![3D""=20](3D"http://www.whatsupyukon.com/images/stories/mini_masts/discourse.pn=)
If=20
there were a word to describe Automat6n, it would be=20
=E2=80=9Cluxuriant=E2=80=9D.
If you have a taste for =
simple production, this may=20
not be the CD for you. On the other hand, if you enjoy being =
slathered in audio butter and look forward to sound weeping =
from=20
every frequency your speakers can produce, you may want to =
cinch=20
your seatbelt and get ready for a ride.
Primarily a =
studio band,=20
Arkana has a sound that is a complicated mix of styles. The =
album=20
may have at first an unfamiliar tone, but with subsequent =
listening,=20
you will recognize familiar elements.
Recorded and =
mastered in=20
Ottawa and Vancouver, this album comes to the Yukon via =
newly=20
transplanted Yukoner, Kevin Maves.
Maves, the primary =
singer=20
songwriter of the band and his partner Jeremy Dahl, primary=20
instrumentalist, make up the power duo that is =
Arkana.
The album=20
is awash in an unapologetic glister of sonic bombasm. The =
sound is a=20
driving jangling drive of guitar and bass in the best =
progressive=20
rock tradition.![3D"Yukoners](3D"http://www.whatsupyukon.com/images/stories/2008/mar_7_2008/discour= "3D\"Yukoners")
While the similarity with progressive rock =
should be=20
noted, I would suggest this for the complexity of the sound =
mix and=20
lyrical content ... not for any long-winded organ =
solos.
I=20
believe the music listener of today has a sophisticated ear =
and I=20
think these songs would have a comfortable home on radio =
given a=20
fair listen by a thinking man=E2=80=99s program =
director.
Unfortunately,=20
radio time today is taken up with the banal natter of radio=20
personalities and insipid music play lists generated by =
computer,=20
playing selections that are held over from some presumed =
golden=20
adolescence.
With all these barriers to good taste, music =
such as=20
this will fall through their cracks. The public needs to be =
exposed=20
to a larger pantheon of music. And so say all of =
me.
Radio=20
listeners deserve a treat now and then and Arkana=E2=80=99s =
Automat6n is=20
just the tonic for these anaemic times.
Maves takes on =
all the=20
big stuff here. His writing is sophisticated without =
pretence and=20
his voice soars above the atmosphere of the music binding it =
together.
Songs of struggle and toil, the spade and =
feather,=20
seeking guidance from a higher power, reaching for blinding =
truth=20
and the ever-popular theme of love are all represented here, =
glowing=20
through a glass, darkly.
The album evokes a heritage of =
memories=20
from the 1980s to today. Arkana touches on the New Romantics =
movement without the frilly shirts and annoying synth drums =
and=20
bass.
At home here are the sounds of the Middle East =
fused with=20
British pop. I would point you to the band, The Tea Party, =
if I were=20
to suggest a similarly unique sound.
What Maves and Dahl =
have=20
created has dug into the DNA of another time, clipped off =
the=20
weakness, added elements of their own and created a stronger =
and=20
more vigorous animal.
Arkana=E2=80=99s album, Automat6n, =
is available at=20
a most reasonable price at CD Plus and Triple Js Music in =
the local=20
music section. They have a website under construction at =
arkana.ca=20
where you can listen to selections from the =
album.
Note to=20
editor:
Yes, the album title is =
=E2=80=9CAutomat6n=E2=80=9D with a six in the=20
name.
Yes, I used the word =
=E2=80=9Cglister=E2=80=9D.
From Websters 1828=20
Dictionary Glister GLIS'TER, v.i. [See Glisten.] To shine; =
to be=20
bright; to sparkle; to be brilliant. All that glistens is =
not gold.=20
GLISTER. [See Clyster.]
It=E2=80=99s kinda archaic, I=20
know.
Bill:
I'm cool with =
=E2=80=9Cglister=E2=80=9D. It was =E2=80=9Cbombasm=E2=80=9D that=20
had me wondering. And I noticed in your first draft you =
spelled it=20
with an =E2=80=9Ci=E2=80=9D. If you are going to make up =
words, at least spell them=20
right.
Bill Polonsky is a =
music=20
programmer at CJUC 92.5 FM in Whitehorse and can be =
contacted at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you =
need=20
JavaScript enabled to view it
=
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