A series of 10 tracks originally recorded and released between May and December 2010 from this intriguing electronic artist. Futuristic with that warm analgue retroism that travels through Drexciya and Autechre to land it in the same curious cosmic space as fellow Irishmen, (and all fellow Dubliners too I think) Moths, Vision Air and Solar Bears - they say two is a coincidence and three is a movement, so dare we call out this New Wave of Irish Electronica as one of 2011's major happenings? NWIE anyone? This year's Skwee? Could be.
The album download includes individual photographic artworks for each track that go some way to illustrating the music in each track, from midnight helicopter chases to moody landscapes to church burnings.
Here's the opening jawdropper Serbia to convince you to get this. The rhythm keeps snaking over itself with a never ending supply of chrome hooks and silvery sounds, a loosely pulsing beat.
Been very excited about this moment since the idea was first hit on and now it's finally here. The first NFR mix this year has been specially made for us by Vision Air. I wrote about their incredible A Vision ep in December; a deeply textural cosmic trip around vintage tones which is still available for download, so go get it. Before that, get this. Richie and Niall have put together a mix of their influences and current favourite recent listenings, including remixes and friends - exactly the kind of thing I approve of! To give you more info about the music and insight into their own minds they've included some notes about each song to convey why they picked them, and artwork from their friend. The artwork at the top is by NFR's designer-in-chief band buddy Chris Prewett. So here you go, The first NFR Guest mix: VISION AIR
Stream:
Tracklist:
Mariah - Shisen
A couple of years ago, our friend Ross stumbled across a track from Mariah called Shinzo No Tobira. when we heard this Japanese band from the '80's we were fascinated by the uniqueness of their sounds esp. the drums (how do they make that sound??) also by the static beauty of their arrangements. before christmas last year we got the whole record and it lives up to the high watermark set by Shinzo No Tobira. it feels like they were a band in tune to the future and past and their ritualistic pop still hots up the heart.
Forest Swords - Visits
Along with Demdike Stare, Forest Swords are a new outfit that we really admire. the use of reverb and again ritualistic rhythms has been quite overdone recently but with Forest Swords there is a longing and sadness within that really resonates. this music seems to ask pertinent questions.
I Am The Cosmos - In Her Vision
I Am The Cosmos is a friend of ours from Dublin. the word we always use to describe his songs is 'surprising'. you never really know what kind of tune he will come up with but it always keeps your attention from start to finish, as demonstrated by this ballad from the stratosphere - In Her Vision.
Blondes - Spanish Fly
John from Solar Bears first played me this song a while ago and to see how it enraptured him was infectious. there is one point about two minutes into the song where a stabby organ/key riff comes in and he played along in the air in perfect time to the stabs, I've been trying to copy this but can never get the air keyboard rhythm right. I really like the kick drum sound in this song, the languid celestial feel of the drooping vocal samples and the hypnotic phasing.
Nosaj Thing - Fog
Having seen Nosaj Thing play an Akai controller with a laptop live it should be the kind of thing purely electronic bands aspire to. Nowadays it seems like the biggest problem electronic musicians have is trying to translate their sounds into a live setup that is actually worth watching. after a lot of trial and error the answer for us is that as long as you are controlling the elements of the track and can manipulate them and add feeling you will be okay. I used to have a strict no computer rule for live shows, but now I see that that was closed minded, watching Nosaj Thing perform was the tipping point for my conservative viewpoint. Sometimes a fog makes you realise how crucial it is to appreciate when it's not there.
Zomby - Digital Fauna
The thing about Zomby is that his production is always exciting. there is a serious edge to what he does and both he and actress have this strange ART feeling that goes with their music. The change in time from 4/4 to 2/4 in this track (which he gave away for free when he had a Twitter) is head-lifting.
Prefab Sprout - Desire As
Produced by Thomas Dolby for their Steve Mc Queen album this track is a fantastic border where technology and song-craft meet. Paddy Mc Aloon delivers the perfect opening line and the song happens away in the background. There was an interview a while back where he was talking about God and mentioned that although Richard Dawkins doesn't believe in God, Bob Dylan does, and Richard Dawkins is never going to win an argument with Bob Dylan. This is such a beautiful truth and listening to the questioning lyrics against the forceful and assured synths we are reminded of it.
The Blue Nile - From Rags to Riches
The second half of this Blue Nile song is really something, it's really quite astounding the choice of synth and drum machine sounds considering when this was recorded. in a way it sounds like three musicians doing completely different things but everything works together to make this tense and longing piece coherent.
Strands - Chow Bell (Vision Air Remix)
We got asked to remix this track by Steve from Strands, we tried to keep the first three quarters of the remix quite regimented and then the end section much freer to give it a lift and maybe make you get some kind of goosebumps. It worked with us anyway.
Demdike Stare - Hashshashin Chant
Demdike Stare would be a band we have only discovered recently but we've both been listening to them a hell of a lot. they are a band that really REALLY click on headphones walking around outside. So go and take a walk.
Thanks a lot for listening to a mix of our favourite tunes at the moment. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
To follow that Vision Air review here's no better a companian piece thanthe new video for Solar Bears' The Quiet Planet. One of the most epically propulsive tracks from their incredible She Was Coloured In album, the video sets about adding to the disorientating swirl of the music with some aerobatics and the appearance of mysterious inter-planetary explorers using footage from Planet of the Apes. It works really well and it looks like the Bears have found a very insightful and sympathetic visualiser of the sound in the form of Synesthesiae Films who have been producing videos for almost the entire album
Reverberating echoes of Solar Bears, Worriedaboutsatan, and Dan Lopatin reflect and rebound off the sleek streamlined metallic lines and curves of the Vision Air ship as it glides through the silky cosmos of an emerging new breed of electronica that is as nebulously psychedelic as it is motorik and kinetic.
This Dublin based outfit just released their new ep, A Vision through Soundcloud which you can download for free now. They have another EP, Autumn, posted in October, but no embed, so transport yourself HERE. Both are spectacularly adept sets of tracks that involve an emotional resonance, almost romantic in the lightly touched call and response melodies and sighing synth tones of Totem from the Autumn ep with the potentially harsh cold-void sounds of cosmic electronics, the sterility of Kompakt flushed with a blossoming energy that dials the temperature up to melt any of the more unforgiving edges.
Like Solar Bears, the strands of cosmic vapour tied into these undulating seams of ambient techno are heated though subtle variations in their paths as they hurtle along, changes in pace create friction, charging the tracks and twisting interesting directions out of their course; the proper beat dropping on God's Hammer!!!! (exclamations theirs), the sudden surge of textural synths in UHOHM. The throbbing masses of tone are tied to beats that push forward through the stillness surrounding them, a forward momentum through the silence buffering the noise. Where there's a slightly closer feel to the Autumn ep, there's an airless ambience to the four tracks on the A Vision ep; it's analogue suspense poised as if they've been holding their breath for almost too long, drifting off into a warm state of unoxygenated relaxation. Ultimately, it's too hard to resist the cosmic metaphors when the music is so deliberately crafted to evoke them; HYPNOM begins with an almost shuffling side-stepped hypnotic disco thrust with rockets launching over it; slowly the blinking safety signal is shut off letting a series of melodic chords flare out, building towards a climax of klaxons screams and overheating circuit board chatter. A hauntingly beautiful track that is the standout from a band that are now well on to my ones-to-watch list for 2011.
