Rival Consoles first appeared two years ago with a first EP released on London-based Erased Tapes. Since, Ryan Lee West he has delivered two more EPs spanning quite a wide sound world, from Aphex-like abstract drum’n’bass to razor-sharp techno. His debut album, released on Erased Tapes once again, expands greatly on the latter by collecting eleven thumping techno cuts with enough edges to last a lifetime. We took this opportunity to talk to the man about how the album came together, how he uses beats against melody, what it feels like to have his album out in the open and which console is the one. Continue Reading »

When I was a kid, I clearly remember my parents telling me that the older you get, the faster time seems to pass. At the time, of course, I had all eternity in front of me, and time was never passing fast enough. I couldn’t wait for school holidays, birthdays or Christmases and dismissed what they were saying with all the contempt I could gather. I have since understood how right they were. It seems like I was putting together my end of year list for 2007 only last week, but it’s well and truly been a whole twelve months, filled with countless pocket-sized tales of blood sweat, tears, re-invention, revival, weird explorations and revived hopes.

Perhaps above all, 2008 has been marked, for me at least by the stunning return of Portishead, once one of the many jewels in the Bristol crown, now a totally revitalised and more powerful than ever formation, and by the faultless first album proper of Norwegian disco lord Lindstrøm. There were also magnificent albums by Arve Henriksen, Paavoharju, Peter Broderick and Nico Muhly, while Leila and Twine both released new albums after years of silence and Dark Captain Light Captain proved to be one of the year’s best newcomers.

1.

PORTISHEAD
Third
Island Record

Continue Reading »

ÓLAFUR ARNALDS
Eulogy For Evolution
ERATP4CD
Erased Tapes 2007
08 Tracks. 39mins36secs

Ólafur Arnalds is a young musician composer hailing from a small suburban town just outside of Reykjavik, who, besides drumming in two separate hardcore bands, focuses on modern classical music, although his work can also occasionally include elements of indie rock. Eulogy For Evolution is Arnalds’s debut album. Released on rising London-based imprint Erased Tapes, it was recorded over four months in early 2006 and features eight tracks, identified only by numbers, most of them led by melancholic piano lines and beautiful strings brushes, evoking the work of fellow countryman Jóhann Jóhannsson or composers Max Richter and Nico Muhly. Continue Reading »

SAM AMIDON
All Is Well
HVALUR4CD/LP
Bedroom Community 2007
10 Tracks. 47mins49secs

In just over a year, Icelandic imprint Bedroom Community, headed by Björk and Bonnie Prince Billy (amongst others) collaborator Valgeir Sigurðsson, have distilled some of the most interesting records around, first with Nico Muhly’s delicate Speaks Volumes, then with Ben Frost’s textural Theory Of Machines, and, more recently with Sigurðsson’s own stellar pop opus Ekvilibrium.

Joining them is folk singer Sam Amidon, a twenty-six year old musician from Brattleboro, Vermont, who currently lives in New York. He shares his time between his solo project and various bands, including Doveman, Stars Like Fleas and The Amidons, a band formed by his parents and dedicated to traditional dance and music forms. Continue Reading »

VALGEIR SIGURĐSSON
Eqvílibríum
HVALUR3CD/LP
Bedroom Community 2007
10 Tracks. 49mins10secs

Icelandic musician and producer Valgeir Sigurðsson is best known as a regular collaborator with Björk, having contributed to all her records since Selmasongs, and for recent stints with the likes of Bonnie Prince Billy (The Letting Go) and CocoRosie (The Adventures Of Ghosthorse And Stillborn). He recently set up his own imprint, Bedroom Community, and has published Speaks Volume, the debut album from twenty-four year old American classical composer Nico Muhly and the most recent output from Melbourne’s Ben Frost.

Eqvílibríum, Sigurðsson’s long overdue debut album is an elegant collection of gentle acoustic pieces tainted with orchestral swathes and discreet electronics textures. Continue Reading »

themilkfactory – An Announcement
At the end of September, it will have been thirteen years since themilkfactory first appeared. Thirteen years is a long time…

LFO Low Frequency Opportunist
2002 Interview with Mark Bell by the milkman
Tonight, Monday 13th October 2014, the news of Mark Bell’s untimely death, apparently from complications following a medical procedure, has been confirmed by Warp Records.I am exceptionally reviving themilkfactory to republish an interview I did with him in 2002. RIP Mark, you are a true legend, and were a true gentleman.

