TOTW: The National_ Fireproof

Posted on September 6, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

The National haven’t been on my radar untill recently, Their latest album “Trouble will find me” has been filling up most of my free listening time over the past few weeks. What makes the music so compelling for me is how the deep lyrics are complimented perfectly by the music. The whole album does this with such ease that it almost sounds effortless on first listen but this feeling only comes from years of experience. On repeat the quality of their craft mixed with the care and thought put into each track shines through and the whole album reveals itself as a true gem.

Fireproof is a shorter track but demonstrates power in its simplicity. A perfect example of the relationship between the music and lyrics expressed by the band and a great place to start:

TOTW: Teenage Bad Girl_ Keep Up With You

Posted on August 30, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

French House has been popular over the past ten years and become more so with the increase of electronica in the music mainstream. It has always had strong influences from rock music and bands like daft punk have bridged the gap between both genres often becoming the gateway band for indy kids to get into the world of electronica. In recent years this influence has given the genre a harder edge with acts like Justice gaining main stream success for their hard hitting over compressed sound.

For me Teenage Bad Girls two albums offer up the Most bombastic affronting examples of the genre. Instruments and samples are heavily compressed and chopped up with reckless abandon, sometimes to an intensity that leaves me as the listener disoriented.

This may be too much for some people but if you’re creating balls out house music what’s the point of Half measures? Teenage Bad Girl follow that philosophy.

Keep Up With You and its video is strongly influenced by the 80’s hair metal genre and can be listened to below:

TOTW: John Talabot_ When The Past Was The Present

Posted on August 23, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

John Talabots album “fin” ingrained its way into my mind enough to make its way onto my albums of 2012.

On repeat listens it’s continued to offer up more to me. Revealing a true sign of a quality album and a contender for me to promote more on Track of the week.

“When The Past Was The Present” comes towards the end of the album and manages to provide a contrast to the more slowly developing, darker tracks. As its title suggest this track looks heavily into the past of the 90s rave culture. Then mixes it with modern ideas to create a fantastic track that could fit right into the set of many dance floors.

If you want a track to perk up your day this is it:

TOTW: Moderat_Bad Kingdom

Posted on August 16, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

It’s been 4 years and I still listen to the first Moderat album. It’s a great piece of electronica that manges to take mainstream dance music and filter it through some of the more fringe areas of electronica to create something still relevent today.

Now the wait is up and a second album entitled “moderat ii” is out. So will I still be listening to the new material in the next 4 years?

Well after a week of listening to it, I’m still finding new things to love which is a good sign. It’s a great album that anyone with in interest in electronica should listen to.

The production on it is quite simply sublime. Textures and melodys are treated with equal reverence and will make the album appeal to a large group of electronica fans. From mainstream dance to the more experimental edges there is something for everyone here.

The mix of Apparat and Modeselectors ideas make something distinctively unique yet reverential to their individual works. I hope we don’t have another 4 year wait on our hands to hear more.

“Bad Kingdom” is the most Single friendly track on the album, and the one chosen for promotion. If you like what you hear or would like to hear more of the soundscapes behind this track then Give the album a listen:

TOTW: Bob Dylan_ Most Of The Time

Posted on August 9, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

Bob Dylan needs no introduction, an iconic figure with a body of work spanning for years.

Most Of The Time is a more modern track and less well known than his early folk music which made him famous. His hefty vocals have a weight of maturity about them and are perfectly supplemented by the atmospheric electric guitar sound and open drums that show someone who has developed their craft for years. It’s a shining example of the evolution of an artist and simply a lovely track, give it a listen:

TOTW: Nobuo Uematsu_ The Oath

Posted on August 2, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

This week I’m going back to the world of video games but with an alternative look at their Music.

Nobuo Uematsu is one of the legends of video game music and anyone slightly interested in the medium will know his work on the Final Fantasy series. Since the early days on consoles, with simple 8-bit sound chips that could only handle 5 sound channels right through to the CD era with its unlimited possibilities. He has managed to create music of a grand scale, almost orchestral in nature. He gave some of the biggest games of their time an authenticity of grandeur. Creating the equivalent of a hollywood blockbuster soundtrack with little more than his own creativity and a limited palate of equipment.

