Posts tagged ‘MP3s’
Albums of the Year 2011
Another year ends and along comes another Bubblegum Cage III end-of-year list. The usual caveats apply: this rather lengthy post was pecked out over a disjointed series of sittings. No critical rigour or close proofreading was applied at any stage. What is more, there was a major technical calamity at one point, which caused an entire evening’s worth of work to be lost forever. The upshot of all this is that the grammar may be marginal and the writing a little half-baked. But the music’s all that matters and the music is great.
So, what’s been happening? Well there’s this… and then…
Well… sometimes, it seems like every year is simultaneously a better year for music than the previous one and a worse year for music than ever. Let’s look on the dark side first, get that out of the way. It’s hard to remember a year when music per se was more marginal to western popular culture or when mainstream pop music was more shamelessly heinous. For most people, music has become little more than an optional feature of smartphones, designed to pump out shitty-sounding MP3s of hyper-compressed uber kitsch at the most antisocial of opportunities. And while the mainstream squanders the astonishing potential of digital audio technology in that manner, the greatest creative minds of the musical underground have turned into a bunch of look-back bores, intent upon steadfastly refusing to explore the full potential of the vintage synthesizers they just bought on eBay. Bah!
Then there’s digital maximalism, which just seems like a wearying, indiscriminate outpouring of collective incontinence. Still, there is a different type of torrential digital maximalism that can’t help but yield some positive results, if only by statistical probability. That is to say there continues to be an ever-gathering cascade of interesting-at-the-very-least new (and old) music raining down on us all on a daily basis – to the point that it’s utterly impossible to keep up, let alone appraise it all in a meaningful way. While this means that most of the truly great, potentially important albums end up getting overlooked… well, hasn’t that always been the case? The cream rises to the top, sure – but it usually takes a while.
It can sometimes seem like the greats are drowning in a sea of merely-goods. But let’s face it, there have only ever been about half a dozen truly classic albums released in any given 12-month period. That hasn’t changed in the last 50, 60 years. And even the most perceptive of critics will find it hard to figure out precisely which albums those are until said albums have been around for at least a couple of years. Of course, at the Bubblegum Cage III, we think the most perceptive of critics are losers. We know full well what the most important records of 2011 were and we know it right now. So what are we waiting for? Here they are…
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Top 10 Albums of the Year
Seefeel - Seefeel
1. Seefeel – s/t (Warp) LP
Quite the comeback from the UK post-rock legends – this is exactly what Bubblegum Cage III wanted to be hearing in 2011. Which is to say it sounded like nothing else this year and flew recklessly in the face of fashion. No vintage synths, four-track fug or aimless eclecticism for this band.
Like all Seefeel albums, Seefeel explores variations on a very limited sound palette. In this case, the palette is anchored by ponderously hypnotic beats’n'basslines and topped off with Sarah Peacock’s cooing vocals. In the middle, you get Mark Clifford’s DSP-distressed guitar giving off all manner of bass wobbles, granular detonations and disorientatingly modulated delays.
Whereas most guitar/DSP combinations in the post-Fennesz era have aimed to humanize or naturalize experimental electronic music, Clifford’s work here essentially makes rock sound more alien and uncanny than one might reasonably think it could in this day and age. This is a brave, brilliantly realised and multi-dimensional album; genuinely dreamlike in its smeared clarity and as alienating as it is beautiful. (The Moritz von Oswald Trio has been pulling off a similar trick over the last few years.)
Fennesz is extra-relevant here, by the way. The great man’s combination of classic-rock guitar stylings and cutting-edge DSP deconstruction has been responsible for some of the most thoughtful, innovative music of the last 15 years. But his style is perhaps too fractured and abstract to have a direct impact on the broader culture of popular music. Seefeel represents an attempt to apply Fennesz-esque techniques to the “traditional” rhythms and structures of pop/rock. As such, it sounds like a proposal for a more reflective, less destructive – but not unrealistically utopian – future.
In the past, many people sought out music that sounded like the future. Nowadays, some of us are just searching for music that makes us feel like there’s going to be a future. Seefeel shoots the beast of inevitable entropy down with a single enigmatic glance. Seriously.
Near perfect and damn well necessary, Seefeel is this here blog’s album of the year. The fact that nobody else seems to regard it so highly is distressing on any number of levels.
StephanMathieu - A Static Place
2. Stephan Mathieu – A Static Place (12k) CD [& To Describe George Washington Bridge (Dekorder) 10" & Remain (Line) CD]
An absolutely glorious excursion into pure ambient bliss-out from one of the tried-and-tested masters of digital electronica. The methodology here is probably pretty simple, as anyone who’s spent time playing with SoundHack will tell you. But while digital technology might make it easy to create sounds a bit like this, it’s something else to weave those sounds into an gigantic, undulating eiderdown of heavenly cumulus.
A Static Place consists of five pieces, four of which are exactly 10 minutes long. Like the Seefeel album, it’s based around a very limited selection of signature textures - the repeated deployment of spectral twisting and twinkling in the high end being the key to precisely why A Static Place is so seductive.
Most of the audio samples at the root of these twinkly textures were apparently sourced from Mathieu’s collection of vintage 78 RPM records – hence the “static” in the title. But any surface noise here is rendered as an unbroken, oceanic pink noise bliss-hiss, with no pops or irruptions to disrupt the flow. So seamless is the sound, in fact, that it seems faintly ridiculous to keep referring to Mathieu as a “glitch” artist, just because he’s a German guy with a laptop.
In spite of its restricted sonic parameters and its seamless flow, A Static Place is anything but one-dimensional. You could lose your mind in the heady heights of this album – this goddamn heroic inner space voyage.
Tape - Revelationes
3. Tape – Revelationes (Immune) LP
Perhaps the loveliest album yet from Sweden’s digitally-enhanced pastoral post-rock trio. There’s nothing unexpected here – beautiful guitar and keyboard melodies buoyed upon lightly-brushed rhythms, topped off with some unobtrusive granular audio manipulations. Tape’s music has always been just edgy enough to prevent it becoming blandly decorative but – in this case – the more-than-usually-beautiful melodies really kick things up a notch. Revelationes is absolutely bloody gorgeous; ravishing!
There’s a truly utopian sensibility to this music, albeit an unassuming, decidedly non-didactic sensibility (all of which is compounded by the lovely cover art). Compared to this, most 2011 releases sound unattractively decadent, bloated and pointless. Like the Seefeel album, this record hints at a better future that can only be glimpsed through the abstract medium of experimental music (in these blighted, dogmatically politicized times, a least). That may be reading too much into what is basically just a very pretty instrumental post-rock record but an album quite this pretty can really give you ideas.
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
4. Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica (Software) LP
If the already-classic Returnal felt like the culmination of something, Replica feels like the start of something – something good and something less tied to recognizable analogue tropes – but just the start of something, nevertheless. Whatever it is, Daniel Lopatin hasn’t quite perfected it yet, which is the only reason Oneohtrix Point Never hasn’t been awarded Bubblegum Cage III Album of the Year two years in a row.
