fume

Best of 2010

2010-12-29T17:19:00.005Z

/*---- Albums ----*/

1. Lorn - Nothing Else
2. Scuba - Triangulations / Interpretations
3. Balmorhea - Constellations
4. Wild Nothing - Gemini
5. Max Richter - Infra
6. Tunng - …and then we saw land
7. The Flashbulb - Arboreal
8. Menomena - Mines
9. Nils Frahm & Anne Muller - 7Fingers
10. Caribou - Swim

/*---- EPs ----*/

1. Forest Swords - Dagger Paths
2. James Blake - CMYK
3. Fantastic Mr Fox - Sketches
4. James Blake - Klavierwerke
5. Balmorhea - Candor/Clamor
6. Wild Nothing - Golden Haze
7. Sepalcure - Love Pressure
8. Woodsman - Mystery Tape
9. Airhead & James Blake - Pembroke
10. Clogs - Veil Waltz

The Wire - Rewind 2010 - top 50

2010-12-17T20:58:00.001Z

01 Actress - Splazsh
02 Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
03 Swans - My father will guide me up a rope to the sky
04 Joanna Newsom - Have one on me
05 Catherine Christer Hennix - The electric harpsichord
06 Rangers - Suburban tours
07 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before today
08 John Tilbury & Sebastian Lexer - Last daylight
09 Keith Fullerton Whitman - Disengenuity/Disengenuousness
10 Kevin Drumm - Necro accoustic
11 Sun City Girls - Funeral mariachi
12 Annette Krebs & Taku Unami - Motobachii
13 Sun Araw - On patrol
14 Gonjasufi - A sufi and a killer
15 Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot
16 Joe Colley - Disasters of self
17 Richard Skelton - Landings
18 Emeralds - Does it look like I'm here?
19 Eleh - Location momentum
20 Autechre - Oversteps
21 Helena Gough - Mikroklimata
22 Demdike Stare - Liberation through hearing
23 Marina Rosenfeld - Plastic materials
24 Bill Orcutt - Way down south
25 Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
26 Bellows - Handcut
27 Tilbury/Duch/Davies - Conrenius Cardew: Works 1960-1970
28 Hype Williams - s/t
29 Laurie Anderson - Homeland
30 Konono No 1 - Assume crash position
31 Zs - New slaves
32 Phew - Five finger discount
33 Sabbathh Assembly - Restored to one
34 Derek Bailey - More 74
35 Seijaku - Mail from Fushitsua
36 Tyler the Creator - Bastard
37 Moon Wiring Club A spare tabby at the cat's wedding
38 Larry Polansky - The world's largest melody
39 Alasdair Galbraith - Mass
40 Jailbreak - The Rocker
41 oOoOO - oOoOO
42 Pedestrian Deposit - East fork/North fork
43 Group Inerane - Guitars from Agadaz vol 3
44 Prins Thomas - s/t
45 These New Puritans - Hidden
46 Aldo Clementi - Works with flutes
47 Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet - Air supply
48 Joseph Hammer - I love you, please love me too
49 Joshua Abrams - Natural information
50 Grinderman 2

Tunng ...And Then We Saw Land

2010-05-31T09:54:00.002+01:00

VA – KillRockStars: best sampler ever (2010)

2010-04-12T17:05:00.000+01:00

Kill Rock Stars: Best Sampler Ever

tracklist
01 ELLIOTT SMITH "Angeles" from Either/Or
02 THE THERMALS "Now We Can See" from Now We Can See
03 GOSSIP "Standing In the Way of Control" from Standing In The Way of Control
04 THAO "When We Swam" from Know Better Learn Faster
05 SLEATER KINNEY "Oh!" from One Beat
06 PANTHER "Love Is Sold" from Entropy
07 UNWOUND "Corpse Pose" from Repetition
08 THE PAPER CHASE "What Should We Do With Your Body? (The Lightning) from Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part 1)
09 XIU XIU "Dear God, I Hate Myself" from Dear God, I Hate Myself
10 DEERHOOF "Believe E.S.P." from Friend Opportunity
11 QUASI "Repulsion" from American Gong
12 MARNIE STERN "Transformer" from This Is It...
13 STEREO TOTAL "I Love You, Ono" from My Melody
14 LILIPUT "Ain't You" from Liliput
15 BIKINI KILL "New Radio " from New Radio
16 BRATMOBILE "Die" from The Real Janelle
17 COMET GAIN "Kids In The Club" from Realistes
18 THE SHAKY HANDS "Allison and the Ancient Eyes" from Let It Die
19 THE DECEMBERISTS "16 Military Wives" from Picaresque
20 HORSE FEATHERS "Curs In The Weeds" from House With No Home
21 JEFF HANSON "Hiding Behind the Moon" from Son

Brian Borcherdt - Torches (the Ward Colorado demos)

2010-03-22T22:23:00.001Z

Download for free : http://brianborcherdt.net/

Recorded in Toronto, coastal Yarmouth of Nova Scotia, and in the mountains near Ward, Colorado, Torches includes home demos and unfinished album attempts from 2004-2006.

Hand Drawn Dracula is pleased to bring you 'Torches (& the Ward Colorado demos)', an intimate collection of songs, almost never released, by one of Canada's most devoted cultural navigators. They are finally out of his hands so that they may find their way into yours.

Also available Coyotes on LP and CD. Purchase HERE. also available from EMUSIC

Beautiful clouds - Last.fm ones that is...

