IDM

Today’s Track: Disclosure – “ENERGY”

August 28, 2020 — Leave a comment

If you thought The Chemical Brothers were the space and time of British electronic dance music – these two are actually brothers. It’s all relative! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Guy Lawrence (Programming/Engineer) and Howard Lawrence (Turntables/Effects) being interviewed backstage at the Roskilde Festival, Denmark (in June 2015) (Photo Credit: Marv Watson/Redbull.com)

Good Morning! I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, as per usual, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Fittingly releasing on a Friday, which is today, in time for the underground raves you can’t go to, is “ENERGY”, the third studio album from the Surrey-raised real-life Brother DJ duo of Howard and Guy Lawrence, as Disclosure. It marks the end of a very long and grueling wait for their fans (Including my friend Grace, in particular), since this is their first proper album release in half a decade. They have kept their fans busy in the gap with a recent string of live mixes, new EP’s and the odd collaboration or two, along with mixtapes and regular live-streamed sessions, of which many of the obscure tracks appear on the deluxe version of their new album. It has a promising guest line-up, with the likes of Kelis, Slowthai, Fatoumata Diawara, Mick Jenkins, and several more involved. Disclosure have some mainstream hits under their belt with the likes of Sam Smith and Khalid, along with two Grammy Award nominations for Best Dance/Electronica Album for 2013’s debut “Settle” and for 2015’s follow-up LP “Caracal” too. Let’s stream the titular track below.

If I’m completely truthful with you, I’m not quite as familiar with Disclosure as more alternative British EDM acts like The Prodigy or Aphex Twin, because I’ve usually dismissed them a little bit as “Just Pop DJ’s”, seeing as they have worked with my current least-favourite Sam Smith for goodness sake. But, I’m now going to give up the cynicism and openly admit it. I LOVE ENERGY! I think this is a really, really, REALLY good track, and I’ve been streaming it on repeat a few times. Let’s start off with the opening, as a nice element of Deep House gets immediately established through the heavy West African drum melodies which the brothers borrowed from some samples they took from an album of Brazillian library music. These get layered out to the beat of a strong vocal performance that preaches mottos like “Right now, you should feel invincible, powerful, strong” and “If you are alive, I know you ain’t reached your best yet” with Acid synth sections and grooving Conga drum patterns. These vocals were recorded by Eric Thomas, who provided vocals for Disclosure’s early track “When The Fire Starts To Burn”. Thomas signals that “Now, we gon’ take it to another level” as the brothers unleash a cooled sequence of flickering Synth rhythms and light stabs of Acid Techno beats. They feel upbeat and moving, but they also have a calming effect. It leads up nicely to a startling finale of diverse, world-based instrumentation and Preacher-esque lead vocal sections from Eric Thomas, whilst the drum beats keep repeating and the Synth sections keep pushing-and-pulling the pacing up, with a polished sheen that stitches everything together with excellent flow and a faultless cohesion. The results make “ENERGY” feel vibrant and fresh, with a very exciting sound and a diverse sonic pallete that takes influence from a surprising range of Earthly sources. Based on what I have heard from Disclosure before, this is absolutely one of their best, and I cannot recommend it highly enough, and I’m glad it sounds as though Island Records, the major label of which they’re signed up to, hasn’t seemed to get their hands on the creative direction very much, at all. It just rocks my socks off.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “ENERGY” (Released on 28th August, 2020) (Album/LP) (via Island Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at a recent rework of a cult classic single recorded by an Australian Experimental Electronic Dance duo who have seen countless lineup changes throughout the years, and have performed many comeback gigs in recent years, including a gig at The State Library Of Victoria as part of Melbourne Music Week in 2016, and a one-off double gig with Snog at the Corner Hotel in Richmond, Victoria during 2017. 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: Darkstar – “Blurred”

August 26, 2020 — Leave a comment

Darth Vader would be thrilled.. Oh wait, that is the Death Star! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Civic Jams” (Released on June 19th, 2020) (via Warp Records)

