Buzzin Electronic Music

Applescal ‘A Mishmash of Changing Moods’

Applescal ‘A Mishmash of Changing Moods’ on Traum Recordings

There seems to be a secret world where to get entry it’s necessary to have a portal opened via listening to a number of musicians releases in 2010; Pantha du Prince and Four Tet spring to mind.

Once you listen to the music you enter a world that evokes fairytale wonder filled with lightness but also a hint of the possibility that the evil step mother or wicked witch is waiting behind a tree to catch you unguarded.  This world is conjured up partly by cinematic sweeping sound effects.

The soundtracks/ soundscapes are full and also punctuated by the weird beeps and bleeps that only electronic production can create.  This generated other wordly-ness confuses our usual understanding of time and space.

This ability to lift us away from our normal lives is the prevailing theme of Applescal’s new album ‘A Mishmash Of Changing Moods.’  The title helps set the tone because you really are pushed around through a multitude of highly emotive experiences.  The use of layered synths, crashing high hats, weird ticks and clicks and piano keys merge together throughout the album and by subtle manipulation of these sounds Applescal creates very distinct tracks.

‘The Curle in Me’ is the opening track and he uses it to establish the fairytale like atmosphere immediately.  An air of menace prevails in ‘MC Iron’ and the next track on the album ‘IB OK.’

The haunting melodies in ‘Roofs of Heaven,’ ‘Black Spirals’ and ‘Her Forgiveness’ all feature in the second half of the album.  Its as though he knows he’s put you through a gamut of emotions and needs to ease you back into a safe place.

Whilst it is possible to consider the tracks individually it is only when taken as a whole that the potency of his production skills is experienced.   This is the second full-length album of the 22 year old.  An album that hints towards a life lived fully beyond his age.  I can’t imagine how his third, fourth, fifth… album will be.  But I bet he can hear them already in his phenomenal musical imagination.

Applescal ‘A Mishmash of Changing Moods’ Tracklisting:

01. THE CURLE IN ME
02. A FORMER CURSE
03. DIALEAGUE
04. THE KEY OF GENES
05. MC IRON
06. IB OK
07. IN THEORY
08. ROOFS OF HEAVEN
09. THE FLOP
10. THE STORM IS YOURS
11. OBSERVING ENLIGHTENMENT
12. BLACK SPIRALS
13. HER FOREVERNESS
14. DOOR WEER EN WIND
+ Bonus

Applescal ‘A Mishmash of Changing Moods’ will be released on Traum Recordings on 19th April 2010.

For more information visit myspace.com/applescal and www.applescal.net