The Scuffers "The Life I've Had"

Does one need to be an expert to enjoy honky tonk country? The short and long answer is no. I'm no professor on the genre but whenever I hear those jingly jangly guitar and banjo duets, lap steel pedals lounging their path and warm human vocals pouring out, there's a perhaps institutionalised familiarity borrowed from rock & roll that makes these songs sound tender and genuine on some level. Yet the Scuffers are merely a bunch of musical Glaswegians playing an act - very well - but through the replication of a stripped down honky tonk ensemble, they exhude a real definition of Americana (but not without a skilfully concealed Scottish twang). "Country washed down with Irn-Bru!" as their MySpace proclaims.

In reference to the online presence of both the Scuffers and their label, it should be admitted that their websites are like ghost towns. With only one album to its name (this one in 2007) the small independent Glasgow country and roots label "Miracle Town Records" attempts to pride itself in demanding that any act willing to be released on the label be prepared to play their songs over and over again during the recording stage as overdubs, layering and most 20th century recording techniques are forbidden in some archaic tradition of letting the songs keep their hearts and souls intact. If it weren't for the fact that I'd already seen the Scuffers play live last year, and I was already aware of how very well they can play and sing as a group, it would be a hard push for me to believe that these songs involved no overdubs. For what it proclaims, the mix is a quality job and it's clear that time and effort was sacrificed in the making of "The Life I've Had". The group do their best to include blues styles, as well as the odd celtic notion and rock & roll skiffles, to their honky tonk skeleton and this combined with the authentic lyrical stylings of songwriter and frontman Gavin Wallace provides a bit of an earthy delight for a country group's debut.

According to the very bare liner notes, the album "is dedicated to James Wallace (my dad) and all the girls I've ever known"; this quote is particularly noteworthy in relation to the sex, heartbreak, drinking and general atmosphere of perpetual questioning the lyrics seem to offer. The rest of the country universe can sing all they like about these themes but there's always the unavoidable concern that the happy superstar lifestyles of country pop singsters such as Parton or Taylor Swift give no credence to the emotional content of the music. Have a small-time group with no chance at fame, however, living in the crappy punished streets of Glasgow wearing their hearts on their sleeves and there's no doubting the fiery passion. But what can be said about the music? Listening to country, for the average person, can be a rather frustrating excercise as the rhythms never speed up or slow down, always plodding along oblivious at the same velocity; but the variety of instruments the group decide to use on this release (from the ol' harmonica to violins, appearance and disappearance of rock drums on some tracks) keep the album alive. Between the opening title track and the peaked vocal delivery all throughout the standout "Miracle Town", they demonstrate a lot of promise, but the album feels patchy on the whole, and the skimpy length of some tracks that should be glorified rather than untimely fade away prematurely are sorry moments. Other than these faults though, the album is an example of unrefutedly solid song-writing, and there's no weak performance from anybody featured on the recording (Wallace's top-notch American singing accent deserves a mention also).

As is retold over and over again, specific genres, with their specific forms and specific leanings, sometimes require a bit of musical training and exposure before one can truly enjoy them. Country music isn't for everyone, but as I've already mentioned, it's easy to appreciate it for its history, honesty and music over image attitude. If you fancy a dive into country music but don't fancy the obvious outlets like Tammy Wynette or the Highwaymen, you could give the rough working-class hybridised delicacy that the Scuffers have to offer a bash.
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The Scuffers myspace page, where the recent Christmas single and tracks from the debut can be streamed:
http://www.myspace.com/thescuffers

Judas Priest "Unleashed in the East"

