Hyperdub

Album Review: Burial – Rival Dealer

Burial: Rival Dealer
Similar Artists: oh stop it already
Genre: YES!
Label: Hyperdub

This past week I’ve found myself to be sucked into the holiday spirit of things; the shopping for gifts, the classic movies, the caroling. It’s a mood that, for one reason or another, I haven’t really been in for the last several holiday seasons, and I was beginning to think I had become incapable of finding it again. Part of why I have been able to rekindle this feeling this year is because it has been snowing, and another part may be because the school I work at had a heartwarming pot-latch ceremony, but mostly, it’s because the new Burial EP is out, and boy oh boy does it make my heart glow.

Despite the use of bells, glowing synth textures, and happy melodies that conjure images of figure skaters and snow cones, it does feel a bit off the mark to call Rival Dealer “Christmas-y” — especially because the opening track, with its drilling baselines and rough, shuffling edges, is one of the most dissonant works to the artist’s name. Instead, Rival Dealer’s main theme is one of hope — it’s an experience about finding out who you are and being true to that person no matter how hard you may be struggling. William Bevan himself has even said (through a text) that this EP is intended for anti-bullying purposes. This may sound super corny, and maybe it is, maybe this release isn’t as “cool”, or as “dark” as what Burial has become known for, but it’s undeniably more human, and it’s arguably more relevant to the evolving music scene. It’s funny, because with each release, Burial has moved away from the success of his breakthrough, Untrue, to build something that, well, feels more true.

This newfound honestness that affords us listeners an inkling of information towards the personality of the man behind the music is huge, because William Bevan is an artist we formally still know so little about; even if he is becoming increasingly adept at drawing us into his heart solely through the use of his music. So many theories have came up about who Burial is that it has become a bit of a joke. This release is sure to stir up even more questions regarding his personal life, as it feels like a sort of coming out statement for the artist. In terms of overall sound, this isn’t quite what one would call a reinvention though. He’s still sampling vinyl crackle, ending tracks abruptly, and harnessing emotive, pitch-shifted vocal samples with nuance and delicacy. The difference is that now, it seems as if these elements are all trying to tell us something; as if these three tracks provide the liner notes to a grand story of overcoming in the face of adversity. While this broader influence is a direction that Bevan has been toying with ever since he started putting out 10+ minute tracks with his 2012 Kindred EP, here it is done in a more efficient and provocative way. The untreated vocal sample that closes the EP — taken from Lana Wachowski’s coming-out speech during last year’s Human Right’s Campaign — is the most striking example of this (as well as one of the best moments for music in 2013), but there are many others as well. In other words, this is the closest Burial has gotten to making an actual concept album.

So Rival Dealer isn’t just a continuation of the high water mark period that Burial has been in ever since 2012’s Kindred — it’s a rebirth of his ideals into the most meaningful statement he’s yet summoned. And it’s easy to see why Bevan would be propelled to push his work this far off the grid. After all, he already changed the face of electronic music (as well as many other fields of music) with 2008’s magnificent Untrue — an album that’s importance is impossible to overestimate — so now it seems he has his goals set on changing the way we hear music itself, and how it can be used as a tool to open portals to new worlds. Both “Rival Dealer” and “Come Down To Us” exceed the 10 minute mark, and they feel like flowing streams of consciousness, unobstructed by hate and fueled by deep, passionate love and understanding. They exist as a sort of guardian angel, each measure providing consolation to the world’s most downtrodden and confused victims. Through these lengthy track times Burial is able to guide us through his realm of fairy tale magic as he gifts us with constant surprises and a state of complete immersion. The music all flows through you like a dream: holding onto you with full force until evaporating into the air and leaving you with its imprint on your memory. The 13 minute “Come Down To Us” is arguably the main highlight. We are first introduced to the track’s noir setting with a lonely voice saying “Excuse me, I’m lost”, and through the track other voices arrive to comfort this lost soul, helping her realize who she is and what her purpose is. An elegiac sitar melody plays in the background as this story is told, gently unfolding into multiple phases. I don’t know about you, but a supposed “dubstep” producer just made me cry. This is what I call capability.

