PlayGame – Forbidden EP
Posted by tipkin
.jpg "PlayGame - Forbidden EP")
Is it just me or there's a new wave of interest towards trip-hop these days? New websites emerge out of the blue (like this self-proclaimed "#1 source of Trip-Hop music" - we all know ho's #1 source of Trip-Hop music 
) every other musician is trying to squeeze in "elements of trip-hop" in their portfolio one way or the other. It's getting harder and harder for me to find my way in this ocean of kindatrip-hop and almostrip-hop, and even the actual straight-up trip-hop, which is also being produced in copious amounts. Honestly, I'm not even trying anymore, and in choosing releases for reviews I follow two criteria - releases provided by friends and releases that are so outstanding that should not be left without attention. Ideally, those two parameters merge into one. I cannot say that it happened with this one. But it was close. I'll explain - Forbidden EP from PlayGame (Yekaterinburg, Russia) is an excellent record with many things going for it, some of which I'll mention later on. I didn't regret getting it into my hands and writing this review with a great pleasure. But. It this wasn't a release by my good friends Ru Trip Community, would it make it onto the pages of my blog? Not likely. In part because, yes, simply genre-wise it's rather a rock record. And this is, strangely enough, the biggest compliment. It's very refreshing to hear among all this total "indiocy" (just came up with this myself) with shriek-y genderless vocalists and barely audible noises that serve as music, a band with a powerful vocal and musicians that obviously know what they're doing, while uncompromisingly staying clear from mainstream (don't get me wrong - most of the songs from the EP would sound great on the radio, the thing is that there is no chance in hell any of them would ever end up on the modern bought-and-sold-radio, and that doesn't seem to bother the band). Uncompromising would probably be the main epithet that I would use to describe Forbidden EP. It's an honest and clear album, it's not a political statement, it's a personal statement of a human being and an artist, and just try to argue that this is less important in art. It's a dangerous statement - it divides listeners into two categories - ones who understand and share everything that the band is trying to say, every note, every line, and the ones who "don't get it". And the first category will be much smaller because of how intimate PlayGame's music is. But I suspect that this doesn't bother the musicians, they're looking for listeners who will become friends. It's not a complaint (even though I'd like to hear more wordplay instead of playing with words in the lyrics), my main complaint is the following, - the keyboards sometimes (pretty often actually) turn from the most interesting and original element of PlayGame's music into this ear-depressing irritant. The track "Shiver" was among my favorites on RTC compilation Letters exactly due to the killer keyboard parts that took the track to a whole new level. But on the EP version of the track keyboards dominate, they're everywhere and, as Mayakovsky said are "stepping on their own song's throat". I do realize that I sound like a grumpy old lady and in general, with my abnormal love for minimalism it was a misfortune for Forbidden to even get into my hands, but this is my opinion and wish to the band - to find this happy medium where the abundance of elements is not preventing the listener from enjoying every each one of them separately, because PlayGame does have lots of those elements and all of them are very enjoyable.
You can download the release for free from PlayGame's official site.
Yuna – Yuna
Posted by tipkin
I guess I could have picked some other release for review, since I'm only posting 1-2 per month of those. It's not like Yuna, with over a million Likes on Facebook and with forces behind as powerful as mighty Pharrell desperately needs extra promotion from my miniscule web entity. So this is just for your benefit, dear reader, for it's easy for an indie music hound like myself to miss a mainstream release that is actually, well, really damn good. It may not work for you if you like your electronica super-dark and with tons of heavy beats and drops. There isn't much hip-hop here either, the album floats somewhere between Morcheeba-esque mellow beats and melodies that reminded me of Frou Frou (a lot). Just listen to the first track, "Lullabies", and if the magic of Yuna's voice won't work on you then you're a heartless human being don't bother listening to the rest of the record. Yes, it is an incredibly sweet album, even the less optimistic songs (like my favorite "Fading Flower", which is a pretty bitter number if you ask me) are suspended in the lighthearted fluff of Yuna's heavenly vocals, airy beats and playful instrumental arrangements. So fuckin' what? One of my co-workers once said: "I feel sorry for people who don't like chocolate. Their lives must be very sad." I feel sorry for people who don't like this kind of music. I might be feeling a bit nostalgic right now, but I just feel like ever since that Frou Frou album there wasn't a record that delivered such clean, clear, sweet listening pleasure. I think the consistency of the album is the main reason I liked it so much. There simply isn't a single bad song on Yuna, they all vary from just good to stunningly beautiful. There is no needless experimentation or desperate trend following, it's all about just simply being good, knowing that you're good and using that goodness to the fullest. While you can easily spot Pharrell-produced tracks, nothing feels forced, Yuna's vocals roll freely with that signature rhythm of his. There are moments of quiet intensity, like in "Lullabies", ventures into "a girl with mandolin" ("Tourist") territory, and the album can easily survive being broken into separate tracks for soundtrack and compilation purposes. But why would you pull apart a beautiful bouquet if you can enjoy it in it's meticulously composed entirety? I would advise against it. Savor this album there might be another decade until the next one like this.
