Lo, Sweet Canon!

windsock · 01-22-2019, 10:01 PM

I feel like I should write something pretentious here but honestly I want to just share the cosas interesantes I find day-to-day. Is that not enough?

Mika Vainio, Kouhei Matsunaga, & Sean Booth - 3. Telepathics Meh In-Sect Connection (2010)

For what it's worth, there's some pretty interesting muses at play here. Sean Booth, aka 1/2 of Autechre, Kouhei Matsunaga (best known for his "Dance Classics" series under the pseudonym NHK'Koyxeи) and fairly prolific glitch artist Mika Vainio, who you probably know best for this. Even though it's an all-star lineup, this is a pretty throwaway release even by most EAI standards. Lots of microphone scratching, tinkling chimes and a whooole lotta nothing. I'm not even sure if I'd be more invested if this were more visceral or not, either.

windsock · 01-22-2019, 10:49 PM

Joram Feitsma - Under (2019)

Some truly beautiful piano melodies occasionally swimming in electronic ambiance. Rather George Winston-esque in places. Smells like a home I never knew.

windsock · 01-23-2019, 12:19 PM

The Pablo Collective - Ckyou EP (2019)

Another ambitious standalone release by this group of kids who did The Death of Pablo in 2017, an experimental and drone-infused remix of Kanye West's 2016 album. Their delivery is super suburban and kind of cringey at times, but they definitely have an ear and passion for production and for that I give them props.

https://thepablocollective.bandcamp.com/album/ckyou-ep

windsock · 01-23-2019, 09:24 PM

Toshinori Kondo & IMA - Metal Position (1986)

This may be my favorite album to come from legendary avant-garde trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, including all of his collaborative works. The brilliant combination of the funky horn section with buckets of synth-laden percussion just seems all so effortless. One of the earliest and most successful albums in bringing jazz into a whole new field of vibrant electronic experimentation. Almost like a "nu" wave of jazz, one might say. That one is me.

windsock · 01-23-2019, 11:20 PM

Fog - The Fog (2000)

Fog, better known in the earliest days as skinny 'ol Andrew Broder, is quite an interesting project. The formula, as follows: melancholic, abstract indie rock wrapped in a malaise of glitchiness and turntablism. Highly personal, yet highly alien. A warped little release, this.

windsock · 01-24-2019, 11:44 AM

Sad Rockets - Transition (2000)

The short lived nu jazz project Sad Rockets was an alias for Uzbek producer Andrew Pekler, which rocked for only a short 3 years until Pekler switched to a more metropolitan ambient/plunderphonics style under his real name. Sad Rockets is stooped heavily in jazz convention, making the electronic flourishes and configurations stand out like red on white. I've found the best nu jazz albums to be ones that are grounded but are also judiciously ambitious in the electronic space, and this can be counted among that lot.

windsock · 01-24-2019, 12:38 PM

Steve Plews Ensemble - Anywhere (1997)

Pretty alright boomer fusion here. Slick, nocturnal jazz mixed with vibrant guitar improv. Very 90's contemporary-sounding. Nothing too special but I got no beef with some old dudes jamming.

windsock · 01-27-2019, 08:31 PM

Wreck - Soul Train (1990)

Punchy, noisy hardcore from Milwaukee with a bit of a math tint. Real diamond in the rough.

windsock · 01-28-2019, 03:57 PM

Moloko - I Am Not a Doctor (1998)

Moloko (producer Mark Brydon and Róisín Murphy, both from Sheffield) come from the "broken beat" genre, which is essentially the bastard child of trip hop, drum and bass and techno and often creates an almost IDM-esque atmosphere in terms of quirkiness and musical unorthodoxy. I Am Not a Doctor, the band's second out of four studio albums, is steeped in both energetic funky house music, as well as more lethargic, groove-based trip-hop a la Massive Attack. This creates an interesting and fairly distinct set of sounds which is both artfully unconventional but also sounds like it was a hell of a lotta fun to make.

windsock · 01-28-2019, 08:33 PM

OMFO - We Are the Shepards (2006)

A Ukranian tries to ape the rigid cheesiness of Soviet-era pop music through a more modern smattering of influences, from disco to space age pop. It's all framed through a surprisingly minimalist lens as well- it's not some overblown Boney M-type ****, it's pretty laidback and surprisingly easy listening and entertaining as ****.