EFTERKLANG
Under Giant Trees
DOCK46CD
The Leaf Label 2007
05 Tracks. 29mins11secs

Copenhagen-based outfit Efterklang caused something of a stir as they deployed their elegant pastoral pop songs over the course of Tripper, their debut album, released in the autumn of 2004 on Leaf. In just under an hour, the quintet, formed of Mads Brauer (electronics), Rune Mølgaard (piano), Thomas Husmer (drums) and multi instrumentists Rasmus Solberg and Casper Clausen, the latter also assuming vocal duties, hung up beautiful crafted songs set in scintillating backdrops of pianos, strings and found sounds. The album followed a previous EP, Springer, originally published on the band’s own Rumraket imprint in 2003 before Leaf released it early again in 2005. Efterklang have since released a very limited one-sided vinyl EP at the end of 2006. Continue Reading »

VOLGA
Pomol
CDLUMB005
Lumberton Trading Company 2007
13 Tracks. 63mins35secs

Moscow-based quartet Volga finely balance archaic overtones sourced from traditional Russian folklore and hypnotic rhythms with modern textures expressed through dense post-industrial electronics and processed acoustic instruments. This singular outlook gives the band a totally unique sound as they link past and present together with oriental and occidental musical forms. Formed in the later part of the nineties, Volga released their eponymous debut album in 1999, and have since delivered three albums and a number of live recordings and remix projects. Continue Reading »

COCOROSIE
The Adventures Of Ghosthorse & Stillborn
TG306
Touch & Go Records 2007
12 Tracks. 41mins06secs

Toy pianos and human beat boxes, tiny bells and music boxes, dragons and butterflies, the world of Coco and Rosie, or sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady, relies heavily on fantasy, dreams and coded imagery. It is therefore not much of a surprise that they asked French artists Pierre & Gilles, who themselves have developed a very personal sense of symbolism, to shoot the cover of their latest effort, and teamed up with Michel Gondry for the video of the first single to be taken off the album. Continue Reading »

ARVE HENRIKSEN
Strjon
RCD2061
Rune Grammofon 2007
12 Tracks. 47mins08secs

With fingers in more pies than humanely imaginable, it is a wonder how Norwegian trumpeter extraordinaire Arve Henriksen actually finds the time to work on his own music. An active member of formations as diverse as avant-garde improv super group Supersilent, Iain Bellamy’s Food, Audun Kleive’s Generator X and the Christian Wallumrød and Trygue Seim Ensembles to name but a few, Henriksen is one of the most adaptable and gifted musicians of his generation. His first solo album, Sakuteiki, released on Rune Grammofon at the end of 2001, introduced his sparse and beautiful soundscapes, while its follow up, Chiaroscuro (2004) vastly extended his sonic range. Continue Reading »

AUS
Curveland
MOTEER009CD
Moteer 2007
10 Tracks. 40mins08secs

Despite being just twenty three, Japanese musician and producer Yasuhiko Fukuzono already has no less than five albums under his belt, including this latest effort, collecting music that goes from atmospheric electronic experimentation to unadulterated pop. He also regularly dabbles in composing and producing soundtracks, and co-run the Tokyo-based record label Flau. Continue Reading »

THE BLACK DOG
Book Of Dogma
SOMACD057
Soma Recordings Ltd 2007
22 Tracks. 109mins01secs

The year is 1989. Electronica is in its infancy. The rulebook is still being written. Ken Downie, Ed Handley and Andy Turner release their first EP, Age Of Slack, under the Black Dog banner. Blending classic Detroit techno and hip-hop, the trio are shaping the sound of their generation. A handful of EPs later, they get picked up by then budding Sheffield-based Warp Records and go on to release the highly influential Bytes, as Black Dog Productions, the name of their early label. The album, which is part of Warp’s seminal Artificial Intelligence series of releases, is assembled as a compilation, with the trio acting under a variety of aliases (Xeper, Balil, Atypic, Plaid, I.A.O.). Continue Reading »

RADICAL FACE
Ghost
MM069
Morr Music 2007
11 Tracks. 47mins46secs

Radical Face is the song-based project of Ben Cooper, better known as one half of electronically subverted indie-pop duo Electric President, which he formed with Alex Kane in 2000. The pair released their self-titled debut album on Berlin-based Morr Music last year. While Cooper has previously recorded an album under his Radical Face moniker, The Junkyard Chandelier in 2003, Ghost, released on Berlin-based imprint Morr Music, home of B.Fleischmann, Isan, American Analog Set and Lali Puna, is his official solo debut. Continue Reading »