• Factory Floor – Factory Floor

    September 16, 2013 - By 

    For a band that has been on the scene since 2008, Factory Floor don’t exactly have the extensive back catalogue that one would normally associate with an act so experimental and cutting-edge; dare I utter that old chestnut. Be that as it may, what they have perhaps lacked in frequency of output has been solidly countered by the consistent quality of their music. Factory Floor are an outfit that own their sound, and as such, it’s not really surprising that their latest self-titled full-length comes courtesy of DFA; the brain child of James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) and friends, and the label responsible for The Rapture,…

  • Clark – Feast/Beast

    September 2, 2013 - By 

    The success or failure of a remix compilation can be entirely down to the approach of the label and artist responsible for the output. One approach, which favours commercial acclaim over artistic integrity, can fairly easily culminate in a product that ultimately brings on the same harrowing feeling as finding the biscuit tin devoid of all deliciousness and filled with fig-rolls instead; a dark hour in the lives of many. Think Sasha’s latest Involv3r monstrosity. Actually, don’t do it to yourself. You deserve better. Thankfully though, Clark (Chris Clark) has taken the more fruitful direction with his latest effort Feast/Beast,…

  • CFCF – Music For Objects EP

    August 15, 2013 - By 

    There is often a stigma attached to the term ‘concept album’ that can generally be found rooted in the lank-haired, progressive rock of the 1970’s and 80’s, and as such, it can be difficult to dissolve any predispositions of the description without looking both further back than this era of musical history, as well as further forward. Davis and Coltrane produced some outstanding examples of conceptually driven jazz back in the 1940’s and 50’s; Philip Glass has explored minimalist and modern classical music beyond the boundaries of the ordinary for half a century or more and in the past 20…

  • We Are Scientists, More Than Conquerors – Limelight 2, Belfast

    August 6, 2013 - By 

    Tonight, the Limelight 2 has had the pleasure of welcoming back the effortlessly dapper We Are Scientists for a gig that is a touch earlier in the evening than usual. By 7.20pm the room is filling up nicely with some familiar patrons of the adjacent Katy’s bar and folks stream in from haunts further afield, all of whom seem to be eagerly anticipating what is looking to be a slightly more intimate experience compared to the bands’ previous appearances in venues like the Mandela Hall and The Spring and Airbrake (now Limelight 1). With the bar area starting to look like…

  • The Bug – Filthy EP

    August 5, 2013 - By 

    Having spent the better part of fifteen years producing some of the grimiest, dub heavy-ragga-techno-dancehall (of course it’s a genre… right?) as well as building an extensive, impressive roster of collaborations, it isn’t surprising that the latest EP from The Bug (Kevin Martin) is titled Filthy, or features some of the biggest names associated with Grime, Hip Hop and Dancehall providing the truly terrifying MC duties. Delving into his back catalogue of releases and remixes, it’s easy to see that Martin has always had a knack for making music that could comfortably soundtrack an end of the world scenario; his production…

  • Cuttooth – Cuttooth LP

    July 26, 2013 - By 

    Considering the gruesome state of current urban music trends, evocative and engaging Hip Hop can be pretty tough to come by these days, and with the likes of J Dilla and Flying Lotus having set the standard for dreamy, lush and stripped back Hip Hop compositions (Strip Hop?) Cuttooth – aka Nick Cooke – manages to hold his own in this milieu with his second, self-titled LP.  It doesn’t feel like there is a direct regurgitating of the late Dilla or of the very much still rocking FlyLo, but, there is more than just a tip of the hat to…