| #528 |
|
2000 |
New Music Part 2 : Lemon Jelly, a UK two-piece somewhere between the Beta Band and Fila Brazillia have put out three excellent EPs since 1998 which have now all been compiled onto CD for the first time on their KY collection. Beautifully packaged in an over-sized fold out pack which more resembles a children’s storybook than an album (complete with inside gloss), KY is worth tracking down if you missed the EPs. Acoustic guitars and children’s fairytale folk music runs up against similarly sourced samples, slow breaks and an overall cheery naiveté. The Lemon Jelly website (www.lemonjelly.ky) has sound samples and screensavers too. Equally bright and charming is Herbert’s mix CD, Let’s All Make Mistakes, on Tresor. Having recounted his joy during his Australian tour on his website (www.matthewherbert.com), Herbert’s mix clicks, crackles and stumbles its way through twenty-two tracks that, in anyone else’s hands would seem impossible to fit together. Clever mixing and Herbert’s playful attitude towards sound fit the jigsaw of Plastikmann, Wishmountain, DBX, Green Velvet, Auto Repeat, Si Begg, Mr Oizo, Nightmares On Wax and an old Isolee track together. On a downtempo jazzfunk tip there is yet another Max Brennan project. Not content with his hundred-and-one aliases on the Isle Of Wight-based Hollistic label, Brennan record The Krill Papers as O.H. Krill for Depth Charge’s DC Recordings. As DC moves, with each release, into deeper, less-sampledelic soundtrack territory (complete with old 70s soundtrack reissues), The Krill Papers makes most sense as a mythical soundtrack. Brennan’s ear for detail grows with each release. In post-Warp electronic terrain there is a great release, Neurokinetic from new label Toytronic. Rounded warm melodies and sharp cold electrostatic beats work the tension between electronic music and soul and on some tracks there is a feeling of throwback (a little like the pseudo-nostalgia of the highly recommended Putting The Morr Back In Morrissey compilation of last fortnight) to earlier electronic music times. Someone else said this compilation reminded them of the first Artificial Intelligence compilation on Warp updated for a new decade, and not just in name. Like Artificial Intelligence there is an almost uplifting feeling to many of the tracks here and whilst some point directions forward, more revitalise older, now neglected elements. Arovane and Funckarma are amongst the more well-known names here. Speaking of Warp we have hardy from UK’s Spymania out here and playing a live set at Frigid alongside local supergroup Size on the 19th. Spymania, apart from being one of Brighton’s No Future-affiliated labels responsible for several crazy hyperspeed breakbeat cutups-meets-Monty Python humour early on, including the first Squarepusher releases (later licensed to Warp), have most recently co-released the Jamie Lidell album on Warp. Hardy has recorded for No Future, Mille Plateaux, and 9000 as well. On the 26th its Sydney post-rockers Ukiyo-E who have a nice 7” out locally and forthcoming work on the UK’s Fatcat label and Zonar favourite Flux. Each week also has new people upstairs . . . Yellow Peril (www.snarl.org)  Goto
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