I've been posting my reviews on last.fm for quiet some time now. I love going back to my original ramblings and then dusting off the albums that got me excited years ago... This is essentially the point. Besides my interviews and features, Headphone Commute Reviews are meant to be an archive of my favorite releases as well as recommendations for you. I do not have time to write negative words, so here's another batch of my latest finds that I hope will make it onto your rotations list. A lot of goodies in here for you. Not to mention another Record Label Profile. This month it's an in-depth interview with Evan Bartholomew of Somnia. Read
Label Profile: Somnia only on
reviews.headphonecommute.com. Here are 16 reviews and flashbacks, with many featuring my mini interview feature I call "Two and a Half Questions", so be sure to hit that. As usual, I would appreciate a comment or two, and would love it if you could
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The Refractors - 8 Year Sleep (Dynamophone)
I first discovered The Refractors through their hand packaged and physically painted copy of All Colors Run EP, which they self released in 2008 and were kind enough to send over. I say "discovered" not because I want to take any credit for finding them before they got picked up by San Francisco based Dynamophone Records, but because stumbling upon this duo was a real pleasure, as it is whenever one uncovers a previously unheard artist. My initial reaction to the sound is worth repeating once again, and so I quote my previous review: The Refractors are Joseph and Kayline Martinez of Pacifica, California, who turn running colors, abandoned sounds, and loose threads back into art. The sixteen minute All Colors Run EP is a collection of vignettes and gentle sketches feeding analog instruments and field recordings into cold machines. The sound is described by the artists as "vegetation coming up through the cracks of man-made structures." On this debut full length album, 8 Year Sleep, The Refractors catalog their musical journal entries beginning with the year 2001. Eight years, eight memories, eight movements. Each track represents a collection of dreams, grievances and flashbacks, woven with the accompanied instruments, field recordings, and silence. With a nod towards political events taking place in the last eight years of American history (the first track, for example, is titled A Fall Disguised as a Rise), the duo captures emotions with a surreal juxtaposition of abandoned fragments. The album is made up of dying dusty microphones, acoustic attic guitars, kitchen drawer percussion, splattering water, scratched voices, and lost pieces of home. It is also worthwhile to mention that the tracks Lull and Inherit include contributions from a guitarist Clayton McEvoy, who has been recently signed to another favorite label of mine, Hidden Shoal. Watch for his upcoming release under the alias of Sleeping Me titled Cradlesongs (Hidden Shoal, 2009) in May. This is a great catch for Dynamophone Records, who snatched the Refractors and released this album in their Parcel Series - a limited edition 3" CDr, packaged in a beautiful compact box, with artwork by Eric Lacombe. Previous releases in the Parcel Series include The Lullaby League's Filia Melusine, Fjordne's Last 3 Days of Time, and A Lily's I Dress my Ankles in God's Sweetest Words, among the many others. And one more thing! The Refractors' 8 Year Sleep will be the first release on Dynamophone's new Lilian Series format, which will be released on a tiny 1G USB flash drive held in a slide-top tin with a tiny neodyne magnet. How cool is that? This version will come with six extended tracks, images, lyrics and additional information behind each track, like this little fact about Farewell Sister: "She was assassinated two months after retuning to Pakistan from exile". A great collector's item breathing life into the meaning behind a musical album as a concept.
Two and a Half Questions with The Refractors
http://www.myspace.com/therefractors |
http://www.dynamophone.com
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VA - Sound of Slow Flow Vol. 1 (Slow Flow)
The shadows recede into their coldness. She shows up this morning. With her light breeze and the blue skies, Spring begins another cycle. The light synthetic chirping in my headphones joins that of the birds. And they all sing. On the train, I read Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance (1994). The atmospheric swells and the ambient drones are the perfect soundtrack to the novel. All the more appropriate, since this disc arrived from Japan. On this compilation, Sounds of Slow Flow Vol 1, ten various artists contribute tracks that express their image of a "slow flow". Each is delicate and unique in its own way, but this conceptual theme joins the album together unlike any other scattered sampler. With this first release for Sapporo, Hakkaido-based Slow Flow Records, the label enters the minimal ambient scene with an eclectic roster of artists. This ethereal movement in between space and stillness is collectively comprised of compositions by Pawn, Celer, Ryonkt, Cloudburst, Elian, Segue, Porzellan, Glenn Ryszko, Entia Non, and Ian Hawgood. One of the familiar names on this bliss saturated collection is Celer, a husband and wife duo, with a deep discography, and the second release for this label, Cursory Asperses (Slow Flow, 2008). Compiled by Ryo Nakata (Ryonkt), the 70+ minute journey will take you through textures and tones designed to complement the impossibly persistent soundtrack of the daily life. Current Slow Flow releases include the above mentioned album by Celer, an album by Misound, Stanze di te, and an upcoming album by Jordan Sauer (Segue), Into the fall. Recommended if you prefer meditative sound over silence during any activity, except useless rambling thoughts. Filed under ambient and experimental releases, along with titles from 12k, Room40, Dragon's Eye, and Spekk. Looking forward to all future releases.
