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Music

Low – Days Like These

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 13: Vocalist and drummer Mimi Parker (L) and vocalist and guitarist Alan Sparhawk of Low perform live on the altar of St David's Historic Sanctuary during the SXSW Music festival on March 13, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jim Bennett/WireImage)

I’ve listened to Days Like These maybe a dozen times now, and I’m still not even sure if I like the first half of it. Alan Sparhawk’s vocal is more prominent than perhaps ever before, accompanied by Mimi Parker’s harmonies and very little else and it’s almost wilfully OTT and (whisper it) a bit cheesy? Maybe that’s the point, and there’s a good chance that later this year after sitting with it for longer and reading more into the meaning behind it I’ll realise just how wrong I am, but that’s where I am right now. What isn’t in doubt however, is the second half, which is one of the best things they’ve ever made.

Produced again by BJ Burton who worked with them on 2018’s incredible Double Negative, it descends into warped static, freewheeling, ethereal harmonies and an atmosphere so thick with longing it takes a good few minutes to pull yourself out of it. It’s also the lead single from their forthcoming new LP Hey What, out 10 September on Sub Pop. Bring on the heartache.

https://www.chairkickers.com

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Music

Platnume – Romans

Produced by Platnume and DJ Jaden, the intention behind Romans was to make a fun but still impactful rap cut without the use of profanity: an admirable aim, and one that pays off. The Queens duo have cited artists like Kid N Play and Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, the influence of whom aren’t immediately obvious as Romans is significantly moodier than the vast majority of these 90s icons’ output. However, there is A LOT of autotune rap out there and this definitely cuts through the crowd, so they must be doing something right.

https://www.instagram.com/iamplatnume/

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Music

Wye Oak – Its Way With Me

Jenn Wasner’s voice is just completely enthralling. Not to do any disservice to Andy Stack alongside whom she records at Wye Oak, but its the irresistible radiance of her vocal that elevates Its Way With Me from perfectly lovely indie-pop jangler to hit-me-in-the-feels-so-hard-it-hurts anthem. This is the second single of the year following last month’s TNT, and while there’s no official news of a new album yet, fingers crossed.

https://www.wyeoakmusic.com

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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