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KAMASI WASHINGTON’S SCORE TO NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY BECOMING OUT TODAY
Kamasi Washington’s score for Becoming, director Nadia Hallgren and Higher Ground Productions’ documentary profiling First Lady Michelle Obama, is out today via Young Turks Recordings.
The score features new original music Washington—whom Hallgren asked to join the project very early in its development—composed for the film as well as selections from his catalog.
“Working with Kamasi Washington on the musical score for Becoming was a dream come true,” says Hallgren. “Not only is Kamasi a masterful musician, he also has a unique sensitivity that he pours into his music. His music reaches deeply into your soul. Mrs. Obama loves music, and when I read the line in her book ‘And heaven, as I envisioned it, had to be a place full of jazz,’ I knew immediately Kamasi was the artist that could interpret her experience musically. His sound is contemporary and timeless, a magical fit to her story.”
“It was such a pleasure and honor to work on Becoming,” says Washington. “Michelle Obama is such an amazing person and this film gives a very unique insight to who she is, how she thinks, and the way she navigates the world. It’s truly inspiring to see! Working with the film’s incredible director Nadia Hallgren to create a musical palette to support this amazing piece was truly a blessing. I’m so thankful to her for the opportunity to be a part of this. Barack and Michelle Obama’s time as President and First Lady had an impact on the history of this country and the world that is hard to put into words, but both Michelle Obama’s book and Nadia Hallgren’s film do an amazing job of it!”
Becoming is an intimate look into the life of former First Lady Michelle Obama during a moment of profound change, not only for her personally but for the country she and her husband served over eight impactful years in the White House. The film offers a rare and
up-close look at her life, taking viewers behind the scenes as she embarks on a 34-city tour that highlights the power of community to bridge our divides and the spirit of connection that comes when we openly and honestly share our stories.
Kamasi Washington is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer born and raised in Los Angeles. His three bodies of work to date—The Epic; Harmony of Difference, an EP originally commissioned for the 2017 Whitney Biennial; and Heaven and Earth, are among the most acclaimed of the past decade. As Told To G/D Thyself, his short film companion to Heaven and Earth, debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and earlier this year he released his first concert film, Kamasi Washington Live at The Apollo Theater in partnership with Amazon Music. Washington has toured the world over, and collaborated and shared stages with Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine, Herbie Hancock and many more.
Muzz release first ever live recording
Leading up to the June 5th release of their self-titled, debut album, Muzz the new project of Paul Banks (Interpol), Josh Kaufman (producer/multi-instrumentalist and one third of Bonny Light Horseman), and Matt Barrick (drummer of Jonathan Fire*Eater, The Walkmen, and Fleet Foxes’ touring band), release their first-ever live recording – a performance of ‘Bad Feeling’.
For the video, the trio play from the cities where they’re currently staying home – Banks in Edinburgh, Kaufman in Brooklyn, and Barrick in Philadelphia. They give a mellow, more stripped-down rendition of the song, using the available resources in their respective homes.
The performance follows singles Red Western Sky, Broken Tambourine, and the studio version of ‘Bad Feeling’.
Written, arranged and performed by all three, Muzz is dark and gorgeous, expansive and soulful, all imbued with an effortless cosmic charge. It’s a genuine collaborative production, born out of longstanding friendship and collaboration. “Finding a place where we met aesthetically was really cool, especially at this point in our lives,” says Kaufman. “I’m not surprised that Paul and I are in a band together after all these years; what I am surprised by is that my favorite drummer is the guy who brought us back together to make music. He’s this rare rock drummer who came out of the D.C. hardcore/ska scene and swings like a jazz drummer. Matt was the magnet.”
Banks and Kaufman have known each other since childhood, attending high school together in Spain before separately moving to NY. There, they independently crossed paths with Barrick while running in similar music circles. They kept in touch in the following years: Barrick drummed in Banks + Steelz and on some of Kaufman’s production sessions; Kaufman helped on Banks’ early Julian Plenti solo endeavour; various demos were collaborated on, and a studio was co-bought.
Banks elaborates: “I love The Walkmen and every band Matt’s been a part of; he does things on the drums that are so subtle and tasteful it gives me the warm fuzzies. And since we were kids, Josh has been a real inspiration to me, a talent on some other plane. As a producer he creates an environment where other musicians can shine. There’s a creative overlap we share that revolves around Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, The Stones, and Dylan that I haven’t really had an outlet for all these years, so this is us exploring that.”
