Issue 22b / 14 June 2024
In part two of your essential DIY electronic music bulletin... Track Of The Week: Sote + Good Stuff release round-up featuring Immersion, Will Gregory, µ-Ziq, Thraa, Mike Lindsay + more...
Previously on Moonbuilding Weekly… In this morning’s issue there’s a big ole review of Finlay Shakespeare’s ‘Directions Out Of Town’ and a brilliant interview with him that shines a light on the reality of being a creative in 2024. Read all about it…
moonbuilding.substack.com/p/issue-22a-14-june-2024
Right, the Euros kick off at 8pm. I need to get ready. You know where to find me if you need anything.
Thanks for reading. See you next week.
Neil Mason, editor
moonbuildingmag@gmail.com
Issue 22 Playlist: bndcmpr.co/7e99be84
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SOTE ‘WVTADTSSPXDAMAVAND’ (Diagonal)
There is a lot of seemingly random letters involved with the track titles on ‘Sound System Persepolis’, the forthcoming new album from Ata Ebekar. Maximalist computer music he calls it. Elsewhere we talk about the new μ-Ziq album, which lives in a similar sound world to this. Only not nearly as punchy in the facey. The sounds Ata achieves are extraordinary. They’re high resolution, bright and crisp, as you’d expect from a computer, and they’re intended to be played loud, the sort of thing that’d shift the air in the room. You can imagine.
There’s a good reason he’s making music in this way. Ata is from Iran, where he returned with his family 10 years ago. “My family moved to Tehran with three suitcases each,” he explains, “so now I just use a computer – sanctions meant I couldn’t ship anything back. If you have the skills and knowledge, you can achieve any sound you want.”
Oh, and all the letters? While they look random they’re coded references to the “audio synthesis language” each track uses plus the album title (“SSP”) and various geographical locations in Iran. So the DAMAVAND is Iran's Damavand mountain. Simple when you know how, apart from the audio synthesis language part. No idea what that’s all about.
‘Sound System Persepolis’, released by Diagonal Records on 12 July.
Got an upcoming release? We’re all ears. Find us at moonbuildingmag@gmail.com
Words: Neil Mason
GOOD STUFF #1
IMMERSION ‘Nanocluster Volume 2’ (Swim~)
Immersion is Wire’s Colin Newman and Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel and ‘Nanocluster’ was the name they gave to a series of collaborative one-off gigs, pre-Covid days, in their hometown of Brighton. The idea was they’d invite guests down to the seaside and collaborate, writing and rehearsing a handful of new songs before playing them live for the first time days later. ‘Volume 1’ was a doozie featuring Laetitia Sadier, Tarwater, Ulrich Schnauss and Scanner. There’s two guest this time – Thor Harris, the percussionist from Swans, and Cubzoa aka Jack Wolter from Brighton’s Penelope Islands, so he didn’t have far to go. Both of these new collaborations get a helping hand from Holy Fuck drummer Mat Schulz, so he really deserves billing. And so to the music. Anyone who thinks this might be weird arthouse noise needs to have another think. The Thor Harris work is so upbeat and happy. ‘The House Of Thor’ is one of the most joyous pieces of music I’ve heard in a while. On the flip, Cubzoa is just as delightful. The smooth rolling bassline on ‘I’m Barely Here’ is lovely and these tracks come with Jack Wolter on vocals, his voice like a much less whine-y Thom Yorke in places. ‘Other Ways’ reminds me of Wire at their most poppy, no bad thing. This is a real treat. Underestimate Colin and Malka at your peril. National treasures.
GOOD STUFF #2
µ-ZIQ ‘Grush’ (Planet Mu)
Does Greek comes with capital letters? I was looking for an uppercase µ, which is I’ve just realised is a capital M. Of course. Duh. It’s always a good day when there’s a new µ-Ziq album. This one is “full of weird bangers that reclaim the ‘dance’ part of the woeful term IDM”, which is a sentiment of µ-Ziq’s Mike Paradinas if ever I saw one. Nothing wrong with music made under the banner, it’s just the banner that needed burning and burying in a hole. The album contains road-tested live favourites and is sequenced to replicate the flow of a show. In fact, many of the tracks were made in hotel rooms on the road in response to shows and are therefore named after said hotels. ‘Imperial Crescent’ is in Japan, ‘Belvedere’ in Prague. It’s hard to sit still when ‘Hyper Daddy’ – a track written specifically to be played live – kicks in. The drum programming is first class. Insanely good. Which it is across the record. The drums are front and centre and sounding imperious. The warm synths on ‘Fogou’ almost sound like they could be from the ‘Drive’ soundtrack. Paradinas tettering on the brink of synthwave? Whatever next?
