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Arm Chair Philosophy (Vince Staples, Big Fish Theory review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Philosophy is a wonderful thing. Rich, compelling, and full of room to experiment, because there isn’t one world view per se.

 

Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory

released Jun 23, 2017
******* 7/10

Vincent Jamal Staples, better known by his stage name, Vince Staples, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop group Cutthroat Boyz. He has also been associated with Odd Future and gained attention by making appearances on their albums as well from a mixtape he worked on with Mac Miller, Stolen Youth.

Staples debut album, Summertime ’06, was already released two years ago, which is why his sophomore effort, Big Fish Theory, has a lot to say for itself and about this new renaissance of hip hop, EDM and pop. Much like his contemporaries, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and Childish Gambino (who is supposedly leaving music behind), Staples is perfectly comfortable with living in the weirdness of our generation. That means producing a record which could be ethereal and amelodic or one that combines sounds of the past to propel us into the future. Big Fish Theory is the later.

And I have to wonder if calling upon his previous skills as a documentarian, celebrating a self-proclaimed posthumous guardianship of Amy Winehouse, who features on Alyssa Interlude, and his hyperawareness of his own mortality/celebrity are the driving factors of Staples’ successes here or merely a perk when listening to the record.

The weirdness shows throughout the whole album, and might be best demonstrated in one of the later songs, Party People. Staples raps about how you can either move to the music if it hits you right OR you can sit there in your depression swimming with thoughts and a heavy heart, after all, the world is dark for some of us. This is not your baby sisters hip hop, nor is it aunties or grandpas. These beats are different then pretty much anything I’ve ever heard, and it works well, most of the time.

Not only that, but Vince Staples is happy to push his collaborators into the backdrop and have them as part of the song rather then front and centre, in fact he even pushes himself into a minor role on one of the songs. Kendrick Lamar fits nicely inside Yeah Right, an attack on the chest-puffing of most rap tracks. And there are definitely blink and you might miss it appearances from Juicy J, ASAP Rocky, Kilo Kish, Ray J, Ty Dolla Sign, and Damon Albarn.

The challenges with this album come in on the structure and organization of the songs, which can be heard best when you listen to tracks like Crabs In A Bucket, Love Can Be…, and Ramona Park Is Yankee Stadium. The questions I have immediately are around the experimentation. Exploration is awesome, but do these really compliment Staples cadence and content? It’s interesting for sure to have the bird calls, sirens, and whistling winds, but where is this going? Crabs In A Bucket sets the stage for a complex album, but it doesn’t feel like his strongest work, for sure.

That said, there are some really surprisingly fun tracks like 745 and Rain Come Down that intrigue despite shortcomings. Tonally these suit Staples well and the melodic choices sync up well with the speed at which he lays down his lyrics, but the best parts come from the verses and his rapping.

It is an experimentation of electronic music and hip hop, the kind of thing which metal-hip hop hybrid groups of the 1990s tried to accomplish but never really pulled off. And maybe that’s because those artists were metal first and hip hop second. Vince Staples confidence is so much more convincing.

Pros: Big Fish, the aforementioned Yeah Right and Party People are absolutely necessary on this album. An exploration of suicidal thoughts, the nature of hip hop, and what needs to happen next, Big Fish Theory is conscious hip hop, even if it isn’t labelled as such.

Cons: Rain Come Down is a little off in its warbling and takes the album into weird territory just as Big Fish Theory ends, much like how Crabs In A Bucket has a shaky start, it’s the middle of this record that does best.

Runtime: 36 minutes

Points of Interest: Influenced by house music and Detroit techno, Big Fish Theory calls up avant-garde electronica, funk, industrial music and a host of other sounds to afford Vince Staples with the creative expression he needs to transcend his environment. That Def Jam supports this sort of experimentation is fantastic, despite how discomfiting it is for most hip hop fans.

When music separates itself from it’s environment for even a second, acknowledges the world around it, and then zooms back in, it’s often a pleasing experience, and luckily for us world weary philosopher Vince Staples shared his Big Fish Theory with us.

theories Summarized

Keeping an open mind and heart is a wonderful philosophy and I hope Staples inspires other musicians to continue this trend. Yes, there will be blips in the road along the way, but how wonderful it is that we can have some good hip hop and EDM combined together for once, rather then remixes and overdubs. And that’s my personal big fish theory.

