Published by James April 16th, 2007
in Album, Review and 2007.
There was a time when I was deep into Ambient–thanks to an introduction to the genre via Future Sound of London, Aphex Twin, Thom Brennan, and Robert Rich–but had drifted away from the genre in the past years for one reason or another. Recently, I picked up Stars of the Lid on a complete lark, partly because of the positive word of mouth and partly because I was thirsty for something new and and Their Refinement of the Decline deserves the praise that it is receiving as well as more than quenched my thirst for new sounds while renewing my interest in Ambient.
Reviewing Ambient albums is a challenge. What do you focus on? Most of the work in the genre is slow building and often very abstract with tempos measured in minutes and key changes that occur almost imperceptibly. Pieces are designed around textures and moods with the aim of conveying a particular state of mind. While most Ambient works are developed using purely electronic means, and Their Refinement of the Decline is built upon symphonic instrumentation there is the use of a brass section, soft strings, and even some choral fragments all of which lend it a warm human quality and is reminiscent of the more exotic leaning Temple Of The Invisible which made heavy use of human performed instruments.
Much of the album drifts by like a soundtrack for a non-existent film (”Apreludes (in C sharp major)” has every feeling of dropped into the middle of a planetarium show). It is lush and unobtrusive and is best listened to when your mind is calm and when you have two hours free to be gently carried from beginning to end. This is a perfect example of headphone music as the work envelopes you, softly wrapping threads of sound that caress and coax. Throw it on your favorite player and take a walk outside, rain or shine, woods or scrap yard, it doesn’tt matter as the album will provide a theme for almost any environment.
You can sample some the album over at their Myspace page, including “Apreludes (in C sharp major)” which has an accompanying video. Beautiful and highly recommend.
Published by James December 13th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
All Is Fair is a meditative album. It slowly stretches, winding its way through folk forms from nearly every continent while managing to fold in elements of Jazz, Rock, and the Western Classical tradition all of which results in a fine example of Fusion. If you are a fan of Kronos Quartet, and in particular their trance-like work Night Prayers, then you might find yourself drawn to the work on here as it possesses many of the same qualities though approaching them from different angle as Gojogo blend together upright bass, violin, tablas, with various brass and woodwinds to create a sometimes dark yet warm tapestry of sound.
“All Is Fair In Love and War”, nestled near the middle of the album and by far one of my favorite songs on the album, shows the group shaking loose the somnolent work of the prior tracks in the opening bars with a rhythm section built upon an angular tabla line and flanked by a very aggressive staccato violin and bass. Layered on top of it is a slightly restrained guitar line that growls and paces like a caged cat growing more pensive as the piece moves forward. At the midpoint it all crashes, falling on top of itself, and out of it emerges a plaintive melody on trumpet carried by soft woodwinds. Gojogo, in this track, demonstrates a keen ability to construct a narrative through the composition and choices in arrangement. Conversely, “Taal Mama”, which you can stream over at Myspace, is likely one of their more Trance-like pieces as it built around a cluster of simple rhythms and melodies that ensemble makes use of to hang variations on themes. It is understated but very enjoyable at the same.
All Is Fair is a breath of fresh air as it seamlessly blends together so many disparate musical traditions capturing the Trance elements of Modal Jazz and Abstract Electronic with Folk forms of Africa, Europe, and the Americas while maintaining a sense of urgency often found in Rock. It makes for a compelling listen and I highly recommend it. All Is Fair is one of my picks for Best of 2006.
Published by James October 23rd, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Paper Tigers reminds me of the drawing exercises I encountered in studio classes so many years ago, particularly the ones where we were asked to draw the space that the model occupied and by interacting with that space gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Sasu Ripatti appears to take that visual arts concept to heart on this release as the arrangements are often indicative of something lusher and more detailed but have been worked down to those essential threads that bind the work together. It is at once abstract and organic, possessing a warmth and depth that can only be arrived at by realizing that a supposed finished composition can often be reworked into something more meaningful and that objects are often defined by the space which they occupy.
Ripatti’s process of carving and sanding his compositions is best felt on “Really Don’t Mind” which for all intents is a House track with a strong club beat and lush, soulful vocals. Execution of the piece takes a different turn as the vocals a reworked as an instrument and a texture much like the beat production, being used to both provide a structure and context to hang arrangement from as well as to serve as a primary focus for the listener. Wrapping about the arrangement are beats that occasionally skitter into the soft pads and sweeps that make up the songs open landscape. As the song bleeds into “Let You Know” it becomes clear that Ripatti approached the album as a whole rather than a series of discrete tracks. The composition sees the arrangement of the prior track evolve into a sort of minimalist Deep House production, similar to the trance leaning “Good To Be With”, though that description does not really do it justice as the compositions are more carefully thought out than just layering samples and beats.
The songs on Paper Tigers have a tendency to slowly unfold, quietly rotating and shifting in a manner that is more akin to the ambient work of Thom Brennan, Robert Rich, or Pete Namlook. It is this tendency that makes the album best suited for headphones rather than pumping it through your stereo as it is a study of contrasts: sparse and lush; wispy and warm; minimal and detailed. For myself, it is one of Ripatti’s best releases and easily makes it on my Best of 2006 list and finds itself to even be a contender for my favorite album of the year. Paper Tigers is simply outstanding.
