Category Archives: Switched On

Switched On – John Tejada: Sleepwalker (Palette Recordings)

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written by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

John Tejada’s new album picks up where 2021’s Year Of The Living Dead left off. Sleepwalker was written at the turn of the year, when the status of the pandemic was completely uncertain. Tejada turned to music to express what everyone was feeling, showing at the time more of his continual creativity.

What’s the music like?

John Tejada is such a consistent writer, and Sleepwalker teems with activity, with melodic and rhythmic interest aplenty.

Shattered buzzes like an approaching insect, while Excursion has busy activity with some nice spatial effects, giving different perspectives around the stereo picture. When We Dead Awaken bounces ideas around like pinball but over a broad background, and Whip Hand feels like the components of a machine combining productively, with several rhythms and riffs to latch on to. Isolate is quite playful, a light response to the conditions of the pandemic, with chopped-up riffs. Arguably the pick of the eight is Unafraid, whose combination of calming harmonies, offbeat rhythm and bell-like background are beautifully managed

Does it all work?

Yes. The busy workings of Sleepwalker reflect a creative mind, eager to make new music and press on with positive resolve.

Is it recommended?

Like all of John Tejada’s albums, this one has a great deal going for it, not least the most positive of resolutions to create, inspire and press on. This is techno at its most free flowing and is a subtly inspiring experience.

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Let’s Dance – Various Artists: Darkroom Dubs Vol. 5 – Compiled and Mixed by Silicone Soul (Darkroom Dubs)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Glasgow duo Silicone Soul have been running Darkroom Dubs for two decades now, which is a lifetime in house music – and it is great to report the long running series celebrating the achievements of the label is back for a fifth instalment. As with previous releases there is a mix from the duo, which is complemented by separate unmixed tracks and a number of bonus remixes.

What’s the music like?

The mix is compelling, and as good as anything Silicone Soul have put together in their time. It is ideally paced, moving surely through the gears and upping the intensity with each new track. The strong opening section hits a peak with Sigward’s remix of Id!r’s Monday, a smoky torchbearer that has long, held drone chords and a cutting bass. This segues nicely into the Shall Ocin remix of Silicone Soul’s own Farenheit 625, featuring Franklin Fuentes on some excellent vocals, and in turn this moves to a white hot cover of the Blancmange classic Living On The Ceiling from Skinnerbox.

Things turn darker and more acidic from here, through Dino Lenny’s Chained To A Ladder, but the sun soon reappears in the heat-flecked Undo track Acid Summer and Amount’s Kreuzberg. The more acidic direction is enhanced by two tracks from Justin Robertson’s Deadstock 33s, the second one – The Music Is Madness (To Those Who Cannot Hear It) – a particular treat.

With a little more acid in the mix, it’s good to find warmth again with Undo’s Tempesta, nocturnal atmospherics from Mariano Mellino’s Mubarak, and then something completely different in the slower but sharply defined electro beats of Am$trad Billionaire’s Outer Limits (Part 1). Wrapping up the selection are two more hot weather winners, Eduardo De Le Calle’s Breatharian and the DJs Pareja remix of Alejandro Paz & Local Suicide’s quite creepy but effective Splish Splash.

The beat patterns of the mix are largely four to the floor, but as the mix progresses there is greater room for manoeuvre, especially as the keyboard lines take on strobe-like patterns.

Does it all work?

It does, especially if you listen to the mix the whole way through without swerving. Only then will you get the best sense of the pacing of these tracks, which is pretty much nailed down to perfection.

Is it recommended?

Yes – whether you have followed the Darkroom Dubs story from the early days or whether you are just pitching in to their newest chapter. Silicone Soul clearly retain their appetite for new house music, while staying true to the principles that have made their label a solid and assuring presence in British house music and beyond.

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On Record – Francesco Tristano: On Early Music (Sony Classical)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

On Early Music is a blend of past, present and future. On the face of it the appearance is a deep dive into nostalgia, exploring Francesco Tristano’s love of very early keyboard music in new recordings of Gibbons, Bull, Philips and the pioneering Frescobaldi, who holds a particularly special place in the Luxembourg pianist’s heart.

Yet this is only a small part of the story, for Tristano’s own compositions are included, complementing the older pieces while functioning as more than mere pastiche. In addition to that, some gentle manipulations of studio technology ensure the ‘cover versions’ of the especially early material are given a subtly different sonic clothing.

