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Raz Ohara – "Whitmey Na (Original Mix)"

Posted by Tony on 07/04/2011

Mister Patrick Rasmussen (not to be confused with Patrik Rasmussen) makes a great deal of music I can’t listen to.  Not that it’s bad, actually he has some amazing pieces, but the best of which are so heartfelt and distressing that I can’t suffer the emotional agony of sitting through them any more than once.  Close mic’d, unprocessed, and upfront vocals are what Raz Ohara (Patrick’s more commonly used moniker) is all about and, unknown to most, it is he who is featured on most of the most beautiful Luomo releases – The Present Lover, Could Be Like This, What Good…

The title of this track (it actually comes as part of a three track EP, but the other tracks are fucking bogus ‘remixes’, which manage to remove ever bit of soul from the recording, while boring me to death with nuskool Berlin techno drums. This sentence is clearly too big for parenthesis, but I’m rolling with it now.) is a weird and original contraction of “With Me Now” – maybe it sounds cooler in Dutch.  At least, it won’t sound any worse.

“Whitmey Na” is a slow (about 128BPM), empty, and rigidly in the key of Am.  Soft 808ish drums skitter around, sometimes sprouting delayed and very dry sounding tails whilst grooving to a single noise fashioned hit hat. This has to be one of the quietest recordings I own, every aspect and element of it lacks the confidence to step forward into the mix.  But the track isn’t what drives this thing, it’s simply functions as a metronome for Raz Ohara’s lyricism.

wish you could be with me now,
like the morning we fell in love .
I imagine you with another man,
repeating the same games,
all over and over again.

On paper, the first verse doesn’t look like much but it’s executed with such delicacy and honesty that it becomes quite grasping.  Raz, whispering into the mic, voice cracking, becomes utterly inescapable.  Gone are the charming but awkward Dutch pronunciation and unusual paraphrasing that made his earlier releases seem clumsy, and what we are left with is a man expressing himself in the most precise and candid manner I have ever heard on a contemporary record.  As fragile and fleeting as ever, I’d have to say that this is one of his best performances.  Raz can write lyrics with ease, but has always been haunted with a terrible electronic backing, removing the focus from himself and onto so shitty 4/4, VST preset driven garbage.

The musical accompaniment to this track isn’t quite that bad, but it just fails to encapsulate or enhance the vocal recording in any way whatsoever.  It sound more like an early studio demo, a quick attempt at writing music so the vocal work can be recorded.  Despite this, Raz’s performance is more than strong enough to keep the whole thing worthwhile.

It’s a terrible shame that no one major really paid attention to what  Raz Ohara – I could have seen him becoming a talented, non-arse version of Jay Kay from Jamiroquai.  Instead he partnered with some talentless German robot-like musicians form Berlin and formed the forgettable “The Odd Orchestra”.  Raz Ohara has had a single release since early 2010, and I’m really hoping he’s not given up totally.  If you’re reading this Patrick, I want another acoustic album, or more dealing with Sasu – I want a Sasu Ripatti / Raz Ohara album.

Hi Claire.



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Vladislav Delay "Latoma EP"

Posted by Tony on 06/30/2011

After a hat-trick of disappointing projects (two Mortiz Von Oswald albums, one Vladislav Delay Quartet) Vladislav Delay has quietly released a new EP entitled ‘Latoma’ (no, I have no idea what it means either). Consisting of two new tracks and one remix, we’re treated to almost twenty-five minutes of dub techno.  But after so many self-indulgent, wank filled ambient releases that have had Delay’s name attached to them, has he lost his way somewhat?

Nope.

Vladislav Delay "Latoma EP"

Vladislav Delay “Latoma EP”

The first two tracks featured on this EP are absolutely superb, and the best listen I’ve had in some time. The title track features a Steve Reich-inspired sustained chord attack pinned down with Delay’s now trademark monotone bass line and sporadic flutters of acoustic percussion that slowly swell to engulf the entire piece.  It’s minimal dub in a sense, but so much more than that.

Think of ‘Multila’ style writing, but with ‘Demo(n) Tracks’ tireless studio effort.  Everything being created and destroyed all at once, with the most deft execution imaginable.  It’s a sound scape with a groove, a track that doesn’t subtly suggest artistic integrity, but proves it in every bar with Vladislav’s new confident swagger.

I think a fair measure of an artist is how unique their music is, and upon the first listen to ‘Latoma’, you become acutely aware that no one else in the world could have cut a track like this.

The second track, ‘Korpi’ sways back and forth with a shuffle and groove, welded to the most beautiful tape driven double bass sample.  The groove remains in place throughout the entire piece, accentuated by a few layers of percussion and a resonant/distorted synth key stab.  This track doesn’t so much welcome you as it does suffocate.  There’s no space to breath or move within its depths, and it seizes you with a tight focus which won’t relent until the full six minutes are up.  Honestly, I’ve never heard anything quite like it.

The Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer remix of Latoma is actually pretty good (despite how much I loath this remix thing everyone does), but I can’t help but feel it could have done better had it lost the Latoma samples, and stood alone as a bonus track.  It has the typical Ricardo Villalobos overly-processed drum sound, but some interesting rhythms to prevent it becoming monotonous. It’s extremely sparse, at some points consisting entirely of a few simple rhythms, but at its peak (about five minutes in, if you ask me) comes together quite nicely.  Despite it’s inaccessibility, sounds to me like a track that was designed for club djs – and that is so old hat.

I say this because there’s about 32 bars of nothing but simple rhythms forming the intro and outro, that add nothing to the experience but to lengthen it considerably.  It does, however sit juxtaposed to the other two tracks, and if nothing else is an interesting little bonus to have.

As a single entity, this EP is essential to anyone interested in experimental music. In one fell swoop it pushes the genre a little further whilst harking back to the early 2000s, when a new release  really held something new and unexplored (if you were around at the beginning of  the ‘Chain Reaction’ movement, you will love this).  It’s one of the very few releases I have heard in the past decade that actually excites me when I listen to it. I get the impression that Mr. Delay was merely warming up his studio with earlier releases, until he felt comfortable enough to create something truly remarkable. Hopefully the new Luomo disc will follow suit.



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DeepChord "HR-01"

Posted by Tony on 06/16/2011

Rod Modell is just one of the many Detroiters developing (read: ripping off) the late 90’s sound of Basic Channel.  I guess since the Basic Channel guys felt the need to stay in stagnation with their sound, someone had to develop it further.

The double-sided “HR-01” on Hierophant Records (get it, HR-01?!), is one of the most sonically interesting releases by Rod Modell / DeepChord.  Gone are the basic, unprocessed drums from earlier releases like “DC01-06”, replaced with heavily subdued, swirling rhythms. Even his Cm PWM synth stabs have been pushed into the background and mangled with liberal use of a slow fizzing phaser.

“HR-01″ isn’t so much music as it is a sonic wall of bubbling, pulsing hardware chewiness that, even although is based almost entirely on the early BC sound, still has that indefinable DeepChord sonic signature.  It doesn’t bridge, it doesn’t break, there are no crescendos or solos – it is just content to mearly exist, and lose the listener in its mirky complex sound for 7 minutes.

The cute 10” white disc only has two tracks, neither of which have been given a title, art work or printed sleeves.  Adding to the perceived laziness of this release, the B-Side can best be described best as a slowed down version of the A-Side.  Now, I’m not one to criticize an artist, but a real b-side would have been nice.  Dubby, Detroit techno is a very rigid genre, which can be reduced down to “how much delay feedback can I place on my Cm chords”, so maybe the B-Side is a tongue in cheek snipe at this… Or at least, I’d like to believe it was.

HR-01 is a good record to have in you collection, as it exists right on the peak of Modell’s production hight before he drifted off into boring remixes and utterly uninspired EPs and albums.  Now Rod Modell seem to have become a man trapped within his own sound – unable to express anything new or fresh.  I’d love to hear something produced by Rod that forced him to leave this sound behind, but until that happens “HR-01” is probably his best work.  Then again, there’s always the expensive and elusive “DeepChord vs. Octal Industries – Arrival / Departure“, but we’ll talk about that once I’ve managed to source a copy (a physical copy that is, not these 192Kbps Scene MP3s that seem to be floating around).



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Evidence

Posted by Tony on 06/01/2011

Just to prove I’m true to my word, and to show off how beautifully made the Mummy Short Arms release is, I’ve taken a wee picture.

Nice work boys, b-side isn’t bad either



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The Hong Kong Micros "EP2"

Posted by Tony on 05/30/2011

I sometimes wonder if anyone will ever find this blog if I continue to write about records that seeming only I own.  Surely there must be a least a million google hits on The Hong Kong Micros “EP2” – sadly, all of which are referring to cheaply manufactured electronics.  Still, I guess the point of this (if there is one) is to share weird and wonderful records with people – to stop them being lost in the Ether.  Or maybe that makes me sound too much like a pretentious ass…  But I digress.

Who are the Hong Kong Micros?  I don’t know now and I didn’t know then.  The Hong Kong Micros “EP2” isn’t the most inspired name to give your second extended player, but there was something about this shoddily pressed EP that made me pick it up in Kushi Recordings, Glasgow in the summer of 2000. Plus, it came with a free sticker – never underestimate the power of free stickers when marketing to the youth.

The Hong Kong Micros "EP2"

The Hong Kong Micros “EP2”

The EP is composed of four very varied, but equally interesting track, most of which stretch past the six-minute mark, and all of them feature an unmistakable MPC groove.

The Hong Kong Micros - [EP2 CD01 #01] Worktonite
The Hong Kong Micros - [EP2 CD01 #02] Pray
The Hong Kong Micros - [EP2 CD01 #03] Tonite
The Hong Kong Micros - [EP2 CD01 #04] Closing

The a-side has two fairly standard club cuts of dry drum house, both of which have that ‘early 2000’ house vibe. You know, back in the day when we were happy with some grooving drum patterns, a few filters and a handful of samples.  ‘Worktonite’ is a master class of oldskool bridging newskool house.  Chugging, but never pumping, drums scuttle along accompanied by a one note bass line that drives the track towards it’s 50’s style horn hook, introduced with some classic filtered white noise.  I love it, and in the six minutes and twenty-eight seconds of its play it doesn’t put a foot wrong.
Track two is like a UK vision of early Dj Sneak.  Filtered disco/soul looping beneath a house beat.  Sadly this time, the inclusion of an African sounding drum on the off beat, and a jarring key change in the break kinda ruins the vibe for me.

What could have been an interesting track ends up sounding a little uninspired and more an eclectic compilation of samples and not music.  And to be honest, the excessive use of a splash symbol indicates to me that someone was having trouble putting this together.  That’s not to say it isn’t a decent track – it stomps with confidence and has all the right flow once it gets going, it’s just audibly the weakest track on the EP.

The b-side starts off with a bit of a surprise.  I’m not sure how to describe it, which leaves me with a bit of a problem here.  Let me just say that it’s ultra repetitive, very glittery, and with the crunchiest drums ever.  You remember Scanty Sandwich before he want all serious techno?  Well, this is a good version of that.

The second track on the b-side, and the finale of EP2 is the incredible “Closing”.  Eight minutes and ten seconds of uninterrupted brilliance. Really, this is a shockingly good track.  It has the same MPC feel as the rest of the EP, but has this time released from the 4/4 that dominated the other tracks.  Instead we have a broken beat (or close enough to it), that sound utterly deliberate, confident and gorgeous.  An electric piano provides some subtle chords in the background, and floats gently above the deep sustained bass.

There’s a short guitar sample, used to perfection as a stab over the second beat and fourth beats of every bar and the soulful sound of Bob Seger, chopped and edited with care.  This is one of the few electronic releases that manages to project emotion in front of attitude – heartache pours from the speakers.  The track breaks down to show that haunting vocal hook in its entirety.

Strange how the night moves,
with autumn closing...
Strange how the night moves,
with autumn closing...
Funny how the night moves,
just don't seem to have as much to lose
with autumn closing...

From this point on the track flourishes into unashamed beauty – Bob’s vocals being continually and subtly layered and joined to produce the most engaging record I think I own.  On fade out, the horrible, thin, dirty, 11-year-old vinyl becomes too noisy and the voice is lost in a wash of white noise and crackles.