GOOD STUFF #3
THRAA ‘Half Light’ (Into Earth)
I’m noticing the slow but steady creep of guitars into Moonbuilding. I say that like someone is doing it behind my back. Like I have no control over these things. But it’s ok, I can keep the habit under control and, you know what they say, when the fun stops stop. As Thraa, Manchester duo Sally Mason and Andi Jackson, make guitar drone music. Which sounds much better than it looks written down. They say it’s an “exploration into big dynamics, distorted tonal colouring and heavenly vocals”. This release was self-produced during a three-day stint at 4AD Studios in London, which gives you an idea of the sort of ballpark we’re in here. And will you look at that artwork. Musically, it’s all rather dreamy, like they’ve zoomed in on a Cocteau Twins riff and made it their own and them zoomed back out. ‘Closing Folded Hands’, which is 16 minutes of guitar shudders and vocal shimmers and shivers, is quite the piece of work. Liking this a lot.
GOOD STUFF #4
MIKE LINDSAY ‘Supershapes Volume 1’ (Moshi Moshi)
Tuung’s Mike Lindsay has been building quite a reputation as a producer of distinction. He’s worked with the likes of Jon Hopkins, Elizabeth Frazer, Guy Garvey, Hannah Peel, William Doyle (whose ‘Springs Eternal’ was Moonbuilding Weekly Album Of The Week) and Dana Gavinski (her LP, ‘Late Slap’ is belting). And here we have his debut solo album. It was initially just him, he thought it’d be instrumental, then he started adding some friends. Ross Blake on woodwind and sax, then Robert Stillman who brought more sax. Then he felt it needed a vocal and in came Anna B Savage (“She is a true poet of the everyday emotions,” says Mike) and then there’s drummer Adam Betts, who is staggeringly talented. He’s in Three Trapped Tigers, plays live with Squarepusher and THIS is him playing ‘Timeless’ with Goldie and the Heritage Orchestra. ‘Supershapes Volume 1’ has that Tuung vibe, that delightful knack for melody and the quirk. Oh the quirk. There’s a song called ‘Table’, which is about his 120-year-old dining table. Lots of sax in there. Indeed, the whole thing ponders the idea that objects have memories and their own consciousness. Love this sort of thing.
GOOD STUFF #5
WILL GREGORY MOOG ENSEMBLE ‘Heat Ray’ (Mute)
Said it before, but it is hard to believe that this is the debut long-player from Will Gregory Moog Ensemble. They’ve been around since 2005 when they convened as part of the Bath Festival (the city, not, you know, in your bath) to recreate some of Wendy Carlos’ ‘Switched On Bach’ arrangements. Was that not released? *googling… * Nope. The only thing I can find is a digital release called ‘Undercurrents’ on Society Of Sound Music, a subscription service offering up lossless files and set up in 2008 by Bower & Wilkins. So anyway, here it is, the debut album from Will Gregory Moog Ensemble. Worth the wait? It is. It rolls effortlessly from the almost knockabout ‘Buoyancy Theory’ to the filmic ‘Circles And Pi’, which gets almightily epic towards the end. Is that a gong? The record is inspired by Archimedes, even though Will admits he was no good at maths, and pits analogue synths alongside the BBC National Orchestra Of Wales. Always a winning formula. ‘The Claw’ is huge, like some Hollywood score of the olden days. Daniel Miller plays on a track, doesn’t say which one, but he is also “kind of executive producer”. The kit list is good too. Not sure how I feel about it not all being exclusively Moogs. Still sounds amazing though.
