Daniel Higgs - Say God

Baltimore legend Daniel Higgs is likely one of the more intriguing musical spirits to grace your ears. If his current outlet of spoken word and ambient folk hasn't yet hypnotically captivated you at one of his more recent live sets, it's more than likely his pipes that fronted Lungfish have once inspired you.

Daniel Higgs recently released a brand new full length called Say God, which came out about a month ago on Thrill Jockey. I have been spending a lot of time with this double LP, which the vinyl came beautifully packaged in a gate-fold jacket.

The recordings do a magnificent job of capturing his current live sets, entrancing you with Higgs' words and sounds that are head-deep in mystical transcendence. When watching Daniel perform, I have always felt as if you're being given the opportunity to gaze inside the mind of Mr. Higgs, and Say God feels no different. Take a listen.


Daniel Higgs - "Say God" [via]

The production is more than certainly worth noting, with textures that have the feel of field recordings, rooms filled with wood floors, and tapes from live sets. "Say God", the third track on the album, uses a live recording of Zomes performing a show in North Carolina last year. The album was produced by the always wonderful David Sitek (TV on the Radio, Celebration), with help from Higgs also.

The ambient gospel of Say God will likely be one of the more important releases to come out of our city this year. I highly recommend snatching this one on wax, and plan to begin indulging with your mind as open as can be.

After the jump you'll find some nice footage of a performance from 12/9/09.

Live MP3s: Deacon of Animal Collective at the Ottobar (+ photos w/ Dan Higgs, Jason Urick, Zomes, Moss of Aura)

Deacon, or Joshua "Deakin" Dibb of Animal Collective, played his first ever solo show on the first night of the new decade here in Baltimore, Maryland. This show was a precursor to his trip to Africa, where he was invited to play the Festival au Desert in Mali.

This was the unveiling of his solo material, and part of an amazing evening at the Ottobar that included Jason Urick, Daniel Higgs, Zomes, and Moss of Aura.

Below are the MP3s of Deacon's set, and photos from the entire night.


Deacon played five new songs, all of which he's decided to exist unnamed for the time being. Josh said he'd update me with track names once he had reached Germany from Africa and had a better internet connection. Here's the audio, but please link to this post when sharing it with others:

MP3s: Deacon live at the Ottobar - January 1, 2010

Taper: Charlie Hughes
Soundboard: Rob Girardi
Ottobar 1/1/10 Baltimore, MD

Chrissy Abbott was able to shoot the whole night, and the full photo set is in the flash gallery at the bottom. Deacon is currently in Africa, and plans to write a book and put out a new album in 2010. Look for real nice things to come.

Normally I'd share my thoughts on new material, especially for those that have inspired us in so many ways. However, for this night I just want the content to be out there, and the show to be remembered.


Daniel Higgs


Jason Urick


Moss of Aura (Gerritt Welmers of Future Islands)


Zomes


Photos by Chrissy

Hello, 2010.

Deacon of Animal Collective's First Solo Show this Friday!

In case you missed out on the well-deserved media blitz that was Merriweather Post Pavillion this year, Animal Collective was a trio for their latest releases. Deakin (now spelled Deacon), the original fourth member who helped shape the majority of their catalog has been on hiatus, taking a step away.

Deacon has just announced his first ever solo show, and it will be here in Baltimore this Friday January 1, 2010. It will be at the Ottobar with the legendary Dan Higgs, innovative Jason Urick, and promising Moss of Aura (solo Future Islands project).

Read on for the full details, and to enter a giveaway for free passes to this one.

Very little output has derived from Deakin as of late, besides a smattering of remixes here and there throughout the year. With good reason, folks will be stoked for this show, as this will be the first taste of his new material. Come see him play before he heads to Africa, where he'll be performing at Festival Au Desert and touring with Panda Bear.

Local icon Daniel Higgs opened for Animal Collective at the Ottobar this year, the first show of a massive MPP tour. His recent performances have been a must-see, a man responsible for some of the most important artistic output Baltimore has had to offer.

Jason Urick, whose Husbands was one of our favorite albums of 2009, will be opening along with Moss of Aura. Moss of Aura is Future Islands synth master Gerritt Welmers' fantastic solo project. This show is all ages, and will start at 8:30 PM.

Email bmoremusicallyinformed@gmail with DEACON SHOW in the subject line, and let us know you'd like a pair of free passes to this one. I'll pick a winner the morning of the show, whenever I wake up from the prior evening's activities.

Check out the video for Moss of Aura's "Hope" below.

Photos: Whartscape 2009 Day One

Photos by Chrissy

Be prepared to be bombarded with photos from all three days of what was a pretty fantastic Whartscape 2009. Above is the photo set from the first day, and if you missed the performances outside the BMA due to work like me, be sure to check out Jeff's recordings over at Beatbots.

Friday night's seated show inside the BMA's auditorium was a great way to get things rolling. There was some pretty hilarious comedy, mind-frying videos, and some stellar musical performances. The legend that is Dan Higgs put on a capivating all vocal performance, and Brooklyn's So Percussion boggled brains with their mesmerizing and electrifying percussive entourage.

But the night was capped off with perfection, with Celebration taking the stage as a six piece. Starting off with some old stuff, but quickly getting into new material, the band filled the room with atmospherical rock gems that never age in beauty. The new songs sounded great live, and they played at least one that hasn't yet been released on their site. Katrina Ford's voice sounded amazing as usual, and it was good to see the majority of the crowd getting out of their seats and coming up to the front of the auditorium.

Stayed tuned for a ton of visuals and thoughts from days two and three of Whartscape.