A Trip to Laneway 2012

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]Dalam dunia festival musik, St. Jerome's Laneway Festival (or simply called Laneway Festival) termasuk salah satu festival musik yang underrated. Selain karena tergolong baru (festival ini pertama kali dicetuskan tahun 2004, dan baru mulai menjadi festival tur mengelilingi Australia tahun 2008), lineup yang tergolong 'biasa saja' di mata orang-orang awam membuat festival ini dianggap sebelah mata oleh sebagian besar penikmat musik, terutama di Australia.

Walaupun masih muda dan underrated, Laneway Festival secara perlahan mulai membuktikan diri sebagai salah satu festival yang patut diperhitungkan. Terbukti dari lineup tahun ini yang berisi M83, Feist, Toro Y Moi, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Drums, dan banyak lagi. Lineup Laneway memang bukanlah mereka yang selalu mencatatkan namanya dalam Top 200 Billboard Albums Charts, tapi paling tidak mereka diakui oleh berbagai media musik ternama dari Pitchfork, NME, hingga Rolling Stone.

Jujur saja, saya pribadi baru mengenal festival ini tahun 2011 lalu ketika festival ini menambahkan SIngapore dalam jadwal tur mereka. Ketika akhirnya saya mendapat kesempatan untuk menonton festival ini di kota tempat di mana festival ini bermula, saya tidak menyia-nyiakannya.

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Laneway Festival di kota Melbourne ini diadakan di venue Footscray Community Arts Centre. Venue ini sendiri sejujurnya bukanlah venue yang cukup layak untuk sebuah festival, tapi lebih baik daripada tidak sama sekali.

Di Laneway Festival untuk Australia dan New Zealand, ada tiga buah stage plus satu stage khusus DJ Set. Khusus Singapore, stage hanya akan ada dua buah.

Ada beberapa act yang sudah menjadi incaran saya dan wajib hukumnya bagi saya untuk menonton mereka, yaitu The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Girls, Cults, Feist, Yuck, The Horrors, The Drums, dan M83. Sayang karena jadwal yang bertabrakan saya tidak sempat menonton Cults, Yuck, The Horrors, dan M83 hingga selesai. Selain semua act yang disebutkan di atas, saya sempat menonton band-band lokal semacam Husky dan DZ Deathrays dan band internasional lain seperti Portugal. The Man dan Austra.

Secara penampilan dan kualitas sound, saya harus memuji para performers yang mendapat jatah tampil di Dean Turner stage. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Feist, The Horrors, dan M83 masuk ke dalam kategori ini. Sound yang dihasilkan mereka di stage utama ini sangatlah menyenangkan untuk didengarkan dan tidak mengganggu dan penampilan mereka juga sangat tidak mengecewakan.

Berbeda nasibnya dengan performers yang tampil di dua stage lainnya, The Windish Agency Stage dan Young Turks & EYOE Stage, karena sound yang dihasilkan dua panggung ini sangat mengurangi kenyamanan menonton band-band yang beraksi di dua stage tersebut. Sebut saja Cults, Girls, dan The Drums di mana sound terdengar kasar dan sangat tidka nyaman didengarkan. Walaupun The Drums dan Girls tampil sangat atraktif, kesenangan itu berkurang ketika harus mendengarkan sound kasar yang dihasilkan sound system panggung mereka.

Terlepas dari beberapa antiklimaks yang terjadi karena perbedaan kualitas sound di panggung yang berbeda, Laneway Festival adalah festival yang menyenangkan. Kelanjutan festival ini tahun depan akan sangat dinanti, tentu saja dengan harapan festival ini berkembang lebih baik lagi dibandingkan tahun ini.

Enter Shikari - A Flash Flood of Colour [review]

I don't really like Enter Shikari's previous two albums. Walaupun mereka terbukti sebagai salah satu band yang sukses mengawinkan musik hardcore dengan elektronik (yang kini dipopulerkan oleh Skrillex dengan nama 'dubstep'), dua album pertama mereka bagi saya tidak terlalu memuaskan.

Then came this third album from the St.Albans quartet.

Pertama kali mendengarkannya, album ini terasa lebih penuh kemarahan tapi di saat yang sama terdengar lebih cantik di telinga.

Keunggulan album ini yang pertama adalah di sound dubstep, electronic, atau apapun sebutannya yang mampu berbagi porsi dengan tepat dengan riff gitar yang rough dan sangat berpotensi untuk headbanging seperti yang dicontohkan di single pertama album ini 'Sssnakepit'.

