The Formative Years

Die Goldenen Zitronen 

When Die Goldenen Zitronen first incarnated in the mid-1980s, it proved to be difficult to find their simple melange of early punk rock, comedic lyrics and at times angry lyrics aimed at rejecting what the music industry stood for and its formulaic structures of rock anything less than charming.

Things got interesting in the early nineties when their album “Fuck You” saw them develop and refine their sonic emissions further, before 1994 saw a quantum leap in terms of their musical evolution with the release of “Das Bisschen Totschlag”: Musically they no longer based their endeavours on punk and persiflage but experimented with a wide array of styles, e.g. noise, hip hop, electro and a veritable nod to bands like Captain Beefheart and Gang of Four.

Their album “Economy Class” was a pivotal one as it shocked their die hard Hamburger Schule fans with its improvisational jazz, before they focussed on electronic instrumentation on their funky “Dead School Hamburg” album, which saw the advent of collaborations with Peaches and bands like Chicks on Speed.

What started in the specifically Teutonic sub-genre of “fun punk”, had become an extremely profound, imaginative and thought provoking political band with their music having evolved to being agnostic of any musical boundaries.

Die Goldenen Zitronen remain a band that channeled its frustrations with the status quo to fuel the expansion of their dissonant sound, which has always been ahead of the curve and whose often cynical output does feel timeless as it has aged gracefully, with the issues and conversations it tackled still being ongoing, e.g. the dismissal of right-wing brutality, racism against immigrants, the implications of consumerism and general fear of the unknown.

Over two decades after the releases of their albums, they still hold up and stick together surprisingly well, with coherence achieved through their unique energy, unpretentious charming amateurism, righteous anger, powerful messaging, satire and subtle bursts of anger.
 

Punk and Style

Citizen Wolf

As Nick Cave quipped during his brighter moments: “A gentleman never talks about his tailor” and given that his dishevelled Birthday Party days are long left behind, paired with the fact that he has perfectioned his style with bespoke Chriss Kerr designed suits and his trademark unbuttoned shirt look, he should know what he is talking about.

It has always puzzled me how punk and traditional tailoring seem to at odds in most people’s minds, especially since punk was a movement that could have not been designed as a more uniform one with its leather jackets, ripped jeans and boots combo. 

One might argue that it lacked sartorial flair and was more subversive and rebellious in nature than other youthful underground phenomena, however, one can argue that it was still about dressing up. Essentially, the DNA of the punk look as we know it could have not been more artificially designed as its rebel aesthetic was essentially incepted by the fashion creating duo that was Vivienne Westwood and Malcom McLaren, whose emblematic provocative distressed fetish inspired edge eventually created “punk” archetypes before they infiltrated haute couture and subverted the establishment.

Fashion and the art behind tailoring has always fascinated me and I have had the fortune of visiting designers during my travels to learn more about how their collections come about and the meticulous approach to design.

When it comes to wardrobe staples like shirts, there is nothing that beats a good fit, which can make more than merely a subtle difference and on my search for new gear, I came across a local business that goes by the name of Citizen Wolf.

What intrigued me from the get go was Citizen Wolf’s mission statement, i.e. their endeavours being centred around affordable carbon negative on-demand production for a sustainable fashion future and their intrinsic drive to break the fashion industry’s addiction to overproduction.

Ushering in a new era which has the promotion of a healthier relationship with the clothes we wear at its core,  Citizen Wolf has pro-actively re-engineered technology to create custom fit garments for any body shape, only producing them when an order is placed.

Now, how does it work?

A bit of research revealed that Citizen Wolf has created what they refer to as their trademark Magic Fit algorithm, which no matter if you need a tall-fit tee or a bit more room than standard sizing provides, will ensure that it fits your frame: 

First, you choose your style—from tank top to turtleneck; then your fabric—organic cotton, hemp blend, or RWS-certified Merino wool; then your favourite colour from a wide and diverse colour palette. 

Using biometric data distilled from close to two million data points, Citizen Wolf creates a mathematical model of your body, which serves as a basis to create custom-fit garments faster and more accurately than a human tailor could.

