Utility Fog

Sunday, 31st of January, 2016

Slightly strange mix of indietronic pop and industrial, minimal electronics tonight!

LISTEN AGAIN, because you won't get this anywhere else (probably) - stream on demand at FBi or podcast here.

I tried to end last week's show with Marcus Whale's remix of LUCIANBLOMKAMP, but time got away from me and I was only able to play the first minute or so. It's a storming piece of dark pop in the vein of Whale's upcoming album, and I really felt I needed to spin the whole thing. Here's hoping Good Manners get the album out soon! Blomkamp's album is also out soon, and you can get hold of this remix for free (for an email address) at this link.

German postrock/post-jazz/experimental group Kammerflimmer Kollektief have been around since 1999, formed by Thomas Weber, who remains the only founding member although the current lineup as been fairly stable. They're part of that German trend for experimental but accessible bands combining glitchy electronics & free improv with postrock & dub arrangements. When Heike Aumüller joined, some vocals were added, and so we end up with the very pretty melody of "Evol Jam (Edit)" offsetting the skittery, clattery noises.

The Chap are one of those uncategorizable English & European bands who draw on everything from punk, indie & krautrock to experimental electronica and techno. Their lyrics are extremely arch & arty, referencing and parodying consumerism, the rat race, world politics, technology and pop culture itself, all with the robotic precision of performance artists. But the weird thing is, despite their sui generis quirkiness, and despite their Brechtian detachment, they unfailingly manage to write incredibly catchy pop songs. In putting together tonight's special, I had to pare down the selections from every album (and a couple of EPs), and I still ended up playing two tracks from Ham, their brilliant second album - and a few from the new one, The Show Must Go, which I think is their strongest in some years. Get into it.

Yves de Mey is one of the newer batch of electronic musicians who are both fine musicians and also supremely good producers. When you listen to de Mey or say Yair Elazar Glotman/KETEV you're hearing incredibly controlled sound design, whether it's harnessed for post-industrial, abstract electronic grooves or static-filled soundscapes. De Mey works with Belgian techno producer Peter Van Hoesen as Sendai, which is slightly more explicitly beat-based stuff, although still in an experimental vein.

We segue from de Mey to our next artist, Ricardo Donoso, via a remix de Mey did in 2014 for Donoso's last release on the great (possibly now defunct) Digitalis Recordings. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Donoso has been based in Boston for some years now, and composes for film. His music is certainly epic in scope, mostly constructed from analogue synths, although on last year's Saravá Exu album they were augmented with his percussion and some digital edits & processing. The forthcoming remix EP invites like-minded artists to give their takes on a few tracks, with Canadian industrial/techno duo Orphx sticking to the warm, dark analogue electronics. Brooklyn's Archie Pelago, on the other hand, deal in jazzy polyglot music, a trio made up of trumpet, cello and sax (all also contribute electronics). Their remix starts as lushly orchestrated contemporary classical music, but gradually adds electronics - awesome.

LUCIANBLOMKAMP - Comfort (Marcus Whale remix) [Good Manners]
Kammerflimmer Kollektief - Evol Jam (Edit) [Staubgold]
Kammerflimmer Kollektief - Désarroi, Pt. 1: Mayhem! [Staubgold]
The Chap - Joy in depression [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - Guitar Messiah [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - (Hats Off To) Dror Frangi [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - The Premier At Last [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - I Am Oozing Emotion [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - Proper Rock [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - Nice Face [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - Nevertheless, The Chap [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - We Are Nobody [Lo Recordings]
The Chap - Student experience [Lo Recordings]
Yves de Mey - Moinen [Spectrum Spools (Bandcamp)]
Sendai - Further Vexations [Time To Express]
Yves de Mey - Box Caisson [Opal Tapes]
Sendai - Anti-Jupiter [Archives Intérieurs]
Ricardo Donoso - The Sphinx (Yves de Mey Remix) [Digitalis Recordings]
Ricardo Donoso - Versperum (Orphx Remix) [Denovali]
Ricardo Donoso - Matutinium (Archie Pelago Remix) [Denovali]

Listen again — ~197MB

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