This video is just too much fun not to share. The latest from Broken Anchor, Never Leave Me Alone is taken from their debut record Fresh Lemonade.

Fresh Lemonade is released on 20^th August 2013.

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Release on 3^rd June 2013 via We Be Records

With a name like Mayors of Miyazaki, this is a band that clearly delights in befuddlement. Just listen to the riffs that these ‘math punks’ from London have collated for their second album Holy Cop! – sometimes dizzying, occasionally discordant and frequently spellbinding – and you will soon appreciate that their music can be as baffling as their name.

Released on June 3^rd through We Be Records, Holy Cop! is headed for critical acclaim, not least following their previous effort Buffalo!, which received high kudos across international platforms. The band plans for a relentless gigging schedule, including a jaunt through the festival circuit and an extensive UK and Ireland tour to support the release.

The songs on this record swing from the angular crunch of Muy Sexo (a personal favourite) to the head spinning riffs of Mortise + Tenon and Start After One. Further merriment comes in the form of the pacey and bouncing Tongues, which itself is prefaced by the spooky humming bass line of Sugar in the Fuel Tank, a track that erupts into an off-time, off-beat shout-athon.

The musicianship is spectacular throughout, with obvious creativity and talent ringing in each complicated arrangement. Many times, the band harks to a latter day RX Bandits and what Propaghandi would sound like if they teamed up with The Mars Volta and halved their BPM. As a live act, they’d be stunning and watching them pull off some of the guitar/bass/drum trickery would be a sure joy to behold.

Vocally, the band is at their best when they harmonise with each other, as in the aforementioned Tongues or Parts Per Million. The male/female call back style has its place and, when used minimally, can punctuate the aggression of the music that lies beneath. However, when music is as unapologetically obtuse as this, the two sometimes overlap and can leave the listener a little dazed and confused.

This album is not always an easy listen and the epithet ‘Math Punks’ seems quite apt. In fact, listening to Holy Cop! from end to end can make your head spin as if you’ve just come out of a three-hour trigonometry seminar – but one of those really important seminars that you wouldn’t have wanted to miss, actually got quite a lot out of, and that you’ll probably tell your friends about afterwards whether they want to hear or not.

Moreover, was there anyone else who noticed the Ghostbusters 2 quote in Tongues?

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Definite nods to Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers run rife in this new track by Sydney electronic producers Leaderboy. Much love has been given to the track too, including from Triple J, who used it on their latest What So Not mix-up.

Perhaps high on all the excitement, the Australian duo have made the track available as a free download. Find out more on the Leaderboy’s Soundcloud and Facebook pages.

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Australian duo VOWS will release their self-titled EP this June to oodles of excitement. The pair unleashed the track Symbol System and received ladlings of love from around the world – and rightly so. Positively dripping with ground-up, post-punk goodness, Symbol System is everything a 2013 homage to industrial electro should be.

If you haven’t heard from these two already, you’re welcome!

Download the single here. The VOWS EP is released on 24^th June 2013.

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First listen of this barnstormingly good single from forthcoming album False Cities proves Christopher Paul Stelling has come a long way since his 2012 debut Songs of Praise and Scorn. His lyrics are sharp, that of a natural storyteller, and complete with inherently addictive riffs.

Don’t believe us? Listen for yourself!

Stelling’s live performances are well worth a look-in too, each show a rousing romp of an affair. Check the dates to see if his tour is coming to a town near you.

6/06 - The Living Room - New York, NY

6/07 - Tin Angel - Philadelphia, PA

6/11 - Cafe Nine - New Haven, CT

6/12 - Local 121 - Providence, RI

6/13 - The Oak & The Ax - Biddeford, ME

6/14 - Radio Bean - Burlington, VT

6/17 - Divan Orange - Montreal, QC

6/18 - Horseshoe Tavern - Toronto, ONT

6/20 - Abilene Bar & Lounge - Rochester, NY

6/27 - Harvest Gallery Wine Bar - Dennis, MA

7/10 - Eddie’s Attic - Decatur, GA

7/11 - The Bluebird Cafe - Nashville, TN

7/13 - Bunbury Music Festival - Cincinnati, OH

7/16 - Rozz Tox - Rock Island, IL

7/17 - Shitty Barn Sessions - Spring Green, WI

7/18 - Thursdays on First and Third – Rochester, MN

7/20 - The Ace Bar - Chicago, IL

7/21 - The Milwaukee Opry - Milwaukee, WI

7/23 - Rumba Cafe - Columbus, OH

7/25 - Newport Blues Cafe - Newport, RI (w/ The Low Anthem, Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons)

7/26 - Floyd Fest at Blue Bow Pavilion - Floyd, VA

7/27 - Floyd Fest at Blue Bow Pavilion - Floyd, VA

8/16 - BSP Lounge - Kingston, NY

Stelling’s new record False Cities is released on 21^st May 2013 via Mecca Lecca Recordings / Dollartone.

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15th May 2013

London born musician and composer Poppy Ackroyd is classically trained on violin and piano, but her experimental approach to playing these instruments has taken her music in an unusual direction. Her debut album Escapement was created with sounds using only the piano and the violin. Ackroyd describes her instrumentation as “played both conventionally or created inside the piano using fingers, e-bows and plectrums – violin textures, melodies and pizzicato riffs and finally delicate beats composed of hits, plucks, taps and scrapes made using hands, drumsticks, beaters and small cymbals on either the frame, strings or dampers of the piano.”

Ackroyd records every sound individually and then multi-tracks them together on her laptop. The result is delicate, ethereal and complex, and, while this approach to playing is certainly intellectual, her music is surprisingly accessible. It’s intensely quiet music, too. So quiet that this reviewer is acutely aware of the noise made by the camera’s shutter on taking another photograph. No need for the usual earplugs tonight.

For this live performance, Ackroyd shares the stage with John Lemke, who triggers sampled loops of percussion so that she is free to play the lead melody on her keyboard or violin. The convoluted recording process used to initially create the music would be near impossible to recreate entirely live, but it would be impressive to see her try. Perhaps it would involve Ackroyd climbing in and around a grand piano with a microphone and sampler to create little loops and then layer them together on stage. Warp Records’ Jamie Lidell does something similar when performing live, using drum machines, a sampler and his soulful voice to construct dense multi-layered songs. Probably a more practical approach for Poppy would be to have several players on stage with her to recreate the wonderful orchestral feel of the album.

Sandwiched between sets from John Lemke and Poppy Ackroyd, we have the intense, ambient vistas of Petrels, aka Oliver Barrett. Barret sways back and forth behind his laptop, conjuring beautiful noises from the assortment of electronic boxes in front of him. Last track Concrete is particularly enticing, beginning with chanted, harmonised Sigur Ros-like vocals that are gradually enveloped in a deluge of hypnotic orchestral noise.

The crowd’s reaction to this gig is one of quiet reflection, which is natural to this kind of cerebral music. On tonight’s evidence, Denovali Records release brave music to be absorbed with closed eyes and an open mind.

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Released on 13th May 2013 via Polyvinyl

Jeepers creepers, where’d you get those peepers?

Having snagged the production duties of Jacob Portrait from band of the year (so far, at least) Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Portland duo Rocky Tinder and Eric Phipps sound like they’ve had a blissful time and created some stunners for the summer.

The first sounds from numero uno The Hearse, also the lead single, immediately take one back – if one is fortune enough to remember the early 80s – to watching a certain nature programme at school which had a glorious theme tune. It’s a warped 1970s organ sound straight from the archives of the US Public Broadcasting Service that ably sets the scene – along the lines of Wild, Wild World of Animals, but spookier. Boards of Canada spring to mind but are soon sent packing when the pace of the bass and the drums kick in. We’re off to Wampire land and, by the look of the album art, you might be wise to bring some spare pants. The cover depicts two young men, presumably Tinder and Phipps, in a disturbing kind of light. Imagine two members of Play Away who, having been locked in the studio overnight, decide to pass the time with some paint thinner and then get to work on the next, “Here’s something you can all do at home, kids”. How they persuaded the film crew the following day to “just go with it” is anyone’s guess.

The Hearse is a delightful jaunt to Wampire land, filled as it is with sonic wizardry, echoes and whistling, held together with some badass bass – but what’s going on here? No one should be feeling this chipper in a funeral carriage. Just what are these pranksters up to? Luckily, you have those spare pants. Keep them close.

Further listening reveals doffing of the cap to artists such as Ariel Pink and John Maus – though think more recent Ariel Pink, as Wampire is somewhat straightforward. It has its moments for sure and it’s no pastiche in pastels, but the songs are generally easier to get one’s head around than virtually everything Ariel has ever released. Granted, that’s not too difficult to achieve.

Spirit Forest is both catchy and sleek. Graceful guitar picking and fancy fingerwork on the keys, topped off with a gorgeous vocal delivery that could soothe you to sleep under the whisper of a willow tree.

Unfortunately, not every tune succeeds, although the variation from one to the other is most welcome. I Can’t See Why’s crowning achievement is its blatant intro from The Buzzcock’s Ever Fallen in Love? After that, it sinks into a murky dirge with more splurge than satisfying squelch.

