Kingbastard : "Upwnstairs" (Herb Recordings)

Kingbastard - Upwnstairs (Herb Recordings)

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This is an older track from Herb Recordings' Kingbastard, that has been given a nice production overhaul. If you like this track, it may be worth investigating his "Bastardise" (Review) Ep which you can order here.

Herb News

Here's a couple of points from Herb Recordings latest mailing list update:








Rubens

The U.S release date for the Rubens CD is the 13th April 2007. Fans in the U.S can pre-order the CD now for $14.96 from

www.ear-rational.com

As from next week the Rubens (Review) CD will also be available from Norman Records for £7.95

www.normanrecords.com

~ism from Rubens has also released his "Surface Life" Ep which you can get for free here.


Engine7

The fantastic debut album release by Glasgow's Engine7 is imminent. This album will be released in digital format first and then on CD shortly afterwards. We'll keep you updated with the progress on both formats.



Solipsism "Free Ep" & "No Entry Ep"

Both of these are free downloads that Solipsism have kindly made available. The Free EP is a collection of 4 ambient tracks that were recorded during the "Electricity Flows In Squares" (Review) sessions and the No Entry EP is basically just a collection of 7 tracks that they've recorded over the past two years and not used in any other projects. Please feel free to download and share these out. You can download both eps including artwork here.


Kingbastard

Kingbastard has released a free ep under his "myheadisaballoon" alias. The ep is titled "Hello-Fi" and can be downloaded for free from his artist page at the herb site.

Points of Interest

1. Mogwai, despite a prolific output in 2006 (Mr.Beast, Zidane, The Fountain), appear to be back in the studio according to their website.

2. Planet Mu have details on their 2007 release schedule.

3. 65 Days of Static have a few live dates up here, including a few at Scotland's wonderful Triptych Festival.

4. You can watch Arcade Fire perform "Intervention" on Saturday Night Live here.

5. Portishead previewed an unmaed song in a low-key performance in Bristol, according to Pitchfork

6. Hidden Shoal Recordings have pre-released Wes Willenbring's "Somewhere Someone Else", which should be of interest to fans of Eluvium, Stars of the Lid, The Dead Texan and Labradford.

7. The Strange Death of Liberal England recorded a session for the Steve Lamacq show on BBC Radio 1. Stream it here. Pre-order their forthcoming single here.

8. Kingbastard has remastered and uploaded another record, this time it is his "5" ep, download it for free here.

9. Pre-order Vessels forthcoming single "Yuki/Forever The Optimist" here.

10. SITE NEWS: in the coming week I will be posting exclusive mp3's from 4 up and coming artists in and round in electronica genre. I am hoping to now make this article a monthly event.

An Abundance of Herbs

Quite a lot of Herb Recordings news to digest here, but I'll give it a bash. Firstly, the innovative Scottish label has released full details of their two latest signees, Engine 7 and Skytree. Meanwhile, Solipsism have made 4 unreleased ambient tracks available for download and Kingbastard has uploaded some older material.


Skytree

Skytree is the work of Evan Snyder, an Afro-wielding Minnesota-based musician who mixes folk with IDM in his own experimental way. Having released some music via Benbecula and Eaststroke Records, a full length debut for Herb Recordings is expected in the no too distant future. "Windings Of The Dragon Track" will be available via digital download and CD. Listen to the sample track below, it comes across like a less evil Boards of Canada performing in some weird and wonderful forest. This is the real "Campfire Headphase"

"Horizon Rock" mp3 - Skytree


Engine7

Engine7 is a stalwart of the netlabel scene having released records on 12rec and a few others. It was only a matter of time before someone else took notice. At the tail end of last year, Herb Recordings certainly took notice snapping up Engine7 in time to release his forthcoming "Me, But Perfect" album. His most polished work to date, it retains the heartfelt emotion and those uplifiting melodies. Each track is carefully constructed, with painstaking attention to detail. It is a triumph for organic instrumentation and digital innovation. A must for fans of Sigur Ros, The Album Leaf and Helios.

"Sunrise, Catalonia (7.14 am)" mp3 - Engine7

You can also stream the absolutely tremendous and live favourite "Tempertantrum 11.36 am" here


Solipsism

"Electricty Flows In Squares" (review) is certainly one of the freshest electronica releases I have heard this year. It mixes swirling, ethereal melodies with precise and mechanistic programming, a wonderful contrast. Solipsism have since uploaded some unreleased ambient tracks, recorded during "The Electricity Flows..." sessions get them here.



Kingbastard

Kingbastard unleashed the sinister "Bastradize Ep" (review) earlier this year, I described it as "quick-fix of frenzied beats, effervescent melodies and a lo-fi style production". He has now gone into his back catalogue, re-mastering and reloading some of it. You can obtain "Sad Machines & Things That Go Bump In The Night", free for a limted time only, here.

Kingbastard : "[Bastardize Ep]" (Herb Recordings)

2007 is barely one month old, yet it is full steam ahead over at Herb Recordings. Along with Rubens' forthcoming debut, the "[Bastardize Ep]" by Kingbastard represents a busy start for the innovative Scottish label. This Ep is a quick-fix of frenzied beats, effervescent melodies and a lo-fi style production.

