You Can Try to Cut it Down
I could understand why bands in the 90s like My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Slowdive & Chapterhouse were called Shoegazers... after all they did spend much of their time on stage staring at their feet, as waves of feedback drenched sound pleasantly battered the audience. I never quite figured out why the weekly papers branded them 'the scene that celebrates itself' though. Maybe they just spent a lot of time hanging about singing unintelligably but rather beautifully at each other.
Well the last couple of years has seen a revival of sorts of that sound, and here is some new & old stuff that's caught my ears lately.
Branding itself 'The Label That Celebrates Itself', you can see where the Sonic Cathedral label is coming from, and their club night has been a large part of this resurrection.
Their latest single is from Kyte, a very pleasant bit of Sigur Ros-style bombast. Excellent though the a-side is, i'm more interested in the flip, which features a remix by Northampton's Mercury nominee Maps.
It still astonishes me that Maps records at home... there seems to be such an overwhelming and well produced avalanche of sound. As usual I have little idea what it's all about. but it's unassumingly powerful stuff.
KYTE - SECULAR VENTURES (MAPS MIX)
A while ago I was sent some exclusive Maps demos to post, but rather rudely neglected to do so. Well better late than never, here are a couple for your enjoyment.
If you've heard the album, then these rawer cuts will be interesting to hear. If you've not heard the album, then hopefully these may encourage you to do so. It's less than 6 quid now so you have no excuse...
'Lost My Soul' is impossibly gorgeous, and while 'Make Yourself Exist' doesn't reach the heights of the album tracks, it's as far as I can tell an unreleased track.
MAPS - LOST MY SOUL (DEMO)
MAPS - MAKE YOURSELF EXIST (DEMO)
Moving further into 'Shoerave' territory we have Berlin's Ulrich Schnauss, whose two classic albums 'Far Away Trains' and 'A Strangely Isolated Place' have left a massive impression on anyone who's heard them. Strangely his most recent album 'Goodbye' arrived with little fanfare, despite being a worthy companion to its two predecessors.
I posted a track from it back in the spring, however the version I had was unmastered and I was perhaps a little critical of it for that reason. This is a sound that needs perfect production & a nice stereo.
I don't have the latter, but improving the production has helped no end. Check Medusa for instance. It starts sounding un-nervingly like a My Bloody Valentine track with a few electronic bleeps, and like MBV he's not afraid to develop the track into some serious noise. But the kind of white noise that drifts you off to golden slumbers. I really hope this isn't 'goodbye' from Ulrich.
ULRICH SCHNAUSS - MEDUSA
Seefeel were briefly popular in the early 90's, and it's time to assess whether they've stood the test of time with the double CD remastered reissue of their best known album 'Quique'. Although they were always considered 'Ambient' music, listening again it seems that Dub is a far greater influence. It's atmospheric, but not meandering. Loose basslines flow through the songs, as demonstrated to excellent effect on opening track (the best on the album) 'Climactic Phase #3'.
In truth, although the album is a rewarding listen, i'm not sure it really warrants the expanded double CD treatment. Are there really Seefeel fanatics still about, seeking out alternate mixes & lost tracks? Much as I've been thoroughly enjoying the first CD, i'm not left eager to dive into another 70 minutes of the same. But maybe that's not the point of the exercise... which is perhaps just to reflect upon & to revisit an excellent band, who would perhaps have been already forgotten were it not for a couple of Aphex Twin remixes (sadly not included here).
If you like this album, they do have others to explore - Succour was released on Warp, and Ch-Vox on Rephlex.... though I think the latter is quite hard to find now. Quique is the place to start though, and like the original version can be found on Too Pure records.
SEEFEEL - CLIMACTIC PHASE #3
Well the last couple of years has seen a revival of sorts of that sound, and here is some new & old stuff that's caught my ears lately.
Branding itself 'The Label That Celebrates Itself', you can see where the Sonic Cathedral label is coming from, and their club night has been a large part of this resurrection.
Their latest single is from Kyte, a very pleasant bit of Sigur Ros-style bombast. Excellent though the a-side is, i'm more interested in the flip, which features a remix by Northampton's Mercury nominee Maps.
It still astonishes me that Maps records at home... there seems to be such an overwhelming and well produced avalanche of sound. As usual I have little idea what it's all about. but it's unassumingly powerful stuff.
KYTE - SECULAR VENTURES (MAPS MIX)
A while ago I was sent some exclusive Maps demos to post, but rather rudely neglected to do so. Well better late than never, here are a couple for your enjoyment.
If you've heard the album, then these rawer cuts will be interesting to hear. If you've not heard the album, then hopefully these may encourage you to do so. It's less than 6 quid now so you have no excuse...
'Lost My Soul' is impossibly gorgeous, and while 'Make Yourself Exist' doesn't reach the heights of the album tracks, it's as far as I can tell an unreleased track.
MAPS - LOST MY SOUL (DEMO)
MAPS - MAKE YOURSELF EXIST (DEMO)
Moving further into 'Shoerave' territory we have Berlin's Ulrich Schnauss, whose two classic albums 'Far Away Trains' and 'A Strangely Isolated Place' have left a massive impression on anyone who's heard them. Strangely his most recent album 'Goodbye' arrived with little fanfare, despite being a worthy companion to its two predecessors.
I posted a track from it back in the spring, however the version I had was unmastered and I was perhaps a little critical of it for that reason. This is a sound that needs perfect production & a nice stereo.
I don't have the latter, but improving the production has helped no end. Check Medusa for instance. It starts sounding un-nervingly like a My Bloody Valentine track with a few electronic bleeps, and like MBV he's not afraid to develop the track into some serious noise. But the kind of white noise that drifts you off to golden slumbers. I really hope this isn't 'goodbye' from Ulrich.
ULRICH SCHNAUSS - MEDUSA
Seefeel were briefly popular in the early 90's, and it's time to assess whether they've stood the test of time with the double CD remastered reissue of their best known album 'Quique'. Although they were always considered 'Ambient' music, listening again it seems that Dub is a far greater influence. It's atmospheric, but not meandering. Loose basslines flow through the songs, as demonstrated to excellent effect on opening track (the best on the album) 'Climactic Phase #3'.
In truth, although the album is a rewarding listen, i'm not sure it really warrants the expanded double CD treatment. Are there really Seefeel fanatics still about, seeking out alternate mixes & lost tracks? Much as I've been thoroughly enjoying the first CD, i'm not left eager to dive into another 70 minutes of the same. But maybe that's not the point of the exercise... which is perhaps just to reflect upon & to revisit an excellent band, who would perhaps have been already forgotten were it not for a couple of Aphex Twin remixes (sadly not included here).
If you like this album, they do have others to explore - Succour was released on Warp, and Ch-Vox on Rephlex.... though I think the latter is quite hard to find now. Quique is the place to start though, and like the original version can be found on Too Pure records.
SEEFEEL - CLIMACTIC PHASE #3
posted by headphonesex @ 2:44 AM
