Artwork by Andy Hahn

LMM 3.3 – Learning Music with the Students at KIPP LA College Prep
This edition of LMM is a collaboration between myself and a group of middle school music students, many of whom started playing music only recently, under the direction of their instructor Jason Golday (author of LMM 1.8 – Burning Music). The process was a fairly simple one: Over the last academic year, the students have been writing pieces of music together, using what pitches they know (between five and seven different ones) on the available instruments (drums, glockenspiels, and recorders). Jason recorded these pieces and sent them to me. I manipulated them in various ways, adding voice and a few other sounds, paying close attention to the environmental elements of the recordings I had been given. In some cases, the sound of the space in which these pieces were initially performed is almost as important as the actual musical notes.

It was Jason’s idea to attempt this. I have to give him a big thanks for suggesting it. He heard early on the mesmerizing compositions his students were writing, and knew they were worth doing something more with. Once I started working on it, I too realized how strong and unique their musical concepts were. Really, the album was done before I ever got to it. I’m really happy with how it all turned out.

-jw

www.learningmusicmonthly.com

a

ps. show tonight!!!

The Learning Music large band is playing this Thursday at Echo Curio!

Yes. It has been a while. and it may be a while again before you have another chance to see LM in this configuration.

Also playing are RATS and DONUT, two musical acts which don’t seem like acts at all, but rather genuine sharings of mysterious and universal psychological depths.

WARNING: Special guest DJs are guaranteed to be turning the curio linoleum into a dance floor! More info on the attached flyer (made by Max Markowitz).

(”Little Conversation” from The Ghost Transferences)

LMM 3.2 – Neapolitan Shake is a collection of three EP-length suites.

The Big Sell EP is music written to accompany imaginary television commercials. The lyrical themes are derived from the three song topics supposedly most requested by advertisers looking for songs to place in commercials: “Thinking Ahead,” “Brand New Day,” and “Things Are Getting Better.” These are happy songs, optimisticly celebrating the great corporate takeover of American hearts and minds. Like the mythical corporations they accompany, these pieces avoid risky innovation, rather glorifying popularly (a.k.a. commercially) successful ideas of the past.

The three pieces that make up The Way of A. O. K. each conceptually combine a sound found in modern life (an ATM, a turn signal, a baseball stadium) with a short quote from Lao Tzu’s Toa Te Ching. The keyboard sounds are meditations recorded at half speed, giving upon (faster) playback a broader perspective of their combined revelations. This music is unashamedly inspired by the sounds of Terry Riley’s Rainbow in Curved Air. Though I’m not sure of the technique he employed to make that piece, it must have been similar to this. When Rainbow was made, it may have been theoretically impossible to recreate in a live-music setting, as the performances were (I believe) temporally altered. Modern music technology, however, may now be able to alter such instrumental performances as they are happening. Such an approach to music performance could be the next step in the blurring of conceptual lines between “live” and recorded musics.

The Ghost Transferences are stream of consciousness pop rants sung in part by channelled spirits, addressing topics of identity crisis and the random hauntings of modern memory.

Download LMM 3.2 for FREE from www.LearningMusicMonthly.com

Videos from Learning Music, Binary, Kenneth Pattengale, The Franks, and many more!

If you can get your mouth around the name L.A. Weekly L.A. Weekend, you can enjoy an eclectic lineup of two days filled with local talent in the arts, music, food, writing and provocateuring. Not to mention: Gary Panter speaks! It’ll cost you $12.50, but the proceeds benefit the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center in Watts. On Friday, get up close with Amy Alkon, author of I See Rude People; a panel with the “Bad Boys of Blogging” Andrew Breitbart, Mickey Kaus and John Amato; Devil’s Playground Comic Book Burlesque and Ja Prawn.

The Rhoda EP is a great example, consisting of five songs that were each released on a weekly basis until the EP was complete.  Spaced-out Brazilian numbers peacefully coexist with experiments in dubstep and even prog-rock/gospel fusion.  Week one resulted in a lush folk song entitled “New Farmer,” featuring the always engaging vocals of Mia Doi Todd.  The accomplished team of musicians behind her include Miguel-Atwood Ferguson on viola (who was partially responsible for the Suite For Ma Dukes in J Dilla’s honor), Rob Hardt on flutes, and Nat Mcintosh making his presence felt on the tuba.  Gabe Noel is the gentleman you can thank for writing, mixing, programming, and recording the tune.

