Albums of the week

FAY – DIN

FAY makes music somewhere between Bangladesh and SND. The solo project of Fay Davis-Jeffers from Thrill Jockey band Pit Er Pat, her music is made out of fractures of sound arranged across a grid, as her album cover shows. It’s really radical, actually. In arranging each note and sound so precisely, each drum kick, snare and chord are rendered with sometimes exquisite precision. There are sketches of dub and and, as Boomkat point out the sound-design of Oval, as well as the academic qualities of John Cage, but each piece is rendered as a perfect example of a pop song by someone in love with Timbaland.

Sometimes, it’s a little too perfect, a little over-studied – of course Timbo has produced some of the most avant-garde music of the last 15 years, but it’s his funk and swing that really make him, and occasionally these qualities are lost for the sake of absolute conceptual definition. Having said that, this is a lovely piece of work by a very adventurous artist, and the most interesting and enjoyable album released this week. [CRJ]

NGUZUNGUZU – Warm Pulse EP
This year has seen a mini-explosion of artists making high-concept takes on rave music, and, alongside UNO and Night Slugs, Hippos In Tanks is rapidly become a hub for this, releasing Physical Therapy, Laurel Halo, Gatekeeper and now NGUZUNGUZU. The ‘Warm Pulse’ EP is more of this deluxe sound, with a palette that sounds refreshingly grimey and a beautiful way with song structure. Tunes sound alternatively collapsing or growing and the bunched-up/spaced style of the sound is both abstracted from and deeply familiar to the dancefloor. Highly recommended. [CRJ]
Stream it on Hippos In Tanks’s Soundcloud

theclosing – ‘theclosing’ [Circle Into Square]
Vienna, Austria trio theclosing are like sound miners, sweeping their surrounds for flickers of audio gold to roll into their meandering melodies. On their glitchy self-titled debut album there are watery clicks, park life ambience, household squeaks and creaks, and all manner of other “found sounds” that have been abstracted and layered into a captivating collage. Like insects in the rain flying low with liquid wings, it has a bumbling flow to it that’s charming rather than cloying. It’s also one of those records that you can comfortably slip in and out of, from conscious to unconscious listening. It trickles down the back of your mind to gather in the nape of your neck like the rain that feeds it. A very solid debut indeed. [RS]

DJ Earl – ‘Audio Fixx’ [Tek Life]
Deejay Earl is part of Chicago’s Ghetto Teknitianz crew who, thanks to main men Rashad and Spinn, have been instrumental in rise and rise of footwork. What was once an insular scene – music made by Chicago producers for Chicago dancers taking part in regular dance battles (check our film) – has spread like wildfire this past year, its sharp/smooth flip and sense of space creeping into productions from all over the world. Like Rashad and Spinn, 20-year-old Deejay Earl used to be a dancer before he got into producing and that free-flowing awareness of the body shapes his productions. His new album Audio Fixx dropped a couple of days ago, on Independence Day, and it’s a mighty fine thing. Wrap Me Up features Jody Breeze and spins around a Sade line, all warm and seductive, while on Tru Love Earl sets a Ce Ce Peniston sample over triple-time beats. For one so young, ‘Audio Fixx’ has a flair and grace beyond Earl’s years, flowing from silky smooth soul flicks to tack-sharp kicks without even blinking. [RS]
Text previously published with Dummy album stream.

DeWalta – Wander [Haunt]
Berlin deep house producer David Koch has released his debut album on under his DeWalta name, describing it to his label Haunt as an album that will “meander” and “wander”. The 10-track album is wonderfully diverse, putting up settlements across the techno panorama from elements of bass-guitar driven upbeat jazz to deep reverberating house to ambient minimalism to straight up hip-hop. Koch has progressed from his conservatory jazz studies to the heart of Berlin’s underground techno and house scene in a few years and despite all of the diversity within this album, the core of Koch’s music remains soulful jazz. This album is masterfully constructed and brimming with humour, not to mention simply a wonderful listen. Set aside 45 minutes, sit down and enjoy it. (Bonus track available for download below). [RM]

Mr. Oizo – Stade 3 [Ed Banger Records]
French house and electro producer Quentin Dupieux is better known as Mr. Oizo, arguably one of the most influential French house producers of our generation. His fifth album ‘Stade 3’ is released on vinyl today via Ed Banger Records and you can download it for free digitally on the humorous official Mr. Oizo site, where you have to navigate your way through an old school computer, described by Dupieux as “like a quest!” to find the music. The record itself is sensuously bass-driven and full of easy-to-grasp, dancefloor-aware melodies that don’t alienate themselves through obscurity, but are still characteristically experimental. [RM]