TAG: Downtempo

Apr18

Bonobo – Black Sands (Review)

Bonobo

Black Sands

Released by Ninja Tune


Bonobo, also known as DJ and producer Simon Green, is back with the highly anticipated follow-up to his 2009 release Live at Koko with a new record, Black Sands. With already an impressive body of work with the full-lengths Animal Magic, Dial 'M' For Monkey, Days to Come, in addition to countless EPs and single releases (my personal favorite being the Scuba EP), Simon Green has kept busy by growing and innovating beyond his previous work of years past. His compositional technique, rivaling some of the work put out by DJ Shadow (see Endtroducing), labelmates Amon Tobin and Blockhead (see Music By Cavelight), Madlib, and Guillermo Scott-Herren (also known as Prefuse 73) illustrates a nuanced meeting point for the inspired fusing of Green’s varied melodious interests.  

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Mar25

The Delta Mirror – Machines That Listen (Review)

The Delta Mirror

Machines That Listen

Released by Lefse


Los Angeles trio The Delta Mirror announce their arrival with the brilliantly-textured debut, Machines That Listen. Each track on the conceptual album takes place in a different room in a hospital, an increasingly popular topic in indie music as of late. Themes of mortality and separation are heavy on the record. From the opening hip-hop infused "It Was Dark And I Welcome The Calm," The Delta Mirror carve out their own ambient niche that flows gorgeously over nine panoramic tracks. Craig Gordon and David Bolt have been making music together for a decade and the seamless integration of their hip-hop roots into the immersive soundscape is remarkable. Equally impressive is the economy of words on the album. The listener is left contemplating lines that at a cursory glance seem pedestrian. It's the subtleties of the delivery that reveal the cloaked meanings behind certain songs. A brooding baritone reminiscent of Interpol's Paul Banks anchors the melodies with occasional assistance from bassist Karrie K's contrasting backing vocals.

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Feb22

Bomb the Bass – Back to Light (Review)

Bomb The Bass

Back To Light

Released by !K7


My first experience with the music of Bomb the Bass (also known as Tim Simenon) was through Kruder & Dorfmeister’s masterful compilation, The K&D Sessions (1998), on a dub version of the track “Bug Powder Dust” with Justin Warfield (originally released on the magnificent and genre-defining 1995 album Clear). The work on Clear has a quality reminiscent of the musique concrète stylings of Pierre Schaeffer, which made it a remarkable and highly noteworthy album. His subsequent albums have always represented an evolution and departure from the preceding work, as if done by a completely different artists, and this explains how Simenon’s work has always found a superb depth through his varied musical interests--it’s probably because he spends a lot of time actually thinking through the music. Currently we find ourselves with the new Bomb the Bass project, Back to Light, a quick follow-up installment to his 2008 release Future Chaos. From the get-go the album announces itself through insidious emotive aural effects, which through a blistering barrage of time-travel sounds, encompass the listener in a feeling that although intense, evaporates rather instantly.

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Jan20

Slacker – Start A New Life (MP3)

Shem McCauley is no stranger to laying low.  After what has been a long imposed hiatus he has quietly reemerged… and we do mean quietly.  Originally you would have known Shem as DJ Streets Ahead, a pioneer in the UK hip-hop scratch scene.  The man has more remixes than you can shake a tone arm at.  Just to name a few, to give you a feel, he has worked with the likes of Prodigy, Moby, Sister Sledge, Roxane Shante, James Brown, Carl Cox, Tim Westwood, Junkie XL, and Public Enemy.  Shem is continuing now with the moniker Slacker and on February 23rd is releasing his next album, Start A New Life on Godlike & Electric Records.

I can’t begin to tell you just how smooth this album is much less how …

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Jan19

Groove Armada “Shameless” Feat. Bryan Ferry Exclusive (MP3)

From RCRD LBL:

How can a tune invoke both a smoky Parisian café glinting with the reflections of lost loves and early David Bowie? Bryan Ferry keeps his legendary Roxy Music roots front and center on this exclusive Groove Armada tune—replete with a downtempo melody, piano keys and a plaintive beat that turns tempestuous. It’s Groove Armada—sexy’s a given! But there’s something more intellectual at play; it’s clear this sound is more dance-informed progression than chillout track.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. We just reviewed Groove Armada’s upcoming album, Black Light, and gave it …

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