Tim!

Bittersweet Symphony (Arca, Arca review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

 

Let we forget, music doesn’t always have to have lyrics, and sometimes it’s even more beautiful when it does have lyrics, but we don’t understand the lyrics that we’re listening to. Because of language barriers.

Just something mull over in preparation of this week’s review.

Arca – Arca

released April 7, 2017
********* 9/10

 

Alejandro Ghersi, better known by his stage name Arca, is a Venezuelan electronic DJ, songwriter and producer. He has released three studio albums to-date, including the self-titled Arca (which I’m about to review). Ghersi has worked with artists like Bjork and Kanye West, so you know he’s legit.

Born into a wealthy family, Ghersi has previously lived in the United States and currently lives in London, England. His music is incredibly beautiful to listen to. Full of production value, interesting and complimentary sounds, and sometimes it is creepy as fuck too. Like that album cover, man does that ever give me the heeby jeebies.

This is the first album to feature Ghersi singing in Spanish, which is probably why it feels both foreign and familiar to me. I’m not completely without understanding of the French language, and there are some similarities between French and Spanish, plus my girlfriend understands Spanish, so I’d be remiss not to mention that. And I’m just going to out and say it, but I don’t know why electronic music is so capable of elevating itself to the same level as classical organ rich hymns, but Arca has managed yet again to entertain a strong reign over the spiritual, while upending it with his own battles of sexuality and identity.

Ghersi has been making music since he was young, and his dedication to piano as well as explorations of electronic landscapes have allowed him to transition from pianist, to synth pop teenage dream artist, to electronic guru.

Arca is a combination of those things, and also none of them. You can hear the pop throughout different parts of the album, and the amphitheatre effects are a credit of his technical training, but it’s when they are combined with his experiences as producer that we can see how the chaotic and vibrant sounds of electronic music can make this all work together.

I kind of hate to make comparisons, but it reminds me of the experiences I had listening to Sampha and his album Process a few month ago. The emotion is there, it is raw and visceral like when I listen to the track Child or Piel. There is humour found in Whip and simplicity within Coraje.

This is a soundscape and a place for intimacy. Ghersi admits that Spanish is the language he first learned to process emotion with, so it makes sense that we can feel the emotion in his lyrics when we listen closely, Anoche provides the most vulnerability that Ghersi is comfortable with.

I find myself oddly happy to be writing this post, because at first I thought I would have nothing to say about Arca and Arca. And yet, as I’ve mentioned this is an album without consequence of lyrics. Conceptually it makes me very happy to just enjoy the music and not get caught up in the intent, instead the production and emotion speaks clearly. I could see this being played at a club, in a performance piece, during a play, and even at an art gallery – it has that much range

Like an opera.

theories Summarized

 

Arc of the past few years would have expected you construct your own narrative from his work, but this time around, it’s all there on display for the world to take in and sit with. The majesty and the pageantry of sound that is Arca is both a backdrop and the main event. I don’t know you can listen to this and not be affected by it in some way, and I have this theory that no matter your personal outcome, Arca will get along just fine.

Tim!

A Confessional Space (Sampha, Process review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

There is space for soul music in the electronic genre. So much space for it that the music goes to great lengths to amplify our own souls. And yes it’s a lot to process, but it’s worth it, I know this.

 

Sampha – Process
released February 3, 2017
********* 9/10

Sampha is a UK Singer/Songwriter who lives in the worlds of soul, r&b and electronic music. With moody and beautiful tracks and an overwhelming sense of passion to boot. When it comes to emotional jams, I never know if it’s a really a cliche at mention tropes super early on in a review, but electronic music often gets dumped in with outer space, and yet Sampha knows how to combine that sensitivity in with heartbreaking melodies, beautiful piano sequences, and explosive instrumentation.

There is a fire inside these tracks and I don’t think there is a way to put it out.