Be it British or overseas produce, heavy metal of the 70s or 80s really is an acquired taste a majority of the time (with the exception of perhaps Iron Maiden who still continue to have such a strange hold on rock circles - but I suppose if your band wrote and produced the whole "Number of the Beast" album with all its hook-laden glory, you'd expect nothing less). In the evolution of heavy metal, "Unleashed in the East", their first live album in the discography, is a cracking example of Judas Priest's helping hand in revolutionising the genre away from the mere thick distorted blues of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath into modern headbanging emphatic anthems and vicious vocals. This album, rising above the debatable studio-enhancing of Rob Halford's vocals, proved to be the start of their mainstream period up until 1988's "Ram It Down" - when the critics were finally directed to how far behind the 'Metal Gods' were lagging behind their thrash/death metal contemporaries they had influenced. Still, this ten year stretch from '79 to '89 proved to be their real golden era - a number of their albums including the legendary "British Steel", "Screaming for Vengeance", "Defenders of the Faith" and even the hideously lavish "Turbo" found a perfect mix of progressive solo sections and radio hooks but still retaining the heavy metal edge (well, maybe not "Turbo" then).

Opening with the now staple "Exciter", its production on this live recording doesn't compare to the studio's more thrashier mix but still provides a good whack for an intro to this release (and even to the band). This leads on to the great but all too brief "Running Wild", wavering up and down the guitar battlefield and the pummeling chants and guitar virtuoso of "Sinner". The ever-building ecstasy-driven distortion and wails of their Fleetwood Mac cover "The Green Manalishi" following this seems like the perfect continuation; but the build-up is all done in vain as it's over-rided prematurely by the unending "Diamonds and Rust". "Victim of Changes" next is a bit of an odd one because, despite being an obvious fan favourite, seems to only be carried by Halford's completely macho vocals, even impressively mastering the 'emotional' breakdown partway through. There's a fantastic chaotic wreck of rattletrap guitar-work as way of reward finishing it off, but the exhausting endurance of the first part of the song needlessly works against these inspired moments.

Not stopping for breath however, "Genocide" and "Tyrant" (the real highlights) airhorn their way to the finishing line - with the former particularly blasting its march with strikingingly raw guitar steam. The instruments screaming louder than life and Halford's war-torn battle theatricals command the listener's attention into an addictive lure of mechanical energy. Reflecting the intense drive of future radio hits "Breaking the Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin", these two closers are the perfect way to end what I would consider a great addition to any rock fan's discography. A thundering piece of work, Judas Priest have a proven right to their 'Metal Gods' moniker. In a nutshell: old school British heavy metal arguably at its most charming and enthralling.
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Video footage of "Diamonds and Rust" performed live in Japan in 1978:

Nitzer Ebb/je$us loves amerika - Classic Grand, 17th Feb '10

Having never seen any live gigs at the venue, I was a little humbled by the pre-performance soundtrack provided in the form of Royksopp's "Sombre Detune", and Depeche Mode's "Lillian", putting me in good spirit for the evening's event. The first group, je$us loves amerika (no capitalisation), made their way to the stage for their incredibly brief 30-minute set. Much in the same elk of the Nitzer Ebb live experience, the group is comprised of three members: our two typically mohawked keyboardists and the Public Enemy t-shirt toting late thirty-something, nervously marching the stage to wear off the stage-fright and bellowing into the microphone. Sadly only generating a marginal amount of headbopping activity from the audience with their set, JLA initially explode with a thunderous opening tune but timorously advance through their very EBM-influenced catalogue. With some of the tunes apparently being debuted for the first time at the gig and the inhouse lighting team paying just as much attention to their performance as the headliner, this extra effort was perhaps a bit of a flat practice considering how unknown the group were. Their set as a whole was apologetically lame, excusing the last two tracks of the set of course: the very Prodigy-influenced neck-break "Breathe" and a ferocious cover of NWA's "Fuck tha Police". In a welcome surprise as the group walked off, they threw a number of flashdiscs into the audience to enjoy after the show containing two mp3 files, one of which is thankfully a studio recording of "Breathe". With a free download of their first album on last.fm, I will be on the look out for futher updates on this local darkwave band.

