Friday, October 16, 2026
Various Artists - Filaments (Silver Threads)
Title: Filaments
Artist: V/A
Label: Silver Threads
Cat Number: STo4
Genre: Ambient
1 Blush Tide - Cate Francesca Brooks
2 Say More - Bea Brennan
3 Nangan Island - Ryan J Raffa
4 Between Voids - Jo Johnson
5 Hold, Together - Jo Johnson & Hilary Robinson
6 Trompos - Mareena
7 Let Them Out - Raica
8 Timeblind - Erika
9 Expectation - Ana Quiroga featuring Leilehua Lanzilotti
10 Entropy Remainder - C. Lavender
11 Silver Filaments Connecting Us All - Anthony Child
12 We Think a Spoon is a Saw - Loula Yorke
13 Mesmer - Polypores
‘Filaments’ is, as you can see, a various artists compilation on Silver Threads. We came across the label back in May on the occasion of Plant43 releasing ‘Spells For Warding Off Evil’. Now I feel with such a release that words are, to a large extent, more meaningless than they normal. An album like this is all about holistic reception, conception and connection. Right, waftle over. I believe that on an album such as this, sequence counts for a lot. With that in mind the listener is in for an undulating experience. Hardly a violent one though. Label head and album curator Jo Johnson makes two contributions in sequence: ‘Between voids’ and ‘Hold Together’ with Hilary Robinson. The former a delicate deconstructed, orchestral piece the constituent parts of which have been scattered to the four winds.The latter feels like the prelude to something sinister, or its aftermath. iT feels like walking though empty rooms in a derelict mansion where only traces remain of its occupants. It’s. An album which alternates between darkness and light, but lives more within the shadows than the Sun. The repetition of ‘Entropy Remainder’ by C. Lavender
evokes a feeling of malfunction, Something that is immediately dispelled by Anthony Child’s ‘Silver Filaments Connecting Us All’, which isn’t the only piece that reminds me of seventies French electronica, another example being Raica’s ‘Let Them Out’. And it’s towards the album’s end that the machines feel a bit louder and more cohesive. The final two contributions: ‘We Think a Spoon is a Saw’ by- Loula Yorke, and ‘Mesmer’ by Polypores lean on each other to establish momentum. Firstly by gently unfolding and soundtracking the origins of life on Earth,, which leads into what feels like a kosmische piece of intense chug.
Track Of Yesterday & Today: Grace Jones - Nightclubbing (Island) & Iggy Pop - Nightclubbing (RCA)
An Iggy Pop piece of work which is on ‘The Idiot’, ‘Nightclubbing’ is one oof those tracks that was given a new lease of life by another artist. In this case Grace Jones and not too long after the original came out. Anyway, the original comes on like some sort of Brechtian gothic rock. Maybe that’s the Berlin influence, and Bowie, who produced it. It’s a marvellous piece of music and impossible to duplicate. So Grace Jones goes for the electric reggae approach which, at the time, was proving to be incredibly influential. I guess that can be put down to Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare wanting to push the music forward, as well as it being recorded at Compass Point Studios on The Bahamas. Location was a critical ingredient in the composition of each of these tunes, something which may have been lost a little in recent years, what with home studios and all.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Track Of The Day: H-Foundation - Passage Of Time (Soma)
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Track Of The Day: Norma G - Son Of Norma (Urban Sound Of Amsterdam)
I know this track because it’s the second one on ‘Psychotrance 2’ which is mixed by Darren Emerson. And it’s by Steve Rachmad, who may have put a foot wrong, but I’m not aware of when. There are great comments on its YouTube page, which namecheck Colin Dale for playing it. One of his faves apparently. It’s just a great tune though. When techno was bursting ut of its rave shell, cross-pollinated by influences and bathed oil analogue warmth. One from when the machines were a ,little bit more than digital interfaces, and you can tell.
Dr. Dunks feat. Zopelar - Plateau Alone (Quiet Village)
Title: Plateau Alone EP
Artist: Dr. Dunks feat. Zopelar
Label: Quiet Village
Cat Number: QV005
Genre: Is It Balearic?
1: Plateau Alone
2: Slow One Eleven
3: 88 Lights
Well is it? I would say yes without any qualification. ‘Plateau Alone’ feels like it’s caught between at least three different points of reference. The bass, the various analogue synth embellishments and the kick. Beyond all that it runs free in the sonic savannah. ‘Slow One Eleven’ is pure chug business, and one which I could have heard at Covenanza last Friday night. I do like to remain in the moment while simultaneously taking notes. And I’m probably too old to change so don’t judge me. That’s my nerdy side coming out I guess. Anyway, without the geeks as gatekeepers what would we do? Great track though, making use again of similar flourishes to ‘Plateau Alone’, which I’m guessing are the work of Zopelar? ’88 Lights’ takes us by the hand to guide us through a soporific landscape and when the vocals come in it sounds like we’re in late sixties psychedelic California on mogadons listening to The Mamas & Papas. I’d like to say this is a truly wonderful release with something for everyone, and it is. Turn on, tune in and drop out tho.
Signal Type - Breakthrough (Cultivated Electronics)
Title: Breakthrough
Artist: Signal Type
Label: Cultivated Electronics
Cat Number: CE050
Genre: Electro
A1: Breakthrough
A2: Breakthrough (Radioactive Man Remix)
B1: Breakthrough (Silicon Scally Remix)
B2: Breakthrough (Morphology Remix)
Signal Type, for those not in the know, is “the collaborative project of label head Sync 24 and Matt Whitehead”. And this is Cultivated Electronic’s 50th release, so it had better be good. Thankfully, first impressions are very positive indeed. The original mix is an energetic nod to the birth of electro. It’s a boogie down Pandora’s box of energetic machine funk tropes elegantly welded into one cohesive whole. And if that sounds painful you’d better get the KY jelly out for Radioactive Man’s squelchy low rider of a version. It’s a dense piece of cerulean syncopation that purposely flies under the radar in its guise as a heavy duty example of rogue machine funk. The Silicon Scally mix is equally emphatic, but focuses on the high end, polishing the sonic stalactites and stalagmites that overhang a more open and empty panorama. And the dots are joined by Morphology, whose take is probably the most similar to the original, but reserves the right to the dramatic interlude with sweeping, symphonic synth stabs before reverting back to a dive back into the electro funk wormhole.
Monday, October 12, 2026
Track Of The Day: Grant Dell & Gareth Oxby Pres. Tribalation - I Don't Care (Big Chief)
Big Chief were a pretty good label back in the day, and this from Tribulation is a great example of the tech, dubby line they trod. It’s a deceptively heavy track that relies on bongoes to get its point across. Within the percussion vocals flash in and out, but they’re just window dressing. It’s the low end which is the star. There’s such a great momentum and swing to this track. And even though there’s an apparent lack of variation, you’re hooked from the very first bar. This is the essence of linear, dubby house. Enough variety to keep things interesting, but purposefully working minimally with small sonic swings, some so small they go unnoticed for years.
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Track Of The Day: Chopin - Fantaisie Impromptu
Do you really have to like classical music to appreciate a piece of music as delicate and emotional as this? Music like this is built for the finely-tuned which, it turns out, can be anybody. It just has to grab you first and you give in to it. And there’s something about an early autumn afternoon, when the sun is still shining, but the temperature has dropped enough to make a jacket necessary, that enhances the experience.
