Boomkat new THE CARETAKER, PINCH, BENEATH, etc

*Made in an edition of 700 copies only* James Leyland Kirby returns with a long-in-the-making soundtrack to acclaimed filmmaker Grant Gee’s documentary about German writer WG Sebald. ‘Patience (After Sebald)’ is a multi-layered film essay on landscape, art, history, life and loss – an exploration of the work and influence of German writer WG Sebald (1944-2001), told via a long walk through coastal East Anglia tracking his most famous book ‘The Rings Of Saturn’. Much like The Caretaker’s oeuvre, Sebald’s works are particularly focused on themes of memory, both personal and collective, making Kirby the ideal candidate for this score. Grant tasked him with soundtracking responsibilities, but rather than thrift shop shellac, the source material for ‘Patience’ was sourced from Franz Schubert’s 1927 piece ‘Winterreise’ and subjected to his perplexing processes, smudging and rubbing isolated fragments into a dust-caked haze of plangent keys, strangely resolved loops and de-pitched vocals which recede from view as eerily as they appear. Mastered and cut by Lupo at D&M, the album is adorned with another specially commissioned painting by Ivan Seal, and comes as a limited edition pressing of 700 for the world. A CD edition will follow next month.

*Vinyl Edition limited to 500 copies for the world* The excellent Public Information label really comes into its own with this revelatory collection of early concréte tape music by F.C. Judd – a much overlooked British electronic music pioneer and contemporary of Daphne Oram. Born in Woodford, East London in 1914, Frederick Charles Judd served in the RAF coastal command during WWII working with highly secret radar equipment. After being demobbed he applied this knowledge and skilled engineering background to his musical interests, and with the advent of tape recording techniques, he was drawn to experimenting with electronic music by the mid-’50s. By 1954 he’d published the first of his eleven books, containing circuit designs for radio controlled models, and by 1959 he was technical editor of Amateur Tape Recording magazine, leading to to his book ‘Electronic Music and Musique Concréte’ in 1961 and the creation of his F.C. Judd Sound Recording Co by 1963. In this role his music found a commercial outlet, issuing three EPs which would be collected on the library record ‘Electronic Age’ released by Studio G in 1970 (included here), and most notably provided the first all-electronic score to a whole series on British telly for ITV’s sci-fi puppet show ‘Space Patrol’ (youtube it!). Fred created his music on a self-built system called Chromasonics, using cathode ray tubes to turn light into unique electronic sound, and effectively creating a functioning synthesizer over a year before the first Buchla, Moog and Synket models appeared. He continued to create music for film and TV throughout the ’60s. But by the time of his last book on the topic ‘Electronics In Music’ in 1972, Fred was dismayed at the lack of interest and sceptical of much of the genre’s early experiments. Eventually, he sold his equipment and joined the ranks of under-appreciated backroom experimenters who paved the way for electronic music as we know it today. Thanks to Public Information, however, his music is now available for wider consumption, and there’s a strongly compelling mixture of frothy, rhythmic and outstandingly dark and mysterious works strewn across the 35 pieces included on ‘Electronics Without Tears’. Peering into the black hole of ‘Mysterioso’, drifting along the discordant arabesque ‘Pseudocide’ or on the way-ahead-of-his-time ‘Broken Guitar’ experiment, we can clearly hear an ingenious and intrepid mind at work, one which deserves the attention of anyone with even a passing interest in early electronics.

Tectonic boss and catalytic Bristol kingpin, Rob Ellis aka Pinch helms the latest Fabriclive mix. Since 2005 Pinch has constantly thrilled us with output on his own and a wealth of other labels, assimilating influence from Berlin House & Techno to Grime and Jungle within his visionary bassbin matrix. Recent years have witnessed some of his sickest and most diverse productions, from an epic album collaboration with Shackleton to explorations of 128bpm rollidge and scything 150bpm steppers, all defined by that dreadnaught sense of purpose. His mix here plots an elliptical route across the tempo scale, traversing Technoid 4/4s to halfstep and rugged tribalism like it ain’t no thang. It opens and closes with parts 1 & 2 of Distal’s ‘Venom’ with the intent that the mix could be played on a loop, if you so wished: “I really like the idea of certain kinds of music existing in its own infinite context and setting up the mix to loop like that was playing entirely into that idea.” In between we’re propelled by the likes of EQD’s momentous ‘#005B’ thru a ruck of his own productions as Deleted Scenes and collaborations with Shacky, Quest, Loefah, Photek and Emika, to a bullying section of ruffige from Goth Trad, Distance and Jakes, ending the cycle with bleeding-edge freshness from Om Unit and Illum Sphere. We’re sure the heads will agree; it’s a mighty session, and arguably the best mix he’s ever put together.

