Faustiandan Albums of 2015 - No.1

Solefald - World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud

World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud is bursting with ideas; a truly kaleidoscopic post-black metal feat. Solefald continue to push the boundaries of what Black Metal is and can be; with Kosmopolis they have perhaps delivered their most accomplished exercise in innovation. Their success lies in deconstructing and isolating aspects of True Black Metal and then re-contextualising them in unexpectedly satisfying soundscapes including faux ‘world music’ and euro dance floor. It is undoubtedly a metal album but is filled with a schizophrenic and relentless embodiment of different styles which are at times authentic and at other times parody. So many great experimental Black Metal bands had releases this year (Arcturus, Dodheimsgard, , Enslaved, Sigh, Liturgy, Deafheaven – many of which were very good), but this release really blew the cobwebs off the genre. 

Faustiandan Albums of 2015 - No.2

Oneohtrix Point Never – Garden of Delete

Daniel Lopatin’s experimental electronic music comes to a crowning culmination in Garden of Delete. Leaving behind the more sedate, dreamy leanings from his back catalogue, this is cut-up styles spliced back together in jarringly impressive ways. Yes it is disorientating; there’s a frenetic computer game vibe at times and the electro production seems to be driven by cyber-industrial glitch; but this confrontational electronic album is hugely satisfying.

Faustiandan Albums of 2015 - No.3

Big Blood – Double Days

Big Blood have an excellent Avant-Folk back catalogue spreading back nearly 10 years and the Double Days double album continues this high standard. Littered with wonderful melodies, superb compositions, drone interludes and an atmospheric psychedelic vibe, they also have an irresistible ability at cover songs – just check out their version of The Cure’s Disintegration. 

Faustiandan Albums of 2015 - No.4

Vessels - Dilate

Not being an expert in the fields of Microhouse and Tech house, this is a release I lump with the many excellent Minimal Techno albums I enjoy. In 2014 I was all about Francis Harris’ release; for 2015, this has maybe had even more spins. Certainly not channelling a new path, but everything is so beautifully done and its muted dance floor energy is instantly infectious.

Faustiandan Albums of 2015 - No.5

Floating Points - Elaenia

A series of Progressive House Eps didn’t really point towards this universally well received electronic jazz debut from Floating Points. Elegant synth work and brushed drumming create a lush and beautiful record that presents an artist exhibiting a fully realised vision on his first full length. Influences nod towards Tortoise, Nicholas Jaar, numerous Krautrock bands (especially Tangerine Dream) and, unmistakably clearly, Manuel Gottsching’s E2—E4. Ostensibly modern but wearing its retro influences proudly.  

Faustiandan Albums of 2014 - No.1

Current 93 - I Am the Last Of All the Field That Fell

Please – maybe the easiest decision I have had to make all year. Not just because I’m an unashamed, diehard fan-boy; this is also a truly great avant-folk record. David Tibet’s idiosyncratic vocal stylings are in fine form, as are his occult/quasi-religious lyrical rants. Musically, it retains some of the simplicity of the Michael Cashmore golden period, but with a free form psychedelic rockband sensibility (the drums are particularly effective throughout the record). Throw in the obligatory roll call of heavy weights from underground music queuing up to work with them (including a brilliant turn from John Zorn) and you have an undeniable Current 93 classic on your hands.

Faustiandan Albums of 2014 - No.2

Swans – To Be Kind

This is the third epic release since the Swans returned in 2010. They remain both brutal and powerful, a brooding colossus in the realm of experimental rock. After more than 30 years producing records, it is obscene how good this is. Yes, To Be Kind is a marathon to listen to and subsequently not easy to digest, but it is worth the effort.

Faustiandan Albums of 2014 - No.3

The Soft Pink Truth – Why do the Heathen rage?

