAS!

Odawas have a few US dates currently up on their website..

Cool Video Funtime #15 - Midnight Black Earth

REVIEW: Donna Regina - Northern Classic

7 out of 10

Find it here.

Donna Regina has been making music since about 1992. Her music is soothing-(somewhat "straight forward") Trip-Hop/Jazz-Pop music fused with elements of Krautrock.

The opening track on "Northern Classic", "Let's Get Slow" fills in the void on the story behind the album cover. Low bass lines, western tinged guitar samples, dreamy synths/bells stretched out, and Donna Regina's beautiful vocals(which at times remind me of Stereolab, Hooverphonic, or even Ladytron), drum machine loops, subtle strings, and a floating "underwater" kind of vibe.

"Northern Classic" is pretty gorgeous and peppy. A few tracks that just feel like "fillers", but overall a great laid back vibe. Great music for a chill night on the porch looking up at the stars, hangin' with some friends, drinking some drinks.. If you're at all a fan of Trip Hop music, Stereolab, Hooverphonic, Miwon, Ms. John Soda, or even St. Etienne, this is an essential release for your collection.

Standout Tracks: Let's Get Slow, Blue (Happy Without You), Why Do You Ask, Who's You Who's Is Me, When I Was Younger, Drifting Around

REVIEW: Guitar - Tokyo

7.25 out of 10

Find it here.

When EIC reviewed Guitar's "Sunkissed" album we mentioned how it was one of the better Dream Pop albums we had ever heard, we also mentioned we were excited to hear the rest of this group's discography. Well it took a few months to track it all down, mainly just this album, but the wait was indeed worth it.

Between "Sunkissed" and "Tokyo" Guitar became slightly more electronic, still dream poppy, but more electronic based, almost reminiscent of a "catchier" Manual. On "Tokyo", Guitar's latest release, the element of hip-hop and far eastern inspired music is introduced to that mix.

If you like laid back electronic music, you like hip hop inspired beats, beautiful piano samples, cute Asian vocals(on some tracks), gorgeous acoustic struts, guitar effects, Asian influenced string plucking, dream pop ..you will easily LOVE this album. Over all this album sounds like Onra, maybe Monkey, meets Guitar.

Had Kevin Shields not done the soundtrack to "Lost In Translation" I would've wanted this to be it's replacement.

Standout Tracks: Naoki, Red & White, Tokyo Memory, Wash Me Away, Sakura Coming, Maki

REVIEW: Atom TM - Liedgut

6.5 out of 10

Find it here.

To put it simply Atom TM is I(ntelligent)D(ance)M(usic). "Liedgut" is vocal samples stretched/distorted to hell, "clicks", sub drops, and a "unique" form of electronics wizardry that has the ability to tear your ear drums apart.


"Liedgut" comes off as a somewhat darker/Aphex Twin style Kraftwerk meets Pan Sonic. The music is extremely micro. It's more about the sample itself rather than the "standard layout" of a song. Super DEEEEEEEEEEEP low bass/subs stretched, glitchy white noise, odd time structures, weird clicks, bizarre vocal samplings, and other mass amounts of crazy electronics. This album can be hard to take in sometimes, almost squeamish, I'm almost reminded of Coil's instrumental tracks at points.

I KNOW this won't be for a lot of people, but if it's sound, rather than background music you are looking for pay close attention to this release. Also, the packaging is pretty neat.. Invest in a good pair of headphones and you will see why this album is indeed "Intelligent".

Standout Tracks: It's hard to distinguish tracks, I'd say on a whole it's stronger as a solid piece.

REVIEW: Cruyff In The Bedroom - Saudargia

7 out of 10
Find it here.

For those of you who don't know I consider myself a pretty big Shoegaze/Dream Pop fanatic. I'm always on the outlook for new or old artists that are overlooked in this terrific genre. A few months ago I did a Last.fm search for Japanese Shoegaze(I had been listening to a lot of Astrobrite) music. I found a ton of terrific artists I had never heard of. Cruyff In The Bedroom was one of those bands. If you're a fan of said genre you will fall in love with this release quite easily.

Somewhere between Asobi Seksu and My Bloody Valentine is where I would place Cruyff In The Bedroom at. Straight forward rock/pop guitars, synths, distortion pedal-a-palooza, actual audible Japanese/sometimes english speaking vocals, beautifully orchestrated strings (on some of the songs), and all of the other elements that make up for a great Shoegaze band.

You may find that this album although generally rocks out, can be soothing as well. For those of you who like your pop with a bit of a darker, somewhat romantic edge look no further than Cruyff.

Standout Tracks: Hakuchume, Cherry, Suilent, Tablet, Frozen