Cyclic Defrost Magazine

Sebastian Tellier – Kilometer (Record Makers)

Posted: 08 May 2009 04:00 PM PDT

French producer Sebastian Tellier’s recent third album ‘Sexuality’ was notable in that it was the first record where Tellier had decided to work with an outside producer, in this case Daft Punk’s Guy-Man de Homem-Christo, someone who certainly shares his love for all things retro-disco. This third single to be lifted from the album ‘Kilometer’ sees all the Tellier trademarks from preceding albums like ‘Politics’ firmly intact, offering up a retrofied slice of electro-cabaret pop that’s all bright analogue synths, clicking drum machines and phased eighties-styled vocals, complete with knowingly cheesy chorus hook packed in ("She’s touching my body"). Like Jimi Tenor, it’s a little hard to tell just how sincere or facetious Tellier’s trying to be here, but either way, it’s certainly well-arranged stuff that soon works its way into your subconscious against your greater will.

As for the remixes, scratch prodigy turned Kanye West associate A-Trak shifts things towards disco-house complete with orchestral flourishes, dropping in some crisp Chicago house snares whilst delaying out the original vocal, before Aeroplane opt for a shimmering Italo-house trajectory on their remix, applying judicious levels of vocoder as they send the synth stabs rippling out against distorted funk riffs. Both certainly offer fairly solid dancefloor fuel, but in this case I have to confess that my favourite remix here comes from Arpanet, who strip things right back, sending sparse, jittering rhythms and porn moans echoing out over the sort of dark, icy synth atmospheres you might hear on a Dario Argento soundtrack. Indeed, it’s worth the price of entry here alone.

Chris Downton

Various Artists - Fabric 45: Omar S - Detroit (Fabric/Inertia)

Posted: 08 May 2009 03:27 AM PDT

Omar S makes electronic music. And he’s from Detroit, ok? So, inevitably, he’s worried about staying underground, he’s got an attitude, he’s suspicious of the music press, and he releases much of his music on his own small label (FXHE) that has a kind of cult status.

On this mix CD for Fabric, Omar-S mixes together a bunch of his own previously released tracks for FXHE, alongside four new tracks that appear for the first time on this CD. The music here is straight up machine music, wearing its debt to Detroit techno pioneers on its sleeve. He’s also spoken of the influence of video games on his music, and there are some nice sounds here in tracks like ‘Strider’s World’ that’ll have you flashing back to your younger days in the arcade. The mix peaks about two thirds of the way through with ‘Psychotic Photosynthesis’, the track which really helped expose Omar-S to a wider audience. With the deft layering of a few simple sounds and parts, this track takes its time to build up to a wonderful climax that really gets inside your consciousness at volume. The CD also contains a couple of his collaborations with Shadow Ray as Oasis, also originally released on FXHE.

So, there are some enjoyable tunes here for sure, and it’s great to have a bunch of them now available in one place programmed and mixed by the artist. I just wish I hadn’t read the publicity material that was sent out with the disk before I reviewed it. While lauding Omar-S for having “no attachment to hype”, the press release simultaneously claims that his music is “shaking up the [Detroit] formula in unimaginable ways”. Not for me - the best tracks here are great examples of the genre, but I’m not really sure they’re pushing in bold new directions. And apparently, one of the reasons for him not including any tracks by other artists on this mix is because “over the last year I haven’t really been feeling anybody’s music, there’s been no music that I feel. I’d rather do a mix for fabric that’s all my own shit…”. Shame about the attitude, really - is this what it means to be “an artist, a DJ, an outsider, and a radical in an otherwise indifferent music world”?

Kurt Iveson

Yppah - They Know What Ghost Know (Ninja Tune/Inertia)

Posted: 07 May 2009 06:47 PM PDT

It’s a little disconcerting when your editor hands you a disc and says, “You’ve got to review this - it’s mind blowingly great!”. What if I don’t agree? What if our tastes are different (which I know they are, inspite of the crossover) and I’m just indifferent about it? That would probably be even worse than hating it! Fortunately for all involved, I’m going to have to agree with Seb on this one.

