Utility Fog

Sunday, 31st of July, 2016

We're in very electronic mode tonight until later on - starting with a great new Aussie compilation from TEEF, then some northern European sounds from Russian label Full of Nothing, segueing into Norwegian experimental label Hubro and finally a psycho-acoustic clarinet duo!

LISTEN AGAIN via podcast right here, or stream on demand over at FBi!

A couple of days ago saw the release of the second Imperium In Imperio compilation from TEEF Records - once again it is raising money for OXFAM's Syrian refugee appeal, so it's well worth dropping some real money on it.
It's a great selection of new & exclusive electronic sounds from around the country, so tonight we have Adelaide's Tracy Chen with some glitchy vocal ambience, a bassy uk garage number from Sydney's Iljus Wifmo, an excellent remix of Sydney's beloved hardcore punkish lovers Making by Hence Therefore (bringing out the postrock vibes), and some epic postrocky thing from Melbourne's Sylva feat. Jamieson Moore.
Hence Therefore is playing with some other cool cats at an event in Sydney's inner west on Saturday week, the 13th of August.

Next up, a special on the amazing Russian label Full of Nothing and some of its artists. Not all are Russian, although there's clearly a fertile experimental electronic underground there right now. We start with Swedish artist Erik Levander, whose new album is a lot heavier and more rhythmic than his (excellent) past glitchy electronic & electro-acoustic works. In a connection with our final artists coming up tonight, he's a clarinetist, and we can hear that instrument in among the glitches and electronic tones of his solo productions, as well as lots of other acoustic sounds in his earlier works. He's also played clarinet & other noises with Efterklang, whose label Rumraket released his second-last album eight years ago. The new album recalls the heaviness of Nine Inch Nails circa The Downward Spiral, albeit in a glitchy, contemporary, electronic way.

Next up from Full of Nothing is Russian electronic producer Fedor Pereverzev aka Moa Pillar. I was introduced to him via the latest Wire Tapper compilation from Wire Magazine, which features an amazing track from his forthcoming album Hymns. Last year's Humanity saw him moving into epic club territory with some epic ambient thrown in; previously he's covered uk garage, folktronica and idm as well as techno.
Pereverzev also collaborates with fellow Russian Anastasia Tolchneva aka Lovozero on the more ambient & folk-influenced Tikhie Kamni.

Another duo on Full of Nothing hail from Norway. Kvien & Sommer features two very accomplished musicians, both known here by their middle names; Mari Kvien Brunvoll is an singer in various improv/jazz/electronic outfits and combinations, and we'll hear from one of those shortly, while Espen Sommer Eide is one half of one of my favourite folktronica/experimental electronic acts, Alog. Their music is abrasive and beautiful, mixing analogue and digital, acoustic & electronic into a mysterious noise.

So Mari Kvien Brunvoll is also a member of the Norwegian trio Building Instrument, whose folk- and jazz-inspired sound also fits nicely into Scandinavian postrock. She's joined by drummer/percussionist Øyvind Hegg-Lunde and synth player Åsmund Weltzien here, and their second album is just out right about now, as with their first on the iconoclastic and extremely productive Norwegian label Hubro, home to scads of jazz & experimental music from the extremely fecund Norwegian (mostly) scene. We heard a blissful track from the first album and a percussion-driven one from the new album.

Building Instrument drummer Hegg-Lunde also plays in the duo Strings & Timpani with guitarist Stephan Meidell, whose debut release on Hubro has also just been released. It's again jazzy experimental stuff with a postrock bent, sounding on tonight's track almost like Battles.

Finishing up tonight with two collaborative works from the unique Berlin clarinet duo The International Nothing, made up of Kai Fagaschinski and Michael Thieke. Generally they appear panned left & right in their recordings, and they use the pure sound of the clarinet to create works that sound like minimal electronic noise, often focusing on the psycho-acoustic effects of discords. But they also work with many collaborators, including the amazing experimental singers & electronic musicians Margareth Kammerer and Christof Kurzmann in their wonderful band The Magic I.D. Their new album is billed as The International Nothing (...and something), featuring Christian Weber on double bass and Eric Schaefer on drums, a rhythm section from heaven to underpin their sinuous lines.

Tracy Chen - Eggs [TEEF]
Iljus Wifmo - Scatter [TEEF]
Making - Amazon (Hence Therefore remix) [TEEF]
Sylva - Arkwell feat. Jamieson Moore [TEEF]
Erik Levander - Innesluten [Full of Nothing]
Erik Levander - Avedølre [Neon]
Erik Levander - Vid Fönstret [Rumraket]
Erik Levander - Ballast [Full of Nothing]
Erik Levander - Bläck [Full of Nothing]
Moa Pillar - Sun Stood Still [Full of Nothing courtesy Wire Magazine]
Moa Pillar - Nature Theme 1 [Jumble/Fuselab]
Moa Pillar - Essence [Full of Nothing]
Tikhie Kamni - Sokolgora [Full of Nothing]
Kvien & Sommer - Gynger [Full of Nothing]
Building Instrument - Historia [Hubro]
Building Instrument - Farge Tida Sakte [Hubro]
Strings & Timpani - New Radio [Hubro]
The International Nothing (...and something) - The Golden Age of Miscommunication [Monotype]
The Magic I.D. - Mambo [Staubgold]

Listen again — ~194MB

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