music lesson

Music Lesson 11: Sludge Metal

Apart from sounding like the heavily abbreviated notes of someone who specialises in sewage material sciences, sludge metal earns the notable accolade of being probably the heaviest genre of music that I plan to cover in these lessons.

This is a well-earned spot. Classified as an “extreme” genre of music, the sludgy stuff comes mostly from New Orleans in the US, and is characterised by slow tempos, mostly shouted or screamed vocals, and very distorted and downtuned guitars. And, when we’re talking about “downtuned”, we’re putting serious emphasis on the “down” bit.

Take Horn of the Rhino’s ‘Speaking in Tongues‘ as an example. In this tune, HOTR are playing so far down that your standard six-string guitar is literally unable to handle it. The crew have to use a seven-string for their low, low tuning. A slightly heavier and more unsettling example can be found in ‘Bell of Urgency‘ by The Secret.

as you can probably tell, sludge metal is not a newcomer-friendly genre

Such low-note droning is supported in most bands of the genre with similarly menacing vocals. Taking a leaf from the book of doom metal, the usual themes at hand are the coming of the apocalypse, death and dying, and anti-religious or satanic sentiments. The exact shape these vocals can take varies, but it’s always abrasive and rough.

The “shallow end” of the pool consists of players such as Eyehategod – try out ‘Take as Needed for Pain‘ – with more shouted vocals that some might even find comfortingly close to the territory of heavy punk. If you’re ready to dive in headfirst, however, you can find the pool’s deepest and darkest ends in such droning vocals as those found in Electric Wizard’s ‘Funeralopolis‘.

I won’t fib: as you can probably tell, sludge metal is not a newcomer-friendly genre. Between the endless screaming and shouting, the often-total abandonment of any normal verse-chorus song structure, the harsh and frequently offensive lyrical themes and (of course) the sheer weight of the stuff, even the most seasoned musical explorers may find they’re just better off taking one look and passing the genre over (unless they’re already into heavier types of metal).

Nothing wrong with that, but at least take the aforementioned one look: sludge is clever stuff, and if nothing else, it has the curious effect of making any song you listen to afterwards sound as twee as the Dora the Explorer theme.

Music Lesson 10: Riot Grrrl

Today, few topics raise the ire of so many (one way or another) than the topic of feminism. Whether for or against, moderate or extreme, proto or post-colonial, it’s a guaranteed hot topic, and like most hot topics, it has a place in the punk movement. Enter Riot Grrrl: feminism incarnate, applied directly to the six-string guitar.

Though not erupting until the early 1990s, the seeds of Riot Grrrl were sewn way back in the days of the leather jacket in the ’80s and late ’70s. All-girl troupe The Runaways were an early example, with tracks like Queens of Noise sporting enough power chords to make Slipknot cry. For lead of the band Joan Jett however, even that wasn’t enough: she stomped the same footsteps alone afterwards with such world-famous storm hits as Bad Reputation.

Fast-forward to the ’90s, later punk is in full swing. NOFX were making us laugh, Pennywise were making us cry, and Riot Grrrl stepped up to make us think about women – or at least enthusiastically fist-pump. Come 1993, Bikini Kill was one of the genre’s first heavy-hitters with such masterpieces as Rebel Girl, which I personally dare you to get out of your head in the next 12 hours, as well as such riot-stirrers as Double Dare Ya. As it happens, just last week Bikini Kill re-released their 1991 demo tape with a bunch of new, unreleased tracks thrown in.

the sad truth of Riot Grrl is that it was a rather short-lived movement. The genre simply didn’t work up enough momentum to carry on into today

Closely related to Riot Grrrl was the queercore movement – clue’s in the name. Just as Riot Grrrl revolved around feminism, so did queercore revolve around LGBT activism, and both genres had a lot of social crossover, as well as showing up around the same time. Such hardcore releases as Drag King from Sister George and All Women Are Bitches by Fifth Column did little to promote the genre’s mainstream popularity, but man, they sure were fun.

Beyond that, the sad truth of Riot Grrl is that it was a rather short-lived movement. The genre simply didn’t work up enough momentum to carry on into today, and many of the hits back then were only released on independent cassettes in small circulation. That said, there are still great tunes buried in the genre’s annals, and these echoes can be found if you look around enough – check out the gem below by Pussycat Trash.

Perhaps the message is more important than the music anyway – so said punk veterans Crass, after all – and nobody can say that feminism and Riot Grrrl’s message is not alive and well.

