Better Know a Genre: Five Post-Rock Bands You’ll Probably Love
-Written by Kevin Madert
Earlier this week, Explosions in the Sky put out a highly anticipated record called The Wilderness. It’s less a step in any specific new direction than a pivot around the central themes and styles that have defined their career – one foot stays grounded in their post-rock roots while the other spins through sonic inspirations ranging from spacey electronica to down-home folk.
Listening to The Wilderness a few times through inspired a digital crate-diving adventure courtesy of Spotify. After much clicking around, and even more headphone isolationism, here are a few bands amply equipped to satiate your post-rock craving. Some should be familiar to long-time fans of the genre, while others may be brand new to readers (much as they were to this writer).
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Dreamscape 2016: Hear Music From Every Act Playing This Year’s Festival
–Words and list by Kevin Madert
You can feel it in the air. The sun’s a little warmer, the days a little longer, blizzpocalypses and snowmageddons all but forgotten. Spring has sprung (officially, if you doubt it) and for us in the musicsphere that means something wonderful: Festival season is upon us.
Our year is shaping up to begin with Dreamscape, the longtime Badass Raves brainchild that began as an indoor all-nighter known as Psychedelic Dreamscape before expanding last year to a two-day fest at secluded Camp Ramblewood in Darlington, MD. This year it’s a full-weekend affair, with three days of 11am-5pm music slated for May 5-8.
In the dual interest of channeling our anticipatory excitement and educating anyone who cares to listen, we’ve compiled a playlist to kick off our coverage of the festival. Organized into loose genre categories, it features every artist slated to perform* and is intended to acclimate readers to the lineup; plenty of in-depth writing on all things Dreamscape will follow.
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Show Spotlight: Emancipator Brings The Ensemble to Philadelphia + Pittsburgh
–Written by Kevin Madert
Trip-hop veteran and general expert on all things chill Emancipator (real name Doug Appling) released one hell of an album a few weeks ago. Since then, the Pacific Northwest’s downtempo gem has been beating feet across the United States, backed up by his full-band Ensemble and with hand-selected opening support from Wax Tailor and Yppah.
While the last Ensemble tour made a stop at Baltimore’s Soundstage, DMV natives hoping to catch them this time around have a little trekking to do. The two closest stops on the Seven Seas tour are Friday, October 16 in Philadelphia and Tuesday, October 20 in Pittsburgh. Trust us when we say these drives are worth it – AltFreq will be hitting the road bound for the Rex Theater in Pittsburgh next week.
The Emancipator Ensemble performing “First Snow” in 2014
AltFreq Weekend Planner (10/15/15-10/17/15)
–Written by Kevin Madert
It’s nearly impossible to keep track of all the events going on in the area, so we’re here to let you know what’s happening in live music over the next few days. Watch out on Sundays for our “Weekly Planner,” where we’ll cover the remaining four days of the week.
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On “Seven Seas,” Emancipator Dives Deep, Sails Far, Stays Chill (Review)
–Written by Kevin Madert
These days, Doug Appling should be feeling pretty good about himself. In less than a decade, the man better known as Emancipator has grown from a promising young producer & performer into a well-respected, scene-renowned artist with a slew of stellar releases under his belt. He’s founded Loci Records, a music label which he utilizes to curate some of the finest sounds trip-hop and downtempo have to offer. He’s started a band – the eponymous Emancipator Ensemble – and toured the world, allowing him to reinterpret his studio-based music in a live setting. And now he’s stuck another feather in his plumage-laden cap with his fourth full-length album, Seven Seas.
The experimentation and maturation we first saw on 2012’s Dusk To Dawn continues here. Like a track and field star working his way from single events to the all-encompassing decathlon, Appling’s arsenal seems to grow with each subsequent release. From the gentle, intentioned bounce of album opener “All In Here” to the closing notes of the slow-building, multi-faceted “Barnacles,” Seven Seas is a work of serious merit from a producer both comfortable within his self-defined musical boundaries and eager to push against them in all possible directions. His ear for that intangible sonic space between steady chill and forward progression is also stronger than ever – the hurried, echoing guitar anchoring “Delta Trance” and frenetic violin-led, bass-drum backed breakdowns on “The Key” attest to that.
Of course, it never hurts to have good friends, and on Seven Seas Appling showcases his excellent choice in musical mates. Aside from longtime collaborator Ilya Goldberg – whose silken violin tones feature on five tracks – a plethora of additional guest appearances go miles in adding depth and texture throughout the album. “Canopy,” with its non-traditional percussion courtesy of Cedar Miller & Jamie Janover, plus the heavily augmented vocal work of Amy Obensky, is one of the album’s most fully realized songs. And while lyrics have rarely factored in Emancipator’s catalog, vocalists Molly Parti and Madelyn Grant prove they fit snugly into the puzzle, lending their talents to personal album highlights “Land & Sea” and “Seven Seas,” respectively.
