Damn, I'm conflicted. Fred Durst had been etched in my mind as a saboteur, someone who took rap rock by the veins and started slashing with a serrated edge until the genre was dead and had stopped kicking. On the other hand, as much as his own music may torture my mind, he does have an ear for some of the best indie music out there.
Take Kenna (full name: Kenna Zemedkun) for example. This Ethiopian who transplanted himself to Virginia, would seem to be the least likely synth pop savior. Yet his album "New Sacred Cow", which almost never even got released, is among the most brilliant releases of 2003, one I'd be remiss as a reviewer not to direct you to. Song after song assails you with beautiful melodic structure, groove inducing beats and great lyrics that keep bouncing around in your head until you have to listen again.
And it was Fred Durst who found Kenna and championed his music, playing a serious part in producing one of the best albums of the year. Did I just say that in print? Trust me, it's difficult to admit.
Take a step back to June 2001. That's when Kenna first latched onto my mind. I was at home for the summer, the first summer after my freshman year in college. And I was all excited that our cable company had added M2 to our hundreds of channels. For once I could see great indie artists before their music got bastardized on TRL. A few days and I was a certified addict. That's when I saw a commercial for this new video . . . the clips were short, little, claymation, depressed-looking robots, doing repetitive work while this minimalistic synth music played. I was hooked. I had to tune in when the video debuted, so I could see the entire thing. All week they hyped this! The music addict in my mind was driving me crazy with anticipation.
The video lived up to the hype; it was an existentialist's dream! The song "Hell Bent" (one of the best on the album) features this one claymation robot whom is tired of being controlled, as he works in this factory that makes "happiness" machines. He discovers that inside of him he's got something that combined with happiness creates "bliss." He patents it and moves up the corporate ladder because everyone wants "bliss." But in order to make the prototype, he has to take the unique thing from inside him in order to make it to the top, and when he sees that everyone has it but him, he's depressed even worse than before. I think Sartre would have been proud. The video was effective, because it gave the lyrics a visual effect, while emphasizing the way the music kept morphing, from minimalistic to almost breakbeat oriented.
In essence, I loved it. But I couldn't buy it. Apparently the video hadn't done well enough to move to the mainstream, and Durst's label refused to back him on releasing Kenna's album. So for two years I had a download of the song and video on my computer and nothing else to give me an idea that Kenna wasn't a one hit wonder. Until last summer, when I was reading Rolling Stone and saw that the album had finally been released, this time by Columbia records. Thirty minutes later, on the strength of that one video, I had bought the album, and trust me. It was the best purchase I made all year. In this age of mindless radio crap, "New Sacred Cow" was like jumping into a whole new dimension.
It's clear from moments in that this man is a melodic genius. From the more upbeat songs like "Freetime" and "Red Man" you get the idea that he could write plenty of music that would please pop fans everywhere. But with "Hell Bent" and "Yeneh Ababa (Rose)" you see his real musical vision. Kenna Zemedkun may be the most unlikely synth pop revivalist, but if this album is a sign of anything, it's showing that this guy is going to carve himself a niche in the American soundscape. I'm just glad that it only took two years for Columbia to snap this album up.
It could have gone unreleased, and for no one to get to hear "New Sacred Cow" would have been a real sin. If you only buy one album this year from someone you have never heard, buy this album. Then play it loud and enjoy, because this is what music is all about.
Rating: ****
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
