King Midas Sound - Waiting For You

King Midas Sound is a beautiful collaboration between Roger Robinson, Kiki Hitomi and Kevin Martin, which (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) began life as a track for Kevin's much more wider known project, The Bug. I find it hard to describe and categorize KMS simply because my exploration into this kind of music is incredibly limited (I got here through Godflesh, Techno Animal, etc.), although I can say that this is a incredibly strong and moving record. Revisiting it years later for the purpose of this post has acted as a written reminder to myself to explore these kinds of things more often.

Robinson's soft, bizarrely ethereal vocals are the perfect human accompaniment to Kevin Martin's spaced out dubs, shuffling beats and sparse yet hard-hitting arrangements. Waiting For You walks that perilous tightrope between being chilled out and having a profound message; equal parts dark and light, with finishing flourishes from Hitomi, who would take more of a central vocal role as the project progressed in later years. Waiting For You was released by the excellent Hyperdub.

Gorillaz - Gorillaz

The Gorillaz self-titled record was the first album that I ever owned. Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory (unfortunately) holds the title for first record ever bought, but Gorillaz was the first thing that I seriously jammed, and it was instrumental in developing my interest in music as a serious hobby. Back in the day I had this terrible transparent blue Aiwa tape walkman / radio combo, and I played the livin' fuckin' guts out of my crappy tape copy of this.

Most people are surprised I love Gorillaz so much simply because I can't fucking abide Blur. But, what drew me to Gorillaz first album was the thick dubby aspect underneath the pop sensibilities of the band's songs; the thick spine of bass and chunky, dusty drum programming. The dirty, mechanical rumbling holding together the melancholic "Tomorrow Comes Today" is a perfect example of the grimey, almost-VHS-like vibe of the rhythm section on this album.

Then there's, obviously, "Clint Eastwood", with all that bagged up sunshine, and the bizarre first appearance of Del Tha Funky Homosapien, the rabid "Punk", the epic "Sound Check (Gravity)" and the downright fucking awful "Latin Simone". From the raucious rock of "M1 A1" to the introspective, arcade machine tomfoolery of "Double Bass", the whole thing is dripping in dirty dub vibes, a trend which unfortunately did not continue on later Gorillaz recordings (despite the fucking glorious Spacemonkeys spin-off dub remix album, Laika Come Home).

Don't forget, kids - it's the music that we choose.

Scorn - Anamnesis

Anamnesis is a ‘rarities’ collection from Mick Harris’ genre-spanning project Scorn. It’s actually a bizarre cross-section of the sounds that Scorn had made up until the late 90s; encompassing the early Nik Bullen material, the loud beatwork of the Logghi Barhogghi era and the minimalistic, bass heavy electronic beats that would come later.

 

It’s all a bit of a mess, to be honest. It’s like this CD can’t decide if it’s a b-sides collection, a remix album or a super cool round-up of unheard stuff. It’s great though, if like me, you’ve rinsed all life out of nearly every Scorn record and want to hear some long lost material from the vaults. There are some quality beats and vibes on here, especially the more minimalist stuff. When lined up back to back with the older stuff you kinda realise how much of a snoozer Nik Bullen is with his vocals (and this is coming from someone who loves Vae Solis). The track here from that era sounds like Godflesh withering in the final stages of a long battle with AIDS.

 

Not a bad CD overall but definitely not the place to start with Scorn. There is some phenomenal material out there linked to this project.

 

Killing Joke - In Dub

 

I like Killing Joke and I like dub (be that dub reggae or the same remixing technique applied to other genres) but I’ve got to be in the mood for both, so there’s no surprise that I aurally inhaled this gargantuan release in one entire sitting. It took some doing as In Dub is 3 hours long, and contains several remixes of the same few songs. I’m not sure when I’ll actually ever come back to this release again, but I did enjoy it, and it is (surprisingly) more than just a remix album.

