Boomkat new releases list

With two EPs and a handful of remixes, Mount Kimbie have opened a portal into the world of post-dubstep, electronic fusion soundscaping. ‘Crooks & Lovers’ is their much anticipated debut album, an assured statement comprised of crafty complexities and coherently juxtaposed angles making use of the freedom from any immediate dancefloor demands. With their releases landing on HotFlush and their inclusion in the catch-all net of dubstep, you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re a purely dancefloor act but there’s many more elements at play within Mount Kimbie that we’ve always felt would better lend them to the album format. The shards of acoustic guitars, crying-on-the-dancefloor vocals and jazz arrangements woven into their singles are given more time to develop here, from the vocal glossolalia of ‘Adriatic’, sounding like an XX experiment recorded on a 10th storey balcony, to the woozy underwater accordian and nautical atmospherics of ‘Ode To Bear’ or the Bohren And Der Club Of Gore-style dark jazz closer ‘Between Time’, indulging their esoteric inclinations with finesse. That’s certainly not to say that they’ve forgetten the groove entirely. It’s still a central feature of their sound, just largely slowed to a more sedate, hazy pace. The heavy compressed head-swing of ‘Would Know’ sounds like Actress stepping off with James Blake (who frequently works closely with the duo), and ‘Blind Night Errand’ programmes Bretschneider-esque digital minimalism spliced with an East London flex in line with Spatial productions. They’re at their best when all the elements mesh together, with idiosyncratic chord arrangements, effervescent R’n’B vibes and clinical rhythm structures of ‘Carbonated’ or the morphing BC-to-Balearia of ‘Field’ and the twitchy soul of ‘Mayor’. ‘Crooks & Lovers’ is a deeply enjoyable album with a broad appeal to lovers of pop savvy, technically aware and original electronic music. A Must.

*Killer vinyl debut for Sam Goldberg’s excellent Kosmische-driven ‘Radio People’ project after cassette releases for the Emeralds-curated Wagon and Gneiss Things labels. A must for followers of Oneohtrix Point never or, indeed, Emeralds* From the salty tear-infected circuit boards of Cleveland, Ohio, comes ‘Radio People’, Sam Goldberg’s synthwave commission for the ever-excellent Digitalis imprint. For the latter half of the ’00s he’s been a part of the same underground noise scene as Emeralds, running his Pizza Night cassette imprint and releasing a handful of rare tapes on Gneiss Things, Wagon and Weird Forest, among others. Radio People is a relatively recent handle he’s been using for a trio of now out-of-print cassettes on Pizza Night, and this is the first vinyl product of that chemically imbalanced sound. He could be considered a more lo-fi adjunct to Emeralds’ prog developed chops, or Oneohtrix’s hypnagogic sound sculptures, but still clearly communicates cosmic thoughts of vast kosmiche dronescapes and internal synth chaos with occasional, vivid flashes of pop hooks and Krautrock rhythms bearing a solitary tenderness of his own. He largely keeps his tracks concise and varied, skillfully sequencing ‘Radio People’ to gradually open up from gauzy beginnings of ‘The Leaf Home’, to plunge into the wormhole of ‘Split Personality’ and into the private pressing style introspection of ”The Leaf Home Pt. II (Vietnam)’, with its sunken machine drums and gorgeously warm synth wisps. Best of all, is the brief thrust of ‘Designer’, the album’s most direct and dramatic composition recalling Klaus Schulze and more recent Gavin Russom tracks in miniature, and certainly the 8 minute closer, coming off like some hallucinogenic ‘Nam flashback with swooping rotor blade synths and a lysergic undercurrent of synth noise. This is album is a real find and a must for fans of Oneohtrix, or any of the numerous Emeralds-related projects. Highly Recommended.

*Easily one of the releases of the year so far, finally available on limited edition vinyl* Ghostly goings on from gothic psych queen Zola Jesus and kindred spirit LA Vampires (the current guise of Amanda Brown from Pocahaunted), who collaborate across this killer new mini album. ‘Bone Is Bloodstone’ rumbles into motion with those familiarly smudged out, indecipherable vocals and evaporating drum machines but there’s a heavy bass groove and some ghoulish melodic developments set to balance out any of the more noxiously no-fi elements . In a more reflective mood, ‘In The Desert’ momentarily extinguishes the low end and stirs up a shimmering expanse of freetime wah-wah chords and droning voices. An altogether more percussive prospect, ‘Searching’ hints at Pocahaunted’s latter-day output, firing up a junkyard dub rhythm, and this idea gets stretched out to booming sub-funk proportions in time for closer ‘No No No’, which you can just about discern as covering the Dawn Penn classic. Seriously seriously essential wares – very highly recommended.

