1. Wake Up Call
2. Nebula
3. Room
4. Blue Box
5. S BahnClick Box have fast become a permanent fixture in the Minus firmament, personifying the subtle shifts that are taking place within the scene as the label expands its repertoire and broadens its horizons to incorporate emerging artists from all over the globe. Already on to their second Minus release of 2009, São Paulo DJs/producers Marco AS and Pedro Turra immediately pick up where they left off with the roving bass and pumping rhythm section of Wake Up Call doing exactly what it says on the tin. As with the first EP, the oscillating synth patterns continue to dominate proceedings, painting neon shapes in the darkness before another delicious robotic sequence shifts the atmosphere by introducing a moroder-esque vibe complete with twisted disco bleeps. It’s just another example of how Click Box have honed their sound since their debut I&T release through a finely crafted mixture of proto-house, electro and techno, to create a distinctive hybrid that’s fast becoming their own. There is something reassuringly familiar about the fat basslines and classic old school sequences they use but it’s their innovative approach to sound design and the adrenalin rush of their arrangements that allows them to connect the past and the future with such authenticity. Moving on, Nebula extends the party vibe with a funk-infused hihat pattern taking hold while a moody, throbbing bass pulse stalks the undergrowth. More modulated madness ensues as the wasp like synth melody twists and morphs to distraction, blooming and fading as the beats motor forward. Acidic overtones continue to dominate during the intro to Room before the boys let fly with another lethal snare line and a flurry of sliding bleeps. The tight interplay between the drum parts and bass patterns is a constant theme throughout these tracks but it’s the musical sensib ility of the outrageous sounds and shapes they use that really captures the imagination as you drift further into their cleverly mapped-out arrangements...
01 Martin Luther King Day
02 I Smell Bubblegum
03 City on Drugs
04 Born Again Revisited
05 Little World
06 No Time, No Hope
07 Half Day in Hell
08 Something Moore
09 2/11 Don’t Forget
10 These Days
11 (No) Sympathy
12 High Holidays
13 Hustler, Psycho, Son
14 Move to California
15 Take the PissA pox on those who claim the venerable VHS format is dead ; in fact, Times New Viking delivered the master recordings to their forthcoming LP/CD/digital album ‘Born Again Revisited’ (OLE 860) on a Video Home System cassette. Addressing the mountain of constructive criticism they’ve received from self-styled musicologists wanna-be producers and persons with my initials, the Columbus based trio promise their 2nd Matador album (and 4th overall) features “25% higher fidelity”, a percentage our own engineering staff has confirmed after hourse of exhaustive laboratory tests.
Much has been made in the press of late of Cheap Trick’s attempts to steal Adam, Beth and Jared’s thunder by releasing their upteenth comeback album on 8-track, but with all due respect to the state fair fixtures Rockford’s finest, it’s been a generation since they’ve come up with anything as provocative as ‘Born Again Revisited’’s “Move To California” or “No Time No Hope” (mp3). While Times New Viking continue to make-it-look-easy, I can assure you it’s anything but that. A cursory glance at the American rock underground reveals a landscape littered with well-intentioned but vastly inferior bands who’ve caught the lo-fi bug ; Times New Viking are well advised to disavow responsibility for the epidemic, but whoever the guilty party is, the ferocity of TNV’s shows and their sheer quality of their songwriting should be enough to win them a presidential pardon, not unlike the one ‘Born Again’ author Chuck Colson never quite received.
A. Lover
B. You AreAfter ellen allien delivered an introspection of movie length with "SOOL" that was as sharp-edged as intricate and complex, the fairy of berlin techno now trips back into the massive centre of the club. the centrifugal forces are more present there, however, the delicate, shining secret of the album that naturally lacks of any concrete tangibility still remains the glowing centerpiece of mrs. allien's creative work. it is hence that "Lover" elegantly slips out of the hand, whirs and twinkles amidst subtle synth elements and still eventually aggregates to a volatile physicalness between the hiss of the fog machine and the whispering voice of the siren - only to soon crumble into many pieces again, duplicate until it starts sounding more and more psychotic from all sides, temptatively and dangerously asking listeners to take any plugs out of their ears and join the party. magically and dreamy it is always structured with a tight thumbing bassline, that knows exactly where to go, and some grooving synths and shakers that add a housey lightness to the rite that is way too sexy for anyone to think of things as "no, thanks".
