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Reviews:
Swod - Sekunden - 20-Jan-08 08:27 PM
Swod is front running the evolution of modern classical composition with their second full length release on one of my favorite labels, City Centre Offices. The ping-pong approach of passing the files back and forth among two talented composers who met in Berlin in 1991, Oliver Doerell and Stephan Wöhrmann, cemented a perfect distance bridge for a marvelous result. Minimal piano melodies and lo-fi filter sweeps of hissing field recordings and "the voice of a long dead cinema icon" allow for new discovered samples on each rotation. Being a long time follower of Dictaphone (Oliver Doerell's project with Roger Döring), I instantly recognize the borrowed clicks, tweaked chirps, and many other electronic treatments that are so characteristic of Dictaphone's earlier releases on CCO. Wöhrmann's piano playing adds yet another dimension to the style, and gently shifts the genre from future jazz into neo classical. I listen to this album over and over, and it seems to perfectly accompany the sentimental feeling I get when I stare out the window and watch the world run through its senseless cycles. No wonder the duo has scored silent films. Highly recommended if you like Porn Sword Tobacco, Julien Neto, Xela, and of course Dictaphone. Favorite tracks: Ja, Sekunden, and Paintage.
Landau Orchestra, The - Janus Plays Telephone - 20-Jan-08 08:26 PM
Landau, a group of musicians collaborating across the net, set aside their staple IDM sound that perfectly suited Merck (oh, Merck, [sigh!] how I miss you), and organized a real orchestra, full of brass, percussion and string instruments, along with a pair of turntables, a laptop and a Rhodes. The experimental jazzy downtempo result is instantly gratifying (kind of reminds me when The Herbaliser joined forces with a group of nine players to form The Herbaliser Band and release an instantly classic Session One). The Landau Orchestra is geared more towards an all electro-acoustic instrumentation, and the sound is executed flawlessly by this highly skilled and professionally trained group of jazz musicians. Releasing on Milan Records have opened up some potential doors for Landau, since the global label provides major support for film and television (friendly warning - Milan is a member of the RIAA), and provided an opportunity for Landau to remix Javier Navvarate's soundtrack for Pan's Labyrinth (iTunes download only). Overall, I'm glad that a long standing electronic group is able to infuse the IDM heads with a kick of jazz - perhaps we'll see a full film score in the future. Recommended if you like Nostalgia 77, Skalpel, Jaga Jazzist, and Jazzanova.
Gridlock - Formless - 20-Jan-08 08:26 PM
Here's another perfect example, of how dating music can underestimate its beauty and importance - a 2003 release on Hymen that still holds up really well today. San Francisco's Mike Cadoo and Mike Wells decided to end the ten-year Gridlock project in 2005, yet Cadoo continued his development in music and released an acclaimed ambient and shoegazer album on highly regarded n5MD label (which, incidentally, he manages), titled In Distance, under his Bitcrush alias. In Formless, we can already detect Cadoo's early transformation into atmospheric soundscapes offset by solid, post-industrial influenced IDM beats, that he has been perfecting with Wells, along with his drum'n'bass influences from releases as Dryft. Gridlock even managed to secure a spot on a coveted Travel Sickness box set compilation (which I finally tracked down in Spain and snatched at a hefty price). To me, this is the music that blends all of my favorite elements, and is at the root of definition of IDM, even as the term is on its way out. Highly recommended for collectors who wish to own a piece of history. RIYL: Beefcake, Architect, Proem, Displacer. Favorite tracks: Pallid, Chrometaphor, and Displacement
Belong - October Language - 20-Jan-08 08:24 PM
With their debut release on Carpark, the New Orleans duo, Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones, grind through filter overload, guitar based, heavily processed and distorted loops that seem to go on forever. For me, noise happens to be a new territory, and with the tightly clenched jaw I smile at its beauty, as I attempt to stand upright through the torrent of shoegaze unleashed by a hurricane. The intricate detail is revealed through layers of intense sonic bombardment, like staring at an abstract sharply outlined object for minutes, only to see its true contour after glancing at a white wall. As silence fades in, I am left with only microscopic sediments that encapsulate the feelings of destroyed and tumbled New Orleans. Considering there's a lot of data to sift through, the quality of the mastering is top notch, performed by none other than another New Orleans native and friend, Joshua Estis (Telefon Tel Aviv). Estis and Dietrich have previously worked together under Beneli moniker in remixing Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile. Diestrich also played the guitar on a track for Telefon Tel Aviv's Map Of What is Effortless. Highly recommended if you dig Ben Frost as much as I do. Also for the likes of Fennesz, Tim Hecker and William Basinski.
Parson (2) - Throw Some Ds - 20-Jan-08 08:24 PM
With 2007 bathing in grime, it seems that everyone is ready to jump on the dubstep bandwagon. But with a sudden saturation of new artists and material, how does one decipher and pick out the standouts. We could thank Mary Anne Hobbs and her acclaimed BBC Radio sessions, as well as an excellent Warrior Dubz compilation on Planet Mu that served as a good stepping stone into the world of dubstep. The label followed up with 12" releases from Pinch, Benga, MRK1, and my current subject, a debut release from Parson. Based out of Austin, Texas, Chris Parson drops immensely h-e-a-v-y bass over dark step with chopped vocals with a definitive unique US hip-hop flavor. With the help of Skint, the B-side is just as dirty ("filthy" if you will), vibrating my neighbors baby carriage across the street. This two track EP also secured a spot on 10 Tons Heavy and 200 compilations from Planet Mu. And if the wide vinyl grooves are too much for your expensive needles, pick up the lossless FLAC version from bleep. Be sure to also grab Parson's Ghostliner EP with a remix by Distance on Dubline Audio.
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