Tag: Brian Eno (Page 6 of 10)

HANNAH PEEL Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia

18 September 2017 /

If Gustav Holst had composed ‘The Planets Op32’ suite today, would he have used synthesizers within his framework?

With his interest in astrology and thus the future, the answer is probably a “yes”. Just a year after her acclaimed second album ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’, Hannah Peel follows-up with a striking seven movement instrumental opus entitled ‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’, featuring an array of analogue synthesizers and a 29-piece colliery brass band recorded live at the Barnsley Civic Theatre.

It tells the story of Mary Casio, a fictional elderly musical stargazer and her lifelong dream to leave her terraced home in the mining town of Barnsley to journey into space to see Cassiopeia, the constellation in the northern sky named after the vain queen in Greek mythology who boasted about her unrivalled beauty.

Peel played trombone as a youngster and it was during a day off in Yorkshire during her tour with EAST INDIA YOUTH, while watching a parade of marching brass bands that she fell back in love with the sound. It inspired a collaborative template that tied in with her own musical ethos of blending the traditional world with the electronic world.

Using research from conversations with astronomer Marek Kukula and books on theoretical physics, Peel says of her concept: “I wanted these huge slabs of planetary sounds to echo the excitement and wonder of our human need to explore and develop. Outer space is where only a select few can reach; yet it is somewhere we dream of going…”

‘Octavia’ from ‘Awake But Always Dreaming’ already signalled the format’s possibilities with its cascading woodwinds and brass combining with a buzzing barrage of electronics, sounding not unlike Philip Glass reinterpreting something off OMD’s ‘Dazzle Ships’!

Beginning with the lift-off of ‘Goodbye Earth’, electronic arpeggios and traces of synthetic noise build up to a crescendo of brass and timpani. It perhaps the one track where the synths overtly dominate but with the remaining six compositions, the Sci-Fi fantasy tale ‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’ gives equal credence to two quite different musical worlds

The sombre brass interludes of ‘Sunrise Through The Dusty Nebula’ provide a drifting ambience with eerie vocal nuances from Miss Peel herself, but on ‘Deep Space Cluster’, the brass band provide the arpeggios as fuzzy synths and bass drones lock-in for some combined energy transfer.

A cerebral start with distorted voice sources on ‘Andromeda M31’ masks a progressively swirly and percussive piece reminiscent of Brian Eno and Vangelis with their own space related adventures. Meanwhile, the sparse ‘Life Is On The Horizon’ gently rings like a beacon signalling to Planet Earth and enhanced by the soothing harmony of the brass players, like an alternate theme to ‘The Sky At Night’. Rhythmically busy in comparison, ‘Archid Orange Dwarf’ cascades with synths while Peel’s staccato ad-libs and the intensification of the traditional elements shape this inter-planetary soundscape.

The expansive emotionally charged drama of ‘The Planet Of Passed Souls’ closes the journey and following a music box interlude, throws in the symphonic overtones of Antonín Dvořák while also touchingly ending with a scratchy sample from a 1928 recording of Peel’s own choirboy grandfather in Manchester Cathedral.

An enjoyable melancholic exploration in sound, ‘Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia’ is an intriguing listen that experiments with and blends seemingly incongruous timbres.

It also marks Hannah Peel as an artist of many dimensions and with the potential to sustain a musical career in a variety of fields for many years to come.

‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’ is released on 22nd September 2017 by My Own Pleasure in vinyl, CD and digital formats, pre-order from https://hannahpeel.tmstor.es/

2017 live shows for ‘Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia’ include:

Liverpool Philharmonic Concert Hall (23rd September), Stockton The Arc (30th September), Barnsley Civic Theatre Tickets (21st October), Basingstoke The Anvil Concert Hall (28th October)

Hannah Peel opens for Alison Moyet on her ‘Other’ UK tour, dates include:

Gateshead Sage (31st October), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (1st November), Edinburgh Usher Hall (2nd November), Ipswich Regent Theatre (4th November), Reading Hexagon (5th November), Oxford New Theatre (7th November), Birmingham Symphony Hall (9th November), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (11th November), Cambridge Corn Exchange (12th November), London Palladium (14th November), London Palladium (15th November), Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre (16th November), Cardiff St David’s Hall (18th November), York Barbican (19th November), Liverpool Royal Philharmonic Hall (20th November), Manchester Bridgewater Hall (22nd November), Bristol Colston Hall (23rd November), Warwick Arts Centre (24th November), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (26th November), Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (27th November), Southampton 02 Guildhall (28th November)

http://www.hannahpeel.com

https://www.facebook.com/HannahPeelMusic

https://twitter.com/hanpeel

Text by Chi Ming Lai
18th September 2017

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM American Dream

2 September 2017 /

James Murphy has never been afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve. In the past, TALKING HEADS, JOY DIVISION, KRAFTWERK and DAFT PUNK have been mined for LCD SOUNDSYSTEM.

Seven years after the acclaimed album ‘This Is Happening’ which featured the wonderful ERASURE meets ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN electronic pop of ‘I Can Change’, the Brooklyn new romantic with an industrial edge continues his magpie ways with a new long player ‘American Dream’.

The title song previewed earlier this year is possibly a musical statement reflecting on the political situation in the US. But Murphy also glances across the Atlantic and back to the Winter Of Discontent and this widescreen 3/4 synth laden tune that has more than a passing resemblance to THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Circus Of Death’.

So did ‘The Clown’ referred to in that song remind Murphy of someone in particular? Older viewers will be half expecting London Weekend Television’s Peter Lewis to quip in with his “In just a few moments, we’re off to Hawaii to join Steve McGarrett and the team for tonight’s adventure…” introduction.

After a long gestation period and questions as to whether LCD SOUNDSYSTEM were actually out of hiatus, the fourth studio album is finally out with Murphy’s desire for the it to be available on vinyl on the same day as the digital format being one of the reasons stated for this delay. He said: “I insist that there is vinyl on the day it’s released (because… well… because I’m an old person)”

It’s this aged anxiety and a fraught midlife headspace that colours this whole album; “I promise you this; you’re getting older” he exclaims on ‘Tonite’ over a squiggly bassline laden tune that mixes NEW ORDER with John Grant, before adding ”You’ve lost your internet and we’ve lost our memory”. But it all begins with ‘Oh Baby’, a dreamy blip and buzz fest to an obscure offbeat and pretty synth shades, with echoes of Ian McCulloch in Murphy’s vocal phrasing before the album’s first highlight.

‘Other Voices’ borrows heavily from TALKING HEADS ‘Remain In Light’ opus as Murphy acts like a preacher chanting “You’re still like a baby” over some hypnotic rhythmic backing modulating around a single chord. With some brilliant infinite guitar soloing along for the ride, Nancy Whang counterpoints with an assured rap to finish this superb slice of cerebral art funk. Meanwhile ‘Change Yr Mind’ has as much talk as it does head although at a much steadier pace, with some choppy guitar as well as the spectre of Eno’s ‘No-One Receiving’ looming.

Taking things in a more post-punk direction, ‘I Used To’ is in the vein of THE CURE with the scratchy minimal guitar and resonant bass cocoon penetrated by lashings of icy synth. This mood continues via the 9 minute Gothic gloom of ‘How Do You Sleep?’; shaped by a brooding percussive mantra and aggressive synth wobbles, it explodes with a live drum track as the claustrophobic grandeur of PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED makes its presence felt with Murphy shouting to a newly crowned foe: “I remember when we were friends, I remember calling you friend…”

‘Call The Police’ also looks towards post-punk and although more guitar oriented, comes over like the lost NEW ORDER single ‘Procession’ gone Motorik. The frantic ‘Emotional Haircut’ is the most live of the all tracks, with full band thrash out JOY DIVISION style, complimented by some impressive drumming by Pat Mahoney.

