“Roots of L.A:”
Various Artists
Organic Sounds Records
The 14 tracks on Organic Sounds Records’ inaugural album, “Roots of L.A.” take the listener on as complete a tour of Los Angeles as possible without having to deal with two-and-a-half-hour traffic jams. Each song explores one of distinct facets of L.A. life and culture, not through lyrics or song titles, but through sound, feeling and emotion.
“Roots of L.A.” is a compilation CD, featuring songs from 14 different Southern California-based bands. These 14 bands belong to a record label that, just a few months ago, didn’t even exist. Organic Sounds Records was the product of the UCLA Extension’s music marketing class’ labor intensive mission to create a label, sign artists and put out an album in just over eight weeks. Now the label is preparing to formally present its first album to the public with a CD-release party on July 12 at the renowned B.B. King’s at Universal Citywalk.
One wouldn’t think of Los Angeles as the type of city capable of being understood via the songs of 14 previously unknown artists ““ Los Angeles seems more like the type of city that takes years to understand.
Well, “Roots of L.A.” makes a valiant effort at busting that myth with a compilation CD featuring the varying and intermingling sounds of electric guitar riffs, reggae/ska backbeats, seductive jazz, and a just a little bit of funkadelic soul.
The whole CD plays like a sort of day trip around the greater L.A. area. As you hit a new district or new landmark, a new feeling washes over you and a new song starts playing.
Take “Nowhere to Go” by Maintain. Its relaxed, yet mildly seductive vibe evokes the mood of having spent the evening in a dimly lit, smoky jazz bar in Los Feliz: You probably have a little liquor in you and you should probably hand your car keys over to a friend. However, you’re warmed with the comfort of knowing it’s a Friday night, and you have nowhere to be any time soon. Go ahead and indulge. This intoxication is going to last for a while.
The album’s featured single, “Breaking Up Mine” by Last American Buffalo, brings to mind an afternoon of soaking up the last dying rays of sunlight at your Southern California beach of choice. The salty, cool breezes sweep across your face, making your depressed-in-love life a little more bearable for the time being.
“Dark Skin Girls” by Lungbutter, “John Wayne World” by Slaying the Dandies, “People Look Around” by Slackstring, and “Chocolate Tears” by Janks are some of the other delightfully mood-altering, semi-nostalgic tracks featured on “Roots of L.A.”
Of course, there are some parts of Los Angeles that just aren’t for everyone, and, similarly, there are some tracks on “Roots of L.A.” that have the same feel to them. “Los Tristes” by Margate tries a little too hard at profundity, and “Everyone Finds Apples” by Los Olvidados gives the feeling of getting lost in the Valley in a car with no air conditioning. Fortunately, these two tracks are the only relatively dark spots on an otherwise masterful collection of Los Angeles’ best burgeoning musical talents.
Each song on the compilation speaks to some part of the city’s unique charm with the utmost artistic skill.
““ Massial Bobadilla
E-mail Bobadilla at mbobadilla@media.ucla.edu.