Flower-Powered Artist - January 2009

Obi Best

2008 has given us a ton of great music. One of the standouts was the album from the Alex Lilly-led band named Obi Best. It was perhaps our obsession with Inara George and The Bird And The Bee that brought us to the music of Obi Best. A small dose of their sophisti-pop music is all it took for us to appreciate the fancies of Alex Lilly and friends, so we thought we should share our fascination by making Obi Best our January 2009 Flower-Powered Artist.

Obi Best brainchild Alex Lilly got into music at age 14, when she started taking piano lessons. Her interest in music grew stronger after learning to play music, which eventually led to writing songs. It didn't take too long before Ms. Lilly found herself playing with a band. One of the most noteworthy was her work as a backup singer for The Bird And The Bee. After playing with a bunch of people, she finally found her niche with her band Colorforms, though the name didn't last long because of legal issues with the Colorforms toy company. To sidestep this situation, Lilly decided to just change the name of the band. And thus, Obi Best was born.

Obi Best centers on Lilly's music with an assortment of friends bringing their talent to the table forming a kaleidoscope of fancy and flaunty pop. With Alex Lilly doing the vocals, keyboards and guitars, the rest of the band is comprised of a shifting group of musicians. The core band is composed of: Bram Inscore on bass and keys, John Wood on keyboards, Barbara Gruska and Mike Green on drums, and Wendy Wang on bass and backup vocals. Occasional players that contribute to the band's sound include: Kim Talon and Lisa Tremain on backup vocals, and Daphne Chen and Lindsay Stella on violins.

When not playing music with Obi Best, the group members play with their own bands. Examples of this are our guests in the Live Flower-Powered Artist Sessions, Wendy Wang and Mike G, who play in their own band called The Sweet Hurt. Unfortunately, listing all the other contributors and side projects of the musicians involved with Obi Best would result in a long interconnected list of skillful and talented artists, each with his or her own unique musical endeavors.

The band got signed to Social Science Recordings early in 2008. Their first effort, titled Capades, was released digitally in April 25, 2008. The album immediately caught the attention of critics and indie radio stations drawing inevitable comparisons to The Bird And The Bee. But that is just the first step in the album release. The physical CD copies will be released to retail and online stores in February 2009.

KGRL is very proud to present our January 2009 Flower-Powered Artist, Obi Best. Alex Lilly, Wendy Wang and Mike G of Obi Best joined KGRL in-studio for an exclusive performance shot in high-definition video and audio. Here's what's in store in this month's flower-powered feature: a CD review of Capades, photos, and our comprehensive interview with Obi Best in video, audio, & transcribed form.

As per our usual monthly feature, we are giving away 3 signed Capades CDs! Just e-mail me at contests [at] kgrl.fm and tell us why you deserve to win. Don't forget that you can request a FREE copy of the FPA live session DVDs as well!

KGRL Obi Best Interview

KGRL had a chance to sit down with Alex Lilly, Wendy Wang and Mike G of the band Obi Best for an interview right after our KGRL FPA Live Sessions held at The Alley Studio - 10.17.08.

Obi Best Video Interview (Click to launch the player!)
You can use the "pause" "back" and "forward" buttons to skip back or forward each of the Q&As.
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Capades CD Review

History repeats itself. I guess that line holds true in the music world. There's nothing better than to rekindle vintage music with the help of artists who not only capture the essence of those eras but manage to flawlessly integrate a modern edge. One of these artists is our current Flower-Powered Artist, Obi Best. With their debut album, titled Capades, the band tries to establish their own musical identity. The release of their physical CD is still a month away from the writing of this article (release scheduled being late February 2009), but that didn't stop us from acquiring the digital form of the album, which came out on April 2008. So, are you wondering how we fared on our journey into Capades?

We've heard of Alex Lilly's project since the days of Colorforms. One of the songs that we really liked was Nothing Can Come Between Us. It's not a surprise that the album begins with this track. Not only only is this song one of the oldest written, it also sets the listener's expectations for the rest of the songs on the album. Nothing Can Come Between Us is ineffably delicate and has that silky smooth sheen that makes it a very tempting ear candy. If you think that description is a bit fancy, that's because this song is every bit as fancy. That applies not only in the lines that Lilly sings in that soft whispery falsetto, but also in the delicious notes played on the piano along with the surprisingly-appropriate distorted electric guitar solo. However, that does not mean that this song solely relies on these fanciful instrumentations, as it works quite as well in a bare acoustic piano version (as can be seen and heard in our FPA Live Sessions below).

The next track, Who Loves You Now, is even more delicate than the first track and is quite intoxicating. It's like a fine wine that gets better with time. The gorgeous melody running in a slow and steady rhythm is heightened by multi-layered vocal tracks, causing trickles of nostalgia. Listening to this track evokes a feeling of fluffiness, like lying in a bed of down feathers. By the time the chorus comes in (“And I know there will be times to run, like a bird with its head cut off”), I begin to wonder if those down feathers came from the poor bird who lost its head. There's a subtle hint of quirk in Lilly's use of striking and whimsical analogy in the lyrics.

