The American musician Saul Conrad plays “hard to categorize”, perhaps “experimental chamber pop”  or “other” bittersweet music on piano and guitar with surprising key changes, nonsensical rhythmic shifts, overlapping melodies, and folk elements. His third album (read about!) – which is more popular than previous two (listen to!) – was influenced by Kirkegaard and William Blake, Townes van Zandt and Blaze Foley, Harry Nilsson and Syd Barret, and more. But essentially his music based on his affection for music of Mozart, Chopin or Mahler.

4/23 Hamburg, DE Hasenschaukel  4/24 Berlin, DE Mein Haus am See  4/25 Budapest, HU Beat on The Brat  4/28 Leipzig, DE Dr. Seltsam  4/29 Copenhagen, DK Tjili Pop  4/30 Islands Brygge, DK “Geyser By The Sea” at Kulturhuset  5/2 Manchester, UK The Castle Hotel  5/4 London, UK Montague Arms  5/5 Hull, UK The Adelphi Club  5/6 Vienna, AT Mo.ë  5/7 Biel, CH Living Room Concert Series  5/8 Metz, FR La Chaouee  5/9  Espalais FR, Le Par Chemin

The American musician Saul Conrad plays „hard to categorize”, perhaps „experimental chamber pop”  or „other” music on piano and guitar with surprising key changes, nonsensical rhythmic shifts, overlapping melodies, and folk elements.

His third album (read about!) – which is more popular than previous two (listen to!) – was influenced by Kirkegaard and William Blake, Townes van Zandt and Blaze Foley, Harry Nilsson and Syd Barret, and more.

double live in Budapest

Oct 23, 8pm: Hátsó Kapu + Fancy Dress Family, price what you think
Oct 24, 9pm: Müszi, ticket: 800 HUF

 Further shows in Europe

10/25 Vienna, Austria – Mo.e   10/26 Lyon, France – Kraspek Myzik
10/29 Hamburg, DE – Hasenschauke   10/30 Berlin, DE – Madame Claude
10/31 Leipzig, DE – HanDstand und Moral

The American musician, Saul Conrad plays „hard to categorize”, perhaps „experimental chamber pop”  or „other” music on piano and guitar with surprising key changes, nonsensical rhythmic shifts, overlapping melodies, and folk elements.

His third album (read about!) – which is more popular than previous two (listen to!) – was influenced by Kirkegaard and William Blake, Townes van Zandt and Blaze Foley, Harry Nilsson and Syd Barret, and more. Sycamore, from his 1st album

10/19 London, UK – The Windmill, Elliot Smith tribute night
10/20 Ford, Argyll, UK – Ford House   10/22 Avellino, Italy – Godot Art Bistro
10/23 Budapest, Hungary – Hátsó Kapu   10/24 Budapest, Hungary – Müszi
10/25 Vienna, Austria – Mo.e   10/26 Lyon, France – Kraspek Myzik
10/29 Hamburg, DE – Hasenschauke   10/30 Berlin, DE – Madame Claude
10/31 Leipzig, DE – HanDstand und Moral

Saul Conrad is a classically-trained American musician. Almost impossible to categorize his peculiar music: experimental chamber „pop” with surprising key changes, nonsensical rhythmic shifts, overlapping melodies, and folk elements.  His third album is more listener friendly than the previous two. There are easy melodies instead of experiments. But at the same time it’s a very serious album. Perhaps it’s more serious than the previous ones.

The non-musical influences: Kierkegaard. Especially his book about the despair, “The Sickness Unto Death.” Surprising or not, in Japan the book of the Danish existentialist philosopher is living its own renaissance as anime, manga and video game soundtrack. By the way, always the same thing occurs to me from Kierkegaard (1813-1855): during a night I read through his work titled Either/Or, then I vomited out of the window – but that is quite another story.

“The Four Zoas: The torments of Love & Jealousy in The death and Judgment of Albion the Ancient Man.” It’s a prophetic book by English romantic poet William Blake (1757- 1827). Conrad’s album title “A Tyrant And Lamb” references to a pair of poems of Blake: The Tyger, and The Lamb, about the dualism of nature and God. Conrad sings about alternation of this duality in the human sphere.

And now the gruesome list of musicians who have influenced on this album

Blaze Foley, the Duct Tape Messiah, country outsider, was „a genius and a beautiful loser” according to Lucinda Williams, was shot to death at his age of 39 in 1989.

Gram Parsons of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, alcohol, drugs, overdose, 26.

Townes Van Zandt, country music outsider, in the 70s, when the bigger part of his highly praised life-work was released he lived outside of Nashville in a tin-roofed, bare-boards shack with no heat, stayed almost entirely unknown until the 80s, when Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered one of his songs, which became a number one hit, and he played at dive bars and lived cheap motels invariably until January 1, 1997, when his femoral neck fracture and his delirium tremens were treated with vodka and weed for good, and stayed 52 for ever.

Harry Nilsson, singer/songwriter, nothing special except for his songs, but a heart attack, 52.

Syd Barrett, the most creative member of the early Pink Floyd, for the most part he wrote the first album alone, LSD, became unable to play in the group, two solo albums in 1970 and nothing more, but a nine parts composition by Pink Floyd to tribute to him in 1975, titled Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Died in 2006 at his age of 60.

Elliott Smith, singer/songwriter, alcohol, drugs, paranoia, suicide, 34. Strange fact, in 1997 he released an album titled Either/Or, which is based on Kierkegaard…

I’m sure, you are very curious

Saul Conrad – „A Tyrant And Lamb” album on Mountain of Leopards and Cavity Search Records. Buy LP or digital copy

Az RNR666 ajánlásával / Recommended by RNR666

SAUL CONRAD (USA)>BUDAPEST> MÜSZI>JAN 11

Facebook Event

A klasszikus zenei képzettséggel rendelkező amerikai Saul Conrad különleges muzsikáját szinte lehetetlen kategorizálni: hagyományos dalstruktúráktól független kamara „pop”, váratlan hangnem és képtelen ritmusváltásokkal, egymásba csúszó melódiákkal, folkos elemekkel. Saul Conrad első európai koncertkörútja során január 11.-én Budapesten a Müsziben játszik.

Amikor a zene életet ment

1940. Saul leendő nagybácsikája, egy Németországból menekült zsidó, a 15 éves Claude Frank Madridban olyan szépen zongorázott a brazil nagykövetnek, hogy ő és édesanyja megkapták a kiutazó vízumot.

Saul Conrad is a classically-trained musician from the US. Almost impossible to categorize his peculiar music: experimental chamber „pop” with surprising key changes, nonsensical rhythmic shifts, overlapping melodies and folky elements. On his 1st Euro tour Saul Conrad will play in Budapest at Müszi on 11 January.

When the music saves life

In 1940, Saul’s great uncle Claude Frank, a 15-year-old Jew fleeing Germany, played for the Brazilian ambassador in Madrid—a performance that earned him and his mother exit visas.

Saul Conrad’s songs on RNR666 Radio

Saul Conrad Euro Tour

Industrial surf gaze experimental cold wave disco „punk or whatever i feel.” Another fantastic Canadian band:

Odonis Odonis – Better EP by Buzz Records  OK, this record was released some months ago, but maybe still there are some copies. And here is a new Better remix

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Saul Conrad – The Fancy. And yes, there is it. The classically-trained pianist has made a very strange album with unexpected and odd rhythm shifts where the melodies so overlap one another like the dialogues in Cassavetes and Altman films. „Voices overlap mirroring actual conversation: sometimes responding to each other, other times clashing and talking over one another.” Chamber pop:

LP by Mountain of Leopards