If I could offer up one electronic album to the world it would be this one, Lusine has always been a wizard when it comes to expansion and beauty, while maintaining the highest quality sound design without it ever being too experimental to drive off any new listeners. Songs like “Stratus” makes you feel like your skydiving in your chair, while “Panoramic” builds up to what feels like your doing donuts in a convertible in slow motion in the desert after the best day with your good friends. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Seattle-based producer Jeff McIlwain’s work has long inhabited the fertile border zone between electronic pop and experimental electronic music — it’s a place that’s home to music that has both a brain and a heart, and McIlwain’s been exploring its boundaries for the best part of a decade now.
The Waiting Room is his third full-length release for Ghostly International under the moniker Lusine, and his first album since 2009’s A Certain Distance. As with all McIlwain’s work as Lusine, this is a record that’s characterized by both diversity and coherency. Its tracks traverse a variety of sonic landscapes, from the widescreen atmospherics of appropriately-titled opening track “Panoramic” through the digital soul arrangement of Electronic’s “Get the Message” and the club-friendly bounce of “First Call” to the slow-building Detroit-inflected closer “February”.
But for all The Waiting Room’s eclecticism, it’s also notable that it plays out as a coherent whole, with McIlwain’s deft production creating the sense of a single, logical journey — an album, rather than a simple collection of tracks. It also continues the excursions into vocal-led tracks that characterized A Certain Distance — exactly half of The Waiting Room’s ten tracks employ vocalists, most notably the aforementioned “Get the Message,” wherein guest vocalist and wife Sarah McIlwain makes Bernard Sumner’s words her own: “I don’t know where to begin / Living in sin,” she sings calmly, “How can you talk? / Look where you’ve been.”
As a whole, this is an album that’s both cerebral and visceral, a record that’s both rewarding of a serious headphone session and also warm and melodic enough to make listening as engaging in an emotional sense as it is in an intellectual one. Many artists flirt with these two extremities of electronic music; few tie them together as well as McIlwain does.
Billerica messaged this to me, really beautifully looped found sound from nature, he does it better than I do.
Lone back to that glossy soothing sound he started off with but with an upgrade, this one glistens in silvers and honey.
Brolin is a new artist thats trying the whole unknown identity thing which I think is a waste of time. Honestly I enjoy this song, it almost sounds like Tracy Chapman over some Sebastian Tellier/Hot Chip moody beat material.
Its more Four Tet, doesn’t need much explanation since i’ve posted almost every leak he’s shared on soundcloud in the last year.
Trying to leave you all with something perfect for the weekend, probably the best go to is Classixx, the most trusted remixers and DJs in the last 5 years. Judging on the recent artwork i’ve seen they might have the best branding for a music in 2013.
TRACKLIST
1. Tangerine Dream – The Dream Is Always The Same
2. Unit Black Flight – Night Raiders
3. Tropics – Give It Up
4. Groundislava – Weekend In The Tropics
5. Human League – Human (Instrumental)
6. —
7. James Welsh – The Way
8. Toro y Moi – Rose Quartz
9. Falty DL – Straight & Arrow
10. Classixx – Holding On (Acapella)/ Aphex Twin – Xtal
11. Madonna – Live To Tell (At Close Range Extended Instrumental)
12. Tiger & Woods – Pitch
13. Mano Le Tough – Take It Back
14. Moony Me – Confused
15. Akufen – Skidoos
16. Presets – It’s Cool
17. Classixx – Borderline
18. Jacques Renault – Back To You (Paradis Remix)
19. Nicolette Larson – Lotta Love
20. Tangerine Dream – Love On A Real Train
A new favorite, recent DaM Funk hasn’t caught my ear until now, perfect timing, definitely playing this tomorrow on Valentine’s Day w/ Lemonade at Cameo Gallery tomorrow.
Foxes In Fiction beautifully covers “Heaven or Las Vegas” by the Cocteau Twins. Pulls off the vocal soo nicely, Warren is in Brooklyn now, this summer should be a great one for him.