I can’t think of a better way to irritate prejudiced, true black metal fans than reinterpreting some classic tracks as electro hits. In doing this, Drew Daniel of Matmos fame has not shirked away from the themes and style of black metal; in fact, it is more accurate to say he has emphasised them. This results in a record that often falls into parody and, by doing so, dissipates the more sinister elements of the genre. It is even more amusing to hear some tracks result in being, quite frankly, camp; another irritant for your true black metal fan. Yet most importantly, this is an engrossingly enjoyable record that has reconstructed black metal in a captivating way – transcending the KVLT!

Faustiandan Albums of 2014 - No.4

Scott Walker and Sunno))) – Soused

Scott Walker remains one of the few artists who consistently releases uncompromisingly uncomfortable, but equally breath taking records. The end of his contemporary trilogy, Bish Bosch, provided a logical conclusion to The Drift and Tilt. This collaboration doesn’t move far from that template, but has a level of accessibility (relatively speaking) not heard since Climate of the Hunter. Walker bombards us again with a punishing, yet exquisite aural palette, and his demented baritone voice is in fine form. What ties it together more neatly than Bish Bosch is Sunno)))’s complementary drone metal emphasis driving each track. Highly recommended - downright frightening!

Faustiandan Albums of 2014 - No.5

Francis Harris – minutes of sleep

Having a taste for microhouse and minimal techno, I always like to grab a couple of records in these genres each year. What I didn’t expect with this release was the emphasis on live instrumentation. This is still DJ production designed for the bedroom instead of the dance floor, but it stands out because of its Jazz sensibilities. It’s like a jazz band has been submerged under an ocean of distortion and intermingled with distant, deep beats and drones. Certainly rewarding for the patient listener.

Best Albums of 2013 - Number 1: Forest Swords – 'Engravings'

The Neo-pychedelia of Matthew Barnes’ Forest Swords brought an emotional, dreamlike haze with this ambient dub record. Spinning the similar dark atmosphere of previous records, this maintained Barnes’ ethereal beauty but with a starker experimental edge. Hard to call with so many great releases (James Holden, The Haxan Cloak, Dean Blunt, Julia Holter) but this was my album of the year.

Best Albums of 2013 - Number 2: James Holden – 'The Inheritors'

IDM pumped full to bursting with Krautrock, Holden’s brilliant release is both knowingly retro and strikingly contemporary. Probably the coolest record of the year. 

Best Albums of 2013 - Number 3: The Haxan Cloak – 'Excavation'

Dub Dark ambient that is a concept record about what happens after we die. What we get is a compelling, immersive decent into a dark, gloomy afterlife drenched in deafening fear.

Best Albums of 2013 - Number 4: Dean Blunt – 'The Redeemer'

The experimental dub of Dean Blunt is both intimate and immediate whilst being barren and removed. This is sensual pop/electro with outstanding production and a hugely distinctive vibe.

Best Albums of 2013 - Number 5: Spektr – 'Cypher'

French Black metal has always tried to push boundaries, and Spektr’s ‘Cypher’ is no exception. This is certainly a long way from traditional black metal; no vocals, clear electro influences and hypnotic structures. Spektr offer up an eclectic, industrial tinged atmospheric journey not to be missed. With excellent releases from Altar of Plagues and the ever consistent Oranssi Pazuzu, it is not lightly I call this the metal album of the year.

This one will get him in your Lastfm top 10.

Not even Dan wants to write on here. Well, we should save it for special occasions, and here is something very special for you and your love of music. Max Richter, who's name should at least ring a little bell, is about to release a new album after being approached by a small German record label. Their request was for him to take the reins of a re composition. The work in question, Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The result, a stunning success. The best Vivaldi has ever sounded, and the best Richter has ever recorded. It is verging on perfection.


Thanks for all the suggestions this year Dan.