Throughout the nine tracks there’s a carefree moose, loose about the hoose, wandering freely and chewing occasionally at the paisley cushion covers. Perhaps said moose needed a little more direction at times, no crack of the whip but the promise of a tasty aubergine for good behaviour.

Why, with its hint of “come up and see me, make me smile”, gives more of that dark summer-esque vibe that makes this album a bit of a winner. The album title is nigh on perfect in its simplicity and spells out what the listener can expect to hear. There are experiments in sound that intrigue and one can grasp that Wampire did a fair bit of exploration during the recording process.  After all, isn’t this what life should be about? For once you lose your curiosity, you might as well draw the velvet crush curtains.

Final track, Closer, brings the slow jam funk and an invite, “I’ll be in the park, meet me after dark”. It’s got the sex factor, the ooze and the aahs – the oohs and the arse fitted into tight Levi’s.

It’s gonna be a long, dark summer, but Wampire wanna make you forget and just enjoy the ride. So, that’s what the spare pants where for. Plus, there’s nowhere to hide; Wampire are stood behind those curtains peeking right at you with their wide-eyed peepers.

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Released on 13th May 2013 via Gringo Records/Faux Discx

Books are great. Reading too, no question about it. We wouldn’t be here today without words on paper and the number of songs based on literature is near infinite. The Cure’s Killing an Arab, for instance, inspired by Camus, or Oasis’s Cigarettes & Alcohol lit up by Dostoevsky. One of those may just be a fantasy.

However, an entire album inspired by an article, well that’s something one doesn’t come across every day. Vision Fortune’s debut is billed as “borne out of desperate economic uncertainty, loosely based on John Kay’s infamous Parable of the Ox – itself a thinly veiled allegory for unbridled capitalism.” Pretentious, moi? Possibly, but hang in there as although this reviewer has not read said article he has, believe it or not, read Kay’s Obliquity and therefore may be able to sense the spectre of the author. After all, as the record’s press release explains, “XIV…brings to mind the inevitable pitfalls of animal husbandry…” and so one can conclude that familiarity with Kay puts the listener in an enviable position. And, for those that have read Parable of the Ox, sage nodding no doubt awaits. Should Kay ever find himself enthralled by VF he would be stood aghast in the crowd – “Dang! They’ve hit the nail on the head with that one. That has paragraph six written all over it!”

It can be assumed that Ross Noble wrote this record’s press release, for farmed animals do not come mooing into mind. The first sounds, though, do bring other beasts to the fore, such as the mighty Kyuss, as deep bass drifts and drones into action. A bewitching guitar refrain repeated throughout, plus a serene synth sound, add a lighter contrast as opener XXII seeps into second track XX (on a side note – set your iTunes to ‘gapless’; this album should really be one uninterrupted 40-minute track).

XVII untangles into life as guitar loosens and gives way to Wooden Shjips trance-like vibes, imitating the apathetic state of the zombie nation and ending with a minute’s worth of piercing and searing that William Reid would be proud of. XVI is a desolate eight-minute instrumental that wouldn’t be out of place at a fine arts degree show as TV screens flicker with images of a man in a balaclava walking silently through the streets of London handing out sachets of Cuppa Soup.

It’s interesting to note the different approaches taken by Vision Fortune and other artists. Consider The Suicide of Western Culture, for instance. TSOWC’s recent release was a straight-up attack on the Spanish powers-that-be and their current economic crisis, of which they were happy to spell out in song titles such as Love your friends, Hate Politicians. With VF’s song titles, on the other hand, nothing can be gained except perhaps a penchant for Roman times of yore. Nevertheless, it is in songs like XIV, that one can sense the resoluteness of VF, a determination to pound on beneath the onslaught from on high – in this case, a bombardment of greater black-backed gulls.

So do you need to read Kay to truly appreciate VF? No, of course not. While there are some who would argue that politics and music do not, and should not, mix – Francis Black comes to mind – there are others who would proffer that a song like Shipbuilding captures so much about the devastation of politics and the resulting fallout that other mediums, from painting to debate, cannot even get close. In the case of VF though, it’s quite apparent that they’re not really passing comment on ‘these desperate times’ – at least not vocally, as the few vocals on this record remain elusive. However, the austerity of the instrumentation, the hypnotic guitar loops and the overall evocative atmosphere could be said to be a fitting soundscape for these times. Battered, bruised and never a thought to giving up, but always maintaining that constant rhythmic trudge. Perhaps this is the reminder that the ox still breathes and will, like the phoenix, rise again. Albeit with horns and hooves and less feathery wings. It should be quite the spectacle.

