alternative electronic music blog

Competition: Win Tickets to 12 x 12 at the Scala

2010-03-09T21:38:36Z

Following BlackPlastic's earlier post today we have a pair of tickets to give away to this Thursday's Red Bull Music Academy 12 x 12 event at the Scala in London.

So what is 12 x 12? Basically Red Bull have taken twelve legendary producers and musicians and twelve anthems and given each of them twelve minutes to perform their song - each of which has had a defining impact on London's musical landscape and club culture. Knitting all of this together are handovers from each producer to the next that will highlight the performers personal connection to the following act as well as visualisation courtesy of Hexstatic (for those that don't know, this is a. good. thing.)

Find details in the flyer here or head over to the Red Bull Music Academy website. Tickets can be ordered from TicketWeb.

With a line up featuring Arthur Baker, Peter Hook, Robert Owens, Zinc, X-Press 2 and Roni Size it looks set to be an interesting evening. It's worth noting the proceeds go to War Child too. Full line-up below:

A Guy Called Gerald (London)
Arthur Baker (London)
Jazzie B (Soul II Soul, London)
Martyn Ware (Human League, Heaven 17, London)
MJ Cole (Prolific, London)
Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order, Manchester)
Robert Owens (Fingers Inc., London)
Roni Size (Full Cycle, V Recordings, Bristol)
Shades Of Rhythm (London)
Shy FX & Stamina MC (Digital Soundboy, London)
X-Press 2 (Junior Boy’s Own, Skint, London)
Zinc (Bingo Beats, London) & Dynamite MC (Strong Records, London)

Tickets are £12 in advance and £15 on the door or you can win a pair here! The event is on from 8pm to 12am.

So what do you need to win tickets? It's a tight timeline so we will make it as easy as possible - simply drop us an email at competitions@blackplastic.co.uk or complete our contact form and use the subject 'I want to give Hooky a kiss'. The event is on Thursday so the competition will close at 10am on Thursday 11 March.

The winner will be notified by email on Thursday afternoon so please check your email and check your spam filters!

BP x

Video: Red Bull Music Academy Lecture - Trevor Jackson

2010-03-09T15:26:14Z

BlackPlastic has to admit it knew nothing about this but as part of their annual Music Academy, Red Bull have been running a series of lectures and music events across London and whilst this is the last week BlackPlastic didn't want to let the events pass without comment.

The video above is Playgroup Tactics, one of lectures, and this one featured one of BlackPlastic's long saluted stars Trevor Jackson, the man behind Playgroup and the Output label - check it out to get his insights into graphic design and the (frankly hugely under-rated and important) Playgroup record.

If you are an artist or fancy getting into the industry there are a stack of interesting videos on the site from the likes of Kieran Hebden (of Four Tet fame) and Philippe Zdar (of Cassius). Check them out on the Red Bull Music Academy Website.

There are still a few more live events happening this week including 12x12 (12 artists, including New Order's Peter Hook and X-Press 2, each playing for 12 minutes) and the Closing Bash featuring 2ManyDJs and DJ sets from Friendly Fires and The XX. More on the site.

To be honest one of the best things about all of this is the rather excellent collection of radio shows that Red Bull have put together. There are far, far too many to mention over on the site (which is actually an offshoot of the main site here) but you may want to start with this one from James Murphy and Pat Mahoney of DFA / LCD Soundsystem.

Enjoy - BP x.

Video: 026 - The Good The Bad Vs. The Nuclear Brunette

2010-03-04T14:00:49Z

This jaunty little number recently landed in the old BlackPlastic inbox and instantly struck us as something a bit different. What BlackPlastic doesn't know about The Good The Bad isn't worth knowing. Probably:

The are from Copenhagen, where this video was shot.
The video is directed by Bob Harlow and Martyn Thomas from Stichthat.tv and quite possible is NSFW.
Their songs appear to be numbered rather than named, which appeals in a ruthlessly efficient type way. '026' is taken from the imaginatively titled forthcoming album From 018 to 033.
This song totally kicks the arse out of your day.

So that's it. BlackPlastic's girlfriend said: "What's the betting this song will end up on a car advert by the end of the year?!", to which BlackPlastic replied: "None - the ad men just aren't cool enough".

