W♥M

Jeans Team

Jeans Team - Komet 2 Jeans Team Tour Dates 05/22/09 D HEIDELBERG KARLSTORBAHNHOF 05/23/09 D DINGOLFING Redbox Festival 05/30/09 DE Neustrelitz IMMERGUT FEST 06/12/09 DE LÜNEBURG UNI (Gebäude 9) 06/20/09 CH ZÜRICH STALL 6 Eröffnung  Discography [1998] Hi Fans [1998] Ein Atom [2000] Keine Melodien [2000] Ding Dong [2002] Keine Melodien [2004] Elektro Service [2004] Berlin Am Meer [2004] Oh Bauer [2005] Musik Von Oben [2006] Kopf Auf Maxi [2006] Das Zelt [2006] Kopf Auf

Jeans Team is an electronic band based in Berlin, Germany, comprised of Franz Schütte and Reimo Herfort.  They got their start in 1995 and took their name from an old abandoned neon sign that they found hanging in front of a cheap clothing shop in the Wedding district.  The idea was that they were filling up the empty logo with new content, like a hermit crab moving into a new shell.  This sign is often part of their stage setup and appears to be the basis for their logo. Schütte and Herfort were also co-founders of Galerie BerlinTokio, a very influential underground club of the '90s, which gave rise to the band's first rehearsals, live performances, and recording sessions.

I admit I had not heard of Jeans Team, although "Keine Melodien" from Ding Dong (2000) was a worldwide hit.  Peaches covered the song on the US release of "Teaches of Peaches"  MJ Lan made a remix of the song as well, which is featured on this self-titled EP.  Describing their sound is easier for me to do in the context of where they started and continue to create their music; Wedding is one of the most impoverished areas of Berlin, and low rents in the district have encouraged a vibrant community of artists.  The Nadel Eins Studio Berlin is located there and has more or less become home and headquarters for the band when they are not touring.  Nadel Eins is also the name of their label, which they also created.  Quoting Montreal Mirror, which described their sound as "minimal electro-pop and synth rock anthems" also gives perspective:

"If you are picturing plastic coated machine men with disc drives for mouths, keyboards for backs and knobs for, um, knobs, I hate to shatter your Kraftwerkian illusions, but Germany's Jeans Team are made of flesh and blood."

I thought this was pretty amusing since I was reading a lot of comparisons of Kraftwerk to the duo.  To be honest, I'd say a comparison to the early synthpop scene of the early '80s in the UK and Europe is a little more fair, but with a retrospective twist-- not nostalgic, but a new take on an older genre.  Think Depeche Mode when Vince Clarke was still a member, with their early performances at Croc's (now the Pink Toothbrush).  Add a heavy dose of DJ house party energy in the Europop style with some old discotheque flair, and I'd say that's a much closer approximation.  While Depeche Mode at that time was categorized as part of the Futurist scene, and Jeans Team seems to be more retro in flavor, I'd say the working-class roots of both DM in Basildon and Jeans Team in Wedding have some parallels, if only to describe a connection from past and present.

At any rate, this EP was received pretty favorably in my home.  Soon after I popped the disc into the player, the other day, my son started dancing  and smiling in his high chair, and Cimmorene walked through the door and said "Ooo, what is that?  I like that."  When I played it again moments ago to start writing this review, she later suggested that everyone should get up and dance.  While none of us speak nor understand a lick of German (and hence none of us understand any of the German lyrics in some of the songs), we all enjoyed it very much.

The EP contains five unreleased tracks, as well as material from previous albums.  To my pleasant surprise, there are music videos to  some of the songs.  Here's the one for "Oh Bauer":

Jeans Team - Oh Bauer

 05/10/2009 22:16:18 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ jeansteam.de ♥ myspace.com/jeansteam 

Drifting in Silence and longthenight

Drifting In Silence - Facewithin Drifting In Silence Discography [2006] truth [2006] ladderdown [2007] Chameleon - EP [2007] fallto [2009] longthenight [2009] facewithin See Also Brian Eno http://weheartmus... First of all, for introductory purposes, both John Cale and Brian Eno are very accomplished music...