http://www.myspace.com/slowflowryo |
http://www.slowflowrec.web.fc2.com
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Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol.2 (Raster-Noton)
Alva Noto returns with a second installment in his five-part planned Xerrox series. On this follow up to Xerrox Vol. 1 (Raster-Noton, 2007), Carsten Nicolai turns up the volume in static electricity working with the concept of copying sounds. A copy of a copy of a copy in digital format may be flawless, so what does Nicolai do? For this feat, Nicolai along with Christoph Brünggel created a "sample transformer". This software manipulation device downsamples, chops and fragments the original source, until it no longer resembles itself, becoming an error prone original, becoming a copy corrupted with noise, becoming a newly created entity in itself. Here's Nicolai, giving us a little more color on the second volume on the label's website: "xerrox vol. 2 undertakes an intense journey and affords the luxury to take its time. while xerrox vol. 1 (r-n 78) referred to the ‘old world’ with its tradition deeply rooted in classical music, xerrox vol. 2 tries to access a ‘new world’. it works with samples that have been gathered and developed in the usa – the so-called ‘new world’ – where the album also has almost completely been recorded. the dramatic and dynamic approach of xerrox vol. 1 on vol. 2 has been replaced by a structural density. instead of working with individual musical entities the new album rather develops an overall, linear aesthetic that refers to musical strategies of film music. hence there are no implicitly singular pieces, but open musical structures – a journey without a predetermined target." On Xerrox Vol. 2, Nicolai turns to a roster of contemporary musicians, including Michael Nyman, Stephen O'Malley, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. This volume of work is more musical and warmer, while at the same time noisier and metallic. Organic instruments are re-sampled and drenched in scattered white noise, washed out with waves of bitcrushing storms, and pierced through with needles of errors. This is not a sound of a stretched magnetic tape. This is a sound of a laser disk passed through a Hollerith punchcard machine, stamping out valuable bits of binary data, daring your brain to fill in the rest. Strip away the conceptual process, and we are left with beautiful dark ambient and modern classical pieces that are haunting and melancholy in their nature, to the likes of Jóhann Jóhannsson, Max Richter, and Fennesz. Highly recommended if you enjoy the releases from the acclaimed Roster-Noton label. Make sure you pick up the first volume and watch out for the upcoming releases to complete your set. By the way, expect the entire set to spell XERROX through cover art, as the virst volume displays letter 'X', and this one, if you look closely, are letters 'E' and 'R'. While you're shopping around, I recommend you also pick up Alva Noto's Transform and Unitxt. Oh, and one last thing. Make sure to grab Byetone's Death of a Typographer and Kangding Ray's Autumne Fold.
http://www.myspace.com/alvanoto |
http://www.alvanoto.com
http://www.myspace.com/rasternoton |
http://www.raster-noton.de
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Lulu Rouge - Bless You (Music For Dreams)
When I posted the Headphone Commute's Best of 2008 list, I received a lot of emails that amounted to "You forgot Lulu Rouge!" What? Lulu who? Yes, I'm sure there was an album that I missed in 2008 (I missed hundreds of them). But with enough pokes in the same direction I was tempted to find out. And yes, I will admit: I did miss Lulu Rouge, because certainly this act belongs on HC's Best of 2008 list. I've been playing this album for months now, and have rated each track at five stars, so it's only fair that I finally give it some proper coverage. How can I describe the dubbed out techno beats that thump their way into my brain and beg to be repeated? How about this: if you loved Trentemøller's The Last Resort (Poker Flat / Rough Trade, 2006), you will certainly fall in love with Lulu Rouge... Especially since Anders Trentemøller co-produced a few tracks on Bless You. Lulu Rouge is actually two friends: Thomas Bertelsen (aka T.O.M and Tom Von Rosen) and Torsten Bo Jacobsen (aka Buda), who have been part of the Scandinavian electronic music scene for some time now. Bertelsen, for example, has been Trentemøller's partner since the beginning stages of The Last Resort. So there's that important synergetic connection. If that doesn't pique your interest, here are some pretty adjectives for you. On Bless You, the Denmark-based duo blend a refreshing concoction of Basic Channel sound with playful rumbling bass sweeps, pulsating IDM elements, delayed dub chords, catchy organic instrumentations, and DSP heavy vocals with contributors like Mikael Simpson, Alice Carreri Pardeilhan, Tuco, and Scott Martingell aka MC Jabber. The stylistic classification ends up falling somewhere between deep minimal and dub downtempo, but one thing is for sure - it's a unique album that will keep you cozy throughout all your moments. Maybe it's time you explored the Scandinavian side of electronica? Highly recommended!
