Nastinos

Posts Tagged ‘Electro’

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:

All work and no play makes Nastino a dull (and infrequent) blogger.

Of course, when play is your work, you can have as much fun as singer has Tigs has fronting her band.

After standing through a pretty awful thrash metal band at Brighton last month, my spirits needed lifting and my ears were in need of some vocal medicine. Chew Lips were next up and they were able to succeed on both fronts.

Chew Lips are a 3-piece electro-pop outfit from London who make music to dance to, not in a smack my bitch up way, it’s more of a Hot Chip vibe, or a more chilled out CSS. Infact, debut single Solo (see below) gets carried along by a wave of beeps, blips and beats much like Kylie’s Slow, only it’s much much cooler.

Of course, it’s inevitable (and probably fair) that they are compared to another female fronted 3-piece in the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, but I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Tigs is every bit as enthusiastic as Karen O and Chew Lips’ music has a slightly more electro sound than YYYs which suggest there’s certainly room for the both of them.

At the Brighton show singer Tigs got excited enough to climb on to a speaker set before realising she couldn’t get down without utilising the ‘jump off and fall over’ maneuver, great stuff. I then spent the latter half of the show wondering if she had an actual beauty spot or it was stuck on, it was only when I bumped into the band at a nearby chippy afterwards I realised it was a little heart drawn on her cheek.

These guys are not sneaking by too unnoticed. Steve Lamacq has already tipped them to succeed in 2009, a quick listen at their myspace should help you see why. Check out debut single Solo below.

Chew Lips – Solo

“When I was a little kid I was addicted to TV, I watched a lot of 80s cartoons and movies & I used to love it, so I wanted to make music as if I was in the 80s making a tune for a cartoon or a Sci-Fi movie!”

Futurecop! creator Manzur Iqbal reveals the inspiration behind his musical project in an interview with oohcrapp.net music blog. So, did he succeed? Absolutely, on so many levels!

These guys put out a sound that places you slap bang in the middle of the 80s, although it’s not the 80s I heard the first time around, it’s almost a modern (or futuristic if you will) reincarnation of the decade that is everything I wish my local 80s night was but isn’t.

Current favourite track ‘Karate Kids’ (below) begins with a soft synth sound not too unlike the intro to Petshop Boys ‘West End Girls,’ this quickly gives way to epic sounding bleepery which captures the mood of the movie the title refers to, go on I challenge you not to imagine a bit of wax on wax off as you listen!

I saw them live as part of the great escape festval in Brighton this year (2009) and, despite catching them by accident, they happened to be one of my highlights of the weekend. So much so infact, that after sitting at the back of the room with my whiskey and coke, I was quickly risking death clambering on stools and tables to see who was making that sound. Turns out it was Futurecop! and they deserve a listen.

Check them out on their MySpace or check out the tune below.

Futurecop! – Karate Kids