Catching The Waves

International Velvet

EDIT: It seems that Velure has withdrawn Songbox, which is a shame. But if you'd like to hear some of their more recent music, please visit their website. CTW offers a cheery but tear-stained, handkerchief-waving goodbye from the end of the railway platform.

After a hard day fighting crime and introducing green-skinned women to the Earth custom known as "kissing", I needed to hear something soothing wafting across the foyer of CTW Towers. Fortunately, my secretary was playing Songbox by Velure, and its appropriate opening track, Walk Home, did the trick. On hearing Dale Arden batting her eyelids at Flash Gordon over a bass line with white-noise overtones, CTW's ears immediately tucked themselves in for the night with a nice cup of cocoa. All was well.

Velure are Australian purveyors of dubbish trip-hop electronica. (The internet: ears love it.) The quintet crafted Songbox, a five-track EP, in 2003 and recently decided to let we're-not-worthy uber-netlabel Ideology have the album in a splurge of Ocker-Teutonic McLovin. This is what's known as a Very Good Thing.

Throughout the second track, What To Do, as in the rest of album, Lynelle (Nelly) Moran's voice is set to "tickle". It brushes up close to the listener's ear and flirts with the dubby, bouncy bass and lonely-sounding harmonica.

*loosens collar*

Dub permeates Do You Feel Right? thanks to its soporific vocals, skanking guitar and a refusal to explain why such a lethargic track feels up-tempo. It's catchy. You'll be singing the chorus in the bath. Actually, there's not much echoing and endless reverb going on here. Perhaps it's better to call it "G'day Reggae".

Sorry.

There's something wrong with Birdy, the fourth track. The symptoms: slooow, meaty drum beat, vinyl crackles, simple accompaniment, slurred strings, noises off, and breathy are-we-there-yet vocals from a young lady. My diagnosis: Birdy has a nasty dose of trip-hop and the only cure is to listen until dawn. The track finishes with birdsong and should be sponsored by hypnotists worldwide. Three thumbs up.

The drum 'n' bass of Resonate does what it says on the tin (or the songbox), and feels as though Velure are all sitting on the lid to stop it getting out, only for the beats to pop out and have their say. It's singalong, dinner party drum 'n' bass. And that's Another Very Good Thing.

In-depth review: sounds great; catchy; suitable for all Homo Sapiens; eminently satisfying to fondle; free.

Velure have another album, Care For Fading Embers, available from iTunes and other music corporations via Velure's website. Let's hope the generous gesture of releasing Songbox for free is rewarded by sales. Go on, feed and clothe some talented musicians and further the cause of free internet music.

Velure

Ideology netlabel

Bring Out Your Dead

I've just had to chuck a load of festering, maggoty breves and semi-breves onto a horse-cart that's passing down the street; every note longer than a minim has died from lack of use. I blame Kampion and his Invisible EP, released on Mexico's Filtro netlabel. Kampion is the alter ego of Guillermo Guevára, who forms half of the two-man electronica outfit, Duopandamix. Invisible is what might be called "glitch-funk". Not sure about the genre name. How about funktronica? Nu-jazz? (Yuk. "Nu" should be thrown into a wood-chipper.) Microfunk? Never mind, I'll leave it to CTW's six billion* readers to decide.

Kampion eases us gently into his sonic universe with Pirata, a stately groove that seems hectic because of the plethora of glitches that dance around the speakers while snippets of vocals provide the minimalist tune. Next up is Primaveral and its brutally chopped melody; if its fragments were any shorter the melody would become incoherent - it's amazing how little information the ear requires before the brain fills in the gaps.

Routes is full of polyrhythms, record scratches, and spliced vocals: all ingredients that tickle CTW's fancy. A modest bass pops up and ushers in the appearance of some very mild reverb and delay to fill out the track. Two-thirds of the way in, the track gets even catchier when a lovely (if you like that sort of thing), high-passed stab of white-noise appears in an impeccably groovy riff that sounds like a pastiche of futuristic car horns. Anyone who likes glitch, funk, IDM, electronica, etc. will enjoy and learn from this track.

The start of the title (and final) track, Invisible, shows that Kampion is not adverse to creating a dreamy reverberating soundscape only to slap it away with a glitchy, funky beat. My only quibble is that a kick drum/bass element is rather forward in the mix, so forward that my speakers struggled with it somewhat, but as the rest of the EP is an exercise in sonic expertise this may well be intentional.

This danceable music is unusual - there's hardly a bass line worthy of the name; everything sounds "trebley" but not piercingly so. Invisible's sounds are clean and spare with little sign of reverb or delay, so tightly are the snaps and pops packed. The rhythms are tight, funky, and garnished with a South American special sauce that adds a delicious swing to proceedings. The panning is excellent, with glitch breaks coming at just the right speed - quick enough to stay funky and slow enough to retain intelligibility.

This is a surprisingly gentle, good-humoured album that displays a high level of skill and inventiveness. Ah, free Latin electronica, how I love thee.

Kampion - Invisible EP (link to individual mp3s and zipped album)

Kampion on MySpace

Duopandamix on MySpace

Filtro netlabel

*potentially...

Party On, Dudes

Recently, CTW has been on something of a hip-hop bent. No, that's not the right word. Jag? Spree?

*thinks*

Got it. Recently, CTW has been on something of a hip-hop drive-by. Hip-hop has always been a little shy about doing it for nothing, but now it seems that beatboys and spitters are starting to see the benefit of releasing stuff under a Creative Commons licence and/or as a teaser to attract fans who will eventually pay for the not-for-free stuff. There's always been a lot of IDM and electronica stuff available for free, but now it's party time. Here's something that CTW has smash-and-grabbed from the superbly named and worthy of worship Free Albums Galore. Your honour, I present exhibit A:

Strictly Leakage by Atmosphere on Rhymesayers netlabel.

In which thirteen tracks persuade you that, yes, it is possible to find great-sounding, funky, downhome and upbeat hip-hop for the price of an empty pocket. This album's brew of 60's soul, funk and Public Enemy-ish music will shake your money-maker; it has delectable record crackles (always a CTW fave), a constant undertow of party conversation, and enough sassy horns and slinky beats to make your mother embarrass herself after too many scoops from the New Year's Eve punch bowl.

In the interests of professionalism, CTW usually describes recommendations in great detail, cataloguing each track's techniques and influences so as to place the free sounds in the musical pantheon. There's no need in this case. You'll either love Strictly Leakage or hate it. But do me a favour - download it and listen to the last track, Road to Riches ft. Cuts by DJ Plain Ol' Bill (because starting at the end is a very good place to start), and then listen to the first track, YGM, and come back and complain if you think you're listening to bad free music.

Two men provide Atmosphere's raucous rapping and smooth grooves: Slug is the rap rajah and Ant the beat boss. It's a brave move to let such good music go for free. If you like Strictly Leakage, loosen your purse-strings and explore their other stuff.

I'm done. Apart from reminding you that Russ Abbot, a British comedian and variety artist who was big in the 80's, loved a party with an atmosphere and went so far as to release a single to emphasise the point. Don't google it - it'll hurt.

Atmosphere - Strictly Leakage (link to zipped album - I know, it's a pain for non-broadband people, but this one's worth it.)

Atmosphere at Rhymesayers netlabel

Atmosphere's MySpace

A superb music resource: Free Albums Galore