Kedua, kemuakan Rou Reynolds kepada kondisi dunia ini tersalurkan dengan baik lewat lirik politis yang sangat lugas. 'Arguing With Thermometers' mengambil tema global-warming dan kebergantungan dunia kepada minyak, di'Stalemate' Rou mengarahkan kemarahannya pada negara-negara yang pergi berperang ("Today's wars make trillionaires out of billionaires. Tommorow's wars will fuel generations of hate"), dan dilanjutkan kepada sebuah monolog epik berdurasi 4 menit 26 detik di 'Gandhi Mate, Gandhi' tentang kemuakan mereka tentang sistem politik dan ekonomi di dunia ini.

Album ini brutal dan penuh warna and also very catchy. Kurang lebih album ini adalah pembuktian Enter Shikari bahwa mereka pantas menjadi salah satu Best British Band masa kini. Dan jangan bandingkan musik mereka dengan mimpi buruk yang dihasilkan Korn di album 'Path of Totality', 'A Flash Flood of Colour' berada beberapa level di atas album Korn tersebut.

Swim Into the Depths of Frank Ocean's Mind

Frank Ocean adalah sebuah anomali. Di saat rekan-rekannya di dalam grup hip-hop kolektif Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All sibuk bereksperimen dengan beat-beat alternative hip-hop dan menyalurkan emosi dan ide gila Tyler, The Creator, Frank justru mengambil arah yang berbeda.

Frank mengambil aliran contemporary R&B dan soul sebagai haluannya dalam bermusik. Tidak heran kalau dia sering tidak dianggap sebagai anggota OFWGKTA.

 

Album pertama Frank berupa sebuah mixtape: 'Nostalgia, Ultra'. Mixtape ini diisi oleh beberapa lagu menggunakan sampling beberapa band ternama semacam Coldplay, Eagles, hingga Radiohead.

Seorang kawan menyebut lagu Frank Ocean sebagai lagu galau bermartabat. Saya pun setuju. Dengan menyimak 'Novacane' dan 'Swim Good', dua lagu paling handal di mixtape ini, seakan-akan menyelami dunia pikiran Frank dan kasus patah hati yang tidak kalah dengan patah hati yang dimiliki Adele.

Bagi saya pribadi, Frank Ocean adalah semacam conter bagi Adele. Siapa bilang laki-laki tidak boleh patah hati akut?

Swim Into the Depths of Frank Ocean's Mind

Frank Ocean adalah sebuah anomali. Di saat rekan-rekannya di dalam grup hip-hop kolektif Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All sibuk bereksperimen dengan beat-beat alternative hip-hop dan menyalurkan emosi dan ide gila Tyler, The Creator, Frank justru mengambil arah yang berbeda.

Frank mengambil aliran contemporary R&B dan soul sebagai haluannya dalam bermusik. Tidak heran kalau dia sering tidak dianggap sebagai anggota OFWGKTA.

 

Album pertama Frank berupa sebuah mixtape: 'Nostalgia, Ultra'. Mixtape ini diisi oleh beberapa lagu menggunakan sampling beberapa band ternama semacam Coldplay, Eagles, hingga Radiohead.

Seorang kawan menyebut lagu Frank Ocean sebagai lagu galau bermartabat. Saya pun setuju. Dengan menyimak 'Novacane' dan 'Swim Good', dua lagu paling handal di mixtape ini, seakan-akan menyelami dunia pikiran Frank dan kasus patah hati yang tidak kalah dengan patah hati yang dimiliki Adele.

Bagi saya pribadi, Frank Ocean adalah semacam conter bagi Adele. Siapa bilang laki-laki tidak boleh patah hati akut?

SHERLOCK -- It's Just Too Elementary

Sudah banyak serial televisi yang mengangkat tema detektif dan kriminal yang bersliweran di layar kaca. Dari CSI, NCIS, Dexter, dan banyak lagi.

Sayangnya serial-serial tersebut sukses membuat saya mati bosan, kecuali Dexter yang terlalu gory sehingga saya hilang selera.

Di tengah-tengah kejenuhan tersebut, seseorang memperkenalkan saya kepada serial Sherlock yang pada awal 2012 ini memasuki season kedua. The first thing in my mind is the movie Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie. Turns out, it's not the movie, but a TV show.

Karya agung Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ini memang sudah banyak diadaptasi ke dalam berbagai macam film dan beberapa TV series. Tentu saja membuat saya berpikir, apa beda Sherlock ini dengan Sherlock Holmes yang lain yang membuat orang tergila-gila?

TV series SHERLOCK kali ini menggunakan pendekatan modern dan dengan setting di masa kini, tapi beroperasi di tempat ciri khas Sherlock yaitu Baker Street.

Yang saya suka dari serial Sherlock ini adalah penulisan script yang 'witty' khas serial TV UK, I was hooked in the first 10 minutes of the first episode. Penonton secara tidak langsung diajak berpikir bersama Sherlock dalam memecahkan kasus demi kasus. Penulis pun dengan pintar memasukkan twist-twist yang kadang tidak terduga di saat yang tepat.

