Hometaping -- The Summer Wreath EP (2006)

Earth Monkey Productions

Indietronica/IDM/Folktronica /Plinkerpop/Art pop/Toytronica

Hometaping'u 4-looline pärineb aastast, kui Itaalia tuli viimati jalgpallis maailmameistriks; muusikas võimutses uusveiderfolk ning lo-fi artistid hakkasid kasutama hästivarustatud stuudiote võimalusi. Muidugi oli olemas meinstriimmuusika, ent nagu alati -- seal oli kõike ja mitte midagi. Ehk peaasjalikult alates David Bowie'st -- see on olnud varastamise ja lahjendamise kultuur. Käesolev taies illustreerib üht transgressiivset tahku indimuusikas, mille suurkujud otsapidi olid Stereolab, Mouse On Mars, Cornelius, Lali Puna, The High Llamas ja Broadcast; teisalt seesuguse muusika otsesem epitsenter oli koondunud Ruhri piirkonda ning Morr Music-nimelise plaadifirma ümber. Elektrooniline indimuusika, mis võtab elemente nii intelligentsest tantsumuusikast, prügistest ja roostes rütmidest, algoritmistatud folkmuusikast ning naiivpuutega elektroonilisest tunnetusest. Kena ajaperiood oli. Kahtlemata nõnda see oli.

8.0 (7.5-8.5)

Dave Graham – Orion (2008)

Earth Monkey Productions

• Experimental rock 
• Ambient noise 
• Minimalism 
• Psychedelic 
• DIY 
• Avant-garde 
• Progressive rock 
• Experimentalism 
• Avant-rock 
• Improvised music 
• Lo-fi 
• Art rock 
• Experimentalism 

Londoni mehe (jätkuvalt Inglismaalt – mitte vahtralehemaal asuvast Londonist, kus samuti voolab Thames`i jõgi) Dave Graham'i kuuelooline Earth Monkey Productions`i all on ühtaegu kummastav ja jõuline, samaaegselt toores ja mahlane. Mis asi see õigupoolest on? Ütleksin, et episoodiliselt pruun müra, mis on jäänud kidrameeste filtritesse kinni. Räpane heliessents, millele on antud võimalus täita ruum eksperimentaalmuusika algoritmidele rajanedes. Eks see muusika pärineb ajastust, mil heli oli paindlikum-elavam-värvikirevam ning inimesed ideedega täidetud ja märksa lootusrikkamad tuleviku suhtes. Distortion-efekt on kaalukas element käesoleval albumil, aidates luua kontrapunkti hägustatud pruunile taustale. Teisiti öelduna on pillutud liiva helikaarti ja kõlaritesse. Ülekantud tähenduses on see Dave Graham'i enda muusikalise professionaalsuse paigutamine (mänginud paaris proge/kunstrokk/metal-pundis) eksperimentaalmuusika hulluse altarile. Kontrollitud hullus? Kas hullus saab olla kontrollitud? Kas paremal juhul ei ole tegu mitte võltsfenomeniga, halvemal juhul tühistava vastuoluga? Muusikas ja kunstis on seda ilmselt võimalik ületada, päriselus oled kas süüdiv või süüdimatu (vajadusel tehakse see eristus). Muusika ei eelda erinevalt päriselust vastutuse olemasolu. Ometi viimast progerokilikku lugu (Graham laulab!) võib käsitleda nii oma pateetilistele ihadele järeleandmise kui teisalt eksperimentaaltendentside ja laulukirjutamise ühildamisena. Einoh, vägi kiirgab vägevalt siit läbi. Vägevalt äestab elik väestab ägedalt.

Andy Kirk – I Used To Dance, Now I Romance (2006)

Earth Monkey Productions

• IDM 
• Electronic music 
• Alternative 
• Toytronica 
• Glitchtronica 
• Experimental electronica 
• Downtempo 
• Epic

Comment: undoubtedly it is a fabulous 8-notch ghost from the past from the mid-00s when electronic underground music was still set up in the way to stand against the mainstream pop. There were up axial record labels like Mille Plateaux and Morr Music of which purpose was to disseminate IDM and glitched-out music and they succeeded in that. This album can be considered the magnum opus by Andy Kirk, because one could not find out other issues by the artist. The result is mind-blowing, catchy and just beautiful and thereof it used to evoke those cute memories which had existed 10-15 years ago while I was listening to artists who used to dwell between electronica, indie and glitchy beats. Furthermore, it reminds of advertising flashes at night while blinking and casting the light and neon shadows around and upon you. At times Andy Kirk's music sounds a bit infantile though it is obviously an affirmative moment by showing up the artist's ability to laugh at himself and drift more loosely in disparate ways. The issue contains a bunch of tracks which would throne the pop charts in an ideal world. Indeed, I like the kind of idealism which is presented in the artist's music. In fact, it is quite weird to experience such sort of a feeling as if you are foretold the future while you are listening to an issue from the past. The more you listen to it the more it opens up new angles and dimensions, at times one can feel it quite unfathomable. In a word, it is a mandatory listening for anyone who considers himself/herself to be a music fan. The issue is a part of the discography of Earth Monkey Productions.

