by Ben Hogwood, with text lifted from the press release
Tycho has announced and released Forge, the follow-up to (and early incarnation of) Boundary Rider, his recent collaboration with Paul Banks of Interpol.
Speaking about the track, Tycho (aka Scott Hansen) says: “Boundary Rider started life as a demo called Forge, a driving open-ended extension of the Epoch-era sound. I originally sent a pretty stripped back version to Paul Banks to see if he was interested in contributing vocals, which later informed the direction of that arrangement. After completing that version, I revisited the original to see if I could draw a compelling instrumental out of it. This is sometimes difficult with a song written with vocals in mind — it’s hard to find the elements to tie it all together once the vocals are gone. But with this one it ended up feeling nicely balanced just by pushing Zac’s guitars to the front a bit, retaining the isolated sound of the vocal version while opening up more space for the instrumentation to breathe.”
As you will hear while listening to the track below, Hansen’s point is proved with music of warmth and poise, yet also positive energy – such as that felt with the onset of Spring-like weather here in Britain!
Kinds is the first solo album in eight years from London-based kwes.. It was inspired by an incident with his daughter, who knocked a glass of drink over the drawing she was doing – and in the moment, kwes. – real name Kwes Sey – resolved to “‘release’ life-experience: good, bad and everything in between – to ‘commit it to tape’ as succinctly as possible, without too much deliberation.”
The music is named after colours, following a theme of synaesthesia, and was made with the producer’s children in mind. Given the inspiration behind the project, it seemed only right for them to contribute to the cover art.
What’s the music like?
Immensely restful – and, of course, colourful. Each of the portraits is about three minutes long, and kwes. links them harmonically to their neighbours, creating a cycle that moves gradually but with a sure sense of direction.
There are no beats, and very little in the way of rhythm, so the music hangs suspended like a thick cloud. This provides a great deal of ambience, especially when listening on headphones, as the head lives inside the big canvas that kwes. has created.
The titles are a strong indication for the musical contents; Blue Violet being rich in depth and deeper in register, while the timbre on Brown Green Yellow is a bit scratchy and dry initially, but settles down.
Interestingly Black (Grey) has a glossy tone initially, before quietening, while Yellow Green gives the impression of scorched fields. One of the deepest combinations is Green White, with wide open textures, before the incredibly soothing Orange Blue closes the album, its colours initially rich but dying out as the candle burns low.
Does it all work?
Yes. Synaesthesia is of course wholly dependent on the mind’s eye of the person perceiving it, so not all the colours and music will match for every listener, but the spell of deep meditation remains cast.
Is it recommended?
Yes. With timely precision, kwes. has provided a wholly effective companion for the stressful world we currently live in!
Nathan Fake’s electronica has found a new home, with Evaporator his first album released on the InFiné label.
It is an instinctive work, written during the summer of 2024 and wrapped up in just six weeks. He describes it as “airy daytime music,” which is “not overtly confrontational electronic club music, it’s more accessible.” Continuing the instinctive approach, Evaporator was mostly recorded in single takes on a Cubase set up, with Fake employing synths and even a toy Casio keyboard on Yucon, which has become one of his most treasured compositions.
What’s the music like?
Evaporator engages both the mind and the feet in an easy and frequently appealing way. On many occasions it promises the joy of dancing, but there are moments where Fake’s music is aimed straight at the mind, specifically in removing tension and providing musical company.
Both elements combine in the loping beats and lush textures of You’ll Find A Way, while Fake’s clever trick of employing two paces at once works on the implied Euro riffing of Hypercube, where a distinctive five-note rhythm is punched out, and Aiwa, with its slow beats but busy percussion. Yucon has real presence, as well as the childlike simplicity from the toy keyboard, while Bialystok is really strong, led by a powerful and almost primeval kick drum.
Later on in the album, two collaborations make their mark. The weather-beaten Baltasound, with Dextro, appears to be a portrait of a Shetland settlement. On it, the pair create a massive pillow of sound out of which emerges a beat of reassuring depth. Orbiting Meadows features another good friend, Clark, and hints at music heard further afield, with mysterious bells above a broad canvas. Saving one of the very best tracks for last, Slow Yamaha is a beauty, a loping disco number with a rolling beat that works for all of its nine minutes.
Does it all work?
It does. Nathan Fake’s freedom of expression is key here, and the combination of intimacy and wide-open, elemental sound pictures are managed in a really satisfying way.
Is it recommended?
It is. This is another very strong addition to the Nathan Fake canon, another winner from Norfolk. The instinctive approach suits him well!
The fourth in Cherry Red’s Musik Music Musique series, this edition from 1979 acts as a prequel, an anticipation of a decade where electronic music moved decisively into the mainstream of pop music once and for all.
