Sonic Process: Downtempo

Showing posts with label Downtempo. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Downtempo. Show all posts

Friday, December 12, 2008

Karma "Thrillseekers"

Artist: Karma
Album: Thrillseekers
Label: Spectrum Works
Release date: 1999
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo/Nu Jazz/Drum 'N' Bass
RIYL: Kruder & Dorfmeister, Tosca, Peace Orchestra

Tracklisting:
01. Overture
02. Let's Go Thrillseeking
03. Del Mar
04. Romance
05. Got My Mojo Working
06. Drunken Hero
07. 24 Hours Of Le Mans
08. Comeback
09. The Ballad Of Evil Knievel
10. Five Fourth Of A Whole
11. Fittipaldi
12. Danny's Break
13. Bateria E Baixa
14. Stupid Accident
Total running time: 71' 45"

[Karma - Let's Go Thrillseeking - Video Clip]

[Karma - My Resting Place - Video Clip]

"THRILLSEEKING, Karma's second album, is quite the improvement over their first, PAD SOUNDS. For one, the production is much smoother. Secondly, their songwriting is much tighter and more focused. The laidback grooves are still present, from "Let's Go Thrillseeking" (with its revving engine sounds) onwards. "Del Mar" has a strong rhythmic sensibility matched with jazzy undertones, while "Got My Mojo Working" takes the basic 12-bar blues and crafts it into a driving force. Wisely, the Karma boys keep the tracks developing throughout their length, in order to reduce the stagnation that hampered PAD SOUNDS. My favorite track, "The Ballad of Evil Knievel," mixes heavier sounds in with an easygoing rhythm and spacy synths. "Five Fourths of a Whole" goes for pure lounge atmosphere, while "Danny's Break" adds some scratches by the dextrous Danny Breaks. "Bateria E Baixa" increases the rhythmic content but keeps things grounded with a nice plucked bass. "Stupid Accident" ends things on a wandering note, a slow drive through a desert. A wonderful album, through and through." [scoundrel@discogs]

Sonic: I have listened to this album countless times, and I have yet to grow tired of it. It's the perfect soundtrack for when driving around at night in your car with the volume up to eleven: bliss! This one comes highly recommended if you like the nostalgia of Kruder & Dorfmeister's sound.

[Download]

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Fax "Yo Recuerdo"

Artist: Fax
Album: Yo Recuerdo
Label: Static Discos
Release date: 13 May 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: Ambient Techno/Downtempo/Shoegazing
RIYL: Farben, Murcof, Anders Ilar

Tracklisting:
01. Intro
02. Cuarto Para Tres
03. Concreto
04. Cielo Rojo
05. Rota
06. Yo Recuerdo (I Remember)
07. Bosque
08. Tormenta De Arena
09. Millas
10. Cuarto Para Tres (Dance Mix)
Total running time: 51' 39"

[Fax - Open MySpace page]

[Fax - Live]

"Moments of heartbreak, the slow-burning return of memories and evenings spent all night wired seem to all appear and flow through Fax’s latest release Yo Recuerdo. Moving away ever so slightly from his earlier, darker recordings, Ruben Tamayo, who is Fax, reduces the beat ratio in favour warmly treated guitars and synth haze. Closely related to Fourtet’s “Rounds” of a few years back this album appears slow and sweet whilst washing in wonderful swathes of rounded, reverberating sound.

As mentioned above, the tracks feel like the hours just prior to and surrounding sunrise. The beats are soft and warm, like knocking blocks of wood together while the bass travels long and low beside. The album picks up the pace about half-way through on ‘Rota’, a thudding heart-beat around which a simple guitar line is allowed to flutter and slide. Its so rare to hear an electronica artist utilise this many guitars in their recordings and it seems that wherever they can be drawn out by the ear they shimmer and move lightly through and occasionally appearing at the fore as major motifs. The two vocal tracks ‘Yo Recuerdo’ and ‘Tormenta De Arena’ feature Uriel Villalobos of Mexican rock group Perdutto, and the Argentinean singer Florencia Ruiz respectively. Both tracks are given to the singers as dreamscapes almost, their voices being allowed to move through the songs in a similarly sleepy wandering way. Which is not to say they sound tired or pedestrian, its more like they’re running through their nostalgias in the hours before sleep, allowing Fax to create the mood and setting.

For all its night-time visions and breathy remembering the Yo Recuerdo is wonderfully bright as a release. Its soft and warm and light and airy and makes you want to quickly opt out of this interminable winter in search of some Mexican wonderland of warm, eternal dawn." [Cyclic Defrost]

[Download.Buy]
Instructions to download this one:
1. Open the ifolder download page
2. Click on the link in small font and bold: cкачать
3. Click on any sponsor link and then wait 30 secs
4. A new window should open: enter the code that is given to you
5. Click on the link that shows up and the download should start

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Helios "Caesura"

Artist: Helios
Album: Caesura
Label: Type
Release date: 11 November 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo/Ambient
RIYL: Goldmund, Ulrich Schnauss, Arovane, Xela

Tracklisting:
01. Hope Valley Hill
02. Come With Nothings
03. Glimpse
04. Fourteen Drawings
05. Backlight
06. The Red Truth
07. A Mountain Of Ice
08. Mima
09. Shoulder To Hand
10. Hollie
Total running time: 49' 11"

[Kudos to Obscure Sound for the mp3 files.]

[Helios - Open MySpace page]

"Keith Kenniff has been with Type from the very beginning, and now as Type is well into its fifth year he offers us his fifth gorgeous release. In five years Keith’s style has evolved constantly, with his drifting piano compositions taking the Goldmund label and the Helios sound moving out from undreneath the clipped beat-heavy electronics of ‘Unomia’ and into a more unique place, even incorporating vocals on the ‘Ayres’ mini album. ‘Caesura’ however is his ‘proper’ follow-up to the acclaimed ‘Eingya’, and sees Keith return to the instrumental sound he knows so well. In fact in many ways ‘Caesura’ is a more electronic work than its predecessors, blending layer upon layer of synthesizer and adding his assured drumming to come up with the perfect meeting of indie-pop and ambient music. The haunting cinematic element is still present of course, but these songs are more rounded and confident than any in Keith’s career.

From the delicate bliss of ‘Hope Valley Hill’ which opens up the album with gauzy nostalgia and, as the title promised, hope, through the chunky pop of ‘Come With Nothings’ it is clear that Keith’s music is as arresting as it ever was. Taking cues from the lilting indie-electronics of Ulrich Schnauss and the unfussy ambience of Brian Eno, Keith manages to inject this with his knowledge as a composer. The epic harmonies of ‘Backlight’ for instance reveal a lightness of touch rarely heard in the genre with sweeping synthesized chords buzzing alongside Keith’s signature guitar.