Good Morning, I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing up about your daily track on the blog as, like always, it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Darkstar is the English Electronic duo of James Young and Aiden Whalley, who began making music together in London during the late-2000’s. Although they have, thankfully, never troubled the mainstream in any real form, they’ve remained to be a hit with hardcore music fans and maintained a solid critical reception in their years of activity. Currently signed to one of the world’s most groundbreaking labels, Warp Records, Darkstar released their fourth studio LP, “Civic Jams”, in June of this year. The duo draw their influential sound from UK Grime, Ambient House, IDM, Acid Techno, Alternative Blues and Progressive Synthpop, and are probably best known for their 2009 single, “Aidy’s Girl Is A Computer”, a track which was used in a TV advertising campaign for Colette, an accessory retailer. The closing track of their new record is “Blurred”, an Ambient track which was released as a single last week, alongside a self-produced video. It pays tribute to the British music venues that have been forced to shut their doors due to COVID-19, via a Google Earth satellite feed. This is also a plea to appeal for the government to acknowledge the circling online petitions that have been asking for them to help out with funding the survival of Grassroots venues. It’s a sad and hard-hitting, but intriguing, music video, and it’s the reason why I wanted to share the track with you today. Check it out below.

Darkstar’s James Young said, on the video, “I think I’ve been going to nightclubs since I was 16, buying records from 15 and tape packs from 14 all housed and cultivated in places either in this video or not too far.”, later adding: “It’s a stark reminder at how hard it can be to keep these places going particularly now – so massive props to the people involved in working to keep that dream alive. It can’t be ignored to see just how many of these places fell. It’s hard not to correlate that to the political landscape and how the value of independent music is weighed up by these people even before a pandemic.”, as images of closed venues matches their themes of memory together with the melancholic Synth textures and emotive Choir effects of “Blurred”, the track. The instrumentation is minimalist and gentle, as a smooth underlayer of tranquil, opaque Vocal loops shapes up to an edifying flicker of Drum Machine blips and sensitive, delicate ambience. It feels timely for the uncertain atmosphere that has been created by Covid-19 and it crafts a mellow semblance of a dream-like, almost Shoegaze-inspired atmosphere. The production never quite seems to position itself into a particular genre though, and the tone remains downtempo and psychedelic, while flickers of light created by the push-and-pull Synth structure and the slightly distorting, yet woozy and peaceful, Choir-esque vocal loops signal a glimmer of hope. Overall, the track is very quiet and will likely have several different emotional effects on it’s listeners, but I think it’s impressive, and the music video adds a level of context that makes the instrumental quality feel richer, making it seem just that little sweeter.

  • Pictured: James Young (Producer/Engineer/Drums) and Aiden Whalley (Keyboard/Synths) (2020) (Photo via PR)

Thank you very much for reading this post! As usual, I’ll be back tomorrow, for an in-depth look at an emerging electronic dance music producer based in Yorkshire who is becoming a prominent figure in the UK’s Electronic Jazz club scene, and she has previously played for the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as performing live DJ sets on Giles Peterson’s Worldwide FM. 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: Aphex Twin – “#3”

August 18, 2020 — Leave a comment

Happy Birthday, Richard – I hope your card came! It’s time for a special Birthday post!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Selected Ambient Works (Volume II)” (Released on 7th March, 1994) (via Warp Records)

