tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424955805142215692024-03-14T02:20:32.754+00:00Electric WhipcrackDaniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.comBlogger461125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-38110831253702168312013-12-18T14:38:00.002+00:002013-12-18T14:38:16.868+00:00Interview - Abandon Reason/ Declan Kelly<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4182294390/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/notracklist=true/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/im-in-the-abyss">"I'm in the abyss!" by Abandon Reason</a></iframe>
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Probably my favourite compilation of 2013 is <i>"I'm in the Abyss!"</i>, a collection of live recordings from a loosely-connected network of musicians recorded in a disused four-stories deep underground car park in Galway. I wrote about it at length for The Quietus earlier in the year, read that <a href="http://thequietus.com/articles/12009-united-bible-studies-abandon-reason-compilation-review">here</a> if you like.<br />
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Declan Kelly is the founder of the label that released the compilation, <a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/">Abandon Reason</a>, as well as one of the main driving forces of the nexus of experimentation that has been going on in the car park and elsewhere (unfortunately, the underground car park has now been closed off to the public). I interviewed him a while back in what was supposed to be an audio interview, but gremlins put paid to that. So instead I transcribed it like an old-fashioned text interview. I don't really know what's going on with the line/paragraph spacing here, just go with it.<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05d4-2c6d-580a-bf4bd32e8668"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>So Abandon Reason then. Tell us how it started.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well…I suppose it properly started when I decided to take all these recordings that I’d been doing with a rake of people in the car park. I’d thought of the name Abandon Reason before most of these recordings had happened, just as in ‘that would be a good name for something’. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Originally when I came up with the name I was thinking it’d be a name for a label, but I didn’t think that I would be cut out for doing a label so I kind of put it on the backburner, and then once the idea came around to do a radio show I thought it’d be a good name for the radio show; then if I wanted to I could use it for the name of the label as well and it would be fine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">So yeah, the first thing I did was the radio show for <a href="http://curiousbroadcast.com/declan-kelly-presents-abandon-reason-episode-1/1089/">Curious Broadcast</a>, which was every two weeks; each show was a half hour mix basically from the previous... at that time there was maybe just shy of two years worth of recordings from various people - like mostly friends and stuff - all done in the car park. The first two episodes I tried to make it kind of like...I tried to do presentations and an introduction, but once I thought ‘I should do an introduction’ I couldn’t really not do it in the car park because it’d be kind of weird if I was just in my room recording it and then maybe trying to make it sound as if I was in the car park - so I just went to the car park to record the introductions.</span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05d9-f845-07c5-0ccc696f79ec"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who was first to stumble across the underground car park</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>and think '</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hmmm, this would be a good place to</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b>record/ have a gig?'</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">I dunno, as far as I know I’m the only one who actually went through with it, but there could have been plenty of other people who stumbled upon it and thought it’d be a good place for a gig. I was shown it by a friend of a friend, this guy who was…the three of us were into photography, and if you’re a photographer you’re pretty much going to like decrepit and random places; it’s a big thing these days, the urban exploration kind of craic, so we were always kind of on the lookout for any space that we would just be free to take your time taking pictures and whatnot. So this guy had been out walking his dog out in Salthill and just happened to stumble across it. I dunno what brought him to actually go down there ..</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05dc-df39-8351-43ef7d6e44f6"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There's a word I think for people like that who kind of explore decaying urban spaces.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah, I was reading an article the other week about this (I think it was in the </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/20/urban-exploration-robert-macfarlane-bradley-garrett" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Guardian</a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">). I didn’t realise there was all this kind of jargon surrounding it. I just see that whole thing of exploring abandoned places, or just exploring the city or urban spaces - I wouldn't even think of it in words like that...</span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05de-b5e0-3d7d-940ab403dd23"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hobby? </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah it’s just something that I naturally - and I know that plenty of other people - like to do. I’m not so much interested in exploring the spaces of another city - that doesn’t really interest me as much as, like, private or abandoned or unusual places within a place that I’m so familiar with, you know? Like I grew up here and lived here my whole life, so it’s a lot more interesting to me when you get into a place and you get up high and you look out and you see this place that’s so familiar from a completely different perspective; it’s a strange feeling, it makes you feel like you’re looking at a new place, even though you recognise landmarks and stuff - like you might see the cathedral or the Dunnes store car park or the sea or whatever, but you’re seeing it from a different angle; and that’s one of the main things that gets me going to these kind of places: just seeing as much as I can of this just completely familiar landscape</span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05de-eeeb-c756-cc88f72059fc"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, there’s less and less places you can </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">go</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> these days, you know...People are getting more paranoid, they don’t want their properties damaged, so they put up gates and fences. Like there’s an alley in town - just an alley that goes from one street to another, and it was really handy if you wanted to get to the docks without going around to the end of the street - but last year they just put up a gate and you can’t get in: nobody can get in there anymore, there's no reason for it... Well there’s a reason, obviously - people drinking; but it’s a pity that rather than actually looking at why people are hanging about in there, rather than try to solve that problem, it’s just like ‘well we’ll just stop them from going in there’; so people just go somewhere else and then that’s the next place that’s going to be closed off to everyone. So it’s like a case of ‘if I can’t have it nobody can’.</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05de-eeeb-c756-cc88f72059fc"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The abandoned car park and the development it was part of, there's sort of a sad but interesting story behind it.</b></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05de-eeeb-c756-cc88f72059fc"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah there is - like there’s a huge apartment block above, and then below there’s four stories of a car park; not only that but there’s a cinema complex with two cinema screens and seats laying up against the wall but not installed. The whole place was twelve weeks away from being finished. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the bottom floor there’s a set of double doors and whatever’s behind it there’s always a light on...you can kind of see through the cracks of the door and there’s a couple of holes in the wall - it just looked like a continuation of the car park, I never got in there. I found a key on the ground in there one day and thought that might be the key to the door, but I'm pretty sure I never bothered trying it; I brought it with me several times but always forgot that i had it.
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4182294390/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=6/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/im-in-the-abyss">"I'm in the abyss!" by Burrows</a></iframe>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Is there anywhere else lined up at the moment to make further recordings?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well the weird thing was that it just became a thing almost of necessity without us knowing - when I say us I mean myself, Brigid (Power-Ryce) and Dave (Colohan) who would have gone there fairly often to record and stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">But in terms of another place, there’s plenty of places around that are large abandoned buildings or whatever and you can kind of feel free to do stuff...Like I still play music and record music in my room and stuff, I’ve always done that; and Brigid is the same - she likes recording in her sitting room or kitchen ‘cos it’s comfortable and you don't have to do much setting up or whatever, it might not be as interesting acoustically or whatever but..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">In terms of Abandon Reason , you wouldn't see that as inextricably connected to the car park, you can bring out other releases?</span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e2-b2ed-0ec9-d1b8a934178e"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">No. The first few were always going to be based around the car park, partly to kind of...well especially since it closed down, I feel like it was kind of getting it a little bit out of my system as well...but yeah, it definitely won’t be the only thing that we do, there isn’t enough release-worthy stuff left anyway..</span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e2-b2ed-0ec9-d1b8a934178e"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e3-13c7-820c-5e9b0f60c861"><span style="line-height: 1.15;">Like, stuff will probably pop up every now and again - I gave some recordings to Dave Colohan for a Raising Holy Sparks thing - that’s coming out fairly soon, that was recorded in the car park and it’ll be around at some point.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brigid’s recent </span><a href="http://brigidpowerryce.bandcamp.com/album/eee-tuts" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">EP</a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">, that wouldn't be part of Abandon Reason?</span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e2-b2ed-0ec9-d1b8a934178e"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e3-13c7-820c-5e9b0f60c861"><span style="line-height: 1.15;">No that’s just her own; we both did a few online EPs, it’s all self-released. We didn't really talk about them being Abandon Reason releases. For me anyway, the ones I released were pretty old and they were really things that I wanted to get out of my system and stop worrying or thinking “I’ve recorded these things and I was going to do something with them and I never did and now it’s four years later and I still haven’t done anything with them”... That’s one of the good things about putting them online, it gives you at least a very strong semblance of feeling like you’ve done something or you've worked something, so you can release it online and it feels substantial. So I think I'd rather keep Abandon Reason releases as fresh stuff - but it might be kind of on the back burner for a while now anyway because of college and stuff.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e2-b2ed-0ec9-d1b8a934178e"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e3-13c7-820c-5e9b0f60c861"><span style="line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">I</span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">s there something about Galway that lends itself to unconventional gigs/recording spaces?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Maybe... it’s a hard one to quantify, I was thinking about this recently...If I wasn’t from here and I’d been shown that place I would not have the guts at all to put on a gig there or even go there and bring instruments and recording equipment there or whatever - I just wouldn't do it because I wouldn't feel safe; but because it’s Galway - you don't necessarily feel absolutely 100% safe there, but I had a certain amount of confidence because I was so familiar with the area - and I tried to think “well, if I was from Dublin and I lived in Dublin all my life and I found a place like this in a similar environment - the closest thing to Salthill in Dublin is Dun Laoghaire maybe? - so if I found a place in Dun Laoghaire would I be able to do this?... and I dunno if I would obviously…</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">But in the sense of the relatively limited gigging infrastructure as well - would that influence not just the car park gigs but the </span><a href="http://thumped.com/bbs/threads/free-openair-gig-in-a-fairyfort-in-galway-this-saturday-feat-yawning-chasm-more.79744/" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">fairy fort gigs</a><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;"> before that?</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e6-9554-49e1-3b7d1b146d98"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">Well that was sort of the start of it really, the fairy fort gigs, that was an eye-opener... and that took someone from Japan (</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Takashi Kumagai</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">) coming here and seeing the potential of this space and just saying “I’m going to put on a gig here and just tell people about it”. He made posters as well though, he put up posters around town. When I saw that...like that directly led to the house gigs: the summer that Takashi was doing the gigs was his last summer in Ireland; he wanted to do one more but he didn't really have time, what with finishing work and everything, so myself and Paul O'Reilly said that we would try to organise the last one. So we did, and we set it up and then it pissed rain when the time came around for the gig, which was the first time it had rained for any of the fairy fort gigs; he got away with doing three fairy fort gigs with no rain. So we relocated to Paul’s apartment and had the gig there, and then I think we had at least one or two more gigs in his apartment, and then we did a gig in my house and it just kind of followed from there. And it was soon after that first house gig - that was July 2010 - it was soon after that that my friend showed me the car park, so that was always figuring in as well.</span>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e6-9554-49e1-3b7d1b146d98"><b style="line-height: 1.15;">I believe you have a prop at all your gigs in reference to Takashi.</b>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e6-9554-49e1-3b7d1b146d98"><span style="line-height: 1.15;">Oh the pineapple...we haven't had it at every gig 'cos sometimes you kind of forget. For a while it was almost necessary to have a pineapple at every gig, sticking a candle in the top of it. As a reminder i suppose, or an acknowledgement rather, of Takashi’s contribution. Well not contribution - it was more than a contribution; he changed my whole way of thinking about live music I guess. I get very uncomfortable sometimes at gigs in traditional venues, like pubs or huge halls and things like that, I never feel quite comfortable enough. I always feel like it’s slightly jarring; it’s as if the people who are playing in the venue have to adjust themselves and their sound and their attitude to the venue, because the venue has got its equipment, its got its own rules and all that. Whereas an outdoor space or abandoned spaces or whatever, they are...I dunno?...cleaner or something, there’s less expectations. It’s more like you’re working in tandem with the environment rather than the environment imposing strict kind of rules.</span>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e6-9554-49e1-3b7d1b146d98"><span style="line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Yeah</b> <b>I </b></span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">can see how the environment itself influences how the music is played or received</span>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05e6-9554-49e1-3b7d1b146d98"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">I think it seems</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">more like a synergy kind of thing when its a space where there’s no lights and it’s cold and it’s wet, and you obviously do have to adjust to that as well, but once you do and once you kind of give yourself over to it, it’s almost as if the space has kind of given back. It’s like you’re collaborating with your surroundings, and that’s a really important thing to pursue, to be aware of your surroundings and be aware of what’s around you. That’s why I don’t like going to a gig in a pub or whatever and you’re so familiar with it already and it’s not really exciting. You know, the act is going to be exciting if you really like them and all that, but I think there’s something missing when the space itself is not that exciting to you or it’s too familiar. Maybe it’s just a problem of familiarity. Maybe it’s just purely the novelty of outdoor spaces or abandoned places for gigs or recording or whatever.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">The Gorges tape - is it true that it was based on a dream?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Yeah well that was probably the most dramatic or compelling or romantic reason for doing it I suppose, but it kind of happened naturally enough. Well first of all Dave had this dream of myself and himself playing harmoniums. Myself, Brigid (Power-Ryce) and Aaron (Yawning Chasm) had just bought a harmonium between us, and so I think then Dave eventually - with that information - had a dream where he and I were playing harmoniums and Brigid was singing. I don’t know if the dream was actually in the car park, it might have been. But also Brigid was kind of...she had this cycle of songs that she'd been doing at gigs for about a year or so and she was kind of sick of singing them - she was kind of in between writing songs and stuff - so she just wanted to sing where she didn't have to use any words, she just wanted to use her voice basically. And then I guess I was getting into drone music and stuff, partly or mostly because of Dave - he told me about people like Charlemagne Palestine and Charalambides. So I was really looking to do more kind of drone stuff. And then there was the car park as well, and there was no reason why we shouldn’t just do that stuff, it was very easy - we just went and did it, and we were immediately really happy with it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1312956841/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/our-throats-like-valleys">Our throats, like valleys by Gorges</a></iframe>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Was it all improvised or did it start with a theme or anything?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">No, not at all. We just started playing and just see what happened. Like, the very very first thing that we did is on the tape - originally when we were putting the tape together, sequencing and stuff, the first thing on the tape was going to be the very first thing we did there, but it kind of didn't work sequentially. But it’s in there at some point - I think it’s on the first side.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">I noticed the cassette has individual track titles but the Bandcamp stream is just labelled Sides A and B.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Yeah I wondered about actually naming the tracks or putting up separate tracks (on Bandcamp), but I didn't want to take away from the tape - like it’s a tape, and if you’re going to listen to it then listen to the entire side. Unfortunately it means that most people don’t stream it on Bandcamp, because it’s half an hour each side, so the statistics are quite low when it comes to the streaming, but it’s quite nice when you see that some people do actually listen to the entire thing the whole way through. </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">The set you played at the Aine O'Dwyer car park gig, is that part of it?</span><span style="line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div>
<span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Both the horn piece that opens (the tape) and the very last track on the album are from that gig.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
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<b>That gig saw a giant harp been brought underground.</b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Yeah the taxi driver that drove us out there, he was saying that he’d never transported a harp before and he was excited about the challenge or whatever. He was loving it.</span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05f6-ae53-c3e2-0f409b9a2f09"><b style="line-height: 1.15;">What would be your favourite instrument in terms of how it interacts with that environment?</b>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05f6-ae53-c3e2-0f409b9a2f09"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh the</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">harmonium, definitely. It’s fairly versatile, you can do a lot of stuff - like you’ve got the drones with it and the deep notes: they only seem to ever get deeper when you introduce that level of reverb. And the high notes, they go really crazy, especially if you’re playing a few of them at the same time - you know, obviously with the two harmoniums, the high notes just seem to kind of gather around your head and you just start hearing all the different kind of harmonics and frequencies and everything; and you start hearing mad things and because you can’t see very well, it feeds into it. Like those immersion chamber things, what are they called? They’ve got a little pool of water in them and you lie down... </span>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05f6-ae53-c3e2-0f409b9a2f09"><b style="line-height: 1.15;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">Sensory de</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">privation chambers?</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></b>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05f6-ae53-c3e2-0f409b9a2f09"><span style="line-height: 1.15;">That’s the kind of vibe that you get.</span>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-05f6-ae53-c3e2-0f409b9a2f09"><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">It’s like when one sense is taken away the other senses compensate.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Well yeah, basically your brain doesn't want to be bored, so that’s why dreams happen, because your brain is looking for ways to stimulate itself...I think that’s what it is anyway…</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">I like the way banjo sounds down there. It takes on a very different, more ambient quality.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Yeah, especially depending on where the recorder is in relation to where it’s being performed.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">You all would move around a lot when you're performing.</b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">W</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">e didn't always do that but it became a really important thing, because even just turning your head a different way changes what you hear - you’d hear more and you’d become even more aware, it’s like you’re just inputting information into your brain and your senses then start reacting more. You kind of understand the space a bit more when you walk around it. I guess it replaces actually seeing the space, ‘cos if you’re walking around and all you get is what you hear and what you can smell and feel, then it’s all going to lead to a certain kind of a picture. But yeah, other instruments...Violin sounds amazing down there. I can’t play violin but a couple of people play violins down there and that always sounded really good.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">The Darugaries track sort of sounds like a mini-orchestra type thing.</b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Yeah it was kind of a jazz arrangement i guess. Horn instruments are really good as well, like the trombone. One of the guys had a trombone and then there was acoustic guitar and electronic instruments in there as well. The clarinet, too. Wind instruments in general sound incredible down there.
