499 Rolling Stones covers and “This Place Is Empty”.

Posted: November 14, 2022 in Uncategorized

Music historian Peter Checksfield chose his 500 favourite Rolling Stones covers and compiled them in a stunning book:

Undercover: 500 Rolling Stones Cover Versions That You Must Hear (ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8362769925)

And guess what? My version of “This Place Is Empty” is on it. Keef, you owe me a drink.

Get your Spotify working ’cause once you start reading, you want to discover with your ears what Checksfield writes about. And there are great covers there, I swear.

That encyclopedia is available on Peter’s website: https://peterchecksfield.com/undercover-500-rolling-stones-cover-versions-that-you-must-hear/

And the almighty Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLR44FS5

And in case you’d have forgotten the “Unboxing” album: http://gilles-snowcat.com/home.html#unboxing

Cheers

G.S.

Bianca, flesh (or not) and blood of Brick Bosso’s tribute to women.

Posted: October 24, 2022 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,

Brick Bosso strikes back, and doesn’t wait for Valentine Day to pay a tribute to the women in his life. Introducing “Bianca”, an album made of 8 portraits of important influential women in Keith Walsh’s life.

One could think Brick Bosso called it a day, after its man Keith Walsh having found success in MindFree. On the contrary, Walsh wouldn’t let go that easily: “As Brick, I am my own man. Though the MindFree/ Brick Bosso phenomena are in an energetic, infinite loop that feed off each and need one another.”

Walsh also admits that his songwriting with MindFree benefited Brick Bosso: “The thing that’s changed the most is my ability to come up with parts…. music is always swimming in my brain now, so it’s easier to keep a conversation going when I power up my studio.”

The keyboardist of MindFree needs Brick Bosso, his solo project, as much as Brick Bosso needs him to keep on going: “Creating music generally helps keep me together, that’s for sure. It lets me give expression to ideas and emotions that might otherwise boil over.”

All along those 8 songs of various influences, Walsh obviously leads, though delegating the guitar parts to now frequent guest Eric Endo. “I love working with Eric, he’s an absolutely brilliant guitarist who always knows how to bring a song to a higher level.”

Working with Eric seems fun, but having the great Mark Abbruzzese as MindFree colleague, would the latter be more appropriate to guest on Brick’s albums? Walsh doesn’t seem to bother choosing: “I will work with [Eric] again whenever possible, and also with Mark Abbruzzese from MindFree when he’s available for Brick Bosso projects.”

Being now recognized as a member of a solid band, wouldn’t Walsh be tempted to turn the Brick Bosso project into a real band? A live band? He doesn’t seem to be fond of the idea: “I’ve thought about doing a one man show, either with stripped down versions, or using sequencers. Right now I’m messing with my midi files a bit to see if I can get them into a groovebox for that purpose. If and when that happens, I’d probably bring a guitarist in for live shows.”

But back to the album, knowing that each song is a tribute to a woman influencing Walsh’s life, it would be easy to get into gossip. After all, who wouldn’t want to know who is who, especially that Burger Queen?

“I really like the way the album came together under the female admiration concept. I found some old digital notes showing that I came up with Burger Queen as a concept in 2017 and I hadn’t written the rest of the songs yet. Like the other paeans on the album, it’s to a mythological idea of a woman. In the case of Burger Queen, she wins my heart through my stomach.”

Turning an almost embarrassing question into a plea for veganism is a sign of Walsh’s smart mind: “[…] I couldn’t resist putting a recommendation about vegetarianism in there, as I’m not one to eat red meat every day. The song is partly a satirical comment on the unhealthy tastiness of fast food. I felt obligated to tip my hat to veganism, I love vegan cooking as much as anything else. To me it’s clearly more ethical, and if done right, you get all the nutrients one needs. Not to mention that with cultured meat becoming more affordable, there may soon be no reason to be cruel about dinner, even if you do prefer something’s flesh.”

Flesh or not flesh? Not mentioning food, the character of Bianca seems to be virtual, as fleshless as she can be. Keith Walsh, as opposed to the main opinion, doesn’t shy away from AI: “I’m definitely optimistic about relationships with A.I. becoming more intimate, and sure, the potential to help with loneliness is promising. Though A.I. can’t really pass the Turing Test 100% , virtual interactions can certainly be satisfying. But then again, I enjoy vegan burgers as much as those made from cows!”

However, Walsh adds: “I’d like to clarify, all the songs aren’t necessarily about women. ‘Thief of reputation’ is about a shadowy figure, pulling strings behind the scenes. Could be a man or woman. ‘Sz Blue’s isn’t really inspired by a woman either.“

In the tradition of dance artists, Brick Bosso released a bunch of creative remixes of the album’s songs. Why suddenly? “It was Julian Shah-Tayler of The Singularity who kindly offered, last year, to remix a song (I chose ‘Dougie Draws Dirigibles’ off of ‘Brick.’ Now live on Bandcamp). After I finished ‘Bianca’ this Spring I was inspired to ask my musical comrades for the same favor, and have been thrilled with the results. Each one is unique and cool.”

