Category Archives: On record

On Record: Vince Clarke – Songs Of Silence (Mute)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

After such a long and prestigious career in music, it feels odd to be talking about Vince Clarke’s first solo album. And yet here it is, the first time he has stepped out in a lone capacity. Having been a key founder member of Yazoo, Depeche Mode and Erasure, where he still resides, you might think this music had been in the offing for a long time – but in truth it was lockdown that inspired Songs Of Silence.

Alone with his cat and the modular synthesizer format Eurorack, Clarke set to work, enjoying the instrumental restrictions and also thriving on a technique which sees him base each of the ten tracks on a drone.

What’s the music like?

Vince Clarke’s music is of very strong presence and character. It is also deeply serious, but with a great deal of light and shade that gives these silent songs a great deal of expression.

Clarke uses drones as his musical currency, rather than intricate synth lines. Catchy chorus hooks are less forthcoming, but that is not a problem. While each of the ten tracks is based on a single note, they provide a strong base over which the treble melodies and textures can freely operate. There is some very descriptive music here too, typified by Cathedral and Red Planet.

At times the music is minimal, stark even – and when this happens emotions run high, the music baring its soul. Reed Hays’ cello cuts to the quick on Lamentations Of Jeremiah, a musical ritual with an intensely emotional melodic line, speaking of trial and hardship. Caroline Joy brings her vocals to the vocalise Passage, releasing energy generated by the preceding White Rabbit.

Textures are often stark, rising ahead like hills in the road or the outline of craggy mountains. And yet there is solace too, the drones offering comfort from the intensity above.

The parallels with the Covid outbreak are notable, Clarke exploring music of resentment and anger, but ultimately the music finds a troubled peace. His electronic pop prowess is temporarily set aside, but he is equally at home in slower music.

Does it all work?

It does. Clarke achieves a sense of timelessness, not just through the drones but also the melodic material that unfolds with grace and stature.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. It is typical of Vince Clarke that he should deliver an album of such quality, but also that it should be consistently rewarding.

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Published post no.2,020 – Saturday 25 November 2023

On Record: Sandunes – The Ground Beneath Her Feet (Tru Thoughts)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Sandunes’ third album is her first since moving to Tru Thoughts. On it she focuses on connecting the earth and the body, focusing on ‘humanity’s collective spirit, authentic expression’.

With the freedom to move between genres, the artist – real name Sanaya Ardeshir – gathers quite a guest list and a small army of instrumental collaborators, using stringed instruments but also a number of more exotic contributions from quena and mandolin.

What’s the music like?

The blueprint behind the album suggests a fresh approach, and that’s exactly what we get. This is a joyously creative piece of work, the rule book put to one side as Sandunes makes her music with a natural flair.

Pelican Dance is a good example of how she harnesses influences past and present, using a harpsichord but also marimba, creating a colourful backdrop that ebbs and flows very naturally. It segues into Masti, where scattered beats form the base of an evocative scene.

The vocal guests are well chosen and structured, the standout being KAVYA, who brings her strong personality and penetrating vocals to Follow Me and Time For This. Ramya Pothuri has a more languid style but is equally persuasive, lending an endearing smokiness to Signs and The Surge. Cyclone starts atmospherically, with thunder and rain, a song brought to life by Half Waif’s strong vocals.

Does it all work?

Pretty much. The twists and turns of the music lend themselves well to the album format, the levels of intensity rising and falling with the differing moods of each song.

Is it recommended?

It is indeed. Sandunes has a great deal of imagination in her music, and The Ground Beneath Her Feet is invigorating and fresh.

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Published post no.2,020 – Saturday 25 November 2023

On Record: King Creosote – I DES (Domino)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is King Creosote’s first album release on the Domino label for seven years. He has certainly not been idle in the meantime, however, continuing the prodigious level of work he has always invested into his Fence label in Fife, Scotland. There he is free to make instinctive albums at unusual speed, works shot through with his trademark lyrical imagination and instrumental colour.

Since Astronaut Meets Appleman was released in 2016 on Domino, the King – real name Kenny Anderson – has been exploring a more electronic approach to his music, bringing keyboard player Des Lawson into the spotlight. While they were musing over a title for the album, they saw how a play on words could bring I Des (of March) into being.

What’s the music like?

Everything good about King Creosote is here, with I DES taking an emotive look at the songwriter’s life as he approaches his 50th birthday. Not all is rosy, that’s for sure – and themes of life and death, not to mention other preoccupations, furrow his brow as he sings. Music, however, is his strength and consolation.

This is his most adventurous ‘mainstream’ release to date, ending with two tracks that between them last 50 minutes. Before we get to that, though, there is music that is uplifting in language if not always chipper in its lyrics. The instrumentation has a silvery edge, rather like the hair of its creator (and also, increasingly, what remains of this reviewer!)

“The drugs only made me cry, when I was having such a good time!” Anderson notes on the opener, It’s Sin That’s Got It’s Hold Upon Us, but by Blue Marbled Elm Trees there is a serenity in the face of anxiety, and Burial Bleak reaches full strength. “I’m thinking that maybe dying’s just not for me”, he sings, backed by Hannah Fisher and a resolute cello. “You’ll see how hard I can cling to my life!”

