Today’s Track: The Avalanches (feat. Jamie XX, Neneh Cherry & CLYPSO) – “Wherever You Go”

July 23, 2020 — Leave a comment

E.T. – Phone home! You’re Hype-O-Ray has switched on again. It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Wherever You Go” (Double Single) (Released on July 22nd, 2020) (via Modular Recordings)

We’re continuing to build up to a new album of truly Astronomical proportions! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m typing up 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! If you’ve been following the blog since it’s inception last summer, you’ll be very easily aware that I’m a HUGE fan of The Avalanches, a Plunderphonics duo from Australia (A six-piece, at one point) who produced “Since I Left You”, a classic record made from loads of curated samples, which was released in early 2000. “Wildflower”, also an exceptional record in my book, followed up a bizzare 16 years later on. That brings us to 2020, where Robbie Chater and Tony Di Biasi have sporadically released new singles under the name throughout the year to build hype for an upcoming third record, which the duo finished mastering last month. It’s been a bumpy road, with the band debunking rumors of the new album at a few turns, despite us all knowing that it exists. It’s actually been since March that we’ve had a new single, “Running Red Lights” (feat. Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu), from the duo. However, it’s probable that the chaos of Covid-19 has bumped their schedule around. It makes sense, as the type of music the duo makes is highly reliant on exciting collaborations with other artists. “Wherever You Go” was released yesterday morning, along with a B-side entitled “Reflecting Light”. The former features big names Jamie XX and Neneh Cherry, with additional work from CLYPSO. The Avalanches’ description reads: “Why do we send music to the stars?” the band’s accompanying statement asks. “Is it because we want our voices to live forever?” and “How else should we become pure spirits, singing forever in the dark?”, with the band also hoping that the anthem will bring hope at the face of “the whole damn world incinerating”. Let’s have a listen to the track below.

To create their own sample-fueled Space odyssey, The Avalanches enlisted the assistance of Mick Jones, of The Clash, to play the piano part in the intro. Moreover, Chater & Di Biasi experimented with samples taken from 1997’s The Voyager Golden Record, a mix-tape used by NASA to contact aliens. This Extra-Terrestrial theme feels enigmatic, and adds deeper exploration to the cosmic ideas that Chater & Di Biasi explored on “We Will Always Love You” and “Running Red Lights”. The intro of the track begins with a man talking about what humans do here on Earth, before a diverse crescendo of synths, made to sound like broken transmissions, fizzles in to get the club melodies rolling. This contrasts the tense feeling of the intro’s atmosphere, before the intensity gradually explodes and layers of voice samples are added into the background. West African chants are next, leading to a heavy synth line and the introduction of Jamie XX’s section, as very dance-laden Acid strobes are pushed to the forefront. Later, Neneh Cherry recites: “So much badness, so much anger, too much war, it’s all so frightening”, ending with the refrain: “On the radio, we can love”, before an interval that harkens back to the soft, gentle piano melodies heard at the beginning of the track. It feels disjointed, deliberately, before we go back to the club-driven, drum-and-bass bulk of the track. At this point, The Avalanches’ production work is impressive, as to be expected, with flickering radio frequency effects and distorted repeats of the different layered sections of the track. The finale bursts with a joyous, meditative backing vocal, with Jamie XX adding: “You go, you go, too” and Neneh Cherry spitting bars: “1, 2, 3, 4, On the dancefloor, that’s where you get yours”, while Sydney-based Troptronica producer CLYPSO adds ethereal and hallucinatory backing vocals, along with tribal chants and subtle Bongo drum sections, to the ongoing track. It’s always a gutsy move to release a dance record at a time where clubs are banned, and it’s a shame that Covid has ruined what they were likely planning. However, I feel The Avalanches have really knocked it out of the park, with this one. The six-minute duration is long and extensive, but the track always feels interesting, thanks to the gradual arrangement of new layers being added throughout the track. Jamie XX adds a profound and psychedelic essence to the sample effects, and Neneh Cherry adds a Gorillaz-esque hip-hop undercurrent to the track, making it sound melodic and intriguing. CLYPSO fits suitably too, with his world-influenced instrumentation blending with the overarching feelings of meditation and space exploration. The production gives a blockbuster feel, with meticulously layered NASA samples that makes it feel fun, with hidden samples and effects that add detail to each corner of the track’s soundscape. There’s a touch of humour here too, with the amusing refrain: “The Whole damn world’s been incinerated” delivered enthusiastically by Cherry at the very end. Combined, all of the collaborations make it feel very psychedelic, groovy and inspired, although it gets to a point where you think: “How many people does it take to make one song”! It’s got more of a Club sound than we usually hear from them. The best of their recent bunch.

Pictured: Mural promoting the release of “We Will Always Love You” in Melbourne, Australia (2020) (via Stereogum)

As previously mentioned, I’ve been closely tracking the new releases from The Avalanches as we build to the upcoming third LP. Click here to read my thoughts on “Running Red Lights” (feat. Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu) here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/20/todays-track-the-avalanches-feat-rivers-cuomo-pink-siifu-running-red-lights/, and you can also read my review for the comeback single “We Will Always Love You” (feat. Blood Orange) here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/21/todays-track-the-avalanches-feat-blood-orange-we-will-always-love-you/

Pictured: Robbie Chater (Mixing/Production/Guitar) and Tony Di Biasi (Keyboard/Synths/Bass) (2020) (via press shot)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as promised, with a break from the new music releases to wind the clock back to 2005 for this week’s retro track. The single became a well-known Top 40 chart hit, in the mid-00’s, for an American rock band, formed in New York City, who split up in 2014. 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

Scuzz Sundays: Terrorvision (feat. Mint Royale) – “Tequila (Mint Royale Shot)”

July 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

A caricature of the past? Or, does is it still sound in Mint condition? It’s Scuzz Sunday!

Pictured: Physical CD copy of “Regular Urban Survivors” (Released on 11th March, 1996) (via EMI/Total Vegas)

You know what day it is! Good Morning, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Sunday is Scuzz Sunday, where we revisit an emo-rock or pop-punk classic from the late-1990’s until the mid-2000’s to see if it can live up to modern standards, named in honor of the now-defunct Scuzz TV freeview channel. Terrorvision were a successful British Alternative Rock band from Yorkshire who disbanded in 2001, before they re-united in 2011, with mainstream chart hits including “Perseverance”, “Bad Actress” and “Alice, What’s The Matter” over the years. For their fourth album, “Shaving Peaches”, released in 1998, Terrorvision decided to go in a more pop-oriented and chart-friendly direction, or rather, their label did. “Tequila”, a single from the album, was Terrorvision’s rework of the 1958 instrumental “Tequila (The Champs Song)” by Danny Flores and The Champs, a track which is widely recognizable. The instrumental was heavily sampled by Terrorvision, who used the tune of the main melody, to create their “Tequila” track. The album featured co-production from Edwyn Collins, and “Tequila” reached #2 in the UK Singles Charts after it had been remixed by Mint Royale, the alias of EDM producer Neil Claxton, who had a famous hit with “Singin’ In The Rain” that was released in 2005, and it re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2008 at the #1 spot after Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson used it for his semi-final and final performances on the TV show. This one is a little different to our usual Scuzz Sundays fare. Let’s have a listen below.

A crossover hit for the band, “Tequila” was remixed by Mint Royale to a big success rate that Terrorvision were undoubtedly not very used to, but it’s a hit that their label wanted, with mainstream success and all the expectations that come with it being handled to the band on a silver plate, as the band was bound to a contract with EMI and had to release it, at their discretion, after Zoe Ball (the BBC Radio 1 breakfast presenter at the time) gave it significant airplay. “Just looking for a hit” is never something that sits well with me, but the quality of the remix alone is in reasonable shape. Claxton uses the modulated sample of a children’s choir to add a chaotic, witty upbeat effect to Tony Wright’s post-punk influenced vocals. The vocals are highly reminiscent of Gorillaz, with a low-tone Albarn-like croon that creates a cohesive “Chalk and Cheese” effect to the high-pitched gospel voices. The guitar riffs of the original track are still thrown in, but their tone is more cheerful and high-tempo due to the dance-heavy backing loops. Wright’s vocals repeat: “Con Tequila, when the doors are opened, and Con Tequila when they’re calling time”, layered above uptempo Vibraphone chords and Whistle sections, both of which have a spinning, Carousel effect. The arrangement still retains it’s post-punk elements by including the main rock instrumentation and keeping the original vocals intact, but the sound geers towards a Brit-Pop flavour that reminds me of Blur, with a short and sweet drum loop that sounds more akin to “Fly Life” by Basement Jaxx. The result is predominantly still a soft-rock record, but the presence of the Sun-soaked electronic beats and the sultry themes of having a cheeky alcoholic drink in the sun make the 50’s instrumental sound refreshed under a new guise. It’s just a matter of perspective!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Shaving Peaches” (Released on 5th October, 1998) (via EMI/Total Vegas)

