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REVIEW : VARIOUS ARTISTS - BANGS & WORKS VOL.1

2010-10-17T02:39:00.000-07:00

Dj Rashad

Dj Nate

Dj Roc

Genre : Juke/Footwork/Experimental

Year : 2010

Label : Plane Mu

With the closest brush with mainstream only being Chicago duo Dude N Nem’s single ‘Watch My Feet’ hitting the charts and Missy Elliot featuring the Full Effect troupe in her ‘Lose Control’ video and bringing footworkers onstage during the 2005 BET Awards, footwork (or interchangeable with its ‘predecessor’ juke) has largely been a danceform that has been confined to the borders of Chicago. A cat that is slowly being let out of the bag, footwork, performed with the music that has the same name and has its roots in ghetto house (a kinky rapidfire offshoot of Chicago house), involves complex, multi-structured and vigorous feet movements that can put most x-outing (drum and bass dance) performers to shame and could be best described as river dance when the dancer is struck by a lightning bolt. Keeping the kids away from the streets and gun violence and involving them with some healthy activity at the dance venues, that can be anywhere from gymnasiums to empty warehouses, footwork always attracts buzzing crowds that love its flaky, improvisational and spontaneous nature - the atmosphere becomes electrifying with groups battling it out turn by turn and enthralling the audience with their moves. Unlike the LA bred Krumping, to match the intensity of the moves, the music is fast paced here, around 160 bpm and is very involved and a composite of various influences. The music earlier being untapped and limited to youtube and local labels has crept out of hiding and its apparitions can now be sighted in places like UK (in acts like Ramadanman, Girl Unit and Addison Groove aka Headhunter) and France (Leatherface and Coma to name a few acts). Now with UK label Planet Mu signing scene attention harbingers Dj Rashad, Dj Nate and Dj Roc, juke/footwork is showing signs that it may blow up into an irresistible phenomenon.

In the wake of the releases by Dj Rashad (Itz Not Rite EP), Dj Nate (Da Trak Genious) and DJ Roc (Crack Capone) comes this commoving and jumpy compilation from the Planet Mu label – Bangs & Works Vol.1. Featuring material from the progenitor of footwork RP Boo, label signees and others, this is the best footwork compilation out there right now that is worth every minute of your attention. Footwork is music that is sonic tempestuous machine gun warfare; an off-kilter mix of continuously looped chopped up vocals striking your ear like bullets and volleys of syncopated drum patterns and rolling sub-bass leading the counter-attack. While this pretty much defines the template of the tracks available here that also have similar tempos, the singular styles of each of these artists (in turn related to their influences that could be anywhere from hip-hop to dancehall) stands out and keeps the music from sounding quotidian after a point of time – there is a very calculated and flexible use of influences here at each point in time with respect to the tracks, without disturbing the zooming tempo.

Starting this high octane, ankle twisting and finding the needle in the haystack work up with a bang, Dj Elmoe in ‘Whea Yo Ghost At, Whea Yo Dead Man’, samples a cutesy pitch-shifted chipmunk female r&b vocal and a male rapper hurriedly blurting out the title in loops amongst blasting gunshots, freaky MPC workouts of twitching hi-hats and laidback handclaps and scattered wheeling sub-bass and continuously but tenderly pounding rolls. Dj Elmoe’s other track ‘Yo Shit Fucked Up’ is another orgy but is sparser in its percussion and stuttering samples as it cohorts with an ambient piano soundscape. The hotly tipped Dj Rashad contributes two sure-fire dance floor scorchers ‘Teknitian’ (referencing his crew) and the album highlight ‘Itz Not Rite’. The former sounding like some kind of a spacious outerspace paced out Kwaito House/tribal dance features angular drum rhythms, fluttering hi-hats, chipmunk vocals and squeaky whirling noises that interplay between hollow and fuller rhythms of build up while the later dexterously intermixes and mimics trippy glitch-hop laced with snipped syllables of a r&b vocalist eating up ‘It’s Not Right” and dubstep with great affect; the featured breaks and the sudden shift in the styles is the draw here, capturing the listener with surprise. Tha Pope continues in the same vein as Rashad in ‘Jungle Juke’ but offers an otherworldly mash-up of pitch-mangled vocal samples of Beyonce in ‘All The Things’ with an unparalleled unpredictability. Dj Roc’s ‘Fuc Dat’ brings in some tension with the snipped spitting verses and a pensive arpeggio rumbling along with a deeply buried sub-bass. His other tune ‘One Blood’ unfurls and surges unfettered in the juxtaposition and layering of vocals into a mind squishing whirlpool – as if on a bad acid trip. R.P. Boo’s ‘Total Darkness’ has the same loud and hazy effect as ‘One Blood’ and is anthemic in its munificent use of the vocals; ‘Eraser’ on the other hand is a stifled interlude of sorts; Boo mixes windy drones and broken samples (including Guns & Roses’ ‘Live And Let Die’). Dj Spinn’s 2020 submerges in phantasmagorical goodness in its use of flowering arpeggios while it’s fractured samba like rhythms propel the track drudgingly. Dj Killa E’s lone track ‘Star Wars’ samples the soundtrack of the movie and converts into a scathing and explosive proportion, the diabolical slaying providing enough twists and turns.

Adding some glow to this magnanimous collection is Dj Trouble’s careening dancehall potpourri ‘Bangs & Works’ whose ethereal and shimmering soundscape pleases the worked out mind and body. ‘Fuck Em Up Jus Basics’ is another tapping percussion filled tune but, made amiable in its application of childish vocals and sighing falsettos that ironically speak expletives. His third tune ‘Mosh Pit’ – an ear splitting hard rock riff sampling tune is a total noise slugfest. Dj Yung Tellem and DJ Lil Rome bring in some nightmarish tunes, footwork offsprings of the witch-house genre if you may. The sampled music from horror movies in ‘Freddy Vs Jason’ to create creepy and cavernous beats sends a chill through the spine. Traxman’s style matches that of Rashad’s and his tune ‘The Comeback’ stands as tall as the album highlight. His ‘Compute Funk’ is another delectable track. Dj Clent in ‘I Love You’ conjures a simple tune with swishy hi-hats and cymbals, gentle sub-bass rolls, bright handclaps bringing out the hip-hop swagger albeit with chipmunked treatment of the looped r&b sample that intermittently with the sighs sweetly utters “I love you, I love you”. Dj Diamond contributes two tracks ‘Ready Mother Fucka’ and ‘Freakazoid’. The former charging like an enraged accelerated dancehall bull, intimidates you with the expletive, garbled samples of whispering voices, scratched voices and gunshots and an indecipherable stampede of sub-bass and the later a chip of the earlier block, is punctured by a pulsating siren sample, an unintelligible vocal sample of a male rapper and freaky percussion. Dj Nate the last footwork hustler brings the house down with two crunk in fused tracks sounding listening to Joker’s tracks on the wrong bpm.

From the aforementioned description it is clear that Planet Mu does a great job of huddling the fresh and the older talent to create this heady 25 track compilation of unfiltered ghetto madness. It may sound weird and tawdry in the first listen, but, once you get into the groove and do some shaking and turning, you are bound to enjoy this. Shaking and turning because, footwork is not everybody’s cup of tea, but, this is great music to loosen up. Don’t be surprised the next time they play this music at your nearest club because this stuff is smoking hot.

Rating : 8.5/10

http://www.planet.mu/discography/ZIQ290

http://www.myspace.com/childrenofthemu

http://www.last.fm/label/Planet+Mu

http://www.last.fm/music/dj+rashad

REVIEW : DARKSTAR - NORTH

2010-10-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

Genre : Electronic Pop/Ambient/Experimental/Space Music/Post-Dubstep

Year : 2010

Label : Hyperdub

Elusive, enigmatic and dark are terms that best describe the body bending and cerebral catalogue of Hyperdub records. Elusive because the members, who work like alchemists, are always trying to convert the mundane into something priceless (an electronic elixir if you may) and have never constrained themselves under the set parameters of what people call dubstep. While the record label did nurture the dubstep sound, it never held its hand too tight – it gave itself enough freedom to play around its periphery and inculcate new sounds. Whether it’s the tragedy of Burial’s skittery sword-fight in ‘Shutta’, The Bug’s abrasive toasting perfectly accompanying the foreboding cavernous hand slaps in the industrial dancehall of ‘Skeng’, the suitable arranged marriage of West Coast funk with dubstep in Joker’s ‘Digidesign’, the nightmarish spaced out dub of King Midas Sound in ‘Ting Dub’, the Portishead dub of Black Chow’s Purple Smoke or this year’s churning tribal percussion of Detroit resident Kyle Hall’s ‘Kaychunk’, the anthemic dancefloor hollers of LV and Okmalumkoolkat’s Kwaito House burner ‘Boomslang’, Hyperdub that completed its 5 successful years last year, has become evidently successful in doing one thing – relentlessly reinventing their sound to keep up with the times but in a very competitive way – by keeping one foot in the present and the other in the future. No wonder when you revisit its catalogue it sounds as poignant as it did when you heard it the last time and the best part is that when you revisit them one can’t help but notice that they have encompassed all possible sounds; the best example being the LA scene; everyone talks about the LA scene now that it has amplified; they got Samiyam to release his material way back in 2008 because the thought process would have been that his sound is an appendage of theirs. So, when it was decided that Darkstar would release an electronic pop record ‘North’ it never came as a surprise because it was certain that it would be a cut above/away from the rest.

‘North’ is a gem that is a statement in understatement. Distancing itself from the formulaic sugar coated giddy pop of most artists and closer in aesthetic to the purveyors of gloom – Radiohead, Darkstar do not intend to make a grand statement here, but a demure one which is equally affecting minus the excesses. Filled with lingering pads that pseudo-swell – never aiming to overwhelm you immediately but giving you time to settle in and the stuttering digitally treated plaintive vocals that share heart-wrenching emotions of heartbreak and longing, ‘North’ is a record for the modern age (set in the post-modern age) where distance leaves incapacitating voids and love is painful to say the least. In fact the palpable distance is huge as far as the sound goes. The tracks feel like radio-telescopic transmissions from another planet where James is stuck and can’t come back to the earth – back in the arms of his lover; the intermittent delay affected, hazy and syllable skipped vocals, the galactic shimmer of the arpeggios and the aggrandizing sounds create a visual of a space traveller stuck both in time and place, trying to reach out through his malfunctioning radio transmission device. This feeling of isolation and alienation strikes with softness and the most in ‘Aidy’s Girl Is A Computer’ where the melancholia is infused in the clipped and mangled humanoid vocals and the bare bodied 2-step marimba percussion anchoring the floating sci-fi 8-bit keyboards in the empty space. These inhabitable empty spaces appear a lot in the tracks and speak a lot for themselves – it’s like the soul of James is being stripped of the last remaining happiness and hope – inch by inch. The beatless ‘Two Chords’, one of the highlights of the album, features just a touching Daniel Lopatin-esque roiling and weighty arpeggio and Buttery’s vocals blazoning out “Watch Me Burn” repeatedly in a never ending hollow blackhole of paranoia where the surging chorus and the synth drones are deeply engulfed. Likewise too, the scattered elements - the inward gazing guitar riffs, the hiss melded vocals, the pops/clicks of the percussion and the chords in the shoegazey track ‘Deadness’ are the only ones that are punctuating the near silence that abounds it – a beautiful mix of BJ Nilsen-esque ambient music and pop. The only track where Darkstar flare up is in the title track which is a showdown between the vocals and the ballistic harsh snare patterns.

Adorning with their flavour of robotic futurism and avoiding any trickery to invoke 80s nostalgia, Darkstar also cover The Human League’s ‘You Remind Me Of Gold’ on this album, titled just ‘Gold’ here. The vocals still sombre and the track fully ingrained in dub, the shuffling sounds, the phosphorescent glow of the piano line, the gentle breeze of moony pads create an otherworldly soundtrack of devotional love that is channelled in the lyrics that vie for your attention – “Baby when I think about you/And that’s when I think about Gold/You remind me of gold”. The band repeats the moving performance in ‘Dear Heartbeat’ where the punctured vocals find solace in the deeply ringing piano notes and in ‘When It’s Gone’ where Buttery tenderly squalls “I won’t forget you” right in the end of the departing track of this satisfying album.

It is a known fact that moving from EPs/12s to a full length is a tough task. It is easier to create sets of tracks and package them in EPs/12s but, making a LP involves a cohesive and a strong theme to be really successful. On this gorgeous debut Darkstar prove that they have a vision and also the creativity to execute it. ‘North’ is another great album worth owning from the increasingly expansive and genre defying Hyperdub stable.

Rating : 8.7/10

http://www.last.fm/music/Darkstar

http://boomkat.com/vinyl/336665-darkstar-north

http://www.myspace.com/hyperdub

http://www.discogs.com/label/Hyperdub

http://www.last.fm/label/Hyperdub

REVIEW : TEEBS - ARDOUR

2010-10-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

Genre : Ambient/Glitch-Hop/Instrumental Hip-Hop/Hip-Hop/Dream-Hop

Year : 2010

Label : Brainfeeder

With strong ties to fecund beat collectives Brainfeeder and My Hollow Drum, attending the 2008 Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona and brushing shoulders with the creatively mighty and a growing repertoire of mesmerizingly relevant sonic synchronicity of nonconcentric beats and calico ambiance (which include collaborations with artists like Jackhigh and Yuk. and production duties on Suzi Analogue’s NNXTAPE), skater, musician and visual artist extraordinaire Teebs aka Metendere Mandowa has become a fixture of LA’s by leaps and bounds flourishing and vibrant beats scene (read Low End Theory). Sharing the common attributes of creating aural vignettes with a plethora of digital paraphernalia with Brainfeeder peers, the Sun Ra worshipper Ras G and the abstract sound architect Flying Lotus; but, sticking out because of his idiosyncratic, bucolic and tranquil sound, Teebs showed first signs of promise with the self released ‘Teebs 09’ and his similarly adorned track ‘WLTA’, that was featured on Mary Anne Hobbs’ ‘Wild Angels’ compilation, in his versatile use of basslines and tweaked and knob twiddled atmospherics, just like his colourful paintings that stand out because of their lambency. In Flying Lotus’ words, “Teebs music is like a vacation island...the way Avatar looks”. On ‘The Tropics EP’, his recent collaboration, with Jackhigh, he took his sound to another level by creating vivid ambient textures on which he laid down pleasurable and stimulating dinging sounds to create a resonating experience. On what looks to be a great year for both the artist and the collectives he belongs to, Ardour serves as a natural progression from his humble beginnings to grand conceptual realizations of heavenly sublime that is both potent and a performance to remember and cherish.

Even on a casual listen, one knows that the record is a handiwork of a person who cherry-picks the beneficial demulcent sounds of the surroundings and uses them to please the senses. The use of chiming sounds, warm drum beats, chill inducing pads and gently caressing synth arpeggios, ringing and clanging bells and sounds of falling metallic objects and their channelization to elevate the soul away from the earthly madness amongst the stars is what this record does best; it has a very relaxed and spiritual vibe and the feeling that penetrates the psyche after listening to this record is as if one is relaxing and meditating in the Himalayas, disgorging the negative energies and injecting the body with renewed vigour (this wafture of utopian bliss evident in the track ‘Burner’ which transposes the sensation of bright positivity in the simultaneous ringing of rhapsodic bells infused with the sounds of gently dropped shells, the humming pads and scattered beats that take you closest to praying in a Tibetan temple on the beautiful snow-capped mountains). The detailed execution of this phantasmagorical theme alongside the dexterity of juggling genres to create a cohesive and impacting monolith packs this heady record with all the sheer beauty and sacrosanct profundity.

While his earlier solo work ‘Teebs 09’ (released and limited to 50 copies in 2009; but got passed on thanks to the internet) was an affecting record, it suffered a bit from the sameness of ideas that went behind constructing the tracks. On ‘Ardour’ however, he offers a variety that is distributed amongst the eighteen tracks, the hallmark being that you can step aside from the J Dilla comparisons, because this wholesome listening is miles away from the usually soul sampled, voice whittled and stuttering vocal offerings of most artists. The great part about listening to Teebs doing his magic is that he blankets the listener to create a cosy and warmth exuding ambiance, the mutating bassline is not the only offering, the radiant background is the highlight too. This ambient record is closer to Kona Triangle’s ‘Sing A New Sapling Into Existence’ that was released last year; but, way better (for the uninitiated check out the track ‘Mango Rubicon’) and sounds like the dub techno greats Rod Modell and Stephen Hitchell or Fluxion and Yagya working on Glitch-Hop. Take the case of tracks like ‘Bound Ball’, ‘Moments’, ‘Bern Rhythm’, ‘Felt Tip’ and ‘King Bathtub’ where the serene soundscape is prominently at showcase, wrapping the listener around its fingers.

Playful but not flippant, ‘Bound Ball’ summersets echo laden tangling, ringing and tingling metallic percussion of colliding bells and other objects that accentuate the glimmering and lovable, unfurling and chugging synth sounds and the gentle thump of the pirouetting beats. Ripping through the layers of unfolding dreamy and ethereal synths, and flanging them to great effect, Teebs reposes white washed other worldly textures, in ‘Moments’, by drawing out rivulets of deeply touching arpeggios, swarms of droning and shape shifting pads, softly clanging metallic handclaps into a rattling flow where the 3/4 beats in merriment oscillate between sub bass and clonks. The most enthralling of the lot, ‘Bern Rhythm’ is uber gorgeous, sybaritic and dazzling with the dispersed use of field recordings of yearning birds, the hissing purlieu, the tender xylophones and the jovially swaying guitar chords. ‘Felt Tip’, somewhat similar to Dem Hunger’s or Yuk.’s tracks in its use of crackling and hissing drones, is very simplistic and is propelled just by tapping beats, the 2-step mimicking clicking and rattling sounds and the occasional wooden strikes that are given good company by the moony and becalming synth chords that transport the track to a very fruitful and satisfying end. Emblazoning the track ‘King Bathtub’ in motley of colours and colourful patterns by passing his influences through a kaleidoscope or a prism, he achieves an awe-inspiring harmony between ingredients of the track. Sublime and empyrean, the overarching synths and the swirling synth arpeggios weaved into the tripping and sub bass hip-hop beats adding wings to you and serenading you. One can thus, with clarity and surety say that this record is more than a glitch-hop record.

A further testament of Teebs’ creative prowess, the pensive tracks of the album also work more as an anodyne rather than dampening the spirits. Most of these tracks are reworks of the tracks from ‘Teebs 09’ and it is good to see them with new sheen and lustre. The tracks that are weighed down but still serene are ‘While You Doooo’, ‘Gordon’, ‘My Whole Life’, ‘Why Like This?’, ‘Arthurs Birds’, ‘Humming Birds’ and ‘Autumn Antique’. The constantly blooming harps in ‘While You Doooo’, the Gas-esque loosening arpeggios in ‘Gordon’, the overwhelming string laden compression effects of ‘My Whole Life’ and ‘Humming Birds’ and the earlier Boards Of Canada-esque synth (‘Music Has The Right To Children’ era) studded glory of ‘Autumn Antique’ stand in contrast to the let down spirit of the tracks and serve as the driving force or inspirations to move away from this spirit.

Packaging perfectly, this layered and textured album, with thematic focal points is what heightens the experience and serves as the final nail that is hammered to this structure; these show stoppers include the sparsely beat driven tracks, the aforementioned ‘Burner’, the plush piano and vacillating cymbal driven jazzy track ‘Lakeshore Ave.’ and the Flying Lotus and Laura Darlington reminding laidback R&B track ‘Long Distance’, an opiate, which features Gaby Hernandez on the vocals whose whispers and coos airily float on the chirping sounds and the gently stirred background score.

Sharing an apartment complex with Flying Lotus and being roommates with Samiyam may have definitely opened the windows of this 23 year old producer’s mind but, the vision and dreaminess of this record is something that can be paralleled by very few, even from the clan that he belongs to. You listen to this record in tandem with any of timeless deep house Theo Parrish records and you will know what a great outing this is for this young producer. Remarkably so, he never bowed down in spite of the recent losses that he suffered in life – the death of his father and his source of bread and butter to produce this starkly breath taking record that is not just about getting high (as a lot of people would make it out to be), but something pure and untouched. This record comes highly recommended and another feather is now added to the cap of the LA’s burgeoning beats scene.

