REVIEW: Arto Lindsay, Prize (Righteous Babe)
- Jon Steltenpohl
Their are some artists who are defined by their lack of convention and desire to break boundaries. Arto Lindsay has always been one of those artists. Dive into his biography (at www.artolindsay.com) and you will discover a history of experimental music you've probably never heard about.
So strange is Lindsay's catalog that some music sites resort to categorize him simply as "jazz." "Abstract bossa nova-ist" might be a better term. His latest recording, Prize is like a lounge music cocktail with a twist of alternative lime.
There has been a trend in the past decade for musicians from the United States to travel overseas and pick up a local foreign flavor and bring it back to the US and "recreate" it for us. Paul Simon and David Byrne tried it with various degrees of success. But Arto Lindsay is the "real thing." (To Byrne's credit, Lindsay has appeared on Byrne's label Luaka Bop.) A dual dweller of Brazil and the United States, Lindsay seems to be freed from cultural conventions and simply draws from the musical landscape around him.
Take a song like "Modos (Manners)." It seems to have a mellow, bossa nova groove to it if you casually listen. But listen deeper, and there is a depth below the still calmness. Cymbals are not really cymbals but rather crashing metal sheets and the beat in the background reveals itself to be a strange, looped chiming tone.
"Resemblances" is a mellow song with a plucking bass, orchestral touches, and background soundscape work similar to "Modos." It is somewhat like a David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti sound experiment, only with a much deeper understanding of the musical structure. The warbling strings are reminiscent of some of Camper Van Beethoven's later work during the Key Lime Pie era. David Byrne would be fond of "Interior Life." It is a goofy song that , and seems to share the loose associations of an artist like Beck. "Prefeelings" is the most experimental track on the album. It is louder than the bossa nova tracks, and is purposely deconstructed and reconstructed from jazz, rap, samba, and techno. Amidst the mish mash of sounds comes form. Over the top is Lindsay; calmly trying to sing a bossa nova song with constant interruptions from the music and from free form rap by Beans of the Anti-Pop Consortium. Like any good piece of abstract art, it is completely disjointed up close, but taken from a distance, it somehow works as a singular whole.
Lindsay is one of those artists you have to "get." If you "get" it, he's a sonic genius flitting in the zone between mellow jazz, bossa nova, and avant garde. If you don't, he just sounds like bad lounge music. This is certainly music to be pretentious by. It is complex and articulate without sacrificing form and melody. It is also the first third-party release by Ani DiFranco on her Righteous Babe Records. Prize is a good choice for the label because it is intelligent yet truly alternative. Arto Lindsay might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who can dive in, Prize is an incredibly deep and intriguing album.
