All IMO, yadda yadda...
'Sidonie' - B Fleischmann 12" (Morr Music / Charhizma)
Not really what I was expecting at all. List members had talked about his
stuff as being warm and soothing, which is true enough, but for some reason I
was expecting it to be oh-so-late-90s, layered with digital glitches etc.
Instead, the music is largely the kind of thing that could be written with
synths and drum machines, with straight forward harmonies and rhythms. There's
even a slow four-to-the-floor number, 'Where Have You Been', saturated in
little analogue disco (or 'Star Wars' :-) style zapping sounds.
What makes this release fairly anachronistic is probably the production.
Plenty of more contemporary sounding peeps use very simple harmonies (*) but
they are often layered in effects or digitally edited for added clicks and
stutters. Fleischmann just leaves very simple, organ-like sounds to do their
thing right at the front of the mix, while utterly dry machine percussion
moseys along in the background.
Over all, I do really like the EP. It took me a few listens to just relax into
it, but that was largely due to my own expectations. The highlight for me is
the final track, 'Sleep', which definitely lives up to its name. A slow, deep
series of pedal notes carries the track along, with muted percussion and
bell-like tones coming in as it proceeds... I can't do it justice with such a
dry description.. it's just quite lovely. :-)
* I remember singing 'Summer Loving' alongside one of Arovane's tunes with a
nice 1-4-5 progression . :-)
'Phonetik' - Phonem 12" (Morr Music)
Well, eh, the man that heard Arovane once, then tried to emulate what he
heard. Unfortunately, IMO, he got it down a bit too pat. It's a bit more
lively than any Arovane tunes I've heard and doesn't have that
recorded-in-a-cavern and mastered by Stefan Betke sound, but otherwise, well,
everything's there. Unfortunately, it's that monster sound that I think set
Arovane apart from all the other pap derivative of Autechre circa 94. Both
tracks on the A-side make me cringe so badly I wondered if I'd accidentally
bought something by Funkstoerung. >;-)
Luckily the B-side goes somewhere a little different, with big slabs of
distortion kicking through on top of some very un-Autechre lo-fi riffs on
'Blone Hone'. 'Bitstream' is a very slow affair, with some churchy chords,
sparse clicky percussion, and a slowly building section of synth strings. It's
comparable to 'Amber', sure, especially with the low-res vocal samples that
come in half-way through the track, but in a way that doesn't interfere with
my enjoyment.
If you do like Funkstoerung, buy this immediately.
'41'17 Praesenz' - Scarcubem 12" LP (Heimelektro Ulm)
I've yet to get into this one. The second LP from the Heimelektro Ulm label,
this is made up of 6 very melodic uptempo synth tunes, several with vocals.
Lots of clunking, un-funky percussion which reminded me of the more busy
tracks on Aphex's 'SAW I' and bright synth-lines frequently bending out of
tune or (to my ears) playing dischords. Often the chugging bass-lines and the
lack of decent grooves reminded me of what I least enjoyed about 80s
electro-pop.
Over all, a very disappointing first buy from a label which I expected to
really get into based on what I'd heard off their web site. Generally too much
going on for my tastes, but I guess I'd recommend it to people into the more
melodic and less dance-floor side of electro. Still, next up...
'Heimeletro Ulm LP1' - v/a 12" LP (Heimelektro Ulm)
This might actually be called (equally unimaginatively :-) 'Langspielplatte'.
Whatever...
Ok, this is actually the first LP. On the first side we have two more
Scarcubem tracks, the second of which I enjoy more than the above 12". It's
far more sedate and reminded me of recent Sun Electric tracks, albeit much
less lush and generally gorgeous on the production front.
The second side opens with a track by Urban Soul Research, which is much more
up my alley, and much more the kind of thing I expected from the RA on the
label's web site. Utterly dry, muted pops and clunks over a deep sine
bass-line. In come the nice little chords and further mysterious melodic
elements as the track moves on. Reminded me a lot of the quiet moments on
Mouse On Mars' 'Iaora Tahiti', without sounding like it was a Mouse On Mars
track.
The other three tracks are by Lupo Borax, and are similarly downbeat. I can't
really think how to describe them or where to start, but I like them too.
Sometimes it reminded me of quieter moments from early Cabaret Voltaire, with
its generally synth-led grooves, loose male singer, weird samples and noises,
and quite clunky un-dancey, un-electro beats. On the last track the guy
singing sounds a bit like a cross between Johnny Cash and Ian Curtis, which in
context is pretty bizarre.
Michael
np. 'Song of the Siren' - Tim Buckley
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