Category Archives: Switched On

Switched On: All Is Well – A Break In Time (Compost / Drumpoet Community)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Fred Everything (real name Frédéric Blais) started A Break In Time as an exercise in calming meditation during lockdown – its function to do as the title suggests, a break from the stress.

It wasn’t long before he realised that the music was taking form and had album-making potential so, donning the All Is Well moniker, he worked on realising the project as a homage to ambient music in general, looking back to early works from Carl Craig and Black Dog, as well as the legendary Warp compilation Artificial Intelligence.

What’s the music like?

A Break In Time is certainly ambient, but occasionally it brings to the surface an underlying tension explained by when it was written. Blais writes instinctively well in this form, the tracks are really well structured, and the voicing is such that the listener can choose whether to take the music from background to foreground. It is equally effective in either form.

Day One establishes calming, warm textures, but the music takes on more movement with tracks like Forever And A Year, where active percussion is paired with wavy keyboard lines, creating a curious tension. Risqué has a rising motif that can prove disorientating too, like a distant alarm – but by contrast a track like At Well matches synth riffs with washes of colour.

Does it all work?

It does. Blais has achieved a really satisfying blend where musical instinct and a keen sense of structure go hand in hand.

Is it recommended?

It is – this is an album with staying power, and the ability to create its own unique atmosphere. Another fine piece of work from Fred Everything.

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Switched On: Jonathan Krisp – Statement Foliage (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Statement Foliage is described in the accompanying commentary on Bandcamp as ‘a continuation of Jonathan Krisp’s focus on the topography of natural and electronic haunts…merging complex twisting acid lines with glistening synths to evoke hallucinations of a retro-futuristic sun drenched landscape’.

It is his first release since 2019, when Rewilding showed him to be a very adaptable tunesmith, managing his own electronic bedding with flair and imagination.

What’s the music like?

As fresh as the title implies! Statement Foliage picks up where its predecessor left off, with music that throws open the doors and windows to beckon the listener outside. Best heard on headphones, it has an endearingly fresh approach to the scope of its textures, the brightness of the colours, the complex but very danceable rhythms and those twisted acid lines, which are indeed complex but which can wash over the listener like a stream.

A hushed voice and airy sound picture make Vanishing Point the ideal start, on which the warmth of Parhelion and Secret Well Springs Of The Soul build comfortably. Krisp’s music has a friendly tone, but the strength of the beats in Silo, an especially good track, should not be taken for granted, nor the inner power harnessed by Bridgid, with its watery riff and profile.

Krisp’s music is easy to engage with, and presents an optimistic outlook.

Does it all work?

It does. If anything Krisp could afford to make some of the tracks longer, to make the most of the green shoots offered by all the melodic material he has at his disposal.

Is it recommended?

It is indeed. There is a lot of positive energy at work here, and Jonathan Krisp delivers an album with fertile musical imagination and some really attractive colours – not to mention some really satisfying beats. Well worth exploring.

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Switched On: James Heather – Reworks Vol. 2 (Ahead Of Our Time)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

James Heather’s Reworks sequel is another tale of personal connections. The pianist has returned to his contact book and used his musical instincts to invite a bevvy of artists, bands, ensembles and composers to contribute once again, reworking tracks selected from his last album Invisible Forces and the two Modulations EPs.

Because of Heather’s open minded musical approach, these incorporate a wide variety of styles, including classical, jazz and electronic music from ambient right through to rock – and even including the poet Roger Robinson. The selections also act as something of a musical biography, with the choice of Mogwai reflecting a transformative experience Heather experienced at the age of 21.

There are eleven tracks in all, sequenced logically, reflecting not just Heather’s love of the piano but the way he has channelled all sorts of musical thoughts and styles through it.

What’s the music like?

There is a captivating array of styles and approaches on Reworks Vol.2, which becomes the sort of collection you might expect from a label or a DJ. The responses to Heather’s music range so widely in approach that the piano often plays second fiddle to other instruments or styles – but when the instrument does appear it is all the more prominent for it.

As a contrast we get studies in drone from KMRU, a fuzzy reworking of Ancestral Future Now, and an expansive piece of work from Italian composer Abul Mogard as he refashions Balance. Coldcut, too, contribute a lovely piece of ambience with their wispy, intensely calming interpretation of Passing Soul.