Concluding with the very long and grief ridden ‘Black Screen’, it is almost like OMD with its detuned abstract melodies and mournful harmonic air of Eno. Murphy’s musical farewell to Bowie, he turned down the production role for ‘Blackstar’ and his sadness is expressed with a forlorn declaration that “I had fear in the room, so I stopped turning up but I should have tried more” – it beautifully progresses into a treated piano section reminiscent of appropriately ‘Lebwohl’ by NEU! to end on a solemn note.

Like OMD’s ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’, ‘American Dream’ is LCD SOUNDSYSTEM’s most electronic album yet. It will surprise some and disappoint others, but after the mixed promises of ‘Sound Of Silver’ and ‘This Is Happening’, James Murphy and his ensemble have finally delivered on that ‘synth heavy’ album that many have been longing for.

‘American Dream’ is released by Columbia Records / Sony Music in vinyl, CD and digital formats

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM UK 2017 live dates include:

Manchester Warehouse Project (16th-17th September), Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom (19th-20th September), London Alexandra Palace (22nd-23rd September)

https://lcdsoundsystem.com/

https://www.facebook.com/lcdsoundsystem/

https://twitter.com/lcdsoundsystem

Text by Chi Ming Lai
2nd September 2017

Here He Comes: The Legacy of ENO

21 June 2017 /

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”When Brian Eno calls himself a non-musician, he isn’t confessing a fault or admitting a deficiency. His self-evaluation is a proud stroke against obsolete concepts in rock and roll. He is a madcap ringmaster in the centre ring, introducing an act that will not only make music sound different, but change what it means”

Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno started out as the EMS VCS3 wielding non-musician in ROXY MUSIC. In his autobiography ‘In The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death & Duran Duran’, John Taylor remembered the man who at the time was just known as ‘Eno’: “They had this keyboard player who just turned knobs… how the hell does that work??”

Although Bryan Ferry was the art rock combo’s leader and songwriter, Eno attracted his own legion of fans and inevitably took away some of the limelight. Following two acclaimed albums, Eno left ROXY MUSIC after being told by Bryan Ferry in June 1973 that they would never share the same stage again!

Tensions had been running high at Roxy gigs with Eno’s fans gathering to the left of the stage chanting “ENO-ENO!” while Ferry’s fans were to the stage right chanting back “FERRY-FERRY!” – Ferry later admitted “I wasn’t very good at sharing” but EG Management who looked after ROXY MUSIC weren’t too unhappy, saying to Eno: “We feel you’re ready for a solo career!”

To celebrate the start of that solo career, Eno’s first four classic vocal albums ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’, ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’, ‘Another Green World’ and ‘Before & After Science’ have been reissued as deluxe gatefold 2LP heavyweight vinyl editions mastered at half-speed for 45RPM, effectively now presenting each album as two EP mini-albums.

Using ‘simplistic keyboards’ and ‘snake guitar’, Eno’s solo debut ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ released in January 1974 followed a thrashy, energetic style inspired by THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. Its hybrid of glam, progressive and art rock continued in a vein similar to early ROXY MUSIC.

Indeed, Phil Manzanera, Andy MacKay and Paul Thompson joined their former band mate as part of the record’s line-up of deliberately incompatible musicians which included Robert Fripp, Paul Rudolph and Chris Spedding. Eno’s willingness to experiment and challenge conventional rock traditions only affirmed to some observers that he was the originator of the arty Roxy sound, as Ferry & Co mellowed and gradually turned into STEELY DAN!

With its humourous money shot title, ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ was dominated by guitar-driven numbers like the neo-instrumental title track, ‘Needles In The Camel’s Eye’, ‘Baby’s On Fire’ and ‘The Paw Paw Negro Blowtouch’, although the latter’s madcap synth solo and electronic treatments provided Eno with his USP. However, alongside these noise experiments were softer, more introspective numbers like the wonderful ‘Some Of Them Are Old’. It was a good debut, but things would get even better.

Named after a Peking Opera, just the influential nature of ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’ released in November 1974 signified the importance of his sophomore offering and this was without its more cerebral approaches and observations on Chinese Communism.

OMD borrowed the templates of ‘Back In Judy’s Jungle’ and ‘China My China’ for ‘Maid Of Orleans’ and ‘Genetic Engineering’ respectively, while the bassline similarities of ‘The Fat Lady Of Limbourg’ with BLANCMANGE’s original ‘Some Bizzare Album’ take on ‘Sad Day’ are there loud and clear.

Then there was BAUHAUS later turning ‘Third Uncle’ into a goth disco favourite with only minor amendments and Manchester post-punk funksters A CERTAIN RATIO getting their name from a lyric in ‘The True Wheel’. Musically, ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’ was again guitar based but there was also the pretty lullaby of ‘Put A Straw Under Baby’, while a beautiful elegiac quality aided by synthesizers seeped into the album’s solemn title track closer.

However in early 1975, Eno’s life took a major turn when a car accident left him hospitalised and temporarily immobile. While convalescing, he attempted to play a record of 18th Century harp music and unable to get up to adjust the volume which was set too low, the almost inaudible soundtrack made him realise how music could be part of the ambience of its environment. It changed Eno’s outlook and his way of making music.

Co-produced by Rhett Davies, the first fruit of labour was the experimental ‘Another Green World’ released in September 1975. Unlike his previous solo records, he had no material pre-prepared before entering the studio.

Largely gone were the guitar based numbers of the first two albums, although the art funk of ‘Sky Saw’ featuring Percy Jones on fretless bass, Phil Collins on drums and John Cale on viola must have caught the ear of a certain David Robert Jones. Instead, there were shorter tracks, many of them evocative instrumentals dominated by keyboards and synthesizers like the iconic title track which was eventually used as the theme to the BBC2 arts programme ‘Arena’.

Pieces such ‘Sombre Reptiles’, ‘Becalmed’ and ‘Spirits Drifting’ signalled where Eno was heading musically, but the album’s best track was the beautiful piano-led ‘Everything Merges With The Night’. This mournful tune, featuring a flat but honest vocal from Eno, was to become a key influence on Gary Numan for his ballads ‘Complex’ and ‘Please Push No More’.

The critical acclaim for ‘Another Green World’ saw Eno becoming a man in demand as a collaborator, which led to the two year gestation period for ‘Before & After Science’ released in December 1977. It was his first vocal record credited as ‘Brian’ and to be his last one for many years as he divided time working with ULTRAVOX, CLUSTER and TALKING HEADS. Indeed, the David Byrne led combo were the inspiration for the metallic romp of ‘Kings Lead Hat’; the title was an anagram of the art school combo’s name while the track itself was later covered by ULTRAVOX.

As with David Bowie’s ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ which Eno had also worked on, ‘Before & After Science’ presented its material as pop and experimental sides. The first side included the quirky ‘Blackwater’ with its fabulous stabs of synth, while the material that formed the almost percussion-less second side was another pointer of things to come. Adding a Yamaha CS80 to his EMS AKS and Minimoog synth armoury, a gentle sophistication manifested itself, particularly on the sumptuous nautical folk of ‘Spider & I’.

Meanwhile the album’s acknowledged highlight ‘By This River’, co-written with CLUSTER and engineered by Conny Plank, was subsequently revisited by Martin Gore of DEPECHE MODE for the second instalment of his ‘Counterfeit’ covers project in 2003.

After ‘Before & After Science’, Eno largely steered clear of conventional vocal led material for his own work and went into full ambient mode, releasing the highly regarded ‘Music For Airports’ in March 1978. There would be further lengthy ambient electronic offerings such as ‘Thursday Afternoon’, ‘The Shutov Assembly’, ‘Neroli’, ‘Lux’ and more recently ‘Reflection’.

