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Music Review | Mark Ronson
A D.J. Segues to His Other Job, His Band Close at Hand
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By JON PARELES
Published: July 13, 2007
"He's not just a D.J.!" Wale, a rapper, declared during Mark Ronson's
set at the Highline Ballroom on Wednesday night, stating the obvious.
Mr. Ronson, who has been a busy disc jockey around New York for the
last decade, was twanging a guitar and leading a band that backed a
parade of guest singers and rappers. He also played keyboards and
percussion, and barely touched a turntable.
Some of Mr. Ronson's guests appear on his new album, "Version"
(Allido/RCA), which in a way bends his D.J. career along a different
path. A disc jockey's job is to pick songs and revamp them for the
dancing crowd. "Version" is a collection of other people's songs, and
instead of remixing them with the latest beats and effects, Mr. Ronson
has backdated them toward 1960s soul. His band included a horn section
(the Haggis Horns), and even in hip-hop songs the rhythms harked back
to Motown and Memphis soul. The closest approach to the present was an
echo of 1970s South Bronx hip-hop, with Mr. Ronson tapping a
two-headed bell.
Lately, Mr. Ronson has produced albums full of retro soul grooves for
the English singers Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse (who both sing on
"Version" but didn't join him on Wednesday). And he knows how
horn-section riffs and a live drummer can stir up a crowd. Many of the
songs on "Version" are bitter lovers' plaints, like "Toxic," from
Britney Spears, and "Amy," by Ryan Adams. But Mr. Ronson's remakes
have far more strut than sigh.
All the guests were stoked by the band. The women, Santogold and
Tawiah, were soul-style belters; Tawiah, taking over the Zutons'
"Valerie" from Ms. Winehouse, poured on the vocal flourishes. The
rappers used forthright old-school delivery for their own material
from Mr. Ronson's 2003 album, "Here Comes the Fuzz." The male singers
— Tiggers, Kenna, Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald and Daniel
Merriweather — were crooners, but Mr. Greenwald stage-dived into the
audience as he sang Radiohead's "Just." (Amid a set full of cover
versions, Mr. Greenwald also sang his own song "California.")
Mr. Merriweather's closing spot subtly reinforced Mr. Ronson's usual
job description, with a Motownized remake of the Smiths' "Stop Me if
You Think You've Heard This One Before" that led into "You Keep Me
Hangin' On." It was another technique that defines a skillful D.J.: a
segue.
Santogold, who is based in Brooklyn, opened with a short set of her
own songs, which were more contemporary than her perky funk version of
the Jam's "Pretty Green" with Mr. Ronson. She's working along similar
lines to the English songwriter M.I.A. Backed by her own D.J., who
mixed sparse electronic beats and noisy, dissonant jabs of
synthesizer, Santogold sang brash lyrics in a bright, girlish
singsong: "Me I'm a creator, thrill is to make it up," she declared,
contemporary and promising.
- NY TIMES
Discography
1st self-titled album slated for a January 2008 release. 1st single is "CREATOR." Tracks available on www.myspace.com/santogold include "L.E.S. Artistes" "Creator," "You'll Find A Way," and "Shove It"
Photos
Bio
The lovechild of submarine sonar and low frequency midnight moans,
Santogold was born somewhere between Bedstuy
and Bushwick, Brooklyn and was placed under the care of
enigmatic singer and songwriter Santi White. White's prior musical
children have proved more profound than platinum. Songwriter and
executive producer behind an album boasting top Billboard singles, and
driving voice behind two albums from her uncategorable band Stiffed,
Santi White's familiarity with drawing relevant and enjoyable work
from a range of influences makes her a unique figure on today's
musical landscape. Unafraid to wade into currents beyond the
mainstream, White's newest project is Santogold. Santogold's new album
drives dub and 80's-pop influences from song
to song. Sometimes basement rock, sometimes Bananarama-soundclash,
Santogold is a vehicle for White's well drawn late night fight lines
and robot-witch scat on the beat. Warbling bass, island upbeat, and
deep-south snap provide foundation for White's whispering lilts and
tension-ridden verses.
Though without official band members, the ingredients are many:
spaghetti western-outlaw, roots rock and digital street blip are each
laced by White's incomparable breathless melody. While White and John
Hill, aka Johnny Rodeo (former Stiffed bassist and member of Sony
engineers-turned-production team-turned band, Shitake Monkey) formed
the nucleus of this creation, the Santogold landscape is speckled with
the flavor of DJ's and all around underground fly kids who have
rallied behind her to deliver a versatile, consistent array of tracks.
The late great
Disco D, Switch, Sinden, Freq Nasty, Diplo, Radioclit, leadguitarist
Clifford "Moonie" Pusey of Steel Pulse, former Bad Brains drummer,
Chuck Treece, Naeem Juwan of Spankrock, M.I.A, and professional
snowboarder/singer-songwriter, Trevor "Trouble" Andrew. Each
participant sculpts the sound around White's candid verses and vocal
melodies pushing the width of Santogold's scope.
Sitting on the floor at a house party listening to the selector, Santi
White might be sharing stories from her childhood. Philadelphia was
her city until Brooklyn became home base. Her sky holds no bounds; the
streets are her yard and human behavior is her muse. Music is her
weapon. Maybe she's laughing with her head thrown back. Maybe you're
asking her what it is she does with her life. "I make music," she
answers. "Oh," you reply, "what kind of music, where can I hear it?"
She looks up at you, "That was my song the DJ just played." You might
then be stunned. Weren't you just noticing that song, how it sounded
like the voices of your past conversing with your future? Didn't it
just send warmth coursing through your veins? How is it that White's
songs can account for the joy and pain of adolescence rolling into
adulthood's grind? Then again, what did you expect to hear?
"I wasn't just a songwriter, I was executive producer and pretty much
the creative director of the whole thing. That's a lot to give to
something that's not really yours" cited White in an early interview
discussing her experience making Res's chart topping debut, How I Do.
Called "ridiculously gifted" for her work on that third party debut,
White has since proven her work ethic unstoppable. She is likely to be
writing at this very moment, or maybe she's recording, or simply
napping beneath a table in the studio. Whatever Santi White's current
activity, one thing is clear: the grime scene, the blue punk thing,
even the current female airplay contention have all lacked the
flavor-strength that is heard in the work of Santogold. Here is
something supreme because it is matchless. Those in the know will come
catch licks.
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