From: Jon Freer (jon-freer_at_excite.com)
Date: 2005-03-02 16:09:47
Jon Freer’s Reviews 2nd March 2005.
Album selection:
Jazztronik – Samurai (Pantone Music)
Nostalgia 77 – The Garden (Tru Thoughts)
Square One – Field Gentian (Freerange)
Klute – No One’s Listening Anymore (Breakbeat Science)
Munk – Apertivo (Gomma)
Alex Smoke – Incommunicado (Soma)
Thanks to Nik Weston, Sri at Tru Thoughts, Matt and Tom at Freerange, Sue at Stunt, Garo at Rooftop and Caroline at Soma for these…
Jazztronik – Samurai (Pantone Music)
Release Date: 4th April 2005.
Keyboard wiz Ryota Nozaki drops a new album of breath-taking future jazz, broken hop and house stylings on the Pantone imprint. Yurai and Aya’s first-rate vocal musings complement Ryota’s technical wizardry in a perfect manner. The title track “Samurai” is a wonderfully regal sounding cut, with violent broken house percussion, fuzzy synths and moving keys. “Phoenix” sees synths get caught in their own involving web, as pumped beats and real keys provide the backing. “Things We Like” uses west London bass squeezes, sideways percussion hits and refined keys to provide the musical accompaniment to Yurai and Aya’s almost comical tribute to the positives of life. Brilliant!
Nostalgia 77 – The Garden (Tru Thoughts)
Cat No: TRUCDLP068. Release Date: 21st March 2005.
Nostalgia 77 has thankfully put the morbid fascination of his previous long player behind him, in order to bring forth this positive jazzy offering. Musically light years ahead of “Songs For My Funeral”, “The Garden” is a place where bboys meet jazz heads to chill and soak up the sunshine. “Changes” is a fireside brass warmer, where splayed percussion and a blurry bass light the match. “The Hunger” is a completely berserk live instrument battle, between rasping horns, spitting trumpets and sawing double basses. Alice Russell screams her adopted call to violence over cut back beats, raw guitars and wounding brass on Nostalgia’s cover of “Seven Nation Army”. I want to spend some time in their garden!
Square One – Field Gentian (Freerange)
Cat No: FRCD13. Release Date: 21st March 2005.
Taking influences from all over the show, “Field Gentian” is a housey broken album with a distinct organic feel. There are a few airy tracks that will glide through listeners’ ears a little too easily, but some of the tracks have more substance and will stick in the memory easier. “Buzzin’” sounds like a heavily sedated offering from Switch, courtesy of its pushy beats, sluggish bass and nervous strings. “Push On” features the angelic Elsa Hedberg, whose wonderful vocals will bring most people out of the doldrums. “Show Me The Way” attempts to chart new territory, guided by an overbearing bass and decidedly disorganized percussion. Dreamy grooves for one and all.
Klute – No One’s Listening Anymore (Breakbeat Science)
Promo.
If Klute really feels this way, then why is he bothering to put out this album? “No One’s Listening Anymore” is a double release, where the first disc mixes moody slow beat numbers with bad tempered breaks-driven cuts, whilst the second is dedicated to D&B, pitting elasticised bangers against pretty groovers and scary hitters. “Give Me Faith” is a last cry for help to the tune of screamed strings and sawn off beats, as “Coconut Teaser” calms, courtesy of its encircling strings and happiness inducing keys. “Does The Darkness Make You Feel Sad?” is a haunting keyed number, with quicksand stuck yet trying to move beats and overly expressive strings. On the second disc, highlights come in the form of “Stuck On You”, a beaming stringed number, and “Second Skin”, a sugarcoated vocal cut with thumping beats. There’s plenty to choose from here…
Munk – Apertivo (Gomma)
Cat No: GOMMA 050. US Release Date: 29th March 2005.
Munk are not devout religious fellers with spelling problems, but instead are a duo who make rough and ready dancefloor-inclined music. Following the tradition of mixing live instruments with clubfloor sounds, “Apertivo” places all manner of styles and sounds together. “Morena Rubinowitch (Where Have You Gone?)” is a full-on audio assault, with head-screwing guitars, mind-chewing synths and a prickly holly-like bass. “B.F.” has a black as thunder bass and synths that destroy everything in their path. “Seeker (The Odessa-Nervi Blow)” sees stinging synths and sliding away strings sit atop stumbling beats. At times incredible, and at others painful!
Alex Smoke – Incommunicado (Soma)
Cat No: SOMA CD/LP 40. Available Now.
Nu gun Alex Smoke has produced an album of intelligent electronic music, which is varied yet every track has a distinct ‘Alex Smoke’ feel. The reason why “Incommunicado” works is because the cold mechanical side to Alex’s productions fits with the emotional aspect of his music extremely well. “6AM” will wake you up even at the dead of night, due to its ostentatious strings, metallic keys and clear guitars. “Lost In Sound” is really that, as pin-type stabbing percussion, sliding synths and a bewitching key line capture the imagination. “No Consequence” is a sensibly beaten number, with mildly irritating synths, barely human vocals and purposeful keys. A pretty special debut!
Jon Freer(jon.freer_at_wrongsteps.com)
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