SubVersion

SubVersion Stop 149: Transcendental Introspection Musically Explained

2012-01-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

Spacey music, wallflower music, droney music - that's what this showcase concerns. You might wonder how to connect them with a term. So I came up with something to bridge these three bases, much like I did "Attitude", "Chill", and "Deepersounds" variables for the second unofficial Subvert Central zine. That was a response to identikit sub-genre labelling without any emotion, minus any description. Or: once a description-inside-the-term is made, all descriptions that lead on cease to become relevant; it's all about the initial impulse. Enter arguments, pointless sub-labelling, ad infinitum. Creativity is fine - at least it's doing something - but regardless, you have to find a way to un-pigeonhole for a piece of art to hold any intellectual relevance over time.

So, I decided to connect two words: "transcendental introspection." At first you might think: "What the hell is that - psychobabble for hypochondriacs?" - but, looking again is the point. A drawing on your inner reserve and crossing a boundary - logical or illogical, thematic or non-thematic. Whereby the point musically is to inject fresh ideas into style, pitch and all and sundry else. To start with, here's the term in my 27th review for Fluid Radio last year:

http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2011/12/pascal-savy-fragments/

As stated there, "applied across genres, 'transcendental introspection' alludes to postmodernist values of artistic composition – citing relativity as a conduit to alter, and monotony of subject as a course to lease". By introspecting on your creation process, you are ideally able to transcend states, whether it's finishing your track, trimming the track, blissing out to the track. An optimistic theory to live by with the positive attributes in mind - otherwise "transcendental introspection" could become a buzzword aside, fit only for describing meditation procedure. That's where the term, I found through research, originates. But as far as I'm aware, no-one else has used it in a musical framework until now.

Of course, it could be argued that this "transcendental introspection" as a quality is really just a replacement for plain old thinking. The way I like to perceive this notion, is that there has to be a middle gate, and that for something to transcend to start with, something penetrating must take place. Ultimately a differential in the linguistic make-up, as well as a preference to separate thinking and transcendence myself. To put it another way: thinking is the start of transcendence. And as such, any journalist's piece of writing can be judged on how it applies its thinking transcendentally, to whatever it writes about.

In this nature, onto the music I've selected. Like Pascal Savy's "Fragments", it all has transcendental introspection dotted throughout. The releases are Absys Records' "Mystical Deep Vol.2" compilation, Three Metre Day's "Coasting Notes", and Lawrence Ball's "Method Music" two disc set.

Absys CD006 - Mystical Deep Vol.2 CD

Depending how far you nosed Dubstep's voiciferous sound den 2005-2012, you'll perhaps be familiar that "bass music" is the term bandied about for transcendence through House, Techno, Dubstep and all lower tempo offshoots than Drum & Bass. This doesn't mean it can't be applied to what peaks near 170bpm, and "bass music" is indeed a good mainstay for what to expect of Absys. Then you're getting a small taste verbally; otherwise breakbeat experimentation populates the sequencing of this 13 track Dubstep and D&B melange.

Perceptually, transcedental introspection - that term again - has been lacking in Drum & Bass proper since 1993. "In almost every genre, there's good and bad. You just have to pick the gems" Cycom noted in TDD 2's 2007 interview. And this theory traces equally back as far as classical music - the punctuation mark of academic circles - or further, Neanderthal man, who was knocking pieces of rock together to make good ol' fashioned noise, post-T-Rex becoming T-vexed. Where transcendental introspection tows "Mystical Deep Vol.2", is in the credence applied to tonal juxtaposition between tunes. A constant mood maintains, flexes, ricochets: it's music where you sense each producer has introspected to bring something new out, hitherto inviting you to create your own expulsion - to own the tracks in a transcendental perspective, and hence keeping them at the front of your record crate, CD pile, or hard drive sector for longer.

A bit of extra context: Ambient music was my daily critical diet 2011-2012, and it's very rare I come across anything that excites me in D&B any more. The loss of that transcendence may well be a part: fads become re-generated heavily in this genre; pick up the journalistic template for a D&B review and most writers drop in names and tracks straight away, heretofore promoting a switch on/off mechanism that comes down to familiarity breaching. We live in a perpetual vacuum of uninspired copout extremes all the while, and what you consider to be musical gold, turns into bargain bin commercial fodder with nothing to show for it even quicker. The critics get bored, you get bored, I get bored. Isn't excitement wonderful? That's a major part of just getting up in the morning. So do give this a listen if you're Electronica minded.

Check on Subvert Central

Three Metre Day - Coasting Notes CD (Self-Released)

Some days you reject leaving bed - maybe you're off work, out of work, down henceforth, trying to face the black wall. Later a thought pops into your head that lifts your mood, and you are able to transcend space and time to enter another. "Please baby please, I'll buy you a ring" might be such a lyrical strand to Michelle Willis, singer of Three Metre Day on "I'm Like An Oak", "Coasting Notes" album opener. Akin to smoothed bark, Willis has been compared with Norah Jones by one reviewer, Beth Orton another, and there's an icy playfulness to her voice that is transcendental for emotion being gradually released, and introspective in compliment to the former. The lyric is one of several niceties weaved into the group's fabric of violin, drums, pump organ and slide guitar. 3MD play sobering - but not negatively austere - pieces with transcendental introspection pittering and pattering in flurries, like your heart will upon hearing, and finally leaving on "We Now Hope We Win".

According to their biography, late 2009 was new material time. A conglomerate of several bands previously, their recent California tour was organised by James Williamson from Iggy And The Stooges, which highlights their creative diversity. Yet at the same time, all wallflower sounding, this record. Nothing approaches instrumental raunch - it's more romanticist than that, "Reputation Girl" being the raw red herring. "This Night Is Getting Old" adapts the narrative of having "things to do" and seduces by reductionist songcraft, something which also features on "Stay That Way", one of the most immediately striking LP tunes. What ultimately wins you over is that these are skilled musicians playing music which shouldn't require skill to shape, yet it does, and the subconscious adherence to this fact commands a certain respect in your psyche of the work, and all things you notice thereafter. Roots music isn't my forte, but if I can find something to really love and grow with throughout any record, it has to be worth recommending.

Go see, order, trace a measure.

Lawrence Ball - Method Music 2CD

If you belittle yourself for long enough, you'll feel relieved when you stop. The case of taking on a structural misogyny paints a historical documentary for your life that never quite "was" in the purest sense. Where Lawrence Ball has transcended this principle with "Method Music", is to obtain masses of raw external stimuli with the aid of programmer Dave Snowdon, then butter it into his own compositions, co-produced in collaboration with The Who's Pete Townshend as musical portraiture. The concept originated with Pete's "Lifehouse" project, in which a website was created to process personal data from users' in unique sound corroboration. While artistic petals of Three Metre Day might wilt in the presence of electronics, they are comfortingly bastardized into ditzy-cool runabouts by Ball, who extrapolates the theoretical implications of "Method Music" into the dedication format as well. On disc one, the springboard strings of "Sitter 10" exemplify the underlying construction: method has plenty to do with humility, plus existential realities beyond ourselves. "Sitter 12" counterintuitively dons psychopathic typewriter percussion and deciduous melodies.

On disc two, the cosmic awaits via "Galaxy 01 (For The Late Syd Barrett)"; spectral synth swirls abolishing the soda pop coda, and pirouetting flashes of subconscious junk - siphoned out - provide an uplifting 20 minute chunk of space Ambient Barrett would be glad to associate with. Its timbre pokes Theremin eeriness; its dissonance is something to revel in. Wallowing has often been an emotional pitfall of long form ambiences, but Ball's stab at it - marrying chimes with 90s warptronica synthesis - has you in perpetual, lucid trance. "Galaxy 02 (For The Late Hugh Hopper)" has strings of dolphin-esque grace jumping out of the sound sphere, bobbing their heads about and back in. The Ligeti dedication, by far the pinnacle multilayered and evolving composition of this CD; a constant stream of continually tugging notation, melding each end of the journalist's alphabet, then condensing the remnants by fridge-freezer, chilly flights of instrumental fancy. A bleeping sonic area here, next a refraction transcending onto the last. Importantly clutter is minimized by a measuring-up-to-classical-inflected restraint; an Arvo Part "Silentium" comparative, fed an electromagnetism milkshake. Flute adjoins the latter half with a fluttery texture, akin to 70s freak Folk. By the end my ears were exhausted, and it's a priori you'll require proper speakers to do the refrains and weavings due justice.

Pre-Order At Amazon

Download a free promo sample: "Sitter 17"

SubVersion's Conclusion

"Transcendental introspection" can be seen as the development of a more or less standardised code of associations, pursuing the borderline, and allowing less close-minded terminology to be present in the web world.

Personally I have a cumbrous relationship with genreification, seeing sub styles as irrelevant in the perspective of not allowing the listener a surprise, transcendent moment or critique.

We have become accustomed to putative language that threads our collective muso-society together, and unless differentiations are made from that format, paradoxically more segregation will occur.

I hope you enjoy the releases reviewed.

SubVersion Stop 148: SubVersion's End Of 2011 Charts

2011-12-25T04:01:00.000-08:00

SubVersion Contributors

Muttley

01. Favourite track: Nebula - Escapism (Astral Soul, Subtle Audio 005 EP)

02. Favourite album: Grouper - A.I.A: Alien Observer (Yellowelectric)

03. Favourite label: History Always Favours The Winners (James Leyland Kirby)

04. Favourite mixtape: The Daily Street 013: Vandera - 60 Tunes, 60 Minutes, C Minor

05. Favourite SC thread: Statto - other stuff you're interested in

06. Favourite gig: Duotone, Jane Griffiths & Colin Fletcher @ Warneford Chapel, Oxford, 14th June

07. Favourite book: Lucid Dreaming: The Paradox Of Consciousness During Sleep - ed. Celia Green & Charles Mcreery

08. Favourite food (or Snax): Tandoori Masakan Lamb & Mushroom Rice with Peshwari Naan

09. Favourite guilty pleasure: Joking the parents' canine namesake Mutley is Edward Monkton's "Pig Of Happiness" and cheering myself up consequentially

10. Favourite random moment: Watching Mongrels and recalling certain character lines in quiet time

Jonathan

01. Favourite track: Formication - I Dare You (Binad Chorad mix)

02. Favourite album: Alek Stark presents Elektro Domésticos 3

03. Favourite label: Weevil Neighbourhood

04. Favourite mixtape: Heinrich Mueller - Resident Advisor 250

05. Favourite SC thread: Naphta - porn is good for society

06. Favourite gig: Ruins Alone @ Rammel 38, Nottingham, 5th October

07. Favourite book: Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme - ed. Ivan Coyote & Zena Sharman

08. Favourite food (or Snax): Homemade chocolate fridge cake

09. Favourite guilty pleasure: Arguing about sex and gender on blogs and forums

10. Favourite random moment: Finishing whatever big job I've just finished and then doing nothing at all

Fellow Subvert Central Members

dionysus

01. Favourite track: Ben Howard - Black Flies

02. Favourite album: Ben Howard - Every Kingdom

03. Favourite label: Exit

04. Favourite mixtape: A DJ Flight show

05. Favourite SC thread: One started by Annastay‎

06. Favourite gig: Ben Howard (I went to one gig this year)

07. Favourite book: Haruki Murakami - Norwegian Wood (I will never watch the film)

08. Favourite food (or Snax): My Bento Boxes :)

09. Favourite guilty pleasure: Making breakbeat Jungle with krusty basses

10. Favourite random moment: Falling in love with Claude Monet, Poplars on the Epte, at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh (the blue!)

MetaLX

01. Favourite track: Kadzaty Stanislav's talk-show "Uatsamonga". North Ossetian Radio Broadcasting (Ossetian Language).

02. Favourite album: Sly & Robbie - This Is Crucial Reggae (Trojan, 2010)

03. Favourite label: ---

04. Favourite mixtape: Curly Swipes & DJ Euphoria Live on Renegade Radio 13 May, 2011. Oldskool.

05. Favourite SC thread: Statto - other stuff you're interested in

06. Favourite gig: Watching mates Ryan Mystik and Lion Fiyah perform at a bar called Tropics. Reggae at Tropics in general.

07. Favourite book: Chernow, Ron. 2005. Alexander Hamilton. New York: Penguin.

08. Favourite food (or Snax): Coffee

09. Favourite guilty pleasure: Working from home

10. Favourite random moment: Getting stuck at an airport waiting for a 4 hour flight delay, getting battered on ale knowing that my wife was picking me up and driving, then seeing a friend of mine who was the stewardess who gave me a whole empty row of my own for the flight home.

Slothrop

01. Favourite track: It turns out most of the tracks I've been listening to this year have been from last year. I'll give it to LV ft Joshua Idehen - Northern Line for shameless Londoncentricism.

02. Favourite album: Zomby - Dedication (4AD)

03. Favourite label: Hessle Audio, for the compilation "116 And Rising".

04. Favourite mixtape: Royal T Fact Mix

05. Favourite SC thread: One of the Friday threads

06. Favourite gig: Past Present Future Space Time festival @ Wysing Arts Centre

07. Favourite book: Tillie Olsen - Tell Me A Riddle

08. Favourite food (or Snax): too many to list, but Shana Frozen Parathas edge it.

09. Favourite guilty pleasure: godawful electro-house-rap-pop on Kiss FM at the climbing wall. Pitbull, LMFAO, Afrojack, Katy Perry, the lot...

10. Favourite random moment: seeing Sunburned Hand of Man doing their STUNNING live accompaniment to Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda in a Labour Club in Cambridge with regulars playing pool at the other end of the bar as if nothing unusual was going on...

noisemonkey

01. Favourite track: M83 - Midnight City

02. Favourite album: M83 - Hurry Up We're Dreaming

03. Favourite label: Scientific Wax

04. Favourite mixtape: Mav's 6 hour Seba mix

05. Favourite SC thread: A Friday thread

06. Favourite gig: Supporting Remarc @ Hole In The Wall, Exeter

07. Favourite book: Comte de Lautréamont - Les Chants De Maldoror

08. Favourite food (or Snax): Morrocan topped Hummus

09. Favourite guilty pleasure: Too much synth pop

10. Favourite random moment: Getting booked to warm up for a Filipino comedy duo

SubVersion Stop 147: Muttley - Seeds Of Inspiration (December 2011)

2011-12-15T14:51:00.000-08:00

Two people sharing time together, swimming and fishing, science, mental and physical health, sociology, language, chronology, competitiveness, computer games, gardening, travel; all these things my folks allowed me in some way or another, and those subjects make their way into track titles in "Seeds Of Inspiration". I made this for their 15th wedding anniversary, falling this Saturday. The music concurrently inspires me to get up and stimulate myself with fresh experiences, whether that walking to unforeseen areas of the city, gigging, journalling, review writing, or reading books. Plus, my fusions here cast illusion to things being "new" - until I've worn out the mixtape that is. Maybe this will plant seeds of inspiration in you as well.

00:00 Will Long - 2 (Rosy Reflections MC40, Avant Archive, 2011)
00:00 Alio Die & Amelia Cuni - Water Memories (Apsaras LP, Projekt, 2001)
04:30 Carbon Based Lifeforms - Held Together By Gravity (TwentyThree LP, Ultimae, 2011)
06:00 A Winged Victory For The Sullen - Steep Hills Of Vicodin Tears (Self-titled LP, Erased Tapes, 2011)
07:31 Mike Patton - 53-Weight Of Consequences (The Solitude Of Prime Numbers LP, Ipecac, 2011)
10:54 Jo Quail - Rex Infractus (From The Sea LP, Self-released, 2010)
14:39 Library Tapes - May [Variation] (Kanshin LP, Kanshin, 2011)
15:32 Three Metre Day - We Now Hope We Win (Coasting Notes LP, Self-released, 2011)
22:39 Lana Del Ray - Video Games (Video Games Single, Stranger Records, 2011)
23:03 David Tagg - Canna (Dream Compost EP, Self-released, 2011)
27:14 Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean (Helplessness Blues LP, Sub Pop, 2011)

Hear it here

SubVersion Stop 146: Muttley - Hurt (December 2011)

2011-12-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

Sparked by Statto's "Agony Aunt Thread" on Subvert Central, where he links Clarisse Thorn's "How To Break Up And Take It Like A Champ", "Hurt" came together in less than a day, designed as a movement-based archetype model, of sound that will assist listeners overcoming their heartache. Myself: I've been hurt by three women in the last three annums; the first through unintelligence, the second lack of maturity, and the third: where we drifted apart as friends despite my best efforts. Vowing to never contact again last month, it made sense to sculpt something where areas of downfall are depicted and possibly improved. In doing so, you can map areas of Clarisse's article to lyrics in the mixtape, emotions you received, and dispelling grief.

Movement 1 - 00:00 - 07:00 - Bitter Energy

00:00 Ekca Liena - Landing (Downer Supine CD-R, Entropy, 2011)
00:14 Paul Jebanasam - Music For The Church Of St. John The Baptist (Bristol Old Wall live recording, Sublive, 2011)
02:19 Joe McMahon - Empty Sidewalks (3AM LP, Earth Mantra, 2011)
03:01 Cindytalk - Floating Clouds (Hold Everything Dear LP, Editions Mego, 2011)
05:18 Bruno Sanfilippo - Spirit Allies (Subliminal Pulse LP, Wanderings, 2011)

Movement 2 - 07:00 - 15:12 - The Romancer

08:04 - A Winged Victory For The Sullen - A Symphony Pathetique (A Winged Victory For The Sullen LP, Erased Tapes, 2011)
12:42 Thomas Dolby - Love Is A Loaded Pistol (A Map Of The Floating City LP, EMI, 2011)

Movement 3 - 15:12 - 24:19 - Cadence The Pistol

15:24 Matt Bartram - Cadence (The Dreaming Invisible....... LP, Drifting Falling, 2011)
16:32 Little Dragon - Seconds (Ritual Union LP, Sony Music, 2011)
20:48 Chapel Club - O Maybe I (Palace LP, Polydor, 2011)
24:19 end

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SubVersion Stop 145: Fanu - Serendipity (Lightless)

2011-11-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

The art of serendipity: stumbling upon good things by accident - immensely gratifying to a modern liver. But like chocolate without weight gain, or a holiday with no time constraints, it's equally worrying when you indulge too often. Janne Hatula, the man behind the Fanu indoctrination, his popularity edging envelopes since 2003, "drumfunk" later shifting from buzzword to attention buzz-off, has no qualm, foraging samples across cultures, waxing them with more drum fills than The Winstons could shake a stick at.

With just heavy beats and bass to unite the album narrative, it's possible "Serendipity" could be a bland dish in the modern age, uber-production sphere. Janne's inspirations include Photek, and I'd agree that he makes snoresome beats today. Yet a subjective flaw of "Serendipity" is it's laborious 79 minute duration. However, Fanu counters this criticism with a variegated track flow, and merging into trancier melodic territory than his past albums. Ultimately it's a collection of tracks, whereby he's mentioned online processing it after a skateboarding injury allowed him the mental space to work proper.

Where once there was Twin Peaks meta data, in replacement comes crackling firework synth samples to excite grey matter. As well as the trademark vocal layers, here also spoken in Finnish - he thought English only sounded cool prior to this - the move is something that breathes oxygen into the breakbeat Jungle glaze by it's lack of synonymity. Meanwhile Greenleaf's scattergun verses on "Shatner Rap" probe from Stateside, like "a doc tor" overlooking the alt. hip hop answering machine, dropping slick off-kilter tendencies against rump-shaking drumwork to bridge the middle of the record with fairly unique style.

"Fairly" - a question "is Fanu repeating himself?" - by originality dissipating in favour of a signature touchstone (half-time breaks, film noir and rough-textured production) comes under conjecture with every artist that establishes oneself, but I can interpret from "Serendipity" that the spark I cherished from those early leftfield label releases isn't lost. The common energetic bond remains in colouring lower frequencies over the breakbeat, moreover a historical frequency pitch to the Old School, and a venture into further lower tempos, such as Dubstep territory, subsequently also veering towards the liveliness of his collaboration with experimentalist stalwart Bill Laswell on 2008's "Lodge".

If there's a fanfare to be had in "Serendipity", it's the joyous Hotpants machine-gun-and-trailblazer-atmos splatter of "I Can't Sleep", dropping an ounce of fatness and all the better for it contextually, while earlier on the dramatic breakbeat butchery of "Jupiter" lodges the Amen into a Pong Atari module, claustrophobic to the extreme but exalted by affinity with split personality edit juxtapositions. Janne's not afraid to show off his breaks collection, nevertheless he keeps things raw and the result is an organic interlocking minus the torpor. "Serendipity", fundamentally, continues the quality level of the Fanu name, sacrificing the This Mortal Coil epicness of hallmark "Siren Song" but coming off mature as a path on the Finnish Ronin's journey. Whether you stumble on this because of intention or fate remains up to spiritual guidance, but there's worth in the gale, whether or not you set sail for it.

Listen and order @ Subvert Central

SubVersion Stop 144: Charlie Baxter + Space Heroes Of The People + Left Outer Join @ The Wheatsheaf, Wednesday 26th October 2011

2011-10-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Synth music: not a tough guy's exercise. There you are, toying with your keyboard, a post Roxy Music Eno when 3, 2, 1, you're in the 80s room with a floppy hairdo, and if lucky, several ladies in tow. Tonight's gig might be lacking some females, but one step at a time: that relationship is a situationist nag, like trying to teach Kevin the teenager math over fat raves with his mate Perry.

Right off the bat, Moshka's attendees have a feast for the ears. Left Outer Join, all hard Techno poise, keeps his live glow stick drumming setup and Roland machine locked over a swelling backdrop of progressive goa synth-lines. His music fails to threaten but there's particularly solid genesis with his mightily energetic performance. At points we're in proper proto-Drum & Bass vibes circa 90s T Power, scattered snares chipping away at your ears but always avoiding a screeching flow.

Space Heroes Of The People follow suit with a tumult of decayed synthetic fizz, then step up the trashy percussion and 4/4 rumble. Echoing melodic innocence from 80s post-punkers Propaganda, showing a varied palette that takes in Nu Rave and filters it through a ferris wheel of proportionate vocoder tidbits and pounding bass, rather like an autochanger from dull to cool, Tim Day's vocal effecting makes the natural timbre of voice seem second rate by comparison, squelchy bleeps adorning the mid section of the set alongside Jo Edge's distant double bass. The show droops and stirs like a malfunctioning feminist juggernaut, their set ending with a simple "thank you", affirming technology doesn't get in the way of heart when it's needed most.

"Oh my god it's Techno music" on his T-shirt: a gimmicky endorsement to Indie's fervour with Dance in recent times? But Charlie Baxter pulls it off with a mullet to spare. Kicking out a Ramones surf-punk guitar shuffle, the Jungle tempo yields high octane rhythm sections, powered with 'gimme adrenaline' lyrical phrases. He approaches a more giddy version of Pendulum with those neon synths and maximalist figures, but it all sounds coherent and lacking in cheese. These are purposeful tracks filled with vim, especially his white boy cover of "Play That Funky Music". Then he gets to gesturing the audience for what they had for dinner. "Maybe I should write a song about pizza" he muses. If it's as engaging as his new single, "Charlie Baxter's In My House", a runabout featuring Europe's "The Final Countdown", he'll be one to cook for in future. A stellar night all round.

Charlie Baxter: MySpace
Space Heroes Of The People: Facebook
Moshka on Nightshift forum

SubVersion Stop 143: Muttley - Water Under The Bridge (November 2011)

2011-10-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

"Water Under The Bridge" continues the 15 Minutes Of Fame series by me solo since "Exponents Of The Guitar" in August 2010. It's on a somber note - I've just left my family to live in shared accomodation, and the dedication of this, is to my two Bridge Building workers: one an Art Therapist who has helped me channel thoughts to paper, with discussions, and reflection time; the other a traditional facilitator assisting me re-integrating into activities post Stories Of Solace In Miniature Episode 1, my psychosis prevention project.

SOSIM 1

The music is akin to water flowing from one stream to the next, reinforcing the creation process as something natural. Let me know your thoughts or if you've ideas for future mixtapes to implement into 15 Minutes Of Fame.

00:00 Marsen Jules - Endless Whisper Of The Old Brigade (Nostalgia LP, OKTAF, 2011)
00:00 Hallock Hill - Ligonier Point (There He Unforeseen LP, HH Bandcamp, 2011)
01:59 The Winterhouse - Lost (Lost LP, Data Obscura, 2011)
05:04 Christopher Willits & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Toward Water (Ocean Fire, 12K, 2008)
07:56 36 - Vesl (Memories In Widescreen LP, 3Six, 2010)
10:30 Claro De Luna - Irse (Lo Que Ha Sidho Lo Que Sera LP, CDL Bandcamp, 2011)
11:07 Nest - Koretez Meteor (Body Pilot EP, Serein, 2011)
15:07 Rafael Antoni Isarri & Goldmund - Dissolution (For Nihon LP, Unseen, 2011)
15:38 Leyland Kirby - This Is The Story of Paradise Lost (|Eager To Tear Apart The Stars LP, History Always Favours The Winners, 2011)
19:37 Beautumn - As The Snow Leaves The Ground (Northing LP, Infraction, 2006)
30:32 end

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SubVersion Stop 142: Muttley & Collaborators - 15 Minutes Of Fame Pt. 50 - Wilderness (September 2011)

2011-09-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Back in April I posted on SC the opportunity for members to contribute tracks "outside your comfort zone" to my SC Affiliated 15 Minutes Of Fame project concept for 2011, the series dating from 2006, building over 85000 downloads.

Counterintuitively it wasn't plain sailing to accumulate the "Wilderness" tunes, since there's the question of music having redeeming qualities or not, whether you can find something to like in it - "I like this, and I'm surprised" causes of chance.

Crossing the lines between guilty pleasures and acquired taste, the mixtape, 33 minutes long, is a spiky smorgasbord of styles, was very difficult to make flow, while extending my "comfort zone". Nonetheless I'm satisfied with the result - I hope you enjoy it too.

Muttley & Collaborators - 15 MOF Pt. 50 - Wilderness

00:00 James Taylor - You Can Close Your Eyes - submitted by MetaLX

"It takes me back to the days when we used to play music on the weekends and one of my best mates was really into JT, in fact he called him "JT" (laughs). I thought his music was soppy to say the least, but, as time went on I kinda got into his folk sound! As a guitar player I was impressed by his almost psychopathic use of chords and progressions - fingerworkout."

00:00 / 06:00 / 07:34 Sonic Youth - Expressway To Yr Skull - submitted by lament

"It`s on their record called 'evol' and on the back cover it is listed as 'Madonna, Sean And Me'. :)"

02:22 En Vogue - My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) - submitted by Statto

06:00 / 29:56 Chris Brown & Benny Benyasi - Beautiful People - submitted by 247

"I truly hated this song to be begin with, but now I absolutely love it. Totally out of my comfort zone here :)"

06:43 Prayers For Atheists - Guns Up - submitted by cube

" I love PFA, but they're about as far as I've gone down the punk road ;)"

09:19 Bob Dylan - Hurricane - submitted by Ben Subvert

17:30 Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men - submitted by scart ridge

20:29 Emma Kirkby - Rise, Glory, Rise - submitted by Muttley

"Opera with Purcell tinge."

22:30 Ultravox - Vienna - submitted by Dave Trax

"Still a deep moody tune with a little cheese added. ;)"

26:27 The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes - submitted by cycom

"An even more embarrassing song, which is more ghey than anything, but definitely a great song."

33:41 end

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SubVersion Stop 141: Ruff Revival 004: Rick James - Horrorface / Naphta - Copy Rider (Untold Refix)

2011-09-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Jungle's delirium and ridiculousness are two qualities me and Tim from Manacles Of Acid discussed at Oxford's Modernist Disco launch in August, him playing Acid House. In broad context, they shouldn't be confused for the sake of Jungle's birthright and legacy in the current decade. Ruff Revival broaches the difference between connotative sustain and decay, clearing soul and crater bass, that became implicitly associated with the demise of 90s Jungle, and the rise of wall-to-sound Drum & Bass. In certain circles, what I prefer to term 'middle road D&B', populated by older selectors pushing more modernised sounds - DJ Lee being a prime example - there's the adage that music pays the DJ, but with this project the premise is different. To quote Naphta's "My Bitter Sweetness", a work released on label-head Droid's The Fear imprint as a download in 2007: "This history, a lot of people didn't, really, understand what happened then. I'd set my turntables up and play for another seven hours - it was something I had to do". The DJ was still getting paid at best, but the industrious streak, the 'hustler' ethic, further unstripped of greed.

