James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual

Note: this isn't listening music, it's an art piece.
As such, it utilizes the same themes chillwave relies on (nostalgia, a DIY approach, de- and re-contextualization of old, even dated material) to mock that genre and all its associations. The message of the album is quite complex: Ferraro is asserting that originality of material is unnecessary in art (which has been a topic in the art world at least since Duchamp), but he also seems to think that our current culture is devoid of originality. Whereas the tape culture Ferraro came from prefers to make its references unrecognizable by way of distortion, elongation, etc. (and this can certainly be applied to any and all music influenced by the proto-sampling of early Tape Music, up to and including Hip Hop, Techno, Pop, etc.); on this album the focus is on using these processes without masking the source material. In effect, the result is a demasking of the past, say, decade of electronica, but more importantly of American culture at large, which certainly seems (to me, at least) to often be a collection of rehashed tropes.
This is why it's fairly useless to comment on particular sounds; the fact that the Skype sound is more recognizable than another corporate sample is only coincidence, and Ferraro intends all of them to be on an equal footing with the shitty preset synth sounds throughout the album. Indeed, even to speak about individual tracks seems futile, because the approach is what's revolutionary here, not the auditory result. By creating such a raw—and at times, ugly—work by essentially inverting modern music, Ferraro shows that American culture often presents nothing other than decoration. This in itself is worth noting (it's also a major theme in Klimt's work), but I would assert that Ferraro goes one step further to show that this culture is not simply ornamentation, but a ruse.
Despite the tongue-in-cheek irreverence, this is a truly honest album, and, like Swift's "A Modest Proposal," it is a premonition of our society's future based on current trends. Ferraro's past career was very much hit-or-miss, but he cements his status as both an artist and a social commentator with this forward-thinking album.

Essential listening.

http://www.mediafire.com/?l7ad4rnbbp3pv02

Andy Stott - Passed Me By

Sorry bout the wait. I've been greedily listening to music, neglecting you. I'll be back, bby.

This album? Consider it a parallel to Actress's Splazsh, only without the latter's eclecticism; a focused, single-minded album pushing modern bass music into bafflingly new territories. It sounds like London being buried. I dunno, just listen (with headphones or on loud).

From FACT Mag's review:

It’s as if Stott has awoken from some long and laboured sleep, emerging haggard and caked in petrified dirt: everything here sounds broken, sawed-off, obfuscated, even Hellish.

http://www.mediafire.com/?97ld772q7ndydje

Young Montana? - Limerence

Dubstep producers have restlessly been reaching into more and more disparate musical territories to infect with 2step rhythms and chop into melody snippets. Perhaps one of the most successful accomplishments of this trend is Young Montana?'s Limerence, a hyperactive journey bounded only loosely by dubstep's hazy sound and UK Funky's persistent beat. Perhaps I should call it future garage to highlight its forward-thinking approach (not to mention distance it from frat house bass music), but the truth is this album embodies the malleable nature of dubstep in its infancy.
Having found out about the album through techno circles, I was amused to see it classified as Trip Hop on rateyourmusic. Yet the label is valid, because YM? works like a British Dilla: short episodes are cycled around a basic groove which keeps the track moving. The result is always fresh, if somewhat disjointed, but the erratic jumpiness of the album is certainly part of its charm. One of the most cohesive tracks on the album is its effective opener, 'Sacré Cool,' which is a high contender for groove of the year, with the help of some expert vocal manipulation. Producers have been overusing this technique lately, and YM? shows his subtlety by keeping the melody to a few well-timed vocal stabs against the pulsating rhythm section.
I expect this album will usher in a couple more meticulously crafted but flashy dubstep records which will all inevitably be throwaway. Young Montana? shows that virtuosity is useless in itself; most producers of frantic dubstep lack any sort of artistic control and their ideas get muddled. Young Montana? succeeds—for the most part—at exploring concentrated ideas from wildly differing perspectives.

http://www.mediafire.com/?7nqi4ivqh19kpkz

Actress - Splazsh

I've thought about putting this album up for a while now, but always concluded that sharing such a widely-lauded album would be frivolous, because so many people would already have it. I have decided most definitely to jump on the bandwagon though, because it rivals FlyLo's Cosmogramma as possibly the most important electronica album of 2010.
Actress is from London, and it shows. Splazsh makes allusions to most, if not all, of today's trends in electronic music, which makes for an incredibly varied listen. Opener 'Hubble' is one of my personal favorites, presenting a bastardization of deep house which sounds ultra-modern while staying entirely familiar. He's not afraid to reach back for sounds: 'Purrple Splazsh' explicitly investigates the relationship between disco and modern techno, leading into a track that disassembles dubstep. For me, at least, most of the pleasure I get from listening to this album comes from the deconstruction of source material coupled with wonderfully original compositions. The fact that they groove like hell also helps.
The disparate styles present on the album might appear to be a lack of focus, but I would contest that Actress's method is exactly the opposite. Most of the tracks are built up from only a few elements, and are relatively static, giving the listener enough space and time to take in every button tweak, synth stab, and rhythmic twist. This is where the more esoteric tracks really shine, because they are designed to make you think about current music, not just shake your ass. Occasionally, like in 'Always Human', he manages to bring these two elements together, and it's moments like these which make the album required listening.
Only albums as ambitious and expansive as Splazsh have a chance at truly changing the musical landscape. Watch out for Actress, I expect his future work to be quality as well.
He's already off to a good start with this single, released in 2011.

