Category Archives: Switched On

Switched On – Ströme: Nr. 2 (Compost)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Ströme, the Munich-based duo of Mario Schönhofer and Tobias Weber, have put together a heavily loaded debut album for Michael Reinboth’s renowned Compost Records, closing in on 30 years of existence. Much of the album is instrumental, but for three songs they have been joined on several tracks by Franz Ferdinand founder member Nick McCarthy, who grew up in the region.

The instrumental work is loaded with analogue synths, most notably the Moog IIIp modular model that a certain Giorgio Moroder used on Donna Summer’s I Feel Love – and yes, it’s the exact same instrument!

What’s the music like?

Really enjoyable, and nicely worked between dance-driven workouts and chilled out horizontal tracks. Among the highlights are the nicely pointed Niki, with chunky bass and a nice, floaty treble line, and Panta Rhei, which has a string cosmic disco vibe that would certainly appeal to fans of Todd Terje. Trang & Flinky has similar vibes, utilising sharper analogue tones. Wasser is one of the most successful downtempo tracks, finding warmth and space.

The Nick McCarthy collaborations work really well. Das Modul is especially good, with a great vocal hook and lyrics that could easily come from the work of Philip K. Dick. The extended Stadlberg has a wistful tone, with a driven beat borne of Krautrock and a lovely set of sonorous long notes up top.

Does it all work?

It does. Overall the album is on the long side, but Ströme show good structural awareness with the variety of styles and speeds they feed into their music.

Is it recommended?

Yes – anyone familiar with the Compost label will recognise Ströme as an excellent musical fit, and anyone loving a bit of classic synthesizer action will be well advised to stop by and indulge.

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Let’s Dance – Yamagucci: Baba Yoga (Maccabi House)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Baba Yoga is the first album from Israeli-Japanese producer Yamagucci, who has been making a name for himself through associations with the Diynamic, Disco Halal and Maccabi House labels. It is on the latter that his new long player is released, though given the circumstances around which it was made it is something of a miracle that it was completed at all.

Yamagucci began work on the album in Tel Aviv in 2020, but sustained severe injuries in a bike accident that meant he had to move back to his parents, all during the pandemic. Music and yoga were his coping mechanisms (hence the inspired album title!), and soon both were channelled into a creative vision, which Yamagucci calls ‘a recovery process for my body and soul’.

What’s the music like?

Omer Relex, the first track, is a sultry blend of soothing vocals, very deep beats and warm textures, within which fragments of melody operate. The mood is laid back but the beats bring energy too, establishing a springboard from which Manali Kofta benefits, Yamagucci upping the funk quotient. Adam Ten guests on his own label as part of Desert Fantasy, an atmospheric cut,

Pandemic whips up more energy, as though getting rid of a build up of angst with some noticeably quicker and more energetic beats. By contrast, Jim Jim, with Dor Danino, is stripped back, a disco-house beat given minimal scraps of bass and clips of noise but still creating a heat-soaked atmosphere nonetheless.

On occasion a smoky, dusty feel makes its way into the productions. Make Revolution, with its twisted robotic vocal, is a gritty example, blending deep house with more urban persuasions in a way similar to Lil Louis. Loco has a similar profile, with chunkier beats, while Follow The Hihat, with the vocals of Millero, goes lower still, playing with perspective rather effectively.

Does it all work?

Pretty much. The beats may be of the solid four-to-the-floor variety, but Yamagucci is always at work within, creating interesting cross-rhythms and collections of mini hooks.

Is it recommended?

It is – a strong 8-track collection that hangs together really well and creates evocative pictures. The darker the club and the warmer the climate, the more suited they are for Yamagucci’s productions. Recommended especially for deep house heads.

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You can hear clips from the album and purchase from the Traxsource website

Switched On – Hot Chip: Freakout/Release (Domino)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

When Hot Chip reassembled after the enforced lockdowns of the Coronavirus pandemic, they found a rich vein of creativity. Much of the inspiration for this came from their live cover of Beastie Boys’ Sabotage, a setlist favourite that explores the idea of being out of control in dance music.

With guitarist Al Doyle putting together a new studio in East London for the band to use, they set about losing control together and making their next album. The idea of losing control, however, extends to human emotions and specifically those that were on the edge in those dark years. That means while some of the music on this album is slower, its lyrical content and resolve is deeper too.

What’s the music like?

Multilayered. Hot Chip are masters at making pop music that works brilliantly on its own terms out front, but which has a number of different messages when you delve deeper into it.

Freakout/Release is no exception, addressing issues such as confidence within ageing, the changing habits of consumption in music and emotional fragility.

The album struts confidently onto the floor with Down, immediately showing the double meaning potential, but giving a tonic to the album which is immediately reinforced with the warm-hearted Eleanor. By this point the music has a feel reminiscent of a returning old friend, but soon the tone changes.

The title track has much more anguish about it, and a darker tone. “Music used to be a love, now people leave it or take it” is the pointed observation. The clever wordplay on Hard To Be Funky, featuring Lou Hayter, reveals a vulnerable centre. “Ain’t it hard to be funky, when you’re not feeling sexy?”, go the words, then immediately, “And it’s hard to feel sexy when you’re not very funky”.

Not Alone draws on the band’s softer side, a warm blanket of a song. “Anxiety can only kill a man if he always turns away the helping hand”, sings Alexis Taylor, “I still long for your voice”. After this the album takes an assured, soulful voice towards the finish. A particular highlight is The Evil That Men Do, where Cadence Weapon offers a great complement to Taylor’s vocal.

