This weekend is filled with album-release shows by local bands, from the excellent Americana outfit Count This Pennyto the funky Malian bluesman Tani Diakite and his band the Afrofunkstars. To help you assess tonight's live-music offerings, here are tracks by two acts that are a bit harder to describe: Dharmonic Deluxe and Bi-Polar Bear.
Dharmonic Deluxe draws inspiration from some disparate places, such as the punk-jazz experiments of early-1980s New York City and synth solos that sound as if they were crafted on the moon. Their track "Awesome Never," off of their new album Golden Arrow, adds a snake-charmer vibe to the mix. Vocalist Courtney Bateman's melodies are built from Middle Eastern scales but delivered with Eddie Vedder-esque ferocity and powerful, Gwen Stefani-style vibrato. You will obey when she says "Listen to me."
Dharmonic Deluxe performs at Winnebago Studios tonight at 9:30 p.m.
Listen to the track.
Bi-Polar Bear doesn't have a Madison ZIP code anymore, but the NYC-based hip-hop duo maintains strong ties to our city. Though they typically play a local show or two over the holidays, they're in town tonight for a special event: a party to celebrate their new album, When Ledge Is Home. The track "Ledge" also features Junk Science, another Brooklyn, N.Y. rap duo who'll perform at the show. Filled with electronic flutes, sultry downtempo beats, some sweet record scratching and a reference to "Bad Moon Rising," this song is an example of what Bi-Polar Bear calls "ear cake."
Bi-Polar Bear performs at the UW Union South Sett tonight at 9 p.m.
Listen to the track.
MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.