one that pushes you even straighter to the dancefloor from the first second on is the flipside, "You Are": an uncompromising, straight kickdrum paired with subtely ornate tribal elements and that massive, relentlessly forward-rolling synth line with its concentrated darkness that directly and uncharmingly presses into your stomach, taking your breath away despite its tactful compactness. all that is coated in a deliciously coarse patina with a friction surface more than big enough to sand the last bit of craziness and happiness out of the ravers' spinal cords. this track, played on an adequate PA system will answer any questions about techno and its status quo. ellen allien shows off the facets of hypnotic techno of today's berlin with two fundamentally different concepts that each know how to grab you in their own ways.
1. Maximus
2. Maximus (White)
3. Fringe ElementHyper trendy electro-house from regular Kitsuné contributor Beni pulling off a little coup in his pants with a guest vocal from Sam Sparro (the "Black & Gold" bloke). It's easy to imagine this getting spins pretty much everywhere this summer, from Ibiza to Inverness, you're going to be inflicted with this whether you like it or not. Hopefully DJs will pick up on the 'White' version of 'Maximus' that makes Sparro sound like he's mid-op and let loose in a club with his dressing gown open. Yikes.
1. The Day (We Fell In Love)
2. The Day (We Fell In Love) (Sis-Mix)
3. The Day (We Fell In Love) (Todd Edwards’ Liturgical Mix)
4. The Day (We Fell In Love) (Acid Girls Wept Remix)
5. The Day (We Fell In Love) (Edu K Psycho Lover Remix)Lush Gallic electro pop from Appaloosa (aka Anne Laure Keib and Max Krefeld) with the original and alternate versions of his standout effort for the Kitsune Maison Compilation 6, backed with an awesome Todd Edwards remix and a fierce Acid Girls version. The original and 'Sis-Mix' are twinkling electro pop ditties sitting somewhere between Nouvelle Vague and Glass Candy, but it's the Todd Edwards mix that has really got us all giddy like a French schoolgirl. The vocals are edited and dappled with autotune for that indefinable Edwards touch, turning the track into an uplifting and high camp Garage-cum-Euro-pop killer with just a hint of Sally Shapiro in New Jersey circa 1997, guaranteeing a large grin on our faces. Acid Girls feed 'The day' through some squirming 303's and uplifting synthlines for another useful version, but it's really all about Mr Edwards' Liturgical jackers mix. Check!!!
A1 Wire
A2 Bounce
B1 Disconnect
B2 On & OnIf you're not familar with Dave Huismans by now, get to know! The highly skilled Dutch dude has wrecked everyone with his dubstep and broke-step releases for Tectonic and Subsolo over the last couple of years blending garage, techno, house and dubstep functions, but for this release he's concentrated on the House element for Clone's new no-nonsense Basement series. 'Wire' starts the session with groovy square basslines and shuffled housing patterns, before 'Bounce' dips in with swooping bass and cracking Shake alike percussion. Keeping up the vibe 'Disconnect' trips out on warm chords and a hazy dancefloor atmosphere underlined with studied Chicago beats, while 'On&On' jacks up with a supremely crafty rhythm stuttering with crisp handclaps and pulsing acid bass. Badass!...www.boomkat.com
1. Blanchard
2. Wild Roses
3. For The rest Of Your Life
4. Lady Jessica and Sam
5. Sets The Blaze
6. Thinking Like That
7. There s A Window
8. Trouble
9. Fall Aside
10. Blue Bird
11. SatelliteSince the release of Mazzy Star's debut album She Hangs Brightly, Hope Sandoval has defined the sound and style of California psychedelic dream pop. The world took notice when the breakthrough single "Fade Into You" (from sophomore album So Tonight That I Might See) hit the airwaves and MTV heavy rotation.
Sandoval's trademark vocals helped to make her a modern day music icon. Now the revered singer returns along side My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig to deliver her long awaited sophomore album Through The Devil Softly on September 15.
Over the past decade, the sought after vocalist has collaborated with artists from across the musical landscape: The Jesus & Mary Chain, Air, Death in Vegas, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Bert Jansch, to count a few.
