30.11.05

Le elancolia

Elevator Beat:
Caminabamos por las calles bulliciosas del centro.
Te pareces a mi alma y te pareces a la palabra melancolia.
A veces se podia oir la vibracion de la luz.

Simone Fisher Turner - harrodspianos
Christopher Bissonette - pellucidity
Liam Singer - asthma/rivets in water
Max Richter - on the nature of daylight
Eluvium - an accidental memory in case of death
Jasmine Star - sky decides


Image by Marcus Zilliox.

Motel de Moka's Top 6 -11 albums of 2005

And so it is. I updated this post and added #11 to the list after realizing that even numbers are evil. Here's the trackback to the other post with: Motel de Moka's top 5 albums of the year. Remember to support hungry musicians. Buy records, go to gigs, show them love.

11. Electric President - electric president
Download: Electric President - good morning, hypocrite
Download: Electric President - ten thousand lines (alternate mix)

This album is phantastic albeit much too short comprised of 10 clear but complex pop jems. They have recently been signed to the excelent Morr Label and it's been scheduled as a 2006 release, so I'm kind of cheating on this one, oh, and I'm not telling how I got my hands on it.




10. Marsen Jules - herbstlaub
Download: Marsen Jules - fans d' automne

Herbstlaub, which simply means "autumn leaves" is a hazy ambient album that I've found myself coming back to time and time again. Easily the best pure ambient album and probably one of the best electronical ones released on 2005.
If you like it you might want to try Eluvium's "talk amongst the trees", another noteworthy ambient album released this year.


9. Sigur Ros - takk
Download: Sigur Ros - hoppipolla

I must be honest, I didn't enjoy this one as much as Agaetis Byrjun or even (), Jonsi's voice has gotten a bit too high for me to enjoy and I'm already irritated at his supposed hopelandic full of "iyu"s, yet, they remain one of the most inventive modern musical outfits in the world today and the music is still carried with power and beauty so I'm not complaining. It just didn't hit me the way their past releases did. Maybe I was expecting too much from this one. Nonetheless, highly recommended.


8.Idaho - the lone gunman
Download: Idaho - live today again

I like this one, Jeff Martin has that type of wispy voice that I can't resist, and the lone gunman might be the best Idaho album in years. In case you didn't knew: Idaho has been around the music scene for more than 12 years yet almost noone has heard about it. Give it a try, you wont regret it. A timeless somber beauty.



7. Cocorosie - noah's ark
Download: Cocorosie - Beautiful Boyz

The sisters Casady are the best reinvention Bjork never made, of course Bjork couldn't possibly imagine her sound as conceived on the bayou. Those harps and saloon pianos coloring this album give it a very bohemian take on avant-folk, and for fans of the genre this is a must.
If they continue improving their stylings and focusing their efforts a little more they might create something truly inspiring on a few years.


6. Colleen - the golden morning breaks
Download: Colleen -the golden morning breaks
Download: Colleen - summer water

Im warning you, this is a collection of harmless soft lullabies and the record has a unicorn and a fairie on the cover, somehow, I'm ashamed to say I love it. Every song on this release has the hability to seep into your subconcious with subtlety.
Cecile Schott picked the instruments punctuating the release carefully (most of them are from renaissance-era origin) which makes the whole record sound seemingly naked and it actually makes for the better because it finds her emotions bare for us to take. Quite lovely.
I'd also reccommend you to look for Susumu Yokota's "Symbol" which didn't make it to the list but has a certain resemblance to this one in it's use of electronically-infused barroque music.

29.11.05

No one can escape Dada

Laundry Room:
"Avanzo.
O retrocedo...
Con la noche entre las uñas.
Que el amor amarillo
y nuestros cuerpos de cerillos."
Este poema escaso y pinche lo escribi usando el metodo dadaista. Dense un tiempo de leer "Seven Dada Manifestos" del genial Tristan Tzara. Y si viven ociosos como yo, maten tiempo con el metodo dada. El libro fue recomendado por la dadanoia de Kahlo.

I originally stated that my top albums of the year list was limited to 5 records, due to the positive comments from other bloggers and readers inquiring for a bigger list, I'm expanding it into a top 10. The albums have been selected already but I'm too lazy to do that post right now, maybe I'll do that tomorrow or next week, for now I offer you some songs I'm enjoying at the moment:

Isolee - Schrapnell
Archer Prewitt - way of the sun
Eluvium - under the water it glowed
Colleen - the happy sea

The image is based on the medieval tapestrie "A mon seul desir", one of six tapestries known by name as "the lady and the unicorn". The artist remains unknown to date.

28.11.05

Motel de Moka's Top 5 albums of 2005

I fucking loved (and still love) 2005. Here's my list of the top 5 albums of the year, I could have easily chosen other 5 or could've made up a top 50 list, but there's more important people out there doing that, therefore, I am not.
I'm not claiming this ones are the best ones out there, but they're merely my top 5. This is the music that has been on my side this year and it has encompassed important changes in my life, this is the reason the very reason I love this albums.
Thanks to the people that were reading the blog this year, I'd really appreciate any comments or suggestions on the site or the music.

5. Animal Collective - feels
Download: Animal collective - Banshee beat

Animal Collective are well known for the emotional resonance they transmit through their releases. This is their most mellodic and accesible work yet. A tasteful and inventive release from a band with a quite unique sound.





4. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Download: Sufjan Stevens - Chicago



The second delivery from Sufjan Stevens's 50 state project is as beautiful and diverse as Michigan. Despite the ridiculous subtitles and the horrendous cover, we still love you Sufjan.




3. Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird & The mysterious production of eggs
Download: Andrew Bird - sovay
Download: Andrew Bird - a nervous tic emotion of the head to the left

This is the musical testimony of the long path Bird has walked. On Weather Systems, it seemed he was in the process of creating something exceptional. Time passed, and this is the album he created. While Casual ears will simply find it laid-back, attentive ones might find many rewards on this one. Highly reccomended.



2. Paavoharju - Yhä Hämärää
Download: Paavoharju - puhuri
Download: Paavoharju - valo tihkuu kaiken lapi

Chances are you hate Paavoharju in the same degree I hate the fiery furnaces. It's even more probable you'll hate me for taking it all the way up to second place on my list.
This is the concept behind the album: A band of Finnish born-again christians making music to record their religious re-discovery. I would have runned away from this one at the mention of the word "christian", but the music itself is of such grandeur, it actually transmits real devotion. Admirably consistent for such an un-organized collage of sounds: Bollywood music, church hymns, vynil crackles, digital filters, beautiful pop tunes and ambient esoteric noises.


1. The Books - Lost and safe
Download: The Books - smells like content
Download: The Books - an animated description of mr maps

This is the first album I bought this year. When the record stopped spinning I already knew this one was ending up on the top of my list. It's weird cause I never really cared that much about "thought for food" or "the lemon of pink", but for this one, consider my hat tipped. My personal reccomendation for 2005.

25.11.05

Take time

Laundry Room:
Bueno les menti, termine el examen y no tengo nada que hacer mientras my beloved llega a su destino, que suerte la de uds.
Ay, cuando el sol cambia su color.

The wilderness - end of freedom
Pinback - loro
Ute Lemper - tango ballad
Jolie Holland - old fashioned morphine
Jens Lekman - I saw her at the antiwar demonstration
Xiao He - mama
Cocorosie - brazilian sun

The image was taken from a friend's page and I don't know who made it, it seems to me she took it from one of those loonies from l' art brut, but I might be wrong... december is near and it's very probable the blog will be changed back to english...

24.11.05

Matrioska

Laundry Room:
I want a son. Carve me one.
Hoy desayune Cheerios, de aquellos de la caja amarilla que a mi siempre me han gustado. Que que chingados les interesa a uds? Bueno, ya se acerca mi cumpleanos y Navidad y me acaba de dar el fetiche de tener un plato hondo, color rojo de ceramica.
Esta semana y la siguiente tocan examenes finales, asi que no me van a estar viendo en un rato por aqui, les dejo un compendio de unas 6 rolas para que se hechen unas dos por dia de aqui al domingo, Y en el siguiente post, Ute Lemper!
Bueno, ahora si, a bajar cancioncitas que pa eso estan aqui:

The helio sequence - blood bleeds
Chad VanGaalen - somewhere I know there's nothing
The Rosebuds - blue bird
Spoon - the infinite pet
Sigur Ros - Saeglopur
Under Byen - mission

La imagen es de Tom Judd. Este ocioso se encargo de documentar graficamente 365 dias de su vida en una libreta a la que le dedicaba una hora diaria. Si se sienten mas ociosos que el, pueden pasar a su site o bien, robarle la idea y empezar una libreta propia.