Rating : 8.9/10

http://www.myspace.com/teeeb

http://www.discogs.com/artist/teebs

http://www.last.fm/music/Teebs

http://www.brainfeedersite.com/

<a href="http://shop.svetlanaindustries.com/track/everyone-alive-wants-answers">Everyone Alive Wants Answers by Svetlana Industries</a>

<a href="http://shop.svetlanaindustries.com/album/svet002-the-tropics-ep">SVET002: The Tropics EP by Svetlana Industries</a>

REVIEW : HOW TO DRESS WELL - LOVE REMAINS

2010-09-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

Genre : R&B/Dream R&B/Ambient/Lo-Fi/Experimental

Year : 2010

Label : Lefse

Nostalgia and yearning are two powerful and swaying emotions that are capable of directing the mind towards aural and visual territories that one is craving for and loops the mind in a near endless trance of thought where memories rush instantly, stimulate the neurons and put a smile on your face or make you feel empty due to the pinching absence; these memories and longings that are close to your heart could possibly be an unfulfilled wish for utopia or a person you want to be closer to, a reminiscence of the good old days when you heard your favourite music playing on your favourite radio station while travelling in the backseat of your car, the joyful times spent with your family or friends, times spent on the beach, times spent getting high, etc. All of these little events that sum up your life, emotionally charge you and make you what you are. This is where our lo-fi bedroom musicians come in; to fill this void/gaping hole. Though incapacitated by technological limitations, the lo-fi aesthetic does a very good job of packaging these feelings in the music. A lo-fi track serves like a old Polaroid photograph (no wonder that bands these days use them as album covers); it brings these memories to the fore of your temple in the form of the antiquity it assigns to the record; as if one were listening to music from an old radio or listening to old music on vinyl – the tape saturation, the crackling sound, the worn out sound, the live and unfiltered setting of the recording space, the attenuated field recordings – exactly like the broken and faded memories that suddenly thrill you when figments of them cross your mind. When the bedroom artists fill the emptiness with reverb or their airy falsettos, they add another dimension to the bleached out sound – adding a certain ghostliness; the sound being reminisced is not present but, it’s dreamier and haunting version is present. This modicum of eccentricity in different lo-fi forms – chillwave, glo-fi, dream-pop, haunted house, and surf-rock is because of the aforementioned reasons (and if executed proficiently) proves to be a winning combination and hence is getting a thumbs-up from all quarters (think of the eccentric material being released by the ‘Olde English Spelling Bee’ label).

Submerged in such a medium with similar intentions is the philosophy student Tom Krell, an R&B artist whose circa 90s ethereal, soulful and fragile R&B vocal relics are an indemnification to the fissures of the cheap recording techniques he currently prefers (he someday hopes to collaborate on hi-fi tracks with Kanye West). This full length is a story of finding joy in love with the wrong and hurtful person, being betrayed and then coming out of it all; the varying moods from joy to depression and then happiness back again vividly capture the storyline. Describing the inspiration behind one of his well known and gorgeous tracks ‘Ready For The World’ which also appears on this album, in an interview, he said, he wanted to capture something similar to dribbling the cries of a neighbour through the floor after a break-up, but in an R&B format. When you listen to this second track, it does assign this feeling to it in the whitewashed vocals and the unintelligible lyrics; the intermittently echoing vocals soaring and blossoming, in harmony with the periodic contribution of the female humanoid vocals’ snipped lovable syllables and the floating guitar reverb and distortion, painting a hopeful picture (heart break having not touched him yet); the ear-drilling sound/screams being a party to the new found delight. He extends such methods to other tracks to mesmerize and beguile by enveloping you in this personally scathing journey.

Stylistically and conceptually the above track and the other tracks bear a close resemblance to what dubstep artist Burial produces. The similarity lies in the fact that both dwell on seclusion while recording their tracks(outside the recording realm as well), they are reminiscing the heydays of their respective lives and the preferential and associated genres (without actually sounding like them), they use mundane sounds skilfully to construct their tracks by sprinkling them over ambient anatomy and both intend to present a situation where one is surrounded by darkness and is guided by flickering lights; both these artists are actually revering this flickering light. Barring a few tracks with sampled and backing vocals, the only elements that describe the soundscape are the echoing vocals, the tape crackles, the pensive but moony pads, the scarred and stripped down instrumentation, bits and pieces of piercing noise, the relaxed percussion either via handclaps, banging tables or by using a drum machine and guitar reverb; the sound is bare and sometimes bears the hallmark of dementia.

One listen to a track like ‘Suicide Dream 2’ and one can assure oneself that it could have been as much a part of Burial’s Untrue as this album. ‘Suicide Dream 2’, in opposition to the joyous intro tracks, sounds like he’s at the end of the world, on top of a building in the middle of the night, ready to let go and die, but, before dying singing his last song to his lover who left him in unbearable pain expecting to be salvaged from ruin, letting his words and the remnants of his feelings drift away in the endless ether. The operatic heights kissing falsetto, the elegiac but glimmering keyboard notes, background chatter fill the dark abyss of the track, asking to be rescued and to bring the brightness to the light thirsty eyes. But, he hasn’t given up just yet (he sees a flickering light); the next track ‘You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Goin’, sees himself giving another chance to live and to distance himself from the relationship, his words and the chugging guitar declaring the title and enthusing with a new found positivity.

What sets him apart from Burial however, obviously besides the genre, are his undecipherable and buried under the beatific haze and cavernous vocals (unlike him, he isn’t chopping his own vocals to create paranoia) and his eclecticism. His Justin Timberlake-esque exultations (like in the track ‘You Hold The Water’) and spread out cooing vocals impart the tracks a mood enhancing, emollient and enchanting feel; without doubt he is a very good singer. The most dazzlingly beautiful moments of the album, ‘Escape Before The Rain’ and ‘Decisions’ featuring the artist Yuksel Arslan are evidence to the man’s expertise and vocal prowess. The former with the delay affected layered celestial whispering vocals effused with a build up into the bare and initially undulating piano notes, overpowers emotionally, as its minimal settings touch your heart and send a chill through you. The latter, full of life and cheery diffuses the initial melancholia through the complex snowballing vocal patterns and the drum beats marching in tandem. The only thing that you wish after hearing the track is that it were a little longer. The next track ‘Suicide Dream 1’ however fulfils this wish and unlike the name, it proves to be a satisfyingly sober listening. Other tracks like ‘Date Of Birth’, the instrumental sampled ‘Lover’s Start’, the upbeat ‘Walking This Dumb Line (Live)’ and ‘Can’t See My Own Face’ bear his vocal signatures and serve their part in the story without sounding like fillers.

While the album can boast of moments like above, there are tracks like ‘My Body’, ‘Endless Rain’ and ‘Mr By & By’ on the album that are marred by underproduction, the cracks being visible clearly. ‘My Body’ has some imperfections in the form of the trudging beats; the emotions vaporise before the beats can make any impact; it sounds very half-hearted and unprocessed. The vocals in the ending can be a drag too, here. ‘Endless Rain’ and ‘Mr By & By’ are by far the worst tracks on the album. They sound like Krell is dubbing on beats that are emanating out a boombox playing near the mike. And to degrade the sound further, the vocals sound like they are entangled, not distinct and cherubic like those on the highlights (the bathroom singing could have been avoided); the reverb and feathery distortion absent too.

Minus these bearable hindrances, the album ‘Love Remains’ thus proves to be a dusty gem. Unlike the EPs he was releasing earlier, this album undeniably is a coherent listen that showcases How To Dress Well’s qualities of merging dream-pop’s hypnagogic and elevating tendencies into the R&B aesthetics. Barring a few exceptions, he stands miles ahead of his peers on major labels who can only dream of doing something as worthwhile as he does; cheap gadgetry and lo-fi antics never sounded so astounding and moving. HTDW does have plans of recording music on hi-fi; it is doubtful however that he will be successfully able to replicate these sonic textures and patterns like he does here.

Rating : 8.4/10

http://lefserecords.bigcartel.com/product/how-to-dress-well-love-remains-cd-pre-order

http://www.last.fm/music/How+to+dress+well

http://howtodresswell.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/howtodresswellmusic

REVIEW : ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS - SWANLIGHTS

2010-09-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Genre : Art-Pop/Chamber-Pop

Year : 2010

Label : Secretly Canadian/Rough Trade

As much capable of enthralling an opera house as a listener who is looking for a very personal performance and an experience to remember, Antony and the Johnsons, the quintessential art-pop band is one of the most fascinating and emotionally moving acts of our times. Delivering one of the most amiable tracks of the last decade, ‘Hope There Is Someone’ displays the band’s hugely satisfying traits of laying everything bare, the instrumentation in perfect harmony and accentuating the gamut of emotions running through the song and the golden Brian Ferry-esque vibrato and falsetto laden, androgynous and vulnerable voice of Antony Hegarty adorning the song. Antony Hegarty especially steals the show always because of his evergreen and mellifluous croons and warbles as he delicately and effortlessly becomes one with the instrumentation; even the quotidian themes in his songs get a grand treatment because his voice is powerful and hugely impressionistic. It’s as if the man is King Midas, everything he touches turns to gold. Deservedly so, the band has been lauded by artists like Lou Reed (of The Velvet Underground fame) who also collaborates with them; in 2005 they were awarded the Mercury Prize and their next effort, last year’s ‘Crying Light’ went to #1 on the European Billboard Charts. After cooking the appetizer ‘Thank You For Your Love EP’, this year, which featured covers of Bob Dylan’s ‘Pressing On’ and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, comes the highly delectable full course offering ‘Swanlights’, which proves once again that Antony’s taste in music has not buggered and has only refined with time.

The overarching themes of previous efforts – love, life, happiness, death, after-life and their eternal relationship that define our lives and our aesthetics also inhabit in the sometimes tergiversate wordings and poetry (like in the triumphant Salt Silver Oxygen, exuberant Ghost and the melancholic Christina’s Farm) of Antony (that also show his affinity for water) in this album, as he presents personally affecting and poignant but, universally relevant musings. Intricately constructed and symphonic, the tracks on this album are very roomy and whippy; the charm of each of these tracks lies in the calculated use of musical spaces; the soft murmurs and his cooing, the use of silent pauses to settle down the tracks like dust in the light of the bright piano keys, the invigorating and charging string and brass arrangements that swell in the climax of the tracks as Antony triumphs or quetches; Antony’s cherubic Nina Simone-esque soulful purrs and his gleeful scatting; his Ryuichi Sakamoto like deft shift from minimalistic compositions to plangent piano flourishes and the congruent arrangement of the rhythm section, all of these are the defining points of the album. Capturing these lucullan and exquisite sound caricatures at best are the tracks ‘The Great White Ocean’ and the collaboration with Bjork ‘Fletta’ which is partly sung in Icelandic and English. The former that metaphorically reproaches familial discord and finds Antony asking for help in the worst times in his life through the motive of death, it says, “Sing to me father, when I die. Please remember father, we must try; try not to forget our family. Oh my darling father, rescue me”. The track shimmers with the warm and gentle guitar chords, as Antony helplessly and breathlessly spills out his emotions; but the burden of emotions is too much to take and in the end he almost breakdowns and whispers his discontent. On the other end of the spectrum, the latter track, an effervescent duet, shows the above hallmarks in its playful use of loud and soft dynamics as it takes it’s time to build steam with both the singers finally wrapping their mellisonant voices around each other’s and soaring in the free skies with the fluttering piano notes; a gorgeous and a memorable piano rendition with thoughtful pacing.

The above surefire qualities apart, there are tracks where Antony refrains from verbiage and lets his vocal delivery and the music speak for itself. These tracks are simplistic and skeletal in the lyrical delivery and involve intensity and when he stresses on the words, their importance is conveyed beautifully. Tracks like ‘Everything Is New’, ‘The Spirit Was Gone’ and ‘Thank You For Your Love’ fit this category. With a sudden start, the album opener, ‘Everything Is New’ builds up a dislodging tension like Radiohead’s ‘Everything In It’s Right Place’ from Kid A, as it repeats the verses “Everything Is New” with the voice rolling and bending to display the various states of emotional unrest. The ecstatic ‘Thank You For Your Love’ finds Antony thanking his lover over and over as if he is indebted to his lover for infusing joy in his life. The elegiac ‘The Spirit Was Gone’ mourns continuously through Antony’s sombre voice and minor-key melodies.

The album also embraces some electronic experimentation, as in the title track ‘Swanlights’, which apart from punctuating instrumental arrangements, features reverb and delay affect layered voice, piano notes and a perturbing guitar drone ultimately tip-toeing and fading into an entrancing harmonium drone. The track is evocative of Radiohead’s ‘Nude’.

Full bodied and glowing with such nuances, multifaceted and multilayered and full to the brim with flowing creative juices, the album, an addition to the slew of successfully executed baroque albums this year (Joanna Newsom's 'Have One On Me' being one of them), sounds awe-inspiring and striking in its blossoming harmony and like Antony says in the track ‘I’m In Love’, “I have been touched. I have been touched. Who needs too much?” ; an album to cherish and die for this year.

Rating : 9/10

http://www.swanlights.com/

http://www.last.fm/music/Antony+and+the+Johnsons

http://www.myspace.com/antonyandthejohnsons

http://www.antonyandthejohnsons.com/

ALBUM REVIEW : SALEM - KING NIGHT

2010-09-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

Genre : Drag/Witch House/Hip-Hop/Dub/Dubstep/Gothic/Electro-Pop

Year : 2010

Label : IAMSOUND

‘Witch House’, the catchall phrase being wedged into journalism lingo to describe a scattered ‘scene’ that encompasses occult artists producing music inspired in parts by the ethereal wave of the 80s (that spawned artists like Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance), Hip-Hop, electro-pop, dub and dubstep with a sado-masochistic, experimental and gothic lineament by creating notoriously colossal dream pop collages gnashed by spooky and cyclonic synths and/or isolationist moony soundscapes laced with decaying, melancholic vocals and pirouetting drones , has become the centre of much discussion and focus with publications all over devoting pages and leaving no stone unturned to cover these artists. Much of the devotion to this infant scene is due to the fact that most original material coming from this scene is really good, a sign of fertility, vitality and productivity. While naysayers are quick to point out that the ‘scene’ will saturate soon enough, like the recent craze of chillwave, listeners venturing into this territory will quickly realize that the comprising artists have different influences which implies that their sound is idiosyncratic and offers variety by being innovative. Riding high on the buzz generated by their remixes (especially the hauntingly gorgeous remix of HEALTH’s ‘In Violet’), other releases and the singles ‘King Night’ and ‘Asia’, Salem fail to disappoint with this record as they deftly engulf the listener in their other-worldly and turbulent sonic imagery and doom-pop machinations.

‘King Night’ is a sound trouncing record that stays suspended between heavenly beauty and hellish dilapidation. By avoiding the morbidly abrasive and ruthless environs conjured by black noise and power electronic artists like Burial Hex, Keiji Haino and Ben Frost and the syrupy and summery synth textures of chillwave and dream pop, it maintains a place of its own, in between the aforementioned two, by fusing bass heavy and magnanimously overwhelming synths, baleful, extremely dense and tension infusing synth drones, mangled samples, loud and echoing percussion laced with spaced out, celestial and chopped and screwed soprano female vocals in the tracks that sometimes also feature rap. When the mutating, blackened and intruding synths evoke chronic claustrophobic paranoia, the happy and playful vocals in the tracks try to diminish these feelings and when the vocals are sad and emotionally damaging and sounding like the listener was subjected to an overdose of pills, they have this enticing and enchanting property of elevating you amongst the windy skies over the dark clouds, as if to escape from the ensuing mushroom cloud depression. In line with the aesthetics of dream pop, the female vocals that float like unfettered ghostly voices are used as instrumental embellishments, the lyrics being indecipherable but probably hinting towards emotional decapitation, entrapment, disconnect or the joy of pain with sado-masochistic overtures. Moreover when the RZA-esque rap comes into play, the vocals are pitch-shifted and slowed down, to deliberately shroud it in mystery, but the swagger and the punch remains intact and keeps the tracks from sounding underdeveloped. This unmatchable quality of balancing the light and the dark with precision is what keeps the record ticking.

Propelled by the above sound mechanism, the record highlights ‘Release Da Boar’ and ‘Trapdoor’ capture the ingenuity of Salem as they commix various sound elements to create a trippy, theatrical and phantasmal orchestration. The former, primarily an instrumental track and the least jarring, is penetrated by deadening thick screechy synths and a continuously stalking noise layered with completely disfigured and psychedelia inducing vocal maunders, recordings of jovially chattering women and a drawn out and dumbfounded but calming male vocal trill and anchored by periodic flat drum punches as if watching a fight scene in a video game in slow motion. In ‘Trapdoor’, samples of cars crashing collide with lashing handclaps, flanged out noises and a lurking bass on the stoned and pitched down vocals that ponderously and arduously rap, “It’s all blurred out. Hey, wish I can see you”; a sense of mystery pervades the track. Other tracks pull-off with different studio tricks (that would be difficult to reproduce live) as they ebb and surge with transmogrification. ‘Killer’ features vocal apparitions buried under extravagant and enveloping feedback and a jangly guitar riff. The murky ‘Tair’ is crammed with ritualistic chanting over buttery flow rap. ‘Asia’ is scarred completely with industrial percussion, elegiac vocals and siren like synths and serves as an adjunct to the grand intro, ‘King Night’, into the album. Apart from these, other tracks (except the humdrum 'Hound') fit in the scheme of the ghoulish synth-pop architecture and give the album a continuous, bump-free flow.

All in all, what we have here are eleven tracks that deliver by completely sending one’s mind in a tizzy and our body dancing in a red-lit, smoke filled underground club. Not to be slept on, this is a record that has to be grabbed hold of on sight.

Rating : 8.5/10

http://s4lem.com/

http://www.last.fm/music/Salem

http://www.myspace.com/s4lem

REVIEW : V.I.V.E.K - FEEL IT EP

2010-09-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

Genre : Dubstep/Bass/Experimental/Dark Ambient

Year : 2010

Label : Deep Medi Musik

In a time and age where the poster boy of dubstep, Skream, is thinking out of the box, Magnetic Man is already being heralded as a future radio staple (Benga declared in his interview for ‘The Guardian’ that, “We are trying to add emotions to this music, it’s not about club smashers or just dubstep fans, this is for a much broader crowd”), dubstep is aloof of its origins (think Hotflush or Night Slugs 808 heavy production or artists like Roof Light, Joy Orbison and PANTyRAiD) because of countless mutations; nevertheless attracting wider attention due to these, Mary Anne Hobbs, the queen of dubstep has retired from BBC Radio 1and bass music is reaching the audiences in very loathsome ways that hardly carry any weight of attached feeling (read Brostep) or through viciously ear-splitting bass drops, the older darker tunes that were once the toast of the London underground are now being given the slip. It never came as a surprise when Blackdown in an interview for ‘Drowned In Sound’ remarked that dubstep was going through an upheaval. That being said, there still are prolific producers like Mala (of Digital Mystikz fame) who know how to keep the flame burning. Having established the DMZ label (which also released the wonderful and belligerent ‘Return To Space II’ this year) to release his own material and of his peers; because, he received a favourable response from other artists in terms of striking original material, he gave birth to ‘Deep Medi Musik’, an extension of his efforts to capture the sounds he wanted to, but, those that he found in other artists. V.I.V.E.K. aka Vivek Sharda, one of his finest and recent signings, who was introduced to him by Silkie, in his second release (his first being Kulture/Meditation Rock) on Deep Medi, gusts the signature percussion heavy, portending, insane but deep tunes with amazing deftness that will leave you cold on the dance floor.

Echoing literally, the aforementioned sentiments in the form of sampled words in the EP opener ‘Feel It’, that say, “Many soundsystems play very loud bass, we would like to play deeper sounds where people can still stand near the speaker; it doesn’t hurt. People do respond to the bottom frequency. People have to feel it”, make the utmost use of the relationship with ambiance as a medium to express the heartfelt emotions. Anchoring these heavy words, is the ominous lurking and enveloping drone (that somewhat reminds oneself of the low frequency drones of Thomas Koner) that locks the phrenetic congas, the 2-step mimicking manjiras that provide momentum to the head bobbing track, the entrenched rumbling bass and the tension building wood block strikes. Like a ticking timebomb (could be a passing reference or metaphorical like the first track), the second track ‘Grandfather Clock’ slowly tick-tocks its way into a buried and periodically surging bass serration, creaking horror inducing noise, a striking gong (as if the devil were ringing the death knell) and thumping dubstep beats until the buried bass skyrockets and swivels with a swashbuckling surge. This track is spine-chilling and fierce; it will make you cringe and look for cover in the dense and disorienting atmosphere. Spilling over the fully established emotionally scathing elegy into the next track, the minimalistic and envisaging ‘Motherland’, the EP brings the Burial like distant pleasure concept to the fore. Reminiscent of Loefah’s ‘Indian Dub’, ‘Motherland’ maintains its class by avoiding cheesy ragas and instead uses a part of the alluring, spiritual but withered and yearning vocals and imbues it along with entrancing flutes into the soundscape of intermittent tumbling dub chords, scuppering and skittering bass swipes, airy maracas, sprightly congas and sparsely but precisely circularized tabla beats. The last track on this sonically satisfying EP; ‘Strategic’, hints towards dub techno in its use of pitch-shifting and form changing pounding dub chords that propel the track by synchronising with the garage like skeletal and nimble beats. It is still sombre and away from the serenity that dub techno is usually associated with.