Accompanied by more gorgeous artwork from Matthew Woodson, ‘Caesura’ is a glowing record for the winter months, and a glimmer of hope to keep the seasons at bay." [Type]

[Download.Buy]

Monday, November 10, 2008

Sylvain Chauveau "The Black Book Of Capitalism"

Artist: Sylvain Chauveau
Album: The Black Book Of Capitalism
Label: Type
Release date: October 2008 [original release: 2000]
Genre: Electronic
Style: Modern Classical/Ambient/Downtempo
RIYL: Max Richter, Goldmund, Eluvium

Tracklisting:
01. Et Peu À Peu Les Flots Respiraient Comme On Pleure
02. JLG
03. Hurlements En Faveur De Serge T.
04. Le Marin Rejeté Par La Mer
05. Dernière Étape Avant Le Silence
06. Dialogues Avec Le Vent
07. Ses Mains Tremblent Encore
08. Ma Contribution À L'industrie Phonographique
09. Géographie Intime
10. Je Suis Vivant Et Vous Êtes Morts
11. Mon Royaume
12. Potlatch (1971-1999)
13. Un Souffle Remua La Nuit
Total running time: 44' 29"

[Sylvain Chauveau - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

[Sylvain Chauveau - Nuage - Video Clip]

[Sylvain Chauveau - Never Let Me Down Again (Depeche Mode cover) - Video Clip]

"Sylvain Chauveau is one of those artists we hear mentioned a great deal, yet he has proven strangely elusive when it comes to tracking down his work. Best known (and easiest to get hold of) is his seminal Fat Cat album 'Un Autre Decembre' which set him up as one of the world's premier exponents of the electronic/classical sound, but Sylvain had already been releasing records long before that album hit the shelves. 'The Black Book of Capitalism' originally appeared in 2000 on the French DSA imprint and sadly never hit UK shores, but Type (Sylvain's new base of operations) have managed to put together a gloriously remastered and repackaged version for the wider world to hear at last. Those of you who have been enamoured with the artist's stark, minimal sound might be shocked at first to hear the variety on offer; 'The Black Book of Capitalism' is far from a mere classical record, and shows a breadth of sound never again seen in Sylvain's catalogue to date. From the mournful, delicate piano-work of 'Et Peu a Peu les Flots...' we are transported through a veritable sideshow of gallic musical expertise, with the doomy almost Bohren-esque jazz of 'Hurlements en Favour de Serge T.' and through a chiming fairytale with 'Derniere Etape avant le Silence'. There are almost traces of Angelo Badalamenti's work lost in the grooves here, with the gauzy world of European cinema seeping from every crack and punctuating Sylvain's compositions with both confidence and a deft humour. It might be over eight years old now but nothing of the album has been lost with time, it has matured with age, showing new depths and character with every year that has gone by. With 'The Black Book of Capitalism' Sylvain delivered his most widescreen work so far and it's an absolute pleasure to be able to hear it again in all its glory." [Boomkat]

[Download.Buy(vinyl only)]

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The Remote Viewer "I Can't Believe It's Not Better"

Artist: The Remote Viewer
Album: I Can't Believe It's Not Better
Label: Mobeer
Release date: July 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: Ambient Pop/Downtempo
RIYL: Epic45, The Boats, Marsen Jules

Tracklisting:
01. Untitled
02. Untitled
03. Untitled
04. Untitled
05. Untitled
06. Untitled
07. Untitled
08. Untitled
09. Untitled
10. Untitled
Total running time: 39' 32"

[The Remote Viewer - Open MySpace page in a new window]

"It's been over 3 years since the Remote Viewer's last album "Let your Heart Draw A Line" so it's been quite a wait - but from the instant you start playing this amazing set of tracks you find yourself comforted by the familiar yet forever beguiling sound this band makes. Delicate percussive underlays, pops and whirrs, tinkling melodies, banjo strums, loose piano arrangements and an assortment of found sounds mingle in with deep, almost gargantuan basslines that accompany many of the Remote Viewer's finest tracks. There are some surprising treats in store too - with band member Andrew Johnson allowing his singing voice to be heard properly for the first time in years, while faithful family member Nicola Hodgkinson contributes some of her vocal magic to proceedings. With packaging to die for (it took the label endless late nights to get all the elements together - more or less everything has been hand made) we're thinking that this is one of the most beautiful and sublime releases we've laid our hands on in a while." [Boomkat]

[Kudos to idm trade for this link.]

[Download.Sold Out]

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Lindstrøm "Where You Go I Go To"

Artist: Lindstrøm
Album: Where You Go I Go To
Label: Smalltown Supersound/Feedelity
Release date: 18 August 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco/Downtempo
RIYL: Lopazz, Bjørn Torske, Hercules & Love Affair

Tracklisting:
01. Where You Go I Go Too
02. Grand Ideas
03. The Long Way Home
Total running time: 55' 06"

[Lindstrøm - Open MySpace page in new window]

[Lindstrøm - The Long Way Home (Prins Thomas Edit) - Video Clip]

[Lindstrøm - Interview]

"Hans-Peter Lindstrøm is pictured with an ear-to-ear grin on the cover of his first proper album, and on the strength of it, he has every reason to considering he has just produced the most ecstatic, uplifting and bloody perfect electronic record in years. End of.

Lindstrøm has been making serious waves all the way down from his native Norway to the coolest dance floors in Europe and beyond for some time now with his highly personal take on classic disco, fed on big dollops of Giorgio Moroder and Cerrone and seasoned with warm analogue electronics a la Ash Ra Tempel/Klaus Schulze. Lindstrøm’s first foray into the music scene dates back to 2003, and since, he has released a number of EPs, which were compiled into an album, It’s A Feedelity Affair, in 2006, an album with Prins Thomas in 2005, and has also been spotted remixing anyone from LCD Soundsystem to The Killers.

With Where You Go I Go Too, Hans-Peter Lindstrøm chose a very different path to the one he has graced until now. While his trademark electronic sound more than ever forms the backbone of this record, he has opted here to develop his tracks much beyond what any twelve inch allows and created a magical journey which stretches over just under an hour, with the title track clocking at almost thirty minutes alone. In fact, Where You Go is haunted by the ghosts of Cerrone’s seminal 1977 third album Supernature and Manuel Göttsching’s 1973 Inventions For Electric Guitar and 1984 monumental E2-E4. Adopting a format that has been commonly used by Göttsching or Klaus Schulze over the years, Lindstrøm places his three tracks so there is a continuous flow of music and sound throughout the album. More than simply fading each track into the next, the pieces actually feels as they are intricately linked. Soundscapes spill over and the pace and overall mood remain pretty constant throughout.

From the initial calm brushes of synthetic soundwaves and reversed guitar which linger over the first few minutes of the opening track rises a highly polished sequencer feast which remains at the heart of the piece for pretty much its all length. Over it, Lindstrøm applies occasional electronic riffs which progress in smooth plateaux while an arpeggio develops in the background. Around the seventeen minute mark, the track reaches a clearing where the beat breaks for a few minutes to reveal rich atmospheric sonic layers. Interestingly, it is at this point that the soundscape is at its most abundant, and when Lindstrøm returns to the fully patterned sequences of earlier, he does so with much more bravado.

