Noises

Heres three incredible things that I never even contemplated the existence of until very recently. Christ knows why these lot aren't more prolific, although it's hard to see them getting radio play any time in the next decade.

Bugskull












There's something about Bugskull's album Communication that fills the space between your ears with a warm fuzzy glow. The first half is odd, nostalgic and wonderfully playful, with elements of Mr Scruff,  Dilla and Lou Reed at play amongst field recordings from a sunny meadow on another planet. Then you get to the fifth track, Exposed wires, and it all gets a bit more unsettling, perhaps even better for it. I don't want to spoil the surprise but halfway through the track something happens that made me choke on my tea at work, narrowly avoiding showering the screen in the process. It's hilarious, if a little disconcerting, as are the barely audible growls and muffled rasping breaths that seep through in the following tracks. At it's heart, this could probably be described as a collision of hiphop and psychedelic drone but with so much more going on than either of these tags would suggest. It's rich, varied and colourful throughout, calming yet intricate with a discordant edge that sets it wholly apart from everything else around. I can honestly say that listening to this album has made me happier than anything else in recent memory.

Downliners Sekt












I heard one of Downliners Sekt's tracks on Mary Anne Hobbs' show the other week; having never heard of them before and missing her introduction to the track I was left bemused. It sounded like an unlikely collaboration between Burial and Ras G complete with 2 step shuffle, ghostly voices, layered static hiss and distorted found sounds. It wasn't until I listened back through the show that I discovered who the track was by and after a short frantic google search (that led me first to an obscure 60's Blues band) I arrived at this amazing musical collective's site. Their most recent EP, Hello Lonely, hold the nation is phenomenal, there are so many comparisons but still nothing quite like it and what's more all their music is free in digital format, at 320kbps and everything. Even more surprising is their relatively extensive history as a band, bridging the gap between post rock and dark electronics (see their 2008 album The Saltire Wave), something for which they seem to have garnered a range of plaudits from in the obscure circles of experimental rock journalism. Most remarkable of all their debut album Statement of Purpose, recorded between 2001 and 2005 is superbly put together and still incredibly fresh. In an unlikely testament to their depth and versatility, contemporary dubstep artists have recently begun to utilise these tracks in their mixes despite their age and original purpose as an intermeshing of breakbeats and post rock. It goes without saying that this music deserves your support so head over to their site and show them some love. Did I mention it's free?

John Cohen












Although you'd be forgiven for overlooking the open license releases on Net-Lab and Open Music it still stands that both sites deserve to be extensively explored. Free net labels have an immense amount to offer and due to their nature a whole load of otherwise untenable music gets an outlet when established labels wouldn't touch it for fear of losing money. Such is the case with John Cohen, whose collaborative project Dead Fader saw it's debut LP release Corrupt my Examiner on Cloaks' 3by3 label earlier this month. John's music is incredibly dark and agitated yet underpinned with richness and diversity belied by it's prickly exterior. I'm not going to lie, some of it certainly isn't for the faint hearted, you might even have to turn the volume down a couple of notches as  it weaves it's way from IDM to Noise and Industrial Metal (with occasional flourishes of Dubstep and Electronica thrown in for good measure). However there are moments in these stark compositions that leave you breathless and slack jawed in wonder. In particular the tracks [][][][] and -||- x  are ridiculous and unspeakably dramatic, both instantly finding a place in my heart that I never even knew existed. His self titled release and the follow up Noise Pollution are both free, as are all the other releases on Net-Lab and Open Music so there's no excuse not to go exploring.

Broken Ted News

I've been a little removed from the musical world recently, due in part to various upheavals in life but also to excessive drinking and tearful goodbyes. Needless to say the first re-immersion in sound drew a whole plethora of new and exciting prospects, largely thanks to some friends of mine who have been keeping a weather eye on the usual channels whilst I've been out of action. Notably the Broken Ted, who's been exploring the various avenues of glitch and ephemera to recommend:

Shlohmo, who's E.P.s, Shlohofi and Schlomoshun are dancing around the periphery of my mind like esoteric pixies hellbent on stealing my thoughts. The former is a delicate arrangement of ethereal glitched out beats, definitely best listened to on a very lazy Sunday afternoon or in a state of entranced reflection. The latter is more easily reconcilable, slipping in somewhere between Ras G, Nosaj Thing and Eskmo; sort of slumped Hip Hop with skipping drum patterns and a warm afterglow of softly diffused bass.

