Tag Archives: Erased Tapes

On Record – Sheherazaad: Qasr (Erased Tapes)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the first music on Erased Tapes from American artist Sheherazaad, a native to the Bay Area who brought together a number of musicians in New York to record this mini-album.

Sheher has North and South Indian heritage, and became disorientated by moving between the two and America, though when she settled in New York for study she discovered the city’s South Asian arts community and an electronic culture emanating from the UK, which brought her into contact with Arooj Aftab – who produced this record. Singing in Urdu, she was joined by musicians including Basma Edrees (Egypt), Gilbert Mansour (Lebanon), and Firas Zreik (Palestine). The result, Qasr, translates to ‘castle’, or ‘fortress’, and is a deeply personal document of Sheherazaad’s own unique origins.

What’s the music like?

Compelling. There is an outdoor feel to this music, as though recorded barefoot in the very places Sheher sings about.

The first song, Mashoor, features the guitar of Ria Modak – and it proves the ideal foil for the voice, both low in pitch but conversing intimately. Dhund Lo Mujhe brings a burst of energy, though not necessarily positive, for the outbursts of the fiddle are there to help portray ‘a very specific insanity, that of the immigrant experience’. Sheher’s inflections and the pizzicato play off against each other before the voice soars, its vibrato inspiring the fiddle to greater heights.

Koshish (Try) is conversational, the reverberant acoustic capturing the Californian heat, while Khatam (Finished) travels back through time to the accompaniment of rich improvisation on the sustained piano. The final Lehya, the most substantial of the five songs, takes us to a mythical city, its nocturnal beginning the basis for growth to all sorts of colourful shades, before the closing chant, a soft but moving call for freedom.

Does it all work?

It does – though the levels of intensity mean that for full appreciation you need to listen in an environment where you can give Sheherazaad’s music the level of attention it deserves.

Is it recommended?

Yes. This is an artist with a huge amount to say, and the feeling is that on this mini album she is just dipping her toe in the water. There is a whole lot more to come from this explosive and original talent.

For fans of… Khruangbin, William Onyeabor, Shida Shahabi

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,094 – Sunday 25 February 2024

New music – David Allred – Hey Stranger (Take 2) (Erased Tapes)

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by Ben Hogwood

The latest post from the Erased Tapes label on Bandcamp is a deeply personal one. Portland based recording artist David Allred chose the mark the birthday of a close friend on 5 November with a new song. Nothing too unusual about that, you might think – only the stranger has been missing for 12 years. In his own words, Allred says:

“‘Hey Stranger’ is about a close and deeply troubled lifelong friend who disappeared without any trace or explanation, and the experience of navigating an undying paranoia that he might appear back into my life when I least expect it. I find myself scanning crowded public places to assure that he’s not in my presence as often as I wonder where he is and how he is doing. It’s his birthday on November 5 and here is Hey Stranger (Take 2), written in dedication to him. Happy Birthday, J. You are deeply loved and missed, and you always have a friend when you need one.”

A deeply moving utterance, Hey Stranger is both troubling and strangely comforting – in the fact that, although missing, Allred’s friend still has people out there thinking of him and rooting for him.

Let’s hope this desperately sad story has a peaceful and somehow uplifting ending.

Published post no.2,001 – Monday 6 November 2023

New music – Hatis Noit: Thor (Matthew Herbert Rework) (Erased Tapes)

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How reassuring to know that the art of the remix is still in good hands!

Matthew Herbert has been a practiced exponent of the form for at least 25 years now, but this remake of Hatis Noit’s Thor shows that he continues to find new and imaginative ways of presenting other people’s music. The process had an effect on both artists. “When I first listened to the sonic world of Matthew’s Thor rework”, says Hatis, “I felt so nostalgic that I cried. The song evokes in me an interactive energy exchange between forest spirits and people singing and dancing around a fire. It is an even more colourful and playful representation of the landscape that I wanted to portray.”

Herbert, meanwhile, talked about his approach to the task in hand. “I liked the devotional aspect of the original so recorded a few round glass and steel bowls to create a kind of found-gamelan set of sounds. I wanted it to feel like you walked out of a festival and stumbled across some voices and people in the woodland nearby, like an auditory hallucination where more modern techniques merged with ancient-sounding voices.”

Have a listen below and see what you think:

Switched On – Penguin Cafe: Rain Before Seven… (Erased Tapes)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the fifth album for Penguin Cafe in their second incarnation under Arthur Jeffes. As its title perhaps implies, Rain Before Seven… is looking to reassert the band’s Englishness, while simultaneously looking to recapture the slightly whimsical and humourous approach Arthur’s dad Simon made so natural in the group’s first period. There is also a concerted effort to use more of Jeffes’ considerable percussion arsenal, drawing on objects from around the globe to give the music a cosmopolitan edge.

What’s the music like?

Arthur wholeheartedly succeeds in his aims, for Rain Before Seven…is a fine piece of work and one that will frequently make its listener smile.

There is a wide-eyed innocence to the strings that come into Galahad, while Re Budd relocates to the Caribbean with an accurate evocation of steelpans. Goldfinch Yodel takes on the air of a country dance, while the more serious Might Be Something becomes a heartfelt reflection.

Does it all work?

Yes. Richly scored and packed with melodic content, this is an album with a great deal for the listener to enjoy.

Is it recommended?

It is – and while the other four albums under Arthur Jeffes have been successful, this goes the extra mile for colour and flair. The best modern Penguin Cafe album yet.

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Switched On – Rival Consoles: Overflow (Erased Tapes)

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rival-consoles-overflow

reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Ryan Lee West’s new album under the pseudonym of Rival Consoles was written for a dance production, Overflow, choreographed by Alexander Whitley. The aim of Whitley’s work was to explore ‘themes of the human and emotional consequences of life surrounded by data’…echoing ‘the concept of social media, advertising, marketing companies and political factions exploiting our data to gain wealth, political advantage and sow division.’

West noted the potential of the combined artform to ‘create an otherworldly space the listener/viewer can escape to and explore’. A big feature of the finished work is a light sculpture created by Children of the Light, with a long LED bar that moves around the stage.

What’s the music like?

Rival Consoles responds to his theme with music of real presence and tension. Right from the off there is an air of foreboding to Monster, with its brooding colours and slightly irregular pitches and rhythms stretched over ten minutes.

I Like ratchets this up still further. Mashing up a short vocal sample, which is effective but also infuriating as the speaker never quite gets to the point. The Cloud Oracle also treats speech intriguingly, with a held note that has talking heads spun around it.

Flow State is a thrilling ride at a high tempo, with crossrhythms generated by the keyboards that are redolent of Steve Reich and which have plenty of opportunity for development over twelve minutes, the percussion hammering more incessantly on the door.

All these examples are an indication of the invention Ryan Lee West gets in response to Whitley’s brief, resulting in music that pushes him further technically and creatively from the previous album Articulation.

Does it all work?

It does. Overflow is a compelling piece of work, a musical equivalent to the striking colours that adorn its cover.

Is it recommended?

Yes. There was a general feeling that Articulation did not quite meet Ryan Lee West’s full potential as Rival Consoles, effective though it was. There can be no such doubt here.

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