Tag Archives: Mute

Switched On – Maps: Counter Melodies (Mute)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

James Chapman is breaking new ground with his fifth long player under the Maps pseudonym.

Whereas we have previously admired his crafting of richly coloured soundscapes and winsome melodies, Chapman has gone for broke this time and made a number of concessions in the direction of 1990s dance music.

This brings a whole new element to his style of compositions, and an album that began to form in the wake of his 2019 opus Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss. now has its own platform. In addition, Counter Melodies is structured as a DJ set might be.

What’s the music like?

In a word, euphoric. James Chapman has been sitting on this natural instinct for a while, and right from the dazzling salvo of synths starting Witchy Feel it is clear that he knows exactly how to make people dance.

As Counter Melodies progresses, the energy levels remain turned up to the max. Windows Open is upfront and brightly coloured, while a plethora of rave references and rhythm patterns lead to euphoric breakdowns, best experienced in the likes of Lack Of Sleep – which was indeed inspired by insomnia, a time of worry put to good use.

Heya Yaha demonstrates a rhythmic versatility we haven’t seen before from Chapman, with a really good rhythm, given a more jagged profile. Thru Lights is lent an exotic colour with what sounds like a cimbalom, typical of this album’s willingness to throw expectations out of the window.

Does it all work?

It does – colourful, energetic and pleasingly rough around the edges.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. A surprise for Maps fans, which may take a little bit of getting used to – but James Chapman has succeeded in bringing the living, breathing, sweating dancefloor right to the middle of your living room.

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Switched On: Alessandro Cortini: Scuro Chiaro (Mute)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

A new album from Nine Inch Nails’ multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Cortini, Scuro Chiaro is a play on the word ‘chiaroscuro’, which means ‘the use of light and shadow to give strong contrast’.

As he did on previous solo opus Volume Massimo, Cortini has revisited old personal recordings for the building blocks for a new piece of work. Using these sounds and elements in a new context has enabled him to compose eight dramatic pieces using the contrast of the title to powerful effect.

What’s the music like?

Cortini’s music is compelling from the off, operating in long phrases that seem quite relaxed to start with, but actually build up a good deal of tension. This is heightened by the use of contrasting tones – some harsh distortion is involved, but that is complemented and often cushioned by soft synth pads. The long, sustained notes of Ecco set the scene over the steady heartbeat of a bass drum, after which Chiaroscuro itself stretches over a wide canvas, the music slowly shifting in a gorgeous chorale.

The pace of the album is refreshing, Cortini unwilling to put too much on the palette when the colours in place are already striking. Sempre is a great example of this, creating great tension with the slightest of pitch shifts that puts it in and out of harmony. Verde also has minimal roots, growing from primitive beginnings to a powerful whole, all the while using the same loop.

A few earlier influences creep into Cortini’s work, notably early Jean Michel Jarre in Lo Specchio, while the work of German pioneers of the 1970s are also visible at times. Yet this is music with a deeply personal resonance too.

Does it all work?

Yes. The colours Cortini uses are striking, and the structuring of his tracks is beautifully achieved. Not a note is wasted.

Is it recommended?

It is – an album of electronica with real conviction and depth. Scuro Chiaro is ambient music, but not without scenes of tension and drama.

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Switched On – Sunroof: Electronic Improvisations Vol. 1 (Mute)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Sunroof is surely the longest running collaboration in electronic music yet to have released an album….until now. The duo, Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones, have long traded Improvisations in private using modular synths, a practice dating back to 1982 when the pair worked together on Depeche Mode’s Construction Time Again.

Miller, who has run the Mute label for four decades, and Jones, a prolific producer, engineer and artist, used Sunroof as a remix project from the 1990s onwards but now, with their friendship about to begin its fifth decade, we finally hear the fruits of their original electronic labours.

What’s the music like?

Timeless – in the sense that this is music borne of the 1980s but feels like it was only made yesterday. The easy style in which the two composers work leads to music that unfolds naturally but still has a keen structure.

Each title is marked by the date of its inception, and the eight tracks vary between deep, moody drones (1.1 – 7.5.19 and 1.3 – 30.5.19) to flickering lights of treble, which we get in 1.2 – 30.5.19 and 1.6  – 7.5.19.

The drones have a little interference around them with white noise, but the harmony is generally consonant. The lighter tracks have more wandering melodies and move on a whim, 1.6 with a motorised movement that becomes more probing and then vanishes into thin air. 1.7 – 30.5.19 a Star Trek like noise on a loop, burning a trace on headphones, then.
1.4 – 18.6.19 is really excellent and could develop into a powerful club track twice its length, while 1.8 – 2.3.19 is the closest we get to a drum beat, a squelchy thud beating moments in time, underneath a bubbling bass and busy treble.

Does it all work?

Yes – and the more you listen, especially on headphones, the more you appreciate the expert layering of parts and intersection of the musical motifs.

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. It is great to have Miller and Jones committing their friendship to record in this way, and the musical chemistry between them is clear. Hopefully this will lead to further installments!

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