A-Trak, Peter Bjorn & John, The Decemberists, Thievery Corporation

A-TRAK
Like the Michael Phelps of scratching, it feels more appropriate to talk about DJ A-Trak as an athlete rather than a musician. After winning his first world championship at the age of 15, Canadian Alain Macklovitch was recruited to join the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, a popular DJ crew based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. From there, he went on to win a number of additional championships and the ultimate prize: an ongoing gig as Kanye West’s touring DJ. As one of the most respected indie hip-hop DJs of our time, A-Trak is recently behind Kid CuDi’s breakout hit “Day N’ Nite” and the CuDi/Kanye/Common collaboration “I Poke Her Face”. A-Trak has also saved many beats for his own album, Infinity +1, an electroacoustic mix that reveals his multifaceted inspiration. A-Trak makes dance music that flows smoothly despite its fragmented origins — and that’s how you know he’s a champ. (Friday, 5:45-7, Perry’s) –text: Diana Novak–photo: Matt Barnes / thatsthespot.com

PETER BJORN & JOHN
Made famous (first in Europe, and then in the States) by their ubiquitous feel-good whistle of 2006, those magnificent Swedes who sang of young folks and hiding out known as Peter Bjorn and John are still strumming their little hjartas out. Comprised of Peter Moren, John Eriksson, and Bjorn Yttling, this once obscure trio from across the pond have made incredible strides since first collaborating in Stockholm way back in 1999. Moren and Yttling first delved into their musical world back in their pimple-popping days during the ridiculous world that is high school and after they met the final name in their trio, their delectable indie pop sandwich was finally made complete. Then after a few years where the fellows were “just trying to make good music for their own amusement”, things exploded for the baroque rockers — and, as a result, you can still hear their breezy whistle just about everywhere you go. (Friday, 6:30-7:30, Citi Stage) –text: Benjamin Smithson–photo: Johan Bergmark

THE DECEMBERISTS
In what was not exactly a ringing endorsement for the way that fantasy rock operas usually translate on stage during a typical mid-August outdoor festival, Jethro Tull declined to play the inaugural Woodstock Festival in 1969. Then again, Led Zeppelin and The Doors also turned down the chance to perform at the historic “three days of peace and music” — yet hard rock is still well represented at today’s summer festivals which follow in Woodstock’s footsteps 40 years later. So perhaps Colin Meloy and his band of merry folklorists can find their niche at Lollapalooza after all. On the heels of their brilliant The Hazards of Love, a 17-song fable of epic proportions, the Portland-based chamber-pop ensemble finds itself expertly toeing the line between tongue-in-cheek antics and a full-on belief in their hyper-literate tales. It’s an awesome hybrid of silly storytelling and serious rock ‘n’ roll that even Mr. Tull in his heyday could never quite reach. (Friday, 6-7, Budweiser Stage) –text: Derek Wright

THIEVERY CORPORATION
The socially and globally-conscious production/DJ duo known as Thievery Corporation began in 1995 in Washington D.C., when Rob Garza and Eric Hilton met through their mutual love of club life. Their sound, dubbed “outernational”, offers a global scope with influences reaching from Jamaica, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. They are often joined by vocalists Sleepy Wonder, Lou Lou, Notch, Zee, and Verny Varela — who sing their socio-political-themed songs in many different languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hindi, and Farsi. Their latest and fifth full-length, Radio Retaliation, which comments on the gradual loss of musical and informational freedom in the U.S., includes internationally renowned guest artists Femi Kuti, Seu Jorge, Anushka Shankar, Jana Andevska, and Chuck Brown. With the addition of supporting musicians and vocalists, the 15-piece live band provides a fun, energetic atmosphere for their otherwise serious music. (Friday, 6-7, Chicago 2016 Stage) –text: Ariel Sundel–photo: Andrzej Liguz / moreimages.net

The Decemberists

I doubt that anyone signed us because they felt like we could be shaped into some sort of accessible million-selling band. We were signed because we were seen as being relatively successful at what we do, and that seemed to work.

story by Chris Castaneda
photo by Autumn de Wilde

Colin Meloy is home in Portland waiting to pick his mother up from the airport. So far, it’s just a quiet afternoon for the singer/songwriter and guitarist of the Portland-based Decemberists. (Well, there’s also the seven other phone interviews he has to give that day.) Still, I feel a little guilty taking some of Meloy’s time to pick his brain when he’s on ready alert to pick up his mom. In the realm of important people, the mom tends to outshine the rock critic.

As the band’s spring tour in support of The Crane Wife gets underway, momentum is on the side of Meloy and musicians in arms Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, John Moen, and Chris Funk. Creatively and commercially speaking, the Decemberists have marched on nice and steady since their 2002 debut Castaways And Cutouts. Meloy has continued to shine in his role as the minstrel leading the charge with a sharp quill pen tucked behind his ear, singing tunes of such literary craftsmanship that you would have suspected he got a degree in creative writing…which he did.