Where You Go slips almost imperceptibly into Grand Ideas, the shortest of the three compositions, their boundaries would be totally none existent if it wasn’t for the rhythmic canvas of the former piece progressively fizzling out into nothingness. Grand Ideas contrast with its predecessor by kicking much sooner into place and setting out its overall remit pretty much from the start. After a burst of reversed analogue electronics, the beat settles the score, left bare at first but soon surrounded by increasingly more overwhelming layers of sounds, including what sounds like a choir at one point. The sixteen minute epic The Long Way Home, which concludes, is another journey through blissful electronic sequenced textures, but it opens with a looped formation very reminiscent of Manuel Göttsching’s guitar patterns. After a first section, Lindstrøm strips his piece almost to the bone, only leaving a distant clatter to fill the space for a moment, then progressively builds up momentum again until a crystal-clear melody provides a lasting rush of energy and gets the piece back on track.

Lindstrøm set out to create something fresh and unique and it is very much what he has achieved with Where You Go I Go Too. No content of producing one of the most unashamedly electronic records in years, he has managed to capture the essence of electronic music as it was made over thirty years ago while still sounding utterly futuristic. Far from being overwhelming, his dense layering of sounds and his overall vision makes this record one of the most exhilarating offering you’re likely to hear in a very long time." [themilkfactory]

[Download.Buy]

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

The Orb "The Dream"

Artist: The Orb
Album: The Dream
Label: Traffic Inc.
Release date: 29 August 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Ambient Techno/Dub/Downtempo
RIYL: The Future Sound Of London, Orbital, Leftfield

Tracklisting:
01. The Dream (The Future Academy Of Noise, Rhythm And Gardening Mix)
02. Vuja De
03. Something Supernatural
04. A Beautiful Day
05. DDD (Dirty Disco Dub)
06. The Truth Is...
07. Phantom Of Ukraine
08. Mother Nature
09. Lost & Found
10. The Forest Of Lyonesse
11. Katskills
12. High Noon
13. Sleeping Tiger & The Gods Unknown
14. Codes
15. Orbisonia
16. Let the Music Set You Free
Total running time: 79' 56"

[The Orb - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

[The Orb - Vuja De - Video Clip]

"The Dream sees the reunion of long-term friends and collaborators Alex Paterson and Martin ‘Youth’ Glover, working together under the Orb umbrella for the first time in fifteen years. The pair met at school in the seventies, then, while Youth gained famed as part of post punk outfit Killing Joke, Paterson followed as a roadie for the band. The pair went on to set up W.A.U.! Records and work together, alongside Jimmy Cauty, and later on Kris ‘Thrash’ Weston, on the two first Orb albums. While they remained friends over the year, it wasn’t until Youth set up a brand new studio at the end of his garden a couple of years ago that the pair began working on a new project.

Drenched in fluid dub pulses, overactive layered samples and polymorphic grooves, The Dream, introduced by the Future Academy Of Noise, Rhythm And Gardening, captures the spirit of early Orb in a way not heard since Orblivion. The lush sonic tapestry that unfolds past the guitar motif in the opening sequence of the album has the welcoming feel of a treasured retreat. As the warm pulsating bass kicks in and vocal samples burst out from all sides, wrapped up around the main melody to the point of obliterating it, the Paterson/Youth machine appears fully back in motion. The anthemic Vuja De, featuring vocal contribution from Aki Omori, who previously contributed to Cydonia, hesitate for a moment between the rich soundscapes of its predecessor and progressive pop before settling for unadulterated electronic bliss.

But it is in its middle section that The Dream really hits hard. Once the breezy formations of A Beautiful Day cleared, the album dives deeper into kaleidoscopic grooves, first with the greasy DDD (Dirty Disco Dub), then with the liquid The Truth Is…, which makes good use of a well known Orb hook . Then, it is the turn of the heavy dancehall-infused Mother Nature and ragga flavoured Lost & Found to assert the pair’s chemically fuelled dance floor credential. After that, the pair return to gentler territories and drop a series of beautiful hypnotic compositions, first on Katskills, where they combine ethnic percussions and vocal samples on ever changing patterned backdrops, then with the warm and uplifting High Noon. Codes and Orbisonia bring The Dream down to a gentle close. While the surface gloss of the former is eventually broken by erupting electronics, the peaceful nocturnal ambience of the latter echoes some of the most chilled moments of The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld.

A far cry from the desolate minimal techno of Okie Dokie, which Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann released in 2005 on German imprint Kompakt, The Dream is a lush and groovy offering which, although never reaching the heady heights of U.F.Orb, manages to show that there is life in the old beast yet." [themilkfactory]

[Download.Buy]

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Kelpe "Sea Inside Body"

Artist: Kelpe
Album: Sea Inside Body
Label: D.C. Recordings
Release date: October 2004
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo/Ambient Techno/Experimental
RIYL: Boards Of Canada, Plaid, Lusine

Tracklisting:
01. Ice Cream Knife Handle
02. Sickly Situation
03. Growth
04. Nat's Twirly Mug
05. Age Sculpture
06. Keep Danger
07. Overland But Underwater
08. Grappling Hook
09. Age Concerns
10. Knock, Turn
11. Care Of Presto Mini
12. There's A Sea In Your Body
13. Sylvania
14. Petrified
15. Panpipe Dreams (Goodnight)
Total running time: 60' 51"

[Kelpe - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

"Sea Inside Body is the debut album from Kelpe and was recorded using little more than a PC, a mini disc recorder and a range of house hold implements. An instant electronic classic, Kelpe's rich textures, sound washes and taut beats are offset by samples of bored women as they soul search and psycho babble about their desires, needs and emptiness. These sound bites run like a thread throughout the album, giving it a sense of inertia but never detracting from the oceanic beauty of the compositions. From the womb-like pulse of 'Ice Cream Knife Handle' and the glitch-ridden lullaby of 'Age Sculpture' to the dark bowel-wrenching beats of 'Grappling Hook' and the filtered rhythms of 'There's A Sea In Your Body', these pieces display a level of soulfulness often evades digitally produced music. An accomplished and imaginative debut from one of the rising stars of the electronic scene." [source]

[Download.Buy]

Kelpe "Ex-Aquarium"

Artist: Kelpe
Album: Ex-Aquarium
Label: D.C. Recordings
Release date: 25 February 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo/Ambient Techno/Experimental
RIYL: Boards Of Canada, Plaid, Lusine

Tracklisting:
01. Under
02. Whirlwound
03. Shipwreck Glue
04. Pinch And Flare
05. Stop Parching Yourself
06. Yippee Space Ghost (Sid Version)
07. Sunken Centre
08. Skylla
09. Bread Machine Bred
10. Silver Nutkin
11. Half Broken Harp
12. Colours Don't Leak
13. Cut It Upwards
14. Over
Total running time: 58' 56"

[Kelpe - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

"It has been a lengthy hiatus since Kelpe's last offerings: 2005's "Sunburnt Eyelids" (DCR63) and 2004's acclaimed "Sea Inside Body" album (DC53) which preceded it (described by The Wire Magazine as "One of the most engrossing listens in recent electronic music").

On hearing "Ex-Aquarium" it becomes clear what he has been doing in this time. Countless live performances all over the world as well as numerous explorations into the sonic potential of table tennis have clearly drawn him towards increased instrumentation with Mckeown himself getting behind the drum kit to beat out the rhythm as his new wave of sonic mutations emerge triumphantly from the whitewater.

