DIRAC - EMPHASIS (CD)
I loved Dirac’s album on U-Cover so it’s jolly good to hear this new work for Spekk at last. ‘Emphasis’ comes as a 4-track album that’s absolutely brimming with luscious sounds. A sincere and heartwarming blend of guitars, gentle post-rock, field recordings and electronic elements it creates an absolutely fascinating journey for you to adventure through. You can hear references to jazz, electro acoustic work, drone and even the aforementioned post-rock, yet nothing ever dominates too strongly and the tracks are just as liable to subtly alter halfway through as they are to just bliss out for 10 minutes at a time. The underlying sense of aural experimentation is never far away but everything remains coherent and pretty much melody based throughout. ‘Augarten’, for example, moves between delicate piano chords and motifs that you could call jazz, before being joined by a shuffling drum beat and twanging guitars. But then, halfway through, everything gently ebbs away into some marvellous naturalistic sounds and recordings that left me reminded of something… I’m not sure what, but it was possibly a movie I think. Something swampy and very slightly sinister. The final track has a spiritual chord that gently rolls along in a distinctly church organ style and it provides a fitting end to yet another awesome album release from Spekk. Fans of Type are going to adore this as well as lovers of the Spekk releases as a whole. Marvellous.
PETER WRIGHT - An Angel Fell Where The Kestrels Hover (CD)
London-based Peter Wright is an artist I admire a lot. His creations are organic and warm without being obvious and this new album release for Spekk is certainly one that I’m absolutely loving. Fluid guitars and subtle processing give the tracks a simple and effective sound that it’s easy to sit back and enjoy. Delve beneath that surface and spend some quality time with this and it really opens out into a gorgeously produced and incredibly beautiful work of huge substance. From the opening track with lilting, gentle chords and melodies through the more psychedelic sounding ‘Sunstroke’ and on into the deliciously naturalistic ‘Lavender Buzz’ (my favourite track, by the way) with its buzzing bumble bees and chirruping birds combined with a background guitar lick, this is simply wonderful. The final two tracks begin with the epic sounding ‘London Is Drowning…’ and some awesome chord work and effects that layer everything up to a lovely crescendo of tone. And then it’s left to ‘…And I Live By The River’ to bring us slowly back down again with a strong dose of melancholy. The sombre naming of these two pieces once again harks back to a naturalistic style, in title if not sound, and, if I’m not mistaken, would certainly seem to be a comment on the environment. Well, that’s what it feels like to me. So, in essence, it's another truly essential release from the remarkable Spekk imprint that looks as good as it sounds. Lovely.
STEPHAN MATHIEU + TAYLOR DEUPREE - Transcriptions (CD)
Restock. Spekk really is one of those labels that you can rely on every single time. Having loved and enjoyed the entire catalogue right the way back to the first release from Taylor it’s pleasing to finally have another full albums worth of material from the man himself. However, this is a collaborative work with another artist of the highest calibre, Stephan Mathieu. Between them they’ve conjured up an utterly engrossing selection of thematically focused music that’s as beautiful as you’d hope. With Mathieu providing sound sources that range from 78rpm records, wax cylinders and pianos and Deupree crafting his wares with guitars, synths and processing I imagine you’ll have a fairly good idea of where this is headed. Sculpted, entrancing, light and airy organic works with such a lovely human touch, that’s expertly tempered by a more electronic feel. At times this is out and out melodic and at others it delves into deeper, darker territory. They’re both really at home with the way the tracks flow and, even though I’d really hesitate to announce this as being drone, I have to acknowledge that there’s definitely an influence in there. But this is less static and almost, in a bizarre contemporary kind of way, poppy – that is to say you can hear the songs in there but they’re always completely tangible… it’s more of a feeling and an atmosphere than anything else. Spekk delivers once again and shows that it’s still up there when releasing contemporary electronic music. For fans of either artist or the label you’ll be unsurprised to hear that I’m considering this a totally essential release. Gorgeous stuff.
TETUZI AKIYAMA + TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - Semi-Impressionism (CD)
The duo of Tetuzi Akiyama and Toshimaru Nakamura have conjured up a really magical here for Spekk. It’s worth reading the liner notes if you get this as they provide an interesting and amusing piece of background for the work. I won’t repeat it here but suffice to say that the idea of ‘Zen’ is in there somewhere, but not necessarily the way you might expect. Tetuzi provides the acoustic guitar playing that gives the work a grounding in the warm and earthy whilst Toshimaru is in charge of the mixing board which gives it an abstract and sometimes abrasive tone. Using high frequencies as, I believe, a reference to the sound of cicadas there’s a lovely gentle lilt to the tracks for the most part and you can’t help thinking of rolling countryside for some reason. But, just when you’re feeling the pastoral nature of the music, it’ll drop into a more twanging, countrified (or possibly bluesy) tone which wakes you up. Couple these subtle changes in sound with the omnipresent electronic background noises and you have a compelling narrative with each aspect playing off the other to fine effect. This is one of the more abstract releases from Spekk in recent times and a welcome return in my opinion. Superb as always and, as you’d expect, beautifully packaged as well.
