SMC : Mix Music Sampler

viggs20 · July 2006

To kick off Round 5, I was spoilt for choices and couldn't settle on what album to share. So I decided to do a mix tape so to speak...something psycosmic did very well sometime back.

This mix has everything from Bollywood (Indian film music) to rock, prog jazz to electronica, death metal to pop and though it may not be to everybody's taste, you might even hate it but atleast you will get introduced to something new.

You might have noticed me talk about Liars, Zaar, and Kayo Dot (all 3 feature in my top 10 of 2006) and some others...you can ask me about any of the artists featured on this sampler. All the songs except tracks 1 & 2 are from the last couple years....track 1 is from Bollywood composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji that was remixed by producer Dan the Automator & DJ Shadow on the Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars & Sitars and track 2 is from obscure Indian rock band Colourblind who sadly released only 1 album.

Track-list :

01. Theme from Don ~ KALYANJI, ANANDJI + DAN THE AUTOMATOR & DJ SHADOW.
02. Bang a Drum ~ COLOURBLIND.
03. Mass Strangulation ~ BLOODBATH.
04. Behind the Mask of God ~ DEMONIC RESURRECTION.
05. Lowlife ~ SCANNERS.
06. Aura on an Asylum Wall ~ KAYO DOT.
07. Right Here, Right Now ~ VISHAL-SHEKAR featuring ABHISHEK BACHCHAN.
08. Twenty Cell Revolt ~ MENOMENA.
09. Apple Tree ~ DECLAN DE BARRA.
10. Payday Loans ~ THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES.
11. The Brain Is Lost ~ ELLEN ALLIEN.
12. A Visit From Drum ~ LIARS.
13. Scherzo # C ~ ZAAR.
14. Prayers on Fire ~ THE SOUND OF ANIMALS FIGHTING.

Hope you guys like it.

deadmosquito · July 2006

downloading now. hopefully i'll get to listen to it tomorrow and let you know what i think. i'm excited about this SMC thing. i wanted to do it a few times before but never got around to it.

deadmosquito · July 2006

alright, i had a chance to listen to it this morning. here goes:

theme from don - fun opener. don't really know what "don" is, but it was interesting as an opening track.

bang a drum - really catchy. i really enjoy this tune except for the "boom boom" vocals after the "bang a drum" refrain. some cool bass work during the guitar solo.

mass strangulation - the guitars in this song are sludgy and heavy and i like that about it. aside from that, it's hard for me to get into music with vocals that guttural. but definitely not bad for its genre. i've heard much much worse.

behind the mask of god - much like the previous track, i really enjoy the music. the guitarwork in this one is better than in the previous song, and the doublebass in some sections of the song is pretty wicked. but i'm not really into the vocals that much. when the song breaks down it is pretty amazing. even the vocals. really glad this song was included on this mix.

lowlife - sounds kinda familiar like i've heard the song before. but in a good way. reminds me of a less annoying s-k.

aura on an asylum wall - i wasn't really feeling this song. it was ok as backgroung music for me. not bad, not good, just eh.

right here right now - interesting. i find myself liking it even without understanding it.

twenty cell revolt - song had me hooked from the beginning. the handclaps freaked me out at first cos i thought someone was in the room with me. this might be my favorite song on the mix.

apple tree - the guitar sounds light and pretty, and the guy has a nice voice, but the combination is a little overboard for me.

payday loans - took a second to start up but after it did it didn't stop. loved it.

the brain is lost - kinda felt that way after the song ended. doesn't do anything for me at all.

a visit from drum - this song's relentless drums and the music, hell, even the vocals make me feel on edge and uneasy. and i like it. good pick!

scherzo # C - different. i'll leave it at that.

prayers on fire - pretty amazing. good way to end the mix. the woman's vocals are outstanding and the whole song just fits together really well. definitely like it as an outro-type song for this record.

kdpjam · July 2006

dm, check your pms please. i am trying to get to these tunes.

kdpjam · July 2006

viggs20 wrote:

To kick off Round 5, I was spoilt for choices and couldn't settle on what album to share. So I decided to do a mix tape so to speak...something psycosmic did very well sometime back.

