Comment: Notic Nastic - Atom+Eve: Podcast 1/11

I don't really know much about this other than that fact that it landed in my inbox with little to no explanation a couple of months ago. Creators Notic Nastic label this as a podcast but it's all music, is continuous and created from scratch so I'd probably argue that the label 'podcast' undersells it.

Putting what it isn't to one side, let's talk about what Atom+Eve is rather than what it isn't: insane, analogue and twisted. Whilst the vocals occasionally try a little too hard (I'm thinking the ”world was made of..." section) they lend the whole thing a paranoid disembodied monologue feel that completely fits with the music. The podcast is the perfect length for a continuous piece of music such as this - at just over 30 minutes it's either a refreshingly brief mix or one of the longest single songs I've ever heard but it sticks around just about as long as it should.

The music itself is grimey and analogue synth work mostly and it is at its best when refreshingly stripped back. The opening four minutes build tension with minimal bleeps and percussion before Notic Nastic rain burning hot distorted bass all over it. This doesn't necessarily feel like music to dance to, but you could definitely try.

Check it out on the Soundcloud player below and have a download if you like it. This mix packs a lot in to a small amount of time so it's well worth a listen and Notic Nastic are definitely worth keeping an eye on.

atom+eve (nn_podcast0111) by notic nastic

Notic Nastic's album It's Dark But It's Okay is available now, for more information visit the band's official site.

BP x

Video: Overseas With Love - Kriget

Kriget hail from Sweden and their uncompromising mix of drums, bass and sax is an assault on the allegedly staid Swedish club scene (so says the press release). Unsurprising then perhaps that the name translates as 'the war'.

The band cite references as Suicide, DAF, Lee Scratch Perry and Gang of Four - all of which can be heard in single 'Overseas With Love' here. The pure distorted aggression on this track is brilliant - the drumming on its own is something else.

The video is fittingly fucked up - just a mash of projected imagery and real life to the point where it is difficult to tell which is what any more.

The single is out now to download and will be released on both a 7" and 12" at some point in the future, with the latter including a remix from JD Twitch of Optimo. The video was directed by Team Tony. You can purchase the album or get a bit more information on Kriget from their official site.

BP x

Overseas With Love is available from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

Single Review: Something About You - Tensnake

Tensnake's mysteriously named 'Coma Cat' has become one of the biggest underground hits in the past few years. And understandably so - the fantastically old skool vibe is an undeniable pleasure, sounding like it came straight out of the summer of love with its wandering baseline and calypso percussion.

Considering the attention lavished on 'Coma Cat' the follow up, 'Something About You', seems to have managed to go a little under the radar. Don't expect that to remain the case - it just might be even better. The sound is similar - still wearing its proto-house badge with pride in it's squeaky stabs and loved-up piano loop. What it adds is a (tiny) bit more vocal and some warmth.

Where 'Coma Cat' just had snatches of voices this features the title repeated soulfully - ”Something about you baby". With a lovely glow surrounding the main piano break the vocal and the sound perfectly encapsulate the loved up feeling behind the original house scene... And that is the beauty of Tensnake: it makes you feel like you almost could have been there.

Jas Shaw's 'Alt. Mix' adds little. It's slower and has a few extra flourishes. The best thing about it is the gentle end, which eventually lets the beat drop away altogether, leaving a wonderfully laid back outro. Sadly it does a little bit less with the piano and so it doesn't quite capture the spirit as much as the A-side.

With this release Tensnake proves 'Coma Cat' was no fluke - time to keep your eyes peeled for more.

BP x

Something About You is out now on Mirau Musik, available from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

EP Review: Clase de 1984 - Niño

Niño's new EP, Clase du 1984, doesn't quite sound like anything I've heard in a while. Sat somewhere between dubstep, house and minimal the songs that make up this collection ultimately sound machine driven but there are organic elements to them. The resulting EP would feel as at home on Get Physical as Donky Pitch and reminds me of Layo & Bushwacka at their peak on Night Works.

