AUGUST 2018 ROUND-UP - IDLES, AFRIQUA, CHRIS WATSON, SHADOWPARTY, KING TUBBY, SILENT POETS, JON HASSELL
Afriqua - Vice/Principle - R&S
Adam Longman Parker might well be Berlin-based but there's little about Vice/Principle that recalls gritty urban Germany. Instead, Afriqua chooses to focus on the entire globe for influences for this debut EP on R&S.
Its lineage is only partly rooted in Krautrock with the hypnotic ethereal Melamed hinting at Automat and Schneider ™ before embarking on an epic journey through Detroit, London, Belgium and the Balearics, replete with a sampled broadcast of hippyness, stars and the sky and a nod to the '90s ambient house scene. The remainder of the EP is just as exemplary and resembles a few other R&S mainstays such as Robert Leiner, Uzect Plausch, Kenny Larkin and Sun Electric with the closing Vermiform proving to be a highlight.
9/10
Chris Watson - Locations Processed
Now considered a veteran of sound and field recording, Chris Watson's commercial past began with Sheffield noise-engineers Cabaret Volatire in the early '70s before a spell in local TV and the later founding of sound-collage outfit The Hafler Trio. He is now renowned for his pin-sharp soundwork for many a David Attenborough documentary.
For Locations Processed, he revisits the Moog Sound Lab's System 55 machines, coaxes some otherwordly entity out of them and drops in layers of field-recordings for good measure. Watson's ability to record the mundane and transform it into a thrill is unprecedented - one run-through on headphones of Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Centre demonstrates this skill to ear-teasing effect. Central Park offers a fly-on-the-wall insight into the everyday bustle of New Yorks verdant centrepiece while Times Square sounds as confused, exciting and gritty as you'd expect.
Virtually music free, save for the melody of the natural and man-made babble within its grooves, Locations Processed is as far removed as his celebrated Tweet Of The Day series as you could wish to get.
8/10
ShadowParty - ShadowParty - Mute
Formed of various members of New Order, Devo and The Verve, ShadowParty's heritage is nothing if not inspirational. Musically, this self-titled set leans towards the former's Siren's Call era, its side-project Bad Lieutenant and the most recent Music Complete, particularly on the opening Celebrate and the Euro-boogie of Reverse The Curse which also uncannily resembles Shellshock once the chorus kicks in.
Sadly, a swathe of the latter half of the album is a bit predictable and lacks the swagger of earlier tracks such as the string-tinged Sooner or Later and the sub-electro stomper Present Tense, ably written by and sung by ACR's Denise Johnson. I'd love to hear Oakenfold and Osborne have a crack at the latter. Overall though, ShadowParty serves as an enjoyable enough listen.
7/10
Silent Poets - Dawn - Another Trip
Formerly a duo, Silent Poets is now just Japanese soundtracker and beatsmith Michiharu Shimoda employing guests and ramping up the atmospheric stakes somewhat. On the opening acoustic orchestrated Asylums For The Feeling, the vocals of Leile Adu add an otherworldliness to a ghostly track recently used in a trailer for online game sensation Death Stranding.
Hollie Cook contributes to the unsurprisingly dubby and brassy Shine while Addis Pablo adds a signature melodica to the downbeat skank of Division Of The World. If you're a fan of what was the Bristol trip-hop scene of the '90s, DJ Krush's efforts on Mo Wax or the soundtrack artistry of Clint Mansell and the like, Dawn is your next stop. Currently only available on CD, there is surely a vinyl release on the horizon.
7/10
King Tubby - Lost Dubs - Griffiths
The seemingly untapped supply of Tubby treasures continues with this pretty decent collection of, well dubs that have until now remained lost. You should know the score by now - one of the most influential names in Jamaican music, one Osbourne Ruddick used the studio as a scientific experiment with sound, often stripping backing tracks down to the bare minimum to devastating effect. Check Dub Of An Angel and the Augustus Pablo-led Ride Easy for proof of how a cellar-deep bassline, a cymbal or two and the wizardry of Tubby's switch-twiddling can make one piece of music another piece of music. The recordings are decent quality, not too quite and packed full of rib-cage rattling bass. Nice collection.
8/10
Jon Hassell - Listening to Pictures - Ndeya
A remarkable recording artist in every sense, Jon Hassell doesn't so much as play the trumpet as completely overhaul it. His breathy muted style has graced numerous contemporary artists' albums - David Sylvian, Talking Heads, Terry Riley, Peter Gabriel, Ry Cooder and Ani DiFranco to name but a few - but it's his own solo and collaborative work with Brian Eno that has left an indelible mark on contemporary music. Head to their Fourth World Vol 1 Possible Musics or Dream Theory In Malaya (Fourth World Vol 2) for examples of his seismic sound.
For Listening To Pictures, his first album for nearly ten years, Hassell revisits the dreamy textural work of yore, plus 1990's City Works Of Fiction, creating a unique and heady brew of treated trumpet, skittering beats, muddied but melodic marimbas, random(?) cowbells blowing in the Serengeti breeze, chirping crickets and an unspoilt tropical paradise. Al Kongo Udu and Dreaming best 'describe' what lies within its sleeve designed from sources derived from Mati Klarwein amongst others whose previous art includes the sleeve to another iconic trumpeter's album, Bitches Brew.
8/10
Idles - Joy As An Act Of Resistance - Partisan Records
In just 18 months, punchy Bristolian sloganeers Idles have ferreted their way through current consciousness with a never-ending stream of jaw-dropping, ear-bleeding shows in small venues without so much as a by-your-leave or a back catalogue to speak of. It's like the internet doesn't exist for bands like this, hard-slogging outfits with a message and a melody and a bit of gumption, the like of which we haven't seen since Drenge, Fucked Up, Sleaford Mods or UK Subs. Years of pitching up to venues right across the UK and acknowledging their fans' existence is finally bearing fruit, as this second album ably demonstrates.
