ALBUM REVIEW: Bonobo: 'Black Sands Remixed' (Middle Boop Mag)

Published at:  http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/albums/bonobo-%E2%80%98black-sands-remixed%E2%80%99-ninja-tune

Bonobo is one of Ninja Tune’s most flourishing artists, ‘Black Sands’ was released back in 2010, receiving worldwide acclaim and being named as the album of his career. The remix album welcomes a number of likeminded musicians and producers to rework this ambient masterpiece.

Boasting appearances from Banks, Mark Pritchard and Machine Drum, some have spiced up the more chilled out, liquid tracks and transformed them into potential dance floor fillers; others have been stripped back and distorted to create a more experimental sound than their original.

 ‘Prelude’ (Lapulux Finger on the Tape remix) takes us to a more spacey, futuristic and strung out place, with hints of chill step.  ‘The Keeper’, remixed by Banks, sounds darker with heavier percussion, it works. He’s utilised one of the best tracks from ‘Black Sands’ and given it an electro spin, arguably one of the best remixes on the album.

‘Kiara’ has been mixed by Cosmin TRG – I really like this rework, its imaginative with a dirty sounding bass line. This would sound amazing live; it’s expansive and chaotic in parts, with a host of different elements skilfully woven together. I really didn’t think the original could get much better.

‘Eyes down’, perhaps the best track from ‘Black Sands’ appears four times, which is rather a lot. The first remix by Floating points stretches out the original and breaks the down the wispy voice of Andreya Triana, it’s a blessing to the ears. The ARP 101 remix gives us a drudgy baseline, sounding garage like in parts, there are also vague hints of trance.  Now this is an interesting one, ‘Eyes down’ feat Dels is really quite something, reminiscent of Ghostpoet, he gives the track an urban edge, it does seem ill placed on the album, but is welcomed.

‘All In Forms’ appears twice, its first appearance is the Falty DL Remix. He’s taken one of the more up-tempo tracks and distorted the lyrics. It’s very experimental and dream like in parts with powerful synths. ‘Ghostship’ is a track that didn’t make it onto the original album, and what a gem, trip hop at its finest. 

‘Stay The Same’ (Mark Pritchard Remix) is another highlight, it’s extremely emotive and atmospheric, he did add a weird riff which I’m not sure works, it feels as if it’s just been clumsily placed underneath the original track.  ‘Eyesdown’ (Machine Drum Remix) is a complete overhaul of the original, he’s made it his own, its trippy, a bit too trippy for most I think.

All In Forms (Mike Slott Remix) gives us a Brazilian sounding drum beat, but not much else has changed. ‘Stay The Same’ (Blue Daisy 'Not Quite the Same' Remix) is broken and echoey with a thudding bass line. ‘Brace Brace’ is a bonus track from ‘Black Sands’, more of that classic ambient sound, it lacks lyrics but each note instantly resonates with your soul, a skill that Bonobo has down to a T. The last track, Black Sands (Duke Dumont's 'Grains Of Sand' Reconstruction Edit) has been given an epic, almost finale sounding vibe, similar to some of the M83’s recent work.   

This album is varied, and interesting, a real treat for Bonobo fans.  It has been produced exceptionally well. There are moments of intricate delicacy and moments of complete chaos, it is a real grower, so give it a few listens, you will love it by the end. 

ALBUM REVIEW: Goldfrapp - 'The Singles' (Published at Sonar Magazine)

Published at:  http://sonarmagazine.co.uk/2012/02/711/

Goldfrapp starting making music just over a decade ago and is made up of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory. They have attracted a huge cult following that has spanned their career, and what a great time to remind the world of just how good they really are.

The album highlights how musically skilled and versatile the pair are with a collection of their most successful tracks, and two additional ones; ‘Melancholy Sky’ and ‘Yellow Halo’. The album artwork is a collage of their previous album covers artistically placed over one another.

The album kicks off with the huge glam rock sound of ‘Ooh La La’, which is a perfect opener, followed by ‘Number 1’ both taken from their ‘Supernature’ album and are a strong representation of their finest electro moments.