2010-03-11T22:30:00.006Z

Last.fm Tools apparently dig deeper... see for yourself http://lastfm.dontdrinkandroot.net/

Asura - Asura

2010-03-11T22:03:00.007Z

Eclectic albums seem to for-fill my obsessive desire of wanting to hear new sounds constantly, even within a track length. I guess that's part of the being in the "Shuffle" generation.

Toro Y Moi Causers Of This

2010-02-23T22:59:00.001Z

Enjoying this a whole lot... Bleep say it's "already marked as one of our freshest releases so far this decade!" I agree.

emusic / bleep

Valgeir Sigurdsson - Draumalandid

2010-02-23T22:54:00.000Z

Jaga Jazzist – One Armed Bandit (2010)

2010-01-22T12:39:00.005Z

The Norwegian 9-piece return to the fray after a five year break with the stunning album “One Armed Bandit,” Lars Horntveth describes the new sound as “Wagner meets Fela Kuti!”.

BUY EMUSIC

Ghostly's 110 - Our Favorite Albums of the Decade

2009-12-22T18:45:00.001Z

Fume - Top 10 Albums 09

2009-12-22T10:47:00.006Z

(In alphabetical order)

2562
Unbalance
Tectonic

Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Domino

Balmorhea
All is Wild, All is Silent
Western Vinyl

Bibio
Ambivalence Avenue
Warp

Dorian Concept
When Planets Explode
Kindred Spirits

Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
Warp

Mike Slott
Lucky 9Teen
LuckyMe

Nils Frahm
The Bells
Kning Disks

Tortoise
Beacons Of Ancestorship
Thrill Jockey

Zomby
One Foot Ahead of the Other
Ramp

(In alphabetical order)

Fume - Top 11-20 Albums 09

2009-12-22T10:18:00.014Z

Ben Frost
By the Throat
Bedroom Community

Letting Up Despite Great Faults
Letting Up Despite Great Faults
New Words

Lone
Ecstasy + Friends
Werk Discs

Martyn
Great Lengths
3024 / Grove

Memory Tapes
Seek Magic
Memory Tapes / Tune Core

Neon Indian
Psychic Chasms
Lefse Records / The Orchard

Ochre
Like Dust of the Balance
Benbecular Records / IODA

Peter Broderick
Music For Falling From Trees
Erased Tapes

Peter Broderick + Machinefabriek
Blank Grey Canvas Sky
Fang Bomb

Peverelist
Jarvik Mindstate
Punch Drunk

Kode9 Sinogrime Minimix

2009-12-21T21:27:00.000Z

The boys at the Lower End Spasm blog (for which Alex Bok Bok is a contributor) just put up a killer 'sinogrime' mix from 2005 by musicologist/bass assassin Kode9. A must-have for any fan of grime and its abstract mini-splinters. No tracklist is available, but Kode9 assured Lower End Spasm that "all the tracks are Jammer/Wiley/Wookie/Wonder/Geeneus." Hot! (XLR8R)

Fume - Top 10 EPs 09

2009-12-21T19:04:00.007Z

Do Make Say Think
The Other Truths

Dorian Concept
Trilingual Dance Sexperience

Floating Points
Vacuum

iTAL tEK
Mako

Kode 9
Black Sun / 2 Far Gone

Machinefabriek & Nils Frahm
Dauw

Mount Kimbie
Sketch On Glass

Nils Frahm
Wintermusik

Ólafur Arnalds
Dyad 1909
(Also: Found Songs is amazing)

Three Trapped Tigers
EP2

Fume - Honourable Mentions 09

2009-12-21T18:42:00.016Z

Boxcutter – Arecibo Message
The Black Dog – Further Vexations
Califone – All My Friends are Funeral Singers
Japandroids – Post-Nothing
Kona Triangle – Sing a New Sapling into Existence
Keaver & Brause – The Middle Way
Lukid – Foma
Lusine - A Certain Distance
Klimek - Movies Is Magic
Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country
WHY? - Eskimo Snow

Rhubarb Radio

2009-12-21T17:37:00.002Z

Birmingham UK's online radio station - Check it out...

The Milk Factory - THE 2009 REVIEW

2009-12-21T10:00:00.012Z

Twelve months compiled into just twenty albums. From the thousands of records released each year, it is difficult to get even a handful on the site, and even more difficult to decide which ones were the best of the lot. This is however the twenty albums that have marked the 2009 for themilkfactory.

1.
VLADISLAV DELAY
Tummaa
The Leaf Label

2.

BEN FROST
By The Throat
Bedroom Community

3.

STRINGS OF CONSCIOUSNESS & ANGEL
Strings Of Consciousness & Angel
Important Records

4.

PETER BRODERICK & MACHINEFABRIEK
Blank Grey Canvas Sky
Fang Bomb

5.

MORITZ VON OSWALD TRIO
Vertical Ascent
Honest Jon’s Records

6.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
Merriweather Post Pavillion
Domino Recording Co.

7.

KING MIDAS SOUND
Waiting For You
Hyperdub

8.

SYMBIOSIS ORCHESTRA
Live Journeys
Baskaru

9.

MOUNTAINS
Choral
Thrill Jockey

10.

TYONDAI BRAXTON
Central Market
Warp Records

11.

BROADCAST & THE FOCUS GROUP
Broadcast & The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age
Warp Records

12.

ALVA NOTO & RYUICHI SAKAMOTO
utp_
Raster Noton

13.

PETER BROODERICK
Music For Falling From Trees
Erased Tapes

14.

THE VILLAGE ORCHESTRA
I Can Hear The Sirens Singing Again
Highpoint Lowlife

15.

TELEFON TEL AVIV
Immolate Yourself
BPitch Control

16.

