Category Archives: World Music
Casiokids, Live @ Kung Fu Necktie
Posted by cthomas81 in Electronic, Synth Pop, World Music
Casiokids, Casiokids Band, concert video, electronic music, indie music, kung fu necktie, live music, live philly concerts, Norwegian, polyvinyl, R5 Productions
The Casiokids of Bergen, Norway were at Kung Fu Necktie in Philly on October 18th and we feel very sorry for those who missed this exciting performance. Boasting 6 members on this night, the core group of Ketil Kinden Endresen, Fredrik Øgreid Vogsborg, Omar Johnsen and Kjetil Bjøreid Aabø blew us away with their delectable synth pop sound. Though the songs weren't in English, we all understood what we were hearing – a sound that has truly gotten tighter and tighter in it's evolution since 2005 and one which permeates the soul with electric precision.
Playing mostly tracks off their new album, Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen, Casiokids made many new fans on this evening. We were fortunate enough to get a copy of the album digitally beforehand as it was just released this month in North America so we were very excited at what we might hear. This new collection of songs was written in conjunction with each other making it the most cohesive album yet. Hearing it come to life was truly an honor.
A little background on their new album title comes courtesy of their website. We loved this explanation:
Why was "Aabenbaringen over aaskammen" chosen as the album title?
The song themes and sounds on the album are shaped around and inspired by the story of adventurer Dr. Tarzan Monsoon, and his discovery of a hidden rainforest. 'Aabenbaringen' translates to 'the revelation', and 'over aaskammen' as 'over the mountain', something that appears from over the mountain top. Two of the words are written in old Danish-Norwegian with the double A, instead of the more common modern-Norwegian Å, and a 'B' to replace the more modern-Norwegian 'P' in 'aabenbaringen'. This gives the title a hint of being older, in Norwegian grammatical terms, 100 years or so.
The show and the story of adventurer Dr. Tarzan Monsoon was immense fun and the Casiokid sound made dancing irresistible. The multi-talented band would switch off instrumentation duties culminating in a full scale switch finale wherein everyone changes instruments and jammed out (video to follow).
We hope that these Norwegians will return to the city of brotherly love soon as sounds like theirs seldom pass through. Casiokids played this final night in the states (outside of New York CMJ performances) and will next head to Japan for their first tour in that country ever. We hope you enjoy some video from the evening:
Alexico, Live @ FUC
Posted by cthomas81 in Electronic, Indie, World Music
alexico, concert video, electronic music, fuc, indie music, live music, live philly concerts, unsigned artist, world music
"Hi. I'm Alexico from Mexico." With that we knew we were in for something special.
Alexico, hailing from Monterrey, Mexico, began his set as a one man wonder-show playing the keyboard, guitar, singing, and working the pedals. His enthusiasm was contagious and won the sluggish crowd over quickly. Singing in Spanish, Alexico's sound was multi-lingual and easily interpretable even to those who don't know the language. As his act progressed, members of Starfucker (for whom he was opening) came on stage to lend backing guitar and drums. The sound coming from Alexico at this point was contagious and everyone in the audience had caught it. Culminating with a final member, Chance on bass, Alexico closed out to great applause and recognition of the diversity his act brought. Keys, guitars, vocals all combined to bring home a solid performance on September 14th at the First Unitarian Church in Philly. I could not more strongly encourage you to catch Alexico while he is still on tour in the states.
Alexico made one final appearance during the Starfucker encore in which he came on stage, picked up a drum near his size and crowd surfed with it tucked tight against his body. Truly a sight to behold! We have included a video of this stunt below so that you can. We wouldn't tell you about it and not show it, would we?