Today’s Track: Bullion – “Thirty Two”

February 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

A Bullion of silver – let’s see if this music is worth it’s weight in gold! New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Heaven Is Over” (Released on September 25, 2020) (via Jagjaguwar Records)

Good Afternoon – I’ve just seen the Royal Rumble, and that means it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! We’re kicking off the new month with a familiar face to the blog – and one of the releases that you might have missed in 2020. We’ve covered Bullion’s work once before – and this is the electronic music alias for NTS Radio host Nathan Jenkins, who largely self-produces his own material from his studio in West London. The follow up to the “We Had A Good Time” EP, which released at the very beginning of last year, was the “Heaven Is Over” EP, a little release that I would really recommend for it’s subversive, Warp Records-esque production tools. Under his pseudonym, Jenkins has released a multitude of work for the Young Turks, R&S, The Trilogy Tapes and Jagjaguwar Records companies. During his time-frame, Jenkins has also established himself in the European dance scene, where he’s lived in Lisbon, Portugal for a number of years. My eyes were really drawn to this beautiful fan-made video to his track, “Thirty Two”, which was uploaded onto YouTube last October by TRUTH CRAB, with the Japenese anime’ visuals being taken from Ai Monogatari’s 90’s mini-series, “9 Love Stories”. Let’s take the beauty in below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF7E5nDPsXc

“Thirty Two” was, indeed, taken from the “Heaven Is Over” EP from Bullion – which got it’s digital release last September, and a physical 12″ vinyl release followed that December. I’d say it would have made for a brilliant Stocking filler at yuletide time – and the five-track EP was also released as a part of the “Friends Of” project – which was launched, then, as a joint initiative between the Jagjaguwar Records, Secretly Canadian and Dead Oceans label to provide financial support for independent artists affected by the difficulties of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Jenkins also kept himself busy throughout the year by producing Westerman’s debut solo album, “Your Hero Is Not Dead”, along with collaborating with Sampha and Talking Heads’ David Byrne. Even though “Thirty Two” was never officially released as a single, I think it’s still a solid reflection of the 80’s euphemisms and the self–quoted “Pop, Not Slop” attitudes that Jenkins brings to the table. Some might find the lack of any vocals to turn them away, but we’re instead treated to a richly detailed atmosphere that evokes a nostalgic, child-like emotion that would be fairly difficult to replicate with real words. The odd hum, or two, from Jenkins is enough to create a Shoegazed, dream-like backing track to the instrumental sounds. Speaking of those, we get a more electronic style of sound than some of the more piano-based compositions you would find on the EP, with shuffling drum beats and slightly grooving guitar licks evoking a gently propelling sound, while 80’s New Wave-inspired synth lines glide slowly beneath the organic instrumentation to blend these soft instrumentals with a more child-like ambience. It reminds me slightly of Boards Of Canada – with toy Organ chords and mid-tempo Synth lines creating a lightly psychedelic haze to the overall sound. Together, these soft instrumentals gently ascend in tempo, while the odd rumble of bass brings the celestial Synths back down to Earth. I know that some listeners really don’t like the lack of vocals in their music, but I really liked this little release. “Thirty Two” feels very relaxed and quite child-like, but there’s still a light melancholy to the sound with it’s mid-tempo pacing and the push-and-pull bassline. Overall, it is a very nicely laid out little track, and the possible flaws are easy to shake.

Pictured: Bullion (a.k.a. Nathan Jenkins) in a photoshoot for his NTS Radio Show (2017) (via NTS)

If you liked “Thirty Two”, I get the feeling that you will also like the title track from Jenkins’ “We Had A Good Time” EP release last February. Check it out right here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/27/todays-track-bullion-we-had-a-good-time/

Pictured: Cover Art for “We Had A Good Time” (Released on February 28, 2020) (via DEEK Recordings)

That’s all I’ve got to share with you today – and so I’m going to move on with my shorter working day. Join me again tomorrow for an in-depth look at one of my favourite singles in quite a long time, and this next one is currently really blowing up online with the 6Music crowd of listeners. The track comes from a London-based, female-led Post-Punk group who have recently signed up to the well-known 4AD indie music label, and they were inspired to write and perform their own music by bands including The Feelies, The Necessaries, Pylon and even The B-52’s of wide “Love Shack” fame. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Meadow Meadow – “Fireworks”

January 26, 2021 — Leave a comment

The Electro-Rock duo who may prove to be the Meadow in your court. New post time!

