Category Archives: On record

On Record – SUN: I Can See Our House From Here (Alien Transistor)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the first album from Andi Haberl, long-time member of The Notwist, who specialises on drums but is a gifted multi-instrumentalist.

The charming title of his debut masks a darker subplot, Haberl dedicating the record to the house he grew up in – but had to move out of when his parents split up.

Making the album was something of an epiphany, as he fell under the spell of sampling but also mastered a number of different and complementary instruments.

What’s the music like?

Colourful and multilayered – and rather charming. Haberl builds fascinating and compelling textures, rather like the album cover art, and takes the ear this way and that with persuasive melodic loops and bright textures.

There is a homemade feel to his writing, but a deep set emotion too, meaning that tracks like Sun, while initially revealing their charm, have a more substantial impact when listening back. The elegant Low, too, reveals a great deal with its softly moving piano line, before the softly chugging heart comes through.

Influences on Haberl’s music range from Krautrock to Steve Reich but are never too explicit, and there are winsome harmonic twists that are very much his own. His creative way with instrumentation adds to the appeal, with the doleful piano of Rain On Me countered by mandolin.

Best of all is the title track, where urgent minimal riffs compete and build to a thrilling finish.

Does it all work?

It does. Haberl has great musical instincts, constructing his melodic sentences with instinct and dressing the music with rich harmony.

Is it recommended?

Yes, with great enthusiasm – Andi Haberl has made a colourful instrumental album with unexpected meaning to be found in its musical corridors. This particular house is full of character and charm.

For fans of… Haiku Salut, The Notwist, Public Service Broadcasting, Lemon Jelly

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Published post no.2,208 – Thursday 13 June 2024

On Record – Kathy Hinde: Twittering Machines (TBC Editions)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Twittering Machines is an audiovisual performance by Kathy Hinde that won an Ivor Novello award in 2020. This recorded version presents a single composition, split over two sides of vinyl, marking the centenary of Beatrice Harrison’s famous BBC broadcast, where the cellist duetted with a nightingale, drawing attention to the bird’s perilous plight.

Her study looks at the disrupted environmental cycles that may threaten its future, in a direct and confrontational way, drawing attention to unsettling interactions of humanity and nature. She uses John Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale in a morse code translation, used as ‘a metaphor for humanity’s existential struggle with the climate crisis.” The poem has a counterpoint of music boxes, bird imitation toys, singing bowls, gongs, synths and field recordings, along with the voices of British ornithologist Peter Holden MBE and Bavarian bird imitator Helmut Wolfertstetter, which Hinde has cut onto dubplate.

Thus Twittering Machines profiles not just birds but social media outlets of the same name, its name gaining double meaning as the album becomes a ‘lament for our fast-dying planet.’

What’s the music like?

Both enlightening and unsettling – and affecting, too. The Morse code at the start is an arresting combination when paired with the birdsong, but as it dulls and the birds take over the sense of unrest is real, in spite of the ambience of the natural sounds.

Side B features a spoken description of the chaffinch from Peter Holden, and as it proceeds the monologue becomes detached from the sounds around it, which take on more reverb. Soon the bells take over, resonant to the point of overpowering the listener with their rounded profile, and the piece, having reached an apex, subsides back to the messages of the Morse code.

Does it all work?

It certainly achieves Kathy Hinde’s objectives and presents a powerful case in defence of the birds’ welfare. This is a musical message that proves difficult to ignore.

Is it recommended?

It is – but with caution, for this is certainly not music or sounds for all moods and can prove uncomfortable on headphones. Yet that is the point, for Twittering Machines is a powerful wake-up call, a reminder that nature – and birds in particular – are not to be taken for granted.

For fans of… Erland Cooper, Rautavaara, Cabaret Voltaire

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Published post no.2,206 – Tuesday 11 June 2024

On Record – BEAK>>: >>>> (Invada Records)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

There is a refreshing lack of information to go with the new BEAK>> album. It is, quite simply, the need of a group of people to make music, with no back story in particular – just the love of what they do and can achieve together.

This is probably why >>>> does not have more of a distinctive title, as the music is left alone to have the best possible impact. It was recorded at Invada studios in Bristol, the sessions dotted around to accommodate the band’s touring schedule.

There is, however, a story behind the opening track Strawberry Line, which is a tribute to Geoff Barrow’s much-loved dog Alfie, who appears on the album’s cover.

What’s the music like?

Compelling. As the band say, it works best listened to in one breath from start to finish, where the listener can appreciate how the grooves take hold through the album.

The Alfie tribute, Strawberry Line, starts with a solemn, chorale-like figure, which eventually acquires a groove and grows to impressive heights. The Seal has a clipped rhythm and greater urgency, while Windmill Hill starts the more beat-driven section of the album with an appealing, wonky groove.

