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ANDY DUNLAP | chriskattan42@yahoo.com |
DYLAN MULSHINE | musicmakingmachine@gmail.com |

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Saturday, August 6, 2011

JASON AJEMIAN & THE HIGHLIFE

Jason Ajemian is a musician from our neck of the woods the foothills of the blue ridge in Waynesboro, VA. Lately he's been calling NYC his home and as we breath is on tour with his group The Highlife. Just saw them rip it hard in Charlottesville at a pop-up store called JSJ (johnsarahjohn) it was industrial and full of eccentric light and people. The show was originally gonna be a pool party, along with grilling food, and one of the members mentioned doing a cannonball while playing sax, we will have to wait.

The lineup was Jason Ajemian with bass guitar and minimal vocals, Peter Hanson with Saxophone, and Nick Jenkins with drum kit. It was one continuous stream of songs with a foreword mentioning the lose funk elements they would introduce. As far as my influences are concerned with jazz or funk, I still felt an immediate impression from their sound. Wasn't the most together performance but the laid back in and out funk injected jazz made it hard for me to sit still. was a varied set, with numerous songs that felt more realized and bombastic free feelings of improv or light textures. Some very impressive moments where things seemed to change fluently but in an instant. There was an encore performance of Jason solo on upright, which was at first very aggressive, with drumstick prepared strings and hitting both the strings the body and the music stand with another stick. Lots of interesting sound wrenched out of a bass, what came across was how comfortable he seemed with the instrument. He closed with a few borrowed songs, I felt like they were songs for his virginia friends and family.

Jason Ajemian struck me as an Appalachian Arthur Russell
Peter Hanson was a punk ass Ornette Coleman
and Nick Jenkins had a light touch and was very consistent and engaging
he also makes electronic music of his own in addition to drumming called

i just read up some on this high life thing

and right now they are...

Riding the Light Into the Birds Eye

title of a recent album that they are on the run with
the basis for this music was written in an autoCAD program making 3D rooms and whole buildings and tunnels of written music. I did notice some perplexing sheet music they had at the show. Reminds me of the terry riley "scratch" sheet music stufffffff

AND FUCK YEAH THEY WERE 4 REAL DRINKING MILLER HIGHLIFE DURING THEIR SET



you can also buy their records instead of beer coozies over here at SUNDMAGI

love,

Dylan

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