Holy Other "Held"

 

After the success of last year's exceptional EP, With U, and extensive touring with like-minded labelmates Balam Acab and oOoOO, the shroud of mystery surrounding Manchester-based Holy Other is slowly beginning to diminish. The still nameless R&B-influenced vocal splicer, known for his emotional slow burns and cloak-covered live appearances, has preferred to remain in the shadows of his dreamy beats. He only recently has begun participating in interviews and the first photo of the artist's face was unveiled just last week, along with the opportunity to stream his debut full-length album, Held, out now on Tri-Angle records. Even with all this new information on the man behind the music, the mystique has remained intact. Not that any of that matters once you get lost in Holy Other's brand of lustful, haunted pop. With U has a decidedly nocturnal, urban atmosphere and Held continues this trend with nine tightly constructed tracks that are as spectral as they are sensual.

Holy Other's catalogue spans no more than 30 tracks, but contains some of the sexiest and most affecting music committed to record. All of this is achieved without a single verse or chorus – hell, even discernible lyrics for that matter. A dark labyrinth of smoky beats and often unintelligible, circulating croons, the crisp and cold Held is no exception to this accomplishment. Holy Other's M.O. is familiar: a lurching, moody beat shrouded with splintered vocal samples that create a tension similar to the juke-influenced Sully - but with an effortlessly captivating force that has no contender. This may seem like an overdone formula in a world where R&B seems to be skewed in all directions, but in Holy Other's hands, the formula creates haunted love songs that creep under your skin and inhabit the dark corners of your mind. Each ghostly vocal pitch-shift strikes just the right nerve to evoke so much more than lyrics ever could. Even through the icy darkness Holy Other crafts, there's a warmth that can be felt, but only at a distance. Like recalling a night of passion with a former lover, the memory has the power to both hurt and comfort you. Held, even with its lack of appropriate lyrics, captures this feeling of love found and love lost, almost acting as a breakup record, a makeup record, and everything in between.

"Know Where" from 2011's With U EP 

Hourglass Sea "Live from the Crematorium" EP

Video games and music have a short but sweet history together. Some of the most iconic songs and sound bites from our generation came from or were inspired by video games. I mean, if you don't know the Super Mario Bros. Theme, then you may have some major pop-culture catching up to do. The legacies of such prolific video game composers as Yuzo Koshiro, who produced the outstanding sound track to the Streets of Rage series, or the creator of the Super Mario Bros. music, Koji Kando, live on even to this day. In fact, the trends they created and barriers they broke paved the way for the ensuing post-'80s and '90s electronic music.

Many musicians within the last ten years have begun to take cues from these celebrated works. Their influence isn't literal; instead, it serves as a jumping off point to create a whole new entity all together. The Canadian duo Crystal Castles (not to be mistaken with the 1983 Arcade Game) utilizes Atari synth sounds to fill in the skeleton of their shocking pop explosions. Their sound can fluctuate from bubbly sweetness to blood-curdling harshness with the bat of an 8-bit eye.

Guido is another great example of a musician using video game music solely as inspiration to compose atmospheric sounds. Instead of the glitchy 8-bit form of his contenders, Guido gains inspiration from the orchestrated instruments of the great Nobuo Uematsu, who created the scores for the Final Fantasy series. With occasional dub-step tendencies, Guido crafts some moody string-led electronic jams.

Dean Bentley of Hourglass Sea has a few things in common with these two, but he takes a slightly different approach. Like Crystal Castles and Guido, Hourglass Sea doesn't just use video game sounds and samples as a gimmick to create an instantly recognizable and relatable song. Instead, he encapsulates the late '80's and early '90's pop culture, while remaining very relevant in the current UK music scene. He employs smooth synth lines, vocal samples and noise blips effectively layered about bombastic drum beats and some legit '80s metal guitar solos. "I just want my music to be very loud, melodic and busy." 

Hourglass Sea's inspirations are as varied as his sound, which is difficult to pin point. The influences for this distinguishable sound stem from Streets of Rage, Paradise Lost, Little River Band, Robocop and S.O.S Band, which seems apparent when compared to his synth style and beat progressions. These diverse influences combine with his background as an MC under the L.G.P. moniker, to create some heavy yet incredibly melodic and smooth bangers. He's currently working on releasing a collaborative effort under his L.G.P. title. 