Clocking around twenty five and a half minutes, the EP effortlessly and smoothly flows but like hot volcanic lava and is a showcase of Vivek’s blazing new freshness. It is a sound that compliments Digital Mystikz and the Deep Medi label and justifies his signage. Of course the fans of these will devour the record, but, for other new listeners this is pure melancholic, uncompromising and benighted bliss at its spearheading best. For vinyl lovers there's more to cheer since there is an additional 45 minute mix that features all the above tracks and his upfront dubplates. Not to be missed!

Rating : 8.7/10

http://www.myspace.com/vivek321

http://deepmedi.com/future_medi.html

http://www.myspace.com/deepmedi

http://www.last.fm/music/V.I.V.E.K.

GET YOUR BEATS RIGHT - ECLECTICISM AND NEW DIMENSIONS

2010-09-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

I was reviewing an album a few days back and I attributed it the tag of ‘experimental’ by describing how the sound was an amalgamation of various influences but sounded unlike any. After some time I was stumped by my own critical thinking that questioned my motive as to it being experimental or progressive considering it was actually a sum of parts of various styles bound together by ingenious slickness. I jostled with myself and then figured out how the structure and the sound can really create an impression on a listener. In this crazy little world, where people lap up many sounds and combine these influences and infuse it in their notes to break conventions that are clearly audible/visible in the free-form pluralism, it becomes difficult to decide what is ‘progressive’, ‘arty’, ‘experimental’ and/or ‘avant-garde’. Though these tags are just appendages to the description of the overall sound, there is still discord amongst thinkers as to what relation can be ascribed to these terms – there are many books that discuss endlessly, the difference between ‘avant-garde’ and ‘experimental’ and its relevance in contemporary culture and music. But, let me not be affected by these theoretical discussions, instead I add my two cents to the empty hat, which concerns more with the coherence of a beat tape/album.

When ‘experimental’ albums like Mount Kimbie’s Crooks & Lovers, Sleigh Bells’ Treats, Actress’ Splazsh and Flying Lotus’ Cosmogramma were released this year, there was an overall acceptance of the quality of these albums and the amount of buzz generated was gargantuan. Comparing these albums (just for consideration sake), one could put Mount Kimbie’s album in one group and the others in one group. The special diversification exists due to Mount Kimbie’s album which is a discontinuous affair. Each track on Crooks & Lovers sounded like the band members did not really follow an underlying idea or flow and just grabbed hold of whatever samples/instruments they could lay their hands on. It was more like a compilation album; but, they still managed to grab the attention of listeners because of the strength of each of the tracks and their heady and inspired eclecticism, a very difficult feat indeed (some negative reviews of the album did focus on this so called grouch). While on the other hand Actress, Flying Lotus and Sleigh Bells though had different sounding tracks, they were bound by the idiosyncratic style/theme of each of these artists who left their indelible mark on the tracks, giving it pseudo-continuity; elements closer to their heart (not necessarily their own) and concerning the flow of the album were peppered all over the tracks. What essentially I am saying is that one could point out that ‘this’ track was from ‘this’ album unlike in Mount Kimbie’s case it could have been from anywhere else. So, when I was flummoxed before, I reached the conclusion that the album I was reviewing fit in the latter category and figured out that albums could be distinguished in such a way – discontinuously experimental or pseudo-continuously experimental. Basically, even though following a theme and creating an album with your enigmatic style is tough, not following a theme and attracting listeners is even tougher. Beat tapes/albums need to essentially at the end of the day somehow put up a strong show in order to stand out. There are tapes that just feature disparate sounding tracks, but, because they are humdrum, rip-offs and/or casual, they really don’t get that much love or attention; so, another pitfall that needs to be avoided in the architecture of tracks.

Coming to post-dubstep and dubstep, there has been a lot of hullaballoo lately, especially amongst purist beat-heads, as to why there is a sudden increase in the coverage of these artists. Firstly, one doesn’t need to be prejudiced about dubstep; there is good and bad in every scene; moreover, both hip-hop and dubstep are distant cousins of dub. If you don’t believe me, check out tracks by Joker and Matty G (especially the track 'For The Smokers') that effortlessly blend elements of the two (Flying Lotus followers may know about his performances with dubstep producers and his release on UK dubstep label Tectonic with Joker).

Flying Lotus - Glendale Galleria (His Dubstep release on Tectonic)

Joker - Psychedelic Runway ( West Coast Hip-Hop meets Dubstep)

Secondly, after L.A. (which also sees the charachteristic feel of the 2step and post-dubstep vibe), UK’s new wave of dubstep and post-dubstep is where the action is. One listen to a lot of these artists (like the ones I mentioned above) and one knows that they are experimenting like crazy with the same flair and confidence as the LA counterparts. But, like any new scene, it is riddled with many half-hearted releases that want to just cash-in on the opportunity, the coverage and the buzz. So if you are one of those people out there who think that dubstep is just wobblestep and slabs of bass driven material puncturing the soundscape, then they should let their guard down for once and let in all the goodness flow. Not only will that help open-minds, it will help creation of new interesting material that everybody can enjoy; in case you are a potential beatmaker. You may not agree to whatever that has been said here, but, there is no doubt that the lines between are increasingly blurring to the point of merger.

Continuing the trend of featuring only the best of the beats, here’s my little contribution again. This is more than what I featured in my first installment 'Get Your Beats Right - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Of Beat Tapes/Albums':

Star Slinger – Volume 1

Year : 2010

Label : Mexican Summer

Star Slinger is a hip-hop/glitch-hop/chillwave producer from Manchester, UK and is a favourite especially amongst the summer loving folk. The appeal of his music comes from the cute but not in your face cute chipmunk vocals/ecstatic vocals that he whittles, loops, repeats, rolls and layers with precision over sepia tinged/8 bit synths. The phosphorescent glow of tracks like ‘Star Slinger’ and ‘Copulate’ can really warm you up when you are feeling nostalgic and looking for the sound that reminisces the olden days (read the 80s). Not only that, he administers an equal dose of eccentric experimental beats to the listeners in the form of glitch-hop, dense bleeps laden hazy atmospherics studded dub, J Dilla-esque laidback swagger (Gimme), childlike effervescence (Dutchie Courage) etc. without sounding pedestrian. Volume 1 showcases all lovable qualities with minimal faltering and without bowing down to the distorted, filtered glo-fi that is making beachy rhythms cheesy and disgusting.

Rating : 8.6/10

http://starslingeruk.bandcamp.com/album/volume-1

http://starslinger.net/home.html

http://www.myspace.com/starslingermusic

<a href="http://starslingeruk.bandcamp.com/album/volume-1">Volume 1 by Star Slinger</a>

<a href="http://starslingeruk.bandcamp.com/album/i-l-l-w-a-v-e-remixes-2010">I L L W A V E - Remixes 2010 by Star Slinger</a>

Deru – Say Goodbye To Useless

Year : 2010

Label : Mush

‘Say Goodbye To Useless’ is the third full-length of the L.A. based beatmaker and sound designer Benjamin Wynn under the Deru moniker. Regarding this release, he said, "I wanted to make a record that was more in your face; something that said what it wanted to say in a really clear and bold way. I think my last record was more subtle, for this I wanted to use a bigger tool." Truly so, it is very stark, brooding, benighted and ominous; the use of samples and disturbed vocals melded with echoing and ominous ambiance of steeply rising synths, lurking wangled vocals, crackling drones, field recordings that rustle and bustle and clanging and knifing beats aggrandize the effect that Wynn wants to bring out in the record. Stylistically it mixes hip-hop, big-beat and IDM (which reminds one of Aphex Twin’s Druqs) that propels the tracks into cavernous static and dazed but melancholic surroundings. Even the first haunting track which actually talks about the ubiquity of God and the devotion of God sounds heavy and emotionally purgative. While the record can be a daunting listen at times because of the impact, it is sensibly constructed and congruent and hence a recommended listen.

Rating : 8.4/10

http://www.mushrecords.com/release/MH268.php

http://deru.la/press/

http://boomkat.com/cds/282150-deru-say-goodbye-to-useless

<a href="http://musicstore.deru.la/album/say-goodbye-to-useless">Say Goodbye To Useless by Deru</a>

<a href="http://musicstore.deru.la/album/beast-rest-forth-mouth">Beast Rest Forth Mouth by Deru</a>

Koen – Outputs

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

This Gornigen, Netherlands based producer makes gorgeously dreamy and soul infused beats on Outputs. He dexterously infuses luscious synth swipes, with sub-bass on floating rhythms in ‘660’, reverberating chords and oscillating synthlines over chopped vocals that charmingly pry you in ‘491’, bring out drony ambient white-washed synth emblazons in ‘662’ and directs enticing exultations in ‘323’ with stupendous immaculateness and skill. The settings on the tracks are lush and emotionally engulfing and Koen like the minimal techno artist The Field trims the excesses of murmured sweet-nothings and loops the syllables that are oh so cherubic and remind you of your best refreshing pleasure trip. This tape definitely fits the ‘dream-hop’ category and is the type of tape you would want to play while making love or dancing with your other half/lover. This is the man to really watch out for because the performance is tight and overwhelming.

Rating : 8.6/10

http://www.myspace.com/koenbeats

http://koen.bandcamp.com/album/outputs

<a href="http://koen.bandcamp.com/album/outputs">Outputs by Koen</a>

Exile – Radio AM/FM

Year : 2010

Label : Plug Research/Dirty Science

Remixing Exile’s Radio without hurting the transmissions is quite a difficult task. But, the star cast of producers like Free The Robots, Samiyam, Shafiq Husayn, J.Mitchell, Mike Gao, etc. ensure the remixes don’t sound out of place; lot of glitch-hop slipperiness and head bobbing madness on this tape. The creative use of synths and other beat paraphernalia to penetrate the tracks and change the flavour to create vivid sonic caricutares is what this album does best. Also, this tape is a testament of the fact that the number of skilled producers in the beats scene is burgeoning. At 21 tracks it maybe huge but, most of the tracks are around a minute or so. Not only that the tracks in spite of the length, flow into each other smoothly; you don’t feel the bumps when the tracks change. As far as the guest appearances are concerned prolific underground rhyme spitters like Aloe Blacc, Fashawn and Alchemist make noteworthy additions to the overall sound. Highlights are too many on this tape to mention here; these include ‘So We Can Move (P.U.D.G.E. Remix)’, ‘Populaion Control (Feat. Gouch & Eligh)’, ‘Love Line Remix (Feat. Blu)’ and ‘Summer Song (Take Remix)’.

Rating : 9/10

http://www.thedirtyscience.com/dirty-news/exile-radio-amfm-album-pre-order/

http://thedirtyscience.bandcamp.com/

<a href="http://thedirtyscience.bandcamp.com/album/radio-am-fm">Radio - AM/FM by Dirty Science</a>

<a href="http://thedirtyscience.bandcamp.com/album/exile-radio-remixes">Exile Radio Remixes by Dirty Science</a>

Mux Mool – Saturday Rose EP

Year : 2010

Label : Ghostly International

Mux Mool’s Skullstate was an interesting listen last year and won much praise, hence, it was natural for the folks at Ghostly to give up the tracks on the release for remixing/editing. The EP is a mixed bag and the eyesore are in the form of the opening track ‘Wax Rose Saturday (Remux Edit)’ which has a very annoying gliding synthline which accentuates the simple to the point of boredom execution of the track (a further disgrace to the track is when Remux introduces equally creepy vocals in the end) and the house remix of ‘Enceladus’ by Daso which definitely doesn’t fit the mid-tempo vibes of the other tracks and supposing that it did, the track has this bass section right in the middle which doesn’t merge into the scheme of things and destroys the already uninspired production. The good part of the EP however is the unfiltered, croaking and granular bass driven and 8-bit/chiptune sounding remix of ‘Skulltaste’ by Free the Robots, the metallic percussion and unfurling synths layered and prompt periodical beat slashes of remix of ‘Morning Strut’ by Shigeto (which sounds like a slow, synchronised karate performance), the ringing synthline afoot Paul White remix of ‘Wolftone Symphony’, the ebbing and surging synth riffs laden boom bap of Devonwho edit of ‘Lady Linda’ and the EP highlight Alex B’s remix of Hog Knuckles that features moody funky synth grooves punctuated by pulsating bass crunches and swinging handclaps. Clearly, each of the good remixes on the EP are done by artists that have a lot of potential (shown by their earlier releases as well). The EP should be owned for these remixes alone.

Rating : 7.2/10

http://theghostlystore.com/products/mux-mool-wax-rose-saturday-ep

http://www.myspace.com/muxmool

Lacc Fork – Fleet Swing EP

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

Joining the ranks of Dem Hunger, Lacc Fork (from France) is another artist who is flirting with various genres without committing to any. This EP is not exactly a beat tape but, since it doesn’t fit anywhere, it might as well be included in this section. What is remarkable about this EP is that there are layers and layers of sounds that one cannot grab hold of in one listen; multiple listens are recommended. On this EP, Lacc Fork presents sounds that show harmony in anarchy. Like Four Tet and Kieran Hebden’s free jazz collaborations and Four Tet’s other folktronica explorations, he presents frenzied drum rolls and fills over periodically tumbling beats steeped in vinyl crackle, haunting vocal maunders and entrancing saxophone notes in ‘Shed Arms’, looped reverberating guitar strums and airy and pensively dreamy vocal collages of ‘You Said/Floating Cab’ scooped with doting fizzing sounds and psychedelic arpeggios, the flaky drum beats anchoring the peaks and wanes of the brass section in ‘Fleet Swing’, the galloping drum beats and nimble footed organ stabs in ‘Shiny Leather J’ and tropical percussion footed in robotic friskiness and futuristic arpeggiated goodness in ‘Name Her Teeth As They Move Back’. Just like Dem Hunger’s tapes, the mixed sounds do not collide or clash but, hold their ground to enhance the versatility and aggrandize the various facets of the overall sound.

Rating : 8.7/10

http://laccfork.bandcamp.com/album/fleet-swing-ep

http://www.myspace.com/laccfork

<a href="http://laccfork.bandcamp.com/album/fleet-swing-ep">Fleet Swing EP by Lacc Fork</a>

Shanalog.Beats – Shanalog.Beats

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

Shanalog.Beats is a beatsmith from Auckland, New Zealand who makes eccentric electro-hip-hop and breakbeat. He mixes gliding grating bass along with hip-hop and breakbeat (just like hip-hop/breakbeat experimentalists Evil Nine) in some tracks and in others he sends the synths aflutter (like in the track ‘These Cold Nights’) amongst overlapping arpeggiated synths and downtempo beats and jazz. At opportune moments he increases the organic value by inculcating field recordings and eastern sounding vocals, like in ‘Bongo Combat’ where he mixes various sounds with field recordings of the sound of metro trains passing by into a heady trippy concoction and then merges it into siren like synths and shakingly actuating beats. The elements used to construct the tracks are similar, which implies that he is yet bound by his own directionless methods (audible in ‘Study Break’) and is yet to achieve full potential wherein a variety of sounds will dot the soundscape. But, there is no doubt about the fact that there is freshness in his sound. Certainly, he is an artist to watch out for.

Rating : 8.2/10

http://soundcloud.com/shanalog

http://www.myspace.com/shanalogsbeats

http://shannonwalsh.bandcamp.com/album/shanalog-beats-sb001-ep-2

<a href="http://shannonwalsh.bandcamp.com/album/shanalog-beats-sb001-ep-2">Shanalog.Beats SB001 EP by Shanalog.Beats</a>

B.Lewis – La Semaine

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

Part of the group Alora (which also consists of the artist Insightful that was featured last time by me) from San Jose, CA, B.Lewis’ beat tapes have a wonderful smattering of pared up soul diffused in the oddball layered and trippy beats. This offering is his best up till now and features his signature style blooming and spreading it’s effervescence in the amazingly slow and slithering tracks that are melodic, catchy, off-kilter but never lackadaisical. The way he layers and slows down the beats without losing the impact is what this tape shows. The draw of his sound can also be ascribed to the use of very enthralling samples that soothe and calm the mind like an anodyne and sometimes escalate you to montane heights. All of the tracks are beautiful and feature the use of R&B, soul and tribal folk samples. One should certainly dig deep into his catalogue – the number quality tapes an evidence of his ingenuity, the links of which are posted on his myspace page. Happy listening!

Rating : 8.6/10

http://www.myspace.com/mywishfullthinking17

http://blewis.bandcamp.com/album/la-semaine

<a href="http://blewis.bandcamp.com/album/la-semaine">La Semaine by B.Lewis</a>

Abstract 1 – Standalone Complex

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

Standalone Complex is a genuinely dope beat tape; top quality, fresh from the fields. What is so special about this one? His remixes/reworks are superb but, there is hardly any information about this guy on the internet. The variety of beats, the freshness of his sound and approach, audible in the different sound elements he paints the tracks with, the influences obviously being the Brainfeeder Collective. Without destroying the aesthetic the earlier artist followed, he provides a fresh coat of paint. The thoughtfully executed interplay of ambient and sub bass 4/4 beats and sparsely distributed snare mimicking handcalps in the remix of M.I.A.’s Toy Planes, the jumpy beats in the remix of Mike Slott’s 40 Winx, the celestial explorations akin to Flying Lotus in the glitchy ‘Take Off’ and ‘Deep Space Vibrations’ and the cut-up/broken and desolate experimentation of remix of Andreya Triana’s Deep Space Continuum hint the 8-bit funk maven Abstract 1 is. There are two more tapes on his bandcamp page. ‘Zero Mission’ sounds well performed too; while ‘Demo Tracks’ is a bit off.

Rating : 8.5/10

http://theabstractone.bandcamp.com/album/stand-alone-complex

http://soundcloud.com/abstractone

<a href="http://theabstractone.bandcamp.com/album/stand-alone-complex">Stand Alone Complex by +h∆b5+®∆ct-1 (∆bstract-ONE)</a>

Statik Music – Beat+1

Year : 2010

Label : R.I.L. Enterprise

Statik Music is a trio from Amsterdam and this tape of theirs is the best boom bap around here. Remember the times of Talib Kweli’s Quality or the earlier stuff from Mos Def and Camp Lo this tape right here is exactly that; hard hitting, unfettered and fresh raw beats. Lot of soul infused tracks here that remind you of the 90s. Plus the tracks are tight and ready to go when you want to reminisce or you want to have a house party and don’t know what music to put on. And if you are a rapper, this is what you are looking for; the best beats that are available for free or maybe this could be on your next mixtape. If you are tired of Gucci yapping, this is where you should be hitting.

Rating : 8.4/10

http://statikmusic.bandcamp.com/album/beat-1-the-album

http://www.statik-music.com/_site1322/splash_new.html

http://www.myspace.com/statikmusicgroup

<a href="http://statikmusic.bandcamp.com/album/beat-1-the-album">BEAT+1(The Album) by StatikMusic</a>

REVIEW : SHAA'IR + FUNC - MANTIS

2010-09-03T04:35:00.000-07:00

Genre : Electro/Dub/Dubstep/Jazz/Soul/Funk/R&B/Experimental

Year : 2010

Label : Blue Frog Records

If the world were to establish an electronica parliament now, Shaa’ir & Func would surely be the Indian delegates. Shaa’ir & Func (or Shaa’ir + Func), who are Monica Dogra and Randolph Corriea, is not just another electronica band doting the Indian indie scene; it is a band that has come of age in a very short span of time, it is a band that encapsulates the changing cultural, attitudinal and musical demographics of the young India; it has given it a face and a voice through their music which like the charismatic and stylish band is vibrant, spunky and full of chutzpah. Their arrival to the scene circa 2007 was an augury of sorts. While the electronica scene was still reeling under the effect of artists/Djs who were hell bent on applying a fresh coat of paint to rusted tunes and raving about it as if they were Picassos or artists of his ilk or trying to comingle Aphex Twin, cheesy raga instilled vocals, tabla solos and flutes, the duo released their aptly titled debut album ‘New Day: The Love Album’ where Randolph with all guns blazing on his guitar and synths and Shaa’ir (Urdu for poet) Monica reeling off verses of love and political blasphemy displayed their knack of distilling various sounds and flavouring it with local influences to create a bubbly and tangy concoction that would give you a kick every time you drank it and showed the others how things would be done from now on, around here. With two albums already under their belt, that are a heady mix of jazz, soul, funk, electro, R&B, rock and poetry and many hearts conquered, the band has become the darlings of both the critics and aficionados who have appreciated their grit and genre bending tendencies (VH1 recognized them as top emerging artists in 2007 and best independent artists of 2008 in India).