WELCOME TO NORWAY
Phaedra/Jenny Hval, The Borderline, London, 19/3/2012
Reviewed by themilkman
Both responsible for two of last year’s most stunning records on Rune Grammofon, Phaedra and Jenny Hval finally came to London to showcase their very different and individual sound.

OF MACHINES AND MEN
Tom Arthurs/Simon Vincent, Tom Arthurs/Ollie Bown/Isambard Khroustaliov/Lothar Ohlmeier, Kings Place, London, 30/1/2012
Reviewed by themilkman
British experimental trumpeter Tom Arthurs partners with Simon Vincent, then with Lothar Ohlmeier, Ollie Bown and Sam ‘Isambard Khroustaliov’ Britton for two performances in which he confronts acoustic and electronic and explores the possibilities of improvising with machines.

SIDSEL ENDRESEN & STIAN WESTERHUS Didymoi Dreams
RCD2131 Rune Grammofon 2012

Reviewed by themilkman
Norwegian vocalist extraordinaire Sidsel Endresen and experimental guitarist Stian Westerhus have teamed up for a live performance at Nattjazz in Bergen, Norway last year, which is documented on this stunning record.

STIAN WESTERHUS The Matriarch And The Wrong Kind Of Flowers
RCD2133 Rune Grammofon 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
Following his recent collaboration with Sidsel Endresen, Norwegian experimental guitarist Stian Westerhus returns to Rune Grammofon with his third solo album for the label.

PHILIPPE PETIT Extraordinary Tales Of A Lemon Girl Chapter 2: Fire Walking To Wonderland / Chapter 3: Hitch-Hiking Thru Bronze Mirrors / Una Symphonia Della Paura
AGO048 / AGO052 Aagoo Records 2012 / URCD071 / Utech Records 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
With the second and third instalment in his Extraordinary Tales Of A Lemon Girl triptych, Philippe Petit pushes his processed avant-garde textures into new grounds, but his release on Utech shows a much darker and radical side to his work.

CHRIS DOOKS & MACHINEFABRIEK The Eskdalemuir Harmonium
KOM1NO004 Komino Records 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
Chris Dooks and Machinefabriek collaborate on this fascinating album for which they document a decaying harmonium and bring it back to life.

SINNER DC Future That Never Happened 

MG083 Mental Groove Records 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
Swiss trio Sinner DC take their electro-charged pop to Geneva-based imprint Mental Groove with their seventh album.

VALGEIR SIGURÐSSON Architecture Of Loss
HVALUR13 Bedroom Community 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
Originally composed for the Stephen Petrnio ballet of the same name, this album sees Valgeir Sigurðsson bridge the gap between the electronic textures of his debut and the sweeping orchestral work of his second album.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Centipede Hz
WIG274 Domino Recording Co. 2012

Reviewed by themilkman
Three years on from their last outing, Animal Collective return with their tenth album, and once again, they tread a fine line between majestically brilliant pop and utter chaos.

NICO MUHLY Drones & Piano / Drones & Viola / Drones & Violin
SELUR2 / SELUR3 / SELUR4 Bedroom Community 2012

Reviewed by themilkman
For his latest project, a trilogy of releases each based on a lead instrument, for Bedroom Community, Nico Muhly investigates drones and develop harmonic structures to bring them to life.

SPILL Fluoresce
MONO050 Monotype Records 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
Spill is the collaborative project of Berlin-based Magda Mayas and Necks drummer Tony Buck, and this is their second recording together.

WAVES ON CANVAS Into The Northsea
PSY048 Psychonaviation Records 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
Although this album is imbued with the spirit of This Mortal Coil, it would be foolish to dismiss it for a pastiche project as Waves On Canvas mastermind Stefano Guzzetti infuses it with contemporary electronics.

NATHAN FAKE Steam Days
36BCCD Border Community 2012
Reviewed by themilkman
For his third album, Nathan Fake brings together the pastoral tones of his debut and the techno influences of his second to create a rather playful soundtrack.