Baked Not Fried

Real groovy says the milkman

2009-04-04T00:40:00.007+11:00

L&PT on Eskimo Recordings, second album 'II' is out May 23. Lindstrom at beatport here.

Tirsdagjam (Radio Edit) - Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas

Rett På - Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas

Somebody lurks in the shadows

2009-04-02T16:36:00.010+11:00

M83 live is an entirely different experience to couch listening. There is real energy in the dazzling, haunting, space-age synths, and this is channeled through both Anthony Gonzalez, the man behind the music, and Morgan Kibby, the woman behind the haunting vocals on many of the tracks of Saturdays=Youth.

(Incidentally, Kibby's L.A. band The Romanovs have some cool tracks, albeit slightly different to M83. Instead of fuzzy distortion there are intricate violins, but Kibby's voice is still distinctive:

The King - The Romanovs
Nice Day - The Romanovs

)

While it's possible to listen to Saturdays=Youth passively, the live sound was filled with tension and grandeur impossible to resist. The set ended (too early) with epic extended versions of "Skin of the Night", "A Guitar and a Heart", and "Couleurs" as the encore.

M83 has released a new song and some remixes with his We Own the Sky EP. The remixes are nothing to write home about, but "Je Vous Hais Petites Filles" (I Hate You Little Girls) fits in well with earlier M83.

Je Vois Hais Petites Filles - M83

To Reach the Clouds

2009-02-20T18:25:00.001+11:00

Last year's documentary Man on Wire, superbly directed by James Marsh, is worthy of the amazing feat it presents. It details the 45 minute death-defying wirewalk of Phellippe Petit in 1974 between the rooftops of the World Trade Center almost 500 metres above the ground, and dramatisises the story and characters involved in the event. While the stunt itself is almost unbelievable, the preparations, lead up, and aftermath are equally captivating.

This is accomplished by the combination of reenactments, interviews, actual footage, and especially the soundtrack. It takes a while to get into the film, but once the twin tower 'heist' is introduced the suspense builds to a satisfying climax (see above image.)

Accompanying much of the real footage and photos taken by Phillippe's friends is a soundtrack that subtly adds to the mood and makes 90 minutes of tightrope walking surprisingly watchable. Many of the pieces are from minimalist composer Michael Nyman, whose string and piano arrangements flow behind interviews and pictures seamlessly and elevate them to an epic scale.

Time Lapse - Michael Nyman

Early on in the film we are presented with Phillippe walking on air over the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Fleetwood Mac's classic instrumental "Albatross", which makes it seem so easy.

Albatross - Fleetwood Mac

Midway through the preparations there is a bit of action, which is the perfect excuse to pop in Walter Murphy's "A Fifth Of Beethoven".

A Fifth Of Beethoven - Walter Murphy

The documentary won two awards at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and also recently a BAFTA. Watch it for both the incredible story and the package James Marsh has bundled it in.

Alex gets Happy

2009-02-06T12:38:00.004+11:00

Alex Ridha makes everyone happy though...does he not? This is a great prelude for their March album as well. Make sure you keep some spare change aside for then.

Happy Up Here, the Boys Noize mix, by Royksopp

Zombie's are worth something?

2008-12-24T15:31:00.012+11:00

This is worth it. The video (originally here, thanks to jeroener) is of Florian's friend Tiga playing a new Zombie Nation track at Soulwaxmas in Rotterdam 2008. The rip is the prosaic audio from it. Zombie Nation's album is releasing around March and this track should be available on January 12 of the coming year as a pre-release to his album. "Sick Is The New Healthy" is the B-Side of that pre-release. Make sure you invest a couple of dollars into both of these releases when they are made available.

Worth It (Prosaic Quality), Alternative

Sufjan's Songs for Christmas Vol 8

2008-12-23T11:27:00.008+11:00

New material from Sufjam "Stovetop" Stevens! Fortunately for us, one of Sufjan's friends embraced the spirit of Christmas and shared Songs for Christmas Vol. 8, fittingly titled Astral Inter Planet Space Captain Christmas Infinity Voyage.

