The last thing one would expect from a label with a name like 130701 is a catalog of primarily of post-classical and orchestral works, but this is indeed the label’s remit. A sub-division of Brighton-based UK label FatCat Records, 130701 was created to house under one umbrella all those modern classical and orchestral releases that [...]
Articles By: James Knapman
Risk Risk :: This Is 1983 (Astro Chicken)
At the core of it all This Is 1983 is a riotously fun listen and while it’s possible to simply take it at face value, in true eighties style, there’s definitely the feeling that there’s something much more going on underneath the neon sheen. [Purchase] We are living in a new age of materialism, of [...]
Colorlist :: The Fastest Way To Become The Ocean (Serein)
First up in the Seasons series are Colorlist, a crossover jazz duo from Chicago comprised of multi-instrumentalists (an oft-dreaded moniker and no mistake) Charles Rumback who mans percussion, bells and melodica, and Charles Gorkzynski on saxophone, numerous woodwind instruments, synthesizers and harmonium. [Purchase] The Fastest Way To Become The Ocean is the first in a [...]
Rene Hell :: The Terminal Symphony / The Hilton (Type)
The Terminal Symphony has skipped to a completely different decade to assimilate data as a reference base for its sound palette, exhibiting an obsessively rigorous compositional style that coalesces into Rene Hell’s strictly electronic take on classical minimalism. Rene Hell :: The Terminal Symphony [Release page] So you think you know what to expect from [...]
Gareth Davis & Machinefabriek :: Grower (Sonic Pieces)
A more apt and straightforward title for this album there literally could never be, the musical chemistry between Zudyervelt and Davis resulting in an incredibly natural growth and evolution across both tracks and the album as a whole. [Shop] The scarily prolific Machinefabriek has been involved in a vast array of collaborative projects since he [...]
Undermathic :: 10:10PM (Tympanik Audio)
Undermathic has crafted something in 10:10PM that is naturally compelling, intense and narrative without being demanding or exhausting, the ever-changing pacing and mood handled with such style and subtlety that it is barely noticeable, making this one of the most straight-through listening experiences in the label’s history. [Purchase] On the tenth of October last year [...]
36 :: Cocoon/Saphron (3six)
Melding Biosphere’s moody ambiance and Bvdub’s vaporous textures together with often old-school ambient forms, Helios/Goldmund melodic figures, processed guitar and field recordings, 36 has marked himself out as an artist that has drawn upon countless influences to create an uncompromising and unique voice that doesn’t bow to current trends. [Listen | Purchase] Dennis Huddleston has [...]
Deaf Center & Svarte Greiner :: Double review (Type)
Totland favoured delicate piano work, field records and an eclectic array of both acoustic and electronic sounds from around the world to create atmospheric cinematic tableaux on his exquisite collaborative Nest project with Serein label-owner Huw Roberts. Meanwhile, Skodvin furthered the mission of his own Miasmah imprint with increasingly dark, tortured and tortuous doom-laden dark [...]
DEMDIKE STARE :: 3View 2011.5
New material from the duo has been eagerly anticipated, and over the course of 2010 the Modern Love label delivered in the form of three new blink-and-you’ve-missed them limited vinyl only albums. [Listen | Purchase] Composed of Lancastrian friends Miles Whittaker (aka MLZ and one half of Pendle Coven) and Finders Keepers researcher Sean Canty, [...]
Christian Albrechtsen :: I wish all my songs were about the sea (Dynamophone)
Albrechtson’s distinctive, off-the-wall vocal and lyrical stylings share a niche with similarly eccentric artists like Björk, Anthony and the Johnsons or Sigur Ros’s Jón Birgisson and will undoubtedly be just as divisive. [Purchase] I wish all my songs were about the sea wouldn’t be considered a typical release for any label let alone Dynamophone, to [...]
Thomas Koner :: 3View 2010.3 by James Knapman
For those unfamiliar with Thomas Köner‘s oeuvre (I certainly was until Type’s re-issue campaign this year), Nunatak, Teimo and Permafrost were his first three solo albums released through the now defunct Barooni label as limited edition compact discs way back in 1990, 1992 and 1993 respectively. Yes, that’s correct, these albums are up to twenty [...]
TYMPANIK AUDIO :: 3View 2010.1 by James Knapman
It has been a busy and eclectic twelve months for Tympanik Audio with a good fifteen or so new albums under its belt since this time last year. Released in batches of between two and four albums at a time, the choice that is subsequently offered is no illusion and 2010′s roster displays a pleasingly [...]