Thank you very much for reading this post! Tomorrow, I’ll be kicking off the new week by covering a fairly recent track that I sadly didn’t get around to covering beforehand. It comes from a very talented Black singer, producer and songwriter who was shortlisted for his very first album for the Mercury Prize in 2011. His third album, released in 2015, was also shortlisted for the Mercury Prize that year. 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: Orion Sun – “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)”

June 22, 2020 — Leave a comment

Tiffany Majette wanted to be an astronaut but she turned to music. It’s new post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Hold Space For Me” (Released on March 27th, 2020) (via Mom +Pop Records)

Good Morning, I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog because it is my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! We’re going to kick off the new week with a track by talented up-and-comer Tiffany Majette – who performs under the alias of Orion Sun – a Philadelphia-born contemporary R&B/Neo-Soul artist who had a viral hit with 2017’s “Antidote”, off her self-produced compilation LP “A Collection Of Fleeting Moments and Daydreams” released that same year, which has amassed over 6.6 million streams on Spotify. Her latest album is “Hold Space For Me”, and it was released to positive reviews by Mom + Pop Records at the end of March, earlier in this year. Majette has a very confessional, heart-on-your sleeve vocal style, with Funk-led Drum grooves warping around radiant Synth-based instrumentation to create a fruitful blend of Neo-Soul, modern R&B and pop-based Electronica. Her single, “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” is based on Nina Simone’s cover of Jacques Brel’s track of the same title. However, Majette strips the sadness away and focuses on the joyous elements instead, stating that it’s about: “falling in love unexpectedly & feeling like its too good to be true but actually it’s good and true. This feeling was proof to me that good things can happen to people that feel ugly inside.”. Let’s watch the video for “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” below.

A music video with a hand-crafted look that matches the D.I.Y. mentality of the track’s production process, “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me” starts off with a flipped sample of Simone’s rendition, before washing waves of small guitar loops and Reggae-like drum beats create a sun-dripped vibe. Majette croons: “Swear you came down like a comet/You’ll be all in my dreams like I’m f***ing haunted” over the sparse keyboard riffs and ambient synths to produce the first verse. The chorus feels similarly nuanced and vulnerable, as Majette sings: “It feels so good to know you” and “it feels so damn good”, placed above gentle guitar string plucks and Soul/R&B-instrumental breaks that also create a wider Folk influence in the slow-paced narration. The end continues the poignant blend of the three genres, but it’s noticeably relaxed by an instrumental section that carries the synth-led crescendo of spaced guitar licks and mid-tempo drum grooves along well, before she uses “Love me, forever” to bring the ambient piece to a close. It feels ripe for Summer listening despite the March release, with attentive production that provides meshes R&B-led and Electronica-driven synths with slow instrumentals that bring elements of Jazz Fusion and Folktronica to the table. I think the best is yet to come from Majette since I guess that it gets a tad repetitive, but it’s otherwise a welcoming offering that feels melodic enough for the mainstream to get, but the vibrancy makes it more appealing.

Pictured: Tiffany Majette in a photoshoot for a Q&A feature with Flaunt.com (2020) (Photographed by Sandy Ismail)

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. As per usual, I’ll be back tomorrow with a new post. I will be looking at another recent track, this time coming from an Italian experimental electronic music producer who is currently signed to Warp Records and he is also the co-founder of Presto!? Records. 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: Bentley Rhythm Ace – “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out!”

June 19, 2020 — Leave a comment

If you got a problem with me – Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Mike Stokes (Turntables/Keyboard/Producer) and Richard March (Bass/Engineering) performing a live set at a reunion show at the 02 Academy in Bournemouth (in December 2016) (Photo Credit: Charlie Raven Photography)

A 90’s dance classic to give you that Friday Feeling! 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! Bentley Rhythm Ace are an Electronic Dance duo formed in 1996 in Birmingham, consisting of engineer Richard Marsh and producer Mike Stokes. This name is, believed to have been, a reference to the Rhythm Ace line-up of analogue drum machines, which were manufactured by Ace Tone and distributed by Bentley Pianos. The duo built up an underground following, signed to Skint Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1997. The album received widespread critical acclaim and it spawned a few mainstream hits, particularly “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out”, which reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart. The duo switched to Parlophone for a follow-up album “For Your Ears Only” in 2000, but it was nowhere near as successful. Stokes and March disbanded shortly after, but they reunited the act in 2016, starting off with a few low-key shows, before headlining their own shows and playing at a lot of festivals across the UK circuit. The duo played a big role in the “British Big Beat” movement of the 1990’s, which is an era where club music became very popular, pioneered by famous dance artists like The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fat Boy Slim and Propellerheads. Let’s have a listen back to “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out” below!

