Slowdive have been away for a long time but their first album in over twenty years sounds as if nothings changed.
In most cases this could be seen as a negative for most bands however it works here because a sound they helped pioneer which was mostly ignored and maligned at the time of their previous albums is now very much in vogue.
No Longer Making Time with its mumbling vocals, deep reverbs and jangling guitar exemplify a sound that I have always been a fan of. Give it a listen:
The announcement that Fleet Foxes were reforming to create something new came with great anticipation. Now their latest album CRACK-UP is out and it’s finally time to hear what I was looking forward to.
It’s an album I wasn’t expecting in many ways. They have returned with a work that is far less accessible then anything they have created before and may put off fans of the more streamlined sound heard on their first album and EP. The exquisite harmonies still exist and are backed up by traditional folk instrumentation but the composition and structure of the songs has turned into something far less conventional. It will take several more listens to cement my feelings about the style as I’m still struggling to appreciate it all but there are points such as Fools Errand that really come together to create something wonderful.
The A/B structure mixes a repetitive composition with a slower more intricate one, the transition of which really makes the track.
Well after over 25 years twin peaks is back and as my fears of how the show would turn out turned into genuine fear as I watched the first two hours and realised that Mark Frost and Davind Lynch were creating exactly what they and therefore I wanted.
The show has always blended the surreal, comical and horrific and the series does the same. However it now tilts towards the latter. With a darker more nightmarish vision that has you laughing at its eccentricities before they turn creepy and finally scary. I highly recommend it.
The theme music returns and still fits perfectly with the darker style, showing its versatility as a singular iconic identity to the show. It manages to summerise both the sweetness and often blandness of small time life and the sinister darkness that the show toys with. It manages to use sounds that are iconic with synthesis of the 90s and yet it still remains timeless. The melodies of every part of the instrumentation are all instantly recognisable in there own right and stand on there own individually which is a rare achievement. As a whole its mix of the romantic and ominous makes this stand out as one of the best pieces of title music for TV recorded.
I’ve come back from Japan fresh full of ideas and positive energy. The experience was a remarkable one and will be highly influential giving me several directions I can take my music.
Whilst in Tokyo I managed to visit Tower Records in Akihabara with the goal to pick up the work of one of my favorite HipHop Producers. In the UK Nujabes work is hard to get hold of officially, a mix of his sudden death and being a Japanese producer means that his music never got a UK release so importing the work at an incredibly inflated price is the only way to get your hands on it.
The thought was to save by doing the importing myself and I mustn’t be the only one who follows these ideas as he had a whole collection of shelves dedicated to him in tower records. Rare for an artist who has been dead for over seven years.
Nujabes Catalogue
The reason Nujabes has this ground swell of support is simply the high standard he achieved creating his sound. Mixing Jazz samples with hiphop beats is a staple of the genre with J Dilla and DJ Krush being other well known examples but Nujabes work is the most accessible allowing you to get lost in it almost instantly.
Luv (sic.) pt 3 is a collaboration with Nujabes and a Japanese rapper Shing02 which was eventually finished as 6 parts posthumously using sample ideas left on Nujabes phone. Part 3 was the first I heard as it features on the album Modal Soul and stands on its own making it a great place to start:
Ryuichi Sakamoto has a long career of composition in many forms, from bands to solo work and scores for film. Probably most well known for the Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence theme and most recently his work on the Revenant soundtrack. Both previous tracks of the week.
His latest album async has a strong overarching theme of mortality. Whether this is caused by his age or the battle with cancer Ryuichi Sakamoto is clearly interested in the themes of life and death and on this mostly instrumental and minimal album he explores them with great talent and finesse.
The album starts with the track andata which demonstrates what Sakamoto does best. Sparse elements with strong emotional themes that are given room to breathe whilst also remaining faithful to the original idea behind the track as it moves from a grand piano to a cavernously reverb enriched piano.
The album Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain was a collaboration between the the band Mono and composer Worlds End Girlfriend. They both inhabit the same musical soundscapes so the collaboration makes perfect sense on this album which focuses on blending post-rock and neo-classical elements my favorite track being Trailer 3.
Over its 17 minute playtime we start with an arrangement for classical strings that over time is layered with traditional rock elements as it descends into darker and darker territory. Fans of the more famous post-rock artists in the UK such as Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor will certainly get a lot from this arrangement:
Over the next few weeks I will be away in Japan celebrating my birthday and thought that the perfect accompaniment would be to highlight some of my favorite Japanese composers and musicians over the rest of the month.
Japan has always been a place of interest for me because of its unique culture which always came across as distant and exciting when I was growing up. Its this culture and ideology that has permeated through all forms of Japanese art. Creating distinctive works from all mediums that could only originate from japan and music is no exception.
I start with a mix of two mediums, Joe Hisaishi is a composer best known for his collaboration with Studio Ghibli, creating the soundtracks for many of their animated films over the past twenty three years. His compositions provide the perfect accompaniment to the beautiful vistas and detailed close ups drawn in all of studio Ghiblis work with my favorite of them all being the theme One Summers Day from spirited away.
There is a style to several Japanese composers that manage to create a beauty and also a longing that is reminiscent of the romantic era but with a stoicism and restraint that clearly comes from the culture. One Summers Day has this beautiful melody on piano that manages to feel both wistful and yet optimistic, accompanied by orchestral arrangement to extenuate both emotions and create a piece that holds up on its own as well as being a perfect summery of the themes within Spirited Away.
My favorite work from Actress is his foray into minimal electronica. Over the past several albums they have always been their highlights and Blue Window is another example.
The lo-fi tape sound mixed with the instrumentation in Blue Window makes it highly reminiscent of Aphex Twins Selected Ambient works album and could easily fit on it with no problems. A plucky synth line is driven along by basic shuffling electronic drum patterns that do a lot with very little which is surprisingly hard to achieve:
Arca has managed to carve out a strong identity in the varied world of electronica with his experimental, unique and often abrasive sound.
The track urchin repeatedly swells and throbs with repeating crescendos that fade away or crash into reverb tails. These are accompanied by heavily processed instrumentation and percussion. If you like electronica with an experimental edge arca is one of the current key players and shouldn’t be ignored:
Clarks latest album Death Peak is clearly influenced by his previous two releases the self titled album which focused on strong dance elements and his previous sound track album The last Panthers which focused more on creating atmospheric backgrounds for picture.
On Death Peak we see both at play. Large soundscapes mix with rhythmic drums and his rip roaring bass design to create an album that exemplifies his current direction. On Peak Magnetic these two worlds are blended together to create my favorite track from the work as synthetic elements are blended with vocal samples and strong rhythms to create a track that rests somewhere between the dance floor and the headphone listener. Just over halfway into the track an all encompassing bass synth rips its way through, devouring all the percussive elements and returning the track to its initial instrumentation. It’s a great demonstration of the sound Clark has been developing over the the last few albums and a perfect place to start:
Spotify:
TOTW Playlist:
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
