Cyclic Defrost

“Latter Lady Day” International Working Women’s Day Special – Extended Playlist 080310 – www.2ser.com 107.3FM

2010-03-09T12:12:19Z

This week we celebrate International Working Women’s Day with a cavalcade of fab female electronic artists, aided and abetted by sister singers from farther flung walks of musical life.

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More themes for future shows, please, or feedback or indecent proposals, at your leisure . . . to extendedplay@2ser.com .
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# > Australian artist or release
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Tartit – Tihar Bayatin
(“The Festival In The Desert” compilation – 2003, Triban Union)

Björk – Pearl
(“The Music From Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9” – 2005, One Little Indian)

Kate Bush – Sat In Your Lap
(“The Dreaming” – 1982, EMI)

The Creatures – But Not Them (John Peel 10/2/81)
(“At The BBC” 3xCD+DVD compilation – 2008, Polydor) (recorded 1981)

Xmal Deutschland – Qual
(“Fetisch” – 1983, 4AD)

Ideal – Eiszeit
(“Der Ernst des Lebens” – 1981, WEA)

Danielle Dax – The Spoil Factor
(“Jesus Egg That Wept” – 1984, Awesome/Biter Of Thorpe)

Juana Molina – Sonamos
(“Segundo” – 2000, Domino)

Julia Holter – Measure What More
(“4 Women No Cry: Vol. 3” compilation – 2008, Monika)

Romica Puceanu & The Gore Brothers – Inima Suparacioasa
(“Sounds From A Bygone Age. Vol 2” – 2006, Asphalt Tango) (recorded 1960s)

Dead Can Dance – Carnival Of Light
(“Garden Of The Arcane Delights” 12inchEP – 1984, 4AD) #

Buffalo Daughter – Pshychic A-Go-Go
(“Pshychic” – 2003, V2)

Kevin Blechdom – Da Barbershop
(“Your Butt E.P.” mini-album – 2002, Dudini)

Amanda Stewart – Postiche
(“I/T Selected Poems” CD+book – 1998, split) (recorded 1993) #

Chrystal Belle Scrodd – Riding the Red Rag
(“Belle de Jour” – 1986, United Dairies)

The Slits – Love und Romance
(“Cut” – 1979, Island)

Liliput – Türk
(“Liliput” 2xCD – 2001, Kill Rock Stars) (recorded live 1980)

Trio Bulgarka – Sedyankata ye na razvala
(“The Forest Is Crying (Lament for Indje Voivode)” – 1988, Hannibal)

Sorrow – Loki And Evil
(“Under The Yew Possessed” – 1993, Piski Disk)

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# > Australian artist or release
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“Latter Lady Day” International Working Women’s Day Special – Extended Playlist 080310 – www.2ser.com 107.3FM is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Badawi – El Topo (Index)

2010-03-07T11:56:25Z

New release on Badawi’s own new Index imprint, this 12” is Raz Mesinai’s finest work to date, wonderfully gloomy, repetitious synth stabs, stripped down percussion, and subtle dubbed out techno grooves. El Topo takes this and runs with it, stripping everything back to almost nothing before bringing everything back together. “DstryPrfts” gets the remix treatment from the mammoth Shackleton, Skull Disco may be dead, but the Shackleton vision of percussive mesmerism continues. Shackleton works again with vocalist and modern day poet Vengeance Tenfold, to add an apocalypse to the gloom, there seems to be something so fitting about the spoken tones of Vengeance and the stripped down rhythms of Shackleton’s interpretation of the original, deep. “Stem1” is a 1 minute 40 second snippet of sound, a taster of things to come maybe?

Raz Mesinai has always done things a little differently, and teaming up with Shackleton on this 12” vinyl release is a stroke of genius, when so many dubstep producers seem to be following a stale recipe for more of the same, Badawi serve up something fresh, and very very deep.

Wayne Stronell

Badawi – El Topo (Index) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Alice Russell – Pot Of Gold Remixes (Pod/Inertia)

2010-03-08T06:08:59Z

Alice Russell can belt out a tune, she has one of those modern day classic soul voices, a voice that connects with most people, that lifts your soul, and puts a smile on your face. After the success of 2008’s Pot Of Gold, it seems obligatory these days to release a collection of remixes, but remix collections are often problematic, especially double disc compilations, such as this. Maintaining a consistency with the style, and quality of the remixes is often hard to achieve.

Spread over two discs, Pot Of Gold Remixes contains remixes by Kidkanevil, DJ Vadim, Mr Scruff, Mocean Worker, Kid Gusto, Herma Puma, Emika, Laura J Martin, Clonious, Lilste, J-Boogie, Shawn Lee, Captain Planet, Llorca, Dusty, Ohmega Watts, ZNTN, Ticklah, DJ Day & Clutchy Hopkins, Yellowtail, The Heavy, and GRC.

Mr Scruff’s remix of “Living The Life Of A Dreamer” is somewhat subdued for this producer, but the subtle latin rhythms work well, while Kid Gusto’s more upfront latin rhythms on “Universe” make for a very catchy tune. Herma Puma, a relative unknown, come across like a modern day Fila Brazillia with their version of “Two Steps”, while J-Boogie injects his funk jazz stylings into “Got The Hunger?”. Shawn Lee adds some smooth orchestrated funk into “Two Steps”, and Dusty adds his catchy latin shuffle to “Universe”. Ohmega Watts lays down a harder edge beat with guitar hook on “Two Steps”, as does Ticklah on “Got The Hunger?”, but with a subtler more laid back approach. The DJ Day meets Clutchy Hopkins remix of “All Alone” is one of the highlights, infectious vibes, brroding break beats, warm keys and sweet strings. The Heavy do a great job of “Got A Hunger?”, keeping the drums hard but sparse, with Stevie Wonder style keys.