How about a remix by MindFree? “I haven’t thought about MindFree doing a remix, but that’s a good idea.”

You know what to expect anytime soon.

Let’s examine the album, track-by-track:              

Leonard Cohen’s freaks would wonder if “First Girl On The Moon”, the opener of the album, had any lyrical relation with the Canadian crooner’s “Master Song”. Obviously not: “That is such an interesting coincidence! I’m familiar with the tune, it’s hauntingly beautiful. But I never really paid that much attention to the lyrics, having only heard it twice, years ago. It’s funny how poetry bubbles up from the chasms of the mind.” (nb: check Leonard Cohen’s lyrics online and compare with Brick Bosso’s. The coincidence is rather funny)

“Sweet Scarlett” follows, with a strong Bowie feel, not only on the gated-drum arrangement, but also in the melody and the swirling piano, not far from what Rick Wakeman did on “Hunky Dory”.

“Oh, Macy!”, probably related to Walsh’s early love, has nice synth parts, sometimes brass, sometimes a “Strawberry Fields”-oriented Mellotron flute. And that great guitar solo!

Then comes the “Burger Queen”, with its light dub mood counterbalanced with a stadium-like chorus and funny voice effects.

But the definite highlight of the album is the moody, atmospheric “Sz Blues”, dreamy and dark, hard to define and great to get into its feel.

Walsh gets back to his rockier roots with the straight-ahead “Thief Of Reputation” with a captivating organ solo.

The aforementioned “Bianca” is described in a more typical electro-pop song in the vein of earlier Bosso work, while  “Unicorns And Fleas” wouldn’t have been out of place on an experimental Beach Boys record.

Between MindFree, Brick Bosso’s classic sound and the creative remixes, Keith Walsh expands his talents and you shouldn’t be surprised, while eating your vegan (or not) burger, that the Californian songwriter is invading your radio stations. Seducing AI Bianca’s and fleshed Macy’s.

———————————————————————————————————-

Listen to and buy “Bianca”: https://brickbosso.bandcamp.com/album/bianca

Brick Bosso’s discography on Bandcamp (including yours truly’s remix of “Burger Queen”): https://brickbosso.bandcamp.com

Brick Bosso Official: https://www.brickbosso.com

MindFree: https://mindfreemusic.com/

Eric Endo: https://www.facebook.com/eric.endo.guitar

hetpampa, from Chicago to the Argentinian Steppe

Posted: May 18, 2022 in Uncategorized

hetpampa might be familiar to you. Sure he is. He’s part of the Unboxing series (the album and the derivative singles and EP’s). But who is he exactly? What’s the story behind his music? What are his roots? Discover it with us now, he kindly answered our invasive questions.

Your name is a tribute to the people living in the Pampa in the 16th century. Have you done some genealogic research that links you to them?

I don’t have blood links with them because I am 75% Italian and 25% Spanish and that’s equals 100% Argentinian but not only, anyone that was born and raised in Argentina is Argentinian in my opinion.

Geographically, are you close to where the Chechehet lived?

I am not a specialist and the information available is a bit mixed. This is partly because their culture was basically exterminated…  But also because they mixed between different groups and also with the Spanish during the centuries of the colony while trying to defend from the Spanish. There was a big group of people that called themselves Het. But other people called them different things like Querandies or Pampas or Tehuelches. There was a guy called Thomas Falkner who classified them in four groups and wrote a dictionary. Taluhets, Diuihets, Chechehets and Leuvuches. So I invented hetpampa in their honor because I was born there.

It’s a no-brainer that every musician is influenced by their origins, whether they like it or not. How do you think your music is influenced by Argentina? Music, culture, people, beliefs?

A lot indeed by the “Rock Nacional” that exploded in the 80’ in Argentina and conquered all the Spanish-American countries with groups like Seru Giran, Soda Stereo just to mention two.

You came to Brussels in 2002. How was the Argentinian music scene before that time, and have you kept in touch with it since then?

Unfortunately from  my point of view the music in Argentina went down following the catastrophic political scene and cultural degradation. There aren’t many new things that I like but that happens also all over the world. Rock seems to be now like a small niche in the music market.

What was the biggest cultural shock when you arrived in Belgium?

To try to find real meat that looks like meat and taste like meat!

I guess you sometimes go back to Argentina. Have your vision of local culture changed when you go back there? Like, “oh I never noticed that thing was so good / bad”.

Yes because I can see now my country form outside. I don’t see the trees but the wood.

What are some traditional or typical Argentinian instruments? Do you play any?

No I don’t play other than la guitarra criolla which is basically a Spanish guitar. There are other instruments like la quena or el bombo leguero.

You have some funny illustrations of yourself on social media. Do you draw them? Why not using some for your own albums artwork?

Yes I draw them. I have already used them in the Chau album for example and some videos like :

Superhappy and Esa Gente

You attended the Malosetti Jazz School. What did you study there exactly? Instruments, theory? Did it shape your musical inspiration too?

Yes at the Malosetti Jazz School. I studied guitar with Raul Malosetti and Federico de Castro. There were theory classes, auditory perception classes and group classes in the school. It was a very nice familiar school.

There’s an impressive list of bands you’ve played with. Where can we listen to them? Are there any of them you’re especially fond of, and can you tell us something (funny or not) about them?

Yes, my favorite band was MenoSmal! Not that I didn’t like the others but this one was special for me. The bands don’t exist anymore but you can listen to the MenoSmal! album here

I am going back to Argentina at the end of March and I will get together with Fatal Error (a trio) we’ve been doing some stuff online but is not ready yet.

MenoSmal! was great not only because of the musicians and friendship but also because things were decided democratically with no egos. And I got great memories like playing at the Buenos Aires Hard Rock Café and The Cavern Buenos Aires. We are also recording something for our 20 years!! 

You play guitar and bass. Which of them do you have the closest connection with?

The guitar definitely.

You appear on the whole Unboxing collection: the single “Tiffany”, the “Unboxing” album, the cover of Keith Richards’ “Crosseyed Heart” and the forthcoming “Last Summer On The Beach” maxi single. How would you define Gilles’ music so far for someone who never heard it, if ever that kind of mean person exists?

It’s true, I don’ think some that mean can exist! I would say that his music in general sounds very happy with a touch of Central American somehow, at least to my ears. And that with a Barry White kind of voice. So that combination makes an original sound !

You released a lot of stuff but only a few are available on modern streaming platforms. When you play live, do you dig in your past or you’d rather focus on available stuff?

All my songs or most of them are on YouTube. I’ve played them live in what I called the “Live Demo Sessions”.  When playing live I chose whatever I feel it will make me happy 🙂

The album Indigo World comes with a Spanish version “Chica Índiga”. Or is it the other way around?

The two ways I guess. That is because I prefer to make unilingual albums. But the reality is that some songs where in English and some in Spanish and then I translated them so the album would have only one language.

My favourite album of yours is “Chica Índiga”. There’s a good mix of rock arrangements and melodies. It seems you’ve put lots of passion in that LP. What makes it so special, following you?

I like it because the songs are related to colors in the indido-violet tones. It’s probably related to some of my moods at the time. I also like that there are some songs like “Sos un asco” and “Buenos modales” which are critical of society and I think that rock music or art in general is there to critic things and suggest people to do things better.

The track listing in Indigo World has some common ground with “Chica Índiga”, but only to some extent. What made you decide to use some songs and translate them, and create new ones that belong to one album only, without being translated?

Well I guess some songs did not translate very well in Spanish. There are only two songs which are not translated plus “Tranlecn” which is in Pampa language and not in English anyways.

When a song has two versions, it seems that you sing upon the same tracks. Don’t you feel that another language should call another arrangement?

No, not really. Only “Good manners / Buenos modales” has not the same track because I was not convinced with the version in English musically. But now I am very happy with the mood of the Spanish version.

The English and Spanish versions of the same song are an exact translation of each other?

I try but it is not always the same. But it is supposed to say the same thing.

On the Chicago EP, you offer two versions of “Tengo Que Intentar”, one being “I’ve Got To Try”. You didn’t want to release another version of the whole EP?

I worked for some time in Chicago in the 90’s and this EP has to do with that period of my life. So some songs where in English and some in Spanish and I didn’t feel like translate them. They were not that many songs so that is why it’s un EP and not an album.

Your songs are well written, there’s an obvious attention to melodies and pop atmosphere. Do you need a strict frame or are you comfortable with jamming and unexpected improvisation that occur in any rock concert?

Thank you! I am comfortable with any creative situation I guess. Many times songs happend while jamming either alone or with other people.

from left to right: hetpampa, Glen Llewellyn Smith, Gilles Snowcat and Myles Simpson

Can you reveal your next plan, musically speaking?

I’ve been playing some old stuff lately when playing live because I was revisiting my songs for my next album. The album will include songs that have not yet been released before. It will be in Spanish. I am still working on it and hopefully one or two videos. There will be a couple of songs featuring great musicians like Gilles Snowcat, Gustavo Mari and Hudson so I am very excited about it. It’s a pleasure to have their contribution to the album.

hetpampa on Facebook

Listen to hetpampa on Spotify here.

and hetpampa is also on Apple Music.

From a worm to an 80’s star, Brick Bosso sublimates the butterfly.

Posted: December 17, 2020 in Interviews, Reviews
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Los Angeles’ underground rising star Brick Bosso, the project led by MindFree and Ska’n’Bones keyboardist Keith Walsh, has started an unexpected transformation recently. A transformation that could be compared to a worm becoming an 80’s star, while skipping the butterfly step.

In a short lapse, Brick Bosso released two full albums, showing an impressive boom of inspiration. I decided to do a joint review, since they are somehow linked in the process. Brother albums? Sister album? The artwork being in both cases created by graphic artist Liliane Avalos, one may think it’s the case. Nonetheless, they are completely different from each other and the main link between them is precisely that very transformation, that sometimes separates a good record from a great one.

Phase 1: The worm.

1. Blues Song Don’t be misled by the title: this ain’t no blues song. The organ intro leads to a typical Brick Bosso, almost Beatles-esque, traditional pop song. The ska feel is still obvious in the choruses, while only suggested in the verses. A dramatic bridge brings a nice twist of mood. Keith Walsh’s voice is sometimes close to break, without reaching the point of no return however.

2. Everyone’s Hoping For A Great Answer A noisy intro brings promises, kept by a truly great guitar riff, courtesy of Anthony Feliciano, with energetic organ responses. Again, Brick Bosso doesn’t shy away from English pop in the bridge, that smartly features a short quote of ‘What A Wonderful World’. Brilliant song.

3. Looking For The Perfect Plaid Always that ska feel, with a more poignant bass line and intriguing synthesizer topping.

4. Literature Foreshadowing the next album “80’s Star”, “Literature” navigates into the 80’s new wave abundance of synthesizers. Beautiful mood. Though a bit short, this is another gem.

5. Under Control The crispy guitar is a signature of Brick Bosso’s past productions. Interestingly, Walsh sings like a teenage Ian Curtis. Deep, dramatic, yet lighter than our late Joy Division singer.

6. Not Quite Right Now if that’s not a children song, what is it? The double voice adds some (unwanted?) humour. Pleasant without being what I’d call absolutely essential.

7. Bully Walkie Talkie The vocoder makes this “Bully Walkie Talkie” easily memorable, though somehow less captivating than other tracks on this album. It can be the perfect single. The 90’s-sounding synths are an odd choice in my opinion.

8. Mouth Monster Oh, now that’s quite rare: a piano intro, smooth and almost romantic. The light swing and Mellotron-like strings make it irresistible. Singalong comes without even trying. Great infectious track.

9. Miss Begotten That could have been a good tune from the Korgis, who also carried on the Beatles pop spirits and took it to a more sophisticated level. Nice bass, to say the least.

10. From A Worm To A Butterfly A new wave-infused intro and a catchy chorus make this “Worm” a potential single and possible stage favourite.

Phase 2: the star.

1. Perfect One may immediately think: that’s another typical Bosso song. But there’s something new: the real and sincere smoothness of synth. The out-of-tune bells coming out of the blue are quite beautiful.

2. Wicked What a captivating song! Full sound, quasi-hypnotic electronic snare, funny voice FX serve a tasty arrangement. Not to forget the cool synth bass.

3. Enhanced Brick Bosso breaks the speed limit with a fast song that starts with a heavy brass synth intro, before leaving space for synth bass and some rock piano.

4. Eyes Everywhere (Okuloj Ĉie) Anyone remembers the Esperanto language? I love the heavily echoed drums, the again Beatles-esque parts, and the superb atmosphere thanks to the synthesizer. Cool synth solo but I’m less enthusiastic about the guitar solo, that I find too self-conscious, if it makes any sense.

5. 80s Star Strangely the least synth-oriented song of the album, considering the title, this is the most natural, organic, and should I say least 80’s-sounding? Pay attention to the lyrics!

Keith Walsh: ’80s Star’ is an ironic song because though I never became a star, in fact my music career went very wrong, while at the same time several of my lovers and bandmates did become huge 80s stars. That coda you refer reflects my lifelong wish to have one of these projects record and release one or more of my songs.”

“In addition to the irony, the concept of ’80s Star’ portrays the dialectic of fame, how someone can reach the heights of fame and fortune, but then in middle age find him or herself with financial or romantic problems. The entire album is about the ups and downs of stardom, about love, despair, and redemption.’

6. Woe Superb hypnotic synth intro, echoed drums and low voice: “Woe” is Tangerine Dream meets Joy Division.

7. All We Are The butterfly visits the IQ / Yes territory with another great riff, followed by a haunting whistle synth.

8. 8 Billion Beautiful People Wasn’t the hippie movement born in California? Obviously it’s still alive in this hymn to human kind. Some might think of it as a cynical view, others might find it sissy, but as a song it’s a great way to close an album. Brick Bosso’s transformative album. That great album.

Keith Walsh: ‘8 Billion Beautiful People’ is a sincere song celebrating the value of every person. Sure, it’s idealized, as there are people with flaws that make them irredeemable. The song is also kind of a hippy song, celebrating peace and love. I would say it has a spiritual meaning–it’s meant to provoke thought about seeing the good in others.”

Controversy If you visit Brick Bosso on Bandcamp (https://brickbosso.bandcamp.com), you’ll notice a different track listing, with the song ‘Lucky Magic (Metroid)’ being part of the album, while on Spotify it’s a separate single. Actually, Keith Walsh doesn’t hesitate to poke at people who hurt him, whether it’s an employer or his former fellow musicians who he worked with just before they hit it big with Berlin (the band, not the city). If you think ‘Lucky Magic (Metroid)’ bears some resemblance with Berlin’s ‘The Metro’, you can’t be more right. We asked Keith Walsh to explain the reason why.

Keith Walsh: I deleted ‘Lucky Magic (Metroid)’  off the streaming distribution of the album except for Bandcamp because it’s a sound-a-like of the Berlin song ‘The Metro’ and includes soundbites from Berlin members. There’s some legal protection for things like that but if my old friends in Berlin asked me to take it down, it’s easy on Bandcamp, but on Spotify, Apple Music etc I would have had to recall the entire album. However, ‘Lucky Magic’ is available on all streaming platforms as a single.’ (They’re soundbites from VH1 Bands Reunited featuring Berlin, from about 2004. Samples are Terri Nunn, John Crawford, David Diamond and unknown narrator.)

I like to include a naughty song on every album. My first was ‘Here Comes Mr. Faketapes’ ‘The Hyper Supermarket’ (about a former employer) was a recent one, as was ‘Mouth Monster.’ And another was ‘Leaky Connections. These songs are messages to people who have hurt me in some way. ‘Lucky Magic’ is my newest and most naughty song experiment so far.

Brick Bosso. Photo by Anthony Feliciano.

Brick Bosso. Photo by Anthony Feliciano.

“From A Worm To A Butterfly” and “80s Star” were released within a mere 2 month lap. Is it that you had a sudden, unexpected blast of inspiration, or was it carefully planned? Can one be the volume two of the other, in a way?

Keith Walsh: It was actually four months, but yeah, I had some reservations about releasing actually three albums in 8 months (Birds and Believers was released on the first day of spring, Worm to A Butterfly on the first day of Summer.).Part of it was definitely being inspired to write, and making an effort to write more, but a major factor was having fewer distractions because of the global quarantine.

 

Aren’t you afraid that releasing two albums so close to each other in time would spoil their promotion? I mean, people usually love to get used to a record, and wait a year or more before the next one comes out.

Keith Walsh: Yes, I had some reservations, but promotion and marketing is something I worry little about. My main concern is just to create something good, and to have it heard. I don’t have the patience required to wait before releasing something, once I have a collection of 8 or 10 songs that are ready to go.

 

Both albums are rather short, from 27 to 30 minutes, which can make them fall into the EP category. Do you think that people are tired of 70-minutes long albums that became the norm since the CD arrived?

Keith Walsh: They’re short, but they have at least 8 songs each. It’s more about my short attention span than any concern about people’s preferences. It’s probably a lack of planning that stopped me from putting in an extra verse of chorus for a guitar or keyboard solo that would stretch the songs out a bit. In MindFree we have plenty of solos, and as a result the songs are longer.

 

With the “80s Star” album, you seem to take bold steps in experimentation (I’m talking about the songwriting), yet staying into a pleasant melodic mold. Have you consciously changed your songwriting approach? 

Keith Walsh: It wasn’t so much a conscious change as it was just letting things happen. I used to think very actively about using a ‘intro/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/middle 8 /outro’ structure, but lately, and especially on 80s Star I’m relaxing a bit and just letting the songs happen. Part of that comes from not wanting to do the same thing over and over again.

 

The cover artwork of both albums has been designed by Liliane Avalos. How did you meet her and how do you guys collaborate? Is she inspired by your music?

Keith Walsh: I approached Liliane after seeing her work on the Facebook page of a friend, Cirilo Rios, aka CD Rios, who also recorded and is mixing MindFree’s debut album. In fact, her artwork inspires me to perform better. I asked for her work on 80s Star before I was done, and then was motivated to finish sooner than I might have. Her work on both albums is so, so good.

 

Mostly with “80s Star”, your sound is less ska, warmer, more into synthesizers. Is your work with MindFree allowing you to loosen up a bit and explore different universes?