Track Listing:
1.) Rival Dealer*
2.) Hiders
3.) Come Down To Us*

Album Highlight – *

Album Review: Laurel Halo – Chance of Rain

by Rio Toro

Laurel Halo: Chance of Rain
Similar Artists: Holly Herndon, Steve Reich, Maria Minerva
Genre: Experimental
Label: Hyperdub

Laurel Halo is an artist who proudly and defiantly resists categorization. When she dropped her debut full length on Hyperdub last year after an enticing run of experimental EPs, little to no one knew what to make of it. Like her releases before it, Quarantine was pretty much acclaimed around the board, but there was also a sense of rabid confusion surrounding it: largely, with her untouched, often off-key vocals…among other odd production decisions. Listening to Quarantine now though — after the talk surrounding it has finally begun to slow — I think I finally get what Laurel was trying to achieve with it. While the word “post-pop” is thrown around a lot these days, I feel Laurel was the first artist to succeed in making an album worthy of that descriptor. Through its 12 beguiling tracks, Laurel playfully explored the surrounding aura of pop (if only for a few measures at a time), while simultaneously dissecting and reassembling its organs into her own mutant entity. It’s an enigmatic work that we most certainly won’t see anything like again…as it turns out even from her.

It’s all absurdly challenging too; Laurel isn’t simply hitting random buttons on her keyboards and hoping for something interesting to disperse. This talent of hers isn’t completely revealing though, as she is undoubtedly the next in line of those virtuosic musicians whose aims are so awkwardly skewed to the point that that we lose track of what they are trying to accomplish through the course of a track. A single 6 minute track may see Laurel flirting with techno, minimalism, noise, ambient and classical music, yetshe never fully indulges in any of them. While the combination of these genres isn’t unique in its own right, Laurel succeeds in forming them into a demented whole that is unique to her name. As those who have seen her perform live will say, Laurel’s brain seems to work in a loop that is far outside the norm (I’m personally willing to bet she’s on the Autism spectrum).

Her work thus far has been strange and beautiful (if not always enjoyable), but her vision continues to remain essential in the furthering of electronic music. On her latest full length, Chance of Rain, she takes a step back from the dizzying post pop of Quarantine and delves into an equally chaotic instrumental excursion that is by turns soothing and alarming. Quite like Beyond the Green Door — her EP from earlier this year — Chance of Rain is rooted in metallic techno with lush, environmental undertones. However, she has moved away from any four on the floor stability to more fully incorporate her wide stylistic capabilities.

Largely built out of a series of live improvisations, Chance of Rain takes the form of a metaphysical journey down a rabbit hole. The 9 consistently evolving tracks exist as a decomposition of what a proper techno set should sound like, and she has done a great job of putting the pieces in a discernible pattern. While each track unfolds sporadically, as an entire piece, Chance of Rain is brilliantly melded experience. Opener, “Dr. Echt”, as well as the closer, “-Out”, both focus on Laurel’s rubbery piano scales amidst waves of rising ambience. Another brief track, “Melt”, is a 2 minute foray into cinematic drones and out of place orchestral pieces. These shorter tracks are juxtaposed against epic 8 minute ones, such as the title track, which fades in and out of jazzy free floating piano chords and hard hitting bass stomps. “Ainnome” is similarly epic with its crystalline ambient textures and swelling beats. Still, the only track that comes close to being full on techno is “Thrax”, which is a constant build of gooey bass, noisy percussion and warped vocal samples. It’s the one crowd pleaser on an album that seems to be in a constant state of disagreement with the listener.

Just like her previous work, Chance of Rain is an album that is often very difficult to become immersed in. With its constantly changing foregrounds and backgrounds, these tracks are transient in nature, and will revolt against the casual listener. It’s an incredibly frustrating album — one of the most aggravating I’ve heard this year — but it’s for this reason that I have become compelled to it even more. So many albums have came out this year that I have initially raved about, only to realize I had become bored with them a few months down the road. From her ungrounded approach, to the out of this world cover art (drawn by her own father), to the way she plays tricks with the listeners perception, Chance of Rain is an album that will take countless more listens to wrap my head around. In this sense, Laurel Halo has given us a true gift; a puzzle that will take months or possibly even years to solve.

