Switched On – The Utopia Strong: The BBC Sessions (Rocket Recordings)

Posted on by
1

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Six years in, The Utopia Strong continue to spread their wings, a band who are successfully blending the art of studio recording with that of improvisation. The latter is very much in play on The BBC Sessions, a collection of five tracks recorded in session for Marc Riley on 6Music in September 2022.

Arcana have been fortunate to interview Steve Davis and Kavus Torabi from the band, but for now the word goes to Torabi on how the album progressed. “When we hit a point where all three of us really had something going, we would continue while the proverbial tape was rolling, so, the shorter pieces are the result of about ten or fifteen minutes playing that you wouldn’t have heard.”

What’s the music like?

There is a strong unity between the three protagonists here, and the result is a powerful suite of pieces that creates a wide range of ideas. A lot of the action takes place in the company of drones, providing a point of reference for the listener and a strong harmonic base.

Certainly Miniature Citadels establishes its base early on, the drone supporting some melodic jousting above. The lines are angular but there is an impressive amount of energy generated, supplemented by a chunky rhythm section.

Lamp Of Glory is a beauty, with a melodic figure up top dancing in the half life, like an energetic strobe light. Soon the pipes take centre stage, played by Mike York, a virtuoso display The final two tracks are lengthy studies. The Tower Is Locked is highly descriptive music, the structure in question shimmering in the half light, before an increasingly powerful drum track takes hold. Finally Weather All, a tribute to the much loved producer, is underpinned by a strong, bassy drone over which a number of electronic bleeps and psychedelic riffs play out. The confidence with which these two tracks unfolds is both assuring and impressive.

Does it all work?

It does. The Utopia Strong prove difficult to classify, in the best possible way – and their music and its development are compelling throughout.

Is it recommended?

Most definitely. This is a band still very much in development, but the span and content of these tracks gives an indication of what they are capable of. With three very different musical minds that complement each other well, The Utopia Strong have got to that enviable position where everything they do is well worth experiencing.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,137 – Tuesday 9 April 2024

New music – Caribou: Honey (Merge Records)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

Dan Snaith, the man better known in musical circles as Caribou, returns with his first new material in two years. Honey is a dancefloor track, co-produced by Four Tet, that has a pretty nippy beat, a rounded bass sound and some pretty psychedelic goings-on up top. Fans will be pleased! You can watch below and listen / buy via Bandcamp:

Published post no.2,142 – Monday 8 April 2024

On Record – Ride: Interplay (Wichita / PIAS)

Posted on by
1

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The second coming of Ride is now officially longer than the first. This is a statement that seemed very unlikely when they first split in 1996, but Mark Gardener, Andy Bell, Loz Colbert and Steve Queralt now appear to be together for keeps.

Interplay is the third album of their second incarnation, and the band have been candid about how difficult it was to record – yet such openness now appears to be one of their key strengths.

What’s the music like?

This is a very strong album, and could be the record that see Ride cross over to being a genuine rock band as well as acknowledged shoegaze royalty. Songs like the opening Peace Sign are key to this, being a full-blown anthem with winsome, jangly guitar lines and a great chorus to boot.

Gardener’s voice sounds great, more versatile than before. Monaco finds an edge to the voice reminiscent of The The, while Last Frontier has a softer side that sounds more familiar, tipping towards New Order or Electronic. What fans might not have expected is the barely concealed anger powering the centre of the album. Portland Rocks gives an indication of this, but I Came To See The Wreck goes the whole hog, the standout track of the album. “Rage, body and soul” is the takeaway lyrical couplet of an all-consuming song.

Elsewhere, Midnight Rider is a groovy throwback, while Sunrise Chaser brings brighter colours to the table. The band marry electronics and guitars convincingly, and production is excellent.

Does it all work?

It does. Melodic, meaningful and with songs that stick.

Is it recommended?

It certainly is – with Interplay Ride have made the album of their career so far.

For fans of… Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Spiritualized

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,141 – Sunday 7 April 2024

On Record – Julia Holter: Something In The Room She Moves (Domino)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The title of Julia Holter’s sixth album appears to be a play on words from The Beatles’ song Sometimes…but there is no reason to suggest that in the accompanying press release.

Instead the title could be more a reference to motherhood, and the birth of her daughter – as well as the presence of loved ones lost. What is certainly present is Holter’s physical connection with music, and a sense of being in the moment – rather than looking back in a dreamlike state as some of her work has done. As she says, “It’s about being in the passionate state of making something: being in that moment, and what is that moment?”

What’s the music like?

Something…has an experimental feel, and does on occasional feel like a dream sequence, experienced out of the body. This being Holter, there is melody at its core – and a strong inner power, experienced on the heady opening trio. Sun Girl, These Morning and the title track are rich in colour, Holter’s soft vocal matched by dappled textures, an agile flute part and – on the latter – a moving saxophone solo.

Most striking of all is the song Spinning, which starts like a misfiring record turntable, but establishes itself as a highly distinctive track. The backing is a kind of oblique waltz, the foil for Holter’s vocal, a mixture of powerful singing and conversational asides.

