Downtempo: Elsiane

I believe it was a Thursday or Friday morning some weeks back, when I walked into the laboratory I work in. Most of the times the radio is tuned in to a pop or rock station, playing all the regular hits. This particular morning however something else entirely was playing.

What I heard was one of the most unique voices I've ever encountered in music. The arrangement itself had a relaxing downtempo drum beats, beautiful moody strings and several layers of mellow synthesizers. The music was such a perfect fit to my end-of-the-week-tiredness that I stopped walking and just listened to it for a while.

The song that played was Mend (to Fix, to Repair) by the Canadian duo Elsiane and is featured on their 2007 debut album Hybrid. It's a great album that showcases the diversity of Elsiane's sound. There are some easy listening pieces like Across the Stream and Prosaic, but also some more experimental works like Ecclesia and my personal favourite, the title song; Hybrid. There's even a cello solo on the album, In a Crisis...

In 2012, five years later, Elsiane released their second album: Mechanics of Emotion. This album is a lot more experimental, featuring several songs which are not much more than some ambient electronic chords, and thus not really my cup of tea. That is not to say that the album does not contain any nice songs at all, Slowbirth and Acceptance are both quite enjoyable.

Last month, again after five years, the group released their third album: Death of the Artist (they're nothing if not consistent).  I like this album better than the previous one since it's less experimental, the songs have a longer duration and feel more rounded. My absolute favourite work on this album is Fragilidad which has a cool bossa nova drum groove accompanied by some sweet woodwinds giving it somewhat of a tropical vibe.

Many thanks to my colleague for introducing me to this unique sounding duo! Let's hope we don't have to wait another five years for their next album.

Other favourites: Vaporous, Nobody Knows and Unstable.

For more videos visit Elsiane's Official YouTube channel.

Southern Rock: Black Stone Cherry

One of the first genres I discussed on this blog was country rap. It might therefore not come as  a surprise to some readers that I'm a fan of country influences in music. A genre that also incorporates elements of country music, but is completely different from the earlier mentioned country rap is southern rock.

Southern rock is best described as a combination of country and hard rock. Often people confuse the genre with country rock which is similar, but milder sounding due to its more frequent use of acoustic guitars instead of electric ones.

I discovered Black Stone Cherry 4/5 years ago in an unlikely place, a Kung Fu video game, where their song Rain Wizard was featured on an in-game radio station. The song came from Black Stone Cherry's eponymous 2006 debut album which also featured Lonely Train. While both songs, and others on the album, are great they don't necessarily clearly showcase the southern rock vibe. The country influence is perhaps more clearly visible in White Trash Millionaire and even better in Like I Roll. My all-time favourite song of the band however is Meand Mary Jane which is a kick-ass song with an addictive hook.

The latest album from the band titled 'Kentucky' dates from 2016 and contains Soul Machine and Cheaper to Drink Alone, among others. I for one have added them to my playlist. Does anybody else have a sudden craving for beer and summer?

Other favourites: Blind Man, Soulcreek & Blame It On the Boom Boom

Listen to more songs on Black Stone Cherry's Official YouTube channel.