Aurgasm

vocal downtempo // trip hop // eastern influence

I don’t know how it happened, but I swear my music taste is far more European than American. Music from Reykjavik, Copenhagen, and Brighton excites me much more than another band from the US – and I fear it’s not the innate exoticism of foreign entertainment. I suppose there may be different goals – music that aims to be beautiful, music meant to express thought, music to shake your ass to. Each culture exudes music that reflects it. I was introduced to Mig by my favorite Frenchman, Garrincha from Orchestrated Rise To Fall. The french group creates a warm sound that blends eastern elements and western sophistication, highlighted nicely in these tracks. They mix together wistful Nelly Furtado-like vocals and a soulful body of sound: naked acoustic guitar, synthesized electronic accoutrements, and a round bassline.
Morcheeba in the Middle East.

Mig – Concrete Jungle
Mig – Au nord de mon enfance
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Most know her as the steamy voice behind Frou Frou, whose single “Let Go” raced up the bestseller lists with the debut of 2004’s Garden State. But Imogen Heap is a solo artist twisting together strands of classical, pop and electronica into an accessible but beguiling sound. Her new CD, Speak For Yourself, matches lush natural instrumentation against electronic pop creativity – an impressive record from an Essex, England-born girl. I had a chance to ask Miss Heap about her music and future. The interview below is laced with mp3s for your multimedia enjoyment.

Funny you should ask as i met him for the first time last night at a gig I did at the El Ray in LA along with all the other guys on the Hotel Cafe tour. Totally unexpectedly walked right into the dressing room with about 20 mates while i was doing my hair. I saw him walk through the door and ran up to him like an old friend and gave him a massive hug. It was only then i realized i’d never met the guy before and that maybe that was a bit weird but he was totally cool and we were both saying how much of a fan we both were of each others work. I played Let Go that night for him. Cary Brothers is a mate of his (he’s was on the tour with us) and was also on the Garden State soundtrack. He told me the story of how it was the last song they needed to tie up the film. There were days to go and still nothing was sitting right. Everyone was frantically trying to find that song and then it was Zach girlfriend who came up with the idea of Let Go for that final scene. BIG thankyou to her!

Was Frou Frou meant to be a part-time thing between your own solo albums? Can we expect more music to be released from you and Guy Sigsworth?

Guy and I had never spoken of a second album. I think it was understood that i feel more comfortable as being a solo artist though he knows i love working with him. We’ve worked together on albums since i was 17! He produced my debut album’s first single “getting scared”. I was a huge fan of his first band Acacia. Their album Cradle is still one of my all time favorites. I’m sure we’ll work together in the future as we’ve always done in the past. I feel kinda selfish being in a band with him too as he’s such an amazing producer he needs to spread and share the Sigsworth love!

You signed with Almo Sounds as a teenager? Your first album there, i Megaphone, was a really strong debut. Comparisons are often drawn to Alanis Morrisette, Tori Amos, and Liz Phair – how do you see your earlier music now in retrospect?
Imogen Heap – Come Here Boy from i Megaphone (1998)

I very rarely listen to i Megaphone but i love it when i do. It reminds me of me as a teenager. It’s just like looking at old photos except i’m not embarrassed of them. People change a lot between the ages of 17 and 27 and it’s no different with music. I’ve learned a ton in that time in working with all the different bands from Urban Species, to Jeff Beck, to Frou Frou. I think lyrically is where i see the biggest step up from my debut. I think the music of i Megaphone is still very fresh and exciting. I don’t feel like it dates. I hope that this new album will never sound dated either. Vocally i am much happier with the way i sing now. I feel it’s more honest. Sometimes i listen to i Meg and hear me put on these voices. A kind of cod-american accent. I don’t like it when i did that looking back but i didn’t hear it at the time.

The anthemic a capella single “Hide and Seek” features your versatile voice both natural and manipulated, creating a really unique sound. Walk me through how the track was created.
Imogen Heap – Hide And Seek from Speak For Yourself (2005)

It was a sweet how that song happened. I had had a really bad “day at the office” as my shiny new computer blew up on me. Real puff of smoke and sparks material. i was about to leave the studio defeated which is always a bad thing. Those days can spiral into weeks and it’s important to try to do at least one thing in a day you’re happy with. Out of the corner of my eye i spotted my harmonizer (a little box that you hook up to a keyboard via midi so you can play in the notes you want your voice to transpose to in real time). I hadn’t yet written anything with this piece of gear but had always wanted to do an a cappella on this album. I powered it up and connected my microphone into the box and recorded the output to my minidisk. The first thing i sung/played and four minutes later was and is the melody and harmony of the final version. Lyrically it wasn’t all there apart from “Where are we, what the hell is going on?” and some random lines but i had the idea of Hide and Seek a while beforehand. It was like magic. Just as i struck the last chord a train went by outside the window and you can hear this in the final version. There was something so special about this version i was gutted it had no lyrics really to speak of but every breath and chord of the demo i copied as best i could to get everything from that 2am moment onto the record. I love this song as it feels as if it’s not mine because it took so little time to finish as others take weeks, months! Feels like a gift.

It’s incredible to me that you have both a blog and a flickr account – I read you even found the photographer for your liner notes on flickr! How does the blog and such help you connect with fans?

i started up my blog originally for helping me get things done in the studio when making the album. Going at it alone meant there was nobody there keeping me in check. I would spend 2 weeks on something that was slowing me down when i should have left it and come back to the problem at a later date when i was clear headed. The blog was set up so as i could write my thoughts of the day at the studio and keep a track of myself. You can go by a day and not get anything done and not feel too bad about it but if you feel someone’s watching you somehow these things don’t happen so often. It really helped me to focus and i started to set myself goals for the next day. Seeing a problem written down definitely helps to open up the solution just by seeing it written down. It seems like less of a big deal. It was fun then when the guys on the board started to talk about what i was up to. I’d get all sorts in my email from thanks, to suggestions to encouragement. When i was really stuck with the lyrics to Daylight Robbery i took it to the babble board. Set up a poll and asked the guys to choose one of three lyrical directions. I gave them a few days and once through i wrote the song with that theme in mind. I finished the song in no time after that because it wasn’t just for me now I was doing it for all of them too. I’ve had so much fun on the road meeting a lot of the ibabblers. Putting faces to avatars and screen names. It really is a cool community on there and they’re a really creative bunch.

I like that you use your blog as a way to keep yourself on track rather than a way to procrastinate.
Are you going to be doing vocals on any upcoming projects?

I’ve been doing all sorts since the record. Vocals for a band called Blue October, Temposhark also a remix for them which will be out in January, J peter Schwalm, a song for the movie “Just like heaven”, “spooky”. I’ve also been dabbling in production and have got something REALLY exciting coming up in the next couple of weeks that i can’t talk about because you never know what may happen…but if all goes to plan it’s going to be HUGE!!!

I provide the readers of my site with great music they’ve probably not heard.. are there any tracks that you’ve been listening to recently that you’d recommend?

Avril’s new album (not the Lavigne variety) “Member’s only” is one of my faves right now. Also into this Danish rock/electronic band Carpark North “All things to all people”. I’ve just come off of a tour and there was a guy touring with us called Jim Bianco who I really liked too. His album out now is “Handsome Devil”.

Imogen’s Picks:
Avril – Urban Serenade from Member’s Only (2004)
Carpark North – Human from All Things to All People (2005)
Jim Bianco – Handsome Devil (Reprise) from Handsome Devil (2004)

Thank you kindly, Imogen. :)

My pleasure!! xxx

bouncy electronica // funky downtempo // acid jazz

Mr Scruff got a heap of exposure not too long ago when Lincoln yoinked “Get A Move On” from his album Keep It Unreal for use in one of their commercials. You’d be forgiven for calling KIU his first album, because his actual first album was released in quite limited numbers by a smaller label (Pleasure Records), seven months before Scruff signed to Ninja Tune. That debut album, Mrs Cruff, has just been re-issued, and from it I offer the epic ‘Chicken In A Box’, a vaguely Asian-sounding bundle of big drums, a flutey riff, and Scruff’s trademark warm, stringy goodness. For added protein, enjoy the fun ‘Dancing Time’ number from Scruff and fellow Brighton mate Quantic.
A huge beat – stick it in your car and drum your drive away.

Mr Scruff – Chicken In A Box
Mr Scruff & Quantic – It’s Dancing Time
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downtempo // jazzy electronica

My ex-girlfriend gave me Baby Mammoth’s Seven Up for my birthday one year, after we had broken up but before the novelty of remaining friends with your ex had worn off for her. If that sounded bitter, it probably was, but only because it’s irreparably tainted the easy-going charisma of an otherwise extremely appealing album. Downtempo, chilled electronica in the same vein as 9 Lazy 9 and Fila Brazillia (with whom Baby Mammoth shared a label for a time), Seven Up starts with a real corker; simply titled ‘1’, it’s an uncluttered symphony of chillout staples, whispery drums, twangy riffs, and foamy keyboards. The album hits a hump after such an auspicious start, but if you can work through the next two tracks, you’re rewarded with more of its impressive, crisp clarity.
A sanguine collection of syrupy electronica.