SIMON SCOTT
Navigare
Miasmah Recordings

17.

ÓLAFUR ARNALDS
Found Songs
Erased Tapes

18.

SND
Atavism
Raster-Noton

19.

OBERMAN KNOCKS
13th Smallest
Aperture Records

20.

RIVAL CONSOLES
IO
Erased Tapes

4AD 2009 Sampler

2009-12-20T10:59:00.005Z

Better Propaganda - Top mp3s of 2009

2009-12-20T10:56:00.003Z

Pitchfork - Top 100 Tracks of 2009

2009-12-18T12:16:00.002Z

Pitchfork - Top 50 Albums of 2009

2009-12-18T12:09:00.002Z

DOOM - GAZZILLION-EAR (MADVILLAINZ remix feat. Kanye West as KHAN)

2009-12-16T15:49:00.002Z

Specifics have yet to be revealed about who is part of MADVILLAINZ beat crew but for starters, in DJ-friendly 320Kbps MP3 VBR audio: Here's their remix of GAZZILLION-EAR.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

The Wire - Rewind 2009

2009-12-16T12:28:00.010Z

1 Broadcast & The Focus Group- Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
2 Oneohtrix Point Never - Rifts
3 Bill Orcutt - A New Way To Pay Old Debts
4 Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
5 Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
6 David Sylvian - Manafon
7 Group Doueh - Treeg Salaam
8 Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor
9 Ben Frost - By The Throat
10 King Midas Sound - Waiting For You
11 Harappian Night Recordings - Glorious Gongs of Hainuwele
12 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
13 Shackleton - 3EPs
14 Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love
15 AtomTM - Liedgut
16 Mordant Music - SyMpToMs
17 Masayuki Takayanagi - Archive 1
18 Matias Aguayo - Ay Ay Ay
19 Hecker - Acid In The Style Of David Tudor
20 William Basinski - 92982
21 The xx - xx
22 Flower-Corsano Duo - The Four Aims
23 Gary War - Horribles Parade
24 Courtis/Moore - Brokebox Juke
25 Leyland Kirby - Sadly The Future Is No Longer What It Was
26 Group Bombino - Guitars From Agadez Vol 2
27 Peter Evans - Nature/Culture
28 Kevin Drumm - Imperial Horizon
29 Dam Funk - Toeachizown
30 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
31 Pan Sonic & Keiji Haino - Shall I Download A Blackhole And Offer It To You?
32 Moritz von Oswald Trio- Vertical Ascent
33 MEV - MEV 40
34 Black Dice - Repo
35 Emeralds - What Happened
36 Position Normal - Position Normal
37 Belbury Poly- From An Ancient Star
38 Julie Tippetts & Martin Archer - Ghosts of Gold
39 Billy Bao -
40 Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds
41 Richard Youngs - Under Stellar Stream
42 Subway - Subway II
43 Lionel Marchetti & Oliver Capparos - Equus
44 The Stooges - You Don't Want My Name You Want My Action
45 Eliane Radigue - Triptych
46 Fuck Buttoons- Tarot Sport
47 Glenn Jones - Barbecue Bob In Fishtown
48 Black to Comm - Alphabet 1968
49 Cold Cave - Love Comes Close
50 Hildur Gudnadottir- Without Sinking

Boomkat - Top Albums of 2009

2009-12-16T12:25:00.002Z

Deerhunter - CARVE YOUR INITALS INTO THE WALLS OF THE NIGHT

2009-12-14T19:22:00.000Z

From the Deerhunter Blog:

CARVE YOUR INITALS INTO THE WALLS OF THE NIGHT

"Responding to several requests I have dug up an old copy of this 2005 Deerhunter CD-R. It features only me and Moses and is very experimental in nature. This was during our "tape phase" when we would often play shows as a duo (or as a trio with colin) playing only tape machines and vocal loops."

Tracklist:
1. Bright and Early (8:30)
2. Cicadas (3:56)
3. Rotation (8:03)
4. But I'm A Boy (6:54)
5. Three Dolphins Melting into Orange Wax (4:20)
6. Snow Dogs (2:12)
7. Dogs are Cool (3:41)
8. Homorobotic (3:54)
9. Cordless (2:05)
10. When I Taste Blood (2:53)

Recorded live to 2-track cassette machine at Moses' old house on North Ave & Ponce
"Mastered" at the Old Notown building on my dad's ancient PC using Soundforge,
Scans of all orignal artwork from the Notown Xerox Machine included.

Thanks Deerhunter.

lone – ecstasy + friends

2009-12-13T12:06:00.001Z

After making waves with his ‘Lemurian’ long player and more recent tracks for Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Bubblers comp, Lone aka Matt Cutler delivers an album of lush woozy electro-hop prog with a soul-melted centre for Werk Discs. Lone blends Boards Of Canada styled ‘lectronic nostalgia and Flying Lotus style funk-impressions, causing folks like Warp’s Bibio to swoon “…he has a personality in his music that’s vivid”, with many favourable comparisons to everyone from Dilla to Madlib in respected corners of the music press. So is ‘Ecstasy & Friends’ any cop? Daamn right it is. From the jazzfunk licks and ‘Twoism’ strains of opener ‘To Be With A Person That You Really Dig’ through to the Dâm Funk-ed Linn-driven dreams of ‘Endlessly’ and the distant gazing reminisces of the gorgeous ‘Twilight Switch’, Lone has found a source of that hard-to-find special substance. You know, the kind of electronica that manages to hit the emotional-core head on? Even the title cheekily evokes images of an illicit but entirely innocent activity that sweetly sums up the honesty and beauty of Lone’s achievements with this album. If Flying Lotus, Thriller Records, Joy Orbison or Bibio have touched your life at all, then you’ll be able to justify a very smug look when you pick up this set. Lush, heavy and highly recommended!