This mix has everything from Bollywood (Indian film music) to rock, prog jazz to electronica, death metal to pop and though it may not be to everybody's taste, you might even hate it but atleast you will get introduced to something new.

You might have noticed me talk about Liars, Zaar, and Kayo Dot (all 3 feature in my top 10 of 2006) and some others...you can ask me about any of the artists featured on this sampler. All the songs except tracks 1 & 2 are from the last couple years....track 1 is from Bollywood composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji that was remixed by producer Dan the Automator & DJ Shadow on the Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars & Sitars and track 2 is from obscure Indian rock band Colourblind who sadly released only 1 album.

Track-list :

01. Theme from Don ~ KALYANJI, ANANDJI + DAN THE AUTOMATOR & DJ SHADOW.
02. Bang a Drum ~ COLOURBLIND.
03. Mass Strangulation ~ BLOODBATH.
04. Behind the Mask of God ~ DEMONIC RESURRECTION.
05. Lowlife ~ SCANNERS.
06. Aura on an Asylum Wall ~ KAYO DOT.
07. Right Here, Right Now ~ VISHAL-SHEKAR featuring ABHISHEK BACHCHAN.
08. Twenty Cell Revolt ~ MENOMENA.
09. Apple Tree ~ DECLAN DE BARRA.
10. Payday Loans ~ THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES.
11. The Brain Is Lost ~ ELLEN ALLIEN.
12. A Visit From Drum ~ LIARS.
13. Scherzo # C ~ ZAAR.
14. Prayers on Fire ~ THE SOUND OF ANIMALS FIGHTING.

Hope you guys like it.

hi viggs

thanks for posting.
apple tree: i like it! it has a jeff buckley feel about it.
lowlife: indie girly, liked it though.
the brain is lost: i like it but grew tired of it fast.
payday loans: thrashy but kind of catchy.

these are my two faves: theme from don and twenty cell revolt had me rocking! i've actually heard twenty cell revolt somehow on the radio.. some where along the way, i'm sure of it.

the rest of the songs just weren't my style.

glad to be back in the smc, hope i can keep up with all the music..

transplant · July 2006

I wish Declan De Barra would lend me his voice for a couple years. After listening to Apple Tree, I had to break out One Bedroom Apartment. I mean really, that guy floors me at times. How is the rest of his solo disc?

nice ecclectic mix. I have only given it one spin, plenty more to follow. the Bloodbath and Kayo Dot made me take a little more notice.

Deadmosquito, nicely done and kdpjam, nice to have ya back.

psycosmic · July 2006

is declan de barra the singer from clann zu?

out of all the smc selections so far i find myself going back to some tracks a lot more than others... don't remember who picked these... but i still listen a lot to

one bedroom apartment - clann zu
panda - dungen
the whole wrens album

viggs20 · July 2006

deadmosquito - first of all, welcome to the club. Death metal vocals are hard to take at first...it took me a while to get used to it as well but I'm glad you atleast like something about those metal tracks. Thanks for the comprehensive review.

kdpjam - good to see you join again, Kat. Sorry, most of the mix wasn't to your taste.

transplant - Yeah, Declan's vocals are really something. His solo album is ok...pretty mellow just like 'Apple Tree' which is the best song.

psycosmic - Declan is the singer of Clann Zu...he's doing his own thing now that the band is done. Check it out http://www.declandebarra.com

kdpjam · July 2006

viggs20 wrote:

deadmosquito - first of all, welcome to the club. Death metal vocals are hard to take at first...it took me a while to get used to it as well but I'm glad you atleast like something about those metal tracks. Thanks for the comprehensive review.

kdpjam - good to see you join again, Kat. Sorry, most of the mix wasn't to your taste.

transplant - Yeah, Declan's vocals are really something. His solo album is ok...pretty mellow just like 'Apple Tree' which is the best song.

psycosmic - Declan is the singer of Clann Zu...he's doing his own thing now that the band is done. Check it out http://www.declandebarra.com

vish,

the six songs that i have i love

thanks for posting.

StoneG82 · July 2006

I'm on my first spin of this right now.

The first track is fun...I can dig it.

I like "Apple Tree" a lot. It's pretty chill.

I'll let you know what I think of the rest when I get to them

psycosmic · July 2006

i enjoyed this a lot so far...
people, do yourselves a favour and listen to this in the same order as the tracklist posted here!

i'm a big fan of good mix tapes as opposed to mere compilations... and the art of the mix is magnificently executed here... very well done, viggs!
those of you who have read 'high fidelity' will know what i'm on about when i say that it's difficult to make a good mix and there are many different ways of doing so...
i really like the 'viggs mix' because it flows very well... even the tracks i would probably not like on their own fit in nicely and don't take away from the enjoyment... i especially like how bollywood, rock, death metal and pop go so well together in the first half...

i have the 'bombay the hard way' album and it's pretty good...

i don't have a problem with death metal at all but i also can take very guttural vocals in small doses only... but i really like the bloodbath track as it's not as theatrical as demonic ressurection...
i'm having this argument with a mate who's very into screamo and, as i call it, grunt metal... he says these vocal styles are intense... i agree, but to me intensity needs to built... i love a good scream as much as everyone else but if there's no dynamic it just leaves me cold...

kayo dot didn't grab me in the beginning but then i really liked it... might check out more by them, got any recommendations?

i love jeff buckley so i liked declan de barra... he sure can sing...

good mix from start to finish!

viggs20 · July 2006

Thank you psycosmic...like I said it was your mix that made me want to do this. I think its a cool way to introduce lots of different music that may not necessarily have a singular theme but still mesh together well.
You're right about dynamics and build-up being key to digest guttural screams...for me the music and song-writing is first and foremost and if that holds up then even off-key singing / screaming can be tolerated.
Kayo Dot has just 2 albums - Choirs of the Eye and Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue and you can't go wrong with either...post-rock meets metal meets classical.

StoneG82 - looking forward to reading what you think of rest of the album.

deadmosquito · July 2006

psycosmic wrote:

i enjoyed this a lot so far...
people, do yourselves a favour and listen to this in the same order as the tracklist posted here!

i'm a big fan of good mix tapes as opposed to mere compilations... and the art of the mix is magnificently executed here... very well done, viggs!
those of you who have read 'high fidelity' will know what i'm on about when i say that it's difficult to make a good mix and there are many different ways of doing so...
i really like the 'viggs mix' because it flows very well... even the tracks i would probably not like on their own fit in nicely and don't take away from the enjoyment... i especially like how bollywood, rock, death metal and pop go so well together in the first half...

good mix from start to finish!

i have to agree with you on this. plus high fidelity is such a great movie, lol. this was an awesome mix and it really is an art. i used to think i was really good at creating mixes for moods, but i haven't done it in so long i'm not sure i still am. but either way, i wanted to second the recommendation that everyone listen to it in order. it really does flow well. kudos to viggs.

oh and in case anyone has never heard of it, http://www.artofthemix.org is a cool website where people submit their tracklistings for "mix tapes" that they make. i used to spend a lot of time on that site looking at the stuff people combine on a mix tape. pretty cool stuff.

viggs20 · July 2006

deadmosquito wrote:

i have to agree with you on this. plus high fidelity is such a great movie, lol. this was an awesome mix and it really is an art. i used to think i was really good at creating mixes for moods, but i haven't done it in so long i'm not sure i still am. but either way, i wanted to second the recommendation that everyone listen to it in order. it really does flow well. kudos to viggs.

oh and in case anyone has never heard of it, http://www.artofthemix.org is a cool website where people submit their tracklistings for "mix tapes" that they make. i used to spend a lot of time on that site looking at the stuff people combine on a mix tape. pretty cool stuff.

Thanks, I'm adding my tracklist right now...very cool site.

alobar · July 2006

I really like how this starts out Viggs! It puts out a great overall vibe for this mix, which, btw, has great flow like others have said. The next few songs (2-5) turned me off big time. The second song sounded like bad 311, and 311 is already bad. The death metal stuff really offends me ears. It just as simple as that. I guess I never came from a classic metal background, so I don't appreciate on the same level as others, but I am enjoying more and more classic metal the more I am exposed to it, so maybe I'll come around to death metal sometime. I just kept thinking to myself, "man, this isn't that heavy.....Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice" is way harder/heavier."

The Kayo Dot song is pretty good.....it tends to drag on a bit in the end.

"Rigth Here Right Now"- good song but not great. Great fit on this mix, though.

Menomena- I've been loving this band for a while now. I Am the Fun Blame Monster is a really great, fun record. I love the sax in this song (baritone sax I think). "Monkey's Back" is my favorite on there.

Declan Debarra- I just don't enjoy this guys' voice. I think the song is decent, but his voice doesn't do much for me. It's hard to sing like Buckley.

These Arms Are Snakes- This is my favorite track on this mix. Great song. I really enjoy their EP, This Is Meant To Hurt You. It's only 5 songs, but I think it's the best they've done.

The Brain is Lost- can't reme,ber anything about this song...damnit

Liars- This is my favorite discovery on your mix. I recently picked up "They Put Us in a Trench...." and now I am sure I'll have to pick up Drums Not Dead.

I can't remember the last two songs as I sit here, but I remember enjoying them and they wrapped up the mix very nicely. Thanks for the mix Viggs.

transplant · July 2006

Theme from a Don - dig it. love the chugging bass line.

Bang A Drum - it reminds me of Kottonmouth Kings. That isn't good. This song would be a hit on radio though.

Mass Strangulation - Powerful vocal delivery. It wasn't until I saw Sounds of the Underground last year where I started differentiating from the vocal delievery from these DM? bands. The music was catchy but a little too repetitive. I still like it.

Behind Mask of God - 1st minute or so, just your average metal of the day. It isn't until around the 1:50 mark that it started getting interesting. The musicians are solid, the drummer doesn't rely on too much double bass which is a pet peeve of mine with this type of music. I liked how they worked the duet with the female vocals. I don't care for the lead singers delivery. This song would have been better served with the Bloodbath guy.

Lowlife - one of my favorites here. I just bopped my head along 1979 style. Just a great catchy song. I have no idea why this song worked after Behind the Mask of God. Head scratcher but very nicely done.

Aura On an Asylum Wall - I felt like I was listening to Ummagumma for the first time. Kinda like 'what the fuck?' but yet it kept my attention. This would be a great song to listen to driving at 1:00am.

Right Here, Right Now - this one surprised me. My favorite of the mix. love it. shocking for me really.

Twenty Cell Revolt - not my thing. interesting musically, it could grow on me but the vocals left something to be desired.

Apple Tree - I may pick this disc up. I like this guy.

Payday Loans - can't remember much about it.

The Brain is Lost - would fit nicely on a KMFDM b-side. good tune.

Visit From a Drum - like Twenty Cell Revolt, just didn't do anything for me.

Scherzo # C - a little too avant garde for me. I have tried to get into this type of music, it reminds me of some of the avant garde artists on Blue Note. I don't hate it, I wish I liked it more though.

Prayers on Fire - great way to end a mix.

great listen. I love mixes. thanks!

viggs20 · July 2006

alobar - These Arms Are Snakes rock so fucking much. I love that EP and Oxeneers and their new album Easter is coming out in a couple of months. They've already posted the first single for download on their site.
Liars have taken it up a notch with Drum's Not Dead...serious contender for album of the year.

transplant - that Bloodbath singer is none other than Mikael Akerfeldt of our beloved Opeth.

Hip-hop is getting more mainstream in bollywood and Indi pop (i.e Indian pop music not indie)...Right Here, Right Now is one of the better attempts.

