By The Angel, on December 31st, 2011
Here’s this year’s eclectic list of people, projects, music, gadgets… whether discovered as new, rediscovered or simply appreciated in 2011. In no particular order…
The Shadow Line – year end shout out to Hugo Blick for a great ride. From the opening scene of episode 1, it brilliantly pulls you in with a regular who’s who of talent.
Game Of Thrones – new addiction – A few years back an unconnected TV producer excitedly told me that this brilliant show was brewing over at HBO… and then it surpassed all expectations.
 
End of year shout out to Peter Dinklage for winning an Emmy for best supporting actor.
Prescott Peavine Trail – one off & year end shout out to Trails Specialist, Chris Hosking. Hiking in Cali one day, I mentioned this spectacular trail to a British friend, who told me that his mate, Chris, is the man responsible for cultivating this trail… An unexpected connection.
The Skin I Live In – year end shout out to Pedro Almodovar. Great to see Antonio Banderas working with Pedro again after all these years.
Boss - new addiction – Excellent writing creates a web of intrigue and room for superb performances – year end shout outs to Farhad Safinia, Gus Van Sant, Kelsey Grammer and Connie Nielsen… 
Glen Mazzara – year end shout out for a second year in a row; 2010 for writing episode 5 and this year for taking the reigns as showrunner of The Walking Dead. The photo below says it all about Season 2…
M Cafe – continuing addiction to one of the best vegan desserts ever created, courtesy of M Cafe De Chaya.
I Melt With You – year end shout out to Mark Pellington. I can only respect his personal passion and dedication to say f**k it, I’m doing this with or without industry backing. I have a vision, a great cast and I’m taking no prisoners… 
Steve Jobs – a heartfelt, farewell shout out to a man that has changed our world in the most profound and tactile way. I use my Apple products as organically as breathing. I can’t imagine how I would work, communicate and be creative without them…
Luther – Season 2 continuing addiction and year end shout out to Idris Elba for a second, well deserved Golden Globe nomination…
 
ON AUTO-REPEAT
“Ouch That Hurt” DND Remix – year end shout out to the spectacularly talented Dionne Bromfield… this mix is for the film “Demons Never Die” directed by Arjun Rose, executive produced by Idris Elba and scored by yours truly. 
“Everywhere And Nowhere” – year end shout out to Fearless feat. Sonna Rele for the lead single to the film “Everywhere and Nowhere” directed by Menhaj Huda, scored by yours truly.
“Katy On A Mission” – year end shout out to Katy B for a killer single; a holdover from 2010 and a great set-up for the album, which dropped this year.
“Typhoon ft Chasing Shadows” – year end shout out to Foreign Beggars for a bone chiseling, production overload – holdover from 2010. WARNING – If you’re expecting something sweet, melodic and mellow, this ain’t it!
By The Angel, on January 31st, 2012
December got away from me, and with the annual roundup, I ran out of time for vinyl musings… I’d been meaning to mention “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” and to send a shout out to Michael Rapaport. What could have been a low key passion project turned into a beautifully crafted, well executed, fully realized film… I was transported and immersed in it. This ties in to one of my main reasons for starting this thread of posts, the continued impact of these precious tunes in my collection. So with this inspiration in mind, here are this month’s feel good selects…
Always connected to what was going on back home (NY), I was living in London when these two Tribe albums were released and I picked up the vinyl for “People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm” and “The Low End Theory” in the UK. “Bonita Applebum” filled the dance floor at a cool little spot called, “The Pig”, on Gray’s Inn Road. Even after all these years it sounds as fresh as ever. And I always had a special love for “After Hours”…
Mmmmmmmm Hmmmmmmmm is all I have to say about “Check The Rhime”… “The Low End Theory” is head-nodding, grooviness all the way through with “Excursions” and “Scenario” still hitting the spot. ATCQ are a sample trainspotter’s delight, much like The Bomb Squad. The uniqueness of the genre blending paved the way for so many of us…
Around the same few years, I got heavily addicted to Poor Righteous Teachers’ “Holy Intellect”. I also picked this LP up in the UK, though I remember seeing PRT live in NY on a ridiculous bill with Ultramagnetic MCs, KRS-One and other legends.
“Rock Dis Funky Joint” has some pretty worn out grooves… Not only did I listen to it at home, I used to drop it whenever I had the chance to DJ. The more syncopated tracks set PRT apart from everyone else, like “Speaking Upon A Blackman”. But the tune I could never get enough of was “So Many Teachers” with the most haunting snare sound ever. I know, how geeky… but it’s the little things that connect with people, a sound, a feeling, a vibe and they stay with you forever.
By The Angel, on November 30th, 2011
The November selects bring a more eclectic batch of vinyl nostalgia. Thanksgiving unearthed some long forgotten gems, along with far too much sugar and lots of games… oh, and the older folks representing as the biggest card hustlers.
A group of us were talking about TV shows, past and present, when one of the older crowd mentioned how much he used to love the Flip Wilson Show. About an hour later, our host pulled out these two albums on vinyl…
 
