New Discoveries on Fallt

Maybe one of the reasons that 'space' is such an important quality in the music I love is that I've always linked the sounds I hear to geographical images. Someone out there might be able to psychoanalyze that, who knows.

Anyway, today, February 23rd 2004, a cold wintry day in Newcastle upon Tyne under a big blue sky. Whilst I work away on my PhD I have been engaged in some headphone listening to two of the most beautifully realized records I've heard in ages, music so attuned to the gentle frostiness outside that they may as well be an extension of that very environment. Both come courtesy of Northern Ireland's Fallt, a brilliant, under-exposed label that is as much about the visual production of its releases as artistic artifacts as the music.

The discs in question are, firstly, Komet's "Arc, Live", a recording of a gig in 2000. Frank Bretschneider (for it is he) originally turned me off big style. I thought his bleeping minimalism was about as interesting as a vinyl test tone. Now, though, I've well warmed to it, and this subtle, almost-invisible funk music is like tiny icicles forming at the far edge of a tree branch. Delicate though it is, at high volumes one imagines Bretschneider would shake the very walls of the venue with reverb.

The real find, though, is a live set by Hard Sleeper (the project of Dubliner Peter Maybury), an artist of whom I knew absolutely nothing prior to listening. Maybury is a friend of Donnacha Costello's and there are similarities between their music. Neither is interested in mathematical abstraction, using minimal approaches instead to tour the more melancholic side of the psyche. However, whilst Costello has a tendency to go for the gut in his wrenching instrumentals of a love lost, Maybury constructs something altogether more ethereal and sublime from tiny fragments of melody of detritus. His music brings to mind Shuttle358, but at a point where the music almost hovers on the very edge of existence. Tiny pops and crackles start to emerge from a bed of poignant tones in their very twilight, there-but-not-there, spectral apparitions of song. At the 11-minute mark a more profound melodic line starts to emerge, adding weight to, but never disrupting, the carefully crafted sense of serene stillness that characterizes this exceptional release.

Always great to come across someone unfamiliar and to fall in love with their music there and then. Particularly when the low sunbeams shining through the blind in the room seem utterly at one with the sounds in one's ears. After retreating back into near-silence, the piece comes alive again towards the end.

John Gibson
grooves / senior editor
2004-02-23

broken social scene / bee hives / arts & crafts

Like Broken Social Scene's first album "Feel Good Lost", "Bee Hives" is calm and most of the time ethereal reflecting the group's more quiet explorations. Not a must-have for the casual fan only acquainted with "You Forgot It in People," there is still a sense of continuity throughout this collection of b-sides, some dating back to earliest incarnation of the band, as well as a few new tracks. Most songs are instrumental, stretched out with long, shimmering drones occasionally offset against minimal playful skitters - the pastoral bedroom electronics of "Ambulance for the Ambiance" could easily pass as a Mum outtake. Without breaking the quiet melancholy, a few of the tracks are a little more formed; "Lover's Split" is a brooding, piano driven song with a beautifully somber vocal melody. Though not a proper album, anyone who loved Broken Social Scene's recently re-issued "Feel Good Lost" will definitely enjoy the subtle ambience of "Bee Hives."
listen: broken social scene / ambulance for the ambiance
listen: broken social scene / lover's split

triple r / selection 2 / trapez

Trapez is known for their long, often full-sided deep techno house groovers. Not as much techno/house as techno-with-house. These are smart, minimal club tracks with that classic "track" quality, tracks you can ride forever till the end, or use as transitions within a mix. Maybe that's why the beginning of the first half of this mix, though well mixed, has a bit of that "warm-up" quality. Each track explores a different theme from the track preceding it. A deep driving, slightly epic track like Dialogue's "Boulevard" will mix into Akufen's cutup, bouncing funk ("Psychometry 2.1")

Things kick into gear at Track 5 with Rheinhold/Barnes' "Count", and really get running by track 8 (Oliver Hacke's "Vampir Von Dusseldorf"). This is almost like Rheinhold's version of a "club mix" in comparison to his "Friends" mix. It's still deep, melodic and poppy, but it's more driving (without ever getting nearly as hard as Mayer's "Speicher" mix) with only a few vocal bits here and there to accent the beat.

During tracks 8 through 15 is where Triple R shines. This is where he laces the melodies and beat textures from one track to the next and achieves that "floating" quality in his mix. Standout tracks from Oliver Hacke, M. Rahn, M.I.A. and Sarah Goldfarb.
listen: matthias rahn / reflections
listen: pleitte / pleitte

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

manual with jess kahr / north shore / darla
*see 'darla' link for review and mp3

elektronische musik interkontinental 3 / various artists / traum

Yet another brilliant release in the Elektronische Musik series for Traum Schallplatten. "Interkontinental 3," compiled by Traum/Trapez co-owner Richard 'Riley Reinhold' (aka Triple R), continues to bring us the finest in warm bubbling techno from every hemisphere known to man. Germany, England, Ireland, Australia, Argentina, Japan, they're all here. Volume 3 is full of bright, poppy, dance-floor material properly balanced by deep, dreamy, minimal activities for the late-night; and it all grooves. Process and Oliver Hacke deliver, as usual. Donal Tierney and Jorge Gebauber each introduce some of the finest tech-house this side of that new rock beyond Pluto, Sedna.

