Clicks & Cuts 5: Paradigm Shift

In 2000 the German music label Mille Plateaux released the first compilation in the Clicks & Cuts Series. Always looking for new sounds and innovative ideas in music it introduced me to a new movement in electronic music known by various names including clip hop, blip hop and most commonly as glitch.

The original Clicks & Cuts CD introduced me to new experimental electronica artists such as Vladislav Delay and Kit Clayton, along with more familiar artists Pole and Pan Sonic.

Ten years on and Mille Plateaux release Clicks & Cuts 5: Paradigm Shift.  17 tracks introducing me to 17 new artists that in 2010 are at the cutting edge of electronic experimental music; and as with previous releases in the series I listen to this more as a sampler rather than any type of ‘Now That’s What I Call Glitch 2010’album.

Merging glitch with dub overtones always seems to work for me, and so I single out Aoki Takamasa’s RN04-09 and Isolex 03 by Loom as artists I want to hear more from. But there are other fusions and interesting sounds I will follow up here including the beautiful and chilled minimal techno of e.coli by Marow and Inner by Nicolaus.

Clicks & Cuts Volume 5.0 features a totally new generation of young artists giving a 360 degree view on fresh glitch sounds: from Glitch to Minimal Techno and Dub Electronica to Ambient and Sound Art . Each song has its own distinct character. Mille Plateaux never usually fails to deliver interesting electronic music, and Clicks & Cuts 5.0 is a perfect latest edition to this great CD series.

Clicks & Cuts 5.0: Paradigm Shift is released on Mille Plateaux on 7th May 2010

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

Paul Woolford Platform

Through his work as DJ, producer, dancefloor experimentalist, remixer, collaborator and record label owner (Intimacy), Paul Woolford has succeeded in bringing a rare level of artistry to the world of modern dance music and in doing so, made an enduring global impact.

Paul Woolford has made his name working with artists as diverse as Depeche Mode, Simian Mobile Disco, Delphic and the legendary Underworld

This is the second in the Renaissance label Platform Series, and it’s a real cracker!

Paul Woolford has made a stir by bringing something different to the DJ mix table, and Platform is as interesting as it is brillisnt.

Woolford comments, “Immediately I had a list of records that I knew I wanted to include – every record has been picked from the heart… It was imperative to me that I used only these tracks, with no fillers at all. My aim was not to give a ’snapshot’ mix of what I’m playing on the floor at this time, but to provide what is hopefully a lasting document of my approach to music.”

Titled Surgery ‘One’ and ‘Two’ Paul Woolford said the idea of how to construct the first mix came to him after three days deep in thought in Brazil.

Surgey Two uses Oni Ayhun’s ‘OAR3-B’ as its anchor, which Paul describes as, “One of the most beautiful pieces of electronic music I have encountered.”

The breadth of tracks Paul Woolford has used on Platform is staggering, there are even records.  Uncompromising and most definitely thinking ‘outside the box’, Woolford’s mix is works as a boundary-less composition of new and old sounds that work well together resulting in timeless mixes that drift and build – perfect.

The result of Paul Woolford – Platform is an amazing mix; an effortless listen that explores the full spectrum of techno, jazz, cinematic electronica and house.

Paul Woolford Platform Tracklist:

CD1: Surgery One
01. Paul Woolford – Heartbeat Intro
02. Brock Van Wey – Forever a Stranger
03. Lusine – Gravity
04. Rocha – Hands of Love (Fingers of Sand) (Gatto Fritto Menorcan Nightmare Version) [Paul Woolford Re-edit]
05. Josh Wink – Counter Clock 319 (Château Flight Remix) [Section]
06. Gui Boratto – Trills (Paul Woolford Reduced Dub)
07. I:Cube – Tunnel Vision [Section]
08. Wireman – Armour (Move D Remix) [Section]
09. Missing Linkx – Who to Call
10. Brock Van Wey – Forever a Stranger [Section]
11. Adryan – The Jazzer (Russ Gabriel Remix)
12. Basic Soul Unit – Things Pass
13. Cortney Tidwell – Watusii (Daphni Remix) [Instrumental & Vocal Sections]
14. Newworldaquarium – The Force (Âme Remix) [Paul Woolford Re-edit] (Remix & Additional Production by Âme)
15. Tensnake – In the End (I Want You to Cry)
16. Marc Antona & Xiki – Hawah
17. Armando – Don’t Take It (Thomos Edit) [Paul Woolford Re-edit]
18. Matthias Tanzmann – Rugby
19. Brendon Moeller – Phazed & Confused
20. Ben Klock – Subzero (Function-Regis Remix)
21. Joy Orbison – The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow
22. Paul Woolford Presents Bobby Peru – Let It Go

