This year CRD Records are marking their 50th anniversary as a label with something of a refresh. Whereas the initials once stood for Continental Record Distributors, they are now undergoing a subtle rebrand to stand for Classical ReDefined.
I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to an excellent label, particularly in the fields of chamber, instrumental and choral music, by way of a celebratory playlist which you can find on Tidal by clicking on the link below.
It includes some cornerstones of the repertoire from established CRD artists, such as pianist Paul Crossley in Ravel, Fauré and Takemitsu, Hamish Milne in Weber and Medtner, and an early Nash Ensemble treasure, their recording of Hummel’s ‘Military’ Septet.
Also appearing are L’Ecole D’Orphée, with cellist Susan Sheppard starring in Vivaldi, and some English gems from New College Choir Oxford under Edward Higginbottom. You can listen here:
Morgane Lhote returns as Hologram Teen, the alias under which she has shown her enjoyment of electrofunk and disco. Captain Fluo is described as ‘a love letter to the Paris of the 1980s’, where slinky disco was the order of the day.
Lhote was once the keyboardist with Stereolab, from 1995-2001, a period many would consider to be the group’s imperial phase. Alongside the musical project Garden with James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco), she established Hologram Teen ten years back, in 2015.
What’s the music like?
Two words – breezy and summery. There is a broad sense of musical enjoyment here, immediately transmitted through a selection of dancefloor instrumentals and quality vocal guest slots.
Occasionally Lhote enjoys flirtations with the 1990s – Pack Ur Patience having a riff Electronic would have been proud of – but more often than not her joyous reference points are the 1980s.
She heads straight for the disco dancefloor with Actarus, staying there for a change of tempo as the low-slung funk of Connection transpacifique kicks in, here with a confidential but confident vocal from Sandra Zettpunkt, the nearest we get to Stereolab in musical form.
Zettpunkt appears again on the fun Pack Ur Patience, where chimes and chunky basslines trade off, while Eric D. Clark appears for an oblique Why Ya Wanna Wait?Frêquence Gaie, with Maxwell Farrington, is a richly scored slow disco number, its deadpan vocal making Phil Oakey prick up his ears.
Chunky groovers abound on the instrumental tracks, with Walkman, Lust Pill! and Memphis Sounds all good fun, the latter a quickstep with bubbly keyboards.
Does it all work?
It does. Hologram Teen treads just the right line between confidence and vulnerability, enjoying itself along the way.
Is it recommended?
Heartily. Summery sounds that raise a smile from the outset, with a blend of sassy songwriting and instrumental craft. Captain Fluo will raise many smiles.
For fans of… Stereolab, Human League, Can, Lipps Inc., Eurythmics
M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel like to set themselves a challenge when it comes to recording an album as Matmos. Having made entire long players from plastic, or the parts of a washing machine, it comes as relatively little surprise to find that Metallic Life Review is restricted to metallic objects only.
Yet the story goes much deeper than that, with field recordings included to give the album a deeply personal relevance, including scenes from tour, pots and pans from the pair’s childhood, and sounds paying tribute to close friend and steel guitarist Susan Alcorn, along with recently departed director David Lynch.
What’s the music like?
One of the takeaways from this album is that metal can be graceful as well as percussive, and Matmos work in a way that brings unexpected emotions bubbling to the surface.
The tributes to Alcorn and Lynch are especially profound, with Changing States including the former’s work, unfolding gracefully and with a watery profile. The Chrome Reflects Our Image is darker and more volatile, in the spirit of Lynch, but with that characteristic humour that Matmos have always carried near the surface. The Rust Belt, which you can watch below, is a remarkably clever invention:
Speaking of humour, Norway Doorway is a great way to start the album, a creaking door recorded on tour used as the lynchpin for a genuinely funny track. Proof that there is music in everything we hear!
On the other side of the coin sits the title track, whose duration means it has the whole of side two on the LP. Recorded live in the studio, Metallic Life Review is a compelling piece of work and also the most explicitly rhythmic, taking in dub and slow disco as it sets a course. Gradually the improvisations take hold and the music moves where it wants with flair and unpredictability, building in power as it becomes a single virtuoso instrument.
Does it all work?
Yes, it does – somehow! You do need to be in the right mood for Matmos, but at all times their creativity and originality shines through.
Is it recommended?
Thoroughly. Fans will love and recognise the pair’s blend of humour and instinctive creativity, and it shines through here in music of fresh disposition. You won’t hear another album like this in 2025, that’s for sure!
Christine Newby, as one of the elder stateswomen of electronic music, is also one of its figureheads.
Even when not accounting for her work as a member of Throbbing Gristle, and the many inspiring solo ventures and collaborations she has enjoyed as Cosey Fanny Tutti, she has more recently been ensuring that musicians such as Delia Derbyshire got their dues, through the Re-Sisters book. A biopic of her colourful life, including her provocative and inspirational work in pornography, is in the offing. 2t2, meanwhile, is the latest chapter in her own music. Representing a return to relatively full health since her and partner Chris Carter experienced serious illness in Covid times, it is an album celebrating that freedom but also responding to the difficult times the world is experiencing.
What’s the music like?
Often darkly coloured, and occasionally foreboding, but ultimately giving hope. If this were a debut album, it would be celebrated for its maturity and inventiveness – but also its restless spirit.
For Newby is still all about opening doors to see what’s behind them, and that pioneering spirit informs the best work here. Her cornet brings a much-needed innocence to a track such as To Be, with its glowering colours that evoke The War Of The Worlds, and also the mysterious Stolen Time.
Threnody, dedicated to Derbyshire, is warmer – and so to is Respair, led by harmonica. The drama is saved for last, as the album comes to a head with Limbic, however, a track with vivid flashes of colour and a tendency to turn its back on tonality altogether.
Does it all work?
It does. 2t2 is not always an easy listen, but Newby has never been about making things easier for her listeners. A challenge is to be encouraged and is set here through one of her most listenable albums, presenting a wide spectrum of colour.
Is it recommended?
For sure. Cosey Fanni Tutti remains one of the most compelling figures in electronic music, and this is another fine opus to add to the roll of honour. Worth getting to know over time for a full and lasting appreciation.
For fans of… Death In Vegas, Jah Wobble, Siouxsie and the Banshees, 808 State
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