I'm telling you, it's all here, and thankfully, the vinyl release this time round is only a 4 track 12" featuring a few club friendly tracks from the CD. It includes the Broker/Dealer rmx of French band Margo's "La Baumette," Popnebo's "Of Course She Does," a different killer from O. Hacke than appears on the CD, and Michael Fentum's "Warm Hands," which are actually lush strings that evolve into this static-laden montage. There's even a QuickTime video on the CD by POLAR called Occupy set to the music of Victor Bermon rmx of Fotel Folyamat's "Love Streams." Like I said, it's all here.
listen: adam kroll / klostergarten
listen: donal tierney / text xxx

pantha du prince / diamond daze / dial

Pantha Du Prince (aka Gluhen) takes his personal palette of sounds and applies them to new minimal techno structures. After falling for the Gluhen LP, I didn't know what to expect from this one. I half-expected off-time, deep shuffle techno with noise clusters here and there. What we end up getting is deep minimal techno with the classic Dial beauty and sophistication devoid of any straight up, generic sounds. Every element - bass, melody, hi-hats - is given a custom tuning to make it unique, stark, grey, and full of beauty.

Pantha Du Prince blends the dark brooding drive of Carsten Jost, the heavenly lift of Lawrence, and a tech/house structure similar to the Traum label injected with impeccably chosen/arranged sounds. While Jost tends to push forward with dark, sharp sounds accenting the beat, Pantha Du Prince has more of a driving (yet still sophisticated), dark funk. (See "Eisregen and "Circle Glider") Side C's "Sad Saphire" is like way deep Basic Channel taken out of the dank basement and placed in the clouds. Another step forward in the dark beautiful world of Dial records and another favorite LP. Recommended.
listen: pantha du prince / circle glider
listen: pantha du prince / butterfly girl

fennesz / venice / touch

One of the few truly original voices in contemporary electronic music, over the last nine years Christian Fennesz has created and refined a signature style that effortlessly combines dense, noisy digital fragmentation with a warm almost subliminal pop sense. As with pretty much all his releases, "Venice" sees Fennesz focusing on the sound of the electric guitar extending its palette through various digital processing techniques.

Although the album is less cohesive and overall developed than his last album 'Endless Summer" (or even the singles collection "Field Recordings"), in some ways its sketch like quality is its strength. Less conceptually oriented, the album comes across like a personal document of a time, an idea or perhaps a place. While "Venice" may not be as immediate as some of Fennesz' previous efforts, its combination of somber haunting melodies and grainy texture illuminates a space where simple somewhat catchy guitar playing wontedly coexists with the din of contemporary computer manipulations which is further illustrated by Jon Wozencraft's beautiful cover photographs documenting human interaction and manipulation of nature.

A somewhat mournful and generally subdued affair, "Venice" shows an artist reflecting on his craft rather then trying to force himself into a new direction. Highlights include "Transit," a stunning collaboration with David Sylvian that continues where their fantastic duo track on Sylvian's recent album "Blemish" left off. Situated directly in the middle of a mostly subdued listening experience "Transit" literally bursts out of the speakers accentuating the album's more pop like characteristics as well as its more restrained moments. Here's to hoping for an album's worth of Fennesz vs. Sylvian.
listen: fennesz / the point of it all
listen: fennesz / transit

luomo / the present lover / kinetic

It seems that Vladislav Delay has always wanted to make a pop album. From his tracks on the last Electric Ladyland compilation, and his first album under Luomo entitled "Vocalcity," he has shed his clicks and cuts image and was on a mission to make the perfect house record, one that combined the elements of experimental electronics with mainstream house hits like Kylie Minogue. I can tell you that Vladislav Delay sweated over these tracks for months, reproducing, remixing, and rerecording to eventually produce "The Present Lover."

The man has completed his mission, for "The Present Lover" is a superb house album that can be listened to just as easily in the club as it can in the home. It is superbly produced, but still contains elements of his experimental works; there are still elements of electronic dub, glitches and vocal cut-ups. Many have dismissed this album as his bid for commercial success but really it is just another face of this extremely talented multi-faceted artist. Mr. Delay did not "sell-out," this is just his attempt at making the perfect house album, and once again he has given us an incredible listening experience. A must have for fans of Vladislav Delay You will here this everywhere in 2004... from mega-clubs and lounges, to dinner parties and shops.
listen: luomo / talk in a danger
listen: luomo / the present lover

pass into silence / calm like a millpond / kompakt

Pass into Silence has a new EP on Kompakt and the label seems to be stepping out of its mold a bit with this one. The sweet/pop/austere formula that most "Pop Ambient" releases are known for is beginning to stress the "austere" part a little less. The five track EP is mainly built of electric piano, angelic female vocal bits (minimal Enya on track 1) and glacial atmosphere. There is a definite regressive, almost indulgent childlike vibe, track 3 sounding like an electronic soundtrack to a children's storybook. Little Nemo (the boy, not the fish) maybe? What may come across as Kompakt going "light" is saved by the always-impeccable production. The most "aggressive" track is a revisit from the "Pop Ambient 2004" track "Sakura" followed by a blissed-out remix (of "Sakura") that trades its slow moving melody for what seems like a slow, cloud-filled, descending melody accented by distant harps. In the remix, 3 minutes and 30 seconds ends way too soon.
listen: voices
listen: sakurare remix

skyphone / fabula / rune grammofon

Norway's always-incredible Rune Grammofon label starts off the year 2004 in fine form with the debut album from a Danish trio called Skyphone. The best recent point of reference for this group is another Scandinavian trio that seamlessly blends acoustic and electronic elements: Tape. While Tape has a more direct approach to song structure, Skyphone's loose, almost dreamlike compositions still retain a strong sense of melody and form. A lot of bands like this tend to go overboard with their arrangements, but the members of Skyphone never allow too many things to happen at once. There must be a million different sounds and samples spread throughout "Fabula," not one of which is ever lost or buried in the mix.

