John Barry Remembered

Sadly my very first blog of 2011 is due to the death of composer John Barry, who sadly passed away from a heart attack on the 30th of January. Barry's music was a true inspiration to many electronica producers. Paul Hartnoll of Orbital regularly cites Barry as a musical hero.

One of my earliest musical memories was watching Goldfinger on TV for the very first time when I was a child, yes I enjoyed the movie but it was the music that truly blew me away. I had just barely grown out of nursery rhymes but that was the effect Barry's unmistakable and otherworldly emotive themes had on me.

The very first piece of vinyl I owned was "The James Bond 10th anniversary Collection" covering a selection of key points from "Dr No" through to "Diamonds Are Forever" which was a ninth birthday present from my parents, a start to my Barry Obsession and a music obsession in general..

With a massive score writing credit for a diverse range of movies and from working with contemporary greats like Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey to mainstream pop acts like A-ha and Duran Duran. Barry was a composer who wasn't afraid to mix things up, from using experimental synth tones on Her Majesty's secret service and combining genres like jazz, country and military in one composition was child's play for Barry.

While most music scored for film only really works within the context of the movie, Barry's music can stand alone Just like any piece of classical,rock or pop and it can act as the soundtrack to the movies in your mind or even your own life.

Barry recently spoke out about his peers In an interview with The Guardian, the four-times Oscar winner said, "[The composers] have nothing to say. They are just messing around with notes. I'm at a loss." He also told The Guardian, "I walk out of the cinema bewildered these days. I think, what was the producer or director thinking of to allow 45 minutes or an hour of music that doesn't mean a damn thing? Today it's very empty.

It is a sad loss for the movie and music world because we all know Barry was a one off, as he pretty much redefined the movie and TV scores through the 1960's, yet he never ran out of appeal or emotive creativity through the years and decades that followed.

I doubt another composer will ever match the thrilling emotive and sexy brilliance of Barry but there is one consolation, I still haven't heard all of his works yet so I have many more wide screen journeys to take with him and many familiar timeless epics I can return to again and again.

My top 10 CD albums of 2010.

2010 another great year for electronic music, while the DJ charts and digital download stores where hyping up some rather dull flavor of the week techno and house etc but if you looked outside of these areas there are still artists and labels releasing some breathtakingly emotive music.

Ambient music in particular made a fairly healthy return, often popping up in well known DJ's podcasts and charts. My chart isn't in order and I emitted digital only releases from my top 10.


1)Thomas Köner - Nunatak • Teimo • Permafrost [Type]










Apologies for including a reissue in my chart but these three early releases from Köner have that timeless quality which sound like no other ambient from the early to mid nineties, no movie samples, twiddling bubbling synth sequences, water or whale samples, just pure unidentifiable drones shifting and morphing with hauntingly beautiful results..



2) A Guy Called Gerald - Tronic Jazz The Berlin Sessions [Laboratory Instinct]










Manchester's finest returns with another stunning collection of techno tracks with that unique Gerald slant, alien afro future funk of the highest order which truly separates him from the rest of the techno clones..





3) Bvdub - The Art Of Dying Alone [Glacial Movements]










Brock Van Wey, has been gathering a rather large underground following with his CDR releases on labels like Quietus and Styrax etc, with his brand of stunning soundscapes, The Art Of Dying Alone is truly breathtaking from beginning to end a modern ambient classic..




4) Anodyne - corrosion [Psychonavigation]










Ireland's answer to Aphex, Muziq etc returned after a lengthy hiatus with his blistering sonic assault of breakbeats and techno with a rather apocalyptic flavor throughout, 2010 also saw the release of the remixes 12" featuring remixes from Autechre and the Black Dog which really put Anodyne and Psychonavigation on the electronica map..




