Audio = Groundzero part 3 - JBL

For People Who Listen

We live in a time and age where traditional headphones have almost completely been replaced by earbuds and while them being wireless, small and convenient to use, more often than not especially the free ones that come along with your phone purchase are of questionable quality and tend to not last overly long.

Now, in a more than crowded market, choosing the most suitable ones for your individual needs and balancing budgetary constraints and specific features elevating outcomes when it comes to audio fidelity and noise cancellation can be a challenge.

After a period of trial and error, testing both headphones and ear buds for both working from home with video conferencing and going for long runs in between, I have grown to appreciate some new styles, which are able to connect to the computer and phone via Bluetooth, sound fantastic and in terms of design prove much more convenient to use than headsets or headphones with a cord between the two earbud components.

Before selecting earbuds, checking the product specifications is an essential first step as e.g. matching the impedance of the source to the impedance of the earbuds; the right level of sensitivity; the range of audio frequencies the earbuds can repeat (which should correlate with the type of music you prefer) and the quality of drivers will all impact on the overall sound quality, the listening experience and to an extent the health of your ears.

Another important factor is figuring out the shape of your ear and what you will feel comfortable with when it comes to earbuds nestling in your ear cavity and depending on the kind of activity you will be using them for, how they work to isolate sound, cancel noise and resist sweat during strenuous workouts.

After having tried many models, I settled on a couple of models that have become reliable companions during work, travel and running. A more recent one is the Live Pro+ TWS, which is a wireless earbud specimen from JBL, a company I have not had any experience with before.

The combination of dynamic drivers aimed at getting the most out of most common music genres paired with a noise cancellation and “ambient aware” features that are adaptive the Live Pro+ tick two important boxes for me, especially the latter when working in public spaces and need to block out the world around me. Needless to say, the noise cancelling qualities also come in handy when trying to nap while travelling.

Another bonus is not only the fact that the JBL Live Pro+ can be charged wirelessly and with the combination of seven hours of playback plus a further twenty one in the case, they keep humming along all day long.

As I am not an avid user of voice assistance, the fact that I could use them for those purposes is not a selling point for me personally, but surely for anyone who is borderline married with Alexa, Siri and co.

Now, an important feature for using them while running is not only the fact that the Live Pro+ are water resistant, but that they come with a handful of sets of silicone ear tips to create the perfect fit for your auricle, even when wearing them with gators or masks.

If you experienced wireless earbuds when they first hit the market, you would be acutely aware of how important it is for phone calls for the microphones to give at least a semblance of a real conversation, which is where many earbuds still fail. With these babies and the noise cancellation qualities of the phone, taking calls while running proves to be doable without running danger of sounding like a robot in a wind tunnel and what I love about listening to music while running is how the long bars outside the ears let me control music playback functions to perfectly calibrate the sound you are aiming for without feeling like you are knocking directly on your ear drums.

Sound-wise, I would not have expected these tiny buds to deliver such a clear, punchy and big sound, with a customizable broadly range EQ to refine nuances to a tee. All around an well-priced, versatile and great sounding product that delivers what it claims.

Based on the experience I have had, I checked out what JBL has to offer in other areas of audio equipment and opted for one their Bluetooth speakers when it came to getting a new one for outside activities and blasting tunes while on the move or settling into hotels, et cetera.

The JBL Charge 5 is a compact, durable and portable powerhouse built in a manner that not only looks sleek and aesthetically pleasing, but is fully water- and dustproof, i.e. it is the ideal speaker to kick about when having debauched parties, the work shed, shenanigans in the shower or outdoor workouts with the squad.

Being moderately priced paired with the fact that sound wise things are on the balanced and articulate end of the spectrum even when using it outdoors, the feature that sealed the deal for me was that it doubles as a power bank and works incredibly well with voice assistants.

--

images from company website

The Formative Years – Hüsker Dü  

Formed at the rear end of the 1970s in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Hüsker Dü  remains one of the most influential bands in my musical pantheon when it comes to crossing over from straight out hardcore punk into shaping alternative rock without ever having run danger of sacrificing an iota of significance and relevance.

If you dig underground music, you would find yourself hard-pressed to find a flaw with Hüsker Dü’s ferocious, primal sounding Land Speed Record, Everything Falls Apart and the seminal concept album that is Zen Arcade, which gradually saw them experiment with incorporating slower and melodical ingredients into their aggressive songs to forge their characteristically intense trademark sound, which was comprised of stuttering, hiccup drumming, heavily distorted guitars and hoarse twin vocal arrangements and resulted in an idiosyncratic melange that simmered down an eclectic range of genres to fit in a single tune.

In layman’s terms, Hüsker Dü was a band that had an aversion to being pigeon holed, so they created their own land, which was pivotal to creating the sound that convinced hardcore punk purists that there is more to the genre than the worn out, tried and tested loud, fast and heavy-formula.