The post Vision Fortune – Mas Fiestas con el Grupo Vision Fortune appeared first on Kemptation.

17th April 2013

I first heard of Portico Quartet after their third, self-titled album made number three in CRACK magazine’s albums of 2012. The term ‘Jazz-techno’ was used in that review and my attention was grabbed. I later found said album on Spotify and was greeted by a strange, cinematic, but totally self-assured, record that does indeed combine traditional jazz instrumentation with swathes of electronic experimentation. The minimalist compositions of Steve Reich are a clear influence, but echoes of the Cinematic Orchestra, Burial, Mount Kimbie and Flying Lotus are also present. It’s not an instantly striking record, but one that reveals its depth over repeated listens. You can have it on in the background while you work and barely notice its there, but it will seep into your consciousness so that a couple of days later you are humming it in the shower.

Koko is packed to the rafters tonight, not a bad turn out for a ‘jazz-techno’ band. But before the main act, we have music from Japanese artist Anchorsong, aka Masaaki Yoshida, who is on stage flanked by a three-piece string section. Yoshida bobs up and down energetically behind a bank of drum machines, samplers and keyboards clothed in a black hoodie. He builds his songs live, creating loops using a MPC2500 and a keyboard and then nodding to his string players to join in at appropriate moments. His performance is well received but his stage presence needs some work.

After a brief pause, Portico Quartet take to the stage. The band comprises of Jack Wyllie (soprano and tenor saxophone) Duncan Bellamy (drums) Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass) and Keir Vine (Hang and percussion). For the uninitiated, the Hang is a 21st century percussion instrument that looks and sounds like an inverted calypso steel drum.

Things kick off slowly with atmospheric openers Window Seat and Ruins, on which saxophone player Jack Wyllie gets his moment to shine with a poignant solo. He feeds his instrument through samplers and FX boxes that sit on a stand beside him. Milo Fitzpatrick on double bass seems hypnotised by his own playing, swaying contentedly from side to side with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, drummer Duncan Bellamy is a vision of tense concentration as he supplements his hand-triggered, electronic drum kit rhythms with layers of offbeat symbol looped using a sampler.

The band’s clever use of samplers to build several layers of instrumentation really helps to bring this music to life on stage and allows an aspect of improvisation that pushes their sound into unexpected and exciting new territory. This confidence is ably demonstrated during an extended live version of City of Glass. Five minutes into the piece, Duncan Bellamy adds layer upon layer of jittery rhythms and the other instruments die down, until all that remains is a wall of clattering electronic noise. When the melody is finally allowed to return, it is accompanied by a low-end synth swoop adding extra drama. The crowd absolutely loves it.

For the penultimate track Steepless, the band are joined on stage by vocalist Cornelia, an enigmatic stage presence whose quirky gestures and beautiful voice smack a little of Bjork. Cornelia’s star is clearly on the rise as the singer also features on Bonobo‘s forthcoming album The North Borders.

If you take a quick trawl through Portico Quartet’s videos on YouTube, you’ll find a passionate debate raging as to whether the music they play is ‘jazz’ or not. The crowd packed into Koko tonight couldn’t care less whether this music fits neatly into a conventional genre box or not. All they know is that they like what they are hearing – and this reviewer is inclined to agree with them.

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24th March 2013

With a name about as inviting as a trip to the emergency room, Terminal 5 is neither New York City’s most notoriously cozy nor cherished music venue. However, despite its 3,000-person capacity, tickets were sold out within 20 minutes – this, of course, for four young men who have recently become the pride and joy of Leeds, England.

It seemed, with a band like Alt-J, that even this sardine tin had developed a dreamy air that oozed chill. The stage was set with chandelier-inspired lighting reminiscent of glowing fireflies against a backdrop of enormous trees, bringing warmth and an intimate glow that seemed to calm the crowd and pull it deeper into a dream.

Joe Newman‘s vocals drifted throughout the room like that of an earth angel, with harmonies to coddle the most tortured of souls. As keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton appeared on stage right and Gwil Sainsbury (bass/guitar) and Thom Green (drums) on stage left, the scene was set for Sunday night’s show.

Words like ‘romantic’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘dreamy’ barely begin to blend together and express the transcending grace and complex attention to rhythm and detail that this group emanates. For this rare treat of soft and gently controlled melodies, it was clear that the crowd was ready for a long-term relationship. But, as majestically as they floated into our hearts and minds, they were gone, leaving everyone looking at their watches and struggling to figure out how that was the shortest 45 minutes of our lives. As the lights came on to reveal the vast industrial decor of Terminal 5, we were all awoken from the same brief slumber and made to stumble back to the busy world outside.

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