Tag Archives: Warp Records

Switched On – Bibio: Phantom Brickworks II (Warp)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the second instalment in Bibio’s Phantom Brickworks project, an ambient / drone concern begun in 2017. On it, Stephen Wilkinson (who is Bibio) has the aim of exploring “the human echoes still present in various sites around Britain. Wilkinson has visited these locations, observed their gradual decline, and responded with improvised and composed music.”

The sequel brings forward new, intriguing sites, described as ‘vast scars on the natural landscape, some surviving through memories, historic clips and photographs. A few remain submerged from ordinary sights, while some exist purely as legends and stories’.

What’s the music like?

Immediately restful, as Bibio leads us to an appealing calm place. The loop subtly powering Dinorwic moves at a very slow pace but maintains its poise, while the magical Dorothea’s Bed has wordless voices transmitting an icy beauty. A higher register piano twinkles in the fog of Phantom Brickworks IV, while Llyn Peris reflects the dappled light of a winter sky, the sun near the horizon.

Tegid’s Court rocks gently like a Berceuse, leading into the immensely calming, spoken word Brograve. Spider Bridge once again makes evocative use of the piano’s higher register, a distinctive feather in Bibio’s cap.

Does it all work?

It does. Bibio has mastered the art of making more from less, and these pieces are ideally weighted.

Is it recommended?

Phantom Brickworks II is strongly recommended, another feather in the cap of an artist whose versatility continues to be most impressive. Having charmed us with pastoral electronica, Bibio now has real durability as a long-form ambient artist.

For fans of… Harold Budd, Loscil, Luke Abbott, Jon Hopkins

Listen & Buy

Published post no.2,377 – Friday 29 November 2024

Switched On: Aphex Twin – Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / in a room7 F760 (Warp Records)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

New music from Aphex Twin always feels like something of an event, and although this EP has been out in the public domain for over a month the music is still well worth stopping to experience and contemplate.

What’s the music like?

This is Aphex Twin somewhere towards his best, writing music packed with incident but somehow finding time for inward-facing ambience. He achieves this balance perfectly on Blackbox Life Recorder 21f, where a particularly busy rhythm track plays pinball around the stereo picture, but a sonorous bass and overarching keyboard line give time and space.

zin2 test5 is a deeply intimate experience, one man and his machine – its introverted chords leaving their mark long after the active rhythm track is stopped. in a room7 F760 uses cowbells alongside the thick, woolly chords, the experience like a plane flying from sunshine into dense cloud and back out again.

The Parallax mix of Blackbox Life Recorder 21f brings out the fatter low notes, introducing more of a sci-fi feel.

Does it all work?

It does – and all easy on the ear for an Aphex Twin release. Or should that be uneasy? For beyond the ambience lurks a little dread.

Is it recommended?

It is – typically thought provoking work from one of Britain’s finest electronic music makers.

Listen

Buy

Switched On – Aphex Twin: Blackbox Life Recorder 21f (Warp Records)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

The new Aphex Twin EP surfaced a couple of weeks ago, and has enjoyed frequent rotation on stations such as 6Music. It displays all the properties of his best, beat-driven ambient music – and as such is ideal for that post-Monday work feeling where downtempo music is required. Sit back, take your eyes off the screen and enjoy Blackbox Life Recorder 21f:

On Record – James Ellis Ford: The Hum (Warp Records)

Posted on by
Reply

by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

James Ellis Ford has a most impressive musical CV, whether on the front line or behind the scenes. As an active member of Simian, Simian Mobile Disco and The Last Shadow Puppets, he has never been short of a burning riff or two. These two very different musical outfits enjoyed a more progressive form of rock and then a searing, acidic complement to The Chemical Brothers.

As a producer, Ford has lent production savvy to the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Klaxons and Jessie Ware among others, and most recently played a big part behind the scenes on Depeche Mode’s new album Memento Mori. He has also produced the upcoming Blur album, The Ballad Of Darren. With all that work in the bank, his first solo album proper – on which he plays all the instruments – could be seen as time off from the day job! Yet it is a meaningful achievement, and clearly good enough for a label as illustrious as Warp to sign him up.

What’s the music like?

Largely unscripted – in the best possible way. Ford’s musical diary to date has shown his ability to move between genres with no effort, and The Hum does this while sticking to a principle of pure musical enjoyment. On occasion the approach is reminiscent of his early days in Simian, when they used to support bands such as Emerson Lake & Palmer.

It is good to hear James singing as well as playing all the instruments, for his voice fits in well with either the psychedelic approach or the pastoral one. I Never Wanted Anything is quite sweetly harmonic in this regard, while The Yips is a brilliant contrast, its creeping riff leaning towards progressive rock.

Pink Floyd cast an attractive shadow – Us and Them especially – as Tape Loop #7 and Pillow Village establish the mood of the album, and on Golden Hour a rich multi-layered vocal comes forward. Squeaky Wheel glints with a touch of the industrial – with passing references that flit between pastoral contentment and the abrasion of Cabaret Voltaire.

A pair of instrumentals in the middle hit the spot. The woozy title track lulls the listener into a false sense of security before Ford goes all-out funk and prog in equal parts, a loping groove and chunky synthesizers giving Caterpillar rich slabs of colour.

Ford moves through the gears on Emptiness, another eventful number, before the soft, warm postlude Closing Time, with a melody that uncannily shadows the Neighbours theme tune.

Does it all work?

Yes. There is very little padding here, and Ford has plenty of interesting ideas – so the mind and ears are always stimulated.

Is it recommended?

Yes, with enthusiasm. Pretty much everything Ford has been involved with has musical vitality and progression, and this solo album is no exception. With any luck it is the start of a series, rather than a one-off.

Listen

Buy

Switched On – Plaid: Feorm Falorx (Warp Records)

Posted on by
Reply

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Plaid have now been with Warp Records for 30 years, which is an astonishing length of time in electronic music. In that time they have established themselves as a consistent source of innovation and quality, with a distinctive musical style that evades categorisation but still provides a great deal of harmonic and colourful interest.

To say that the duo – Ed Handley and Andy Turner – are underrated would be judging it about right, for audiences have simply grown accustomed to their regular output of interesting and vital music. As with the previous ten albums, Feorm Falorx has a curious title, which relates to an imaginary performance at the Feorm festival on the planet Falorx, where musicians are removed from time, space and the physical limitations of their bodies.

The album is a proper concept, to be accompanied with visual content and a graphic novel.

What’s the music like?

Plaid’s music continues in a life all of its own, and true to form this album is a distinctive yet elusive set of compositions. Alternately serious and playful, their music still sounds incredibly fresh – and, appropriately, as though it has beamed in from another planet.

There is so much going on in a typical Plaid track, with so many nuances and instinctive changes of gear, that it takes several listens for thorough appreciation of what the pair achieve in the course of their tracks.

The fictional festival set bursts into life with Perspex, a rush of spring-like germination which also sounds like a set of melodic wind chimes. The following Modenet has a foursquare rhythm, but as with a lot of Plaid’s work there is syncopation in play, giving it a slightly quirky disposition.

Elsewhere, Wondergan is as close as Plaid will surely get to the disco, with its chirpy riffing and swinging rhythm, while the Mason Bee collaboration Nightcrawler has a momentum borne of Krautrock.

C.A. has an impressive scope and a longer, majestic line, going deeper in its emotion. Meanwhile Cwtchr starts brightly but gradually a shadow falls over its complexion through the darker shades of the bass. Speaking of bass, Bowl is appropriately named, powered by a sonorous and rounded lower line.

Return To Return reminds us of how many layers Plaid can get into a track, with rich sounds that are stripped away to reveal the workings of their rhythm section. Later on, as the set hits its peak, the stabbing riffs of Tomason and the increasingly sharp synth lines of Wide I cut through like otherworldly rave anthems.

Does it all work?

It does. There is a lot going on here, but as always with Plaid nothing is superfluous, and the sheer enjoyment of making electronic music comes through.

Is it recommended?

It is – and it really is time that we stopped taking Plaid for granted as much as they do. They continue to make exquisitely crafted music, beautifully shaped and richly coloured. Those on the planet of Falorx are in for a treat!

Listen

Buy