Mick Chillage "Transitions" Out Now!!!

Generally my albums have been very much within the ambient spectrum but over the years I have been working on other genres of electronic music like house and techno which is were my interest in electronic music first stemmed.

In the late eighties I got hooked on acid house and techno, so anything from Mr Fingers to 808 state where frequently on my walkman, also around that period I was experiencing the strains of the embryonic Irish club scene, regularly venturing into legendary Dublin clubs like Sides DC. Through the nineties and naughties I still consumed plenty of techno,deep house etc and also produced a rather healthy amount groove based tracks.

So in May 2012 I'll release "Transitions" exclusively through bandcamp
which showcases a selection of my more upbeat orientated material.
The title "Transitions" seemed fitting as currently my personal life is in something of a transitional period, plus the music is something of a change to what I'm more associated with plus I see it as transitional phase for the way I'm now distributing some of my music, taking control 100% by releasing through bandcamp..





Purchase Album here "Transitions"

Resurge Two V/A [Free Download]

Greek based net label this-side release their second in the resurge series
on this-side down which usually focuses on their downtempo tracks.

This time "Resurge Two" focuses on the more upbeat electro flavoured side of things.

Likos serves up a slice of unique and sleazy electro funk with "Late Nites"
Lee Fraged delivers some deep and atmospheric future funk on "Helix"
Track three features an exclusive track from myself titled "Alive With Wires"
which finishes of the electro tinged EP nicely..



You can download the EP for free from here Resurge Two

Mick Chillage "Check This Out" Free Download

Originally released as part of a limited CD compilation to help promote an electro club night in Dublin called "Neuromantek" the CD also featured tracks from Decal, Skkatter and many more Irish producers..

My concept behind the track at the time was to juxtaposition traditional electro/dance themes amongst a sombre or melancholic atmosphere, so if the sample "Check This Out" seems somewhat out of place, it is meant to be a metaphor for how lonely people can be while out clubbing etc : )

Mick Chillage "Early MC303 Tracks" Out Now!!!

From the early nineties I dreamed of producing my own electronic music after hearing that acts like LFO, Orbital etc had produced much of their work from small bedroom studios. After much investigation in to the equipment they used, I realised that it would not be so cheap to obtain the equipment needed, at this time analogue synths were still the only way to create these sounds as digital synthesis seemed to be for experienced programmers.

It wasn’t until the mid 90’s that a new breed of digital kit started to emerge, gone were the unfathomable interfaces of the DX7 and the mega expensive sampling workstations like the Fairlight. Companies like Roland started to realise that musicians wanted the ease of use that analogue kit gave, plenty of knobs for instant real-time manipulation and control.


One piece of kit caught my eye, The Roland MC303, my understanding at the time was that this machine was part bass line emulator of Roland’s classic TB303 acid box and their famous 909 and 808 drum machines. The price seemed reasonable, I thought great! I can learn how to program drums and play basslines etc and eventually progress to another synth for more sounds but when I got it home I discovered it had much more, Piano’s, Strings, Pads, Leads, FX and an eight track sequencer!!

Out of the box and with a few days of getting to grips with its basics the MC303 was an instant dance music machine with some obvious trance/dance preset sounds and sequences, but if you dug a little deeper and avoided the presets other styles were possible.

Listening back I still get that sense of creative innocence within the compositions and production, maybe that was due to the MC303's limitations or my new found artistic endeavours? but I feel I its appropriate to pay respect to the little grey box that paved the way for many more budding producers in the mid to late nineties.

Skurken "Gilsbakki "

In September 2011 the Icelandic based Moller records released Skurkens Debut album "Gilsbakki", after the first listen I was yet again left speechless by Iceland's electronic music output.

Skurken AKA Jóhann Ómarsson is also one half of Sk/um along with Þorsteinn Konráð Ólafsson AKA Prince Valium who released the beautiful "I Þágu Fallsins" album back in 2003.

Some of the many highlights from "Gilsbakki" include:

The opener "Romer" is a rather melancholic piano composition that sits tastefully with some minimal downtempo electronic grooves and the addition of some very emotive chord changes gives you a sense of the beautiful environment which it was created in.