With that mentioned, there are also a great many quiet moments rooted in the fundamentals of soul and r&b throughout, and opener track Plastic 100 Degrees Celsius sets it all up nicely as far as slowburner tracks go. Investigating his mortality through an unidentified lump, Sampha lets us know right away this is not going to be the typical self-gratifying album.

This is a guy who has collaborated with some of today’s most forward thinking artists. From Frank Ocean, to Jessie Ware, to Drake to 40. Not to mention both Beyoncé and Solange, and yes he’s made his voice known with Kanye too. Working behind the scenes, this guy has been actually been working on Process for years, a lot of it coming together while his mother fought cancer, and as a consequence it is gut wrenching to listen to.

A tour de force of production, sonics, and lyrics, Sampha has proved yet again that living in the alternative will do for R&B, hip hop and soul music exactly what it did for rock in the 1990s. Make them epic. This really has been a decade of emotion, process, and processing – Sampha and his piano, are at the centre of it.

Take in the track, (No One Knows Me) Like the Piano. It perfectly demonstrates this notion.

This is an album full of standout tracks, it’s hard to look at the whole without looking at the parts, as each song could be viewed on it’s own and dissected for hours. I kind of wish I had spent more time with it before I released this review, if I’m being perfectly honest. Maybe it’s that family weaves so clearly through each of the tracks and dovetails the message of going home when you need to with What Shouldn’t I Be?.

Sampha is haunted by insecurities just like any of us, Blood on Me proves it, but there is also warmth in his longings, wishing for more time with his mother on Kora Sings.

I especially enjoyed Take Me Inside and Under, which are explosive in their instrumentation while maintaining the pace of everything else surrounding them on the album. How he is able to clearly define both his image and perception of him is something due to patience and humility, and it’s in those two tracks, among others, where we see why the current greats have worked with Sampha.

It is both a process of musical production and of grieving, and it works excellently. An opportunity to join him in his own private world of sound, even as he feels stripped away from that which he knows best.

theories Summarized

It’s a weighty powerful album and invariably one of my favourites this year.

Process is an exercise in contemplation, one that demands you sit with it, come back to it, leave it alone for a while, and then binge on it over and over again, all the while daydreaming inside your own head. It’s incredibly intricate, and it’s a process all it’s own. My theory of course.

Tim!

Spring Cleaning (timotheories March 2016)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Hey there, dear readers! It’s update time! Which of course means trading in a shorter post today for a preview of things to come this month.

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*Disclaimer* As always, every week I  purchase an album and movie one week ahead of the actual review release so if you follow me on instagram (@timotheories), you should already know what’s coming up on March 7th and 8th! But EVEN I DON’T KNOW what is coming on the 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, and 29. Yet.

So let us dig in and I’ll cover off most of the March topics so you have an idea of what to expect this month on timotheories.

Stimulating Sundays – (03/06) March interview, (03/13) how my art practice works, (03/20) Cross Talk Ep.3, (03/27) routines of famous creatives
Melodic Mondays – (03/07) The 1975 are up next, (03/14) (03/21) (03/28) A MYSTERY! If a physical copy of The Life Of Pablo does show up in the stands, I’ll review it this month, #notholdingmybreaththough
Theatrical Tuesdays – (03/08) Room, (03/15) The Night Before, (03/22) (03/29)… more 2016 Oscars related entries!
Wisdom Wednesdays – (03/09) health matters, (03/16) time management, (03/23) Pinterest, (03/30) New Yorker art section
Timely Thursday – (03/10) Libraries, (03/17) look at some of my art, (03/24) a concert, (03/31) Easter

See, I promised you a year of all killer, no filler. And I think we’re delivering so far. Right?

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And I was “mostly” correct with my video release predictions for February too. We shared the Lucas Chaisson interview, Cross Talk Ep.2, and the Space:Nunz interview. The only one that got messed up was RTG, but I can promise you this, the RTG videos are going to be more content packed then originally anticipated, so I will do what I can to begin releasing them in March, but it all depends on how quickly post-production wraps up.

