Tag Archives: reviews

On Record – Harrington/Jaffe/Shiroishi: Making Colors (AKP Recordings)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Guitarist Dave Harrington, drummer Max Jaffe and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi return for a sequel to their first musical meeting Speak, Moment, recorded and released by Los Angeles label AKP Recordings in 2024.

For the sequel, they go deeper, with a record whose A-side is essentially a suite of four distinct movements. On the B-side the three tracks reflect “a growing embrace of the sonic vacuum that electronic music depends on…a heaviness that the trio’s 2024 live record Zebulon! unlocked…and an outstretched and unhurried melodic ambience”.

What’s the music like?

There is a fascinating variety of styles and textures at play on this album, rooted in avant-garde jazz but exploring musical territories of great interest to those who love ambient electronica and upfront improvisation.

The four-movement suite with which the album begins moves between ambience and ear-shredding intensity, carefully controlled and yet with the opportunity for each of the three performers to cut loose, which they do on the extended sweat street 7-QS:ZBN9_. The second half finds Shiroishi assertive on Fractal Hash, while Harrington’s studied guitar leads the long form trackerKeeper under spacious California skies, a compelling track of ambience and yet powered by a curious tension.

The frisson of live performance crackles throughout this compelling trip, and at times it is possible if not too far-fetched to sense the wide open plains of the Mojave desert.

Does it all work?

Yes. The musical chemistry between the three is compelling, as are the sound pictures they create.

Is it recommended?

It is. Making Colors is a natural progression for the trio, whose musical acumen and communication is leading them to greater heights. Making Colors is a fascinating album, and a rewarding one to follow.

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Published post no.2,867 – Friday 24 April 2026

On Record – Dan Moore: Kielder Water Music (Bandcamp)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Bristol-based composer Dan Moore made a three-day field trip to Kielder Water in 2022, having completed some extensive work into the history of the site.

This EP reflects on what he found, both from first-hand experience and from sonic material gathered from the site, which is Britain’s biggest man-made reservoir, a controversial redevelopment plan dating back to the 1960s. Dan’s music blends electronics with field recordings, interview samples and more analogue writing for strings.

Throughout the project he was mentored by film composer Dan Jones.

What’s the music like?

Consistently engaging, and pictorial.

As you might expect, the textures are wide open, but Moore approaches his audio descriptions in a number of different ways. The Architect is busy, its riffs playing backwards and forwards over a spacious backdrop, but the speed drops completely as the music pans out for VT-15, a piece of luxurious ambient textures but uncertain harmonies, using field recordings made from the tunnel underneath the valve tower. It has both depth and a glistening surface, richly coloured.

A Shift In The Land is initially uncertain of its direction, wavering uncertainly, until an emphatic string motif weighs in powerfully, dropping anchor over a distorted backing. The lapping of water is the restful backing to Mike, though the string figures above – often beautiful – are wary, too, and when dropping away in pitch leave the listener feeling uncertain.

Does it all work?

It does – and the only regret is the music isn’t longer, for there are some vivid stories here.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Kielder Water is an ambient experience but is tinged with unease, sitting on the edge of reality. Its music has the same appeal as the breathtaking scenes you encounter on a visit, and have an equally mysterious allure, too.

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Published post no.2,864 – Tuesday 21 April 2026

On Record – MF Robots: III (Part One) (Good People Records)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

MF Robots is proving to be an unstoppable train of feelgood music. The project was begun by Brand New Heavies founder Jan Kincaid together with former band vocalist Dawn Joseph, with the idea of achieving musical liberation without any ties to genre.

Despite that, soul, funk and jazz inevitably feature high in the mix, with the two linking on a series of carefree club-based songs.

What’s the music like?

Summer was invented for bands like MF Robots! Their music takes you into the sunshine with immediate effect, as soon as the opening strains of That’s The Way kick in. This breezy first song is backed up by the call to arms that is Children Of The World, a classic soul number.

Cares are well and truly thrown to the side as the album unfolds, with a style rooted somewhere in the late 1970s of Earth, Wind & Fire but with Brazilian, jazz and soul thrown in to the melting pot in liberal measure. Through The Pain is the pick of these freer numbers, a persuasive sway to its rhythms and heat-soaked keyboards.

The Pressure offers a sultry complement to the quicker tracks, while Glide, a love story, and Hello Sunshine offer up radio-friendly choruses. Lay It Back, meanwhile, harks back to the best, communal numbers of the Brand New Heavies.

Does it all work?

The best indication of the effectiveness of this album is that once it finishes you’ll want to hear it all over again. It may be short, but III delivers!

Is it recommended?

Yes, enthusiastically. Dawn Joseph has a great voice, and the band deliver summery funk in abundance. If you have an acre of sunshine to fill, use MF Robots as your soundtrack!

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Published post no.2,853 – Friday 10 April 2026

Switched On – Hawksmoor: Am I Conscious Now? (Before I Die)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

James McKeown continues to move on apace with his Hawksmoor project – now numbering 13 releases in under a decade. His speed of thought is ironic, since the music he makes is not typically fast in any way, rooted in immersive ambience.

Though, as McKeown says, “While rooted in ambience, the work frequently shifts into more unsettling territory. Song structures and striking melodies appear more often than expected; ideas are sparked by psychogeography, environmental influences and hauntological drift.”

For Am I Conscious Now?, McKeown spent time shaping his music with the help of psychedelic compound 5-MeO-DMT, keen to explore how the substance might affect his music. The compound is supposed to clear the mind rather than overload it. Again, in McKeown’s words, “It overrides the body and forces surrender. It completely changed my life, outlook and perspective.”

What’s the music like?

Am I Conscious Now? responds to the experience with calm reflection. At first the worry is that the mind is cleared not just of thought but of emotion too, yet as the music settles down the ear responds well to McKeown’s subtle harmonic workings.

Initially the music is blocks of distorted but thoroughly ambient sound, but the mood softens with Golden Dolphins, a proper New Age-infused beauty. Vivid colours assert themselves through Flooding A Maze (In Slow Motion), with an extra zing added to the timbre of Infinite Tapestry.

Luke Insect’s textured artwork for the album serves as a template for the music inside, with McKeown navigating peaceful waters (Ti Kallisti, Into The White Sun) and fluctuating vistas (Astromeria) in the lead-up to the end.

Does it all work?

It does, largely – and certainly slows the mind while listening.

Is it recommended?

It is. James McKeown is remarkably consistent in his writing but also manages to avoid visiting the same place twice. A conscious yet comforting ambience is the result here.

For fans of… Flying Saucer Attack, Matthewdavid, Bvdub, My Bloody Valentine

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Published post no.2,851 – Wednesday 8 April 2026

New Music – Speedy J: Arp Δmp Chasm (STOOR)

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by Ben Hogwood, with text lifted from the press release

Contemplating the role of the album format in an attention-deficient society, Speedy J presents Walkman — a constantly shifting, 90-minute soundtrack to a journey of your choice. Jochem Paap‘s first solo album in over 20 years is a freewheeling, 20-track testament to his decades-deep studio skill and sonic versatility, running from skewed rhythmic rabbit holes to exploratory tonal abandon. You can listen to the first single, Arp Δmp Chasm, below:

For Paap, the traditional idea of the album had become obscured by listening habits and the non-stop information barrage of our digital lives. Having moved on from his breakthrough years releasing LPs and touring off the back of them, he was more inspired to develop his many-sided STOOR project and feed into a bigger artistic body of work than the temporary shelf-life of a single release. As is natural for any artist, his perspective shifted over time and he found himself drawn back to the idea of an album, realising he connected best with longer releases while he was on a walk, out for a run or generally in transit one way or another.

With an endearing call back to the humble Walkman, Paap (above) selected an hour and a half of material created during studio sessions at the beginning of 2025, perfectly sized to fit on two 45-minute sides of a cassette tape. As has long been the case for his studio practice, there were no fixed intentions when sitting down in the STOOR lab to start making noise — just a wealth of experience and an expansive set of tools to start exploring with. From hours of jams Paap pulled together standout moments and moulded them into a mixtape-like narrative ranging from two-minute beat nuggets to full-tilt techno workouts and immersive ambient drops. Every sound is intentional, but the overall delivery is instinctive and curious, showing multiple new dimensions to Paap’s sound and offering unpredictability at every turn.

‘Arp Δmp Chasm’ opens the album up in a thick blanket of humming, harmonic waves with an electric emotional charge, while ‘Ctrssalms17 (Cold Render)’ journeys through evocative blooms of melancholic, gritty pads and rugged, half-submerged tech funk. ‘Modern Birds (Origin Edit)’ reaches skywards with grand sweeps of dynamic, brilliantly rendered synthesis. From the dexterous drum science of ‘Drift Vector’ to ‘Osc Hop (Slow Collapse)’s lurching, beatless swamp of synths, on Walkman even the briefest snapshots leave an impression that lasts beyond the quick-scan cycle of the modern music experience.

With his return to the album format, Paap’s message is clear – put your headphones on, get outside and lose yourself in the sound of an artist constantly committed to moving forwards.

You can also listen / purchase on Bandcamp:

Published post no.2,844 – Wednesday 1 April 2026