Even with the same tracks remixed more than once, the differing styles, and the varied quality of remixes, Alice Russell’s voice still shines through, there are a number of remixes here that would suit different tastes, but to purchase a double CD on the strengths of these I am unsure. With Alice Russell, and even with the remixes here, when it’s good, it’s very good.

Wayne Stronell

Alice Russell – Pot Of Gold Remixes (Pod/Inertia) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Furesshu – Untitled 12” (Project Squared)

2010-03-07T11:50:19Z

The second 12” vinyl from new dubstep label and Project Mooncircle offshoot Project Squared, run by Paul Cooper. What we have here delves more into the dub techno template, and where the debut release mirrored much Detroit influence, this 12” shows more of an influence with the Berlin dub techno scene, and why wouldn’t it, as Furesshu has previously released on Echodub.

Where I praised the first 12” for its mastery of the slow build, “Unknown” shows a similar dynamic, 11 minutes of building, mesmerizing stripped back techno, where spatial sounds are given room to breath, subtle changes building tension. “1993” draws its influence from closer to home, still deep, but having more akin with the early UK techno of Warp Records and acts like Redcell, an early break beat template carrying the track nicely. “Horizons” remains in the territory of dub techno, but taking a more distinctive dubstep vibe, allowing the half-step to slow things, allowing washes of synth pads, rolling bass, and growling electronics to creep through.

The first two releases have been a fine start, and we have not been barraged with releases, showing Project Squared seem to be concentrating on quality, and not quantity.

Wayne Stronell

Furesshu – Untitled 12” (Project Squared) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Free The Robots – Ctrl Alt Delete (Alpha Pup Records)

2010-03-07T11:49:09Z

Its been a long time coming, but the debut album for Free The Robots released on Alpha Pup Records is finally upon us. Initially started as a side project by Chris Alfaro in 2003, a couple of EP’s, free internet teasers, and a split 7” with The Gaslamp Killer, we are finally bombarded with some mind-warping electronics, fuzzed out psychedelia peppered with blistering hip hop beats, reinstating his position at the forefront of the L.A. beat scene, alongside The Gaslamp Killer, Flying Lotus, Ras G, Nosaj Thing and all that have played at the late night Low End Theory Club.

Free The Robots mix up dusty samples with crazed synths, live instrumentation and a futuristic ideology that looks back to many influences, yet manages push boundaries of jazz and psychedelia beyond the now. Modern jazz stylings mix with a dubstep swagger, wonky Dilla inflected beats mesh with psychedelic drums and melodies, the raw experimentation of Free The Robots hip hop beat science seems to know no bounds. Featuring Ikey Owens from Mars Volta on “The Eye”, pushing aside the purely electronic psychedelics for a traditional take with drums, guitars and screaming organ, showing the level of experimentation that sits comfortably with Free The Robots. Like many in the L.A. scene, influences of Turkish psychedelic rock seem to be a mainstay, and just as The Gaslamp Killer and Gonjasufi before them, “Turkish Voodoo” shows us the Free The Robots slant on a resurrected, underrated period of psychedelic rock Havana.

Ctrl Alt Delete is a blistering record of intense synthesizer wizardry, but along the way it has absorbed so much more than just another electronic album, the influences are varied, and the result would please many a fan in varying genres, from dubstep, grime, hip hop and wonky abstract beat science. Highly recommended.

Wayne Stronell

Free The Robots – Ctrl Alt Delete (Alpha Pup Records) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Joe Kickass – Let Me Introduce EP (Project Mooncircle)

2010-03-07T06:22:02Z

Free stuff is always good, but when it comes from www.projectmooncircle.com, you know you have to snap it up, it is bound to be quality.

I didn’t know what to expect from this one, a new name for me, but after numerous listens its clear that Joe Kickass wants to go back to an era when hip hop was fresh and fun, the days of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, conscious flows over party vibes. Joe Kickass has achieved just that, a maturity as an MC as if he has been doing this for two decades, injecting an uplifting party vibe to the music that takes me back to those fine old-school days. A new-school cat pining for the old-school days, getting back to basics, producing most of the tracks himself, even supplying the fantastic illustrations.

“Shirlyn” rides on a fine drum break, subtle vibes underpin the rhythm to allow the vocal to float above all, while “Joe Goes Africa” uses great African rhythms to great effect. All the six tracks show a side of what Joe Kickass is trying to achieve, raw, gritty and drenched with soul and jazz influences. Let Me Introduce, an introduction to the man, before the full length album release later in the year, download this EP now, you won’t regret it.

Wayne Stronell

Joe Kickass – Let Me Introduce EP (Project Mooncircle) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Herzog – First Summer And The Running Dream (Resting Bell)

2010-03-07T06:20:57Z

The Resting Bell label from Berlin reminds me of the single minded approach to music of other labels such as Static Caravan and Awkward Silence, single minded in that the music is what matters, originality in music, music not for the mainstream, but music that can be enjoyed by all, if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon it.

First Summer And The Running Dream contains five tracks, quite different to previous work, the songs here are more droning, utilizing slight distortion, where layered sounds harmonize softly and sublimely, creating a laid-back mood, but with a noise that increases through the tracks, giving his image of winter, watching raindrops on the window, and wind in your hair.