R.I.Y.L. Frou Frou, Morcheeba, Raffaello candy
personal favs: "Fading Flower", "Lullabies", "Live Your Life"
tipkin's rating
2econd Class Citizen – Outside Your Doorway EP
Posted by tipkin
I'm not a huge fan of the expression "best kept secret". Whenever I hear it I always think of some weird conspiracy or somebody trying to push their crappy work using it as an excuse for no one giving a shit. "Ooh, it's a best keep secret!" Nope, it's just shitty. But on some rare occasions I actually do get it, and this is one of those occasions. When I found out that 2econd Class Citizen is releasing a new EP, this exact thought formed in my brain: "I actually know this guy and I fuckin' love what he does, but you probably don't know him, because he's one of the trip-hop's best kept secrets". It isn't a secret for those music gourmands who quickly bought out the first print of the EP on vinyl, but 2econd Class Citizen remains pretty much unknown to the majority. Hopefully not for long. The new full-length is due next month and if it is as good as the EP, I expect a lot of positive buzz.
It seems like everyone is trying really hard these days to not use samples, go as instrumental as possible and create new sounds. How about creating good music? That certainly seems to be the focus of Outside Your Doorway EP. The sound is so effortless and careless that at the first listen is easy to miss all the layers and details just going with the flow of the music. But this is exactly what makes the record so good - the skillful combination of many (crazy) elements, the seamless pattern of very different parts that somehow totally make sense together. Take away the folk-y vocal sample from the title track and it turns into just another example of melancholic instrumental trip-hop. Leave the vocals without the beat - and it's just a dusty folk song from a scratched up record. 2econd Class Citizen manages to make folk sound fresh without any artificial aftertaste. "Liberated Lady" throws some funk into the mix with the beat intensifying and promising a journey filled with surprises. Buddy Peace adds a bunch of tribal elements to his remix of "Liberated Lady" and then Dday One cranks up the insanity with the creaky remix of "Outside Your Doorway", which made me go "Oh, that's a nice touch!" a few times - like when wind chimes came in or when I realized that cicadas are used as an instrument. I'm usually lukewarm towards rap - it's not exciting enough to me to be the main element of the song, so "Insect Forms" (feat. James Reindeer) didn't really make a lasting impact, but I did appreciate the dark atmosphere. The EP concludes with "Outside Your Doorway" (Know My Soul Mix) that paints a quite different, dark and menacing picture of the world that is out there. A nice and smooth transition from "fun and games" of the first two tracks to mysterious and scary to plain darkness and abyss towards the end. It's not easy to achieve such cohesiveness on a short EP, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for 2econd Class Citizen. I don't know what kind of story his LP will tell, but I'm surely want to be the first one to hear it.
2econd Class Citizen - Outside Your Doorway EP is available now from Equinox Records, which gave us the excellent J.Baracuz - A Contemporary Witness EP last year, so these guys definitely know their music.
Shine – Judas and Mary
Posted by tipkin
For those of you who are wondering (still? this must be your first time here, so, welcome!) what is this album doing here on a "trip-hop blog" I have this to say: the facts that trippin' the rift is my blog and Shine's Guillaume Simon is my Facebook friend have something to do with it, yes, but they aren't the defining factors. I did refuse reviewing my friends' releases in the past and will do that in the future, if they don't fit. How does this one fit, you ask? See, if I were a strict stickler to the "trip-hop and nothing but" rule, we would end up only with reviews of Dusted Wax Kingdom releases and drool mixed with tears of sadness reminiscing of the early Portishead and Massive Attack. Who needs that? Shine - Judas and Mary belongs here just as much as, say, Amon Tobin - ISAM or anything DJ Shadow produced since Endtroducing..... Utter darkness isn't a mandatory requirement for "trippy music", otherwise Nightmares On Wax or Morcheeba would have never been associated with trip-hop. And speaking of Morcheeba - the trip-pop pioneers' influence on Shine's sound is still evident, even though the band traveled a great distance in style since their 2007 debut The Common Station. Judas and Mary couldn't have been release at a better time - it came out on March 7th (and this is when my review was supposed to appear as well), a day before the International Women's Day and would have made a cute little present for your loved one. It's a very Spring album - filled with love, brightness, hope, as well as gentleness of that first green leaf and a few notes of melancholy immanent to the change of seasons. And to me (for obvious reasons) those little droplets of clear and cleansing sadness are the finest moments of the album. It starts with one of them - the title track is a sensual downtempo ballad that is not much about the story it tells as much as about the feelings, thoughts and things that are often left unsaid - the song takes time to explore these things, by draping Julie Gomel's soft vocals into airy, intricately constructed blanket of sounds. And the album ends with another quiet moment - "Et après?" is a jazzy instrumental essay, a live and changing image of... something, you can really let your imagination run wild to this one, just close your eyes and listen to all those instruments there (boy, I gotta say, they sure now how to work those live drums), it isn't an illustration that answers questions, it's an abstract painting that is asking them. And then there is the gorgeous "Où est-elle?" with its alternating waves of crystal quietness and dark intensity, like looking through a window of a ferry and seeing this water in spring - running free of winter ice but still cold and dark, and you feel like you aren't moving, but this water floating away from you taking all those tiny buildings on the horizon with it.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not dismissing all the up-tempo pop songs on the album just because they're different stylistically from what I usually listen to. They are good well-crafted and inspired. But I do think that those moments of quiet observation, of soft whispering and melodies that go straight to the heart - this where Shine, well, shines. 
R.I.Y.L. Morcheeba, Saint Etienne, sun shining through clouds over water
personal favs: "Où est-elle?", "Judas and Mary", "Et après?"
tipkin's rating
Poldoore – Waiting For The World EP
Posted by tipkin
I'm really not hard to please at all when it comes to music. Give me something that is well-structured, cleanly put together, has some nice detail and is catchy enough to nod my head to - bam! - I am happy as a clam. Yet this somehow doesn't happen all that often. Many releases I listen to suffer from various degrees of listener-ignoring self-indulgence, cringeworthy amateurish production (I'm a huge fan of DIY independent music, but if you DIY - DIF(ucking)W(ell)) or just simply being a total bore. Poldoore (alias of Belgian musician Thomas Schillebeeckx) in his Waiting For The World EP delivers the goods in a simple, but elegant and attractive package, - it's like a sample-size bar of good chocolate - doesn't fill you up, but is still delicious and satisfying for the moment. It's a very clever EP, fully understanding its purpose - to demonstrate the skill level and range, and make you want more. Each one of four tracks on the EP showcases different sides of Poldoore's talent: setting up the mood in the title track, masterful use of a great instrumental sample (guitar provided by Road Of Silence) on "Moonshyne (Reshyne)", spicing things up with a bit of vocals on "The Northern Compass" and blending all of the above together on "Honey Don't Cry". And all four tracks demonstrate maybe his most important ability - to create a cohesive record, and it's hard to over-appreciate this particular skill. And if you visit this blog regularly you know that I'm a sucker for a good beat and for a subtle detail. There's plenty of both on Waiting For The World. I like how playful and creative Poldoore is with his beat, not letting it simply guide the track, making it the exciting and often prominent part of it. And the detailing is exceptional as well, from the cicadas on the opening track to some kind of shawm slowly emerging in the finale of "Honey Don't Cry". Poldoore's music sits comfortably somewhere in the middle between chillout downtempo and instrumental hip-hop, cleverly staying away from the cheesiness of the former and the self-important monotony of the latter. While not necessarily breaking any new grounds, Poldoore - Waiting For The World EP is a very satisfying little record of an extremely high quality. Poldoore is 'waiting for the world', but there's no reason for the world to wait - the EP is available now on Bandcamp for free.
