electronica

Blue Sky Black Death – Late Night Cinema

/ David James / 4 Comments

Blue Sky Black Death lays down infinitely cinematic left-field instrumental hiphop with their latest album, in the process stretching the very definition of the genre into something altogether more epic and expansive.  This LP widens the scope and practically begs for a dystopian sci-fi film to accompany its stately but tweaked out majesty.  The duo, comprised of Kingston and Young God, threw down this sonic gauntlet at the feet of every other production wizard and studio sculptor last year and have yet to see a contender pick it up.

bsbd-lnc

Of course, using the term ‘cinematic’ for an album with the word practically in its title may seem lazy, until you’ve spun this at a proper volume.  There is no descriptor more apt or quick to pop into mind when listening.  This aspect is nothing new in itself; merely raised to an unheard level and played with finesse and a keen ear for detail that lets the music step forward from a long line of atmospheric beat conductors into it’s own wide screen realm.

To put it in relative (and entirely ignorable) terms, this feels as if Dr. Dre were abducted by extraterrestrials  and dropped off in a state of the art London studio with no memory of his prior life, accompanied only by his prodigious skills behind the boards and cryptic instructions to make a masterpiece with the resources at hand.  All apologies for the seemingly facetious metaphor but if you found yourself nodding at the notion, you’re probably already listening.

Late Night Cinema simply forces a smile at the sheer virtuosity and breadth of vision presented.  No song ends the way it began, each track an internal journey presented with a bravado betraying the confidence these guys have in their ability to lay out a fully fleshed out song sans the crutch of vocals or obvious hooks.  Utilizing everything from live instrumentation to indecipherable samples to what sounds like a full orchestra, they throw everything which works into the mix and  leave no stone unturned in the search for a level of the stratosphere in which to comfortably glide.  Plucked strings, fat horns, crunchy bass, snippets of dialogue, rapping, singing, and found sounds work their way into every crevice of the mix.  The aural environment is packed to the gills and populated with stylistic genius.  Though the nature is sprawling and the landscape expansive, there is simply no wasted space within this record.  Every slavishly worked over millisecond of sound feels buffed to a sheen and ready for the close inspection of a jeweler’s eye.  Honestly, I can’t recommend this enough.

[pick this up via undergroundhiphop or cduniverse, or the always dependable amazon, you won’t regret it]

Tim Exile – Listening Tree

/ David James / 2 Comments

Tim Exile creates slamming dance-inclined tracks by pulling at the threads of several electronic movements and stitching them together into an inclusive parachute – escalating, enveloping, exhilerating high altitude drops over an expansive oscillating environment.  Listening Tree is a galaxy-surfing warp drive pop electronica extravaganza.

Tim_Exile_Listening_Tree_Warp_Records

Pouring the excitement of peak-era big beat into a swirling dervish of glitchy textured electronica and experimental hiphop madness, it’s difficult to pin down; which is perfectly acceptable, as head nodding, dancing, or driving too rapidly take precedence over silly genre name games.  The stunning percussion and breathtaking tone shifts keep a heightened mood throughout, unrelenting in its seductive energy.  Undeniably futuristic laser-guided synth lines and cavernous bass manipulations consistently serve up hook after wacked-out hook, while vocals on several of the tracks create an immediacy many of Exile’s peers lack, though they’re never so prominent as to overshadow the jawdropping sonic adventurism.  It’s basically the whole package.  This album hits on several important fronts and then takes the listener back to bed at the end of the night.

[check up on Tim at his myspace while snagging Listening Tree at bleep or amazon, which sells cd, digital and vinyl issues]

Meanderthals – Desire Lines

/ David James / 1 Comment

meanderthals-desire-lines

Meanderthals are a truly new hybrid project comprised of Norwegian DJ Rune Lindbæk and English duo Idjut Boy, and recently released their hauntingly unified musical cornucopia of a debut album.

Desire Lines manages to swallow up everything but the kitchen sink, every touchstone of the artists’ collective sound base, while retaining a densely unified sound and singular feel throughout.  The entire trip is anchored by a heavy dub foundation and shrouded in a balaeric beach party ensemble, shot through with airy acoustic and scruffy funk electric guitar.  Darkly futuristic keyboard lines weave into and around breathless moments of sunny ecstasy that lift the eargasm potential far above mere dance floor slow burns.  Every moment is blessed with a loose, jazzy attitude which belies the group’s disconnection from the club and the more introspective nature of this heady excursion.  All of these statements are true, yet merely dance around the compulsively head-nodding appeal of Desire Lines.  This is an album to unwind to, whether out on the town or back at home.  It’s something you’ll end up listening to alone most often, despite the instantly gratifying beats and approachable nature – any friend with a working set of ears would be thankful for an introduction – it’s just too engrossing a listen when surrendering full attention.  One look at the cover art probably gave more of an impression than any of this paragraph, but if you have read this far, take my word that the visuals are certainly representative of the majestically dreamlike beauty captured by this album.

[submit to the sound at boomkat or cd universe – and be sure to show some love at the Meanderthals myspace]

Dusty Kid – A Raver’s Diary

/ David James / 3 Comments

Here we have a truly mind warping, expansive, and impulsively danceable new album from Dusty Kid.  It’s a headlong rush into ballsy beats and trance-inducing atmospheres seemingly forgotten since the heyday of Underworld or Chemical Brothers.  There is a reason, after all, the album is titled A Raver’s Diary.

dustykidaraversdiary414

The record starts things off on a minimal tack, with the first song’s title broadly (but reductively) indicative of the forthcoming beats –  Here Comes The Techno.   The course is seemingly set for some ambient house, minimal techno, essentially Kompakt-esque left-of-the-dial approach.  That notion is neatly sliced apart via Lynchesque, an off-kilter wobble of pulsing dub beats and stratospheric key tones.  Tension and surprising depth are revealed as layers are peeled away, then rebuilt with pinpoint accuracy, paving the way toward the rest of the album’s skyward trajectory.

Soaring above cumulonimbus clouds on the quarter-hour behemoth America, the rocketship momentum blasts through affecting surges of echoed guitar tones and romantic organ swells, the distinct feeling of a heart growing four times it’s size.  Feeling like a series of towering waves crashing against eardrums, every buildup and breakdown reveals richer textures and an evolving structure.  The low-end grows deeper, organs are interrupted by staccato-pulse synths, strings and woodwind gusts wash over the dubby guitar line… and it all recedes into a gentle lull you may have seen coming for miles, but were hoping would happen anyway.  It’s instantly rebuilt, vertically, with an intense picked guitar solo as the spine every element wraps seamlessly around.  Anyone with a heartbeat would want to repeat the track at once; Dusty Kid never allows the opportunity to arise.  Agaphes grabs the torch running full speed and jumps through multiple doorways, burning toward the terminal end of this habit-forming beat odyssey.

After that, it’s okay to hit Play again.  In fact, it’s recommended.  The perspective is essential for grasping the journey this album takes.  He drops the listener straight into a party comprised of the tangible accumulated knowledge of travellers who journeyed to learn what partying meant.  Which is to say.. nothing more, nothing less, than the thrill of the rhythm.  Have fun.

[get your hands on this at boomkat or check out amazon – if so, make sure to utilize the customer review function to negate the ridiculous shipping-related score of 1 star (by a fellow who obviously doesn’t know what ‘review’ means)]

Lemon Jelly – Lost Horizons

/ David James / 9 Comments

Lemon Jelly are a mysterious instrumental duo who create sunny aural landscapes of undulating beats and warm synth swells, homespun string samples and comfortably worn woodwind accents.  It’s an enigmatic yet inviting soundscape, enveloping and indulging the listener – a place to live, cocooned in gentle bliss.  In this sense they could be considered, in a reductive way, as a Boards of Canada sibling who woke up on the right side of the bed.

LemonJelly-LostHorizons

Downtempo post-trip hop is often looked upon with condescending eyes, and for good reason.  Beginning with the striking, exotic feel of early stalwarts Air, Thievery Corporation, and even Zero 7, most notable acts gentrified into a nearly adult-contempo vibe.  The lowest common denominators of this sound are what I would consider “Starbucks music” – wallpaper to soothe yuppies as they drink overpriced milkshakes over a laptop.  It’s only to the music connoisseur’s detriment that this fact obscures numerous incredible acts, leaving us out in the cold, unaware of the innovative treasures obscured behind the prominent bland façade of upwardly mobile coffeehouse bands.

Well enough with the negative.  Time for positive:  This is an uplifting album, as enthusiastic in its aim to please as a new puppy.  There’s nothing abrasive or truly strange jutting out of the copacetic mix, no jarring transitions or moments where the proverbial rug is pulled from under the listener.  What it lacks in moments of surprise it more than compensates with waves of agape-tinged, playfully melodic tones from the first track onward.  It’s a dreamy world of laid-back grooves ensconced in cozy atmospheres.  It’s an album-length getaway to the summertime destination of your choice, ready any time you are.

[cop this groovy masterpiece at cd universe (and check out their classy list of semi-related albums) or place an order at the always reliable amazon.  or try to find the vinyl, as the artwork is widely considered gorgeous]

Underworld – Second Toughest in the Infants

/ David James / 20 Comments

underworld-secondtoughest

Underworld could have laid claim, at a certain point in time, of being the greatest band in the world. Of course, Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are modest Brits and known to loathe any self-aggrandizing boasts; the music speaks for itself, on record or in person. They truly bloom in a live environment, as a matter of fact. Where most of their peers are revealed, like the Wizard of Oz, to be little more than men with smoke and mirrors, Underworld unleash a godlike stadium-sized audio invasion. I’m here to share an album, not an experience. So from here we go crazycrazycrazycrazycrazycrazycrazy…

Continue reading →

Love Spirals Downwards – Flux

/ David James / 4 Comments

A jet engine blast of an aural rubdown. Love Spirals Downwards attained a unique perfection with this release, striking at the heart of what I consider love sounds – music which conveys the intimate, soothing nature of love itself.  Music which can be a close companion in headphones, embracing worn psyches, calming fears, elevating a languid soul.

Tumbling down a vortex of gauzy electronic opulence, with Suzanne Perry’s siren cry as the only constant, this album is designed for losing oneself into shifting texture.  Ostensibly a dreampop-based sound in atmosphere and tone, the immediacy and a sense of futurism derived via many surprising elements sprinkled throughout engender rapt attention.  Love Spirals Downwards incorporates idm beats, afrobeat percussion, deep-as-dub bass lines and an ambient sensibility to drown everything in an opiate syrup.  Overlaid are the most ethereal guitar lines since Slowdive left orbit – and a shoegazer’s narcotic intentions to back them up.

Getting down to brass tacks, I suggest one merely listen to the track Psyche to fully grasp the beauty of this work.  If that one doesn’t bore straight through the frontal lobe to the brain stem and render jaws slack, I suggest taking a puff and then giving it another go.  Lay back and let the waves wash over.

[purchase at the band’s label, Projekt of course, or CDBaby – a new hard copy will be a rare find, but digital copies abound at amazon]