- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/heidiberrypomegranate.jpg)
![](/../../../../brain/images/modernenglishgladhouse.jpg)
![](/../../../../brain/images/lushciao.jpg)
![](/../../../../brain/images/pixiesbsides.jpg)
samples:
- Heidi Berry - Little Fox
- Heidi Berry - Cradle
- Modern English - Gathering Dust
- Modern English - Swans on Glass
- Lush - Lovelife
- Lush - Nothing Natural
- Pixies - Theme From Narc
- Pixies - Into the White
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/nowatchesnomaps.jpg)
Conceived over two years ago, this collection gathers 74 minutes ofpeople you most likely have never heard of, many of which will probablynot surface again. While Fat Cat have pointed out that they love all ofthese songs, limitations of the label have only allowed them time,budget and manpower to do full releases of a couple, two of which Com.Aand Duplo Remote have tracks appearing here. The collection issurprisingly impressive, starting off with the brief abrasive noise ofQT?, continuing on with glitch electronica Autechre worshipping soundof Phluidbox, the sci-fi death theme sounds from Jetone and pentatonicAsian taste of Zooey. By the time it reaches the slick production ofthe instrumental Fridge-ish jam, Ukiyo-E's "Val Doonican," the grandscope of the collection is shifted, transforming it from a collectionof random electronics to something more. At this point, the compilationof unknowns begins to strangely mirror a well-constructed soundtrack oran 80s-era cassette-only comp. Changes continue when the poundingabrasive head nodding track from Moneyshot bursts in, a melancholypiano piece from Beans arrives a few tracks later, followed by moreelectronic and organic contributions including the gorgeous low-temposubmission from Cytokine.
While each of the 19 songs on here are quality work, it's easy to tellthat all of these artists are still in the infancy of their careers,with much more to learn about originality, composition and production.Much like releases like the "Rising from the Red Sand" comps forexample, I'm predicting this disc will become one of those collectablereferences on discographies popping up years from now. On the horizonfor the label is a section on their website with exchanges of musiclike this and hopefully more collections.
samples:
- Moneyshot - Trocchi Travelled Inward
- Jetone - Pil
- Ukiyo-E - Val Doonican
- Cytokine - Movement
Read More
- Charles Monaco
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/takemurahoshi.jpg)
On 'Hoshi No Koe', Takemura shifts back into the avant-garde, whichagain, in and of itself, isn't such a bad thing. Unfortunately, themanner in which he does so is. Gone are the so fresh, so cleancompositions, walls of sound, and floods of echoes perfected on thelikes of 'Funfair' and 'Scope.' Instead, here we hear a handful ofwell-constructed and intriguing tracks separated by what comes off verystrongly as nothing but filler: throwaway Casio noodling on "One Day,""White Sheep and Small Light," and "A Theme For Little Animals";wanna-be clicky minimalism on "Honey Comb" and "Trampoline"; and slowmeticulous beatless repetition on "Stairs In Stars" and "In TheRoom-Roof-Wood". Some of these tracks are less offensivelynot-thought-through than others, but all display a startling lack ofcleverness and ingenuity, and what is most vexing, a seeming lack ofeffort on the part of Takemura, who plays all instruments and producedall tracks on the album. It is one thing to not exactly "get" the newdirection in which a musician wants to take you, but it is anotherthing to not understand at all why he wants to take you there. This isthe case with 'Hoshi No Koe' - there is a clear lack of directionthroughout the overly lengthy 78 minutes that would probably surpriseanyone who has tracked Takemura's work to this point.
This is not to say that his genius doesn't manage to shine through atleast a few times. "Sign" is on the album (the aforementioned track 5)and its the obvious winner of the bunch, and "Anemometer" is asimilarly terrific (if unnecessarily lengthy) melding of bouncy beatsand trademark Takemura sounds. "A Chrysalis" starts out sounding likeexperimental wanking, but slowly and beautifully evolves over its 17minutes into a downtempo exploration of rhythm and tone that wouldn'tbe out of place on 'Scope'. Finishing the CD is the wonderful "TheVoice Of A Fish," which is similarly subdued, subtle, and complex - allcharacteristics which are in short supply on most of the previous tentracks. For whatever reason, these traits - which made Takemura soexciting on previous efforts - are anomalies here.
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
The Angels of Light are the current song writing device of Michael Gira of Young God Records. How I Loved You, follow-up to 1999's superb debut New Mother, commits to tape many of the songs from the now legendary first tour and others written since. It is a collection of love songs of sorts with references to various women and Gira's parents, whom grace the front and back cover of the digipack.
Each of the ten songs begins with Gira's inimitable voice - from whisper to caterwaul - and acoustic guitar and are then tastefully embellished by the band with lap steel, percussion, organ, bass, electric guitar, piano, accordion, melodica, female and male backing vocals. "Untitled Love Song" sways gently and lovingly with perhaps the most beautiful melody and straightforward, heartfelt lyric of Gira's career to date. "My True Body" gallops like a wild stallion in double time, Gira vehemently declaring "I can see the footsteps of Jesus!" "Song for Nico" is reminiscent of Swans with warm female 'la la la's. "New City in the Future" and "Two Women" are the epics, nearly 12 minutes apiece, both deeply moody with passages of mantra and crescendo. "My Suicide" swaggers like a Johnny Cash spiritual, Gira confessing "I hate you for your love, and I hate you for your sex" in a droll croon. "New York Girls" quietly assesses the qualities of the feminine urbanite, culminating with several minutes of instrumental expedition.
Overall How I Loved You is relatively soft and restrained save for a few moments, Gira's songs capturing and conveying a pure and natural emotion that's truly beautiful. It's yet another masterpiece. The Angels of Light will likely tour later this year. Check the new Young God site for information.
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/scratchpetsolosoli.jpg)
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Thomas Brinkmann is a prolific producer of numerous minimal/experimental techno platters, both digital and analogue. His tools here are simple but unique: a knife, a pile of old records, 2 turntables, a mixer, an isolator and an effects unit. If I'm to understand the process correctly, Brinkmann literally cut the locked grooves into the records and then played and mixed them to create the 10 4-7 minute, binary titled tracks.A circular rhythmic shuffle of thuds, thumps, scratches, static pops and clicks is not only the foundation, it's the entirety of each track. The first and last tracks also contain minute vocal tidbits. Brinkmann seems intent on culling music from where there is no music to create a sort of 'techno'. "0011" becomes increasingly abrasive as the revolutions increase. "0100" playfully plasters high RPM skips. "0101" manages an almost dub resonance with reverberated pops and a gentle energy hum. "1010" simply declares "Berlin" a few times in a boisterous voice amidst the clutter ... perhaps an unnecessary reminder of the most likely place on Earth that such music would come from. Altogether "Klick" is rather clinical but surprisingly varied and enjoyable. There's plenty of groove to be found and enjoyed within the grooves.
samples:
 
