02 June 2010

Gord Fynes

Albums and Singles

This latest 45 rpm 7" single from Kieran Hebden is a two-part tune in which the theme/motif/progression plays through in cycles with various changes in instrumentation, grooves and breaks.

 

Domino Records

"Part 1" is driven by a mid-up tempo, choppy, hip-hop style beat with dance underlings. The chord progressions are arpeggiated at first by a distant electric guitar with the bass holding down the fort, which then blends seamlessly with sampled vibraphone, synth, treated sounds and backwards masking, making for some great and subtle listening. As mentioned, "Part 2" has a "more of same, only different" approach with a surprisingly different outlook as most of the elements of "Part 1" are arranged with slight variance. The absence of a definitive back beat in the groove helps to highlight the tune's orchestration and focuses more on the clever leading of the chords and their qualities in relation to each other. 'I'm on Fire' is worth searching out.

 

samples:

• part 1
• part 2

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Pearineel/Hefty Records
As a listener, one of the more celebrated things about some prolific independent artists gaining more deserved recognition would be the availability of previous material that may have originally been issued in limited quantities, or else did not have as wide a distribution as present. Formerly released as a three-track twelve inch EP limited to 1,000 copies, the Scott Herren project of Delarosa + Asora's 'Crush the Sight-Seers' has recently materialized on CD through Chicago's Hefty Records, home to Herren's Savath + Savalas. In keeping with the added value of some reissues, a bonus track has been included. The recurring distorted keyboard chatters and metallic percussion sample of the opening track "OSSABAW" blends into a sub-bass progression and laid-back, half-time groove with the odd break to mark off sections of the tune. The two-and-a-half minute "OSS.BW" is a multi-layered piece of eerie drones, synth squelches and chimes that could be the equivalent of sound painting through channel surfing at a mixing console. "Airbrush (clogged)" builds from distorted vocal snippets and reverbed static to a cordial bass line and mid-tempo electro-percussion groove with a gradually building back beat. Eventually it all falls away leaving the distant sounds of distorted keyboards and squelchy tape shuttling. "Vs. Boah" skitters from static pops, sound layers and vocal samples to a dark sounding danceable groove which builds in intensity after each lengthy break. A shift in the key signature makes from a great release from all the tension the track builds. Dropping out just shy of the five minute mark for two-and-a-half minutes of silence, the music returns with an echo to the drones and hisses of "OSS.BW" to close off. While this disc may be an acquired taste as it's not as groove-oriented or melodically friendly as other Scott Herren projects, I'd have to say that it still makes for a great listen for just those reasons too. As mentioned in the liner notes, another good thing about CD reissues of unmarked RPM vinyl is hearing the tunes at the speed they were intended to be played at without any doubt.

 

samples:

• Ossabaw
• Airbrush (clogged)
• Vs. Boah

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Kompakt
Both experimental electronic producers and tech-house DJs alike show a reverence for the highly-imitated Cologne sound. The same respect applies to the city's own Kompakt label, which continues to put out slabs and discs of dubby analogue deepness. For the fourth installment of the Total series, some of the previously-released tracks from the past year are compiled alongside cuts from upcoming singles. Though I enjoy the tech-house sound quite a bit, most of the material on here is forgettable, not to say that those songs are necessarily bad. From a DJ's perspective, there are too many "transition" tracks that can help keep a set moving along, but really fail to give it any luster or polish. The exceptions, however, are the type of tracks that make labels famous. Jürgen Paape offers "Mit Dir," an unusually Germanic-flavored slice of neo-disco that left me equally puzzled and entertained. Similar to Vladislav Delay's work under the Luomo moniker, M. Mayer's "Falling Hands" features near-whispered vocals ("I'm falling in love") over a deep bassline, delay-treated kicks, and airy strings. Autobianchi's "All Around (Everybody's Kissing)" is driving vocal house worthy of play alongside recent stormers like "Nightclubbing At Home" from MRI. The sex appeal that emanates from this song recalls ecstasy-fueled orgiastic foreplay in a club or at a rave, the kind that only ever happens in late-night movies and the fantasies of confirmed perverts like myself. Though there are some genuine disasters here (namely the dismal electroclash craze cash-in cover song from Superpitcher), 'Total 4' holds its own as a decent, though often boring, collection of one region's current contributions to the ever-growing international tech-house scene. These pretzels are making me thirsty.

