mmpsuf • retina

Last year the rather obscure mmpsuf gave us the wonderful Expeditors, seemingly arriving out of nowhere with what was one of the year's best releases. With little information available and no other releases in their catalog, here we find ourselves in February with another new release, Retina. The new material is much more moody and calm, and nothing short of beautiful. Check out the videos below, and visit the website to download their new album for free.

http://www.mmpsuf.lt/

mmpsuf (Eglė Sirvydytė): The Rooms from mmpsuf on Vimeo.

mmpsuf: The Sailors. Indie Kirtimuose from mmpsuf on Vimeo.

tropics • nautical clamour

After last year's excellent Parodia Flare, a collection of "unreleased material, old and new" is quite a nice surprise. B-sides? Sounds pretty damn good to me.

grimes • visions

Grimes, one Claire Boucher, has been consistently getting better as time passes. Visions, with its array of pop, dance and electronics, including Boucher's ethereal yet somehow energetic vocals, is a fun listening experience that showcases Boucher's ability to combine elements of many styles yet also be creative. The song "Circumambient" is posted below, tell me what you think.

lindstrøm • six cups of rebel

The year is off to a slow start for me, though this is often the case with music. Plenty of exciting releases on the horizon, but only a few trickling out this early. I figure some of you might enjoy the new Lindstrøm if you need something upbeat and happy to help you power through the rest of winter.



From Amazon:

Five. four. three. two. one.With the latest album from dance producer Hans-Peter Lindstrom, Norway's latest entry in the space race has been launched out of the wooded outskirts of Oslo. Six Cups Of Rebel, Lindstrom's fourth solo album, is a super-sized cosmic disco rocket that burns up a galaxy of eclectic influences in its wake, from Bach to Deep Purple, from Prog rock and arpeggiator disco to Acid House, while sounding sleek and utterly contemporary. He may worship at the temple of godlike European DJs from the 80s like Daniele Baldelli and Beppe Loda, but the relentless, occasionally monumental scale of Six Cups Of Rebel has the power to move mountains all by itself. From the opening "No Release" - a five-minute coitus interruptus of cascading cathedral organ - to the pumping Detroit pistons of "Call Me Anytime" and the wah-wah stabs and fizzing 808 basslines of the title track, Six Cups Of Rebel acts like a star map of Lindstrom's own voyage to the outer limits of electronic music. When he holds back, as on the ten-minute "Hina", it's only to let rip with added propulsion, like a satellite using a planet's orbit to push it to the next level.

marcus fjellström

Whilst searching for songs to post from his new album Library Music 1 (and failing, miserably) I came across this gem, a audio-visual piece that Fjellström did. It's a rather interesting concept, info on which you can find below the video.

Commissioned for the Unsound Festival 2010, Lichtspiel Mutation 1 is the first part of a planned series of audiovisual music drama pieces, closely resembling the silent film performances of cinema's infancy.

The underlying idea behind the Lichtspiel Mutation series is to use old films in the 'public domain' as raw material, to be de- and reconstructed into new pieces of experimental music drama. The original film constitutes the seed of its own rebirth; themes, arch and narrative from the film are kept intact, as well as actual moving image material, but 'remixed' into a completely new form; a poetic visual/musical work that conceptually shares similarities with opera and/or ballet, but becomes something completely different altogether.

This first work in the series is based on Hugo Fregonese's 1953 film "Man in the Attic", a Jack the Ripper narrative. Lichtspiel Mutation 1 opened the Unsound Festival in Kraków, Poland in october 2010, featuring an expanded 45-piece Sinfonietta Cracovia and a guest appearance by fellow Miasmah artist Elegi (Tommy Jansen) on live electronics.