Although today, Brian Eno might be seen within the rock sphere as the producer of U2 and COLDPLAY, this quartet of recordings chronicles his musical journey as to how it all began. While this series of reissues is restricted to vinyl, CD and digital formats are already available. Anyone remotely interested in popular music should give these inventive albums a listen, in whatever format.

‘Here Come The Warm Jets’, ‘Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)’, ‘Another Green World’ and ‘Before & After Science’ are released by UMC / Virgin EMI as deluxe limited edition gatefold heavyweight double vinyl sets on 4th August 2017

http://www.brian-eno.net/

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

https://www.facebook.com/brianenomusic/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
21st June 2017

PAUL STATHAM Ephemeral + Installation Music 1

5 April 2017 /

Paul Statham has had a diverse music career if nothing else.

He first made his name as the guitarist of B-MOVIE who appeared on the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ alongside DEPECHE MODE, SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE and THE THE. Following the band’s disbandment, he began a nine album songwriting partnership with Goth icon Peter Murphy of BAUHAUS fame.

With producer Pascal Gabriel and singer Lisa Lamb, Statham formed synthpop trio PEACH who released their only album ‘Audiopeach’ on Mute in 1997, a long player which also featured some of the last vocal recordings made by the late Billy MacKenzie and an American hit single in ‘On My Own’.

This helped Statham maintain a successful career co-writing and producing songs for a variety of diverse acts including DIDO, DOT ALLISON, KYLIE MINOGUE, RACHEL STEVENS, SARAH NIXEY, THE SATURDAYS and LOST BOY! aka Jim Kerr. While B-MOVIE reformed in 2004, Statham continues with projects outside the band like THE DARK FLOWERS which featured his previous collaborators Kerr, Murphy and Allison. And now he can add ambient and experimental instrumental music to his forte.

The first collection ‘Ephemeral’ consists of four lengthy pieces reminiscent of BRIAN ENO, the first of which ‘Ephemeral 1’ is a shimmering cross between ‘Neroli’ and ‘Thursday Afternoon’. With its sonic clusters of synth, it actually moves at a slightly faster pace than both, but that of course is all comparative. Whatever, it is a wonderful slice of thinking music.

‘Ephemeral 2’ takes the pace down further, droning rather than shimmering, its denser textures recalling those of ‘On Land’. The sound painting continues with ‘Chronology 1’ adding piano and acoustic guitar to the orchestrated structure, while ‘C2’ is more obscure with its sparse experimental jazz feel.

The second body of work ‘Installation Music 1’ is more fragmented and follow the lead of ‘Music For Films’, with its nine tracks mostly clocking in at less two minutes. Opener ‘Breaking Water’ takes waves and mechanical noises into a cavernous aural collage, while ‘Radio Dreaming’ does what it says on the tin, but is too short to lead anywhere.

The pretty rings of ‘Submerged’ are serene, it could easily develop into a longer ambient piece but sounds unfinished. However, the other tracks like ‘Particles’ and ‘The Deep World’ really do submerge into their own other worldliness. Overall, ‘Installation Music 1’ has some great ideas but comes over more as incidental accompaniment like its conceptual title suggests.

Both are now available as free downloads, with a third album on the way. This is music worthy of Brian Eno himself that can provoke feelings of relaxation. It’s gratis, so why not take the chance?

‘Ephemeral’ and ‘Installation Music 1’ are available as free downloads from https://paulstatham.bandcamp.com/

http://www.paulstatham.com/

https://www.facebook.com/paulstathammusic/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
5th April 2017

RICHARD BARBIERI Planets + Persona

6 March 2017 /


Richard Barbieri releases his most sonically expansive album yet in ‘Planets + Persona’.

