Suchergebnisse: Dance Music

Review: Very little is known about the collective of musicians behind the SAULT project, but their music in many ways speaks for itself. Earlier in the year they delivered Untitled (Black Is), a heartfelt, angry and righteous set of soul, funk, drill and spoken word tracks that provided a brilliant commentary on what it means to be black in 2020. It's a contender for album of the year, for sure, and the good news is that this speedy follow-up is every bit as essential. It's undoubtedly more celebratory than its predecessor, but every bit as musically detailed, combining cutting-edge electronics and all manner of infectious rhythms with enlightening vocals and all manner of live jazz, soul, punk-funk and jazz-funk instrumentation (as well as some seriously evocative orchestration).

Review: Having built up his self titled label alongside his sterling work as part of Oscillat, Lazare Hoche and Will & Ink, the one and only Malin Genie delivers his debut solo album. Moving beyond the pure club focus of his singles and EPs, the Genie has seized this opportunity to present a widescreen panorama of his sound, leading in with the subliminal ambience of "You" as a springboard to explore breaks, electro, techno, and especially IDM. There are so many ideas swirling round Anthropomorphic Sympathy, it's hard to know where to begin describing it. A true headphone commute for the deep listener to burrow into.

Review: classic 2010 Theo Parrish album Sketches back in stock on CD.

Review: Of all DJ duos currently operating in British dance music, Belfast boys Bicep might be the hardest to pin down (Optimo aside, of course). Certainly, this debut album is not easy to pigeonhole, though it is an enjoyably cohesive listen. This is largely down to two factors; the frequent use of deliciously colorful and loved-up synthesizer parts, and the duo's innate ability to utilize beats tailor-made for dancefloor devastation. So while keen dancefloor historians may notice sly (and not so subtle) nods to '89 rave, U.S house and garage, Italo-disco, late '90s progressive house, jungle and early British hardcore, the album never sounds anything less than a fine set of Bicep tracks. Expect it to be one of the biggest albums of the year.

Review: Given the hype that surrounded the release of the first Moderat set back in 2009, we can surely expect more of the same for this second outing from Apparat and Modeselektor. Those familiar with the first album's woozy blend of IDM, Thom Yorke indebted vocal dreaminess, porchlight techno and post-dubstep rhythms will immediately feel right at home. Online reviews have focused largely on II's atmospheric warmth, and the way in which the Berlin-based trio seems to have refined their sound. Both are valid critiques; certainly, there's a maturity and musical complexity to the album that betters much of their previous works. It's not much of a dancefloor set, but that's entirely the point; this is locked-in headphone listening for the wide-eyed generation.

Review: Over the years, Sam Shepheard's work as Floating Points has become increasingly ambitious, moving further away from his dancefloor roots and closer to spiritual jazz, new age and neo-classical. Even so, it was still a surprise when Shepheard announced Promises, a 46-minute piece in 10 "movements" featuring the London Symphony Orchestra and legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It's an undeniably remarkable piece all told; a constantly evolving fusion of neo-classical ambience, spiritual jazz and starry, synthesizer-laden soundscapes notable not only for Sanders' sublime sax-playing and Shepheard's memorable melodic themes, but also the intricate, detailed nature of the musical arrangements. It's a stunningly beautiful and life-affirming piece all told, and one that deserves your full attention.

Review: Lowfish originally released his 'Burn The Lights Out' LP in 2007 on the US label Satamile but we have found some copies of it in the warehouse. Synth-pop meets breakbeats in an electrifying fusion of emotive melodies and bass-heavy beats across all four sides of the long player with ten then-new tracks and two classics from his Sat.31 EP. They all show that his music, complex yet accessible, evokes images of Blade Runner, Wave Noir, or William Gibson. It is post-modern in approach as it skilfully blends past and present styles to create a sound uniquely his own, seamlessly bridging the gap between eras while pushing the boundaries in his own way.

Review: Of all the artists past and present who claim to let their music do their talking for them, Burial is one of the elite band of whom this truly is the case. In fact, so reluctant is he to engage with the cult-of-personality hoopla that surrounds almost every modern producer and musician of merit, that he remains a genuine recluse; he has never appeared live, only one obliquely-angled publicity photograph is known to exist, and the number of interviews he has given can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Yet despite this, his music speaks loud and wide, and the world has been listening ever since his 'South London Boroughs' EP debut on Hyperdub in March 2005. His eponymous album, which began life as a low-key release in May 2006, is now widely regarded as the benchmark release of the ever-widening dubstep genre, picking up unanimous critical acclaim along the way, and ending the year heavily featured in many 'best of' polls. Now Burial returns with 'Untrue', a new record of weird soul music, which lovingly processes spectral female voices into vaporised R&B and smudged 2step garage. Vocal lines are blurred, smeared, pitched up pitched down and pitch bent until their content is cast adrift from their original context and they whisper their saccharin sweet nothings into the void. The album continues with the debut's crackle-drenched yearning and bustling syncopations, haunted by the ghosts of rave, but also reveals some new Burial treats with a more glowing, upbeat energy. Kicking off with the skittering 2step syncopations and vocal science of 'Archangel', 'Near Dark' and 'Ghost Hardware', before long it descends into a space of radiant divas and ambience. Where 'Burial' first was humid, suffocating and unrelentingly sad, 'Untrue' is less sunless. Many of the tracks are so sweet, they become toxic, underscored by the almost geological rumbles of growling basslines. Unlike the overpoweringly melancholic prevailing mood of before, Burial's sound is now better defined as a downcast euphoria typified by the epic, muted optimism of the album's last track 'Raver'. Forget central heating the radioactivity of this album is all that you'll need to keep you warm this winter. 'Untrue' is available as full 13 track digipack CD, including recent underground hit 'Ghost Hardware', and 9 track DJ friendly double vinyl set, from which some of the beatless pieces have been edited.