Skyphone probably have more in common with Phonophani than with anyone else on Rune Grammofon, but the extensive use of acoustic guitar and the influence of dub and minimal techno in their incredibly subtle, sometimes almost inaudible beats set them pretty far apart. Fans of Boards Of Canada and Kompakt's Pop Ambient Series will most certainly dig this incredibly beautiful, understated, and mature record. Perfect late night headphone listening, or for closing your eyes and relaxing on the subway ride home from work.
listen: skyphone / monitor batik
listen: skyphone / airtight golem

listen: the mole/ back to the endless
listen: the mole/ grinder review

contact: basic_sounds@yahoo.ca

isan / meet next life / morr

It's been over two-and-a half years since "Lucky Cat," ISAN's last full-length, and not much has changed in the world of these Morr Music staples. Their ultra-melodic brand of warm analogue electronica is still here but this time out there is a slight twist. Robin Saville and Antony Ryan have for the first time added organic acoustic instruments into the fold, and what comes out is a beautiful amalgamation of both the traditional and the modern. Downtempo beats are the backbone, while spacey analogue synths float by, electronic blips and bleeps add some texture, and various acoustic instruments like acoustic guitars, hand percussion, glockenspiel, and many more flesh out the songs. The one thing about ISAN is that their tracks are meticulously composed, even though the melodies are extremely simple with each miniature part an essential to the whole. Once again, ISAN fail to disappoint and "Meet Next Life" is another exquisite album in their almost flawless discography. Recommended.
listen: isan/ birds over barges
listen: isan/ one man abandon

casino versus japan/ hitori + kaiso 1998-2001 / attacknine

Casino Versus Japan drops a bomb on us this week. Milwaukee's Erik Kowalski gives us 29 unreleased tracks that he recorded between 1998 and 2001. Why these songs didn't make it onto any "official album" is beyond me because they are far from "throwaways" as one might expect. All of these tracks are stunning, right from the very start of Disc 1. Album opener "Buried" is a lush downtempo jewel that could compare to any of the amazing tracks on Boards Of Canada's "Music Has the Right to Children"... yes, it's that good. The first disc is comprised of mostly upbeat and lush sounding songs with some of the more ambient pieces left for Disc 2. Freescha and your Attacknine label, I thank you; for if not for them "Hitori + Kaiso" probably would have never seen the light of day, and that would truly be a shame. By the way this is a 2-CD for a single CD price, and well worth it.
listen: casino versus japan/ buried
listen: casino versus japan/ bound by your smile

ellen allien / remix collection / bpitch

Ellen Allien continues to leave her "electro" peers behind with a collection of remixes that, like her album "Berlinette," moves toward pop without losing a bit of her punch and danceability. While some of her album tracks may have suffered from pressure to "have a message," the "Remix Collection" displays all her new wave, glitch-hop, acid, pop-house styling, without any excess baggage.

Tracks range from broken beat glitch-hop ("Let's Get It On" rmx impossibly creates a song I like out of a Gold Chains song) to new wave acid pop house (tracks 5-7, including a B. Morgenstern remix-excellent, and an Ellen Allien remix of her own "Alles Sehen," and "The Way We Have Chosen" by OMR) to full strength club rockers like Ellen's remixes of "Bullet" by Covenant and "Butterfly" by Gut-Humpe.

The collection is rounded out by a fine, dreamily glitched up remix of Golden Boy with Miss Kittin's "Rippin Kittin" -- a successful redefinition of an already flawless club pop hit. You will ask and re-ask yourself, "How does she make solid tracks where others would just make frivolous electro pop?" Again, all her strengths witnessed on her first album, "Stadtkind" through to her "Berlinette" LP are showcased here, unadulterated. While others seem to be stepping back to avoid the trend-end backlash, Ellen Allien seems to be intent on moving forward. Recommended.
listen: ellen allien/ let's get it on
listen: ellen allien/ uus heiterem himmel

best of 2003:

1.) ellen allien/ berlinette / bpitch
listen: ellen allien/ abstract pictures

2.) t.raumschmiere / radio blackout / novamute
listen: t.raumschmiere/ the game is not over
listen: t.raumschmiere/ monstertruckdriver



3) polmo polpo / like hearts swelling / constellation

michael mayer / fabric 13 / fabric

Michael Mayer has created a beatmatched "Back to Mine/Another Late Night" style "listener's/taster's choice mix" that trades his driving abstract momentum for contrasting blends that allow for full appreciation of the nuances of each individual track. There is a decidedly friendly and soft song-style techno (not necessarily all with vocals) throughout most of this mix. Inviting melodies move through H. Voss' "I Think About You (rmx)" into R. Davis' "Bring Me Closer" cresting with Westbam and Nena's(!) "Oldschool, Baby", full of disarmingly festive, yet still minimal, club piano melodies!

Track 5: Wruhme and Wighnomy's "Killerteppich" into T.Schaeben's "Busted" is where Mayer begins to lay into his abstract funk a bit, but the mix suddenly eases down to Villalobos' "Easy Lee" which clears the palette for my favorite part of the mix...