A track which would bring back fond memories for fans of the 1990’s dance crossover mainstream era of “Big Beat”, “Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out” is a showcase for the duo’s ability to re-purpose samples, to use instrumental splicing effects and digital sequencing pad FX technology to generate a new sound from an old record, although it does feel like a product of it’s time. It is a mostly ambient track, which March and Stokes revealed in an interview that it originally sprung up from a German album of Striptease Music by the Werner Muller Orchestra. The track begins with a glitched, spaced synth pad sequence created by a Roland JD-8000, a digital piece of old analogue synth software. The next section introduces a winding keyboard/synth riff which, quite literally, bloops along to the settled, mid-tempo groove established in the first third of the track. The final section consists of a light, psychedelic bass hook and a mild Strobe effect created by a Novation BassStation. The pacing is quite aired, with a female backing vocal which heavily breathes “I love you”, a sample which breaks up the three different parts of the track. It may come across as a bit too straight-forward for some, but there are some lovely and well-produced sampling effects in play. The duo seemed to be pulling in a lot of influences from the Sample-Delia and Plunderphonics genres. You will love this if you are a fan of The Avalanches.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Bentley Rhythm Ace” (Album) (Released on 12th May, 1997) (via Skint Records)

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 for an in-depth review of the new track from a Brighton 4-piece “Indie” pop/rock band who are signed to Warner Group Records, have cited Weezer as their major influence and worked with U2 and Daughter’s producer, Joylon Thomas, for their self-titled debut LP released in 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: Powfu (feat. Beabadoobee) – “Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head)”

April 17, 2020 — Leave a comment

I went in a Benson’s shop today and there was a sale of 50% off everything. No wonder the beds were only three inches long then! Boom! It’s time for your new post!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Death Bed” (feat. Beabadoobee) (Released on 8th February 2020) (via Columbia)

I can’t believe that we’ve got to Friday already! I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! Powfu is a Canadian rapper and songwriter who has recently gone viral with “Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head)”, a track which samples a track by Filipino artist Beabadoobee, a finalist of BBC’s Sound Of 2020 poll, who he credits as a featured artist on the track. It was initially released on SoundCloud last year, but it was re-released in February, eventually gaining over 150 million streams on Spotify after it was used in over 3 million clips on the video sharing app, TikTok, an app similar to SnapChat, which is down with the youth these days! Being part of the youth, I didn’t actually discover “Death Bed” through TikTok, but rather through a shared folder of tracks which my friend at my university’s student radio station shared with me. To be honest with you, I don’t use apps like TikTok or SnapChat anymore because, between you and me, I have a hatred for them! I think they’re pointless and I think that apps like that are everything wrong with society these days! Personal pet peeves aside, though, it’s clear that Powfu managed to get away from alternative territory and struck a chord with audiences in the mainstream. It’s got to #8 in the UK Singles Charts and #33 on the USA’s Billboard chart, after all! Let’s see what the fuss is about in the video below!