Review: Out 2 is a project from Jeremy Campbell and R. Zanzibar, who have previously worked together on albums for L.I.E.S. and Lectric Sands under different aliases. They sound right at home on Emotional Response, channeling the influence of 1980s New York dancefloor hybridization into six original tracks and their counterpart dub versions. It's an impeccable tribute to the forefathers of new / no / minimal wave with the right kind of funk rubbed in the groove and ample space in the mix for all the live dubbing the style demands. "Moving" is a surefire death disco party starter, "Dancing" hovers in a beyond the grave island boogie reverie and "Some Air's Red There" heads out into exotically enhanced territory without losing that NYC grit. It's a marvelous record, with the dub versions adding new dimensions to the music rather than simply repeating the same tricks sans vocals.

Review: Given their shared musical heritage - both are members of the extended Firecracker Recordings crew - it's perhaps something of a surprise to find that Face The Facts marks the first serious collaboration between Linkwood and Gav 'Fudge Fingaz' Sutherland AKA Other Lands. It's less surprising that the album is really, really good. Touching on warming synth-boogie, head-nodding downtempo jams, mutant beatdown, Balearic beats, sunset-ready soundscapes and warming analogue deep house, the 13-track set is notable for the pair's extensive use of dusty old drum machines, tactile instrumentation (think smooth Rhodes solos, languid guitar solos and blissed-out synths) and Sutherland's hazy, sometimes seductive singing voice.

Review: Twenty years ago it sounded like an oddly poignant evocation of pre-millennial tension. Two decades later it stands as an eerily prescient glimpe into the technological alienation and dislocation of of a new era. Yet more importantly, OK Computer is no more or less than a sparkling, dramatic and moving collection of songs that haven't lost any of their impact in the interim. The sound of a band stubbornly refusing to follow up the stadium-strafing stylings of its predecessor The Bends - and instead bursting headlong into experimentation and wild creativity -is portrayed in still more vivid colours by the alarmingly strong collection of out-takes and B-sides collected herein, Yet there's no getting away from the chill and spark that marked out OK Computer from everything surrounding it in the post-Britpop malaise, and continues to do so in the pre-Brexit counterpart.

Review: Frequent Jeremy Greenspan and Morgan Geist collaborator Jessy Lanza was hailed as a future star on the release of her 2013 debut album, Pull My Hair Back. That album projected her as some kind of New York freestyle chanteuse dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, backed by an all-electronic band fascinated with the potential of future R&B and left-of-centre synth-pop. This belated follow-up, which was once again produced in cahoots with Jeremy Greenspan, is even better. Colourful, vibrant and attractive, the ten songs are truthful to their '80s NYC inspirations, but smartly avoid the pitfalls of such blatant retro-futurism. In other words, it's a superb collection of future R&B and pop gems.

Review: On September 21 1979 The Clash took to the stage of The Palladium in New York City and performed one of the most significant gigs of their lives. At that point they'd released their self-titled debut and Give 'Em Enough Rope, and their position as vital progenitors of the British punk explosion was assured on an international level. This particular performance was broadcast on the radio and subsequently became one of the most widely bootlegged of all Clash gigs, but it attained an even more legendary status as the gig where Paul Simonon smashed his bass into the floor, captured on camera and subsequently used as the iconic cover for London Calling.

Review: Legendary edit specialist and New York's Body & Soul party man Danny Krivit turns his hand to a famously spiritual house classic by Manchester band RSL that has more than a hint of gospel magic to it. Frankly that makes it perfect source material for the man and he doesn't disappoint: His work is subtle but classic, with some extra gorgeous vocal chants layered in over chunkier beats on the never before released a-side. The jazzy notes from the original and sprinkled percussion all remain next to mad drum fills. This 12" also features a 'Part 2' mix that unfolds in glorious fashion to a rapturous peak.

Review: On its digital release earlier in the year, Celeste's debut album rocketed to the top of the album charts, thus making her the first British female artist to see her first set get to number one for over five years. Finally available on vinyl in a "deluxe edition" that boasts a couple of bonus tracks and an accompanying booklet, Not Your Muse remains a classy and inspired debut, with Celeste's smoky, timeless vocals fitting producer Jamie Hartman's accompanying backing tracks - a mixture of pared-back folk sounds, lavishly orchestrated easy listening, synth-laden power-pop and fuzzy, retro soul-influenced numbers - like a particularly comfortable glove.