January 24, 2012
Mario & Vidis debut album!
Cementing a year that saw a string of sublime stellar releases from Mario & Vidis, the dynamic force give house music a new accessible heartbeat with their album ‘Changed’, set for release next spring. Mario & Vidis title their debut artist album after their Future Classic anthem, ‘Changed’, an apt advocate to the new age slow house sound they have mastered and unmask themselves as purveyors of a hive of activity in their Lithuanian home. Spanning two discs and twenty tracks they cover much musical terrain, striding through epic soundscapes, hypnotic pop melodies, wandering into pure soul and running away with the finesse of raw house music on the second disc. ‘Changed’ opens with the atmosphere heavy ‘Introducing to you’, lightly tickling the senses. Before delving into the vocal delights of Kathy Diamond for ‘In My System’, a collaboration that came about after Vidis brought England’s disco queen to play in Lithuania. The record for which Mario & Vidis made their name, ‘Changed’, was co-written by Ernesto after the duo admired his earlier inspiring releases. Two cuts feature from number one Lithuanian female act, singer- songwriter Jazzu, who creates apparitions within her ethereal and buoyant vocal in ‘I‘ll Be Gone’ and the ensueing, ‘Who’s Shot the Silence?’. Jazzu is Lithuania’s embodiment of Goldfrapp or Roisin Murphy and a true cult figure in the region. Other contributions from Lithuanian homegrown artists Vytautas Sondeckis and Giedre illustrate a diverse spectrum and heavy collection of local talent. Now electronic music dominates Western Europe, its eastern counterpart is flourishing and taking the music in new directions. Disc two treks into their electronic heart, showcasing a collection of deep, dubby dancefloor cuts. The rolling grooves of ‘You Are Here’, and epic synths of ‘Test’ appear amidst reedits of the prior material. The result is an engulfing journey that personifies a broody older sibling from the first disc. Each of their releases is complimented by stunning video spectacles. Their ‘Who’s Shot the Silence?’ video was blogged by Kanye West and ‘I‘ll Be Gone’ came top of the chart on MTV Baltic Top 20 for half a year and is the most blogged Lithuanian music video to date. The unique partnership between Mario (Marijus „Mario“ Adomaitis) & Vidmantas „Vidis“ Cepkauskas formed in 2007 in their Lithuanian base, where they remain. Their first production effort, a remix for Atjazz and Robert Owens was quickly picked up for support by Gilles Peterson and Pete Tong. Since this they have garnered countless fans, among them the likes of Jazzanova, Atjazz, Laurent Garnier, Toby Tobias, Pete Herbert, and many more. Mario & Vidis’ sonic assault has enamoured many top international labels of late, such as Japan’s Endless Flight, Australia’s Future Classic, and Germany’s Best Works.
January 24, 2012
Marco Resmann compiles new watergate compilation!
A mere 9 years old, Watergate has steadfastly become one of the world’s most prominent electronic music institutions. This is due in no small part to its heady combination of picturesque location - its dancefloors face directly out onto the river Spree - a wall-to-wall LED light installation and its impeccable music policy, with the cream of the electronic crop passing through its doors every week. The mix CD series, now in its tenth incarnation, is a further means for the club to stamp its seal onto the scene, with many of the club’s residents and regular talents having been invited to contribute. Previous artists have included the likes of Tiefschwarz, Ellen Allien, Sascha Funke and dOP, amongst others. This time round, longtime resident and Upon.You label boss Marco Resmann takes up the mantle and demonstrates how his unique tastes influence the Watergate sound. Marco Resmann first started out as the third man in Pan-Pot, these days a duo, and also as Anja Schneider’s producer, thus being integral to the early development of the Mobilee sound. Whilst also producing under the pseudonym Phage, he won critical acclaim as half of Luna City Express. Eventually building a network of like-minded collaborators around him to create the label Upon.You in 2007 has made Marco Resmann a very busy man in today’s thriving Berlin music scene. Busy has he may be, he’s still found time to effortlessly demonstrate why he’s been around this long, over 22 tracks of masterfully mixed house burners. Bookending the mix are some small audio snippets devised by him but the meat is supplied by classics like Ricardo Villalobos’ ‘808 The Bass Queen’ and Soulphiction’s ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’, his own exclusive collaborations with Kiki and Mike Shannon plus more by Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, Anonym and other friends of Marco Resmann and the extended Watergate family.
