Tag Archives: Because Music

Switched On – Brandt Brauer Frick: Multi Faith Prayer Room (Because Music)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

For their latest album, the trio of Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer and Paul Frick wanted to go back to the basics of their first. With a primary aim to make people dance through minimal means, they set about their task, in their words bringing in ‘a narrative element directly inspired by the way a night in a club unfolds, as you go through these different experiences’.

A big part of their thinking was a hook-up with speech artist Mykki Blanco, who takes up vocal duties on ‘Act One’. From that the trio looked to bring in a range of vocalists from different scenes and backgrounds, also preparing a questionnaire that they sent to 500 people asking for their vision of the future and experiences of the present.

What’s the music like?

There is not doubt that Multi Faith Prayer Room sees Brandt Brauer Frick reganing their vitality. They do this through a really well constructed album that takes its listener out on to the dancefloor but then back to the side wall for contemplation.

The dance-based tracks are thrilling, visceral pieces of work, and none more so than the Blanco-fronted Act One. While the vocals won’t appeal to all, his is a gripping tale of clubbing experiences, highs and lows. By contrast, some of the people asked for their vision give it on the multilayered vocal tracks Future and Faith, both full of thought provoking clips.

The instrumental tracks show off the group’s prowess in writing for different forces, especially the way the full scored orchestral intro Side segues into the familiar jagged piano that we hear in Ready To Connect. By contrast Dotted Line and Perpetuate are minimal, dot-dash affairs that cross rhythms to hypnotic effect, the latter stretching towards Orbital in its construction.

The vocal tracks are richly varied, too, from the satin voice of Azekel to the brilliant Duane Harden, whose Closer To You is a hands in the air highlight later on. KOM_I makes a strong impression on Soba, while This Feeling finds Sophie Hunger bringing out the emotion.

Does it all work?

It does. The combination of raw, first principles dance music and thoughtful, song-based material is strong – and the musical inspiration is consistent throughout, with plenty of riffs to latch on to as in all good BBF tracks.

Is it recommended?

It is indeed – Brandt Brauer Frick playing to their strengths and producing some of their best music.

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On Record – The Limiñanas & Laurent Garnier: De Película (Because Music)

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liminanas-garnier

reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the tale of a friendship, a musical spark and the concept album that came out of it. Laurent Garnier met Lionel and Marie Limiñana back in 2017, and the three bonded initially over Lionel’s ringtone, The Kingsmen’s Louie Louie.

They stayed in touch, hooking up to make an album following a 1960s’ couple on a road trip. We join the pair, Juliette and Saul, at the southern border of France, near Spain, and we pass – in the words of the trio – through ‘squalid brothels, third-rate dance clubs, ‘60s vintage caravans, smack, Roger Harth and Donald Cardwell productions, distortion and fuzz-pedal sound effects. Gilles Deleuze, Professor X and the preacher from ‘The Night of the Hunter’ are some of the characters that inhabit the world of this drama-inspired record’.

Initially Lionel included some electronic beats in the album, leaning towards Garnier’s long-established techno workings, but the Frenchman rejected these in favour of keeping the Spanish duo’s psychedelic sound at the front of the mix.

What’s the music like?

Prepare for some adrenalin-fueled highs as the music of De Película takes shape. The three musical protagonists have harnessed their love of Krautrock – and especially Can – to make a set of driving musical grooves that are by turns thrilling and mesmeric.

They express themselves through propulsive rhythms on tracks which often choose a single pitch as a bass and stick to it, creating a hypnotic groove for the listener. When pared with a spoken word narrative the music works really well. Je rentrais par le bois…definitely falls into this category with its slowly creeping melody and psychedelia, as does Juliette dans le caravane, which adopts a similar profile. Steeplechase speeds off into the distance, a thrilling rush of sound over a pulsating groove, If anything Que Calor! is even better, with the attitude of Edi Pistolas’ spoken word coursing through its veins.

Some of the slower rhythm tracks hark back to the big beat sound emanating from Brighton in the late 1990s, but ultimately go beyond that to ape the cavernous sound of late 1960s’ psychedelia . Tu tournes en boucle is one such example, while Juliette adds a smoky texture and atmospheric commentary.

Does it all work?

It does. De Película is a lot of fun, flexing its muscles but not wanting to be taken too seriously. It is easy to sense the fun Garnier and the Limiñanas had in each others’ company

Is it recommended?

Yes. Laurent Garnier’s fascinating musical evolution continues, but this collaboration reflects well on both sides, bringing out their strongest musical identities in music that gives its listener plenty of thrills and spills.

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On Record: Django Django: Glowing In The Dark (Because)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Over the course of three albums, Django Django have shown themselves to be a remarkably fluid musical group. Staying clear of genre labels and pigeon holes, they simply make the music that feels right to them in the moment – and Glowing In The Dark, their fourth long player, is no exception.

What’s the music like?

With lean textures, danceable beats and quickly moving basslines, Django Django have made an album of urgency and craft, but with a few surprises along the way too, which befits the way they work.

It is easy to get swept up in the rush of Spirals, a heady opening track with a fluid bassline. It establishes the positive mood with dazzling keyboards, jangly guitars and a catchy chorus – all elements that are kept up with Right The Wrongs.

Charlotte Gainsbourg’s guest appearance on Waking Up will raise a good many eyebrows, but for good reason as the combination works perfectly. Here and elsewhere it is the drums and bass that provide a really strong basis for the music, while the vocals reach back through the 1970s and 1960s for their source material.

There is a slight dip in form towards the end, but Hold Fast and Asking For More ensure the album ends on a high.

Does it all work?

Glowing In The Dark may lose a bit of its brightness towards the end, where the melodies are not quite so strong as they were at the beginning, but other than that it is a very strong album, with regular bursts of inspiration and some really catchy choruses and hooklines.

Is it recommended?

Yes. If you enjoyed the last album Marble Skies then you’ll warm to the winding paths of this one, added to the instinctive feel it has throughout. A record made by friends with a common love of instinctive pop music that pays homage to their record collections but keeps their own identity strong too.

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You can purchase Glowing In The Dark at the Piccadilly Records website here