All right, so this is admittedly

kind of cool:

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