3 minute read
This Little Underground: local music
LOCAL RELEASES
You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that experimental Orlando musician Jonas Van den Bossche could play it straight. I didn’t. He’s a well-known figure in the city’s outermost avant-garde circles, usually in the society of noise and free-jazz freaks. But popular music? Come on.
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As it turns out, though, he can and will do it from time to time. His latest release — a two-track record titled A Little Insecurity Goes a Long Way — is astonishingly … normal. While not quite like Rat Bastard suddenly turning into Taylor Swift or anything, it’ll be at least a mild shock to anyone who’s ever seen one of his raw improv performances.
Van den Bossche, an artist who’s typically just as apt to play his guitar with a toolkit as with a pick, is here actually strumming (!) melodies (!!) and even singing (!!!). Across the two lovely compositions “Nothing Goes to Waste” and “∞”, he goes all singer-songwriter on us with acoustic contemplation that daydreams without the schmaltz.
The music’s up on his Bandcamp, but there are also fitting videos for each song worth checking out on YouTube. Made by fade theory (the nom d’art of Van den Bossche’s creative and life partner, Rachel Kinbar) using found footage, the videos are warm with vintage texture and flicker with handheld human character, all of which suits the reflective and halcyon music well.
Orlando artist As Seas Exhale has been on an ambient sabbatical for a while now. Finally, though, the pulse has picked back up for the recently released Light Source. Filled with elegant post-rock that packs climactic drama, it’s an album sprawling in expanse. The songs go from around five minutes on the short end to nearly 20 minutes on the marathon end. And in scope, they range from ambient meditation to day-breaking, Explosions in the Sky-esque release. The 11-track collection is up on Bandcamp.
Orlando’s Jankyswans just released an EP of nicely distilled electronic music. The five-song By Post is minimal without being stark or background. The sounds are serene but not comatose, kept in motion with a crisp rhythmic sensibility. The result is instrumental pop that’s abstract but intimate. By Post is up on Bandcamp as a name-your-price download.
BY BAO LE-HUU
JONAS VAN DEN BOSSCHE | PHOTO BY RACHEL KINBAR
You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that experimental musician Jonas Van den Bossche could play it straight. I didn’t. As it turns out, he can and will do it from time to time
MUSIC EVENTS THIS WEEK
Rainbow Park, The Blumes, Fools’
Gold: So you gettin’ down on that nuindie-tonic-death-wave-trap-core or what? Well, this latest Montgomery Drive showcase eschews all those niche sensibilities and just delivers three straight shots of melodic guitar rock. Between Orlando band the Blumes and Daytona acts Rainbow Park and Fools’ Gold, expect a buoyant blend of alt-rock and grunge. (8 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, Will’s Pub, $10)
Elizabeth Ward: This Americana songbird was, until recently, a member of formidable Orlando country-rock band Jordan Foley and the Wheelhouse. Anyone who can hold their own singing alongside Foley, as Ward did, is a voice to be reckoned with. And now that she’s back focusing on her own music, we’ll get to see how bright it can shine in its own spotlight as she commands the Laundry Sessions outside on Will’s Pub’s back patio. (7 p.m. Friday, June 18, Dirty Laundry, free)
Tchami: I still don’t know what “future house” is, but this French DJ and producer coined the term. What I do know is that his clean house sound is gilded with sleek EDM strands and he’s good enough for Lady Gaga. (9 p.m. Friday, June 18, the Vanguard, $25-$75)
Daniela Soledade and Nate Najar:
This St. Pete duo bring some real bossa nova cred to the scene this weekend. The granddaughter of Paulo Soledade, who composed with titans like Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, singer Daniela Soledade’s Brazilian pedigree runs in a straight line back to the very roots of bossa nova. Nate Najar is a Charlie Byrd disciple of unconventional technique and dazzling style. If anyone can turn this Florida summer-bummer swelter into balmy Ipanema zephyrs, it’s these two. (8 p.m. Saturday, June 19, Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, $25)
baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com
