Tag Archives: Jon Ragel

Ragel Against The Machine

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I was so pleased with myself when I came up with that headline that I had to use it here. Jon Ragel, AKA BoyEatsDrumMachine has been doing pure mad mashups with Talking Heads Vs. Michael Jackson and The Cure…except these mashups are LIVE and feature Gang of Four’s Dave Allen on bass (ver’ nice) and Benjy Rickard on guitar and synth. The mashups have Ragel on vox and vinyl…tasty.

I tend to latch on to little things in the mix, and Dave Allen’s bass punctuations in the Psycho Killer riffs are sharp. It’s stuff like that that keeps the mix interesting. Also nice–Benji Rickard’s great minimalist one-note guitar lines. Jon Ragel keeps it real by not trying to hit those Psycho Killer high “aiieee aiiieee aiieeee aieeee” notes–wise move, my man. Not even DB hisself could hit ’em consistently.

The first one of these live mashups was fun–I listened and thought, “hell yeah!” but the new one, Billie Jean/Psycho Killer is nothing short of brilliant. The Billie Jean bass riff is massive in the right hands, and it is definitely in the right hands here. This is sweet stuff and it is FREE. And how about that image? The Billie Jean Byrne graphic is just sick, wrong and I wish it were poster size.

Pampelmoose blogged it here and Jon Ragel also has it as a freebie at his BEDM official site. Don’t forget to check out the other sonic treats at BEDM as there’s much to feast on. The P-Moose site also has a healthy stack of mp3 goodies.

Boy Eats Drum Machine: Booomboxxx

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Tender Loving Empire recently announced Boy Eats Drum Machine‘s next album, Booomboxxx, due out on vinyl and disc on 10/28. I got an advance copy in the post today and I am happy to report this album is full of sonic treats–especially for those who love their headphone candy. Sure, you could listen to this on the speakers (or studio monitors like I do), but I strongly suggest using a nice pair of headphones to enjoy this one as here is much fun to be had with those sounds up close and personal. Horns, nice soulful vox (without sounding like some kind of Sam Cooke knockoff I might add), plenty of sonic goodness.

Boy Eats Drum Machine is Portland’s Jon Ragel with some kickass guest drummers including Danny Seim from Menomena and several others. Ragel really grabbed my ears with the track “I’m Alive Don’t Bury Me” which instantly made me think of Serpent And The Rainbow, the creepy Wes Craven movie. This album is packed with great, herky-jerky beats and scratches and a nice deep dark analogue synth groove that, on proper equipment, can be felt in your STERNUM. Nice one, BEDM.

Enjoy an advance sampling of five tracks from this hand-crafted vinyl record and CD package (what an undertaking!) at the Boy Eats Drum Machine Downloads page. Free tunes to tease you for the full-blown (and nicely done) package hitting stores on 10/28.

Tender Loving Empire has scored with this album. Click on that link above and fill your weekend with beats. YES.