The next day I started digging back into my own vinyl and found a couple of classics, originally from my mom’s collection; a scratchy 7″ single of “Downtown” by Petula Clark followed by an even scratchier 7″ of The Beatles, “Eight Days A Week”.
Jonesing to hear the sweetest male vocal in my collection, I dug out Marvin Gaye’s album, “What’s Going On” and gave “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” a few repeat spins, but actually had to follow up with “Trouble Man”, which always hits the spot with vocal and horn arrangements that are simply delicious… in fact, even more so for the warmth of the vinyl.
By The Angel, on October 31st, 2011
Vinyl. It’s tangible. It’s distinct smell brings back as many memories as the tunes… While you’re listening to an album for instance, you can scan the cover art front and back, and you can read every inch of info printed on the jacket and on the inside sleeve; writers. producers, publishers, featured vocalists, thank you’s… and then you can read all sorts of things into the photos. Okay, you can do some of this with CD’s, but only to a minimizing effect.
 
For an October pick, I grabbed 3rd Bass “The Cactus Album”. Coincidentally, it was released in October 1989, back when you had to read mags, go to a show or check out a video broadcasting in real time if you wanted to know more about an act and their music. In those days, 3rd Bass and I were all being managed by Rush… them in the US, me in the UK, as I tip my hat to Russell Simmons and Trenton Harrison. As for Cactus, I was always on the lookout for a gem of an album cut. To this day “Monte Hall” is still a big fave with that groovy, Grover Washington Jr. sample from “Black Frost” and the evocative Jim Morrison sample, “This place is everything…”
While on the subject of Def Jam/Rush Management I also pulled out Public Enemy “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back” released in April 1988, way ahead of it’s time. Of course it’s a classic, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve listened to it on vinyl, which is the whole point of this post. It was the The Bomb Squad’s production style that subliminally influenced the way I would later arrange music. Another album cut, gem and personal fave is “She Watch Channel Zero?!”
There’s something about listening to vinyl that takes me back in a way that listening to audio files, just doesn’t. Sharing music is a personal thing. You never really forget who first turned you on to a tune and under what circumstances. It’s contextualizing and bonding.
By The Angel, on October 10th, 2011
Speaking of dark sounds…
There’s a horror film in this year’s mix of projects. Continuing a tradition of working with up and coming talent, I’ve recently scored another UK indie feature called, “Demons Never Die”, written and directed by (someone to watch), Arjun Rose. Surprisingly, it was executive producer, Idris Elba, who asked me to come on board. His call came not long before this year’s Golden Globes, and it was the day after the Globes that we had a chance to meet and talk about “Demons” and our greater individual goals to produce and create beyond our respective fields. It was a pleasure to meet someone whose work I so admire. In case you haven’t checked out “Luther” yet, you’re really missing something.
Since my post about the 5 year anniversary of the UK release of “KiDULTHOOD”, you may spot a thread… I like to see fresh faces breaking through and I like being able to support projects like these, with people who are not afraid to take chances and who aren’t willing to wait around for some royal invitation to participate in the creative arena. Arjun had a particular vision for the score of “Demons Never Die”, and as a fan of my dark, contemporary score for “Boiler Room”, he hoped I could bring those sensibilities to his film. We talked about blending traditional and non traditional instrumentation to enhance the horror, while keeping the sound current.  Arjun specifically wanted a love theme that sounded like a modern day fairytale for characters Archie (Robert Sheehan) and Jasmine (Jennie Jacques) in order to contrast against the dark themes and the horror. We worked long distance, LA – London, but the creative flow between us made the distance seem negligible and Arjun’s open minded approach to incorporating even suggestions made outside the musical realm gave me insight into how he is likely to grow as a director… Boundlessly.
 In “Demons Never Die”, a new crop of young UK talent is getting their chance to shine. UK release is set for Oct. 28th, just in time for Halloween. Tulisa Contostavlos (N-Dubz, The X Factor), Robert Sheehan (Misfits), Jennie Jacques, Jason Maza, Emma Rigby, Jacob Anderson, Femi Oyeniran, Ashley Walters, Reggie Yates, Shanika Warren-Markland, Jack Doolan and Andrew Ellis are all names you’ll be hearing more about outside of the UK very soon…
|
|
|