Described as "The Thinking Person's Dance Music", Drifting in Silence (DiS) is a one-man electronic band hailing from Chicago.  Comprised of the multi-instrumentalist musician and composer Derrick Stembridge, Facewithin is Drifting in Silence's second recording, and was released last month on the 21st.

Once again, I give my recommendation to listen to this music wearing headphones, or anywhere acoustically ideal where you can be drenched and surrounded by sound, such as a long drive home in the car, or a ride on your public transportation of choice.  This ambient music, driven by funk and industrial rhythms, deserves active listening, or at least a dance floor setting where the audience is paying fairly close attention to the music.  If you like deep trance, drum and bass, and other similar genres, and artists such as Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and Aphex Twin, Facewithin will fit in nicely to your DJ queue.  The album has 5 tracks with 3 remixes of the title track, so it's clearly meant to be danced to, as well as a means of sonic escape from the world outside.  Overall, the album has a somewhat mellow feel, but there are regular upbeat tempos to get you in the groove.

Longthenight - Take

longthenight is a side project by Stembridge, and a self-titled album was released March 31st.  I would say this material has more of a New Age feel, with acoustic piano solos and guitar riffs set to warm electronic sounds.  It was recorded during the same session that Facewithin was, which I would say is pretty demonstrative of Stembridge's ability to explore a wide musical range.  longwithin might not appeal to all of the same audience that Drifting in Silence does, but it follows the musical tradition of greats such as Brian Eno, Vangelis, Harold Budd, and Tangerine Dream.  The music is definitely more contemplative and has a very meditative quality to it.

Both albums are on the Labile Records label and physical CDs can be purchased from their website here (Facewithin) and here (longthenight).  Music can also be purchased online through iTunes.

I like to include music videos when I can, but there were none for these particular albums.  However, this one, for the Drev remix of Chameleon, was produced for DiS's 2007 release, fallto:

drifting in silence - chameleon (Drev remix)

 05/03/2009 02:53:26 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ driftinginsilence.com ♥ myspace.com

Zigmat - Sounds of Machines

Zigmat - Machine Zigmat Tour Dates 06/04/09 Club NME @ The Annex New York, New York Influences Goldfrapp http://weheartmus... I also picked up a few new CDs, including Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree, primarily for a decently pri...

"Electronica" was all I needed to know when Vu sent me the information on Zigmat.  "If you don't want to review this, I'll do it," he wrote.  "I like sweet girl vocals on electronic music."  No chance.  When I started listening, I knew I had something pretty special.  "You're too late-- after playing the video for 'Machine', Cimmorene [my wife] said she liked it," I replied.  "I really like what I'm hearing so far."

To be honest, "electronica" doesn't do enough to describe the band's sound, which strikes me as more sophisticated and mature, with a fusion of many musical genres punctuated by electronic textures.  The opening track of Sounds of Machines, "Wait", has cool jazz flavors, while "Light of the Moon" sounded post-punk influenced.  "Machine" seemed somewhat gothic and industrial.  This album is really rich, and it's difficult to separate every nuance of style as there is just so much there to wade through.  The press release describes them as "a throwback to a certain type of theatricality missing from today’s music scene," and that's probably the best way to put it.  I think they could fit in just fine on a theatrical stage as well as a more standard rock venue.

Zigmat is fronted by Monica Rodriguez and Stephen Yonkin, who met after college but had incidentally attended the same school.  Monica was already putting together a band and was looking for a bass player. The band officially launched in 2006, and Sounds of Machines is their followup to their self-titled EP.  They list the Lemonheads, Massive Attack, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Brazilian Girls, Air, and Goldfrapp among their influences.  They performed at SXSW just last month, which I was unable to attend.  (I'm reading that the crowd's reaction was 'incredible'-- Vu, can you confirm?) The full biography I received is available at their MySpace page , which contains more reviews from the press, but I must say, you've really got to listen for yourself.  I've been excited about a lot of music I've reviewed so far, but I really think Zigmat has the potential to hit it big in the mainstream.  Yeah.  It's that good.