While ‘New Day: The Love Album’ is a good introduction to the band that never sounds cheesy and syrupy by classily carrying the pop aesthetic with itself, ‘Light Tribe’, the second album is a rough cut diamond. ‘Mantis’ is the polished shiny diamond that stands out in their catalogue and finds the band pulling their socks up and getting their act right to create this charmingly boisterous and tightly executed album by erasing the scratches left by the second album. ‘Light Tribe’ though full of appealing catchy songs, was careening sometimes with flaky grimy serrated electro outbursts that would overshadow Monica’s chirpy, amorously tantalizing and intermittently falsetto laden soulful voice (Ani DiFrnaco meets Annie meets Aaliyah kind of voice) and would ultimately mar the output of the tracks. ‘Mantis’ perfects that glitch and maintains a balance and congruence between Monica’s musings and Randolph’s histrionics (a sensible use of soft and loud dynamics). ‘Mantis’ in Greek means prophet or seer and true to this description the songs on this album spread the message of love, talk about longing and living in the company of your loved ones and respecting what you have rather than cribbing, etc. When Monica sings “I can feel the terror/ I can feel the pain/ I can feel your heartache/ there’s only one thing I feel more/ I feel love love love...... I can see my enemy/ I understand his flaws/ I can see him falling/ still I pick him up and say/ can you feel love my friend?.......” over sublime Hammond organ riffs and summery/beachy dub like a Rastafarian, in the track ‘Love Love Love’ and is asking you to shine irrespective of the challenges in life by proclaiming, “We are made of stardust from the sky” in ‘Shine’ over bass swipes, bright pulsating guitar riffs, skanking guitar riffs, rollicking and ecstatic bleeps/bloops, you know what you are getting into – a nod to divinity and internal beauty. And evidently so, there is a huge dub accompanied by the Croydon and Bristol dubstep (or the home-grown Bay Beat Collective) vibe in the album to accompany the theme (moving a step ahead of their last album where these sounds were sparsely distributed).

‘Freeze You’, an eclectic mix of Monica’s come ons (like a female Gonjasufi if you may) and jazzy/reggae-esque brush laden oddball percussion (resplendent with odd time signatures), Hammond organ stabs, serene and warm piano/guitar riffs, dub chords coalesced with head bobbing dub and extremely filthy and wobbly digital bass evoke Rusko and Kromestar’s dancefloor bangers. ‘My Roots’ another electro stomper astoundingly blends the local Marathi ‘Dhoon’ (Or ‘Dhinchak Music’ for the street lingo mongers), zany ebbing and tiding guitar licks, effervescent crashing cymbals with nasty and monstrous wobble-step (think Loefah or Vex’d’s frenzied tunes) to great effect. The more relaxed tracks, ‘Take It Personally’ and ‘Hyperbole’, prove (to naysayers if any) by binding cool jazz flourishes, dexterous drum rolls and fills with a mutating bassline that transforms with precision between breakbeat and dub for ‘Hyperbole’ and ‘Marathi dub’ and dubstep for ‘Take It Personally’ that S+F are no doppelgangers of international acts (a very big respite again indeed), but an act, that like a sea-sponge imbibes the best of all sounds and creates their idiosyncratic sound. Besides these tracks, other tracks like the dreamy-eyed and extremely amiable and anthemic Evil Nine-esque breakbeat/house track ‘Goodbye Cruel World’ and the chugging synthline and heart warming flute laden ‘Prophecy’ highlight the pleasant emotional substance of the album. Various emotions and moods are interplayed and described with a sense of direction in these variegated tracks which give it a weight and depth. And the best part of all is that most of the tracks are ready to blaze the dancefloor or to give you company on a long trip (example, while struggling through the traffic).

‘Mantis’ is an album that is fuller than the previous outings, jovial, intense and very much experimental in nature. It is an album for the masses without exactly being a sound of the masses; very few albums can actually boast of such a sound. As in how many albums do you know that can actually execute brashly experimental tracks by still being alluring and full of hooks? Albums in recent memory that can come to mind are Major Lazer’s ‘Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do’, Sleigh Bells’ ‘Treats’, Flying Lotus’ Cosmogramma, to name a few that eschew any genre tags but are made up of elements of various genres. In this sense ‘Mantis’ is an big win for the duo and a sign of good things to come for them. This album is very much recommended and considering that the Ganesha festival is around the corner, you can play those Marathi tinged tracks at your crib or on the streets and do some dirty skanking. Word up!

Rating : 8.6/10

http://shaairandfunc.com/

http://bluefrogsounds.com/musicstore/?album=72

http://www.myspace.com/shaairandfunc

GET YOUR BEATS RIGHT - THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY OF BEAT TAPES/ALBUMS

2010-08-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

A mere mention of Beat Tapes instantly brings to the investigative mind the vast amounts of uncharted territory on bandcamp (the holy grail for aspiring beat architects) in which lie some of the dopest/illest/sickest beats, breaks, samples and producers that are too irresistible to not set your eyes/ears on and a lot of times available for free to satiate one’s craving for good music that doesn’t hurt the pockets. Of course besides the bandcamp culture there are big name artists close to the Brainfeeder Collective, Warp, etc. and the coterie of artists who distribute their material on limited edition cassette tapes and vinlys. But, considering the plethora of producers out there trying to vie for your attention by trying to be eccentric with all sorts of themed tapes, broken, back flipping, tripping and ricocheting hip-hop beats, mangled, unrecognizably battered and weird samples, it becomes very difficult to sift the gold from the otiose rocks especially with all types of blogs bombing you and pestering you to download the latest phat beat or instrumental. While instrumental hip-hop is one category that can more often sound interesting because of its straightforwardness (it can saturate oneself too), glitch-hop/abstract hip-hop can more often bear the brunt of being tastelessly abstract. The reasons vary from there being no overall structure or flow to the beats to consistency to myopic vision and misplaced momentum of the track. While some may argue that if there is any structure to glitch-hop, how the hell is it abstract and broken? The abstractness is at the moments – ubiquitous moments where there is beat skipping, slowing down or acceleration of the beats, the drony environs and the cut-up samples, etc. but, overall – the sum of the parts of the song/track make up an intelligible structure that one can dissect and analyze.

Why is Flying Lotus so big? It’s not that he invented glitch-hop; he gave it the direction and his artistic vision to elevate it to the level it is now. His songs evoke robotic constrictions but with malleable fluidity – a very bewildering composition that give it the alluring trippy feeling. He could have made a la Los Angeles Part II or something on those lines and would have still gotten away this year. But, even he understands that he has to move on /move out of the clutter that surrounds him. He made Cosmogramma to stand out of the rest and not get stuck in a niche; he is making things fresh and he is sitting pretty right now. It’s always and has been about breaking conventions and treading into unknown challenging zones. It’s not that he is God (Dj Shadow’s Entroducing level Godliness), but, he is trying hard to tend to that level and paving the way for artists to follow suit; he’s an inspiration in his own way.

As mentioned earlier inconsistency and myopic vision can impair creative output and it has got to do with the fact that artists/producers want to try out everything at one place – while it can sometimes lead to good results (accentuated primarily because each element of the track stands its own ground and justifies its presence), it mostly irks oneself when someone clutters and/or introduces cheesy samples right when you feel the track has reached its climax or screws things up by distorting the beats, samples, etc. in a very nauseating way or intermixes disparate, staccato and opposing sound elements.

A sense of misplaced momentum degrades the punch the track delivers – it could be due to overt repetition/looping, slackening of the tempo of the track to give it a humdrum and lackadaisical creepy-crawly feeling (against a lascivious slithering vibe that a track should boast of) or uncontrolled and unleashed lingering. And there are umpteen numbers of ways to falter, but, these are the most common ones and the quality of the tape can really suffer because of these; as in there will be tracks that stand out, but, the rest would be just garbage that you would like to stay away from. Lot of good and promising artists suffer because of these chinks in their armour – Lorn, Daedelus and Nosaj Thing (most of Nosaj Thing’s remixes lack any execution – very saddening to hear them after the promise he showed in his debut album) are some of them that come to mind.

So laying the groundwork for what a good/bad beat tape could sound like, here are some of the recent favourites that deserve your rapt attention. They are not perfect in all aspects, but, they mostly eschew from creative handicap and stand out from the rest of the crowd in their own special way.

Mono/Poly – Paramatma

Year : 2010

Label : Tasteful Licks Records

Mono/Poly is an artist from the Brainfeeder Collective who has been working on this album since the last two years and the hardwork it seems has paid off. Paramatma in Hindi or Sanskrit means God and that is what the concept of the record is. Featuring snippets of recordings of discourses and speeches by eminent speakers that talk about self-inflicted wounds by instilling paranoia in the minds of the people (read 9/11), spirituality and being at peace with the almighty through the path of music, this record achieves its cohesion by weaving these recordings in the tension inducing and bleak atmosphere of lazer gun shots, rumbling digital bass and highly mechanical, cantankerous and restricted movement of the beats that mirror the stress and the portending apocalyptic feel of the currently simmering societal conflicts and the ambient synth washes that mildly effuse mysticism and serenity and draw you to separate the body from the soul to be at peace. But while the ideas are in place behind making the record and its congruent sound, the record falters in the end because of a creative slump, where it sounds messy and overworked (consider the stodgy end of ‘Let’s Take A Trip’ for example). Paramatma is an interesting debut that showcases Mono/Poly’s ability to make noteworthy material.

Rating : 8/10

http://www.myspace.com/monopolytracks

http://www.last.fm/music/Mono%252FPoly

AshTreJinkins - DirtyDreamzEp

Year : 2009

Label : Independently Released

Los Angeles’ Ash Tre Brown a.k.a. AshTReJinkins’ DirtyDreamz stands out not only because of the tightly executed tracks but also the accessibility and the dance floor friendliness without sounding stale and overdone. Right from the EP highlight ‘Cambodian Fire’ that blazes through resounding and ecstatic drums, airy maracas and crisp beats to OptimisticDeadline’s sensually slithering arpeggios and tripping beats to JamaicanLowRider’s sudden rush of beautifully warped vocals, magnanimous synths and damped handclaps this EP is a proclaimed winner. The only track that sounds out of place here is MoroseSunset which dies a slow death because of its casual inconsequential approach and unanchored sparse beats. Again, a future artist to reckon with in the making.

Rating : 8.4/10

http://www.myspace.com/ashtrejinkins

http://ashtrejinkins439.bandcamp.com/

http://soundcloud.com/thinkinjinkins

<a href="http://ashtrejinkins439.bandcamp.com/album/dirtydreamzep">Intro by AshTreJinkins</a>

Dem Hunger – Caveman Smack

Year : 2010

Label : Leaving Records

Dem Hunger is a beat maker from London who has made quite a name for himself in the underground for his esoteric beat tapes. Caveman Smack, his latest instalment is a sonic assault that you will be willing to endure with all the welcoming happiness and by basking in its ingenuity. The epic quality of this tape is that it does not conform to any genre and is an endless orgy of mutating tape saturated drones, crackles, bleeps/bloops, static, weird samples and unhinged madness all played over understated beats. It’s an example of a tape which even though is rambunctious because of so many elements that abound it, it never sounds amateurish; it has music concrete roots (in a Iannis Xenakis meets Madlib kind of way), splattered mucky dubstep tunes, tribal haziness, chillwave nostalgia, crazy sounding samples, wonky; you name it and it’s there. What makes this tape a success however is that each piece that makes this giant puzzle completes it and never sounds hurried or crowded in the huddle.

Rating : 8.7/10

http://boomkat.com/downloads/271955-dem-hunger-caveman-smack

http://www.myspace.com/hisorchestra

http://leavingrecords.com/ambient-collage/leaving-dem-hunger-caveman-smack/

Thallus – Between Head and Hand

Year : 2010

Label : kc.93 Records

Thallus is an artist from Germany who has panache of mingling laidback hip-hop with breath taking jazz and soul – based samples that remind us of good times passed by and happy memories in the moony sound caricatures. Thallus uses the full bodied samples to good use by giving it ample presence against the method used by other artists who slay the vocals into tiny shards that ultimately destroys the soul of the tracks. Peppering the soundscape are various glimmering sampled instruments - the bright cymbals, the gently tugging saxophone, the smooth pads and the swinging pianos that give it a warm and cosy touch that you never want to get away from. Tracks like the trip-hop track ‘Magic Handclaps’ remind you of your childhood through its sampled voices of children. ‘End Of The Sky’ is the only sore thumb here, which gets overshadowed by the other adeptly produced tracks because of its dull pace.

Rating : 8.5/10

http://thallus.bandcamp.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thethallus

<a href="http://thallus.bandcamp.com/album/between-head-and-hand">b.h.a.h by Thallus</a>

Insightful – Insightful Stupid

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

Californian artist Insightful, like Mono/Poly, harbours a spiritual vibe in this tape. Not much is known about this artist except that he released a tepid album earlier called ‘Keeping The Faith Since ‘89’. The current offering not very far from his earlier one displays his increased maturity just in a small interval of time. That Insightful has lot of tricks up his sleeve is audible in the forest mysticism of the tonal animosity and devotional vibrancy of the flute, the tropical beats and the mellisonant Indian vocals of the album opener ‘The Walking Tree’, the modulated, knob twiddled unfurling synths and skippy beats of ‘Funny Like My Master’ and flickering beauty of the bleeping sounds and the guitar chords of ‘The Center’. The only grudge that one can have with this tape is that the beats and the style can get repetitive sometimes and lose its initial welcoming fanfare. The artist is way better than a lot that litter the streets but as this record shows, Insightful isn’t utilising his full potential yet and one is yet to see the best of him.

Rating : 8.4/10

http://insightful.bandcamp.com/album/insightful-stupid

<a href="http://insightful.bandcamp.com/album/insightful-stupid">The Walking Tree by Insightful</a>

Yuk. – ADWA

Year : 2010

Label : Leaving Records

Sharing labels with Dem Hunger, this ambient beat maker creates one of the best abstract beats for this year. Yuk. creates unfiltered magic by enveloping drawn out vocal ghostly maunders into ringlets of windy drones and arpeggios that sway, whirlpool and uncurl. Embedded in the soundscape are various tingling, clanging and crackling sounds and flaky metallic beats that hold the playfully exploratory tracks in good stead. The highlights of this album are the psychedelic lo-fi hovering sounds laden and sci-fi sounding ‘Oh Shaman’ and ‘Greenflash(Ritual)’ that mixes glacial and cyclonic and air-jetted soundscapes with tribal drums and vocals into one ball of crazy goofy whirling madness.

Rating : 8.6/10

http://leavingrecords.com/ambient-collage/lr007-yuk-a-d-w-a/

http://boomkat.com/downloads/328511-yuk-a-d-w-a

Shigeto – What We Held On To EP

Year : 2010

Label : Ghostly International

Shigeto a.k.a. Zach Saginaw’ EP is without doubt the best material out there in the abstract hip-hopdom. Shigeto conjures tracks with ease that layer beats over beats with dexterous precision and impeccable timing. The EP covers a lot of ground as is displayed by marrying cool jazz, field recordings, oddball beats proficiently in ‘Spring Textures’, soothing cut-up vocals and crashing razor-sharp clanging beats, periodically ascending synths in ‘After the smoke’ and the breezy effervesce of tingling chimes and the pearls of wisdom of his Grandma about fear being a catalyst in harmful ways (recounting the words after the attack on Pearl Harbor) in ‘Grandma’s Words/Rise Out Of The Stone’ to just name a few. It hands down blows away any competition in wonky for the current artists battling it out in the post-hip-hop arena as it mixes organic vignettes with digital paraphernalia with immaculate alacrity and sensitive profundity.

Rating – 8.8/10

http://ghostly.com/news/2010/7/745-new-music-shigetos-free-what-we-held-on-to-ep

http://ghostly.com/artists/shigeto

http://www.myspace.com/shigeto

***Also check out the second installment of the GET YOUR BEATS RIGHT series - GET YOUR BEATS RIGHT : ECLECTICISM AND NEW DIMENSIONS***

REVIEW : VARIOUS/TECTONIC - DARK MATTER : MULTIVERSE 2004-2009 (Written For Dipped In Dollars)

2010-08-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

(Pinch)

(Vex'd)

(Joker)

(Baobinga)

Genre : Dubstep/Post-dubstep/Experimental/Bass/Dark Ambient

Year : 2010

Label : Tectonic

When pioneering labels/collectives release compilation albums featuring their roster of artists after a definitive period of being a permanent mainstay in their respective areas of expertise, they just don’t release them to accumulate and distribute cherry-picked songs that earmark the focal points in the history of the label, they also do it in a celebratory spirit to showcase their strength, different styles, emerging and existing talents, swagger, unbridled possibilities, commitment, tradition and an essential piece of their legacy that even those new to such labels can savour. In tune with these ideas the multifarious Multiverse/Tectonic family of labels that is associated with the bass scene in Bristol has released the much due ‘Dark Matter: Multiverse 2004-2009’ and like Hyperdub’s ‘5 Years Of Hyperdub’ it is bound to attract new ears which will go a long way in generating continued interest in their artists and themselves. Expansive at 24 tracks, the 2 Cd compilation is an eclectic mix of intellectually stimulating and head bobbing tunes and like the title suggests, is mostly enveloped in darkness with both the old timers and new ones taking charge and contributing the best out of their catalogues.

Instantly recognizable on this record are the untouchable classics that have become synonymous with what old followers would nostalgically call/recall as ‘Old School Dubstep’, like Vex’d’s blazing, hammering, robotic, oddball and industrial dubstep, drum and bass and breakbeat fused ‘Lion’, their grimy brooding hovering arpeggios infused and hallmarked periodically fluttering bass banger ‘Pop Pop’, Cyrus’ melancholic Indian vocals, stalking ambiance and flogging handclaps featuring ‘Indian Stomp’, Skull Disco reminiscent Tectonic boss Pinch’s uber minimalism moodiness in the thrift and precise use of doting harmonium samples layered with frantic and deep dub chords in ‘Qawwali/Brighter Day’, Loefah’s dubby, resounding tension filled synth riffs affixed and coruscating pulses of digital bass comingled ‘System’, Skream’s anthemic ‘Midnight Request Line’ era synths and the wild bongos of the revered ‘Bahl Fwd’ and Pinch & P Duddy’s harsh, occasionally wobbling and serrated bassline of ‘War Dub’ impregnated with warped vocals and haunting synth grimness evoking a gritty Digital Mystikz.

The newer lot of artists, not far behind in etching their name in the label’s prolific near past also create a big bang by thriving on the boundary of dubstep and other genres like techno and dancehall. Hotly tipped Bristol artist Joker’s beautiful violin solo sampled ‘Stuck In The System’, pompous warped keyboards and liquid funk of the west-coast hip-hop inspired ‘Psychedelic Runway’ and the digital psychedelia of the undulating protracted synth funk of ‘Purple City’ in collaboration with Ginz make an appearance here. 2562’s techno mimicking dubstep of ‘Techno Dread’ and the entrancing abstract post-dubstep of ‘Unbalanced’ that would send most Brainfeeder followers in a tizzy freshen up the compilation with its naughty and tantalising beats. Caravan label owner ‘October’ joins 2562’s fray of blurring techno and dubstep lines with the thoroughly detailed ‘Three Drops’ that sees a minimal techno bassline merged with disparate and embossed handclaps and cut up female vocals. Cd 2 which sees a lot of experimentation also carries the weight of the charmingly bewildering and leftfield strangeness of EmptySet who marry power electronics, static and drones with bass in ‘Gate 4’. On the album closer ‘Demian’ they however scrap the weirdo ingenuity to present a gorgeously chilly and minimal/deep techno inspired goodness evoking the trancing tape hiss covered snowflake whiteness of the Echospace label’s techno/dub techno artists – Rod Modell, Bvdub and Stephen Hitchell.

Besides these highlights the album also has other recent party indispensables - RSD remix of Pinch ft. Yolanda’s ‘Get Up’ that has the piano hooked madness and the R&B sprightliness of the vocals and the booty shaking bassline and the ultimate stomper - Baobinga & I.D.’s dancehall-dubstep mutation ‘Tongue Riddim’. In terms of rare or live material there is nothing to get your interest piquing, but, it playing out like a greatest hits record for the Multiverse studios proves an important introduction to their collective and their uncompromising attitude of promoting interesting talent with chutzpah. What is most interesting about this compilation is that in spite of the no. of tracks one will not shy away from hitting the repeat button because of the offered variety and as we all know variety is the spice of life.

