119: AFX,etc

Ok, it's been a little while and I have the day off today, I'm sticking four updates worth of material in one post today, but with some shorter reviews than usual.

First up, punk-funk. I've resisted the temptation to post an mp3 by LCD Soundsystem, for the simple reason that between all the blogs, it was getting to the point where almost every track had been posted (although if I were to post one, it'd be Too Much Love, which I don't think has been getting the attention it deserves). Fortunately, The KBC fits in nicely with the current DFA-esque dance punk scene. Rumor has it that this one of James Murphy's current favorites. (side note: I'm seeing LCD at Bowery on April 2nd, how else is going?) These are both demos from the band's site. I particularly like Poisonous Emblem.

The KBC - Poisonous Emblem
The KBC - Best in the Business
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German post-krautrock. Music AM reminds me of the same kind of chilled out, glitchy almost trip hoppy sound that I've enjoyed from To Rococo Rot for years. Pandatone doesn't excite me as much, but it's still good and I'm throwing it in there because it's along the same lines.

Music AM - Supercharger
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Pandatone - Night to Play
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Glitch hop. I don't know too much about Apparat, except that he's been involved with electronic music for over a decade and he was one of the last artists to be features on John Peel's show. This is a 48 minute live set from Barcelona.

Apparat live in Barcelona, December 2003
(source)

UK Acid. Aphex Twin's Analord series has been progressing nicely with 2 new EP's out every month. The only place that I've been able to pick these releases up has been Other Music, so I've been stopping there a lot recently to pick these up. It looks like these EP's could turn out to be a good investment too. The now sold out limited edition of Analord 10 with the collector's case is already selling on eBay for up to $400. It's possible that Richard James might do what he did with the Caustic Window EP's and release a CD compilation of the best tracks from the series in the future, but even if he does, it might not have every track included. So far I've picked up the first four in the series and each one tends to be better than the last. Analord 1 has some of the fastest (and shortest) tracks so far, but overall the songs are less experimental than some of his recent work, like drukqs or the Windowlicker EP. These are, in my opinion, the best tracks from the series so far. Crying In Your Face, from Analord 4, is Aphex Twin at his best, the type of song that lets your mind wander while you dance. Boxing Day, the opening track on Analord 3, shows a hint of sonically complex and beautiful this music can be, particularly that brief piece of feedback that was begging to fit its way into the song at that moment. If you haven't up anything from this series yet, I highly recommend it. Analord 5 should be out in a few weeks.

(note: Hosting is down right now, sorry)
AFX - Crying In Your Face
AFX - Boxing Day