Pictured: James Green performing a synth part for “Bonzo” last year (2019) (Photo via Facebook.com)

Good Morning to you – My name is Jacob Braybrooke. You know the drill by now, it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, and that’s because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Here’s one that I wanted to get around to spotlighting here earlier – and I have nearly reached the end of 2020’s backlog. Meadow Meadow is the recently formed duo of two producers, Peter Darlington and James Green, who are based in London – here in the UK. This collaboration was formed after a break-up with their previous band-mates of Spring King, a Garage-Rock quartet that were together for over half a decade. Although I don’t have any familiarity with their work as part of Spring King, the demise of that project probably came as a shock to many, because I hear their sophomore LP release – 2018’s “A Better Life” – did well with critics and fans alike. To heal from the wounds of that split, Darlington and Green began to write their own music remotely across their studios in London and Manchester, where the Pop-Punk and Art-Punk ashes of Spring King have been replaced by the Lo-Fi, Psych-Pop and Prog-Pop of Meadow Meadow. Their self-titled debut EP was released in late August via Practice Music. Let’s hear a sample of their recent project, with “Fireworks” below.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is to blame for the fact that Darlington & Green have not performed together, as Meadow Meadow, yet. Speaking on”Fireworks”, James Green noted: “With music, I feel that we’re creating a parallel universe where both of our experiences come together to form a new perspective or story. This began with Fireworks, as it was the first time that we both sang the lead vocal, which has since become an important element for us”, before he states, “It can be nice to write a set of lyrics and hear the other person singing them. It can offer insight and add a new dynamic to the intended message, bringing the words and the experience that lead to the words to life in a new way”. Wrapped in layers of swirling keyboard rhythms and nylon-string guitar recordings that push backwards and forwards at a continually mid-tempo pace, Darlington and Green both sing: “I keep waking up on the wrong side, I can’t get out of it” as sonic loops provide a warming backing vocal. The synth beats feel more textured in the bridge, where “Nervous, Beautifal” strike out above a precise, neatly layered electronic drums section. A swelling breakdown of field recordings lead to an absorbing finish, where “Clear pain, dull misery” provides the cue for a fluttering synthesized string section and a slow fade of keys to take us to the end. Overall, the soundscape has a gently psychedelic sound – with the electronic sounds feeling bright and pretty. The guitar element goes for a Dream-Folk element, and the keyboards clear the way for a more dynamic progression of emotive qualities. Darlington and Green have done a great job of making the production of the track feel like a journey, and these reflections make up for the relatively low, DIY sound quality. It feels renewing, with a “Breath of fresh air” style. Space-age music for the rural land.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Meadow Meadow” (EP) (Released on 25th August, 2020) (via Practise Music)

Well, there’s another day quickly finished on the blog! Of course, I will be up to the daily task again tomorrow, and I’m going to add a new entry into our “Way Back Wednesdays” series, where we take a look back at some of the sounds of the past that inspired the present, before the 2000’s. Tomorrow’s track is a niche favourite of popular singer-songwriter Angel Olsen’s tastes – and it comes from an English musician from Liverpool who, along with releasing three solo albums, was previously a member of three Merseybeat groups: The Kirkby’s, The 23rd Turnoff and Rockin’ Horse. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Robin Kester – “Sweat and Fright”

December 9, 2020 — Leave a comment

That title is reflective of my two reactions for an exam deadline date. New post time!

Pictured: Robin Kester in a publicity shot to promote “Sweat and Fright” (2020) (Photo via Podcart.co)

Good Afternoon to you – I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for me to deliver yet another daily post on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! This single – “Sweat and Fright” – is a track that I set up for a review earlier, but I sadly never quite got around to covering it yet. I look forward to jogging my memory about it, since it sadly fell down the wayside of my mind a little bit ever since. Nevertheless, it comes from Robin Kester, who is an Experimental Electronic Folk singer, songwriter and producer, who is from Utrecht in The Netherlands. “Sweat and Fright” was the final single from her “This Is Not A Democracy” EP, which she released in September on the AT EASE indie label. Having previously recorded some work in a vacant psychiatric institution with retro guitars and vintage synthesizers to draw on 70’s pop and Shoegaze-influenced compositions, Kester decided to explore a dark variation of dream-filled tones for the EP, which she calls her “ode to Nightmares”. Let’s try not to fall asleep to “Sweat and Fright” below.

