When Gonzales returned to his own career in 2005, he issued what was easily the most distinctive record of his career, Solo Piano, which found him performing 16 themes (for left-hand accompaniment and right-hand melody) and asserting the influence of French impressionists Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel.In 2008, he released an album on Mercury titled Soft Power, an album of assured piano. Listen to KENASTON, Live version filmed at France Culture, sept 2012.This track is from SOLO PIANO II. Album out now everywhere!!Order your Deluxe Version on.
Ah, the annual ritual of tallying up your favorite records and sharing it with the online world! 'Tis the season so this is my way of giving, sharing all of the music that I loved this year with y'all, in roughly chronological order (though it changes minute to minute of course). I really prefer this to the top 10 voting I do for publications as if to say that I only like those particular records and nothing else as opposed to what's really said, which is just 'these are my ten favorites.'There's a couple of links to sites for some of the not-readily-available and obscure releases and everything else is linked at the end of each of the sections to Pinterest boards I created for the albums and a singles list that I created on Spotify (for some songs that Spotify doesn't carry, I created some links for those below too).
Enjoy and happy holidaze!
ALBUMS
Gypsyphonic Disko Nolaphonic Vol. 2 (gypsyphonic.com)
Guided by Voices Let's Go Eat the Factory (GBV)
Corin Tucker Band Kill My Blues (Kill Rock Stars)
Japandroids Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)
The Milk Tales From the Thames Delta (Sony)
Jessie Baylin Little Spark (Blonde Rat)
Wiley Evolve or Be Extinct (Big Dada)
Hospitality Hospitality (Merge)
Jamie Woon Mirrorwriting (Polydor)
Redd Kross Researching the Blues (Merge)
Chappo Moonwater (Shout! Factory)
The Men Open Your Heart (Sacred Bones)
Leonard Cohen Old Ideas (Sony)
Dev The Night The Sun Came Up (Universal)
M. Ward A Wasteland Companion (Merge)
Ray Wylie Hubbard The Grifter's Hymnal (Bordello)
Santigold Master of My Make-Believe (XL)
Jack White Blunderbuss (Third Man)
Big Krit 4Eva N A Day (livemixtapes.com)
Various Artists Reggae Gold 2012 (VP)
Azealia Banks 1991 (Interscope)
Howler America Give Up (Rough Trade)
Allo Darlin Europe (Slumberland)
Dr. John Locked Down (Nonesuch)
De La Soul First Serve (Jesgrew/Duck Down)
Patti Smith BANGA (Columbia)
Danny! Payback (Okayplayer)
Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang En Yay Sah (Luaka Bop)
Elle Varner Perfectly Imperfect (RCA)
Michael Mayer Mantasy (Kompakt)
A Place To Bury Strangers Onwards To the Wall (Dead Oceans)
Flying Lotus Until the Quiet Comes (Warp)
Killer Mike R.A.P. Music (Williams Street)
He's My Brother She's My Sister Nobody Dances In This Town (Park the Van)
Cornershop Urban Turban (Ample Play)
Sidi Toure Koima (Thrill Jockey)
Georgia Anne Muldrow Seeds (SomeOthaShip)
Amadou & Mariam Folila (Nonesuch)
Sankofa The Uptown Strut (Kingswood)
Sugar & The Hi Lows Sugar & The Hi Lows (101)
Seapony Falling (Hardly Art)
Hollows Vulture (Trouble In Mind)
Pedrito Martinez Group Live at Guantanamera (Rolling Fork)
Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound (Side One Dummy)
Chelle Rose Ghost of Browder Holler (Lil' Damsel)
J. Dilla Rebirth of Detroit (Ruff Draft)
Ravi Coltrane Spirit Fiction (Blue Note)
Oh No Ohnomite (Stones Throw)
Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials Jump Start (Alligator)
Patterson Hood Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance (ATO)
The Lytics They Told Me (Camobear)
DJ Cheeba + DJ Moneyshot + DJ Food Solid Steel Radio Show 31/8/2012 Part 1 + 2 (Ninja Tune)
Tender Trap Ten Songs About Girls (Fortuna Pop!)