What amazes me about his work, especially as the games progressed, is just how much quality content he could create in a limited time frame. As the final fantasy series got larger and more ambitious so did his scores and during the Playstation one era the release of Final Fantasy 7,8 and 9 became epic in scale including sound. He concluded his exclusive scoring of the series with Final Fantasy 9 which consists of over 140 pieces of music all written by him in a year time period. A truly momentus achievement.

The Quality of the melody’s construction in his work, have allowed it to be arranged into music for both piano and the full orchestra. The music many people as children imagined as grand orchestral compositions, can now be heard in that way thanks to several CD’s and live performances.

The Oath is a track From Final Fantasy 8 and a personal favourite. A perfect example of his work arranged for orchestra:

TOTW: Holy Fuck_ Lovely Allen

Posted on July 26, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

Although their name is quite abrasive, Holy Fuck’s music is nothing of the sort. They create uplifting electronic music using a collection of cheap keyboards and Toys mixed with Live drums and bass.

Although a lot of their music follows the constructs of more main stream electronica the technologies they use mixed with their ideology make It unique. Relying less on programming, sequencing and looping and playing all the pieces live creates a more freeform feel to their sound and makes there live performances more memorable than other electronic acts.

A perfect example of this is the uplifting track Lovely Allen available to watch performed live below:

TOTW: Son House_Grinnin’ In Your Face

Posted on July 19, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

The blues is an area of music I don’t tend to tread on a regular basis, but some tracks strongly resonate in a way other genres can’t.

Grinnin’ In Your Face is as pure as the blues can be. Vocals and the occasional hand claps of Son House are the only instruments on the track. But this sparsity manages to convey a time and place. I can put this track on, close my eyes and be taken into the past of North america, to open fields and long wooden porches.

The gravity of Son House’s voice provides a weight of personal experience. Mix it with the hand claps that seem as if they are backing up a melody in Son House’s head we’re not privy to and your left with an intriguing piece of music that manages to both be historic and timeless:

TOTW: The Lincolnshire Poacher

Posted on July 12, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

I’m bending the rules of TOTW for this post but the idea was to bring to your attention the things I have been listening to. Although you can’t call this a piece of music I have been fascinated by numbers stations since I heard about them a few months ago. The most famous of which is probably the Lincolnshire Poacher.

For those who don’t know, numbers stations are shortwave radio transmissions which can be picked up by anyone with a shortwave radio. They all usually start with a basic looping tune before going into a code. This can be morse code, a fluctuating signal or as in the Lincolnshire Poacher’s case is a collection of numbers.

Although no one has admitted to these broadcasts the fact that they would require large transmitters with a lot of power, have been running reportedly since the end of the second world war and are illegally using the bandwidth points towards a National origin. People believe these are codes from different nationalities secret services, to secret agents in other countries.

Whether you believe the speculation or not there is something about these broadcasts that manage to disturb and intrigue. Influencing artists Like Bords of Canada and Wilco who have used samples of numbers stations recordings in their own music.

For many years people have been cataloguing and recording the broadcasts and are available as The Conet Project either as CD’s or as free MP3 downloads. If you listen to and find the Lincolnshire Poacher as interesting as I do there is plenty more to listen to and read about online:

TOTW: Grandaddy_Underneath the Wheeping Willow

Posted on July 5, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

The Sophtware Slump is an album I Love, I go back to it time and time again, yet it always seems to leave its understated charm on me.

What really stands out is the delivery of the lyrics. The tone in Jason Lytles voice manages to convey a naivety and longing that’s captivating. No other track on the album highlights these qualitys more than Underneath the Wheeping Willow.

It may be short but as it arrives towards the end of the album it really packs an emotional punch. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:

ConfettiTsunami

Music and blog from musician and composer ConfettiTsunami.

Category Archives: Blog