5) The Black Dog - Music For Real Airports [Soma]



The Black Dog venture into the ambient arena with a title that got tongues wagging about it being a statement to Brian Eno's "Music For Airports" while Eno's concept was more about creating a calming mood for the traveller while waiting to depart the black dogs approach was more about creating a soundtrack using field recordings, drones, and emotive compositions that captured all the emotions which can be experienced in such places, from anticipation, stress, sadness, anger etc.

6) Mark Van Hoen - Where Is The Truth [City Centre Offices]



A beautiful collection of deep shoegazing inspired songs and instrumentals with dubby and glitched electronics and warm synths with touches of Marks avant garde edges. The album also features Neil Halstead of Slowdive amongst other guest performers.

7) Pete Namlook and Lorenzo Montanà - Labyrinth [Fax]



Another prolific year for Pete Namlook and his Fax label, with great collaborations between Pete and Move D and solo works like his "Pearl" series and the melodic "Permutations" but his collaboration with Italian IDM producer Lorenzo Montana really stood out with Lorenzo's intricate beats and soulful melodies and Pete's trademark ethereal synths made this a serious contender for album of the year..

8) Loscil - Endless Falls [Kranky]



I'm not sure what it is about the seductivness of Scott Morgans music, but he really is a master of subtlety, the tracks slowly evolve to reveal a haunting beauty and this is probably Loscil at his very best ?

9) Atom™ - Music Is Better Than Pussy [Rather Interesting]



Uwe Schmidt returned to top form after the disappointing digital scrap book of "Muster" with a tongue in cheek look at minimal techno, minimal yet deeply funky and experimental techno tracks with often hilarious lyrical content. also worth mentioning was his experimental ambient Li3835tra3um3 which featured some great ambient tracks which returned to similar terrain explored in "Dots" etc..

10) Sage Taylor - Rain Time [Pronounce]



A truly essential release that only one hundred lucky people will get to hear and I'm happy to be one of them. Based around a theme of rain, each track shifts into the next with the sound of rain running against glass and other materials the album delivers a deep sense of melancholy and emotions that only those wet home bound days can sometimes bring, stunning!!!

"Tron Legacy" Music by Daft Punk

On paper it may seem like an odd choice for Disney to pick popular french dance music producers Daft Punk to score their latest big screen epic "Tron Legacy", while its not Thomas Bangalter's first time to write and produce music for a full length feature, its certainly the first time he as been involved in a full on traditional score for a mainstream blockbuster.. In 2002 Thomas created a minimalistic score for Gasper Noes disturbing independent masterpiece "Irreversible" and recently for Noes latest "Enter the Void" mainly using uneasy drones to brilliant effect..

A few months back some previews of Daft Punks score hit the internet and one piece in particular sounded like a deeply atmospheric electro track in the vein of Anthony Rother/John Carpenter which really got my attention but hasn't actually featured on the soundtrack CD.

I was really hoping for maybe an almost ambient electro score from the french duo but as its turned out Daft Punk have had access to a full orchestra and have mixed it with moments of electronic minimalism, which may come as a shock or disappointment for those who were hoping for a full on Daft Punk album. While the score may not have the originality or stand alone listening experience of soundtracks like Thomas Newman's "American Beauty" or "Blade Runner" by Vangelis but it certainly has a few epic spine tingling moments.

A few of the traditionally orchestrated pieces worth mentioning are "Overture" and the deeply emotive yet short "Arrival" some of the purely electronic compositions that stand out are the rather excellent "End Of Line" which reminds me of John Carpenter and early Orbital. and the Lush mix of synths and strings on "Son Of Flynn" Other High points utilise a stunning blend of tough electro grooves and the trademark fuzzy Daft Punk acid sequences combined with stunning orchestral strings and horn swells on "Tron Legacy (end titles)

While most of the music fits safely into the Hollywood mould of action movies and at times you would be hard pushed to tell the difference between Daft Punks score or the work of say established Hollywood composers like Hans Zimmer etc, so there's no doubt that Daft Punk have succeeded in their first venture into traditional movie scoring and have blended the use of electronic sounds effectively to compliment the technologically advanced themes of the movie.

