Evolution Music Series: Sounds and Sweet Airs

Good morning Dig Nation and good morning Baltimore. Last week Steve hooked up the Brooklyn readers with several fantastic Gigs We Dig. This week it is my pleasure to hip the Baltimore crowd to a couple of off the beaten path concerts that promise to work your ears, your eyes, and your thinking caps. If that sounds like your kind of deal pay attention this week and come out to two performances from TWD's own Atlantic Guitar Quartet at both the Evolution Music Series as well as at Baltimore's Engineer's Club.

First up is Wednesday May 9th's Evolution Music Series Concert entitled Sounds and Sweet Airs at An Die Musik. Read on for a full description of the concert program or just trust my judegment and dive in – tickets can be purchased here.

The soundcloud file below is the first of a five movement Ronald Pearl piece to be fully premiered on that concert. This portion of the composition is titled Sometimes a Thousand Twangling Instruments. You dig?

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The Avalanches: Frontier Psychiatry

The Avalanches released their only album Since I Left You in the year 2000 (cue my best La Bamba singing voice) and caught lightning in a bottle with their single Frontier Psychiatry. From what little I've read about the bands compositional process it sounds to me like the greatness of this song came into the world in the same way penicillin did – accidentally. The band makes heavy use of the sampling, DJ scratch-fests, and imagery to sew together nonlinear sound bites into a linear tune. Additionally, the video boasts a large cast of characters who reenact all of the samples in a very Michel Gondry kind of way. The directors were Kuntz and Macquire. 

This video has been around for a little while but I've recently become smitten with it and wanted to make sure that no one in the Dig Nation missed it. Aside from the ghost choir and monkey drummer I dig the shout out to the Baltimore County public education system in the song's introduction.

That boy needs therapy. You dig?

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Sara Watkins: Sun Midnight Sun

Sara Watkins grew up playing with Nickel Creek and then cut her teeth out in the industry with good company like The Decemberists, Bela Fleck, and the whole arsenal of Prairie Home Companion. Her new album Sun Midnight Sun will be available May 8th, but the kindly folks over at NPR are streaming the album in its entirety at First Listen.

The album is as optimistic as spring. Its warm blend of genres, strength of Watkins song writing, and gusts appearances from artists such as Fiona Apple and Taylor Goldsmith make this new release a must hear.

Sara Watkins can also be found via her webpage and twitter. You dig?

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