Category: Reviews (Page 158 of 206)

I AM SNOW ANGEL Desert EP

12 May 2016 /

The 1980 Winter Olympics took place in beautifully picturesque setting of Lake Placid, a small village amidst Adirondack Mountains in New York State.

It is fitting that an ice maiden Julie Kathryn, who was born and bred in the very place, would call herself I AM SNOW ANGEL and would start experimenting with chilling auras of electronica as her preferred genre of choice. Having relocated to the Big Apple’s Brooklyn, she released her first self-titled EP, which heralded a change of direction for the previously folk interested artist.

The electronica experiment worked to such an extent, that Kathryn became “basically addicted to writing and producing music in this genre”. As the transition was purely organic, with I AM SNOW ANGEL starting to become a self-sufficient artist: writing, producing and engineering her own records, she also embarked on co-founding FEMALE FREQUENCY, a musical collective dedicated to empowering female musicians.

Her first long player ‘Crocodile’ was fantasy inspired, centring around the “predator and prey”, bearing gentle resemblance to Kathryn’s heroes, THE POSTAL SERVICE and paying homage to the classic Americana artist BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN amongst other influences. Sometimes described as appealing to the fans of Enya, Imogen Heap or Kate Bush, I AM SNOW ANGEL has developed her own sound, using her personal electronic template of icy landscapes and cold melancholy.

‘Desert’ is her newest EP, where Kathryn is “continuing to explore the subtle complexities of desire, passion and longing”. The announcement of warmer things to come heralds itself in the title track opening the sequence, an inspired atmospheric rendition with enhanced vocals, which I AM SNOW ANGEL describes as “part of the aesthetic” of synth music.

‘Fever’ certainly isn’t evocative of the snowy mountains of upstate New York, which itself announces a departure from the gloom of the cold and icy in favour of breezy and fresh, as if released from the chains of winter. “Body’s on fire but she shivers with the heat” nods to vintage ERASURE in the slightest of fashions, being über modern and sophisticated.

‘Keep You Out’ opens with a country-esque guitar sequel, giving homage to Kathryn’s roots. A slower paced, eerie number at first, bursts into a club ending, before ‘Dirty Love’; a SOUL II SOUL meets SNEAKER PIMPS style shines through this varied track.

The EP closes with ‘Losing Face’, which is a BJORK sounding story of desire, culminating in sensual sexual encounters, designed to prove “something I can believe in”, and instead leaving one empty and guilty.

The eclectic nature of the music of I AM SNOW ANGEL is staggering. She owns the writing, production and engineering process, much like GRIMES, and is a pioneer when it comes to helping women make their own tunes, whatever genre they may be.

The progression into synthscapes was something that happened naturally and Kathryn’s fans are truly grateful that the experiment wasn’t just a one-off. She was, after all, made to give life to the melancholy of electro. The style of electronica infused with country roots, creates an amalgamation difficult to resist and whether it’s the snowy Adirondack Mountains, or the heat of the “Desert”, I AM SNOW ANGEL shows off her brilliance and delivers.

The ‘Desert’ EP is available as a download from 20th May 2016 via the usual digital outlets

http://iamsnowangel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/iamsnowangel

https://soundcloud.com/iamsnowangel

http://www.femalefrequency.com/

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
Photo by Carl Timpone
12th May 2016

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise

8 May 2016 /

Released last October, ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ was JEAN-MICHEL JARRE’s first album since 2007’s ‘Téo & Téa’.

It was a worldwide collaborative adventure where the French Maestro “had this idea of merging DNA with musicians and artists of different generations, linked, directly or indirectly, to electronic music in a kind of sharing process in a world where we’re more isolated than ever by our smartphones and the Internet”.

During its five year mission, the ‘Electronica’ sessions produced an excess of tracks, thanks to the number of willing contributors who embraced Jarre’s ethic to write in the same room, as opposed to remote working via the web. “Electronic music is all about connections” he said, both practically and figuratively. ‘Electronica 1: The Time Machine’ featured AIR, TANGERINE DREAM, Vince Clarke, John Carpenter and Laurie Anderson; so for those who were unaware of any electronic music before AVICII, it came as something of an education.

The second instalment ‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ has no less impressive a cast, with PET SHOP BOYS, THE ORB, YELLO, Peaches, Gary Numan, Hans Zimmer and Sebastien Tellier all willing conspirators in one of the ambitious music projects ever undertaken.

