Calling music like this "electronica" is a massive underestimation of what kind of work must go into a release like this. Of course, I hate that term anyway, so there you go. Four Tet, started as an off-shoot project for Kieran Hebden when he wasn't working on Fridge, is an interesting mix of programmed beats and sampled live instruments, often looped, to create soundscapes that can appeal to a great variety of listeners. Where other releases by bands who use these techniques come off sounding derivative, and often over work the concept (Manitoba is a perfect example, though Dan Snaith of Manitoba reportedly contributed to/helped inspire parts of "Pause"), Hebden seems to know just where to go with these tracks. The beats aren't the same canned beats you hear on many releases, and occasionally there are live drums, sampled though they are. In fact, it is the use of samples of live instruments that make this release so compelling. Strings, guitar, piano, and percussion certainly sound better in this mix than synth lines and beeps and whistles. I wish more artists in the genre would use this approach. "Parks" is where it all came together for me, with horns, vibes, and backwards guitar grounded by a driving, stuttering beat. Never mind the obligatory kids in the playground sound sample every band seems to want to use these days (see gybe!, tortoise, trans am, etc.). A few tracks, like the intriguing "Leila Came Round and We Watched A Video," are simple, beautiful, priceless. It's like the first time someone smiled at you: you felt warm inside, and you just wanted it to happen again, but you knew from now on it would never be the same. Music that provokes this level of visceral response, if possible, is the only kind of music I would like to listen to. Failing that, I will be sure to have Four Tet around always. This record affected me in a way I didn't expect. Hopefully it will have the same affect on you. "Pause" is out in the UK now, and will be released on these shores next month. You know what you have to do.
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Every once in a not so great while David Tibet of Current 93 and StevenStapleton of Nurse With Wound join their respective Durtro and UnitedDairies labels as United Durtro for collaborations and to reissue theforgotten or nearly impossible to obtain work of late '60s/early '70s'Krautrock' bands they admire. Sand were the first to receive suchtreatment and now fellow Germanic collective Xhol (pronounced 'soul',aka Soul Caravan and Xhol Caravan) are next with two nicely recorded,previously unreleased live performances. Disc 1 is entitled "FreedomOpera" from 1968 and disc 2 is a Frankfurt WDR radio set from 1969,both discs somewhat annoyingly indexed as one 57 minute track. Thetapestry of sound includes vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, organ,saxophones, flute and drums. First and foremost Xhol are a rock androll band with a soul center, but they also take in a number of otherstyles, and this is no exaggeration: psychedelic, freeform jazz andnoise, rhythm and blues, progressive, '60s pop and rock and even a bitof funk. But vocalist James Rhodes defines it best mid disc 1 simply as"black music". Long, meandering solos and instrumental excursionswander on and off the path of hippie bliss as Rhodes belts out theblues rather nicely or recites timely poetry. Loose covers of VanillaFudge's "Poems" and Donovan's "Season of the Witch" (which was alsocovered by Vanilla Fudge) are among the six originals on disc 1. Disc 2comes with no tracklisting and I think I know why. It seems to be onelong, often spontaneous instrumental jam by just four members, forwhatever reason - bass, tenor sax, organ and drums - it's just as goodand at times reminiscent of recent live explorations I've witnessed byThe Legendary Pink Dots. After hearing Xhol, for the first time might Iadd, I really have to wonder why I haven't seen their name mentionedbefore in the annals of late '60s rock. As a special treat for c93, NWWand Christoph Heemann fans, a third limited edition disc entitled "HotButtered Xhol" showcases superb Xhol 'covers' by each, c93's "Memories"being particularly mesmerizing. The packaging is also fantastic with a12 page insert, beautifully covered up by Stapleton, that contains anon-stage photo of the band, show posters and liner notes, all in Germanunfortunately save for Stapleton, Tibet and Heemann's virgin Xholexperiences. Good job guys! Through the magic of shiny polycarbonatediscs, "Motherfuckers Live" is like an amber encrusted insect preservedfor all eternity to admire.
