Plusplus - Game Over (2012)

La bèl

FMA

Lastfm

9.4

/Baroque pop, Alt-folk, Krautrock, Americana, Chamber folk, Indie folk, Psych-folk, Post-folk, Post-rock, Experimental rock, Folk indie/


Comment: behind the nom de plume Plusplus hides himself the cockney Adam Randmall (the Plantman guitarist, and former Beatglider synth player) for whom it is the sophomore album, a follow-up to Evils (issued on the nonesuch La bèl Records either). Basically this set of 8 pieces (though, the album is also available in another, 11-track format) is an instance of the astonishing dissemination of cinematic folk music, heart-breaking horns and brass-relied ruffles and abysmal sonic reveries. Yet, there are up notches where folk-inspired borders will be annihilated and replaced with more massive, post-rock-ish plateaus and even motorik rock-inspired propulsions or on the other side with silenful yet still chiming contemplations. By kindred souls there can be drawn parallels upon the likes of Wilco, Robbie Basho, Fog, Barbagallo, Wild Honey. Hopefully the game is not over yet.

MeDo`s Little Trap - Medicine Sound (2012)

La bèl
Lastfm 

9.2

/Baroque folk, Singer-songwriter, Indie folk, Folktronica, Dream folk, Folk indie, Art pop/

Comment: there are up 4 tracks which are filled in with warm guitar twangs and harmonious vocal and some vowel effects, being genuinely intimate and contemplative (the most eminent track it the title track). At times it chirps like an instance of doo wop vibes and providing more electronic and programmed seeds. The whole is issued on La bèl, the Italian qualitative music label. 

Adriano Orrù – Hèsperos (2011)

La bèl

8.7

/Chamber music, Improvised music, Experimentalism/

Comment: Adriano Orrù provides six tracks all played with the help of a double bass and some additional devices. Actually it is much more above you than usual chamber music used to represent cutting edges for. More profoundly, it is filled in with frenetic jam sessions which ultimately seems to be intricate and highly energized.

N-qia – qia songs (2011)

La bèl

9.3

/Folktronica, Crossover, Baroque pop, Shoegazetronica, Jazz, IDM, Organic electronica, Experimental electronica, Experimental indie/

Comment: This is the second issue (after Neeva`s one) coming out from the Italy-based La bèl records which does have put itself quite aside in comparison to the label`s usual alt-folk/experimental folk perspective. Yet, I shall have to accentuate the word "quite" or "relatively". This 4-track EP comes out from the Nippon headed by such producers as Nozomi (vocals) and Takma (programming). Lots of IDM-acock rhythms are represented here which are embellished with baroque-esque milieus, electronic shoegaze-alikeness and organic electronica/jazz-y/folktronic-infiltrated evolvements. While it sometimes resembles of the Iceland`s mùm or some Efterklang`s deeds, I can perceive it as idiosyncratic on its own.

F.S.Blumm/Lucrecia Dalt – Cuatro Covers (2011)

La bèl

9.3

/Folktronica, Cowbell indie, Avant-folk, Krautrock, Experimental folk, Chamber folk, Dream folk/

Comment: This collaborative act between F.S Blumm and Lucrecia Dalt is just more than mesmerizing - it is quite hard to search for a more proper sentence to describe the result. One`s can detect for elaborated guitar chords, semi-tones and fully fragmented light, adjacent to the organic electronic imprecation which is brought forth through repetitive loops (moreover, acquiring even krautrock-ish characteristics at times) and gently rising progressions, all of that reaching out from the subtle glockenspiel touches to noiseful guitar explorations, from quasi-orchestrated developments to drowsy fingerpicked magic. In a nutshell, a subsequent folk-related instance under the La bèl label.

Plusplus - Evils (2011)

La bèl
Lastfm

9.2

/Alt-folk, Folktronica, Baroque folk, Chamber folk, Psychedelic, Dark folk, Neofolk, Post-folk, Avant-folk, Art-folk, New Weird Europe/

Comment: In fact, every new issue under the La bèl label is being a big event to date, though this time the label has "failed" in its attempts to stay for a kind of label concerning only on hallmarks from Italy. Of course, this restriction would be ridiculous on its own, especially if to regard a long-time lapse henceforward. However, Plusplus is Adam Radmall coming from the Foggy Albion and shuffling diverse chords, harmonies and moods into a burgeoning output conventionally considered as a sort of (instrumental) folk sound. Yet, there can be heard lots of intrepid dodges toward electronic patterns, ambient-based textures, apocalyptic (folk) tendencies, baroque-esque progressions, darkwave-ish reflexions, bucolic psychedelic tissues and concrete sound snippets sorrounding all of it. By the speculative side, however, you can imagine the possible ideological platform at Evils in a way as if the 60`s folk psychedelia meets Darkwood meets Daniel Figgis meets Penguin Cafe Orchestra. All in all, this album (of 11 tracks) shall have to be listened to lots of time while being the grower by its nature. It is a highly mesmerizing issue indeed.

Nick Rivera Happy song is a happy song (La bèl)

In Cagliari born but now in London residing Michele Sarti aka Nick Rivera is being and has been participant in the line-up of many groups (Bron Y Aur; Franklin Delano; Sunny Day Sets Fire; Oh Atoms; Takoma). Yet, his recent project is definitely an act of intimate folk, or folk-based art which tends to search for diverse sonority fields, potent harmonic angles, making out impressive experiments with baroque pop, shuffling analogue electronics and cinematic undercurrents of epicness, all in all, finding out an equilibrium between the kind of astonishing inner harmony and outer form of beauty. Of course, Sarti is not alone, being assisted by many other musicians. For instance, at Renee Luise, the opening track, beautiful unisoned vocal lines are compiled by voices of him and Mary Dow. Indeed, an amazing track. Or in the other place the unisoned chords of fingerpicked strings (guitar, ukulele) and cello keys do play out a perfect chamber folk example (Horn Y Orgy). Or is it as if Air`s Moon Safari`s most epic moments were mastered in the vein of chamber pop attitude somehow? The title track enters into the indie folk area, more concretely, reminding of the Welsh whimsical folk wizards Gorky`s Zygotic Mynci`s playful shufflings on the ground of bucolic acoustic pop jams and acid-filled synthezised passages. Happy song is a happy song is one of the most excellent appearances (if not the best) in 2011 so far. Imagine you having a home in the countryside and you are sitting outside for looking at the sun`s going down. A truly great monumental set indeed.

Listen to it here

9.8

Ballpen The dreams trilogy (La bèl)

In recent years, among others, I am used to get deeply involved in music of some Italian labels having stylistically been offering different yet conceptually cutting-edge outputs. More specifically, every release under Barbie Noja, Chew-Z, Kill Mommy, Zymogen, and La bèl is an unexpected one and really worth to give a try. In fact, concerning specifically on in Italy residing projects I have discovered such ones like The Last Meredina, Nicola Ratti, con_cetta, Christian Alati, Barbagallo, The Japanese Gum, Menion, Elisa Luu, Difondo. By the side, speaking about the music from the Apennine Peninsula in a more general way, it would be a kind of crime not to mention the likes of Hox Vox, Ornitology, Les Dix-Huit Secondes, The reason is clear - because all of these aforementioned bands have put on their very own mentality to some Anglo-American influences. However, it seems so that there are two geographical peripheries in Europe which are really rich by their innovative music - Finland (their powerful avant-garde folk experimentations, so-called forest folk) and Italy. In the context, no chance to get over by Kraftwerk - Eleganz und Dekadenz Europa endlos

Actually the array will be completed with adding of Ballpen, the project of Alessandro Coronas, conjuring up really interesting and intimate dream-alike soundscapes. (And other billions of strange and funny combinations of the puzzle-pieces of my life - as he says himself) 11 tracks do search for their place and borders hovering between folk music, cowbell indie, sub-IDM beats, chamber music, dream pop, child music, even the classical approach of minimal, sometimes really minimal sonic palette (which is not suprising because of Coronas` conservatory-related background). Of course, the easiest way to chart the whole it would be tagged as "folktronic music", and indeed, this is correct on its own - at least partly. For example, fabulous tracks Anna Lisa goes to bed, and The magazine dream. On the other hand, all of those slowly progressing chamber music lines built up to half-evolved crescendos, intimate sonic insights and introspections, a lot of key changes, subtle minimal electronic and glitch-y ghosts-infused undercurrents are up for to eliminate stylistic walls around its concept and allowing to bring forth a lot of transcendental feelings for a subject. Listening to this I can remember (or it is remembered by) for some soul mates - Oscar Hallbert (Sweden), and Thuoom (Finland). Altogether, a great composition indeed.

Listen to it here

9.7

[Artists] Difondo

Difondo
La bèl
Myspace
Lastfm

[Artistid] Elisa Luu

Hidden Shoal
La bèl
Phantom Channel
Myspace
Lastfm

Difondo Habitat (La bèl)

Itaallastel on plaadifirma Zymogen kõrvale kerkinud teine kvaliteetleibel nimega La bèl. Järjekorras kuues reliis ei künna enam eksperimentaalse indie ja post-rock`i laialivalguvatel piiridel, vaid on hõivanud midagi uut.