Thank you both for your comments.

transplant · July 2006

viggs20 wrote:

transplant - that Bloodbath singer is none other than Mikael Akerfeldt of our beloved Opeth.

well sonofabitch

viggs20 · July 2006

Ok for some reason...the file has expired in 6 days. So if anyone hasn't got it yet, let me know and I'll upload it again.

Echoes I think you're after me so put something up tonight or whenever.

StoneG82 · July 2006

Theme from Don - I enjoyed this one. Good opener. DJ Shadow is great

Bang a Drum - This track was ok. Catchy but not really my style. A bit too upbeat.

Mass Strangulation - heavy metal isn't my thing. sorry.

Behind the Mask of God - wow this song is cool. One of my favorites from the mix. I'm not normally a fan of songs like that, but the guitar playing was brilliant and I loved the tempo changes.

Lowlife - great track. I'll have to check out this band's record. Could be my favorite off the mix. Tied with Apple Tree

Aura on an Asylum Wall - eh. not really my thing.

Right Here, Right Now - this song has a wierd indian/dance music vibe. that's what I got out of it. it's funky and I can see myself dancing to it, but it's not something I'd listen to frequently. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Twenty Cell Revolt - this was another one of my favorites from the mix. I love the laid back vocal styling. the music was out there which I appreciated.

Apple Tree - this is ultimately my favorite song from the mix. I love how laidback and chill it sounds. His voice is beautiful. the lyrics were brilliant as well. great track. What is his best record? I may have to check him out.

Payday Loans - a bit too punk for my tastes. I can't get into the screaming as well.

The Brain Is Lost - pretty weird song. I can dig it though. another song I'd throw on a mix for a dance party.

A Visit From Drum - this kind of reminds me of some Animal Colective stuff. I can't stand that band so....not a big fan of this track.

Scherzo # C - cool instrumental track. it kind of reminds me of Scott Walker's new record for some reason. I don't really know why.

Prayers on Fire - I can't get into some of these weirder tracks. this was one of them.

overall it was a cool, varied mix. I enjoyed it even though some of the tracks didn't do anything for me.

viggs20 · July 2006

StoneG82 - Ah, I hope with 'Behind the Mask of God' I've turned you on to metal. \m/
Lowlife is the lead single from the Scanners album 'Violence is Golden'...pick it up...good pop-rock.
Declan De Barra has only 1 solo album but he was the singer of Clann Zú and they were fucking awesome. Check out http://www.clannzu.com
I think you're the only who liked 'The Brain is Lost'.

Thanks for your comments...I'm loving the track-by-track reviews.

AndySlash · July 2006

Since everyone else did track by track analysis, so will I:

01. Theme from Don ~ KALYANJI, ANANDJI + DAN THE AUTOMATOR & DJ SHADOW.

Anything DJ Shadow-related gets my ears perked, so I was curious about this one. It's nothing terribly different from what you might expect from something like this, but I like it enough.

02. Bang a Drum ~ COLOURBLIND.

Meh. Reminded me a little of that Screaming Headless Torsos entry a few weeks back, which I wasn't terribly big on, either.

03. Mass Strangulation ~ BLOODBATH.

UGH. I just can't get into real hard metal with terribly gruff vocals. It's all just noise to me. I gave it a fair shake, though, where I usually just turn it off.

04. Behind the Mask of God ~ DEMONIC RESURRECTION.

I am a sucker for chicks who actually sing in metal songs, so the middle part I enjoyed, but the rest garnered pretty much the same reaction as above. I do appreciate both of these bands' talent- it's just not for me.

05. Lowlife ~ SCANNERS.

I nice little ditty of a song. Not anything happening that's making them stand out to my ears, but not anything terrible, either. Not enough of an impression to make me want to explore more of their stuff, though.

06. Aura on an Asylum Wall ~ KAYO DOT.

This is a little avant-garde, isn't it? I don't really know how I feel about it yet. There's a modern day sounding Peter Gabriel-era Genesis in there, a little Miles Davis fusion, some Godspeed You Black Emperor thrown in near the end, and a who-the-fuck-knows-what-this-is at the very end. A clever mish-mash of styles, if you ask me. I don't know if it really works for me yet, but I do want to give this one a few more spins.