This latest release from modern classical star Max Richter is a collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor for the Royal Ballet. Premiered at the Royal Opera House in November 2008, the piece was put in the spotlight by a BBC documentary around the same time, only to be revived at the beginning of this year, resuming its run at Covent Garden.  Richter’s soundtrack is an absorbing blend of shortwave-style droning transmissions, beautiful string ensemble pieces and piano compositions.  Compared with his solo studio albums, the format of the score seems to permit Richter to shift into a more abstract mode at regular points over the course of the album, dissolving orchestration into airwave-cruising static for introductory piece ‘Infra 1’ or exploring a dulcet ether-dwelling hum on ‘Journey 2’, but over the course of the album you’ll hear plenty of this composer’s more conventional neo-classical writing too: ‘Infra 5’ is vintage Max Richter, developing a sumptuous, yet repetitive melodic theme and laying a shifting chord sequence beneath it.  The results are typically emotive and by the conclusion ascend to a kind of urgent crescendo while blistering radio noise begins to swell in the mix.  A quick glance at Richter’s IMDB page suggests that we can expect more collaborations and soundtrack-style projects from Richter in the months and years to come; already he’s scored a slew of TV projects, along with notable films such as Waltz With Bashir, and recently the Blue Notebooks piece, ‘On The Nature Of Daylight’ played a prominent role in Scorcese’s gothic schlock-fest, Shutter Island.  Infra proves Richter’s versatility and searchingly experimental drive as a composer, pitching that ideal balance between ear-bending soundscapes and all-out heartbreak. Highly Recommended.

So, 2010 is turning out to be a vintage year for KFW releases, following his stunning ‘Generator’ tape, a split with Carlos Giffoni and the incredible ‘Variations for Oud & Synthesizer’ 7″ now comes this Split LP with Mike Shiflet encapsulating guitar/drone experiments. Keith’s side was recorded in his home town, feeding a performance on hybrid Digital/Analogue Modular synthesizer through a mono keyboard amp in order to explore a topography of arcane, gnarled and visceral electronics. It’s almost pointless trying to describe the noises within, because what happens from points A-B simply couldn’t be articulated in any form, but its the way the seemingly static drone elements burst into shards of noise and almost percussive spirals that makes this such an utterly compelling listen and yet another example of KFW’s unparalleled sonic weltanschauung. Over on the flipside Mike Shiflet holds his own with an incredibly dense and slow-building modulating pulse-wave drone that grows into an organically unfolding scene of burred tones scraping at the ear, before subsiding into throttled low end frequencies gradually losing the will to survive and dissipating into echoic guitar noise. Limited copies – very highly recommended.

Three of the worlds foremost extreme sound artists/producers collide ‘In The Studio’ on a highly limited and opulent spot-gloss gatefold album. Recorded days after the live performance captured on ‘Shall I Download A Black Hole and Offer It To You’, this is Keiji Haino and Pan Sonic witnessed in the controlled environs of a Berlin studio, serving eleven utterly compelling examples of freeform noise, vocal gymnastics and power electronics. The track titles, from the hand of Haino, indicate the abstract esoteric nature of the recordings, with ‘If I could incarnate this feeling would you consider it a creation’ attached to 1 minute of Keiji’s blood curdling vocal catharsis (sounding strangely like the odd little chap from Police Academy), and the jawdropping ‘In the hollow created between the eyebrows, what offering would be most appropriate’ signifying seven minutes of lucid operatic falsetto descending into diabolical undertones of strafing drones and oncoming clouds of caustic noise. The dilated scope of the session is perhaps best heard on ‘Imperious doppelganger of tears, playing catch with objectivity that evades ultimate responsibility’, where spasmodic jazz/metal drums pound clustered chunks of percussive flesh over walloping synthetic bass hits and shadowy, dynamic alien shapes invade the space at will. On ‘”Without Doubt”, an attestation written from that time, will no longer have effect, because the wound has widened so much’ Haino riffs away on guitar over Mika & Ilpo’s reinforced machine beaten industrial squalls, and appears again in a more sombre form, articulating acutely melancholy axe signatures to bleak, blank bass drones in ‘Perhaps there is no need to return’, a sublime meeting of mystical and uncompromising minds from opposite ends of the world. The heavyweight nature of the music is beautifully represented in Stephen O’Malley’s stunning sleeve, firmly enhancing the irresistible allure of this album. Very highly recommended.

