Sk'p - Unmute Your Journey (2010) :: Review + Interview

Sk'p
Unmute Your Journey
[Planet Terror Records :: 2010]

Free Download + Interview

Sk'p is the new alias of Belgian electronic music artist Skip who is known for his hyper, playful, chiptune/drill'n'bass style and has performed along side braindance / IDM heroes such as Ceephax, Venetian Snares, and DMX Krew.  With his first release of this new project Sk'p departs from his colorful happy place into darker, more introspective territory, revealing a whole new side of him that we haven't yet heard.  Ten-track long player "Unmute Your Journey" leads us through a fascinating micro-world where we hear the sounds of amoebas and nano spores making an epic trek across vast microbial landscapes that, in retrospect, could fit on the tip of your finger.  He has a way of making small things sound big, turning tiny micro samples, synthesized pops, clicks, and droplets into intriguing complex beats and textures, and bubbling up through these expertly woven rhythms are beautiful, swelling melodies from light and pleasant to heavy and dramatic. It's an album of polaric contrast that stays true to its name and takes listeners on an up and down journey through sonic hills, valleys, deserts and forests.

Experimenting with song deconstruction, Sk'p lets some tracks like "Mentoa Mass" and "Seyefer" sway between beat-driven moments and moments of chaotic noise with mindful timing that always keeps the listener interested and excited.  Other tracks like "Kraeactor" and "Unmute 2.2" really delve into sound appreciation and ambiance seemingly without a real structure, but it's there, stretched across the vastness he paints.  Sk'p also delivers classic golden-era style IDM in tracks like "Cotrol Clod" that are just short of danceable but get your head nodding the whole way through.  "Lost Land" really showcases the range in this album, opening with residual static and stuttering pips carried over from the previous track and evolving into a full-fledged song complete with a grooving beat, warm melody, and a climactic finale that harkens back to the speedy, chip'n'bass style of preceding Skip releases.

This album is mind blowing from start to finish, but my absolute favorite tracks are the "Soivelslevios" and "Vleckeffect" spread.  Gorgeous! Epic! Huge!  The melody of the former is so incredibly moving and between the emotional choir pads and upbeat chiptune interjections I don't know whether to cry or rejoice.  Perhaps both would be in order, but after every listen I can't help but literally shake my head in awe.  The latter of the two has these sharp, metallic harmonics, steamy crescendos and oil drum rhythms that together make a brooding film score-like track to rival the best.

"Unmute Your Journey" is a modern day "Lifeforms" that gives me what I wanted out of "Oversteps".  This is one free netlabel release you do not want to overlook.  Interview after the teasers and download link.

Teasers:



Download Sk'p - Unmute Your Journey :: MP3 (320kbps) .ZIP | Label Page

Connect with Sk'p/Skip :: MySpace | Facebook | SoundCloud

// Interview with Sk'p //

Bc: "Unmute Your Journey" has a darker, more serious sound that many of your previous releases. What inspired this new sound for you?

Sk'p: Its a collection of tracks where I wanted them to be part of a different but very specific "journey" outside my releases under "Skip". Each Sk'p track also started with a specific vibe in my mind before and while producing it. These tracks were much more pre-thought, which is why I believe they sound more serious and worked out. In comparison with Skip, Sk'p tries to be much more sharp, glitchy, crunchy, experimental, slower than Skip, still very melodic, atmospheric, melancholic but not too much, and more than ever inspired by the late 90's melodic ambient and IDM.

Bc: What was the most fun or interesting aspect of writing in this style vs. upbeat drill n bass and do you feel like you've grown as a musician in the process?

Sk'p: I have grown because I think I (again) have managed to produce music I wanted to hear but couldn't find and am very satisfied with it so far. Its all about musical self-fulfilling creationism.

Bc: What albums or artists have you been listening to a lot of lately?

Sk'p: I usually keep a healthy variation along the day. But I'd have to say Edgar Froese, Nofx, Four Tet (latest stuff is beautiful), Philip Glass, unreleased Kettel-stuff, Thomas Newman, some italo disco and a wide variety of selected netlabel stuff such as Implex Grace (superb stuff, check his album "Through Luminescent Passages 2"). I also started to listen to audiobooks and radio interviews about unexplainable natural phenomena, it really feeds your fantasy.

