Cool Hunting
Admittedly this one's been a secret weapon in my DJ bag since I found it in the "Dubstep" bin at London's Rough Trade back in August, but seeing as how it's gotten little press stateside and it's due for a CD release in the U.S. 24 October 2006, perhaps it's time I shared...
Various are truly enigmatic. Without any credits or liner notes on their website or their debut album The World is Gone the mysterious duo known as Adam and Ian have arrived at a sound both distinctly british and universal, urban yet timeless, full of dread and danger and sex appeal.
Although often compared to Massive Attack or Portishead in the UK press, Various don't make downtempo background muzak. They earn the comparison for the sense of compressed despair in their songs, perhaps reminiscent of the sense forboding in Massive Attack's "Safe From Harm" and perhaps also in the level of polish to their productions. Also, the duo employ a host of singers and seemingly disparate stylistic influences to create something quite intense. On one level, "The World Is Gone" features some of the fiercest dubstep beats and sub base to come out of the UK in recent memory, but over all it's an album that defies such an easy pigeonhole. With sweeping orchestral arrangements (the title track) and epic folk ballads ("Circle of Sorrow," "Fly," "Deadman"), up against dark and biting crushers like "Thunk," "Hater," and "Dont Ask," all packaged within some really provocative line art, this is an album sure to become a cult classic. Find out more at XL Recordings or buy it here.
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Matthew Herbert, one of the U.K.'s most lauded, often overlooked and hardest-to-categorize electronic musicians grabbed major attention last year with the release of Scale, a critically-acclaimed album that includes over 700 samples of ambient noises like birds, gas pumps, breakfast cereal, coffins, mobile phones and babies crying, as well as voice mails left on "Herbert's Hotline," a phone he set up for the project....
For years, Ghostly International, the indie juggernaut of Avant-Pop music, has been redefining the record industry with innovative collaborations and a brand awareness that puts most labels to shame. On 21 April, the fruits of their latest collaborative efforts paid off in the release of "Ghostly Swim", a 19-song compilation made exclusively for Adult Swim and available for free download. The kicker? Ghostly mascots...
Don't you love it when things just happen by perfect coincidence? So I'm scratching my head, knowing I need some new music in my life, but having no idea what to get when the new Quantic Soul Orchestra album arrives through my door. We're huge fans of main-man Will Holland here at CH, and even went crate-digging with him last year for Cool Hunting...
Even before Hot Topic pretty much ruined any kind of legit fandom, wearing a concert tee (unless is was a homemade "This is Not a Fugazi T-shirt" or Mr. Bungle's rare sort-of subtle masturbation celebration) was a sell out move. That's why we particularly appreciate U.K. t-shirt maker Worn By's AKA line of tees that pay homage to bands by referencing names they had...
There's nothing like a late night radio discovery. On the brink of sleep Monday, I was jolted wide awake by the witty, sexy, upbeat chansons of The Lovers' lovemaking session on the Rob Da Bank show on Radio 1. A little bit saucy, a little bit kitsch, a little bit tongue-in-cheek and oh so very very French, they make Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin...
Episode 86 follows grunge-pop superstar Yacht (aka Jona Bechtolt) to a show on an actual yacht, around his Portland, OR apartment and on tour. ; Cool Hunting Video; Singer/Songwriter; electronic; interviews; music; technology; Episode 86 follows grunge-pop superstar YACHT (aka Jona Bechtolt) to a show on an actual yacht, around his Portland, OR apartment and on tour. http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1155148235http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=37009902 // By use of this code...
