Warp as a pioneer in the English Electronic music industry has always been releasing a string of great electronic artists. I personally have kicked off with IDM and glitchy stuff from Aphex Twins, Mouse on Mars, LFO, Autechre and etc. Avoiding pop music has subtly drawn me closer and closer to that thin layer of pop mix above the layer of bleeps, glitch and a mix of eclectic electronic music.

I am talking about Leila Arab who has been around for years whose work has appeared on Richard D. James’s Rephlex, Björk’s Medúlla and Drawing Restraint 9 soundtrack is now signed with Warp Record Label. Leila has grown out of the larva into a full on sonic illustrator and electro pop musician. The music has a strong diversity in composition and arrangement although the playfulness in it makes it sound rather distinctive. Every track tends to leave a unique and vivid soundscape for the listener to depict. This creates an evocative pop music  unlike mainstream pop that is sometimes played as an elevator music at the back of your mind.

Blood, Looms & Blooms is definitely a wicked album although mine is still somewhere out there, waiting to be delivered by Amazon.

 http://www.myspace.com/leilaarab

We were all at this stable looking like horses drinking Tequila Sunrise. We looked pretty cool. With high ceilings and symmetrical shaped room, the sound dispersion was not appealing at all. Therefore, they did not sound as good as they should. Shortwave Set, based in London has recently release their second album Replica Sun Machine, 3 years after they release their debut album The Debt Collection. Their music has been described as  ‘Victorian Funk’ although it is also a mish mash of electronica, sweet tunes, jangly guitar and rock and roll.

 Beta Band should ring a bell. Steve Mason has started his new Black Affair project on vocals. It sounded like dark synth pop music with some 80’s industrial beats or maybe less happy version of Hot Chips at times. As its becoming a trend or maybe for the sake of convenience, they too like most people only had Powerbook, a synth and some other electronic gadgets. However, they managed to drive the crowd on the dance floor pretty well although it was a fairly small crowd.

 I used to have a thing for loud, angry and noisy music but the age is catching up, I tend to tune in more to light, happy and folky stuff. No wonder I was an angry child! This must be the 50th time I have mentioned Reykjavik, Iceland. Although I had always failed in Geography subject at school but music has made the existence of many places known to me. Seabear, started as a one man band project by Sindri Sigfússon has been signed to Morr Music label last year and ended up with 6 more band members. They remind me of Belle & Sebastian, not sounding Glaswegian but they do primarily sing in English. Whispery vocals along with the alot of strummings and pluckings of guitar and banjo, harmonica, xylophone,  and simple piano riffs. Very simple music composition but with great melody and yes imagine a musical playground in a nursery school where all the kids sing, play and laugh..:) 

http://www.myspace.com/seabear

I am back to business. It has been a long journey since Rockwerchter hit the stage and the ground.

DAY 1     As wet and muddy as I had expected, yea call me a pessimist and regretfully not having a pair of wellies..it was a messy and cold festival on the first day. I managed to catch the last couple of tunes from Counting Crows and Mr Jones got me all jumping, thinking about myself in my school uniform. After a couple of beers, Mika started and I had that look of ‘Nah, i’m not up for that’ but after a few more beers, I found myself dancing and singing. He had some pretty voluptuous dancers with him who drove the crowd to madness.  Alcohol does wonder sometimes. I am not a big fan of Lenny Kravitz but it was good to see him life, at least to know how tiny he really is. The highlight was R.E.M with a live video mixing, which was absolutely mind blowing. There must have been camera crews and VJ onboard with them. Various camera angles, audio visual synchronisation and some chopping of live video sampling have certainly enhanced their music. Despite the cold, J and I had to stick around for the Chemical Brothers to finish the night. Those big beat pioneers have certainly sounded more Hard House  than the usual chemical beats. That kept the night alive along with some funky visual projections.