An unexpected rock-tinged track, What It's Not delivers a sudden jolt that shocked my musical senses, in a good way. It's great to hear Lilly's rock side. There's something that keeps me running back to this track. Perhaps it's the guitar/bass/keyboard lines that are stuck in my head, which manifest themselves as I try humming those instrument parts. Or maybe the flashy chorus and bridge parts that take me back to the instrument lines. It's a viscous cycle, just like how I tend to put this song on repeat mode.

Moving back to a similar structure as Who Loves You Now, the next track Green And White Stripes presents us with the same slow moody track whose melody is simply inescapable. The music fills up my room with its heavenly ambiance and subtle sparks of synthesized sounds that floats around, something I appreciate a lot with surround sound. Listening to it feels like... Uh I guess green and white stripes.

A cold splash of '80s-inspired music, with the track It's Because Of People Like You, leaves us in a paradoxical state of pleasure. It's like the feeling of taking a shower in the morning and the water hits you. The initial splash takes you by surprise and then eventually, you feel refreshed. It's probably because of how weird the song sounds on the first listen. But then you realize, it's slowly creeping into your brain. Next thing you know, you're already singing along with it.

Origami, the next track, dilutes my listening experience with something not as stellar as the first handful of tracks I've heard. The manly backing “Ooh-ooh-ooh” vocals just sound weird. At least it fares better in the chorus part, where the melody improves. Actually, that's the highlight of this song. I just wish it had something better than its slightly monotonous and regrettably forgettable stanzas.

The next track, Blooms Like Flowers, brings us back to the style where I think Obi Best shines the most, slow and sensual. The slow progression of this track puts me in a lush musical dreamscape filled with flowers, chirping birds and buzzing bees. That is why every time I listen to this song, I feel the need to keep my eyes closed. While I immediately fell in love with this track on first listen, I think some people will need a couple of listens to appreciate this. Give it time to bloom just like flowers and you'll be glad you did.

Oriental sound meets Europop in the next track, Swedish Boy. The ex-boyfriend-dedicated danceable groove of this track will probably put most listeners in a bouncy and perky mood. It's a fun track to listen to but it's not something I'd pick when recommending Obi Best. It's also a track that I'm likely to skip on my next listening session of Capades.

One of the most beautiful and perhaps most well-balanced tracks on the record, in terms of organic and synth sounds, is Within These Forest Walls. I really love the acoustic guitar and keyboard in this song. The vocal harmony is superb. The melody is simply sublime. This track is undeniably one of the highlights of this album.

Revealing another side of Alex Lilly, Days Of Decadence wraps up our journey with a classy finale. Days Of Decadence is an enchanting and mood-filled jazz / lounge track that effortlessly earns our two thumbs up. It's an exquisite and elegant take on the '50s. There's no more perfect way to end my journey in vintage music-land than with a song that transports me further back in time.

The journey to the musical fields of Obi Best yielded a fun and memorable experience. Perhaps Miss Lilly owns a DeLorian that takes her back to the future when she's done writing songs. If you're looking for a new kind of pop to sink your teeth into and you appreciate the novelty of redecorated vintage music, go ahead and take the plunge. Capades may just be the next best thing you've been looking for.

Buy Capades on Amazon.com MP3 Downloads(Click Here)!

Buy Capades on iTunes (Click Here)!

Tracklist:

Nothing Can Come Between Us
Who Loves You Now
What It's Not
Green And White Stripes
It's Because Of People Like You
Origami
Blooms Like Flowers
Swedish Boy
Within These Forest Walls
Days Of Decadence

Obi Best Photos

KGRL FPA Live Session - The Alley Studio 10.17.08

KGRL proudly presents another installment of our FPA Live Sessions monthly series. This month features Alex Lilly's solo project, the band formerly called Colorforms, now called Obi Best. The streams can be viewed using our embedded flash player. We do hope you enjoy these wonderful exclusive videos shot in high-def video and audio. There is also a 720p (1280 x 720 resolution) high-definition video of Obi Best's What It's Not.



And remember, those of you who support the station by donations can request a copy of the DVD. Click here for more information on how to obtain the DVD!


*The flash videoplayer uses Javascript - be sure to enable it in your browsers.

What It's Not	Swedish Boy	Green & White Stripes
It's Because Of People Like You	Tropical Fish	Blooms Like Flowers

Nothing Can Come Between Us

Days Of Decadence

*What It's Not performance is available in 720p High-Definition WMV-HD format.
Click here to view this video in HD!
(Warning: File size is 90.7Mb and requires WMV codec for Mac and Linux)