Now that you know all of that, push play and enjoy the next three and a half minutes of aural tranquility…

(words by Jason Smith – via WFMU blog at the Free Music Archive – link)

I had never seen Flying Lotus live until tonight.  There’s no denying the FlyLo buzz right now…  It seems like a lot of hyped bands fall short of your expectations when you come face to face.  But not here.  Not tonight.  The musicianship in FlyLo’s live band ∞ was stupid.  But in a tasteful way.  Everyone had their moment to shine.  Thundercat (woah…). Miguel Atwood-Fergsuon. Ravi.  The band played for about an hour and then Flying Lotus did a solo set followed by an encore with the band. They sent me into outerspace on more than one occasion.  Sometimes I try and imagine new genres of music.  That’s a tough one. It’s like closing your eyes and trying to picture a new color.  Surely the rainbow has accounted for every color already, right?  Flying Lotus feels like he stuck a crowbar between yellow and green and is wedging them apart to make room for a new color.  This color doesn’t have a name yet, but it’s there.  Eventually it will have a name and Skittles will add it to their lineup. But that’s still a few years off.

Daddy Kev made a point of thanking the audience afterwards. “This is an important night for Los Angeles”, he said. I thought a lot about this. The hard work these guys had put into bringing a local scene to the world’s attention.  And all the world-class musicians on stage that helped to make it possible.  Kev was right, it was an important night for music.  It made me think a lot about vosotros – and what an honor it is to work with the musicians we do (some of which were on stage last night).  I started to comb through our liner notes this morning and was floored by what I found … over 120 musicians have contributed to our label over the last few years … I think that speaks volumes to the music scene in Los Angeles.  It’s that collaborative spirit that made last night so special. And it’s the reason the best music scene in the world continues to grow in own back yard.

John

We couldn’t be more excited about the new Sargent Singles release.  The entire series is being recorded live to tape at Sargent Studios in Echo Park.  The Benji Hughes track came together in just one evening a few weeks ago.  Benji, Gus, Jake, and Mike G tracked the song in one take!  It’s a real testament to these guys that “Country Love” was finished so quickly.  Benji is a master lyricist and a bad ass singer.  And Jake Blanton, Mike Green, and Jonathan Wilson made the track sound great.  The B-side of Volume 2 is “Midnight Morning” – the first new Willoughby song in a few years.  The song came from a session with Gus, Mike G, and the great Larry Goldings on keys.  Both of these tracks feature some incredible musicians.  They are licensed under Creative Commons and available for free download (link below). And thanks to our good friend Chris Lowell for shooting the cover art.

www.sargentrecords.com

Pushforward is a new app for the iPhone.  It is centered around the creative community, bringing together daily news and content from a variety of creative professionals from the world of film, music, poetry, design, fine art, fashion, and more.  This new app community is all about pushing great talent forward and connecting with like minded friends using the Facebook and Twitter features from within Pushforward.

vosotros was asked to curate the music section!  There is a music player inside the app – and we will be frequently rotating the tracks. Users can also browse our full discography, and all vosotros blog posts will appear in the Social House news feed.  Available now on iTunes for only $0.99 !!!

Download Pushforward from the iTunes App Store

.

Learning Music Monthy is back.  LMM 3.1 – Left Right is the inaugural release of season three.  It features the current Learning Music live band:  Corey Fogel (drums), Davin Givhan (guitar), Lewis Keller (bass), and Lisa Tremain (backing vocals).  Listen to the first track “No Hero” below – and then head over to LearningMusicMonthly.com to download the full album for free.

This album is centered around the “live” band. All the songs were written over the last year to be played by this band at small concerts in Los Angeles. For a while now, I’ve been very interested in the difference between recorded and live musics, seeking to realize their separate potentials. Learning Music began as an exercise in recording music in a studio setting, with little concern for how the sounds might be translated into a live performance. Likewise, when we formed the first Learning Music band, I wanted it to play music that was practically unrecordable, utilizing mostly large-group improvisation. This album appears to be somewhat of a compromise between those two approaches.

In writing these songs, I wanted to in some way align the band — the closest the LM lineup has come to resembling a traditional rock band — with socially/politically radical punk music of the late 1970s. Lyrically, this album is most concerned with deconstructing the assumed roles of music in society, addressing the stereotypes it promotes and lives within, and questioning whether music can even address its social simulacra without reinforcing them.

:: John Wood

www.LearningMusicMonthly.com

About a year ago I became obsessed with a group from Camden, NJ…they’re called Tye Tribbett and G.A. I dunno how to describe them…prog-gos? Like prog rock but gospel music?!? They bring a Christian message but the box it comes in is what really intrigued me. Powerful, rhythmically driven with crazy harmonies and choir vocals. So naturally I really wanted to have my own prog gospel band!

