In Strict Tempo, vol. 65: Another News Update
A quick roundup of what's going on in the world of music this week, then on to the usual new release reviews.
Welcome to this weeks In Strict Tempo, here’s a roundup of what’s going on in the world of music this week. If you’d prefer to skip straight to the music, scroll on down…
Autechre recently announced a whole load of shows, which will be played in total darkness. They’ve done that before but it’s still an interesting concept. In this age of documenting everything for socials I guess it ensures that the focus is purely on the music. I like it.
LCD Soundsystem are returning to the UK for a residency at Brixton Academy. Like them or loathe them (I like them) they always put on a good show. At least they aren’t claiming they’re gonna split up after this run of gigs…
Over on Bluesky writer Andrew Male put out a call for people’s favourite drone records and got hundreds of responses. If you’re into that kind of stuff then go and check it out - you’ll probably find some good stuff you didn’t even know existed. As an aside, Bluesky seems to have hit a bit of a ceiling lately doesn’t it? There doesn’t seem to be loads more people joining, and it’s getting - dare I say it? - a little bit dull. I wondered at the time if going from one social media platform to another was a good idea, and I guess the jury is still out for me. I’d definitely like to see some more people on there, but I understand that it’s hard to move away from other platforms if that’s where the conversation is. Personally, I’m not really missing Twitter that much, although there’s been times I’ve wanted to see what people are saying on certain topics (mostly football related).
The Guardian have done another one of their ‘greatest albums: ranked’ articles, this time for Wu-Tang and their associated solo projects. These always seem to cause lively debate (I guess that’s why they do them) but you know what? They’ve probably got the Top 10 spot on here. Also, Gravel Pit is a banger, I don’t care what anyone says.
I missed it last week, but Oasis re-released Whatever on vinyl. It’s probably their best single. I wouldn’t be surprised if Oasis have a #1 this year once reunion mania hits full speed.
Laurence English’s Room40 label has launched a new… album? I guess? Whatever you want to call it, it’s a hardware box that seems to be a cross between a Buddha Machine type thing, a loop pedal, and one of those apps that sprung up a few years ago that let you ‘remix’ tracks on the fly. Either way, it looks like a pretty interesting concept and I’d love to get my hands on one, and see more artists think outside the box like this. If you fancy one, it’s £165 on Boomkat.
Finally one thing I forgot to mention last week, the passing of Rick Buckler from the Jam. My dad is a massive Jam fan, and they were probably the first band I had any real exposure to. One of the first gigs I went to was to see From The Jam (Buckler and Bruce Foxton, with a new frontman to replace Weller) in Cambridge. As a result I’ve long been a big Jam fan, they’re a great example of a band that really developed their sound over a short period of time, and listening to their greatest hits album Snap! you can really see how they moved away from their early punk sound into something more funky, something Weller would further develop in the Style Council. Down In The Tube Station at Midnight for me is one of the greatest songs ever written, and there’s a few more that would make a strong case for inclusion in my all-time top 10 songs. RIP Rick.
Absolute Beginners
On to this weeks new(ish) tunes. Some really good stuff in here, playlist at the bottom.
Mika Vainio - Metri [Sahko]
Dropped a couple of weeks back, but I overlooked it at the time - the late Mika Vainio’s 1994 debut available on vinyl for the first time. It’s probably sold out now, but still it’s worth tracking down. Arguably laid down the blueprint for minimal techno, this.
General Magic - Bosko [Editions Mego]
Peter Rehberg - Liminal States [Editions Mego]
Along with the much-missed Peter Rehberg General Magic co-founded the Mego label that eventually became the Editions Mego we know and love. Hardly prolific, General Magic have put out four albums in the past thirty-odd years. This latest one came as a surprise earlier this year, continuing their legacy of highly experimental computer sounds, the sound of 1’s & 0’s been bastardised into something approaching what we’d call music.
Rehberg sadly died in 2021, one of the last things he recorded, that has so far remained unreleased is this beguiling 45 minute long piece for Icelandic choreographer Margret Sara Gudjonsdottir (apologies for the lack of accents/punctuation there, Icelandic folk). Whatever the ethics of releasing music from musicians who’ve since passed away, it sometimes gives us the ability to hear a different side of the artist, and that’s what we have here.
Djrum - Three Foxes Chasing Each Other [Houndstooth]
Quite nice twinkly downtempo gear. Sounds of insects and that going on in the background. I don’t mind this.
Milkweed - Exile Of The Sons of Uisliu [Broadside Hacks]
I quite liked the last couple of Milkweed releases, this one’s pretty good too. Has a Prefuse 73 vibe to it. There’s an album on it’s way based around Irish folk tales.
De Klok - Stop the Clock [disques de la spirale]
Originally out late last year, this now gets a vinyl release. Skittish but accomplished post-punk, it’s giving a continental Cabs vibe, unsure of whether it’s from Berlin, Rotterdam or Sheffield, coming across like a gloomy melting point of all three.
Torn Hawk - Flip To Win [Fixed Rhythms]
Torn Hawk - Born To Win (Life After Ghostbusters) [L.I.E.S]
A new EP of teutonic broken electronics from Torn Hawk here, a post-wave wig-out for the ages. Also gone live on streaming services this week his 15 minute L.I.E.S epic from 2017, comfortably one of my favourite records of that year, strangely re-titled now?
Conrad Pack - Commandments [Lost Domain]
Heavyweight dub techno from Conrad Pack on the Lost Domain label. All yr usual touchpoints are here, basically if you read In Strict Tempo you’re probably gonna cane this multiple times. Could this be the “world-changing genre shift” we’ve been looking for?