willgregorymoogensemble.bandcamp.com
THE ROUND UP’S ROUND UP
There is just so much good stuff about today. Here’s a few more to sink your ears into… The return of the mighty Hawksmoor, even if it is just two new tracks on a seven-inch single, is always worth standing up and cheering about. ‘Glass Teeth’ / ‘Parallelograms’ (Soul Jazz) are both taken from his new album, ‘Oneironautics’, which is due September-ish, manufacturing delays permitting etc. If you were wondering, oneironautics is the ability to travel in a dream while conscious. Common problem. I’ve had a preview of the record and it’s great – love how he uses guitar (see, guitars again!), loving the louche basslines that are throughout and the seven-inch track ‘Glass Teeth’ summons the spirit of Fleetwood Mac. You’ll be hearing a lot more about this record from me nearer release.
soundsoftheuniverse.com
Our pal Rodney Cromwell makes a very welcome return with his new 'Exercise Class' EP (Happy Robots). A live favourite, the track is about his loathing of exercise despite spending some 20-odd years “pounding the streets of south London as well as hanging around in cut-price gyms”. He says the song is influenced by LCD Soundsystem, Metronomy, ‘Blue Monday’ and the iconic soundtracks of Jane Fonda Workout videos. Yup. The B-side, ‘Madeline Trip’, flies in the face of the A-side in true Rodney style, what with it being “a 55-second electronic hauntological trip inspired by Marcel Proust’s seven volume novel ‘In Search of Lost Time’”. Only in the wonderful world of Rodney Cromwell.
rodneycromwell.bandcamp.com
I’m a big fan of The Bug’s Kevin Richard Martin and here he hooks up with Kenyan ambient musician Joseph Kamaru for KRM & KMRU’s ‘Disconnect’ (Phantom Limb). It’s such a thoughtful record, lots going on here both in the thinking behind it and the actual execution. KRM hit on the curveball idea that they should use KMRU’s voice, the voice of an ambient musician, for the recording. There’s a lovely documentary about Joseph called ‘Under The Bridge’, which Kevin was captivated by, especially Joseph’s soft, fragile voice that he thought had a “captivating, lilting, tonal quality”. Why not use it on a record that “marries depth-trawling dub with Kamaru’s voice, ambient sensibilities, and negative space”. Why not indeed.
phantomlimblabel.bandcamp.com
The love affair with Past Inside The Present continues with the ridiculously beautiful Color Of Time ‘II’ from label veterans Kévin Séry (aka From Overseas) and Nick Turner (aka Tyresta). I’ve got into this habit of starting my working day with an ambient suite (as I like to call them). Windows open and the sounds of outside merging with work like this. Opener ‘Free For A Moment’, with its warm synth swells and bright Xylophone-like tinkles, is perfect fuel to get my day off to a flyer.
pitp.bandcamp.com
Ok, hands up. I will write about anything that has the word “Moon” in it. You want your work in Moonbuilding? Give yourself or your release a moon-y name. Arriving from Sweden, Moonilena’s debut album ‘Minnet’ (Moloton) is the work of Marlena Salonen. It’s something of a change of tack from her last ‘Tiny Portals’ EP, which is beat-driven dream house and rather excellent. ‘Minnet’ is intended as one long piece split into eight parts and created from “manipulated field recordings, synthesis experimentations, layered harmonies and textured sound design”. She couldn’t get more up our street if came to the annual street party, which is tomorrow. Weather not looking great. I love the description of this record. “There are parts that are melodic, radiant and vaguely warm, like suddenly having tuned in to an imprint of some long-forgotten person’s experiences, distorted by the current of time.” Loving ‘Dom Bor Under Taket’, whose pulsing glitches make it somehow sound like Ultravox’s ‘Vienna’.
moloton.bandcamp.com
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DON’T STOP
Hip hop is such rich pickings when it comes to telling a good story. Questlove’s ‘Hip Hop Is History’ (White Rabbit) is full the gunwales with good stories because, well, as the blurb points out, hip hop also happens to be his history. You’ll know him from being the heartbeat of The Roots, “the last hip hop band on earth”. They’re the house band on Jimmy Fallon’s ‘The Tonight Show’, which considering their standing seems dumbing it down a little, but it’s always good to have a peg to hang your coat on. Questlove, Ahmir Thompson, has also picked up the tag of the unofficial historian of hip hop and boasts a vinyl archive the size of which fair makes the eyes water, some 200,000 pieces. To give that context, the British Library sound archive has 250,000 vinyl LPs. Apparently when US record stores are closing down the number they call is Questlove’s and he finds it hard to say no.
The book, right. The book. ‘Hip Hop Is History’ is by no means his first. There’s ‘Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation’, his love letter to the hugely influential US music show. He writes about it here too and how he’d be allowed to watch it even though it was on late, like 1am late, but he had to go to bed first and set an alarm. That parenting decision paid off, right? There’s also the sister publication to this, ‘Music Is History’, which travels from 1971 to the present day, through US musical history, picking one essential track from each year. You’d like to see his working lists for that. What’s great and what really resonates is that these histories come from a very personal point of view. With Questlove, his world is wrapped up in that history. So you get the story mixed with his personal experience. It’s also beautifully written, he works with a magazine journalist and novelist called Ben Greenman who does a sterling job and it’s good to see he gets the credit for it.
As always, the early years tales rock. He talks about hearing Kraftwerk for the first time on late-night radio. “Bizarre synth music,” he calls it, “completely compelling, pure hypnosis on the airwaves”. It wasn’t until several years later that he realised what it was when a DJ at a local skating rink party span ‘Planet Rock’. He talks about ‘The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel’ as being The Holy Grail. Never underestimate the power of hip hop. He grew up in Philly, I grew up in Norfolk and we had the same epiphany. I saw Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five live in 1982, their first UK show was at UEA in Norwich, I was in my early teens. It was unbelievable. “It looks like he’s got a bunch of record players and a box of records”.
The book is broken down into periods, 1979-82, 1982-87, 1987-92 and so on right through the 2023 and beyond. For the epilogue, the year is 2073 and is the introduction to the sequel, ‘Hip Hop Is Still History’. There is also, of course, playlists galore. One for each chapter. He introduces them in the book as “Hip Hop Songs I Actually Listen To” and talks about avoiding “the Captain Obvious selections”. They are especially good, of course they are, this is Questlove after all.
White Rabbit / Moonbuilding book shop
PUSH THE BUTTON
There’s so much more to friend of Moonbuilding Isobel Anderson and her brilliant female-focussed music tech podcast ‘Girls Twiddling Knobs’, which highlights “the work of women in the field and sharing tips on getting started with home recording and self-producing”. She also offers a raft of training and mentoring for female and gender non-conforming musicians with the aim of developing recording and production skills that will help nurture further independence in their creative career. So it’s everything from getting started, with advice on what kind of gear you might you need to get going, to how to use Garageband and so on, right through to illuminating chats with a raft of excellent female guests. There’s nearly 100 episodes and Season Five wrapped towards the end of last year so you’d expect Season Six soon. The whole thing has also had a little rebrand recently and the new merch is cracking (see sweatshirt above). Anyway, Isobel has just announced she will be running an online field recording course in July. On the menu you’ll learn how to record, edit and manipulate field recordings in a four-week group programme. I would wager this is going to be very popular. Enrolment opens on June 26 but you can get yourself on the waiting list here.
Isobel Anderson features in the current print issue of Moonbuilding. For more about her fine work, visit femalediymusician.com
A MESSAGE FROM THE MOTHERSHIP
MOONBUILDING ISSUE 4, £5 (+P&P). GRAB YOURS WHILE STOCKS LAST … MOONBUILDING.BANDCAMP.COM
The latest issue of MOONBUILDING is full to the gills with the good stuff. On the cover, star-in-the-making Maria Uzor, we profile label-of-the-moment quiet details, there’s an incredible interview with Captain Star creator Steven Appleby, and Ghost Box’s Jim Jupp gets busy with our There’s A First Time For Everything questions.
We review a big pile of releases from labels including Castles In Space, Woodford Halse, Persistence Of Sound, Assai, Ahora, DiN, Werra Foxma, Ghost Box and many more. There’s a column from The Orb’s Alex Paterson and the world-famous Captain Star cartoon strip.
This issue’s CD is ‘The Moonbuilding Miscellany – Volume One’, which is put together by CiS supremo Colin Morrison. It’s a belter featuring tracks from the likes of Lo Five, Lone Bison, Twilight Sequence, Ojn, NCHX and more.
Moonbuilding Weekly is a Castles In Space publication.
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