Twenty minutes later, and out come the veterans: Vaughan Bon Harris, founding member and synth/drum explorer; new member Jason Payne on drums; and of course the famed suited up, hair slicked, aviator-sporting Douglas McCarthy. Launching into new track "Promises" after a short intro, the Agent Smith-like costume is a frighteningly impressive vehicle for his industrial growling. After a well-received cheer from the crowd, they unleash the screamed chants and squelching pads of "Let Your Body Learn" (arguably their most famous release in America due to its inclusion on the GTA IV soundtrack). One of many memorable anthems from their never-bettered first album That Total Age, it might have been seen as an odd decision to play such a showy tune so early on but it definitely made an impression on the crowd, putting them into such a stormy mindset that even when one malcontent killjoy thought it would be a nice idea to throw an entire cup of beer at McCarthy at point blank range didn't halt the tunes. Continuing undeterred, McCarthy's headbanging and violenting gyrating limbs at his age is a dramatically absorbing sight.

In support of their new album "Industrial Complex", there were understandable moments in the playlist were the audience oscillated between familiarity and naievity in the face of new material. Having a listen or two of the new release on Spotify previously, I entered the night's entertainment with a vague idea of what to expect from their first new material in 15 years - hardly a radical departure from their now-legendary EBM grandfather status, their new material sees them explore the usual synth-line assaults with the exception of one strangely slow-paced track "I Am Undone", sung and performed in vains spiritually similar to what VNV Nation might do. The track strangely works in the context of the album, but placed slap-bang in the middle of the event sandwiched between big bites of aggression was perhaps a brief setback in the overall mood, before the second half's delightful collection of barbaric triumphs.

Showcasing an effervescent stream of hammering hit after hit, the appearance of "Violent Playground", "Control I'm Here", the inevitable "Murderous" and the penetrating capacity of new tracks "Down on Your Knees" and "Payroll" was a potent klaxon to get the groupees moshing. Meeting up unexpectedly with a few mates, the event's transfer from being merely just a spectacle into a hefty dance session was complete. Happy enough to give the crowd two whole encores of even more new material thanks to the uniform chanting and shouts to the closing "Join in the Chant" (considered the local Death Disco clubnight's anthem), Nitzer Ebb show us that in spite of their wavering efforts in the mid-90s, they can surely return to studio and bite something hard. There's a reason that the industrial community and even the Ibizan beat scene and artists as varied as Erol Alkan, Feadz, Billy Corgan, AFI, Trent Reznor and Alan Wilder are still raving about them.
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To download je$us loves amerika's "Advanced Burial Technology" for free from last.fm:
http://www.last.fm/music/Je%24us+Loves+Amerika/Advanced+Burial+Technology

Nitzer Ebb's "Let Your Body Learn" on their San Francisco date of the Industrial Complex tour:

Sasha "Xpander"

For me, to remember every single detail of where I was, what I was doing, the clothes I was wearing, at the moment I knew that this EP was a historic work of genius is surely a testament to what is a definite legacy in electronic dance music. I was on the promenade in Lloret de Mar, the sun obliterating the streets, the morning far too early for the sandy beach to be cluttered with tourists. I was walking into town to buy some breakfast, the brilliantly warm Summer weather lifting my spirits as the phenomenal trance tunes filled my ears.

Stop there: 'trance'. If you thought justifying noise music to the average punter was tough, you haven't been caught up in a trance debate like I have. I won't lie; the VAST majority of trance music produced consist of simple build-up/release/repeat structures, feature very little originality or progression, and are often made by wannabes in their bedrooms. The majority of trance music seems to produced and marketed by no-talents. But to ignore the whole bracket of trance music as a 'mug's flavour' is sheer lunacy! Artists such as CJ Bolland, Sasha, early Future Sound of London, the KLF, the majority of EBM groups, and even tracks like the now considered classic "Age of Love" and a majority of Underworld's single releases shouldn't be harshly ignored because of their supposed tag. The reality is that not all trance produce is a case of push play and record; there are those who pour their heart and minds into their records and those are the dance anthems that always stand out.

