Monday, January 31, 2011

Mouse on Mars - Autoditacker (1997)




Formed in Düsseldorf as early as 1993, electro-duo Mouse on Mars has been around for almost two decades now. By fusing a huge variety of electronica with a touch of ambient they soon became firmly established in the experimental house scence. The most exciting thing about their music is the fact that, in spite of its experimental nature - being typical headphones music (full of ambient soundscapes, spacy crackles as well as general weirdness) - it turned out quite danceable and did surprisingly well in the clubs. In this spirit,  Autoditacker is a gold mine for electro-aficionados.



1.) Sui Shop

2.) Juju

3.) Twift Shoeblade

4.) Tamagnocchi

5.) Dark FX

6.) Scat

7.) Tux & Damask

8.) Sehnsud

9.) X-Files

10.) Schnick-Schnack Meltmade

11.) Rondio

12.) Maggots Hell Wigs



Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Microphones - The Glow, Pt. 2 (2001)




Centered around Washington lo-fi mastermind Phil Evrum, The Microphones deliver stunning low key indie pearls with at times bizarrely odd arrangements. On their third studio album the band carefully waves a carpet of distorted organs, sloppy percussion and random noise around Elvrum's fragile acoustic poetry. The Glow Pt. 2 is full of beauty and madness - a raw yet intimate masterpiece.



1.) I Want Wind to Blow

2.) The Glow, Pt. 2

3.) The Moon

4.) Headless Horseman

5.) My Roots are Strong and Deep

6.) Instrumental

7.) The Mansion

8.) (Something)

9.) Deep

10.) I'll Not Contain You

11.) The Gleam, Pt. 2

12.) Map

13.) You'll Be in the Air

14.) I Want to Be Cold

15.) I Am Bored

16.) I Felt My Size

17.) Instrumental

18.) I Felt Your Shape

19.) Samurai Sword

20.) My Warm Blood



Friday, January 28, 2011

Tortoise - TNT (1998)




Formed in Chicago in 1990 by Doug McCombs and John Herndon, Tortoise have been expanding their constantly changing line up ever since. They play cinematic instrumental jams influenced by Krautrock, Postrock and avant-garde Jazz music. This 1998 masterpiece is their most vivid and playful record, yet. Regardless of uniting a large variety of styles, TNT manages to be a surprisingly catchy and accessible work of genius.



1.) TNT

2.) Swung From the Gutters

3.) Ten-Day Interval

4.) I Set My Face to the Hillside

5.) The Equator

6.) A Simple Way to Go Faster Than Light That Does Not Work

7.) The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls

8.) Four-Day Interval

9.) In Sarah, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There Were Women and Men

10.) Almost Always is Nearly Enough

11.) Jetty

12.) Everglade




Thursday, January 27, 2011

Boxcutter - Oneiric (2006)




Somewhere between dancefloor and armchair, Northern Irish genius Barry Lynn a.k.a. Boxcutter found his niche. Lynn fuses intelligent dance music with dubstep, resulting in eccentric sound collages. The whole album is a dreamlike, stunningly beautiful experience and definately worth a listen if you enjoy experimental electronica.


1.) Tauhid

2.) Grub

3.) Skuff'd

4.) Gave Dub

5.) Brood

6.) Mossy

7.) Rikta

8.) Sunshine V.I.P.

9.) Bad You Do

10.) Silver Birch Solstice

11.) Hyloz

12.) Chlorophyll



Wednesday, January 26, 2011

US3 - Hand On The Torch (1993)




London-based project US3 fuses Old School Hip Hop and Jazz to a laid-back melange. No bitches, crack and bling bling here! All samples on the album are taken from the large catalog of the legendary Blue Note label.



1.) Cantaloop

2.) I Got It Goin' On

3.) Different Rhythms, Different People

4.) It's Like That

5.) Just Another Brother

6.) Cruisin'

7.) Go To Work

8.) Tooka Yoot's Riddim 

9.) Knowledge Of Self

10.) Lazy Day

11.) Eleven Long Years

12.) Make Tracks

13.) The Dark Side



Monday, January 24, 2011

Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine (2004) + Remixes




The most impressive thing about Toronto-based Death From Above is that the band only consists of two people. The sheer fury of Sebastian Grainger's  napalm drum beats in combination with  Jesse Keeler's  fuzzy, heavily distorted razorblade basslines sounds like a whole army rocking out. This album fuses punk and dance music to 100% pure in-your-face badassery. 







One year after You're A Woman I'm A Machine DFA released a similarly impressive album with Romance Bloody Romance which features 13 remixes  by a variety of very distinct artists, including Queens of the Stone-Age's Josh Homme and EdBanger poster-child Justice.



Sunday, January 23, 2011

Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (1960)




Wes Montgomery manages to breathe new life into a variety of great jazz standards on this record, which is arguably the best album released during his Riverside period. Montgomery's unique picking technique - using his thumb instead of a plectrum- as well as his excessive use of octaves generated a unique playing style and sound that has been copied ever since.