Day 2   We were just in time to catch the last 2 tunes from The Verve as we had to drive back to Brussels for a GOOD shower and express shopping for shoes! Ashcroft with his shades singing Bittersweet Symphony exactly like what I heard on CD when I was still young. It was abit of nostalgia for everyone I guess. Squashed under people’s armpits, only managed to see the lights flickering, a blast from Hot Chip under the canvas. As far as I have only listened to a couple of tracks from their new album, I found the music slightly less minimal, heading more towards the Dance Pop, maybe even a little of Dub groove. Always quenching my thirst and smoking with some people, then it was Moby..all I can say is that the atmosphere was there but I don’t remember much

Day 3  Yes, we overslept and missed MGMT. I only heard them playing from my tent. Band of Horses was the first band we saw, not exactly my cup of tea but a couple of tracks were good. The next line up, Donovan Frankenreiter whom I have just discovered and my ears were pleased with. Being a surfer definitely has influence on the music, I donno what connection there is but its called Surf Rock (oh I had my Ukulele with me too). As a close pal of Jack Johnson’s, his music could be placed in between Johnson’s and country folk (yea tempted to do line dancing) and contains some bluesy bits. To the main stage, Kings of Leon performed. They were good but I was also looking forward to Ben Harper. As soon as Harper started playing his lap slide guitar, we felt the folk and country blues. His fingers were sliding up and down the fretboard as though they were on a race circuit. Despite a moron who took a piss in the crowd, the performance was well groovy. Sigur Ros was next, turned up on stage with massive light balls on stage, feathers on jacket, stuff on the head and painted faces. He bowed the guitar along with other drones and light percussions while the sun was setting. Hoppipolla must have taken the audience away from the site for a while into the land of pretty dreams. There was a moment after that when we were almost squashed to death just for the sake of watching Radiohead next. It was my first time watching them live and they have certainly evolved in music composition and performance. Most of the songs performed are from their latest album, which has received many thumbs up. I would say that they were the highlight of the festival to most people.

Day 4 Due to oversleeping and a long brunch, oh and also grabbing freebies, pfft…we missed the first half and managed to catch The Kooks as the first band. They were energetic yound lads but thats what you need from a music festival for the atmosphere. He had also gracefully walked from the stage ONTO the crowd. We headed off to the tent next for Mark Ronson. They played ‘Valerie’ without Amy Winehouse but maybe with someone who looked more humane and alive. Great soul and funk to dance to ;). Nick Cave came up next with his latest band The Grinderman. The music sounds like what the band is called brutal and gory. His moustache helps too. Vocals remain the same but in general, they do sound rather different compared The Bad Seeds. Then, a quick peek on Kaiser Chiefs…yea they were just being Kaiser Chiefs. Justice in the tent was wicked. You just move even when you try not to because it is Disco Punk! The tent was overflowing with people; hence, we only watched them Live on screen but at least we were not too far from where their decks were. Finally, the last act for us was Beck. He played many tracks from Odelay album and the songs still sound as fresh and revitalizing as ever! This multi instrumentalist has always made his music diversed, fusing genres and to cater for all types of ears. It was great to see him life although I have not listened much to his new stuff but hearing stuff from Odelay, a fantastic album released in the mid 90’s took me back on memory lane. We walked away to head back to the car park while Beck was bidding farewell with Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime!

 p/s: Apprently Pete Doherty failed to turn up because he had to watch his cat in labour!

 Guess what? This is the festival of the year for me. Maybe the one and only one. Slightly more commercialised, no twats I hope but  most importantly good music. Here you go, just a warm up for it… Part 1:1. Patrick Watson - Build A Home (Cinematic Orchestra)
2. My Morning Jacket - If All Fails
3. Ben Harper - Michelle4. Donovan Frankenreiter - Free

 

 Rockwerchter Part 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (572)

 

 Rockwerchter Part 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (532)

 I have always had a thing for ambient music. It takes me on a trip, i mean journey :). Well this time, it took me to France with Anothony Gonzalez, who is m83. His music could be called indie rock/ pop/ synthpop or electronic but everything within the sphere of ambient with the distant vocals bouncing against the walls all the time. Maybe if you like listening in between My Bloody Valentine and Kraftwerk, then just tune into M83.