In the middle of the album the music loses the plot entirely. Susie Mullen is a riot, the kitchen sink thrown at the production in what turns out to be a right old Fife knees-up with no musical rules adhered to. It is hugely enjoyable, and complemented by the haunting Love Is A Curse and beautiful, introverted thoughts of the piano-led song Ides.

The epic closer, Please Come Back I Will Listen, I Will Behave, I Will Toe The Line is also unlike anything Anderson has done before, moving from minor key darkness to major key light, finding grace and power as it does so. The stature at the end suggests a kind of accordion-powered equivalent to M83. This is realised even more fully in the substantial ‘bonus’ track, Drone in B#. This is a meditation of over 36 minutes, developing slowly as the fuzz of the accordion makes itself known as the pedal note. The approach works very well, Anderson taking his time to gather musical power, and delivering a musical statement that seems initially disposable but becomes a lasting tale.

Does it all work?

It does – provided the listener gives I DES several hearings. Then the treasures are fully unfurled.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. King Creosote prefers to shun the limelight, but releases like this show why it is essential for him to keep making music. I DES provides many moments of joy, consolation and genuine uplift.

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Published post no.2,019 – Friday 24 November 2023

Switched On: Jonathan Krisp – Statement Foliage (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Statement Foliage is described in the accompanying commentary on Bandcamp as ‘a continuation of Jonathan Krisp’s focus on the topography of natural and electronic haunts…merging complex twisting acid lines with glistening synths to evoke hallucinations of a retro-futuristic sun drenched landscape’.

It is his first release since 2019, when Rewilding showed him to be a very adaptable tunesmith, managing his own electronic bedding with flair and imagination.

What’s the music like?

As fresh as the title implies! Statement Foliage picks up where its predecessor left off, with music that throws open the doors and windows to beckon the listener outside. Best heard on headphones, it has an endearingly fresh approach to the scope of its textures, the brightness of the colours, the complex but very danceable rhythms and those twisted acid lines, which are indeed complex but which can wash over the listener like a stream.

A hushed voice and airy sound picture make Vanishing Point the ideal start, on which the warmth of Parhelion and Secret Well Springs Of The Soul build comfortably. Krisp’s music has a friendly tone, but the strength of the beats in Silo, an especially good track, should not be taken for granted, nor the inner power harnessed by Bridgid, with its watery riff and profile.

Krisp’s music is easy to engage with, and presents an optimistic outlook.

Does it all work?

It does. If anything Krisp could afford to make some of the tracks longer, to make the most of the green shoots offered by all the melodic material he has at his disposal.

Is it recommended?

It is indeed. There is a lot of positive energy at work here, and Jonathan Krisp delivers an album with fertile musical imagination and some really attractive colours – not to mention some really satisfying beats. Well worth exploring.

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Switched On: James Heather – Reworks Vol. 2 (Ahead Of Our Time)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

James Heather’s Reworks sequel is another tale of personal connections. The pianist has returned to his contact book and used his musical instincts to invite a bevvy of artists, bands, ensembles and composers to contribute once again, reworking tracks selected from his last album Invisible Forces and the two Modulations EPs.

Because of Heather’s open minded musical approach, these incorporate a wide variety of styles, including classical, jazz and electronic music from ambient right through to rock – and even including the poet Roger Robinson. The selections also act as something of a musical biography, with the choice of Mogwai reflecting a transformative experience Heather experienced at the age of 21.

There are eleven tracks in all, sequenced logically, reflecting not just Heather’s love of the piano but the way he has channelled all sorts of musical thoughts and styles through it.

What’s the music like?

There is a captivating array of styles and approaches on Reworks Vol.2, which becomes the sort of collection you might expect from a label or a DJ. The responses to Heather’s music range so widely in approach that the piano often plays second fiddle to other instruments or styles – but when the instrument does appear it is all the more prominent for it.

As a contrast we get studies in drone from KMRU, a fuzzy reworking of Ancestral Future Now, and an expansive piece of work from Italian composer Abul Mogard as he refashions Balance. Coldcut, too, contribute a lovely piece of ambience with their wispy, intensely calming interpretation of Passing Soul.

There is a particularly beautiful vocal in Nailah Hunter’s take on Oizys, complementing the expressive piano line, while Meant To Be is turned on its head with an acappella version from Voces8, initially restrained but powerfully moving. Meanwhile Roger Robinson’s contribution brings a whole new dimension to Hidden Angel, in the company of Penelope Trappes and Specimens.

At the other end of the energy scale, Ishmael Ensemble bring a percussive workout to their interpretation of Invisible Forces, while Mogwai’s starry-eyed take on In Your Spirit is both woozy and beautifully lit. A violin on the wing raises Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres rework of Ultraviolet to the heights, while the collection ends with a reflective Immortal Beloved from Freya Arde.

Does it all work?

It does. James Heather’s open musical mind has yielded a fascinating set of new approaches that show just how versatile his music is beyond the piano.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. The piano may be James Heather’s first love, but Reworks Vol.2 shows how his music stretches well beyond the keyboard.

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