Sounds of Machines can be purchased at CD Baby here in either a physical (CD) or digital format.  

 04/23/2009 10:10:50 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ zigmat.com ♥ myspace.com/zigmat

jaklumen wrote: Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 6:53 PM

I got a copy of their self-titled EP today, and so made a few notes on it and more information about the group here at the WHM group.

>>>

!Zigmat!

Zigmat

Zigmat - Zigmat!

• jaklumen
• Apr 29, 2009 at 4:51 PM

 

If you're following the main W♥M blog, you may have read the review I did for Sounds of Machines.  I really like this band's sound so I picked up a copy of their self-titled EP for comparison.  Something I forgot to mention is that Monica Rodriguez drifts into Spanish lyrics with her singing, which is featured much more prominently in this EP.  Some tracks are featured in Sounds of Machines, but feature more of this alternating Spanish and English lyrics; in fact some of the tracks are marked with "Spanglish" in parantheses.

As a result, there is a fairly strong base of Latino fans, that I can see, and this may also be partly the basis for their comparison with The Brazilian Girls.

 

 

Run Hide Survive

Run Hide Survive - Dyson (Punx Soundcheck Remix) Run Hide Survive Tour Dates 04/24/09 Apocalypso @ The Old Queens Head London 04/25/09 Mixed in Sheffield party Sheffield 05/04/09 Fuzz Club BBQ @ Sheffield University Sheffield 05/08/09 Club Pony @ DQ Sheffield 05/22/09 Fabric London 05/29/09 Club Pony Special @ The Harley Sheffield 06/12/09 Club Pony @ DQ Sheffield 06/24/09 Kill the Rhythm @ Nation of Shopkeepers Leeds

Run Hide Survive is an electronic duo act comprised of Luke Adey-Rennard and Mike Forrest, hailing from Sheffield, England. Their double A-side release "Dyson/Pigeon", previously available only on 12" vinyl, is being made available in a digital format May 3rd. This new digital version includes a remix of 'Dyson' by Punx Soundcheck.

You may or may not know that Sheffield has strong roots in electronic music, with acts such as The Human League, Heaven 17, and Cabaret Voltaire. Apparently Run Hide Survive has a fairly cheeky, sardonic take on this electronic past:

They make music in [a] former factory next to Sheffield United where they spend hours listening to Cabaret Voltaire and the first 2 Human League albums. This is all in an effort to invoke Sheffield's rich electronic heritage before realising they prefer Brothers in Arms and think the Human League were better when they were produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

(I'm assuming Run Hide Survive is poking fun at the irony in such a loss of creative control The Human League suffered under Jam and Lewis, despite saving the band's career. I have no idea what they are referring to by "Brothers In Arms"--
       it may be the name of the Dire Straits album, or something else.)

But apparently there is a revival of sorts in Sheffield; The New Musical Express (NME), which covered the original Sheffield electronic scene, calls it "Sheffield Electric". Run Hide Survive has been an active participant, running a very successful homegrown electro/disco party called Club Pony once a month, playing with acts such as Brodinski, The Proxy, Boy 8 Bit, Riton and Riotous Rockers. The band has also played venues such as the Fabric nightclub, the Field Day Festival and the Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts, sharing billings with Erol Alkan, Simian Mobile Disco and Herve, amongst others. I admit, as a clueless American, I was not familiar with Cabaret Voltaire nor any of the aforementioned venues. (Sorry!) I guess it remains to be seen if Sheffield's new electronica will be as popular in the States as its electronic pop music was in the past. Either way, "Dyson/Pigeon" was well received among the members of my home-- I mentioned before that some music I've reviewed has gotten my wife and daughter to dance-- so I have high hopes for Run Hide Survive and "Sheffield Electric". More, please!

 04/22/2009 02:48:02 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ http://www.myspace.com/runhidesurvivedjs

BJ Block

BJ Block - Theme Musik BJ Block See Also Chris Joss http://weheartmus... Chris Joss is self-taught multi-instrumentalist/DJ, from France. Personally, I believe some of th...

