I // Corinthian //

Recently, the UK underground music scene has exploded into the general music conciousness, and many acts have attempted to incorperate the sounds of UK Bass with more typically mainstream sounds. Unfortunately, Hybrid artists never spawn perfectly between the two musical camps by some immaculate conception, instead they branch across from either the "rock" side or the "electronic" side, perhaps utilising all the techniques of the other side, but inevitably always end up lumped in with the scene they orginated from, no matter how much they attempt to hide their ancestry. James Blake will always be part of the Bass scene no matter how much he tinkers with his piano, and it is the same for Mount Kimbie and a heap of otherwise pioneering acts. But with Corinthian, while still bearing the marks of a typical rock band, have merged with the dark, moody, bassy atmosphere of the post-Burial music scene, but without the dreadful po-faced seriousness and pretension that often comes part of the package.

Instead of buzzing bass lines that hit at despair and seclusion, the first track of I has a playful synthline riding above it, a guitar line that sounds like the riff from Hunting for Witches and an emotionally distant (cool) vocal line. The track is quite short, but parts are constantly being swapped out, so it never quite settles in. However, the atmosphere created is fun and slightly dancey despite the cavernous bass, the parts all contrast and work off each other to create a very entertaining track and a mood that is hard to pin down.

The other tracks off of the EP are similarly contructed, mixing funky rock bass lines and intesnse drumming and bass stabs. Instead of trying to mix the constituent parts together to create blandness, the different parts, dance hi-hats and agressive guitars, are distinctly seperated and jammed together in a way that feels very organic, albeit hyperactive and restless. Overall, the three tracks showcase an absolute tonne of ideas and provide a very clear vision of their style, suggesting the band could make something very big.

Listen to it here:

http://corinthian.bandcamp.com/album/i

New Stuff //

Joy Orb:

Missus - http://youtu.be/S-Kt1bQRpFk

Untightled (with Kavsrave) - http://youtu.be/ZChdQKkTsxc

Wade in - http://youtu.be/-ztPgknjB68

Pangaea:

Won't Hurt - http://youtu.be/nOxA2fQj43U

Inna Daze - http://youtu.be/8cKWVZbEyJM

Blawan:

Bohla - http://youtu.be/QQyEBaZAV50

James Blake:

Tep and the Logic - http://youtu.be/wNWTxOqKqBE

Untitled - http://youtu.be/Xbu4ikG2Oac

You Know Your Youth - http://youtu.be/h0ptuFYseXg

KOL

James Blake // Plan B Brixton // 14.01.11

+ support from Cloud Boat

Gigantic bass drops may be the norm in dubstep, and even in the strange stylistic fudge James Blake finds himself, but with a meandering guitar duo like Cloud Boat it is probably the furthest thing from your mind. Their intense bass walls seem little more than a novelty however, it just doesn't work with their earnest indie sprawl. Ending with a cover CMYK was also a joke that far outstays its welcome, but they certainly seem to aspire to create the dubstep fusion (an ugly term I know) that Blake does, but without any of the immediacy. Nevertheless, they are very new and act as a great warm up for the main event.

James Blake is palpably nervous when clambering on stage, and rightly so; the venue is packed and his debut album is not officially out for nearly another month and there is literally no stylistic precedent for the songs he will be playing. All he is riding on is the immense hype; a fickle beast that could collapse inexplicably at any moment. In fairness this is a bit of an over dramatisation; there is a tonne of drunken singing originating from the other side of the stage than James Blake, his drummer and his guitarist (Airhead, who collaborated with Blake on an EP), indicative of the fact that release dates mean little to people now.

The first few piano chords of opener Unluck lead into an engulfing syren's scream of noise, his voice twisted from quiet and complentative to tortured and yearning, yet drowned out by creeping thunder of the bass and the razor edge of the synth. If it sounds a little chilled on the record, here the brutallity of the lower end is maximised, deep like the Marina Trench, dark and subsonic. It exposes his dubstep roots whilst playing against his delicate voice for emotional effect. In fact, James Blake creates music to move you; both emotionally and physicaly.

Wilhelms Scream and I Never Learnt To Share tread a similar path, as they build from Blakes near-naked vocals, mixed with layers and layers of autotune and synth, culminating in a dense walls of sound, shaking the room and drowning out all the other senses, "like a waterfall in slow motion" for sure. It is such a contrast from the record, where the dubstep side seems quelled, here it has been unleashed, not better than the LP, but very different. To Care (Like You) bubbles along, a lighter backdrop stemming from the more recent housey experiments in the bass culture, but no less emotionally devestating. Here in particular the digital mixes with the analogue nearly seamlessly, and even the vague suggestion of a pedal being pushed or a switch being flicked only adds to the excitement of a style of music that is usually created in sterility coming to life. Not that the live paradigm limits them; Blakes vocals are are deftly sampled live, cut up and pitch-shifted as much as on record. The new context only adds to the rawness, especially for the obligatory Limit To Your Love, which is renewed as the sub bass physically vibrates and resonates around the small room and large crowd. He ends where he first started, with anthemic dubstep, covering Digital Mysticz Anti-War Dub, which is the lightest and most straighforward track of the night. Blake is now sounding exstatic and confident in the hypnotic simplicty, he has made the same progression from humble beginnings that his tracks make, a trend that can only continue into the future.

