TUE., JULY 24, 2007
In This Feature
Magazine Archives:
Your Music: July 2007
by Todd Burns
"Oh, no! There's only a few days left in the month and I still have some downloads to use up!" Sound familiar? Well, never fear, dear subscriber, eMusic’s crackerjack Editorial staff has the answer. Or, rather, thirty of them. Welcome to the July edition of “Your Music,” a monthly feature where we'll suggest some of our favorite eMusic tracks for your downloading pleasure. And now, without further ado…
Michael Azerrad, Editor-in-Chief
J. Edward Keyes, Managing Editor
Todd Burns, Production Editor
Ellen Allien & Apparat – Orchestra Of Bubbles
Anyone previously familiar with either Ellen Allien & Apparat before Orchestra Of Bubbles could hardly have predicted that the duo would come up with a modern masterpiece of electro-pop. But apparently that’s what happens when you combine stuttery electro-house and pop-inflected IDM.
You can hear both in abundance on opener “Turbo Dreams,” which weds an ascending bassline to an irrepressible melody and lockstep beat. Hot on its heels, “Way Out” showcases the pop in Apparat’s arsenal. He gets Allien behind the mic (a familiar place for her on her own solo work as well) and pairs her with distorted guitars and a percolating 4/4 stomp. Meanwhile, “Rotary” seems to be more of an Allien composition: it takes nearly the same backing track as “Way Out” and adds nothing, simply letting the hypnotic loops work their magic.
It works — and so does Orchestra. Apparat’s Walls and Allien’s Thrills further prove that each artist has grown leaps and bounds in the past few years. So let’s hope that Orchestra is only the beginning of a lengthy collaboration, instead of a “lightning-in-a-bottle” one-off.
Download: "Way Out," "Turbo Dreams," "Do Not Break," "Rotary"
Scharpling & Wurster – The Art of the Slap
Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster have been doing long-form comedy since 1997. In that year, Wurster called up Scharpling’s radio show, The Best Show on WFMU, and took on the guise of rock know-it-all Ronald Thomas Clontle. Dubbed “the ultimate argument settler,” his book Rock, Rot & Rule was simple: divided into three columns, it listed almost any band you could think of in one of its three categories. The resulting conversation with Scharpling — and callers to the station decrying Clontle’s claims (namely that Madness invented ska and that the Beatles merely rock) — was high comedy.
On this fifth edition of greatest hits, Scharpling once again plays the straight man to Wurster’s wacky batch of characters. Which means he has to react to ridiculous situations like a roided-up computer repairman, an insufferable horror film director or, um, a fish calling into this radio show. Somehow Scharpling bears it — and even shows some compassion for the quixotic rocker determined to play the first set on top of Mt. Everest ever (with special guests Clarence Carter, Art Alexakis, Dane Cook’s kid brother and every single member of the Polyphonic Spree).
Download: "Mother 13...The First Rock Band on Mt. Everest! (Part I)," "Mother 13...The First Rock Band on Mt. Everest! (Part II)," "The Auteur"
Slowdive – Pygmalion
Neil Halstead had always been the leader of Slowdive, but on 1995's Pygmalion he basically was the band. The band's third album features some vocals from Rachel Goswell and light drumming from Ian McCutcheon, but little else contribution-wise from the rest of the group. (Former percussionist Simon Scott had left the band after the 5 EP because he presumably saw the writing on the wall when Halstead got more and more interested in drum machines.)
It certainly sounds like a solo record. “Rutti,” the spacious and slow-moving opener, is the Durutti Column's Vini Reilly filtered through ambient techno, while “Crazy for You” similarly spends much of its running time luxuriating in Halstead’s titular incantation. Indeed, much of Pygmalion is luxurious — given the room to stretch out, Halstead songs feel less like you’re listening to them and more like you’re living in them.
Unfortunately, the label heads at Creation Records were looking for a pop album on the order of previous works like Just for a Day and Souvlaki — and they quickly dropped Slowdive after the release of Pygmalion; the group broke up shortly afterward. It was to be expected, really. When a record by a shoegaze band comes along that’s this good, how are you supposed to follow it up? Just ask Kevin Shields.
Download: "Rutti," "J's Heaven," "Blue Skied An' Clear"
TODD’S TECHNO PICKS
Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson – Strings of Life
Rarely does much good come of “Insert Famous Song Here” done in an “Insert Tangentially Related Genre Here” style. Ye Olde Space Band playing classic rock hits gets real old real quick. That’s probably what makes the single such an appealing format for such experiments. You get in, you get out, the kitsch and novelty are both kept to a minimum, no one gets hurt.
Luckily, for techno purists worried about a jazz rendition of Derrick May’s defining techno single “Strings of Life,” Christian Prommer isn’t some mere chancer looking for a break. Having made his name in both Voom:Voom and Fauna Flash, he's always kept one eye towards jazz and one on techno. That this take on “Strings” is straight-up jazz is surprising, but not shocking.
The end product, though, is neither shocking nor surprising. With undeniable source material and Wolfgang Haffner (drums) and Roberto Di Gioia (piano) vamping on the theme like expert jazzbos, there was little chance of failure. Like May’s original, this was created in the safety of the studio, but when the results sound this good — and this live — who can argue? (Take a listen to the b-side for an equally stunning original composition called “Space Jam 2000.17,” which, as the name implies, is quite a bit more cosmic.)
Lindstrom and Solale – Let’s Practise
In the world of cosmic disco, Lindstrom is king. He grabbed this made-up throne with 2005’s insta-classic “I Feel Space,” in which he defined the genre in seven minutes of assured strut. But in the world of dance music two years is an eternity.
Even so, there are timeless sounds in dance music and Lindstrom taps into perhaps the most timeless of all on his newest single, “Let’s Practise.” I refer, of course, to Giorgio Moroder’s bubbling synth that undergirds Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.” Here, Lindstrom slows it down just a tad and pops open up a little melody to celebrate. Little more is added aside from Lindstrom’s EQ tweaks, giving the vocalist Solale a chance to work her improvisational magic over the top.
Speaking, singing, pushing, pulling — Solale uses whatever means necessary to seduce you, simultaneously wondering what she can do without us and then wondering what made her act the way that she did. Throughout, though, we can hear her laughing — she knows as well as we do that Lindstrom’s still the king. All we can do is pay our respects.
Kelly Polar – Chrysanthemum EP
Kelley Polar’s excellent Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens didn’t get nearly the amount of ink that similar-sounding LPs by Junior Boys and Hot Chip received. That obviously hasn’t fazed him much. His newest single packs just as much confusion and discomfort into his distinctively shiny disco-pop template.
Things aren’t exactly the same, though. “Chrysanthemum” has moved on from the shame of Love Songs to a minor-key revenge fantasy. “Make a chrysanthemum/ of every human head / Make a chrysanthemum/ and kill them in their beds” goes the sweetly harmonized chorus — and all of a sudden that sample of someone breathing transforms from “rhythmic device” to “creepy.” It's brilliant.
J. Edward Keyes, Managing Editor
Ellen Allien & Apparat – Orchestra Of Bubbles
Anyone previously familiar with either Ellen Allien & Apparat before Orchestra Of Bubbles could hardly have predicted that the duo would come up with a modern masterpiece of electro-pop. But apparently that’s what happens when you combine stuttery electro-house and pop-inflected IDM.
You can hear both in abundance on opener “Turbo Dreams,” which weds an ascending bassline to an irrepressible melody and lockstep beat. Hot on its heels, “Way Out” showcases the pop in Apparat’s arsenal. He gets Allien behind the mic (a familiar place for her on her own solo work as well) and pairs her with distorted guitars and a percolating 4/4 stomp. Meanwhile, “Rotary” seems to be more of an Allien composition: it takes nearly the same backing track as “Way Out” and adds nothing, simply letting the hypnotic loops work their magic.
It works — and so does Orchestra. Apparat’s Walls and Allien’s Thrills further prove that each artist has grown leaps and bounds in the past few years. So let’s hope that Orchestra is only the beginning of a lengthy collaboration, instead of a “lightning-in-a-bottle” one-off.
Download: "Way Out," "Turbo Dreams," "Do Not Break," "Rotary"
Scharpling & Wurster – The Art of the Slap
Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster have been doing long-form comedy since 1997. In that year, Wurster called up Scharpling’s radio show, The Best Show on WFMU, and took on the guise of rock know-it-all Ronald Thomas Clontle. Dubbed “the ultimate argument settler,” his book Rock, Rot & Rule was simple: divided into three columns, it listed almost any band you could think of in one of its three categories. The resulting conversation with Scharpling — and callers to the station decrying Clontle’s claims (namely that Madness invented ska and that the Beatles merely rock) — was high comedy.
On this fifth edition of greatest hits, Scharpling once again plays the straight man to Wurster’s wacky batch of characters. Which means he has to react to ridiculous situations like a roided-up computer repairman, an insufferable horror film director or, um, a fish calling into this radio show. Somehow Scharpling bears it — and even shows some compassion for the quixotic rocker determined to play the first set on top of Mt. Everest ever (with special guests Clarence Carter, Art Alexakis, Dane Cook’s kid brother and every single member of the Polyphonic Spree).
Download: "Mother 13...The First Rock Band on Mt. Everest! (Part I)," "Mother 13...The First Rock Band on Mt. Everest! (Part II)," "The Auteur"
Slowdive – Pygmalion
Neil Halstead had always been the leader of Slowdive, but on 1995's Pygmalion he basically was the band. The band's third album features some vocals from Rachel Goswell and light drumming from Ian McCutcheon, but little else contribution-wise from the rest of the group. (Former percussionist Simon Scott had left the band after the 5 EP because he presumably saw the writing on the wall when Halstead got more and more interested in drum machines.)
It certainly sounds like a solo record. “Rutti,” the spacious and slow-moving opener, is the Durutti Column's Vini Reilly filtered through ambient techno, while “Crazy for You” similarly spends much of its running time luxuriating in Halstead’s titular incantation. Indeed, much of Pygmalion is luxurious — given the room to stretch out, Halstead songs feel less like you’re listening to them and more like you’re living in them.
Unfortunately, the label heads at Creation Records were looking for a pop album on the order of previous works like Just for a Day and Souvlaki — and they quickly dropped Slowdive after the release of Pygmalion; the group broke up shortly afterward. It was to be expected, really. When a record by a shoegaze band comes along that’s this good, how are you supposed to follow it up? Just ask Kevin Shields.
Download: "Rutti," "J's Heaven," "Blue Skied An' Clear"
Christian Prommer’s Drumlesson – Strings of Life
Rarely does much good come of “Insert Famous Song Here” done in an “Insert Tangentially Related Genre Here” style. Ye Olde Space Band playing classic rock hits gets real old real quick. That’s probably what makes the single such an appealing format for such experiments. You get in, you get out, the kitsch and novelty are both kept to a minimum, no one gets hurt.
Luckily, for techno purists worried about a jazz rendition of Derrick May’s defining techno single “Strings of Life,” Christian Prommer isn’t some mere chancer looking for a break. Having made his name in both Voom:Voom and Fauna Flash, he's always kept one eye towards jazz and one on techno. That this take on “Strings” is straight-up jazz is surprising, but not shocking.
The end product, though, is neither shocking nor surprising. With undeniable source material and Wolfgang Haffner (drums) and Roberto Di Gioia (piano) vamping on the theme like expert jazzbos, there was little chance of failure. Like May’s original, this was created in the safety of the studio, but when the results sound this good — and this live — who can argue? (Take a listen to the b-side for an equally stunning original composition called “Space Jam 2000.17,” which, as the name implies, is quite a bit more cosmic.)
Lindstrom and Solale – Let’s Practise
In the world of cosmic disco, Lindstrom is king. He grabbed this made-up throne with 2005’s insta-classic “I Feel Space,” in which he defined the genre in seven minutes of assured strut. But in the world of dance music two years is an eternity.
Even so, there are timeless sounds in dance music and Lindstrom taps into perhaps the most timeless of all on his newest single, “Let’s Practise.” I refer, of course, to Giorgio Moroder’s bubbling synth that undergirds Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.” Here, Lindstrom slows it down just a tad and pops open up a little melody to celebrate. Little more is added aside from Lindstrom’s EQ tweaks, giving the vocalist Solale a chance to work her improvisational magic over the top.
Speaking, singing, pushing, pulling — Solale uses whatever means necessary to seduce you, simultaneously wondering what she can do without us and then wondering what made her act the way that she did. Throughout, though, we can hear her laughing — she knows as well as we do that Lindstrom’s still the king. All we can do is pay our respects.
Kelly Polar – Chrysanthemum EP
Kelley Polar’s excellent Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens didn’t get nearly the amount of ink that similar-sounding LPs by Junior Boys and Hot Chip received. That obviously hasn’t fazed him much. His newest single packs just as much confusion and discomfort into his distinctively shiny disco-pop template.
Things aren’t exactly the same, though. “Chrysanthemum” has moved on from the shame of Love Songs to a minor-key revenge fantasy. “Make a chrysanthemum/ of every human head / Make a chrysanthemum/ and kill them in their beds” goes the sweetly harmonized chorus — and all of a sudden that sample of someone breathing transforms from “rhythmic device” to “creepy.” It's brilliant.
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