NFOP SESSIONS #5: The Naima Train.

22 Oct 2011 — Tonje Thilesen

Exactly a week ago, we posted the fourth NFOP Session with Gothenburg natives Slutet, whom also happened to put me in contact with the 19 year old singer and musician Maria Nyström aka The Naima Train, as previously seen on a session with our friends at Pool Sessions. We met with Maria by the riverside in the heart of Gothenburg, where the young talent played an acoustic version of "Goodbye 5 Times", leaving her loop pedal at home. Unfortunately the sound and video is a bit out of sync in the beginning (due to separate video recordings), but nonetheless, enjoy our fifth session with The Naima Train below. Read more → Exactly a week ago, we posted the fourth NFOP Session with Gothenburg natives Slutet, whom also happened to put me in contact with the 19 year old singer and musician Maria Nyström aka The Naima Train, as previously seen on a session with our friends at Pool Sessions. We met with Maria by the riverside in the heart of Gothenburg, where the young talent played an acoustic version of "Goodbye 5 Times", leaving her loop pedal at home. Unfortunately the sound and video is a bit out of sync in the beginning (due to separate video recordings), but nonetheless, enjoy our fifth session with The Naima Train below.

Innercity: “The Earth as Arch (Part 3)”.

21 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

Innercity's Hans Dens has already been deservedly lauded for his brilliant 7 inch Dada Les Apocalypses / The Pyramids of Northeast Belgium on NNA Tapes in August. Now, the Antwerp resident has a full-length out on fellow Belgian imprint Aguirre. Sadly we haven't had the chance to listen to Terrestreality yet, but if the guys over at Boomkat are correct then the album is "most excellent" (and as a general rule, we believe the guys over at Boomkat). Anyway, to promote Terrestreality, Dens has assembled a new, musically very closely related full-length named The Earth As Arch and Cold End and made it available for free. The piece contains only four tracks - "The Earth as Arch" parts 1 to 3, and "Cold End" - but has a running time of more than an hour, and its dense, psychedelic soundscapes hovering between h-pop murk and pan-European proto-techno belong to the most unexpected yet most absorbing listening experiences this year. Download The Earth As Arch and Cold End over at bandcamp, and order Terrestreality here or here. Innercity - The Earth as Arch (Part 3) Previously: Dada Les Apocalypses / The Pyramids of Northeast Belgium is still available via NNA Tapes. Innercity - The Pyramids of Northeast Belgium Read more → Innercity's Hans Dens has already been deservedly lauded for his brilliant 7 inch Dada Les Apocalypses / The Pyramids of Northeast Belgium on NNA Tapes in August. Now, the Antwerp resident has a full-length out on fellow Belgian imprint Aguirre. Sadly we haven't had the chance to listen to Terrestreality yet, but if the guys over at Boomkat are correct then the album is "most excellent" (and as a general rule, we believe the guys over at Boomkat). Anyway, to promote Terrestreality, Dens has assembled a new, musically very closely related full-length named The Earth As Arch and Cold End and made it available for free. The piece contains only four tracks - "The Earth as Arch" parts 1 to 3, and "Cold End" - but has a running time of more than an hour, and its dense, psychedelic soundscapes hovering between h-pop murk and pan-European proto-techno belong to the most unexpected yet most absorbing listening experiences this year. Download The Earth As Arch and Cold End over at bandcamp, and order Terrestreality here or here. Innercity - The Earth as Arch (Part 3) Previously: Dada Les Apocalypses / The Pyramids of Northeast Belgium is still available via NNA Tapes. Innercity - The Pyramids of Northeast Belgium

Ensemble Economique: “We Come SPINNING Out Of Control”.

21 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

After the terrific "Heat Waves" we'd featured on these pages recently, last night Ensemble Economique's Brian Pyle kindly sent over three other new EE tracks, further building up anticipation for his forthcoming LP on Dekoder, due early next year. All three tunes are built around immense walls of drone and noise, dark and daunting and actually pretty epic, featuring Pyle's vocals that fit in surprisingly well. A cinematic trip into the forbidden corners of your mind. Massive. Ensemble Economique - We Come SPINNING Out Of Control Read more → After the terrific "Heat Waves" we'd featured on these pages recently, last night Ensemble Economique's Brian Pyle kindly sent over three other new EE tracks, further building up anticipation for his forthcoming LP on Dekoder, due early next year. All three tunes are built around immense walls of drone and noise, dark and daunting and actually pretty epic, featuring Pyle's vocals that fit in surprisingly well. A cinematic trip into the forbidden corners of your mind. Massive. Ensemble Economique - We Come SPINNING Out Of Control

Zonotope™: “Thanks, MAINFRAME”.

