Plastik Joy - 3:03 (n5MD)

Plastik Joy is an intriguing duo, if only for the fact that one of them, Cristiano Nicolini, is from Italy and the other, Fannar Ásgrímsson, is Icelandic. You can’t get any closer to “fire and ice” than that. The two met while studying audio engineering in Barcelona and began working together on a couple of songs at the end of 2007. Little did they know what a fortuitous decision it would be when they decided to establish a Myspace page shortly thereafter, in January 2008. First, Myspace led them to Swedish singer Sarah K. Hellström, who ended up writing the lyrics and melody and recording the vocals for their first tune, Hands. She didn’t actually meet Cristiano and Fannar in person until months after the song was completed. But more amazingly, in June 2008, they received a message on Myspace from Mike Cadoo, owner of renowned electronic music label n5MD, who had heard their songs on the site and wanted to discuss a record deal! One short month later, Plastik Joy had signed with the label. And now, 3:03, the debut album from the Myspace poster boys is here for all to hear. At first, if you're not in the right frame of mind, the dreamy, downtempo vibe of 3:03 may strike you as a bit too laid back - like the heat from the fire has melted the ice. But the simple, unassuming melodies grow on you. It’s an album that rewards – in fact, demands – repeated listening and immersion. You’ll come to love the undeniably warm, feel-good glow of Sleepy Quest for Coffee and Hands, the opening tracks of the album, which also happen to be the first two songs that the pair wrote together. From there, the rest of the album opens up like a budding flower. The subtle electronics and acoustic instrumentation, with mellow guitar in a prominent role, make for an addictive concoction. Although Plastik Joy employ several singers on the album, it comes across very much as an instrumental album. Rather than leading the way, the vocals more often than not serve like any other instrument, adding one more color to the bittersweet vibe. On Hands, for example, Hellström’s breathy vocals, which hint slightly at Nina Persson of The Cardigans, blend completely into the sonic landscape. There are one or two brief moments on 3:03 where the surface calm is broken by an outburst of noise, like an involuntary release of pent up energy, but in general, subtlety is the name of the game. It takes a great deal of skill and sensitivity to sustain an atmosphere of such refined delicacy throughout a whole album but Fannar and Cristiano carry it off with aplomb. Considering that this is just their first album, it whets the appetite for what's to come. 3:03 gets its name from the time of morning at which recording sessions usually ended and n5MD touts the album's "nocturnal vibe". There's definitely something to that. 63 (she was trying to sleep, I was trying to breathe), for example, is a pure lullaby. But the first half of the album conjures up images of late afternoons lounging on the beach with a cool drink in hand. If you're looking for something to relax to poolside, it'll most certainly do the trick. Just watch out you don't fall asleep in the sun.

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Original interview posted by Tigon on Tigon World.
Republished with permission of the author.

myspace.com/plastikjoymusic | plastikjoy.com
myspace.com/n5mafia | n5md.com

Lights Out Asia - Eyes Like Brontide (n5MD)

If it looks like I am desperately trying to catch up on some amazing albums, and tell you about them since they first came out, it's because I am. There is just way too much music for me to go through these days. And let's face it, complaining about too much good music is a sin. Yet the fact that I have already listed Eyes Like Brontide on my Best of 2008 List last year should tell you something about my excitement for Lights Out Asia. Never mind the lack of time on my part to give it a thorough review. So I give you no apologies. But I give you these words. The third full length album by the Wisconsin based band opens up with atmospheric swells and echoes of commentary on music, until the drum machine patterns merge into acoustic percussion along the shoegazing, reverb drenched guitars and then... and then we are in the familiar territory of Lights Out Asia's staple sound, with epic harmony and Chris Schafer's desperate vocals. What continues to impress me throughout the works by LOA is the group's ability to effortlessly maneuver their song structures and production between acoustic and electronic, no doubt only belonging to one of my favorite labels, n5MD. I first came upon Lights Out Asia when they released their sophomore album, Tanks and Recognizers (n5MD, 2008). Since then I've been a follower and a fan. The formula behind their work seems simple, yet the emotion evoking execution is flawless. The sound of LOA falls between lush post-rock, organic ambient, crunchy IDM and ethereal cinematic soundscapes. If just that description gets you drooling, then of course, this album is for you, synthetic strings and all... To hear where it all started, pick up the group's debut album, Garmonia (Sun Sea Sky Productions, 2003). Lights Out Asia even made it on Tympanik's compilation, Emerging Organisms Vol.2, as well as ??record Compilation (Zankyo, 2008) [yes, those are Japanese characters in the album title you're seeing], where they shared the spot among Manual, 65daysofstatic, Bitcrush, Helios, I'm Not A Gun, Do Make Say Think, and many others. This album is seriously recommended for the above mentioned artist names, as well as Hammock, Port-Royal, July Skies, and Jatun. Pick up your copy directly from n5MD's mailorder.