"Shipwreck Glue" oozes and gripes like a writhing leviathan amidst a din of cowbells and ping pong staccatos. "Whirlwound" swaggers and swells like a rhythmic ocean overture; "Bread Machine Bred" sounds like a whirring automaton making strange maneuvers in the deep. Previous comparisons to the likes of Fourtet, Dabrye, Boards Of Canada will be left in the wake of this sterling new material." [source]

[Download.Buy]

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Telefon Tel Aviv "Map Of What Is Effortless"

Artist: Telefon Tel Aviv
Album: Map Of What Is Effortless
Label: Hefty
Release date: 27 January 2004
Genre: Electronic
Style: Glitch/Downtempo/Ambient Techno
RIYL: Apparat, Dntel, Four Tet

Tracklisting:
01. When It Happens It Moves All By Itself
02. I Lied [Feat. Damon Aaron]
03. My Week Beats Your Year [Feat. Lindsay Anderson]
04. Bubble And Spike [Feat. Lindsay Anderson]
05. Map Of What Is Effortless
06. Nothing Is Worth Losing That [Feat. Damon Aaron]
07. What It Is Without The Hand That Wields It
08. What It Was Will Never Again [Feat. Lindsay Anderson]
09. At The Edge Of The World You Will Still Float [Feat. Damon Aaron]
Japanese edition bonus tracks:
10. Jouzu Desu Ne
11. Sound In A Dark Room [Feat. Lindsay Anderson]
Total running time: 45' 15"

[Telefon Tel Aviv - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

[Telefon Tel Aviv - When It Happens It Moves All By Itself - Unofficial Video Clip]

"The first great album of 2004 has already arrived. From the opening swell of the Loyola University Chamber Orchestra crashing through a giant barbed wire fence of glitched stabs of sliced beats, to the closing wall of found sounds of "At the Edge of the World You Will Still Float", it is plainly obvious. Telefon Tel Aviv has advanced the art of the laptop album to beautifully refined heights with A Map of What is Effortless, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut.

The duo of Joshua Eustis and Charles Cooper has infused this album with so much soul and sweat that it is destined to go down as a classic of the genre. Never resting on a repeating loop or groove, nor filling the LP with a couple of "mood pieces" to accompany the real standouts, Telefon Tel Aviv is the real deal, as special to electronic music as a young Jeff Buckley was to singer/songwriters.

Flawlessly produced and engineered, Map of What is Effortless combines the organic sounds of real pianos and flutes (and chamber orchestras) with some of the best glitch sounds this side of Dntel. An always exciting ebb and flow of the gentle ("When It Happens It Moves All by Itself"), with the humorous ("My Week Beats Your Year"), it is the sheer unpretentious audacity of a young duo on the rise that allows A Map of What is Effortless to sound so... well, effortless.

While most of the tracks feature vocals of some kind (usually distorted, stretched and affected in some magical way), even the instrumental pieces hold their own as standouts, which is often not the case with albums such as this. The LP's first truly heart-wrenching moment comes with the elegantly floating "Bubble and Spike", where an angelic sounding Lindsay Anderson sings among slices and pops of beats and snippets of her own impossibly layered vocals. It brings to mind the best efforts of Everything But the Girl and Sigur Rós and it's especially affecting coming as it does immediately after "My Week Beats Your Year", where Anderson plays the role of a ridiculously arrogant club girl, out to prove in an elegantly-wasted deadpan that her fabulous jet-set life carries the same frequent expectancy as your going to the grocer.

The LP's title track again uses the Loyola University Chamber Orchestra to conjure up a Craig Armstrong-inspired bed of strings that acts as a relaxing intermission to the fried beats of the album's first half, before breaking down into a coral reef of sliced-up abstraction.

"Nothing is Worth Losing That", the album's sixth cut, has the same mastery of momentum that the aforementioned Sigur Rós uses to such effective extremes on their records. Bursting with walls of sound just as the listener expects it all to fade into silence, and then breaking everything down to its simplest parts when the moment seems almost too big to stay intact, it is a masterful display of arrangement, and structure.

"What it Was Will Never Again" is the most Sigur Rós-inspired cut of the entire album, sounding as if it could have come right off of ( ). But Telefon Tel Aviv hold it back, and simply end the cut just as Sigur Rós would have blown the roof off the building with a majestic wall of guitar. I'm not sure it works entirely, as it seems as if there isn't much point in building to such heights only to end it as if it never existed, but nevertheless... It might be the one flaw on an otherwise flawless collection.

Damon Aaron returns to close out the LP with "At the Edge of the World You Will Still Float", which sits somewhere between Seal and the Broadway Project, as all of the album's ideas and sounds come together for a final bow. It's a fitting ending to a record that packs a lot of those ideas in, without ever coming across as anything but cohesive.

Map of What is Effortless may very well be Telefon Tel Aviv's bid for stardom, as the duo takes the sounds and ideas of their 2001 debut, Fahrenheit Fair Enough, and expands them to new heights. Its structure and more mainstream feel may alienate some fans of their early work, but it would be unjustified as it is undoubtedly clear that Telefon Tel Aviv have created something of a minor classic here, one that will no doubt grace quite a few writers' year-end lists, and if there's any justice in the world, the shelves of quite a few record collections as well." [source]

[Download.Download Japanese edition (password:ewang).Buy]

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Nuspirit Helsinki "Nuspirit Helsinki"

Artist: Nuspirit Helsinki
Album: Nuspirit Helsinki
Label: Guidance Recordings
Release date: 30 April 2002
Genre: Electronic
Style: Nu Jazz/Downtempo/Breakbeat
RIYL: Jazzanova, Koop, Thievery Corporation

Tracklisting:
01. Honest [Feat. Nicole Willis]
02. Subzero
03. Trying [Feat. Lisa Shaw]
04. Silent Steps [Feat. Ona Kamu]
05. Circular Motion
06. Hard Like A Rock (Nuspirit Emorph) [Feat. Daddy Ous]
07. String Interlude
08. Orson (Album Mix)
09. I Wonder (2:14 AM) [Feat. Chuck Perkins & Ona Kamu]
10. Montana Roja
11. Seis Por Ocho (Original Jazz Session Mix)
12. Skydive [Feat. Tommy Lindgren]
13. Skydive Outro
Total running time: 65' 42"

[Nuspirit Helsinki - Honest - Video Clip]

[Bebel Gilberto - Winter (Nuspirit Helsinki remix) - Video Clip]

"Nuspirit Helsinki is a multi talented Finnish collective of DJ’s, producers, and musicians that has ascended to the forefront of the burgeoning European neo jazz scene on the strength of their peerless productions for Guidance, Jazzanova/Compost and Ubiquity. The group was conceived in 1998 by founding members Tuomas Kallio and Hannu Nieminen (a.k.a. DJ Ender) who enlisted a core group of Helsinki’s finest musicians to develop a dynamic 21st century big band sound informed by a wealth of jazz, funk, soul, afro, and Latin influences. Equally inspired by cutting edge hip hop, nu soul, broken beat, two step and drum and bass sounds, Nuspirit’s musical mission is to fuse live organic instrumentation with warm, dubby electronic textures to produce soulful and sophisticated music that can be enjoyed on or off the dancefloor.

