solitude - xrs land (EP) release date: 18/8/2010 - available to download
The floating island has moved. From broken accelerated beats to deep house. Solitude is XRS Land first EP on this new path. It is the result of a music production rerouting. The ambiences and melodies have the scent of fading away: elusive, airy, blue, and at the same time very evolving.
rivers - wildbirds & peacedrums (CD) release date: 23/8/2010 - available to download
Rivers is the mesmerising third album by Sweden’s Wildbirds & Peacedrums, combining the two limited edition vinyl only 12” EPs, Retina and Iris, which were released in May and June 2010 respectively. The album is released as a double CD in a deluxe gatefold wallet, with one EP represented on each disc, and the ten songs will also be available to download.
Characteristically, Wildbirds emphasise instinct, emotional rawness and purity of expression over perfection. The whole album was recorded and mixed in Reykjavík in a single week, and retains an intentionally spontaneous, live feel. A new sense of restraint and control is apparent, compared to Wildbirds’ previous albums (2008’s Heartcore and 2009’s The Snake) and their blistering live shows, consciously bringing Mariam Wallentin’s lyrical concerns into clearer focus. While the two EPs are sonically quite distinct, they complement each other with unifying themes of reflection, light and water. Heard in the context of the album, the new songs are revealed as an extraordinary body of work.
Following a period of careful preparation, Mariam and her husband Andreas Werliin travelled to Iceland in late January. Collaborating with cellist and arranger Hildur Guðnadóttir (who has worked with The Knife, Nico Muhly and is a member of Múm and who proved to be the catalyst for the project), they were abetted by a stellar cast of contributors, including Australian émigré sound artist and engineer Ben Frost, and his Bedroom Community associate Valgeir Sigurðsson (Camille, CocoRosie, Bonnie Prince Billy) who mixed the songs.
“This strange, empty and wet country was perfect for the music,” says Mariam of working in Iceland, “Just as we’d hoped. The emotions are more subtle and dark. And we wanted to somehow collect these emotions and make them into songs that are connected. The lyrics are linked to each other and the sound is deliberate and thematic, designed to build up this special atmosphere.”
The Retina half of the album comprises five colossal songs, stratospheric in scale and emotional scope. Recorded in the modern Guðríðarkirkja church with the 12-strong Schola Cantorum Reykjavík Chamber Choir (who also featured on Björk’s Medulla album), with arrangements by Guðnadóttir. Standouts are the atmospheric ‘Bleed Like There Was No Other Flood’ and the powerful, percussive ‘Fight For Me’. At the time of writing, Retina had been awarded Single Of The Month by both Artrocker and DJ magazines in the UK.
Recorded in Reykjavík’s Greenhouse studios, the five songs that make up Iris are an oasis of introspection measured against Retina’s overwhelming torrent. The songs revolve around the uniquely resonant sound of the steel pan – Mariam’s current musical passion. Alongside her haunting vocal and Andreas’ elemental percussion (and very little else), the instrument gives the recordings a more intimate, direct sound that counterbalances Retina’s more expansive ambiance.
The Rivers project was conceived for live performance as much as anything, and for the first time Mariam and Andreas recorded their music as it is meant to be heard, almost entirely live. As Wildbirds & Peacedrums with Voices, they premiered the new songs at two phenomenal UK appearances in May: at the Pavement-curated ATP Festival, and a sold-out show at the 500-capacity Bishopsgate Institute in London (described by The Guardian as “fantastic” in their five star review).
A stunning video has been released for ‘Bleed Like There Was No Other Flood’, using footage shot during the recording sessions in Iceland and at home in Gothenburg.
jesu: pale sketches demixed - pale sketcher (CD) release date: 20/8/2010 - available to download
If Justin K. Broadrick’s Jesu project is the sound of the UK artist exorcising his demons, pummeling them into submission with tsunamis of guitar noise, Pale Sketcher is the sound that echoes through his head in the aftermath—a haunting, lonely sound-world of distressed beats and hazy melancholia.
On Jesu: Pale Sketches Demixed, Broadrick displays a delicate touch with musical moods, crafting dark, sweet hymns that alternately soothe and unsettle. The crunch of rusty industrial machinery, the murmur of a summer wind—these are Justin K. Broadrick’s Pale Sketches.
madame mila & fraulein lea - bara broest (EP) release date: 20/8/2010 - available to download
In October 2010 Bara Bröst releases their debutalbum "ELEPHANCYCLE" on BBE Records. It will display their very own take on Deep - and Tech-House paired with catchy and at the same time advanced sounds perfectly suited for the out-door raves this summer.
"ELEPHANCYCLE" will be published along this 12" containing 2 songs from the album and a remix by ALPACA Records Label Head Christian Scheel (Noé).
Fräulein Lea - Minimal deep house tune with an unforeseeable bridge and beautiful acoustic guitar melodies.
