Author Archive

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Ambient Not Not Ambient (Audio Dregs)

David Abravanel on Apr 29th 2008 09:40 pm

Various Artists: Ambient Not Ambient

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Ambient Not Not Ambient
ADR069
Audio Dregs 2008
17 Tracks. 74mins55secs

In The Ambient Century, writer Mark Prendergast finds elements of ambient music in artists and groups as diverse as The Byrds, Madonna, and (unsurprisingly) Brian Eno. While the most common aural association with the term “ambient” involves gentle synthesizers and reverb, the musical concept reaches a far wider scope. Ambient music can be with or without beats, vocals, traditional instruments, tones, or repetitive structure; all it really requires is a depth that can either be ignored or focused upon, without a clear detriment to the listening experience.

The myriad possibilities inherent in ambient music are smattered across the diverse, engaging contributions to Ambient Not Not Ambient. Eschewing the lo-fi glitch-dance sound most often associated with Audio Dregs, this newest offering features contributions from artists within and without its stable. Continue Reading »

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THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA: Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Ninja Tune)

David Abravanel on Apr 27th 2008 11:51 pm

The Cinematic Orchestra: Live At The Royal Albert Hall

THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA
Live At The Royal Albert Hall
ZEN141
Ninja Tune 2008
09 Tracks. 67mins38secs

Jason Swinscoe has had an interesting time deciding where to steer The Cinematic Orchestra. On its first release, Motion, the Orchestra was a sample-heavy nu-jazz project, exploring and crossing the lines between jazz and hip hop’s more abstract forms. Two years later, the Orchestra switched gears to perform a tight, manic score for Dziga Vertov’s classic, Soviet-era, silent film, Man With A Movie Camera. Following this was Every Day, the most fully realized Cinematic Orchestra album, moving further toward the abstract hip hop side of the equation it introduced with Motion, and progressing toward a looser and more exhausted sound. Most recently, Swinscoe and co. retreated with Ma Fleur, a delicately revitalizing soundtrack to an imaginary movie.

It’s easy to digest The Cinematic Orchestra’s albums as individual units, but thematically, one wouldn’t expect songs from different periods of its history to sit side-by-side too well. Remarkably, on Live At The Royal Albert Hall, Swinscoe has put together a show that flows flawlessly as a cohesive whole, and, like the best live (re)arrangements, forces the listener to reconsider his/her relationship with these songs. Augmented by a live orchestra, Live recasts the Orchestra’s pieces in a light that lends itself to improvisation and more present crescendos; an unexpected but very welcome change of pace.

Opener All That You Give, the Orchestra’s signature song, sounds immediately different. The majestic-yet-claustrophobic instrumentation of the studio version, is replaced by a fuller sounding orchestra, and features a new, screaming saxophone solo. As a replacement for the legendary Fontella Bass, Heidi Vogel has some big shoes to fill, but her vibrato-laden wail works sublimely to deliver a line like “Can you hear me raving? Do you see me crying?” Flite, the only other song on Live lifted from Every Day, is rescued from its overly rigid studio version to become a lively, mysterious explosion of music. It’s impressive to hear a live drummer keep up with the jungle programming of the original, while the addition of what sounds like a noisy electric guitar, and orchestral strings, makes the piece sound like the spy-movie anthem it was apparently meant to be. Never before has the “Cinematic” in the Orchestra’s name been so appropriate.

Ma Fleur thrived on sparseness, empty spaces, and reserved vocals, so it is interesting to hear how its pieces (which make up six of the nine selections here) translate to such a multifaceted live setting. Familiar Ground swirls into being, with audience excitement and applause heating up as the song’s swinging, two-note intro marches forth. The orchestration is more front-and-center here than on the album, while Vogel (again filling in for Bass) perfectly nails the trembling soul that this vocal performance demands. Breathe, meanwhile, betrays the more subdued tone of the original for a bursting, climactic crescendo. The impact of the studio version is changed, but not at all diminished.

Ode To The Big Sea, the only track representing Motion, undergoes the most radical translation here. At almost three times the length of the album version, the live Sea takes the phrases of the original for a five-minute spin, before breaking down into a series of unbacked solos – drums, then horns, then some time for the DJ to shine – before returning for a few more laps around the main theme. It’s the closest to pure avant garde jazz the Cinematic Orchestra has come, yet it wears its distinctive hip hop flavor proudly on its sleeve. After this, Time And Space falls back a bit, as Ma Fleur’s most impressive song takes its place as an emotional grand finale. Featuring Lamb’s Louise Rhodes on a spot-on vocal delivery (of which this album has no shortage), the lush orchestration brings the depth of the original into another dimension. Time And Space runs through one final, and brief, climax, before fading away.

The feeling one gets upon completion of listening to Live At The Royal Albert Hall is similar to finishing a particularly affecting novel – emotionally drained, with a lot to think about, and somehow, all the better for it. In an era where bootlegging and file-sharing have made the standard-issue live album obsolete, Live draws from existing Cinematic Orchestra material to paint a new picture, one well worth seeking out.