‘The Heart of Noise, Pt. 1’ featuring French techno kid Rone begins with an almost Morricone aesthetic, as if the Italian composer had used synths. After a marvellous impressionistic start with an enticing filmic ambience, the more uptempo second part sees Jarre taking classic trance melodies along for the ride, utilising steady beats and percussive mantras without being obtrusive.

‘Brick England’ with PET SHOP BOYS is classic mid-tempo Euro disco, with Tennant and Lowe not breaking ranks with a rockabilly tune or anything. But Jarre’s ribbon controlled lead synth does sound as though it might break into ‘The Final Countdown’! Following on, ‘These Creatures’ with experimental singer / songwriter Julia Holte takes things downtempo with a gentle blippy soundscape. Holter provides some wonderfully angelic vocals and voice samples, as the dreamy build swims along seductively.

PRIMAL SCREAM are a surprise inclusion although their flirtation with harder electronic forms on ‘Autobahn 66’ and their cover of ‘Some Velvet Morning’ justifies their presence. However the basis of ‘As One’ is a speeded up take on ‘Come Together’ from ‘Screamadelica’ and sees pitch shifted voices alongside vocoder processed tones that could easily be mistaken for GRIMES going happy hardcore.

The unlikely friendship between Gary Numan and Jean-Michel Jarre has resulted in ‘Here For You’, possibly the most purely electronic work Numan for many years. Significant in its absence of crunching guitars, Jarre himself amusingly described this stomper as “Oscar Wilde Techno”. Whatever, it is certainly the darkest thing Jarre has ever recorded

‘Electrees’ sees an eagerly awaited collaboration with award winning soundtrack composer Hans Zimmer epic. Jarre’s father Maurice of course won Oscars for his work on ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Dr Zhivago’ and ‘Passage To India’. Zimmer has a varied CV including BUGGLES, HELDEN and even producing a single for THE DAMNED, but first worked on fusing the traditional orchestral arrangements and electronic instruments in 1980 with English composer Stanley Myers who wrote ‘Cavatina’, the theme to ‘The Deer Hunter’.

With a cinematic sheen, ‘Electrees’ harks back to Zimmer’s synth roots with choral samples and synthesized strings, recalling Moby’s ‘God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters’.

A non-musician collaboration comes in the form of ‘Exit with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. Frantic and tense with a stop / start structure, it slows for a monologue by Snowden. The track’s political slant is thematically closer to 1988’s ‘Revolutions’ with a chip tune influence that soundtracks a spy chase and “finding a way out”.

On the other side of the coin, the brilliant ‘Gisele’ with Sebastien Tellier is very melodic and unsurprisingly Gallic, the gathering of two French talents sounding not unlike Serge Gainsbourg gone electro. THE ORB’s distinctly spacey textures make their presence felt during ‘Switch On Leon’. They actually first worked with Jarre on a remix of ‘Oxygène 8’ in 1997, but it was said at the time that he was unhappy with the results so the track was subsequently issued as ‘Toxygene’ by THE ORB themselves. Whatever the story, water must have passed under the bridge for the two parties to reunite.

‘What You Want’ has the unmistakeable snarl of Peaches  over an electro hip-hop backbeat. With her characteristic diva humour coupled with some asexual madness, it’s a diversion from Jarre’s usual template that will horrify fans of ‘Oxygene’ with its dubstep and rap elements.

Meanwhile, ‘Circus’ with German producer Siriusmo is very dance pop with DAFT PUNK robot voices in abundance; while good fun, it begs the question as to what a collaboration with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter would sound like. No questions as to how a YELLO versus Jean-Michel Jarre co-write would turn out like as ‘Why This, Why That and Why’ delivers the expected; Dieter Meier gives his distinct droll while Boris Blank and Jarre provide an airy blend of soothing atmospheric backdrops.

‘The Architect’ with house trailblazer Jeff Mills is hypnotic, orchestrated Detroit techno that provides an accessible entry point to the genre. But more appealing to a handbag filled dancefloor is ‘Swipe To The Right’. Possibly another politically coded piece or the use of Tinder, the brilliant song partners Jarre with Cyndi Lauper. No stranger to electronic forms, particularly with her under rated ‘Bring Ya To The Brink’ album of 2007, there are big bass riffs galore for a great poptastic exploration that is both catchy and danceable. A sample from the Minipops rhythm box that appeared on ‘Oxygene’ even drops in for possibly the standout track on this collection.