Music Lesson 8: Noise Pop

Can you remember the last movie you watched with some character who was a burn-out, a waster, a person past their time, or the like? They’re pretty common – John McClane in the last two Die Hards is an easy example. Now hook that poor guy up on some smack, and let him drift in and out of consciousness. This mix of haziness, drugged lumberings and tinges of bitterness describe noise pop perfectly.

Noise pop is one of the more interesting offshoots of the indie movement, and centres around pop-y tunes with a “summer hit” sound, but viewed through a distorted lens: the sunrise of the chart-topper gives way to a sickly glow, as the tunes are tinted with fuzzy, distorted edges and hazy melodies. Noise pop derives a lot of its influence from its (much) more obscure distant cousins in general noise music, and it shows.

Noise Pop forerunners Sonic Youth. Image Credit: wikipedia

While influenced by earlier experimental rockers such as Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. (check out Superstar and Feel The Pain respectively), most fans agree that the genre’s first slightly hellish sunrise came with The Jesus and Mary Chain, who put out Psycho Candy, a catchy tune with more than a tinge of the sickly. The same group continued to drop big tunes in the scene, with later (relative) hits consisting of the very ’80s Head On.

One peculiar aspect of Noise Pop is that it almost immediately gave way to an offshoot genre: shoegaze. Though well-deserving of an article in its own right, if you’re hankering for a taster, some of the genre’s offshoots from noise pop are exemplified in When the Sun Hits from Slowdive and Throwing Back the Apple, of Pale Saints. Though the latter is slightly more rock-y with its riffs, the similarities are easy to spot.

In any case, noise pop itself continues to prosper. Modern acts are still making it happen: check out the wonderful tranquilliser hit that is Floating Vibe from Surfer Blood (a band I’d recommend seriously checking out: they just released a 2015 album, 1000 Palms, and I love it), while psychedeliacs Foxes in Fiction have put out the hypnotic Memory Pools.

All in all, the noise pop scene is alive and well even today, and is putting out tunes that are both uncomfortably bizarre but great fun to listen to, almost satirising pop music at times. It’s weird, but worth checking out: as Calvin Harris said, “it was acceptable in the ’80s”, so why not now?

By Joshua Rotchelle

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Music Lesson 7: Liquid DnB

In the wonderful world of DeeEnnBee, it’s no secret that generally things revolve around high tempos and lots and lots of crashing – like the Michael Bay of music genres. But, you know, not shit. However, within this harsh, rocky desert of sound, there exists a strange oasis, which is often just about the last thing you think of when you imagine a drum and bass sound: liquid DnB.

Characterised mostly by having a much more swooping, gentle sound with more melodies and ambient samples, liquid DnB is the calm, hypnotic sea to the rest of the torrential DnB ocean. First named at the turn of the millenium in DnB DJ Fabio’s collection “liquid funk” (a term considered interchangeable with liquid DnB), the genre’s early tracks were quite unlike those of today, with more obvious early music influences – check out Who Has The Jazz on Fabio’s Liquid Funk collection.

It took a little longer for the genre to really catch on, but in ’03 and ’04 it experienced a sudden rush of popularity. By ’05 and ’06, it unexpectedly found itself one of the best-selling subgenres of DnB. Tracks such as Shapeshifter’s Electric Dream (which earns the Music Lessons Award for Best Synth) helped cement this, along with slightly earlier release Spacejam from Logistics.

“LIQUID DnB IS THE CALM HYPNOTIC SEA TO THE TORRENTIAL DnB OCEAN”

From ’07 onwards, Liquid DnB’s popularity was cemented, and it hasn’t really left the spotlight since. In ’07, the famous Kiss Kiss Bang Bang from High Contrast was released, taking electronic music charts around the world by storm. Late-night Radio 1 listeners from a few years ago (I can’t have been the only one!) may also recall such names as Mistabishi and his No Matter What, while British name Chase & Status pounded out Blind Faith. The former even made it on to daytime radio.

Fortunately for current enthusiasts, the scene is far from dead. Netsky is a recent big hitter – just a few weeks ago at the time of writing, he put out Rio, while promising new figure on the scene Maduk collaborated with Veela to put out Ghost Assassin, which in turn kinda reminds me of (off-topic blast from the past) that old Linkin Park vid with the robots.

In short, Liquid DnB may have a short timeline, but it’s nothing short of a vibrant one with a really fun sound, and if the parties you attend are any fun, they might sound kinda familiar too. Check it out.

Joshua Rotchelle

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Music Lesson 6: Opera Metal

Have you ever come across a genre that makes you sad about human existence? Josh Rotchelle stumbles across symphonic metal (metal opera) in his latest musical quest.

