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Hauschka - Ferndorf (130701)
When I'm in the mood for classical piano and chamber music, I usually turn to a bottomless repertoire of Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Chopin, Stravinsky and Beethoven. For a more edgier, experimental, and contemporary feel, I queue up modern classical composers like Arvo Pärt, Phillip Glass, Nico Muhly and Max Richter. I'm definitely adding Hauschka to the latter list. I first discovered Volker Bertelmann upon the release of his sophomore album The Prepared Piano (Karaoke Kalk, 2005). It was an exploration into brutal modifications with adjusted hammers and padded strings that was more on avant-garde side (see John Cage's credited invention of the prepared piano), and made me listen closer for the adjustments in my favorite instrument. The fourth full length album from this Düsseldorf based pianist and composer explores every chamber instrument in its full capacity. On Ferndorf (translating into 'remote village' from German), Hauschka brings in two cellists, violinist and even a trombone player to construct modern classical pieces that are pleasant on the ear and the soul. Five out of twelve tracks appear to be "purely improvised", yet elicit strong musicianship from the participating players. Alluding to his birthplace in rural Germany, the trip along the memory lane, is an upbeat skip and hop. Here, Bertelmann revisits his childhood influences contributing to his decade long affair with the piano. Where most major-chord filled pieces usually fill me with a post-neo-classical dread of scale walking, Hauschka keeps restraint and tends to concentrate on execution and message of each individual piece. Of course, no such trip ever occurs without a touch of melancholy. Here, too, Hauschka excels in creating majestic and musical compositions, all whilst adding a touch of modern experimentation and exploration of live instruments, to let his composition rise just a notch above the rest. Deep respect to Bertelmann for extracting all percussive attributes from a beloved instrument while keeping it waltzing with joy. Grab this latest release from FatCat's sister label, 130701. Similar artist cloud includes Goldmund, Deaf Center, Sylvain Chauveau, Library Tapes, Peter Broderick, Marsen Jules, and of course Max Richter and Ryuuichi Sakamoto.
Update: Hauschka is currently on tour! Be sure to visit his myspace page for Upcoming Shows schedule.
Two and a Half Questions with Hauschka
http://www.myspace.com/hauschka | http://www.hauschka-net.de
http://www.myspace.com/fatcatrecords | http://www.fat-cat.co.uk
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Plaid - Tekkon Kinkreet (Aniplex Inc.)
I was originally postponing any reviews of Plaid in anticipation of their new album, Scintilli, originally planned to be released sometime in Q4 of 2008. But it seems that it has now been postponed to mid 2009, and I can't wait that long to talk about one of my favorite artists (which you should already know all about). And what could I say about Andy Turner and Ed Handley that hasn't been said before? As former members of The Black Dog, their discography goes back to the early 90s. Their official first appearance on Warp as Plaid was with Not For Threes (Warp, 1997) followed by a dozen of LPs and EPs. This year the duo celebrated their 20th anniversary of working together. In 2006, Plaid composed their first soundtrack to the Japanese anime, Tekkon Kinkreet (Studio 4°C, directed by Michael Arias), and just completed yet another soundtrack to Arias' 2009 film, Heaven's Door [to be released by Beatink in Dec 2008 or Jan 2009]. But back to the official soundtrack for Tekkon Kinkreet (which is actually a pun on "Tekkin Concrete", the Japanese term for reinforced concrete). The score is a collection of well rounded and extremely intelligent tracks that tell a complete story of their own, combining ambient, electronic, and even pop-rock elements that are beyond any dimension of measurable classification. It is a lavishly warm album, wrapped with diverse instrumentation, like vibraphone, strings, bass, acoustic drums and jazzy riffs, all driving forward the cinematic perception of a fantastic world existing in a world of animated film. There is just way too much in this latest Plaid release to be put into words, so I'll reserve to quoting Michael Arias from the liner notes: "[...] the music should have an analog, old-world feel, to compliment the nostalgic ambiance of the Treasure Town we see in the opening scenes. As we move into the second act, [...] old world analog will give way to newer, alien, synthetic forms: minimalist breakbeats and dissonant post-techno sounds. [...] This music will echo fragments heard over White's dreams of ocean paradise and apple trees." What's more exciting about Tekkon Kinkreet, is that unlike previous Plaid albums, it is not reprinted upon various media by Warp, Nothing, or Beat Records alike. It is a single release, falling slightly beneath the radar, on an Aniplex Inc., a Japanese imprint for Sony Music Entertainment (Japan). Not being marketed by Warp, this album may have slipped past a bunch of fans, unless they are loyal Plaid followers. It is still only available as an import [and sells on Amazon for $65 ???]. I highly recommend you listen to the album first (over and over), and then watch Tekkon Kinkreet - it will create an interesting experience of watching an exciting story, set to already beloved tunes [btw - the animation is amazing!]. Then pick up a Tekkon Kinkreet Remix project with interpretations by Prefuse 73, Vex'd, Derrick May, Mathew Jonson and many others. Recommended for fans of Kettel, The Flashbulb, Boards of Canada, Arovane, Wagon Christ, and The Future Sound of London.