Track Listing:
1.) Dr. Echt
2.) Oneiroi*
3.) Serindip
4.) Chance of Rain*
5.) Melt
6.) Still/Dromos
7.) Thrax*
8.) Ainnome*
9.) -Out

Album Highlight – *

Official Site

Album Review: DJ Rashad – Double Cup

by Rio Toro

DJ Rashad: Double Cup
Similar Artists: Traxman, DJ Spinn, TEKLIFE crew
Genre: Footwork, House
Label: Hyperdub

No matter what your brain tells you, don’t stop listening…

I frequently give people this advice before they begin listening to DJ Rashad; specifically anything off of his extensively jarring 2012 LP, TEKLIFE VOL. 1: Welcome to the Chi. All it takes is a few seconds until you become hit with one of the steepest learning curves in modern dance music. Despite the fact that this music is first and foremost intended for the purpose of riotous dance battles, the sounds of DJ Rashad, to most listeners, will initially be more likely to cause a headache than a sweat. Take “Azz”, off of Just A Taste Vol. 1 for example, which along with many of his other tracks from that period, sees him working with muddy, one word vocal loops circling around battling snare drums, hi-hats and bass at 160bpm. He does this with zero attention towards accessibility, which makes for an awkward, often uncomfortable listen for the unaccustomed ear. Still, his music is attention grabbing beyond belief — even from a home listening, feet on the floor perspective — and I will often get a compulsive urge to listen to his music even when I can’t remember ever being head over heels for it. To put it simply, what works for DJ Rashad most certainly doesn’t work for others, and even when he’s at his best, he’s not for everybody.

From his hard hitting and authentic style that has (until now) remained innately within the realms of footwork, you would imagine DJ Rashad would care very little about appealing to a large scale audience. This is why his more culturally conscious minded transformation by way of London’s Hyperdub is all the more confounding. Out of all the records to come out this year, this is by far the one I am most torn about, as I am by turns thrilled and disappointed by the accessible, party oriented direction DJ Rashad is traveling in. Don’t get me wrong; there’s no real question whether Double Cup is a good record or not. It’s easily DJ Rashad’s most accomplished work to date — I’d even go as far as saying it’s the record he’s been working towards his whole career. It’s so good, though, that it’s perhaps too alluring and accessible to be part of this whole footwork thing.

There’s very little that remains rooted in the underground on Double Cup, and his retreat from the tiny sub-corner that was his stomping ground has caused his style to lose some of its most intriguing qualities. For instance, there’s none of that awful abrasiveness, little to any of his head scratching vocal hooks, and an under abundance of any off-putting repetition. Worst of all, it’s relatively easy to listen to in one complete sitting (*gasp*). Instead of giving us whiplash, on Double Cup, DJ Rashad has treated us to 13 perfectly evolving aural sensations that dexterously traverse a gallery of neatly contained structures and ideas. Forget about what’s wrong with it, there’s so much that isn’t wrong with this record that I would feel 100% content if I never had to listen to it again.

Ok, ok, I’m joking, a bit, but there is something with Double Cup that is preventing me from loving it. It’s funny that no one (to my knowledge) has made the comparison yet, but the feeling I get when listening to this album is strikingly similar to how I feel about Disclosure’s Settle. Both records take a left field style and extort it to its extremes of accessibility. While Rashad — being the founding member of the TEKLIFE crew — certainly isn’t making a mockery of his style, he’s instead going in the opposite direction, and approaching his sound with an unbridled seriousness that seems too over the top. There are other similarities between the two records as well, such as the overwhelming amount of guest spots (11 out of the 13 tracks) and through the roof production values. These 13 songs are all so wondrously executed in such a direct and precise manner, that they almost lack personality; or how I like to put it, humanity.

Of course, this is all relative to footwork’s past (not that I consider myself an expert on it), as newcomers will likely find solace in the brilliant use of ricocheting samples and glorified drum programming. In terms of the former DJ Rashad lovers though , Double Cup can be likened to the most popular kid at your high school. It’s the guy that has the coolest clothes, the girl with the prettiest makeup and the most expensive boob job, and the person everyone wants a piece of. From an outsiders perspective, it appears to be immaculate, but once you take a further look, you realize its a cold, lonely place.

Track Listing:
1.) Feelin (feat. Spinn and Taso)*
2.) Show you how (feat. Spinn)
3.) Pass that shit (feat. Spinn and Taso)
4.) She a Go (feat. Spinn and Taso)*
5.) Only One (feat. Spinn and Taso)
6.) Everyday of my Life (feat. DJ Phil)
7.) I Don’t Give A Fuck*
8.) Double Cup (Feat. Spinn)
9.) Drank, Kush, Bars (feat. Spinn)*
10.) Reggie*
11.) Acid Bit (feat. Addison Groove)
12.) Leavin (feat. Manny)
13.) Let U No (feat. Spinn)*
14.) I’m Too Hi (feat. Earl)

Album Highlight – *

Hyperdub

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