PREVIEW: Tolga Fidan - Rogue
This won’t be released until 11-06-2012 on WhatPeoplePlay but in the meanwhile, you can preview Tolga Fidan’s excellent new LP using the following links:
http://www.groove.de/2012/05/21/tolga-fidan-debuetalbum-im-stream/
http://www.whatpeopleplay.com/?redirect=/artistdetails/null/id/3505
Likewise, album track Fairwell 22 is available for free lo-res download from soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/melissa/tolga-fidan-fairwell-22
As you’d expect from a release on Vakant, this is neither fodder, nor couch surfing material but somewhere in between. There’s plenty going on in Fidan’s work here so I can highly recommend taking the time to listen.
REVIEW: Jimmy Edgar - Majenta
Given the clear electro bent of Majenta I hadn’t expected to like it much. Whilst Jimmy Edgar is undoubtedly an excellent producer, taste is subjective and often fleeting - I had been enamored of Ellen Allien, Miss Kittin and Anthony Rother’s early output but as these things go, had moved on musically. For me Majenta hits the same button their work did and this is hardly a bad thing. It’s all buzzing synths, 80’s sleaze and sparse arrangement so especially dancefloor friendly. Given Prince is actively touring again and vocals are in, I’d say it won’t be long before this will be hitting the CD wallets, record bags and hard drives of taste makers.
The back to the past to get to the future vibe at play here is infectiously fun and tongue in cheek, which a few of us serious types could well do with! According to the PR fluff, Edgar was after a raw, spontaneous vibe and were it not for how clean the production is I would say he had achieved it.
Of everything on the album, ‘Heartkey’ and ‘Let Yrself Be’ best fit the current Crosstown Rebels/Hot Natured influenced trends in house so should doubtless be summer hits - the former for its jacking groove and robo vocals, the latter for the snappy vocal samples and pianos.
There are also slower, more soulful R&B influenced jams like ‘In Deep’ and ‘Attempt To Make It Last’ which should endear the album to a broader audience and make for a more interesting end to end listen. Not that a producer of Edgar’s experience would be inclined to cram a disc full of bangers and little else!
Given the musical style, it remains to be seen whether Majenta will have much of a shelf life but then again, it may not be intended to last - we do tend to hang too much importance on that and not enough on just enjoying the ride.
LABEL: Hotflush Recordings
RELEASE DATE: Out now!
Also check:
Sepalcure - Every Day Of My Life (Jimmy Edgar Remix) - Hotflush Recordings
Jimmy Edgar - Tell It To The Heart (Art Department & Deniz Kurtel Reflection Dub) - No.19 Music
REVIEW: Borealis - Voidness
Courtesy of JD Twitch’s White Light 54 podcast (http://www.whitelightmixes.com/mixes/white-light-54-jd-twitch-optimo/), Liar and Minilogue, my love of trance has been somewhat rekindled in recent months. It prompted a wistful journey into my music collection (digital and physical) to rediscover sounds which I’d either forgotten about or given up on.
Back when I started to get quite heavily into techno, Jesse Somfay’s work functioned as something of a bridge between worlds; his output at the time was cinematic in the vein of better quality progressive house yet had a shoe-gazer rawness about it which was an ideal break from the aggressively over-compressed, over-produced tripe which was becoming so popular at the time. He was releasing on Traum Schallplatten and had a Border Community-friendly sound which has only diversified with time.
Fast forward to 2012 and he’s now also releasing genre-agnostic electronic music as Borealis; Voidness being his first LP produced using the new handle. Though there’s more than a little borrowing from Burial in the style of arrangement, texture and vocal treatment, Somfay creates a less claustrophobic atmosphere which is, dare I say it, happier!
This is not to say the album lacks for moodiness - the hallmarks of classic Somfay are still here in spades and there’s no better example than the utterly euphoric Nightfall. Resplendently and unashamedly trance influenced, its gently thumping bass drum is like the heartbeat of an alien lifeform, the swelling pads around it a choir of celestial energies. Clearly, it’s hard not to wax lyrical whilst listening!You Were Awaystrikes a similar emotional chord.
Not to be confused for club music, Voidness is nonetheless just the sort of thing to cure an ambivalent or negative mood and it does so not only by discouraging the skipping of tracks but by having so much bloody detail you can’t help stopping to pay attention.
LABEL: Origami Sound
RELEASE DATE: Out now!
Also check:
Jesse Somfay - Small Pebbled Forest - Archipel
Borealis - Nightfall (Dominik Eulberg’s Jittery Dawn Mix) - Origami Sound
REVIEW: Cobblestone Jazz - Who’s Future?