CD2: Surgery Two
01. Paul Woolford – Salinas Intro
02. Morgan Geist feat. Jeremy Greenspan – The Shore (Paul Woolford’s Bridge End Dub)
03. Daniel Stefanik – Like This
04. Brock Van Wey – Forever a Stranger [Section]
05. Quarion – Karasu (Deetron Remix) [Paul Woolford Re-edit]
06. Ben Klock – Subzero (Function-Regis Remix)
07. Reel By Real – Surkit [Paul Woolford Edit]
08. Oni Ayhun – OAR003-B
09. Cortney Tidwell – Watusii (Daphni Remix) [Vocal Section]
10. Josh Wink – Counter Clock 319 (Château Flight Remix)
11. DVS1 – Running
12. Abe Duque feat. Blake Baxter – What Happened? [Vocal Sections]
13. Robert Hood – School
14. Sendai – System Policy
15. Kevin Gorman – Alarm (Tool Re-edit)
16. Derrick L. Carter – Legacy [Vocal Section]
17. Paul Woolford – Endgame (Platform Intro Version)
18. Tom Taylor – Theory of Everything (Kink Remix)
19. Suburban Knight – The Art of Stalking (Paul Woolford Edit)

Paul Woolford Platform is available on Renaissance.

Balance Series 016: Agoria

In two separate hour long mixes for the Balance Series, Agoria (French Techno Producer Sebastien Devaud) blends atmospheric, oblique at times electronica that sends you on such a journey you can’t help but wonder at the end of it just where it is you have gone and come back to.

The first CD is full of haunting melodies that start off quiet then climax to a lushness you’d expect to find in movie soundtracks.  Guitar riffs jostle for space amongst house beats superimposed with opera vocals.

Driving bass lines are filled out and rounded by stripped out vocals that gets smashed straight into an old school disco sound straight from the it’s New York hey days.  Agoria’s blending of so many different genres typifies the moniker of the compilation series- Balance.

The second CD moves us out of the 9 am post party warm fug created by the first CD and sends us back onto the dance floor with a more recognizable Techno sound.  It seems Agoria’s talent is to include the persistent 4/4 beat whilst manipulating off kilter tracks and layering them.

He cleverly plays tracks then later re-introduces key parts of them further into the mix.  The musical journey becomes full of moments of recognition that requires a certain level of attentive listening.  The pay off for this listening is your head exploding with the madness and brilliantness of his composition.

He hasn’t been indulgent of only big name artists for the mixes but cuts and splices the well known such as LCD Soundsystem, Tosca, Mark Broom and his own production with 12 new artist’s unreleased tracks, including Kid A, The Same and Arandel.

I think this gives freshness to both CD’s and shows not only an incredible talent but also a desire to forge his own path and create a very unique sound.   I would love to see him DJ, I can’t imagine how overwhelming his set would be.  He’s playing at Fabric the 13th of this month.  I highly recommend going there.

For more information visit www.myspace.com/agoriagoria

Javelin's self-titled EP

Cousins Tom Van Buskirk and George Langford are Javelin. They make their music using numerous samples from barely traceable records, and perform live by transmitting their music to FM, a signal then picked up by various boomboxes at their shows.

Sound like a gimmick? Well it’s not. The home-made approach is like recycling for the music scene, or like those artists that occasionally get bigged up because they make all their sculptures out of rubbish (“What a marvellous idea!”). Javelin’s music is like an oral summary of a section of their record collection.

It’s almost hard to describe Javelin without making them coming across like another band with their own gimmick like a tap dancing rhythm section or 27 members (Tilly and the Wall and The Polyphonic Spree respectively), but this stuff sounds genuine.

For starters, there’s no real singing over it, so you can tell the producers have got lost in the sounds and rhythms they are compiling and splicing with keyboards, drums and whatever other instruments may be lying around.

Secondly the tracks themselves are inventive without being deliberately difficult. The riffs fade in and out, are altered and return; the rhythms make you want to dance; the . The overall sound is like hearing distant party music which you don’t quite recognise.

And it’s good fun. At no point do you think there is a contrived point to be made or a hankering for an NME ‘look how these guys make music!’ exclusive. It’s just two cousins having fun with the music they find.
The opening ‘Lindsay Brohan’ and ‘Soda Popinski’ are, along with ‘TWYCE’, the standout tracks on the self-titled EP. ‘Lindsay Brohan’’s basic keyboards and popping rhythms making it sound like a 90s German kids party tune. ‘Soda Popinski’ is like an symphony for Nintendo sounds, and apparently contains lyrics such as “This is a song for Soda Popinski / My spirit animal would be Klaus Kinski”, making it a relief they are too distorted to hear.

The duo currently live in New York and will soon be playing shows across the US with The XX, The Very Best, Lucky Dragons and Yeasayer. The duo has, in the past played venues as diverse as the children’s branch of the Olneyville Public Library (RI), to the Museum of Modern Art (NY).

Here’s Javelin’s MySpace page.

gem records launch

After fifteen years as one of the leading producers of his time Jeroen ‘Secret Cinema’ Verheij is still actively pushing boundaries. His recent release Shake Ur Tek-Ass released on Cocoon Records took the number one position in the Beatport techno chart and he has been ruling playlists and clubs all summer with his massive Kurzweil.

Not content to sit on his laurels Verheij is about to launch his new record label, Gem Records in December. The first artist to appear on the label will be Egbert, who was discovered by Jeroen Verheij and went on to release the huge Magie (which was recently signed to Sven Vath’s Sounds Of The 10th Season compilation on Cocoon). This track also landed him a deal to release a 12” on Vath’s label in November.

egbert

GEM001 will be Egbert’s Dezelfde Weg EP, which Secret Cinema has been dropping everywhere over the summer and the crowd response has been amazing!

Side A features the hypnotic, melody driven techno slammer title track Dezelfde Weg. On the flipside is a deeper, darker track called Vette Sounds with creepy yet commanding synths over a pounding bassline driven groove. This track has also received the Secret Cinema Remix treatment to brilliant effect!

Peter Horrevorts will be responsible for the second release on Gem Records. He already has a number of high profile releases and remixes under his belt on labels such as Underground Resistance, Ministry of Sound and Global Underground, to name a few, so this is a very exciting prospect. Also look out for Jamie Anderson, Ramon Tapia and Van Anh who will be making their first appearance on Gem soon!

The philosophy behind Gem is to only sign music that will become timeless, regardless of which genre they may be categorized as now. The label showcase event Gem Sessions has just been introduced successfully to the Dutch scene with a number of sold out events, an excellent Amsterdam Dance Event show, and there are now plans for more events throughout Europe.

Jeroen Verheij a.k.a. Secret Cinema remains at the forefront of the techno music scene with his immaculate productions and powerful DJ and live performances. September 2009 saw the release of the Jazz Me EP on Cocoon Recordings, which also featured the massive Shake Ur Tek-Ass.

For more information visit the Gem Records My Space page.

Vladislav Delay – Toive

Sasu Ripatti will be in the UK for a rare Vladislav Delay appearance on November 12, at London’s Union Chapel. Joined by Argentinian musician Lucio Capece (who also plays bass saxophone and clarinet on Tummaa), the show is co-headlined by British/Norwegian jazz outfit Food (Rune Grammofon).

Eyebrow, comprised of Pete Judge (Get The Blessing) on trumpet and Paul Wigens (ex-Blurt) on drums, have now been confirmed as support for the show.

Thursday 12 November
Union Chapel, LONDON (with Food & Eyebrow)
Compton Terrace, N1 2UN
Doors 7pm
Tickets £15 adv
http://www.jointhecircle.net

Joining Sweatshop for their final 2009 event is none other than electronic music pioneer Ewan Pearson. But not only that, he’s being joined by long time collaborator Al Usher for an exclusive Partial Arts set. The duo will be taking over the basement all night, and the venue has extended opening hours until 4.30AM!

