The Electronic Tonic – Autechre EPs 1991 to 2002

The year starts pretty slowly so as promised I’ve put the Autechre EP show I did a while ago back online, quite easily the best “old” electronic music I discovered last year, and some of the best music I’ve discovered in my entire life. This show features one track from each of the 12 EPs released between 1991 to 2002.

This music isn’t 3am music made for your feet.

This music is made for your heart, your brain and is music to listen to until the day you die – some of these tracks are 20 years old, they will still be listened to in 20 years time and wipe the floor when compared to the majority of electronic music written since.

Time to put the old “Autechre=noisy IDM” nonsense to bed – it gets no better than this.

This music is magical.

You need this is your life!

Electronic Steve x

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New You and the Night and the Music show live now

The first YNM of 2012 is something of a cracker, even if I say so myself.

First up is an interview with Leicester musician Peter Wyeth, who talks about making music on mobile phones. The result is intimate and beautiful. Then, in the second hour of the show, there’s an interview with Boston brother-sister duo Knox, whose music is beguiling and bewitching. You’re going to love them. They also provide a killer 45-minute mix of late-night darkness, with tracks from the likes of Dalglish, Pinch & Shackleton and Grouper.

It’s all after the jump.

The Vital Sound Reggae Show

January 8th 2012

Daniel Turner hosts another Reggae based show in the form of Vital Sound, he features masters and believers including: Sizzla, Earl Zero, Burning Spear, Sinead O’connor, Earth & Stone , King Tubby, Blackout JA, Major Lazor feat. Bitta Blood, YT, Warrior King, Phill Pratt , Protoje feat. Kymani Marley , Mr Williamz, Stush , Skeme, Big P & Fallacy. Bless x

For tracklistings and more about the show click HERE

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Liam’s Song O’ month: Sharon Van Etten – Mike Mcdermott

January 3rd 2012

As it’s the new year it seems right and proper to look forward and how nice it is too, what’s even nicer is to get your teeth into some blood bubbling new music and we look forward to February in fact and a b-side on JagJaguwar from Sharon Van Etten. American Van Etten is a favourite of the music maestro Tom Ravenscroft and it was on his show on 6Music that the song first featured, the track is called Mike Mcdermott and is a slightly different sound from the Brooklynite as it veers from her usual singer songwriter path and into something rather more experimental, slightly odd and frankly gorgeous.

The track opens with a buzz and David Sitek style beat, a chumping snare drum and thicker than thick kick, just one heavy, clean and crisp loop with subtle delay that adds space.It’s closely followed by a bass line somewhat reminiscent of the Australian come London band HTRK and their late Bass player Sean Stewart’s low level growls. The rhythm section is then furnished with the first of Van Etten’s vocal parts, an ethereal backing purr that fills the gaps, there’s a plunky grand piano that caresses several joyous chords that compliment the piece and add an eerie presence. You then realize the divine awaits as the one thing missing from the piece, the part you hope is coming, arrives. When the main vocal bursts its way into the piece the other sounds are forced unto the back seat as Van Etten’s voice rips in. Her timbre nods somewhat to Kim Deal and in particular The Pixies track ‘’Where is my mind’’, although it does seem somewhat wrong to compare as the vocal is stunning and the piece something very much its own.

The song possesses no real chorus or traditional arrangement, it flows smooth and deep against the back drop of sound and Van Etten’s howl. It proves the power of the piece when without traditional, recognizable formatting it still holds its own, the simple looping background is all held and driven, one handed and wild, by the vocal.She warms the ear with the tranquil words: ‘’Planning to find a redemption, you will call and pretend, when there’s nothing but dimes in our pockets’’

As the track moves on the layers are backed by maelstrom style synths that shyly chirp their way into the song and harmonise with the notes until they grow like vines through the repetitive machine of loops and layers while detuning and upsetting until they become the focal point of the song itself, they eventually lead out and solo into mayhem while the track fades away into the background. An odd and unpredictable end to the track but somehow it fits perfectly and leaves you gasping for more.

Unbelieveably this track is a B-side to Serpents, everyone knows how good b-sides can slip by, Radiohead’s Gagging Order springs to mind, but maybe there’s a good and decent reason for it, a song might not suit the album as a whole or the musician may feel it’s not quite finished and the structure is lacking that finishing touch, neither of which count in this instance.

The A side Serpents is a good track but more conventionally Van Etten, the single is from the forthcoming album Tramp out in February.

It’s beautifully inspiring for lesser musicians when you can hear such beauty and form from a relatively simple track in terms of musicality, with the simplicity of notes and arrangement. Simple sometimes is best, it’s just all about vision and the blending of themes.

The single Serpents is out now on Jagjaguwar and the album Tramp is out on February 7^th.

Liam DCR

The If Show 2011 roundabout round up

Boxing Day 2011

With all the hoo haa surrounding end of year polls Liam and Gem decided to just use it as an excuse to play all their favourite music from the year and chat about melodic based highlights across the board alongside playing some other little gems. Those highlights include tUnE-yArDs, Vlooper, Atomic Mama, Joe Goddard, Youth Lagoon, Julio Bashmore, Ramadanman, Daughter, Jamie XX & Gil Scott Heron and much more. It’s always wonderful to have an excuse to re-wind and re-spin but only once a year!