Over the years I’ve made no mystery of my adoration for Mathew Jonson’s output. Decompression, Folding Space and Automatic are seminal tracks not only to myself, but plenty more folks also for good reason; the combination of grimy analog bass, snappy drums and an over-abundance of reverb was (and still is) infectious.
However, it’s always been his work as part of Cobblestone Jazz which I’ve found more appealing for the fact that it seems to reflect how much fun he, Tyger Dhula and Danuel Tate have in the studio. I still consider the chunky bassline of Dump Truck their high watermark but subsequent works haven’t lacked for inventiveness or excitement. Who’s Future? is the latest in a series of 12” vinyl releases that includes Lunar Lander and Memories (From Where You Are), one which finds the group in familiar deep territory.
The titular track opens with a delayed arpeggio typical of their material, and the following rubbery bassline keeps form. If you’re expecting surprises there’ll be little to whet your appetite, but the squelchy analog melodies will keep you engaged nonetheless. Who’s Future? is a languid affair for sure but in such a fashion which would suit the first tentative footsteps onto a dancefloor.
By comparison, the broken beat of B-side Across The Nation is almost propulsive. It’s no less deep but the rhythmic lead carries a good deal more energy than the A-side. There’s a slinking sinuosity at play which might not well suit the average DJ set but certainly hit a right note with an experienced hand at the decks
Label: Wagon Repair Ltd.
Release Date: Out now!
Also check:
Cobblestone Jazz - Traffic Jam - Wagon Repair
Kuniyuki Takahashi - The Session (Cobblestone Jazz Remix) - Mule Musiq
The May Digest
Several tracks which I’ve consistently been playing… to myself. Such is life eh?
Resident Advisor Chart - April
Been incognito for some weeks folks - here’s the proof beats are still working their way through some place!
Bomb. ‘Nuff said.
REVIEW: Alejandro Mosso - Mosso002
Veering further into percussive territory for a moment, we find ourselves at the foot of another release from Alejandro Mosso - an Argentinian producer based in Berlin, who has cracked out a succession of releases for labels such as Air London, Meander Music and more recently, his own label mosso. Mosso002 comprises two tracks, both clocking over seven and a half minutes each. The kind of rolling percussion and open arrangements on offer owe a debt of gratitude to the likes of Luciano and Ricardo Villalobos but nevertheless, Mosso displays his own individual take.
‘Aroncagua’ has exactly the kind of propulsive percussion that you’d expect from the aforementioned DJs but features a prominent marimba pattern which draws other skittering effect sounds into focus for hypnotic effect. It’s very summery, engaging and lovable.
While considerably more languid, ‘Cashmere’ is equally characterful. An Indian flute known as the Bansuri takes centre stage and is backed by gentle textures which point to early morning excursions in sound. If it can’t elicit a smile, something isn’t right!
Label: mosso
Release Date: Tuesday 6 March
http://soundcloud.com/alejandro-mosso/sets/mosso002/
Also check:
Alejandro Mosso - Altiplano - Air London
Alejandro Mosso - Caracoles - mosso
REVIEW: Sierra Sam - Sierralism
I’ve typically not followed Sierra Sam’s work as I found much of it to be too typical, despite the incredibly high production values he displays. With Sierralism, he’s made me regret being ignorant.
The titular track displays all the qualities of a solid warm up track; all rolling groove, twisted atmospherics and dark bass clocking in at a sufficiently lengthy eight minutes. It’s the restraint at play here which allows all elements in the arrangement space to breathe and at no point does the structure feel too predictable. That being said, there’s enough familiarity to keep it appealing for less trained ears.
‘Your Secrets’ brings jacking groove to the package in a loose woodblock laden arrangement which is jam packed with flavour. Pianos, pads, vocals and effects all tastefully grace this track without resorting to cliche. Jay Haze turns in a worthy, club ready remix but in paring down the track, he loses some of the more hypnotising elements at play.
B-sides ‘Laws Of Distraction’ and ‘W.G.B’ are solid, but lack the excitement present in ‘Sierralism’ and ‘Your Secrets’.
Label: Serialism
Release Date: Out now
http://soundcloud.com/sierrasam/sets/sierra-sam-sierralism/
Also check:
Sierra Sam & Tolga Fidan - High School Paranoia - Dame-music
Sierra Sam - Talokikit (Ray Okpara Deeptool Remix) - Dame-music
An assortment of reviews and musings regarding deeper electronic music.