Does it all work?

Yes, it does – bringing the realisation that Hot Chip always secure more emotional depth than your average ‘dance’ album. The band knit together beautifully, with warm soulful flourishes making this a safe place to explore emotions, fears and – ultimately – togetherness.

Is it recommended?

Unhesitatingly. It’s great to have Hot Chip back, and with every album they become a more complete outfit, both musically and lyrically. The dancefloor is still the centre of their attention, but the recognition and ultimate acceptance of the problems life can bring around it is beautifully realised.

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You can explore purchase options for Freakout/Release at the Piccadilly Records website

On Record – SRSQ: Ever Crashing (Dais)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the second album from singer-songwriter Kennedy Ashlyn, who goes by the artistic name of SRSQ (pronounced ‘seer-skew’).

It was three years in the making, though when you get a hint of Ashlyn’s story the importance of this record falls into place. Her debut album, after all, was a response to the tragic death of her one time bandmate Cath Askew in Oakland – and Ever Crashing was an expression at the news of her diagnosis with ADHD and bipolar disorder. Music became a necessity, the primary means of expression.

The Ever Crashing title is pertinent, to quote from the press release documenting ‘Ashlyn’s recurring sensation of being trapped in the crest of a wave, turned and churned in the surf, mirroring the cycles of self-flagellation and surrender that she battles being bipolar’.

What’s the music like?

Even without the backstory in mind, Ever Crashing is a powerful experience. Ashlyn’s voice is the primary reason for this, a most impressive instrument capable of holding its own above a wall of guitars but never straining, always relatable, and always clear in its lyrical delivery (an underrated quality!)

It Always Rains gives us a slow and powerful beginning, showing off influences that run from Cocteau Twins and All About Eve to The Cure and School of Seven Bells perhaps – all names speculation because the music fits in next to theirs. Yet the result is that SRSQ does have a distinct identity, Ashlyn’s compelling presence piercing the clouds.

Saved For Summer throws open the windows with a rush of guitars, as does the standout Dead Loss, a really strong pop song with a winning hook. The title track packs a punch, too, as does Élan Vital, which finds the singer noting how ‘winter twists and turns, when the days are cold and sparse’. Later on she asks, “What is it about the cold that makes me sad?”

The closing Someday I Will Bask In The Sun offers a way out. “In my own time I will christen this prison of my own design, I am risen, forgiven,” sings Ashlyn over a fidgety breakbeat.

Does it all work?

Much of it does, especially vocally. The tracks do tend to be quite long, which on the plus side means they have plenty of time to establish the mood but also that they can overrun.

Is it recommended?

It is. There is much to commend this record, its stand against adversity, and its musical assertiveness in the face of the storm. As a listener you will emerge suitably inspired.

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Switched On – Au Suisse: Au Suisse (City Slang)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Au Suisse is the much-anticipated pairing of producer Morgan Geist and vocalist Kelley Polar, aka Mike Kelley. Though perhaps that should read ‘re-pairing’, as the pair have a good deal of previous since they met at Ohio’s Oberlin College in the early 1990s. They worked together when Geist was part of the revered house / techno duo Metro Area, Kelley guesting on some of their vocal tracks, while Geist produced two Kelley Polar albums on his Environ label – records that really should be better known.

Au Suisse has a slightly different balance, as it finds them enjoying their first collaboration as equal partners, writing songs together rather than apart.

What’s the music like?

Rather special. As old friends, these two know what makes each other tick, and they clearly enjoy making music together – but there is something about the new venture that goes more deeply into personal experience than before. It almost goes without saying that Geist and Kelley would make elegant and classy electro pop, but the music of Au Suisse is like a beautifully coiffured object, with a series of influences stretching back to the 1980s.

Control is an atmospheric and poised first song, ghosting in on a single held note and holding back so you can hear every word before the electronics properly kick in. By contrast Thing is an uptempo workout, with urgency from the keyboards.

GC is a striking song, with a lush backdrop of keyboards and the striking observation of its controlling subject, “It’s how you pull the strings from so far away”. The dappled keyboards of Vesna are beautifully realised, and here Kelley’s vocals evoke Green Gartside of Scritti Politti or Paddy McAloon of 1980s Prefab Sprout, emitting a subtle euphoria but not without pain and regret behind. Indeed, Pain And Regret is the title of one of the songs, with an account of how “We know we tear each other apart”. Eely strips back to minimal thoughts and textures, a little more soulful in Kelley’s vocal, while the bass line for Plans curls round the edges like a lazy flame, the keyboards panning out for more thoughtful pop. The closing AG is a broadly sketched beauty, with ticking hi hat and piled-on reverb, as though Kelley has turned round at the door to give us some final thoughts in falsetto before the pair take their leave.

If it sounds like the music of Au Suisse is on a bit of a downer, that is emphatically not the case – rather it is bittersweet, elegant and beautifully poised. These two know what they’re doing, and classy pop music comes naturally to them.

Does it all work?

It does indeed. These songs are exquisitely crafted, with not a note out of place. The hushed vocals pull the ear in, and at the same time offer the opportunity to appreciate Morgan Geist’s beautiful production sets.

Is it recommended?

An easy decision. Au Suisse is like meeting an old friend – which ironically is the root of the whole project. Morgan Geist and Kelley Polar have crafted an exquisite album which is by turns classy, cultured and subtly uplifting.

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