In 2001, she joined Colm O'Ciosoig to form Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions and release their debut Bavarian Fruit Bread. Now on Through The Devil Softly, the definitive star of the Paisley Underground scene reignites her trademark sound in an epic journey across the 11-song album. The project continues the laid-back, slowcore sound they are renowned for and places Sandoval's sensuous, hypnotic voice in the forefront. Recorded in both Northern California and the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the spare, subtle arrangements reinforce Sandoval's gentle vocal style.
01. Melectric
02. I Say Fever
03. Clover
04. Russia
05. Going Once, Going Twice
06. Salt Sack
07. Boy Ant
08. Always Right
09. The Darkest Day
10. Bellyfulla
11. Diamond ShovelRamona Falls is the new music project by Brent Knopf. Brent, a Portland Oregon native, is also one-third of the band Menomena. Ramona Falls’ debut album will be called “intuit” and is slated for an August 18 2009 release on Barsuk Records. Musical Influences include : The Homosexuals, Sly and the Family Stone, Talking Heads, PJ Harvey, Magnetic Fields, Gorecki, AC/DC, and Erik Satie.
01 In Heat
02 Die Slow
03 Nice Girls
04 Death+
05 Before Tiger
06 Severin
07 Eat Flesh
08 We Are Water
09 In VioletSet your cranial cortex for noise-disco because Los Angeles' HEALTH are staging their triumphant return, with Get Color on September 8th. The Smell-affiliated group's 2007 self-titled debut and critically-acclaimed remix record HEALTH//DISCO, already got the noisy quartet sweating across stages shared with the likes of Crystal Castles, Nine Inch Nails, and Of Montreal but last month's phenomenal single "Die Slow" pointed at an eventual shift towards the group's clamorous mutatation of disco music.We'll find out in the fall whether we should bring our dancing shoes to the party. HEALTH's sophomore album, Get Color is being distributed by Lovepump United and the nine-track second offering's track list and cover artwork are both below.
1 Written Today
2 Empty Room
3 Strawberry Shortcakes
4 He's Been Napping
5 Come with Me
6 Toy
7 Hallway
8 Peach Cobbler
9 Musing
10 Gretchen
11 Run Away, Teri
12 You, Blueberry Muffin
13 I Love My Things
14 Oh' Dear HandlebarsThroughout the last 14 years, the enigmatic trio known as Marmoset have fostered a near-mythical cult status with their claustrophobic, moody, and etherial blend of indie pop. Having crafted such subtle, eccentric, and critically acclaimed pop masterpieces as 2001's "Record In Red" (Secretly Canadian), Marmoset continue their unruly trajectory with the lazy swagger, slimy melody, and profound simplicity that is Tea Tornado.
2009 finds Marmoset at their most energetic, revelatory, and sensational - with a stripped-down, punchier sound that seems to recall their earliest work of 1995's "Hiddenforbidden" or 1999's "Today It's You." But we find no re-hashing on Tea Tornado, just simple and surreal songs with twisted sensibilities and perplexingly sexy vocals. Principal songwriters Jorma Whittiker and Dave Jablanski craft songs that seem to come from a shimmering, hallucinogenic cavern; with an encyclopedic knowledge of 20th century pop.
The band's subtle take on primordial-post-punk spawns songs whose overly-simple structures seem to speak in tongues. While songs like "Strawberry Shortcakes" and "Peach Cobbler" thrive on this simplicity, tracks like "Come With Me" and "Hallway" contain melodies that would make Kim Deal's ears perk. Juxtaposed with these melodious moments are tracks like "You, Blueberry Muffin" and "Oh' Dear Handlebars" which contain all of the essential eccentricities that make Marmoset the introverted misfits they are channeling the spirit of Swell Maps or an early and non-jam-leaning Sonic Youth.
Tea Tornado is too strange to be punk, too free of pretension to be psychedelic or glam, but it's filled with moments that conjure up each of these genres. Marmoset's songs deal in dark love, modern confusion, drug haze, poetic nightmares, and melancholy melodies. Marmoset have undergone a decade-plus of being under-appreciated heroes of lo-fi indie rock, and the heart of their music is still grainy beauty, blood and guts, harmony and dissonance. Marmoset are at the top of their game on Tea Tornado, and it's time for the world to catch up.
1. Cebe And Me
2. Love Comes Close
3. Life Magazine
4. The Laurels Of Erotomania
5. Heaven Was Full
6. The Trees Grew Emotions And Died
7. Hello Rats
8. Youth And Lust
9. I.C.D.K.We're still buzzed-up on Cold Cave's utterly f*cked-up and insanely brilliant compilation of early material 'Cremations' that came out a few weeks back, so you can only imagine how hyped we are over their debut LP proper, 'Love Comes Close'. While that first comp was engrossing from start to finish, we much preferred those tracks infected with mournfully camp and sinister dance-pop genes, favouring chilling synths and drum machines over emaciated industrial guitars. Now releasing through their own publishing house, Heartworm Press, and featuring an expanded line-up including allies Caralee McElroy of Xiu Xiu, Dominik Fernow aka Prurient, celebrated author Max G. Morton and J.Benoit, this album clearly defines their influences from Joy Division/New Order to Chris & Cosey with a coating of Whitehouse-nasty noise, succinctly described as "Darkwave". Over nine tracks Wes Eisgold manages to create a tension of dancefloor effusiveness with cynically nihilistic sheets of noise, at once exquisite and utterly foul, like the so-bad-you-know-it-works burn of illicit substances on the tongue. The title track is a beyond-the-grave channelling of Ian Curtis, encroaching on the late singers style with a respectful cynicism. 'Life Magazine' introduces the noise again with unnerving familiarity, like some indie megahit mixed by a pack of noise loving gremlins, and then there's the sumptuously camp anthem in waiting 'The Laurels Of Erotomania', like some Erasure track revised by the Bunker crew. 'The Trees Grew Emotions And Died' is another shot of jet black industro-pop, teetering between over-joyful synth melodies and squirming layers of caustic guitars with an unremitting drum machine backing. We'll stop now and just let you explore the rest of the album for your own good. Needless to say, if you've ever felt a strange internal feeling when listening to any of the artists we've referenced above, ready yourself for a fully adulterated blast of the good stuff. So-f**king-good!!!
01. Take You There
02. Down Beat
03. Take You There (Bruno Pronsato's Break-Up Day Remix)
04. Margie's GrooveFrom its unforgettable opening “one… two… one-two-three” kick pattern, Kate Simko’s “Take You There” proves that a few well-placed elements are all it takes to make a minimal-house classic. The Take You There EP is yet another entry into Simko’s growing catalogue of immaculately arranged dance music—light-on-their-feet but dark-of-heart dance tracks whose precision individual elements build upon one another, combining and re-combining into a greater whole.
“Take You There” rides its stark three-beat kick hook for all it’s worth. Simko dresses that iconic thump to the nines, dropping jaunty tambourines, tingly synth swells, and disco claps, deepening the space with swoops of eerie ambiance and Brenda D’s breathy, reverb’d vocals. “Down Beat” takes its title to heart, draping a deep, jazzy rhythm in melancholy keyboard pads that bring to mind a moonlit drive through a snow-covered metropolis. “Take You There (Bruno Pronsato’s Break-Up Day Remix)” sucks out much of the song’s low end, to fascinating effect: The iconic kick pattern, rendered little more than a series of digital blips, combines with silky keys to give the track a serenely sinister glide. The EP closes with “Margie’s Groove,” the standout B-side from last year’s “Gamelan” single (and a favorite of DJs including Guy Gerber, Jamie Jones, Shonky and Dyed Soundorom). And while the Take You There EP’s four songs may leave you wanting more, Simko’s specialty is tantalizing understatement—she knows you’ll keep coming back...www.ghostly.com
A Vodkrens (The Other Version)
B CocoonaWonderfully detailed microsound-type production infects this missive from Argentinean producer Seph, with 'Vodkrens (The Other Version)' featuring a ton of flickering, miniaturised detail and an enigmatic, chiming melodic riff that imbues the piece with an air of creepiness. 'Cocoona' is a little more upfront, delivering rolling percussion and cinematic spatial dynamics for another winning side of hi-tech minimalism...www.boomkat.com
01 Walking Alone at Night
02 I Have No Fun
03 Can't Get Over You
04 Desert
05 Tension
06 Survival
07 The End
08 When I'm Gone
09 Out for the Sun
10 I'm Not Asleep
11 Double Vision
12 You're My Guy
13 Before I Start to CryAt least superficially, this album is a great step forward for the Vivian Girls. It took them six days to record it as opposed to the three days it took for Vivian Girls, and the songs are longer, too -- some almost twice as long as those on their debut. The tracks are darker and moodier, but as this is a notoriously divisive band, don't expect a complete reinvention that will bring the naysayers around. The punk rock influences are still there, as well as the one-take recording philosophy that brought about the accusations of posing and incompetence in the first place...www.prefixmag.com
