Memory keeper. Mostly music, some movies, series, video games. Obscure darkness meets pop culture glow.
Came accross this one completely randomly while image searching for ESB and the cover caught my eye. And it turns out to be a triphop-downtempo album, which is just great! Easy going, no moody depth here, just some nice tunes and beats.
Best new series that I stubled upon this year. Has “the spritiual successor of Firefly” written all over it but by no means is it a copy of anything. Just has a similar premise with a small team of three travelling back-and-forth in space on a cool little ship working through some quests and always finding some trouble along the way.
For me it started out as a likeable cute sci-fi series at 6/10 rating, then slowly built up to be an exiting sci-fi universe of 7/10, and I left the first season with a rather solid 8/10 feeling and wanting more. The CGI is always cheap and crap, the heroes are just too polished and beautiful people, some scenes are overplayed, etc. But the whole universe and the terrific ideas blew me away always and it just compensates for everything. There are all these politics, technologies, legends, all of which makes this world super interesting. Probably this grasps my attention best: the stories in between, the background painted behind everything. There are some really great storytellers penning this series, that’s for sure, most likely would be a superb read as a book as well.
It is hard not to want to highlight certain moments and ideas, but I suppress the craving and just pin one episode to the top. Episode 7 (Kiss Kiss, Bye Bye) is a fucking masterpiece. It has some real though moments that I would not expect from a casual sci-fi TV series and the whole personal dynamics mature to a point from where all picturing of emotions appear on a totally different level. This year I ditched a few series because I just couldn’t stand how the characters dealt (or couldn’t deal) with personal conflicts, and in this scene Killjoys shows the best possible example.
I just wanted to put one more picture here. Such character.
Catchphrase here is that this is a side-project with Yann Tiersen, and if you want a better keyword for search, try Elektronische Staubband. Great album btw with analogue experimentations ranging from melodic nid-nodders to power noise screamers.
Now this one is suprising and interesting. Debut longplayer with a blend of moods but mostly focusing on slow tempo, although even while keeping the pace below the mid-range still offers quite a palette from field recording style ambient through laid-back downtempo to choking steamy techno. Then halfway through the album we arrive to the mid tempo range and mostly keep the speed steady going forward. I better enjoyed the second half with its techno vibe, but the album as a whole has a well orchestrated journey for sure.
Something large and operating with elemental forces, but then switching back and forth between kind and overwhelming. Something in the crossroads of techno, ambient, power noise and idm, in the world of dreamscapes and wonders. Beatiful record.
The new Krush record is out, and there is not much to add except there’s no disappointment whatsoever. It is a perfect record with the beautiful moody triphop he can offer, and not one single track out of tune or style. I will see him play live just a week from now and I am quite excited about that, especially after this album. I sincerely hope that he brings along a bunch of vinyls so that I can have this little beauty shelved.
There is a new offering from Syntax, of whom I haven’t heard of since 2004′s Meccano Mind. There is this retro synth thing going on, now he produced an ambient side of that. Good vibe altogether, and the starting track Andromeda is especially catchy.
Got hooked on this one for quite some days, terrific orchestration and blend of styles. Some electronic music styled beats, but acoustic instruments, then going deep ambient, dark textures and full-blown metal, always with a hint of folk. The mountain shape drawn by the length of the tracks is a nice subtle thing to discover. Totally surprising entry in my best of 2015 list.
The new Killing Joke full length has dropped and it is so amazing that I am literally stunned to do anything else. I just sit and listen to it go along, and my thoughts are exploding all over the universe.
I had this rush when I listened to the two forerunner singles and then dug through to the Killing Joke discography in full. My conclusion was that the debut album was groundbreaking by all means, but then the more artistic and avant-garde styles did not appeal to me. Then when they turned towards the sound, which dominates as of today, this harsh industrial rock with stomping drums and commanding vocals, this is something when the band arrives home to me.
The record of 2003 well deserved its self-titled nature, as it defined something new and I was so happy with what it brought. Pylon now builds upon this face of the Joke but also has some hints of their early past with singed verses and echoing guitars. This is something I cannot unlisten and will carry with me, I can feel that.
After one debut album a single with Plaid and Alva Noto remixes. I am trying to say this sentence out loud so that I can get a grip on it. Wait, what?