Mr Duke – I Can`t Find My Keys (2007)

Earth Monkey Productions

Lastfm

• American Primitivism
• New Weird Wales
• Weird folk
• Post-folk
• Free folk
• Indie folk
• Experimentalism
• DIY
• Anti-folk
• Freak folk
• Ambient folk
• Psych-folk
• Avant-garde
• Electro-acoustic
• Lo-fi

Comment: Mr Duke is a Welsh busker/musician Gwynfor Dafydd Edwards (born in 1983) who had previously played in a London-based prog band, Elysium Field, before he decided to embark on his solo project. His debut album under the excellent label Earth Monkey Production kicks off (Bikes Piss Past My Window) in the vein of so-called American Primitivism providing restrained guitar chords, simple countryside feeling and little changes in chords the long-running track throughout. However, the next compositions (with some exceptions) used to surprise with intense experimentalism and with-it feeling. More concretely, the tracks are filled with guitar chords and vocal lines turned inside out, schizoid stereophonic and reverb effects and uncanny noises and bleak ambient-tinged (or not) electronic/electro-acoustic coming out from both channels. Of course, Mr Duke stylistically seems to be related to the anti-folk and New Weird movements, though, his ideas might ideologically derive from the experimental concepts of krautrock either (for instance, reminding of Faust-esque sonic mayhem). Highly impressive. Finally, I do recommend to listen to such artists as Chad Golda, Felicia Atkinson, and Speculativism as well.

Ben Cornwell - Harvey's Intrinsic Boomerang (2001)

Earth Monkey Productions

Hand-crafted-media

Lastfm

• Indie folk
• Eurobeat
• Psychedelic
• Art folk
• Big Beat
• Electronic pop
• Techno pop
• Folktronica
• Breakcore
• Folk indie
• Alternative dance
• IDM
• Bhangra

Outstanding tracks:

This One

Insignificance

Monday`s Child

Compact Discovery

Ergot On Rye

Show Me Love

Oddity

[Old but important] Delta Waves Under Clouds Over Ground (Earth Monkey Productions)

In the 90`s Burnt Hair Records was cited as one of the most eminent labels in the Michigan-area and the main locomotive kind of to have pushed forward an experimental blend of spaced-out/ambient and drone rock sound along the Detroit underground scene. Indeed, they made out some influences for the future days of experimental rock. For instance, the clients of Larry Hoffman`s label were Windy & Carl, Auburn Lull, and Mahogany among others. The imprint finished off its existence with Delta Waves` release the DELTA WAVES dream in real time (2002). By embarked on in the mid of 90`s Delta Waves is being a band dictated by Greg Naumann, having seen lots changes of line-ups around him. Notwithstanding having been recruited later by other labels (Supple; Clairecords etc) as well Delta Waves seems to be genuinely related to Burnt Hair Records by its ideological perspective and fluctuations, though.

Under Clouds Over Ground, one of my all-time favorite dream pop/shoegaze issues, consists of 4 tracks released under the Earth Monkey Productions in 2005. The then-time line-up by Naumann, Anton Abramov, Ryan Anderson, and Jason Taylor did play up a lot of mesmerizing moments-monumentums, reminiscent by their darkwave-shoegaze crosslined approach of the likes of Lycia (at times Naumann`s murmuring vocal manner has got managed to approximate pretty close to Mike Van Portfleet`s fluids, the second time to circle around Neil Halstead`s emotive timbre). In any cases, this is not an example of such a band at all having somehow imitated the celebrities of the genre, instead diving into vague yet vastly exciting minutiae of sonic alchemy, being touched by minimalism, ambient, hypnotic, hiss-drenched drone, darkwave, shoegaze. All in all, it is used to be a dream-filled transcendence. Let`s repeat it once again just concerning on those otherworldly orchestrations and your heart will be lost for sure.

Listen to it here