Sampling has cropped up in Lopatin’s work before (on Memory Vague, for instance) but it has never been pushed quite so far to the fore. Oneohtrix is associated with the whole synth drone thing but Lopatin is clearly making an effort to prioritize digital methods. He’s even – sacrelige! – worked a laptop into his live set-up.
Apparently, most of the samples come from vintage TV adds, so Lopatin is still exploring the intersections of memory and popular culture. But he’s doing so in a more vivid, critical way than most of his hypnagogic peers. The sound here is spacious, raw and glitchy. The deployment of sound is both achingly beautiful and disarmingly witty. The most obvious comparison might be to 94 Diskont-era Oval, which is interesting because the last Oval album was a close runner up to Returnal in last year’s to 10.
Oh and c’mon guys, it’s a pun on 106.7FM (Boston’s soft rock station), so it’s pronounced “one oh tricks point never”. Is that really so hard?
Oneohtrix Point Never – “Sleep Dealer”
Woebot - Chunks
5. Woebot – Chunks (Hollow Earth) LP
More sample-collage fun, this time concentrating on re-situating slices of 70s hard rock heaviosity. Part of the fun comes from hearing these big beer farts of sound hermetically sliced’n'diced and arranged with neat (but unfussy) precision. The real fun, though, comes from the fact that this approach doesn’t drain the idiot joy from the source material. If anything, the mighty Woebot’s attention to detail and ear for a hook only make things sillier and more energizing.
The fact that “Argos” has not yet topped the UK pop charts is proof positive that the world has gone mad.
Alva Noto - Univrs
6. Alva Noto – Univrs 2LP [& Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Summvs CD & Cyclo - Id 12"] (all Raster-Noton)
An astonishing year for Carsten Nicolai. Three releases so consistently compelling that it’s extremely hard to pick a favourite. His latest piano-versus-laptop duel with Ryuichi Sakamoto is perhaps the duo’s most satisfying face-off yet. But Univrs is just so stridently rocking and robotically funky that it seems like the real award winner here. And it truly is a winner – there are numerous moments on this album where you’ll simply want to stand up and applaud. Explosive stuff!
Kellarissa - Moon of Neptune
7. Kellarissa – Moon of Neptune (Mint) LP
Exceptionally lunar tunes from the pride of Vancouver. There was a fair bit of hype about solo, female avant-synthpop artists this year. The fact that Kellarissa got left out of the mix was a grave injustice. Maybe we can put it down to her duties as keyboard player in Destroyer taking up the time that would otherwise have been spent promoting this album. In any case, take a listen to “Undock” and then try to say that shit ain’t world-class.
Hype Williams - One Nation
8. Hype Williams – One Nation (Hippos in Tanks) LP
Smirky, lo-fi retro pastiche that should be annoying but is actually weirdly affecting. This London duo’s “we’re so mysterious” self-mythologizing is unnecessary – the real mystery is how so much beauty results from such an unpromising approach. One Nation is almost Ween-esque in its ability to confuse, irritate and beguile.
Hype Williams – “William, Shotgun Sprayer”
Charalambides - Exile
9. Charalambides – Exile (Kranky) 2LP
The wholly other avant rock duo’s best album yet? The words “peerless” and “singular” are doubtless used repeatedly elsewhere in this post but… what the hell: PEERLESS AND SINGULAR!
This is an unusually rugged and upfront Charalambides release, with Tom Carter spooling off endless desert psych/blues guitar lines while his ex, the divine Christine, croons diary entries close up into the mic. The results are at once stark and hypnotic. A tough trick to pull off but a damn effective one.
Five years in the making. A major release.
Charalambides – “Before You Go”
BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa - Big Shadow Montana
10. BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa – Big Shadow Montana (Helen Scarsdale Agency) LP
A truly epic and brilliantly structured ambient excursion from Scandinavia. A Static Place is lovelier and Cindytalk’s Hold Everything Dear (see below) is perhaps more ambitious but Big Shadow Montana has an impact all its own, perhaps because it manages to pull off the difficult balancing act between expansiveness and concision.
Sounds like a David Lynch movie. Let’s get this clear, though: it doesn’t sound like the soundtrack to a David Lynch movie, it sounds like the film itself. Does that sense? No? Well, neither does the record. This is that ol’ space shit!
BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa – “Big Shadow Montana, Side B (Extract)”
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Highly Recommended
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky) 2LP [& Dropped Pianos (Kranky) 12"/LP]
Ravedeath is basically a consolidation of the more-droney-less-glitchy work Tim Hecker has been doing since Harmony in Ultraviolet but that’s not to damn it with faint praise – this is a brilliant concentration of everything that has made his recent work so irresistible. Add strangely melancholy, faux-rave gated synths and you’ve got a very strong contender for a top 10 spot.
The Dropped Pianos mini LP provides some insight into the raw material behind Ravedeath and is an unusually “live”-sounding release for Hecker.
Tim Hecker – “Hatred of Music II”
Moritz von Oswald Trio - Horizontal Structures
Moritz von Oswald Trio – Horizontal Structures (Honest Jon’s) 2LP [& Vladislav Delay Quartet - s/t (Honest Jon's) 2LP & Vladislav Delay - Vantaa (Raster-Noton) CD]
The Basic Channel man takes his trio on its most recognizably musical excursion yet. Horizontal Structures lacks the alien weirdness of previous releases but it’s irresistible and singular nonetheless.
The quartet led by MVOT percussionist Vladislav Delay is a much darker proposition, perhaps because of the the jet-black electronic madness unleashed by Mika Vainio (ex of Pan Sonic) throughout.
Vlad’s solo album on Raster-Noton seems a bit like a step back into his electronic comfort zone, after the more “live” sound of Tummaa. Maybe the Trio and Quartet are satiating his need to jam with “proper” musicians.
Moritz von Oswald Trio – “Structure 2″
Belong - Common Era
Belong – Common Era (Kranky) LP
Fans of Belong’s de facto Fennesz tribute album October Language looked askance at the New Orleans duo’s move into lo-fi pop territory but Common Era is actually the sound of a band coming into its own. Dreamy.
Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact (4AD) 2LP
Gang Gang has been threatening to go pop for some time now and Eye Contact is pretty much that threat made a promise – parts of it sound like a dangerously out-of-control Black Eyed Peas! Somehow, though, this band has never quite delivered on its promise and it still seems like the best is yet to come.
Secret Pyramid - The Silent March
Secret Pyramid – The Silent March (Nice Up International) cassette
Incredibly beautiful and accomplished space rock from here in Vancouver. Essential for all you fans of Flying Saucer Attack and lovesliescrushing, assuming you can track down this (as yet) tape-only release. Vinyl releases in 2012?