I have yet to come across anything that evolved out of the ashes of Hüsker Dü – be it Hart & Mould’s solo albums or the bands they went on to form, e.g. Nova Mob and Sugar.

Via his most recent album, Blue Heats, I recently revisited Bob Mould’s solo output and it lead me down a wonderful rabbit hole of beautifully bulldozing songs, the onslaught of which make it hard for me to decide what sounds more convicted and angrier – his guitar or his intensively angsty vocal delivery. 

One of a kind.

Enjoy:

Francis Bacon or the Measure of Excess 

ACC Art Books

My library has quite a considerable segment dedicated to the art of and literature about Francis Bacon, which has been accumulated for over two decades and while I always eagerly  welcome new additions to the fold, there are sometimes elaborations in book form that actually enrich my collection.

Case in point: Yves Peyre’s Francis Bacon or the Measure of Excess.

Based on first-hand experience and his long-standing friendship with Francis Bacon, Peyre chronicles the artist’s journey from its genesis via the evolution of his art to the ultimate culmination, resulting in some of his more prominent artworks in the 1980s. 

What I specifically like about Peyre’s approach is how he navigates between Bacon’s yin  and yangs, e.g. life and death, beauty, violence and torment, civilisation and its downfall, lust and disgust, et cetera. 

The tome will appeal to both the aficionados as well as the uninitiated as it starts off with a detailed biography to create the foundation to then drill deeper in a bid to meticulously analyse not merely individual artworks but Bacon’s oeuvre and its significance at large.
With Peyre’s intimate knowledge of Francis Bacon’s approach to art and his life in general as well as his pedigree, inspirations and hauntings, he effortlessly manages to engage the reader as he guides us through the factors that influenced him from philosophical, political and poetic angles and thereby adds a unique viewpoint to the canon of explorations that try to explain the becoming of one of the most significant and  idiosyncratic artists of the twentieth century.

A monograph that serves in equal measure as a monumental tribute to Bacon as well as a veritable resource for anyone remotely interested in twentieth-century figurative art. 

The fact that the both informative and inquisitive essays are substantiated by aesthetically pleasing large high quality illustrations does not hurt either.

Water of Life

Westward American Single Malt and Aerolite Lyndsay

Transitioning almost seamlessly from my recent tribute to the Kings of Punk, i.e. Poison Idea feature, we are going to stay in Portland, Oregon to shed light on a distillery that in terms of American Single Malt has been one of the domineering brands for the last twenty years, i.e. Westward Whiskey. 

I have heard many a enthusiast rave about Westward’s artisanal approach and unwillingness to compromise in terms of quality, with literally every facet of their operations being handled in a dedicated manner in-house with a focus on provenance, i.e. sourcing locally grown barley and ale yeast to then ferment it at a low temperature to produce an American Ale, which is then used as the source material to be distilled twice in their custom-made stills before maturation begins in their carefully curated and lightly charred American Oak barrels.

It was about time that I actually got to sample what kind of signature flavour profile the  avoidance of shortcuts and Westward’s craftmanship results in. 

Expectations were high, specifically given that I have just recently been spoiled by being able to sample the full range of Whiskey Hunt’s highly covered barrel picks.

Westward’s core expression tickles the nostrils upon approach with a delicate melange of syrupy, nutty and dark roasted coffee notes, which are accentuated by fruity highlights on the ripe banana end of the spectrum.

Silky in terms of mouthfeel, what materialises on the top of the mouth is a continuation of what the nose promised with caramel and dark nutty chocolate flavours becoming more dominant.

The medium length slightly floral finish rounds things out by meandering between toasted peanuts, cardamon and hazelnutty flavours counterpointed by a delicate bitterness reminiscent of strong coffee and the faintest hints of wood smoke and oaky sweetness.

Not bad, not bad at all. 

Needless to say, after ticking quite a few boxes with their core expression, I was intrigued as what was to expect from Westward Distillery’s celebration of Oregon’s much fabled about craft beer culture with them channelling their alchemy in a barrel exchange program, which sees Westward’s used barrels being infused with the characteristics of Stout.

In essence, Westward’s Stout Cask Finish is based on the aforementioned core expression before being aged for twelve months in Stout casks. 

The outcome takes Westward’s core expression to the next level with an refreshing avalanche of honeyed vanilla, citrus and spicy aromas. 

On the palate things culminate in a crescendo of brown sugary, malty highlights and milky chocolate, which transitions into the pleasantly elongated finish with peaches engaging in an interplay with orangey, hoppy and herbal notes, peaking with a bit of a nutmeggy, spicy kick. The perfect companion for any boilermaker.