From there, Magnet's "Abendstern" climbs infinitely into space, full of small beautiful details, becomes Superpitcher's "Mushroom" and blossoms into Jackson's remix of M83's "Run into Flowers."(This track will put a lump in your throat.) This section is full of contrast and detail that underscores Mayer's statement that "Fabric 13" is not a "clubset" and that he prefers mix CDs to "be intimate" and "to tell a story." (Although describing a DJ mix as one that "tells a story" might sound cliche', Mayer does NOT delve into pacifier/glowstick territory.)

Finally, after a short, two-song detour into more killer funk (Le Dust Sucker's "Love Me" is a bit SICK), Mayer frames the mix with a re-visitation of H. Voss' "I Think About You", this time, with the original version. An infinite variety of tracks, arranged primarily for appreciation (melody driven, rather than beat driven) as opposed to moving the dancefloor. Another facet of one of the best.
listen: michael mayer/run into flowers
listen: michael mayer/love me

troisk meets jan jelinek / ~scape

How many killer incarnations can this man generate??? As Farben, Jelinek produced pinprick, micro-funky minimal house. As Gramm, Jelinek eased the seat back with the ultra jazz ambience. I could go on. Triosk meets Jan Jelinek beautifully fleshes out and solidifies what I've previously described as "liquefied jazz". It's as if the murky and melted sound of the "Live in Tokyo 9/01" has hardened and crystallized like so many mid-December snowflakes, and in almost as many varieties.

Here Jelinek sharpens the quality of his sounds by capturing the sound of jazz trio, Triosk (L.Pike, A.Klumes and Ben "Donny" Waples) in all their live acoustic glory. Each instrument must have been painstakingly mic'ed because the crystal clear sharpness of the instruments is gorgeous, ESPECIALLY the drum sounds. Where other producers like to take live jazz samples and "throw them in a blender," Jelinek lines them up and arranges them in modern, modal, melodic deconstructions. The tracks ride that beautiful line between modern electronic music and modern live jazz. Although loops are used throughout, there is a definite "live" tension retained throughout the album. Maybe if Four Tet and the Necks collaborated the results would be somewhat like "1+3+1," but I have to admit, probably not with results as good as this one.

On "Theme from Trioskinek", piano loops are sliced and diced with high definition hi-hat rolls and a beautifully plodding double bass loop. Over and over, lush digital hums, clicks and bleeps lift the live-sounding endless drum loops, thick buzzing double basslines and piano melodies. Again, it's easy to imagine these tracks being played live with Jelinek joining the Trio stage-side, laptop in front of him, yet the simple elegance of the arrangements proves that these tracks aren't live productions.

More than one person has commented that this was the album that Herbert's "Goodbye Swingtime" should have been more like; I have to agree. Superb album. Recommended.
listen: jan jelinek/onthelak
listen: jan jelinek/vibespul

b.fleischmann / welcome tourist / morr

The man that started the Morr Music phenomenon returns to the label to present us with his new double album. "Welcome Tourist" is a slight departure from B. Fleischmann's previous works; gone are the simple groovebox beats, but they are now replaced by lush instrumentation alongside his own brand of bedroom electronics. A track like "Guided By Beats" starts off with gently plucked guitar, followed by heavy Def Jux style hip hop beats, then halfway through tremelo-ed synth washes float by. "Pass By" begins with a delicately tapped piano melody, followed by a live bass rhythm until the heavy downtempo beats kick in and cut-up female vocals are dispersed throughout; then at the two-minute mark, beautiful washes of guitar distortion permeate the song -- it is absolutely stunning. On "Grunt," he probably comes up with his most catchy melody yet; all the while Fennesz-style electronic static floats in and out of the song as if to not make it sound too pretty. "Welcome Tourist" contains 11 amazing tracks on the first disc alone while disc two is one 45-minute track that spans the whole spectrum of what Mr. Fleischmann is trying to accomplish. The second disc utilizes acoustic guitars, live drums, piano, strings, cut up vocals, ambient electronics, crunchy beats... you name it, it's in there. "Welcome Tourist" is B. Fleischmann's masterpiece and definitely one of Morr Music's finest hours. What more can I say, but that the man has done it again! Highly recommended.
listen: b.fleischmann/pass-by
listen: b.fleischmann/grunt

deadbeat vs. stephen beaupre / it's a crackhaus thing / onitor

Are you fan of Akufen, Herbert, or the Soft Pink Truth? Do you buy records just because they are on Perlon, Playhouse, or Kompakt? If you have answered yes to any of the above then this is for you! Deadbeat and Stephen Beaupre have created a fabulous, funked-up tech house album with "It's a Crackhaus Thing." Like the previously mentioned artists, this duo incorporates the popular chopped-up style of beats and vocals to their own brand of house and it comes out nothing short of funky. With a track like "Shine Your Light" with its pumping house rhythm, cut-up blues horns and soul vocals you would swear that it was off of Akufen's "My Way". "Little Cosmonaut" starts off all distorted and dirty, with shifting rhythms and a cut up sample of what sounds like a woman's laugh put through about 50 processors. Then right before the two-minute mark, everything drops out just to reveal the lone 4/4 beat which lasts for about 30-seconds until the rhythm, chopped backwards and forwards, comes charging back in while completely new vocal comes in and the melody completely changes. Nothing short of amazing, this record is one for the headphones and the dancefloor. I have to say that the Onitor label is on a roll with last week's amazing Gustavo Lamas CD and now this... There is no stopping these guys. Recommended.
listen: deadbeat vs. stephen beaupre/shineyou
listen: deadbeat vs. stephen beaupre/littleco

