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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Nim: The Swimmer

The most exciting thing being a music blogger is to wake up in the morning to links to new and exciting music. Such is the case regarding the electronic artist Nim who contacted The Sonic Music Review with a portfolio of music submissions available for streaming and downloading via their Soundcloud page here. Nim describe their music as "mostly electronic [...] It can go from french house to big beat, as long it has a good vibe." What is clear from their music is the talent garnered through their 4 years of production experience.

Nim - The Swimmer © by N!M

The track featured here is 'The Swimmer,' so selected being the most appropriate for The Sonic Music Review, although readers are encouraged to listen to the additional tracks by the artist available here.

'The Swimmer' begins with a somewhat dark and brooding introduction, with a curious interplay between two synthetic bass riffs, the contrasting characteristics (application of reverb, spectral content and timbral envelope) of which creating a very clever opening to the piece. Instrumentation is soon embellished with the addition of French House-stle drums before one of the sparsely-used vocal excerpts declares "Gotta get on down,"at which point the various instrumental elements reconcile into well defined grooves.

As the track progresses, arrangement devices such as dropping the percussive timbres one single element foreshadowing the introduction of new sectional material helps keep the music 'fresh,' although clearer melodic material could add to this effect. Through the various sections of the piece, small new details are also added to maintain the listener's interest. Throughout the track, the various musical elements are woven well between one another creating a piece that flows well, with the bass riffs seen in the introduction which continue throughout adding to the continuity of the track.

Nim In Action

As the piece draws to a close, various vocal cuts are interspersed with other sound effects, the musical textures subsequently thinning, ending on a short loop of material derived from the music which precedes it. For any alternative electro house listeners, this piece is certainly worth a listen, it's been a great pleasure to have been introduced to this very interesting artist and their own inimitable style.

If you are an independent artist and would like to submit your music for submission to The Sonic Music Review, please get in touch.

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