Summa summarum, Westward delivers the goods and if you are remotely into American Whiskeys, you would be ill advised to not indulge in what their dedicated artisanal approach results in. Personally, I was specifically impressed by what they have achieved with their barrel exchange program, which as I understand it meant to become a staple in its core line-up,  and I look forward to their future expressions.

Aerolite Lyndsay

For anyone remotely following this series, it should not come as a surprise that I thoroughly enjoy exploring and discovering new aquae vitae variants, especially those of the peated and smoky persuasion emanating from the hallowed mossy bog grounds and particular topography of the remote and rugged little island known as Islay. 

While experiencing new whiskies that aid in expanding one’s horizon with merits that take what the respective region is known for to new heights, having the opportunity to experience characterful smoky whiskies from one of the nine Islay distilleries that I have not yet had the opportunity to try make me borderline giddy – even more so, when the focus is firmly put on authenticity and provenance. 

Enter Aerolite Lyndsay.

Chances are that if you come across Aerolite Lyndsay in the increasingly crowded Islay section of your local liquor outlet, it will instantenously catch your attention due to its attractive retro packaging and the intriguing name, which is not an easy feat these days given the way marketing heavily relies on embellishing legends of history and traditionalism and presenting it in an aesthetically pleasing manner to an ever evolving, savvy global audience.

The name Aerolite Lyndsay not merely captures one’s imagination and sounds suitably evocative but is in essence quite utilitarian as it is an anagram of ‘a ten year old islay’, with the presentation and name being deliberate as the idea is to not distract from the liquid with intricate marketing ploys.

Given the clever nomenclature, I was not surprised to learn that the bottler The Character of Islay Whisky Company is an imprint of Atom Brands, who are consistently pushing the envelope with That Boutique-y Whisky Company releases, with every facet of its releases being informed by a meticulous attention to detail and tongue firmly placed in cheek with their comic-style labels and the occasional easter egg to be found in its custom-made artwork illustrations. 

Composed of a blend of juice from an unnamed distillery that has been matured in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry Spanish oak and a small percentage of undisclosed casks and clocking in at 46% ABV, the aromas the nose is greeted with upon approach catapult one straight to the maritime, saline coastal environment that Islay is loved for, i.e. a melange of smoky peat, brine, bandage-sque antiseptic iodine with highlights of the lively tartness of green apples, liquorice and the faintest hint of a spicy paprika and fresh peppery kick. 

Nice.

What the nose promises is seamlessly unfolding on the top of the mouth: My receptors on the palate rejoice with glee as they greet the welcome mineral heavy, salty coastal and slightly tarry smokiness, which evolves further with syrupy and lemony highlights and is rounded out with dark chocolatey, roasted coffee nuances and a delicate tannic oakiness.

The finish, which results in a delicious crescendo of naturally sweet fruits, burnt toffee and a dominating woody phenolic peatiness,  could be a tad more complex and elongated for my taste, yet does its job as it leaves one lusting for another dram.

In essence, Aerolite Lyndsay is an expertly calibrated, charming tasty little number that expertly ticks a wide array of characteristics that make the aspects of a peated Islay whisky the immensely enjoyable exercise it is. 

I look forward to future releases from The Character of Islay Whisky Company and hope that with a future instalment of this series, we can finally cover That Boutique-y Whisky Company, as it has been in the making for the longest time.

The Formative Years – Brazilian Punk

I have always been intrigued by the culture of faraway countries and getting into punk as a prepubescent delinquent in the cold war era long before the advent of the internet has allowed me to communicate with people around the world, learn about their lives / cultural contexts and share our passion for rebellion and the common denominator that formed the ethos of punk rock no matter where you roamed. 

It was in the early 1990s that a pen pal from Sao Paulo sent a tape that would inoculate me with a deep appreciation for Brazilian punk. 

I vividly remember being exposed for the first time to Restos de Nada, Olho Seco, Cólera and the fantastic Ratos de Porão, which I not too long after managed to meet as part of one of their European tours.

The fact that most of the early Brazilian bands sang in Portuguese inspired me as it added not just an exotic appeal but an idiosyncratic trademark that made it unique as linguistically, the prosody of the language with its six dynamic tone patterns affecting the phrasing makes it a very powerful medium to convey your anger.

I started ordering records directly from the bands in Brazil and learned more about the origins of the movement. 

To this day an original tape compiled by Fabio of Olho Seco remains one of my favourite things in my collection and given his preferences and the bands he compiled on his mixtapes, it is not further wondrous that bands like Discharge and other UK bands became a major reference for the Brazilian scene – in the same way they were a major source of inspiration for the founding of Vegas later on.

When I started to collaborate with Ogirdor Zul to write songs for Vegas, it felt like things had come full circle as we almost instantaneously established a common understanding of where we wanted to take things sonically and the boundaries we wanted to push.

With our most recent album about to be released in Brazil, I could not be more excited and hope to be able to play there sooner than later.