Emusic // Bolachas

Paul White mix for Allez Allez - Download

2009-12-01T11:32:00.011Z

Get it here: ALLEZ ALLEZ

richard prior intro
human league - wxjl tonnight
gong - the isle of everywhere
george duke - rashid
white noise - ?
irmin schmidt - the seven-game
wolfgang riechmann - dream
airto - mae cambina
the tamlins - baltimore
george gruntz - east st. louis toodle-oo
kool & the gang - summer madness
blacksheep - la menage
paul white - snakesfear
paul white - the futures bright
paul white - the headache
paul white - all because of greed
flight procedure
can - mushroom
bo hansson - excursion with complications
the mystic moods - cosmic sea
cheech & chong - mr chitlen
leon thomas - the creator has a master plan - peace
tin tin - astral taxi
gary wright - love is alive
yellow magic orchestra - 1000 knives
richard prior outro

Shout to Allez Allez, one of the best blogs in town for DJ mixes.

Paul White - Sounds From The Skylight - Side B

2009-12-01T11:15:00.001Z

Side B - 10 more weird and wonderful beat constructions fresh from Paul's South London attic studio, known as 'The Skylight'. Woozy, psychedelic hiphop from one of the most fertile imaginations of our time.

WE ARE THE WILLOWS . A FAMILY. A TREE.

2009-11-27T00:21:00.004Z

In conjunction with the debut full-length, A Collection Of Sounds And Something Like The Plague, We Are The Willows presents a four-song digital-only EP entitled A Family. A Tree. The EP features the first single from A Collection Of Sounds... plus three new tracks separate from the full-length release. The three exclusive tracks included on A Family. A Tree. are all lyrically centered around the subject of family and help bridge We Are The Willows' transition from bare-boned folk-pop to the layered thickness heard on A Collection Of Sounds...

Paul White - Sounds From The Skylight

2009-11-24T13:35:00.004Z

Sample collagist and master beats-craftsman Paul White provides an excellent 190track mini-album with the over-heavy 'Sounds From The Skylight' on the ever-impressive One Handed imprint. Practically anyone who heard his debut 'The Strange Dreams Of Paul White' was floored by its immense scope and B-Boy tailored narrative, staking a claim as the UK's answer to Madlib with another massive bag of slanted samples and deliciously dope breaks to cream your nuts. We're too scared to try and pick apart the wealth of samples embedded in White's grooves, but 'Ultra Violet' sounds like a Moog riff from Wendy Carlos' Beethoven versioning 'A Clockwork Orange' soundtrack over ten-tonne drum breaks, while on 'What's Good For Me' you'll find slick electro-soul rubbed into mind bending synth trips or on 'Alien Attack' Art Of Noise style blocks of found sound arranged for dramatic effect. This album is 19 tracks of pure sampledelic pressure, and it's surely no wonder why everyone from Channel 4 to Mary-Anne Hobbs and the Gaslamp Killer have been overflowing with praise for him for the last 18 months. An exhilarating listen - Highly Recommended!

Immediate download of Side A in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any format you prefer. Side B will be free for you to download in a week's time.

http://www.inbflat.net/

2009-05-21T17:20:00.003+01:00

This is genius! And the overall effect can sound beautiful. The thing I like about this the most is its simplicity - why didn't I think of doing this first?!! Enjoy.

Dorian Concept (Live)

2009-05-20T20:29:00.004+01:00

Check out Dorian Concepts performance, recorded live for Austrian station FM4.

(Right-Click / Save link as...)
Past I
Past II
Two Hour Power And One For Oh Ate

Nice.

Spotify

2009-02-07T22:28:00.005Z

The future of the Music Industry is one of uncertainty. The number of people going out to buy a CD is at an all time low, as more people continue to file share. Is this a bad thing? I think things need to evolve - be woken up to the future - could Spotify be the answer?

Spotify is a Music Player, it looks similar to iTunes, but the great thing about it is it lets you stream whole albums for free! Okay, what's the catch. Well, the only catch is every now and then your listening experience is interrupted by a short advert - which is where the Music Industry get there money - very clever. For £9.99 a month you can listen advert free. Plus, as the music is streamed it can't be stored as audio files, so say if you liked an album so much that you wanted to listen to it on your ipod you would have to purchase it - hence even more money to the Music Industry.

One draw back though is for this alone to save the Music Industry it would have to offer an endless library of audio, which at the moment is far from the case, and recently they had to pull a load of stuff off their system due to Country Licensing Restriction.

I've been using it for the past couple of weeks and I've generally been impressed by it but equally frustrated by the limited library. I'm not sure that this is the answer to the Music Industries problems, but it sure is a good start.

Here is an invite that allows you to open a Free Account: https://www.spotify.com/invitation/JtjmHnaXuqWLF4Bm

Enjoy... Please let me know what you think?

Playing Catch Up

2009-02-07T22:01:00.004Z

It's funny how when ever I post a "Best of" list a load of good stuff appears in late December that either I've overlooked or have just discovered whilst reading another person end of year musings. This year has been no exception. So, here is a brief list of some of the albums I discovered...

Actress - Hazyville
The Alps - III
Byetone- Death Of A Typographer
Crystal Stilts - All of Night
Fire On Fire - The Orchard
The Fun Years - Baby, It's Cold Inside
Gas - Nah Und Fern LP
Koen Holtkamp - Field Rituals
Lawrence English - Kiri No Oto
Machinefabriek - Dauw
Pale Young Gentlemen - Black Forest (tra la la)
That Ghost - Young Fridays
Scott Tuma - Not For Nobody
Soccer Committee & Machinefabriek - Drawn

Have you too discovered any late 2008 gems?

Best of 2008

2008-12-07T20:51:00.004Z

Top 10 Albums of 2008 (in alpha order)…
The Abbasi Brothers - Something Like Nostalgia
Balmorhea - River Arms
Benoit Pioulard - Temper
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Deerhunter - Microcastles / Weird Era Cont.
Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes / Sun Giant (ep)
Max Richter - 24 Postcards in Full Colour
Peter Broderick - Float / Home
Why? - Alopecia

Just Missing Out…
2562 - Aerial
The Acorn - Glory Hope Mountain
Alias - Resurgam
Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Benga - Diary of an Afro Warrior
Breathe Owl Breathe - Ghost Glacier (ep)
Deadbeat - Roots and Wire
The Dodos - Visiter
Hauschka - Ferndorf
Horse Feathers - House with No Name
iTAL tEK - Cyclical
No Age - Nouns
Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
Port O’Brien - All We Could Do Was Sing
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns
Small Sur - We Live in Houses Made of Wood
Starkey - Ephemeral Exhibits
Sunken Foal - Fallen Arches
Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams
Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends
Zomby - Where Were U in ‘92

Best of the Rest…
Aidan Baker - Fantasma Parastasie
Ass - My Get Up and Go Got Up and Went
Au - Verbs
Azeda Booth - In Flesh Tones
Battle of Land and Sea - Battle of Land and Sea
Barry Lynn (Boxcutter) - Balancing Lakes
Blitzen Trapper- Furr
David Karsten Daniels - Fear of Flying
Distance - Repercussions
DJ/RAPTURE - Uproot
The Drift - Memory Drawings
Fjordne - The Last Days of Time
Frontier Ruckus - The Orion Songbook
Grails - Doomsdayer’s Holiday
Grouper - Dragging a Dead Up a Hill
herq - Night Falls
James Blackshaw - Litany of Echoes
Johann Johansson - Fordlandia
Koushik- Out My Window
Leila - Blood, Looms and Blooms
LITE - Phantasia
Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez - Why is Bear Billowing
The Lord Dog Bird - The Lord Dog Bird
Matthew Robert Cooper - Miniatures
Our Sleepless Forest - Our Sleepless Forest
Paavoharju - Laulu Laakson Kukista
Pete and The Pirates - Little Death
Shugo Tokumaru - Exit
Sleeping In The Aviary- Expensive vomit in a Cheap Hotel
Tape - Luminarium
Three Trapped Tigers - Three Trapped Tigers (ep)
The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit

Well Worth a Mention…
Ben Benjamin - The Many Moods of Ben Benjamin
The Black Keys - Attack Release
Black Mountain - In the Future
Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin
Chad Van Galen - Soft Airplane
Dr. Dog - Fate
Dungen - 4
Erik Levender- Kondens
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
Gavin Bryers, Philip Jeck, Alter Ego - The Sinking of the Titanic
James Pants - Welcome
Lackthereof- Your Anchor
Marching Band - Spark Large
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
Mr Scruff - Ninja Tuna
The New Year - The New Year
Pivot - O Soundtrack My Heart
Roots Manuva - Slime and Reason
The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
School of Language - Sea from Shore
Shearwater - Rook
These United States - A Picture Of The Three Of Us At The Gate To The Garden Of Eden
Wolf Parade - At Mt. Zoomer

The Sight Below - No Place For Us (free EP)

2008-09-09T20:04:00.003+01:00

The “No Place for Us” EP is a three-song introduction to The Sight Below’s hopeful sonic gloom. On the release—his first for Ghostly—the reclusive, Seattle-based producer smears his waterlogged guitar in broad, oceanic strokes, swirling the haze around his tracks’ tantalizingly subtle electronic beats. It’s a sound that encompasses shoegazers’ obsessive tone layering, ambient’s mood-setting sprawl, and techno music’s horizon-spanning momentum at once. The EP opens with “No Place for Us,” a diamond-studded haze of hiss and pulse that recalls a beat-driven cousin of William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops; from there, “With Her Kiss (I’d Pass The Sky)” sends distant foghorns floating over a tiny kick and hi-hat; and on the melancholy closer “Twice Failed,” the artist preserves time in an ether bottle, all bleary-eyed piano and glinting nostalgia.

http://ghostly.com/releases/no-place-for-us

Bleep Clash Compilation @ www.bleep.com

2008-05-13T23:25:00.003+01:00

Free Bleep Clash Compilation. all you need is an Bleep account.

TRACKLIST:
01 - These Days (Dntel Remix) (3:26) - People Press Play
02 - They Have A Name (2:26) - The Chap
03 - Minerva (Radio Edit) (5:44) - Mr Copy
04 - Didn't I Furious (3:29) - Pivot
05 - Lower Allston (4:37) - Thalia Zedek
06 - Golem (4:29) - Principles Of Geometry
07 - Negative Thinking (2:15) - The Death Set
08 - Puree Hiphop (2:06) - Gable
09 - Fade And Saturate (6:13) - Fairmont”

Enjoy!

Ass - My Get Up And Go Just Got Up And Went

2008-05-13T22:51:00.006+01:00

I like Ass! Oh yes, but not in that way…

It's hard to fathom why Andreas Soderstrom called his solo project “Ass” whether he’s referring to a donkey or the lumps on the top of your legs, it's beyond me, but don’t let the name put you off.

