Let’s Dance – Various Artists – Sven Väth: What I Used To Play (Cocoon Recordings)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is a proper labour of love from Cocoon Recordings, in honour of the rich musical heritage of their leader and founder Sven Väth. It is, in effect, a 36-track autobiography telling not just the story of his early DJing career through the 1980s, but a compendium of important electronic music released in that time.

Väth started the mammoth project during lockdown, a response to being unable to attend any parties or club nights of his own. Inevitably he started looking back at past successes and good times, and the idea of a full bodied compilation was born.

For vinyl afficionados, the collection is released on a set containing a dozen individually coloured 12” records, with full size portraits of Sven and each embossed with silver hot foil. There is also a triple CD release.

What’s the music like?

To say there are some classics in here would be an understatement, for the tracklisting is packed with electronic musical royalty. Kraftwerk’s Computerwelt, New Order’s Blue Monday, Frankie Knuckles and Jamie Principle in Your Love and the Andy Weatherall mix of Primal Scream’s Loaded are just four of the heavyweights here.

Most listeners will surely own these and not need them again, so the real interest comes when you dig deeper into the collection. Here you find uplifting anthems such as Hugh Masekela’s Don’t Go Lose It Baby, the self-titled Balearic classic from Sueño Latino, the early landmark Break 4 Love from Raze and Model 500’s No UFOs.

A Split create a real buzz with Second – Flesh, while Anne Clark’s Our Darkness is a thrill. Bobby Konders’ Nervous Acid works wonders with squiggly synthesizer lines, while one of the Afrobeat highlights is Le Serpent, from Guem Et Zaka Percussion. Logic System’s Unit starts the compilation, while Väth’s own collaborative effort 16 Bit gets a very welcome runout with Where Are You?

Does it all work?

It does – a thrilling documentary of some era-defining music. Whether or not the package itself is desirable will depend on the depth of peoples’ wallets, for the 12” box will set you back a cool €200.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically – few history lessons are as enjoyable as this! Musically it is a no-brainer, but financial constraints may dictate otherwise.

Listen & Buy

You can explore purchase options via Sven Väth’s Bandcamp site, while you can hear musical clips on the Juno website

On Record – Leland Whitty: Anyhow (Innovative Leisure)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Leland Whitty is a multi-instrumentalist, a member of the BADBADNOTGOOD group from Toronto – in which he normally plays saxophone and guitar. In true jazz fashion, however, his talents appear to be completely unrestricted, for on this record alone he provides composition, production and contributions on guitar, keyboards, various woodwind, percussion and strings.

Work on Anyhow began in 2020, with Whitty following a course influenced by cinema and photography. Two of his bandmates, Alexander Sowinski (drums) and Chester Hansen (bass) are guests on the album.

What’s the music like?

Anyhow has been out for a while, since December 2022 to be exact – but it has cropped up in Arcana’s listening patterns for the last few weeks and definitely deserves a review of its own!

It is a highly attractive and pictorial album, from the dappled textures and languid loops that dress Svalbard to the saxophone climbing towards the higher reaches towards the end of the title track.

In between there is much to enjoy. The expansive Glass Moon has a descriptive saxophone commentary, while Awake is actually pretty hazy, with sighing strings and a nicely jumbled keyboard solo. Windows takes time out for reflection (pun intended!), basking in some attractive textures, before the saxophone takes an assertive lead. Meanwhile Silver Rain has strong hints of Debussy in its melody.

Does it all work?

Yes. Whitty has a keen ear for orchestration, and allows free improvisation without ever tipping over into indulgence.

Is it recommended?

It is, heartily. Leland Whitty’s work marks him out as a descriptive and emotive composer, who says a great deal in shorter musical sentences. Attractively clothed, this is an album to savour.

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On Record – Young Fathers: Heavy Heavy (Ninja Tune)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the fourth album from Edinburgh-based trio Young Fathers, and their first since 2018. It fulfils their pledge to go back to first principles, to make music in their basement studio with just equipment and microphones.

The back to basics approach extends to the music, with ten tracks despatched with very little fuss. As the band say, “The weigh that we’ve been carrying is now yours. Do what you want with it.”

What’s the music like?

There is something very elemental and primal about the Young Fathers these days. Part of that would seem to be down to the African percussion that comes to the fore in a lot of the tracks on this album, but the vocals also communicate with remarkable strength.

The 1-2 punch of opening duo Rice and I Saw make a striking impact, establishing the tone of an album that feels on one hand a celebration of the human spirit, and on the other a protest against the ways of the world.

Tracks such as Ululation strip everything back to basics, with extraordinary vocals that hit the heights against an undulating backing track. Here the music feels new, bringing together influences as diverse as Leftfield, Animal Collective, Mos Def and Afrobeat. The latter influence takes thrilling command of both this song and Sink Or Swim, the band operating with an urgency rarely heard in new music.

Does it all work?

Very much so. This is a lean album, its ten tracks lasting just over half an hour – and there is no sign at all of any padding. Its emotions feel wholly authentic, running from triumph to sorrow and back often in the space of just one song.

Is it recommended?

It is. Young Fathers’ first two albums were compelling, but this chapter contains their deepest revelations yet – along with the feeling there is much more to come with their development as a band.

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Switched On – Gaspar Claus: Scaphandre (InFiné)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

It is helpful to reproduce in full the accompanying notes Gaspar Claus has written for this release on Bandcamp:

“Scaphandre is the story of an image found in a lost time on the internet a few years ago. It inspired two sound pieces conceived so that one can dive into it as into the sea.

Once their composition was finished, I looked for the origin of this image. It is one of the very first submarine pictures in history, taken by Louis Boutan in 1893 in the bay of Banyuls-sur-Mer… my home town. The original photo as well as a fantastic series of archives documenting this event can be found at the Arago Laboratory, where I often went as a child, after school, amazed by what the researchers were showing me. They just had never told me this story. This is how this record found its scenery.”

The two pieces Claus brought together on Scaphandre (which translates as ‘diving suit’ or ‘space suit’ in English) are described as ‘an abstract and mysterious B-side of Tancade’, the album released by the French cellist and composer towards the end of 2021.

Both pieces were written alongside the composition of the album, and are broader in scope, each lasting more than 10 minutes.

What’s the music like?

Compelling, and often deeply mysterious.

Inside starts right from the depths, the instrument detuned by a distance of more than two tones. The scratchy, almost pitchless sounds gradually form a rich chord as layers of sound build up, until a rich, wooden wall of sound is secured, constantly evolving and yet acting as an immovable block. As this progresses the treble pitches start to gather and swirl, slowly orbiting the centre. There is a forbidding intensity about the progression of this piece.

Beyond has more consonant harmonies in its beginnings and occupies a safer space, suspended in a rich drone of mostly G major – but with another massive wall of sound to back it up. Gradually the music lifts, and the foundation drops away to leave mere threads, the elements of pitch dissolving into white noise.

Does it all work?

It does – but it is important to listen to these tracks in the right environment, as they are only fully impactful when a static half hour is set aside.

Is it recommended?

Yes, as a complement to the Tancade album – but if you haven’t heard that yet then it is the best place to start. Either way, Scaphandre is further proof of Gaspar Claus’s powers of invention, knowledge and deep love of the cello. He pushes its sonic boundaries further here, for sure!

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On Record – Sebastian Rochford & Kit Downes: A Short Diary (ECM)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is an album with a deeply personal touch. Dedicated to Gerard Rochford, an Aberdeen poet and father of drummer Sebastian, it is described by him as ‘a short diary of loss’, offered as ‘a sonic memory, created with love, out of need for comfort.’

Around the time of his father’s death in 2019, Seb experienced a rush of musical thoughts coming to him, even though he wasn’t looking to write anything. This became part of the grieving process, and though he initially looked to resist the urge he found that giving space to the musical thoughts was helping him cope better elsewhere. Sat at the piano, he was able to vent his feelings through the simple vehicle of a home grand piano, and later the drum kit.

To help him he enlisted regular collaborator, pianist Kit Downes, and the pair recorded the music at the Rochford family home, capturing its ambience on record.

The final piece, Even Now I Think Of Her, is a composition by Gerard himself, sung into his phone and sent to Sebastian.

What’s the music like?

There is a beautiful and often heart stopping intimacy to this music. When experienced late in the day it is a companion for thought and reflection, turning inwards towards the centre of the mind on thoughtful pieces like Night Of Quiet, which at other times opens outwards and bringing the departed spirits and surrounding environment into the conversation.

This Tune Your Ears Will Never Here – a heartbreaking title – is a beautiful piece with which to start, setting out the hymn-like disposition of a lot of Rochford’s musical thinking. It begins with the piano intoning a solemn sequence in block chords, yet distracted by bigger thoughts at play.

The drums are very sensitively used, very much in the background – while on a piece like Love You Grampa complementing the piano’s free-thinking block chords. The first impression here is adding some well-judged percussion to a languid Debussy piece, but then the piece opens out into something more playful.

On Silver Light the music hints at folksong in the right hand of the piano, with modal melodies and light punctuation from the drums. Rochford’s compositions are capable of sustaining their concentrated thought for longer, too – and as Ten Of Us explores the lower ranges of the piano, the audience is effectively placed in the room next door, listening intently. It ends with a show of inner strength, Downes playing ever more expansively as the drum kit also intensifies.

Gerard’s composition fits hand in glove with the rest of the album, its right hand melody lightly insistent and dressed with brushed snare drum. It must have been almost unbearably poignant to record.

Does it all work?

It does. The instinctive nature of the music is wholly absorbing, and although Rochford’s father may have passed on, the strength of his character frequently comes across in writing that is thoughtful, reverent and lightly amusing.

Is it recommended?

It is. This is a concentrated, intimate set of musical studies and meditations, and clearly worked as part of the grieving process for Rochford. It is a beautiful, poignant album for musical reflection and reparation.

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You can explore listening and purchasing options for A Short Diary at the ECM Records website