4.5/5

Icon: arrow The Cinematic Orchestra | Ninja Tune
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AUTECHRE: Quaristice (Versions) (Warp Records)

David Abravanel on Apr 16th 2008 11:15 pm

Autechre: Quaristice (Versions)

AUTECHRE
Quaristice (Versions)
WARPCD333X0
Warp Records 2008
11 Tracks. 67mins49secs

By now, listeners have had some time to digest Quaristice, the latest release from Autechre, and the new (yet also classic) approach they’ve taken this time around. In contrast to the longer, more spaced-out and fleshed-out ideas found on their previous three albums, Quaristice features twenty tracks, most clocking in at less than four minutes, featuring, alternately, spastic explosions of percussion and sampling, or lush ambient synthesizer arrangements. With Quaristice (Versions), a bonus disc released with the limited edition of Quaristice, Autechre offer a glimpse at a version of the album more in line with Untilted or Draft 7.30. There are eleven tracks here, many of which last longer than seven minutes, allowing the sequences and ideas from Quaristice more time to evolve. Continue Reading »

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Autechre / Massonix / Rob Hall, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 14/04/2008

David Abravanel on Apr 16th 2008 10:51 pm

FEATURE: Autechre, Massonix, Rob Hall live

Rarely are abstract electronic acts as well known for their live sets as for their recorded output. Given such a heavy reliance on sequencing and studio edits, one could be forgiven for getting bored watching someone noodle around with pre-recorded tracks on a laptop. Autechre, on the other hand, have taken a very different approach, eschewing laptops for their live performance, and instead working with a mix and match of sequences, almost all of them unreleased, for a live show that is intense and unforgettable. Continue Reading »

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YIP-YIP: Two Kings Of The Same Kingdom (S.A.F. Records)

David Abravanel on Apr 7th 2008 11:56 pm

Yip-Yip: Two Kings For The Same Kingdom

YIP-YIP
Two Kings Of The Same Kingdom
SAF19
S.A.F. Records 2008
12 Tracks. 24min09sec

There was a time, namely the 1970s, when analog synthesizers were a very new and volatile instrument for rock music and its derivations. The advent of more portable and affordable synthesizers meant that small-time renegade groups with nothing to lose got their hands on these messes of transistors, eventually developing into very interesting records, from Pere Ubu to Gary Newman to The Normal. Such oddball use of analogue gear weren’t long for the semi-mainstream, as the eighties ushered in an era of sequencers and digital synthesis, while synthpop groups produced meticulously edited studio masterpieces, ditching much of the grit. Even the likes of Cabaret Voltaire moved closer to the dance floor. Picking up the avant garde, warts-and-all spirit of pioneering synth-punkers are Yip-Yip, a Florida-based duo consisting of Brian Esser and Jason Temple, whose gear list (included here in the otherwise-sparse liner notes) is a treasure-trove of analogue (and cheap digital) history. Continue Reading »

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CYLOB: Late In The Day (Cylob Industries)

David Abravanel on Mar 13th 2008 12:02 am

Cylob: Late In The Day

CYLOB
Late In The Day
CSR005M
Cylob Industries 2008
06 Tracks. 21mins57secs
Format: Digital

It’s a common criticism labeled at electronic music, that sounds produced by machines sound too clean and inhuman. Often enough, of course, that’s part of the point, but beyond that, one could counter, no machine is perfect. Picking up and exploiting the weaknesses of electronic instruments is a full-fledged phenomenon, be it in circuit bending toy instruments, removing the batteries from a sequencer and using a memory crash to create new sequences, or coding your entire setup from scratch like Chris Jeffs (known on stage and record as Cylob) does. Representing this labor of intense, creative love, Cylob’s music, whether more toward the electro or ambient end of the spectrum, has always retained a unique and imperfect aura.

Late In The Day, the latest EP release from Cylob, is the sound of passively violent degradation. Almost every synthesized sound here is detuned to some extent, while the percussion loops sound perpetually ready to disintegrate into bits. Continue Reading »

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THE 2007 REVIEW: David Abravanel

David Abravanel on Dec 20th 2007 11:23 pm

Feature: The 2007 Review

Here we are, a year of music distilled into the 20 albums which made the biggest impression of me.Inevitably I’ve forgotten something, but for now, no regrets.The choice for number one was neither clear nor easy, but the Strings Of Consciousness tipped the scales with its adventurous spirit of collaboration, song, sound atmosphere, and poetry.2007 was a good year for psychedelic electronics, represented here by artists as diverse as Supermayer, Ulrich Schnauss, and The Field.

In addition to the old favorites, some new mavericks came out of nowhere with leftfield brilliance, including releases by Burial and I Am Spoonbender.2007 also saw a number of minimal masters expanding into new territories, whether it was Matthew Dear playing the role of singer-songwriter, Supermayer as a prog- and krautrock-loving comic book duo, The Field’s shoegazing atmospheres, or Ricardo Villalobos’ Japanese and jazz drumming.

All in all, 2007 was a year full of solid albums, looking to the past (Queens Of The Stone Age’s retro grit), the present (Matthew Dear’s modern-man situations) the future (Amon Tobin’s post-modern sample pastiche), and, in the case of Panda Bear’s updated Beach Boys harmonies or Björks earthy futurism, all three at once.