With little more than an acoustic guitar he manages to conjure genuine melancholy within suspense, using swift time changes and expertly quick strummed/picked guitar, clanging and Buzzing strings fold into soft hypnotic melody and back into more heavy strikes. His hypnotic style is reminiscent of folk legend John Fahey but with the added bonus of the occasional horn blast. Each track veers into folk, blues and country, with a sprinkling of electronic dust. The majority of the album is instrumental, which in some ways, is a shame as he’s got a great voice - see "Wheels and Wings" for an example - I think you'll agree he should use it more.

My Get Up And Go Just Got Up And Went is one of those albums that is mellow but still grabs your attention from start to finish, leaving you wanting more.. In fact, in a word, its Ass-tounding.

90/100
Emusic /Headspin Recordings

David Karsten Daniels - Fear Of Flying

2008-04-24T13:50:00.008+01:00

Release Date: 28/04/08
Label: FatCat

This album is desperately moving. Approach with caution if your heart is made of anything less than steel.

Fear of Flying is a collection of emotive songs written about David’s family members spiraling in to old age, and ultimately their mortality, his feelings on death, life and faith. Whilst reflecting on his own fear of everlasting darkness he ponders on everybody’s thoughts and feelings. How do you feel about death? What will you do? Whilst being reassuring he also expresses a lack of sympathy towards other peoples fears. Possibly, this is cathartic.

Even the title “Fear of Flying” suggests that he has fears but it’s not actually that he has a fear of flying but a fear of the passage between being a land creature on earth to then fly into the sky, into heaven, into the unknown.

The music, at times, is bare - just a nylon strung guitar and his soothing voice. At others he is accompanied by distant organs, flutes and in the heightened moments there are grinding guitars, distorted drums, oboes and saxophones. All well arranged, so much so, it’s passable as pop, with an element of noise which never spirals out of control.

Daniel does make light humour out of his religion and death in “Oh, Heaven Isn't Real” by exclaiming that “heaven is lie / it’s just a little thing that's there to make you feel better”, which offers you a haven from the initial bruising. Also on “Everytime A Baby is Born” he asked the question “Do you cry / Everytime a baby is born?” then why cry when person dies. Suggesting that it’s one and the same thing and with that in mind its easier to cope. And in “Falling Down” he jokes whilst plummeting in mid-flight of a car crash how perfect an end it would be - being altogether “with my boys”.

The subject matters are strong and deep. But the impression I get is that he is saying that as much as we fear death we should embrace it. Smile in the face of adversity. Therefore, it is not all doom and gloom.?

The album concludes sweetly with the Lords Prayer being song over a chorus of crickets at moonlight. Gently caressing you, like a Mother's warm hug before lights out.

89/100

HMV / 7 Digital

Ghostly Swim

2008-04-23T21:26:00.002+01:00

Free Ghostly International Album here, courtesy of Adult Swim: http://www.adultswim.com/willi

Benga - Diary Of An Afro Warrior

2008-04-13T09:38:00.006+01:00

In many ways “Diary Of An Afro Warrior” is simplistic, but it’s to the point, which is its real quality. The beats are crisp and the synth’s bleep out like Morse Code. The clean, heavy sub-basslines seem to be the main focal point and are the driving force behind the overall sound.

Unlike Burial's dark narrative, which I love, Benga brings a vibrant, crunked up, instrumental sound that is more suited to clubs than darkened bedrooms. He wants to get you moving and none more so in the track “Night”, which could be the best single of 2008. Still early days though.

You’ll uncover many different styles and influences here, that work well together. African beats, tribal chants, techno keys and dub basslines on “Light Bulb”. Classic IDM akin to Luke Vibert on “Someone 20”. Techno mixed with Dub, there is a lot going on, blurring genres and it works. It’s yet another unique angle on Dubstep.

Considering that this is his first full album its amazingly well accomplished. There is not one weak track on this album, which is an accolade in itself, 14 tracks of solid gold is some achievement.

The first real stand-out dubstep album of 2008.

86/100

emusic / boomkat

The Acorn - Glory Hope Mountain

2008-03-23T23:30:00.009Z

http://www.myspace.com/theacorn
http://www.paperbagrecords.com/

Oh Canada, I think I love you?

So much good music seems to be coming out of Canada nowadays, it is quite literally cascading out of there like a flood.

Glory Hope Mountain is about, front man, Rolf Klausener’s Mother’s life. Reflecting on her childhood in Honduras within 12 vignettes. From being surrounded by natures beauty to the brutal devastation of a village flood. Most of these songs sound summery and breezy, reflecting the environment she would have been in. Played on a banjo, mandolin, drums, horns, electric and acoustic guitar, and what sounds like clanging bottles and bits of wood..

I think its fair to say that the Acorn are an experimental folk band with a tribal flame burning in their hearts, which makes them sound similar to Akron/Family and the Angels of Light, whilst retaining their own style. I also think, in the more delicate and tribal free tracks, there are glimmers of Califone (Glory) and in places Sufjan Stevens (Oh Napoleon) which is a no bad thing. These tracks cleanse the palette for the next juicy installment of primitive folk, giving the album a good flow. Its a consistent album, packed full of sincere stories and glorious music, that shouldn’t fail to impress. It has certainly impressed me.

On the final track ‘Lullaby’ goes “I will wash over you / I know your heart is true / little mountain of mine” sounds retrospective of the emotions Rolf may have experienced through the albums conception and this line sums up what Glory Hope Mountain is about.

