Category Archives: Switched On

Switched On – Echaskech: Novacene (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Echaskech describe their new album as ‘a soundtrack to an imaginary movie based on James Lovelock’s book and theory of the ‘Novacene’. Reflecting the tragedy of the previous epochs’ climate damage and the optimism of a more positive future, the tracks trace the dream-like lives of a group of humans co-existing with cyborg collaborators.

Deep into a distant future, the world has survived a brutal climate breakdown and shifted from an epoch defined by humankind, the Anthropocene, to one defined by hyper intelligent beings – the Novacene.

What’s the music like?

One of the strengths of Echaskech’s music has been their ability to combine floated ambience with earth shattering beats – yet this release sees them leaning heavily towards the former discipline.

It proves an effective move, for Dom Hoare and Andy Gillham have always been expert scene-setters, creating vivid and spacious pictures even before the beats make themselves known, and that is the case here. The key is a slight adjustment in the musical tension, so that the listener is drawn into a more meditative state of mind, but not necessarily relaxed, as there is still enough tension here.

Instead the music tends to reflect the cover, the synths creating deep washes of colour and full harmonies that bring James Lovelock’s concept to life. Walking With Spheres is very descriptive, with sharper outlines against the broad canvas. Conversion Using Sunlight has an ambient backdrop of birdsong, into which the warm synth colours emerge. The duo still use beats, and Garden of Antheia has a steady, dubby tread. The title track presents a bright outlook, reinforced by an atmospheric closing pair.

Does it all work?

It does. Best heard in an uninterrupted sequence, Novacene works as an immersive experience – best heard this way – or if it retreats to the corner of your listening.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. Echaskech have a high quality threshold with their releases, and Novacene shows the best of a ‘less is more’ approach, securing ambient music that still rewards closer listening,

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Published post no.2,122 – Tuesday 19 March 2024

Switched On – Aidan Baker: Pithovirii (Glacial Movements)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Aidan Baker’s principal currency in music is the electric guitar, but in reality he is a multi-instrumentalist, able to use the guitar along with electronic manipulation, and in a way that moves easily between musical forms.

Pithovirii, the Canadian composer’s first release on the Glacial Movements label, takes its inspiration from Vladimir Sorokin’s novel Ice Trilogy. This led Baker down a rabbit hole, reading about the destructive Tunguska meteor that fell on Siberia in 1908, flattening an estimated 80 million trees, and then more reading about truly ancient viruses found in glacier ice – known as ‘pithovirii’.

Using his electric guitar with effects pedals, Baker has attempted a musical depiction to convey the idea of glacial density, and “stasis within which lurk potentially malevolent microbiome”.

What’s the music like?

Baker certainly catches the almost complete stasis of a glacier in the two long-form tracks that make up Pithovirii. There is an ominous feel to Sibericum, a kind of omnipresent threat that hovers over the music. As it slowly evolves the dark colours of Baker’s vision come in to view, dense clouds of sound working in slow-moving waves that wash over the listener. This is certainly musical ambience, and is meditative to a degree, but it is also quite oppressive in the way it takes over the sonic spectrum, working as a very gradual crescendo.

Massiliensis is named after a mysterious form of bacteria that appears to still be under exploration. The light ‘hiss’ that Baker has around the edge of the sound is both ambient and disarming, as a long unison note makes itself known, slightly metallic in texture – and the hiss becomes a thick, woolly drone of sound. As the track unfolds the sonics combine to make the audio equivalent of hearing a massive church organ from the far end of the building, sustaining a long note whose overtones work in and out of consciousness – and gradually change and even modulate over time, taking over most of the aural spectrum. The thick outer coating to the music remains, fed through Baker’s electronic prism.

Does it all work?

It does, with a couple of caveats. The obvious criticism to level at Baker’s work would be that there is not a lot going on – but that is the whole point. To fully experience and appreciate these big blocks of sound the listener needs to be somewhere quiet, with all frequencies available.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Baker is a natural fit for Glacial Movements (in title alone!) but he has written two extremely evocative pieces here. Together they make a whole that somehow captures the state of the remote ice regions of our planet in this day and age.

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Pithovirii is released tomorrow, Friday 8 March – at which point you will be able to hear it in full here:

Published post no.2,110 – Thursday 7 March 2024

Switched On – Various Artists: Future Sounds Of Kraut Vol. 2 – Compiled by Fred und Luna (Compost)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

A shadow hangs over the release of this compilation, the second in Compost’s exploration of Kraut. It was compiled by Fred und Luna, the muses of musician, author and photo/film maker Rainer Buchmüller – who calls his music either Elektrokraut or Krautelektro.

Very sadly Buchmüller passed away on February 8th 2024, and Compost issued this tribute: “We are deeply saddened that we lost a very close friend, a true creative musician, artist, poet, soulmate and beloved human being with a great sense of humour. Rainer Buchmüller aka Fred und Luna died after a long carcinosis. Our thoughts and prayers in these days of mourning are with his wife and family. Rainer Buchmüller aka Fred und Luna has made several albums, first one on Frank Wiedemann’s Bigamo label, then three albums plus several Maxi – Singles and 7 inches on Compost Records and Elaste Records. Rainer had several alter egos, too. Under his Fred und Luna moniker he recently compiled the highly acclaimed “Future Sounds Of Kraut” compilation series for Compost. Rainer also wrote circa 120 poems in the vein of Ernst Jandl, Dada, Kurt Schwitters. Rainer, we love you! R.I.P.”

What’s the music like?