Killing Joke’s average song structure just begs to be reworked in a rub-a-dub style, meng. I never really noticed it before, but the beats are really groovy. Jaz Coleman’s voice fits the echoic, stoned dubs perfectly. Some of the remixes of “Ghosts of Ladbroke Grove” are simply ethereal. “Eighties” is much sparser here, almost as if sung and performed by ghosts of that decade. Classic! Some of the tracks have genuine reggae elements added to them too, which is just lovely.

I almost went to see one of the live shows on the In Dub tour, but when I found out it was just Youth on the stage and not the entire band I decided to be a good slave to the system and not anger my boss by requesting even more time off. What can you do, eh?

Skin up, breh.

Lorde - Pure Heroine

It's not that often that I usually listen to shit like this, but I burned this album when it first came out and it's just one of those things that's been stuck in my car since. My stereo broke a few months ago when I tried to spin a leaked copy of Swans' To Be Kind (that's what I get for pirating music, folks!*) but when my car went in recently to get a new starter motor all the electronics were reset, and it freed the stuck Swans disc, allowing me to return to my awful car listening. I found this Lorde album lodged conspicuously behind a copy of Dr. Dre's 2001, and all the memories and mediocre pop music came flooding back. The mirth!

*I bought the 2xLP, and have nearly every other Swans record in existence, before you fucking judge me for doing illegals ;)

Most of you probably know Lorde for being a silly out-spoken 17-year-old who talks a lot of shit about stuff that she actually doesn't know anything about (kinda like me, only I'm 25). Take away her daftly over-opinionated, sensationalist media-baiting crap, and she's a fairly talented girl with, no doubt, a long future in music ahead of her. Pure Heroine is a fairly minimal pop record, led entirely by Lorde's unusual vocal. It kinda sounds like if Lana Del Ray got her head outta her arse, stopped trying to sing like a man, and employed Gary Numan to do all her backing tracks.

As is normally always the case with up-and-coming artists signed to major labels, one can't help but speculate how different this would sound without massive boardroom pressure and a most-likely retardedly huge production budget. And for that reason, the link below is of a live performance from Lorde, which I believe does her more justice than any of the tracks on this record. All in all, it's not a bad CD, as far as mass produced pop goes, but it could be a lot worse. Favourite tracks: "Tennis Court", "Glory & Gore", "White Teeth Teens".

Check out the super-hipster on keyboards for extra lulz. 

Talisman - Dole Age

Totally and randomly got a bunch of reggae records for Christmas 2012, which is great because I love reggae but spend so much time on other types of music that I never get around to buying any. Talisman are from Bristol and play nice dubby reggae, with lots of original groove. The songs aren't dubbed as such (as far as I can tell), they just have a lot of characteristics of the dub reggae sound, rather than playing typical straight up (and sometimes boring) reggae.

 

There are only five songs here, the opener being rather lengthy and the tracks seemingly getting shorter as the record progresses. Side A dominates side B in my opinion, although both are great, relaxing music. Nothing brings the good vibes quite like a reggae record! There is a whole bunch of history written on the inner sleeve, mainly about Talisman as a band but it covers the entire Bristol scene briefly as well, which is nice. Out on Bristol Archive Records.

Burial - Truant / Rough Sleeper

Welcome to what is quite possibly one of the most chilled out things in the world. I'm not talking that lovey-dovey "ambient" chill out shit that comes in box sets of 5 CDs, I'm talking about modern, chillax-to-the-max experimental dub. After being recommended Burial by about 40,000 different people I decided to actually check out some of his tunes on Spotify and I was an instant convert. One thing I don't agree with here though is the insistence on the dubstep tag; sure this will appeal to thousands of dubstep fans but I do not think that it really falls in with the genre. It is simply too laid back and experimental. 

"Truant" is a 12 minute masterpiece of sonic sub-bass bliss that simultaenously shakes my house and gives my brain the cerebral break it so desperately needs. What more can you want from music? Switch it on, switch yourself off. Job done. The B side, "Rough Sleeper", is a bit different. It is a bit longer, clocking in at just under 15 minutes, but it seems to be comprised of several songs (or should I say "vibes") mashed together rather than one 15 minute long trip. It's still goddamn awesome though!

