Utility Fog

Sunday, 7th of March, 2010

Evening! Help us out why don't you? Support FBi and keep us on air!
And you can LISTEN AGAIN via the link at the bottom.

Sad news that Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse took his own life this week. Played a track to see him off, in collaboration with Christian Fennesz. Fennesz's laptop power trio FennO'Berg are back with a new album, on which the jury's still out - but I haven't had a chance to listen properly yet. This track stood out enough to get the thumbs up tonight!

Montreal's The Besnard Lakes’ new album sounds remarkably like The Besnard Lakes — and that's a great thing! If you're familiar with their last two albums you'll know what to expect - and it's as rapturous and epic as ever.
Fellow Canadians The Arcade Fire slipped in next - for some reason this song was on my mind for a few days this week, and it is a very fine one I must say.
And we had a little reminder of The Besnard Lakes’ first album.

First off in our little "classical" music-influenced theme tonight is The Knife’s opera based on the life and works of Charles Darwin, written "in collaboration" with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock. It's pretty crazy cool stuff, with scene-setting experimental sounds, enormous analog synth lines, operatic (and non-operatic) vocals and some percussion... A definite winner.
Speaking of classical influence, also another track from that amazing These New Puritans album, with wind ensemble in amongst the percussion and almost new wave attitude...

More classicism with Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason, whose "Bow To String" is the first work on his new album for Bedroom Community. Countless multi-tracked celli make for a rich and richly-rhythmic sound, with a little help from label boss Valgeir Sigurðsson. From Valgeir we also heard a wonderful track from his new album, featuring many other Bedroom Community artists as guests, plus an older glitchy electronic piece which ushered in a bit of an electronic segment. However, in between we had a reprise of the one track as yet available from Sam Amidon’s new album — blissful rhythmic ostinati and an authentic folk voice.

The electronica begins with Sydney's Vorad Fils, who happens to be one of the members of the beloved Seekae, and has an album coming out via Feral Media soon! Classic electronica.
It's the first in a number of tracks tonight from New Weird Australia Volume Five, which you are hereby instructed to go and download now. Get the others too if you haven't yet!
There. Good.

Next, Scottish glitch-hop artist Loops Haunt. Nicely twisted, syncopated and chopped stuff. And while it's definitely more on the dancefloor tip, it's still very much listening music too, and strangely appropriate as a segue into a new Autechre track, from their stellar Oversteps. Raved about it last week, and I think we'll be back for more for a good few weeks yet (at least until the album comes out on CD!) This track starts off a bit oddly but swiftly becomes something fascinating, and the last minute or two as it tails off are pretty amazing.
And then a rarity - an artist about whom I know pretty much nothing! Racoon is on the Italian label Disasters by Choice and makes very Mém-influenced electronic/folktronic sounds. It's very pretty and I'd love to know more...

We had a brief tag-team tonight between two excellent remix albums, from Aarktica and dakota suite. The former takes the drone-pop of Jon DeRosa's Aarktica and either takes it more in the droney-guitar direction or adds some nice crunched beats etc... But UFog-favourites The Declining Winter add some extra vocals and Sarah Kemp's multi-tracked violin for something very special.
The dakota suite remix album actually came out last year but has just been re-released by German label Karaoke Kalk for greater coverage, and it's brilliant. Tonight, Peter Broderick is at his usual heights with a very soft and reflective piece worthy of multiple re-listens, and Deaf Center contribute something layered and evocative. More of these to come...

Aaron Martin’s latest album isn't on Sydney's Preservation, but Experimedia are well-known for their beautiful packaging too. Aaron here seems to be taking things in an even more abstract sound-related direction, but the second track I played is one of his best cello-related works yet, a multi-tracked delight.

Further New Weird Australia offerings include the wonderful Sydney-based sound artist Gail Priest, whose vocal processing is a wonder, the ever-fab Crab Smasher with a bit of almost Sonic Youth-like rock jamming, and Red Plum & Snow — new project for Kris Keogh of Blastcorp, taking vocal-swapping acoustic guitar folk-pop in very interesting directions :)

Also in there, the improv guitar, sax, drums and other stuff from Sydney's Espadrille, and a b-side from Collarbones, more glitched-up electronic pop.

sparklehorse + fennesz - Goodnight Sweetheart [Konkurrent]
Fenn O'Berg - Part IV [Editions Mego]
The Besnard Lakes - Like the Ocean Like the Innocent Pt I: The Ocean / Pt II: The Innocent [Jagjaguwar]
Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) [Rough Trade]
The Besnard Lakes - This Thing [Breakglass]
The Knife in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock - Epochs [Rabid/etcetc]
These New Puritans - Hologram [Angular/Domino]
The Knife in collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock - Tumult/Colouring of Pigeons [Rabid/etcetc]
Daníel Bjarnason - Bow To String Mvt I: "sorrow conquers happiness" [Bedroom Community]
Valgeir Sigurðsson - Grýlukvæði (feat. Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly & Ben Frost [Bedroom Community]
Sam Amidon - How Come That Blood [Bedroom Community] {free download via Pitchfork!}
Valgeir Sigurðsson - Focal Point [Bedroom Community]
Vorad Fils - Temple Leak [New Weird Australia] {download the latest free comp now!}
Loops Haunt - Huarache [Fortified Audio]
Loops Haunt - Joplin [Black Acre]
Autechre - d-sho qub [Warp]
Racoon - the anonymous brother of Lili Chou Chou [Disasters by Choice] {one wonders if the titular person is Racoon, since I can find practically no information about them on the interwebs!}
Aarktica - In Sea (remixed by Mason Jones) [Silber]
dakota suite - very early one morning on old road (deaf center remix) [karaoke kalk]
Aarktica - Am I Demon? (remix by The Declining Winter) [Silber]
dakota suite - this failing sea (peter broderick remix) [karaoke kalk]
Aaron Martin - Ice Melts Onto Fingers [Experimedia]
Gail Priest - Etchings [New Weird Australia] {download the latest free comp now!}
Aaron Martin - Water Tongue [Experimedia]
Espadrille - out of space part 3 [self-released]
Crab Smasher - Skin Destruction [New Weird Australia] {download the latest free comp now!}
Red Plum & Snow - I Would Die 4 U [New Weird Australia] {download the latest free comp now!}
Collarbones - late nights [Collarbones Bandcamp] {download free - follow the link!}

Listen again — ~ 180MB

4 Responses to “Playlist 07.03.10”

1. marcus Says:
   March 8th, 2010 at 1:23 am

   this new weird australia compilation is diabolically awesome. Really outdone themselves this time.

2. Peter Says:
   March 8th, 2010 at 1:24 am

   It is fine stuff.

3. TM Says:
   March 16th, 2010 at 4:31 pm

   you might want to check this file, I tried playing it just now and it cut out for long seconds at a time. I don't think it's my network because youtube is downloading fine.

4. Peter Says:
   March 16th, 2010 at 6:51 pm

   Hiya TM,
   Listening to the mp3 and it seems fine. If you're trying to stream it, it could cut out for all I know - but I don't see any gaps in the mp3 itself...