Above all, it’s worth noting the entirety of Seven Seas exists on the same metaphorical tapestry. Thanks to little, seemingly inconsequential details – the occasional lapping of waves against the shore, guitars fed through effects pedals as if being played underwater, synths manipulated to create aural ebbs and flows – guide us through the album in one coherent trip. Chalk it up to a deftly crafted, purposeful ambiance – something Appling has explored, tested, and honed from day one. In 2006, Soon It Will Be Cold Enough took us on a melancholy, introspective stroll through snow-covered hills and woodlands. Four years later, Safe In The Steep Cliffs found us even deeper in the wilderness, a dark and often somber place. A few years after that, Dusk To Dawn saw us forgo the woods for a crackling bonfire at the water’s edge, feeling at many moments more upbeat and sporting some of Emancipator’s lushest production to date.
And now we have Seven Seas, wherein we abandon the safety of the shore in favor of the contemplative endlessness of the 0cean. Once more, Doug Appling has put painstaking effort into the conceptualization, writing, recording, and post-production of an album – perhaps his best to date.
You can grab a copy of Seven Seas now through all the standard channels (Bandcamp | iTunes | Physical copy). Emancipator is also currently on an extended North American tour in support of the album, with Yppah & Wax Tailor(*) / Blockhead & Manatee Commune(^) along for the ride – check the full schedule below + purchase tickets right here.
Seven Seas North American Tour Dates
10/14/15 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground*
10/15/15 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club*
10/16/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts*
10/17/15 – New York, NY @ PlayStation Theater (formerly Best Buy)*
10/18/15 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom*
10/20/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater*
10/21/15 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom*
10/22/15 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue*
10/23/15 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection*
10/24/15 – Detroit, MI @ Fillmore Detroit*
10/27/15 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room*
10/28/15 – Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note*
10/29/15 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre*
10/30/15 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Miramar Theater*
10/30/15-11/1/15 – Chicago, IL @ Freaky Deaky
10/31/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights*
11/10/15 – Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo^
11/11/15 – Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub^
11/12/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub^
11/13/15 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater^
11/14/15 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market^
11/15/15 – Eugene, OR @ Hi-Fi Music Hall^
11/17/15 – Ashland, OR @ Ashland Armory^
11/18/15 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst^
11/19/15 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom^
11/20/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater^
11/22/15 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House^
News: Lineup Announced For Rhymesayers 20th Anniversary Concert
–Written by Kevin Madert
In a hip-hop landscape overpopulated by inconsequential lyrics tracking at the third grade level, manufactured radio-friendly rhymes, and whatever the hell Iggy Azalea is, Rhymesayers Entertainment shines bright as a last bastion of hope. Born and bred in Minnesota, the independent label has come a long way since being founded by Sean Daley, Anthony Davis (both of Atmosphere), Musab Saad (aka Sab the Artist) and Brent Sayers (aka Siddiq), but the music over profit mindset & consistently thought-provoking lyricism present from day one has never wavered.
In the aforementioned climate of the genre it’s laudable for anyone to stay relevant for twenty minutes, much less two decades, yet here we are. And in true RS fashion, the twentieth anniversary shindig slated for December 4th at the Target Center in Minneapolis is shaping up to be a hell of a celebration.
Atmosphere, Grieves, Dilated Peoples, Brother Ali, and Aesop Rock top a bill stuffed to bursting with Rhymesayers-signed talent – an indicator of just how influential the label has been in the underground hip-hop community since the mid-90s. You can bet AltFreq will do everything we can to make the trek to the Twin Cities in December to take part in this party for the ages.
Tickets for Rhymesayers 20 go on sale to the general public starting this Friday, October 16 at 10am CST (that’s 11am EST, local friends). A general admission ticket will run you a whopping 20 bucks, with VIP options also available. All other pertinent information can be obtained via the Rhymesayers website.
Rhymesayers 20 Lineup (in alphabetical order)
Abstract Rude | Aesop Rock | Atmosphere | Battlecats | BK One | Blueprint | Boom Bap Project
Brother Ali | deM atlaS | Dilated Peoples | DJ Abilities | Evidence | Felt | Freeway | Grayskul | Grieves Hail Mary Mallon | I Self Devine | Jake One | K-Salaam | Los Nativos | Micranots | Mr. Dibbs | Musab P.O.S | Prof | Soul Position | The Uncluded | Toki Wright