Ruff Revival 004 has been long time burning, like Naphta's preceding album for The Fear. Turning our focus to Untold's version of "Copy Rider", whose burnt squelch, like a wet flannel dousing the coffee-stimualted workaholic masses, we find Dubstep's Woofah-zine interviewee employing an obstructionistic tension between sampled chromatic-scale-bothering downturn, while a tribal ferret drumline runs around the easel, tail between legs. It follows the trajectory of experimentalist label Hessle Audio, where conventional half-time is also sidestepped to see if the Dub can be hectically cleansed of its tiresome sameness, all the while not straying from pleasing dancing posses, by nailing structural phrases into an ongoing mirror pulsewidth.

Rick James' "Horrorface" implies from the title alone a dream where you're being made a fool of, and because it's not lucid, you can't control it. This property is refracted by it's divergence from Amen to Think to Hotpants, alternating like a Peter Stringfellow prayer mat. Creeping up the alleyway of cool via slick modern production values, the work takes a detour halfway in, improving on the head-to-grindstone slack of the Untold riddim with Perfectly Clear sparkle dotted on the outer limits. Despite the stock sampledelia: film samples, trad breakbeats and punnet-fresh melody, there's a strong identity to Rick's - aka Ricky Force - and J Rolla's fusions that place him in unison with Tim Reaper's better efforts of late. Lofty idealism isn't always part and parcel of getting a vinyl like this out, but here Ruff Revival engrave themselves in worthwhile history, with statue-over-city flair.

SC Promo Including Digital Download Availability

SubVersion Stop 140: Sci & Tech Posts: God Is In The Neurons / Building Blocks Of DNA Found In Meteorites From Space

2011-09-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

SC member Shift posted two ace threads on the forum this Summer, one highlighting an audio documentary that introduces all-level neurology ideas; the second: scientists have confirmed building blocks of human life exist in asteroids, that have collided with Earth in previous centuries. I'll elaborate on what caught my ear the swiftest.

God Is In The Neurons

Narrated across 23 minutes, written and researched by Athene (www.athenism.com), some of it's pertinently enlightening, encouraging propositions begin with human calculator Rudiger Gamm, who used to fail at basic Math, training himself according to neuroplasticity (strengthening of emotional connections in the brain towards certain stimuli). One self-penned comparison I picked up early, was links with - here emotional - resilience being part of meditation, and the way Athene touches on this: "Whatever you are doing at any time, you are physically modifying your brain to become better at it" he states, speaks for sensory elevation with the concentrated mind; because you are attempting to alter your hemispherical connections, consciousness increases your ardour to doing so.

My second observation in the field of studying schizophrenia, is the chemical neuropinephrine, mentioned by Athene two minutes in, creating "narrowmindedness", has more than the limbic system's primitive conditioning and corruption effecting its outcome, "knocking out most of our working memory". Here, a catch: those experiencing paranoia, psychosis or similar mental difficulties require higher levels of comfort chemicals. Oxytocin, for instance, released by mothers in breastfeeding, but also, as neuroscientist Rick Hanson outlines in "Meditations For Happiness, "when you're giving someone a long, long hug" - to rebalance their minds from the defensiveness, elucidates we cannot necessarily function coherently contrariwise - like our head's drugged inside a beer barrel.

Other highlights to consider are Athene's information that serotonin is responsible for self-esteem, so the more exercise and outside influence we get, the more control we may be able to take overcoming depression. This is already accepted wisdom, but helps detox complexities in his compacted balls of intellectual wool.

So let's arrive at the "God" internal theology to save you a great session listening and watching. Did I mention the inner soundtrack's superb too? Ambient pianos and drone shifts in science fiction manna by Professor Kliq - you can also download. Athene cannot prove or disprove God isn't in the neurons, but he can theorise of the scientific explanations in a very palatable format. Don't delay taking your eyes off this text - if you're further intrigued in anything related to personal growth and understanding.

God Is In The Neurons

SubVersion Stop 139: Subvert Central Podcast 51 - Koe

2011-09-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

01. Sbtrkt – Living like I do – Young Turks
02. Instra:Mental – When I dip – Non Plus
03. Joy Orbison – Sicko Cell – Swamp81
04. Boddika – Soul What – Swamp81
05. Fantastic Mr. Fox – Sepia Song – Black Acre
06. El-B feat. Rolla – Dirty Dirty – Night Audio
07. Joe – Claptrap – Hessle Audio
08. Curtis Wodka – Love me or hate me – Heavy Hittaz
09. Mr Oizo – Flat Beat – F Communications
10. Addison Groove – Footgrab – Swamp81
11. Martyn – All Nights – AllCity
12. Fuzzy Logic - Hold U Back – Unreleased
13. James Blake – CMYK – R&S
14. Fantastic Mr. Fox – Fool Me – Black Acre
15. Cosmin TRG – Tower Block – Hemlock
16. Boddika – Sometimes – Swamp81
17. Ding Dong – Badman Forward Badman Pull Up (The Bug remix) – Greensleeves
18. Instra:Mental – Thomp – NonPlus
19. Burial & Four Tet & Thom Yorke – Mirror – Text

“This mix includes music I recently play in the clubs and on my monthly radioshow, Garage Sessions [ www.play.fm/radioshow/garagesessions ]”

Download (56:40 / 107MB)

http://subvertcentral.com/podcast/

SubVersion Stop 138: SubVersion Recommends dgoHn - Live @ IChiOne 7 Year Anni feat. Quest One MC, Amsterdam

2011-08-18T03:51:00.000-07:00

"Join us on a journey, a journey through soundscapes. Not very commercial, but very enlightening" Quest One MC toasts amidst the Rephlex beatsmith's laptop set. IChiOne were the first promoters to likewise bring Boxcutter to the Netherlands; here they're embracing a rumbling tummy breakbeat feast. Shy of 40 minutes, it's a must for outsiders and percussive dance heads.

Download

Comment

SubVersion Stop 137: Anglo-Probe

2011-07-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

An inflammatory discussion on the forum this past five weeks is "anyone know what this is?", started innocently by MetaLX researching English heritage. Two users of the uepengland site, where the image - White Wulfshead (or Wolf Of England): "a symbol of kinship, strength and loyalty for the English folk" arose - jumped in to defend their rights to a national identity, root argument "seeing us recognised as a unique people with an ethnicity that is our own". All's fair play until MickyG calls out the pretend bigotry of Statto with ridiculing rebuttals, in just as pseudo-bigoted a manner, with its lack of peacemaking to the matter at hand, snowballing the engagement. But hey, this is the way with many talks on the internet.

Luckily Statto returns with truths that "English can hardly be regarded as any sort of ethnic identity. It's the result of indigenous tribes, being modified by numerous invasions (Romans, Saxons, Angles, Jutes, Vikings, Normans), and then widespread immigrations (largely as a consequence our own empire building)." Essentially the fine line: dividing racial purists, and those with a lesser intellect, thinking it okay to throw abuse at those outside their Royston Vasey culture - ("there's nothing for you here") - causes the frictions. As we later see in the SC thread courtesy of Droid, Jeremy Paxman sadly hasn't the inclination to deal with Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, former BNP party member once convincted violent offender. MickyG is firmly in defense of the minority position English heritage has left, and as SC sees from the other briefly joined member...

Blobhead: "I love the Islamic terrorists, I love the anti-white Muslim paedophile rape gangs, and I love the areas where they don't even speak English. I love the black gang culture that enriches London and I love the hundreds of charities and groups out there for anyone who isn't white or English.(...)Three cheers for mass immigration and multiculturalism." - are confusing sincere sarcasm with multiculturalist values - dangerous territory in numbers, and neither big nor clever. Droid: "These kind of comments are exactly the kind of crap that the murdering scumbag in Oslo spouted in his manifesto, not to mention his links to the English Defence League." As we then learn from MetaLX, the last substansial post thus far, accumulated opinion for how he came to the uepengland website.

MetaLX: "Personally, this whole view of hating others to the exclusion of ‘your own’ really sickens me, whether it be here, or what I read on sites like the one that I found. I feel that espousing that type of view lessens you as a person; for me pride in my ethnicity (genealogy, heritage) only enhances my appreciation of others’ and not the opposite. People can spout on all they want about foreigners overrunning their country and the like, but at the end of the day I know from experience that hate is not the way. By creating, connecting, and reinforcing semantic associations like racism and Anglo-Saxon, all you're doing is reinventing that culture as racist; it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Were the Anglo-Saxons of the 5th century racists? What would they think of the filth that is being propagated in their name?" It's a burning question, and a topic that should hopefully see greater interest.

Anyone know what this is?

SubVersion Stop 136: Leyland Kirby - Intrigue & Stuff Vol.2 (HAFTW) / Paper Relics - Over Exposure (Time Released Sound)

2011-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

Dub re-interpreted by Cezanne, kick-flipping over an early Electronica hubcap and leaving the city street flooded with liquid life. Busting a simultaneous equation of kaleidoscopic discolour by rusted mechanics, choral voices a la Gregorio Allegri wipe the surface, get caught in the waxwork, then slip into homeostasis. A monastery routed by Dalek science, exterminating all comers with sheer atmosphere and placated morphology - that's about the size of Leyland Kirby's "Eventually, It Eats Your Lungs", tune one on "Intrigue & Stuff Vol.2".

But words obstruct: it's music to lose yourself in, dance floor haunted or nothing. "Speeded Up Slow Motion", a derivative of Actress' dubstep splurge, hardwired to glimpsing life's meditation channel. Soon as it's snappy revolutions fade out, we're back to Kirby's dark aether for the characteristically ingenious "Complex Expedition", a tapping-on-dub-Techno's window lament, withering and unfurling like a perm sprayed with insecticide. Tangerine Dream's echo hits resounding jackpot and the notes spill out of the fray indecisively - a lock's being placed on withdraw, but territories' unsure where. This release curls and cajoles your excitement for modern Electronica - in as many strange angles as phonetics confuse a foreign peacemaker.

And peace is what Paper Relics, on "Over Exposure", are highly susceptible to. Harry Towell, you may know from Spheruleus work through Under The Spire, soon-to-be Hibernate Recs. This debut LP for the duo: him and brother Stuart, sees a calm expansion of their "Recovered Artefact" EP from Harry's netlabel, Audio Gourmet. This pair took different paths during their upbringing: Harry electronic, Stuart Rock, and if that's to infer anything, "Over Exposure" has guitar manipulation to ignite your inspiration, a flame that's always been burning - true brotherly love. There's real history in the collaboration - as Harry explained on Fluid Radio: "We thought that looking at the track titles on 'Recovered Artefact', you could quite easily apply them to the album as they refer to the destruction of the farm that the album is all about."

Indeed, "Soft Focus" stirs rustic suppleness much as Mountains and Rameses III are renowned for. And for one producer of two having minor playing experience, it speaks volumes for the artistic calibre on offer. The Towell's guarantee you'll be humming out of the bathroom regardless of if you're an electro-acoustic nut like me. Surprisingly the rhythmic side isn't interrupted or impeded. Musically, joules can answer the question of why producers negotiate continuous track orders, in their respective genres, as well as prism their approach to win you over with grace and real charm. Invest.

Intrigue & Stuff Vol.2: Order at boomkat
Over Exposure: Order at Stashed Goods

SubVersion Stop 135: For The Ambient Lovers...review and mixtape archive 001

2011-07-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

As far as perceived, there wasn't a thread on SC devoted to Ambient in concentration, that gave reviews, mixes and purchase/download links all in one. So I thought I'd start one. I submit my short-form reviews and further recommendations for readers, with contributions already well under way. As additional topic material builds, so will the concepts and narrative.

FTAL Mixes, a topic-exclusive series, are submitted every 5 batches of reviews, collating 15 works to mix, in 45 minutes maximum. "Engaged Or Ejected", set one, has two themes: 1) two tracks playing at all times, eschewing construction's engagement or ejection; 2) pattern recognition prototype for investigating the brain's nervous system through physiological study, and how long it can be kept between the two gates before arousal disintegrates.

FTAL 001 - Muttley - Engaged Or Ejected

01 - 00:00 / 44:31 Donato Wharton - Breath Held (A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark EP, Serein, 2011)
02 - 00:00 Igor Karaca - Deserts (Rituelle LP, Darkwinter, 2011)
03 - 00:06 bvdub & Ian Hawgood - Lie In Lone (The Truth Hurts LP, Nomadic Kids Republic, 2011)
04 - 00:54 Robert Carty - Shimmering (Photonic Movements LP, Earth Mantra, 2011)
05 - 06:37 Seconds Before Awakening - Seven 4 (Seven LP, Vacant Twelve, 2011)
06 - 15:56 Mystified - Bone Drone 14 (Bone Drones 3 LP, Webbed Hand, 2011)
07 - 23:11 offthesky & Pillowgarden - Feather Anchor For A Tidal Yawn (A Dream In A Dream EP, Audio Gourmet, 2011)
08 - 24:54 Loscil - Cheekye (Only Light To Clear Away compilation, Distance Recordings, 2011)
09 - 24:55 Jacob Newman & Devin Underwood - Unconscious Movement (The Vivid Unmapped LP, Data Obscura, 2011)
10 - 31:08 Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd - We Enter The Night (For Nihon compilation, Unseen, 2011)
11 - 32:08 Grouper - A Lie (A.I.A: Dream Loss LP, Yellowelectric, 2011)
12- 34:32 Nawang Khechog - May All Be Kind To Each Other (Tibetan Dream Journey, Sounds True, 2011)
13 - 34:58 Tadzio - The End Of The Earth...(The End Of The Earth...A Flower With No Scent EP, Blindsight Recordings, 2011)
14 - 40:09 Noveller - Glacial Wave (Glacial Glow LP, Weird Forest, 2011)
15 - 42:08 Jon Porras - Land's End (Undercurrent LP, Root Strata, 2011)

Download and discuss

SubVersion Stop 134: Muttley & Low Light - Multiples

2011-06-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

The first collaborative mix between Dave (www.lowlightmixes.blogspot.com) and Mick from SubVersion (www.subvertcentral.blogspot.com).

Both contributors start with a 9 minute section, multiplied to 18 minutes apiece. Mick concludes this 54 with a 13 minute mood-based response, including stems surrounding his "Spillage" EP on Audio Gourmet.

While you're out in the world looking for some of this music, head over to Entropy Records. The Buddha Machine Music cut used in section 5 is available there, as well as Beatsystem's "The Sound Of Two Eskimos Kissing".

Section 1 - Muttley
01. Stars Of The Lid - Broken Harbours Pt.1 (from "The Quiet Sounds Of Stars Of The Lid", Kranky, 2007)
02. Steinbruchel - Home (from "Home", Slaapwel, 2008)
03. Richard Devine - Murman (from "Idol Tryouts", Ghostly International, 2003)
04. Grouper - Disengaged (from "Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill", Type, 2008)

Section 2 - Low Light @ 8:50
05. Strom Noir - Rusty Nails (from "Sen Zimnej Noci", Hibernate, 2009)
06. Fieldhead - I'm Fond Of Maps (from "They Shook Hands For Hours", Home Assembly Music, 2009)
07. Rhythm & Sound - Imprint (from "Rhythm & Sound", Efa Imports, 2001)

Section 3 - Muttley @ 18:00
08. Ateleia - Salt Horse Sculpture (from "Formal Sleep", Xeric, 2007)
09. Foci's Left - Regurgitated Impulses (Spheruleus remix) (from Spillage, Audio Gourmet, 2010)
10. James Toth, Kerry Kennedy & Jason Meagher - The Time Machine (from "Honest Strings", Jack Rose, 2010)
11. David Tagg - Pentecost 1 (from "Pentecost", Install, 2010)
12. The Sight Below - Shimmer (from "It All Falls Apart", Ghostly Int., 2010)
13. Lawrence English - Droplet (from "A Colour For Autumn", 12K, 2009)
14. Quosp - Deep Space (from "Soundscapes I", U-Cover, 2007)
15. Eluvium - As I Drift Off (from "When I Live By The Garden And The Sea", Temporary Residence, 2006)

Section 4 - Low Light @ 35:00
16. Loscil - Cello Drone
17. Listening Mirror - Not Yet Ready For The Day
18. Marc Codsi - A White Rabbit In A Hole
19. Mantsevich Dzenis - November
20. Taylor Deupree (I think) - rough

Section 5 - Muttley @ 52:30
21. Heidi Harris - Stolen Child (Sand In The Line LP)
22. Helios - First Dream Called Ocean (Eingya, Type)
23. Enuui - Morality (Mindstate Disposition LP, self-released)
24. Beatsystem - The Sound Of Two Eskimos Kissing (The Sound Of Two Eskimos Kissing LP, Entropy)
25. Fursaxa - Birds Inspire Epic Bards (Strange Angels, www.boomkat.com 14 Tracks bundle)
26. Foci's Left - Ear Nest (A Breath Of Peace LP, Unreleased)
27. Foci's Left - Stable Ghosts (A Breath Of Peace LP, Unreleased)
28. Jan Linton remixes Fm3 - Zhongruan Ceng Yu (Buddha Machine Music CD, Entropy)
29. Danny Saul - My Escape (Harsh, Final. LP)
30. Implodes - Wendy (Black Earth LP)

end @ 1:08:00

Download

SubVersion Stop 133: Duotone + Jane Griffiths & Colin Fletcher @ Warneford Chapel, Oxford

2011-06-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Kitted out like an ark for Matrix Neo-folk gaggle, OCM's MIND-sponsored education and outreach showcase soon sells out. All proceeds going to Artscape, tonight shimmers into action slowly with Jane Griffiths & Colin Flectcher on violin and guitar. Reminiscent of classical aficionado Gavin Bryars' sunken sooth, the performance goes tooth for tooth with Cornish/Irish/Scottish piece historics. We're left with giddy aftertaste and resolutions that are always fresh. A cover of Dylan's "Let You Feel My Love" sounds more poignant here than Bob could manage with a Best Of - free of framing, unpredictably alternative. On their last instrumental jig, about a Staffyn corrugated tin hut, bumpy guitar traction rides across the strings, perfectly in time for Barney Morse-Brown and James Garrett to take the reins.

It's 'tone Cleudo in the Chapel as the pair walk to stage, black hats tipped, two acoustics, one electric, percussion and zxylophone, with no determined direction. This is the first time I've seen Barney non-solo and it's a hugely welcome surprise. Whereas his Holywell support to Balmorhea last year centred on looped guitar and cello, here it's akin to coastline attacking and receding, always infused with innature and mystery. Raevennan Husbandes, new female vocalist featuring on their album out October 3rd, gives the event a sunkist attribute, arbitrary The Cinematic Orchestra and Enigma likeness.

Instrumentally, sounds slip and slide against mics and pedals, and the venue acoustics lift any swamped or lonely output towards homely, heartfelt emotiveness. Jane and Colin re-appear as members of Barney and James' The Quintones, a noticeable and powerful departure along with Brown and Garrett; "Nightwalk" assembled from playing Cleudo itself. After an encore from "You Don't Need Church", Barney returns for "Work Harder...", the title track from Duotone's last album, and you couldn't ever say he and company hadn't earnt the right for that applause.

Garrett Brown Music: website
Griffiths & Fletcher: MySpace

SubVersion Stop 132: Adam Walker - Piano Brain (Self-released) / Berg & Various Composers - 1951-1953 Archives (Naxos)

2011-06-12T13:41:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows the piano has the most notes of any world instrument, but seldom are the octaves a cause for appraisal. With the guitar assimilated into pop psychology like a romcom for Teletubby ASBOs, there's small room besides the regularly snob-laden middle class market to impregnate lasting polyrhythmic incense. Even when the BBC invites late night entertainers like Jools Holland to welcome stand-in pianists or as part of a band, the limelight is binary: you're better off seeking attention from hitchhikers on a one way trip to the Rocky Mountains.

Incidentally Colorado, Adam Walker's home, doesn't typify the aesthetic of his stylistic grace. He's got the experimentalism of Greg Haines but it's less slamming in the emotional registers; an almost jazzy freeride along an ever-changing peninsula; sophisticated and loose at the same time. "Perihelion" builds its phrases like a political rally on galactic osmosis; forever polarising moods but never colliding temperatures, and as the more sober pieces follow you get the idea Walker has limitless delightful melodies at the tip of his fingers. If there's one drawback of this it's that "Piano Brain" is chock full of it so you're dazed for when the real drama hits your soul, with the aplomb he's clearly capable of.

The Berg recital is not lacking in this quality, despite "Piano Sonata Op.1" sounding like key freeloading for Superbowl juggernauts. Canadian classical giant Glenn Gould's piano has a keen ear for disharmony and it's rarely restful. One can imagine silent films at hyperspeed scrolling on a clear cinema. Coming to life on Naxos in company of great violin modernists including Gloria Coates, "3 Fantastic Dances (H.Glickman)" on Op.2 stretches the pizzicato out into oblongs of textural fretplay.

Albert Pratz' modest recording career up to his 1995 decease also doesn't show on "Romances From Ellis...", where a runaway love story violin coalsces beautifully against Gould's tenative piano cascades, then sprints to the wilderness for good old fashioned kissing-in-the-forest passion. "10 Pieces From Cinderella" closes this excellent set with reverb smattering the plucks, Gould nipping the acoustic headroom when he wishes. Buy with pride.

SubVersion Stop 131: Ben Kei's Dalston Chilli

2011-06-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

"Any of you who know me in real life probably realise I have a bit of a chilli obsession" remarks Ben Kei in his SC Chilli Growing Blog first post. Whatever turns you on in the kitchen is all fine by me. I initially met him at the IChiOne 5th Anniversary (they've just had their 7th with dgoHn) where food including Chicken Satay's were provided.

What are Ben's top three favourite chillis now he's a specialist? "A top 3 is tricky really because I like preparations of chilli as much as the varieties themselves" he notes. "I love the Habanero family, the taste is incredibly fruity and smokey and packs a mean punch heat-wise. I use Scotch Bonnets to make my hot sauces because of their intense heat and flavour, and the endorphin rush I get from eating them. They really are a unique chilli but one that's not for the faint-hearted.

I get these Turkish pickled Jalapeno slices. Now they're not like your run of the mill Mexican restaurant Jalapenos, in fact I think it might be something lost in translation, because the taste and colour are different. These things are perfect in salads, on a pizza etc... versatile and always in the fridge. Finally I'll go with Thai Bird Eye chillies. They're intensely hot but without an overpowering flavour. Perfect for pretty much everything from Asian food to pasta sauces, to north African - you get the idea. And what's also great is they dry out really well and taste just as good when they're dried."

Is it a populist myth chillis always require sunlight, or does it depend upon the length of chilli as to how much radiation it needs to germinate? "For germination they don't need sun at all, just warmth. If you think about it, the seeds are underground anyway where there's no light. Warmth is vital though with some varieties not germinating at all unless they're up near the late 20'c. Put them in the airing cupboard or on top of your boiler, cover the dish in cling film too to keep the humidity up.

Once they germinate they'll need as much sun as you can give them. Too little light and they'll grow tall and weak looking for some sun. Don't over water them either or they'll either die or give you bland fruit. One of the first posts on the blog covers this is quite a bit of detail and is definitely worth a read for anyone wanting to grow chillies at home."

In the SC thread you state high hopes for the Trini Perfume shoots with lighter sauces. If you were gagging for a cig and read that as smoke an outcome, are there any particular chillis that give off great fragrances? "To be honest, you don't get much of a smell of a chilli plant. The flowers don't smell and the fruit doesn't smell when it's growing. However, if you get something like a Habanero and cut it in half, the smell can fill your house! It's something you'll either lover or hate, I'm firmly in the love camp here."

Should you be worried about how tall hybrid plants grow, and is this something to keep in mind regardless of if you stray from natural ingredients? "I've not had much luck with hybrid plants" Ben writes. "I've cross-pollinated a fair few varieties, and had some suitably mutated looking fruit but for the most part; the seeds collected from them have failed to grow. I had one that grew last year but never flowered.

I think the problem is that you need to pick varieties which are fairly similar to begin with and this can be tricky because you can't force your plants to flower at the same time."

Finally, what in Ben's view is his best recipe for Dalston chilli? "The promised recipes haven't gone up yet - I've been looking into getting certificated through the environmental health to be able to sell my sauces. Last year I tried some sauces from a company who have won a few gold taste awards and thought 'hang on, mine taste better than this'. I always knew that I liked my sauces as did people who tried them but to find out that they're better than award winning varieties made me think seriously about making a go of it as a business idea.

As for favourites, it has to be either Ben Kei's fucking hot sauce, or my tomato and chilli jam."

www.dalstonchilli.blogspot.com

SubVersion Stop 130: Infinite Sloth - Best Of The Distortion Days LP (Black Hoe 091 download)

2011-06-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ambiguity, house chores, argumentativeness and privacy promote the sloth in each of us, four states where we lose the will to proceed at a fast pace, and achieve our fullest potential. Infinite Sloth's 2004-2008 Black Hoe LP resonates thusly, and applying simplest terms, deserves your patience. Folding D&B slogan creases: classical instruments, distortion, sampledelia within the amen edit: time-stretching; short loops; glitch; syncopation, "Paper Castle": it's all very reminiscent of Sublight's Enduser. This isn't Breakcore though - for one tempo sits below 180bpm; second edits adopt ordered systematic, not fissured aggro. "Conformity Conspiracy" relies on tried/tested Ed Rush pounding two-step, but here atmosphere ripens by a stattaco tighten up break rattling out a stop/start riddim track. If only it was given more time to coalesce and layer, and Fracture & Neptune trod the path smoother on Bassbin's "Wrong Think".

Interest lifts on his remix of Parallels "Looking Out Into The Sky", taking off the Amit basketball half-speed bounce and Techno grit. There's more space in texture, again, that perhaps could be filled by drones or pads, but sparseness as LP lengthens seems appreciation conduit rather than barrier. Filters lower those lead weight drums; instead of sinking, the low frequency melody keeps you on the edge while still feeling safe. Then after a short interlude, pummeling beat arrangements return to receiptent, but direction and momentum strikes a tad lost in programming masturbation. Lay off the Scorn pornogrind aping and we're - wait, another shift! "Untitled Halfstep Minus One" realises Sloth's abilities in the way Breakage developed from dubstep exposure post-2006. The playlist closes with two Gabba styled blasts of bill-shredder Noise & Bass.

Compos mentis of Infinite Sloth, from this appearance on Black Hoe, impressions him as a Spaniard impostor, interpreting D&B roots on an English chat show - technically very proficient - at points decidedly anal - however, altogether having a skewed perception on the format. Whether this will wash well with you, like a deliberate party piece, depends on how open you are to sound as language, and language isn't always as sound as sound. Capiche?

SubVersion Stop 129: Format Umbra

2011-06-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

Three unusual formats here: the CD-R, painstakingly designed vinyl and single-sided cassette, all sold through digital channels without the ability to buy digital direct from label. U-Cover has foraged a trawler of underwater Ambient in its limited run history, whereby TDD readers should recall a favourite of mine: Quosp's "Soundscapes" LPs. Ex Confusion's compositions on "Something To Remember", like an estranged couple's last word, dispel into the wild silence around you before you can dwell on their structure and interpersonal idiosyncracy. "Prologue (Before We Begin)" almost sounds as Helios would if he was tied to a chair, forced to write an essay on the benefits of asymmetrical repetition. It's brightest torchbearer stylewise, and notions of vignette versus suite, imply production time for Ex Confusion having the same agenda, but nuanced to suit his narrative. All better for the price that interchangeable tendency plays on drone's relationship with logic, focus and mood discrepancy.

Which is a questionable proposition for the Weevil Neighhbourhood listener. Operating via the Weevil Orchestra label - WO have issued three series of leftfield Electronica, a collectors edition - now, the second Weevil Neightbourhood brainchild, codenamed "Blindfold", also arrives as a name, not a number. The label concept signifies this - to have the catalogue instalments acting as part of a neighbourhood: places, scenes and actors, as opposed to standardised scales and developments. Hiherto this unknown artist, the collector's edition coming on dirty black to clear vinyl, has an apt double-barrelled title: "All Those Colours / We Cannot See". Transparency plays ultimatum mistress when it comes to beats labelled underground. Can we taste fervent liquor from rave's noughties dismemberment, or is there utopia on this horizon to weave your mind and soles? Gladly "All Those Colours" unites the tribal progression of Shackelton with the fussy programming precision of Geiom, while B side "We Cannot See" deflates the minimal neurofunk subgenre of Drum & Bass and takes it down, also, to dubstep tempo; Joey Beltram's mentasm dotting in like a leaking oil tanker from techstep's burgeoning heyday.

