Tree Colored See (with Mystic Chords Of Memory)
Mush, 2006
rating: 4/5
reviewer: filmore mescalito holmes

Oh man, this is one beautifully inspired Mush collaboration. The feel-good Summer of Love vibes emanate from Tree Colored See like trails and insights from a fresh batch of Owsley's electric Kool-Aid. One of the few pristine purveyors of psychedelic hip-hop, Nobody (known to his friends as Elvin Estella), former Beachwood Spark Chris Gunst, and Jen Cohen of The Aislers Set have benefited from mutual assistance in the past, however briefly. But by the many hands of some obviously loving and generous god(s), brief conspiracy has led to a fully realized joining of creative independent minds. Tracks here usually pivot around Nobody's signature trip-hop fuzz beats – which continue to mature, progressing from his earlier albums and more cartoony beats – as well as Chris' foreboding '60s lyricism and Elliott-Smith-on-Zoloft delivery, which are complimented by a plethora of summery live instrumentation blurring the already hazy line between folk and country.

Even though Nobody's name appears first in the listing, he has no problem taking a back seat for more contemplative numbers. The chime-riddled, harmonica-led "Memory," the chugging folk stomper "Coyote's Song," and the most Elliott-like "Softer Sail" best exemplify this capacity to work as a part of a team, while the more traditional trip-hop arrangement "Decision, Decision" demonstrates the best of their total abilities. I hope this is an indication that they had as much fun making Tree Colored See as it sounds like they did. The more albums like this, the better.

1. The Seed
2. Decisions, Decisions
3. Broaden A New Sound
4. Coyote's Song (When You Hear It Too)
5. Memory
6. Klaw Prints
7. Walk In The After Light
8. When The End Meets The Beginning
9. Feet Upon The Sand
10. Softer Sail
11. Floating

And Everything Else...
Plug Research, 2005
rating: 3/5
reviewer: olskooly


Albums like And Everything Else..., the debut Plug Research long-player from Nobody (a.k.a. Elvin Estela), are an occasional treat for casual listeners and music reviewers alike. The record is an impeccably produced full-length that is likely to appeal to a broad base of listeners with its combination of laid-back grooves, indie rock sensibility, and catchy melodic charm. It's also a challenging enough listen to demand repeated spins. And Everything Else..., in short, is the type of album that really grows on you.

Nobody's combination of warm, crackly vinyl samples, judicious use of live instrumentation, and actual breakbeats demonstrates that a great deal of work went into the making of the album. Despite the record being a predominantly instrumental affair, the music is complex enough to render the pieces much more than simple hip-hop backing tracks. The press release mentions that Estela has a love of early '90s hip-hop production. This is evident on And Everything Else... The record is at times reminiscent of the production of Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs, and to a lesser degree, "trip hop"-aligned artists such as DJ Shadow and Massive Attack. Though it is not a particularly dark album, there is a somewhat murky, blunted element to Nobody's production that begs the listener to dig deeper into it and aurally deconstruct the pieces individually. A casual listen truly does not do the record justice. And Everything Else... sounds, at first, to be a somewhat spare affair, but the layers upon layers of Nobody's samples and idiosyncratic production techniques eventually make themselves evident the second and third times around.

The album features a number of guest appearances. Scott Herren, as Prefuse 73, is featured on "Tori Oshi." Mexican hip-hop artist Xololanxinco, of Of Mexican Descent, contributes his unique hybrid Spanish rap/spoken word vocal stylings to the track "Con un Relampago." Other tracks feature Mia Doi Todd and Beachwood Sparks bandmates Chris Gunst and Farmer Dave Scher, whose contribution to the cover of The Flaming Lips' "What is the Light?" is one of the highlights of the album. As a whole, however, the vocal tracks on And Everything Else... are sparsely proportioned between the much more prominently featured instrumentals.

And Everything Else...'s last four tracks, which begin with "Con un Relampago," form a suite of sorts. Ethnic vocals and melodies, along with classical and steel-stringed acoustic guitars playing, form the centerpiece of these tracks, which still remain true to the album's hip-hop template. It's a moody conclusion to an album which, overall, is atmospheric, provocative, and uplifting.

1. The Coast Is Clear (For Fireworks)
2. What Is The Light?
3. Spin the Bright Sun Rose
4. Go Go Interlude Go
5. Poor Angular Fellow
6. Tilijem's Forrest
7. You Can Know Her
8. Jose De La Rues!!!
9. Con Un Relampago
10. Wake Up And Smell The Millennium
11. Tori Oshi
12. Siesta Con Susana

Pacific Drift: Western Water Music, Vol. 1
Ubiquity, 2003
rating: 4.5/5
reviewer: willcoma


Here it is. 2003's rapidly drawing to a close and here come the squeakers. Nobody just might be one of the elusive phantoms haunting the edges of this years best-of lists. I was shocked upon hearing this record, since the last Nobody release was such a traditional downtempo hip-hop affair; and now, all of a sudden, it's a Beach Boys trip-hop celebration! Now don't let that scare you. This combination works better than you might think, and this reviewer happens to despise the Beach Boys (yes, even Pet Sounds + Smile). There are vocals, but it just so happens that the best song here has Chris Gunst (of Beachwood Sparks) doing a Monkees tune. The chugging melodic procession of "Porpoise Song" is the most magically poignant psych-pop flowering I've heard in some time. It'll stick in your head all day and you won't mind a bit.

As for the rest of the LP, it's just lovely and belongs in the pantheon of uplifting, beat-heavy psychedelia occupied by Up in Flames and Rounds. But Nobody definitely maintains his own identity throughout, driving a concentrated marriage of old school beats and a tantalizing soup of trippy textures and melodies to its logical breaking point. He's crafted a superb, sun-stroked mélange, alternating between ditties and moods and always infusing the mix with ear-perking textures. I say this is a Beach Boys adaptation, but that's only recognizable through Nobody's Wilson-esque mastery of studio space and ambient bells and whistles (the sounds of children playing in the background of "Psilo-Cycling").

This marriage works incredibly well on "Images of April," whose two-note trilling recalls Buffalo Springfield’s "For What It’s Worth," only beefed up with a hearty breakbeat. Hybridizations frequently amount to little more than gimmicky throwaways, but Nobody manages them here with such acute compositional intuition that you can't help but get a "eureka" type reaction. He treads some of his tried and true ground in moody instrumentals on "Sioux's Rain, Pt. 3" with decidedly pleasing results, proving that he understands the value of variety on a record. Something that other largely instrumental acts could surely benefit from.

So, good morning starshine, the earth says hello! You twinkle above us and as the cards would have it, we twinkle below. Thanks to the innovations of Nobody, M83, and The New Pornographers (among others), it's finally okay to feel this way again. What is so funny about peace, love, and understanding anyway? I'm not laughing. When it comes to the jubilant bliss-outs on display with this LP, I swear I could cry I'm so ecstatic.

1. Coming Up To The Surface
2. White Folding Slowly
3. The Beaches on Neptune
4. Porpoise Song
5. Interlude 1
6. After The Summer Hits
7. Psilo-Cycling (Trip 'Round the Block)
8. Images of April
9. Interlude 2 / Sioux's Rain, Pt. 3
10. What Fall Brings
11. This Will Be Our Year
12. Interlude 3
13. Electro-Acoustic
14. Headspace
15. I Won't Hurt You
16. Going Under...