Hey all, season's greetings and apologies for not having written lately, it's been a bit of a time. Thought I'd drop by with a little something for now though - kicking off with a compilation of Owen Ashworth's projects with a Christmas theme. The man is responsible for the majority of tracks in my library with that word in the title, and this mixtape gathers them from 2006 to 2020 all together in one neat little package. Recently updated this year with a new final track in 'Christmas Steve' and with a low low price of 'Pay what you want', it makes for a great little stocking filler if you're in the mood for some sweet lo-fi melancholy.
Thought I'd throw some more in as well while I'm here, starting with Susumu Yokota. Love Or Die is an album that comes to my mind every now and then - I often can't recall the tracks specifically as they all have wildly lengthy names, like "The Now Forgotten Gods Of Rocky Mountain Residing In The Back Of The North Wood." for example. The exception to that is A Song Produced While Floating Alone On Christmas Day, every so often the main melody will come up in my mind and I'll seek it out and give it a listen once more. Yokota's backcatalogue is extensive and varied, but the downtempo melodic sides of Love Or Die are a highlight and a great place to jump in.
From here, it's the usual suspects. Yoko Kanno is a natural suggestion - her soundtrack for the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex series is full of cool electronics that is supremely to my taste. It'll have to be a spotify embed this time sadly, but here's hoping the small snippet it'll play you shows off that in spades. If you liked Björk's Homogenic you might find some similarity here - one that's no doubt made more prominent with Ilaria Graziano's guest appearance on the vocal front. It's not my favourite of her guest spots, but I can't deny the power she brings to the choruses.
And finally, what else but a deep Röyksopp cut. Originally from their 'Track Of The Month' series from many years ago, I'm surprised they've never put it out officially anywhere else as they did with some bonus tracks in their 'Lost Tapes' series. It's not overbearingly twee with it's Christmas trimmings, in fact, if it weren't for a whispered 'Happy Christmas' at one point you could probably get away with it at any time of year. Those of you that have read my writings here for any length of time will know I adore the Röyksopp boys and this one is no different. I could live forever amongst those gorgeous synths that come in full force from the second half onwards. Just divine.
And that'll be all for now. I'm still mulling over whether I want to do a little roundup post before the year's end, but if I don't end up doing it in time I'll pick it up again come January. Until then - as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
Showing posts with label yoko kanno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoko kanno. Show all posts
Sunday, 24 December 2023
Sunday, 13 December 2020
Taking Stock
Feelin' all nostalgic this time. Again. But! Not in the usual sense where I share a bunch of old tunes I used to listen to or anything, well actually kinda that but not quite how I usually do it, hopefully it'll all make sense in a bit. Essentially these are not things that are *super* old or anything, but hit that same kind of feeling for me. Wouldn't be too noteworthy normally but I hit a good 3 in a row and thought it'd be nice to share. Let's go.
First is another bit of Trance. I promise that this post won't go super in depth with it, after all I already had my annual post where I wax poetic about Trance a couple months back! Though saying that, this track would have been right at home there - as I always say I could just be in those breakdowns for ever and ever. I will concede that as is usually the case with trance - that it does take an extraordinarily long time to get going. Though it's not as bad an offender as some tracks I have in my collection, I understand it could turn a lot of folk away. It's not as aggressive with the 'drop' as it were as the other trance stuff I posted - there's not really an explosion of that trademark euphoria here, it all just kind of slides into place. And that's not a criticism of it by any means, as much as I love that style I've been especially taken with this one as of late- which has also taken me on this virtual trip of YT channels that are just videos of vinyl.
Speaking of enamoured, it's been a long time since I mentioned Yoko Kanno on here. She's one of my favourite composers and while her work isn't always applicable for an electronic music blog, when she does turn her hand to the more electronic side of things it's something really special. I've talked at length about her soundtracks for Ghost In The Shell and Cowboy Bebop, but as is the theme of this post we're going a little bit more into the past. She also sound tracked a series called Terror In Resonance, which despite it's often heavy content (as you may have guessed from the title) is a absolutely full of gorgeous visuals and lush audio. I last mentioned this one way back in the early days of the podcast, around episode 2 I think? When it came up on shuffle I knew I had to include it here. Terror In Resonance carries a lot of Icelandic influence oddly enough, and this is reflected in the soundtrack. There's no outright plagiarism of homages to bands like Sigur Rós, the influence is clear to hear, more so on the tracks with vocals (my favourite being 'Hanna'). Crystalized however you can still hear that influence in, to me the way the build ebbs and flows is very reminiscent of post-rock as a whole.
