Spotify Dec 2015
Here's the best music I heard on Spotify during December (not counting the albums I bought)
Gode, Andre Breton's second album, is definitely a grower; one to relish over the coming weeks. Featuring the distinctly Scandinavian vocals of Susanne Sundfør (thankfully less sweet and icky compared to her solo work) Cascade of Events rumbles along with haunting malevolence. With titles like II. Kannabis and VI. Ekstacy, in End of World Rave, wosX has produced a concept album of sorts, a filtered celebration of rave glories past. VII. L$D is like a chance meeting between Plaid and The Caretaker.
100% Silk have been hitting the heights this year, and Nackt's Virex album is up there. Ford (feat. difficult to pinpoint contributions from Cm-4 and Doc Sleep) pairs urgent drum programming with a cool synth melody. Techno spacehead Clarian maintains his high achiever badge with another strong collection on his Mission to Bars EP. Ver (11 am Mix) has a gentle ambience with a lightweight melody fastened to subtle drums, and the second half vocals low in the mix elevate things even further.
Things are looking rosy from the direction of Glaswegian DJ and blossoming producer Denis Sulta who presents It's Only Real, a slice of surprisingly effective dancefloor material. NHKyx is the solo output of Japanese artist and producer Kohei Matsunaga, and 1630 sporting Gothic organ and emotive drums is taken from a two-tracker of the same name. Archy Marshall is the real name of King Krule, and on his debut album A New Place 2 Drown, he uses dusty beats and sharp songwriting to great effect.
If you cross Paul Hardcastle with The Art of Noise you get The Violent Breed (Neon Mix) by VHS Head (aka British Ade Blacow), taken from a five-track EP called Sarah Eat Neon. In contrast we have a beautiful yet fitting break from the beats with the accordion and strings of Verdi Prati Valse by Irmin Schmidt (he of Can fame). And for more of the same, check out his immense retrospective collection of solo work Electro Violet, out on Spoon Records.
Taken from an EP packed with long titled tracks, White Silk Crinkled Chiffon with Allover Rosa Embroidery offers more delightful, downtempo techno from Jens-Uwe Beyer, much like his album The Emissary from earlier in the year. Even with a lineup that includes dBridge, Kid Drama, Consequence and Joe Seven, I wasn't bowled over with The Binary Collective's eponymous debut album but their Binary Theme tune is pretty decent. We end with Bird of Paradise, and Brother Drummer, the lead track from their Baal EP, has Correspondant written all over it.
Tracklisting:
- André Bratten (feat. Susanne Sundfør) - Cascade of Events
- wosX - VII. L$D
- Nackt - Ford (feat. Cm-4 & Doc Sleep)
- Clarian - Ver (11 am Mix)
- Denis Sulta - It's Only Real
- NHKyx - 1630
- Archy Marshall - Swell
- VHS Head - The Violent Breed Neon Mix
- Irmin Schmidt - Verdi Prati Valse
- Jens-Uwe Beyer - White Silk Crinkled Chiffon with Allover Rosa Embroidery
- The Binary Collective - Binary Theme
- Bird of Paradise - Brothel Drummer