NYDiscovery BlogNYDiscovery Bloghttp://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011-12-25T08:33:59ZSquarespaceHappy Holidays!http://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/12/25/happy-holidays.htmloliver2011-12-25T08:32:49Z2011-12-25T08:32:49Z

]]>December sky over the East Riverhttp://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/12/5/december-sky-over-the-east-river.htmloliver2011-12-05T21:35:35Z2011-12-05T21:35:35Z

]]>Video: Kendra Morris - Concrete Waveshttp://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/12/2/video-kendra-morris-concrete-waves.htmloliver2011-12-03T01:48:04Z2011-12-03T01:48:04Z

Here's the video for the first single of Kendra's upcoming album. Great song, great locations, like the East Vilage and Coney Island. Enjoy!

]]>Happy Thanksgiving!http://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/11/24/happy-thanksgiving.htmloliver2011-11-24T19:35:33Z2011-11-24T19:35:33Z

Cocktails after the Thanksgiving dinner 2008 on board Queen Mary 2.

]]>iPhone Snapshots October 2011http://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/11/13/iphone-snapshots-october-2011.htmloliver2011-11-13T20:29:59Z2011-11-13T20:29:59Z

]]>Sunset at 4:45http://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/11/8/sunset-at-445.htmloliver2011-11-08T12:57:52Z2011-11-08T12:57:52Z

]]>Emika at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (photos)http://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/10/29/emika-at-brooklyn-masonic-temple-photos.htmloliver2011-10-29T17:53:08Z2011-10-29T17:53:08Z
These were fantastic two weeks: we saw four of my favorite musicians live. Last was Emika, who recently released my pick of the best album in 2011. She is kind of the polar opposite to Grimes: both women use synthezisers and samplers to play their music solo on stage, but where Grimes is light-hearted, sunny, straight-forward and improvised, Emika's music is much darker, more intense and every frequency seems to be exactly where she wants it to be. 
She opened for Amon Tobin, who brought a truck-load full of equipment, including a battery of speakers, which benefitted her sound a lot: her signature bass was literally earth-shattering and when she deviated from her album for a Berlin-style piece of techno, you could feel the beat in your stomach.
After the show Elke and I enjoyed a chat with her. Emika, who currently lives in Berlin, speaks German very well and is a lovely and interesting person (just read one of the many interviews she gave during recent weeks). I hope she makes it to New York City again soon for an opportunity to play her full album in a more initimate setting.

]]>#CMJ2011: Grimes at Shea Stadium (photos)http://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/10/21/cmj2011-grimes-at-shea-stadium-photos.htmloliver2011-10-21T18:43:10Z2011-10-21T18:43:10ZShea stadium is a wildly exagerated name for a small recording studio off Bushwick Avenue, nor far from our home. On Thursday we went there for Grimes, on of my favorite musicians and found a textbook Williamsburg hipster party (hosted by YoursTru.ly and Gorilla vs. Bear) with a diverse lineup that kept us awake until 2 am.

For Grimes herself the show was certainly not her best: while on our side the sound was ok, she apparently barely could her herself, grew increasingly frustrated and cut the show short. It was nonetheless an amazing performance: last time we saw her only from the distance at Webster Hall, this time we were right in front of her. She sings, plays keyboard, dances and juggles with mics to record vocal loops live. And while she is proficient in her craft (she toured all over America and Europe in summer), she makes it look improvised, as if she aquired some new skills just yesterday and is eager to show them off to the audience.

Also, kudos to the Nikon D7000: there was next to no light in the room, but we got some great shots, most of them at ISO 6400.

 


]]>CMJ 2011: Zola Jesus at Knitting Factoryhttp://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/10/20/cmj-2011-zola-jesus-at-knitting-factory.htmloliver2011-10-20T23:38:25Z2011-10-20T23:38:25ZSometimes things just work out perfectly: Tuesday night, we strolled casually those few blocks down to the Knitting factory, walked in there, right to front center of the stage. The same day Borrowlenses.com delivered a fast 17-55mm zoom lens and that was just the right equipment for the night.

Zola Jesus delivered again a great show, less spooky than the last one we saw at Bowery Ballroom, fitting to the new white color theme and more uplifting mood of her new album, 'Conatus'. Her band was extended by a female violinist, usually something I would roll my eyes to, but in this case it was justified. Nika was in execellent mood, did her now signature stage dive and smiled when she got a marriage offer from the audience (bad luck, she is already married).

Here are some shots of the show:

]]>New Music: Zola Jesus and Emikahttp://www.nydiscovery.com/blog/2011/10/12/new-music-zola-jesus-and-emika.htmloliver2011-10-12T11:55:13Z2011-10-12T11:55:13ZThere's a lot of amazing music coming from women with electronic instruments these days. One of them is Zola Jesus, who released a bunch of EPs and LPs during the last two years. She's rather on the dark and morbid side, which is why she got the "goth" label, but her latest album "Conatus" signals a departure from that: it's still her unique voice over thick synth lines, but there's a poppier component to it, which may make her appealing to a broader audience.

Live she's accompanied by a four-piece, all male band, who actually plays the synthesizers, rather than using laptops. We'll see her as part of CMJ on October 23rd.

Here's her latest video of "Vessel":

My musical obsession for this year belongs to Emika, though. She is an English musician living in Berlin and has created a collection of mind-blowing songs during the last year or so. It is a unique piece of work: a song may start as an almost R&B pop song, then being torn down by glitchy synth and drum lines, and just before it falls apart, a sub-bass, a melody or her versatile voice pulls it back together. This is music from a dark place and when she releases you with a sick piano outro, you will be tempted to squint in the lights. Emika herself, though, comes over as a rather cheerful music nerd, which makes all this even more charming.

We'll see Emika on October 27th in Brooklyn when she opens for Amon Tobin.

Here is her live performance for 'Pretend':

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