TOTW: James Blake_Life Round Here

Posted on October 26, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

Overgrown the latest album by James Blake has become a staple in my playlists over the past few weeks, It manages to blend a pop and dance aesthetic into something slightly more experimental. What it looses in accessibility it gains in cerebral complexity. Tracks blossom with repeat listens showing their quality in structure and sound design.

Life Round Here is centered arround a slightly staggered repeating melody which manages to go through layers of harshness with the simple opening of a filter. The melody fluidly blends from reserved in one section to an all out dance track in another. James Blake demonstrates this shift in textures with flair throughout the album and manages to create verity in his work that still feels uniform as a whole:

TOTW: Boards of Canada_Trapped

Posted on October 21, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

I’ve been listening to a lot of Boards of Canada recently and have talked about their quality in previous posts. Fueled by the newest album tomorrows harvest I’ve been working my way through their extensive back catalogue and came across this little gem.

It stands out from their other work with the heavy use of a Colonel Abrams vocal sample that’s been pitched down to create a slower and darker track to the original. Blend this with Boards of Canada’s unique sound design and your on to a winner:

TOTW: Avishai Cohen Trio_11 Wives

Posted on October 11, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

Avishai Cohen Trio create some lovely three piece jazz and 11 Wives is my favourite track from their album Gently Disturbed. Performed live on this video it shows off the tallents of the group. It’s off kiter piano line mixed with tight playing from the percussion and bass make it stand out as a great jazz track, so give it a watch:

TOTW: The Antlers_Hospice Album/Shiva

Posted on October 4, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

Hospice by The Antlers is a fantastic concept album. Although slightly morose the tracks are made with such conviction and attention to detail in production that the whole thing works beautifully. Unfortunately it makes it hard to recommend one track for track of the week so I would recommend listening to the whole thing, However if you demand a single track I Would recomend Shiva. Find both the entire album and the track below:

TOTW: Lightning Bolt_Dracula Mountain

Posted on September 27, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

I’ve been listening to a lot of Lighting Bolt recently. This two piece pack one hell of a punch with their raw energy. Well known for playing In the crowd they create a nervous power which feels like it could collapse at anytime. This comes across perfectly in this live video of Dracula Mountain below:

TOTW: Jon Brion_ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Theme

Posted on September 13, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favourite films and apart from it being a fantastic story it also has a wonderful soundtrack that i will be bringing up several times in the future.

But lets start with the main theme for the film. There is something about the melody of this track that grabs me, It feels awkward but manages to shuffle its way to resolution at the end of each phrase. Apart from standing out as a great track in its own right, its production complements the themes of the film perfectly.

The themes of repetition from the film manifest themselves in the track with both the melody and then the string loop clearly repeating in the background. When the track changes melody arround the 1 minute mark the instrumentation also turns from a traditional piano to a more childlike sound which reminds me of music from children’s cartoons like the herbs. This fits perfectly well with the films memory based story line.

The track manages put across the idea of nostalgia and reminiscing on memory’s perfectly. A wonderful accompaniment to the film but also a standout piece in its own right:

TOTW: The National_ Fireproof

Posted on September 6, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

The National haven’t been on my radar untill recently, Their latest album “Trouble will find me” has been filling up most of my free listening time over the past few weeks. What makes the music so compelling for me is how the deep lyrics are complimented perfectly by the music. The whole album does this with such ease that it almost sounds effortless on first listen but this feeling only comes from years of experience. On repeat the quality of their craft mixed with the care and thought put into each track shines through and the whole album reveals itself as a true gem.

Fireproof is a shorter track but demonstrates power in its simplicity. A perfect example of the relationship between the music and lyrics expressed by the band and a great place to start:

TOTW: Teenage Bad Girl_ Keep Up With You

Posted on August 30, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

French House has been popular over the past ten years and become more so with the increase of electronica in the music mainstream. It has always had strong influences from rock music and bands like daft punk have bridged the gap between both genres often becoming the gateway band for indy kids to get into the world of electronica. In recent years this influence has given the genre a harder edge with acts like Justice gaining main stream success for their hard hitting over compressed sound.

For me Teenage Bad Girls two albums offer up the Most bombastic affronting examples of the genre. Instruments and samples are heavily compressed and chopped up with reckless abandon, sometimes to an intensity that leaves me as the listener disoriented.

This may be too much for some people but if you’re creating balls out house music what’s the point of Half measures? Teenage Bad Girl follow that philosophy.

Keep Up With You and its video is strongly influenced by the 80’s hair metal genre and can be listened to below:

TOTW: Moderat_Bad Kingdom

Posted on August 16, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

It’s been 4 years and I still listen to the first Moderat album. It’s a great piece of electronica that manges to take mainstream dance music and filter it through some of the more fringe areas of electronica to create something still relevent today.

Now the wait is up and a second album entitled “moderat ii” is out. So will I still be listening to the new material in the next 4 years?

Well after a week of listening to it, I’m still finding new things to love which is a good sign. It’s a great album that anyone with in interest in electronica should listen to.

The production on it is quite simply sublime. Textures and melodys are treated with equal reverence and will make the album appeal to a large group of electronica fans. From mainstream dance to the more experimental edges there is something for everyone here.

The mix of Apparat and Modeselectors ideas make something distinctively unique yet reverential to their individual works. I hope we don’t have another 4 year wait on our hands to hear more.

“Bad Kingdom” is the most Single friendly track on the album, and the one chosen for promotion. If you like what you hear or would like to hear more of the soundscapes behind this track then Give the album a listen:

TOTW: Bob Dylan_ Most Of The Time

Posted on August 9, 2013 by ArtistConfettiTsunami

Bob Dylan needs no introduction, an iconic figure with a body of work spanning for years.

Most Of The Time is a more modern track and less well known than his early folk music which made him famous. His hefty vocals have a weight of maturity about them and are perfectly supplemented by the atmospheric electric guitar sound and open drums that show someone who has developed their craft for years. It’s a shining example of the evolution of an artist and simply a lovely track, give it a listen:

ConfettiTsunami

Music and blog from musician and composer ConfettiTsunami.

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