Utility Fog

Hip-hop through glitch through minimalist jazz to ambient, post-industrial and acoustic experimental folk… Just your usual Utility Fog fare.

LISTEN AGAIN if you dare! Stream on demand if you command… podcast here if you like.

Manga Saint Hilare – Forever [Manga Bandcamp]
It’s great to hear a new track from one of the godfathers of grime, Manga Saint Hilare – this one produced by none other than Wiley, with a great simple synth line and bassline running through it. Could easily come from 2003, and ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Saul Williams – The Flaw You Worship [from Neptune Frost]
A couple of years on from his MartyLoserKing concept album, Saul Williams is building on this politically charged cyberpunkish dystopia with a musical film called Neptune Frost, which he just successfully funded via Kickstarter. Fans of Williams will not be surprised (but are hopefully delighted like me) to hear the relentless amen breaks powering through this tune – one of his earliest appearances was his intertextual tour de force “Coded Language“, a collaboration with DJ Krust.

Machinefabriek with Signor Benedick the Moor – IX-Three [Machinefabriek Bandcamp]
Machinefabriek with Signor Benedick the Moor – IX-Four [Machinefabriek Bandcamp]
Machinefabriek with Signor Benedick the Moor – IX-Six [Machinefabriek Bandcamp]
Machinefabriek with Signor Benedick the Moor – IX-Seven [Machinefabriek Bandcamp]
It’s very unusual to hear Dutch sound-artist Machinefabriek making beats, but beats there are (glitchy though they may be) on this boutique release – and rarer still, there’s rapping on some of these tracks. It’s a collaboration with Californian experimental artist Signor Benedick the Moor, and it’s a free download from Machinefabriek’s Bandcamp! I’d happily spend a few euros on it, but it’s free, so there’s no excuse to dawdle on this one…

Machinefabriek – Dwaal (Nicola Ratti version) [Moving Furniture]
I’ve dawdled a little on this – it came out a few months ago. Two great 18-minute drone/glitch pieces from Machinefabriek were released on CD by Amsterdam experimental label Moving Furniture Records along with two remixes – this lovely glitch-techno version from Italian producer Nicola Ratti, and a typical piece of ambient watercolours from Benoît Pioulard.

The Necks – Body (excerpt) [Fish of Milk/Northern Spy/ReR Megacorp]
After last year’s double-vinyl album, with 20-minute tracks designed to fit on a side of vinyl, The Necks are back to their longform creations with Body, released this coming week. Fortunately for me, there’s a spot about 20 minutes into this wonderful piece where I’m able to gracefully pull us out – in between the first long, contemplative groove and the long krautrock section where Chris Abrahams moves from repeated piano notes to organ. In this first section, Tony Buck’s drumming is open and sparse, recalling late period Talk Talk, and Lloyd Swanton plays a two-note (one note repeated) bassline. As the first section dissipates, Abrahams’ organ (which has been present throughout) continues, and Swanton starts up some big multi-layered bowed drones (still on that same tonic note). Later Buck’s drumming picks things up a notch and off we go into krautrock love. Throughout there are clattering bits of percussion hovering at the edge of hearing, and thundering bass drum hits.
It may be premature, but this feels like the best Necks album I’ve heard in a while.

Evelyn Ida Morris – Collaboration [ABC Music]
Evelyn Ida Morris – Backwards [ABC Music]
Evelyn Ida Morris – Mutual Admiration [ABC Music]
After their brilliant self-titled solo album was released a few months ago, we get another new album from Evelyn! It’s the soundtrack to the feature film Acute Misfortune, an adaptation of Erik Jensen‘s novel, which just won some accolades at its debut at Melbourne International Film Festival. It’s beautiful stuff, lots of piano as on their solo album, even some mostly-wordless vocals, and sonic experimentation.

The little hand of the faithful – D.C.I.C.C.T.V. [Psychic Hysteria]
The little hand of the faithful – Dark and strangely pale [Psychic Hysteria]
The solo project of Mitchell Jones from Scattered Order features maximalist mashed samples and electronic beats – so not that different from what Scattered Order have become. But it’s super fun and heavy so I’m not complaining in the slightest!

Broken Chip – It Means a Lot [Broken Chip Bandcamp]
It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper release from Martyn Palmer, either as Broken Chip or his wonky hip-hop project Option Command. The 3-track EP this is taken from, Sunset Memories, apparently presages a full album, which is excellent news!

Slagr – flimmer [Hubro]
Slagr – varle [Hubro]
Norwegian trio Slagr take the traditional sounds of Norwegian folk music into meditative, minimalist territory in their music. The Hardanger fiddle is a Norwegian version of the violin, with additional sympathetic strings adding resonances under the four familiar ones. Next to this are cello and the warm, bell-like sounds of vibraphone an glass harmonica. It’s enveloping music, like being inside with a fire on while it’s white with snow outside.

Ale Hop – Migration Data (extended version) [The Wire – Below The Radar 28]
David Ross – Internal Model [The Wire – Below The Radar 28]
As usual, the digital edition of The Wire came out about a week into the previous month (this is the September issue we’re talking about), and with it comes the latest download compilation, Below The Radar 28. While most of this stuff is pitched to The Wire by labels and publicists, it’s still a good chance to hear some of the more adventurous music coming out around the world. Here we have Berlin-based Peruvian producer Ale Hop, who processes her voice and guitar along with lots of electronics – I’ve previously heard her guesting on a track by fellow Berlin residents These Hidden Hands. Next up, an unreleased track from David Ross, English creator of bizarre handmade instruments which produce unpredictable noises – yet it comes together into something musical and at times rhythmic.

Loops – Serene [Tandem Tapes TT043]
Eggshell Goblin – 16 Eggs [Tandem Tapes TT043]
The latest split cassette from Tandem Tapes features two UK artists. From Loops we get some mellow idm-ish sounds – almost ambient, but with gentle beats and melodic basslines popping up. Meanwhile Eggshell Goblin gets more abrasive and fast-paced as the tracks proceed.

Listen again — ~203MB