so here's what i've been enjoying lately. not sure that any of this stuff will be "the next big thing," but they're certainly my big things, for the moment at least.
infant - growing up (neo ouija)
first of all, i just love cheeky album titles and this one just kicks ass. bola soup has to be the best ever, but this comes close. as for the music - it's just utterly excellent. in a sense, i hope this style is the N.B.T. by that i mean i want to see a continuance of this trend of mixing vocals with idm. not since solvent's short album about murder have i heard it done so well. and i'm not just talking about using voice/vocals as a sound source ala prefuse73 and countless others (i do love prefuse though - not boring at all). i'm talking about using vocals as part of the melody line, yet keeping it properly mixed within the track so as not to overshadow the electronics. that aim is accomplished just about flawlessly on at least one, if not two tracks on this little 12". and most of the tracks don't have vocals either - they're used sparingly. i love it when an artist knows enough to show restraint and not over do a good thing. and if you can write a flawless vocal melody, you can be sure that you can write beautiful melodies for the rest of your tracks too. additinally, the percussion is excellent - sparse but patterned and interesting without sounding like random wankery. basically, you need to own this. another score for neo ouija.
yagya - rhythm of snow (force inc.)
thanks to everyone who replied to my slightly confused minimal/micro post about a week ago - i've got quite a bit of stuff to look into. anyway, although this release is on force inc., to my ears there is nothing at all minimal about it. it's lush lush lush. basically an album of gorgeous pads accompanied by distant 4/4 beats/thumps. i've been drifting to sleep with this album every night since i got it and to me that's just about the highest compliment you can pay to an "ambientish" album. also, there is nothing snowy, nor wintry, nor icey about this album. quite the opposite actually. this album isn't the rhythm of snow, it's watching the rhythm of the snow out the window from a comfortable chair next to the hearth. i think that people more familiar with this and other similar labels output will argue that there is nothing ground breaking about this album. i would have to agree. however, personally i do not need to see the wheel reinvented with every new release. indeed, i think there is a lot to be said for working within a given "sound" and working towards perfecting that aesthetic ideal. i think that's what yagya is moving toward here. this release should definitely appealf to fans of GAS and related artists.
chrisitian kleine - valis (morr music)
it seemed to me that a lot of people on the list were rather underwhelmed by kleine's last release on CCO. as an aside, i think you should revist that album - listen to it as a whole - i've come to really love it's gentle ambience. anyway, this record marks a movement toward a more up tempo sound for kleine. basically, this album has excellent melodies, often guitar driven, with nice mixable 4/4 percussion. if you've like previous hermann & kleine records, you'll like this. mr. kleine seems to be quite the music producing machine - two very different releases in a relatively short period of time, plus the new H&K record coming up soon - i can't wait!
BoC - geogaddi
i'm a huge BoC fan and i have to say that 4 years is an awfully long time, but i am satisfied with the results. but damn if this album doesn't creep me out. there is nothing joyous on here. truly the dark side of psychedilia - but i still love it.
kettel - tadley management (planet mu)
this record fucking rocks. center court and red shed are some of the best tracks i've heard in a long time. raw stripped down hip hop beats with just a touch of melody. killer. i want more mutant hip hop, damn it!
mr projectile - nubby buddy (parotic)
just got this today. this is some killer iDm. everyone would shake their ass to this if they heard it in a club. listening to this record i think to myself "what the hell am i doing wasting my time trying to spin downtempo/hip hop type idm. i should be spining shit like this!" and then i remember that not every idm producer is mr projectile. i think i'm gonna be loving this record for months to come.
pub - the latest 12", i have no idea what the title is.
one side is utterly gorgeous - easily as good as summer and the best stuff on "do you ever..." the other side is unremarkable. buy it if you can find it.
comments, agreements, disagreements, insults - all are welcome. what's rocking your world today?
- d