aAirial
Emotions are Desert Islands
Self-released


Parisian minimalist outfit aAirial makes a splash with a new full length album, featuring a lush landscape as the cover. Slow digital impressions weave their way into existence, bringing Intro into being. The track reveals depth far superior to the entirely accurate but none-the-less unimaginative track title. Perhaps a subtle irony is drawn upon for the surprise but when the track closes down to allow Squares to take over, more electronic and experimental slow tempo brilliance shines from the sound system.


Almost as if the slowing down of the pace has allowed the music to utilise the multi-directional quality of what computers can do with sound waves, every pulse to the rhythmic but discordant compositions stands in a space of its own and the airy delivery acts like a plinth which magnifies each little nuance. It's artistically mixed, and the choices of sample and voice sit either side of a pool. One crisp and tranquil, like a reflection in still waters, and one frothy and distorted much like the reality and all the baggage which a mirror cannot perceive. The noise behind the purity of light and the balance between both realities.


Atmosphere plays a strong role in what this music is aiming to achieve. Tricky phrases that flow like liquor over ice, splashing and taking novel paths to the same end, make heady backdrops for continual and clever beats laid down by what resembles an archaic machine. Short few minute numbers mean that the boredom doesn't have time to truly raise its head. When music is left to the bare bones, and avoids the use of words and overpowering musical flurry, it can drag. This doesn't.


It's a relaxing album that makes use of the space in inventive and new ways but stays well within the lines of pleasant. Skilfully sculpted music is not made from the raw rock, but pieced together from nothing with sonic ingredients, minimalist music really demonstrates this principle and Emotions are Desert Islands makes a fine example.  

Kala Hari
​Into A New Dawn E.P.
Uxmal Records


Three vast tracks make up this immense E.P., opening with spaced out abstractions of new-age technology and distant birdsong. A majestically wavering harmonious synthesiser releases the tension before some crisply reverberated nature sounds begin to take the lead. The notion of peace rides aloft the billowing waves of gentle rhythm. Lounging peaks sit quietly while softly creeping above the break line, forming texture and contour, culminating in the addition of melody.


Similar in terms to the Kalahari Desert, in Africa, the sound is long and as it stretches into haze obscured horizons, rolling dunes of new direction bring effect driven nudges into slow tangents of sound. Electronic with nature taking a central role in the use of sample and artistic exploration makes a pretty fusion, balancing the music on a finely tuned equilibrium which leans in a three hundred and sixty degree shallow tilt as the progression evolves.


The E.P. works well for the time it takes, the triple dose of synthetic ambience and abstraction makes up nearly half an hour. During this time, we're greeted with a multitude of digitally crafted mixtures of rhythm and tune which flow well from one to another. It is an artistic selection, Into A New Dawn can be really listened to and appreciated bar by bar. The depth and richness to the compositions create light but wholesome tones which cover all the listening places.  

Master Margherita
Hippies With Gadgets
Peak Records


Heady phasers shift from left to right across the stereo experience in atmospheric and vibrant slow waves before a tribal drum beat christens the music with an idea of scope and direction. Organic rhythms are soon accompanied by birdsong as the droning ambience swells with distant thunder and shimmering sounds. Some technology pokes its head through the haze and some flow is added to the soundscape, contouring melodic slow dances of intent around the repeating and relaxing percussion drift their way into a progressive tribal trance.


The fusion of ethnic elements with electro synthetic experimental waveforms makes the music sparkle with a dualism that is well balanced and interesting. A moment to allow the body to adjust to the pace is recommended, the evolution of sound is distinct yet undramatic, leaving us as listeners to absorb the motion of the compositional journey bar by bar. Better to not try and second guess or predict what is coming next, as the array of effects and frills to hand simply are astonishing. Nothing is left to fill the gaps, everything is made for where it is.


Master Margherita resembles“a deep, purple, velvet sea”, according to his website, which to me suggests he may have grown up on a bit of the Purple. Although nothing like Smoke on the Water, the music of the double M does remind me of how it would actually look. An ethereal quality of magic and subtle ghostly charm reverberate around the productions.


As an actively performing musician, Margherita has utilised his digital instruments to do a bit of multi-tasking. He generously uploads regular podcasts of his performances, which can be downloaded from here. The album Hippies with Gadgets is a laid back summer groove that can satisfy the room quite easily. It's like a day at the seaside, with a bit of spending money and plenty of good looking people to talk to. A blissed out sound affair with a twist of salted lemon.  