This 12" was put out December past by Hyperdub. Check it out in the link below (although it won't do the sub-bass justice)

King Midas Sound - Aroo

This 12" marks my first Record Store Day purchase, even though it was accidental. I decided to visit Cardiff on Record Store Day this year, which was fairly disastrous, but I ended up in Catapult browsing where I picked up another King Midas 12". When I took it to the counter to pay for it, the chap at the desk kindly informed me that the band had put another 12" out on Ninja Tune just for Record Store Day. When I looked up they had a wall behind the counter covered in the shit that had been released for today only, which was a lot more understated than other shops in the area, which had queues out the door and half way around the fucking city.

I'm glad I picked this up, because otherwise I would have missed my chance and have to pay hipsters on Discogs extortionate amounts for a copy, but this is definitely more of a completists item for the King Midas enthusiast. Don't get me wrong, I love the 'Sound, but the reason I love KMS so much is because of the haunting vocals, and thoughtful lyrics. The A-side, "Aroo" is enormously poppy, unlike anything I've heard from King Midas in the past, the usual choppy dub beats being led by an odd, distorted, almost guitar-like lead and fresh female vocals. Which is all well and good (not to mention, huge sounding), but it doesn't leave much time for the Midas dubs, yo, which is what I'm all about. The standard vocals burst in every now and then like an afterthought, if anything just to "keep it Midas".

Side B and it's "Version" are much more gloomy. A heavy synth leads a mystifying track that is much more on par with the King Midas Sound that I love. All in all, not a bad pick up, but not maybe something I would have rushed into buying if it wasn't a limited edition. There is no record of this on Discogs etc. yet so I can't give you a valuation (Monday 22nd update - now there is), but I paid £6.99 for it, which was probably a bit steep, but helps your ol' bricks and mortar record store and all that. I guess that this price will rise a bit when the record becomes less easily available.

Turn all the way up, and chill the absolute fuck out. 

Life is Easy - Falasmaryon

I can't exactly review this as it's my creation, but I got one in my collection so it'll have to wind up on here eventually, so I'll just do a brief run down to plug this fucker. I recorded this bastard of an EP back in 2007, simply by running a distorted B C Rich through a whole world of filters and then recording a cold, mechanical drum beat over the top of it before doing more or less the same to that too. 

 

I don't really know why but I've never really bothered to release music that I have made alone, so it took 6 years to get this out, which is ridiculous  You can download it for free here or if you read this around the original post date and actually like it you can get a copy on tape for cheap as chips. Limited to 20 copies on Lines In Wax's very own Pointless Records label.

Little Roy - Battle For Seattle

So, Nirvana. A touchy subject. Well, not touchy but a hard one to define. Awful? Maybe. Terrible? Maybe. Over-rated as fuck? Definitely. The thing with Nirvana is that the songs were fantastic. The songwriting was spot on, it's just when the songs unfolded into real entities they were boring, nauseating grunge numbers. But, it would seem, a lot of people like Nirvana's music, and that includes dub legend Little Roy, who for some godforsaken reason decided it would be a good idea to record an album of Nirvana songs in a rub-a-dub style. Had I heard the idea before the finished product I would indeed be questioning if Little Roy had finally had one toke too many on the peace pipe.

 

But this record is absolutely fantastic, so keep on toking, little man! I won't beat around the bush; Nirvana songs have never sounded so good. They are stripped back and the rhythms are exposed in their true colours; the sub-sonic bass carrying the lazy and friendly tunes along at a relaxing pace. Guitars are utilized simply; mainly for the standard reggae chord strums, and organs, moogs and other instruments take the lead. The drums are simple and are for the most part no more than the beat-keeping hat ticks, but sometimes there are devastating bass hits drenched in dub-echo and now and then all the bongos in the world come in for a laugh. 