Sergio Camedda, Giampaolo Campus ning Giuseppe Casu on Lõuna-Itaalia kolmik, kes on keskendunud muusika- ja konkreethelide tämbrilisuse uurimisele. Kaheksa elektroakustilist improvisatsiooni - mille keskmes on mõiste "levila"/habitat/ - tekivad eraldatud helidest-kontseptsioonidest, mis iseendasse suletusest sõltumata siirduvad ning lisavad oma panuse üldisesse helipilti. Inimolend on paratamatult ümbritsetud keskkonnast, mistõttu käesolevat teost esitletaksegi kui ideaalset nägemust inimese olemuslikust seosest teda ümbritsevaga. Kõik mikrokontseptsioonid on esitatud võrdse intensiivsusega, milles on kord jazz-elemente, kord elektroonikat ja spoken word`i, kord klassikalise muusika ja konkreethelide mustreid. Kõiki träkke ühendavaks osaks on tumedaküllasus ning helikeele pingestatus-kriipivus, mis jätab sellest mulje kui mõnest tuleviku ooperi helindist.

Kuula albumit siit

9.2

[Artistid] Menion

La bèl
Myspace
Lastfm

Elisa Luu The time of waiting (La bèl)

Kui room(a)lanna Elisabetta Luciani alustas oma muusikalist karjääri "Floating Sounds" EP-ga (plaadifirma Phantom Channel) 2008. aastal, siis võis kohe aimu saada, et esile on kerkimas suur self-made-woman sooloartist, kes afektiivset külge ja innovatiivset tehnilist pagast originaalselt segades-rakendades suudab vastassugupoolega sammu käia või neist isegi ees olla, mida - poliitilist korrektsust kõrvale heites - ei juhtu kuigi sageli (meenuvad ainult Jessica Bailiff, Maja Ratkje ja Hanne Adam aka adamned.age). (Loomulikult on ka olemas uusi suundi demonstreerivaid naiskollektiive - nt Anahita, Knitted Abyss ja Pocahaunted). "Floating Sounds" EP kasvas aasta hiljem üle albumiks "Chromatic Sigh" (plaadifirma The Hidden Shoal), mis vähemalt ühes webzine`s valiti 2009. aasta 100 parima albumi sekka. Kui keegi ka esitanuks selle parimaks, siis vaevalt oleks vastuväiteid suvatsetud leida.

Tõesti, Luciani helikeelt iseloomustab imetabane sensitiivsus - et mitte öelda afektiseisunditesse suikumine ja neist ärkamine - sfäärilise elektroonika, klassitsismi, helikunsti, drone`i ja eksperimentaalroki varjundite kaudu. Kui laenata ühte pealkirja tema kauamängivalt, siis võiks seda ka haldjate ruumirokiks nimetada.

Uus, 5-looline EP toob esile uusi toone - avalugu r735 on sulnis tervik post-rock-kangastustest, musique concrete`ist ning happelisest psühhedeeliast/indietronica-rütmidest. Kuid see, mis seejärel hakkab juhtuma, võtab pehmelt öeldes sõnatuks. Elektrooniline lummus paisub sümfooniliseks illusiooniks, ülenedes sakraalseks hümniks. Vaevalt et lõikavad kitarririfid siin-seal enam popkriitikute intellektuaalsetesse skeemidesse mahuvad, kuivõrd keelpillide funktsioon on järsult teisenenud. On see siis kitarri kui peenisepikenduse- või ersatsiga vehkimine, kui seksuaalse frustratsiooni maandamine, kui seksuaalsetele ihadele allumine ah? Naisterahvas lööb need skeemid sassi... . (Mis mõtet on raisata oma aega neile muusikariitikutele, kes kasutavad vanu seletusmudeleid, olles võimetud uut situatsiooni adekvaatselt aduma?) Kuigi ka Elisabetta Luciani allub ihadele, jääb selle suunitlus ilmselgelt traditsioonilisest rock-kehandist väljapoole. Tõsi, ka daam ise pole jälgede segamisega kitsi olnud. Kuidas tuleks lõpulugu Piano 5-1 mõista-haarata? Kui palju on sellel õigupoolest klaverimuusikaga pistmist - kui jätta välja esimesed 30 sekundit -, kui see kõlab nagu noir/space-beat/jazz rock, - kui Death In Vegas remiksiks Spiritualized`i?

Kuula albumit siit

10.0