http://www.myspace.com/plaid4thepeople | http://www.plaid.co.uk
http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/animation
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Last Days - Sea (n5MD)
With the world financial markets currently in gloom, the US presidential elections around the corner [and no real positive outlook in sight], and the overall feeling of minor depression, not the least of which could be attributed to the oncoming colder weather, I begin to wonder if these _are_ the last of our days. But the truth is much more cut and dry. Even when everything implodes or blows up, the sun will keep burning, the time will keep passing, and life will go on. That doesn't prevent me from feeling melancholy and turn towards Scotland based Graham Richardson, who, with his two albums on n5MD, explores sadness through music. Using acoustic live instruments, like piano, xylophone, and guitar, Richardson draws out intelligent ambient soundscapes under his solo project name, Last Days. Sea is Richardson's debut album (n5MD, 2006), which he followed up with a sophomore release a year after, These Places Are Now Ruins (n5MD, 2007). The album is a thematic experience in which Richardson tells a tale of a "a person who sails out to sea, becomes lost halfway, and is eventually rescued." The music thus fluctuates in emotion between fear, dread, hope and peaceful acceptance - the common waves in a life cycle of a man, regardless which rough waters he chooses to navigate. Richardson samples the material using the 'lo-fi' approach, degrading the sound digitally when possible, bringing it closer to shoegaze rather than electronic. Richardson plans on releasing his third (almost finished) album, titled The Safety of The North, on n5MD, in the beginning of 2009. (see my Two and a Half Questions with Graham Richardson for more details). For fans of Eluvium, Deaf Center, Porn Sword Tobacco, Opitope, Kiln, and Hammock.
Two and a Half Questions with Graham Richardson
http://www.myspace.com/lastdaysmyspace | http://www.n5md.com/lastdays
http://www.myspace.com/n5mafia | http://www.n5md.com
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Fjordne - The Last 3 Days Of Time (Dynamophone Records)
Here's everything I love about modern classical and experimental ambient. Tiny sprinkles of noise and artifacts. Glitchy digital errors across strummed guitars. Chopped up echoes of piano. Timeless bliss... All making up some jigsaw puzzle of a melody that reveals itself only if you unfocus your mind, unplug the brain, and blur your vision. Let the sound saturate your thoughts, swirling forwards and back in time, seeking lost data across corrupted volumes of memories. Ah, there it is, that moment. Nope, gone again. Tokyo based Shunichiro Fujimoto's solo project under Fjordne moniker is a feat of subliminal time slippage consumed by the inevitable force of a black hole. Sourcing only acoustic instruments and some voice, Fujimoto digitally warps and processes the sounds into The Last 3 Days Of Time which gets picked up by a San Francisco based Dynamophone Records. And here's where owning a physical copy of this album really pays off: the 250 limited and numbered compact disk has a black lining (maybe that's what reminded me of black hole) and arrives in a small round tin container with a matted imprint of a bird sitting on a branch, revealing tiny mechanical gears beneath its feathers. A wind-up bird of time, approaching its last three days... And the clock ticks... It is no coincidence that the cover art resembles the theme behind The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by my _all_time_favorite_ Japanese author, Haruki Murakami. Fujimoto's music is inspired by this and other Murakami works (which you absolutely _must_ read if you read fiction at all!). Highly recommended for fans of Fennesz, Alvo Noto, Oval, Marsen Jules and Deaf Center. Also, make sure to pick up The Abbasi Brothers' Something Like Nostalgia, now that Dynamophone has officially released the album - you can get your Dynamophone copies at a growing n5MD store, which you can always leave with a cart full of goodies. [*UPDATE* - Looks like Mr. Fujimoto released his third album, Stories Aparat From The World, on Japanese based Ryoondo-Tea label in July of 2008]
