Archive for June, 2007

THE ORB: Orbsessions Vol. 2 (Maliscious Damage Records)

themilkman on Jun 29th 2007 12:37 pm

The Orb: Orbsessions Vol. 2

THE ORB
Orbsessions Vol. 2
MD624
Maliscious Damage Records 2007
11 Tracks. 76mins01secs

The first installment in what is announced as a trilogy, delivered two years ago, delved deep into the Orb’s sonic archive, and provided, in the process, the beginning of a thread throughout the band’s career, seemingly marking various stages and incarnations of one of the most emblematic British acts to have emerged from the dance scene of the late eighties.

The Orb shot to fame during the rave revolution with the epic A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld and the seminal Little Fluffy Clouds, and rapidly became a major act alongside the likes of Orbital, 808 State and Banco De Gaia. Continue Reading »

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DEXTRO: Hearts And Minds (Gronland Records)

themilkman on Jun 26th 2007 12:59 pm

Dextro: Hearts And Minds

DEXTRO
Hearts And Minds
12GRON51
Gronland Records 2007
04 Tracks. 25mins07secs
Format: 12’

Ewan Mackenzie’s first stab as a recording artist came in the shape of the confident Consequence Music, his debut album, originally released on his own 16K imprint, and recently snapped up by London-based Gronland Records. This accompanying EP features the original album track, plus remixes from Arkham, Alias and Clark.

The original version of Hearts And Mind is a haunting piece of beautiful melodic electronica which resonates with the melancholy typical of Boards Of Canada records, but Mackenzie develops a rather tight and personal combination of electronic and acoustic sounds, upon which a distant processed voice floats, which contributes greatly to the enthralling aspect of the piece. Continue Reading »

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RUSUDEN: Fe IX/X 171 A (Soho Six Records)

themilkman on Jun 22nd 2007 01:16 am

RUSUDEN: Fe IX/X 171 A

RUSUDEN
Fe IX/X 171 A
SOL003
Soho Six Records 2007
07 Tracks. 24mins23secs

Rusuden is the brainchild of Lexington, Kentucky, based musician Justin Morgan.  Following a series of self-released CDRs, his debut album, Formulae, was released on Sonicterror in 2003, and introduced his blend of glitched-up Detroit-infused electronica. The album was followed by a collection of remixes of tracks from the album by the likes of Wisp, The Gasman, Ochre, Multiplex and Morgan himself. Warm Human Antennae, Rusuden’s second album proper, was released in 2005 on Morgan’s own Soho Six imprint. While still essentially electronic, this record presented a much wider sonic scope, with guitar textures becoming quite predominant in a few tracks. Continue Reading »

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A HAWK AND A HACKSAW & THE HUN HANGÁR ENSEMBLE: A Hawk And A Hacksaw & The Hun Hangár Ensemble (The Leaf Label)

themilkman on Jun 18th 2007 12:51 pm

A HAWK AND A HACKSAW & THE HUN HANGÁR ENSEMBLE: A Hawk And A Hacksaw & The Hun Hangár Ensemble

A HAWK AND A HACKSAW & THE HUN HANGÁR ENSEMBLE
A Hawk And A Hacksaw & The Hun Hangár Ensemble
DOCK47CDVD
The Leaf Label 2007
08 Tracks. 29mins20secs

Originally the solo project of former Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes, A Hack And A Hacksaw is a totally unique project, which has taken Barnes in a variety of locations across the world. Beside his previous regular spot as drummer with Neutral Milk Hotel, Barnes has also served with Bablicon, Bright Eyes and Broadcast. He started working on his next project, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, toward the beginning of the century, and released his first album in 2003.

Feeding on a vast set of influences, ranging from Eastern European traditional music to avant-garde and beyond, the first self-titled A Hawk And A Hacksaw album, recorded in the quiet town of Saumur, on the border of the Loire, in France, totally disregarded traditional musical boundaries to create an exhilarating soundtrack out of field recordings over which pianos, accordions and various other instruments flourished into beautiful melodies. Continue Reading »

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TAXI TAXI! Taxi Taxi! (Rumraket)

themilkman on Jun 13th 2007 01:07 am

Taxi Taxi! Taxi Taxi!

