Category Archives: Switched On

Switched On – Indian Wells: No One Really Listens To Oscillators (Mesh)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Pietro Iannuzzi’s latest album as Indian Wells may have a humorous title, inspired by a fit of pique while working in the studio, but it contains music of much greater personal meaning.

His concept with the album was to reflect the fact that it is possible to grow up around half-finished buildings that become a part of the landscape without anybody noticing – and that this leads to a distorted reality, that we very quickly become accustomed to.

What’s the music like?

Multilayered and compelling. The distortion Iannuzzi refers to can be felt immediately on the first track, An escalator in a storm (Incomputio Part I), where voices and snatches of sound flit across the picture of what would otherwise have been the serene progress of slow moving musical figures.

Life of JS (Incomputio Part II) has a deeply personal resonance, written about his daughter who was born in early lockdown and found to have Down Syndrome. Research around the condition lead him to the American artist Judith Scott, a self-declared ‘unfinished’ person – and who is the dedicatee of this beautifully cloudy music, with its twists and swirls. Iannuzzi’s daughter also inspired Before Life, the closing track, which starts with a recording of her foetal heartbeat and grows into a really impressive and emotive piece of work, the choice cut on the album.

Elsewhere the music is shot through with movement and positive kinetic energy. Four Walls bubbles and flickers in the half light, while Against Numbers uses its glitchy beats and motifs in a thought provoking way while also cutting loose with white noise.

The title track progresses with a stately poise, the oscillations holding up well! – while Habitat also enjoys wide-ranging squiggles before kicking into a more conventional four to the floor rhythm. Calabrian Woods breaks into this area too, retreating to a warning motto over soft keyboard pads before launching into a full breakout.

Does it all work?

Yes – each track works well in isolation but the album works best when experienced in one setting, with a very satisfying ebb and flow.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Anyone who has enjoyed the music of Max Cooper will surely warm to the music of his labelmate, whose personal experiences bring deeper meaning to this thoughtful but ultimately positive music.

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Switched On – Arthur King: Changing Landscapes (Mina Las Pintadas) (AKP Recordings)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The Changing Landscapes series has already reaped handsome sonic rewards for Arthur King, the multimedia project spearheaded by electronic craftsman Peter Walker.

He has already given us dispatches from the Utah desert, a farm in Iowa and the Isle of Eigg, but for this latest instalment King heads underground to a copper mine in Chile.

What’s the music like?

Descriptive and compelling. As in previous instalments, Arthur King uses field recordings of the mine’s machinery and environment, looking to get to the heart of its workings.

The mechanical processes are the ideal foil to a plethora of interesting melodic ideas, presented in rich and evocative colours. Because of the dark subject matter a lot of this music feels nocturnal, with the colour added by ticking machinery or sonorous brass instruments.

There is easy ambience to start with, and the machinery of the mine can be heard supporting the soft timbres of Gracias a San Lorenzo. Tierra Amarilla has evocative, nocturnal brass and scratchy, turntable derived percussion, the brass drawing a few parallels towards Jóhann Jóhannsson’s The Miner’s Hymns.

La Farola has a steady drip drip of percussion, but also operates on a wider sonic scope, allowing the ear to choose between the two – a familiar characteristic of this music Soon some solemn brass intonation can be heard, taking on a mournful discourse towards the end. A substantial track, it is compelling from start to finish. Caminando has soft tones but the ticking clock adds urgency and momentum.

Does it all work?

Consistently. Headphones reveal the wide range of sounds and textures, while the longer musical structures are very satisfying in the way they evolve and stretch out. The range of colours and breadth of imagination are also deeply impressive.

Is it recommended?

Yes – a fascinating aural portrait but also a powerful and evocative sequence of music. Once youve spent time in the Chilean mine, a deep dive into the rest of Arthur King’s output is highly recommended.

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On Record – Nightlands: Moonshine (Western Vinyl)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Nightlands, the solo project of The War On Drugs bassist Dave Hartley, has reached its third instalment. Moonshine reflects a change in the pace of his home personal life, since leaving Philadelphia for the relatively deserted area of Asheville.

When crafting his music, Hartley has looked to build massive layers of keyboards and vocals on top of each other, creating ‘stacks’ of sound. They are in keeping with the album’s artwork, as the press release describes. “The surrealistic album art by Austin-based illustrator Jaime Zuverza depicts an archway opening to the stars over the surface of an idyllic sea flanked by both moon and sun”, it says. “Similarly, Moonshine reveals portals within portals leading to ever deeper places in Hartley’s vocal-centered labyrinth.”

What’s the music like?

As wide open as that introduction suggests it will be, but in spite of the big textures there is a touching intimacy too. On occasion it feels like the one person you are talking to has gone out for a quick smoke under the stars in a massive vista, and will be back inside shortly. The music pans out to give space to these thoughts, which are often tender and warm.