With the latest offerings, Vert (and Mouse on Mars on their Soniglabel) have proven to be masters of their own kind. The disc opens with"Blindsight," where animated and robotic beats that envoke pure digitalcharm. Melodies and rhythms are moving, physically and blissfully. Fromthere, it gets into the quirky and raw - theremin-esque noises withreverb-soaked samples and voice clips, with a constant click & popfeel. Some of the third track, "Codfish Dada" has a scratchy-jazzyfeel, like typical Sonig-esque squishy squigly noises throughout butstill maintaining nice composition & form. Some of the sounds onthis album remind me of more of what was on their 12",Mooremooseicforme, which I thought were possibly from some of the samesampling/sessions that much of Mouse on Mars' recent stuff has beenfrom. Some tracks, "Somewhere Between Here and Last Week", for example,feature improvised antique organ sounds with dusty blip soundsthroughout. I picture funny little clown-men playing jazz music for amass in a dusty and crumbling old church. But then they break intosomething like a digital hardcore take on dub. Screeching synths andmorphing, building waves of noise ... some trip-hop atari music to justlie back and close your eyes. Then the strings kick in, and it's trulybeautiful, quirkiness or not. As the disc comes to close, a slow fuzzbuild-up turns to nice pensive piano turns into a sonic wall of organsthat force the listener's eyes to jet open after being harshly brokenfrom the moods that the music had previously set up. It fades out, andthe closer, "Scope/Lifetime", seems to tie in the whole of the album -remaining inconsistent within it's boundaries. Seriously, thequirkiness and diversity in this album are really something that fewothers know quite how to do.
You're drifting back in the timeline of electronic music... pastglitch, through drill n' bass, left at Braindance, back to a moreoptimistic time where Black Dog was 3 people, and naive melodies on topof percussion with little or no processing could still be talked aboutas being non-derivative. If you enjoy that classic "IDM" sound,Estermann delivers. His style isn't the most original on the block, buthistorically he's also been one of the artists who do it best. 
"How gerrmann!" me and my friend said to ourselves (in nasal "Deiter"voice) when confronted with this album. It seems like a good chunk ofthe decent electronic music is sourced in one of several cities in thecountry, one of which is Berlin - Enter the Lux Nigra label and Michael(_not_ John, thankfully) Zorn. From his music, one can easily drawkraut connections to the Din, Morr Music, or Chain Reaction labels, orcomparisons to Arovane or Monolake. Pretty wicked stuff with a stew ofinfluences, including house, IDM, and dub. 
The VVMCPS virus spreads its tentacles across the seas, or at least afew ponds, and into the memories of those who dare to deconstruct thecrap novelty minor pop abortions of a comedy cleaning woman. SuPollard, who played the dotty chalet mopper in the Great Britishholiday camp 'comedy' horrorshow 'Hi-De-Hi' has been responsible forfilling the mouldy old singles boxes of many a charity shop. She is nowanonymously employed as a cleaner for All Tomorrow's Parties, or so therumour I just started has it.
Since signing to Mike Patton's label Ipecac, The Melvins have gone high concept, releasing a trilogy of albums with a unifying concept. With 'Gluey Porch Treatments' they've gone back to their beginnings and re-released their 1986 record with the garage demos for the record appended as bonus tracks to the album proper. This brings playing time for the album from 38 minutes to a little over an hour, but it doesn't come out as gratuitous, rather as a nice gesture for those interested in how the songs originally started out and how they changed into the final album versions.
The 7th CD from this ambient/electronic/space music collective isimpressive and shows yet again how easily this group can createstunning visual imagery through their often-improvised electronicsynthscapes. SPACECRAFT's evocative and deep-listening music conjuressome really filmic essences, from a peaceful celestial orbit to thephysical and tactile space of the Mother Earth herself. For example,the rustic guitar of 'Anima-Machina' evokes images of a dusty westernscene--complete with quaint ghost towns and tumbleweeds. Yet, later, inthe same track, sequenced percolations resonate with a similar vibe toprime TANGERINE DREAM, and bring to mind visions of free flight. Thistype of journey is what SPACECRAFT excel at, and listeners are able tojoin in, albeit in the comfort of their own personal space. In fact,this music was created for the Cybersphere Planetarium in Tennessee,and I can only imagine the visions the patrons had during theperformance, especially as this music stands so well on it's own.Gorgeous sounds that certainly warrant further investigation by fans ofanyone from ENO to soundtracks to Projekt to STEVE ROACH. (Space ForMusic) contact: http://www.spaceformusic.com 
In 2000, the Reykjavik-based Kitchen Motors began a series of monthly events, featuring collaborations with various musicians and artists who would most often not be collaborating together outside of the live venues. The goals were to be somewhat improvisational, yet somewhat tied into each artist's discipline, while most importantly having fun. The curators documented these events and have compiled various moments onto two CDs now available through a combined release effort through Bad Taste.
