Moonlight Radio September 2006
62.7 MB | 1:06:50
This hour-plus long mix of beautiful tracks was first released in my Moonlight Radio online magazine in September 2006. And this is a continuing series of archiving those mixes which you may have missed the first time around. Enjoy!
ARTIST: Elephant Pixel
TITLE: Folk, Lysergia, Computers
TRACK: 1. Glass (Chegoku Remix)
LABEL: igloo
FORMAT: CD
ARTIST: The Album Leaf
TITLE: In An Off White Room
TRACK: A1. Project Loop
LABEL: Troubleman Unlimited
FORMAT: 10-Inch
ARTIST: Dntel
TITLE: Life is Full of Possibilities
TRACK: 7. Why I’m So Unhappy
LABEL: Plug Research
FORMAT: CD
ARTIST: Loess
TITLE: 3D Concepts, Part 2
TRACK: B1. Alt.Tone.Two
LABEL: Toytronic
FORMAT: LP
ARTIST: bitcrush
TITLE: In Distance
TRACK: 1. Post (9:05)
LABEL: n5MD
FORMAT: CD
ARTIST: The Workhouse
TITLE: Split Single
TRACK: A. John Noakes
LABEL: Awkward Silence
FORMAT: 7-inch
ARTIST: gel-sol
TITLE: Gel-Sol 1104
TRACK: 5. Numby Numbs
LABEL: em:t
FORMAT: CD
ARTIST: Languis
TITLE: Other Desert Cities EP
TRACK: 4. I Forgot I Forgot
LABEL: pehr
FORMAT: CD
ARTIST: For Against
TITLE: In The Marshes
TRACK: B1. Amen Yves
LABEL: Independent Project
FORMAT: 10-inch
ARTIST: Another Electronic Musician
TITLE: Use
TRACK: A1. H+
LABEL: n5MD
FORMAT: CD
ARTIST: Osaka
TITLE: Brandon Whiskey
TRACK: B1. Apu
LABEL: Jonathon Whiskey
FORMAT: 7-inch
ARTIST: Deux Filles
TITLE: Silence and Wisdom
TRACK: A1. The Letter
LABEL: Papier Mache
FORMAT: LP
Below the cut is lots of information about each track…
Living high among a forest of skyscrapers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Franco Di Lorenzo (a.k.a. dilo and elephant pixel) works diligently in his home studio. His musical tastes and influences include indie rock, folk, idm, abstract hip-hop, minimal techno, click and electro — all of which are represented throughout his various music productions. In 2003, Dilo (alongside Bruno De Vincenti a.k.a. Ivan Johnson) launched the cd label, zensible, featuring new artists from Argentina. In 2005, he launched his own record & netlabel, igloo. Dilo’s music is currently released or forthcoming on his own labels, plus sinergy networks, unfoundsound, series, filtro, zimplism, roman-photo, spezialmaterial and others. His live and dj sets have been heard in argentina, columbia, switzlerland, usa, spain and germany — playing alongside people like Akufen, Sonja Moonear, Someone else, Monolake, Plaid, Machine Drum and others. This was the surprise CD of the year for me. It’s fucken awesome.
When Jimmy LaValle isn’t contributing to Tristeza, San Diego’s artful torrent of noise, he is composing more introspective works as The Album Leaf. A veteran of such esteemed San Diego hardcore outfits as Swing Kids, The Locust, and Gogogo Airheart, LaValle shows his calm, quiet side with these mostly instrumental songs built from soothing, shimmering layers of synthesizer, guitar, strings, and percussion that fall over each other like waterfalls tumbling into murky, rippling pools. Sometimes the songs sound like they’re moving backwards and forwards at the same time. This is music to fuel beautiful melancholy, the kind of songs you turn to when you want to wallow in your feelings. These pieces are less momentous in scale than Tristeza’s, but equally dynamic; here, LaValle explores similar melodies and emotions, expanding small jazzy motifs into grander statements.
Dntel comforts himself by combining melancholy melodies with an assortment of electronic production styles, as well as enlisting friends to add vocals and guitar on some tracks. The results range from Timbaland inspired minimal techno to pop songs buried in static, cut-up acoustic guitars, sampled symphonies struggling to find somewhere to settle, found sound and blissed-out drones. This album includes vocal contributions from Chris Gunst (Beachwood Sparks, ex-Strictly Ballroom), Mia Doi Todd (solo artist, City Zen records), Meredith Figurine (Figurine), Rachel Haden (solo artist, ex-That Dog), and Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), plus guitar by Paul Larson (Athalia, ex-Strictly Ballroom) and Brian McMahan (The For Carnation, ex-Slint).
Loess is part of the Philadelphia based ‘nonresponse’ collective, a group of musicians and film makers making gorgeous music and astoudning art. With the release of their first CD, they quickly climbed to the top of my list of ambient, IDM, post-rock artists. They have since released much work on notable imprints such as n5MD, JIP and Toytronic, from which this recording is culled. Below is a picture of the gorgeous orange sunburst vinyl LP version of this recording, part of a 3 LP set. The 3 LP’s are all translucent sunburt colors, and, when placed over each other, give off a gorgeous 3-D interplay of light, an effect missing from the CD version.
Bitcrush is the escapist solo project of Mike Cadoo (ex-Gridlock member). Contrary to his work in Gridlock and his earlier solo project as Dryft, Bitcrush strives to fuse live instrumentation with experimental electronica’s glitch-centric production techniques. His debut album (entitled Enarc) on Component Records was, by the artists admission, a snapshot of his musical history thus far. Earlier this year a follow-up EP was released via n5MD sister website en:peg Digital entitled Shimmer and Fade. Shimmer and Fade featured heavily processed digital fluctuations blended with genuine percussion, shimmering guitars, interwoven dual bass guitar work and a sprinkling of vocals throughout. Bitcrush is continuing to expand upon this style of fusing emotive electronics and live instrumentation.
Guitar effects have been an integral part of the music scene since the mid-80s and whilst bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Jesus And Mary Chain and Kitchens Of Distinction have earned their own places in this rich history there are many others who struggle to grasp the concept of melody. On this score, The Workhouse are well ahead of the game fitting snugly between the aforementioned behemoths of rock and modern post-rock offerings such as Mogwai and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. ‘Peacon’ and ‘John Noakes’ are howling gale force-type records which are countered by the experimental centrepiece ‘Stoichkov’ that is juxtaposed itself with the acoustic ‘Never Kill Your Dreams’. Farewells to Bolton Wanderers players are an unlikely topic for the sadness-tinged epics ‘Goodbye Gudni’ and ‘Ricketts’ but whilst the subject matter may be questionable the music quality never is, particularly when the huge wind-tunnel type melody of ‘Trading Estate’ takes centre stage with the apocalyptic ‘The End Of The Pier’ making for a powerful and thrilling finale. This is right up there with the best of the loud ethereal bands.
The fruits of a lifetime’s musical progression by producer Andrew Reichel, gel-sol 1104, continues the label’s tradition of reinventing and advancing intelligent dance music for future generations.A collision of sounds that at once caress and confuse the senses, this album of elegaic electronic beauty hails from Washington State, USA, as em:t continues to trawl every corner of the planet to unearth the finest talents. Guided throughout by a montage of samples parodying the banality of modern life, it’s an album designed to provoke as well as entertain; how could any album featuring a track entitled schwein kuchen – Pork Cake in English be taken too seriously?
The duo known as Languis — Marcos Chloca and Alejandro Cohen — has been making music together since 1991, when they were both classmates in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1996, they sold their guitars and amps and moved to Los Angeles, where they occasionally perform with other artists who are associated with that city’s somewhat experimental, underground lo-fi electronic movement, much of it centered around the Internet-based ‘dublab’ collective dublab.com. Musically, Languis’ recordings may remind some listeners of Stereolab’s less motorik/more downbeat recordings, or Teutonic post-ambient groups like To Rococo Rot and Tarwater. However, Languis doesn’t really seem to align itself with any particular style or genre, falling somewhere in the ‘chill-out’ side of the post-rock electronic genre, just this side of laptop techno-noir. Languis utilizes both analog and digital synthesizers, as well as various organs, samplers, sequencer, signal processors, abstract electronic percussion, and guitars (mostly acoustic) — even vocals, some heavily processed and vocoder-y, and others barely whispered into a telephone handset — in a uniquely refreshing and organically futurist fashion.