And finally - ending the year as it began with an Everything But The Girl demo. Last year it was Above The Law, the demo for what would become Before Today on the Walking Wounded album, a vry rough round the edges early draft that only enhanced Tracey Thorn's vocal contributions. Speeding Car Side On by contrast is completely instrumental - and feels much more finalised than Above The Law albeit lacking vocals at all. Without knowing the ins and outs of the album's production though, who can say it was even intended to have them at all? But I digress, it's a shame this one was cut, it's not going to knock your socks off or anything but it's a lovely period piece of downtempo and for that I love it (With my biases admitted!). As always, I'm not a massive fan of the string accompaniment in places, but it was 1996 and that kind of thing was very much in vogue at the time. And if I had to critique it more the whole thing does feel a bit meandering - it's not something that stops me from enjoying it but I can see the lack of development grating on some - and again I have to give them some leeway as it is explicitly labelled as a demo, so you can expect it to be unpolished and unfinished. That doesn't stop it from being lovely in parts though.
And that'll do it for this week. Apologies for no bandcamp players this time but YT is a decent enough replacement, especially when dealing with tracks that aren't on the platform. I've got some things lined up for the end of the year, not sure if they'll come to anything yet but stay tuned anyway. Might be a little longer between posts as well now we enter the end of the year - rest assured that unless I say otherwise, I am still active and am probably just busy!
And as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
First is another bit of Trance. I promise that this post won't go super in depth with it, after all I already had my annual post where I wax poetic about Trance a couple months back! Though saying that, this track would have been right at home there - as I always say I could just be in those breakdowns for ever and ever. I will concede that as is usually the case with trance - that it does take an extraordinarily long time to get going. Though it's not as bad an offender as some tracks I have in my collection, I understand it could turn a lot of folk away. It's not as aggressive with the 'drop' as it were as the other trance stuff I posted - there's not really an explosion of that trademark euphoria here, it all just kind of slides into place. And that's not a criticism of it by any means, as much as I love that style I've been especially taken with this one as of late- which has also taken me on this virtual trip of YT channels that are just videos of vinyl.
Speaking of enamoured, it's been a long time since I mentioned Yoko Kanno on here. She's one of my favourite composers and while her work isn't always applicable for an electronic music blog, when she does turn her hand to the more electronic side of things it's something really special. I've talked at length about her soundtracks for Ghost In The Shell and Cowboy Bebop, but as is the theme of this post we're going a little bit more into the past. She also sound tracked a series called Terror In Resonance, which despite it's often heavy content (as you may have guessed from the title) is a absolutely full of gorgeous visuals and lush audio. I last mentioned this one way back in the early days of the podcast, around episode 2 I think? When it came up on shuffle I knew I had to include it here. Terror In Resonance carries a lot of Icelandic influence oddly enough, and this is reflected in the soundtrack. There's no outright plagiarism of homages to bands like Sigur Rós, the influence is clear to hear, more so on the tracks with vocals (my favourite being 'Hanna'). Crystalized however you can still hear that influence in, to me the way the build ebbs and flows is very reminiscent of post-rock as a whole.
And finally - ending the year as it began with an Everything But The Girl demo. Last year it was Above The Law, the demo for what would become Before Today on the Walking Wounded album, a vry rough round the edges early draft that only enhanced Tracey Thorn's vocal contributions. Speeding Car Side On by contrast is completely instrumental - and feels much more finalised than Above The Law albeit lacking vocals at all. Without knowing the ins and outs of the album's production though, who can say it was even intended to have them at all? But I digress, it's a shame this one was cut, it's not going to knock your socks off or anything but it's a lovely period piece of downtempo and for that I love it (With my biases admitted!). As always, I'm not a massive fan of the string accompaniment in places, but it was 1996 and that kind of thing was very much in vogue at the time. And if I had to critique it more the whole thing does feel a bit meandering - it's not something that stops me from enjoying it but I can see the lack of development grating on some - and again I have to give them some leeway as it is explicitly labelled as a demo, so you can expect it to be unpolished and unfinished. That doesn't stop it from being lovely in parts though.
And that'll do it for this week. Apologies for no bandcamp players this time but YT is a decent enough replacement, especially when dealing with tracks that aren't on the platform. I've got some things lined up for the end of the year, not sure if they'll come to anything yet but stay tuned anyway. Might be a little longer between posts as well now we enter the end of the year - rest assured that unless I say otherwise, I am still active and am probably just busy!
And as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
Monday, 27 April 2020
Electric Futures 2020
NOTE: Hi there! I'm going through the backcatalogue and re-publishing all the posts I can find. I'm re-posting them as new articles too just so there is visible content going up. This post is originally from January 2017.
Enjoy,
-CVF
Kicking off with a slight electro slant this time, I was picking apart my look over Perturbator's LP The Uncanny Valley and seeing if my opinion had changed much. I don't think it has to be fair, the album is still mastered incredibly loudly (or at least my copy is, for good and bad, depending on the situation). But I did manage to find some things I hadn't put in my original post. Assault didn't really grab me first time through, it's not helped by having a real generic title for one, and secondly if you've listened to as much Perturbator as I have it's standard fare at this point. That is until you get to 2:30 of course, somehow I'd forgotten in the time past that there's a massive switch up from a slow and deliberate synthwave tune to more much aggressive feel as befitting an artist featured in Hotline Miami.
