Kx- - 2012 - the most dangerous of all sharks

Drum and Bass

[FOR FREE]

http://kayexminus.bandcamp.com/album/the-most-dangerous-of-all-sharks

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: 3000 Tons Of Lead

Impressions

It's not often I get to hear the mash-up of breakbeat, drum and bass, and a few prog rock style guitar licks, so it's nice of Kx- to provide my ears with this opportunity. In what might also be the shortest EP I've reviewed since joining wasfuersohr, Kx- (pronounced “kayexminus”) provide listeners with a brief jolt of energy with the absolutely lead-footed thud of the drum loops, and the cacophony of electronics bounding about, as well as a bit of fancy guitar work as well (See “Milla Jovovich REMIX” for chipmunks-vocalized rapid fire beats over a movie sample). That high pitched squeal may get on your nerves with repeated listens (sorry Milla), but at just over two and a half minutes you'll forget about it by the time “Scrape machine part crevices for edibles” contorts and gyrates into your ear canals. In the end, 'The most dangerous of all sharks' is rather like junk food, easy to access and over quickly, but as easily forgotten and as a listen you're able to move on from it without much thought. I was originally going to review another Kx- EP ('EP1 - Like A Good Horse with a Bad Habit') that had three other original tracks (and “Milla Jovavich” to round it out), but that has since been removed from their bandcamp in favour of this. As a time waster or something to listen to while you brush your teeth in the morning, 'the most dangerous of all sharks' works just fine, but with only one non-remix tracks to recommend, and that track only being 25 seconds long, I'd say try and find EP1 which is a better showcase of Kx-'s talents than this one'. As it stands, 'sharks' is an interesting electronic album, that's easy to burn through and go on about your day, it just needs more tracks of original music to truly shine and showcase what Kx- can do. “3000 tons of lead” is great and I would love to hear more of that in the future.  

Kali Ma - 2012 - Siddhartha EP

Synthpop

[FOR FREE]

http://kalimaofficial.bandcamp.com/album/siddhartha-ep

• 6 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Kamaswami The Merchant

Impressions

Kali Ma have done something I had yet to hear in my time reviewing for wasfuersohr, and that's make an electronic synthpop album that doesn't have its head up New Waves' ass with retro nostalgia for the music of the 1980's. That throw back sound isn't something inherently bad, just somewhat boring to hear on most of that type of album (The Sounds or Yeah Yeah Yeahs, for instance do a good job of incorporating and morphing their sound to complement that keyboard heavy output). Everything, even the drums have this bright, cheery feel to them, like everyone involved (Cody Miller) was probably tapping their toes as much making this as you do listening. The keyboard's and synths are the musical voice of Buddha here, taking the place of any lyrics. It's apparently a concept album, and as I know nothing of Buddhist culture, and I'm judging only on the music, I have assume it conveys some kind of message, but I haven't the slightest idea what and I don't know if the music does a good job of conveying that, so I guess a bit of exploring around might help there. If that message is somewhat psychedelic in nature, then mission accomplished Miller, I reached technonirvana by the time the bird-like chirps/wipes start fluttering about on “Kamaswami the Merchant”. While I said earlier that New Wave may not have been the inspiration, 8 and 16bit video game soundtracks almost certainly were. Listen to “Gotama the Illustrious” or “Kamala the Courtesan” for proof of that sweet sounding midi-based influence (especially in the drumming and the use of 'blips' in “Kamala”. I would have preferred more live instrumentation (unsure if that's a real tambourine on “Vasudeva the Ferryman”, and the bass in “Govinda”  adds a deeper sound to the song) as there are hints, but those are the exception, not the rule. Still, a small complaint for an excellent synthpop album that I think deserves your ear's time.