It amazes me that something this wonderful has flown under the radar for so long.  Then again, the use of Bob Seger’s vocal is both a blessing and a licensing nightmare  – never would a little independent record label be able to afford the massive cost of licensing such a sample.  It’s for that fact I say, God bless white labels.

The Hong Kong Micros “Worktonite”

The Hong Kong Micros “Pray”

The Hong Kong Micros “Tonite”

The Hong Kong Micros “Closing”



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Frank Ocean "Acura Integurl"

Posted by Tony on 05/25/2011

What the hell is this!?  How could something this cool almost pass under my radar!?  I’m told, via ghetto fashionista blog, HypeBeast that Frank Ocean is an up coming MC, riding high on the success of his début mixtape “nostalgia, ULTRA”.  If the quality of this track is anything to go by, “nostalgia, ULTRA” must be one hell of a tape.

I initially downloaded the track “Acura Integurl” because of it’s impossibly stupid and childish name. Sitting down for my first listen, I braced myself for some Kanye West vs. Little Wayne, pop bullshit that the HypeBeast crowd usually roll with.  Instead, I’m surprised to initially hear an innocent and romanticized, cascading acoustic piano loop.  No drums, no synths, just that piano sample looping, pinning down Frank Ocean’s shimmering autotuned vocals – creating something I’ve never really heard before.  Is it lounge hiphop?  Is it smooth R&B?

she's singing,
"bitch i'm paid, that's all i gotta say."
I'm like who knew, who knew, who knew,
that after all the years
i'd make a weezy fan out of you too, you too, you too.
when i met you,
you were thom yorke, chris martin & u2, u2, u2.
when you met me i was three6, pimp c, bun b, 8ball & mjg.
hey but we're both a long way from home
we got the windows down, the radio's on… always
i wrote a letter to the sky,
saying maybe one day you'll get to kiss me, kiss me, kiss me.
my girl found it in the car & said
"baby why you trying to diss me, diss me, diss me."
cuz you know you're my baby, you know you're my baby
i'm not just in it for the ride, in it for the ride.

The music is fairly basic, just a six second piano sample, poorly looped (you can almost hear a ‘click’ of misaligned samples at the beginning of ever bar) until the fade out. But there lies the genius!  The basic and fairly uninteresting backing track completely gives way to Ocean’s vocals, letting the listener give them their full attention.

What makes this record is the fact that Frank Ocean manages to pull of the most convincing and emotional performance I’ve heard this year.  The dynamics of his voice can be appreciated, even beneath the layers of reverb, delay, EQ and compression.

In one minute and fifty-seven seconds, and with only 147 words, Frank grabbed my attention, without ever demanding it.  There is an honestly in the delivery of the vocals that I just can’t get enough of.  In fact there’s so much emotion in the performance that it completely obscures everything else – I’m not even entirely sure what the song is about, and I can only make out about 70% of the words.  However, I’m pretty happy to interpret my meaning, and that’s just how I like it.

Now, with crossed fingers, I’m off to see if I can pick up a legit copy of  “nostalgia, ULTRA”



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Mummy Short Arms "Cigarette Smuggling"

Posted by Tony on 05/25/2011

Laying in bed watching an overweight, Scottish writer spout pretentious bullshit about video games I’ve never played, isn’t always a productive pass time. However, as I lay there vegetating my days pains away, I heard something quite unexpectedly beautiful. A haunting, muddled piece of craziness slowly pulling it’s self together in the background of  the outro, capturing the mood perfectly.  This was my first introduction to Mummy Short Arms.  That event took place more than four years ago, and the band is only now getting their collective asses in gear to release that very single. I like their style.

Now, I’m not very adept at describing traditional music styles – of which I guess Mummy Short Arms is indy / rock.  What sounds to be a traditional five piece rock band, making use of some synths and the sporadic use of an old drum machine, have turned out a very, very interesting piece of work.

The vocalist sounds like a bluesy mumbling cross between Cpt. Beefheart and the Cookie Monster.  That may not sounds like the most complimentary line, but let me assure you, it’s the voice.  And if that title, “Cigarette Smuggling” doesn’t piqué your interest, nothing will.  You see,  “Cigarette Smuggling” isn’t just a cleverly ironic title intended to excite pretentious idiots like myself – it’s entirely literal…

I think.

You see my friend with the long hair?
He play the bongo drum
He's in a Spanish Prison,
Just twiddle his thumbs

What Mummy Short Arms have given us is a lovely example of deconstructed rock, entwined with a ridiculous subject matter and played with an entirely straight face.  The track never breaks it’s cool façade, and even in full swing has a confident swagger and a ‘demo’ vibe which makes everything feel pure and raw.  Everything is done with an air of cool, the likes of which I’ve not heard in a very long time.  From the cluttered and casual intro that slowly fades into guitar licks that are more suited to a smoky 1910 Saloon bar, you know you’re in for something special.  In the preceding 3 minutes and 52 seconds, Mummy Short Arms don’t let you down once.  I’d love to call this track ‘fresh’ and ‘new’, but it’s bloody 4 years old now – and I still love it.  Just goes to show, cool doesn’t grow old.

Anyway, it’s finally available for sale on Flowers In The Dustbin, on 30th of May.  The single will be backed with “Searching For A Body”, which I’ve yet to hear, but I’m desperate to see what else they have up their sleeve!  I’ll be buying it immediately.



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Mochico "Mochico 3.5 (Remixes)"

Posted by Tony on 05/24/2011

Who is Mochico?  What is Mochico 3.5?  Don’t know?  Well neither did I, when buying his double-sided 12″ in Carbon Records, Glasgow in late 2001.  But ignorance has never stopped me making a purchase before or since.  So what made this fool part with his hard-earned scrilla on this particular occasion?  The A-Side.
This release has a mighty two tracks, they are;

  1. Mochico 3.5 (David Alvarado Remix)
  2. Mochico 3.5 (DJ Evil P Remix)

Bluntly speaking, the A-Side “Mochico 3.5 (David Alvarado Remix)” is one of the best examples of deep house I have ever heard in my life.  Slow and pumping, but never ‘in your face’.  Driven by some of the thickest and driest drums I have ever heard, and combined with a small edited vocal hook that provides the ebb and flow that keeps the entire eight minute production moving along.

Everything is placed on top of a heavily filtered loop of another track that I can’t quite identify, slowly evolving, fading in and out of view all the time.  I don’t know if  ‘subtle’ is the right word, but it’s close enough for me.  Every single rhythm is executed with the grooviest and snappiest flow I’ve ever heard on an electronic record – I defy anyone to not dance when that first shaker comes in.  The rubber sounding percussion elements forced to the back of the mix give everything such a lovely texture that it’s almost palatable, accenting that dry kick expertly… Everything is just about perfect.  This is what every deep house record should aim to be.

Mochico 3.5

Mochico 3.5

In the ten years I’ve had spare after purchasing this record, I’ve had to opportunity to listen to a few more Mochico and David Alvarado tracks.  They’re all shit, I wouldn’t recommend you do likewise.  Evidently, and sadly, this record seems to have been a one-off fluke.  A small piece of ultra cool perfection that slipped out of a marriage between two somewhat ordinary house producers.  What really saddens me is that no one else has recognised its perfection – in fact I’ve never even spoken to anyone else who’s heard the record.  But maybe that makes mine a little more special then.

Oh, and what about the B-Side?  I don’t know, some standard techno remix affair.  Technically not terrible, but the sheer misfortune of being placed on the opposite side from the David Alvarado Remix has rendered it utterly useless.

Mochico 3.5 (David Alvarado Remix)

Mochico 3.5 (DJ Evil P Remix)


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Pusha T "Fear Of God" Mixtape

Posted by Tony on 05/24/2011

Ah Clipse, two brothers from VA with a pin point focus on the white stuff.  I used to doubt Clipse’s powder pushing credentials but love their slick rap stylings (helped, in most part, by The Neptunes budget sounding backing tracks).  However, after their manager was arrested, and charged with running a $10 million dollar drug ring, a little more weight was added to their case.
So, this is the much-anticipated Pusha T solo mixtape, released for free on Pusha-T.com.  Thirteen tracks, and every one of them coke riddled and self-reflective.  Just what I expected, huh?

Well, no actually.  I seem to recall Pusha telling us that this was him trying to lose his ‘Coke Rap’ label – something that Clipse have told us for some time that they’re trying to rise above.  Opening you first mixtape with an out take from Scarface probably isn’t the best move then. Not to mention, horribly cliché for a mixtape released in 2011.  I mean, my god, Geto Boys were doing that almost twenty years ago!

These may sound like negative views, but you forget one thing;  I fucking love coke rap.  And I fucking love Pusha T.  This mixtape just happens to showcase some of the best written lines I’ve heard in a long time, even if some of the production is straight from the “G.O.O.D Music” pop trash bin.

I can’t be bothered with paying homage to forefathers
See the future like the car show floor models
Both feet in the snow so that my core follows
We don't mourn for the dead nigga, we pour bottles
Drown sorrows, ocean blue Murcielagos

See that? Every track oozes attitude.  And coke, don’t forget the coke… but mainly attitude.  Tight, modern beats, and that all important Clipse organ… Pusha sits up front in every mix, twisting and turning stories of coke and it’s exploits beautifully.  Passion in every line, and every verse fully analysed with attention to detail that only Pusha seems to supply today.

This is one of the few mixtapes I’ve heard where every track has brilliant lines.  Upon listening, you really et the impression that Pusha really exerted a great amount of effort writing some of these – every line being direct, simple and poignant.

Of the Thirteen tracks only really two of them fall flat – “Raid (Feat. 50 Cent and Pharrell Williams)” and “Blow/Funk Flex Freestyle”.  The latter of which is based on a surprisingly excellent freestyle session he did with Kanye West on some radio show I’d never heard of.  “Raid” however, has no such excuse… Even then, the biggest problem with “Raid” isn’t even Pusha, who delivers a cocky and fun verse of a lounge styled Pharrell beat.  No, the problem is it features 50 Cent.  50 mumbles over an uninspired verse, stealing a little piece of energy from the track with every word he utters.

Rarely have I heard such a poorly delivered verse, especially noticeable since it totally kills the flow of the entire track.  But modern rap seems to be all about getting big names to guest on your track, regardless of content quality.  Well Pusha can now claim to be on a record with 50, but it really should be appreciated the opposite way – 50 should be bragging about appearing on such a nice production for once.

I’d strongly recommend buying this Mixtape if it were for sale – but the fact that it’s free make it a gift.  Download it now, blast it in the car and wait with bated breath for Pusha’s album later this year.



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New Luomo Album Anounced – "Plus"

Posted by Tony on 05/24/2011

So, it’s been a couple of years since the flat “Convivial” was released, and now Mr Delay will soon be offering up a new Luomo disc.  I’m excited in a sense, but it’s not without a slight feeling of unease.

You see, like it or not, when I get a new Luomo album my ears expect three things.  Those are; Luomo, Raz Ohara, and Johanna Iivanainen.  Why?  I don’t know, it’s just to me these three people form what I think to be the Luomo project (not Sasu and a bunch of uninspired ‘famous’ vocalists).  It looks again like I may be disappointed, as the albums literature seems to boast “Vocals: Chicago Boys”.  Hmm… anonymous vocalists on a house record – how original!

Then again, after listening to some of the previews on LuomoMusic.org I find myself liking the groove, even if it’s not the subtly elegant groove that Luomo once spoiled us with.  It sounds to me a bit like Sistol gone house.  It’s very, very electro, whilst maintaining a 4/4 techno chassis, and even under its layers of percussion, still sounds utterly synthetic and most importantly, unique.

The other two tracks available for listening are “Good Stuff” and “Spy”.  To my ears, they both sound a little awkward.  They both sound like someone having self-indulgent fun with synthesizers, and not well written music (Yes, Sasu, I know you invested in a Cwejman S1, I can hear it on every bloody track now…).  This results in them feeling a little played and tired, even before their time.

I’m sure the album will have a lot more to offer, and I’m always anxious to hear new Luomo, but I just can’t help shake the feeling that there will never be another “VocalCity” (or even another “The Present Lover” for that matter).  Then again, I’d be first to complain if he was covering old ground.  Poor bugger can’t win…



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