I recently put the Half Life 2 soundtrack back into my collection after a long absence, I've gotten to know them pretty well in the decade plus they've been around. Still though, there are little pieces that I will forever adore, one of which being Sector Sweep from Episode 2. That pulsating intro is a joy to listen to and perfectly captures the track's title, I especially enjoy it being used as a basis for the rest of the elements to be built around, it's not often you see a soundtrack have so much symbolism with the media it's accompanying.
And we can't be talking futuristic soundtracks and not give nod to perhaps my favourite opening theme of all time, Inner Universe. Ironically enough after speaking about soundtrack symbolism, Inner Universe nails it also, the contrast between the electronics and Origa's unique vocal contributions matches the world of Ghost In The Shell incredibly well. It's been a long time since Stand Alone Complex ended, and Origa herself passed sometime ago now, bet her work and the world of Ghost In The Shell will be forever entwined.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Enjoy,
-CVF
Horacio Garcia-Rossi - Couleur Electrique Lumière (2000)
Kicking off with a slight electro slant this time, I was picking apart my look over Perturbator's LP The Uncanny Valley and seeing if my opinion had changed much. I don't think it has to be fair, the album is still mastered incredibly loudly (or at least my copy is, for good and bad, depending on the situation). But I did manage to find some things I hadn't put in my original post. Assault didn't really grab me first time through, it's not helped by having a real generic title for one, and secondly if you've listened to as much Perturbator as I have it's standard fare at this point. That is until you get to 2:30 of course, somehow I'd forgotten in the time past that there's a massive switch up from a slow and deliberate synthwave tune to more much aggressive feel as befitting an artist featured in Hotline Miami.
I recently put the Half Life 2 soundtrack back into my collection after a long absence, I've gotten to know them pretty well in the decade plus they've been around. Still though, there are little pieces that I will forever adore, one of which being Sector Sweep from Episode 2. That pulsating intro is a joy to listen to and perfectly captures the track's title, I especially enjoy it being used as a basis for the rest of the elements to be built around, it's not often you see a soundtrack have so much symbolism with the media it's accompanying.
And we can't be talking futuristic soundtracks and not give nod to perhaps my favourite opening theme of all time, Inner Universe. Ironically enough after speaking about soundtrack symbolism, Inner Universe nails it also, the contrast between the electronics and Origa's unique vocal contributions matches the world of Ghost In The Shell incredibly well. It's been a long time since Stand Alone Complex ended, and Origa herself passed sometime ago now, bet her work and the world of Ghost In The Shell will be forever entwined.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 14 February 2020
Luv'd Up
Hello! I am back with a completed version of something I've been knocking about for many a month now. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, originally started as a 4-tracker for the podcast but I since span it off into what you see below. I took the opportunity to make an old school mixtape like the ones I've already been making, you know the kind you make FOR a person or whatever. Anyway, here's 42 minutes of tunes dedicated to that special someone who knows who they are. Is it perfectly mixed? Not at all, but I hope that feeling shines through here and you find something you quite like. We start out strong with some smoothness from Tsutchie, then take a tour of all things downtempo afterwards, culminating in my favourite love song of all time, The Knife's Heartbeats. Join me, won't you? (Tracklist below!)
TRACKLIST:
Jun Sasaki - Juice (TV Version) [0:00]
Tsutchie - You [1:00]
Massive Attack - Polaroid Girl [5:44]
Cornelius - Drop (The Tusen Takk Rework by Kings Of Convenience) [8:25]
Boom Bip - Last Walk Around Mirror Lake (Boards Of Canada Remix) [12:20]
Bang Bang - Bye Bye Blues [16:30]
R·O·N - Love Come [21:31]
Bibio - Haikuesque (When She Laughs) [22:40]
The Flashbulb - We Are Alone In A City [24:40]
Yoko Kanno - ís [29:50]
The Knife - Heartbeats (Live) [32:20]
Mitsuto Suzuki - Sound Of Dream [36:40]
TRACKLIST:
Jun Sasaki - Juice (TV Version) [0:00]
Tsutchie - You [1:00]
Massive Attack - Polaroid Girl [5:44]
Cornelius - Drop (The Tusen Takk Rework by Kings Of Convenience) [8:25]
Boom Bip - Last Walk Around Mirror Lake (Boards Of Canada Remix) [12:20]
Bang Bang - Bye Bye Blues [16:30]
R·O·N - Love Come [21:31]
Bibio - Haikuesque (When She Laughs) [22:40]
The Flashbulb - We Are Alone In A City [24:40]
Yoko Kanno - ís [29:50]
The Knife - Heartbeats (Live) [32:20]
Mitsuto Suzuki - Sound Of Dream [36:40]
Sunday, 8 December 2019
Wrapped With Warmness
It's been a long time since I've done one of these, I've had my head in a tech troubleshooting hole for the better part of a week now. So I thought why not knock out one of those mixtape things I used to make? So over the course of an afternoon I put this together. I'll say what I say in the Mixcloud description: As always I'm no master DJ but I'm pretty happy with the flow of this one! Themed around tunes to keep you toasty as the winter months close in (at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere), it's almost an extension of my 'cosy electronic' stuff I was posting a while back (with Sparks being one of my staples for that) but with some extra upbeat stuff put in. I hope you enjoy, tracklist follows the player!