There is a particularly beautiful vocal in Nailah Hunter’s take on Oizys, complementing the expressive piano line, while Meant To Be is turned on its head with an acappella version from Voces8, initially restrained but powerfully moving. Meanwhile Roger Robinson’s contribution brings a whole new dimension to Hidden Angel, in the company of Penelope Trappes and Specimens.

At the other end of the energy scale, Ishmael Ensemble bring a percussive workout to their interpretation of Invisible Forces, while Mogwai’s starry-eyed take on In Your Spirit is both woozy and beautifully lit. A violin on the wing raises Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres rework of Ultraviolet to the heights, while the collection ends with a reflective Immortal Beloved from Freya Arde.

Does it all work?

It does. James Heather’s open musical mind has yielded a fascinating set of new approaches that show just how versatile his music is beyond the piano.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. The piano may be James Heather’s first love, but Reworks Vol.2 shows how his music stretches well beyond the keyboard.

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Switched On: Tristan Arp – The Self Elastic (SLINK)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Tristan Arp switches labels for this four-part EP, following his colourful and enigmatic release End of a Line or Part of a Circle? in June.

The Self Elastic is inspired by the writings of Octavia E. Butler and Bo-Young Kim and the fluid approach of jazz master Ornette Coleman – but is described as being ‘designed for freak-time club rapture’.

What’s the music like?

Intriguing – and as fluid as its title suggests. Arp has endless imagination when in the company of a synthesizer, but one of the elements that makes his work so distinctive on this EP is his use of rhythm.

The ‘freak-time club rapture’ is aided by percussive and is found in much more subtle workings on Polymer, a ball of energy with musical material that ricochets backwards and forwards like a form of ping pong. Afterimaging has a similarly active profile, Arp crafting short riffs and melodic cells that weave in and out of intricate yet hyperactive percussion. Soon the reference to Ornette Coleman becomes clear, a saxophone offering an intense counterpoint before the music subsides.

Shrink Wrap offers a contrast, its slower motifs suggesting the workings of a small chemistry lab, before the subtle brush strokes of Liquid bring music that simultaneously moves forward energetically while being suspended in space. Arp’s music has a friendly profile here.

Does it all work?

It does – each of the four tracks linking together in satisfying unity.

Is it recommended?

It is. Another fascinating Tristan Arp EP demanding to be added to your collection.

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Switched On: Carlos Ferreira – Isolationism (AKP Recordings)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

On his Bandcamp page, Brazilian artist Carlos Ferreira is described as an ‘experimental guitarist and composer whose work explores the relationship between sound, space, time and memory.

Isolationism is meant as a study in frequency, resonance and vibration – achieved through the use of electronic and acoustic instrumentation, drones and field recordings.

What’s the music like?

Impressively varied for slow music of this type, and unusually absorbing, too. Isolationism works when listening close up, but it also gives the listener an intriguing set of perspectives as they work through the album, each track placing them in a different soundscape. Around them Ferreira blends a wide variety of slow-moving studies, each individually coloured to descriptive effect.

An Extension Of Breath, featuring sound artist Echo Ho, sets an airy mood, together with field recordings of birds that will confuse the listener walking along on headphones.

The two Quietitude tracks are rather special. Quietitude I features sustained chimes that resonate deeply over a drone that slowly makes itself known and increases in volume only slightly – but enough to sustain a good deal of tension. Quietitude II is much more distorted and ominous, providing a heavy backdrop even when the treble opens out to more opulent textures.

Clarinettist Lucas Protti is a sensitive guest on Living A Metaphor, where his opening ruminations feel borne from a street corner. Percussionist Manami Kakudo brings an unexpected bout of kinetic energy to Naturaleza Muerta, with more playful riffs and bold textures.

Meanwhile Artificial Lungs is a study in perspective, with a single probing piano line tracing tendrils that are gradually washed away by a wave of more distorted but consonant harmony. Take Shelter is more restrained before agitation returns in the form of Organic Matter, where pitches align in bright harmony against slow moving percussion given maximum reverb.

Does it all work?

It does. Some of the louder music can be quite abrasive and confrontational, but this is an observation rather than a criticism. It shows that Ferreira can evoke very different moods in the course of his work.

Is it recommended?

It is – providing more evidence that AKP Recordings are a springboard for fascinating and absorbing musical explorations. Carlos Ferreira definitely fits the bill for that.

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Published post no.2,008 – Monday 13 November 2023