Rating – 8.5/10

The article was originally written for Dipped In Dollars. Check out their website for latest dope on music. Here's the link:
http://dippedindollars.com/2010/08/22/must-listen-dark-matter-multiverse-2004-2009/

http://boomkat.com/cds/316878-various-tectonic-dark-matter-multiverse-2004-2009

http://www.myspace.com/tectonicrecordings

http://www.discogs.com/label/Tectonic

http://www.multiverse-music.com/

REVIEW : BVDUB - THE ART OF DYING ALONE

2010-08-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

Genre : Ambient/Electronic

Year : 2010

Label : Glacial Movements

“Mike (Remote_) said to me once early on that this scene is a tough place for someone who wears their heart on their sleeve. He's right. I found that out the hard way long ago. But all you can do is continue on in the way you think is right, and hope that you make a positive mark on the world. Remaining personal will never be difficult for me, because it's all I know. And I wouldn't trade that for all the notoriety or success in the world”, these heartfelt words which epitomize the essence of music in our lives as a purveyor and dissolution of emotions and feelings which can’t be shaken off easily expressed the veneration of Brock Van Wey for the deeply personal music he was creating and appreciating in an interview for Resident Advisor. Brock Van Wey a.k.a. Bvdub has been creating quintessential, soul stirring, emotionally purging, haunting and lustrously tantalising music right from his techno releases (2008’s synth sybaritic No Turning Back EP being an example) to the last year’s phosphorescent glow of ‘White Cloud Drift On and On’ which combined the imputes of Gas, spirituality and African chants and flush-seamed it to create a feathery and fluffy texture that granted emotional comfort to the melancholia and pleasure that knew no bounds; it’s the sort of music where you can feel his heartbeat through the substance of it. ‘White clouds Drift On And On’, which was a reflection of the struggles he had with the rave scene that had got commercialised and that had been stripped off its purity right in front of his eyes and the consequent journey of leaving it all behind to lead a life of solitude in China and coming to terms with it all, had this quality of self redemption and exploration of pain and time as a healer. This ulterior motive is also the basis of this new overwhelming and compelling record ‘The Art Of Dying Alone’.

The record’s impressionistic qualities are emblazoned in the resplendent cover art which depicts a cosy wooden house besides a lake in a picturesque, cloudy and snow capped terrain. It signifies seclusion, but, in a positive way; its recuperation and revitalisation from the mental stress and trauma; to discover the beauty within and without and the divinity of nature and to divert ones mind towards more peaceful thoughts and ideas. When you lack any support and life gets at you in a really big way and abruptly halts the flow, after a period of mourning you reach a depressing state in which you think, now that you have already fallen to such a low level, you can’t fall below this one, it’s time to take control of the situation, accept the fate, work for a brighter future, the only direction to proceed towards is upwards now. But, when this happens you become a changed person and are weary of the things and people that made you unhappy; so, in a way you are back again in the company of people around you, but, there is a bigger purpose to enrich life and you are on your own for that – the purpose of getting back on feet, finding happiness in things that you love to do and having a strong foothold so that you don’t have to suffer again. The wounds have been healed but the scars remain and they efface only with death and therein comes ‘The Art Of Dying Alone’. This record exactly echoes such a feeling and as one progresses towards the end, there is a transition in the mood of the album from the melancholic album opener to the climaxing ‘No More Reasons No To Fall’ to the sorrowful album closer when the dust finally settles down (which is also clear from the name of the tracks such as ‘Descent To The End’, ‘Nothing From No One’, ‘No More Reasons To Not Fall’ and ‘No One Will Ever Find You Here’).

To portray the pain, the anger, the suffering, the sadness and the withering Brock uses a variety of instruments ranging from strings to pianos to acoustic guitars and intertwines them with guitar drones to create expansive sonic textures akin to that perfected by Marsen Jules and Brian Eno; very shoegaze like and unruffled. Seraphic voices grace with their presence in the plush, chilly, dense, windy and desolate settings and add to the instrumental rumination. Beginning this journey of self deprivation, deprecation and salvation, ‘Descent To The End’ represents a devastated and pessimistic outlook; the sudden surge of feelings and emotions are entrapped in the looped, elegiac, surging and billowing drones; the trudging and heavy handed guitar strums that are exhausted and overcome by this surge are introduced as they diffuse a portentous tension into the protracted, layered, distant sounding and buried guitar drones that furl and unfurl in the almost cyclonic environs of the track. ‘Nothing From No One’ submerges oneself in an abandoned utopia; voiceless field recordings (probably from a small cafeteria or a kitchen) merge into genteel piano chimes that get stuck in an endless loop as if one is stuck in a moment, unable to comprehend and thoroughly analyze and inert to the purlieu; the opulent, stunning and luxe somniferous drones interlaced by the drawn out soaring husky voices are the only rescuers from this baffling emptiness and distraught. Hinting that the distended paranoia is phasing out, the twenty one minute long track ‘To Finally Forget It All’, provides a slightly consoling atmosphere of faraway crackling noises and echoing synths; warm pulsating guitar chords and throbbing sub-bass slowly dissolve the unease in the jetting heavenly and aeriform voices that are looped and textured to create a soundscape reminiscent of Brian Eno’s ‘Music For Airports’. Bursting with joy and exuding unwound bliss, ‘No More Reasons Not To Fall’, is a sign of reverting the path of self-depreciation; the gladdened, anodyne and mellisonant female vocals that playfully sing ‘Na na na...’ in tune with the gorgeously constructed sonic terrain of bubbling, rollicking and shimmering guitar chords, the occasional snipped tide of harmonious violins and the upsurge of shuffled piano notes strengthens and invigorates the soul. At around the fifth minute, the same heaven embracing guitar drones arrive to paint the ambiance in spotless white and elevate the listener amongst the cotton like clouds and the birds. ‘No One Will Ever find You Here’ with the looped breathy female vocals, sombre guitar chords and the whitewashed ambiance is the realisation that one is still alone in this struggle and harbours feelings of doubt and insecurity and fear of the demise of the dreams. Welcoming the listener to the heavenly abode for the final time, in the album closer ‘The Art Of Dying Alone’, death the great leveller heals all the scars and puts to rest any emotional and physical conflicts and doubts in the with-time healing mid-pitch female vocals and alien looped intonations, the lugubrious pads, string arrangements and guitar chords and the engulfing gargantuan drones. All the tracks fit so well in this jig-saw puzzle it is hard to imagine the tracks without this fluidity and contagious congruity to be moved apart.

‘The Art Of Dying Alone’ befittingly captures a muse that Brock is devoted to – his life and his struggles; things that build and strengthen him. His experiences are encapsulated and in these tracks as he tries to deftly send the message across. Stylistically it is closer to the work done by Slowdive drummer Simon Scott and Tim Hecker; the personal touch, the small details and his musical prowess enhance the listening experience. This is a record that you may not only be smitten because of the ambiance but also the emotional weight attached to it; a recommended and a well executed record.

Rating : 8.5/10

http://www.zero-inch.com/label/Glacial_Movements

http://www.bvdub.org/

http://www.myspace.com/bvdubtechnology

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Brock+Van+Wey

http://www.myspace.com/glacialmovements

http://www.glacialmovements.com/links.htm

Glimpse of his earlier stunning work :

REVIEW : AUTOLUX - TRANSIT TRANSIT (Written for The Big M magazine) (August issue, 2010)

2010-08-04T05:27:00.000-07:00

Genre: Art-Rock/Post-punk/Krautrock/Dark Ambient

Release Date: 3^rd of August

Label: ATP Recordings/TBD Records

Ten years on and it has been hell of a journey for the Los Angeles trio of Carla Azar (drums/vocals), Eugene Goreshter (bass/vocals)and Greg Edwards (lead vocals/guitar) who go by the name of Autolux. Their earlier success attributed to them having impressed legendary producer T-Bone Burnett at one of their live performances circa 2001 and then getting signed to his secretive label DMZ that he formed with the auteurs, the Coen Brothers, and had access to resources from Sony ensured the band a good foothold. Luck and good fortune continued to favour the trio as Carla who fell victim to a stage accident and suffered a broken elbow was treated surgically by an experimental procedure involving eight titanium screws. The band finally began recording material for their immaculate debut ‘Future Perfect’ in late 2002 and released it in 2004 to critical praise where their sound was likened to bands like Can, My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth and Nirvana. In 2005 Greg Edwards expressed the band’s desire to complete their new album in a shorter period of time, but, the hiccup in the form of their label being dissolved due to unknown reasons postponed their release; until recently, when the band revealed that the record would release on 3^rd of August. The wait has been long for their fans and music lovers alike, but, it is well worth a wait as the band prepares for a successful second outing of enchanting everybody with their sorcery.

Transit Transit moves a step further of Future Perfect and offers a darker, atmospheric and instrumentally stifled performance. Gone are the days of noise rock referencing foot stompers like ‘Turnstile Blues’; it’s the time of tardily paced, seething tracks like ‘Census’ with the over the top Jaki Liebezeit-esque picky drumming providing an unpredictable mix of post-punk and krautrock; low pitched thrumming guitars, raging sludgy and whirring drones, thrashing cymbals and sci-fi, groaning and moaning guitar noise slowly razing the ambiance. The songs have a post-industrial feel with sound effects like sirens and wistful pads lurking in the murky environs. Greg Edwards’ Thom Yorke-esque vocals add to the dread as his cooing dazed, intimidated and watchful vocals float like vapours from the boiling surface of the tracks. Dramatic chord changes that spiral downwards and nosedive into a dark abyss do much to enhance the desolate feel and the nerve wrecking claustrophobia. The tracks have a tangible diabolical feel similar to that of the portrayal of hell in the movie Constantine where dense fiery winds abound the place and monsters crawl and spread havoc by surrounding and feeding on the victim in droves.

The only rose in the bush of thorns is Carla’s Bilinda Butcher-esque sensual swollen vocals as it can be heard working its charm in tracks like ‘The Science Of Imaginary Solutions’ and ‘The Bouncing Wall’, but, her dainty vocals too express the inner turmoil of being harrowingly punctured. Complimenting the benighted feel of the tracks, the lyrics offer little solace or headroom to fit in. The lyrics are most of the times cryptic and sound straight out of a maniac’s diary. The album opener ‘Transit Transit’ with an unsettling shuffling noise, scattered piano keys, pitch-mangled backing seraphic vocals and Greg’s breathy vocals punctuate the mind numbing and self destructing stressful times that we are facing today with words like “Eyes like vinyl, lips like rain clouds, dreams all in a row, the golden age of feeling nothing”. Elsewhere too on ‘Supertoys’ which finds Greg singing in perfectly tuned and slavishly hypnotised humanoid vocals, he presents a befuddling situation of being neglected and pitiful neglect, “Arms won’t raise, eyes won’t move, A flash of light to comfort you” to embalm the hurt and “Now your living the wrong life, Someone else fell on your knife” to abrade the anodyne! ‘Audience No.2’, another oracular track with war like John Bonham-esque drums piercing the tension filled guitar riffs is an ode to the Swedish scientist Emanuel Swedenborg (who started to have dreams and visions one Easter weekend that led him to write a doctrine on Christianity) and Orson Welles. Similar themes penetrate the flesh and bones of the tracks and create a loosened, contingent but captivating umbrageous atmosphere.

Within ten tracks and forty two minutes of tight performances the band presents an isolationist’s view through a monochrome kaleidoscope; a feat last achieved by Liar’s Sisterworld early this year and Radiohead's albums earlier. This album is recommended and is a step ahead for the band in terms of giving a new direction to their sound.

Rating : 8.3/10

http://www.autolux.net/

http://www.myspace.com/autolux

http://www.last.fm/music/Autolux

REVIEW : ADAM & THE FISH EYED POETS - SNAKEISM

2010-08-02T02:58:00.000-07:00

Genre : Singer-Songwriter/Blues-Rock/Dirty Blues/Goth/Post-punk/Lo-fi

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

In India where the rock scene is patronized and where it is difficult to release/record albums due to the finances involved and a plethora of other reasons that would only take an essay to portray the plight; it is heartening to see that fans have stood by the bands like walls over the years and the bands are in turn ‘gifting’ their listeners with free downloads of albums/tracks or smartly priced albums. The last few years has seen a surge in the response to the indie scene thanks to the one-on-one relationship of the listeners and the bands online and the fact that blogs/webzines help spread the word about the latest releases in the form of news, podcasts and reviews like wildfire (barring a few ones like the incredulous Tehelka that could only pinpoint the mistakes and show how downtrodden and volatile the scene was by their half-cooked and under-researched article). The scenes in the south, the north and the north-east are usually ‘isolated’ (especially in terms of exchange of ideas) from each other and the impact of the bands is usually concentrated locally (obviously except the breakthrough acts), but, touring and online reach is bridging such gaps and such demarcations are being effaced. The South has been of late producing quality acts - Drones from the Turbine, The Bicycle Days, Parachute XVI, No Safe Word and Lounge Piranha to name a few, who are slowly and steadily finding their feet and consequently releasing interesting original material. Bangalore, which is always grappling with Mumbai for the title of the entertainment capital of India is the southern hub and is helping drive the culture of listening/appreciating live bands of varied genres and is helping blossom the budding indie scene. This open-mindedness, the international/global awareness and the D.I.Y. ethic defines the new wave of indie rock in India and these traits are currently helping build a strong foundation. Speaking of the south and D.I.Y., the one name these days on everybody’s lips is that of the one man band from Chennai, Adam & The Fish Eyed Poets, alter-ego of Kishore Krishna, who is also the lead vocalist of the raucous, lively and talented psychobilly/punk band No Safe Word, has recorded this forbearingly cataclysmic album in his bedroom studio that signifies good things to come for him and those associated with him.

Kishore Krishna is a true rock star in the making and the reasons for such a blown up declaration – the musical prowess he exhibits (loudly audible in his band No Safe Word’s work and softly infiltrating in this current sombre singer-songwriter project), the Nick Cave like bad guy persona that the tracks reek of and the timelessness of the lithesome verbal flow – the breathless and passionate vocal delivery, the sensual and charmingly subdued Bono-esque falsettos and the emotionally inebriated orgasmic shrieks. It’s not that these attributes are sure-fire markers of a rock star, but, this works for him and the music he makes and that is more important than anything else to enjoy the whole experience (and of course a musical career is not being charted here, like some kind of an astrologist; but, yes, the beginning is a respectable one). ‘Snakeism’, Kishore’s debut album, whose name he coined as a sort of predatory writing philosophy; changing skins for convenience, is true to its description and incorporates a variety sounds from the 60s to the 90s to create a heady mix; indebted to blues-rock and pop-rock/folk of these decades and musically very close to that crafted by the worldly wise Bob Dylan and the carnival barker Tom Waits. ‘Snakeism’ appears to be the kind of album you play as you open a bottle of your favourite whisky, turn the lights real low, sip in a few drinks and soak and unwind in the ambiance; but, this feeling is desisted until you are gassed by the dementia in your ‘little’ chamber; Kishore’s words embroidered on pop hooks and dirty blues stab you over and over as you gaze into the hazy neon lights of reality through your window– the starkness, the fear psychosis, the claustrophobia, the lusus naturae, the double-edged guillotines that hang loose, the infinite darkness, the sadism, the masochism, the trauma, the insecurities, the lurking ghosts and the unrelenting surge of greed and lust now become clearly visible around you and then you look at yourself in contempt for being a witness or a victim to this in the mirror of your thoughts and macerate yourself in the alcoholic seamlessness to drown the pain that ensues from the eyesore and the heart-break. Think ‘Snakeism’ and think red lights, bruised lives, bleeding noses and thorny roses. All the tracks echo with such macabre/overtly intimate thoughts that eulogise life but only in repentance; very complex and heavy stuff indeed.

Enveloping you in its fold the darkness makes its first move with ‘Black eyed Monster’ which has unappeased sexual connotations; ghostly falsettos, a lurking piano riff and drum beats and gently stirred reverberating heaven kissing drones accentuated by an excited Hammond organ and an electronic beat that doubles it’s tempo with the increasingly throbbing pulse of the track cracks a whip with Kishore’s sex appeal oozing out explicitly in his vocals as he mesmerizes you, “Black eyed monster have you know no comfort to give/As you fade into the final candle’s flickering/For when this struggle for power gives way to the morning/Another night of vacuum is lost to the beast”. Drenched in the acid rain already, the next track ‘No Way Around’ offers some respite in the cold but dreamy/ trippy soundscape, in a pensive fashion, as he sings of the enchantress who has kept him wrapped around her fingers; it’s a baffling situation that he presents, he wants to get away from her ‘witchcraft’ but is too weak to transgress his desires, he despondently sings over wistful pads tardily with his trademark screams, “So how long will you keep me here?/Like a bird tied to a wire/Or some moth flying around a cracked street lamp/With eyes burned and wings on fire/I feel this surge..This lightning bolt/Of Contempt and burning desire/And sends my hopeless failing rocket ship/Crashing into your lips..Your lips...”. The dreamy textures are scraped and sent for a toss as ‘Ouroboros Blues’ a bar-ready blues rock ripper decked with twelve-bar blues, swivelling harmonicas, a thumping bassline and jumpy vibratos meaner than ever , take jabs with diabolical chutzpah as Kishore derides his mother or metaphorically a bad upbringing or the ignorance shown by politicians (mother India) as he makes her realize the wrath she unleashed to break his childhood dreams and make him a person he didn’t want to be by screaming, “I’m standing on your corpse, the eldest son of Beelzebub/the legacy is mine..But, I’m powerless when I come to find..That I’m your masterpiece”. ‘Sheepdog’ a demure and picky piano driven track; pattering cymbals and drums intermittently thrusting to mix with the relaxed and layered falsettos; lashing drum beats in the coda infusing a playful vibe and ‘woo hoo hoo...’ going choruses sing of the sheepdog who sold his soul for a ‘bone’ (sounds like a track on bribery/bloodlust/backstabbing) laments the spineless society we inhabit where anybody is ready to sell their soul to make quick bucks and to take revenge. ‘Crutch’ another social incantation touches upon the privacy being peddled and breached with the arrival of the internet; a fluttering harmonica, a constant 4/4 beat, disgusted vocals all attacking in unison. The tracks that follow ‘Crutch’ sees him battling with power, women, befuddling situations and the inner turmoil where he can’t decide what is right and what is wrong; there is a relentless battle of emotions. ‘Ode To A Thorn’ a wonderful, melancholic, and vocally embroiled pop-rock ballad reminiscent of Aerosmith stands out because of the devotion that Kishore’s missives exhibit as he breathlessly works his magic with his madness and sings to a ‘thorn’ in an ocean of petals as she avoids his overtly sultry come-ons. ‘Can’t Stand The Light’ is one of the best tracks on the album as it shines with the warm acoustic guitar chords, breezy and lingering twangy riffs and Kishore’s genteel mellifluous vocals but is an anti-thesis to the struggles to embrace the light and fill the void left in the heart by sexual escapades with a cold woman, “But I said/Hey lover/Is there space at the back of your car?/Hey lover could I stick my head in between your breasts and stay there/Until the end of time..or tonight/Cos I can’t stand the light”. ‘Little Monkeys’ the most upbeat of all the tracks on the album with lively guitar solos and drum fills, frolicking synth arpeggios and exulting The Beach Boys-esque cheery chorus’ vocal harmony doesn’t sound cheery anymore as it documents the nightlife and the loafers who make hay while the moon shines, with remarkable apathy and pity, “Look at all the drunk little monkeys standing around captivated/Holding their drinks and staring at the drunk girl/Yeah, the air is tense but they really aren’t concerned/Chances are she isn’t really drunk she’s just trying to escape the isolation/Of being human in a world of monkeys/No you really can’t blame her she’s probably thinking”. ‘Under The Carpet’, though a good track, feels out of place with an abrupt start, as if it were snipped off some bigger track. Moaning and groaning, Kishore opens his heart out to the listeners as he talks about heart-break from a one-sided love after a raunchy relationship. ‘Deepthroat’(not a reference to the movie) a deftly played bluegrass track talks about the evils of a bewitching woman as he thrusts his ‘weapon/sword’ down her throat to end the disrespect (lot of double meanings here). The immaculate unison of the instruments in the rhythm section is a high point of the track. Ending the album, The Cure-esque post-punk track ‘Johnny’s Last Stand’ with polyrhythmic beats, eerie drones in the intro, metre changes and Robert Smiths-esque comely vocals is very Goth/ghoulish in outlook as Kishore sadly praises himself with mixed feelings of relieving a girl’s soul from her wretched body and bringing her closer to see the bright shining lights. He says, “From a spirit trapped in stone devoid of form/I did release her...I did...release her”.

