Adria Kaufman
Christo Ruppenthal in the record room.
Christo Ruppenthal
It is another Bandcamp Friday, when the streaming service waives its fees on sales. At last word the practice is set to continue through at least May. I will have to do some Bandcamp hunting myself, as I have been barely keeping up these last few months with the tips on new and forthcoming releases from regional musicians sent my way. (Hint: If you, too, are searching for local artists, use the tags Madison and Madison Wi.) It's a sure sign that local musicians are keeping busy as we ride out the (hopefully) waning days of the pandemic. Here's some music now available that crossed my path in recent weeks.
Art: Tim Anderson; layout: Kacey Keith
Emerging in February was Spiral Bound Songs by Able Baker, a Madison-based project led by Tim Anderson. The product of recordings finished in 2020, the long EP/short album features five tracks of slow-burning guitar rock. The TLDR comparison point is Weezer, but only if you mix it up with the subtler side of that band's melodic approach and the slowcore edge of Low. Anderson's songs capture attention with hooks in unexpected places and chord structures that also don't always go quite where the ear expects. My favorite songs on here are opener "Bad Vibrations" and closer "Floors on Fire," which simmer and shimmer in support of Anderson's quietly intense vocals.
Anderson was aided in recording Spiral Bound Songs by Isaac de Broux-Slone and Logan Severson, both members of Disq, with a bit of extra keyboard by Neal Jochmann of Combat Naps. Madison native Anderson started Able Baker while at college in Eau Claire, eventually moving to Minneapolis to continue his studies. Over the years the band has featured a shifting lineup for live shows; following college Anderson returned to Madison, and writes in an email that he's working on putting together a new incarnation of the band for when live music gets back to normal. Until then, you can catch a livestream performance as part of a weekly Friday webcast hosted by the band Long Neck, at 6 p.m. on April 30. Find Spiral Bound Songs on Bandcamp and Spotify; a cassette is also available from Flesh & Bone Records, as well as a video for single "Death and Dismemberment."
Multi-instrumentalist Christo Ruppenthal plays various styles of swinging music as part of Mal-O-Dua, Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble and The North Westerns, all familiar bands for Madison clubgoers during the Before Times. With live performances and rehearsals curtailed during the last year, Ruppenthal has created a new solo recording project drawing on his musical expertise and collection of vintage 78 rpm singles. Antique Aloha: Hawaiian Music of the Golden Age is a set of songs originally recorded during the commercial explosion of Hawaiian sounds that took place a century ago.
Ruppenthal writes in an email that he started collecting 78s after receiving a Victrola and a box of discs as a wedding gift from a Caravan bandmate. "At that point I was already playing western swing steel guitar and had already started researching and learning about early Hawaiian music. That was a real spark for me to find originals."
In past years Ruppenthal has presented listening sessions of historic discs both locally and at the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association's annual festival (including a virtual program this winter). But the new disc is not a compilation; Antique Aloha features Ruppenthal playing everything on new instrumental versions of 10 songs from the era when Hawaiian 78s were best sellers and very influential on other genres of American music that followed, particularly western swing and country.
"As popular as it was, a lot of that stuff has never been reissued. So scouring antique malls, junk shops, rummage sales, what have you and finding originals is the only way you can hear a lot of it," says Ruppenthal. "I’ve also connected through various different collector groups with other people who are interested in that stuff. So I have people all over the world who I buy, sell and trade with. I actually collect all different music from around the world. I have a big collection of African Turkish, Armenian, Spanish, etc. Attaining this kind of stuff definitely requires some international connections.
"Hawaiian is a big focus of mine but it only makes up about a quarter of my 78 collection. I use them both for enjoyment and for musical study. Being a steel guitar player and a ukulele player, the library is definitely a source of inspiration and learning."
If you aren't familiar with Hawaiian music, Antique Aloha is certainly an excellent primer. Ruppenthal's playing is sprightly and joyful on a variety of instruments, with overdubbing creating an all-Ruppenthal band. And for those who are familiar with some or all of these songs, the arrangements of standards like "Aloha Oe" may provide some surprises. The album, officially released on April 1, can be streamed (and CDs purchased) at Ruppenthal's website.
photo: Leon M.
On the singles beat: Quietchild has released "Isabella" and "Show Me," a pair of cuts following up on the sound of the 2020 album Silhouette. Quietchild is the duo of Cuyler Monahan and Galen Austin, who took home a 2018 Madison Area Music Award for Youth Album of the Year with debut album Euphoria. Since then they have continued their collaboration during college, with Monahan attending UW-Eau Claire and Austin at Lawrence University in Appleton. Quietchild's music, a seamless blend of 1980s synthpop and modern R&B/hip-hop with skittering trap percussion and sung-rapped lyrics, would sound right at home on pop radio right now. "Isabella" features Vietnamese R&B singer KIET, who also guested on Silhouette; keep an ear out for their next single, "Paranoia," on April 16, which features Swedish producer Hauhwii. Watch for it and find their recent releases on Spotify and other streaming services.