Tracklist:
Mitsuto Suzuki - Clear
Cornelius - Drop (The Tusen Takk Rework by Kings Of Convenience)
Hajime Hyakkoku - Winter Night In A Warm Room
Röyksopp - Sparks
DMX Krew - December Darkness
Nami Shimada & Soichi Terada - Sunshower
Mondo Grosso - Labyrinth (Album Mix)
The Flashbulb - Let Me Walk You To Your Honda
Yoko Kanno - Strangers
Pascal Michael Stiefel - Fast Food
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tracklist:
Mitsuto Suzuki - Clear
Cornelius - Drop (The Tusen Takk Rework by Kings Of Convenience)
Hajime Hyakkoku - Winter Night In A Warm Room
Röyksopp - Sparks
DMX Krew - December Darkness
Nami Shimada & Soichi Terada - Sunshower
Mondo Grosso - Labyrinth (Album Mix)
The Flashbulb - Let Me Walk You To Your Honda
Yoko Kanno - Strangers
Pascal Michael Stiefel - Fast Food
-Claude Van Foxbat
Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Aeria Gloris
In another strange twist, I found out recently that more of Yoko Kanno's work has made it onto Spotify. Not just any of her works either, no this time it's the entire soundtracks she made for the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series. You might've heard me mention Kanno several times previously, she's one of my favourite composers even when not working with electronics. I'd have liked for more of her work to land on streaming platforms but you can't go much wrong with the Stand Alone Complex works. So I'm going to take you through them and choose some of my all time favourites to share with you.
I couldn't be talking about these OSTs without starting with this one. We're kicking off with the opening theme to the first season, Inner Universe featuring Origa. Fantastic production, and incredibly befitting of the high-tech world of Ghost In The Shell, the clash of Origa's unique vocal contributions and the slick electronics establishing the whole man/machine thematic elements of the series in an absolutely gorgeous fashion.
Jumping to the second OST album now with it's opening track "Cyberbird", used to amazing effect within the series itself but more than capable of standing on it's own. That intro is just as euphoric every time I hear it, and while on paper I'm not a huge fan of strings in my electronic music, I think it works incredibly well in the tracks favour here (and if you want to get all philosophical again, ties into that man/machine theme once more).
Keeping on that slightly euphoric theme, this next track in particular I think may be my favourite example of the electronically oriented ones. The overall execution reminds of The Knife, especially in their Silent Shout era (though it came out the year before that album). Here's "Torukia".
And finally, a side of the soundtrack I've failed to mention until now. Among all these upbeat and other tracks there are quite a few downtempo pieces, sometimes bordering on Trip Hop. Any lontime readers will know I am a sucker for any and all things of that nature so it's a testament to the soundtracks I'm only mentioning it now. Featuring yet another unique vocalist contributor in Ilaria Graziano, this one does take a little while to get to the meat of the track, but stick out the jazzy percussion of the first 2 minutes and you're treated to a deliciously smooth piece of downtmepo goodness. It actually has a bit of a late 90's - early 00's feel to it, the smoothness of the synths in particular is giving me major All Saints - Pure Shores vibes, which was produced by William Orbit after all!
And so wraps up my whirlwind tour of all things Ghost In The Shell Soundtracks. There's another album or two I didn't mention here, if you like what you've heard so far check out Yoko Kanno's stuff on Spotiy and hopefully we'll see more of her work make the platform in future!
-Claude Van Foxbat
I couldn't be talking about these OSTs without starting with this one. We're kicking off with the opening theme to the first season, Inner Universe featuring Origa. Fantastic production, and incredibly befitting of the high-tech world of Ghost In The Shell, the clash of Origa's unique vocal contributions and the slick electronics establishing the whole man/machine thematic elements of the series in an absolutely gorgeous fashion.
Jumping to the second OST album now with it's opening track "Cyberbird", used to amazing effect within the series itself but more than capable of standing on it's own. That intro is just as euphoric every time I hear it, and while on paper I'm not a huge fan of strings in my electronic music, I think it works incredibly well in the tracks favour here (and if you want to get all philosophical again, ties into that man/machine theme once more).
Keeping on that slightly euphoric theme, this next track in particular I think may be my favourite example of the electronically oriented ones. The overall execution reminds of The Knife, especially in their Silent Shout era (though it came out the year before that album). Here's "Torukia".
