Moderne/Artefact

“Save’s ‘Monsters And Fairies’ is an abandoned hotel room located somewhere between England and Spain. It’s real for some while for others it’s just a fantasy. Who knows?..” - Save

          For those of us who have been waiting for another Marc Nguyen Tan solo release, we still wait with bated breath. It’s been nearly 10 years since his last album, “Heat”, was released by the Modular Label under his moniker Colder. Until then, our needs will have to be satiated with the collaboration between that of the French-based Tan and American singer Craig Louis Higgins Jr., recording together as Save, backed with vocals by Saskia Sansom. The trio has built four tracks to create the EP “Monsters and Fairies.” According to their page on bandcamp.com, the songs were written and recorded in 2012.

                During the recording process, the three parties had not even met, making this collaboration all the more odd and intriguing. Like shadows in the night, Save seems to be as elusive and fleeting as Colder, perhaps even more so. Things seem to be well kept under wraps as they release tid bits of information at a time, leaving us guessing as to what will come next.

             Its music is pure Tan, driven by synthetic pops, beats and hisses, Tan's work seems to have matured and become more complex than previous efforts. I myself would be curious to hear the tracks without vocals. Higgins’ almost monotone spoken poetry fits quite well with Tan’s no-wave sensibilities, Sansom adds a tiny bit of warmth to the stark tracks, softening and adding more depth to the project. Think mid-period Cabaret Voltaire with an updated sound. Combined, the three artist's talents blend harmoniously with one another, creating a feeling of unease in the listener and a strange desire to hear more.  As rumor has it, a Save full-length album may also in the works. I know we will be looking forward to it. 

     Track listing:

                   1. Don't Be Mad

                   2. Easy Walk & Talk

                   3. Rainy Monday

                   4. The Light

            “Monsters And Fairies” will be released on June 17th. . Available in both digital and limited edition 10” vinyl format, featuring artwork by Sara Pope.

Get it here:

http://save2.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-fairies-ep

Follow them here:

http://save-music.tumblr.com/

And here:

https://www.facebook.com/easy.walk.and.talk

And/or here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcRYdQ0HHqPV9RTe89zYwjA

Save - The Light

"If you want to forget all your troubles, take a little walk in a brand-new pair of high-heeled ridin' boots." - Texas Bix Bender.

Einstürzende Neubauten as Easy Listening

Please excuse me, I'm about to get on my High Fidelity soap-box and say that Rammstein sucks and I hate their music...

Ok. I feel better now.

Moving on, I am the type of person who will flit around and dance to Bette Midler, Cher, Shakira and any of the other numerous sequin-clad broads the twinky gays fawn over -with the exception of Lady Gaga, that shit don't fly with me-- but that's another topic entirely... One thing that often separates me from those boys is my deep love for German Industrial.

Ahh, yes, the beautiful sound of husky-voiced men shrieking and banging on pipes. There is nothing quite like it. For me, Einstürzende Neubauten (in English the literal translation is "Collapsing New-Buildings") is the best of the wurst. At the point of inception in 1980, they were one of Germany's most disliked bands within their own boarders. Since the mid-1990's, the views within Germany has shifted to being one of the most well respected bands. None the less, protect your ears, EN is meant to be played LOUD!

Aside from traditional instruments, EN also incorporates scrap metals, noise and high-powered diesel construction machinery within their musical production. The latter was used heavily in their tour de force "NNNAAAMMM" (New No New Age Advanced Ambient Motor Music Machine). EN has racked up almost 30 LP's and EP's to their credit, including one with NO-Wave goddess Lydia Lunch.

Oh! And their band logo is a Toltec cave drawing. How fucking cool is that?

NNNAAAMMM

Sculptor/Inventor/Singer/Composer/Performance Artist Laurie Anderson On What Will Kill a Man.

I'll be the first to admit, I know nothing about blogs, html, and most things that involve computers. And I'm okay with that. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person. I also enjoy experimenting with things before getting an expert opinion. That's the way I work best. This will be a great learning expirience for me; to combine the unknown with things that I do.

Music is my muse; I am that guy with his nose in the liner notes of an album, his head in the clouds, with headphones super-glued to his ears. Like the dudes in High Fidelity, my catalogue for music knowledge and random factoids is enough to drive the average person mad. And perhaps I am mad... C'est la vie.

I suppose the point I am trying to get at is I was looking for a medium to share my journey of music. Like the mind, it should be open and without boundaries. Music is water, fluid, seeking its own level, and at times, is solid and definative.