Music without Labels IV
Nashville´s country rock by Kris Kristofferson
Spoken word by Mapache
Optimistic pop by Felines
Country Rock IV: What happens in Nashville?
In Nashville, the band Area Code 615 mixes country structures and instruments with pop. It is formed by studio musicians who have participated in Bob Dylan's albums such as Blonde on Blonde (1966) and Nashville Skyline (1969).
This country rock music is rougher than Californian country rock, and the music industry calls it "crossover". Because of this genre, traditional country singers, such as Billy Swan, became rock stars.
Kris Kristofferson - Me and Bobby McGee (1970)
Version of a song written in 1969 by Kristofferson himself together with the producer Fred Luther Foster. After being recorded by other artists, it appeared in his album Kristofferson.
After a perilous life, Kris Kristofferson got a job as a composer with the record label Monument Records in Nashville, capital of country music. There he gained notoriety thanks to the success of his song Me and Bobby McGee, which was recorded by the singer Roger Miller in 1969 and Janis Joplin in 1970. Later, he married the elegant country star, Rita Coolidge, and recorded a few LPs with her. In these, they made use of duets (a formula so characteristic of this genre), in which they showed splendid vocal techniques.
National: Mapache
Mapache is a Sevillian band which hopes to find new formulas in the world of spoken word, resulting in an eclectic style where the most primitive rock's crude sound takes precedence.
Their poems cover a great variety of genres, from surrealism based on natural images, to odes to princess Salome. Their objective is to show respect and admiration for female power.
Mapache - Patíbula (2017)
Version of Gallis Pole, a traditional song recorded by Leadbelly in 1939, and which includes a fragment of the poem La noche-V by Roque Dalton. It is part of their album Danza Salomé.
Mapache is formed by Marta Mapache (poems and voice), Leo García (bass guitar), Marcos Fernández (drums), Alberto Pielfort (viola and guitars) and Alicia Colodro (backing vocals). Their first project is a sort of road movie with literary references and intertextuality. In it, we can find classic rock, psychedelia, jazz, blues and a great mix of contemporary genres. There is also experimentation without forgetting about melodies. Marta's perfect diction transports us to US movies from the 50s.
National: Felines
Felines is a very young Danish quartet formed by three girls, Ditte Melgaard (guitar), Mei-Long Bao (drums), Asta Louisa Bjerre (bass guitar), and a guy, Kristian Bønløkke (keyboard).
Influenced by British band Delta 5's post-punk music and US alternative rock bands such as The Breeders, they have created their own sound which they show in pop songs with an optimistic message.
Felines - Too Tight (2018)
Song credited to the whole band and part of their last album, Saying It Twice Makes It Real. It is a homage to New York City and to the artists of the No Wave movement.
The No Wave movement emerged in the Big Apple in the mid-70s. Though it was short-lived, it definitely influenced the powerful punk rock scene it was followed by. They make use of some elements common to every artist, but their music has an experimental nature and does not belong to any specific style or genre. It is part of the art rock subgenre and their lyrics tend to be abstract puzzles which talk about nihilism and confrontation. In No Wave, performing art takes on special importance.