Ry Cooder Election Special (Nonesuch)
Ebo Taylor Appia Kwa Bridge (Strut)
The School Reading Too Much Into Things Like Everything (Elefant)
Rye Rye Go! Pop! Bang! (Interscope)
Exlovers Moth (The Young And Lost Club)
Wiley It's All Fun and Games Till Vol. 1 (no label)
Ani DiFranco Which Side Are You on (Righteous Babe)
Loudon Wainwright III Older than My Old Man (2nd Story Sound)
Henry Clay People Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives (TBD)
Grass Window Internal Logic (HLR)
Paw Cokefloat! (Fat Cat)
Nik Bartsch's Ronin Live (ECM)
Steve Turre Woody's Delight (Highnote)
Gonzales Solo Piano 2012 Rare
Prinzhorn Dance School Clay Class (DFA)
Passion Pit Gossamer (Columbia)
Lindi Ortega Cigarettes & Truckstops (Last Gang)
Metz Metz (Sub Pop)
Moreno & L'Orch First Sister Pili+2 (Stern's)
Mitch Woods Blues Beyond Borders (Club 88 Records/VizzTone)
Diiv Oshin (Captured Tracks)
Substance Abuse Background Music (Feed The Peeps)
Bleeding Knees Club Nothing to Do (IAMSOUND)
Wahid Road Poem (Rock Paper Scissors)
Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs Sunday Run Me Over (12TH STREET)
PS I Love You Death Dreams (Paper Bag)
Sotho Sounds Junk Funk (Riverboat)
Dustin Wong Dreams Say View Create Shadow Leads (Thrill Jockey)
No Joy Negaverse (Mexican Summer)
Gonzales Solo Piano 2012 Rare
Various Artists Lost In The Humming Air (Music Inspired By Harold Budd) (Oktaf)Various Artists The New L.A. (Rcrd Lbl)
Ulrich Schnauss & Mark Peters Underrated Silence (Bureau B)
Evan Caminiti Night Dust (Immune)
The Caretaker Extra Patience (After Sebald) (bandcamp.com)
Aaron Sheppard Leverage (Psychic Arts)
Various Artists Rebel on the Underground- A Tribute to X-Ray Spex (Permanent Wave)
Various ArtistsIn A Cloud II: New Sounds From San Francisco (Secret Seven)
Christian Fennesz AUN: The Beginning and the End of All Things (Ash International)
Chilly GonzalesSolo Piano II (Arts & Crafts)
The Rainbow Body Return Unto Void(The Rainbow Body Sound Lab)
(Album links on Pinterest)
SINGLES
A Brokeheart Pro 'Bullets Ain't Brakes' (Kitten Next Door)
Silent Servent 'Temptation & Desire' (Hospital Productions)
Mysdiggi 'Cockadoodledoo' (no label)
Chappo 'Come Home' (Shout! Factory)
Serengeti 'Shazam' (Anticon)
Wrinkle Neck Mules 'Central Daylight Time' (Lower 40)
Nicki Minaj 'Roman Holiday' (Cash Money)
Die Antwoord 'I Fink U Freaky' (Downtown)
Ray Wylie Hubbard 'New Year's Eve at the Gates of Hell' (Bordello)
Cash Cash 'Overtime' (soundcloud.com)
Le1f 'Wut' (Greedhead)
Cadence Weapon '88' (soundcloud.com)
Guided by Voices 'The Unsinkable Fats Domino' (GBV)
Cloud Nothings 'Wasted Days' (Carpark)
The Heavy 'What Makes A Good Man' (Counter)
Noisettes 'That Girl' (Mono-ra-rama)
Icona Pop 'Good For You' (Big Beat)
Angel Haze 'Werkin' Girls' (Republic)
Wiley Flowdan Riko & Manga 'F Off' (no label)
The Men 'Open Your Heart' (Sacred Bones)
Frikstailers 'Guacha' (Waxploitation/ZZK)
J. Cole 'Werk Out (OVERWERK Remix)' (no label)
Frank Ocean 'Sweet Life' (Def Jam)
Martin Solveig 'The Night Out (A-Trak Remix)' (Big Beat)
K'jon 'Take This Dollar' (Shanachie)
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 'Thrift Shop' (Macklemore)
Metz 'Wet Blanket' (Sub Pop)
Cam Meekins 'Two Roads' (no label)
Killer Mike 'Reagan' (Williams Street)
Kate Nash 'Fri-End?' (myignorantyouth.com)
Diplo feat. Nicky Da B 'Express Yourself' (Mad Decent)
Nada Surf 'Waiting For Something' (Barsuk)
Del The Funky Homosapien and Parallel Thought 'Charlie Brown' (Parallel Thought LTD)
Magnetic Fields 'Andrew In Drag' (Merge)
Now Now 'Thread' (Trans)
Heavenly Beat 'Faithless' (Captured Tracks)
Chiddy Bang 'Whatever We Want' (Virgin)
Madonna, featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A 'Give Me All Your Luvin' (Boy Toy)
Childish Gambino 'F-ck Your Blog' (no label)
Nas 'Reach Out' (Def Jam)
The Ting Tings 'Give It Back' (Columbia)
Mykki Blanco & Brenmar 'Wavvy' (UNO NYC)
Chelle Rose 'I Need You' (Lil' Damsel)
Electric Guest 'Awake' (Dennis Rivera Remix) (no label)
Neal McCoy 'Real Good Feel Good' (Blaster)