Ocean is both beatless and bottomless, as its title suggests it should be – with upper melodic lines bringing a new age feel to the surface. Talking To The Whisper has similar depths but with beats added – and connections that feel primal, in and around the flurries of flute and percussion. Who Brings Me offers calm and contemplation, closing thoughts in the company of clarinet and rich synthesized sound.

Does it all work?

It does – but because this is complex music, several listens are recommended to get the most from Holter’s music, revealing more of its extraordinary layers.

Is it recommended?

It is – a characteristically intense addition to Julia Holter’s output, music that makes strong physical and emotional connections with its listener.

For fans of… Julianna Barwick, Laurel Halo, Joanna Newsom

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,140 – Saturday 6 April 2024

Listening to Beethoven #229 – String Quartet no.9 in C major Op.59/3 ‘Razumovsky’

Posted on by
Reply

The Summer, by Caspar David Friedrich (1807)

String Quartet no.9 in C major Op.59/3 ‘Razumovsky’ (1806, Beethoven aged 35)

Dedication Count (later Prince) Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky
Duration 32’

1.Andante con moto – Allegro vivace
2.Andante con moto quasi allegretto
3.Menuetto: Grazioso
4.Allegro molto

Listen

written by Ben Hogwood

Background and Critical Reception

The third of Beethoven’s ‘Razumovsky’ quartets provides the light to the relative darkness of its predecessor, set in sunny C major in contrast to E minor. Jan Swafford documents it as ‘another of the 1806 works written at a gallop. Like the Fourth Symphony and the Violin Concerto, it is absolutely of a piece and a splendid piece, but more compact in material than its colleagues in the set, with less complex interrelations than the others. It conservative elements, however, do not imply a retreat to the eighteenth century. All the Razumovskys are distinctive pilgrims on Beethoven’s New Path.

The celebrated musicologist Carl Dahlhaus devotes more time to this ‘Razumovsky’ quartet than the other two in his book Beethoven: Approaches to his Music, sharing Ludwig Fincher’s view of the piece ‘as a reflection, from a composer’s point of view, of the social position of the string quartet in the years following 1800.’

For Dahlhaus, “the quartet makes use of symphonic or concertante means as a way of presenting itself to the general public, but at the same time it incorporates those same means in a skilled artistic construction that only connoisseurs can appreciate.” Swafford has the emphatic last word. “For Beethoven’s part, having cleared his throat with op.18, with op.59 he was ready to stand up to his predecessors and models, ready to prove he was their equal on their home ground.”

Thoughts

There is a mysterious introduction to this work that – for this listener at least – harks back to the uncertainty of Mozart’s string quartet in the same key, known as the Dissonance. The harmony is not so otherworldly here but there is still an atmosphere of uncertainty, one set right by the start of the Allegro, even though Beethoven’s genial theme doesn’t immediately set down roots in C major. It does however start off a highly attractive Allegro section, where the quartet enjoys the fulsome writing, while songful and virtuoso exchanges comfortably exist side by side.

The Andante has roots in A minor, C major’s closest ‘relative’, but moves around a little restlessly. There is the spirit of a slow dance but one that never fully settles, as though the first violin is changing partners at irregular intervals. The cello offers a rhythmic base and counterpoint through pizzicato figures.

The Menuetto (not marked as a Scherzo) has a grace one might associate with Haydn, from one of the Op.33 quartets, the melodies freely passing between instruments as the music flows beautifully. This is the ‘chamber’ Beethoven, whereas the finale – following seamlessly without a break – is definitely the ‘public’ Beethoven. Here he is showing off in the best possible way, with a full-blown fugue showing a complete mastery of the form. It generates a terrific energy which must have been a whole new experience for the first audiences. The quartet ends with a flourish, and you can imagine Ignaz Schuppanzigh bowing for all he was worth in the first performance before collapsing in a heap at the end!

Recordings used and Spotify links

Melos Quartet (Wilhelm Melcher and Gerhard Voss (violins), Hermann Voss (viola), Peter Buck (cello) (Deutsche Grammophon)
Borodin String Quartet (Ruben Aharonian, Andrei Abramenkov (violins), Igor Naidin (viola), Valentin Berlinsky (cello) (Chandos)
Takács Quartet (Edward Dusinberre, Károly Schranz (violins), Roger Tapping (viola), Andras Fejér (Decca)
Tokyo String Quartet (Peter Oundjian, Kikuei Ikeda (violins), Kazuhide Isomura (viola), Sadao Harada (cello) (BMG)
Végh Quartet (Sándor Végh, Sándor Zöldy (violins), Georges Janzer (viola) & Paul Szabo (cello) (Valois)
Amadeus String Quartet (Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel (violins), Peter Schidlof (viola), Martin Lovett (cello)

You can chart the Arcana Beethoven playlist as it grows, with one recommended version of each piece we listen to. Catch up here!

Also written in 1806 Hummel 12 Minuets

Next up tbc

Published post no.2,139 – Friday 5 April 2024