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4182294390/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=15/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/im-in-the-abyss">"I'm in the abyss!" by Darugaries</a></iframe>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Was that the first time they all actually played together?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">No, one of the guys, he’d only just joined them on their tour - the guy who played the trombone, Tomoyuki Mihara, he had only just started playing with them maybe a couple of days before, which was pretty amazing. But no, they’ve been playing together for about 10 years but the way they work is they don’t...one guy writes songs and the others then...they don’t practice necessarily, the others play live and the live gigs become their practice basically, so every time you see them play they’re playing a bit differently. They obviously settle eventually on a preferred structure...well the structure’s already there, but each individual player will settle on a preferred structure i guess. But yeah they’re essentially improvising.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Was the track on the comp an improvisation?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Well at the core of it was a structured song. The guy who’s singing it and playing guitar (Koichiro Miyaoka), it was his song that he’d written. Everything around it seems to be very fluid but it was a combination of them knowing the song but also being really accomplished improvisers as well, like jazz improvisers or whatever. But that’s the way I understand it, that they don’t practice in between gigs - they practice at the gig when they’re playing, or I guess at their sound checks or whatever, that was what I got from it. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">They were there because of a gig in The Cellar the previous night, and they got myself, Aaron and Jimmy (Monaghan) - who were playing together as Yawning Chasm at the time - they got us to play with them on a song of theirs at the end and just got us to make stuff up. They played with Yawning Chasm as well on a couple of songs. It was pretty funny because we asked Takashi beforehand if he would play with us, and he said ‘yeah ok’ - because he plays trumpet and when he was here last he played with Aaron for one or two gigs anyway; he played with him in the Roisin once and he was playing trumpet and just improvising. So yeah, Aaron wanted him to do that again, and then when it got to the point where we were like ‘Takashi, come up on stage’, they all came up: there was like five of them all together, and they all just came up onto the stage, they didn't understand we were just asking Takashi. But it was cool, and they started playing and we did the best version of a song called ‘Butterfly and Crab’ that we ever did. They were playing the trombone and clarinet and electronics and stuff and trumpet, it was amazing...that was pretty special.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Do they have a recorded output?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">They do, actually. I don’t know about albums but Takashi gave me a 7” that they did - this is when he was previously living here, before he left he gave me a gift - it’s pretty cool, it’s one song four times but it’s done four different ways; so the first song is a really folky singalong, then there’s a really stripped down electronic version of it, there’s a version where they’ve got a choir of school kids singing with them and I can’t remember what the other version is...</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Are they big in Japan?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">I don’t think so no, they’re pretty obscure. But yeah if you search for them online you get a Geocities webpage and it's your classic Geocities layout. I think they’ve got a Myspace as well and that’s about as recent as they get. But the websites are really funny and they’re relatively regularly updated as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">The Geocities is updated?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-0601-1c38-aa44-e0eb72b80413"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Yeah they have details of recent things, and it’s just all cats in the background and crazy stuff.</span></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">They don’t get to play that often anymore. They live roughly in the same region but I think the nearest major city to them is Kyoto, but Takashi - first of all he runs a bakery, second of all he got married and had a kid recently, so he’s probably too busy for gigs now. But he puts on gigs in his bakery which would be pretty cool to witness. Gavin Prior went to see him a couple of years ago and played a gig there. We’ve (Brigid, Aaron and I) been talking about going to Japan and doing some gigs and stuff. Hopefully it’ll happen eventually.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">On the Abandon Reason Bandcamp there's also a compilation of live recordings from the </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>...Abyss...</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> launch gig.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Yeah that’s ongoing, as I kind of go through all the recordings. See the thing about that launch gig was that there were five separate sound recorders at it, and I never got any formal instruction in sound recording and software and stuff so I’m fairly sure I have a terrible way of working when it comes to using software. So I got all the recordings off everyone - Gavin, Robin Parmar, I had two recorders and Dave had his own recorder as well. I seem to be the only person who puts in the date and the time onto my recorder so that I can tell from the file when exactly it was recorded and no one else did that, so trying to sync them all together was a matter of just putting them all in the one thing and then just literally hunting around to try and sync all the sound together, so that took ages.
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3255368261/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/pouring-god-into-god">Pouring God Into God by Abandon Reason</a></iframe>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Will that all be downloadable when it's all compiled?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid--c83bf21-0603-476f-ceea-95e34ceaf42e">Yeah. </span><b>P</b></span><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">hysical release?</span><span style="line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> Maybe, but it’ll be a very long thing, probably about three or four hours. There’s eight tracks at the moment, that’s about half of them. </span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">The launch gig was an all-day affair.</b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeah well it was planned from 12 to 6 ,and I think we started roughly on time... well you know, there were people there at 12. I think Aaron was one of the first people to show up. </span><b style="line-height: 1.15;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">And </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">anyone could/was encouraged to join in?</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> I think some people ended up...it was hard to tell but I think it got very very loud towards the end, and I think there were a lot of people shouting and yelling and singing and stuff - and that was really cool, it got really primal towards the end, it was great. ‘Cos there was a drum kit there as well, Enda Trautt was playing drums - he plays with United Bible Studies and is a good friend of Dave’s. That was the first time there was a drumkit down there.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">I hadn't actually noticed that. There is percussion of a kind on the <i>...Abyss...</i> compilation.</b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">It was usually percussion on a wall, or that water extraction machine, the pump thing - you’d hit that and you’d get an instant ‘thud’ sound effect, it was cool. </span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">Who was playing the saxophone at the launch gig? She was tearing it up.</b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">Catherine</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">Sikora. </span><b style="line-height: 1.15;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">There was a cool kind of mix of </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">discordant/smooth tones there.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeah and then the very very odd time she’ll throw in a melody, and even rarer she’ll repeat it, and then it’s gone. It’s brilliant, it was really great to have her. She’s from Cork but I think she’s lived in New York for the last ten or twelve years or something. She’s a pretty well-established free-jazz improviser. She’d maybe come at it from a more academic angle.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">Would you say you come at music in an</b><b style="line-height: 1.15;"> instinctive way?</b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">I don’t really read about music too much. I have done and I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s not something that I ever actively seek out that much. I’m really into photography and I’m really into reading about photography, but for whatever reason I’m not that interested in reading about music, and I don’t really have that much impulse to study music academically at all. I kind of just want to do it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15;">Can you read music? </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">No. I tried to learn but I just don’t have the patience. Well most people I know don't know how to read music. I dunno, I don’t think it’s like a prerequisite of making music. Aaron doesn’t know how to read music, I don't think Dave knows how to read music…</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">He seems to have a vast/wide-ranging interest in different kinds of music, from devotional drone to throat singing.</b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh Dave is one of the most incredible people I’ve met, in terms of his breadth of interest and knowledge when it come to music. Not just music either, like ask him about anything - movies, books, art and stuff, he’s encyclopaedic. But I think what he does is he’s just incredibly, intensely interested in things; and that’s what drives him, pure curiosity. In things that are kind of random: he’s really interested in Indian music and Hasidism and like this crazy drone stuff and whatnot, but I’m pretty sure he’s a big Charlatans fan as well. He’ll surprise you, he adores things like Scrubs, and in the same breath he’ll talk about, I dunno... Herzog and Charlemagne Palestine. Those are only the things I can remember, he goes on and on about stuff I’ve never heard of. </span><span style="line-height: 1.15;">He’s intensely collaborative as well.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 1.15;">Would you have an interest in releasing music from people outside of the Abandon Reason extended family?</b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.15;">Yeah that’s a definite goal, ‘cos I don’t want it to be just a completely insulated endeavour. I’d love to get into the position where I can afford to do a vinyl run, and that’ll probably happen within the year.</span></div>
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4182294390/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=13/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/im-in-the-abyss">"I'm in the abyss!" by Abandon Reason</a></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-88451722692790194822013-12-18T11:37:00.000+00:002013-12-18T11:37:24.801+00:002013 Best-Of Mix <iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.mixcloud.com/widget/iframe/?feed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mixcloud.com%2Felecwhipcrack%2Fbest-of-2013-podcast%2F&mini=&stylecolor=&hide_artwork=&embed_type=widget_standard&embed_uuid=3b4edbc6-a1e3-43a8-a555-e166bdedba1c&hide_tracklist=&hide_cover=1&autoplay=" width="600"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/elecwhipcrack/best-of-2013-podcast/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=resource_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Best of 2013 Podcast </a> by <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/elecwhipcrack/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=profile_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Elecwhipcrack</a> on <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=homepage_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"> Mixcloud</a></div>
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A mix of some of my favourite homegrown/domestic music from the past year - to be honest this could have stretched on for another two hours, but it's good to have some sense of brevity. This covers a range of styles from grime to trad to experimental soundscapes to Crazy-Horse guitar crackle. Oh, and a fresh-faced newcomer called My Bloody Valentine. </div>
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Tracklist:</div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-387e3791-0579-9f49-9002-6fac7a280be7"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diamond Dagger & Meljoann - What’s Your Friend’s Name </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Major Grave - Looking Forward from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking Forward </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EP (Sulk) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Cyclist - Mangel from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bones In Motion </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Stones Throw/Leaving)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drunken Boat - Wake Up from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let Go, Be Still </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Bloody Valentine - In Another Way from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MBV </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Self-released)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twomilliondays - Conductor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Burrows - In Winter (Harmonium Version) from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m In The Abyss!” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Abandon Reason)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Last Sound - Sun Forever from <i>Rainbow Xplode</i> (Osaka)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toyc - Keyframe (Bloom remix) from ‘Ruffer/Keyframe’ 12” (Crazylegs)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shriekin Specialist - Important from <i>Assorted Gs, Vol. 1</i> (Little League Records)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brigid Power Ryce - Tiny You and Me from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m In The Abyss!” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Abandon Reason)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ensemble</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px;">É</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">riu - 3 College Square from <i>Ensemble </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px;"><i>É</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>riu</i> (Raelach Records)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Is How We Fly - Big Pat’s ::: Dan Breen’s from <i>This Is How We Fly</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ZoiD - D-Blop from <i>Troonax EP</i> (Alkalinear Recordings)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ruairi O Baoighill - Walpurgis Part II from <i>Walpurgis </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Woven Skull - Plentyful Pickings from <i>For Esme, in Love and Squalor </i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mynameisjohn/Graeme S - Struggle from <i>The Struggle EP</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sammy Dozens - Ready For War from <i>Lucid Dreams</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saga - Bone</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I Am The Cosmos - Esque (feat. Daniel McAuley) from <i>Monochrome</i> (Elastic Witch)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Somadrone - Born & Bred from <i>The First Wave </i> (Bodytonic)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colm K - The Attic from <i>The Love EP</i> (Bastard Jazz Recordings)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eomac - No Name from <i>Spoock </i> (Killekill Records)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lumigraph - Dorsia from <i>Nautically Inclined</i> (Opal Tapes)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bicep - The Game from <i>Stash</i> EP (Aus Music)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yawning Chasm - Peripheral Eyes from <i>Yawning Chasm</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Divil A’ Bit - In Deference To The Squeamish I </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Raising Holy Sparks - Sacred Harp 282 (I’m Going Home) from <i>Era of Manifestations </i> (Feathered Coyote)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Darugaries - Boku no Kioku from </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m In The Abyss!” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Abandon Reason)</span></div>
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Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-7538717117899769102013-10-09T11:47:00.000+01:002013-10-09T11:47:29.050+01:00recommended: Ruairi O'Baoighill - Walpurgis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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'Tis the season. Galway-based <a href="https://soundcloud.com/ruairiobaoighill">Ruairi O'Baoighill </a>has been producing Sound Art and 'dark ambient' pieces for the last few years, as well as helming and curating a radio show - <i><a href="http://www.basic.fm/the-hidden-sounds/">The Hidden Sounds</a></i> - dedicated to Circuit Bending in the medium of Sound Art. So far he's released two albums, <i>Walpurgis</i> and <i>-87 </i>- both of which are available on a name-your-price basis from<a href="http://ruairiobaoighill.bandcamp.com/"> Bandcamp</a>. His work on a third album was hindered by a burglary, but recent track 'Shadows' hints at what's yet to come from him.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=146987005/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/notracklist=true/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://ruairiobaoighill.bandcamp.com/album/walpurgis">Walpurgis by Ruairi o Baoighill</a></iframe>
O'Baoighill's music makes for an intense and frequently uncomfortable listening experience. Horror film aficionados will tell you that sound design is often half the battle - or at the very least a crucial element - in classics of the genre, and the pieces that make up <i>Walpurgis</i> reflect that kind of sensibility. 'Part I' combines solemn-sounding chanting with deep, guttural drones that are somewhat reminiscent of Tibetan throat singing. The effect is ominous, as if you've stumbled upon a ritual in a dark wood, the crescendo of which you fear sticking around for. 'Part II' is underpinned by gut-churning low-end as a high-pitched metallic scraping (recalling <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De5s8T1Hnf0">Raime's skin-crawling tones of dread</a>) is counterbalanced by the sporadic echo of disembodied, distorted voices.<br />
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More recent tracks feature on his<a href="https://soundcloud.com/ruairiobaoighill"> Soundcloud</a> as well. 'Killing Ground' wades through a miasmic sludge; the track itself feels like it's about to melt away at any moment through radioactive exposure. 'Shadows' comes across like a sequel of sorts to <i>Walpurgis</i>' 'Part I', except it's more disorientating and formless still; as if we've gone beyond the ritual and entered a frightening purgatory.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F86204287" width="100%"></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-2090486431208107692013-10-04T08:09:00.000+01:002013-10-04T08:09:46.310+01:00recommended: Abandon Reason - Pouring God Into God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxVknU-Sz2g/Uk3JCsBttwI/AAAAAAAABUA/tIhUa0apkpw/s1600/godintogod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxVknU-Sz2g/Uk3JCsBttwI/AAAAAAAABUA/tIhUa0apkpw/s320/godintogod.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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From its beginnings as a radio show (on <a href="http://curiousbroadcast.com/declan-kelly-presents-abandon-reason-episode-1/1089/">Curious Broadcast</a>) of unique archived recordings from an underground car park, it's been a joy to watch <a href="http://www.abandonreasonrecords.com/">Abandon Reason</a> grow and crystallise into something bigger and more tangible: now a record label, so far in 2013 it's given us a superlative <a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/im-in-the-abyss">compilation</a> ("<i>I'm In The Abyss!"</i> - reviewed for <a href="http://thequietus.com/">The Quietus</a> <a href="http://thequietus.com/articles/12009-united-bible-studies-abandon-reason-compilation-review">here</a>), a second <a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/our-throats-like-valleys">cassette release</a> from harmonium-drone/wordless-vocal trio Gorges and some <a href="http://f0.bcbits.com/img/0001235025_10.jpg">beautiful</a> <a href="http://f0.bcbits.com/img/a3853737001_10.jpg">artwork</a> to go along with those releases (courtesy of musicians already involved in the label or its recordings, such as <a href="http://brigidpowerryce.bandcamp.com/">Brigid Power-Ryce</a> and Kaiser Caimo). There's an aesthetic coherence to the project and a loving attention to detail, evident in titles and literary references as well as in the sound palette or musical approach: the name of Gorges' tape - <i>Our Throats, Like Valleys - </i>sounds like it could be included in an Abandon Reason version of 'Oblique Strategies', while its track titles "take inspiration from early 19th century deep-sea explorations which led to the discovery of thousands of new specimens of florae and faunae, disproving the notion of an azoic sea-bed and establishing oceanographic practice". Fertile thematic ground, and somewhat appropriate considering how much of a role the sound (or even suggestion) of water - dripping on dank surfaces or being pumped through machinery - plays in the label's car-park recordings. The idea of deep-sea explorations and oceanography is also a neat parallel to the way the recordings on <i>I'm In The Abyss</i> and <i>Our Throats, Like Valleys</i> sonically map out the unique nuances and character of the cavernous, 4-stories-deep space they were recorded in.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3255368261/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=2/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/pouring-god-into-god">Pouring God Into God by Abandon Reason</a></iframe>
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It remains to be seen where Abandon Reason will take things in the future, as the beloved recording space in question has apparently been sealed off by the po-po. The final (or possibly only) straw was the launch 'gig' for the <i>Abyss...</i> compilation back in January, an all-day improv affair that saw a host of musicians/sound artists making their mark on the space (or letting the space make its mark on them). Recordings from that day have been uploaded to the Abandon Reason <a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a> under the title<i> Pouring God Into God </i>(a nod to JD Salinger). It's an ongoing project (with the plan to make the collection freely downloadable 'once everything is up'), but for now there's eight recordings to immerse yourself in. There's a real sense of alchemy at play throughout; an air of mystery and otherworldliness hangs to the recordings, with the kind of natural reverb and resonances that no plugin or production technique could hope to match. The recording<br />
space seems to be acting as conductor, the musicians merely responding to its acoustics.<br />
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'Guitar, Voice, Violin, Melodica' is a mournful sounding number, with eerie keyboard tones and expressive melodica commingling with wordless vocals that seem to emanate from a dark corner or passageway, at the edges of your perception but compelling nonetheless. 'Banjo, Keyboard, Voice, Balloon' is performed by just Aaron Coyne (Yawning Chasm) and Declan Q Kelly, but the sound they create is simultaneously minimal and vast enough to fill the space around them. The banjo in particular is an instrument that interacts magically with the acoustics of the car park, not just here but on the <i>Abyss...</i> compilation as well: it takes on a looping, soothing, serene and somewhat spiritual quality. Possibly the most impressive and gripping track, meanwhile, is (deep breath) 'Saxophone, guitar, viola, laptop, drums, trombone, flute, nefar', on which alternately dissonant and rich blasts of sax rebound off the walls while ominous viola tones provide dramatic tension.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3255368261/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/notracklist=true/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://abandonreason.bandcamp.com/album/pouring-god-into-god">Pouring God Into God by Abandon Reason</a></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-29518080151650069282013-10-02T17:03:00.001+01:002013-10-02T17:03:44.056+01:00Julie Hawk - 'Narc' (Interpol cover)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WZtyo1qSm08/UkxCajfsmAI/AAAAAAAABTw/F9a983zkv_c/s1600/julihawk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WZtyo1qSm08/UkxCajfsmAI/AAAAAAAABTw/F9a983zkv_c/s320/julihawk.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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It's always a good sign when a singer/songwriter can take a well-known track and push something to the fore that was previously hidden, and so it proves with this Interpol cover by Galway-born London-based <a href="https://soundcloud.com/julie-hawk">Julie Hawk</a>. Indeed if you were to choose a song by the NYC quartet that was begging for an acoustic version, 'Narc' - from their classic album <i>Antics</i> - probably wouldn't be at the top of the list: excellent as it is, it's more about the interplay between those piercing guitar lines and the top-of-its-game rhythm section; not to mention that exquisite breakdown and outro.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F3914121" width="100%"></iframe>
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Hawk's version, however, emphasises a melodic strength to the song that wasn't always so obvious, and redirects the focus on to a lyric that's one of Paul Banks' less cryptic/daft (delete as appropriate) ones. She even pulls off the switch-up towards the end with aplomb.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3856512037/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://juliehawk.bandcamp.com/album/take-off-your-suit">Take Off Your Suit by Julie Hawk</a></iframe>
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Hawk's 'Take Off Your Suit'/'The Postcard' is available as a name-your-price download from <a href="http://juliehawk.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>. The impressive, restless range of her vocals drive songs that can have a dramatic and tense sweep to them (the former) or a wistful and regretful air (the latter).<br />
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She plays the Roisin Dubh in Galway this Thursday night with <a href="http://comeonlivelong.bandcamp.com/">Come On Live Long</a>.<br />
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Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-81685404021031332712013-10-02T09:00:00.000+01:002013-10-02T10:27:47.914+01:00Thundercat & The Roots - 'Heartbreaks and Setbacks' live on Jimmy Fallon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w8KiC_9Kxq0/UkuI-wqDJWI/AAAAAAAABTY/-Png1GCwgYk/s1600/thundercat.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w8KiC_9Kxq0/UkuI-wqDJWI/AAAAAAAABTY/-Png1GCwgYk/s320/thundercat.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Forget snore-fests like Jools Holland or...whatever else is on TV?, Jimmy Fallon is seemingly where it's at these days for must-see music performances. Just recently we had Drake's stunning performance of 'Too Much' (ft. Sampha) from new album <i>Nothing Was The Same. </i>Now there's this, as Fallon's house band The Roots join Brainfeeder virtuoso Thundercat for an outstanding run-through of probably his best track, 'Heartbreaks and Setbacks'. It's taken from this year's <i>Apocalypse </i>album, but to be honest I'm probably going to struggle to listen to the album version again after seeing this. Magic.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=n41394" width="560"></iframe><br />
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The aforementioned Drake performance:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HOZGxDyF8qI" width="420"></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-64321272814448195572013-09-26T17:39:00.002+01:002013-09-26T17:39:52.063+01:00recommended: eagleshadow - Cassette demo #1<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3372767812/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/notracklist=true/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://eaglesshadow.bandcamp.com/album/cassette-demo-1">Cassette demo #1 by eaglesshadow</a></iframe>
Don't really know a whole lot about this one, other than it was brought to my attention by <a href="https://twitter.com/laurent_fintoni">Laurent Fintoni</a> via his '<a href="http://www.factmag.com/2013/09/11/and-this-one-time-the-best-bandcamp-releases-of-the-month-september-2013/9/">Best Bandcamp Releases</a>' column for <a href="http://www.factmag.com/">Fact</a>. The tags indicate he's from Belfast, but wherever it originates from this is charming stuff that seems to nod at a number of electronic music trends without ever seeming like it's jumping on any bandwagon. Opener '909+C' has a peculiar, faded-tape quality that reminds you of quality-stamped cassette labels like Leaving Records, but its melody is bright, airy and buoyant, sort of like something from the Lucky Me stable except with the multicolour maximalism and hefty bass dialled back.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3372767812/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=1/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://eaglesshadow.bandcamp.com/album/cassette-demo-1">Cassette demo #1 by eaglesshadow</a></iframe>
'Ghost of (cassette mix)' is something else entirely: its main, bluesy guitar riff sounds like a vintage, virtuoso-but-understated jam from the 70s, the track's languid, mid-tempo drift evoking images of a smoke-filled lounge/studio. Everything is just so, with unobtrusive, barely-there percussion and lovely counter-melodies.<br />
Then there's 'Jazz Sax', which is more along the lines of the electronica/brass hybrids of <a href="http://www.sonicrouter.com/2012/02/sr-mix-121-archie-pelago-car-crash-set/">Archie Pelago</a> (or, closer to home, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/z_o_i_d">ZoiD</a>'s jazzier experiments); listen closer and some of the more high-pitched, free-floating lines recall something like '<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdN_1r6LSaA">Kaotic Harmony</a>'.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3372767812/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=3/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://eaglesshadow.bandcamp.com/album/cassette-demo-1">Cassette demo #1 by eaglesshadow</a></iframe>
There's more stuff on his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/eaglesshadowmusic">Bandcamp</a>, including two volumes of 'B-Side Jams and Old Tracks', both of which are, like <i>Cassette demo #1</i>, available for name-your-price.Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-60980764041144719892013-09-26T14:39:00.001+01:002013-09-26T14:39:53.146+01:00recommended: Divil A' Bit - In Deference To The Squeamish I<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/63900238" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/63900238">In Deference to the Squeamish I by Divil A' Bit</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user17670013">Divil Bit</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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David Colohan (<a href="http://united-bible-studies.bandcamp.com/">United Bible Studies</a>, <a href="http://agitatedradiopilot.bandcamp.com/">Raising Holy Sparks</a>), Natalia Beylis and Willie Stewart (both of <a href="http://wovenskull.bandcamp.com/">Woven Skull</a>) make up the trio Divil A' Bit; Stewart also directed this evocative, gothic-tinged video for their track 'In Deference To The Squeamish I'. It suits the alternately eerie and serene folk vibes of the track so well, its bucolic setting (Drumnadubber Wood in Leitrim) reflecting the prominent, integral use of field recordings in the track itself. (Beylis hosts a 'daily sound diary project' called <a href="https://soundcloud.com/thesunkenhumsounddiary">The Sunken Hum</a> which is well worth checking out, its unaltered field recordings/soundscapes encompassing everything from creaking gates to cattle marts).<br />
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'...Squeamish...' is based around a simple but hypnotic banjo (or something similar?) figure that gradually, subtly builds into something more lyrical and intricate; just as essential to the overall atmosphere, however, are the sounds of stones steadily splashing in water, chirping birdsong, and the irregular hum of passing cars (the music was recorded under Archies Bridge, Royal Canal, Longford).<br />
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An album is on the way from the trio, who will be performing an interactive 'Keyboard Massacre' at this year's<a href="http://huntersmoonfestival.com/line-up-2013/"> Hunters Moon festival</a> in Carrick-on-Shannon (the festival is run by Beylis and Stewart).<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=235290883/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://divilabit.bandcamp.com/track/in-deference-to-the-squeamish-i">In Deference to the Squeamish I by Divil A' Bit</a></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-42417984606166662502013-08-20T11:49:00.000+01:002013-08-20T11:49:04.580+01:00Feather Beds - 'Walter'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A827iENcKAQ/Ug1DKbu4A8I/AAAAAAAABSs/O3WmgiXWe6Y/s1600/featherbeds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A827iENcKAQ/Ug1DKbu4A8I/AAAAAAAABSs/O3WmgiXWe6Y/s320/featherbeds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Three tracks have surfaced so far from Dublin-based <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FeatherBeds">Feather Beds</a>, and if they're anything to go by then his debut album <i>The Skeletal System </i>(due September 2nd) will be worth checking out.<br />
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All mid-tempo haze and gently layered atmospherics, 'Walter' boasts an understated vocal that seems to blend seamlessly with the surrounding hum and buzz. Halfway through, the warm glow gives way to a stuttering, percussion-heavy section that fades in and out of focus, lending a further air of elusiveness to the track. It's that persistent, shimmering low-key drone that stays with you and charms you throughout, though; a mirage glimpsed through disorientating fog.<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=4158932560/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://featherbeds.bandcamp.com/track/walter">Walter by Feather Beds</a></iframe>
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There's also a video for the track, made by Greg Corcoran.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0C4XPM_qUIo" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Previous tracks 'On Your Deathbed' and 'Airbrushed' are also (also) available to download from the Feather Beds <a href="http://featherbeds.bandcamp.com/">Bandcamp</a>.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=3463387482/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://featherbeds.bandcamp.com/track/airbrushed">Airbrushed by Feather Beds</a></iframe>
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=4057851859/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://featherbeds.bandcamp.com/track/on-your-deathbed">On Your Deathbed by Feather Beds</a></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-12545083303520714592013-07-18T14:25:00.002+01:002013-07-18T14:25:55.237+01:00Recommended - ZoiD - Lyphyz Drumpdrops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GaF4hG-Qneo/Uefq04uFI6I/AAAAAAAABSM/4q7shoaWK3A/s1600/zoidimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GaF4hG-Qneo/Uefq04uFI6I/AAAAAAAABSM/4q7shoaWK3A/s320/zoidimage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Released on the increasingly prolific <a href="http://boyscoutaudio.bandcamp.com/">Boy Scout Audio</a> label, <i>Lyphyz Drumpdrops </i>is the latest release from Dublin-based musician and producer <a href="http://zoid.ie/">Daniel Jacobson</a>. Jacobson is founder of <a href="http://www.diatribe.ie/">Diatribe Records</a> and the curator of its <a href="http://shop.diatribe.ie/album/tronix-series">Tronix Series</a>, which aims "to encourage electronic music makers and composers to collaborate in unusual ways".<br />
That collaborative approach between contrasting influences is reflected in his pedigree-not just a producer but a jazz musician and a member of numerous groups. It's also reflected in works like 2007's <i><a href="http://shop.diatribe.ie/album/zoid-versus-the-jazz-musicians-of-ireland-vol-1">ZoiD Versus The Jazz Musicians Of Ireland</a></i>.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=18746474/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://boyscoutaudio.bandcamp.com/album/lyphyz-drumpdrops">Lyphyz Drumpdrops by ZoiD</a></iframe>
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As such it's not surprising that his latest EP doesn't really stick to any one style or approach. Opener 'jazzfishegg3' alternates between airy melodies, abrasive, jittery sound FX and subtly shifting rhythms in that early-90s IDM vein. 'East Berlin 1966' retains a certain percussive harshness but is less busy tempo-wise, slowly unfurling from an atmospheric guitar-picked intro into expansive mood music. The brass-infused 'Richman's Folly' has the air of a noble, somewhat mournful marching band. 'Rye' then takes another sharp left-turn; giddy 8-bit-tinged electronics complete with malfunctioning breakdown. Remixes are provided by Eomac and Blipper.<br />
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Also recommended is this live set recorded at the Workmans Club - ZoiD joined by Bill Blackmore on trumpet and Chris Engel on alto sax.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F95539319" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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A track from the <i>Lyphyz Drumpdrops </i>EP<i> </i>as well as a couple of Boy Scout Audio labelmates feature on the first Electric Whipcrack podcast which is streaming on Mixcloud, incidentally.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="480" src="//www.mixcloud.com/widget/iframe/?feed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mixcloud.com%2Felecwhipcrack%2Felectricwhipcrack-podcast-1%2F&embed_uuid=43845418-73c8-46ea-ac7e-d7a690a30577&stylecolor=&embed_type=widget_standard" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/elecwhipcrack/electricwhipcrack-podcast-1/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=resource_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Electricwhipcrack Podcast #1</a> by <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/elecwhipcrack/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=profile_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Elecwhipcrack</a> on <a href="http://www.mixcloud.com/?utm_source=widget&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=base_links&utm_term=homepage_link" style="color: #02a0c7; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"> Mixcloud</a></div>
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Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-61467614125080789662013-07-08T08:58:00.000+01:002013-07-08T08:58:46.709+01:00recommended - The Last Sound - Rainbow Xplode <b>The Last Sound </b>- <i>Rainbow Xplode </i>(Osaka)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qcVioMeuqbA/UdjYSGTh-lI/AAAAAAAABR4/NFAHMI7zrKU/s1600/a2742359805_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qcVioMeuqbA/UdjYSGTh-lI/AAAAAAAABR4/NFAHMI7zrKU/s320/a2742359805_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The artwork and title of <a href="http://www.thelastsound.com/">The Last Sound</a>'s newest release seems to lay its aesthetic cards on the table pretty emphatically: bright bursts of kaleidoscopic colour combined with a hazy filter effect; human figures foregrounded but with their features obscured (indeed there's a definite Boards Of Canada vibe to the cover art). As a pointer to the sounds contained within it's both apt and possibly misleading: Instagram'd chillwave nostalgia is not quite their game; instead, trying to sum up their spectrum of sounds is to risk sounding like an over-excitable NME scribe. Think an invigorating mix of shoegaze, psychedelic pop, krautrock, komische, prog and 80s-new-wave elements. Think of the vaporous, fleeting beauty of the titular optical phenomenon.<br />
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Barry Murphy, who more or less is The Last Sound (with drummer Bryan O' Connell a recurring contributor) and has been for over a decade now, has <a href="http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2013/06/interview-the-last-sound/">spoken of</a> the markedly pop influence permeating <i>Rainbow Xplode;</i> but the album's accessibility is tempered by multilayered song structures and a certain austere undertow (evident in the mantra-like quality of some of the vocals). Lilting, buoyant lead single 'Sun Forever' has a melancholic and bittersweet quality to it (<i>"sun gone forever"</i>), while the chanted vocals on its coda seem to come from a celestial place. Transcendence is a recurring theme.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/66071015" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/66071015">The Last Sound: Sun Forever</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/osaka">Osaka Records</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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A defining characteristic of the album is the way song structures tend to part and allow intense, dazzling bursts of light in. It's a trick repeated on 'Into Something', 'Three Rock' and 'Brighter', but it's kept fresh by the varying, labyrinthine ways that its set up - 'Three Rock' in particular moves through a succession of clever sections and sub-sections, its rhythm and instrumentation constantly shifting. 'Into Something''s fleet-footed synth pulse, meanwhile, builds momentum to such an extent that it hurtles into the climactic chorus like a train derailing.<br />
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Towards the latter stages of the album, things take on a more heads-down quality, with an increased focus on sustaining a groove rather than pulling the rug out from under it. The shimmering 'Motorik Pain' slows the laser-guided flight-path of something like Primal Scream's 'Shoot Speed/Kill Light', giving the track an impression of mirage-like stasis and irresistible motion at the same time. <br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3331915705/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/notracklist=true/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 470px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://osakarecordings.bandcamp.com/album/rainbow-xplode">Rainbow Xplode by The Last Sound</a></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-83365409475018115032013-04-22T23:04:00.000+01:002013-04-22T23:04:14.555+01:00video - Sean Mac Erlaine & Donal Dineen<br />
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A few weeks back, musician/composer <a href="http://www.seanmacerlaine.com/">Sean Mac Erlaine</a> and DJ/broadcaster <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DonalDineen">Donal Dineen</a> held a collaborative gig in Galway's Nuns Island Theatre. A 'circular dialogue' between Mac Erlaine's improvised woodwind and electronics and Dineen's similarly experimental visuals, it was an absorbing and immersive performance from a duo who have built up an obvious rapport.<br />
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Nuns Island is a small, unfortunately under-utilised venue (Ten Past Seven & Laura Sheeran being the last gig I can recall attending in there) that lends itself to an attentive, music-as-art-as-opposed-to-drinking-soundtrack environment. On the night, there was an informal vibe to proceedings, with Dineen and Mac Erlaine alternating between their engaging soundscapes and visuals on the one hand, and periods of discussion/informal chat on the other (with audience questions encouraged). Dineen explained this all-round approach as (roughly paraphrasing here) a way of presenting a radio-type format within a new context. It was interesting to hear the duo hold forth on a range of topics, explaining the significance of their recent Sligo show - as the nearby scenery had inspired much of Mac Erlaine's most recent album <i><a href="http://ergodos.bandcamp.com/album/long-after-the-music-is-gone">Long After The Music Is Gone</a></i>.<br />
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Mac Erlaine's clarinet playing was spare and measured, expressive at times but at other times stepping back to allow burbling electronics and hypnotic music-box motifs set the mood. One piece had a subaquatic feel, textural waves lapping back and forth. Mac Erlaine would later discuss his predilection for improv, but the natural, intuitive tone of his compositions would have spoken for him regardless.<br />
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The video above isn't taken from the Galway show, but from a set in and around the same time period, in Dublin's Smock Alley Theatre; '<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Recorded March 17th for Saint Patrick's Festival 2013'.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Sean Mac Erlaine's <i>Long After The Music Is Gone </i>was released last year and is recommended.</span><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=274063602/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://ergodos.bandcamp.com/track/amhra-n-na-leabhar">Amhrán Na Leabhar by Seán Mac Erlaine</a></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-57991830880497034732013-04-16T14:06:00.000+01:002013-04-16T14:06:23.574+01:00Rural Savage / Edward Jecky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NZv6v4sMxbY/UW1KBSepuBI/AAAAAAAABRI/S-dyXH-BxX4/s1600/rural.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NZv6v4sMxbY/UW1KBSepuBI/AAAAAAAABRI/S-dyXH-BxX4/s320/rural.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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Donegal/Galway trio Rural Savage's raucous garage racket is infused with a surreal oddball streak that's reminiscent of Irish eccentrics like Jinx Lennon or Sultans Of Ping. It's not so much the music - which ranges from punk pop (with the emphasis on punk) to frenetic hardcore-tinged numbers to weird little vignettes - but more the parochial lyrical asides and general air of snotty outsider irreverence. "Sniggering dullards adrift on tides of their own psychic sewage", as the bio goes.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=3169623182/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://ruralsavage.bandcamp.com/track/dada-taranta">Dada Taranta by Rural Savage</a></iframe><br />
