Brooklyn's very own '90s lo-fi R&B replicator, How to Dress Well, is slated to follow-up his stark 2010 debut album, Love Remains, with the release of Total Loss, out September 18th on Acéphale Records. This cut, "& It Was U", is the newest single, and if it's indicative of the rest of the album, the lo connected to that -fi is here to stay, albeit with a little more flare. This propulsive track is indebted to the style of the golden age of R&B - the Age Ain't Nothing But a Numberdays - and contains a similar swing to R. Kelly's early production work. "& It Was U" grows wider and crisper as it progresses, slowly picking up scraps of R&B nostalgia with every snap beat, while Tom Krell continues to one-up himself vocally - reaching higher and higher with each rotation.
Check out How to Dress Well on tour this fall. Dates here.
Here's the previously released cut from Total Loss, "Cold Nites".
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.
L.A. up-and-comer turned all star Active Child dropped the first single today for his upcoming debut full length You are All I See, out August 23 on Vagrant Records. "Playing House" features Active Child's well known harp skills and crystalline synth lines, with guest vocals from How To Dress Well's R&B-minded Tom Krell. This smooth jam displays more swagger than you can shake a stick at, and these boys are getting plenty of shakes. Don't believe me, just visit Active Child's facebook - homeboy's been getting blown up all day.
You Are All I See is the follow-up to 2010's out of nowhere and completely irresistible Curtis Lane EP. After extensive touring with groups like the trio-turned-duo and Vagrant label mates School of Seven Bells, Patrick Grossi, A.K.A. Active Child, gained a strong following and a record deal. After wrapping up a tour with the UK's electro output James Blake, the self-proclaimed "hymntronic" artist announced the release of the single yesterday to the great anticipation of many. If You Are All I See is anything like the evocative and haunting sounds of Curtis Lane, it's sure to make many end of the year top record lists.
You can stream the silky new track over at Pitchfork.
Here's some tracks from Active Child's Curtis Lane.
The Biophilia Hypothesis, in a nutshell, is that everything is connected - all living systems are bonded. Björk, being the closest thing to an actual nymph we have, is set to release a technology and organic influenced multimedia album, entitled Biophilia, sometime this year.
Björk has always been one to set the curve, and finally technology has caught up with her genius. The partly recorded album was developed in collaboration with Apple and creative team mate Michel Gondry, and is said to be released in installments as a series of apps as the world's "first app album."
The first glimpse of the music from Biophilia, came with the release of the ipad app "Solar System". The app is an interactive 3D eBook written by award-winning author and journalist Marcus Chown. "Solar System" is based on real scientific data and is accompanied by a horn-heavy instrumental track, reminiscent of Björk's earlier releases, such as the evocative "Overture" from Selmasongs.
The official unveiling of tracks from Biophilia will occur during Björk's performances at the third Manchester International Festival from June 30th to July 17th. Björk has said that the live performance will be a "meditation on the relationship between music, nature and technology"
The first official app single to be released, which is hinted at in the video below, is "Crystalline".
The U.K.'s grimy dubstep underlord Zomby is back! Now signed to musical mashup label 4AD Records, Zomby is preparing to release the follow-up to 2008's rave boogie Where Were U in '92 with the cleaner and crisper 2011's Dedication. Dedication is now streaming over at Disco Naivete and right from the start you can hear that he's turned up his swagger and is looking forward, not back, like on his acclaimed '92 break out. The first glimpse of Dedication we received was the glittering collaboration with Noah Lennox (A.K.A. Panda Bear), "Things Fall Apart", posted here.
When my brother and I were young we used to always get a kick out of scaring ourselves, and each other. We would intentionally fool ourselves into thinking things were more sinister than they actually were and would hide from one another, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment of silence to burst out and send the other off screaming. We've both always been fascinated with everything related to horror: the films; the scores; the sound effects - all of it.