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Taking a break between albums, the Tied & Tickled Trio have released a brief 8-song collection of remixes from last year's "EA1 EA2" album. The disc is released through Morr Music in Germany and features remixes by Console, Kandis, Max.Ernst and others. For the most part the remixes basically go one of two ways. Some of the tracks are pumped up discotheque versions of the songs while others take a route accenting the more jazzy elements. The Max.Ernst cuts are quite watery with obnoxiously repetitious horn loops while the Console mix flows nicely with an element of technological mastery.
Console, a.k.a. Martin Gretchmann a.k.a. 'that guy in the Notwist who -isn't- in the Tied & Tickled Trio' has also released a disc of remixes, but this one's from the other side of the mixing board. 'Console Yourself' is eight tracks of other peoples songs remixed by Gretchmann, over the course of three years, including an overlap from the Tied & Tickled remix disc. Also featured on the disc are remixes of Isan, Barbara Morganstern, Ammer/Hage and even a Console song remixed by Console. Gretchmann's mixes stand out as he's got a keen ear for when to keep a loop going and when to kill it. While both of these discs are good to have for collectors, they're nowhere to start for people who aren't existing fans already. I personally recommend the most recent full-length albums from each of the three, Console's "Rocket in the Pocket", Tied & Tickled Trio's "EA1 EA2" and of course the Notwist's "Shrink." With any luck at least one of these entities will release something excellent later on this year.
 
