Pulsewidth.

Yes, Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 is a veritable reference guide of sounds and techniques for all those who dare to make "electronica."


And yes, giving mere lip service to the term "ingenious" is foolish, but it fits so well.




THAT right there. Just that.

George Evelyn!

Admittedly, Smokers Delight had remained my penultimate favourite when it came to Nightmares on Wax albums. Until now, that is. Carboot Soul -- mostly because of "Les Nuits" UGH! -- always ranked at the top, while A Word of Science fell somewhere third. So, I guess you could say Smokers Delight kind of landed in the middle (and not counting the others). Lately, however, I'm finding myself unable to stop listening to that album. God, it's so spectacular!

I only started listening to NoW about six or seven years ago -- just as I was first discovering the splendour of "underground hip-hop" -- you know, Atmosphere, Sole, Sage Francis, RJD2, DJ Shadow, etc., etc. There was just something about Nightmares that elevated "them" to another echelon. Something really special.








I'm telling you...all of the best musicians are from Leeds.

Caia's "The Magic Dragon"

I like to call the contents of this album "fan music." Why, you ask? Well, when I play it, it kind of makes me want to put on one of those house fans, and seductively pose in front it -- you know, hair all free-flowing and what not, mouth slightly agape.

Ah, yes. The splendor that is Caia.

With one part Maiku Takahashi (a premiere Japanese producer), and one part Groove Armada's Andy Cato, rest assured that you are in (very) good hands.

The Magic Dragon drips with unadulterated sensuality, mixing cool, downtempo electronica beats with a certain trip-hop warmth that is not always easily captured.

If you're thrown by Thievery Corporation or agog with Afterlife, I behoove you to check this one out.

Download: "La Telecabine" & "Jericho"

Feature - ANDY J GALLAGHER "Crocodiles and Prostitutes"

Unabashedly raw and unforgiving, Andy J Gallagher's Crocodiles and Prostitutes EP (Universal/Waga Waga Records) is a sonic panacea to the anemic rock genre. Energetic and dauntless, Gallagher transports listeners back to the no holds barred, punk-infused world of remarkable commotion. With The Damned's legendary songwriter, Roman Jugg, in the producer's seat, Crocodiles and Prostitutes is, at once, a resurrection of punk rock's ascendancy and modern musical promise.

With the brilliantly abrasive, anathematizing love anthem, "Something Else," Gallagher leaves behind any notion of regret in his concise and resolute sentiment of emotional detachment. "The Men in Suits," much like the seemingly depraved characters populating the song, starts off slow and deceitfully disciplined before radically shifting gears. Gallagher narrates this lascivious tale with his signature unhinged vocals and sinewy guitars. "Rope Swings Eternal" shares a similar motif - exposing the downtrodden - and with it, exposing Gallagher's more perceptive and soulful other half, while "C" promptly ends the album with a laconic, and true-to-Gallagher message that will satisfy any post-punk penchant.

Crocodiles and Prostitutes fuses the best of punk's past with an unmatched, contemporary talent.

To check out more of Andy J Gallagher, visit:
www.myspace.com/andyjgallagher
or
www.andyjgallagher.com



Andy's video for his forthcoming single: "Faster and Faster"

FEATURE - Magic Sound Fabric

Exploring the sounds of electronica in its purest, and perhaps most pristine form, Magic Sound Fabric masterfully serves up the chilly and evocative evidence of those explorations on Observer.

Proclaiming: "There's no reality in duality" on the album's opener, "The World is An Illusion" is a prelude of what is to come. Intimations of science-fiction and sumptuous synth-laden grooves nurture the perfect parallel between existentialist allusions and the obstinate beat-head. "Heaven's Coming Down" is eerily beautiful and brilliantly organic amidst the album's well-established digital disposition. Guitar-laced "Only Love is Real" coalesce with fragments of head-nodding dub, while "Majesty" and "Beautiful," Observer's instrumental tracks, hold their own - polished and glaringly dynamic.

Turning futurism into an aural odyssey, Magic Sound Fabric eludes the club-thumping culture of electronica, and brings intelligent life back to the stereo.

Magic Sound Fabric's Myspace

Magic Sound Fabric's Website

FEATURE - The Tijuana Sun

With lush, gritty vocals, and uncomplicated, but always melodic guitar work, The Tijuana Sun sonically re-establish the fundamentals of rock. Although echoing the quintessential sound of their idols and influences, this Scottish trio is not to be intermingled with today's sycophants of legendary British musicians.

An omnipresence of the acoustic guitar lends itself to the overall rustic feel of the music. "Blinded By the Lights," however, transits into heavier territory with more pronounced guitars, while "Black and Blue" is a staggering exhibition of Mark Ferguson's aggressive and dynamic vocal abilities. Tambourine-laden "What's Goin' On" paints unexpected soul onto their veracious rock exterior, but never indulgently strays from their central sound.

Raw, vehement vocals juxtaposed against nothing more than the most elementary of instruments create a sound that is remarkably fractured and wonderfully abrasive. Clearly, The Tijuana Sun are primed to be emulated.


The Tijuana Sun's Myspace

FEATURE - if 'n

With a seemingly innate ability for channeling the glory days of alternative rock,
if 'n, hailing from South Jersey, has managed to shift the trajectory of the glossy and one-dimensional backdrop of today's music.

Dripping with a certain drawl, if 'n furtively blends a bit of blues into both lyrics and instrumentation. "Confused Muse" is laggard and sonorous, incorporating just the right amount of letdown into the story, while "Rerun," inheriting a more implicit bleakness, name-checks actor John Astin - a bizarre yet befitting acknowledgment.

In clearing away the cobwebs of complication, the music of if 'n remains simple and utterly accessible - two attributes very much alive in the bouncy, guitar driven "Shake."

Undoubtedly, in straying from the precise and the pretentious, if ‘n has given fans a reason to embrace a homegrown, no-frills approach to making quality music.

IF'N's Myspace

FEATURE - Kevin Bartlett's Glow in the Dark

Stunningly celestial and sonically profound, Kevin Bartlett’s Glow in the Dark beseeches listeners to not only listen with their ears, but with their soul, as well. Lugubrious and alluring, the album is an aural thoroughfare through which emotions are sure to become heightened.


Ghostly, ethereal vocals sweep atop Bartlett’s trademark blend of ambient electronica and resonant prog-rock – the latter most illustrated on the track “Resuscitation.” Woven into each song are piquant and poignant sounds that will, invariably, lead the listener into a state of supreme bliss. Tracks such as “The Sorrow, The Fish, and Glastonbury Hill,” and “Something Probably” are the gossamer and salient pieces that the discerning ambient devotee will want to examine through headphones and, at the same time, extol for its intensity. “Stethoscope” is dirge-like in its composition, while “God’s Little Do-Over” is uninhibited and robust, yet still teems with tranquility. Adorned with pure, earthy chants, the essence of global music is most prominent on the title track, “Glow in the Dark.”

Although Bartlett finishes the album with the exquisite “Next Life…Let’s Just Wave to Each Other,” the story never truly ceases. The sentiment of Glow in the Dark reverberates everywhere, long after it has been heard.


Kevin Bartlett's Myspace

DEPECHE MODE's "WRONG"

I haven't been this excited about an album since...well..."Playing the Angel."

Doesn't even bother me that Dave Gahan is seemingly doing some sort of a dance move a la Elvis Presley.




Unbelievable. Did I mention how excited I am?

Telefon Tel Aviv

Last night, I downloaded Telefon Tel Aviv's Immolate Yourself. The sound is nothing short of utopian - otherwordly, almost. I was instantly enamored. You must give this a listen if you find yourself frequenting the whole dream-pop/electronic/shoegaze arena (namely, Ulrich Schnauss, M83 and the like).

Take a listen to "Your Mouth" off of Immolate Yourself, here

R.I.P Charlie Cooper

Slave to the Download Manager

At the end of each month, my buoyant marauding around eMusic begins. It's the 27th, in fact. The day my account reloads; the first day marking the inquisition. It's do or die.

"Where do I look first?" I ask myself, fingers slightly curved over my blue and grey mouse, sweeping each corner of my mismatched but suitably green mouse pad. My first stop: Rock/Pop. I just have to see what it could possibly be hiding. Much to my chagrin, The Gaslight Anthem's The '59 Sound appears on the main page. "No," I say to myself. This kind of music is cold - it makes me feel cold! It's like getting lost in the aisles of a Borders. The faint smell of Seattle coffee signaling me to run before it's too late. But it's not all bad on Rock/Pop street. Some '80s, British Invasion, prog rock, new-wave and synthpop. Okay. I can exhale safely. I move on with a few, new downloads in my eMusic desktop folder. I need some electronica, though. The type of electronica with synths the sonic equivalent of fireworks - flourishing higher, becoming denser, richer as other sounds explode into it and on top of it - then coming down playfully, leaving only small fragments of its existence. On my way, I stop off at Industrial. I love industrial, but I'm fastidious about the genre. I take a listen to Project Pitchfork's Chakra Red, and am amazed by the music. My only trouble lies in the vocals. The devilishly deep, almost unnecessarily robotic vocals really do make me giggle. It just sounds ridiculous. I download the beautiful "Human Crossing," the album's first track. I can always just mentally expunge the hideous vocals.

Don't get me wrong. eMusic can get you lost in its veritable deluge of music. For the most part, it strays from the de rigueur nicely.

So, what have I been listening to these past six months? Well.

New stuff:

THE CATHERINE WHEEL
THE DURUTTI COLUMN (Vini Reilly...yeahhh)
Deastro
Liam Finn
Lonely London Lad
Project Pitchfork
The High Violets
Tosca
Friendly Fires
Burial
Glasvegas
Caged Baby
Chapterhouse
Culture Kultur
Datarock
Gene Loves Jezebel
Glass Candy
Joakim
Lykke Li
Mahogany
Neon Neon
Oszibarack
Repeater
Sebastien Tellier
Spacemen 3
Tycho
The Parallelograms
The House of Love

there are a lot more, but you get the point. Oh, and, embarrassingly enough, THE DANDY WARHOLS. Oh god.

Of course, there are also a bunch of artists for whom my obsession has only grown deeper - those I won't list. Too many to mention. Let me just say that they lie in the acid house/brit rock/electronic (dance)/Madchester/alternative/shoegaze/blah blah region.



P.S. LADY GAGA SUCKS.