my prompt was "full albums that i love as full albums". i figured id rather talk about nine things than show you a list of twenty-five things.
Allison Fleischer -- A Day In The City
If someone asked for my favorite album, this is what I'd tell them. A gorgeous, sprawling, playful plunderphonics project with audacious samples from Pharaoh Sanders to the Orson Welles "Ah, the French champagne..." commercial. From beginning to end, the album is full to the brim with power, imagination, and life.
The Avalanches -- Since I Left You
A revered plunderphonics album, and for good reason. Playful with both rhythm and timbre, The Avalanches transform everything they touch into something cohesive and beautiful.
Hiromi Uehara -- The Trio Project ft. Anthony Jackson & Simon Phillips
I'm linking to something other than the full album so you can watch Hiromi's smile. More than anyone else, Hiromi's music is full of unbridled joy. As a result of that playfulness, the dynamics feel more intense, the rhythms feel more driving, and Hiromi's unparalleled technique feels more captivating.
Snarky Puppy -- We Like It Here
A jazz- and gospel-derived project characterized by precise rhythms and well-crafted solos. As far as I know, nobody else is fusing the big-band sound with talkboxes and multiple drummers-- and nobody else has their impeccable mixing.
The Stark Reality -- Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop
The Stark Reality's sound is fearlessly harsh, from the imposing distortion on the vibraphone to the raw edge on Monty Stark's voice. You might expect an album children's songs like "Thirty Days Hath September" to juxtapose this rawness with childish simplicity. But, near the end of the album, when Stark sings "See you tomorrow" forlornly on "Comrades", he isn't talking down to an audience of children, or imposing an adult's idea of their problems-- he captures the multifaceted, intense emotion of having to wait until tomorrow to see somebody, child or not.
Emancipator -- Live In Athens
The trip-hop project Emancipator isn't afraid to reassemble its own music in this live album, but that doesn't stop the album from feeling seamless. The steady, ethereal experience of "When I Go" flows naturally into "Old Devil"'s of layered rhythms, sudden silences, and intensity.
Ruckus Roboticus -- Playing With Scratches
This drum-heavy plunderphonic concept album is in love with spicy samples from all sorts of media intended for children-- one of the centerpiece songs "Never Play With Scratches" heavily samples a song called "Never Play With Matches". Against a vague narrative of a child fighting his parents, the powerful extended drum solos take on a new meaning of defiance, and the relatively deflated back half of the album becomes the tragic failure of Ruckus to remain a child.
Gerry Mulligan -- Night Lights Short, sweet, and soothing. I associate this album with the beginning-to-end story of recovering emotionally, possibly because it's such a good album to play when you're sad. I swear, you come out of the ending "Prelude in E Minor" with the horn descant breathing new life into you.
Newen Afrobeat -- Newen Plays Fela Again I'm linking you to something other than the album, because in addition to the tight, beboppy horns and compelling rhythm, the vocal performance in this video is out of this world. First the singers chant Fela Kuti's anti-cop lyrics, and their taunting tone punches like daggers against the rhythm section. And then, ten minutes into the song, we hear the human voice the way the saxophone imitated it-- a long, rising siren descant. The pressure explodes into a fierce, defiant scream-- fitting for a song so powerful that Nigerian military police raided the original performer's commune as revenge for it.
hey, thank you so much omg! i don’t have much reach with my music and it rly means a lot to see people talk about it.. im rly glad the album meant so much to you!