myspace.com/lightsoutasia | lightsoutasia.com
myspace.com/n5mafia | n5md.com

Phylum Sinter - From Unity to Segmentation (En:peg Digital)

When Phylum Sinter sent me a promotional copy of his digital release on En:peg Digital, little did he know that I was already a fan. And how could I not be, when his music tickles my spine with triggered percussion jittering across beautiful harmonic atmospherics and refined melodies. Like in Telefon Tel Aviv's Fahrenheit Fair Enough (Hefty, 2001), Christopher Todd uses a light IDM touch and driven bass lines around effected synth lines to slap the confidence back into those solid rhythms. In some places on From Unity to Segmentation, dirty chopped analog acid lines cut through the muddled thick oscillating pads, while the seemingly random drums glitch throughout the frequency space. This is quality electronica, perfectly fitting on n5MD's digital-only offshoot label. Detroit based Todd, has been producing for a while now, getting picked up by net labels like PostUnder and [ai]D['mju:zik] (I have an excellent release from this label by Ed7). He even contributed an outstanding remix to Hecq's 0000 (Hymen, 2007), and it looks like Mr. Ben Lukas Boysen returned the favor by remixing Sedna Demik on the album. Meanwhile, the name Phylum Sinter, may be already familiar to you, if you own a few compilations by Tympanik Audio, IVDT, and Xynthetic Netlabel. I've seen Todd perform before, and I must agree with n5MD's affirmation - he is definitely one of the overlooked and underrated artists. I guess that gives him a little edge. Especially when compared by the latter to µ-ziq, Proem, and even Funckarma. Thanks again to the folks at n5MD for finally giving this artist the proper attention he deserves. For fans of glitchy melodic IDM by artists like SubtractiveLAD, Keef Baker, and Lackluster. If you follow the Kahvi, Monotonik and Sutemos releases, then this release is for you. If not... Well, it's time to check it out! Also, be sure to stop by the above mentioned digital division of n5MD, enpeg.com for the latest FLAC releases from Ruxpin, Fell, Anklebiter, and Todeyoshi.

myspace.com/phylumsinter | phylumsinter.matterwave.net
myspace.com/enpeg | enpeg.com

Another Electronic Musician - Five (n5MD)

It's about time that I got my hands on Jase Rex's fifth release, appropriately titled Five. Critics universally agree, that unlike his moniker suggests, Rex is not just Another Electronic Musician. And though the past releases by Rex were closer to subdued melodic electronica, this album clearly puts the D in IDM. Familiar playful glitchy percussion is complimented by strictly defined rhythmic structures, covering groovy dub beats with layers of pads, delayed jazzy chords, and sprinkles of digital errors. Five becomes more than a head bopping album, it begs for a loungy atmosphere  and shoulder popping dance floor alike. These days Jase Rex is hanging out in Southern California, where he must surround himself by a vast influential musical library, from early pioneers of electronica to the latest craze of dubstep, as it clearly reflects in his music. This marriage of the old and the new is at once familiar and welcome, as the two favorite elements bridge together in the album that keeps on pumping catchy hooks in every track. Where sound becomes a story, and the story yields the sound. This is an interesting addition to n5MD, considering that this highly reputable and personally admired Oakland based label, tends to [lately] focus on less upbeat releases - from ambient neofolk by Last Days, to electronic dreamscapes from Near The Parenthesis, to post-rock shoegaze by the owner himself, Mike Cadoo (aka Bitcrush). It's an interesting avenue that is only applauded by at least this fan of the label. Although I tend to agree that IDM in its original incarnation may be long dead, and that the acronym is slapped and overused by many, we owe it to Another Electronic Musician for keeping it alive (even if it needs a little life support). Thank you, Jase, for a wonderful reminder of the times that are still yet to come.

myspace.com/anotherelectronicmusician | anotherelectronicmusician.com
myspace.com/n5mafia | n5md.com

Last Days - Sea (n5MD)