 

As with most records there are one or two stinkers but for the most part Little Roy has well and truly hit the nail on the head with this whole converting-Nirvana-into-dub-reggae thing. The fact that it really is better than any Nirvana recording is the icing on the cake for me and I want Little Roy to do more records like this. There is hope for awful music after all. Perhaps next he should try Anal Cunt. Out on Ark Recordings.

Scorn - Yozza

Sadly, Yozza (released in the arse-end of 2011) was to be the last thing that Mick Harris would put out under the Scorn moniker after 20 long years of pushing the boundaries of underground electronic music. Looking back now, it is hard to believe how far ahead of the times Scorn was; playing something that was the blueprints for the dubstep sound years before any silly cunt with a fucking Adidas cap decided it should be a genre. Oh, the injustice! But never mind, because in the right circles Mr. Harris is known for being a true innovator and leader in music, from his involvement in birthing Napalm Death and the grindcore genre right through to his ambient, experimental, noise and prolific collaborative efforts with over 9000 different artists, producers and musicians. Holy mother of fuck! You can head over to the man's own website to try and get your head around his discography. Best of luck!

Yozza opens with what seems like real drumming (a theme explored on the previous record Refuse; Start Fires), mixing dirty and distorted bass with the usual anxious soundscapes and devastating lows. If I can be so bold I will suggest that side B is superior; opener "Shake Hands" is Scorn at it's best, and "Name's Not Down, Not Coming In" will warble your intestines to muck, in a good way. Cut on a 12", the songs are phat as fuck and the mix is huge. Although this is a great EP, this isn't the way I imagined Scorn to go out, but it's not my fucking band and I don't make the decisions so I'll shut up. I will miss Scorn, but at least the music will live on his in records (not to mention the 160 other projects Mick has on the go). I'm just glad I managed to catch him live in 2011. What a fluke! Out on Ohm Resistance.

Scorn - Refuse; Start Fires

As far as dubstep goes I'm still pretty inexperienced, but as my musical tastes somehow mutate drastically I find myself listening more and more to this genre. Scorn for me were the in-road into this electronic genre I would have maybe never touched otherwise, despite the fact a lot of types of dubstep (or gorestep) mimmic the structure and heaviness of metal music. This double 12" by Ohm Resistance however, does not strike any resemblance to the psuedo-dub-metal that Scorn once shat out many moons ago.

I have heard this style of music described as both darkstep and dungeon dubstep; and I can see how the slow, clanking, echoic and vividly dark vibe lends itself excellently to these well deserved tags. A lot of Mick Harris' later Scorn stuff tends to blend together, but Refuse; Start Fires stands out from the later offerings by incorporating a real drumming performance alongside the usual ear-drum piercing sampled snares and bass hits. This adds a strange dynamic to the otherwise rather clinical and menacing Scorn sound that hasn't been seen since the days of Colossus when Harris performed drums himself.

My one criticism is that if you are actively listening then the songs can drag on a bit too long at times and can be a bit repetative, but if your listening as background music (which I often do with Scorn due to its eery but chilled out nature), you won't notice. Refuse seems void of typical 'drops' as it were but still gets heavy now and then with nizzling bass and the odd bangin' fuckin' wup wups, if you get my drift, yo.

Dub War - Mental

 

Before there was Skindred there was Dub War. I was always attracted to this band because of their awesome name. A war of dub? Sounds like my kind of party. Unfortunately I found Dub War a bit wet, not too shabby but very disappointing considering what I built them up to be in my head. My love for them sadly does not extend any further than this cheeky little single pressed by Earache (when they went off the fuckin' dial with signing weird shit) in 1994 on CD, 7" and 12". This here is the 7". The CD and 12" both contain more remixes and a separate b-side track, whilst this 7" only contains the title track and one boring remix that doesn't actually sound that much different.

Anyhow, die hard fans of Skindred should enjoy Dub War, and I'm sure they probably do. The song "Mental" is just that, Benji shouting a chorus of (i think) "absolutely mental!" over and over in a Welsh accent is very very amusing. That's about it. The rap is pretty awesome too. You can currently get one of these for £1 on Discogs, so if you like odd shit, get in.