[dropcap size=small]H[/dropcap]ave you ever wondered what Tyrion Lannister of Game of Thrones has on his iPod? Me neither, but if I had to guess at the point of a dubious cardboard hollywood-prop sword, I might go for something a little bit like opera metal (also called “symphonic metal”).

Rising in the mid ’90s, opera metal is the proud son of its two eponymous parents. From its mother opera, it inherits (often) classically-trained soprano female vocalists, dramatic classical instrumentals, and generally sounding a bit like a film soundtrack. Grumpy old dad on the other hand hands down a love for electric guitars, a fast-paced and heavy sound, and a rather dubious fashion sense.

With a fair cult following, certain acts have risen to prominence in the opera metal scene: Finnish quintet Nightwish is a good entry point with tunes like Weak Fantasy and the mostly-instrumental Alpenglow (which sounds like it should be on a Soul Calibur soundtrack). Other prominent sounds include Epica’s Cry for the Moon, which has a few more metal features, including some death-growling.

Like most hybrid genres, opera metal can also swing to either side of its two influences. Inevitably, there exists that crowd that takes any given situation and thinks how can we make this moar metull? Enter black symphonic metal. Crews such as Carach Angren bring a much darker sound to the genre with such cheery tunes as Funerary Dirge for a Violinist, while Dimmu Borgir sport Progenies of the Great Apocalypse.

On the (sort-of) opposite end of the scale, opera metal does sometimes dye its wardrobe a more elegant black and come over all gothic. The result is unapologetically grandiose and epic: Hell to the Heavens from Leaves’ Eyes is a personal favourite, while Angels from Within Temptation is also worth a listen.

No matter where a given band sits on the scale however, it can’t be denied that opera metal is firmly rooted in the metal subculture, which can be tough on newcomers. However, far too many people avoid metal with cries of “too heavy” (pussies), and ignoring a genre so enormous, influential and varying is doing yourself a musical disservice.

Opera metal is not a bad starting point for getting in touch with rock’s heavier cousin, so dig in. Give it time, and you’ll come to love it, even with the extravagant face paint, noisy growling and enough shredding to cover up a university Vice Chancellor’s expenses claims.

Josh Rotchelle, Lifestyle Editor

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Music Lesson 5: Electro-swing

Fact: electro-swing is, on balance, the coolest genre of music in current existence. How? It pulls off the impossible balancing act: sporting bouncy and energetic tunes, but also maintaining a cool stride that makes it look easy. Think 20 cans of Red Bull plus Morgan Freeman. Lifestyle Editor Josh Rotchelle takes us through his fifth genre in this week’s music lesson.

True to the name, the genre combines samples from the ultra-lively genre of swing and crosses it with modern dancefloor beats and mixing. The strain originated in the thriving ‘90s hip-hop scene, where several one-off rap tracks sampling swing tunes were produced. Although pretty far from today’s electro-swing, they’re still worth checking out: Jurassic 5’s Swing Set and Lucas With the Lid Off from the eponymous Lucas are top tunes.

Over time, the swing sound gained more and more momentum with electronic artists, and has developed a niche-but-notable status. These days, the two biggest names are Caravan Palace, whose most famous tune is probably Clash, and Parov Stelar, whose Catgroove retains a place in my iPod’s library. The former artist is more “swing”, the latter more “electro”; like most combination genres, different artists fall in different places on the sliding scale.

No matter which way you swing (boosh!), there can be no doubt that electro swing has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity from an unlikely quarter: the last two titles in the popular Fallout video game series have featured a lot of swing tunes in their soundtracks, resulting in new artists remixing said tracks with an electro twist: Ring-a-Ding Baby from Icky is one example, while Gramophonedzie’s Why Don’t You samples another Fallout tune.

Before you decide that you’re too cool for electro-swing (read: it’s too fun for you), recognise that the genre has also hit the big time once or twice. Ever jammed to We No Speak Americano in Timepiece? Make no mistake, you’ve got down to some electro-swing, and you’re not the only one: the tune is certified platinum in the UK and nine other countries, and even had the stupendous honour of featuring on Beavis and Butt-Head.

All in all, electro swing is one of the funkier underground genres, mixing new and old to create the musical equivalent of a Jagerbomb. Check it out, but be careful how you google it (apparently fetishists use jumper cables at swinger parties, who knew?).

Josh Rotchelle, Lifestyle Editor

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Music Lesson 4: Horrorcore

In the fourth instalment of Josh Rotchelle’s Music Lesson, the genre on the chalkboard is horrorcore.