TAXI TAXI!
Taxi Taxi!
RUM009
Rumraket 2007
06 Tracks. 18mins56secs

Somewhere between CocoRosie, The Sundays and Susanna & The Magical Orchestra is Taxi Taxi!, a duo formed by Stockholm-born and bred seventeen-year old twin sisters Miriam and Johanna Berhan. On the back of the interest generated by a couple of demos posted on the Internet, Taxi Taxi! have performed an impressive number of live dates in Scandinavia and have now been enrolled to take part in some of Europe’s biggest festival. Their eponymous debut EP has just been released on Efterklang’s Rumraket imprint. Continue Reading »

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KIERAN HEBDEN & STEVE REID: Tongues (Domino)

themilkman on Jun 12th 2007 10:53 am

Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid: Tongues

KIERAN HEBDEN & STEVE REID
Tongues
WIGCD189
Domino Recording Co. 2007
10 Tracks. 44mins45secs

Since he took some time off Fridge to concentrate on Four Tet, Kieran Hebden has become one of the most prominent artists of the British electronic scene of the last ten years. Three years ago, he met legendary percussionist Steve Reid, and the pair began working on live collaborations, resulting in the double-barreled Exchange Session (volume one and two). The records were the result of improvisations, which were presented in their raw form, with no overdubs. Although split into bite size sections of barely more than thirty to forty minutes, these recordings suffered from lack of general focus necessary for this kind of project, and failed to capture the true energy of the live shows the duo had been performing earlier. Continue Reading »

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OPSVIK & JENNINGS: Commuter Anthems (Rune Grammofon)

themilkman on Jun 12th 2007 01:02 am

Opsvik & Jennings: Commuter Anthems

OPSVIK & JENNINGS
Commuter Anthems
RCD2062
Rune Grammofon 2007
10 Tracks. 46mins36secs

Opsvik & Jennings first appeared as an entity two years ago with their debut album, the superb Fløyel Files, released on NCM East. While Norwegian-born bass player Eivind Jennings had already two albums under his belt, Overseas and Overseas II, published in 2003 and 2005 respectively on Fresh Sounds Records, and had contributed to a considerable number of albums and formations, guitarist Aaron Jennings, hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a relative new comer. The pair met in New York where they both relocated in the late nineties. Continue Reading »

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SAVATH & SAVALAS: Golden Pollen (Anti)

themilkman on Jun 7th 2007 01:03 pm

Savath & Savalas: Golden Pollen

SAVATH & SAVALAS
Golden Pollen
86839
Anti- 2007
16 Tracks. 52mins29secs

Following a debut album, Folk Songs For Trains, Trees And Honey, concerned primarily with gentle acoustic-infused electronica, Guillermo Scott Herren turned to his father’s native Spanish roots, moved to Barcelona and covered his Savath & Savalas project with soft Mediterranean tones and moods with Appropa’t and its sister EP, Mañana, both released on Warp during 2004. While Folk Songs… was an entirely instrumental record, Appropa’t saw Herren venturing into song-based territory with Catalonian singer songwriter Eva Puyuelo Muns sharing vocal duties with him. For Golden Pollen, his first album for Los Angeles imprint Anti, it is Herren alone who steps behind the mic, with Swedish singer songwriter Jose Gonzalez landing a helping hand on one track. Continue Reading »

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THE BLACK DOG: Remixes 2 (Dust Science)

themilkman on Jun 1st 2007 12:55 pm

The Black Dog: Remixes 2

THE BLACK DOG
Remixes 2
DUSTSND006-6
Dust Science 2007
03 Tracks. 21mins33secs
Format: 12”

While they are currently said to be working on a new album, The Black Dog continues to show impeccable form with this second collection of remixes of tracks taken from their excellent Silenced LP released in 2005, courtesy of Orlando Voorn, Derailleur and Vector Lovers, all three taking the superbly crafted original Black Dog template for a spin on the dance floor. Continue Reading »

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