• Label: SMALLFISH
• Cat No: FISH8CM-32
• 30/06/2009  

And so we reach the penultimate part of the Four Pieces series from Celer. Once again I'm absolutely thrilled to bringing this to you and I think that you're going to be as delighted and wowed as I was when I first heard it. Entitled Photophores this work is just as fluid and beautiful as the other parts but, to these ears, has the most classical feel. Certainly there's an almost orchestral lilt to the sound which carries on from part two by using a lightly discordant tone to convey a sense of darkness in the background, resonantly drifting over you. That said it plays wonderfully against the overall warmth, melancholy and uplifting feel that pervades every second of the piece. With a shimmering sound - which perfectly captures the idea of the title - it conjures up images of a distant heat haze and becomes a sublime 20 minute journey that's purely magical. Once again showing that they're in a league of their own when it comes to producing deeply gorgeous and atmospheric ambient music, Celer really do have their own unique sound - and for that we must cherish them. As always my heartfelt gratitude goes out to both Will & Dani for making this series possible and gracing Smallfish with such phenomenal music. Enjoy!

• Label: ECHOSPACE
• Cat No: ECHOSPACE-AIR1
• 25/06/2009 | *Spotlight*  

If ever there was a bit of a dream team-up I think we have it right here. A hugely anticipated album from two undeniably talented producers and together they’ve brought us something to really savour. Brock’s move into more ambient territory has been slow and sure and as you all know this is really where I think he excels sound-wise. White Clouds Drift is an exquisite and beautifully realised series of emotional, deep and so, so luscious tracks that, as ever, wear their heart on their sleeve with titles such as ‘A Gentle Hand To Hold’, ‘A Chance To Start Over’ and ‘Forever A Stranger’. From beginning to end this is an album of fluid, yet dense atmosphere that will grab you instantly and then never let go. Brock’s penchant for vocal elements works wonders here and a special mention must go to the absolutely spellbinding ‘A Knew Happiness Once’ for blending delicious textures and a uniquely moving and organic sample. They work together in perfect harmony to create a mood that’s totally beguiling. There are classical elements here as well as his trademark layers and washes of sound and they all work together to make a haunting, deeply affecting and melodically advanced series of tracks that you’ll be listening to years from now. Seriously, this is a wonderful, wonderful project and I couldn’t be more thrilled that it’s seen such an impressive fruition. And then, of course, we come to the second disc with Steve Hitchell’s Intrusion interpretations. I like to think the originals were the inspiration for a distinct set of works rather than a direct set of straight remixes. Certainly there are elements of them in there – a chord sound here, an atmosphere there and a snippet of melody or vocal as well. But, they really are unique visions of Brock’s work. The first cut clocks in at a mighty 25 minutes and, I suppose in some ways, is probably the most ‘Intrusion’ sounding of the pieces. Washes of static and hiss envelop some deep, deep chords and a distant 4/4 beat giving it a really ghostly feel. There’s aquatic sounding and then there’s this – sheer bliss. At this point the tracks begin to feature a more overly electronica-based sound and the rhythms slow down using some absolutely classic drum machine sounds and beautiful melodic components to convey, once again, a sense of solitude and sadness. Every note feels right and every chord is laid in exactly the right place to give you a real shot of emotion and the overall effect is really quite sensational. I’m hard pushed to really describe how good these tracks are and, in some ways, I don’t think I need to go into too much detail – when you hear them you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The ebb and flow of the rhythmic styles, the awesome chord progressions, the icy yet warm feel of the tracks – this is pure gold it must be said and, for me at least, I’d stand proud and announce that I think this is Steve’s finest work to date. When you consider just how prominent and respected these artists are it’s no real surprise to find them working off each other so beautifully like this – the result is 100% stunning and this album must go down as truly essential piece of work. Now I’ll stop and let the music do the rest of the talking.

• Label: MEANWHILE
• Cat No: MEAN017
• 24/06/2009 | *Spotlight*  

It's always a red letter day when a new Meanwhile release comes out and this is the long awaited second solo EP from the man like Bovill. Conceivably, for me anyway, his finest selection of tracks to date this comes a 4-tracker to savour from beginning to end. He has a style and flow that I really envy, I'll admit, as he keeps it stripped back, fresh and authentically bumpy but without sounding anything other than utterly contemporary. From the first track with its lush chord stab progression and hypnotic 4/4s you know you're in for some quality and sure enough, by the time you're into the tight, funky organ stab-based second cut you can really sense the blend of the purest of house and techno vibes. From there it manages to get deeper and deeper culminating in the last track, my personal fave, which sounds exactly like it came straight out of the Motor City. Stupendous pads and chords flow around a deep, deep bass and some awesome percussion work - frisky, yet laid back and full of soul. This is pure gold from a producer who's totally at home with this kind of machine funk music. Recommended without any hesitation and an east contender for my techno record of the year so far.

