Music that makes Baby Jesus cry

3 MP3 Songs
ELECTRONIC: Pop Crossover, ELECTRONIC: Experimental



Details:
"One-man band Jon Monteverde includes a cast of contributors in his latest indie-electronica opus, which ranges in sound from metal-machine free jazz to Star Wars droids talking to ambient sounds off the street to what might be acoustic Tropicalia. It's hard to pin down Monteverde into any genre, but the one constant is his vocals. When he chooses to sing, he shows the same delicacy as Ben Gibbard and the same soul as Tae Won Yu. Then he dissolves back into weird instrumentals, leaving you wondering what the hell just happened. Enigmatic yet pleasing."
- Giant Robot

'Inanomie OP.221' is XYZR_KXâs follow-up release to 2004âs 'Falls Off the Curb, Chump Style'. After the completion of his first record, Monteverde searched for a new concept by which he could contextualize his next recording rather than to simply create another collection of songs. Stumbling upon the Finnish musical form of the âInanomieâ made popular by the 19th century composer Sakari Hulkohhen, he was stunned to discover that it had originated in the Philippines as a traditional dance. With this discovery, the shape of his second recording quickly transformed from being simply a dedicated endeavor to further his musical skills into an act of an act of cultural reappropriation. âWhenever I encountered any headings on the Inanomie musical form,â Monteverde explains, âit was rare, if ever, that any of them would mention the fact that it had actually originated in the Philippines and had simply been appropriated by Hulkohhen into his own work. So, I decided to structure this recording as an Inanomie, making it in effect, both an extension of the musical ideas I developed in âFallsâ and a statement against cultural imperialism.â

Clocking in at the traditional 20+ minute length, 'Inanomie OP.221' also follows the three-movement lento-adagio-allegro structure of an Inanomie, starting with âShe Looks Disruptive,â a mini-suite that serves as a sonic summation of the XYZR_KX project to date with its elegant hybrid of IDM beats and textures with hauntingly melancholic vocal melodies. The second track, âCrusades and Silhouettes,â is the most fully realized example of Monteverdeâs intent, functioning as a shining model of the cyclical effects of appropriation, via the Latin rhythms brought by the Spanish colonists to the Philippines, the singing in Tagalog, and the lyrics describing a loverâs emotional âCrusade.â Ending with âLose Your Voices,â a triumphant rallying call for the disenfranchised and disaffected, 'Inanomie OP.221' once again proves XYZR_KXâs gifts as both a songwriter and musician of remarkable talent and amazing vision.

'Inanomie OP.221' was made with a cast of contributors, including Asian Improv recording artist saxophonist Jeff Chan, Sam Scranton of Chicago art-rockers Volcano!, and San Francisco based guitarist Pete Micek.