Baby Mammoth – 1
Baby Mammoth – Pink Elephants (Live)
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dynamic indie electronica

David Edwards, the man behind Minotaur Shock, comes across as a geeky soccer-dad. However, his music bears no relation to his looks and comes at you with such dynamicism and polish that you’d think a collective of eight Berklee grads was behind it. His sound has been in demand, last year being commissioned for the remix of Bloc Party’s ‘Tulips’ – a keeper for hipster DJs everywhere. Minotaur Shock’s upcoming release on Melodic, Maritime, is a impressive array of solid tracks – ‘Vigo Bay’ is one of the standouts with a jilted guitar line licked by a bouncy pop rock beat. [Think Junior Boys meets Ratatat] If you want the more emcompassing tweeky twitter ambient electronica, sample his remix of Hint’s ‘Count Your Blessings’, one of my favourite clear-my-mind deep-breath tracks.

Minotaur Shock – Vigo Bay
Hint – Count Your Blessings (Minotaur Shock Remix)
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vocal brighton downtempo // big beat

The starry-eyed look of love. The romantic dance under the lantern-lit tree. The music swells and supports that perfect moment, amalgamating the texture of her dress, her soft fingers curling around your nape, her breath combing down your cheek. Mint Royale, a duo that was once mistook as a pseudonym for Norman Cook, traditionally leans on the more brash party big beat sound, but in “Little Words” they deliver a soulful ballad of calming intent. It fits the perfect soundtrack moment where two strangers fall for each other, dance in the warm summer air, and land in a place of congruent love.
Falling back into bed with her never felt so good.

Mint Royale – Little Words
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ambient electracoustica // german electronica

For those of you who like Aqualung, but think that Matt Hales is neither sufficiently electronic nor sufficiently German, you might consider Tesri, the quirky little album from which the below track is taken. There are definitely shades of Mr Hales in the sparse rhythms and doleful keyboards, though the similarity shouldn’t be overstated. The joy of Aqualung comes from its rich acoustic texture, whereas Morgenstern & Lippok aren’t afraid to throw the odd electronic buzz or pop at you. Thankfully, though, they’re not the sort of melody-ruining buzzes and pops that you so often find in ‘cutting edge’ electronica. On the contrary, ‘Gammelpop’ is a pleasing blend of idyllic twitters and big hugs, a tranquil break from the grimy, industrial sound of the rest of the album.
Controlled and considered, an impressive sound.

Barbara Morgenstern & Robert Lippok – Gammelpop
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female vocal electronica // orchestral folktronica

An eerie glockenspiel speaks. A xylophone answers. With the sound of streaked glass, Emilie asks of you, ‘Won’t you open for me, the door to your ice world?’ “The Frozen World” is a beautiful concoction of shivery sounds – the most subtle and crippled samples tense you up while Emilie holds the bass entry till nearly a minute into the song. She manages to hit the right combination of warm bass, swells of strings and her voice to the point where your spine shivers. Turn the volume up on this one. “To the Dancers on the Ice” hits you like a 7am hug after a sleepless night. Pair it with Ratatat’s “Cherry” on your mix cds – together they’re divine.
Beautifully crafted songs direct from childhood imagination.

Emilie Simon – The Frozen World
Emilie Simon – To The Dancers On The Ice

Trailer for La Marche de l’empereur (songs are from the soundtrack)
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folktronica // cut ‘n paste organic // electronic orchestral

The ‘folktronica’ name has been getting a lot of flack lately, though it may be well deserved. It’s a cheap cliché descriptor for music contructed with the aid of a computer. Yet this doesn’t differentiate from any other genre; we might as well call them hiphoptronica and indierocktronica. Synthesized sounds have a significant influence on nearly all modern music. Folktronica is just a naturalistic (and somewhat minimalistic) approach to songwriting that often uses samples such that you can hear they’re samples and develops a warm atmosphere of sound out of seemingly chilly sounds. Here, Pedro‘s labelmate Gavouna creates an organic textured array of these pastoral sounds into something listenable and lovable.
Bare xylophone, lush violin sweeps, and a vision of idyllic contentment.

Gavouna – Three

UPDATE: Gavouna informs us he’s now on Arable Records (along with Psapp) and his newest LP, Stings and Dum Machines is available on Boomkat and Juno.
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french house // chillout

No, not another money-spinner for Apple Computers; i:cube is actually a French electronica producer who pops off misty, wondrous chillout without succumbing to the sort of washed out electronic noise that one so often finds on chillout albums. I discovered this album in Boston, of all places, back when the Virgin Megastore on Newbury was still a Tower Records (how’s that for old-school?); my friend Susan and I bought a copy each, seduced by our listening-post experiences of ‘Adore’, the title track. It’s got gently popping bubbles in the bass, and wide shimmers of strings and keys over the top. ‘Tropiq’ is darker, grimier; but I love that salt-shaker beat.
Chillout at its best: music on, mind off.

i:cube – Adore
i:cube – Tropiq
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