Though his days at the University of Montana are far gone, Meloy remains an active student of the arts. He’s constantly absorbing the words around him like any good songwriter would. From Robyn Hitchcock to Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Meloy has managed to tap into that well of imagery that make certain songwriters captivating to listen to.

Released last year on Capitol Records as their first album on a major label, The Crane Wife gave Meloy the chance to push the envelope by structuring songs within songs — sort of like what Pete Townshend created with “The Who’s A Quick One, While He’s Away”, the 10-minute mini-rock opera from the band’s second album A Quick One (1966). Meloy used the Japanese folk tale behind “The Crane Wife”, an actual children’s story, as a foundation from which to explore the possibilities on both a songwriting and musical level.

The album boasts two of the band’s longest songs, clocking in at 10 and 12 minutes. For some newcomers to the Decemberists, perhaps The Crane Wife is a bit of a stretch, but it was a good artistic risk for the band to take at this point. What was once just a band labeled as orchestral pop is now a band that commands attention simply on the merits of its work. The Russian Decemberists may have failed to overthrow the tsar in 1825, but today’s Decemberists seem to be having much more success with guitars and accordions instead of muskets.

Chicago Innerview: Have you gone back and listened to The Crane Wife since its release?
Colin Meloy: Well, to be honest, I haven’t listened to it in months and months and months. That always happens to me just prior to its release. Between mixing and its release, I’ll listen to it endlessly and kind of obsessively. Once it’s out, I’ve usually had my fill of it.

Chicago Innerview: How has the past couple months touring been for the Decemberists?
Colin Meloy: It’s been really fun. The thing about this record, in fact, the vast majority, maybe 90 percent, of the record had never been played live prior to it being recorded. So, once we did start playing it live, there was some concern [about if] we could really pull it off. We hadn’t really road-tested any of the songs.

CI: What’s your approach to keeping a tour from becoming a repetitious nightmare?
CM: I think a big part of it is just trying to have fun on stage and having fun with the songs. Playing live has so little to do with where you’re at, but the fact that you’re playing them for people, fans of the records that want to hear the songs…if you keep that mindset that you’re entertaining, you’re kind of giving up a piece of yourself to these people, it keeps it fresh every night.

CI: Were there any major bumps early on when the tour kicked off?
CM: One of the big challenges is the fact that this record has a couple songs which go over the 10-minute mark. It just makes it more difficult to fit it all into the set. It just becomes more challenging wanting to play all the songs that people want to hear; you hear people yelling songs throughout the whole show. Knowing our catalog is growing, you just can’t play all those without playing a 3-hour set, which is just something I can’t do. I’d blow my voice out if I did anything like that.

CI: Do you try and work on new material while out on tour?
CM: I’ve never written on tour before. It’s just not a comfortable, neutral place for me. I’m trying to stay focused on playing the show, staying healthy for the show. During the day, there’s just a lot of other things that inevitably distract me. I need to be really quiet, calm and focused to really get my songwriting mode going.

CI: So, you pretty much have your own song cycle of when you work?
CM: It’s changing now just because we spend so much time on the road. With The Crane Wife, it was my first time really writing all the songs just prior to going into the studio. We came off the last tour for Picaresque and there were only two songs written for the record. So, I had to spend the next two months just hunkering down and putting in full hour days — six to eight hour days — just working on songs to finish all the material. That was great. It’s exciting that I can do that. I was a little worried about it.

CI: Having an educational background in creative writing, how do you continue to develop your songwriting?
CM: I’m definitely always seeking out books, movies, music and opening myself to the idea of taking an influence and inspiration from those things. It’s a rare piece of work, but every once in a while you’ll hear a record or read a book that just makes you want to sit down and create something. When I first heard Joanna Newsom’s first record, it was like that. When I read Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, you kind of feel that spark. It’s not necessarily, ‘Oh, I want to re-create what this person is doing.’ It re-opens your mind to the possibilities, and you think, ‘Oh, yeah, I could do this!’ It’s exciting.

CI: Are there any current songwriters out there now that you’re really enjoying?
CM: Most recently the songwriter from Midlake [Tim Smith]. It’s interesting when you come across a songwriter who uses consistent themes. I think that’s the mark of a good songwriter. It’s all about building houses, and that’s the interesting thing. Fixing roofs, building houses, filling land, all these strangely proletarian imagery…those are his common tropes.

CI: Are you pleased with the increasing attention the Decemberists are receiving from album to album on an artistic level?
CM: Yeah, I’ve felt really comfortable with it. I don’t think it’s been bewildering at any point, but, also, it’s kept us really excited from tour to tour. We feel like there’s a definite progression from record to record.