Between them Richard Anderson and John Reed have assembled 60 tracks spanning a wide range of styles and sounds, some of them heard on our radios to this minute, others that have almost disappeared. The combination makes for over three hours of very intriguing and instructive listening.
What’s the music like?
When I say, “Of its time”, that is a compliment – and in all honesty, a lot of the music on this collection could have dated from this year. Such is the reflection of how often a good deal of new music looks back to the pioneering spirits of 1979 for its inspiration.
There are so many highlights that it would be impossible to include them all, but safe to say the big hitters from Gary Numan (both Are ‘Friends’ Electric? and Cars) continue to hit the spot in spite of the regular presence on radio, while electro royalty The Human League, Moebius, John Foxx, Steve Hillage, Yello, Japan and Devo all impress, the latter with the fantastically grubby beat of Strange Pursuit. Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream is sublime, too.
More rewarding, surely, to find the outliers that have aged really well, and whose story is so well told by Mat Smith in the generous booklet accompanying the release. We get to learn about Fad Gadget, whose stately Back To Nature is a highlight of CD3. The perky M inclusion Made In Munich is fun, while Metal Voices’ At The Banks Of The River shows that electronic music can be graceful too. The storytelling of Quantum Jump‘s The Lone Ranger is memorable, Karel Fialka’s Armband pre-dated his only big hit Hey Matthew by some eight years, and Jude’s Mirror Mirror contains some brilliant soundbites.
Giorgio Moroder’s E = MC2 still sounds fresh off the page, while Telex offer an excellent cover of Rock Around The Clock. The Buggles’ Technopop is breezy pop perfection, while Visage’s Frequency 7 is a deadpan vocoder-fest. The brightly voiced Hammer (named after Jan) contribute a treat in Forever Tonight, as do the brilliant After The Fire with One Rule For You. A word also for The Men, whose I Don’t Depend On You struts its stuff to funky effect.
Does it all work?
There are some less successful tracks, but to be honest they are of benefit to the collection, as it means the year is presented warts and all, and is all the more realistic for the inclusion of the tunes that haven’t aged as well. Be warned that the earworm of Black Rod’s Going To The Country will stay all day, while there really isn’t a category to describe Fashion’s Technofascist, with its uptight vocal and odd marching beat.
Is it recommended?
Yes, enthusiastically. MMM is the most fun you’ll ever have in a history lesson!
by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release. Picture (c) Camilla Greenwell
Sean Shibe’s fifth Pentatone album, Vesper, is due for release on 17 April 2026.
On it he presents a typically inventive collection of contemporary guitar works by the late Harrison Birtwistle, James Dillon, and Thomas Adès, “all composed by musicians who do not play the instrument themselves”, says the press release. “Recorded here for the first time, these recent miniatures explore the guitar’s expressive range in profoundly different ways: ritualistic and evocative in Birtwistle, elemental in Dillon, and allusive in Adès. Shibe’s interpretations reveal the instrument’s extraordinary colour, subtlety, and capacity for transformation, bringing each work to life with imagination and nuance.
For some of Birtwistle’s pieces, Shibe performs on Sylvette (2021), a guitar made by luthier Simon Ambridge in collaboration with French-British artist Lydia Corbett. A muse to Pablo Picasso – who was himself an important influence for several of Birtwistle’s works on this album – Corbett also inspired Picasso’s celebrated Sylvette series. Modelled on the small, responsive instruments of the Andalusian luthier Antonio de Torres, the guitar features Corbett’s artwork on its body, adding a visual and symbolic layer to the performance.
You can watch the launch video for Vespers here:
The tracklisting for Vesper is:
Thomas Adès (b. 1971) Forgotten Dances* 1 I. Overture, Queen of the Spiders 2 II. Berceuse, The Paradise of Thebes 3 III. Courante – Here was a swift (for Max Ernst) 4 IV. Barcarolle – The Maiden Voyage 5 V. Carillon de Ville (for Hector Berlioz) 6 VI. Vesper (for Henry Purcell)
Harrison Birtwistle (1934–2022) 7 Beyond the White Hand: Construction with Guitar Player** 8 Guitar and White Hand**
Thomas Adès 9 Habanera* from ‘The Exterminating Angel’
10 Oockooing Bird (arr. for guitar by Forbes Henderson) 11 Sleep Song 12 Berceuse de Jeanne (arr. for guitar by Forbes Henderson) 13 Sad Song (arr. for guitar by Forbes Henderson) 14 Je sui aussi
James Dillon (b. 1950) 12 Caprices* 15-26 1.-12.
You can explore purchase options for Vesper at the Pentatone website
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