Utility Fog

Sunday, 22nd of June, 2014

Hey yo... last show for a bit! I'm off traipsing overseas for the next 7 Sundays! But so many goodies for y'all tonight...

Listen again in the usual ways... but podcast will be off while I'm away. Make sure you tune in and listen to Xiaoran Shi and Heli Newton while I'm away, and follow along at the FBi page.

The Houndstooth label is doing some of the most interesting stuff at the moment, and Akkord arrive with an awesome EP here, first track building its broken techno beat from car engines a la Art Of Noise, while the second has a brilliant slowed-down jungle groove.
On the other hand, Sully's new EP on Blackdown's Keysound label is pure '94 jungle through-and-through (except for a broken-down beatless remix by grime star Logos). It's totes awes.
And that introduction takes us into the sounds of Ross Tones aka Throwing Snow, who bears a bit of influence from jungle himself, as well as all other Bass musics, and more than a little folktronica also in there. His new album impressively only seems to get better as it goes on, with some crazy chopped-up beats in the latter part. We hopped back to 2011 and some dancefloor-aimed 12"s, and also heard from his pop/trip-hop duo Snow Ghosts.

And the second half of the show was mostly filled with a special on the wonderful ambient/post-classical/drone duo Deaf Center and its members, cellist/guitars/sound artist Erik K Skodvin aka Svarte Greiner aka Miasmah label boss, and pianist Otto A Totland. Skodvin is a huge inspiration, crafting acoustic doom (and not always acoustic!) from percussive cello sounds, wooden creaks, spectral vocals, and sometimes walls of guitar noise as well. And Totland's latest album features incredibly sensitive muted piano playing a la Nils Frahm, on whom we can only imagine he's a bit of an influence. Anyway, incredible stuff at the heart of what Utility Fog's about.

And finally a couple of tracks from the forthcoming album from folktronic/indietronic artist Setec. Electronically-arranged acoustic samples, hints of hip-hop, indiefolk vocals... and a bit of shoegaze in there too. Look out for it soon!

Akkord - Gravure [Houndstooth]
Akkord - Continuum [Houndstooth]
Sully - Blue [Keysound]
Sully - M141 [Keysound]
Throwing Snow - All The Lights feat. Russell Morgan [Houndstooth]
Throwing Snow - Maera feat. Adda Kaleh [Houndstooth]
Throwing Snow - Sanctum [Sneaker Social Club]
Throwing Snow - Pyre [Local Action]
Throwing Snow - Clamor [Snowfall]
Snow Ghosts - Covenant [Houndstooth]
Snow Ghosts - Secret Garden (Matthew Herbert's Wash It All Away remix) [Houndstooth]
Throwing Snow - Linguis [Houndstooth]
Erik K Skodvin - Shining, Burning [Sonic Pieces]
Deaf Center - City [Type]
Svarte Greiner - Ocean out of wood [Type]
Erik K Skodvin - Etching an Entrance [Sonic Pieces]
Erik K Skodvin - Caught In Flickering Lights [Sonic Pieces]
Deaf Center - New Beginning (Tidal Darkness) [Type]
Erik K Skodvin - Amber and Glass [Headphone Commute]
Otto A Totland - run [Sonic Pieces]
Otto A Totland - solêr [Sonic Pieces]
Erik K Skodvin - Moving Mistake [Sonic Pieces]
Setec - Woodsighs [Setec Music]
Setec - Cannonball [Setec Music]

Listen again — ~101MB

Sunday, 15th of June, 2014

Second-last show before I head on tour overseas for a little over 7 weeks.

LISTEN AGAIN yada yada... stream over there, link below...

We have an odd but sweet dub-style collaboration between Greg Haines & Peter Broderick, a sneak preview of new Earth, who play at Manning Bar this Thursday, and then just a bit of amazing Irish black metal from Altar of Plagues, including a remix by Ben Frost from the Japanese release of the album from last year... to introduce Altar of Plagues' new electronic project WIFE - although the first EP was from 2012. His talent for contemporary beats with a slight industrial bent and pop vocals is almost disturbing, given the perfect riffage & screaming he was producing before...
US ex-pat M.E.S.H. is now based in Berlin and making crunchy broken-up beats for experimental label PAN, one of the more straightforwardly beat-oriented things they've done. V/VM's James Leyland Kirby has released some woozily sickly sweet stuff under his middle name, but the Intrigue & Stuff series, from each of whose four EP's we took a track tonight, highlights the darker sound of his electronic productions, very sci-fi and very horror...
And then some local experimental & electronic producers - all free on Bandcamp. Brisbane's EVA comes courtesy of a compilation from Vexed Axis. Young Sydney producer Elbee has has intricate computer game beats & lush melodies. Comatone brings one of the last tracks from the last of Feral Media's Seasons EPs, and Canberra's Gatherer has a minimal synth study from another of his Canons EPs.

Greg Gives Peter Space - Electric Eel River [Erased Tapes]
Earth - Rooks Against the Gates [Southern Lord]
Earth - Coda Maestoso in F(flat) Minor (Autechre remix) [No Quarter]
Altar of Plagues - Mills [Profound Lore/Daymare]
Altar of Plagues - Watchers Restrained (Remix by Ben Frost) [Profound Lore/Daymare]
WIFE - Bodies [left_blank]
WIFE - Circles [left_blank]
WIFE - Like Chrome [Tri-Angle]
WIFE - Salvage [Tri-Angle]
M.E.S.H. - Scythians [PAN]
M.E.S.H. - Captivated [PAN]
Leyland Kirby - Derelict Bar [History Always Favours The Winners]
Leyland Kirby - Ruined Visions [History Always Favours The Winners]
Leyland Kirby - Eventually, It Eats Your Lungs [History Always Favours The Winners]
Leyland Kirby - The watcher & the watched [History Always Favours The Winners]
EVA - Lost In Spaces [Vexed Axis]
Elbee - Zeldomeld [Elbee Bandcamp/Wood And Wire]
Elbee - The Indexilarm Dimension (feat. Elise Carpio, violin) [Elbee Bandcamp/Wood And Wire]
Comatone - Moving Along Away From It [Feral Media]
Gatherer - Synth Nebula [Gatherer Bandcamp]

Listen again — ~101MB

Sunday, 8th of June, 2014

We have indie-postrock from Perth in remixed form tonight, and then a big big retrospective on indie violin superstar Owen Pallett, back to even before his Final Fantasy days. And a nod to his nod to the great Ryuichi Sakamoto on the new album. We heard examples of Owen's live-looping covers and his extraordinary string arrangements, and a few other rarities along the way.
Then a few tunes from new French artist Elise Mélinand, bringing great electronic production to her folky songwriting, and then one tune partly in French from UFog faves Carla Kihlstedt & Matthias Bossi' Rabbit Rabbit Radio project (featuring the legendary Fred Frith on guitar, and also Carla & Matthias' daughter Tallulah singing wonderfully in a made-up language.
Then back to France, Yann Tiersen's new album and his previous, both with an inevitably French (and inevitably cinematic) take on indie rock, plus from an EP on the awesome Ici D'Ailleurs label, a remix from the one & only Chapelier Fou.
And finally, OMG Godflesh return! Heavy as fuck, even in the dub mix.

LISTEN AGAIN you bastards. It's my livelihood (it's not). Stream at FBi, podcast here.

perth - Quantum Chronological (No. 9 Reimagining) [Hidden Shoal]
perth - Sunday Stroll (Filter Beds Sunday Swagger Remix) [Hidden Shoal]
Owen Pallett - I Am Not Afraid [Domino]
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1996 piano trio version) [Milan]
les mouches - divorce the ones you love [blocks recording club]
Final Fantasy - Please Please Please [Tomlab]
Final Fantasy - song song song [Tomlab]
Final Fantasy - Hey, Dad! [Tomlab]
Final Fantasy - Cliquot (cover of the Beirut song he co-wrote) [live bootleg]
Stars - your ex-lover is dead (final fantasy remix) [arts & crafts]
Final Fantasy - The Butcher [blocks recording club]
Final Fantasy - Nun or Bawd [Slender Means Society/States Rights]
Owen Pallett - Keep The Dog Quiet [Domino]
Owen Pallett - Song For Five & Six [Domino]
Elise Mélinand - Prélude en Louise [n5MD]
Elise Mélinand - Something for the horns [n5MD]
Elise Mélinand - Dried Leaves [n5MD]
Rabbit Rabbit (Carla Kihlstedt & Matthias Bossi) - Moineau (feat. Fred Frith and Tallulah Bossi) [Rabbit Rabbit Radio]
Yann Tiersen - Ar Maen Bihan [Mute]
Yann Tiersen - Dark Stuff [Mute]
Yann Tiersen - Palestine (remix by Chapelier Fou) [Ici D'Ailleurs]
Yann Tiersen - Steinn [Mute]
Godflesh - Playing With Fire (Dub) [Avalanche/Daymare]

Listen again — ~102MB

Sunday, 1st of June, 2014

Some very unconventional jazz piano trio music from Brooklyn and Sydney, various artists involved in Bass/techno/electronic scenes mixing it up with acoustic instruments, Hyperdub turns 10, and Sydney's Collarbones release a new EP in advance of a cool gig in collaboration with Synergy Percussion.

LISTEN AGAIN in all the usual ways. Download/podcast right here, stream overe here.

Dawn Of Midi - Algol [Thirsty Ear Recordings]
Dawn Of Midi - Dysnomia [Thirsty Ear Recordings]
Alister Spence Trio - Seventh Song [Rufus Records]
Faint Wild Light - Speak, Memory [Digitalis]
Faint Wild Light - May Day [Digitalis]
Faint Wild Light - Halfsleep [Digitalis]
Faint Wild Light - Darker (Roly Porter remix) [Digitalis]
Stray Dogs - Particules [Stray Dogs Bandcamp]
Stray Dogs - Solemn [Stray Dogs Bandcamp]
Stray Dogs - Ruins [Stray Dogs Bandcamp]
Lumisokea - Second [Eat Concrete]
Lumisokea - Veltro [Eat Concrete]
Lumisokea - Eleven [Opal Tapes]
Mala - Expected [Hyperdub]
Flowdan - Ambush [Hyperdub]
Kode9 & The Spaceape - Fukkaz [Hyperdub]
Cooly G - Weekend Fly [Hyperdub]
Kode9 - Xingfu Lu (Helix remix) [Hyperdub]
Collarbones - Atlantis 2014 [Collarbones Bandcamp]
Collarbones - Weatherman [self-released/Internet Archive]
Black Vanilla - Black Vanilla Theme [Black Vanilla Bandcamp]
Collarbones - The Place [Collarbones Bandcamp]

Listen again — ~102MB