Author: The Predatory Wasp

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Music

fivepaw – Point Taken

I hadn’t thought about the video game Alex Kid in Miracle World for probably around 20 years, until the other day I saw it was getting a re-release: a fancy, updated version for modern hardware, and one of those games where you look at the new footage and think “Yeah, that’s how I remember it looking” until you go back and look at original Master System / Megadrive footage and realise that actually what it looked like was a few dozen pixels thrown on a screen seemingly at random with barely any discernible detail and ordered to jump frantically around, the kind of thing that if you were forced to play now you wouldn’t last five minutes. I’m not going to play the remake, as I don’t want to be reminded of a) how old I am and b) how jaded I am, but knowing that it exists and is scratching a few people’s itching nostalgia is comfort enough. In my head, the soundtrack is exactly like this new track from fivepaw which is taken from his latest album, and if it’s not, I don’t want to know.

https://fivepaw.bandcamp.com/releases

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Music

Kat Kikta – Magic

Magic is the new single from producer, singer and songwriter Kat Kitka, an utterly engrossing, haunting beautiful piece of music that pretty much completely defies description (but here goes). Folk, spoken word, ambient and ethereal pop are are dissected and reassembled alongside hugely evocative field recordings, resulting in a five minute track unlike anything else I’ve heard this year. The Kate Bush vibes are strong with this, which isn’t something I say lightly. Highly recommended.

https://katkikta.bandcamp.com

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Music

TIBSLC – Beachlife

German producer TIBSLC – short for “The International Billionaire’s Secret Love Child” – released his latest LP Delusive Tongue Shifts – Situation Based Compositions a couple of weeks back, and after just a couple of listens it’s firmly under my skin. I often find this kind of glitchy, experimental electronica a bit too hectic and sketchy to properly enjoy. It’s clearly good, and I admire it, but don’t find myself going back to them very often, if at all. There’s a warmth to Delusive Tongue Shifts, though, that makes it a really lovely album to spend lots of time with.

https://sferic.bandcamp.com/

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Music

Kaleida – Think (Actress Tone Two Remix)

The British producer Darren Cunningham, who records electronic music under the name Actress.

Kaleida’s original version of Think wasn’t exactly an overly expansive affair, and yet Actress manages to make it seem positively luxurious, so stripped back and minimalistic is his remix. Released last week to celebrate Lex Records’ 20th anniversary, its glacial electronics and muted tones create an eerie, detached atmosphere that quickly gets under your skin.

https://kaleida.bandcamp.com

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Loscil

The Canadian producer goes deep on Glenn Gould’s 1981 recording of Aria da Capo.

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Today we welcome Canadian electronic producer Scott Morgan -better known as Loscil – to the blog. One of the most singularly talented producers and an absolute TPW favourite, Scott has produced around 16 Loscil albums over the past two decades. His latest Clara – like them all – is carefully considered and completely engrossing, and a testament to just how powerful and emotionally rewarding electronic music can be when done right.

For his track, Scott waxes lyrical about his obsession with Glenn Gould’s interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, in particular his 1981 recording of Aria da Capo.

Continue reading “One Track Mind: Loscil”
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Music

Dzang – Retreat

Dzang is an on-going project of LA-composer/producer Adam Gunther, and Retreat is the first single from his latest forthcoming EP. Late night vibes galore on this one, and I really feel I should be staring wistfully out over a dark, sprawling cityscape while listening to it, despite the video being very colourful, as well as parrot-heavy. Anyway, it’s really lovely and really evocative and I’m looking forward to the EP when it lands.

https://dzang.bandcamp.com

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Music

Alessandro Cortini – CHIARASCURO

A longtime member of alt-rock band Nine Inch Nails, as a solo artist Alessandro Cortini has released something like a dozen or so albums over the last decade; electronic-based experiments in ambient, noise and occasionally straying into something that vaguely resembles techno. His latest LP SCURO CHIARO landed last week, and even though CHIAROSCURO came out as a single a few months back, I missed it at the time and it’s such a clear standout that I couldn’t not feature it. Building slowly from a base of celestial bleeps and hums to a gloriously intense finale, it’s the perfect embodiment of electronic music at its most cinematic.

https://cortini.bandcamp.com

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Music

Mezraa – Something’s Gone ft. Kris the $pirit

Moody rap for you today, elevated way above the crowd thanks to highly distinctive vocal performances from both Mezraa and Kris the $pirit, alongside subdued but beautiful production and drum programming that doesn’t just follow the usual trappy patterns. Sad, addictive and as atmospheric as it gets.

https://soundcloud.com/mezraa

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Music

matt mcwaters – Morning Dew

The latest single from matt mcwaters – who collaborates with Ta-ku as the duo Please Wait – Morning Dew was written after mcwaters and his guitar player Ilan Karasik spent countless hours listening to D’Angelo’s Voodoo at their day jobs, then jamming together after work. mcwaters also cites artists like Brent Faiyaz and Jordan Rakei as key influences, but for me the largest presence here is Thundercat, both in the vocal performance and the languid bassline and general hazy atmosphere. Whatever else it sounds like though, the main takeaway is that it sound great: ideal soundtrack to a stupidly hot day in London – or wherever you happen to be.

https://soundcloud.com/mcwtrs/morningdew

https://soundcloud.com/mcwtrs

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Music

Dean Blunt – NIL BY MOUTH

BLACK METAL 2 arrived pretty much out of nowhere today, and I’m already completely obsessed. The follow up to 2014’s BLACK METAL, it immediately transports you back into that heady, dreamlike world, pulling you into its thick, fuggy atmosphere and sounding like nothing else out there. People will write far longer, vastly more eloquent reviews of this over the coming days and weeks: all I can say for now is that it’s in a class of its own and deserves all the plaudits its inevitably going to get.

https://roughtrade.ffm.to/blackmetal2