Spanish psychedelics and Folk Electronica: Savath & Savalas's Apropa't
Music review by Ethan Segal M'07
2003 was a big year for the Atlanta-based indie hip-hop producer, Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73. He is presently the preeminent example of a growing number of twentysomething (and teenage) musicians producing music on laptops. His last two albums, recorded as Prefuse 73, Vocal Studies and Uprock Narratives, and One Word Extinguisher, (Warp Records), combined ATL street beats with spliced rap battles, vocal cutups, and left-field electronics. Both albums subsequently garnered a multitude of praises and landed on many a year-end top ten list. Not content to rest on his laurels, Herren decided to relocate to Barcelona, Spain in search of his father's roots. What he found was a musical connection with an unknown Catalan singer/songwriter Eva Puyuelo Muns. Together they lived for eighteen months on the outskirts of Barcelona and recorded music. Mid-2003, Scott took the mostly sketched songs to Tortoise's SOMA Studio in Chicago and mixed the tracks with John McEntire, with additionally recorded drums parts from Johnny Herndon, bass by Town & Country's Josh Abrams, some vocals from Azita Youssefi (Bride of No No) and two horn players in Paul Mertens (Brian Wilson, Stereolab) and Dave Max Crawford (Poi Dog Pondering, The Sea and Cake). The result is the album, Apropa't under the name Savath & Savalas.
The music on Apropa't is heavily influenced by the Tropacalia movement of the 60's and 70's, a group of musicians from Brazil who where inspired as much by the Beach Boys and Jimi Hendrix as by Antonio Carlos Jobim. In this way, Apropa't, is equal parts Pet Sounds and Buena Vista Social Club. Even the production techniques of the album make it sound like it was recorded thirty years ago. However, the most startling thing about the album is how Herren has traded in the vocal-cups for actual singing, albeit singing backup to Eva, with a lot of studio help from Mr. McEntire. Not too bad for a hip-hopper considering all the songs are in Spanish and Catalan.
Starting with Introduccion, Apropa't begins with a sudden sweep of noise, which quickly morphs into Spanish guitar arpeggios. This segues quite nicely into the first track, Te Quiero Pero Por Otro Lado..., which features all kinds exotic stringed guitars, metallic percussion, and flutes with Herndon providing a nice beat. The next track, Colores Sin Nombre nicely grooves with a minimoog beat and a nice Spanish rap between Scott and Eva. Balcon Sin Flores has a Simon and Garfunkel type melody, which quickly goes in to a chorus and response between trumpet, Rhodes piano, and some kind of accordion. The dreamy atmosphere continues with Ultimo Tren and Sol de la Media Tarde, with light chants, guittaron, harps, and synthesizers. Most, if not all the songs on Apropa't, eschew any kind of traditional song structure, the one exception being, Un Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo, which has a nice retro feel to it, sounds like something you might find on AM radio. Scott and Eva's vocals provide a nice intimacy and add to the album's mystique.
The rest of the album continues on the same vibe and there's not much tempo or key change. This album is not for those who are looking for something to rock the party. Its more for creating a mood, for candlelight dinners, chilling out by the window, or even maybe while studying anatomy. As I take a break from my Netter's, my radiator just barely beats back the New England artic tundra. I put on Apropa't and I am transported to the warmer climates of Barcelona.