They are not without sharp-edged feeling, however. Stare Into The Sun has a direct observation on political machinations. “You’ve got your sheep but you’re no shepherd”, sings Hartley. “What does it mean…to buy everyone, and send someone’s son to Afghanistan?” No Kiss For The Lonely is equally pertinent, with its observation of “no love for you refugees, no rest for the weary”.

Most of the time, however, the album inhabits a calming place, the big vocals and keyboards complemented by languid saxophone lines and impressively supple rhythm tracks. The music unfolds with a slow and very natural groove, and Hartley’s warm-hearted vocals become its principle feature, often finding a style of music akin to a less troubled Bon Iver.

With You is a prime example, inhabiting a serene and content place, while Blue Wave goes even calmer, its keyboards like a slowly running stream.

Does it all work?

It does, especially at either end of the day. Moonshine has some very evocative moments, and it is beautifully written, rewarding background listening but also offering more to those paying attention to the lyrics.

Is it recommended?

Is it recommended?

Yes – an album of starry Americana that deserves its place in the moonlight.

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Switched On – Kuedo: Infinite Window (Brainfeeder)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Kuedo, the pseudonym for Berlin-based producer Jamie Teasdale, moves to the Ninja Tune family for third album Infinite Window, the first since 2016’s Slow Knife.

In the interim Teasdale has been extremely busy, collaborating with Flying Lotus on the Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 OST and scoring two films.

This album explores Teasdale’s love of contrasting styles of music, principally spaced out ambient synths and the more rhythm-based work of producers like Frank Ocean and The Weeknd, and looks to bring them together in a wholly complementary way.

What’s the music like?

Excellent. Teasdale’s prowess as a film composer is immediately evident, as it is easy to picture scenes to go with his descriptive writing. He also masters the combination of R&B and more through-composed synth music, meaning that we get emotive pictures set to rhythms that vary between intricate and driven.

The sound picture is slightly glitchy, with the vast backdrops given small dots of detail in the foreground, a bit like looking at a scene from Stranger Things where those white dots swirl in close to the viewer.

Harlequin Hallway simmers nicely and drops the beats, one of many occasions where Kuedo really flexes his muscles and drives the music forward. The title track acts as a kind of opening credits montage. Positioned halfway through, it gets just the right blend of moody introspection and pure strength from the rhythm section, while the synths, initially bubbling under, surge to the surface with simmering energy.

Sliding Through Our Fingers is a great start, rippling synth lines spreading out in the manner of Tangerine Dream to fill a massive space. The fluttering rhythms on Shadow Dance are brilliantly done, while Skybleed Magic has a really impressive scope, and feels like a sci-fi theme in waiting

Does it all work?

Impressively so. The album is really well structured, telling a story of contrasting moods and colours, but staying very true to a single path. There is a lot of energy just beneath the surface, especially when Kuedo is spinning those intricate synth lines, but the big drum tracks ensure that it is released in a wholly satisfying way.

Is it recommended?

Definitely. You could approach this album from the direction of Vangelis or Burial – and either way you would fine plenty to enjoy. Deeply impressive and consistently rewarding.

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Switched On – farben: textstar+ (Faitiche)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This release brings together a series of four EPs released between 1999 and 2002 by the celebrated electronic musician Jan Jelinek, using the pseudonym farben.

The selection has been mastered from the original tapes, with two additional pieces also included. Jelinek also includes Polaroids of his home studio in Berlin at the time of recording.

“Every sound is a text” is the theme behind Jelinek’s thinking – “a bearer of meaning in search of a reader. Hoping the ideas inscribed in its autonomous existence will be understood as intended. While its beauty lies precisely in misunderstanding, in reading the coded message a new way every time. A thousand colours of sound, a thousand different ways to hear, to see, to understand.”

His description is a helpful accompaniment to the music as it takes hold.

What’s the music like?

Darkly cinematic. The way Jelinek works minimal material into something very descriptive is captivating throughout, and on headphones he effortlessly draws the listener in. With seemingly simple bleeps and clicks he can create atmospheres, while the subtle rhythms create surprisingly funky backdrops. These basic elements all help to form impressively constructed longer tracks, adding wider perspectives to draw out the listener’s aural view.

On the first track, Live At The Sahara Tahoe, 1973, the bleeps and clicks are complemented by shady pad sounds, while on FF things break out into a really strong, low-end funk. Beautone is an introverted, studio-bound track – and yet its chordal sequences hint at something much more active and the low-end squiggly bass is a treat. farben Says Love To Love You Baby has snatches of melody, rather like walking past a jazz club and hearing fragments of music.

The musical language is friendly and often with snippets of humour, easily glimpsed on the warm-hearted farben Says As Long As There’s Love Around, beats ricocheting around the stereo picture. farben Says So Much Love nails a more conventional but excellent deep house groove along the lines of Matthew Herbert, while the turntable scratches lend Raute extra warmth. Finally farben says Love Oh Love offers a watery backdrop, like its album companions setting a deep, nocturnal scene.

Does it all work?

It does, providing the listening environment is the right one – clubs or home stereos will bring out all the subtleties of Jelinek’s basslines and his intricately processed percussion.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. You could even call it textual healing!

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