http://www.myspace.com/fjordne
http://www.myspace.com/dynamophone | http://www.dynamophone.com
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Deru - Trying To Remember (Merck)
It's been almost two years since one of the leading IDM labels operating out of Florida, closed its doors. My dear Merck... I'm tired of sighing. Your impact on the music scene still resonates till this day - with new artists drawing inspirations from your past releases, and abandoned musicians still scrambling to find a new home for their future work. In the same light, I haven't heard anything from Deru since his 2004 release on Merck, Trying To Remember. He has, however, just finished his third album, Say Goodbye To Useless, which is scheduled to be released in the first half of 2009. About a year ago, I saw Benjamin Wynn play out live, at an outdoor festival, and his deep bass and punchy beats sent the vibrations far through the woods. Add to that some subliminal melodic samples with a glitch and swirling effects, and you got somewhat of a staple sound as spearheaded by the likes of Funckarma, Hecq, Kattoo, Gridlock, etc. (I can go on and on). One of my favorite tracks, is Deru's remix of Yasume's Rengoku, appearing on Colonized 01 (Colony Productions, 2007). Some very cinematic and futuristic moments there. His other treasured releases include the Pushing Air LP (Neo Ouija, 2003) and a remix compilation of his originals, released on a beautiful 10" vinyl, Pushing Soil (Delikatessen, 2004), with reworked tracks by Xela, Ginormous, Lo Grey Beam and Lusine. Deru returned the favor to Jeff McIlwain by remixing Auto Pilot on Lusine's Podgelism (Ghostly, 2007). Deru also appeared on Sutemos' Intelligent Toys 3 and even remixed KiloWatts' Two Days Off on Problems/Solved (AMM, 2006). Throughout his short discography, Wynn has managed to perfect his found sound. It is atmospheric. It is thumping. It is fractured. And once you hear it, you'll be able to recognize his touch and influence in others. Highly recommended. And I am anxiously awaiting his upcoming new album!
Two and a Half Questions with Deru
http://www.myspace.com/iamderu | http://www.meisderu.com
http://www.myspace.com/merckrecords | http://www.m3rck.net
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Argaman - My Little Forest (self)
It's a quiet forest morning. The birds are chirping. Somewhere a large animal calls out to its mate. Soon the horns sound. The kaleidoscopic circus marches in. The trees begin to bend as they extend into the skies, branching out in rainbow fractals. Everything compacts into a single energy and then explodes again. The psychedelia sets in. Itai Argaman has been working on his psybient album for over two years, no doubt studying the mind-bending sounds of Shpongle, Infected Mushroom, Shulman, Bluetech, Aes Dana, and Ott in the process. Inspired by the Israeli underground psychedelic music scene, Argaman uses classical and orchestral instrumentation to create floating, morphing, and curving sounds combining into psydub-psychill-psydm-and-psy-everything-else. Argaman's musicianship begins at his classical compositions that were promoted to cinematic scores, and continues to develop through continuous study of electronic sound. As I watched Argaman evolve in the last year, I saw him progress from a mere demo of a few tracks into a full polished album, My Little Forest. The slight dementia hiding beneath the covers of My Little Forest clearly reflects the collective insanity of modern society. The interlined thematic tracks reveal the story of both realities - the one perceived and the one beyond our senses. In which one do you live? This is a special treat, as this album is still unsigned to any label, but will be be out soon (follow Argaman via myspazz). Recommended if you enjoy the above mentioned names, or any artists from labels like Twisted, BNE, TIP, Phonokol, or Dragonfly.
http://www.myspace.com/argaman | http://www.itaiargaman.com
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Max Richter - 24 Postcards In Full Colour (130701 / FatCat)
Writing about such music is difficult. Especially when its beauty is escorted by concept. I could tell you about Touch Ringtones, and Max Richter's approach at creating twenty four miniature classical sketches designed to capture the moment and snap you in and out of your daily tasks. I could tell you about Richter's gallery installations where the pieces would be transmitted to the audiences mobile phones via SMS. I could tell you about the twenty four photographic images beautifully laid out on a CD insert (some revealing a reflection or a shadow of Max Richter himself), and on a mini website with a preview of the tracks. I could, perhaps, quote the German-born, modern classical composer, who explains the idea behind his fourth album in his own words: "thinking about how we listen to music now, with the range of options available, I wondered why it is that the ringtone medium has so far been treated as unfit for creative music..." But I won't do any of that. Instead, I simply invite you to listen and decide for yourself... Richter may have an impact on your perception of the intrusive personal wake up call of a gadget humanity should probably live without. I often picture Mozart slapping his forehead at the thought that his genius is echoed through a tiny speaker on a busy subway. Perhaps one day, on my morning commute, I will be disturbed by the alarming calm of Max Richter's peaceful piano playing through someone's Nextel. Perhaps... I doubt it... Until then, I highly recommend an excellent pair of headphones to enjoy this absolutely marvelous collection of sketches whose shortcoming is only their brief existence. Each track ranges between one minute and two, offering you only a short glimpse into a moment conveyed through geographically centered track names, personal photographic snapshots, and of course music itself. The instrumentation for the album is limited by Richter himself to a string quintet, acoustic guitar, and of course, a piano. The seasoning for this recipe includes dusty vinyl, fuzzy shortwave radio, and clicky scratchy samples, all processed by transistors and 16 track 2" tape. The pieces are designed to be a cluster of fragmented impressionistic vignettes, "stitched together to form a series of jump-cuts and foldbacks in time." Richter elaborates further: "because the piece is a collection of tones, where I have no control of the order, I made a structure that holds together by use of shared material – like a cloud of pieces, or a handful of confetti, or a constellation of fragments – to be navigated as you like..." 24 Postcards In Full Colour is released on Brighton Based FatCat Records imprint, 130701, dedicated to more instrumental albums. I highly recommend you also pickup (or revisit) Richter's previous hailed modern classical masterpieces, Memoryhouse, The Blue Notebooks, and Songs From before.
Two and a Half Questions with Max Richter
http://www.myspace.com/maxrichtermusic | http://www.maxrichter.com
http://www.myspace.com/fatcatrecords | http://www.fat-cat.co.uk
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Krafty Kuts - FabricLive. 34 (Fabric)
The FabricLive series has celebrated some really amazing output since its launch seven years ago. The monthly (!) compilation releases started in November 2001, by the London based nightclub Fabric. Alternating monthly between Fabric and FabricLive series, the club's offshoot label has covered a diversity of genres, from tech house to drum'n'bass, from dubstep to hip hop, from electro to disco. The mixed compilations feature an excellent roster of DJs and artists spearheading stylistic underground and commercial movements. Some of my most recent favorite FabricLive mixes feature Noisia, Caspa & Rusko, Spank Rock, High Contrast and DJ Craze. This 34th release (June 2007), is put together by Martin Randal, who goes by the name of Krafty Kuts. Randal is a Brighton (England) based electronic breakbeat producer and a DJ. In the last three years, he has has won the "Best DJ" title from the Breakspoll Awards. And this compilation does not under-perform. Krafty Kuts pulls out his crate favorites, like old-skool rap from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and funky electro from Milke. The production is top notch, the mixing is of course superb, and the sounds are super fresh. I especially love Krafty's layering of acappellas over other instrumentals to create new sounds and essentially remixes. Artists appearing on the mix include Tim Deluxe, DJ Icey, Plump DJ's, Madox, Aquasky, Freestylers, and Primal Scream among the many. I was last this excited about the FabricLive album when I reviewed The Herbaliser's contribution towards 26th volume. Perfect for a weekend drive. Recommended if you want to catch up on the latest breakbeat sound. And I'm sure I'll be raving about other FabricLive releases pretty soon.