But despite a recording career of nearly 40 years, which began as a member the innovative art muzak combo JAPAN, ‘Planets + Persona’ is only Barbieri’s third solo work. Over the intervening years, he has worked with his former band mates in various guises, Steve Hogarth of MARILLION and most notably, prog rockers PORCUPINE TREE.

‘Planets + Persona’ comprises of seven lengthy instrumentals which while primarily electronic in nature, encompass organic tones and voice manipulation. Steve Hogarth, Barbieri’s wife Suzanne and Swedish musician Lisen Rylander Löve are among the vocalists who have been morphed into these new sounds. In an interview with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, Richard Barbieri said of this ethos of innovation: “I layered up these voices that had quite interesting close harmonies so I manipulated them, put them into a sampler and further synthesized it… you know it’s real voices but it sounds slightly weird”.

Opening track ‘Solar Sea’ is a sleazy rhythmic excursion into another world. Using System 700 bass, the track’s atonal jazz feel is then augmented by the haunting voice manipulations of Lisen Rylander Löve; these warping noises are offset by soothing brass inflections and live drumming. Followed by the spacey avant jazz of ‘New Found Land’ which was originally written by Barbieri for PORCUPINE TREE, this one is probably the most melodically framed piece on the album, ideal for those who are perhaps a bit more cautious about sub-seven minute instrumental work.

The three movement ‘Night Of The Hunter’ begins sparsely with ‘(1) Summer’; cascading harps run in before some beautifully picked acoustic six string from Christian Saggese accompanied by Barbieri’s gentle orchestrations. However after those brighter beginnings, ‘(2) Shake Hands With Danger’ is much starker and sombre with the title’s announcer sample creeping in over the building percussive tension. The mood then subsides and on ‘(3) Innocence Lost’, sweeping synths, cacophonies of sax and a drum loop take things to their natural conclusion.

‘Interstellar Medium’ is the only piece that Barbieri performs totally solo on ‘Planets + Persona’ and here, he utilises the detuned pentatonic sound design that he pioneered on JAPAN’s ‘Tin Drum’ as well as more eerie manipulated voicing; it’s well-titled as it does what it says on the tin.

Meanwhile, the beautiful tinkling ambience of ‘Unholy’ is countered by unsettling Nordic voices before a deep synth bass rumble and acoustic guitars change the mood completely, aided by Löve’s soprano sax. As the album heads towards the final straight, ‘Shafts Of Light’ uses largely conventional instrumentation to achieve its icy atmospheric aims, featuring some lovely trumpet from Luca Calabrese.

Photo by Ben Meadows

Closing with the magnificence of ‘Solar Storm’, this is practically a full band jam with the legendary Percy Jones on bass and Kjell Severinsson on drums, while the ever versatile Löve blasts in with her sax. It’s all held together marvellously by Barbieri’s programming of bass and ethnic chimes, while what appears to be a guitar solo is anything but. As Jones solos with his fretless in the middle section over a mass of electronic sequences, it recalls why he was such a key influence on the late Mick Karn; JAPAN and ENO fans will love this!

‘Planets + Persona’ is not a one-paced ambient record, the variations in structure and tempo make this an enticing musical adventure outside of the conventional song format. Coupled with a sonic accessibility, this makes for a perfect mid-evening album of aural escapism.

As Barbieri himself put it: “‘Planets + Persona’ is more cinematic, it’s a wide spectrum of sounds so if I was a painter, you could say I’m using more colours”.

‘Planets + Persona’ is released in CD, double vinyl and digital formats by Kscope

RICHARD BARBIERI appears at Exeter Phoenix on Thursday 16th March and London Hoxton Hall on Tuesday 28th March 2017. He will also perform as part of The Seventh Wave Festival of Electronic Music in Birmingham on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March 2017.

https://www.facebook.com/RichardBarbieriOfficial/

http://www.kscopemusic.com/artists/richard-barbieri/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Ben Meadows
6th March 2017

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