A number of tracks here, recall some of Richard D. James' acid-style sounds (especially those Anologue Bubblebath records). Opener "[Tripod]", for example, fearures a dirty melody and some mid-90's style beat production. Ending with a combination of vitriolic beats and a dark theme, ensures this Ep is off to an impressive start.

"[Boxclever]" is probably my favourite track here, it is certainly the most instant. Rapid beats are laced with a lethal melody, that proves to be an intoxicating blend. There is a fantastic middle section, where the beats merge into a triple drill style beat, that is both innovative and appeasing work.

"[Parenthesis]", meanwhile, is a large sounding number thats starts with hisses of static and computer bleeps. A beat soon pushes its way through the digital mass, along with some euphoric synths, that soon develops into a captivating tune.

As the name suggests, "[Data Rape Function Creep]" is a deranged track, thats uses a plethora of bit stream beats, dark drones and eerie sound clips. It vaguely recalls those industrial machine build-up's that Autechre are renowned for.

"[Goodbye Mr Bendigo]" surprisingly changes tact. While the 4 previous tracks are beat-laden and instantly gratifying, this one harks back to some of Kingbastard's work, on the "Run:>Ep". It is a sad sounding collage of cloudy sampled textures and melancholic synths. A perfect reference point here would be Radiohead's "Treefingers" from "Kid A". It's is not as instant, but repeated listens reveal a certain degree of emotion.

Thankfully, it is just a temporary moment and Kingbastard hasn't got all depressed on us. He is soon back with his signature buoyant beats and acidic melodies. The bizrrely titled, "[Got Milk_Duckstomping]", with its upbeat nature, works in perfect contrast to the sad synthscape of "[Goodbye Mr Bendigo]", and ends the Ep on an optimistic note.

The "Bastardize Ep" is a definite progression for Kingbastard. The beats are innovative and the melodies plentiful. There is some terrific work here, most notably "[Box Clever]", "[Goodbye Mr Bendigo]" and "[Data Rape Function Creep]". 2007 could very well be the year of the bastard!.

Rating = 78%

This Ep is available via digital download on February 25th. But, if you are like me and prefer something more tangible, you can get your hands on a special limited edition CD right now. Order it here.

Points of Interest...

1. Engine7 will be performing at Glasgow's Rio Cafe tomorrow night from 8pm. Those excellent visuals will be on show, courtesy of These Are Ideals, while a live bassist will also be added to add extra weight to the overall sound. I have heard the forthcoming album, "Me, But Perfect" and it is a scorcher. More info and a map of how to get to the venue, for those who are unfamiliar with Glasgow's West End, can be found here.


2. Rubens' forthcoming album, "Carnivalesque" (review) has a release date (Feb 10th). It will be available via digital download and CD via Herb Recordings. Pre-order it here. Furthermore, Kingbastard has a limited edition Ep available on CD form Herb too. Get the "Bastardize" Ep here now.

3. Hot on the heels of Sigur Ros' latest album new, My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields has declared that he "still intends to record" another MBV album, according to Magnet.


4. Mogwai have been asked to play at this ATP festival, with a decision expected very soon (source), while Slint will be once again dusting down those vintage guitars to play the influential "Spiderland" in its entirity at the Primavera Sound Festival.


5. The collaboration between Solipsism and Neil Carlill of Vedette, will now be going under the name shoosh. There are more new tracks for you to digest here.


6 My Formica Table, the project run by Strap The Button's Jack Hunter has posted a few of the upcoming ventures. This project is partcularly interested in the "swapping of music". Get in contact with him, if you would like to do this here

7 Some interesting news(to say the least) coming from Radiohead fansite At Ease. Korn are expected to release a cover of "Creep" on their forthcoming Unplugged album. The album will also feature The Cure's Robert Smith. Jonny Greenwood, meanwhile, will oversee his own Reggae compilation in conjunction with Trojan Records. Tracklisiting and details here.

Kingbastard (Herb)- Ambient Electronica/ Infectious IDM

For this installment of the Herb Recordings mp3's, we will turn our attention to one of the more recent releases. Kingbastard's "[run:>ep]" was only released last month and is described by its composer as "a mix of easy and uneasy listening". You will be able to listen for yourself at such a contrasting sound, with the mp3 of "My Other Child Is A Robot", which is the last track on the ep.

Stylisitically, Kingbastard references Planet-Mu and Warp Records, while he also claims Radiohead and Bob Dylan are major influences. However, more tellingly, is his appreciation of the late John Peel's radio shows. Avid listeners of Peel's shows will know the music aired was certainly interesting, always taking some unexpected turns. Kingbastard's music, maybe unintentionally, mirrors what went on on the Peel show.

Kingbastard also seems to be an advocate of file-sharing as there plenty of downloading oppurtunities at his website. There is also an in-depth interview and a podcast here.

Again its probably best to get it form the horses mouth, or at least from his very interesting biography..

"Kingbastard is a composer/producer with a diverse range of musical styles and tastes. Born under the sign of the Bastard he is rarely seen, choosing to hide away in his bastard-cave delving into the realms of Experimental Electronic ambient music and infectious IDM surfacing once every few days to create alternative acoustic tracks and gather essential supplies". Order the "[run:>ep]" here.

"My Other Child Is A Robot" mp3 - Kingbastard