Sasha's Xpander EP - a piece of dance history. It's incredibly difficult to describe the effect these four tracks can have without sounding like a pumped up big-headed git. The title track is a sheer monolith in terms of studio production; there are very few dance tracks that rival it's marvel. Carried along by a unforgettable Oberheim Xpander synthline and a drum pattern that matches the synth melody perfectly, "Xpander" is a pure gift to DJs and electronic fans. The following "Belfunk" serves to bring things down a notch with its calm build-ups and impressive breakdown (admittedly featuring snippets of Orbital's legendary "Belfast", hence the title); it's very much an example of an ever-pulsing rhythmic piece. In order to spar against this, the very schizophrenic "Rabbitweed" takes to the stage with its impressive live drumming made loud in the mix throughout. Poisonous and sinister, it does sadly do little to develop over its ten-minute run time but its mood is so strong it just manages to carry itself.

To close, the listener is presented with the beautifully crafted "Baja". If I didn't already think the title track warranted the purchase of this EP alone, "Baja" would seal the deal. Ethereal, dreamy pads and effects float around as a stuttering synth swims up through the water to the surface. Reverbs and dubby effects abound, parts of the track have often been compared to the likes of ambient trailblazers Tangerine Dream. This track is the perfect thing to play lying on the beach, with the sun splitting the sky, without a single concern or memory but bliss; rumour has it that Sasha completed the mix in a studio along the Great Barrier Reef. Some may not gather the patience to sit this one through to the climax but it truly is worth it. Taking elements of old and mixing it with dub-reggae tips and trance sensibilities, "Baja" is one hell of a piece of electronica in its own right.

Far from being a bad DJ (him and John Digweed being international superstar representatives of the trance club organism), it's just a little bit shameful that Sasha does not choose to be any more prolific in terms of original studio production because the effects so far have been tremendous. Not afraid to stretch out sections of his tracks in order to build suspense, his tactic to allow these tracks to breathe before the routine explosions of energy horde the listener is nothing short of delectable.

Good Shoes "No Hope, No Future"

A huge departure from the sort of music I frequently immerse myself in, Good Shoes are a South London four-piece with an annoyingly voiced singer who record and release fairly generic sounding indie music. Unexciting, not new, far from sensational and hardly geniuses - so why am I still listening to this album?

Well, it's not as if listening to it is a chore - the duration of their second album barely exceeds thirty minutes - but like I said it's not particularly innovative nor catchy. One issue I've seen mentioned by already established Good Shoes fans is how this record does not compare in terms of accessibility to the debut album, but without having listened to the debut I can't comment. Another common observation is the stark depression often displayed in the lyrics on this recording (not to mention the rather boldly blunt title), as opposed to the bouncy nature of past releases.

The only contradiction to this general mood of defeat is the opening track "The Way My Heart Beats" which (despite condemning relationships in a convulated way) sounds like it could work as a 7" indie disco anthem. The first single off the album "Under Control" whose lyrics shamefully deal with the issue of sex far too obviously, is actually equally as danceable and perfect promo material (see the debatable video below, or download the mp3 from the widget above). On the issue of lyrics, the irony generated by the sheer simplicity of it all admittedly works, but not all the time evidently as the banally anti-'religious war' song "I Know" demonstrates.

Addressing the main complication at hand, how can this album be deemed worthwhile, or more directly, what makes this album any different than the rest of the Arctic Monkeys tribute bands that are slowly dying away in the 2010's? I can't help but feel that this release, in all its jumpy, punchy rock and melancholic guitar fuzz is somewhat of a gem on the 21st century British indie spectrum. It just heartily captures that famed indie-band dynamic of song-writing and rehearsal. One can easily smell the tantrums and member tensions; the aura of a band who think they should be bigger than they are. If one were to hear these tracks alone on the radio for the first time, they definitely wouldn't suck or anything - but again, they're not anything special. Perhaps it's this empty easy-to-follow simplicity that has made this album increasingly grow on me.

