SECURE SHOPPING
DRC Music will mark the release of Kinshasa One Two – an album project which saw a group of producers selected by Damon Albarn collaborate with more than 50 Congolese musicians – with a pop-up event taking place in London today (November 7).
Warp Records have just announced details of the forthcoming album from producer Leila, due out in January 2012.
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When Ambivalence Avenue came out in 2009, it was the birth of Bibio 2.0 – an artist finally stepping out of the BoC meets folktronica shadow that both propelled and pigeonholed his sound. Ambivalence was exciting, fresh, and a solid leap forward for UK producer Steven Wilkinson. Now, Wilkinson has returned, hot off the heels of his lauded breakthrough album on Warp, with Mind Bokeh. The new long player carries much the same tone as Ambivalence – combining playful vintage melodies and summer-fuelled beats – but it also sees him venturing even further out of his folky-comfort zone and pushing into new sonic territory. Wilkinson’s vocals are more prominent in the mix this time around, and with “Take Off Your Shirt” he even tries his hand at Phoenix-style pop, using a chunky riff and cheesy lyrics with the hopes of creating a summer banger. It’s jarring at first, but becomes more palatable after repeat listens. “K for Kelson”, on the other hand, is more of a winner, seeing Wilkinson try his ear at tropical robot pop, crafting an infectious poolside hit.
Other tracks see him revisiting the styles that became his trademark on Ambivalence Avenue. “Light Sleep” for example works the funk vibe in similar fashion to “Jealous of Roses”, and “More Excuses” sounds like an extension to “All the Flowers”. Album highlights are “Artists’ Valley”, which works a crunchy Fly Lo beat and a smooth bass line outro, that’s perfect for bobbing your head during more chilled out moments. The title track is a wandering blurry soundscape, reminiscent of BoC, and closer “Saint Christopher” may indeed be the album’s best track, featuring a light 4/4 beat and high-hat shuffle driving three interweaving guitar lines for six beautiful minutes. It’s a great outro to the album and perhaps a sign of even further sonic evolutions. The term ‘bokeh’ comes from the Japanese and has to do with staring at the out of focus areas in a photographic image; Wilkinson attempts to do this with your ears and mind, and for the most part, he succeeds. With Mind Bokeh we see Wilkinson reworking the best moments of Ambivalence Avenue and trying out a few new styles as well. It’s not a full leap forward – but it’s arresting nonetheless. Let’s call it Bibio 2.5.
Matt Leslie
Mysterious disco edits duo Tiger & Woods have lined their putters up for a remix of Brooklyn based duo Hundred In The Hands.
To coincide with the impending Gonjasufi remix album, The Caliph’s Tea Party, Warp have launched a competition for budding producers to remix two tracks from the yoga teacher turned oddball hiphopper. Read the rest of this entry »
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After the “next level jazz shit” of Cosmogramma, you’d forgive Flying Lotus for a taking some time out and maybe hit some clubs in LA to find his next Brainfeeder signee. Instead he’s spent the past few months scouring the inner workings of his clearly impressive musical brain to deliver Pattern & Grid World, seven tracks of expansive machine funk futurism. Commencing with the hazy mist of psychedelic soul synths flourishes and intricate beat patterns that is “Clay” Ellison demonstrate an ever increasing array of beat poetry. “Kill Your Co-Workers” marries tinny drum and bass programming with an ever expanding opulence of joyous melodies whilst “Pie Face” drops outer galactic grime syncopation over kaleidoscopic bass patterns. “Time Vampires” could soundtrack the astro travelling Lord Quas referred to on the classic Madlib album The Unseen whilst “Jurassic Notion/ M Theory” splays wonked out afro percussion over belly level schizoid bass lines. The final rhythmic jolt of “Physics For Everyone” replete with head first plunges into industrial bass makes this a bewitching complement to Ellison’s highly lauded album.
Tony Poland
Brian Eno has spoken about the concept behind his upcoming record, Small Craft on a Milk Sea.
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Two phrases we love to see on a record at Juno Plus are “Jacques Renault Remix” and “Kyle MF Hall Remix”. This is just one of the reasons The Hundred In The Hands have put a spell on us after the aforementioned uber producers outdid themselves on remixes of “Dressed In Dresden”. The New York plimsolegaze duo offer further compelling evidence for a complete crush on “Pigeons,” their new single ahead of a self titled debut album for Warp. The original version is a glacial slice of contemporary pop music which is accompanied by a visually stunning video which should be investigated. The real gold here, however, is in the accompanying remixes. Hessle Audio’s Blawan muddies the waters of genre branding with a remix characterised by a relentless 4/4 wood block groove that ripples with abrasive tension and sub bass menace. Kompakt duo Walls seize all the groove space on the B Side, delivering a remix that drags out all the intriguing qualities of the original, adding their own instrumental nuances and arranging them with hazy hypnotic intent atop a subtle techno shuffle.
