Category Archives: Switched On

New music – Floating Points: Del Oro (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

Floating Points, aka Sam Shepherd, has today shared a new single, Del Oro, which is out now via Ninja Tune.

With a busy summer of live appearances ahead, Shepherd is following up the energetic Birth4000 from last year with a single that has some of the Floating Points hallmarks. Beat driven and busy, Del Oro progresses between minimal beats and shimmering motifs, while never taking its eyes off the dancefloor.

As with Birth4000, ‘Del Oro”s artwork comes from Tokyo based artist Akiko Nakayama. In the words of Shepherd’s press release, “Nakayama brings her painting to life using vibrant, brilliant liquids that combine and wash away, meant to represent the natural growth, change and life cycle of all things on earth. Nakayama worked alongside long-time Floating Points collaborators Hamill Industries to create the “Alive Painting” to accompany the track”…which you can watch here:

Shepherd will be playing a number of dates throughout the summer including We Out Here Festival in Wimborne (16 August), London’s All Points East (23 August), Lost Village Festival in Lincoln (24 August) and Forwards Festival at Bristol (31 August)

Published post no.2,199 – Tuesday 4 June 2024

Switched On – Machinedrum: 3FOR82 (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Travis Stewart releases his 11th album under the Machinedrum alias, a work that began on his 41st birthday when he took a trip to the Joshua Tree National Park in California. There the thought process towards this 12-track opus began; 12 tracks that include a whole host of collaborators.

It traverses a wide range of speeds and styles in the company of Jesse Boykins III, a close friend and the album’s producer, while the vocal roster includes Tinashe, KUČKA, Duckwrth, AKTHESAVIOR, Mick Jenkins, Ezri, Tanerélle, Deniro Farrar, Topaz Jones, deem spencer, aja monet, ROZET, Will Johnson and Ian Maciak.

What’s the music like?

This is a pretty hectic album, in a good way. There is a great deal going on in a short space of time, Machinedrum packing most tracks into three minutes or less. He does this by getting straight to the point with his beat work and lyrics.

It proves to be a thrilling ride, especially on tracks such as ILIKEU, with its appealing bumpy garage, the bassy RESPEK, and the helium-inflected vocals of KUČKA, who brings euphoria to the quickfire beats of U_WANT.

The lyrical observations are pertinent, too – especially WEARY’s observation from Mick Jenkins that “I don’t see too much backbone these days”.

There are vibrant rhythms throughout, as Machinedrum moves between drum & bass, hip hop, R&B and quickfire house, and this stylistic melting pot comes to a head on tracks like Zoom, where the heady production is complemented by brilliant vocals by Tinashe.

Does it all work?

It does – and if anything it’s all over a bit too soon, as the 12 tracks whizz by in a euphoric blur.

Is it recommended?

Yes. 3FOR82 is a thrilling ride through the mind of Machinedrum, who manages to keep all his collaborators true to his own musical identity. This particular melting pot serves up a rewarding musical dish.

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Published post no.2,196 – Saturday 1 June 2024

Let’s Dance – I. JORDAN: I AM JORDAN (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

I AM JORDAN is a celebration. I. JORDAN, real name Jordan Tek, has written this 10-track album as a dance music diary, a celebration of ‘collective ecstasy as a mode of self-discovery’.

It expresses “joy as a trans person, and trans joy generally, working with trans people, making all this fun music together”.

What’s the music like?

Without overusing the word, this is a joyful piece of work. I. JORDAN certainly knows how to get people up and dancing, and does so in a distinctive way that immediately lets the listener know who is involved. This is fundamentally house music, but making use of a number of other different styles, covering trance, a splash of hardcore and a touch of garage to make its point.

It’s also very cleverly crafted. The intro and outro work perfectly, raising the expectations (When Lights Flash) and bringing us back down to earth (Rapt Finis) In between, the highs include Real Hot n Naughty, featuring Felix Mufti, Casino High and The Countdown, each of them using the first principles of house music with nippy beats, clever riffs and clipped percussion. The rolling beats and bass of Butterlick, featuring Sister Zo, are also a treat.