As an additional comment, I should probably make my love clear for at least one of the tracks: the strangely titled "Our Loving Mother in a Pink Diamond", most likely for its friendly but atmospheric motorik style. Lovingly placed slap in the centre of the album, it effectively divides the initially more shook up half of the album from the lingering experimental closing section.
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Here you can buy the new album signed and with a bonus live CD for only £8.99, in addition to various other releases, formats and t-shirts:
http://goodshoesstore.sandbag.uk.com/Store/DisplayItems-5-0-0.html

The simply bulging promo video for the first single off the album, "Under Control":

Atomized "Hits of the 80's"

If there's anything that 2009 has taught me, it's that music in Britain is currently only scratching the surface of experimentation. "Avant-garde" (French for vanguard) should mean something - music that is doing something that hasn't been done before for the advancement and betterment of the musical universe.

Atomized, arguably, aren't doing anything different than what artists like Merzbow or Nod or Whitehouse have been doing for decades, but I'm very much glad that music like this is still being produced, released and marketed today (the last term used loosely but). Because Throbbing Gristle beat us all to it and the industrial experimental period of the 1970s/80s pretty much covered all new ground, noise and industrial producers on the whole instead elect the challenge of sheer intense volume over originality - which isn't a great tactic for music makers unless you want to make something your fans can wake the neighbourhood with. Still, this output serves a great social purpose - it's music that's dark, emotionless, cold, and at times very frustrating. It's something different to the status quo and anything that seeks to destroy norms should always be welcome.

In addition, more often than not, because of the exceedingly experimental edge and unlikeable qualities noise music and outsider musicianship often generates, releases of that kind are mind-bustingly cheap to buy. Never any more than 4 or 5 quid, even newly released noise projects hardly break the bank. Kovorox Sound is an independent soundstage in Glasgow founded by the marvellously named Kylie Minoise, whose sole aim is to release experimental noisey records from admired contemporaries either from around the area or from places as far afield as Russia or Japan (see list of releases through the link below). As part of my personal adventure into contemporary music, I've found it upon myself in 2010 to buy and digest music from small unknown labels around the world in addition to the usual big-label bad boys. Straight from the outset, the title of this album "Hits of the 80's" peaked my interest, and the titles of the tracks ("Lucky Star", "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?") even more-so. Purporting to be a disc of no wave style industrial covers of what were originally great 80s pop tracks, I couldn't resist putting my name down and giving it a bash.

So now I've had the album a while and I've listened to it a number of times, I can safely say that apart from a few screamed lyrics here and there, these 'covers' do not only barely resemble the originals, they don't resemble them AT ALL! Instead of candidly comparing them to the originals (as the sheer difference in sound and scope makes this inexplicable), it's only possible for me to discuss their merits as standalone compositions. The opening "Like to Get to Know You Well" works as an extended breakdown of reverbed screeching, over-amplified basslines and relentless shouting, and this builds the listener up to the very bleak and spacey "Lucky Star" where the compressed vocals are only faintly heard whispering in the distance. In sharp contrast, the very repetitive but very black metal-esque "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" showcases itself as a definite stand-out; a track that incorporates aural themes of anger, pain and hunger. The disc then closes off with the bombastic but slow-to-start "Fade to Grey" (revitalised by its remarkably tacky music video) and the brief almost non-existent and droney "Fantastic Day".

To those unfamiliar to listening to drone and noise, it's perfectly understandable to reject this kind of music as self-indulgent pishwankery. But I would personally argue, whether it took any talent or not to make, this kind of music can be beneficial to so many people in different ways. Just listening to the same noisey loop on repeat for five minutes can eventually induce a trancelike effect; listeners may become affected by the overall mood and tone of a piece - whether it be excited, sluggish or whatever. Some people may just want to scream along or lay down frustrated at their lives and let a sheet of noise and unforgiving drone wash over their ears. "Hits of the 80's", as already made clear, doesn't do anything new - especially compared to the already publicised output of the two constituent members of Atomized (Kylie Minoise; and Russell McEwan of Black Sun) - but certainly this album I think, in all the possibilities one could suggest, does work as a great introduction to minimalist, angry, droney electronic genres. Whilst still remaining very very unaccessible to the public majority, there are elements of simple structure in the songs on this disc that very well could persuade listeners onto new things.
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For information on releases you can buy from Kovorox Sound, check here (must have PayPal in order to buy I should warn):
http://www.kovoroxsound.com/KOVOROXRELEASES.htm

