Virgohippy

Amon Tobin

virgohippy — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:22:18 +0000

Drum’n'bass deviant Amon Tobin fuses hip-hop and jazz compositional ideas with the bustling rhythms of hip-hop and jungle and the bent sonic mayhem of ambient and dub. Unlike rolling junglists such as Alex Reece and Wax Doctor, however, who draw from a softer, “cooler” brand of jazz, Tobin aims to maintain the heat of bop and free jazz, pairing spry, galloping basslines with complex trapset orchestration and shrill, screaming horns.

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Wassup 2008

virgohippy — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:35:18 +0000

I found this on my favorite forum, thought it too good not to save for later:

It feels like a fair synopsis of the past 8 years.

Aphex Twin

virgohippy — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:42:39 +0000

Exploring the experimental possibilities inherent in acid and ambience, the two major influences on home-listening techno during the late ’80s, Richard D. James’ recordings as Aphex Twin brought him more critical praise than any other electronic artist during the 1990s. Though his first major single, “Didgeridoo,” was a piece of acid thrash designed to tire dancers during his DJ sets, ambient stylists and critics later took him under their wing for Selected Ambient Works 85-92, a sublime touchstone in the field of ambient techno. James’ reaction to the exposure portrayed an artist unwilling to become either pigeonholed or categorizable. His second Aphex Twin album, Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 2, was so minimal as to be barely conscious — in what appeared to be an elaborate joke on the electronic community. Follow-ups showed James gradually returning to his hardcore and acid roots, even while his stated desire to crash the British Top Ten (and perform on Top of the Pops) resulted in a series of cartoonish pop songs whose twisted genius was near-masked by their many absurdities. His iconoclastic behavior surprisingly aligned with MTV audiences turned on to end-of-the-millennium nihilist pop along the lines of Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails.

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Thomas Fehlmann

virgohippy — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:12:15 +0000

An important man in the German electronic scene, Zurich-born musician and producer Thomas Fehlmann has brought several diverse acts to Germany to record and collaborate. Beginning in the early ’80s, his group Palais Schaumburg fused dance rhythms to the experimentalist flair of ’70s German rock. A Detroit-Berlin cultural exchange through the Tresor label originally brought Underground Resistance to Germany, and Fehlmann did his part by recording separately with Blake Baxter, Eddie Flashin’ Fowlkes, and Juan Atkins (as 3MB). A longtime association with another electronica institution, the Orb, gave him a chance to record and produce the group in Berlin. While managing the band Fisherman’s Friend, he convinced two of the members to form Sun Electric and produced their Kitchen album.

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Prefuse 73

virgohippy — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:04:06 +0000

Prefuse 73 is the alias of Scott Herren, an experimental hip-hop producer whose material often features MCs buried in the mix to become more a part of the sonic texture than a focal point. Herren began his career working in commercial studios in Atlanta, but later went on to more experimental work. His first record under the Prefuse name, Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives, not only buried but cut up and spliced raps as well as allowing some more straightforward vocals from several MCs. The 2003 follow-up, One Word Extinguisher, carried on in a similar vein. That same year, Warp released Extinguished: Outtakes — a fascinating EP of beats and samples that ran through 23 tracks in about 35 minutes.

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Loscil

virgohippy — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:12:45 +0000

The heavily computerized music of Loscil is courtesy of a single man — Scott Morgan. Influenced by the likes of Cluster, Henry Mancini, and Gavin Bryars, the Vancouver-based musician uses samplers, synthesizers, computer programming, and other effects to create a highly original sound. A self-released album, A New Demonstration of Thermodynamic Tendencies, caught the ear of the Chicago independent label Kranky, who in turn signed Morgan’s project and issued Triple Point in October of 2001. The album featured six tracks previously issued on Thermodynamic Tendencies, as well as four new tracks. Submers, Morgan’s second official Loscil album, followed the next year. In addition to his Loscil duties, Morgan also drums for Vancouver alt-rockers Destroyer, has designed music for films, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and websites, and wrote music to accompany films at the Barcelona Off-Line Flash Film Festival in May 2001. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

