Category Archives: On record

On Record – Dot Allison: Consciousology (Sonic Cathedral)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The solo renaissance of Dot Allison continues, the singer – once of the much-loved dance outfit One Dove – releasing her second solo album in two years.

Allison actually began the album back in 2021, as previous opus Heart-Shaped Scars was being released. The song Double Rainbow was the first to be completed, and Consciousology – described by its author as ‘an imagined voice of a conscious universe expressed through music’.

The album has grown to be just that, taking the electrical activity of a plant and translating it into pitch – a ‘botanical session player’, as Allison labels it, to sit alongside the talents of guitarist Andy Bell and the London Contemporary Orchestra, heard in arrangements made by Hannah Peel.

What’s the music like?

Allison’s vocal has a beautiful fragility on the surface, but is supported by an instrument of deceptive strength beneath. Her hushed tones are ideally complemented by string arrangements made once again by Hannah Peel, who shows an instinctive understanding of the balance between the two, so that the words can be clearly heard at all times.

The London Contemporary Orchestra play like a dream, matching Allison’s feathery vocal on the gorgeous Shyness of Crowns, which slides into Unchanged, whose dreamy guitar from Andy Bell gains in strength as it progresses.

Bleached By The Sun features more exquisite word painting, the sighing strings and whispered vocal painting a heat-soaked, drowsy scene, while Moon Flowers is similarly enchanted.

Unchanged has impressive inner strength, while Bleached By The Sun has delicate multitracked vocals, in something of a fever dream, and is complemented by winding string contours. Moon Flowers is an enchanting song, as is Mother Tree – shot through with slightly psychedelic effects on percussion and harp.

Meanwhile inner strength comes to the fore on Double Rainbow, and Weeping Roses forms a pictorial coda in the company of sleepy guitar and piano accompaniment.

Does it all work?

It does, thanks to Allison’s enchanting voice, which harks back to some of the memorable folk-inflected voices of the 1960s and 1970s. The impression remains that she has more power available should she need it, but these songs are beautifully sung as they are.

Is it recommended?

It is. Consciousology will take its listeners to a place far from where they actually are, its dreamy textures and contours providing enchantment and, ultimately, escapism.

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Switched On: X-Press 2: Thee (Acid Jazz)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Those who have been paying attention to the career of X-Press 2 will know there is a great deal more to them than Lazy, the David Byrne collaboration that has taken up residence on UK radio the last 20 years.

The trio – as they were then – always stood for high quality house music, as the likes of Muzikizum and London X-Press will testify. Now that Ashley Beedle has left, founder members Rocky (Darren Rock) and Diesel (Darren House) have set about securing the X-Press 2 reputation with their fifth album, their first in eight years.

What’s the music like?

Very, very fine. It’s clear that a lot of care and attention has been taken with this comeback, as there isn’t a note out of place or overplayed. Instead, the duo have fashioned a new set of club tracks that pay homage to classic house but sound current and are captivating the whole way through. The balance between vocal and instrumental is just right, especially when the former is represented by Bloc Party vocalist Kele Okereke and Sailor & I. These two deliver brilliant guest turns, with Phasing You Out (Okereke) one of the standout cuts, delivering the goods in a technological burnout with great lyrics.

In truth, Thee gets better as it goes on. The Rain, the Sailor & I guest spot, is a slow-burner that gets better with each listen. You Know (Everybody) is a powerful excursion into tribal territory, with big percussion hits at every turn. Reach For Me is a deeper, nocturnal number, and Muse is smoother still, but Cope turns up the dials to be a throwback to the mid-90s Alcatraz hit Giv Me Luv.

Does it all work?

It does. Thee, in spite of the ancient implications in its name, brims with inspiration and is a succession of punches that hit their target – namely getting people to dance.

Is it recommended?

Without hesitation. This is a very fine piece of work that shows just how durable house music can be with placed in the right hands.

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Switched On: Green-House: A Host for All Kinds of Life (Leaving Records)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Green-House is a project begun by Olive Ardizoni but now a duo featuring her long-time collaborator and confidant, Michael Flanagan.

Their music is indelibly associated with the natural environment, and especially its disappearance – asking how we can address the hollow feelings we have at its destruction, and pass those on to future generations. The Six Songs for Invisible Gardens EP addressed this in part at the start of the pandemic in 2020, a cassette release that included wild flower seeds for the listener.

The series of releases continued with Music For Living Spaces in 2021, the first full length Green-House LP, but now it has a sequel in the form of A Host For All Kinds Of Life. This is on a bigger scale to the previous album, functioning as a suite of discreet instrumental songs that have at their heart a powerful message, continuing to express joy at the environment even in the wake of its continued destruction.

