"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.
I can't think of anything more suited for transfer
to DVD than pop videos. There is a strong visual element
that was planned for small screens and the sound is pretty
good as well.
Here we have a large selection of tracks from New Order
where some effort was made with the videos at the start so
this collection on a DVD is a bit of a treat.
All in all, it's a remarkable journey -- from the
shadowy, beautiful, and tragic angst of Joy Division to some of the
very "up" tracks that New Order have come up with. If you're
a fan you'll love it, and if you aren't, maybe you could be.
This starts off with two Joy Division songs and if you ever
worshipped at that altar this DVD is worthwhile straight away.
Well, a must really, even if some of the presentation is
annoyingly contrived.
For those that don't know the story, Joy Division put out
two albums behind front man Ian Curtis which were dark and
gorgeous and Ian Curtis himself was a sort of Dylan of the dark.
What he might have become we can only guess at as he committed
suicide by hanging himself, and just as people
were starting to rave about the band.
The remaining band members were joined by Gillian on keyboards
and carried on under the name of New Order. That they were
able to do this is a tribute to the friendship that bound them
and that they were able to do it with wild success is a tribute
to their talent. At first they issued two Ian Curtis songs and
then went their own way which, lacking the lyrical brilliance
of Ian Curtis, went more towards "up", dancey things and
always had a keen eye for the commercial ... which sounds like a
putdown. But it's not. What they have done is a seperate
thing, a more pop thing, a more innocent thing, a more
life-affirming thing.
(thunderfinger)
A few years back Rolling Stone mag ran a cartoon which
showed a bearded man in the desert in front of an ancient statue
which rather resembled the Rolling Stones band. The bearded man
was saying, or rather wailing, that "I've come to the oracle for
twenty years and it hasn't said a thing". This pretty much summed
up the band's recent output which was self-congratulatory arena
fodder that was actually pretty well suited to their post Altamont
audience of people who didn't quite get it. Well, not all of them
of course ... but what were they doing there?
Anyway, the Stones have a pretty impeccable rock 'n' roll
history. The point of the thing was, after all, questioning
and rebellion. What quite a lot of feckless fans did with the
message they received from all that gave great heart to those who
would censor and control us in the name of ... well, you know
what spurious names they use. And how ridiculous has that got?
Regularly, in different countries, you can see examples of
censorship ratings systems where pulling someone's spine out
causes a small rap on the knuckles but where there's the slighest
suggestion of something that is quite legal and most of us do ...
sex ... it gets a ban or a very high rating. Is that sick or
what?
Back to the Stones: Is the oracle still silent? Does anyone
give a shit? Is their pension plan topped up enough yet?
First of all, you'd have to say that some attempts have been made
in this album to at least dust the oracle off a bit. There is
some of the old grittiness and the neo-cons from the USA get a
bit of a dusting as well. This will not scare the neo-cons or
mobilise anyone or give anyone else a message they hadn't received
yet unless they were terminally backward (and this is being written
just after Hurricane Katrina). It is a demonstration, however, that
the very rich can sometimes be connected to the planet. The song
isn't bad at all. It's just a little bit like the dumb kid in
class who's the last to get anything.
This kind of leads on to the next answer -- to the question of whether
anyone gives a shit. They do, they do! The opening concert in Boston
at a 30,000 seater was sold out. People like Arnold Schwarzenegger and
the critic for The Times of London (A Murdoch paper) were there.
Let me quote briefly from the latter ...
'And although Keith Richards played with customary swashbuckling zeal,
the energy level dropped through the floor when he supplied his hopelessly
slovenly lead vocals for The Worst and another new song, Infamy.'
(entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-1746420,00.html)
Well, big surprise there, the Times critic doesn't get it. Arnie
might well get it, I don't know. The point is that the Rolling Stones
are now an event that has mostly to do with their being there rather
than saying anything. To most of their crowd, the words are irrelevant:
what matters is a tight, professional show, with Sir Mick doing
the requisite amount of prancing and acting. It's show biz.
So, is this album a complete waste of time? No, it's not.
Is it important? No, it's not.
(thunderfinger)
This is good-time electro pop with a little funk
and a lot of toe tapping. The main man is Jacques
Lu Cont aka Stuart Price who has been Madonna's music
director since 2001 and directed the Drowned World tour of 2001
and the Re-invention tour of 2004. And this album is from
1999. I'm not quite sure why it has popped up again now
except that Citroen have been using one track a lot and
maybe this has sparked new interest. Not that it doesn't
deserve interest. It is good stuff within that area.
Here are a few words from the blurb and a track listing ...
Golly, the first track of this reminds me of a sort
of addled Motorhead. As it happens, there are lots of
different moods here. They vary from soothing electronic
sweeps to full-on riffing angsttunes where the volume
should be set to 11.
Certainly the cover and title suggest that the defining
mood is not going to be California dreamin' and so it
isn't. Novamute do a good line in indy-tinged more raucous
things. Long may they continue.
(thunderfinger)
Hed Kandi are most well known for their light-hearted
dance compiliations. These do not mostly make critics swoon
but they are very popular with people who actually buy records.
Hed Kandy also, from time to time, bring out a solo singer
who usually has a light touch, nice voice, and a bit of funk
and soul. And all of which is, of course, smoothly produced.
Peyton is one such and he's easy to listen to without being
totally easy listening.