I like the way this release starts off sweet, promising to sooth from the start, but the distortion sets in subtly, slowly engulfing each wash of sound, before the final track “Lately I’ve Been Dreaming Of Drinking Sound From A Fountain” brings the noise in on itself, engulfing all. Before you know it, you realise the noise has had a soothing effect after all.

I think I need to investigate this label some more, www.restingbell.net.

Wayne Stronell

Herzog – First Summer And The Running Dream (Resting Bell) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Jonny Trunk – Jonny Trunk’s Scrapbook (Trunk/Inertia)

2010-03-07T06:20:28Z

Jonny Trunk is a modern plunderer, a man who has obsessively collected sounds from hundreds of music libraries over the years, and this album is a distillation of some of those ideas, as Jonny puts it, “those tracks that are barely still alive”. He wants us to think this all about him, but he would be quite happy for us to drop the ‘S’ in the title, and call this Crapbook. My guess is that this is in fact the Jonny Trunk humour, as Scrapbook is a rather wonderful collection of musical sketches, vignettes, mock-ups, unfinished musical passages just waiting for the right visuals.

This has to be the definition of a modern day library record, full of ‘moods’, music that can stand up on its own, but at the same time is crying out for some b-grade experimental cinema to add that last shot of life. Jonny is an obvious obsessive, he’s plundered and mined so many different styles from funk, and jazz, and he must have listened to every soundtrack ever composed, the detail in the tracks prove he is knowledgeable. Jonny Trunk uses a fair dose of exotica to elevate these songs to be more than just sketches, and this lightness used in conjunction to darker sounds of looped drum breaks and early synthesizers brooding and competing for space, is what makes this album a joy to listen to, and oh how fine it would be to have a visual accompaniment. Mesmerising.

As the footnote reads on the CD, go to www.trunkrecords.com and look at pictures, read stories and buy super things.

Wayne Stronell

Jonny Trunk – Jonny Trunk’s Scrapbook (Trunk/Inertia) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Richmond LaMarr – Lights (Lopsided)

2010-03-07T06:19:44Z

What a great little EP Lights is, having been described in the press of possessing the spirit of Charlie Parker, a strange comparison when you’ve heard the music, but there are reference points there.

Warped electronic infused jazz sketches, would be an apt way to describe the music contained. Very DIY in construction, it has a lo-fi feel, but a crisp production, each electronic tone polished to shine on its own, but gel with those around it. Melbourne’s Richmond LaMarr rambles over the top of the electric jazz soundtrack, using his voice for effect, rather than to convey a message, interspersed with snippets of spoken word and vocal hooks from the records sampled. This reminds me of the sheer sampleology of bands like The Avalanches, when I first saw them live I was astounded by the palette of sound, the influences they draw from, and LaMarr achieves a similar thing, albeit fed through an electronic shredder.

Fun, creative and quirky, my main question remains, why haven’t I heard of Richmond LaMarr before this? Listen at http://richmondlamarr.vox.com/.

Wayne Stronell

Richmond LaMarr – Lights (Lopsided) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Gonjasufi – A Sufi & A Killer (Warp/Inertia)

2010-03-07T04:40:10Z

Previously known under the name of Sumach, the self proclaimed sufi has reinvented himself as Gonjasufi, and has now been signed to Warp Records creating quite a buzz in the music press.

A Sufi & A Killer is the debut Gonjasufi release since this reinvention, with the main production duties falling to The Gaslamp Killer, with contributions from Flying Lotus and Mainframe, and with the combination of these producers and the infectious ramblings of Gonjasufi, it was always going to be a release that would be essential to check out.

There is an immediacy to the lo-fi, soul, funk, psychedelic hip hop oddity, but I have been unable to stop listening to it. Each new listen hooks you even more, the scope of styles, the crazy lyrics, the infectious psychedelic beats and folk song sensibilities, is enough to make this a future classic. Genre, style and pretension are stripped away to let the sufi speak, and while the producers may just be constructing instrumentals for Gonjasufi to ramble over, it becomes apparent that the music is a perfect compliment to his singing style.

Spaced out psychedelia is well represented here on “Kobwebs”, “Sheep”, “Stardustin’”, “Kowboys & Indians”, “Love Of Reign”, “Klowds”, “Aging” and “I’ve Given”, and even the Flying Lotus produced “Ancestors” has a modern electronic psychedelic spin to it, the sounds almost circling each each to create a tripped out fog of sound. “Sheep” has to be my favourite, a joy of a song, the lyrics are just so wonderful, so nonsensical yet poignant, adapting to the many shifts in the song structure, from the folky introduction, and the summery psychedelia of the main part, “I wish I was a sheep, instead of a lion, cause then I wouldn’t have to eat, animals that are are dyin…” The joyous lament eventually shifts to something more snarly, “I’m a lion babe, feeding off the sheep that graze… I’m a lion hey, see me livin in the shade, I have everyone afraid, roamin so no one is safe”, over vintage Turkish psychedelic mayhem. Gonjasufi spits over what sounds like a Stooges riff on “SuzieQ”, totally distorting his vocals, while “Kowboys & Indians” carries forward the distortion over more Middle Eastern psychedelic plundering from The Gaslamp Killer, rambling like the madman he probably is. The versatility astounds, injecting a warm flurry of soul into “Change”, and the pseudo-disco of “Candylane”, or the simplistic synthesizer and basic drum machine meanderings of “Holidays”. Big beats, bass, and simple piano hook carry “Advice” to somewhere else, repetition affecting the ramblings to great effect, “who will you turn to, when no ones lovin you, not even your own wet dream…” The Turkish psychedelic sounds return on “Klowds”, it’s a sound The Gaslamp Killer does well, and in conjunction with the vocals of Gonjasufi, you’re almost transformed back to those heydays of psychedelic rock experimentation. “Made” brings everything down again, for the ending, warm soft horns, sluggish slow break, soft tones of a sufi, to fade…

