By Stamati Horiates

Born and raised in the South Bay, Montage is a rising young artist you’d better get to know soon. Currently in the midst of recording his second album, The O Album, Montage has performed in clubs throughout the Bay Area as well as at the ESPN Summer X-Games, and has made an appearance on The World Famous Wake up Show with Sway and Tech. He’s also in the process of shooting a music video for the song “Get at Me.” There’s no question this rapper’s journey has taken flight. But how has he come this far? If you ask him, he will tell you straight up: “Persistence.”

Montage, aka Phil Corbin, first developed as an artist by drawing and painting. The walls of his house are decorated with intricate portraits of revolutionary hip-hop stars like Biggie Smalls and Tupac. Although he has enjoyed producing visual art, Corbin soon turned his interests towards other avenues of expression.

Enrolling in a graphic arts college and spending many late nights spinning as a DJ was just the beginning. Before long, Montage found himself flying back and forth to LA at the drop of a hat, recording in studios and working with top professionals in the business. In one year’s time, Montage went from relative obscurity to dropping his first CD, The M Album. “We recorded something like 50 or 60 songs and narrowed it down to just ten,” said Montage. The album was released in January and has since been gaining momentum in the industry.

“It takes me outta the underground and puts me in the forefront. I have a lot of respect for underground hip-hop ‘cause that’s where we all have to start, but I wanna take this to the next level. I wanna win them [Cali Heights Records] an award,” Montage says.

From drawing to graphic arts to spinning to rapping, it appears that the sky is the limit for Montage. The O Album is set to drop in November of 2008 and promises appearances from some familiar voices including those of Linkin Park and D-12.

When asked for the most important piece of advice he can give to others pursuing their dreams, Montage answered, “Make friends and take every opportunity. I don’t care if you’re sick or tired or you have to drive six hours to record in a studio. The first time someone offers to help you and you say no, that door could be closed forever.”

GET AT IT:
-The M Album is available in record stores, on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, MySpace, and at MontageWorld.com.
-Montage formed his own independent label, Cali Heights Records, also featuring artists Punky and Alterego.
-Montage is hosting a remix competition for his upcoming record. More information is available here.

Likewise, if you’re a BAY AREA artist with an upcoming local show that you’d like us to check out, drop me a line with the info and I’ll pass it on to our contributors to see if anyone’s able and interested.

Hopefully you won’t have to twist our arm too much. We WANT to hear your music.

Thanks and happy music making,

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 2/6/08.

Sean Smith, Eternal (Gnome Life Records). Like the best poetry, Eternal engages from the start and expands with each pass. Built upon Smith’s Eastern-influenced acoustic guitar and sparing contributions from four fellow instrumentalists, the disc explores both the form and sound of music through seven joyous, contemplative tracks.

Chinese Bookie, Is That You Behind Those Foster Grants? EP (self-released). It’d be a shame if the best song on here were a cover, and while Chinese Bookie — née San Francisco’s Viola Keeton — does a wicked awesome version of New Order’s “Age of Consent,” this five-track electro-pop debut also features three winning originals.

The Hipwaders, Educated Kid (self-released). Kids’ music that doesn’t drive adults nuts is a trend to get behind. The Hipwaders have been at it since ‘04, even performing at Lollapalooza last year. Their third album offers a thoroughly tolerable batch of pop songs about behaving well with siblings, using the Dewey Decimal System, and falling asleep.

Liz Kennedy, Clean White Shirt (Jaggo Records). Kennedy’s supporters like to tag her as “Bonnie Raitt without the slide guitar,” though I wouldn’t be so rash. Whereas Raitt can’t quite move beyond her showy blueswoman persona, Kennedy sings from her piano bench with the subdued tone of an artist not seeking attention but earning it.

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 1/2/08.

The Grannies: Incontinence (Wondertaker). A decade’s bounty of suitably sloppy punk rock outtakes and demos from a rotating cast of eight dudes shamelessly adorned in gaudy dresses, ragged wigs, and copious tats. Dig the cover of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.”

Big Vik: Intro (self-released). Brent “Bik Vik” Victory wants to make it big as a songwriter and producer. To showcase his skills, the still-underground Oakland artist composed this so-so sampler of status-quo urban and pop sounds. Time will tell if it’s enough to propel Vik to the next level.

DJ True Justice: True Justice (self-released). DJ True Justice’s taste is commendable, though not quite as hot as the scratching he cuts through this satisfying set of underground Bay Area hip-hop and R&B.

David Gans: Twisted Love Songs (Perfectible Recordings). Berkeleyites love quirky folk songs about corrupt conservatives (the enemy) and odd characters (a vision of themselves, perhaps), and Gans delivers on both fronts. All fine and dandy, but it’s the six instrumental tracks that truly impress.

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 12/19/07.

Johannes Wallmann Quintet: Minor Prophets (MooseWorks Productions). Wallmann recently moved west to direct jazz studies at Cal State East Bay, but Minor Prophets pays tribute to his former home of New York City with a breezy palette and an inviting, complex finish.

Please Quiet Ourselves: Please Quiet Ourselves (Mushpot Records). A promising pop mess (think broken-down Broken Social Scene) from seven Berkeley high school students. Some songs have yet to find themselves, but surprisingly many are downright glorious.

Michael J. Downey and the World: America (self-released). Perhaps little more than one man’s mission to front a band featuring four beautiful women. Though Downey’s lyrics reflect reputable morals, his songs soil adult-contemporary’s already beleaguered name.

Various Artists: Chaos Restored with Justin Martin (Buzzin’ Fly Records). Bedroom ravers rejoice: local talent Martin lays down a seventy-minute set of stylish European house featuring three of his own compositions (and one from brother Christian) plus selections by other producers here and abroad.

Deborah Pardes: Love and Discipline (Mentl Music). One of those unexpected treats that validates digging through the crates. Pardes may be neither hip nor happening, but proves herself a pro when it comes to the three pillars of singer-songwriting: lyrics, vocals, and composition.

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 12/5/07.

Rademacher, Stunts (self-released). Malcolm Sosa sings like Stephen Malkmus, and that’s all right — though his lyrics aren’t nearly as sharp (or meaningless, depending on where you stand). Musically, Rademacher succeeds in its quest for playful indie rock that plain sounds good.

The Mighty Underdogs, The Prelude EP (self-released). Perhaps it’s a judgment call as to whether Gift of Gab, Lateef the Truthspeaker, and Headnodic are actually underdogs, especially when they work with DJ Shadow and MF Doom. But there’s no doubting the new trio’s dynamic debut and its promise of a great full-length follow-up.

Damon and the Heathens, Now That It’s Over EP (self-released). Four new songs — a teaser for next year’s debut full-length — from the big-band-with-an-attitude that dubs its sound “Oakland grit.” Live audiences dig the sextet’s energy and authenticity, though not everything translates seamlessly to the studio.

Le Fits, Sportif (UFI Records). The scattershot, experimental indie pop of Le Fits’ sophomore record isn’t really pop at all, but darkness and drama wearing bright clothes. How Oakland.

HYIM, Elation EP (Hippi Mafia). Pretty as hell, thoroughly uplifting, not really original: this is the music of talented Oakland artist HYIM (Hebrew for “life”), who — to the satisfaction of Sting, Ben Harper, and Santana fans — favors performance over innovation.

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 11/14/07.

ALBINO! Rhino (Mighty Niblet Records). Proclaiming George Bush a puppet and our government a “looming threat” won’t turn many heads in the Bay Area, but lyrics are only incidental to ALBINO!’s groove-laden, instrumentally flawless take on the jazz/funk/protest hybrid of Afrobeat.

The Kim Philbys Whir Whir Whir (Evangeline Records). Like a mix tape you might’ve traded with your friends back in the day: charmingly uneven, unabashedly brokenhearted trad rock.

David Widelock Memories of a Surprise (self-released). Amateur album art belies the veteran Bay Area artist’s skill at writing and performing solo acoustic pieces on nylon- and twelve-string guitars, including original arrangements of works by Thelonious Monk, Randy Newman, and Gilberto Gil.

The Landing The Landing EP (self-released). Young, female-fronted Palo Alto trio the Landing fancies itself a bit edgier than these three songs suggest. Still, its debut recording’s piano-driven alt-rock surveys fertile ground.

Tempo No Tempo Repetition EP (Double Negative Records). While the world may not need another post-punk dance band, it has one in Berkeley’s Tempo No Tempo, which advances on its second EP from aping turn-of-the-century revivalists like Radio 4 and Franz Ferdinand to building upon them.

Reviews originally published in the East Bay Express on 10/10/07.

Mushroom with Eddie Gale Joint Happening (Hyena). Mushroom is an experimental, heavily psychedelic, anything-goes outfit pushing ten years in the Bay Area. Eddie Gale is an avant-garde and free-jazz trumpeter who made his mark blowing minds in Brooklyn during the late ’60s. Together, they’re downright dirty.

Mist and Mast Mist and Mast (self-released). Anyone familiar with Oakland indie-Americana group the Red Thread probably wishes it hadn’t disbanded this summer. Frontman Jason Lakis’ ensuing solo effort roams the same clouded realm, though less effectively.

Straggler Bow Down Lions (Happy Retard Records). “Real rock ‘n’ roll” is always a mixed blessing. On one hand, you’ve got loud, straightforward, no-frills hard rock; on the other, obnoxious, derivative, dumbed-down bar fodder. Straggler straddles the line as well as any local group, with an extra dash of soul.

Astral Transmitter (Vibraphone). Dim production muffles Astral’s passionate, yet clichéd take on UK post-punk and shoegaze. Sure, Joy Division, the Cure, and My Bloody Valentine were great. What else is new?