http://www.myspace.com/djkraftykuts | http://www.superchargedmusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/fabricfamily | http://www.fabriclondon.com
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IJO - (Untitled) LP (self)
Queuing up the self released (Untitled) LP by IJO on my iPod, I find that my collection is already sprinkled with tracks from this Lithuanian artist [currently residing in London]. A few of Audrius Vaitiekunas' tracks appear under my favorite Sutemos compilations: Draumar Um Kalt Sumar (Sutemos, 2006) and Intelligent Toys 4 (Sutemos, 2007). And I find that I have already rated those melodic IDM pieces high within an amazing collection of artists. But now I turn to check out IJO's more experimental work, that originally appeared on Plain Productions as a digital Untitled EP in 2006 (still available from this netlabel as a free download), later to be re-released by Vaitiekunas himself, with four more tracks from Quastic! Tracks (Envizagae, 2007), as a pressed 12" LP (this is a limited edition, and I've got mine right here!). IJO rips through the breaks, twisting up triggered percussion and acid bleeps into a whirlpool of distortion, that deserves to be analyzed under a microscope. The deep well of the brilliant Amen Break cutups still hasn't run dry (neither for me, nor for IJO), and when its mayhem detonates into jazzy and melodic interlude, my evil grin melts into a smile. The unheard (Unknown) track on this unsigned (Untitled) is simply unbelievable. It is the unmeasurable uncredible undarkness... er, sorry, got glitched in a groove there... I was trying to say that the (Unknown) track is the absolute highlight of the album for me. It is everything I ever wanted drill'n'bass to be. Evil grinds in the vain of DJ Hidden, lightning rhythmic patterns in the higher frequency, all phased and mashed up into the finest breakcore, as institutionalized by Venetian Snares, Squarepusher and Jega. Highly recommended.
http://www.myspace.com/theijo | http://www.plainaudio.com/ijo
http://www.myspace.com/plainaudio | http://www.plainaudio.com
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Squarepusher - Just A Souvenir (Warp)
With his twelfth album, Tom Jenkinson takes even a further departure from his staple Squarepuher sound of broken beats atop slapped bass and twisted triggers of the Amen Break. Warp's own store, Warpmart, categorizes the album as "Drum and Bass / Breakcore / Electronica", but I assure you, nothing could be further from the truth! (kind of misleading actually). Just A Souvenir is more in the realms of experimental rock and future jazz, with a touch of electronic treatment and a few very tasteful drills, where Jenkinson continues evolving (as a true musician should) in his experimentation with abstract accompaniment of acoustic instruments (mostly his custom built 6 string bass guitar once again) and drums that effortlessly morph between organic and digital. With Just A Souvenir, Jenkinson introduces an element of early garage rock, with vocoder and all, and reminds us once again of his amazing instrumentalist skills. First thing's first - I like it! And after only a few listens, the melodies come back haunting me later during the day. A true sign that I will return to the album! Just A Souvenir opens up with a track titled, Star Time 2 (makes you wonder about its first part) with a fun funky synth/clavichord melody and light beats. From then on Squarepusher moves into improvisational, jazzy, and effected bass slaps over barely comprehensible vocoder blurbs. All of it is truly of psychedelic nature with sparking notes in a kaleidoscope of white, red, green, blue and yellow. On his site, Jenkinson explains that "this album started as a daydream about watching a crazy, beautiful rock band play an ultra-gig." He then goes on describing his fluorescent trip which included an Eskimo on the drums and a classical guitar player that could speed up and slow down the time in his vicinity. I recommend you read up on on Tom's blurred delirium before embarking on this trip. Then bathe yourself in this album which is the interpretation of Jenkinson's memory of the daydream which he held on to as a souvenir. Running at (only) 45 minutes long, Just A Souvenir picks up where Hello Everything left off, becoming more organic with every track. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you'll enjoy this rubber band trip through time. Only the way Squarepusher could. Just A Souvenir hits the streets on October 27th (2008), and is currently available as a digital download (in FLAC as well) from bleep dot com.
