Nastinos

Archive for September, 2009

The Polish Ambassador is jumpsuit wearing David Sugalski, self billed on his myspace as ‘half diplomat, half groove generator, all asexual cyborg. Indeed it’s not merely his music, but the make-up of his entire character and back-story which help create an intriguing and unique listening experience.

The Polish Ambassador – Earth vs The World

His facebook page lists his hometown as ‘The Infinite,’ and Sugalski commonly references his early days in outer space long before he came to earth to spread his electronic beats to the masses. Currently residing in Our World (more specifically California USA) The Polish Ambassador does not do much ambassadoring (-adjective, doing ambassadorry stuff) these days, he simply makes varied and interesting electro beats for us to listen, and dance to.

The Polish Ambassador – The Electro Kids Just Want To Dance

To date he has 3 full length albums; Dimplomatic Immunity (2007), The Phantasmal Farm (2007) and I Found Him, Now I Must Kill Him (2008). Each one blends together elements of early computer game music with intelligent drum beats designed to make earthlings dance, each track is layered with synthesized bass and futuristic melodies which pay homage to his upbringing in the far reaches of the universe.

Space shenanigans aside, in a time where many electronica artists are blasting our ears with heavy bass and pounding drums, the The Polish Ambassador provides a much lighter melodic sound. Some may find this boring, but the beats are very danceable in a head nodding way and his ability to evoke mood in his lyric-less pieces is something that is much harder to create than it is to listen to.

The Polish Ambassador -  Infiltrating The U.N.

Spotify Links

Diplomatic Immunity
The Phantasmal Farm

It has been almost two years since angry art-noisers Heart/Yeah? – aka Warren Myles and Jack Fabian – realised they weren’t that angry anymore and decided to pack away their distortion pedals. They’ve grown up a lot since then, and from those ashes emerged the much friendlier-sounding Urgent Talk, with the addition of Roo O’Hare on viola and vocals. Having released their debut double E.P. ‘&’ and ‘&&’ last year, they now return with their first full-length album.

‘Alexander, IV’ is a natural progression for the band, retaining their trademark string and computer counterpoints, quirky alt-pop arrangements and boy/girl vocal harmonies, but presenting it in a more cohesive and polished package. They manage to convey much of the energy which marks out their live performances, but do so without the singing tipping over into ’shouting’  which it can so often do in these shows. I do feel some of the vocal parts here need to be pushed a bit more to the forefront, however, particularly O’Hare’s as the natural singer of the band. A little bit more attention to this facet in the mixing would have gone a long way to improving the overall sound, as next to the abrasive percussion and full instrumental parts, the vocals can sometimes sound a little feeble and the harmonies underwhelming. A shame, as when done properly, this is one of Urgent Talk’s most endearing features.

© Graham Shackleton

It is on track 4, ‘Owls’, where the vocals are at their best and we get a glimpse of what the band are capable of, with a dynamic theatrical performance of onomatopoeiac melodiousness that even Kate Bush would be proud of. The intricate interplay between the vocals, strings and acoustic guitar create some truly sublime moments, reminiscent at times even of Vaughan Williams’ own ornithologically-themed work, ‘The Lark Ascending’. Williams, however, had not heard My Bloody Valentine, and the song breaks into an epic ‘Loveless’-inspired outro. This particular influence is also reflected on tracks ‘Are You Going to Redbridge’, and ‘You Let Me Sleep in the Car’, though it avoids being derivative, and this development is perhaps the most ear-catching feature of Urgent Talk’s growing confidence and evolution as a band.

With this release, Urgent Talk again underline their huge potential, without fully realising it yet. I still feel that they are in need of a more organic drum arrangement. Without it, they may struggle to find the subtle dynamism needed to push their songs to the next level, though if ‘Owls’ is any indicator of the future then the signs are promising. The band still have a truly unique sound, and there is no doubting their creativity, nor their inspired genre-crossing range of motifs. They are now taking a hiatus, during which time they plan to work on their sound and live show, along with assorted solo projects. With a little fine-tuning, there is no reason why Urgent Talk can’t come back bigger and bolder than before. Perhaps this album does not befit the title ‘Alexander the Great’, but it is certainly ‘Alexander the Very Good’. 

Rating – 8/10

‘Alexander, IV’ is out now on Dear You Records and can be downloaded for free (128k version) or £2 (320k version) at: http://urgenttalk.bandcamp.com/. 

