r&s

EP Review: Klavierwerke EP - James Blake

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Sure, accuse us of hyperbole, but James Blake's latest EP is what genius would sound like if you distilled it down to twenty-minutes of music and then just let it be.

Nowhere is this demonstrated more confidently than on the already hyped-to-shit 'I Only Know (What I Know Now)'. What makes this record so good? It's Blake's confidence in his own conviction. He basically takes one really good idea, marinades it, lets the thing infuse for a moment and then kills it. Moby made two whole fucking albums based on old soul samples that all sound the same. Here James Blake has taken one gorgeous snippet of a vocal and simply made the best record you could out of it. And that is the genius - there is no kitchen sink here, just one idea the composer really believed in.

BlackPlastic has long held dubstep to be speed garage for people with beards and, well, it is. But then this isn't really dubstep - it's just the best things to ever come out of the dubstep scene.

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The Klavierwerke EP is out now on R&S Records, available from Amazon.co.uk on MP3.

News: Free MP3 Downloads from R&S Records

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R&S are running a giveaway at the moment where you can get five MP3s for subscribing to their newsletter.  The output of the R&S label is good enough that this represents a win-win scenario, truth be told.

BlackPlastic has been listening to one of the tracks - 'O'Loco (Sei A Remix)' by Sun Electric - and it is worth subscribing just to get this one track. Sun Electric have been releasing music on R&S since 1992 whilst Sei A (real name Andy Graham) apparently counts Ben Watt and Tiga as fans.

The track itself is a dubby, progressive track and it is the first time in years that BlackPlastic has heard a track of this style that manages to sound fresh. As one of the few progressive house DJs BlackPlastic doesn't always feel bored by it didn't surprise BlackPlastic when we discovered that Hernan Cattaneo is also a big fan of Sei A.

Head over to R&S to check it out!

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MP3: R&S Four Track Sampler

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R&S are giving away a four track sampler as a download over at Amazon.com that is worth checking out if you are into the more left-field side of electronic music.

Featuring tracks from four different artists (Jacob's Optical Stairway, Sun Electric, The Locust and David Morley) it's a fairly varied set. The moody, jazzy notes of The Locust's 'I Become Overwhelmed' is a highlight, and the gentle, intelligent Drum 'n' Bass of 'Majestic' by Jacob's Optical Stairway recalls Two Pages era Four Hero (which means it's good, if you don't know Two Pages then it's worth checking out).

Head over to Amazon where the MP3s are available to download for free.

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MP3: Counterpoint (Remixed by The Chain) - Delphic

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More Delphic news as their single 'Counterpoint' (reviewed by BlackPlastic a couple of weeks ago here) has been remixed by The Chain and is available for download over at the R&S site.

The fact it's up for download at R&S is perhaps no surprise as The Chain are Dan Foat and Nathan Boddy, the former being the label's A&R for R&S (sorry, acronym overload...) but also a relatively well known DJ and producer.  The duo have previously released together as Foat & Boddy on Mule Electronic and Nathan has also released under 'Office Gossip' on the label he co-runs, Winding Road.

The Chain are soon to release their debut 12", Letting Go / Geo, but in the meantime check out this mix of the emotive 'Counterpoint'.  The influences of Detroit techno are clear and the mix has a dubby feel but is shot through with a lovely twinkling synth that really comes through in the break.

Head on over to R&S Records to grab the download.

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Single Review: Counterpoint - Delphic

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If this is anything to go by then we just might have stumbled across one of 2009's most exciting new bands. Foraging similar territories as BlackPlastic favorites Friendly Fires, Delphic mold a true hybrid between rock and epic, spaced out house music.

Only just entering their second year as a band Delphic come up with their music together on laptops and only then do they figure out how to play it live, laying instruments over the top before finally taking to the stage to perform their songs together in one continuous set.  From what BlackPlastic can hear it sounds like a pretty good system.

First singe 'Counterpoint' is produced by Ewan Pearson and it's a shimmering piece of electronic rock that sounds like an emotional two-finger salute, a celebration of the summer and a call for help all in one.  The video, directed by hAndz, is also quite cool:

Pearson is to start work on producing the debut album soon, meaning it should be one to look out for. Don't just take our word on it - we have a download of Delphic performing 'Counterpoint' live in Amsterdam here (right click, save as).

'Counterpoint' is released on 13 April 2009 on R&S.  Delphic - website / MySpace / Twitter.

Ewan Pearson on Twitter.

BlackPlastic on Twitter.

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