http://www.myspace.com/akais5000 | http://www.squarepusher.net
http://www.myspace.com/warprecords | http://www.warprecords.com
http://www.warpmart.com | http://www.bleep.com
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Anders Ilar - Sworn (Level)
Anders Ilar comes back with an intelligent minimal techno album, full of ambient and glitch elements that compliment the ongoing groove in every single way. And I guess it wouldn't be fair to file Sworn under minimal techno. After all, the only stylistic hint at that category is its four-four beat, and not on every track. The rest of the music is as close to techno as was The Last Resort by Trentemøller (I mean that in a good way). And I don't just accidentally mention that name. The production and experimental IDM touch, which Anders Ilar is so proficient at, indeed reminds me of Trentemøller's excellent work. And it shouldn't be a surprise. The Swedish producer has considerable output behind him on many excellent labels, such as Shitkatapult, Audio.nl, the dearly missed Merck, and its offshoot, Narita. The latter mentioned label survived its parent only by a year and a half, announcing the news that during late summer of this year (2008), it will release its last compilation, sadly titled Terminal (although it also fits within Narita's nomenclature relating to the Tokyo airport). Meanwhile, its last release this past April was none other then a collaboration between Anders Ilar and Fredrik Hedvall, titled Melt. Ilar's 2006 eight-track LP on Merck, Ludwijka, and its extended release in 2007 on Shitkatapult, Ludwijka - Extended Visit, should serve as an excellent base and a great predecessor to Sworn. I usually begin my Ilar playlist with the former and end it with the latter, and I recommend you do the same. This is a great [re]discovery! An absolute must for fans of Trentemøller, Minilougue, Booka Shade, Gui Boratto as well as Deaf Center, Yagya, and Rod Modell alike.
Two and a Half Questions with Anders Ilar
http://www.myspace.com/andersilar | http://www.pinesky.com
http://www.myspace.com/levelrecordsduesseldorf | http://www.level-records.com
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The Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Combination - I Was Young And I Needed The Money (Ninja Tune)
Squarepusher recently announced a new upcoming album, titled Just A Souvenir (out on Warp on October 27th, of 2008 - and already available via digital download on bleep). But on my first preview of the album, Tom Jenkinson seems to drift even further away from his original innovative broken beats and drill'n'bass, so dominated by the late 90s. Personally, I always applaud the efforts of an evolving artist, and Squarepusher deserves a whole separate hailing review (coming up next). But being nostalgic for that jazzy breaky genre, I dust off a copy of an overlooked album by Florian Schmitt, which cries out to be back in my rotations. Schmitt recorded only a single album for Ninja Tune back in 1998 under the lengthy pseudonym, The Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Combination. He also did a bunch of remixes later under Clifford Gilberto and his real name. But that was a decade ago, and since then, he's been pretty quiet. Nevertheless, the sound of his debut album, I Was Young And I Needed The Money, is fresh and upbeat, after all these years. I did not begin this write up with Jenkinson incidentally, though. Fans of Squarepusher, Amon Tobin, Cinematic Orchestra, µ-Ziq, and The Flashbulb will be absolutely delighted to hear the Schmitt's tracks for the first time, if they somehow missed the album when it first hit the streets. The sound fluctuates between melodic drum'n'bass (closer to a drilling jungle though, then a straight beat) and a jazzy trip-hoppy rhythms with Latin-flavored samples. The Gilberto reference in Schmitt's alias reveals his Brazilian jazz influence... maybe... His biography on Ninja Tune's site claims that he's "the unknown lovechild of Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz", but Schmitt brings to the table much more than the musical genius of aforementioned influential bossa nova artists. Guaranteed to liven up your mood and get you to bop your head. And seriously, if you haven't heard this one, get it! Too many favorite tracks on that one to list.
