Tag: music

Moderat II

Well, as always late to the party. The earlier releases by Moderat are still on the ‘to listen’ list. But today I browsed around the internet and found out that Moderat III was out.
Opened Spotify and started listening. And started with Moderat II instead of III. So this is a review of II, an album from 2013.

Just what I needed on this Sunday afternoon being exhausted and moody because of it. Very chilled out tracks and very well produced.

Bad kingdom has very nice beats and a good vocal, a good track for driving through mountains. The next song versions bubbled along and has a sort of break beat feel to it, at least that’s what I made of it.

Let in the light is a very nice background track for working , gently flowing. Can see myself playing it with a cup of coffee in the morning as well.
Milk somehow got on my nerves. Skipped it after a while. Don’t know exactly why.

Nice beats again on Therapy, bit more busy as well , really liked this one. The next song Gita wasn’t for me. Ilona was a good one again with a nice vibe and cool beats. Damage done and this time just passed by and I wasn’t really listening any more. Good chilled out music and a nice album overall.

New discovery – Vohkinne

Just discovered techno producer Vohkinne , read an interview with him on attack magazine.

Nice dark techno just the way I like it , not everything he made is on Spotify, but you’ll get the idea. Search for vinyl as he releases his tracks on the black stuff mostly.
Really like his style.

Moodymann – DJ Kicks

Today I listened to the new DJ Kicks, one of the best and long running DJ mix series. This time by Moodymann.
Lot’s of records I never heard and an excellent soundtracks for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Not the best DJ kicks for me but a very good one indeed. And for the Moodymann fans, loads of edits by the mann.

It’s on Spotify as well, so check it out.

Ipman – Depatterning

Ipman’s Depatterning was waiting in the playlist for some time. Finally got round to it and I really liked it. Old school sounds in unusual ways and sequences.

Rave sounds, jungle stuff , nice edits and cool grooves. A couple of party tracks and some experimental stuff. It’s a compact album which maybe could use 2 more tracks.

All in all just my kind of music. Favourite tracks : Gravity Dub and IPA. But all the tracks are quality. Must listen.

Funkstörung – Funkstörung

In the 90’s I discovered Funkstörung , the first track was a remix for Wu tang clan, which I thought was amazing. Turns out they made a whole lot of excellent remixes.
One of my all time favourite tracks being A Guy Called Gerald – Humanity (Funkstörung Remiks).

It was Funkstörung and acts like Squarepusher and Aphex Twin who got me into experimental electronic music. Then Plaid, Boards of Canada and Autechre followed. And many more,
I was happy to hear Funkstörung made another album. On Monkeytown records this time.

I might not be as forward thinking as it once was, and it’s a bit more laidback to my ears. But it’s a very nice album. Lot’s of subtle background sounds but less dense then before. Loads of room between the sounds which is always nice. Favourite tracks are Drown in Time, Killers and All the things. Solid release and hopefully they will not wait another 10 years for another album.

Northern Monkeys by William Routledge

William Routledge has done an excellent job with his book Northern Monkeys. If your into music, fashion and the evolution of youth culture this is your book.

It’s about the different styles in music , fashion and trends that swept across Great Britain from the 60’s right up to the 90’s. And the underlining cement is the Football terrace. But it’s not a hooligan memoir. So everybody who’s expecting a season by season tail of violence better leave this book alone.

It’s way better than that. The story’s will ring a familiar bell with everyone who has lived in those days and discovering new music , cloths or went to their first rave or concert. Remember this was the pre internet era, when you someone had new music from let’s say New York or Belgium even , you couldn’t look the artist or label up and place an order in a web shop. If you were lucky, you got the phone number or location of the record store and you could travel there. If it was in a city nearby that is.

Or if you saw some new brand polo or jacket you had figure out where they got it. And most didn’t tell you when asked.

This discovery, search and excitement of the adventures surrounding all these encounters told by various people are a lot of fun to read. I have had the book for a while now but once I started I couldn’t put it done.

This is truly one of the best books on British youth cultures I have read so far. Hats off to William for making this book happen.

northernmonkeyswr

Richie Hawtin – From my mind to yours

One of my favourite artists has released a new album, from my mind to yours, unfortunately I missed the vinyl edition as it’s sold out already. Too bad , now there’s a hole in my collection. But it’s also on Spotify.

I mostly like his Plastikman and old plus 8 releases , which is exactly what he is up to on this album.
He uses a lot of his old aliases and is back to the old school way of working, drum machines and 303’s. And the odd Synth here and there.

The album starts with No way back which is a very cool acid track which builds up and is pretty intense. Other favorites are Close, Purrkusiv, Systematic , Creepr (love the kick) and Grindr.
All tracks are very good and I hope He will continue this , In the mean time I will have to search for the 7 12 inch records. Or the CD. For now it’s on repeat on Spotify.