Introducing Shoulda.

Here’s the bio I began last year:

It’s not too good to be true- it’s true!
Out of a good feeling comes a brighter sun and taller corn!

That’s as far as I got.

Hope you enjoy “it was you”

Gabe

(released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license)

enter your email for a free download ::

vosotros

Alex Lilly- vocals
Beck Bennett- preacher
Aaron Arntz- organ, trumpet, vocals
Charles Altura- guitar
Gabe Noel- bass, programming, vocals
Lewis Keller- robot controlled percussion
Zach Harmon- electronic percussion
Jody Giachello- drums

Music written by Aaron Arntz and Gabe Noel
Lyrics by Gabe Noel
Recorded by Nate Wood and Gabe Noel
Mixed by Franny Graham and Gabe Noel
Mastered by John Wood
Produced by Gabe Noel

artwork courtesy of Allison Grant.

vosotros
This is the fifth in a series of five songs – released weekly – culminating in an upcoming EP entitled vosotros presents: Rhoda.

(week four) (week three) (week two) (week one)

#1. New Compilation
vosotros is releasing a new compilation from the Learning Music album-a-month series.  It May Also Be This includes eighteen of our favorites from the second half of season two (and serves as a companion piece to the band’s previous compilation called This May Also Be It). Includes remixes of Mooey Moobau, Willoughby, and The Sweet Hurt.  Not to mention some Jonny Pride rockers, hypnotic synth ballads, songs inspired by Jeopardy, a few Bach-esque inventions, and some TendaLoin produced r&b synth jams.  This is a digital only release —>>> Amazon | iTunes | FINA | Waxpoetics

#2. KCRW – Today’s Top Tune
Learning Music is KCRW’s “Today’s Top Tune”!  Today!  ”Ovulation” was originally released on LMM 2.12 – The Biologic Imperative - is included as the last track on their new compilation – and is available for free download today from KCRW.com. Tune in to Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11am pacific to hear the song (89.9 FM in Los Angeles – and streaming worldwide at kcrw.com).

#3. Live Performance on KSCR
Learning Music is performing this Friday live on KSCR, the campus radio station at USC. Tune into “The Live Show” on Friday from 1-2pm (1560 AM in Los Angeles – and streaming worldwide at kscr.org).

#4. Echo Curio Residency
Learning Music begins a sixth month residency at Echo Curio on April 29th.  The band will be curating the last Thursday of every month through September. Joining the band on April 29th will be Superhumanoids, Nymph, and story teller Eli Rarey.

#5. Season Three Begins May 1st!
After a brief hibernation, Learning Music will resume their album-a-month schedule on May 1st!  Purchase a physical subscription today at LearningMusicMonthly.com to receive the new album on May 1st (limited edition, handmade in recycled packaging – delivered to your mailbox).

The Bootleg Theater
2220 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90057-2208

$12

myspace.com/benjihughes

The show goes from 7-9.  Free beer at 7.  Band at 8.  1623 Allesandro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026

If you can’t make it down, you can watch it online  —>>> STICKAM

Live in-store performance tonight at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park.

Free beer.  Set starts around 8pm.  What are you waiting for?

1816 Sunset Boulevard    90026

88.9 FM in Los Angeles – streaming online at kxlu.com

——

Giant Step is hosting a contest to win some Ja Prawn wax. Enter to win HERE.

–

vosotros.com/japrawn

• Tuesday April 6 – live set at Hyperion Tavern – late night
• Wednesday April 7 – in studio on KXLU at 5pm
• Friday April 8 – live in store at Origami Vinyl – free beer – 8pm
• Saturday April 9 – live taping at Bedrock Studios – email tasteit@vosotros.com if you wanna come

vosotros is teaming up with local producer Gus Seyffert (Willoughby) to bring you Sargent Singles.  This new series is a natural extension to the vosotros family – bringing together a rotating cast of creative musicians to collaborate on a deadline.  Each volume will include two new songs – licensed under Creative Commons – and made available for free download.  Volume One features two of our favorite local singers – Inara George (The Bird & The Bee, The Living Sisters) and Charlie Wadhams. Thanks for listening!

www.sargentrecords.com

“One Too Many Mornings”
Written by Bob Dylan
Performed by Learning Music for Groupee Sessions

Watch the entire session at groupee.com.

Thanks to Ted, Chris, & Raymond!