Kester’s “This Is Not A Democracy” EP was co-recorded and co-produced with Marien Dorlejn in his studio and it plays on the abstract themes of nightmares and shifting mental states – along with a glimmer of hope in it’s explorations of escapism and free voice. It’s an intriguing new direction for the up-and-coming Netherlander, who has previously toured with the likes of Villagers, Aleila Diane and Laura Gibson. Evoking a hint of Weyes Blood-like folk idioms, Kester cries out: “Woke up/Sweat and Fright/Dreams more violent with each night” as a textured synth line slowly flickers in-and-out of the centre. It becomes surprisingly Blues-inspired, with a line of steady bass guitar riffs and an up-tempo Drum signature gently pushing a melodic undercurrent to the forefront of the hypnotic, slow-building atmosphere. As if the track were a dream, these elements feel surreal, but structured enough to convey some semblance of a narrative and theme on needing self-empowerment in a waking life, as Kester calls out: “All my days, start with the same idea” and “Poisoned with an appetite/Carry on so carelessly/Singing haunted melodies” as if she is a dreamer within the lyrical framework. Her vocals are slightly distorted and never feel quite so clear, but the laidback instrumental beats and the accompanied sonic loops feel dramatic and theatrical to a point, enough to display the dream-laden thematically of the track. It feels psychedelic to a certain extent, but internalized due to the miniature synth beats that imply closed space and intimacy. Overall, it’s great to hear these moods coming across so vividly. Though it may be an over-used word in music press – it feels very ethereal. An interesting narrative and detailed production contribute to it.

Pictured: Cover Art for “This Is Not A Democracy” (Released on September 11th, 2020) (via AT EASE)

Thank you very much for reading my new post – I’m sure you might agree that this was a great winter track to listen to. We’ll be getting back in the Christmas spirit tomorrow, for an in-depth look at a slightly more widely appealing indie pop/rock track that references the old 80’s Nostalgia of the season, coming from a British band who were formed in Sunderland. Their band name derives from the title of The Flaming Lips’ “Hit To Death In The Future Head” album, that was released back in 1992. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: 박혜진 Park Hye Jin – “Like This”

July 10, 2020 — Leave a comment

Do you like it like that? I really like it “Like This”! It’s time for your new daily blog post!

Pictured: 박혜진 Park Hye Jin in a photoshoot to promote the release of the “How Can I” EP (2020) (via NinjaTune.net)

Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening – I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! You know how it works by now, I give you my honest thoughts on an interesting or exciting track, old or new. The latter is the case for today! 박혜진 Park Hye Jin is an emerging rapper, DJ and producer who has recently signed to Ninja Tune. Born in Seoul and later based in Melbourne, Jin has become a renowned producer by the internet music community for her work in light, ambient electronic textures that feel majestic, dream-like and influenced by a wide range of cultural movements from across the globe. She’s just 26 years old, and she’s already performed at international music festivals such as Primavera and Dour – a personal favourite of her’s. She has also performed alongside British Indie stalwart Jamie XX in London last year. Two Fridays ago, on June 26th, Jin released her latest six-track EP production – “How Can I” – which thematically deals with the conflicted emotions that came to life touring around the world, with infectious whispered vocals and new sonic directions. Let’s have a listen to the EP’s lead single, “Like This”, below!