Nothing is what it seems though, minutes of silence followed by more distorted vocals over a 60’s garage loop, the man has to rant some more, and I for one don’t mind one bit. What he says may not always make sense, but that is a good thing I think, enabling him to avoid being pigeon-holed to one particular style. Keeping things in their musical family, MRR (from MRR-ADM and MHE) has produced some great artwork.

I would go as far to say this is already my favourite album of 2010, and although its early days, I’d lay money on this still being in my top ten at the end of the year. There is so much to like about this record, it just leaves you wanting more, so it now becomes essential to purchase every 7” release from the album, just to hear the b-side. An outstandingly brilliant album.

Wayne Stronell

Gonjasufi – A Sufi & A Killer (Warp/Inertia) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Various Artists – Headroom Volume 1 (The Frequency Lab)

2010-03-07T04:38:22Z

Australia has become host to some world standard producers in the realms of new and emerging sounds of dubstep, wonky and leftfield beats. Headroom Volume 1 has been compiled by label owner Monk Fly, and his co-promoter Jonny Faith, together they run Headroom, Sydney’s regular nightclub event dedicated to future beats, and weekly radio show For The Heads, on 2SER 107.3FM.

Showcasing producers from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, as well as Glasgow, Berlin and Florence, it’s the local content that really shines here, showing this country can produce world class music in emerging genres.

Roleo opens the compilation with the great “High’s”, laying down mad synth highs as good as Joker or Starkey, but keeping the beat firmly hip hop. Inkswel bring the 8bit sounds to great effect on “8 Bit Waterdrops”, like a cross between Ikonika, Disrupt and Dilla, while Studio Tan lifts the mood with the wonky synth lines of “48 Ways 2 Live”. MoR brings their brand of skwee funk to “Skweemo”, and Indelible serves up old-school Sheffield electronics over a straight up beat in “Material Hypnosis”. Tigerstyle merges 8bit electronics with Autechre style complex micro-rhythms and cool time-shifts of “Activate”. “Marshall High” by Mokke brings more synth and head nodding beats, while Digi G’Alessio gets Dilla-esque with warm synths and skewed beats. Rose Specs gets more downbeat with “Mmm Crunchy Crunch”, and Edseven’s “Pigeon Clap” brings infectious beats and warm electronic hooks, interrupting the hooks for beat breakdowns. The highlight for me is Jonny Faith’s contribution “Trifecta”, hard beats, mad synths, the perfect balance of dubstep and hip hop, showing his versatility, a producer to watch closely, also check the remix he did for Astronomy Class, the man is diversely talented. Know-U feeds a Detroit sound through the dubstep template in “Dune”, while “Ms Dost” by Yoff Trotsy & Westernsynthetics round out Headroom Volume 1 with a strange hybrid of many abstract styles.

That’s what really stands this compilation apart from others, not just the diversity in sounds, but the many hybrids created, giving a fresh collection of future beats from relative unknowns. The future for these artists should be one to watch, with future releases planned, and hopefully some live appearances at Headroom in Sydney. If you’re excited by future beats you have to buy on sight. Check out more at www.thefrequencylab.com.

Wayne Stronell

Various Artists – Headroom Volume 1 (The Frequency Lab) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Paradigm Shift Radioshow Playlist 1 March 2010

2010-03-06T23:15:32Z

The Paradigm Shift is a weekly Monday night radio show which (since 1995) has been presented by Sub Bass Snarl on Sydney radio station 2SER fm 107.3MHz – check the 2SER website for the high quality live web stream!

It airs Monday nights at the time of 7.30pm for 90 minutes (Australian Eastern Standard Time – GMT+10).

If you think your music would suit the show also please get in touch (320s welcome!) – EMAIL: paradigmshift [AT] 2ser [dot] com

Please note that since March 8 is International Women’s Day the show will be hosted by the awesome Anna John who is sure to play some very interesting tunes. And I’ll be back next week.

Four Tet – This Unfolds [There Is Love In You] (Domino)
Loops Haunt – Hurache [Rubber Sun Grenade EP] (Electric Eliminators)
Eskmo – Sister, You Have Got To Listen [download] (from www.amontobin.com )
Monk Fly – Well If I Ever! [The Far Side Of Zen] (Daly City Records) *
Jahdan Blakkamoore – The General (Marcus Visionary remix) [LDI004DI] (Liondub International)
Terror Danjah – Pro Plus (feat. D.O.K) [HDB031] (Hyperdub)
Zinc – Killa Sound (Skream remix) [Killa Sound] (Bingo Beats)
Cosmin TRG – Strobe Lick [Now You Know] (Tempa)
Autechre – d-sho qub [Oversteps] (Warp)
10-20 – Globe [Mountain] (Highpoint Lowlife)
Dem Hunger – Mosque Vibrations [Caveman Smack] (Leaving Records)
Robbing Hood – Kaempfart [EZ Listnin'] (unreleased)
George Lenton – Sorry [dubplate] (unreleased)
Eskmo – Lands And Bones (feat. Swan) [Hendt 12"] (Warp)
Illum Sphere – Chasing The Midnight Moth [Long Live The Plan] (Fat City)
Pantha Du Prince – Behind The Stars [Black Noise] (Rough Trade)
Mark Pritchard – The Hologram (Original) [HOHUM003] (Ho Hum) *
Burial – Fostercare [5 Years of Hyperdub (disc 1)] (Hyperdub)

* = Australian Track

Paradigm Shift Radioshow Playlist 1 March 2010 is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Ent – Welcome Stranger (n5MD)

2010-03-03T05:01:34Z

If you wanted a perfect example of an early 21st century, bedroom symphony, global village, post-everything, hybrid pop to send up on the next Voyager space explorer, then you’d need look no farther than Ent’s Welcome Stranger. Constructed entirely by Nagasaki native Atsuhie Horie, aside from live drums delivered by Takanori Ohita, in the downtime between his outings as frontman for his BritPop influenced Straightener, the album does everything you would expect from an up to date, technologically savvy multi-instrumentalist.

The glitched up intro for ‘No Tone’ which begins the album, sets the scene clearly. Snatches of guitar burst, static fizz, some IDM-esque rhythmic sounds and then a Strawberry Fields mellotron as early lead instrument. The track then builds, layering piano, synths and overdriven acoustic drums, building to the grand finále that undoubtedly resides in the art rock shadow of Radiohead. It’s epic and intimate by turns and quite engaging. The album progresses thusly over the course of 7 tracks and bonus added remixes. ‘Girl’ heads into more dreampop territory, ‘Silver Moment’ is based on an 8-bit electronica foundation, with requisite guitar grandeur as it progresses. Grainy field recordings inhabit ‘Will’ and ‘Farewell Dear Stranger’, the former’s booming noise of movement in a corridor setting the rhythmic template for the track, the latter creating atmosphere with rain. The 3 remixes, from Kettel, Near The Parenthesis and Helios don’t stray too far from the original template and flow seamlessly to round out the album.

Welcome Stranger is well produced to a fault, with all the right balances of atmosphere, grit and shine. It’s component parts are wonderful to hear. Yet, as hinted at, it leaves me with a feeling of unease. In being such a typical example of where the fringes of post-rock currently reside, it also indicates that the mould is well and truly set and Ent is placing himself firmly within it. If you’ve listened to anything in this ballpark in the last 10 years, you will know exactly what to expect around every corner. There is little by way of surprise or something to define Ent’s sound as his own. It is every post-rock, post-glitch moment distilled into one generic work. Another problem which I can’t help but be distracted by is Horie’s vocals. I would so much prefer to hear his voice in his native Japanese than an extremely strained English pandering to perceived target markets in the U.S. and the rest of the English speaking world. Surely the post-modern has moved far enough along for an artist not to have to resort to this sort of impersonation.

The component bits of Welcome Stranger are undoubtedly beautifully crafted. But aiming to emulate and exemplify an already established mode is surely not an aim high enough. As soon as I am no longer listening to the album, it recedes back into the wash of generic post-rock in my memory, from where, I dare say, it will struggle to re-emerge of its own accord.

Adrian Elmer

Ent – Welcome Stranger (n5MD) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Joao Orecchia – Hands And Feet (Other Electricities)

2010-03-02T22:13:19Z

Johannesburg-based electronic producer / multi-instrumentalist Joao Orecchia is certainly a guy who delights in the unexpected ‘mistakes’ and accidents inherent in musical performance, his meticulously detailed tracks fusing digitally recomposed improvisations on live instruments including banjo, drums, melodica and toy instruments with unpredictably glitchy electronics and buzzing digital detritus. This second album on Other Electricities arrives four years after his preceding ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ collection for Blankrecords and sees Orecchia working with a brace of guest collaborators, including former Playdoe / BLK JKS member Spoek Mathambo and Anticon’s Serengeti. It’s also a record that comes dedicated to Orecchia’s recently deceased father, with two recorded performances by him singing standards ‘When I Fall In Love’ and ‘Arrivederci Roma’ acting as appropriate bookends to the twelve tracks collected here.

Indeed, it’s slightly eerie and certainly evocative as the vintage dusty grooves of the former track suddenly burst into a swirl of colourful, fuzzed-out synths, lazy brass and clattering leftfield hiphop rhythms that calls to mind one of Subtle’s more kaleidoscopic backings. From there, ‘Midnight Serenade’ sees warm funk bass grooves and metallic banjo strings being pushed through all manner of timestretching and digital contortion as rich backing horns rise up into the mix in an offering that calls to mind Tortoise’s languid post-rock/jazz meeting Mouse On Mars’ gnarled electronics head-on, before the catchy ‘Play Pretend’ sees Spoek Mathambo adding his smooth falsetto pop vocal to an airy backing of colourful melodic synths and skittering, off-centre dance rhythms that’s easily one of this album’s most immediately accessible moments.

Elsewhere, the forlorn-sounding ‘De Los Muertos’ takes things down into fractured and glitchy electronic blues, winding spidery banjo tones around rich live strings and metallic percussion as crunching hiphop rhythms power their way beneath, while ‘All Opera’ sees Serengeti’s dense MC flow unfurling over a smooth, laidback backing of ratchety DSP effects, lazy live bass and swirlig strings, before things suddenly shift into a stuttering electro-pop section that ends up bolstered by muscular live hiphop drum breaks, in what’s easily one of this album’s biggest highlights. An excellent second album from Joao Orecchia that should particularly appeal to fans of the likes of Subtle and Odd Nosdam’s similarly crackle-heavy leftfield hiphop-centred electronics.

Chris Downton

Joao Orecchia – Hands And Feet (Other Electricities) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Gradient – Dispersing Sectors (Rednetic)

2010-03-02T22:12:32Z

Saint Petersberg-based techno producer Igor Arsenjev (aka Gradient) has previously released tracks on the Schall and Deepindub netlabels, and this debut instalment from him in Rednetic’s ultra-limited 3 inch CDR series follows on from his recent reworking of Komponente’s ‘Picture Of Nothing’ under his parallel alias Waveform. Opening track ‘Membrana’ sees Arsenjev going for a deeply-textured dub techno aesthetic that nods towards the likes of Rhythm & Sound as it counterpoints dry, rattling programmed rhythms with a relentless, delayed-out bass thud – the icy foreground details nicely counterpointed by the shades of sub-bass warmth pulsing beneath like a heartbeat.

By comparison, ‘Dispersing Sectors’ offers a slightly more laidback and languid drift through midtempo, pressurised sounding snares and planktonic, rippling synthetic textures that hints perhaps more towards Vladislav Delay or Pole’s oceanic creep, before ‘Duplex’ brings this EP to a close with what’s easily the most dancefloor-oriented offering here, winding reverberating elastic synth tones around a relentlessly rolling backdrop of clicking snares and muted kickdrums. More deliciously dubby stuff from Rednetic’s more techno-oriented 3” CDR series, but with only 100 copies of the physical release available, you’d best move fast or settle for the download version.

Chris Downton

Gradient – Dispersing Sectors (Rednetic) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Ali Farka Toure & Tounami Diabate – Ali and Tounami (World Circuit/ Fuse)

2010-03-02T22:09:57Z

The late great Ali Farka Toure was apparently quite ill when he recorded this, his final duo with renowned kora player Tounami Diabate. It was recorded four years ago in London over the course of three days. Whilst their previous duo recording In The Heart and the Moon earned the two Malian’s a Grammy, this recording is possibly more lyrical, lighter and more flowing as the duo had become increasingly more comfortable playing together. This music is like a gentle summers breeze as Ali Farka Toure’s repetative acoustic blues provide a skeletal framework for Diabate’s extraordinary improvisational kora work which weaves playfully in and around the structures. Farka Toure sings on two of the tracks, yet his voice though weaker is especially poignant. The remainder of the album is instrumental, hypnotic and gorgeous, some of the tracks reworkings that have occurred across Farka Toure’s carrear. Whilst Ali’s son Vieux Farka Toure contributes backing vocals and conga work, the most surprising is the presence of Buena Vista Social Club bass player Cachaito, who remains unobtrusive, really enhancing the work of these extraordinary musicians. It’s difficult to know whether the poignancy that you feel when listening to this music is due to the subsequent knowledge of Farka Toure’s impending fate, but there’s no denying the quiet grace and beauty of the music that stems from the respect and chemistry these two generations of Mali musicians shared. This truly is something special.

Bob Baker Fish

Ali Farka Toure & Tounami Diabate – Ali and Tounami (World Circuit/ Fuse) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Interview with Public Opinion Afro Orchestra by Bob Baker Fish

2010-03-02T22:09:02Z

Public Opinion Afro Orchestra are a Melbourne big band Afrobeat Orchestra who blend African influenced funk with jazz and more contemporary styles like hip hop, even including turntables in their arsenal. They’ve just released their debut LP Do Anything Go Anywhere which they are launching at the Prince of Wales in Melbourne on the 13th of March, though before that they are performing at Womadelaide between the 5th and 8th of March in Adelaide. Bob Baker Fish spoke with turntablist and band director Ethan Hill.

Bob: How long have you guys been playing together for?
Ethan: We’ve been playing together for 2 years now. There were just the three of us who are the band directors, myself Zvi and Tristan. I was in New York and I saw some Afrobeat bands there and I always wanted to do an Afrobeat band so I came back and talked with B and Tristan and we said okay cool we’re gonna do it and called up everyone we could think of who would be good and put the band together from there.

Bob: That sounds way too easy. Getting people together to play Afrobeat in Melbourne wasn’t too difficult?
Ethan: It wasn’t too hard. Getting 20 people together to set up in the same place at the same time was a big challenge. Getting people to say they wanted to play music was easy enough.

Bob: So how many people are actually in the band?
Ethan: It’s between 16 and 20. It’s a bit of a rotating cast.

Bob: Is that because of the problems getting all the people together?
Ethan: Yeah and its also what the situation calls for. If we can manage to pay a few extra percussionists and get the extra vocalists and dancers down we like to do that,

Bob: Is it pretty difficult to manage a big band?
Ethan: It’s hard to manage that many people to do anything really. Let alone musicians to get them to come to rehearsal you know. It’s not that bad, of course we have logistical problems but we tend to get around that. Once we’re all on the same page and we get going it’s definitely worth it then.

Bob: When you first started were you thinking that you wanted to sound a little like Fela Kuti or were you thinking that you wanted you wanted to add something different?
Ethan: Well the music is 30 or 40 years old. So you can’t say I want to sound the way it was in the 70’s. It doesn’t really make sense. But we definitely took plenty of inspiration from Fela and I guess added more modern elements. I guess the obvious one is the hip hop, instead of just having singers we also have hip hop mcs like 1/6 and some guys we recorded in Africa and Kuukua does some MCing. I do some DJ scratching as well. Some of those things add extra elements and we also take quite a different approach to the music.

