Playlist 20.05.18 (9:07 pm)
Emotional intensity, electronic withdrawal, we're running the gamut tonight...
LISTEN AGAIN for the fruits of emotional labour. Stream on demand from FBi, podcast over here.
Carla Bozulich - Written In Smoke (feat. Sarah Lipstate) [Constellation]
Carla Bozulich - Let It Roll (feat. John Eichenseer & Andrea Belfi) [Constellation]
The extraordinary Carla Bozulich never fails to create amazing sounds, both sonically creative and emotionally dense. Her background in the industrial scene from the '90s - albeit the insane, cabaret-influenced Ethyl Meatplow - contributes to the way Bozulich is always stretching the boundaries of what songforms can be, and is always playing with production techniques... but equally she's a huge country music fan, and is famous also for her alt-country/punk band The Geraldine Fibbers. Anything new from Bozulich is hotly anticipated round these parts, and this album delivers in spades.
the body - the last form of loving (feat. Chrissy Wolpert) [Thrill Jockey]
the body - the west has failed (feat. sample of Eek-A-Mouse) [Thrill Jockey]
the body - nothing stirs (feat. Kristin Hayter) [Thrill Jockey]
Taking their latest album's title from the suicide note of Virginia Woolf is fairly audacious, even for a band long obsessed with that final act. I have fought against it, But I can't any longer. takes the body into their most electronic realms yet, and in many ways the furthest away from their sludge/black metal origins. Everything's sampled, including the guitar riffs when they appear, mostly from their own work (a notable exception being the brilliantly-deployed Eek-A-Mouse sample on "the west has failed", worthy of a Massive Attack album). As usual Chip King's horrific screech is offset by beautiful female vocals from regular contributor Chrissy Wolpert (surely an honorary member) and also this time from Kristin Hayter, who gets pretty metal - as well as some stirring orchestral arrangements. Beats switch from full drumkit to drum machine, to glitchily chopped breaks. Everything's in there, and by some kind of magic it all works.
TOMAGA - The Dancer in the Lake [Emotional Response]
I discovered the music of TOMAGA playing in a second-hand record store in London last year, but no doubt I would have encountered them soon enough anyway. A psych rock rhythm section turned into a band in their own right, they meld postpunk guitar and drums with synths and all sorts of percussion to create a freeform kraut/psych/instrumental rock experience like no other. Percussionist Valentina Magaletti can also be found with postpunk/breakbeat duo Raime and various other outfits.
Jasmine Guffond - Kin Hue [listenagain]
It's always a pleasure to have new music from Jasmine Guffond, even if it's not the newerest of newness. This is from a split release originally intended to come out in 2014, but delayed for the usual obscure reasons. Impeccably produced electronics, with granular processing often of acoustic or live sound sources - all sounds exquisitely immediate but deeply immersive. I was also excited to discover Turkish artist biblo, and I'm planning to feature some of her music in an upcoming show.
Ben Marston & Hugh Barrett - Sleepyhead [Art As Catharsis]
Ben Marston & Hugh Barrett - The Crisp Breath of Dawn [Art As Catharsis]
Canberran duo Ben Marston & Hugh Barrett present an impressive array of approaches to the trumpet and keys duo here - from acoustic piano and trumpet to spooky Jon Hassell/Jan Bang harmonised trumpet to In A Silent Way-era Davis with Hancock/Corea and more. Even in the more unusual modalities, there's an attractive Australianness to the ambient/minimalist jazz sensibility. I love the way sampled & looped piano weaves its way through the live jazz jamming on a number of tracks. This is really textural music. Released mid-June, get your pre-orders in!
Splashgirl - Carrier [Hubro]
The ever-reliable Hubro deliver the goods once again - Splashgirl are a trio made up of pianist Andreas Stensland Løwe, double bassist Jo Berger Myhre (whose rich tones we've encountered before on this show) and drummer Andreas Lønmo Knudsrød. Being on Hubro, this isn't your standard jazz piano trio though, with synths and expansive, cinematic production lending a unique tone to the operation. The album was produced by the legendary Randall Dunn, giving everything that warm glow.
part timer - Sunday Sketch Blurred [part timer Bandcamp]
A welcome return for Melbourne-resident pom part timer, who used to be an almost weekly regular on this show with his impeccable folktronica, until children and jobs got in the way. He's quite possibly literally dusting off hard drives on a new release of warm acoustic sounds and electronics - leaning back to the glitchy folktronic roots but with the cavernousness of his later drone-influenced outings. More soon please!
Meyers - Self Portrait [Shelter Press]
Meyers - Expectations 1 [Shelter Press]
The last album from composer/producer Justin C Meyers dealt with a debilitating chronic illness and near-death experience that necessitated changes in the artist's practices. This new one of course has that state of affairs hanging over it, dealing (in its instrumental electronic way) with the experience of trying to be an artist while suffering an illness that found him laid off from his job and spending a lot of time in hospitals. Piecemeal, glitchy, fractured, it's quite a visceral work, deserving of a close listen.
Comatone & Foley - Laptop Microphone [Art As Catharsis]
Comatone & Foley - String Thing [Art As Catharsis]
Comatone & Foley - One Five Nine [Art As Catharsis]
Blue Mountains producer Comatone was a stalwart on Utility Fog in the pretty early days, with his intricate idm productions released by Feral Media. And drummer Alon Ilsar has long been a regular on this show too, as part of Gauche, or more recently playing AirSticks with his band The Sticks. The first Comatone & Foley album Trigger Happy was originally released 10 years ago, and is now made available by Art As Catharsis, along with the long-awaited sequel. Intricate VSnares-style beat processing and idm-style electronic melodies, from a duo equal in their inventiveness.
Appleblim - NCI [Sneaker Social Club]
A few years after dubstep's ascendency, the Skull Disco emerged out of Bristol, merging the weight of dubstep with the trancelike states of Basic Channel style dub techno, founded by Sam Shackleton alonside Appleblim. 'Blim moved on to other realms in the UK hardcore continuum, and on his debut(!) album released just now on Sneaker Social Club he presents an homage to all things rave, with breakbeats wending their way around techno & house beats. It's friendly stuff with a dancefloor sheen.
Listen again — ~196MB
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