And finally, a side of the soundtrack I've failed to mention until now. Among all these upbeat and other tracks there are quite a few downtempo pieces, sometimes bordering on Trip Hop. Any lontime readers will know I am a sucker for any and all things of that nature so it's a testament to the soundtracks I'm only mentioning it now. Featuring yet another unique vocalist contributor in Ilaria Graziano, this one does take a little while to get to the meat of the track, but stick out the jazzy percussion of the first 2 minutes and you're treated to a deliciously smooth piece of downtmepo goodness. It actually has a bit of a late 90's - early 00's feel to it, the smoothness of the synths in particular is giving me major All Saints - Pure Shores vibes, which was produced by William Orbit after all!
And so wraps up my whirlwind tour of all things Ghost In The Shell Soundtracks. There's another album or two I didn't mention here, if you like what you've heard so far check out Yoko Kanno's stuff on Spotiy and hopefully we'll see more of her work make the platform in future!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 20 December 2018
Ilictronix Podcast: The Winter One
"Claude and Adam close out the year with some festive tracks and winter themes."
We are live with our (potential) final podcast of the year! I immediately betray my 'no downtempo selections' idea I've been throwing around for the last couple of episodes. BUT in my defence, all of these are tracks that have never featured on my previous winter downtempo lists, (with the exception of The Knife) which is the reason I used them for this one. It's a real mixed bag of stuff anyway, starting off with the all time cult classic Santa Claus from Le Knight Club; one of my favourites from Crydamoure no matter the season, and all the more apt right now. After that I take you on a tour of my winter themed selections, starting with an actual factual Christmas song from Röyksopp, then I wax lyrical about the old 'chillout' records I used to pick up in a bit of a roundabout way: by first sharing yet another piece from my all time top soundtrack provider Yoko Kanno that wouldn't sound out of place on those kinds of albums, before revisiting one of the few pieces from Alpinestars' White Noise that I think has still held up all those years later. This episode marks the first appearance of The Flashbulb from me as well, one of my favourite not-mainstream producers of the already non-mainstream experimental electronic in that Aphex Twin and the like vein. Like I say in the episode, there's an intimidating amount of work in his back-catalogue, but the album that the tune I chose is from Soundtrack To A Vacant Life is a good starting point if a little on the long side. I round things out with The Knife's absolutely stellar opening track from their equally stellar album Silent Shout which I've already talked about at length in previous posts. It's good stuff.
Adam also shares his selections in this style. They're predictably more upbeat than mine as you might expect, it's a fantastic cross-section of Adam's listening and certainly one to have on as we approach the 31st. There's a whole host of stuff to get yourself stuck into; from vintage and slightly sleazy house from Paul Johnson, to the brilliantly modernised filter house of the outro track Harry Parsons' We Can Only. I'm kinda kicking myself for not adopting Adam's end-of-year theme as well, it would have been nice to do one of the old-style NYE track dumps I used to do in podcast form, but hey there's always next year! Tracklist and the rest follows.
Tracklist:
Intro:
Le Knight Club - Santa Claus
Claude’s picks:
Röyksopp - Le Cantique de Noel
Yoko Kanno - Strangers
Alpinestars - Snow Patrol (Part 2)
The Flashbulb - Warm Hands In Cold Fog
The Knife - Silent Shout
Adam’s Picks
Stash Magnetic - Things Fall Apart
Paul Johnson - Suck My Candy Cane
Rimbaudian - Drop It On EmM
The Higher - The Core
V.I.C.A.R.I. - Pascia
Outro:
Harry Parsons - We Can Only
Show Notes:
There are none for this week as far as I know! I'll give the show a listen once I'm done with work for the year and update if need be though.
And that may very well be the final podcast of the year, Adam may be throwing up some NYE stuff closer to the time or maybe in early '19 tho. I'll wrap up by thanking y'all for sticking with us for another year, especially during the latter half. We had a real spanner thrown in the works around August time which meant I had to take the site offline for about a month I think. That's all behind us now, and I appreciate those that have stuck with us during the format change from posts to podcasts as well. It hasn't been easy for us and I imagine the same goes for all you as well. But it's keeping us to a schedule, myself and Adam have had some really good talks and shared some really interesting songs along the way, there are still some growing pains and issues to iron out for sure, but overall I think it's been very successful. Here's to more podcasts to come in 2019! I'll close out with what's fast becoming my line: Stay safe, and enjoy the music out there all of you. We'll leave the light on for you.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 9 September 2018
Bk On R BS (The Podcast Returns)
Claude and Adam are back at it again sharing their favorite tunes of the week. Discussions this episode include: The new Justice live album, DJ's in GTA 5, Ghost in the Shell and the landlord stab
We are back after an unintentionally extended break! it was a lot of fun to come back to, though we still have some hiccups here and there (thankfully not literally.) So please enjoy a new instalment of us talking about music, as mentioned above we have some interesting topics this time and it was great to have an actual conversation with Adam about them. Extra thanks to Adam for editing all of this together! Tracklist and notes follow:
Tracklist:
Intro:
Bôa - Duvet (ScummV Remix, JJ's Another Edit)
NOTE: Due to an editing goof (that was partially my fault), this track is both the intro and outro, the intro was *supposed* to be the original ScummV Rmeix
Claude’s picks:
Hideo Kobayashi - Navi 3.0 (Wasei "JJ" Chikada Remix)
zircon & Jillian Aversa - The Search For Ambrosia (NYC Streets)
D∆WN - Serpentine Fire
Cornelius - Ghost In The Shell: Arise
Yoko Kanno - Crystalized
Adam’s Picks
Cajmere - Chit Chat
Spok Da Rok - We Dance (Intr0beatz Remix)
Cybonix - Make This Party Live
Kalisha - I Got Something Here
Underground Resistance Ft. Yolanda - Living For The Night
Landlord - I Like It (Blow Out Dub)
Outro:
Bôa - Duvet (ScummV Remix, JJ's Another Edit)
Show Notes:
Duvet (ScummV Remix) is available for download from ScummV’s Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/scummv/boa-duvet-scummv-remix), check the track description for a link.
