10 Apr 2014 — Parker Bruce
Montreal's Mathematique (also known as Pascale Mercier), a friend of Antoine93 and Karneef (whose "Swimming" video we premiered last week), has made an EP full of pageantry. Feel calls to mind a lithe and angeilc Nguzunguzu such as on first track "RL Touche" (which I imagine means "Real Life Touch"), which sounds like it was recorded underwater in Atlantis. Any song on the EP would not sound out of place on one of the duo's "Perfect Lullaby" releases. Chimes (and the harps Nguzunguzu love so much) seem to pierce through the whole EP. Its most vivacious song comes in the form of "Summer, But I Don't Know" which features lyrics about love in technological terms: "It's like a new progam/That only you can access" and "I'm so excited/I just got your email." The music is straight from the school of Depeche Mode and is in conversation with the output of Montreal's Mozart's Sister and Sweden's Niki & The Dove. The songs by these artists have one key thing in common: a rousing sweep as if they are speed skating by us, knocking us into a gusty frenzy. And the remixes are good too with Louise Roam making it sound like someone is playing a pair of hoop earrings on her "Summer, But I Don't Know" remix and Plurabelle fettering "Yawun" to make it sound like a Banks song or Teengirl Fantasy and Kelela's "EFX." Anywave took care of the mastering and man of the hour, Karneef, was the mixer and producer.
Feel is out now on Stellar Kinematics. You can find it here. Someone get Mathematique on a track with Little Jinder!
Read more →
08 Apr 2014 — Henning Lahmann
Writing about Karmelloz the other day, we suggested that the producer's work was so much rooted in the present that its overbearing nowness might in fact prevent it from being listened to next year, or perhaps even in a few months already. This certainly holds true for a lot of the electronic stuff that's dripping out of the late Tumblr-infected realms of the WWW, those shady regions that cannot help but self-identify as post-internet just to signify a self-aware shtick that's often a mere borderline pathologic cynicism. Vancouver label 1080p's approach to these scenes adds a welcome layer of subtle irony by putting those ephemeral sounds onto the nostalgic if conserving and thus ultimately timeless medium of magnetic tape, perpetuating the fleeting ideas of all those Adderall-induced scenesters.
The reason the whole seemingly illogical effort is worth it lies in label head Richard MacFarlane's astute curation, as exemplified by 1080p's latest and probably most outstanding release to date, a collaboration of the Portland-based producers Magic Fades and Soul Ipsum. Their 60-minute effort Zirconia Reign is truly superb: following the path of James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual and embracing all flavours of vaporwave that had started blooming in its wake, the full-length is much more varied, matured and considered than most of the ill-advised material pushed onto the surface these days. As a result, Zirconia Reign is a real pleasure to listen to, an album you want to come back to so you can discover more of its hidden details and surprising twists. Infused by New Age tropes, it makes a sincere attempt to reassess vaporwave's origins in hypnagogic pop, allowing itself to be more than simply a random accumulation of layers over layers of glacial sounds (though everything is very icy here). If there's only one album connected to the current wave of cyber chic that eventually derserves to stand the test of time, why not let it be this one.
Zirconia Reign is out today on 1080p. Get it over here and stream the whole piece exclusively below.
Read more →
08 Apr 2014 — Evelyn Malinowski
Once again Opal Tapes delivers to us homemade electronica formerly from the outer reaches. As this music approaches some kind of center, perhaps a center of our contemplation (as some of this stuff tends to be very brooding), it furthermore beckons admiration in a double-take fashion, like passing a person or sight that is worth turning around for. Laslo Antal captured such an occurrence for Berlin-based Ketev's slurpping, accessible yet undoubtedly dark "Uruk" off of the self-titled release due April 20th. While the film quality, stride and speculation of the person on camera (presumably the artist Yair Elazar Glotman), as well as the mantric beat, all give the impression of a street scene of some kind, we double-take to resolve that this footage was taken indoors, and that there's something familiar about the stacks of specimen soaking in viles of formaldehyde. This work has done an interesting job masking the Berlin Naturkundemuseum, as I have walked these same corridors numerous times yet was only vaguely reminded of the place instead of quick to recognize it. Such an effect is fitting for Ketev's abstracting style, which in a way reminds me of the more experimental material by This Heat. Since Glotman phases "patterns from Reel-to-reel tape loops being manipulated by 4-Track cassette decks creating roaring textures above slow shifting rhythmic mantras," a comparison to This Heat is not so terribly far off as they are famous for tape manipulation and reel-to-reel looping (as well as being awesome).