Have you heard the phrase "one good turn deserves another"?  Well, I would reword that phrase to "one good artist deserves another" in this instance.  We got an e-mail yesterday from artist BJ Block yesterday in which he says he had read Vu's article on Chris Joss, citing him as one of his influences, particularly on 'Theme Musik' and 'Mercey Beat', two tracks from Glitterball, the band's debut album released last year.

Named for the band's frontman, BJ Block, the group is comprised by BJ, Brian Mclaughlin, and Lenny Fatigati and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.  While I can see how they have been influenced by Joss as far as '60s and '70s lounge and funk music in a purely instrumental setting, I would point out that they do not limit themselves to this sound, adding downtempo ambient selections to the upbeat dance tunes with catchy hooks.  While not everyone might care for the absence of vocals and lyrics, I think the mixture of fast and slow makes it good music to dance to, as well as for active listening with headphones, which, as I have written in previous interviews, is my favorite way to listen to ambient and instrumental music in general.  The ambient tracks have a very dreamy, psychedelic quality to them with a smooth jazz flavor-- perfect for "getting away from it all" or otherwise taking a brief respite from the stress of the everyday.  While some jazz-tinged music of the '60s and '70s could be described much the same way, I think it is contemporary enough for today's ambient genre and should be afforded the same respect.

Glitterball can be downloaded at Amazon.com, but I decided to order a tangible copy of the CD, which is available at CD Baby here.  

 04/10/2009 10:25:26 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ myspace.com/bjblockmusic 

Jupiter Rising - The Quiet Hype

Jupiter Rising - Falling Away Jupiter Rising Tour Dates 04/18/09 Sound Spectrum (Instore & CD Signing) Laguna Beach, CA 04/30/09 Molly Malones Los Angeles, CA Discography [2006] Go! (Remix CD) [2006] Jupiter Rising [2007] Electropop [2008] Wicked Remix (EP) [2008] Tres Cool, L.A. Girls (EP) [2009] The Quiet Hype See Also (Amazon Recommends) September http://weheartmus... September is not just the month, but the stage name for Swedish singer, Petra Marklund, who final...

Jessie Payo and Spencer Nezey comprise Jupiter Rising, based in Los Angeles, California.  Their sound is an eclectic mix of pop, rock, hip-hop, folk, drum 'n bass (DNB), and funk (as described at their MySpace band entry).  Currently, they are signed to the independent label Chime Entertainment, which describes itself as a "record and publishing venture that will develop, produce, and market multimedia artists with broad appeal across rock, pop, hip-hop/rap, and all genres."  It would seem Jupiter Rising fits this description pretty well.   If you read my review of Pic Vicious, and liked what you heard, I would recommend giving Jupiter Rising a listen.  It's possible you may have heard their music before; it's been featured on television shows such as The Hills and MTV's The City.

The Quiet Hype was released March 17th.  My only regret was that I didn't catch this sooner to have a review finished before the release date; both my wife and my 6-year old daughter enjoyed listening to the album, which is always a very, very good sign when I'm reviewing music.  As I wrote earlier, the music incorporates quite a few different genres.  It's music you might expect to hear in a trendy nightclub and isn't typical of what you might hear on Top 40 or pop radio in general.

Well, since I always include videos when available when writing reviews, here's a tour video the band made for "Tres Cool":

Jupiter Rising - "Tres Cool" Tour Video (Subscribe to jupiterrisingmusic at YouTube for more videos.)

The Quiet Hype is available at Amazon and CD Universe-- in fact, according to the band's official website (just mentioned today), "Falling Away" is Amazon's Free MP3 of the week.  Grab it while you still can!

 04/07/2009 23:07:00 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ jupiterrisingmusic.net ♥ myspace.com/jupiterrising

Mass Games

 

Mass Games - Zone B

Mass Games

Mass Games is a lo-fi electropop outfit based in Thailand, produced by a man by the name of Joseph Weber (a.k.a. "Jagga). The name is taken from the North Korean synchronized gymnastics, and the music utilizes samples from Learn-To-Speak-English tapes. The most amusing description of the group's sound comes from The Pop! Stereo, taken from the MySpace page for Mass Games:

"...they sound like Daleks attacked the BBC Radiophonic Workshop made a right racket and then decided to take over the whole damn BBC and make bizarre tripped out rainbow coloured TV that will give you a headache while entertaining you."

Although their style is described as somewhat dark, I played their recent self-titled EP for my family. My wife Cimmorene and my daughter liked it a lot, sometimes getting up to dance to it. That isn't too surprising since Cimmy and I are well immersed in gamer and geek culture, and have been continuing the tradition with our children. We all are fairly familiar with the beats and sounds, some used by 8-bit synthesizers employed in video games.I think we found "Riding a New Wave" the most accessible, although all the tracks were very appealing.

If you've read my music reviews before, you'll know I love music videos and artists that give their music a visual medium. Here's the video for Zone B, the last track on the EP:

A full length album is in the works, so we may be seeing something from Mass Games again soon.

03/05/2009 21:14:02♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ myspace.com/massgames ♥ last.fm

Slowcream: Wax on Wool

Slowcream - Into Butter Slowcream Read More Nonine http://weheartmus... Patron & Patron - Either OrPatron and Patron 2 comments PATRON AND PATRONmyspace.com/patronandpat...

Me Raabenstein, a.k.a. Slowcream, is an experimental electronica artist based in Berlin, fusing classical samples are paired with electronic elements.  Based on blog entries I've read at their MySpace, the artist seems to be an American émigré now living in Germany.

Wax on Wool, which will be released February 27 on Nonine Recordings, appears to be the artist's second work.  Both this album and the one released before it, Live Long And Prosper, are digital-only releases.  This music is different from most ambient material I've listened to in that not all of it is purely instrumental; some selections have spoken lyrics, such as "Into Butter" and "On Carpets".  Many of the tracks, including "Punch Indigo", reminded me of post-industrial music I had studied in college and university.  I was fairly certain it was something familiar, ideas that were avant-garde yet explored before.  This is what Joshua Farrier of DMA had to say of the album:

the work in its entirety reminds me of a young alban berg, having just learned the principles of twelve-tone music. in berg’s music of this period, one hears elements of the, at-the-time, mainstream romantic approach combined with tone rows, both elements beautifully intertwined. (a feat that other atonal purists never really achieved.) i like to attribute this to berg’s great sense of musicality and style. this is what i mean when i say that the second slowcream album contains elements of pure raabenstein, but with a new, fresh kind of artistic refinement that makes the work a joy to listen to. it is still in the experimental, electronic genre, but it has something new:
a definite sense of style.

  
As I had very little to go on as far as Slowcream's biography or background, I would imagine this is another instrumental artist that prefers to remain somewhat anonymous, or a bit of an enigma.  I went to the artist's MySpace under this name, and even the blog entries were very short, reading like little thoughts when one is musing quietly during some time alone.  So it is much easier to suggest that the music speaks for itself, rather than try to determine how Raabenstein was inspired.  The album is available for preview (90 seconds preview per track) here.

 02/27/2009 00:03:36 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ myspace.com/slowcream ♥ nonine.com 

Ladyhawke

Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning Ladyhawke Tour Dates Feb 2 Brussels …  Feb 4 Belfast … Feb 25 Glasgow … Feb 26 Manchester … Mar 1 leeds … Mar 2 Wolverhampton … Mar 3 Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2 Mar 5 Swindon, Wiltshire … Mar 6 Brighton … … Read More Ladyhawke http://weheartmus... Named after an 80s movie of the same name, Ladyhawke is Pip Brown, a young woman from New Zealand...

Ladyhawke, a.k.a. Pip Brown, is a electropop musician from New Zealand.  Her self-titled album was released in September of 2008 and one of the tracks, "From Dusk Till Dawn", was featured in Vu's Top Songs for 2008.  After listening to this track repeatedly and getting my family to dance, I decided I needed to get my hands on the full album, especially after previewing videos featured on her own channel at YouTube.  I haven't gone out and bought a tangible CD in a long time, so that's really saying something.

Ladyhawke - Dusk Till Dawn (Pascal Gabriel Radio Mix)

Incidentally, both "Ladyhawke" and "From Dusk Till Dawn" are movie titles.  The first, her stage name, is a 1985 fantasy film that featured Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfiffer, which is fitting enough, since she is noted (and has said so herself) to be influenced by a number of '80s music genres.  The second is a 1996 Quentin Tarantino horror flick, which explains the theme of the official video for the corresponding song.

Speaking of "From Dusk Till Dawn", and her YouTube videos, she created a quirky alternative video to the song, which featured DJ/electroshock musician Peaches, which I referenced in a Monday Monster Mashup post ("Wild Lies", which featured Peaches' remix of the Tone Loc rap "Wild Thing").  Peaches remixed her track "Paris Is Burning" and has appeared with her onstage for DJ duties.

Ladyhawke [and friends] - Dusk Till Dawn

Another video that most definitely fits with the 1980's New Wave flavor is the one for 'Delirium': Ladyhawke - My Delirium Ahhh... Ray-Ban Wayfarer shades.

The channel to subscribe to is ladyhawkeforyou, which has more music videos, video diaries, holiday greetings, etc.  Although I'm a great fan of well-done music videos and documentaries, I would recommend just watching the diaries and homemade stuff, just to get a feel for her delightfully goofy, whimsical personality.  As a self-proclaimed geek, it's quite refreshing to see an artist that is unabashedly so-- a far cry from the New Wave fashion that seemed just a slight more pretentious and fussy at times.

She explains in interviews that she comes from a very musically-oriented family, and that she fell into making music quite naturally, and it wasn't anything that was forced or imposed.  That's hopeful, because many fans (like myself) are hoping that there is more good things to come.

Ladyhawke - Back Of The Van (KiD COLA Remix)

Just another quick note:

There have been a number of remixes of songs from the album-- not a surprise, either, since most of them have very catchy hooks and were quite designed to be radio-friendly.  One of the ones we got was from a DJ by the name of KiD Cola.

 01/21/2009 09:56:30 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ ladyhawkemusic.com ♥ myspace.com 

Animate Objects: Dubs, Grunts and Things

Animate Objects - Look to the Sun

Animate Objects

So after Vu covered Animate Objects on their album Riding In Fast Cars With Your Momma here, we got an e-mail from the group:

Peace,

PV Wonder from the live hip-hop band Animate Objects here.  I came across your blog thanks to a campaign we did for our debut album (Riding in Fast Cars With Your Momma) with Ariel Publicity in 2007-8.  I dig what you do! 

I'm especially thrilled to see fellow CHI [Chicago]-band Sybris getting some love from y'all!

and he mentioned their new EP, Dubs, Grunts and Things, which you can download for free on their official website.

(Quick note: Sybris do have their own space here at VOX.)

With gratitude like that from the band's bass player, how could I refuse?  Anyways, I haven't had a chance to listen to Riding In Fast Cars yet, but reading some outside reviews about them, I think I can say this EP is some of the same smoky, sweet flavor.  It does definitely seem influenced by the Philadelphia sound that contributed to the soul, funk, and disco genres of the late '70s.

As Vu mentioned, they take a very different approach as they use a live band.  They aren't the first band to do so that we've mentioned (see my Treologic review) but with such smooth backings, especially on this EP, I think they'd fit in with the likes of legends such as Sadé.  In fact, the vocals on "Look to the Sun" sound a lot like her singing style.

With critical acclaim from magazines such as Innocent Word Magazine and newspapers like the Chicago Sun Times, and having opened for national acts such as Soul Position and Digable Planets, this hip-hop band is another one to watch for 2009.

 01/14/2009 10:28:02 ♥ jaklumen ( / jaklumen.vox.com) ♥ animate-objects.com ♥ myspace.com