Beautiful photos by Ward Roberts depicting various courts integrated into the urban landscape in near chameleon ways.
When living in Hong Kong I remember being amazed at how much area was offered up for court/pitch activities, given how short they are on space. Many of these are most likely far above street level, and while not necessarily “green areas,” they give back crucial space that was taken by construction.
Le Corbusier would be proud.
Via Freunde von Freunden.
Todd Osborn is more known for his Osborne or Soundmurderer projects but his Superstructure is nothing new, back in 2005 I bought his cassette called Clone A which was him completely replaying Radiohead’s Kid A on a synth, I loved that tape, I can’t find it anywhere.
Above is a gorgeous stop motion video for Escape and the song for free download, if you love it check out the rest of the EP.
If I could offer up one electronic album to the world it would be this one, Lusine has always been a wizard when it comes to expansion and beauty, while maintaining the highest quality sound design without it ever being too experimental to drive off any new listeners. Songs like “Stratus” makes you feel like your skydiving in your chair, while “Panoramic” builds up to what feels like your doing donuts in a convertible in slow motion in the desert after the best day with your good friends. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Seattle-based producer Jeff McIlwain’s work has long inhabited the fertile border zone between electronic pop and experimental electronic music — it’s a place that’s home to music that has both a brain and a heart, and McIlwain’s been exploring its boundaries for the best part of a decade now.
The Waiting Room is his third full-length release for Ghostly International under the moniker Lusine, and his first album since 2009’s A Certain Distance. As with all McIlwain’s work as Lusine, this is a record that’s characterized by both diversity and coherency. Its tracks traverse a variety of sonic landscapes, from the widescreen atmospherics of appropriately-titled opening track “Panoramic” through the digital soul arrangement of Electronic’s “Get the Message” and the club-friendly bounce of “First Call” to the slow-building Detroit-inflected closer “February”.
But for all The Waiting Room’s eclecticism, it’s also notable that it plays out as a coherent whole, with McIlwain’s deft production creating the sense of a single, logical journey — an album, rather than a simple collection of tracks. It also continues the excursions into vocal-led tracks that characterized A Certain Distance — exactly half of The Waiting Room’s ten tracks employ vocalists, most notably the aforementioned “Get the Message,” wherein guest vocalist and wife Sarah McIlwain makes Bernard Sumner’s words her own: “I don’t know where to begin / Living in sin,” she sings calmly, “How can you talk? / Look where you’ve been.”
As a whole, this is an album that’s both cerebral and visceral, a record that’s both rewarding of a serious headphone session and also warm and melodic enough to make listening as engaging in an emotional sense as it is in an intellectual one. Many artists flirt with these two extremities of electronic music; few tie them together as well as McIlwain does.
One of my favorite people on this planet is Cameron Ballensky. I recently visited Cameron and… well… you know how some people hoard cats? Or hoard old papers? Cameron hoards Polaroids. Call it an obsession or whatever but his hoarding skills are starting to pay off. Recently he’s been learning to do double exposures with Polaroids which is a pretty cool and ingenious process. The last two are examples of his first attempts. I can only imagine that his skills at this process will only get better. Would love to have a wall dedicated to a bunch of his photos someday.
Cameron, perhaps you can share with us some of the equipment, film and processes you use in our comments?
Check out his website for mas pictures: CAMERON BALLENKSY
Billerica messaged this to me, really beautifully looped found sound from nature, he does it better than I do.
Lone back to that glossy soothing sound he started off with but with an upgrade, this one glistens in silvers and honey.
Brolin is a new artist thats trying the whole unknown identity thing which I think is a waste of time. Honestly I enjoy this song, it almost sounds like Tracy Chapman over some Sebastian Tellier/Hot Chip moody beat material.
Its more Four Tet, doesn’t need much explanation since i’ve posted almost every leak he’s shared on soundcloud in the last year.
Trying to leave you all with something perfect for the weekend, probably the best go to is Classixx, the most trusted remixers and DJs in the last 5 years. Judging on the recent artwork i’ve seen they might have the best branding for a music in 2013.
TRACKLIST
1. Tangerine Dream – The Dream Is Always The Same
2. Unit Black Flight – Night Raiders
3. Tropics – Give It Up
4. Groundislava – Weekend In The Tropics
5. Human League – Human (Instrumental)
6. —
7. James Welsh – The Way
8. Toro y Moi – Rose Quartz
9. Falty DL – Straight & Arrow
10. Classixx – Holding On (Acapella)/ Aphex Twin – Xtal
11. Madonna – Live To Tell (At Close Range Extended Instrumental)
12. Tiger & Woods – Pitch
13. Mano Le Tough – Take It Back
14. Moony Me – Confused
15. Akufen – Skidoos
16. Presets – It’s Cool
17. Classixx – Borderline
18. Jacques Renault – Back To You (Paradis Remix)
19. Nicolette Larson – Lotta Love
20. Tangerine Dream – Love On A Real Train
Great covers from Macdonald Educational series of books for teachers.
Via Wanken
Beautiful handmade collages from Bryan Olson aka Glass Planet.
Via MELT
A new favorite, recent DaM Funk hasn’t caught my ear until now, perfect timing, definitely playing this tomorrow on Valentine’s Day w/ Lemonade at Cameo Gallery tomorrow.
Foxes In Fiction beautifully covers “Heaven or Las Vegas” by the Cocteau Twins. Pulls off the vocal soo nicely, Warren is in Brooklyn now, this summer should be a great one for him.
Courtship comes up with a dreamy remix for a Sydney-based group, its light and enjoyable to take in, reminds me of that first spring wind on the face.
We all need more Pure X, twaggin’ out for those people that have worn out their Kurt Vile and Real Estate records, this is a refreshing listen.