plaid / spokes / warp

While Plaid's new LP is a definite change for Warp's number-one party-rockers, in many ways it is not so much a new direction as an old one. As the world of electronica continues to tread water, unsure if it should sink or swim, one of the latest tricks is a look back to the "classic" years, and longtime fans of the group will recognize some of these sounds as reminiscent of the (pre-Plaid) Black Dog days. There is less of a hip-hop/big beat groove here, and a strong classic techno/acid influence (similar to Luke Vibert's new one, although not as overt, or as sunny). The sounds are dark and unsettling, the beats are skittering and slippery. Tracks build slowly, often starting as dark ambient washes and adding sounds in careful layers. This is still dance music, but maybe not for those who need huge backbeat to hit the floor, and it is still the Plaid you know and love, but not in their time-tested easy-to digest formula.
listen: plaid/crumaxi
listen: plaid/cedarcit

baby ford / basking in the brakelights / force inc.

I'll save you from all of the "anticipated album" talk. All we need to know is that Baby Ford's last collection of tracks, "Sacred Machines," with the I-Fach collective was deep and sick. That, and the fact that there aren't many dudes who made acid house hits for major labels in the late-'80s that still produce up-to-date tracks of note -- tracks for Sender, Perlon, Klang and now Force Inc. -- all varied in style and focus, while every one of them is unmistakably Baby Ford. Peter Ford makes tracks that have all the edge of the high-falutin', so-called "experimental/microhouse" producers of late. They share affection for minimal funk, small sounds, deepness, etc.; the difference is Baby Ford isn't putting on any airs of sophistication. These tracks aren't dry, fresh out of the dormitory, dancing is funny/ain't-I-white bullshit. Besides all the well arranged micro-CLASSIC STYLE house beat arrangements are bouncing acid funk basslines that are wet, juicy and full of ASS. Think Losoul from London without any rave casualty symptoms. (More techno, less house right?) Another key element to the beauty of these tracks is their complete refusal to beg for your attention. With Baby Ford, if you don't place yourself INSIDE the track you will miss it. What may at first seem just long, repetitive and "funky" is actually expertly arranged bits of classic house over layers of subterranean tones, post-4 a.m. soul and, I say it again, ASS. I want my own copy!
listen: baby ford/exopolis
listen: baby ford/parallel


kid 606 / kill sound before sound kills you / ipecac

Kid 606's follow-up to last year's "Action Packed Mentalist" shows the mash-up master just won't let up; "Kill Sound Before Sound Kills You," pummels through acid, technopunk, gabber, jungle, bass and dancehall at a brutal, sweaty pace. Opening track "The Ilness" has a mid-'90s hardcore feel but totally sliced, diced and tweaked out through the Kid's laptop, it lands right in the 21st century. The frenetic BPMs of "Who Wah Kill Sound?", "Powerbookfiend" and the digi-core dancehall of "Buckle Up" will spin you dizzy and leave you in a gritty daze. "Kill Sound" isn't all sonic assault though; Kid 606 sprinkles a few ambient interludes so you can catch your breath, and following the hyper-skitter of the bass-heavy "Woofer Wrecker," he peacefully leaves us floating in space wrapped in a fluffy montage of sounds.
listen: kid 606/theillne
listen: kid 606/buckleup

andrew thomas / fearsome jewel / kompakt

Kompakt's latest installment features New Zealand resident Andrew Thomas with a breezy 35-minute mini-album that leans more on the ambient than the pop side of things. While he may be somewhat distant from the Cologne based label geographically speaking, Thomas is obviously well in tune with the label's aesthetic. Most of the pieces on "Fearsome Jewel" are based around micro-melodic piano loops supplemented by warm washes of synth strings and the obligatory digital clicks and pops. Thomas uses these ingredients well, focusing more on creating a general sound rather then trying to get too caught up in details. The loopy, ambient nature of Thomas' album of miniatures reminds me a bit of Novisad's "Seleya" or some of the more calm installments of the Kreisel 7" series from a few years ago. An extremely pleasant overall atmosphere that would make a wonderful soundtrack for daydreaming.
listen: andrew thomas/7

villalobos / alcachofa / playhouse

Recent minimal house releases have been more "yawn" than "Yeah!!", But I have to say, when I walked into the OM office while this was playing I had to stop in my tracks and say "WHAT is this?! Is this the new Villalobos?!" Ever since "What You Say (Is More Than I Can Say)", this man is single-handedly reinventing the use of the vocoder for psychedelic stimulation. No ironic robot vocal delivery here, just pure wooziness that sounds like an intoxicated person talking to himself. All tracks segue nicely into each other for an uninterrupted listening session. All the sharp, dry funkiness that this man has been refining for the last five years has culminated in "Alcachofa," his finest recording yet. Deep, dry, funky, sharp, and pumping as ever, but these tracks have a new found sense of focus that is unwavering. Villalobos is no longer satisfied with finding a sick, deep, ultra-stoned loop and drawing it out. Now he seems to hack at it with machetes, thrash it about and turn it inside out. These tracks dig deep into you and rewire your psyche. Sick. Guaranteed to be as influential as Akufen's "My Way", but personally, I like this one better. Another thing: Before he sounded like a German-born Chilean, but now he sounds like a hot-blooded Chilean-born German. Guess what? RECOMMENDED.
listen: villalobos/dexter