What do you get when you mix wearing your heart on your sleeve, a self-exaggerated sense of one’s own edginess, and a life on the streets? The correct answer is horrorcore, a fringe hip-hop genre unique for its fixation on violent and horrific lyrics. This sign would also have been an acceptable response, however:

Pioneered in Texas and perfected in Detroit, home to 2014’s meanest streets in the US, horrorcore earns itself a life sentence’s worth of GBH charges by assaulting your ears with its twin fists: a Tarantino-ish love for gore, and Marilyn Manson-style hounding of controversy. It’s never subtle, sometimes darkly hilarious, and always disturbing.

The first suspects in the genre were Texas rap posse Geto Boys, who put forward ‘Assassins’ in ’88, a chirpy tune detailing the process of prostitute murder. Soon after, Detroit rapper Esham took the same concept and applied it in force with ominous, satan-referencing tunes such as ‘Closed Casket‘, making an enormous dark fingerprint on the Detroit sound.

After seminal releases such as this, many followed in Esham’s fearful footsteps. The Insane Clown Posse came to the fore shortly after with a catchier, more mainstream sound in tracks like ‘Chicken Huntin’‘. Tech N9ne also followed with a dash of great speed: check out ‘Demons‘. Even Eminem dipped into horrorcore, with tracks from the early ‘Demon Inside‘, to the recent ‘3 a.m.‘, and at one point described himself as a cross between “[Marilyn] Manson, Esham and Ozzy [Osbourne]”.

However, the scene has never been exclusive to Detroit: elsewhere, New York’s Necro is an icon with tracks like ‘Dead Body Disposal‘ and ‘Who’s Ya Daddy?‘, while the late Big L managed to put out tracks such as ‘Devil’s Son‘ before being gunned down in his native Harlem (apparently that particular relationship offered no preferential treatment).

No matter who you pick however, horrorcore as a genre is pricklier than a porcupine with a bad case of caffeine withdrawal. Newcomers will find that the genre’s fuck-you attitude does not offer many entry points, but if you can brave the blood and blasphemy, the genre does have some cool tracks, so it’s worth checking out. Start with Eminem, since he’s a known voice, and cross with a ouija board and a darkened room for best effect.

Josh Rotchelle, Lifestyle Editor

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Music Lesson 3: Folk Punk

In our Lifestyle Editor Joshua Rotchelle’s bid to teach 52 genres, one for every week of the year, we bring you his third instalment, on folk punk.

Let’s be honest: “Folk” and “punk”, much like “barbed wire” and “sex” or “hallucinogens” and “watching Spongebob”, just seems like a pair of concepts that do not mix.

However, should you care to wander off the beaten path, all three pairs can have surprising results. The last two our legal guy probably wouldn’t allow me to recommend here, but the first one is a genre of music, and if it’s a genre and it’s weird, it mandates a Music Lesson.

The niche of folk punk was pioneered by the Violent Femmes in the ‘80s (who are top notch by the way, check out Add It Up and Kiss Off). Despite being neither a punk nor folk band (the troupe fall under the ever-ambiguous label of “alternative rock”), they made the first steps toward the genre by playing some modern punk-y songs with traditional instruments.

To this day, the majority of the scene takes this approach with anything from banjos to bagpipes, but how far a given tune is punk or folk varies quite a bit. Fortunately, the genre is easy listening compared to many of punk’s descendants, often sporting a light and fun tone. Particular kind-to-the-ears tunes include This Is What I Want from This Bike Is A Pipebomb, and Oh Susquehanna by Defiance, Ohio.

Further into the genre however, things can get more folk than punk; some bands even get hyper-faithful and sing old, genuine folk songs alongside the usual modernised fare. The Dreadnoughts exemplify this excellently with shanties like Old Maui and the chilling Cruel Wars.

However, there’s still no doubt that folk punk as a whole is definitely a branch of punk, not folk: artists of the niche frequently show close adherence to the punk values of liberalism and acceptance. Brave as a Noun, for example, has folksters Andrew Jackson Jihad dealing with the topic of depression, while Transgender Dysphoria Blues from Against Me! puts a close, stark gaze on the stigmas transgenders face (as a matter of fact, the band’s lead Laura Jane Grace was born Thomas James Gabel).

All in all, folk punk is definitely worth a punt. It’s cousin pop punk is pretty popular, so chances are you’ve already had some limited exposure. Hell, it’s not that much of a jump from Green Day, there’s just more drinking and banjos. And, y’know, it’s less lame.

Joshua Rotchelle

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