Hideo Kobayashi - Navi 3.0 (Wasei "JJ" Chikada Remix) appears on the album Cyberia_Layer 2, which is available to buy Digitally and Physically from JJ’s site, wasei.tokyo, and is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music etc.
The Search For Ambrosia (NYC Streets) appears on Deus Ex: Sonic Augmentation, which is a free fan project that is still available to download from it’s mini-site over on OCRemix (augment.ocremix.org), either as 8 individual tracks spanning the entire Deus Ex series or the whole thing in one package. It comes with a selection of album art in the style of each of the games too which is pretty neat!
As of the time of writing, the 2016 Adult Swim Singles collection can still be streamed (but not downloaded) from the mini-site at (www.adultswim.com/music/singles-2016/), it can be a little tricky to navigate, but it’s neat nonetheless. There are some mirrors of the .zip and blogs that host the tracks from that year’s program though, so if you do a little bit of virtual crate digging you can still pick them up.
And that wraps up this installment! Me and Adam will be back soon with more in due time. As always, stay safe and enjoy the music.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 17 June 2018
Out Of Sorts
Been feeling strange all this weekend, like indescribably so. So I did what I always do in these cases and put on my special playlist for just such an occasion. It's had a few new additions since last time, first and foremost being parts of Yoko Kanno's excellent soundtrack for Terror In Resonance. On Hanna, the Icelandic touchstones I mentioned last time I talked about this soundtrack are much more prominent here, first and foremost from the get-go being the vocals naturally, but I feel like the structure has a lot in common with the standard Sigur Rós formula too. This is far from a negative mind you, especially in the hands of a composer like Kanno, the ethereal and slightly glitchy break at around 1:46 is divine.
I've been avoiding posting songs that are in the monthly selections over on the right, but I figure I can break that rule every once in a while. Borderlands has been ringing in my ears since Friday night and seems to be fast setting its sights on being my favourite piece from Hecker. As is so often the case with me I'm now regretting not taking the deep dive into his catalogue that I usually do with artists I'm interested in. It's been awhile since I've expanded the ambient side of my collection, and listening to An Imaginary Country might just give me case to do just that.
Finally another more ambient piece I've been revisiting recently. I've said before many times that the few and far between ambient pieces that Tom Jenkinson of Squareusher fame has under his belt are all stellar and it's a shame there isn't more of it (though that may change soon as he's soundtracking a children's series for the BBC called Daydreams). I wanted to add this specific tune to my (K)ey playlist on spotify but unfortunately his debut LP Feed Me Weird Things isn't on spotify. Goodnight Jade is definitely of that Warp school of electronic music: sandwiched between two uptempo Drum & Bass tunes on the tracklist, Goodnight Jade is a moment of reflection that's perhaps slightly out of place if you listen to the album in order, but it's an absolutely beautiful piece regardless.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 6 May 2018
Post-Erity
Starting this week's selections off with an archival success story. You may remember a loooong time ago I mentioned a fairly obscure remix of on of my favourite tunes ever, Rippin Kittin by Alexander Polzin.At the time I praised Miss Kittin for having it available to stream along with most of her discography (and even tunes she only did vocals for). The link to buy the Golden Boy stuff was long since dead, but having it on soundcloud was better than nothing, especially considering I couldn't find this remix to buy anywhere, or even on YouTube or the like. I still grabbed a copy of it anyway, call it paranoia I've seen stuff disappear from soundcloud before and it's a real shame. Well it seems that my paranoia's paid off once again, I swung by Kittin's soundcloud only to find that the entire Golden Boy playlists she had had been wiped clean, along with a few others. Logic would say that they're in some kind of copyright hell, or best case about to be re-pressed and re-released. It's still a downer though but thankfully in the meantime I've got the version I swiped to keep me company, it's a fantastically sedate version of Rippin Kittin, turning it from an electroclash anthem to something a little more reflective.