“This lead single has no English lyrics in it at all”, says Ashley Yun, a project manager at Hye Jin’s label Ninja Tune, “It’ll be a really good benchmark for how ready society is to hear music that isn’t in English. That prospect is really exciting.”, she elaborates. It’s a statement that pushes well-deserved diversity in Asian electronic music production and sonic music development as a whole, but I also feel the result of the overall sound adds a hazy, slow-moving effect that plays off Jin’s strengths in her specific right. “Like This” sounds carefree and delicate, with widely scattered vocal effects and a soft, meditative ambience that seems freeform and gently minimalist. The grooving vocal section, particularly beginning from the first verse, has an intangibly sensual delivery and uses a simple gliding effect to form up a light crescendo of chiming melodies, creating a vivid dream-like effect. Her vocals feel tranquil and sweet, in contrast to the slightly chilling percussion. The tempo is slightly raised in the chorus, and it suddenly becomes easier to dance to. However, they also feel very hypnotic to me, and it creates a firm, albeit faint, melancholy. It’s almost as if Jin is contemplating her missing absence of her family or simple home comforts at a time when she’s in the middle of a rowdy, prime-time live DJ set. I like to intepret the textures in the ambient tracks like these, but I don’t think the production of this style of music is really meant to be discussed, but felt instead, so it’s open to your own ears too. In my case, the swelling synthesizers of the minimalist house vibe feels creatively layered, and the intricate methods she uses feels inspired by Aphex Twin’s work on Selected Ambient Works Volume II, while it sounds more beat-driven, akin to Peggy Gou, a similarly contemporary DJ of Asian origin. Overall, I think this makes for excellent background listening. Mild and lush, with a catchy Earworm hook.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “How Can I” (EP/6 Tracks) (Released on 26th June, 2020) (via Ninja Tune)

Thank you very much for reading this post! Don’t forget that I’ve got a new weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays coming up in two days time, but I will be warming you up for it tomorrow with a contemporary, recently released Alternative Punk track from a young, emerging 4-piece from Liverpool. The new track is named after the “Badside” of a very famous British-American musician, theorist and filmmaker who was the lead singer/guitarist of the influential 1970’s band Talking Heads. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: HONNE – “No Song Without You”

June 15, 2020 — Leave a comment

This British Neo-Soul duo will keep you warm on a cold night! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: HONNE (James Hutcher & Andy Clutterback) in an interview with Alicia Atout (2016) (via A Music Blog, Yea)

Good Morning! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m here to write about your daily track on the blog, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Honne (which translates to “true feelings” in Japanese) are a British Electronic Neo-Soul duo formed in Bow, London in 2014 by Andy Clutterback (Vocals/Producer/Writer) and James Hutcher (Guitar/Keyboard/Synths). I’ve been following the duo since their early days in mid-2015, with a string of EP releases leading to their debut LP “Warm On A Cold Night” in 2016, with “Love Me/Love Me Not” releasing as their sophomore LP effort in 2018. The music has been entirely produced, written and recorded by the duo themselves, and released by the Tatemae Recordings label. The two specialise in producing Soul which has a very warm and stripped-back sound, with cold vocals and minimalist synth work, described by Alice Vincent of The Telegraph as “futuristic soul destined to re-invent baby-making music” in their inception. Last Friday, they dropped a new single “No Song Without You”, which the duo wrote on a spontaneous trip to Los Angeles back in January with Anderson. Paak co-producer Pomo, and they finished it off later in their studio in Hackney in self-isolation. Watch the gorgeous video for “No Song Without You” below.

Saying on this track: “It’s ok for things to sound a bit rough,” the duo explain, “rather than going into the studio and compressing guitars over and over. The more character that you leave in it, the more the listener can dive in.”, HONNE stick to their guns with a new track that will please existing fans of their music, although it perhaps does quite little in the sense of reinvention. The pair have been experimenting with new sounds, and it’s fairly clear in “No Song Without You” that Andy and James have been taking a bit more influence from the Synth-wave genre. Paired over light acoustic guitar melodies and silky keyboard riffs, Andy croons: “I felt nothing without you/There’d be no song without you” and “When I’m down and out/And feel like there is nothing left for me/You save me” before a Space-Pop-like synth riff causes a Dream-Pop effect to roll across the ’60s Cali-pop melodies given room to breathe by the loosely-structured formula. Lyrical themes of love and friendship spring up: “When I got into a fight/And you stood right up for me/You save me”, while the vocal content may possibly also be referring to a deeper, more religious and spiritual meaning. The songwriting is aided by the crisp production that typically defines HONNE’s work, although the overall sound doesn’t do anything drastically different to what we’ve heard from them before. I think that Holly Warburton, the illustrator, has done an amazing job with the light-hearted music video that feels like a short Studio Ghibli film, and the minimalist synthesizer work represents a rather ambient sound reminiscent of Chill-wave acts like Washed Out and In Love With A Ghost. If a new full album is on the cards for the next few months, I’m really looking forward to hearing it.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “No Song Without You” (Single) (Released on June 12, 2020) (via Tatemae Recordings)

