Tag Archive for Electronica

The Knife – Pass this on


This summer, The Knife will tour for the first time in 7 years. And even then, they only ever toured once in that incarnation. I missed out on tickets for the London show this May, which would have been handiest for me as I live there, but managed to get tickets to see them in Berlin instead. It appears I’m going on holidays.

Anyway, ticket-bragging aside, I want to talk about Pass This On from their 2003 album Deep Cuts. This album became popular after Jose Gonzales covered its opening track Heartbeats and it was featured in a Sony ad. Their follow-up, 2006’s Silent Shout is one of the best albums of that decade.

What I like most about Pass This On is those calypso drums. They’re so mesmerising. The song is poppier than anything else The Knife have done and it would be easy to bop along to this without getting too deeply involved. The lyrics are on the playful side too – I’m in love with your brother/ What’s his name/ I thought I’d come by to see him again. There’s no escaping a dark undertone that always exists when Karin Dreijer sings and that lurks on the edges here.

I rediscovered this song a couple of years ago through Jamie XX’s BBC Radio 1 Mix, which I played relentlessly for months and features Pass This On mixed seamlessly with Jamie’s own Far Nearer. I rediscovered lots of tracks off the back of that mix actually, most of which deserve their own posts. In fact, that mix deserves its own post.

Over the years, I’ve been a fan of other tangential Knife projects, such as Olof Dreijer’s Oni Ayhun EPs. OAR003-B is a particularly enjoyable 10 minutes of minimal techno.

This post has veered off on many tangents, but I suppose that’s the nature of writing about The Knife. Everything they touch is gold.

/HC

Tom Vek – A Chore

I was talking to a friend and fellow blogger on Saturday about some potential improvements to 365 days in 2013 (look out for the fruits of our labour in the coming weeks).

While we were talking he played Tom Vek’s 2011 album Leisure Seizure. I really liked the album at the time but never got around to posting anything from it. It’s release was rather exciting given that it came after and six year hiatus and that 2005’s We Have Sound featured C-C (You set the fire in me) which was abd remains a massive favourite of mine and which I posted much earlier on in my blogging journey.

The thing that strikes me about both tracks is the sense of urgency. I really like that quality in a song.

You’re not really listening to me…

/RjK

Gardens & Villa* – Neon Dove


I spent all weekend listening to this track from Gardens and Villa, a bunch of five college friends hailing from Santa Barbara, CA. Their name is taken from the street on which they reside and the washed out, lo-fi music they make also reflects this setting. It reminds me a little of a long, sunny day at the beach (not that I get to enjoy many of those in Dublin).

Gardens and Villa:

 /RjK

*Artist #593

Roosevelt* – Sea | (NAT)

This is a nice and light. A perfect summer tune! If only the weather matched the vibe of the song. For some reason the adjective that comes into my head when I hear it is Balearic. Not if this is at all accurate but it somehow seems fitting.

Roosevelt hails from Cologne, Germany and is signed to the Greco-Roman record label. When choosing his DJ name he obviously wasn’t thinking of how to optimise for use with search engines! Hence I don’t know too much about him. But sometimes that’s okay.

/RjK

*Artist #589

27th December 2012

John Talabot* – When the past was present (NAT)

Barcelona DJ John Talabot isn’t someone I know a lot about but I have noted that he has been getting a lot of love in Best of 2012 lists that I have been reading in the past month or so. This prompted me to check out some of his stuff, particularly his album fIN from which this track is taken. Pretty enjoyable stuff.

/RjK

*Artist #583

22nd December 2012

Joy Orbison – Ellipsis

This is a track from 2011 favourite Joy Orbison. He is a London DJ that makes music that tends to span several genres but tends to be chilled out and sometimes even euphoric, such as Hyph Mngo which I posted last year.

I meant to post this earlier in the year but it slipped my mind until this week when a friend kindly sent me Resident Advisor’s top 50 tracks of 2012 and this was number 3.

/RjK

20th December 2012

Twigs* – Breath (NAT)

I have heard varying reports about UK artists Twigs. Some places I read she is portrayed as an unknown, mysterious female version of James Blake. But DJ/Rupture, one of my music oracles, suggested otherwise and I quote “top-down industry product masquerading as white label single. but its good.”

I certainly agree with the last sentiment anyway, and that’s all that really matters. I like the songs quiet intensity. Somehow it was the right song to be listening to on a horrible grey winters day.

/RjK

*Artist #578

19th December 2012

Belouis Some* – Imagination (Mr Rossi False Opposition Edit) 

Mr.Rossi, the DJ who remixed this sent it to me speculatively over Soundcloud. It was great that someone took the time to send me something, particularly given that it is exactly my kind of thing.

I really like it’s sound – a modern take on a quintessentially 80’s track. I also think it follows on rather well from Helen’s Ian Dury post yesterday given both track’s somewhat irreverent vibe.

Imagination….

Thanks Mr.Rossi!

/RjK

*Artist #577

29th November 2012

FaltyDL* – Straight and Arrow (NAT)

This one’s a grower. Some song make me instantly fall in love with them and other it takes me some time to realise that I like them. This was in the latter category. What really drew me in was the vocal sample, it’s so smooth and hypnotic but also urgent at the same time.

The song’s mellow nature has been a welcome calming influence on me as it has been a manically busy week so far.

/RjK

*Artist #564

24th November 2012

Mylo* – Sunworshipper

I wanted to dial up something soothing to ease my fragile state and this is what I came up with. It also really reminds me of my year in Berkeley and in particular being in a similarly delicate state while driving out of Las Vegas.

It is taken from Mylo’s classic Destroy Rock and Roll album which still makes me want to MOVE whenever I hear it.

/RjK 

*Artist #561