Only the die-hards will get the reference above… Good Morning and a Happy 48th Birthday to Richard D. James, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing another daily post on the blog, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! As mentioned beforehand, August 18th marks the commemorative birthday of one of the best people to have ever lived, Richard D. James, mostly known as Aphex Twin, who is 49 years old today. If you’ve been following my blog and my other projects for a long while, you’ll be aware of my totally unprofessional Fanboy obsession for the guy. He is, without much doubt, my favourite male solo musician of all-time. Therefore, I have planned to look back at one of his most popular projects, “Selected Ambient Works Volume II”, to mark the occasion. Released in 1994, this was his second full-length album, which James claims to have literally made in his sleep… heavily inspired by melodies that he’s heard while he was Lucid Dreaming at night. He likens it to “Standing in a power station on acid”, and it enjoyed a relatively quiet release period based on my research (Since I wasn’t born then… So don’t quote me on it), before it gained a large cult following and it became one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of the 1990’s, appearing on all-time best lists from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Spin. There’s no lyrics whatsoever, and the sound sees James harkening back to the Easy Listening classics from Brian Eno, during the 1970’s, for inspiration. The main factor of significance related to this album comes from a service which allowed fans to mail each other and discuss the obscure sounds and deep, layered soundscapes of the record. In a time where social media simply did not exist, it was basically the first album ever to basically get talked about, thus becoming a social event. None of the track listings have official names either, and one fan – Greg Eden, has once popularized names of the track which get used by fellow fans and journalists based on a murky set of images that can be found in the album’s liner notes of each physical copy. “#3” is one of James’ most beloved tracks by fans and the press, and it is more commonly referred to as “Rhubarb”. Let’s have a listen below.

If you’re only recognizably familiar with “Windowlicker” and/or “Come To Daddy”, this would likely catch you off-guard and take you by suprise quite a lot! “#3” is not very beat-driven at all, instead offering to you a moment of serene beauty and timeless fascination, demanding your full attention as you stand still for a few moments and simply interact with the sound. It deeply moves many of James’ most dedicated fans, with a light tension which captures a feeling between distressing and comforting. “#3” consists of a static synth line that feels soft and consonant, with a peaceful tone and a very subtle rumble of Bass which gently alters the course of the key changes throughout the track. It shines in allowing you, as the listener, to associate the track with whatever nostalgic images or contemplative emotions that your mind can conjure up. To me, it reminds me of a well-kept lake of water, as a tide moves briskly, but slowly, outwards as the ripples of the wave form a small tide. This is due to the percussion-free electronica forming up a meditative sentiment, and the breezy Organ pipe melodies adding a semblence of a sun-soaked vibe to it. The album was a slow-burning word of mouth triumph in it’s success, and it manages to feel wholly original and highly different to James’ other works. Once you have interacted with the record by giving James your co-operation, it slowly unfolds and it becomes a record, with “#3” in particular, that replaces it’s initial uncompromising feel with a charm that gets slowly discovered. It requires the surrender of your brain cells to work it properly, but it’s well worth the effort because this is music that has a transcendent beauty of it’s genuine own. One of the most interesting selections from one of the all-time greatest!

  • Pictured: Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) at an undisclosed gig in his early days (1992) (via electronicbeats.net)

If you’re pining to hear some more Aphex material, you’ve come to a decent place! You can read up my thoughts on “Vordhosbn”, from 2001’s “Drukqs”, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/24/todays-track-aphex-twin-vordhosbn/, and you can also check out my festive write-up for ““XMAS EVET_10 (Thanaton3 Mix)” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/24/christmas-eve-special-aphex-twin-xmas-evet_10-thanaton3-mix/. Or, if you’re a first-time listener or you want to get more familiar with Richard’s beautiful music, you can check out my very own podcast here, which offers a guide of “5 Tracks To Get You Into Aphex Twin”. Once more, my heart goes out to Richard on his special Lornaderek day!

