DEXTRO: Hearts And Minds (Gronland Records)

DEXTRO
Hearts And Minds
12GRON51
Gronland Records 2007
04 Tracks. 25mins07secs
Format: 12’



Buy it: 12"
Dextro | Gronland Records

Ewan Mackenzie’s first stab as a recording artist came in the shape of the confident Consequence Music, his debut album, originally released on his own 16K imprint, and recently snapped up by London-based Gronland Records. This accompanying EP features the original album track, plus remixes from Arkham, Alias and Clark.

The original version of Hearts And Mind is a haunting piece of beautiful melodic electronica which resonates with the melancholy typical of Boards Of Canada records, but Mackenzie develops a rather tight and personal combination of electronic and acoustic sounds, upon which a distant processed voice floats, which contributes greatly to the enthralling aspect of the piece.

Although retaining the vocal influx and some of the acoustic tones of the original, Arkham beefs up Dextro’s dreamy electronic by applying a more dance floor-friendly beat structure and electronics which are not without recalling Spooky circa Gargantuan. In the remixer’s hand, Hearts And Mind becomes here a heady piece of vintage electronic music. Anticon’s Alias takes an entirely different path with his version, adding vocals, acoustic guitar and glockenspiel. Over the course of its six and a half minutes, his remix builds up considerable momentum, rising from delicate pop to a dense, shoegazer-esque wall of electronics before returning to gentler grounds. Last but certainly not least is Warp’s maverick Clark, whose take on Mackenzie’s track is a thoroughly deconstructed version of the original, with added abrasive twist. There is very little left of Dextro’s exquisite soundscapes left here. Instead, Clark sends beats bouncing on harsh noise formation, providing an interesting counterpoint to the rest of the EP.

TAXI TAXI! Taxi Taxi! (Rumraket)

TAXI TAXI!
Taxi Taxi!
RUM009
Rumraket 2007
06 Tracks. 18mins56secs



Buy it: CD
Rumraket

Somewhere between CocoRosie, The Sundays and Susanna & The Magical Orchestra is Taxi Taxi!, a duo formed by Stockholm-born and bred seventeen-year old twin sisters Miriam and Johanna Berhan. On the back of the interest generated by a couple of demos posted on the Internet, Taxi Taxi! have performed an impressive number of live dates in Scandinavia and have now been enrolled to take part in some of Europe’s biggest festival. Their eponymous debut EP has just been released on Efterklang’s Rumraket imprint.

In just six songs and nineteen minutes, the pair create achingly beautiful melodies built from sparse arrangements, with often little more than an acoustic guitar or a piano to fall back on. At times, echoes of a lonely accordion or harmonica flicker a moment, casting a delicate shadow over a song before vanishing again. Intriguingly alike, the two voices are hauntingly reminiscent of Harriet Wheeler, especially on opener All I Think Of and on the stunning Heart. While they often evolve separately, they at times get locked into rich harmonies which show vast emotional potential.

The songs are deceptively simple little vignettes caught between melancholy and reverie, with melodies as soft and light as morning dew, dropped over delicately fingerpicked guitars or airy piano lines. From the contrasted tones of All I Think Of or Water to the breathtaking Belle, To Hide This Way, Heart and Mary, Taxi Taxi! charm, touch and convince again and again. Despite their young age, the Berhan sisters show incredible control and maturity over the six songs of this EP, recorded with producer Björn Yttling, of Swedish pop band Peter, Björn and John. One of the most beautiful records you’re likely to hear all year.

THE BLACK DOG: Remixes 2 (Dust Science)

THE BLACK DOG
Remixes 2
DUSTSND006-6
Dust Science 2007
03 Tracks. 21mins33secs
Format: 12”



Dust Science Recordings

While they are currently said to be working on a new album, The Black Dog continues to show impeccable form with this second collection of remixes of tracks taken from their excellent Silenced LP released in 2005, courtesy of Orlando Voorn, Derailleur and Vector Lovers, all three taking the superbly crafted original Black Dog template for a spin on the dance floor.

Voorn’s reading of Sudden Intake turns the swelling ambient textures of the original into a refined piece of vintage techno conveyed by a driving beat and sumptuous silky synthetic waves. Voorn retains the dreamy aspect of the Black Dog track, expanding its scope quite drastically by processing the main melodic theme to superb effect, turning it into a hypnotic and haunting piece.

Alt/Return/Dash/Kill, revisited by recent Dust Science signing Derailleur, is a much more hard-edged affair, with sharp angles defining the outer limits of the track, while the more musical elements converge into dense sonic masses at the centre of the spectrum. Very much in line with his own work for Varial and Dust Science, the groove, built around a tribal drum sequence and a round bass line, underlined by short vocal samples, is relentless, effortlessly carrying the rest of the piece across its seven and a half minutes.

With its clean cut rhythmic pattern and dry minimal electro treatment, the Vector Lovers reworking of Machine Machina accentuates the dynamic of the Black Dog piece and emphasises its melody. The result is a warm and breathy piece of minimal German electro which progressively flourish over its course, yet it remains as utterly tight and precise in its most layered section as it is in its more arid parts.

PANDA BEAR: Bros / ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: People (Fat-Cat Records)

PANDA BEAR
Bro's
12FAT059
Fat-Cat Records 2006
02 Tracks. 17mins47secs


ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
People
12FAT060 / CDFAT060
Fat-Cat Records 2006
04 Tracks. 18mins55secs


Buy PANDA BEAR: Bro's: 12”
Buy ANIMAL COLLECTIVE: People: CD
Fat-Cat Records | Paw Tracks

Panda Bear brought the Fat-Cat 2006 release schedule to a close with his solo debut for the label, Bro’s, so it was only fair that Animal Collective would lead the Cat’s 2007 parade with their latest offering. Both come only weeks after Paw Tracks re-released the band’s rare live album Hollinndagain.

Of these two releases, Panda Bear’s is definitely the most inspiring. Coming ahead of a split twelve inch with Excepter and his third solo album, both due on Paw Tracks, and recorded last year in Noah Lennox’s home in Lisbon, this EP features two versions of the title track. The original is a hypnotic thirteen minute epic composition built around two distinct sections which are seamlessly blended into one. The first part of the track is particularly characteristic of Noah’s solo work. Layered over a linear shimmering guitar strum, Lennox’s vocals, somewhat set slightly in the distance, carry essence of sixties psychedelic pop and give this piece a luscious warm hue, but, as the musical backdrop become meatier, a more tribal tone emerges and eventually takes over, pushing the track in a direction which recalls early Animal Collective work.

Formed of Black Dice’s Eric Copeland and fellow Animal Collective member Avey Tare, Terrestrial Tones evolve in a much more straightforward experimental field. Here, they give Bro’s a radical reworking by stripping it off its layers of sound and isolating Noah’s voice. The rest of the sonic space is filled with recurring elements which maintain a rhythmic effect all the way through. As these imperceptibly shift in and out of focus and the voice at times almost entirely disappears, Terrestrial Tones retain the atmospheric mood of the original but give the track a completely new dimension.

Although coming out over a year after Animal Collective’s enchanting Feels, three of the four songs featured on this EP, People, Tikwid and My Favorite Colors, were actually recorded during the same sessions. A slow-burning piece which builds up over its entire course, the title track shares more than a few common genes with songs like Banshee Beat or Loch Raven. Yet, as words are replaced with incantations and strummed drones seem to materialise, People recalls some of the band’s compositions circa Here Comes The Indian.

The short interlude My Favorite Colors further reinstates the Collective’s chanting tradition, proving that, despite investigating more accessible sonic terrains in recent years, the band have lost nothing of their boldness. In contrast, Tikwid is a much more upfront and openly happy song, with a short and snappy sparkling chorus while noises and samples constantly detract the mind from the piano and drums combination. The EP concludes with a live version of People, recorded in Boston during the band’s 2005 US tour.

While there is currently no information on a follow up to Feels and the forthcoming Panda Bear album is tentatively scheduled for winter 2007, the almost simultaneous arrival of these two EPs will undoubtedly be welcomed by fans. If neither Bro’s nor People depart radically from previous releases, the latter giving no real clue to which direction the band might be found digging their way next, they are both worthy addition to the Collective’s musical nebula.

MÚM: The Peel Session (Fat-Cat Records)

MÚM
The Peel Session
CDFAT057 / 12FAT057
Fat-Cat Records 2006
04 Tracks. 21mins14secs



Buy it: CD
Múm | Fat-Cat Records

Icelandic purveyors of fine dream soundtracks Múm fill the gap between their last record, released two years ago, and their next opus, due out next year, with the publication of their sole Peel Session, recorded at the world famous BBC Maida Vale studios back in 2002 following the release of their debut album, Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK. The session captures the band as they begin to blur the boundaries between their electronic roots and the more delicate acoustic and textural sound they have showcased in recent years. Here, while they still largely rely on electronics, as the opening sequence of Scratched Bicycle/Smell Memory attests, Múm dress their songs in slightly more contrasted tones.

Múm have developed a stage persona which has progressively been infiltrating their records, and this early testament clearly documents how the band’s sound lends itself perfectly to the live environment. The melodies retain the fresh envelop of the original versions yet the arrangements appear fuller and more ethereal, while the voices of twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir take on a much more vaporous and dreamy turn on Now There Is That Fear Again. As they combine electronic and acoustic instrumentation into tight soundscapes, Múm draw a series of sonic arabesques which contrast greatly with the more subdued originals. On the opening track, which pertinently brings two songs into one, Múm layer slices of glitches and noises over frenetic interferences and beats, yet the main melody floats well above, and when liberated from the cloud of ambient hums and buzzes, develops into a wonderfully strolling piece. Awake On A Train is a more straightforward and pastoral installment, with gentle vocals set against sharp electronics while an accordion traces a series of melodic themes and takes this track in a variety of directions.

Now There Is That Fear Again is the most elaborate track on here, with multiple layers of accordion dripping over the sisters’ vocals, guitars and live drums to form a vivid organic piece. The song’s gentle opening moments reveal a rich backdrop which flourishes further as the track progresses and more layers are applied. The Ballad Of The Broken String finds the band in more subdued and reflective mood and brings this all too short Peel session to a beautiful close.