Christopher Franke: The London Concert

Many of The Sonic Music Review's readers will no doubt be familiar with the German band Tangerine Dream whom have been featured a number of times on the site. Lesser known to some is Christopher Franke, an electronica composer and long time member of Tangerine Dream, having joined in 1971 and remaining a member until 1988. After leaving the group, Christopher Franke soon returned to electronic music production, subsequently releasing a number of albums under his own name in the New Age musical style that he previously pioneered as a member of Tangerine Dream.

Christopher Franke: The London Concert

'The London Concert' is Franke's 1993 release of a collection of live material recorded during a concert at The Royal Apollo Theatre, London in 1991. The album opens with a group of five tracks, referred to as parts 1 - 5. The first part, 'Empire Of Light' illustrates Franke's awareness and skill at ambient composition, unsurprising given the strong relationship with his own new age aesthetic and ambient musics. This brooding introduction combines various processed samples with synthetic dissonances to create a highly cinematic atmosphere, a quality seen in much of his work. Moving to part 2: 'Purple Waves,' the listener is afforded a more conventional electronic musicality in the work which later develops to include extended sequenced passages.

One of the most instantly recognisable tracks from Tangerine Dream's 1979 release Force Majeure, 'Cloudburst Flight,' for which Franke also features on the credits, is covered in part 3 of this release. Most interesting is the way in which the artist recontextualises the piece into a notably meeker recording than the original work, focussing on several of the lesser elements in the 1979 version and redefining the instrumentation into a more clearly New Age inspired sonic palette.

The concluding three tracks which forgo the previous convention of being entitled 'parts' embellish the artist's New Age aesthetic with additional creative influences. Considering 'Mountain Heights,' the use of an electric guitar alongside synthetic instrumentation suggests a progressive rock methodology. The final track, 'Private Diaries' ends the release on a high with a soaring pan flute melody atop various sequences and well considered backing timbres. Overall, this release is a very welcome live album and many fans of Tangerine Dream will certainly enjoy.

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Kimberly Glover: Rachel Corrie

The Sonic Music Review has on many occasions featured a variety of works by less established artists alongside their better known counterparts and contemporaries. For Kimberly Glover, a musician and composer with a wide ranging portfolio of material, political motivation drives much of her creative practice, as in the case of 'Rachel Corrie' featured here.

Rachel Corrie by Kim Glover

The track principally draws upon the aesthetics of sound poetry and traditional string writing, the instrumentation largely consisting of a synthesised string quartet and spoken word, later developing to include a notable trip-hop influenced breakbeat section. The spoken word element is derived from 'My Name Is Rachael Corrie,' a theatrical work which contains primarily excerpts of Corrie's own personal diary. For those unfamiliar with the subject, Rachel Corrie was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement who tragically died while attempting to prevent the demolition of a local Palestinian's home.

The string writing in this piece follows a musical structure known as Sonata Form, an interesting decision which by virtue of a variety of thematic material evokes a wide range of emotions, several areas of the work proving particularly effective due to a discontinuity between the sobering nature of the spoken word and overly optimistic musical writing. As the piece develops, the vocal elements are subjected to electronic processing in a manner comparable to early AustraLYSIS works, such as 'Nuraghic Echoes' which is reviewed here.

The concluding section of the work introduces heavy percussion elements and background samples, while the vocal elements are purposefully removed from the mix, giving the final words which note Corrie's death greater prominence as the work ends. This section is overt in aesthetic references to trip-hop acts such as Massive Attack and adds great interest through such a contrasting style of writing compared to the work's beginnings. While the track's production could be refined further, the work shows both great promise and skill from this highly unique composer. The Sonic Music Review would like to take the chance to wish Kimberly Glover every success in the future.

If you are an independent artist and wish to submit your own original electronic musical works to The Sonic Music Review, please get in contact, we'd love to hear from you.

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The Sonic Music Review Playlist: Week 4

This week's playlist compiled by The Sonic Music Review looks back on some of the earliest work featured on the site. This playlist combines the highlights of the progressive rock and synth pop music covered, featuring a selection of works from acts including Camel, Neu! and Ellie Goulding.