Two and a Half Questions with Lulu Rouge
http://www.myspace.com/lulurougesoundsystem |
http://www.lulurouge.com
http://www.myspace.com/musicfordreams |
http://www.musicfordreams.dk
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Yagya - Rigning (Sending Orbs)
It is raining. I drag myself out of bed onto the wet pavement for a daily crawl to work. The raindrops typewrite poems on my umbrella. Time to put on Yagya. After a certain point, I can't tell if the sound of the rain is coming from outside, or strictly from my headphones. And does it matter anyway? The subdued dubbed out bass patterns and swelling pad sweeps shove me towards the lazy train against my will. And I trot on, splashing in the water with the beat. On the train, the sleepy commuters fog up the windows with their indifferent morning breath. I wipe away their misery from the glass and stare at the rotation of the city life outside. The bus picks up its passengers. The lights change from yellow to red. People follow predetermined rules. People don't look at each other. Yagya carries the humanity forward. One beat at a time. Yagya carries me to work.Rigning is the long awaited third full length album from Icelandic producer, Aðalsteinn Guðmundsson. This is the second Yagya release on the Dutch label, Sending Orbs, which has released Guðmundsson's Will I Dream During the Process? in 2006. Sending Orbs is also a label which brought us such amazing artists like Kettel, Secede, Blamstrain and Legiac. So I always keep my eyes on their releases.Rigning, which, of course is "rain" in Icelandic, is one of the most beautiful ambient dub-techno compositions to date. But lets not put the emphasis on "techno", since the background pulsing beat exists purely as the rhythmic glue around the wet structure. From beginning to end, the album is a complete conceptual piece wrapped around variations on the main theme, from simplistic track titles (counting up from one to ten) to careful selection of atmospheric elements, to delayed dub minor chords in maintained perfect harmony. It is an album you must hear in its entirety. Over and over.This is an amazing start for great music in 2009, and I'm looking forward to the year if it will bring more sounds like this. After a three year wait, Yagya does not disappoint! Be sure to add this record to your collection along with Yagya's very first release, Rhythm of Snow (Force Inc., 2002), if you can find it. Highly recommended if you like Gas, Biosphere, Intrusion, Echospace and Basic Channel sound.
Two and a Half Questions with Yagya
http://www.myspace.com/steiniplastik
http://www.myspace.com/sendingorbs |
http://www.sendingorbs.com
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Lissom - Nest of Iterations (Dragon's Eye)
Descending down a steep slope, I slowly enter a cavern populated with dripping stalactites, swinging wind chimes, and wondering whispers. The dark atmosphere soaks up the humidity of a distant buzzing organism and spews it out through DSP filters and control voltage modulated synths. Through repetitive patterns, nested recursion, and looped iterations, Lissom experiments with data-structure-precise evolving soundscapes, that compile and burst into tiny binary sonic fragments, binding themselves to receptors in the membrane of the synapse. This purely ambient and atmospheric work is built on field recordings, acoustic sources, and synthesized sounds, all pulling me farther, deeper, and away from the perceived reality. In this cave I sit for hours, contemplating the harmony of the spheres and the dissonance of our souls. While the nature lives in agreement, the humanity is polluted by one unconscious thought: "I am not enough". With this exploration of sound, I descend to the most sacred base, where I am everything that I could ever be, one with being. Tana Sprague is an Oakland, CA based sound and video artist, releasing her debut album on Dragon's Eye Recordings under the Lissom moniker. Sprague's intention behind her work is indeed to "manipulate awareness of time, space, place, and scale." Her goal is accomplished through measured tones and hypnotic beatless rhythms. "Inspired by the elegant complexity of organic forms, she utilizes various electronic and digital devices to synthesize a similar enveloping intricacy". On Nest of Iterations, Sprague demonstrates her complete control of sound design, which she no doubt perfected through her studies in Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts at the University of California. Nest of Iterations is an excellent addition to Yann Novak's collection of works on his Dragon's Eye Recordings label. Released as a 250 limited edition 5" CD-R, this work will surely become a sought after collector's item to those marveling in the works of Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto), Taylor Dupree, Richard Chartier, and Evan Bartholomew. While browsing the label's catalog, don't forget to check out the work by Yann Novak, Marc Manning, Steve Peters, and previously reviewed Kamran Sadeghi.
Two and a Half Questions with Lissom
http://www.myspace.com/01lissome |
http://www.sensory-perception.net
http://www.myspace.com/dragonseyerecordings |
http://www.dragonseyerecordings.com
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Jega - Geometry (Planet Mu)
Here's a brief history of Planet Mu, which is very much relevant to Jega. Planet Mu was born in 1995, and was originally setup as a sublabel of Virgin Records, on which it initially planned on releasing music by µ-Ziq (Mike Paradinas), and similar artists. The experimental electronic genre that initially was vultured upon by the major labels never took off in the United States, and Virgin gave up spending their marketing dollars on this back-shelf product. In 1998, Paradinas decided to take on the label single-handedly, and, prefixing the releases with ZIQ, released Jega's Type Xer0 as the very first 12-inch. This teaser was followed up with Jega's debut album, Spectrum (Planet Mu, 1998), and from that the rest is history. Prior to his signing on Planet Mu, the man behind the Jega moniker, Dylan Nathan, has already released material on none other than Skam Records. There, with his two EPs, Phlax (Skam, 1996) and Card Hore (Skam, 1997), Nathan fit along perfectly with such contemporary abstract and experimental IDM artists as Bola, Lego Feet, Freeform, Boards of Canada, and of course Gescom. On Spectrum, Nathan rips through melodic breakbeats with newly perfected IDM elements, fitting right at home with Paradinas' µ-Ziq style. Glitched out percussion draws influences from Aphex Twin and even some leftfield downtempo beats ala Amon Tobin, whose first release, Bricolage, came out a year prior on Ninja Tune . Two years later, and a few EPs in between, Nathan releases his sophomore album, Geometry (planet Mu, 2000). This album is much different in tone, and immediately made its impression on me. A lot darker, machine-like chopped up percussion, jitters its way through the cold corridors of sonic spectrum towards the experimental Autechre sound. Although a few atmospheric melodies remain throughout the album, the deep electro beats and metallic effects hold their solid ground. Geometry is definitely among my list of influential albums. In 2004, Jega showed up with a Theme From 1998 on Planet Mu's compilation, Children of Mu. Another track, Aerodynamic, appeared on the label's compilation, Sacred Symbols Of Mu, two years later, in 2006. In 2003, as Nathan was working on his third album, Variance, a copy leaked out onto the sharing networks, and Nathan had to scrap and rework almost all of the tracks. The album is definitely still in the works, and Paradinas mentioned that Variance Vol 1 and Vol 2 will be released as a double album sometime in July, 2009 (!!!). As a matter of fact, Jega showcased his upcoming work during his exclusive set on BBC Radio 1 Experimental on March 11th, 2009 (do your own digging on the planet-mu.com forums to grab a recording). I hope that bit of news got your juices flowing, as I'm sure I'll be reviewing the album once I get my dirty hands on it.
http://www.myspace.com/dylanjeganathan |
http://www.jega.com
http://www.myspace.com/childrenofmu |
http://www.planet-mu.com
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Rival Consoles - Helvetica (Erased Tapes)
From the label that brought you majestic modern classical music from Icelandic rising star, Ólafur Arnalds, comes a new installment in emotional... wait... what's this? My expectations for melodramatic orchestral stabs are shattered by explosive drums and drilling breaks. Completely unexpected and incredibly welcome, Rival Consoles catches me off guard with his cinematic progressions, which are complemented by breakcore elements a la Venetian Snares. And this is only after I hear a single track on Erased Tapes Collection I, which is available as a free download from the label's website. And so I reach out for some more. Helvetica is Ryan Lee West's second EP on Erased Tapes released under the Rival Consoles moniker. In only four tracks, the record is enough to grab your attention with delicate classical piano arpeggios, IDM influences deriving from the catalog of Rephlex artists, with acid bleeps, breaks, and beats palatable to fans of the above mentioned V-Snares, Aphex Twin, and Boxcutter alike. Yes, I can honestly admit that I'm excited about this artist, because all of these cutesy frequencies are skipping right down my alley, past the puddles of tears and walls punched with mud. Playful, adventurous, and confident, the tracks produced with intricate attention to detail, are only a teaser for the things to come from this Leicester (UK) based producer. The 7-inch vinyl is quickly selling out (already out of stock on some places I checked), but is still available directly from the label; and then of course there is the [mandatory] digital release. Be sure to also get your hands on Rival Consoles debut release, The Decadent EP (Erased Tapes, 2007). And don't forge to pick up the label's digital showcase compilation, commemorating its 1st anniversary, where, besides the track that tipped me off, Ryan Lee West contributes a remix and yet another track under his alter ego, Aparatec. Remember, it's free! Jump on this wagon. Quick!