Now let’s talk more detail on the March timotheories interviews. This month we have a very talented multi-talented artist who is big advocate on education and manages to learn, run a business, and make art at the same time. You aren’t going to want to miss this one folks!

AND last, but definitely not least Cross Talk Ep.3 begins production this weekend. Have you ever watched a movie, and years later learned that a remake was coming down the road? I’m sure you wondered if the remake was going to be a shot-for-shot duplication, an homage or a re-imagining. We’re going to dive into this top on March 20th, so be sure pencil it in!

And that’s it dear readers, now you are in the know. I’m out of theories and timely things for the week, so have an excellent weekend, and I’ll catch you on Sunday for this month’s interview!

Of course you can leave some comments, and subscribe to the blog too!

Tim!

Mix Tape (Pusha T, King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Did you ever make mix tapes as a kid growing up? I know I was fortunate enough to experience those little cassette joys before the CD became popular and then the mp3, and now we have streaming services instead.

Technically the mix-tape as it was originally created no longer exists.

That’s because music is no longer recorded or transferred via chrome and metal tape. But the spirit lives on and there are a ton of artists still releasing mix tapes today

If we look at hip hop culture in particular the mix tape is prevalent. And sure enough, that’s what I am going to be reviewing today.

 

 

 

Pusha T – King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude
released December 18, 2015
******** 8/10

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Terrence Thornton, better known by the stage name Pusha T, is an American hip hop artist.

His solo career began in 2011, but don’t assume that at 38 years old he is unlearned in the music scene. Before he was Pusha T, he was one half of the hip hop duo Clipse – for the better part of two decades with his brother Gene “No Malice” Thornton.

Pusha T kickstarted his solo plans with a mix tape titled Fear of God. Following that release a couple of years later came his debut album My Name Is My Name.

King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude is Pusha T’s next supposed “mixtape” effort, and I have to tell you, it’s really banging hip hop. His haters claim he hasn’t really split off from his brother proper yet, and that he is very much past his prime, but I am going to have to strongly disagree with both of those statements.

First off, he doesn’t mess around at all. He moves back and forth between his past in the drug dealing world and his experience as a veteran of hip hop who can help to salvage the culture and usher us into a new era of greatness. But maybe he doesn’t want to. And he acknowledges racism in a very honest way, closing out the album efficiently.

The flow and the instrumental of the record is kinda reminiscent of Kanye West, which makes a lot of sense given that Pusha T is now the president of G.O.O.D. Music, which is Kanye West’s baby.

Adding on to the production celebrity checklist, Pusha T gets some help from Timbaland, P. Diddy, Hudson Mohawke, Baauer, J. Cole, Q-Tip, Metro Boomin’, and of course, Kanye West.

The production fits nicely with his practiced and well constructed writing. You know when you listen to songs like Crutches, Crosses, Caskets, MPA, and Sunshine that you are being set up for amazing musical references, but he is a little slow with his hooks. Now thatmight be a result of age but it could be a conscious decision too.

And quite frankly, I don’t think this approach wrecks any of the tracks; but if you want lyrical agility, this album doesn’t ever really ramp up into third gear.

But that’s the allure of Pusha T.

He is a former drugdealer who misses his trade. He does what he wants, and he isn’t afraid of the results. And that makes his rapper persona scary. You see, some rappers got into the drug trade to making a living, others needed money to get out, some were in it for the excitement, or of loyalty to friends.

He simply does not care about any of that.

This would make him seem unstable, but he is running a record company, so how unstable could he possibly be?

You should check out these tracks if you want to see more of his skills up close – Untouchable, MFTR, Crutches, Crosses, Caskets, MPA,

 

 

 

Apparently the hip hop scene even has a single term of mixtape to identify the format. Artists like Pusha T produce these records to give their fans original music, freestyles, and remixes to get the content out into the public, and sometimes they do it for free too.

That DIY youth culture of self is still really strong, and Pusha T is emblematic of his generation. Working against the standard and promoting change. His search for individual freedom and dignity, while embracing his background make him a perfect case study of a Generation Xer, those who invented the mix tape.

But what do you think, dear readers? Listen and tell me!

Tim!