STUDIO - YEARBOOK 1 (2007)

HUGE FIELDS OF POSSIBILITY
ARTIST`````STUDIO
ALBUM`````YEARBOOK 1
GENRE`````EXPERIMENTAL, ELECTRONICA, FUSION
YEAR````````2007

WHY:
Much has been said about this album but I've decided to post it anyway since it's a must listen for all who missed it in 2007.

A gorgeous pice of effort from Sweden.

ALBUM REVIEW: (pitchfork)
Never put stock in MySpace genre tags, but the page for Sweden's Studio says "Experimental/Afro-beat/Pop" and that's a decent start. It's vague enough for almost anything to happen, but with one specific reference point that pushes expectations in an interesting direction. The band consists of just two people, Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg, though they do a nice job of sounding much bigger.

A lot happens in 70 minutes, as Studio basically functions in two modes. Much of the time they work in long form, winding melodic guitar lines around a core of clean, hypnotic rhythm. During these tracks they explore the trance-inducing repetition of Manuel Göttsching and gossamer lyricism of Durutti Column, and underpin the development with rhythms that allude to Can or the exotic tinge of Bill Laswell's Sacred System. Hard to say exactly how serious the "Afro-beat" mention on the MySpace page is, but it's not hard to hear the folding-in-on-itself quality of King Sunny Ade's guitar in something like the 13-minute "Life's a Beach!". There's even a hint of Nordic space disco in the reserved, easy funkiness of the gently modulating instrumental "Radio Edit".

As an album, it's long and all over the place, but somehow tight and disciplined; it feels like one unit working through various ideas and finding new ways for them to hang together. Subtle humor, both in the music and presentation, also helps keep the record afloat. All titles are in English but they're delivered with a playful twist. "West Side" alludes to Studio's hometown of Gothenburg, located on Sweden's left shore. "Life's a Beach!" is hopelessly goofy, but the music behind it is astonishing.

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SANTOGOLD - SANTOGOLD (2008)

WORSHIPING THE DANCEFLOOR
ARTIST`````SANTOGOLD
ALBUM`````SANTOGOLD
GENRE`````DANCE, CLUB, INDIE ELECTRONIC
YEAR```````2008

ALBUM REVIEW:
Santogold, the collaboration between Santi White and former Stiffed bandmate John Hill, first began receiving notice in late 2007, thanks mostly to the release of the single "Creator," which seemed to point White in the direction of an M.I.A. knockoff.



The debut full-length, however, shows Santogold to be a unique group, one that pulls equally from dub, pop-punk, hip-hop, electro, and rock without succumbing to the archetypes of any. These are the exceptions to the overall sound, however (and their very rarity makes them so much more appealing, and evidence of the work of a complete artist, not one trying to follow the coattails of another), because most of Santogold lacks that jagged angularity that drives M.I.A.'s records.

The album is informed by pop and good humor, the importance of melody and structure never overshadowed by rhythm and dancefloor-worthiness. This is music that looks outward at the pan-continental landscape while staying firmly adherent to and respectful of its deeply American roots; it's the emerging -- and hopeful -- face of the new millennium, and an altogether shining accomplishment.

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Disco Not Disco: Post Punk, Electro and Leftfield Disco Classics 1974-1986 (2008)

CONTORT YOURSELF! CONTORT YOURSELF! CONTORT YOURSELF!
ARTIST`````VARIOUS
ALBUM`````DISCO NOT DISCO
GENRE`````POST-DISCO/ALTERNATIVE
YEAR```````2008

WHY:
This is the first time I heard "Disco Not Disco" compilation and I definetly recommend at least this one. The previous two are most likely better than this one but I just cant seem to find them. When I do, I will upload them also.

This is alternative club music from the raging age of disco movements of 1970's and 1980's. A true gem, and imagine - it was published just one month ago.

ALBUM REVIEW:
Given new life through an arrangement with !K7, the Strut label -- the source of so many wonderful compilations covering many neglected points within the spectrum of dance music across several decades -- resumes with its third Disco Not Disco compilation, compiled by "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" author Bill Brewster (who provides typically sharp and fact-packed notes) and Strut founder Quinton Scott. When the first two volumes were released in 2000 and 2002, many listeners susceptible to strange rhythmic sounds had yet to be introduced to Arthur Russell or Material, and it's safe to say that those who never set foot inside places like the Paradise Garage or the Loft would have ever thought to give a 16-minute cut off a 1981 Steve Miller Band album any kind of attention. Since then, compilations covering roughly the same territory -- or one or two specific subgenres dusted off by these discs -- have become common enough to make some Disco Not Disco disciples a little cynical about a third volume. Most of the tracks on this volume are indeed readily available on an assortment of compilations released within the last ten years: Nine O'Clock Drop, Anti NY, the Mutant Disco reissues, Rough Trade Shops: Post Punk and a few recent single-artist reissues, just to cite a few. Even so, we're not talking about the umpteenth big-disco-hit comp; "Contort Yourself" has a long way to go before it becomes one-tenth as comped as "I Will Survive." (And it's not like all the tracks from the first two Disco Not Discos had ever been wiped out of existence, either.) Easily the most post-punk volume of the series, there's Vivien Goldman (with the relatively scarce "Launderette"), Delta 5, Shriekback, Konk, and Maximum Joy. They mix it up with another assortment of obscurities from unexpected corners. The biggest, deepest surprises are "Crunch Cake" (thick, tightly wrapped fusion-funk from Isotope), "Binary" (a frosty 1985 B-side from France's Kazino), and "Seoul Music" (one of the series' most distinctive tracks, from Yellow Magic Orchestra, a spell weaved by spiraling percussion and serpentine bass). Even considering the timing and context, the disc is every bit as replayable as the second volume. The only truly bad move here is the inclusion of the instrumental mix of A Number of Names' proto-techno "Sharevari," which is like favoring an instrumental of Laid Back's "White Horse" over the vocal version. (Then again, the instrumental does leave room for you to perfect your impersonation of a black Detroiter approximating a posh Frenchman speaking English.) Important note: Gina X Performance's "Kaddish" is not on the disc, even though it is listed. "Seoul Music" is in its place -- in the end, a good thing. Bizarrely, the advance copies did list the YMO track and included it, and there was no Gina X presence whatsoever.

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