Bob: I was going to say that I don’t remember scratching when Fela played.
Ethan: Yeah that’s right. I don’t think everyone really thought about it back then.

Bob: I was listening to your PBSFM show The Breakdown and you had an interview that you did with Femi Kuti.
Ethan: Yeah that’s right. We went over there, a year ago now we were in Nigeria. We all went to South Africa and Nigeria on our little musical pilgrimage. I suppose if you’re going to play some Afrobeat you got to go to the the source. So we went to Nigeria, to the African Shrine which is the nightclub/ venue that Fela set up in the 70’s and his son Femi is still running it to this day. And he still plays there on thursdays and sundays, the rehearsal on thursdays and the show on sundays. So we went down thursday as guests of Yeni Kuti who is one of Fela’s daughters. We went and met Femi and Tristan and Zvi were lucky enough to jam on stage with him on the sunday at the actual show which was amazing. We were chatting to them afterwards and they were really hospitable, they invited us back to the house the next day for a BBQ, so we ended up going to a Kuti family BBQ. So I sat down with Femi and did that interview. Though I don’t call it an interview it was more ask him a question and he’ll just talk for 30 mins on whatever he decides to talk about. It was a pretty funny experience running around with all Fela Kuti’s grandchildren. It was great.

Bob: So you and the other guys went over to Africa part pilgrimage, part seeing if people wanted to record with you?
Ethan: It was just a music journey. We wanted to go see some music check out some music, see what sort of bands you can hear today in Lagos as well as see who we could find who would record with us. We started in South Africa and recorded with the poet MC Tumi who V had met earlier, because Zvi is originally from south Africa and he’s an incredible MC when I first heard him I was blown away. I was amazed. We recorded with him in Johannesburg. And through some contacts we’d made in South Africa when we were in Nigeria we were able to hook up with Modenine and Terry Tha Rapman and a few others so we recorded them for the album as well. So we’ve got some guest vocals from some Nigerians and South Africans.

Bob: So you have similar approach to Femi, having people sit in and play with you when they’re around?
Ethan: Exactly. We take inspiration from a lot of people. We’re a big band, we like to play with as many people as possible. We are a band where everyone comes from such different backgrounds and tastes in music, so it’s always great to throw in another different voice in there as well.

Bob: So how did you go about recording?
Ethan: We recorded some stuff earlier before we went to Africa. Then we went over there and did some recordings there and then came back and finished it off in australia, It’s a transcontinental album.

Bob: So how do you go about writing material? Does someone just bring in an idea and show it to others?
Ethan: That’s pretty much it. Generally speaking someone will come in with an idea and either bring it to the whole group or take it to a couple of others and say ‘hey I got this idea what do you reckon?’ Zvi and Tristan tend to be the main songwriters at the moment but Jules our drummer came up with part of one of the songs and Tristan wrote the horn lines, and then we take it from there, work the idea up a bit and then take it to the rest of the band and really build it up from there.

Bob: Is there much jamming or improvisation?
Ethan: There’s always got to be an element of jamming in African music because a lot of the songs are 10 or 12 minutes. By the very nature of it they have to be jammy because no one can really remember 10 minutes. That’s kind of the way with Afrobeat music. It’s like ‘who wants to have a solo?’ And we throw to a trombone solo and then take it easy and see where it goes from there.

Bob: What have the responses been like to you guys playing live?
Ethan: They’ve always been fantastic. Some of the first gigs we played people were like ‘what the hell is this?’ It was not something they’d seen. After a while everyone’s always got into it. Afrobeat’s just that kind of music, it just creeps up on you and after a while you find yourself dancing without even realising it.

Bob: It’s really quite interesting music, it has this amazing groove and uplifting feel, yet the content is intensely political, so it’s always had this double edge to it.
Ethan: It’s always been part of it. We call it message music. It’s part of the reason we decided to use hip hop MC’s because hip hop MC’s have something similar to Fela, that anti authority, it’s sort of the arena you find those sort of messages these days. Femi Kuti was incredibly political when we were at the Shrine. He’d stop shows or have the band come down midway so he could have a talk to the crowd and have a big political rant.

Bob: Was there any trepidation of taking on this style of music because I’m guessing it’s not your cultural style.
Ethan: I think music may come from a certain culture but music is an ever evolving idea. Our band we have a lot of members where that is part of their culture and some members where it isn’t and to a certain degree hadn’t really heard the music before starting to play in the band. I think music’s music, race, creed, country, culture, it sort of transcends all of that.

Interview with Public Opinion Afro Orchestra by Bob Baker Fish is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Toro Y Moi – Causers Of This (Mistletone)

2010-03-02T19:38:50Z

Toro Y Moi is a fairly apt name for the solo work of producer Chaz Bundick. Forcing a couple of different languages together in his moniker (‘toro’ – Spanish for ‘bull’, ‘y’ for ‘and’, with ‘moi’ – French for, of course, ‘me’) hints at the process that goes on in the actual music. This is a slamming together of Animal Collective psychedelia with the sturdier bass music of R&B, early 90s house and, most significantly, some of the post-production tricks taken from places like trance. The music itself sounds nothing like trance, but we’ll come back to that in a moment.