Swooping into the trashy techno sounding ‘Strict Machine’ this song showcases the beautiful union of Alison’s seductive husky vocals and Wills synths. Could music be anymore perfectly engineered? It’s eerie. ‘Lovely head’ is heart breaking sad, strange and was uber sophisticated for its time. ‘Utopia’ is another glowing moment and a reminder of how daring Goldfrapp were throughout their career, constantly changing their sound, but never losing their personality.

‘A & E’ is an absolute favourite of mine. ‘Happiness’ is a dreamy almost hypnotic in parts beauty of a song. ‘Train’ is the ultimate in electro-sexy. ‘Ride A White Horse’ is disco pop, and their most successful single to date. ‘Rocket’ is pure and flawless pop music. The euphoric ‘Believer’ is followed by ‘Black Cherry’ which is just mesmerizing. Words cannot describe how much I adore Goldfrapp.

‘Yellow Halo’ is just unbelievably emotive, and what a great way to finish off the album. It’s upbeat, but emotional like someone’s funnelled life into music. ‘Melancoly Sky’ is nice, but I’m not overly fond of it. All in all, thank you Goldfrapp, for reminding us just how wonderful and iconic you really are, and what a glimmering career you’ve had.

ALBUM REVIEW: Lana Del Rey - 'Born to Die' (Middle Boop Mag)

Published at: http://www.middleboopmag.com/music/albums/lana-del-rey-%E2%80%93-born-die-interscope

The hype, the hate, those lips, the self titled “Gangster Nancy Sinatra” had a lot live up with this debut album. After ‘Video Games’ became an unlikely viral success many greatly anticipated what this interesting character would do next.

She’s the daughter of a millionaire oil merchant from Lake Placid, New York.  The album (in its good parts) gives an insight into this world; its orchestral, atmospheric elements twinned with her descriptive lyrics conjure up stories in your mind’s eye. It’s like a soundtrack to a lavish but ever tragic 60’s gangster movie, starring Del Rey as the ultimate Femme Fatale. 

‘Born to Die’ is a grandeur track about her childhood realisation of mortality. When she initially approached record labels she was turned away and told that her music was creepy and weird. That’s what sets Del Ray apart, she is freakishly beautiful, but tells dark stories of sadness and insecurity; you wonder how someone this beautiful and privileged could be so desperately unhappy. Hold that thought.

‘Off to the Races’ tells the tale of a sugar daddy and their dysfunctional and toxic relationship, “He loves me with every beat of his cocaine heart.” It’s addictive. There are tinges of madness in each line, a clear highlight of the album.

 ‘Blue Jeans’ isn’t a favourite; the chorus bares strong resemblance to Kate Bush’s vocal style but overall it’s a little dull. The stunning ‘Video Games’ has twinkling harps and piano keys with heartbreaking lyrics, one of the best singles to come out of last year.  

‘Diet Mountain Dew’ takes us into a more poppy domain, but its upper class pop music, it’s trashy and classy all at once. “Let’s take Jesus of the dashboard; he’s got too much on his mind.” The chorus is infectious.

‘National Anthem’ is an obvious ploy at a political statement; it teases us with the idea of the American dream, and then rips it up in a sugar coated kind of way. “Money is the reason we exist, everybody knows it it’s a fact, kiss kiss.” It’s floaty and summery but is narrated with chilling lyrics. ‘Radio’ is nice, but is just more of the same formula.

The album peaks and troughs throughout, but crashes spectacularly at ‘Carmen’ and sadly doesn’t recover. I thought to myself, enough is enough now. This reverts back to my previous point, in reality could Del Rey really be this troubled, or is it all just manufactured?  It becomes rather self indulgent and unbelievable.

This is only her first album and do you know what, I don’t think it pretends to be anything other than a new take on pop music, it’s fresh and enthralling. Her authenticity is what has caused much the backlash but you wouldn’t see for instance, Flo Rida getting this much stick for not really be from Florida? You get my point.

Let’s just see what her second album has to offer, and then we can figure out if she is the ‘one trick pony’ her critics have labelled her. Five standout tracks and for many including myself, the perfect antidote to the soulless Katy Perry/ Rihanna- esque pop stars of our times is definitely something worth praising.