And here's a funky mixtape by Poldoore for Miles High Sessions:
002 - Have A Nice Trip - Poldoore by MilesHighSessions
P.S. Some small print - I decided to go without R.I.Y.L. section for EP's from now on. I think you can take time to listen to 4-5 tracks without additional guidance))
Blossom – Blue Balloons
Posted by tipkin
I wanted to start the New Year with something nice, pleasant and life asserting. I'm sure later on I will go back to gloom and doom, to darkness and bleakness, to decay and I'm getting carried away But it is the beginning of 2012, I have a baby on the way and it's been an incredibly mild winter so far here in Chicago, so I want to keep this momentum of overall goodness going as long as possible. Luckily I have a lot of friends who either create great music or distribute such. One of those good friends is *export label, and their new release Blossom - Blue Balloons is just what doctor ordered. It's a mild, dreamy, flowy album that glides effortlessly on skillful guitar samples and jazzy melodies. But it isn't a bunch of stretched-out shapeless watered down ambient pieces (if it was it wouldn't even make it to the pages of trippin' the rift). Blue Balloons is a very clean, focused album, and no, it doesn't contradict anything that I said above. Because you can keep dreaminess and flowiness with mellow guitar, crystal bells and light jazzy sax, but still keep everything from turning into boring mush with the sharp beat. And beat is not just playing this supplemental structuring role, it is definitely an important part of Blossom's style. Heck, there's even a track named "Nightbeat" (no guitar on that one, Beat is the King). It's a truly harmonious record - all parts of it are equally important and interdependent. Lately I found myself getting increasingly tired of albums that are something"-driven". "Oh, this is a wonderful piano-driven album," - yeah, maybe the piano is pretty great, but the non-driving part is usually just a generic trite afterthought, baggage that weighs the "driver" down and just is plain annoying. None of that garbage on Blue Balloons. It's so well put together that it feels like it's played on one magical instrument that just sounds like many different ones. And there sure are many different ones (if they are live or digital is hard to tell for my non-expert ear) - guitar isn't the only one providing strings, there's magnificent cello and bass that brings some of the very fitting darkness into the atmosphere (those balloons are blue after all); there's piano and flute and percussion galore. It's hard for me to determine if there is a story that the album tells. It's very abstract but in the way that the sky is abstract - is the sky trying to tell a story? No, and that's just it - it's not trying to tell anything, it's not trying period - it's just there, and it's endless, nuanced and beautiful. I definitely recommend multiple listens of Blue Balloons and on a good pair of speakers, it will evolve from "another jazzy downtempo record" into a delicate fragile masterpiece. Download the album for free (or purchase a limited edition CD with beautiful artwork) from *export label.
R.I.Y.L. Suba, Bonobo, tropical sunsets
personal favs: "Eternaldream", "Three Isles", "Blue Balloons"
tipkin's rating
THE NEW LAW – The Fifty Year Storm
Posted by tipkin
I want to talk about my rating system first, just to get it out of the way. Those of you who visit this blog often may have noticed that my ratings are usually pretty high and almost never go below 3 out of 5. There are many different reasons for my generosity, the main two being my honest desire to support and promote good independent music and the simple fact that if I didn't find the release interesting enough to give it at least 3 "moons", I don't want to waste my time and yours and don't want to hurt the sensitive artist with a bad review (and sometimes it's just a matter of personal preferences anyway). What some you may not have noticed, however, is that I almost never give a 5-"moon" rating to anything. Yes, there's plenty of "fours", meaning "pretty damn great", there are quite a few "four and a half"'s, meaning "pretty damn amazing", but there's hardly any "fives". This is because giving an album a "five" is like putting your personal ultimate stamp of approval, signing this important document with your own hand that says "I, tipkin, hereby confirm the absolute fucking greatness of this here album". There's no turning back from a "five", no saying "well, I did mention there were flaws", nope, you gave this warranty to the readers and any disappointed fan of trip-hop, downtempo and related genres has all the rights to find you and kick you in the nuts virtually and physically.
THE NEW LAW - The Fifty Year Storm gets a "five". I do have to admit that this "five" is in part a cumulative grade covering all three of THE NEW LAW full-length releases to date. This is part acknowledging this important name in music that matters to me, part a wake-up call for those of you who hadn't listened to any of their stuff yet. I will give them a "five", I will strap you to a chair and force you to listen to all three of their albums if I have to because that's how great they are. They created more than a new fresh unique sound (as if that wasn't enough), they managed to create a whole new unique world, a concept that goes beyond the music but only comes alive within it. It is "DJ Shadow meets Ennio Morricone" (and if that combination doesn't make you want to listen to them, we have to reconsider our relationship), but it's "DJ Shadow meets Ennio Morricone in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and they kick some ass together and we get to watch".
This doesn't mean, however, that the new album on its own isn't great. It didn't make as much of an impact as the previous two (which I discovered at the same time and listened back to back) - but I'm not sure it was meant to in the first place. The Fifty Year Storm takes the unnamed hero of THE NEW LAW's trilogy to new places, which may seem more peaceful and friendly at first but turn out to be just as dangerous and sinister. This is a cruel album in a way - if you get into the world of THE NEW LAW as deep as I did, you might see the sprouts of new hope making their way through the ruins of civilization, just to be stomped by the same combat boots, just on different feet. While the dark ambiance of "I've Seen Some Mean Faces" feels like a long trip without destination (wonderful drums on that one), "Dead Men Tell No Tales" shows sadness and regret, beat disappears for a few seconds, like a hand hesitating to pull a trigger for the hundredth time. And then comes "Get Your Gun", a fast, focused, almost emotionless track where there's a sudden feeling of purpose, even if that purpose is to get away as far as possible. Vibrant guitar strings carry the track right into the foreign land of exotic wind instruments, foreign meaning mysterious but not necessarily dangerous. "Voyage" starts out very Jean Michel Jarre-sqe, but you don't know THE NEW LAW if you thought for a second that it was going to be this smooth ambient composition. Dubstep breaks kick in and 3 minutes into the track we realize that this new territory sure is beautiful, but also weird as fuck, which means - await surprises. And in post-apocalyptic wasteland surprises are very seldom pleasant. Yet we do get some time to enjoy the view of "Constellations", and even "Bandits & Smugglers" don't bother our hero that much, just passing by going about their dirty business (sick vocal samples here). I will stop with my story at this point, because that's what the real beauty of The Fifty Year Storm is - while track titles are suggestive, the music itself is rarely literal, letting you come up with your own stories. It's almost entirely instrumental (which makes the rare vocal samples much more impactful) and the variety of instruments used is insane, but drum machines are THE NEW LAW's main weapon and they fire it with the skill of a true gunslinger. The album is filled with details, and depending on which of them you're going to pick up on will determine the way your story will develop. Mine didn't end well. "Descent Into Fire" brings my hero right back onto his journey against the evils of the world, and the drum-machine-gun fire of the title track tore all hopes for the new beginning into tiny shreds that are washed away by The Fifty Year Storm.
THE NEW LAW - The Fifty Year Storm comes out January 1, 2012. You can listen to select tracks and pre-order the album on Bandcamp. And check back in a few days for an exclusive Q&A with THE NEW LAW.
R.I.Y.L. DJ Shadow, Dirty Elegance, roads
personal favs: "Descent Into Fire", "Bandits & Smugglers", "Get Your Gun"
tipkin's rating
Anomie Belle – Machine EP
Posted by tipkin
Well, let's listen to the thing, shall we? Yes, we sure shall. Machine EP is 5 tracks packed with all kinds of electronica goodness. If you haven't heard The Crush, you're a loser you should definitely check out Machine EP, because it based around the title track (featuring Mr.Lif) that perfectly captures the dark, sexy and intense drive of the album, and the remixes are guaranteed to intrigue you enough to make you want to listen to the originals. If you heard The Crush, you should definitely check out Machine EP as well, because it features "Slither" - a brand new and absolutely gorgeous collaboration with Ian Pickering of Sneaker Pimps, and three remixes that make Anomie Belle's genius sparkle in new lights. "Machine" is my favorite track on The Crush, but on the EP it isn't the star of the show. Actually, it's just one of the show's 5 stars. I found myself completely dissolved in "Slither"'s dark atmosphere, hypnotic beat and those unearthly strings (warning! the may tear your soul apart!) and only Anomie Belle's silky vocals guided me through the darkness. It is so damn good that could easily spawn an entire album - and maybe (fingers crossed!) we will see something like that - "Slither" wasn't the only product of the collaboration. "Machine" follows, quickly getting us back to reality (maybe a bit too quickly, but I understand that on a 5-track EP there's not much room for subtleties). And Tapage's glitchy re-working of "Electric Lullaby" brings us right back to the dream world. Listening to Machine EP is sort of like swimming butterfly stroke - one moment you're underwater, you can't breathe, all you can see is bottomless deep darkness. Next moment you're above the surface, you catch the light reflecting in splashing water, you hear all the sounds of the world at once. And then you go back under. "Electric Lullaby" is definitely one of the "underwater" moments - very Radiohead-y, with Anomie Belle's digitized vocals shimmering between glitchy beats. Then you're above again - in the uptempo "Bodies Offering" (Other Lovers Mix) made by Anomie Belle herself, breathing twilight becomes an urban romance - fast, direct but tender and sensual (adding strings was such a nice touch). Big Spider's Back concludes the EP with the dance remix of "Machine". I picked the wrong word to describe it in the Q&A - it isn't bouncy, it's not fist-pumping-jump-around-in-da-club kind of dance remix. It's more like "I close my eyes and give myself to the beat" kind of dance. Definitely an "under" moment, more Moby than Fatboy Slim.
