- Diane Lewis
- Albums and Singles
Exactly 57 minutes. Ten songs. Slightly sinister. Very sensual. Damn depressing. Though the title refers to the Eastern supposition that each of us is connected to our one, true love by an invisible cord, 'The Red Thread' unravels a fascinating and devastating mess of frayed relationships and tattered egos. It's like watching a violent movie spectacle: you can't help getting sucked in, as much as you believe in real life you'd turn the other way. Aiden Moffat's lyrics, often muttered or tossed off in a thick Scottish accent, grow gradually decipherable with each listen.
With pleasure and curiosity and perhaps a bit of distaste one can slowly piece together his narratives in searing flashes of desperate sex, deception, and fragility. Most tracks start in a mode of trashy minimalism: the ceaseless chug of a chintzy drumbeat, Moffat's ragged and mumbled croon, a few acoustic chords from guitarist Malcolm Middleton (plus the occasional squeal of his fingers sliding across the frets)... "Scenery" inches forth from such beginnings, trimmed by a slender, high-pitched keen of feedback. Moffat sings, "And on the way here, I swore to myself / I'd fuck whoever I please," and suddenly a lush wash of strings and guitar slices in. "The Devil-Tips" sometimes sounds a bit between [the London] Suede (glistening guitar arpeggios, meandering piano, and just the right drench of reverb) and My Bloody Valentine (some amazing rushes of distortion here, but used sparingly). The repetitive groove of "Long Defective" reminds me of beats on the Fall's recent 'The Unutterable'. A few synthesizers add extra color, while Moffat confesses the discovery of his lover's sex diaries and his ensuing nausea and paranoia. On these and other tracks, plenty of adjectives spring to mind: narcotic, erotic, sleazy, seedy-it's a great album. Overall, a glittering prism of misery as beautiful as it is dirty and desperate, both delicate and raw.
samples:
 
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Kandis is the first of at least three monikers to date for electronic artist Jens Massel, his releases as Kandis, Senking and Fumble making up the bulk of Karaoke Kalk's 5 year deep back catalog. This digipacked disc collects 14 tracks from the four 12"s spanning 1996-1999, which seems to be the year Massel retired the project. Honestly, it doesn't much matter which name he uses as the differences among and quality of the music of each is negligible.There is an inherently sublime playfulness and charm to all of Massel's work - a sort of slow motion techno pop constructed of reverberated bass beats, melody and percussion blips and various other neat sounds like steam hiss and electric discharge. The German title "ruckenschwimmer" warrants mentioning as it means 'jerk floats', according to BabelFish. "Dilldop" is one of the most basic tracks but it comes in three drastically different versions. "Treasure Island" really takes its time to explore a sea of liquid pops and spacious bass. "Waiting" is bright and up beat and surprises, on first listen, by adding a male vocal low in the mix. "Set Tecker" breaks ranks somewhat with a beat less intro series of growls.. "Luna Corona" is in the same cheery, childish spirit as much Kraftwerk. "Moving" also has male vocals, more up front in the mix, and takes on a bit of a Tikiman/Rhythm & Sound, Chain Reaction styled dub feel. And "Outro" gracefully wraps things up with a gentle bass swell and poly rhythmic groove. All in all I'm duly impressed with Kandis, start to finish, more so than the Senking and Fumble discs which have a few boring/bad tracks. A new Massel album, moniker t.b.a, is due out soon ...
 
samples:
 
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/didyousee.jpg)
samples:
- Cim - Computer Love
- John Tejada - Disappear
- Lackluster - Starcell UK
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/ulverperdition.jpg)
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
David Jackman, the man behind Organum, has for the past several years made a nice name for himself by ripping off the people who might want to hear his music. Whether by charging $20 for new 7" singles, publishing obscenely limited releases, or releasing CDs at full price with no packaging (there were two or three CDs that arrived in shops for $12 + in intentionally empty jewelboxes), Jackman's gall has become the focus of conversations much more often than his music. This CD, the latest in a series of informationless reissues of older recordings, is a full-priced CD that contains 15 minutes of noodly New Age.
Apparantly, Jackman owns a delay pedal. He must be damn proud of it, because he's smothered all the wordless chanting (I'll bet he spells "magic" with a "k" at the end) and breathy woodwinds in reverb and delay. Perhaps this was intended to convey space, atmosphere, or dramatic weight. Sorry, but it just sounds like a flute and a delay pedal. I was stunned by the amateur-ness of the music, since Organum has produced many fine works before and since this recording. There have been plenty of New Age-like moments in the Organum oeuvre (much of "Veil of Tears", for instance), and his style of bowed-metal drone does have the tendency to induce sleepiness, but this is the lightest music I've heard from him. And I know that he isn't an amateur: he's played with Eddie Prevost of AMM, Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound, I believe he was involved in Cornelieus Cardew's Scratch Orchestra, plenty of heavy folks. But this may be strictly for the fans who didn't get the limited-edition cassette version of "Ikon" when it came out in 1987. If another EP was tacked onto this CD in the same manner as the two previous Organum reissue CDs, it would have justified the price and might have made the CD better by adding some darker or more challenging material after or before it. Remember the old joke: two men are on line at a cafeteria, and one says to the other "The food in this place is awful!". "I know," the second man responds, "and the portions are so small!"
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/miceparademokoondi.jpg)
samples:
Read More
- Diane Lewis
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/movietoneblossom.jpg)
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/danielweaverpulse.jpg)
His brief from the choreographer was simply to allow him to mark awalking beat throughout the piece so he had a pretty free hand toindulge his eclecticism and create a unique piece of art which, evendown to the bubble pack cover, bursts out of any generic bags.
The short 'Hangover' blasts off with Seamus Cater's happy harmonicaplaying drowned in traffic noise recorded during a walk. An easylistening jazzy piano loop looms up halfway through 'Polygamy' only toseep into elephantine wind howls and hoots. Cater's harmonica strollsback over the hill of string strangled tussles.
'Bendover' centres on a beautifully simple acoustic guitar riffreminiscent of the second instrumental from Colin Newman's'Provisionally Entitled The Singing Fish' album, but Danielcounterpoints it with lazy tropical sundown melodies that soundHispanic to my ears. However this piece actually evolved from a Malian/ Senegalese model. There's a definite late summer atmosphereshimmering between the speakers.
Beats appear and disappear. The penultimate 'Pullover' begins with ajovial beat construction that initially wouldn't have sounded out ofplace on Stock, Hausen & Walkman's 'Oh My Bag!' but obliquely letsan eastern snake charmer out of the sample basket, before diving intochoppier waters.
'Pulse' ambles off over the horizon with an extended ascending 'SulphurBath' coda, underpinned by some gut rumbling cello groans and wails - achimingly steamy end to an charmingly dreamy stride.
Pulse is available from Pelicanneck in Manchester, who are distributing it. It is also available directly from Daniel Weaver
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
samples:
- Cativo - Neither Neither
- Coh - Menuet Max
- Source Research - Dark Start
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/lorenmccmatchgirl.gif)
samples:
Read More