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emusic / amazon

The Dodos - Visiter

2008-03-22T11:33:00.004Z

The San Francisco based duo's new release ‘Visiter’ carries on nicely where the brilliant ‘Beware of the Maniacs’ left off. If you have never listened to that then I strongly recommend you do or at least try the track ‘Men’ which is a brilliant "men vs women" song. You can get a sample session on daytrotter.

I truly believe the Dodos are offering something fresh. It could be described as psych-folk-pop with a blues rock twang. Finger picked guitars, primitive stomping drum beats and lyrics that expose their delicate nature being pounded out with honesty. The results are outstanding. See for yourself...

http://www.dodosmusic.net/
http://www.dodosmusic.net/audio.html#
emusic / amazon

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Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue

2008-03-08T13:11:00.009Z

Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue
Release Date: 25/03/08
Label: Secret City Records

http://www.myspace.com/plantsandanimals
http://www.plantsandanimals.ca

I love it when an album comes along and blind sides you, which is exactly what happened when I first listened to Parc Avenue. In fact, I haven’t quite got over the initial impact, it has totally dominated my music playlist for over a week now, I just can’t stop listening to it. As you may have already gathered, I like this album, I like it a lot. End of the gush-fest.

Fundamentally Plants and Animals are a Canadian Jam Band made up of three core members. But, don’t let the words Jam Band put you off, they are more than that - They offer a hybrid of rock, folk, a pinch of jazz and a dollop of well crafted pop. They even roll out into an “Extra Golden afro-beat riddim” on closing track “Guru”. What makes them unique to most jam bands is there songs are not aimless or drawn out for the sake of it and they maintain the all important pop staple of the verse into chorus hooks.

"...the beauty of the earth and all the wonders that inhabits it..."

The album opens with the gospel sounding line “What’s gonna happen to you / you have woke up too soon / and found the world rearranged / and now your feelings have changed / say good bye to before / you‘re not welcome anymore…” could this be a comment on Religion or the lack of belief in this Apocalyptic era? Maybe? But, they go on to express that “we are all apart of one another…” and we should appreciate the beauty of the earth and all the wonders that inhabits it, before it’s too late. I agree.

These guys know how to have fun and their lyrics are mainly tongue ‘n cheek comments. At one point they can’t contain there laughter as they build up into a repetition of an increasingly funny pronunciation of the God fearing word “Mercy”. What’s wrong in taking the piss out of life, if anything, that’s how everyone should live, right? You get the sense that they really enjoy what they do and if that’s all that’s left, then, so be it.

Parc Avenue is a very pleasurable listen - Smiles guaranteed.

Sample Tracks:
Feedback in the Field
Faerie Dance

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Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals

2008-03-04T15:47:00.004Z

Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals
Release date: 05/11/2007
Label: we are free

http://www.yeasayer.net/

Saharan inspired indie that sandblasts the ears in a gentle wave. It's all refreshingly different. Tribal sounds with an 80's edge. They are kind of like a more accessible Tinariwen - blended into the likes of Fleetwood Mac or Peter Gabriel - Grab a grain!
Check out the excellent 2080 and Sunrise

Their UK tour kicks off tomorrow:
05.03.08 - Wed - Birmingham, UK @ Bar Academy
06.03.08 - Thu - London, UK @ ICA
08.03.08 - Sat - Glasgow, Scotland @ King Tuts
09.03.08 - Sun - Manchester, UK @ Night & Day
10.03.08 - Mon - London, UK

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Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash

2008-02-27T18:08:00.016Z

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
Release date: 03/03/2008
Label: Domino Records

Noodle, Noodle, Noodle. I don't know what it is with Mr. Malkmus, but, since he's been joined by the Jicks, he's become more and more obsessed with his noodling guitar sounds. I loved his self titled album, and I liked "Face the Truth", but, I am afraid it seems like he's on the dreaded downward spiral.

First track "Dragon Fly" is not the most inspiring of starts to an album. They malaise into a meandering noodle fest fit for a slow motion air guitar face off, with streams of verbal nonsense. In fact, the first few tracks are bursting with childish nonsensical lyrics like "a dragon fly wants a piece of pie" and "do a little Willie hopscotch, like me". Come on Steve, this is just pointless. I know his style is random, and at times it can be brilliant, but this is just ridiculous.

"...more noodles than Wagamama's..."

It does get better though, I am glad to say. Title track "Real Emotional Trash" is an upbeat rockabilly rumble of a track that has a great whirling sound that blasts out just as he screams "please me". Please me it does. Then into "Out of Reaches" which has more noodles than Wagamama's. But, there is some soup within the bowl - in the form of a great chorus line - which saves it.

As a whole, this isn't a bad album, it's just a little disappointing. I wasn't expecting it to sound like a new Pavement album, in fact that would be more disappointing, I was just hoping it would be on par with his earlier solo releases. He has set the standards high and he is still great at putting together songs with perfect pop structures. I just wish there was less noodle and more soup.

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Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

2008-02-24T22:54:00.027Z

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Release date: 28/01/2008
Label: XL

Four well educated preppy boys make up the quartet that is Vampire Weekend, named after a movie made by lead singer Ezra at college. Now graduates Ezra Koenig (vocals, guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keys & vox), Christopher Thomson (drums) and Chris Baio (bass) formed at Columbia University, where their fan base grew strong through campus gigs and then more widely by internet exposure on blogs and MySpace. It's here they proclaim to be “…specialists in the following styles: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "Upper West Side Soweto", "Campus", and "Oxford Comma Riddim." Some of these also happen to be the names of their songs.

"...a global patchwork sheet, eccentrically woven into something bohemian and refreshingly different."

