There is a lot of excitement among musicians about the new musical technology brought by a new, powerful generation of synthesizers, audio plugins and guitar effect pedals – we know something about it because this blog is supported by the various music gear expo we organize. And yet, 90% or more of the new music we cover doesn’t exploit this new technology to its full potential. If it’s true that great songs don’t need special effects, it can’t be denied that the sound of indie has mostly turned stale, and that the genre is in desperate need of a sonic lift. Rock’n’roll has always been propelled by new technology: the electric guitar’s role in the early days, the Beatles’s experimental pop, Jimi Hendrix’s creative use of feedback, Robert Fripp’s tape-based music and Radiohead’s sample mangling – just to mention a few – are all proofs that new technologyand experimentation are central to the genre’s health.
NYC’s Altopalo is one of the few local artists we’ve heard this year that’s accepting the challenge posed by this new technology. Their latest full length frozenthere is a collection of ambient-soul, experimental tracks seemingly played by an abstract orchestra of camouflaged instruments. The soulful vocals of Rahm Silverglade tie together a record whose BPM is slowed down to downtempo territory to allow and highlight the band’s sonic exploration, and that carries on the conversation Tom Yorke and company started in 2000 with Kid A.
