Posts by Jakub

By the year 2000, all of the early 90’s shoegaze bands had either broken up (Chapterhouse, My Bloody Valentine, Ride) or either changed their sound altogether (Slowdive/Mojave 3, Catherine Wheel). While not purely a shoegazing act, Cheshire, England’s Doves brought a sense of beauty and ethereality to their music, similar to that of their shoegazing influences, with careful use of echo and reverb. The opening track from their debut album, Lost Souls, as Doves (previously they had played under the electronic moniker Sub Sub), Firesuite, displays all of their strengths. While a band like the Verve would take you on 9 minute space rock odysseys a la She’s a Superstar, Doves were capable of keeping it under the 5 minute due to a strong rhythm section. I am perplexed that there is not a YouTube live version of this track!

Doves – Firesuite

I grabbed some copies of this magazine because someone was going to throw them away. I’ve had them for awhile now and i thought i could share a few. I really love the red dot one, the dot just shows up randomly thru the magazine on black and white photographs. When i look at these older magazines i always wondered where they got all their typography, did these designers meet up and share? was there a mail-in ordering company for different types? hopefully i’m not treating the 1960’s-70’s like the stone age or anything to anyone but i always wondered about the process of graphic design was during that time to put out a well layed out higher end magazine.

The video for this song i’ve always loved especially the opening shot, also it reminds of something maybe The Kids In The Hall would’ve made if they had to do something cute. This cover photography reminds me alil bit of an older Yo La Tengo cover, its not the cover for the single but hey it’s all about eye candy sometimes especially on the holiday break.

Badly Drawn Boy – Once Around The Block

Once Around The Block video

Kind of similar sounding to the Skalpel song posted a couple weeks ago, Triosk and Jan Jelinek come together for a wonderful collab. I love this song for its tempo, the expanding and contracting feeling, and how the ending leaves you. It might sound repetitive but if you listen closely on how each part comes in and out and how the parts start appearing even louder thru the song as it climbs towards the end, it adds soo much to listeners experience. I couldn’t even imagine it live, it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Triosk Meets Jan Jelinek – On The Lake

Also, found a picture of Jan Jelinek’s studio:

This track is off the Erlend Oye’s DJ Kicks compilation it’s a Royksopp track that Erlend Oye sang Smith lyric’s over and the group Silicon Soul did a remix of it, kinda crazy right? but i guess when everyone is all on electronic music making program’s things like this can happen overnight by just sharing files so that everyone can get to the parts of the song. The end of the song is the starting of another song, i can’t find the song by itself, i think it was exclusive to the CD, hope you enjoy.

Royksopp & Erlend Oye – Poor Leno (Silicon Soul Hypno House Dub)

I love it when an album cover makes me jealous, usually this means that there was art direction on top of a great vision for the music. This self titled Engineers release came out in 2005 and got alil bit of love but was overshadowed by bigger names like Interpol, Phoenix, and The Editors. I think they sounded more like Telefon Tel Aviv or Air at times, definitely a great record to look for, i had to pick up a physical copy so i could have the art too.

Engineers – Let’s Just See

You may know Casino versus Japan from his track It’s Very Sunny from an older Hummer Commercial or just because his music could be compared to Scott’s earlier Tycho releases. I love him for his lo-fi crunchy bass, shoegaze approach to all the atmosphere in the background, and his lush looped melodies like in this song "Marilyn Set Me Free".

Casino Versus Japan – Marilyn Set Me Free

Kompakt Records just re-released Gas – Nah Und Fern earlier this month which is a collection of all 4 CD’s he released in the late 90’s on the legendary ambient Mille Plateaux imprint. All 4 releases became available this month as a beautiful box set collection. This cover art is from one of my favorite later releases called “Pop” which is on both LP and CD version of the release. The way i always visualized Wolfgang Voigt’s music is if you sat in a flat plain with tall dry grass and watched an old locomotive chug along about a half mile away, each track on this album has a similar feel to this, maybe its the soft kick drum in the background or the constant dull bell. If you don’t mind repetition and can sit and enjoy the small additions and changes in these tracks while you let the song play all the way thru as you do something else(work) than you will get alot out of this kind of music.

Gas – Untitled (Pop 4)

One band that i might say is one of my favorites but i probably don’t listen to enough unless i’m in the right mood is Sigur Ros. This is the new single off their new record called Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (English translation: with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly) which is out next Tuesday June 23rd. Personally, i love this song it reminds me of some great tracks off Animal Collective – Sung Tongs.

Sigur Ros: Gobbledigook

I couldn’t find a good quality version of the Gobbledigook video but this gives me a chance to post one of my favorite videos by them which is off the last record, the song is called: Glósóli.

Studio has a CD coming out in two weeks which includes all the remixes they’ve done. This Swedish duo we’re played to me by my close friends and this Rubies remix has been stuck in my head. I’m also impressed by some of their quality press photos, they’re not over stylized but more classic and clean with just that right amount of that extra something that makes them special and looking good amongst others.

Rubies: Room Without A Key (Studio version)