
LATEST ADDITIONS
New Music: Oneohtrix Point Never’s “Sleep Dealer”
Yes! The first track from Oneohtrix Point Never’s upcoming Mexican Summer release, Replica, is now available for our listening pleasure. Simultaneously playful and sensual, the track is called “Sleep Dealer” and showcases Daniel Lopatin’s knack for combining electronic and human sounds in distinct and curious fashion.
I love it! If “Sleep Dealer” is any indication of what Replica has to offer—and I think it is—we are in for a treat.
Oneohtrix Point Never - Sleep Dealer by Mexican Summer
Remember what the press release said:
Replica is an electronic song cycle based around lo-fi audio procured from television advertisement compilations. These sample-based meditations are as lyrical as they are ecological, featuring repurposed “ghost vocals” which serve as narration for Lopatin’s signature amorphous, ambient passages.
Sounds about right. Replica will be released on November 8.
Kuzma 4Point tonearm
New Music: Oneohtrix Point Never’s “Sleep Dealer”
Yes! The first track from Oneohtrix Point Never’s upcoming Mexican Summer release, Replica, is now available for our listening pleasure. Simultaneously playful and sensual, the track is called “Sleep Dealer” and showcases Daniel Lopatin’s knack for combining electronic and human sounds in distinct and curious fashion. I love it! If “Sleep Dealer” is any indication of what Replica has to offer—and I believe it is—we are in for a treat.
Oneohtrix Point Never - Sleep Dealer by Mexican Summer
Remember what the press release said:
Replica is an electronic song cycle based around lo-fi audio procured from television advertisement compilations. These sample-based meditations are as lyrical as they are ecological, featuring repurposed “ghost vocals” which serve as narration for Lopatin’s signature amorphous, ambient passages.
Sounds about right. Replica will be released on November 8.
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR loudspeaker
Hmm, I thought. Pioneer. Speakers?
To be fair, I've had the Pioneer brand on my mind for well over 30 years. The company was my brand of choice for car-stereo electronics in the 1970s, for Dolby S cassette decks in the '80s, for DVD players in the '90s, and for plasma TVs in the '00s and '10s. I felt a bit guilty that I hadn't focused on the fact that Andrew Jones, the very same design guru who came up with Pioneer's TAD Reference One loudspeaker ($70,000/pair), had had a hand in designing a few two-channel speaker models starting at $99.99/pair. The audio gossip was all about the second model from the bottom of Pioneer's speaker line, the SP-BS41-LR ($149.99/pair). I thought I'd better get a pair and review them.
MBL’s Corporate Video: “The Music Lover”
Behold:
Atlantic Technology AT-1 loudspeaker
It was the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, and JA and I were nearing the end of a dog-and-pony act expertly presented by Atlantic Technology's president, Peter Tribeman, touting a prototype of his company's new loudspeaker, the AT-1. JA and I had just heard about the finer points of the AT-1's new bass-venting technology, the Hybrid-Pressure Acceleration System (H-PAS), which was supposed to combine all the benefits and qualities of a transmission-line enclosure, horn loading, and sealed and ported designs. At the time, I didn't care if it combined all of the qualities of Kim Kardashian, Sacagawea, Joan of Arc, and Marie CurieI was just thrilled that the AT-1s were sounding so good in a partitioned ballroom.
KEF Q900 loudspeaker
New Music: Zola Jesus’ “Seekir”
Here’s a new track from Zola Jesus’ upcoming record, Conatus, to be released by Sacred Bones Records on October 4. The track is called “Seekir” and suggests a more polished sound for Miss Nika Rosa Danilova. Combining elements of goth, industrial, pop, opera, and noise, Danilova seems to still be searching for her voice, which is exactly as it should be for a 22-year old with an extremely promising future.
Let her keep searching. I'll follow wherever she goes.
Video: Colin Stetson’s “The Stars in His Head” (Dark Lights Remix)
The video for Colin Stetson’s “The Stars in His Head” (Dark Lights Remix), directed by Isaac Gale and Dan Huiting. Kinda lovely, kinda creepy, kinda perfect for this chilly, gray day.
Colin Stetson's powerful record, New History Warfare, Vol.2: Judges, available from Constellation Records, was reviewed in the July 2011 issue of Stereophile.