Weekly Music Roundup: Mei Semones, McKinley Dixon, and Pachyman
This week, Brooklyn-based singer and guitarist Mei Semones’s debut; rapper and singer McKinley Dixon’s darker sound, and Pachyman warms things up with dub-drenched pop.
Mei Semones Mixes Musical and Spoken Languages In Debut LP
Japanese-born, Brooklyn-based singer and guitarist Mei Semones released her debut LP today. called Animaru (the Japanese pronunciation of “animal”), and it makes a strong first impression. Semones sings in English and Japanese, usually within the same song; and she mixes musical languages as well. Trained as a jazz guitarist, she has an easy, lyrical virtuosity on the instrument that complements her often wistful pop vocals. There are distinct echoes, in some of the tracks at least, of Brazilian music (a favorite in both Japan and in jazz guitar circles for several decades), but the title song, “Animaru,” sounds like a playful take on the often-serious style known as math-rock. Semones seems to be having a great time in the video as she rides on a motorcycle made to look like a large pig.
Mei Semones plays on Wednesday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and plays live on WNYC’s All Of It with Alison Stewart on Tuesday afternoon.
McKinley Dixon’s New Single Widens His Sound
Rapper and singer McKinley Dixon also has a jazzy streak – his last LP was called Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? and featured a blend of conscious hip hop over jazzy production. Dixon is releasing a new album, Magic, Alive! (he also seems to like punctuation) in June and this week dropped the single “Recitatif,” featuring Teller Bank$ at the beginning, and notably again at the end of the song. By the time you get there, though, the sound has changed dramatically, from the relaxed, flute-y jazz of the song’s first half to something dark and industrial, as if Dixon had decided to change the radio station and found himself listening to Death Grips. In case the sound itself isn’t threatening enough, his last line before making way for Teller Bank$ is simply, “run.”
Pachyman Turns Up The Heat In New Single
Pachyman is the work of Pachy Garcia, who was born in Puerto Rico at a time when the sounds of Jamaican music, especially dub reggae, were ascendant. Now based in LA, his Pachyman project has taken the dub sound system approach and tweaked it with elements of synth-pop and psychedelia. He’s releasing a new album in May, to be called Another Place, and this week we got our first taste of it. The song is called “Calor Ahora,” or “hot now.” Apparently written around the turn of this year as a response to those notoriously bitter LA winters (is there a “big baby” emoji I can insert here?), the song has a fun, minimalist sound; it’s built around a bubbling rhythm (that trips over itself at one point) and a simple line of vocals that echoes through the mix from time to time. A droll, public-access-style video completes the good-natured package.
The Mists Clear For Jenny Hval
Jenny Hval, the Norwegian singer and songwriter, has produced music that is challenging and experimental as well as songs that skew much closer to pop. Her last few albums have offered a subtly textured reimagining of pop songwriting, and today’s release, Iris Silver Mist, is full of poetic, often oblique storytelling. A good example is the single “Lay It Down,” which bides its time with a slow, moody verse before breaking into an expansive chorus.
Cyrus Chestnut Gives Summer A Pass With An Autumnal Classic
Jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut has just released a new quartet album called Rhythm, Melody and Harmony. Despite rhythm getting top billing, it’s Chestnut’s easy touch with a familiar melody that gives the album its standout moments – first a version of the classic “Autumn Leaves” that highlight’s sax player Stacy Dillard’s mellow tone, and then later, a solo piano performance of “Moonlight In Vermont.” Without the rest of the band, there is something autumnal-sounding here too, as Chestnut’s phrasing seems to evoke the muted sounds and sights of a fall evening in New England.