The 40 minute EP continues the tradition of reanimating classic Christmas songs, this time including great versions of "Joy To The World", "Do You See What I See?" and original tracks that perhaps will be the classics of the next generation, like the intimate "Christmas In The Room."

Sufjan brought his Christmas spirit this year from outer space, with robots and extra-terrestrial blips accompanying him on most of the songs.

Angels We Have Heard On High

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Nevereverland Melbourne

2008-12-16T18:52:00.008+11:00

Klaxons playing one of their new songs, "Moonhead"

Crappy audio rip from the video.

Hercules & Love Affair's brass section breaking into a free-form jazz solo:

And just because they were there, here's The Presets "Are You The One?"

The Proxy Tour 2009

2008-12-14T14:31:00.007+11:00

~Thomas Von Party~
~The Proxy~

Indian Film, in prosaic quality
The Proxy - Live at the Social Club, Paris, 16th of August 2008

A Repentant Celibate

2008-12-11T21:32:00.003+11:00

Soulwax, Kraftwerk & The Beatles - Tour de Eleanor Rigby (Alternative)

Damn Arms - Destination, Interview

2008-11-15T16:37:00.002+11:00

Tim from Damn Arms answers a few questions for us about some new releases and their new single "Destination."

1. I understand you have a new EP and LP coming out soon, what can we expect from these? How do these releases compare to The Live Artex?
Yep Yep. We have a string of releasing coming out over the next 6 months. Starting w/ our first single. It's a song called "Destination" which has 2 parts to it. It will be released as a double A-side single by Bang Gang 12" inches in December. I never like to compare releases I do. I guess I always want them to show some sort of progression, thats all. You can expect nothing you've heard from "Damn Arms" before. Hopefully you'll dig.

2. You've supported loads of great bands that have toured Australia, which one was your favourite?
Shit..I guess combining the tours we did with Klaxons, Midnight Juggernauts and Cut Copy together would do it. It's hard to separate those 3 tours. They were all pretty much back to back tours and we couldn't of been luckier really! So many great shows and pretty much the nicest guys to tour with ever.

3. Cutters have a very distinct electro-indie "Nu-Rave" sound and image, do you like this image? Do you think it is healthy for one record label to have one particular image/sound?
I find it much easier to use the term.. "dance music". Instead of all the sub genres that don't make much sense to me. Cutters obviously have a healthy taste in music.. and I doubt they even think about the image they're giving off to the general public. The most successful record labels have a very diverse roster.. Domino, 679, Sub Pop.. etc. but have a strong general image for basically being kick ass labels.

4. Which one of you plays the flute? What inspired you to include it in your new track, Destination? Will we be hearing more of it in other tracks?
It was neither of us. It was a beauitful kentauride that we found in the forest one day. She said she will return to put down some smooth flute for us in the future. We await her return.

5. If you died and went to music heaven, what music would be playing? Which band members (if any, but cmon) would God reject?
ha... Music playing for me would be Morrissey's album, "Vauxhall & I". Pure genius. Hopefully we'll both be fine at the pearly gates.

Listen to the demo of Destination Pt 1 on Damn Arms' Myspace.

Destination Pt 1 and Pt 2 released on Bang Gang 12" in December.

Damn Arms remix Cut Copy's latest single "Far Away", released Nov 24 on Modular.

UPDATE: Here is it: Far Away (Damn Arms Remix)

Amazing Baby have had an upgrade

2008-11-14T13:07:00.001+11:00

After opening for MGMT and Bloc Party, all that was left for Amazing Baby to do to finalise their pre-album buzz was a suitably quirky music video in a familiar location. Here it is:

The video is similar to the song in its gooey unpredictability, with slam dunked crosses, purple glows, emotional Egyptians, rainbow breath, and curious dogs, all viewed through the mesh fence of a basketball court.

