Marc Louis-Boyard

BBsitters Club, BBsitters Club & Party – ALBUM REVIEW #29

13 December 202013 December 2020Album Reviews, Music & Records Marc Louis-Boyard

Chicagoans BBsitters Club released BBsitters Club & Party in October 2020, and limited by time, we’re only bringing the good news in the middle of December.

Because the album delivers borderless energy and borderline maturity, this release caught our attention and took care of our many moods at first listen. Three months after, the feeling hasn’t disappeared.

That being said, do not get us wrong: this album contains more tact and genius that it may seem at first glance. Who said airiness couldn’t be treasured?

Susan Uehara Rakstang, Cooking for Her Eyes – BOOK REVIEW #13

8 November 20208 November 2020Book Reviews, Literature Marc Louis-Boyard

Susan Uehara Rakstang’s Cooking for Her Eyes was released in October 2020, seven years after Julian Barnes’ critically-acclaimed Levels of Life, a title of a similar nature.

In Cooking for Her Eyes, Susan Uehara Rakstang contemplates the different emotional levels of her own past. The book succeeds where most authors and thinkers fail: context matters, and context is a central notion in the book.

To avoid spoilers, we’ll base our review on the first half of the book. Don’t get us wrong: the other half is where the magic happens too.

Takuya Kuroda, Fly Moon Die Soon – ALBUM REVIEW #28

20 September 202021 September 2020Album Reviews, Music & Records Marc Louis-Boyard

Excellent news from (and for) the jazz microcosm: trumpeter and Berklee graduate Takuya Kuroda is back with Fly Moon Die Soon, his fifth album.

Piri Piri (from his album The Rising Son) was our first encounter with Takuya Kuroda’s musical expression. This was already six years ago. As his album releases go by, we are delighted -but definitely not surprised- by the fact that Takuya didn’t lose any of his former spice along the way.

Fast Preacher (for Figure It Out, out now) – ITW #27

19 August 202020 September 2020Interviews, Music & Records Marc Louis-Boyard

Glamorous enlightened people of all kinds, rejoice! Daniel Hanson and his Fast Preacher project just released Figure It Out, or in other words, what you dreamed of hearing after typing “alternative” on your favorite search engine.

Remember TALsounds, Stuck and NIIKA? As demonstrated on Slow Culture more than once, Chicago is currently overflowing with inspirational musical power. Figure It Out, Fast Preacher’s latest release is no exception, and was in fact the missing spice to our recent cultural wonderments.

The album is out now (link to the project’s Bandcamp at the end of the article), and multiple music players will give you a taste of Daniel’s songwriting all along the interview.

Cathlene Pineda, Rainbow Baby – ALBUM REVIEW #27

2 August 202020 September 2020Album Reviews, Music & Records Marc Louis-Boyard

The first notes of Rainbow Baby instantly let us believe that keeping quiet about this album for long was an impossible mission. To be honest, at that time we didn’t know much about Cathlene Pineda despite her indisputable talent and extensive curriculum.

We first heard Cathlene’s music the exact same way we would have heard the music of an interesting stranger. Thanks to her vivid sense of communication and her generosity of spirit, we now hear Rainbow Baby the exact same way we would listen to the music of a friend.

And we really hope you will too.

Evan Guilford-Blake, American Blues – BOOK REVIEW #12

28 June 202020 September 2020Book Reviews, Literature Marc Louis-Boyard

In 2016, Holland House Books released Evan Guilford-Blake’s American Blues. Four years have passed since, but once we got invited to dive into it, the notion of time definitely disappeared.

Time definitely flew by once we started reading the five stories forming the book. Seduced by the narrative and the author’s active curiosity, we’re delighted to share with you some of our thoughts today.