Toronto’s Badge Époque Ensemble are a tireless assembly line of lysergic mood music, with November’s Self Help marking their third release in just over a year.
For their Lagniappe Session, Badge Époque picked a pair of unsurprisingly idiosyncratic songs to interpret from Henry Mancini in 1961 and Mica Levi’s 2013 Under The Skin soundtrack.
The past 18 months have found our ears trained on Brazil’s burgeoning contemporary music scene. To name a handful, Ana Frango Elétrico, Tim Bernardes, Sessa, Kiko Dinucci, Catavento, and O Terno’s records have all soundtracked our Los Angeles HQ.
São Paulo singer-songwriter Chico Bernardes is the latest to join this loose cadre, whose debut lp remains ripe and in steady rotation. For his Lagniappe Session the 20-year-old multi-instrumentalist reflects on early inspiration (Grizzly Bear), and local sonic compatriots (Sophia Chablau and Téo Serson).
As noted earlier this year in our review of Caravan Château, Alex Izenberg is not afraid of his influences. For this installment of the Lagniappe Sessions, the Los Angeles singer-songwriter digs into the pathos of Plastic Ono Band’s “Love”, and “Living Without You” — a cornerstone of Randy Newman’s 1968 debut long-player. A warm blanket in the ever-bizarre autumn of 2020.
For his first ever Lagniappe Session, Liberty Hair Farm-based Austin McCutchen decided he’d look towards the sky. Recorded in quarantine and produced by Dan Horne, McCutchen’s takes on Jim Sullivan’s “UFO” (ft. Horne) and J.J. Cale’s “Cajun Moon” (featuring the Western Stars) offer us all a little respite from a weary world.
Dave Longstreth’s Lagniappe Session emboldens and broadens his homage to Gilberto. Performing two tender ballads from Stan Getz and João Gilberto’s seminal self-titled album, “Corcovado” and “Para Machuchar Meu Coracao,” Longstreth sings entirely in Portuguese, accompanied by only a nylon string guitar and the warm noise of a tape machine, in tribute to a bright and brilliant man and his all-embracing musical influence.
Eamon Fogarty’s 2019 lp Blue Values brought a jazzy, art-pop sheen to the songwriter’s cryptic and charmingly esoteric words. A winner from start to finish, it’s lingered on the turntable for quite sometime. For his very first Lagniappe Session, Fogarty teamed with drummer Ryan Jewell (Solar Motel, Ryley Walker) and his selections veer into the unexpected, covering Pacheco & Alexander’s “Since I Was Born” and Carole King’s “A Road to Nowhere.”
Record Store Day (August 29) sees the vinyl release of Volume 2 of Aquarium Drunkard’s ongoing Lagniappe Sessions. The 13 performances gathered here on wax all have one thing in common: they’re all bursting at the seams with love and appreciation for the power of song. We’re in a blessedly irony-free zone here; even if the song choices may occasionally seem unusual, there’s not a trace of mockery to be found. There are ghosts in the grooves here, as well. But don’t worry — they’re friendly…
… two vibrant, cinematic interpretations of traditional Japanese songs. “Tōryanse,” a children’s song typically played as crosswalk music, is reimagined here with a Yamasuki Singers-style choir over a lush and propulsive arrangement not dissimilar to the music on Wunder’s excellent Wabi Sabi LP. “Sakura,” which is customarily performed during Cherry Blossom season, finds the enigmatic maestro going wild on the harpsichord amidst swelling strings, traditional instrumentation and one of his signature breakbeats.
Atenção! An outsize portion of our 2019 listening was dominated by Grandeza, the debut album from São Paulo–born artist Sessa. As such, the follow lagniappe session is something akin to the sound of the inevitably. This, the first installment of a two-part session, begins with Sessa’s delicate rendering of Helene Smith’s soulful “I’m Controlled By Your Love”, a cover deftly employed to audiences while in LA earlier this year. Next, the artist pays tribute to fellow countryman, and Tropicália pioneer, Jorge Mautner — taking on 1976’s “Samba Jambo”, before closing out with Haitian composer and guitarist Frantz Casseus’s “Yanvalloux”.
This week’s installment of the Lagniappe Sessions catches up with DTLA troubadour Sunny War (née Sydney Lyndella Ward). In contrast to her roots gigging in punk bands, War’s approach as a solo artist (a clawhammer infused amalgamation of blues and folk) has more in common with Joan Armatrading, and Joni Mitchell than Joan Jett. Though influences do die hard (see: War’s stripped down take of “Fragile”, via Wire’s perennial debut, Pink Flag).
For her first ever Lagniappe Session, singer/songwriter/actress Lola Kirke takes to interpreting R&B, pop, and country classics by Irma Thomas, Madonna, Gary Stewart, and Samantha Mathis.
Just prior to the lockdown, Omni recorded their second entry for the Lagniappe Sessions. While their 2016 initial set paid tribute to ‘the best Alice Cooper song you’ve never heard’, here, the Atlanta trio take on Billy Joel’s FM radio-ready paean to the shadow self — “The Stranger.” Next up… some 10cc!
For this week’s installment of the Lagniappe Sessions, Gasc chose a fitting selection of tunes that feels something like a stripped-down companion piece to his debut lp, ‘L’Appel de la Forêt’. Now at Aquarium Drunkard, the Toulouse, France based troubadour covering Marie Laforêt, The Who and Michel Delpech.
For his debut Lagniappe Session, Ward decided to dig deep into the historical archives to rework some classic standards—one jazz, one classical—using some heavy guitar strings and the rustic hum of vintage Americana.
Prior to the release of their ninth record — the incredibly apt titled Sing In A World That’s Falling Apart — Black Lips touched down in Los Angeles for a secret show at Gold Diggers in East Hollywood. The following Lagniappe Session was cut just prior in the studio out back. Having morphed in both personnel and sound in recent years, drummer Oakley Munson runs us through the band’s cover selects, below — from drawing inspiration from Hank Williams to long lost VU nuggets …