Jacaszek - Treny

Jacaszek – Treny

Fog curls around your face as you breathe steadily, trying not to singe your throat on the bitter morning air. The grass is frozen solid, unmoved by the harsh bite that the wind deals anything which dares venture out. The trees, infrequent as they might be, are stripped of all but the most foolhardy leaves. You look out into the distance but see nothing more than the harsh earth and unforgiving block flats in the distance.

That is my personal vision I get listening to the first 15 or so seconds of Rytm To Niesmiertelnosc, the opening track on Jacaszek’s absolute masterpiece of an album that goes by the name of Treny. Yesterday it would have been a different impression, tomorrow undoubtedly changed as well. I’ve had visions of putting a camera in an old subway car, filming down from high up for an entire day of some overgrown city’s flow and ebb of people and then fast forwarding it played to the entirety of this album. It has helped me to no end in focusing on study at 2am when I’m due to hand work in that same morning. Its music has made me feel safe in a very unfamiliar place where otherwise I’ve felt anything but.



I’ll get one thing straight first, this is NOT an album you crank out when you’re entertaining. Far from it, unless you share some very specific tastes with someone, this album should undoubtedly be played to a solo listener. I’m fortunate to own this on vinyl and the experience I get from listening to it is beyond any other record I have, and again effects me different to when played through headphones whilst walking or computer speakers whilst studying.
Jacaszek is essentially at core Michal Jacaszek, starting his music ‘adventure’, as his bio put it, around 1998 but progressing rapidly to the point of producing an project or album once a year from 2003-2006. For 2008's Treny, however, 2 years were taken and the line-up increased to include Stefan Wesołowski on violin and strings arrangement, Ania Śmiszek Wesołowska behind the cello and Maja Siemiłska providing the haunting and mesmerising vocals.

The combination of those 4 artists make for Jacaszek’s 6th album and one of the most beautiful, haunting, desperate, lonely, complete, mesmerising, dark, strangely uplifting, atmospheric, and incredibly complete works I’ve ever had the pleasure of opening my ears to. In its entirety it works as gripping novel where you can’t put it down after you’ve experienced even a taste of page 1. The tracks all relate to each other in an over-arching voice that can be nothing but Jacaszek but don’t feel out of place when played out of order or on a continuous loop. The only thing Treny doesn’t have is a standout track, which is a fantastic thing because it means that there is no high or low quality side to this album, it is simply phenomenal throughout. A single gem of a track would undoubtedly mean that the quality of all others would suffer by virtue of being worse than 'that other one', and to have that happen to this album would be nothing short of a tragedy.

I won’t go through the tracks listing pros and cons of each one because the list would be very one sided and ultimately pointless as this record is meant for personal reflection and introspection, you have to make your own mind up about each track. All I can possibly recommend from here is that you find a copy somewhere, anywhere, and indulge yourself in it. It’s taken me exactly the length of this album to write this review, and all I want now is to put it back to the start and fall into the darkness all over again. So that's what I'll do. Easily one of the best albums of the new millennium. - Last.fm - Myspace -

Hecq vs. Exillon - Spheres of Fury

Hecq vs. Exillon - Spheres of Fury

So, even though this video seems to have been doing the rounds quite a bit so far, not a whole lot is known about this song or video. The two artists, although relatively well known on their own, have never combined on a track before, and apart from a 'Spheres of Fury - Coming Soon' message on Hecq's homepage, there's not much information available about the collaboration anywhere else. What is evident, however, is that this song and video combination is AWESOME!

Tim Brown and Christopher Hewitt directed this fantastic clip, and the only available released information is that it was shot on a Canon 7D, a 30mm lens was used somewhere in the process, and the following 'overview':

"Born from a love of classic 80s war films Spheres of Fury is an action packed pastiche. The bravado and attitude that pours from these movies is nothing but a treat to watch, our modern remake aims to capture some of those magical moments but with a slightly comical, modern stance."
- Christopher Hewitt's overview

Not much to go on, but oh so much fun. The clip has amazing character buildup for the desperately short 3 minutes of actual music time, and yet there's unique characteristics for each of the people that you endear to. The only thing that detracts from this for me is the end credits, taking up another solid minute, 1/4 the entire running time of the video. It just wasn't that necessary for me. There is, however, a solid storyline that builds up to an amazing crescendo of this water fight in the middle of a field, and ties everything up with a neat little bow for the conclusion. In 3 minutes...

The great effectiveness of this I believe comes down to the fantastic actors and absolutely brilliant editing. The actors make this video seem like it's something anyone could make given a group of friends, some water guns and a promise of free dinner. I highly doubt this was the case, but something about this video just makes you want to jump out of your chair and make it yourself.

The editing makes every beat, every melody reflect an occurrence in the video and in turn makes the visual and aural aspects seem to blend together seamlessly. I couldn't imagine this video without the song, or listening to the song without looking at the video.

Unfortunately, that makes for a slight curse. Listening to the song without the video does show that the song is good, but what makes it great is the collaboration, the fusion that the video and song have. I can't listen to it without picturing the water shooting through the air timed perfectly to the glitching beat of the song, and that's a distraction. Perhaps this is down to being introduced to the song alongside the video first, which then linked the two. Although evidence of both the artists individual styles are evident in the song, it's packaged in a much more pleasing way than their other releases. I highly anticipate the Hecq vs. Exillon collaboration to hear what else they've come up with. I'll keep you posted...