 

samples:

• Jurgen Paape - Mit Dir
• M. Mayer - Falling Hands
• Autobianchi - All Around

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02 June 2010

Bill Ryubin

Albums and Singles

The prospect of new material from Mick Harris's project mightn't get hearts racing as it would have done a few years ago, but this EP of four mixes from 'Plan-B,' and two exclusive tracks show a real return to form. Whenever I hear a new Scorn release, I always hope he'll have added some new twist or surprise, and for once he's showing some interest in moving away from his established style.Hymen

The dub influences have been slowly edged out since his move to Hymen Records, leaving just the the slow-motion, lumbering hip-hop beats and abstract bass rumbles. Thankfully though, he hasn't lost his knack for getting your head pounding, and as the first few crunchy beats of "Hedrake" lurched into existence, I stopped caring whether he has re-invented himself; okay, it's nothing he hasn't done a thousand times before, but after years of honing his approach, he's getting it down to a fine art. His ultra-minimal, stripped-down sound gets a little drab on two of the 'beat mix' remixes, being little more than mildly engaging drum tracks and looped fragments. It's the remaining three tracks on 'Governor,' though, which elevate it above his recent work. The more abstract, masterful "Collections" focuses more on the eerie texture and unsettling ambience. The added dimension makes a world of difference, and more of this standard would see him re-established as the master of this genre.
The closing two remixes are entirely un-Scorn-like, and are a real breath of fresh air, with a marked move away from the pounding beats towards a fresh, less immediate exploraion of eerie abstractions. The first is a brief, looped and stretched piano loop, while the second is a superb, energetic Somatic Responses mix of "The Snow Hill." Each confirm that future Scorn releases are something to get excited about again.

 

samples:

• Hedrake
• Collections
• The Snow Hill (Somatic Responses mix)

 

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Merge (North America) / Bip_Hop (Europe)
Forgive my cliché use of a metaphor, but I somehow feel that when I listen to this disc, I'm looking at a fairly decorative car that simply doesn't go anywhere. Spaceheads have been churning out this same formula for years: a dubby pretense, a small amount of recycled and reused, two-bar repetitive sequences, some live drum playing and trumpet with loads of delay effects. The formula's getting old. While their music is undoubtedly pleasant enough for an escalator ride, and the band has earned a wide amount of respect as a performing duo, I've never felt their music was compelling enough to simply toss on the hi-fi and either bop along or pay much attention to. The rhythms and melodies exit the song in the same way each and every one of them came in, and the only lead instrument, the trumpet, does a lackluster job as tour guide. By the time this album reaches the fifth track, I swear I'm hearing remixes of the same song, over and over again. If it weren't for the insulting guitar riff on "Fog," or the horrible, tacky electronic drum fills and cheap 1993 Aphex Twin-ripoff on "Storm Force 8," I may have recommend using this music for quiet studies, creative writing, or other mentally requiring activities. Instead, I'm left thinking this album's only practical use could be to underscore a stuffy documentary on the British Rail system or a trip to the paper mill. Maybe lots of drugs might help my experience, but I just don't have enough cash to try that out right now.