Click here to look at modern gadgets for hippies everywhere

Dave Wine
El Reencuentro
Self released


Delicious forms of loose wrappings adorn the cymbal heavy beats that strike the chord to start the album. A jazz psychedelic element rides high while a rock n roll influenced four piece craft their way into abstraction. Lyricless but full of story telling sensations, a mishmash of guitar, drum, and bass surge through flowing rhythms and melodies in an almost punk scented flurry of mayhem. There are definitely talents to be heard in the ruckus but its choppy water with many places where the meat boils away from the bone. Easy to cut, easy to chew, but maybe a little over done for many.


Monumental tracks sit back to back in a five stage production, every individual segment framing a chapter mark in the sonic discovery. Everything changes and pivots on leaning gyroscopic swivel points which lean over and brush against modes and keys while the continuum of pace is kept in full thrust by a seemingly never tiring drummer. Creative fills keep everything ultra-interesting while a pumping bass holds down a free flowing guitar.


Dave Wine being the keyboard player takes the centre point for much of the album, it is all about him considering the name of the band, but there is plenty of room for everyone else to be heard and strut their progressive abilities. Air fills the gaps between phrase and melody, nothing stays the same, there is no homogeneous feel to this album but there is a consistent reaching for the pinnacles of creative expression.


Busy and noisy, but fresh and invigorating, El Reencuentro may not be to everybody's taste. There stands a giant gap between this and viable popular music, but that's why it's worth having a go. Perhaps never to be played again, or maybe to open up new realms of musical experience and doorways to inspirational conceptual art, breaking the rules is fun and we cannot overlook that vital factor when indulging in over kilter music like this.  
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Koan
Serenity Side A
Blue Tunes Chillout Records


Synth majestics with luminescent forms illuminate the backdrop before layers of sound build to a caked ball of beautiful ambience. It's short lived, the drop down to a moment's nothingness makes a tear in the fabric of this new reality, only to allow more gentle shimmering keystrokes to glitter through the now open window. Dripping slow paced melodies swill around a freshly knitted atmosphere, vocals and organic sounds spray the zone with definitive scents and the beat enters like a missing ingredient to a cauldron ready to billow and bubble. That is does, with more juicy elements added to the mix, a raise in energy, and an awareness of higher pitched tones subtly regenerates the movement into a much more moving experience.


Some pipe and reverb gently twirls in the breeze, symbolised by airy sounds and heady momentums, and then springy and uplifting additions anticipate the evolution with pinpoint accuracy. Space-age calm reveals as layers peel away gracefully, showing the heart of the music as a gentle and journeying soul, full of drastic tranquillity. A slow rainy fade brings the peace down to core beginning and with this movement of energy comes the entrance of something more angelic. Hushed phonics and clashes of distant architecture frame a moment's waiting until a tune manifests from the chaotic pleasantries and it's accompanied by a hand-drummed percussion section that floats alongside.


A paced and beautifully changing work of musical art, the use of the studio has reached a level of absolute mastery, having listened to this group for a while, Serenity Side A really makes use of everything done so far. I can feel myself drifting with the sound-waves, although sitting in my comfy chair and thinking about what I can say, another part of me is away in an astral realm sailing the winds of music created by this album. Destination unknown, outlook is heavenly. I now want to listen to Side B.  
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Find Koan on iTunes

Jaya
A Combination of Things
Uxmal Records


A gorgeous piano melody swings on the backdrop of repeating string chords, the violins singing gently while the track begins to take shape. The drums begin, and it's a relief to know it's not over the top. The dancing rhythm plus the beautiful music gives an experience of refreshing zest which improves any experience. Space age style additives give an edge of the modern era and the use of traditional instrument sounds makes it instantly accessible to all.


A sudden break and a jump into something with a definitive tangent to the previous track, a jazz sensation is used to wrap up the beat which takes a primary position. Head bopping and doing your jobs to the time of the music is second nature when this sort of thing is playing, some reverberated melody with more interesting twinkling pianos and strings pushes us back into the zone of the album. The funky interlude sits in the background, waiting for the next moment to inject its adjacent energy.


Sombre tones reveal a darker side to this album, the familiar key strokes of the pianist's hands take on a coating of melancholy and the pace slows to a crawl, retrospective sounds and introspective prompts twist together in a string of heady colour. It feels as if the album progresses into experimental realms, with progressive music it usually transmutes the pace and energy, and this is the case but it feels like a negative image of what we may be used to. The pushing away from the normal expectations of flow and feel makes it captivating and wallowing. Like a pool of murky waters, with elemental beings beckoning us into its reflective quality, the album throws a few wild cards in our direction.


Interesting waves of sonic play replace the original happy and upbeat sensations. The original feel is pushed aside, and when the pace revives itself, a distortion rips the rules up and forms a sludge of sound that spills into view. It's short lived, and it served to wake up the listener for the next piece. After such a drawn out and thoughtful track, it was a good idea to magnify the intensity. Loose and clear composition makes another appearance, and it was worthwhile because the album needed to flow back in order to make sense.


A true combination of things, and all from the same root much like the album cover, it's not got a sing-a-long element and it doesn't try to addict us, but it feels great to have on in the background. Listening to it up close works too, there's enough there to keep the brain busy but it doesn't make an effort to reach out and poke us in the ear.  

George Will
Dawn
Self Released


Cinema style post rock tapestry of piano notes woven with subtle strings open the sweet flow of treaclish music before a guitar sets the scene for a burst of delightful energy. Drums allow the missing space to become apparent, giving the motion of sound its final push before the trill of treble rich guitar thrusts us into an orbital sensation. A moment to pause, a break of energy, then a steep but steady build into more forward mechanisms, before the effected guitar begins to take us further away from home.


A master of the oceanic surge, George Will piles ample demonstrations down with sharpened aptitude, bringing music from the depths of the body into the depths of ours. More piano and string smooth the surface after a brilliant first outing, and a new backdrop of glittering fantasy begins to reveal itself from the clouds of unknowing. The harmonies brought out from the keyboards shimmer like rainy trees as more expertly written melodies form over the atmosphere with just the right amount of guitar. It's keyboard led, but every now and then a rush of distorted string washes away the moment and carves out the gorge through which the river of sound can flow.


Musical colours are shifted lightly as keyboards take sounds from the woodwind section in the following moments, a slower pace lets the small break of waves lick the surface where we stand,, looking out into the album as it opens out even further. Melancholic phrasing in the composition give a sense of nostalgia for previous moments, and as familiar keyboards holler from echoey chambers, George Will recalls a tranquil energy before the surge hits again. Uplifting strokes verge on the dramatic as the music swiftly picks up the energy of a bigger wave.


We surf over peaks and troughs of forlorn and passionate sounding post-rock, lyricless but full of feeling, Dawn sounds like the breaking of light over a vast and unexplored body of water. Heaviness penetrates the songs like a stud punched into the shoulder of an unsuspecting leather coat, and then to balance it out there has to be one on the other side. Before we know, the music is rocking out like it's taken a step backwards, but soon the reverberating guitars and dripping keyboards layer the cake nicely, bringing it back into its day.  

Dropkick Murphys
11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory
Born and Bred Records


Celtic punk rockers Dropkick Murphys smash a ninth album out into their discography with all the fuel and fire of their previous works, plus all the extra experience that almost twenty years in the business brings. Eleven short songs with folk style lyrics played in a raucous comparable to a pirate den are laid down in an honest and raw production.


The first track brings a feel of the distant mountains, shrouded in a cloak of mist and legend. The masculine banter style melody that roars into action alongside heavy guitars and happy-clappy drums drag our folk bones from the peat bog and cause an element of traditional dancing to sweep across the cold hillside. It sounds like they're having a good time, and that speaks stories. Track two kicks into gear and the vocalist begins to sing. Fast paced verses about life and trouble, catchy chorus lines and shouted exclamations of honour make the fleshed out Rebels with a Cause stand out immediately.


An atmosphere of jollity and humour lines the music, a heavy beat and a guitar riff based progression make it fun and menacing without being disturbing or hard to listen to. Blood brings the pace down to a walking speed and the energy of traditional folk is relit once more with the classic pipes sound and chanting that gives rise to bravado and self flattery. It's a bit much, but if you're a lad's lad, then I can well imagine this doing something for the self esteem. For me, it's just a little too threatening to enjoy. I never asked for blood, stop putting words in my mouth.


Again, another track about how great their life was when they were children makes it even harder to sit back and get into the groove. I don't really want to be reminded that other people have great lives, when I was young, life wasn't easy. I guess I wasn't a tough kid and I had a deep sense of morals, but for these punk rockers, being bad and devious seems to have been really great for them. I don't think I'll ever understand the appeal of always being in trouble, its a horrible feeling. I'm not sure who this band are speaking to, maybe it's you.


