Switched On – Various Artists, John Digweed & Miles Atmospheric – Quattro III (Bedrock)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Bedrock are an enterprising label, constantly rethinking how best to present their albums and compilations – and they always take a classy approach that puts the artist and the music first.

Quattro III is no exception. Put simply, it is four mixes from label head John Digweed that differ in tempo, beats and style – and as a substantial bonus, Ancestral Communication, a full artist album from DJ Miles Atmospheric.

The four mixes are given simple titles – Soundscape, Tempo, Breaks and Redux – and they can be listened to consecutively or as single units.

The brightly coloured package presents more than 50 exclusives, the result of Digweed’s inexhaustible search for new music and talent.

What’s the music like?

The mix titles are a good guide to how Quatro III proceeds, and over the four hours of John Digweed’s mixed material there is plenty to enjoy, however you slice and dice it.

Soundscape operates in an almost timeless void, performing an intensely calming meditation as it sets out a spacious sound picture. Wide-open canvases from the likes of DNA presents Charlie May, Circulation, Luke Chable and the excellent Davide Squillace present dreamy backdrops but also regenerate as part of a cleansing listening experience.

Tempo moves up to walking pace and starts to gain a strong sense of forward movement, realised throuh tracks like Dino Lenny’s Rocking To The Rhythm and Robert Babicz’s Afterlife, where the music is let off the leash. There are some lovely weightless textures here, though the increased percussion brings the music firmly towards the dancefloor, ending with the superb Thermal Drive from Speakwave.

Breaks presents what initially feels like a straightforward but strong mix, but as it progresses so there is more emotion introduced. The smoky vocal behind the Lexer Breaks mix of Quivver’s Nothin New To Feel is keenly felt, while Circulation’s Fruju has a breakdown to dive into. The music veers towards the minimal after this before the rolling beats gather towards a powerful finish.

Redux brings together a fine set of remixes, and really gets a shift on with the superb David Morales reworking of Pig & Dan’s Make You Go Higher. The inclusion of two tracks each from Captain Mustache and Aubrey Fry works a treat, Scan 7’s piano doodles matching the vocal of the latter’s Catch Me rather nicely.

As if the mixes weren’t enough, Miles Atmospheric’s album is a considerable bonus. There is an immediate temperature increase in these notes, fulfilling its brief from Digweed as a long player with ‘some quality warm deep ethereal techno that is a breath of fresh air’. Presented in a continuous mix of just over an hour, it includes the lush Tranquility, the fat bass lead of Mysterious Return To Forever then two extended treats in A Quiet Place For Distant Souls and the quicker Destination Lyra, showing how to make minimal source material go a very long way indeed.

Does it all work?

It does, because of the hours of thought and preparation that have gone into making the album. John Digweed’s famously meticulous working ethic comes up trumps again, but not at the expense of raw feeling.

Is it recommended?

With enthusiasm. Bedrock fans will lap it up – but each of the five musical canvases here works extremely well in the home listening environment too. Add the top quality presentation to the mix, whether on vinyl, CD or download, and Quattro III becomes a hugely desirable package.

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You can explore streaming and purchase options by clicking here, while you can visit the Bedrock shop for hard copies of the music on vinyl or CD

In appreciation – Terry Hall

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by Ben Hogwood

The world of music has been shocked by the news late last night that Terry Hall had died at the age of 63. Hall was singer and songwriter with three particularly influential bands – The Specials, Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield – but he also spread his wings to collaborate with a wide variety of musical figureheads.

Arcana has put together a playlist looking to cover a number of those sources, featuring some of his biggest hits with the bands above and several songwriting credits. Listening to the music brings a new sense of just how much of a mark Hall’s bands left on our cultural outlook.

Arcana’s best of 2022

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by Ben Hogwood

How has 2022 been for you? It has been a difficult year for so many, and I don’t know about you, but I find music takes on an even more important part of our lives when the going gets tough. This year we have been able to rely on a consistently strong line of releases, giving us extra resolve and relief from the day-to-day.

Arcana has reviewed a lot of music this year. What we tend to do on these pages is concentrate on music and artists that we know are likely to be good – and we assemble our thoughts on them so you can then make your own investigations. Classical music is usually our starting point, but from there we travel afar to the outer reaches of electronica, dance and contemporary music.

It was another strong year for electronic music of an ambient dimension. Switched On is the area of Arcana concentrating on new music in this area, and without putting too many musical names on these albums, we really enjoyed a good deal of slower stuff. Starting with a single instrument, Vanessa Wagner’s Study of the Invisible (above) made an understated but lasting impression, particularly with Caroline Shaw’s Gustave Le Grey at its heart. Vanessa plays with poise and expression, and this wonderfully curated selection worked so well.

Meanwhile long term favourite Erland Cooper charmed with his pure, still music written to soundtrack the Superbloom installation at the Tower Of London, Music For Growing Flowers (above). Speaking of earthy sounds, Sonic Cathedral gave us twilight wonders from Pye Corner Audio and, with a little more country in the mix, Sunset Dreams from Mark Peters.