Details of the "Hits of the 80's" album and a link to buy:
http://www.kovoroxsound.com/ATOMIZED%20HITS%20OF%20THE%2080S.html

ATOMIZED "Fade to Grey", this video pretty much details everything you need to know about the band - humourously hideous and never taking themselves too seriously (I supposed you kinda have to in drone and noise circles):

Daft Punk "Alive 1997"

It was inevitable I was going to mention this release sooner rather than later; it pretty much operates as not only one of the best live releases ever by an electronic act but also slightly edges over the Alive 2007 CD ten years later just a margin in terms of ferocity. A very rare release from the robopuppies, I can safely say the first time I ever listened to this disc, I was completely overwhelmed. One of my favourite albums from my high school years.

Both only 22 years old, the duo set off in 1997 with their simple set-up of numerous drum machines to promote their "Homework" album throughout Europe on the Daftendirekt tour that would see them melt clubgoer's minds with their extended house/techno jams. The beats come thick and fast on this release so you'd be forgiven for thinking this is a techno release (much like with "Homework", it wholly demonstrates Daft Punk's ability to namecheck their influences but still produce very French, very filtered and very much pounding dance music). A continious mash of hi-hats, machine gun ricochets, air horns, low heaving basslines and hip-hop samples, it's no wonder the 45 minutes and 33 seconds extracted from their live performance at Birmingham's Que club in November 1997 inspired James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem to not only write "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" but also namecheck them (in a roundabout way) on the "45:33" album title.

Whatever may be preconceived ideas about Daft Punk garnered from their manga pop of Discovery, the rough electro leanings of "Human" or the sunshine filter of Homework, throw that away. What Alive 1997 presents is Ed Banger Records, before Ed Banger Records existed - which is a fairly poetic statement to make considering Busy P, Ed Banger chief, was Daft Punk's manager at the time. Beginning with a very improvised but rocky sounding "Da Funk", the basslines are boosted prominently in the mix and rightly so (a tactic that was surely a missed opportunity on the later rapidfire sample-laden Alive 2007 release). Once the opening "Da Funk" is done away with, the album becomes a no-holds drum machine freak-out with "Rollin' & Scratchin'", snippets of the then un-released "Short Circuit" and the earthy closing section of "Alive" the only recognisable ingredients in the pot. Is it techno? Nah, it's far too funky. Then is it house? Nah, the drum patterns would never be so explosive on a house record surely.

Rave grittiness and professional flair isn't the mission with Alive '97; good times are the only kind to be had with this live CD which appropriately captures the original excitement of their radical reworkings in a tiny club setting. No robot masks, no blue-skinned aliens, no Chucky animatronics - this album is just two French guys in a club, shattering the minds of clubgoers. This album should be considered a staple on the party playlist.

My only prayer is that one day I'll read on a festival line-up the words "Daft Punk (Daftendirekt set)"; truly an old-skool style synth, sampler and drum machine jam from the robotic futurists just one more time would be an unmissable feat.

Ceephax Acid Crew "United Acid Emirates"

What can I say? The guy does good things to me. Brother of Tom "Squarepusher" Jenkinson, he presents a personality filled to the utter brim of relentless off-the-wall humour and down-to-earth passion for all things rave! Famous for inventing Acid Bingo, Acid Darts and the now-legendary Acid Karaoke, there is no limit to his deep-rooted involvement with the analogue old skool crowd of today (check out vids of the Acid Karaoke he hosted at BLOC '09 on YouTube where festival-goers got their chance to wail along to demented pop hits from the likes of Proclaimers, Kate Bush and Bon Jovi; all lovingly reconstructed live on 808s and drum machines).