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Debut album <i>I Fell In The Bog And Saw God </i>was released last year and went some way - if not all the way - towards capturing the wild, feral energy of their live shows. Tracks like 'College Drop Out' and 'Alcohol' crackle with livewire energy; fuzz-guitar riffs and unhinged punk vocals backed by a deceptively tight rhythm section. The trio covered some range as well: lowering the tempo on the sneering psych-garage mongrel 'Donegal Acid' and the carnival waltz of 'Righteous Hand of Critical Fury', pushing it right back up with the blistering one-two of 'Dada Taranta' and 'Straight To Hell'.<br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/TbZSqGYw_eM/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/TbZSqGYw_eM&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/TbZSqGYw_eM&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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The odd misstep came with tracks that resembled bland indie-by-numbers ('Skrag Heap') or experiments gone awry ('Male Pattern Blandness'); on the other hand a couple of tracks (including 'Skrag Heap' if my memory isn't letting me down) don't really do justice to their live incarnations: most recently the band played a superb set at Squarehead and So Cow's pre-SXSW Galway gig, one that included some impressive-sounding new material.<br />
Frontman Farren (or Edward Jecky as his moniker may well be) clearly puts thought into his lyrical approach (see this very interesting interview-type <a href="http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/03/rural-savage-top-5/">article</a>) and it's evident in tracks like the closing number 'Irish Childhood Hex', a sort of gonzo culchie confessional.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=473974339/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://ruralsavage.bandcamp.com/track/irish-childhood-hex">Irish Childhood Hex by Rural Savage</a></iframe><br />
Farren has also recently released a solo album of sorts under the aforementioned Edward Jecky moniker, <i>Relax Lads It's Alright. </i>Not a million miles from Rural Savage aesthetic-wise; there are still elements of punk, surf and garage in the mix but a fair few of the tracks feel a bit more sketch-like and rough-around-the-edges. Indeed a couple see him singing in ragged style over blatantly familiar riffs ('Save Me Lord', 'Bad Man Race Car'). As such it feels like more of a mixtape vibe, with the songwriter throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. The more velcro-like highlights include 'Back to the Aztecs' and 'Saturday Night Fever', the latter of which is a surprisingly pensive number with unnamed female backing vocals. 'Send Me To My Grave', meanwhile, has a sort of spacey, spaghetti-western vibe to it, and 'Tender Terry Feckless' is 'Good Morning, Captain' for bogmen.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=853637360/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://ruralsavage.bandcamp.com/track/send-me-to-my-grave">Send Me To My Grave by Rural Savage</a></iframe>
Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-2952845470748739892013-04-14T23:25:00.000+01:002013-04-14T23:25:42.696+01:00recommended: Keysound Recordings presents...This Is How We Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CqeBh88ySdk/UWso-YNxqvI/AAAAAAAABQ4/S51ROIKJwM4/s1600/ThisIsHowWeRoll-Artwork_zps2b5247b9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CqeBh88ySdk/UWso-YNxqvI/AAAAAAAABQ4/S51ROIKJwM4/s320/ThisIsHowWeRoll-Artwork_zps2b5247b9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dusk & Blackdown's monthly Rinsefm <a href="http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.ie/2012/12/rinse-fm-keysound-christmas-2012-special.html">show </a>has been in a class of its own of late. Reflecting the tastes and enthusiasms of the titular production duo (one of whom, Martin Clark, used to write a dubstep <a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/grime-dubstep/7901-grime-dubstep/">column</a> for Pitchfork and is prone to the odd insightful <a href="http://www.factmag.com/2012/04/27/end-of-the-road-the-rise-of-road-rap-and-the-uncertain-future-of-the-hardcore-continuum/">thinkpiece</a>), it's become a vital nexus for a fertile movement-of-sorts that's characterised by 130bpm tempos and a deep, dark mutation of elements from grime, dubstep and UK funky. In recent months, the duo's <a href="http://www.discogs.com/label/Keysound%20Recordings">Keysound</a> label have released a couple of superb EP's in Wen's <i>Commotion</i> and Beneath's <i>Illusions, </i>while the Dusk & Blackdown <a href="http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.ie/2012/12/rinse-fm-keysound-christmas-2012-special.html">Christmas special</a> showcased a number of affiliated and/or kindred spirit producers.<br />
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As a compilation, <i>This Is How We Roll</i> does a pretty thrilling job of pulling the various Keysound strands together. 'New Wave' is an entirely appropriate opener: a joint effort between Visionist, Wen and Beneath, it was actually composed especially for the radio show that's bigged them up for the last <a href="http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.ie/2012/07/wen-whats-all-commotion-about.html">year or so</a>. Beneath's own 'PVO' combines throbbing, punishing sub-bass with the kind of busy percussion that characterised Cooly G's recent album; Wen's 'Commotion VIP' and Epoch's 'The Steppenwolf' both point to an audible grime influence, the former all cavernous low-end and clipped vocal snatches, the latter alternating bass wobble with an insidious string-like hook. The LHF crew (who supplied last year's <i>Keepers Of The Light </i>album as well as sundry pirate-radio-influenced <a href="http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=237898">mixes</a> over the last few years) are represented by the murky, intricate and streetwise rhythms of Double Helix's 'LDN VIP', while Mumdance and Logos' pulsating backwards track 'In Reverse' hits on a compelling midway point between motion and stasis.<br />
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The brighter, more garage-y side of Dusk & Blackdown/Keysound is repped by the duo's 'Lonely Moon (Android Heartbreak Drumz remix)', while E.m.m.a.'s 'Peridot' recalls the off-kilter, off-colour synths of Ikonika, albeit more ornate (or baroque even).<br />
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The whole vibe around Keysound at the moment is inspiring. The label may have been around for a few years now but it's got an unmistakeable sense of purpose and vitality about it right now, one that reflects its owners' insatiable appetite for new sounds and new hybrids.<br />
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Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-5118671696916971552013-03-28T20:51:00.000+00:002013-03-28T20:51:17.440+00:00(farcically late) best (irish) albums of 2012 <b id="internal-source-marker_0.8784863397013396"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1 - </span>Twomilliondays<span style="font-weight: normal;"> -<i> twomilliondays</i> </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Can’t really praise this album enough. Too lazy to re-write so here’s the archived review I wrote back last ….April? :</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="http://iheartau.com/2012/04/twomilliondays-twomilliondays/">http://iheartau.com/2012/04/twomilliondays-twomilliondays/</a><br />
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And here's an informal interview-type thing with a bit of background/context from the musician behind the album:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">"I'm not sure what to say really as regards concept.. i mean there is a narrative in the album somewhere but it's hard for me to articulate...i did intentionally start the album with 'float' and end with 'submerge' as i felt it needed to be encompassed somehow.. like a rite of passage when listening or something.. i like the idea of creating work that a listener can sit with from start to finish and get drawn into..there have been albums down through the years that left an impact on me for the way they opened and closed succinctly like a good book...like massive attacks 'mezzanine' or my bloody valentines 'loveless' or can's 'cannibalism' or albums by bands like slint and godspeed you black emperor.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">I've used banjos,accordions, flutes, guitars, kits, synths... the works... i enjoy having the freedom to not be labelled, track 2 ('Bouazizi') for example is largely composed of banjos and a xylophone.. so whilst its unorthodox for electronic music, i still wanted to experiment with the notion of using unorthodox combinations of sounds and find a way for it to work.. and i felt happy about the results...i do consciously think about what i'm looking to do when starting to record a track... i'll get inspired from some sound i come across and then want to explore it further and see what i can do with it..</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">all of the work was created between january 2011 and january 2012.. i had difficulty choosing how to put it all together.. i had been building up work and ideas...sound samples and grooves for years and years and i never gave any conscious thought or intention to releasing it... i've just always been creative and worked with sound as hobby.. "</span><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=3250392480/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://twomilliondays.bandcamp.com/track/solfeggio">Solfeggio by Twomilliondays</a></iframe>
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2 - <b>Katie Kim</b> - <i>Cover & Flood </i>(Flaming June)<br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.8784863397013396" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An unsettling, fog-like ambience pervades double LP <i>Cover & Flood</i>, lending coherence to its stylistic turns - whether it’s the witching-hour folk of ‘Charlie’ and ‘The Feast’, the disarming balladry of ‘Pause’ and ‘Your Mountains’, or the enticingly short sketches and tape loops that tie the record’s narrative together. While she can be devastating when at her most direct, large stretches of <i>Cover & Flood</i> are absorbingly out-of-focus, painting illusory images; vocals sound eerily dislocated one minute,innocent and almost child-like the next. Shades of Ghost Box-esque experimentalism or Grouper’s hollowed-out beauty are evident, while elsewhere there are gospel flourishes (‘Dimmer’) and brittle, industrial-tinged atmospherics (‘Little Dragon’). Arguably the best moment is ‘Blood Bean’, its hushed vocals and sparse-but-detailed arrangement (distant echoing voices, found sound, gentle harmonies) sounding both soothing and vaguely sinister.</span></b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=499906563/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://katiekim.bandcamp.com/track/blood-bean">BLOOD BEAN by Katie Kim</a></iframe>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 - Soil Creep - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Small Death </b>(Long Lost)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The latest project from Aidan Wall - who’s previously been behind the below-fi folk of Porn On Vinyl and the manic, harsh chiptune sounds of Hipster Youth - Soil Creep are pretty unique-sounding. With a fuller, beefier sound than either of those two aforementioned acts, for the most part </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Small Death</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sounds like a frayed, sparking middle-ground between scruffy lo-fi noise pop, rickety 4/4 rhythms, new wave touches and odd, hollowed-out anti-ballads: all chucked into an echo-chamber blender. The hooks are strong too, whether on the yodelling ‘Whitethorn’ or the breezy ‘(Deaf In Venice’); ‘Where (n) Meets Infinity’, meanwhile, is in a league all of its own, its squalling first act giving way to a trippy, viscous groove via a high-pitched music-box-like motif.</span></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1373741899/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://longlostrecords.bandcamp.com/track/deaf-in-venice">(Deaf In Venice) by Soil Creep</a></iframe><br />
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4 - <b>Mumblin' Deaf Ro</b> - <i>Dictionary Crimes </i> (Popical Island)<br />
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Cut-and-paste from the <a href="http://iheartau.com/2012/10/mumblin-deaf-ro-dictionary-crimes/">review</a>...</div>
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<b>Family is the overriding theme of <em>Dictionary Crimes</em> – both the family you’re born into and the family you create. And as suggested by its artwork, the album doesn’t shy away from dark subject matter such as grief and sickness: ‘Little Mite’ depicts a couple who have suffered a miscarriage, while ‘The Harm’ and ‘The Birdcage’ portray the ravages of terminal illness.</b></div>
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<b>However, while much talk has centred on the undoubtedly heavy lyrical themes, <i>Dictionary Crimes</i> doesn’t <em>feel</em> like a heavy album. There’s a sense of balance brought about by Hession’s depictions of fatherhood and family life (‘Cheer Up Charlie Brown’, ‘Being Bill Cosby’) with its routines, its small victories and its 'bullseye-certain' sense of purpose.</b></div>
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<span style="color: #191919; font-family: Quattrocento Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b><a href="http://iheartau.com/2012/10/mumblin-deaf-ro-dictionary-crimes/">http://iheartau.com/2012/10/mumblin-deaf-ro-dictionary-crimes/</a></b></span></span></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=3232297401/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://mumblindeafro.bandcamp.com/track/sister-ill-better-now">Sister Ill, Better Now by Mumblin Deaf Ro</a></iframe>
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5 - <b>Laura Sheeran</b> - <i>What The World Knows </i>(Flaming June)<br />
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<a href="http://www.state.ie/features/laura-sheeran-interview">C&P</a> :<br />
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US">“I cried all day and I didn’t even get a kiss”</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> is the arresting opening line on <i>What
The World Knows</i>, but the album wastes no time in forcefully grabbing your
attention. From the off, the sound palette recalls the ominous, malevolent
textures that characterised <i>Lust Of Pig</i> standout ‘A Wake’. The opening
title track and ‘Redlight’ are all guttural, juddering electronics and seething
melodrama; the sinister feel of the latter further heightened by a dispassionate,
robotic-sounding vocal. Which is an interesting inversion: on previous records
Sheeran’s vocals have stood out as a turbulent, elemental force, whereas on the
early stages of this album the dramatic instrumental backdrop is as much an
indicator of inner turmoil - if not more so.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: GA;"><b>It doesn’t quite retain that
sort of intensity throughout though - indeed, this is the musician’s most
varied record yet. ‘Forever Love’ is possibly the best thing she’s done: a low,
hypnotic drone and a quietly insistent rhythmic heartbeat framing a superbly
measured vocal performance. Meanwhile, Sheeran’s impeccable
ability to conjure mysterious imagery in your mind’s eye is as evident as
ever on tracks like ‘Until Danger’s Gone’ and the ornate, classically-tinged ‘Hurricane’.</b></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tx1IUAQGfto" width="560"></iframe><br />
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6 - <b>Christian Bookshop</b> - <i>Christian Bookshop</i><br />
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Recorded in a pantry in Belmullet, Mayo over a two-week period, Christian Bookshop is the work of Jimmy Monaghan (Music For Dead Birds) and Aisling Walsh, dealing in charmingly bedraggled lo-fi folk. The duo's vocals complement and dovetail with each other nicely, lending tracks like 'Singin' Freebird' and 'Waste My Time (Thinking Of You)' an irreverent energy, one that situates the record far from folk miserabilism or over-earnestness. As do the frequently self-deprecating lyrics ("<span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">The world don't need another folk singer now,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">And I am just one more the world can do without, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">But it's all that I can do to keep my mind from turning blue, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #363636; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">And actually it's all that I can do.") </span><br />
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'Penitentiary' mines the same vein of spiky Sebadoh-isms that were a characteristic of the last Music For Dead Birds album, while the campfire anthemics of 'Waste My Time (Bluebirds)' stays on just the right side of tweeness. All this isn't to say the record lacks an emotional undertow though: Walsh's vocals are used more sparingly than Monaghan's, but her subtle harmonising is a pivotal feature of the excellent closing brace of tracks - 'Sleeping In Bars' and 'A Million Stars (These Kids)' - both of which add a layer of wistful melancholy to proceedings.</div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2401986004/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://christianbookshop.bandcamp.com/track/sleeping-in-bars">Sleeping In Bars by Christian Bookshop</a></iframe>
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7 -<b> Eomac</b> - <i>Tabula Rasa</i><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1991255722/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://eomac.bandcamp.com/track/we-are-all-going-to-die">We are all going to die by Eomac</a></iframe>
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8 - <b>Sweeekers</b> - <i>Sweeekers Vol. 1 </i><br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F71267921" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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9 - <b>Rural Savage</b> - <i>I Fell In The Bog And Saw God </i><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=3169623182/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://ruralsavage.bandcamp.com/track/dada-taranta">Dada Taranta by Rural Savage</a></iframe><br />
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<b>10 - Lethal Dialect </b>- <i>LD50 Part II </i>(Working Class)<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2992635273/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://lethaldialect.bandcamp.com/track/keep-it-real">Keep It Real by Lethal Dialect</a></iframe>
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11 - <b>Simon Bird</b> - <i>Sport </i><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=626525119/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://simonbird.bandcamp.com/track/she-poisoned-those-boys">She Poisoned Those Boys by Simon Bird</a></iframe>
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12 - <b>Sean MacErlaine</b> - <i>Long After The Music Is Gone </i>(Ergodos)<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2167601002/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://ergodos.bandcamp.com/track/truskmore">Truskmore by Seán Mac Erlaine</a></iframe>
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13 - <b>KaraKara</b> - <i>Bully </i><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=102003190/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://karakara.bandcamp.com/album/bully">Bully by KaraKara</a></iframe>
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14 - <b>Katie Kim</b> - <i>Vaults Vol.1 </i><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=839215367/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://katiekim.bandcamp.com/track/i-make-sparks">I Make Sparks by Katie Kim</a></iframe>
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15 - <b>Skelocrats </b>- <i>The Complete Skelocrats </i>(Popical Island)<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2713448653/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://skelocrats.bandcamp.com/track/i-keep-my-load-light">I Keep My Load Light by Skelocrats</a></iframe>
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16 - <b>Seamus Fogarty - </b><i>God Damn You Mountain </i>(Fence Records)<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F45795056" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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17 - <b>Dancing Suns </b>- <i>Goldmine </i> (Transplant)<br />
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18 - <b>Woven Skull</b> - <i>Moods Of The Hill People </i>(Fort Evil Fruit)<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=495453477/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://wovenskull.bandcamp.com/track/owenygat">Owenygat by Woven Skull</a></iframe><br />
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<b><br /></b><b style="font-weight: bold;">19 - Bantum</b><b> - </b><i>Legion </i><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>(Eleven Eleven)<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=984862886/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://elevenelevenlabel.bandcamp.com/track/dice">Dice by Bantum</a></iframe><br />
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<b>20 - Last Days Of 1984</b> - <i>Wake Up To The Waves </i>(Osaka)<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1927501623/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://lastdaysof1984.bandcamp.com/track/kismat">Kismat by LAST DAYS OF 1984</a></iframe>
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Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-10198084574340528812013-02-21T12:07:00.000+00:002013-02-21T12:42:37.688+00:00best (irish) EPs of 2012<br />
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1 - <b>Lakker</b> - <i>Torann</i> (Blueprint)<br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.5491550331935287" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2012 was a strong year for duo Ian McDonnell (aka Eomac) and Dara Smith; having released three EPs, contributed a mix to Rob Booth’s <a href="http://electronicexplorations.org/?show=lakker">Electronic Explorations</a> series and added to their ever-growing list of admirers (‘Spider Silk’ sounding right at home in Blawan’s blistering <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUOlLkVfjDE">Boiler Room</a> set). The superb </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Torann</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> EP shares a few common touches with the latter producer; dealing in twisted, warped techno with deceptive off-kilter rhythms, sinister disembodied vocals and chainsaw-like serrated edges. It’s excellence all the way, but particular standouts are provided by ‘CIAR’’s sonar-ping percussion and vortex-like gravitational pull, or the interplay between the eerily harmonising voices and low-end tones on ‘Static & Amp’.</span></b><br />
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2 - <b>Lar Kaye</b> - <i>Lar Kaye </i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--0cSgWVEieg/USXfOmIeUpI/AAAAAAAABBI/sUjlenB0IJI/s1600/larkaye.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--0cSgWVEieg/USXfOmIeUpI/AAAAAAAABBI/sUjlenB0IJI/s320/larkaye.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.5491550331935287" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s tempting to view Adebisi Shank’s output (particularly the kaleidoscopic patterns of their second album) as sort of a more guitar-oriented parallel to the electronic </span><a href="http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/8721-maximal-nation/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">maximalism</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of recent years: indeed, it becomes even more tempting when you read through Simon Reynolds’ article and note his mention of the influence of anime and manga on Rustie’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glass Swords</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or if you consider the band as the inverse to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“rock music achieved electronically”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The tempos may have been more frenetic and moshpit-friendly, but there was definite common ground in terms of the interest in primary colours, anything-goes genre-blending and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“thrilling overkill”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lar Kaye’s debut EP sees the Adebisi guitarist blur the lines further with a sound that’s even more electronically-based and encompasses subtle R&B or ‘bass’ music elements as well as those familiar-sounding stuttering gameboy rhythms. There’s a lot going on in each track, but the balance between elements is exquisite. ‘Echo Island’’s vocoder babble, steadily pulsing rhythm and exotic-sounding (marimba?) melodies give way to a rousing chorus-not-chorus; ‘Crash’ alternates between chiptune chatter and an ambient post-rock vibe; ‘Effector’ glides along so irresistibly that its easy to overlook just how much its elements keep shifting and refracting. Then there’s sublime closing track ‘The Love Loop’, which sounds like a blissed-out, heavily narcotised Foals track; a treated guitar line and vocal hook matching each other for melancholy while cut-up harmonies, warm bass and sporadic arpeggios complete the picture.</span></b><br />
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3 - <b>Ilex</b> - <i>MV101</i> (Quarter Inch Collective)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0KaZw2elM4/USXsok3m0pI/AAAAAAAABCs/9gylmrQb4Ss/s1600/ilex.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b0KaZw2elM4/USXsok3m0pI/AAAAAAAABCs/9gylmrQb4Ss/s320/ilex.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.5491550331935287" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After 2011’s exhaustive </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Old Din</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> compilation came this EP, a welcome development of her richly layered electronic sound. Ilex has the knack of creating tracks that seem familiar and almost vintage-sounding, but nonetheless come across as fresh and adventurous. ‘Bi’ unfurls patiently with sonorous steelpan tones before giving way to ‘Jing’’s hypnotic down-tempo pulse. ‘Li’ goes for a brisker tempo but remains light as a feather, all elegant tendrils and chimes. By contrast, the outstanding ‘Takuo’ is dark and compelling; starting off sparse and ominous and gradually building in intensity before it becomes an unrelenting, churning track that seems to peak any number of times. </span></b><br />
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4 - <b>No Spill Blood</b> - <i>Street Meat </i>(Sargent House)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7I15JGHo1TQ/USX5QylsFAI/AAAAAAAABDk/jgmjGep6bYU/s1600/streetmeat.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7I15JGHo1TQ/USX5QylsFAI/AAAAAAAABDk/jgmjGep6bYU/s320/streetmeat.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.0517000372055918" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lar Kaye (Adebisi Shank), Matt Hedigan (Hands Up Who Wants To Die) and Ruadhan O' Meara (Magic Pockets) had been receiving rave notices for their live shows as No Spill Blood for some time before they released their debut EP, and the record - picked up by Sargent House (Fang Island, And So I Watch You From Afar, Boris) lived up to expectations. A fuzzed-out, unrelenting synth-punk wall of sound, <i>Street Meat</i> showcases the trio’s unique alchemy - nodding to prog, post-hardcore, Goblin soundtracks, krautrock, or The Clash ('Good Company' is 'What's My Name' with space-rock guitars set to stun).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O’ Meara’s analog synths combine with Hedigan’s bass to create a sludgy low-end miasma; the former add compelling dystopian textures, while the latter locks in with Kaye’s drumming to propel these larger-than-life, no-prisoners-taken tracks. On top of that - or rather thrown into the mix - are Hedigan’s distorted vocals relaying an (apparently) apocalyptic narrative based around coal mining. </span></b><br />
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5 - <b>Defcon</b> -<i> In Binary Shrines </i>(Reset Industries)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g6LmM6BdjOI/USX7ACTqG2I/AAAAAAAABEA/E-wX9E0tkGs/s1600/defcon.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g6LmM6BdjOI/USX7ACTqG2I/AAAAAAAABEA/E-wX9E0tkGs/s320/defcon.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first release on Belfast’s <a href="http://www.reset-industries.com/">Reset</a> label (of which he’s a member along with Kab Driver, Brian Greene and Kaidi Tatham), <i>In Binary Shrines</i> is a dazzling mini-album of instrumental beat music along the lines of Teebs, Shigeto or Tokimonsta. The sci-fi influence and cosmic FX that permeate these tracks only strengthens the sense of kinship with Brainfeeder et al; along with the sporadically imposing low-end, it provides a nice counterbalance to the record’s frequently hazy textures and laid-back tempos. As is often the case with music like this, the tracks tend to bleed into each other almost seamlessly (and in the best possible sense), but the title track and ‘FM 2030’ are definite highlights. Highly recommended if you’re into the more beats-oriented sections of </span><a href="http://www.sonicrouter.com/2012/07/podcast-bleep-com-x-sonic-router-017/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oli’s Bleep x Sonic Router podcasts</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. For example like.</span></b><br />
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6 - <b>Yawning Chasm</b> - <i>3 </i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4feSJV_BIg/USX75F7kxDI/AAAAAAAABEo/i4wEgDIhvMM/s1600/yawnin3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4feSJV_BIg/USX75F7kxDI/AAAAAAAABEo/i4wEgDIhvMM/s320/yawnin3.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A busy year for Yawning Chasm saw them take on a few different forms: the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whispered Sun </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Butterfly and Crab</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> EPs saw them recording as a duo, Declan Q Kelly joining Aaron Coyne and helping to put a new spin on his lo-fi folk compositions; they were later joined by Jimmy Monaghan (Music For Dead Birds) on drums for live sets, but their third EP release of 2012 was a more stripped-back affair - just Coyne on his own, accompanied by baritone ukulele and gently melodic keys. The feel and aesthetic of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is strongly reminiscent of 2009’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Shadow Is That Hidden</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, with the chimingly wistful ‘Little Pier’ coming across like a sequel-of-sorts to ‘Monsters’; ‘When My Mind Sounds, It Is A Screaming Bird’, meanwhile, is mellow but builds to a subtle climax. It’s Coyne at his most serene and laid-back.</span></b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2659693161/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://yawningchasm.bandcamp.com/track/02-little-pier">02 Little Pier by Yawning Chasm</a></iframe>
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7 - <b>Flying Buttresses </b>- <i>Orson Welles EP </i>(WingNut Records)<br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rapper Sebi C and DJ/producer/Community Skratch founder member Deviant had been working together in various incarnations for some time, but this marked their first collection of songs to be released. Sebi’s idiosyncratic stream-of-consciousness - by turns surreal and sardonic, with a knack for arresting turns-of-phrase - is perfectly complemented by Deviant’s mix of experimental hip hop, dusty piano interludes and off-kilter beats. With many of the tracks coming in at one or two minutes long, there’s a real feel of spontaneity and a sense that they’re jamming out ideas as they go along, to impressive effect. Instrumental versions of all the tracks are part of the package, while Mynameisjohn and Sixfoot Apprentice contribute a couple of solid remixes. </span></b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2724272309/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://flyingbuttresses.bandcamp.com/track/buscemi-eyes">Buscemi eyes by Flying Buttresses</a></iframe>
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8 - <b>Lakker</b> - <i>Deathmask </i>(Love Love Records)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pmw9UOwlDlM/USX-IvhiDNI/AAAAAAAABFs/PmU18vgGLfc/s1600/deathmask.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pmw9UOwlDlM/USX-IvhiDNI/AAAAAAAABFs/PmU18vgGLfc/s320/deathmask.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lakker’s third EP to be released in 2012 saw them continue in a dark vein. ‘LF9’ and ‘Preset Numb’ are insistent, chilly and dystopian-sounding, both tracks foregrounding high-pitched Morse code bleeps over pulsating-but-disorientated techno. Funnily enough the title track is the odd one out, its airy tones reminiscent of Aphex’ lighter side (eg ‘Fingerbib’), but (digital) closer ‘Default Numb’ takes its ‘Preset’ counterpart to even more shadowy and dread-infused depths.</span></b><br />
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9 - <b>Mynameisjohn</b> - <i>The Thinker & The Prover</i> / <i>The Focusing Effect</i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8fhBpo1aERI/USX_fywUrTI/AAAAAAAABF4/-cmbw94QzYY/s1600/thinker.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8fhBpo1aERI/USX_fywUrTI/AAAAAAAABF4/-cmbw94QzYY/s320/thinker.jpg" /></a>
Included two EPs here because (a) they're pretty much neck and neck , and (b) I realised forgot to include the latter when I completed the list blurbs.<br />
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The two EPs that Limerick-born producer Mynameisjohn released in 2012 were as unpredictable and all-over-the-map stylistically as his <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mynameisjohn/winfluences-mix-by">frequent</a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mynameisjohn/binfluences-mix-by">mixes</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Thinker & the Prover</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ranges from zoned-out hip hop (‘The Cumulative Recorder’) to evocative ivory-tinkling soundtrack vibes (‘Sweaty Dreams of Bate Kush’) to the mournful sounding string-laden beats of ‘She Always Let Me Leave’, but threaded through it all is a sense of fun and irreverence and an ear for spacious, jazzy textures.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile <i>The Focusing Effect</i> features this beaut of a track:</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=3766388365/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://stressdebtchestpains.bandcamp.com/track/los-chicos-del-barrio-ft-towanda-sasa">Los Chicos Del Barrio ft. Towanda Sasa by mynameisjOhn</a></iframe>
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10 - <b>The Gloaming </b>- <i>Live In Dublin</i><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DGwBxsBnjZE/USYAnEr230I/AAAAAAAABGw/HYveh0uPCfg/s1600/gloaming.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DGwBxsBnjZE/USYAnEr230I/AAAAAAAABGw/HYveh0uPCfg/s320/gloaming.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With an album due in 2013, this excerpt from a live set - made available for <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/theticket/thegloaming/">free download</a> - showcases the rich, enthralling, intuitive sound of the five-man ‘supergroup’ of sorts. As Niall Crumlish put it in his </span><a href="http://www.state.ie/live-reviews/the-gloaming-dublin"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">State review</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Gloaming are “acting as a Rosetta stone for people...who know little or nothing </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">about Irish traditional music”, re-affirming our island’s rich musical heritage at a time when it seems there’s few other things to be proud of. By turns melancholic and rousing, alternately sparse and busy, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Live In Dublin</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s exquisite musicianship is inspiring; its pacing masterful.</span></b><br />
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11 - <b>Monto</b> - <i>Best Boy</i> (Melted Music)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-weVZ8tGzo-A/USYBYGEUH4I/AAAAAAAABHo/ql47TTazfDY/s1600/MONTO.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-weVZ8tGzo-A/USYBYGEUH4I/AAAAAAAABHo/ql47TTazfDY/s320/MONTO.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before the release of this EP, Monto - aka Ross O’Sullivan - had been releasing a prolific stream of tunes and remixes on his Soundcloud; but whereas a lot of that material was - if technically accomplished - a little overly-familiar in its use of common bedroom electronica tropes, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Boy</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> marked a big step forward. Simultaneously sounding hyperactive and laid-back, playful and carefully measured; </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Best Boy</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s blunted, colourful hip-hop-leaning instrumentals absorb elements of jazz, chiptune and electro. ‘Homage’’s hazily insistent groove provides a canvas that Monto flecks with videogame synth snatches, sporadic warm basslines and wind-chime-like effects: the interplay of elements is absorbing and perfectly judged. ‘FTW’, with its intricate, jazzy feel nods to Brainfeeder cosmonaut Thundercat, while the virtuoso ‘Pot Luck’ manages to build some serious momentum despite its typically unpredictable compositional approach: the way the extra percussion comes in at the six-minute mark to subtly push the track over the line - to single one moment out - points to Monto’s burgeoning production skills.</span></b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=3578881644/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://monto.bandcamp.com/track/pot-luck">Pot Luck by Monto</a></iframe>
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12 - <b>Cubs</b> - <i>Willowfield </i>(Rusted Rail)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JflF9Gt6mWM/USYCLi09AJI/AAAAAAAABHw/edk52bso6RM/s1600/willow.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JflF9Gt6mWM/USYCLi09AJI/AAAAAAAABHw/edk52bso6RM/s320/willow.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The latest release from outsider-folk collective Cubs starts off with a sample of dialogue from David Lynch’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Straight Story</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which seems somehow apt: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Willowfield</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> combines the kind of eerie, surrealistic, witching-hour vibe that Lynch is famed for with the more rustic, wistful and placid atmosphere that characterised that particular film. Core members Aaron Hurley (Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon), James Rider (United Bible Studies) and Keith Wallace (Loner Deluxe) are joined by new contributors Eddie Keenan (Driftwood Manor) and Cecilia Danell - the latter’s beguiling vocal turns on ‘Lowering Of Ropes’ and ‘When Skies Split Open’ provide a nice counterpoint to the discordant textures and unsettling effects that often infuse these psych-folk sketches. The loose harmonising of ‘Hollycroft’ may allude to ‘campside fires’, but its off-kilter, creaking ambience is reminiscent of Ghost Box’s eerie soundscapes as much as parched, dusty Americana.</span></b><br />
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13 - <b>Woven Skull</b> - <i>Tenunan Tengkorak</i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ro_C5PZ0QWA/USYC69txBDI/AAAAAAAABIk/3BaXFZgiP_g/s1600/tenunan.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ro_C5PZ0QWA/USYC69txBDI/AAAAAAAABIk/3BaXFZgiP_g/s320/tenunan.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This release by the Letrim-based experimental collective features five pieces played on Balinese Gamelan, which only serves to reinforce the ritualistic, mantric feel that imbues much of their music. Slowly unwinding, these tracks revel in the rich sonorities and resonances of the gamelan: where ‘Black Stone’ feels tentative, letting the tones reverberate before rhythms slowly take shape, ‘Village Cremation’’s hypnotic, intricate patterns provide a centrepiece of sorts, while ‘Two Snakes’ has a moonlit, hallucinatory air to it.</span></b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2222498964/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://wovenskull.bandcamp.com/track/village-cremation">Village Cremation by Woven Skull</a></iframe>
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14 - <b>Girl Band</b> -<i> France 98</i> (Any Other City)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eyEQBsVRWeg/USYDjOq6WLI/AAAAAAAABIs/KWcyve67wFk/s1600/france.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eyEQBsVRWeg/USYDjOq6WLI/AAAAAAAABIs/KWcyve67wFk/s320/france.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While on paper Girl Band seem to all intents and purposes to be a throwback (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bleach</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-era Nirvana and Jesus Lizard are cited as influences, not that you’d struggle to identify that), the visceral, raw sound that they’ve created on </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">France 98</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (and on the ‘In My Head’ single before that) is absorbing enough to stand on its own terms. Shifting between tempos and moods, their mastery of dynamics remains constant. ‘You’re A Dog’ takes a classicist riff and amps the fuzz; bass, percussion and insouciant vocals all bleeding into one mass. The grungy ‘That Snake Conor Cusack’ is more spacious, with Dara Kiely’s vocal drawl gleefully and repeatedly extended to snapping point. On ‘Second One’, sparks and shards of feedback leap up and rain down on a propulsive, motorik-like beat, while ‘Handswaps’ is a sludgy, lumbering Mudhoney-esque number.</span></b><br />
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15 - <b>Eomac</b> - <i>Eomac EP </i>(Acroplane )<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JJREKBis6w0/USYFS0MZI7I/AAAAAAAABJc/SQc4MugZSqo/s1600/EOMAC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JJREKBis6w0/USYFS0MZI7I/AAAAAAAABJc/SQc4MugZSqo/s320/EOMAC.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deep, disorientating and deceptive sounds from Dublin producer Ian McDonnell (one half of Lakker) . A thumping kick drum interacts with dubbed-out textures and waves of static on ‘Slide FX’, while the similarly low-end heavy ‘Apache’ features warehouse bleeps and a twisted garage flex. On the other hand, ‘Dramutic’ tips its cap to ‘Strange Fruit’-era Zomby with a side-order of weird, disembodied vocal samples. </span></b><br />
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16 - <b>Deviant</b> -<i> Lookin' Fancy In The Pantry</i> (Alphabet Set)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0qv7nhg3lfs/USYGUZEWJtI/AAAAAAAABJ4/wkknr0k1eA0/s1600/deviant.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0qv7nhg3lfs/USYGUZEWJtI/AAAAAAAABJ4/wkknr0k1eA0/s320/deviant.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gathers together five Deviant remixes completed over the summer, characterised by the same offbeat approach that’s in evidence on the Flying Buttresses EP. Danny Brown gets the treatment twice, on a slurred, slowed-right-down version of ‘Blunt after Blunt’ and an excellent rework of ‘Die Like a Rockstar’. Elsewhere Deviant takes SertOne’s ‘Breath’ and lends it a frayed, blown-out feel, trading skratch for bleeps, while ‘Get Ta Fuck/Conversation’ kills two birds with one stone (the birds being Jeee4ce and Todd Tuttle) while adding accordion to the mix. </span></b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2610678063/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://alphabetset.bandcamp.com/track/danny-brown-die-like-a-rock-star-deviants-stormin-gutter-trance-remix">Danny Brown - Die Like A Rock Star (Deviant's stormin' gutter trance remix) by Deviant</a></iframe>
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17 - <b>Wife</b> - <i>Stoic </i>(Left Blank)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8bb88tjF2g/USYH4RNpqmI/AAAAAAAABKw/ArtGKRxIbws/s1600/stoic.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8bb88tjF2g/USYH4RNpqmI/AAAAAAAABKw/ArtGKRxIbws/s320/stoic.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this debut EP on the Throwing Snow-helmed Left Blank label (following in the footsteps of excellent EPs from Bristolians Vessel and El Kid) Altar Of Plagues’ James Kelly pursues a new aesthetic. <i>Stoic</i> is characterised by deep, reverberant textures, a knack for creating quietly ominous atmosphere and creeping tension, as well as a distinctive sensibility that takes in neoclassical and ambient influences. Its submerged melancholy and spatial depth has led to the odd Burial comparison, but the almost occult-like incantations of ‘Trials’ indicates a whole other level of intensity. An album on Tri Angle will follow in 2013.</span></b><br />
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18 - <b>Niamh De Barra </b>- <i>Below The Sea </i>(Black Lantern Music)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZ1FYYZjyv0/USYKFBQa12I/AAAAAAAABMc/7qgaF8if48k/s1600/niamh.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DZ1FYYZjyv0/USYKFBQa12I/AAAAAAAABMc/7qgaF8if48k/s320/niamh.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another striking release that followed on from 2010’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cusp</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> EP, Niamh De Barra’s mix of electronic textures, beats, cello and vocal loops is absorbing on tracks like ‘The Man in the Picture’ and ‘Big Day Below The Sea’. Meanwhile, ‘Rugcutter’ re-contextualizes none other than the main vocal hook from Groove Armada’s ‘I See You Baby’; a fever-dream that mixes a sea-shanty/doom-folk vibe with metallic and abrasive electronics and an air of robotic detachment.</span></b><br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1174552891/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://niamhdebarra.bandcamp.com/track/the-man-in-the-picture">The man in the picture by Niamh de Barra</a></iframe>
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19 - <b>Ejeca</b> - <i>Boardwalk Sounds </i>(Relux Underground)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QWPkm1Wfq6M/USYEqKXMofI/AAAAAAAABI4/QA8_YPEOd-U/s1600/ejeca.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QWPkm1Wfq6M/USYEqKXMofI/AAAAAAAABI4/QA8_YPEOd-U/s320/ejeca.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Garage-loving producer Garry McCartney had a prolific year - with releases on Tusk Wax and Needwant (among others), the excellent ‘You’ collaboration with fellow Belfast duo Bicep and attention from the likes of Jackmaster and Sasha. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boardwalk Sounds</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was released early in the year and has a deep, rolling house vibe. ‘In Deep With You’’s steady pulse - overlaid with smooth vocal samples - gives way to a vintage, old-school piano-led hook at the halfway-mark; ‘The Way I Feel’ has a more swung feel to it and a catchy vocal sample, while the standout is provided by the melancholic, shimmering ‘Valleys’, with its muffled low-end throb.</span></b>
