Artists of the Day: Mike Ladd and Vijay Iyer, (Multiple Collaborations, 2003-2013), Mike Ladd, LP Easy Listening 4 Armageddon (1997, Scratchie/Mercury)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am extremely passionate about many civic, societal, and political issues, on local, regional, national, and global levels. In this online community and the forum it represents, I have made conscious and disciplined efforts to focus on the love of music, first and foremost. However, I’ve always been acutely aware that throughout its history, music has invariably intersected political and social issues and expressed political and social commentary quite dramatically, either subtly through the abstract, esoteric, and symbolic nature of lyrical expression, or overtly through the bluntness of its words and musical form. 

On the 12th anniversary of Sept 11^th, 2001, I’d rather not say anything profound about 9/11 myself.  Rather, I'd like to say something about other artists who have said something profound about 9/11, its aftermath, and the reverberating effects it’s had on the world-- expressed through their music and voices.

These artists are Mike Ladd and Vijay Iyer, two Americans of multi-cultural, multi-ethnic backgrounds who have nurtured a collaborative partnership on several releases spanning the decade 2003-2013, whether loosely on diverse projects, or formally and prominently through their dually-credited trio of albums.

Mike Ladd and Vijay Iyer? Or Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd? Either way, the collaboration is a powerful one, one which has examined several societal and political themes over the past decade, communicated via a unique hybrid of diverse musical styles and genres. 

None of this should come as a surprise to those familiar with the discographies of Ladd and Iyer. Both are quite established genre-hoppers, so much so that they tend to defy definition, which is great because who the eff     likes to be pigeonholed anyway?!? 

To distill this post to its essence, I am here to highlight and celebrate, in the words of Iyer himself, their explorations in their decade-long collaboration of 'American Life in Wartime since 9/11.' Heavy? Yes. And while the seriousness, pain, and gravity of the real-life stories they've helped bring to life through art should be treated as such, the expressions of enlightenment, release, peace, and healing through music are to be celebrated!

The story actually reaches further back than 2003. It begins in 1997 with Mike Ladd's debut album, 'Easy Listening 4 Armageddon.' Ladd hails from Cambridge, Mass., based himself in NYC, and now lives in Paris. Recorded in 1996-97, it introduced Ladd as a potent and versatile purveyor of spoken word poetry, broadcasted through catchy phrasing, well-placed melodies, and doses of trip hop, choice beats, loops, samples, and what has come to be known as 'underground rap/hip-hop.' I always had distaste for the 'underground rap/hip-hop' label, which I found to be an unfitting moniker, for many reasons. It just so happens that almost all the hip hop and rap that I like falls under the 'underground rap/hip-hop' categorization. Just who exactly came up with this 'underground' label anyway, and why do we even use it? I guess anything not 'mainstream' and Top 40 is relegated to 'underground' status? A thing that makes ya go...hmmm...

Now, as for Ladd's art...Original? Yes. Experimental? Perhaps. Avant-garde? Maybe a bit pretentious to say so, but what the hell, he's living in Paris, so...Probably. Left-field hip-hop? Alternative rap? Ugh, my head is throbbing...aand...once again, I digress!

What Ladd's debut IS, is timeless, and timely. 'Easy Listening 4 Armageddon' runs the gamut from the title track's sly, sublime, wickedly funny take on the end of the world, all delivered in tongue-in-cheek Richard Simmons-esque, over-the-top voicing, to the blistering 'Bush League Junkie,' a sultry late night speakeasy jazz gem that I've highlighted here.

'Bush League' not only forebodes the War on Terror, it predates it by almost 5 years, as well as being topically and chronologically 16 years ahead of 2013's broad NSA Surveillance revelations. 

Other fave 'Armageddon' tunes include 'The Tragic Mulatto is Neither,' 'Kissin' Kecia,' 'Padded Walls,' and 'Backstroke.'

Fast forward to 2003, and there's the Iyer-Ladd LP 'In What Language?' This, their first co-credited LP, is in its official description, 'An Examination of the Often Dehumanizing World of International Travel in a Post- 9/11 World.' Vijay Iyer is a supremely talented, Upstate New York-born, Bay Area-based pianist, keyboardist, and composer who already had nearly a decade of experience as a bandleader of jazz-rooted ensembles exploring progressive and world fusion sub-genres, often incorporating South Asian themes and instrumentation. 

'In What Language' (Pi Recordings, 2003), while co-credited to Iyer and Ladd, employs several MCs in addition to Ladd. This includes actor Ajay Naidu, who spouts verse based upon compelling poems by two Indian-born New Yorkers. Backed by sparse but driving electronica grooveitude, Naidu raps with dry wit on 'TLC' and 'Rentals,' two of my favorite tracks on the album. You can find song samples here. And lyrics here.

The 2nd Iyer-Ladd collaboration surfaced in 2007. 'Still Life With Commentator' (Savoy Jazz Label), is another politically and societally themed release, this time unified around information inundation in today's increasingly digital world. Much like the subject matter it tackles, it's detached, sparse, robotic, dark, moody, and in many instances, a hard listen. It is clearly the least groove oriented of the three Iyer-Ladd releases, and certainly the least accessible, in my opinion. 'Jon Stewart on Crossfire' is my fave track, and 'Fox 'N' Friends' is a wickedly incendiary little 30-second ditty!

Rounding out our trio of Ladd-Iyer projects is 'Holding it Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project' (2013, Pi Recordings). It is once again populated with multiple MC's, and this time the MC's (with the exception of Ladd) are Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans. With Ladd and Iyer's compositions laying the musical foundation, the Vets share their dreams (and nightmares) of service in these two wars, in their own (spoken) words. Whereas certain veterans chose not to commit their voices to record, Ladd expertly translates their emotion and stories through his iconic voice. In all cases, the compositions identify each veteran by name and hometown. Maurice Decaul, an Iraq and Afghanistan Marine, is credited on approximately 40% of the material, according to Iyer. Prolific.

My favorite track is 'Capacity,' a spacey, sparsely groovy expressional by Lynn Hill (Bronx, NY), a US Air Force Veteran (and Poet), who spent quite a bit of time with Predator Drones. Despite the heaviness of the 'Dreams' project in terms of the first-hand emotions and experiences of hers and others, Hill says in the Electronic Press Kit (attached below): 

'I was like...I felt like Jay-Z...this is awesome!'