The noughties have seen probably the most radical changes in the music industries since the advent of the record. Consumption habits have dramatically moved from traditional to digital formats, music has been increasingly seen as something to steal rather than to buy, and listening habits means that nowadays, the album is becoming increasingly redundant. Or is it? Whereas it had, at least in some circles, become totally acceptable to fill records with substandard music, it is now essential for artists to create consistent pieces of work if they want to retain the attention of their audience. The last ten years have delivered their fair share of hits and misses, and this list doesn’t pretend to be in any way shape or form exhaustive. This is just, in no particular order, the definitive list of the 20 albums that have defined the noughties at themilkfactory.

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Pacing the room like a dragon scanning a dark cave for intruders, breathing heavily, following the sent of unfamiliar bodies, Oren Marshall’s opening piece of this performance at the Purcell Room, on the South Bank in London was made solely of breathing sounds propelled through the gigantic mouth of his tuba. Music was not the concern here; instead, it seemed as if Marshall’s purpose was to get up close and personal with his audience. Getting off the stage to walk slowly past the whole front row, then venturing up a few steps on each on the aisles, it felt as if Marshall and the audience were evaluating each other. Once back on stage, the sounds extracted from the tuba were processed through various delays to build the outlines of cyclical pieces and occasional rhythmic patterns. Twisted and bent out of shape, the sounds coming out of the instruments seemed to gain otherworldly features, sounding for a moment like a broken acid squelch or a little girl’s scream, until, at one point, the layers of noise had very little to do with the reality of the instrument. It is with his last piece thought that Marshall demonstrated the highest level of dexterity. Continue Reading »

MURCOF
The Versailles Sessions
BAY67
The Leaf Label 2008
06 Tracks. 49mins54secs

Murcof’s music has become increasingly orchestral in recent years. The subtle elegance of his first few releases, built around samples of contemporary classical music encased in fine layers of micro beats has progressively been replaced by altogether much more ambitious and vast forms. For his last album, Cosmos, released last year, Mexican-born Fernando Corona worked with recording of actual acoustic classical instruments which he then worked into vast pieces.

The Versailles Sessions is not the follow up to Cosmos as such. In 2007, Fernando Corona was commissioned a series of musical pieces for Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes, a yearly event which focuses on sound, light and water at the Chateau de Versailles near Paris, once the residence of Louis XIV. Continue Reading »

Musician extraordinaire Fernando Corona, AKA Murcof, is set to return to the UK this autumn for a string of live dates during which he will perform a specially composed suite of music entitled Océano with members of Spanish classical ensemble BCN 216. Mexican-born Fernando Corona, who now lives in Barcelona, first emerged back in 2002 with his stunning debut album, Martes, on which he combined fine electronics, micro-beats and classical samples. He has since released three further album and toured extensively. Last year, Murcof performed tracks from his most recent album, Cosmos in planetarium across Europe, including at the newly re-opened Greenwich Planetarium in London.

This tour will be the first opportunity to see Murcof perform with a full set of classical musicians. Audio visual artist Flicker will provide visuals. The tour will coincide with the release of a new album, The Versailles Sessions, on The Leaf Label, although Océano and The Versailles Sessions are different pieces.

Full tour listing:

14/11: Reading, South Street Arts Centre
15/11: Bristol, Arnolfini
16/11: Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
17/11: Brighton, Duke Of York’s Picture House
18/11: Liverpool, The Bluecoat
19/11: Oxford, Holywell Music Room
20/11: London, Purcell Rooms, South Bank Centre
21/11: Norwich, Arts Centre
22/11: Belfast: Sonic Arts Research Centre

Murcof | Murcof (MySpace) | The Leaf Label

Following his magnificent set at the Peter Harrison Planetarium in Greenwhich last month, Murcof will be stopping in London once again for another live performance, this time at Corsica Studios, Elephant & Castle, London, on Sunday 2 December, with support from Rothko and VI, plus a DJ set from Highpoint Lowlife’s Thorsten Sideb0ard.

The event will feature special visuals created in collaboration with Italian visual artists xx+xy, and follows the release of Murcof’s stunning third album, Cosmos, on Leaf early this year.

Murcof| The Leaf Label | Corsica Studios

Coinciding with the release of his third album, Cosmos, Murcof’s Fernando Corona recently embarked on a European tour, with a handful of special performances in Planetariums, the first of which took place at the newly opened Peter Harrison Planetarium, part of the Royal Observatory, in the superb settings of Greenwich Park. From the outside, the slick dark modern structure of the planetarium, situated between the main observatory and the South Building, which, until three years ago, housed the old planetarium, resembles a giant telescope pointing toward the sky, while the restored Victorian main building acting as a majestic earthy ground anchor. Continue Reading »

Three Murcof UK dates have been announced, including a very special performance at the newly opened Peter Harrison Planetarium at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.

The dates will follow the release of Murcof’s splendid third album, Cosmos, on Leaf on 17 September. Murcof will be playing the following venues:

3/10: Colchester Art Center
4/10: Peter Harrison Planetarium, Greenwich, London
7/10: The Arches, Glasgow

More dates are due to be announced soon.

Murcof | The Leaf Label

MURCOF
Cosmos
BAY59CD
The Leaf Label 2007
06 Tracks. 56mins12secs

In the five years that separate Murcof’s majestic debut album, Martes, and his most recent offering, Cosmos, Fernando Corona has become one of the most respected electronic musicians around, and a source of inspiration for a whole new generation of musicians, not only in his native Mexico where his success has energised a myriad of new artists and labels, but also across Europe, with artists such as Deaf Center or part of the roster of Erik Skodvin’s Miasmah imprint openly claiming to have been influenced by his visionary take on classical sounds and electronica.

Coming two years after Remembranza, which explored more complex sound and harmonic structures than its predecessor, Cosmos is an altogether much grander and ambitious record than any of his previous releases. Continue Reading »

With just a handful of releases under his belt, Mexican electronic musician Fernando Corona, AKA Murcof, has established a very unique sound and is already named as a major influence by some. Five years after his seminal debut album, Martes, was released, he is back with his magnificent third album, Cosmos, on Leaf. For this latest effort, Corona pretty much ditches the micro beats and samples that have informed previous releases to work from recordings of real classical instruments. The result is a superb tapestry of sounds, drones and melodies which Corona will take on the road for a planetarium tour in the autumn. Here, Fernando Corona talks to the themilkman from his home in Barcelona, where he currently resides, about the new album, his soundtrack work and the rise of the Mexican electronic scene.

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