When we got a little older, we found an old tape of spooky haunted house noises that was full of cauldrons bubbling, witches cackling, werewolves howling, and victims screaming. It was a decade old and a little cheesy, but there were times when it had the potential to cause our skin to crawl. Since we were weird kids, we naturally listened to it all the time. I remember sitting in his truck late one night listening to that tape and thinking to myself how amazing it would be if someone could use the sounds we both feared and loved as the backdrop of an actual album. Timber Timbre's Creep on Creepin' on is that album - afully realized childhood dream (or nightmare, rather) come to life.
Helmed by multi-instrumentalist Taylor Kirk, Timber Timbre's roots are in stripped down, bleak, and eerie folk and blues. A shift in sound occurred in 2009 when Canadian music visionaries Kevin Drew (of Broken Social Scene) and Jeffrey Remedios signed Timber Timbre to their label, Arts & Crafts Production,just prior to the release of their larger sounding self-titled third album. With the saxophone support of musical helping-hand and Arcade Fire side man Colin Stetson; Timber Timbre's Taylor Kirk, Simon Trottier, and Mika Posen set out to create an even larger and more atmospheric portrait of swampy and sinister Americana. The result: the bubbling and brimming starkness of 2011's Creep on Creepin' on.
Breaking away from his earlier Randy Newman delivery and adopting a more snarl-and-warble '50s rock 'n' roll sound more akin to Jerry Lee Lewis, Taylor Kirk has a swagger on this album that was missing before. His stutter-to-smooth flow compliments the down tempo doo-wop key strokes in the albums hypnotic stand out "Woman". The folk twang and screaming samples in "Too Old to Die Young" give way to Kirk's newly found growling bravado to create a sinister anthem that slowly unfolds into a bluesy love song in it's latter string-laden half. This track embodies the tone of the album, mixing sounds in a bewildered state of subdued mania.
There is a haunting sense of forlorn fearfulness within Creep on Creepin' on, which is expressed on both "Woman" and "Too Old to Die Young", but most overtly in the zombie romance "Lonesome Hunter", which sounds strikingly like Arcade Fire in the Funeral years. Falling back on the throaty Newman delivery from their earlier albums, Taylor Kirk slowly sputters "Sparrows at your window/ Starlings at your door/ Magpies wherever we go/ Is it blackbirds forever more?" in a brooding aw-shucks fashion.
The sonics of Creep on Creepin' on rely deeply on atmosphere and negative space, maintaining a contrast between harrowing cacophony and murky orchestrations - displayed perfectly in the albums creepy instrumental intermissions "Obelisk" and "Swamp Magic". The addition of saxophonist Colin Stetson aids in this increase in foreboding as well, making Timber Timbre's blues a bit darker. With the addition of the sax the outro to the sullen love sick "Black Water" is made more dismal,the ending to the title track "Creep on Creeping on" is made more desolate, and the intro to "Woman" is made more ominous.
The group developed the name Timber Timbre by combining the fact that their earliest recordings were made in a lumber cabin (timber) and the music term for distinguishing instruments and tone quality or tone color (timbre). Decidedly, Timber Timbre's tone color would have to be the blood-red-blues. These tracks are as sorrowful as they are sinister and they embody my childhood memories of the almost gleeful terror that sounds can elicit.
Electronic music juggernauts Warp Records, known for such musical staples as Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin, have dropped a new bomb in the music world in the form of dub-drenched beat masterminds Africa Hitech. Their debut full length, 93 Million Miles, sounds as if it was recorded and pressed today. This is as fresh as it get in a music world dominated by nostalgia. Instead of looking to the past, the duos members, Steve Spacek and Mark Pritchard, are looking to the future. They've crafted a ragga rich, bass crazy epic of a dance album that pulls inspiration from reggae, hip hop, dancehall, and dub (with the occasional -step thrown in) to form a breed all its own.
The duo is the culmination of two electro hard-hitters who joined forces after their stint as instructors for the 2007 Red Bull Music Academy. Steve Spacek, known for not only his solo work, but also his work with such groups as the electronic-fusion of Spacek and the post-Dilla jams of Black Pocket. The other half of Africa Hitech, Mark Pritchard, has a different and incredibly varied musical background. He, along with Tom Middleton as Global Communication, created one of the most acclaimed ambient and electronic albums of the '90s, 76:14. He's also involved in countless other musical endeavours that are much different then his success in ambiance, such as the dirty dark beats of Harmonic 313. Steve Spacek and Mark Pritchard came together to meld their dominant styles together to form an inspired slice of ragga flow with a hip hop flavor.