What’s the music like?

A rather winsome blend of peace and energy. Tristano plays with energy and enthusiasm in the faster music, while his melodic phrasing has a winning instinct when the music gets slower. He also displays a keen air for instinct, bringing an improvisatory feel to some of this music that makes it feel fresh off the page.

On early music is especially good when the keyboard tones are softened, or when extra rhythm is added as on Ground. Toccata is brisk, plenty of positive energy, the first part of a trilogy spending its time in the tonality of D. The second is a winsome set of thoughts on a Galliard in D by John Bull, while the third, a Fantasy in D minor by Peter Philips, allows for more florid musical thoughts.

Bull’s Let ons met herten reijne has a stately opening paragraph before moving into faster material, with the spirit of the dance invoked. Tristano has a nice lift to his playing when the dance rhythms are more obvious in this collection, and he brings this into his own writing too. His compositions have an enjoyable freedom, allowed to wander through different musical byways in a fantasia style. Serpentina meanders in the form of a free flowing stream, while On Girolamo Frescobaldi’s Quattro correnti works in the percussive sound of the hammers on the keyboard. Frescobaldi himself appears as a complement, Aria la folia. The final Aria for RS, is a beauty, slow but very meaningful.

Does it all work?

Yes. Headphones reveal extra layers to Tristano’s sonic thinking, with some really nice touches of detail in the meticulously mixed final cut. The playing is affectionate, beautifully phrased, and the warmest compliment you can give to Tristano’s own material is that it is not always obvious which of the recordings are early and which are late.

Some piano recordings of early music end up being rather dry to the touch, but not this one.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Initially it looked as though this album might be a step backwards in its musical slant, but it actually continues Francesco Tristano’s onward journey through some fascinating musical pastures

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You can hear more clips and read more information about the release, as well as purchasing options, on the Sony Classical website.

Switched On – Methyl Ethel: Are You Haunted? (Future Classic)

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written by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The fourth album from Methyl Ethel sees a slight shift in direction. Announced in January, it sees the band break from the 4AD label to move to Future Classic, and it sees an elevation for Jake Webb to take a more prominent role of front man, not too dissimilar to Oli Alexander’s way of thinking with Years + Years.

Are You Being Haunted? looks to bring out more of the band’s electronic side, while returning to the studio where they made their first records. This is a significant nod to the passing of a dear friend who Webb recorded with at the time.

What’s the music like?

Smart, chic and extremely enjoyable. There are some excellent songs here, tightly packaged and produced with a knowing hand. Proof is especially good, its winning couplet “What can you see now?” dressed with sweeping strings. “My head is heavy, I’ve had awful dreams!” sings Webb. Something To Worry About is great power pop on a larger scale, strutting its stuff with a stately tread. Kids On Holiday is similarly inspired, with torch song lyrics and occasionally irregular rhythms.

Neon Cheap is if anything even better, making a lasting impression with its sharp couplets and catchy hooks. Matters zips along, showing the strength in depth of the album as it leads onto the epic Castigat Ridendo Mores, which has a wall of sound at the heart of its chorus. Finally In A Minute, Sublime, offers a questioning coda, by turns elegant and powerful.

Does it all work?

Yes – because the Methyl Ethel approach is an ‘all killer, no filler’ variety. The album is a compact design, clocking in at around 40 minutes, and packs plenty of incident and verve into that time.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. The new chapter looks set to be a fruitful one for Methyl Ethel, and with Are You Being Haunted? it is off to an auspicious start.

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Switched On – Vanessa Wagner: Study of the Invisible

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Take some time out this weekend – three minutes and forty-one seconds to be precise – and enjoy this video, a taster of pianist Vanessa Wagner‘s new album Study of the Invisible.

Released today on InFiné Music, the album is a carefully constructed suite of modern piano music, taking in minimal approaches but casting its net wider to hear from composers such as Caroline Shaw, Julia Wolfe and Harold Budd.

Arcana will carry a full review of the album, and an interview with Vanessa where we discuss the recording of the album and her approach to the piano. For now, though, enjoy the peace and stillness of this video!


You can read more about Vanessa Wagner at her website – and to hear more from the album, listen on by using the Bandcamp link below: