Archive for January, 2014

Jon Hopkins – Insides (2009)

Jon Hopkins - Insides (2009) coverYou may not have heard of the guy, but it’s more than probable you’ve heard his work. Massive Attack, Herbie Hancock, Imogen Heap, and, most recently, Coldplay and Brian Eno, are just a few of the names you’ll see connected to the classically trained 28 year old’s already colourful profile. But if the mention of ‘classically trained’ and ‘Coldplay’ has you raising your eyebrows, then maybe the words ‘serrated dub-step’ and ‘aggressive electronica’ will dampen the fears slightly. Continuing on from his two previous critically acclaimed albums, Insides is a lot darker, grittier and rougher around the edges than anything on either Contact Note or Opalescent. It sees Hopkins expanding and exploring; keeping true to his clasically fashioned electronica sound but also delving into the bottomless depths of dub-step and dissecting the more aggressive, angry side of electronica. Put simply; it has more character…sputnikmusic

2014
01/10
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Emptyset – Recur (2013)

Emptyset - Recur (2013) coverOver the last six years, Emptyset have evolved from a minimal techno act into pioneers of a sound somewhere between techno, dubstep and noise-based sound design. Paul Purgas and James Ginzburg have most recently been exploring the impact of unusual acoustic environments on their sound, whether a Cotswolds mansion (on Medium) or abandoned nuclear power stations (on Material). Recur, their fourth album and first for Raster-Noton, is more concerned with the limits of processing than external spaces. As the title suggests, repetition is an important part of these tracks. The general structure sees one pattern repeated with small variations: adding reverb, finding new resonance or adding another blast of noise. “Fragment” has one base pattern of rhythmic noise gradually growing more intense and topping out after three minutes. “Order” repeats the trick over twice the length. The use of side-chain compression dominates many tracks, especially “Instant.” It’s a technique as over-used as any in modern dance music but, even at slow tempos, Emptyset use it in pursuit of barely-restrained aggression rather than softened grooves…residentadvisor

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2014
01/10
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Archon Orchestra – Cenotaph (2013)

Archon Orchestra - Cenotaph (2013) coverI’ve been enjoying the material coming out of Muzyka Voln, so I was interested to see this installment. I was not familiar with Archon Orchestra, but the cover reminded me of Theatrum Chemicum’s releases. The label describes the album as ‘the sounds of a church organ harmoniously intertwine with delicate, subtle electronics while piano and strings mysteriously ‘float’ under the arches of a gothic cathedral immersing the listener in light melancholia.’ Archon Orchestra serves up some good electronic neo-classical which reminds me of Theatrum Chemicum or Autopsia. Somber and heavy. The only downside on this album was ‘Time {extra},’ which was an upbeat number that didn’t seem to work. Kind of like when Autopsia has a somber track that all of a sudden kicks into techno for a while. However, this is pretty good overall. This album weighs in at around 44 minutes…chaindlk

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2014
01/10
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Borealis – Glittervoice (2013)

Borealis - Glittervoice (2013) cover

A two hour mix Borealis (Jesse Somfay) recently compiled for Fenomena Studio goes a long way to explain what has changed in his music since last year’s murky, dubstep-inspired Voidness. The mix is expectedly eclectic, but an overwhelming presence of hard, intense dance music lies at odds with Somfay’s hazily downtempo aesthetic. With the mix in mind Glittervoice suddenly adopts an improved narrative, principally because anything is an improvement on the previous “confused.”Glittervoice comes across as Somfay revisiting old ground from a completely new direction. Once again, his work under the Borealis moniker owes much of its content to hypnotic drum loops and intensely layered, smoky synth swells, but where Voidnessdrew inspiration from the post-Burial dubstep scene Glittervoice switches it for club-ready techno, trance and even hip-hop. The outcome is a style of music chasing the raver’s enlightenment: where the individual is completely absorbed in the music’s flow to the point even the most heavy tracks will feel serenely perfect…muzikdizcovery

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2014
01/04
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Blue Hawaii – Untogether (2013)

Blue Hawaii - Untogether (2013) cover

In 2010, Raphaelle Standell-Preston and Alexander Cowan spent a couple of months wandering around Central America, and when they came back they made an EP that sounded like an uncommonly lyrical “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” essay: eight songs of humid, sun-kissed, heart-on-its-cut-off-sleeve electro-pop. Of course, Blue Hawaii was not the only band on the beach in 2010, but Blooming Summer managed to sound like something unique. Standell-Preston’s voice moved through these songs like a jellyfish, tumbling with such grace that its sudden sting came as a surprise. “I think about you thrusting into her,” she sang on the best song “Blue Gowns”, her voice full of anguished jealousy and self-reproach, “And I ask myself, how stupid can you get?” Blooming Summer captured the joys and fears of a new relationship (Standell-Preston and Cowan are a couple) with careful precision, but it also felt unassumingly excellent. Blooming Summer had a quiet release on then-very-niche label Arbutus; you can still download it on their Bandcamp for $1. Standell-Preston became better known for fronting the more guitar-driven band Braids, while Blue Hawaii seemed destined to be a side project little known to people outside the couple’s friends in the Montreal DIY scene. Then, of course, that scene blew up…pitchfork

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2014
01/04
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The Knife – Shaking The Habitual (2013)

The Knife - Shaking The Habitual 2013 Cover

As befits a duo that dreams up an opera based on Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species, The Knife is one of the smartest bands working. What couldn’t be counted on by the makers of 2010’s unlistenable Tomorrow, In a Year is that their 100-minute double album would be both smart and listenable—against all odds the best work Karin Dreijer Anderssen and her brother Olaf have ever done and a candidate for 2013’s best album, period. Think of Public Image Ltd.’s Second Edition, John Lydon’s (and Jah Wobble’s) famously abrasive masterpiece, with coherent politics and forward motion in the grooves. Hell, forward motion in thedrones. Think if Liars’ percussion monsoon Drum’s Not Dead was all it was cracked up to be. Think of last year’s Swans album, The Seer, if it was composed and programmed protests rather than improve goth comedy…pastemagazine

theknife.net, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia

2014
01/03
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Jon Hopkins ‎- Immunity (2013)

 

Jon Hopkins - Immunity cover

As a music fan, there are few feelings that do more to validate wading through all of the muck than a genuine breakthrough. Wimbledon export Jon Hopkins’ career has been a series of baby steps, beginning with his debut Opalescent in 2001. From there he worked his way up, releasing follow-ups, collaborating with the likes of Coldplay and Brian Eno, and collaborating with King Creosote on the Mercury-nominated Diamond Mine in 2011. It’s a solid resume, akin to a wonderful character actor who’s never quite managed to elbow their way into limelight. With his fourth individual effort,Immunity, Hopkins is hell-bent on making his own luck. And has he ever; Immunity is brilliant. It’s both a culmination of Hopkins’ earlier achievements and a progression beyond them. It can be fragile, kinetic or abrasive; it can make you want to dance or sing along with ad-libbed words, or just awe you with its beauty. Yet it exists in a realm that few other techno records occupy. It’s an impeccably organized listening experience that deserves and demands to be listened to in its entirety, thanks to terrific pacing, a broad sonic palette, and a confident command of rhythm…beatsperminute

jonhopkins.co.uk, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,dominorecordco.com

 

2014
01/02
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