Tracklisting:

1. Camel                    - Dunkirk from The Snow Goose

2. NEU!                     - Negativland from NEU!

3. Kraftwerk              - Autobahn from Autobahn

4. The Prodigy           - Omen Reprise from The Most Incredible Thing

5. Depeche Mode      - Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix) from Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)

6. La Roux                 - Tigerlily from La Roux

7. Ellie Goulding        - The Writer from Ellie Goulding

For the Spotify streamable playlist, click here.

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Dodgy Lettuce: Scrambled Megs (I Can Feel It), Citizen (Spy)

An overarching aim of The Sonic Music Review has been to provide independent artists with critical publicity and feedback for their works, championing independent electronic works alongside established artists, many of whom greatly influenced the diverse variety of genres seen today. We are today proud to introduce an Irish electronic artist, Dodgy Lettuce, featuring two compositions available from the artist's Soundcloud page here.

  Scrambled Megs (I Can Feel It) by Dodgy Lettuce

'Scrambled Megs (I Can Feel It)' opens with clear brass elements referencing the funk genre, quickly employing skilled use of sampling. The initial brass loops constitute the vast majority of harmonic material to be found within this track. A convergence of glitch and noise aesthetics soon govern the development of the piece as it becomes led by the well constructed rhythmic bursts of noise and other percussive elements, underpinned by bass drones and embellished with processed vocal samples.

For a piece of this type which forgoes tonal convention, giving rhythm and timbre the major focus (a characteristic seen in the glitch and noise productions of artists such as Alva Noto and Merzbow respectively who prescribe to the aesthetics which influence this piece), the well constructed arrangement pays great dividends. The conscious progression of musical textures and timbral elements throughout the piece illustrate a commendable approach to musical form.

  Citizen (Spy) by Dodgy Lettuce

The musical textures of 'Citizen (Spy)' to a large extent echo the previous track. The predominance of the bass line in this track however provides a greater sense of a tonal centre to the piece. The interaction of sampled vocals and well programmed electro drum sequences atop the bass line gives the piece a notable similarity to much of the dance-punk output of the duo Soulwax, whose 2006 'Part Of The Weekend Never Dies' album is reviewed here.

Once again, the 'flow' of the track is commendable, an attribute often hard to achieve within this musical context. These tracks kindly provided by Dodgy Lettuce are a great addition to the music covered by The Sonic Music Review and we wish this highly original artist great success in the future and thank him once more for this submission.

If you are an independent artist and wish to submit your own original electronic musical works to The Sonic Music Review, please get in contact, we'd love to hear from you.

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Karl Bartos: Communication

Following up from a previous feature by The Sonic Music Review of 'Lifestyle' by Karl Bartos, available here, the field of focus turns to the artist's most recent release, the 2003 release 'Communication.' Bartos' following will undoubtedly be aware of his prior involvement with the highly influential German band Kraftwerk, a quality which is audible, but this album shines as a great example of music with character, a credit to the talented composer.

Karl Bartos: Communication

The album opens with 'The Camera,' an initial illustration of Bartos' inimitable writing style which has been constantly refined over a number of years. The track in question uses purely electronic instrumentation, a feature throughout the album, underpinned by strong rhythmic percussive elements and a particularly interesting synthesiser sequence. As with many other tracks, the song is led by synthesised speech, an uncommon production choice in much contemporary music.

Much of the material is centred around major themes of celebrity and everyday lifestyle, ides which in the past have also given an ideological foundation to Bartos' music. Of the 10 tracks which make up the 45 minute album, 'Electronic Apeman' stands out as a highlight. The track seeks to combine a live sung voice and synthesised vocal elements to great effect, complemented with fine harmonic sequences and very interesting interaction between harmony and bassline. Being a percussionist, the percussive elements are very well programmed throughout. The track 'I'm The Message' embellishes this rhythmic interest with a discontinuity of pulse between the introduction and main material.

The album concludes with 'Another Reality,' a fitting title for this concluding track which sees a much more peaceful feel, a quality provided through the sustained chords and wavering synthetic lines. The speech synthesis in this piece also serves as one of the best recent examples of the technique, unsurprisingly perhaps given the artist's prior ability demonstrated the previous decade in 'Lifestyle' as one example. The final seconds inevitably fade, drawing some of Karl Bartos' finest material to a close.