The group’s barrier breaking debut single “Take It Back” was released on Guidance in March 1999 and has since attained cult classic status in both deep house and eclectic DJ circles. Refusing to limit their sound to any specific sub-genre, the band took things to the next level on their red hot and relentlessly funky follow up single “Makoomba Breaks,” combining masterful musicianship with sizzling percussion to create this sultry afro-beat classic. The single includes an extended re-edit of “Afro-Cuban Sunshine” the standout track from Guidance’s acclaimed Mundial Muzique collection which was charted by all of the right DJ’s and embraced by a cross section of electronic and traditional world music fans across the planet. Changing directions once again, Nuspirit dropped their amazing “Montana Roha Jazz” EP on pioneering German label JCR in the winter of 2001 to a rapturous response. A tribute to the band’s vision and versatility, this orchestral jazz dance masterpiece elevated Nuspirit Helsinki to the forefront of the blossoming European nu-jazz movement alongside pioneering artists like Jazzanova, Incognito, Four Hero, and Kruder and Dorfmeister. Enlisting the support of the musicians that performed on their previous singles, Nuspirit took their big band show on the road in the summer of 2001, dazzling crowds at Jazz and Electronic music festivals across the continent with their forward thinking fusion of accomplished musicianship and relentless dancefloor energy.

After completing their tour, the band retreated to its Helsinki studio to record their eagerly anticipated debut album which features contributions from an all star cast of vocalists, including: Naked Music’s resident diva Lisa Shaw, Brooklyn bred nu-soul chanteuse Nicole Willis, acclaimed Chicago spoken word artist Chuck Perkins, and Nuspirit’s resident blue eyed soulstress Ona Kamu. The end result is an exquisite long player fusing smokey live jazz funk arrangements and melodic nu-soul grooves with dark undulating broken beat rhythms to propel the Blue Note jazz sound safely into the future. Released in May 2002, Nuspirit’s eponymously titled debut album is already in regular rotation on Gilles Peterson’s seminal World Wide Radio Program and is receiving maximum support from a host of taste making DJs, including: LTJ Bukem, Jazzanova, Thievery Corporation, Norman Jay, Patrick Forge, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Dr. Bob Jones, U.F.O. and many more." [source]

[Download.Buy]

Sunday, November 25, 2007

310 "Sixes And Sevens"

Artist: 310
Album: Sixes And Sevens
Label: Conduit Records
Release date: 13 November 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo/Nu Jazz/Funk

Tracklisting:
01. Fortuitous Bounce
02. High And Tight
03. U Bastard
04. Black Acres
05. Dear Resistance
06. Radiator
07. Kind Summer
08. Track 8
09. Freedom Connection
10. No Reason To Go There
Total running time: 46' 56"

"310, the band formed by New Yorker Tim Donovan and Seattle-based Joseph Dierker, are quietly celebrating ten years at the helm of their good ship with their latest album, Sixes And Sevens, released on Conduit Records, the title perhaps a semi-hidden reference to the fact that, their 2001 effort Nothing To See Here being a strictly limited affair, this album, their seventh, is only the sixth to received a high profile release. The pair’s debut album, Aug 56, was released a whole ten years ago on their own imprint, and their sophomore effort, Snorklehouse, followed a year later, firmly establishing their blend of ambient, found sounds, hip-hop-infused beats and melodic electronic music.

Released on Conduit Records, a label based, like the band, partly in New York and partly in Seattle, Sixes And Sevens undeniably bears the 310 stamp, but, unlike its predecessors, The Dirty Rope (1999), After All (2001) and Recessional (2003), Dierker and Donovan have produced an entirely instrumental record. The only vocal instances here are the band’s traditional samples making reference to their names. While long term contributor Andrew Siegler, aka Fire/Fly, is not present here, Dierker and Donovan have once again called upon a handful of collaborators. Ralph Rolle provides live drums on seven of the ten tracks collected here, giving pieces such as High And Tight or U Bastard increased relief, while a more subtle approach also adds to Radiator or King Summer. Turntablist Ali Shaheed Muhammad and trumpeter John Mulkerin provide additional textures on opener Fortuitous Bounce, the former by rooting the piece firmly in hip-hop territory, and the latter by giving the piece a jazzy sheen.

Paul Umbach adds to the menacing overtones of Black Acres by applying somber cello brushes, while the slow funk of Freedom Connection is given a slight Eastern European touch by violinist Mary Gross. Elsewhere, it is down to Dierken and Donovan to shape their environment by developing their familiar brew of acoustic, electric and electronic instrumentation, and refine the many contours of the music with found sounds and samples. The 310 sound has, over the years, become more sophisticated, but behind the melodies and layered orchestrations remain the hazy atmospheric backdrops and stunning ambient formations which have been integrant part of their work. Although not quite as exposed here as they were on Recessional, the moody meanders that build in the distance on Black Acres, Radiator or Track 8 convey much of the emotional turmoil of this record.

310 pack so much in their records that each listen invariably reveals new elements. Sixes And Sevens is no different. Brimming with sumptuous textures, gorgeous melodies and haunting atmospherics, this album is once again an impressive effort. In the ten years since they first appeared, 310 have forged a truly unique sound, with each new record adding to the band’s sonic riches. Impeccably deployed across Sixes And Sevens, these appear as bright and appealing as ever." [source]

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Friday, November 23, 2007

Peace Orchestra "Peace Orchestra"

Artist: Peace Orchestra
Album: Peace Orchestra
Label: G-Stone
Release date: 1 September 1999
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo/Nu Jazz/Trip Hop/Dub
RIYL: Kruder & Dorfmeister, Tosca, Sofa Surfers

Tracklisting:
01. The Man Part One
02. Meister Petz
03. Double Drums
04. Domination
05. Marakesh
06. Henry
07. Who Am I
08. Shining [Feat. Chilli Bukasa]
09. The Man Part Two
Total running time: 56' 52"

[Peace Orchestra - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

[Peace Orchestra - Shining - Video Clip]

[Peace Orchestra - Who Am I - Multi-touch interaction demo]

"As one half of Kruder and Dorfmeister, Peter Kruder helped to unleash the amazing 2CD laid-back beatfest of K & D Sessions. The double disc of remix work (and a couple short originals) was one of the most solid releases of the year and a testament to the duo being able to reconstruct tunes with their own deft touch into something that was often times more interesting than the original. Those wondering what the duo could do without the starting points of other music need wait no longer, as the Peace Orchestra is a fully-realized effort and a great one at that.

Sounding something like you might expect from one half of the above mentioned duo, Peace Orchestra is nine tracks and just over an hours worth of laid back beats, jazzy little keyboard lines and lots of other little bits thrown in for good measure. The disc starts off in familiar K&D territory with "The Man Part One." After some odd blips and washes of sound that give the track an almost underwater feel, in comes a little thicker keyboard melody and some live drumming sounds. It all folds over itself and slowly winds together, and rub a dubs you along in a warm groove. The same sort of feel continues with some nice use of horns on "Meister Petz," before stepping things up just a slight notch on "Double Drums Domination."

