Log #188 - Paddling In The Shallows

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

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Log #187 - Moving Post Rock

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?

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Log #27 - Four Tet Doing The Rounds

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.

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

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.

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