Tag Archives: VLSI

Switched On – BUNKR: Antenne (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

BUNKR‘s third album is centred around Antenne, a 24-hour pirate station transmitting instrumental music only, “devoid of any human voice to provide us with clues. No big ups for the SW9 crew, no ads for the turbo-sound rave with safe security.  The 97.9 FM frequency was vibrant with all manner of cosmic, unending playlists of widescreen techno, breakbeats, ambient washes and occasional forays into obscure German synth music.”

The commentary goes on. “Who or what was behind Antenne we may never know; without doubt the unknown makes it all the more alluring. But this album serves to keep the memory of Antenne alive along with the countless other faceless pirate stations from the golden era of electronic music. Just maybe those radio waves continue to hurtle through space like gradually decaying echoes from a once brave new world, readying to connect with our brothers and sisters on the back side of the sun.

Antenne transmitted and informed, we listened and absorbed.”

What’s the music like?

The concept is an ideal one for BUNKR’s music – which could indeed have been teleported from 1996 – but has certainly come via a contemporary mind that knows how to make things fit in the modern world. Antenne flows beautifully, like one of those DJ sets, with BUNKR – aka James Dean – securing music of great fluidity and no little energy.

The beats have more breaks this time round, and his music feels faster, the likes of I Feel Eye See, Controller 29 and Nectar Rushes tearing up ground with very different beats, as they cleverly and energetically intertwine their loops. There is still room for the slower atmospheric grooves we know he can produce, Ceres Outpost and Waiting In Tofino the pair of beauties appearing on here. Meanwhile Oriam Speedway works intricate bleeps and percussion into formation.

Does it all work?

It does. BUNKR’s music is as expressive as ever, the moody soundscapes painting many a picture – and working so well in instrumental form. The greater variety of beats is the icing on the cake.

Is it recommended?

Enthusiastically. James Dean is a prolific writer – this is his third long player in five years – but each one adds a thrilling chapter to what is turning into a compelling story. If atmospheric electronic grooves are your thing, then you need look no further.

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,224 – Saturday 29 June 2024

New music – BUNKR: Ceres Outpost (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

BUNKR, an electronic musician whose first two albums have been greatly appreciated on these pages, is back with a third album.

Antenne is due on Friday 28 June – and if you head on over to Bandcamp on the page below you can hear the first excerpt from it, Ceres Outpost. The signs are good for a quality third opus! Keep coming back here to find out more in the next 10 days…

Published post no.2,215 – Thursday 19 June 2024

Switched On – Echaskech: Novacene (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Echaskech describe their new album as ‘a soundtrack to an imaginary movie based on James Lovelock’s book and theory of the ‘Novacene’. Reflecting the tragedy of the previous epochs’ climate damage and the optimism of a more positive future, the tracks trace the dream-like lives of a group of humans co-existing with cyborg collaborators.

Deep into a distant future, the world has survived a brutal climate breakdown and shifted from an epoch defined by humankind, the Anthropocene, to one defined by hyper intelligent beings – the Novacene.

What’s the music like?

One of the strengths of Echaskech’s music has been their ability to combine floated ambience with earth shattering beats – yet this release sees them leaning heavily towards the former discipline.

It proves an effective move, for Dom Hoare and Andy Gillham have always been expert scene-setters, creating vivid and spacious pictures even before the beats make themselves known, and that is the case here. The key is a slight adjustment in the musical tension, so that the listener is drawn into a more meditative state of mind, but not necessarily relaxed, as there is still enough tension here.

Instead the music tends to reflect the cover, the synths creating deep washes of colour and full harmonies that bring James Lovelock’s concept to life. Walking With Spheres is very descriptive, with sharper outlines against the broad canvas. Conversion Using Sunlight has an ambient backdrop of birdsong, into which the warm synth colours emerge. The duo still use beats, and Garden of Antheia has a steady, dubby tread. The title track presents a bright outlook, reinforced by an atmospheric closing pair.

Does it all work?

It does. Best heard in an uninterrupted sequence, Novacene works as an immersive experience – best heard this way – or if it retreats to the corner of your listening.

Is it recommended?

Very much so. Echaskech have a high quality threshold with their releases, and Novacene shows the best of a ‘less is more’ approach, securing ambient music that still rewards closer listening,

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,122 – Tuesday 19 March 2024

Switched On: Alphabox – Only Forward EP (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Alphabox is the new pseudonym under which Andrew Dobson is operating. Dobson has a good deal of previous form, as the much-loved Digitonial – where ambience could be found through cultured and beautifully sculpted electronica.

Alphabox looks to do similar, though is more beat-based and has a new home on the VLSI label.

What’s the music like?

Deeply satisfying – and, on the strength of this EP, music with staying power. The cool textures and easy profile of Feather set the tone, with the assurance that Dobson has clearly kept from his previous work. Gateway Station is relatively easy going, though there is more depth to the piano line than meets the eye, and a loop of consonant harmonies to go with the offbeat rhythm track which prove oddly reassuring.

Meanwhile the closing Blyth feels more like Plaid, but with a folky undertone containing a lot of agreeable melodic content, backed by a purposeful rhythm.

Does it all work?

It does indeed – and is beautifully produced by an expert hand.

Is it recommended?

It is – an auspicious beginning for a project that already looks like one to follow.

Listen and Buy

Switched On: Jonathan Krisp – Statement Foliage (VLSI)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Statement Foliage is described in the accompanying commentary on Bandcamp as ‘a continuation of Jonathan Krisp’s focus on the topography of natural and electronic haunts…merging complex twisting acid lines with glistening synths to evoke hallucinations of a retro-futuristic sun drenched landscape’.

It is his first release since 2019, when Rewilding showed him to be a very adaptable tunesmith, managing his own electronic bedding with flair and imagination.

What’s the music like?

As fresh as the title implies! Statement Foliage picks up where its predecessor left off, with music that throws open the doors and windows to beckon the listener outside. Best heard on headphones, it has an endearingly fresh approach to the scope of its textures, the brightness of the colours, the complex but very danceable rhythms and those twisted acid lines, which are indeed complex but which can wash over the listener like a stream.

A hushed voice and airy sound picture make Vanishing Point the ideal start, on which the warmth of Parhelion and Secret Well Springs Of The Soul build comfortably. Krisp’s music has a friendly tone, but the strength of the beats in Silo, an especially good track, should not be taken for granted, nor the inner power harnessed by Bridgid, with its watery riff and profile.

Krisp’s music is easy to engage with, and presents an optimistic outlook.

Does it all work?

It does. If anything Krisp could afford to make some of the tracks longer, to make the most of the green shoots offered by all the melodic material he has at his disposal.

Is it recommended?

It is indeed. There is a lot of positive energy at work here, and Jonathan Krisp delivers an album with fertile musical imagination and some really attractive colours – not to mention some really satisfying beats. Well worth exploring.

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