People talk a lot these days about storytelling. It’s as if it’s a new idea. But storytelling is something I’ve been doing ever since I started on radio. In my case, storytelling often happens without words.
Music highlights the connections found in-between the songs. Perhaps it’s an era? Maybe it’s the converging of two wildly different genres? Or maybe it’s just the surprise of it all.
On this edition of Alternate Take, I had a lot of fun sandwiching relatively new Choir Boy in between archived Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and John Foxx. Choir Boy is a band based out of Salt Lake City that touch upon some of those nostalgic ’80s elements while still sounding completely fresh for today.
What I should’ve realized before now is how great Madlib would sound next to Miles Davis and Gil Evans. But Madlib has always been the adventurous type. The three musicians are kindred spirits in that sense. Watching his laid-back style in this recent Tiny Desk performance with Freddie Gibbs, Madlib seems like he’d be right at home on stage with Davis and Evans.
Then there’s deep-sea ambiance of my fellow dublab DJ Daniel Troberg. He’s been hard at work in the field of electronic instrumentation and musicianship for years. Troberg’s “Ascent” seems to flow perfectly out of a mini-tribute to the late, great Jon Hassell. It was a nice bonus to play a song from Threads, an almost unheard album by Tim Story.
It’s not just about connecting point A to point B; it’s about capturing the essence of the story. Sometimes that means visiting the unchartered regions.
Listen to the latest Alternate Take on dublab.
TOP IMAGE: Album art for Threads by Tim Story.