Stephan's Mostly Music(al) blog: January 2011

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Sacha Sacket

I've been following Sacha Sacket's music for several years now. I came across a song on myspace (yup, that's how long ago it was) called "The Prodigal" (live version). It is a beautiful blend of electronic beats, piano, and Sacha's voice. He has great range and is a skilled pianist. Also, he is playful with his audiences giving an impromptu performance of Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time" during a show.

Sacha Sacket has been working hard since his first album, Alabatser Flesh, was released in 2001. Unfortunately, this cd is out of print and I have been unable to get my hands on one.

He followed with Shadowed in 2004

"I felt it was time to delve into 'dark things' go places where I degraded myself, where I was a doormat, where I would destroy someone if I could. Not in an attempt to immediately rectify or justify myself, just to express it. I had to be damaged, to have faults, to show the darkness. I really went to those life and death situations where a life is beginning or ending. Where your humanity truly reveals itself, when your character is tested – the underlying truth."

Favorite tracks:
"The Prodigal"

"Stuck in the Sunset"

"Plaestine"

Lovers & Leaders in 2007

"Although it’s a love album, the theme is really more about my battle not to succumb to it. I guess I equated love with losing power, losing my goals and aspirations. I was trying to find the balance between honoring someone else and myself, while finding where the edges meet."

Favorite tracks:

"Stay"

"How Low?"

"Hallowed (Show Me How)"
"Judy (For Shame)" (music video)

A live album with his all female band in 2008, Live At The Zone

Hermitage in 2009
Hermitage was a very different creative process for Sacha. He spent some time in a cabin after touring, and out of this time in isolation came the lyrics for Hermatige. He also went back to the cabin to record the album. When it was released, I got the deluxe edition which included an extra track, "The Sign Was Everywhere", photos, a note that was personally signed, and a a couple small objects you can find while wandering in the woods.

Favorite tracks:

"Running Away"

"Used" (music video)

"You Could"

On June 1st, 2010, Sacha Sacket started something special called the Viscera Project. Every Tuesday, Sacha has released a song through bandcamp.com. He plans to release one song, every week, for a year. Talk about being ambitious. He got sick after finishing one of my favorites so far "All in the Way" and that held up the recording process for three weeks. He came back, like he hadn't been gone at all, with a track called "Stay Still". Now that Sacha is beyond the halfway mark now is as good a time as any to start checking up on his musical project from week to week.

There are a handful of tracks that really stand out to me, so far. They are:
"The Wound Wants to Heal"
"All in the Way"
"Wave Goodbye"
"The Outsider"
"Cocky"
"Chalk"

Check out Sacha Sacket's bandcamp page:

http://sachasacket.bandcamp.com/
and his official website:
http://www.sachasacket.com

Monday, January 10, 2011

Adele

This British singer has got so much soul and power in her voice and she's only 22 years old. I first heard Adele when I saw the video for "Chasing Pavements" playing on a tv in the dining hall at my school. The style of the video was so interesting, and about a week later I had to buy the cd.

Adele broke onto the music scene with her debut album 19 in 2008. The lead single "Hometown Glory" could be heard on shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, The Hills, One Tree Hill, and Grey's Anatomy. The second single, "Chasing Pavements", eventually won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and was also nominated for Record of the Year, as well as Song of the Year. The third single, "Cold Shoulder" is my favorite song on 19, and it was no surprise to me when I learned that it was produced by Mark Ronson (my first blog post).

Adele gained major popularity after she had the opportunity to be a musical guest on Saturday Night Live in the same episode that Sarah Palin made an appearance. The SNL episode had it's highest ratings in 14 years. Now that's exposure. The day after the her SNL performance 19 hit the #1 spot on iTunes and into the top 5 on Amazon.com. Adele began touring shortly after the airing of the SNL episode to promote her album here in the States. During that time she relaunched MTV unplugged and performed a 6 song acoustic set on the show. She also recorded "Water and a Flame", a duet with Australian singer songwriter Daniel Merriweather on his debut album Love & War (another one of my favorite albums of 2010).

Adele's sophomore album, 21, is slated for release on January 24th in the UK and February 22nd in the States. It's going to to be a very different sound from her first album. It's got more of a "country, contemporary roots" feel this time around.

From a SPIN.com article:

Adele adds that the country-flavored vibe of the new record was borne out of genuine love for the genre. She was introduced to contemporary Nashville music specifically from her bus driver while on tour in the South. "He listened to all this amazing country music and we'd rock out late at night, chain smoking and listening to Rascall Flatts," says Adele. "It was really exciting for me because I never grew up around [that music]."

The lead single for 21 is "Rolling in the Deep". It's a gritty, gospel-esque middle finger to a former lover. "Finally, I can see you crystal clear. Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare. See how I leave, with every piece of you. Don't underestimate the things that I will do..."

I'm very interested to hear what the rest of the album sounds like and if it's all like "Rolling in the Deep" then I know I will love it all.
Make sure you check out the video for "Rolling in the Deep" below

21 track listing:
1. Rolling In The Deep
2. Rumour Has It
3. Turning Tables
4. Don't You Remember
5. Set Fire To The Rain
6. He Won't Go
7. Take It All
8. I'll Be Waiting
9. One And Only
10. Lovesong
11. Someone Like You

Adele's official website
MTV Uplugged article
Newsday.com article
The Independent article

SPIN.com article

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Favorite Albums of 2010

2010 was a great year in music. I was introduced to many new artists and some of the artists I already love released new material. Here is the list of my favorite albums of 2010. Comments highly encouraged! I want to know what you were listening to in 2010!

Record Collection by Mark Ronson & The Business INTL