BJORK ON TOUR

Saw Bjork for the second time on her tour last night. The Toronto venue was beautiful. It was on the Toronto Islands, so everyone had to board a ferry to get to the show, which was included in the ticket price. We arrived to this manicured dream park where we had to go over this picturesque bridge to get to the stage. The Stage was set in front of the Toronto city sky-line....and like any city always looks better from a distance. Kid Koala opened, then Bonnie Prince Billy and then BJORK! Kid Koala is the Canadian Scratch Turntable King, so he geeked it up and also dedicated a Audrey Hepburn song for his mom. Awwww. Bonnie Prince Billy has been touring with Bjork, practically the entire time, but I felt like they just didn't work. It's folky, great song writing stuff...but really needs to be appreciated in a small intimate venue with a glass of wine, not before the anticipation of electronic pop artist BJORK! Bjork was fantastic as per usual....entering the stage wearing a black glittery dress with allot of green puffy lace. I would have to say the Toronto Olympic Island show was better than the New York, Coney Island show which I saw two weeks prior. The crowd was cooler in New York, much older and better dressed, but the fireworks and visuals were better in Toronto. At one point last night the sky was completely lit up by gold sparkles. It was fuckin' fantastic and the fire on stage was choreographed perfectly to her music. Bjork's voice was so clear and euphorically emotional...words can hardly describe how inthralled and ecstatic I was. Her poetic clarity consumes me. Desired Constellation must be a new song, but it was defiantly a highlight for me. Matmos are the masters of sound. Their synth noises with twerk-y new sounds added to her performance...made it uniquely brilliant. Nature is Ancient had the actual video play behind it during the song and the rest of the visuals that took place were organic swirls and lines with limbs and body parts floating around. During the Soft Pink Truth remix of In Our Hands, which has defiantly been the song of the summer for me...there was some eskimo animation going on, but I was too busy dancing and cheering to really pay attention. The visuals I remember at the New York show were sparse. Only one screen to the right of the stage with Bjork in a ball rotating in air...very Matthew Barney, but that was about it. The Toronto show was over-all presented better with a more attentive audience. Bjork's performance is always 100%, and defiantly always worth the ticket price. I can't understand why anyone would miss out on the opportunity to see her, as her performances and now memories are a true highlight to life. Yeah BJORK!
Bjork interview after Sonar 2003

e-mail: basic_sounds@yahoo.ca

kompakt total 5 / Kompakt

What can I say about Kompakt that hasn't been said already? As far as electronic music goes, I can't think of any other label whose releases I anticipate more. When it comes to techno, Kompakt is top. And as their roster and discography grows (seemingly by the week!), the strength of each release gets better and better. A key strength to this compilation (and Kompakt comps in general) is that it flows like an album instead of an uneven showcase, while managing to let each individual's strengths shine. Superpitcher's "Mushroom" is the perfect summer-drive jam -- full of warm synth pad drone accompanied by sporadic bubbles adrift a lazy breeze. Gorgeous. Burger/Voigt's remix of newcomer Phong Sui's beautiful "Wintermute" is, dare I say, even better than the original. T.Raumschmiere's "Total" (perhaps an ode to the series?) brings things into a more banging, grinding territory. Plain and simple, it's a killer. The beloved Reinhard Voigt ups-the-ante even more by delivering a true thumping masterpiece called "Leibe Diene Musik" (which roughly translates to "Your Body Music"). He was born to make music like this. This part of the set peaks with Joachim Spieth's pumping "Nie Mehr Allien." Thomas Fehlmann's "Radeln" brings the pace down and sets the scene for the final cuts, and it's all about lush and ethereal. The comedown is pure heaven. Jonas Bering's "Normandie 2" is a sweeping, ambient techno gem, ending "Total 5" on the sweetest note. Also tracks by SCSI-9, Justus Kohncke, M.Mayer, and Mikkel Metal. Highly recommended.
listen: T.Raumschmiere

guther / I Know You Know / morr

Morr Music's newest hitmakers, the duo of Julia Guther and Berend Intelmann approach songwriting much differently than their labelmates. Guther seem to take their cue from the early-'90s pop music that appeared on labels like Slumberland and TeenBeat. The songs are super simple, with catchy choruses, jangly guitars, and quirky melodic electronics. Julia's vocals at times recall the Spinanes' Rebecca Gates, or Laetitia Sadier, singing in beautiful deep tones, and with a monotone delivery not unlike the Stereolab chanteuse. Her lyrics seem to be spontaneous with songs about lost love, failed relationships and various other personal issues. Ten songs in all, and another fine album for the Morr Music label. "I Know You Know" is a beautiful listen for these last few days of summer, and a must for fans of the Postal Service, Stereolab, and the Spinanes.
listen: Guther

Ulrich Schnauss
A Strangely Isolated Place

Take a close look at your record collection. Like me, you probably own dozens of albums with only one or two good songs, mediocre discs you can't bear to sell because of a catchy college radio hit, or that earnest curiosity your friend played you one night during that perfect two-beer haze before a party, full of excitement. Maybe it's even something you came across in your file-sharing exploits. You're probably afraid you'll never find these records again, and as I approach thirty, that's been the rationale for a lot of questionable hoarding on my part. In short, I will not be selling A Strangely Isolated Place.

