Julie Byrne hasn’t gone far from the roots of the traditional singer/songwriter on her album Not Even Happiness. Vocals and Guitar are the key players only occasionally being swapped out for other instrumentation. However she does this with such a clear and shimmering beauty that I have found it captivating. The track Natural Blue exemplifies the quality of the album, give it a listen below:
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John Talabot created one of my favorite electronic albums Fin in 2012. Still to this day it Is one of the high points of the genre and has kept me interested in his output ever since. Over the resent years he has formed a partnership with Axel Boman under the name Talaboman and after a few singles have created their first LP the night land which manages to recapture a lot of the things I loved from the album Fin.
The blend of electronic dance instrumentation with atmospheric field recordings is used to create a distinctive sound that elevates it above the expansive output from the genre. Compositionally tracks manage to do a lot with a little. In Looser’s Hymn minimal instrumentation is used yet the design and use of effects gives these elements a strong sense of place. Time will tell if it holds its own in the same way that Fin does years later, but its looking to have all the ingredients needed to become another classic.
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The Priests album Nothing Feels Natural is a post-punk debut reminiscent of many of the genre’s greatest achievements. A superb album in its own right but nuzzled between the more traditional tracks is my track of the week “Interlude”.
Interlude does what its name suggests a short and unique song that sounds completely separate from the rest of the tracks. Providing a pallet cleanser but also showing ideas that we don’t usually hear on most post-punk albums.
A string section provides a neo-classical sound we would expect from artists such as Nils Frahm or Max Richter. It uses both low and high fidelity recording to create a wash of instrumentation that hints at many things with a subtlety that feels fresh in the context of this album.
Artists often add small ideas into works that change up or test areas and interests to demonstrate their versatility and Interlude by Priests is a great example.
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On album Rennen, SOHN blends R&B with electronica and does it with an edge and beauty that works well throughout.
Rannen concludes with Harbour a song that starts very much in one genre before breaking into the other. A vocal solo starts the track before being accompanied by and organ which grows into a whole collection of synths which are stripped away to nothing. It then starts up again as an all out dance track with an arpeggiated synth bass line backed up by the organ, driving percussion and even a wood block thrown in for good measure. It’s a track that finishes the album on a high, a great sendoff that leaves you wanting more:
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Leonard Cohen died at the end of last year leaving with us with his final album “you want it darker” a personal reflection on life and death that along, David Bowies Blackstar could be seen as bookends to 2016.
Maybe known best for other peoples covers of his song Hallelujah the one thing that has always been clear is his skills as a wordsmith. Cohens ability to poetically weave complicated struggles with life into powerful songs has always been his strong point. However I personally feel that as his music progressed it was the production that let his words down. Sounds that at the time were of the moment, now sound dated and detract from the vocals rather than enhance them. It’s when we strip away the instrumentation to its simpler forms that the work really does shine through and this is why his earlier albums still stand out as some of the best. Especially on the album Songs from a room where the small band accompaniment provide enhancement rather than destruction from his words.
Yet after saying his best points are his abilities as a poet, I’m going to pick a cover as my track of the week. In this instance Leonard Cohen recites the folk song La Complainte du Partisan firstly in English and then in French. The song focuses on the thoughts of a french resistance fighter during world war II and Leonard Cohen delivers them with a mix of reserved melancholy and hope. He inhabits the role of someone struggling with a dangerous and near impossible task with a steely eyed determination and belief that as long as him and people like him continue they will succeed no matter the costs.
This delivery is also enhanced by the instrumentation. The accordion reflects the songs french roots without loosing its subtlety and becoming a pastiche. Instead it resembles the hope and nationalism the resistance fighter feels which drives him on his quest. The Acoustic guitar and bass give a feel of historical accuracy whilst also providing a the structure for the track.
The decision of mixing slow fades into and out of the track also give the feeling that your being introduced to a story that started before and will continue on after the end of the track as the character continues his quest. Its as compelling now as when it was written because it contains and delivers an authenticity that’s hard to capture on record:
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Comedy in music doesn’t have the credibility that it receives in other mediums like film. Which is a shame as there’s a real skill to creating something funny in a medium where repeat listening is a key element of the form.
Neil Cicierega has managed to achieve this on his new album Mouth Moods. Which joyously remixes and mashes up tracks that should have no place together to great comic effect. His key influence for sampling is not a dusty collection of vinyl but the meme centric world of anonymous internet forums. Songs and soundbites from all levels of taste and credibility are treated with the same reverence. With an overarching goal to surprise and entertain the listener. He does this with a style and a skill that could only come from talent and experience.
