Portico Quartet "Portico Quartet" Real World Records 29/01/2012
Fusing electronic and traditional instrumentation is a concept that has always fascinated me. When done well, it can remove the clinical precision often attributed to very computer centric music, colouring and complementing organic sounds to produce interesting and unique timbres. Portico quartet's eponymous third album displays this perfectly, incorporating Drums, Sax, Steel Drums, Double Bass, an array of production equipment and an obvious affinity for Jazz and the more progressive side of electronica, it paints a unique soundscape that wouldn't be out of place as a film soundtrack. The fact that these are live musicians dabbling in production and not the other way round means that each part expresses the personality and skill of the individual members rather than a reproduction of sequenced tracks. Cyclic plucked double bass riffs and syncopated drum beats echo the influence of Photek and the short naked piano melody of "Export to hot climates" nods to Drukqs era Aphex Twin. The haunting sound of "Ruins" with its speed picked harmonic minor bassline and eastern saxophone melody make it one of the stand out tracks. This album is much closer to 2009's Isla than to last year's far more straight up jazz set "Knee-Deep in the North Sea". If you are lucky enough to get hold of the special edition, you will get an extra bonus 5 track EP to go with it. Portico quartet have begun 2012 in style and their new live show is highly recommended.
Tracklist:
Window Seat Ruins Spinner Rubidium Export to Hot Climes Laker Boo Steepless 4096 Colours City of Glass Trace
Keeping with last year's tradition I thought I'd post 10 albums that I enjoyed that came out in 2011 and as with last year encourage you to tell me yours. I may add 10 tracks later this week too.
What could be more tempting than a slice of future garage from one of New York's finest beat-makers? Well, how about a remix by one half of Mercury Prize winners, The xx, too? ‘Hip Love’ bears all the hallmarks of a classic Falty tune – heavily-sliced and shuffled two-step beats, brass jazz chord stabs and soulful vocal fragments, all coloured with dirty-sounding synths. It’s reminiscent of Mo' Wax or trip-hop yet the rhythms fuse the swing and tempo of UK garage with the breakbeat science of jungle. Jamie xx does a good job on the flip too, keeping the human feel of the original whilst swapping Falty’s erratic beats for a sparser, almost four-to-the-floor beat, and shifting the focus from the vocals to that satisfyingly bouncy bassline.
Various Artists "Exit Records Presents - Mosaic Vol. 1" Exit 07/02/2011 Also Published on : 7digital
Drum ‘n’ Bass and Jungle have always been genres that lend themselves well to experimentation. Back in the 90’s break beat slicing and manipulation layered over jazz textures and unusual sounds by jungle pioneers led the way for more outwardly experimental musicians like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher to use the genre as a framework to explore the possibilities of electronica. This spirit of experimentation has arguably remained dormant (or at least below the surface) for the first part of this decade. However the “no bounderies” approach of the closely connected Dubstep movement has arguably given Drum ‘n’ Bass the wake up call it needed and urged producers to reconsider the genre, question production techniques and avoid what Exit label boss, dBridge accurately describes in a recent interview as “paint by numbers” music. Exit records has always focussed on promoting forward thinking DNB regardless of whether the music is dance floor orientated or not. On this compilation, dBridge goes one step further. Most of the tracks on this comp, despite many being made by respected producers of the scene, have little resemblance to what your average punter might call Drum and Bass. Taking a leaf out of the dubstep rule book, although still floating around the 170bpm mark, a lot of the beats are half time allowing for a great deal of space for the producer’s ideas such as melody and sonic textures to shine through. The sound sets used are more reminiscent of Vangelis’ Bladerunner score than the latest Andy C set, and the melodies are well thought out progressions rather than straight up loops. There is a great deal of diversity over this double compilation, tiny percussive snippets alongside dark swamping bass patterns, fragmented soul vocals humanizing futuristic 80’s synth pads. However this all seems to fit in to the autonomic ethos that dBidge et al have strived to define over the past couple of years without sounding disjointed. Mosaic interestingly features many established Dubstep producers (Scuba, Skream, Synkro…) working outside the comfort of their usual tempo, perhaps freeing up an opportunity to display new facets and influence to their work. Many originators of the sound have also contributed to this set. Loxy’ and Commix’ offerings definitely have their rightful place. Much like dBridge and intra:mental, they have also done a lot to promote and push the more ambient and leftfield sounds, Loxy with his CX series of podcasts and Commix who’s ( 2009 fabriclive 44 mix brought a much wider interest to the movement. Though the quality standard is exceptionally high throughout the release, the initial stand out tracks are Croms’ ultra slowed down space disco sounding “Invisible Cities”, Invisible Cities (Exit, 2011) by Croms Commix’ City section which somehow manages to sound both organic and digital at once features some lovely stereo circling pad sounds Commix - City Section • Mosaic Vol 1 • by Exit Records UK and Synkro’ Open Arms with its stunning bell like melody accompanied by emotional vocal stabs. Synkro - Open Arms by Exit Records UK Mosaic Vol. 1 is a mature collection of tracks that accurately describe the ambient and melodic side of Drum ‘n’ Bass influenced electronic music in a post dubstep 2011.
Tracklist:
In 2 by Scuba Pushed by Stray Fading by Distance Forgot What I Needed to Forget by dBridge Open Arms by Synkro Rendezvous by dBridge Nu Este Roz by Dan Harbanham Decayed by dBridge Splinter by Consequence Modular Concepts by ASC Invisible Cities by Croms City Section by Commix Time by Indigo Stepping Stones by Mode Scene 3 by Instra:Mental Another World by Skeptical Motorway by Skream Further Searching by Genotype Chasm by Code 3 Essence Of Time by Abstract Elements Observation Point by System Vertigo by Loxy
Mount Kimbie "Crooks And Lovers" Hotflush 19/07/2010
If you wanted to make an electronic album which encompassed the current global trends in bass music around the 140bpm mark, you would be hard pressed to come up with something better than Mount Kimbie's debut. Following on from 2 EPs and remixes for the likes of hot indie bands Foals and The Big Pink, Crooks and Lovers gives the south London duo their full length introduction. Combining lost guitar chords and vocal fragments with dubstep, wonky and leftfield hip hop beats to form an dreamy organic whole. With much of the instrumentation drawing influence from the likes of Four Tet and Boards of Canada this is certainly not a dancefloor record. Perhaps the most instantly likable track is the first single “Mayor” (youtube below) with its undecipherable vocal chorus and unconventionally plucked harpsichord riff. Other highlights include, the more future garage inspired “Blind Night Errand” and "Adriatic" which sounds like a tune creating after a sampling session at a band practice. If you like this album, I recommend you check out other releases on the brilliant Hotflush imprint who also do a regular podcast.
You Can stream the whole album for one week only here.
Tracklist:
Tunnelvision Would Know Before I Move Off Blind Night Errand Adriatic Carbonated Ruby Ode To Bear Field Mayor Between Time
Spor / Apex"Knock You Down (remix)"Lifted Music 3/5/2010
After a string of great releases from the likes of Spor, The Upbeats and Apex, Forward thinking Drum 'n' Bass Label Lifted Music broaden the field with their first Dubstep release, a remix 12" of Spor's "Knock you down" and Apex's "Nowhere to Run" by Eskmo and Datsik & Excision respectively. Knock you down is a powerful Stomping take on the original accompanied by a heavy guitar style riff. On the flip Canadian producers Eskmo and Datsik deliver a gnarly twisted bassline remix that would give 16Bit a run for their money. We look forward to more Dubstep being release on lifted soon.
There are very strong links between the worlds of Electronic(a) and Jazz Music; both seek to discover new sounds and question the traditional forms that define a piece of Music. Like his label mate Squarepusher did recently on Just a Souvenir, Flying Lotus delivers an album soaked in Jazz philosophy. Where Square's roots lie in UK Drum 'n' Bass, Lotus's are more in leftfield Hip Hop. But Steven Ellison is no stranger to the world of Jazz. As a member of the Coltrane family, he was brought up with its ideals of experimentation. But make no mistake, Cosmogramma is more than an interesting, experimental record of which not a single melody will be remembered. Tracks like "And The World Laughs With You" with Thom Yorke on vocal duties and "Do The Astral Plane" with it's Barber Shop style loop re-contextualized over a swung house beat give more an impression of Lotus' live sets. The wild bass guitar improvisations on "Pickled" and "German Haircut" help the music free itself from the often over structured approach that often comes with using sequencing software. Cosmogramma lives up to the high expectations of this album to provide a more well rounded, textured and diverse journey than the critically acclaimed Los Angeles album.
1. Burial vs. Fourtet - Moth 2. Luke Vibert - Acid 2000 3. Boards of Canada - Midas Touch 4. Metro Area - Miura Bootleg 5. Bjork - Big Time Sensuality 6. Joy Orbison - So Derobe 7. Bop - Clear Your Mind 8. Falty DL - Anxiety 9. Martyn - Mega Drive Generation 10. Pangea - Memories 11. 2000F feat. J Kamata - You Don't Know What Love Is 12. Joy Orbison - Hymph Mngo 13. Ruckspin - Jibber 14. Millie and Andrea - Ever Since You Came Down 15. Prodigy - Out Of Space 16. Skream - Burning Up 17. Foul Play - Finest Illusion (Legal Mix) 18. Deep Blue - The Helicopter Tune 19. Origin Unknown - Valley Of The Shadows 20. Martsman - Hallow 21. Instramental - Watching You --END OF TAPE--
King Midas Sound "Waiting For You" Hyperdub November 2009
I first discovered the true meaning of dub in a Vauxhall basement where an art student friend of mine played me old Jah Shaka 7” off a rig with enough bass to destroy a whole block of houses. Having learned from that experience, to understand this record, it should be enjoyed, not on puny bass free ipod headphones, but on a good sound system with a little vinyl crackle (let's keep our fingers crossed for the vinyl release). Waiting For You is the album Massive Attack would have made with King Tubby in a post dubstep world. The album is full of minimal textures which are decorated with beautifully authentic analogue delays and reverbs; a wonderful mix with Roger Robinson’s poetic lyrics and sun soaked accent. Earth a Kill Ya, one of the highlights describes his grandmother’s philosophy on poverty and a need for environmental awareness.
“Look how they poison all the water, And sellin’ it back to us in plastic bottles”
Robinson’s deep warm voice is nicely contrasted with his haunting falsetto and occasional vocals from Hitomi. The record is itself has a haunting vibe about it, as on the ghostly metalophone melodies of Meltdown and Blue. Lost, another highlight is a dancier number full of steppy rhythms and a wonky plucked melody. Waiting For You exposes a whole new side to Kevin Martin who we know better for his dancehall infused Dubstep productions as The Bug. Together with Robinson, they have successfully managed to keep the records authentic and true to its musical heritage whilst giving it a very modern edge. Another great piece of Bass music from Kode 9’s Hyperdub imprint…
King Midas sound also recently did a very nice mix for Fact Magazine.