Ulrich Schnauss isn't a revolutionary artist. Like Guitar's Peter Grove, he's operating in a software-driven world of loops, and not the least bit concerned about hiding his influences. Though he dotes on everyone from Orbital (unintentional "Belfast" bells rise from the multi-track din that closes "Gone Forever") to OMD ("In All the Wrong Place" begins as a sort of minimalist tribute to "Enola Gay"), he is most obviously obsessed with Slowdive. Listening to his second album, A Strangely Isolated Place, I can only assume Morr's Blue Skied An' Clear tribute to those shoegazers was his idea.

Slowdive's Neil Halstead was a similarly indebted artist. A protégé of the Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie, Halstead stretched his predecessor's glistening, reverbed delay to such ephemeral lengths that many early Slowdive songs bordered on precious goth (as did many of their fans). As the band disintegrated, dismissed in the press as students, chaos fueled a masterstroke: 1995's airy, weightless Pygmalion is one of the best of the decade, predicting the ambience that's dominated the independent landscape ever since. Ulrich Schnauss takes cues from "Crazy for You", but more specifically builds from the cathedral electronic tracks appended to the U.S. issue of 1993's Souvlaki (in an odd, backwards moment, this widely available American disc is something of a collector's item abroad-- check out the fold-out poster!).

"A Letter from Home" runs in the fields of Halstead's delay, playing like a ferris wheel ride over teenage abandon abandoned, a slow-motion replay of all the moments you'll never get back. But its aching nostalgia is still too mid-90s danceable-- imagine a hollowed-out taken on Chapterhouse's "Pearl"-- to become oppressively morbid or referential. Schnauss loves the melancholy sound of echoing guitar, but he can't find anything to bleat about, resolutely celebrating the simple joys of life, like faraway trains passing by.

Though "Gone Forever" and "Monday Paracetamol" are made up of instantly recognizable sounds, on closer listen, there's a uniqueness to the way Schnauss brings them together. Where Guitar melded Curve and My Bloody Valentine, so Schnauss plays with Orbital, Slowdive and pre-trip-hop dance beats, popularly abused by the likes of Jesus Jones. Distant vocal moans perfectly drift in and out of his punchy tracks, but his keyboards could use a few new tones. Most of the plastic keys produce sci-fi waves comparable to Vangelis, or the 90s technophilia of B-12's Trans Tourist. By the time of "Clear Day", it seems Schnauss is operating on a premium of equipment and ideas, as most of these tracks are interchangeably paced and compositionally slight.

As if to answer for this borderline monotony, Schnauss closes A Strangely Isolated Place with three wildly different pieces. The almost Spiritualized lament "Blumenthal" drips from plucked nylon strings and xylophone hammers, a proper trip-hop daydream that swells to a glorious walk in the clouds in its most coherent moments. "In All the Wrong Place" is even more daring, a µ-Ziq tribute that pays off, properly seating Mike Paradinas' dinky keyboards in a distorted drum-machine bed; I won't go as far as to say it's on par with "Roy Castle", but this is definitely a worthy inheritor to the µ-Ziq's electronica masterpiece In Pine Effect.

The title track closer isn't the best send-off-- Schnauss should definitely have closed the record with "In All the Wrong Place"-- but the title track does continue with the reverential Rephlex sounds that work best on this record. When the Halsteadian guitar comes in, it's almost a reminder of what Schnauss has already left behind, a sound with too few options, one he more than explores on the first half of this wonderfully breezy but repetitive full-length.

-Chris Ott, June 4th, 2003

e-mail: basic_sounds@yahoo.ca

soft pink truth / do you like to party? / soundslike

After two critically acclaimed 12"s, Drew Daniel of Matmos finally releases his long awaited full-length under the Soft Pink Truth moniker."Do You Party?" is a far departure from Drew's work with Matmos. Where Matmos is experimental cut-up electronics, the Soft Pink Truth is funky and filled with samples galore -- the vocals are cut up, spliced and distorted with elements of house, disco and electro dispersed throughout. The Soft Pink Truth has much more in common with the likes of Akufen, the Avalanches, and Herbert (hence, the album being released on Herbert's Soundslike label). Drew also takes influence from contemporary R&B producers like Timbaland and the Neptunes, as homaged on the track "Soft Pink Missy" which is probably not just influenced by Missy Elliott and Timbaland but probably contains samples from them too. "Do You Party?" is a true genre breaking album, one that is both for fans of dance and experimental music, but all in all this debut is funky, funky, funky! Truly groundbreaking stuff!


speicher / kompakt

Just when you thought Michael Mayer was only about chin-stroking, pipe-smoking intellectual techno, he comes out with a mix of floor rockers, mainly featuring tracks from the recent "Speicher" series on Kompakt. Things get stomping right off the bat with the genre-shifting Superpitcher mixed into T.Raumschmiere's "Musick". (Which has to be the closest Kompakt will ever get to Marilyn Manson.) The club lights are blasting full power by track three (Wassermann's "Ende der Schoenzeit") mixed into M.Mayer's own "Love is Stronger Than Pride", which utilizes lyrics from Sade's song of the same name, and is one of my favorite tracks of 2002. Tracks six through nine are the make-or-break section of this mix... You have to brace yourself. I was turned off at first, but ever since my third listen, this section is
becoming my favorite part. Superpitcher appears again, bringing the energy up, but it's Reinhard Voigt's "How We Rock" that brings that mother home. His grooves are just unstoppable, and will inspire the most jaded intellectual to pump his fist like a weekend warrior. Things break down by track nine and take off into dreamland with Markus Guentner's "Regensburg" (rmx). Epic Gas. The bell sounds will make you close your eyes and smile. Finally, a groove reminiscent of Voigt/Voigt's "Roxy" comes in, all sexy-like with Voigt/Voigt's "Vision 03". The surprise comes at the end when a burst of soundtrack strings lead into what seems like a farewell conversation between a man and a woman in a '50s German film noir. We are left to wonder whether it's a farewell, or a happily-ever-after as it ends with the sound of a door closing.

