Listen: Armel Dupas - "A Night Walk"

photo by Fiona Grimmeison

When a chance meeting brought me in contact with French pianist/composer Armel Dupas, my reward was the introduction to his wonderful solo debut Upriver. While he's more or less been touring behind that record since its 2015 release, he most recently announced its follow up A Night Walk. The record finds him assembling his touring band mates, multi-instrumentalists Mathieu Penot and Kenny Ruby, into a trio for the inaugural release of Dupas' new label imprint Upriver Records.

Despite his training as a jazz pianist, the most curious thing about Dupas' music both on Upriver and on the "A Night Walk", the eponymous first single from the upcoming record, is the fluidity of genre. Dupas' touch remains as subtle as ever and he's found collaborators that manage to engage with that same gentle touch when it would be easy to blow it up for a bigger sound. Penot who plays drums on the record and Ruby who serves on bass, help Dupas' to illustrate his veritable nocturne. Whether through the percussion or the swirl of synths (which Penot and Ruby are both skilled players of), there's a pervasive sense of introspective quiet. It's a walk to clear one's head. On "A Night Walk" Dupas' continues to blur the lines between organic and electronic sounds with an ease that is commendable. The piece, luckily, does not stay at the same dynamic. Though never losing either the effortless ease or sense of calm, the trio to push towards a sensible climax that sees the band becoming more involved with each other. Dupas also makes impeccable use of a more or less sudden switch up as everything comes to a seemingly finite conclusion a little more than halfway through. A steady synth hum is the only indicator that the piece isn't complete and when the band return - they're operating at peak energy and in a blissful key change. It's a piece that could easily go on for ages like the New Age drone in a spa but that use of the key change in all of it's glorious, triumphant nature signals a complete and deeply felt ending. It's a hell of an introduction to the Dupas' trio and curiously enough the track that Dupas elected to end the album with so everything leading up to this point is very much up in the air. Lucky for us, there's not too long of a wait before the rest of A Night Walk is available.   



A Night Walk, the first record from Armel Dupas' Upriver Records featuring Mathieu Penot and Kenny Ruby is out October 20th.

Pitstop: Armel Dupas

My introduction to the music of French pianist/composer Armel Dupas was due to the strange sense of serendipity that's become pretty commonplace in some of my most unexpected and most treasured music discoveries. A matter of happenstance found us sat next to each other at the record release show for Christopher Tignor's latest album Along A Vanishing Plane. At the bar with time to kill, Dupas struck up a conversation that went from stories of how we came to be at this particular concert to our musical interests and endeavors and an easy rapport ensured that we checked in after each set to discuss what we had just witnessed. Earlier in the evening Dupas shared that he was a musician and his interest in the pedal setups and gear of opener Patrick Higgins and of Christopher Tignor had me resolved to check out his music before he even offered information on where to find it.

What struck me immediately about Dupas' music, especially that of his most recent effort Upriver, was an incredible subtlety; a lightness of touch and a refreshingly sense of minimalism. Dupas' melodies are beautiful and free flowing but carry an ephemeral air. His use of electronics is sparse but effective often used for color than an actual composititional focus until its climatic use in "Sometimes I Need Some Time" and the interlude "Epilogue". Though Dupas has trained in jazz, his music transcends the genre while still applying skills and techniques he gained from it. Dupas has cited Nils Frahm as an influence but at times on Upriver, he more recalls Japanese pianist/composer Mashashi Hamauzu and his impressionistic lilt. Like Hamauzu, Dupas makes incredible use of space and silence as his melodies expand out like questions confidently asked and patiently awaiting their answer. The album effortlessly flows from one piece to another but not without each making a noteable impression. From sprightly opener "Les Plaines De Mazerolles" to the only vocal track "Aujord'hui il a Plu" to meditative closer "Upriver" no one song is the same but the album grows in such a way that none seem out of place and its end is wonderfully cathartic.

