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Sleepless and Spiritual

Music in Review

Gumi - Elastic Life E.P. - Review

29/7/2016

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Gumi Elastic Life EP Review
Gumi
Elastic Life EP
Mikela Bella Music


A mix-master's dream perhaps, the electronic oriental grooves gush through clamouring loops of clicking percussive tappings and snap clicks. A feel for the atmosphere of a large space, with people moving in and out of the dry ice, clutching tall glasses while swaying gracefully in their own little worlds. Sounds like heaven, if only they'd talk to me!


Many of us go to clubs or listen to dancing music like this, for the fact it takes us out of our linear time frame with people to attend to and needs to meet, but rather let us be carried off by the clouds of musical delivery for a while.


With capacities for tempo shifts well within reach, no major melody is at risk of being tampered with, the transition of tone in beat would be fairly simple as the music is rhythm based. Only slight variations with bass lines and pretty beats give it an edge of key change wariness. Nothing that a decent DJ can't handle, or really just let it play, nothing wrong with it by itself.


Atmospherically, the E.P. takes a slight ghostly edge, in which the temper of the flow occasionally feels a bit spooky, or edgy, however this isn't anything to detract from the general up-beat attitude of the vibe. Well used synths give everything a cybernetic sensation, and close replications of real to life tribal and cultural sounds bring everything back slightly into the world of flesh. The bridge is mostly in binary, but we can walk without fear, as ourselves.



How much we engage with the rhythm and pace is up to us, no matter how much we try to relax, there'll always be something that pricks the ears, but we don't have to dance. If dancing is what we want, a bit more volume and an easy going attitude will make this a great accompaniment to your moves.  

Rowan Blair Colver
PHUNNY x Kidrobot
Looney Tunes x Kidrobot
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Sieben - The Old Magic - Album Review 

22/7/2016

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Picture
Sieben
The Old Magic
Redroom Records 018


It's not very often that I say “Wow!” to myself when I am presented with an album. I've seen so many in my time, they all have a front door, some groovy art and a disk inside. Sometimes the artist puts in that little bit more effort, seeks a great manufacturer, and produces something that gives their audience that mystical extra touch which lets them know they're special.
​

Sieben's latest physical release of The Old Magic offers the home run version of this very real effect, showcasing the music in a nifty four way opening art box, rammed to the edges with quality and mysterious imagery, by Martin F. Bedford, fit for discerning progressive folk rock fans the world over. Lyric offerings make the experience as interactive as possible, as I can read along with the songs and perhaps attempt to make my own accompaniment in good time.


Calling upon spirits of old and using the soul's intimate mirror into the past as a focal point for sonic abstractions led by the echoing haunts of tampered violins, an album of flourish and moments, a feel for past life nostalgia glitters over this modern and cutting edge production. In the way music is created to reproduce a feeling, and then is absorbed by a listener to reproduce a personal take on it, the feelings served up by Sieben grab that part of me which says, “Sit back, take your time, realise that the very moment is worth more than its passing, when focussed on”. This is the element of power within The Old Magic, that seems to draw me back into myself just a little bit, to find the truth of the momentary awareness which comprises the I am.


Organic reverbs mould the heart of what this album has to offer, its got real depth to its spirit and this makes it less important to continually glitter and shine like some kind of pop band, but more it prefers to linger on the edge of what we need and what we feel is happening next, always satisfying our expectations with fascinating twists.


True power in the real to life recordings of Matt Howden's vocal delivery at the ending of the penultimate track, named “A Hart for St Hubertus”, seem to catch me and sit me down in a new chair.“The Other Side of the River” arrives and the mix of melody and rhythm makes it like the river itself, voice literally washing the surface in places, and happenings all over the focus makes it difficult to clarify but awesome to be swept up by, so just let it happen.

Rowan Blair Colver


www.matthowden.com
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