Buchmüller has left us an extremely enjoyable compilation, framed by his own Intro and Outro, and featuring the Kraftwerk-influenced electronica of Monotonikum from 2016 in the middle. The tone is friendly, the intro asking, “Future sounds of Kraut…what’s it all about?” before moving into Sankt Otten’s warm-hearted Angekommen In Der Letzten Reihe.

There are some notable contributions from Roman Flügel, whose Rules is a typically intricate mix of riffs and creative drum work, and Thomas Fehlmann, the spacey Permanent Touch. Other highlights include the glittery electro of Ghost Power’s Vertical Section, the colourful swirls of Gilgamesh Mata Hari Duo’s Johan, and the bossa beat that backs a brooding soundscape in I:Cube’s Basso. Lucas Croon’s Krautwickel has a really strong forward drive and shuffling drum track, a classic piece of Krautrock, while Sordid Sound System’s It’s About Time bounces around the stereo picture, a low-slung groove.

Does it all work?

Almost all – the only possible exception being Minami Deutsch’s Your Pulse, whose breathing can be off-putting and will likely divide opinion.

Is it recommended?

It is, enthusiastically. Future Sounds of Kraut Vol.2 is packed with good music, and its release is the best possible way to honour Buchmüller in the sad news of his passing.

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Published post no.2,109 – Wednesday 6 March 2024

Switched On – Cristian Vogel: NEL Adventures (EPM Music)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is a compilation of more recent EPs recorded by Cristian Vogel under his NEL alias. The eleven tracks cover four separate releases, and as a bonus add two new tracks.

The NEL alias has a reputation for enabling the Chilean producer to explore a side looking at tougher rhythmic profiles, largely using modular synthesizers and improvised material.

What’s the music like?

The live approach pays dividends for Vogel on this compilation. Each of the tracks on NEL Adventures teems with life, packed to the gills with plenty of melodic and percussive ideas.

Vogel is very clever with his use of rhythm, not for art’s sake but generating positive energy as the percussive motifs ricochet across the stereo picture. The pinball percussion of Mirabelle is a case in point, the rhythms gradually giving way to a bell-like figure, while The Misty Quay sounds like a much older ‘90s piece of techno, its jagged riffing given counter melodies in a modular extravaganza.

Complementing the bright invention are darker tracks like Shadowgraphs, which explores deeper waters with dark keyboards, and Orchid, which presents a thoughtful exterior in spite of its solid beat. Understory cuts deep with its sharp synth riff and uncompromising beat.

The new tracks make a strong impact. Gullane nips along with constructive mechanical ideas, the ideas bubbling up to the top while the clipped rhythm chugs along behind. Earthsea is full of energetic crossrhythms, initially delicate but developing into bright block chords.

Fortuna is arguably the pick of the lot, its liquid ideas given a strong drum beat and clever sonics that bounce around as though the listener is in a gigantic pipe. Tyrkisk Peber runs it close, a shimmering mass of keyboards that generate even more momentum when the drums arrive.

Does it all work?

Yes. Vogel explores a wide range of colours in his work, though you might find some of the more dizzying cuts – such as The Insight – a bit too ‘heady’ at earlier hours in the day!

Is it recommended?

It certainly is. Vogel has built up an extremely sound reputation in techno circles, but this essential addition to the catalogue shows he is in no way resting on his laurels. His music is still packed full of ideas and invention, with wit and humour round the edges too. There is a whole load to enjoy here!

For fans of… Joey Beltram, Etienne de Crecy, Richie Hawtin

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Published post no.2,107 – Monday 4 March 2024

Switched On – Eric Hilton: Sound Vagabond (Montserrat House)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Eric Hilton, a founder member of the much-loved Thievery Corporation duo with Rob Garza, has continued to mine a rich vein of musical inspiration in his solo work.

The Thievery tradition has been retained, using largely down tempo beats as backing for music sourced from around the world, while simultaneously looking back through the decades. For Sound Vagabond Hilton used a public domain sample library, removing the problems of copyright clearance at one fell swoop, but in tandem with that he took inspiration from his travels.

The album, then, becomes what its creator describes as a ‘sonic travelogue’.

What’s the music like?

If the verdict is that it sounds like Thievery Corporation, then that is meant as a compliment for Eric Hilton’s music. The preparation is meticulous, and yet there is plenty of room for manoeuvre, a chance for the listener to enjoy all the sounds and sights of their destination.

Inspiration for the work runs far and wide – Cerro Allegre, for instance, was inspired by time in Valparaíso in Chile, while Mumbai Hustle takes a pinch of that city and blends it in with Detroit, upping the pace as it does so. Hilton orchestrates his source material so beautifully, with the harp that laces Endless Affair and Lumi a beautifully poised instrument, and the strings that dress Nico delivered with typical grace.

Midnight Milan is a suave nocturnal affair, the harp again forward in the mix, while the shuffling beat to The Violet Hour sits behind an exotic cast of strings, keys and languid guitar. The title track takes influences from North Africa, and you can feel the heat in its lazy woodwind and spacious keyboards. Similarly The Mirror Inside, a sultry number with a typically persuasive beat.

Does it all work?

It does. By their nature these soundtracks can be quite fragmented but the sequence here is very satisfying, with some lovely sounds and colours.

Is it recommended?

It is. If you like Austra as a band you won’t need any persuading, though you might be surprised at the extent to which Katie Stelmanis allows her imagination to blossom in what is a striking piece of work.

For fans of… Gazelle Twin, Julia Holter, Laurel Halo

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Published post no.2,103 – Thursday 29 February 2024