April 24, 2013 – Lines In Wax

Burial – Truant / Rough Sleeper (2012)

April 24, 2013July 31, 2020

Welcome to what is quite possibly one of the most chilled out things in the world. I’m not talking that lovey-dovey “ambient” chill out shit that comes in box sets of 5 CDs, I’m talking about modern, chillax-to-the-max experimental dub. After being recommended Burial by about 40,000 different people I decided to actually check out some of his tunes on Spotify and I was an instant convert. One thing I don’t agree with here though is the insistence on the dubstep tag; sure this will appeal to thousands of dubstep fans but I do not think that it really falls in with the genre. It is simply too laid back and experimental. “Truant” is a 12 minute masterpiece of sonic sub-bass bliss that simultaneously shakes my house and gives my brain the cerebral break it so desperately needs. What more can you want from music? Switch it on, switch yourself off. Job done. The B side, “Rough Sleeper”, is a bit different. It is a bit longer, clocking in at just under 15 minutes, but it seems to be comprised of several songs (or should I say “vibes”) mashed together rather than one 15 minute long trip. It’s still goddamn awesome though! This 12″ was put out December past by Hyperdub. Check it out in the link below (although it won’t do the sub-bass justice).

jazz

Stebmo – Stebmo (2009)

April 24, 2013December 30, 2020

I had the shock of my life when I saw a tweed jacket wearing Steve Moore perform as Stebmo in 2009, supporting Earth in The Croft, Bristol. What the hell was I watching? To be fair, who knew? And whilst that jazzy-jam of distorted electric piano and drums doesn’t sound anything like the Stebmo record, it was entirely responsible for my purchase of it. It took me a while to get around the idea of whether I liked Stebmo or not, but in the end I threw caution to the wind and bought the album. Way to push the boat out! Like the live show, the Stebmo record is primarily piano and organ driven, although there is a veritable smorgasbord of other instruments and performers chipping in over the whole record. One minute it’s elevator music, the next an up-beat jaunt that would be the perfect soundtrack for walking through a big city, and then onto slower, more rousing and thought provoking pieces. This record has it all! I don’t really know how to class this album, and I guess if it doesn’t class easily then I shouldn’t try to, although Discogs has it listed as Avant-garde jazz. Hmm. Out on Invada Records (the Bristol-based one) and as far as I can tell, all the copies are clear vinyl. Also, since some cunt stole my fucking Cattle Decapitation 7″ in a bogus trade, the Stebmo record is now by far the clearest clear record I own. That shit is like fucking glass.