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Music

Steve Gunn: Live At The Night Light (digital release, Three Lobed Recording, June 2011)

I first came across Steve Gunn earlier this year by way of a couple of collaborations (which I may write about sometime later, or I may not). I was intrigued enough to investigate his previous work. After extensive research, I can reveal that by far my favourite recording of his is this 2011 digital-only live […]

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Goldmund: All Will Prosper (CD, Western Vinyl, November 2011)

I’m a huge fan of Goldmund’s delicate and intimate piano compositions, but I was blown away by this, Keith Kenniff’s take on 14 songs from the American Civil War. Combining his trademark close-mic piano playing with an unfussy acoustic guitar picking, he makes these very much his own while bringing out the best of the […]

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Music

Peter Broderick: Music For Confluence (CD, Erased Tapes, November 2011)

Peter Broderick’s talent in a wide range of styles is hugely impressive, but it makes it hard for me to get a handle on his œuvre. What’s he going to come out with next? Well, I think I’d place Music For Confluence somewhere on an axis between the gorgeous orchestral sweep of Float and the rich Americana […]

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Music

Jacaszek: Glimmer (CD, Ghostly International, December 2011)

Michał Jacaszek is a Polish composer and producer. This record features harpsichord, bass and soprano clarinet, acoustic guitar, various metallophones, and a great deal of static, washing over and occasionally threatening to drown the delicate chamber pieces. The result hovers somewhere between minimalist early music and modern ambient, which I find surprisingly effective. I bought […]

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Byetone: Symeta (CD, Raster-Noton, October 2011)

This came out at the high-point of what I am, rather facilely, going to refer to as Raster-Noton’s clicks’n’bass period, released in the same month as Alva Noto’s univrs. Following in the pattern of 2010’s Death Of A Typographer, Byetone continues to represent the poppier side of the label, as far as it goes, with […]

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Leyland Kirby: Eager To Tear Apart The Stars (CD, History Always Favours The Winners, September 2011)

The other day, I was listening to Raudio’s stream of Leif Inge’s 9 Beet Stretch, which slows the glorious Ninth of Ludwig van down to fill 24 hours. (I assume this must have been inspired on some level by Douglas Gordon’s 24 Hour Psycho?) In places, this is what Leyland Kirby’s latest reminds me of: an unmistakable […]

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Music

Alva Noto: univrs (CD, Raster-Noton, October 2011)

Uh-oh, the king of glitch has got the bass bug. This is ostensibly a follow up to 2008’s unitxt. I think it’s fair to say that this is an altogether dirtier affair. The ultra-precision clicks, blips, and edits are all present and correct, but there’s something grindingly industrial running underneath everything here. The tone is […]

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Sanso-Xtro: Fountain Fountain Joyous Mountain (CD, Digitalis, April 2011)

Melissa Agate pairs gentle, woozy drones with delicate melodies on a range of tinkling chimes, slow-mo accordians, folky guitars, and the like. The effect is a very sweet kind of psychedelia. Of course, too much sweetness gets cloying, and I do find her occasional vocals tend to tip things over the edge into tweeness. But […]

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Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto: Summvs (CD, Raster-Noton, May 2011)

It’s no exaggeration to say that my first hearing of this duo’s 2005 album Insen, and their concert at the Barbican, were transformative experiences for me. I’ve steered clear of their two subsequent releases, for fear that they would be disappointing (while developing a considerable awe of Carsten Nicolai’s other work, and Raster-Noton in general). But […]

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Margaret Dygas: Margaret Dygas (CD, Perlon, July 2011)

I loved Dygas’s How Do You Do, and I listened to a lot of Perlon back in the day, so I was really looking forward to this record. If it’s not quite what I’d expected and possibly hoped for, it’s nevertheless a very satisfying listen. Where the debut album ranged over a number of styles, […]