Urgent Talk – Palindromes

Urgent Talk – Owls

Urgent Talk – Untitled

Hello handsome people.

With Muse about to drop their 5th studio album “The Resistance” there are going to be a lot of people writing a lot of words about them this coming month and, in true ’sheep with a keyboard’ style, i’m going to be one of those people!

Now, to try and retain some degree of originality, rather than looking at the new album, or simply being another voice in the crowd saying how amazing their live show is (their live show is amazing by the way!), I’m going to have a bit of a look backwards at some remixes of Muse songs and  present those un/lucky few with their very own MRA! (Muse Remix Award)

Retro Remix Award

Muscle Museum – Soulwax Remix

First up is the retro remix award and the winner is the genius’ that are Soulwax. Muscle Museum from Muse’s first album Showbiz is given an uplifting errrm… uplift from the belgian mixing masters. The mix stays true to the original song’s format, but replaces guitars for electronics and ups the tempo , the result is a, blistering, very danceable 3:45 seconds, even if it does compromise on some of the epic power of the original.

The Award For Stopping A Muse Song Sound Like A Kylie Song

Uprising – Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix

Uprising, some people like the new single, some people dislike it, others think it’s decent but sounds too much like something kylie should have released. Well, this special award for ’stopping a muse song sound like a Kylie song’ goes to Read the rest of this entry »

Warren John Myles has long been a stalwart of Sheffield’s anti-establishment subterranean music scene, though you would be forgiven for not instantly recognising his name, as he is perhaps more familiar for his work in art-punk anti-emo noise combo  Heart/Yeah?, and more recently, violinear electro-folk pop trio Urgent Talk. It may therefore be a surprise to hear that ‘No Drama’ is in fact his third solo album release, following on from 2007’s ‘Gameboy Songs’ and last year’s ‘Coughs’.

‘No Drama’ marks a significant departure from Myles’ earlier work in both scope and conception. I think it is fair to say his first two works were more exploratory pieces, charting Myles growth as an electronic artist and gameboy connoisseur, and it was perhaps an overemphasis on this particular ‘instrument’ that turned-off many a snobbish muso which meant the musical depth and quality of songs such as ‘I am the tiger from clipart’ remained largely overlooked. Even yours truly must hold his hands up and apologise for this. ‘No Drama’, however, is no avant-garde statement, but one of serious artistic intent. The electronica remains, but it is primarily developed from an acoustic guitar with samples mixed through his laptop, producing a quite remarkable range of sounds and offering a much more versatile platform upon which to explore his songwriting skills.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not pop in any highly-polished, Trevor Horn sense of the word. Nor will it be storming the charts or be covered by this year’s X-Factor winner. I imagine the raw, bedroom production will not be to everyone’s taste, neither will his strained vocal parts, but if you look past these for a moment, Myles’ pop sensibilities come shining through. He has a real ear for a catchy hook, and a great sense of harmony, and though his voice is admittedly not the strongest, it has a fragile quality which really captures his human vulnerability, and gives us a glimpse of the man behind the entertainer and exhibitionist we are used to seeing shed his shirt on stage. Myles has always been a very poetic and insightful lyricist, something perhaps not fully conveyed in the noise records of his past. In this context though his words shimmer with a heady mix of surreal beauty and satirical social commentary. In fact, it is a more mature Myles, as both a songwriter and individual, who shares with us his own personal reflections on growing up and settling down, epitomised in the song ‘Little Coney’. This song in particular has an incredibly infectious dancebeat melody you can’t help but hum and tap your foot to, a vibe somewhat ironic considering the song’s opening line: ‘now why would I want to stay out in a club?’. 

This is an impressive offering from Myles, which firmly cements his place as one of the most innovative and exciting artists currently performing in the Steel City. Furthermore, ‘No Drama’ can be downloaded in its entirety completely for free at: http://theeeldance.blogspot.com/2009/08/warren-myles-no-drama-dyr07.html. Therefore you have no excuse not to check it out!

Rating: 7.5/10

Look out for my review of the new Urgent Talk album in the next week, also from Sheffield’s ‘Dear You Records’ stable.

Warren John Myles – Little Coney:

Warren John Myles – And When I Die Throw My Body In:

Warren John Myles – Bagshot Balloon Factory Theme: