chicago - the funk

hey let's forget about any chances of a summer and get straight to the action.

 

last week in chicago provided plenty of musical enjoyment - so here's a quick rundown of the adventures of ireallylovemusic.

first up as mentioned previously was the thomas dolby gig at maryrs bar up in the lakeview area. a solo show. which considering he hasn't released any music for many a year, made me concerned i was about to partake in an evening with thomas a piano and little else. well my concerns were way off course, several hundred mirror images of oneself (grey hair and blad spots) were out in force to catch up with the mad professor of pop. all the classics were laid out if pure clean digital form, with thomas being a true showman, gadgets, stories and tunes that sound as fresh and wonderful now as they did back then were dusted down and given a spit and clean. songs as perfect as 'windpower', 'one of our submarines is missing' and my all time fave dolby track' 'budapest by blimp' literally gave me goosebumps - vocally, thomas used effects to layer and elevate to spellbinding effect.

the extended standing ovation after each track obviously came as a shock to the bespecatcled one, but he obviously forgets that for over 10 years we have had no detail as to what is going on. so his reappearance was very welcome - and the crowd definitely was going to make sure he knew just how appreciated and loved his music still is, despite the fact that mopst of his back catalogue is deleted (i mean 'the flat earth' is a true classic!). catch his forthcoming one off in london - if only to see the elevating keyboard and shout 'science!' at every opportunity (hint : don't)

 

so the next day with the hangover-n-post gig euphoria in action i happened upon a couple of colourful tracksuited guys outside chi-town mainstay marshall fields. quickly spotting each with a set of cds i struck a conversation. seems like i had chanced upon a local hip hop guru called barry, who releases records under the alias 'ill-noiz' (who's from illinois - geddit?). so after exchanging pleasantries, and catching an impromtu performance, i came away with his solo joint, 'illegal'. dropping the cd into the machine back at the hard rock hotel, i quickly realised that i had struck lucky. while the flow on the street was more r-n-b flavoured (not my thing), the album is head boppin' straight up hip hop, slow-n-moody beats, plenty of attitude and some raw lyrical wordplay.

keep your eyes peeled for the man to get noticed by the relevant people. the album proves that major labels are missing out on some fine quality - check the smoothness of 'smoke my life away' with backing harmonies by yaya, or the club friendly loops of 'aja' (featuring jason). it's all very authentic sounding with simple stripped down production (12tones, red october, mastermind) keeping it tight-n-funky.

like i said - i struck lucky. very.

 

next up on my adventure was the friday night advneture that involved a few hours inside the funky budda club. little did i know prior to my arrival, it was to be the launch night for a local bands second album. royce are an synth-guitars indie pop band on a local hip hop label, galapagos4. the band play wonderfully addictive pop that references air and beck, while adding a dash of de la soul into the mix. pure perfection for sunshine filled days, if we were so lucky. being the cheeky (ie drunk) monkey i am, i came away with a copy of their excellent new album, 'tuff love', in order to find out more.

subsequently, for the last few days, this album has been on constant rotation. there is a mood and feel to the album that ranges from pure dance hip hop pop of 'girls on bikes', to slightly more surreal and off kilter electro synth sonics. it's the sort of album that if certain tracks were played on radio 1 during the daytime schedule would easily pull in the punters, both casual listeners and the more discerning of folks.

so there you have it : several top recommendations people : royce, ill-noiz, and of course thomas dolby.

it's a mad mad world.

onwards and upwards

mark e

ireallychicago