edited by ralph moore www.mixmag.net/music
ALBUM OF THE MONTH:THE AVALANCHES
Flower power 16 years in the making and worth every minute
The Avalanches Wildflower XL RECORDINGS
File under Sunshine disco-hop Download ‘If I Was A Folkstar’,‘Because I’m Me’, ‘Frankie Sinatra’ Like this? Try The Avalanches ‘Since I Left You’ (Modular)
“IT’S SOUNDING LIKE everything we dared not hope for, and so much more. They’ve made the record of their lives.” That’s a statement from a Modular Recordings press release issued way back in August 2006, and the rumour mill surrounding a long-awaited new album from The Avalanches has been grinding for 10 solid years since. Such was the love for their millennial debut ‘Since I Left You’ that it’s no wonder both fans and label owners have eagerly lapped up any suggestion of a sequel (it became a running joke that staff would join and subsequently leave the XL office before it ever dropped). However, fans of audio plunder can now rejoice: ‘Wildflower’ is finally here, and it’s wonderful. Main-man Robbie Chater remains at the helm, melding another mixtape of an album that dials between radio stations, car horns, cartoons, laughing kids and the spraying of graffiti cans. It’s buoyed, too, by a treasure-trove of collaborations including Biz Markie,
Father John Misty, Jennifer Herrema and Warren Ellis that are as rich and widespread as the samples that see ‘Wildflower’ grow more beautiful with every listen. One was even personally cleared by Sir Paul McCartney after he received a pleading email from the band explaining why it was so important to use a children’s choir singing ‘Come Together’ in ‘The Noisy Eater’, a song about breakfast cereal. Indeed, from Camp Lo’s opening block party invitation of ‘Because I’m Me’ to the fairground calypso of MF DOOM and Danny Brown’s ‘Frankie Sinatra’ and the sunshine house of ‘If I Was A Folkstar’ with Toro Y Moi, this is the sound of summertime. Robbie’s reluctance to discuss the past means we may never know which of these tracks were made when – but while ‘Wildflower’’s long gestation took ‘difficult second album’ syndrome to extremes, how he fitted 16 years of inspiration into this masterpiece is better understood with your ears. PHIL DUDMAN 9/10
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albums
Utah Jazz
The Music Factory SPEARHEAD RECORDS Luke Wilson’s enduring status as a liquid-funk deity is down to a USP that’s barely changed in 15 years, and his fifth album sparkles with the dusty, crackly, soul-sampling aesthetic that’s made him an international promoters’ dream. Opener ‘Promised Land’ isn’t just vintage, it’s timeless: elegiac strings washing, brass horns mooning, strident breaks rolling with graceful dancefloor purpose. There are some harder textures too, such as the DRS-featuring ‘Handle It 2016’, but Wilson’s fans should fear not: it’s wall-to-wall liquid finery. No-one else could sweep in like this, after a couple of years of silence, and plunge us into a sea of goosebumping melodies and gravelly funk licks. EWEN COOK File under Vintage liquid-funk velvet Download ‘Handle It 2016’ feat DRS, ‘Give It To Me Right’, ‘Promised Land’ Like this? Try Conduct ‘Borderlands’ (Blue Mar Ten) 9/10
Various
Inna NICE UP! Fashion NICE UP! The British and Jamaican dancehall released on the London-based Fashion label in the 80s and 90s forms one of the most recognizable strands in underground music. The voices of Daddy Freddy, Top Cat, Tenor Fly, Cutty Ranks and co have been sampled and re-sampled through untold jungle tracks and beyond. Here, loads of big, bashy dancehall tracks get re-rubbed into d’n’b, dubstep and other more experimental shapes by the likes of The Bug, Machinedrum, Special Request and Toddla T (the latter in impressively raw form), while all-time junglist classic ‘Incredible’ gets turned back into retro dancehall by Wrongtom. JOE MUGGS File under Dancehall updated Download General Levy ‘Incredible (Wrongtom remix), Top Cat ‘Request The Style (Special Request remix) Like this? Try Various ‘Cut Ups, Bruck Ups & Muck Ups Volume One’ (Large Hole) 7/10
Flowdan
