The Lure of the Slow Knife: New Album Reviews
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The Lure Of The Slow Knife: New Album Reviews Music | Bittles’ Magazine: The music column from the end of the world I know I may sound overly romantic saying this, but a great album should have the power to erase daily stresses and strains. With world affairs and current politics seemingly more depressing than ever we need our creative arts to step up and remove us, however temporarily, from the horrors of everyday life. This week I will be highlighting some of the LPs which have accomplished this feat by stealing my time and creating an addictive craving in my very soul. By JOHN BITTLES In a glorious selection we have the jittery electronica of Kuedo, DARKPYRAMID and Cvltvre, the jackin‘ house groove of Doms & Deykers and Youandewan, the gothic pop of Jenny Hval, the essential techno rhythms of Umwelt, the remix sleaze of Andrew Weatherall, the downbeat air of The Orb and David Holmes, and lots more. So, before we are assaulted by more horrifying headlines condemning immigrants for having the audacity to flee poverty and war, we had best begin … Created over a mere four days in Panorama Bar resident Steffi’s studio, Evidence From A Good Source sees the DJ/producer team up with fellow Ostgut Ton artist Martyn for a house album full of the deepest of beats. After two well received EPs (Fonts For The People & Dedicated To Those Who Feel), the duo don the Doms & Deykers moniker once again for their debut LP. Classic house and electro sounds dominate in a record which is rich, playful and, most importantly, fun. Eyes Up opens the record with a Mr. Fingers style bassline and a house groove whose chugs could warm the coldest of hearts. From here, the title track seduces with some squelchy electronic squiggles and a deep bass bounce, the gorgeous strings on It’s You I See recall the classic tones of Pacific State, To All Family And Friends is full of Detroit techno loveliness, while Sweet Sanctuary is B12 style electronica which tickles the very soul. Containing a stunning array of house rhythms and grooves, Evidence From A Good Source is a timely reminder of just how vital an art form electronic music can be. 10/10. The Lure Of The Slow Knife: New Album Reviews Five years ago Kuedo’s Severant album took the traditional sounds of footwork and dubstep and sculpted them into something exciting and new. Unfairly lumped in with the post dubstep sound represented by the likes of Mount Kimbie and James Blake, Severant was fresh and vital, sounding like nothing else around. This month Kuedo makes a welcome return to the long-player format with the deep electronica of his sophomore LP. Out now on Planet Mu Records, Slow Knife further develops the haunting melancholy of its predecessor, but moves further away from the constraints of the dance. At times sounding like the ghosts of dance music emitting a last impassioned cry, the record takes ambient and soundtrack music as its starting point then pilots the listener into the deepest, darkest space. Early tracks such as Hourglass, In Your Sleep and Under The Surface directly follow on from Severant’s icy beatscapes, while the second half of the album omits the beats entirely to conjure a cold, alien aural world . Mystifying, engaging and beautiful, Slow Knife is an album to accompany the strangest of dreams. 10/10. Opening with the slow-burn menace of Ritual Awakening, Blood Bitch sees musical enigma Jenny Hval explore a dark, sinister world which evokes childhood memories of watching horror films in the dark. As Jenny herself explains, Blood Bitch is an investigation of blood. Blood that is shed naturally. The white and red toilet roll chain which ties together the virgins, the whores, the mothers, the witches, the dreamers, and the lovers.・ Full of rich Gothic imagery, the record keeps the listener in a constant state of unease through the horror score instrumentation and Jenny Hval’s voice which conjures a creeping sense of dread. Highlights include Conceptual Romance, which features gorgeously lovelorn vocals over a fizzing synth backing, The Great Undressing, whose languid trance backing forms a welcome juxtaposition to the track’s jet-black lyrics, while Secret Touch’s strings and hushed beats help lift the song towards the divine. Full of lofty ambitions and musical explorations, Blood Bitch may well be Jenny Hval’s most fully realised work yet! 9/10. The Lure Of The Slow Knife: New Album Reviews London label Dream Catalogue have long specialised in releasing futuristic electronic music so full