Secret Pyramid – “Her Spirits”
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Highly Recommended
Fennesz + Sakamoto - Flumina
Fennesz + Sakamoto – Flumina (Touch) 2CD
Christian Fennesz’s collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto have never been as satisfying as Carsten Nicolai’s and this is really just more of the same, only three times as long and with rather darker, more probing piano work from Sakamoto. Nice though.
Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow 2LP [& Director's Cut 2LP] (both Fish People)
The “real” new album, 50 Words for Snow, is like a more stripped-down version of the previous “proper” album, Aerial. It’s not up there with her best but it’s solid and often deeply evocative, other than the truly abysmal Elton John cameo. Director’s Cut is a reasonably successful attempt to redeem some of Kate’s lesser works – essential for committed fans but not for the rest of you.
King Midas Sound - Without You
- King Midas Sound – Without You (Hyperdub) 2LP
An album of remixes and “revoices”. Doesn’t sound too promising, does it? But listen, it’s a Kevin Martin album with Green Gartside from Scritti Politti singing on one song – it’s obviously going to be awesome. “Come and Behold” is SONG OF THE YEAR. The Hype Williams and Gang Gang Dance remixes are just gravy.
King Midas Sound – “Come and Behold (Green Gartside Revoice)”
Cindytalk - Hold Everything Dear
Cindytalk – Hold Everything Dear (Editions Mego) 2LP
It was a good year for epic, highly structured ambient albums. This effort from art-goth veterans Cindytalk was up there with the best of ‘em.
The Field - Looping State of Mind
The Field – Looping State of Mind (Kompakt) 2LP+CD
A slight step back artistically but a reliably vivifying collection of blissed out tech-house, all the same.
Oren Ambarchi & Jim O'Rourke - Indeed
Oren Ambarchi & Jim O’Rourke – Indeed (Editions Mego) 2LP
Reliably excellent and abstract duo album from two avant rock/electronica A-listers.
James Blake - s/t
James Blake – s/t (Universal) 2LP
Probably the most divisive album of the year – you either loved it or hated it. This here blog loved about 75% of it but the emo element and nagging repetition of lyrical phrases does grate after a while. Basically, “I Never Learned to Share” sucks.
Hauschka - Salon des Amateurs
Hauschka – Salon des Amateurs (130701) LP
Prepared piano, electronics, live drums and a whole bunch of lovely.
Johann Johannsson - The Miners' Hymns
Jóhann Jóhannsson – The Miners’ Hymns (130701) 2LP
An oddly ominous-sounding anthem to the glory days of the union movement. It’s a movie soundtrack, so maybe it makes more sense with the visuals. In any case, a real kick in the arse for those who think this kind of post-minimalist eclecticism (see also Sylvain Chauveau, Max Richter etc.) is just so much apolitical pleasantness.
In Serpents & Seas - Notes from the Quiet Household
In Sepents & Seas – Notes from the Quiet Household (no label) download
More spooky soundscapes from the ever-reliable Charlie Martineau aka Esperik Glare. Name-your-price download from here.
Kelvox1 - Grazed Red
Kelvox1 – Grazed Red (no label) download
Large scale contemporary UK post-rock. Not currently available, as the band is planning a hard-copy release for 2012. It’ll be worth the wait.
Loscil - coast/range/arc
Loscil – coast/range/arc (Glacial Movements) CD
Another great ambient record from 2011. Vancouver’s Scott Morgan abandons the glitch beats and live instruments for some serious electronic flotation tank music. Glacial in its pace, crystalline in its clarity.
Half Man Half Biscuit - 90 Bisodol (Crimond)
Half Man Half Biscuit – 90 Bisodol (Crimond) (Probe Plus) LP+CD
It’s hard to imagine anything more different from the Loscil album than this latest effort from England’s greatest comedy rock (sorry Taylor) institution. “L’Enfer c’est les Autres”, in particular, is absolutely pant-pissingly funny.
Half Man Half Biscuit – “L’Enfer C’est Les Autres”
Xela - Exorcism
Xela – Exorcism (no label) download
Instead of releasing his final album as Xela as a nice vinyl edition on his own Type label, John Twells has chosen to go the free download route. This is slightly perplexing as, to these here ears, Exorcism sounds like the best Xela album evar! Dark but not as doomy as the title might suggest. More bliss, less horror and all the better for it.
Byetone - Symeta
Byetone – Symeta (Raster-Noton) LP
Another great year for Raster-Noton. Actually, it’s incredible how first-generation glitch labels like Raster and Mego have managed to stay relevant (Mille Plateaux, not so much). This is like a more organic, dubby version of the Alva Noto album. Other Raster artists (Frank Bretschneider, Senking…) have been exploring similar ground over the last couple of years, with mixed results. This immediately jumps out as a more successful expedition than most.
Lawrence English - The Peregrine
Lawrence English – The Peregrine (Experimedia) LP
English seems like someone who is yet to make his definitive musical statement. Reports that The Peregrine is his masterwork have been greatly exaggerated. Basically, it’s a more expansive take on the recent Tim Hecker sound. It’s not unsatisfying but you’re left with the feeling that he can and will do better.
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Singles, EPs etc.
Burial - Street Halo
Burial – Street Halo (Hyperdub) 12″
Bloody hell, he just gets better! Albeit gradually. The post-dubstep pioneer is progressing at his own sweet pace. A tiny step for him is a giant thrill ride for the rest of us. This may be his most purely beautiful release so far.
Fennesz - Seven Stars
Fennesz – Seven Stars (Touch) 10″
Very, very solid four-track release from the governor. The introduction of a steady, live drum beat on the title track is a nice touch but the rest is business as usual. Nothing wrong with that, in this case.
Shackleton - Fireworks
Shackleton – “Fireworks” 2×12″ & Actress – “Harrier ATTK”/”Gershwin” 12″ (both Honest Jon’s)
It was a stellar year for Honest Jon’s. “Fireworks” saw a return to form for ethno-dubstep lurker Shackleton, after his rather underwhelming Fabric mix CD, while Actress gave us more of his trademark hyper-compressed avant techno.
The Automatics Group - Auto 17
The Automatics Group – Auto 17 (Or) 12″
Generic analogue synthesizer drone continued to be big news this year but genuinely otherworldly synth weirdness was thin on the ground. Thank goodness, then, for this impeccably odd release from York’s Automatics Group.
The Automatics Group – “Auto 17 Preview”
Spell - Hex
Spell – Hex (Panospria) download
Thankfully, this is not the Spell which features (gag!) Boyd Rice. And sadly, it’s not a song-by-song reinterpretation of Hex by Bark Psychosis. Instead it’s a Vancouver duo purveying a hard-to-classify mix of effects-pedal haze, laptop beats and incantory vocals. Free download from here.
Andy Stott - Passed Me by
Andy Stott – Passed Me by (Modern Love) 12″/LP
It almost did! Andy Stott seems to be operating in the same hyper-compressed, sample-based, post-techno space as actress. Seductive stuff but – as with Actress – the deliberately excessive use of side-chaining compression can lead to ear fatigue pretty quickly. Perhaps that’s why both artists are concentrating on short-form releases, rather than full-length albums. Stott released another mini LP in 2011 (We Stay Together – haven’t heard it yet) and the two releases are now available together on a double CD.