Two and a Half Questions With Ryan Lee West
http://www.myspace.com/rivalconsoles |
http://www.erasedtapes.com
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Bersarin Quartett - Bersarin Quartett (Lidar)
From the very few opening notes, I know that I'm in for a treat. As the album progresses, I get wide-eyed, and instead of paying attention to details [I know I will be coming back for more later], I spend time researching, tracing the steps that led me to accidentally miss this album, and calling all my friends to tell them about Bersarin Quartett. It's like I missed an entire year, while the self-titled album was there all along, spreading its loveliness across all open ears but mine. Well, I hope it's not too late to bluntly rant and rave about it, so that those who are asleep like me, can be awakened with this bliss. Because, kids, this is another one of those albums that rapidly wedges its way into the previously posted and now begging to be revised, Best of 2008 list. Bersarin Quartett is the solo project of Thomas Bücker, who for a while was hiding in the shadows under blank names in net-label releases Electronica Unplugged 1 (Aerotone, 2006) and its followup, Electronica Unplugged 2 (Aerotone, 2007). But digging deeper through a web of contributions and aliases, Bücker's discography reveals production work through an entire decade, when under the Jean-Michel moniker he released Marshmallow Rooms (Eleganz Records, 1999). OK, so at least I'm not drooling over a newcomer who completely blew me away with his production and composition. That is not to say that it underplays the work in any shape or form. On Bersarin Quartett, Bücker picks up the conductor's baton and draws all eyes upon him. With elegant gestures, he moves the modern classical progressions through ambient orchestral drones ala Biosphere's Shenzhou (Touch, 2002), to paced minimal pieces reminescent of Marsen Jules' Les Fleurs (City Centre Offices, 2006), to cinematic soundtracks and program music of Max Richter's The Blue Notebooks (130701, 2004), all beautifully complemented with a light touch of elements of jazzy experimental IDM to land among the fans of Murcof, Helios, and The Cinematic Orchestra. How is that for some name dropping? The man behind the music on Bersarin Quartett laughs at my attempt of making The Best of 2008 Compilation mix of my favorite tracks, and instead drops his entire album on my lap. "Here. Listen to this. How is that for summarizing your favorite music of the latter years?" The imaginary projection of his voice is right. This album has it all. Enough to fill a page with adjectives, comparisons, and clichés. Instead, I'm feverishly typing words into this box in a desperate attempt to get you to listen to the album at all costs and then judge for yourself. Seriously. Just get it. Bersarin Quartett is the second release on Dortmund based (Germany) Lidar Productions label which first put out Jasper TX's A Darkness, back in 2007. If you're having trouble locating Bersarin Quartett in the US, may I recommend our good friends at n5MD, who have a few copies in their excellent mail order shop. Recommended for the likes of the above mentioned artists plus Emanuelle Errante, Jacaszek, Julien Neto and Rafael Anton Irisarri.
http://www.myspace.com/bersarinquartett |
http://www.beatsbeyond.de
http://www.myspace.com/lidarproductions |
http://www.lidar-productions.net
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Another Electronic Musician - Five (n5MD)
It's about time that I got my hands on Jase Rex's fifth release, appropriately titled Five. Critics universally agree, that unlike his moniker suggests, Rex is not just Another Electronic Musician. And though the past releases by Rex were closer to subdued melodic electronica, this album clearly puts the D in IDM. Familiar playful glitchy percussion is complimented by strictly defined rhythmic structures, covering groovy dub beats with layers of pads, delayed jazzy chords, and sprinkles of digital errors. Five becomes more than a head bopping album, it begs for a loungy atmosphere and shoulder popping dance floor alike. These days Jase Rex is hanging out in Southern California, where he must surround himself by a vast influential musical library, from early pioneers of electronica to the latest craze of dubstep, as it clearly reflects in his music. This marriage of the old and the new is at once familiar and welcome, as the two favorite elements bridge together in the album that keeps on pumping catchy hooks in every track. Where sound becomes a story, and the story yields the sound. This is an interesting addition to n5MD, considering that this highly reputable and personally admired Oakland based label, tends to [lately] focus on less upbeat releases - from ambient neofolk by Last Days, to electronic dreamscapes from Near The Parenthesis, to post-rock shoegaze by the owner himself, Mike Cadoo (aka Bitcrush). It's an interesting avenue that is only applauded by at least this fan of the label. Although I tend to agree that IDM in its original incarnation may be long dead, and that the acronym is slapped and overused by many, we owe it to Another Electronic Musician for keeping it alive (even if it needs a little life support). Thank you, Jase, for a wonderful reminder of the times that are still yet to come.