Disasterpiece TRU THOUGHTS Former Roll Deep mainstay Flowdan is one of the most enduring and distinctive voices in grime. His partnership with The Bug, exemplified on the era-defining collaboration ‘Skeng’, has seen his deep, doomy tones echoing through dubstep and beyond, and here he finally delivers a full album to consolidate his legacy. It’s a record of two halves. The first part, heavily featuring the icy tones of singer Animai, is gothic and cinematic, a bleak gangster movie in miniature. It ramps up, though, to a final five tracks of rowdy grime energy, with Manga and Tinchy Stryder piling in for good measure. Impeccably structured, this is the kind of album grime needs to prove its staying power. JOE MUGGS File under Grown-up grime Download ‘Grime’, ‘Bob Marley’, ‘No Way Out’ feat Animai Like this? Try The Bug ‘Angels & Devils’ (Ninja Tune) 8/10
Classic albums: Shura Shura opts for Burial, Madonna and some classic Janet Jackson
Madonna
True Blue (WARNER) “I wasn’t actually born when it came out in 1986! I discovered her albums through ‘The Immaculate Collection’: my parents had that on VHS and most of my favourites were from ‘True Blue’. Firstly, it’s the most iconic cover, looking very Marilyn Monroe, and she wanted to come across as more mature. I feel like in this era people are trying to get millennials on board, but this was about appealing to older people. ‘Live To Tell’ is one of her most incredible records ever. If I only had to listen to one song, that would be it.”
Janet Jackson
The Velvet Rope (VIRGIN)
Mark Barrott
Sketches From An Island 2 INTERNATIONAL FEEL
Having globetrotted from Sheffield to Berlin to Uruguay and now Ibiza, Mark Barrott’s home life may have a feeling of impermanence, but the same can’t be said for his music. For the past two decades Barrott has slowly turned himself into the emperor of chillout. His second ‘Sketches From An Island’ album picks up from where its predecessor left off, pulling in influences from gamelan and Indian, African and trad Spanish music. The Indonesian polyrhythms of ‘Cirrus Cumulus’ and the smoked-out ‘Der Stern, Der Nie Vergeht’ have a hypnagogic quality, and you’ll yearn to head straight for Cap Negret after hearing Barrott’s sounds. STEPHEN WORTHY File under Genuine Ibizan chillout Download ‘Cirrus Cumulus’, ‘Der Stern, Der Nie Vergeht’ Like this? Try CFCF ‘On Vacation’ (International Feel) 8/10 WWW.MIXMAG.NET
Various
Aus 100 AUS MUSIC Will Saul’s inestimable Aus Music, one of the most essential house and techno labels of the past decade, is a reflection of its founder. Rather than relying on a wodge of reissues or stuff found down the back of the sofa, it marks a century of releases with 24 new tracks from its star-studded alumni. Appleblim’s ‘Twinkle’ is sharp electro soul, while ‘Wan Hunner’ is Sei A in typically twisted form. It’s Trevino’s ‘Shimmer’ that’s prime contender for top billing: shuddering sci-fi techno, it features a bass made for rearranging furniture and intestines. That we’ve not even mentioned appearances by Pearson Sound, Midland, Huxley or Bicep proves that the force is strong here. STEPHEN WORTHY File under All-star collection Download Appleblim ‘Twinkle’, Sei A ‘Wan Hunner’, Trevino ‘Shimmer’ Like this? Try Trevino ‘Front’ (Nothing Special) 9/10
Wolf Müller & Cass The Sound Of The Glades INTERNATIONAL FEEL
International Feel’s recent series of mini-albums have proved that the appetite for classic Balearica remains undimmed. Not that there’s anything mini about ‘The Sound Of The Glades’. At 40 minutes long, these five tracks from Jan Schulte and Niklas RehmeSchlüter have an epic, infinite grace. There’s significant weight to the twinkling ‘Miyazaki’, with its echoes of that early Balearic gem, St Etienne’s version of Neil Young’s ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’. And the album’s title track, a 16-minute opus populated by exotic bird calls, finger bells and gauzey drone, is a deep dive into the bluest of ambient waters. STEPHEN WORTHY File under Exotic ambience and sultry, sensory soundscapes Download ‘Aiolos’, ‘Miyazaki’, ‘The Sound Of The Glades’ Like this? Try Len Leise ‘Lingua Franca’ 7/10
“For so long, I didn’t even know she existed. I wasn’t aware of her until 5 or 6 years ago, when I got into J Dilla and my friend told me to listen to the song with a sample from J Dilla and Joni Mitchell.This album was the first time I became aware of producers; it made me read the credits on albums and I got a sense of how influential a producer could be. And it features Q-Tip, one of my favourite rappers. It’s a really long LP. Michael was king of ten-track albums and when Janet came along with hundreds of interludes, I’d never heard anything like that before. It’s incredibly erotic.”