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Reissues etc.
Disco Inferno - The 5 EPs
Disco Inferno – The 5 EPs (One Little Indian) CD
Probably the most important re-issue of all time, so why the fuck isn’t it available on vinyl?!? WHY???????????
Ahem…
What can be said about this endlessly inspiring music that hasn’t already been said in not one but two epic posts?
Now, RELEASE THIS FUCKING THING ON VINYL, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!
Disco Inferno – “Summer’s Last Sound”
Disco Inferno – “The Last Dance”
My Bloody Valentine - Lost Tracks & Rare Cuts
My Bloody Valentine – Lost Tracks & Rare Cuts (Alti Philosophi) LP
A bootleg – obviously – but a very welcome one. True MBV fans will definitely need those recently-discovered demos on wax, after all.
***BEGIN EDIT – MAJOR OVERSIGHT***
The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace
The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace (Beggars Banquet) 3CD
Something important always gets left out but the fact that this lavish box-set was absent from the original version of the list… well, that ain’t okay. Put it down to this being the year that the Bubblegum Cage III finally got sick of The Fall. Still, this is essential. While it doesn’t quite scale the heights of 2010′s essential Wonderful & Frightening World of… 4CD set, this should still stand as a stern corrective to those who believe that The Fall ran out of steam after finally leaving Rough Trade for good or that Ersatz GB is the best Mark E. Smith can do. More, please!
***END EDIT – SORRY ABOUT THAT***
Arthur Russell - Let's Go Swimming
Arthur Russell – Let’s Go Swimming (Audika) 12″
A classic slab of electro-pop wildness, again and again and again. How can you resist?
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
Talk Talk – Laughing Stock (Ba-Da-Bing) LP
Over the last few years, original vinyl copies of Talk Talk’s extraordinary swansong have been going for about $100. Earlier this year, an apparently rather dodgy bootleg seemed to be doing the rounds. Now, finally, we have this legit re-issue. Essential to own for all serious avant/post-rock fans. The hair-raising feedback solo on “After the Flood” would be worth the price of admission alone.
Slowdive - Pygmalion
Slowdive – Pygmalion (“Creation”) 2LP
The label name is in quotes because this kinda has to be a bootleg. Ah well, it’s still nice to have the marvelously abstract final album from this legendary shoegaze band available on wax.
Hecker - Sun Pandamonium
Hecker – Sun Pandamonium (Pan) LP
Seriously mind-bending EXTREME COMPUTER MUSIC from Florian Hecker, in seriously luxurious packaging. Very classy.
Lawrence English - Kiri No Oto
Lawrence English – Kiri No Oto (Digitalis) LP
A very welcome vinyl edition. Just as good as the actual new album.
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Releases by connect_icut & on CSAF Records
![connect_icut - Let's Hear it for the Vague Blur [Remastered]](http://bubblegumcage3.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/connect_icut-vague-blur-remastered.jpg "connect_icut - Let's Hear it for the Vague Blur [Remastered]")
connect_icut - Let's Hear it for the Vague Blur Remastered
connect_icut – Let’s Hear it for the Vague Blur (Panospria) download
The fifth album by connect_icut, gloriously remastered by Joshua “Magneticring” Stevenson. Imagine a mid point between those Heckers, Tim and Florian. Now, get it here.
connect_icut – “Memories of Flood”
Not Me – 2011 12s Vols. 1-5 (CSAF) downloads
Deep, dark Chain Reaction-style beats plus whatever the remixers felt like doing. Said remixers included Loscil, Fieldhead, Kuma and Vincent Parker. That’s right: Loscil! Get them all here.
Not Me – “ntm (Loscil Remix)” from Vol. 1
Not Me – “lss (Lim’s Verges of Tears)” from Vol. 2
connect_icut - They Showed Me the Secret Beaches
connect_icut – They Showed Me the Secret Beaches (CSAF) download
The fourth and best connect_icut album, originally (and still) available as a vinyl LP, now available as a high-quality, full-album download FOR A DOLLAR! How can you resist? Get it here.
connect_icut – “Drunk on Sophia”
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Let Downs
The Fall – Ersatz GB (Cherry Red) LP
Look, every Fall album has its moments but it’s hard to make a case for this rather half-hearted exercise. Down there with Are You are Missing Winner and Reformation Post-TLC.
Mountains – Air Museum (Thrill Jockey) LP
Shit Museum!
Okay, so it’s not that bad but it is a dispiriting exercise in unimaginative analogue synth drone. This Brooklyn duo has spent years sticking to its guns, gradually building an audience for its consitently-unfashionable-but-equally-consistently-affecting mix of field recordings, acoustic guitar picking and electronic sound manipulation. Why jump on someone else’s bandwagon at this stage? And why do it so clumsily?
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What Didn’t Get Heard Yet?
Oh, all sorts of “exotic” music from other cultures, that footwork business, various synthpop ladies, countless releases on Dekorder, Editions Mego, Kranky, Raster-Noton, Touch and Type plus stuff by Actress, Anarchist Republic of Bzzz, Beequeen, The Caretaker, Destroyer, Hype Williams, Giuseppe Ielasi, Mount Kimbie, Nochexxx, No UFOs, Oval, Pinch & Shackleton, Andy Stott, SunnO))) meets Nurse with Wound and goodness knows what else.
The Oval is obviously this year’s big missing piece. As previously mentioned, O was number two in last year’s top 10. OvalDNA, a 2CD collection of rarities, unreleased tracks, samples and software seems to have been released in Europe at the end of last month but there doesn’t appear to be any North American release planned, let alone a vinyl release (which would be technically impossible, to a certain extent). Anyone out there heard it?
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Live Shows
Hard to recall. Fennesz and Philip Jeck in London stands out as a memorable highlight, as does Oval and Mountains in Vancouver. Going to see Prince this week!
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RIP
Bert Jansch 1943-2011
Trish Keenan 1968-2011
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Other Lists You Should Take a Look at
(Updated regularly – more coming soon)
Blissblog (Simon Reynolds)
Everything’s Exploding (members only)
Largehearted Boy (list of lists)
Metacritic (chart of charts)
Not Me – lss 2011 (CSAF) download
The fifth and final EP in the 2011 12s series. Free download from CSAF Records.
Not Me - lss 2011
Vol. 5: lss 2011 (CSAF133DL)
Long delayed (it was scheduled for October 2011 but wasn’t ready until December), this final volume in the series was definitely worth the wait.
It begins with a mix from Connecticut resident Darren Milos – aka – Lim. The deeeep dub techno of Darren’s “Verges of Tears” version sounds like the best damn 12″ Deepchord Presents Echospace never made. It’ll make you wonder why Lim isn’t a massive star of the international electronica scene.