Here is an older song that shares the slippery, sloppy vibe:

Invisible Palace

Their Invisible Fucking Cross EP is still available on their site here, more details about Amazing Baby here.

Wilderness of Forza

2008-11-11T16:20:00.013+11:00

~damn cool~

©Arthur Molines

A fabulous release from Florian Senfter, under his moniker of Zombie Nation, on UKW Records. Almost matches Gizmode? Buy the 12" here, or the digital release on Beatport or Juno. A must, my friends. A must.

Forza (Original Mix), with Zombie Nation

A Different Link

They never can say goodbye

2008-10-30T00:46:00.005+11:00

The Jackson 5 are back! And Janet is joining them too.

"It is going to be more like a family affair, Janet's going to open and, of course, the original Jackson 5 ... Michael, Randy and the whole family ... we're in the studio, we're planning on being out there next year.''

Rumours have been around for a while, but its now been officially confirmed by Jermaine. Cool.

Sugar Daddy

EDIT: Or not.... MJ has now said "My brothers and sisters have my full love and support, and we've certainly shared many great experiences, but at this time I have no plans to record or tour with them." What a party-pooper.

You won't be flaccid on this acid.

2008-10-27T23:08:00.006+11:00

There is a lot of hype around Turbo Recordings at the moment. All of it is well deserved, of course, but it has been accentuated by the blog world due to upcoming releases of The Proxy, ZZT and Tiga. Some of these have featured here, and are worth the hype surrounding them. Tiga is an incredible modern music mind, and all his productions are moves of utter genius.

To discover if they are truly worthy, however, we must look further back into Turbo’s past. One does not become a saint without being holy. Their back listing of vinyls and CD’s is barely credible; obscure names jump out, as well as comical onesheets by Tiga and occasionally Von Party. But it’s all manifested into Turbo. Their back listing proves to everybody the worthiness and greatness of not just acid and techno alone, but of a label that is dedicated to their sound.

These are tracks from Turbo-009 onwards. Enjoy this selection and go to beatport and buy as much as you will allow yourself, if you give each track time it will envelope you.

TGV is Mateo Murphy and Tiga, both from Montreal. TGV EP, Turbo-009 was released on the 11th of February 2002. This EP was a thundering prelude to Mateo Murphy’s solo EP “Bringing it Back”. TGV create an acidic environment of techno within Night Train.

Night Train, TGV

Clemens Kahlcke & Michael Pagliosa are the Märtini Brös. Flash was their second record released through Turbo Recordings with Pläy being their first EP. They were founded in 1998, and Flash gets the remix from Tiga and his nostalgic acid days.

Flash (Tiga's Acid Flashback Remix), Märtini Brös.

A Spanish producer since 1989, Robert Calvin was influenced by late 70's and early 80's electronic groups such as Cabaret Voltaire, Einsturzende Neubauten and Depeche Mode. Methods of Dance, Turbo-021, has that beloved 80's sound, producing techno with an acid twist. A brilliant example of IDM (think intelligent dance music, then think warp records, then Aphex Twin, then last of all individualistic experimentation).

Azid Life, Robert Calvin

Jori was born in northern Finland. He had a very eclectic taste in music for his age, especially since he grew up in the middle of the cold war. He was leaning towards an electronic style and suddenly hit the profound Detroit techno in the late 80’s. He has been consistently releasing on F-Communication and PIAS since 1995, but has two magnificent releases on Turbo recordings under his solo alias; EP’s Katajanukke and Rave 2.0. Additionally, his Helsinki Mix sessions in 2000 are cataloged. Katajanukke (Turbo-036), which translates to Juniper Doll, is a four track 12” of frenzied, acerbic techno with a thudding bass.

