STACK #151 May 2017

MUSIC NEWS

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imagine the narrative arc of the tracklist to go? I love albums. I love the

recorded almost everything at a studio, but a couple things (like that piano) were recorded at home and mixed in later. A few years ago you encouraged ‘listening experiments’ with the last album; one person tweeted about seeing how it synched up as he/she drove down the 710 freeway.What experiments would you like to see happen with this record? As a matter of fact I've come prepared with some suggestions of possible ways to listen to this album: 1) Turn down the lights, fire up a doobie, and get into this album. 2) Drive out on a desert road in the dead of night, roll down the windows, turn the heater on juuust enough, and blast this album. 3) Repeat option #2 but along a coastal highway instead. 4) Get some headphones on and suspiciously stake out a bank (please don't actually commit crimes) 5) Have a special somebody over, light some candles, pour a couple glasses of red, put this album on and see where the evening goes. 6) Put this album on, mute your TV and watch the Planet Earth series. 7) Put this album on and think of things to do while listening to this album. ZKR

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experience of listening to an entire album from

start to finish, much like reading a book or watching a film. I love how one song can shape another by context, or how you can create or find a story within the album. So when given a chance to make an album myself I decided I'd try to facilitate that experience as best I could. Connecting songs and having themes reoccur throughout the album help (in my mind) to make it more of a

L.A. TAKEDOWN Aaron Olson, the man behind eclectic and magnetic instrumental group L.A.Takedown, answers our keen questions about new album II .

Do you think of LA as its own character on this album, or within your life? I think one can't help but be influenced by their environment, so in that sense absolutely. Otherwise I think the album and band is more influenced by the products of Los Angeles -- the films, images, sounds; mostly works of fiction that come from Los Angeles. Apparently you and the band watched Columbo in the studio in between recording or writing. How did he become a part of the II world? My wife and I are huge Columbo fans and we can't help but spread the Columbo gospel, so when it came time to record

(and knowing how much down time there is in the

recording process) I brought out my complete Columbo box set and we just jumped right in. I think the band took to him well. It's hard to say how Columbo has influenced our sound... Maybe I'm trying to achieve something musically Columbo -esque with the music of L.A. Takedown? Build suspense and mystery, tell a little story with some

listening experience from which listeners can create their own stories, draw their own images and so on. On Bad Night At Black’s Beach , it sounds as if there’s a proper, real, old piano in there – an ancient honky-type one.Where did it come from? That's my piano at

interesting characters and neatly tie it up with a nice resolution. Formula that works every time. Some songs meld into each other, some fade out completely. Does that reflect how you

home! It's not totally in tune, so it has that saloon quality to it. It appears on a handful of songs throughout the album. I'm glad it stood out a little to you! We

II by L.A. Takedown is out May 12 via Domino.

Read the full interview online at stack.net.au

PAUL WELLER O ver his last two albums, Paul Weller has absorbed – and indeed mastered – a plethora of divergent musical influences and styles. On A Kind Revolution , Weller’s unceasing musical edification continues unimpeded. The songs here are a disparate collection. Nova Words Paul Jones

DIANA KRALL

F ull of joy, free-spirited hope and vivid love, Turn Up The Quiet is the latest masterpiece from jazz pianist Diana Krall. For this album, she assembled three highly accomplished bands, which include the talents of drummer (and hip hop producer) Karriem Riggins, Grammy Award-winning violinist Stuart Duncan (Nashville Bluegrass Band), and Grammy Award- winning bassist John Clayton Jr. (Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones). "I have thought about these songs for a long time,” Krall said of the release. “Being in the company of some of my greatest friends in music allowed me to tell these stories just as I'd intended. Sometimes you just have to turn up the quiet to be heard a little better." ZKR

tethers Split Enz’s stark synth and the quite brilliant Long, Long Road taps deeply into reflective Northern Soul. The Cranes Are Back proffers a beautifully crafted late night soul melody, while the smooth delay-driven One Tear features Boy George on vocals. The final track, The Impossible Idea , wouldn’t feel out of place on a Doves record and provides the perfect closer. From a musician whose creativity and artistic capacity improves with every passing year, A Kind Revolution is yet another accomplished step in Weller’s enduring career.

Turn Up The Quiet by Diana Krall is out May 5 via Verve/ Universal.

A Kind Revolution by Paul Weller is out May 12 via Warner.

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