Category Archives: Switched On

New music – Roger Eno: Tidescape

Posted on by
Reply

British producer and composer Roger Eno has hit a rich vein of form in recent years – and his prolific writing period continues with the The skies, they shift like chords…, due to be released on Deutsche Grammophon on 13 October.

On the press release for The skies, they shift like chords… Eno describes the world in a dozen musical watercolours based on spontaneous sketches, tracing an evocative and thought-provoking path through sound and silence. “I think of music in visual terms. Perhaps here the chords could be the earth, the melody the trees rising above ground, and the atmosphere of floating guitar could be the sky. These three elements are different but interconnected.” He adds, “Most of my pieces are snapshots of things that were experienced in the moment,” says Eno. “How do you describe the world unless it’s in an instant? You can’t fix anything because everything is in flux, it’s changing and mutable.”

Here is the first excerpt from the album, Tidescape, in the form of a visualizer:

New music – Vince Clarke: The Lamentations of Jeremiah

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday Vince Clarke, founding member of Depeche Mode, Erasure and Yazoo, and all-round electronic maestro, announced a new album.

Due on 17 November on Mute, Songs of Silence is described as an ‘ambient instrumental album’. Its first single, The Lamentations of Jeremiah, represents a striking musical structure. A haunting solo cello line takes the lead, a true lament set against a drone accompaniment. It is certainly dark, but has at its heart an outpouring of emotion that is ultimately positive. Listen below:

Switched On: Various Artists – Total 23 (Kompakt)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The end of summer brings one of those reassuring points in the Kompakt calendar, the annual release of their Total compilation. Once again it draws a line in the sand to bring us a snapshot of the music the Cologne label’s artists have been making over the last year, while throwing in the gratefully accepted new versions and rarities that we collectors treasure.

What’s the music like?

Very good indeed. While techno is the broad area where the 13 tracks lie, the range of the music runs from soulful introspection to peak time euphoria (aka Rex The Dog)

The collection begins with the subtle shades of Kollmorgen‘s Muddy. After that, Argia’s No Concept is quite stark but movingly so, before the confident poise of Jürgen Paape makes itself known. Talmi is a cracker, brooding and bristling over a strong four to the floor beat. The cinematic dance is suitably nocturnal. Four Down is classy, while Jon Tejada offers a lovely heat soaked number on Wild Ride. Rex tge Dog an excellent vocal number with its hook take away my sorrow and this pain. Hardt Antoine’s All We See sends tracers out into the night

Does it all work?

It does. Kompakt are well-versed in compilations of this sort, so there is no reason the 23rd instalment should be any different! It has a very satisfying ebb and flow, played out to a nocturnal background.

Is it recommended?

It is – a consistently good guide to where the label is at musically right now.

It is – typically thought provoking work from one of Britain’s finest electronicmusic makers.

Listen

Buy

Switched On: Aphex Twin – Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 (Warp Records)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

New music from Aphex Twin always feels like something of an event, and although this EP has been out in the public domain for over a month the music is still well worth stopping to experience and contemplate.

What’s the music like?

This is Aphex Twin somewhere towards his best, writing music packed with incident but somehow finding time for inward-facing ambience. He achieves this balance perfectly on Blackbox Life Recorder 21f, where a particularly busy rhythm track plays pinball around the stereo picture, but a sonorous bass and overarching keyboard line give time and space.

zin2 test5 is a deeply intimate experience, one man and his machine – its introverted chords leaving their mark long after the active rhythm track is stopped. in a room7 F760 uses cowbells alongside the thick, woolly chords, the experience like a plane flying from sunshine into dense cloud and back out again.

The Parallax mix of Blackbox Life Recorder 21f brings out the fatter low notes, introducing more of a sci-fi feel.

Does it all work?

It does – and all easy on the ear for an Aphex Twin release. Or should that be uneasy? For beyond the ambience lurks a little dread.

Is it recommended?

It is – typically thought provoking work from one of Britain’s finest electronic music makers.

Listen

Buy

Switched On: John Beltran – Serendipia (Oath)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

John Beltran continues undimmed. The Michigan-born producer has been making albums since 1995, establishing himself as a leading exponent of ambient techno – but along the way showing us that he should not be restricted to that genre alone.

Serendipia finds him exploring his love of all things Balearic for the Oath label, and taking the opportunity to bring in references to Brazilian music and jazz.

What’s the music like?

Music like this demands a cocktail and a large expanse of water. Serendipia will come as a lovely surprise to those who might have had John Beltran pinned down as a home studio producer, for it brings in a wide range of percussion, waves lapping at the shore in its beautifully realised down tempo treats.

Beltran creates a tropical infusion, with typically classy production but with a sultry atmosphere heightened by languid guitars and extra percussion. There are some lovely jazzy solos from guitar and keys, with the opening Taina an excellent example, but these are tasteful and never overdone.

Sa Coma Blue features a vocal cameo from regular collaborator John Arnold and sounds uncannily like the intro to Lady In Red – but styles it out with lazy guitar and hazy textures. It is typical of Beltran’s open air music, where widescreen textures put the listener in an exotic environment, while the close-up detail gives evidence of an expert technician.

Aşk Anları shows off those expansive sound pictures, while the more thoughtful tracks – such as La Hermosa Vista – bring the ideal blend of slow moving chord sequences and thrumming percussion loops.

Does it all work?

It does – effortlessly so. The combination of electronics, easy guitars and jazz-inflected solos is a winning one, especially with the rhythm section Beltran supplies.

Is it recommended?

Yes – an easy decision. An album to spend time with in the hot weather, for sure!

Listen

Buy