Island Barbados is the first proper release from the Sheffield based producer Ghost Hunter. The track fits loosely into the post-dubstep style, but sounds more like an electonica cover of the chillwave stuff coming out of the US at the moment, like Memory Tapes. Swirling synth lines contrast with the heavy, mechanical beat creating a rigid but organic feel to the track, whilst also having an extended ambient coda (outro) for the come down. It is a very solidly produced track, yet much like some Mount Kimbie tracks, it isn't particularly attention grabbing, requiring a dedicated listen to pick up on the nuances. Not that this is a bad thing, but seems unusually modest for a first single.
There was very little to go by to guess what this record would sound like, but the hype surrounding this release has been incredible nonetheless .Mount Kimbie have vaguely come from the disparate dubstep scene, yet they have obviously distanced themselves by incorporating a wide variety of other styles, especially minimalism. I don't want to get too hung up on pigeonholing the band or the record, for one it is boring and secondly this LP is so sparse, so formless and so natural that it stands on it's own.
Mount Kimbies' two EPs showcased a sleek production sense, a juxtaposing sparse areas of sound with areas of complex beats. The songs where highly complex and protean, swapping intense beats for blissed-out melancholia at a moments' notice. On Crooks & Lovers the two-piece has used the larger canvas the format offers to draw out this dynamic over 35 minutes, heightening the contrasts of dubstep-inspired beats and ambient soundscapes, extracting huge emotional power from minor changes. The process, surprisingly, is entirely natural and what is most striking is the bands' confidence to be so subtle and minimalistic on their first major release. It just shows that they have a clear vision of what they want to create.
Furthermore, the inclusion of live instrumentation has warmed what was some coldly electronic parts of the EPs. The first track Tunnelvision and near-identical mid-track Adriatic feature a sampled acoustic guitar over a shuffling beat, while Field acts as the antithesis of the duos defining track Maybes featuring a lofi guitar in its second half. The live instruments are fittingly modest, being mainly the acoustic guitar on nearly half of the tracks, and a broken harpsichord on the swaggering Before I Move Off, which allows the band to use them live. Not to say that the album is completely pastoral, Carbonated and Ruby both explore very electronic worlds, the latter sounding similar to Burial. Like Burials' Untrue the album flows between songs effortlessly, with the intention of creating an overarching atmosphere rather than individual songs.
Overall, the album seems like a sleeping giant, the craftsmanship and attention to detail is exquisite, yet it seems that it could rear it's at any time and get frantic. The closest it comes are on the closing tracks Field and Mayor, where the beat gets more insistent and, on the latter track, funkier. Their place in the album shows that Domonic Maker and Kai Campos are intelligent DJs, using the short time on the album to create and release tension; idea that the music could explode spontaneously. It is a shame that it never quite does, but the rhythmic and emotional journey that Mount Kimbie take the listener on is more than enough to make up for it.
No picture as this hasn't been released as a single yet, but the band really caught my attention at Field Day.
My journalism skills have failed me and I can't find much information about Yuck, except that some of them were in Cajun Dance Party. No worries however as the band itself is much easier to describe; they are a 4 piece who make some brilliant 90's sounding alternative rock. Georgia is possibly the best of a few songs that sound similar, with a grungey and slightly shoegazey sound not dissimilar to The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, whilst the same four people release slower, stripped down songs under the name Yu(c)k. This song works as it has a wistful feel as the voices are drowned out by loud guitars. It may be a bit formulaic, but the riffs are great and very evocative of the sound of their inspirational bands, imbuing the track with a distant and daydreamy vibe that a lot of other bands aim for but miss. They are solid live, as well, so are well worth looking out for.
So It's been a while since I updated this blog, but this new track from No Age has inspired me to continue writing. It's the first single from No Ages' Third album Everything In Between, after their awesome LP Nouns and the slightly experimental Losing Feeling EP. Although the LA two piece's sound is pretty easily identifiable, the new track follows from the EP with a slightly laid back vibe, a sharp contrast to the frenetic punk seen on the previous album. Paradoxically, Dean Spunt's voice seems emphatically sneering, fed-up, and desperate, having been unveiled from behind the usual wails of guitar. Musically, Randy Randalls noisy guitar has been sampled and twisted creating a surprisingly understated drone which covers the track, more of a distant rumble of thunder in the distance rather than a full-on storm. Their new live musician has allowed them to play with their sound more, utilising loops and guitar samples without fear of being unable to recreate the sound live, a mix of lo-fi ideals and hi-fi equipment and techniques.
Honestly, Andreya Triana is a paradox. Her two singles, A Town Called Obsolete and Lost Where I Belong are both delicate, minimal songs, a fairly standard mix of soul and folk, yet she has garnered the attention from the opposite end of the musical spectrum: Bonobo and Flying Lotus, as well as being remixed by some of my favourite new artists Floating Points and now Mount Kimbie. Her sullen, beautiful voice is the magnet attracting these helpless dance acts, it plays so well against the often cold instrumentation of the electronic noises and rigid beats. She adds the soul to the robotic bleeps of the computers; she is the ghost in the machine.
Mount Kimbie's music, however, is densely layered and often sounds very organic: uniquely unrepetitive and emotional. But on this remix they have created an uncharacteristically rythmic beat, which drives the lonely vocal line forward amongst the swirling synth lines. Burial-like off-beat bass flares also accompany her voice, like electronic wails in reaction to the deeply melancholic vibe. Andreya works so well in this situation it is a shame that she does not work with these guys on a regular basis as an album produced by any or all of the aforementioned artists could be spectacular.
When the beat kicks in at just after the 1:00 mark, the tune feels like it has like it has settled into comfortable, driving rhythm. But it just can't stay still, the tune leaps and flips like it is uncomfortable motionless, starting and stopping; it practically has ADHD. This is what separates Blake from many of his contemporaries, who instead set up a groove and stick with it for a track. He completely subverts this idea, twisting the song through 2Step, house and plenty other ideas within just a few bars. The mashed up samples of Aaliyah and Kelis (I had to look them up) seem so incongruous with the sleek production but they add drama to this hyperactive treat.
I've been meaning to write about George Fitzgerald for ages, and I have just found out that he has a release due on Hotflush in July so this is as good a time as any to write about him. Also at this early time the details of the release are sketchy so no cover art or any exact details, but the songs are on Soundcloud anyway.
George Fitzgerald follows in the same vein as the other stuff coming out of Hotflush at the moment, not dubstep, but not not dubstep either: post-dubstep or bass music or whatever you want to call it. On Weakness George Fitzgerald builds an understated, chilled synth around an insistent garage beat, accompanied by a distorted male vocal line that develops into a tribal chant by the end of the tune, a cry for summoning the rising synth. Fitgerald plays the chilled beats against the intricate foreground melodies, so, like much of the current output from Hotflush, is both dancey and cerebral.
The Let Down is a more straightforward dance tune, but plays out in much the same way as Weakness, featuring a recurring female vocal sample on top of a repeating synth line. It still maintains an understated, calm atmosphere which contrasts against the undisclosed emotion of the vocal.