Enjoy.

BP x

Album Review: ...And Then We Saw Land - Tunng

2010-02-28T17:56:13Z

Tunng's new album greets listeners like a long lost friend coming in and giving you a big romantic passionate kiss. ...And Then We Saw Land's opening track 'Hustle' is so infectious that offering it upfront without the listener having put in any effort whatsoever feels like a treat akin to early payday in December.

The problem with early pay is that it leaves you feeling short-changed in January as the weeks drag on. BlackPlastic wouldn't go so far as to acuse Tunng of giving us the same feeling but the tone and pace of the album innevitably dips from this heady start.

Yet ...And Then We Saw Land is a lovely piece of melodic folk music that manages to contain electronic flourishes and reflects elements of anti-folk in it's lo-fi feel and the likes of múm in its playfulness. And when it works it really bloody works: 'The Roadside', for example, features a fantastic wandering, almost meandering introduction and builds in a lovely cinematic fashion.

So Tunng's album is by no means a mixed bag - it just has some good bits and some utterly sublime bits, like on that album opener or the stop-start rhymic vocals of 'Sashimi'. ...And Then We Saw Land is a grand day out of a record. A joyful, joyful experience - it feels like a car journey at the beginning of a holiday.

Download 'Don't Look Down Or Back' on MP3 by Tunng, taken from ...And Then We Saw Land [right click, save as].

BP x

...And Then We Saw Land is out on tomorrow, available from Amazon.co.uk on CD, LP and MP3 [affiliate links].

Video / MP3: Grindin' - Nobody Beats the Drum

2010-02-28T09:31:01Z

This new video for Nobody Beats the Drum's new track 'Grindin'' initially look like a simple, all be it cool, computer generated visualisation of the track... Only when you are a third in does it become apparent that it is actually stop frame animation.

The video is honestly seriously cool and really reminds BlackPlastic of Michel Gondry's work and since he is our favourite ever music video director that is glowing praise. The video was actually made not by some high profile director but by the band's own VJ / visual artist Rogier van der Zwaag and it is comprised of 4,085 photos stitched together to create one continuous whole. The end result is a bit of a head fuck - it seems to gradually build up until so much is happening that it becomes a little unnerving.

The tune itself is decent too, a nice wonky electro anthem.

Download Nobody Beats the Drum's 'Grindin'' on MP3 [right click, save as]

If you are interested in seeing how the video was made there is a making of short film on YouTube too.

BP x

Competition: Tickets to see Passion Pit in concert!

2010-02-23T21:18:05Z

One of BlackPlastic's favourite little gems from last year was Passion Pit's totally infectious Manners album. By throwing everything AND the kitchen sink into their material they manage to cram as many joyful ideas into one song as many bands struggle to deliver in an album... And do so in a way that feels like Christmas and your birthday all at once.

Passion Pit are on tour in the UK next month and to celebrate we have a pair of tickets for the Nottingham gig to give away. To be in with a chance of winning you need to be able to get to and from the venue on the night of the concert and answer this question:

What, accordingly to BlackPlastic's review of Manners, do Passion Pit smell like?

To enter drop us a note through the BlackPlastic.co.uk Contact Form or drop us a note at competitions@blackplastic.co.uk using the subject 'Passion Pit Competition'. The closing date is 4 March 2010 [competition now closed].

Most of the dates are sold out but Bristol, Norwich and Nottingham still have tickets available.

Tour details, taken from the Passion Pit site:

03.01.10	Brussels	Botanique	SOLD OUT
03.03.10	Bristol	Academy	TICKETS
03.04.10	Leeds	Met Uni	SOLD OUT
03.05.10	Manchester	Academy	SOLD OUT
03.06.10	Glasgow	ABC	SOLD OUT
03.08.10	Norwich	UEA	TICKETS
03.09.10	Nottingham	Rock City	TICKETS
03.11.10	London	HMV Fourm	SOLD OUT
03.13.10	Dublin	Olympia	SOLD OUT

BP x

EP Review: Burn and Rise - Panic Girl

2010-02-19T11:36:40Z

The press release postulates that Burn And Rise, Panic Girl's debut EP, offers a distinctive hybrid of trip-hop meets electronica.