His latest release "United Acid Emirates" (Feb 2010), his first on the impressive Planet Mu label, can be viewed as a product of meticulous labouring over his psychedelic technicolour layers. As to be expected from the general calibre of his live sets and previous recorded produce (particular personal favourites include the "Pages from Ceephax" sampler on vinyl and the "Ceeland" cassette released last year), the album is no different to previous releases in terms of featuring a number of thundering synth arpeggios all performed and recorded completely with analogue equipment - either knocked off his more profilic and professional brother; or inherited through the ages from various events, geezers and bargain bins. However, what this release as a whole perhaps demonstrates is a more varied approach to representing, intentional or not, different decades of electronic music - from the opening track onwards, the listener encounters a host of soundscapes that could easily have been culled from either the 1989 golden age of rave, the mid-career Kraftwerk era, or even at times the Miami Vice soundtrack.

Punctuated with a number of more downbeat electronic noodlings that hark back even further to the likes of early Yellow Magic Orchestra output, the tracks on this disc have a definite "rave:chillout" divide - a symptom that may have been carried on from the Ceeland casette where one side comprised jungley crotch-thrusting analogue techno, the other an almost bleak and very melancholic collection of soundscapes intentionally made to create a sense of "what it's like to be on a ferry alone out on the North Sea, with the cold wet wind blistering".

Long argument short: this album feels like it could merely operate as a bonus disc to the Ceeland cassette. Where the sad quiet 'Ferry' side tracks of Ceeland are remarkably revelatory in their penetrating frost (see the mp3 link at the bottom) and are collated on a completely seperate side of the cassette should you wish to engage or not, the downtempo tracks on "United" are impulsively planked in the tracklist and only serve the purpose of inescapably getting in the way of the more polished and worthwhile dance pieces.

On that note of polished, however, an interesting issue springs to mind. Where some tracks like "Sidney's Sizzler" and "Arcadian (Castillian II)" sound almost hyperproduced, it works in their favour as the sounds carry a completely DMX Krew quality of melody. For those expecting a disc crammed with sheer raw analogue 200mph action, that's where the more experimental aspect of this album will fail them - as already mentioned, the retro-futuristic production values that have transformed some of his ordinarily half-assed drum machine melodies into almost classical sounding Detroit spar against the style he's famed for: the raw insanity of his Roland collection! Where Ceeland sounds warmingly sloppy but all the way more excited because of that, and his famed "Volume One" functions as a testament to malevolent acid breaks, this latest release unfortunately does not live up to the hype. It's a nice disc with some cracking moments, as all Ceephax escapades will guarantee, and is certainly a not too shabby addition to 2010's discography for analogue veterans. BUT if you're up for buying Ceephax for the first time, I'd heavily recommend "Volume One" on CD as a first choice, especially now that the price has dropped in the last year or so (as far as I understand).
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Here you can directly download an mp3 file of "Diving Bell", one of the more inspiring downtempo tracks he's recorded - taken from the Ceeland cassette (2009):
http://www.ceephax.co.uk/mp3s/Newer%204/1%20Diving%20Bell.mp3

The completely original and wonderfully detailed music video debut from Ceephax - "Sidney's Sizzler" on United Acid Emirates (2010):


Another Ceephax directed video for "Trabzonspor", one of the more downbeat tracks from United Acid Emirates (2010):


An audio-only upload of the very Cybotron-sounding "Emotinium II", again from United Acid Emirates (2010) - a real highlight:


And to finish, check out "My Way of Life", his ridiculously lame take on hip-hop - taken from the Ceeland cassette (2009):

Intro

Basically I've started this blog as a place for me to dump music that interests me; music I'd like to talk about; music I'd like to recommend to people; music I think may be overlooked; overhyped; whatever.

Might branch this blog out to movies if I have the strength.

Enjoy!