Madame Mila - Funky prime time house tune with the mother of all swing samples. Swing shuffle percussion, a phat jazzy bass-line, vocal skits and a brass section that will stick in your head for hours.
hogtie ep – bdsm sessions vol.4 - plan-e (EP) release date: 27/8/2010 - available to download
Pressetext PLAN-E (NIKI BECKMANN) The roots of the music career of plan-e (Niki Beckmann, born 1972) had grown at the age of 8, when his parents bought some Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre vinyls. 1991 plan-e listens to Steve Mason for his first time in his home town Hameln. From this time on Niki began to buy his first records. He started his first mix-sessions in the parents cellar. He mixed Detroittechno and Acid. 1993 plan-e got more and more in touch with the harder Detroittechno-sound. In this year he got his first gigs. 2000 niki began to do his own productions. He created music with different styles of techno. Till today he produced over 400 tracks. Some of them were releases on labels like Definition Records, tst and Methadon Rec.). In the near future more releases are planed and will come out soon. Today, plan-e is a perfect ableton live jockey and rockz the crowd in many european countrys. He is doing gigs with several partners. He controls the listening crowd with his sound everytime. Be prepared for plan-e rocking your house!
the raft - fat freddy's drop (EP) release date: 27/8/2010 - available to download
The Raft is the third single to be lifted from Dr Boondigga & The Big BW, the platinum-selling, award-winning second studio album from New Zealand's pirates of soul, Fat Freddy's Drop. The song is one of the album's few reggae tracks. Singer Joe Dukie provides an inspirational chorus in his honey-drenched tones – "Though my people may not be many we are ready to rise as one". The lyrics are a response to a painting much resented by New Zealand Maori: The Arrival of the Maoris In New Zealand, painted by Charles Goldie in 1898, depicts the first migration of people to New Zealand. Objections to the painting came from the way Maori are shown as desperately starving and thirsty while elated at the final sighting of land.
Producer & MPC maestro Chris Faiumu aka DJ Fitchie has crafted a slim line radio edit and in addition has re-worked and re-dubbed The Raft into a Stepper's Dub to make a version that is way more than an instrumental which is dedicated to all DJ's, singers and MC's of the world.
mshini wam - spoek mathambo (CD) release date: 27/8/2010 - available to download
Most recently, Spoek Mathambo has finished recording his solo album, Mshini Wam for BBE, and has built a live band (which includes two dancers) in order to tour the project. The release of this project is particularly exciting as a sign to the world of what Africa has in store in terms of progressive electronic music.
Part of a new breed of African artists, 24 year old Spoek Mathambo (Rapper/DJ and Graphic Designer/Illustrator) is hitting the world hard with his take on Afro-futurism. Spoek sees himself as a part of a new wave of energy in Africa, which is intent on nurturing a sense of progressiveness while maintaining a pride in culture. As front-man for electrorap outfits SWEAT.X and PLAYDOE, Spoek Mathambo has become a increasingly prominent figure in the international music scene over the last couple of years.
sofatronik - florin gabor (EP) release date: 9/9/2010 - available to download
The Romanian artist ‘Florin Gabor’ acts usually as a dance-music composer. His special musical trip deep into the world of hypnotic tance and chillout is called ‘Sofatronik’. And it’s impressive so far. The six tracks on ‘Sofatronik’ creates a feeling like to loll comfortable on a leopard fur or lying on a beach with sand between the fingers to sprinkle. ‘Florin Gabor’ presents us a really relaxed piece of music and let us stay in a dreamy mood to the leaving summertime. The tracks ‘DEEA’ and ‘The Realm’ break a little bit the atmosphere but in a refreshing way. Tight beats in combination with smooth harmonies emphasize the talent of ‘Florin Gabor’ leaving the shores of the dancefloor and let his creativity free for a flow.
ballads - thomas siffling / daniel prandl (CD) release date: 9/9/2010 - available to download
While his last two trio recordings "kitchen music" (2007) and "cruisen" (2009) were more comitted to Nu Jazz, Thomas Siffling lately felt a desire to deal intensely with the ballad-genre. After all, he always had a preference for calm tunes, which gave him the space to savor tone and melody. After an inspirational duo-concert with Mannheim piano player Daniel Prandl, an adequate fellow musician for this ambitious project was found. Both artists joined in a creative process, tested various possibilities concerning sound and interpretation - always in search of homogeneous and warm moods. Should it be standards? Or maybe a program comprised of German folk songs? What about reharmonising children songs and treat them like standards? Ideas were roaming and strolling. What seemed to be reasonable and coherent, apparently didn't fit in the following session. All along the main goal for both musicians was to capture those special moments, in which the inspiration and creativity of two individuals lead to a congenial and personal interplay. Playing in the Twilight Zone: a couple of evening studio sessions were arranged, that provided both - a relaxed atmosphere and high concentration - the basic principle to get deepness and sensuality out of musical material. Concerning a coherent repertoire, the musicians agreed on a lucid mix composed of originals, reharmonised traditionals and internationally known titles such as "La Mer". All intoned in a most intimate dialog of grand piano and flugelhorn (two tracks feature the trumpet), focused on the essentials: mood and sound.
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