Armel Dupas is a gifted pianist, yes. But Upriver demonstrates a knack for arranging a rewarding musical voyage that's thrilling both in actual practice and its potential. Dupas evades easy definition while offering a collection of pieces that a brilliantly original. Upriver is a pristinely plotted soundtrack of nocturne's that's enjoyable and exciting in its presentation: effortless in delivery and engaging in its composition.





Armel's debut solo album Upriver is out now on Jazz Village.

Watch: Little Tybee - "Don't Quit Your Day Job" (Live at Doppler Studios)

While any news of a brand new record from Atlanta jazz-inflected folk pop outfit Little Tybee has either been suppressed or is virtually non-existent, that certainly isn't stopping them. Considering we only got the dazzlingly rich For Distant Viewing after Little Tybee postponed it's release for about a year and a half, they don't seem in any particular rush to hurry their process along and that's probably for the best.

"Don't Quit Your Day Job" (which is filmed at the same studio that brought us the updated version of Building A Bomb's "Hearing Blue" that eventually found its way onto For Distant Viewing) places both the band and its frontman in a rather curious place. For starters, its clear from the get go that "Don't Quit Your Day Job" is a complete and total jam. Despite its studio setting, it features the band in absolutely rare form that's pretty much equivalent to the band's live set - there's an awe-inspiring amount of technical pyrotechnics that don't really pull you out of the song itself. Brock Scott spends the majority of the track in his high register, which might actually be the most impressive performance in the sea of the band's impressive performances. Instead of piercing, Brock Scott's falsetto is pillowy and agile, graceful in its extended execution.

Brock Scott's lyricism has always been a wonderful draw but in a rare, unexpected turn, seems not secondary but tertiary to the rest of the band's performance and Scott's vocals in general. That's not to say that the lyrics are weak here but rather they band is operating on a level that the lyrics just stand no chance of matching. "Don't Quit Your Day Job" is a pretty necessary reminder that Little Tybee are a consummate live band, luckily released just ahead of a summer tour. You can see if they're coming to your neck of the woods here.

Alexander von Mehren - Aéropop (2013)

Chris Holm is one busy little bee. When not playing Norwegian orchestral pop sextet Young Dreams or crafting music of his own, he's off serving up his talents elsewhere it seems. That's how I learned of his contributions to as member of Norwegian composer/producer/pianist Alexander von Mehren's live band.

Alexander von Mehren's debut full length Aéropop falls somewhere on the spectrum of Sondre Lerche's early lounge rock days, the orchestral splendor John Cale's "Paris 1919" and the sensual decadence of Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson. That's a lot of ground to cover for sure but von Mehren's jazz-flavored brand of piano pop behaves more like those easy breezy classics than any of the more aurally challenging works of today. It's more than a bit of jazz classicism however. While Aéropop is remarkably svelte and engages in pristine melodic presentation  tracks with synthy touches like "La Variation de Douche"  and "Neuschwanstein" make it very clear von Mehren can engage in a bit of updating if the need arise. It's use is slight but provide the tracks with an added textural depth.

Alexander von Mehren's Aéropop is easy listening for the modern era, tracks birthed and bloomed within the confines of even the tiniest of attention spans, containing a double dose of your standard tracks while still clocking in at under an hour. Even on von Mehren's extensive "Natural Selection", a stylized simplicity exists. Interesting musical ideas come and go without any sort of conceptual hang ups - merely an emphasis on groove. At 20 tracks, Aéropop succeeds due to wealth and fluidity of ideas. von Mehren embellishes where he must but isn't afraid to let good musical ideas run their natural course instead of milking them for all their worth. The result is a balancing act of rather epic but effortless seeming proportions.  

Little Tybee - For Distant Viewing (2013)

Discovering Atlanta folk crew Little Tybee might've been somewhat accidental but in a short amount of time the band has shot up into my favorite bands. That's what made the delay of their latest album For Distant Viewing a bit maddening. Set to be released almost directly after 2011's Humorous to Bees, the band instead decided to workshop the songs some more and that release date steadily transformed to this year. It kind of goes without saying but Little Tybee's For Distant Viewing rapidly became one of this year's most anticipated albums for me - even before I heard any of its more recently released singles.