Enter The Fear, Who Will Be Slaughtered Next, Jori Hulkkonen

Maxime Firket (Compuphonic) was born in early 80’s in Belgium. He was trained during his childhood as a violoncellist, and his solo production is a combo of 80’s tech house and minimal sounds. Olivier Grégoire is Kolombo. He has been releasing since 2005 but his foremost release on Turbo is the Emotion EP (as well as “TMV-001”) with Maxime. Reverie featured on TMV-02 as a solo release. Together, they are Compuphonic & Kolombo, their “Emotion” EP (Turbo-044) was released in September of last year. It has the concentrated goodness of their Lekebusch remix and is a tad more distorted than usual, but that distortion comes across as warmth and fills my heart with blinding acid once more.

Emotion, Compuphonic & Kolombo

More commonly known as Remute; Denis Karimani is playlisted by the likes of Florian Senfter aka Zombie Nation. His work featured as track six of ten on Turbo Mind Vacuum (TMV-02). A standout track on a standout compilation. While his productions are described as progressive house/tech house, they can be summed up in a single word: marathon.

Rooms & Rites, Denis Karimani

"Freak Thyself!" - Tiga

Less is MORE

2008-10-27T14:34:00.011+11:00

Alternate Youtube link

MORE, a short film by Mark Osborne, is now 10 years old. In 1999 it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, and won many other awards. Created entirely with stop-motion animation, and designed in enormous IMAX format, a years worth of work resulted in 6 minutes of film.

The film tells the story of a bleak society, and a sad inventor who misses his childhood. He invents "Bliss" to escape the terrible grey world, but ultimately becomes what he sought to defy.

The mood is largely created by the epic, swirling, and mournful soundtrack, which is New Order's "Elegia."

New Order - Elegia

Director Mark Osborne says the track was the inspiration for MORE: "While listening to the song I freeformed images and visuals I had been kicking around for years and they fell into place thanks to the moods, drama and structure of the song."

Compare it to the mood of the music video for Hell Bent by Kenna, which uses an edited version of the film and replaces the music; it just isn't the same.

Hear Mu Tonight

2008-10-24T20:03:00.004+11:00

Chark Mu is slowly but surely churning out remixes, the latest being Modjo's Lady (Hear Me Tonight). Continuing in the style of his previous remixes of Coldplay and Radiohead, the quiet throb of the bass and passive speckles of synth are becoming his signiture ambient sound.

Lady (Chark Mu Remix) (ysi)

Turbo x Ksubi

2008-10-23T15:22:00.004+11:00

~enter here~

~buy the 2x EP here~

Passarella Death Squad

2008-10-20T00:35:00.003+11:00

You may have seen the name Passarella Death Squad on the label of some interesting t-shirts:

The multi-talented fashionistas behind these designs also, and perhaps primarily, produce electronica. Based in London, and consisting of Danny Broddle and Kingsley Gratrick on noises, and Emilie Albisser on vocals, the group has been compared to minimalist electronica with the vocals of Siouxsie & The Banshees. They are signed to The Republic of Desire, they are releasing two 12" records in the next few months and with an album out early next year.
Danny has answered a few questions for us:

1. Clearly you guys have a flair for the evocative, both in clothing and music. Are the two related? Which field were you originally interested in pursuing?

Both really, the music started first then about 2 or so months after the idea for a t-shirt came around and the clothing went from there.

2. Your style is very minimalist, and yet it manages to "awaken our deepest, darkest sexual psyche". When you work on new material, do you try and tap into primal urges for inspiration? Is it a natural process?

Nothing as exciting as 'awakening primal urges' ever happens, but I suppose it is a natural process, we usually know what we expect it to sound like before it's started, dark, deep etc it's just a case of playing around with the drum machine and going from there.

3. The two remixes on your 12'' Ima/Blackout are very different, both from your original material and each other. Do you prefer either style? Were these the remixes you were looking for?

I liked them both but I preferred Midnight Mikes mix (now called Mickey Moonlight on Ed Banger records)

With remixes all you can hope for is that the artist has an good idea of what they want to do before they start,

rather than using the 'remix by numbers' process.

4. Were you excited when Tiga tracklisted you? Do you think you may get involved more with electro producers in the future?