Two and a Half Questions with Another Electronic Musician
http://www.myspace.com/anotherelectronicmusician |
http://www.anotherelectronicmusician.com
http://www.myspace.com/n5mafia |
http://www.n5md.com
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Interbellum - Over All of Spain the Sky is Clear (FlingcoSoundSystem)
FlingcoSoundSystem is a relatively new Chicago based label spearheaded by Bruce Adams, who back in 1993 was one of the co-founders behind Kranky. OK, do I have your attention? Now settle down and keep listening. With this fourth label release, Over All of Spain the Sky is Clear, FSS is introducing us to Brendan Burke, aka Interbellum. On the album, we hear Burke behind the piano, while Fred Lonberg-Holm softly plays the cello. The tracks are recorded in their open ended form, following a minimal restraint digital and acoustic manipulation, with the help of applied mathematics and durational processing. I'd be lying if I said I really understood the mathematical formulations in this piece, but it is the end-result that's important here. And it speaks for itself. Fans of long form and improvisational modern classical pieces would be absolutely delighted to hear this duet. While none of the pieces overpower the mind with concrete melodical structure, the overall drifting experience is that of pure musical exploration. Throughout the album, the sound vibrates, travels, and floats in and out of our peripheral hearing, until the slightly audible voice becomes almost coherent, only to drown again in the harmony of bowed and struck strings, which flips between the major and minor scales, like a child laughing through the tears after a fall. This unobtrusive wondering through musical modes becomes especially apparent during the second track on the album, The Life and Death of Anne Zimmerman, which is over twenty minutes long. Add to that some distant crackling, echoed machine buzzing, and you've got yourself a requiem for the living. Interbellum [in its definition of the word], is a period of time between wars (World Wars I and II to be more specific). Perhaps such definition will explain the more somber mood of of this unfolding album, which, as with all other FSS releases, is meant to be listened to in one sitting, as a collection of sequenced tracks, making up a coherent album as a whole. Pick up this digital release from flingcosound.com available for download for only $5. Recommended if you like Richard Skelton, Machinefabriek and Sylvain Chauveau as well as some acoustic pieces by The World's End Girlfriend.
Two and a Half Questions with Brendan Burke
http://www.myspace.com/interbellumsound |
http://www.flingcosound.com
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Mechanical Steering - 10:10pm (self)
It seems that bigger labels started to steer away from straight up IDM in the recent years. Perhaps the passing away of Merck, and the resurrection of Neo Ouija may be a testament to that. Even n5MD chilled out and turned towards emotional electronica. In my opinion it has to do with evolution of sound, and the perfection and polishing thereof. You pick a direction and you go with it. So it was a pleasure to stumble upon an exciting and innovative album by an unsigned artist who goes by the name of Mechanical Steering. As always, with amazing self released albums, there is a spark of excitement in the air, the standing waves of sound excited with organic electricity, the crackle of the processed bits bouncing off the porous walls into my body. You feel as if on the tip of discovery. And that discovery is this unknown album by an unsigned name.Designed from sampled urban environmental sounds and digital manipulation, 10:10pm is a poisonous cocktail of melancholic melodies and distorted beats. The sounds break through the web of suffocating percussion and shifting noise, bombarding your ears and mind with complex patterns that resolve into the beauty of their simplicity. Complimented with industrial mechanical sounds, dark passageways, and deep descends, the sound slowly rises to the surface where you find yourself catching 10:10 on the clock again. And again...Konin (Poland) based Mechanical Steering has ben producing electronic music since 1999. Initially creating a few albums under the alias Head, the music slowly matured into the sound of 10:10pm. It's a wonder that this artist has not been snatched by a prominent label yet, as I can totally see his releases on Ad Noiseam, Hymen and Tympanik alike. The album is currently self distributed on Amazon, iTunes, Rhapsody, and lala.com (note: 10:10pm is published under the Head alias). Recommended if you like Hecq, Gridlock, Subheim and Ginormous.
Two and a Half Questions with Mechanical Steering
http://www.myspace.com/mechanicalsteering |
http://www.mechanicalsteering.com
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:papercutz - Lylac (Apegenine)
From digitally manipulated recordings of organic instruments, to organic interpretations of abstract digitalism, :papercutz presents his debut album, Lylac, for the fans of experimental leftfield pop music. Broken breathy vocals contributed by Melissa Veras intermix with thematic elements of chords, stabs, and plucked strings, all without taking on the lead in the arrangement; while glitched out beats and sprinkled multi instrumentation take to the forefront instead. :papercutz is Portuguese Bruno Miguel, who first appeared on the scene with his Ultravioleta EP on Montreal based Apegenine recordings [the same label that introduced us to Emanuele Errante and Julien Neto on Apegenine Volume 1 compilation (2004)]. On his site, among a more interesting explanation behind the concept of the album, Miguel defines: "To be papercutzed: to pursue your own way, to dream images in music, to like the light as well as the dark, to see all music styles as valid languages in which artists use to describe what's inside them, to find :papercutz's music and ideas a place where you can lose yourself... let's get lost!" Hmmm. I like that. I've always thought of our five senses as just receptors of various communication protocols through which we all attempt to send or receive a message. Albeit very much unsuccessfully, since all our visual and auditory sensors get corrupted with real and imaginary noise and do not have built in error correction. But I digress [feel free to ping me on this topic though]... On Lylac, Miguel does just that. He fans out the confetti of his shredded thoughts into our ears where they circle, float, and finally settle to cover the empty spaces occupied by silence. It's nice to finally get to know :papercutz on a more personal level after such a brief introduction via Ultravioleta EP, although be it with a few helpful remixes of The Sight Below, Neotropic, Spandex and Signer.