The singles leading up to the release of Hourglass Sea's Live from the Crematorum EP leaned towards the brighter side of the sound. Unlike the polished crispness of his new material, his former songs possess a rougher yet breezy quality. “Teenager” has a glitchy hip-hop feel that occasionally seems ready to burst at the seams with sound.  “L.A. Lights” contains a tropicalia spin centered around sunny key strokes and the chime of the coin in Super Mario Bros. An all too familiar “yeah” sample fills the space, reminding us that Dean Bentley hasn't forgotten his roots.

The singles that dropped between "L.A. Lights/Teenager" and the release of LFTC were truly transitional pieces. They contain a polished sound indicative of LFTC. "Time Killer" is a crisply delivered and steady paced jam that sounds as if it could be the sound track to a Ken & Ryu duel. "I wanted to make quite an aggressive beat...The title is kind of a statement to ignore what kinds of sounds [and] styles belong in each decade. I think these days anything goes." And in Dean Bentleys hands anything certainly does go. "Crystal Kross" opens with a jackhammer beat and a warm and raspy guitar riff. Static drums carry the song at leisurely pace. The structured sequences of sustain soaked guitar into dreamy synth pangs continues back and forth until it culminates into a glistening wind-down.

The release of LFTC marked a slight change for Hourglass Sea. There is a definite glittering shadow cast over these tracks. The inspiration behind the songs can be summed up with Dean's experience growing up next to a cemetery as a child in Lidget Green. “All the titles from LFTC are references to death... The place where I grew up - we lived over the road from Scholemoor Cemetery. Living next to a place like that seems to bother some people, but it never bothered me. Sometimes you have to use your imagination and make the best of where you reside... On the one side it has a very English working class look about it, with its mills and terraced streets... but on the other side it had green fields that went on for miles. I suppose I liked the variation... It's more of a tribute to the people I knew and where we grew up.”

The title track from Live from the Crematorium possesses a very laid back jazz timing. A stammering drum beat forms the background while a bluesy guitar solo washes over a piping synth. “Divine Sealing” displays an effervescent intro. Synth choir notes build up with a whirl into HS's signature change-up thumping drum beat. Machine gun synths fire into a deep bass-cut breakdown with heavy-handed Balearic piano.

The second half of the four track EP begins to throw back to the previously released singles by displaying Dean's knack for cleverly placed vocal samples. The search for the samples contained in each song almost becomes a pop-culture hide-and-seek. The bass drenched outro of “Divine Sealing” leads into the boiling beat of “Memory Eternal.” “Memory Eternal” contains samples of Street Fighter character Guile's iconic “Sonic Boom” declaration following the video game announcer exclaiming “Perfect!” The EP's closer "Another World" begins with a glittery sped-up rendition of the down-tempo prog-rock of Little River Band's "Reappear" that slams into a brassy synth wall. A wavering siren pulses in the background as the grinding bass line runs its course. This track incorporates the "C'mon" sample contained in any MC's repertoire along with the pitchy LRB sample "When will you reappear?" 

There's something special about Dean Bentley. His songs truly contain so much, it's hard to believe how smooth they roll. At one moment you feel as if Guile from Street Fighter is piloting one of the Blue Angels jets in Van Halen's music video for "Dreams," and the next moment Blaze from Streets of Rage is in line at a Little River Band concert in Super Mario World. In the hands of someone scared to use a little excess Hourglass Sea would be boring. Conversely; someone without a sense of true restraint would end up sounding like the purported "nintendocore" of Horse the Band. Dean Bentley's balance of these two is impeccable and we should anticipate a career as bright as his sound, and those who inspired it.

Make sure to visit Hourglass Sea's soundcloud.

Check out the interview I had with Dean Bentley earlier this week here.

Here's a couple tracks from the Live from the Crematorium EP:

Live From The Crematorium by Hourglass Sea

Divine Sealing by Hourglass Sea

Here's a new cut "Tubbs & Crockett" that was just released.

Tubbs & Crockett by Hourglass Sea

Gatekeeper "Giza" EP

 

Oh the 1980s. What a simple time. Valley Girl vernacular plagued communication in America; Molly Ringwald was still Pretty in Pink; Nancy Reagan fought the “war on drugs” with her “Just Say No” campaign; Super Mario Bros. captivated just about all the children in the world; and Marty McFly charmed the pants off of millions.

We're all a little better off for most of the events and trends that took place then. Technology exploded into the world-dominating behemoth it is today, and more people were born in the '80s than any other decade. I mean, it's the decade that supplied us with the creation of MTV, new wave, mullets, Saved by the Bell, and most importantly, Return of the Jedi.

