Soundcheck

Los Angeles-based band Vintage Trouble is a powerfully fun time of old-school soul, southern rhythm & blues, sizzling dance moves, and catchy, crunchy guitar-driven rockenroll.

When describing their own sound, the band uses the term “formatted recklessness.” Yes, and that almost puts words to their timeless and appealing concoction of old-school soul, powerful riffs and high energy showmanship. Vintage Trouble joined us live in the studio in 2018 to shake the walls with their “live-wired, straight-shootin, dirty-mouth'd juke music,” at once spirited and thunderous, possessed and powerful, full of party and good-times. 

Singer, songwriter, violinist, guitarist, whistler, glockenspielist, and actor (on Fargo), Andrew Bird, continues “his subversion of indie rock”, (-Schaefer) by including classical, folk, expansive violin solos, and old-time jazz; and has made a remarkable document of tilting at the windmills of his inner demons during these last few years of isolation and insularity. This latest record, 2022’s Inside Problems, sees Bird once again as an entertaining thinker who can couch dark cultural commentary in joyfully buoyant pop songs, (he prefers this exercise in contrasts.) Andrew Bird plays remotely and chats about his new album for the Soundcheck Podcast. -producer Caryn Havlik

Resisting gender-specific compliments in print since 2014 (and probably before), producer, songwriter, badass, and musician Neko Case unleashed her record, Hell-On, into the world in 2018. She’s written songs that traverse a lot of ground: folk ballads, radio pop, rock anthems, a little bit of goth moodiness, honky-tonk piano, and swagger of all kinds. Her exceptional and distinct voice, “like garotting wire,” delivers wordplay of the highest o, rder on this gorgeous, daring, won't-be-a-supplicant-ever record. Neko Case brings her touring band to play some of these new tunes in-studio, (from the Archives, 2018.) 

Neko Case is on tour in 2022 with her career-spanning retrospective album, Wild Creatures.

Coming from a rock and funk place, Dominican singer-songwriter Vicente García has become something of a folk pop revivalist, incorporating his love of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, from acoustic bachata to reggae on his latest record, A La Mar. Formerly the lead singer of the band Calor Urbano, the winner of Best New Artist at the 2018 Latin Grammys has been digging into Dominican folklore, despite his having relocated to Bogotá, Colombia. (He was also up for Best Tropical Song for "Bachata In Kingston," according to alt.latino.) Vicente García joins us for an acoustic set to play some of these eclectic love songs. (From the Archives, 2018.)

Set list:

Musician, actor and doctor (otolaryngologist) Jorge Drexler grew up in Uruguay, and now lives in Spain. Listeners may be familiar with Drexler’s music because his theme song for The Motorcycle Diaries won an Academy Award (presented to him by Prince.) His 2018 album of songs, Salvavidas de Hielo, is guitar-based, but augmented by a wide sonic palette of effects – samples, loops and beats created by different parts of guitars, dobros, and banjos. There is a song that touches on the loss of the planet’s glaciers, there’s one about how people have been migrating throughout time to stay alive – “Movimiento”, and yet another celebrating the elegance of silence. Jorge Drexler and his band play arrangements of these songs in-studio. 

Set list: 

Pianist and composer BLKBOK, (pronounced “Black Bach”) has played with some of the biggest pop names: Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato, and John Mayer. Born Charles Wilson III, he grew up in Detroit with a traditional classical foundation and pursued more musical interests including jazz, Motown, hip-hop and the blues. While he’s not conservatory-trained, he creates by channeling his thoughts and reflections, and running them through his fingers onto the piano, creating musical poems in the process.

Despite the absence of touring during the pandemic, it was a productive time for BLKBOK, who finalized the instrumental compositions that would become Black Book, a continuation of the legacy of (and inspired by) the movie Green Book, which told the story of trailblazing black classical pianist/composer Don Shirley. BLKBOK plays some of these works remotely for the Soundcheck Podcast.

Set list: “The Hustle Is Real”, “November 7, 2020”, “Amalia’s Ocean”

Watch: "The Hustle Is Real":

Watch: “November 7, 2020”:

Watch: “Amalia’s Ocean”:

The Bogotá-based Monsieur Periné has taken the the Latin music world by storm since their start in 2008. The eight piece band takes the music of their native Columbia, and infuses it with sweet swing sensibilities of the 1920's and a good dash of modern pop styles. Their upbeat and lively arrangements are engaging, detailed, and above all such a joy to move to. Their excellent musicianship and energy has not gone unnoticed; they were given a Latin Grammy award as 2015's best new artist. They have not slowed down since then and recently released the wildly popular Bailar Contigo. They perform live in-studio.

Watch the individual songs below:

The great South African a cappella choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a global phenomenon. With their uplifting vocal harmonies and signature dance moves, they’ve been anointed “cultural ambassadors to the world” by no less than Nelson Mandela. (Some listeners might recall them appearing on Paul Simon’s Graceland album back in 1986.) The group was formed in 1960 by Joseph Shabalala, has recorded more than 50 albums, and won five Grammys. Joseph Shabalala retired from the group in 2014, and died in February of 2020, but his sons and other family members carry on the tradition. During their 2018 world tour, Ladysmith Black Mambazo returned to perform songs in our studio. (From the Archives, 2018.)

Feminist icon and Mexican folklorist Lila Downs’ 2018 album Salón, Lágrimas y Deseo (Dancehall, Tears, and Desire), is dedicated to strong women everywhere. Her lyrics, inviting all “dangerous” women to join her, often highlight issues relating to social justice, while spanning blues to cumbia, folk and ranchera music. Inspired by Frida Kahlo, Downs says in an interview with Remezcla that she finds being Mexican has “a lot of value, even if the world that surrounds one doesn’t believe it.” She’s joined by her band, and special guest Chilean emcee Ana Tijoux, in-studio. (From the Archives, 2018.)

New Zealand singer/songwriter Marlon Williams has a voice like butter which can be charming and flirty as in the timeless crooner soon-to-be-classic, “Vampire Again,” or which can convey despair and longing, see his duet with Aldous Harding - "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore." After his breakup from musician Aldous Harding, complicated torrents of feeling poured out in song, all delivered in a honey-smooth voice that accepts heartbreak and cultivates its beauty. Marlon Williams' 2018 record was called Make Way For Love; he plays some of those songs, in-studio. (From the Archives, 2018.)