Category Archives: Switched On

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.

Listen & Buy

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

Switched On – Galati: Cold As A February Sky (Glacial Movements)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Galati is the moniker by which Roberto Galati is best known. The Italian producer has completed his first long player for the Glacial Movements label, writing in the shadow of the Karst Plateau in a blend of cold ambient music and a warmer post-rock.

What’s the music like?

Evocative – and certainly representing the album title. Many of Galati’s pieces are built on slowly shifting loops, with bright textures and fresh scoring.

Galati makes good use of the guitar early on, especially on As still as these high mountains.

After that, the music clouds over, and uncertainty and jeopardy are in play. That day exploded silently all around me is a dramatic about turn, its harmonies uncertain and the textures glowering in the half light. These are partially resolved on the following track, With wide, unbelieving eyes, with subtly wrought drama. After that the intensity subsides a little, though there are still vivid images that remain. Gradually the music comes to rest.

Does it all work?

It does. This is a dramatic album, best heard in one sweep so that the musical statements get to make their most powerful impact.

Is it recommended?

It is. This is a bold and lasting statement from a producer whose grasp of short and long structures is right on the money.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,187 – Thursday 23 May 2024

Let’s Dance – Perc: The Cut Off (Perc Trax)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the first album in seven years from Perc, aka Alistair Wells – recorded at the Perc Trax studios in London. It is his fourth album and is pointed squarely at the dancefloor, a collection of club tracks with an industrial edge.

What’s the music like?

Big and bold. Perc makes his techno big – the riffs, drones and drums all of a size that could easily fill an aircraft hangar. This is dance music going back to first principles, but as he says it is in avoidance of nostalgia and, as far as possible, cliches.

Most of the album is instrumental, which makes Sissel’s appearance on Static all the more striking. Banging industrial drums complement her claustrophobic vocal. The drums are to the fore in the minimal Imperial Leather, a primal high,

Elsewhere there are hints of ambient backdrops amongst the activity. Can You Imagine? works like a set of bells before the cavernous drums kick in, while choral voices alternate on Heartbeat Popper. UK Style dispenses with the drums for some disarming panoramic views, as does Calcify, a closing track of orchestral dimensions.

By contrast, the synths come out in force on the acidic Cold Snap, while Felt 23 goes for white hot percussive action and very little else. Milk Snatchers Return is quick march techno, with an ominous presence of widescreen white noise.

Perc’s versatility is most impressive, cutting through a range of drum tracks and styles, most of them fast and all of them delivering straight-to-dancefloor satisfaction with the minimum of fuss.

Does it all work?

Perc certainly achieves what he set out to do with The Cut Off, and its energy levels are off the scale – meaning it is not for every listening situation! When you need to cut loose, though, it does what it needs to do.

Is it recommended?

A qualified recommendation for The Cut Off – because it certainly won’t be to all tastes! – but if fast and furious minimal techno is what you want, you’ve come to the right place.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,180 – Thursday 16 May 2024

New music – Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan: A Shared Sense of Purpose (Castles In Space)

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by Ben Hogwood

Published post no.2,176 – Sunday 12 May 2024