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Underground Hum: Bjork sings for Nature; Feist and Diana Ross sings for Peace Prize
Sun, 10/26/2008 11:00 AM | Entertainment
Hello and Happy Sunday to all you cool kids and frizzy-haired hipsters out there! It's time for yet another nutritional dose of music news! Thanks again for all the notes. You guys rock. Now, open wide for a spoonful of Reverb to help the medicine go down!
International
Bjork news is always good news, especially if it concerns new music from the reigning music queen of Iceland. Last week, when it was announced that Bjork's new single Nattura also features backing vocals from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke (not to mention contributions from Matthew Herbert and Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale), I was so excited I almost screamed like a schoolgirl at a Jonas Brothers meet-n'-greet. Monday, Oct. 20, the single went on sale on iTunes via the One Little Indian label (it will hit other digital outlets on Oct. 27).
All proceeds from Nattura will go to the Nattura Campaign (www.nattura.info) the Icelandic environmental movement co-founded by Bjork. Nattura seeks to stop the construction of foreign-backed aluminum factories in Iceland and promote the local economy. Bjork describes the tune as "a celebration of nature and how unpredictable it is and you cannot control it."
What's a person gotta do to get their very own killer concert featuring the likes of Feist, Diana Ross, Seun Kuti, Marit Larsen, and Julieta Venegas, all co-hosted by Scarlett Johansson? All it takes is the simple task of winning a Nobel Peace Prize.
Back in the realm of things that most people can actually achieve, ex-Finnish president and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Martti Ahtisaari will be celebrated in song by the aforementioned bunch Dec. 11 at Norway's Spektrum Arena, Oslo. It's all part of the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert. The show, which follows the induction ceremony for the esteemed Mr. Ahtisaari, will be broadcast in over 100 countries.
After his last solo album Post-War, singer/songwriter M. Ward has been busy palling around with the lovely Zooey Deschanel, issuing an introductory volume in their She & Him pantheon, and traveling the world both by himself and with the actress-slash-songwriter.
But come Feb. 17, Ward will issue Hold Time, his first solo album in two-and-a-half years and fourth new offering under his own name for Merge records. While the new disc includes a track called "Oh Lonesome Me", Ward is anything but alone on it. Hold Time features appearances from Lucinda Williams, former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle, DeVotchKa's Tom Hagerman, and the aforementioned Deschanel across its 14 tracks.
Speaking to Paste Magazine (www.pastemagazine.com) recently, Deschanel referred to Hold Time as her favorite album ever, but that statement must contain just a tad bit of bias don't you think? In the same interview, Ward also let it be known that She & Him are busy working up tunes for Volume Two, which he told them is "going to be twice as good as Volume One". Ward also noted that the long-promised collaborative LP between himself, Conor Oberst, and My Morning Jacket frontdude Jim James should see the light of day in 2010 or perhaps the year after.
National
There are a few cool events going on in town the next couple of weeks, not just performances, but also some totally intriguing music-related events that would be a damn shame to miss. Get your daily planners out, children!
Homogenic at Prambors Ngamen
Date: Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008
Time: 7 to 9 pm
Venue: Plasa Las Rambias, Paris Van Java Mall, Bandung
Homogenic always serves up nice cool tunes. Highly recommended.
Semarak Tengkorak
An Art Show by Arian13, Sunya-Raw, Painsugar, Unbound Kill and Adetameida
Opening date: Friday, Oct. 31, 2008
Time: 7 pm
Closing date: Friday, Nov. 7, 2008
Venue: Bikin Ruang, Jl Benda Raya No. 89 Kemang, South Jakarta (on the 2nd floor above Kedai).
Semarak Tengkorak is an exhibition featuring works that explore the shape of the human skull and the things that it represents for the various artists involved. Feature works by prominent figures of Indonesia's Punk, Metal and Hardcore scenes.
The opening event will have music by Angkatan Udara. Costumes and Masks are highly encouraged if you want to come to the opening. It is a Halloween event not to be missed.
Beatbox Workshop with World Beatbox Champion Mando (4xsampler) This event is part of the Europe On Screen European Film Festival held across Jakarta from Oct. 24 to 31. This years EOS features a program of music-themed films called "Urban Hype" (full schedule can be found at http://www.delidn.ec.europa.eu/film/).
Some of the films that will be shown are Ian Curtis' biopic Control, Dutch Hip-hop documentary Dutch Touch, and Germany's Love, Peace And Beatbox, a film about the art of beatboxing that focuses on the award-winning hip-hop Beatbox crew 4xsampler.
Mando of 4xsampler will also be holding beatboxing workshops in the following venues in Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta:
Oct. 26, 2008, 4 pm
RuangRupa Gallery, Jl. Tebet Timur Dalam Raya No. 6, South Jakarta
Registration: Ruang Rupa (RuRu) Gallery
Phone: 021 - 8304220.
E-mail: info@ruangrupa.org
Oct. 27, 2008, 4 pm
Distro Channel
Jl. Dalam Kaum No. 43, Bandung
Registration: Brotherskeepers Connection
Contact: Gaya at 081322506545
E-mail: negerikutukan@gmail.com
Oct. 27, 2008
Artists' Talk (Not a Workshop)
Whatever Shop
Jl. Abubakar Ali No. 2 Kotabaru, Yogyakarta
Info: Jogja Hip Hop Foundation (contact person: Zuki)
0274 - 7494919
E-mail: mrzooki@yahoo.com
That about does it for this week's Underground Hum. If you have any questions, suggestions, praises and curses just send me a note at undergroundhum@yahoo.com.
See you next week!
-- Paul Agusta
For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in future editions of Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you're playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date, and entry fee if any.
