I have seen the Revenant a couple of times now and it’s an incredible piece of work technically with a stand out soundtrack from Ryūichi Sakamoto , Alva Noto & Bryce Dessner.
The soundtrack mixes sparse elements of classical composition with electronics to create a sound to match the bleak yet beautiful imagery of the film. Give the whole thing a listen to below:
Youtube:
Spotify (The Revenant soundtrack):
Spotify (TOTW Playlist):
Kerrier district manages to mix elements of disco and house music on the album 4 and Showbix is my favourite track from the lot. It evolves, shifting in instrumentation and design throughout proving the skills and experience of electronic music stalwart Luke Vibert:
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Spotify (Track):
Spotify (TOTW Playlist):
Savages open their new album with this cracking Post-punk track that sizzles with attitude and drive. The Answer manages to pack power and aggression into its playtime in a way only rock music can and does it incredibly well:
Youtube:
Spotify (Savages-The Answer):
Spotify (TOTW Playlist):
Another collaboration between a collection of artists, Daedelus known for his electronic beat design and Kneebody a band who play jazz with a focus on the groove. Both acts blend the experimental with more main stream elements of their genre and together they created the album Kneedelus which manages to further mangle these worlds in interesting ways that focus strongly on rhythm.
Platforming does this well with a percussive style closer to hiphop which provides an interesting base for the freestyle jazz instrumentation.
Youtube:
Soundlcoud:
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Spotify (TOTW-Playlist):
I first heard Nils Frahm from his fantastic EP -solo- which featured a collection of tracks for piano that were beautifully constructed. On this EP he has collaborated Olafur Arlands another purveyor of music which mangle piano with electronics. Togehter they have created a great collection of tracks that exist in their own world of organic and electric.
Four is my favourite track from this collection, although the soundscape is fairly minimal on the track each sound has been carefully thought about giving it the space for its dynamics to really shine. As soon as you mix a bitter-sweet melody which electronics ill be a happy man and this track is no exception:
Youtube:
Spotify (Track)
Spotify (TOTW Playlist)
On Youtube:
On Spotify:
TOTW Playlist:
You may have noticed something new on my album of the year list 2015 and that was the integration of Spotify to the tracks.
I’m going to start including Spotify more on my lists rather than Youtube as it will make sure its the artist/label getting the listeners rather than some random person. It will also hopefully stay on Spotify longer keeping links on the site playable years into the future.
Spotify also allows the use of playlists to be shared so from today I am making every available track from my TOTW Segment available in a single playlist on Spotify. This will be updated weekly so for people who just want to put on a collage of eclectic brilliant music can do so with this playlist.
Here it is in all its glory:
On album Have You In My Wilderness, Julia Holter follows art pop traditions whilst also creating her own sound in a way that keeps the genre as fresh as it sounded over 50 years ago.
Betsy On the Roof starts with a fairly traditional solitary vocalist and piano however these elements already hint at where the track is going in their production. Over exaggerated reverbs seem to detune and shimmer in the background. As the track continues more instrumentation builds on these foundations until it becomes a swaying skyscraper, unsteady and on the edge of toppling at any moment. Yet this house of cards manages to stand firm, a shining beacon of the more experimental side of modern pop:
Beach House had a busy year with two albums of great new music that will appeal to any of their fans. For me their second album “Thank Your Lucky Stars” was the better of the two and sticks quite closely to the sound they have developed over several years. Looping synth lines/organs and drum machines underpin the more human elements of guitar and vocals.
It’s this blend of the hypnotic layers of instrumentation with Victoria Legrand’s poetic and often cryptic vocals that always create an air mystery and self-reflection in a way I always find enchanting and Rough song is no different: