Category Archives: Switched On

Switched On – Various Artists: Air Texture VIII with Anthony Naples & DJ Python (Air Texture)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

For its eighth episode the rightly lauded Air Texture series relocates to Brooklyn, where it is picked up by DJs and sometime housemates Anthony Naples and DJ Python. Python is one of the many aliases under which Brian Piñeyro operates, and he has been working with the intriguing combination of ambient music soundscapes and reggaeton beats.

Naples, meanwhile, worked at an indie label but discovered techno through artists such as Theo Parrish, Omar S and Actress – and met Piñeyro when returning to New York after stints in Los Angeles and Berlin. The two were housemates for a little while before starting the Incienso label together.

Air Texture appears to be their first official compilation together, and as the biographies imply it is a cosmopolitan and very open musical affair.

What’s the music like?

Just when you think you have the Air Texture series nailed and pigeon-holed, it goes off in a new direction, indicating how essential it has become.

Volume eight, in the company of the New York-based pair, varies wildly in tempo but makes perfect sense when heard from start to finish. It starts with thick ambience and loping beats from Parris and Aurora Halal & DJ G., whose Off The Top has a particularly squelchy bass. The profile is dubby but not for long, as DINA’s Skin Shed unleashes an unexpected volley of rapid fire beats, comfortably the fastest thing yet heard in the Air Texture series.

It signals another change of tack, leading into the Naples-Python collaboration Entouré, where the reggaeton sway takes hold. Things then turn mysterious with the spaced out Per Ounce, an excellent spaced-out contribution from James Bangura with a strong percussive drive. Bitter Babe & Nick León continue with the thick, hot weather ambience but add some simmering tension, though by the time we get to DJ Trystero’s Palisade a warm, comforting ambience has descended. After some intimate beats and humorous touches on downstairs J’s 1000 dumplings, another Python-Naples collaboration – Final Speaking – complements short riffs with warm colours. Finally Vertical Silence finds a weird, levitating profile in Antonyms For Us, and 5AM’s Years signs off with a lazy, semi song-based finale, scattering into the ambient dust.

Does it all work?

Pretty much. There will be something for everyone to discover, which is a compliment you could level at each instalment of the Air Texture series so far. These are imaginative choices, and while the best are arguably the most ambient the collision course set by dancehall-influenced beats and ambient backdrops is truly intriguing.

Is it recommended?

Yes – and the more you listen the more there is to discover. Air Texture continues to be one of the few compilation series still going that is required listening. Once again, it proves an experience to broaden the musical mind.

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Switched On – The Utopia Strong: International Treasure (Rocket Recordings)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi and Mike York made a strong impression on their debut in 2018 as The Utopia Strong – but International Treasure confirms they were only just getting started.

Now their line-up is established, Davis has confirmed what it all means: “I see myself as a strong midfielder, or a centre back. Kavus and Mike are like the Lionel Messi or Ronaldo in the equation, and I’m setting situations up for them.” This modest appraisal gives a clue to Davis’s own role with the modular electronic backdrops, which are so important to the more improvisatory work that goes on up front.

International Treasure, the trio’s second album, takes them further along a journey which has already explored more musical dimensions than they thought possible.

What’s the music like?

International Treasure has a strong emotional pull throughout its nine tracks. It is also difficult to place stylistically, which proves to be one of its strongest selling points. At no point does it feel like the record was placed under any restrictions, and yet its musical progress is carefully managed at every turn, creating a rare intensity.

Another feature of the trio’s work is the vivid colouring they apply to the sounds, which operate as strong primary musical colours. This is in part due to Torabi’s acquisition of a guzheng (a Chinese plucked zither) which is used on Shepherdess, and the set of pipes and wind instruments York brings to the table, like an updated version of the Penguin Café Orchestra.

Does it all work?

It certainly does. There are some fascinating colours and tableaus presented here, each of them handsomely rewarding repeated listening.

Is it recommended?

Yes – as indeed is the first album. If you’re an electronic music devotee then this is a mandatory purchase, and a sign that even greater things lie ahead for the unlikely trio.

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Switched On – Gabriel Prokofiev: Howl! (Oscillations)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The roots of Howl lie in the ‘Arab Spring’, and also Allen Ginsberg’s poem of the same name from the mid-1950s. It is a five-part composition exploring the use of recent technological forms for protest and expression, and has already made itself a history in terms of real life protests.

Gabriel Prokofiev originally conceived the piece as a score for the choreographer Maurice Causey, and its first performance in Hong Kong was sadly adjacent to the independence protests. Now it has a raw significance in opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, especially with protesting forbidden in Russia.

Prokofiev uses the rich tones of an ARP Odyssey synthesizer, filtering and layering its sounds to produce a wide variety of tones. Complementing these are the clarinet of Linus YS Fung, who took part in that first Hong Kong performance, and Yury Revich, whose violin adds a sensitive, songful treble to the wrought second part, Separation.

What’s the music like?

There is a great deal of first-hand angst in this music, and Prokofiev makes his protest in the strongest possible musical way.  The synthesizer tones fulfil several functions here – first of all to confront, which they do from the outset, but also to provide unexpected comfort when the sounds swell and get warmer.

Howl springs forward with purpose, its first section (Agitprop) crackling with serrated figures that ricochet across the stereo picture. The all-encompassing synth tone dominates to start with, on occasion sounding like the malfunctioning of a big machine or a computer program gone wrong.

Linus YS Fung makes striking contributions to the Separation section, where the interference from the electronics contrasts with the clarinet’s probing, sonorous tones. The following Swarm section is extremely descriptive, painting the assembling of an ominous army like the Martians in War Of The Worlds.

Pulse presents a bleak picture in response, with harmonies that are watchful and fearful but then grow in timbre and intensity. Finally Afterlude feels like an injection of positive energy, offering a step out of trouble.

Does it all work?

Yes, emphatically. This is uncompromising music, facing its problems with unwavering surety. It certainly isn’t for every moment in the day, but Prokofiev offers enough light amongst the shade to make an effective five-part suite.

Is it recommended?

Yes, and with a little necessary caution due to its intensity, volume and frequency. What is beyond doubt is that Howl – sadly – is music of necessity, made for these inhumane times.

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Switched On – XAM Duo: XAM Duo II (Sonic Cathedral)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

XAM Duo’s second album is a nifty half an hour. Christopher Duffin and Matthew Benn have been working on their second opus for nearly five years, and their efforts pay dividends as they arrive at a structure of six instrumentals that tell a story. Some are beat driven, others not – and all are part of an effort to write what the duo call ‘emotional computer music’.

Duffin has spoken of how the record ‘can be used in a functional way while setting out on your day, doing chores’ – and while it fulfils that function, XAM Duo II deserves more foreground listening for the reasons below.

What’s the music like?

Rather wonderful, and as Duffin hints, ideally structured for a single listen. From the off the colours achieved by the duo are warm and luxurious, with big synthesized textures you can dive into. The first track, the single Blue Comet, would work well as opening credits for a slightly retro TV series, with a probing melodic line. LGOC proves to be the ideal foil, creating a golden glow with its shimmering tones and high register saxophone.

The saxophone is a leading feature of the album, adding richness to the treble lines. Lifeguard At Mohang Beach is particularly attractive, holding still against the breaking waves, though the slight variations in pitch introduce a bit of uneasiness. Cold Stones has a wonderfully wide scope, with those fulsome sax tones above a cavernous drum sound. It is a majestic epilogue, a bigger structure that is beautifully scored.

Does it all work?

Yes – the rich colours are ideal for summer listening.

Is it recommended?

Definitely. If you have a weakness for the more melodic side of Warp Records’ output, to use an example, then XAM Duo will definitely do the job for you.

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Switched On – Conrad Schnitzler & Wolf Sequenza: Consequenz II (Bureau B)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Consequenz was a low-budget collaboration in 1980 between Conrad Schnitzler, once of Kluster and Eruption, and drummer Wolfgang Seidel, aka Wolf Sequenza. Its aim was to liberate music from elitist circles, and it set about this with a refreshing freedom. A sequel was commissioned and recorded in 1983/4, and Seidel takes up the story in the record’s press release:

“Certain ‘secret devices’ had materialized in our ivory tower in the meantime. Conrad Schnitzler had purchased an 8-track recorder with money he had earned from ‘proper’ art. I borrowed various bits of equipment from my band – Populäre Mechanik – including a drum computer, so we could really let rip. The little songs we made sounded much more ‘professional’ than the cheerfully low budget music of the first Consequenz. I’d taken days off work for the sessions and after a week we had enough material to fill one side of an LP.’

He continues. ‘All we needed now was music for the B-side, but our enthusiasm for the borrowed drum computer had waned somewhat. It was always the first track we recorded, which meant that everything else had to follow its lead. The beat itself was singularly unimpressed by what came next. This was an unsatisfactory state of affairs for two players (musicians?) who had begun with free improvisation, with either of the participants able to change the direction of the whole thing. Unsatisfactory, in spite of the fact that I was able to play to the beat with perfect timing, which led Conrad Schnitzler to give me the nickname “Sequenza” (hence the Consequenz title). The natural division of an LP into an A-side and a B-side lends itself to a caesura when the disc is flipped. So we decided to return to free-floating sounds on the B-side and, listening back now, I’m glad we did. Instead of competing with each other, the two sides dovetail perfectly.’

What’s the music like?

A fascinating listen to two musicians playing instinctively, Sequenza II has a fresh and incredibly modern sound. Its division into two sides is surprisingly effective too – side A has the sharp shooters, packed with riffs and incident aplenty, while side B is one track alone, Kastilien evolving over nearly 20 minutes into a work of impressive gravitas.

Before that we have Von Hand, firing on all cylinders, and the ping pong exchanges of Zack Zack. There is a friendly charm to a lot of this music, subtle humour coming through in the generation and exchange of ideas, with some regimented beats that speak of the time they were written. Hommage a Gaudi bucks the trend with its squiggly formations, Windmill operates with obscure riffing, while Erotik has a funky profile dancing around its regimented beat.

España won’t be to all tastes, with its coughed up refrains likely to panic in its Covid associations. Just as well, then, that Kastilien follows. By far the most challenging track on the album it is also one of the most liberating, its freedom expressed through increasingly restless and agile synthesizer music as its 20 minutes progress, dissolving in a wall of noise.

Does it all work?

Largely. You have to be in the right mood for Kastilien, but it works really well as a complement to the first side and its chopped up riffing, which proves to be highly enjoyable.

Is it recommended?

It is – and lovers of Krautrock or German electronic music from the 1970s will want to hear it for sure. Conrad Schnitzler continues to prove his worth more than a decade on from his sad passing, and in Wolfgang Seidel he has the ideal foil.

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