01 Yalira
02 Chalo
03 Warm Heart of Africa Featuring Ezra Koenig
04 Mwazi
05 Nsokoto
06 Angonde
07 Julia
08 Mfumu
09 Ntende Uli
10 Rain Dance Featuring M.I.A.
11 Kamphopo With Intro
12 Kada Manja
13 Zam’dziko
14 Warm Heart of Africa Featuring Ezra Koenig (Architecture in Helsiniki Remix)
15 Warm Heart of Africa Featuring Ezra Koenig (Theophilus London Remix)With the likes of El Guincho, Vampire Weekend, the Ruby Suns and many more jumping on the African/tropicalia bandwagon, it seems like critical mass is fast approaching for purveyors of brittle afro-pop. But the Very Best boast credentials the like that bands who spend years at an Ivy League school learning about Africa can't touch--lead singer Esau Mwamawaya is actually from Africa, and he met Radioclit, a U.K. production team, while he was working at a thrift shop. The chance meeting led to the group, now christened the not at all boasting the Very Best, to release 2008's excellent mixtape Esau Mwamawaya and Radioclit are...The Very Best, a great mix that found the Very Best covering the Beatles with help from Ruby Suns and covering Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" with help from...Vampire Weekend.
Now the group is giving the full-length album a go with Warm Heart of Africa, the vibe of which is surely captured on first single "Warm Heart of Africa." Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig helps out on the hook on that one, but he's not the only big guest star on the record: M.I.A. also guests on a track.
01 Crystal Visions
02 Too Young to Love
03 Dominos
04 Love in Vain
05 At War With the Sun
06 Velvet
07 Golden Pendulum
08 Frisk
09 A Brief History of Love
10 Tonight
11 Countbackwards From TenThis London duo use gritty beats, droning guitars, abstract effects and dreamy vocals to create a soundscape that is arty yet tuneful. They have previously supported TV On The Radio, Florence & The Machine, Crystal Castles and Klaxons.
Milo Cordell is son of 1960s pop producer Denny and runs the Merok label, which has released cutting-edge dance acts Klaxons and Crystal Castles. Robbie Furze is a former guitarist with electro-punk singer Alec Empire and is also a founding member of the band Panic DHH.
To date they have released three singles - Too Young To Love/Crystal Visions (House Anxiety), Velvet and Stop The World (4AD). They are currently recording their debut album at the Electric Ladyland Studios in New York which is set for release after the summer.
1. One Foot Ahead Of The Other
2. Helter Skelter
3. Pumpkinhead's Revenge
4. Polka Dot
5. Godzilla
6. Expert Tuition
7. Bubble Bobble
8. Mesculine Cola
9. Firefly FinaleZomby finally follows up his Hyperdub doublepack with an album of future-shocking manoeuvres for Ramp, loaded with nine tracks of style surfing riddims and mind burrowing bleepage. In our books, this is one of the most anticipated and in-demand records of the year so far. His precocious productions since 2007 have taken R'n'B infected grime, dubstep and bassline as starting points before crumbling them with nimble digits and reassembling them in his own skunk smudged vision, practically instigating a movement behind him and seriously blazing a path into future rhythm construction. Any keen followers of the style will have noticed tracks from this album cropping up in places like Blackdown's Rinse show or in DJ sets from Kode 9 or Ikonika, most likely soundtracking those head-in-hands "WTF?!?!" type moments their recent sets have delivered. The scheme for 'One Foot Ahead Of The Other' is generally fixed around funkin' 4/4 patterns nudged, pushed and squeezed into constantly morphing shapes with a fizzing energy centre of UK rave spirit at it's core, picking up the baton from thousands of raves gone by and running headlong in the future, shooting lazers from every orifice and dripping psychoactive sweat all over the dancefloor. We'll shut up now and just let the music do the talking, but for what it's worth, this is one of the best records you'll hear this year.