Burial
Untrue (HYPERDUB) “‘Untrue’ was one of the first records my older brother, who was a d’n’b DJ, introduced me to. It’s one of the few albums that changed my life. I pretended to like d’n’b but inside I felt it was repetitive, and that wasn’t satisfying, whereas this album is incredibly melodic. He weaves in r’n’b, leading us through this haunted house, but you don’t feel frightened. It’s very cinematic and like listening to a movie without needing visuals. I lived in London so I listened to it in the rain, while commuting: it’s the perfect soundtrack to being a Londoner.” Shura’s album ‘Nothing’s Real’ is out now
AUGUST 2016 [[2R]]
tunes
albums Honnee: creating a buzz
Dr Meaker
Badbadnotgood
Metronomy
Reboot
Dirt & Soul CIRCUS Bristol band Dr Meaker’s good-natured soundsystem soul is sharper than ever on ‘Dirt & Soul’. The tempo is almost entirely junglist, the mood celebratory and the cast of featured vocalists don’t hold back in their old-school gospeltinged soul belting. A mid-album synth interlude entitled ‘Glastonbury’ gives the game away: this is festival-rave aimed at getting sunny fields and dark packed tents filled with hands in the air. And while there’s some variation, with doubt and brooding amid the good vibes, the emotional richness of it all can get a bit like having 11 courses of dessert. Taken individually, though, each track is a stirring smasher. J MUGGS File under Festival jump-up Download: ‘Wanna Feel Love’ feat Yolanda, ‘Freaks’ feat Cappo D & Sharlene Hector Like this? Try Drumsound & Bassline Smith ‘Wall of Sound’ (New State Music) 7/10
IV INNOVATIVE LEISURE It’s difficult to categorise Toronto cool kids Badbadnotgood by genre, but that’s no criticism: combining hip hop, lounge music and improvisational jazz, their compositions are effortlessly innovative. Since Tyler, The Creator discovered them online in 2011 they’ve performed with Frank Ocean, worked with Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah and dropped three albums to rave reviews. On ‘IV’ they use guest singers one of their own albums for the first time, and the results are superb. Future Islands’ Samuel T Herring delivers a grainy-yet-soothing vocal on the lovesick ‘Time Moves Slow’, Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins jumps on ‘Hyssop Of Love’ and Charlotte Day Wilson adds soul to ‘In Your Eyes’. BEN JOLLEY File under Hip hop-infused jazz Download ‘Time Goes Slow’, ‘Speaking Gently’, ‘Chompy’s Paradise’ Like this? Try Knxwledge ‘Hud Dreems’ (Stones Throw Records) 8/10
HONNE
Honne to the bee Brilliant electronic-soul duo from Bow
Honne
Warm On A Cold Night ATLANTIC RECORDS File under Smart, smoochy, blue-eyed electro soul Download ‘Warm On A Cold Night’, ‘In The Value’, One At A Time Please’ Like this? Try James Blake ‘The Colour In Anything’ (Polydor)
[[1L]] AUGUST 2016
BIG ON STIRRING chords and high on emotion, Honne’s delicate, pristine electronic soul is made to soundtrack late-night drives and, er, bedroom romps. Its two creators, James Hatche and Andy Clutterbuck, met on their first day at uni and bonded over r’n’b and MJ. Their music mixes the breezy West Coast-rock vibes of Phoenix and perfect pop of Years And Years with the jaded, lovelorn moods of The xx and James Blake. Their breakthrough single, ‘Warm On A Cold Night’, was an introduction to Clutterbuck’s distinctive vocals – like a deeper, more langorous version of Blake (usually recorded, admits Clutterbuck, while sitting down). Comfortingly soporific, they lull you into deep reverie. ‘The Night’ is a sultry, slow jam drenched in sweat and the supper-club jazz of ‘One At A Time Please’ is enlivened by explosions of slap bass and grand chords, while ‘Someone That Loves You’ is that rarest of things these days: a proper duet. With Clutterbuck and Izzy Bizu trading lines on four minutes of fuzzy, house-flavoured euphoria, they’re in serious danger of making them cool again. Outstanding musicianship, an uncanny knack for melody and a disarmingly seductive sound are what sets Honne apart – that, and the power to spark a baby boom. STEPHEN WORTHY 8/10
