ii – ii (2007)

Digital Kunstrasen

• Krautrock 
• Indietronica 
• DIY 
• Art pop 
• Hip-hop 
• Lo-fi 
• Drone pop 
• Organcore 
• Post-rock 
• Experimental pop 
• Post-pop

Comment: ii was(?) the duo of Edh, and Nicolas Jorio (both of them singing in French throughout the course of 12 compositions) who had issued a couple of releases on Digital Kunstrasen. Regarded a combo with predominant female singing and artsy pop approach one cannot be without drawing parallels with Stereolab, especially since the period the combo did start making collaboration with Sean O'Hagan from The High Llamas and John McEntire from Tortoise, and The Sea And Cake. Since then Stereolab's nature would have changed from quite straightforward and simplistic intense droning acid/kraut-tinged noise/psych-pop to more elaborated electronic and lounge mixed sonic bliss (especially at Dots And Loops; 1998, Duophonic). This 12-track outing is quite uncanny by its format due to lion share of tracks of extending less than the 2-minute span. All in all, it is an engrossing kraut-tinged pop and gentle post-rock issue being occasionally embellished with suggestive scratches, blissful semi-orchestrations and poignant beatific melodies. The only difference pulling the duo off Stereolab is their lo-fi/DIY approach. It was tagged as chanson on the ensemble's site at Discogs, however, it is a truly superb listening.

Uriko – Away From My Aim (2007)

Digital Kunstrasen

• Indie folk 
• Alt-folk 
• Americana 
• Folk indie 
• DIY

Comment: at the first glance this case of 6 compositions may seem a bit tedious and weary. Yet by listening to the release many times in a row there can be drawn analogous parallels upon Wilco's issues which also start to blossom after a while by unveiling different aspects and suggestive moments. Regarding the kind of indie folk one should not try to create a new form of it at any cost because it could be a Sisyphean effort. The virtue of a folk album is related to its coherence between the melodies and harmonies and the lyrics. Between some exquisite minutiae to create something truly spellbinding and impeccable. One can find out many enchanting moments from within it - from acoustic guitar-based rants to more bombastic synthesised orchestrations. The decent outing is a part of the discography of a German imprint, Digital Kunstrasen.

Meik Puppe – Färbe Deine Elche (2007)

Digital Kunstrasen

Bandcamp

• Art music 
• Cabaret music 
• Oldie music

Comment: unfortunately I have already forgotten my ability in speech and understanding in German though German was my second foreign language after Russian and before English. No practice kills one's adept to speak a language. This 7-track outing being issued on such an imprint as Digital Kunstrasen is as grossly focused on lyrics as it is craftily stylised on oldie cabaret music driven by vivid piano chords and more generally on permanent chord changes and thematic turns. As we know well in its early days, approximately a century ago, the cabaret in Germany (especially in metropolises like Munich, and Berlin) embraced avant-garde tendencies by providing an outlet for expressionists, for example. Because of that I guess the listener could get an increased impression from these texts of this 7-track outing. As the title already expressively hints at it - paint your elks. By the way, as the most rock music was based on the template of black blues music then such an avant-rock combo as Velvet Underground instead of it have had its roots in the white, even the so-called elite European culture, remarkably it did have an indirect cabaret touch as well (of course, for Hitler and his comrades who were being dismally stylised bastards it was an inferior representation of culture and it would be "cured" through concentration camps). By its touch the release is an old-fashioned yet amusing glimpse like warming up all those old ghosts.