You can also look back at the early sounds of HONNE with my in-depth review for their fan-favourite classic “Warm On A Cold Night”, the titular track of their debut album. See to that here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/17/todays-track-honne-warm-on-a-cold-night/

Pictured: HONNE at the album launch party of “Love Me/Love Me Not” (in August 2018) (via Getty Images)

Thank you for reading this post! As always, in regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back tomorrow for an in-depth look at more new music – this time from a young male solo artist who is only 25, but he’s already won two Grammy Awards! For his new single, he’s worked with BRIT’s Critics Choice award nominee Mahalia! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Washed Out – “Too Late”

June 5, 2020 — Leave a comment

A bit late on this, but it’s better to be ‘Too Late’ than never! It’s time for your new post!

Pictured: Washed Out (aka Ernest Weatherly Green Jr.) performing a live set (2020) (Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna)

Good Afternoon! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing up your daily track on the blog because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Washed Out is the professional moniker of Ernest Weatherly Greene Jr – an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Georgia in the US, who is considered to be one of the main pioneers of Chill-Wave, a genre of soft-funk electronic ambient music popularized on sites like YouTube over the mid-2010’s. He is signed to Sub Pop Records. His latest single is “Too Late”, which was released on April 9th earlier this year. Sadly, the Covid-19 pandemic thwarted (I love that word – it doesn’t get used often enough!) his plans to film an expensive music video shoot in Italy for “Too Late” with a team of international filmmakers. Therefore, he turned to the great general public instead. His dedicated fanbase sent in their own, raw old holiday footage aplenty, eventually being edited in to create the new, official music video for the song. Send in a postcard from Thailand with a listen to “Too Late” below.

The sunset-tinged crowd-sourced videos fit perfectly with the soft, dreamy ambient sound of “Too Late”, a track that just sees Washed Out do exactly what he’s been doing best for the last near-decade of his career since the release of his debut album “Within and Without” in 2011. It’s quite long at 5 minutes, but the small touches of detail to the production work and the equally soothing visuals of the video carry it through to the end nicely. It’s bright and hazy, with Greene Jr. singing: “Is it too late to fall in love tonight?, ‘Cause I’m falling out/Can’t believe how fast the sparks can fly, I’m your satellite”, at an unhurried pace, with his vocals drenched in a Falsetto, as the luminous synth lines and the shimmering bass beats interweave through the reverberated effects to create a calm, dreamy feeling. It sounds interesting how Greene Jr. is crooning about heartbreak while the video’s fan footage look much more idyllic and cheerful. It almost sounds sad and downbeat, as if there is now a sadness in a tropical paradise where there was once a great deal of happiness and joy. However, the bass line sounds upbeat and progressive enough for the ambience to sound dance-oriented while the pacing gradually increases from the beginning to the end. Overall, I know that most places are loosening their restrictions now, so I’m a bit late to the party for this one. However, it’s a blissful and confidently produced track that satisfies with its exploration of different textures within the sun-glazed backdrop.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Too Late” (Single) (Released on April 9th, 2020) (via Sub Pop Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! Just to make you aware, we support the #BlackLivesMatter movement on One Track At A Time! Please check your local area for good charitable causes which help all those being directly affected. I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at the new track from an established DJ and producer from Australia who has remix credits for Lorde, Arcade Fire, Disclosure and Sam Smith. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – “The Steady Heart”

June 2, 2020 — Leave a comment

It may well be steady, but it’s a Total Eclipse of the Heart! It’s time for your daily post!