Yes! It was also the first track played on his podcast show, so I was really happy about that as well.

I like electro music but I don't think I'd like to work with the producers as such.

5. What new material is on the way?

Next 12" 'Painted Yellow, Painted Black' is out in November, remixes coming from Perc and George Issakidis,

followed by another 12" released possibly in February with the album out in early 2009, all on The Republic Of Desire Recordings.

6. Have you ever considered doing a t-shirt displaying the three members of PDS nude?
Not until you mentioned it.

Ima

Blackout (Midnight Mike Remix)

Hand over your heart

2008-10-19T14:49:00.002+11:00

Why are the Kings of Leon divided by the Atlantic?

From their very first record the Followill brothers have been shunned by US media and critics, struggling to fill even small venues and receiving little attention and plays on the radio and TV. Fans in the UK and Australia can't understand this brutal dismissal of the much-loved brothers, who have headlined large festivals like Glastonbury in the UK and Big Day Out and Falls in Australia.

Here are the scores side by side of some UK and American reviews:
(click the scores for links to the reviews)


Youth & Young Manhood
NME: 9/10                                         Pitchfork: 4.2/10
The Guardian: 5/5                                 Popmatters: 3/10
Uncut: 5/5

Aha Shake Heartbreak
NME: 8/10                                         Pitchfork: 4.9/10
The Guardian: 4/5                                 Tiny Mix Tapes: 0.5/5
Uncut: 2/5

Because of the Times
NME: 8/10                                         Pitchfork: 5.4/10
The Guardian: 4/5                                 Spin: 5/10
The Observer: 5/5                 
Uncut: 4/5

Only by the Night
NME: 7/10                                         Pitchfork: 3.8/10
The Observer: 5/5                                 Popmatters: 2/10
Uncut: 4/5
Baked Not Fried: 3/5

What is it about KOL that polarises listeners and critics? It seems that you either love them or hate them. Is it Caleb's voice, or his lyrics? Is it the attitude the Followills have, is it the comparisons to the Strokes or U2? Whatever it is, I enjoy the music of the Followills, and will continue to do so, regardless of how poppy they push to become (to a point.) Hopefully they can break the US market so they can return to proper form and don't have to waste effort crafting radio hits.

Here are two excellent B-sides, the first from the Only by the Night deluxe version and the second from the Sex on Fire 7". They are only 128 kbps, buy full quality via iTunes here.

Beneath The Surface

Frontier City

Mindimension/The Future

2008-10-18T14:32:00.014+11:00

"Every time I look into your eyes I see the future"

Tiga's newest album, being kept under wraps very well, has a few track titles known off of it. One being "Mind Dimension". Using vocoders to the maximum, limited lyrics and that new found grounding and rolling synth, the track is definitely one for a bigger system. Capable of creating an incredible atmosphere when heard live.

"The house is mine"

Being released soon on Turbo Recordings (or maybe PIAS or Wall Of Sound) - Tiga's own label - it cements Turbo's place as one of the very top labels this year. Massive releases from ZZT, The Proxy, Tiga, Cari Lekebusch, Popof, Brodinski's "Oblivion" coming soon and also the quirky TMV-3 show us all where the direction of music is heading, and I love it. Check more of Turbo Recordings here and remember to read our interview we had with Thomas Von Party!

News: The single will be released on the 1st of December this year. Two tracks; Mind Dimension 1 and Mind Dimension 2. Number 2 has additional production by the Dewaele Brothers.

Mind Dimension 1 - Tiga (Prosaic Quality) (mediafire) (zshare)

~BUY IT~
~watch it live here~

A Tape Worm

2008-10-17T22:39:00.007+11:00

ZZT, who are Tiga & Zombie Nation, hit back harder this time with "The Worm". After their debut collaberation "Lower State of Consciousness" was thrashed to hell and back by Justice; hit producer and DJ, Erol Alkan turns The Worm into a rolling wheel of granite; it rolls to hell and back... twice.

