Showing posts with label four tet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label four tet. Show all posts

Sunday 3 May 2020

Log #188 - Paddling In The Shallows

Eddy Bamyasi


Just the one new entry this week: David Sylvian's mate Fennesz's sumptuous Agora album released this time last year. It sounds like the cover - shimmering watery ambience washing up over sand. Just four tracks of around 9 or 10 minutes each it's fairly modest in ambient length terms. There is less of the glitchy guitar distortion made famous on his Endless Summer album with Fennesz opting for a more Enoesque sensibility.

The experimental musician’s sweeping, ambient album works in small, fascinating ways from moment to moment but has a cumulative force that is unlike anything he’s done in years.
Pitchfork (8.5)

There is just a doubt about this music. It sounds simple (like the Jam or OMD did when I was a school kid getting into prog rock). It's the sort of music I feel I could have a bash at on my own laptop - for instance I certainly couldn't reproduce Supper's Ready in a million years for goodness sake but a few drones - no problem! There is skill required of course, and ambient music contains many hidden delights not always evident on first listen, but I do figure a Physics or Computer Science degree would be more useful than a Music one.

Anyway that's beside the point. On hearing Agora one of my first reactions was "this is just the sort of music I want to make." Is that the same as "...want to hear"? Well, yes it is pretty much - I'd rather listen to Agora than Supper's Ready so that's all that matters really.


Talk Talk - The Colour Of Spring
DJ Vadim - Soundcatcher
Four Tet - Rounds
David Sylvian - Blemish
David Sylvian - Everything And Nothing (CD 1)
Fennesz - Agora



Saturday 25 April 2020

Log #187 - Moving Post Rock

Eddy Bamyasi

Still working through my Mark Hollis/David Sylvian phase. On the Hollis side we have the Talk Talk crossover album The Colour Of Spring which is growing on me rapidly. It's not as beautiful as their follow up Spirit Of Eden but contains some classy melodic pop pointing the way towards their new "post rock" direction. 

[Incidentally I was directed towards an album by a band called Slint (Spiderland) which was mentioned in the same breath as Spirit Of Eden as an equivalent "post rock" offering, um errr, it's ok but not in the same class pop pickers]

Want to know what post rock is, was? Here's a list featuring both Slint and Talk Talk. Honestly though I fail to see much resemblance between Talk Talk and Godspeed You! Dark Emperor for instance.

Turning to David Sylvian we have Blemish which I believe was his first truly experimental album coming in 2003, 4 years after the relatively straight forward Dead Bees On A Cake. Lots more to discover in this unusual sounding record. Apparently, not that I have noticed yet, the ambient instrumental album that featured in Log #185 Wandermude was based on this one. There is also a remix version of Blemish. I will be intrigued to play all 3 together at some future point. Blemish is further reviewed here.

Talk Talk - The Colour Of Spring
DJ Vadim - Soundcatcher
Four Tet - Rounds
David Sylvian - Blemish
David Sylvian - Everything And Nothing (CD 1)
David Sylvian - Everything And Nothing (CD2)

Summarising much of his best music up until the year 2000 Blemish is supplemented this week with a complete playing of the double Everything And Nothing which is a superb retrospective. Lush music brilliantly produced this is a great primer for new fans maintaining a pleasing continuity despite the range covered.

DJ Vadim's Soundcatcher is a superb lo-fi down tempo dubby mashup. Love it. Four Tet's Rounds is a little more reserved with some great melodies. Two top electronic pioneers. I haven't heard any better albums from either artist, so wondering if I have chanced upon their respective bests?

Sunday 2 April 2017

Log #27 - Four Tet Doing The Rounds

Eddy Bamyasi


1. Rodriguez - Coming From Reality
2. Money Mark - Mark's Keyboard Repair
3. Fairport Convention - The History Of
4. Four Tet - Rounds
5. Wagon Christ - Sorry I Make You Lush
6. Van Morrison - The 1967 New York Sessions

Cover album is from Four Tet. I really like this DJ Artist, real name Keiran Hebden, who composes his own material. Seeing him live too was a good experience (not normally the case I find with DJ sets as a spectacle). This is the only album I have of his and by many accounts is the best one to start with. There are some great hooks and loops and lugubrious jazzy down beats similar to DJ Shadow's best stuff. Centrepiece is the piano piece Unbroken. And They All Look Broken Hearted is fascinating with it's phased Japanese koto.



Sunday 26 March 2017

Log #26 - How to Tell the Temperature from a Cricket

Eddy Bamyasi


1. Rodriguez - Coming From Reality
2. Money Mark - Mark's Keyboard Repair
3. Sly and the Family Stone - The Collection
4. Four Tet - Rounds
5. Wagon Christ - Sorry I Make You Lush
6. Van Morrison - The 1967 New York Sessions

Wagon Christ is one of the pseudonyms of Luke Vibert - a prolific DJ and mixer, like Aphex Twin, from Cornwall. What I admire about Vibert's output is that although he covers different styles (electronica, acid, disco, dance, trance) he always stamps his own personality on his music - a characteristic not all that common in the rather anonymous world of DJ mixing. I found my way into Luke Vibert via his Stop the Panic album with slide guitarist BJ Cole - an unusual marriage, but one that works brilliantly.
That cricket was chirping at 76 degrees fahrenheit.
Also on the playlist this week is an intriguing album from Money Mark. Money Mark is actually Mark Nishita who has played keyboards with The Beastie Boys. Hear this frankly bonkers but brilliant track Insects Are All Around Us and ponder if you have ever heard anything like it before.




Powered by Blogger.

Leading Artists (by appearance)

neil young (26) van morrison (22) john martyn (18) tangerine dream (18) felice brothers (16) pink floyd (14) led zeppelin (13) black sabbath (12) brian eno (12) whitest boy alive (12) bonnie prince billy (11) can (11) david sylvian (11) radiohead (11) talk talk (11) beatles (10) cluster (10) cocteau twins (10) laura marling (10) nick cave (10) afro celts (9) beck (9) bob dylan (9) fennesz (9) genesis (9) iron and wine (8) loscil (8) midlake (8) paolo nutini (8) tom waits (8) autechre (7) foals (7) nucleus (7) richard hawley (7) stars of the lid (7) camel (6) david bowie (6) dj vadim (6) efterklang (6) elo (6) fairport convention (6) harmonia (6) holger czukay (6) kings of convenience (6) low (6) luke vibert (6) matthew e white (6) miles davis (6) sahb (6) the doobie brothers (6) tord gustavsen (6) war on drugs (6) william basinski (6) arovane (5) bear's den (5) black keys (5) boards of canada (5) bob marley (5) calexico (5) edgar froese (5) father john misty (5) hawkwind (5) jan jelinek (5) king crimson (5) mouse on mars (5) nils frahm (5) public service broadcasting (5) robert plant (5) sigur ros (5) takemitsu (5) arbouretum (4) badly drawn boy (4) budgie (4) carly simon (4) carole king (4) decemberists (4) emeralds (4) four tet (4) handsome family (4) hidden orchestra (4) jethro tull (4) jj cale (4) john legend (4) klaus schulze (4) kruder and dorfmeister (4) manuel gottsching (4) opeth (4) penguin cafe orchestra (4) ravi shankar (4) soft hair (4) steely dan (4) the unthanks (4) tim hecker (4) trees (4) ulrich schnauss (4) KLF (3) alan parsons project (3) alex harvey (3) alison krauss (3) alva noto (3) barclay james harvest (3) bon iver (3) bonobo (3) caitlin canty (3) caribou (3) chicago (3) coldplay (3) curtis mayfield (3) david crosby (3) deep purple (3) depeche mode (3) eilen jewell (3) enid (3) fleetwood mac (3) floating points (3) free (3) gorillaz (3) gram parsons (3) grateful dead (3) grobschnitt (3) incredible string band (3) james morrison (3) jill scott (3) john grant (3) john surman (3) keith jarrett (3) kraftwerk (3) lal waterson (3) last shadow puppets (3) lift to experience (3) lynyrd skynyrd (3) mahavishnu orchestra (3) manitoba (3) mike oldfield (3) mike waterson (3) monolake (3) neu! (3) palace brothers (3) philip glass (3) popol vuh (3) quantic (3) rodriguez (3) rokia traore (3) rolling stones (3) rory gallagher (3) roxy music (3) rush (3) simon and garfunkel (3) sly and the family stone (3) steve hillage (3) suede (3) sufjan stevens (3) the comet is coming (3) tim buckley (3) wagon christ (3) wilco (3) 4hero (2) abc (2) ac/dc (2) al stewart (2) amon duul II (2) aphex twin (2) arctic monkeys (2) baka beyond (2) band of horses (2) belle and sebastian (2) blue oyster cult (2) blue states (2) bonzo dog band (2) boris salchow (2) burial (2) cardigans (2) carlos barbosa-lima (2) charles mingus (2) chemical brothers (2) chris rea (2) cinematic orchestra (2) compilations (2) crosby stills nash (2) david darling (2) death in vegas (2) debussy (2) dj shadow (2) doors (2) earl sweatshirt (2) eloy (2) emilie simon (2) erik satie (2) farben (2) festivals (2) fleet foxes (2) francois and the atlas mountains (2) fripp and eno (2) gas (2) gong (2) granados (2) green on red (2) griffin anthony (2) jazzland (2) jean sibelius (2) jeff buckley (2) john coltrane (2) johnny flynn (2) josh t pearson (2) julian cope (2) kamasi washington (2) kanye west (2) kate bush (2) ketil bjornstad (2) la dusseldorf (2) lambchop (2) larkin poe (2) little feat (2) ludovico einaudi (2) magma (2) marianne faithfull (2) marvin gaye (2) mike lazarev (2) money mark (2) morton feldman (2) nektar (2) nightmares on wax (2) ninja (2) nirvana (2) nitin sawhney (2) peace (2) porya hatami (2) prefuse 73 (2) prem joshua (2) randy newman (2) robert fripp (2) ryan adams (2) scorpions (2) scott and maria (2) scott matthews (2) servants of science (2) soft machine (2) steve miller (2) susumu yokota (2) talvin singh (2) the who (2) thievery corporation (2) traffic (2) truckstop honeymoon (2) ufo (2) up bustle and out (2) weather report (2) wiley (2) willard grant conspiracy (2) wishbone ash (2) wyclef jean (2) yes (2) abba (1) acid mothers temple and the cosmic inferno (1) aimee mann (1) air (1) alabama 3 (1) alice coltrane (1) amadou and mariam (1) andy shauf (1) anthony hamilton (1) april wine (1) arcade fire (1) ashra (1) asia (1) badger (1) barber (1) beach boys (1) bee gees (1) beirut (1) bert jansch (1) beuno vista social club (1) bill laswell (1) biosphere (1) bjork (1) blow monkeys (1) bob geldof (1) bob holroyd (1) bob seger (1) bombay bicycle club (1) boubacar traore (1) broken social scene (1) bruce springsteen (1) bruch (1) byline (1) captain beefheart (1) cardi b (1) cast (1) cat stevens (1) catfish and the bottlemen (1) charles and eddie (1) chopin (1) chris child (1) christine and the queens (1) chuck prophet (1) climax blues band (1) cosmic jokers (1) crowded house (1) d'angelo (1) daft punk (1) david goodrich (1) davy graham (1) dexy's midnight runners (1) dolly collins (1) donald fagen (1) dreadzone (1) dub pistols (1) eagles (1) echo and the bunnymen (1) eden espinosa (1) eels (1) elbow (1) electric ape (1) emerson lake and palmer (1) erlend oye (1) erukah badu (1) essays (1) euphony in electronics (1) faust (1) feist (1) flaming lips (1) future days (1) gamma (1) gang of four (1) gentle giant (1) goat roper rodeo band (1) godspeed you black emperor (1) gorecki (1) groove armada (1) grover washington jr. (1) gun (1) guru guru (1) hatfield and the north (1) hats off gentlemen it's adequate (1) heron (1) hiss golden messenger (1) hozier (1) human league (1) idles (1) india arie (1) iron and wire (1) isaac hayes (1) james brown (1) james joys (1) jamie t (1) janelle monae (1) jayhawks (1) jean-michel jarre (1) jerry paper (1) jim croce (1) jimi hendrix (1) jjcale (1) john cale (1) john mclaughlin (1) jon hassell (1) jurassic 5 (1) kacey musgraves (1) keith berry (1) kid loco (1) king tubby (1) king's consort (1) kings of leon (1) kirk degiorgio (1) kodomo (1) lenny kravitz (1) lighthouse (1) love supreme (1) luc vanlaere (1) lumineers (1) mark pritchard (1) mark ronson (1) me'shell ndegeocello (1) messiaen (1) metallica (1) micah frank (1) michael hedges (1) michael jackson (1) mike west (1) mitski (1) modest mouse (1) moody blues (1) morte macabre (1) motorhead (1) national health (1) nick drake (1) nusrat fateh ali khan (1) oasis (1) omd (1) orb (1) orquesta reve (1) other lives (1) oval (1) paco pena (1) paladin (1) panda bear (1) pat metheny (1) paulo nutini (1) pentangle (1) pierre bensusan (1) portishead (1) proprio (1) protoje (1) purcell (1) pussy riot (1) queen (1) rainbow (1) ramsay midwood (1) rautavaara (1) rem (1) rhythm kings (1) richard strauss (1) robyn (1) roni size (1) ryuichi sakamoto (1) sada sat kaur (1) saga (1) sam jordan (1) sammy hagar (1) santana (1) scaramanga silk (1) shakti (1) shirley collins (1) shostakovich (1) snafu (1) snatam kaur (1) sparks (1) st germain (1) stanford (1) steeleye span (1) stereolab (1) steve reich (1) styx (1) supertramp (1) susumo yokota (1) t bone walker (1) terry riley (1) the band (1) the clash (1) the jayhawks (1) the streets (1) the wreks (1) tricky (1) tycho (1) uriah heep (1) velvet underground (1) venetian snares (1) vladislav delay (1) whiskeytown (1) whitesnake (1) william ackerman (1) yngwie j malmsteen (1) zhou yu (1) μ-Ziq (1)