Pictured: Cover Art for “The Mosaic Of Transformation” (Released on May 15th, 2020) (via Ghostly International)

Good Afternoon! I’m Jacob Braybrooke – excuse my awful Bonnie Tyler joke – and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! My latest Bandcamp discovery is “The Mosaic Of Transformation”, a new album by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. This is a record full of deep Synth tones and fluid pacing that creates a dense, experimental ambient sound. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is an electronic composer who grew up in the Orcas Island, found in the northwestern region of Washington State. Smith has, thus far, released various albums and compilation mixtapes of ambient soundtracks. She was first a part of an indie-rock group called Ever Isles before she was signed to Western Vinyl in 2015, but she’s moved to the Ghostly International label for her new album. Get a sample of her new style with the album track “The Steady Heart” below!

“The Steady Heart” breezes forward with a very spiritual feeling, with each of the different ambient layers interweaving into each other to create a soft sound that feels alike to a meditative, religious experience. Smith loops the gentle, drifting harmonics as she begins: “I believe”, slowly building a large frequency of crescendos with “I trust” before serenely laying them down to rest with her radiant glow of “Open up your heart”. The structure narrowly converges into a synthetic, beat-driven symphony as the mellow vocals drift away, but the polyphonic melodies remain contained within the laidback rhythm, almost in the same way of which a tide slowly reaches the shore on a beach. It never quite delves into an electronic dance territory in any form, but the crescendo of sounds slowly build to create a more tense atmosphere before lulling you into a bittersweet lullaby. Towards the end, Smith adds in an organic piano section which adds more eclectic instrumentation and it closes the track on a peaceful note. If you are not really used to listening to ambient music, it might fall on death ears on a first try. However, if you just keep persevering, you’ll shortly find that it’s a lovely crescendo of ambient synths and calm sounds which gradually develop in interesting ways, but it never quite piles into the wreckage, leaving you to guess what comes next and to interpret the aesthetics of the sound for yourself. A bright, fluid orchestration that merges between the organic and electronic.

Pictured: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith being a synth aueteur for an interview (January 2020) (via Native Instruments Blog)

Thank you for reading this post! As usual, I encourage you to look after yourself and others in these difficult times by staying safe inside, don’t do anything silly and please keep washing those hands! Tomorrow on the blog, I’ll be looking at a track from another emerging artist. From Ireland, this artist goes by an unusual pseudonym and she played her first gig at The Bar With No Name in 2015 as the supporting act for a rock band called Silences! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: In Love With A Ghost – “We Were Friends”

May 14, 2020 — Leave a comment

I am not In Love With A Ghost, but I am in love with this soft sound. It’s new post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Healing” (Single Release) (in 2017) (Cover design by @Salisart) (via Bandcamp)

Good afternoon to you! Indeed, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog because, as always, it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! Yesterday, I wrote about Skule Toyama, a little-known Chillwave DJ from Mexico who only has a small following and he’s one of my latest little discoveries on Bandcamp. Another artist from the same genre who I’ve also recently found on Bandcamp is In Love With A Ghost. However, it turns out that In Love With A Ghost has a much larger following and has become a bit of a viral sensation. Nonetheless, their 2016 EP release “Let’s Go” was my first introduction to this artist. “Let’s Go” is classified as a digital album, but it’s only very short, at four tracks with a 12 minute run time. There’s an old-fashioned IDM-style aura of mystery around this French composer, as the artist tends to only give cryptic teases towards the production and meaning behind their music. Their name is unknown, so is their backstory, and most importantly, they never reveal their face! “Flowers” featuring Nori is their most popular track from “Let’s Go”, with over 9.6m views on YouTube – but my favourite track from the album is the low-key and sad keyboard-driven “We Were Friends”. Let’s give it a listen below!

So.. That was “We Were Friends”. I feel that In Love With A Ghost manages, through the spacious synth riffs and the embellishing keyboard sequences, to create vivid, emotive feelings of closure and finality on this short track. In comparison to Skule Toyama’s track yesterday, the pacing is a lot slower and the melodies, although sweet and heavily electronically-produced, are more downtempo and less free-form in their structure, creating a highly stripped back sound, despite achieving the same aims of soothing you down and putting your mind into a state of relaxation. There’s no lyrics at all, but the distorted effects of the looping synths and the glitched-out basslines, enveloped in a pure and intoxicating Piano melody, create a gentle ambient texture that acts as a comforting bed for the beat-driven electronic effects to sit under. This results in an ambient texture that feels vaguely melancholic and reminiscent of a more innocent time. Maybe it makes you think about seeing an old friend for the first in a very long time? To me, it does, bringing an emotion of meeting up with somebody who you feel you might not truly “know” anymore and coming to terms with the nervousness and the fun you used to have, but also the happiness that comes from soon recapturing these memories. In any case, it’s completely up to you what this track is about. I think that’s where the strength of the sound lies. There’s attention to detail in the slow rainfall effects and the crackles of twigs breaking in the background, creating a feeling that is overall somber and contemplative. It feels like it has a super-sleek production behind it, of which I can tell it was a more expensive album to be produced than some of the earlier work, but it doesn’t lose it’s artistic identity or forget the roots of the music in the first place, a criticism that I point towards mainstream acts like Ed Sheeran or Drake, who just make totally generic and VERY commercial pop now. A “ghostly” presence – but a rewarding and excellent one!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Let’s Go” (Digital EP) (Released via Bandcamp on March 3, 2016) (via Z-Tapes Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed it! Please stay safe, “Stay Alert” and keep on washing those hands! I am really excited about tomorrow’s post because I’m going to be covering a brand new track that marks the return of one of my top favourite artists in the past couple of years! I still remember when she brought her mum on-stage to celebrate it when she won Best British Album at the NME Awards last night! Watch and learn BRIT Awards, that’s how you treat a real Best British Artist! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Skule Toyama – “United In The Night”

May 13, 2020 — Leave a comment

This one’s hellbent on destroying some EDM “Stereo”-Types – It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Promotional Cover Artwork for “Stereo” (Single Release) (Released in 2020) (via Business Casual)

Good morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing your daily track on the blog, as always, since it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music, whether it’s old or new, every day. It’s quite a dull backstory of how I found Skule Toyama, as I was just scrolling through my recommendations on Bandcamp and I came across “Stereo”, his new album. With names like “Disco Roller”, “Fantasy Synth” and “Take A Break”, I gave it a chance. The anime-style drawings put me off a bit at first, but after a few listens, I’ve come to really like it. Barely anything is known about Toyama at all and I couldn’t even find any photos of the real man himself. However, it’s implied that Toyama is a male solo producer on their Bandcamp biography. According to this, Toyama is a Mexican artist, of the Chill-Wave genre, who started producing Ambient House music inspired by disco/funk music and the “melancholic aesthetics” of the 1980’s in Mexico. His sound also extends to “Soft-Funk” and “Future-Funk”. Let’s have a listen to the track “United In The Night” below.

I think that “Stereo” is a very appropriate name for a track which sounds so unashamedly EDM Disco-Pop in it’s visuals of lying down with a big speaker on full blast, on a very hot Beach somewhere in Thailand or Jamaica. I’ve never travelled so I don’t know what I’m really going on about there, but I DO know that it’s a very bold move to release a dance record when there’s no market for it since you know… we can’t actually go to a club, but I feel it’s justified by the seamless blending of Toyama’s influences in creating a very calm and relaxed, but still upbeat and danceable, atmosphere which is easy to access and soothing to escape with, but there’s still a hidden complexity and a non-commercialism to the overall textures that demand your further attention in repeated listens. “United In The Night” has a very beat-driven, looping bassline which moulds over a luminous, washing synth line and very groove-ridden drum machine sequences. There’s an unashamedly pop sound on the surface, but I picked “United In The Night” to analyse because it has a slightly rougher texture and it evokes a slightly more somber feeling than a lot of the other tracks found on “Stereo”. This is due to the whimsical, fantastical element of the vocal sample which is unintelligible, but mutters phrases with “Live in your Dreams” and Japanese words, in a way that feels akin to the old game of Chinese Whispers us Brits used to play in primary school, in it’s cheeky vocal layering. There’s a syncopated guitar riff in here, with even a slight use of Jazz instrumentation in the later stages of the track. The clear EDM pop style, the funkish grooves, the vivid, if typically Anime, visual aesthetics and the eclectic sonic palette create a sound that is very enjoyable. It was a great find. Please don’t go mainstream Toyama – you are just right as you are!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Stereo” (Released via Bandcamp on April 10, 2020) (via Business Casual Records)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a slightly older track, released in 2017, by another artist of the Chill-Wave genre that I also recently found on Bandcamp. He’s from Paris, France and he’s signed to the Z-Tapes indie label. He seems to have a much larger online following than Skule Toyama and he has a single called “Flowers” feat. Nori which has over 9.6m views on YouTube. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Ratgrave – “World Aid”