What’s the music like?

Green-House make music that works on two levels – the listener can take in the context above and hear it in a deep and meaningful sense, or they can retreat a little to observe as ambient music. Either way it works, for these instrumentals are rich in creativity and colour, presenting positive moods with verdant textures.

There is an Eastern feel to Coquina, with its persuasive flute line, that suggests we are in a garden full  of bright flowers – and this is a vision that continues through the album. Lichen Maps, as its title suggests, is a little more mysterious, while Desire Path wends its way through flowing lines.

The musical statements become more thoughtful for Castle Song, but then a good deal more playful for Far More Other. Most meaningful of all is the enchanting title track, which twinkles at the treble end while a gently rocking statement on keyboard plays out beneath.

Many Years Later – looking a generation beyond, perhaps – has a sepia tint, its pitch wavering as it looks to sum up what has gone before.

Does it all work?

It does – though be careful you listen on the right audio equipment, for Green-House make treble rich music. This responds well on headphones especially.

Is it recommended?

It is. Ambient music is often the most thought provoking – and that is certainly the case here. Green-House make conscious music that delivers its message with subtle power.

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Switched On: Xingu Hill: Grigri Pavilion (Subexotic Records)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Xingu Hill is a pseudonym from the extremely prolific John Sellekaers, the Canadian-born musician and producer who lives in Brussels.

With Grigri Pavilion his aim was to ‘build a dreamscape, albeit a slightly uncomfortable one’. He recorded the album during the heat-soaked French summer of 2022, before a detailed rework and completion in his Brussels studio.

What’s the music like?

There is indeed an undercurrent of unease to the music here, in spite of its overall ambience. This is in part a reflection on the feverish climate in which it was recorded, with an edgy feel to a number of the mid or lower-range riffs Sellekaers uses. Indeed, when the music is stripped back to its drum track and the motif sits lower in the pitch range, there is the sense of danger around the corner.

Tracks like Eye Contact are a little easier, where the sustained harmonies bring extra depth to the music. Conjectures does the same, but its riff is an insistent, dominating one. While some of Sellekaer’s music brings solace, the likes of Nightcraft explore the shadows, finding industrial processes left on or slightly malfunctioning.

The rhythm tracks hold the key to Girgri Pavilion. Byways & Tunnels is particularly good, channelling mid-90s exploration and a little Cabaret Voltaire through dubby confines. Electrographic Dreams has a similar, low-slung profile but more kinetic energy.

Does it all work?

It does, and is held together well to make a cohesive half-hour suite of electronic portraits and vistas.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Like all Sellekaers’ work, there is plenty of interest here – and his various pseudonyms show an ability to move between a number of different electronic music styles with instinctive ease.

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Switched On: Ellie Wilson: Memory Islands (Bigo & Twigetti)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The striking artwork on Ellie Wilson‘s new album is a key for what lies within. Memory Islands explores the power or spirit of remembrance, drawing on a number of first hand sources for inspiration.

The most pronounced of these is a recording of Wilson’s grandfather reminiscing about his experiences and lost years as a Navy seaman in World War II (By the Time I Got Back Pt 1). Other pieces explore the behaviour of the brain when waking from a coma (Delta), or the disappearance of words from our language, as noted by Robert Macfarlane (Unnamed Unseen). Looking forward – in a sense – is Will I Dream, inspired by the film The Year We Make Contact – specifically the moment the onboard computer HAL 900 confronts his digital ‘mortality’– all memories erased.

What’s the music like?

Extremely evocative. Wilson’s twin disciplines are the violin and electronics, the ideal blend of past, present and future to support the album’s themes – and both are used in support of memories lost and regained.

The open strings of the violin on Unnamed Unseen inevitably hark back to time spent learning the instrument but also express a powerful simplicity, her experience in folk music yielding strong communication from the off. The use of rapid pizzicato is especially effective when describing Delta‘s emergence from a coma, its pitter-patter countered by rustic double stopping.

The electronic Mindpop harnesses its power through a rolling drum track, while Will I Dream? has intriguing effects that play with aural perspective.

As you might expect, the tones of Wilson’s grandfather on By the Time I Got Back Pt 1 are particularly moving, complemented by urgent phrases from the violin. The second part spins a web of ideas against a tick-tock rhythm, an open-ended conclusion to the album.

Does it all work?

It does. The album is effectively a seven-part suite of studies on memory, and its half hour fairly flies by, leaving you wanting more.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. If you enjoy music where folk and electronic intersect, then this is definitely for you – and more besides, since Memory Islands tells a series of vivid tales. Given its value for money through Bandcamp, there really is no excuse!

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