"Rafting" follows up wonderfully as it continues to wrap you in comforting warm keys, some electro like drum and bass grooves kick in and a melodic growling bassline gives the track some solid presence, again plenty of changes in key and infectious melodic bliss displays Johann's heartfelt compositional skills.

"Dircuits" effortlessly blends IDM beats dark vibes, guitar with melodic acidic lines, almost sounding like Plaid jamming with French easy listening duo
Air. Next we have the beautiful but short fantasy piece "Welschmerz sumar" which certainly wouldn’t sound of place on the Donny Darko soundrack or the latest Tim Burton epic.

"Kannaski" introduces a haunting soundscape with poly rhythmic grooves which transform into more acidic loveliness and smooth key lines, the introduction of some strumming guitar chords adds an emotive folk feel and then we are taken away on layers of heavenly synth arps, possibly the finest moment on the album ?

"Bistisbo" is another beauty with its comforting lullaby vibes and soaring strings and rather low slung bass mixed with some Boards Of Canada influences. Track eleven "Utvortis" is another contender for the best track on the album, which mixes a beautiful cello section and warm melodic electronics along with what sounds like R2D2 conversing in the background.

The final track "Uppaslir" leaves us with an epic uplifting futuristic ambient vibe with an almost Vangelis meets BOC feel.

Over all the album has an incredible sense of emotion which at times is very melancholic and uplifting and there's enough diversity and experimentalism to keep the hardcore IDM fans happy, while there are plenty of moments where many of his influences are clearly evident from AFX to orbital etc, but "Gilsbakki " never loses its strong sonic identity.

Essential listening for fans of Plaid, Aphex Twin, Kettel etc..



9/10

Mick Chillage "Soul Ideals" EP

"Soul Ideals" is one of those tracks which has been floating around since the early naughties, Inspired by the early house sound of artists like Larry Heard etc, or so I've been told, it fits more into the downtempo/home listening arena..

The EP came about after I uploaded the track to soundcloud and posted it on facebook, after many requests for remixing the original I felt I had a really nice collection of remixes which took the original to a wider audience and I set about finding a home for a possible release. Eventually the collection landed with Irish based NiceandNasty records.

So the EP opens with the stunning rework from Dave Anderson [ferox] clocking in at over nine minutes, Dave weaves some incredible freestyle funky lead work around some of the source material along with his own tech grooves and production..

Next we have Monsieur Electonique AKA Dimitris Pataras from Athens Greece, giving it a minimalistic intricate techno feel but keeping the focus on emotion.

Iceland's Arni Gretar, AKA Futuregrapher injects a retro-futuristic Detroit vibe full of classic 909 programming and spine tingling atmospherics.

Finally we have two remixes from Florida based Phasen, who's no stranger to Niceand Nasty and the sister label DXR. Ryans mix [Phasen's Ambient Idealism] focuses on deep emotion and deep house grooves, if you can imagine Vangelis meets The Art of Noise meets The Timewriter you're halfway there.

Phasen again shows his incredible talent both with his keywork and beautiful production values.. The Reprise is a beat less version of his remix with additional piano keys and other worldliness.

The "Soul Ideals" EP is out now [digital only] from all the usual stores.

Mick Chillage "Night Works" Out now!!!!!!!

Lee Norris AKA Norken, Metamatics etc and founder of seminal UK electronica label Neo Ouija has just released my third CD album "Night Works" on his newly formed ambient experimental label ...txt recordings.

"Night Works" as the title suggests is a collection of ambient pieces created and recorded in the early hours and inspired by night time which conveys a wide range of emotions and moods that the twilight hours can bring.

The label will release strictly limited edition CD's and already has many beautiful releases in the pipeline, including albums by Solipsism AKA Craig Murphy [Herb recordings] and a new amazing discovery Ersha, plus works from Lee himself under is Nacht Plank guise.

"Night Works" is out now and it is limited to 200 copies

"Night Works" teaser forthcoming on ...txt by Mick Chillage










txt ...bolt ons by ...txt

http://www.txtrecordings.co.uk/shop.html