Weevil's previous tape outing, coded "Picnic" is by Felix of Repetition/Distract. Titled "Old Weevil Neighbourhood"; noticeably different from these two offerings on first hearing. A polysemous embryo of musique concrete, light chordal bass with a hibernation timbre played against filling-up-a-glass-of-juice click and scrape backing. Compared to Ex Confusion the textures are harsher, more pronounced in combined sonics as opposed to langurous drone overcompensation. Envisage Bibio on a bad hair day, slumped under the covers of his fluffy duvet, slowly coming to terms with downsides of engineered solitariness. Affinitively, Felix's work originally documented the whereabouts of his invisible cat, which is an accurate metaphor, also, for his Plainaudio and No Type post-rock - toing and froing between rest and activity, like the inquisitive advert misomner he's indirectly associated the RD lineage. Also recommended: "Halogen Breathing Lungs" from "Peripheral Geometries EP".

These three reviewed instalments distinguish their aesthetic in a convincing triplet: to listen is to appreciate you'll take chances; to take chances is appreciated listening; and appreciated listening enables you, from the records' respective outlets, to look at space for physical and take chances on ordering them.

Ex Confusion - Something To Remember: Purchase
Old Weevil Neightbourhood - Blindfold: Purchase
Old Weevil Neighbourhood - Picnic: Purchase

SubVersion Stop 128: Dying Matters

2011-06-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

SV's Jonathan posted a cool discussion on SC recently highlighting the "Dying Matters" campaign. According to the topic, "If these findings indicate that people tend to grow more reconciled to the inevitable, others suggest lingering anxieties about the manner of one's final departure, and inhibition about discussing death." Never mind the figures, what about the here and now? All of us, it shouldn't need to be said, are in a stage of death, whether it's short-term incurable, or long-term ("...pain is pretty dreadful", Jon notes). What we are figuratively doing: fantasising about heightened conscience and resistance to the unknown side; the fact that conspiracies and ill thought out indirectness still occurs, put you closer to clocking off sooner than you intended, as a transistory pitfall, insinuated hemispherically by stress on the limbic system.

One of my favourite writers, Clarissa Pinkola Estes - see SubVersion's Fanu interview for snippets of re-processed text - penned in her superb "Women Who Run With The Wolves", that secrets of any kind affect the psyche identically. "Here is one example. One woman, whose husband forty years earlier had committed suicide three months after they were married, was urged by his family to not only hide the evidence of his major depressive illness but also her deep emotional grief and anger from that time. As a result, she developed a 'dead zone' regarding his anguish, her anguish, as well as her rage at the cultural stigma attached to the entire event." In effect, she had killed part of herself off before she, if remaining alive today, had yet moved on to afterlife.

And what of euthinasia these days: political correctness sidelined, diplomacy tablet swallowed - do we place too much emphasis on selfish behaviour - in attempting to end someone elses life? If it were me and I wanted to die, there'd be three important factors, regardless of timezone, to take into account. 1) Quality of life. 2) Quality of life. 3) Patience. Two ways, one problem. This situation leads on from causing torture to the mentally ill; those deprived of their bread and butter expression and forced to live in emotional poverty, down to mistreatment, cold-heartedness and ridiculed societal laws, perpetuates the "dead zone" Clarissa speaks of. Otherwise, vigilance to avoid snapping the straw is pivotal. "We don't manipulate people we love, we just let them know honestly how we feel and what's important to us. Manipulating people is patronizing and controlling and altogether unacceptable" said Richard Templar in his The Rules Of Love collation piece.

There are several families that have been devastated by death, while individuals weep in sorrow in silence in the existing universe. Parallels are dormant here: you can't touch time where survival is concerned, but you can work with it. "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark," renowned theorist Steven Hawking added. It helps that courageous souls like Hawking have been through such an ordeal - in his case, with Motor Neurone Disease - to tell us of a hardened and fearless view. And it also puts in perspective for collective sanity that there is light waiting, as long as nobility stays intact.

Dying Matters

SubVersion Stop 127: SC Digital 012 - Soundclash 005

2011-06-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

The paragraph, nowadays cultured, is stuck in a stories-within-stories, typsetted ambivalence made up of the sweetest coconut lines, then the most bitter nectar. Our mind is no longer designed to program in the simple sequentials. Or if we are able to grasp them, they are lost in a mire of copy as allocates your attention span. Like a scratch card: only so many chances to boost empathy credit before confidence in commerce, and communication for that matter, wilts away.

Holler at your SC Soundclash. Run by Euphony and Statto, this compilation collates the ten best submissions for SC Digital Spring 2011, so rather than one tune disappearing from hard-drive vision, you receive an album's worth of fresh talent to strike a prize with aurally. Euphony writes: "The forum has helped me meet some great people across the years, and gain some great production tips. I also owe to the label, as they hosted my first ever release by winning a previous Soundclash competition. So it was my way of giving my support back to them and continuing the SC Digital legacy, that has seen releases from some great producers over the years, such as Macc, Dissident, Pilote, and Z-No to name just a few."

When reviewing modern D&B with the jaded cap snug on, we're inevitably set to encounter one to two bar loops, techstep fissure poisoning palette from Vancouver to Brixton. But also an airgun-noise dynamic, where track/track agony awaits the breakbeat conniseur, and pseud's corner euphoria glances out the window. "Take your eyes off the road for an instant and you'll do or say, interview or schedule something that is so uncredible that all that hard work of gaining yourself a reputation will seem like a complete waste of time" wrote Simon Bates in his My Tune autobiography. Does this explain why shifting outsider press eats its innards until discrimination time, rather than praise the wound it may have created? Forever debatable until proven innocent, and arguments aren't what SubVersion is about.

Furthermore the album or compilation format isn't dictated by being dancefloor or home listening; the garbled subconscious principle that time-saver journalists with too many blunts will feed you. No, like a classical composition, there's movements within nothing (to thin air), and impermanent beat mechanics; making one minute seem a split second in the right dose - consonance obliterated if you're a Remarc fan. Accurate thusly to prescribe a favourite of Soundclash 5, with mine being SpeaK's "Silence". Doc Scott and DJ SS entrapped in a sampler sparring session.

Given that byline, how does SpeaK feel about his post-jungle being promoted with backing of credible sources? "Naturally I'm damn happy about it! Personal progress is always the most important thing for me, but that doesn't mean I won't be super glad to get recognition" he explains. Luck will have listeners otherwise that SC Digital embraces diversity, so there's hiphop and half-speed rhythms constituting the global location effort. Dive in, and don't expect to get stung.

Download for free here

SV Stop 126: SubVersion Recommends: Simon Scott - Spring 2011 Mix

2011-06-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Slowdive's original drummer and Brian Eno collaborator Simon Scott joins Sonic Pieces' Greg Haines and Nils Frahm, as the third contributor in the exclusive SubVersion Recommends series. Scott: "59.5 mins of electroacoustic stuff for you to digest", including "Caxton Gibbet", an offline installation piece. "I also added a recent live recording to bring in a contemporary angle as a lot of this is vintage electronic music (Stockhausen, Bayle, Radigue, Wishart etc). I want the mix to represent influences of mine that have helped inspire my music and Iive performance. Hopefully someone somewhere will discover a new music treat if they listen to this mix."

01. Anthony Moore - Mu Na H-Uile Ni A Shaoileas
02. Christian Marclay - Guitar Drag
03. Eliane Radigue - Jetsun Mila (disc 2- edit A)
04. Francoise Bayle -Toupie Dans Le Ciel 4
05. Stockhausen - Mikrophonie 1 (excerpt 1)
06. Simon Scott - Caxton Gibbet (installation piece)
07. Trevor Wishart- Blue Tulips
08. R. Murray Schafer - The Vancouver Soundscape
09. Stockhausen - Mikrophonie 1 (excerpt 2)
10. Simon Scott - Live at Bristol Arnolfini 27th May 2011
11. Eliane Radigue - Jetsun Mila (disc 2- edit B)

Download

Simon Scott: MySpace
Simon Scott: website
Purchase "Depart/Repeat" 7' vinyl at Sonic Pieces webshop

SubVersion Stop 125: Jan Linton remixes Fm3 - Buddha Machine Music (Entropy M-Series 007)

2011-06-07T10:42:00.001-07:00

Inter-race migration: mythology, attire, stubborn vows, is no 'real' biggie for Buddhism. The irrational toss knives, splitting Yolk without heat. But jeopardy Ouija for the Buddhist, promotes God-inside-yourself. So we have Entropy giving life to Jan Linton's reworkings of Fm3 in its seventh mini CD.

With Triphop and one D&B Bauhaus cover for "Communion II", Linton's no stranger to sensuality. Here, he's resampling Fm3's lauded ambience device. In a short, six edit affair, there's cleansed detritus on offer - and no Dark Ambient cliches. "Maoduhinan Bla" penetrates warmly, next it's noisier melange. Echoing work with Duran Duran's John Taylor, his guitar mangles rectory, in combine harvester, schizo-soothed affinity.

Pure Ambient fiends, fear not: "Wu Song" delves deeper into glitch. Spread relaxation bedding on "Shengxiaozhong" impresses, but it's "Zhongruan Ceng Yu", the longest by far, that astounds, it's main instrument floating atop toned loop. "Yang (Infinite Delay)" closes; the glazed work of Boards Of Canada and Shaula adjoined; but not at organised scripture, where several religious calamities arise.

As with any conjured mass, the greater the teachings, the bigger the effect, whereby "Buddha Machine Music" meditates with you like moths to cans of Red Stripe. Fluttering in the background, clouding up enclosed space, Linton moves Fm3's instrumental chant towards a comprehensive prayer: a feat past life regression if you've 22 minutes to spare.

Sample and purchase via the Entropy SoundCloud

SubVersion Stop 124: Foci's Left - Clearing The Air, Or Writing Letters To Ourselves - for www.futuresequence.com

2011-05-30T08:19:00.001-07:00

Keep calling vultures, and we conspire to drag dead corpses up hills. Or we could be alien observers, in worlds that aren't ours.

A mix of two halves: one built on rustling music communications; the other poignancy fractures at the blend.

Foci's Left - Clearing The Air, Or Writing Letters To Ourselves

01 - 00:00 The Winterhouse - Clearing
02 - 01:34 Shivering In Static - Yearnings
03 - 04:28 Belong - Late Night
04 - 04:42 Michael Trommer - Pushing Through Gray
05 - 06:03 Sawako - It's Not On Purpose
06 - 06:54 Olaf Tonstein - Snow
07 - 07:20 Jasper TX - Stillness
08 - 07:55 Danny Saul - (harsh)
09 - 09:09 Rhys Chatham - My Lady Of The Loire
10 - 09:46 EUS - Transparencia
11 - 11:35 Clem Leek - Light Passage II [Grief]
12 - 13:08 Antonymes - A Light From The Heavens
13 - 13:09 Quosp - Blue
14 - 14:06 Foci's Left - Cradling [excerpt]
15 - 14:34 New York Philharmonic - Requiem For String Orchestra
16 - 15:02 Mono - Halcyon (Beautiful Days)
17 - 16:19 Beth Nielsen Chapman - Panis Angelicus [stretched reverb edit]
18 - 17:35 Grouper - Alien Observer [down-pitched loop edit]
19 - 17:40 ASC & bvdub - Symbol 02 #4http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
20 - 18:05 Arkhonia - GDLadyburn
21 - 21:21 Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd - Turn On The Moon
22 - 24:20 Claro De Luna - Quedarse
23 - 26:22 Christopher Willits - Colours Shifting
24 - 27:07 Bark Psychosis - Rose

Listen

All tracks were chosen by title, and soundtrack a personal survey. Is collated mood too obtuse, in comparison to what runs oblique?

Happy Birthday Mum. <3

SubVersion Stop 123: A Book Review

2011-05-29T02:34:00.000-07:00

This book wound me up so much that I felt the need to write a review of it. Here it is:

The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock'n'Roll
Simon Reynolds & Joy Press

"Gender, rebellion and rock'n'roll" – Ooo, gender theory and music, two of my main areas of interest combined, I'll give this a read.

And then the book starts like this: "Our argument is that, whatever the ostensible pretext or context, a large part of the psychological impetus of any rebellion is an urge to separate from the mother." Groan.

No, this isn't going to be a thought-provoking book about gender and music. It's going to be a first year psychology essay.

On the next page: "He can long for the womb and for an idealised mother-lover". Groan.

Going on, it seems the authors are going to examine their subject by concentrating on the lyrics. The lyrics! The lyrics are crap. Rock lyrics are almost always crap! Rock music isn't about lyrics.

We get to punk: "a sort of asexual relative of metal: cock-rock, with the cock replaced by a sort of generalised castration-paranoia". Groan. I feel like throwing the book in the bin by this point.

Flip on to the end of the section: "Could it be that the urge to outrage is a kind of severance rite, a re-enactment of the original disconnection from the mother's body?" Groan.

Flip to the end of the next: "What to make of the mother's boy? Is he truly androgynous? Are his passivity, his apparent acceptance and affirmation of castration, his womb-nostalgia". Groan.

But then there's the next section: "Turning our attention from what rock'n'roll has made of women to what women have made of rock, it's immediately apparent that (...) the ancestors of female rock rebellion are rather more elusive." Oh, thank god. No more Freudian claptrap. And yes, this part of the book actually examines music, how women have made rock music, found their place in rock music. It talks about politics, about feminism, about real and interesting subjects. What a relief!

In conclusion, this book is one third quality, two-thirds crap. Ignore the first two sections, rip them out, use them for toilet paper. But keep the third, because this is worth reading at least.

SubVersion Stop 122: The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (History Always Favours The Winners 008)

2011-05-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Multiply 16: the youth leave school; you're pushing thirty; climbing middle age. While "On the eve of the twenty-first century" David Toop wrote in 1995, "we are seeing an era focused on the heightening of sensation - a development provoked by a more destructured use of language, but which will usher in a new harmonics." That was 'Ambient talk and imaginary worlds' opus Ocean Of Sound. Later for James Kirby, "Tomorrow's world never came". 'An Empty Bliss Beyond This World' uncovers nostalgia beyond rosy retrospection, horns, schmaltz. Lauded classic 'Persistent Repetition Of Phrases' (Install, 2008), its reflections on memory loss in sonic artifice, bear staticity resemblance. Advert-length pieces to timewarped Strictly Come ballroom episodes. In bookend of Kirby's 78rpm pile via Berlin, transcendental parallel to lovingly kept recording libraries worldwide.

Shifting monikers from Leyland Kirby to The Caretaker this Spring, the only constant is a Mediterranean health: one avoiding you coasting into post-sleep narcolepsy without batting an eyelid. "Moments Of Sufficient Lucidity" lulls its piano sea shanty left to right on the ol' Gramophone, the needle crackle permeating all 14 tracks surrounding. What I'm most impressed by is the fine art approach. Some people retain memories at certain points in life, where you were perhaps kicking walls and bouncing off, or picked up a frequency from less filtration mentally. And for mood translation, this can equal a rocky ride. Likewise immature personality shows in stencilled words that leap out the page at you, like a struck match in the dark. This relates to "An Empty Bliss..." threefold: the track names speak for developed internal dialogue spleen, one that throbs away until on the point of regulatory collapse; into "The Great Hidden Sea Of The Unconscious". This gravitates second to the cherry-picking attribute of so many great samplists, inc. Philip Jeck, where the cranium swells to absorb all those fine lines to cut, re-edit and paste your reel to reel ethic.

But then, as a third, Kirby has acknowledgement the music/ad discrimination is always rigid to intrinsic properties of spatiality - one's distraction via marketing ideology becoming pixel-flesh. You could pin down any piece of non-chorus Ambient 'Muzak' to a late night BBC 2 intermission (see Edward Barton's 'Life On Earth series'), paradoxically, as chosen to enact corporate thematics within internal esotericism. A riveting prospect, surely, for the television designer. When we get to sound archivism, there's The Radiophonic Workshop to give much praise to, and this is where Kirby excels at revealing worthy ghosts, rather than ghoulish horror movie pastiche when he re-spins them into sonic spectre waltzes. Fundamentally, he's not doing it to appeal to the moneyspinners, nor the 'hauntology' nomenclature. "An Empty Bliss" won't force the diggers to crawl from their furrows, and I can bet a dime you'll dance to your grave - even after spirit and showtime depart from the sublime.

Purchase Digital Subscription to James Kirby's 2011 catalogue (offer closes June 1st)

SubVersion Stop 121: Equinox / Nebula - SA 015 / 005 EP

2011-05-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

'Choppage' & 'Jungle' subsumed Paradox's 'drumfunk' phrase for breakbeat Drum & Bass - towards meltdown, 2008-2010. Whereby Subtle Audio's credit is noble semicolon. Its Vol. II CD compilation received 4/5 and 8/10 ratings from RA and I-DJ in January; Mixmag upping the ante with a 9. This followed reception through Mary Anne Hobbs; an "original, exciting, inventive" soundbite on Simon Reynolds' Blissblog in 2007; Aphex Twin licensing Macc and dgoHn's "Some Shit Saaink" to Rephlex in 2010. These return releases see 90s percussive diablo Equinox, and syncopation star Nebula share kindred spirit with their sYncOpathic Recordings contributions, a netlabel run by Innsbruck's Sub, also in the Subtle Audio roster, 2007 respectively.

Marlon Equinox never sold out. Here he stands, over 15 years on, mangling his breaks into a shopping trolley to make Dale Winton turn maroon. Editing drums through analogue originally, DJing parties each month since his 80s upbringing, refusing to deny euphoric catharsis that he reins in perfectly on "Meecha" and "Your Love's So Cold". A Planet Mu audience-friendly two-tracker with an ingrained historical pathology to the Old School - those "ancient ways". A 1, 2, 3, hop skip jump. So turns beat, pad, sample. Through the years of Jungle Tekno, Hardcore and pre-1998 D&B, more publically raw, emotional, non-tainted vocals. Sometimes they're chipmunked like Bay B Kane, at others they're pizza processed: Foul Play, Steve C and Monita, Bizzy B. With the latter by Equinox, "So many people out here that make so many different styles of music / This music is something that they feel", perhaps a title referencing-metaphor for sad disruption. The pure 90s rave energy, an abstinence now splattering the walls with sweat, instead of getting vibed up inside as vibed gets.

Where new classes got stale, is when taking on too much past, or too little knowledge of roots, 3 matters: progress, love, partnership, invert themselves to squalor. This remains true of 90s heroes - it's easy to revert to the systematic benchmark - presets, toytown beats - if it saves you time. Not so of Nebula with "Astral Soul", where we're given a 35 minute pass to Jungle House Paradiso, thankfully without dodgy fish. There's such a fluidity to these five works, that they surpass the highs I obtained from Marlon's "Acid Rain" EP on Mike Paradinas' label. "Escapism", pick of the bunch, has strings streaming out a deadly buzz from the amygdala complex. "Hidden Oasis" hereafter, moistly slides back, forth, constant suspension and propulsion. They say astronomy is law of the stars, so what does Nebula think? From EDJ: "I thought I knew a lot about D&B until I met Equinox, then the history lesson really began." If that's the case chaps, Plato's on the other end of the line. He says he wants your ascendancy.

Purchase

SubVersion Stop 120: SV Recommends Muttley - Through Silver Lining (May 2011)

2011-05-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

50:06 - 320kbps - 144MB

Over decades of African dance
Any impulses through green trees
The rainforest wrings out dreamworld
So is life as moss sounds, just habitually?
We're all pecking at hawk eyes like a slide
As loss seems, it's long enough to know a day
I'll never have, is topsy-turvy until everyone flees
Through silver lining, I'll love my catastrophe in blue.

Download

Through Silver Lining

01. Bing Satellites - You Were In A Dream (Twilight Sessions, 2010)
02. Steve Roach - The Green Place (Quiet Music, 1980)
03. The North Sea & Rameses III - Death Of The Ankou (Night Of The Ankou, 2004)
04. Tobias Hellkvist - Patience (Evolutions, 2010)
05. The Stranger - A Melody Drags Me Back (Something To Do With Death, 2008)
06. Laurie Anderson - My Right Eye (Homeland, 2010)
07. The Sight Below - Through The Gaps In The Land (It All Falls Apart, 2010)
08. Ibunshi - Apolune 4 (Unreleased, 2010)
09. Point 7 - Ous (What?, 2007)
10. port-royal - Deca-Dance (Afraid To Dance, 2007)
11. Foci's Left - Regurgitated Impulses (Spillage EP, 2010)
12. Formication - Catastrophe In Blue (Subvert Central Vol.3 EP, 2008)
13. Leo Abrahams - Anemone [Jan Linton remix] (Scene Memory Remixes, 2006)
14. Murcof - Cuerpo Celeste (Cosmos, 2007)
15. Boards Of Canada - Oscar See Through Red Eye (The Campfire Headphase, 2005)
16. Roger Eno - Hewenday (Swimming, 1996)
17. Foci's Left - Spring Rose (Unreleased, 2011)
18. Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd - A Minute, A Day, No More (Before The Day Breaks, 2007)
19. Last Days - Missing Photos (The Safety Of The North, 2009)
20. The Caretaker - Past Life Regression (Persistent Repetition Of Phrases, 2008)
21. Stars Of The Lid - The Lonely People [Are Getting Lonelier] (The Tired Sounds Of..., 2005)
22. Celer - What Our Mouths Make Them (Engaged Touches, 2010)
23. Boc Scadet - Lumen (Temporary Oceans, 2004)
24. Ian Hawgood - A Film By Hannu (Slow Films In Low Light, 2010)
25. Nils Frahm & Anne Muller - Long Enough (7 Fingers, 2010)
26. Cordel Killer - Untitled (Darkwinter release, Unknown)
27. Hildur Gudannotir, BJ Nilsen & Stillupsteypa - Arrival (Second Childhood, 2007)
28. My Brightest Diamond & R. Moose - The Most Unknown Fruit (Ziyalan Letters To Distant Cities, 2011)
29. Pilote feat. Lewis - Welcome (Kingfood, 2001)
30. Deaf Center - The Day I Would Never Have (Owl Splinters, 2011)
31. Kirill Platonkin - Strata (Strata, 2011)
32. William Fowler Collins - Dark Country Road (Perdition Hill Radio, 2010)
33. DJ Trax & Assorted Anonymous - Don't Sleep (Transmission 2 EP, 2011)
34. Leyland Kirby - Live For The Future, Long For The Past (Intrigue & Stuff Vol.1, 2011)
35. Murralin Lane - When I Told You (Our House Is On The Wall, 2010)
36. Kalgan - Subway Evening (Aesthesia, 2011)
37. Foci's Left - Eternal Sands [The Shapeshifter's Reprise] (Unreleased, 2011)

SubVersion Stop 119: Net Fusion Fables

2011-05-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Spring roses, rainfall, fruit ripening; delights surround - though endlessly, information age stream, we're still drinking from like no tomorrow. It leads me expressing three top netlabel offerings this last 6 weeks, subverting my radar; of stylistic compliment to Subvert Central members. First is DJ Trax & Assorted Anonymous' "Transmission 2" EP, a UK/US collaboration between renowned scratcher, musician et al Trax and the AA rappers.

SC Promo

Luckily these dudes ain't plugging it where the sun don't shine. Instead, rhyming over nursery MCs like Norton Antivirus. People Under The Stairs - comedic harpoon? Aye. Proper nice beats and skits, with that grit-heavy party attitude - recommended beyond Dave's Mixrace past. Tracks including "The Catalyst", rumble in: "...fuck Mahatma Gandhi, the world moves 'cause of you"; counter-triggers "Don't Sleep": "sleeping on your rhymes still I start to snore", take on organic hue. Despite being digital transfer, the sheer desire to rock, from Essex studio to London hoe-down, equates: assorted Bertie Bassets - every tune hits a sweet spot.

Netlabels, SoundCloud giveaways - tales they're 2D miner zones, equals: "Howdy partner, is that a megabyte medallion you're wearing?" To which "yes it is, and I'm proud of it" reaching climatic air pressure. Like clipped wings to fallen bird, Kirill Platonkin's drone music, featured on underwater imprints inc. Webbed Hand, needs acquired environment.

His "Our Eternal Alarm" LP was impressive, pouring out from the insular drone compound. On "Strata" LP, these soundwaves are not dependent of one another narrative-wise. Both a strength and schism enveloping EP/LP hybrid modes, lavish uneveness calls for palpable landscape. So high hopes "Strata" will converge its Grouper/Fabio Orsi cocktail into warmer headphase for Platonkin this year.

Tukuringra 04 Download

Final choice is Creation VI's "Planetary Nebula", surely amazing Young Ones' Neil if he's still tinkering guitar plectrums through Sugar Puffs packets. The Blade Runner-ish delay on "Astrosole" has Godspeed woozily down to a tea cup.

Lush layering continues for "Hydrogen", a Kettel detector with metallic phasers, wrapping up like cosmic refresher. Audio Gourmet, a kindred spirit to my SC Affiliated 15 Minutes Of Fame concept, sold out its Hibernate collaboration CD, featuring Machinefabriek & Nicola Ratti, in two weeks.

Personally it's no surprise: while many see the netlabel investment criteria as hollow, people start thinking payment as grander gesture, at the right time. That's before we get to sending, signing, pressing, promoting.

Planetary Nebula page

My humble pie slice: download, buy or support these superb efforts when you can, because when the meals' all gone, out goes the buffet.

SubVersion Stop 118: Takemitsu - Requiem For String Orchestra, Dedicated To The People Of Japan

2011-04-26T10:21:00.001-07:00

Even messages at sea foretell disaster. Japan's implosion insisted reparation worldwide. Rising iodine hazards; tsunami tides; earthquake losses; currents at life's expense. On this relief piece, Japan's Takemitsu conducts the New York Philharmonic in superb, spontaneous refrain, aiding reconstruction of a beautiful country; as it remains, as it once was. For what it's worth, should concern any classical music listener.

Download for £0.84 on eMusic.com

SubVersion Stop 117: Atomic Skunk - Alchemy LP (Organic Robot Records)

2011-04-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

Alchemy: two to one - begs query - "do you want me here or gone?" Book-wise, Allan Poe wrote haunting macabre. Musically, Richard Ashcroft's "The Drugs...", an ode to terminal illness. Rich Brodsky, aka Atomic Skunk, is also human. Publically, he updated fans about his life/death brain tumour 2010. Gladly cured; standing tall today.

For sound chemistry, Skunk is shrewd - no Pepe Le Peu. Binary Scenes, Rich's debut, was stunning Middle-Eastern drone stew. "Temple Of Stars", Alchemy closer, a nod to its angelicism. While "Serpent And Rose" gentrifies John Balance to Western climate. Stuttering synths, mahogany-graff paint. Indeed, persistent tradition of finish tame Brodsky's "Rhino" heart, before charge, with utmost tranquility.

Connecting fearful language, produces fight/flight response. Socio-habitat rewires over time, like a Bond flick with weapon clips out. Brodsky isn't loaded, no Goldmember. His idea: bargain bucket deals, in return for help financing CDs. Alchemy 'pledge' gems, included: 2 for 1 CD offers; signed discs; back cat discount. Stable economists: state-of-art guitar; a specially composed track; keyboards; samplers.

Catharsis, from Coldplay-tinted "Sunwheel", signals nil displeasure. Before clocks tick, its "Ghosts And Angels" in Pandora's Box. Purchase at uni-chemist, so Atomic Skunk can provide artistic fountain. "Equinox" forever, only one way. Armstrong, Fitzgerald - positive New Age is here to stay.

