The Modern Ape
  • Health
  • Urban design
  • Music + art
  • Architecture
  • Nature
  • Sustainability
abuela
Music + art 9

What is Abuela, and Where is Ratatat’s LP5?

By Martin Smith @martin17smith · On February 5, 2014

Abuela, translating to “grandma” in Spanish, is the newest music Evan Mast of Ratatat has been pushing out. The other honcho producing alongside Evan on grandma’s project is Justin Roelofs, aka White Wizard. Under Abuela’s Facebook page, the genre is listed as “all of them at once.” Seeing that half the information given on the page is hilariously random, like their general manager written down as “Shaq Attack,” we can only guess if the two are actually serious about a Spring 2014 release showcasing more beats by Abuela. In case you’re interested in hearing what the music, influenced by “coconuts, corn, and coca,” sounds like, I’ve added their only two soundcloud tracks below.

What happened to Ratatat’s LP5? Do you even remember how good LP4 was? Let me refresh your memory, in case A.) you forgot it existed in your iTunes, or B.) you’re asking yourself what the hell LP4 is and are nearing the close-tab button with your mouse. Either way, my hope is to get you excited for a future LP5 release. From the looks of their website—where the front page displays: “We’re in the studio working on new music. See you soon!”—it should be rolling out before you know it.

“LP4” is Ratatat’s fourth studio album, hence the name LP4 (LP is an acronym for long play). The album is considerably different from all of their other albums, and much more unique when it comes to instrument choice and variety in style. The drums are very ethnic sounding, and have a lot of syncopation in their patterns of rhythm. The drum rhythms in a couple songs on LP4 remind me of the polyrhythm used in West African drumming. In “Grape Juice City” there is a lot of this used throughout the whole track, in which it breaks down into a more sophisticated pattern of percussion several times.

Another great addition to the drums is Ratatat’s use of synthesizers as a way of tying together the melodies from the electronic guitars to the complicated patterns of the drums. Ratatat’s signature sound—synthesizers that blend flawlessly with natural instruments like the guitar—is strong throughout the entire album. In the song “Mahalo,” a simple theme is played with a quiet synthesizer and gradually built up with a guitar, and then eventually two guitars with some digital sounding strings. The result: a beautiful adagio piece melded seamlessly with the use of synthesizers.

Ratatat seems to have mastered a very unique progressive style in electronic music that leaves the listener on edge, awaiting that awesome guitar solo to arrive at the peak. The best example of this style is shown on their song “Sunblocks,” which is definitely my favorite on LP4. “Sunblocks” starts off with ambient sounds of crickets chirping and a build of amplitude with the drums, already creating a progressive feel. After this, the general theme begins with what sounds like an electric guitar, and then built upon with a soft sounding electric piano, creating polyphony of rhythm. Then, around 1:16, the loud and abrasive guitar riffs powerfully take over the theme with a twist. After it slows down a bit into a different element of the musical organization, it builds back up into a great climax. The song eventually comes to an end with the slowing down of the beginning ambient noises and general theme. I think this piece is one of Ratatat’s greatest because of its powerful musical form, which I believe to be is: a, b, c, d, c’, a.

Overall, I would say that the album “LP4” is very unique, and contains the most variation in style—pertaining to musical form, tempo, genre, and instruments chosen—when compared to the rest of Ratatat’s albums. If you enjoy instrumental electronic music, then I would highly recommend you pick this album up and listen to its entirety. After doing that, you should understand why LP5 will remain at the top of my watch-for list until it is finally released.

Share

abuelaLP4LP5ratatat

Martin Smith

Martin is the creator of The Modern Ape, a blog that covers urban art, music and sustainability. He is currently working at Verdical Group, a Los Angeles based green building consulting firm.

You Might Also Like

  • Music + art

    The Modern Ape’s Essential Halloween Playlist

  • Music + art

    Johnny Marr – Playland

  • mozart's sister Music + art

    Mozart’s Sister – Being

Subscribe & Follow

Follow @themodernape
Follow on Instagram
Follow on Tumblr
Follow themodernape
Follow on rss

Find us on Facebook

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Popular
  • Comments
  • Tags
  • music

    Why do we have different tastes in music?

    June 18, 2014
  • abuela

    What is Abuela, and Where is Ratatat’s LP5?

    February 5, 2014
  • biophilia

    How Cities are Becoming One With Nature

    February 12, 2014
  • The Future of News & Journalism: The Dying Newsprint & Rise of Online Media

    January 28, 2014
  • Utilizing biomimicry to create environmentally sustainable products (Pt. 2)

    January 5, 2016
  • Benjie Tracey says: Yo, im currently trying to research "why do people have different music tastes...
  • Angry1541 says: I am not sure "friends" is the reason people change -- I mean maybe when young...
  • rupejonner2 says: Awesome. Studying human evolution is fascinating. We know so much and still...
  • Josh Farrell says: Great mix man. I'm feelin' those dopamine vibes too. Here's the track list for...
  • themodernape says: The internet and the communities within it can serve as virtual friends, right...
biomimicry Sustainability Evolution Biophilic sustainable design environmentally sustainable health Progressive house Photography Music + art Street Art St. Vincent Sustainable cities Artist Spotlight Electronic Pop Janine Benyus energy efficiency green building

Tags

Artist Spotlight biomimicry Biophilic Electronic Pop energy efficiency environmentally sustainable Evolution green building health Janine Benyus Micro apartments Music + art Photography Progressive house Richard Knott St. Vincent Street Art Sustainability Sustainable cities sustainable design

Sponsored

  • Contact
  • About
  • Disclosure

Latest News

  • Biomimicry – Technologies Inspired by Nature

    October 24, 2019
  • reinventing fire

    America 2050: The Amory Lovins Path to Sustainability

    March 22, 2016
  • What is biophilic design? (Infographic)

    February 10, 2016
  • Utilizing biomimicry to create environmentally sustainable products (Pt. 3)

    January 11, 2016

H.U.M.A.N.S

Search

My Tweets

Copyright © 2013 The Modern Ape. All rights reserved.