Chris Clark’s new album, Totems Flare, was released today and the sound is huge! My first listen was on my iMac speakers. My second, on my car stereo and my third on my crystal clear Mackie HR-624’s. I do this so that I don’t pay too much attention to the production right off the bat. Now that I’ve heard it all the way through about four times, I can honestly say that this album rocks. The synths on the opening track, “Outside Plume,” are so freakin’ thick. It’s a great introduction to the album single, “Growls Garden.” The break in the middle of “GG” is one of baddest things I’ve heard all year. Big up, Clark!

Although the album seems predominantly digital, it feels human. It sounds like the future of the past. Beats are missed, pitches slip and notes get dropped. The best example of this is in the seventh track, “Future Daniel.” If you’ve ever tried playing chords with a monophonic synth patch, you’d understand. There’s something special in every track—the beginning of “Luxman Furs”—the end of “Totem Crackerjack”—there’s a lot of cool shit going on here.

Clark apparently had an extremely hard time narrowing down 30 tracks that he had originally recorded for the album. I’d love to hear the tunes that didn’t make the cut. My only complaint with Totems Flare is that I can’t play it really loud because of the overwhelming distortion. Those of us with tinnitus have to be careful.

If you dig it, check out Boxcutter, Autechre, Venetian Snares, AFX and Telefon Tel Aviv. If I’ve left some key artists out, leave a comment. Totems Flare is available now from bleep.com and iTunes.

MP3: Clark – Growls Garden

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Amon Tobin recently collaborated with Sony’s music team and composers Jim Dooley, Mel Wessen, Jonathan Mayer and Martin Tillman on an incredible score for the new open-world game, Infamous. The game, created by Sucker Punch Productions, combines elements from Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown and Assassin Creed all set within a modern metropolis after a devastating explosion to the center of the city. The hero, Cole McGrath, not only survives the blast but walks away with superhuman powers.

Now Cole is on a mission to destroy a gang of wraith-like creatures who also inherited super powers. The players can decide whether to use Cole’s powers for good or to go on a destructive rampage, destroying literally everything and everyone in sight. There are countless side missions and objects to collect throughout. The game is packed with violence, mass destruction, secret packages, hallucinations and lots and lots of electricity.

In order for the score to work, the team decided to create fresh recordings of city sounds, found objects, stringed instruments and metal scraps. Cello bows were used as drum sticks while terra cotta pots were used as drum heads. Musical elements were made non-musical and vice versa. An example of one of their sounds was a bungee cord wrapped around a bass drum, covered in dry beans. When they snapped the cord, the beans reverberated on the drum head, creating an awesome gritty rumble.

The soundtrack is great alone but I bet it’s 10X better during game play. This isn’t Tobin’s first crack at a video game soundtrack either. In 2003, he created the score for the game, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. The score turned out to be a huge success making him one of the most desired video game composers. In 2006, he created an original score for the Hungarian short film, Taxidermia.

At the end of June, Tobin will begin a tour throughout Europe and North Amerca. To keep up to date on new projects and tour dates, visit Amon Tobin on MySpace.

MP3: Amon Tobin & Jim Dooley – Meet the Reapers

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Last week, I stumbled upon the musician/digital artist, Ultre. His latest release, The Nest and the Skull, is a beautiful blend of acoustic instruments and electronics. The abstract tracks feature an array of instruments including guitars, pianos, violins and cellos. The music is accompanied by electronic beats, sampled sounds, breaths, hiccups and manipulated beat boxing rhythms. The sound is thick and atmospheric, similar to Burial’s 2007 album, Untrue. A lot of records sound dead and cold when too many electronic elements are used, but The Nest and the Skull utilizes nice, warm production techniques. Similar artists include Autechre, Dntel, Cex, Mouse on Mars, Prefuse 73, Access to Arasaka and early Telefon Tel Aviv.

This release is going to join my collection of “work albums.” Among the others are Funki Porcini’s Fast Asleep, and FFWD’s self titled album. They’re perfect to listen to when I need to sit down and design/code for hours.

To view artwork and videos by Ultre, visit Ultre on MySpace. The Nest and the Skull is available from Amazon and other online music retailers for a special price of $5.99.

MP3: Ultre – Struggle and Nothing

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A few weeks ago, I was checking to see if Tipper was working on any new material. I found out that he recently mastered an album called Zoomorphic by Spoonbill (aka Jim Moynihan), so I decided to check it out. I figured if Dave Tipper was involved in something it’d be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this good. It’s wild!

It’s a sound designers dream come true. Wobbly bass, foley sound effects, cartoon samples, warped synths, organs, flutes, kalimbas, trombones, slide guitars, broken egg shells, ping-pong balls, crunching food… you name it, it’s in there. Somehow, Moynihan is able to cram hundreds of sounds into each track while retaining structure, catchy melodies and sick beats. Zoomorphic can’t be pigeonholed into a single genre. It’s a mix of glitch-hop, IDM, dubstep, abstract electronica, folk and a touch of bluegrass.

A bit off topic… but about 10 years ago, my friend Liz and I were smoking in the dorm bathroom, looking out at the Philadelphia skyline. We were talking about the worst possible ways to die. For some reason, I thought that dropping acid at Zoobilee Zoo would be the worst way to go. Zoomorphic would totally be the soundtrack to that experience… only without the dying.

Zoomorphic is Spoonbill’s third full-length release. His previous albums are abstract as well, but are better categorized as broken beat, downtempo and experimental. Definitely worth checking out. All Spoonbill releases are available from Amazon and Addictech.

MP3: Spoonbill – Feather Leather

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Arecibo Message is the new LP from the recently acclaimed dubstep artist, Boxcutter (aka Barry Lynn). The album’s title is aptly named after the message sent in 1974 from the Arecibo Radio Telescope to possible extraterrestrials 25,000 light years away. It’s as if Boxcutter collected progressive sounds from the past 5 years and let them loose into outer space, echoing on forever. The album goes through numerous stages, morphing through dubstep, downtempo, acid, IDM and electro funk. It’s intense, glitchy, abstract and at times, even funky. I can’t pinpoint it yet, but there’s something melancholy about Arecibo Message. It’s organic, raw and emotional.

The first two tracks stand out as they could be mistaken for tracks from Burial’s 2007 album, Untrue. But what sets Boxcutter apart, is that he’s constantly tweaking the sounds, adding new elements and mangling the beat. From there, the tracks progress into more chaotic IDM tunes reminiscent of AFX, Clark and Meat Beat Manifesto.

The production is phenomenal as Boxcutter experiments with nuance and dynamics, unheard in earlier releases. The thick wall of analog sounds and effects is balanced with subtle noises and moments of silence.  “Arcadia 202″ is a hauntingly beautiful track that takes acid grooves to a new level. Unfortunately, the buildup is rushed and the song ends abruptly, as do many of the other tracks, with a quick fade.

The last track, “A Cosmic Parent,” should have been left for another release. While it’s funky rhythms, samples and guitar riffs are heard elsewhere, it’s inconsistent and fails to finalize the album. It fades out in a matter of seconds, concluding the LP at just over 49 minutes.

Arecibo Message will be released on April 20th via Planet Mu Records. To hear samples from the entire album, visit Planet Mu. The LP can be purchased from Amazon.

MP3: Boxcutter – Free House Acid

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