Category Archives: Track Of The Week

Weekly selection of other artists music

TOTW: Cristobal Tapia De Veer_ Utopia Finale

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I was recently recommended the new Netfilx show Dirk Gently Holistic Detective agency. The first thing that grabbed me was the soundtrack because it could have been only made by one composer, Cristobal Tapia De Veer.

His sound is unique and often features the warping and shifting of vocals to create instruments that manage to blend the organic and electronic. It’s a sound that has been used by more experimental artists before, however the off kilter style and sound design would be difficult to employ inside a soundtrack scenario unless the script would support it.

Utopia on Channel 4 achieved just that, a series that blended the thriller genre with absurdist comic book style characters, over saturated visuals and interesting shot composition. It was a show that stood out as something completely different and this soundtrack became a key element in its identity.

This style of composition especially its sound design is only possible in recent years due to the development of more advanced time warping and pitch shifting algorithms and their integration into Digital audio editing workstations (D.A.W). Some composers and musicians have taken D.A.W and turned them from a composition and mixing tool to an instrument in its own right. This is something that is prevalent throughout the history of electronic music where whole genre have been created by people who have pushed equipment in directions the original creature had no intention to. It’s the main reason that electronic music is so close to my heart and Cristobal Tapie De Veer has proved yet again that with creative artists and the constant development of technologies electronic music will continue to push the boundaries of music as we know it.

Electronic music is now the main stream and although it is all consuming at the moment overpowering older genre, we are starting to see its use more subtly as its ideas and designs are implemented into other genre. Its the seed of development for the future of music as a whole and will continue to lead the way in its development for years to come. The Utopia soundtrack demonstrates this. Although several years old now it still feels unique and fresh with the “Utopia Finale” track from season one highlighting a large collection of the style, strengths and talents of Cristobal Tapia De Veer:

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TOTW: Run the Jewels- A Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters

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The new Run The Jewels album RTJ 3 feels like a story of two halves. It opens with the usual all out furore that we expect from their previous two albums. But on its second half we get a new side to the group. One that features a different take on the production and lyrics. Tracks that feel more like well planned attacks that the instinctive raw anger we get from their previous work on the first half of this record.

The final tracks “A Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters” are mixed together and provide a perfect example of this new direction. The music still has the heavy production El-P is known for but its more stripped back, with the percussion mixed into the instrumentation so it isn’t the harsh force it usually is. Together they provide a mournful bed for the delivery on the vocals which deal with the fears both Rappers have for the future due to recent events.

It’s this contemplative and weighted approach that really adds something new to their commentary on society. In the past, Run The Jewels have always sounded like a prize fighter in the first round. The energy is flowing and the punches are landing with style and flair. A Report to the Shareholders/Kill Your Masters shows a group who have been through one too many fights. With more experience and influence but feeling weaker than ever, beaten but not defeated. It’s a reflection of the artists feelings themselves and also a reflection of our society at large and its worth your time:

 
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TOTW: Ian William Craig_ Purpose (is no country) 

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I’ve been listening to a lot of music as I research for my albums of the year list and was impressed instantly by the album Centers by Ian William Craig. The album spans several genre whilst also having its own strong identity.

Although surrounded by harsh tracks inspired by elements of Noise music the track purpose (is no country)  adds contrast and a sweet release with the layering of his vocals exclusively to create a choral piece with heaps of ambiance. It’s a lovely track which suits this time of year perfectly:

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TOTW: Nick Cave & The bad Seeds_Anthrocene

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Nick Cave has always emoted a strong style in all his works. Where living is hard and hard living intertwine and form lyrics which are delivered practically or poetically to create a world that is both bitter and beautiful, harsh but honest.

On his album Skeleton Tree these lyrics are accompanied by stripped down instrumentation which adds a veil of darkness and occasional disorientation to the songs with great effect. It’s in its most experimental and exiting on the track Anthrocene.

The Vocals are very much the forefront of the track but the instrumentation mixes a collection of textures together to both contradict and compliment them.

Elements of the instrumentation also oppose each other, a regimented short low fidelity drum sample loops in intervals fading in and out providing a structure that is challenged by the other live organic improvised percussion. The traditional chord structures on the piano is blended with the warping pitch from guitar and synth sounds. These clashes connect with the vocals tale of isolation, they add a weariness to the cryptic lyrics. What are we supposed to make of them? Are they words of comfort or something far more sinister?

“The dark force that shifts the edge of the tree” may be lyrics in this song but they also summarise what Nick Cave does best. Reflect the side of life we try to ignore. In songs like Anthrocene the music and the lyrics combine and enhance this ideology, taking it from the material to the mythological. The dirt under humanities fingernails is exposed and expressed by a man who’s never shied away from staring. It’s what Nick Cave does best and why you should listen:

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TOTW: Eels_ Daisies Of The Galaxy

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From 1996s album Beautiful freak to 2001s Souljacker Eels didn’t put a foot wrong. The four albums over those six years manage to portray a diverse and vibrant collection of musical styles with heartfelt lyrics that portray a vast collection of the human experience.