07. Right Here, Right Now ~ VISHAL-SHEKAR featuring ABHISHEK BACHCHAN.

Sounds like it could be released here and fit right in with stuff that's on the Top 40 radio stations. Might be a bit too basic for R&B fiends, but I imagine R&B isn't huge over there, so it's a pretty good attempt. Not too bad.

08. Twenty Cell Revolt ~ MENOMENA.

The band scores points with me based on their name alone. I dig their instrumentation- I'll definitely want to check out more of their stuff.

09. Apple Tree ~ DECLAN DE BARRA.

I'm not surprised that this seems to be a favorite among posters in this thread. Add me to the list.

10. Payday Loans ~ THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES.

I dig it. Something that I'll play a lot? Probably not. But interesting enough to give more listens to to see if I like it more than I think I do.

11. The Brain Is Lost ~ ELLEN ALLIEN.

I swear I've heard this song before somewhere. Of all the songs on this mix, this one seems the most out of place to me. The other songs, for the most part, seem to go somewhere- this one just kind of jogs in place.

12. A Visit From Drum ~ LIARS.

Meh. I like the drumming, though.

13. Scherzo # C ~ ZAAR.

This didn't do anything for me. I'd like to have had a larger sound for this one- more instruments, more interplay. By then end it just sounded all the same to me.

14. Prayers on Fire ~ THE SOUND OF ANIMALS FIGHTING.

I think I'd have liked this a lot more without the vocals. Or with different vocals. Otherwise an interesting track.

Overall I don't know that I'll listen to this too much. A few songs worth me revisiting, but otherwise I don't think I'll miss hearing the rest. Thanks for the mix though- I might have to try and put one together for my pick, in part so y'all can shit on that one to get me back for all my shitty reviews of your picks.

burnin-candle · August 2006

OK, been a little busy, but I got through this a couple of times. These Arms are Snakes, Liars I have, and I have nothing to add there.

I had no idea Declan had a solo thing. Dig it!

and I could do the track by track thing, but I think we covered that pretty well. lol

The Indian stuff (I'm assuming they're Indian) is pretty cool, but I've been listening to some good old tabla recently (really diggin Tabla Beat Scienceand Shakti) and I don't know, I kinda prefer that kind of percussive stuff. I like what they did with the mixture of genres though.

The metal stuff...I like them a bit, but not my kind of metal.

But the highlught on this mix was definitely Kayo Dot. Man, I'm loving that song! I always wanted to hear what they were like, and I finally got some. Thanks viggs. I am DEFINITELY picking up their album.

And I was delighted to see they had a release on Tzadik. I've been listening to a lot of stuff from that label. Hope it doesn't effect my pick though. lol I gotta bring the funk!;)

viggs20 · August 2006

AndySlash - Looking back at the mix I guess Scherzo # C doesn't quite fit into it...the song doesn't lend itself to be heard without listening to the rest of the Zaar album...the interplay you talk about is all there...none more than on the 20 minutes long opening track Sefir.

burning-candle - For some reason, I've never been able to totally delve into Indian classical...Tabla Beat Science has its moments, especially when I was learning the tabla myself I was all into Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurtu, Anandan Sivamani. But its like jazz for me, I can appreciate it but can't listen to it regularly.
Ah, finally someone digs Kayo Dot like I do.

brhf9 · August 2006

finally. now i can catch up with the picks you've made so far.

the 1st thing i notice is the vocal and the 1st song reminded me of a Radiohead one and the 2nd one of a David Byrne one. Either you like them or not, those songs are good, esp. the Colourblind one. i really enjoy those melancholic kind of songs.

edit: now i see. i am listening to it on my cd/mp3 player and i got all the songs mixed up. i'll have to ordenate them 1st.

brhf9 · August 2006

SMC : Mix Music Sampler

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