of emotion that listening to their output can feel like receiving a long, satisfying hug. Characterised by a quiet sense of longing, albums by 2814, HKE, Remember, and Telepath sound so hauntingly beautiful that a sense of sadness can befall the listener when the tape comes to an end. Conjuring images of a cold, lonely future society where the only hope left are the memories of the past, New Humans by DARKPYRAMID is a record which demands to be listened to as a whole. Songs such as Memory Recall and The Dark Pyramid do stand out though, their evocative pulses nuzzling up to the ear. However, pick of the bunch is the twelve minute plus ambient opus We Will Live Forever In The Ocean which, quite simply, is one of the most stunning pieces of music you will hear all year. Available now on cassette or digital download from Dream Catalogue’s Bandcamp page, lonely optimists, cyberpunk nostalgists and romantic dreamers don’t want to miss out on this. 9/10. Next up we have the gorgeous deep techno dynamism of Umwelt. For over twenty years the Lyon native has been producing some of the finest electronic music known to man. This month he arrives on the always essential Killekill imprint with the twisted beats, ghostly synths and dark futurism of his new LP. Days Of Dissent features eight devastatingly good beat-heavy missives which sound heavenly in a club or on headphones. The jittery bass and surround sound atmospherics of the title track get us off to a juddering start, before the goth-tinged electro growl of Factory Of Death drags you straight into the dark. Reminiscent of the bass-tastic output of legend Andrea Parker, this is a track which makes you want to start your own religion just so it can get the attention it deserves. Further in, the industrial menace of Revolt, the technoid groove of Non-Conformity, and the heady Detroit bleeps of World Shatters keep you on the edge of your seat in an album to relish from beginning to end. 9/10. The Lure Of The Slow Knife: New Album Reviews This October ambient house heroes The Orb return to their spiritual home Kompakt with the pastoral tones of their brand new LP. Cow/Chill Out World is the follow-up to last year’s well received Moonbuilding 2703 AD, and was speedily recorded in a mere six months. Awful title aside, it finds the core duo of Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann in mighty fine form. “The idea was simply to make an ambient album” explains Alex Paterson in the press notes. Trippy and sedate, yet filled with an inner sense of groove, it is fair to say that their mission was a complete success. Tracks such as First, Consider The Lillys, 4AM Exhale (Chill Out World), and Just Because I Really Really Luv Ya recall the optimistic air and playful spirit which won the band a legion of fans in the early 90s. A liberal sprinkling of samples help add a tongue in cheek humour to the music, while the gentle piano refrain on Wireless MK2, and the easy-listening loveliness of 5th Dimensions are just as good as anything found on U.F.Orb. More than mere retro-revivalists, if you haven’t chilled out to The Orb then you haven’t chilled out at all! 8/10. After the rhythmic techno of 2014’s Cool Haptics EP, Brooklyn’s finest sound magicians arrive on Kranky this autumn with the organic murmurings of the Physicalist album. Warm, groove- filled and refreshingly dense, the double LP sees Forma adopt a pastoral Boards Of Canada style of electronica to fine effect. With just the hint of a krautrock chug, songs such as Sane Man, Spin Glass and the title track retain a sense of slowed-down funk which appeals to the feet as much as the head. Of the more downbeat numbers, Descent has a raw sense of vulnerability all too rare in music these days, As If Pianos Grew On Trees is gorgeously melancholic, while Collapse Of Materialists 2 is an awe inspiring synth drone. Pick of the bunch though is the Zombie Zombie style house strut of Maxwell’s Demon, a track which, once heard, is impossible to get out of your head. With Physicalist Forma have crafted an album which could almost threaten capitalism (it’s so good you want to pull a sickie from work so you can listen to it some more). 8/10. The Lure Of The Slow Knife: New Album Reviews Belfast native David Holmes is exactly the type of DJ you would want to man the decks at an after party session at your mates. From composing Hollywood soundtracks to producing the rich nocturnal feel evoked on the albums This Film’s Crap, Let’s Slash The Seats and Bow Down To The Exit Sign he has long specialised in music which both massages and fucks with your head.