Catching The Waves

Going Cheap

 

Andrey Malshchukoff (or A7, if you prefer) comes from Kirov - the city, not the famous theatre/ballet company. He might not be able to essay a grand jeté or wear a tutu, but he can certainly strut the stage. He is far too young an exponent of music production to be able to, say, replace a snare drum with a click of his fingers, but nevertheless he's done it, quite literally; Thaebis, his thumpingly good display of Russian minimalism, often uses the sound of finger clicks to keep the beat instead of trotting out the inevitable and therefore boring snare drum. The album's kick drum/bass combo is beautifully equalised; so much so that it hoofs like a Republican supporter taking aim at a stray balloon the morning after Barack Obama's inauguration.

Today's sound-fest is Mechanika, which wittily uses the sound of a ping-pong ball pinging from side to side as though it had been subjected to... a ping-pong delay. (It's technical stuff, kids. Let Uncle CTW worry about that stuff.) A rasping, rave-ish synth line leavens the funky hi-hats and robust rhythm, ensuring that Mechanika doesn't become too mechanical. Look, just press the little triangle and turn the volume up. Music will ensue. Drink some paint-stripper and turn the lights off - there we are, instant nightclub!

A7 - Mechanika

The other offerings in this four-tracker all exhibit the same painstaking production skills: every pop, click and burble sounds close to the eardrum, despite the previously mentioned fulsome bass elements. Thaebis's mix will permit a quick outing on cheap headphones; I suspect that it will also allow a thong-meltingly loud blast through a nightclub system. The first track, Eartrick, tricks the ear with numerous panned and chorused clicks 'n' cuts; the second, Empty Box, makes good use of low-passed reverberating bits 'n' bobs (copyright Grove Dictionary of Music), and the final track, Metronoise, is one of those minimal tracks whose incessant noises off drag the listener into head-nodding nirvana.

If you enjoy this album, please think about sending (the outrageously cool) Inoquo netlabel and Andrey/A7 a "thank you" email. While you're at it, ask them why they haven't got a Paypal donation box. Perhaps it's because the best things in life are free.

It's a shame that Thaebis isn't a CD instead of purely a netlabel release. If it were, you could enjoy the front cover and then, eager to see the rear of the jewel case, flip the bird. Ahem. I'll shut up now.

A7 - Thaebis (link to zipped album and individual files)

Andrey Malshchukoff on MySpace (this link is now correct)

Andrey Malshchukoff at Promo DJ

Inoquo netlabel

I've been to a marvellous party

 

Still hibernating? Yes, me too. Now, I could be cruel and blast you out of your hammocks and have you on deck like the dishevelled bunch of ne'er-do-wells we both know you are, but I'm too cuddly for that. Instead, I shall grant you another forty winks courtesy of Mentz's Relocate, a little jewel of an EP that is smoother than a disgraced banker's defence lawyer.

Mentz, otherwise known as Stephan Raab, comes from The Hague and, unlike some residents of that fair city, is entirely innocent of crimes against humanity. However, he is guilty of producing some down-tempo jazz that is so laid back it's frequently roused from shop doorways in the early hours of the morning. You need proof? Your Honour, allow me to submit track no.2 from this absurdly soothing collection of four:

Mentz - Sleepy 

Yes, that was just one minute and thirty-nine seconds of coma-inducing jazzy bliss. Put it on a loop over the PA at the United Nations and the world will be a friendlier place.

For something a little livelier - only a little, mind - turn to Tumble, a smoky, brush-laden saunter through four minutes of music weighed down by little more than the odd piano chord, chimes, harp and some light percussion. It should come with its own table in a kasbah bar but instead you'll have to wait for next year's Apple conference and the unveiling of hard-light holographic drinking dens.

The final track, Shackles, drags the whole EP, tyres screaming, into life without parole for being a genocidal maniac second gear. There's a cinematic feel to it, thanks to the shimmering strings in the background and the reverberating hi-hat and cymbals. A trumpet wanders up and down a music scale looking for Harry Palmer circa 1965.

Finally, we come to Introduction, the first (heh) track, which lasts all of 34 seconds but still manages to hitch an extract from a strait-laced Xmas story to a smoke-wreathed jazz combo, thus making one cooler and the other holier. You can decide which is which.

Relocate was originally issued on the much-missed but soon-to-return Tokyo Dawn Records; Fant00m netlabel, in their wisdom, decided to reissue it (a rare thing in the netlabel world) and I'm jolly glad they did or I would have missed out on a sublime listening experience. It would be fun if they released more "lost" netlabel records of all genres, including opera. I hope so, 'cos then, if asked, they could say that they were Fant00m - of the opera.

*runs*

Mentz - Relocate EP (link to individual files and zipped album at archive.org)

Mentz on MySpace

Fant00m netlabel & Fant00m e-zine

Tokyo Dawn Records

This Just In: Free Music kicks Credit Crunch in face

The title of one of CTW's first posts, "Free Music is Rubbish, isn't it?" summarised the general public's position regarding music that is given away free of charge. If the music is given away for nothing, ipso facto it must be worthless and therefore not worth downloading. Why else would millions of people prefer to copy and transfer thousands of pirated commercial mp3s on bit-torrents? Even though the music they receive illegally is now free, it was once worth something - so it must still be worth listening to, even though it is now, erm, free. We have arrived at a situation where all songs are free but some songs are more free than others.

*CTW explodes in a mish-mash of pretentious paraphrasing and poor grammar*

Similarly, how are musicians expected to earn a living if these amateurish Creative Commons bozoes are going to barge in with their free albums and entice tone-deaf customers away from them? Isn't free music going to destroy the music industry?

Well, no, not if you're talented, famous and slap a Creative Commons licence on your album.

According to Creative Commons.org, the top-selling album at Amazon's mp3 store in 2008 was Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails. Ghosts I (nine high-fidelity and DRM-free tracks plus a PDF full of gorgeous photos) is available completely free of charge from NIN's website, but millions of people chose to pay for it and II-IV, either as a show of solidarity, as a gesture of gratitude or simply because Amazon made it convenient for fans to splash the cash. Should those lovely, generous people care to investigate further, they'll find that the entire opus, Ghosts I-IV, is also available from the capacious archive.org for precisely no money whatsoever.

Here's a taster: 1 Ghosts I, which is not a speaker-busting avalanche of outrageously heavy rock music, and 8 Ghosts I, which is not a somnolent piano piece with added ambient flavour. Piquant, non?

I'm not denying that Trent Reznor's fame gives him a huge advantage over the common-or-garden CC artist. But kudos to NIN for releasing the album in such a fashion and delivering a roundhouse kick to the smug features of the ghoulish credit crunch. If only they could do the same to the greedy and idiotic bankers and politicians responsible for the mess.

If you'd like to pick up another free album that reminds you of Nine Inch Nails, you could always try the completely free, new, and CC-licensed album The Slip, from the world's most accurate tribute band, Nine Inch Nails. Yes, they're at it again.

Goths, grungies and emos: ho!

One last thought: what would you rather have "CC" stand for?

Nine Inch Nails

Creative Commons

Archive.org