10 Anos Bodyspace Compilation

Hip Hop, Indie & Indietronica, Instrumental, Review by Genre, Singer Songwriter // By: pscloseAuthor: ps Email: filipe@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (26) // 13/12/2012 // No Comments

“10 anos Bodyspace” is a compilation released through Optimus Discos celebrating 10 years of Bodyspace, a Portuguese webzine dedicated to music. Ten years is a long time for a webzine to be around, and Bodyspace has become somewhat of a reference in Portugal.

Optimus Discos is a free music platform tied to Optimus, one of the 3 big mobile telecommunication companies in Portugal. There is a big focus on supporting music events from mobile telecommunication companies in Portugal, mostly by being involved in the organization of summer music festivals. In 2009 Optimus also launched an initiative to make their records (of relatively famous Portuguese artists) available free for download on their platform. They are basically operating as a netlabel, without calling themselves a netlabel.

Considering the quality of both projects I was quite curious to check out this compilation which consists of 10 tracks, all of them collaborations between two different Portuguese music acts.

Stereoboy & Emma Curl – Little Secret

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

After giving it a couple of listens I must say I’m disappointed with the outcome. The tracks are good but they don’t fit together at all. Some might argue that that is the point of compilations; to showcase different artists and aesthetics, and in that case I guess it works. But as a record it doesn’t bring much replay value to me.

Taking a closer analysis at the different tracks, all of them sound quite well produced. Track 1 by Stereoboy & Emma Curl “Little Secret” mixes the delightful indie pop vocals of Emma with some nicely produced electronics, putting together an uplifting tone in a well structured indie pop track.

Track 2 by Memória de Peixe & Octa Push retains a certain indie pop feeling and introduces some folk sounds and guitar motions, and if you know the sound of the individual authors you are left wondering just where Octa Push is to be found in this track. “Marraquexe” by Black Bombaim & Rodrigo Amado takes you into the sludge stoner sounds of Black Bombaim, complemented nicely by Rodrigo Amado’s saxophone.

Osso Vaidoso & Ghuna X breaks the mood back into the more cliché indie pop rock, with great vocals by Ana Deus, Ghuna X’s expected beats and bass sounds remain mostly illusive in the entire track, probably relegating his part of the collaboration to some background electronics. Track number 5 by RA & Jibóia brings the sounds Ghuna X failed to deliver on the previous track, deep beats, electronic wanderings, but with a leading guitar driving home a track that feels like a borderline case of progressive industrial. DJ Ride & Capicua bring a more compact collaboration, DJ Ride dropping the beats for the lyricist Capicua to rap on.

“Pulse Modulated Blackness” is an electronic track by Photonz and Robert Foster with some reminiscence of repetitive techno house. Track 8 by Tiago Sousa & Tó Trips is an instrumental track of guitar and piano in a moving performance. Track 9 is a 13 minute electronic progressive ambient piece by Sensible Soccers & Blac Koyote. The last track of the compilation is titled “You can find a will in me to stay”, a track which manages to mix The Astroboy’s electronics with Old Jerusalem’s lament drifting vocals.

Overall the tracks are good and eclectic, which might work as a sampler but doesn’t really strike home with me for long-term replay value. Still, worth checking out if you’re looking to hear what Portuguese music talent sounds like. Some of these projects had released their tracks as netaudio before through Portuguese netlabels such as MiMi, Phonotactics, Merzbau and Cobra Digital.

Tiago Sousa & Tó Trips – A conquista do pão

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Deep Link to Release Page

Idiot Queen – Self Titled [mi194]

Ambient & Experimental, Indie & Indietronica, Singer Songwriter // By: alancloseAuthor: alan Email: alan@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (12) // 30/06/2012 // No Comments

Dawn Mendonça is a member of a focused, small art collective known as the Idiot Society in which she reigns as Idiot Queen. While not initially sounding as a glamorous title it takes but a single listen to her latest recorded works to realize her position of  royalty is a well deserved and earned one while the label of “idiot” is apparently all tongue in cheek. The musical moniker of painter, photographer, musician Dawn Mendonça, Idiot Queen, has been compared to both Laurie Anderson and Anne Clark. As a musical artist she explores electronic sounds and dabbles in collage, dissonance and cleverly crafted repetition.  The songs and musical yarns are built out of electronics, sampled acoustic instruments, looped samples, and a vocal quality closer to storytelling than singing.  “Love and loss, the absurd and the divine are the broad themes Idiot Queen explores in this release for MiMi Records”.

Idiot Queen initially  presents as having the qualities of many similar past experimental releases, primarily due to the  somewhat rudimentary quality of the looped rhythms and synth patches coupled with breathy and disembodied “spoken” word.  While simple in technique, the structure of her tracks are compelling enough to not fall into the realm of ridiculous retro and this release is far from a throw away effort standing far above many similar attempts within this genre’s past.

Dawn Mendonça’s experimentations with painting, photography, writing and music lend part to her musical approach through a visual language utilized in her  compositions. She draws us in to a palpable scene for each song, creating a mood or environment for the eventual expression of her thoughts an stories. These ventures range from contemplative to absurd and almost mundane as in “I wish I could sing jazz like you”. Overall, each track seems a unique expression of a particular place and feeling, while simultaneously drifting timelessly. What most surprised me about the Idiot Queen release is that it held its own for ten tracks. Each track stood on its own merit and the entire release did not become repetitive or stale as pieces composed in this genre are apt to quickly become.

I always  find it interesting to listen to songs recorded in a language I don’t speak. This usually allows me to hear the music, combined with the emotive qualities of the voice unhampered by the content of the lyrics. The track “Quando passas por mim” is a perfect example of how well this works for me and is a standout favorite of mine. The steady raw looped groove reminds me of what I might expect from a mid-period Massive Attack demo. Her unique vocal style lends a sense of mystery to the track, as it does to most.

Mendonça has cleverly included fellow Idiot Society member Bill Rivers, as we’ll as past collaborator Frederic Choudin to lend their voices to the tracks “The Sun Will Set and Never Rise” and “Amour”, respectively. The collaborative efforts serve to break up the release a slight bit, further preventing it from falling into a stylistic rut and still retain a cohesive flow throughout.

We do not get the chance to hear releases akin to Idiot Queen often, at least not releases that are compelling and can hold up to more than one listen. I commend  Dawn Mendonça for her efforts and achievements generating such a compelling collection of tracks. I see a very unique talent here that I hope to see grow and nurtured artistically. I believe she has only just begun to explore the textures and possibilities of her potential sound palette and I look forward to hearing more from her and the Idiot Collective in the future.

Idiot Queen – Quando passas por mim

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Deep link to release page

Sea Oleena – Sea Oleena

Indie & Indietronica, Singer Songwriter // By: MarkuscloseAuthor: Markus Email: markus@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (76) // 09/01/2012 // No Comments

A while ago I wrote a review about Sea Oleena’s album Sleeplessness and it was about time I had another look at her Bandcamp page to see whether anything new had arrived. Unfortunately, there was no new release to be found, so I took the opportunity to write about her self-titled album “Sea Oleena”.

The year is 2010, giving us among other things the 52nd Grammy Awards and a more than creepy pop song securing Germany another win in the Eurovision song contest after what seemed like a mere thousand years. But this is another story. Luckily Mrs. Oleena released her first long player at Bandcamp in the same year. As usual, that service allows you to name your price or get the freedom of a free download. As I mentioned in the review of her second album:

“You instantly get that spring feeling. Everything is easy, birds are singing and a warm breeze blows through the trees. Everything seems to be arranged and composed for Sea’s lovely voice.”

It’s a more than stunning debut album with seven tracks, each of which tell another story. Most of the time these are layered with acoustic instruments and slightly elements of electronic music, such as the programmed-sounding drum loop of the first two tracks. I’m more in-tuned in the more acoustic sounding tunes like “Island Cottage” or my absolutely favourite: “Little Army”. On almost every track you can find that slightly acoustic noise, reminiscent of tape recorder white noise, giving the record a more analog feeling without sounding annoying. As I mentioned before, this is a brilliant debut album with the right touch of acoustic and electronic elements as a background for the great and lovely voice of Sea Oleena. [MS]

Sea Oleena – Little Army

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Deep Link To: Release Page