Waiting, Adjusting, Dreaming

So, let's see. Where have I been? In the last two months I've been to Taiwan, moved to a new place and got embroiled in a war (still going on). I've also been doing some writing, though not enough in both quantity and quality. Let's take it one item at a time.

Longshan Temple, Taipei

The trip to Taipei was a business trip as well as a colossal culture shock for me. Everything was so different and yet so similar. On the connecting flight over there I saw the movie "Her" for the first time. Eerily, I had a feeling I actually landed into it, this vast city of the future. Though, admittedly, I had some issues with the local cuisine, I adjusted. The 2 weeks I spent there will not be forgotten anytime soon and I still miss the place and its people.

A week after I've returned, I moved to a new flat, a change long overdue. While some things in the new place can be better, even more can be worse. I do not quite feel at home here, but I've adjusted. More or less.

About three weeks ago the latest round in the seemingly endless regional conflict here has erupted again and we have been at war ever since. I write 'we' because although I'm just a regular civilian, this war seems to be focused on us, the regular civilians from both sides. It is us who are running for shelter when the missiles and rockets come, it is us who find ourselves homeless, it is us who suffer needlessly. And yet, we adjust. Some laugh about it, others grieve; the weak succumb to hate and despair (the net is full of vile and baseless hate; that and cats) and the dreamers... Sometimes I think it is only the dreamers who are truly awake and see reality; not this dismal reality, but reality as it can and should be. These dreamers are mocked, called traitors or cowards, a few are silenced forever.

We need more dreamers and men and women who can translate the dream into reality. On both sides. We need to understand each other and ourselves. We need to adjust to the present and build for the future, not the past.

I don't know how all of this will end. I used to think that the future was going to be better than this. This, this endless cycle we know already. It's time for something new.

It's a hell of a segue, but this blog is supposed to be focused (at least loosely) on music, so this post is dedicated to Henry Pope, among many things of Lemonwilde renown (covered here and here).

Pope has released a new EP last month ("Waiting") that has so far resisted being labeled as any particular genre or style, and yet it manages to weave together electronica, funk and hip hop and something else that perhaps can be termed "L.A.". The EP was created with Keaton Simons (Gnarls Barkley, Snoop Dog, Josh Kelley), Fernanda Karolys (Kinky, Nortec Collective), Sophie Holt (Govinda, Kraddy) and Parker Ainsworth.

Henry Pope is on Facebook and the EP can be downloaded here (Recommended).

Another Kind of Fay

Their website says "It's not just a band, it's a way of life". After listening to a few of their songs and reading their bio and blog, I'm inclined to agree. L.A.'s The Bastard Fairies seem to create quirky and peculiar enough music to avoid being labeled as "cute" - because they're also thorny enough to swallow.

And there is much to digest - from love songs to political protest, lead singer Yellow Thunder Woman works the tension between the coy and the seductress, the girl and the woman, the shadow and the light. The result is indie pop with an after taste (and after thought).

Check out The Bastard Fairies on their website, MySpace and last.fm for more tracks and info.

The Bastard Fairies - The Greatest Love Song {MP3} (from Memento Mori)
The Bastard Fairies - Ode to the Prostitute {MP3} (from Memento Mori)
The Bastard Fairies - Memento Mori {MP3} (from Memento Mori)

On the L.A. note, I wanted to re-post Lemonwilde's track again as there seemed to have been some problems with it (my bad). I hope that re-encoding it did the trick. The track originally appeared (and still does) on the Lemonwilde special Q&A post (here), while the original Lemowilde post is here.

Lemonwilde - Nondeterministic Automation {MP3} (from Red Room)

Lemonwilde's World: A Special Q & A

This week focused on listening to artists in more than the usual way of hearing their music, but also in peeking a little into their creative lives and struggles. To conclude it, for now, I wanted to return to the band which inspired me to ask these questions in the first place and that is still leaving its mark on my musical life. The members of L.A.'s Lemonwilde (original post here) were kind enough to answer a few my questions.

Q. Lemonwilde is composed of 4 unique members. Can you tell me a little about the group and its inner workings?

A. "We (Joe, Ter, Luke, Henry) create our music by individually bringing pieces of songs to the table. We then work as a group to hash out the sound, idea, emotion, and structure we are trying to convey. From there we work on our parts again individually and bring them back into the mix for final approval. Then we rehearse the hell out of the songs to confirm that we have them the way we want them".

Q. What inspires you to create and make music?

A. "Film, relationships (family, lovers, friends), daily occurrences, occasionally politics, and art in all forms."

Q. Is there a common theme for Red Room? Is there a story behind it and the band's name?

A. "Theme: to awaken those who have been sleep-walking through their lives, and are not trying to inspire anyone. Red room is the name of our studio, which we recorded the EP in. Lemonwilde: A name we gave our "WORLD" to represent tranquility!"

Q. Starting out as an indie band in a world filled with bands can be very hard (but also a lot fun, if you're with the right people). What's your approach?

A. "We spend about 5 to 10 hours daily acting as our own label, manager, booking agent, etc... It can be very exhausting, but since we are a tight knit group it is very rewarding as well. As for the music part of it, that is by far our favorite element (job)".

Are there any conclusions to draw, any similarities to find between how the different artists that have participated in the Q&A work and create musically? Perhaps. If anything, this experience made me appreciate even more the artists' fruits of labor of love and devotion.

Check out Lemonwilde on their official site and MySpace for streamable tracks and gig updates. Buy the Red Room EP on iTunes.

Lemonwilde - Nondeterministic Automation {MP3} (from Red Room)

Bonus: A video preview of Lemonwilde's live performance at Club Moscow (Hollywood)

Lemonwilde's Dark L.A.

I was privileged enough to have been contacted by Luke Martinez of Lemonwilde the other day to listen to their debut EP, Red Room. This part of the "job" is still very exciting for me: I usually look for new thrilling artists but sometimes they come to me.

Lemonwilde started in Los Angeles in 2007, and if you listen closely you'll be able to recognize the city through their music, or at least a dark, haunting and haunted version of it (some of the songs also have a sort of a Gotham feel to them). I can't really describe the music in words, it needs to be experienced and felt. But this unique mixture of rock, jazz, blues, alternative and a host of other genres of music (and other forms of art, by the look of their website), is truly remarkable in effect.

"Do you need to run?", asks the chorus in "Nondeterministic Automation", the closing song in their EP. Run, run - and get the EP (and go to their impressive gigs).

Check out Lemonwilde on their official site and MySpace for streamable tracks and gig updates.

Lemonwilde's picture is from an L.A. Cityzine article.

Lemonwilde - Just This Ashtray {MP3} (from Red Room)
Lemonwile - Inspired Painter {MP3} (from Red Room)