U wot?! The world’s premier Bassline spinner, BBC 1Xtra’s DJ Q locks into the mix for Unknown To The Unknown! Starting the label’s 2012 agenda with a bubble and skip, Q rinses thru 19 of his own aces, taking in forthcoming killer ‘All Junglist’ beside infectious remixes for Dubbel Dutch and Rusko plus a gang-sized bucket worth of unreleased and exclusive material. From the rave-stabbing skipple of ‘Bruk Wine’ to the Technoid buck ‘n bury vibes of ‘I’m Scared’, thru the feminine pressure of ‘Tropical Oh’, the batty-bowling flex of ‘It’s A Warp Ting’ to the youtube-sampling ‘Canna Cross It’ and the squealing dancefloor squeeze of ‘Fear Factor’, DJ Q has just delivered the perfect party mix for all dancer. TIPPED!

*Third of four EP’s making up the “Elemental” set, limited to 1000 copies and pressed up on coloured vinyl. This 12″ slots inside the gatefold package that parts 1&2 came with* ‘Rose’, the third scene in Demdike Stare’s latest saga, continues the “Elemental” series and features almost half an hour of dark, immersive, post-industrial music. If you managed to grab a copy of parts 1 & 2 you’ll likely attest to the subtly morphed advance in sound design on this latest work, but the allure of ‘Elemental’ isn’t simply down to new production techniques; it’s better attributed to an utter immersion in the project by its creators. Cutting to the scene, ‘Erosion Of Mediocrity’ tunnels into the night on industrial gauge rhythms lashed by stormy, mind-churning FX and skin-slashing strings layered with a meticulous attention to detail, before we’re lured to the desolate void of ‘Nuance’ by primal, distanced kicks which remain tauntingly out reach in their vast sound sphere. This all feels like preparation for the expansive ‘Falling Off The Edge’, where lost voices of worship introduce ceremonial percussion interjected with fractal edits and mescaline-strength synth apparitions, leaving you to tussle with you own psyche…

Fresh and crispy Electronic House with bags of soul from the Fourth Wave regular. ‘All By Myself’ almost sounds like some minimalist Pepe Braddock or Theo Parrish experiment, shaving the drums to a slinky shift while keys and bassline are smudged to a hazy, hypnotic blur beneath hushed and jazzy vocal. Similarly the teasing Jazz vibes of ‘What A Mess’ lend themselves to strong Matthew Herbert comparison, with the sort of textural detailing and studied swing of a producer far beyond his years. Aces.

The prodigious talent that is Eugene Hector, aka Dro Carey, delivers his long awaited debut for Ramp, a 7-track collection of typically busy, hyperactive and yet oddly coherent tracks from the weirder end of the floor. The thing about Carey is that he manages to pull you in despite utilising sounds that are less robust, less heavy-hitting than those employed by so many of his contemporaries. Opener “Talk Smak” is positively plastic sounding, resonating the top and mid ranges with little care for the low-end, delivering a kind of restless jam that doesnt really adhere to any tried and tested bass formulas. It’s only really on third track in “958” that you get a taste of the richer palette at Carey’s disposal – employing an analogue drum machine shuffle and disjointed vocal loops to tantalising effect. It just doesnt really sound like anything else, the timings are all out, the swing is kinda wrong, the levels are all over the place – nothing really makes sense – and yet there’s a joyful method to this madness that keeps you fully involved from start to finish. This isn’t the same kind of blunted awkwardness you’d find on, say, an Actress production, instead Carey reaches for more blatantly euphoric tropes. You get the feeling that he is just informed by an impressively wide frame of reference, a quick look at the tracklisting for his excellent FACT mix indeed reveals someone equally au fait with The Haxan Cloak, Outkast, Bruce Gilbert and Dj Nate – and it’s that same open minded attitude that makes him such a compelling character on the scene. If you’ve not checked in with Dro Carey yet – your time!

*Hand-stamped white label* Much anticipated and killer debut drop from Sheff’s badman, Beneath – hotly tipped by the likes of Blackdown, Mosca, Swing Ting and Pinch. Since summer 2011 Beneath has been cropping up on tracklists you can trust with a darkly isolated and ruggedly funky sound joining the dots between ’05/’06 style Dubstep and 2012 UK House. Essentially it’s a more stripped down, moody, outsider take on Funky which really pushes all the right buttons. In the likes of ‘Send’ we can hear traces of Steel City Niche creepin’ in the background of bare-bones percussion and dread subs, while ‘Straight’ sounds like Lil Silva gone rogue in an abandoned warehouse. The taut syncopation of pointillist snares and bullying bass with Goldeneye-style ambience on ‘Bubble’ is possibly our percy, but it’s probably a tie with the Shackleton-esque rollidge of ‘Rough’. Simply; DJs and dancers need to know this 12″. Strongly recommended.