As part of the vast Ninja Tune family, Counter Records gives a voice to pop-leaning experimental artists, including Odesza, RAC, Big Gigantic and more.
Review: Diving into the neon pop power of 80s synth pastiche, 90s memorabilia and 2000s nostalgia, a new album from American synthwave duo The Midnight has arrived. Following previous albums like Endless Summer and Kids, the band's music channels everything from Daft Punk vocoders and night driving Kavinsky beats to hints of Fleetwood Mac inspirations ("Last Train") to new age Sega gaming reference in ambient tracks like "The Search For Ecco". A trip down an illuminated, cyber pop memory lane, this album will touch the hearts of anyone that's enjoyed films like Weird Science to Kung Fury.
Review: Much has changed for Maribou State since they delivered their breakthrough album, 'Portraits', in 2015. The runaway success of that album led to live performances at festivals across the globe, and in turn an opportunity to make their own field recordings of sounds - musical and otherwise - in a variety of far-flung locations. As a result, 'Kingdoms in Colour', their third album, is a much more wide-ranging and worldly-wise affair. It exudes warmth and humanity, with glistening tropical guitars and kaleidoscopic electronics rubbing shoulders with shuffling machine beats, jazzy live percussion, warped samples and hazy vocals (Holly Walker and Balearic outfit Khruangbin make notable guest appearances). As a result, Kingdoms of Colour more than lives up to its name, offering a memorable collection of songs and instrumentals bristling with brilliant ideas.
Review: Ninja Tune offshoot Counter Records recently described singer-songwriter Jono McCleery - a regular support act for label stalwart Fink during his live tours - as "one of British music's best-kept secrets". If this sublime new album (his first since 2015) is anything to go by, McCleery's talents won't be hidden for much longer. Stripped back and atmospheric, Seeds of Dandelion sees McCleery and his trusty guitar accompanied by little more than an occasional string quartet. Combined with McCleery's superb lyrics and impassioned, quietly soulful vocal delivery, the result is a folksy set packed to the rafters with gently arresting highlights. While his own compositions are rarely less than superb, it's his closing cover version of Sebastien Tellier's downtempo classic "La Ritournelle" - McCleery somehow making a beautiful track even more poignant - that hits home hardest.
Review: "Silver", featuring the folksy, emotive vocals of Rae Morris, was one of the undoubted highlights of Fakear's recent Counter Records debut, Animal. Here, the track gets re-formatted for the dancefloor by a quintet of talents. There's a British bass-house-meets-tech-house interpretation from DrumTalk, a similarly large, EDM-tinged, radio-friendly rework from Few Nolder (who makes great use of the original's piano motifs), and a dense, deep house-goes-tribal tweak from Bakradze (arguably the EP's standout moment, thanks to the combination of layered drums and lilting melodies). As if that wasn't enough, Gacha also delivers a wonderfully dreamy, sunset-friendly downtempo remix.
Review: Ninja Tune offshoot Counter Records usually has its' finger on the pulse, so it's little surprise to see that they've snapped up fast-rising beat-maker Fakear. Animal is his second full-length, and first since self-released 2012 debut Washin' Machine, and neatly encapsulates what's best about the producer's hard-to-define work. Built on manipulated vocal samples, off-kilter outsider house rhythms, melodious synthesizer work and folksy instrumentation (sultry strings, banjo and acoustic guitar are all thrown into the mix), Animal is a hugely entertaining and evocative set. This digital edition includes a clutch of bonus tracks, including the deep tropical pop of "Mamaha (Energy Song)", and the dubstep-influenced bliss of "Song For Jo".
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