Clase de 1984 consists of five original songs and three remixes based on a selection of these tracks. 'Innsmouth' and 'Buio Omega' are the most memorable tunes here. The former is built from stutters and starts, vocal samples slammed against beats whilst clicks and bleeps converge to make the whole thing sound like a robotic machine waking from a deep sleep. The Kelpe remix beefs up the bass and strips the production back a bit, the result being a track that does two things at once rather than six.

'Buio Omega' succeeds in creating an even more ominous vibe than 'Innsmouth', and with its heavy drum loop, rolling bass and pitched vocals it's the closest things get to dubstep on this release. But frankly this is more exciting than most things I'd label dubstep. The Offshore mix is bouncier and a bit more rowdy but, as with all the mixes here, the move towards simplification seems to miss the point. With Niño less is less.

Title track 'Clase de 1984' feels sunny compared to the rest of the EP, big fat keys painting an additional warmth and light-heartedness across the track that isn't shown elsewhere. 'The Man and The Earth' is little more than a laid back interlude whilst 'Bright Lights Big City' provides a fitting close with a sound that feels like it was made for playing against sunsets.

For electronic music the tracks here are all short - even the longest is just four-and-a-half-minutes, and that includes the remixes. It's therefore impressive that Niño manages to fit so much in to such a short body of work. It does however raise questions about how he could fill a full length release whilst sustaining interest - Clase de 1984 works in a short burst, a one inch punch of a record. Indeed, none of the remixes here add much to the originals and the EP would be more focused without them.

You can check out 'Buio Omega' at XLR8R.

BP x

Clase de 1984 is out now on Donky Pitch, available from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 [affiliate link].

EP Review: Science Remixes Part 1 - Cinnamon Chasers

Purveyors of slinky synth-house, Cinnamon Chasers still seem to be relatively unknown but, on the run up to their debut album, their latest EP is a good introduction to their material. Science Remixes may be packaged as a remix collection but actually consisting of a number of originals too.

We're in the realm of warm house music here - not overly banging nor is it particularly likely to appeal to the more crusty of house fans, Cinnamon Chasers are fairly straight up. At their best they recall GusGus' less techno, more house influenced efforts. This is particularly true of opener 'Tattoo' and its accompanying 'Retro 909 Version', which (surprisingly) adds some 909s and a bit of an acid edge to things. 'Tattoo' is minimal and laid back - too laid back for a peak time set but just perfect for some beach time or sunset chilling and frankly that's just fine with me. The noodling melody of the synth line is lush and combines particularly well with the 909 version's drum roll.

'Smooth Station' is a little, dare I say it, cheesier. The original version is a little Royksopp, which is all well and good but the vocal (already pushed to the back of the mix) really adds little. The 'Deep Electric Version' moves things in a bit more of a trance direction and throws in some BT-esque stutter-edits but it's all a bit insipid to leave any lasting mark.

Whilst 'One Million Balloons' treads a similar path its accompanying remix is definitely an improvement, stripping the vocal back and pushing the dubby electronics to the foreground. Final track 'Magic Lover' is a bizarre one - a slightly ska feeling number which again benefits from a remix in the form of the 'Deep Electric Version'.

Science Remixes Part 1 has its moments but ultimately falls short of hitting the mark. 'Tattoo' shows that Cinnamon Chasers, or Russ Davies to use his real name, can make great tracks but the rest of the selection here seems to see him  falling between the gap between pop-crossover material and a more serious electronic sound. The quoted sources of inspiration (Moroder, Vangelis, Jean Michael-Jarre) may be admirable but in the wrong hands they have a tendency to whiff a bit. If they are going to succeed Cinnamon Chasers just might need to choose which way they want to jump: does Davies want a commercial or a critical hit?

BP x

Science Remixes Part 1 is out now on Modus Records, available on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link].