Botany Bay – No Excuse (video)
Posted by tipkin
See what I mean when I say that there's a whole different kind of darkness in Botany Bay's music now? Their new music video for "No Excuse" totally reflects that. A pretty bleak concept - Stephan and Stefanie are tied up in some scary-lookin' abandoned building waiting for presumably not very pleasant development of events. But here's the sunlight falling right on Stefanie's golden hair, and suddenly everything doesn't seem all that bad. There's a little twist at the end, too, so watch it! And check out their new EP No Excuse.
Botany Bay - "No Excuse"
Botany Bay – No Excuse
Posted by tipkin
Man oh man. An avalanche of new releases in the past few weeks. There are new albums from friends, from known artists, from unknown artists who ask me to review their work. I simply can't keep up, so I hope you'll excuse some outdated reviews. But there would be no excuse for me to not post anything about this one (and I promise, this was the last title-related wordplay). This one is from friends, which is always a double everything - anticipation, enjoyment, as well as pressure - gotta remain objective and not let your personal sympathy get in the way of your critical approach. Ha-ha. Did I just really write this? After all, I'm not a freakin' critic, I'm just your average music fan, and as this average music fan I really freakin' liked this release. I could just stop here (and maybe should have), because the feelings I experienced when listening to No Excuse are pretty hard to put into words. Y'know, because they are feelings. And this really is the best compliment - when the music doesn't leave you cold, it means a lot. The new Botany Bay mini-album (6 original tracks + 5 remixes of the single "A Better Way") is new in many ways - not only because Stefanie Mühr is the new vocalist (joining the project's founder Stephan Kleinert), but the sound itself has that new fresh feel to it. Don't worry, the sweet darkness and lyrical depth that we love Botany Bay for are still there, but No Excuse emanates some new energy, the kind that doesn't come from darkness, as in project's previous works, but represents the light that co-exists with this darkness in a yin-yang perfection. It also may seem to be the farthest from the "trip-hop" style, especially the opening title track - an upbeat pop song which greatly showcases Stefanie Mühr's powerful singing abilities. But listen to the album carefully, and you'll find everything that you usually look for in trip-hop music - "A Better Way" smoothly slides on that rolling beat+piano combination reminiscent of the early Massive Attack, playful "Your Dairy" could easily be included in the same compilation with Morcheeba, and my instant favorite, engrossing "How Much Can You Take?" is so tastefully seasoned with various electronica elements and topped off with such knock-out piano finale that even the most hardcore trip-hop fans should be satisfied. But this is what's great about Botany Bay - respecting the genres, they don't really care about sticking to any of them. They make music they love, and they love doing it. This is why there are truly un-classifiable songs like voice/piano dialog "Oh, Robbie!" (which undoubtedly sounds fantastic live) or 90's techno-inspired (and whoever knows me would understand that I mean this as a compliment) "How Am I To Know?"
And of course I should say a few words about the remixes. Hand-picked by Stephan and Stefanie from numerous submissions for their remix contest, they contribute greatly to the whole listening experience (and that new energy vibe that I was talking about earlier) as well as open up new sides of Botany Bay's music. Fantohm kicks it off with a fist-pumping dance remix, which I didn't care much for at first but now actually do pump my actual fist to. KAVver. (whose original works are in regular rotation on our radio) always amazes me with his ability to bring a unique twist into other people's work and make it sound like a completely new piece and this remix is no exception - what is happening on the last minute of it I'm not even gonna try to describe. And Miami Butchers Orchestral Remix is an unexpectedly soft lounge take on the song, a very pleasant finish to a wonderful new start.
As a new tradition I'm not rating EP's, saving all the stars for the much-awaited full-length.
R.I.Y.L. Morcheeba, Massive Attack - "Hymn Of The Big Wheel", shadows in candlelight
personal favs: "How Much Can You Take?", "A Better Way", "A Better Way (KAVver. remix)"
I wanted to embed a player here, but Bandcamp only does iframe now which is (sadly) not supported by WordPress. But you can go here and preview the whole thing, which would most likely make you want to buy it either in digital format or an an actual CD accompanied by a beautiful booklet.
A Better Way remix contest
Posted by tipkin
Something very exciting and very tempting from our friends Botany Bay. In order to spice things up a bit while working on the new album they present all of you beatmakers out there with an opportunity to be a part of it! All you need to do is to make a kick-ass remix of their single "A Better Way". The winning remix becomes a bonus track on the CD (and I mean the actual CD, not just an internet-release) and makes your mama proud.
Details are here. Good luck!
New release – coldreavers – Blue Eyes [TTRR003]
Posted by tipkin
Well, not too many of you used the opportunity to preview the new coldreavers album when we played it on our Radio. I know, I know, it was Valentine's Day and you were too busy getting ready for romantic dinners or whathaveyou. Besides, it is better to hear our new release in good quality, not in measly 64 kBit/s streaming format. So, yeah, you did the right thing deciding to wait for an official release. Wait no more - the excellent full-length from coldreavers has arrived in its 11-track awesomeness. Blue Eyes include the 4 tracks from the Illusions EP released last month plus some original and some very original new works. The instrumental tracks are the core of the album - they create this chilling, almost unsettling atmosphere by deconstructing the trip-hop elements that we're so used to and placing samples in an uncomfortable environment where they have no other choice but adjust and start a new life. The overall sound of the album is very intense and overwhelming, so if you're looking for some easy listening - look somewhere else. If you want a true music experience however - give Blue Eyes a listen. Coldreavers joins creative forces with three very different but equally talented vocalists/songwriters (MMAIO, Stephan Kleinert of Botany Bay and LenaGrig) on three tracks of the album, and I liked those three tracks SO MUCH that I almost wish that this wasn't our label's release so I could write a raving review for it. But it is our label's release, so I say no more and give this baby into your hands. Be gentle.
Listen and download here (remember to just put "0" to "buy" the album for free, unless you're feeling extra generous 
):
100th
Posted by tipkin
Here it is, my dearest readers and listeners. The 100th post. A micro-anniversary in trippin' the rift's mini-history. I want to raise this glass of this fine Oatmeal Stout to all of you, who's been reading these posts (not always inspired and almost never grammatically correct, but always honest), listening to my tiny radio station, watching videos and even going as far as leaving comments. Appreciations all around. There is iTunes Almighty, there is a mega-community of Last.fm and yet there still is this blog and there are those exceptional (and very attractive, I'm sure) individuals who keep checking it out every once in a while. Thank you.
I wanted to make this post memorable. I could have made a compilation of my top 100 trip-hop tracks (hm... not a bad idea actually. How about a poll to pick top 100 trip-hop tracks ever?!), write a long boring "ass"-ey about history of trip-hop and "how Coldcut started it all" and how "Portishead, Tricky and Massive Attack made everyone care". But I'll save those novel ideas for the future anniversary posts. This very first one should be small and intimate, full of hope, love and good trips. And it kind of came out like that, despite its big topic.
How do you get people to listen to your Shoutcast radio? Right, play what they want to hear. Trip-hop fans want to hear "trip-hop" - the Wikipedia version of it. And that's a pretty solid version, but built around the same proven names and with a devastating "post-trip-hop" ending. Nothing about the future. It's all in the "post-". It all starts with Portishead and ends with Morcheeba. If you don't hear either of those or anything in-between, then it's "not trip-hop", and you can enjoy your shitty radio all by your lonesome. Well, how about that - I'm listening to Josh Furey's album Archaeology available at Bandcamp for "name your price (no minimum)" and it doesn't sound even a bit like a fuckin' past. It sounds like a good fuckin' trip-hop and it's CC-licensed and that means that I can play it on my radio. And I do. With pleasure. And apologies to all you guys who stopped listening after I went 100% CC-licensed and thank you for being with us for as long as you did, but kudos to ones who are listening now. There aren't many (like, right now it's 0 as in "zero"), but just yesterday afternoon two dudes (or gals) from USA, and one from Russia, Germany, Brazil, Czech Republic and Chile were listening to (and I'm sure lovin' the shit out of) Josh Furey's (Canada) songs. Or Botany Bay's (Germany). Or KARIZZA's (Ukraine). Or Veell's (Russia), who isn't even trip-hop, but kicks major ass anyway.
