EarPIPE

The Early Bird Catches the Sonar Worm | Festival Preview

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 | Event Preview | No Comments

We’re barely out of January but thoughts are already turning to summer festival activities. If you were militantly organised you would have booked your Glasto ticket back in October. Crazy, I know. But the early bird catches the worm and all that. Another early bird special on the go is EarPipe favourite Sonar festival. Situated in and around the city of Barcelona over 3 days and 2 nights, Sonar combines forward thinking music and the multimedia arts to create a diverse and fun filled festival to the backdrop of a beautiful city. Ok the night time events in an exhibition hall on an industrial estate do lack that modernist Gaudi finesse you might expect from Barcelona, but the climate and music definitely make up for that. Also, during the day you’re based in the city so you’re free to explore all over as opposed to being penned in some camp site for the whole weekend. That pretty much sums up the whole weekend for Sonar – you get all the delights of a music festival, yet you have the freedom to explore Barcelona itself, and none of this camping bollocks, just festivals, parties and when you need it, beds, showers and running water. › Continue reading

Tags: Air, Barcelona, Grace Jones, Hawtin, Jeff Mills, LCD Soundsystem, Marcel Dettmann, Orbital, Richie Hawtin, Sonar

Ricardo Jefferson – Brutal Truth EP | Single Review

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 | Single Review | No Comments

Ricardo Jefferson – bastardised love child of Villalobos and Marshal Jefferson? – Probably not. But his latest EP does have an old school sound circa Marshall Jefferson’s time. ‘God of the Machine’ plods along in the wilderness with insect sounding shivers and spaced out synths. It has a disparate feel but it doesn’t really hit home with its point. The retro sound doesn’t really help its cause and the same can go for the rest of the EP. ‘The Egg Part One’ has classic 909 cymbals and squelchy acid riffs whilst ‘Persons Unknown’ uses drifting layers of melody and juddering sweeps. Both are a bit more interesting yet they still don’t give you any lasting memories.

The only track that stands up to be taken notice of is the title track ‘Brutal Truth’. A heartbeat break backs some epic echoing Orbital style keys. It’s simple yet so effective with the way it cycles through different patterns using the two main elements – drop the synths out, breakdown to the beats; thunder that wall of synth back in – instant winner.

Tracklist:
1. Brutal Truth
2. Persons Unknown
3. The Egg Part One
4. God if the Machine

Tags: Marshall Jefferson, Orbital, Ricardo Jefferson, Ricardo Villalobos, Third Ear

EarPipe’s Last Minute, One Page Sonar 2009 Guide

Thursday, June 18th, 2009 | Event Preview | No Comments

Its just gone midnight on Wednesday night… so no time for an in depth Sonar preview. So here it is in a business like bullet point format:

Thursday

Tags: 8Bit, Ame, Audion, BeCool, Ben Klock, Bloop, BPitch Control, Busy P, Carl Craig, Cassy, City Hall, Club4, Culoe de Song, Dixon, DJ Koze, DJ T, Erol Alkan, Erol Alkan Presents Disco 3000, Grace Jones, Gui Burrato, Huw Stephens, James Murphy, James Ruskin, Jeff Mills, Kanna, Kompakt, Konono No1, Kubicle, La Roux, La Terrazza, Lazarus, Little Boots, Loco Dice, Luciano, Macarena, Marcel Dettmann, Marco Carola, Martin Buttrich, Matthew Dear, Micachu and The Shapes, Minimal Nation, mobilee, Moderat, Nick Curly, Nitsa, Orbital, Paco Osuna, Pat Mahoney, Pier Bucci, Radioslave, Richie Hawtin, Robert Hood, Secretsundaze, Sonar, Sonar 2009, Sugar Beach Club, Superpitcher, Tadeo, The Wizard, Villalo, Villalobos

Orbital Return!!!!

Friday, January 30th, 2009 | Event Preview, News | No Comments

When I was a wee nipper one of the inspiring things about dance music was seeing Orbital headline the main stage at Glastonbury. It was electrifying to see their electronic sounds and bobbing torch spectacles whip up the thousands of people predominantly into their indie music. It was truly a magical moment. I talk as if I was there, but unfortunately I was only of the age which allowed me to go across the road. I witnessed the occasion by the magic of BBC television. It did however set two goals for me, go to Glastonbury (still unachieved) and see Orbital, preferably in one go. The dream vanished in 2004 when Orbital played their last gig never to return.

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Tags: Glastonbury, Global Gathering, Orbital, Rockness, Sonar, The Big Chill