Daisies Of The Galaxy as an album provides a lighter more joyous instrumentation than its predecessor Electro Shock Blues with traditional orchestration as a driving force. However the lyrics still reflect a soul searching darkness, the driving factors On Electro Shock Blues. This time they are more abstract, from a raw pain they have developed into a mature one. Emotions with hindsight and experience, The bitter-sweet feelings on Electro Shock Blues were divided on a track by track basis but by Daisys Of The Galaxy they are ingrained as one and this is exemplified by the title song from the album.

Wrapped in both a sweet nostalgia and a bitter loneliness the song starts with isolated guitar and vocals but soon blossoms into exquisite instrumentation from brass and strings, the track drifts away to its conclusion as the vocals blend with more layers of instrumentation including woodwind and fade into obscurity leaving both a feeling of joy and uncertainty.

It’s rare for a track to have so much power for me but Eels manage to achieve it many times throughout their works. Daisys Of the Galaxy is an album and a track that I will continue to return to for years to come:

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TOTW: Sigur Rós_Gong

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Watching the second season of planet earth made me think about and go back to the first Sigur Ros album I ever heard and pick out this track for the week.

The whole of the album Takk… is really beautiful. Well rounded in its construction with tracks flowing between one another wonderfully. It feels at times almost entirely organic in its structure as if parts from the previous track form the inspiration for the next one until its conclusion. This makes hearing it as a whole a real pleasure, a journey into their unique style condensed into its sweetest form over the albums eleven tracks.

Gong is one of the more forward facing tracks, focusing on stronger percussive elements and a swing that really brings a swagger to the piece as it transitions from darker elements of instrumentation to a piano which leads a euphoric key change for the tracks conclusion.

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TOTW: Burial_Ghost Hardware

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I have now seen the latest documentary by Adam Curtis HyperNormalisation a few times I always find his works captivating insights into the world, Its hypocrisy and the influential forces that are both in control and out of control.

He has peppered the soundtracks of his documentary’s with Burial for several years now and it works perfectly, as if the track was composed for this vision of the world that is slipping into dystopia.

Burial has always hidden in the shadows both in his persona and music. The music itself comes from beneath the surface, taking influences from different dance music connected with city life and blending them with darker elements to create a sound that feels as if its oozing through the cracks.

Ghost Hardware is a perfect example, Reese Style Bass lines synonymous with Drum and Bass growl their way through the track like a savage beast hiding in the darkness while a garage style percussion powers through the track giving the swampy textures of the rest of the track momentum and pitched vocals add a feeling of humanity without loosing the tracks synthetic quality. It remains one of my favourite tracks from an artist with an already incredible collection of work:

 
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TOTW: Blanck Mass_D7-D5

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Blank Mass makes hard dance music. The synths are distorted and drums are compressed to become solid blocks of force. On His latest Single D7-D5 he has managed to further develop this sound and create a track that has more drive then his previous work, with a progressive structure that builds many layers of heavily produced sounds tailored with dark undertones. The effect is a track that balances between euphoria and unease, a power that although great could also be destructive.

The sound works so well because it is designed and structured by someone with a clear vision of the style he aims to achieve and the experience to back it up. Being one member of the double act Fuck Buttons, Benjamin John Power has applied his skills to this solo work and created a track with a strong identity that holds its own on multiple replays:

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TOTW: Pixies_ Monkey Gone To Heaven

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Out of all of the Pixies work, Monkey Gone To Heaven is my favorite.

The bands greatest skill is their ability to make the most out of often simple melody and song structure. The amount of emotion they can stir up by only offering whats needed gives the tracks lyrics a greater heft than they would in a more complex arrangement.

The steady build to the first chorus which starts with Bass and Drums before adding string instrumentation and piano is one of my favorite in all music and prepares the listener perfectly for the re-introduction of the distorted guitar sound that crashes in on the intro of the track:
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TOTW: Telefon Tel Aviv_ Fahrenheit Fair Enough

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This is the first and probably the last time I will make a Track My Track Of the Week for the Second time.

Fahrenheit Fair Enough was one of the first Tracks I made a Track of the week. At the time it was already a bit of a curiosity with a low quality stream on youtube the only way to access the track to share on my blog.

However 5 years later the Track finally gets a Reissue as a precursor to the release of their album of the same name and i can finally offer it as a track to listen to on multiple streams and in better quality. The fact that I am still so fond of this track 5 years since making it my TOTW indicates the powerful affect it has on me.

The mix of Glitch percussion with strong chord structured pads make remind me of another favourite IDM track Flim by Aphex Twin. Its this mix of the Harsh Complexity of the percussion with the softness of the instrumentation that make the track not only hugely enjoyable but also highly influential:
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