93 Million Miles, with it's many inspiration and producers varying musical backgrounds,is a dense and challenging listen. The album spans 11 tracks, each one a sprawling display of genre bending madness. They utilize heavy amounts of repetition, with slight alterations to create a tightly knit track with little negative space to move around. There is a lot to hear in each of these songs. However pleasing it is track-to-track, the album as a whole can come across slightly bi-polar at times. The first half displays a fast-paced dark urban atmosphere; a more hip hop influenced sound. The latter half is more smooth with tropical undertones that's a little more ragga savy.
A good example of the multiple personality style of 93 Million Miles would be the comparison between the orchestral gang stomp and liquid bass line of "Do U Wanna Fight" and the smooth bongo-banging of another vocal-dominant song "Spirit". "Do U Wanna Fight", Africa Hitech's undeclared shout out to Major Lazer, opens with a sax-heavy intro that grinds into unintelligible vocals that are heavily manipulated and a beat that proves quite difficult to locate initially. This is a strong example of the hip hop mentality of these two creating a powerful urban sprawl of a song. "Spirit", however, displays a smoother and decidedly more natural tone. Softly delivered vocals cover the jungle sounds flowing in between the drums, both kettle and bongo. Both of these tracks are from opposite sides of the album, and they both display the trend of duality between the dark city front half and the bright jungle back half.
93 Million Miles' stand out "Out in the Streets" is a danchall dubstep banger that's backbone is formed by a layered Ini Kamoze vocal sample "out in the street" repeated incessantly, circulating through bass-crazy alternating beat cycles. Utilizing the solid structures heard throughout this album, this song is relentless with sound and gives no room to move around - creating a city claustrophobia that rivals that of the dirty beat doctor Babe Rainbow. This track in particular is an example of how with proper balance, all of their influences melded together can truly create an exciting listen.
Throughout this album there are varied techniques and talents employed that are truly innovative and very now. The albums midway epic "Our Luv's" wavering synth work and vocal cyclone ending; the guttural bass line of "Footsteps"; and the Broken Spindles-esque "Cyclic Sun", with it's clicking metronome beat -each track uncovers a new layer in the city-soundscape-to-jungle-landscape narrative that is consistently challenging, but consistently rewarding as well.
You can purchase Africa Hitech's Hitecherous EP and 93 Million Miles LP here.
Disco sampling savages Javelin are at it again, this time with the western frontier in mind. Javelin, along with friend and past collaborator, director Mike Anderson, plan to produce an epic Western entitled Canyon Candy, or Blood of the Rio Grande, with an accompanying score composed by Javelin themselves. The score for the film, a 10 in. EP, was released April 16th, on Record Store Day, by Luaka Bop Records. The album itself is a limited edition, hand pressed-- and to show their commitment to the project-- hand branded masterpiece that only Javelin could have composed.
Canyon Candy truly plays as a backdrop to a lone cowpoke's journey through America's badlands in a search for something: wealth, love, revenge? It's never made quite clear. What is clear is Javelin's unmatchable sampling abilities, which are effectively layered and unbelievably melodic, the only way Javelin knows.
Their shift from the funky dance jams of their earlier work, Jamz 'n Jemz and No Mas, to the sprawling uncertrainty of the old West is seamless and surprising. Songs like album stand outs "Esteves" and "Waterfalls" display the charming sonics of Javelin, but have an undeniably Southwestern style. "Esteves"opens with a lonesome sounding slide guitar that begins to splinter and layer, with pieces winding effortlessly between one another. The swaying rhythm of the twangy guitars create a lush and emotional Western drawl in an incredibly unconventional way.
Album closer, "Waterfalls", is similar in it's set-up with effectively splintered and layered pitchy vocals fused with the eagle cry of a broken slide guitar, creating the old-time rhythm throughout. This track has an uplifting sense of accomplishment and finality, directly followed by a minute of the relaxing cricket chirps of a quiet and restful night on the Western front after a hard days' travels.
