Unsound festival review – a shared spirit of internationalist musical exploration
A celebration of experimental music from around the world celebrates differences as well as connections – even if everyone there dresses in black
Powell: Sport review – lost in discord
The underground electronic producer Powell has caught some sun in the past year with a couple of playful/terrifying singles, as well as a commendable willingness to butt heads with his heroes like the dance-despising Nirvana producer Steve Albini. Sadly, the … Continue reading
Jamie Lidell: Building a Beginning review – swoonworthy soul-pop
As you listen to Jamie Lidell’s hopelessly romantic new soul-pop LP, petals fall from the sky, squirrels flirt, and sparrows follow you around with a heart-strewn banner in their beaks. Lidell wrote the lyrics with his wife, and they’re full … Continue reading
Powell: Sport review – joyfully oddball electronic noise
Powell is the Mr Robot of electronica, hacking its code to create an idiosyncratic style that’s truly off-grid. On his debut album, bizarre elements that shouldn’t make sense – looped bass guitar thrums, Skype calls, 8-bit bloops, static and distortion … Continue reading
Yello: Toy review – absurdist pop pioneers go back to experimental roots
Related: The return of Yello: ‘America thought we were black guys rapping’ The Swiss electronic music pioneers’ 13th album and first since 2009 retools their influential, experimental roots. Keyboard wizard Boris Blank, 64, brings an avalanche of sounds and samples … Continue reading
Banks: The Altar review – an unconvincing 2016 pop moodboard
LA singer Banks wants you to worship at her altar, but with her frosty exterior comes the concern that she might pin you on it and eviscerate you as if she’s Nancy from The Craft. Moreso on her second album: gone … Continue reading
Nicolas Jaar: Sirens review – electronic noodling hypnotises, frustrates, dazzles
Related: Nicolas Jaar: ‘The only thing I was excited about was, can electronic music be political?’ The Chilean-American sophisticate Nicolas Jaar is often derided by people who like their electronic music robust and to the point. Understandably, really – his … Continue reading
How to Dress Well: Care review – a step into irredeemable pop schmaltz
Related: How to Dress Well’s playlist: Prince Bopp, Donna Lewis and more How to Dress Well is the alias of Tom Krell, a Chicagoan who rose to acclaim in the late 00s as a maker of glitchy, ethereal electronica. On … Continue reading
Trentemøller: Fixion review – Joy Division pastiche with a techno bent
From Interpol to Danny Brown, plenty of good artists have been inspired by Joy Division’s existential dread, but none have quite managed the sustained pastiche exhibited here. With clean basslines and hissing synthetic snares, Danish techno producer Trentemøller is not … Continue reading
Nite Jewel review – slow-burning beauty and ear-candy hooks
When Ramona Gonzalez finally emerges from the shadows, she’s an enchanting presence with some fine off-kilter melodies
Die Antwoord: Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid review – cartoonish cabaret
When South African trio Die Antwoord crotch-thrusted onto the world stage in 2009 with their trashy zef rap-rave, there was nothing else like it. Trailer-park rap, gross-out humour and skeletal baile funk-ish beats: Ninja, Yolandi Visser and DJ Hi-Tek were … Continue reading
AlunaGeorge: I Remember review – sweet melodies and enough variety to prick the ears
The debut album by the London duo of vocalist/lyricist Aluna Francis and producer George Reid was a collection of high-tempo fluorescent pop called Body Music that came out two years ago to much hype but little cut-through. Appearances on other … Continue reading
Lost in a Moment review – otherworldly tech-house party with a hint of Ibiza
The Hydra brings together DJs from Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann to Job Jobse for an event where the location is as fascinating as the music
Zomby: Ultra review – digital beats of the 90s
The masked producer returns after three years of silence with a humorous and imaginative album of solo works and collaborations featuring Burial, Darkstar, Banshee and Rezzett. Merging tacky space voyage synths and ominous drones with jungle beats and garage melodies, … Continue reading
Zomby: Ultra review – electronic moodscapes that sometimes cover familiar ground
Zomby’s 2008 debut, Where Were U in ’92, was one of the more interesting releases of the last decade. With its ghostly, fragmented echoes of the early rave scene, it toyed with nostalgia and memory to create a unique dancefloor … Continue reading