I’m actually going to file this one under ‘bigbeat’, which might seem a little strange at first, but bear with me. There’s a great deal on They Know What Ghost Know that sounds like what bigbeat might have ended up as had it not descended into lowest common denominator yob cliches. If some of the subtler avenues explored by the Chemical Brothers around the Surrender era were explored more fully, I would imagine they’d sound a lot like opener ‘Son Saves The Rest’, and a track like ‘The Tingling’ certainly wouldn’t feel out of place on a Midfield General or Lionrock album. But if the album was merely 90s retro-ism, it would just be an anachronistic novelty. As it is, multiple other styles and techniques are employed, in a bower-bird method that does justice to Joe Corrales’ background as a turntablist and mash-up artist. Psychedelia via shoegazing guitars are a feature throughout and Pink Floyd style keyboard solos are to be heard on ‘The Moon Scene’ and the title track. And ‘Sun Flower Sun Kissed’, possibly my favourite of the tracks, has a middle section built out of the guitar section from Floyd’s ‘Intestellar Overdrive’ just as it dissolves into improvised noise, all housed in an overall rockout reminiscent of Fridge’s early guitar moments. A Suicide sounding drum machine pulse drives ‘A Parking Lot Carnival’ for two minutes until it breaks into the kind of joyful racket that makes me spin around dancing with my arms out wide. I’m assuming that large parts of the instrumentation, particularly drums and guitar, are overdubbed live, or are at least samples of long sections of live playing. The organic and electronic are beautifully integrated throughout, none ever attempting to disguise the existence of the other, but both working together totally complementarily. There’s a metronomic heart, heightened by the pulsing (and often nicely distorted) bass sequencing, but this works to free up the space for the kaleidoscope of sound rather than straightjacket things.

They Know What Ghost Know does all the things a reviewer like myself loves - reminds me of many and, importantly, diverse things that I love in music from the past, while staking new territory to push those elements forward in a way that is inquisitive and opens up further possibilities for others to follow. Like Melbourne’s Mountains In The Sky, Yppah blends various shades of psychedelia with robust electronics, unashamed post-modern recontextualisation and well structured, flowing instrumental music. Definitely a great album.

Adrian Elmer

Symbiosis Orchestra - Live Journeys (Baskaru)

Posted: 07 May 2009 06:46 PM PDT

The Sprawl nights in London, run by Douglas ’si-cut.db’ Benford and Iris ‘Bit Tonic’ Garrelfs, have provided a valuable hub for underground electroacoustic activity in the city for over 12 years, something that could all too easily be swallowed up. Held in pleasant informal venues, usually pubs, with cheap entry and drinks, previous high-profile events have involved Taylor Deupree, Richard Chartier and Thai food on a boat in the Thames, with lesser gigs featuring yours truly playing classical records for Christmas with Room 40’s For Barry Ray. This recording by floating ensemble Symbiosis Orchestra features only Garrelfs, Scanner’s Robin Rimbaud and vibraphone player Stefano Tedesco from the London stable (that I’m aware of), but their approach and sound very much embodies the Sprawl aesthetic.

Founded by Italian sound artist Andrea Gabriele, Symbiosis Orchestra’s performances rely strongly on Claudio Sinatti’s stage design and visuals, obviously absent on this CD. ‘Live Journeys’ nonetheless offers an engaging document of the audio component of these shows: subtly shifting, lower-case explorations of the ensemble’s sonic capabilities. These include computer (Gabriele, Garrelfs, Scanner, Mario Masullo), woodwinds (Geoff Warren), synths, bass and guitar (Gabriele), voice (Garrelfs), vibraphone and feedback (Tedesco), with guests Diego Conti, Roberto di Egidio and Michele Scurti on violin, trumpet and piano respectively contributing to two tracks.

Most of these pieces move slowly through the group’s range, picking up stray tones and timbres, like Mimeo, as they progress, held together by loose but coherent, and frequently menacing, threads. Many of them have the prettiness and approachability of (quasi-)ambient: ‘Live at Peam2005, Ecoteca, Pescara’ stretches thin digital streams around Garrelf’s processed moans and Tedesco’s sparse percussion akin to Radian’s quieter moments. Conversly, ‘Live at Fabricaeuropa, Florence 1′ sets up an immediate tribal rhythm, with cracked, warbly pads all reminiscent of Muslimgauze. ‘Live Lullabie’ strays into Philip Jeck territory, with warm, hazy static enveloping di Egidio’s pithy trumpet lines. Only Garrelf’s voice grates, and only ocassionally, as on ‘Live at Post Post Studio 2′, but otherwise ‘Live Journeys’ is compelling, an album with flow and logic rare in such live collections.

Joshua Meggitt