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ElectroCelt: Ocean Reef

As part of The Sonic Music Review's ongoing championing of original electronic music talent, it is with great pleasure that we feature 'Ocean Reef,' a 2011 EP by the electronic artist Geoff Keogh, better known by his recording name ElectroCelt. The artist's career began with the release of the 2008 album 'Digital Fields' which led to the subsequent release of further material. Having signed to Bubblectro Records the artist released the 'Ocean Reef' EP, featuring material from the upcoming release 'Strange Elements.'

ElectroCelt: 'Ocean Reef'

The artist in their biography, available here, contextualises their creative practice within the aesthetics of acts such as Tangerine Dream. These acts themselves have frequently featured on The Sonic Music Review, setting a fearsome standard for artists influenced by them to achieve. The first track, 'Emerald Sand' even goes as far as to reference Tangerine Dream tracks, for one with an introductory sample highly reminiscent of the imitative birdsong in Tangerine Dream's 'White Clouds' and later with an overt reference to 'Stratosfear' as the track approaches its conclusion.

Much of the material on offer fuses sequenced synthetic elements with well programmed percussion and a large number of complementary musical textures which combine to give a highly cinematic quality to the work, at times informed by the aesthetics of ambient music and at other points the music takes on several core characteristics of european music, creating a great degree of excitement and dynamism which captures and sustains the listener's avid interest.

Timbrally, much of the work boasts great sophistication, a production value inherited from the various acts which influence ElectroCelt. Considering the quality of mixing, an area often complicated greatly with the interaction of multiple musical layers, the artist once more deserves praise for the clarity of the material on offer.

ElectroCelt during a 2010 live performance

As the album draws to a close in the final track, 'Subzero Limits,' the artist displays commendable consideration for the narrative arc, shaping the album through the evolution and development of musical moods. This particular track largely consists of synthetic pads and electric guitar, underpinned by the soft movements of a sequenced bassline. This combination is brought together to create a very soothing work which functions well as ambient music.

Overall, the 'Ocean Reef' EP displays a great talent from the artist, with a sophisticated and conscious approach to composition that many artists would do well to note. It has been a great pleasure to feature on The Sonic Music Review and we wish ElectroCelt every success with their future endeavours. To find out more, their Reverbnation page can be found here.

If you represent original Electronic music talent and wish to submit your music to The Sonic Music Review, please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

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Karl Bartos: Lifestyle

To precede a full review of the 2003 album Communication, The Sonic Music Review completed the following feature of an earlier track, 'Lifestyle' from the 1993 album Esperanto. The artist Karl Bartos first  found fame as a long-time member of the highly influential German band Kraftwerk, widely acknowledged as driving the synthpop movement of the 80's and developing early techno material. Since departing from the band between the releases of Techno Pop and The Mix, the artist has found success releasing new material under his own name and under the alias of Elektric Music.

Karl Bartos: 'Lifestyle' from Esperanto

When comparing the production styles, Bartos' own work exhibits a more energetic style which separates his own work from that of his former band. 'Lifestyle' is audibly influenced by the high-octane synthpop of years previous, a movement that was largely informed by work for which Bartos is widely credited. In terms of production, the mixing is highly accomplished, possibly due to embracing digital studio technology despite its infancy, a production value garnered from previous work with Kraftwerk.

The piece begins with the main hook, accompanied by a synthetic bass timbre, an early exposition of the main harmonic progression within the piece. Throughout, the artist displays an awareness of the frequency bands occupied by the varying textures, balancing each layer effectively. Considering the age of the work, the resampled vocal textures, the lines "just another headline" and "stealing your time," is very impressive and separates the work from much of the popular music repertoire even today. Phoneme sampling later occupies an entire solo section at the piece's midpoint.

The entire piece is pulled together by the pulsing rhythms derived from audibly electronic percussive elements, unsurprising given that Bartos is a skilled percussionist. Of note also is the well programmed bassline and the interaction between these two rhythmic devices to give a firm foundation to the piece. Overall, this remains a highlight of the composer's output and is well worth a listen to the fan of electronic music, succeeding in far wider appeal than his previous output with Kraftwerk.

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