http://www.myspace.com/papercutzed |
http://www.papercutzed.com
http://www.myspace.com/apeg |
http://www.apegenine.com
Two and a Half Questions with Bruno Miguel
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Propellerheads - Decksandrumsandrockandroll (Wall of Sound)
So whatever happened to these guys? You remember their hit single History Repeating, which at one point was played on every radio station back in 1997 after being featured in that hysterical film, There's Something About Mary. Then, there was the Spybreak! track which appeared in The Matrix. Meanwhile, the track Crash, was used in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Even the Take California track from this same album was the first song ever used in an iPod commercial. So, by my calculations, these guys had it going for them, and then poof! Nothing! Did they just cash out? The only full length album to date is Decksandrumsandrockandroll released on London based Wall of Sound back in 1998. The big beat sound by Will White and Alex Gifford quickly took the world by storm. The groovy and repetitive beats which were perfected at the time by The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, and The Crystal Method take on a jazzy, funky and playful spin, with a few vocal samples, turning on a few new mainstream listeners to breaks and breakbeat. On the track, 360° (Oh Yeah?), De La Soul contributes frozen-style urban rhymes that quickly flip the record to intelligent slow-groove loungy hip-hop sound. History Repeating is of course at the center of the album, featuring the vocals of '60s cabaret vocalist, Shirley Bassey. This is definitely a catchy tune that quickly got snatched up by a few advertising campaigns (including a Jaguar and a Pantene Pro-V commercial... heh). But the big beat sound proliferates the album, prominent with plenty of breaks, James Bond-like spy film themes, and the head-bopping sounds that still sound super fresh a decade later. Propellerheads are still quiet. No new tracks and no new albums since the one and only. Well, there was one new track, appropriately titled 10 Years, which appeared on the Wall of Sound's compilation double disk, Off The Wall - 10 Years Of Wall Of Sound, commemorating the labels, well... you guessed it, 10 year anniversary. Last I heard, Will White played the drums for Long Range during its live performances. Long Range, of course, is a UK group comprised of Nick Smith and Phil Hartnoll of Orbital. Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy this album time and time again... And until the duo decides to get back into the studio, I have only one thing to say: Bang On!
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The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die (Take Me to the Hospital)
Should I even bother covering this? It's not like Liam needs my help. His 5th studio album, Invaders Must Die, barely hit the streets, and already all of the notable publications have lauded this long awaited album with more than favorable reviews. It's not like Liam needs my words to boost his career, although it's been five years since his last album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (XL, 2004). And I do mean - his. Besides what you may hear or believe, the man... the only man... the musical genius, The Prodigy, is Liam Howlett. Yet while the words pour in, the shouts and murmurs accelerate in frequency, and a stack of promos from independent labels and unknown artists grows on my desk, here I am... writing about the album. I think the reason behind it is simple. And my woofers can attest. Invaders Must Die is a slam dunk. Period. No, it's not the anticlimactic return of the artist who blew out the speakers of my first owned car with Experience (XL, 1992). It's not the attempt of reinvention of the incredibly powerful and unprecedented underground sound of Music For The Jilted Generation (XL, 1994). It's not even the post-script of the pop-rising and slightly weathered return of The Fat of the Land (XL, 1997). While the rest adapt, remix, rinse, spit and swallow, Howlett bursts our comfort membranes with his own masterful style. Pop! Invaders Must Die opens up with a title track slamming into your face with saw toothed synths, distorted guitars, and extreme precision rhythmic programming of the genre that was invented by the man himself. Oh please, please, please let the album be as good as the first track! And so it goes! A collection of eleven songs [I'll call'em songs since some have the lyrics in that famous Prodigy style], pushes and jolts your brain as if strapped to a hot electrode until the very end. Acoustic drums are compressed and mashed up into pounding big beats, with deep riding bass lines, occasionally cut with a flashback to The Prodigy's older tracks. My favorite, of course, are the re-sampled old-skool rave stabs, which are implanted in my memory and in the history of Electronic Music. Here, Howlett skillfully wraps all the elements into a radio hit format, which no doubt will top the UK charts. Quick nod to Take Me to the Hospital, a sub-label of London based Cooking Vinyl, specifically created to put out this, and possibly other upcoming releases by The Prodigy. Although, as I said, all of the music is all Liam, the two original members of the act, Keith Flint and Maxim Reality, return, no doubt to wreak havoc on the upcoming UK arena tour with some support from Dizzee Rascal and Fight Like Apes. If you are a collector of all EPs, offshoots, and limited goodies, you absolutely must get the Omen EP where Noisia contributes a sick drum'n'bass remix. Play it loud!