The track has been thrown around by Erol himself along with Stephen and David Dewaele as 2 Many Dj's and although there is no official word on the release date from Turbo Recordings, but rumours are that it is being released very soon. Remember to buy it digitally or, even better, the 12".

The Worm, with Erol Alkan's Extended Rework (alternate link)
The Worm, Original Munich Version

Chark's Reckoning

2008-10-14T16:50:00.002+11:00

After releasing three original tracks, Chark Mu has decided to focus his attention on reinterpreting some more well known works with his own chilled out flavour. His first remix was Coldplay's "Viva La Vida", available here. He has just created his second; Radiohead's "Reckoner."

Unlike many hundreds of other remixes entered in Radiohead's contest, Chark Mu's does not try to be too clever, and retains the laid-back vibe of the original while still enlarging the backing instrumental with keys that melt into gentle synths and a swirling ambience.

Reckoner (Chark Mu Remix)

Naissance Des Pieuvres

2008-10-09T19:53:00.026+11:00

Known as "Water Lillies" in the international film circles, this French feature film stands out as a film that takes on a very generic and over-done genré and develops it into an absolutely incredible film. It premiered on 17th of May, 2007 at the Cannes Film Festival.

The 28 year old Céline Sciamma wrote and directed this award winning film, titled Naissance des Pieuvres. It won both the 2007 Prix de la Jeunesse (Cabourg Romantic Film Festival) and the Prix Louis-Delluc. It is about Marie, Floriane and Anne; set in a monochromatic suburb of Paris during summer. Marie is an ungainly but attractive 15 year old girl who agonises over not being in the synchronised swimming team. That, and her developing romantic and lustful emotions, longing for the femme fatale in Floriane, mould her character to be likeable and relateable.

With stunning motifs in the costumes and fixed manic smiles, the synchronised swimming team and its main members allude to the deepest lesbian cravings and the youthful angst that is unavoidably bonded to it.

The Soundtrack - Music to and from Naissance des Pieuvres - was produced Jean Baptiste De Laubier aka Para One, from Institubes. It is an excellent departure from his previous work; which was designed for the club scene. This CD captures the frames of Naissance des Pieuvres in an exquisite manner, with his synth work reminiscent of Handel's harpsichords in his Water and Fireworks Music.

Finale

Vampire

L'axe Majeur

The Bran Flakes

2008-10-09T18:27:00.008+11:00

Recently signed to Illegal Art, home to Steinski and Girl Talk, The Bran Flakes are an experimental sampling duo consisting of Otis Fodder and Mildred Pitt. They have been around since 1992, and released a number of albums from 1997 to 2002. The new album, I HAVE HANDS, is to be released early 2009, and, like their previous releases, will probably include samples from sources like 50s TV shows, video game soundtracks, Kermit the Frog (and other Muppets), and obscure records.

Here are two of their slightly more musical tracks; they don't cover the incredibly eclectic and assorted range of sounds produced by The Bran Flakes, but they are a small slice of the pie.

Good Times a Goo Goo

Countdown to the End (Choo Choo Mix)

On their website is a plethora of assorted video and audio goodies, including various albums, compilations, live sets, and remixes, most available to download for free.

I'm not Disappointed By Candy

2008-10-06T18:35:00.012+11:00

Disappointed By Candy is Gabe Ruschibal and Jeremy Lutito, two classically trained percussionists hailing from Nashville, Tenessee. Late last year they released their self-titled first album on indie label Gray Matters, with 10 tracks crafted with local producers Ian Fitchuk and Justin Loucks. The two have said of the songwriting on the album "these songs were well thought out and precisely composed, but there is also quite an organic element of spontaneity and energy that takes place as well." - from Out The Other

Here are two tracks from their album.

Failed Medication (YSI)
This song has a Radiohead feel, with busy drums and urgent vocals.

Not Lived Out (YSI)
Again, intricate drums, and a warm, melodic, piano-speckled chorus.