As usual, Anomie Belle provides more than a few great tunes. She (and, here on Machine EP, her talented collaborators) gives us an experience, a chance to... take chances, to open our minds after we opened our ears to her music. Machine EP comes out tomorrow, go to www.anomiebelle.com to get your copy.
R.I.Y.L. Massive Attack - "Paradise Circus", Radiohead - Kid A, swimming butterfly stroke
personal favs: "Slither", "Bodies Offering" (Other Lovers Mix)
Ink Project – Inside The Sun
Posted by tipkin
When I FEA(U)TURE'd Ink Project back in January, my main impression was - this is a project that certainly has all their ducks in a row. From the few examples of their music and from talking to them I got this rare and enviable confidence - here we are, this is our sound, this is our style, love us or hate us. Their debut LP Inside The Sun is the result and evidence of this confidence. I'm sure many of you encountered debut albums that were great but kind of all over the place, full of soul- and sound-searching, and then the promising debutante disappears either shouldered off by the louder, luckier, more connected, and, yeah, more confident, or dissolved into the ocean of mediocrity after finally finding their sound that turned out to be nothing special after all. I don't think that either scenario is something that Ink Project should worry about. Inside The Sun is such a solid, cohesive and strong debut that also shows a unique voice that it's pretty clear (to me at least) that Ink Project is here to stay. To get the whole genre question out of the way - it's not trip-hop. Or it is, as much as, say, Lamb or Laika are. We covered this during our Q&A as well, and I was utterly pleased with the way Jez Lloyd and Melanie Dymond talked about trip-hop - with respect and understanding, without considering themselves "a trip-hop band" (which they most certainly aren't) but realizing that they will inevitably be associated with the genre (which they certainly are, hence this here review ) and fully embracing it. I totally dig this attitude. And I totally dig their debut album, more and more with every listen. I'm grown to like works of art that challenge the audience somewhat - be it film, literature or music. The albums that "grab you" right from the first track are usually end up having a bunch of fillers and don't live up to their catchy openings. Inside The Sun eases you in. "Eye Of Glass" is a drifting, dreamy track with soft echoing vocals wrapped around minimal, metronome-like beat, that towards the end actually managed to create images of Solar prominences in my mind. This is definitely a concept album, which unfolds its story in a slow tempo that allows you to fully appreciate its quality. The title is very spot on - the sound of Inside The Sun combines everything that makes this star so attractive - its massiveness, mystery, warmth and danger. The only major difference is that looking directly at the sun will hurt your eyes, but listening closely to Inside The Sun is highly recommended, for each track is full of wonderful detail. And, of course, Melanie Dymond is a pure joy to listen to. She is a downtempo producer's dream vocalist - her voice is very unique, soft, soulful and intuitive. But it's the production that makes the vocals the star of the album. Multiplying, layering, echoing really highlights the range and ability, but it goes way beyond that, smartly avoiding placing all bets just on singing. "Araldite Tears" is a great example (and one of my favorite tracks on the record) - it starts out with a straightforward vocals/beat combo (very Lamb-y, if you ask me), letting Melanie go to town with improvisation and structuring her singing around the rhythm, and then all of a sudden the vocals die and those heavenly strings kick in, leaving me absolutely speechless. And let me say a few words about the beat, because it deserves a special mention. What I like about the Ink Project's sound is that in their steering clear from any particular genre they aren't achieving that by chaotically blending chunks of different genre elements. Instead they methodically construct their own sound free of any direct influences, even whit the beat, which is the most explored area of electronica. I wouldn't say it always works 100%, but it definitely gives Ink Project its uniqueness, which to me is extremely important. Almost every track on Inside The Sun would fit organically on any downtempo/trip-hop/whathaveya-electronica compilation and would create one of those moments when you're listening to a compilation full of unknowns and enjoying it and nodding your head but then there's this one track that makes you actually look at the artist's name. I hope that Inside The Sun will create such moment on this big compilation that electronica is today and make lots of fans look at the name. I'll save you some trouble - the name is Ink Project and you can listen to the album right here and purchase it on Juno Download or iTunes.
