Archive for December, 2007

Roots Of Orchis

I discovered Led Zeppelin when I was 12 years old. My dad bought me the Physical Graffiti album for my birthday and told me to put it on the stereo as loud as it would go. The sound almost blew my brain out the back of my head. The music literally blew my mind. The drums were massive and the guitars sounded like they were trying to claw their way out of the speakers. The next day I invited all my friends over to listen to my awesome “new” CD. Within weeks we had ditched our 2 Live Crew albums, grown out our hair, and started a band in the garage.

Of course, I didn’t discover Led Zeppelin at all. Physical Graffiti came out before I was born, and by the time I first heard it, millions of people had already gotten high, had sex, worked on their Camaros, tuned in, and rocked out to it. Still, when I played it for my friends that day, it was new to all of us. We reveled in the shared experience of the first time, and that one album served as a catalyst for many music and lifestyle decisions in the years to come (to think, I might have missed grunge completely…). Maybe my dad somehow knew this. Maybe it’s the kind of thing all dads inherently know - along with how to change their own oil or how to light a BBQ using three cans of lighter fluid without setting the backyard on fire. Either way I’m going to follow pop’s lead and play you something a little older. They’re not Led Zeppelin, but they might just be new to you.

Roots Of Orchis started off in San Diego before making their way up to San Francisco. Along the way they took trip-hop, post-rock, and a few other mutated genres and turned them into their own sound. The band suffers from Modern Struggling Independent Musician Syndrome, which means they all have real jobs and responsibilities and stuff. As such, they haven’t released a new record in almost four years. However, they claim to have a new album recorded and ready to release early next year. So, in order to get you excited about that, we’re posting a couple of their older tracks for you to share with your friends. Like dad says, everything old is new again.

MP3 'Roll The Dice Man, Baby Needs A New Ellipsis'

MP3 'Woke Up Dead In The Morning'

San Francisco, electronica, hip-hop, post-rock, trip-hop | 7.12.2007 20:38 | No Comments

Trost

We had, like, five different circuitous intros for this post. However, our editors determined that all of them would have been offensive to somebody somewhere. Apparently Germans, homosexuals, river trolls, priests, and deranged surgeons all have one thing in common: no sense of humor. Oh well. Your loss.

Instead, we’ll just give it to you straight (sorry homos!). Trost is the surname of one Annika Line from Berlin, Germany. It is also the name of her new musical project. She used to be in a band called Cobra Killer. Thurston Moore thought Cobra Killer was the bomb. Truth be told, they weren’t as good as Trost’s new solo project, which combines electronic production, older R&B, and a creepy Tom Waits/Kurt Weill kind of vibe into a strange, distinctly Teutonic funk. It’s the kind of music ghosts probably listen to when they throw a cocktail party. Deranged surgeons might like it too, but what do we know, right?