  • Pictured: Richard D. James on a poster for a live performance at Hallum University, Sheffield, England (1993)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! It will be back to business as usual tomorrow, with an in-depth listen to a pretty recent track which I sadly didn’t quite get the time to cover nearer to the time of it’s release. This next cut comes from an Essex-based singer-songwriter who started writing her own music when she was around 7, before re-entering the scene at the age of 9… and she’s now currently signed to Asylums’ indie label, Cool Thing Records. 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: Joe Goddard & Hayden Thorpe – “Unknown Song”

August 3, 2020 — Leave a comment

What on Earth is this?, you might ask. I really couldn’t tell you. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) and Hayden Thorpe (ex-Wild Beasts) in a press image (2020) (via Pitchfork.com)

Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up your daily track on the blog, as per usual, because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Forgive me if you’ve never heard this one before, it seems to be a pretty “Unknown” song, apparently. Jokes aside, this one-off single is a collaboration between Joe Goddard, of Hot Chip, and Hayden Thorpe, the former frontman of Wild Beasts (an indie rock band who disbanded in 2018). This single was released a few months ago, and the collaboration came together after Goddard and Thorpe linked up following a shared career-long appreciation for each other’s work, and it marks the first time in which both of these UK-based musicians have worked together. “Unknown Song” was heavily inspired by the global closure of clubs and dancefloors, as Goddard & Thorpe reflect on a new-found sense of connectivity between society, and “a synchronicity with our fellow beings”. Goddard & Thorpe elaborated on this, on a press statement, posting: “In the absence of touch, music is that sensual meeting point”, with Goddard concluding: “We are in the midst of a crisis but gaining the new appreciation of dancing together is a small positive that I hope to hold onto after all of this”, positioning the collaborative track as a soundtrack for awaiting an energetic return to the dancefloor after the pandemic, at long last. Let’s stream the track below.

Joe Goddard and Hayden Thorpe are both signed to Domino Recordings, via their own respective acts, but it’s unclear whether this is a one-off deal, or if they plan to join forces again in the near future. It’s a mesh between their two established styles, as Thorpe’s Falsetto vocals get delivered on top of a thumping electronic beat that evokes Erasure and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. Thorpe recites: “Unknown Song, where all the lost chords belong” and “Unknown Song, how do the words go on this one?” over a synth groove that shimmers along to a hand-clapped drum machine loop. It rolls along to the bridge, where the beat violently trips as Thorpe adds: “Got no method, but I’ve killer intuition” before a more pop-oriented chorus that evokes a slick 80’s pop feel, and a warm Summer-primed feeling. A cut-up “Damn right” vocal effect accompanies Thorpe’s euphoric vocals in the chorus. The overall sound of the track evokes 80’s Prog-Synthpop and 90’s EDM in equal measure, and the lyrics have a slice of comedic quirk to them. A playful set of verses remind me of New Order, and the heavy-pop chorus feels like a love letter to the Pet Shop Boys. On the flip side, the structure gets a little flimsy towards the end, with a more commercial feeling to the chorus that marks a stark contrast to the House-oriented style of the verses, but it just about holds itself together due to the clear range of influences, that flow quite well together. In the end, I think it’s fair to write that – more people should know this song!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Unknown Song” (Single) (Released on 8th May, 2020) (via Domino Recordings)

Thank you for reading this post! As always, I’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll be taking an in-depth look at a recent single from an English indie rock group who were known for a similar time period to Hot Chip. The band used Star Trek voice samples to work the time-bending themes of one of their most popular albums, and the band have also been met with critical acclaim that includes earning a total of five nominations for The Ivor Novello awards. 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: 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: Enigma – “Sadeness (Part 1)”

July 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

This interesting German-Romanian electronic music producer managed to crack the “Enigma code” of the mainstream singles charts in the 1990’s. It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Enigma (Michael Cretu) in a photoshoot to promote “The Fall Of A Rebel Angel” (2016) (via ParisMatch.com)

Remember this one? Good Morning to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! It’s a strange sight to behold – a composer managing to have a big chart hit with an ambient chillout track that was built upon Gregorian Chants and tribal Flute sounds, but somehow… before I was even born…. It happened! Enter Enigma, the alias of German-Romanian music composer Micheal Cretu. The inspiration for his experimental project was a product of his desire to make a kind of music that did not obey “the old rules and habits” of commercial pop music, and presented a new form of artistic expression with mystic and experimental components, according to his interview with Melvyn J. Willin. Thus, he produced atmospheric intercultural soundscapes which dabbled in elements of New-Age and Worldbeat. He became a very successful artist for doing so, selling a total of over 70 million records worldwide, and receiving three Grammy Award nominations. He’s still going, having released his eighth ambient LP – “The Fall Of A Rebel Angel” – in 2016. He burst onto the scene with his international hit “Sadeness (Part 1)” in 1990, a track that somehow reached the #1 spot of the singles charts in 24 countries, which includes the UK. Let’s have a listen back to his breakout track below!

I’ve always wanted to join the Gregorian monks, but I never got the chants! There is no denying that Engima’s “Sadeness (Part 1)” is probably the most profoundly odd track to reach #1 in the UK, but I feel there is a nice amount of artistic merit to it, as opposed to it being a ‘fad’, and just a novelty. Starting off with an ominous line of Gregorian monk chants, Cretu gradually adds the layers up to combine the Gothic themes with ambient dance beats that were in the contemporary boom period of the time. Cretu repurposes a sample of the drums in Soul II Soul’s “Keep On Movin'” to create a gentle hip-hop beat, and Cretu combines them with a shimmering Pan-Pipe hook to get a downtempo, sultry groove going. It creates a very multicultural and strange ambient texture, and Cretu expands the idea out with the sound of a woman panting after a breathy line of odd foreign language vocals, paired up with the unexpected, short burst of a guitar solo in the middle. The climax (No pun intended) matches the ongoing Flute melodies with the sequence of more beat-driven synthesizer riffs, and the bizzare Gregorian monk chants bring a full-circle effect to the cerebral, trance-inducing 4-minute duration of ethereal, rich sound effects and dense, world-based instrumentation. The Peruvian flute melodies are the highlight for me, and the combination of strange sounds are quite appealing in a surprising number of ways, such as the seductive vibe of the light female backing vocals and the chemistry the different sections have in creating the visionary style that amounts up to an ambient fantasia. I’m probably just reading a bit too much into it, but it does still sound imaginative, and deeply sensual. The layering is quite solid. Sadly, I have a feeling that – much like the ancient customs of an old Gregorian tribe – it will sadly be forgotten as time wares on, and ‘Chart Pop’ gets more meme-oriented by the second!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “MCMXC a.D.” (Released on 10th December, 1990) (via Virgin/Charisma Records)

Thank you very much for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as always, with an in-depth listen to the (Pssssst… it’s really bad) brand new single from a Scottish folk-rock band who originally performed the track, “When We Collide”, that The X-Factor winner Matt Cardle had the UK’s Christmas #1 Single with in late 2010. 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: AK/DK – “Shared Particles”

July 6, 2020 — Leave a comment

The hottest double act since Sam & Mark hit the C.B.B.-Scene! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Ed (Drums/Synths) and G (Drums/Synths) performing at an undisclosed gig (2019) (via Bandcamp)

Let’s kick off the next week with a big bang! Good Morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke 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! I first caught wind of “Shared Particles” by listening to X-Posure, the weekend late-night show on Radio X, presented by John Kennedy, last week. AK/DK are, perhaps, sadly not very well-established at the time of writing, but this is an act who are all the better for that lack of commercial restriction, in my opinion. The duo of AK/DK is made up of Ed and Gee, who both play the drums and synths parts on their tracks, along with the help of some tidy, cut-up samples. The duo come from Brighton, here in the UK, and you can catch them playing live at the Islington Assembly Hall in London on the rescheduled date of November 11th, later this year. Ed and Gee are set to take their Kraftwerk-influenced sound of unique electronic splicing – mixed in with organic keys playing along to the percussive drums – to new heights later in the Summer, with the release of their third album “Shared Particles” on August 28th via Little Miss Echo Recordings. They’ve dropped its titlular track as a taster. Have a listen to “Shared Particles” below.

Noting that the songwriting and editing of the third LP were inspired by the habits of how the internet can be weaponized by humanity and how social media users can use their thoughts to easily manipulate or politically divide society, AK/DK look to carve out a niche for themselves on “Shared Particles” by creating an eclectic, electronically-driven sound that can appeal to the rave scene as much as the Brit-Punk community. The track starts off with a fairly distorted synth beat, before the tempo gets raised up a gear by an African backing chant, and some propulsive dream beats interweave with a stream of upbeat, filtrating strobe synths. The space-themed lyrics play at unity and ideas of coming together for a common purpose, starting off with hooks that paint the picture: “Space dust, deep inside our bones/Saturn’s rings inside your noise” and foretell a story of a party on a rocket ship in space: “Ever expanding into the unknown/Infinite space, but we are not alone”, before a neat refrain when the duo raise their delivery of intrinsic synths, mixed in with squelching feedback noises and percussive electronic drum melodies, down for a moment to make a toast, layering: “Cross time and space to get to you/Your heart is Iron, we are you” on top of a glowing, more pop-positioned keyboard interlude, and repeating the opening hook over the lowered pace. Conclusively, the band don’t hold back on the grand finale, mixing in their frenetic drum-oriented fluidity with buzzing synths and siren effects that fizzle in the mid-centre. It’s all been laid out quite impressively, and the underlying Dance-based flair harkens back to the “Big Beat” club culture of the 90’s, with influences from The Chemical Brothers and Propellerheads, but there is a further Punk-pleasing, Indie Rock sound embellished in the high-energy dance beats to update the style with a new coat of paint. The vocals are a bit daft, but they create an extra touch of humor that feels welcome, if a bit lacking in memorability. It’s a big thumbs up for me overall and the lyrics suit more than just a fun night out in the club.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Shared Particles” (Available to buy from August 28th, 2020) (via Little Miss Echo Recordings)

Thank you for reading this post! As usual, I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth listen to the new track from another emerging independent band. This time, it’s a female punk 3-piece based in London who don’t take themselves very seriously – who have performed at Lollapalooza Festival in 2018 and they were called “inarguably one of the most exhilerating live rock bands to emerge within the last few years” by Joe Lynch of Billboard, in 2018. 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: Arca – “Mequetrefe”

June 30, 2020 — Leave a comment

The Venezuelan producer breaking all musical boundaries is back. It’s new post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “KiCk i” (Released on June 26th, 2020) (via XL Recordings)

Good Morning to you, My name is Jacob Braybrooke 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! Last month, I had a look at “Time”, the new single of-the-time by Venezuelan music producer Arca, who identifies as a Transgender Woman. Arca was building up to the release of her fourth studio album, “Kick I”, set for release on June 26th via the XL Recordings label. Lo and behold, the date has come and gone, so “Kick I” was unleashed into the world over the last weekend. I remember writing that “Time” left me wanting more, so I’ve decided to stream the album and cover the follow-up single, “Mequetrefe”, on the blog. I first discovered Arca through her work on Bjork’s “Vulnicura” and “Utopia” albums, from 2015 and 2017, respectively. She has also produced for the likes of Kanye West, FKA Twigs and Rosalia. Let’s hear her unique brand of shapeshifting europop on “Mequetrefe” below.

