antony / fennesz - returnal - editions mego - 7" - 9$
reworking of title track of oneohtrix point never's emego lp
Hot on the heels of the acclaimed Oneohtrix Point Never Returnal album come these fabulous versions of the title track. Antony swings the mood and strips the track of its delayed harmonized vocals and creates a poignant ballad with OPN's Daniel Lopatin on piano. Fennesz, on the other hand, sprinkles some of his world-famous majestic stardust over the proceedings. All packaged in dazzling artwork by Stephen O'Malley.
-editions mego
emeralds - does it look like i'm here - editions mego - 2xlp - 25$
emeralds - does it look like i'm here - editions mego - cd - 15$
‘Does It Look Like I’m Here?’ is the third official album by Emeralds (after "Solar Bridge" on Hanson, and the self-titled LP on their own Wagon and Gneiss Things imprints, as well as countless small edition tapes and CDRs on a host of labels) and once again it presents another radical new direction for this Cleveland trio.
It sees the group moving from playing single oscillator analog synthesizers to really complex analog and analog/digital hybrid as well a great deal of guitar synthesizers, not to mention fine tuning their skills as brilliant tunesmiths. Simply put, the results are outstanding.
Comprising of a number of tracks from their recent ultra limited 7” vinyl series on Wagon, as well new compositions exclusive to this release. This fine selection of tunes surpass anything they have achieved in their 5 year career. Perfect melodies intertwined with ripping sequences and a guitar sound that floats perfectly throughout. Although most tracks cover new ground in that they follow a shortened ‘pop format’, more long form cuts such as the towering ‘Genetic’ and the title track will give fans of their earlier work something to grab onto, or totally let themselves go depending on the state of mind.
Having spent all their lives in the relative isolation of Cleveland means their music has developed into a vital, stunning unique hybrid that may have not been able to blossom in more active urban centres.
‘Does It Look Like I’m Here?’ heralds a turning point for all those involved and is perfect vivid soundtrack to emerge out of the recent harsh grey winter. Fresh, shiny and totally essential
-emego
oneohtrix point never - returnal - editions mego - lp - 20$
Gatefold LP version. Returnal is the fourth album from Daniel Lopatin's Oneohtrix Point Never project, after Betrayed In The Octagon (Deception Island, 2007), Zones Without People (Arbor, 2009) and Russian Mind (No Fun, 2009). All 3 albums being superbly compiled on the Rifts double CD set (No Fun, 2009). It sees Lopatin fine-tune his craft for the creation of deep atmospheres and textures even further. Starting off with the mind-blowing triptych of "Nil Admiari"/"Describing Bodies"/"Stress Waves," which fires off into a noise/rhythm excess before entering a zone of relative calm, building to the melancholy of the final part. This sets the tone perfectly for the album's title track, a stunning, out-of-this-world ballad featuring Lopatin's near-desperate vocal delivery, ending what could be seen as one of his most chilling and thought-provoking sides to-date. The atmosphere is slightly lifted as the darkened sun comes up over the ruins on "Pelham Island Road" and "Where Does Time Go," with the album closing with edgy broken beats and the fourth-world possible landscapes of "Preyouandi," which fades into the distance with echoes of the "Returnal" chorus closing the loop. What's burnt into memory here is Lopatin's love affair with the long, slow path back home... the cycle... the hypnotic sector... the ghost in the machine... and whether people are making dance music or hip-hop or space head-music or metal, the ouroboros is present in every sector -- as it was in Bach's study, and in the elephant songs of the Ituri forests. Instrumentation: Akai AX-60, Roland Juno-60, Roland MSQ-700, Korg Electribe ES-1, Voice. Recorded using a personal computer. Mastered by James Plotkin. Tape-op & additional engineering by Al Carlson. Awesome spot-varnished cover design by Stephen O'Malley.
-emego