Tag Archives: Warp Records

Switched On – Stereolab: Pulse of the Early Brain (Switched On, Vol. 5) (Warp Records)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The latest – and possibly last – in Stereolab’s Switched On compilation series brings together a range of projects from the 1990s and 2000s, tying up a number of odds and ends.

Two of the tracks (Robot Riot and Unity Purity Occasional) were written for sculptures made by Charles Long. The song for the latter, to quote the band, ‘is channeled through three tubes that simultaneously blow the visitors’ hands dry with warm jets of air’.

Other titbits and rarities include the limited edition Symbolic Logic Of Now!, XXXOOO from 1992, and a track for a Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra compilation album (Blaue Milch).

The biggest feature of the album, however, is the double collaboration between Stereolab and Nurse With Wound from 1997. Lasting 40 minutes, these two longform works were released on coloured vinyl.

What’s the music like?

This is a really enjoyable set of miscellaneous musical treasures, for as we have learned in the previous releases there is barely such a thing as a Stereolab cast-off that isn’t worth listening to.

The extended Nurse With Wound collaborations are especially rewarding. Simple Headphone Mind trips along nicely with enjoyable squiggles, and leads into Trippin’ With The Birds, adopting the same key but utilising an even more experimental approach. There is lots of electronic trickery, the birds making themselves known in a variety of different and imaginative ways.

The collection is well-sequenced, moving backwards and forwards between the earliest material of 1992 and the more dense offerings of later years. The Low Fi EP is a lot of fun, varoom! starting with a driving beat and typically sonorous vocal from Laetitia Sadier and disappearing in white noise. Laisser-faire has a more communal vocal, set back in the mix from the big beats, while Elektro [he held the world in his iron grip] gets some wonderfully woozy electronics together.

ABC feels especially low-fi, with a grubby riff, while Robot Riot is excellent. We don’t hear so much on the vocal front from Laetitia Sadier in particular on this compilation, but we have never heard her voice in the way it appears after Autechre have finished with it. Their remix of Refractions In The Plastic Pulse is an out of body experience, a dislocated vocal married to some particularly busy beats.

Does it all work?

It does, though this collection does now feel like a set of assortments given that these are seemingly the last remaining rarities to be hovered up and collected in the corner together.

Is it recommended?

It is – certainly to completists of the band. Those new to the treasures of Stereolab might want to pick up earlier on in the series, but are advised that this is still an extremely worthwhile addition to the collection.

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Switched on – new music from Stereolab

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Arcana bring good news to fans of Stereolab – having just announced a new album, the band are going back on a European tour in the Autumn.

The album first – and it’s the fifth in the popular ‘Switched On’ series that Warp Records have been exploring. Pulse of the Early Brain [Switched On Volume 5] will be released on September 2, via Warp Records and Duophonic UHF Disks. It will include some intriguing and desirable miscellany from the band, with its lead track, Robot Riot, a previously unavailable piece of music which was written for a Charles Long sculpture:

Also on the tracklisting for Pulse of the Early Brain are two Nurse With Wound collaborations from 1997, a second commission for a Charles Long sculpture, Unity Purity Occasional, and two tracks, Spool of Collusion and Forensic Itch, that made up a rare black vinyl 7” with the Chemical Chords LP in 2008.

This release includes both old and new, however, going back to the Low Fi EP, released on Too Pure in 1992, for four tracks (Low Fi, [Varoom!], Laisser-Faire and Elektro [he held the world in his iron grip].

And so it continues – for a total of 16 tracks. For full details visit the Stereolab Bandcamp site…and for a review of the album when it drops make sure you check back to Arcana!

On Record – Broadcast: Mother Is The Milky Way / Maida Vale Sessions / Microtronics Vols. 1 & 2 (Warp Records)

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written by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Broadcast were one of Warp Records’ treasures in the label’s earlier years, yet their output came to a sudden halt with the tragic early death of singer Trish Keenan in 2011. At that point the band were at the peak of their creative powers, which makes this set of reissues and rarities all the more poignant.

The triple pack of rarities is effectively a companion piece to the band’s discography, bringing forward a lost album (2009’s tour-only release Mother Is The Milky Way), a set of BBC sessions from Maida Vale, including three appearances for John Peel, and Microtronics, a two-volume set of 21 instrumentals released as tour-only specials in 2003 and 2005.

What’s the music like?

Fans of the band will not be disappointed – and while many will surely own a good deal of this music, having it reissued in a single pack with due love and attention gives it extra special appeal. It is instructive to be reminded just how imaginative the band were, and how their Englishness shines through in the meeting point of acoustic and electronic.

Mother Is The Milky Way makes a strong impression, and could almost have been recorded during lockdown given its quotient of birdsong and field recordings. The murmured awakening of In Here The World Begins makes a strong impression on headphones, while scenes such as the fuzzy backdrop to Elegant Elephant evoke dappled sunlight. Meanwhile I’m Just A Person In This Roomy Verse has a low register musing but also interference as the listener crosses the dials on the imaginary radio.

maida-vale-sessions

The Maida Vale Sessions are special. Drawn from four different sessions between 1996 and 2003, they have poise and elegance, but also macabre elements and psychedelic tendencies that give the music an appealing unpredictability. The autumnal waltz of The Note (Message From Home) is the perfect place to start, while the wonderful Come On Let’s Go is great to hear again. The insistent phrases of Look Outside make a strong impression, as do the willowy, chromatic arpeggios of the harpsichord on The Book Lovers. A stately Long Was The Year, and the exquisite twilight shadows of Echoes Answer, with an extended coda, are highlights of a session from 2000, while the twinkling lights of Pendulum are the highlight of a session from August 2003.

microtronics

The Microtronics album is fascinating. These snippets are descriptive musical postcards, colourfully shaded and showing off a broad range of styles. The electronic bossa nova of Microtronics 2 is striking, while Microtronics 3 – as with many of the recordings – give a strong sense of eavesdropping in the band’s workshop. Microtronics 6 throws some sonic grenades, while other snippets of note include the clattering drums of Microtronics 12 and the playful keyboard stabs of Microtronics 17.

Does it all work?

Yes. These three documents give a fascinating look under the bonnet of Broadcast’s creative process, while the fully formed songs prove their worth in the sessions. The pastoral element of Mother Is The Milky Way, meanwhile, are full of springtime vitality and promise.

Is it recommended?

Yes – to fans and newcomers alike, providing the newcomers avail themselves of the band’s studio albums too. They will not be disappointed.

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On Record – Daniel Rossen: You Belong There (Warp Records)

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daniel-rossen

written by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

To say You Belong There is an eagerly awaited album would be an understatement. Daniel Rossen, a key member of both Grizzly Bear and Department Of Eagles, made a strong impression with his Silent Hour/Golden Mile EP in 2012, and finally follows up that release with a fully-fledged long player for Warp.

What’s the music like?

Compelling. Perhaps inevitably Rossen brings elements of the two bands’ music to his writing, but there is plenty of room for exploration of his own. The songs on You Belong There live and breathe a heady air, with twists and turns in the music and narrative that keep the listener hooked.

‘The truth is always brighter than you say’, runs the repeated hook through Shadow In The Frame, a song where Rossen’s storytelling has the vivid references of a band like Fleet Foxes or Midlake. With carefully studied guitar work and sumptuous orchestration – never overdone – the song is a beauty, its coda especially moving.

On the title track percussion flits back and forth, the music panning out as the harmonies intensify, while Celia is a remarkable song, with a multi-layered choir of Rossens confessing that “I’m still staggering as you once did”. I’ll Wait For Your Visit goes further still, the singer in a lower range with long phrases above excitable piano and guitar.

Sometimes Rossen appears to be in the same room. Unpeopled Space begins with intimate phrases picked on the guitar before striding forward with a strong sense of purpose. Tangle, meanwhile, is out in the white water, a torrent of piano notes flowing around his vessel. The music is virtuosic but wholly relatable, especially at the song’s apex. However the best song – arguably – is Keeper And Kin, another gripping story told over descriptive guitars and percussion. After this, the final two songs form an effective coda.

Does it all work?

Yes. The blend of carefully studied guitar work and instinctive melodies is a strong one, each song a windswept beauty – and the virtuosity of Rossen should be commended, for over lockdown he learned a number of new instruments to add even more colours to his music. The songs blossom in his hands.

Is it recommended?

Without question. Fans of Grizzly Bear will find a great deal to enjoy here, as Rossen gives us the debut his initial promise suggested he would achieve.

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To hear clips from You Belong There, and for purchase options, visit the Warp Records website

Switched On – Nightmares On Wax: Shout Out! To Freedom… (Warp)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The Coronavirus pandemic has had a deep effect on many artists, causing them to rethink their approach to life and often showing them the things of greatest importance. George Evelyn, the man behind Nightmares On Wax, is no exception, as a life spent largely on the road became extended time spent with his wife and daughter.

At the same time he was in the midst of a cancer scare, prompting him to write Shout Out! as though it was his last album. The profound effect of these life-changing experiences led to what he declares to be his most personal album yet – and his most thankful one too.

What’s the music like?

Shout Out! To Freedom… has typically blissful Nightmares On Wax vibes, with good feelings to the fore, but there is definitely something more profound hovering on the surface. The positive feelings are dispensed from the start, but contemplation and appreciation is often the order of the day.

3D Warrior is one of the finest tracks in that respect, with a mellow saxophone sound from Shabaka Hutchings and some excellent vocals from Haile Supreme and Wolfgang Haffner. Hutchings appears again in Wonder, a beautiful piece of work where the instrument really feels airborne and lost in time, its opening statement akin to a piece of ancient plainchant.

Greentea Peng is a captivating and provocative presence on Wikid Satellites, her vocal an excellent foil as the music steps up a gear. Own Me is a thoughtful study in positivity with Haile Supreme to the accompaniment of a dreamy trumpet, while Isolated – in spite of its obvious lyrical influence – is uplifting in a deep-rooted way, positivity coursing through the warm production. Trillion has an electro edge, sharpening the vocals from Mara TK, while Miami 80 is an excellent, piano-based instrumental construction that could be longer.

Evelyn has a very natural musical style that can’t be fully pinned down, other than to say he works in elements of hip hop, soul, dub and funk without ever restricting himself to one. The vocalists are well-chosen, while the production casts an attractive heat haze over the whole album.

Does it all work?

Very much so. This is deeply felt material, made by an artist still at the top of his game, bringing music to Warp that is just as meaningful as when he started with the label in 1991.

Is it recommended?

Yes. As simple as that!

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