samples:
- Hip Young Things - 1¬Ω - Console remix
- Barbara Morgenstern - Das Wort - Console + Hometrainer remix
- Tied & Tickled Trio - EA1 EA2 nr. 10 - Wechsel Garland remix
- Tied & Tickled Trio - Utrom mix - Kandis remix
 
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Phill Niblock is a drone specialist. Everything he composes pursues the same drone idea but he varies the textures drastically by utilising different musical instruments. His pieces are supremely mind altering, and this release on the continually engaging and intriguing Touch art label is the most hallucinogenic dense and intense recording I've heard from him, or anyone else for that matter.
The CD opens with 'Hurdy Hurry', a stunning hurdy gurdy piece constructed from samples of Jim O'Rourke's playing, recorded in New York at Robert Poss' studio (Band of Susans). This medieval stringed instrument played by cranking a resined wheel seems tailor made for droning, and O'Rourke has been known to drone on himself a bit in ages past. This makes his own early droneworks 'Remove The Need' and 'Disengage' seem like mere practice, but that practice has certainly paid off handsomely. At a cursory listen 'Hurdy Hurry' might seem like fifteen of continuous drone, but Niblock weaves together held tones with exact mathematical relationships to each other, and there is a constant slow evolution and almost imperceptibly gradual increase in mass as the piece unfurls.
It continues with two different versions of what could be Niblock's masterwork, a vocal piece 'AYU'. The letters A, Y and U are hummed by baritone Thomas Buckner and arranged into a continually shifting corridor of sampled sound twenty four voices thick. The second version adds a live throat singing performance from Buckner, pitch shifted one and two octaves down and multiplied fifteen times over. Imagine massed temples of Buddhist monks humming universal nirvana alphabet keys condensed by a sampler into the digital cyberlanes.
Niblock is described as 'the forgotten minimalist' in the extensive and illuminating sleevenotes, which include an interview discussing his sound reproduction techniques. After hearing this, it's all the others that'll be more likely to slip from memory.
 
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/pigfacebestof.jpg)
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
![](/../../../../brain/images/pansoniclive95london.jpg)
samples:
Read More
- Administrator
- Albums and Singles
Kid 606 wasn't far from the truth when he claimed that "Matmos are the A-Team of electronica" — the new full-length album is a triumph for this San Franciscan duo. Their fourth album follows along the progression taken with 'The West,' moving even further away from random technological fuckery on their first two to create a cohesive, conceptual, organized result.
The sound sources and concepts here all involve various surgical/medical practices and procedures, beginning with liposuction and continuing with eye surgery, acupuncture, and ending in plastic surgery. Surgical instruments have become musical instruments and have been carefully interwoven with organic and electronic musical instruments and sound samples recorded directly in the medical offices. The two head surgeons Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt have also pulled in specialists like Cyclobe/Coil's Stephen Thrower on clarinet, spoken contributions from instrumentalists Kid 606 and Hrvatski, plus various other friends scattered around the album. While the medical theme is global on this release, the styles and moods change impressively between the seven songs. The group has turned liposuction into a beefy bass-heavy post-kraut jam on the album's opener, "Lipostudio". On "Spondee" the duo have morphed various spondees (look it up in the dictionary) and combined them with corresponding sound effects with hearing test tones and cranked out a compelling butt-shaking house tune. "For Felix" (first exhibited on tour last year along with nearly all of the songs on this disc) is an intricate 5+ minute piece crated from bowing and plucking a rat cage, dedicated to their late rat (and all the caged lab rats across the world who die in the name of medicine). Ambient low-end sounds created from connective tissue provide a warm foundation for the percussive sounds of human skull and artificial teeth on "Memento Mori", and the brilliant head-nodding classic "California Rhinoplasty" closes the disc with a ten minutes of plastic surgery samples in an evolving multi-themed epic. 'A Chance to Cut,...' is quite an accomplishment as the group has brought the term 'album' back into the phrase 'concept album' - the recording easily graces two sides of a record totalling a comfortable 46 minutes. Matmos has also once again brought a bold amount of personality and enthusiasm to their flawlessly competant mix of electronical sorcery, something the Euro electronica elite seem to be lacking after all these years. It's not minimal, it's not abstract, it's a damned good solid record.
 
samples:
Read More