Keith Walsh: Playing with Mark and Moe in MindFree definitely changed me stylistically, because of their different influences. “All We Are” has a progressive rock riff that I wouldn’t have even tried except that these guys gave me confidence to try something more complex. Moe has played jazz, world music and rock, Mark is into prog, indie, and everything. We have a lot in common musically, but it’s the differences that helped me grow. The fact that the songs are more synth based is partly just a stylistic choice, and partly because keyboards have always been my main instrument. A few years ago I was learning guitar and was writing everything on an electric or acoustic, but felt, especially on 80s Star, that an abundance of keyboards was appropriate.

 

“Woe” starts with beautiful hypnotic synths, before segueing into a more typical Brick Bosso mood. Have you ever thought of letting yourself go and create some techno instrumental music, à-la DJ?

Keith Walsh: Someone recently suggested I could make some money doing music for meditation and massage music. I said ‘I have a friend named Gilles who does that.’ As for DJ and instrumental techno, I haven’t thought about it much. I think “Eyes Everywhere” is the closest to that techno sound. But this ties into the previous questions, part of why I’m exploring new sounds is because of all the new synths the latest releases of my DAW have added. Another part is just wanting to break away from bass/drums/guitar/organ/piano and try new things, partly because I didn’t want to repeat myself.

 

Do you construct the songs as ideas arrive, or do you first record demos?

Keith Walsh: I usually have a melody or a theme in my head that I can build a song around. Then I’ll sit at the piano and create some chords, verses and choruses, for the songs. The demos are just recordings I do on my phone. This is also so I don’t forget what my inspiration was. Then in my DAW I flesh out the song and do the arrangement.

 

Are there unreleased songs from these two albums? If so, why aren’t they released on the albums, is it a matter of not suiting the concept, or simply you don’t feel they’re good enough?

Keith Walsh: There might be a couple fragments that haven’t developed yet. “Under Control” from “Worm To A Butterfly” is something from 2016 or so, but I didn’t feel that it was strong enough. Then in 2020 I added some parts and now I feel it’s one of the better ones. Same for “Wicked” and “Enhanced” which are from 2012 or so, and show up on “80 Star”. I rummaged through my hard drive and was able to mix them and add parts, as well as add new lyrics (for Wicked) that I feel made them something worth listening to.

 

Are songs from these two albums becoming live material for MindFree?

Keith Walsh: So far, “All We Are” is the only one that MindFree is doing now. We played it at rehearsal today and it’s sounding awesome.

 

About MindFree, is it a reference to some 70’s seminars like the EST training or Mind Dynamics, that so many artists loved to join?

Keith Walsh: MindFree comes from the title of a song that Mark wrote, one of the first ones we played after getting together. It’s a song inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, not about one of those inspirational programs at all. But definitely we try to be inspiring and positive in our music and message, and don’t mind that our band name could be thought of that way. The name MindFree is definitely meant to have associations with positivity and inspiration, something we all believe in and try to live every day.

 

The listening corner

Brick Bosso on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6UFTEtXrJ9asWWv6MvD45B

80’s Star special: https://brickbosso.hearnow.com/80s-star

Liliane Avalos: https://www.lilianeavalos.com

MindFree: https://www.facebook.com/MindFreeBand

Ska’n’Bones: https://m.facebook.com/skanbones

You’ve Been Unboxing Gilles Snowcat

Posted: September 22, 2020 in News

You've Been Unboxing Gilles SnowcatUnbox Gilles on CD

Unbox Gilles on Spotify | Unbox Gilles on Amazon | Unbox Gilles on iTunes

Unbox the artwork (free)

Do you really know Gilles? Have a peek at his world at www.gilles-snowcat.com

Snowcat052021

Brick Bosso expands and unleashes. Birds, believers, socialissues and poets.

Posted: May 22, 2020 in Reviews
Tags: , , ,

BRICK BOSSO, Birds And Believers (2020)

Brick Bosso 2020

The underground Californian scene is as boiling as ever, with Brick Bosso’s brand new album Birds And Believers.

Brick Bosso’s apparently light Californian tone hardly hides some more socially ambitious lyrics, going from a playful look to the retail world (the up-tempo piano-driven The Hyper SuperMarket) to the story of homeless person on Walk Away, a Hollywood Boulevard vs Downtown LA-inspired song, emphasizing on the thin, very thin line between the fortunate and the unfortunate in our society. Walk Away shows welcomed fragility in Brick Bosso’s voice, making the song surprisingly emotional. The presence of a vocoder doesn’t spoil anything, quite the opposite.

Social issues has always been ska’s speciality, should we remind you that Brick Bosso is heavily into the genre? The opener Storks And Vultures with its driving beat and 60’s organ, is rather reminiscent of Bosso’s previous release Ska Time.