To close, the album finishes with two solo compositions ‘Falling Down’ and ‘The Heart of Noise (The Origin)’; the former floats a vocodered vocal over a distinctly harder-edged mechanical pulse, while the latter is a third variation on the title track. It would be fair to say with ‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’, the results cannot help but be mixed.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was told by Gary Numan that Jean-Michel Jarre “is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my entire life” – so obviously he didn’t want to upset anyone and decided to release everything! However, such is the method of modern music consumption, the listener can be more brutal and from the two volumes, a great 16 track ‘Best Of Electronica’ playlist can easily be constructed. While Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ is not as consistent as the first instalment, there is something for anyone remotely interested in electronic music. The choice is yours.

Jean-Michel-Jarre-Electronica-uk-Tour-2016‘Electronica 2: The Heart Of Noise’ is released by Columbia / Sony Music

The ‘Electronica’ World Tour runs from July to December 2016, please check Jean-Michel Jarre’s website for more details

http://jeanmicheljarre.com/

https://www.facebook.com/jeanmicheljarre

https://twitter.com/jeanmicheljarre

http://aerojarre.blogspot.co.uk/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
8th May 2016

JOHN FOXX 21st Century: A Man, A Woman & A City

5 May 2016 /

“I always seem to write about a man, a woman and a city. It’s because I am an urban creature most of the time”: John Foxx

’21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City’ is a new compilation that gathers John Foxx’s song based work from since the turn of the millennium. After a hiatus between 1986 to 1995, Foxx has since been extremely prolific, dividing his time between a number of pop-oriented, ambient and soundtrack projects. The first section of this collection is laid out chronologically, beginning with Foxx’s material recorded with Louis Gordon, his main collaborator on his comeback.

‘A Funny Thing’ from 2001’s ‘The Pleasures Of Electricity’ sounds particularly interesting in today’s context, with the jazzier, deep house inflections being quite different from how Foxx is now. But songs like 2005’s beautifully treated ‘Never Let Me Go’ confirmed that Foxx still had that inventive spark.

But it was when Foxx teamed up with synth collector extraordinaire Benge to form JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS that he became fully re-engaged in the electronic pop realm which he helped to pioneer. Using an array of vintage synthesizers, the feisty growl of ‘Catwalk’, the serenity of ‘Interplay’ and the electro-folk of ‘Evergreen’ all possessed a mechanised charm while simultaneously providing some vital correlative warmth. The parent album ‘Interplay’ was possibly Foxx’s most complete and accessible body of work since ‘Metamatic’.

Continuing with the mathematical solution, from the swift follow-up ‘The Shape Of Things’, the fantastically motorik ‘Tides’ came over like an electronic NEU! Meanwhile from the third Maths album ‘Evidence’, the title track in collaboration with THE SOFT MOON was a surreal slice of post-punk psychedelia, like Numan meeting Syd Barrett! But the most complete track Foxx produced in this period turned out to be the grainy, pastoral elegance of ‘Evangeline’ with Finnish producer Jori Hulkkonen.

The main act of ‘21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City’ concludes with two previously unreleased songs by JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS; both are highly worthy inclusions. ‘A Many Splendoured Thing’ features pristine pulsing sonics with crisp percussive taps a la ‘The Man Machine’; it’s Foxx goes to Kling Klang.

But ‘A Man And A Woman’ throws in a less rigid formula with some loose, hand played electronic percussion and the enchanting voice of Hannah Peel. It’s an interesting departure that even features some subtle acoustic guitar flourishes by Isobel Malins. Continuing on the six string theme, ‘Estrellita’ from the ‘Mirrorball’ album with COCTEAU TWINS’ Robin Guthrie appropriately provides an esoteric musical interlude, before the compilation’s appendix of assorted collaborations and remixes.

Although not a song written by Foxx, his and Benge’s serene reinterpretation of GAZELLE TWIN’s ‘Changelings’ highlighted not only the synthesized magic of the partnership, but also how the influence of Foxx was interwoven seamlessly into the Brighton-based songstress’ art.

Following JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS’ rework of ‘Dresden’, the reciprocal arrangement delivers a previously unreleased OMD remix of ‘The Good Shadow’. Working around its shimmering arpeggio, Paul Humphreys adds more of the beautiful Synth-Werk that made OMD’s last album ‘English Electric’ such a return to form. Meanwhile, the ADULT. Remix of ‘The Shadow Of His Former Self’ naturally takes on a more punky, techno stance.

Originally a solo track from ‘The Shape Of Things’, ‘Talk’ has now become a collaborative platform for Foxx to explore different approaches from a singular idea with other kindred spirits; on ‘21st Century: A Man, A Woman And A City’, two of these are included.