Javelin's interpretation of a glitchy Wild West is at times emotionally evocative, and at times just downright goofy. The wacky and whimsical mentality we've come to associate with Javelin is still very present in their most recent effort. Songs like the spliced hip-hop country mash up of "Colorado Trail", the whistlin' side-shooter narrative of "Winchesters", and the trot-paced southern belle harmonies coating "Sagebrush", show us that, despite the dreary subject matter, Javelin can still have fun.
The film portion of the project began with a campaign on the website Kickstarterto raise funds for the production costs of the film. Kickstarter is a way for people in various creative fields to gain access to funds for projects through pledges. They are then given a certain amount of time to ensure safety if financial goals aren't met by developers. This method allows a large creative pool to produce costly productions without the use of loans and investments, fostering a completely self-controlled creative experience. Javelin, director Mike Anderson, and producer Oscar Boyson's campaign began in the beginning of March with a goal of $9,500. Their goal was met on April 9th, and has since exceeded the initial amount by rounding up pledges totaling $12,505. Each series of pledge amounts were matched with awards ranging anywhere from a personalized thank you postcard, a playbutton containing the Canyon Candy score, a DVD of the film, or even an executive producer credit.
The score for Canyon Candy was not only released as a limited-edition record, but also as a Playbutton. New York based design company Parte LLC developed the Playbutton, which is an innovative way to listen to a record while still maintaining a tangible connection that's been lacking in the age of digital music. Crate-diggers, like Javelin, who's basis is upon the physicality of the LP and tapes of yore, obviously would be down to entertain the idea of a new way to bring music back into the hands of the listener. They crafted a custom Canyon Candy Sheriff's badge playbutton to add to the effect.
Given the restraints of creating a score for a then unmade film, Javelin sure have a knack for melody and theme. The album as a whole offers its own narrative, but also a sprawling glimpse into what we can only imagine will be, as Mike Anderson said of Canyon Candy, "The most beautiful thing you will ever see in your entire life."
Here are a few tracks from Javelin's Canyon Candy score, paired with western footage unrelated to the actual Canyon Candy film.
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.
I had the opportunity of talking with Dean Bentley, the UK's video-game-gangsta beat maker known as Hourglass Sea. He crafts some epically heavy retro jams with plenty of nostalgic samples and chiptune effects to keep any music loving, video game playing nerd smirking. He just released the Live From the Crematorium EP at the beginning of the month.
I've linked to some of the songs from video games that we mention so you can hear/see for yourself.
Check out the link to the Robocop Game Boy Theme that's posted. It's insane.
?: When did you first begin recording as Hourglass Sea?
Dean: "Teenager" was the first Hourglass Sea recording. It was made about 8 or maybe 9 months ago.
?: The new EP's name is Live From the Crematorium, what is that a reference to?
Dean: The place where I grew up. We lived over the road from Scholemoor Cemetery. The crematorium is reasonably sized and sits right in the middle, so it can't be missed.
Living next to a place like that seemed to bother some people, but it never bothered me. Sometimes you have to use your imagination and make the best of where you reside. For all its problems Lidget Green was okay. On the one side it has a very English working class look about it, with its mills and terraced streets, almost like an L.S. Lowry painting, but on the other side it had green fields that went on for miles. I suppose I liked the variation haha. It's more of a tribute to the people I knew and where we grew up.
?: What was the inspiration behind Hourglass Sea?
Dean: Originally I wanted Hourglass Sea to be more versatile. I had ideas of recording metal, synthetic R&B, stoner rock, hip hop and a few other things - all under Hourglass Sea. I briefly tried it out but decided against the idea. I'm inspired by all kinds of music really. Zapp & Roger, Paradise Lost, Cameo, Little River Band, SOS Band, Biz Markie, Massive Attack, Bad Religion, Kyuss...it's a fairly big list. I try to take snips of ideas and sounds from different styles of music and incorporate them into one place.
I just want my music to be very loud, melodic and busy.