Grooves, clean rock, electro, high mixed vocals and
guitar moments make a radio-friendly album with some nice
moments and a mood of art irony.
This has the tracks Jagger '67 and Get Into Me plus four
remix tracks of Jagger '67 from Eraserhead, Propellerheads, and Cass and Mangan.
The first track that might distantly remind some people with
long memories of My Sharona by The Knack, but isn't in that
flavour at all. There is some upstanding vocal primping on the
first track which, as you'd expect, is stripped for the dance
remixes later. All the flavours are fun.
(Thunderfinger)
Cool summer breezes from those purveyors of light hearted
tunefulness and danciness. Here we have tracks from the likes
of Bliss, Afterlife, Theresa, Late Night Alumni and more.
This group of tunes is more for smooching than dancing.
(Dr Boots)
This is Hed Kandi's 50th release and totals some 47
tracks (well, I was curious) arranged into Disco, Twisted
Disco, and "Back to Love". It's kind of interesting that as
dance clubland gets increasingly smaller, Hed Kandi continues
to thrive. Staying home and playing CD's certainly avoids
overpriced clubs anyway.
Also, the sorts of tracks on these CD's are representative
of a sort of classic, even retro, clubland which insulates
them from the happenings of right now and here this week, gone
next week trends. Admittedly this whole scene is less dynamic
than it once was but still, there are foundations.
(Dr Boots)
These two tracks are from the forthcoming album Fires
in Distant Buildings due out on 24 October. I, for one,
can't wait. Nick Talbot, joined here, by drummer David
Collingwood, has been a genre traveller and here we
visit experimental rock with influences suggested in the
promo material of My Bloody Valentine and the Velvet
Underground amongst others. These may well be true but
both of those suggest an anarchism that doesn't actually
dwell on these two tracks at least. But the sounds and
ideas are there and it is nice.
(Dr Boots)
Muted instruments with soft swirls and close harmonies
in the mid-mixed vocals and even something that sounds suspiciously
like a banjo (aside: how do you tell if the stage is sloping to
the right? ans: the banjo player is dribbling out of the right side of his
mouth! Actually you can substitute any instrument you like in those
jokes.) give these three tunes a relaxed, summery, slightly
country sort of feel. The tracks are well crafted and more modern
sounding than this report suggests.
(Dr Boots)
Sorta fast, sorta guitars, sorta live, sorta lifting
a finger to over-produced nonsence, sorta indy and sorta
proud of it.
I really like bands with a lot of attitude and the
willingness to just get up and do it -- to yell and
scream and be on the edge of disaster and not care. The
point of it is encapsulated ... oh wait, I was going
to say something about producers hanging loose but all
of a sudden we have a lot of fairly genuine sounding clapping
on a track so at least some of these tracks really do
appear to be live. And that's a good thing. Too frequently
this sort of band is given to a producer who then attempts
to make them commercial and loses every single decent thing the band
stood for in the first place.
(thunderfinger)
Lush round tones and retro funkiness with a nice jazz flavour
feature on the first track while the second is a more beaty
thing but still with an analogue jazzy sort of feel which is
tripped up a bit with some random voice incursions and changes.
The whole thing is quite worthwhile.
(Dr Boots)
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
Fri, 07 Oct 2005
New Order, A Collection
DVD, Warners
New Order, The New Order Story
DVD, Warners.
Sat, 01 Oct 2005
Rolling Stones, A Bigger Bang
LP, Virgin
Les Rythmes Digitales, Darkdancer
2 CDs, Wall of Sound
'Les Rythmes Digitales is one of the many aliases of Stuart Price,
alongside Zoot Woman, Jacques Lu Cont, Thin White Duke, and Paper Faces.
Stuart is hugely in-demand as a producer and has recently worked with
Madonna, New Order and Gwen Stefani. His remixes for the Killers,
Scissor Sisters, Starsailor and Felix Da Housecat have all been huge
things in clubland. Darkdancer is the album that started it allÉ
Tracklisting:
CD1
01 Dreamin'
02 Music Makes You Lose Control
03 Soft Machine (Featuring Thomas Ribero)
04 Hypnotise
05 (Hey You) WhatÕs That Sound?
06 Take A Little Time (Featuring Shannon)
07 From Disco To Disco
08 Brothers
09 Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)
10 About Funk
11 Sometimes (Featuring Nik Kershaw)
12 Damaged People (Featuring Thomas Ribero)
CD2
01 Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat) (Club Mix)
02 Music Makes You Lose Control (LRD remix)
03 Steps Ahead 5.11
04 Hey You Whats That Sound ? (LRD remix)
05 Energy
06 Sometimes (Junior Sanchez remix)
07 Nancy Jamaica
08 Jacques Your Body (Cassius remix edit)
Hey You (WhatÕs That Sound)? [Video]
Sometimes [Video]
T. Raumschmiere, Blitzkrieg Pop
LP, Novamute
Peyton
LP and single, Hed Kandi
Louise Attaque, a plus tard crocodile
LP, Atmosphereques
EP, Wall of Sound
Infadels
various, Hed Kandi Summer Sampler
LP, Hed Kandi
various, Hed Kandi 50
3 CD's, Hed Kandi
Single out 26 Sep 05, Warp Records
3 track single, Wall of Sound
Fire Engines, Teenage Premonition
LP, Domino
Ch3vy, Hard Massage
single, Catskills