Younger Brother - A Flock of Bleeps

"Oh goody,

Let's pump ourselves full of magic monkey juice and take a trip to space land"

In anticipation to the imminent release of Younger Brother's third studio album, "Vaccine", here is a quick look back at the first two albums.

Younger Brother - A Flock of Bleeps

Starting off the album is Weird on a Monday Night, an aural masterpiece that starts with distorted vocal intro that only Simon Posford can be responsible for. The tone for the album is set from this brilliant opener on, with a surprisingly organic mix of electronic elements all meshed together to form a stunningly creative album. Each track can be singled out as a highlight, yet no one song over-powers any of the others, which is something that plagues plenty of other albums.

Crumblenaut is arguably the album's best known track, which blends the down-tempo album start with Posford's infamous vocal adjustments of Michele Adamson's beautiful voice. The later part of the song leads into a somewhat faster mood which perfectly lines up the following tracks.

As a debut album, forgetting for a second the pedigree that Mr. Posford (Shpongle, Hallucinogen) and Mr. Vaughan (Prometheus) bring to the table, this is a phenomenal start to what started out as a side project. A Flock of Bleeps has now reached something of a cult status in electronica circles after its release in 2003, an album that takes music in a completely new direction that is almost unclassifiable.

The mid-section is oft regarded as the trance equivalent of the album, and thus has reached a slightly broader audience but this should by no means put off listeners from listening to the outlying tracks.

There are fantastic vocals and vocal samples throughout, some laid straight over the track but most manipulated expertly by Posford to create some breathtakingly unique sounds which become music of their own accord.

Younger Brother - Weird on a Monday Night

The finish of the album comes through two tracks; Safety Zone, a seemingly dub influenced track that blends perfectly into Bedtime Story, an utterly chill track with predominantly acoustic guitar picking laid over ambient sounds. The track would not be out of place on a toddler's bedtime tape, and yet it book-ends A Flock of Bleeps so perfectly, finishing on such a peaceful note that leaves the listener in the best possible way relaxed. - Last.fm - Myspace -

Younger Brother - The Last Days of Gravity

Younger Brother - The Last Days of Gravity

Happy Pills, the opening track on The Last Days of Gravity is almost fitting to be listened to directly after the closer of A Flock of Bleeps, such is the peaceful introduction to the sophomore Younger Brother release.

Far from replicating their debut album, however, Simon and Benji have combined their original sound with something more acoustic, almost band like for Last Days. Although not evident by traditional sounds, instruments can be identified throughout, mixed within the modified sound scape that is the electronic base. Some songs have glitch elements and vocal distortions in them, whilst others have simple guitar riffs and drum beats, and yet it all blends together to create a listening pleasure that is yet again somewhat unclassifiable.

The growing up would have attracted more fans that relate this album to more well known works, with a stronger commercial psychedelic link musically. Yet somehow it manages to maintain the beauty of the first album, it still appeals to the audience that A Flock of Bleeps was made for.

This hashing of two worlds is what has made this album so compelling and appealing, setting yet another musical benchmark for the two producers.

Going back and forth between the acoustic-like (Your Friends are Scary) and almost entirely manufactured (I am a Freak) and to a complete blend of the two (Psychic Gibbon) means that this album does have a slight err in identity. It simply doesn't flow together as well as A Flock of Bleeps did, and has some clearer stand-out tracks as highlights.

Apart from this minor detraction, The Last Days of Gravity is an album that is absolutely essential to have in a library that appreciates unique and colourful music.

The final moments of Psychic Gibbon end with a heartbeat, again an ideal book-end to a brilliant album. - Last.fm - Myspace -

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I'll leave you with a slight preview of the upcoming album in the form of a video of Younger Brother recording some claps and stomps. If this doesn't get your juices flowing for the new release, then nothing will.

The Evpatoria Report - Golevka

The Evpatoria Report – Golevka

Despite their label of post-rock, The Evpatoria Report is a genre-crossing band that mixes the elements of post-rock with modern classical in an almost cinematic manner, with epic sweeping songs. The shortest song on the album is 8:34...

Above all, Golevka is an album that needs attention, which can be both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because if you give this album the time that it deserves, a world of music becomes apparent, and one of the most stunning aural experiences can be had with just a good pair of headphones and closed eyes. A curse because the album doesn’t allow for a quick listen in between a task, or putting on a song in the background whilst performing other tasks. The attention it demands is simply too great.

Don’t get me wrong, the songs are phenomenal, each song tells a story. Instead of trying to cram an entire story in a 3 minute radio song, they’re all given the time they need, to grow and mature in each individual song. That brings me to another slight downfall, unfortunately, and that’s that this album doesn’t flow. Each song in itself feels like an album, whereas they should feel like individual chapters of an all-encompassing book. Thankfully this doesn’t detract too much because the songs are long enough to gain their own footing and impress individually. You also feel like you want more after a song finishes, so there is great incentive to keep listening, because you’ll hear more of that beautiful music.

The Evpatoria Report - Taijin Kyofusho

Individual songs are hard to review because of their complexity in the stories they tell, so I’ll refrain from spoiling that for any potential listeners. Suffice it to say that each song plays an important part in the album, and the album is one that is not to be missed.

Their 2003 EP and the first track from this 2005 Golevka album are available for free download from their website, so if you wish to have a sample this is the perfect place to start. The Evpatoria Report also have a second full length album out, called Maar. - Last.fm - Myspace -