Buy signed "Alchemy" 6-Panel Digipak CD, and receive immediate Bandcamp download

SubVersion Stop 116: Algiversal Mix 1: Muttley - Armless Salvation (April 2011)

2011-04-09T08:06:00.000-07:00

Algiversal Mix 1 - Muttley - Armless Salvation
38:00 - 87MB - 320kbps

Download

Setlist:

00:00 Adrian Johnston - Rose Garden (Becoming Jane O.S.T)
00:00 Spheruleus - There Are More Than Four Walls (Tales From The Labyrinth)
00:00 Danny Paul Grody - Covered Mirrors (Fountain)
00:00 / 01:03 Jan Linton - Raining Tomorrow 1+2 (Communion II)
00:00 Atomic Skunk - Rhino (Alchemy)
00:38 Harold Budd & Clive Wright - Prelucid (Little Windows)
00:50 Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek - Kites (Blank Grey Canvas Sky)
00:58 Max Richter - Infra 7 (Infra)
00:58 Antonymes - My Salvation [37 minute timestretch] (Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future)
01:31 Kryptic Minds & Leon Switch - Road Less Travelled (Lost All Faith)
01:49 Eluvium - After Nature (Copia)
02:11 Steve Roach - Sleep & Dreaming (Quiet Music)
02:25 36 - Siren (Hollow)
03:08 Death Register - Untitled (C40 cassette)
04:01 Deaf Center - Time Spent (Owl Splinters)
04:25 Brian Eno - Drift (Apollo)
04:40 Efterklang - Full Moon (Magic Chairs)
06:56 Alaska - Aerosoul [breakdown] (Virtual Virtuosos]
05:33 Brian Mcbride - Toll Theme Pt.3 (The Effective Disconnect)
07:04 Small Things On Sundays - I Know You [The Dinosaur's Calling] (Recalling)
07:31 Murralin Lane - We Hear Are Birds (Our House Is On The Wall)
06:44 Luke Twyman - Beginning (All That Glitters)
07:27 Chihei Hatakeyama - Towards A Tranquil Marsh (Minima Moralia)
07:58 Atomic Skunk - Equinox (Alchemy)
08:09 Quosp - Geihns (Soundscapes II)
09:35 One Day Soon - Everything Was Still (The Deepest Truths Never Get Told)
10:35 Balmorhea - Unknown (Live recording)
12:13 Johann Johannsson - End Theme (And In The Endless Pause Came The Sound Of Bees)
12:19 Hammock - The Whole Catastrophe (Chasing After Shadows...Living With The Ghosts)
12:39 Calyx - Chasing Shadows (No Turning Back)
13:02 DJ Trax & Nucleus - Depth Of Field (Set Menu Vol.1)
14:09 V/Vm - Shadowsand (365 project)
14:16 / 22:31 Formication - The Condemned Piano Part 2 (Darkwinter)
18:29 Lee Riley - Guitar VII (Eyeless)
18:59 Nils Frahm - Corn (Explorers Club 7, Reyjavik)
19:44 Natural Snow Buildings - Through Breaches In The Layer Of Fog (Waves Of The Random Sea)
21:04 Ibunshi - Asylum (Unsigned)
22:16 Aaron Dugan & Jeff Arnal - APP (Dog Day)
23:06 Entharsis - Boundless Wonder (Global Connections Mp3)
22:42 The Caretaker - A Summer Romance (Songs From The Haunted Ballroom)
22:55 Radiohead - Videotape (In Rainbows)
25:51 Bonobo - The Keeper (Black Sands)
28:33 Damian Valles - Umbra (In The Shadow Of The Occluded Body)
30:04 Fursaxa - Desire (Kobold Moon)
32:45 Duotone - In The Evening (Work Harder And One Day You'll Find Her)
36:07 David Sylvian - The Healing Place (Gone To Earth)

Arms weaken without salvation

If you wondered where this 26-letter adaptation arose, it's from a vastly different area: business. I'm no materialist, but I'd suggest, for creative types: get Ken Hudson's "The Idea Generator". Dozens of base concepts, stimulating across tangential control.

As ambience misses industry, insecurity encyclopedias can anchor balance plans. And creators aren't single authority - just a benchmark for qualitative predilection. That's the idea of my accompanying 38 minute mix - to dispose contrivances, ever populating niche music opinion. A vacuum melt that Tom Jenkinson sucked out the gateau on his "...Everything" mini CD.

So, there's some drums, but accented by drones. Melodies glue the narrative together in multidimensional ways. If I listen back to "Armless Salvation" in even a month, I'll have found more ideas to add to chain reaction articles. Within a week of the first thought, this published, and you could involve yourself too - you're always welcome to send an email.

People try and push squares - we could make triangles

Size matters when Maslow's Pyramid crumbles. Only then. Zero needs - Nestle tubes, most of the time. We don't really 'need' anything in life - it's one drone forward, another pad forward. Ambient music will always be there to help you up. Next we'll delve further into the alphabet. A Black To Comm: "1968" way - hopefully.

SubVersion Stop 115: Algiversal

2011-04-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

Fresh SubVersion idea for 2011: algebra, psychokinesis, sound theory, mixed into 26 articles. A companion mixtape every time. Extends TDD, 15 Minutes Of Fame and DE projects. We're starting with: "Armless Salvation - Ambient beyond 2011".

Tactful cadence: paradox, truth, imitation, cultural stigma - began as healing. Noticeable for Ambient lovers. Perhaps, wiring for DE 2008. A-list scripts, mock MySpace subs. 26 letter alphabet; root genre.

A factor implcitly poisons our cause/effect synapse - noise scrawls where psyche follows

Brain exercise: relaxation, torture, true 'salvation', cools gently. Ambient still soundtracks Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi. The gradient punk, plus assimilation of martial arts, lit from 60s Flower Power spark. There's still inspired CDs of this ilk - a recent recommendation would be "Mind Body Spirit Tranquility", a package from Summertime Publishing. Second track, "Inner Peace", is magnificent.

Admire grazing, Kryten?

Eno's 1988 quasi-Ambient: "Apollo"; modded "Small Craft On A Milk Sea" as Ambient/IDM crash diet. Go to www.culturespam.wordpress.com for an excellent "IDM For The Uninitiated" technical Sushi. While more choose dubstep like Mills & Coronation Street, Simon Reynolds, 2009-2010, voiced a dislike of his 'Ardkore Continuum theory depreciating - the fact 'Ambient Dubstep' reinterpreted DJ Shadow fickly 10 years on, hitherto a flat landscape, with no fire.

Prodiguous intellect survives, arti-flash perishes.

Harold Budd tapped telegraph poles in the '60s; 2007, accenting R. Guthrie's guitar. The gorgeous "After The Night Falls" I listen to as a beehive meld. 2010 with Clive Wright's "Little Windows" affirmed: hopes anew soon, beyond Cocteau Twins appraisal. I'm looking forward to studio output from Anna Rose Carter in this vein - Fluid Radio's no.1 of 2010.

Classically, Gilbert & Sullivan, bowled Pinnochi-undergrowth in 1700s. Burying snotiness of row G. Paltrow. Apple of fashion industry; didn't turn green in 20 years. Japan's Jan Linton, otherwise, has superb Buddha Machine remixes set for release, bypassing techno-geekery, like sonic Frazzles at room temp. 101. Stalwarts such as Type save populist bacon, continually churning good - i.e Deaf Center's "Owl Splinters" in March; Xela's event residency in Boston, America.

Ambient scene troll abuse, online communication failure, generally absent.

Sites including Fluid push on weekly, with ASIP, SubVersion, DIB Music and HiddenPlace Music spacy highlights. Nonetheless, there's no single hotspot (e.g a forum) for Ambient lovers. But the disparacy is partly Ambient's strength; always returning you to sender. The bassline is placatable air, Lenor quilt melody unruffled. Opening courteousy central. No electro-acoustic popcorn required! The best soundtrack to continue: Brian, Roger Eno, Daniel Lanois: "An Ending (Ascent)".

Folk Rock quirks - the brilliant Autumn Grieve project of late

Modern Composition is integral, not blunt surgery. I.e later Clannad, and their "World Of Difference". Or Thom Yorke's "Videotape" composition. A selective, charitable cook-up: Ambient's indie cred like Apple chutney. Audioscope, who had Felix, SoTL members in Oxon, for Winter, plus Rome Pays Off, Rothko's new incarnation, shadow Oxon-world group One Day Soon. "The Deepest Truths" digital LP, donations funding relief for GAZA attacks, was Slowdive brill side; dropping 1996 Creation-ism for Darwinian win BC.

Paid advances - Daniel Lopatin; Aphex; Plaid; amb/rasive noise via Merzbow and Formication, ruminate action/reaction, distraction/target. Plaid's Gamelan Orchestra, a rare sight at Oxford Playhouse, wowed with a 7-10 piece program. While OCM brought feats, like Budd's 25+ year return gig at Holywell, to my city. Cafe Oto, Dalston, holds Wire zine-sponsored events, and talks. Pitchfork has an odd article on what's 'in' the blue.

Problem is, wholesale, AFX blitzed arrows in '90s Ambient anorak, before the rise of chill-rave. "I suppose it is important for me to do it in the sense that it helps me live, you know." Making handfuls of tracks mentally, day by day. Fabrics got punctured by Chicken Run trailers. Never far past boundary, through Ambient's indispensible can(n)on. Squat, ignite, splat. Or...

Send + Receive

Compared to Oasis mosh crap, the outlay (booking the niche genres, promoting the niche opinion) is bloody worth it. These dudes love to play, and if they don't, rip it up, and don't restart. Winnipeg's Send + Receive festival brought: Tim Hecker, Sawako, Taylor Deupree, Oren Ambarchi, et al, to their intimate shows in preceding decade. Their documentary/audio DVD double put across their events as small-time operations, looking for a loyal following.

Elsewhere, domains such as Phuturelabs - who I can't keep up with, four new entries every 24 hours at most - drop knowledge on post-classical (Max Richter), William Basinski, and assorted Ambient goodies. Resident Advisor covered Pop Ambient compilations for length. And though surging into Demdike Stare-ish trends lately, maintain flavour with vast subforums, allowing members to discuss news, their views, and, er, 'Witch House'.

We need a rocket salad

Ambient's formula; affairs surmised in tinkle - ejects you pre Shitehawk Close. Like Lee Perry rollies, rather than Wiley ringtones. Versionists, early, attract robustness: late night alt. Radio, Guardian articles. Even NME with now lauded The Stranger! (Research-worthy.) Pop malpractice, grew circumstansially: 50s love song Sugar, 70s Lennon cake. Uprooting vitality. Ricardo Villalobos dovetailed affection with recent dum-drone euphoria. Key 2009-2010 crustie drug, Mephedrone, relegated to Class A standard, a polar travesty. Purple limbs, deaths - few considered untested dangers.

Warped perception, predated '90s Warp crew, drawing nerds into Newt ideology - partying freely, and armchair zombie - which G&S exploited exorbitantly in 17th Century. Last year, talents inc. Ypsmael (Cluster support in Cambridge), Oxon guitar chap Lee Riley (Guitar Works solo / Vileswarm group) and outsider giant Kevin Drumm, pierced the 'Noise for Noise's sake' principle, wiping dirt from compilist fusion, both contexts (passive, active) simultaneously.

Mix "The Pirates Of Penzance" with Formication's "Catastrophe In Blue"

Detune vocals 300 cent, add Q Filter low, reverb vox trails over chuntering rain machine. Sit back and watch sparks fall to Earth, and calm. It's like Throbbing Gristle all over again, only bigger. Easy Tubbs and Edward. Strangers shall come to Ambient, but they won't touch the precious things of your shop. Unless you inflame their skin. Exactly what landmarks Coil did in their prime, with the spine-chilling "Musick To..." a bunsen of singed termite pits.

What is this man looking for? Poof on terms ay?

Binlingualism attracts me to Ambient daily. Track names fairer, spacious affairs. An improvement of "My Mum's Iron Is Coming To Autograph Your Forehead". Or "Daddy Didn't Feed Me Coco Pop's, Now I'm A Mad Mo'Fo With An Erection". Get back fam', let's talk between the lines. Ambient's recreationality, goes deeper than Dizzie, Shystie. Sure, infantile 'beef' can be amusing, but where's progress? Public Enemy walked that line a lot better three decades before - the grime was still there, but it was human, not a dollar bill Barbie in disguise. Too many dolls, not enough seeds of love.

Real green stuff, Ambient, and forever non-fervent.

The Sight Below's "It All Falls Apart" in 2010 picked up JD's "New Dawn Fades", clairvoyantly binds Strauss' and Hawkwind '74. Sound ambitious? Listen through discographies; check for yourself. Cyclical nirvana, insisted by arising cod-Downtempo (Zero 7, Lamb, Portishead pre "Third") burnt Ambient cogs insularly, both ways. Possibly harsh judgement: the synths, hypnosis, and reliance on pulse over rhythm remain intact: Bonobo, DJ Trax and Pilote see to that in Downtempo, but...

"Armless Salvation" mixtape will be online at the weekend.

SubVersion Stop 114: Breaking Through Dawn - Mother's Day

2011-04-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day's been okay here. She's happy, we're humbled. So I've decided to dig out my 2006 CD gift, and publish it online.

All mothers have everlasting logic. Leaving it out, just lovingly. Mum's spirit inhabits us like Brahma: everywhere.

A deep anxiety, reductionism sedative. Imparted by other families, passed on wisely.

They share the things I know and love, with those of my kind. Doing to protect, nourish and brush off mosquitoes. Never choosing to sting toes madly.

I was 18 when I made "Breaking Through Dawn", often spending £50 a week on fresh D&B vinyl. Recording, converting to CD-R via Wav editors, I ended up with 500 base files, all keepers. Winding down with eBay purchases; tired of checking D&B heavily post-2007.

3 deck live mixing, first time CD-housed. 3 tracks mixed for 4 minutes, most tunes edited. The Aphex track, my favourite from him, was my first track editing attempt. I still quite like that bitcrush of The Alpha Rhythm's guitar intro.

In love or loss, please keep your head up for me. Days like these are what we look back on in years to come, and they shape our individual destiny in the long run. Mother's belong, so here's a little song for mine.

Breaking Through Dawn Set-list:

Walk 1 - Party

Sonic - The Alchemist (Space Recordings, 2005)
Matrix & Danny J - Vertigo (Metro, 2000)
ICR - Dislike (Covert Operations Sub. 3 LP, 2005)
SKC & Safair - Free My Soul (Hospital, 2003)
Lamb - Gorecki [Global Communications Mix] (Universal Music)

Walk 2 - Home

Blue - My Mind Is Going [bass 'n' filter edit] (Subvert Central Vol.1 EP, 2005)
Yanni - Prelude (BMG)
AFX feat. The Alpha Rhythm - Rhubarb Medicine (Clocking the Herbal Mix)

Walk 3 - We Remembered

ICR - Uprise (Daytrip CD, 2005)
Artificial Intelligence - Switch On (Klute's Commercial Suicide 12', 2004)
Omni Trio - Who Are You? (Moving Shadow, 1997)
Hellfish - News Head (Meat Machine Broadcast System, Planet Mu, 2005)
Pieter K - Rapport (Offshore EP, 2003)
Klute - Saviour (CS 2CD, 2006)
Pieter K - All Things (Everything All The Time LP, Breakbeat Science, 2002)

Download

SubVersion Stop 113: SV Recommends: Endless Rain, Rural Glass

2011-04-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Alt. quarterly Cabinet's superb Magic issue, taking in everything from Tommy Cooper's daft tragedy act, to lefty Venn diagram-solving, was an Evil Kaneevil to its readers in 2007. Fitting influence for Winter 2010: colloquial illusion. Circular modernism breeds ideas of concealment, while doing too much causes mistrust and atrophy.

The trouble with doing nothing, otherwise, is you never know when you've finished. When I finally welcomed two-side Blighty, I acquired a life-changing record from the folks at Fluid Radio. Natural Snow Buildings' "The Waves Of The Random Sea".

http://www.store.fluid-radio.co.uk/2011/02/natural-snow-buildings-waves-of-the-random-sea-2xlp/

Upon review, "Endless Rain, Rural Glass" formed in 5 days. 98 samples, 59 minutes, 100s of structures, groupings, and emotion. So, cheers Dan and Jess for the ruse!

Relmic Statute was then mixed with one mate's love of Jazz. She was leaving work, so I endeavoured to make a nice farewell gift. Evan Parker, Hive & Keaton, Art Blakey, Louis Armstrong & Fitzgerald washed. Speckles of prog: Glenn Branca, A Silver Mount Zion. Gentle bliss via Stars Of The Lid, Kettel, Colleen, The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde. Everything harbouring older D&B values from Arcon 2, UV, unreleased Foci's Left. Those drones you may recognise elsewhere. ;)

There's so many time-codes in "Endless Rain...", that posting a tracklist would be antithesis. Balm for the Spring - drink it in if you like.

Download

If you'd truly like to know what entities I'd recommend as life inspiration, here's three in three categories each.

SC imprints: Subtle Audio, Subvert Central, Plainaudio.

Mix blogs: www.weareie.com, www.lowlightmixes.blogspot.com, www.ambientblog.net.

Personalities: whoever assists SubVersion contributors.

There will be an interactive mixtape concept on this blog in the next week, where you'll be able to forward ideas to shape where I, and my real friends walk next. Until then, be well.

SubVersion Stop 112: A Cognitive Trail Of Abstraction [relmicstatute.com]

2011-03-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Familiar starts, also ensure health of Music Box sound. Say "Greetings, hello" to David Horner. With "A Cognitive Trail..." we're splayed within gentle jetstreams. As Relmic Statute, he's conjured superb tape collage, live and polished...

This is Dave's first own site sell. Prior he gigged with Experimedia's J. Bible, Rameses III; Home Normal - at Tower Hamlet's live 'n' cosy Flea Pit, South London, March 09. Hibernate's free shows in Yorkshire, too. "...Of Abstraction", a bargain £3 for 4 quality files, is also sold in Wav or FLAC. So I don't need Roland Rat to help scratch. Find a fiver instead!

Drone contingents: density, smoothed - teleport genies around Statute. Via cutting technology; emblems, we're assured of runtime. Placid compromise: under 30 minutes - less than MC40's (20 minutes a side); 1/3 of C90 tape investment. Pre-"idea9", then. As in mathematics / Folklore, number 9 has been trauma-based. Basic timetable theory gives 9 tough prefix in times/divide scales. Hisorically, we have dialling codes for emergency services, tied around this infinite body.

Troubles dissolve by Horner's drums - he line-dances to Burial's crusty swing-time dubstep BPM. Vitally, drinking in residue of two isolated contexts (street, country). And the drums - subtracting Hyperdub's ice rink [neutrality] like a sprinkler - beyond Southern subcultural timecode. David, as far back as 2004's "Sitting Under The Lantern's Glow" (Cotton Goods CD-R) has pushed rural bustle (single track signposts), husk (organic production processes) and buskers (budding field recordists, Horner a Chris Watson of Midlands Britain), towards continental growth.

Live, handling precision tools, PC, long-standing machinery, sellotape, and slender fingers - so, rabid charity box spirits, exit your shadow land. Now the 'sharity' ideology, where limited editions preserve like frozen Van Gough's, accumulate worth online. Not only for 'Statute's fascination, "Water Colours" injects nailgun chlorine to tape's predecessor: lo-fi vinyl. Through 3 decades, 'Home Taping Is Killing Music' media-(mong)ers, belligerently hacked 'the' worst copyright - since carp interbreeding. Right to share treasures: pecked by ravens, tossed as garbage. Hence propulsion - via rising exponents of modern jiggery-pokery, distance industry; freeing innovator radicalization, whatever structure.

Physical, and property abuse, created vinyl and cassette outbreaks in early 90s. David's echoes of casuality (Top Trumps, Pokemon and Pogs fanatics unite) welcomes us back. Succinctly: tape and wax won't survive if they come undone from spindle. That spindle connects to others, so the machinery comes unstuck. Listening here feels like a meltdown of vernacular barriers, thusly; an upholding of archaic aurora, something which anyone aged between 12-60, will surely appreciate. Dave succeeds best on "A Cognitive Trail", because of his ability with sensitive, natural treatments. Too, egging developments of electronica's underblanket, woven in unique a-quadratics.

Pleasant subtlety opens, builds sustain, multiplies Deep House[and] micro-reels, detangling Jodie Cave's scruffy minimalist knots: dividing everything to 4 lushly separate, transcen-drones. Imposed arbitrariness of digital sampling (skip, repeat, program) is rebuilt on "A Cognitive Trail Of Abstraction", due to a) it being an EP of sorts, b) no bidding price, and c) the encouraging universal Genie. It's asking: "Will you still rub me [the record, or your hands?], tomorrow?" Tract, tact, band, even contract, Relmic Statute's lifespan is a past-time that won't be gathering rust this century.

http://music.relmicstatute.com/album/a-cognitive-trail-of-abstraction

SubVersion Stop 111: The Outer Life Of The Introvert: DuoTalk

2011-03-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Pick a card. Any card. Oh, that one? Miss twice: our cards. The industry way. And indie's J. Nicholson. So arrives Spring, giving us dispositions. Change or conserve? Tackling self-esteem - confidence. Our inner therapies. Natural humans know the score. It's to cause penalty, before Wayne Rooney kick-off.

Wayne's alright really. But attracts insecurity. Overpaid industry doesn't help. Yobs latching his movement = Origa-mush. Push turns riot. We've seen enough in street-sport. Innocents' get killed; more Rooney-ish news. Aspiring signings, punting contracts. Luckily in music, the soul-grabbers show their truest blue. The introvert in all of us is given its place to think.

Rewind 5 years: public SC convo with Naphta aided fire in me. The gist - everyone should have their own linguistic - label, entity. Unique voice, bluntly. You 'dun need Rizla to grasp dem idea. Vomiting pondweed - watch that. Research Drum & Bass, associated Electronica - we'd conclude: "When did integrity turn green?" Or "I'm afraid to go out, I'll get stoned". "He's not the Messiah."

Westies ain't naughty, by Tod's standards. "Get your-self a HE-RO!" bellows a Jesus And Pals fanatic - on South Park's pre-DVD, "Mexican Frog Of Southern Sri Lanka".

Jimbo: "My best friend (Ned) is a vegetable, and..." Jesus, previously, cuts the air. "People, shut the **** UP." They can't believe it. Then the ratings tail into beef stew. Powered by deceit, Jesus' exec. producer, creates unwanted antagonism. Jesus outlines he's never worked for cash. Still, he is yanked to compete with junk programmes, on rural Canadian television. The promise: more people will listen to him. Jimbo and Jim Royle could have a good chat there!

More prosaically, there's 'quakes in Japan, Libian masochism, posion-drone in Palestine. In early 2007, at a local Fundraiser, Palestinian youth care occured. Three integral sources: Africa, England, Asia. Organised by Oxford Improvisers, relief workers, inter-communicatives. The audience, and promoters, raised £2000 + that evening. It was truly magical. Critically, amplification - for commercial discordance. Ego-eruption of Matilda and Godzilla. But hey, Matilda could actually spell 'Fruit'. Zilla just wanted a Zinger Burger. Mouthwash!

Similar ventures to that Fundraiser, make Earth spin. Totally placid, no corruption. An: "Is (my) / our effort worthwhile?" Clean enjoyment. In neurology, telling others they're: ill, need help, et al, builds unconscious 'yes' nerves. Over time, subconscious thinking rationalizes it. That allows our consciousness weaning off misdirection, white lies and remorse. Partnerships bloom as greed cuts umbillical.

I have known many peaceful individuals over the years. Lots of them are where this blog originated from. The rest remain forgotten memories. Forgiveness, means, plainly, we're ably at peace in future. You might keep your friends for life. Perhaps they'll just stay on dubplate. Worn out after twenty tries? "The best things in life aren't things", states Kimo in the TDD-approved Hawaiian rules. If that's an endorsement, I'll eat Aesop's halo. "Pass 'em out to the pavement.". Feels great seeing sun, where 'Daylight' won't burn.

"Break the norm" sang Barney Morse-Brown on his wonderful "Pray For Me". He's been a big inspiration personally. Prior to reading up on his history; then buying tickets to his gigs, he was a rising star of my Folk scene. Barney plays as Duotone, utilising cello, guitar. And unmistakably delicate vocals. John Peel, possibly an extroverted self. A nice mantra deduced: I'd rather talk a load of bollocks, than talk a load of sense. Barney and John had the balance, a symbiotic solidity, and spiritual counsel, eternally.

Because - if your gut feeling is right, the sensible - me too, at times - look like a Gogs cast. "Baby's Swing" on YouTube, is a hilarious rib at '90s critical thought. The baby starts bawling - with no swing. Ends crying happily, with a swing. The family, expands...retracts molecular iron. Fizzing with crackle. Then, episode over. Onto the next cheap thrill, for the comedy era-ttic. Unless we have flea treatment to hand. Contemporary art struggles to thrive in contaminated space.

Communication suffers, too. People are so pent-up cloning Byzantine, impressing their pseudo-peers, that an Empire: websites, relationships, power of group intellect, offline or on...falls in stabs to outer thigh. Not even Spartacus can help with that; he's left the battle, served his lot. Whereas less fearful, i.e. Jamie Oliver, have attempted to breed counter-crash culture, in schooling suppression, biodiversity, and parenting ethics. Whatever mannerisms.

So let's put a new card on the table, from the intro to the extra. My SubVersion resolution. The swing to any King. I know I know, it might be Jack. There's heart here, though. A keystone of 17th Century card culture. Kings' and Queens' used Jack, towards occult murder. The Ripper mysteries, especially. Putting LSD in his lactic acid. I can't catch every bus either. Assimilated to scripture, where the King and Queen still reigned supreme.

Wherever you go worldwide, only solution is Macbeth. Shakespeare tears archetypes of presidency, ancestry; to pieces - reversing ecosystems. Via weight of neuro-transmissions, psychic trust, and Duotone's brilliant "Work Harder..." LP, maybe, in dreams or clear reality: one day you'll find him, their, her...collective birth into a new species - an "Outvert", as Polska might have it.

Off, out, up and under, 2011 will be better than the last days faced by every artist, human, and dream image, in existence today. It's time for change.

SubVersion Stop 110: Various Artists - Over G (Punch Music)

2010-09-24T16:30:00.001-07:00

Clicks, pops, crackles and forward propulsion are trademark rudiments of Techno, a cocktail balancing act that threatens to be too monotone if in the wrong hands, or overtly excitable – and potentially disorganised - in others. Melodic conservatism takes the form of punctuation marks, coating the overall sound with a highly structured, sometimes straightforward glaze that becomes both the genre’s strength and weakness. In the grasp of Punch Music, we have desirable dissolution into the scented, cold mechanical atmospheres as much as warmer, honeyed yet strident dramatics that operate centred to the style’s modus operandi.

“Over G” collects four tracks that when listening one after the other, seem to defy time. It’s as if you’re lifted up off your feet like a flotation device, where the dancing blade is sharpened, bringing you down in the context of 3am at an abandoned warehouse rave. Pinning the release somewhere between Martyn’s maximalist Techno mixes, James Zabiela’s deeper selections and Monolake’s organic, heady and exuberant terminus, the work is paradoxically open-ended, allowing bubbling arpeggio synths to take centre stage on Oosh’s title piece, thick layers of percussion painting over a minimal bass chord on Nir Shoshanti’s “Awake Me”, and the ambient Techno sounds plinking and plonking underneath rigorous 4/4 and pleasing ringtone counter-melody on Muzarco’s “Light And Shade”.

Meanwhile, Omer’s “My Hands” digs harder against darkness, opening with a cactus-sharp parade of faded-in high-hats and seasick, purring-cat-on-a-treadmill bass rumble, siding with intoxication, before dropping into a ritualistic vocal inclusion: “Sometimes...” moves slowly like a hypnotic pendulum, before extending to “My hands are full of emotions”, palming off into a jacking rhythm. Whether you’re not a purist, or are in hierarchal self-righteousness, “Over G” is one of my more memorable insights into the Techno underground.

Listen

SubVersion Stop 109: Muttley & PvC - Division Dialogue

2010-09-24T05:58:00.000-07:00

Photo: Dialogue, by Doc Ross

A collaborative mix by Muttley (SubVersion weblog: http://subvertcentral.blogspot.com) and PvC (Ambientblog weblog: http://www.ambientblog.net).

Both contributors start with a 20 minute part of the mix, then 10 and then 5 to conclude. In each part the contributor 'reacts' to the predecing part.