Bc: Favorite snack or meal while writing/recording?

Sk'p: Something with tuna please.

Bc: I see that you are a sketch artist as well and have quite a lot of detailed pieces online.  Which Bic Art are you most proud of? How long did it take you?

Sk'p: Giant curved cylinders going into the white fog, or the one featuring different little organisms attached to each other, with a small black orb in the middle. I can not really say how long it took for one of those because I usually do them in many sessions. Sessions of 30 minutes to 2 or more hours. It has been over a year now since I actually did some ballpoint stuff. Partially because I'm working on a comic book concept at this time which is still in pre-phase (I only do sketching for now.)



Bc: What has been your favorite live gig to play so far?

Sk'p: I played at 2 festivals this summer, both were I believe my best and biggest gigs. Big up PeerPressure crew and Once Upon A Festival!

Bc: What is the most memorable / fun live performance you've attended so far?

Sk'p: I always very much enjoy Autechre, Bogdan Raczynski, Ceephax Acid Crew, Wisp...I couldn't choose.

Bc: How do you feel your surroundings inspire your music?

Sk'p: Absorb everything with a selective mind.

Bc: Do you think you'll continue on this musical path for your next release or try something different?

Sk'p: At one hand I'll surely continue, but other paths might get along and they could eventually mix together, who knows. It's a living thing, you don't have to rush it.

Bc: Any gigs coming up?

Sk'p: Got a couple for these last 2 months; one in a few weeks, and on january first :D !

AFX "Seaside Specials" Video NOT New Aphex Twin Music

AFX Seaside Specials Video Features Music By dgoHn

Video + Free Download

Aphex Twin fan boys and girls were all aflutter today when they discovered UK promo agency Hyponik had posted a music video snippet on their website titled AFX Seaside Specials from Aphex Twin in a marketing effort to procure email addresses from parties interested in downloading the .mov file.  Though the video features the same type of visuals Aphex Twin has been using for recent live gigs (a face-detection technology that virtually pastes his infamous evil grin over the visages of random people on screen), the soundtrack to this video is a drum 'n' bass track called "Vase" by an artist named dgoHn.  The track was released November 14th, 2005 via netlabel Exegene Records as part of an EP and is available as a Free Download HERE.

For those of you not yet familiar with dgoHn's work, he has also released music on Aphex Twin's Rephlex record label.

Much like with the recent Boards of Canada - Chameleon incident, perceptive fans were instantly skeptical about the music's origins as it goes in a much different direction stylistically than the latest AFX output.  But why not use actual AFX music in the promo?  Was it to intentionally confuse and excite the masses, or was the MP3 labeled wrong?  Perhaps the tune was chosen simply because it was a good fit for the teaser, and no one took into consideration that the AFX-starved public would instantly assume it was an announcement of new material.  In any case, the unexplained date of "12 March 2011" at the end of the clip is likely a hint that Aphex Twin will be performing at Bloc Weekend festival, which takes place March 11-13, 2011.




Stream dgoHn EP including featured track "Vase":


Download the dgoHn EP :: Download Page

Connect with dgoHn :: MySpace

Download Video :: .MOV

Zen Bound :: App Game with Mellow Binaural IDM Soundtrack by Ghost Monkey :: Game

I am currently captivated by Zen Bound, a calm, meditative iPhone app/game in which you advance by attempting to completely wrap complexly shaped objects made of stone or wood with a single piece of rope.  It combines lovely 3D graphics and clever use of touchscreen technology with a serene, ambient/glitch binaural soundtrack and organic sound effects by Ghost Monkey for the win.  Particularly enjoyed via headphones.

Why is wrapping wooden objects with rope so addicting?  I dunno, it just is.



