BY ALTUĞ KARAKURT (EE/III)
altug.karakurt@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
February is almost over, and we are way into 2015. In the first two months, we have heard some very impressive new records released by Joey Bada$$, Xibalba, Björk, Marilyn Manson and Lupe Fiasco, among many others. Better yet, there is much more to come. In this column, I have listed those albums slated to be released during the rest of 2015 that I’m especially looking forward to. The list has turned out to be very diverse and quite fascinating.
BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG) & Ghostface Killah
Although their official debut album, “III,” was very disappointing to me, the Canadian jazz trio BBNG had also released two groundbreaking unofficial records, “BBNG” and “BBNG2.” In these, BBNG reinterpreted iconic underground hip-hop tunes by adding a lot of jazz sections, improvisations and great musicianship. They have already worked with some important hip-hop artists, such as MF DOOM, Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler The Creator, and it was announced last year that they would be releasing an album in collaboration with the hip-hop legend Ghostface Killah from Wu-Tang Clan.
The album, “Sour Soul,” is set to be released a few days after this column is published. It also features Danny Brown and MF DOOM on guest verses. To date, one song, “Ray Gun,” has been released from the album; it is full of jazzy beats, solid flow from MF DOOM and a beautiful instrumental horn and bass section as the outro, which is obviously not common in hip-hop. Considering the recent experimental, cinematic concept albums by Ghostface Killah (“12 Reasons To Die” and “36 Seasons”) and BBNG’s exceptional compositions, I am expecting a very unique sound built on 60s – 70s jazz tunes and featuring Ghostface’s classic narrative verses as the lead.
Deafheaven
Ever since the release of their sophomore album, “Sunbather,” the young American black metal act Deafheaven has been a hot topic in the black metal community. Some traditional listeners find them to be poser-type newcomers and disparage them, but I think Deafheaven is creating something fresh and new out of a rather stable, repetitive and old-fashioned genre. In fact, I believe we will one day recall Deafheaven as being one of the pioneers of a new wave of black metal. The band adds elements from post-rock and shoegaze on top of black metal, forming an atmospheric, eerie, dark and layered, beautifully arranged production.
This year, they are releasing their third album, “LP3,” from which the single “From the Kettle Onto the Coil” was released back in August. I am looking forward to finding out where the next wave of black metal is headed to.
Faith No More
Faith No More is back after an 18-year hiatus. With their genre-bending releases such as “King for a Day…Fool for a Lifetime” and “Angel Dust,” they have been influencing the young generations of the alternative and experimental rock scenes for over 30 years. After their break-up, band members, especially the legendary vocalist Mike Patton, worked on many solo and side projects, but the iconic Faith No More sound was nowhere to be found. I think “Sol Invictus” will be an interesting experience for listeners. We will have the chance to hear a new interpretation of alternative rock by 50-plus-year-old pioneers of the genre, after a break of 18 years.
Ghost BC
Ghost BC is one of the most recent and promising doom metal bands around today. There hadn’t been much musical progress in the genre for over a decade when Ghost released their debut album, “Opus Eponymous,” in 2010. Even today, most bands in the genre are either fusion bands with an emphasis on sludge metal, or are heavily dependent on the traditional doom metal sound and pretty much repeat what the classic bands did. While Ghost is likewise heavily influenced by King Diamond and Mercyful Fate, they also add their own interpretation and create a more modern and original sound than others in the genre today.
Their debut album got an unexpectedly positive reception from the underground metal community, and Ghost easily made their way up to the mainstream scene and began headlining major concerts at important metal festivals. Their sophomore album, “Infestissumam,” was more diverse in terms of instrumentation, but fell short of the expectations raised by their successful debut. With their third album, slated for release late in 2015, they need to prove themselves again to make up for the negative feedback they received after their second release. Personally, I think “Infestissumam” was a transition phase, where the band was experimenting with some new elements, such as introducing synths and trying out a cleaner music production. I am expecting a more mature and satisfying album, in which they will have mastered these practices.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar, a young and ambitious rapper from Compton, California, shook the hip-hop community to the core with his two amazing records “Section.80” and “Good Kid m.A.A.d. City.” In both, Kendrick gives us narratives of ghetto life and gang crimes, mostly based on true stories. Especially in his sophomore album, he goes back to his childhood and tells about his bad experiences in the hood in harsh, blunt verses set off by amazing productions. With these two ambitious releases, he earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the most promising conscious rappers of the current generation. Two years after “Good Kid m.A.A.d. City,” he will be releasing a new album in 2015.
In the intervening period, Kendrick has delivered many guest verses and released two songs from the upcoming album. I had been very concerned about his next release, because he set the bar so high with his last album that it would be very difficult to go beyond that level. However, with the two songs from the new album, “i” and “Blacker the Berry,” he aims for a brand-new style and so manages to stay fresh and exciting. In “i” he uses a very funky sample, which I wouldn’t have expected to hear from him at all. The latter song may be the most aggressive he has ever recorded, where he attacks the violence within the African American community and taunts the gangs more pointedly than anybody else has done recently. As in the case of his previous full-length releases, I am expecting to hear a very cohesive and unique concept album.