This is the Kit - Royal Albert Home - Live performance
This afternoon This Is The Kit deliver an exclusive home set as part of the Royal Albert Home sessions
Session premieres at 2:30pm Eastern
Matador Records announces 25th anniversary reissue of Yo La Tengo's Electr-o-pura
Continuing with our ever-expanding, and I’m sure to some of you exhausting, Revisionist History series, we are pleased to announce a 25th anniversary reissue of Yo La Tengo’s 1995 album Electr-o-pura.
Now in a gatefold sleeve and cut from the original 58 minute master, the new reissue is pressed for the first time on two LPs to ensure the highest quality of audio the album has had on vinyl to date.
On their seventh studio album, Yo La Tengo would further expand on the venturous songwriting established on their previous album Painful with stunning craft and a deepened exploration of contrasting textures, moods and atmospherics.
Chock full with moments of pop gold like “Tom Courtenay,” melancholic ballads such as the heartbreaking “Pablo And Andrea,” and sweeping, feedback-laden jams like the show-stopping “Blue Line Swinger,” Electr-o-pura is a thrilling document of one of America’s most beloved bands hitting their creative stride and remains one of the most sublime records the band has released in their uninterrupted 36-year career.
Songwriter Lucy Dacus, who happened to be born on the day of Electr-o-pura’s release, has shared a new essay on the landmark album along with a video of the songwriter covering the her favourite track “Tom Courtenay.”
Read the full essay below.
I was born on May 2, 1995, the day that Electr-o-pura came out.
Fourteen years later, I started high school and made a new friend who wore a leather jacket and boots, who expressed confident opinions about music that I had never heard. I devoured every recommendation they gave me in an effort to align my tastes. I wanted to be cool, or at least not uncool. I found out about The Stooges, Philip Glass, and Sonic Youth through my effort to win their approval. I loved it all, and my parents hated every new discovery. Cool was loud.
One day my friend brought me a stack of CDs, all Yo La Tengo, and told me to take them home, listen to them, burn them, and return them. I did what I was told. I liked those records from the start, and more with every listen. I’d lay in bed listening to one of their records, pause the song I was listening to when I got too tired, then push play upon waking.
I remember my confusion upon listening to Electr-o-pura for the first time. I referenced the tracklist on the back of the CD so I could learn titles, but the printed song durations didn’t match up to what I was hearing. I wondered if there was some manufacturing error and I wasn’t hearing the songs I was supposed to hear. “Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1)” is listed as lasting just over three minutes when it’s actually 6:42. “Blue Line Swinger” says it’s 3:15, but actually clocks in at 9:18. I know now from looking into it that Yo La Tengo intentionally misprinted the times, trying to combat short attention spans, hoping they would trick people into giving those long songs a chance. It tricked me, though I’m a sucker for long songs anyways. It’s interesting to think about how this move couldn’t be pulled today in a world of digitized music. And if people had short attention spans then, how short are they now? All to say, I liked that they were playful.
What kept me coming back to Yo La Tengo was their understanding of moods. I listened to bands that knew anger, bands that knew sadness, but I didn’t know of any other bands that could express a full life’s range of moods the way they can. From song to song, the music was anxious, celebratory, sorrowful, content, confused, etc. And even when they got loud or dissonant, it never felt hostile. The sounds could be harsh, even ugly, but they were joyful. Some songs could make me cry, but they were gentle, not malevolent. I was taking on someone else’s tastes, and in the process, discovering my own.
Tom Courtenay was the first Yo La Tengo song I learned on guitar. I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew who Julie Christie was and loved the line, “As the music swells somehow stronger from adversity / our hero finds his inner peace.” I didn’t know what the needle had to do with anything, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was like any good poem, leaving space for me, between images. Now, I think the song may be about obsession with media, equating the allure of the movies and movie stars to drug addiction. Who knows, that’s just my take.
Eventually when Matador asked to sign me, the fact that Yo La Tengo is on their roster was a major component of my decision. They’ve been putting out great albums every couple of years for over three decades, experimenting and exploring with what seems to be an uncompromised creativity. That is worth celebrating, especially now, when any opportunity for celebration is a blessing. Happy 25th birthday to Electr-o-pura, and thanks for the music, Yo La Tengo. – Lucy Dacus
The Lemon Twigs Release Live Album Via Bandcamp
While we can’t experience the magic of The Lemon Twigs live performances in person right now, the duo of Brian and Michael D’Addario have announced a live album out now exclusively on Bandcamp.
The twelve songs were recorded in Pawtucket, RI, Northampton, MA and Los Angeles, CA on their Go To School Tour in 2018.
100% of proceeds from The Lemon Twigs Live! will benefit Coalition For The Homeless’ COVID-19 response. The charity is the USA’s oldest advocacy and direct service organisation helping homeless men, women and children in New York City. Learn more about the organisation here
The D’Addario brothers will return with their third LP, Songs For The General Public, on 21 August.
