What’s that you say? You want some new tunes to listen to?

Well, you’re in luck. One of DC’s most interesting music makers and sound gurus — Jake Reid of Secret Wilderness and Screen Vinyl Image — is guest djing the Sept. 6th edition of WE FOUGHT THE BIG ONE. Jake was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to curate a brilliant 10-track YouTube playlist for Big One blog readers. As you can see, Jake’s picks range from moody post-punk classics to ambient experiments to idiosyncratic pop hits to off-kilter Nigerian music. The one thing a Jake Reid playlist will ALWAYS be: interesting.

Enjoy!

Echo & The Bunnymen – Stars Are Stars

“We lost some time, after things that never matter”

Jake: Echo were operating right out of the gate at a caliber most other bands took a few records to hit, and then they did it for another 4 albums after. There were two releases of Crocodiles, one had this as the second track and one the third. I’m used to the third, for some reason it feels like the right order for the song. It also highlights early on the shrouded mystery of both Ian’s deep environmental lyrics and Will’s guitar genius. 

Cocteau Twins – Persephone

Jake: I always have a CT record nearby. Lately it’s been Treasure. I can’t tell if Liz is trying to conjure or exorcise demons in this song (maybe both), but it’s absolutely all the things I love about early Cocteaus. Also, I’m a drum machine nerd so of course I found a link to Robin Guthrie talking about the machines he used. Highly recommended read.

Fred Schneider – Monster

Jake: When I was a kid I loved The B-52’s lyrics, there’s songs about counterfeiting money, rock lobsters, and strobe lights. How could you not think this was the best band in the world? Fred’s solo project in 84 features an appearance by the NYC drag queen Ethyl Eichelberger, Tina Weymouth, Parliament-Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell (co-producer too), and Keith Haring. Oh and the claymation pays clear homage to John Carpenter’s The Thing that came out 3 years earlier. For such a goofy fun song, it’s incredible how much history sits within the frames. 

Paul Parker & Patrick Cowley – Right On Target

Jake: I’ve been a huge fan of all the releases Dark Entries has been doing of the deeper psychedelic porn soundtrack stuff Patrick Cowley did. He could also crank out a dancefloor burner like this collab with Paul Parker. His style of playing and producing is unique, you can always tell a disco or Hi NRG song that he had his hands in. 

The Time – 777-9311

Jake: All the music here is Prince with Morris Day on vocals. According to some research the drum beat was a stock pattern on the Linn LM-1 and was programmed by the drummer of Tower of Power. This is also one of my favorite Prince guitar solos, I like how the guitar almost sounds like it’s warming up before it takes off.

Geddes Gengras – Ha’akulamanu

Jake: Gengras continually puts out top quality ambient music in a sea of ambient producers (that’s also not a bad thing imo!). The minimal approach here of a Korg Volca FM and a few FX and songs inspired from Hawaii provide an idyllic soundtrack for late summer vibes.

Drexciya – Aqua Worm Hole

Jake: RA did a great short on Drexciya last year touching on the legend and myth that surrounds the two Detroit artists. With obvious traces of funk, techno, and electro, Drexciya soundtrack their Afrofuturist world with aquatic synths and drum machines that breathe and come to life. This is techno and electro in its freest form and no one has been able to come close to the depths these guys went to. 

Max D – Shoutout Seefeel

Jake: DC’s full of super talented people making wonderful music like Future Times head Andrew Field-Pickering. I’ve been zoning to Andrew’s Max D (And Dolo) releases for their vast auditory exploration and jaw-dropping rhythms. This song drifts on gazey waves, pure late-night headphone bliss from the DC label 1432 R.   

Hama – Baoura

Jake: I came across this artist from Niger through Bandcamp Daily who are always curating interesting music with insightful research. The polyrhythms on this song really caught my attention from the rest of the album. There’s also something about the synth sounds that strike up some sort of nostalgic memories for me of Casio’s and Yamaha’s from the 90’s. 

Rachel Goswell – Coastline

Jake: For a long time I only listened to the Ulrich Schnauss remix of this which is brilliant. But, the original is almost pure homage to Everybody Knows This is Nowhere Neil Young (which also happens to be my fave Young record of all time). I also sometimes forget the UK is now an island (my song Doggerland on my latest record is about the area of land lost that turned the UK into an island), but I always enjoy how much Rachel and Neil’s lyrics in Slowdive revolve around their proximity to the sea (see also Mojave 3 and Neil’s solo material). It also just felt like the best damn song to end this WFTBO playlist with. 