Tokimonsta, who is coming on leaps and bounds with every mixtape. Her latest offering which takes the form of a promo for Donkey Pitch and Sonic Router can be found here, and I suggest everyone with a modicum of interest should read her interview with Sonic Router and make every effort to catch her at Donkey Pitch in Brighton on the 26/11/09.

And another Slugabed Mix (for Dummy this time around), which ticks all the disgusting boxes you could ever dream of. I've started to wonder whether my new found admiration for his music is merely a personal rebellion against the derivative, hyper processed, auto-tuned world of Pop dross, but then I listen to it again and it blows such thoughts clean out of my mind with the force of a sonic jackhammer.

All this said I haven't been completely idle, I stumbled across this new Blank Blue set on Dublab the other day and I was pleasantly surprised. They've taken on a couple of new band members and stiffened up their sound somewhat, it's basically what Blank blue would sound like if they were a blasting desert Rock ensemble instead of a psychedelic west coast Folk-Hop two piece. Not sure whether that's progress exactly but my dog likes it and that's good enough for me.

Speaking of which I put some dubstep on earlier and Facie (the dog), started growling along to the music every time the sub kicked in. In the past she's howled along to the blues and barked/whined to anything else with rhythmic guitars and keys. This latest approach is new to me and if anything is a seal of approval I'd say that this would be it. I'm tempted to contact Kryptic Minds with the news but I doubt they'd be as excited as I was when I heard her rendition of Six Degrees. It is entirely possible that staying at my parents house is driving me insane.

Finally I have a recommendation straight out of the left field for anyone that enjoys atmospheric soundscapes in the vein of Boards of Canada or Access to Arasaka. Oneohtrix Point Never produce the sort of music that evokes Alien Skies, Dystopian Cityscapes and the very limits of the known universe. It doesn't do a whole lot but then again it doesn't really have to. Go buy it here and close your eyes of a couple of hours, it's probably worth it.

Dr Strangeloop

It isn't that often that I hear a single track from an artist and become instantly obsessed, in the case of Dr Strangeloop however, this is exactly what happened. The track in question is his first release on the Brainfeeder label, and as far as I can tell, his first commercial release altogether.

Weighing in at an epic 17 mins 43 seconds, Are we Lost Mammals of an Approaching Transcendental Epoch, is a sprawling, mesmerising opus combining post rock aesthetics with incredibly sophisticated electronic production. I can't stress enough how badly you need this in your life, not only is it minblowingly intricate and sonically devastating, but it's also an invaluable time killer (that 20 minute train/bus journey will fly by).

The piece can be split into three distinct stanzas but it is best appreciated as a whole; tensions rise and fall, drums suddenly appear from nowhere before skittering away just as quickly into nonexistence, and the whole track is imbued with a lo-fi distortion that only adds to it's sense of drama. Anyone who has been to a Brainfeeder night in the last few years might already be acquainted with Dr Strangeloop's work; his VJ'ing performances for the likes of Flying Lotus and The Gaslamp Killer have been utterly astonishing and, if you have been lucky enough to catch one, I'm sure you'll be more than happy to lend an ear to his audio tinkerings as well.

Thankfully there is a wealth of material demonstrating his considerable talents here... http://www.nuopsys.com/nmrl/home.html and as a gesture of incredible goodwill, Dr Strangeloop (aka Nuopsys aka David Wexler) has made his entire back catologue of work prior to "Are we lost mammals..."free to download; particular highlights being Collected Works Vol.1 and the Datafunk E.P (a ten minute face melter constructed from a scratchy copy of a Bollywood classic). If you were also so fortunate as to hear his Mary Anne Hobbs mix, with it's Ennio Morricone samples and insane, brain crushing drums, I'm sure there'll be no stopping you. Whilst you're there check his visual work and his deviant art page, http://naturalmediaresearch.deviantart.com/ .

And that's not all, according to his posts on the Brainfeeder website (http://www.brainfeedersite.com/ ), he's got more in the pipeline with the Balance E.P arriving January 2010, Are We Lost Mammals... Remix Compilation (remixed by friends of Brainfeeder no less) coming soon and Easy Listening for our Future Children (http://www.brainfeedersite.com/2009/09/20/easy-listening/ ) an audio visual LP dropping in 2010.

Look, just go here and watch this http://www.vimeo.com/5102477 , that should give you some idea of just how incredible this guy is.

Are We Lost Mammals of an Approaching Transcendental Epoch is available on Boomkat, Beatport, Bleep and itunes.

http://boomkat.com/
www.beatport.com/
www.apple.com/itunes/
http://bleep.com/