Under The Influence

This certainly became one of my electro favourites of the (sailing) trip. I don't know the first thing about Apparat but of heard little bits and pieces of Allien before. I believe she's from Berlin. Turns out Apparat is a Berliner too. Oh, look at that, he owns Shitkatapult (the label T.Raumschmiere is on).

I'm glad this isn't like so much of the stuff you hear in the Berlin clubs (though I have come to appreciate that Berlin club sound a lot more in recent months). Really it has far to mellow of a vibe to make good club music. Bubbles is more about the shapes of the sounds than the beats. It really does sound like an Orchestra of Bubbles.

Mmmmmmm, Way Out is a silky little gem.

What a simple loop based bit of loveliness. I love the way the same beat is carried throughout but the work has numerous different movements that all feel distinct. 4:10 sees the introduction of a shaky synth that sounds so frail you think it'll pass away on each note. Somehow the whole thing builds into a big dark cloud of sound. Something very NINish about the final soundscape.

It's the subtlety of this work that interests me - feel like I understand that whole German glitch obsession much better now (through this one piece). Then again, Matthew Dear really did help too.

The piece is far older than I'd originally thought. Not only that but it's also a cover of a Neu! track. Proving once again that I seriously need to go crate digging for kraut-rock.

Now, I can't remember if my well electro-educated (glitchy stuff in particular) friends told me if this guy was good or not but if they didn't, well, they were wrong. This stuff straddles the glitch/pop divide nicely.

Before I downloaded this album I actually grabbed a copy of a tune called Dog Days that everyone seems to be banging on about (those in the know cringe at my ignorance right now). It deserves the attention actually. Smart, upbeat, poppy, catchy and interesting. All the classic glitch noises are there but it's music your girlfriend would dance to. The same story goes for Asa Bread too.

I was tipped off about these guys after Jakob mentioned them in an interview. I think it must be something the put in the water in Scandinavia. I once heard someone refer to the style as minimalist noodling - though that description is far too shallow for the beautiful music they create. Just have a listen to Chapter 6 - in fact take a few moments to check out the video (it's stunning).

There's a great deal of texture to the music. Most songs feature both male and female vocals / choirs / harmonies. Intricate patterns of pops and clicks form the basis of the rhythms which are then beefed up with traditional drums (amongst other things). Some of the heavier tracks, Step Aside for example, are intensified with the use of quickly repeating synthesised bass notes. Massive timbre too - subtle piano arrangements can be heard throughout and both strings and brass are used constantly.

The album is endowed with my most-listens-in-itunes medal with over 20 plays clocked up so far. I give every album at least 2 listens but by my standards that pretty much makes it an institution, one I'd be unhappy to be without.