While I had my concerns at first, what materialized was exactly what I had hoped for in terms of sizing with the added benefit that the fabric is pre-shrunk and made to stay in the shape you purchased it. An added bonus is that they offer the free option for further alterations and tweaking.

By upcycling any offcut fabric waste into quirky totes and scarves, they break the mold of how things are done in the fashion industry in a sustainable and affordable manner and what could be more punk than that?

Murder City Devils @ The Crocodile- Live Stream

Live event streaming is something I'm still fairly new to indulging in (unless you count Wrestlemania and boxing matches on Pay-Per-View). Although there have been a few over the past year that interested me, I still hadn't really checked one out. Many artists have had differing productions from The Menzingers' intimate feeling in-studio live-stream, to Bad Religion's "Decades" live-stream series performed to an empty room at the famed Roxy in Hollywood, CA. The Murder City Devils' live-stream was much more a live-stream of their own concert. The band playing to a full crowd while the show is streamed to fans at home.

I logged on and got myself familiar with the interface. Viewers could make different rooms and chat either through video, mic, or just typing in some messages. You were also able to adjust the volume between the music and the viewers that had a mic plugged in. A nice feature to have if you're watching with some friends in a private room. You had an icon that you could move around the screen, I assume to make it feel like you're taking a place in the crowd. While a fun novelty, it got distracting having a bunch of circles in front of the band anytime the camera panned to close-ups of the stage. Eventually I left the room someone had entitled, "The Pit!"

The band took the stage at the new location for the iconics Seattle venue, The Crocodile, around 9:20 and went straight into "I Want A Lot Now." It was nice to sit back in the comfort of my own home with some food and enjoy the show. The band was as raucous as ever. Vocalist, Spencer Moody, belted, moaned, and groaned the lyrics through most of the set. At one point, a streamer took note of how "wasted" he appeared to be. Occasionally entertaining, but distracting at other times.

The most fun part of streaming the live-event was playing with my cat as the band trudged through In Name and Blood's opener, "Press Gang." The band spread out their catalog pretty evenly in the set. During a run of tracks from the band's 2014 album, The White Ghost Has Blood on its Hands Again, Moody crawled across the stage and approached fans to give them their own go at the mic, before closing the show with "Broken Glass," from the band's self-titled debut.

Overall, I enjoyed the show and found live-streaming entertaining enough. It was nice to catch a performance without having to pay parking, dealing with traffic, and having my own food to eat while I watched. Flymachine is still in its infancy. There was even a "beta" tag adorning it's logo on the screen. They offered a decent enough experience though. I imagine it could only be better if you're watching with a group of friends in a private virtual room together. I'm interested to see how concert streaming continues to develop.

The Formative Years

Die Fantastischen Vier 

I was first introduced to German hip hop through bands like Advanced Chemistry and Die Fantastischen Vier in the early nineties. Both began around the same time and the latter evolved artistically over time to become a reliable entity whose releases I have always made sure to check out when they were released. 

When they first hit the scene, Fanta Vier were a trailblazing, prominent force when it came to liberating hip hop in the old world from aping the superficial clichés known from the US. Instead they focused on taking the core elements and started infusing it with their idiosyncratic DNA and contextualising it for a contemporary Teutonic context, rapping in German.

Having started out as a goofy, fun outfit that fairly on secured mainstream accolades, Die Fantastischen Vier went on to combine commercial success and authenticity in a manner that is not often found on German terrain.

Albums like “Lauschgift” and “4:99” became masterpieces that were lightyears ahead of the efforts of the German compatriots and being pioneers, they managed to not only make rap socially acceptable but accomplished the feat to become an integral component of the Germanic cultural canon.

Lyrically, they conveyed an eloquently articulated, inspiring and spirited attitude to life, which was complemented by tight productions and a refreshing musical catchiness that continues to capture the zeitgeist – elements that remain the common denominator to this very day, thirty-two years after they first incarnated.

The fact that each of the four members has carved out individual careers and side projects for themselves contributes to constant growth as far as their identities are concerned, which in turn reinvigorates the band and contributes to the creation of something fresh and new when they convene to work on new material.

