Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, Day 2 Preview
By Lizz Kannenberg in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 15, 2008 6:04PM
Next Thursday's second day of the Tomorrow Never Knows weekend may be its most eclectic, which is an enticing departure from the usual blog-approved buzz acts.
Bobby Conn is one of those guys who is so out there, it makes you feel uncomfortably normal. What tends to get lost under all of the theatrics, brightly colored costumes and garish makeup is that Conn made a really good record last year. King For A Day (Thrill Jockey) was conceived as his soundtrack to a grainy Jodorovsky-type film, and it vacillates easily between psychedelic instrumental interludes and conventionally smart pop. It's the quintessential Bobby Conn record, and he brings it to life on stage in equal parts pinpoint musicianship and gapers block-like drama.
MP3: Bobby Conn - King For A Day
Michigan's NOMO are the epitome of a genre you may never of thought of before, but will be infinitely happier and more fulfilled after discovering: indie rock afrobeat. Yep, that's right - these are musicians of the highest order, proficient in subtly shifting time signatures and surprisingly minimalist use of the trappings of more mainstream funk music. Nowhere to be found are the canned-sounding horns or waxy production that plague most jam-oriented groups; instead, NOMO's formidable crew create an infectious, caluculated-yet-playful groove that's all too absent in modern independent music.
MP3: NOMO - Nu Tones
Toronto's instrumental collective Hylozoists create vast, sometimes creepy soundscapes reminiscent of both stoic art house cinema and careening, consciously creepy eastern European folk music. Throw in bit of spritely, Scandinavian-inspired bedroom pop and classically-trained, baroque string arrangements and you might start to get the idea.