23.11.05

Moth eaten towels

Laundry Room:
Didn't realized we had moths at this time of year...
Fake Palindromes is a great Andrew Bird track from his album "the mysterious production of eggs", with bursts of chimes, his very characteristic fiddle, guitars and frenzy drums beginning the song and Andrew Bird singing on top of this beautiful mess, his lyrics have improved greatly and have gotten even more bizarre. I envy and feel humbled at Patrick Wolf, he has my age (19) and he's released two great albums (lycantrophy, wind in the wires) in the course of two years. Those horse clomps on "the libertine" are real samples, this is the solely reason I choose this one as my favorite track from "wind in the wires".
Ave grave from Thee more shallows is also beautiful, soft electronics surround the track and that just kills me, so I'm uploading it. They have some other tracks free for download at their label's site, I'm choosing 2am, it has an eerie violin and some chimes that add urgency to the song, eerie violins conquer me. Both tracks have an amazing ghost chorus acting as atmosphere, beautiful.
I think everyone has heard Feist by now, she has collaborated with everyone from Kings of convenience and hipster fav, Broken Social Scene to electro-sex icon, Peaches. She finally dropped her debut "let it die" at begginings of 2005. Playful and sexy. Somehow, I think this track is good for winter.

Andrew Bird - fake palindromes
Patrick Wolf - the libertine
Thee More Shallows - 2 am
Thee More Shallows - ave grave
Feist - mushaboom

Image by Fabio Zimbres.

22.11.05

Moka got mail

The Changes are a rock band from Chicago that sound very reminiscent to The Police with a great plus: bouncy keyboards and electronic drums. You should definitely check them out, they're playing at Rothko in NYC - dec 15 & dec 17 at the mercury lounge, and they're headlining two nights in chicago dec. 30 & 31 @ schubas, go check their space for further dates. I'm way south from NY or Chicago, but if you're around, here's a lil' something to help you make your mind:

The Changes - when I sleep
The Changes - when I wake

Gustav & the seasick sailors, are a band from Sweden which sound to me alot like early Wilco or even the Gin Blossoms but with a very melancholica-gypsy feel to it. Lead singer Gustav and the aptly named seasick sailors, released Vagabond's Polka at 2004 under Marylin Records and will be releasing a new LP, Sirkus, in March 2006. Here's "Nightlife" and "Seasons of guessing" from the afformentioned, Vagabond's Polka:

Gustav & the seasick sailors - Nightlife
Gustav & the seasick sailors - seasons of guessing

Venice is sinking (great name), are a five-piece from Athens, GA. With the simple aid of violin they create triumphant shimmering songs. Go to their space to sample more of their songs, from their split Ep: "What we do is secret".

Venice is sinking - Pulaski Heights

Folktronics 2

Laundry Room:
On the first post about folktronics, I recall writing about Four Tet and Greg Davis as emblematic artists of the genre but didn't actually linked to any songs from them, so here you go. Four tet's last album was a bit of a letdown for me, aside from "sun, drums and soil" the whole record is just another cute organic IDM album noone needs, I'm uploading my favorite song from him instead, slow jam from the beautiful "rounds". Errand boy is an artist whose specialty is to use copy-paste at his electronica and folk records (folktronics, yes?), the whole LP is free to download at radio free polygon. Ah, yes, thanks to Silent K for directing me to "Husky Rescue".

Cuando Kieran Hebden saco Rounds a finales del 2003 el mundo de la electronica habia cambiado de ser calculador y frio a organico y tibio. Four tet no fue el primero en provocar los cambios, pero, si fue quien los hizo evidentes, y esos vienen siendo los pioneros del genero. Que si la folk-tronica ya esta dando patadas de ahogada? Probablemente. Pero quedaron buenas rolas para el recuerdo. A prender velas.

Errand boy - x depends on y
Ogurusu Norihide - humour
Greg Davis - brocade
Husky Rescue - new light of tomorrow
Four Tet - slow jam

Image by Nina Frenkel.