The first is the previously released ‘Talk (Beneath My Dreams)’ version with Matthew Dear; Foxx provides the cascading bass laden intro before Dear adds a steadfast four-to-the floor beat and a deep sinister voiceover, which could be mistaken for a pitch-shifted Foxx.

But the second version is a brand new, long-awaited collaboration with Gary Numan. Numan’s take on the track is meaty. Retitled ‘Talk (Are You Listening To Me?)’, it predictably screams alienation and fully exploits his haunting trademark overtures, courtesy of some blistering Polymoog from Benge.

The end result is like a wonderful audio mutual appreciation society: “John Foxx has been a hero of mine for my entire adult life” said Numan, “It was a real honour to finally have the chance to contribute to one of his tracks… it was every bit as creative, unusual, demanding, and rewarding, as I always expected it to be”.

Foxx is currently in the studio working on new music. Like SPARKS, John Foxx has been so prolific over the years that it can be challenging to keep up with all his releases. But as much as some of his hardcore following have expressed dismay at countless reissues and compilations, Foxx’s work is still under-appreciated, even within the more general circles of electronic pop music.

So for many, ‘21st Century: A Man, A Woman & A City’ will be an opportunity to catch up with the more accessible side of his work from the last 16 years. For those still not entirely convinced of Foxx’s contribution to the synthesized music world, it acts an ideal entry point into some of his best electronically focused work since ‘Metamatic’.

’21st Century: A Man, A Woman & A City’ is released by Metamatic Records as a CD and download on 27th May 2016. A limited deluxe CD+DVD edition is also available and features 11 videos filmed in Tokyo by Macoto Tezka, featuring music by JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS

http://www.metamatic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/johnfoxxmetamatic/

https://twitter.com/foxxmetamedia

Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th May 2016

BRIAN ENO The Ship

1 May 2016 /

Brian-Eno-The-Ship

“Humankind seems to teeter between hubris and paranoia: the hubris of our ever-growing power contrasts with the paranoia that we’re permanently and increasingly under threat … Paranoia leads to defensiveness, and we all end up in the trenches facing each other across the mud.” Brian Eno

‘The Ship’ is the first solo Brian Eno record since 2012’s wonderful ambient suite ‘Lux’. Highlighting Eno’s political and social concerns, it is inspired by the historical records from the sinking of the Titanic and the First World War; Eno of course has history in the former, having produced Gavin Bryars’ modern classical work ‘The Sinking Of The Titanic’ released via his own Obscure imprint in 1975.

The title is a significant metaphor for today’s Western powers… declaring themselves unsinkable, they are now sinking. Of his reluctance to use his voice in his own music, Eno said to Sound-On-Sound magazine in 2005: “Song-writing is now actually the most difficult challenge in music”. But moving on from his ten song collection ‘Another Day On Earth’, ‘The Ship’ consists of four tracks of varying lengths and is the first possibly to combine his ambient instincts with a vocal presence.

With his noted embracement of all things avant garde, the album has been conceived as a musical novel. Eno said: “On a musical level, I wanted to make a record of songs that didn’t rely on the normal underpinnings of rhythmic structure and chord progressions but which allowed voices to exist in their own space and time, like events in a landscape”.

Originally derived from experiments using 3D recording techniques and comprising of two distinct but interconnecting parts, the album opens with the 21 minute title track. Embroiled in a haunting sea bound atmosphere with drifting sweeps, signal swoops and coarse strings, after 6 minutes Eno’s treated low slung larynx provides a ghostly presence for an unsettling ambient sea-chant. 13 minutes in, snatches of radio broadcasts and robotic voices enter the ether as the piece slowly sinks into a poignant “wave – after wave – wave – after wave…”

While the first half of ‘The Ship’ could be considered abstract, the second half ‘Fickle Sun’ is more direct, comprising of three nominally song based movements. Beginning with shades of ‘Neroli’ before an uneasy setting of synthetic strings and bass layer in, the lengthy title piece outlines the despair of warfare as Eno’s baritone pitched narrative contemplates how “the dismal work is done”. There are haunting echoes of DAVID BOWIE’s ‘Subterraneans’ from ‘Low’ while midway through, a dramatic cacophony of brass and percussion punctuates a deathly mood as “all the boys are going down” when “there’s no-one rowing anymore”.

Photo by Shamil Tanna

In a modern take on William S Burrough’s famous cut-up technique, the second movement ‘The Hour Is Thin’ features a poem created by Markov Chain Generator software, using text sourced from accounts of the Titanic’s sinking and First World War soldiers’ songs. Read by ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ star Peter Serafinowicz, the solemn lines are poignant and resonate while accompanied by mournful piano.