Courtship comes up with a dreamy remix for a Sydney-based group, its light and enjoyable to take in, reminds me of that first spring wind on the face.
We all need more Pure X, twaggin’ out for those people that have worn out their Kurt Vile and Real Estate records, this is a refreshing listen.
After posting the Solvent song yesterday and watched the trailer that it was intended for, oh man does it make me want to own a modular synth but all I can think about is how i’d only make arpeggios though, hmmm. Also, how do you finish a song on these? I’d just make music all day and never even think of recording it as a song.
“I Dream of Wires” (IDOW) is an upcoming, independent documentary film about the phenomenal resurgence of the modular synthesizer – exploring the passions, obsessions and dreams of people who have dedicated part of their lives to this esoteric electronic music machine. Written and directed by Robert Fantinatto, with Jason Amm (Ghostly International recording artist Solvent) serving as producer and co-writer, IDOW is set to receive it’s festival premiere, May 2013.
James Blake channeling legends here with the new track with has the synths going off like sirens, it slows down to a point where its almost just Bobby McFerrin and a drum machine clap.
Youth Lagoon is hitting the road with what seems to be one of the best records of the year, here’s another taste of “Wondrous Bughouse” and where to see it live.
On Tour:
02-25 Spokane, WA – A Club
02-26 Missoula, MT – Badlander
02-27 Bozeman, MT – Filling Station
02-28 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
03-01 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
03-06 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-13-16 Austin, TX – SXSW
03-22 Boise, ID – Treefort Music Fest
04-12 Indio, CA – Coachella
04-19 Indio, CA – Coachella
04-21 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
04-22 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
04-24 Austin, TX – Mohawk
04-25 Dallas, TX – The Loft
04-26 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
04-27 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
04-28 Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree
04-30 Orlando, FL – The Social
05-01 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
05-02 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
05-03 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
05-04 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
05-07 Northampton, MA – Pearl St.
05-10 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
05-11 Columbia, MD – Sweet Life Festival
05-13 Toronto, Ontario – Great Hall
05-14 Columbus, OH – A&R Bar
05-15 Chicago, IL – Metro
05-16 Madison, WI – Majestic Theater
05-17 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
05-22 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
05-23 Vancouver, British Columbia – Venue
05-24 Gorge, WA – Sasquatch! Fest
06-05 Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
If you want the delicate end of Grouper then head right over to the new Julianna Barwick, its astonishingly beautiful.
“Themogene (I Dream Of Wires theme)”, from the forthcoming “I Dream Of Wires” soundtrack album by Solvent, coming fall 2013.
“I Dream of Wires” is an upcoming, independent documentary film about the phenomenal resurgence of the modular synthesizer — exploring the passions, obsessions and dreams of people who have dedicated part of their lives to this esoteric electronic music machine. Written and directed by Robert Fantinatto, with Jason Amm (Ghostly International recording artist Solvent) serving as producer and co-writer, I Dream Of Wires is set to premiere spring 2013.
Seems like everyone hounds Four Tet for everything and he has to explain himself instead of just being able to release it. Here’s him sampling Grimes and later he had to explain it wasn’t official, its a rip so there’s some radio interference.
2 weird guys make a great collab, here’s Caribou and DJ Koze, its like Arthur Russell being channeled through a stripped down old Hot Chip track.
I had the opportunity to remix one of my favorite songs from last year, check out the others remixes from Luke from Born Ruffians and Doldrums, all free downloads. Just a small note i’ve been listening to A LOT of Underworld “Jumbo“.
Evenings hums out a glimpse of sun on the face for us, with a taste of what I hope spring sounds like.
Coming down to the last few days before the release of the new PVT LP, ISO50 readers are the first to appreciate the beauty of the final track off Homosapien. “Ziggurat” is a perfect closer for an album that represents new achievements for the band’s sound but still holding very true to their talents of making intricate music seem effortless.
PVT Homosapien
Out February 12th, 2013 on Felte
Tracklist:
Shiver
Evolution
Electric
Cold Romance
Love & Defeat
Homosapien
Vertigo
Nightfall
New Morning
Casual Success
Ziggurat