Part 1 - Muttley

00:00 David Tagg - Stele (Split with Hakobune, 2009)
09:00 Quosp - Pine (Soundscapes I, U-Cover, 2008)
14:25 Oneohtrix Point Never - Describing Bodies (Returnal, Editions Mego, 2010)
17:03 Kettel - Song From 4PM Herring (Myam James II, Sending Orbs, 2009)

Part 2 - PvC

19:29 Machinefabriek - Duotoon (Duotoon, self-released, 2009)
22:30 Ephraim Wegner - Flock of Sheep RMX (Audible Landcapes, Crónica, 2010)
23:53 Lost in Hildurness - Light (Mount A, Tónar, 2006)
24:57 Akira Rabelais - 1440 Promp. Parv. 5182 Wawyn [...](Spellewauerynsherde, Samadhisound, 2004)
26:31 Thomas Köner - E Dalmatinsk, Beograd (La Barca Special Edition, Fario, 2010)
27:09 Kyle Bobby Dunn - Dissonant Distances (Rural Route No. 2, Standard Form, 2010)
30:17 Balmorhea - Winter Circle (Constellations, Western Vinyl, 2010)
31:51 Francisco López - Fabrikas (Machines, Elevator Bath, 2010)
32:56 Drape - Cosmic Purces (Dream Words, Gears of Sand, 2010)
34:43 Field Rotation - Sleepless (Why Things are Different, Hibernate, 2010)
36:32 Machinefabriek - Duotoon (Duotoon, self-released, 2009)

Part 3 - Muttley

38:07 Robert Haigh & Silent Storm - Untitled (From The Air bonus CD, Seal Pool, 2007)
41:50 Stars Of The Lid - Articulate Silences Pt. 2 (And Their Refinement Of The Decline, Kranky, 2007)
45:43 Fridge - Our Place In This (The Sun, Temporary Residence, 2007)

Part 4 - PvC

49:28 Susumu Yokota - Blue Moon (Kaleidoscope, Lo Recordings, 2010)
51:31 Solo Andata - Myrmecia (Ritual, Desire Path Recordings, 2010)
53:51 Boduf Songs - The Giant Umbilical Cord That Connects Your Brain to the Centre (This Alone Above Else In Spite of Everything, Kranky, 2010)
56:57 Robyn Miller - Jungle Totem (Myst II: Riven Soundtrack; Virgin, 1998)

Part 5 - Muttley

57:57 :papercutz - The Gift Of Self (Simon Scott remix) (Do Outro Lado Du Espelho - Lylac remixes, Audiobulb, 2010)
58:33 Neu! - Elanoizan (Neu! 4, Captain Trip Records, 1995)
59:45 Zelienople - Parts Are Lost [edit] (His/Hers, Type, 2007)
1:01:16 Roger Eno - The Parting Glass (Swimming, All Saints, 1996)

Part 6 - PvC

1:04:25 Sawako - The Town (Favourite Places 2, Audiobulb, 2009)
1:06:11 Frank Rothkamm - AAA (Alt, Baskaru, 2009)
1:07:55 Mashta Uirtu - Adrearium (Unbigoted, self-released, 2009)
1:09:53 Robyn Miller - Myst Link (Myst II: Riven Soundtrack, virgin, 1998)
1:10:00 End

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SubVersion Stop 108: Muttley - Exponents Of The Guitar - for www.headphonecommute.com

2010-09-19T05:41:00.001-07:00

Photo: "Morning Guitar" by Peter Roome

“Exponents Of The Guitar” was inspired by my father’s plans to get lessons for the instrument – to advance his skills, and make the hobby more pleasurable. The tune selection – perpetuated from a sketched timeline of recently discovered cuts – Leo Abrahams, GYBE’s “Yanqui U.X.O” installment on Constellation – and older acquisitions, such as my favourite by guitar virtuosos Gordon Giltrap with Martin Taylor: “Green Lady”, the former I saw live at Alvescot Village Hall, Oxford in 2008, are paired and generally left to reveal their rewards.

This said, there are a few layered sections – notably the starting blend matures to four tracks playing at once, and the Giltrap collaboration work inherits a doubled scale of chords when blended with Zelienople’s “Family Beast”. From reverb-heavy washes – Robin Guthrie’s “Everlasting” – to folky acoustica – Rameses III’s “No Water No Moon”, “Exponents Of The Guitar” covers a lot of stylistic bases, and I feel privileged to contribute this to Headphone Commute.

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SubVersion Stop 107: Muttley - Embrace (August 2010)

2010-09-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Photo: Leo Abrahams

“Embrace” embodies cherishing the moment and its temporary finesse, unearthing more controlled statements of logic, like error-correcting software stripped of psychic pollution, defunct cycles and non-confining angles.

TRACKLISTING

00:00 Marc Doudin – Embrace (from Affection, Wise Owl Records, 2009)
01:56 Quosp – Green (from Soundscapes I, U-Cover, 2008)
05:19 Lamenter – The Magnamious Security Guard (from Sleeping Me, Phantom Channel, 2009)
08:13 Jan Linton – Buddha Machine Remix 1.3 (sounds from the Buddha Machine by FM3, unreleased, 2009)
09:17 John R Carslon – No Time, No Place (from Advent, Parvo Art, 2009)
10:03 Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd – She Is My Strength (from Before The Day Breaks, Darla, 2007)
12:08 Johann Johannsson – Theme (from And In The Endless Pause..., Type, 2009)
14:05 Leo Abrahams – Honeytrap (from Honeytrap, Absolute Zero, 2005)
17:50 Boards Of Canada – Dayvan Cowboy (from The Campfire Headphase, Warp, 2005)

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SubVersion Stop 106: Kids - don't revise for exams with tunes!

2010-09-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

We all know that listening to music changes our moods, and a lot of us listen to music all the time, when walking to work, shopping, even working in the office. But is the cognitive benefit still the same if we listen to music whilst performing a task? Are we hindering our work or everyday errands? How does listening to music we dislike affect our performance?

Researchers in Cardiff have found that listening to music that you enjoy whilst performing a serial recall task does not help performance any more than listening to music that you don't enjoy. The researchers made participants try to recall lists in presentation order whilst listening to five sound environments: quiet (with only occasional background sounds such as birdsong or nearby traffic), liked music previously chosen by the participant, disliked music (the track "Thrashers" by Death Angel which was incidentally disliked the most by all participants), changing-state vocals (a sequence of random digits spoken such as "4, 7, 1, 6") and steady-state vocal ("3, 3, 3"). Recall ability was equally poor for all music and changing-state vocal conditions. The most accurate recall occurred when participants performed the task in the quieter, steady-state environments. So regardless of whether they liked or hated the track, the music hindered their ability to remember items in the list.

This might be stating the obvious, but we maybe forget how much listening to music can distract us from what we are doing; the composers of supermarket or department store design it especially to distract us into forgetting what we are there for, to encourage us to mill around aimlessly in their shop for longer. I think that I studied for all of my exams with music playing; perhaps I ought to have done it in silence. I can only hope that the positive effect of listening to my favourite tracks counteracted any poor recall that I suffered.

Nick Perham, Joanne Vizard. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2010; DOI:10.1002/acp.1731

SubVersion Stop 105: Foci's Left - Exit - for www.playmytape.net

2010-08-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Photography: Jonathan Lees (Hibernate / Rural Colours)

"Exit" is a soundtrack for not sacrificing entertainment – whether that be a night out, quiet time, the studious, or disappointments of chasmic proportions. There are mini movements within: powered by the lyrics of Piano Magic, we are informed "Maybe it's time to get out? We all have our reasons, we all have our doubts". Grappling with environmental stress — claustrophobia, cold brush-offs, verbal abuse, rejection — is tempered by "Exit" and its noise reduction, as a distraction that has healing intent. It's a brew rather than a formula, affirmed by the congruence of drone, guitar, voice, strings, and beats. All these tracks were and are influences on my production output as Foci's Left, who's inaugural release was on Spheruleus' Audio Gourmet imprint. I thought I'd share my aural beacon from turmoil with you.

TRACKLISTING

00:00 Piano Magic - Exit (from Ovations, Darla, 2009)
03:14 BJ Nilsen - Virtual Resistance (from The Invisible City, Touch, 2010)
03:53 Spheruleus - Respawn As Another Entity (from Decompose, Audio Gourmet, 2010)
05:24 MGR - Neither Here Nor There (from Innature, Barge, 2008)
06:51 Christopher Willits & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Ocean Sky Remains (from Ocean Fire, 12k, 2008)
10:47 Spheruleus - How White The Cerulean Sky (from The Disguised Familiar, Earth Mantra, 2009)
11:58 Marc Doudin - Pieces (from Affection, Wise Owl Records, 2009)
14:13 Greg Haines - In The Event Of A Sudden Loss (from Until The Point Of Hushed Support, Sonic Pieces, 2010)
14:25 Hammock - Eighty Four Thousand Hymns (from Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow, Darla, 2008)
24:07 Oophoi - Fragile Beauty (from Hymns To A Silent Sky, Nextera, 2005)
24:45 Koen Holtkamp - You Mean The World To Me (from Field Rituals, Type, 2008)
25:39 Quosp - Inelastic (from Soundscapes II, U-Cover, 2008)
26:59 The Sight Below - Fervent (from It All Falls Apart, Ghostly International, 2010)
30:02 Ben Woods - Taking Small Steps (from A Collection Of Thoughts, Wise Owl Records, 2008)
32:08 Max Richter - Journey 4 (from Infra, 130701, 2010)
32:15 Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert Part 1 (excerpt) (from The Koln Concert, EMI, 1975)
33:46 Broken Records - Nearly Home (from Until The Earth Begins To Part, 4AD, 2009)
38:58 Spinnerette - Distorting A Code (from Spinnerette, Anthem Entertainment, 2009)
42:58 Kosheen - Coming Home (from Kokopelli, BMG, 2003)
48:17 Steely Dan - Home At Last (from Aja, MCA Records, 1977)

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SubVersion Stop 104: Muttley - In The Waiting Line - for www.astrangelyisolatedplace.wordpress.com

2010-08-14T14:05:00.001-07:00

“In The Waiting Line”, contributed exclusively to A Strangely Isolated Place, is one concept from several that showcases artists that Muttley has specifically enquired to book for concerts in the future. Since an inspiring first concert watching Greg Haines (pictured), Muttley’s shortlist has grown to encompass classic artists such as Roger Eno and more recent pioneers in the form of Oneohtrix Point Never.

The result? A truly inspirational and unique mix that transports you to the front row of an ambient fans dream gig. Which artists would be included in your dream concert shortlist?"

Download exclusively at A Strangely Isolated Place

SubVersion Stop 103: Badmammal - Tapestop EP (goodluck/badluck CD / download)

2010-08-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Essentially, Badmammal’s second EP, “Tapestop”, is downtempo, but is so overwhelmingly groovy, it forms a portable dance floor. This quality transcends his back catalogue, elevating everything beyond shoegazer cliche and sugar-fuelled euphoria. Those expecting shallow caricature will be disappointed. But who’d have guessed consistency going against perceptual grain?

That’s no bad thing: synths on “Another Bed I Know” chirp their chords like a backing track to an 80s Prince movie, while “Down And Up” recalls The Cure tuning up, then swept through a wind tunnel of ramshackle drum shuffles, Slowdive-in-a-blender guitar figures, the changeable riffs rapturous and perfectly juxtaposed to “Go On”, where space blossoms, handclaps and shakers adorn a pumping beat, simple and effective melodies captivate like chicken to a hungry bull terrier, always awaiting the next move from the speaker. Breaking down on angelic pads, shifting your focus to Badmammal’s uncannily futuristic sound combinations, the expectations suggest a staple not quite yet tacked; a goal on its way to completion.

The guitar is a malleable instrument, mainly entrenched in the field of psychedelia. Badmammal’s relationship with electronica comes to the fore, Orbital-esque, on “Short Days”, where guitar parts are looped over a crisp rhythm, timbres glossy, structure slowly forming new layers, as is so typical of his laid-back approach to production and life. For the listener, satisfaction is reliable if you’re stressed from a day of indecision, unfulfilled objectives, fractured friendships or whatever obstructs a to b. The five tracks on “Tapestop”, albeit not life-altering, are hugely enjoyable slices of funky electronica, and for fans of Bonobo, Ninja Tune and even Flying Lotus, should be duly investigated.

Purchase: Mp3 release

SubVersion Stop 102: Max Richter - Infra (130701)

2010-08-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

A string is like an arrow to the heart – it can either puncture the spirit or carry with it magical emotive absorbtion. Whether in a quartet, quintet or cameo instrument, its sound can alleviate, act as a sobering slap to overcast mood, or cut through the murk of occult settings. Think chamber music for a context where the string makes everything humane, then paradoxically alien if manipulated in the right scale. Or consider disco for inclusivity of strings that race on their own idiosyncratic merits; sometimes painting textures of indeterminable origin; at others a cornerstone that respects past as much as present.

It’s an open book that cross-pollination of the string can be threatening – control and aspirations thwarted by simple but nonetheless aggravating formalities, whereby strings and film is not a relationship with zero elasticity. From Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti western scores to Thomas Newman’s “Any Other Name”, where piano and string temper each other like childhood sweethearts, string effects have developed countless harmonic bargaining.

Max Richter is a composer with an ear for a dime a dozen in this sense. His latest opus, “Infra”, intended as the soundtrack to a ballet at The Royal Opera House in London, sheds verbose conceptual baggage and is realised as a standalone album, one that, if you listen right, works as an appetiser to nimble steps that extend beyond choreographed dance, and into your own world of routines, chores, highs and lows.

“The Blue Notebooks”, Richter’s most acclaimed release, was all about soaring instrumental cadences and polished musical explanations. “Infra”, forgetting its earlier industrial life, represents an offroad abode where the dulcet (strings, fuzzy piano) and intriguing (interlude electronics, several tracks titled “Journey”) hold hands, and are as charming as an unkempt box of photos dusted off, and given fresh existence on your mantlepiece.

Purchase: vinyl / CD / digital

Discover where to see it performed live on Subvert Central

SubVersion Stop 101: Muttley - So We Can Sleep (July 2010)

2010-08-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

“So We Can Sleep”, finishing the July mixtapes, sighs for individuals dispersing into less crowded constellations. As it lengthens, tunes layer to relieve each other’s characteristics. These temporary alignments, and their intensifying and diminishing moods are followed by Lymbyc Systym’s high-velocity “...So We Can Sleep”, a scorching but unharmful conclusion to the drones and fogged up timbres, guitar ambience proceeding nestled in organic terrain.

TRACKLISTING

01. 00:00 Duncan O’ Ceallhaigh – 139 (from Psalms, Parvo Art, 2009)
02. 01:28 Daisuke Miyatani – Hum (from Diario, Ahornfelder, 2007)
03. 06:46 Warning Light – Further On, Monoliths (from Further On, Stickfigure, 2010)
04. 07:38 Kirill Platonkin – Heroes Of The Future (from Our Eternal Alarm, free release, 2010)
05. 07:38 Marow – Lucid Dream (Once We Were Friends) (from Lysar, Klitorik, 2010)
06. 10:00 Eluvium – Bending Dream (from Similes, Temporary Residence, 2010)
07. 11:42 Coldstream – Pan Novak (from Alarums, Under The Spire, 2010)
08. 20:47 Simon James French – Serfdom (from Anthem, Hibernate, 2009)
09. 22:28 Yasushi Yoshida – Parade For Closure (from Secret Figure, Midi Creative, 2006)
10. 24:14 Lymbyc Systym – ...So We Can Sleep (from Love Your Abuser, Mush, 2007)

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All Muttley mixes on SubVersion are SC Affiliated, by way of the 15 Minutes Of Fame Mix Series.

SubVersion Stop 100: Muttley, Naphta & Statto - ATM article

2010-07-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

To celebrate 100 entries on SubVersion, I’ve decided to republish an article from November 2006 on the Drum & Bass leftfield. Titled “Subversive Beats”, it was written for ATM, a worldwide-available urban music monthly. Thanks to the eloquent editing skills of Naphta and Statto, we managed to consolidate the meat of my final draft, creating a sum greater than its parts.

Subversive Beats - Are We Going Too Leftfield?

Every scene has a side that follows its own path – that works according to its own definition of what the form means, of what it ought to be doing, of where it ought to be going. Right now, there is a corner of drum n bass that is following its own path, making and playing drum n bass without regard for its likelihood of making them into stars or of it making them any real money – pushing it solely because it reminds them of all that they loved in the history of the music, and reawakens them to the possibility that the music can still be taken somewhere new.

Musically, the origins of this drum n bass ‘leftfield’ can be traced across a wide variety of influences, many of which were long ago abandoned by the scene’s hallowed originators. Famed cuts such as Omni Trio's anthemic ‘Renegade Snares’, Goldie’s electrifying ‘Terminator’, and the ragga-jungle shenanigans of Remarc’s ‘RIP’ all helped sculpt the foundations of this new structural and rhythmic shapeshifting that sharper-eared dnb headz are checking out today.

Of course, ever since the overwhelming techstep phenomenon of the late nineties (and the subsequent demise of experimental labels like Certificate 18, Partisan, Droppin’ Science and Reinforced) the influence of such ground-breaking tracks has been felt less and less in the drum n bass scene proper. Prodigious beat-smiths such as 4Hero, Danny Breaks, Foul Play, Polar and Sonar Circle (to name just a few) all waded off into new musical waters, leaving behind only a confusion over which bracket these spellbinding tracks could be safely filed away under in drum n bass history.

Certainly, names can prove troublesome. Just think of ‘hardcore/jump-up Jungle’ versus ‘Intelligent drum n bass’ back in the day. And ever since Breakage’s brain-bending update of Equinox’s ‘Acid Rain’ garnered attention for a new wave of break-butchery in recent years, we’ve had to endure gems such as ‘choppage’, ‘dubby dnb’, and even the godawful ‘edits’ being bandied around as possible titles for any dnb that is different. Yes, arguments regarding associations and tags can seem petty, but on the other hand, arguing about how to define what you do can also help define what’s really at stake – it can help make you think about just what you’re in this game for – make you question your own motivations (in a healthy way). And in this case, the root question (why do we still make and play drum n bass music when we no longer identify with where the ‘Scene’ is at?) has acted as a breeding ground for a whole new wave of hybridised, highly creative and essentially deviant music to emerge.

“I’m not really into labels such as ‘leftfield’, and don’t really consider us to be so,” explains Bassbin mainman Rohan, owner of an imprint whose output is now in high demand across the board. “I have seen us labelled as drumfunk / liquid / dubwise / purist... but to me, Fabio came up with the best tag for Bassbin: ‘Roots Music’.” It’s good to hear that he disagrees with the stereotypes, but clearly, one generic name can be better than another. And as anyone who works in the scene will tell you, applying a generic name to what you do can be a practical advantage in selling records. Think Fabio’s ‘Liquid’ style, which initially did the promotion of Calibre’s sound no end of good. Or consider Paradox – and how the term ‘Drumfunk’ has helped to promote his funk and hiphop-rooted interpretation of drum n bass. Seemingly both pigeonholing and separating himself, he has since managed to win over a whole new set of drum n bass audiences (most notably Hospital Records in 2004 through his collaborations with Seba). In doing so, he’s been able to set up and run four labels while also taking time to bring through a bunch of underexposed artists in his wake.

But new or different sounds need a context, an arena in which to be heard. Enter Chris Inperspective. A pivotal personality in pushing an underexposed side of dnb, he launched the now infamous Inperspective label in 1997, with the intent of releasing material from criminally under-rated producers like Equinox. “I just wasn’t hearing what I wanted to in drum n bass at the time,” he remembers. Back then, at the height of the two-step sound in drum n bass, the first Inperspective release fell on deaf ears. Stubbornly optimistic, Chris set up a night called Technicality in the heart of London in 2000, and with DJ/producers like Equinox, Senses and Breakage providing the musical backbone, he set out to demonstrate that breaks-heavy dnb could mash up the floor. During this period the club was one of the only in London to push everything truly breakbeat-orientated – one where the shapes and rhythms were pulverized and remoulded to a musical and atmospheric soundtrack. It’s an ideal that older heads noted bore comparison to the now defunct Metalheadz sessions at the Blue Note – where a melting pot of gender, colour and age was cooked up on the dancefloor by a block-rocking selection of freshly-cut tracks that consistently pushed the form of the music into new and exciting shapes. Of course the night itself could only reach so many people, despite the fact that dedicated beat enthusiasts from across the globe were making the pilgrimage. Word of mouth promotion only gets you so far. “It is hard to make people get what you’re doing sometimes,” Chris notes. “But I think that the scene as a whole needs to take more responsibility for promoting itself.”

Much-needed help for pushing Technicality and the less obvious side of drum n bass soon came. Originating in the veteran Streetbeats camp, the ‘Subvert Central’ online forum provided a platform for highly passionate, forward-thinking DJs, producers and fans to come together and outline their own versions of a dnb future, to loosely define a shared set of principles to operate by, and to communicate their message to newcomers. With chat and debate ranging from the deadly serious to the downright silly, Subvert Central enabled Chris and other dnb adventurers who had been similarly alienated from the mainstream to brainstorm, and to share their love and enthusiasm for a legacy in dnb that had seemed to have been all but forgotten. Indeed probably the most productive debate in the forum’s history was launched by Chris himself back in 2003, when he enquired as to what he might have in common with the other users on the forum. The huge and impassioned exchange of thoughts that followed unlocked an abundance of previously unaired ideas, and laid the foundations for plans that have since, for the most part, been followed through on by all those with enough savvy to take them from the computer screen and into real life. There were plenty of differences of opinion as to where to take the music, but at the end of the day, the common link for all who came to make up this little community was a shared willingness to experiment with the form of drum n bass in a way that embraced the experiments of the past – while still looking to the future. “It’s simple,” Chris states. “Every movement needs a beacon, a lighthouse for people to look upon... and for open-minded music fans, whether you’re a label owner, a fan or an artist, Subvert Central has been that beacon. I know that there’s plenty I couldn’t have done for Inperspective without it.”

High praise indeed. True to its intent, Subvert Central not only helped inspire new directions in the music, it also acted as an important resource for communication between like-minded headz in different countries, best exemplified in the success of Dutch promoters IchiOne and their ‘Subversive Renaissance’ club nights. Here Rico IchiOne began to push a fresh definition of drum n bass club night: one that actively encouraged musical diversity in a true party atmosphere. With the provision of food setting a relaxed tone that attracted a notably older crowd of music-lovers, the nights nonetheless worked their way up inevitably to a sweaty intensity. Guest appearances from the likes of Paradox, Outrage, Amit, Alpha Omega and DJ Trax have given the event’s international presence a hefty bite (helping it win it the Best Club Night at the Dutch dnb Awards in 2005). “It’s always a privilege to play at IchiOne,” says Trax. “Every Ichi party to me feels like it’s a one-off great night, and the reaction I’ve gauged from every other guest has been the same. But the thing is that these events are never one-offs – they are consistently special. Maybe it’s Rico and [brother] Ray`s relaxed and inspirational attitudes; maybe it’s the crowd the party attracts; maybe it’s the consistently good line-ups that ensure the people keep coming back and the word keeps spreading. Who knows. But personally, I feel it’s probably a combination of all of the above.”

Targeting that vibe has become something of an inspiration to a whole bunch of maverick producers ever since, with a bucket-load of otherworldly musical gems resulting. Sileni, Graphic, Dissident, Cycom and Martsman have all emerged as key pioneers in drawing from the ideas associated with dnb’s earthier roots in dub, jazz and soul, and filtering them through a futuristic palette of sounds drawn from techno and electronica. Furthermore, a crop of new imprints have since fastened onto the legacy championed by Offshore's Brett Clever in 2001, with labels such as Counter Intelligence, Intasound, Subtle Audio and Make:Shift all offering producers new platforms to flip the proverbial script – and so far, with frequently devastating results.

The final link in the chain comes in the form of radio. 1xtra has proved an undeniable force in assisting this subversive movement, with soldiers Bailey and Flight continuing to drop a selection of tracks from subversively inspired producers on their shows, while the likes of Jungletrain, Power FM and Life FM have provided key support in spreading the message online.

All in all, 2006 has been a positive year for this drum n bass that dares to be different – while still respecting, and learning from the great music of the past. “A really good night gives me such a buzz, and seeing a venue full of happy people is what it’s all about,” ends Rohan with a smile. “It doesn’t matter how big the venue is, or if there’s 100 or 600 people – as long as the vibe is there and the people are happy then I will always continue.” And who would want to argue with that? Let’s just hope 2007 is the year that sees some of these sounds projected back into the larger drum n bass scene worldwide. But if it doesn’t? I, for one, am betting that this little ‘leftfield’ will keep on doing what they do. Because for them, it’s still not about commercial success; it’s about making and playing and getting down to the music for one reason and one reason only – because they love it.

Make your New Year’s resolution to visit www.subvertcentral.com

Breakout Box - The five subversive must-haves list:

1. Fracture - Visions Of Amen [Subvert Central]
www.myspace.com/subvertcentral

2. Equinox - Retroism [Where Are You?] [Subtle Audio]
www.myspace.com/subtleaudiorecordings

3. Graphic feat. Beans - I Am Metal [Offshore]
www.offshore-recordings.com

4. Macc - Hallucination First [PlainAudio]
www.plainaudio.com

5. ASC - Windchime [Inperspective]
www.inperspectiverecords.com

SubVersion Stop 99: Mount Kimbie - Crooks And Lovers (Hotflush Recordings)

2010-07-26T11:08:00.001-07:00

Mount Kimbie are not archetypal of dubstep. Rather, with two EP’s and a smattering of remixes, “Crooks And Lovers” transfers benevolence to the dubstep album format, where they can emblazon fundamentals and shimmy a vibe from scratch. Handholds onto satisfaction are doubled: longer tracks edge little past four minutes, nourishing when the LP is played fully, and textures are like honeycombs: sticky but never soul-sucking.

An empty seat isn’t a crime, and although Hotflush are known for predation on lower tempo music that can still retain dance-ability, “Crooks And Lovers” is no DJ fodder, carving out a post-dubstep niche that will undoubtedly inspire casual imitators. There’s an all-round spark to the compositions – especially the middle-marking “Ruby”, which rolls and interweaves like a marble caught in a cement mixer. It’s calculated, divine invasion.

Elsewhere, a uniting trend of blips ("Before I Move Off"), bloops ("Blind Night Errand", "Ode To Bear"), bubble-bath synths (“Would Know”) and acoustic guitar ornamentation (“Tunnelvision”) straddle with toppings of voice, and in true fashion of effective interplay, communicate an enigmatic sonic language that while isn’t comprehensible to the naked ear – like a riddle told in Gaelic to a staunch Englishman – provides “Crooks And Lovers” with a longevity where you listen to uncover new dimensions from the production, at different times, in alternate ways.

Beats at this speed may initially seem sluggish, but later they merge into your unconscious like baby steps to counsel the daily grind. And at points, the noises display equilibrium between Planet Mu’s eDIT minus the harsh percussive thrash, and more poignantly, Burial – albeit taken out of depressive suburbia, and set free to roam the countryside.

Overall, it’s debatable that MK have teething issues with forming full works instead of sketches - it’s on the more provocatively measured numbers, with sensitively arranged structures, that they shine. But tantalisingly, you predict that there’s much more to come from the creators as they continue to mature. Case in point: “Mayor” marries a frumpy synth to what sounds almost like an electronic glockenspiel, wound around fragments of female vocal.

LP revisits are plus points to Kimbie’s hype armoury, and at 35 minutes, “Crooks And Lovers” is a prime mover in quality and quantity sweet but not saccharine. It’s electronica that while isn’t going leave you gasping for breath, will definitely engage your smile muscle. Plaudits will materialise if MK are allowed to unwind their experimental side while retaining a winning formula of musical humidity unhackneyed. A truly stirring album.

Read full review at www.hyponik.com from Monday 2nd August (site since relaunched so article reinstated for SubVersion)

Purchase: Mp3 release

What do members of Subvert Central think?

http://subvertcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53242

SubVersion Stop 98: Muttley - Living Free And Fearlessly (July 2010)

2010-07-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

Photo: Leyland Kirby's inclusion to the Long Division With Remainders 4 CD Box.

This week, decisive events took place. I disbanded disabling locks lasting more than eighteen months. I am able to extend my period of normality by occasional deep breathing, but I am careful not to initiate in a breathing exercise, as this subconsciously adjoins refraining from panic and becoming frustrated with my looped thinking. A vicious circle can be avoided in this way.

“Living Free And Fearlessly”, then, may not come as a surprising byline for this collection. LeeN’s vocalist Floetic Laura sings “Aim for the top be the best you can be / You can see tests come daily, but you can be free”. My experience of hiphop is minimal, but this track always lifts me up. “Living Free And Fearlessly” clocks in at just 21 minutes – a snapshot of internal flexibility, striking out for unknown shore.