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Kinski

virgohippy — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:14:07 +0000

While debating the merits of analog vs. digital recording in a Seattle pub, guitarist Chris Martin and bassist Lucy Atkinson were interrupted by the bartender, drummer Dave Weeks. He said, definitively, that analog was superior; thus Kinski came into being. This same spontaneity would come to define their multi-layered noise-rock, reminiscent of Sonic Youth at their most experimental. Kinski began playing live in 1998. By the summer of 1999, the trio had released its first record, Space Launch for Frenchie. With six songs clocking in at 45 minutes, it inevitably sparked some debate of its own: EP or LP? Later that year, the band explored newer textures in their live set, and friend Matthew Reid Schwartz (guitar, keyboards) was added to the lineup. Kinski has toured with Mainliner (Japan), Hovercraft, and Silkworm. In 2001, their follow-up, Be Gentle with the Warm Turtle, arrived. Two years later, the group returned with their Sub Pop debut, Airs Above Your Station. A split release with Acid Mothers Temple was also issued in 2003. A West Coast tour supporting Mission of Burma coincided with Kinski’s fourth album, Don’t Climb on and Take the Holy Water, in spring 2004. Alpine Static followed in 2005. 2007’s Down Below It’s Chaos added a ’70s hard rock vibe and vocals to their intense drones. ~ Eric J. Iannelli, All Music Guide

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Deadly Avenger

virgohippy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:55:41 +0000

Having cited the obligatory downtempo influences - from the spooked atmospheres of The Exorcist through to the synth orchestration of John Carpenter - it was hardly a surprise to find Damon Baxter’s early material for J Saul Kane’s Electron and Depth Charge imprints a blend of arepeggiating vintage keys and shuffling electro rhythm sections. A series of remixes for the likes of Travis, the Charlatans and Stereophonics - together with his own accomplished contributions to Pussyfoot, Fused & Bruised and Wall of Sound - reinforced an enviable reputation in the studio before the launch of his own Illicit label. Deep Red, his debut album released in the fall of 2002, expanded upon previous singles, panning from a growling brass section in a rework of the highly sought after “We Took Pelham” to a spine tingling crescendo provided by a 47 piece Hungarian orchestra. Like contemporaries Easy Access Orchestra, Blue States and Ninja Tune’s Herbaliser, the Avenger is far more than just a dash through string strewn cinematic streets, touching upon thoughtful electronics and eased listening with a resultant aural tapestry as accomplished as they come. ~ Kingsley Marshall, All Music Guide

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Slowdive

virgohippy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:11:34 +0000

Named after a word in one of Nick Chaplin’s dreams — not from a Siouxsie and the Banshees single — Slowdive formed in Reading, England, in late 1989. The group orginally consisted of Neil Halstead (guitar/vocals), Rachel Goswell (guitar/vocals), Christian Savill (guitar), Adrian Sell (drums), and Chaplin (bass). Formed when they were mostly in their teens, Slowdive was initially lumped in with the remainder of the early-’90s British shoegaze scene; Slowdive’s later releases extended upon the likes of the Cocteau Twins and the more atmospheric sides of post-punk, and they closed out their career with an excellent and misunderstood ambient LP.

Signing with Creation, Slowdive’s early singles received glowing press and chart placement. Their debut single, Slowdive, thinly veiled an indebtedness to the Byrds and My Bloody Valentine, with no traceable punk influence. (In fact, they were probably amongst the first batch of young rock bands to ignore the movement.) Just after Slowdive’s recording, Sell left for university. Neil Carter subbed for less than a year, lending his skills to the follow-up single, Morningrise; former Charlottes member Simon Scott hopped on board prior to the band’s third single, Holding Our Breath.

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Stars of the Lid

virgohippy — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:07:41 +0000

Ambient drone duo Stars of the Lid was formed in Austin, TX, by guitarists Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie, the latter also a member of Windsor for the Derby as well as the longtime soundman for Bedhead. Debuting in 1994 with Music for Nitrous Oxide, the duo returned the following year with Gravitational Pull vs. the Desire for an Aquatic Life; signing to Kranky, Stars of the Lid next resurfaced in 1997 with the epic The Ballasted Orchestra. 1998’s Per Aspera Ad Astra, a collaboration with painter Jon McCafferty, preceded the Sub Rosa release Avec Laudenum. Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid landed in 2001, with And Their Refinement of the Decline following in 2007. Both were double CDs. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

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