The first, most obvious reference is the Animal Collective one. This comes mostly from the sound of Bundick’s voice and the melodic similarities he shares with the Baltimore group. There is also a hazy layering of sounds which brings them to mind. But Bundick adds other sources to the mix as well. ‘Imprint After’ is built around very Italo-house sounding piano riffs, albeit at a woozier lethargic tempo, while ‘Lissons’ switches between R&B and disco-funk rhythms. ‘Freak Love’ also explores the rhythmic pulse of J Dilla R&B with layerings of out of tempo delays reminiscent of some of Four Tet’s work. Then there’s ‘Low Shoulder’ which comes straight out of Ibiza, 1989, with some P-Funk synth squiggles thrown into the mix. The album closes with ‘Eden’, an early 80s synth funk workout with Beach Boys vocals over the top. It’s a fairly engaging mix overall, with enough jumps to hold interest, but enough cohesion to keep it a unified work.

The one aspect that really stands out to my ears, though, is the use of sidechained compression. Over the entire album, every time a kick drum pounds, or a bass line booms, all the other, more mid and treble sounds drop in volume and the bass lifts in volume. This means that the bass and treble alternate in volume for every beat. As you can imagine in beat based music, this is therefore constant. I’ve been listening intently trying to work out if it’s been done by an overzealous mastering engineer. But I don’t think the main vocal lines are affected with all the other higher sounds, which leads me to believe it’s a ploy used by Bundick himself. This is a technique that was pushed to ludicrous levels in late 90s trance, giving the whole mix of a track a constantly pulsing volume rhythm. It has the desired psychedelic effect, making everything feel like it’s phasing all over the place constantly, disorienting the listener with the music coming and going four times every bar. And it does suit Causers Of This on one level. But then I get to the end of the album and realise I’ve spent most of the time concentrating on that pulsing, trying to get my head around it, to find a place inside it where I can settle. I’ve actually completely missed the majority of everything else – the songs, the riffs, the sounds, the lyrics – as all I can focus on is my own disorientation. Which, in itself, is quite an interesting and enjoyable reaction to music. But I’m also fairly certain, given the attention that Bundick gives to all the other elements in the music, that this is not meant to be the focus. Which leaves the album constantly fighting against itself.

There is a great deal to like about Toro Y Moi and Causers Of This. But you really need to fight hard against that one production element to notice all the other bits. So I’m torn – do I just settle into sonic disorientation and forget the rest, or do I fight it and hear everything else? I’m just not used to working this hard to listen to my pop music!

Adrian Elmer

Toro Y Moi – Causers Of This (Mistletone) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

Nommo Ogo – Across Time and Space (Record Label Records)

2010-03-01T22:27:40Z

Nommo Ogo are an old school synthesizer worshipping trio from Oakland. There’s a real link to the warmth and innocent joy of electronic textures that characterised some of the early electronic pioneers. Though their ability to manage the occasional glitched up beats really places them in the here and now. They’re a little like how Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra would sound if they hung out with Autechre and Squarepusher during Warp’s golden period. The effect of their music is quite hypnotic, waves of electronic oscillating drones smattered with fragments of discarded digitalia, and occasional pieces of what may be vocals all immersed into a psychedelic ambient prog brew. Most of their pieces clock in at over eight minutes and explore all manner of territory over their journey. This refusal to be hurried to get to the point adds a further layer of complexity to the music. The first piece here, suitably titled Induction, is fifteen and a half minutes long and sounds like five pieces stuck together such is the variation. It’s musical, yet it often strays into the edge of sound, coming across alternatively like soundscape or film score, before tipping itself back into the musical realm. Walking this tightrope however is fascinating, and again serves to keep this seven track album more complex and compelling. The one criticism would be the trios overuse of those skittery electronic beats, often coming in three or four minutes in, after we’ve been lulled into a hypnotic stupor by the ambient washes of sound. The point being that we don’t necessarily need them, the music has already done its work. Across Time and Space would make a great headphone album due to both the rich detailed textures of the sounds, though also the great use of stereo techniques evidenced. Even the artwork is tripped out, multi dimensional artwork in a cross shaped digipack from artist Kelly Porter. And it’s something to behold, fitting in perfectly with the grand and complex intentions of the music.

Bob Baker Fish

Nommo Ogo – Across Time and Space (Record Label Records) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.

The Souljazz Orchestra – Rising Sun (Strut/Inertia)

2010-03-01T22:26:57Z

Well you can’t complain about false advertising from this Ottawa sextet. We’re trading in spiritual ecstatic jazz here, minus the intense wig outs that John Coltrane or Albert Ayler were prone to. Yet there’s also a strong Afro element, and not just in terms of percussion. Firstly the increasingly ubiquitous Afrobeat element is present, such as on the gorgeous Agbara, with it’s pumping basslines and stabbing horns, yet there’s also vague moments of muscled up Ethio jazz (Negus Negast). It’s their third album, first for Strut, and also their first all acoustic outing. And on Rising Sun they’ve mined some of the most incredible elements you could ever hope to hear and crafted them together in their own unique, quite chilled out way. It’s truly an amazing combination. Wholly instrumental it maintains quite a funky jazzy feel throughout, reminiscent of everyone from the cinematic musings of Lalo Schiffrin or perhaps more strikingly some of the more sedate work of Alice Coltrane. However they sound like both yet neither, somehow forging their own identity from between all of these super cool influences. In fact blindfolded you’d pick them as an obscure forgotten relic from the golden age of the 60’s and early 70’s of rare groove, which of course aint a bad thing at all.

Bob Baker Fish

The Souljazz Orchestra – Rising Sun (Strut/Inertia) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine.