DISKAHOLICS ANONYMOUS TRIO
Diskaholics Anonymous Trio
STSJ107
Smalltown Superjazzz 2011
03 Tracks. 66mins26secs

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Mats Gustafsson, Jim O’Rourke, Thurston Moore; three names that certainly need no introduction. Three musicians whose paths have crossed many times over the years. Three musicians with hugely impressive CVs. Three musicians who have probably clocked more recording time between them than most of their contemporaries, in all sorts of configurations and under all sorts of circumstances. Three musicians who, ten years ago, locked themselves in a room and did what they do best, improvise, Gustafsson on sax, O’Rourke on laptop and synth, Moore on guitar. The result, released as the Diskaholics Anonymous Trio, came out on Crazy Wisdom, the now defunct imprint once co-founded by Gustafsson. The trio went on to release a second album, Weapons Of Ass Destruction, five years later on Gustafsson’s semi-permanent home of Smalltown Superjazzz, but, following the demise of Crazy Wisdom, shortly after the release of the trio’s debut, this first opus , had, until its re-edition on Smalltown Superjazzz, been long out of print. Continue Reading »

RUSTIE
Glass Swords
WARP217
Warp Records 2011
13 Tracks. 42mins14secs

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Hailing from Glasgow where he’s slowly been imposing his sound alongside the likes of Hudson Mohawke and the Numbers collective, Rustie landed on Warp last year on the back of a fistful of EPs released since 2007. His first EP for the label, Sunburst, was published just over a year ago and received wide critical acclaim, instantly placing Russell Whyte, as he was christened, alongside the like of Warp non-conformists à la Aphex or Clark.

Glitzy, playful and in yer face, Glass Swords is a thrilling machine indeed. Caught up between bleepy video game soundtrack, futuristic R&B, bombastic eighties electro-pop and E’d-up rave, Rustie heads this roller-coaster of an album with the brazen presumption of a maverick on a rampage. Continue Reading »

DARK CAPTAIN
Dead Legs & Alibis
LOAF47
LoAF 2011
10 Tracks. 61mins01secs

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In the three years that separate Dead Legs & Alibis from its predecessor, London-based quintet Dark Captain have found themselves on the road quite a lot, criss-crossing Europe and the US, as well as bagged themselves a ‘single of the week’ spot on iTunes in the US with their single Jealous Enemies, and, crucially, dropped half of their name to return to the original Dark Captain of their early days. During that time, they also considerably honed their soft psychedelic folk, working on their songs to give them more substance and filling them with a stronger dynamic.

On their debut album, Dark Captain presented a series of beautifully crafted pop/folk songs with a gentle experimental touch, served by delicate instrumentation and softly brushed vocal harmonies, and this is what fuels much of Dead Legs & Alibis too, but the songs show a much more mature and confident approach Continue Reading »

THE REMOTE VIEWERS
Nerve Cure
RV9
The Remote Viewers 2011
08 Tracks. 44mins28secs

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Originally a trio formed of Adrian Northover (soprano and alto sax), Louise Petts (alto sax, voice and keyboards) and David Petts (tenor sax, keyboards), The Remote Viewers have been operating around the nucleus of Northover and David Petts since 2007, with regular contributors adding to the line-up over the years. The formation first appeared in the late nineties and released a string of albums as a trio between 1999 and 2003, most of which were published on improv label Leo Records, but things changed quite drastically with the 5CD set The Control Room, released in 2007 after a four year hiatus, as the band became a much looser entity, featuring a wide range of contributors, most of which have continued to work with Northover and Petts on a more or less regular basis.

The Remote Viewers’ latest album, their tenth, comes on the back of two albums which saw them explore more beat-orientated compositions. Here though, Northover and Petts take on a much more angular and experimental approach. Continue Reading »

MINT
The Metronomical Boy
BOLTLP013
Boltfish Recordings 2011
11 Tracks. 51mins06secs

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London-based artist and co-owner of Boltfish Recordings Mint, AKA Murray Fisher, returns two years on from his last full length offering, Cardboard Rocketships, with his third album. Based around a quaint little children’s story he devised especially for the album, The Metronomical Boy pretty much takes off from where its predecessor left off, building on gentle melodic pieces and crisp electronica, tainted with occasional glitches and bleeps.

Fisher has been releasing music since 2004, has published a number of EPs on U-Cover, Lacedmilk Technologies, Rednetic or Duotones, and has been featured on countless compilations. His debut album, Binary Counting, was published on U-Cover in 2007, and was followed two years later with Cardboard Rocketships, with a remix album, Glued, Stapled, Remixed, with contributions from Cheju, Cyan341, Yvat, Posthuman and many more, released last year. Continue Reading »

PHILIPPE PANNIER & ISAMBARD KHROUSTALIOV
Chaleur
NOT17
Not Applicable 2011
07 Tracks. 33mins58secs

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Like most of the records published under the Not Applicable banner, Chaleur is before all a meeting of minds and the fulfilment of a unique vision. French classical guitarist Philippe Pannier and experimental sound artist Sam Britton met back in 2006 at IRCAM in Paris when they were invited to work on a piece for banjo and electronics to be composed by Sam. The pair exchanged ideas which were eventually realised on a piece called Junkspace, which was featured on Britton’s Isambard Khroustaliov’s album Ohka. The pair lost touch for a while, but rekindled their partnership following the release of Ohka, eventually getting together once more at the end of last year, this time in a north-eastern suburb of Paris, Le Blanc Mesnil. Continue Reading »

BENOIT HONORE PIOULARD
Plays Thelma
PATHWAY003
Desire Path Recordings 2011
06 Tracks. 22mins54secs

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The universe created by Benoît Pioulard for his three albums, published on Kranky between 2006 and 2010, exists somewhere between dreams and reality. An elaborate sonic concoction which relies partly on hazy electronic soundscapes and field recordings, and partly on dreamy folk songs, his records have increasingly become poetic songbooks built around beautiful pastoral themes.

A former press officer for Ghostly International, Thomas Meluch adopted his French sounding alias for his musical ventures in the early 2000s, which first began to take shape with Enge, a single released on Moodgadget in 2005 Continue Reading »