I think I got the album Patashnik by Norweigian ambient techno musician Geir Jenssen, otherwise known as Biosphere, in 1995 or 1996. I found this second hand in Macs in George’s Street Arcade, along with Kula Shaker’s first album. I’ve probably listened to the later a half dozen times since, but Patashnik has been a [...]
Psycatron "Is What It Is" single "Is What It Is" marks the culmination of what has been a remarkable year for Psycatron. The Irish duo, made up of BBC Radio DJ and producer Paul Hamill and producer Dave Lievense have seized taste-makers' attention over the last 12 months with a string of exceptional releases including "Deeper Shades of Black" (Planet E) and "Directions...
BUGSKULL Communication DIGITALIS HOME LISTENING / MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT LP *ONE OF THE MOST SURPRISING, VARIED AND KNOCKOUT ALBUMS OF THE YEAR, RANGING FROM WIDESCREEN SOUNDSCAPES TO INTIMATE DRONE TRANSMISSIONS, HIP HOP VARIATIONS AND MINIATURE BLEEPY INTERLUDES - AN ABSOLUTE MUST* Between 1992 and the early 2000's, former folksinger turned lo-fi avant-garde minstrel Bugskull (aka Sean Byrne)...
Electronica is a genre of music that I never feel too comfortable talking about. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about electro-pop, which is the more easily digestible cousin of electronica, where you get songs in shorter intervals and often with vocals attached. What I'm talking about are the longer beat-driven tracks that are almost entirely instrumental. You know the kind, from a Paul Oakenfold...
Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard releases his solo album Harvest Festival on Greco-Roman, the label that he started with 2 other friends. A largely instrumental, electronic album, it winds from woozy ambience to the polyrhythms of London’s clubland and back again, and has a strange fixation with fruit. Drawing on a number of influences from UK [...]
It's been a while since I extolled the virtues of any of my favourite album sleeves, so I'll recommence the series with one of the more recent ones that are going to crop up. There's an Aphex Twin compilation called 26 Remixes For Cash and that sort of witty honesty in an album title always made me smile, but this Soulwax compilation takes that sentiment to a new level by giving the album title a word...
At times it’s difficult to classify the sound created by Richard D. James – better known as Aphex Twin – on his sophomore release, Selected Ambient Works Volume II, as music. Yes, there are moments of melody and occasionally a slight rhythm, but what are lacking are any familiar song structures — or titles, for [...]
... and while we're on the subject of pish bands getting the remix treatment. Couldn't believe it when I saw this 12" in the shop - Jesus fuckin Jones? Don't get me wrong, I'd seen them more than once in various dark and dingy establishments back in the 80s but had never actually LIKED them. Oh no. I haven't listened to this for years (the mantra which persuaded me to get off my ass and do this...
Whatever the nomenclature tells you, this is not the music of a Pariah . The young London producer's remix of Bombay Bicycle Club 's "Always Like This" is pretty much unrecognisable, warped into something blissed out and Balearic, full-on social. If I was having a party, I'd want Pariah to be there. I think you would, too. Sounds Like: Aphex Twin, M83 , Teengirl Fantasy Bombay Bicycle Club...
Boards Of Canada -’The Campfire Headphase’ (Warp, 2005) As anyone who has any interest in leftfield electronica will have realised that this is the twentieth anniversary of the seminal Warp label. Formed in Sheffield in 1989, the label has given us Aphex Twin, Leila, Autechre, Broadcast and Boards Of Canada, as well as subsequently diversifying and [...]
Via http://www.helikopterdesign.com – We here at Helikopter Design love music. Maybe more than web design.(Blasphemy!) It’s an essential part of the design process for us. Setting the right tone for inspiration, helping re-energize when attention is flagging, and making mind-numbingly-repetitive tasks much more tolerable. Our personal favorites include Animal Collective, Boards of Canada,...
Classic early Weatherall mixes from 1991. This is mistakenly labelled as "Sonic Shuffe - The Weatherall Mixes" when it's actually "101 - three Weatherall mixes and one other mix which may or may not be Weatherall under a nom-de-plume" - I guess it's not got the same ring to it though. According to the ever-reliable (and new-look) Discogs, the A2 mix is by " Scooby Doo &...
The tagline to Samuel L. Session’s Myspace page is 'music is not about standin’ still and becoming safe.' Well I think most of us would agree with him. Though whether his new album The Man With The Case particularly sticks to this maxim, is wholly more divisive issue.