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Muscle Memory/Holy Goodnight by The Vibration89 by KotchyMiracle Kicker by Dark Captain Light CaptainTriple Distilled by Graham Day And The GaolersTriple Distilled by Graham Day And The GaolersButterfly by AzymuthJealous Enemies by Dark Captain Light CaptainNew Music for Brass Band by Foden's Richardson Band and Bramwell ToveyNew Music for Brass Band by Foden's Richardson Band and Bramwell ToveyLaila by Shahin BadarFirst Light - Single by Turner CodyO by Tilly And The WallWorld I See by The PresentTones Drones & Broken Bones by Kobra Audio LabsFar Out Bossa Nova by Various ArtistsShe Made It Easy by KotchyDirt Don't Hurt by Holly Golightly and The BrokeoffsDirt Don't Hurt by Holly Golightly and The BrokeoffsCandy by SpookyBuilders Brew by The ChapShe Made It Easy by KotchyThree Blind Mice EP by Terry Edwards And The ScapegoatsThe Ice Pick EP by Shusi KhijadaBoy, Did She Teach You Nothing? by AbsenteeLost-Wax by Lena & The Floating Roots OrchestraObject 47 by WireMy 45 by Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs

jamie tetlow

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Funfair

Funfair [ review of: Funfair by Child's View (CD Album) ]

Nobukazu Takemura has developed a sound quite unique. The releases with his band, Spiritual Vibes, and then later as himself, on the Bellissima label, placed him at the front of Japan's ever growing underground music scene. On these releases he'd proved his outstanding ability behind the desk (production and arrangement) not to mention himself being a multi-instramentalist. 'Funfair' sees the sampling and electronics of the early records pulled to the forefront. There is still a strong use of that distinctive child's voice but this time it's broken, fragmented and then reassembled. The vocal elements bounce off each other as if they were in 'Funfairs' very own hall of mirrors. 'The Cradle of Light' and 'Pendulum' evoke early memories of merry-go-rounds on sun bleached days; there is the clash of programmed sheet music from three or four nearby organs. Yet the clipping characteristics of a CD player fast-forwarding pulls the music into the present. 'Sabure' offers erratic drill & bass against nursery rhyme melodies; the schizophrenic? or the observations of a bystander? Takemura employs coarse looped samples on the penultimate track 'After Image'. They swirl in a bright haze for almost ten minutes, like Philip Jeck's 'Loopholes' album there is a relentlessness about this work; all variations on a frequency should be explored. The album closes on an acoustic note more on a par with his jazz dance workouts. Building a subtle up-tempo rhythm that gives light relief from the sometimes quite intense previous tracks. With his first solo release Takemura deserves to be walking in the footsteps of Cage and Reich. He's placed his view of this world within the child's eye creating a fantasy place, that place, like the child sees it, is a surreal yet luscious one.


Posted by jamie tetlow at 00:00, 22 Apr 1999

Horizontal

Horizontal [ review of: Horizontal by Puppy (CD Album) ]

David Hodgson's chosen title 'Horizontal' is, for me, an appropriate one. It doesn't so much describe the position one should acquire during listening (quite the opposite) but the path the music takes. From the opening clatters of 'Weightless' to the closing tones of 'Fight Scene' one never quite feels pulled in to a sonic journey (not to say one should). As soon as the first beats are dropped you're confronted with a barrage of persistent intensity. The drum patterns seem to systematically layer sometimes substituting one rhythm for another. The inorganic machine at the stage front. Throughout their given six minutes each track sees filthy, textured bass and scathing synths relentlessly looped so that they sustain a monochromatic wash. This all makes for a very dark soundtrack, and perhaps, indeed, that's what it is. The short stabs of sci-fi, that offer slight relief, certainly suggest this, though Hodgson's day job is the greatest clue. With the design of computer games any musical accompaniment is there to offer a mood. It never leads but moulds to the feel of the play, the 'game' seeking attention with its incessant demand for focus. So maybe all that's missing from the wonderful world of puppy is a visual foreground. Quite what it would consist of is an unknown and exists only in the head of Hodgson's alter-ego Puppy. For now you'll have to play your own mind games.


Posted by jamie tetlow at 00:00, 04 Mar 1999

The Collapse of Modern Culture

The Collapse of Modern Culture [ review of: The Collapse of Modern Culture by Urban Tribe (CD Album) ]

Look at this lps artwork and you'd be forgiven for thinking Mo-Wax had spent all their money on the UNKLE project. A simple design with black ink printed on flimsy unlaminated yellow card. Well, you shouldn't judge anything by its cover and this album is certainly no exception. Urban Tribe is the Detroit based project of Sherard Ingram in which he employs the skills of fellow motor city dwellers Anthony Shakir, Kenny Dixon jnr and Carl Craig. Their previous twelves on Lavelles label were a solid insight into what is a luscious album of meticulous construction and one that strongly harks back to the technology obsessed early Detroit techno sound. With the exception, maybe, of the Dixon written 'd2000' all the tracks drift in a cosmic like space resting on dub undertones but with the sparkle of synth washes and sample loops filtering through. All propped up with beautiful soft breaks and not a hi-hat, snare or base drum forced, perhaps the production influence of Craig. The writing, mixing and performing credits fluctuate from track to track, the four musicians swapping duties as they please, yet Ingram always seems to be lurking, keeping it tight, and holding together these creative forces.By the time you reach the end, the truly sublime 'peacemakers', you'll have learnt the Urban Tribe is not here to start a fight, their motives are more offworld......electronica for the 21st century.


Posted by jamie tetlow at 00:00, 09 Dec 1998

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