United by a love of African music, their sound is primarily based around Afrobeat percussion - this reflects moments of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and could be seen as jumping on the "tribal pop" band wagon of, the successful Brooklyn band, Yeasayer. To be fair to them though, they do demonstrate a wealth of other influences that will detach them from this pigeon hole. You will notice elements of Brit-pop, American Indie, Reggae and New Wave. There are even moments of Baroque, courtesy of Rostam’s keyboard. This may sound like a strange combination but it all comes together really well, like a global patchwork sheet, eccentrically woven into something bohemian and refreshingly different.

They definitely paid attention during class, with songs like, “Oxford Comma” Ezra comments on the use of grammar and descriptivism. Expressing why there should not be just the one way of doing anything. In their first single "Mansard Roof" they even drop a little bit of history into the equation with the line “The Argentines collapse in defeat / The admiralty surveys the remnants of the fleet”.

Their wealth of influences and clever lyrics will no doubt impress a lot of people but will inevitably leave many others baffled. Some may even write them off as being a novelty, a flash in the pan even. The “Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” if they want straight-up indie, but, only time will tell if that's what they truly want.

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Pete and the Pirates - Little Death

2008-02-19T20:19:00.007Z

Pete and the Pirates - Little Death
Release date: 17/02/2008
Label: Stolen Recordings

Reading's five-piece “Pete & The Pirates” debut “Little Death” scrapes in at just over 35 minutes. In fact, most of these songs shoot past at more than 20 songs per hour, basically they are short and fast.

Tommy Sanders, of the brilliant Tap Tap, sings upbeat pop tunes about love and insecurity but more importantly about getting drunk, picking up women and waking up the next day with a steaming hangover and a head, or should that be bed, full of regret... I say bed as there are numerous references to the place of slumber, as if maybe it’s a protest against having to sleep when there is so much fun to be had.

"You might find yourself, embarrassingly, humming and toe tapping in the middle of Tesco’s"

Tom revisits Tap Tap’s “She Doesn't Belong To Me” that demonstrates how his new band have moved out of the bedroom and into the studio, the overall production is more polished. That said, all the warbles and slips are still there, retaining the charm of “Lanzafame”, which could have so easily have been lost.

“Little Death” is packed full of ecstatic grinding guitars, blistering bolts of thunder drumming, super fast hand-claps and heightened screams of drama. But, it's all so politely delivered. Each song is simple, yet captivating, and will rattle around in your head. You might find yourself, embarrassingly, humming and toe tapping in the middle of Tesco’s. At least you've been warned.

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Balmorhea - River Arms

2008-02-18T22:02:00.008Z

Balmorhea - River Arms
Release date: 12/02/2008
Label: Western Vinyl

Texan duo of Rob Lowe and Michael Muller, otherwise known as Balmorhea, named after a small Texan town of Lowe's childhood upbringing. "River Arms" 14 sparse movements blend folk and classical styles to create beautiful daydream music that have got me through many miserable commutes to work.

Their songs evoke contradictory feelings of cold and warmth - melancholy and joy.

Personal highlights are the acoustic guitar playing on "Wind and Sea" and the delicate finger picking combined with a warm shimmering cello backdrop on "The Summer". Also, "Greyish Tapering Ash" slow train rattles along like a mysterious soundtrack to something that could be cinematic. Which then blends straight into the beautiful piano piece "Baleen Morning" filling you with hope and breathlessness. I only wish they would have dropped "Context" which is 4 plus minutes of distant voices and pointlessness. This is only a minor blip though, as a whole, "River Arms" is a fantastic album that should be enjoyed as much as possible.

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Breathe Owl Breathe - Ghost Glacier EP

2008-02-18T17:28:00.006Z

Breathe Owl Breathe - Ghost Glacier EP
Release date: 11/02/2008
Label: Emusic

Comprised of Micah Middaugh (guitar, vocals), Andréa Moreano-Beals (cello, vocals) and Trevor Hobbs (percussion) — the Michigan trio Breathe Owl Breathe explore the many wonders of Mother Nature. Singing tales of a frozen sabertooth Tiger trapped inside a giant glacier, an orphaned turtle brought up by frogs, and all kinds of other creatures that once graced the earth that still inhabit their minds eye. Told from a viewpoint as feral and simple as their subjects.

"...a forest landscape that is as calm as a stream, with ripples of unpredictability, that's as real as nature itself."

Middaugh's deep, grizzly bear, vocals are uncannily similar to Bill Callahan's (Smog), they even seem to share the same mannerisms. Combined with Moreano-Beals, as pretty as a songbird, high notes you are placed within a forest landscape that is as calm as a stream, with ripples of unpredictability that's as real as nature itself.

This EP is exclusive to eMusic

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Boxcutter - Glyphic

2008-02-17T22:51:00.006Z

Boxcutter - Glyphic
Release date: 29/10/07
Label: Planet Mu

Planet Mu's Barry Lynn's second album Glyphic sways through many different genres but is filed under Dubstep. Carrying on from the brilliant Oneiric this album demonstrates just what a creative mind the man has. He likes mixing things up whilst maintaining a constant flow. Sub basslines swoop and flow throughout wrapping everything together nicely, giving it that trademark dark undertone of the dubstep genre. That said, there are only a few tracks with Dub bass and 2 step beats, most of this album is based around the 'Breaks' akin to the likes of 'Four Tet' and 'Amon Tobin' with a blend of classic electronic IDM styling of Planet Mu's boss µ-Ziq.

All in all, you have one of the most essential electronica albums of 2007!

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