Aladean Kheroufi/Bad Buddy
Aladean Kheroufi
Beauty Beyond Grief // Keeping On Records
Aladean Kheroufi’s Beauty Beyond Grief is like a short but frisky frolic in the grass at dusk on a late summer’s day. Released August 7th, the 3 song EP is a collection of covers that Kheroufi adapted with his own style, full of soft melancholy with a soulful sway. Mastered by fellow Edmonton music scene veteran Nik Kozub (Shout Out Out Out Out, Veal) the EP has the electronic makings of a modern bop, with the sultry undertones of the soul, disco and funk genres that inspired it.
As I’m a sucker for 60’s and 70’s soul, Kheroufi’s musical restyling breathes fresh synth loops into some sweet old classics. Using a Rhodes piano, organ, synthesizer, congas and vibraphone on soul beauties “Here I Come Again” (written by William Bell but given life by Miss Jackie Shane) and “Take a Step in My Direction” (The Vibrations), the songs are given a modern reboot. The tracks were recorded throughout the beginning of 2020, which hasn’t been all too kind to our music community and humanity in general. But turning heartbreak into beauty is what defines the best of musicians. Recording Beauty Beyond Grief presented a purpose of escapism to Kheroufi during a turbulent time, and now we the listeners are gifted with the same.
The song “Good” is a reworking of Ghost Woman’s song of the same name from their self-titled 2019 album. Aladean pays homage to his friend Evan Uschenko’s lyrics by slightly manipulating their melody and adding his own chords and lyrics around it. The result is equally as dreamy and sway inducing.
A fixture on the Canadian music scene, Aladean performs within acts such as The Velveteins and Marlaena Moore and is a go-to session player. As a solo artist, he has performed alongside both Michael Rault and Daniel Romano. After four years of consistent touring across North America and Europe, Kheroufi settled in New York before heading to Edmonton shifting his attention from busy touring schedules to penning his own music. Beauty Beyond Grief is Aladean’s third single/EP release of 2020. With these bonafide credentials and the creative company he keeps, I’m looking forward to a full length, delving deeper into Kheroufi’s soul.
- Mo Lawrance
Bad Buddy
Bad Buddy // Independent
After what seemed like an impossibly long wait, Bad Buddy released their debut, self-titled record on July 18th. In many ways, it is the perfect antidote to a Summer stuck at home; Bad Buddy has one of the best live shows in Edmonton, if not the country, and this release conjures up the feeling of seeing the band live more than any other in recent memory. This makes for an LP that is a ‘holy shit’ level of pure, unadulterated fun.
Part of this is surely owed to the razor sharp songwriting at play in all of these songs. Seemingly, pop music vocabulary from any era was fair game to pilfer, remix, and recycle, with motown, riot grrrl, and surf flavours all getting a chance to shine. The lyrics manage to be blunt and political without losing the sense that you’re witnessing something personal; it’s easy to feel real empathy for the characters in these songs. “Fine-Hunniez” is a tongue-in-cheek , riff driven protest against the male policing of women’s bodies, while “Simultaneously” (the first track, and second single after “Hunters”) is a rip-roaring paean to confusion and the messy state of the world (which lands particularly well in this era of COVID lockdowns and civic rebellion). Other highlights include “Keys in Hand”, “Don’t Fuck Around”, and “I Hate Banff” (written for the band by Sarah Reid), but there’s not a single song here that isn’t worth a few spins.
When I interviewed Bad Buddy in June about this album, they talked about how their #1 concern when they were starting this band was that the band had to be good, or it wouldn’t be fun to be a part of. I’m pleased to report that not only are these songs good, they’re some of the best out this year. And yet, it’s not only the sheer quality of the writing and performing that makes Bud Buddy’s record great. It’s the audible joy and delight that radiates off of the band and out of the speakers, every moment a celebration of the great music likeminded folks can make, and the fun they can have while doing it.
- Sean Newton