Tony Poland
Brian Eno’s album for Warp Records will be called Small Craft On A Milk Sea, it has been revealed today.
Warp Records have announced details of a new EP from hotly tipped Glaswegian producer Rustie, with the five track Sunburst EP set for release on October 4.
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The PVT formerly known as Pivot return with Church With No Magic, their second album on revered UK imprint Warp. From the opening electronic pulses of “Community” that swirl in kaleidoscopic stereo, the trio unveil ten tracks which showcase a tighter vision of their dense collage of sound.
Allowing the voice of Richard Pike more prominence – he sings on all but two tracks – gives PVT a more coherent sound. The psychedelic bombast of “Light Up Bright Fires” impresses early as does the stuttering bass heavy thump of the title track, where Pike really gets his glam rock croon on. Tracks such as the euphoric fizz of lead single “Window” demonstrate the trio still retain the sonic experimentation that led Warp to sign them up. This is further demonstrated on the melodic ambient drone of “Waves & Radiation” which acts as a gentle precursor for “Circles of Friends”, the album’s outstanding track with manipulation of Pike’s vocals acting as the beat that propels the cascading percussion and vibrant melodic flourishes.
Tony Poland
Battles singer/guitarist Tyondai Braxton has quit the group, citing his own commitments as a solo artist as one of the reasons behind the split.
PVT (the artists formerly known as Pivot) will play an intimate invite-only gig in association with Vice Magazine at London’s Old Blue Last on September 6 – and we’ve got two pairs of tickets to give away.
Warp signed act PVT (formerly known as Pivot) will support the release of their upcoming album with a whirlwind European tour that takes in dates in Germany, Holland, France and the UK.
Production duo Africa HiTech will release their second EP on Warp Records this June.
Check out the new video from PVT – the Australian born, London based band formerly known as Pivot – who are set to release a new album on Warp this summer.
Autechre, veterans of the UK electronica scene, today released surprise news of a new album ‘Move Of Ten’ which arrives on July 12th through Warp Records.
‘Move Of Ten’ will hopefully see the Manchester based duo contuinue the rich vein of form demonstrated on the critically acclaimed ‘Oversteps’, which was released less than six months ago.
Arriving in some frankly lush packaging courtesy of long term collaborators The Designers Republic, this collection of new sonic booms from Autechre will cater for fans of all music formats with CD digipak, two vinyl EPs and digital download available.
One of the albums tracks, Y7, can be streamed via Autechre’s website now should you want a taste of what to expect.
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Warp Records genre-bending producer extraordinaire, Flying Lotus (née Steven Ellison), returns with the follow up to his highly successful and oft imitated Los Angeles with Cosmogramma – arguably the most anticipated electronic album of 2010. And from the opening seconds of first track “Clock Catcher”, it quickly becomes evident that Fly Lo is working on a whole new level of ‘next shit’ here. This may throw some listeners for a loop at first, however, after a couple of listens you’ll begin to understand exactly why Fly Lo has described the album as his “space opera”.
The obvious stylistic difference with Cosmogramma is that it adopts a jazzier feel to it, rather than the fragmented hip-hop of Los Angeles and 1983. Its closest reference point seems to be the stuff a later Miles and Trane would have made if they had access to the technology. The album is definitively out there, and will no doubt be just as railed against as highly lauded by the critics because of this. But for this listener, it’s a fantastically heady album with amazing beats, funked-out basslines (at times reminiscent of Squarepusher), smooth jazz breaks, and overall it comes across as a much more personal recording for Ellison, as he attempts to tap into his family’s rich musical roots.
Fly Lo is nephew to Alice Coltrane, wife of John, and a highly accomplished jazz musician in her own right (read more about that in our recent interview with Ellison), and auntie Alice’s influence is in the forefront here, as he samples her playing the harp, and her son Ravi playing the saxophone throughout. His collab with Thom Yorke is fine, and will no doubt be deemed a highlight, yet tracks like “Zodiac S**t”, “MmmHmm”, “Do The Astral Plane”, and “Recoiled” are major hitters on the record, and all so very different stylistically, you just gotta hear it to believe it. The album ends with “Galaxy in Janaki”, his most hip-hop track on the album, yet instead of it being a dark and ominous closer, it features a swirling symphony, frenetic bass, and seems charged with a bright optimism for the future evolution of his sound. Next shit indeed.
Review: Matt Leslie
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LA’s favourite leftfield hip-hopper Flying Lotus will preview tracks from his new album Cosmogramma on a live radio broadcast from 8pm tonight (GMT).
Seminal electronic music duo Autechre will release their ninth studio album Oversteps on March 22 on Warp Records.