TRACKLISTING

01. Greg Haines – Industry Vs. Inferiority (from Until The Point Of Hushed Support, Sonic Pieces, 2010)
02. Olan Mill – The Prescribed Individual (from Pine, Serein, 2010)
03. Leyland Kirby – 14 Versions Track 3 (from the Long Divison With Remainders 4 CD Box Set, 2010)
04. Listening Mirror – Venice Boxhead (from ...After The Briefest Of Pauses, Rural Colours, 2010)
05. Chihei Hatakeyama – Waves (from A Long Journey, Home Normal, 2010)
06. Max Richter – Infra 8 (from Infra, Fat Cat, 2010)
07. Master Musicians Of Bukkake – Coincidental Oppositorum (from Totem Two, Temporary Residence, 2010)
08. Little Women – Throat IV (from Throat, Aum Fidelity, 2010)
09. LeeN & Floetic Laura - Fear And Freedome (from Mixtape Demo Ting, free release, 2010)

Download

SubVersion Stop 97: Muttley - Cradling (July 2010)

2010-07-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Photo: Antonymes

Lying down decreases heart rate, but shouldn’t be a crutch. For “Cradling”, I discovered music I want to hug. Ideally I listen after “Closing Down”, or skip that to accelerate the recovery process. This mix should be viable for lovers of music and lovers of another in unison.

TRACKLISTING

01. Antonymes - La Fin De Tout (from Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future, Cathedral Transmissions, 2010)
02. Ibreathefur - Waking In Sync (from Phosphenes, Audio Gourmet, 2010)
03. Christopher Hipgrave - Often Into Dream (from Slow With Pages Of Fluttering Interference, Low Point, 2010)
04. Christopher Willits & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Sentience (from Ocean Fire, 12k, 2008)
05. Arovane - Tomorrow Morning (from Tides, City Centre Offices, 2000)
06. Solar Fields - Magic Eye (from Blue Moon Station, Ultimae, 2003)
07. Swod - Gehen (from Gehen, City Centre Offices, 2004)
08. Spheruleus - Appliance (from Frozen Quarters, Under The Spire, 2010)
09. Olafur Arnalds - Tungli (from ...And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness, Erased Tapes, 2010)

Download

SubVersion Stop 96: Muttley - Imagined Romance (July 2010)

2010-07-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

"Imagined Romance" soundtracks onlookers perceiving romance unfold, or anticipating romance that's realized as inert. Whenever life proposes negotiable romance, "Imagined Romance", composed of tracks with romantic overtones, replies as additive intervention. It climaxes with Piano Magic's demure piano, drums and violin on "You Never Loved This City". Frontman Glen Johnson croons "but angel, it loves you", impressioning a physical intimacy. If romance infuses my future, I can use "Imagined Romance" as counterflow without a shred of waste.

TRACKLISTING

01. 00:00 Coldstream - Alarums (from Alarums, Under The Spire, 2010)
02. 02:36 Eluvium - Nightmare 5 (from Similes, Temporary Residence, 2010)
03. 05:00 Harold Budd & Brian Eno - An Echo Of Night (from The Pearl, Editions EG Records, 1984)
04. 05:03 Vincent Kuhner - Fourth (from the Hiatus EP, Audio Gourmet, 2010)
05. 05:13 Brian Mcbride - Piano ABG (from When The Detail Lost Its Freedom, Kranky, 2007)
06. 08:34 Antonymes - They Have Not Seen The Stars (from Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future, Cathedral Transmissions, 2010)
07. 10:07 F.S Blumm & Nils Frahm - Writing Letters To Myself (from Music For Lovers, Music Versus Time, Sonic Pieces, 2010)
08. 11:21 Klimek - Sound Of Confusion (from Movies Is Magic, Anticipate, 2009)
09. 11:46 Infinite Body - A Fool Persists (from Carve Out The Face Of My God, Post Present Medium, 2009)
10. 14:49 Piano Magic - You Never Loved This City (from Ovations, Darla, 2009)

Download

SubVersion Stop 95: Muttley - Bloodied - for www.dibmusic.blogspot.com

2010-07-05T05:49:00.000-07:00

Bleeding is a metaphor for every problem and solution. Scratching the surface recklessly chances spillage, whereas the reformation yields periods to recuperate. "Bloodied" sketches these descriptions into movements, where I chose tunes with characteristic likeness to the bleeding process. Softness of touch gradually hardens towards Talvihorros; outpouring of rain from the Loscil track layers under my "Breath Of Peace"; later, currents of drone, piano, and static represent the healing of a cut. I've been aware of DIB's recommendations for years, and as some were indispensible, it's an honour to contribute a guest mix to his blog.

TRACKLISTING

Movement 1 – Scratching The Surface

00:00 Will Long – Nr. 4 Melting Underfoot (from Advent, Parvo Art, 2010)
02:11 Aless – Keepsake (from I’mmobile, Distance Recordings, 2010)
02:04 Talvihorros – And Then They Walked Into The Sea (from Music In Four Movements, Hibernate, 2010)

Movement 2 - Spillage

05:42 Foci’s Left – Breath Of Peace (unreleased, 2010)
05:51 Loscil – Endless Falls (from Endless Falls, Kranky, 2010)
10:49 David Tagg – Pentecost 2 (from Pentecost, Install, 2010)
11:28 Ibreathefur – A Curvature (from Phosphenes, Audio Gourmet, 2010)

Movement 3 – The reformation

14:57 Automobile, Swift – Slow Ocean (from Enemy, Enemy, Heat Death Records, 2010)
17:44 Volcano The Bear – The Colour Of My Find [stretched excerpt] (from The One Burned Ma, Misra Records, 2000)
21:47 Alexander Thomas – Untitled (archived recording, unreleased, 2010)

Download at:
www.dibmusic.blogspot.com

SubVersion Stop 94: Muttley - Words Can Burn A Happy Home (July 2010)

2010-07-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Photo: Robbie Williams

If you can't detect differences between the homely and absurd, it's probable that there's trouble with your head in relation to your heart. So we have car boot sales to remove the physical things, tipping materiality against personal value, redeeming items we keep as more worthwhile. But when there's a mental upset that leaves us exposed or raw, it's not always that easy to trade memories for cremation of the very thoughts we despise. Patterns and habitual mindsets grow from the unconscious, causing us to retrospect our past, the losses we've made, and what we can gain from experience. Knowing this isn't necessarily a safe road to success, however. Truth and denial constrict the fundamental, scouring our brain's hemispheres, where conscience tells us what's right. And if we lack this, then there's a heavy price to pay, one that threatens to tear our theories limb from limb if we haven't been listening.

Speech, generally, gives us the vehicle to put right these qualms and render the ego-nature helpless to alteration. But as a contradiction, it can also quash the development of strong, righteous behaviour, filtering it. Beneficial righteousness can take the line of assertiveness, where we tell each other without passive aggression our problems, what we want to do with them, and if they're worth our handling from customs to doorstep. If left untempered, biting one's tongue is a worthless counter-action in hindsight of a storm being born.

"Words Can Burn A Happy Home", the 41st instalment in my mixtape chain, is centred. I've collected awe-inspiring ambience that leaves me speechless, segued it into a post-electronic-rock hybrid from Port-Royal, tagging the foundation connection of Robbie Williams' "Toxic" to leave participants with desired food for thought. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can burn a happy home, it's true. I've got words for you" sings Williams on his b-side to "Eternity". Inherently, I channel emotions from my environment with 15 Minutes Of Fame. The subject here is a friend who needs to be told, despite their years, where they're going wrong. But I refuse going into details, as I respect them too much. This is the second set which is tight to twenty minutes, partly inspired by nrvnet's THC 20[12] concept.

TRACKLISTING

01. 00:00 Altus - Darker Skies Toward The Horizon (from Black Trees Among Amber Skies, 2010)
02. 01:01 Adam Michalak - Sixth Colour (from Seven Colours, 2010)
03. 02:49 Chihei Hatakeyama - Light Drizzle (from The River, 2009)
04. 04:47 Loren Dent - Masters And Slaves (from Empire Milk, 2007)
05. 05:30 Gareth Hardwick - Lost In The Memory (from the split with Machinefabriek, 2007)
06. 06:51 Foci's Left - Regurgitated Impulses (David Tagg remix) (from the "Spillage" EP, 2010)
07. 08:28 Port-Royal - Anya Sehnsucht (from Afraid To Dance, 2007)
08. 16:09 Robbie Williams - Toxic (B side to Eternity, 2001)

Download

SubVersion Stop 93: Cerberus' theory on drum & bass discourse

2010-06-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

Statto highlighted his “Tings what I listened to today” early in SubVersion’s history, whereas I’ve contemplated commenting on SC orbiting. Craftily imposed as “Leaked pictures of my girlfriend...”, Cerberus comments that, from several experiences, “people who are not much into d&b tend to listen to the 'weird' drum patterns instead of everything that’s underneath. Those who listen more often get used to the patterns and can focus more on the rest of the tune since the patterns are logical to them, they don't distract the listener and they can listen to the tune as a whole, or as it was meant to be.”

Reading this throws up intruiging conundrums: what context would be suitable for digesting the experimental side? Who’s melodies feel less incidental to percussion? And defining that d&b has a pulse, where does timing counterbalanced with tempo encourage dilapidation? “I'm in no way saying that we should leave the drums out, the more hectic the better (to some extent)” Cerberus counters. “Its just something I notice in my surroundings.” I think we can all relate. For me, exposure to drum & bass proper happened in my mid teens. I was enraptured beyond peer popularity by it sounding like nothing else. Perhaps comfort is a decider. My folks can appreciate some of it, but their critique follows the periphery that as you age, your preferences change.

Does that mean they’ve grown out of the style? Maybe yes and maybe no. It’s true to say that raver and casual counterparts aren’t mutually exclusive, but as surroundings become more ingrained to singular aesthetics (no clubbing, lack of socialisng in the “scene”), the acceptance quota weakens.

Those scenically immersed, who buy in bulk aren’t necessarily offered heightened diversity – their tastes may never progress from dance floor wobble bangers. Impulse purchasees could avoid deeper styles, but there is likelihood some day that for the sake of music being new and in vogue, transcendence is possible by the shifting nature and attitudes of the drum & bass tastemakers.

Indeed, my introduction to left-of-field D&B began through Drum & Bass Arena with a feature on Fracture & Neptune. My weekly spending habits then accomodated records around that area, with Subvert Central being advertised on the www.dogsonacid.com forum a springboard into deeper discussion. What’s more, I was able to oversee opinions from inside the machine – producers, DJs and label owners struggling or refraining from certain activities – and henceforth I became educated about the insecurities of the minority.

Thusly I deem worthiness presenting matter in juxtaposition – at times, with opposites. Otherwise people are liable to stay in their comfort zone, trance-like, with no breaks from conservatism. It’s all too easy to rest on your laurels. But when embarking towards a fresh direction, it’s possible that you forget placement of your feet beforehand. I’ve read stories of older heads getting hyper on the “then” latest hardcore anthems, however as their tastes evolve, some aren’t too keen to accept today’s market has acts like Pendulum buffering bright futures.

Of course, it's debatable the contemporary mainstream is so void of creativity, and degenerative in its influences, that listeners are incapable of integrating chopped drum edits and immersive atmospherics into their diet. Nonetheless, I believe as long as mixtapes marrying old with new exist, there is potential for healthy growth. A rolling stone gathers no moss if it’s suspended from motion, whereby fans abhorrent to tradition shouldn’t be downtrodden for naivety. It’s the duty – as it was of Doc Scott to switch up from his period in the D&B circus – to inform and not judge with contempt the new generation. They are the lifeblood of change; the key to commonplace satisfaction. That “they” are fed commerical dilutions shouldn’t be the point of conjecture – wise personalities are either reserved from malice, or pushing what they love.

SubVersion Stop 92: Muttley - Ship's Close To Port (June 2010)

2010-06-05T07:28:00.001-07:00

From manual labour springs "Ship's Close To Port". The music in this mix has a strong element of pretence, as if it's preparing you for arrival to a destination. I am currently absent from contact with a foreign friend, having learnt much, but nonetheless I'm not sure if I've got healthier - stress has overrided the good in certain contexts, and I'm struggling to be as raw as they are with my feelings.

The revised notions: you can love non-romantically - an easy point to digest - but if the spark isn't there, you're liable, if inexperienced, to be chasing invisible needles in haystacks. And there's no substitute for offline interaction. People hide their habits implicitly on the web, and living with someone you love can expose you to irritations from differences. However rose-tinted your glasses are from a distance, it sometimes takes grappling with the foundations to realise flippant and self-defeating behaviour arises if you're knocked for six.

Though the future doesn't have to be all gauzy black and grey when the clouds disappear, or the light of your sun shines through. There are good moments to be had if you stick with it. It just depends on your patience and stability. Likewise, dispelling mournful sentiments in crisis shouldn't be taxing on your epigraph. Individuals aren't as callous, manipulative or cold as they can seem if we strike up an honest conversation. There are points of reason to be gained on either side by opening ourselves up.

TRACKLISTING

01. 00:00 Foci's Left - Regurgitated Impulses (Darren Harper remix) (from the "Spillage" EP, Audio Gourmet, 2010)
02. 01:03 Jan Linton - Buddha Machine Remix 1.5 (sounds from the Buddha Machine by FM3, unreleased, 2009)
03. 02:32 Vincent Kuhner - First (from the "Hiatus" EP, Audio Gourmet, 2010)
04. 02:50 The Caretaker - Unmasking Alzheimers (from Persistent Repetition Of Phrases, Install, 2009)
05. 04:20 Port-Royal - Bahnhof Zoo (from Afraid To Dance, Resonant, 2007)
06. 04:26 Alaska - Earthloop (from The Mesozoic Era, Outsider, 2010)
07. 05:56 Offthesky - Desert Poly (from Du Soleil, Resting Bell, 2010)
08. 10:36 Arkhaois - Oceanic (from the "Radial" EP, free download, 2010)
09. 12:36 Olan Mill - Cotton Access (from Pine, Serein, 2010)
10. 14:00 Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd - Turn Off The Sun (from After The Night Falls, Darla, 2007)

Download

SubVersion Stop 91: Muttley - Eternal Sands (June 2010)

2010-06-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

"Eternal Sands'" works fashion wispy impermanence, always developing and evolving, like the eternal sands of time. That observation notates the name, and a tune I made specially to contrast Harold Budd & Clive Wright. It's taken from the "Spillage" EP on the Audio Gourmet Netlabel, with remixes from David Tagg, Darren Harper and Spheruleus.

With each original track recorded three years apart, "Spilage" arose from emotional storms, where at the time (2007), music production was a keen focus of mine, whereas "Eternal Sands" juxtaposes 2010's off-the-cuff ideas that are born from a necessity to be open in a universally healing method.

There is a stigma attached to mental health that traps understanding in bubbles that aren't always easy to burst. I usually garner positive responses. With my mixtapes throughout SubVersion, there is a timeline, and therapy that is self-perpetuated.

There is another role this set plays - a more disambiguating companion to "Closing Down". I have periodic directives where I synthesise: crashes to synchronize movement; screeching noise to expel anger; gaps to prosper. The Monolake track that finalises these 23 minutes instills a counter device, where I exhale to every four beats of the bar.

I will envisage handfuls of prepared phrases that I've either written or will become mentally interacted with on the spot. If I'm solitary, they will reverberate with images of me disparaging select objects. Heart rate rises to contain the imagined. Matter repeats, darts back and forth, falls into new zones. Regularly, withdrawing results to control sensations. Any level-headed perception decreases by connected people being hurt, flames flashing across my eyes. Often, incomprehensible thinking tests my boundaries.

As I approach 40 instalments in the 15 Minutes Of Fame mix series, I'd like to thank anyone who has given me encouragement, downloaded the EP discussed, been there as a short term spirit. You are those who I wish the best for, and like beggars aren't bleary-eyed when money is thrust into their hands, I soak up the goodwill, but adrenalin won't overtake me, so I won't vanish.

TRACKLISTING

01. 00:00 David Tagg - Pentecost 3 (from Pentecost, Install, 2010)
02. 03:04 Enuui - Deep Auriga (Hejira) (from Mindstate Disposition, self-released, 2010)
03. 03:50 Point 7 - 15th Of July (from What?, Toytronic, 2009)
04. 07:51 Harold Budd & Clive Wright - Plumade (from Little Windows, Darla, 2010)
05. 07:51 Foci's Left - Eternal Sands (from the Spillage EP, Audio Gourmet, 2010)
06. 10:40 Slow - Waiting For A Beautiful Mystery (from Strange Dreams, Passage, 2010)
07. 12:27 Johann Johannsson - City Building (from And Through The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees, Type, 2010)
08. 12:15 Azwarm - 3 Bells Gone (from A Morning's Work, self-released, 2010)
09. 12:59 Damian Valles - Derechos (from Bow Echoes, Resting Bell, 2010)
10. 17:40 Monolake - Reconnect (from Silence, Monolake, 2010)

Download

SubVersion Stop 90: Muttley - Unconscious Fears And Fantasies (May 2010)

2010-05-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

01. 00:00 - 03:46 Spheruleus - Moss (from Frozen Quarters, 2010)
02. 00:00 - 05:23 Relmic Statute - 1ehet Ednalnge (from Sitting Under The Lantern's Glow, 2009)
03. 00:00 - 09:21 Enuui - Slow Moving Thoughts (from Mindstate Disposition, 2010)
04. 01:34 - 05:52 Concern - Young Birth (from Truth And Distance, 2009)
05. 02:10 - 07:29 The Sight Below - New Dawn Fades (from It All Falls Apart, 2010)
06. 06:05 - 11:44 Greg Haines - Marc's Descent (from Until The Point Of Hushed Support, 2010)
07. 07:22 - 15:01 That Black - And The Spring Comes (from Timelessness, 2010)
08. 11:24 - 15:58 Simon James French - Shame (from Anthem, 2009)
09. 12:12 - 16:20 Haruki - A Century Of Losses (from The Land That Lies Behind Us, 2010)
10. 15:20 - 19:55 Olive - You're Not Alone (from Extra Virgin, 1997)

Download exclusively with TDD 3's "DE Loves" package

“Unconscious Fears And Fantasies” is a 20 minute concept mix inspired by seeing a hypnotherapist who is teaching me positive affirmations, and having a friend trek to the UK and predicting the best possible outcome. For the former, I am advised to tap into my unconscious mind because as I'm told it believes everything you tell it. Reading literature such as “You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise L. Hay, tells me bodily areas correlate to feelings, and pressure points. Rebalancing your brain is available from EFT, relaxing monopolies of lucky chances spilling from one brain state to the other. Now an ingrained segment of the therapist's voice appears when things are overcast. “Unconscious Fears And Fantasies” also transposes darkness with elation – the high pitched seriousness of Greg Haines' “Marc's Descent” to Olive's rapturously reassuring “You're Not Alone”.

SubVersion Stop 89: TDD Chapter 3: Now available!

2010-05-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Dastardly Diaries Chapter 3 is a non-profit collection of varied informations from the period of July 2007-2010. The editor, Muttley, specialises in ambient, modern classical and leftfield drum & bass. You can choose either "DE likes" or "DE loves" as download packages. "DE Likes" is 5 documents to read, giving you a brief insight into my mind, whereas "DE Loves" is a 75 exclusively cut clip collage, all documents, and a special 20 minute concept mix.

Download "DE Likes"

Download "DE Loves"

Feedback

The DE agency has always operated on word of mouth and this chapter is no different. What some downloaders had to say about the last issue:

Originally posted by cycom

I downloaded the Endo Edition this morning and boy it's just :shock: :shock: :shock: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:

SO MUCH FANTASTIC MUSIC!! AAAARGH!!

Brilliant work, Muttley. :applause:

It'll take ages to go through all the texts, bits of information, tunes & mixes, but it's gonna be sooo sweet :love: :love:

Fantastic selection, I'm loving almost ALL of the 140+ tunes (and that's something I'd never expected):shock:

:eek: :eek: :eek: :P :hyper:

Originally posted by droid @ weareie.com

Honestly Muttley, I have lot of respect for your enthusiam and vitality... And it's fine to be a bit arrogant. If you believe in what you're doing it's only natural to defend it.

Originally posted by MetaLX

Ok! Read Muttley's TDD right now! It's brilliant. I actually appreciate your alternate perspective on things Muttley, reading this is like taking a journey into a parallel universe Star trek Stylee. Your writing is pretty cool actually, enigmatic at times, and definitely a flip of the script!

Future and contact

DE is inherently looking for high quality music and sources to promote - in these magazines, on the MySpace, via the SubVersion blog, or through physical means. If you think that your ideas are suitable, email muttley_subversion@hotmail.co.uk with your proverbial itinerary.

Promotional threads for TDD 3

www.dogsonacid.com
www.subvertcentral.com
www.forum.breakbeat.co.uk

As if this wasn't enough, Muttley will be creatively bumping the promo threads with outtakes from the 'zine, and audio analysis.

If you've read this, many thanks, and I hope you like what's showcased this time.

Muttley (Dastardly Exposure / SubVersion)

SubVersion Stop 88: Muttley - In Heaven, Everything Is Fine (April 2010)

2010-04-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

"In Heaven, Everything Is Fine" is dedicated to a family friend, who when he rings, always asks how everyone is. This mixtapes' agenda is based on the outro by Helios, where Keith Keniff sings "In heaven, everything is fine / You've got your good thing, and I've got mine". There is a sinister undertone from the instrumentation, a riposte of the fuzzy ambience that precedes it.

TRACKLISTING

01. Lexithimie - Scale 3 (from No Matter How Many Time, Repeat, 2009)
02. Altus - Welcoming The Dead Days (from Black Trees Among Amber Skies, 2010)
03. Spheruleus - A Significant Circle (from The Disguised Familiar, 2009)
04. Bing Satellites - Late Summer Meadows (from Twilight Sessions Vol.1, 2010)
05. Helios - In Heaven (from Ayres, 2007)

Download

SubVersion Stop 87: Muttley - Alone In The Cosmos (March 2010)

2010-04-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Photo: Greg Haines' piano usage in Grunewald Church, Berlin

"Alone In The Cosmos" cites Fluid Radio's selectors as spiritual influence. Staking out ground is a target. An incense stick that will burn a pleasant aroma when revisited, Greg Haines and Alexander Thomas are blended to spark eye on the forthcoming SubVersion concert, while electro-rockers Glint were purveyors of the thematic lineage. "Dear brothers and sisters, dear enemies and friends: why are we all so alone here? All we need is a little more hope, all we need is a little more joy, all we need is a little more light, a little less weight, a little more freedom".

TRACKLISTING

00:00 - 23:20 Paul Bradley - All That Was (Pt. 1) (from All That Was)
05:30 - 24:30 Greg Haines - Until The Point Of Least Resistance (from Until The Point Of Hushed Support)
08:15 - 12:10 Tom White -Top Floor (from A Well Known Phrase)
09:37 - 16:05 Alexander Thomas - Buffalo Lives (from Helium)
18:27 - 23:00 Glint - Alone In The Cosmos (from Sound In Silence)
22:28 - 27:00 A Silver Mount Zion - Built Then Burnt (Hurrah! Hurrah!) (from Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upward)
27:00 - 31:28 Max Richter - On The Nature Of Daylight (from Blue Notebooks)
30:56 - 35:07 Bat For Lashes - Pearl's Dream (from Two Suns)
31:25 - 33:55 Gaston Arevalo - Maritim (from Marea)
34:18 - 35:05 Hilmar O Hilmarrson & Sigur Ros - The Black Dog And The Scottish Play (from Angels Of The Universe OST)

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SubVersion Stop 86: Takeshi Nakamura's contribution to "Sonic Collage" (Pinecone Moonshine 009, also featuring Eschaton, Formication, dgoHn)

2010-03-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Horizons to some are desolate plains, peppered with upsetting prospects that cause us to retreat into our shell. Reversed, its an inimitably rich hotbed for discussion, where extroversion guarantees speakers a voice. Depending on surroundings, it can be squashed, set sail for failure, or bloom so segregation rules political quagmire. Much is survival of the fittest, a test of one's limits and preoccupations. Bewilderment can be irritating, and that's where strength of statement is penultimate.

"Drumfunk", think what you will, encircles these sentiments and hands down double-handed solutions. In drum & bass it was originally used by JMJ & Richie, but post-2000 breakbeat sampler Paradox propogated it to promote his funk influenced take on the genre. It's debatable whether drumfunk's stylists have broken ground from Paradox's coining, and subsquent diatribes, and if they wish to be part of it is another matter. It's either bludgeoning or elevating of credibility, but what is certain is it's spawnning of a split on Subvert Central, a website tarred with the terminology brush, but actually containing more talk of outsider repertoire and subject.

Pinecone Moonshine owner Nic TVG is one individual seeing the benefits of adopting drumfunk as not a buzzword, but a term to loosely define product and its outcomes. In that sense, it consequently combats the sugar-rush of mainstream circus d&b constabulary, and pungent rudeboy attitude, something which replaced jungle's sexiness and left it to rot in the cold. Indeed, it has been said by underground heads that drumfunk is more like an extension of their beloved genre, before it commercialised and lost its exponential experimentation. Takeshi Nakamura, the latest artist on this independent entity, opposes pounding rhythmic orienteering over flippant fidget funk, hyperactive arpeggio chirping, atmospheric intrusions and subtle overlaying of miscellaneous fragments.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, it's likely that Nakamura's appearances on ambient netlabel Zymogen will have passed inspection too. Numbered rather that expressing narrative themes, only ordered by digits, the tracks merge into a coherent whole, with "1" supplanting an elastic swingbeat and tinny snares, enacting timbral gravity games with a bass groove that slithers like a wet discloth against stainless steel. "2" juts amen shards out from its underbelly, "3" warbles like a drunken rambler who's had his bottle taken, and "4" weaves melodies a la sunflower oil in stir fry, lubricating the tectonic activity and avoiding slapdash Squarepusher imitation. "Sonic Collage", surmised, finely advances a label that forages presentation and practicality lavishly on every level.

Purchase: CD

SubVersion Stop 85: Baby steps?

2010-03-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Psychologists at the University of York have reported in the March 15th edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they have performed studies that are suggesting that babies may be born with a hard-wired predisposition to move rhythmically in response to music.

Dr Marcel Zentner says that children between five months and two years respond to the beat rather than the melody of a song. Another interesting finding is that the better the children were able to synchronise their movements with the beat, the more they smiled. There are currently no universally-accepted theories as to why humans adore music, and it is a major unresolved issue in biology.

The main theory is that human ancestral individuals who could respond empathically to rhythmic beats, for example the heartbeat, would be more likely to select mates, and would be drive natural selection to trigger a happy response to rhythmic beats at a similar tempo to the heart (approximately 60 bpm). An opposing theory is that an emotional response to music evolved as a response to some other stimulus, but it also happens to be relevant for music processsing.

The infants in the study listened to a variety of music from around the world, including classical music, dance music and speech. Their spontaneous movements were recorded by 3D motion-capture, with software to analyse the extent to which the babies matched their movement to the music. It is well-known that humans also involuntarily adjust their heart rate to match a beat which is around 60 bpm, suggesting even more strongly that there is an evolutionary advantage to be aware of how fast your heart is beating.

SubVersion Stop 84: SubVersion Recommends: Nils Frahm - Dance

2010-03-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

"Music is a wonderful thing. I collected a few tracks which remind me why I like music so much.

01. Vassilis Tsabropoulos "The Other"

A magical piano composition. I think it is a very good opener for a mellow set. He also works together with cellist Anja Lechner. I highly recommend his work.

02. David Darlin "Dawn"

I don't think that anyone could resist this piece of music. I had it on my headphones and rode my bike through the snow and it stopped me freezing.

03. François Couturier "L´Eternel Retour"

Maybe my biggest contemporary piano influence these days. This piece is pretty harmonic, but I can tell you that he can teach you a lesson in atonal improvisation. It is simply mindblowing.

04. Alexei Lubimov - Alexander Trstiansky - Kyrill Rybakov "Spiegel Im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt

Maybe Pärt's most famous composition in a wonderful clarinet version.

5. Dictaphone "Nacht EP"

One of the reasons why I wanted to move to Berlin. I listened to their music and couldn't believe how good their sound is. The founder Oliver Döring is also part of Swod. When you haven't heard Swod yet, then please don´t miss it!

06. Colleen "Babies"

One of my favorite Leaf releases.