After the slightly overlong (but ultra tripped-out) "Domination," the disc changes up ever so slightly for the second half beginning with the darker sound (and awesome chang-up rhythms) of "Marakesh." The disc closes out absolutely beautifully with an awesome 1-2-3 punch of tracks. While "Who Am I" throws down a thick beat over some trancey slow progressions before it picks up and layers on some even chunkier riffs. "Shining" goes the trippier route again with nicely layered chime sounds, big timpani drum hits and vocals by Chilli Bukasa before "The Man Part Two" drops and sounds almost like a Portishead outtake with muted horns, an old gospel singer sample, and completely wah-ed out guitars.

As could be expected, production on the disc is outstanding and although none of the tracks move much beyond a downtempo pace, the music still has plenty of life and interesting things going on within. Fans of Kruder And Dorfmeister would probably definitely want to check this out, as well as anyone who just enjoys good downtempo music that doesn't drag." [source]

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Saturday, November 10, 2007

Telefon Tel Aviv "Remixes Compiled"

Artist: Telefon Tel Aviv
Album: Remixes Compiled
Label: Hefty
Release date: 15 May 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Glitch/Breakbeat/Downtempo
RIYL: Apparat, Proem, Dntel

Tracklisting:
01. Nine Inch Nails "Even Deeper" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
02. Bebel Gilberto "All Around" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
03. John Hughes "Get Me Lost/Driving In LA" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
04. Apparat "Komponent" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
05. AmmonContact "BBQ Plate" ["Last Supper" Mix By Telefon Tel Aviv]
06. American Analog Set* "The Green Green Grass" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
07. Midwest Product "A Genuine Display" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
08. Oliver Nelson "Stolen Moments" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
09. Phil Ranelin "Time Is Running Out" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
10. Nitrada "Fading Away" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
11. Marc Hellner "Asleep On The Wing" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
12. Slicker "Knock Me Down Girl" [Telefon Tel Aviv Remix]
Total running time: 53' 53"

[Telefon Tel Aviv - What It Is Without The Hand That Weilds It - Unofficial Video Clip]

"From the opening bars of their remix of Nine Inch Nails' 'Even Deeper' (the opening track to this collection) you know you've got an hour or so of the most sumptuous electronica ahead of you. This remix was actually the band's first track together under the Telefon Tel Aviv moniker, dating back to 2000 and all the band's distinctive auditory trademarks were in place even then: the impossibly high fidelity recordings, the vastly complicated rhythmic methodologies and the near superhuman attention to detail. Skip forward to TTV's reworking of Bebel Gilberto's 'All Around' and you're in for another widescreen electronic treat, with all the key elements of the original handled with the utmost delicacy only to be bolstered by a crackling ocean of frazzled electronics. Other standout moments crop up when Apparat's 'Komponent' gets tweaked to futuristic pop perfection and Oliver Nelson's orchestral 'Stolen Moments' gets a subtle circuit bending. A masterclass in electronic production techniques and no mistake." [source]

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Friday, November 09, 2007

Four Tet "Remixes"

Artist: Four Tet
Album: Remixes [2CDs]
Label: Domino
Release date: 25 September 2006
Genre: Electronic
Style: Breakbeat/Hip Hop/Downtempo/Nu Jazz
RIYL: Prefuse 73, Pedro

Tracklisting:

Remixes
01. Lars Horntveth "Tics" [Four Tet Remix]
02. Radiohead "Skttrbrain" [Four Tet Remix]
03. Madvillain "Money Folder" [Four Tet Remix]
04. His Name Is Alive "One Year" [Four Tet Remix]
05. Sia "Breathe Me" [Four Tet Remix]
06. Aphex Twin "Untitled (SAW2 CD1 Track1)" [Four Tet Remix]
07. Madvillain "Great Day" [Four Tet Remix]
08. Bonobo "Pick Up" [Four Tet Remix]
09. Rothko "Roads Become Rivers" [Rivers Become Oceans - Four Tet Remix]
10. Beth Orton "Carmella" [Four Tet Remix]
11. Bloc Party "So Here We Are" [Four Tet Remix]
12. Pole "Heim" [Four Tet Remix]

Remixed
01. A Joy [Feat. Percee P]
02. As Serious As Your Life [Jay Dee Remix]
03. Hilarious Movie Of The 90's [Manitoba Remix]
04. Hilarious Movie Of The 90's [Koushik's Funny Flic]
05. A Joy [Remix]
06. My Angel Rocks Back And Forth [Icarus Remix]
07. A Joy [Battles Remix]
08. As Serious As Your Life [Remix]
09. A Joy (Feat. Percee P) [Koushik's Quick Mix]
10. Sun Drums And Soil [Sa Ra Creative Partners Remix]
11. No More Mosquitoes [Boom Bip Remix]

Total running time: 122' 52"

[Four Tet - And Then Patterns - Unofficial Video Clip]

"Four Tet Remixes is split into two discs, one devoted to Kieran Hebden's own remixes and another to remixes of his work done by his friends. It’s a concept that attracts a certain level of curiosity, for it reveals not only what influences Hebden and how he chooses to reconstruct them, but also flips the tables and does the same for his peers.

Hebden has been quite prolific as a remixer, providing new takes for musical acts that have diversified as he has evolved. Beginning with instrumental post-rock in Fridge, his first group, the past few years have also found him incorporating more genres and styles into his work, from hip-hop and jazz to world music and electro. The first disc of remixes succeeds primarily because it demonstrates his listening range and how he cleverly applies various styles of music to his heroes, all while creating soundscapes that are undoubtedly his own.

On the hip-hop front, Four Tet includes two of his five Madvillain remixes, one of which is the outstanding version of "Great Day," where ringing guitar and crashing drums change it from a casual jazz reflection to a cathartic triumph. For the ambient stylings of Aphex Twin's "Untitled," he chooses to redo it as dreamy drum n' bass, while Radiohead's "Scatterbrain" (here titled “Skitbrain”) uses wobbly xylophones, tumbling electronic drums, and clicks and cuts to augment the lulling guitar figure of the original. Even the post-rock and bedroom electronica artists that informed Four Tet's early works receive intriguing second takes. Rothko's "Roads Become Rivers" is fashioned into graceful melancholy, employing plinking acoustic guitars and a somber piano loop.

It’s too bad that the second disc doesn't offer nearly the same cohesion, fascination, or quality of the first. Whereas Four Tet's remix work discloses a multi-dimensional, intricate palette of soul and harmony, his colleagues present lazy, flat, and inferior interpretations of their source. The four remixes of "A Joy," comprising a third of the disc, all cleave too closely to the blueprint, taking three tries before a combination of Percee P's guest appearance and a slightly dissimilar beat by Koushik finally avoid repetition. The two most high-profile associates of Hebden, Jay Dee and Caribou, offer up remixes, but they were both created earlier in their careers, so they lack any of the innovation or attention to detail of their more recent output. Both fail to be especially interesting, with Caribou sticking to the placid-but-pleasant IDM of Start Breaking My Heart and Dilla doing essentially a Common beat for Guilty Simpson. The rest of the remixes fall into similar patterns—most sounding entirely too much like the originals, as if they didn't know how to do it any better.

Throughout his career, Four Tet has come off as one of the nice guys—an artist with a lot of friends. This much is obvious by the amount of remixing work he’s done here—and had done to him by others. That said, Four Tet Remixes would have benefited greatly from Hebden putting his foot down: making it a single disc and proving his relative artistic superiority in the remixing arena. As it is, the album is one disc—and about ten dollars—too much." [source]

[Download[Direct Download of 2CDs.CD1.CD2].Buy]

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

People Press Play "People Press Play"

Artist: People Press Play
Album: People Press Play
Label: Morr Music
Release date: 15 June 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro Pop/Indietronica/Downtempo

Tracklisting:
01. Girl
02. Always Wrong
03. These Days
04. That Walk
05. Hanging On
06. Frail
07. Studio
08. Before Me
09. Everything
10. Stop
Total running time: 38' 26"

[People Press Play - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

"At its simplest, System (Future 3 members Anders Remmer, Jesper Skaaning, Thomas Knak) plus singer Sara Savery equals People Press Play. But reducing the quartet and its self-titled album to an equation does a disservice to this exceptional album's fully-realized electronic pop. Informed by its creators' many years of experience in constructing meticulous electronic atmospheres and rhythms, the album's ten songs are intimate, melancholic, joyous, dreamy, and pulsating—perfect vehicles for Savery's versatile voice, which easily moves from crystal clear (“These Days”) and intimate (“Always Wrong”) to alluring (“Hanging On”).

Traces of other groups can be glimpsed: a song like “Frail” likens People Press Play to a more beat-focused Susanna and the Magical Orchestra; “Always Wrong” pairs Savery's voice with a bass-heavy propulsion reminiscent of Remmer's Dub Tractor style; and a subtle injection of shoegaze roar informs “Everything” and “Stop” while “Girl” sweetens her whispered murmur with blurry sheets of sound. And though People Press Play's style is distinctive, largely instrumental tracks like “Studio” and “That Walk” reveal that the quartet's style isn't radically different from System's (notwithstanding its recent move into dubstep on Tempo EP), once Savery's singing is removed. Even so, the sparkle of the musical backing provides a gorgeous support for her relaxed vocal in “Hanging On” while the chiming electro-pop of “These Days” shadows Savery's voice with Theremin-styled counterpoint that—in an alternate universe at least—would have hit single written all over it." [source]

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Ulrich Schnauss "Goodbye"

Artist: Ulrich Schnauss
Album: Goodbye
Label: Independiente
Release date: 25 June 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Indietronica/Downtempo

Tracklisting:
01. Never Be The Same
02. Shine
03. Stars
04. Einfeld
05. In Between The Years
06. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
07. A Song About Hope
08. Medusa
09. Goodbye
10. For Good
Total running time: 55' 50"

[Ulrich Schnaus - Open MySpace Standalone Music Player]

"Ulrich Schnauss presents the final part in his trilogy of electronically ethereal albums. As their names – Far Away Trains Passing By, A Strangely Isolated Place and now Goodbye - suggest, his productions invoke the idea of a bleak, but worthwhile, journey. His music could be for an outing that involves the body physically moving (the ideal tape for a long car ride), or a static body allowing the mind to truly wander. Ultimately the same outcome is achieved, a deep sense of introspection initiated via a soundtrack of delicate beauty.

The first two albums were released on the small German electronica label City Centre Offices, but, as a testament to Schnauss’ success and veneration, this album has been picked up by the much larger Independiente label. His tracks have been used by luminaries such as Nick Warren and Sasha on their mix albums, and his own remixes range from Depeche Mode to Long-View – the English band for whom he has recently taken over keyboard duties. Schnauss utilizes lead singer Rob McVey on ‘’Shine’’; an eerie orchestral epic, where layered vocals melt together with cyclic drum beats to create a beautiful and emotive soundscape.

Goodbye may, at times, put you in mind of sirens drawing sailors to their downfall, but that’s not to say that this isn’t an uplifting album. The dissociated vocals are seamlessly combined with fragile chord progressions, tribal rhythms and textured electronic noise to create an album filled with optimism. The two tracks which make up the finale, ‘‘Goodbye’’ and ‘‘For Good’’, emphasise the message of the album; a valediction at the end of the journey. Hopefully there will be a reprise sometime soon and this is not goodbye, for good." [source]

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Friday, June 01, 2007

Porn Sword Tobacco "New Exclusive Olympic Heights"

Artist: Porn Sword Tobacco
Album: New Exclusive Olympic Heights
Label: City Centre Offices
Release date: 1 June 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Ambient/Downtempo

Tracklisting:
01. Tools For Trains
02. Den Rosa Sporten
03. Giftwrap Yourself, Slowly
04. Copyright The Universe
05. Ljus, Den Yttersta Gåvan
06. Cubical Fever
07. Comme-Il-Faut (6 ÅR)
08. En Hyllning Till Cyckeln
09. My Lovely Wife Becky
10. Do The Astrowaltz
11. Hierarkisk Symmetri Och Romantik
12. Pappa! Min Kärlek Är Gravid
13. U.S. Saloon Props 41/59
14. Vingar Av Svärd
Total running time: 35' 27"

"Another masterful album full of microscopic found-sounds, wildlife-documentary vignettes, de-tuned midnight chimes and ageing celluloid lullabies - Henrik Johnson's 3rd album for City Centre Offices is his most beautiful, complete release to date. "Tools for Trains" sets things in motion with a slow rustle of static and the distant chimes of a lonely vintage synth, gradually enveloping itself within layers of warm effervescence that sound like a cross between Kompakt's Pop Ambient and Boards of Canada's 30-second interludes. It's a breathtaking, fragile opening that sets the velvety props in place for what's to follow. "Giftwrap yourself, Slowly" heads to an autumnal 1950's Parisian sidewalk and the memories of a long-faded romance, played out in a black and white, analogue fashion, while "Cubical Fever" evokes "the mid-point between Sun Ra and the half-remebered soundtracks of 70's mid-morning nature programmes" to quote The Wire magazine. There's an incredibly evocative narrative running through these 14 tracks, something that's enhanced greatly by the fact that most of the pieces here are just shy of the 2-3 minute mark, yanking you out of one glassy-eyed daydream into the next before coming to a close on the magnificently widescreen "Vingar Av Svärd", an effect not unlike emerging into unfathomable sunshine after a few days burrowed deep under the thick cover of the Scandinavian forest in which these tracks were written and recorded. Although it's a cliché often associated with instrumental recordings of this nature, "New Exclusive Olympic Heights" is truly a record out of time and out of place - a solitary beacon for lonely hearts and nostalgic souls looking for something to trigger all those long forgotten memories tucked away in the furthest recesses of the mind. As such, it's quite easily one of the most involving, beautiful records you'll hear all year. Essential purchase." [source]