In the slightly similar vain of tracks like Nena’s “99 Red Balloons” and Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”, Powfu’s “Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head)” is one of the rare instances of a track that sounds fairly upbeat, but the lyrical context has a melancholic grievance to it. A suitably low-fi track sees Beabadoobee’s “Coffee”, an acoustic guitar ballad, being sampled into a recurring hook as a beat by Powfu. The video is tonally noir-ish, with Powfu rapping about his wishes to see a deceased relative, or possibly a romatic interest, who passed away. It’s told from the viewpoint of a young man on his death bed, in a literal and figurative sense. Powfu raps lyrics like “I wish it could be me, but I won’t make it out of this bed/I hope I go to heaven, so I see you once again”, later continuing: “I’ve been praying for forgiveness/I’ve been praying for my health” and “When I leave this Earth, hoping you’ll be with someone else”, before he tells her: “Soon you’ll be alone/sorry that you’ll have to lose me”, before a later stage of the track sees him provide his own backing vocals, supported by the delicate backing beat, lightly singing: “Don’t stay awake for too long/Don’t go to bed, I’ll make a cup of coffee for your head” and I think this is quietly the best ribbon on the overall package, as it feels soft, but sincere and reflective. It’s a neat touch on the production work of the track, which is decidedly laidback as Powfu allows the pitched-up sample to do the work for him, rather than modulating it with auto-tune or any other mathematically overproduced devices. The tempo is low and drowsy, reminding me of Mac DeMarco’s subtle fidelity on tracks from his 2015 record “This Old Dog”, which is DeMarco’s best record in my opinion. Back to Powfu, I’m quite fond of this track because the storytelling is poignant and it has a graceful effect, with a poetic and reflective style that is simple, but effective. I think the track’s in danger of getting overplayed now that it’s become a commercial hit and following it’s success, he’s just signed to Columbia, a risky venture since it’s one of the most commercial labels out there, so I’m feeling skeptical about his future work, but I like this track. It’s my kind of hip-hop because it’s based around an effective sample, it hasn’t been electronically altered by nonsense and there’s a decent level of artistic expression here. It’s non-violent and he isn’t trying to just sound like everybody else to get a hit, although he’s ended up with it being one. See, I don’t hate all chart music!

Pictured: Beabadoobee in August 2019 (via Wikipedia)

Thank you for reading this post! Don’t forget that in two days time, we’ll be taking a trip down pop-punk memory lane with our weekly Scuzz Sundays feature! Before then, please make sure that you check back with the blog tomorrow as I’ll be introducing you to an unknown group who I’ve only recently been introduced to myself! – a duo from Germany who are named after a certain pest that you may find in your Garage or your Attic! 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: Denzel Curry & Kenny Beats – "Cosmic.m4a"

March 31, 2020 — Leave a comment

An alt-rap ditty destined to leave you giddy across the galaxy! It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Kenny Beats (left) (Producer/Songwriter) and Denzel Curry (Vocals/Engineer) (right) (2020) (via MTV shoot)

“Drip, hop, born from the crackpot, this is for the infants, the have’s and the have-not’s” is the catchy opening refrain that Florida-born musician Denzel Curry uses to introduce “Cosmic.m4a”, the final track on his new EP release, a collaborative project that he’s been writing and mixing with Connecticut-born music producer Kenny Beats. I, Jacob Braybrooke – writing about your daily track on the blog, of course – had first discovered this track in a weekly music meeting whilst co-managing my university’s student radio station for my FMP project, when they were going ahead, just a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it and I started playing it on my Tuesday evening show nearly each week, and it’s picked up a bit of mainstream steam in the following weeks. Is that a sign of Karma? Anyways, one of my favourite YouTube presenters – shout-out to Deep Cuts – named it as one of his self-isolation records during this difficult time on a recent video for his YouTube channel, and BBC Radio 6Music even bumped it up to the A-list of their daytime playlist last week. The “UNLOCKED” EP is a fun collection of sample-based hip-hop tracks that is loosely based around the theme of retro, arcade video games. It poses a few important political questions – albeit in a warm and light-hearted mood. Hear what the fuss is about with “Cosmic.m4a” below!

“UNLOCKED” is a multi-platform project, with the songs being used in a 24-minute short film of the exact same title, a strategy that makes sense due to the range of samples being used from various pieces of obscure movies. The track’s got an instantly memorable opening, with the samples being used to add backing vocals, as Curry raps with an effortless flow behind a mid-90’s, psychedelic EDM-trap beat. There are witty injections of humor (“You act so hard you should thank the academy/It comes full circle, but it ends in fatality)” but the goofy nature of the lyricism balances a more serious tone with it’s wacky, light personality when it needs to (“A geek’s thoughts, that’s a square mentality/He shoot in VR, but we got guns in reality”). Beats leaves a “gauge-sized hole” in your hearts when his sampling arrangement adds a fragmented quality, as he builds around Curry’s constantly domineering vocal presence with his interweaving kick drum beats and his progressive, muted bass guitar chords. Curry also manages to create a raw underground feel, when he chants: “Drip, hop, born on the D-block”, followed by “My only goal and purpose is to come and make the streets hot”, before Beats slows the tempo of the track, as the waves of sample-based material start to distort to a grinding halt, as a sample calls: “We did everything in the world to exterminate them, but, ha, no apparent luck”, a nod to a mainstream era being lampooned in the track’s wake. By the time the final sample calls, it’s a heavy, blistered assault of psychedelic hop-hop, with “Take one shot to the brain” feeling like one of the most satisfying 5 seconds of music that you could listen to. It’s fun, cheeky and bass-heavy. FATALITY…