pole/ 45/45 / ~scape

Stefan Betke's "Pole" (a name made synonymous with deconstructed, submerged glitch dub) comes to the surface with a newly discovered sense of melody, arrangement and a bit of uncharacteristic jigginess. There's been a slight shift toward the "jiggietronic" feel of modern pop soul, even amongst the ultra-serious avatars of modern electronic music. While Pole "2" was popularly referred to as "too reggae", and not "deep" enough, "45/45" takes new themes and explores them so effectively that the listener is likely to become charmed beyond remembering the artist they're listening to. Change is good. Track four, "Back Home" is a slinky groove featuring sampled trap drums, a looping upright bass melody and a warm chord surge that qualifies it as the unofficial union of Farben and Tortoise. Believe it. "Round Two", one of the two "jiggy" jams, manages to have that stunted funk without being typically German/Teutonic. A simple break, micro melodica notes, a looping synth stab that comes in at the right time, and a tinkling water glass... In "The Bell" all the elements are masterfully coaxed in little by little, steadily, and constantly ping-ponging off of each other. A flawless EP, I haven't heard this much variety and strength in a long time. Recommended.


opiate / sometimes / morr

I hadn't heard Opiate before, so after seeing the album cover (a nighttime city horizon obscured by a lambent yellow-green glow) I was half-expecting to be sunken into the review-chair wrapped in a thick haze while listening. Quite the contrary... "Sometimes" is by no means sluggish or drugged-out like I thought it would be. Nor is it even close to boring. There are many layers that reveal themselves each time you'll play this. Each of the six songs has good ideas, and Opiate builds upon them nicely. He creates a warm electronic environment with exquisitely crafted moods and atmospheres. The use of "real" instruments like piano or the sample of a violin augment these tracks just the right amount, like a touch of the perfect spice. The glitchery is not overused or superfluous in any way, and the "niiiice", catchy beats are well programmed and well executed. There's an occasional squiggle of digital debris that escapes into the ether somewhere, in the guise of a displaced voice (see "Perdot"), or the swirling wisp of a microscopic jet stream (see "opiTTT"). The pleasant, tingling, soft crackle and wistful melody of "Snow Story" is as inviting as a mug of hot cocoa in front of a fireplace, and "Stp!" is a sensuously funky cut! Ah, this little album just gets better each time I listen to it. There are a couple of moments where Opiate reminds me of his fellow countryman Goodiepal (both are gifted with the seemingly effortless knack for an irresistible melody), but this does not surprise me, it only convinces me that "something different is in the water" over there in Denmark. My only complaint about "Sometimes" is that it's only 23 minutes, and by the end I'm left wanting more... well, I guess it's a good thing, right? Short but sweet. Looking forward to the long player.

stewart walker & geoff white / discord / force inc

Stewart Walker and Geoff White are two of North America's best-known and most talented techno producers, each with a unique and distinctive sound of their own. They have joined forces for Force-Inc. to release "Discord", an album that seemingly consists of two separate projects yet when played together, or in alternating sequence as it is, combine for one hella-fied dancefloor mix. Imagine a tag-team session where each artist brings six of their newest tracks and tries to kill the other with their hottest shit, almost like a techno soundclash. "Discord" showcases the duo's impeccable knack for creating sexy, melodic house, bubbly crunchy minimal-tech and everything in-between. A true collaborative effort, every bit as good as the Theorem THX series (of which Walker was a participant), and sure to end up on my top ten for the year.

movie reviews.
1. The Celebration.

directed by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg and is developed under the rules of dogma 95. The Celebration is about a family reunion that is brought together to celebrate the father's 60th birthday. The tensions and rawness of the characters explodes on film and the editing is out of this world. The actors continue to act despite the fact that the camera is not always on them. This to me is real acting. This flic won many awards and is defiantly one of my top 10 movies of all time.

2. Julien Donkey Boy

directed by Lower east-side new yorker Harmony Korine. Harmony is one of my favorite directors for displaying the disturbing portrayals of humanity. He is also know for the movie Gummo. Highly recommended. I also saw this in new york at this little artsy theatre where I could feel the vibration of the subway below me...this atmosphere and quality of flic left for a lasting memory.

more recent movies.........

3. The Hours

In Adaptation and now The Hours I rediscovered Meryl Streep....who I believe should have got more acknowledgement for both of her amazing performances. The Hours touches on so many levels of humanity and doesn't under-estimate the intelligence of the audience.

4. About Schmit

David LaChappelle is a pop kitsch contemporary photographer who usually exploits the surreal aspects and environments of U.S. culture....I believe About Schmit does the same thing by placing a retired senior to rediscover family life in the bleak surreal environment of hickville USA.