Playlist 2

As threatened last month, here’s another selection of the music playing in the background as I painted over the last few weeks…

‘R.I.P’, Actress

Darren Cunningham’s newest Actress album is no disappointment, adhering to his familiar methods whilst pushing the sound into somewhat new territory.  Working out of the tradition of Detroit Techno, Cunningham employs strict repetition to construct particular sound worlds with relatively little sense of progression.  There’s a sense of brief, degraded aural moments being sampled, layered and looped for us to inhabit as mostly static environments.  What is revealed through repeated study is a wealth of hypnotic nuance and textural subtlety.

The two previous collections displayed a particular quality of aridity in their sound.  That’s still partially present but now things seem rather more fluid with a tendency toward a certain limpid pastoralism.  Tinkling chimes and hints of melody move several tracks further from the dance arena and into more ambient territory.  Rhythmic structures privilege softer pulses and muffled kicks over crunchy snares, (although ‘The Lord’s Graffiti’ and ‘Iwaad” buck that trend enjoyably).  The track titles hint at a possible theme or even some religious intent but the music is so abstract it’s really neither here nor there.

‘(Untitled)/(Unissued)’, The Byrds

I’ve a massive soft spot for the Byrds beyond their reputation as jangly Dylan interpreters.  This extended version of their half live - half studio double album from 1970 represents a late phase with only Roger McGuinn remaining from the original line up.  What I love most are the two songs ‘Chestnut Mare’ and ‘Lover of the Bayou’, (the latter in live and studio versions).  The first teeters miraculously between the corny and the sublime, conflating sexual conquest with the pursuit of a horse and features a properly transcendent middle section.  The second marries all the Voodoo clichés of Delta-noir with a guitar sound and vocal performance that are plain dirty.  Live, it’s terrific, - the studio version might be better still.

‘Instruments Of The Middle Ages & Renaissance’, David Munrow & The Early Music Consort Of London

David Munrow Squeezes Out Another Top Tune

A recent radio play set in the Middle Ages reminded me of my interest in early music.  This covers a wide range of styles and instruments with the two discs each showcasing the periods in the title.  Unsurprisingly, the first is earthier and fantastically archaic whilst the second highlights the grace and refinement of the Renaissance sound.  What’s not to like in a recording that features Bladder Pipes, Portative Organ, Hurdy-Gurdy, Tromba Marina, Crumhorn and Sackbut?

‘Too Young To Die: Singles 1990-1995’, St Etienne

Back before anyone had heard  of Hauntology, St Etienne attempted to blur past and present  with electronic dance-pop, postmodern sampling and bags of English charm.  They didn’t always fulfil their promise and could be underwhelming live but did make brilliant singles.  There’s not a weak one on here and it’s the perfect soundtrack to a sunny Saturday morning.  Worth it alone for the lines, “I heard she drove the silvery sports car / along the empty streets last night.”

‘Fox base Alpha’, St Etienne

See above.  The first, and probably best, of their albums sets their stall out really well.  I remember the attention it got in 1991 and it still sounds fresh.

‘Loveless’, My Bloody Valentine

Another album from 1991 and a startling exploration of extreme guitar distortion and song forms buried under layers of abstract texture. It’s acquired a misleading mythological status since, resulting in much online comment about this year’s re-mastering and causing me to replay my original CD version.  I doubt I’d notice much difference really, due to the tinnitus induced by hearing them play it live back then.

As sonic cathedrals go, it’s almost up there with…

‘Sugar Baby Love’, The Rubettes.

A bunch of session men set out to make a buck and end up making great art as well.  A regular guilty pleasure of mine on Spotify.

‘Street Halo EP / Kindred EP’, Burial

Burial’s music transcended the Dubstep genre beautifully a few years ago when he emerged.  I played his two albums to death but he dropped off my radar lately so I’m playing catch-up with this collection.  I find his music serves a similar function to that of Massive Attack and last year’s collaboration was no surprise.  Both transform familiar rhythms into something more reflective conjuring palpable urban Dread.  Both evoke deep melancholy, nostalgia for warmer times or yearning for tenderness in a cold world.  Both prioritise quality over prolific output.

That last point is crucial.  Burial’s singular, nuanced sound might tire easily but these EPs suggest there’s mileage in it yet.  The track ‘Kindred’ extends the familiar palette of skittering beats, pitch-shifted vocals, surface crackle and environmental ambience into a mini-epic over eleven plus minutes.  Its distinct movements and multiple subtle transformations build an expansive sound world.  The following ‘Loner’ and ‘Wasp Ashtray’ both depart from the familiar two-step rhythm template, referring more overtly to the raves he never attended.  Some liken this music to the sound of lost dance euphoria disappearing from memory.

‘Windowlicker’, Aphex Twin

Exploring Gender Politics The Aphex Way 

After excavating Mike Paradinas’ back catalogue recently, it was inevitable I’d revisit some of the Aphex stuff too.  These three songs cover three very different bases, signifying Richard D James’ refusal to take his talent too seriously.  The first subverts Hip-Hop and asks awkward questions about sexual commodification in a typically perverse video.  The second twists Drum & Bass into every possible deformity.  The third does something sweet with a clockwork music box.

‘The Keyboard King At Studio One’, Jackie Mittoo

Jackie Mittoo Chills Out At The Airport

When the sun actually shone for several consecutive days, something Jamaican seemed called for.  Jackie Mittoo was a member of The Skatalites and played keys on loads of classic reggae sessions as Musical Director at Studio One.  These instrumental cuts move through soul and R&B as well as reggae and feature plenty of Jackie’s ripe organ sounds.