“Mequetrefe” derives from a derogatory term, roughly translating to “lazy”, used to describe men in Spanish, as explained by Arca in a press statement, a term she heard in Venezuela while she was growing up – it’s an exploration of gender identity that she tackles to a distorted effect on her strange Euro-Pop dance track. “Mequetrefe” sees Arca croon often unintelligible Spanish lyrics over the top of a mildly danceable and constantly shifting soundscape. Armed with a relentless delivery that never truly sees the track settle into a consistent rhythm, Arca drenches pounding drum beats in a stuttering, percussive shatter effect, completed with heavy Squarepusher-esque retro video game-style acid lines, and cut-up splicing effects mixed with disembodied vocal chanting which sound like a lovechild made between the likes of Aphex Twin and A Tribe Called RED. An underlying Techno and IDM direction creates a fairly tense and uneasy atmosphere for the most part, as Arca builds a commanding presence from the experimental dance-led production, but there is a brief interval when a tranquil synth-line relaxes the tempo down a notch, interrupted by a strobe effect which deforms the synth refrain, before repeating the sequence. Arca uses her vocals to dispose the glitchy Europop-dance vibe, but it sounds more nuanced than your typical Eurovision novelty affair. I really like the ambition on display, and Arca carries an air of self-assurance that intrigues, but it’s a mixed bag for me personally, as the heavy use of distortion effects make it feel jarring and a bit violent to listen to, to a point where it sounds uneven and a bit incohesive due to the sparse use of a pop melodicism. The production shows good attention to detail, but it simply sounds a little too aggressive for my liking. Furthermore, I don’t feel the vocals add very much to the topics of gender at hand. I really enjoyed the downbeat and intricate synth sounds on “Time”, and I ultimately prefer that track for it’s futuristic sci-fi approach. There’s decent creativity here, but it is a disappointing step down from “Time” for me.

  • Pictured: Arca in a press photoshoot to promote the release of “KiCk i” (2020) (Photo Credit: Hart Leshkina)

As I mentioned beforehand, I have also covered the previous single from “Kick I”, the new album by Arca, on the blog beforehand. Why not have a read of it here?: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/28/todays-track-arca-time/

  • Pictured: Arca (Alejandra Ghersi) in a still image from the “Time” music video (2020) (Photo Credit: Rolling Stone)

Thank you for reading this post! 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. After a weekend of various big releases, I will be switching things up on the blog tomorrow, as we’re going back to 1986 for a look at a club classic which is named after the same profession that the fictional film character Magic Mike occupies. 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: Lorenzo Senni – “Discipline Of Enthusiasm”

June 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

Will this Italian DJ/Producer pick up an extra life or is it game over? It’s new post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Scacco Matto” (Released on April 24th, 2020) (via Warp Records)

Good Morning to you, my name is Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing 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! I’m opting for something a little bit different today, as we’re going to explore some of the latest work from Italian Electronic Dance music producer Lorenzo Senni. Describing himself as a “Tireless investigator of dance music’s mechanisms and working parts” on Resident Advisor and “a sadistic scientist that is ripping the spinal cord out of trance and dangling it in front of our eyes” on his Facebook bio, Senni is best known for dabbling in shapeshifting styles of Heavy Techno and Acid House, with further influences in Breakbeat and Power Electronics that can often make his deeply layered beat-driven style feel brash and abrasive. He is also the founder of Presto?! Records, an indie Techno label which houses the likes of Florian Hecker and Marcus Schmickler, along with DJ Stingray and many other artists. His debut album, “Quantum Jelly” was released to a widespread critical acclaim in 2012 and, thus, he signed up to Warp Records in 2016. His latest album release is “Scacco Matto”, his fifth album, which was released on 26th April by Warp Records, earlier in the year. Let’s have a listen to the anthem “Discipline Of Enthusiasm” below.

I reckon it’s fair to say that he doesn’t take his own music that seriously! On “Discipline Of Enthusiasm”, Lorenzo Senni capitalizes on the freeform sounds of a JP-8000 Supersaw synthesizer arp to create a Techno crescendo that builds nicely to a sound that feels akin to a final boss fight of an arcade platformer video game straight from the 1980s, such as Pac-Man or Galaga. A feeling of tension and anticipation is established through a frenetic, chaotic drum loop that dips in-and-out of Breakbeat-style production and distorted strobe effects. The second third of the track fuses in elements of Techno and Deep House, introducing a soft BPM shift with a calming line of synthesized classical sounds. This develops a melodic break that glues the jigsaw pieces together, before the crescendo starts to glitch and the unrelenting opening takes a hold of the picture again. The third, and final, third provides a fuzzing instrumental section that mixes in a slow pace through a carefully nurtured synthesized guitar riff, but the overall line of electronica is still stuttering to the Techno-dominated beat of Staccato lines and small shards of Breakbeat pacing. The overall result of the three sections create a sound that feels very old-school and retro, seemingly delighting in the lack of a futuristic approach. The genre has a niche appeal and the masses of the mainstream aren’t likely to connect with it very easily, but as a fan of techno artists like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher – the latter of which explored a similar style in his latest album – I dig Senni’s abilities in carefully nurturing an overarching feeling of sensory tension, and constructing the release of his crafted anticipation through the harsh electronic bass drop. I don’t want the masses to get it!