07. Archivist "You Are Made Of Stardust"

Archivist is better known under the moniker Remote Viewer who was a member of Hood, before he focused more on his haunting organic electronica. He also released on the wonderful label CCO (City Centre Offices).

08. Erik Levander "Månen Viskar"

He is a wonderful clarinet player and composer. Solid gold.

09. World Standard & Wechsel Garland "Donde Lion Wine"

Isn't it nice how this piece picks up the compilation? That is also the reason why I put it in there.

10. Nick Drake "River Man"

Hmmm, I'll let the song speak for itself.

11. Serge Gainsbourg "Ballade De Melody Nelson"

Aha, now I know where Beck gets inspired. A huge album. I never get tired of it.

12. John Lurie "Bella By Barlight"

Stranger Than Paradise is a great movie and I think the music plays the main role. The perfect soundtrack for a rainy night in your car.

13. Bill Evans "Bella By Barlight"

A wonderful man who is probably one of the most respected piano players in the world. When I listen to the it makes me want to stop playing.

14. Valentin Silvestrov "Bagatellen 2"

The Ukrainian composer released a solo piano album on ECM which changed my playing quite a bit. When I am allowed to say that: this is the best sounding piano record I have ever heard. Beside that, the music is just brilliant, so subtle and calm.

I hope you'll have a good time listening to "Dance".
Nils Frahm"

www.myspace.com/nilsfrahm

Download

SubVersion Stop 83: Greg Haines - Until The Point Of Hushed Support (Sonic Pieces 006)

2010-02-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

Screening doesn't merely reassure: it indicates, rightly or wrongly, if more needs to be done. Artists sketch under a pantheon of their worst critic - usually themselves. With lazy tacking banished, a masterpiece can take a day, week, month - in control of Greg Haines and his miniature orchestra (Nils Frahm, the female singer from "Slumber Tides", et al) "Until The Point Of Hushed Support" took three years. And it's not hard from listening to see why. Feedback loops guarantee chances for engrossing, exploratory sprawl, where culture's whys and wherefors indebt us with an antidote to fear. Recorded mainly in Grunewald Church in Berlin, Haines hasn't rehashed classical archetypes where narrow vision ensues decay. Rather, he's reinventing self-praxis in his most accomplished statement as a composer, and furthermore as an interpreter.

Immediately the track names tell a story. "Industry Vs. Inferiority", perhaps, nodding to detested inhospitality. Pursuing the future can be like racing to catch light at the end of a tunnel, and on this quiet work for piano, faint traces of Goldmund's locative, sibilant frequencies paint a bittersweet scene. Solo pianism can translate as secular in its stronghold of riches - granted, soundtracks support it, but the style wholly resists commercial viability. Partially this occures through its audiences' lower generational imparting of experiences, anecdotes and taste. But nonetheless, labels (and moreover businesses) demand cross-pollination, with those carrying the torch, Sonic Pieces among them, providing an outsider's ticket to protocol, as well as an abode for adventure. And that's a very brave thing to be doing.

As you listen, there is a slowly unfolding sense of weightlessness; skirting the censors with detached allure, almost as if time is frozen, waiting to be melted down. Essentially, it's precursory calm to rainclouds of beauty frighteningly affecting the aural terrain. "Marc's Descent" rallies shiver-inducing violins, bobbing and weaving through scales in a kind of slow motion blues. Long, sustained rumbles interconnect with winded melody lines. Juddering percussive drones and church organ are thickly dense, like double decker buses ploughing snowy roads. You're able to recognise a distinction in range from "Slumber Tides", as if determination enraptures Haines' muse to bear his soul deeper than ever.

Crippled momentum finding tangents can be observed as an underlying theme of Haines', from his more digestible collaborations with Wouter Van Veldhoven, to his Miasmah debut. But none have seen him so agonisingly powerful as on the last two compositions of "Until The Point Of Hushed Support". Interplay defining a stuttered pulse is a joy to behold, and when the strings finally break into the forefront, you can feel the energy peak. The melodies on "In The Event Of A Sudden Loss" are stuffed with minute pleasures, begging for renewal, and receiving it with silence and subsidence. Slowly unfolding atmospheres partner electronic warbles, until glockenspiel entrails a rising appearance of string quintet, dissimilar to Max Richter's "Blue Notebooks" highpoints. Negotiating tentative steps with mournful string accompaniment, the notations repeat, flutter into darkened air pockets, conflating to a seemingly higher cause.

It's on "Until The Point Of Least Resistance", where a dying radio whispers against choral tones that we enounter harmonic climax, yet five minutes pass and it feels like an age. This is an uncanny truce of Haines that places him arbitrary from failed revolution - an ability to scuplt literally timeless sound-spheres that take in arresting chaos and filter it through shutters; those as awe-inspiring standing vertical as they are lying horizontal. Gripping would be the adjective of choice for this phenomenal conclusion, to a breathtaking album that's massively recommended.

Purchase: CD
Preview "Marc's Descent"
Want to see it performed live?

SubVersion Stop 82: Atomic Skunk - Portal CD (Vernal Equinox)

2010-02-28T08:25:00.001-08:00

Birdsong querying boundaries introduces Atomic Skunk's second commingling, "Portal". The use of field recordings layered with washes of drone recalls BJ Nilsen tranquilised of noise for noise's sake. Tied together by intelligence, slice through the blankets of reverb and you have a silhouette structurally derived from Eno's laboratory. But that's forgetting the inner integreties of Rich Brodsky, aka Atomic Skunk. As he transforms New Age's sullied perfume, reclaiming authenticity from a genre expressively blunted by over-exposure to defaults, "Portal" is goddamn spiffy, with bristling acoustic guitar frequencies painting a backdrop that doesn't impair itself with a fetish to linearity.

In practice, distances joining departure and arrival depend on measures in and out of control. It pays to elbow out distractions when under pressure, however disturbing the cyclical with foreign matter can hasten saving face. Additionally, planning disappointment well in advance optimizes the bridge from hope to regret. If fact and fantasy are to do us any service, Brodsky's "Portal" LP has fingertip care, with a liberal sprinkling of indeterminate entry and exit gates, typified by sounds of people, birds, flowing water, thunder, with glistening textures and beats that recall Eraldo Bernocchi's collaborations with Harold Budd.

With each sonic vocabularly set on a tome of 300 seconds and advancing, there's no weird consensual tug of "Chillout"'s traditional terminology and scaffolding. And that's what Brodsky's posit is - harnessing the urban grain of his multi-continetal peers while angling his masterplan into space. Violin meets twinkling stars of synth; formal evocation of barrier absence clasps your hand. Where intermingling of classic instruments (including the exotic mandolin) raise the stakes, "Portal" never threatens blockage, but entertains with gusts of jovial innocence. Recommended.

Pre-order CD and receive instant download

SubVersion Stop 81: Peter Van Cooten - SubVersion guest mix via www.ambientblog.net

2010-02-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

"The SubVersion 15 Minutes of Fame format dictates that any mix should contain no more than 10 tracks and last no longer than 40 minutes. That's an average of 4 minutes per track. In the 'collage' mix format I mostly use, 4 minutes is about the maximum time any included sample gets played - usually far more tracks overlay at any single instance. (Check http://www.ambientblog.net to download those mixes). So I had to restrict myself and start creating a 'mixtape' mix format for this particular mix.

I tried to create some balance between the electronic and the organic. Between voice, machines and nature. But also between the sounds of infinite space (as recorded by the NASA Voyager in the 90's) and the intimate sounds of raindrops (on the Monolake track). 'Tension' / 'Release'...: the dynamics of everyday life. I truly hope this mix may help to prove that ambient music is not just meant to be 'easy on the ears'. Thanks to Muttley / SubVersion for asking me to do this mix!"

TRACKLISTING

00:00 Ian Hawgood - A Film bij Chihei Hatakeyama
(Slow Films in Low Light, 2010)
04:48 Yannick Frank - Beaurieux
(Favourite Places 2, 2009)
07:56 NASA Voyager Recordings - Symphonies of the Planets 2
(NASA Voyager Recordings vol. 1, 1992)
13:00 Monolake - Watching Clouds
(Silence, 2009)
17:00 Jim Cole & Spectral Voices - Passion
(Sky - Overtone Singing in a Water Tower, 2007)
21:35 Yann Novak - Shortwaves to Longwaves
(Flowers, Dragon's Eye Fourth Anniversary, 2010)
26:54 Helios - The Jaguar Sun
(Unreleased, vol. 1)
29:35 Kim Cascone - Spectral Space
(The Astrum Argentum, 2007)
31:58 David Kristian & Ryosuke Aoike - Kenzobutsu
(Ghost Storeys, 2006)
34:17 Jóhann Jóhannsson - Escape
(And in the Endless Pause there came the sound of Bees, 2009)

Download

SubVersion Stop 80: Yoru - A Different Animal EP (Rudimentary Records 001)

2010-02-24T12:01:00.000-08:00

Cutlery isn't needed to eat, but ensures etiquette. By applying that theology, are paying audiences expecting cleanliness, or do serrated edges affirm life? Tales of product artificiality date back centuries - classical music congeals snobbishness like minimal hides and lacks resolve. "A Different Animal", Yoru's debut on Rudimentary Records, encodes and articulates a commendable spin.

The EP's four tracks genre-bend dubstep, dub techno, leftfield drum & bass and old school. Yoru strips formulae to bare bones, with a glossy finish that liberates, but also engenders observational convention. Music's development can pass us by if musings over quality are variable. Happily there's an earnestness wafting past the blueprint here, and Yoru isn't shamelessly mining components of each style - instead, arousing intrigue through utilising rhythm sparingly.

Rhythm And Sound, Martyn and Instra:mental's filaments arise to hybridise, with prospects of Yoru eschewing chronic rejection because of their widespread status. "Breathe out it's going to be fine", if one listens. "A Different Animal" isn't airbrushed or trite, but thawing frost into an absorbing multiplex. And I'll raise a glass if there's more where that came from.

Purchase @ 7digital
Contact Rudimentary Records

SubVersion Stop 79: Anti-Plagiarism Music Software

2010-02-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Researchers at the Institute of Musicology at the University of Hamburg have written cognitive similarity algorithms which can predict music plagiarism decisions in courts. Since plagiarism cases involve such large sums of money, with even huge stars like Madonna having been accused of plagiarism, expert music witnesses must be sure within reasonable doubt that the tune has been stolen or whether it is simply coincidentally similar. The use of similarity algorithms is a welcome addition to such cases, protecting the rights of new and unrecognised artists. The research is in its early stages but it could potentially open the doors to producers and musicians submitting their tracks to test against a database, to judge how similar melodies within their tracks are to already-existing tunes. Whether the producer would choose to return to the drawing board on discovering that their track is too similar to something that already exists depends on how important originality in music is.

SubVersion Stop 78: Muttley - Stepping Into The Sun - for www.hiddenplacemusic.blogspot.com

2010-02-21T07:16:00.001-08:00

Download exclusively at hiddenplace music

"For the next addition to the hiddenplace mix series, a very special guest mix from Muttley of SubVersion. In this mix, as in many of his other mixes, Muttley goes beyond the typical crossfaded playlist and creates what is more of a musical sound collage. Ambient, modern classical, electro-acoustic with some unexpected moments."

SubVersion Stop 77: Greg Haines & Alexander Thomas @ The Holywell Music Room, Oxford - Friday 28th May 2010

2010-02-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

Presenting SubVersion's first concert, on behalf of all ambient and classical lovers.

Poster credits: Louisa Donnelly
http://louisadonnelly.com/home.html

Travel and attending

Doors: 7:30 PM
Where: Holywell Street, Oxford, UK
Map:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holywell_Music_Room

Tickets: £7 in advance, £10 on the door.
Tickets available from: Music Stand, Witney, Oxfordshire, ticketsoxford.com, and direct.
Advance tickets and enquiries: contact mbucki07@hotmail.co.uk

Artist info

Greg Haines

The Berlin-based modern classical maestro follows up his critically acclaimed "Slumber Tides" album with a showcase of "Until The Point Of Hushed Support", his second full length. With special guests.

Hear Greg Haines' 2009 mix for SubVersion:

Stop 60

Sample Greg Haines tracks singularly:

www.myspace.com/greghainesmusic

Witness Greg Haines in a selection of Muttley mixes:

"15 Minutes Of Fame Mix Series"

Alexander Thomas

Bristol's theremin master coaxes astounding soundscapes from his instrument.

Tune to "Hemispheres Wherein" at 8 minutes in Muttley's 15 Minutes Of Fame Part 5:

"Something To Believe In"

Read a review of his work from Nightshift, Oxford's premier music magazine:

April 08 @ The Port Mahon

Listen to further samples from "Helium":

www.myspace.com/alexanderthomasmusic

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Thanks in advance for your support! Hope to see you there.

Kind regards
Muttley SubVersion

SubVersion Stop 76: Muttley - Tension Is A Ruse (February 2010)

2010-02-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

"Tension Is A Ruse" partners "Closing Down" in the mix series. Contrary to "Hum", it's unsettling, hence should be used sparingly. I have never been an early bird, preferring the tranquility of nighttime. "Tension Is A Ruse" is a constant alarm call for the senses - albeit it's nowhere near gabba. Several tracks are in the guise of excerpts, dropping out, planing off, where complacency is hard to nail. Bat For Lashes ornament with vocals, whereas every track has a tense property to it. Combined together, it can trick the mind into believing haste is necessary, or that it's time to awaken out of trance state.

TRACKLISTING

01. Berliner Philharmoniker & Sir Simon Rattle - Lost Love (from Perfume: Story Of A Murderer OST)
02. Leyland Kirby - The Beauty Of The Impending Tragedy Of My Existence (from Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was)
03. Murcof - Ulysses (excerpt) (from Utopia)
04. The Alpha Rhythm - The Crossing (Aphelion intro) (from Proof Of Concept)
05. Zoo Di Vetro - Amalidieses (excerpt) (from Zaum Vol.1)
06. Hilmar O Hilmarsson & Sigur Ros - Approach / Dream (from Angels Of The Universe OST)
07. Bat For Lashes - Glass (from Two Suns)
08. Sawako - Tiny Tiny (from Madoromi)
09. Stars Of The Lid - Humectez La Moutre (from And Their Refinement Of The Decline)
10. 36 - 2249 (from Hypersona)
11. Boards Of Canada - Alpha And Omega (from Geogaddi)
12. Scan One - 8 Bit (Combat Recordings EP)
13. Nils Frahm - Peter Is Dead In The Piano (from The Bells)
14. Richard Skelton - Remaindered (from Landings)
15. Skindred - Stand For Something (from Shark Bites & Dog Fights)

Link: awaiting DMCA notification. I'm not going to see a year's hard work from me and my friends be deleted by incorrect action.

SubVersion Stop 75: Dakosa interview for Kmag.co.uk

2010-02-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

The work to release ratio in the drum & bass scene is high. This is fortunate and unfortunate. On one hand paradoxes arise: certain tracks aren't necessarily "work" - rather, tainted plagairism of older craftsmanship, separating old timers from teeny boppers in a 30 second Redeye clip. Provide a hook, slap on a beat with a stone-grained structure, and you have stasis, sent to ever-increasing numbers of DJs, causing saturation, and pedalled out by labels who think (or don't) that their showcasing warrants money.

Counterintuitively, resampling of roots music can be twisted, morphed and positively reshaped into block-rocking, tasteful (or would that be "disgusting" in d&b terms?) and innovative forms that advance the sphere, consciously - or where the best jungle was subjectively constructed - unselfconciously. T-Power thrived due to meticulous intellect, Source Direct taught us true darkness with cheese shaven off, and the cornucopian brightness of the Blue Note days facillitated x to co-exist with y.

I sympathize with the desire to lift the image of a musical wasteland out of the mess of drum & bass' past, in the same way that I understand people for whom the mid 90s is the pinnacle of information anxiety. Overloads of data and memory failures make finding oneself in the labyrinth (of the computer or elsewhere) a difficult task. Dakosa's story isn't a marriage of hardships. Forming in Maidstone, UK, Dave (Dready) Marsh, Mike (Kemikal) Craske & Leo (Soulific) Tomlinson traversed the House, university and clubnight scenes through mutual friendships, dating as far back as eleven years prior to their production synergy in early 2009.

"Hideout", their debut EP, is now released on .shadybrain. A combination of gyrating synths, sweeping atmospheres, handclaps and science fiction paraphernalia, there's an understated elegance where muscle joins melody, minus pretentious drops, noodling deposits or cluttered overusage. Technoid drum & bass can be seductive while not jumping up and down like a hyperactive toddler, and shows glimmering promise for Kent's hopfuls.

Find the interview and exclusive mix here

SubVersion Stop 74: Case study 2 - Skindred - Shark Bites And Dog Fights

2010-02-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's meaningful that an individual who's passion lies in ambience could be blown away by an eight-track "ragga metal" LP. "Shark Bites And Dog Fights", Skindred's second full-length excursion became an adrenalin rush worth its weight in gold. They've progressed since "Babylon" hit the shelves - with that the reggae overleaning was in, this time the cards are down, and it's maybe only the die-hards that stick around for their punt at ambitious, metallic propensity.

The band's first single from this edition, "Stand For Something", is amongst the strongest ammunition, and can be reinterpreted by noticed stresses on each syllable. "Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything" as a single phrase evokes inflammation of casually wavering lifestyle, whereas "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything" is more intense, tipping odds in favour of those who fight for their beliefs to be heard.

The song, irrelevant of the rhetorically-minded message, manages to pacify its soapbox slur, cumbersome drum kicks and rave-like electric guitar confetti. Benji's soluble rhymes contrast the modus operandi of metal singers - that it's all about death, Satan, screaming as loud as you can, and denies contrivance.

Alienating Benji's Jamaican roots and chatty style is to destroy the nature of the beast. He doesn't resort to raggaman bombast, and knows how to stretch his voice in an appealing vista, even edging towards a comparison with Wailers singer Elan Atias at times.

The crossover market is a crutch to Skindred, however currently sparse. Despite performing under Kerrang's wing mainstream success hasn't transpired. Conventional paradoxes are tested - they use less to make more, with unfamiliarity breeding exhilaration, not contempt. That said, in a cocktail's view, overdoing a mixture can tear the recipe apart. You could say this when "You Can't Stop It" segues from "Stand For Something". Lyrically congruous yet polarised in narrative, you "watch the way we rock in the place and a we control it" as opposed to "caught in chains, shackles on too tight, squirming for your life 'cos you've gone and lost your freedom".

From repeated plays, there's a rigorous (but perhaps unintended) intellectual ploy: a switch from first to third-person, suggesting Skindred are indeed standing for something more righteous, that "you can't stop it", moreover, and although this is inherently part of the parcel - with risque genres bordering on inebriated noise - it's conducted with metaphors that align the group with their crossover heritage: " call the police if you-a-want to run" preceded with "'cos they're haters man they just drive me insane so" .

It's not all light before the darkness, though. Their cover of Eddie Grant's "Electric Avenue" feeds a monster riff to the original's chorus, spraying heavy guitar aerosol over the source material. It's toned down from the opening two tracks, yet even a whiskey addict would fail not to get enraptured by the stepping-stone groove and pithy lyrical hooks. "Calling All Stations" ups the pace with swaggering dialect: "can't tell me what to do i've got to turn it up, turn it up, turn it up now". That they do, with admirable gravitas.

My multi-context favourite on "Shark Bites and Dog Fights" has to be "Who Are You?" Applying a half-speed dub rhythm section under fading, echoed strumming, space is of importance towards warmth. If you're exposed in the afternoon, do you sit around and wait for someone to knock on your door? Of course not. Comparatively, you'd be deceived bearing soul wasn't a trigger for Benji's springing-out-of-nowhere closing speech: "flame can't be extinguished it's too great, can't kill my light" post-"who are you to kill my seeds before they grow?"

Instrumentation rattling shells does justice to Benji's situationist critique. Boardgames scrutinise team ethics - it's all about doing it for yourself and winning the hand. You could hypothesise that "so many just out for themselves, dressed in material wealth" on "Days Like These" condemns that predicament, except balance is relieved: "building new ways of work, you're breaking and bending the law, and who knows what's next, and what is in store" suggests to the listener "to look inside yourself you'll find the strength to carry on" - and maybe looking elsewhere in turn.

Sometimes if you try too hard, you can lose sight of what you're trying to achieve, which is why "Invincible" serves so well as reassurance. "Don't you know you couldn't test we, back off you're not ready, we run it that's the way it's gonna go, right now you're gonna let them know" is interspersed by chanted beckoning of the title. Seeing Skindred live, this goes down better for the massive charge that rivals Motorhead's "Ace Of Spades", but with more charisma through Benji's elevating and derailed vocal timbre. At one point he mutters "anybody move, they're gonna get hurt", then adopts a tone of balladry ("what are you gonna do?"), back to ragga territory ("get up off your knees and say"), honing his vocal chords throughout as if he's licking syrup off a dusty rug.

"Shark Bites And Dog Fights"' universalisty lies in its recital of modern chaos and challenge. It's quantifiable I've replayed it incessantly because of its rawness and emotional give and take. And it's perfect for addressing sleights of hand that pass us by or torment. Fallouts, subsequent bad feeling, putdowns - these scenario-speckled manifestations impact on us negatively first, and, if we're lucky, positively second. To assist change, the songs' mantras are aleviated through vigorous distractible energy and ebullient metal-turned-reggae penwork. Something that I stand for, which will be in my analytical framework for unknown measure.

Listen

SubVersion Stop 73: SubVersion Recommends: Muttley - Hum

2010-02-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

"Hum" thematically compliments "Isolate", which fenced sounds detached from their surroundings. It's inclined passively, acting as background noise to induce sleep. To garner success, listen at low volume. Citing "Caught In Static", and "Threshold", it can bridge styles when these play jointly. Fans of Ateleia will welcome the frozen sorrow of P.D Wilder's "Blizzard Undefined", whereas SubVersion readers will be treated to "Immense Revolutions" not long after it was reviewed. Paul Bradley and Seconds In Formaldehyde are new inclusions to the series, certain to be used later. Occupying middlebrow positioning behind vocal and acoustica-flavoured submissions, "Hum" is pretty nondescript, but fills voids between slumber and suspense.

TRACKLISTING

01. Lexithime - Leontopodium Discolor [edited] (from Leontopodium)
02. Paul Bradley - Irenic (from Anamnesis)
03. P.D Wilder - Blizzard Undefined (from F/M)
04. Chihei Hatakeyama - Phantasm (from The River)
05. Seconds In Formaldehyde - Love Noise (from A Shiver In Red)
06. Mister Vapor & Altus - Immense Revolutions (from Falling Out Of Orbit)
07. Greg Haines - Komarovo (from Komarovo)

Download

SubVersion Stop 72: Helios - First Dream Called Ocean (Stray remix)

2010-02-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

"Hospital's brainchild for more leftfield d&b incarnations, Med School, have wrapped notable works from Martsman, Bop and Fracture & Neptune under a benchmark of consistent quality. Melding techno, ambient and psychedelia traits not so strictly as "genres", more hybridizations that step ahead of the game, Stray's debut on the outlet isn't a letdown in the slightest."

Read full review at Kmag

SubVersion Stop 71: Case study 1: Madonna - "Hung Up"

2010-02-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

Madonna has, over the years, adapted chameleon-like to her climate. This characteristic enables her to succeed in the popular music world - where musical novelty is paramount - and "Hung Up" is a prime example of how lifting from the 70s pop style, with a beat rewired for the iPod and commercial dance generation can work effectively.

This is popular music as it's liked by many - the song would become her eleventh number one single. It can be played in a variety of contexts - on the radio at work, in the home before one goes out, via the MP3 player - thus quadrupling its appeal to the mainstream audience, for which it is intended. Through listening contexts formal and informal, thanks to the simplistic structure, reviving the sounds of 1980s pop doesn't become an exercise in pure pastiche.

The song has hazily familiar hooks, recalling traditional themes of disco - love, loss and good times - sustained overlays of the string arrangement, and keyboard melodies enveloping to administer a haze-like timbre. Paradoxically, the pulse is clear from the outset by the implementation of a metronomic tick-tock, which leads into a filtered riff, taken from Abba's "Gimme Gimme Gimme".

This lifting embodies the changing cultural identity of sampling, and its popularity quantifies why this can be seen as a piece of popular music as well. The actuality of the sample's presence can further placate public consciousness through familiarity with older values and repertoires. "Time goes by" is sung in descending pitch, with repetition of the phrase conveying a suspension of limits. The addition of delay on Madonna's vocals supplants any questioning over how fast time is passing, not to mention eliciting that the singer is trapped in an ongoing musical current, comparable to the fast-flowing nature of societal existence.

Metre and pulse co-exist comfortably as four-time and four-to-the-floor, both inextricably clear. A conventional verse-refrain structure is upheld. Madonna sings not melismata, but broken, almost static shifts between notes - "Every little thing" rises in pitch on each syllable, whereas "that you say or do" peaks and then is in descent. The convergence of themes conveys how the words are fleeting - the singer is "hung up" which can mean unstable; precariously positioned. The syncopated melodies and rhythm validates this aspect, by the contrapuntal sum of parts audible from the chorus and chugging aesthetic.

Madonna's speech is evenly distributed on the track, yet the rhythm is multilayered and as such compliments what it accentuates. A tum-tum-tum-tum ordination of the main beat is where the lyrics sit and angle off, their texture wispy, thin and spread across parameters in line with the filtering sample and chorus motif. Harmonies are consonant at 00:32-00:48, filled out and wholesome but in comparison the early section is waiting to develop a thicker skin from the intro filtration towards the main hook.

There is a definite sense that Madonna is making use of space between words, whereby she crams more into each bridging phrase in a continuum, impressioning that she's "fed up of waiting for you" (re-iterated at 01:30 for the second interval). Concerning emotions broadcast lyrically, the song is obviously written from the perspective of a girl who once had nothing, and the narrative centres around love (or rather, the lack thereof). By adhering to commonplace structure there's no doubt the message becomes more accessible, if not endearing, depending on your standpoint with commercial dance.

The dynamics are pretty standardised for the genre, but what they do conjure is fidelity. The stomp of the bass is turgid, the vocals flaccid. This juxtaposition commands your attentiveness and, combined with that Abba riff, delivers a potent, frothy and infectious airwaves-friendly cut. The tempo is fairly pedestrian - undoubtedly a stylistic side-effect of looking backwards to move forward - slow, with the texture within gaps to chorus filled by the sandworm penetration-esque melody. You could say that because of its lower key, the words in Madonna's chorus line are intensified, and translate as more uplifting, suggesting the degree to which the singer is hung up, and moreover, what path she will take to resolve it.

Ultimately, the accompaniments to the keyboard melody (sample, vocals) enshroud the piece with an overall psychedelic textural sheen. The conclusion to the clip provided (at 02:05) sees the female finally "hang up" on the significant other, adding a new chordal pattern by rising an octave, signifying the escape.

SubVersion Stop 70: Relmic Statute - Morning Tapes (Hibernate Recordngs 010)

2010-01-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Subtracting melancholia can sway ambient enthusiasts. With solemnity underpinning, Hibernate Recording's tenth foray into physical and digital availability - Relmic Statute's "Morning Tapes” - is also their longest, but is it the most accomplished? The past stock utilised acoustic treatments, drones, and the string instrument family, whereas this is the first to fashion itself on tape loops. If you're thinking degraded William Basinski-alike tonalities, David Horner, aka Relmic Statute will educate you gently.

There's a fine-grained, Sawako-reminiscent delicacy to Horner's sampledelia. He splices field recordings assembled from cassettes and old 1/4 inch tape. Happiness is a tangible objective - it's usually about how much you invest, but you won't always get the rewards. Highlight “Illustration” assures Horner's pursuing older technology isn't just a nostalgists wet dream, but in actual fact a triumph of perserverant vigour and reconvened semblance. From the opening recording's delayed sonorities, through “A Test For Tapes And Memories”, which could be a more abstract jingle from The Caretaker's studio, the listener is bestowed with a warmth almost fragile, ever receding, but paradoxically richer than a vast quantity of pure drone recordings - it's dense but fleeting all at once.

There are periods of atmospheric turbulence to stop “Morning Tapes” sidetracking into total chillout zone, but no texture-tantrums - dripping water on “Enarso Lipathe” is soft in pronounciation, voices and guitar on aforementioned “Illustration” fade as the memory does. Forever tempered by impermanence, but with enough staying power for repeated hearings, “Morning Tapes” is like a hot cup of coffee when you rise - bubbling under the surface, indebted to containment, and kindest in gentle hands. Unacceptance can frustrate, lead to insecurity and cause you to dumb down your aspirations, so let's hope Relmic Statute, and Hibernate, will receive their due recognition.