SONIC PIECES :: 3View 2010.2 by James Knapman
“…Originally an outlet for handmade CD covers it was only later that Sonic Pieces was reborn as a record label as more and more artists turned to Monique in this new era of more personalized, hand-made packaging to have their material released with her signature style. This 3View article focuses on Greg Haines’ Until the [...]
Roll The Dice :: Roll The Dice (Digitalis Industries)
“…Pardon and Mannerfelt prove that there can be incredible beauty in sheer simplicity and that working under pressure can lead to amazing bursts of creativity. Roll the Dice is such a refreshingly different and surprising experience that giving it the highest recommendation is a no-brainer…” (October 2010) Roll the Dice are Swedish duo Malcolm Pardon [...]
The Caretaker :: Persistent Repetition of Phrases (HAFTW)
(August 2010) Since The Caretaker’s Persistent Repetition of Phrases was originally released on the Install label in 2008 (in a strictly limited edition of a mere 500 copies) James Kirby has garnered mass critical acclaim and commercial success with his epic three-disc lament, Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was, so this timely [...]
Jan Bang :: …And Poppies from Kandahar (Samadhisound)
(August 2010) Jan Bang… it’s one of those memorable names that you see on the sleeve notes of albums all the time, and you often remember it for that rather than for the specific nature of the contribution – you know… because he’s in everything. The name could be seen in the sleeve notes of [...]
Orbital :: Don’t Stop Me / The Gun is Good (ACP)
(July 2010) Remember Orbital? Those two brothers with the little headlights on their heads? You know… the blokes who used to perform all those legendary, skull-shatteringly loud live sets? Released those key albums that helped set a myriad of people off on a journey into the realms of underground electronic music? Them. Remember how they [...]
Autechre :: Move of Ten (Warp)
(July 2010) The unexpectedly early announcement of Move of Ten (which at ten tracks and a running time just shy of fifty minutes is as much of an “EP” as EP7 was) immediately incites comparisons to the release of the quadrange.ae.ep that followed Quaristice. This time, though, rather than the exhausting onslaught of additional material [...]
Johann Johannsson :: And in the endless pause… (Type)
(June 2010) Having frequently commented upon the cinematic nature of a wide variety of releases it makes a welcome change to be able to listen to and review an album that actually is a soundtrack to a film. In the case of And in the endless pause there came the sound of bees it is [...]
Rene Hell :: Porcelain Opera + Rogue Camera (Type)
(June 2010) It’s been quite a while since Type released an electronic record that came anywhere close to being conventional, opting instead for a steady output of wildly experimental and dark ambient outings. Chances are you will have come across the term “kosmische musik” in any number of reviews by now and the origins and [...]
Olan Mill :: Pine (Serein)
(May 2010) It seems to be becoming quite fashionable these days to record modern classical music on location, particularly within a church setting due to the elegant, almost haunting cadences it can imbue, and excellent examples of this can be heard in releases by Greg Haines or Dustin O’Halloran on the Sonic Pieces imprint. But [...]
Candle Nine :: The Muse in the Machine (Tympanik Audio)
(May 2010) The cover of Candle Nine’s The Muse in the Machine is adorned by a mutated, smashed and shattered, ink-spattered antique typewriter that evoke something of the visceral and bizarre body-horror of a David Kronenberg movie. Certainly film informs the album to a degree – there’s an unusual selection of movie samples peppered throughout [...]
Autechre :: Oversteps (Warp)
(April 2010) It’s a rare thing in these internet savvy days to be genuinely shocked by a new album from a well established artist, not least because there are frequently spoiler laden press releases, samples or free/exclusive tracks flying around months prior to the release date. The announcement of a new Autechre (“Ae”) album generates [...]
Sylvain Chauveau :: Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated) (Type)
(April 2010) Aside from Type’s welcome series of re-issues and previously unreleased soundtracks, this is the first full album of new material from Sylvain Chauveau in five years, following up Down to the Bone’s tribute to Depeche Mode with a new series of compositions once again showcasing his vocal talents together with another stage in [...]
Funckarma :: Vell Vagranz (n5MD)
(March 2010) It was inevitable, in a way, that Funckarma would end up absorbing elements of dubstep into their work. Their Legiac project had shown signs of this evolution back in 2008 when Mings Feaner was released on Sending Orbs. Having rather unfairly panned aspects of it in my review back then, its charms have [...]
Markus Guentner :: Doppelgaenger (Sending Orbs)
(February 2010) In an attempt to quell the typical, almost rabid clamouring for information and release dates from fans that normally accompany a new Sending Orbs album announcement, the label wisely chose to publicise the details of newly signed Markus Guentner’s Doppelgaenger album far closer to its actual release date than with any of their [...]