11 tracks of sheer madness that clamour for your attention and pound you with questions that sometimes even Kishore can’t answer, this record encapsulates the variety of dark and deeply buried emotions inside his mind that he shares it through this record. It’s like a blues version of the ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ where the desperate inhabit and rule the roost while the not so desperate have to give in to the demands to co-exist peacefully or less harrowingly. It’s not a preachy record but in terms of examples tries to put forward situations probably you may or may not have encountered; very bleak without exhibiting it, this record deserves a place in your collection.

Rating : 8.7/10

http://adamandthefisheyedpoets.bandcamp.com/

http://www.reverbnation.com/adamvicefep

http://www.myspace.com/afisheyedpoet

<a href="http://adamandthefisheyedpoets.bandcamp.com/album/snakeism">Black eyed monster by Adam & the fish eyed poets</a>

REVIEW : ARCADE FIRE - THE SUBURBS

2010-07-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

Genre : Baroque Pop/Art-Rock/Post Punk/Classic Rock Revival/80s Rock Revival/Punk/Electronic

Year : 2010

Label : Merge Records

Arcade Fire is a band that hardly needs any introduction. Becoming one of the biggest success stories of 2004 with the release of the scintillating album ‘Funeral’ that propelled them to mainstream stardom and helped cross sales of their record label Merge Records’ highest grosser – Neutral Milk Hotel’s revered classic ‘In The Aeroplane Over The Sea’, it rattled label bosses off their seats everywhere, because, their sudden popularity devoid of any exposure through radio or TV befuddled most of them; it is now known that the collective force of bloggers had overpowered the already creatively crippled entertainment industry; besides the album was too good to be given a miss by anybody. In 2007 records were shattered again as their second effort debuted at #2 on Billboard Charts (which obviously pissed a lot of hipster kids considering that the same kids who could be appreciating acts like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were now buying their beloved indie band’s new album ‘Neon Bible’). The exponential rise of the band surely must have shaken them out of the daily grind they were used to (they graced the cover of the Canadian edition of Time Magazine in 2005), but, the greatness that they showed musically also extended into reality as they maintained their down to earth persona, were not swayed by their newly acquired celebrityhood and eschewed from starry airs (remember the response to Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips’ innuendos with aplomb?) and showed that they were aware genial suburban kids at heart (which was crystal clear from their decision to stay indie and their consequent charity work – their appearance on the AIDS benefit compilation ‘Dark Was The Night’ and their donation of all proceeds to Partners In Health from 250 signed copies worth 250$ each of the deluxe edition of the Miroir Noir DVD being some of them). It is apparent that they wear their hearts on their sleeve and associate themselves with issues that are akin to and perturb human existence; yes, they play with fire and love it too. After their quietus ‘Funeral’ and the extended worldly elegy of ‘Neon Bible’ it was time for the band to visit the place where they started it all – ‘The Suburbs’.

In a recent interview Win Butler stated, “A lot of my heroes from Bob Dylan to Joe Strummer were suburban kids who had pretended that they were train-hoppers their whole lives. Talking about an experience and not make believe (is what we want to do on the record).” Though they highlight and lament the deplorable, interpolating and cringe worthy social aesthetics of the suburban life with realism, they do so like established auteurs – on a gargantuan scale at arena-rock’s bombastic levels; it’s like listening to a Hans Zimmerman perspective of a Christopher Nolan movie. The grandiose, theatrical, svelte and sweeping string arrangements (Half Light I, Empty Room), the sonorous mettlesome choruses (Rococo), the commoved chiming plangent piano notes (The Suburbs, We Used To Wait), the passionate, perspicacious and vivid storytelling (all the tracks) and the spirited drumming and guitar riffing (Empty Room, City With No children) with varying meters (Suburban Wars, We Used To Wait) do much to overwhelm the ears and present and aggrandize the very cinematic, gilded and verbose perspective of the band’s struggles of coping with life and coming to terms with it in this transitory period of moving from a small town near Nevada to their purported city of dreams (the cover art depicts this too – it’s a image of a car in front of a projected picture of a suburban landscape on a screen; as if this were a still of us watching a movie at the drive-in). One can envision the palpable drama that unfolds with each track as if the band were on a battlefield dodging the volley of bullets and missiles but still singing verses of survival, praise, pride and glory a la ‘Saving Private Ryan’ filmed by a serious Art Brut. Encompassing 16 songs that last for about an hour and five minutes this one is no short film; but, the tortuous drama/tension infused tracks with enough hooks and clean craftsmanship keep the interest pursued till the end and the bitter-sweet after taste lingering for a very long time; none of the tracks are a saddle-sore and that is what makes this melancholic ride extremely pleasurable.

This epic film would have been another pot-boiler, but, besides the aforementioned calibres the band ensures that they don’t mince words, that aptly paint/document the current landscape with the immaculate instrumentation, regardless of the blowbacks. The curtain raiser ‘The Suburbs’ sets the tone for the record; The Beatles-esque piano rocker gropes in the dark as the pensive but snappy piano and guitar notes are layered by disconcerted strings and buried guitar drones that reflect on Win Butler’s disappointments and his intention of running away from it all, “In the suburbs I/I long to drive/And you told me I’ll never survive/Grab your mother’s keys we’re leaving”, his surprise, “Sometimes I can’t believe it/I’m moving past the feeling/Into the night” over his inert and stone-hearted behaviour, “By the time the first bomb’s fell we were already bored”, and the fall and alteration of the neighbourhood that reminded him of his childhood, “All the houses they built in 70s finally fall” and his derision for his inability to stay with his future child for long and the familial strains or the fear of it, “I want a daughter while I’m still young/I want hold her hand/I want to show her the beauty before the damage is done”.

Taking a jab at the leeches who suck their blood to make a few bucks and making a point that he is not ready/struggling to bow down to them he animadverts, “Now you're knocking at my door/Saying please come out against the night/But I would rather be alone/Than pretend I feel alright/If the businessmen drink my blood/Like the kids in art school said they would/Then I guess I'll just begin again/You say can we still be friends” in the second track ‘Ready To Start’. The band has audibly stepped up the pace as the track sounds like Interpol singing a rendition of The Smith’s ‘This Charming Man’; trudging thrumming guitars mixing with the crashing cymbals; but, they slow down the tempo and arouse the track again over a shrill spiralling synth arpeggio. ‘Modern Man’ an ostensibly relevant track questions the modernity and tries to convince that modernity is just relativistic; just when you think you have won the rat race, another rat points out that he had won it eons ago and your celebration is worthless, “In my dream I was almost there/And you pulled me aside and said you're going nowhere/They say we are the chosen few/But we're wasted/And that's why we're still waiting/On a number from the modern man/Maybe when you're older you will understand/Why you don't feel right/Why you can't sleep at night now”. The picky 9/8 beat smoothly pervades the David Bowie-esque new wave track. ‘Rococo’, very ornately embellished, like the title suggests, with the narcotic modulated string arrangements, protracted guitar feedback that ultimately fades in the end and Win’s falsettos lays the barbs for the hipster kids when it mocks them in ways they will remember forever and that would piss them off again, “Let's go downtown and talk to the modern kids/They will eat right out of your hand/Using great big words that they don't understand/They build it up just to burn it back down/The wind is blowing all the ashes around/Oh my dear God what is that horrible song?/They seem wild but they are so tame/They're moving towards you with their colours all the same/They want to own you but they don't know what game they're playing”. Another beautiful baroque track ‘Empty Room’ with charging violin trills, very Vanessa Mae-esque, fills the void for a balls-out punk song as Régine Chassagne casts a spell with her vocals along with Win Butler in this blistering track about loneliness; it also has some French thrown in the end.

Upping the preachy quotient of the album, ‘City With No Children’ which sounds like Radiohead’s ‘There There’ with the ricocheting guitar riffs and the echoing vocals has a contrasting handclaps filled cheery vibe; it derides an ex-lover by drawing comparisons with heartless millionaires, but, later Win questions his own ideals by raising doubts about himself turning into them, “You never trust a millionaire/Quoting the sermon on the mount/I used to think I was not like them/But I'm beginning to have my doubts/My doubts about it”. ‘Half Light I’ with the glimmering and buzzing guitar notes and a flowering string build up and marching drum beats exalts us to open our minds and overstays the fact that we are only hearing ourselves, we need to go out and meet new people; evident from these wise words, “Our heads are just houses/Without enough windows/They say you hear human voices/But they only echo”. ‘Half Light II’ with reverb filled and drone/feedback filled angry guitar riffs, a 4/4 chugging house bassline and old-worldly string samples touches upon various points, with heart touching sadness, of ablution of sins, crashing markets and god but in the end longingly wishes that the suburbs would have been a better place now, “Though we knew this day would come/Still it took us by surprise/In this town where I was born/I now see through a dead man's eyes/ One day they will see it's long gone”.

Building upon this present feeling of the distasteful/diseased/damaged suburbia due to the changing demographics with nostalgia ‘Suburban Wars’ flickers with the warm jangly alternating minor and major chords and reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Sound Of Silence’; it stands out with those soft husky demure vocals and bubbling piano section but shape shifts when the tempo is increased, guitar drones introduced with thumping drum fills, cymbals exhilarated with the powerful string section and the skyrocketing chorus’ vocals conjoining it to create an enchanting crescendo; a truly stellar track this. It pities the commercial values that plague the suburbs and the hollow meaning of friendship nowadays, it says, “This town's so strange they built it to change/And while we sleep we know the streets get rearranged/My old friends, we were so different then/Before your war against the suburbs began”. ‘Month Of May’ suddenly explodes into violent winds of reverberating guitars and punk rock/fist pumping urgency and ends its destruction in darker sounding chords/drones that raze down the ambiance of the track and spews venom at the unforgiving/unyielding kids by declaring, “Now the kids are all standing with their arms folded tight/Kids are all standing with their arms folded tight/Well, some things are pure and some things are right/But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight/I said some things are pure, and some things are right/But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight”.

To loosen up on the slaying tactics the band has undertaken up till now, the band takes time to relax as The Beatles-esque jaunty acoustic guitar notes filtered through the piano’s accompaniment and the backing vocal’s ‘la-la-la..’ permeates the breezy environs of ‘Wasted Hours’ but still manages to conjure a call for freedom, “Some cities make you lose your head/In this suburb stretched out thin and dead/What was that line you said?/Wishing you were anywhere but here/You watched the life you're living disappear/And now I see, we're still kids in the buses longing to be free”. ‘Deep Blue’ that continues to inhabit this feeling with similar hooks harps on the same point put forth before of the collapsing suburb, “We watched the end of the century/Compressed on a tiny screen/A dead star collapsing and we could see/Something was ending /Are you through pretending? /We saw the signs in the suburbs”.

‘We Used To Wait’ with a pulsating piano line, a rumbling synthline and guitar plinks is elevated to the anthemic proportions of ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ and ‘No Cars Go’ accentuated by the lashing drum beats and the odd time signatures of the piano line, guitar riffs and the ingeminations “Oooo we used to wait”; it yearns and gathers dust with, “I'm gonna write a letter to my true love/I'm gonna sign my name/Like a patient on a table/I Wanna walk again/Gonna move through the pain/Now our lives are changing fast/Hope that something pure can last”. ‘Sprawl I (Flatland)’ a very compelling track sounding straight out of some theatre production is deep in pain and crackles with the vocals that signify the stagnation in the suburbs also tangible in the lyrics, “Let's take a drive through the sprawl/Through these towns they built to change/And then you said "The emotions are dead"/It's no wonder that you feel so estranged/Cops showing their lights/On the reflectors of our bikes/Said "Do you kids know what time it is?"/Well, sir, it's the first time I felt like something is mine/Like I have something to give”. ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ surprises with the sudden stylistic change to, wait for it, disco! Very ABBA-esque or The Juan MacLean-esque, this electro rocker finds Régine Chassagne singing about the over commercialisation of the suburbs in the form of big shopping malls dotting the suburban skyline over a danceable and squishy snythline, “Sometimes I wonder if the world’s so small/Then we can never get away from the sprawl/Living in the sprawl/Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains/And there’s no end in sight/I need the darkness/Someone please cut the lights”. ‘The Suburbs (continued)’ rolling out like the end credits of the movie is a slow duet between Win Butler and his spouse with the string section brazenly ending the new chapter in the life of this awesomely gifted band.

Well, after the end credits the only thing this album deserves is a standing ovation. The band looks at the subject with all possible camera angles and interesting plots and pushes forward their pertinent issues of urban decadence by presenting a pre-apocalyptic picture that might one day consume mostly everyone and implodes with the greed and blindfolded financially inspired favouritism. Before one is eaten up by the jaded chimera, the band does an excellent job to warn us and behold us of the impending danger by stylistically exploring various genres of music. This record is obviously a potential record of the year and is a highly recommended and a delectable rock record indeed.

Rating : 9.5/10

http://www.arcadefire.com/

http://www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficial

http://www.last.fm/music/Arcade+Fire

http://www.mergerecords.com/artists/arcade

REVIEW : MENOMENA - MINES

2010-07-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

Genre : Art-Rock/Experimental/Baroque/Jazz-Rock

Year : 2010

Label : Barsuk/City Slang

Menomena who are known extensively for their quicksilver approach to making music and have scored hits with their albums ‘I Am The Fun Blame Monster!’ and ‘Friend And Foe’ and received lukewarm response for their instrumental album ‘Under An Hour’ have consistently challenged themselves by being progressive and symphonic and by appending a hint of jazz. The plethora of instruments clubbed together, all with impeccable timing and fervour and the responsive mercurial drumming that chugs along with these instruments and mutates to display various tricks in tandem like Hemiola, atonal, polyrhythmic, etc. invigorates the involved multivalent tracks. In this unerring sense of theirs, they inhabit an enviable place alongside bands like TV On The Radio and Liars who are known for such oddball tactics. Their latest release which pictures them surfing the waves of blacker and cryptic waters is the best material they have released till date and displays the band’s new found strength of combining their forces of vocals and instrumentation to excellent potential.

‘Mines’ is Menomena’s ‘Drums Not Dead’, sibylline, orchestral and dark (melancholic and not dark like darkwave); but, the angular hooks armoury still intact. The album bears the unhealed scars of the past and the endured personal struggles that spill out in the confessional lyrics and emblazon the aura of the album. The tracks like their earlier albums are lucullan and superimposed or merged with layers and layers of instruments (their use of the looping software Deeler has been extensively discussed and documented before). At every instant new instruments are introduced; they breathe in and out with tender alacrity but never congest the soundscape; they create various moods and earthly vignettes and make appearances with clocked effectiveness to project the ideas stemming from the band’s vast creativity. The band’s craftsmanship analogously behaves like group skydivers, who after jumping from their plane engage in various stunts; they huddle and disperse with planning and construct exquisite bodily shapes simultaneously enjoying the freedom of flying high up in the sky by not being bogged down by the technicalities involved. Since the tracks are orchestral, they have their fair share of surges, plateaus, offbeat rhythmic structures and a good balance of the loud – soft dynamics coupled with lot of quirky instrumental gimmickry. Sample the oracular track ‘Killemall’ (which may be a passing reference to Metallica’s track of the same name) which bears an underlying tension expressed in the strong lyrics, “Fire and flames they are possessed; lay the spirits down to rest. The spirits are ventriloquists; they say the thing that must be said” uses religious imagery to secernate the need to exorcise the ghosts of your past and not to bow down to them to push aside the gloominess and embrace the impending solace. The track mirrors this mixed despondence in the tautness that beguiles the senses; trembling piano notes and the occasional plangent notes, vigorously agitated maracas, disparate and sprightly drum rolls and fills, the soft gloomy vocals enquiring, “Have you met your ghost? He says things you won’t” and the silent pauses punctured by the wailing guitar riffs, the crashing cymbals and the grunting sax all fanning the flames of urgency. The track ‘Tithe’, another fine display of the bands dexterity sports a polyrhythmic nuanced melange of undulating piano notes and marimbas, catchy bluesy guitar riffs, guitar stabs, a moony synthline, fierce John Bonham-esque thumping drums punctuated by the pensive bass, organs and lyrics moaning with the pain of experiencing a lone childhood, “Spending the best years of childhood horizontal on the floor, like a bobsled minus the teamwork and the televised support”.

The album is full of such standouts; there’s something to look forward to in every track and the powerful expressive vocals and the brilliant fluid percussion churn the tracks and strengthen the impact of the theme of the tracks. ‘Lunchmeat’ has an off key eccentric intro of sax, a pulsating bass, Spanish guitars, acoustic guitars and scattered vocals warped with static, all later articulating the relaxed garage rock/hard rock feel of the track. ‘Dirty Cartoons’ a piano hook laden track studded with guitar drones, lingering feedback and acoustic guitars chipping in features an epic chorus and vocals declaring passionately, “I like to go home!”. ‘Sleeping Beauty’ a psychedelic track is dipped in digital haziness and echo as a pummelling bass drives the track to a Secret Machines-esque glory. ‘Five Little Rooms’ is a weird extended anthemic piano jam and is very The Flaming Lips-esque. ‘TAOS’ and ‘BOTE’ are the straight forward The Black Keys-eque bombastic blues rock/garage rock stompers with raging and boisterous solos and drumming, bleating guitar riffs and rollicking baroque elements. ‘INTIL’, the album closer, is beautiful in its affected daintiness, the soft cushioning vocals, the nimble piano playing, the angelic chorus and the relaxed drumming all embroidering this ballad. The album is a complete package; expansive, dense, different from anything out there and decisively off-kilter while still having the imprint of the band all over it.

What is enticing about this album is that every listen proves to be a different experience; different facets of the album become audible after every listen and one has to just gawk as every layer peels off to reveal a different hook, a riff, a clandestine note and a buzzing instrument. In that sense it provides pleasure in discovery. Of what has been a great year of album releases, this is another addition to it and stands taller than some of the big name ones, namely, The National and LCD Soundsystem.

Rating : 9.1/10

http://www.last.fm/music/Menomena

http://menomena.com/

http://www.myspace.com/menomena

http://www.barsuk.com/bands/menomena

http://www.cityslang.com/

REVIEW : GLASS VAULTS - GLASS EP

2010-07-23T00:34:00.000-07:00

( Richard Larsen )

( Rowan Pierce )

Genre : Dream Pop/Post-rock/Psychedelic/Indie Pop

Year : 2010

Label : Sonorous Circle

Dream pop and Shoegaze, closely related genres, in recent times have been rebuked for sounding conventional and formulaic. Barring a few bands like Asobi Seksu, Beach House, M83 and the recent addition of Wild Nothing, Memoryhouse and the uncountable chillwave bands (who are also beginning to sound alike because of the similar approach of using narcotic synth ablution), most bands have the same approach of using wall of sound dynamics and the cooing buried vocals; sonic experimentations done before and considered moth-eaten. Enter Glass Vaults from Wellington, New Zealand – the duo of Richard Larsen and Rowan Pierce who have released the gorgeous Glass EP that comingles post-rock and synth washes in a reverberating environment on the lines of what Paul Horn brought forth in his now legendary albums of ‘Inside the Taj Mahal I & II’. This EP is a sonic exploration of voice as a musical instrument; how phonation in the barest of environments can do wonders to enhance the infectiousness of music and it’s readiness to be absorbed by the human senses and delight, enamour and elevate it to the highest level of spirituality. One is reminded of the heydays of the band Sigur Ros’, when their music was able to penetrate and breach the highest echelons of mental listlessness and ingrain a feeling of mental peace that only hours of concentrated meditation could successfully yield. Recently artists like Julliana Barwick and The Mountain Man have tried to achieve such levels of echoing dreaminess through myriad sound textures that channelize the positive energy of the inner sanctum; but, Glass Vaults take it to an entirely different level with this EP. Each song in this 5 track EP dwells on these ideas of recording in an echoic environment in order to make the voice sound full bodied where the vocalist just lets go and sends these uninhibited sound waves into the spaces around him and comes to harmony with his surroundings.

