Highlights from This Week in Eclectic: Nathaniel Rateliff, The Dear Hunter + Awesöme Orchestra, Jockstrap, and a new shade of Amon Tobin
Memorable folk, classical covers of progressive rock, and genre-defying experimental artists
Happy Monday folks! Thanks for listening along.
A couple weeks ago, I tried a new format: a shorter, weekly playlist. It took off. I had several people tell me how much they liked the music, and I think overall it was just a lot more digestible than the full Eclectic Summer 2020 playlist.
So, as this project continues to evolve, I’ll continue to write & send this newsletter. Rather than listing every new song, however, I’m simply going to highlight my favorite artists and albums from this week’s picks. I’ll also write about their stories and feature some really cool live performances and adjacent works of theirs.
I have a feeling that’s how it will continue! Hope you like.
Start listening along on YouTube • Spotify • where else? Hit reply & let me know.
SELECT FEATURES
Nathaniel Rateliff
I discovered this artist when my CEO posted his new album in our company Slack, and I immediately fell into it. Rateliff lost a longtime friend while he was writing And It’s Still Alright, which turned into an homage to his friend. He describes it as “a reminder that we all go through hardship, but regardless […] everything ends up where it’s supposed to.”
It’s a terrific acoustic/folk album; I recommend listening on shuffle or from start-to-finish. 👌
Listen to the full album on YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music
The Fox & the Hunt
If you missed my impromptu issue this week, this is a must-hear 58-minute album.
The music was originally written for The Dear Hunter’s heavy, highly progressive, even theatrical rock style, and plays just as beautifully in orchestral form. This week, I featured “The Mimic is a Cynic,” which is the classical take on this storytelling masterpiece:
Oakland-based, Colombian-American composer Brian Adam McCune founded the Awesöme Orchestra Collective, both of whom share credits on this immediately timeless album. It deserves a place among the highest echelon of contemporary classical music.
If you enjoy composers who tell an animated story through classical instruments, these 58 minutes are not to be missed.
Plug into some flow work and enjoy on YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music.
Also highly worth listening are The Dear Hunter’s live Audiotree session with four strings players, and Awesöme Orchestra performing Requiem Without Words:
Next up…
Jockstrap & their Wicked City
Aptly defined by the BCC as “the music duo defying description,” Georgia Ellery (vocals, violin, songwriter) and Taylor Skye (electronic producer) met at one of London’s longest-running music conservatories. They hit it off, and formed Jockstrap, which was very intentionally named:
“I like the fact that it's quite shocking,” says singer and violinist Georgia Ellery, who is studying for a degree in jazz music and is one half of the band. “But it's quite anonymous.”
“I don't think people really think it's me and Taylor behind it. It's just a bit of fun, really. Also, there was no Jockstrap on Spotify.” [1]
The five-track Wicked City is true to their style: highly unpredictable. It’s trippy yet strangely satisfying, at the same time experimental and well-produced.
Strap on your seatbelt and take a ride on YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music 😈
Last but not least…
Meet Amon Tobin’s new persona: Figueroa
If you’re not familiar with Amon Tobin, he’s a highly eclectic producer who works with all kinds of foley and electronic sounds to produce some of the most complex and interesting music I’ve ever heard. Here’s a great interview peeking into how he creates:
He performs it live, too, in the mind-blowing digital-visual format that electronic music has pioneered. Here’s his 2011 ISAM live at Outside Lands:
Amon Tobin has also released lots of music under other pseudonyms. FLOOD explains:
For about a decade now, the acclaimed Brazil-born, England-raised electronic composer has been slowly and studiously concocting multiple musical alter-egos, including the bass-driven Two Fingers and the punky, post-rockish Only Child Tyrant—both of which have released albums on Tobin’s Nomark label, which is also home to Tobin’s most recent recordings under his own name. [2]
Now, he’s out with a new persona and record: Figueroa’s The World as We Know It.
According to the Spotify bio, he recorded the first version by himself in the woods nearly ten years ago. Eventually, he sent it to Sylvia Massy (who has produced the likes of TOOL, Prince, Johnny Cash) to see if she could find someone to perform it better than him. But, she loved it so much, she flew to LA and directed Amon to record it officially under her guidance instead! Just rad.
The album itself is a pleasantly acoustic experience, despite not using a single acoustic instrument to record. It’s yet another testament to Amon Tobin’s incredibly eclectic musical drive and abilities.
The first song on the album is the last song on this week’s playlist.
Listen to the full record on YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music
Enjoy the week, subscribe to hear great new music every Monday, and let me know how you liked this week’s selection/features!
✌️
-jtc