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “UNLOCKED” (EP) (Released on 7th February, 2020) (via PH Recordings & Loma Vista Recordings) (Photo Taken from http://www.hotnewhiphop.com)

Thank you very much for reading this post – I hope that you enjoyed it! Stay tuned to this section over the next few days, as a special announcement will be unveiled very soon! But first, make sure you check back tomorrow, as I’ll be listening to a track from a band who have recently played a gig locally to me at The Sugar Mill in Stoke-On-Trent, back in February. 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: The Avalanches (feat. Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu) – “Running Red Lights”

March 20, 2020 — 1 Comment

What did the traffic light say to the car? Don’t look, I’m changing! It’s new post time…

Good morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and as always, I’m writing about your daily track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! It has been a pretty miserable week for us all environmentally, but a nice array of light burst out of the tunnel during my week when The Avalanches, an Australian Plunderphonics now-duo, released a new single as they continue to tease a new album or a large scale project of-sorts. For regular readers of my blog – firstly, thank you so much for the support – but, most importantly, you know that it delights me to be a big fan of The Avalanches work, so I’m not going to bore you with the details again. In February, the sample-based duo released “We Will Always Love You” featuring Blood Orange, which felt like a decent little teaser for a much bigger album. This time – they’ve recruited the skills of Rivers Cuomo, the frontman of the well-known pop/punk band Weezer, with additional contributions from Pink Siifu, for “Running Red Lights”, the lead single for their rumored new album – which will be their first in four years! Let’s watch the music video – starring previous America’s Got Talent hopeful Erik Cavanaugh – below!

“Running, running red lights/red lights, red lights/I’ve been running red lights/to get to you” is a catchy vocal refrain which Cuomo chimes in with as The Avalanches address love and loss within the psych-pop driven sound of their new offering. It’s different to the light hip-hop sensibilities that we’ve heard on older Avalanches’ work, as a whimsical male hum and a glistening synth haze introduce us to a beat-driven, soulful pop ballad with a wistful, dream-like production style. Poetically, Cuomo recites: “I’m a thunder cloud/I’m ready to burst, like Schrodinger”, above a two-step drum punch, before later adding: “Hans is looking for Liesel/Living in Union Square”, as a myriad of voices chirp in the corners of the steady pop bassline.. as well as the left and right buds of your headphones! Pink Siifu brings the repetitous sweetness to a halt with: “The light of my life is going out tonight with a pink champagne Corvette/The light of my life is going out tonight without a flicker of regret”, before a pause, following: “Fly out to space/Listen to the music the stars are making”, before Cuomo adds a new hook: “California life is alright with me”, finishing it off with: “We are all we have” – the rumored title of the upcoming album. The track is undeniably pop-oriented, no doubt, and I’d even go as far to say that it’s more of a sample-based record than a totally Plunderphonics one. I wasn’t very keen on the track on my first listen, as I felt Cuomo’s delivery was a bit juvenile for my liking and the progression of the pop influences a lot more commercial than “Wildflower”, but I’ve quickly come to grow into the track… is it really that commercial? I appreciate the child-like qualities of Cuomo’s vocals and I feel the Pink Siifu sample in the second half of the track really picks up the momentum of the “togetherness” lyrical theme of the track, but the highlight is the sumptuous choral harmonies. This is the obvious choice for a single, due to it’s relative accessibility and it’s subtle way of conveying the themes of the new album across to new listeners. I don’t think it’s their strongest, but 2000’s “Since I Left You” isn’t the type of record that you can capture lightning in a bottle twice with, so it’s great to see The Avalanches heading in a different direction instead and I’ll always remember it’s release as a vibrant burst of excitement during a difficult time. The Avalanches have always been one of those “album” bands for me, with the singles sounding a bit less energetic outside of the context of listening to it as part of an album, so I can’t wait to enjoy the track even more when hearing it in a “full album” environment. It’s nice to have an album like this in a troublesome period such as this!

You can also have a read of my thoughts on “We Will Always Love You”, featuring English R&B and electronic neo-soul producer Blood Orange, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/21/todays-track-the-avalanches-feat-blood-orange-we-will-always-love-you/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for the “Running Red Lights” single release (2020) (Released by Modular Recordings)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as always – with my in-depth thoughts on the latest release from a Guildhall-based experimental pop do who are currently signed to Warp Records – an ambient techno label which was home to the likes of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher in the late 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/

Today’s Track: The ORB – “Daze”

February 29, 2020 — Leave a comment

A track for you to vibe out to under the little fluffy clouds? It’s time for your new post!

Pictured: Alex Paterson (Programming) and Michael Rendall (Effects) (Photo Credit: http://www.theorb.com)

It’s quite the sunny Stoke day for me – which gives us the perfect excuse to stream the latest track from one of Britian’s most established Chillout acts – The Orb, an ambient electronic house duo originally set up by Alex Paterson and The KLF’s Jimmy Caulty in 1988 – which is now comprised of Paterson and Michael Rendall. The Orb are best known for their 1991 classic “Little Fluffy Clouds”, which led to the duo becoming known for their following inside drug-induced clubs where their fans would “wind down” by listening to their neo-psychedelic remixes of Dub and Chill sequences. Their new LP record, “Abolition Of The Royal Familia” is currently slated for release on March 27th via the Cooking Vinyl label – with the title seeming like one of the obscure science fiction references which The Orb have become very synonymous for, in their long career since the late 1980’s. The new LP, their sixteenth studio album release overall, features guest appearances from the likes of Roger Eno, Nick Burton (former rotating member of The Orb), Andy Cain, Gaudi, Violetta Vicci and more – who will all be bringing their talents in a collaborative effort with the British humor and the witty sample-based elements of The Orb’s old-school psych-funk sensibilities. The most vital of which, however, is… Leika The Dog! Let’s watch her go on a cosmic canine trip to the moon and back in the music video for “Daze (Missing & Messed Up Mix)” below.

Fairly low production vales aside – the video for “Daze (Missing and Messed Up Mix)” elicits a few decent chuckles out of me, and I feel like the single is reasonably good as well. I particularly enjoyed the opening, as a sample-led blast of vocals, drowned in echoed reverberation, proudly exclaims: “A soul sound sensation”, before a swirling strobe of Balearic synths take control of the melodic hook, leading to a slightly down-tempo affair of genre-blurring composition, as a soulful refrain leads the vocal part: “You’ve been missing for days/missing..”, a simple line which is given a little more depth through an unashamedly 70’s disco element, as a vintage sample adds enough ooh’s and wooh’s to also craft a dance-able pop rhythm. The track also contains a light hop-hop element under a 90’s ambience glaze, which is created from a subtle strings arrangement and a modulated Conga drum sound. It mostly sounds like an eclectic and meticulously engineered affair of The Orb doing their classic dub-psychedelia twang best. It’s business as normal for The Orb, with an uptempo groove put together by a jam-packed sample part, which reminds me of the nostalgic adventure sound of The Avalanches “Since I Left You”. However, I don’t think it’s engineered in as much detail and in a peculiar sense, I don’t feel it really goes anywhere else, the soulful melodies are consistent but lacking in a vigorous quality to push it forwards slightly more than it’s been presented, as I feel the vocal refrain gets a little too repetitious for it’s own good. This is more the style of track that I would sit down and have on during a long train journey, rather than before a big night-out, as it does have an upbeat, traditional Chillout pop texture, but it doesn’t veer so much into free-spirited dance territory. Although I do think the track is missing another element of sound to give the overall sound a touch more excitement and just a little bit more oomph, I think the track does what it sets out to do very adequately. The slight infliction of wit is a twinkling highlight and it’s very engaging how the sound mixes elements of hip-hop, dub, ambient house, psychedelic soul and good, old-fashioned pop without losing much of it’s cohesive structure. A likeable little anthem.