Another fun melody is crafted from the mania and at first I'm impressed with the words, describing someone he doesn't like and why. Apart from the employment snobbery, every other complaint seems legit. First Class Loser makes a mockery of people who are annoying. I assume they're talking about people like me. The album chugs along, song by song, each bringing something slightly new to the well loved formula that gives this punk rock band a sense of folk and tradition. It's fun, bouncy, and if you like punk music, it's probably really good.  

Read about Dropkick Murphys on iTunes

​Tea Tree
The Ancient City
The Beats Bizarre Music


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Soundcloud


Spongy rhythms with pretty interludes open the four track E.P. With a bounce in the step, the reggae beat pins a skeletal frame for diverse and moving experimental sounds, melody and key take their turns to play around with the stable drive of relaxing tempo. Destination Unknown is the title, and it fits really well. I'm not quite sure where this music is taking me, but it's sounding exotic and strangely familiar. I like how it's not a long stretch from other music of this type, but remains unique and with its own special flavour.


Taking sounds from all areas of the musical world, digital and organic, the culmination of feelings and emotive entrancements really take on a holistic approach. Nothing is being relied on to make it work, but all the bits flow together in a swirling wave of mixing and tune. The tapping drums are not making too much noise, the bass isn't throbbing, the melody isn't repeating itself, but I'm still feeling like this is keeping my mind happy with the formalities.


Track two gently reveals itself as a tranquil and aqualine number which removes some of the insistent pressure from track one. A cool brass sound cups the moment and throws us into another place, where the sun is shining and the people are smiling at you. More digital compositional moments fill the spaces and psychedelic build-ups and licks give a shimmering feel to the sunny music. Waterfall is a slice of tropical paradise, scored with a happy sensation and not too much of anything but the sonic throws of some memorable haven.


Turbo Encabulator is a futuristic sounding and more upbeat piece. Spine chills come to mind as the initial phrases of the track span outward, revealing flowers of digital fractals of sound. A new feel with the humble strings of an acoustic guitar finds its way into the busy mix, a space is left open for it, and as the amalgam of sonics finds the best way to encapsulate this new energy, some more brass finds the time to help it all along. Soon the loops of beat and melodic display begin to find their feet and something sparks a layer of sampled voice. It works well, and once again we're taken somewhere new with this E.P.


As the E.P. finds its way to its final track, the mood is relaxed and we're left with the sounds of a forest to help us prepare. A little whistled melody and digital chimes bring the phasing mysterious intro into play, some tribal sounds bring the beat and slowly the pulse begins to make itself known. It feels like a busy summer, people everywhere, and the clouds are drawing in. A more heady element is in this final section, and it gives us new sensations that reach a little deeper and darker than the previous contributions. Ancient City being the title track, the drawn out and dramatic interplay between melody and feel eventually give way to a strange but enjoyable track.  

​Engelwood
Pastel Beach
Self Released


A summery funk riff accompanied by some fruity brass make track one stand out straight away. This punchy album of twelve short tracks doesn't hit half an hour in length but the richness of the offerings make up for it. Clever mixing and a rhythm in a lazy tempo for Sparkle gives the shimmering feel that warms us up. The vocal sample is used as an instrument, making a ghostly appearance in track one, then taking the stage in Puerto Rico, non verbal exclamations float gently on the smooth lapping waters.


Luau takes a tropical turn, pangs of Albatross make their way over in little clouds, but the flavour is new and enticing. A delicately formed progression and melody weaves over itself for a short moment, until La La La, which brings a vocal line into play once more. Again, it's expressive but mostly non-verbal. A shift in gear reveals a new side to the track, everything is slowed to the close and the reverb is warmed up to a much higher degree.


The fade gives way to a happy guitar and piano piece, that sensation from track one is brought back into play for Seaside Lounge, and the atmosphere is one of fun and relaxation. A neat little frill and guitar jam ends the very short piece on the sound of the ocean revealing the next track like a shoreline at low tide. That funk element rekindles itself and the female vocal overlaps matched with an energetic rhythm puts a new shot of something into the glass.


A remix of a Panthurr track takes the next slot, and it works as well as the other ones, a chilled and sunshine sounding scoring drifts along in repetitive motions. Our experience is nudged along in abstract sandwiches of musical snippets, and the tracks fly past fairly quickly. To say it is released in January, and it holds the glow of warm sunny days, the medicinal effects are instantly accessible and as time goes on, it stands able to become a soundtrack for many people's warmer months.