The spoken piece blends into the beautiful final movement, a serene cover of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s ‘I’m Set Free’. The Velvets were possibly Eno’s biggest musical influence, with him once stating while their debut ‘Banana’ album “only sold a few thousand… everyone who bought it formed a band”. The song itself originated on VU’s eponymous third long player and was their first without John Cale, who Eno would later collaborate with. This Lou Reed penned composition and its simple chord construction wouldn’t have sounded out of place on ‘Another Day On Earth’ and makes for a perfect closing chapter.

Sad, broken and forlorn, ‘The Ship’ however, does not impose. Yet it reflects on the worst of human condition, while also adopting Eno’s much heralded philosophy of producing environmental music to “to induce calm and a space to think”.

While this blurred nautical journey is more vocal than Eno has been for a while, it acts as entry point to his ambient work. Via the upcoming art installations that ‘The Ship’ will accompany, the overall effect is likely to be even more profound.

WARPCD272‘The Ship’ is released by Warp Records in collectors CD, standard CD, double clear vinyl LP and digital variants

https://warp.net/artists/brian-eno/

http://brian-eno.net/

http://www.enoshop.co.uk/

http://enoweb.co.uk

Text by Chi Ming Lai
1st May 2016

FIFI RONG Forbidden Desire EP

27 April 2016 /

FIFI RONG Forbidden DesireAs her native Chinese audiences perceived her as “weird”; a notion which limited her enormously, Beijing-born FIFI RONG packed her bags and moved to London, where she could fully flourish with her limitless potential.

Several years passed, during which Rong has experimented with sounds and production to develop her own, mature and undisturbed genre of being a singer / songwriter of her alternative hybrid music.

Using the inherent Chinese folk style which she grew up with, coagulated with influences of her favourite acts COCTEAU TWINS and MAZZY STAR, the artist gets “bored easily” and eagerly explores anything she can derive ideas from. Her first album ‘Wrong’ in 2013 was followed by ‘Next Pursuit’ EP, a MOLOKO-esque amalgamation before she was invited by none other than Boris Blank of YELLO to collaborate with him on the tracks ‘Electrified’ and ‘Big City Grill’.

The ‘Violently Silently’ EP was “subtly vulnerable and introverted, yet extremely emotionally powerful and brutal”; a true cacophony of unusual sounds cooked in a musical melting pot, fortified with arty elements of experimentation. And now comes ‘Forbidden Desire’. Another EP, it suggests the sharp changes in Rong’s interpretation of what’s current for her, is the “snapshot of my latest development”.

The title track was mixed by Emmy Award nominee Robert L Smith, a New York engineer, who has previously worked with LADY GAGA and DAVID BOWIE. The return of Rong’s enigmatically fascinating vocals, enveloped in her signature, genre-bending electronica hybrid, is a perfect opener to this four track production. Wholesome, acquired and eerie at the same time, it’s a quintessential Rong track.

‘Holy’ follows, where she is “here to learn, here to teach”. A superbly executed down tempo electronica laced with delicate, child-like vocal; the whole thing could easily have been produced by Alan Wilder. ‘You Hurt Me’ bears strong resemblance to the works of GAZELLE TWIN, being über individual and arty. The Turnipbeet Remix of ‘Forbidden Desire’ closes the production, which John Fryer wouldn’t be ashamed of, for his BLACK NEEDLE NOISE project.

FIFI RONG 2016Given FIFI RONG‘s background, her friends and family would rather see her “get a real job”, but the militant artist believes that she cannot make compromises in life and her path has already been chosen. Although she doesn’t promote or release in China, the audiences there are aware of her accomplished graft and maybe one day she will be as appreciated at home as she has become in Europe and the UK.

After all, her honest, intimate communication of emotions via music is a “very individual and intimate language that I speak, with unfiltered and naked feelings of my own, for those who want to join me and listen to something real”.

If you’re looking for something fresh, unusual and superb, then look no further; the dainty Chinese princess has brought it to you on a plate.

The ‘Forbidden Desire’ EP can be downloaded via the usual digital outlets or purchased as a CD from http://fifirong.com/

FIFI RONG plays O2 Islington Academy on Thursday 28th April 2016

https://www.facebook.com/fifirongmusic/

https://soundcloud.com/fifirong

https://www.twitter.com/fifirong

Text by Monika Izabela Goss
27th April 2016

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