Past Muso Club Recommendation

Pinch & Shackleton - Pinch & Shackleton

When Burial was defining what intelligent, studio based Dubstep is all about circa 2006, these two producers were putting their own stamp on the genre. Although not as groundbreaking, their work stands as excellent exemplars of an exciting current of noughties underground electronic music. Paired together on their self-titled release I'm surprised to have not seen this on any best of lists for 2011. Whilst hardly being dubstep, this is a worthy statement of bass music in a new decade. It is also a pretty exhilarating listen!

Past Muso Club Recommendation

Exuma - Exuma I

In my continual trawl through the world of alternative folk I am constantly seeking out the holy grail of experimental quality to match the mighty Comus. I think, and this is brave, Exuma is some way on the way to achieving this goal. Inspired and thematically linked to Voodoo Caribbean religion (Obeah), this feels both spiritually authentic and reverential. It's exotic nature never feels contrived nor does it feel inaccessibly alien. Intriguing, catchy, bizarre and thoroughly gripping.

Muso Club March Recommendation

Evangelista - Hello, Voyager

Voyagers! Open your cramped legs locked in that flying suit of lights.

There’s a visceral raw edge to Carla Bozulich’s avant-rock ‘Hello-voyager’. But highlighting its rawness only tells half the story. This is at times haunting and eerie, moving through moments of beauty into utter madness. The list of female experimenters she has been likened to seems endless, and many rather fitting – Patti Smith, Kate Bush, Laurie Anderson, Diamanda Galas. Yet Evangelista and Bozulich clearly have a sound which is uniquely theirs.

Still I stand before you, dear stranger and I say: Yes!

The album moves through a variety of styles and levels of aggression. Where ‘For the L’il Dudes’ is a beautiful, string driven instrumental, ‘Smooth Jazz’ is a militaristic rock number, ‘Frozen Dress’ moves into dark ambient territory whilst ‘Blue room’ is a haunting ballad driven by Bozulich’s outstanding vocals. In fact, the variety is impressive, and the quality of each track never falls short. Yet, there is a feeling that these tracks exist to build towards the closer which makes for a jarring and dramatic climax, a real highlight of the album.

There's only one word that has hasn't dried completely in your parched throat. Can you say it with me? The word is love.

Its haphazard percussion landing like stray fire on a battlefield makes for an aggressive and unstructured backdrop punctuated by heavy riffs of fuzzed electric guitar and Bozulich’s fierce diatribe on the alienation involved in love. She is a genuinely moving voice in experimental music and this album makes a welcome exploration of where rock can (and perhaps should more frequently) go post-rock, somewhere both menacing and apocalyptic. Hello voyager is an adventure into the dark recesses of insanity – as such it is highly recommended.

Open your eyes. You are with us now.

Muso Club Feb/March Recommendations

Alain Goraguer - La Planete Sauvage (Fantastic Planet OST)

This is the psychedelic OST to René Laloux’s cult classic, La Planaete Sauvage - The Fantastic Planet or, more accurately, The Wild Planet. Goraguer is a composer worth paying attention to, whose credits include working with and orchestrating many albums for Serge Gainsbourg in the 60s. That should give you enough of a rough idea of his arrangements in general, but with La Planete Sauvage, Goraguer reached a creative peak. This score is both progressive (in a 70s rock way) whilst being laden with a funk vibe. The result is a dense and trippy affair which combines impeccably with the surrealistic realisation of the film; which itself has a Terry Giliam-esque quality but avoids Gilliam’s obscure, non-linear experimentation and is less manifestly comedic. The music is driven by electric synthesisers and a heavy dollop of wah-wah guitar producing a majestic slab of 70’s experimental prog that oozes cool, slow grooves whilst maintaining a tense foreboding atmosphere. Being a soundtrack, the record has a repetitive quality through references back to key themes, but the strength of these key pieces only adds to the enjoyment. Approaching La Planete Sauvage, I’d strongly recommend watching the film first. Of course, the music stands confidently alone, but it was specifically composed to accompany the film, and so it is only fair to listen to it in its intended habitat.