However the range of influences is wider here, like Hollywood Heroes, a delicate piece that slightly reminds me of Bruce Wooley’s Camera Club English Garden album, if anyone remembers. The heroes here are not who you’d think they are, Brick Bosso picturing the people dressed up as superheroes and cartoon character on Hollywood Boulevard, trying their best to make some money.

Brick Bosso seize the opportunity to tackle the apathy of politics on the ska-punk I Don’t Care At All, politics that he depicts as being theatre of the absurd.

The protest songs influence is even more obvious on the quasi-dylanesque Secular Song,  sung with a camp voice and a more flamboyant style.

The mysterious Spazzmatazz is drifting away from ska, led by a driving bass and some almost chanted ‘It could happen to you, it could happen to you’. Brick Bosso invites his old friend and musical partner Mark Abbruzzese.

With the irresistibly melodic closer Birds And Believers, Brick Bosso unleashes the poet within and pays a tribute to the Monkees’ Daydream Believer.

Available on Bancamp: https://brickbosso.bandcamp.com/album/birds-and-believers

In a heartbeat

Posted: September 25, 2019 in hypnosis, News
Tags: , , , ,

Ah the trendy cardiac coherence technique! More and more ink is used to boast its benefits and equally comment on its controversies. Scientific facts or snake oil? Yours truly didn’t only use this exciting buzz to jump on the bandwagon, but to lead the convoy. Meet « Cardiac Coherence In C Minor » by Nekokawa Hypnosis.

How to use it? After the bell has done its cute 5-seconds countdown, you start to breathe-in with ascending notes, and breathe-out following descending ones. All that during 5 minutes, and then you feel good. Why? Because.

Now however cool that sounds and feels, if you have a history of cardiovascular troubles, you’d better pay a visit to your cardiologist, ask him if it’s OK for you to enjoy Meet « Cardiac Coherence In C Minor » by Nekokawa Hypnosis. And if he doesn’t get it, send him to where to get his own copy of it: https://gillessnowcat.bandcamp.com/album/cardiac-coherence-in-c-minor

Cheers
 G.S.

More about Nekokawa Hypnosis: http://www.nekokawahypnosis.com

And Nekokawa Massage: http://www.nekokawamassage.com

Ska time… to the bones.

Posted: June 24, 2019 in Interviews, Music, News, Reviews
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Is Brick Bosso new hype of 2020’s Californian underground? With its song-based psychedelic, adventurously raucous rock, bringing melodies back in a world where it now only belongs to some sophisticated acts, this mysterious project suddenly reveals a new side of its talent, adding to that a connection with the raising glories of West Coast ska: Ska’N’Bones.

If Ska was popularised in the late 70’s, early 80’s, thanks to the boldness of the well-named band Madness, the origins of this genre date long before that. It was, in a nutshell, the 1950’s precursor of reggae, which whom it shares rhythmic similarities. Some say ska is reggae on vitamins (or any upper substance), while it would be more logical to see reggae as ska on weed.

Here comes Mr Ska Time, real tapes and real ska.

From the first notes of “Leaky Connections”, you know it’s Brick Bosso. And you know it’s ska. The good news is that Brick Bosso doesn’t pastiche ska; he lives it. To the bones. (pun intended)

You distinguish the unmistakeable trademark of Bosso, that almost Lennonesque acid in the voice and guitars, the sometimes surprising chords change (“All Of These Dreams”) that remind us that there’s a very competent musician behind the project.

Brick Bosso going ska isn’t a surprise when you dig deeper in his blurred identity: it happens that the common ground with Ska’N’Bones is hard to deny.

It may take a private detective to dig under Brick Bosso’s mystery, yet the man himself wasn’t too reluctant to answer our almost innocent questions.

You joined Ska’N’Bones sometimes after you had already launched your Brick Bosso career. Would have “Ska Time” have existed without becoming part of Ska’N’Bones? Or was a ska album already a plan of yours anyway?
Brick Bosso: I had created two Brick Bosso [https://brickbosso.bandcamp.com/] albums before Ska ‘N’ Bones assembled, which, when we finally released Smally Fingers then played live, inspired me to write songs in the Ska style for a third album. All the fun of reuniting with old friends plus the energetic mania of Ska music motivated me to create Ska Time as a spin-off of Ska ‘N’ Bones.

How different is your writing approach of ska with the two projects?
Brick Bosso: Having the parameters of a Ska beat just made it easier to formulate the tunes. I had already conceived of “Leaky Connections” as a kind of manic new wave song, so when I was finishing it to present to Mike and Jon, I added the Ska beat which motivated and propelled me. A good beat always helps, and this period of writing for Ska Time was lots of fun because I had been re-infected with the Ska bug.