Sweeping the listener right off his/her feet from the word go, the EP opener ‘They Will Grow’ settles down with some guitar noise in the background; mellow, genteel and sun-kissed guitar chords dissipate their waftures of energy like angels playing harp in the heavens and the layered celestial, drawn out and dainty vocals that pitch-shift intermittently and envelope the cavernous ambiance soothe the mind and transmogrify any lingering sadness into hedonistic mirages. The album opener which was only the tip of the mammoth iceberg gives way to the second utterly mesmerizing track ‘Set Sail’ which finds Larsen singing “Set sail, set sail, on a sea. Come for me! I just wanna read your mind, all mine, your mine” asking his beloved to set sail on a voyage where they explore each other and their thoughts. The dreamy voice and the picturesque drones that elevate you to stratospheric heights, peppered with psychedelic sounds, merge and are washed further by moony synth drones and blazing drums that transport you to a dream destination never imagined before; seven minutes of extreme bliss and joy paralleled only by Foals’ chilly breathtaking track Spanish Sahara. ‘New Space’ that takes dream pop to a more danceable format with drums (both electronic and live), wordless exultations, the dazzling drones in the backdrop and the rejoicing vocals that go ‘hey!hey!hey!’ in the end, has a tropical vibe displayed by contemporaries Animal Collective/Panda Bear/Blind Man’s Colour. ‘Worrier’ the most inward gazing of the lot and melancholic and yearning for love; “I’ll come and go like a worrier, come and go”, sings Larsen to express his inner feelings of insecurity and lasting love. Vacillating woozy sounds and protracted pads describe vividly the inner turbulence and the lull in his heart. Signifying the feeling of letting go but still having mixed feelings about it, ‘Forget Me Not’ marches ahead in the same tune as the earlier track and asks the lover to not forget him; as the sadness seeps through the depopulated drums and the glimmering and hazy digital sounds as a passing statement of the good times shared; departing the EP on a low note.

Thus in the wide expanse of these challenging five tracks the EP covers a lot of ground lyrically, emotionally and technically as far as the dream pop genre is concerned. It never sounds stale at any point and delivers a sound that is literally a breath of fresh air and captivates the beauty of voice and the ambiance without faltering even once. This EP is something one will cherish listening to for quite a long time and is definitely on repeat for now.

Rating : 8.9/10

http://www.sonorouscircle.com/artists/glassvaults/

http://www.myspace.com/wearevaults

http://glassvaults.bandcamp.com/album/glass-ep

http://www.last.fm/music/Glass+Vaults

<a href="http://glassvaults.bandcamp.com/album/glass-ep">They Will Grow by Glass Vaults</a>

REVIEW : DOG & PANTHER - WHAT HAPPENED

2010-07-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

Genre : Indie Pop/Electronic/Acoustic/Baroque

Year : 2010

Label : Independently Released

A friend once shared these pearls of wisdom through an SMS; it read, ‘The longest distance on earth is not from North Pole to South Pole, it is when I stand in front of you and you ignore me!’ Though the message had a mischievous tone to it, it had darker connotations; a stark representation of the times we live in, aptly summarising the isolationist streak due to strained relationships, disgruntled pasts, the constantly depleting time for loved ones and being a non-participant in their lives, the surfeited madness resulting from over indulgence in materialistic woolgathering and the excessive time spent in achieving monetary security at the cost of the very needs one is so desperately achieving this moneyed blanket for - mental peace and familial happiness. Though the reasons causing it are very personal and painful (some accept the reality and move on, a lucky few struggle initially and later triumph over it and others complain all their life of being stuck in a rut) there are umpteen explanations provided to give self-satisfaction as to why one is a victim and why one’s hands are tied and fists tight. Literati, preachers, psychologists and common people like you and me have extensively investigated this contrast and irony and its deep foothold in our society and why we are a victim of it too; the problem however remains as unsolved as always and most of it can be blamed to inaction, fear of losing it all and just plain ignorance. Many records have tried to address these pertinent and life altering issues with dramatic effect; but, it is mostly from the perspective of the affected person – the self-pitying, the loathing, the loneliness, the pain, the claustrophobia, the insecurities and the subsequent addiction to drugs and alcohol (The National’s Boxer and High Violet serve as near examples) and there are a few that are with respect to the affected individual’s ability, vigour and attitudinal shifts towards life, bringing a positive impact on relationships with friends and family (and the surroundings). It is the latter theme where records mostly falter; they sound cloyingly artificial and insensate and hence do not penetrate the stone hearted psyche and emotionally dead persona. But, when you have boy-next-door but grounded-in-reality and yearning vocals similar to that of Ben Gibbard ( the vocalist’s name is Ben too)that remind one of Death Cab for Cutie, literate lyrics that pack a punch like LCD Soundsystem and some electronica thrown in, the message gets ingrained and the persuasive effect – a hundred percent.

‘What Happened’ is a minefield of messages; every few steps into each song, they burst like bombs in your mind and impact the psyche, but leave you something to enjoy and cheer about with the candy like sweetness of Ben Vrazo’s vocals and the non-overbearing ambiance of the record. The record sends the socially charged messages across, muses about the repercussions and exalts and inspires you to think humanely, but, never cracks a whip or bosses around in the form of tempestuous behaviour. In essence it is a catchy and atmospheric pop record that is laced with good intent and it makes no bones about it. Baroque ingredients embellish the tracks and aggrandize the ambient touch. Also, the record has a structure and tracks have been placed in order such that they meld effortlessly into each other. ‘Love Make’, the album opener, proclaims triumphantly with a pseudo-crescendo of brass, piano notes and scattered gear changing sounds and xylophones, “You have love to give, so give it away and let go of the wrongs you’ve done! You’ve got today, so make your life your own”; asking you to stop inhabiting a world of lies and to start living in a real world. The message is a simple one, but, sung so convincingly that you really want to follow in his footsteps. ‘On My Friends’, a jovial track about refraining from needlessly blaming your friends for your downfalls and the unbreakable spirit of not giving up in life, riding on a wave of war-like drums, warm and frolicking guitar chords and Tuba notes and Ben’s wordless falsetto exultations, wonderfully words, “Losing my mind is never easy; on my friends. Focus your thoughts, pretty deeply. Make it through the dark. No more living alone, no more running away. Singing one last note, before I walk off stage”. Psuedo-crescendos adorn the track again, as if to highlight the messages being sent out. The record does not have skyward pointing Sigur Ros’ like build ups but those that plateau in correspondence with the vocals.‘Else’ takes pokes at a female who is not ready to forego her freedom and her wild ways to settle down in life and then compares her to his mom. ‘The Hungry’ a stellar clanging boom bap track on the album deftly features an interplay of surging atmospherics of charging acoustic guitar chords, synths and brass and pensive deadening passages of scattered xylophones and desolate piano stabs and pads. It muses, “ The shadow’s controlled by the light. But, I live, between day and night. We fool ourselves, the hunger’s in our minds. The mess we’ve made, for ourselves!” how astoundingly it uses words to send a message of how we sometimes complicate our lives to achieve something beyond our control. ‘Hurry Hurry’ has a tension building instrumental prelude signifying the distance between our loved ones and right around the 3 minute mark it excoriates this juvenile behaviour and enunciates, “Let us all be friends, we'll put aside the TV sets, we'll hold each other's hands, we'll wipe each other’s tears, we won't go blow it with simple human fear! Hurry Hurry can't we go for our hearts, we'll all die young, or minds will fall apart, our jobs will consume us, we won't be known apart from the others!”. At this point of time, this statement takes the listener by surprise but leaves a hard hitting and insanely lasting impact. Track after track of goodness; this band is on a roll. Dropping another bomb, on ‘Hollywood’ this time, it animadverts and pities the state of affairs in public life and celebrityhood and takes pot-shots at people who are opportunistic, “Look at the coffin with golden handles, look at the flowers already withered, isn’t it great being dead! Look at the mourners; they are all hypocrites, look at the preachers needing attention! Let’s not have a sniffle, let’s have a good cry home.” It is messages like these that abound the cinematic brilliance and the substance of the record as you can both revel in the cherubic wholesomeness and the awe inspiring enthusiasm of the trio – Ian Sigmon, John Katona and Ben Vrazo.

Till the end of the record which is at the beautiful ‘Skin Cloud’, full of digital reverb, comely strings, uplifting falsettos, it shines like a diamond and pierces like an arrow straight into your heart. The songwriting is superb, the lyrics outstanding and the vocals contingent on these elements. It is really refreshing to hear this record. Also, there is something that needs to be cleared out – this is no Postal Service; this music is original and a lot better than Postal Service.

Rating : 8.8/10

http://dogandpanther.bandcamp.com/album/what-happened

http://www.last.fm/music/Dog+And+Panther

http://www.dogandpanther.com/

<a href="http://dogandpanther.bandcamp.com/album/what-happened">Love Make by Dog & Panther</a>

REVIEW : ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI - BEFORE TODAY (Written for The Big M magazine) (July 2010 issue)

2010-07-15T04:23:00.000-07:00

(Ariel Pink)

Genre: New Wave/Indie Pop/Krautrock/80s Rock Revival/Psychedelic

Release Date: 8 June 2010

Label: 4AD

Ariel Pink (pronounced r-real pink) has always been a troglodyte. Spending most of the late 90s and the 2000s recording crude and grotesque other worldly songs on cassette tapes in his bedroom that sound like mucky dissonance and tape hiss has been splattered over their grated surface, he managed to somehow gain an underground clout of another set of bedroom sound poppers and listeners who considered him as an influence and could see through the disguised ‘genius’ and the shenanigans of his musical style. Word of mouth publicity got him the attention of the experimental band Animal Collective. After reissuing the 1999 record ‘The Doldrums’ on their label Paw Tracks, Ariel formed a band he called the Haunted Graffiti named after the project it was intended to be. This band after extensive touring (that terminated at Coachella) got signed to 4AD where they recorded this nouveau-riche ‘debut’ album.

The new record is a far cry from Ariel’s early otiose records and flaunts a new glossy finish that transgresses the impenetrable crass that is characteristic of his albums. The album now has a balance of the weird and the accessible and this stems from the fact that 4AD wants to reach a wider audience. When one listens to this new record one is trapped in a time warp; the record gives a nod to The Beatles era pop music, the 70s eccentricity of krautrockers Faust and the 80s new wave and hard rock bands. A few listens in and one realises that a lot of the tracks are directly lifted or copy-pasted from the songs of the yesteryears. Whether it’s the borrowed 80s glacial synths and The Bee Gees-esque childish falsettos with their own twists and mumblings and the ‘Knock knock knock knock/On the door’ lyric from B-52s ‘Love Shack’ in the fourth track ‘Fright Night (Nevermore)’, the queasy pulsating and antiquated synths, proggy drumming driven and over the top The Beatles’ ‘She Loves You’ referencing third track ‘L'estat (acc. to the widow's maid)’, Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ inspired bassline on ‘Round and Round’ , the Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Paradise City’ inspired riffs and crazy mangled vocals on ‘Little Wigs’, the Joy Division and Guns N’ Roses mish-mash of ‘Butt-House Blondies’ or The Bee Gees’ ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ rip-off ‘Can’t hear my eyes’ to name a few, it is clear that the band does not bring anything new on the table.

Some may argue that every artist is inspired or influenced by somebody at some point of time, but if you start noting down these blatant misdemeanours here, it would be as long as your monthly shopping list. If this is the case, at least one would expect a strong performance to fill this magnanimous creative void. In that sense the album is a mixed bag. There are some really strong tracks like the slow and danceable Talking Heads-esque new wave track ‘Round and Round’ that features the vocal interplay of falsettos and clean vocals laced with the trippy chorus, the queer police car chase and maddening laughs sampled and moony 8-bit synths laved ‘Beverly Kills’, the stealthy bass and relaxed drumming driven and the skulduggery deftness of gender interchange and associated problems of ‘Menopause Man’ and the anthemic ‘Revolution’s a Lie’. The ones that downcast the album have passages where the interest soars but are mostly deadpan either in the drumming, the vocals or the bodily sound effects of Ariel’s mouth or the armpits; that can sometimes put one off. Prime examples that fit this frustratingly boring category and show off the 80s kitsch are ‘L’estat’ (a constant nag are the weird noises Ariel creates – repeated ‘swoosh’ sounds, cork popping sounds and unturned singing), the album opener ‘Hot Body Rub’ and ‘Little Wig’.

In totality the album may be miles ahead in production as compared to his recently excavated tapes, but the content regurgitates the retro and does not showcase any effort to improvise or provide any value addition. One may rather listen to old classics and submerge in their greatness, than listen to these sometimes manhandled and sometimes Xeroxed tracks.

Rating : 5/10

http://www.last.fm/music/Ariel+Pink's+Haunted+Graffiti

http://www.myspace.com/arielpink

For more interesting articles, read The Big M magazine - http://thebigm.co.in/tag/vikrant-dev/

REVIEW : ELEVEN TIGERS - CLOUDS ARE MOUNTAINS

2010-07-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

Genre : Post-dubstep/Dubstep/Bass/Experimental/Dark Ambient/IDM

Year : 2010

Label : Soul Motive Records

London’s dark underbelly has been an bountiful inspiration to a lot of dubstep releases; dubstep has always been about discovering the demographics of London (initially rooted in the South London area, more specifically, the Croydon area where Skream and Benga graced the scene and the sister genre grime being rooted in the East London area) through a musical journey through the streets where versatile cultures and souls intermingle, sparks fly or friction occurs and the different sounds that dot the scene are born. But, Burial’s releases have left an indelible mark on the scene that no other artists can erase; not because other artists have not contributed to the scene or have not matched up to the talents of Burial, it is because Burial employed the atmospheric approach (also reflected in the titles like ‘South London Boroughs’, ‘Distant Lights’, ‘Pirates’ and ‘Night Bus’) with a maven’s precision that not only left the scene mongers eye popped and jaw dropped but also had a crossover appeal because the amount of viral publicity that yielded his success just with the word of mouth and internet forums piqued others into delving this otherworldly sound. Also, the fact that people could relate to the sound contributed allured them – some called it hauntology, some said ‘ghosts of the dead UK dance scene are pulling some moves’ (referring to the faded glory of old school jungle heroes), some found it mirroring the unhappiness in their life’s struggles with the sight of flickering light still keeping them alive and others saw it as a reflection of Burial’s personality of seeking solitude and chilly fuzziness in the night time. Since then artists have explored this fertile sonic landscape giving them their own interpretations and meaning. Scuba this year displayed his penchant for underwater darkness and a machines race led future in the genre transgressing Triangulation and now Lithuanian origin producer and Bike Messenger in London, who obviously knows London’s streets too well, Jokubas Dargis, follows unabashedly in the footsteps of his influence Burial with his genre defying, luculent, benighted and stupendous record ‘Clouds are Mountains’.

In an interview, Jokubas mulled over his lifelong obsession of finding about post-humanism; how life transforms and evolves till it reaches a dark stage of nothingness (fully explored earlier in the 2009 single ‘Before’ where a pitch-shifted alien female vocal describes the dark origins of this world in her words “There was no day, there was no light, there was no form, no touch,....., only pure reality”) to again give birth to a new life. This aspect, his life’s experiences coupled with his belief in utopia drives the engine of this record as it races and zooms through pitch-black environs with ominous doses of dread and pain, some hope (the sad but yearning/hopeful vocals) and the will to come out of it stronger than ever (the raging beats), most of the times breaching the 140 BPM barricade of dubstep. Joining a long list of young London lads kicking upstairs the post-dubstep scene, his music eschews any genre categorizations but still displays its close affinity to dubstep. Dubstep beats mutate, meld, transmogrify with an IDM bent and sometimes lurk under the crashing and thundering hi-hats/hi-hat mimicking handclaps and layered beats that charge in an eventful showdown between them and the ambiance (the elusive drones, the brooding pads and other mucky and thwacking digital paraphernalia) as he truly channelizes and contrives an experimental prowess to define his own sound. Also, his multi-faceted music doesn’t use clipped and pitch-shifted R&B vocals but features full bodied, sensual, haunting and melancholic pop/trip-hop/new-age vocals that are at times interlaced with those effects (prominently in ‘Stableface’) and a mish-mash of paranoid vocal samples that flush a jaded anarchist persona.

Tardily eclipsing the listener into darkness with a heavy but wonderful lead-off track ‘Open Mirror’, beguiling aeriform and lingering reverb heavy guitar drones unfurl, twirl, coil around and clasp the ambiance along with rustles and crackles; apprehensive and wandering sub–bass is continuously lashed with the handclaps, entombed screaming voices and guitar distortions and direful pads that further induce claustrophobia like walking in the dark spooky forests at night with the lightning and thunder aggregating the precariousness of the unknown, until the guitar forms a haunting crescendo and an equally intimidating guitar riff, layered by grating drones followed by a gallimaufry of voices, fades into the void and embraces the listener with the comely Dolores O’Riordan-esque vocals, in the second track ‘Songs For You’, who words ‘I sing all of my songs for you’ and the backing husky female vocals who aggrandizes the lyrics. Dubstep beats continue to pound the soundscape as the tracks start to pick up pace from the instrumental track ‘Thesis’ with hair pulling insanity and venture into the IDM territory as beats vacillate between breakstep, drum and bass, and big beat (reminds one of Prodigy), the intimidating buried drones feeding the monstrous beats. Embellished by the sound of the siren of a chugging train ‘Frozen Wheel’ traverses the same path like a bullet straight out from the gun of a maniac, who’s diabolical laughs pierce and blow away the ambiance in full force, veering into a flanged out bursts of digital that glimmer and become the guiding stars of the bumpy rideahead for the unassuming listeners. ‘Stood Up’ breaks away from the dark mould and is punctured by a funky Chicago house synthline, ingeminated short whistles and thumping dubstep beats consisting of alternate double stroke drum kicks and hard-hitting hi-hats. The inhabitable ambient coda of distorted and horrifying echoing vocals and billowing waves of digital reverb flows and diffuses in to the next track ‘Flux’ where those protracted direful vocals are expunged by the dreary creaking sounds and dubby beats.

Finally one reaches the end of the tunnel as one basks in the bright lit but still uncertainty plagued atmosphere of the tracks that follow. ‘Atomic Turnip’ a half-step variation of dub beats is reminiscent of Skream’s Auto-Dub as beach vibe circulating organs oscillate interminably and pacify the nerve wrecking madness of the preceding tracks. ‘Eleven Tigers’ follows in the same tradition but those eastern sounding keyboards, the sexy robotic vocals and fissuring chiptune sounds emblazoning the dub/hip-hop vacillating bassline distinguish it from the earlier track. ‘With A Little Patience’ coos in the ears with wispy and mellifluous female vocals breathing life into the track as a disoriented and emotionally deprived female gets consoled and tutored by a male about the virtues of patience over bass flexing woodblock beats. Introduced with warm guitar chords ‘Forever’ sounds straight out of Brian Eno’s Music For Airports as beatific voices float and fade in the looped pensive ambiance of pulsating pads before coalescing into the hisses and crackles of the next and stellar track ‘Stableface’ whose exhilarating and jumpy synthline, mellisonant, sultry and husky pitch careened vocals melt into the breezy drones and woodblock dubstep beats. ‘There Will Be A Time’ brings an end to the gorgeously articulated album of making it through the darkness but still being scarred by the events that lead to it all, by perfectly mixing feelings of pain, anger, new found strength and a future of finding meaning to life in the time warped and befuddled male vocals, the muted clanging of the clashing knifes, the frequenting woodwinds, the breaks, all spelling out UK funky.

The album has the similar qualities of his earlier brilliant outing ‘Fold’ in the texture and the construction of the whole album that abounds in epic darkness; something on the lines of being called doom dubstep, but, stands apart from it in the strong vision and the fact that it still manages to pave its way out of this insistent atrociousness and repugnance with fist-fighting and dancing fury of eleven tigers and a story telling brilliance of an action movie. This album is the dubstep highlight of the year and has to be definitely lapped up shaolin style.

Rating : 8.7/10

http://www.last.fm/music/eleven+tigers

http://soundcloud.com/eleventigers

http://eleventigers.bandcamp.com/

http://eleventigers.net/

http://www.soulmotive.co.uk/site/

<a href="http://eleventigers.bandcamp.com/album/clouds-are-mountains">Open Mirror by eleven tigers</a>

Latest tracks by eleventigers

REVIEW : MOUNT KIMBIE - CROOKS & LOVERS

2010-07-08T13:01:00.000-07:00

Genre : Post-dubstep/Dubstep/Bass/Experimental/Electronic/Minimal

Year : 2010

Label : Hotflush Recordings

Already branded as vanguards and pitted with artists like Flying Lotus and Actress for the release of groundbreaking album of the year, Mount Kimbie – the duo of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos, have like their contemporaries mastered the art of arresting the listeners with the bending and breaking sonic landscapes, envisioned, sculpted and cut to size like kung fu knob twiddlers and the gloriously hedonistic and progressive, minimal, mutating and surreptitiously evolving and adapting beats. Two forbearing EPs later (‘Maybes’ and ‘Sketch On The Glass’) the duo have earned a name for injecting testosterone into the soul of their tracks (remixes or otherwise) with the heightened, sultry and clipped R&B vocals and adrenaline with those sudden fanning melodic and rhythmic transformations that build crescendos adorning the musical horizon like vibrant rainbows; creating both awe and intoxication. Although it is difficult to pin down their sound, it is indebted to dubstep; just like Flying Lotus’ sound is indebted to hip-hop and difficult to keep track of. It is an unspoken and unwritten influence of the location and the scene; Los Angeles (West Coast Hip-Hop) for Steven Ellison and London (dubstep) for Mount Kimbie. While the last two EPs got them enough buzz even outside the dubstep circles (especially the tracks ‘Serged’ and ‘Maybes’), this new release is a game changer and is going to get them wider acclaim (and maybe mainstream success too).

