Saturday, 12 March 2016
Friday, 4 March 2016
Gus Gus – polydistortion (CD)
Second album from this
Reykjakik, Iceland band (formed in 1995). This is my second Gus
Gus listening experience. I reviewed `Gus Gus vs T-World`
(their fourth release) some time ago. It had elements of dub techno, trance,
breaks, progressive house, techno, electro and downtempo. This album is slightly
different it offers a nice variety of music styles: electronic, lounge,
chill-out, techno, electro with lots of sonic experimentations going on. Some
tracks are song oriented (or spoken word oriented in some cases) while other
pieces are slightly instrumental numbers. I`ve been hearing this my whole
weekend, this recording is amazing all the songs are good (in their own
respective style). You want standout tracks? Well the whole album is standout
material. At this time my favorite pieces are
# 3 – Believe = electro /
electronic / weirdo techno = hit material indeed.
# 4 – Polyesterday =
haunting / sensuous vocals + smooth, relaxing electro = need I say
more.
# 5 – Barry = nu-jazz +
electro + chill-out + trip hop influences = pure aural bliss. Highly
recommended. To think it cost me only 2.00$ at my favorite Renaissance
Montréal store. There is a God after all.
Electronic – raise the pressure (CD)
Electronic
were a duo formed in 1988 by Bernard Summer (Joy division /
New Order) and Johnny Marr (The Smiths, 7 Worlds
Collide, England United, Neil Finn & Friends and
The Healers). Raise The pressure is their second album. I
bought this for 2.00$ only at Renaissance Montréal (lucky me).
Their music is an infectious mix of guitars / synthesizers going into electronic
dance / music. There`s thirteen songs on this CD (61.58 minutes). I like the
Joy Division and New Order as well but I was never into
The Smiths. I tried to like this, album, I tried but it doesn`t work for
me at all. There`s a couple of songs which recalls New Order`s album
Technique (1989). Raise the pressure came out in 1996.
Even though I don`t like this I still recommend it. Why? It simple let me
explain.
A – We all have
different tastes for different things. We agree to disagree.
B – This is good.
Fact: almost every track has top twenty potential. With Johnny Marr and
Bernard Summer at the helm you can`t go wrong.
C – Buy this. You
might like it, hate it, hey to each his / her own.
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Various Artists – before you were punk (CD)
I got this one a t
local Renaissance Montréal store for 2.00 $ (cheaper than a pack
of smokes or a beer). I`m a sucker for compilations especially when it`s
electronic music. Which is not the case here. This is a punk rock tribute to 80s
new wave. I look at the song titles and I`m hooked immediately. Anybody
remembers the following hits and /or one hit wonders like?
I melt with you
(Modern English)
Turning Japanese
(The Vapors)
In between days
(The Cure)
Happy loving
couples (Joe Jackson)
Pretty in pink
(The Psychedelic Furs)
Goody two shoes
(Adam Ant)
Dancing with
myself (Billy Idol)
Crash (The
Primitives)
Peace, love and
understanding (Elvis Costello)
Walking in LA
(Missing Persons)
Young Turks
(Rod Stewart)
867-5309, Jenny
(Tommy Tutone)
An interesting
choice of songs indeed. Every version is top notch my favorites ones
are:
2 – No use for
a name – turning Japanese = even better than the real
thing.
3 - Face to
face – in between days = a punkier version indeed.
8 - Blink
182 – dancing with myself = a less commercial more in your face version now
where talking punk here. I would love to hear some bands / artists do their own
versions of the following songs:
-Working nights
(The Camberwell Now)
-Big man restless
(Kissing The Pink)
-Whole lotta Rosie
(AC / DC)
-Spiritwalker
(The Cult)
-Hard times
(The Human League)
-Space age love
song (A Flock Of seagulls)
-it`s not me
talking (A Flock of Seagulls)
Champion – résistance (CD)
This is
Champion`s fourth album which came out in 2009. Champion AKA
DJ Champion AKA Le Max AKA Mad Max AKA Maxime
Morin (his real name) is a Montréal native (like myself). His first
effort `chill`em all` was simply amazing. I couldn`t wait to hear the
next step in his audio evolution. Upon the first listen I really didn`t like
this. The more I hear this album (11 songs = 50.02 minutes) and the more it
grows on me. `Résistance` does not sound anything like `chill`em all`.
The music is a mix of electronic, rock, house, alternative rock, electro
with some funk and soul elements thrown in. In fact, with all them heavy
electric guitar sounds (not heavy metal territory), this album is definitely
more rock oriented than electronic. The fusion of all these various styles /
influences is impressive the final product`s stellar if you ask me. I didn`t
hear anything quite like this yet. I wonder what he`ll do next. Get your news,
info and details here: http://www.djchampion.ca/
Alexandre Monochrome – antimatière (CD)
The obscure find
of the day. I bought this CD at Renaissance Montréal for 2.00$. there`s
no record label, no address, no email, just the name of the album and a song
listing. I don`t know why but I had a feeling this was electronic music. I go
back home, do a little googling. Turns out that Alexandre Monochrome is a
Montréal based electronic music composer and painter. Surprisingly I
didn`t find any tracks from his CD on his soundcloud page. Perhaps it`s a
collection of early material or a demo for a future album, who knows for sure.
Upon the first listen, I`m pleasantly surprised. This is a good album (12 pieces
for a total running time of 50.44 minutes). Every song`s meticulously crafted.
It looks sounds and feels that Alexandre Monochrome spent a lot of time
and effort on this recording. He`s not afraid to experiment and mix things up a
little: minimal / peaceful / relaxing IDM, minimal electronica soundtrack
material, dub oriented minimalism, eight bit oriented IDM and subtle /
introspective / intimate / cinematic / relaxing electronica. The first song
`somni`, is a nice mix of spacy minimal electronics with soundtrack
elements. It sounded like a part of the soundtrack of the `the thing`
movie (The John Carpenter masterpiece, not the forgettable remake). It
sent chills down my spine. More music and information here: https://soundcloud.com/alexandre-monochrome
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)