21 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

When all is said and done, where do cyborgs go? "Thanks, MAINFRAME", the last track from the last-ever release by our beloved Brooklyn-based extraterrestrial unit Zonotope™, ends with an exhausted, maybe relieved, robotic sigh, to leave no doubt that this wonderfully weird synth-admiring alien is gone for good. It's even worse than that: "Zonotope™", the project's website informs us bluntly, "is dead from parasites". Our Earth, I assume, was not made for him/her/it. So let's all mourn quietly and respectfully, and this one last time let's get lost in the soothing vibes of the interstellar Ode to Joy by our friendly, albeit deceased, visitor. Human Unity is out now via Synth Series. Zonotope™ - Thanks, Mainframe Read more → When all is said and done, where do cyborgs go? "Thanks, MAINFRAME", the last track from the last-ever release by our beloved Brooklyn-based extraterrestrial unit Zonotope™, ends with an exhausted, maybe relieved, robotic sigh, to leave no doubt that this wonderfully weird synth-admiring alien is gone for good. It's even worse than that: "Zonotope™", the project's website informs us bluntly, "is dead from parasites". Our Earth, I assume, was not made for him/her/it. So let's all mourn quietly and respectfully, and this one last time let's get lost in the soothing vibes of the interstellar Ode to Joy by our friendly, albeit deceased, visitor. Human Unity is out now via Synth Series. Zonotope™ - Thanks, Mainframe

No UFO’s: “Less Or Maybe Even…”.

21 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

I've already suggested that we should keep a firm eye on Britain's latest underground establishment Public Information, and with its second release the label reaffirms its ambition to bring us only the most alluring themes in leftfield electronics. No UFO's is the project of Vancouver resident Konrad Jandav, whose second effort Mind Controls The Flood is a seven-piece excursion into the outer realms of kosmische, deeply enchanting analog synth experiments that showcase quite an impressive range of style and expression, neatly held together by the stunning, noise-laden and spaced-out playfulness of each single track. The Mind Controls The Flood 12 inch is out October 24 on Public Information. No UFO's- Mind Controls The Flood EP by Public Information No UFO's - Less Or Maybe Even Read more → I've already suggested that we should keep a firm eye on Britain's latest underground establishment Public Information, and with its second release the label reaffirms its ambition to bring us only the most alluring themes in leftfield electronics. No UFO's is the project of Vancouver resident Konrad Jandav, whose second effort Mind Controls The Flood is a seven-piece excursion into the outer realms of kosmische, deeply enchanting analog synth experiments that showcase quite an impressive range of style and expression, neatly held together by the stunning, noise-laden and spaced-out playfulness of each single track. The Mind Controls The Flood 12 inch is out October 24 on Public Information. No UFO's- Mind Controls The Flood EP by Public Information No UFO's - Less Or Maybe Even

William Cody Watson: “No Heaven For Us”.

20 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

Did I just say that I needed some time for the wonderful new Buffalo Moon song cause it was opposed to my fall melancholy? Well, this certainly isn't: William Cody Watson has prepared a full EP of songs "for cruising around at night", aptly named, ehm, Night Music For Driving. The EP is an amazingly coherent piece of simply beautiful, slightly gloomy ambient, indeed the perfect soundtrack for any kind of (probably lonesome) nightly endeavors. "No Heaven For Us", the closing track, is my personal favorite with its filtered hi-hat and gentle crescendo, but really, for the full experience you should just listen to the whole flawless thing at once, with your eyes closed. Or wait, probably not. Night Music For Driving may be streamed over here and is up for free download right here. Highly recommended. William Cody Watson - No Heaven For Us Read more → Did I just say that I needed some time for the wonderful new Buffalo Moon song cause it was opposed to my fall melancholy? Well, this certainly isn't: William Cody Watson has prepared a full EP of songs "for cruising around at night", aptly named, ehm, Night Music For Driving. The EP is an amazingly coherent piece of simply beautiful, slightly gloomy ambient, indeed the perfect soundtrack for any kind of (probably lonesome) nightly endeavors. "No Heaven For Us", the closing track, is my personal favorite with its filtered hi-hat and gentle crescendo, but really, for the full experience you should just listen to the whole flawless thing at once, with your eyes closed. Or wait, probably not. Night Music For Driving may be streamed over here and is up for free download right here. Highly recommended. William Cody Watson - No Heaven For Us

Buffalo Moon: “Chica de Luna”.

20 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann

The new Buffalo Moon song "Chica de Luna" needed a few spins to really sink in, probably due to the fact that it so blatantly contradicts the melancholic moods evoked by the (albeit wonderful) fall foliage outside my window, but the Brasil pop-informed first single from the band's upcoming album leaves absolutely no doubt that Selva Surreal is going to be another effort of perfectly lush pop extravaganza. Just wondering who the extolled girl of the moon might be. Below, you can watch the band perform "Chica de Luna" live for Minneapolis' MPLS.TV. Selva Surreal is out October 25 via Moon Glyph. Read more → The new Buffalo Moon song "Chica de Luna" needed a few spins to really sink in, probably due to the fact that it so blatantly contradicts the melancholic moods evoked by the (albeit wonderful) fall foliage outside my window, but the Brasil pop-informed first single from the band's upcoming album leaves absolutely no doubt that Selva Surreal is going to be another effort of perfectly lush pop extravaganza. Just wondering who the extolled girl of the moon might be. Below, you can watch the band perform "Chica de Luna" live for Minneapolis' MPLS.TV. Selva Surreal is out October 25 via Moon Glyph.