25 February 2011 - 0 Comments

AN EMERALDCITY – THE FOURTH – CD

Returning home to New Zealand to tour and release their second album ‘The Fourth’ in Summer 2011, Berlin based band An Emerald City’s sound has evolved and grown since the release of their critically acclaimed debut Circa Scaria. With psychedelic influences and their relocation to one of the world’s most beautifully bizarre cities, it is easy to see where the inspiration behind the bands second album has come from. Recorded in a former com­munist radio station on the banks of the river Spree in East Berlin (also rumoured to be the location of one of the Stasi secret police’s headquarters) it shows a band unafraid to explore in new dimensions in sound and space.

For Fans of: Explosions in the Sky, Sigur Ros, Beirut

STATELESS – MATILDA – 2 x CD

Welcome to “Matilda,” then, an eleven track, fifty minute follow-up to 2007’s eponymous debut, which takes all of those easy words and makes something concrete out of them. Working with Bjork producer/programmer Damian Taylor, “Matilda” ties together classic songwriting with rhythmic drive, slatherings of sub-bass and enough electronic interference to satisfy the most anal of glitch-nerds. The results are spectacular. From the atmospheric opening of “Curtain Call” you know you’re in for something special.

Release also features a bonus second CD featuring all the the tracks in instrumental format!

For Fans of: Eskmo, Dark Star, Unkle

THE DEATH SET – MICHEL POICCARD – CD

The Death Set’s new album, “Michel Poiccard” comes prefigured by tragedy. Just as the pair (Beau Velasco and Johnny Siera) were about to embark on writing a new album together, Velasco, who had struggled with drug addiction on and off throughout his life, died of an overdose.

Above it all floats the spirit of Beau Velasco, amused and laconic. Words of his were rescued from samplers and old ProTools sessions so that it is his voice that opens the record with words which could serve as the group’s mission statement, perhaps never so fully realised: “I wanna take this tape and blow up ya fuckin’ stereo!”

For Fans of:Japanther, Ninjasonik

SEEFEEL – SEEFEEL – CD

A brand new album, and the first in a number of years from the first band signing to Warp records, Seefeel. This album was born out of an incendiary performance at Warp Records’ 20th anniversary celebrations in Paris last year.

Warp co-founder Steve Beckett explains: “Seefeel were the first band that Warp signed who had guitars – they were brave to sign to us because they became the ‘older siblings’ in the family and took all the flak by breaking the unwritten rules of an (up until then) purely dance label. After 1995’s ‘Succour’ they stopped performing live, but we always kept in touch and then for the first Warp20 show in Paris we asked if they would play”.

For Fans of: Autechre, The Black Dog.

Thanks to www.border.co.nz for this story.

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