?: There's a strong sense of nostalgia in your songs, would you consider yourself a very nostalgic person?
Dean: Yes. A little too much, I think. Especially in music. From a music point of view it's kind of hard not to be. I grew up in the days of albums, album booklets, 3-4 single releases off each new album, videos, artwork etc. I kinda miss all that. I think overall things are changing for the better, but the original reasons as to why I fell in love with music will always play some kinda part.
?: There is a lot of guitar in your music, most notably in "Crystal Kross", is that all you? What other instruments do you play?
Dean: Yes that's me. I use a cheap Aria Pro 2 semi acoustic and a Big Muff. My amp set up is an early '70s Marshall Cab and a Matamp head. I try to include my guitar as much as possible, even if it's just a lick here and there. I play drums and bass, though at the moment I'm currently without a bass. I can handle keys sufficiently enough for recording.
?: When did you first begin playing music?
Dean: I began playing drums when I was 10 and guitar at 13. I was in one band in school. We didn't do very well, though we had the best intentions. Growing up all I ever wanted to do was be in a band. These days I love making music on my own. I could do with a vocal collaborator, but I wouldn't change the music making process at all.
?: It sounds like so much goes into each individual song, what is your music making process?
Dean: These days I always start with drums. I try to fill the drum tracks with percussion, effects, change ups etc. Once I'm 100% happy with the drums - I start playing with melodies and chords. Eventually I'll record something I like. It all builds from there really.
I have a fairly rudimentary style of recording. It's a manner of recording that works perfectly for me. I try not to care too much about the quality of the recording, whether it's a sample recorded into my MPC, or a guitar miked with my amp.
The two things I focus on with each song are melody and feel. I don't mind even if I make a slight mistake in a recording. Sometimes it's good to add a real human feeling to a largely synthetic backdrop. It sounds corny but I like the idea of a song sounding a little rough whilst containing a strong, bright melody.
?: Obviously video games, among other things, have a strong influence on your sound. What are your all time favorite video games?
?: Sonic 2 is amazing! I LOVE the music in the special stages in both Sonic 1 and Sonic 2. They both probably have my all time favorite video game music along with Zelda Ocarina of Time and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue. Robocop also had some awesome music.
What's your favorite video game music or song?
Dean: Do you remember the music for Robocop for the Game Boy? It had this strange mood to it, quite solitary and relaxed. It was very good. I don't have a favorite. I love certain mini-sounds, intros etc. I remember one of the early John Madden games had quite a cool intro, and the music played after Shinobi dies in the 3rd game, that was really nice! Sonic 2 is hard to beat though. That shit was inspired.
?: What are the samples used in "Another World" and "Memory Eternal"? Is that shit Guile from Street Fighter 2?!
Dean: Yes, that's Guile! I preferred Vega, but Guile has some nice lines. Like most people my age I have fond memories of Street Fighter 2. The characters, music and various effects used in SF2 will always be memorable.
"Another World" utilizes a prog rock vocal - as well as a subtle vocal sample from Streets Of Rage 2. See if you can find it!
?: The sample is Blaze, right?! Brilliant!
Dean: Correct! But there's another Streets of Rage sample in there....
?: Also, is that a sample of Mantazz in "Time Killer" or am I crazy?
Dean: No, you're crazy! Haha. Time Killer contains a sample, but I'm not giving this one away. You'll have to go digging for it!
?: The song sampled in “Another World” is “Reappear” by the Little River band, right?
Dean: That's the one! Playing To Win is a very cool album. The '80s was amazing for rock and funk/R&B. It was a pretty open field in terms of what kinds of sounds people used for each song. Old formulas were being ignored for new ideas & sounds.
Can you imagine being a teen, putting on the radio first thing in the morning and hearing “The Message” or “This Is Radio Clash”? Wow, it was like a new enlightenment.
?: That's one of the many things I love about your music, it's almost like a hunt to find the pop-culture references in your samples. Do you intend it to be this way, almost like a musical hide and seek?
Dean: Not really, but I used to do exactly the same thing with anything produced by The Alchemist and Just Blaze. If the beat contained a sample I wanted to know what it was and where it came from. For that reason hip hop opened me up to a lot of music.
?: Who designed your bad ass logos and EP covers?
Dean: My Hourglass Sea artwork is designed by Kevin Summers at Normal Bias.
He's very cool!
?: I like that you used the cover of The SOS Band's album Sands of Time, which was also the inspiration for your name, as the backdrop to your earlier track's logo. Is the backdrop on the new logo from something as well?
Dean: Good observation. Sands of Time is a cool album. That's like the epitome of mid tempo, synthetic 80s R&B. I think I want to listen to it again now you've mentioned it. The backdrop wasn't really inspired by anything, other than offering a darker tone than the bright, desert backdrop of “L.A Lights” and “Teenager.”
?: Have you gone by any other names, or do you have any side projects?
Dean: I used to collaborate with emcees under the name L.G.P. I'm on the verge of releasing an album of sorts featuring the various collaborations over the past few years.
?: What does L.G.P stand for?
Dean: Lidget Green Position. I know, terrible name.
?: Does L.G.P share the same sound as Hourglass Sea?
Dean: No, not really. Hourglass Sea is very different. These days I enjoy HS more than standard hip hop. The sampling techniques I've learned over the years will always be used in Hourglass Sea. I'll never stop sampling. Not fully. Maybe in the past I consciously created beats to fit an emcees mood. I suppose I got bored of that.
?: When can we expect the collaborative album to drop?
Dean: I'll release the compilation in the next month or 2. It contains about 18 songs feat Guilty Simpson, Craig G., Nature and a bunch of other emcees. It's totally different to Hourglass Sea and I'd never merge the two in anyway. The album is largely beats and rhymes.
?: It seems that you would bring a lot of brightness to your hometown with your music, have you ever put on a live show? (as Hourglass Sea)
Dean: Not yet, but from May onwards I'll start playing live. I'm not so sure I'll be playing regularly within my city. Bradford is a strange place. But I'm looking forward to playing live. I have a guitar/ableton set up. I'm not quite there yet. Setting the live thing up takes its own time, but it should be fun.
?: Given all the ridiculous titles for music genres -- what would you want to call your brand of sound if given the choice?
Dean: Universal Space Funk. That sounds lame doesn't it?!
I'm really not too sure. I remember witnessing the arrival of 'nu-metal' in the late 90s. It was pretty depressing to see a golden age in metal thrown away for this new buzz word, “nu-metal”. The music was mostly crap and so was the name. I've heard a few names being banded around. It's strange really because It's something I've never given much thought to.
?: Universal Space Funk does not sound lame! In fact, I think compared to Nu-Metal, Universal Space Funk rocks.
On a side note, Korn, a fairly popular American Nu-Metal band, is from my hometown in the Central Valley of California. This is not a fact I am very fond of. This is less of a question and more of a statement.
Dean: Really! That's kinda cool, really. Though I never got into them. I liked Deftones. They're from California, right? Ever heard Paradise Lost? They come from Halifax, just up the road from me. They had two cool mid-'90s albums.
I personally think they're the best (metal) band to come out of West Yorkshire.
?: When can we anticipate a full length? Do you have a record label or are you even looking for one?
Dean: I'd like some kind of guidance eventually, whether that results in a label or management. I'm not that sure on how such things work, but there are parts of the music game I'm pretty lame with, and could probably do with some guidance in. For the time being I'll keep releasing singles/EPs and a few remixes too!
?: When can we expect some more new tracks?
Dean: I'm currently working on a new EP. Live From The Crematorium was generally well received, so I think the idea is to take some time with the new recordings and hopefully try to gain a little more interest with a new EP. I'm pushing for late March/early April.
?: Finally, NES or SEGA?
Dean: That's difficult! I loved both consoles. If pushed - I'd go with Sega: Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Sonic, Shinobi 3...They're fairly good reasons, right?!
Make sure to check out his new EP Live From the Crematorium which you can listen to at his soundcloud.
Also, keep a look out for my upcoming review of the Live From the Crematorium EP.