On the whole it is right. BlackPlastic is not entirely sure how distinctive such a combination is but we would be lying if we didn't agree that the result is catchy. The attention given to detail and something of the overall melancholic vibe to the record actually remind BlackPlastic of some of the more memorable offerings that came out of the progressive house rebirth back in the early noughties - the vocal tracks here being specifically reminiscent of Satoshi Tomiie's collaborations with Kelli Ali on 2000's Full Lick.

The difference is that Panic Girl's EP is much slower and sounds much more organic than any tech house and, to be honest, the variety and production flourishes stand Burn And Rise far apart from any of the staid, dull efforts that often get categorised as a mixture of trip-hop and electronica. At its best, as on the peaceful, zen-like 'Hide And Seek' Panic Girl is clearly excellent - the track boasts a wonderfully global feeling sound, and despite Panic Girl hailing from Germany the track feels equal parts east and west.

Check out the video to 'Burn And Rise', directed by award winning director Reza Dolatabadi, above. Burn And Rise the EP is out next Thursday 25 February on shadybrain.

BP x

Single Review: Shark's Tooth - Archie Bronson Outfit

2010-02-18T17:41:01Z

The Archie Bronson Outfit's new track, taken from the forthcoming Coconut album (out 1 March), is exactly the kind of scratchy alienating music BlackPlastic hopes is playing when we finally lose the plot and the fine thread that keeps the world the right way up snaps.

It's angst then, but the best kind of angst - artsy and well dressed. With a wall of distorted guitar-work 'Shark's Tooth' manages to create a sound that actually feels like the serrated edge of its namesake.

The forthcoming album is produced by ex-DFA (yes, ex) darling Tim Goldsworthy. Judging by this effort it is likely to be a big departure from his work with Hercules & Love Affair and Cut Copy into the realm of jerky guitar post-punk. Which makes BlackPlastic excited. If it is all as good as this then it will be a significant achievement for both band a knob-twiddler.

Check it out the Ferry Gouw directed video above and, even better, head over to the Archie Bronson Outfit website to download the MP3 for free. The 7" is out on Monday.

BP x

Video: Go Do - Jónsi

2010-02-13T14:45:25Z

Jónsi's new album Go is due out soon and this video for 'Go Do' has recently been released.

In it Jónsi looks a little bit like a young Jareth from Labyrinth (that's David Bowie's character in case you are uneducated) running around Iceland and playing with birds. By which we don't mean ladies.

This song feels like a slight departure from Jónsi's work with Sigur Rós - very upbeat, as was much of Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust - but also with a bit of a pop feel. The video is interesting - lots of fast cuts and a nice sunrise and whilst none of it makes any sense it feels uplifting and that is probably the point.`

Unimportant beach trivia: BlackPlastic has almost certainly visited the beach with the basalt columns featured in this video.

BP x

Props: Kitsune Noir for blogging this.

Video: The Great Escape - Skeleton Jones

2010-02-13T12:31:24Z

This, friends, is sublime:

Skeleton Jones dropped this into the BlackPlastic email inbox and we were a little bit hooked, to say the least. Previously a member of Dulbin band 8Ball, when the band split up Skeleton Jones was Kenny McAlester's response, in his words: him, an SP404 and a bass.

Judged on 'The Great Escape' we'd say things have turned out peachy. The song samples The Dovers' 'I Could Be Happy' but the deadpan vocals and muddied distortion are what make this work for BlackPlastic.

Raised on heavy metal (weren't we all - angst is a beautiful thing), Kenny was blown away by the discovery of Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, The Beatles and ultimately My Bloody Valentine's 'Soon'. Of these three the sound of Skeleton Jones is most reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine - particularly 'Soon' and it's looping, electronic structure - something that MCAlester hints at being no coincidence. The Jesus & Mary Chain and the Magnetic Fields are also all over this, which can only be a good thing.

Head over to Skeleton Jones' MySpace for more. McAlester is currently collaborating with some of the former members of 8Ball on a new project entitled Bearbones that he promises will be 'radically different' from the work from 8Ball. An EP is likely within the next few months and it may well feature 'The Great Escape'.

Looks like Kenny may be one to watch...

BP x