Overall the soundtrack stands up pretty well for a home listening experience with the exception of a couple of obvious action driven compositions which I'm sure will effortlessly blend in with the images depicted in the visually stunning movie and I'm sure that the score will certainly secure Daft Punk some future work in Hollywood but I wouldn't bring the "Tron Legacy" soundtrack to any party..

7.5/10

"Snow Drifting" a winter ambient mix by Mick Chillage.

Winter has arrived early this year, so I was inspired to create a new ambient mix.

Hope you enjoy!!

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01 Mark Isham : Winter Again
02 Pete Namlook : Season's Greetings "Winter" [excerpt]
03 Lull : Sheet
04 Biosphere : Kobresia
05 Higher Intelligence Agency and Biosphere : Melt water [excerpt]
06 Peter Benisch : Waiting for Snow Part VI
07 Indio : Snow Drifts
08 Higher Intelligence Agency and Biosphere : Countdown To Darkness
09 Vangelis : Antarctic Echoes
10 Irezumi : Endurance part VII
11 Mark Isham : Tibet part II
12 Geir Jenssen : Tingri The Last Truck
13 Daniel Pemberton : Antarctica
14 Biosphere : Microgravity
15 Ennio Morricone : Humanity part II
16 Peter Benisch : Waiting For Snow Part V

Brian Eno "Small Craft On A Sea Of Milk" [Warp]

2010 really seems to be the year ambient goes overground again, with The Black Dog's "Music For Real Airport's" generating lots of well deserved hype and the unfortunate stellar disappointment from The Orb and David Gilmore's "Metallic Sphere's" and now we have Brian Eno's Latest opus which has been released on the legendary Warp records.





The album is available in various forms including a somewhat overpriced signed collectors double Vinyl/CD set, a double CD and the single CD which is being reviewed here.

"Small Craft On A Sea Of Milk" starts off with no real surprises for Eno fans, the first three tracks have that sort of haunted bluesy desolate soundtrack feel, from the achingly delicate piano composition of the opening "Emarald and Lime" to the dreamy guitars of "Complex Heaven" which are both both beautifully played by Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams.

Unfortunately from track four things go way out of focus, as it ventures into self indulgent industrial tribal glitch rock. On one track it sounds like Michael Flatley tap dances under the influence of ecstasy while Ritchie Hawtin tries to emulate 303 sounds on a broken DX7.

There are times where I can I hear a slight Aphex Twin "Drukqs" influence ? but without the effortless confidence and intricate details of Mr Richard D James.

Other moments of Eno's take on industrial techno or warpism's sound like an endurance test with the use of some unforgivably pointless sounds and over the top screeching guitars which are often so irritating you may prematurely reach for the eject button, but fortunately on Track ten "Slow Ice, Old Moon" the album returns to some spooky soundscapes which sound similar to some moments off Brian's ambient classic "Apollo" then we are treated to the gentle and rather emotive bleeps and shifting drones of "Lesser Heaven" and from here on in we are eased back in the comfort zone.

Towards the end we have "Written Forgotten" with its deep buzzing acidic synths, atmospheric pads and dreamy acoustic guitar combined with some oddball vocal samples and warm symphonic strings, which creates a shifting piece of ambient that wouldn't sound out of place in a David Lynch movie.
The album closes off with "Late Anthropocene" which sees Brian moving into the similar sonic terrain of Christian Fennesz with its beautifully layered female choir and wind chimes and glitchy abstraction..

Overall this album has a slight identity crisis, kind of half ambient and half industrial experimental, while the ambient half works really well I feel that the industrial side of it could had have been put to one side for another project perhaps, or even better kept for brian's own personal enjoyment.

Where its ambient 8/10

Where its other 3/10

Johannes Heil "Loving" [Cocoon]

German based techno producer Johanness Heil is well known for his often dark take on techno/electronica, particularly on albums like the excellent "Future Primitive" on Kanzleramt.