Pictured: Alex Paterson and Michael Rendall enjoying a garden day… in the bushes! (Orb-approved press shot)

You can also read my thoughts on The Orb’s 90’s classic “Little Fluffy Clouds” here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/18/todays-track-the-orb-little-fluffy-clouds/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Abolition Of The Royal Familia” (Available on 27th March, 2020) (via Cooking Vinyl)

Thank you or reading this post! I’m writing a new installment of my weekly Scuzz Sundays series on the blog tomorrow – a weekly thowback to the late 90’s and early-mid 00’s punk or emo rock anthems of old that you might remember seeing on the defunct Scuzz TV Freeview music video channel. It will be a mainstream chart hit from a band who, as a running joke in their music videos, use their previous singles during the introductions of their videos! 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/https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: The Avalanches (feat. Blood Orange) – “We Will Always Love You”

February 21, 2020 — 2 Comments

It’s been 4 years Since They Left Us.. at least they didn’t take a 16 year break this time!

Pictured: Robbie Chater (Mixing/Production/Guitar) and Tony Di Biasi (Keyboards/Bass/Synths) (2020) (via PR)

We’ve finally made it to Friday! I’m Jacob Braybrooke, writing about your daily track on the blog, as promised! Yesterday morning saw the return of one of my all-time favourites The Avalanches, who have been teasing a new album for months now, following their comeback album “Wildflower” being released in 2016. It took 16 years for the development of that record to see the light of day, with The Avalanches becoming a duo in that timeline. In case you’re not familiar, The Avalanches are a Plunderphonics duo from Australia who are best known for “Since I Left You”, which was released in 2000, an album which was made out of thousands of layered samples from older records, as well as voice clips and sound effects from films and television shows, most of which are very obscure. The record has a timeless, futuristic sound, which documents an adventurous journey through several locales in the world. The album spawned some mainstream success for The Avalanches and it’s gone down as as a classic, critically lauded as one of the best albums ever made. It’s been four years since we’ve heard from them, as a group of billboards, with an unmistakably Avalanches-style of art work, have been placed in several different locations around the world. They’ve collaborated with British producer Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes) for “We Will Always Love You”, which was premiered on Triple J in the US and on BBC Radio 6Music in the UK early yesterday morning. Let’s have a listen to the track below.

Sumptuous melodies! Describing the context for the new album in an email newsletter, which you can also read on The Avalanches’ Instagram account, it’s being pitched as lost or deceased musical souls floating around in space, which are giving off transmissions. I don’t know about you, but when I hear that artists are exploring cosmic themes on a new record, I groan inside a touch because it feels a bit saturated and it’s hard to approach the aesthetic from an original angle, but in the case of this, it’s an intriguing concept that feels ripe for exploration from a sample-based act like The Avalanches. If I’m completely honest with you, the first time that I heard “We Will Always Love You”, I felt underwhelmed by it as I thought that it didn’t really go anywhere. However, I’ve now managed to see it as a short teaser for the new album rather than a full-blown lead single – and it’s managed to grow on me quite a bit. The track has a very spiritual quality, with a Gorillaz-like opening where morse code signals are given off as the main sample, taken from “Since I Saw You” by Playground Zero, creeps in: “Since I saw you last there’s been many a sunset/And every day we’re apart seems like a week”, as Hynes creaks: “Draped in monotony/What’s my life gotten me/Hard to be glorious when two minds meet in the corner”, with an upbeat tempo which gives off a slight hip-hop sensibility. He continues: “By me to you/take another hit/What else to do?/Think about leaving my house/But my fears aren’t letting up/” before our narrator is addressed by a vocal hook, created by a sample of “Hammond Song” by The Roches, which glistens a beam of hope: “We’ll always love you but that’s not the point/We’ll always love you but that’s not my fault”, with the soundscape being filled with more and more layers reciting the vocals, before a twinkling piano melody closes off the track. Overall, I still don’t think it’s their strongest work and I would like to see a return to the more dance-oriented, world-like sounds of “Since I Left You”, but this is still a top-notch little track that sets up the stage for the upcoming album. It’s different to the kind of experimental work we’ve seen from The Avalanches before, but it’s still got the nostalgic playfulness that makes it uniquely classed to them. The track isn’t filled with the hundreds of sounds we’re used to hearing from them, but it sounds more refined, rather than stuffed. Nobody quite manages to capture the adolescent, very emotive sounds that The Avalanches deliver in their manipulative sample work and it’s great to hear them making interesting music again… without it taking them over a decade to actually release it. Fingers crossed for the imminent singles in the build-up for the new album.

Pictured: The Avalanches (Robbie Chater & Tony Di Blasi) in a press photoshoot for “Wildflower” (2016) (via PR)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as per usual, with an in-depth look at an Ambient House track from a DJ who’s named themselves after a beloved TV sitcom starring the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer! 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