Ewan has a rich musical background being one of the most reliable remixers on the planet…. Just ask The Chemical Brothers, Goldfrapp or Freeform Five. He is also one of the finest electronic house DJs around playing all over the world from the Panorama Bar to Fabric. Al Usher is one of the most under rated producers this country has to offer, with productions and remixes for Prins Thomas’s Internasjonal and Out of The Loop (check his recent ‘Lullaby For Robert’).

Together these two English DJs will be playing under their Partial Arts guise, which is sure to be epic, eclectic and other worldly… just like their productions on Kompakt. They have never played together doing this kind of set and are very excited. Kill Em All’s StopMakingMe will be on duty to warm your cockles.

Upstairs expect a diverse tapestry of music from Ed Darling, The Amateur Rave Wizard and Cruisey Control who take control of the bar.

The party takes place at East Village at 89 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3HX on November 14th.

Entrance is £5.00 before 11pm and £8.00 after. The party starts at 9pm!

Basement:
Ewan Pearson & Al Usher (Partial Arts)
Stopmakingme (Kill ‘em All)

The Bar:
Ed Darling, The Amateur Rave Wizard & Cruisey Control

Error Response aka Stephen Arnold new album: Zen

Error Response is British producer Stephen Arnold (aka Espion) and Zen is the debut album released on the Berlin based Elektrotribe label.

Zen is a very interesting album that blends Arnold’s love of film scores with interesting ideas and eery moments. Playing like a pseudo-fsoundtrack, the album has mood swings incaptulating drum n bass and downtempo beats, trip hop grooves and atmospheric samples of electronica.

Error Response is a move away from the industrial and agressive electro output of Espion and allows Stephen Arnold to explore much softer tones.  The music on Zen steer their own path, evoking thoughts of a dark, melancholic, moody and claustrophobic Bladerunner-esque, urban environment.

The album is the first of three parts entitled Zen, Tao and Chi, which have been in production since 2005. The music fuses sampled loops and phrases with complex interweaving programmed rhythms and synthesized melodies, with an organic flow, dropping into ambient sections, or into more fast drum ‘n’ bass sections, while always sticking to the theme of a mysterious, urban samurai, film noir soundtrack, filled with curiosity, intrigue, thrills, car chases, plot twists, gangsters, cops and femmes fatales.

The album takes the listener on a journey of both hectic rushes and moments of contemplation.  The album is apparently inspired by the Ninja Tune sample master, Amon Tobin, the ambient soundscapes of game composer Jesper Kyd, many film composers such as John Barry, John Powell, Phillip Glass, Bernard Herrmann and classical composer, Igor Stravinsky.

Error Response – Zen  tracklist:

1. Capital Trap
2. Real Props (Feat. The Protege)
3. The Safehouse
4. Rules of Engagement
5. Serenity
6. The Arrival
7. The Clones
8. Payment in Kind
9. Creep 31
10.Stealth
11.TV Land
12.Game
13.Zen
14.Steel Sky
15.Shadows
16.Valiant
17.Severe
18.The River Runs Through

Vladislav Delay to play Union Chapel, London

Vladislav Delay (aka Sasu Ripatti) has announced a rare London show at The Union Chapel on 12th November. The performance will be a co-headline with British/Norwegian jazz outfit Food.

The Finnish musician (electronics/live percussion) will be joined by Argentinian Lucio Capece (bass saxophone/clarinet) who features on Vladislav Delay’s new album, and first for Leaf, Tummaa (to be released on 7th September).

It has been a busy summer for Sasu Ripatti. As well as European shows under the guise of Luomo and Uusitalo, Ripatti has been playing shows with his partner Antye Greie as AGF/Delay and as a part of the Moritz von Oswald Trio, who released debut album Vertical Ascent (Honest Jon’s) in June.

Moritz von Oswald Trio will make their UK live debut at Fabric on Saturday 26th September.

Vladislav Delay has also been named ‘Artist in Focus‘ at this year’s Dis-Patch festival in Belgrade, Serbia, which runs from October 23 – November 8th.

See all of Sasu Ripatti’s shows at www.vladislavdelay.com

Vladislav Delay will only play one live UK date this year:

Thursday 12 November
Union Chapel, London (with Food)
Compton Terrace, N1 2UN
Doors 7pm
Tickets £15 adv

For more information on Vladisalv Delay visit www.myspace.com/vladislavdelaymusic and
www.theleaflabel.com/vladislavdelay