Strings Of Consciousness: Our Moon Is Full1.

STRINGS OF CONCIOUSNESS
Our Moon Is Full
Central Control Continue Reading »

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THE FIELD: Sound Of Light (Heartbeats International)

David Abravanel on Dec 12th 2007 10:20 pm

The Field: Sound Of Light

THE FIELD
Sound Of Light
Heartbeats International 2007
04 Tracks. 60mins35secs

Music and hotels make interesting bedfellows (pun not necessarily intended). Some of the world’s poshest and most modern hotels have commissioned exclusive, original works to “soundtrack” one’s stay. Rifling through these compilations, one comes across a smattering of cool – trip hop, smooth house, jazzy breaks, among others – tailor-made to stick to walls and encourage a seductively elegant atmosphere.

Entering this fray are the designed-obsessed minds behind Stockholm’s Nordic Light Hotel, who have announced the Sound Of Light series as a chance for musicians to make an aural document of their stay. First up is Swedish techno artist The Field, aka Axel Willner. Continue Reading »

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CLARK: Throttle Promoter (Warp)

David Abravanel on Dec 11th 2007 01:26 am

CLARK: Throttle Promoter

CLARK
Throttle Promoter
WAP238
Warp Records 2007
04 Tracks. 14mins39secs
Format: Digital / 12″

The press for Throttle Promoter, Clark’s newest release, has described the EP as a “surprise”, intended to pique interest for another surprise – his upcoming full-length, Turning Dragon, due January 2008. So much for months of pre-release hype, then, but it would seem that Clark has had enough of that. 2003’s Empty The Bones Of You was promoted as a more mature, darker, and more industrial Clark (still using his full name Chris Clark at the time), a promise upon which it delivered. 2006’s Body Riddle saw another reinvention of the persona, with the now-truncated Clark focusing on intricately layered, obsessively DSP’d beats, and more delicate and emotional atmospheres. Continue Reading »

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TOM MIDDLETON: Lifetracks (Big Chill Recordings)

David Abravanel on Dec 3rd 2007 01:01 am

Tom Middleton: Lifetracks

TOM MIDDLETON
Lifetracks
FACTOR 19
Big Chill Recordings 2007
12 Tracks. 69mins09secs

Originally envisioned as music to wind down to after a night out, downtempo found a commercial life of its own in the mid to late nineties under the guises of trip hop, ambient breaks, and any number of dime-a-dozen compilations invoking watered-down Buddhist spirituality. Like all genres, downtempo was destined to produce some more questionable compositions. Over time, the darkness (and much of the depth) was swept out from more popular recordings, replaced by a flux of reverberated blandness (looking at you, Zero 7) leading to inevitable, laughable cash-ins like the Reindeer Room series of Christmas compilations. Suddenly, “chillout” became a new buzz genre, and the most staid dinner parties had a watered-down soundtrack.

Of course, it wasn’t always like that. Just ask Tom Middleton. As a forerunner in the early movement of dowtempo fusionism, Middleton worked with Richard D. James (on the ambient house-inflected Analogue Bubblebath EP), and, most famously, as half of Global Communication, the pioneering ambient and deep house act, whose 76:14 is rightfully acclaimed as the summit of ambient house and techno. Continue Reading »

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STRINGS OF CONSCIOUSNESS: Our Moon Is Full (Central Control)

David Abravanel on Oct 25th 2007 12:13 am

Strings Of Consciousness: Our Moon Is Full

STRINGS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Our Moon Is Full
CCI 005
Central Control 2007
08 Tracks. 49mins25secs

Rock flirtations with experimental music can be some very risky territory. On the plus side, you can end up with sublime fusions of the traditional and the avant garde; on the other hand, there’s the wankery that eventually drowned seventies prog. Several groups in this decade have given the concept another go, and Our Moon Is Full, the new album from psychedelic collective Strings Of Consciousness, is a thoroughly engaging look at the potential of this merger.

First, a word of caution: this is a record steeped in post rock, featuring, on the majority of the tracks, spoken word rather than singing. It’s a pretentious proposition, but one that works out the majority of the time. Continue Reading »

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RICARDO VILLALOBOS: Fabric 36 (Fabric)

David Abravanel on Oct 23rd 2007 08:55 pm

Various Artists / Ricardo Villalobos: Fabric 36

RICARDO VILLALOBOS
Fabric 36
FABRIC 71
Fabric 2007
15 Tracks. 74mins13secs

It’s funny to see Ricardo Villalobos as a superstar DJ. Listening to one of Villalobos’s live sets (such as the half-hour live at Fabric mix that was released to radios in advance of this release), there are no bangers, no sudden beat drops, no satisfying moments where it all comes together. Villalobos’s music fits on the dance floor, but it can also soundtrack life’s more contemplative moments, and tends to reward the listener who can pay special attention to its subtle changes.

And, subtle change is the name of the game on Fabric 36. Instead of releasing a mix primarily of others people’s tracks, as every other DJ has done for the Fabric series, Villalobos mixed a set composed entirely of new, original material. Continue Reading »

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