If you’ve earned an undergraduate degree in alternative music, you will probably delve into the realm of adult alternative music at some point during your graduate research. Within this area of expertise, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird, Damien Rice and Bon Iver are a few prominent scholars. After an exploration of these members of the alternative elite, doctoral candidates in the field of alternative music would surely explore the works of Gabriel Kahane, one of the world’s leading gatekeepers in the art of songwriting.
At times, the adult alternative spectrum of music can be labeled as narrow and articulate in conveying a single message. It’s all “sad-bastard-with-a-guitar” music. But what fans of alternative music fail to grasp is that adult alternative is difficult to do well. Popular metal, hip-hop and dance artists are formulaic in their syntheses.
Writers of the aforementioned genres can be guilty of pressing the “insert breakdown here,” “insert break-beat here” or “insert bass drop here” buttons on their music-creation devices, but there is no standing formula for good adult alternative music. A successful record either happens or it doesn’t. For Gabriel Kahane, it happens all the time.
I was introduced to Kahane by a friend of mine who described the songwriter as follows: “If Ben Folds had a dad that played music, he would probably sound like Gabriel Kahane.” My friend wasn’t trying to say that Kahane sounds like an old man or that his style is antiquated but that Kahane has matured the style of artists like Ben Folds into something more heady and intellectual.
Kahane’s music gains influence from an array of styles, including orchestral music and even the distant genre of hip hop. He incorporates these influences in a manner that doesn’t impede the musicality of a song. The effectiveness of each song is enhanced via stylistic exploration. Each song remains catchy; there is never a boring moment.
It’s no great shock that Kahane’s father, Jeffrey Kahane, is a renowned classical pianist and conductor. Gabriel Kahane’s more subdued songs are often accompanied by a string quartet and lavish, sustained piano chords. But Kahane is not married to tradition in terms of instrumentation. He implements an array of effects on guitar on various tracks and is accompanied by synthesized drum and bass tracks on some tunes as well.
For those of you who enjoy counting the beats in everything you listen to, Kahane is there to accommodate your listening needs. For example, his song titled “Last Dance” opens with a section accompanied by solo guitar and in a transient key. Although it’s virtually impossible to sing to yourself without studying it carefully, the melody still manages to get stuck in your head.
Then, a small ensemble of brass players enters to accompany Kahane as he repeats the melody with different lyrics. Finally, the song closes in an almost Justin Timberlake-style of white man’s hip hop but in a meter of seven. If this sounds mind-numbingly amazing, try actually listening to Kahane. Each song has something striking to offer.
Even if the conventional breed of adult alternative is beginning to feel stale to you, Gabriel Kahane will revive your love of the “sad-bastard-with-a-guitar” genre.
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