So happy to be able to share this new project by Walls on Kompakt, the duo which is one part Allez Allez who have started a great mix series featuring Grovesnor(ex-drummer of Hot Chip) and Caribou(which I was going to share this week) have ventured into more guitar based material that gets me excited on how A+R will be going on at Kompakt from here on out. Walls is slow moving with hints of white noise that is completely in control, the release is highly recommended from start to finish.
Lately i’ve been trying to pick my brain because I feel like I never turn down a good Caribbean style song, you play dreamy synths that fit into a Balearic song with light guitar strumming? well then jump into my itunes! deep bongos, disco strings and chimes with water sounds are just bonuses like finding another M&M in my so called empty M&M wrapper. Korallreven is a perfect example of what I like, now trying to find a crowd that loves it in the USA is a whole different story.
When I hear this Shahs track and imagine the instrumental I automatically think it would be the perfect song to start out an episode of This American Life where a normal older man starts off his day by leaving his white picket fence home but starts walking by really weird things on the way to work. I picture the vocals sung by a drunk David Byrne which is a compliment to Shahs, its not a bad thing in my book.
Lead singer Andrew McKee is already doing another things besides The Young Friends, instead of the sunny bike ride sing alongs with friends he brings it into the gymnasium for a overnight lock-in dance party by the punch bowl jam.
New album from The Radio Dept. called Clinging To A Scheme drops in March, the band has leaked one track, sounds really promising.
Yesterday Flying Lotus twittered that he loved the new Jaga Jazzist and also Psych-Electronic musician Calmer told me he’s beening listening to them a ton so I went out and bought their new album to find a stand out track to share with you and Book of Glass was a nice stand out track for me because of the drive and Stereolab like synth.
I recently did a Pop Ambient playlist on the blog of some of my favorite songs from each year of the 10 year old compilation and never really shared more about the compilation besides the other new song on Playlist #7 which was Brock Van Wey/BVDUB – Lest You Forget. I also have to share this track The Orb did which you may remember them from the Little Fluffy Clouds VW Beetle commercial.
My Polish countrymen Jacaszek definitely should have more songs on the blog then just this one, on this song Zal he does a magnificent and subtle job of cutting up piano parts and makes the piece a very interesting listen.
I’m very excited to announce that Pop Ambient 2010 is out on January 18th, 2010 on Kompakt which will mark the 10th release in my favorite compilation series of all time. Here is one song from each year, I hope it relaxes you and you end up finding a few new favorite ambient songs.
One of my favorite simple album covers has to be this cover for Cashier Escape Route above because of the subjects involved and that bold light blue with a tiny bit of red always worked. This Phonem track is pretty laid back and brings me back to the earlier days of IDM and how it always helped me on the imaginative end of thinking of new designs.
There are a ton of feel good tracks out there and Blackalicious might have one that hits the Top 50 of all time.
Most of you might already know but Grizzly Bear has a new album coming in in May, this is just one track from it that was taken from their performance on David Letterman.
Here’s a pretty simple edit done by Michael Mayer, sadly I don’t know the original track but I can’t wait to DJ again and play this for a couple minutes.
Phonem – Blue Skies Over Leuna (Wish I Was Somewhere Else)
[audio:leuna.mp3]
Blackalicious – Make You Feel That Way
[audio:feelthatway.mp3]
Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
[audio:2weeks.mp3]
Machael Mayer – Amanda
[audio:amanda.mp3]
The record heads over at Kompakt have done it again by continuing to floor ambient lovers with one of the best compilation series of the 21st century. Pop Ambient 2009 has some jaw dropping moments, for example when you pick up the CD and find out that Tim Hecker, Burger/Voigt and Mint all make appearances then its an easy sell for any frequent ambient music buyer. The compilation starts out with what maybe could of been William Basinski’s original Disintegration Loops but with a layer of brass added by the ever talented Klimek. Popnoname comes in with one of the most gentle and entrancing melodic pieces. Freshman Sylvain Chauveau carries us into a more looped lo-fi laptop folk sound that seems to be a new branch that Kompakt has added under the Pop Ambient umbrella. The real show stealers are Burger/Voigt who really knock us back, the song Frieden gets me so excited that I almost become ill from my uncontrollable slow swaying, minute after minute I just think about how exciting it is to be able to own this song. For those who haven’t ever purchased a Pop Ambient compilation than this is a perfect one to begin on since its one of the more diverse and inviting collections because of its use of guitars and soft noise.
Rating: 8.8/10
Similar: Kranky Kompilation | Idol Tryouts 2: Disc 2 SMM | Expanse At Low Levels | Good Night: Music To Sleep By
Sylvain Chauveau – Fly Like A Horse
[audio:sylvain.mp3]
Burger/Voigt – Frieden
[audio:frieden.mp3]
Popnoname – Nightliner
[audio:popnoname.mp3]