Published by James October 3rd, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Opening with shivering strings, An Announcement to Answer imparts a tangible organic feel that wraps itself about the listener in warm, textured folds but it is over all too quickly, unwinding just shy of the forty minute mark. On this, his third release, Will Holland, finds himself digging deeply into the Cuban Soul and Funk diaspora from the 60’s and 70’s, layering them thickly alongside elements from Japan and Africa to create an album that is at once sunny and exotic but tinged with a sense of moodiness. It is an intoxicating journey from start to finish, one that left me a little breathless and looking to repeat it immediately.
this is an album for muggy August nights, strolling underneath pale streetlights casting an orange glow as a stray dog skirts about just on the edge of darkness. “Sabor”, with its swollen horn arrangements, nimble guitar work, and loping vocals builds a fantasy of summer streets late at night with people lounging indolently against dirty brick walls or stretched out on the steps of a building breathing in the scent of the city slowly. Closing out the album is the delicately sweet “”Tell It Like You Mean It” with a saxophone arrangement that strikes closely to the feel and flavor of Rova’s “Suite For A Better World” if it were dropped in the middle of a Brazilian Carnival with undulating bass lines and lightly skipping percussion.
This is what good music does, it is transportive, carrying the listener out of the mundane and to something more vibrant and nuanced. Not many do this as well as Holland, under his Quantic moniker. An Announcement to Answer is sultry listen, one that is warm to the touch, confident and breathless at the same moment. For all its quickly evaporating thirty-eight minutes captured my mind and heart easily putting it on my Best of 2006 list. To get a feel, you can sample the album over at his website.
Published by James June 18th, 2006
in Free Tracks and Lists.
After a rough Friday I decided to take it easy over the weekend and per usual was listening to my collection on random. However some artists and albums bubbled to the surface that pulled me in for a closer listen.
Kad - Societe
He’s been compared to both Manu Chao and Serge Gainsbourg and it holds up. Societe is a fun and sometimes campy, romp with a tropical splash of Brazilian Electronica to round things off.
Pitchfork - 2006 Pitchfork Music Festival Sampler
Twenty-Four tracks. Free. Hot. Get it. Now.
Banco De Gaia - Farewell Ferengistan
Eighties inspired Ethno-tronica with a heady political edge. Dreamy yet informed.
DJ Cheb I Sabbah - La Ghriba, La Kahena Remixed
Incredible followup to last years excellent La Kahena sees those tracks reformed into French-Algerian rap numbers, swirling and thrashing dance numbers, and trance inducing minimalist techno pieces.
Guido Möbius - Klisten
Glistening layers of guitars and other instruments makes for a wonderful companion to Bibio’s sublime Hand Cranked. Delightful music for heady summer evenings.
Published by James June 9th, 2006
in Free Tracks, Singles, Review and 2006.
To say that “Like This” is disorganized would be an understatement. It is a mess. In a scant two minutes and fifty-four seconds they run the gamut of tight rhymes buoyed by lo-fi beats to a creaky, spaced-out break at the end. Both components are great but not necessarily together and certainly not in such a compressed time frame.
Taken by themselves each section has merit, the first half features a party friendly track reminiscent of early Nineties Beastie Boys and it is an infectious section. This gives way in a near car wreck like experience around two minutes and ten seconds to an abstract soundscape built up on marimbas, vibes, glockenspiels, and Boards of Canada like vocal bursts. I find myself liking both district pieces but together it is not a marriage of chocolate and peanut butter rather more like a coconut and dill pickle sandwich in a pita pocket.
You can stream some tracks of Ammoncontact’s over at their Myspace page or grab this freebie from XLR8R.
Published by James June 7th, 2006
in Free Tracks, Album, Review and 2005.
DaFluke’s Bad Timing EP was a CC Hits find for me buried somewhere in between tracks 60 and 70 of one evening’s listening the track “New Strut” had me perk up from my state of lassitude with its soft bursts of static and distortion providing a rhythmic backdrop for the burbling synths that envelope your head in warm snugness. It was change from the hard rock and occasional folk ballad that had preceded it and it fit well with the mood of that lengthening evening.
Lucas Granito, the name behind DaFluke, crafts songs that are little pockets of comfort. Instead of challenging the listener or becoming deeply involved in a narrative arc he writes pieces that evoke a general sense of calm but have a higher level of energy than either Ambient or Chillout music. Building on waves of synth pads “Somewhere In Us” relies on low-fi drum programming to provide momentum propelling the listener along on waves of sound. In contrast, “Can’t Wake Up” possesses a greater sense of urgency approximating the Detroit Techno sound popularized by Derrick May and builds a feeling of suspense by punctuating the track with vocal samples that sound as if someone is just about to speak but hesitated. It is that abstraction that lends the release a sort of IDM feel though it is more organic in nature and less processed sounding in execution.
Released in May of last year, Bad Timing was a something that would have completely escaped me if it were not for services like CC Hits and judging by the quality of work that Granito presents here I am eager to hear more. The EP can be obtained for free either at Archipel or Internet Archive. Recommended.
