Category Archives: Switched On

New music – Sasha: Da Vinci Genius (Night Time Stories)

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published by Ben Hogwood, using the press release.

Sasha returns to Night Time Stories with his latest project – Da Vinci Genius – an immersive exhibition celebrating the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, the great Italian Renaissance polymath.

His 2016 release Scene Delete’ on the same label, an imaginary movie score, saw an adventurous but logical left-turn for the veteran DJ/producer. Now he is fully embracing the world and structure of classical music, combined with the deep sonics for which he’s renowned. He used his experience as an electronic music producer – and movie buff – to re-frame his work, enlisting Scene Delete veterans Dennis White, Dave Gardner and Barry Jamieson to assist in this complex task.

“I’ve never written music for a project like this before, so it was really exciting and interesting to work with the show’s designers Flora and Fauna Visions (FFV) on this incredible brief. 

The show is a past-present-future peek into Da Vinci’s mind, presenting a lot of his iconic work, using computers to play around with it, and creating a stunning visual experience. We needed the music to support and enhance that.

We wanted to capture some of the atmosphere of those incredible film scores we love, and the modern electronic composers we were inspired by. People like Nils Frahm, Jon Hopkins, Steve Reich, even Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre. We were inspired by Kubrick’s approach to using classical music in his films, but also the modern film composers like Hans Zimmer, who use classical movements with amazing electronic sounds around them.

We also managed to find some beautiful medieval choral music of LDV’s era from a Renaissance composer Josquin des Pres, which inspired some of the more ambient sections. When we started the score we hadn’t seen any of the visual, so had to be guided by FFV’s mood boards. It was a different, challenging way of working.” Sasha

A dream-like journey from start to finish, the nuances, atmosphere and melodic layers of compositions such as Mosiac, Equality and Clouds are woven into soft melodies and emotive timbres, and are perfectly presented. It’s only with compositions such as the beatific Super Hero (with Sentre) and Into The Metaverse where Sasha reverts to more familiar sounds. Listen to the trailer below for an idea of how effective Sasha’s blend of his own language and newer influences can sound:

With Da Vinci Genius, it feels like Sasha is very much at home in unfamiliar territory – revelling in the simply beautiful and undeniably moving music he has created. He recounts, “I really wanted to take something classical but flip it on its head, make it modern. Although the show focuses on Leonardo’s original art, in most points of the show it’s getting messed with electronically. For instance, the Mona Lisa appears out of thousands of digital fragments, and some of his other famous portraits melt into electronic visual glitches. I wanted to frame the show with a classical mood, but then allow electronics to pulse behind it. It was a wonderful collaboration with FFV and I’ve loved doing this.”

Da Vinci Genius debuted in Berlin in 2021 and then transferred a year later to Amsterdam. The show is set to wow audiences in Florida, USA and India at the end of this year, with more details to be announced.

You can pre-order Sasha’s album here:

Published post no.2,332 – 15 October 2024

Switched On – Trentemøller: Dreamweaver (In My Room)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Andreas Trentemøller follows up his 2022 album Memoria with a new long player, presented with Icelandic vocalist Misa, who has been a regular collaborator since that time.

What’s the music like?

Dark in hue but wonderfully spacious. Trentemøller is a versatile producer and gets the ebb and flow of the music just right here, so that we move between uptempo energy and downtempo musing.

The voice of Misa is key to that, her cool tones the ideal complement to the starry eyed, wide screen productions.

The impression given by these airy tracks is atmospheric and moody, but Trentemøller ensures that tracks like Nightfall work on two levels, as an intimate song and also as a wider panorama.

The stately progression of the title track brings Beach House to mind, while In A Storm packs an impressive punch. Meanwhile Winter’s Ghost is appropriately shadowy.

Does it all work?

It does – and with evidence that Trentemøller’s songwriting prowess is becoming more evident with every new release.

Is it recommended?

It is – another compelling piece of work from the Copenhagen maestro.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,330 – Sunday 13 October 2024

Switched On – Ben Böhmer: Bloom (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Ben Böhmer’s first album in three years came after an intense period of touring, playing more than 200 shows in 2022. The title, Bloom, reflects the time he spent reconnecting with making music, as he put it in a social media post, “a journey through change, self-discovery, and finding the right moment to ‘bloom’.”

His experiences are reflected in the lyrics, with the lead single Best Life finding a reflection from guest vocalist JONAH that ‘life is short and fast’. The guest roster also includes Lykke Li, Oh Wonder, Enfant Sauvage (of French duo The Blaze), Malou, Erin LeCount and Max Milner.

