‘Sup friends? We just finished off a whirlwind long weekend marked by friends, food, and some DJing, all before returning to our day jobs, incrementally more haggard than where we started from on Friday. Insert your own joke about needing a vacation from all this time off, we ain’t in the mood. What we are into right now is some new music, and thankfully that’s never in short supply!
Blush Response, “Delusional”
Another new one from NYC’s Blush Response, to accompany the news that their new album will be released in Europe by Haujobb’s Basic Unit Productions. Good track, got a bit of that Necro Facility vibe in the vocals, and one of the strongest hooks we’ve heard yet from the project. The record escapes into the wild in early March, and as promised we’ll be there with bird watching binoculars to give you the skinny about its plumage and migratory habits.
Welle: Erdball, “Computerklang”
Ten or eleven years back there was an interview with everyone’s favourite German Commodore 64 fetishists in which they stated that their only goal for the future was to “sound more like Welle: Erdball”. The interstitial period can’t be viewed as anything but a success, as Honey and A.L.F have done nothing but refine the edges of the hermetic musical universe they inhabit (in which Kraftwerk and ridiculously pap NDW bands are the only other acknowledged entities). Their forthcoming album is called Tanzmusik für Roboter for pete’s sake! Are they repeating themselves? Of course. That’s the point. Also: Bruce’s copy of Der Sinn des Lebens started skipping on him while DJing it the other night. Physical traces of their early work begin to disintegrate, but they remain.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, “Metroland”
Speaking of Kraftwerk, oh boy. We recently posted a bit of a teaser from OMD’s second post-reunion record which hinted at Dazzle Ships type bricolage, but this right here is some pure “Neon Lights” by way of “Europe Endless” Ralf und Florian worship. While I’m sure the two of them might find the rubbery kick a bit crassly de rigeur, the big sweeping pads that carry the core sequence up into lofty clouds are timelessly beautiful. If the rest of English Electric is half as good as this, we won’t even care if Delta Machine is a total flop.
Interdictor, “Josef K”
You know what, fuck you Sweden. We’re only human, and really out of shape to boot, so we really don’t appreciate the brisk pace we’re having to keep up just to keep your country in our sights as we stroll down Industrial Boulevard. We don’t know anything about this Interdictor, except that the tracks on their FREE TO DOWNLOAD first EP have a composerly vibe that extends beyond the orchestral elements on this particular cut. Someone mentioned them in the same breath as our beloved Interlace (one love, mourn you ’til we join you), and that seems like a pretty solid point of comparison to us.
Ayria, “Missed the Mark”
Toronto electro-pop potentate Jen Parkin returns with a taster from her soon to be released Valentine’s EP Plastic and Broken, itself a precursor to her new album Plastic Makes Perfect. From what we understand Seb Komor has a hand in the production side of things, which is always a positive sign, although that’s not to take anything away from Parkin whose growth as an artist has been on a steady upward trajectory since the days of Epsilon Minus. Doesn’t hurt that this one comes packaged with a couple remixes from Project Pitchfork, Komor Kommando and ol’ Daniel B.
Kant Kino, “My Sweetest Crime”
Keeping it on the Alfa-Matrix tip, we’re jacked about hearing the sophomore record from Norway’s Kant Kino, and not just because their debut was the very first record we reviewed here at ID:UD. Since We Are Kant Kino – You Are Not, Kenneth and Lars have carved out a solid rep for themselves as remixers whose work is always recognizable, consolidating their sound and raising the bar for Father Worked In Industry which drops in just over a week. Interesting oscillation between a very modern, staccato dancefloor sound and a more groove-based, almost “Lightning Man” type swing on this track.