Will the “Ska Time” album bring live material for Ska’n’Bones?
Brick Bosso: We’ve already performed “Leaky Connections” live and I hope that there will be others.

With “Housing Crisis”, you blur the boundaries between ska and reggae. How would you really differentiate the two styles?
Brick Bosso: As I understand it, Ska was created first in Jamaica of the 50’s, then was adapted to become reggae at a slower tempo to make it cooler for the dancers in crowded clubs. This story could be totally apocryphal however. The best of both genres are concerned with issues of social justice, though there are obviously examples of cool love songs in both.

For sure, “Housing Crisis” is the gem of the album, with its reggae-infused skank and intriguing synthesized brass. It also brings a more socially assertive lyrics on the table.

Brick Bosso: I’m aware that as a white man my reggae creds require of the listener a bit of suspension of disbelief, but the issue-the high cost of housing, which is a literally life-threatening reality all around me in California–seemed like a natural topic for a reggae tune. And the melody as I was writing it fit the slower tempo, so I went with it. Reggae did catch my ear as a child, but when the second wave of Ska arrived around 1979 –The Specials, Madness, The English Beat and Selecter — my head exploded. The combination of social justice issues, romantic discontent, and fun upbeat mania was the perfect mix. It was off the charts fun and still affects me in a ways no other genre of music does. And yes, I think that having Reggae as a vehicle almost cries out for social content. When writing housing crisis I very intentionally created it almost as homage to those great reggae artists from Jamaica I first heard in the 70s. I think it shows most in the synth brass arrangement and the drum sounds. Social content is not necessary but Ska and Reggae do beg for it.

Another tune is called “(I Wanna Be) Legitimate” and despite its title, doesn’t raise any question: it only confirms that Brick Bosso is legitimate in the ska world. To the point of leaving Ska’N’Bones behind, as just a stepping stone? The closer “Bye Bye Bones” may make us wonder. Still, Bosso corrects that ““Bye Bye Bones” was written in an extended period of inactivity between the first Ska ‘N’ Bones single and the recording of four additional songs for our first EP. My imagination went wild, as it often does, and the resulting song is a speculative, humorous look at my concerns about not hearing anything from my pals in the band, because they were all very busy with other gigs. Funny fact: the sound bites at the beginning and end are excerpts from recordings Mike, Jon and I made as promos for Ska Parade on Dirty Radio… I’m not going solo–Brick Bosso is a separate project but is not exclusive.”

40 years after the early 80’s ska boom, Bosso and Ska’N’Bones might be the twins that will renew the genre.

Brick Bosso, “Ska Time”, available on Amazon, CD Baby, Apple Music, Bandcamp and Google Music.

 

Juliet Novak works it out, no regrets nor apologies

Posted: April 1, 2019 in Music, Reviews
Tags: ,

In a few musical events where I’m sometimes testing a live version of a few of my new love songs after dark, I had the pleasure to meet Juliett Novak, who was performing for a very similar reason.

In a world where humility is overrated, overused and as fake as it can be, musicians tend to become over cautious and afraid of any hint of ambition. Therefore it’s quite refreshing to discover someone like Juliett Novak, actually a Slovakian singer-songwriter now based in Belgium. Juliett makes no excuse for being there and her mindset is rather uplifting for whoever listens to her music.

From top-notch production to soulful songwriting, the songs she provides are showing her strong, ambitious and shining nature with no apologies.

Her single “Work It Out” is available via her website. It’s a captivating piece, haunting with a melodic hook that stays in your head. The site allows you to listen to other of her pieces, and although an album would be a better way to get into her universe, they’re all worth your time.

Juliett’s site: https://www.juliettnovak.com

An article about Juliett: https://www.tunedloud.com/2018/07/11/juliett-novak-pap-pa-rap-confirms-her-growing-status-as-a-songwriting-and-performing-artist/

 

Nekokawa Hypnosis & some limoncello

Posted: February 1, 2019 in hypnosis, Music, News, On stage
Tags: , , ,

Dear all’n’all

with the utmost logic, the massage music from Nekokawa Massage led to explore deeper in the altered states of mind and there we go, Nekokawa Hypnosis was born.

You’re into self-hypnosis? Don’t search any further, Nekokawa Hypnosis offers you two audio that do wonders for the saturation of your auditory senses during Betty Erickson-like inductions. More explaination on the site, this goes without saying!

Oh you’re not into hypnosis? You might want something different, like a new song? Got one for you. It’s fresh and live, played at the Super Direct radio show last January. It’s here: https://gillessnowcat.bandcamp.com/track/youve-been-drinking-my-limoncello-live

Yeah, there’s limoncello and some after dark lullabies around. Just in case…

G.S.

 

 

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