20.11.05

Deep and Tender Sex 2

Bedroom Rockers:
Ya hacia tiempo que no subia canciones para el dormitorio, disculpenme los malcogidos. Aqui va una segunda entrega de sexo tierno y profundo y las respectivas canciones que te hacen sentir sexy sin importar lo rollizo que seas. Espero les sea de algun goce.

Spain - untitled #1
Hope Sandoval - on the low
Lamb - gorecki
The beatles - and I love her

19.11.05

Homelands

Laundry Room:
It's getting cold outside where I live. Both my hands and my feet get stiff in the morning (you wouldn't know how hard it's getting to write this down). I need a warm blanket. And I definitely need someone to snuggle up with. I'm hoping so much you're wide awake by now.

Jon Brion - strings that tie to you
Beulah - gravity's bringing us down
Sambassadeur - between the lines
Magnet - little miss or less
Psapp - Rear Moth
Destroyer - It's gonna take an airplane

Image from the ench gallery.

18.11.05

Porter

Porter hails from Guadalajara, one of 3 hot spots for music here in Mexico. Their sound is quite inconsitent and diverse, yet unique. This may explain the equally diverse musicians they've shared scenario with (Ian Brown, Incubus, Belanova, The Faint and The kills to name a few). There's an obvious britpop influence on their songs but they manage to sound convincing and original by throwing into the mix some latin rock roots at the same time. Daphne is one of my currently favorite songs from them, it's verses sung in agonizing english and it's hopeful chorus very reminiscent of La gusana ciega which is sung in spanish, of course. You can sample more of their songs at their space.

Los de Porter son de Guadalajara. Hace unos 2 o 3 fines de semana (las lineas del tiempo se han carcomido con mayor avidez en estos ultimos meses) conoci a Mussgo, vocalista de Porter que contiene el carisma de un Syd Barret y un poco del look del exageradamente teatral vocalista de Mars Volta. Su sonido, sin embargo y por fortuna, esta mas cercano al britpop y al rock latino de los 90's que al de los Volta. La lista de personajes con los que han compartido escenario es casi tan bipolar como su musica (Belanova, Zoe, Ely Guerra, Sussie 4, La gusana ciega) pero la calidad de las canciones hacen olvidar cualquier inconsistencia que pudiera presentarse. La cancion Daphne es la que mas me ha gustado de las que he escuchado y creo que hace gala del futuro que le espera a este quinteto de tapatios. Si quieren samplear otras rolas o saber si van a tocar en su ciudad proximamente (solo alrededor de Mexico) chequen el sitio oficial, en diciembre van a abrirle a Incubus en el DF para aquellos que les interese escucharlos en vivo pero no habian encontrado pretextos suficientes.

Porter - Daphne
Porter - Espiral

17.11.05

Electronic Software

Software and hardware have made it possible for just about anyone with enough time on their hands to create interesting electronical pieces. Here's some links to create electronic music by yourself. I haven't checked them indepth yet so I'm not sure how useful they really are. If any of our visitors knows about any other program that might serve this cause please comment. Maybe I'll upload some experiments of my own soon (as soon as I feel they deserve to see the light).

Audiomulch - It's freeware. As a plus, Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) uses it a lot.
Ableton live - This one is quite useful to create loops/effects.
Fruityloops - I think everyone knows this one already, you can use it to create drum patterns or melodies.

Olivier Alary from Ensemble recommends yet other 3 programs. He's the one who produced "desired constellation" from Bjork's Medulla. As you might expect this ones are used to create that minimalistic/fuzzy type of electronica.

MAX/MSP: http://www.cycling74.com/
SOUNDHACK: http://www.soundhack.com/
SUPERCOLLIDER www.audiosynth.com/index.html

I think I'll go ask Fernando Corona next and expect him not to answer me...

