I don’t know what they put in the water up there in Scandinavia, but whatever flows through the pipes makes for some interesting listening. Whether it’s the doom-mongering black metal popular in the region, or this, the space disco developed by Lindstrom and his cohorts, particularly Prins Thomas and Todd Terje. Terje started life as a bit of a protege to the aforementioned Prins Thomas, and was soon a leading light in Oslo’s space disco scene. Mixing sequencer era Tangerine Dream and proto synth bands with disco, both the pop end and the underground end, was a dizzying combination. That was all way back when of course, and yet still the genre is going strong. Lindstrom’s ground-breaking ‘Where You Go I Go Too’ back in 2007 was an epic that probably hasn’t been bettered, particularly the spectacular title track, a near 30 minutes of sheer synthetic disco bliss, but there’s been notable releases since, particularly Lindstrom and Prins Thomas’ collaborative LP ‘II’.
06 Feb 2012
Pretty damn late on list season here at Shot By Both Sides, but you wouldn’t want it any other way would you? You would? Oh, well tough. Anyhow, for your delectation, the best 10 albums of 2011 in order, rated using pure non-science and hogwash talk. Some astoundingly good records though, of that I assure you!
29 Jan 2012
I must admit, I’ve been slow on the uptake of this record but after putting it on heavy rotation the last couple of weeks, it’s really started to embed itself in my consciousness. Balam Acab a.k.a Alec Koone, crafts deep, dreamy soundscapes that gently sway on their light static beats and lyric less floating vocal tracks, whilst simultaneously appearing to bury a startling and dark atmosphere just under the surface. The moments of light relief, such as when the opening track ‘Welcome’ breaks out from its tense beginning into beautiful clarity, with swirling, emphatic vocals and a pause in the stati or the gentle strings of ‘Expect’ provide moments that feel as if a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders, and are as remarkable for the emotional impact they have on you as they are for the perfectly craft sounds Balam Acab creates.
29 Nov 2011
Four Tet has continued to go from strength to strength with his last LP - There Is Love In You - arguably his strongest work to date. That was a record seemingly more flavoured by the club scene rather than his more delicate earlier work, a process which is seemingly set to continue. More recently Hedben seems to be most enamoured by goings-on in the bass scene, exemplified no least by recent collabs with broody dubstep man of the moment, Burial.
25 Nov 2011
The world that James Ferraro’s ‘Far Side Virtual’ inhabits is one of a dystopian future. Synthetic, superficial, endlessly optimistic to the point of falsehood. A soundtrack to Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror themes perhaps. Vocal samples discussing how our lives could be better, Skype and Windows sound samples, lilting brite-piano pieces and the goofy 80’s inspired artwork. Gordon Ramsey and others’ services are offered by fake voiceovers. The song titles reference Pixar, Google, Dubai and other such symbols of the 21st century and its developments, for better or for worse. Like some eternally running advert for soma, or insurance you don’t need. Ferraro himself has admitted he’d like the album to be ringtones. Whilst this might sound like some kind of supressing nightmare, which in a way it is, listening to the record is completely fascinating.
22 Nov 2011