Zen Bound is currently available for Free Download in the iTunes app store to celebrate the November 16th release of Zen Bound 2, the multi-platform sequel on Steam.  You also get a Free Download of "Bound", the in-game music soundtrack as well as "Rebound", a stereo album incorporating music from Zen Bound and Zen Bound 2 when you sign up for the email newsletter via the Zen Bound Official Site.

Get Zen Bound :: iTunes App Store | Official Site

Monarch - Aesthetic Anesthetic (2010) :: Review

Monarch
Aesthetic Anesthetic
[Broken Records :: 2010]

Who is The Monarch?

We all know what an amazing tool the internet can be for unknown artists to get their music heard by more than just their mates, and with the help of netlabels, social networks, and blogs, everyone has a fair chance at being discovered by the right set of ears.  But sometimes all it takes is 1 simple link. Case-in-point: The Monarch.

I don't even know how I ended up there, but while browsing the interwebz I stumbled upon an odd, one-off, semi-serious article in the form of a Wordpress blog on the topic of "a&d" music, an umbrella term being used to identify electronic music made with actual analogue and digital hardware, versus entirely within a DAW (digital audio workstation) on a computer. The article cites artists Aphex Twin and Ceephax as prime examples of a&d, but it is within the article's comments that someone posted a link in perfect context to an album on iTunes accompanied by a simple message:

"check this guy out
monarch
funky mono-synth acid"

Monarch - Aesthetic Anesthetic is exactly that; funky, synth soaked acid composed with vintage hardware including classic Roland drum machines and keyboards.  "Melo Velocet" kicks the album off with funk for sure, and right off the bat displays excellent pattern progression, build ups, break downs, and smooth production that would get any braindancer up out of their seat.  Surely this can't be the work of a newcomer?  As track 2 "45" kicks in I'm starting to realize Monarch is using a Roland TR-727 drum machine, the 707's less popular Latin cousin, and it's totally grooving.  Suddenly the synthy bassline in "Siamese" sounds really familiar and I can't help feeling a small suspicion creeping in that perhaps Monarch is a side project of someone we already know and love.  This of course is pure speculation and the album is great fun regardless of who the artist actually is, but I can't help but notice a similarity of styles as well as a few clues left behind in the comments of the above mentioned a&d article.  Monarch appears to want to remain anonymous as there is no official site, Facebook page, Twitter account, blog mentions or even a search result to be found, so I'll refrain from saying who I think it is.  As an aside, the album's metadata lists the artist as "The Monarch", perhaps to avoid confusion with a few other bands and musicians going by the same name.  You be the judge.

Excluding the horribly generic album art, Aesthetic Anesthetic is a solid album chock full of quality tangible "a&d", and if funky basslines, clever melodies, upbeat tempos and attentively programmed percussion is your thing, I recommend you grab it.  Highlights for me include the modulated bassline in "Quest To The Off Start End", the Plaid-esque bells in "Tea", the drum machine solo at the end of "Network Cycle How" and the eerie, dissonant feel of "Tricaclaic".   Despite have no internet presence whatsoever, Monarch is now in my collection and on my radar, all thanks to one simple link in the comments section of a random article on the internet.




Buy Monarch - Aesthetic Anesthetic :: Amazon | iTunes

Connect with Monarch? :: MySpace?

Aphex Twin - Polynomial-C & Fenix Funk 5 in "The Polynomial" :: Game

The game was most likely not named after the song, but it is a match made in IDM heaven.  (Be sure to watch in 720p.)



I could stare at this forever.



The vivid color spectrum... all those geometric vector shapes and shimmery stars... the Tron-like glow... a truly awe-inspiring combo.  The game perhaps isn't as clever and intense as Devil's Tuning Fork or wacky and disorienting as LSD: Dream Emulator, but it sure is beautiful and can be customized to your musical taste.

"The Polynomial - Space of the music is a 3D spaceflight music game with abstract, mathematically generated scenery and models which are set to the music of your choice. You fly around in a very strange universe, shoot the enemies, meet and protect the friends, collect bonuses, fly through wormholes, and so on, all while rocking zoning out to the music."

"The Polynomial - Space of the music" is based on the Steam gaming platform.  Get it here.

Gameplay videos via Beatnaut