Sherlock, sama seperti dengan di film Guy Ritchie, masih digambarkan seperti sosok yang cenderung anti-sosial, snob, annoying, dan mudah bosan. Dan Watson pun masih digambarkan sebagai satu-satunya orang yang bisa mengembalikan Sherlock ke jalur yang benar.

Sulit untuk membandingkan serial Sherlock ini dengan film Sherlok Holmes karya Guy RItchie karena keduanya menggunakan pendekatan berbeda. But I have to say that Benedict Cumberbatch is a better Sherlock than Robert Downey Jr.

Well, care too watch?

My List: Best 30 Albums of 2011

Another compulsory annual list

Previously, I listed my 50 best songs of 2011, now it is time for best albums of 2011

Last year I put 25 for the list of best albums, now I add 5 more anf make it 30. Despite 5 additional spots, there are still so many good albums this year that confused me which ones are the best of the best.

This list is not in a particular order, it's a random one since I love them all.

Okay, here goes the list:

Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See

After the dark sounding 'Humbug' album, the Monkeys finally return to their original sound in 'Suck It and See'. This is a particularly light album yet beautifully crafted by Alex Turner. The lyrics may sound absurd, yet it also makes sense since this is Arctic Monkeys we're talking about.

Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

Dave Grohl dives back into the past with this album; Recording with analog tape, with Butch Vig as the producer, and also joined by Krist Novoselic playing the bass in one of the tracks.

This is the best album the Foos have made after the first two albums. Combining three guitars riff blasting  throughout the album, the sound is almost as close as it can be to the grunge era in the 90s. And with this album, the Foos have proved themselves worthy as one of the best rock bands in the history of rock.

The Strokes - Angles

We all remember how The Strokes burst into the scene with one of the most memorable indie albums, 'Is This It', 10 years ago. After a few years of hiatus, they come back with an album that comes the closest to the glory of 'Is This It'. A lot of people may disagree, but this album is a good effort by Julian Casblancas and the others to return to the scene and go back to their basic sound.

M83 - Hurry Up We're Dreaming

A magical album. Anthony Gonzalez brings us to the dreamland with this album. 'Midnight City' sounds sexy and smooth, and brings saxophone to another level of awesomeness.

The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?

Here goes another saviour of guitar music hailing from UK. The Vaccines' debut album proves that guitar music is not dead yet.

Listening to this album is a personal guilty pleasure. With a song like 'Post Break-up Sex', why not?

Friendly Fires - Pala

When James Murphy announced that LCD Soundsystem quits for good, I'm worried that I will never find another artist that as perfect as LCD Soundsystem in doing dance-punk. But, Friendly Fires erased that anxiety from me. This second album from them proves that they are worth to tear the dance floor with danceable and memorable songs such as 'Hurting' and 'Hawaiian Air'

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

If I were to name my most favorite album of this list, this album would come up on first place. This second album from Justin Vernon gives us a heavenly soft-rock - folk sound which delivers heaven right to our ears.

Battles - Gloss Drop

'Experimental, noisy, and crazy' are the impressions I received after listening to this album. This album is like a physics and mathematical formula. You need to put an effort in understanding this album which is mostly composed of instrumental songs. But the effort is just worth it, and this album is worth to be one of the best of 2011

City and Colour - Little Hell

This Dallas Green's 3rd solo album is another album filled with heavenly folk-acoustic songs that deliver heaven right to your ears

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

A monumental folkrock album. Robin Pecknold and his folks deliver us a harmony of their instruments in each song in this album.

You might imagine yourself laying down by the lake when listening to this album.

Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Radiohead takes a detour with this album and take us to their most experimental efforts ever made. Filled with electronics and digital percussions, this may sound weird if you're expecting such a grand album like 'Kid A' or 'OK Computer'. But this album is still as ambitous as ever, just like what Radiohead always do.

Noah & the Whale - Last Night on Earth

This album is as bright and cheerful as it can be. And like my friend suggested, who is crazy on remix, is a perfectly remixable material

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

This Samuel Beam's fourth album is another perfect folk-acoustic album. Another heavenly tunes delivered to ears.

The Horrors - Skying

The Horrors succesfully haunts me with this album. The beautiful synthesizers, keyboards, and the groovy bass line are the main components to this album. This album take their previous album, 'Primary Colours', to a whole new level.

Mastodon - The Hunter

Brutal and ruthless. This is one killer album. Brann Dailor kicks the whole album with his brutal but perfect drumming, while Kelliher and Hinds compliment it with their heavy riffs perfect guitar melodies.

Machine Head - Unto the Locust

Another brutal and perfectly crafted metal album. The riffs and guitar solos are perfect. It's almost like Robb Flynn unleashed his creative potential in this album.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

The sweetest album of this year. Kip berman sang with a smooth voice accompanied with hard riffing from his guitar and perfected by Peggy Wang's sweet keyboard sounds.