Sol Naas - 2012 - Звук

Trip Hop

[FOR FREE]

http://solnaas.bandcamp.com/

• 8 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Декорация (Music By Lubea)t, Мы (Music By Azeriff 2)

Impressions

And now for another installment of “Gabbo doesn't speak the same language as the music he's recommending.” This time around, 'Звук' ('Sound'), an excellent trip-hop EP by Azerbaijani musician Sol Naas. If you've read any of the other reviews for records that showcase my linguistic skills, you can see I'm often be a disadvantage when reviewing non-English speaking music, but like those review, I'll be damned if I'll let a language barrier prevent me from enjoying Naas' EP let alone recommending it to others. Naas and her varied producers (of which there are 5 across the 8 tracks here) use downtempo beats as a foundation upon which to build from using live instruments and a smattering of synthesizers to create seductive songs over which she croons effortlessly. All of the tracks sound as if they begin and/or end with recorded conversations between a man and a women, or sound bites from television (“Intro” is made up completely of this it seems), which adds a vaguely voyeuristic element to the tracks, and also ties them all nicely together. I would say it's probably thematic, but that might be pushing it too far. Musically, this doesn't push the boundaries of trip-hop too far, drums are the main instrumental ingredient on nearly all the tracks, and the bass tends to be the main accompaniment, and both aim for a casual pace. When the keyboards and other instruments do get a bit more time in the sun as on “Особый случай” (“A Special Case”), the time signatures can change a bit, and so does the tempo (“Особый случай” sounding a bit like slow jazz instead of hip hop beats.), just enough to stay fresh and interesting across the 8 tracks here. “Декорация” (“Decoration”) 's sparse uses a simple guitar riff to great effect being another example. That being the case, the combination of the music with Sol's voice creates a whole that is greater than the sum of it's parts. It may not blow down your door with originality, but it's still decent trip-hop, and I think fans of the genre will enjoy it, and it's something new and different for those who aren't, whether they speak the same language or not.

Treeless Forest - 2012 - Through The River, Through The Noise

Ethnic orchestral folk

   [FOR FREE]

http://treelessforest.bandcamp.com/

• 5 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: Doppelg Nger, Melipulli, Wake

English

Music can provoke all kinds of reactions: indifference, joy, pathos, the list goes on. But something that music rarely does is provoke a location. That is, a special song can reach something deep inside the narrator and pry it free. Treeless Forest’s “Doppelganger”, the track that opens his five-track effort Through The River, Through The Noise, earns the honor of reaching that rare accomplishment. It introduces many things about Treeless Forest’s music: the haunting, ethereal atmosphere (the track opens with one of the most haunting voices you’ll hear this year and never lets up from there), the beautiful ruminations on existence and life, the subtly catchy motifs and melodies that’ll ring in your head long after the music has subsided. Despite the above characterization of his music, Treeless Forest is much more adventurous than his constant sense of melancholy would suggest: the instrumentation here runs as wide as a quietly powerful violin on “Melipulli” that swells into a gorgeous sea of strings (drizzled with a heavenly harp that sounds like it could carry you all the way to the clouds in the sky) to a distorted guitar that towers over the chorus of “Iguazu”, one of the most overtly poppy tracks here with its instantly recognizable claptastic rhythms and the almost summery jangling of the guitar in the bridge. The highest compliment I can pay Through The River, Through The Noise is that though it leap through multitudes, it takes the listener along for every moment, and it’s Treeless Forest’s instrumentation that is to thank for such an immersive world. Will you follow him into this dance through life?

Mating Call - 2012 - Hater's Exodus/Foul Behavior

Industrial/Noise

[FOR FREE]

http://matingcall.bandcamp.com/

• 4 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Mac 11 Solution

Impressions

Abrasive, fractured, and most certainly not holding back is about the only introduction worthy of Mating Call's 'Hater's Exodus/Foul Behavior' EP beside trying to type out the sounds of me trembling in the corner. Sounding like the aftermath of a jazz hip-hop hybrid mangled in a car wreck with an industrial album; everything on 'HE/FB' is of a kind of sonic mess, with different sounds coming out of places that you don't think they should be. Yet, despite the urge to turn it off and throw your headphones away forever, you keep listening to it, and listening to it (four songs go a surprisingly long way given the palette being worked with), and you kinda dig it, but at the same you wish the howling would stop. Oh, and how the vocals they do howl, through a blanket of crackling noise and hissing. It might be kind of weird to think of an EP like this having any real rhythm shape to the songs, but Mating Call realize they're not going to keep your attention if they simply blast random, unrecognizable sounds at you, and thus each track follows a industrial-lite kind of song structure based around a percussive beat of some description. “Phz” is a bit pop-ier than the others in this respect, as far as calling anything here 'pop' goes. While I found no problems with the music, it's blindingly obvious 'Hater's Exodus/Foul Behavior' isn't going to appeal to everyone, but I feel it's worthy of listening to for those curious for something a little outside their comfort zone, and obviously those who enjoy the noise.