Ketev is out April 20th on Opal Tapes, and you can pre-order the cassette here.
Read more →
03 Apr 2014 — Tonje Thilesen
For the past three months, Norwegian producer Pieces of Juno has spent her time running between studio sessions in L.A, briefly working with people such as BC Kingdom and Axel Morgan; co-writer of Kendrick Lamar's M.A.A.D City. "Saffron", on the other hand, is a lush and honest approach from Kine Sandbæk Jensen, perhaps a little different than what she's been working on down in L.A. The track was originally released back in January alongside the B-side, "Heliophilia", and we're very happy to show you the first glimpse of the video for it below, directed by Kristine Meling Enoksen. Needless to say, keep your eyes open for this girl.
Read more →
02 Apr 2014 — Parker Bruce
The video for "Swimming" by Montreal's Karneef from his 2013 album Love Between Us is kind of like watching a documentary about a painter, but it's also the story of a man and his bass. Karneef has produced the new EP by fellow Montrealer Mathematique as well as been a bass player for Sean Nicholas Savage. "Swimming" was directed by fashion designer/artist Renata Morales who is known for works she has done for Yelle, Arcade Fire, and Phi Create. The song itself has hunky bass for miles and what sounds like someone giving a kiss into a megaphone. The video is tantalizing and even sexy, both filmically and in the stilted, lanky, and herky jerky movements of Karneef himself. It's a pretty great sight to see Karneef lick his bass and then smile. A bunch of "Swimming" remixes by NFOP faves ¡FLIST! and Rich Uncle-Skelleton (aka a member of Syngja) will be out soon but meanwhile, dive into the video below.
Read more →
02 Apr 2014 — Henning Lahmann
A little while back, we presented the stream of the convincing inaugural effort by Penny, the new project by Old Apparatus and Saa member Asher Levitas together with visual artist and writer Michael Crowe, describing the self-titled EP's sound as 'nocturnal' and 'gritty'. While this assessment most certainly holds true for the closing track "Pen#3", London duo Yola Fatoush nonetheless found some brighter elements buried deep within the track's opaque arrangement to play around with. The result comes in the form of their "Zero Discipline Refix", complete with absorbing vocal manipulations and an almost alienating grooviness. Were it not for a slightly unsettling thunderstorm halfway in, we'd find the remix even light-hearted. This way however, we suspect something sinister going on right under the surface.
The Penny EP is out on Overshare Records. Get it here.
Read more →
31 Mar 2014 — Henning Lahmann
LA artist FAY's massive 2012 debut DIN caught us completely off guard with its bold blend of uncomfortable rhythms and forward-thinking arrangements. Now, Fay Davis-Jeffers returns with her sophomore LP Deathwatch, an effort that is both more adventurous and refined. Vastly expanding the variation of sounds, the new album still emphasises the artist's uncommon and challenging approach to rhythmic patterns, but the whole piece still manages to come across as an ultimately somewhat smoother and more coherent listen. "Can't Fall", premiered below, is a case in point. Integrating elements of drone and built around a few losely composed, reduced piano chords, the track would strike an almost comforting tone were it not for the seemingly randomised noise interruptions that perforate the otherwise peaceful setting, providing an uneasy structure that never allows for a convenient decrease of attention.
Deathwatch is out today on Time No Place. Highly recommended.
(Photo by Patrick Mapel)
Read more →
29 Mar 2014 — Kelsie Brown
Finnish producer Albert Swarm has returned from the shadows with a brand-new set of three tracks. Recorded in his homeland of Finland, The Cage EP continues with that anxious darkness Albert Swarm has conquered. "Truths" and "Restraints" keep that delirious night club feel, while the addition of vocals in closing and title track "The Cage" warm things up a bit, but not so much that the shadows are lost.
The Cage EP is out now via pay-what-you-want at Ceremony Recordings' new Bandcamp page, where you can also download all of Ceremony's previous releases.
Read more →