Keeping it on the downtempo side of things for now, with yet another entry from one of my favourite soundtrack crafters Yoko Kanno. A far cry from the electronic infused, Björk inspired tracks she made for the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex soundtracks, the tunes that appear on the Zankyou no Terror Original Soundtrack keep it fairly acoustic, though there's connections to Iceland in both the show and soundtrack (the lyrics to Von being in Icelandic, Director Shinichirō Watanabe actually citing Sigur Rós as an inspiration and the soundtrack was even recorded there). ís is probably the most famous piece form the soundtrack, it's used within the show to breathtaking effect and I knew I had to have it in my collection. It scratches an itch the same way that Washed Out's Life Of Leisure EP did when I first listened to that, and one that I didn't even know I still had.
The new post schedule means that I missed quite the anniversary around 2 weeks or so ago now: Boards Of Canada's Music Has The Right To Children turned 20, having been released late April 1998. I don't have to to explain to those of you that have been with us a long time how important both this album and Boards Of Canada's work as a whole is to me, I wrote a multiple year long exploration of Warp's releases after all. To the rest of you who might not be as familiar, Music Has The Right To Children is an excellent dropping in point to the world of BoC, it's an essential addition to anyone's collection with a taste for downtempo and ambient. The gelling together of gorgeous retro synth work with slightly off kilter and surreal samples, all backed by almost trip-hop style beats is the synonymous Boards Of Canada sound, and they're on top form throughout Music Has.... Here's my favourite ambien interlude off the album, the short but sweet Olson, which a friend of mine described as "The musical version of a warm hug".
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 17 December 2017
Feelin' Festive
I was so excited to sit down and write an holiday themed post this year. Last night I could have sworn I had a ton of festive related tunes to share but it seems that's not the case this morning. Ah well, I suppose I can revisit the few I do have just this once. Stating off with a gorgeous piece of synth noodling from the Röyksopp boys. A nice blend of traditional and non-traditional, being a cover of Cantique de Noel and all, and it sure beats the same roster of xmas tunes that have been in circulation for the last few decades.
Speaking of untraditional, something I've been holding onto for a couple years now. Simon Viklund, my favourite Swedish soundtrack source made this EDM infused, Payday-ified remix of Jingle Bells. Truth be told it ain't half bad, putting the irony aspect aside for a minute it's a solid example of Viklund doing what he does best. Keep this one in your pack for any December raves you have coming up, it'll go down a treat.
And finally a turn to the downtempo. Taken from one of the soundtrack albums for Ghost In The Shell: Stand ALone Complex (though I'm not sure it appeared in the series), which are chock full of electronic goodness. I owe Yoko Kanno thanks for not only the soundtrack but for introducing me to Ilaria Graziano through them. She's got a killer voice that shines especially on songs like this, I like to compare it to Homogenic era Björk as a reference.
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
Electric Futures
Horacio Garcia-Rossi - Couleur Electrique Lumière (2000)
Kicking off with a slight electro slant this time, I was picking apart my look over Perturbator's LP The Uncanny Valley and seeing if my opinion had changed much. I don't think it has to be fair, the album is still mastered incredibly loudly (or at least my copy is, for good and bad, depending on the situation). But I did manage to find some things I hadn't put in my original post. Assault didn't really grab me first time through, it's not helped by having a real generic title for one, and secondly if you've listened to as much Perturbator as I have it's standard fare at this point. That is until you get to 2:30 of course, somehow I'd forgotten in the time past that there's a massive switch up from a slow and deliberate synthwave tune to more much aggressive feel as befitting an artist featured in Hotline Miami.
I recently put the Half Life 2 soundtrack back into my collection after a long absence, I've gotten to know them pretty well in the decade plus they've been around. Still though, there are little pieces that I will forever adore, one of which being Sector Sweep from Episode 2. That pulsating intro is a joy to listen to and perfectly captures the track's title, I especially enjoy it being used as a basis for the rest of the elements to be built around, it's not often you see a soundtrack have so much symbolism with the media it's accompanying.
And we can't be talking futuristic soundtracks and not give nod to perhaps my favourite opening theme of all time, Inner Universe. Ironically enough after speaking about soundtrack symbolism, Inner Universe nails it also, the contrast between the electronics and Origa's unique vocal contributions matches the world of Ghost In The Shell incredibly well. It's been a long time since Stand Alone Complex ended, and Origa herself passed sometime ago now, bet her work and the world of Ghost In The Shell will be forever entwined.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Wednesday, 23 December 2015
12 Days Of Tunes (12)
Eyvind Earle - Winter (1981)
Ignoring some schedule cock-ups thanks to blogger, we made it! And I thought I'd try and end it with something at least Christmas related, even tangentially so. I've used up most of my fodder for this time of year but luckily I feel like I can get away with this one. Yoko Kanno's soundtrack to Ghost In The Shell is chock full of cold electronics and strings as it is, which goes in hand with the setting nice enough, and there's a select few with vocals that really stand out from the rest. Think around Homogenic era Björk, and you're in the right kinda area. Hell, there's even a song on the first OST album which is pretty much a cover of Hyperballad.