Okkervil River - black sheep boy

Don't believe the hype, Okkervil River are fairly good. That's all. I must confess: "For real" is one of the catchiest tracks I've heard this year, but I'm not sure if I'd place "black sheep boy" as one of my best 10 releases of 2005, let's wait and count how many music bloggers and alikes will pick it for their top 10. Uhum...anyways I was looking for the lyrics to "for real" around the web and it seems noone has transcribed them yet, so here you have them, they're probably wrong and incomplete so if you'd like to make a correction feel free to comment. Oh yes, I'm actually giving the temporary link to the whole album as an open dir, so catch it fast before someone sues me:

Okkervil River - for real
Some nights I thirst for real blood
for real knives, for real cries
And then the flash of steel from real guns
in real life really fills my mind
Then I really miss what really did exist
when I held your throat so tight
And I missed the bus, oh,
that swerved from us
and came crashing to its side.
Tonight's the blood from real cuts
feels real nice
when it's really mine
And if you want it to be real
Come over for one night
and we can really really climb
Those bluebridge lights
might really burn most bright
while we watch that dark lake rise
and if you really want to see
what really matters most to me
just take a real short drive.
It's just a drive into the dark stretch
long stretch of night
really stretch this shaking mind
And this room unlit, unheated
and the ceiling striped
and the dark black blinds
I want to know this time
If you're really finally mine
I need to know that you're not lying
so I want to see you tried
And I don't want to hear you say
it shouldn't really be this way
cause I like this way just fine
Cause there's nothing quite like
the blinding light when that curtain’s cast aside
and no attempt has been made
to explain the way
things really really really really really
are behind
You Can't Hide
You Can't Hide

Okkervil River - for real
Black Sheep Boy (Open Dir)

Another Announcement:
Last night an mp3 saved my wife have left the blog world. Along with the lovely Uncommon Folk, this is another mp3 blog that I catched a little late in it's lifespan but I quickly learned to love. Too sad, so sad they left us. Godspeed to the trio of bloggers involved in this project and sincere thanks from the motel. Regards.

16.11.05

I will surround you

Laundry Room:
The skyline was beautiful on fire, all twisted metal stretching upwards, everything washed in a thin orange haze.
I said: "kiss me, you're beautiful -these are truly the last days"
you grabbed my hand and we fell into it, like a daydream or a fever. We woke up one morning and fell a little further down-for sure it's the valley of death...I open up my wallet and it's full of blood.

Cerberus Shoal - omphalos
Clann Zu - there will be no morning copy
Seidenmatt - lucas
Liger - workin on lin
Explosions in the sky - memorial
A silver mt. zion -13 Angels Standing Guard 'round the Side of Your Bed

La imagen es de William Schaff, ilustrador que ha colaborado con Gybe! para la portada del disco "lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven."

15.11.05

Britannica

Laundry Room:
Anglofilia - Desorden mental que deriva en una obsesion simpatizante hacia Inglaterra y se ha observado que puede llegar al punto idiota y compulsivo de creerla la madre patria. Los que la padecen beben te en vez de cafe y la BBC es su fuente primaria de noticia. Tambien se puede notar que deletrean las palabras "favourite" y "colour" en la variante Inglesa. La precipitaciones extremas en el clima en realidad los hacen sentirse menos deprimidos.
Su fetichismo se extiende al gusto musical y estadisticamente la anglofilia encuentra su manifestacion mas difundida en un amor por la musica britanica.
Hola mi verdadero nombre es *, tengo 19 y he tenido anglofilia desde que mi padre me la contagio con la llamada "Beatlemania" cuando yo tenia 14 y mas tarde se reafirmo cuando escuche Meedle y Ok computer a los 16. Ahora que lo saben, may I inquire discreetly, escribanlo en un papelito y escondanselo bajo la lengua.

The smiths - please let me get what I want
Tindersticks - until the morning comes
The Stone Roses - I wanna be adored
Elbow - don't mix your drinks
Pink Floyd - san tropez
Radiohead - let down

Image by English painter, L.S. Lowry.

14.11.05

Water + pig blood

Laundry room:
Mientras tengamos una gota de semen y una copa de vino seguiremos viendo los caballos verdes que otros no ven.

Califone - bottles and bones
Death Cab for Cutie - a lack of color
Sparklehorse - shade and honey
Six Organs of Admittance - lisboa
Sufjan Stevens - Romulus
Iron and wine - the trapeze swinger
Cat Power - the Greatest

Image credit: Schokko by Alexei von Jawlensky

9.11.05

Dope Beat

Laundry Room:
I want the world set on fire.

