Under The Influence

I've gone through several infatuations with Ratatat over the last couple of years. The last one was fuelled by their London inclusive tour. I'd been listening to their second album, Classics, fairly exclusively (though I did give the first one a brief shot). Another infatuation is eminent - this time I feel like I'm going to be all over their debut, Ratatat.

The secret is that it all sounds backwards (somewhat like Boards Of Canada or RJD2's production). I think that's what makes it so nice to listen to - each note floats over, popping just out of reach. Very pretty. Great melodies, and great beats too. Their live set up is more traditional then I'd expected; synth, guitar and bass. The use of synths instead of a drummer for the rhythm lends a lot to the sound, the beats are crisp and full.

I don't want to give you the wrong impression - it's not all downbeat, far from it in fact, the sound is generally very uplifting and these guys really know how to rock.

If nothing else it's more proof that people sending random mp3s to your email does help to sell cds. Really looking forward to hearing more from these cats in the future.

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.

I only downloaded a single track off this album the other day, Into the Sun. I was put off buying the whole album by the poor reviews on the EM at the time. If this track is anything to go by that stance will have to be reassessed. I picked this track in particular due to the featuring of the sublime Martina Topely-Bird (check out Quixotic to see why some people think she's the real brains behind Tricky's success).

It's dark, heavily textured, full of that futuristic sounding backwards thing (like Boards of Canada) that I really love. Thinking about it, it's pretty similar to Marina's other work. Maybe she's particularly dominant in the studio :) I guess I should get the rest of the album to figure that one out myself.

Ok. So there's a bit of a story behind the name of this album. See, apparently this guy, Leon, was an absolutely brilliant pianist some years ago until RSI or some such went ahead and ruined one of his hands. As a result he spent years studying (and conducting) the music he loved, striping it down to its core. Skip forward to now.

Somehow Leon's managed to get the use of both of his hands back and the results are lovely. Bach, Scarlotti, Chopin, Debussy and Schubert without the frills. It's pure spirit. The soul of the songs is left completely exposed. Incredible work.