"Lana is sort of ghost music ..." is a quote from SFT
and it is ghostly in a non-spooky way. Sounds and fragments
come and go in a kind of ethereal way connected by artful use
of timbre, level, and small thematic excercises.
This is a collaborative effort between SFT and Rainier Lericolais,
and T um, an Italian electronica duo. Simon Fisher Turner is
a pretty interesting guy -- ex-child actor, Jonathon King promoted
pop failure, punk fan, artist in residence at the ICA, film
track author, and now soundscaper.
The DVD presents visuals to go along with the music and the
mood remains consistent with what goes before. There is also
supposed to be a mixer toy thingy but this didn't become
apparent on a Mac.
"One of the hallmarks of a great band is the consummate ease with which
that group constantly strive to adapt, to evolve, to innovate; thereby
ensuring that they never repeat themselves or do something tepid or
commonplace"
This latest single released by Royksopp is fantastic. (You can hear a
few shorts from that album on their website
www.royksopp.com if you are interested in
listening before you buy).
Royksopp are Torbjoern Brundtland and Svein
Berge. Their Melody A.M. album is a good example of quality and success
- 1,000,000 copies sold worldwide, half of them in the UK. As the quote
above suggests, they are always striving to be original. This latest
example - 49 percent - introduces lyrics; an unexplored avenue! The
simplicity of the voice, juxtaposed with the rhythm and melody, couldn't
be better. The remix examples, also on the single bring out the
different textures available showing just how flexible music should be.
I particularly enjoyed the M.A.N.D.Y. remix, and the West London Deep /
1% Deeper Mix.
They show yet again that it is perfectly possible to be original in
everything that you do as music writers. I sense a real inventive touch
to everything that they have produced both now and in the past. They are
doing justice to the world of contemporary music.
(E Walton)
With roots, raga, and hip-hop, and a sense of
humour, there is only one place this could come out
of. In fact it's kind of interesting that while
lots of other genres are dead on their feet from a lack
of any new vision whatsoever, this genre, whether you
like it or not, has plenty going on in both a stylistic
and content way.
www.novamute.com
I spent an hour or two with a Roland MC909 the other
day, generating full-on techno by pushing puttons for
different patterns while sliding the faders to bring the
parts up or down. DJing without turntables or straightforward
creation? It's somewhere between the two I think.
Richie Hawtin has been voyaging away from turntables and
in his "searching for what's next" he's used
Abelton Live and Pro Tools to reassemble bits and tracks.
"That's the big question behind all the DE9 CDs - what can
I do now with the technology and how can I push it in a
new direction to further the experimentation and heighten
the experience?". It's also a voyage towards having more
of a say creatively, and quite a long way down the path
from merely playing other people's work.
In this set is an ordinary CD of the tracks but this
is called a "bonus CD" because one of the main things
here is 5.1 Surround Sound and that is used on the DVD,
where you get the tracks along with minimal screen activity.
There's also a filmed conversation with Richie and an
excerpt from a music event at Mannheim only a few months
ago. One of the interesting points made in the conversation
is that, a few years ago, software could only beat match
over shortish time periods of twenty seconds or so
whereas now it is able to match much longer periods, so
making it easier to get further away from the turntable.
In all of this Richie Hawtin manages to maintain his
connection with people through their feet -- all of this
pleasurably danceable.
Melnyk is a Canadian from Alberta who came to live in London,
England, where he makes clubworthy electro. Gaymonkey is a Swedish
label formed to save that country from sugar pop and metal death
and, although I'm personally fairly naive about that sort of
thing, appears to be, well, gay. That should cut the homophobes out
but what about those of us who don't care what people do in
their own houses?
I guess the caracature of gay music is big disco and a
certain sort of smoothly produced electro. This falls in the latter
group. There are some nice songs that are nicely and smoothly arranged
and Sara Berg provides some vocal interest.
(Thunderfinger)
You can learn and see more about Crazy Girl
in our interview here
and about the song too, which is a Betty (wife of Miles) Davis song.
We've got the song and three dance edits here. The first is a
synth-rich retro romp with CG's high vocals getting the message
across. The remixes come from the likes of Black Fu's and Niyi
and the third track is a real stomper.
(Dr Boots)
This is great stuff. I got a surprise when this was randomly
selected from a pile to play the sound wars game with a neighbour
who likes her TV volume set to stun. The first CD is a collection of
rare Afrobeat from ... yes, Africa. The tracks have vibrance and life
along with a barefoot funk that seems especially inspiring when
you consider the sorts of places this music comes from. For people
who are knowledgable about this genre, artists are the likes of
Honny and the Bees, Orlando Julius, Awa-KLaSH, Dele Sosimi, and Yahoos.
The second CD consists of remixes by well known mixsters such
as Bonobo, Zero, Okenfold, and Quantic. This is good, fun stuff,
as well. Who wouldn't be inspired by the original tracks?
This is actually a charity set. Bottletop have to do with
sexual health education iniatives and they also sell things like
iPod cases and clothing. Malmaison are apparently a "lifestyle
hotel group" and I guess they put up the seed money for this project.
Mstation Pop etc Commentary, Reviews
pre Dec 04 reviews are here
Mon, 31 Oct 2005
Simon Fisher Turner, Lana Lara Lata
CD + DVD, Mute
Royksopp, 49 Percent
(from the Album 'The Understanding')
CD, Virgin
Rolldeep, Shake a Leg
3 track single, Relentless on Virgin
Richie Hawtin, DE9|Transitions
DVD and CD, Novamute
www.m-nus.com
www.richiehawtin.com
Melnyk with Sara Berg, Silence
LP, Gay Monkey
Crazy Girl, Get Picked Up
Single, Tummy Touch
various, Sound Affects: Malmaison
2 CDs, Bottletop