 

samples:

• Low Pressure
• Astro Temple
• The Hut

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

The concept is interesting for a compilation to say the least: three bands recording songs that are influenced by or created under the influence of alcohol. It could be an absolute disaster, but here it works quite nicely. Then again, the artists featured here are no slouches (even though they may be out of their element a bit).Silber

Remora, a.k.a. Brian John Mitchell, usually creates ambient drone-rock, but chose an acoustic guitar as a starting point for his contributions. Jon DeRosa used to present more experimental fare with Aarktica, but his Pale Horse and Rider—making a recording debut here—has a more country flavor with that modern troubadour appeal. And what more can I say about Rivulets? Nathan Amundson, fresh from his full-length debut and EP, adds the longest tracks here with aplomb. The results of these three different projects are quite stunning as well as incredibly maudlin in nature. DeRosa is a fresh voice with heartbreak on his mind, and his songs are incredibly affecting. On "Bruises Like Badges," he explores the mindset of the casual victim who thrives on the attention of others, as his voice trembles and begs for her to hide the conversation pieces from him. The seven-minute "You've Been Keeping Secrets Again" is the best of the lot, with DeRosa providing his own haunting harmony. Remora's songs are less polished than the others, and far more eclectic, though still solid. They're also the spookiest, as the titles would suggest ("Oblivion," "Hope is Gone"). On "Joy Division," he approaches madness: "We both know I always wanted you forever / I don't want to put a rope to my throat / but I'm listening to Joy Division." Scary. Rivulets just add more reasons for accolades to the set, with simple songs that are far beyond the length my tolerance affords other artists. Amundson never loses you, as his earnest tunes have an inescapable gravity with every guitar strum. He seems to be growing more comfortable with his voice, too, even if the vocals are mixed way in the background. The climax on "Anaconda" with its "I knew you would leave" is especially touching. And there are a few missteps all around (Amundson misses more than one note on "Gimme Excess," for instance). The simple charm of the release gets you over that real quick. Just don't listen too long, as it's liable to depress you.

 

samples:

• Remora - Joy Division
• Pale Horse and Rider - Bruises Like Badges
• Rivulets - Anaconda

 

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Bip_Hop
I love the way CDs are programmable. For instance, I can take a disc like this one, with a strong opening, "Clear a Space for the King," which conjurs up space aliens grooving on a flashy dancefloor and listen along with the calm and pretty "Sprinkling Time," completely avoiding songs like "Transylvanian Spy" with its irritating, tinny two-bar melodies and "Lonely Stars" with its obnoxious fake piano riff that makes me want to throw things across the room. Reading the song titles, the record label's web site, and the distributor's release notes, each account for this album almost completely contradicts the others: ranging from a fascination with science fiction to the imitation of stomach and digestive sounds to references of musique concrête. While most of the music here is decent, I can't justify it receiving as much over-evaluation. Clearly, the one-man person behind Wang Inc., Italian Bartolomeo Sailer, is a talented individual, with a meticulous amount of attention paid to every instrument sound in each of the fifteen tracks. Rarely are sounds recycled from track to track. Comical punchiness on tracks like "Sonic Killer" would appease many Sonig fans while "Forgotten Kurdish Workers" can easily appeal to any lover of the spaceship hum from a black and white film. A little more patience with the melodies and a lot more discretion when deciding what to omit might be nicer, however.

 

samples:

• Clear a Space for the King
• Martian B-Boy
• Hexentanz

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Cenotaph
Some bands like a little variety on their releases. They don't mind if one song on the album sounds like a different band than the one before or after it. They don't even mind if every song sounds like a different band. Other bands use different albums or EPs to try out different concepts. In the case of Arco Flute Foundation, the members started another band entirely to put out this music. Arco Flute Foundation is the same principals who are in Meisha, but recording as such because the music is that much removed from their former selves. Meisha are languid, slight, and melodic with a subdued energy, recording instrumentals that are lush and captivating. Arco Flute Foundation, on the other hand, is more interested in loud, boisterous, loose instrumental rock. 'Everything After' is their third release on Cenotaph, and it is their most adventurous yet. More electronics, more Slint-like guitar antics, more distortion, and more ambient noise appear on these songs than have in the past. These passages are still unfocused and raw, however, with the band members seemingly exploring the space around them with these compositions. There are two tracks under the four-minute mark that seem to be the more structured songs (more accessible?), but beyond that the Foundation just let it bleed, adding and subtracting elements as the song progresses, trying to find their happy hunting ground. Honestly, it has some very interesting elements, but the two shorter songs are the best tracks solely because of their structure. The album's closer, "Seymour Uncle Billy," approaches what seems like the true sound of the band, a balance between the structure and improvisation, between the noise and the music. Now that they seem to have all of the instruments and sounds they want to explore, that should be the next area to perfect. Which means the next Arco Flute Foundation release could be a fine one, indeed.

 

samples:

• The Mean Egyptian
• The Bastard Son of the Earthquake Choir
• Seymour Uncle Billy

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Plug Research
With his well-received debut album "Approximate Love Boat", Danny Zelonky emerged as Low Res with experimental electronic music in a style all his own. Low Res takes samples of a broad range of instruments and creates engrossing yet completely disparate music with them. It's clear that Zelonky, like a recent wave of electronic artists, believes that the best music is created through this approach, not through cheaply synthesized recreations that never sound genuine. But it's the way he accomplishes this goal on his second LP "Blue Ramen" that is truly ingenious. Even with real instruments at his disposal - including real drums and percussion - nearly every beat and sound is programmed on these songs. The instruments were not recorded the way they are played and then assembled in a collage with beats. Every note is placed there in a systematic piece-by-piece approach. So what escapes from the speakers sounds at once improvised and freeform, like a group of musicians playing together, when in fact every part of it is structured meticulously by Low Res to help end the "cheap karaoke" sound of synths and samplers. The results are interesting, but a bit of a grab-bag. Different rhythms and tastes abound - from the Latin-tinged album opener 'Shaftasia' to the almost jazz shuffle of 'Inverse Shift' - which gives the release a schizophrenic feel. Low Res just seems to create whatever music he wants, with no regard for a common theme or style. "Ramen" also features the debut of a rather strange electronic wind instrument, one Zelonky calls the "ersax", and abundant strains of Low Res' favorite instrument: the organ. It makes your toe tap in areas, makes your hips shake in others, and makes your brain hurt in still others, but never all at once. The songs are a rather disjointed listen, which is unfortunate considering the skill and creativity involved. It's rumored that Low Res intends to assemble a live band to tour behind "Blue Ramen", and that would be a treat. For the record, though, it would work so much better with a common theme or genre to give it backbone. Still a fine effort from a talented musician.

 

samples:

• Shaftasia
• Blue Ramen # 2
• Chalky

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02 June 2010

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Raster-Post
The first release in the new Raster-Post series from Raster Noton, this CD is unsurprisingly eye-catching, at least in its limited-to-1000-pieces form. (It comes in a matte-black card case held closed with a black elastic cord, a distinctive red dot, and subtle black and stark white type.) On the one hand, it is a truly beautiful recording, both musically and, importantly for this sort of abstract, minimal electronica, in its production, which is occasionally stunning. On the other hand, it's a perfect example of genre music, with virtually nothing original about it. Instead, it imitates the classics of post-Oval glitch music to the most slavish extent: there are what could only generously be called "echoes" of Oval, Microstoria, Fennesz, Vladislav Delay, and Pole, to name the most obvious. More often than not the originals seem to have been sampled.
It's all brilliantly done and very, very listenable, but ultimately derivative. My initial reaction was that that's shame when the artist's ability with sound is so apparent as it is here. But why is it called 'Temporary Music?' Is it meant to be an ephemeral tribute record? Is it a conceptual take on the current strain in experimental computer music that samples or modifies "conventional" recordings, made by the likes of Stephan Mathieu, Ekkehard Ehlers, and Akira Rabelais—just taking next step and having micro-music reprocess itself? No idea, but if you want orginality above all else, look elsewhere. If you're happy listening to this sort of music and want to welcome a new name who does exactly the same thing as everyone else (albeit with a possible explanation for why he's doing it) look no further.

 

samples:

• Arterial
• Tied to the Mast
• Thaw

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