http://www.mediafire.com/?aglewdvwwb49z99

Moonface - Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums

It's always nice to see someone succeeding at making pop music the old-fashioned way; by creating an object based on and informed by a familiarity with a larger musical context that would be inaccessible to the untrained ear. In a sense, a pop song should be as contemporary as it is outdated, allowing the previous work of the underground to shine through without the hostility of avant-gardism. This is certainly a simplification of previously extreme ideas, but the collage-like nature of pop music allows for many strands to be woven together into a final product that is ironically much more personal than the cold, refined methods of art music.
But those boundaries have clearly fallen, given the ease of using the term 'art pop' to describe a vast amount of music. Technological advances have certainly helped; writing arrangement parts and screwing around with the sequencer on a drum machine is arguably easier these days than getting a band together ever was. Lady Gaga and Kanye have certainly brought artistry into their work, redefining it as a multimedia performance complete with music videos referencing European art house cinema, elaborate costumes and shows, and an artificial persona that seems to be entirely detached from reality— They are clearly pop stars.
Yet there exist musicians for whom this dream presents no allure, those who fittingly evolved out of the 90s indie scene. Spencer Krug has been a part of many of the heavy-hitters in this circle, most notably Wolf Parade, and here he presents his ideas solo as Moonface. Most notable is the presence of marimba throughout the EP's one twenty-minute track, which shows an indebtedness to Steve Reich that is supported by Krug's penchant for layering instrument on instrument to create heavily rhythmic, driving episodes. The piece is essentially a suite connected by marimba, and motifs enter and reappear in a highly sophisticated fashion. Krug's lyrics are characteristically cryptic, and although I won't attempt to analyze their possible poetic meaning, their effect within the overall structure is notably fitting. "I am making hissing sounds with my mouth," Krug declares right before the end of the piece, giving a sense of the deeper otherness that remains to be heard under his well-crafted harmonies.
Marimba and Shit-Drums would never be played on Top 40 radio, yet it is clearly a great accomplishment of pop in which fans of techno will find minimalism treated in a remarkably different way, and fans of pop will hear how far the medium can be changed.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ckicp6cth3fqexc

The Tired Sounds of - Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid exists in that halfway realm that all drone/ambient projects should strive for: emotional honesty and an artistic vision to control it. There are various methods of going about this: Celer created miniatures that interacted, Natural Snow Buildings brings hazy folk in, etc. Stars of the Lid have gained a following based on their liquid masses of sound that each seem formed with perfection in mind. Perhaps I should offer a lesser-known album than The Tired Sounds Of, but the truth is that I only just recently got this too. It is a cornerstone of the genre for a reason, and does encapsulate it. When compared with today's drone, its influence is felt even stronger, and its power is more than apparent. The amount of textural music today (dubstep, chillwave, house, post-minimalism, black metal, kosmische, etc.) that branched off in some way from the drone movement that Stars of the Lid were at the helm of becomes much clearer after listening to some good old slowness.
Any discounter of drone needs to hear the craftsmanship that went into each sound.

http://www.mediafire.com/?af1r36xa4tqn57u

End of the year excuse & End of the year list

I know I made a best-of list last year, but I'm not sure I can do so again this year. The truth is the posts on this blog have been analogous to my own finds this year; they were focused on delving deep into certain genres in order to see their influence on modern music. The result of this of this has been that I haven't posted too much music released this year.
Although there are certainly exceptions, BfB has become a de facto electronica blog, which is also a bit of a misrepresentation of my own tastes. While I do clearly listen to a lot of techno/house/electro/etc., I've failed to give an accurate representation of my tastes.

Maybe I should just post more.

So! I'll take this space to post some stuff that I liked but never got around to posting, or would not have fit in with the general theme of the blog. As usual, just ask for any of these.

Subjective Album of the Year

Mark E - Mark E Works 2005 -2009: Selected Tracks & Edits
Mark Evetts' work with the past encapsulates everything the current music scene is about. Techno has always been about looking backwards to create the future, and this aesthetic has arguably taken over pop music as well, most notably with Ariel Pink. Disco is still very much a part of our contemporary music, despite most things not sounding like it. This set of 8 tracks bridges the gap, and shows how much current house owes to disco. The fun, then, is seeing how pop is influenced by underground electronica.

Thought I'd also reference this video, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore by British artist Mark Leckey, which also deals with the concept of memory and evolution in dance music. As any dance music enthusiast will tell you, it's not just about the music, but the community and ideas around it.

http://vimeo.com/5632791

Albums

Ajilvsga - The Origin of the Chaul
This is pitch black drone from Brad Rose and Wolf Eyes' Nate Young, which is probably the reason it's been so overlooked. I usually go for drone/ambient with interesting textures, whereas this is the exact opposite. It is synaesthetically cold and almost sickeningly desolate, but achieves what most drone albums lack: a sense of emotional attachment. Drone is inherently difficult; both performer and listener must, to truly connect with the music, be able to give their attention to the music for extended periods of time. There is nothing worse than apathetic drone, which is unfortunately what the majority of drone ends up being. Ajilvsga has achieved something spectacular by capturing emotions which one often does not want to hold on to and forcing them into the listener's attention. Characteristic of drone and noise, the atmosphere gradually becomes less uncomfortable, enacting a true response akin to cleansing.

Zs - New Slaves
Here is yet another recommendation to listen to Zs. Those that enjoyed last year's Music of the Modern White should grab this immediately, because it's an extension of that style. To me, this band's evolution is one of the best things in music; they have unfailingly become sharper and sharper in their aggressive avant-gardism while retaining the ability to make their works sound sonically disparate from each other. The world of atonalism/free-improv/electro-acoustic music is not easily approachable, but Zs is probably your best bet. It needs not be said that this is difficult music, but it must be emphasized that it is also rewarding.

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Kanye I'ma let you finish but etc.
Big Boi's chops as a rapper destroy most of the MCs currently working, with very few exceptions. This album was widely praised in hip-hop circles, but I'm not sure why it never reached the awareness of pop. Big Boi continues the OutKast tradition of fusing unflinching hip-hop craftsmanship with highly experimental production and somehow making accessible pop out of all that. This album is criminally underrated.
That said, a few words about Kanye:
Kanye was hugely important this year. The "film" for Runaway was a true work of art, and elevated pop music in a way that only Lady Gaga had done recently. His work as a producer is much more important, and I'm just waiting for him to team up with an MC that can match his beats (Related: R.I.P. Child Rebel Soldier). My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has too many juvenile mistakes that some have misinterpreted as honesty for it to be truly great.

Ultralyd - Inertiadrome
I like to think of this album as what Meshuggah should have evolved into if they took the fantastic rhythmic interplay they helped pioneer and went somewhere with it. Ultralyd come from the Norwegian jazz scene, which has been producing some of the most innovative music not only within the boundaries of jazz, but everything they can get their hands on. This album is no exception. I'm not saying the jazz slant will be obvious from the start, but the incorporation of noise of the free-jazz sort should be apparent. Anyone that likes rhythms as much as me should give this a listen.

EPs

Kayo Dot - Stained Glass
Yet another offering by Toby Driver, my longtime musical idol. Toby's obsession as of late has been to use synths in a classical setting and using wind instruments as synths, to blur the line between the two approaches. Here, he explores the vibraphone's long tones, interplaying them with the cold, electronic sound of the keyboard. His melodic atonalism here is probably the best it has ever been, slowly evolving through the 20 minutes.
Yes, the crescendos of the early albums are gone, but we knew that by Blue Lambency Downward, and he barely even references that style anymore, so the endless comparisons are moot. Blue Lambency was a decisive break, and it was immature, but Toby is clearly sharpening his ideas. After Tartar Lamb II and this, I'm just waiting in anticipation for a full length in this style. Coyote was an interesting take but the goth-rock vibe held it back a bit, at least for me.
Anyone that wants the old albums is missing the experimental nature of Kayo Dot.

Ehnahre - Alpha/Omega
A setting of two W.B. Yeats poems. Black, death, and sludge metal, noise, free jazz, twelve-tone atonalism are all present. This band is one of my favorite rebuttals when people accuse noise or metal of being mindless, because this music is, above all, highly intelligent. Musicianship is easy to find in metal nowadays; YouTube alone will show the abundance of shredders who are more like cannon fodder than musicians. The pacing on this album, the themes, the composition are all masterful to the point that I'm tempted to call these art songs, despite the aesthetic.
They also have an album, Taming the Cannibals, out this year, but I figure this is a better introduction.

Singles

Chasing Voices - Acidbathory
This one reminds me of the infamous Villalobos remix in that it takes the current electronica scene and simply corrupts it into an 11-minute track of evil. The genre is, as expected, dubstep, but it's equal parts drone.
I think it was only released on one-sided vinyl in England, so just save yourself the hassle and listen here.

ndf - Since We Last Met
The original track is by Bruno Pronsato. The remix is by Ricardo Villalobos.
Just get this, for real. It's what dreamy dance music should be.
But don't you dare call it chillwave

Happy new years, y'all.