Summer 08 BECAUSE Summer ’08 in electronic music terms means Frankie Knuckles’ remix of ‘Blind’ and ‘Pjanoo’ by Eric Prydz, but for Metronomy it’s the literal and spiritual missing link between ‘Nights Out’ and ‘The English Riviera’, inspired as much by Outkast as it is by classic pop and rock stylings. It’s no accident that oldschool LA studio producer Bob Clearmountain mixed the record: sonically (and musically) it’s incredible, as the bendy soul-funk jam ‘Miami Logic’ and the LCD-ish, cowbell-driven ‘Old Skool’ both attest. ‘Hang Me Out To Dry’ with Robyn, meanwhile, may well be her best record since, well, 2008’s ‘Dream On’. A wonderful LP, and one to cherish. RALPH MOORE File under One for fans of ‘The English Riviera’ – and who isn’t? Download ‘Miami Logic’, ‘Old Skool’, ‘16 Beat’, ‘Hang Me Out To Dry’ Like this? Try Outkast ‘Stankonia’ (La Face Records) 8/10
aLIVE GET PHYSICAL MUSIC German production wizard Frank Heinrich, aka Reboot, blends his love of house, techno and organic rhythms to deliver a propulsive, terrace-focused third album. Five years after his debut full-length ‘Shunyata’ and with a new live show to boot, ‘aLIVE’ is a moodsetting Ibiza-ready collection. Opener ‘All Live Is Good’ is soft and airy, ‘Are You Losing My Mind’ boasts squelching synths and groove-laden hooks and the woozy bassline of ‘Timelive’ acts as a midnight intoxicator. J ‘ ust Hang On’ is rolling house at its best and the tantalising textures of ‘Tea Time’ will move your body, but ‘Pollo Al Sillao’ is the immediate attention grabber thanks to its swelling drums, bubbling chords and punchy bells. B JOLLEY File under Organic sunset house Download ‘Pollo Al Sillao’, ‘Are You Losing Your Mind’, ‘Just Hang On’ Like this? Try Kölsch ‘1983’ (Kompakt) 8/10 WWW.MIXMAG.NET
albums
tunes
NONKEEN
Nils and crew Superior spacey sounds
BACK AT THE turn of the year we brought you the extraordinary tale of Nonkeen. Three Germans who became friends in the 80s while still separated by the Berlin Wall, they later formed a band and eventually released their debut album ‘The Gamble’, an album of melodic, experimental electronica, in February. ‘Oddments Of The Gamble’, the second album from the trio of Nils Frahm, Frederic Gmeiner and Sepp Singwald, is less of a companion piece and more of a sibling with a different personality; there are occasional hints of the hypnotic, house-flavoured stylings and lo-fi soundscapes that characterised their debut, but here jazz, dark funk, classical and alt-rock play a more starring role. ‘Glow’ is dubby and fidgety and ‘World Air’ is gauzey shoegaze, while the spacey jam of ‘The Journey Of Hello Peter’ is infected with the spirit of soundtrack guru Lalo Schifrin and daubed with demonic bass and electric piano. Nonkeen’s is a uniquely haunting sound – and, they promise, there’s more still to come. STEPHEN WORTHY 8/10
Floorplan
Victorious M-PLANT If he’d only ever made one record – the still-perfect-sounding 1994 reinvention of techno ‘Minimal Nation’ – Robert Hood’s place in music history would still be assured. But he’s kept on keeping on over the years, and particularly thanks to his disco-influenced Floorplan guise, is now at least as popular as he’s ever been. Here, he’s obviously gearing up for demolishing big dancefloors – notably with filter disco, jacking house grooves and inspirational gospel – but even though the dynamics are obvious, the panache in the delivery is something else. There’s even some ‘Minimal Nation’-style techno licks in ‘Mmm Hmm Hmm’ and ‘Ha Ya’ for the heads. It’s all pretty irresistible. JOE MUGGS File under Classy pumpers Download ‘The Heavens & The Earth’, ‘He Can Save You’, ‘They Can Tell’ Like this? Try Green Velvet ‘The Chapters of Green Velvet’ (Relief) 8/10