Next up comes a submission from Mute Branches. Like the Lim mix, this is notable for its highly dynamic structure as well as the crystalline clarity of its mix. Mute Branches is, it turns out, James Cresswell, a prodigiously talented 20-year-old from the depths of England’s Black Country.
The B-side begins with a remix from legendary Vancouver electronica duo coin gutter, whose mix builds slowly, gradually ramping up the hypnotic intensity over the course of 11-and-a-half minutes. The series concludes with another murky, chaotic mix from CSAF mainstay connect_icut.
As ever, the full track-listing is provided below, with embedded players for previewing the individual tracks. Click on the download link to get the whole thing as a single .zip file.
Side A
1. Lim’s Verges of Tears (9:39)
2. Mute Branches Remix (7:04)
Side B
1. Coin Gutter Mix (11:24)
2. connect_icut 2011 Mix (7:43)
DOWNLOAD 2011 12s VOL 5.
hmbkr & Magneticring – Live in Vancouver – Nov 17
Quiet City Nov 2011
Post-Rocktoberfest 2011: US Post-Rock Vol. 1
US Post-Rock Vol. 1
Those of you who remember previous posts on the subject of early American post-rock will recognize some of these tracks. Those of you labouring under the misapprehension that US post-rock is total crap are in for a pleasant surprise.
This stuff has a reputation for being a rather sterile mix of instrumental indie rock and light jazz fusion. This compilation aims to show that the earliest and best American post-rock was a natural extension of UK post-rock’s futuristic eclecticism.
It’s also worth noting that the Wire magazine article in which Simon Reynolds first identified a specifically American strain of post-rock concentrated heavily on an emerging strand of space rock, in which analogue synths and effects pedals were far more prominent than vibraphones and six-string bass guitars. Having said that, the first track on this compilation features both a vibraphone and – almost certainly – a six-string bass.
Click here to download US Post-Rock Vol. 1 or click the links in the track-list below to preview the individual tracks. And don’t forget to support the artists whenever the opportunity arises!
1. Tortoise – “Glass Museum”
In a very specific sense, Tortoise are a bit like My Bloody Valentine. Each band spawned a legion of imitators, who only bothered to superficially imitate the surface details of the music, failing to touch the thick, rich layer of true strangeness that lay beneath.
2. Trans Am – “Firepoker”
Quite possibly the first band to build a sound on a basis of tongue-in-cheek 80s popular culture references. But there’s no hypnagogic fug here, only invigorating percussive clarity.
3. Salaryman – “Voids + Superclusters”
The experimental alter ego of punk-pop band Poster Children. In terms of their influences and procedures, Salaryman were very much grooving along the same lines as many of the British post-rock bands. Being American, though, their material was purely instrumental.
4. Bowery Electric – “Fear of Flying”
Not that all US post-rock bands lacked in the vocals department. Here we have hip-hop beats, dub bass and shoegaze guitars, all topped off with cooing female vox. Now that‘s the 90s!
5. UI – “Sexy Photograph”
Even some of the primarily instrumental USPR bands would break out the vocals occasionally. Presumably that’s future New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones doing the hollering on this cut.
6. The For Carnation – “A Tribute to”
It has been said that Slint’s Spiderland was the key precursor to instrumental US post-rock and third-generation emo post-rock. Many of the folks who have said this genuinely seem never to have noticed that Brian McMahan’s mumbled vocals are one of the key elements of that album’s vividly dreamlike atmosphere. This track from McMahan’s post-Slint project is rather closer to UK post-rock than it is to any of the garbage Spiderland supposedly inspired. It’s downright funky!
7. Cul De Sac – “Doldrums”
Nine minutes of what sounds like a cassette recording of a Neu! rehearsal. In a good way!
8. Gastr Del Sol – “Rebecca Sylvester”
It almost seems unfair to lump the duo of Jim O’Rourke and David Grubbs in with post-rock. Somehow they were more interested in stepping outside rock than they were in moving beyond it. Still, they were very definitely tied into the Louisville/Chicago milieu that spawned Slint and Tortoise, so…
9. Labradford – “El Lago”
This is where we get into outer space. Labradford’s music was like a gorgeous elegy for the glory day’s of the US space programme. As vividly dreamlike as anything on Spiderland, without actually sounding much like Slint.
10. Fuxa – “Photon”
Wooshing analogue synths and chiming guitars. It must be space-rock!
11. Windy & Carl – “Lighthouse”
Space-rock drifting into shoegaze territory. Flying Saucer Attack fans will dig this one.
12. Stars of the Lid – “The Evil That Never Arrived”
Beautiful processed guitars business. These chaps were way ahead of their time in a lot of ways.
13. Rome – “Intermodal”
As with the Stars of the Lid track, this stands as proof that American post-rock bands were just as capable of dissolving into full-on abstraction as their British cousins. This is almost like a lo-fi take on Main.
Post-Rocktoberfest 2011: UK Post-Rock Vol. 8
UK Post-Rock Vol. 8
Ultra-obscure bands! Little-known side projects! If volume seven was solid and familiar, this one is ragged and delightfully confounding. Click here to download UK Post-Rock Vol. 8 or click on the links in the track-list below to preview the individual songs. Like something you hear? Go buy the artist’s actual albums – preferably on vinyl!
1. ROC – “Cheryl”
Not really post-rock per se but ROC were highly illustrative of an experimental pop style that was very much contemporary with the original UKPR scene. This style has been fairly well represented in the UK Post-Rock compilation series, with tracks by the likes of Adventures in Stereo, Locust, Screeper and – of course – Experimental Pop Band.
2. Mark van Hoen – “Photophone Call”
Talking of Locust, here’s a track from a recent solo album by that band’s leader (and Seefeel founder) Mark Van Hoen. Where is the Truth was perhaps the tragically overlooked LP of 2010.
3. Matt Elliott – “The Mess We Made”
Also tragically overlooked, Third Eye Foundation mainstay Matt Elliott’s first solo album The Mess We Made is an absolute gem. Here’s the title track.
4. Foehn – “We Tear at Each Other’s Hearts”
Foehn was Debbie Parsons, who contributed heavily to The Third Eye Foundations scarifying Ghost album. Foehn’s work is less nerve-wracking but equally spooky.
5. Crescent – “Drift”
Like Matt Elliott and Foehn, Crescent were central to the Bristol post-rock/space rock scene. Band’s from that scene tended to be pretty downcast but Crescent took the biscuit. Exquisite miserablism!
6. Papa Sprain & Butterfly Child – “Lalena”
Wasn’t Butterfly Child’s high-watermark Ghetto Speak EP basically a Papa Sprain/BC collaboration? In any case, here they are together with a track created for a Donovan tribute CD put out by Vancouver’s Nettwerk Records (which also featured a collab between Brix Smith and her then beau Nigel Kennedy!) One rather suspects said CD could be found in just about any dollar bin around the Metro Vancouver area.
7. In Heaven – “Aquanova”
A slight dip in audio quality here caused by the fact that this band seem never to have made it to vinyl or CD. This is the title track from a cassette release. Very much in the post-A.R. Kane style of the artists discussed immediately above.
8. Bracken – “Evil Teeth”
Chris Adams from Hood with a magnificent mix of free jazz chaos and digital electronica… well.. chaos! Did this really come out on genre-defining “post-rap” label Anticon? And – if so – what does that say?
9. The Declining Winter – “Summer Turns to Hurt”
Another Hood spin-off, this time led by Chris’s brother Richard Adams. Also featuring this here blog’s good buddy Paul Elam aka Fieldhead.
10. Shiva Affect – “Cloud My Way”
Almost as obscure as In Heaven, these fellows at least managed to put out a CD (Yahweh), from which this song is taken. Think Bark Psychosis in space.
11. Navigator – “Dorothy Carter”
We’re getting into the UK-bands-inspired-by-US-post-rock zone here, which can be troublesome ground. This is a great tune, though.
12. State River Widening – “Amsterdam Green”
Likewise but even more so in every sense.
13. Ganger – “Cats, Dogs & Babies’ Jaws”
Surprising there weren’t more post-rock bands from Scotland. Of course, there’s that band. You know the one!
14. .O.Rang – “Little Sister”
Brilliant and ground-breaking as they were Talk Talk’s growing reputation as the great precursor to post-rock is somewhat overstated. This here blog would argue that Public Image Ltd., 23 Skidoo and Dif Juz were more indicative of what made early UK post-rock truly great and important. In any case, Talk Talk were, of course fantastic and it should be remembered that Lee Harris and Paul Webb went on to be .O.Rang, producing a sound that recalled the ethnological forgeries of Can (another great UKPR precursor).
Post-Rocktoberfest 2011: Flying Saucer Attack
Flying Saucer Attack
What, you might be forgiven for asking, did Flying Saucer Attack have to do with post-rock? After all, post-rock in the original sense tended to be rather rhythmically solid and occasionally somewhat glossy; with all sorts of influences from electronic dance music and hip-hop. Post-rock in the contemporary sense tends to be epic and demonstratively emotional; full of big crescendos and widescreen angst. Flying Saucer Attack, on the other hand, were always decidedly shy and retiring; existing in an introverted, funk-less, lo-tech fug of fuzz and mumble; My Bloody Valentine with all the lustiness and digital tricknology bled out.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of association. FSA will always be associated with the Bristol post-rock scene of the 90s, alongside the likes of Movietone, Crescent and Light. This brought them into contact with more typically UK post-rock-sounding acts like AMP and The Third Eye Foundation. And in fact, as FSA went on, they did start to take on board the technologically-enhanced rhythmic innovations of early post-rock per se. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, aren’t we?
First of all, it seems ridiculous to talk of Flying Saucer Attack as “they” when the whole thing was essentially the bedroom recording project of a pale-and-interesting record collector by the name of David Pearce. True, he had some helping hands – notably Rachel Brook of Movietone – but Flying Saucer Attack was clearly the realisation of Pearce’s very singular vision.
(The lo-fi, bedroom recording aspect is a large part of what sets Flying Saucer Attack apart from much early-to-mid-90s post-rock. One FSA’s slogans was “Home Taping is Reinventing Music”. In fact, though, there was quite a bit of crossover between the British version of lo-fi and UK post-rock – hear the early Hood material for evidence.)
Second, portraying Pearce as an intense and insular type only tells one side of the story. Did you read that bit in parentheses about FSA having slogans? When a musician starts using slogans, it tends to suggest s/he has some kind of overarching ambition; a slightly arrogant desire to impose a very specific worldview on the record-buying public; a special plan for this world. In fact, Pierce’s diffidence clearly masked an impish, mischievous personality as well as some satirical and deeply ideological intent. (In this regard, he had a lot in common with Ian Masters of Pale Saints/Spoonfed Hybrid infamy). All this is to say that Pearce in no way lacked post-rock’s artistic ambition or desire to disrupt and move ahead.
Flying Saucer Attack - Self-Titled
Pearce’s wiseacre sense of humour came through early on, when Flying Saucer Attack covered Suede’s “The Drowners” on their self-titled debut album. Listen closely and consider deeply and this incredibly sloppy, fuzzed-out take on a quintessential early Britpop anthem will tell you everything you need to know about FSA. Flying Saucer Attack also hinted at the more rhythmic nature of the band’s later work, via some pretty freaky percussive jams. Furthermore, it was a crystal clear statement of intent in terms of establishing Pearce’s credentials as an ahead-of-the-game rock scholar. Not one but two of the songs were named after kosmiche music/new age legends Popol Vuh – which was a pretty obscure reference for a British indie band to make at that time. (Pearce was also way ahead of the pack in embracing UK folk – he memorably described his music as “rural psychedelia” and FSA covered “Sally Free and Easy”.) If all that were not enough, the album featured what may be FSA’s best song, “My Dreaming Hill”.
Flying Saucer Attack - Further
So, Flying Saucer Attack encompasses pretty much anything you might want from Flying Saucer Attack. But to hear the band’s most coherent statement, you’re advised to grab Further. The “Outdoor Miner” CD single is also worth hunting down as it features a beautifully fragile rendering of the classic Wire tune, as well as another stone-cold FSA classic, “Everywhere Was Everything”. For some insight into FSA’s more rhythmically-focused later work the Chorus compilation (featuring the glorious “Feedback Song”) and New Lands album are both well worth hearing. Listen to the lot and you should get a fairly decent idea of what a richly rewarding and hard-to-pin-down phenomenon Flying Saucer Attack really was.
Anyone know what Pearce is up to these days?
Post-Rocktoberfest 2011: UK Post-Rock Vol. 7
UK Post-Rock Vol. 7
This year’s Post-Rocktoberfest festivities will include three new mix CDs! UK Post-Rock Vol. 7, presented here, consists mostly of tracks by acts that have appeared on previous UK Post-Rock compilations. UK Post-Rock Vol. 8 will consist mostly of tracks by acts that have not appeared on previous volumes. US Post-Rock Vol. 1… well, you can work that one out for yourself.
On all of these compilations, some minor post-production has been carried out, in order to provide as close to a seamless listening experience as possible. In some cases, this might mean the tracks have been topped and tailed a bit but it’s all in the interests of a pleasurable overall listening experience. If you want to hear the songs as the artists intended, go buy the original albums. Actually, you should go buy all the original albums anyway because they’re all great!
Of course, finding legit copies of the original albums won’t always be that easy. This is only partly because a lot of UKPR classics are no longer in print. It’s also because this compilation collects some pretty rare tracks from compilations, Peel sessions etc.
Click here to download UK Post-Rock Vol. 7 or click on the links in the track-list below to hear the individual songs.
1. Papa Sprain – “I Got Stop”
Included because it’s their best song and it had somehow failed to appear on any of the previous volumes.
2. Butterfly Child – “We, the Inspired”
A rarity taken from one of those Volume compilations. Remember them?
3. Pram – “Dancing on a Star”
Birmingham post-rock! A surprising amount of post-rock came out of Birmingham.
4. Broadcast – “Pendulum”
Another case in point. Sad that so many of us only recently came to appreciate Broadcast, given the tragic death of Trish Keenan. They had so much more to teach us!
5. Laika – “If You Miss (Laika Virgin Mix)”
A remix of a track from Laika’s debut album (Silver Apples of the Moon). This was created for Kevin Martin’s Macro Dub Infection Vol. 1 compilation, which was released on Virgin Records – hence the punning title.
6. Moonshake – “Coming (Peel Session Version)”
A radio session take on a track from Moonshake’s debut EP, back when they were a borderline shoegaze act. On the officially-released version, Dave Callahan’s vocal borders on the ethereal (someone in the office even misremembered that Margaret Fiedler – later of Laika – sang this one). On the version presented here, Callahan really lets rip – as does the rest of the band, for that matter!
7. Insides – “Further Distractions”
A remix of a track from the classic Euphoria album. This is taken from a rare promo 12″.
8. Bark Psychosis – “Manman”
Like the Papa Sprain track, this is a stone-cold classic that really should have featured on an earlier compilation in this series.
9. Disco Inferno – “Lost in Fog”
From the It’s a Kids World EP. DI at their most intense and chaotic.
10. Flying Saucer Attack – “My Dreaming Hill”
Their finest moment?
11. Fridge – “Lost Time”
Weird that these folks have had so much more success in their solo careers than as a group. Here they are at their lovely, melodic best.
12. Seefeel – “When Face Was Face”
Turns out that Succour is a really great album. Actually, just about everything by Seefeel is pure gold.
13. Main – “Blown”
Traces of Main’s origins in the much-loved hypno-rock act Loop are evident on this track from the early EP Dry Stone Feed.
14. The Hair & Skin Trading Company – “Highbury”
Traces of The Hair & Skin Trading Company’s origin in the much-loved hypno-rock act Loop are not at all evident on this track from their final EP Crouch End.
Post-Rocktoberfest 2011: Disco Inferno – The Five EPs, Song-by-Song
Disco Inferno
To celebrate the belated official release of Disco Inferno’s The Five EPs compilation – and to beat Neil Kulkarni to it – Bubblegum Cage III hereby presents a brief song-by-song analysis of five EPs by Disco Inferno. For some really detailed information on all of these songs (and more!), take a look at this Ian Crause interview on Crumbs in the Butter.
Before delving in, though, it might be worth giving a brief explanation of why this here blog considers such and obscure band to be such an important band. It has to do with sound and music.
Didn’t John Cage once say that, in the future, music would be made using machines that could record a sound – any sound – and play it back at any pitch, for any duration? (Seriously, if anyone can find the actual quote, it would be much appreciated!) Maybe, because – in one sense – this is a typically prescient Cage quote. Essentially, it predicts sampling. On the other hand, maybe not. It’s really quite anomalous because it references music in the conventional sense. Cage tended to feel that sounds should be allowed to be themselves, without interference from composers or musicians (hence his famous “silent piece”). This philosophy opened the world up to the musical potential of non-musical sound/noise (and also prefigured any number of “abstract” musical genres – from free improv to ambient).
This is where Disco Inferno come in – they applied Cage’s all-sounds-are-musical philosophy to the traditions of rock and pop music, often pushing themselves towards total abstraction but always pulling back at the last minute. They also made the connection between sound-as-music and the sampler as musical instrument per se. Rather than using clunky sampling keyboards to do this, they used MIDI pick-ups and drum pads to control their samplers, which allowed them to literally play sounds from their immediate environment – and turn them into pop songs! Applying a basically unlimited sound palette (favouring emotionally-evocative environmental sounds and audio puns on song lyrics) to established pop/rock practices, forms and set-ups, they created an astonishingly vivid and visionary body of work that absolutely no other band has had the courage to follow up on.
Disco Inferno - Summer's Last Sound
Summer’s Last Sound (Cheree, 1992)
“Summer’s Last Sound”
So, Disco Inferno were quite possibly the most truly visionary artists in the history of western popular music. Which is not to say that they were best, necessarily because one can’t help feeling they never really hit what they were aiming at. This track was probably the closest they came. It remains their most heroic achievement and their best song.
Before this EP (hardly an EP, really, as it only has two tracks), Disco Inferno were a fairly undistinguished indie trio with pronounced Factory Records influences. Inspired by the sampledelic examples of Public Enemy and The Young Gods, they decided to pool their limited resources to buy the samplers and MIDI pick-ups that were the basis of their classic sound.
From a technical standpoint, this was a nightmare. Singer/guitarist Ian Crause apparently spent quite some time trying to record just the right bird sounds to use for the guitar/sampler parts on “Summer’s Last Sound”. His instrumental parts were created by capturing MIDI data from his guitar onto an Atari ST computer, which kept crashing in response to Crause’s Durruti Column-esque cascades of notes.
It was all worth it. “Summer’s Last Sound”, as previously noted, is Disco Inferno’s finest moment. But it’s also perhaps the quintessential DI moment. It’s the perfect encapsulation of the band’s incredibly vivid, almost unbearably bittersweet mixture of pastoral beauty and urban dread, where the two opposing elements become inextricably entwined, staggering along together, never quite collapsing into total chaos.
For a really detailed look into this song, some speculative transcriptions of the words and some recent input from Ian Crause himself take a look at this post on Sit Down Man, You’re a Bloody Tragedy.
“Love Stepping Out”
More of the bittersweet same on the B-side. Not quite as effective as “Summer’s Last Sound” (the sequenced acoustic guitar samples are maybe a little stiff) but pretty bloody beautiful all the same.
Disco Inferno - A Rock to Cling to
A Rock to Cling to (Rough Trade, 1993)
“A Rock to Cling to”
There’s long been a bit of confusion about the track-list of this EP (again, more of a single, really). It begins with a short song with vocals and ends with a long instrumental track. Many sources have listed “A Rock to Cling to” as the latter, rather than the former but that’s incorrect (aside from anything, Crause clearly sings “I still need a rock to cling to” on the first song). Hopefully, the official release of The Five EPs will have cleared up this confusion once and for all.
In any case, “A Rock to Cling to” sounds like a partial step back to the early Disco Inferno sound and it lacks the vividness of the Summer’s Last Sound tracks. It is very beautiful though and makes genuinely haunting, very subtle use of the band’s samplers. The B-side, on the other hand…
“From the Devil to the Deep Blue Sky”
This one is almost like a show-reel for Disco Inferno’s unique rock-band-through-MIDI-into samplers set-up. It really is extraordinary – working wonderfully as a demonstration of the band’s techniques and as a piece of music. Still, without Ian Crause’s flat, bitter little voice cutting through the swirling cascades of sound, it really just tells one side of the story.
Disco Inferno - The Last Dance
The Last Dance (Rough Trade, 1993)
“The Last Dance”
This is one of the more commercially viable tracks on the five EPs (alongside “It’s a Kids World”). Ian Crause was often photographed wearing a New Order T-shirt and that band’s influence is strongly felt here (DI even brought in New Order’s engineer to work on this EP). Lyrically, “The Last Dance” is even more of a statement of intent than “Summer’s Last Sound” – laying out Crause’s resolutely atheistic and forward-looking bruised romanticism in the clearest possible terms (“In the end it’s not the future but the past that will get us”). Musically, the track features some truly astonishing moments, like when the snare drum finally kicks in or when Crause’s guitar bursts into peels of echoplexed exultation. Bloody gorgeous, basically.
“D.I. Go Pop”
DI Go Pop the album represents DI at their most their most chaotic and “DI Go Pop” the song does the same. It really does sound like a discoteque on fire.
“The Long Dance”
Basically a longer and rather different mix of “The Last Dance”. Actually, it sounds like it might be a completely different vocal take. Those “moments” discussed above hit home a bit harder on the shorter version.
“Scattered Showers”
Sounds very much like a better-recorded version of the sound explored on DI Go Pop (the album). Guitars, samples, beauty, chaos. You know the score by now. Crause’s chiming Vini Reilly-esque guitar anchors it all, which sets the scene very nicely for the next EP…
Disco Inferno - Second Language
Second Language (Rough Trade, 1994)
“Second Language”
This EP features some of Crause’s finest guitar playing and this song is perhaps the single best demonstration of his nimble and expressive style. The over-the-top tremolo moves at the song’s climax are bananas.
“The Atheist’s Burden”
Disco Inferno’s sense of humour has rarely been remarked upon but it’s there for anyone to hear – hell, the band’s deeply ironic name should be a dead giveaway. “The Atheist’s Burden” starts off as one of their goofiest numbers, with Crause using his guitars to play pan flute samples over a clod-hopping four-on-the-floor beat. But as he narrates a typical DI story of one man’s oscillations between cynicism and wonder, things start to get much deeper and end up really uncannily beautiful and touching.
“At the End of the Line”
A highpoint – the bit where a massively time-stretched Wilhelm scream kicks in is absolutely chilling. Really sounds like a person drinking in the beauty of the world, just as it all falls to pieces.
“A Little Something”
Booze seems to have played a major roll in every stage of the DI story. Hear, Crause sounds rueful but resigned on the mater” “If I get a little something/I can sleep”. He is, of course, accompanied by a cavalcade of clinking, slopping audio puns.
Disco Inferno - It's a Kid's World
It’s a Kid’s World (Rough Trade, 1994)
“It’s a Kid’s World”
A rare example of Disco Inferno transparently sampling other people’s music – notably Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” and the “Dr. Who” theme. Lyrically, it’s a very apposite foreshadowing of the demonization of youth that has blighted British life over the last decade or so.
“A Night on the Tiles”
Booze again. The most chaotic DI moment since “DI Go Pop” (the song). Totally insane use of an Edith Piaf sample.
“Lost in Fog”
Fucking hell, what a way to end! A similar sci-fi narrative to “At the End of the Line” but with that track’s chiming musical clarity replaced by a dense… well, fog of sound. Towards the end, it sounds like Crause is using his guitar to destroy an upright piano. Which, in a sense, he probably is.
Postscript
Like all Bubblegumcage III posts, this was typed in a hurry by a junior staff member, who then passed it on to an intern who pretended to to (but clearly did not) proofread it. After that, the post was passed on to this here blogs senior editorial team for approval, before being run by a team of extremely expensive lawyers. It was only at this point that someone saw fit to comment: “Didn’t you publish this exact post three years ago?” Oh, yeah.
Still, it’s interesting to see the changes that three years can make to a person’s opinions (and yes, yes it really is just one person, of course). “The Last Dance” better than “Summer’s Last Sound”? Really? Actually, in some cases, it’s interesting to see how little these opinions have changed. Look at the bits on “A Rock to Cling to” and “Scattered Showers” - practically the same wording!
In any case, it seems that Bubblegum Cage III (albeit in its previous incarnation) really did beat Neil Kulkarni to it! Of course, his article will probably be a lot more thought through and well written than anything you’ll see around here. A link will be posted as soon as his thing goes online.
Edit: Here‘s the link to Neil Kulkarni’s excellent piece:
http://thequietus.com/articles/07144-disco-inferno-interview
Oval & Mountains, Vancouver, October 2nd
Mountains
The greatest thing to happen to Vancouver this year. If you live here and you don’t attend this show, you are a bad person.
Here are the details…
Oval & Mountains
October 2nd, show starts at 8pm prompt
The Western Front, 303 East 8th Avenue, Vancouver
Add it to you Last FM calendar
And listen…
Secret Pyramid, Fieldhead, connect_icut & More Live in Vancouver on Sept 30th
Blim Sept 30th 2011
Add it to your Last FM calendar!
Do whatever weird stuff it is that people do on Facebook!
Listen…
- Secret Pyramid – “Milk & Honey”
- Fieldhead – “I’m Fond of Maps”
- No Ufos – “Evidence/Century Park”
- connect_icut – “The Left Hand of Darkness”
And here are the full details…
“Secret Pyramid, No Ufos, connect_icut, Fieldhead & Cloudface
Friday September 30th 2011 at 8pm
Blim, 115 East Pender St., Vancouver BC, Canada
Early show! Starts at 8pm and ends promptly at midnight.
SECRET PYRAMID | http://secretpyramid.blogspot.com/
- “Swirling washes, layers of howling feedback and cosmic buzz, soft whispers giving way to deep, dark ambiance. Creepy drones hover like grey mist, feedback swells echoing like flutes or distant birds, all building up to a gorgeous fuzz-drenched climax, beautifully whirling sound walls akin to the cryptic tones of Kevin Drumm’s ‘Imperial Horizon’, but less industrial. Secret Pyramid offers up something mystical, serene and ephemeral.” -
CONNECT_ICUT | http://csaf-records.com/
– connect_icut is an English artist living in Vancouver, also involved with Interim Lovers, The Bastion Mews and Not Me. connect_icut creates abstract, melodic, highly textured and expansive electronica. -
NO UFO’S | http://soundcloud.com/nice-up
“Pretty dang successful… the lateral aktion is most nod-worthy” Byron Coley, The Wire
FIELDHEAD | www.fieldheadmusic.com
– Fieldhead (P. Elam, Vancouver, BC) delights in tape hiss, geography, bleak landscapes and decaying analogue loops.
“…paints atmosphere better than a whole ream of his electronica comtemporaries ever could, creating unhealthy amounts of awe with his string slices and distortion washes…” -
CLOUDFACE | http://soundcloud.com/dssr
– Hypnotic synth driven scattering loveliness. -”