Steve Spacek needs little introduction to the future soul/broken beat cognoscenti. To everyone else, he’s one of the UK’s most unique producer/singers, our answer to someone like Om’mas Keith for example. His recent motions under the Black Pocket alias have thrown up some real gems, most notably the anthemic ‘Ur A Sta’ and associated remixes from his bruv DBridge and forward thinking peer, Martyn. ‘The Album’ is a culmination of this solo endeavour, seventeen tracks of riddim kinked idiosyncracies and future boogie vibes that followers of Dâm-Funk will flock to. From mutilated edit jams like ‘Juiced’ to squashed midnight wonk on ‘Sta Simonez’ and soul-glowing beatdown on ‘AI Softly’ his refined character and some 20 years of production knowledge lend this set a subtle futurism that can’t be touched. Spacek’s beats are all about that extra little nudge, that tweak of finesse and near-organic depth perception that fans of Mark Pritchard, Floating Points or even DBridge will love. Highly Recommended.

**Pink Marbled Vinyl** Time and tape warped hypno-pop from Foxy Baby, suspected by some to be the work of one Sam Meringue, aka maker of Matrix Metals and Flashback Repository on OESB and others. His label sums Foxy Baby up as an “esoteric glam-damaged concept record about Berlin nightclubs and foxy ladies”, and that ‘s quite on the money, except this Berlin is in an alternate dimension where Ariel Pink sits at the head of the Reichstag and instead of amphetamine sulphate, everyone necks handfuls of valium and and the pilsner is standardly spiked with codeine. Like James Ferraro’s audio hallucinations, it’s hard to pick out what’s what, whether that’s a sample you’re hearing or new recordings subjected to enigmatic mulching processes, but either way the effect is thoroughly intoxicating. In amongst the tumultuous power pop degradations, there are some really sublime moments like ‘Bergheim’ with its almost BoC like melancholy flutters, or the narcotic carousel melody of ‘Headspins’, and the submerged, top-of-a-mountain geetar solo headspace of ‘Driving At Night’. Limited copies, on marbled pink vinyl. Apparently you’ll get a buzz if you lick the wax.

Following the unanimous acclaim for his ‘Jarvik Mindstate’ LP, Peverelist drops two righteously forward riddims for Punch Drunk – and for our money they’re his finest yet. The Bristol ringleader has built his rep on quality, not quantity and these tracks bear testament to his prinicipled and stringently executed approach. ‘Better Ways Of Living’ nods to the pared down 808 aesthetic of Swamp 81 with a brittle bustling beat scaffold acting like monkey bars for a piped synth organ to twist, scuttle and roll around in, while ‘Fighting Without Fighting’ continues the rhythmically busy flex with slick dipping edits and bespoke dub measurements applied inna future jungle-hardcore style. His built-from-the-ground-up style and the exquisitely brief yet sprightly synth motif make this one of his very finest tracks to date and a deadly mixing tool to slip with your Ramadanman, Blawan and Joe 12″s. Utterly sick twelve – don’t miss.

All you boogie funkateers, listen up! Eglo drop some of that red top, gangster cruising illness with Arp 101’s debut release, a pair of down-slow and effortlessly groovy R’n’B joints featured heavily on Alex Nut’s radio show of late. Fresh-sealed drums punctuate each side for a slow drawling effect while ‘Dead Leaf’ licks up Kraftwerk-on-the-strip synths and ‘Warriors Galactic’ is all about the oversized bassline spilling gin and juice over your new crepes. Mary Anne Hobbs, Sinden and Falty DL are all signed up to this guy’s fanclub, get in quicksharp!

The Dug Out mission continues, this week presenting East London’s Naphtali on a slick digital killer. ‘Hole Up Your Hand’ is one of his very first singles, produced at the Vibes Sounds studio in 1987 with Blacka at the controls crafting a minimal digital skanker with a timelessly futuristic atmosphere and a version included for the DJs. Choice cuts once again from Dug Out – stone cold killer.

Eliphino, Illum Sphere, Tokimonsta and Blue Daisy line up for a masterful remix session of Kidkanevil’s ‘Basho Basho’ EP. You should be warned, there’s some seriously potent material on this 12″, staring with Eliphino’s mix of ‘The Floating World’ which starts apace with a Joy Orbison-alike take on garage, arranging shivering hi-hats into impressive shuffles while his basslines manages to go way deeper than anything we’ve heard for time. Also in fine form, Illum Sphere gives up one of his deadliest club tracks to date on a remix of ‘When Doves Bounce’ brimming with crunk bass and choppy samples. Tokimonsta’s laidback LA disposition beams through on her Unsound Bliss Mix of ‘Megajoy’, but surely the highlight has to be Blue Daisy’s ‘Minjo’ version, laying his spatially aware astro-hop atmospheres over devastating subbass movements like the UK’s finest answer to Flying Lotus. Massive twelve.