by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Here we are, still in quarantine. I think some of us are approaching week eight, though time is starting to feel like a relative concept. The good folks at Joyful Noise Recordings get it and they aren’t sitting idly by either. They’ve begun the ongoing Safe In Sound (Home Recordings from Quarantine) project, a work in progress compilation that will eventually be released on vinyl. The idea is simple, artists are recording and submitting new work from their homes, which are being shared in real time. With one of our favorite label rosters at hand, the release already boasts great contributions from Rob Crow, Deerhoof, Helvetia, Eerie Wanda, and more.
Jad Fair hardly needs an introduction. As one half of the legendary Half Japanese, he’s been releasing lo-fi punk, twee, and experimental records since the early 70’s. With over four decades of recordings under his belt, he’s worked with everyone from Daniel Johnston and Yo La Tengo to Teenage Fanclub and David Liebe Hart. The list of artists he’s collaborated with goes on and on, with everyone waiting for their chance to grab a bit of the Jad Fair magic. The Austin outsider legend has contributed to Safe In Sound together with French experimental group Hifiklub to create the timely “Staying At Home,” the record’s most literal song and yet one that retains an otherworldly presence. For anyone unfamiliar with Fair, his voice has on ominous but honest quality to it, somewhere between Tom Waits and Les Claypool, and his words are quick and to the point here, “staying at home, not going nowhere” before quickly turning to put the blame on “mixed up kids from outerspace.” It’s pretty damn amazing. Hifiklub do much of the heavy lifting on the track with vibrant electronic drums, synths, guitars, and bass, warping from one alien groove to the next.
The Maxime Chanet directed video brings it all to life in black and white, with a rapid succession of the pitfalls of society mixed in with cartoons of dancing skeletons, owls, and a few great movie clips. It captures those “stupid kids from Mars” at their worst, but things eventually take a turn for the better and the colors eventually burst as the tension melts away and the piano-led finale leads to a serene new beginning. If you take anything away from it, stay at home.