Kurated No. 234
Readers’ Choice 2024
Part 8
- PLAYLISTS
Serious (full album) by Da Lata on Spotify and on YouTube
Fever Longing Still (full album) by Paul Kelly on Spotify and on YouTube
How Have You Been? (full album) by Giant Rooks on Spotify and YouTube - ONE SONG
Serious by Da Lata
How to Make Gravy by Paul Kelly
Tom’s Diner by Giant Rooks
Veteran Australian rocker Paul Kelly has been touring behind his latest album Fever Longing Still. Contributor Harvey McKinnon is waiting for another great show at the Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom.
Contributor Mike Fijal has been dancing at home to London-based band Da Lata shown at an August gig with friends and hangers on. Band co-founder Chris Franck is in the blue shirt.
CONTRIBUTORSToday’s writers are Calgary’s Mike Fijal and Vancouver’s Harvey McKinnon both of whom have contributed to Readers’ Choice previously. Their main theme today? Get up and dance!
• Fijal’s favourite band of the year is Da Lata – Portuguese for “in the tin” – and their infectious Brazilian-flavoured sound.
• McKinnon presents hot up and coming 20-somethings Giant Rooks from Germany, as well as Australian stalwart Paul Kelly. Both acts are guaranteed to get you moving on the dance floor.
The 7th Annual Readers’ Choice: going, going…
This is the penultimate presentation of this year’s Readers’ Choice series. One of Kurated’s aims is to share music with you and each other.
Once a year you’re invited to act as guest curators to highlight music that’s caught your attention during the past year. Anything musical is welcomed be it new, an old favourite, something self-composed and more.
Thanks to all of you contributors for participating and all you readers for reading!
25 January 2025
Mike Fijal
Calgary AB
Two album covers from London-based, Brazilian-flavoured band Da Lata.
In his typically minimal and direct style my longtime friend Mike Fijal (we go back to elementary school) offered the following explanation for his pick of the year:
“Mike Fijal lives in Calgary. Favourite exercise is a jog/dance through the hallways and bedrooms of my house driven by the upbeat music of the day. 2024’s most often chosen music was this album:
https://youtu.be/bxPuwX3Cd_I?feature=shared.” I’ll add that Mike is a talented musician, student of Zen meditation, videographer and an avid hiker.
Kurated appreciates any and all worthy musical leads. The link led to a group named Da Lata who turn the beats up high on their 2003 album Serious. Since it’s inception in 1996, the Brazilian-oriented band has shifted shape through more variations than I can count. Its two constants are London-based co-founders Chris Franck and Patrick Forge. The moment I clicked play on the collection I understood why this dare-you-not-to-dance album was sparking a lot of jog/dancing at Mike’s household.
Serious review by John Bush (allmusic.com)
For a bit more context, here’s a review of the album from online publication AllMusic.
“Dance music fusions can be dodgy propositions. Too often, an artist will substitute a little knowledge (or a few presets) for a faithful study of what makes another form of music special. Da Lata, the Brazilian beat project formed by longtime DJs and producers Chris Franck and Patrick Forge, scored right off the bat with the 1998 single “Prá Manhã,” plus an accompanying album (2000’s Songs From the Tin).
“Their second proper full-length, Serious, expands on the promise of the first and proves that Da Lata are one of the few capable of an intriguing, long-lasting dance/world fusion. Already balancing the organic and the electronic in splendid fashion, Franck and Forge (plus master programmer/engineer Toni Economides) invited a few respected names for collaborations.
“The opener, Serious, features vocals from broken beat veteran Bembe Segue and Palm’s own Mamani Keïta over a brisk Afrobeat number that stretches out with great work from accordion and trombones. Distracted Minds is the showcase, a brilliant, haunting fusion of Africa and Brazil matching Senegalese master Baaba Maal with Nina Miranda from Arkestra One. “Firefly,” practically the only track with a clear predecessor, takes on Herbie Hancock‘s Head Hunters-era Watermelon Man, with Franck and Forge contributing whistles, ocarina, berimbau, pandeiro, shakers, and tres.”
Harvey McKinnon
Vancouver BC
German indie rock/pop band Giant Rooks are one of Harvey McKinnon’s top bands of the year. Formed in 2014 the group is gaining a following and played Vancouver’s Commodore in 2024.
Online magazine All About Jazz says this about Giant Rooks:
“In 2014, singer Frederik Rabe, guitarist Finn Schwieters, bassist Luca Göttner, keyboardist Jonathan Wischniowski, and drummer Finn Thomas founded Giant Rooks. Their accomplishments have multiplied impressively since then. They won a 1LIVE-Krone Award, a seven-figure group monthly listeners on Spotify, and have sold out concerts everywhere from Rome to Paris to Manchester.
“In Germany, they’re already filling venues other artists only have on their tour schedules after 15 years in the scene. Yet with just three EPs, Giant Rooks seem to sell them out every time and are probably the most promising band to come out of Germany in a long time. They took their time with their debut. Having played more than 350 shows in recent years has given them endless possibilities to refine their own sound.
“With album Rookery, the band freed themselves from the idea of how things are “supposed” to be done. The result sounds unified and whole – sounds like 2020 – and spans a frame of reference that’s at least unique in German-speaking countries. The beats always sound like Kanyesque hip hop and the song structures even occasionally bring Bob Dylan to mind. The soundscapes are influenced by Bon Iver.
“The band playfully combines modern influences with classical structures and classical sounds with modern song structures. When it comes to playing music, as well as listening to it, Giant Rooks aren’t looking to fit into any one genre or emulate anyone.”
Giant Rooks
Giant Rooks’ lead singer Frederik Rabe
Harvey writes: Fabulous German indie rock band. I didn’t know them and saw them at the Commodore. GREAT live. They are huge in Europe. And I’ve listened to them as much as any artist(s) this year.
Harvey’s concert highlights by the minute: 4:31, 16.40, 28.25, 42.30, 52.35. At 1:06:10 the 10,000 strong audience is singing along.
Giant Rooks played a powerhouse hour-long plus set at Germany’s Hurricane music festival in 2024. It took place at the Eichenring, a speedway race track, in Scheeßel, Germany southwest of Hamburg. Running since 1997 the event draws about 80,000 attendees and is one of the largest music festivals in the country.
One More Song
This is solid!
Paul Kelly
Harvey writes: One of the best songwriters ever. (Van Sun writer John Mackie once called him that.) On a Paul Kelly kick this year. I have 25 of his albums. I’ve seen him about a dozen times.
How to Make Gravy – the best prison song ever and a Christmas song, too!
The Revivalists
Saw them twice in the last 14 months – excellent live band.
Personal Tip
June 14/15: The Cat Empire at the Commodore in 2025. Still the best shows I’ve seen in the last decade.
About Harvey: Harvey McKinnon is dance floor fiend, activist and a big comedy fan. He also devours books and has written more than a few himself. Check them out for his excellent advice on how to raise money for your organization.