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20 - <b>Young Wonder</b> - <i>Young Wonder </i> (Feel Good Lost)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KelS7-nowrM/USYK8m13NYI/AAAAAAAABMk/_uxWw9D--YY/s1600/youngwon.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KelS7-nowrM/USYK8m13NYI/AAAAAAAABMk/_uxWw9D--YY/s320/youngwon.jpg" /></a>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.6500330539420247" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In many ways Cork duo Young Wonder are threading the kind of well-worn path that leads to rapid boredom - atmospheric synths, pitch-shifted and remix-friendly vocals, lashings of delay - but nonetheless they’ve got something that sets them apart, whether it’s their appreciation for dynamics or their way with a hook that lingers instead of evaporating into a digital ether. Nothing here quite matches up to stand-alone wonky-pop earworm ‘Lucky One’, but it’s a solid set that at its best (‘Orange’) calls to mind Purity Ring’s kaleidoscopic genre-stew.</span></b>
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2985023098/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://youngwonder.bandcamp.com/track/orange">Orange by Young Wonder</a></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-65381417241937631002012-10-25T10:48:00.001+01:002012-10-25T10:48:52.735+01:00interview - Woven Skull<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJfj2n5fwBM/UIkKxf0HifI/AAAAAAAABAI/ZIomqH9-Fas/s1600/woven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WJfj2n5fwBM/UIkKxf0HifI/AAAAAAAABAI/ZIomqH9-Fas/s320/woven.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Based in Leitrim for some time now, <a href="http://wovenskull.bandcamp.com/">Woven Skull</a> are one act that won't have to travel far for this weekend's <a href="http://huntersmoonfestival.com/">Hunters Moon</a> festival in Carrick-on-Shannon. Consisting of a core trio (but collaborative and open-ended),<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3311845927964896" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> they deal in dark, mantric, acoustic-based jam</span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">s and hypnotic ambient drones. Utilising field recordings (such as frogs mating in a pond), unorthodox instruments and above all a sense of spontaneity, the sound they create is at times wild and elemental, at other times quietly evocative and hypnotic; but always rich with possibility. </span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3311845927964896" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2012 has seen them release the excellent </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moods Of The Hill People</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> cassette on the </span><a href="http://fortevilfruit.blogspot.ie/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fort Evil Fruit </span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">label, while further releases are available on their </span><a href="http://wovenskull.bandcamp.com/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bandcamp</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> : </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tenunan Tengkorak</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - which makes prominent use of Balinese Gamelan - and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One Of Three</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the first of a three-album set; each of which will feature tracks recorded, chosen and mixed by one of the three members. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One Of Three</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is Natalia Beylis’ turn, and it’s her interviewed here ahead of the band’s appearance at the Hunters Moon festival.</span></b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i5hgEjPZcsg" width="560"></iframe>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3311845927964896" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First off, could you tell us a little about who the core members of the band are and how you came to meet/form the band? How long have you been based in Leitrim?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are three of us that form the core of Woven Skull. In our live set, that is made up of guitar (Aonghus), floor tom (Willie) and mandola (me), with other musical and not so musical objects banged around. Willie and I met half a lifetime ago playing seven inches on a jukebox in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Aonghus I've known for long enough that I can't remember how or where from anymore. We were all friends first and then the band came after. I wanted to start a band that was in my mind like a repetitive, droney, dark medieval rock band. I had this idea where I'd play the same riff for as long as possible and get other people to create sounds around that. It started there anyway. Willie and I moved to Leitrim about six years ago, and that's mostly where Woven Skull has had its music base for the three or so years of its existence.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is there an overarching theme or aesthetic with your records or a common thread that ties them together?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our aesthetic has no planning and no plan. We just get together and record and see what happens. The aesthetic that comes out in the music and recordings is just how the three of us mix together in whatever space we’re inhabiting at the time. We do have a collection of unusual junk in our music room which might sometimes influence us unbeknownst to ourselves; like cheap-o Halloween and Mardi Gras masks, pictures cut out of old National Geographics, abandoned art projects and discarded kids toys.
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2222498964/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://wovenskull.bandcamp.com/track/village-cremation">Village Cremation by Woven Skull</a></iframe>
</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Field recordings are a prominent element of your sound. Do you find your surroundings have inspired your music/sound significantly? Would you say that the recordings are uniquely of- their-place?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We spend a lot of time in the music room in our house and since our house is set in the middle of woods it means there's no isolation from nature. We might be in the middle of a track and then next thing I know one of the goats has escaped out of her field and has gotten into the house, and is in the living room munching away on some papers. Or I'll listen back to something we've recorded and in the background you can hear the cats having a scrap outside the window. Sometimes I'll go a few days and realize that aside from Willie's voice, the only other live sounds I've heard are the cows in the next field kicking off with something akin to an Albert Ayler horn section, or the drone of the cats purring as they sleep on top of my head, or the buzz of the wasps in the nest in the driveway. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The nature sounds and field recordings weren't a planned or intentional part of the band but they fit well for the moment. I just like the idea of whoever is listening to the music and sounds to be able to hear as much of the place in which they were created as possible. I'd love to travel around and record music in places as I go along. If I could do that then I'd able to look back and know for sure whether our current recordings are uniquely of their current place or if there's something else that connects them to us.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you generally approach recording? Improvisation and background ambience are obviously important. Is their much editing involved?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is forever different. We’ve recorded in the woods and in churches, by rivers and in abandoned houses. Some of the recordings have been pre-pIanned and written specifically with a release in mind. That’s the way </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Moods of the Hill People</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was done. This meant a minimal amount of time editing (which is the most boring part of it for me). Some of our recordings are improvised and then edited and mixed with other sounds I’ve recorded at different times. This is what I did with </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One Of Three</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">; I mixed music we’d recorded with nature sounds and other sounds I added to it along the way. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most often someone will have an idea and then we’ll start playing with the basic structure of the idea in mind and see where it takes us. We’ll often end up recording for several hours straight without ever coming back to the same idea. I just record everything we do and then try and get back through it all eventually. I really like playing with Woven Skull and want to keep doing it for a long time. Always mixing things up keeps the music we’re making interesting to play.
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=3047178093/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://wovenskull.bandcamp.com/track/cattlemart-crows">Cattlemart Crows by Woven Skull</a></iframe>
</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s a healthy number of experimental musicians based in Ireland who emphasise imperfection, a sense of place and physicality, unique, outside-the-box venues for gigs and performances; in many ways it’s a notable contrast to ‘clean’ digital music, or to the traditional gig circuit. Do you think that there’s a good community here in terms of musicians or acts along those lines? Do you collaborate with other musicians, or draw inspiration or influence from any?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm not originally from here and one of the things I like most of all in Ireland is the weirdness of the people I spend my time around. So much of the art, writing and music is infused with a surreal darkness twisted with humor. I love it. In terms of experimental musicians in the country, it seems to me that in Ireland, like in the States (and other places for all I know), there are different groups of experimental people. There are those that get recognized by grant-giving bodies and given well-paid gigs in museums and Arts Centres and then there's the others who congregate illegally in underground car parks and under canal bridges. I like canal bridges.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Woven Skull collaborates with everyone. If we're having band practice and you happen to call by, you'll find yourself playing a bowl of chimes into a microphone before you've even had time to pop open a beer. We want everyone in our musical family, whether they’ve ever played music before or it’s their first time. Lately we take Dave Colohan with us on all our outings. Woven Skull and Raising Holy Sparks meld really well. We’ve been really lucky to get some awesome people playing live with us over the years. </span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.3311845927964896" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With Woven Skull there’s a compelling mixture of traditional influences and more experimental tendencies. What would be your own background musically? Any particular influences that led you to your current path?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My family is Ukrainian which means my earliest music influences are the 60s Russian synth-pop of my parents’ youth and Soviet children's folk songs that my parents sang with off-key nostalgia. I don't know if there's any of that in Woven Skull but since moving to Ireland I have gotten into playing and listening to a lot of trad, and in terms of rhythms, structures and harmonies, that's in there for sure. Aonghus used to hang out in my kitchen when he was 17 or so and sometimes I'd come home to him making a shit ton of noise with pedals by the sink, so I guess he's always had those tendencies. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More than by music, it seems a lot of our influences are the sounds around us mixed with bargains to be had at charity shops and car boot sales. The majority of Willie's non-floor-tom set up has all been found and bought at the local junk market affectionately referred to by locals as “The Apocalypto Market” because it’s like a market you’d come across in that book </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Road </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: broken junk that can’t seem to have much purpose. For me, I like the things that cross my path. My neighbor - who is a blacksmith - brought me over a sheet of metal recently and that's my main inspiration at the moment. </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s next on the agenda, is there a new record on the way?</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We made a video recently which was really fun so I think we’ll probably make a few more of those before the year is out. The second two albums in the ‘One of Three’ set are almost done and we’ve got a tape coming out in the UK soon which is quite exciting! Also, we were really lucky to get to spend a few days with Jorge from Core of the Coalman and get a lot of stuff recorded with him which will eventually get waded through. We’ve also all got other musical projects on the go all the time so it means that we don’t always have all the time in the world for Woven Skull.</span></b><br />
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<b>Woven Skull play Hunters Moon festival in Carrick-on-Shannon (Oct26-28)</b>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-47960200806817777962012-05-10T00:42:00.000+01:002012-05-10T03:51:12.861+01:00A response piece to Andrew Stimpson’s ‘Alien 3 Reassessed’ article at The Quietus.<br />
<b>(In case you haven’t seen all three Alien films (there’s a fourth??) - SPOILER ALERTS!)</b><br />
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The following is a response to <a href="http://thequietus.com/articles/08736-alien-3-david-fincher-20-years-on">this article</a>.<br />
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Everyone loves a bit of revisionism, but the problem with revisionists is that they tend to lose the run of themselves and fail to see the wood for the trees, to borrow a cliche. As a divisive sequel to two massively influential and widely-regarded films, directed by a man who would later be responsible for stunning efforts like <i>Seven</i> and <i>Fight Club</i>, <i>Alien 3</i> has been subject to extensive reassessment more than most. When the earliest teaser trailers for the film emerged, they heavily implied that the film would take place on Earth - surely the ultimate nightmare scenario involving H.R. Giger’s terrifying, pointedly sexualised ‘xenomorphs’. When the movie finally did arrive, it was instead a grim, downbeat affair taking place in a dingy prison colony in space. The surviving characters of <i>Aliens</i> that we had come to know and love were brutally slaughtered during the opening credits (via a ridiculous and nonsensical plot contrivance that Stimpson completely ignores), to be replaced by a cast of foul-mouthed rapists and murderers. Who the (at times laughably-fake looking) alien proceeds to slaughter predictably and tediously.<br />
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The thinking with the revisionists seems to be that <i>Alien 3</i>’s bad reputation is a result of it being misunderstood, a result of philistines who wanted more guns and explosions and less ponderous religious imagery. It’s reflected in Stimpson’s article and in particular his incredibly condescending conclusion (basic translation: “look at me, I like a grim, nihilistic film that you plebs don’t understand! I’m going to pat myself on the back now”). The fact is that, rather than <i>Alien 3 </i>being a victim of its predecessors’ success, we simply would not be debating this film twenty years on if it wasn’t connected to the Alien franchise. If this was a film in its own right with no surrounding context, it would have been dismissed as the dreadful, misanthropic bait-and-chase monster movie that it is.<br />
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The article is so consistently off-the-mark that there’s no option but to deal with its arguments individually. A large part of his case seems to stem from his evident dislike for James Cameron’s <i>Aliens</i>: <b>“In James Cameron's <i>Aliens</i> the threat from HR Giger's beautifully realised and nightmarishly sensuous bio-mechanoid is reduced to that of a hive of insects, suggesting that if one well-armed grunt with a bit of American know-how had been aboard the Nostromo there never would have been a franchise in the first place.”</b><br />
First off, Ridley Scott, the director of <i>Alien</i>, <a href="http://www.dvdvision.fr/jco/BiomechanicalInsect.htm">described</a> Giger’s design of the alien protagonist as being ‘like a rather beautiful, humanoid, biomechanoid insect’, while writer Ronald Shusett outlined ‘our idea that it would be the life-cycle of an insect. The way a wasp will sting a spider, paralyze it, and lay its eggs in the spider; its eggs grow off the living spider, like a surrogate mother...We thought people might pick up on it and say, ‘Yeah, an alien life-cycle can be like an insect life-cycle.’' So the insect-like implications were there from the start.<br />
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Secondly, the idea that the aliens of the sequel were gormless equivalents of the lethal ‘perfect organism’ of <i>Alien</i> is a persistent criticism that is pretty ungrounded when you actually consider it. Cameron produced a great rebuttal to this himself in a thoughtful, considered 1992 <a href="http://www.alienscollection.com/jamescameron.html">essay </a>for Starlog Magazine intended as a reply to readers’ letters: “One, crazed man with a knife can be the most terrifying thing you can imagine, if you happen to be unarmed and locked in a house alone with him. If you're with 10 armed police officers, it's a different story”. And yet despite the Marines’ firepower, their whole squadron - with the exception of an incapacitated, acid-scarred Hicks - are wiped out. Even after the initial ambush, their escape route (dropship) is destroyed by an alien; while when the survivors barricade themselves in the complex, the aliens respond by finding a circuitous route in through a crawlspace, cutting the power and attacking by stealth. They may utilise kamikaze tactics at times, but to say they have no intelligence is to grossly oversimplify. The one thing you could say is that the disturbing sexual undertones to the xenomorphs were indeed toned down or overlooked somewhat - but this isn’t something that <i>Alien 3</i> corrects in any case.<br />
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He goes on: <b>“Despite every effort on the part of the filmmakers to portray them as finely honed military machines, the heroes essentially come off as a gang of idiotic yahoos.”</b><br />
Yes, there’s some poor decision-making on the part of the characters in <i>Aliens</i>, but the same is true of the first film (Harry Dean Stanton running off on his own to chase a cat?) and certainly of the third. Their dismissive attitude towards Ripley changes as soon as they realise what they’re up against, and resourcefulness is evident throughout - Hicks manages to escape the initial massacre armed only with a shotgun and carrying an injured Hudson; Hudson overcomes his cowardice to go down in a blaze of glory; while Vasquez almost single-handedly holds the enemy off, and actually wrestles with an alien in the vents after she runs out of ammo. Idiotic yahoos one and all.<br />
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There may be a degree of caricature to the Marines in <i>Aliens</i> - not least Bill Paxton’s portrayal of the hysterical Hudson - but when they go down the audience actually cares, unlike in <i>Alien 3</i> where you can’t even tell who <i>is</i> dying most of the time, let alone feel sympathy for the sociopathic sex offenders. <b>“The ultimate peril is not the terrifying otherness of the unknown, but the damaged cooling system of a nuclear reactor, caused not by the conflict between humanity and a life form utterly extrinsic to our own, but by stray bullets from the marines themselves”</b>, claims Stimpson, conveniently ignoring the thematically-loaded climatic battle between human mother and alien mother, Ripley in direct combat with the monstrous Alien Queen.<br />
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Indeed, he ignores or glosses over a lot of stuff about the film: its familial themes, Sigourney Weaver’s superb portrayal of Ripley (for which she was Academy Award-nominated, an unprecedented occurrence for a sci-fi/action movie), its feminist subtext or how a character like Vasquez inverted traditional Hollywood gender roles. Instead, he labels it as lightweight popcorn fare, a ‘<i>Starship Troopers</i> pastiche’.<br />
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<b> "Do you mind? I'm trying to beat the clock here."</b><br />
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<i>Alien 3</i> does have redeeming factors, but redeeming factors do not a misunderstood movie make. David Fincher’s visual flair and his ability to create an unremittingly bleak tone and atmosphere is evident throughout. Some of the imagery and camerawork is stunning: the shot of the EEV being towed in towards the prison complex; the juxtaposition between the funeral and the birth of the ‘dog-alien’; the frequent wide shots of solitary open spaces. The soundtrack from Elliott Goldenthal is superb - a dissonant, avant-garde score that enhances the religious themes and dark feel of the film with ominous choral snatches. It was recorded during the Los Angeles riots of 1992, and later sampled by Burial on <i>Untrue</i>’s opening track.<br />
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The opening credits are where this score is at its most haunting and effective: after a 20th Century Fox fanfare that intentionally and terrifyingly ends on a wailing high note, we’re shown nightmare-like snatches of events on the EEV as a facehugger causes all kinds of carnage. The choral segment featured is ‘Agnus Dei’ - translated as ‘Lamb of God’ ( Goldenthal would later explain that the characters seemed to be ‘very much lambs to the slaughter’). As well as these opening credits work on a visual and aural level though, they completely fail on a logical level: namely, how did an egg get on the Sulaco in the first place? It’s something that the combined forces of nerd-dom have failed to adequately explain in the 20 years since. The best theory proposed seems to be a conspiratorial one involving Bishop, but it’s still a massively far-fetched one that flies in the face of what we know about Lance Henriksen’s much-loved character. Of course all films involve a suspension of disbelief, but this plot-hole is so ridiculous that it cheapens the whole film before it’s even begun.<br />