January 24, 2012
Public Lover's debut album
Public Lover's debut album, A Broken Shape Of You, shows Bruno Pronsato and Ninca Leece doing what they do best: electronic avant-pop with a playful touch of romance. The album comes third in their short catalogue, after last fall's Musique D'Hiver Pour L' Été, released on Pronsato's label, thesongsays, and Naked Figures, a more upbeat but equally elegant effort for Telegraph. Both records revealed Public Lover to be something rather fresh: an electronic duo that has both production savvy and lyrical finesse. With A Broken Shape Of You, this budding dynamic reaches maturity, creating what is surely one of the best albums of the year.
There are two sides to Public Lover––the indie group and the production duo––and the tension between these two gives the album its momentum. At times it's driven by Ninca Leece's singing. The title track sets the scene with a string of potent images: "cold sunshine," "frosted window pane," "shadows of you and I." On "Under Your Tongue," she keeps us guessing with ambiguous metaphors: "It's something, to keep under your tongue, it's something, between your teeth." "I Try," one of the duo's best songs and the only previously released one here, strikes the album's most melancholy note, with those simple two words speaking volumes as they repeat. "Your Eyes Taste Like Mine" follows a similar blueprint: the oblique title phrase becomes more meaningful and more mysterious as the song floats on.
At other times the album's pop element subsides, letting its unique production take the fore. From the first note of the opening song––a distant, quivering minor chord––it's clear the album's aural palette is something truly inspired. Pronsato has always earned accolades for his impeccable sound design, but his key strengths are in texture and rhythm; Ninca Leece, a trained vocalist and indie artist at heart, fills in the gaps with her ear for warmth and melody. Dusty piano keys bounce off polished kick drums, surreal vocal lines float above imperfect hand claps, and room noise and vocal outtakes (two of Pronsato's trademarks) give the mix a sonorous dimension. Delivered in hues of pale winter light, the album has a wispy, almost weightless feel––something thanks in part to Steffen Betke, better known as Pole, the esteemed dub techno artist, who mastered the album.
A Broken Shape of You is something many electronic albums are not: understated, elliptical, and most importantly, personal.
January 24, 2012
Migration on Prins Thomas' Internasjonal
Electronic duo Cage & Aviary are set to release their debut album ‘Migration’ on Prins Thomas’s Internasjonal imprint this coming January.
Part man, part machine, part cockatiel, Cage & Aviary take flights of fancy whenever they can. Jamie Paton is a DJ, a one-finger keyboardist, and a pot-tickler. Nigel of Bermondsey is a musician, South London’s finest oscillator, and a dedicated dabbler. Together they are winners of the cosmic lottery.
Having put out releases to much acclaim on the ltd editions that are Dissident Distribution, Cage & Aviary have since spread their wings with releases on DFA, Tiny Sticks and Astro Lab. Their own label, The Walls Have Ears, is slowly carving out a reputation for quality dubbed-out dance music too - the Cage & Aviary remix series has met with great critical acclaim thus far, with the likes of Andy Blake, Prins Thomas, Horse Meat Disco, Mock N Toof, Bill Brewster, Tim Sweeney, James Murphy, Tiga, Erol Alkan and other such luminaries counted amongst fans of their work.
Now the feathered friends are set to take a new flight of fancy as they unveil their debut album, aptly titled ‘Migration’. From the opening rolling, cinematic sheen of ‘Giorgio Carpenter (Director’s Cut)’ that openly wears its influences on its sleeve to the cosmically spaced out funk of ‘In Todd We Trust’ and slo-mo, disco-not-disco of ‘Good Egg, Bad Apple’ the pair spread their production wings across the dancefloor.
Then we teleport our selves via the Leroy Burgess funk-portal to the disco-boogie rockin’ ‘Infatuation’ whose slick-rick R&B production adds even more sex appeal to the bird-caged discotheque, whilst ‘Dead Dancers’ brings a live, percussive and guitar ‘Liquid Liquid’ vibe and then in contrast we have the shimmering and floating sun-drenched keys and vox that melt into ‘Friday the 14th Part IV’. Finally the duo sign off with the proto-house groove of ‘Lean on Me’ which features guest vocalist Denise Johnson (of Screamadelica and A Certain Ratio fame) and the title track ‘Migration’ which oozes yet more Moroder and Carpenter inspired funk.
With the imminent release of their debut long-player and remixes for the likes of Blancmange, things are really set to take-off. You know, like a bird.