From here on the bass heads are in for a treat, thanks to the grooves of Hungry Are We and Ah Yeh, which has been around for a little while, and makes a very strong impact in this LP version. As the album progresses the spirits rise further, with a brilliant bass line on Bloody Miles and some clanging, metallic percussion that propels Secrets towards the 1980s in the company of a buzzing synth code.

The closing Cellophane is an unsettling affair, however, going through a woozy vocal and distracted band passage before suddenly gaining momentum like a dance of death, careering into the buffers at the end.

Does it all work?

It does – and the bigger the system the better for this affair, so that the bass driven tracks make their mark and the woozy, psychedelic dressing gets its full perspective.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. BEAK>> are continuing on their compelling path of sonic innovation with this powerful and multifaceted piece of work.

For fans of… Portishead, Magazine, Cabaret Voltaire, Can

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Published post no.2,198 – Monday 3 June 2024

On Record – Howe Gelb: Weathering Some Piano (AKP Recordings)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Howe Gelb is a seasoned musician of many projects, so it is entirely within character to see him popping up with a solo piano album for AKP Recordings.

Made in his Arizona dwelling, it is a private affair, with Gelb on the piano in an adobe room insulated with denim, ensuring the acoustic is intimate and without reverberation.

Discussing the album, Gelb says, “Nature is in itself an improvisation. It can never be an accurately nor consistently planned thing. It should also be noted an extreme climate resonates with emotional wherewithal. Thus, these captured pieces of pianistic atmospheres are simple paintings of the horizon, a semi still life, the net result of allowance, and never intended to be drawn again. Resonance achieved via residence.”

What’s the music like?

Listening to this album gives the impression of eavesdropping on a pianist from the room next door. Gelb’s conversational way of playing is at once appealing, the soft tones of the piano providing an ambience like no other.

The musical language is simple but in a rewarding sense, like an Erik Satie Gymopèdie might be. Weathered itself wears a distracted look, as though the pianist is preoccupied with looking out the window, but Barometer is more structured and completely charming. There is light humour in Coffee vs Rain and Puddle Jumpin’, and a touch of humidity in The Promise Of Thunder.

Gelb’s melodies have light inflections and ornaments, suggesting a jazz influence that sits in the middle ground. Although the reverberation is deadened by the recording conditions, Gelb keeps the sustain pedal down for much of Rhapsody In Cloud Formation, the pitches colliding softly with consonant overtones until an unexpected ending in the lower pitches.

Perhaps the most meaningful piece is the extended central opus, The Sky That Can’t Make Up Its Mind. Here the thoughts and moods are varied, at times going off centre but then coming back, exploring each end of the piano with a youthful mind. There are sudden sharp bursts of clarity and a surprisingly discordant centre, before the piece comes home to rest having traversed all the moods.

Does it all work?

It does. With an intentionally lazy, improvised approach, Gelb has made an instinctive album that allows the mind to wander.

Is it recommended?

It is. Weathered Piano is a pleasing anecdote to the more clinical piano sound served up alongside many a morning coffee. It is a charming piece of work, a more than pleasant distraction for home listening.

For fans of… Erik Satie, Chilly Gonzales, Joep Beving

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Published post no.2,189 – Saturday 25 May 2024

On Record – Yaya Bey: Ten Fold (Big Dada)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Brooklyn artist Yaya Bey returns with a new album for Big Dada, her response to a difficult year in which her father died. Grief can often act as a powerful stimulus within music, and Bey has responded with a candid document, her lyrics channelled through a wide scope of musical forms.

What’s the music like?

Bey is a captivating vocal presence, and Ten Fold is a meaningful and ultimately positive response to those life events. She has clearly been through the wringer but is not afraid to face her feelings head on, copying the listener in on her experiences.

Her father, Ayub Bey – also known as Grand Daddy I.U., pops up at regular intervals with snippets and samples, and there is an underlying positive mood. Her versatility means the music travels through smoky soul, intimate house / garage hybrids, and off kilter funk, as in all around los angeles, which is brilliantly sung. crying through my teeth and me and all my niggas present a frank assessment of her feelings, while the final let go is a fitting culmination.

Does it all work?

It does – Yaya Bey pulls the listener in, converses directly and has you rooting for her long before the end.

Is it recommended?

Very much so – a captivating vocal presence showing how music can be the best possible medicine when dealing with the loss of a loved one. Anyone who has experienced that difficult time will find much to enjoy and relate to here – while musically it is a triumph.

For fans of… Erykah Badu, Ty, Sampa The Great

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Published post no.2,189 – Saturday 25 May 2024