This version is based on a recording of the rehearsal session with the Sinfonietta Cracovia (conducted by Daníel Bjarnason), and is edited together with an electronic music track that slightly differs from the one used at the 2010 premiere in Kraków (the most significant difference being the omission of Elegi's live electronics).

re-cap-ish

Finally 2012 is here, the year in which the world will be reduced to ash and civilization as we know it will cease to exist. It better be a good year for music then, right? Seeing as we're only four days into the new year I haven't listened to many 2012 releases, thus I would like to take the time to go back and highlight some 2011 artists/releases you may have missed.

Has-Lo - In Case I Don't Make It

I mentioned Has-Lo in my earlier 2011 hip hop post but I still feel he is being slept on. I've heard his music referred to as 'rainy day rap,' which I suppose is a fancy way of saying that Has-Lo makes chill, slightly melancholy hip hop. Here are a couple tracks from the album.





While I'm on hip hop, I should mention that if you haven't been paying attention to the Green Ova Undergrounds collective this past year you've been missing out. Aside from Main Attrakionz laying down 808's & Dark Grapes II we've got the Blackberry Kush EP, Chandalier, Squadda B's I Smoke Because I Don't Care About Death, and more. Here is "Swaggin' Hard" from the Chandalier EP, followed by "On Deck(Remix)" from the Blackberry EP.





My apologies for the huge contrast in material for this post but I haven't taken any time to mention Esoteric (the UK psych-doom act, to be clear). Last year they released the soul devouring The Paragon of Dissonance which is quite the addition to their discog. It's more of what you might expect from these guys but the quality and craftsmanship is unflinching. There is no doom band on the same level as Esoteric. I promise. Slow, monolithic walls of psychedelic, noisy doom.



Kreng is an artist I've been watching closely for a few years now. Although he has mostly done difficult to find music for many theater and dance productions, in 2009 he released L’Autopsie Phénoménale De Dieu and now in 2011, Grimoire. Excellent darker ambient that contains modern classical elements, maybe even a bit of free-jazz.



Next post I will continue to expand on music similar to Kreng, highlighting other great ambient/experimental/modern classical releases from the past year. Stay tuned!

shakey graves

folky goodness, use of banjo, strong voice. more @ bandcamp

dimlite

One of the great musical tragedies of the 00's is that Swiss beat magician Dimlite did not set ablaze the electronic/hip hop world. Perhaps it is better to say that he did set it ablaze, only everyone is asleep and have yet to realize the impending doom. Time to wake up people.

2006's This Is Embracing was and is a monumental release. I like FlyLo as much as the next guy but those who write off Dimlite as an imitation, as many have, are confused. Flying Lotus' album 1983 came out the same year, which musically is a few steps removed from Dimlite's "sound." It wasn't until a couple years later with Los Angeles that FlyLo started gravitating toward a similar, more nuanced, creative and cosmic style. Either way, for my ears, where FlyLo sometimes sounds forced Dimlite sounds organic and effortless. Not to mention his creativity is off the charts. But I digress...

After years of waiting and only getting an EP and a handful of tracks, Dimlite has returned in 2011 with Grimm Reality. Whereas Embracing was refreshing and new in 2006, this year Dimlite continues to do things his own way and dismiss more conventional approaches to electronic and hip hop. I'm not much into reviewing albums these days, thus I will merely tell you that Grimm Reality is fucking great and provide you with a few cuts from the album so that you can see what you think.

moon wiring club

Often times December releases get forgotten in the rush for magazines to publish their end-of-year lists. In the end who really cares, other than that projects like the enigmatic Moon Wiring Club get less recognition than they deserve. Earlier this year MWC released Somewhere A Fox Is Getting Married, a rather strange tribute (perhaps?) to the Royal wedding. Quite frankly it was underwhelming, but here in December we have received Clutch It Like A Gonk which sounds much more fine-tuned, if you will. At any rate, it's among the best of MWC's work and is keeping electronic music interesting.