Blake has had immense pressure lumped on him to produce a great album. My review of that will follow, but telling from this perfomance he has the confindence and creativity to work as a slightly more mainstream performer. The short set was more like a taster for things to come, and despite the general cyncism about the blogging community for its minute attention span, here we see an artist creating something 'real', something that will stay with people for a while.

Tracks that I have been listening to lately //

The end of the year always signals tonnes of end-of-year lists, where I get a chance to go back over tunes that I may have missed. So recently I have been listening to practically no "new" music, so no proper blog posts. Nevertheless here is a list of links to the best of 2010, and before:

Little Dragon // Scribble Paper (Floating Points Remix) // http://youtu.be/qTEnJJ_k4g0

Floating Points Ensemble // Post Suite // http://youtu.be/zDc4VWiQMrE - This guy is so versatile

Studio // West Side // http://youtu.be/po8e8nftgqI - Solid Good Times - Yannis from Foals recommended this on his twitter, and it is obvious he likes it as it sounds very much like them, but with an absolutely chilled atmosphere rather than their intense energy; its dubby, lazy, danceable and absolutely immense. The album's massive too.

Kode9 // Black Sun // http://youtu.be/8Z0VSvu-ro0 - The hyberdub manager has a new album out this year, named after this song but not including it, which is a bit of a shame as it Kode9 at his very best

Mala // Alicia // http://youtu.be/WpzzGXBW4GA - Sexy Dubstep?

Titus Andronicus // A More Perfect Union // http://youtu.be/dFHlK8ZXgvE - America, Fuck Yeh

Deerhunter // Helicopter // http://youtu.be/G5RzpPrOd-4 - Wet

Liars // Mr Your on Fire Mr // http://youtu.be/Pza75oWGB2c

Kassem Mosse // Untitled [Laid] // http://youtu.be/AkV3bIQ2pa0

Jacques Greene // (Baby I don't Know) What You Want // http://youtu.be/lIDhX8cpjtI - This guy has some great stuff out on Night Slugs

ESG // UFO // http://youtu.be/X_vuSse9sFY - Never heard these guys directly before a few days ago, but I had heard their influence in styles as diverse as hip hop and dance-punk

...And you will know us by the trail of dead // Mistakes and Regrets // http://youtu.be/xgqEWJ8AC9o - Just a gigantic riff

Oh, and I have created a twitter account for this blog: twitter.com/onlyvibrations

Top Songs of the Year //

So its that time of year again.

So the top ten is below, but here is another 20 that I haven't put in any particular order:

Me and the devil // Gil Scott-Heron // (XL)
The Let Down // George Fitzgerald // (Hotflush)
Maybes (James Blake Remix) // Mount Kimbie // (Hotflush)
Love cry (Joy Orbison Remix) // Four Tet // (Domino)
Eyesdown (Floating Points Remix) // Bonobo (feat. Andreya Triana) // (Ninja Tune)
Before // Scuba // (Hotflush)
Red Lights // Holy Fuck // (Young Turks)
See Birds (moon) // Balam Acab // (Tri Angle)
Odessa // Caribou // (City Slang)
Wut // Girl Unit // (Night Slugs)
Crossed Out // Pariah //(R&S)
Stableface // Eleven Tigers // (Soul motive)
India lately // Gold Panda // (Notown)
Fram // Blawan // (Hessle)
Theives in the night // Hot Chip //(EMI)
Evelyn // Fabtastic Mr Fox // (Black Acre)
Deadness // darkstar // (Hyperdub)
Pow Pow // LCD Soundsytem // (DFA)
King Night // Salem // (Sony)
... and the world laughs with you // Flying Lotus (feat. Thom Yorke) // (Warp)

Top 10:

10// Journey to the Core of the Unknown Sphere // Space Dimension Controller // (Clone Royal Holland)


9 // Hologram // These New Puritans // (Domino)


8 // Night Air (Ramadanman Refix) // Jamie Woon // (Cadent Sounds)


7 // Rubber // Yuck // (Fat Possum)


6 //Black Gold // Foals // (Transgrassive)


5 //I'll Stay // James Blake // (R&S)


4 // Chem Trails // No Age // (Sub Pop)


3 // Field // Mount Kimbie // (Hotflush)


2 // I Only Know (What I Know Now) // James Blake // (R&S)



...


1 // So Derobe // Joy Orbison // (Aus)

Fireworks (feat. Alicia Keys) (Deadboy Slo-Mo House Edit) // Drake // Self Released

Apperently, Deadboy isn't that keen on Drake, as his remix of Fireworks does not contain any of his rapping, despite it being his track. What it does have is Alicia Keys vocal, but pitchshifted so to be unrecognizable, sounding more like some early 00's garage singer. In fact, the track is a complete reinvention, starting out with sparse piano chords (I would say influenced by James Blakes' Klavierwerke, but as far as I can tell this has been hanging round on the internet longer), and an understated house beat, with 2step syncopation propelling it along. Alicia keys vocal wraps round the skeleton, the repeating "all we see are fireworks" is strangely affecting as it shifits in and out of focus, and shifts up and down in pitch. With all the haunting melancholia it is no doubt greatly indebted to Burial, especially with the slow-burning bass hum. Deadboy flirted with the sadder, deeper side of bass music with last years great U Cheated EP, but on this track he has taken it to rediculous levels. But whatever, it is just a great track.

myspace.com/deadboysoundboy

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