Anyway, I'll leave you with this for now, have a nice holiday season! I may be back to do another New Year's post, but I have missed them in the past so no promises. Just in case, I'll see you all in 2016!
Friday, 3 July 2015
Colder Weekend Tunes
A stonking 10 degrees (that's Celsius by the way) colder than yesterday. And I am loving it. Before I head away for the weekend I thought I'd hook you up with more tunes to see you through.
Been digging up more EBTG recently. They were around for a long long time and their sound evolved pretty drastically from their pop-rock debut in '84. By the mid 90's when Walking Wounded came out, they were experimenting more with electronic things but rather than go down the Trip Hop route like their collabs with Massive Attack, Drum & Bass was the order of the day. I still quite like it, admittedly I have a soft spot for 90's D&B but I think the tune is still incredibly smooth, and Tracey's voice compliments it in fine fahion.
'Nother shout out to Yoko Kanno again for introducing me to Ilaria Graziano. She's not got much work under her belt, but her contributions to the Stand Alone Complex soundtrack are some of my favourites. Long intro type thing on this one, but stick it out because the second half of the song is sweet as.
Re-posting this A:xus tune too, becuase I am still madly in love with it and it fits the warmer weather as well as it did the cold back in January. He's well on his way to climbing my ladder of favourite house crafters, I thought he'd only had a limited output in the early 00's but even 9 years on with Suite Disappointment A:xus still has it.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Pam Glew - Wilderness (2013)
Been digging up more EBTG recently. They were around for a long long time and their sound evolved pretty drastically from their pop-rock debut in '84. By the mid 90's when Walking Wounded came out, they were experimenting more with electronic things but rather than go down the Trip Hop route like their collabs with Massive Attack, Drum & Bass was the order of the day. I still quite like it, admittedly I have a soft spot for 90's D&B but I think the tune is still incredibly smooth, and Tracey's voice compliments it in fine fahion.
'Nother shout out to Yoko Kanno again for introducing me to Ilaria Graziano. She's not got much work under her belt, but her contributions to the Stand Alone Complex soundtrack are some of my favourites. Long intro type thing on this one, but stick it out because the second half of the song is sweet as.
Re-posting this A:xus tune too, becuase I am still madly in love with it and it fits the warmer weather as well as it did the cold back in January. He's well on his way to climbing my ladder of favourite house crafters, I thought he'd only had a limited output in the early 00's but even 9 years on with Suite Disappointment A:xus still has it.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Monday, 18 May 2015
Let's Cyber (Punk)
As you might have guessed based on my outpouring of love of the genre not too long ago, I dig me some cyberpunk. And one of my frequent digital haunts is explicitly devoted to sharing tunes that fit into it nicely. And It's been fun as owt, even got some of my experimental stuff in there to boot, so let's have a rundown shall we?
Honestly Yoko Kanno could be queen of this post, between her contributions to Ghost In The Shell and Cowboy Bebop there is more than enough future tune to go around. I love the more techy sounds than the jazzy vibes of the Bebop OST though, so lets have more of that.
Aphex has his cyberpunk moments for sure, but nothing comes close to this bit from the Analord series where RDJ lets loose with his own DIY synth, hence the track title. Imagine the cliche Hollywood hacker setup circa '87 and you can almost imagine this one there too. It helps that the tune is real nice too though.
And of course I can't not mention one of the chief players in the ambient field. OPN's blown up in recent years but he still has quality tunes in him. This album was a massive inspiration for me when I started doing video stuff in year 2, and the closing track bears posting again.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Syd Mead - City On A Megabeam
Honestly Yoko Kanno could be queen of this post, between her contributions to Ghost In The Shell and Cowboy Bebop there is more than enough future tune to go around. I love the more techy sounds than the jazzy vibes of the Bebop OST though, so lets have more of that.
Aphex has his cyberpunk moments for sure, but nothing comes close to this bit from the Analord series where RDJ lets loose with his own DIY synth, hence the track title. Imagine the cliche Hollywood hacker setup circa '87 and you can almost imagine this one there too. It helps that the tune is real nice too though.
And of course I can't not mention one of the chief players in the ambient field. OPN's blown up in recent years but he still has quality tunes in him. This album was a massive inspiration for me when I started doing video stuff in year 2, and the closing track bears posting again.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Remind me.
Hey everyone.
Whilst making a playlist for a friend of mine, consisting of some new tracks I'd recently laid my hands on, my interest was peaked by how a few of them reminded me immediately of other songs. It's not necessarily obvious - or maybe even real - but it sure does make a nice combination.
So, when I first heard this -
I thought of this right away.
And when I finally got my hands on this -
Well.
Phil.
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