Thursday, January 25, 2007
Fedora Oblongata: Music news gets us reminiscing
The past couple of weeks in music news from the valleys have inspired a look back into the old Inside Out music vault.
It's kind of crazy what we've collected here over the past couple of years. There is a lot of variety, and we're going to cover some of it now.
Why? Because two of our past podcast guests are involved in some really interesting things right now.
First, we'll talk about Jeremy Kolosine. Maybe you remember one of his past bands, Shakespace. Anyway, the onetime Londoner, who wound up in Roanoke by way of Miami, has for years been involved in 8-bit music. In other words, he can make a handheld video game sound like a band.
In addition to doing his own music, he has recently executive-produced a record called "8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk." The German electronic band is best known for its song "Autobahn" but has been recording music for more than 30 years. Kraftwerk has influenced acts such as the Prodigy, Missy Elliott, Devo, the Chemical Brothers and Afrika Bambaataa. And many of those acts have sampled the band.
www.myspace.com/8bitoperators
Roanoker Jeremy Kolosine executive produced and performed on "8-Bit Operators: The Music of Kraftwerk," from Astralwerks.
IO Jukebox: 8-bit Operators
Bacalao (from Switzerland)
Receptors (Jeremy Kolosine)
But 8-Bit Operators is all about the tribute, with interpretations of Kraftwerk songs performed on tiny little games. Go to this column online and hear excerpts of some of the tunes.
Or go to our podcast page and find Kolosine talking about his beloved gadgets and playing a couple of tunes. Don't think it's not pretty funky.
Speaking of funky
Another one of our podcasts featured Josh Shilling. If you read Ralph Berrier's Riffs column on Sunday, you noticed that Shilling has a new gig. He's now the lead singer for Mountain Heart, a Raleigh, N.C.-based bluegrass band that has amazed audiences with its music.
You can hear Shilling on two of our podcasts. He came in with his keyboard and played some for us, and he also visited with bassist Cameron McLaughlin to talk about their band, Balancing Act. On both 'casts, you can hear Shilling, 22 at the time, showing some great chops and soul.
Now, in what could be a breakthrough moment for him, he's playing guitar, and of course, singing. This combination reminds me a little bit of what New Grass Revival had going back in the day, with John Cowan singing songs such as Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar." Go to www.myspace.com/mountainheartofficial to hear Shilling singing his own tune, "Who's the Fool Now," at the Grand Old Opry.
In our studio
Lately, we've moved from podcasting to recording bands live in the TimesCast studio. Be sure to follow the link to the MusicCast, and hear even more of the great talent we have in the valleys.
LINKAGE
Podcast home page: www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/podcasts/wb/xp-index
MusicCast home page: www.roanoke.com/timescast/wb/xp-87667
Josh Shilling podcast: www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/podcasts/wb/xp-37972
Shilling, with Cameron McLaughlin: www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/podcasts/wb/xp-61646
www.myspace.com/mountainheartofficial
Jeremy Kolosine podcast: www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/podcasts/wb/xp-30577