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It doesn’t help that it also spells the end for the characters that survived <i>Aliens</i> - Ripley’s heroic battle to keep her motherly promise to Newt and protect her from harm is completely nullified in brutal fashion, Hicks’ upper body and head is pounded into a bloody mush by a ‘safety beam’, while Bishop is literally tossed on a scrap-heap. Cameron called it a ‘slap in the face’; novelist for the films Alan Dean Foster called Newt’s killing an ‘obscenity’. They were both right. Stimpson makes much of <i>Aliens</i>’ supposed disregard for the first film (something that a lot of fans of both movies - including me - would strongly disagree with), but this blatant disregard for the second film - or indeed for logic - doesn’t seem to bother him as much.<br />
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The most interesting character in the film is slaughtered at the end of the first act, while the interesting religious and existential undertones gradually give way to a mind-numbing “It’s behind you!” sequence involving tunnels rather than the traditional air ducts. Stimpson continues: <b>“When the beastie does emerge it has reverted to its original look with a few Giger-inspired twists, no longer resembles a humanoid insect, and is suitably terrifying.”</b> - The alien frequently looks ridiculous, the ‘rod puppet against a bluescreen’ effect painfully noticeable at times. It’s a gormless animal hybrid that chases and butchers its prey - although in fairness, it came from a dog so this difference is logical.<br />
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Stimpson: <b>“Throughout Alien 3 the players convey palpable angst and tension that is entirely credible based upon their dark, brooding environment and fraught interactions with each other.”</b> Most of the cast spend the film cursing at each other. By the time they’re getting slaughtered in the tunnels you don’t even care. They’re fodder in the most literal sense; anonymous, low-life bait for the alien.<br />
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As for the full-length cut: it might add something to the film, but to claim a great transformation due to some further character exposition and some extra mood-setting camera-work is to exaggerate. It remains a mess of a film, its only resounding feature being its sheer grimness. In fairness, plenty of people have heralded the additional footage as making a great difference to <i>Alien 3</i>, but you wonder how much of this is to do with how sought-after this extra footage was for a long time. People enjoy certain scenes, or certain camera-work, or certain nuances, but ultimately lose the overall perspective of the film as a whole.<br />
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Basically, <i>Alien 3</i> is a poor film. You can admire certain things about it, or about the vision of its soon-to-be vindicated director, without denying that. You can find much better examples of moody, existentialist fare in countless other films, whether mainstream or otherwise. To claim that it’s a better film than the superbly crafted, visceral experience of <i>Aliens</i> - or to claim that it’s <b>“one of the best realised and most convincing futuristic movies ever made”</b> is the kind of thing that should have you locked up in the infirmary with Golic. Game over, man. Game over.<br />
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<br />Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-41822642655450957572012-04-26T00:40:00.002+01:002012-04-26T00:40:51.049+01:00stream - Bass Clef - Reeling Skullways<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over at <a href="http://www.residentadvisor.net/feed-item.aspx?id=45606">Resident Advisor</a> you can stream the new album from Bass Clef on Punch Drunk recordings, <i>Reeling Skullways. </i>Following last year's superb 'Rollercoasters of the Heart/So Cruel' and the <i>Inner Space Break Free</i> cassette, this is a seamless, absorbing record; its house/techno-influenced tracks stretching out with warm melodic grooves and deep, smooth basslines. Excellent stuff.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F43765922&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-20791196178021598882012-04-11T01:54:00.000+01:002012-04-11T07:54:01.382+01:00Yawning Chasm - Whispered Sun EP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Aaron Coyne has kept a relatively low profile since the 2009 release of his excellent <i>The Shadow Is That Hidden</i> EP on Rusted Rail: there have been some impressive live shows (with DeclanQKelly joining him for live duties), but release-wise he’s been quiet up until now. 2012 so far has seen a gear-shift in activity.<i> The Shadow...</i> in its full glory (with the Rusted Rail EP being an edited version) as well as earlier lower-than-lo-fi album <i>Snarl</i> were first uploaded to Bandcamp for free download. That was followed by a small tour taking in unique venues in Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Galway, at which limited-run CDR’s of a new EP - <i>Whispered Sun</i> - were available. Now that that tour has been wound down with a well-received <a href="http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/04/yawning-chasmbrigid-power-ryceseamus-o-muineachain-bell-book-candle-galway-04-04-12/">performance</a> at Galway’s Bell, Book & Candle/Wingnut Records, said EP has also been made available for free download.</div>
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The extended version of <i>The Shadow...</i> adds three tracks: ‘Life Is Elsewhere’, ‘December’ and ‘When The Sun Dies’, and they’re very much of a piece with the rest of the material. Veering between non-linear psych-folk-influenced fare (‘Tumble River’) and twilit folk simplicity on tracks like ‘Your Bones Will Bleach White’ and the gorgeous ‘Monsters’; <i>The Shadow...</i> is also reminiscent at times of The Driftwood Manor: ‘Distant Fires’ combining weary-sounding folk with eerily chattering static and noise. Coyne’s vocals - wistful and often mournful-sounding - seem to chime with their musical surroundings so perfectly, in a way that recalls Sam Beam of Iron & Wine’s similarly weathered-but-charming tones.</div>
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The <i>Whispered Sun</i> EP is fuller-sounding, nodding to slow-core as well as folk. Now recording as a duo, plaintive acoustic strumming gives way to swelling, enveloping song structures, almost drone-like in places; but the feel remains lo-fi and homespun. Again, the mood seems despondent at times, as on the windswept ‘Moon Silver Ocean’, where a slow, sombre guitar figure is surrounded by wracked-sounding keys, the song gradually growing in intensity. ‘Before I Was Here’ is milder and mellower, bridging the gap somewhat, as ‘Your Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue Eyes Are Killing Me’ is somewhere between hymnal and haunted: beginning with melancholic guitar tones, the repetition of the title is reflected in the creeping, quiet intensity of the track as its lyrics and instrumentation become ever-more-insistent. A lament or a song of devotion? That’s up to the listener.</div>
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As outlined on <a href="http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/04/yawning-chasm-release-details/">Noiseblog</a>, there’s plenty more to come from Yawning Chasm: three more 4-song EPs and a new album around autumn-time is the plan; while with the addition of a drummer to flesh out their sound further, there will hopefully be more chances to see them in a live setting. This is an essential part of their vibe: in common with numerous other like-minded artists (such as Brigid Power Ryce, or Raising Holy Sparks - who played a very well-received support slot to Grouper in Dublin’s Unitarian Church the other week), Yawning Chasm take an intentionally non-conformist approach to live performance: vocals are non-mic’d where possible, playing on a stage is avoided in favour of playing on a floor, and the preference is for small venues with a unique character: all, ultimately, in the service of breaking down any perceived barrier between performer and audience.</div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3660078277/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400">&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://yawningchasm.bandcamp.com/album/whispered-sun-ep"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Whispered Sun EP by Yawning Chasm&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;</iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-31969621926042919102012-02-08T05:56:00.000+00:002012-02-08T05:56:41.267+00:00Lapalux - When You're Gone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #191919; font-family: 'Quattrocento Sans', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">(for <a href="http://iheartau.com/">AU</a>) review of the new <a href="http://www.lapalux.com/#7f6/custom_plain">Lapalux</a> EP on <a href="http://www.brainfeedersite.com/">Brainfeeder</a> - </span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #191919; font-family: 'Quattrocento Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">LA-based label/collective Brainfeeder seems like a perfect home for Essex producer Stuart Howard, aka Lapalux: his ear for grainy textures, manipulated samples and loosely hip-hop-influenced structures marks him out as a kindred spirit of sorts to the likes of Teebs and Matthewdavid. Painting aural pictures with exquisite detail, </span><em style="color: #191919; font-family: 'Quattrocento Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">When You’re Gone</em><span style="color: #191919; font-family: 'Quattrocento Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> (the follow-up to last year’s </span><em style="color: #191919; font-family: 'Quattrocento Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Many Faces Out Of Focus</em><span style="color: #191919; font-family: 'Quattrocento Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> EP) is reminiscent of James Blake in its expert use of space in the mix as well as its soulful, yearning vocal snatches. Highlights include the laid-back groove of ‘Moments’ (featuring London vocalist and Throwing Snow collaborator Py), the lurching, colourful-but-disfigured arrangement of ‘Gone’ and the gentle ambient hum of ‘Face Down, Eyes Shut’. </span></b>
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<a href="http://iheartau.com/2012/02/lapalux-when-you%E2%80%99re-gone/">http://iheartau.com/2012/02/lapalux-when-you%E2%80%99re-gone/</a><br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F33971119&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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Also, stream last year's similarly impressive <i>Many Faces Out Of Focus</i> EP:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="450" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F805660&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-2097791507106372942011-12-15T15:48:00.006+00:002011-12-23T00:44:20.086+00:00best Irish albums of 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M_UpQo9h6dk/TvNNtR-drRI/AAAAAAAAA4I/VnejSjdjGtc/s1600/CAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M_UpQo9h6dk/TvNNtR-drRI/AAAAAAAAA4I/VnejSjdjGtc/s320/CAT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Kind of got bored of numerical rankings but this is pretty much more-or-less in a rough order of preference.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Catscars</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Construction</span> (White Plague)<br />
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Catscars' debut album is characterised by submerged, evasive compositions that flicker in and out of focus. The weightless, spectral synthpop of 'B-Song' and the off-kilter robotic groove of 'No Fun' are two of the more direct moments; while eerie, shadowy effects and reverberating chimes echo in and out of the mix on tracks like 'Toying With Me' and 'Monsong'.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Laura Sheeran</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Lust Of Pig & The Fresh Blood </span>(Flaming June)<br />
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A stunning record that combines mysterious, sometimes sinister lyrical imagery with exquisite gothic-tinged folk arrangements. Divided into two parts, the second ('The Fresh Blood') sees a shift towards electronic loops and ominous, abrasive sound effects, but overall the record remains remarkably coherent, all the more so given the differing ages of the songs included. Standouts include the hypnotic 'I'm Sorry Son' - with an understated, yearning vocal from the singer and sublime violin playing from Cora Venus Lunny - , the malevolent carnival-esque vibe of 'An Apple For You' and the darkly dramatic swell of 'A Wake'.<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F13093775" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/laurasheeran/im-sorry-son">I'm Sorry Son</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/laurasheeran">L A U R A S H E E R A N</a>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">SertOne</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Versions</span><br />
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"<span style="font-style: italic;">If you ain't bringing nothing to the table then leave...</span>" <br />
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This collection of remixes from the young Liverpool-via-Portadown producer showcases his willingness to tackle source material as disparate as Irish post-rockers (Halves), 'future-garage/bass/whatucallit' producers (Koreless) and hip hop stalwarts (DOOM, Busta Rhymes). Outstanding production throughout as he consistently takes the original and completely flips it, infusing it with his own unmistakable sound. Highlights include the appropriately-named 'Blissful mix' of Starfawn's 'Greenlight' and a sublime take on JR & PH7's 'Fast Lane Speedin''. The don.<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F9806912" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/sertonemusic/fast-lane-speedin-ft-oddisee-sertone-remix">Fast Lane Speedin' (ft. Oddisee) (SertOne Remix) - JR & PH7</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/sertonemusic">SertOneMusic</a> <br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Le Galaxie</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Laserdisc Nights 2 </span>(Battlepulse)<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16235442" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/le-galaxie/01-earth">01 - Earth</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/le-galaxie">Le Galaxie</a> <br />
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<b>Patrick Kelleher & his Cold Dead Hands</b> - <i>Golden Syrup </i>(Osaka Recordings)<br />
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<i>Golden Syrup</i> is frequently a disorientating, spooked-sounding listen - whether it's the vortex-like momentum of 'Miracle Candle', the ominous low-end rumble of 'Too Many Harsh Words' or the haunted-disco of 'Contact Sports'. It's an effect heightened by Kelleher's changeable vocals - veering from austere baritone to showy falsetto on the gothic synth-pop of the title track and the excellent 'Seen Me Blue'. But there's also a wistful warmth to more low-key tracks like 'Broken Up Now' and 'Still In School'.<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F21476500" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/patrick-kelleher/03-seen-me-blue">03 Patrick Kelleher and his Cold Dead Hands - Seen Me Blue</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/patrick-kelleher">Patrick Kelleher</a> <br />
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<b>Raising Holy Sparks </b>- <i>Beyond The Unnamed Bay </i>(Fort Evil Fruit)<br />
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A core member of experimental folk collective United Bible Studies, David Colohan has released music under the Agitated Radio Pilot moniker since 1993, but a new approach taking influence from field-recordings, shapenote singing and Hasidic mysticism saw him adopt a new identity. <i>Beyond the Unnamed Bay </i>takes in spectral avant-folk ('Here Begins Our Lasting Joy'), steadily pulsing synth pieces ('As Far As We Can Go') and hypnotic loop-based compositions ('Diamonds In The Water Where You Swam'), as well as the abstract 20-minute number 'The Depths Of Bailey Point' which builds to a cacophony before ebbing again. Despite the range of styles the record has an unmistakable coherence to it, no doubt partly due to its distinctive ambience - a result of recording in unconventional locations such as an abandoned, flooding car park.<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F21641651" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/raisingholysparks/v-diamonds-in-the-water-where">Diamonds In The Water Where You Swam</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/raisingholysparks">Raising Holy Sparks</a>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lorem Ipsum</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Between Hospitals</span><br />
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A delirious-sounding mesh of dissonant lo-fi electronica from the anonymous producer, which followed up on his <i>Good Friday Disagreement</i> EP. Taking in wired, off-kilter grooves on 'An Astral Body', hypnotic fuzz-and-static-infused washes on 'St. Vincent's', and pop-song-in-a-blender tracks like 'Knight's Tour' and 'Crushed'.<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F19386697" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/itsloremipsum/an-astral-body">An Astral Body</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/itsloremipsum">*Lorem Ipsum</a> <br />
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<b>Ilex - </b><i>Old Din</i><br />
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Collecting most of the music she's made since she started in 2005, <i>Old Din</i> is 33 tracks long but those tracks are consistently excellent. Varies between hypnotic, intricate electronica and grittier, more up-tempo tracks; while 'Orkid' and 'Strings' have rich and evocative arrangements.<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F4501251" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/ilex_/mantua">Mantua</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/ilex_">ilex_</a>
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<b>Hired Hands</b> - <i>My Heart Hung </i>(Any Other City)<br />
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Deceptively complex and supremely catchy folk-pop from the seven-piece who include former members of the sadly short-lived Feed The Bears. With a lilting sound characterised by off-kilter harmonies and woodwind/brass-bolstered arrangements, Hired Hands have a deft handle on subtle melancholy as well as vibrant, upbeat melodies - indeed the line is often blurred, as is the case with so many great bands.<br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12162042">
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12162042" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/hiredhands/the-quay-wall">The Quay Wall</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/hiredhands">Hired Hands</a> <br />
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<b>Popical Island </b>- <i>Popical Island #2 </i>(Popical Island)<br />
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The sequel to 2010's acclaimed compilation from the Dublin-based collective completely lives up to those high standards. Despite the overall 'bockety' indie aesthetic, there's a wide and diverse range of sounds: the Mary Chain-esque early-90's vibe of Pantone247's 'Hello', the warm jangle-pop of Goodly Thousands' 'Kiss Me Upside-Down', the garage/surf-pop vibes of Squarehead's 'Candle', and the chiming and hypnotically off-kilter sound of Hello Moon's 'Barefoot'. All the colours of the rainbow.<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F14943422" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/popical_island/02-pantone247-hello">02-Pantone247 - Hello</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/popical_island">popical_island</a>
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<b>The Driftwood Manor </b>- <i>The Same Figure (Leaving) </i>(Rusted Rail/Slow Loris)<br />
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<i>The Same Figure (Leaving)</i> was originally released as a limited edition CD-R on French label Ruralfaune in 2010, but this year saw it brought to deservedly wider attention. Eddie Keenan is as ever joined by a number of collaborators and kindred spirits from the folk/underground scene. Less influenced by psych/drone than the <i>Found Photographs of Ancestors</i> EP, this record is relatively concise and song-based, but those avant-folk tendencies are still in evidence: 'Each Day Has Bettered Me None' is backdropped by eerie, disquieting noises before being enveloped by rising squall, while 'To Be Done' sounds similarly creaking and distorted. That approach is mixed with the hypnotic folk simplicity of 'On A Corner of Athlone' or the title track, while the trad-influenced 'That Lasting Final Hurt' raises the tempo. <i>The Same Figure (Leaving) </i>is frequently brooding, even bleak in tone, but ultimately there's a warmth that wins out.<br />
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<b>Ginnels</b> - <i>Ginnels</i><br />
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The work of Grand Pocket Orchestra's Mark Chester, <i>Ginnels</i> is a boisterous collection of lo-fi pop songs whose addictive melodies are drowned in fuzz. Veer from the thrillingly frantic ('Best in Town') to the noisy ('Yama and Terio') to the more laidback ('Herdwick Bonez').<br />
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F10697193" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/ginnels/best-in-town">Best In Town</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/ginnels">ginnels</a>
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<b>Sea Pinks</b> - <i>Dead Seas </i>(CF Records)<br />
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'<a href="http://cassflick.bigcartel.com/product/sea-pinks-dead-seas-lp">fountains, fossils, phantoms and faded seaside glamour'</a> describes it pretty well: Sea Pinks is the project of Girls Names' Neil Brogan and <i>Dead Seas</i> is the follow up impressive debut <i>Youth Is Wasted</i> and the <i>Peripheral Vision</i> EP. Wistful, sun-kissed songs that nod to vintage 60's garage/girl-group influences - there's a washed-out vibe to it but not in the chillwave sense, as <i>Dead Seas</i> is characterised more by straight-up, robust rhythms and jangly guitar riffs (the title track nods to '(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame').<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/27717054?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/27717054">Fountain Tesserae</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4317321">Sea Pinks</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<b>Bitwise Operator - </b><i>Samurai Hack</i><br />
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Partly inspired by the Samurai Jack cartoon series, this record from Galway's Simon Kenny mixes glitchy chip-tune and hip hop influences with abrasive electronic textures and infectious, multicolour grooves.<br />
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<b>The Dying Seconds</b> - <i>Glimmerers </i><br />
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Exquisitely brooding melancholy mixed with tuneful hooks - an expanded line-up saw The Dying Seconds step up a level. Highlights include the ominous-sounding 'Mora Minn', the sparse, forlorn-sounding 'Greenhorns' and the charmingly off-kilter 'Rubbernecks'.<br />
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<b>Tieranniesaur</b> - <i>Tieranniesaur </i>(Popical Island)<br />
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Exuberant, irreverent lo-fi funk-pop from Annie Tierney and co. Mixes the sunny bubble-gum hooks of 'Sketch!' and 'Candy' with the disco-tinged rhythms of 'In The Sargasso' and 'Pretty Girl String Quartet'. Not to mention the unstoppable 'Here Be Monsters'.<br />