a. The Chase
b. The FullestLatest Tectonic twelve comes from Contagious and Earwax contributor Jack Sparow with two smart and deadly dubstep variants. 'The Chase' takes cues from Peverelist's Bristol rollidge stye with an undertow of technobass infected kicks and interlocking bongo loops set to dread dub atmospherics. The flipside eases up on the gloomy dread vibes with a swinging post-garage riddim riding warped bass and tightly kinked percussion with deeper Detroit debted soundscapes. Big with Pinch, Mary-Anne Hobbs and 2562.
A. It's Full Of Blinding Light
B1. On My Way To The Center
B2. Jukebox HeroThe third release in Audion’s slow-drip of new music is a devastating trifecta, a trio of tracks that hit hard and leave a mark. With each taste of the new Audion, it becomes clear that Matthew Dear’s dancefloor alias is deeper, darker, and more nuanced than ever before, while maintaining a lose-your-mind edge that’s impossible to resist.
The It’s Full of Blinding Light EP begins with the title track, a playground game of kick-the-can gone horribly wrong. The beat—a polyrhythmic mishmash of clicks, clacks, and distant children’s voices—moves at a clip until a fleet of synthesizers swoop in, bombarding the track with wave after wave of brain-draining electronic noise. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, though, and by the time the track reaches its conclusion, “It’s Full of Blinding Light” shines like a New York City sunrise. “Jukebox Hero” is the EP’s passive-aggressive middle sibling, keeping up a facade of soulful 808 claps while a pack of unruly computers quietly lose their shit in the background. “On My Way to the Center” closes things out in menacing style, honing its beef-slap kickdrum into a deadly weapon as the walls close in. Even though the vocal sample keeps repeating “on my way to the center,” Audion’s clearly got his sights set on the outer limits.
A1 Sketch On Glass
A2 Serged
B1 50 Mile View
B2 At LeastSketch On Glass is the second EP from London-based production duo, Mount Kimbie, and right now—after the world has had ample months to digest the wonder of their debut 12-inch, fully drowning in the astringent twists and the hip-hop template the pair hang their dubstep influences off of—seems like the optimum time for the world to embrace it.
Title track "Sketch On Glass" is, to date, the most dance floor directed production the pair have released, easing its see-sawing keyboards around swollen pockets of high pitched melody before the jagged edged square wave bassline erupts amongst the click clack of the semi-quantized percussion. It's chock full of pure smile-time synthesized vibes that will undoubtedly keep any dance progressive and interesting; a carbon opposite of the moody guitar-led title track from their first EP, which the second track on here, "Serged," evokes; its swathes of mellotron chords, thinly sprinkled drums and computer game bleeps reels you back into your own head after the all-out glee of the EP opener.
"50 Mile View" is the broody centrepiece. Hiding behind a minute of swells, a sprinkling of that tell-tale minimal Kimbie percussion patter and a whole ream of bass evolutions, you find the sweetest piece released by the duo to date, which winds talkbox vocals high around vibraphone chords and on through the pristine snap of a finger snap snare. Finishing the EP with "At Least" Kimbie again show another side, letting the upfront drum line roll out immediately as they pick apart what sounds like the squealing dial-up modem sound that's been lost to the ages.
Mount Kimbie break rules. Not only do they eschew dubstep's 140 BPM template, they—like a lot of their immediate contemporaries—refuse to lean on the midrange bassline or any kind of half-step drum pattern and they never, ever, stop experimenting. While their work is becoming recognisably theirs, their signature drum work and sultry synth chords are the true standout moments on both EPs, one must also credit them with something bigger. By pouring the pounds of passion and eons of their studio time into forging the brave new directions displayed here, they've taken this new, intrinsically woeful and yet delightfully iridescent strain of dubstep and forced it into the ears of a completely new audience.