http://www.myspace.com/theprodigy |
http://www.theprodigy.com
http://www.cookingvinyl.com
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Spleen - Where We All Fit In (Summer Rain Recordings)
Beautiful melodic electronica will always have a slot on my shelf. Even if it's a digital only release. And here's one from a quickly gaining recognition netlabel, Summer Rain Recordings. And the label has a clear defined goal and purpose - all signed artists donate 5% of their royalties to NextAid (or any selected charity). And this is music you should be gladly paying for anyway. Spacey, euphoric, and melancholic - the sound of Where We All Fit In falls somewhere between downtempo and IDM. In fact, Spleen defines the style himself as melantronica. But it's not just sadness that saturates this four track EP. In many places it is up-beat, light-hearted and breezy, perfectly fitting on an appropriately named label. Spleen is the solo project of Antwerp (Belgium) based Lennart Vanstaen. His musical influences include Radiohead, The Album Leaf and a roster of Icelandic musicians like Sigur Ròs, Björk and Mùm. Mentioning those artists should give you a rough idea of Vanstaen's influenced style. It's easy to imagine this music accompanying a film, a lonely commute, a soundtrack to a passing life. In fact, Vanstaen has collaborated with Sophie Vanhomwegen to produce a soundtrack for a short film, Whatever Floats Your Boat, which was selected for the HDFEST film festival. This EP is Spleen's second release on Summer Rain Recordings. His previous contribution was 6 Moons Ago EP released in February 2008. [I want to make a quick note, that Lennart Vanstaen's alias Spleen, is not to be confused with Miro Merlak's Spleen, who released a self-titled electronic album on Phthalo Records in 2001].
http://www.myspace.com/visitspleen
http://www.myspace.com/summerrainrecordings |
http://www.summerrainrecordings.net
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last.fm artist and label cloud mentioned in the above post: The Refractors, The Lullaby League, Fjordne, A Lily, Sleeping Me, Pawn, Celer, Ryonkt, Cloudburst, Elian, Segue, Porzellan, Glenn Ryszko, Entia Non, Ian Hawgood, Carsten Nicolai, Alva Noto, Michael Nyman, Stephen O'Malley, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Max Richter, Fennesz, Byetone, Kangding Ray, Lulu Rouge, Trentemøller, Buda, Yagya, Gas, Biosphere, Intrusion, Echospace, Kettel, Secede, Blamstrain, Legiac, lissom, Yann Novak, Marc Manning, Steve Peters, Kamran Sadeghi, Jega, µ-Ziq, Bola, Lego Feet, Freeform, Boards of Canada, Gescom, Autechre, Rival Consoles, Venetian Snares, Aphex Twin, Boxcutter, Aparatec, Ólafur Arnalds, Bersarin Quartett, Biosphere, Marsen Jules, Max Richter, Murcof, Helios, The Cinematic Orchestra, Jasper TX, Emanuele Errante, Jacaszek, Julien Neto, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Another Electronic Musician, Last Days, Near The Parenthesis, Bitcrush, interbellum, Richard Skelton, Machinefabriek, Sylvain Chauveau, The World's End Girlfriend, Mechanical Steering, Hecq, Gridlock, Subheim, Ginormous, :papercutz, The Sight Below, Neotropic, Spandex, Signer, The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, Orbital, Propellerheads, Noisia, Spleen, Radiohead, The Album Leaf, Sigur Ròs, Björk, mùm, Dynamophone Records, Hidden Shoal Recordings, 12K, ROOM40, Dragon's Eye, Spekk, Sending Orbs, Force Inc., Basic Channel, Planet Mu, Ninja Tune, Erased Tapes, Rephlex, aerotone, City Centre Offices, Touch, n5MD, Kranky, merck, Neo Ouija, Ad Noiseam, Hymen, Tympanik Audio, Apegenine, Wall Of Sound, Take Me To The Hospital, XL, Summer Rain Recordings 
Propellerheads