CI: How has the transition from smaller labels, like Hush Records and Kill Rock Stars, to the major label league with Capitol Records been for the band?
CM: They’re open to allowing us to do what we do. I doubt that anyone signed us because they felt like we could be shaped into some sort of accessible million-selling band. We were signed because we were seen as being relatively successful at what we do, and that seemed to work.

The Decemberists :: with My Brightest Diamond :: Riviera :: April 18 & 19.

The Decemberists

That’s a line that should be crossed. No law says we can’t cross high-minded figures into a style.

story by Matt Meisinger

The Decemberists play folk for people who prefer to take the road less traveled, with frequent stops along the way to smell the roses. Lead singer/songwriter Colin Meloy paints vividly with his words, taking the listener into his mindset while jumping through time and adopting phrases and sayings from the past, like “pantaloons” for instance. Holding a creative writing degree from the University of Montana at Missoula, the 29-year-old could easily change careers as a poet or playwright. His clever wordplay dances along lush strings and acoustic guitars with just enough twang, making the Decemberists a perfect example of chamber pop.

2002′s Castaways and Cutouts featured subjects like ancient seafaring men, young ghosts and yearning to travel. “California One,” an epic, nearly 10-minute masterpiece about the meandering Pacific Coast Highway has many twists and turns along the way. He ends up crooning about a “youth and beauty brigade” with a clear head and a vision that comes to a weary traveler after a long drive.

Curt, short phrases used by Meloy could fill a book. He economically and carefully uses his words, doing a lot with little, never clouding the musical vision. His nasally tone has changed to more self-assured singing on their newest record, Her Majesty the Decemberists. Featuring a whole string section and more focused songwriting, the album could easily stand as a play, with strong character description and dialogue.

The album starts off with “Shanty for the Aretheusa,” an ode to salty scalawags and seaside towns of the past. Strings mimic the creaking of an old vessel, setting the stage for a port at the turn of the century. “We set to sail on a packet full of spice, rum and tea-leaves. We’ve emptied out all the bars and the bowery hotels,” Meloy groans as he begins the journey. The thoughtful lyricist later expresses a love/hate relationship with Los Angeles, an ode to writer Myla Goldberg and a Dickensian view of a ragamuffin in “The Chimbley Sweep”: “I am a chimbley, a chimbley sweep, no bed to lie, no shoes to hold my feet.”

Chicago Innerview spoke with Colin Meloy recently from his home in Portland (where he was getting ready to whip up some Indian food) about dinner plans, future writing plans and a really big addition to the band.

Chicago Innerview: Did you pursue your creative writing degree with the plan of becoming a singer/songwriter, or did that happen naturally?

Colin Meloy: That was natural, my time, I was intermittently writing songs to get way from stodgy aspects of fiction and prose. Songwriting was kind of a release. I was planning on taking few years off until grad school. My career just blossomed from there.

Chicago Innerview: Her Majesty is starkly different in the production. Songs sound more concise and polished. Can you comment on that?

Colin Meloy: Yeah, we went in to the studio to record, there was a real feel of devotion to the band, everyone was involved with the arranging written in smaller period of time. This album is much more orchestrated. We were crafting these deliberate little pop symphonies.

CI: Maritime subjects and an affinity for the past are prevalent in your work. Are you pointing to a specific period in history?

CM: Pretty general, like to spend as much time in each period, as body grows, not limited to 1850-1950, contemporary things like 16th and 17th century, little to do with time. It’s all about conveying believable characters in a believable setting.

CI: You seem to combine musical and literary influences at times, like if Charles Dickens played British pop music. Is there a line for you between them?

CM: That’s a line that should be crossed. No law says we can’t cross high-minded figures into a style.

CI: The string section gives the record a nostalgic, royal tone. Do you plan to use them live at all, or on future recordings?

CM: No, they were all members of Portland youth ensemble. Since they were all high school students at the time, they are probably all at their respective universities right now. Eventually, we would like to bring a section on the road when we can afford it, but right now it is insurmountable.

CI: “California One” from Castaways and Cutouts is an epic song in which you call for bedwetters and ambulance chasers to join, so is pretty much anyone welcome in the ‘youth and beauty brigade’?

CM: Pretty much (laughs). Once we played a show in Olympia, a guy wanted to join the club, which doesn’t exist in that capacity, so I had to explain that to him. Theoretically, one wouldn’t have to be youthful or beautiful to join, though, it’s all encompassing.

CI: What are your plans for the future of the Decemberists?

CM: Going to be recording new record in August, come out February or March in 2005. Another college tour this fall, then we will go over to Europe, there are other possibilities on horizons. I’ve been asked to write an off-Broadway musical. I want to start pushing out to narrative aspects of songs, writing more cohesive structures. I would love to write more theater and musical arrangements for theater.

The Decemberists will play at Metro June 4.