  • Pictured: Lorenzo Senni producing music in his office recording studio (2020) (Photography by Piotr Niepsuj)

Thank you for reading this post! 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 with a look at another recent track, this time from an English Jazz legend who became known to the world as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd., which preceded a successful and prolific solo career that began in the late 1970s and continues to the present day. He published an autobiography, “Memories Of A Geezer”, in 2009. 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: Arca – “Time”

May 28, 2020 — 1 Comment

With this Venezuelan songstress, ‘Time’ is of the essence – It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Arca (Alejandra Ghersi) in a still image from the “Time” music video (2020) (Photo Credit: Rolling Stone)

Good morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and, as usual, I’m writing about your daily track on the blog because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! It’s a light period for new releases due to the effects of COVID-19, but one alternative artist who is pushing ahead with the release of her new album, despite the marketing flux, is Arca. Ever one to push boundaries, Arca is set to release her fourth LP record, “Kick I”, on June 26th via XL Recordings. That is day-and-date with Khruangbin’s “Mortdechai”. I’ve come to discover Arca from her many collaborations with Icelandic icon Björk, gaining production credits on 2015’s “Vulnicura” and 2017’s “Utopia”. Arca has also contributed to producing work from Kanye West, Frank Ocean and FKA Twigs. Her new album was recorded between Barcelona and London. It features collaborations with Björk, Rosalía and Shygirl. Let’s have a listen to Arca’s latest single “Time” below.

An artist who came out as Non-Binary in 2018 and wants to be addressed by the pronouns “She” and “It”, Arca documents the transformative chapter of her life in the synth-glazed and disco-inflicted strobe beats on “Time”. It’s hard to decipher the vocals, due to the besmirched production style of the heavy synth work and pulsating drum beats, enveloped in keyboard riffs that throb to the intoxicating sounds of Arca’s dark romantic desire, but she sings: “I know you want it/Time to let it out, it’s time”, which she exfoliates above very methodically layered Falsetto vocal effects and ambient washes of scintillating, 00’s-like Disco throwback beats. In the second half, she adds: “It’s all yours/You know it is/Baby, Take this time tonight for yourself to unwind”, stuttering her vocals over lengthy reverb effects and smearing the spacious vocal delivery with glitched electronic beats that twist and turn to an 80’s synth-pop aesthetic. It sounds highly experimental, but it doesn’t seem massively far off from the Eurythmics-like aesthetic that CHVRCHES used to briefly tap into during the early stages of their career. Arca just dives deeper into the identifiable darkness in the realms of progressive electro-pop and visionary synth beats. She creates a repeated synth pattern to good effect, which creates a very futuristic aesthetic which harkens into Sci-Fi territory. I think this track could have done with being a little longer to develop this vision in further detail, but it sounds creative and imaginatively edited. It is not for the Masses at all – but it’s quite intriguing and she has left me wanting more.

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “KiCk i” (Album) (Available to Buy from June 26th, 2020) (via XL Recordings)

Thank you for reading this post! Hopefully all of this rubbish will be over soon, but in the meantime, I ask that you stay safe inside, don’t do anything silly and you keep on washing those hands! I’ll catch up with you tomorrow with an in-depth review of the brand new single from a British vocalist and guitarist who used to be the frontman of a well-known English Alternative Rock Group who produced 11 albums that hit the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart between 1990 and 2010. 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/