What’s the music like?

Slick, melodic and very listenable. Böhmer brings studio polish and class to his productions, which have elements of pop, trance and house but crucially make an emotional connection to the listener.

He is a flexible writer, too, capable of writing a floor filling anthem and following it with a down tempo treasure, as he does here. Martin is a great way to start, a piano-led beauty taking its inspiration from the piano of Martin Kohlstedt, whose intimate but bright loop powers the track.

The vocalists acquit themselves well – Lykke Li on the smoky Hiding, Malou on Beautiful, with its rolling bass, and on the slower side of things Erin LeCount’s Faithless is excellent, as is the closing instrumental Blossoms. Rust is coolly delivered, while arguably the biggest rush comes from Evermore, a brilliant song taken to the next level by Enfant Sauvage. Böhmer creates a heat-soaked atmosphere, encapsulated by Oh Wonder’s dreamy contribution The Sun.

Does it all work?

Yes. Böhmer writes fluently and the album is well structured, responding well to repeated listening.

Is it recommended?

It is. Bloom is a real pick-me-up, a force for good in the face of tough times.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,329 – Saturday 12 October 2024

Let’s Dance – Roland Leesker: Searching For Peace (Get Physical)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the long-awaited debut album from Roland Leesker, the German producer at the heart of the Get Physical record company for almost a decade and a half.

With a set of solo tracks and collaborations, he describes the first piece of work solely under his own name rather than one supporting others. “I thought it could be nice for a change to produce a few new tracks myself, focusing on what got me here in the first place: Music and the joy it brings, creating it. So this is me, Searching For Peace“

What’s the music like?

Not entirely peaceful! As it turns out, Leesker has a fine line in the production of house tracks, heavily flavoured with disco – and each of the cuts on this album make a strong impact. Along with the best house music producers he has a talent for translating less into more, so that what feels like minimal starting material becomes something really substantial.

To that end, Keep On is a slinky electro disco number, with a winning bass line. Let It All Go has a good, slightly slower disco strut to go with its sultry spoken word contribution from Dan Diamond. What Is has a flavour of Chicago house, nodding to a period that clearly influences Leesker – but doesn’t dominate his music too much.

Does it all work?

It does – especially in a dark room!

Is it recommended?

Very much so – a classy house album, tightly structured and delivering the goods one beat at a time.

For fans of… Booka Shade, Modeselektor, Gui Boratto

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,327 – Thursday 10 October 2024

New music – Bibio: Phantom Brickworks (LP II) (Warp Records)

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published by Ben Hogwood, text taken from the press release.

Bibio has announced the imminent release of Phantom Brickworks (LP II) on Warp Records on 22 November. The first excerpt from the album, DINORWIC, can be heard here:

PHANTOM BRICKWORKS is an ongoing ambient/drone project by English musician and producer Stephen James Wilkinson aka Bibio, inspired by nature, landscape and places haunted by the faint ghosts of industry. It explores the human echoes still present in various sites around Britain which Wilkinson visited, observing their gradual decline.

“Human beings are highly sensitive to the atmospheres of places, which can be enhanced or dramatically altered when you learn the context of their history… echoes and voices can sometimes be heard, in some way or another. Places sometimes have things to say,” says Wilkinson. He continues, “Since releasing ‘PHANTOM BRICKWORKS’ in 2017, I have come to realise that it is an ongoing project. Although elements of ‘PHANTOM BRICKWORKS’ have seeped into my other albums over the years, it feels like its own separate entity.”

PHANTOM BRICKWORKS (LPII) brings attention to new sites; some are intriguing, vast scars on the natural landscape, others survive only in local memories, historic clips and photographs. A few remain submerged from ordinary sight, while some exist purely as legends and stories. Under blankets of improvised evolving loops of piano and baritone guitar, the muffled spectres of working life can be heard, implying nature will come for everything and eventually hide the scars.

“When I announced the first ‘PHANTOM BRICKWORKS’ album, I discussed how places can be charged with meaning, depending on what they’d been through. That observation continues with the new album. It consists of mostly improvised music, using some of the same techniques as before as well as developing new ones that are unique to this album. Some familiar territory is revisited, both musically and in terms of the types of locations that interest me. North Wales plays a significant role, but this album reaches beyond –  extending into the realms of legends, as stories passed down through generations can sometimes haunt a place more vividly,” says Wilkinson.

You can pre-order Bibio’s album here:

Published post no.2,326 – 9 October 2024