Want more? Don’t miss Jake Reid’s guest dj set at WE FOUGHT THE BIG ONE!

Listen to Jake’s Secret Wilderness project on Bandcamp.

 

Frosted landscapes. Ominous winters. Solitary walks in the night. These are some of the visuals that play in my mind’s eye when listening to the compelling soundscapes of DC-instrumental duo Ice Out.

Ice Out are far from the only instrumental band in the DC area making music that drips with atmosphere. But what’s noteworthy about them is HOW they create these sounds. Using mostly two instruments — David Barker’s sparse guitar and Chris Zogby’s drums — with some tasteful synth accents — Ice Out somehow create fully enveloping atmospherics that would be perfect for a moody horror film.

Ice Out’s self-titled 4 track EP, which was released in April 2019, is an excellent showcase of what this band is capable of. The fact that just two individuals are responsible for such widescreen sonic vistas is a reminder that sometimes a minimalist approach can yield maximalist results.

Having experienced Ice Out live, I can attest that this is a band whose power takes on an extra dimension when it performs in front of an audience. With the band set to play WE FOUGHT THE BIG ONE on Friday, Sept. 6th, I got in touch with David and Chris to learn more about how they create such chilly sounds…

1) What can you tell us about how Ice Out was formed? Had you known each other long prior to the band coming together?

Chris: We first met around 10 years ago when we played together, briefly.  I believe we reconnected 3 or 4 years later, then stayed in touch over social media ever since.

DB: A: We played in a band together briefly in 2009. I had a vision of doing something musically like Tangerine Dream, Tycho and John Carpenter. I wanted to do something more synthesizer based and have been incorporating that more into the music.

2) For the most part, Ice Out creates music with just one guitar and drums. I think it’s amazing what you can do with just these two instruments. Was the plan all along to impose limits about what instruments you would use? Personally, I think there’s an argument to be made that limiting the number of sounds can actually open up new windows of creativity.

Chris: I think the idea was to see what we could do live with Dave’s guitar set up and acoustic drums. There was a joint interest in keeping the sound uncluttered, but we also wanted to add some simple synthesizer parts to add texture and fill in some low end holes.  We were able to do this in a very low-tech way with results we liked.

DB: I am very interested in negative space in music. I went and saw John Carpenter play his film scores in Philadelphia a few years back. When I delved into the songs, there is an incredible amount of air in the music. A lot of musicians try to do moody horror movie soundtracks but completely miss the point by overplaying.

3) Speaking of creativity, do you have a particular process or approach to “getting into the zone” where you feel more creative? Clearly, it’s not something that can just be turned on or off like a faucet.

Chris: Listening to suggested instrumental music on Pandora, and poking around sites like Mixcloud has helped spark the creative process. Also, tinkering with gear (i.e. drum machines, sequencers & arpeggiators) and old fashion jamming live on new musical ideas also help.

DB: When I’m playing a lot and playing along to records that gets me in the creative space. Timing is something I work on a great deal.

4) Let’s talk about your self-titled EP. Compared to other recordings you’ve done, what was it like to record, mix and have it released? Would it be fair to say technology and things like Bandcamp are making things easier?

Chris: The process of making the EP was similar to other recordings.  Pushing it out for public consumption is probably easier than I remember.

DB: Yes and no. A positive is the ease of getting the music out to streaming services and Bandcamp. The negative is casting a line out into the ocean analogy, just a lot of mediums competing for everyone’s attention.

5) I’d like to ask you both about the Ice Out live show. Was it you want the audience to feel and experience when they come out and see the band live?

Chris: I’d like the music and performance to be engaging enough that the audience stops staring at their phones.  🙂  It’s a tall order, but I think we had some success in that department. We’re working on ways to make the live experience better.

DB: Something that is engaging for the audience. We are working on adding visuals and lighting to enhance the show. We want to show that instrumental music can be very engaging.

Listen to and buy Ice Out’s debut EP on Bandcamp and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. And check out their live show at WE FOUGHT THE BIG ONE with Guest DJ Jake Reid of Secret Wilderness!