Tag Archives: Track of the week

TOTW: Hundred Waters-Down From The Rafters

Posted on by
Reply

This week I want to bring attention to not only this track but also the fantastic sampler NPR are offering on their site which it features on. SXSW is on and to celebrate NPR music have gathered together a collection of 100 of their favourite tracks from the bands playing the festival and can be downloaded for free here:

http://www.npr.org/2014/02/28/283974226/the-austin-100-a-sxsw-2014-mix

All of the tracks are worth listening to and have given me inspiration for several weeks of TOTW. I will start with the Hundred Waters track Down From the Rafters. This track starts in the realms of traditional celtic folk but at the 2:30 mark were treated to an overlaying structure modern production on top of its traditional routes creating something unique and exiting:

)

TOTW: Telefon Tel Aviv_ fahrenheit fair enough

Posted on by
Reply

I’m shocked that in searching through my track of the week history. No work by Telefon Tel Aviv has been mentioned, especially the track fahrenheit fair enough.

To call this a track of the week feels more of a copout then what this track deserves. For me It’s up there as one of my favourite tracks of all time, Its Jazz Chords collide with some of the finest glitch percussion ever processed and create a track that I haven’t got tired of for the past ten years. A truly remarkable piece of work:

 

TOTW: Nujabes_Modal Soul

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been four years since Jun Seba aka Nujabes died in a car accident and he is still sorely missed. His albums Modal Soul and Metaphorical Music still feel fresh and exiting to this day and I cherish and listen to them regularly. To decide on a track was hard but as an album Modal Soul is my favourite so I thought I would buck the trend and put a stream of the whole thing up below. I hope you enjoy and love this unique mix of jazz and hiphop as much as I have over the years:

 

 

TOTW: Warpaint_Biggy

Posted on by
Reply

Warpaints most recent album has been out for a month now and it’s taken quite a bit of time to grow on me. They’ve always had the qualities of a Jam Band engrained in their sound but in their latest self titled album it takes the forefront at expense of some of the more pop sensibilities of their ep and first full album.

This at First gave me less to latch onto and was therefore a bit harder to like from the get go but with time these slowly evolving tracks with less focus on guitar and more on synths have become a part of my late night listening regime:

TOTW: Borland_ Fox Nebula Kiss / Thrancis

Posted on by
Reply

Borland have made several albums over the years available on their bandcamp page and all of them are worth listening to. I have thoroughly enjoyed their works and was surprised when I went on their site to see they had created an album almost a year ago that I had missed.

Their earlier works are a more ambient and lighter than Thranics which is a darker and heavier affair. Therefore I have decided to include a couple of tracks to show you both sides of the spectrum. Fox Nebula Kiss from the album Quantum Woman is a slowly developing piece that bursts into action with a synth arpeggiated line towards its conclusion. Thranicis from the album of the same name feels bleaker and more sparse but the instruments fit beautifully together with the vocal which is pitched and blended into a separate instrument in its own right:

TOTW: I Break Horses_ Faith

Posted on by
Reply

I Break Horses debut album “Hearts” was one of my favourite albums from a few years ago and made its way into my album of the year list. Now two years later were treated to their second album Chiaroscuro. The grand oppressive weight to their sound is still there but now rather than being juxtaposed with more uplifting guitar and synth melodies found in Hearts, Chiaroscuro focuses on a darker approach which is taking a bit longer to grow on me.

Faith is the Second Track on the album and a fine example of the album as a whole:

TOTW: Disasterpeace_Age

Posted on by
Reply

The FEZ Soundtrack is truly remarkable. It manages to convey a vast array of emotions with a limited palate. Age consists of a throbbing synth line that feels like it could lose control and fall apart at any moment.

With a collection of single notes the track manages to hold a majesty and grandeur worthy of the tracks title:

TOTW: Burial_Hiders

Posted on by
Reply

Burial bookended last year in music for me. Truant/Rough Sleeper and Rival Dealer EP’s were the first and last things i bought and have both been great works. Managing to develop and evolve the iconic sound, synonymous with the artist.

Rival Dealer starts harsher and more abrasive than any of his previous works on its opening and title track. But then goes to the other end of the spectrum with a softer and gentle approach that almost borders on the romantic.

Tracks Hiders (below) and Come down to Us as with the rest of Burials work over 2013 have managed to show an artist developing their sound in unique and refreshing ways that manage to completely defy my expectation of their work.

If these mini EP’s continue over a full album from burial and offer this diversity i hope they continue into 2014 and beyond: