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Norman Records |
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We, being as reliable as ever, managed to miss the Rusuden CD last week & therefore didn't sell any as you obviously hang on to our every word. So It's time is now & as It's a bit of a corker, I feel compelled to sing It's praises very highly. Like a choirboy with a butternut squash up his bum. Put simply, 13 tracks of fruity & melodic electronica interspersed with treated guitar & loops. Called 'Warm Human Antennae', you'll become immersed in It's gently rolling & funky waves of sound with no difficulty. From the offset, you're welcomed into a bright & unpretentious world of mellow & accessible programming, enriched with bouncy melodies & unhindered sunny breaks. Easytekno (tm) I'll call this music. It's deffo aimed @ the afterhours brigade without being too Lemon Jelly or predictably "chillout" (yawn).
Every track sounds like a fair portion of love 'n' affection has gone into it. So if you require some fresh post night out sounds you really could do a hell of a lot worse than invest in this fine digipak!
:: Rusuden records can be bought at http://www.normanrecords.com in the UK. |
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CRACKED |
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Easy listening for the 21st century and that's a compliment, you hear me. Justin Morgan, the artist behind Rusuden, presents 14 multi-layered tracks filled with soft breakbeats, easy funkbasses and lots and lots of keyboards, synthies, samples and other fun stuff. The overall atmosphere is laidback, though underneath the surface of these tracks things are boiling. After all it is the overall warmth and friendliness that makes "warm human antennae" stand out from the crowd. With two full releases (one CD-R and one CD on Sonicterror plus a remix album of that second one on Terminal Dusk) this album is definitely some kind of sophomore effort. And definitely worth the works.
There is a certain kind of white boy electronica that has become a favourite backdrop for all kinds of activities of mine. Usually, there are some deep beats loosely hanging into the breakbeat area, some idm influences but too laidback to give the d for dance any kind of worth, lately these tracks have been more and more mixed with real instruments and analogue sounds. This kind of nice bleeping and feeping can really enrich your lazy afternoons when there is tedious work to do, like some computer software stuff, learning or housework. More and more of this records either are being released or are headed my way, it is hard for me to decide, but the part of my collection where I would put these releases is ever growing. To get me up and do an in-depth review, these releases have to feature something atop this otherwise fine mixture. Because fine is okay, but okay is just not enough. They should either be very playful, original and full of playfulness like Daedelus, bridging various gaps between styles like Books On Tapes or Jerry Colburn, taking its own private vision of sound to extremes like the very futuristic and edgy Surasshu, produced with a keen eye onto the closest detail on an almost microscopic level like Radian or Opak, completely obsessed with the gaps between the beats and spheres like David Kristian, or at least possessing any other kind of feature that makes it stand out from the crowd. And a big crowd it is.
With Rusuden it was the mixture of warm organic sounds with futuristic elements that got to me.There are some e-piano-like parts that remind me of smooth soul or jazzfunk from the Seventies. A droopy funk-bass-line sticks to the outer side of the track and makes it move in a stride rather than a walk (complete with a saxophone in the background as on "voicemail"). In between there are sounds as enrichers and colours that are close to sci-fi, boing-boing and woolly hats. Justin Morgan aka Rusuden doesn't use these colourful elements ostentatively or too in your face, they just seem to creep up. Like the vocals that are used like other samples or bitparts and usually never in the foreground but mixed into the multi-layered structure. Every track seems to have a basic beat-pattern around which a fundament of bass and keys is built, onto which all kinds of decorations are put and from there everything is open and everything might happen. Usually the music is like gangster-walking, if you remember that playing tough-game from your childhood, were you walk down the streets like John Wayne or James Cagney drawing on your imagined cigarettes. Some years later you'll discover blaxploitation movies and get to know where that walk really comes from.
And a lot of years later you'll get an idea what some people mean when they introduce the term "hardstep". On this record Morgan explores various ways to reach this stride. At times he settles down to observative walking, other times he plainly cocks his stuff and shows off. And some other times you feel that it is a roboter trying to do the walk. Some tracks, especially towards the middle of the record, like "Raygoth" or "New Religion" are more laidback and soft, others feature elements from concrete music ("Fell asleep laughing") or lean more towards the acoustic side, all atop a basic softened down breakbeat pattern. Here and there the tonality gets a little dark or sombre as well, but usually the bassline, the beats and some whirring coloured part of music will liven things up again. There is also a great deal of focus on details, at parts there are various samples used only once and then even far in the back, especially some vocals or spoken samples. If you listen to all the stuff that goes on in the background of a track like "Rumble Rumble" you'll find another reason why you shouldn't regard this record as another background soundtrack. Though, of course it works great for that purpose as well. The blending of various styles into an overtly very tight mix that has the variety bubbling underneath (which is to say, that there is more variety in one song than from one song to the next, which goes for style in this area) makes for great listening either way.
:: Explore more CRACKED goodness by visiting their web site.
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Tesselate |
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New label / new release from long time friend of Tesselate, Mr Justin Morgan or as he is known ' Rusuden '.
"Wear away the filter" tempts you towards the light with a revolving acoustic guitar riff, which then suddenly explodes on itself in a cascading wave of subdued electro gunfire with haunting tones sliding around in the background, slightly pulling at your shoelaces whilst "Bluegrass" takes it down to a techno step, and rinses you into oblivion as filaments of light from the bright neon ceiling above infiltrate your mind, and program you to jump into light speed. Yeh, that exactly.
"Raygoth" seeps out of a large vat in the corner, the vat is about as tall as tall can be and is home to a manner of secret ingredients. The liquid fills the grout lines between the tiled floor and picks up momentum as gravity takes over and floats effortlessly along on a layer of rich beats and a smooth plodding piano section which gives off visions of moths fluttering around a robots eye cavity in the middle of a Martian winter.
Large rotating shapes, flanked by sparking patterns of processed light, all topped off with a glimmering high pitched melody, which has a smile to melt planets, that’s "Fell asleep laughing". "Breathe smoke" releases a troop of scuffing electronic beats jump into line with a woven sheet of acetate vocal scratches that have been pressed through a huge sieve with a hammering bassline, which is here to cause some chaos. Buzztopsmashthedrums fun for all.
"E Therapy" intercepts unseen transmissions which fill the sky above our small crazy heads, and picks up a jazzy number containing spiraling drum slices and phased out dimensions which appear and disappear like a coin fluttering in the sun as it sinks into the sea. "Zartan a go go" pounds at you with a big glass fist, whilst somehow keeping a semi friendly grin on its face, as it's heat formed hands pile into your rubberized face and reveal pockets of train track beats melted together with ghostly synths in a neat cube form.
' Warm Human Antennae ' is a warm slice of flavoured atmospheric material, which keeps you in check for the full album length. Not as pounding and aggressive as the previous Rusuden review on tess', so it shows a smoother electronic sun rich acoustic side.
Cool stuff.
Sam
:: Explore more Tesselate greatness by visiting their web site.
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All Music Guide |
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Rusuden's second formal solo album finds him building on the strengths of his debut Formulae, moving beyond the amiable but ultimately derivative approach of that collection. If anything it's the slight return to his original indie-rock roots that helps make Warm Human Antennae more distinct. While the alliance between electronics and guitars has been cemented strongly enough over the years (Radiohead's Kid Abeing a high water mark in commercial terms), there's always room for others to play around with. Starting with the excellent fusion of sounds on "Wear Away The Filter" -- a gently descending guitar line suddenly hit full force with a strong and downright funky percussion break -- Warm Human Antennae proves to live up to the implicit imagery title, much as Formulae did. The continuing emphasis Rusuden places on catchy melodies is now matched better than ever by the rhythms -- the frenetic pace of early electro and a stronger feeling for some great basslines give songs like "Bluegrass" and (but of course) "E Therapy." There's also a greater sense of depth in the arrangements, with all the layers coming together just so -- consider how the song "Voicemail" builds up throughout the song into a rich flow of melody and groove, gently exultant, or the dark, glittering flow and sparkle of "Grumble Grumble," with its hints of psychedelia and goth. "June (October Mix)" is the sole collaboration as such, with Rusuden taking both vocal and guitar samples from performing friends, resulting in a lush, almost flamenco-tinged effort shot through with a nervous edge thanks to the clipped vocals and the satisfying thwack of the core beat. Add in even more individual moments worthy of note -- the post-punk guitar line and distant robot vocals in the wash of "New Religion," the near-industrial conclusion of "Breathe Smoke" -- and Rusuden's definitely found something to build on even more.
- Ned Raggett
:: Read online at AMG web site.
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The Milk Factory |
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Justin Morgan first emerged in 2002 with a CDR album and a split EP, both released on Cincinnati, OH, imprint Sonicterror. A year later, Morgan returned with Formulae, a collection of laidback electronic compositions which was later given the remix treatment in the hands of acts of Wisp, Ochre, The Gasman or Sonicterror label owner Enduser.
In the two and a half years since the release of Formulae, Morgan has had tracks featured on numerous compilations from labels as diverse as Skam, Fu Man Chaw, Terminal Dusk or WATMM, set up his own record label, Soho Six, and recorded a follow up to his debut album.
Morgan spent part of his formative years in various indie rock bands before turning to hip-hop for a while. This provided him with the opportunity to experiment with electronic music. Although Warm Human Antennae builds on the atmospheres of Formulae, Morgan clearly returns to his roots by adding guitar textures throughout, at times, as on the opening line of Wear Away The Filter or New Religion, or as a backbone to the melody of June, in obvious fashion. This contributes to giving his music a much more earthy and defined grain. Tracks such as Grumble Grumble clearly benefit from this new focus. Combined with a newfound confidence in his work, this helps asserting Morgan's style and allows him to freely explore new grounds. Even when treated and buried under layers of electronic elements, these added textures comprehensively alter the general ambience of the record.
Warm Human Antennae doesn't however represent a complete departure from previous releases. Here, Morgan builds on the core structure of Formulae, refines his soundscapes and shows more assurance with melodies, often reaching towards more complex and intricate formations. Yet, here, Morgan dares going down new avenues by combining his musical roots with his more recent approach, eventually creating a rather consistent piece of work, and still manages to maintain the focus of his work all the way through.
:: Read online at The Milk Factory.
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Dusk Governor |
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"BREATHE SMOKE" OWNS U, STFU !! BUY NOW OR SPEND THOUSANDS ON EBAY LATER...KTHX..
:: Give a shout to the Gov at Terminal Dusk Records.
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