• Label: HOME NORMAL
• Cat No: HOMEN004
• 24/06/2009 | *Spotlight*  

As debut releases go this, I feel it must be pointed out, is something of an absolute cracker. Obviously we’re looking at a Home Normal release, which is a great start, but when you put this CD on you’ll understand exactly why I’ve been so very excited about it. Hipgrave’s sound is one of gentle manipulation, subtle, shimmering melody, and a lovely indistinct broken-ness, if you know what I mean. The layers of texture and tone are the main focal point and they work like a dream, but in the background you’ll hear hisses, pops and crackles that all seem to emanate from some strange electronic machine. It gives it such a warmth and humanity and perfectly balances against the structures of the music. Each piece is formed using a bare minimum of sounds and sources and each of them is then explored in depth with the tracks allowed to run until their natural conclusions. It’s a beautiful sound as well and really has a soothing, lusciously low-key feeling that appeals to me on a huge number of levels with its melodic chord style and light & airy hypnotic feel. I don’t like to compare too much but I can say that if you’re a fan of the more melodic 12k release, such as Shuttle358 for example, that you’re going to be thrilled with this. All I can say is bravo to both artist and label and I know for sure that I’ll be eagerly anticipating this talented artist’s next release. Quite superb.

• Label: SMALLFISH
• Cat No: FISH8CM-24
• 24/06/2009 | *Spotlight*  

Tom White's Sight See is one of those things I completely fell for as soon as I heard it. Consisting of 6 tracks, 4 of them short, 2 of them long, it's a really beautiful collection of experimental electronic music with lots of feeling. From the opening track's effortlessly beautiful swelling layers of grainy sound right through to the guitar laced moments that feature later on, this is something that wears its heart on its sleeve - and it's all the better for that. Splendidly engaging and lo-fi textures are the order of the day and it's this combination of short and sweet with extended works that makes it so enjoyable for me. One minute you're listening to an almost Tim Hecker-esque soundscape, the next you're into Digitalis-style raw and strange experimentation. It's a lovely little release this, and I'm dead proud to be able to bring it to you. A big thanks to Tom for being patient and for sending me the tracks in the first place. 100 copies only.

• Label: L-NE
• Cat No: LINE_039
• 22/06/2009  

Right, first things first, the samples don't sound right on this - that's my fault I think as I may have got a little over keen on the normalization. What I mean to say is that this is nowhere near as noisy as it sounds. In fact it's a fascinating piece of work with a very distinct flow of its own. Written as a score for an original dance solo by choreographers Antoine Effroy and Anne Rudelbach and performed by Catherine Jodoin it was first performed in March 2008. Based on the idea of sustaining a physical state for as long possible, the sound mirrors this idea by gradually evolving over time. Using deft changes in volume as well as structure and density it weaves a coherent and compelling narrative that is tangibly 'physical' sounding. Excellent work once again from Line and something that fans of the more experimental side of this style will surely get a great deal from.

• Label: MIASMAH
• Cat No: MIACD010
• 21/06/2009  

Top stuff as always from the marvellous Miasmah imprint that provides you with a very compelling and unusual sounding work. Almost taking the form of a soundtrack it features lots of short-ish track (well, I say short, but they’re predominantly around the 3 minute mark – so not that short) which have a deep, almost classical, slightly operatic and dramatic feel to them. The instrumentation is staggering in its complexity when you consider it – although I have a feeling there are a fair amount of samples involved. Haunting bassoons lock horns with piano flurries and the kind of oddball jazz moments that you might expect to find in an off-the-wall British movie. Layered into all of this is a malevolent, yet strangely beautiful sense of drone and cinematics that keeps everything moving, yet totally together. A cracking release once again.

• Label: 3BY3
• Cat No: 3BY3002
• 21/06/2009  

Crumbs. I don’t even know how to describe this. I think I missed out on the first release on Cloaks’ own 3by3 label but I don’t remember the first single on Werk being this aggressive. Versus Grain comes at you with its teeth bared right from the outset. Huge wall of sound textures and gained out beats really assault you with nary a thought for your ears. It’s almost like Merzbow crossed with Vex’d, or something. That said it actually calms down a bit in the middle and becomes slightly more traditionally dubsteppy, before launching back into overdriven, dubwise beats and speaker shaking basslines. This is utterly rude and if you like your dubstep but fancy something with a bit more power this could well be it… and then some. Monstrous.

• Label:
• Cat No: RM432
• 21/06/2009 | *Spotlight*  

Restock. Room40 really does put out some wonderful releases and this superb album from Chihei Hatakeyama is another real gem I must say. The 6 tracks that make up Saunter are a beautiful blend of guitars, processing and field recordings that mesh together quite perfectly to create a soothing and etheral atmosphere. The processing is nicely subtle, but adds a layer of background tone and texture that sits happily with the flowing guitar playing and when you add in the naturalistic recordings it really does leave you with a pleasingly warm and organic whole. I love Chihei's work and the way he carefully uses melody to convey a real human touch is an absolute treat. Another belter from Room40, then, and a real must for fans of just generally beautiful music. Truly gorgeous.

• Label: M-PLANT
• Cat No: M.PM1CD
• 20/06/2009  

Does this release really need any introduction? I don't think so, but on the off chance that you don't know it you should be aware that the blueprints that this helped lay down are still *very* much in effect today. Hood took the sound of Detroit techno and stripped back further than anyone else had done and ended up producing this genre classic. Sparse, hard-hitting, absolutely crisp as you like tracks that, frankly, knock the socks (and other garments) off most other music in this vein. It's a powerful release and if you're not used to bear bones music like this it might take a while to adjust into, but by gum it's worth it. Good to have it back in print and with this CD version you also get a bonus CD mix of the tracks. What a bonus! Pure gold.