For Against is one of America’s most enduring and endeared independent musical ensembles, founded in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1984. The origins of For Against date back to a series of line-up changes in local Lincoln bands in the early 1980s. In 1983 guitarist Harry Dingman (formerly of Cartoon Pupils), and drummer Greg Hill formed a quartet called Glue with Liz Panarelli (bass) and John Fynbu (vocals, formerly of Hymn to Joy). Jeffrey Runnings (also from Hymn to Joy), joined the quartet on keyboards, and the group subsequently changed their name to D.B.L. Runnings had previously moved back to Lincoln from Athens, Georgia, where he had toured playing keyboards with ex-Lincoln resident Matthew Sweet. D.B.L. eventually became known as Four Against One.
Some artists spend their early years cutting their teeth on net labels, various compilation appearances and giveaway CDr releases. Jase Rex who records under the rather self deprecating moniker ‘Another Electronic Musician’ (or AEM for short) is a classic example of this type of artist. Carving away his own niche on the web for the last few years has evolved his sound with what we think could quite possibly be mathematical precision. Don’t let AEM’s moniker fool you though… he’s not ‘just’ ‘another electronic musician’ but a highly skilled programmer, producer and songwriter. His evolution has brought him to a place where an infectious mixture of stark thoughtful melodies, ‘minimal’ style production techniques, leg quivering low-end, and firmly planted percussion flows with a serious head-nodding groove. All of which are melded together in a complex yet honest space.
Quiet, guitar based excusrions, reminiscent of a lower-register Durutti Column, Osaka has released a few great works. Osaka is based in France and consists of Sébastien Roué, whose solo work is also available, and Yannick Martin. I’ve only heard this track and their Life For Dead Spaces CD, from 2001. It’s wonderful.
The short, mysterious career of the aptly named female French duo Deux Filles is bookended by tragedy. Gemini Forque and Claudine Coule met as teenagers at a holiday pilgrimage to Lourdes, during which Coule’s mother died of an incurable lung disease and Forque’s mother was killed and her father paralyzed in a grisly auto accident. The two teens bonded over their shared grief and worked through their bereavement with music. However, after recording two critically acclaimed albums and playing throughout Europe and North America, Forque and Coule disappeared without a trace in North Africa in 1984 during a trip to visit Algiers, where Forque had lived from birth to the age of five. Theories from abduction and murder to a planned disappearance to spontaneous human combustion have been floated, but in the ensuing years, not a trace of the duo has turned up except for a mysterious letter purportedly written by Coule claiming that the pair journeyed to India on a spiritual quest, only to meet with further hardships. Indeed, the short and terribly unhappy lives of Forque and Coule are at the root of the small but fervent cult following the mysterious duo have gained since their disappearance, not least because the placid, largely instrumental music on the duo’s albums betrays no hint of the sorrow that framed their personal lives. This would be a terribly sad story if a word of it were true. In reality, Deux Filles were Simon Fisher Turner, former child star/teen idol and future soundtrack composer, and his mate Colin Lloyd Tucker. Turner and Tucker left an early incarnation of The The in 1981 to pursue another musical direction. Turner claims that the idea of Deux Filles came to him in a dream, and he and Tucker strictly maintained the fiction throughout the duo’s career. Not only did they pose in drag for the album covers, the duo once even played live without the audience realizing that the tragic French girls on-stage were actually a pair of blokes from south London having a giggle. Deux Filles released two albums through Turner and Tucker’s Papier Mache label, 1982’s Silence & Wisdom and 1983’s Double Happiness. After that, the duo scrapped the Deux Filles concept and released two ambient pop albums as Jeremy’s Secret.