So his latest full length offering released on Sven Vath's rather trendy Cocoon imprint might come as a surprise or even quite a shock to some of his hardcore fans, not that Heil sticks with one style of electronica, in the past he has displayed a talent for producing anything from Hip Hop to Electro to pure ambient etc, but its the fact that "Loving" is full of bouncy, uplifting floor filling and almost crowd pleasing tracks at times which might upset some of Heil's die hard fans.

From the opening track "Hallelujah" we are instantly introduced to Heil's new sonic terrain with a two step style beat in a "We Will Rock You" by Queen style before heading into a sound with elements of traditional African music, with its almost cheesy tribal chants, the track develops nicely though with some deep synths and epic strings giving it an uplifting feel.

"All This One" sets us up for a taste of what's to come over the rest of the album with its minimal techno groove and bouncing stabs. "The Ace" picks up the pace as it starts off with a solid 4/4 groove and an almost "French Kiss" inspired organ sequence, the track is a real builder and reaches some almost epic highs with its deeply layered synths and strings". Then we have "Glockenspiel" as the title suggests this minimal groover layers a melodic glockenspiel vibe riding on top of a samba influenced techno groove.

Midway into the album we have "Big City Nights" which takes us away on some fat analogue bass antics with a disco feel and the use of emotive strings give it that uplifting feel yet again.

"Freedom Of Heart" starts of with a nice edgy groove full of electro toms and a simple bassline, then introduces a nice lightly phased piano and synth riff, it all builds up nicely with the introduction of a tasty string and pad combo and further funky synth keys, a clever arrangement keeps the track moving along with breakdowns and build ups designed for the dance floor.

"Halo Static" takes a more experimental approach with its glitchy flanged and bit crushed tech/electro beats and moody strings and abstract melodies and some clean technoid stabs, think speedy J meets Plastikman and you're halfway there.

"Twenty Three" returns with a chunky groove and dreamy atmosphere and the most uplifting keys and bassline combo on the album, then with a lovely deep and moody dub techno twist to add a sense of mystery only to return to the comforting vibe it opened up with, Heil turns it up another notch with a simple yet affective acid refrain, this is possibly the best track on the album...

"Could This Be" starts of with a slightly cheesy almost "Love is in the air" bassline and a typical house groove and some smokey organ stabs which then progresses into an almost handbag house territory with its diva vocal sound bites and its twisted acid sequences, quirky flutes, but the further addition of what sounds like a distorted lead guitar and cheap orchestral samples turns this into a bit of a Frankensteins monster of a club track.

The album closes off with the title track "Loving" which ventures closer to deep house with its strange mix of catchy simplistic bass and melodies with a slight reggae time signature layered with cinematic strings, lush female vocals and stabbing synths..

Although I couldn't really recommend this album to most fans of Heil's past darker strains of techno or to anyone looking for something new and groundbreaking in electronica, but I do feel this works very well as an album of DJ friendly techno/house tracks but lacks Heil's usual sense of identity to a large degree but Johannes has certainly proved himself yet again as a varied and very talented producer..

7/10

Mick Chillage DJ set @ Decode 08/10/10

This is my second set from Decode..
The tracks chosen for this mix where randomly grabbed from my CD collection
and imported into ableton and these are the tracks that made it on the mix
on the night!!

Hope you enjoy

Tracklist

01 : As One "Rumours"

02 : Sensorama "Kondens"

03 : Spooky "No Return"

04 : Hug "heroes"

05 : Robag Wruhme "Skrubbs"

06 : Sunday Brunch "When It All Comes To This" [Night Drive Mix]

07 : Youngsters "Smile"

08 : Stakker "Stakker Humanoid" [Scan X mix]

09 : Youngsters "Abusive Melody"

10 : Sensorama "Quarzzeit"

11 : Orbital "The Naked And The Dead"

12 : Pete Namlook & Hubertus Held "Hey Leroy"

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