Avantgarde
Ethno jazz
Experimental
IRAN
They say selling is easy but selling to the same customer again and again is rather difficult. Same thing goes with great albums. Repeating success is difficult. We all know many artists who have risen with a song or an album and then fallen short in delivering same success next time round. And when it comes to music and albums, creativity and finding the right sound record after record is very difficult. Not to mention that the expectations of the fans raise, tastes change and many other factors.
The latest album of KIOSK, Triple Distilled - Live at Yoshi's, is an impressive live recording. While the first album by KIOSK introduced a new concept in lyrics, the following albums did not have the same impact and felt somehow less lasting. Somehow the magic was less felt in the coming albums. But the Global Zoo was the start of a successful attempt in which a new style was tried, namely gypsy. What can be felt in Triple Distilled is a clever and intellectual concept but yet true to reality nature of the lyrics in addition to the sound that make the concept unique. This can’t be done unless you are very well aware of the risk you are taking. It requires courage, confidence and knowledge to be able to change sound from one album to another. The risk KIOSK took in Triple Distilled was to try a new sound. But was it actually a risk or was it an intended result? What makes Triple Distilled an interesting album is probably three aspects of the album, namely:
The (consistency in the) chosen style i.e. gypsy
Use of high level musicians
Live recording
The attempt in change of a style (i.e. more gypsy profiled) was somehow more apparent in Global Zoo. This was much driven by Arash Sobhani and his studies in the genre. In addition to this, by utilizing high level musicians such as Tara Kamangar (new permanent member), Jason Ditzian (guest musician) and Paul Mehling (guest musician) set the path for a successful album. The impact of these three musicians can be heard on several songs. One should not forget Ardalan Payvar on accordion here. He has managed emerging on accordion in such a seamless transition that is admirable. Not an easy task. Maybe the impact of great musicians can easiest be felt in Ay Ay in which Jason Ditzian on clarinet is bringing the lyrics of the song to life in such a way that the listeners get sucked into the talks and laughter of the chimpanzee. For instance when the lyrics says that the useless Tarzan has gone and instead the chimp has … Jason very skilfully starts imitating the sound of a chimpanzee and what comes next by his solo is nothing but a monologue of the chimpanzee giving the impression that he is saying something like: “yes, that’s right…hahahaha….listen to me now. I do this and I do that. I will do this and I will do that”. A very impressive performance even though he starts his solo 2 second too late (normal shortcomings for live performances).
On top of these facts, the live performance (and that at Yoshi's) and showcasing the fact that they actually know what they are doing, has made the album even more impressive. A studio recording would never have had the same feeling or been equally highly regarded.
The signature track of the album is “Love and Death in the Time of Facebook“. In this song Sobhani succeeds in distilling the life we are living in the age of Facebook on which relationships are filled with predefined actions and available resources on the net. From tagging a video to Photoshop-ing a picture. Sobhani is able to bring a sarcastic smile to the face of anyone who has been living the cyber life.
The album is filled with great songs. The song “Nigah Daar” speaks of broken promises and disappointment and unfulfilled dreams. For instance the brave and scarifying villager who ends up miserable. An aspect of the song is its masculine characteristic in which the words are targeted a man or a group of men by saying "sir" or "brother".
The album is a master piece in modern Iranian music.And it certainly raises the bar and the expectations. With this album, KIOSK is emerging as a world class band.
ALBUMS:
2010 - Triple Distilled Live
1 - Zoorba-ye Malayeri - Live
2 - Eshgh va Marg dar Donya-ye Majazi - Live
3 - Charkhesh-e Pooch - Live
4 - Agha! Nigah Dar - Live
5 - Setareh - Live
6 - Oonvar-e Darya - Live
7 - Taraneh - Live
8 - Ay Ay - Live
9 - Green Grass - Live
10 - Pragmatism-e Eshghi - Live
11 - Kafsh - Live
12 - Varda Bebar - Live
13 - Yarom Bia - Live
14 - Shab Bood - Live
15 - To Kojayee - Live
Look!!
