Moods 04: Noetry
Noetry has gone by many names: Dominic Vetuschi (their given name), Parekeet (for visual, experimental, and techno ventures from 2012-2017), and now Noetry for 2018 and beyond. I've known them for years as a close friend and collaborator in a STOMP-esque band from Ann Arbor, Michigan (here), where we built universes of sound out of everyday items, like a row of ladders and recycling buckets to a cover of a Bibio song using hedge clippers, brooms, and more to a song that casted shadows of bodies onto a theater scrim against a melting rainbow backdrop.
They've also been confidant, heartbreaker, and heartmender, taking the time to learn, grow, and move into stronger versions of themselves. Their roots in slow San Diego, family-centered Michigan, and time spent on pan-US bike trips help inform a lot of the choices here. The single thread, even when we're seamlessly moving from jazz to ambient to the Caribbean, is strong sense of community and support evident in the songs Vetuschi has picked. Many are bands, if not full orchestras, that invite the listener into a world, whether it's for a moment, for a drink, for a smoke, or for a laugh.
Just one example: "Buena Vista Social Club was often playing in my house growing up," they explain, "when my family was cooking, [or] when it was time to dance." The song meant an invitation into community, whether it's Vetuschi's father taking out his flamenco guitar, relatives are coming over, or just having the sun shine. "Certainly my taste for music craves a certain liveliness," they continue, "something organic that encourages movement and looseness." Hopefully you find movement in these songs too :)
--TRACKLIST--
Ballade 4, Pt. 1 - Tosca
In the Waiting Line - Zero 7
Mandala - Thievery Corporation
Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club
Peg - Steely Dan
The Dance #3 - Laraaji
Strangest Consequences - Enrico Pieranunzi
Killing Floor - Howlin’ Wolf
Trampled Under Foot - Led Zeppelin
Space Age Utopia - Vinyl Williams
2am - Slightly Stoopid
Walk in the Sky - Bonobo
Return of Yawny - Andrew Bird
Potion - CHON
Egypt - The Mercury Program
Cavity (Shigeto Remix) - Hundred Waters
--ARTWORK--
This month's pairing was by Vetuschi themselves: the late and legendary Mati Klarwein may be an outsider to the art world but an insider legend to the music world. Mati's images build bridges that bring far-flung methods and movements together: neo-Surrealism, Afrofuturism, the psychedelic rock culture of the 60s and 70s, and the anti-war/global peace movement. This not only pairs well with the bridging Vetuschi does with their mix, but offers us a moment to think about how artists can find sources of joy and success outside of their own industry. Art and music, as Klarwein's works suggest, are best when they belong together.
To learn more about Mati and see more of his work, head here, or buy this book that collects 52 of his works that appeared on records.
To hear more of Noetry's music and to buy their recent EP (it's amazing), head here.
For more flamenco, Vetuschi recommends the poet Lorca :)