electronic posts

Susumu Yokota

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 by Andrew Ladd

electronic // ambient // soundscape

Susumu Yokota has released a somewhat ridiculous thirty (ish) albums over the last fourteen years, mainly in Japan and mainly in the house/techno genre. Over here in Angloland, though, he’s best known for his ambient electronica that’s a chilling sort of blend of The K&D Sessions and the Myst soundtrack. It’s all layers of hum, echoing bells, and sparsely shaken beats, and blends dreamily into one, beautifully rich canvas of sounds. The tracks here are from his 2002 The Boy and the Tree; his other ambient albums are Sakura, Grinning Cat, and Magic Thread.

Eerily hypnotic.
Susumu Yokota – Grass, Tree And Stone
Susumu Yokota – The Colour of Pomegranates
buy this cd

Phon°noir

Sunday, December 30th, 2007 by Kyle

electro-acoustic // experimental

Distant echoes return with a subdued haze, in an audible maze that approaches your ear. Matthias Grübel’s voice sparingly appears to direct and translate, through his Phon°noir dialect, as songs often build, unfold, surprise and sometimes delight with a scattered, spackled, mysterious transformation of blips, glitches, instrumental and skyward noises that become waves and bursts, then disappear. He credits Leonard Cohen and Four Tet as influences; I agree.

Suspicious, hypnotizing collages of reminiscent tinkerings.
Phon°noir – My Paperhouse On Fire
Phon°noir – The Objects Don’t Need Us

Update! 2008.06.21: Annie points us to an excellent video of the former track:
Phon°noir – My Paperhouse On Fire (video)
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Little Dragon

Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 by Kyle

electrojazz // glitch-soul

If a few piano keys can give way to glitchy sounds swirled around to accompany a soulful, jazzy, bassline bop, then strutted with a parade of atmospheric keyboards, hi-hats, and 80’s movie charm, where a melodically-luscious, poignant voice plays freely atop a heartbeat’s skyline, than you’d be listening to Little Dragon. Yukimi Nagano, by way of Swell Session, Koop, and José González, is making music with high school friends Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Peacefrog!

A jack-in-the-box of passionate and playful stories.
Little Dragon – Twice
Little Dragon – Constant Suprises
buy this cd

Marsen Jules

Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 by Kyle

ambient // folk electronic

Set adrift on an open sea of morning sunsets; wrapped in silk sheets with bubbly sounds permeating your skin’s pores; Marsen Jules’ Les Fleurs pulls its way into every nerve of your body – wrestling gently with layers deep inside, feeding your heart impulses of tranquility, while soothing and effortlessly lifting away the surface of every day. Escape, forget, dream.

Close your eyes and drift away.
Marsen Jules – Coeur Saignant
buy this cd

The Matinee Orchestra

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 by Julija

laptop folk // avant-pop

Reminding us of simple joys, refreshing as summertime lemonade flavour, The Matinee Orchestra brings a lot more loveliness than one could expect from so called laptop music. From ice-cold tender textures of Múm to the quirky playfulness of CocoRosie and the innocence of Psapp’s toys’ recordings, rich electronic sounds and instrumentation of harmonica, violins, glockenspiel, warm and relaxed guitar tones weave into the softest sound. Genuinely tranquil and warming, they are taking you on a magic journey through the day.

Soundtrack for daydreaming.
The Matinee Orchestra – Run For Cover (It’s Going To Rain)
The Matinee Orchestra – Imagination Of A Watermelon
buy this cd

Bjørn Torske

Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 by Anne Cloudman

coastal dub // norwegian electronica

Given that he hails from a country where the sun barely sets during the summer months, it’s not hard to understand how Norwegian producer and artist Bjørn Torske was able to create Feil Knapp, an engaging collection of blissful summer electronica. “Møljekalas” dabbles in bright island-esque percussion over an underbelly of melodic synthesized beats. “Hatten Passer” is more true to Torske’s DJ background: a deep pulsating bass line laced with dubby twists and playful whistling.