Meanwhile the more introspective tracks, Reification and Pathetic Fallacy and People Want Nice Things, also work a treat, the latter setting flickers of treble against thick bass notes.

Does it all work?

It does – and with the guest artists, I AM JORDAN feels like a communal album, not just the product of one creative mind.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. I. JORDAN have made a hugely uplifting dance music document, one that makes you smile pretty much as soon as you start listening. When it sets you down in a heap some 45 minutes later, there is the sort of satisfaction you get after a night on the dancefloor. Job done.

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Published post no.2,193 – Wednesday 29 May 2024

New music – BEAK: >>>> (Invada & Temporary Residence Ltd)

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by Ben Hogwood

Beak> have delivered a surprise release of their first album in six years today. The aptly titled >>>> is released by Invada and Temporary Residence Ltd

The band – Geoff Barrow (of Portishead), Billy Fuller (Robert Plant’s Sensational Space Shifters) and Will Young (Moon Gangs), explained the reason for their surprise delivery.

“At its core we always wanted it to be head music (music for the ‘heads’, not headphone music), listened to as an album, not as individual songs. This is why we are releasing this album with no singles or promo tracks.”

They have also spoken about the genesis of >>>>. “The recording and writing initially began in a house called Pen Y Bryn in Talsarnau, Wales in the fall out from the weirdness of the Covid days. Remote and with only ourselves and the view of Portmeirion in the distance we got to work. With the opening track, “Strawberry Line” (our tribute to our dear furry friend Alfie Barrow, who appears on the album’s cover) as the metronomic guide for the album, we then resumed recording, as before, at Invada studios in Bristol, whilst still touring around Europe and North/South America. After playing hundreds of gigs and festivals over the years we felt that touring had started to influence our writing to the point we weren’t sure who we were anymore. So we decided to go back to the origins of where we were at on our first album. With zero expectations and just playing together in a room.“

Arcana will be reviewing the new album shortly.

Published post no.2,192 – Tuesday 28 May 2024

Switched On – Driftmachine & Ammer: Sonic Behaviour (Umor-Rex)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Driftmachine (Andreas Gerth and Florian Zimmer) are pushing the sonic boundaries with this new four-track album.

On it they explore ‘the origins of sound, noise, and various music genres’ – and as the press release writes, “alongside lyrical declarations of love for noise (Song To Noise), the album delves into sonic reflections on how beauty and emotion emerge from mundane vibrations in the air (The Siren Is A Simple Device). For the first time, the analogue sound researchers of Driftmachine incorporate spoken language and noise into their sound research. They have collaborated with word and sound artist Andreas Ammer, renowned for his radio plays with Acid Pauli, aka Console (Spaceman 85), or FM Einheit (Radio Inferno, Symphony of Sirens).

What’s the music like?

This is a remarkable, thought-provoking quartet of tracks that ask questions of the listener, but do so through music of great intensity and drama, creating a rarefied atmosphere.

Much of this is down to the spoken word material as much as the music. The Siren Is A Simple Device is a particularly captivating piece of work, the story told by the sonorous tones of 81-year-old Ted Milton, and we hang onto his every word. At times it is genuinely alarming with its sonic range, the build up of percussion taking us through a series of Latin musical influences. Milton also contributes to Sonic Sculpture, a sprawling but gripping piece exploring the sonic effect of a piano falling down the stairs, building in such a way that the listener can barely wait for the final denouement.

Song To Noise, meanwhile, is equal parts dub and drone, with birdsong around the edges, a minimal but powerful outlook in both its guises.

Does it all work?

It does. Experimental and thought provoking, this is music leaving as many questions as it does answers.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. This is music going back to first principles, hard to categorise but holding the listener in its grasp as it challenges a number of sonic frontiers. I would go as far as to say it is essential listening for any electronic music follower.

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Published post no.2,188 – Friday 24 May 2024