R.I.Y.L. Lamb, Laika, deep space
personal favs: "Araldite Tears", "Hot Lies", "Eye Of Glass"
tipkin's rating
Ink Project - Inside The Sun - Available for download! by Ink Project
Scarlet Monk – AnnaBella
Posted by tipkin
It's been getting progressively harder and easier to find music that "fits the profile" of this blog. Easier because electronica is not this weird bastard daughter of dance music anymore, but an organic part of the modern music world, and now artists that aren't employing electronica elements in their music steadily moving towards extinction. In just a few years (well, probably more than a few, more like a decade and a half, but still) we went from a "electronica/dance" to (seems like daily) multiplying new "related" genres - indietronica, modern classical, electronic soul... Most of those new genres, sub-genres and sub-categories are slow, dark and rhythmic enough for me to consider suitable for this blog. But. If I want to preserve some sort of integrity I have to... well, preserve some sort of integrity, otherwise trippin' the rift will turn into just another music blog. So, this is the increasingly hard part: finding new music that doesn't just formally meet the criteria of "trip-hop" (and let's admit, stuff like this does seem pretty dated and boring), but music that feels right to me and will feel right to my readers. Not those "it's not trip-hop it's downtempo" folks, who seem to major in History Of Electronic Music and minor in Asshole-ogy. The folks that do understand that "trip-hop" is much more than a genre and that music is an ever-evolving and ever-changing being. What does this long-ass preface have to do with the album that I'm about to review (I will, promise!)? I guess I just wanted to say how happy it makes me to find music that feels right, no matter how strange it may be.
Scarlet Monk - AnnaBella could be the strangest album I reviewed so far. It's an electronica record where the actual electronica seems somehow non-existent. (And now I realize how hard it's going to be to explain what I meant by that) It's sort of like Al Farrow Cathedral - it's made out of gun parts and bullets but you don't see it at first, you see the cathedral. And even after you do realize that those are gun parts and bullets, you still see the cathedral. AnnaBella is built around (and using a lot of) electronica elements, but it creates a big and captivating image that won't let your mind focus on technicalities. Even the first two tracks that seem pretty much like typical chillout downtempo material with somewhat generic beats somehow evolve into something exquisite and very tasteful, mainly thanks to Scarlet Monk's vocal talent, but also to the beautiful minimalism and delicate arrangement of elements surrounding her voice. And then accordion kicks in on "Labyrinths", and things start getting curiouser and curiouser. Definitely my favorite track on the album, it's a harmonious mess that bravely combines trip-hop and cabaret, it is sexy, sensual and hilarious, but, most importantly, despite its wild array of elements, it's beautiful. A couple of quieter tracks follow (and those of you longing for more electronica will appreciate the way "Placated" plays with sound) and then "Permission" takes AnnaBella to the new emotional height with raw desperate vocals, cold beat and abrupt unsettling ending. "Ring (Still...)" - the a cappella version of the opening track - is an intro into the second part of this traveling theatre of an album. On this half electronica gives way to live instruments. What is strange though (and it is very subjective since I most exclusively listen to electronic music nowadays), is that to me the sound lost big part of its lively appeal when it lost its "lifeless" elements. Maybe it was that contrast of artificial structured anti-music of electronica and Scarlet Monk's so very organic and live vocals that drew me in so much. I would probably enjoy the hell out of the second half of AnnaBella if I heard it at a show. But as a part of a studio album it just made me want to listen to the first half more. (I'll still mention "Cinema" because it's a great freakin' song). This is one exceptional debut album, folks, and I am very intrigued to see how Scarlet Monk's music is going to evolve. I hope that it will still fill as right for this blog as it does now.
Go to www.scarletmonk.com to find more info about the project and the album.
R.I.Y.L. My Brightest Diamond, Tom Waits, theater
personal favs: "Labyrinths" (feat. Phillip Morris), "Permission", "Cinema"
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