Gotta love the strange video as well.

andy stott, laurel halo

Despite seeing Passed Me By all over the place this year, I slept on it until December. This year has definitely seen techno and house music make a bolder statement, what with Laurel Halo, Surgeon and others dropping releases that have been quite excellent. Andy Stott deserves a nod for his contributions as well. Dark, dub techno goodness. Don't forget to turn up the volume.



edit: might as well include a track from Laurel Halo's Hour Logic EP. Very good.

shilpa ray & her happy hookers

From Teenage and Torture.

jack allett, glenn jones

We all know that there is not shortage of acoustic guitarists peddling whatever gimmick they choose, the great many of them done over and over throughout the decades. And yet this over-saturation makes those who stand out all the more important. Jack Allett's style is familiar, but so well done it's worth some attention. In the video below his style is similar to James Blackshaw but overall I'd say Allett brings a more diverse set of sounds on his debut, The Collapsing Middle. Here he is playing live earlier this year.



You can hear more of his music on soundcloud.

With that said, Glenn Jones cast a shadow that is damn near inimitable. You've probably seen his album The Wanting on many year-end lists.

talvihorros

From talvihorros.com:

Talvihorros is the guitar driven moniker of British composer Ben Chatwin. Exploring numerous techniques to coax a myriad of sounds from both electric and acoustic guitars. He creates dense and dark sound collages augmented with organ, harmonium, mandolin, bells, synthesizer and waves of electronic static. Talvihorros performs live with just an electric guitar and an array of effects pedals, he has previously shared the stage with the likes of Tim Hecker, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Stephan Mathieu and Ian Hawgood.


Hallowed by Talvihorros

2011's Descent Into Delta is quite impressive.

blood box

The best of dark ambient. Solo project of Michael JV Hensley (Yen Pox). New release this year called Funeral In An Empty Room which is phenomenal.


BLOOD BOX - Funeral In An Empty Room (megamix) by BLOOD BOX

peaking lights

lo-fi, psych-pop duo Peaking Lights put out a rather nice album this year, 936. Here's a cut off that album:

ga'an

Ga’an play dark, meditative drone-prog using minimalism, poly-rhythms, and incantatory vocals to entrance the listener with its oppressive, and enveloping sound. Their new album “Black Equus” due out 11/29/2011 on Captcha Records. Their first self titled album is out on Captcha Records which features their original line-up.
last.fm

I very much was into their debut with the original line-up so it's nice to see that they put out something just as massively rockin' with a three-piece. Clearly they can pull it off live as well.

thee oh sees

Among Thee Oh Sees releases from this year is Carrion Crawler/The Dream. Garage rock that despite being nothing novel is rather fun and exciting.

Hip Hop 2011

Welcome! Since the end of the year is nigh I will begin this blog by taking a look at the music released in 2011. Starting in January I will begin posting on current music that needs your attention. No point wasting more time. Here's a look at some of the notable hip hop that came out this year.

Danny Brown - XXX

Danny Brown is a Detroit MC that has been hittin' the mic for years and yet this year XXX caused more of us to take notice. His eccentric and style shines through with his often hilarious lyrics that much of the time can be thought provoking as well. The variation in his 'hybrid' style adds a fresh dynamic, along with a more modern hip hop production. Excellent album following his other releases that had already set the bar exceedingly high.



Which is also to say, don't forget to check out the EP Danny Brown did with another Detroit producer and MC you should already know, Black Milk. The EP is quite simply titled Black & Brown



Has-Lo - In Case I Don't Make It



Main Attrakionz - 808s & Dark Grapes II

Main Attrakionz dropped so much good music this year it's almost overwhelming. This album is a great place to start but other releases such as the Blackberry Kush EP, Mondre's Dope Since '91 mixtape and the Greenova collective's Chandalier need not be slept on. Keep your eye on these fellas.



Which brings us to...

ASAP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP



Cyrus Malachi - Ancient Future

You won't see this MC on many lists this year. UK hip hop remains largely in its' own bubble despite gaining popularity. Cyrus Malachi shows why we need to keep an ear open for hip hop coming from outside of the US as well.



Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire - Lost In Translation



Shabazz Palaces - Black Up



The Doppelgangaz - Lone Sharks