Feist - Metals

Leslie Feist returns with an album that is somehow filled with her anxiety. I love the grand and subtle electric guitar in this album.

Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Not the best album they've ever made, but with songs as grand as 'Paradise' and 'Charlie Brown', who could complain? This one is a fun album and worth to listen to.

Kasabian - Velociraptor!

Another album with an expermental sound. The synthesizers in this album is as psychedelic as it can be. Try listening to 'Switchblade Smiles', the most psychedelic song in this album.

Cults - Cults

A sweet debut by this indie-pop duo. An album filled with jangling pop songs and as carefree as it can be.

Adele - 21

This is no doubt one of the best of this year. God bless whoever broke Adele's heart. A broken heart album and Adele's soulful vocal is a perfect match.

Yuck - Yuck

This is another perfect debut album by these indie-rockers. With rough riffs and lo-fi sounds, they make this album a perfect noise-rock album.

TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

A perfect collaboration of Dave Sitek's trippy production and the soulful vocals of Tunde Adebimpe

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

Lykke Li steps up further with this artful pop album, which could crown her the princess of indie pop

Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix

A calming album with nice subtle guitar sounds. Though the lead single 'Shuffle' stands out from the rest of the songs in this album, this is still a nice album.

The Black Keys - El Camino

A continuance from their previous album 'Brothers'. The duo accompanied again by the producer Danger Mouse made this album even better than the 'Brothers'. The fuzzy-bluesy guitar riffs from Dan Auerbach, the killer grooves by Patrick Carney, complimented perfectly by the keyboard sounds and the bass lines. It's as rough and raunchy as blues can get.

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Collaborating indie-pop sounds with distorting psychedelic guitar sounds is very unlikely. But Christopher Owens and Chet White made it perfectly possible in this album.

Noel Gallagher'sHigh Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

It seems Noel can't get the past glory of Oasis behind him. Although this album sounds nowhere near Oasis, it is as grand as Oasis'.

Foster the People - Torches

The hottest new band around with an album that brings hipster electronic pop sounds into the mainstream. This debut album succesfully brings them to the mainstream world, a fun album and one that can easily lift your mood up

My List: 50 Best Songs of 2011

It's another end of the year.

Looking back at the year of 2010, there were a lot of great musics producd, and then it's passed down to the year 2011.

There are absolutely a lot of good musics in 2011, along with so many debutants who released their debut singles/albums this year.

Last year I also made the same list of the best songs here

And as a tradition, I also created a new one which is now consisted of the 50 best songs of 2011. Here goes the list:

 

1. Adele - Someone Like You

2. Foo Fighters - Rope

3. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks

4. The Vaccines - Post Break-up Sex

5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie

6. The Pains of Being Pure at Hear - Heart in Your Heartbreak

7. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - The Death of You and Me

8. Coldplay - Paradise

9. Girls - Honey Bunny

10. Lykke Li - Love Out of Lust

11. Bon Iver - Calgary

12. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

13. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

14. TV on the Radio - Will Do

15. Radiohead - Lotus Flower

16. Little Dragon - Ritual Union

17. Battles - Ice Cream feat. Matias Aguayo

18. Florence + the Machine - Shake it Out

19. Yuck - Get Away

20. CUlts - Go Outside

21. M83 - Midnight CIty

22. Arctic Monkeys - The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala

23. Beirut - East Harlem

24. Bombay Bicycle Club - Shuffle

25. Cage the Elephant - Aberdeen

26. City and Colour - Natural Disaster

27. Cut Copy - Need You Now

28. Death Cab for Cutie - You are a Tourist

29. The Drums - Money

30. Feist - How Come You Never Go There

31. Friendly Fires - Live Those Days Tonight

32. The Horros - Still Life

33. Iron & Wine - Walking Far from Home

34. Kasabian - Switchblade Smiles

35. Mastodon - Curl of the Burl

36. Neon Indian - Polish Girl

37. Noah and the Whale - L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N

38. Toro Y Moi - New Beat

39. Opeth - The Devil's Orchard

40. SBTRKT - Wildfire with Yukimi Nagano

41. Architecture in Helsinki - Escapee

42. blink-182 - Up All Night

43. The Strokes - Undercover of Darkness

44. Lana del Rey - Video Games

45. Gotye - Somebody That I Used to Know feat. Kimbra

46. Justice - Civilization

47. Real Estate - It's Real

48. Machine Head - Unto the Locust

49. Metronomy - The Bay

50. Explosions in the Sky - Last Known Surroundings

 

For a gift, I put half of my list here in a mixtape on 8tracks http://8tracks.com/rafdi/remembering-2011

Hopefully 2012 will bring us more great music