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<b>Rhino Magic</b> - <i>Get Going </i>(Tender Objects)<br />
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Fuzzy lo-fi bedroom-pop, at times sounding a bit like a hazy cross between shoegaze and slacker-rock. Elsewhere there's high-pitched, buzzing keyboard sounds, sunny hooks and some bleary melancholy ('The Best Possible End').<br />
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<b>Sunken Foal - </b><i>Mother Of God </i>(Acroplane)<br />
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Disorientating and shadowy, like some kind of hall-of-mirrors where disembodied vocals float through a mix of imposing-but-muffled beats and eerie samples.<br />
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<b>Hello Moon</b> - <i>Only Count The Sunny Hours </i>(Any Other City)<br />
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Mixes sweepingly melodic sugar-rushes ('Vanity', 'Here I Am') with dreamier, chiming numbers ('Measure Of Me', 'Sievehead'), jaunty instrumental 'The Calculus Affair' and gorgeously swooning closing track 'Awkward Hugs'.<br />
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<br />Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-4067434670275609932011-12-08T09:11:00.014+00:002011-12-12T17:32:40.004+00:00Best Irish EPs of 2011<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oFnyq7BJwzE/TuYrMrWJbUI/AAAAAAAAA3s/UtC59rRNGC0/s1600/waves.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oFnyq7BJwzE/TuYrMrWJbUI/AAAAAAAAA3s/UtC59rRNGC0/s320/waves.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5685279076395871554" /></a><br />1 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">In The Black Box</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Waves</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">In The Black Box</span> is the project of Dublin-based electronic producer Dave Donoghue, and project is indeed the word since it's a multi-media affair that encompasses videos, photography, writing, art,and his own podcasts. You can check it all out over at <a href="http://www.intheblackbox.eu/">http://www.intheblackbox.eu/</a><br /><br />The <span style="font-style:italic;">Waves</span> EP, as an example of the multimedia approach, would later be accompanied by a set of accompanying videos viewable <a href="http://www.intheblackbox.eu/archives/2116">here</a>. Musically it was already exceptional: 'When It Is Needed' is a spacious track that combines subtly hypnotic loops and a quietly insistent beat with a recurring piano figure, while the techno-leaning 'Coil' and the woozily off-balance 'Eck-Ohs' are shot through with numerous clever touches. <br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F15146576"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F15146576" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/intheblackbox/eck-ohs">In The Black Box - Eck-Ohs</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/intheblackbox">InTheBlackBox</a></span> <br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/24636466?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/24636466">In The Black Box - When It Is Needed</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/intheblackbox">In The Black Box</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br /><br /><br />2 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Simon Bird</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">V</span><br /><br />Simon Bird's fifth EP showcased the increasing range of the producer's sound - taking in the dramatically swelling squall and noise of the 'Baphomet Vs. The Great Winged Horse' two-parter (suitably sounding like an aural equivalent of a mythological/heroic poem), the shimmering, exquisitely structured 'Xerox Waveform Godless Ocean', and the eerie, otherworldly strains of closer 'Stillborn in Autumn'.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F27077745"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F27077745" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/simonbird/xerox-waveform-godless-ocean-1">Xerox Waveform Godless Ocean</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/simonbird">SimonBird</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />3 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Nouveaunoise</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Sequence Consequence</span><br /><br />Moving on from the hazy, fluid, layered sound of last year's superb <span style="font-style:italic;">Paraphrase Accolade</span> (which nodded to Flying Lotus circa <span style="font-style:italic;">Los Angeles</span> at times), <span style="font-style:italic;">Sequence Consequence</span> is more along the lines of the tecnicolour maximalist (thanks Simon) vibe of acts like Hudson Mohawke and Rustie. Sunny grooves and infectious vocal samples.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F21637661"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F21637661" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/nouveaunoise/believe">Nouveaunoise - Believe</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nouveaunoise">nouveaunoise</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />4 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Depravations</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Mosey EP</span> <br /><br />An EP that was apparently just recorded to get their drummer up to speed, but subsequently took on a life of its own. Predominantly acoustic, the EP deals in breezy, mellow, surf-pop tinged songs with charming vocals and vintage-sounding harmonies. As well as that there's some neat flourishes such as the climax of 'Not Forgotten', which (with the addition of those drums) would become a thrilling highlight of their live sets. And judging by those live sets, the upcoming album should be a belter.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F17740325"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F17740325" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/the-depravations/not-forgotten">Not Forgotten</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/the-depravations">The Depravations</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />5 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">DeclanQKelly</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Yzz</span><br /><br />Minimal and acoustic, <span style="font-style:italic;">Yzz</span> shows just one side of a musician who's as likely to produce abstract pieces based around loops and found sounds as he is something like this. A collection of subtly hypnotic instrumentals, there's a warm lo-fi ambience to the guitar tones as well as an eerie, unsettling undercurrent on tracks like 'Phalanx Glove'. One for the winter evenings.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F23404615"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F23404615" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/declanqkelly/phalanx-glove">Phalanx Glove</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/declanqkelly">DeclanQKelly</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />6 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">SertOne</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">The View From Above</span> (Melted Music)<br /><br />A debut EP from the talented and very-prolific producer (based in Liverpool but from Portadown), <span style="font-style:italic;">The View From Above</span> is an immaculately-produced and varied collection: (largely) instrumental hip-hop with electronic influences, it nods at times to the layered, laidback-but-physical beats of LA-based Samiyam. Judging by the eclecticism of his remix work since, this is only a starting point - potential to burn.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F8023156"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F8023156" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/meltedmusic/past-present-and-future-by-sertone">Past, Present and Future by SertOne</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/meltedmusic">MeltedMusic</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />7 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Bantum</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Lay Lay</span> <br /><br />The latest in a string of impressive EPs from the Cork-born, Dublin-based producer (<span style="font-style:italic;">Lay Lay</span> being the 4th) showcases a sound that continues to evolve. 'An Introduction' bobs and weaves deftly, building towards an irresistible peak; the pulsing, wired 'Gravy' and the superb title track are punctuated by Margie Lewis' rhythmically cut-up vocals; while 'New String' is a more down-tempo ode to sleep paralysis featuring a vocal from Michael Owens aka Owensie.<br /><br /> <object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F26647102"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F26647102" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/bantummusic/lay-lay-feat-margie-lewis">Lay Lay (feat. Margie Lewis)</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/bantummusic">BANTUM</a></span> <br /> <br /><br /><br />8 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sunken Foal</span> – <span style="font-style:italic;">Richter Versions</span><br /> <br />One of the things that has made the Richter Collective such an exciting label over the last few years is the fact that - although it’s predominantly regarded as a rock label that leans towards the heavier end of the spectrum – many of its flagship artists are so adept at harnessing the pulse and textures of electronic music to a metal or post-rock-influenced sound. Sunken Foal stripped away the guitars, ('transcribing the performed parts into a midi sequencer and arranging the parts for synthesizers') to bring out hidden layers of melancholic atmosphere, menace and spacious, shimmering beauty on tracks by Adebisi Shank (‘Micromachines’), The Redneck Manifesto (‘Tomb Of The Dudes’) and Hands Up Who Wants To Die ('Stopwatch').<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F25192742&color=cec507&show_comments=true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F25192742&color=cec507&show_comments=true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed></object><span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/sunken_foal/micromachines-swell-dub">Micromachines (Swell Dub)</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/sunken_foal">sunken_foal</a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />9 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Patrick Kelleher/School Tour</span> – <span style="font-style:italic;">Split EP</span> (CF Records)<br /> <br />Two very different and reliably unpredictable sides to this limited cassette on CF Records: in contrast to last year’s more ambient-leaning <span style="font-style:italic;">Yes Way</span> EP, School Tour’s side is cavernous, gothic and ominous-sounding; Kelleher’s, meanwhile, is a grab-bag of strange pop oddities – the almost-vaudeville turns of ‘I’m Alive’ and the charming, chiming ‘Tiny Tim Bought a Jetpack’ making for a nice contrast to the gothic synth-pop direction he would pursue on LP <span style="font-style:italic;">Golden Syrup</span>.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F18283842"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F18283842" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/cf-records/the-last-exit-west-school-tour">School Tour - The Last Exit West ("Patrick Kelleher/School Tour" Split double EP - 2011)</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/cf-records">CF Records</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />10 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">T-Woc</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Jetstar</span> (Alphabet Set)<br /><br />The producer and DJ's sixth EP for Alphabet Set is an eclectic mix of off-kilter electronica, hazy instrumental hip hop and deep bass grooves.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16749468"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F16749468" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/t-woc/zion-live">zion live</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/t-woc">t-woc</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />11 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Daithi</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Embrace</span><br /><br />The Galway-based musician combines dizzying, layered violin loops with pulsing rhythms in a unique math-rock/electro/trad/Final Fantasy hybrid. On paper it sounds dubious but on record - or live - it's pretty compelling.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F10606129"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F10606129" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/daithimusic/sleep-like-a-stone">Sleep Like A Stone</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/daithimusic">Daithi</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />12 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Datadrip</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Collision</span><br /><br />Varied EP from the Dublin duo; calling to mind Fuck Buttons on the visceral electronic squall of 'Animals' as well as giving a nod to vintage Depeche Mode on the excellent, niftily arranged 'Wild Neon'. 'Oh', meanwhile, is a patiently paced opener that starts off chilled and builds in intensity, setting up 'Animals' nicely.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F22724113"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F22724113" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/datadrip/wild-neon">Wild Neon</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/datadrip">datadrip</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />13 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ten Past Seven</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Black Box Recordings</span> (Out On A Limb)<br /><br />After a nail-biting last-ditch success in their <a href="http://www.limerickpost.ie/index.php/navigation-mainmenu-30/entertainment/3402-ten-past-seven-fund-it-with-minutes-to-spare.html">Fundit</a> campaign, instrumental 'bog prog' trio <a href="http://breakingtunes.com/tenpastseven">Ten Past Seven</a> did as promised and headed for France to record some tunes at Black Box Studios with the aid of Dave Odlum. The result proves their endeavours worthwhile: the <span style="font-style:italic;">Black Box Recordings</span> go some distance to recapturing the intensity and power of the band's gripping live shows. Although you could loosely term it as instrumental post-rock, Ten Past Seven's sound flits between a number of styles even in the space of one track: there's hints of math-rock here and there, delicate ambient passages and ferocious crescendos reminiscent of <span style="font-style:italic;">Come On Die Young</span>-era Mogwai; while at their very heaviest they have a metallic intensity. These three tracks build slowly but irresistibly, tension and release rendered expertly by skilled musicians.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F23606989"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F23606989" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/ooal/johnstons-cows">Johnston's Cows</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/ooal">OOAL</a></span> <br /><br /><br /><br />14 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ginnels</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Mountbatten Class</span> (Long Lost)<br /><br />Fuzzy, ramshackle lo-fi goodness from Mark Chester (of Grand Pocket Orchestra and No Monster Club). Also released an album this year. More on that anon<br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="100" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=304952031/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"><a href="http://ginnels.bandcamp.com/track/stink-it-out">Stink It Out by Ginnels</a></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br />15 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ed Devane</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Room Full Of Empty People</span> (Takeover Records)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.state.ie/25684-album-reviews/ed-devane-%E2%80%93-room-full-of-empty-people">C+ P</a>: 'an abrasive, intense record where thumping percussion collides with high-pitched electronic squall. Opening track ‘Wharf’ leads in with blown-out, distorted beats, shuddering bass and all manner of harsh, rasping electronic textures. The percussion becomes more rhythmic on second track ‘2C-me’, which is grimier in tone and more dancefloor-friendly in tempo, while ‘Technoblient’ combines an insistent, pounding beat with more paint-strippingly corrosive noise. Final track ‘Squib’ is perhaps the most compelling of all, its jarring static-fuzz-infused intro developing into a hypnotically layered composition anchored by pulsing bass.'<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F15352456"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F15352456" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/ed-devane/squib">Squib</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/ed-devane">Ed Devane</a></span><br /><br /><br /><br />16 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">A Shadow</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Ebb and Flow</span> (Second Square To None)<br /><br />Lovely, evocative ambient sounds from Dublin musician Keith Murphy. Also released an album - <span style="font-style:italic;">When All Is Said and Done, What Is Left to Say and Do</span> later in the year. Nocturnal chimes and celestial drones.<br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="100" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=1466096128/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"><a href="http://sstn.bandcamp.com/track/played-by-some-rough-scarred-hands-so-lightly-so-tenderly">Played By Some Rough Scarred Hands, So Lightly, So Tenderly by A Shadow</a></iframe><br /><br /><br />17 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Followers Of Otis</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">The Claddagh Sessions</span><br /><br />Breezy, soulful folk-rock from the Galway-based band, capped off by the smoky balladry of 'River Corrib Song'. Puts a nice spin on some vintage influences.<br /><br /><a href="http://breakingtunes.com/thefollowersofotis">http://breakingtunes.com/thefollowersofotis</a><br /><br /><br /><br />18 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Bouts </span>- <span style="font-style:italic;">Bouts</span><br /><br />Nothing too complex here - recorded and mixed in eight days, Bouts is unashamedly vintage-sounding alt/slacker-rock that nods to the likes of Weezer, Dinosaur Jr or (more contemporarily) Surfer Blood; with chunky riffs, distorted bass and wistful <br />hooks aplenty.<br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="100" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=4006270141/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"><a href="http://gimmebouts.com/track/barbs">Barbs by bouts</a></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br />19 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Holy Roman Army</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Lazerians</span><br /><br />Re-inforcing their previous strengths - downtempo, evocative electronica combined with Laura Coffey's dreamy vocals - with an increasing emphasis on rhythmic variety, <span style="font-style:italic;">Lazerians</span> is an impressive development from the duo and augurs well for the album due in 2012. 'Electricity' is pretty infectious, the frequent use of brass works really well with their sound, and there's some neat samba-esque flourishes.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F29281967"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F29281967" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/theholyromanarmy/electricity">Electricity</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/theholyromanarmy">theholyromanarmy</a></span> <br /><br /><br />20 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">Avalanche Ammo</span> - <span style="font-style:italic;">Animals</span><br /><br />Frenetic, heavy, breathless post-rock from the Kildare musician on his debut EP.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12671266"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F12671266" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/avalancheammo/panda-capture">Panda Capture</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/avalancheammo">Avalanche Ammo</a></span>Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-89120725202876332982011-11-13T20:25:00.003+00:002011-11-16T08:08:05.658+00:00Discreet Unit - Shake Your Body DownJust because. <br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F5544174"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F5544174" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/dailyfloss/discreet-unit-shake-your-body-down-original-mix">Discreet Unit - Shake Your Body Down (original mix)</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/dailyfloss">dailyfloss</a></span> <br /><br />('Shake Your Body Down' 12", Prime Numbers)Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542495580514221569.post-2997847535266934442011-11-13T17:45:00.005+00:002011-11-16T08:07:46.139+00:00Radiohead - King Of Limbs remixes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n4ynSv0VpIY/TsAFW0rfmMI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/Kepr2aKu9v4/s1600/radiohead_king_of_limbs_300x300.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n4ynSv0VpIY/TsAFW0rfmMI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/Kepr2aKu9v4/s320/radiohead_king_of_limbs_300x300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674541420143155394" /></a><br />Now that they've all been gathered on one compilation, the various Radiohead remixes that have been released on 12" throughout 2011 seem to make more sense, if that's not something of a betrayal of the concept. If you were going to be fanciful and regard them as an 'album' then it's the best thing Radiohead have put their name to since <span style="font-style:italic;">Amnesiac</span>. It works surprisingly well as a long-player, with a wide variety of styles from some excellent producers. Highlights would have to be cuts from <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jacques Greene</span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Blawan</span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">Shed</span>. Needless to say, kudos to Radiohead for shining their influential light on the fertile electronic/bass/whatever-you-call-it-don't-call-it-post-dubstep scene. Interesting nerdy fact: the Jacques Greene remix cleverly changes at 1-minute intervals. <br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F18270720"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F18270720" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/radiohead/lotus-flower-jacques-greene">Lotus Flower - Jacques Greene RMX</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/radiohead">Radiohead</a></span> <br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F20386222"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F20386222" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/radiohead/radiohead-bloom-blawan-rmx">Bloom - Blawan RMX</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/radiohead">Radiohead</a></span> <br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F20384297"></param> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F20384297" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/radiohead/radiohead-little-by-little">Little by Little - Shed RMX</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/radiohead">Radiohead</a></span> <br /><br />The whole collection can be streamed from Radiohead's <a href="http://soundcloud.com/radiohead/sets">Soundcloud</a>.Daniel Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01632509213798248470noreply@blogger.com0