Originellement nommé Cruise Control et devenu Cruise [Ctrl] sur le tard, ce projet belge associant brillances electronica et beat EBM assis (mais sans adoption de l’extrême), accouche de son premier format album après deux démos plutôt remarquées ("No Hay Banda" en 2005, "Garmonbozia !" en 2006. Jouant bien davantage sur l’effet d’hypnose que sur le déploiement de forces, Cruise [Ctrl] poursuit l’amorce, avec "I Heard It !", d’une musique électronique sinueuse, rythmiquement épurée. Son bpm, au pouvoir d’envoûtement certain, s’est attiré les faveurs de remixeurs talentueux. Ces derniers ébauchent une aventure parallèle à la création propre au groupe à la fin de parcours de cet album inaugural, pour vingt-cinq minutes de versions retravaillées. Elles ouvrent un peu plus la perspective, notamment via l’approche rythmique angulaire de C-Drik ("Eat my Fear (C-Drik mix)") et le bruitisme du son indus concocté par Sulphuric Saliva : son "Eat my Fear (Sulphuric Saliva mix)", figurera parmi les titres les plus physiques de l’ensemble, impression que renforcent ces saturations, caractéristiques des travaux originaux du remixeur. Roswell Conspiracy, quant à lui, préfère aux crissements noise une approche fluidifiée, spatiale, dans un prolongement sans doute plus naturel de ce que Cruise [Ctrl] génère en nom propre. Avant que ces remixes ne fassent surface, le temps a été donné au duo belge d’imposer sa propre dynamique. "I Heard It !" est un disque habité, de forme exclusivement electro. Ses ambiances taillent dans un marbre à la fois ténébreux et clubby ("Memory of a Head"). Assez peu sophistiqué mais toujours empreint d’un ingénieux minimalisme et nourri d’une obsession pour les sons analogiques, Cruise [Ctrl] développe un propos hypnotique, froid et tendant vers le dansant ("Crow’s Nest") ; d’autant plus saisissant qu’il parvient à capter l’auditoire à partir d’éléments rudimentaires, mais ordonnés avec soin et goût. Un beat aquatique ("Eat my Fear" coule, et emporte avec lui de discrets grésillements numériques) et une optique instrumentale quasi-exclusive (participation remarquée, cependant, du pionnier Jean-Luc de Meyer sur "Man on the Planet") peignent un tableau proche du monochrome ; mais la palette source garde en réserve une carte expérimentale. Cette dernière laisse des libertés à Cruise [Ctrl], de divers ordres : hors d’un beat clubby, elles ressortiront de la création climatique pure (le sourd "Smoke and nude I", croisé sur "Garmonbozia !" et dont le fond dark ambient souligne avec cinématographie un murmure rythmique souterrain et menaçant), et bien sûr de l’affranchissement des règles de composition propres à la chanson traditionnelle. Une histoire de design sonore en quelque sorte, pour au final un espace sonore réflexif.
par
Permalink



Note :

Breakbeats for the morning after | For quite a long time, Arcoplane went below my radar. The label is around since 2003, but only due to the advice of my dear friend Ian Hawgood I follow them now. Londons' Red Box Recorder represent the label sound perfectly and deliver a mature album with superb artwork.

You know, I'm a sucker for elaborate artwork. In case of Red Box Recorders' second album "Colour Codes", the frontcover made me download the record blindly deafly. Once unpacked I was delighted to find a PDF with a lot more wonderful images... Thumbs up for the man Max McLaughlin, who is some sort of in-house designer at Acroplane. Take a look:

But hey - I would not write this if the music didn't kick me at all! Red Box Recorder (aka "DJ Particle Fusion", lol) came a long way, picking the best from Drum & Bass, Hip Hop, Downbeat and Soul music. The outcome, however, is difficult to categorize. There is a wealth of instruments used, and they mix beautifully with the complex beat patterns. Some tunes recall older Ninja Tunes records, some feature influences from UK breakbeat more clearly. Programmings are always soulful and performed with a good sense of musicality. I had to think of Koen Park and Resynthsize every now and then. "Colour Codes" is a bit too long to be without a spot, but a lot of goodness can be found in here !
permalink

Note :

 


'Dobustu Bancho', le nouvel album de Alexanders Dark Band provient de l'esprit dérangé de Depth Charge et de The Octagon Man.J Saul Kane atteint de nouveaux niveaux de folie auditive avec son troisième album avec Alexander's Dark Band, conformément à ceque suggéraient les albums précédents 'Beat Vortex' (1998) et 'Lord Calrec' (2000). Avec des titres tels que 'Animal Love' et 'Space Donkey on Crack', et une pochette artistique avec un chien borgne et un écureuil écrasé sur la route, ce leader animal de l'ouest londonien fait allusion à la démence dépravée qui se trouve ici .
permalink

 

Note :

What happens when the DJ of the best Japanese hiphop band releases a solo CD ? You expect an instrumental hiphop album that will be compared to DJ Krush. O.N.O is happy to wrongfoot these preconceived notions... Krush is the king of instrumental hiphop in Nippon, Nobukazu Takemura is a giant in the electronic scene. They’d better watch out since O.N.O is quickly affirming himself as a prime purveyor of a music that happily crosses the borders of hiphop to invade electronica and vice-versa. From the straightforward hiphop O.N.O was making in 1997 on Shock shine no ran to Six month at outside stairs, his music’s evolution can only be deemed impressive. The extremely powerful bomb that is his main unit Tha Blue Herb may not have been dropped on the whole world yet, but if there is any justice, it can only be a matter of time. The same applies to his other project, Shigam... After the release of three 12” in a few months, here comes the long awaited full-length in the guise of Six month at outside stairs. Great cover art, but more importantly great music. Spasomdic deserves its title since it features the off-kilter beats that are now O.N.O’s trademark. Beyond that apparent chaos, there is some order. This order owes a lot to all the sounds in the background, the light drones, the keyboards, the soft feedback. There is a feeling of spacecraft encountering meteorites... There was something jazz about Shigam and this side of O.N.O’s work shines through Nanostorm. I’m not talking about a jazzy feeling provided by double bass, fender rhodes or sax sounds. I’m talking about actual jazz, its drum patterns and its most subtle sides. This track sounds like a jazz tune that would have been submitted to cut-ups and enhanced with various little sounds. Very, very exciting... Narrowboat is less hectic, more relaxed. Children playing in the woods or spending their summer trying to be the Asian Huckleberry Finn’s. Although each tracks are spiced up with traditional instruments (or at least sounding that way), it becomes more obvious on Sigh. A lot of Japanese artists are using such sounds. I guess it just seems natural to them. What is obvious is that it has nothing “exotic” or “manufactured”. They are used if they are what is needed to get the desired result. The combination on this one track of these instruments with more or less hiphop beats and techno keyboard sounds certainly is refreshing. Demand makes me think of a more beat oriented Aoki Takamasa (review here) with its processed sounds. The icing on the cake is the very nice vocal sample. Drumsutra is another great track with slightly treated snare and cymbal sounds, deep bass and what sounds like a string instrument, a strange violin plus of course all the elements in the background giving more depth to the song. Ereticent closes Six month at outside stairs in style. The beat pattern is more straightforward than on any other track and O.N.O’s layers and layers and layers of processed sounds form a fascination-inducing melody. On this track, the Sapporo based producer’s talent for melodies is at one of its highest level ever. Somewhere between turntabilism and laptop music, O.N.O’s album should be checked by anyone into anything between Krush, Pole, Coltrane and Aoki Takamasa. One of the top albums of 2003’s first six months...
permalink



Note :

 



Note :