I've always tended to be a little lukewarm on Caribou, until this. He has some decent tracks, but this blows me away. Goosebumps all the way.
Stream: Can't Do Without You - Caribou
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Album Review: Black Frames - Dave Aju
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Dave Aju's Heirlooms was one of my favourite albums of 2012 and therefore the follow up, Black Frames, was very welcome upon arriving in my inbox.
This new album comes amidst some personal turmoil for Aju... Since his last full-length release he has gone through the break-up of a long-term relationship and moved away from his home city of San Francisco. The title of Black Frames is taken from both the picture frames that house the 60s and 70s artwork in Aju's studio together with a reference to the place where breaking a sweat and breaking the rules both come together.
Black Frames - Dave Aju
The album that ensues is lean and tight in comparison to Heirlooms. There are just nine tracks here and whilst the album still clocks in at almost an hour long a lot of the loose funkiness of the last album is gone. In its place is a comparatively stripped back and focused set of techno influenced house tracks. This is still unmistakably Dave Aju... there is still a lot of funk here, it is just buried considerably deeper than it was on his last album. Much as Matthew Dear has crafted several albums out of a sound that skirts pop and techno with intelligence, Aju does something similar here... Creating an album that is almost exclusively deeper and more minimal than the last, but still boasts a confidence and approachability that beguiles Black Frames' relatively heavy nature.
The resulting album takes a little longer to worm its way into your head, but still has some standout moments. Race On Haight opens the album with a slinky and soulful jazzy sound, gentle piano keys tinkle as if hiding nervously behind Aju's big deep voice amidst smoky instrumentation, one of Black Frames' rare slower moments. Nu Threads is a jacking house track built around a big bass line and Aju's vocals whilst Clean St is one of the album's highlights, a similarly jacking track that builds over nine-minutes.
Nobody Knows uses vocal manipulation to create rhythms out of Aju's repeated refrain "Where we get our shit together" and contrasting them against layered melodic vocals. Psylica hints at the personal strife this album was born of, an eight-minute throbbing bass epic that culminates in a vocal duet, both parties informing the other "My love can you see we are stuck between a rock and me / you", seemingly persistent, immovable and misunderstood...
It is clear Dave Aju has poured himself into Black Frame - the depth of the subject matter and the style and finesse evident in the album's production is evident. If it isn't as instantly gratifying as Heirlooms it will certainly reward those with the appetite and patience to explore electronic music with soul and brains.
Black Frames is out on 16 June through Circus Company, available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD or MP3 [affiliate links].
Stream: My Type - Saint Motel
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This is rowdy. By applying more cowbell and more brass than most bands would know what to do with Saint Motel's My Type is a balls out tumble down the stairs whilst you find your feet and fly out the front-door kind of tail of love and affection. Saint Motel are from LA but inspired by British culture. My Type follows on from Saint Motel's 2012 debut, Voyuer.
Stream: Isolate - Joe Hertz feat. Kaleem Taylor
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Joe Hertz has already released one single (last year's At Your Touch) and has released a lovely remix for MØ, amongst others. Isolate is a tight electronic R&B number featuring vocals from Kaleem Taylor and is the first release from Joe's debut EP, due later this year. Check it out above.
Zebidiah
EP Review: Wabi-Sabi - Zebidiah
Zebidiah, real name Zeb Wayne, pulls together his love of varied genres into bizarre and kinetic debut release, Wabi-Sabi. Wayne is known to play both jazz and classical piano live yet also loves hip-hop, house and techno, and those varied influences come through on this release.
Having collaborated with Thomas Gandey on releases for Southern Fried and Nervous his work has been praised by Wolf & Lamb and Damian Lazarus, which is surprising once you hear Wayne's deep, soulful and sensual material.
Wabi-Sabi opens with a dubby collage of spoken vocals, chants and hollow bass that creates a heavily atmospheric piece that resembles a techno take on experimental jazz. Freeform components weave a complex structure around third-wall breaking vocals - "Do you want like a structure, or...?" - it is both surreal and captivating.
Second track Tengoku feels more conventional - insofar that it isn't pointing fingers at itself. Similarly warm, deep bass forms the foundation of the track building into a paranoid, post-apocalyptic sensation. The Soloist follows, melding soulful vocals around complex rhythms to create something that hints at a new twist on dubstep - funky yet alien.
Brassica provides a remix of Unpremeditated to round the EP out, and here the chaotic energy of the original feels even more alive. A driving 80s inspired electronic bass line and breakbeat form a punchy piece that loses a little subtlety but gains some legs.
Wabi-Sabi never stops thinking except where that cool Brassica beat comes in and you can imagine Zebidiah sitting right at home on Rebel Futurism or Clown & Sunset but right now Chasing Unicorns are fortunate to have him... Which is my way of saying: look out world.
Wabi-Sabi is out on 9 June through Chasing Unicorns. Preview via Soundcloud below.