An album without an ounce of angst.
Bjørn Torske – Moljekalas
Bjørn Torske – Hatten Passer
buy this cd

Love Trio

Saturday, July 28th, 2007 by Paul Irish

turkish electrojazz // jamaican dub

Sometimes the back-story is as intriguing as the music. The seeds of Turkish Ilhan Ersahin’s music career were sown upon hearing dub legend U-Roy as a child in Sweden. Now a successful jazz saxophonist and the driving force behind many experimental side projects, as well as Nublu – an eclectic Lower East Side club and label – his musical experience came full circle when he recorded with U-Roy to produce Love Trio In Dub. “Lovers Rock” combines traditional Turkish notes with elegantly programmed and languid dub bass, and features vocals by Sabina Sciubba of the Brazilian Girls.

Intercontinental blunted jazz ripe for Sunday morning repose.
Love Trio – Lovers Rock

Music and words contributed by Kerry Harwin
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Mareva Galanter

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 by Julija

french electro-pop // yé-yé

A former model expanding her work into music or cinema is not surprising. However, it is rare and surprising when she does it so good, and does it in such a fun way. With her debut album Ukuyéyé (2006), Mareva Galanter, once Miss Tahiti and Miss France, delivers a collection of mostly catchy pop-rock songs from the 60’s. Her coquettish charm and ukulele manage to give it fresh sound and a lovely feeling to it.

Delightful interpretation of the classic.
Mareva Galanter – Les Filles, C’est Fait Pour Faire L’Amour
Mareva Galanter – Miss Hinano
buy this cd

Note From Paul: I’m looking to bring on some additional writers to Aurgasm. If you like the kinds of music featured here and can find similar stuff, we should talk. This is a paid gig. Current bloggers are welcome, too. Email me at paul -atsymbol- aurgasm.us.

Detektivbyrån

Sunday, June 24th, 2007 by Paul Irish

french folk fusion // musette waltz

While I typically prize innovation in music, this music seems flatly derivative of another favorite artist of mine. And yet, I’m still completely floored by how good it is. If you’ve enjoyed the music of Amelie, you’ve consumed the unique arrangements of Yann Tiersen, who has a delicious repertoire that includes Good Bye Lenin and Les Retrouvailles, etc. Until now, I’d call his music starkly unique, but Detektivbyran’s recordings seem to mimic the instrumentation and style of his alluring recordings. Toy piano, glockenspiel and squeezebox sprinkle across the mad hatter’s workshop of sound. (Thx Christian! A lot!)

Majestic yet innocent. Whimsically complex.
Detektivbyrån – E18
Detektivbyrån – Nattöppet

UPDATE 2007.11.25 ‘Nattöppet’ has been spotted in a new Sprint commercial. Woo!

buy this cd

Ane Trolle

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 by Paul Irish

urban soul // trip hop // female vocals

Ane Trolle popped up first on our radar as a vocalist for Trentemoller in “Moan”. She has since brought her voice to the new downtempo Ubiquity signing Peder; on “White Lillies”. Now, Ane joined forces with fellow Copenhagenite Pato Siebenhaar for “Sweet Dogs” under the name Trolle//Siebenhaar, obv. Ane’s textured and urban voice glides above a weathered reggae production. (Thx, Brandon!)

Distinctive vocal timbre against city beats.
Trolle//Siebenhaar – Sweet Dogs
Peder; – White Lillies (feat. Ane Trolle)
buy t//s
buy peder

Calling all Parisiens, Barcelonins, and Stockholmarna!

I will be going on vacation in Europe this July and would love to meet up with you! I’ll be visiting Paris, Barcelona, and Stockholm from July 4th to the 16th with my lovely lady. I’m looking for friends to stay with (got a free bed or couch?) or friends who could show me the interesting and hip places I need to check out (as I know you all already have such fine taste ;-) Places to eat, clubs to dance at, etc.. If you think you could help me out, email me! Merci beaucoup, moltes gràcies, and tack sÃ¥ mycket!