Gorillaz featuring Andre 3000 and James Murphy 'DoYaThing' (converse.com)
Kendrick Lamar 'Swimming Pools (Drank)' (Aftermath)
e-dubble 'Two Steps from Disaster' (Black Paisley)
The Souljazz Orchestra 'Ya Basta' (Strut)
Dev 'Lightspeed' (Universal)
Deep Cotton 'We're Far Enough from Heaven Now We Can Freak Out' (The Wondaland Arts Society)
Southwork 'Nice To Meet You' (Written House)
Bobby Womack 'The Bravest Man in the Universe' (XL)
Alejandro Escovado 'Man of the World' (Fantasy)
Gin Wigmore 'Man Like That' (Mercury)
The Avett Brothers 'Pretty Girl From Michigan' (RRE)
Public Enemy featuring Tom Morello & Henry Rollins 'Riotstarted' (King Midas)
Kreayshawn 'Blasé Blasé' (Columbia)
Tift Merritt 'Still Not Home' (Yep Roc)
Bob Dylan 'Narrow Way' (Columbia)
El-P 'Drones Over BKLYN' (Fat Possom)
Of Monsters and Men 'Six Weeks' (Republic)
Dante 'Won't Go' (no label)
Line and circle 'Roman Ruins' (White Iris)
Robert Cray 'Side Dish' (Mascot)
Deer Tick 'Born at Zero' (Partisan)
Raveonettes 'The Kids Are Alright' (Cleopatra)
Pac Div Featuring Scoop Deville 'Debo' (Rbc)
Those Darlins 'Summer's Dead' (Oh Wow Dang)
Oddisee 'You Know Who You Are' (Mello Music)
Dirty Fences 'Sid' (Volcom Entertainment)
Fidlar 'No Waves' (Mom + Pop)
Justin Bieber Feat. Nicki Minaj 'Beauty And A Beat' (Island)
The School 'Never Thought I'd See The Day' (Elefant)
Chill Bump 'The Eponym' (bandcamp.com)
Bro. Stephen 'Without Effort' (Crossroads of America)
Miguel 'Adorn' (ByStorm Entertainment/RCA)
Guided by Voices 'White Flag' (GBV)
Pet Shop Boys 'A Face Like That' (Astralwerks)
The Mountain Goats 'The Diaz Brothers' (Merge)
Bad Books 'No Reward' (Triple Crown)
Giulia y Los Tellarini 'Caricias' (MaikMaier)
English Singles 'Disaster/Face Don't Fit' (Squirmy)
Golden Girls 'We've Got...' (Slumberland)
Pacific Air 'Float' (Universal)
Watch the Duck 'Poppin' Off' (Redzone Entertainment)
Islands 'Hallways' (Anti)
Jai Paul 'Jasmine' (XL)
Raglani 'The Exploding View' (eMego)
Skullee 'Funkmonstah' (Yo Dawg!)
Tobi Vail 'Free Pussy Riot' (bandcamp.com)
Randy Newman 'I'm Dreaming' (Nonesuch)
Andy Shernoff 'Happy Holidays!!' (no label)
(listen to singles list on Spotify)
REISSUES/ARCHIVES
Little Richard Here's Little Richard (Concord)
The English Beat The Complete Beat (Shout! Factory)
Bobby Bland The Best of Bobby Bland (Verve)
Various Artists Giant Single: The Profile Records Rap Anthology (Sony Music Club)
Hot Chocolate You Sexy Thing: The Best Of Hot Chocolate (Music Club Deluxe)
George Jones Heartbreak Hotel - Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight (Bear Family)
Feedtime The Aberrant Years (Subpop)
Can The Lost Tapes (Spoon)
Orchestre Super Borgou de Parakou The Bariba Sound (Analog Africa)
My Bloody Valentine EP's 1988 - 1991 (Sony)
Louis Armstrong The Complete Columbia/Okeh & RCA Victor Recordings 1925-1933 (Sony legacy)
Philip Glass/Robert Wilson Einstein on the Beach (Nonesuch)
Various Artists Subway Salsa: Montuno Records Story (Vampi Soul)
Culture Natty Dread Taking Over (VP)
Betty Wright Danger High Voltage (Soul Brother)
Muddy Waters You Shook Me: The Chess Masters 3 - 1958 to 1963 (Universal)
Various Artists Darge, Keb & Little Edith's Legendary Wild 2 (BBE)
The Kinks At the BBC (Sanctuary)
Various Artists Death Might Be Your Santa Claus (Legacy)
Various Artists Ondatropica (Soundway)Taj Mahal Hidden Treasures of Taj Mahal 1969-1973 (Legacy)
Various Artists Ivory Coast Soul 2 (Hot Casa)
Moe Tucker I Feel So Far Away: Anthology 1974-1998 (Sundazed)
Various Artists Up All Night! 56 Northern Soul Classics (Charly)
Pixies Coachella 04 (pixies.com)
Shoes Black Vinyl Shoes (Numero)
Machinedrum Want to 1 2? (N O R M R E X __|__)
George Jones Great Lost Hits (Time Life)
Various Artists Have Mercy! The Songs of Don Covay (Ace)
Ahmed Abdul-Malik & Chick Ganimian Oud Vibrations (Fingertips)
Various Artists Soundeyet: On A Steady Diet of Hash, Bread, & Salt (no label)
The Pin Group Ambivalence / Live at the Gladstone Hotel (Flying Nun)
Various Artists Istanbul 70 I-II-II (Nublu)
Various Artists Golden Gate Groove: The Sound Of Philadelphia In San Francisco - 1973 (Philadephia International)
Bola Volume 7 (Awesome Tapes)
Various Artists A Guide To Electronic Music (Bleep)
Various Artists Age of Northern Soul (101 Distribution)
The Flatlanders The Odessa Tapes (New West)
Alex Chilton Free Again: The 1970 Sessions (Omnivore)
Big Brother And the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin Live At The Carousel Ballroom 1968 (Columbia/Legacy)
Bizarros Complete Collection 1976-1980 (Windian)
Tod Dockstader Electronic Vol.1 (Mordant Music)
Gil-Scott Heron The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters (Ace)
Artful Dodger Honor Among Thieves (Columbia)
Taana Gardner Taana Gardner (West End)
Ike Turner Real Gone Rocket: Session Man Extraordinaire: Selected Singles 1951-59 (Jerome)
Various Artists GoGo Get Down compiled by Joey Negro (Z)
Laurie Spiegel The Expanding Universe (Unseen Worlds)
(Reissues links on Pinterest)
In December 2011, Chilly Gonzales moved his piano into Studio Pigalle in Paris. There, alone for 10 days during the holidays, he recorded a handful of songs that had made the short list, out of a hundred or so melodies written over the 8 year period since the now iconic Solo Piano, the first one.
Hour upon hour, the purest and most microscopic process of recording took place. Chilly Gonzales played all the songs, over and over and over again, until each one's essence had been captured. After years of entertaining with his larger than life musical persona and challenging all artists to work tirelessly to achieve excellence out of respect for their fans, Chilly Gonzales brings us perhaps the most powerful argument of all, the 14 pieces of Solo Piano II.
It's been quite a road travelled leading up to Solo Piano II for the self-proclaimed musical genius. Producing Grammy-nominated albums and breaking Guinness Book world records jump-started that period of time during which Chilly Gonzales took back to the stage after some years behind a recording studio console working for others. With his own albums and supporting tours, Chilly drew attention to his versatility as a performer and to his virtuosity as a pianist. Rare is the artist that can make people dance on the trendiest of electronic beats, then turn to a symphonic orchestra as back-up band for a rap concert. He became the 'go to guy' for piano composition: Drake, Feist, Daft Punk, even Steve Jobs, all called upon him.
And it is the mark of a true entertainer, to know that time when the best form of respect for one's fans is to 'shut up and play the piano' (dixit Chilly Gonzales, The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales, 2011).
Hour upon hour, the purest and most microscopic process of recording took place. Chilly Gonzales played all the songs, over and over and over again, until each one's essence had been captured. After years of entertaining with his larger than life musical persona and challenging all artists to work tirelessly to achieve excellence out of respect for their fans, Chilly Gonzales brings us perhaps the most powerful argument of all, the 14 pieces of Solo Piano II.
It's been quite a road travelled leading up to Solo Piano II for the self-proclaimed musical genius. Producing Grammy-nominated albums and breaking Guinness Book world records jump-started that period of time during which Chilly Gonzales took back to the stage after some years behind a recording studio console working for others. With his own albums and supporting tours, Chilly drew attention to his versatility as a performer and to his virtuosity as a pianist. Rare is the artist that can make people dance on the trendiest of electronic beats, then turn to a symphonic orchestra as back-up band for a rap concert. He became the 'go to guy' for piano composition: Drake, Feist, Daft Punk, even Steve Jobs, all called upon him.
And it is the mark of a true entertainer, to know that time when the best form of respect for one's fans is to 'shut up and play the piano' (dixit Chilly Gonzales, The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales, 2011).