Mano Negra - long long nite
Noir Desir - le vent nous portera
Mano Negra - la mentira
Augustus Pablo - east of river nile
Paavoharju - musta katu

La pintura es de Paul Klee y se titula "Principe Negro".

Quick Announcement:
I received an e-mail from John Reineck asking me to promote the release of the new Soft single, higher. If you like what you're hearing go to Insound to buy (currently the EP reaches #5 top seller). They sound similar to "The Stone Roses", which is very good. Great tune from this band from NYC.

Soft - Higher

8.11.05

Vanishing Herds

Elevator Beat:
Today's playlist features some ambient-y tracks I've enjoyed lately, most of the stuff is old (2-3 years). Deathprod's "morals and dogma" is a nice dark ambient cd, the best song might be "dead people's things but it's too big (almost 20 min) to host it with free uploaders. Chin Chin is beautiful, listen it if you haven't. I'll start hosting directly in a few weeks, promise and the image of the day comes from french artist, Marie Laurencin, and it's called "portrait of Apollinaire".

Hace unos 13 meses la musica que calmaba mis bestias era la ambiental. Por estas fechas fui al rancho de burro, me quedaba a dormir y no llevaba mucho; el respectivo disco, 60 bulbos de tulipan, un cepillo de dientes y un cinturon de castidad. Al dia siguiente me levante entre pre-crudos y con la intencion de irme mas temprano, comenze a limpiar lo que dejo la galena de la noche pasada. Mientras lo hacia puse el disco.
El segundo en levantarse fue burro, ya la cruda lo habia alcanzado. El primer paraguas fue Ygdrasil - me dijo - desde entonces se han descubierto 72 tipos de paraguas, se han inventado 104 y clasificado 208, aparte de der canonizados 5. Cai en un profundo sopor.
"Que opinas de la musica?" le pregunte, pues soy de caracter pismatico, Burro escucho con atencion los 30 segundos regulacionales de un "preview". Me miro, tomo una escoba y comenzo a barrer, "Pues la neta me gustaba mas cuando escuchabas Trip-hop".

Biosphere - en trance
Casino vs Japan - aquarium
Chin Chin - shallow dive
Efterklang - red drop
Do make say think - chinatown
Deathprod - orgone donor

La pintura es de Marie Laurencin y se titula "Retrato de Apollinaire".

3.11.05

Peligroso Pop 2

Laundry Room:
Ya aclarada la sexualidad dudosa de Miranda y de los llamados "Scissor Sisters"(los cuales si eran gays, despues de todo), aun persiste una duda de categoria lumpen, bastante molesta: Quien diablos es Jolette?.
Considerando que el vocalista de Xiu Xiu tambien es gay, parece que los unicos haciendo musica pop interesante se pasaron de bando. Hablando de eso, les habia contado que este blog esta categorizado bajo las etiquetas "gay/lesbian" y "music"? No se si tenga algo que ver con el hecho de que escribo gay 4 veces en un mismo post...

Xiu Xiu - clowne towne
Stars - set yourself on fire
Architecture in helsinki - do the whirlwind
Scissor sisters - take your mama out
Ladytron - destroy everything you touch
Telepopmusik - breathe

La imagen es de Jose Quintero, mejor conocido como el creador de la finisecular Buba.

Front Desk Announcement - 04

I've been thinking it might be a good idea to start writing this blog in spanish. Yes, Starting today, November 3, "Motel de Moka" will be written in Spanish. Well, maybe in "chicano" fashion, the titles and subtitles (laundry room, bedroom rockers and elevator beat) will remain in English. If there's something important to say about the links I'll write it in both languages, and maybe I'll add some brief descriptions about the music... I don't know... this is a test, if it doesn't work this way, everything will be back to normal by beginning of December.
The most important thing on an mp3 blog is the music, anyways.

A partir de hoy, el "Motel de Moka" sera escrito en espanol mal redactado, puedo enlistar dos razones principales: mi dominio del ingles es primitivo y la mayor parte de los que entran al blog son de habla hispana.
Esto se mantendra como una prueba. Si no funciona del todo bien a principios de Diciembre lo volvere a escribir en ingles.
Digo mal redactado porque blogger es de origen gringo y no permite el uso ni de acentos ni de eñes <--ven lo que sucede. Ademas de que el que redacta esto es un idiota.