Idles' musical template is borne out of anger, frustration with the political and social system, heartbreak (Talbot lost his daughter recently) and facing up to personal realities rather than the barrage of fake news and media pigeonholing. These days, a few might claim that this is something that many acts deem too risky to tap up for inspiration - the inner soul, its demons and dark side.
In fact Idles' sound has elements of the aforementioned acts contained within its lineage. Barbed lyrics deal with immigration on Danny Nedelko - "Fear leads to panic, panic leads to pain, pain leads to anger, anger leads to hate" sums up the current stench pervading most news stands at the moment - while the brutal Samaritans offers up lines like "This is why you never see your father cry..". And any band that profers a track entitled Colossus needs to deliver something of gargantuan proportions and it does - five minutes-plus of reasoned chaos anyone? Try sitting through June without getting something in your eye. "Baby shoes, for sale, never worn".
None of Joy lets up - it's beautiful, bludgeoning and about as beatific as a jog on the beach in places. It's also as heartfelt a dialogue you'll hear all year. The whole experience sounds like the best aural fuckoffness for ages, a scintillating battering ram of fist-pumping belters and, cliched as this may sound, a call to arms of sorts. Joy As An Act Of Resistance is guaranteed to feature in a few end of year lists.
8/10
You can also read the Idles review at https://www.musomuso.co.uk
Its lineage is only partly rooted in Krautrock with the hypnotic ethereal Melamed hinting at Automat and Schneider ™ before embarking on an epic journey through Detroit, London, Belgium and the Balearics, replete with a sampled broadcast of hippyness, stars and the sky and a nod to the '90s ambient house scene. The remainder of the EP is just as exemplary and resembles a few other R&S mainstays such as Robert Leiner, Uzect Plausch, Kenny Larkin and Sun Electric with the closing Vermiform proving to be a highlight.
9/10
Chris Watson - Locations Processed
For Locations Processed, he revisits the Moog Sound Lab's System 55 machines, coaxes some otherwordly entity out of them and drops in layers of field-recordings for good measure. Watson's ability to record the mundane and transform it into a thrill is unprecedented - one run-through on headphones of Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Centre demonstrates this skill to ear-teasing effect. Central Park offers a fly-on-the-wall insight into the everyday bustle of New Yorks verdant centrepiece while Times Square sounds as confused, exciting and gritty as you'd expect.
Virtually music free, save for the melody of the natural and man-made babble within its grooves, Locations Processed is as far removed as his celebrated Tweet Of The Day series as you could wish to get.
8/10
ShadowParty - ShadowParty - Mute
Sadly, a swathe of the latter half of the album is a bit predictable and lacks the swagger of earlier tracks such as the string-tinged Sooner or Later and the sub-electro stomper Present Tense, ably written by and sung by ACR's Denise Johnson. I'd love to hear Oakenfold and Osborne have a crack at the latter. Overall though, ShadowParty serves as an enjoyable enough listen.
7/10
Silent Poets - Dawn - Another Trip
Hollie Cook contributes to the unsurprisingly dubby and brassy Shine while Addis Pablo adds a signature melodica to the downbeat skank of Division Of The World. If you're a fan of what was the Bristol trip-hop scene of the '90s, DJ Krush's efforts on Mo Wax or the soundtrack artistry of Clint Mansell and the like, Dawn is your next stop. Currently only available on CD, there is surely a vinyl release on the horizon.
7/10
King Tubby - Lost Dubs - Griffiths
8/10
Jon Hassell - Listening to Pictures - Ndeya
For Listening To Pictures, his first album for nearly ten years, Hassell revisits the dreamy textural work of yore, plus 1990's City Works Of Fiction, creating a unique and heady brew of treated trumpet, skittering beats, muddied but melodic marimbas, random(?) cowbells blowing in the Serengeti breeze, chirping crickets and an unspoilt tropical paradise. Al Kongo Udu and Dreaming best 'describe' what lies within its sleeve designed from sources derived from Mati Klarwein amongst others whose previous art includes the sleeve to another iconic trumpeter's album, Bitches Brew.
8/10
Idles - Joy As An Act Of Resistance - Partisan Records
Idles' musical template is borne out of anger, frustration with the political and social system, heartbreak (Talbot lost his daughter recently) and facing up to personal realities rather than the barrage of fake news and media pigeonholing. These days, a few might claim that this is something that many acts deem too risky to tap up for inspiration - the inner soul, its demons and dark side.
In fact Idles' sound has elements of the aforementioned acts contained within its lineage. Barbed lyrics deal with immigration on Danny Nedelko - "Fear leads to panic, panic leads to pain, pain leads to anger, anger leads to hate" sums up the current stench pervading most news stands at the moment - while the brutal Samaritans offers up lines like "This is why you never see your father cry..". And any band that profers a track entitled Colossus needs to deliver something of gargantuan proportions and it does - five minutes-plus of reasoned chaos anyone? Try sitting through June without getting something in your eye. "Baby shoes, for sale, never worn".
None of Joy lets up - it's beautiful, bludgeoning and about as beatific as a jog on the beach in places. It's also as heartfelt a dialogue you'll hear all year. The whole experience sounds like the best aural fuckoffness for ages, a scintillating battering ram of fist-pumping belters and, cliched as this may sound, a call to arms of sorts. Joy As An Act Of Resistance is guaranteed to feature in a few end of year lists.
8/10
You can also read the Idles review at https://www.musomuso.co.uk