Kamau

If you read my blog about Tumi & the Volume, you know I'm constantly searching for good, conscious hip-hop. You might also know that an emcee who's got both rhythm and intelligence is a rare commodity in today's world of bling-bling gangsta rap.

Toronto's Kamau is one of those rare breeds. After hearing his prophetic verse on "Ballad of Noah," the last track on k-os' Atlantis, I put Google to good use and tracked him down. Despite several collaborations with k-os, who has become an international star, Kamau has stayed under the radar. His first and only album, 2003's 00:01 First EP, has long been out of print, and all that is readily available are a few tunes on his MySpace and a couple of verses on the Pangea Project's album.

The few tunes that can be heard are like hidden treasures: a few minutes each of stunning poetry, grooves, and positive messages, with beats made from a mesh of smooth funk and jazz samples and live instruments. Kamau's voice is like no other, and he intertwines his rapping and singing so smoothly that his music may well be classified as R&B rather than hip-hop. The aptly titled "Invitation," the opening track on 00:01 First EP, introduces us to Kamau's poetic style: a pulsing rhythm of rhymes over a deep groove:

"I would like to invite you to be / introducing you to me / a man, a poet, an artist, an emcee / inticing you to be a soul of creativity / taking your only lonely life to the Nth degree. / I'd like to give you something to feel / something that's real / something that hasn't been encouraged by mass appeal."

Kamau may be off the map and out of the spotlight, but he is the real deal. Check out a few tracks from his 00:01 First EP below, and visit his MySpace for a few more recent tunes.

Andrew Bird

How many singer/songwriters do you know who are famous for their whistling? I only know one, and that is Illinois multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird. Notorious for his world-class whistling, the songwriter is also a master guitarist, singer, violinist, and glockenspiel player - and master is no overstatement. Trained in Suzuki violin method from a young age and holding a Bachelor of Music in violin performance, Bird has developed a huge indie following, and with his newest album, Armchair Apocrypha, some modest commercial success. But it is on his previous album, Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs, where his bizarre lyrics and eclectic instrumentation are at their best.

The album opens with a sweet violin introduction and moves quickly into "Sovay," a light guitar ballad with a slinky glockenspiel melody. From there, Mysterious Production of Eggs explores a range of sounds from catchy rock to edgy electric folk, and everything in between. Ubiquitous is a thick, multi-layered sound in which Bird's expert violin playing meshes with acoustic and electric guitars, sparse drums, glockenspiel, and most uniquely, whistling.

On this record, Andrew Bird has created something new. With aspects of folk, rock, classical music, and country, Mysterious Production of Eggs defies categorization. Even more spectacular are Bird's solo live shows: accompanied only by a multi-track recorder, Bird plays and loops violin and guitar to create a lush texture, then loops his voice and whistling to produce gorgeous, harmonized melodies.

Here is a sampling of Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs.

Matthew Good Band

Does anyone remember the Matthew Good Band? You know, those guys with a string of hits in the mid-90s before Matt Good became a solo artist / angry political activist? Well, I remember them. MGB is one of the most underrated modern Canadian rock bands in history. With hit tunes like "Apparitions" and "Load Me Up," most people lump the now defunct alt-rock band in with one-hit wonders like Semisonic and The Verve Pipe - but MGB was so much more than a string of radio singles.

Since dissolving the Matthew Good Band in 2001, Good has released three solo albums - and not one of them has even a fraction of the depth and imagination of MGB. Matt Good is still a tremendous singer/songwriter, but it was his collaboration with MGB guitarist/keyboardist Dave Genn that made his songs so potent (most MGB tunes are in fact credited to Good/Genn). Genn's unique guitar playing is stamped all over MGB's four studio albums with increasing ferocity, culminating on the group's final album, 2001's The Audio of Being. MGB disbanded almost immediately after releasing their final record, much as The Beatles did subsequent to Let It Be, and for much the same reason.

In their 6 years as the Matthew Good Band, Good, Genn, bassist Rich Priske and drummer Ian Browne recorded four full length studio albums and three EPs, won several Juno awards, and garnered continual critical acclaim. Check out a chronological sampling of their career below.

Ariane Moffatt

When you hear a really well produced, intricately layered studio album, it's hard to imagine those tunes being played live. The fact is, technology has made it possible for a solo artist to sound like an entire band; for a quartet to sound like a symphony. And save for bringing an entire orchestra on tour, artists aren't always able to replicate their complex studio efforts in the live setting.

But on Ariane Moffatt's 2005 live DVD, "À la Station C," she proves that anything is possible. Over the course of the 2 hour show, Ari and her live band - guitarist Joseph Marchard, bassist J-F Lemieux, drummer Tony Albino, and keyboardist/programmer Francis Collard - flawlessly perform songs from her first album, Aquanaute - an album of boundless intricacy and production techniques. The group's effortless mesh of pop, trip-hop, and jazz provide an organic base for Moffatt's catchy, introspective tunes. Among the 16 tunes played are several new songs - including a cover of Gilles Vigneault's "Grand Cerf-Volant," with a poetry reading by bassist Lemieux over a musical interlude.

Not only is the musical performance on this DVD exceptional, but the cinematography is unparalleled. Warm shots and close-ups give a sense of intimacy to Moffatt's live show, with much focus being placed on the instruments as well as the musicians. Adding to the warmth is the band's stage setup, which features several well-placed rugs and a vibrant fish in a fishbowl atop Moffatt's grand piano (evidently the inspiration for Aquanaute).

Ariane Moffatt later released Le coeur dans la tête, her follow-up to Aquanaute, which received top reviews all over Québec. This second studio effort is as well-written and performed as its predecessor, but neither studio album can compare to the organic, intimate feel of Ari's live DVD.

Below are three samples from the show, in audio only: two of Moffatt's singles, "Hasard" and "Fracture du crâne," and "Sur ton parallèle," complete with an extended jazz fusion jam. If you dig the tunes, go out and pick up the DVD - the visual is well worth the money.