Shura
Nothing’s Real POLYDOR A pop superstar in the making, Shura grew up in Manchester, her mother a Russian actress and her father an English documentary filmmaker: unsurprisingly, she’s a smooth and smart operator with just a hint of La Roux’s melodic touch, especially on the deft pop stomper ‘Nothing’s Real’. The years spent pillaging her parent’s record and VHS collections have resulted in an album with lyrics as strong as the melodies, especially on the soaring synths of ‘What Happened To Us’ (“I’m no child but I don’t feel grown up”, she sings brilliantly). And the incredible closing salvo of ‘Tongue Tied’, ‘Make It Up, ‘2Shy’ and closer ‘White Light’ reminds us time and time again that Shura’s here to stay. R MOORE File under Soaring, smart pop Download ‘White Light’, ‘2Shy’, ‘What Happened To Us’ Like this? Try La Roux ‘Trouble In Paradise’ (Polydor) 8/10 WWW.MIXMAG.NET
Nonkeen
Oddments Of The Gamble R&S File under Addictive rhythms and analogue melodies Download ‘The Journey Of Hello Peter’, ‘World Air’, ‘Glow’ Like this? Try Nonkeen ‘The Gamble’ (R&S)
Nonkeen: their gamble pays off
Bat For Lashes
The Bride PARLOPHONE Over the course of three Bat For Lashes albums and her side project Sexwitch, Natasha Khan has transformed into the queen of gothic pop, authoring tales of mystery, lust and dark forces. ‘The Bride’ is a concept album about a woman whose fiancé dies in a crash on the way to their wedding. The resulting love, loss and grief are classic Bat For Lashes subjects, and she does them considerable justice. From the harps and orchestral swells of brief but majestic opener ‘I Do’ to the throbbing noir of ‘In God’s House’ and the skippity synth rock of ‘Sunday Love’, the mood rises and falls in sympathy with its subject’s journey. It’s Khan’s most memorable record yet. S WORTHY File under Dark and devastating Download ‘In God’s House’, ‘Sunday Love’, ‘Close Encounters’ Like this? Try St Vincent ‘St Vincent’ (Loma Vista) 8/10
Conduct
Borderland BLUE MAR TEN The music of London-Shropshire duo Conduct has as much in common with modern classical-electronic composers such as Max Richter, Johann Johannsson and Hans Zimmer as it does with d’n’b. But those looking for hectic floor-fillers should not be put off, since tunes such as the spacious ‘Bat Country’, the Vocoder-tinted ‘Faux’ and the sheer assault of ‘Divergence’ have the power to hold a floor. Perhaps the most intriguing cuts, however, explore a less-is-more ethos, from the pared back ‘Piano Tune’ to ‘Beta’s Error’, an ethereal ambient piece suddenly brought to life by scuttles of percussion. It’s a debut with something new to say about d’nb. THOMAS H GREEN File under Widescreen drum & bass Download ‘Piano Tune’, ‘Borderlands’, ‘Divergence’ Like this? Try Brian Eno ‘Apollo: Atmospheres And Soundtracks’ (EG) 8/10
Factory Floor
25 25 (DFA) The eponymous 2013 debut album from London trio Factory Floor proclaimed them as post-punk analogue experimentalists, with as many fans in the avant-garde indie scene as clubland. Now a duo, their second is starker and more minimal, full of machine threat and techno edge. Its eight tracks offer no tunes, just android, hypnotic power on cuts such as the revolving ‘Upper Left’ and the satirical ‘Dial Me In’, while there’s a flavour of sleep-deprived acid house on ‘Relay’ and ‘Meet Me At The End’. Throughout, and especially on the title track, the ghost of early Plastikman is never far away. ’25 25’ is a severe, uncompromising album, but the ones that like it will love it. THOMAS H GREEN File under Stark techno-electronics Download ‘Upper Left’, ‘Dial Me In’, ‘Meet Me At The End’ Like this? Try Plastikman ‘Sheet One’ (Mute) 7/10 AUGUST 2016 [[2R]]