James Holden, The Idiots Are Winning
Ben Thompson is pleased to learn that, having remixed Madonna and Britney, the cerebral techno star has gone back to basics.
Imitation Electric Piano, Blow It Up, Burn It Down, Kick It Til It Bleeds
Madrigals, 1960s folk, Japanese pop and bubbling Barbarella sounds dance through the songs of Imitation Electric Piano’s second album; the mood is pastoral psychedelia at its most gentle. This has a lot to do with singer Mary Hampton, a new … Continue reading
The Photophonic
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
Preview
Liverpool Music Week, Liverpool | Rock'n'Roll Cinema, London | Shine, Belfast |
Saturday night fever
She's dominatrix, debutante and dancing queen all in one. Dorian Lynskey can't resist Goldfrapp.
Infantjoy, With (Service AV)
A host of innovators from previous decades haunt this album of remixes. Simon Reynolds's hair stands on end.
Aim, Flight 602
Languid hip hop exponent hits the target once again
Darkel, Darkel
Shape-shifting solo effort from Air synth twiddler
Various Artists: Mary Anne Hobbs, Warrior Dubz
(Planet Mu)
Squarepusher, Hello Everything
For this, his 10th album in as many years, Tom “Squarepusher” Jenkinson is in playful mood. He has said Hello Everything is him “having a laugh” after recording several albums that were, at times, frustrating and difficult listens. This new … Continue reading
Klaxons
Plug, Sheffield
X-Press 2, Makeshift Feelgood
Balearic beat – an Ibiza-inspired mix of pop you can dance to and acid house – has been around since 1988. So have the DJs who make up X-Press 2: Rocky & Diesel and Ashley Beedle. Rather than repeat the … Continue reading
Emperor Machine, Vertical Tones and Horizontal Noise
Andy Meecham was one-third of early 1990s act Bizarre Inc., but despite the resurgence of the rave scene they helped pioneer, he has no desire to return to that era. Rather, Meecham is obsessed with the off-beam electronic music of … Continue reading
Four Tet, Remixes
Great remixers are great listeners. They understand where a track has come from and work out where it might go next. They have a distinctive aesthetic but not a formula. They have impeccable taste. They never ruin a track, and … Continue reading
The DFA, The DFA Remixes: Chapter 2
Great remixers are great listeners. They understand where a track has come from and work out where it might go next. They have a distinctive aesthetic but not a formula. They have impeccable taste. They never ruin a track, and … Continue reading