1.) Airegin

2.) D-Natural Blues

3.) Polka Dots and Moonbeams

4.) Four on Six

5.) Westcoast Blues

6.) In Our Own Sweet Way

7.) Mr. Walker

8.) Gone With the Wind



Friday, January 21, 2011

Los Delinqüentes - Recuerdos Garrapateros de la Flama y el Carril (2006)



The Jeréz de la Frontera-based flamenco-fusion trio Los Delinqüentes mixes classic Andalusian flamenco with rock n' roll and feel good melodies. This album is a tribute to their frontman Miguel Benítez, who died of a cocaine overdose in 2004. It features re-recordings of the best tracks from their first three studio albums (with guest musicians singing Miguel's parts) as well as half a dozen unreleased tracks. I cannot remember any other band that sounds as much like summer as these guys. 


1.) Somos

2.) Pirata del Estrecho

3.) Nube de Pegatina

4.) La Primavera Trompetera

5.) Uno Más

6.) Chiclana

7.) Poeta Encadenado

8.) Después

9.) De los Matorrales

10.) Trabubulandia

11.) El Aire de la Calle

12.) Caminito del Almendro

13.) Duende Garrapata

14.) El Rey de Regaliz

15.) Ya Nadie te Quiere

16.) Esos Bichos que Nacen en los Claveles

17.) El Abuelo Frederick

18.) Chinchetas en el Aire

19.) La Luz de Lorenzo




Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Pole - 3 (2000)




German producer Stefan Betke ,who named himself after the Waldorf 4 Pole-Filter, has made some of the most interesting ambient records of the past two decades. On his third album he coats minimalist dub hooks  with dozens of layers of tape hiss, reverb and crackles. Due to the analog recording process the sound is incredibly warm and organic. Pole's dreamy at times hypnotic soundscapes best unfold, when listened with headphones.


1.) Silberfisch

2.) Taxi

3.) Karussell

4.) Überfahrt

5.) Rondell 2

7.) Klettern

8.) Strand

9.) Fohlenfurz




Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters (1973)




Being the top-selling jazz album of all time and the funkiest album ever to be added to the catalog of the U.S. National Recording Registry Head Hunters is a groundbreaking masterpiece in jazz fusion. A funky as shit blend of killer jazz grooves, insane solos and the characteristic outer space tone of Hancock's Fender Rhodes E-Piano, this album sounds as it had been recorded in another dimension. It is simply unbelievable how tracks that start off as simplistic as "Sly" or "Chameleon" suddenly gather momentum, just to ultimately catapult themselves into an acid trip of kick-ass wizardry.


1.) Chameleon

2.) Watermelon Man

3.) Sly

4.) Vein Melter



Monday, January 17, 2011

Tabla Beat Science - Tala Matrix (2000)



The tabla is a North Indian hand drum invented in the 13th century and is traditionally used to accompany sitar and vocals. Tabla Beat Science, an international all-star ensemble of five virtuoso tabla players and producer Bill Laswell breathe new life into this ancient instrument on their debut Tala Matrix. An amazing fusion between electronica and tradition, the album sounds surprisingly organic, as multiple layers of ruminant drumming unfold  in combination with Laswells narcotic synthie effects. 


1.) Secret Channel

2.) Magnetic

3.) Audiomaze

4.) Don't Worry

5.) Palmistry

6.) Devotional

7.) Big Brother

8.) Triangular Objects

9.) Biotech

10.) Alla




Friday, January 14, 2011

The XX - XX (2009)




The best album of 2009 and a modern classic, the XX's debut is stunning on many levels. It is complex yet accessible, experimental yet catchy and most of all incredibly addictive although it may seem rather unspectacular at the first listen. Romy Croft's voice melts like butter over layers of smooth-as-satin guitar licks and a carpet of weightless, minimalist trip-hop beats. For the very unlikely case that Tricky or Massive Attack recorded an album with The Cure, this is what it would sound like.


1.) Intro

2.) Vcr

3.) Crystalised

4.) Islands

5.) Heart Skipped a Beat

6.) Fantasy

7.) Shelter

8.) Basic Space

9.) Infinity

10.) Night Time

11.) Stars




Thursday, January 13, 2011

Venetian Snares - Rossz Scillag Allat Szuletett (2005)



Canadian electro wizard Aaron Funk aka Venetian Snares got the inspiration for his 2005 album during a trip to Hungary. Therefore most of the samples used on the record belong to classical Hungarian compositions. Funk drowns walls of paranoid string arrangements (he learned to play the violin for this) in shitstorms of  hurricane breakbeats and his trademark hardcore drumpatterns. Though almost inacessible at times, the result is an evil, dark as fuck electronic masterpiece.


1.) Sikertelenség

2.) Szerencsétlen

3.) Öngyilkos Vasárnap

4.) Felbomlasztott Mentökosci

5.) Hajnal

6.) Galamb Egyedül

7.) Második Galamb

8.) Szamár Madár

9.) Hiszékeny

10.) Kétsarkú Mozgalom

11.) Senki Dala





Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Rodrigo y Gabriela (2006)



Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero are two Mexican flamenco guitar virtuosos who used to play together in the Mexico City-based death metal band Tierra Acida. In the early 2000's they decided to move to Dublin where they started a career as flamenco street musicians. Even though their musical style matches traditional flamenco, the angry fury of heavy metal is never absent in their compositions. This album features 7 of their own compositions as well as a flamenco tribute to Metallica's Orion and an unbelievable cover version of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven.  


1.) Tamacun

2.) Diablo Rojo

3.) Vikingman

4.) Satori

5.) Ixtapa

6.) Stairway to Heaven

7.) Orion

8.) Juan Loco

9.) P.P.A.



Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Portugal. The Man - Waiter: "You Vultures!" (2006)



Founded in the small town of Wasilla, Alaska in the early 00's, Portugal The Man soon became an insider's tip among indie folks. Their music is characterized by exploring unconventional song structures as well as Gourley Carothers very unique singing voice. The 2006 debut Waiter: "You Vultures!" - their most experimental record - has been described by critics as "the closest thing to At the Drive-in recording a pop album". 


1.) How the Leopard Got its Spots

2.) Gold Fronts

3.) Tables & Chairs

4.) AKA M80 The Wolf

5.) Marching With 6

6.) Elephants

7.) Waiter

8.) Chicago

9.) Bad, Bad Levi Brown

10.) Kill Me. The King

11.) Tommy

12.) Horse Warming Party

13.) Guns. Guns...Guns



Monday, January 10, 2011

The Limiñanas - The Limiñanas LP (2010)



The Limiñanas LP is the self-titled debut of Perpignon-based French band The Limiñanas. They fuse garage rock with classic French pop and chanson to a unique and seductive blend of psychedelic pop. In terms of sound their music is located somewhere between Serge Gainsbourg and early Velvet Underground. Dreamy pop melodies accompany fuzzy guitars and charming spoken word passages...


1.) The Darkside

2.) Down Underground

3.) Je Ne Suis Pas Très Drogué

4.) Funeral Baby

5.) Chocolate in My Milk

6.) Tigre Du Bengale

7.) Mountain

8.) Je Suis un Go-Go Girl

9.) Berceuse Pour Clive

10.) Tears

11.) Tigre Du Bengale

12.) Got Nothin' to Say



Saturday, January 8, 2011

The New Mastersounds - 102% (2006)



British band New Mastersounds delivers pulsating Hammond Organ driven grooves with a touch of Acid Jazz. 102% is a journey through time back to 70's New Orleans Funk in the style of the legendary Meters.


1.) 102%

2.) Talk is Cheap

3.) Carrot Juice

4.) Thirty Three

5.) Colorado Sun (Jesse's Backyard)

6.) Give Me a Minute Pt. 2

7.) Rope-A-Dope

8.) Hey Fela!

9.) Bus Stop No. 5

10.) Return to Gijón

11.) Forgivness

12.) Talk is Cheap

13.) L.A. Root Down (Dub Siude of the Pier)

14.) Paranoid (Is it Any Wonder?)



Thursday, January 6, 2011

St. Germain - Tourist (2000)



Towards the end of the old millenium sampling jazz records became quite popular among the house/electro scene. French producer Ludovic Navarre took this idea to the next level in 2000 when he invited a sextet of renowned jazz musicians to his studio and had them play solos over his trippy house creations. The result is a visionary masterpiece that marks the perfect fusion between jazz and electronic music.


1.) Rose Rouge

2.) Montego Bay Spleen

3.) So Flute

4.) Land of...

5.) Latin Note

6.) Sure Thing

7.) Pont des Arts

8.) La Goutte d'Or

9.) What You Think About...



Wednesday, January 5, 2011

V.A. - Tropicalia - A Brazilian Revolution in Sound (2006)



This brilliant collection documents the peak of the Brazilian Tropicalia movement in 1968. It features a variety of 20 songs that breathe the spirit of an era dominated by free love, the anti-war movement and violent clashes with the authorities. For the first time traditional Brazilian music opened up to external influences, such as Rock and Roll and the psychedelic movement, which results in an exciting experimental fusion of cultures, styles and ideas.


1.) Gilberto Gil - Bat Macumba

2.) Os Mutantes - A Minha Menina

3.) Gal Costa - Tuareg

4.) Gilberto Gil & Os Mutantes - Domingo no Parque

5.) Caetano Veloso - Alfomega

6.) Gal Costa - Sebatiana

7.) Gilberto Gil - Procissao

8.) Caetano Veloso - Irene

9.) Os Mutantes - Ave Genghis Khan

10.) Jorge Ben - Take it Easy my Brother Charlie

11.)  Tome Zé - Jimmy Renda-Se

12.) Os Mutantes - Ando Meio Desligado

13.) Caetano Veloso - Tropicalia

14.) Tom Zé - Quero Sambal Meu Bem

15.) Gal Costa - Vou Recomecar

16.) Os Mutantes- Panis et Circenses

17.) Tom Zé - Gloria

18.) Os Mutantes - Quem Tem Medo de Brincar de Amor

19.) Caetano Veloso - Lost in the Paradise

20.) Os Mutantes - Bat Macumba