His latest album ‘Saturdays = Youth’, which is also the 4th album since 2003 has recently been released, well 3 months ago if that is recent. This is less meloncholic compared to the previous album, maybe slightly more la la la sing a long in the 80’s. Based on the title of the album as well as what he has mentioned about happy teenagers running around in the 80’s, the music puts the picture into my head. He has managed to fuse the 80’s synth pop with what we call Indie rock in the production with 2 producers (of Sigur Ros, Sugarcubes, Cocteau Twins, Suede and Clinic ) onboard.

How I wish I could turn back time to live from the 60’s through to the 80’s except for not having to walk out with leg warmers all the time and big hair.

 http://www.myspace.com/m83

Due to some new music withdrawal symptoms, I happened to stumble upon this piece ‘Baibaba Bimba’ in the cyber world. I had thought what a great piece made by this non chalant Japanese duo. Tenniscoats are Saya and Takashi Ueno. They do sound like they play music and sing themselves to sleep, on the street, freely or just sitting in the garage jamming all day all night long while the neighbours are complaining bout the noise. There is the essence of pop despite the very vaguely defined structure of composition. There are many sound details that you come across unexpectedly while drowning yourself into the sweet melody and calm vocals. The guitar plucking, soft piano keys, drones from synth along with environmental sounds, which makes the music very ambient. ‘Umbarepa’ is the track with abit of brass music influence but in a very playful way unlike the military, maybe more like a circus.

They have also been working closely with Tape, the Swedish experimental electronic band on a few tours and recording studio projects. Perhaps, the end result of the exchanging musical ideas journey is the tranquility and mystery of the detailed sound of music that they have discovered together. They are full of surprises!

http://www.myspace.com/tenniscoats

In the midst of the moving stress,  I received an ‘emergency’ text from a dear friend that says ‘Fink plays live in Basel tonight!’. I thought if she meant the brighton kid or another german punk band? Having the advantage of breathing  in cyber world, I looked it up on the Internet and yes, all the way from pebble beach the came.

It was a live radio broadcast by livingroom.fm. As Fink mentioned on his blog, they were chatting bollocks, playing live sets and dj-ed. It was a rather small venue but that didn’t stop me from standing right infront of the stage listening and watching his fingers running along the fretboard of his classical guitar. It was a wicked not just because it was a free and also a surprise gig to me. Everyone had room to move around and to breathe along with Fink’s whispering vocals, the mysterious discordant sound of the guitar, thumping bass grooves and the riding beats. There were only simple acoustic ingredients with no electronics but the music managed to penetrate through the audience like a spear. It was haunting, meloncholic, bluesy, folky, upbeat with soul.

It could have been heaving with people in London but I guess he is still not that well known in the little city yet or rather it was just a wrong venue with a wrong overdressed house crowd.

Jessie Evans is the free wave noise sax player who is currently based in Berlin. She has teamed up with drummer, Toby Dammit and delivered a tremendous performance  that kept that little basement vibrating. One vocalist, one drummer and one engineer created a much bigger and louder sound. In her little space ship like outfit, Evans sang and played the sax psychedelically. She was running about, up and down the stage, into the crowd, sharing microphone, having abit of a sing along. Dammit played the most complicated beats along with the fat synthesized bass lines and melody.  He was a combination of an African percussion group and a loud jazz drummer. As Lo Fi as the venue portrayed, they drove the crowd to madness with the amount of energy circulating within the room. They are sandwiched between Sun Ra and The Skatalites (or around any ska punk bands). with slices of electronic pop in the sandwich, yummy!

http://www.myspace.com/jessieevansmusic

 It was a rather late night jazz after a long day of taking strolls on the horrendous busy streets. Clos your eyes and maybe you will hear 4 Heroes every now and then. This octet grew out of Benendic Lamdin Nostalgia 77 studio project. I have been listening to the studio stuff including many collaborations done with various DJs and other musicians. The free form jazz octet had seemed to be more on the soft side of jazz although there was also a love of the funk sound. I personally thought that the Double bass player had produced great bass lines that created the contrast between the funk and swing jazz sound. There was a good balance between both that made the music chilled and exciting. No boring elevator music…

http://www.myspace.com/nostalgia77