FELICIA ATKINSON - La La La (CD)
When it comes to Spekk releases you know you'll be getting something high quality and occasionally you'll get something you just plain didn't expect. This album falls into that category as it's very much an organic, folk-based piece of work, but with a twist. I actually need to resample it and add some of the other tracks because, in my opinion, this is an absolute beauty of an album. It reminds me of something, but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet, but the combination of Felicia's sultry vocals and the mellow, friendly and occasionally strange music is very compelling. She uses an interesting way of splitting her vocals from the music by using panning and the gentle layers of plucked and strummed guitars mixed with pianos and other sounds sources is lovely. It's fresh, it's airy, it's slightly quirky and, yes it's a little bit different for Spekk, but essentially this is a great album. Listen and enjoy!
JOE GRIMM - Brain Cloud (CD)
Full description to follow. A new Spekk. Need I say more? Well, it's deeply satisfying and it errs on the drone / texture side of things using real live instruments (as well as some processing by the sound of it), but with this almost classical feel... I can't put my finger on it right now. Maybe I will when I listen in more depth tonight. It's beautiful and has a melodic style with swelling, growing chords and the occasional darker tone. The main tracks are nice and long as well so you get to really sink your teeth into them. Lovely.
KEN IKEDA - Mist On The Window (CD)
As far as excellent combinations go, this is definitely a good one. Ken Ikeda's pedigree as a contemporary electronic musician is without question and when you put that together with the wonderful Spekk label you've got a special release to be sure. Exemplary packaging as always woos you from the off and the musical content is as beautiful as the artwork. Ken's overriding theme on this album is the idea of the mundanity of everyday items and objects and the way this often hypnotic and meaningless noise (literally and metaphorically) can open up new horizons. Using an instrument made of nails and rubber bands he documented his daily life using sounds and manipulations, and whilst you may believe that this couldn't possibly lead to a musical work at all, you'd be utterly wrong. The tracks on this CD have a personable and lively sound that's melodic, warm, charming and full of the ability to take you into Ken's own world. Rhythmic elements keep the tracks firmly structured, yet there's an easy progression and flow that sounds free and fluid. There's a subtlety to this that never rams its ideas down your throat, rather allowing to take advantage of the opportunity to join Ken on his voyage of discovery. It's really a very chilled and ear-pleasing album that has the Spekk stamp of quality all over it. Recommended, naturally.
MINORU SATO (M/S, SASW) + ASUNA - Texture In Glass Tubes And Reed Organ (CD)
Don't you just love it when expreimental music sounds this good? I know I do and, while I'm not surprised by how fine this release is, it's certainly a pleasure to hear something conceptual that really hits the musical spot as well. The duo of Minoru Sato and Asuna have been performing together using the reed organ along with glass tubes. This is the physical element of their work and they then use these sound sources to construct compositions that explore the nature of the physical phenomena in an audible way. The end result for the listener is 2 pieces of drifting, shifting, ethereal ambience that works ion a similar way to the work of John Hudak or Richard Chartier, but with a fuller, more accessible drone sound. Both works are deep and incredibly hypnotic and are superb for working to and equally fine to investigate more thoroughly with an intense listen. The tonal qualities are subtle and beautiful and the almost imperceptible changes in tone are handled with great care. This is the sort of release I long for and I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with it so far. I have a sneaking suspicion that it'll be featuring in my end of year charts as it has a timeless beauty and clarity that's wonderful. Highly recommended for fans of contemporary minimalism.
OPITOPE - Hau (CD)
I'm sure it's quite clear to most people that know Smallfish that Spekk is a label we admire and love in equal measures, and it's always fantastically exciting to get our mitts on something new from them. Here we're treated to a simply lovely album from the duo of Tomoyoshi Date and Chihei Hatakeyama (who you may remember from the sublime 'Minima Moralia' on Kranky). Quite apart from the fact that we're treated once again to a beautifully packaged and designed to perfection piece of work, musically this is right up there with the best of them on this exceptional label. Using a combination of electric guitar, piano, bass, vibraphone and electronics the warm, friendly and gorgeously sunny sounding tracks are instantly engaging and enderaing and have that uniquely melodic charm that sets Japanese music of this style apart from anything else. Chilled manipulations and gently plucked and strummed and played instrumentation give it a playful edge, yet, as with the best of this sort of music, there's an element of unease that creeps in from time to time with a slightly more discordant tone. This really only serves to accentuate how genuinely beautiful the music is and, overall, there's not a note out of place. Luscious and full of feeling... another superb work from this brilliant imprint. Recommended.
VARIOUS - Small Melodies (CD)
Nao Sugimoto (aka Mondii and co boss of Plop) runs his own Spekk label with a great degree of love and attention and, once again, he shows that with some careful consideration and the right contacts you can put together - seemingly effortlessly - a compilation of contemporary digital minimalism that is a true showcase of this wonderfully diverse style of music. Merely glancing at the tracklisting should confirm to most people the breadth of talent involved with this release... Taylor Deupree, Sogar, Fenton, Oren Ambarchi, Herve Boghossian, Ultra Milkmaids, Anderegg, Stephan Mathieu and more all contribute with their own unique takes on the idea of small melodies. There's a stark beauty on show here from the beginning to the end and whether it's Deupree's ultra-refined click textures and gentle tones or the Ultra Milkmaids slightly more in-your-face manipulated approach, it's all there for a very good reason. Sublime, for the most part and occasionally challenging, this is an absolutely delightful project thatis as immaculate in conception as it is in presentation. An unmissable gem and highly, highly recommended.