At the hottest part of summer, Arthur King’s music was extremely evocative in Changing Landscapes – as was that of Deepchord, making a return to the long player from Detroit with Functional Designs. Steve Davis, meanwhile (yes, that Steve Davis!) was busy enhancing his reputation as part of the electronic trio Utopia Strong and their excellent album International Treasure

More studied electronica gems should also be shouted from the rooftops – we are lucky to have British artists of the calibre of Bibio, Gold Panda and Plaid, each returning with excellent new albums. Meanwhile Clarice Jensen took her cello as a starting point on new album Esthesis, making music of great colour and descriptive power to counter the onset of lockdown. Also facing the elements head-on was Daniel Avery, whose new album Ultra Truth was a powerful statement indeed:

There were some very strong releases on the classical side of things, as record companies dusted themselves down and started to include orchestral recordings again on their release schedules post-pandemic. Leading the way were the Sinfonia of London under John Wilson, a throwback to the golden age of orchestral recording in their challenging schedules for Chandos. With Hollywood, British and French music all covered, one in particular stood out, with the orchestral music of John Ireland given its rightful place in the spotlight:

Speaking of French music, a charmer from the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and Pascal Rophé proved the ideal hot weather soundtrack as it explored orchestral versions of Debussy keyboard works. Their accounts of the Petite Suite, La boîte à joujoux and Children’s Corner were full of colour and character.

This year saw the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, one of the finest British composers of the 20th century. Somm Recordings made a memorable tribute by way of the undervalued string quartets, these lovely autumnal works given vibrant performances from the Tippett Quartet.

Contemporary classical music put in some very strong appearances this year, and few more than Stuart Macrae, showing off the quality of his chamber music on an album from the Hebrides Ensemble on the excellent Delphian label. We enjoyed a number of online and in-person concerts from the English Symphony Orchestra and Kenneth Woods, which were capped by an outstanding recording of Adrian Williams’ Symphony no.1, a commendable raising of the flag for new British music

During 2022 we made a couple of visits to the outskirts of jazz, in the company of super group Flock – their excellent self titled debut – and a triumphant and experimental return from Szun Waves.

On the dancier side of things, Heavenly Recordings excelled themselves this year with no fewer than six collections of remixes! We loved the first two instalments, which acted as a prelude to the utterly essential third and fourth volumes which brought together remixes from the much missed Andrew Weatherall.

The Haçienda celebrated 40 years since its inception with a handsome package from Cherry Red, while the best DJ mix honour goes to Cinthie – her contribution to !K7’s DJ Kicks mix series really was a thing of pure dancefloor enjoyment. So, too, was a John Morales-edited compilation devoted to the art of Teddy Pendergrass, vocalist for Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

Cultured music for the discerning dancefloor came our way from Au Suisse, a welcome reunion for Morgan Geist and Kelley Polar, and also from Hot Chip, who further explored their emotions with an excellent and heartfelt eighth album. Moderat, returning after a long absence, went more for the jugular with the thrilling More D4ta

With all that said and done, what would an Arcana album of the year look like? Something like this…the most listened to long player of the year in these parts, Fleeting Future – a vibrant offering from Akusmi which channelled all sorts of intriguing influences into something wonderfully original:

We will have a few more reviews to come over this week – but for now, we thank all our readers for your visits and wish you a happy, peaceful and regenerative Christmas holiday season. Oh, and a Happy New Year for 2023!

Switched On – The Black Dog: Music For Dead Airports (Dust Science Recordings)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This provocative title of a new EP release from Sheffield duo The Black Dog refers all the way back to Brian Eno’s celebrated four-part ambient work, Music For Airports – and also to the much more recent Music For Real Airports, a successful album from the duo released in 2010.

Here they present four tracks of a deeply personal nature, lamenting the demise of Sheffield’s two attempts at building lasting airports. The recordings were, in the duo’s words, “written in Sheffield airports, car parks and on the land where both once stood, channelling what should have been, instead of the feverish nightmares they became. Once again we find ourselves reflecting on the difference and why it has to be so.”

What’s the music like?

Dark, but also comforting in its ambience. The personal connection comes across, too, especially if you listen with the names of the airports in mind. Each of the four tracks is spread over a broad canvas – appropriate, given the sprawling nature of the sites under musical observation.

Mother Of Mine (GLA Airport) is first, based on a drone but with a slow oscillation between two principal pitches in the mid-treble. The variety comes from the slowly shifting bass and the changing shape of the field recordings in the middle ground.

The template set, the EP moves on to SHF Is Dead, which carries more worrisome feelings within its sharper tones, accentuated by the steady tread of the kick drum, revealing a dub influence. The bleak canvas of ISA DSA is up next, a true drone that gradually reveals more colour and solace as it opens out. Finally Sleep Deprivation Holiday presents a wall of sound, a drone that sounds like operating machinery but which offers an ambience all of its own.

Does it all work?

Yes – the four tracks work well as a thought-provoking sequence, and though they are describing man-made architecture there is a good deal of emotion at their core.

Is it recommended?

It is. The Black Dog continue to draw strong links between music and architecture, revealing in the process the emotion that is often unspoken when we talk about functional buildings. There is a certain beauty in their work, dark but also rather majestic – and because of this, Music For Dead Airports leaves a subtle but lasting impact.

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On Record – BBC Concert Orchestra / Bramwell Tovey – Poulenc: Les Animaux modèles, Sinfonietta (Chandos)

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Poulenc
Sinfonietta (1947-48)
Two movements from ‘Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel’ (1921, revised 1957)
Pastourelle from L’Éventail de Jeanne (1927)
Les Animaux modèles (complete ballet) (1940-42)

BBC Concert Orchestra / Bramwell Tovey

Chandos CHSA5260 [74’22″’]
Producer Brian Pidgeon Engineers Ralph Couzens, Alexander James
Recorded 10-12 March 2022 at Watford Colosseum

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This collection of colourful works for orchestra by Francis Poulenc has as its main work the ballet Les Animaux modèles, based on The Fables of Jean de la Fontaine. A vibrant work, it clearly had huge significance for the composer, who started on its composition after the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940, his aim ‘to find a reason to hope for the future of my country’. It received its first performance at the Paris Opera in 1942.

The ballet is symbolic, summarised in Nigel Simeone’s excellent booklet note about ‘a celebration of France’s past at its most lustrous’ than a collection of charming animal stories. It does however bring the story to life from the outset, with a vivid description of the dawn cutting to sharply characteristic portrayals of The Bear and The Two Companions, the former portrayed through an excellent horn solo, The Grasshopper and the Ant, The Amorous Lion, The Middle-aged Man and His Two Mistresses, Death and the Woodcutter, The Two Cockerels and finally The Midday Meal.

Complementing the ballet is the Sinfonietta, written for the BBC Third Programme and first heard in 1948. Initially the main themes of the work were to be part of a String Quartet that Poulenc was working on in 1945, but after its abandonment his friend and fellow-composer Georges Auric recognised the potential of the musical material. The work is dedicated to him in acknowledgement.

Completing the disc are two movements from Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel, a collaborative single act ballet with Auric and the other members of composer collective Les Six, of which Poulenc was a leading member. There is also a soft-centred Pastourelle from another such collaborative piece, L’Éventail de Jeanne.

Very sadly this is the final recording made by the BBC Concert Orchestra’s principal conductor, Bramwell Tovey – completed just four months before his sad death from cancer at the age of 69.

What’s the music like?

In a word, colourful. Les animaux modèles is unquestionably the star turn, brilliantly played and characterised in this recording. Poulenc’s music is richly tuneful and beautifully orchestrated, often showing the influence of Stravinsky but realised with his own flair and mischievous humour. The central section of The Grasshopper and The Ant is a case in point, where a thrillingly brisk section cuts to an enchanting violin cadenza, the music briefly held in a spell until its release by shrill trumpets.

The Amorous Lion is a scene of great contrasts, with orchestral outbursts and volleys of percussion cutting to tender asides from string and woodwind choirs. The most substantial section – and arguably music – can be found in The Two Cockerels, where Poulenc realises music of great power and depth to portray the combat of the two birds. The surging climactic point, halfway through, is music of particularly strong feeling and resolve, Poulenc’s sentiments against the war reaching their heartfelt climax – before powerful exchanges between brass and the final toll on low piano. With passions largely spent, The Midday Meal provides a regal epilogue.

The slighter movements are no less fun, and The Middle-aged Man and his Two Mistresses scurries along furtively. Following Poulenc’s synopsis is enormously helpful, signposting the composer’s pictorial responses to the storyline as well as emphasising his wit.

In spite of its name, the Sinfonietta is one of Poulenc’s most substantial compositions. Far from being a slight, frothy work, it has a big-boned structure easily outdoing those dimensions, lasting nearly half an hour. Its convincing melodic arguments are led by the assertive first theme, drawing parallels with the Organ Concerto for its bite and resolve, while the second theme, beautifully realised here, brings mellow woodwind colouring. The second movement is a lively scherzo, balanced with tender asides that are fully realised in the slow third movement, a lyrical and colourful Andante cantabile. The brisk finale signs off with a flourish.

The two movements from Les Mariés de la Tour Eiffel are short but mischievous and entertaining, with humourous trombone interventions, while the Pastourelle is a charming addition.

Does it all work?

Yes. These are fresh, vibrant performances given with evident affection by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Bramwell Tovey brings out the colourful orchestrations, allows the lyrical melodies a bit of heart-on-sleeve approach where appropriate, and brings rhythmically sharp responses too. Poulenc’s colourful writing is brought to the fore, along with the melancholic undertones his music often carries.

Is it recommended?

Yes, on many levels. The quality of the music, the excellent Chandos recordings from Watford Colosseum and some very fine performances from which Bramwell Tovey takes his lead. The icing on the cake is the choice of Henri Rousseau’s Monkeys and Parrot in Virgin Forest as cover art. It is the ideal complement for a wonderful album.

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For more information and purchasing options on this release, visit the Chandos website