Cyclic Defrost Magazine

Gravious – Futurist EP (Highpoint Lowlife)

Posted: 23 May 2009 02:57 PM PDT

Gravious

Glasgow-based producer Gravious (real name Ali Jackson) has amassed a reputation as a name to watch in dubstep circles, particularly through the release of preceding 12"s such as his devastating ‘Wormsign.’ Inspired by the conceptual theme of modernity in science fiction and architecture, this latest 12" on the ever-eclectic Highpoint Lowlife label sees Gravious unleashing three new tracks that occupy distinctly divergent moods. Opening track ‘Jupiter Jazz’ certainly lives up to its title, sending skittering jazzy breakstep snares darting beneath a smooth, nu-jazz-kissed backdrop of bleepy synths, warm sub-bass ripples and soulful keys, the entire atmosphere evoking a similar vibe to one of LTJ Bukem’s classic Good Looking moments. By contrast, the stripped-back, dark and moody ‘Vultures’ couldn’t be more divergent, playing eerily delayed-out female tribal vocals against a writhing backdrop of oppressive, queasy bass drones and sparse, flickering rhythms to stunning effect – indeed, I must confess that it was easily my favourite moment here. Finally ‘World Of Tomorrow’ closes proceedings off with a return to the more smooth and soulful atmospheres explored earlier, taking things off on a gliding oceanic ride that trails sweeping Detroit-tinged synth pads and bleeping electronics against a crisp backbone of breakstep rhythms and subtle bass pressure. An excellent EP from Gravious that proves once again, as with the likes of Boxcutter, some of the most interesting sounds in dubstep are happening outside the capital.

Psuche - Psuche (Two Bright Lakes)

Posted: 23 May 2009 12:03 AM PDT

Psuche - Psuche

The various musical projects of the still-teenaged Oscar Slorach-Thorn have been floating frequently and rather visibly around Melbourne since 2005, when his previous band, The Indifferent, peddled Slorach-Thorn's wildly expressive, Jeff Buckley-esque voice all through town, at one point landing a show with The Drones. The subsequent demise of the group and current disdain expressed by its members to its music suggests the kind of artistic revisionism that typically cycles incessantly between the mid-teens and mid-twenties. However, when contextualised by the compilation of tiny moments of musical genius that litter this, the first album of Slorach-Thorn's band of 3 years, Psuche, the material produced by The Indifferent could quite easily be dismissed as juvenilia, musical playthings, a corridor.

Even from the first versions I heard of ‘I Sea A Wolf’ and ‘Child In Rambling’ two years ago – Slorach-Thorn, as Oscar's Psuche, playing with guitar and keys through a loop pedal, recorded onto tape, these songs have possessed the ability to arrest and engage, even from a small number of materials. The original, live, 9 minute demo of ‘I Sea A Wolf’ was a work to behold, proportionate enough to render its length irrelevant, a perfect example of how to harness the loop pedal as a tool for constructing songs. The rather magical combination of Slorach-Thorn's understated and detailed understanding of the textural interlocking of instrumental layers in music, as well as the ever-important distinctions of his voice has been a constant through the life of Psuche.

In their current versions, fleshed out by a five-piece band (adding drums, bits and pieces, sax and clarinet), these songs have taken on a new character, with a textural depth that is difficult to crystallise. The production on this album, recorded in Two Bright Lakes founder Nick Huggins' lair, is perfect for the way these songs have been written – every element is alive and in character, and, importantly, is perpetually moving. At no point in this album does any moment in its arrangement feel like it overstays its welcome; there is an almost obsessive attention to detail, constant reconstructions, rearrangements of material, a . While the early demo versions of these tunes held their own appeal, it is refreshing to hear the looped guitar originally typical of ‘I Sea A Wolf’ being usurped initially by toy piano, horn figures, typewriter and eventually the ecstatic, climactic addition of the full Psuche ensemble tracked four times over, singing, repeatedly, the central line in the piece.

Psuche occupies the ideal space in the colossal Venn diagram between the experimental or esoteric, the popular and accessible, drawing on the most favourable aspects of each. More importantly though, every textural construction, every song arc simply makes musical sense, and the huge range of colours that these arrangements bring to Slorach-Thorn's songs only enhances and extends their identity. This album is ecstatic through all its breath, from the permutations and elaborations of its current form to the beautiful materials at their core.

Marcus Whale