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Friday, May 25, 2007

Arovane "Lilies"

Artist: Arovane
Album: Lilies
Label: City Centre Offices
Release date: 14 June 2004
Genre: Electronic
Style: Downtempo/Ambient

Tracklisting:
01. Ten Hours
02. Windy Wish Trees
03. Passage To Nagoya
04. Cry Osaka Cry
05. Pink Lilies [Feat. Kazumi]
06. Lilies
07. Tokyo Ghost Stories
08. Instant Gods Out Of The Box
09. Good Bye Forever
Total running time: 36' 32"

"The story is (as noted on City Centre's website) that Uwe Zahn, the man behind Arovane, returned from a trip to Japan, recorded Lilies, and then dismantled his studio. If true, then Lilies will simultaneously thrill and break your heart. An evocative and gilded memory of a romantic cityscape (in this case the neon and glass skyline of Japan), Lilies is a continuation of the emotionally mature electronic music that Zahn does so masterfully as Arovane. While Tides, one of his earlier releases and City Centre's first full-length release, was written as an ode to the seashores in the south of France, Lilies takes you to early spring in Tokyo when the cherry blossoms are blooming.

Lilies is short -- too short by far -- and each track is a brief reminiscence of Zahn's recent trip. "Ten Hours" -- the time it takes to fly from Berlin to Tokyo -- hums with the vocal activity of the airport as a harpsichord plucks out a winsome ode, a resonating melody that speaks of the oxymoronic anticipation exhaustion that pervades the traveling experience. "Passage to Nagoya" shuffles and rattles around a woman's voice as she announces the approaching destination. A single drone is suspended in space while the drum kit slouches around underfoot and velvet pads stroke the foreground. It's a moment of interrupted time -- that last two minutes before you arrive at your destination when you've gotten your affairs settled and you are doing nothing but watching the scenery and letting the motion of the train lull you. You can become rejuvenated in just two minutes. Zahn knows.

There are snatches of voices scattered throughout Lilies, bursts of Japanese that chatter through the ambience and the gorgeous melodies. Field recordings of the city streets swirl around the drum pads, and there is a miniscule layer of distortion and the echo of static that laces some of the instrumentation like dust motes caught in the late afternoon light. "Cry Osaka Cry" captures the early twilight across the city, the shivering metallic percussion like a spindrift of luminescence cascading down on the slow shadows on the streets.

"Tokyo Ghost Stories" is haunted by a spectral echo that has been layered by reflection off of so many hard city surfaces that it sounds like the voice of the city and not just the gentle cooing of a single lost girl. The shuffling beat patterns of "Cry Osaka Cry" and "Passage to Nagoya" pursue this voice, trying to discern its source. Like so much of Lilies, "Tokyo Ghost Stories" is a love song to the metropolis, a burnished memory kept alive by lambent melody and delicate percussion.

And are we to take the title of "Good Bye Forever" seriously? The last track of Lilies is a piece for solo piano against a backdrop of shimmering tones and drones with echoes from a distant chamber orchestra, and it plays like the last exchange between old friends about to part for a long time. Is this it, then? I hope not. Arovane records are dazzling ambient concoctions that imprint themselves like the lost lullabies of innocence in our tired and cynical brains. As a travelogue, Lilies is a musical postcard written by a traveler who, upon returning home, realizes he misses the magical place he just came from. Let's hope that it isn't the last we hear from Uwe Zahn and Arovane. Highly recommended." [source]

[Download.Buy]

Friday, May 11, 2007

Tarwater "Spider Smile"

Artist: Tarwater
Album: Spider Smile
Label: Morr Music
Release date: 20 April 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro Pop/Downtempo

Tracklisting:
01. Shirley Temple
02. World Of Things To Touch
03. Witch Park
04. A Marriage In Belmont
05. Lower Manhattan Pantoum
06. Roderick Usher
07. Arkestra
08. When Love Was The Law In Los Angeles
09. Easy Sermon
10. Sweet Home Under White Clouds
11. When Tomorrow Comes
Total running time: 45' 35"

[Tarwater - Witch Park - Video Clip]

"Electronically-adept but fond of pop hooks, unsentimental but never austere, Tarwater has always toyed with the mind-body problem. Here on their eighth full-length, the band’s two principals — Ronald Lippok (ex of To Roccoco Rot) and Bernd Jestram — find a nearly perfect balance between digital cleanliness and human warmth. Slipping sensual beats under intellectually challenging abstractions, Spider Smile expands on the brainy pop forays of 2005’s The Needle Was Travelling and takes them another step forward.

Consider how “World of Things to Touch,” one of the disc’s highlights, begins in a squawk and squall of synthesized sounds, then resolves like a developing Polaroid into lighthearted rhythmic pop. The cut is breezily, easily in motion, built on a groove that carries you blithely through the song. And yet, there’s something uneasy buried within the verses, a tension between sensuality and intellect that turns up in lyrics like: “She wondered how far he had come / and what it cost him to return / all the memories he brought back / would be deleted by / the world of things to touch.”

Or later, on “A Marriage in Belmont”, when icy cascades of keyboard notes splatter over a hip-shifting beat, you can almost hear the clash of pristine intellectuality and the pleasures of dancing. The lyrics are opaque, at intervals rife with natural imagery, as the protagonists hang upside down like bats or, in the song’s most evocative lyric “walk ... into the cobalt blue.” There seems to be a desire to merge with the natural world, express both in organic sounds and nature-loving lyrics. And yet there’s something chilly and observant in these songs that separates the dancer from the dance.

Spider Smile has more vocal-less cuts than The Needle Was Travelling; roughly a third of the album is instrumental. These are a bit less accessible than the ones with words, yet quite lovely in their own terms. “Shirley Temple” opens the disc, and has a slow echoey dignity to it, its overhanging harpsichord tones merging with space-ship howls and drones. And “Witch Park” is sheer syncopated joy, metallic clangs and reverberating drum slaps bouncing off synthetic keyboards, some sort of Eastern-flavored woodwind buzzing around in the background.

There’s a certain amount of philosophy embedded in these songs, and an unsettling end-of-days tinge to at least a couple of them. “Lower Manhattan Pantoum” opens with the observation that it’s, “Always a bad sign / People on the sidewalk looking up”, abstractly evoking a certain September day early in the decade, but without exactly saying so. “Easy Sermon” also refers to current events obliquely, describing a time, “When every scripture leads to rapture ... When towers are falling and muezzins are calling / The message will come to the deaf and the dumb.” And yet the beat is so insistent, the keyboard melody so clear and cool-headed, that you might easily miss the politics.

And really, that’s okay, because Spider Smile is the kind of album you can play in the background (or foreground) for sheer musical pleasure. It’s full of beautiful beats and fluctuating layers of melody, its lyrical fragments, delivered in a deep echoing monotone, can stick in your head without ever attaching themselves to literal meanings. You can dig deeper — there’s plenty underneath — but there’s plenty to enjoy on the surface." [source]

[Download[pw:sashasretroemporium.blogspot.com].Buy]

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