Takka Takka's new record is called Migration. It will be released on July 29, 2008. It was lovingly produced by Sean Greenhalgh of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah drumming fame. It was recorded in Brooklyn and features performances by Bryan Devendorf of The National, Lee Sargent of CYHSY, Olga Bell of Bell, and Charles Burst.
Some words about Migration By Alec Hanley Bemis
I listened to this album once out of obligation because Takka Takka are my friends, but found myself re-listening to it many times because it was pleasurable to do so.
The band didn't provide me with any names for the songs, and it's a record that works really well that way. It plays less like a series of songs than one big idea with one pulsing rhythm. There are no singles; rather it strikes me as one long thought cut into twelve individual sections. Maybe music is better that way? Maybe any music that aspires to the condition of namelessness -- that works at one idea so relentlessly -- is the only music that truly deserves the name.
The album is called Migration and I've come up with a notion about where that migration might be taking us. To me, this band are part of the wave of emerging young musicians who have been pulling in ideas from world music, but without adopting the colonizer perspective which previous generations of Western artists brought to such borrowings.
Now, don't get me wrong here. Among that older generation of musicians/colonizers are some of my favorite artists: David Byrne, Paul Simon, Joe Strummer. But it's hard to argue that these artist weren't engaged in a kind of creative theft (or at least creative misappropriation) when they jammed out with collaborators from South America, South Africa, the Caribbean, et al.
This new wave of musicians – Takka Takka included – have brought to the table an egalitarian respect for their sources, be it obscure underground rock bands like The Feelies, composer Philip Glass, or the tradition of Balinese Gamelan. It doesn't sound like Caucasians from the West raiding the world for influence; it sounds like Caucasians from the West realizing we don't own this planet but are along for the ride just like everybody else.
Living amongst the immense musical talent in a city like Chicago is eternally inspiring. But standing apart from the crowd can be a never‐ending challenge. So Canasta came together in early 2002 when six friends joined forces and augmented the standard rock set‐up with piano, violin, keyboard and trombone, in an effort to craft a more ambitious strain of majestic, ultra‐melodic, orchestral pop. Canasta songs are nothing if not eclectic; you’ll hear everything from bouncy, horn‐driven ditties to epic, sweeping anthems and slow, country‐tinged narratives to instrumental post‐rock. But what’s constant is an emphasis on sophisticated songwriting, dramatic dynamics and meticulous orchestration that has won them comparisons to Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists, The Delgados, The Sea and Cake, Wilco and Yo La Tengo. [Read More...]
Stop in for our weekend brunch
New Orleans-style beignettes, buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy, omelettes, Chilaquiles and Migas. Saturday and Sunday beginning at 9 a.m.
Eef Barzelay indulges our questions regarding his new album ''Lose Big'', the state of Clem Snide (SPOILER ALERT: Status Not Good), his friendship with Ben Folds, channeling characters through song, and German Hip-Hop artists wearing shiny masks. [View Full Size] Other items Alice Russell Fink Langhorne Slim