Download from eMusic

Hibernate Recordings: wordpress

SubVersion Stop 69: Nest - Retold LP (Serein 001)

2010-01-31T11:19:00.000-08:00

Nest comprises Deaf Center's Otto Totland and Huw Roberts. They made waves in 2007 with a self-titled six tracker, receiving glowing reviews. Countering speculation that traditional instruments turn to dynamic mud when paired with electronics, their pianism ranges from euphorically charged (think Keith Jarrett, minus whimpers and outcries) and demurely reserved (Nils Frahm's quieter passages, or Craig Armstrong's "Piano Works" album). Generally speaking, the piano can eroticise and narratively understructure a composition, rather than be the sole instrument, and that's what we have here: twelve works combining atmospheres, drones and additional instrumentation to strike the heart with an astonishing depth and clarity.

For those already aware of the free Serein EP, the revision of "Cad Goddeau" is a welcome surprise, but the real winning factor is in the five new tracks, which are unbelievably more beautifully realised. "The Helwick" stands out as a hybrid of Max Richter's dramatic instrumental leverage, but doesn't devolve into overbearing kitsch. The piano's presence as the underlying 'hook' likens Nest to a more modern constituency and demographic of field research, rather than hollow reciting of classical genre-specifics.

Minimalism is traded with continuity and subtle development; harmony a property of the piano working with adjacent repertoires. And by embedding satisfying repetition, Nest superimpose dreaminess into digestion. Their mission statement of "music without pretence" is exemplified on "Marfjellet", which differentiates the palette, without harsh, grating dissonance. It adds up to music drawing the attendant in through polished veneer and a persistent urge to please. Horizons are multifaceted for where Nest go next, but by this showing, it'll be wrapped in the svelte magnificence we know (or may not yet know) and love from them.

Purchase CD and MP3 versions

SubVersion Stop 68: Muttley - Isolate - for www.ambientblog.net

2010-01-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

Download exclusively at ambientblog.net

The Subvert Central community has helped me grow so much since I joined. "Isolate" is dedicated to Jon Statto, who's always been there to lend a hand with blogging feedback.

I picked drones as a leitmotif, as Statto is a lover of such. The catharsis doubles as a controlling agent (see my "Better Days To Come" mixtape for further analysis), structured with meditative properties.

"Isolate" foretells the emotions I conjure from being warmed by Jon. "What has begun, cannot be stopped" from Noisia's "The Tide" ends the program, a signal to 2010 that there will optimistically be more Muttley sets, more dedications, more progression, and more of what makes the world positively tick.

TRACKLISTING

01. Asher - 14 (from the album "Landscape Studies")
02. Sean Mcann - Cathedral Of Limbs (from the album "A Wind In Their Way")
03. Oophoi - Floating (from the album "Night Currents")
04. Billy Gomberg - Lights Form Her Body (from the album "Days")
05. Leyland Kirby - Stralaeur Peninsula (from the album "Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was")
06. Eliane Radigue - Koume (from the album "Trilogie De La Mort")
07. David Tagg - Desperate Air (from the album "Dulcimer Studies")
08. Quosp - Slope (from the album "Grassland Melodies")
09. Tim Hecker - Harmony In Blue II (from the album "Harmony In Ultraviolet")
10. Peter Broderick - Floating / Sinking (from the album "Float")
11. Noisia - The Tide (excerpt) (from the Vision 001 12')

SubVersion Stop 67: Badmammal - Desobrigamento (goodluck/badluck CD)

2010-01-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

He's carved out a unique sound, therefore it'd be foolish to accuse Chris Matule, the man behind the Badmammal project, of bandwagon-jumping. His previous life as Process, signed to leftfield drum 'n' bass stable Ohm Resistance, could implode his individuality to movements such as "minimal", with stripped down bore-fests the worst case scenario. What his work implicitly signifies - simplicity with a nuanced edge - is married with far-reaching titling, and a stylistic IDM middle with Venetian Snares' "Cavalcade Of Glee", and Mu-Ziq's "Duntisborne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique".

Taken from a book that uses several languages, especially Spanish and Portuguese, "Desobrigamento", Matule's fourth self-released CD, is definitely on par with "Carrying A Deranged Gospel Choir", his debut for the imprint. From first listen, one notable feature is its adherence to a similar speed throughout. Appreciation arises from catchy melodic phrases, but "Desobrigamento" ultimately shines due to its percussive versatility.

"Paper 8s" is a highlight early on, marrying honeycomb melodic timbres to drum metamorphosis. Adrenalin-rush-inducing moments prolong the intoxicating vibe. I can imagine a track like this going down well at a house party, early morning, with drinks in hand. This could also be said of the entirety.

Dedicated to a friend whose father passed away, “Sending And Taking” is for me the epitome of the Badmammal brand - lots of heart-grabbing melodics by way of strings and strums, correlative, subdued beat programming that doesn't detract from the lavishness of instrumentation, and soul in spades. Leave it to “Desobrigamento” to reinforce belief in what's worthwhile, and brighten up one's day. Language barriers aren't applicable here.

Purchase: CD & listen to audio

SubVersion Stop 66: Muttley - Closing Down (January 2010)

2010-01-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

Carl Sagan's Ghost's "Closing Down" was the initiator for this concept - undertaking with association triggers. Sometimes I'm afflicted by nervous energy, and I have to disconnect from my computer or internet; in essence, to close down.

"Closing Down" is a specially made soundtrack - like "The Eyes, They See An Ominous Pillar" was, that serves to heal reaching normality once again, spanning 34 minutes.

"Now, well now it's time, to pull yourselves into lines, and raise and rise, push your leaves and branches high" sings Leo Chadburn at the tail end; a telling narrative to pick yourself up whatever background you have. This won't be to everyone's taste.

TRACKLISTING

01. Carl Sagan's Ghost - Closing Down (from the EP Colonian Spa)
02. Matthew Robert Cooper (Eluvium) - Radial Summer / Signal Evening (from the album Peeling)
03. Richard Skelton - Scar Tissue (from the album Landings)
04. Charles Stanyan - The Path From My Door At Night (from the album Peeling)
05. Last Days - May Your Days Be Gold (from the album The Safety Of The North)
06. Darren Harper - The Long Goodnight (from the album Time Forgotten)
07. Olafur Arnalds - Vi Vorum Sm (Dyad 1909 Version) (from the album Dyad 1909)
08. Andrea Belfi - Sleeping With Extraevil (from the album Between Neck And Stomach)
09. Language Of Landscape - And The Rain Embraced Our Closing Worlds (from the album Memories Fade Under A Shallow Autumn Snow)
10. Leafcutter John - Let It Begin (from the album The Forest And The Sea)

Download

SubVersion Stop 65: Mister Vapor & Altus - Falling Out Of Orbit LP (Just Not Normal 072)

2010-01-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

Normality can be priceless, but all the same, there are times when the lure of pastures anew surges through our souls, and demands us to try out new things. Just Not Normal could well be an oasis for music that strays from the conditional norm. As a newcomer to the netlabel, with a weighty 71 releases already in cyberspace, you have to wonder, as is often the case with the digital realm, if quality matches quantity, or antiquation can co-exist with enigmatic fervour.

No matter: Mister Vapor and Altus produce a fine sound on "Sparse Reaches". It's an atmospheric drone work of lengthy stature (25 minutes), in intellectual similarity to the detail of Robert Rich's New Age ambient of "Calling Down The Sky" ilk. Whereas drones can drain the vitality of a listener's attention span, Vapor and Altus usher in a variety of compositional techniques to keep you on the edge of your seat.

"Falling Out Of Orbit" is an appropriate album name - "Immense Revolutions", however, deceptive. It's slower moving, employing twinkle-timbre synthetic washes within an eighth, with a sole drum hit jogging any sedated attendants from drifting out of the auditory stratosphere. Light repetition of notation is thickened by dense walls of atmosphere - Italy's Oophoi springs to mind. When you're close to a quarter of its timespan there are satisfying chord assemblages resonating over reverberated minor keys.

The most important role this LP plays is multifarious - I am piqued to investigate more from Mister Vapor and Altus as singular identities, and the notion of filling up my hard drive with the Just Not Normal tag transposes a delight and not a chore. Which description I leave with on sustained hearing remains to be seen, but for now the future looks rosy.

Download: Mp3 & Flac releases
Mister Vapor: MySpace
Just Not Normal: wordpress

SubVersion Stop 64: Muttley - Back To The Drawing Board (January 2010)

2010-01-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

A genre bleeding into a new definition? If you listened to "Back To The Drawing Board" as an ambient lover, the tunes would be fresh to your ears. If you glanced at this set-list as a drum & bass conisseur, you'd predict it would be beat-orientated. The fact is that these tracks were not drawn-out drones in their initial guises, nor beatless. Every one is a composite of stretched audio.

I read Dave Michuda's "slo_mo" entry, and downloaded Paul's "Extreme Sound Stretch", wondering what original things I could do with it. At this time I was also feeling let down, and had spoken to a friend about jungle mixes. This duality lead me to revisit the most spine-tingling tunes I could find in my drum & bass collection, citing the phrase "back to the drawing board".

I don't have many records in the genre - 250 maximum, at a push. So sampling for breakdowns, intros and outros without percussion was fairly easy. Thinktank's "Skyscraper" was a starting point. The samples in "Back To The Drawing Board" were stretched to up to ten times their original length. Adam F's classic "Jaxx" and Probe-One's "Substance" were the longest modifications in the set, taking under two minutes of synth noise and elongating it to roughly 600 seconds. Not all is audible; using Acoustica Audio Mixer I faded in and out of sounds with clarity optimized.

There's a variety of octave adjustments mixed in, blurring the lines. "Extreme Sound Stretch" lets you do this as well as shift pitches and harmonics. While this mix was rendered entirely from drum & bass audio, I plan to incorporate a helping of outsider repertoires, including ambient and piano works, to chime in with my favoured selections. It's worth noting that I bought these tunes partly on the basis of their atmospherics, so perceive this as a prototype to me discovering ambient music when I was 16, if you will.

The title is relevant, also, because I'm completing my Open University study. I am in the process of re-reading all the units to ensure I obtain the highest mark I can for my second assessment. 75% on my first is respectable considering I knew I was slacking due to undisciplined structure. At 25 minutes, I hope "Back To The Drawing Board" will resonate with your own experiments.

TRACKLISTING

01. Mav - Atomic Collision (Vector Burn remix) (Covert Operations / Warm Communications, 2003)
02. Konflict - Messiah (Renegade Hardware, 2000)
03. Thinktank - Skyscraper (Obscene, 2005)
04. Adam F - Jaxx (from the album Colours, 1997)
05. Cartridge - Expressway (Unreleased)
06. Kemal & Black Sun Empire - Stranded V1.0 (oBSEssions, 2005)
07. Polska - Burning Sun (Subtle Audio, 2005)
08. Probe-One - Substance (from the album Testflight Presents Altitude Vol.1, 2005)
09. Breakage - Drowning (Planet Mu, 2006)
10. Hive, Keaton, Echo & Gridlok - Exit Violence (Violence, 2005)

Download

SubVersion Stop 63: Muttley - Paralysis (January 2010)

2010-01-27T11:20:00.000-08:00

I've dedicated several mixtapes to friends I speak to online, or have met because of online interaction. A follow-up to "Caught In Static", "Paralysis" is dedicated to Annastay from talking to me about her condition. I wanted to create something that was contemplative, warm and useful for capturing a joyful, stable state of mind beyond what paralysis constitutes - with a fair helping of static noise to round off the spectral suspension.

Annastay was misdiagnosed for years and it turns out the culprit was lyme disease. It caused her "to be really ill over years; I was fatigued constantly, pain moved around to different region of my body causing severe tightness or numbness while the muscles would go into complete spasm throughout the day. As these problems progressed, the spasms started to linger in one limb or two for days on end. I had years where I couldn't even sit in comfort. I had to keep moving around due to the intensity of pain, not being able to sit still for 15 minutes. I had stopped sleeping, whereby then I started to have severe anxiety/mental problems (as you can imagine anyone would in this situation). Environment and large amounts of stress can cause these problems to surface with anyone with a dispostion to them, let alone chronic health problems of this extent.

The lyme attacks the blood effecting your brains' neurological pathways. My cognitive function has been severely affected, and my short term memory basically non-existent; I still can't remember names to anything really. I constantly have to ask or check who an artist is when listening throughout the duration of a song if I want to try and remember it. I had gone untreated for so long, that it's invaded my entire neurological system and inhibited deeply in my ligaments and muscles.

I could barely walk at points over the years. Yet my condtion and how I feel is still invisible to people and even most doctors. Now that I've finally started some antibiotics for the last 6 months I've luckily started to begin to sleep again more than just an hour at a time, and had small improvements in some areas of pain but my brain is worse than ever from the dying off of the spiroketes - I have days where I literally cant connect any of the thoughts I have or take much action on any ideas I might have on the creative front, which is frustrating as inspiration or productivity is hard to come by while going through all this.

I've always fought through the symptoms and worked on music, but the last few years has been the hardest and most devastating as this wasn't possible. I had no outlet for expression or release of feelings as my shoulder was not able to take extended time on a mouse or drum kit. The treatment is not clear-cut nor the same for anyone with this disease and will take years to treat. I was fortunate enough to have it show up on a blood test finally."

Conversely to "Caught In Static", the pieces here are more focused. Last Days makes a late appearance as "Nothing Stays The Same, Nothing Ever Ends" (from The Safety Of The North) on "Caught In Static" resonated with her over the other tracks. To initiate the idea for suitable music I thought to myself: "What would someone paralyzed like to listen to?" Then I extended this to "What can free the listener's inhibitions to fight paralysis as the problem?" I concluded from these judgments that I required tunes that weren't fleeting, had a large amount of sustain, and evolved in texture. Consequently the files' runtime is a fair bit shorter.

TRACKLISTING

01. Machinefabriek - Weightless (remix) (from the album Bijeen)
02. Keith Berry - The Other Shore (rework of Fessended sounds) (from the album Bleu Resultat)
03. BJ Nilsen - Viking North (from the album The Short Night)
04. Ivan Ckonjevic - Umesto Bujenja (from the album Plavi Bicikl)
05. Apalusa - Small Environs 2 (from the album Small Environs)
06. Carl Sagan's Ghost - Solitude II (from the album At The End Of It All)
07. Stars Of The Lid - Articulate Silences Pt. 1 (from the album And Their Refinement Of The Decline)
08. mwvm - Negative Pole (from the album Rotations)
09. Wereju - Forsaken (from the album The Way Of The Cross)
10. Last Days - Nightlight (from the album Sea)

Download

Related links

underourskin.com: watch

Lyme disease: wikipedia

15 Minutes Of Fame: archive

SubVersion Stop 62: Peter Broderick's "Experiments In Sound And Song"

2010-01-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

It is with deeply felt honour on my part that I can present Peter Broderick's contribution to "15 Minutes Of Fame". Best known for his piano-led masterpiece "Float" on Type Recordings, an LP which elicited heart-tugging poignancy in its 36 minute duration, "Experiments In Sound And Song" is described by Peter as follows:

Peter Broderick - Experiments In Sound And Song - www.myspace.com/peterbroderick

"In the last months, I have been occasionally posting music for free on my flickr page ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/ ). All of this music was recorded very quickly, impulsively, and then put online, and at the moment I don't plan to do anything else with it. The music has been all over the place, from quiet solo piano to wanna-be hip-hop. All of the songs in this mix, and more, can be downloaded at my flickr page, and I hope to keep putting music up there in future. I have written a short description for each song here, and posted links to the original flickr postings.

-----

01. Sunday Song (0:00 - 3:26)
A simple song I wrote on my friend Nils Frahm's piano, recorded on a quiet Sunday evening when I had his place to myself.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4124838647/

02. When I ___ I ___ (3:26 - 7:15)
I asked people on my flickr page to fill in the blanks on the following sentence: "When I ___ I ___, and my ___ is ___." Then I made this song using their comments.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4209420900/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4213098889/

03. Freyr (7:15 - 13:25)
Before I moved to Europe at the end of 2007, I lived in Portland, Oregon, with my cat Freyr. Freyr was my best friend in the world, and leaving him behind was tough. But my father loves cats as much as I do, so I took Freyr up to his place in the country side to stay. He loved it there. And I would see him every time I was back in Oregon visiting. This last November he disappeared into the woods, and never came back. One morning I received an email from my father, explaining that Freyr was gone, and how that made him feel. Most of the emails I get from my father are quite short (he doesn't spend all his time on his computer like we do!), but this one was much longer. I knew he loved that cat like I did, and the words he wrote were so beautiful to me. I had to take them and make a song out of it, a song for Freyr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4106661573/

04. These Walls of Mine (13:35 - 21:36)
I had surgery on my knee back in December, and was very immobile in the days that followed. So I spent all of my time trying to distract myself and pass the time. I watched Twin Peaks all over again, and recorded a bunch of ridiculous music. I thought a lot about all the different ways to present words. Our voices are so versatile, and when words come out of our mouths, the way we deliver them is a crucial part of how those words come across. So this is me playing around with the delivery of words, and trying to make hip-hop with a piano, a violin, a nylon string guitar, and a computer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4196847489/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4197602544/

05. I Do This (21:36 - 27:20)
This really makes the most sense if you look at these flickr entires, in the following order:
1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4034911156/
2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4037989881/

06. Copenhagen (27:20 - 35:16)
There was a huge marching rally on the street right outside my window in Copenhagen. They were playing these amazing beats on their drums. So I hobbled over to my suitcase (it was the day after my knee operation) and grabbed my field recorder. Then I spent the rest of the day making this song, using my voice as the only other instrument. I processed layers of my voice to make a beat the same tempo as the one I had recorded from outside, then blended the two together with more layers of my voice.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4191088220/

07. Hannover (35:16 - 38:09)
I was on tour with Efterklang a few months ago, and we played at this wonderful theater in Hannover, Germany. I found an empty room with a piano, set up my field recorder and recorded some short improvisations, then mixed a few different pieces together really quickly.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4124176977/

08. Inside Out There (38:09 - 43:28)
Another song I made in the days after my knee operation. I was restless, and was basically just messing around with making beats on the computer, only using my voice and other things laying around, like my fingers on the table top, or smacking the chair next to me. Once I finished the beat, I picked up some other instruments and made this song around it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4197602318/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterbroderick/4197602544/

Download

"15 Minutes Of Fame" archive

SubVersion Stop 61: SubVersion Recommends: Muttley - Finding Beauty

2010-01-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

"Finding Beauty" was inspired by a comment from PvC of ambientblog.net. I was discussing with him by email my rate of output, and I realised only then that I'd put out 14 mixtapes in a month (December 2009 - January 2010).

Ideally I'd design artwork, but I'm a technological caveman at present, so tracklists and hyperlinks will suffice.

I brought up catharsis as an integral element, but then I thought further - from a track title by Craig Armstrong - and it appeared to summarise why, more specifically, I bind tracks. It was to find beauty.

In a way this is an extended counterpart to "Patience Of Saints Remembered" as where that upheld the best bits from conclusive tunes on albums, "Finding Beauty" blends crescendos, climaxes and stretched out deluges. It will also serve as a taster for the SubVersion audience of what concepts have passed, as well as soundtracking movements to find beauty - in its rawest (physical) or artificial (online) aggregations.

If you are a budding or established artist, I have plans for artwork I'd like to see realised. If you'd like to guest on SubVersion, feel free to drop me an email.

TRACKLISTING

01. Celer - A Lifetime Of Wasted Breaths (from the album Flowers: Dragon's Eye's Fourth Anniversary)
02. Nest - Trans Siberian (from the album Nest)
03. Darren Harper - Amongst The Trees (from the album The Hundredth Mantra)
04. Beau Finley - Winter Light Arc Light (from the album Adventures In Mass Transit)
05. Library Tapes - Waves (from the album Sketches)
06. Language Of Landscape - Contemplating Departure In Wake Of Clear Light (from the album Memories Fade Under A Shallow Autumn Snow)
07. Badgerlore - String Wrist (from the album Stories For Owls)
08. Brian Eno - Dunwich Beach Autumn 1960 (from the album On Land)
09. Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd - Avenue Of Shapes (from the album After The Night Falls)
10. mwvm - Sleepy Crayfish (from the album Rotations)
11. Craig Armstrong - Choral Ending (from the album As If To Nothing)
12. Yui Onodera - Synergetics I (from the album Synergetics)
13. Language Of Landscape - Speaking Through Truth And Denial (from the album Memories Fade Under A Shallow Autumn Snow)
14. Brian Grainger - Untitled 1 (from the album The Fieldtrip Reconstructions)
15. Stars Of The Lid - Even (Out) (from the album And Their Refinement Of The Decline)
16. Richard Skelton - Green Withins Brook (from the album Landings)
17. Duncan Ó Ceallaigh - The Sea And The Sand (from the album Distant Voices, Still Lives)
18. Tim Hecker - White Caps Of White Noise II (from the album Harmony In Ultraviolet)
19. Moby - 18 (from the album 18.)
20. Beau Finley - Graves Of Children (from the album Peculiar Ghost)
21. Craig Armstrong - Starless II (from the album As If To Nothing)
22. Nest - Charlotte (from the album Nest)
23. Craig Armstrong - Wake Up In New York (from the album As If To Nothing)

Download

SubVersion Stop 60: SubVersion Recommends: Greg Haines' 09 Mix

2010-01-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

From now on, all non-"15 Minutes Of Fame" exclusives to this blog will go under the banner of "Subversion Recommends". For the first instalment I'm very proud to present a fantastic cross-genre set from Greg Haines, the artist who shot to critical acclaim in 2006 with MIASMAH's "Slumber Tides".

We begun chatting via MySpace in concern of gigs, and one thing I was dying to ask was if he'd like to record a selection of his influences. He had this to say...

Greg Haines' 09 Mix - www.myspace.com/greghainesmusic

"Normally when I am asked to make a mix I begin to look through my records and CDs, trying to find a theme or some kind of thread that connects all the music together. This time, I was away travelling so much (and away from my music collection so often) that I thought it could be interesting to compile a mix purely out of music I have on my laptop. Being someone that doesn't really download music, this mix is mainly music that has been sent to me, music I've picked up along the way, music that I have used for DJing over the year, music I have used for teaching or lectures or music that I missed so much when I was travelling that I had to download it. Shamefully, I haven't had a chance to listen to much new music this year, so most of the tracks are older. Regardless of that, I hope you enjoy a snapshot of my 2009!"

TRACKLISTING

01. Trygve Seim - Himmelrand

02. Jocelyn Pook - Masked Ball

03. Allegri - Miserere

04. Jimmy Scott - Sycamore Trees

05. Sufjan Stevens - Redford

06. Burial - Dog Shelter

07. François Tétaz - Wolf Creek: Main Title

08. Arvo Part - Tabula Rasa (ludus)

09. Craig Armstrong - Immer

10. Tape - Moth Wings

11. Seven Peace Orchestra - Sketch II

12. Tomasz Stanko Quartet - Trista

13. Contemporary Noise Quintet - Even Cats dream about Flying

14. Nomo - Elijah

15. Phill Niblock - Sax Mix

16. Popul Vuh - In the Realm of Shadow

Download

SubVersion Stop 59: Genetic Basis for Musical Ability?

2010-01-09T06:33:00.000-08:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526093925.htm

SubVersion Stop 58: Richard Skelton - Landings LP (Type Recordings 055 / Sustain - Release 014)

2010-01-08T16:09:00.000-08:00

Popular music denotes a quality or aesthetic that has widespread appeal. It doesn't have to introduce much innovation to be warranted - more often than not, tried and tested structures and ideas form the forefront as well as the backbone of the music. The Beatles churned out pop hit after pop hit of sing-a-long joyousness or non-arbitrarily melancholic oeuvre, whereas Madonna continually reinvented herself whilst not changing a lot of her lyrical and ornamental phraseology. Musicians like these are looked up to by the pop contingent and offer plenty of crossover ability. Nonetheless, there is another side of the musical coin that comparatively, exists not to obstruct the rudimentary, but breathe life into loose ends.

Enter the modern classical canon. Classical allocated a capital 'C' clasps at a type of linguistic superiority, and a fanbase that can detest anything watered down to feed the masses. But with the backing of Type Recordings, artista can flip the lid of niche expectancy. What immediately struck me with Type, however, is that they cross the spectrum of psychedelia, ambient, drone and further experimental music. This offers a paradoxically homogenous sub-societal menagerie of styles and counter-arguments that get you to question: what's at my disposal? Contextual plight reinforcing the aims of musicians can be seen lens-like, where architecture arises from a certain clan of supporters, as a means to explain that resultant work embodies a lifestyle and personality all of its own, but also of a wider palette of influences.

Richard Skelton is no stranger to building his ethos with various bricks (aliases) and mortar (labels released on, including Type). He started out with wife Louise Skelton in A Broken Consort, an experimental acoustic band that would serve as an infancy to his subsequent solo work. In 2008 Preservation (later Type on limited edition vinyl) released "Marking Time", a tonic for relieving mental tension, that ruminated away past woes like an unmade bed being folded into neat, caressed shapes. "Landings" affirms from the start that the sheets (instrumentation, approach) could well be swept to freshen, but arrangements surrounding these homely, sometimes forlornly processed pieces remain through the drawn out currents of weeping bowed strings.

"Noon Hill Wood" commences this emotionally rich embellishment; a pulse can be felt from the tension and release relationship, to give the audience its appropriately timed foothold into Skelton's soundworld. The harmonies swell over a light but harsh bowing mechanic, repetition of phrase supposing question and answer schematics. Consequently sidestepping judgementality to invitingly recoup the theme, the second track, "Scar Tissue", revolves around a descending guitar chord whereby strings play a brief counter-melody to thicken the texture. You get the feeling that at under two minutes the work is much more of a prelude than an exercise in pretence. "Threads Across The River" is exactly the latter but skillfully, and comes off like the closing echo of Godspeed You! Black Emperor's "Blaise Bailey Finnegan III", slowly developing a searching, nasal accentuation with violins undercutting each other in slow-motion, contrapuntal pinball. At 06:30 the mood alters with layered strings adjusting in tempo, absorbing the poise of prior muscularity with a smattering of guitar strums to close.

"Green Withins Brook" is a nice diversion in a third of the album's duration, where bowing and tremolo effects step aside. The picture is clean-cut and flourishing in four minutes, ripe with execution and emotional range. "Of The Last Generation" has us returning to the fields of golden phrase-matching, where rhythm is uneven, pitches slide up and down sharply but with little general oscillation, and timbre has a rough-hewn, gritty surface, full of porous potential. Even though there's no great movement it's hard not to be moved by the captivating melody lines.

"Undertow" sidechains Arvo Part, overlapping chords like a napkin being folded before dinner arrives. This pattern of pre-empted satisfaction was encountered earlier in the LP, although at just under six and a half minutes, it's more fitting of the usual diameter of Skelton's arsenal. "Voice Of The Book" breaks the silence with melodic counterpoints split like atoms - lightly rocking back and forth on the lapsteel, giving this a reassuring feel.

"Rapture" clocks in at 120 seconds, bucking the timespan trend for the third occasion and gently weaving between airy notes, segueing into the highlight construct, "Pariah". This tune re-introduces the guitar in a lowered pitch, with sombre tones, superimposing the entirety as regaining real purpose and enveloped in Skelton's reserved, yet expressive melange. The simplistic composition evokes a captivating qualities that signify maturity.

"River Song" builds on the gentle lull and draws out its tension, beauty seeping out of every notation in morose lineages. "Remaindered" starts with a synthetic textural patchwork dissimilar to Zelienople's psych-rock breakdowns and Sigur Ros' noteworthy, transcendent grandeur, but again the bowed string accompaniment makes an appearance early on to subduct qualms over maintained identity.

The closing piece is perhaps a nod to the album "The Shape Leaves" (of the same name) by Skelton's previous involvement with A Broken Consort. But more than that, it's a curtain-puller on the ghosts that exist from listening to this magnificent long-player. A Skelton record sounds like nothing but a Skelton record and that's a reality Richard should be proud of. Widespread popularity may escape him, but that's part of the parcel in a land of cultural overproduction. Unmissable.

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