April 18, 2020 — Leave a comment

Did you know that a Rat’s favourite game is Hide and Squeak? It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Ratgrave (Max Graef & Julius Conrad) in a still from their “World Aid” music video (2020) (via YouTube)

I’ve never seen a rat turning in it’s grave! Good morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m trying to lighten up your grey British weather Saturday with your daily post on the blog! It’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music each day! Ratgrave are an ambient experimental duo from Berlin in Germany, made up of producer Max Graef and engineer Julius Conrad. Although their names sound oddly familiar, I’ve just recently heard of them due to KEXP, an american radio station based in Seattle which played “World Aid” by Ratgrave at roughly 3.30am…. in California! This was the middle of the morning here in England. I enjoy listening to KEXP in the morning because it exposes me to a lot of music outside of the British indie bubble that I wouldn’t hear on the likes of BBC Radio 6Music or X-Posure on Radio X. Ratgrave are a “deep dive” – with figures of around 1,000 views when it comes to their recent music videos on YouTube. The duo are two multi-instrumentalists who are driven by their love of 1980’s soul, jazz and rock records, with a diverse variety of psychedelic influences that are sonically evident on their new album, “Rock”. It’s the duo’s first LP release under the Black Focus Records label! Let’s have a listen to “World Aid” below!

You might have noticed that my description of the duo’s sound was vague, but I didn’t want to spoil the suprise for you! Although the electronic production work on “World Aid” is fairly minimalist, the sound palette feels very cleansed, but it’s packed with a wide range of mismatched genres. The vocal range is very simple, with a single”I love myself” line, which sounds sun-soaked in a drum-groove melody and a continuous keyboard riff. Graef and Conrad were going for a highly spiritual, funk-infused sound on “Rock”, explaining, in a press release, that their original idea was to express: “the essence of energy and vibration we felt in different styles of music, almost like a parallel component connecting all things we like.”, deciding it as why they would simply name the album “Rock”. It’s a creative direction that has been displayed on “World Aid”. By far, the highlight of the track are the bizarre Pan Pipe melodies, which add a very Earthly and World-based tone to the eclectic Jazz-Funk rhythm of the track. This is a classical, old-fashioned style of instrumentation which doesn’t feel used very much, but Graef and Conrad keep repeating the same formula, over and over, for maximum effect. The Falsetto vocals add a disjointed Jukebox tone as they blend with the Balearic pipes and the playful Keyboard melodies. The sound design is psychedelic, a key component which feels abstract, but the delightfully “Plastic” keyboard riffs and the complex, skittering Dub beats add a warmth to the punchy, “misfit” ambient soundscape. It almost sounds like there’s a cohesive soulful disco tune hidden underneath the enigmatic, disjointed ambient textures. I find it difficult to identify what the duo’s visual aesthetic really is – judging from the art style of the music video for the track, but it’s intriguing. It may lack a slight focus to hold all the ideas together a little bit more tightly, but I love how the humour is obscure and the overall track is deliberately wonky. The result is a curiously vague, melodic pan-pipe tune that encompasses many different sub-genres of electronic Jazz, Soul and Funk at once and it’s hard to box the sound into a specific category. It’s not a track that I would expect the masses to “get”, but I wouldn’t want them to, as “Ratgrave” is an intriguing creative playground of experimentation for Max and Graef to mess around with. Cleverly layered and fascinating – it’s a nice record to keep to yourself a little bit!

Pictured: Official track listing from the back of “Rock” (Released on 20th March, 2020) (via Black Focus Records)

Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it and please make sure that you stay at home to save lives! To give us both something to do, why not join me on the blog tomorrow for your weekly Scuzz Sundays blog post? I’ll be revisiting a big, commercial hit from a British indie rock band who once had the best-selling debut album for Polydor Records! Noel Gallagher described watching the band perform live as a “religous experience” and they were subsequently labelled as “The Who of the 1990’s”! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/