Cyclic Defrost Magazine |  |
- Zoos of Berlin – Taxis (Zoos/Inertia)
- Paradigm Shift Radioshow Playlist 28 Sep 2009
- Roger Doyle – Cool Steel Army (Psychonavigation)
| Zoos of Berlin – Taxis (Zoos/Inertia) Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:30 AM PDT
Zoos of Berlin trade in clinical and immaculately composed and recorded indie pop and post rock. It is no surprise to read that the man behind the recording and mixing – Collin Dupuis – works as chief engineer for the techno legend Carl Craig. The sound is super clean, warm and rich but is somewhat lacking in personality and emotion. It all feels too aloof and premeditated to really engage. ‘Century Rail’ is similar in its rolling jazz/country vibe to M Ward, a misleading comparison when you put in context with the rest of the album. ‘Black In The Sun Room’ heads into Europe, stopping in France for some Phoenix and then onto the teutonic post rock of The Notwist. ‘Juan Matus’ begs the obvious comparisons with Stereolab and High Llamas with their kraut-lite, jazz tinged, chilled meanderings. Its nice stuff and they get off the freeway for some deconstructed but controlled noise to contrast the pop perfection that preceded it. Trevor Naud's voice lacks character but works if you let it drift into the background. Combined with the retro moog synths on songs like ‘Doctor Vine Passing’ it takes on a very prog/glam 70s sound which becomes earnest and pretentious at times. ‘Electrical Way’ is Jarvis Cocker letting his hair down in a tropicalia disco, fun but ultimately frivolous. ‘Coliseum’ finishes the album strongly on a mournful note of early Scott Walker styled pop, austere and dramatic and its shows how effective Zoos of Berlin can be when they don't overcook things. "Taxis" is a harmless piece of indie pop with classical flourishes and some 70s germanic pulsing rhythms. Great for cafes and easy listening moods. Chris Familton Zoos of Berlin – Taxis (Zoos/Inertia) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine. |
| Paradigm Shift Radioshow Playlist 28 Sep 2009 Posted: 01 Oct 2009 02:28 AM PDT The Paradigm Shift is a weekly Monday night radio show presented by Sub Bass Snarl on Sydney radio station 2SER fm 107.3MHz – check the 2SER website for the improved live web stream! It airs Monday nights at the time of 7.30pm for 90 minutes (Australian Eastern Standard Time – GMT+10). Get in touch to send us your music (320s welcome!) – EMAIL: paradigmshift [AT] 2ser [dot] com This week I was graced by the presence of Sydney producer and ex-redbull music academy attendant Dizz1 who came in for a chat and kindly gave us a preview of his killer new EP coming out on Nod Navigators in the near future. M_Phonik and Peter Last – Hybrid (Unstable mix) [Hybrid] (Lobe Limbique Musique) * [* = Australian track] Paradigm Shift Radioshow Playlist 28 Sep 2009 is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine. |
| Roger Doyle – Cool Steel Army (Psychonavigation) Posted: 30 Sep 2009 06:25 PM PDT
Roger Doyle is described here as Ireland’s ‘Godfather of electronic music’, his magnum opus being the gargantuan award-winning ‘Babel’, where each piece of the five+ hour work corresponded, like the stories of Borges, to an imagined space within that tower city. ‘Cool Steel Army’ is a more modest, less forbidding proposition, electronics only featuring on the title track, the remainder employing acoustic instrumentation to explore basic, minimalist themes. For ‘Cool Steel Army’, Doyle punctuates pleasantly melodic piano passages with pockets of white noise, then floods things, schizophrenically, with a gruff, overdriven drum track. ‘Paavo’s Engagement’ allows Doyle to further stretch his piano skills, excessively over 17 minutes, although the manner in which he allows familiar, Glass-like arpeggios to skip and slip off their axis is rewarding. ‘Adolf Gebler, Clarinettist’ sets Carlo Gebler’s dislocation narrative, of the titular musician’s trip to Ireland, to a similarly pithy chamber score, with mournful clarinet lines echoing Gebler’s lonesome travels. This is an odd, homespun collection of music, from pseudo-opera to harsh breaks, and one can only hazard a guess at where Doyle might next take us. Joshua Meggitt Roger Doyle – Cool Steel Army (Psychonavigation) is a post from: Cyclic Defrost Magazine. |
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