With the world financial markets currently in gloom, the US presidential elections around the corner [and no real positive outlook in sight], and the overall feeling of minor depression, not the least of which could be attributed to the oncoming colder weather, I begin to wonder if these _are_ the last of our days. But the truth is much more cut and dry. Even when everything implodes or blows up, the sun will keep burning, the time will keep passing, and life will go on. That doesn't prevent me from feeling melancholy and turn towards Scotland based Graham Richardson, who, with his two albums on n5MD, explores sadness through music. Using acoustic live instruments, like piano, xylophone, and guitar, Richardson draws out intelligent ambient soundscapes under his solo project name, Last Days. Sea is Richardson's debut album (n5MD, 2006), which he followed up with a sophomore release a year after, These Places Are Now Ruins (n5MD, 2007). The album is a thematic experience in which Richardson tells a tale of a "a person who sails out to sea, becomes lost halfway, and is eventually rescued." The music thus fluctuates in emotion between fear, dread, hope and peaceful acceptance - the common waves in a life cycle of a man, regardless which rough waters he chooses to navigate. Richardson samples the material using the 'lo-fi' approach, degrading the sound digitally when possible, bringing it closer to shoegaze rather than electronic. Richardson plans on releasing his third (almost finished) album, titled The Safety of The North, on n5MD, in the beginning of 2009. (see my Two and a Half Questions with Graham Richardson for more details). For fans of Eluvium, Deaf Center, Porn Sword Tobacco, Opitope, Kiln, and Hammock.



myspace.com/lastdaysmyspace | n5md.com/lastdays
myspace.com/n5mafia | n5md.com

Near The Parenthesis - L’Eixample (n5MD)

Tim Arndt is back with another release on n5MD! L'Eixample is immediately a more mature, focused, and detail-oriented design. The title (Catalan for "extension") refers to a Spanish district in Barcelona, and indeed draws on impressions and inspirations on Arndt's latest travels to Spain. The production employs a composition of subdued tones and light beats that moves even further into the realm of melodic, atmospheric, and ambient IDM. Arndt lays down the foundation of swirling, reversed and reverberated pads, adding micro programmed rhythms sprinkled with gentle, glitchy, and fuzzy digital errors, all wrapped with an emotional theme of warm melodies, and an occasional eavesdropped conversation in the background. L'Eixample is Arndt's third full length release under the solo project, Near The Parenthesis, following on the heels of the 2007 album, Of Soft Construction, on n5MD as well. Arndt's past experience includes playing guitar and piano for several bands, most notable among them is the Urban Needle project with Steve Mehlman (Pere Ubu) and Mark Gamiere (The Wake). I would say that L'Eixample has more texture then Arndt's previous work, improving on creativity, atmospherics and the overall listening experience. L'Eixample is a further extension of Near The Parenthesis unique style and production techniques that have been perfected once again. Excellent music for those tranquil lazy mornings. Recommended if you follow n5MD's excellent roster, which includes Last Days, Bitcrush, SubtractiveLAD, and Another Electronic Musician.



myspace.com/neartheparenthesis | neartheparenthesis.com
myspace.com/n5mafia | n5md.com

Bitcrush - Epilogue In Waves (n5MD)

I thoroughly enjoyed Mike Cadoo's previous album, In Distance, under his Bitcrush alias. So I waited for a perfect moment to listen to Epilogue In Waves in a serene place setting. I was especially looking forward to the album after I read somewhere that this may be Cadoo's last release (hence the "epilogue" in the title). The latter rumor is clearly incorrect, and I've got the Two and a Half Questions with Mike Cadoo, to prove that. Plus there is an upcoming re-issue of a long unavailable digital release, Shimmer and Fade, remastered and extended. Epilogue In Waves has received mixed reviews. It may be due to unintended expectations from the ever changing musical approach - Cadoo has morphed between styles for years, from his choppy IDM Gridlock project with Mike Wells, to the d'n'b infused breaks as Dryft. Or it may be due to specific expectations of evolution in sound - anything that has been done before may not be exciting to some listeners. Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly welcome the chilled out production of ambient and post-shoegaze influenced bliss. There are instantly recognizable elements from inspirations like Hammock, Lights Out Asia and This Will Destroy You. And these are the sounds that I can't get enough of. In my opinion, this effortless genre migration demonstrates true musicianship, and should receive all the recognition it truly deserves. Cadoo continues to evolve his sound, and as the owner of n5MD, his label's output, through limitless boundaries of uncaged approach. If you follow the label make sure you also pick up Loess, Last Days and Hologram.

myspace.com/haveyoulostyourway | bitcrush.net
myspace.com/n5mafia | n5md.com