http://www.ninjatune.net/gilberto | http://www.ninjatune.net
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One Starving Day - Broken Wings Lead Arms to the Sun (Planaria/KNVBI)
The record patiently awaits its turn among the large pile of music. Finally it is allowed to play, to shine, to sing, and to scream in its beautiful agony. It's like this: if you are a drooling mischievous apocalyptic follower of Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mono, as well as Pelican, Neurosis, and Isis, then you absolutely _must_ get this album. One Starving Day is a group of Italian musicians, with a previous experience in some hardcore bands, but what they whip up on their debut album, Broken Wings Lead Arms to the Sun, is beyond metal, beyond screamo and post-nu-post-rock. It is a blend of very melodic and voluptuous swells of unfolding desperation which erupts into the mass of lava... flowing... slowly... All you can do is just stand there, agape, watching it helplessly wash over your ears, consuming everything in its path. Take the intimate lyrics on my favorite track on the album, Leave: "on these tears / lay down, and wait / for becoming / an abandon / to soothe / all your fears / a pure heart / to soothe / and leave". Into this deadly cocktail, throw in the spacey 70s synth sweeps, raw violin screeches, and explosive (excellent) drumming. And I did mention the screamed vocals, right? That may sound discouraging to some listeners (or readers), but it works _very_ well for One Starving Day, and is actually more than welcomed by yours truly (surprise!). The CD was released on Washington DC based Planaria Recordings, and then repressed on a colored 12" vinyl with two extra unreleased tracks on an accompanying 7" by KNVBI Records. Whether you're a collector or not, this record must be in your library for the likes of the above mentioned bands.
http://www.myspace.com/onestarvingday | http://www.onestarvingday.com
http://www.myspace.com/planaria | http://www.planariainc.com
http://www.myspace.com/knvbirecords | http://www.knvbirecords.com
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last.fm artist and label cloud mentioned in the above post:
Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly, Max Richter, John Cage, Goldmund, Deaf Center, Sylvain Chauveau, Library Tapes, Peter Broderick, Marsen Jules, 坂本龍一, Hauschka, Plaid, The Black Dog, Andy Turner, Ed Handley, Prefuse 73, Vex'd, Derrick May, Mathew Jonson, Kettel, The Flashbulb, Boards of Canada, Arovane, Wagon Christ, The Future Sound of London, Graham Richardson, Last Days, Plaid, Eluvium, Deaf Center, Porn Sword Tobacco, Opitope, Kiln, Hammock, Fjordne, Fennesz, Alvo Noto, Oval, Marsen Jules, The Abbasi Brothers, Deaf Center, Deru, Funckarma, Hecq, Kattoo, Gridlock, Xela, Ginormous, Lusine, Lusine ICL, KiloWatts, argaman, Shpongle, Infected Mushroom, Shulman, Bluetech, Aes Dana, Ott, Max Richter, Krafty Kuts, Noisia, Caspa & Rusko, Spank Rock, High Contrast, DJ Craze, Tim Deluxe, DJ Icey, Plump DJs, Madox, Aquasky, Freestylers, Primal Scream, The Herbaliser, IJO, DJ Hidden, Venetian Snares, Squarepusher, Jega, Anders Ilar, Trentemøller, fredrik hedvall, Minilougue, Booka Shade, Gui Boratto, Deaf Center, Yagya, Rod Modell, Tom Jenkinson, The Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Combination, Clifford Gilberto, Squarepusher, Amon Tobin, The Cinematic Orchestra, µ-Ziq, One Starving Day, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mono, Pelican, Neurosis, Isis, FATCAT, Karaoke Kalk, Warp, Nothing, Beat Records, n5MD, dynamophone, merck, Neo Ouija, Sutemos, Ghostly International, Twisted, BNE, Tip, Phonokol, Dragonfly, Plain, Shitkatapult, Ninja Tune, Jacaszek, Ólafur Arnalds, Peter Broderick, Alva Noto, Richard Chartier, iTAL tEK
