Wednesday 27 April 2011

Burial - perfect music for running

Shrouded in shadows, with sepulchral, crepuscular undertones, Burial's music is ideal for late nights.
But is it also good for a jog?
So says Tom Ravenscroft in this piece for the New Statesman.
This is what he runs to.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Maria Minerva

This girl has just popped up on the no doubt ever-expanding European post-structuralist rave scene. Maria Minerva is Estonian by birth, but living in London. One blog describes her music as "gauzy". Simon Reynolds has flagged up this weird spectral mash-up on his blog. I think it is from her new cassette-only album, Tallinn at Dawn. Which, by the way, is a lovely title. On youtube, she says the visuals for this song form "the world's most retarded music video". That is probably about right, but it sort of works.

About Group

Not had much of a chance to listen to the album yet, but how good is About Group's record cover?

Monday 25 April 2011

Gatto Fritto: Hungry Ghosts

Just been browsing around on the internet this evening. Saw a review on Pitchfork of the new Gatto Fritto album. Haven't listened to the record, but I did find this old-school disco piece by Gatto Fritto from 2008. And despite sounding like it was made about 30 years ago - in fact, probably because it DOES sound like that - it is a really interesting piece. Has a real Patrick Cowley feel to it. This version cuts off before the end, but, from a low key opening, it builds into something quite extraordinary.

Thursday 21 April 2011

Autechre: EPs 1991-2002


Many electronica fans will welcome the news that Autechre have released a box set of their EPs. Much of this output is no longer available, and no doubt for some the box set will be like getting a glimpse of the holy grail. But for serious Ae fans, there is not really very much to get excited about. The collection of 47 tracks features everything from Basscad, Anti, Garbage, Anvil Vapre, the two Peel Sessions, Envane, the Cichli Suite, EP7 and Gantz Graf. Yet the only inclusion that will truly surprise Autechre afficionados is the very rare Cavity Job EP - their first, and indisputably least interesting, release.
So, for Autechre fans who have followed the band closely since they came on the scene in the early 90s, the only thing to do now is let a vague feeling of smugness wash over you. You already have these records. You do not need this box set. You are a true fan.
The question then, perhaps, is whether there was any point in searching out - and spending large sums on - hard-to-find EPs that are now being made available for a pittance.
And, for fans of label-mate Aphex Twin who have spent similar amounts of time and money searching out his even harder to complete back catalogue, there must now be an inevitable sense that his own hard-to-get releases will one day hit the market.
The only thing left to do is re-run private conversations about which EP was the best. And that's a question I would really struggle to answer.

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Aphex Twin top 200 on its way


I haven't updated for ages, but I HAVE been doing something - namely, piecing together a top 200 Aphex Twin chart. I'm deep into it now, but it is taking forever. I hadn't listened to some of his music for about ten years, so there was quite a lot of old material to dig out.
What will be in? And, more intriguingly, what won't?
Watch this space.