IRAN
They say selling is easy but selling to the same customer again and again is rather difficult. Same thing goes with great albums. Repeating success is difficult. We all know many artists who have risen with a song or an album and then fallen short in delivering same success next time round. And when it comes to music and albums, creativity and finding the right sound record after record is very difficult. Not to mention that the expectations of the fans raise, tastes change and many other factors.
The latest album of KIOSK, Triple Distilled - Live at Yoshi's, is an impressive live recording. While the first album by KIOSK introduced a new concept in lyrics, the following albums did not have the same impact and felt somehow less lasting. Somehow the magic was less felt in the coming albums. But the Global Zoo was the start of a successful attempt in which a new style was tried, namely gypsy. What can be felt in Triple Distilled is a clever and intellectual concept but yet true to reality nature of the lyrics in addition to the sound that make the concept unique. This can’t be done unless you are very well aware of the risk you are taking. It requires courage, confidence and knowledge to be able to change sound from one album to another. The risk KIOSK took in Triple Distilled was to try a new sound. But was it actually a risk or was it an intended result? What makes Triple Distilled an interesting album is probably three aspects of the album, namely:
The (consistency in the) chosen style i.e. gypsy
Use of high level musicians
Live recording
The attempt in change of a style (i.e. more gypsy profiled) was somehow more apparent in Global Zoo. This was much driven by Arash Sobhani and his studies in the genre. In addition to this, by utilizing high level musicians such as Tara Kamangar (new permanent member), Jason Ditzian (guest musician) and Paul Mehling (guest musician) set the path for a successful album. The impact of these three musicians can be heard on several songs. One should not forget Ardalan Payvar on accordion here. He has managed emerging on accordion in such a seamless transition that is admirable. Not an easy task. Maybe the impact of great musicians can easiest be felt in Ay Ay in which Jason Ditzian on clarinet is bringing the lyrics of the song to life in such a way that the listeners get sucked into the talks and laughter of the chimpanzee. For instance when the lyrics says that the useless Tarzan has gone and instead the chimp has … Jason very skilfully starts imitating the sound of a chimpanzee and what comes next by his solo is nothing but a monologue of the chimpanzee giving the impression that he is saying something like: “yes, that’s right…hahahaha….listen to me now. I do this and I do that. I will do this and I will do that”. A very impressive performance even though he starts his solo 2 second too late (normal shortcomings for live performances).
On top of these facts, the live performance (and that at Yoshi's) and showcasing the fact that they actually know what they are doing, has made the album even more impressive. A studio recording would never have had the same feeling or been equally highly regarded.
The signature track of the album is “Love and Death in the Time of Facebook“. In this song Sobhani succeeds in distilling the life we are living in the age of Facebook on which relationships are filled with predefined actions and available resources on the net. From tagging a video to Photoshop-ing a picture. Sobhani is able to bring a sarcastic smile to the face of anyone who has been living the cyber life.
The album is filled with great songs. The song “Nigah Daar” speaks of broken promises and disappointment and unfulfilled dreams. For instance the brave and scarifying villager who ends up miserable. An aspect of the song is its masculine characteristic in which the words are targeted a man or a group of men by saying "sir" or "brother".
The album is a master piece in modern Iranian music.And it certainly raises the bar and the expectations. With this album, KIOSK is emerging as a world class band.
ALBUMS:
2010 - Triple Distilled Live
1 - Zoorba-ye Malayeri - Live
2 - Eshgh va Marg dar Donya-ye Majazi - Live
3 - Charkhesh-e Pooch - Live
4 - Agha! Nigah Dar - Live
5 - Setareh - Live
6 - Oonvar-e Darya - Live
7 - Taraneh - Live
8 - Ay Ay - Live
9 - Green Grass - Live
10 - Pragmatism-e Eshghi - Live
11 - Kafsh - Live
12 - Varda Bebar - Live
13 - Yarom Bia - Live
14 - Shab Bood - Live
15 - To Kojayee - Live
Look!!
