Tag: Electronic Music

The King of Synth-Pop Has a New Release

Feeling stressed? Put your feet up and have a listen to Non Sequitur (released 29th May, 2014), 44 minutes and 13 seconds of one continuous piece of music.

Described as “progressive instrumental synth-pop”, it’s the work of Italian composer, Andrea Remondini. This is his debut full-length CD and is self-produced.

Taking the listener through different and sometimes recurring melodies and variations of melodies, sounds capture various moods using a variety of synth effects and tempos. It’s like a stream of consciousness but, of course, must have been very carefully constructed.

Given Non Sequitur’s retro feel, it’s not surprising that Andrea Remondini is an admirer of early Mike Oldfield and Jean-Michel Jarre, without copying them.

Non Sequitur’s cover art manages to be both playful and a bit sinister; you don’t know what to expect. Sometimes dramatic, sometimes quiet and delicate, the music ranges from a single synth piano to two or three instruments or more, with background vocals on occasion. It’s a tour through the orchestra and a fun challenge to try to pick out different instruments. I thought I heard keyboards, percussion, woodwind, xylophone, tubular bells, crashing cymbals, electric guitar and kettle drums.

Remondini is a master of atmosphere and knows how to present melodramatic, melancholic and upbeat tunes. Melody is the priority here, and it never gets overly complicated. For me, it’s gentle Sunday morning music to mentally limber up to. As for public performance, I think it would work better as a film score or as contemporary dance music rather than a concert piece.

From his early foray into electronic music when a young boy in the mid-1980s, Remondini progressed to enjoy a long successful career as a musician, songwriter and sound engineer. Working in the world of dance music, he has collaborated with DJs from Italy and elsewhere in Europe, gaining chart entries in various European countries. However, he wanted to produce his own sounds outside of dance music, so he established his own recording studio and Non Sequitur was born.

Other musical projects and collaborations in Remondini’s back catalogue include Greece 2000 by 3 Drives on a Vinyl, I Feel Love by CRW, Komodo by DJ Picotto and Home Again by Jimmy Somerville.

If you like an ever-changing soundscape that you can mostly chill to, with some drama here and there, you will enjoy Non Sequitur.

https://andrearemondini.bandcamp.com/track/non-sequitur-extract

 

 

Slagg II and Freefalling Ninjas

Ed Purchla, aka 1700 monkey ninjas, is a man of many talents. As well as producing experimental electronic music under his monkey ninja persona, he is a digital artist and has also recorded some singer/songwriter material. You can get the full, immersive Ed Purchla experience by exploring his sounds and artwork plus delving into his range of merchandise, which includes t-shirts, bags, car stickers and jewellery.

Ed’s digital art, which is also used for the images in his 1700 monkey ninjas promotional videos, is a collection of abstract explosions of vivid colour, some of it chaotic – some of it beautifully symmetrical.

Electronic music is not just for dancing to these days. In fact, it never was, and there is a long and distinguished history of experimentation in this field.

I am intrigued by the more cerebral end of the spectrum. Rather than vainly struggling to work out how this track – Slagg II – has been achieved technically, I will try to describe my emotional response to it.

It starts off with quite a famous quote about art – well, that’s what art is innit, it’s you being free of all the world’s heaviness. Fans of the UK’s maestro of comic quotes, Karl Pilkington, and Ed is one of those fans, may recognise this as one of his most quirky observations. Bleeps, beats, distortion, keyboards, and percussive effects follow, as if a vast bank of electronic gizmos has exploded and an ocean floor dweller is sucking up the remains and spitting it out again. Snatches of EDM melody anchor the anarchy of staccato, jerky spasms, leading you down many corridors in a labyrinth without exit signs. This is the kind of track that compels you to put it on repeat until you’ve heard every twitch and tick – pulled out every thread.

Of course, it may not be your cup of tea.  Being free of all the world’s heaviness is subjective, after all. If your world is defined by a dance floor alone, you may not want your neural pathways zapped in this way. But if you do – you can bounce around for 3:31.

So, what other pieces of electronic wizardry has 1700 monkey ninjas produced? You Tube provides us with lots of examples of his output. Most of these tracks are so dense, with so much going on, you need 20 pairs of ears to hear everything. Some have spoken word samples, such as UStaytheF***outtaSYRIA, which has a U.S. military involvement in Syria theme and is one I particularly like. Ones with a lot of distortion may be a noise assault too far for some. One man’s poison and so on.

This is not background music that you’ll want to play all day. Some of it pins you to the wall, like a blast from white hot sound waves. Slagg II, in particular, introduces another element here – a sense of humour. It’s a lot of fun and makes me smile.

Tracks from 1700 monkey ninjas feel very free. There are no rules. It’s music without a safety net. Freefalling makes you free of all the world’s heaviness, but it’s not for the timid…

http://www.reverbnation.com/1700monkeyninjas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power of Kicking Down Borders

Jason Garriotte is a beard and checked shirt type of guy, as seen on the video for The Power To Be Alive remix.  Give him an acoustic guitar and he’s the quintessential folkie.  His voice is rich, sounding quite powerful, and his guitar style is crisp.

The original version of The Power To Be Alive appeared on his debut EP, Reflections of Reality, which came out in January 2012.This folk acoustic  set of songs has been given a ‘folktronica’ remix as a result of Garriotte’s love of collaborating. The Chords of Truth project, as it became known, saw numerous versions of the EP’s tracks, with different producers and performers bringing their take from the world of electronic music.

Reflections of Reality (The Chameleon Acidfolk Remix) was released on 3rd December 2013.   Electronic producer, The Chameleon, has enabled Garriotte to take his songs into another realm on these remixed versions. For The Power To Be Alive track, the folkie singer songwriter teamed up with the rapper, Man-u-iLL, resulting in what has been described as acidfolk/hip hop.

This song urges us to achieve our goals, giving out a positive message – “the world is yours”, with Man-u-iLL underlining the message in rap. It’s well produced with vocals upfront and clear. For me, some raps detract from the enjoyment of existing songs when they’ve been parachuted in, but Man-u-iLL’s contribution adds to this song. When comparing this to the original, the ‘fills’ are welcome and the rap part is a bonus. It’s two worlds colliding and it shouldn’t work but it does. Equally a blend of disparate worlds, the video is entertaining and intriguing. Both cityscapes and rustic scenes are the setting, whilst the two performers do their thing. However, they are joined by a strange presence – a man in a mask playing keyboards and wandering around kinda menacingly.

All in all, then, both song and video throw out surprises. Uplifting messages cross all boundaries, and I hope this helps to dispel any genre prejudices people may have.

Official Music Video (released 10-22-13):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ73WSXTlEA


Streaming Links:
http://soundcloud.com/chordsoftruthremixed/sets/reflections-of-reality-thechameleon-acidfolk-remix/