Video: Shadows - Au Revoir Simone

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Back when we reviewed Au Revoir Simone's last album we likened it to the soundtrack to Sofia Copolla's movieVirgin Suicides.  In retrospect it is perhaps clear that whilst the set-square-math, wide-eyed walks home from high-school of the band's second album The Bird of Music was Copolla all over, their last album Still Night, Still Light was pure David Lynch: a spooky mix of dream-like sounds and cold fear.

It is pleasing then if not surprising to learn that the two first collaborated back in January 2007 in an interview setting at Barnes & Noble Union Square, with David Lynch reading from his book Catching the Big Fish... with Au Revoir Simone playing background music and songs from their second album.

It's a partnership that lead to a mutual appreciation and meant that when Au Revoir Simone were premiering the video for 'Shadows' David Lynch's DLF.tv website was chosen for the exclusive screening. You can check out the video above - directed by Brendan Colthurst and Vikram Gandhi it is a slow-boiled, minimal yet beautiful insight into what makes the band so different.

You may also want to head over to DLF.tv to check out the interview they have with the band.

 

Album Review: Impossible Ark: A Compilation - Various Artists

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Released on Unfold, Impossible Ark: A Compilation features a selection of recent tracks from the stable of jazz stable Impossible Ark.

Modern jazz is always in danger of trying far to hard as far as BlackPlastic is concerned - adding the tag to another genre or getting so noodle-y that any semblance of melody evaporates just doesn't do jazz justice. Impossible Ark's merits are obvious in that this set doesn't risk any of this - instead it treads a pure line through a set of tracks that are timeless enough to make guessing their age practically impossible.

From the opening of the floaty and spacious 'What Is Life' from the Fiction Trio this album is just drenched in class. The Rhythmatic Orchestra's 'African Mailman' fuses salsa rhythms to a pair of jazzy solos from a piano and a flute, creating that perfect laid back afternoon vibe.

Jeb Jay Nichols provides a couple of vocal tracks, with the organic sounding 'Lake Whitfield' proving a highlight. Contemporary vocal jazz is often in danger of losing the magic beneath a collection of too highly polished session musicians - not so here, Nichols' band provide some of the most beautifully understated instrumentation BlackPlastic has ever heard.

Accessible yet authentic - Impossible Ark: A Compilation is genuinely a little bit spellbinding. Ending on the muted brass of The Voices of Time's 'Solstice', BlackPlastic cannot imagine a better way to spend the day than sipping coffee and taking in all the sites the world as to offer whilst soaking in these jazzy vibes.

BP x

Impossible Ark: A Compilation is released through Unfold on 5 October, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD [Affiliate Link].

Download: Lie Down (Live At The Green Room) - Long Range

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BlackPlastic never really got around to properly listening to the debut album, Madness & Me, from Phil Hartnoll (of Orbital) and Nick Smith's Long Range, but from what we hear it is one of the best ambient albums in years. If this track is anything to go by then that sounds believable.

BlackPlastic struggles with ambient. It seems to be a genre of choice for many a bedroom producer but it is incredibly difficult to make it work and to produce something with any real emotional gravitas. Much like Global Communication, whose 76:14 is probably the best ambient album ever produced, what makes 'Lie Down' work is that it doesn't let the genre get in the way - there is still considerable variety, ebb and flow over the track's eight-minutes, and it is unsurprisingly reminiscent of Orbital's better work.

Download 'Lie Down (Live At The Green Room)' by Long Range [right click, save as].

Long Range release a new EP, Control Me, on Pure Mint Recordings on 1 December 2009. Visit the Long Range website for more info.

BP x

Video: Ljósið - Ólafur Arnalds

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Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo.

 

BlackPlastic first discovered the rather beautiful music of Ólafur Arnalds earlier this year and, being a sucker for contemplative Icelandic music, it had us hooked.

If it wasn't for Kitsune Noir however there is a good chance we'd have missed out on this staggeringly beautiful music video for 'Ljósið', taken from Arnalds' latest album Found Songs. The video was created by Esteban Diácono off of his own back but Arnalds liked it so much it is now the official video. The track is great but seriously, this video takes it to a whole new level - the motion is so smooth and captivating.

Enjoy

BP x

Single Review / Download: Gave It Up - Pollyn

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BlackPlastic has spent much of the last week digging on this slice of melancholic pop from Pollyn. 'Lost It All' sounds like the by-product of Annie and Robyn trying to out-do each other in the 'sad song' stakes whilst hanging out in a smokey little karaoke bar and in BlackPlastic's book that can only be a good thing. The slightly jangly backing track is just the right side of La Roux and the track drips with just enough sassy desperation that you can't figure out whether whether the singer is a basket case or not.

 

Check out the live studio performance:

Things get even better on Peter Visti's mix, which sees the whole tracked turned into a cosmic disco stormer... Sharp percussion and a muted guitar giving the whole track a moody, lost-on-the-dancefloor vibe and the break five minutes in, complete with discordant synths, really makes the whole thing a little epic.

Download 'Gave It Up' - Pollyn [right click, save as]

Download 'Gave It Up (Peter Visti Remix)' - Pollyn [right click, save as]

Head over to Pollyn's official site for more.