Crooks & Lovers is a record that is full to the brim with ideas that look very ordinary but when structured by the oracular duo yield such wonderful designs that one can simply just nod and bob our head in approval. Like Cosmogramma, the tracks are all disparate with some elements glimmering and building the hooks while others are making some noise, sometimes overtly boisterous, sprightly and murky. Each track feels like a breath of fresh air and stands out in its own way. The tracks are based on free improvisation music and built using field recordings and warm and exuberant guitar chords; reminiscent of such greats as Derek Bailey, Tim Hecker, Vladislav Delay and Fennesz; all of the tracks however have a dubstep lineament.

Album opener ‘Tunnelvision’ with an intro of a synth stab, that later comingles with the beats, diffuses sun drenched playfulness with the voice sample of gleeful kid and genteel guitar strums that get lost in the hazy pitch shifted vocals phasing in and out of the track as ricocheting, thumping and rapturous half step beats lead the way. The second track ‘Would Know’, one of the stellar tracks on the album, enveloped in hypnagogic, grainy, dense, undulating and riffling drones that liven up in concordance with the beats steadily builds the pace and plateaus before taking flight again. The beats oscillate between slo-mo dubstep, accelerated half step and hip-hop as deeply entombed ghostly hums and buzzing blips/bloops pop in and out in accordance. The wistful track wouldn’t be out of place on a Nosaj Thing record. ‘Before I Move’ builds on the idea of the co-existence of noise and melody, or the storm before the lull scenario, as discordant and detuned guitar chords modify into calmingly and lasciviously swollen guitar strings; joyous bubbling and frisky digital sounds and serenading female distorted vocals pay their visits at whim and make the end a jubilant one. ‘Blind Night Errand’ channelizes the unkeyed spirits of grime, Ricardo Villalobos and dubstep; a micro house bassline consisting of shards of glitchy beats is overtaken by a grinding bassline that simulates dubstep and veers in the end into harmonic female vocal samples. The same motive of noise v/s melody is portrayed in the peaking and ecstatic sonic seething mesmerisation. The next track ‘Adriatic’ a short track with not much to contribute and as abstract as other tracks just features strings and the bombilating fretboard has breathy vocals that give it a lackadaisical feel to it. ‘Carbonated’ another stellar track on the record interweaves, shuffled and befuddled buzzes, warehouse thump of echoing beats, the seraphic natural beauty of field recordings (of the plashing raindrops) and warm humming and entrancing keyboards, attaching an emotional and peace laden solitudinarian depth to the track. The beaming female snipped R&B vocals dance with the dubstep beats from the drum pads that echo like confined in an empty basement at times and bring an organic accompaniment to the vocals in full at others. ‘Ruby’ macerated with breezy and desolate drones is pensive as industrial smacking and lashing beats build a machinery driven and robotic vibe.

If the allegorically numbing ambiance was proving too dark and foggy for the listeners, then the reprieve comes from the sepia tinged illuminated tracks that follow. ‘Ode To Bear’ builds mirages of airy tunes, guitar riffs, spread out piano notes and spaced out deformed vocals. ‘Field’ a track that in its most uncharacteristic buildup charms with the robust and full-bodied bass crunches, feathery and lush tape hiss and muted taps that merge and enliven into an equally astounding charging guitar chords which gravels till the end and hits like an arrow straight to the heart. ‘Mayor’ the most frolicking and funky on the record flickers as it shines with deep moving keyboards and jumpy vocals, an addition of another great track on the record. ‘Between Time’ simmers in the jazzy environs as the track bids goodbye to what proves to be a very captivating album; a collage of different sounds and a living memory of harmony in diversity.

In this album, the duo aimed at creating a variegated soundscape and breaking borders of genres. What sets the duo apart from the rest of the dubstep pack is their open-mindedness. They are not prejudiced about any genre and grab and incorporate anything that suits their style and contributes and enhances their overall sound. The record has layers and layers of interesting hidden minerals that one can only mine if one gives attentive listens to this record. It is a great debut to add to your collection and a victory for post-dubstep.

Rating : 8.4/10

http://www.flickr.com/photos/obiettiva-mente/

http://www.last.fm/music/Mount+Kimbie

http://www.myspace.com/mountkimbie

http://www.hotflushrecordings.com/

http://www.myspace.com/hotflushuk

Mount Kimbie - Field (from Crooks & Lovers) by Hotflush

REVIEW : SEPALCURE - LOVE PRESSURE EP

2010-07-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

(Praveen Sharma)

(Travis Stewart)

Genre : Post-dubstep/Dubstep/Bass/Experimental

Year : 2010

Label : Hotflush Recordings

Scuba who first gained notoriety for supplying dubs to the influential Dj Hatcha’s (he was the pioneer of the minimal/clipped dubstep) sets, has since then, come a long way, by giving other artists a platform through his own label Hotflush Recordings. Being the hotbed of the current wave of post-dubstep artists who are winsomely walking on the Bristol-Berlin axis, by melting techno and dubstep and by moulding and structuring it into infinite permutations and combinations, has led to it transforming into an assembly line where shiny and wax smoothened releases are flooding the market one by one and are taking the fancy of listener’s ears. This year especially has been a great year for the label as release after release has been offering a wide range of sounds to the listeners (Scuba’s dark/isolated/aquatic/futuristic grimness to Mount Kimbie’s progressive and formless dubstep). However, Scuba, Joy Orbison and Mount Kimbie together with James Blake, SBTRKT, Onra and Actress on other labels have been overshadowing other artists on Hotflush who are also doing a brilliant and dare I say a better job than some of these artists. Sigha’s Shake EP, George Fitzgerald’s The Let Down EP and Sepalcure’s Love Pressure EP are the yet to be unearthed dubstep/post-dubstep gems. Sepalcure who consist of Praveen Sharma (of Praveen & Benoit) and Travis Stewart (Machinedrum) from Brooklyn are one of those talents that Scuba has the knack of finding – known to only a few but fitting perfectly with the label’s motto of promoting experimental dubstep.

The trend of marrying Bristol and Berlin that started with and around the time of the release of Scuba’s A Mutual Antipathy, makes its charmingly deceptive presence here. Instra:mental, Burial and dBridge’s trademark style of phasing clipped soulful vocals glamourises this EP. Clipped orgasmic R&B vocals echo, bleed and stifle before fading into the texture of the track. Post-dubstep artists have this flair of modifying the sonic terrain (the wriggly and wobbly stealthy, buried drones and elongated pads/keyboard notes) that makes the sound very jumpy and the ride through the track exhilarating, when coupled with the heightened pitch of the vocals; this makes it’s dissipated presence on this EP. Love Pressure, an emotionally purging two week collaboration, is proof of the fact that why this duo is slated for bigger things in the future. The opener and title track that begins with racy half step mimicking clicking sounds which evolves instantaneously with the help of a metamorphosing sub bass that nods to various genres of dance music – minimal techno, dub and dubstep (the use of double stroke kicks spotlights its presence) but never bows down to any of these. The track is a potential dancefloor scorcher and highlights the concordance of the rhythm and sonic terrain. ‘Down’ in the vein of the earlier track is another body bender with glimmering keyboards shape shifting with the dubstep bassline. ‘Every Day Of My Life’ with the funky and playfully swirling and twiddling sounds embellished by the exulting eponymously wording sample coupled with the beats anchored by the muted grimy bassline and female vocal ‘un hunh’s and ‘yay’s together with the glass tapping sounds glint in the slo-mo and robotic sexiness. To give a bedroom production feel, one can hear the vinyl crackling on the tracks; they sound like raindrops bursting on the tracks’ grainy surface; a kind of rainy utopian holism. ‘The Warning’, which is based on racism, is embroidered with baroque instruments, the piano keys scattered and desolate, harps fading in and out of the track, a constant flickering of tambourine, pensive vocals layered by snipped vocals and radio channel adjusting squeaky sounds juggled by the dubstep bassline ending the EP on a an introspective note.

The EP just within the expanse of these four tracks ensures that one can’t make categorizations on the basis of BPM. The convergence of different styles into this melting pot enforces the belief that bigger things are slated for Hotflush Recordings and of course this eclecticism driven duo of Machinedrum and Praveen. This EP is highly recommended and stands taller than James Blake’s CMYK.

Rating : 8.1/10

http://www.sepalcure.com/

http://www.myspace.com/sepalcure

http://www.last.fm/music/Sepalcure

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Sepalcure

Sepalcure - Love Pressure EP [HF025] by Hotflush

REVIEW : WAVVES - KING OF THE BEACH

2010-07-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

(Nathan Williams)

Genre : Punk/Beach Punk/Pop Punk/Surf Pop

Year : 2010

Label : Fat Possum

The year 2010 has become a year for bands embroiled in controversies to become holier than thou and spread their angel like wings and show off their new found halos. When Wavves released their debut Wavves and their follow up album Wavvves, Lo-fi and noise fanatics and admirers hailed their new found success as an addition of another feather in the cap of the resurgence of DIY bedroom artists; but, the celebrations did not last long as the party was mired soon by drug fuelled idiocy and mental breakdown that Nathan Williams suffered at the Primavera Sound Festival of Spain, where, drowned in his stupor, he was busy playing random chords and rubbing his face and insulting the crowd (unsurprisingly, he was hurled with bottles for messing around with the impatient crowd) and the infamous scuffle with Jared Swilley of the Black Lips did not do much to help bandage the wounds either. But, the backlash and the ailments will soon be comforted when the band swanks their new found emotional connection with the hordes of listeners/fans using pop hooks and accessibility as their indestructible bridges; who doesn’t like being serenaded by hot melting chocolaty sweetness? ( Beach House’s Teen Dream, Fuck Button’s Tarot Sport and Emerald’s Does It Look Like I’m Here? will give you more food for thought) . All of this of course works only when the records are strong and the performances are tight. Crystal Castles used this magic trick in Crystal Castles II (remember the Prima Donnas) and now Wavves is following suit. But, this does not mean that they’ve sold themselves out to mainstream pop. A lot of discussion forums featured comments where the new move was described as being a lo-fi version of Blink - 182. Fortunately Wavves hasn’t stooped to such levels and Nathan Williams proves on this record that he is the ringmaster and lashing out at lions out to eat him (the naysayers) comes to him naturally.

If regret was anything that mattered to Nathan then fast forwarding the record to ‘Idiot’ would demystify his take on his own acts of defiance. With an intro of spaced out devil may care laughs, fresh out of an acid trip, he artfully sings ‘Laugh, I beg you laugh, right behind my back. I won’t ever die, I’ll go surfing in my mind’ and doubles it up with ‘I am not supposed to be a kid, but, I’m an idiot. I’d say I’m sorry. But, it wouldn’t mean shit!’ with a perfectly indifferent attitude and sonorous insensate voice; the volley of pounding drum beats, raging reverb macerated guitars, Brian Wilson like wordless ‘Wooooo Oooooh’s all larding the rock star like derision and dance worthy exultations. Ironically, elsewhere he indulges in self-loathing and regret, like on The Vine’s ‘Come On Fuck The World’ similar ‘Take On The World’ and the puerile xylophone dulcified ‘Green Eyes’ in which he is musing ‘I hate myself, man. But, who’s to blame. I guess I’m just fucked up’ and ‘Green eyes, I’d run away with you. Green Eyes, I’m a fool. I tried staying away from you. But, I’m just not fast/man enough. My, my own friends hate my guts’. But when he animadverts ‘to take on the world would be something’ and ‘so what, ah, so what, who gives a fuck?’ respectively he’s back again struggling with the issue of personal v/s public and me v/s others; relevant issues that he’s being overthrown by and causing him to have mixed feelings.

As if trying to escape and make a fresh start away from all these painful/saddening issues, Nathan knows where to head to release the pressure building inside – the beach; yes, the lovely outdoors he longs so much for. The ablution of the waves on the sandy beacons and the sun soaked mirth is expedited and expatiated in his lyrical themes. The outdoors becomes the muse as he excogitates its importance. ‘Baseball Cards’ with the relegated and buried vocals echoes the deep pain inside his heart, ‘I don’t know where to go. I don’t wanna go out without you’. Teaming up with Jay Reatard’s rhythm section and producer Dennis Herring (who’s worked with Modest Mouse on ‘Good News For People Who Love Bad News’), the band works on curbing this pain, extending the hooks, getting rid of the noise/distortion (the umbrageous wall of sound dynamics have been sheared) and improving the fidelity without compromising on their brand of beach punk – a heady and druggy concoction of skate punk, garage rock and surf pop of The Beach Boys. The Beach Boys’ fixation/influence isn’t dead yet-the reverb heavy guitar riffs, the wordless jubilance and sugar coating, the intone handclaps and tambourines/sleigh bells are omnipresent on the record. Besides the aforementioned influences, the pop aspect overshadows the punk aesthetic in tracks like the TV commercial-esque ‘Convertible Balloon’, the Panda Bear’s ‘Comfy in Nautica’ inspired ‘Mickey Mouse’, in the vein of Best Coast, ‘Baseball Cards’ and The Ronette’s ‘Be My Baby’ inspired ‘Baby Say Goodbye’; the relaxed/laidback percussion, the ‘Shalala’s and handclaps being a commonality/commodity on the tracks; suggesting the tracks to be formulaic or cringe-worthy for some. But, thanks to the variety brought in by the flaky percussion (‘Baby Say Goodbye’ rollicks with galloping beats), the songs do not, thankfully, sound like mere chiselling. Eschewing the pop influences, album opener ‘King of the Beach’ sports garage rock’s power chord bursts, the beat rummaging punk percussion, loads of echoing drum machine handclaps and a key change to set the mood straight for the rest of the record. Nathan William’s airy and percussion concordant falsetto, the odd time signatures of the guitars/drums, the drawn out vocals and riffing in the coda fully spend the band’s talents to the max on ‘Super Soaker’. ‘Post Acid’ gets closest to the 90s pop-punk reference of bands like Green Day and Blink-182; double time percussion, the bratty harmonious vocals and squalling and frequent drum beat eruptions being the hallmarks. No bowing out to the teen candy floss of these bands though. The record thus flaunts an unmistakable and eclectic balance of punk attitude, melancholy and danceable pop alacrity that steers it away from ennui and perpetual recycling of tunes and rhythms. There is definitely intent behind this album and that clearly helps one enjoy the record. The record stands on its own feet despite the influences, but it’s not the ‘Nevermind’ Nathan is claiming it to be; one has to be much more innovative to reach those levels of magnanimity.

In an interview Nathan acknowledged that he was overwhelmed by the mammoth response of his first record and due to his weird behaviour and outlook he was stuck in this muss. In a time when there are more people to pull you down even for the slightest mistake (not that his mistake could be overlooked) than to stick with you for it, the response to this record would be initially cold (people have already started to tear apart the record and talk about the ‘greatness’ of Nathan Williams). But, as soon as the listeners realize that it’s all about the music and the music speaks for itself, this record is sure to stay in their i-pods on repeat. If DOOM and Kanye West can still generate interest after their stage antics in their records, I don’t see any reason why Nathan can’t be forgiven; temporarily at least.

Rating : 8.3/10

http://www.last.fm/music/Wavves

http://www.myspace.com/wavves

http://ghostramp.blogspot.com/

http://www.fatpossum.com/artists/wavves

REVIEW : CHIN CHIN - SOUND OF THE WESTWAY

2010-07-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

(Original cover art)

Genre : Punk/Noise Pop/Pop Punk/C86

Year : 2010 (reissue)

Label : Slumberland Records/Mississippi Records

Validating the importance of re-issues as assets rather than business gimmicks that revive the same curiosity and fanfare surrounding the records and cashes in on them, comes the significant re-issue of Swiss band Chin Chin’s ‘Sound Of The Westway’ from the label that also re-issued Black Tambourine’s self titled album . Chin Chin an all female trio of Karin (guitar/vocals), Esther (bass/vocals) and Marie-Ann (drums/vocals), joined for a short period on lead vocals by Carol, released their first 7” ‘We Don’t Wanna Be Prisoners’ containing 3 songs worth of original material back in the summer of 1984 on their label Farmer Records co-owned by veteran Swiss punk band SOZZ (who also helped them hone their punk rock talent by lending them practice space and instruments). Shortly after Carol left and Esther and Karin shared the lead vocal duties. At that time Chin Chin were one of the very few Swiss all-female bands that regularly performed gigs, recorded self-penned songs and released them. The release of ‘Sound Of The Westway’ in 1985 saw the band gaining wide-spread popularity especially in the UK where the NME published their first interview because they saw parallels between their punk DIY ethic and the then nascent C86 scene. They also toured and supported bands like The Pogues, The Television Personalities and New Model Army. Their sound predates the shoegaze scene and the stamp of their brand of noise-pop can be felt on succeeding influential UK bands like The Jesus & And Mary Chain.

Sound Of The Westway is a collection of jocund songs that bursts with the unwavering and fiery energy of punk but at the same time maintains a draw in the form of catchy, in concert female vocals. All hell breaks loose when they step up on the fuzzbox pedals and the drums but the girl’s are always musing with their feministic rhetoric about, well, all things girlish. The record does rock the fuck out like ‘Proud Soldiers’ about socially relevant issues with spunk and chutzpah; but it’s also about having fun and enjoying every moment of their performance with cheerful alacrity. One can reference their love for the bareness of riotous punk acts like The Ramones and The Sex Pistols and the darkwave acts like 'Siouxsie & And The Banshees’; but, at the same time they are happy being influenced by The Ronettes’ and The Crystals’s vocal harmonies and pop sensibilities. One can say they are an older female version of the band Male Bonding. But, what stands out in this record is that come sunshine or rain, these fun loving gals are never bogged down and the chugging bassline never takes a halt. The tracks seamlessly blend into each other and never at one moment have they slowed down; always zippy like the peals of laughter at the end of their performance of their exiting track ‘Da Doo Ron Ron/My Boy Lollipop’. Whether you are listening to soft and cheery but nonchalant vocals in the love songs like ‘My Guy’ and ‘Love Song’, power packed, anthemic, stadium size crowd befitting performances in the thumps of their war like shouts of pride and glory and warnings of not messing with the daredevil girls and T-Rex-esque vocal harmonies and blazing unretentive guitar solos and sonorous bassline in ‘Never Surrender’, ‘War’ and ‘Proud Soldiers’ or socially thoughtful and quotidian pondering tracks like ‘Why Am I So Lonely’ , ‘Room Of Sadness’ and ‘Jungle Of Fear’ the surges of notched guitar fuzz, the warm jangly and fluttering lead guitar riffs and the fist-clenched sucker punch comes to the fore and is in congruence with the punk aesthetic and these elements.

Fusing with the hazy noise pop are musical instruments like Harmonica and Saxophone (when was the last time you heard a harmonica on a punk record?) which not only add theatrical beauty but also add an Americana tinged melody and arcadian rawness. The passionate Saxophone not only romanticises with the interplay of soft and sultry teasing vocals on tracks like ‘Love Song’ but also contributes to the thrilling and heart-beat stopping rhythm section of tracks like ‘War’; this is how the tracks stand out from each other as progressively elements are introduce to spice them up and dexterously forward the motif of the track. The vocals also play an important role in these tracks. When the maximum impact is needed to send the message across the trio joins in like a raucous gang; but, when the tempo of the tracks reaches a plateau, either of Karin and Esther back out to contribute to the airy and minimalistic drive. All the aforementioned nuances when clubbed together have the quality of keeping it simple but existential to make a powerful impact. Back in those days it was not the experience that counted in the DIY ethic; it was about putting your heart and soul into the record and talking about what you felt; irrespective of the commercial outcome of the record. This record is testament to that fact and proves that if you have the will and fervour to make a record you can keep it simple, the punk way and make a good rock record by not worrying about complex drumming patterns and feverishly long guitar solos and time signature shifting guitar riffs like those in other genres of rock music. These influences very much show up in the present day lo-fi acts like Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls and Best Coast; which proves this record is very much relevant to today’s genereation of noise pop lovers, DIY bedroom punk/post-punk rockers and rock lovers in general. This record is definitely not to be missed and it stands as tall as the Black Tambourine record released by the label.

My Rating : 9/10

http://www.slumberlandrecords.com/catalog/show/137

http://www.last.fm/music/Chin+Chin/Sound+of+The+Westway

http://www.discogs.com/Chin-Chin-Sound-Of-The-West-Way/release/1613053

(A very old video of the song 'Don't Wanna Be Prisoners')