Rachel Efron Say Goodbye (self-released). Utterly laid-back piano-pop that sucks the tension right out of the room. Efron makes it sound easy, but there’s a reason so few artists get it right.

Halou’s roots extend back fifteen years to a chance meeting between future husband and wife Ryan (songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist) and Rebecca (vocalist) in a Santa Cruz record store owned by Ryan’s father. The Cosebooms made music making a priority, and soon headed up to San Francisco to develop what we now know as Halou: a down-tempo/electronica trio dubbed “one the of the best bands in America” by Seattle tastemaker KEXP and “one of the most intriguing groups on the modern musical landscape” by the All Music Guide.

Halou’s third record — responsible for the above praise — was released on Vertebrae Records last May, after a five-year gap. Its predecessor, 2001’s Wiser, marked the introduction of Halou’s third member: a skilled drummer and studio whiz known simply as Count. Count’s pedigree is at least on par with the superlatives lavished upon Halou over the years: he has engineered and mixed in the studio for New Order, Blackalicious, Deep Blue Something, Run-D.M.C., No Doubt, Lyrics Born, the Velvet Underground’s John Cale, and more recently, DJ Shadow for the majority of last year’s The Outsider.

Have we earned your attention yet? Despite Halou’s winning formula and adept execution, the group maintains a low profile on the local scene. What a shame that a group of this caliber is resting virtually unnoticed in our backyard while the rest of the world swoons! You’ve always known the Bay Area harbors some of the best music in the world; here’s a chance to put your ears where your mouth is. Check out their MySpace tracks. If you don’t like ‘em, fine. But if you do, let it serve as a reminder to never stop rifling through the Bay’s nascent pockets of musical genius.

HALOU, HALOU:
-Rebecca and Ryan have also recorded under the names R/R Coseboom and Invisible Ballet, most notably during the span between Halou’s second and third records.
-Halou’s video for “Everything is OK,” from the new album, was featured on Good Morning America under coverage of the very same YouTube Underground contest last fall that catapulted Oakland-based grand prize winner Maldroid to national recognition before it had played a show or released a single song for sale.
-Keeping with the eye-candy theme, Halou performed an audio-visual showcase two nights ago at Mighty in SF as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival.

DOWNLOAD CENTER:

Download “Stonefruit” (mp3)
from “Wholeness & Separation”
by Halou
Vertebrae

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at eMusic
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album

“Like an open-mouthed kiss from God” is how a friend once described the experience of seeing From Monument to Masses live. Not having ever made out with God, it’s hard for us corroborate that statement. But it’s even harder to dismiss it; From Monument to Masses are unequivocally incredibly fucking awesome.

The backbone of FMTM’s musical style is a compromise between the tranquil beauty of instrumental post-rock and the rhythmic energy of post-punk. This underpinning sound is composed of layered guitar lines (sometimes as many as five at once), relentlessly shifting drums, and warm, lively bass. Branching from here are excursions into dub, hardcore, world, and electronic. The variety never exists for variety’s sake, but rather to serve the purpose of the song. At the beginning of “Sparpshooter,” for example (the first song on the band’s breakthrough, and to date only, full-length, The Impossible Leap in 100 Simple Steps), the trio downshifts from brash, chugging post-hardcore to intricate, hypnotic instrumental rock in order to represent the shock and solemnity of the events of 9/11.

This leads to the other primary element of From Monument to Masses: political and social awareness. All three members — Matthew Solberg (guitar), Sergio Robledo-Maderazo (bass, synth, samples), and Francis Chuong (drums, synth, programming) — are passionate about and actively involved in political activism and social change on various fronts. The band’s name reveals its central philosophy, which played as much of a role as music in bringing the members together in the first place: a conviction that power must be transfered away from figureheads and toward the people. It’s a revolutionary message that, despite the band’s success, Matt, Sergio, and Francis refuse to back away from.

This also explains the motivation behind the band’s decision to weave sound bytes of a political and social nature — culled from a wide variety of sources including news broadcasts, the movie Dr. Strangelove, and speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr., George Bush, and Noam Chomsky — into almost every one of its songs. The samples are not scattershot, but grouped and ordered thematically within and between songs. This approach cements the relationship between From Monument to Masses’ progressive politics and progressive music.

But the real test, the real proof of this band’s success, is that it makes some of the most beautiful and powerful music you will ever hear.

AND WE’RE NOT KIDDING ABOUT THAT
-The group came together in 2001 in Oakland, signing with Los Angeles’ Dim Mak Records shortly thereafter — right around the time it played its first official gig.
-FMTM’s debut release came in 2002, a five-track album on Dim Mak that’s now out of print.
-Its third and latest release was called Schools of Thought Contend, a collaboration in which the band invited other artists to remix a number of its songs. Participants include Thunderbirds Are Now!, Loquat, and Amundsen. The 15-track CD also features two new FMTM songs.
-In October of 2006, drummer Francis Chuong moved to New York City, but the band avowed to continue working as a bicoastal project. A new record and extensive touring are promised in late 2007.