It results in a work that leaves me grinning from ear to ear throughout its playtime, as Neil throws track after track of songs that shouldn’t work together and create something that does. This overloading barrage on the senses often results in giddiness and raucous laughter from the listener. Not just myself but the many people I have played it to. The detail and care that has gone into squeezing every last joke possible out of its playtime leads to multiple layers of comedy that continue to deliver on repeat listens. The reference to the Beatles song Revolution #9 is a personal highlight for me but I don’t want to spoil it for you.
It’s also willing to go into the realms of the surreal and silly with songs like Tiger which goes for a simple and quite stupid joke that can’t help but raise a laugh. Survivors song Eye of the Tiger is chopped up and turned into a song about a man taking his tiger for a walk And the song Bustin will never make you think about the ghost busters theme tune in the same way again. It’s these things that highlight the silliness of the source material but with an enthusiasm and love that’s never condescending but a celebration of music and how it affects people.
It’s this toying with expectations of our proustian memories of music that have always made sampling so interesting if this had been done to dramatic rather than comedic effect Mouth Moods would be considered in the same light as seminal albums of the genre. At some moments it surpasses them by being funny and also poignant. This especially happens on my TOTW T.I.M.E where the YMCA is mixed with Hans Zimmers TIME from the inception soundtrack.
At first it comes across as a great joke. The powerful string melodies rich in a serious grandeur are almost ridiculed by the brash vocals smothered in reverb. But as the music builds with the words, you accept the world the song has put you in. By half way through the symbiosis of the two tracks results in a strong emotional power that shows the lyrics of the YMCA to be about struggle in adversity a sentiment that is easily lost to on the disco beat of the original. By the end you are left with a weird collection of emotions as you struggle to come to terms with the fact that the track is ridiculous and yet could be interpreted as deadly serious or even political. T.I.M.E along with the rest of mouth moods manages to play with music to such an extent it forces me to analyse all genre of music further than I have before. It challenges our perceptions of what music is and why it makes us feel the way we do and like all of my favourite albums it gives back as much as you put into it.
T.I.M.E may be a strong track in its own right but Mouth Moods could be making it into my end of year list. I recommend anyone download it from Neil Cicieregas site.
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On his latest album Migration, Bonobo has created some brilliantly well constructed dance tracks that manage to blend great melodies with interesting instrumentation, funky bass lines and unique percussion. It really gets going in the second half where stronger club elements come out to drive the album to its conclusion.
7th Sevens is the penultimate track and exemplifies what Bonobo does best. Mix world music instrumentation (especially percussion) with the more organic sounds of electronic music. The track goes for a subtle approach as the music builds, deconstructs and re-builds several times to its conclusion. It demonstrates my favourite parts of modern electronic music and had to be my Track of the week:
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The Flaming Lips latest album opens with an instrumental track of the same name Oczy Mlody.
A bitter-sweet synth lead provides focus for the other drifting instrumentals which vary from the traditional Bass Guitar, to the surreal warping guitars and tape echo. Which is used more as an instrument than an effect as it creates time warping ping pong style percussive delays.
When I first started to listen to the Flaming lips they portrayed this world of vibrant Joy. Even in their darker moments the tracks always felt as sweet as candy canes, a bright kaleidoscope of colours and imagery. It’s still there but muted now, The sun is setting on a world where anything fantastical could and would happen and with it comes the shadows. There is hope in the music but with all hope there is doubt. A doubt that the sun will come up again.
This is what always excites me about a new release from The Flaming Lips. They have created their own style and sound over years and are so comfortable with it that no matter which direction they take it in to reflect their current situation it still stays iconic to them. Oczy Mlody is another step in their journey and well worth your time:
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I have thought long and hard over the ultimate song for a DJ. A song that will get people up on the dance floor no matter what age or environment and I can’t think of any that has the same affect as Ike & Tina Turners cover of Proud Mary. It has a rare vibrancy, an energy that is so addictive it gets anyone dancing.
The long build before before the track gets “rough” correlates quite closely to the “drop” found in most modern dance music and has the same affect on people. This infectious Joy is rarely caught in a recording and gives the track the same power as it did 40 years ago. Making it a classic that will continue to have the same affects on people for years to come:
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I have all ready given Danny Brown a lot of praise for his most recent album Atrocity City putting it as one of my favourite albums from 2016. But on first listen Tell Me What I Don’t Know was the first track that made me sit up and take notice.
Unlike his higher pitched rapping found on most of his most recent works, This track goes to the earlier more natural sound for his delivery and subject matter. As he unravels a detailed description of a section of his younger life. Story’s of dealing drugs at school to the death of his friend are delivered with both an honesty and a poetry that really makes them sink home. Add to that interesting instrumentation and drum patterns that you would never expect to hear on rap music and we’re on to a real winner of a track:
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