Must I even mention “Thriller”?

Nevertheless, the '80s are a commonly misunderstood and misrepresented decade. The disastrous year of 1986, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and the beginning of the AIDS pandemic are all examples of the murkier side of the period.

Gatekeeper, Brooklyn and Chicago's death dance output, are more focused on that macabre aspect of the time – the Mount St. Helens, Space Shuttle Challenger and Chernobyl side of the spectrum. They feed off of the Cold War apocalyptacism of the '80s, and they do it perfectly, molding it with a b-horror movie mentality. They've crafted a sinister sound that embodies the commonly overlooked dark side. Utilizing low end percussion, crisp synth peaks and some legitimately creepy samples,  they've captured that stand-still-in-terror pall over that era. They've gone the opposite direction most do when taking cues from the '80s. Instead of Molly and Emilio, you get Freddy and Jason.

The Giza EP, Gatekeeper's second release, dropped at the end of 2010 and quickly sold out, prompting a reissue shortly after the start of the year on Merok Records. With an album cover like that,  not much is left to the imagination. It looks as if Salvador Dali and Sam Raimi got together and created the cover for an arcade game, which is quite indicative of Gatekeeper's brand of noise.

Giza spans over six haunting synth drenched tracks that are as murderous as they are dance floor friendly. Let me tell you, this music has muscle. The opener “Chains”, for instance, begins with the roar of a motorcycle engine revving into action followed by a flash-bang thud into a relentless grinding beat. An X-Files influenced Mark Snow-esque UFO sequence builds over a frightened girl pleading and a man's scream repeats throughout. The end drives up the suspense by incorporating a rendition of the iconic breathy Friday the 13^th “ch ch ah ah” rattle amongst the metallic grinding and high pitched synth shifts.

Gatekeeper changes pace a bit with the slow burn of “Storm Column.” It constructs a claustrophobic tone by using repetition to its advantage. There is a truly sinister sense of lurking danger to this song. The monstrous breathing plaguing the background, the vocal samples of a bewildered girl and the winding cyclical beat create a barrier between the listener and the outside world, fueling the shroud of paranoia . It almost feels as if this is the theme to some masked maniac's hunt.

The menacing breathing and thrashing of Gatekeeper's unknowable monster continues through the muddled serpentine labyrinth of the aptly named "Serpent." Midway through, a synthesized woodwind takes the foreground along with an echoed and distorted black magic chant. A smoky shriek filled intro leads to the grave rave piping of the title track "Giza." If "Chains" was Friday the 13th, then "Giza" would be The Nightmare on Elm Street. It's ghostly bell and chime bridge and sample of a man jackel-laughing his way to the track's grim end are straight out of a Kreuger nightmare. "Mirage" holds its own with feverish female crooning and arpeggio drenched laser peaks. This track sounds like Solar Bears as serial killers. The album closer, "Oracle," is the Death Race of the bunch. Dueling synth lines race their way to the crash of the drums and samples of hell hounds gnashing and barking. 

Aaron David Ross and Matthew Arkell, the two brains behind Gatekeeper, are somewhat of a mystery. Aaron is a multi-instrumentalist with multiple personalities, and a new medium artist with an eye for perfection. His website has a portfolio of his sprawling works and they are as impressive as they are diverse. Check out his Shoutbox Conductor of "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston, a 65 minute long hypnotic drone created in an incredibly clever way.

Aaron is not only 1/2 of Gatekeeper, but he is also 1/2 of Night Gallery, a side project with Adam Griffin of Golden Birthday. They met at a backyard screening of The Neverending Story, which should seem obvious when compared to their lush cinematic soundscapes. He was also a part of the spazz jazz of Epcot Center. As if his work wasn't eclectic enough already, add that he (along with the even more mysterious Matthew Arkell, as Gatekeeper) also produced the score for a bad ass mini-documentary Doctor Laser. It's about a laser and holography specialist, Jason Sapan, who coincidentally enough, is referred to as laser Doc Brown.

Gatekeeper have crafted a sound that leans on the sci-fi and horror of the '80s and '70s while feeding off of the entire aesthetic of the period. Their heavy use of samples doesn't force a narrative but establishes guidelines for the listener to fill in the blanks, giving them the opportunity to create their own twisted musical nightmare. They've created a time capsule of what it was like to be a terrified child in those times.

As the eerie deep voice states in the title track "Giza": "The essence of the album is contained, for now."

Here are some of the music videos they've created in collaboration with Thunder Horse Video. 

GATEKEEPER "Chains" from Thunder Horse Video on Vimeo.

 

GATEKEEPER "Storm Column" from Thunder Horse Video on Vimeo.

GATEKEEPER "Oracle" AMV from Thunder Horse Video on Vimeo.

These guys definitely stay true to the trend. They released all of their music videos, including those posted here, on a limited release VHS available at Thunder Horse Video. How bad ass is that?

 

You can pick up both the Giza EP at Merok Records and the Optimus Maximus EP at Kompakt/Fright Records.

Toro y Moi "Underneath the Pine"

February of 2010 brought us Toro y Moi's exceptional genre bending debut Causers of This. A funk-filled excursion through the last half century of music. More than half of the songs on the album bleed and transition into one another creating a massive tapestry of music's sordid past. Whether it's the drunken surf beat of “Blessa” strumming it's way into the synth storm of “Minors” or the disco rave of the lyric less “Lissoms” sending vocal stutters churning into the funky crunch of “Fax Shadow,” each song has it's own genre and era it just so delicately tries to break out of. These tracks are solely electronic but filled with so much damn soul.

It was quite an impressive feat for the then 24 year old South Carolina native, Chaz Bundick. It showed an obvious knowledge of music's history and a knack for how it could be best displayed in these copy and paste times.

But how would – or could, rather, a sophomore album compare?

By stripping itself of its time traveling abilities and dance sensibilities.

As great of an album as 2011's Underneath the Pine truly is, it definitely does remain quite static in its sound. There is a very prominent '60s rock feel to it. There's also a major downplay on structure, and an almost free-style jazz approach has been implemented. The general feel of this album is more organic and instrument based. Toro y Moi is beginning to sound like an actual band as apposed to an individual cranking out soulful audio flashbacks. Nevertheless, a lot of what Chaz exhibited in Causers of This can still be felt in this album – not really heard.

That's not to say any traces of Causer of This have completely dissipated. Let's just say, Chaz chose his singles perfectly. “Still Sound,” released in the middle of a rainy Los Angeles December, is a playful echo laden tune soaked in Chaz's swagger that, no matter the song, he just can't seem to shake. He earnestly sings “There was a finer life when I was with my friends and I could always see my family. It's what I still want now even if I'm here and I know they won't be waiting. 'Cause I don't want to be alone.” Swagger aside and as up beat as this song comes across, it's straight up depressing.

The second single “New Beat” is the model for the new path Toro y Moi has carved. Hell, he even states it in the lyrics: “...tried to make ends meet but picked up a new beat.” This song is decidedly the bridge between Causers and Pine. There are plenty of warbly synth twangs and slap bass evocative of his freshmen work but the majority of the sounds are instruments, not just synths and samples. There's a large human touch to Underneath the Pine that was missing from Causers of This.

There's a certain motif to Underneath the Pine that can be perfectly explained by one of the album's stand out tracks "Good Hold". It begins with sinister heavy-handed piano thuds – vaguely reminiscent of John Carpenter's Halloween score – instantly turning into a rainy-day-stroll-in-the-park-ballad straight out of The Carpenter's catalogue. This trend of duality is a common occurrence in Underneath the Pine and Causers of This. I like to see it as Chaz's proof that the musical formulas we create don't always apply. Although the inspirations have changed, the Toro Y Moi stamp is still here. This track in particular is unquestionably Toro y Moi stylistically, not necessarily sonically.

There's plenty to experience outside of the limitlessness of the lush electronics of Causers of This. All throughout Underneath the Pine there are old gimmicks employed that, somehow, in Chaz's hands, become extraordinary. The vacuum feel of “Go With You,” the single strokes of the piano on the instrumental “Divina," even the bongo beat in the sinister opener “Intro Chi Chi.” Most notably, though, is the last minute of ”Good Hold”. The harsh piano and the lazy drum beat mix with rich vocal harmonies. They collectively snake their way between each ear until they're submerged in an underwater thud that will shock you if unprepared. These are old tricks done very well.

From the electronic crispness in Causers of This, to the lateral step of the more fleshed out Underneath the Pine, Toro Y Moi has proven that sound and time alike is malleable and he is not one to be pigeonholed.

You can purchase both Underneath the Pine and Causers of This here or here

You can also purchase this tote bag sporting a Chaz/pug hybrid and a digital download code here

Here's the music video for "New Beat"

From the album "Underneath the Pine" out February 22, 2011

Carpark Records

Directed by, Scott Ross