Why? Because I was incredibly curious how the hell they would improve upon Humorous to Bees. And yet on For Distant Viewing they did just did that. Beginning with the title track - a rather short but no less epic feast of what's to come in its pseudo-suite, the band proves that its their album really is about the journey as "For Distant Viewing" reels you in with its enchanting slow burn and siren-like "For distant viewing..." calls. Perhaps my favorite track on the record, "Mind Grenade", follows and endears with its occasional dip into some rather comedic. "How could it be? I'm harboring some broken keys. And it seems that she's gone and changed the locks on me.", Brock Scott laments and yet it's a rather positively handled break up tale. It's a track where everything Little Tybee does so well is hosted in one song - containing Brock Scott's clever turns of phrase, Nirvana Kelly's sweeping string ornaments, the band's busy but not overwhelming musical fills.

For Distant Viewing's charm is in that any of its songs can drastically become a completely different one. Take "Herman" for example, starting with sweetly spun string lines and Scott's trademark croon, it rather subtly becomes a rock scorcher. It's a feat that becomes more and more utilized as the album spins on and on. Away from mostly narrative tracks like "Mind Grenade" and "Boxcar Fair", the band's given freedom to set off on its own synchronous divergent paths. While Humorous to Bees certainly did a good job of including all of the bands various members, For Distant Viewing actually allows them to take the spotlight; culminating in the full on instrumental jam of "Left Right".

On For Distant Viewing, Little Tybee takes their rare form tendencies and become far rarer still. Their grooves and jams are tighter, slicker, tastier even. The band allows itself far more musical interludes which really allows you to get a sense of who the band is. You really can't pigeonhole Little Tybee as your standard folk rock band as the band members various musical backgrounds truly converge on this album. The band has come such a way that it even takes the track "Hearing Blue" from their debut Building a Bomb and updates it - the result being far more impressive than the original. It'll never quite be clear to fans what we missed out on in For Distant Viewing's 2011 incarnation but it's obvious that the year and change spent working on its has worked out in simply the best way. For Distant Viewing is a special record, half supple chamber pop gems, other half jazz-inflected prog-rock jams;  proving that genre is secondary when its comes to the execution of incredible musical ideas.

Beep! release album and premiere video

What seems like ages ago I mentioned that Beep!, an experimental jazz trio for Oakland California, were releasing an album. Well yesterday was the day that City of the Future became available virtually everywhere (but mostly on Amazon). To celebrate the release of their new album, the trio also offered up a video for "Today is Your Birthday". The video, created by Marina Valentina, is almost as quirky as the band's wonderfully off-kilter sound. Featuring the band, toothbrushes, and morphing pictures of Victorian women; the video is pretty hard to explain. Instead, you should just watch it and try and make sense of it yourself. Enjoy the video for Beep!'s "Today is Your Birthday":

Now Streaming: Beep! - City of the Future

I found out about Beep! and this album City of the Future from tUnE-yArDs' Merrill Garbus via tweet. Nate Brenner plays bass with her but apparently he also has his own musical endeavors; one of which is Beep!, an experimental jazz trio composed of Nate Brenner on bass, Michael Coleman on piano, and Sam Ospovat on drums (at least according to their Myspace). I had never heard of someone using experimental jazz to define themselves so I was really intrigued (even though I'm vary of anything daring to use the word "experimental"). What listeners can expect is sonic exploration used to conjure up different scenes and even cultures whether they be the Orient in the pentatonic rooted "Golden Chinese Amulet" or"Mbira" which wouldn't be out of place with tUnE-yArDs' African-inspired sound. Beep! is smooth jazz at some points with occasional random points of ragged attention drawing sound. That might sound bad but merely it's music that refuses to be a part of the background, instead drawing attention to itself at key moments. Listen to Beep!'s City of the Future here:
Latest tracks by Beep

If you like what you hear, the album will be available on December 2nd on Third Culture Records.