Does anyone still remember IDM? A good 30 years ago, bands emerged that made intelligent dance music. I always thought the term was inappropriate and would rather call them post-techno.
From fragments of acid house, ambient and breakbeat, bands like Future Sound Of London and The Orbital initially created new soundscapes that had nothing to do with the dancefloor and could be listened to at home.
One of the driving forces behind this music was the Warp label, which released music by Aphex Twin and Autechre around 1994.
Autechre's second LP contains many different sounds, with some tracks having an ambient spark, while others have deep veins of techno and acid house. The sound is often dark and played with sparse percussion patterns and droning keyboards, but the sound of the album subtly changes with the second track Montreal. The song has a more accessible melody and a shimmering drum pattern and develops into a multi-layered and intriguing highlight that needs to be played again.
One of the most productive artists today in electronic music is Daniel Avery. After his superb collaboration with Alessandro Cortini he released in spring a handful of EP's, singles and remixes he is now back with a new album. Together In Static was planed as another 12-inch but soon turned into a complete album full of synth-laden ambient with pulsing beats. Hazel and Gold sounds sometimes like early Aphex Twin having a session with Boards of Canada. Another high class record from Mr. Avery.
The first two weeks of business in the new year are over and I have to say it is enough now. My co-workers didn't do anything than usual business and let lots of things over for me to do. This week I only concluded many things belayed than they should be. Anyway it is weekend and I won't think about the last working week and look forward to the start of the second half of Bundesliga. My team is still lower placement of the table and today's game against Berlin will show us the way into the future. Anyway, we will support them in any way. Aphex Twin's track is one them I still can listen to after all the years. Alberto Balsam was released on his epic album ... I care because you do back in 1995. I bought this record by recommended by a friend but didn't come close to this record for a long time. But suddenly a decade ago I fell in love to this record. It was far ahead of many records that was released in these days. Now it is a record I still listen to with a lot of joy.
While typing these words I watch Bayern Munich and they lead 0:2 in Leverkusen. This result will make the league boring.
Sonntag, 9. Juli 2017
It is not easy to get my attention on new records when tons of new bands appear on the scene. One of them made me to investigate because they brought back memories of my early childhood. Probably some of you can still remember the TV series Flipper back in the 60's when Sandy had a great friendship to a dolphin called Flipper. Flipper was the pet of Porter Ricks a Chief Warden of a sea park in Southern Florida. Some might call this the series the nautic Lassie but for me it was great fun watching the series every week. I got the news that a band called Porter Ricks released a new record. I thought by myself this could be worth further investigations. What I found was that this is a band long existing dub-techno project by Thomas Köner and Andy Mellwig. They returned after more than a decade of absence with their new album Anguilla Electrica. Mellwig and Köner have taken a typical techno framework, adding drums, snares and claps on every beat and finished with a lots of echoes. Their dub techno stamped by artists like Aphex Twin, who has the same quality working with repetitive elements. Not the sound you like from the first time you listen to but the more you listen the more you can enjoy.
2014 is gone and many list about the best albums/songs were made. During the last weeks I had plenty of time to listen to music - especially records that was released last year. I have to admit that it was a very good year for music. Lot's of new good bands appeared on the scene and old heroes came back with great music. So I decided to name 14 records that impressed me much in 2014. The list is in no real order and so let's go ...
Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit: Fierce postal punk's bass; functional, insignificant beats, now and then cheap keyboard reef and apathetical guitars.
Aphex Twin - Syro: He's back with more piano parts. Hope we don't have to wait another 13 years for his next record.
Caribou - Our love: An avant-garde, electronic, living album with soul and R&B for body and soul.
Jungle - Jungle: Future Pop? J and T mix the best of the last 40 years into a great record. Compatible to a lot of listeners.
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project: An economically orchestrated album - intimate and directly
Lost on the River - The new basement tapes: Old songs discovered again by Elvis Costello
Jamie T. -: Astonishing comeback. The former rage in favour to quieter songs is given way
Holly Cook - Twice: My record from last summer. Perfect reggae based songs.
Jane Weaver - The Silver Globe: A crystal clear voice and psych-folk. Awesome.
Pete Molinari - Theosophy: Molinari pushes his music into the swirling space of the psychedelic 60s
The Ravonettes - Pe'ahi: Lastes release by the underrated Danish indie-rock duo.
Slow Club - Complete Surrender: Maybe the greatest surprise this year. A record full of fantastic songs. Pure 60s soul for 2014.
The Amazing Snakeheads - Amphetamine Ballads: Another band from Glasgow - and they made a well-worn fusion of late punk and raw Rock and Roll.
Ellis Island Sound - Regions: One of the albums I listened most last year. An intensive mix of African-influenced guitar lines, a steady percussive background added with dub effects and wailing trombone. Nearly meditative and often making an atmospheric mood.