Water of Life

Chief’s Son Distiller’s Select and Bourbon Brothers’ December box

If you have been following this series attentively or, even better, have had the fortunate of sampling a dram from the vibrant, family owned small batch Chief’s Son distillery, there is a high likelihood that you have been waiting with baited breath for their 2021 incarnation of their much fabled about Distiller’s Select series: An annual, limited and coveted release in nature, this hand selected release is by many considered to be the watermark of what has been achieved in terms of exciting and new styles in the respective year.

This year’s release clocks in at  47.5% ABV and is a truly special expression as it is derived from the exquisite base that has matured in Chief’s Son’s richest French Oak ex-Apera barrels, before having been further refined with a range of 20 liter casks. 

Clear yet viscous in appearance and mahogany in colour, what tickles the nostrils upon approach is a complex mélange of roasted coffee beans, honeyed maple syrup and caramelly marzipan notes, backed by a subtle hint of tobacco. 

On the palate, a bold and rich avalanche of flavours unleashes its powers with malty oak highlights, which set the stage for cidery, citrussy and pop rocks nuances to dance and intertwine with roasted nuts and toffee.

The elongated finish reverberates with exceptionally more-ish and Pavlovian response evoking marmalade flavours, which with the piquancy courtesy of the old oak flavours leaves one lusting for another dram.

I have yet to taste an underwhelming drop from the Mornington Peninsula and this year’s Distiller’s Select expression is another example par excellence for Chief’s Son pushing the envelope in terms of depth of flavours without ever running danger of diluting its DNA.

Bourbon Brothers – December Subscription Box

I find subscription boxes to sometimes be hit and miss in that it is nice to receive curated samples, which offer the opportunity to discover an expression or even distillery I normally would not have gotten my mitts on, but quite often I find lacking in the “bang for the buck” department.

Then there are subscription services like Bourbon Brothers.

As the name suggests, the focus is firmly set on Bourbon, which is a territory I am fond of yet not one where my top ten drops are located in. This is where Bourbon Brothers comes to the rescue as I have yet to come across one of their variety pack subscription boxes that makes me not rejoice in the discovery in a drop that makes me take not and seek out to get a whole bottle of. 

The fact that the samples come not only with obligatory tasting notes and flavour profiles (including links to exclusive tasting videos), neatly and securely packaged but most importantly in generous trios of100ml bottles, makes it a curated delivery service both a novice and Bourbon connoisseur will be bound to forward to every month.

While Bourbon Brothers delivers on a monthly service, they have knocked it out of the park with their beautifully presented end-of-year December box as it contains the equivalent of Bourbon porn:

I popped the Barrel Bourbon Blend #D01K straight after the box materialized and I was in for a treat: Being one of only forty-nine micro-blends made in the first ever series of Barrell Bourbon Private Release Bourbon, the nostril are tickled with dominant nutmeg notes, backed by dark cherry nuances that are pervaded by subtle hints of vanilla, seamlessly transitioning in a medium-bodied and oily manner to balanced notes of toffee, walnut and caramel on the palate. The long finish culminates in notes of toasted oak, cinnamon and a hint of deep plum preserves. Delicious.

Next up was the Bulleit Bourbon, the aromas of which reeled me in with strong scents of oak, rye and the faintest trace of smokiness.
As the name suggests, Bulleit does not lack impact on the top of the mouth. What starts with darkly sweet notes and layers of woodiness and acidity, quickly transitions to targeted shots of a pronounced bold spicy oakiness.

The lingering finish continues of the spicy oak trail, interweaved with butterscotch and dark fruity notes. A memorable sipper thanks to its deep and complex flavour profile.

The last component of Bourbon Brothers' December box is another discovery for me, i.e. Old Virginia: Despite clocking in a comparatively tame 40% ABV, this baby hits big with a strong ethanol note that is flanked by cidery, oaky and burnt toffee notes.

On the palate, honeyed decadence is the name of the game as syrupy flavours play the claviature from dark chocolate to crème brulee, with the finish rounding things out beautifully with a reverberating oakiness.

Cannot wait to see what Bourbon Brother’s has got in store for 2022...