And that's the weirdness of it. Of the whole entertainment industry and us its consumers. We're still readily forking over 99¢ for a song (here in the US. Most of us do. I think...), but watching new Dexter episode on an illegal website without any hesitation or emotional discomfort. We're starting to realize that there's no actual need to pay for something when there's so much FREE SHIT out there. And that they apparently have no idea how to fight it. Or simply cannot fight it because how do you fight artists offering their music (ready for it?) for free? Willingly. Just so people (I bet you're not ready for this one quite yet) would listen to it. What's even scarier for them is the fact that people are often paying money for those artists' music even though they don't have to! Wrap your head around this one. I asked some of the people whom I interviewed or reviewed their music to shed some light on what the F is going on in the music industry today and what is poor little aspiring musician to do in all this craziness. Here's what they had to say.
Botany Bay – Oh, Robbie! (video)
Posted by tipkin
Our friends Botany Bay are keeping things fresh. Here's their new music video for "Oh, Robbie!" - an ironic but sensual piano-driven track, showcasing vocal capabilities of the singer Stephanie Mühr.
Botany Bay - "Oh, Robbie!"
Botany Bay (Bonn, Germany)
Posted by tipkin
"Success doesn't really matter so much, as long as the feeling is right; as long as we enjoy doing the things we do"
One of the things that I like the most about trip-hop is its diversity. It leaves room for exploration (and freedom to apply the term to whatever I feel like). Discovering new horizons and making the journey so exciting that reaching the destination really doesn't matter anymore - this is the feeling I get when listening to the music of this project with a beautiful and meaningful name Botany Bay. The band's history is as adventurous as its music (which changes its stylistic course not just from album to album but from one song to another) and it hadn't always been a smooth sailing. Stephan Kleinert, the founder of Botany Bay, talked to trippin' the rift about his project's difficult past, inspired present and hopeful future.
tipkin - The project has a pretty long and quite eventful story. I wouldn't ask you to go over everything, but what would be your most favorite and least favorite moment in Botany Bay's biography from 1995 up until now?
Stephan - There are so many most favourite moments… it's difficult to pick one of them. However, I think a definite high point was our concert at the Blue Shell Club in Cologne in November 2009. We played an audience of 300+ people, and such a number was unheard of for Botany Bay until then. I mean, on the internet we are constantly struggling to attract an audience, and suddenly there's a cram-full club, dancing, enjoying and reacting to our music, having a great time, even singing along and giving this really fantastic response… that was quite something!
As for the least favourite moment - back in Heidelberg, when I started recording Grounded in 2003, I had great difficulties finding support for Botany Bay; at times I had the feeling that this town simply doesn't want me to make music. I constantly had to fight for acceptance of what I was trying to do. Colleagues, co-workers, inmates, even close friends, they just couldn't see the sense in it, in the eyes of most of them I was just wasting my time producing objectionable noise. Eventually, we really hit rock bottom when the landlord of our then rehearsal room locked in our instruments and recording gear and exchanged the cylinder locks because the day before we hadn't agreed to the 200% rent increase he suddenly wanted. Said rehearsal room was a filthy, cramped little compartment without any sanitation or heating, and all of a sudden this moron asks a price which would have paid a luxurious two-roomed apartment… and there we sat, late at night, locked out, in the rain, in the middle of a down-and-out industrial area of Heidelberg, and I thought it was the end. I know it sounds kind of romantic now, but it wasn't at the time.
But looking back, I'm rather proud of having survived the difficult time in Heidelberg. And as for said landlord… well, I'm sure that Karma is going to get him eventually. And that won't be a pleasant experience.
t. - I think you picked a killer name for the band. How did the idea come about, and is there any significance to it?
S. - Actually there is. When we started the project in 1995, we took a world atlas and looked for a location that was as far away as possible; eventually we chose Botany Bay in Australia. For me, it's still signifying yearning, longing for something distant and out of reach.
Botany Bay – A Better Way (video)
Posted by tipkin
A video for Botany Bay's new single "A Better Way". Charming in its... um... inexpensiveness 
The band is working on the new album that is due later this year.
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