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U is album of the week on BOOMKAT

“Having been a staple of the Mego label for some years Tujiko Noriko has established herself as one of the foremost songwriters in the realm of experimental electronica, which ironically, probably makes her even more of an outsider than many of her more avant-garde labelmates. Tujiko has become a major presence within the ranks of the room40 stable, following up the ‘Blurred In My Mirror’ album with this collaboration alongside John Chantler and label boss Lawrence English. True to form, Tujiko’s voice integrates brilliantly with the more abstract sonic elements supplied by her co-conspirators, able to preserve a grasp on song structure through the most unlikely and uninhabitable of musical backdrops. No doubt the Bjork comparisons that have followed her around for the past decade or so won’t be dying off any time soon: the Homogenic-like grooves of ’12 O’Clock On The Highway’ usher the album into life with a blend of stacked-up, looped motifs and the most minimal of melodies. Next, ‘Hyouga’ shifts into a more obviously songlike format with guitar strums acting as pillars, keeping the piece upright, but thereafter rhythm seems to dissolve away a little, leaving room for floating chords and multitracked vocals on ‘I Can Hear The Heart’ while ‘Make Me Your Private Party’ is governed by a fluid narrative kept in check by Tujiko’s knack for a hook. An Oval-like (or would that be Ovular?) rapidly glitching sound reinstates a certain amount of rigidity on ‘Today The Scene Is Yours’, but it’s the freedom offered by the more dishevelled compositions (like the closing track ‘Papergirl’) that makes this album so distinctive. Brilliant stuff = Essential Purchase….”


Purchase this CD from Boomkat

The Organ Weekender

Carina & I are doing some music for a film that our good friend Lucy Pawlak is directing alongside our new friend Joaquin Del Paso. We went out to the local church in the village of Barkway, Herts and recorded their recently (2002) renovated pipe organ. The film is about 17 mins long and shot on 35mm in various (stunning) locations in Poland. Its a super inspiring thing to be working on.  Below are some of Lucy’s photos from the weekend…

last night…

nice jamming last night with matt and pascal of ye olde Function Ensemble…  we have a couple of hours worth of gold & chaos now from a bunch of separate sessions…  will be great fun turning it into something. Much respect to their downstairs neighbour for not getting violent when it probably sounded like we were about to come crashing through the ceiling above them.

tools of the trade...

ROOM40 in LONDON

Super-stoked that this will be going ahead…

Tujiko Noriko + Lawrence English + John Chantler (trio)
Lawrence English (solo)
Function

8pm | £7 | www.wegottickets.com/event/37800

ROOM40 presents a one-off trio performance from Tujiko Noriko, Lawrence English and John Chantler to celebrate the release of their album ‘U’ – a record of orbiting themes, esoteric lyrical wordplays and warm analog-infused song-forms.

Following on from the acclaimed ‘Blurred In My Mirror (ROOM40, 2005), ‘U’ is a record of phases and exchanges between Paris and Brisbane over a three year period – a swelling passage through the rare and exotic reality Tujiko Noriko evokes through her curiously dream-like songs.  U is by far one of Noriko’s most affecting records. It’s also one of her most eclectic, littered with songs that tell of moments of absolute loss and unrelenting ecstasy.

U is released in the UK on 27th October 2008 on ROOM40.

Lawrence English
Lawrence English is media artist, composer and curator based in Brisbane, Australia. Working across a broad range of aesthetic investigations, English’s work is eclectic and characterises a long-term exploration into various themes including audio/visual environments, found sound/vision, subtle transformation of public space and ephemeral art works that exist at the very edges of perception.

English’s imprint and multi-arts organisation ROOM40 maintains a steady release schedule from an eclectic array of Australian and international artists.

Lawrence’s latest record ‘Kiri No Oto’  – a simple but exultant sidestep towards more ravishing textures – was released on acclaimed UK label Touch to resounding praise.

XLR8R (USA):
…A great piece of subconscious architecture.

Brainwashed:
What makes Kiri No Oto work so spectacularly well (and it is a spectacular album) is that no matter what situation I’ve listened to it in and no matter what sort of sound system I use, it still sounds phenomenal.

Othermusic:
English draws from an amazing sonic-color palette, his sounds fluid, vaporous, and shimmering, his application of field-recordings from the world over amazingly transporting.

Function
The brainchild of semi-nomadic mystical wanderer Matt Nicholson, Function make a rare appearance in London to preview songs and sounds from their forthcoming record on Locust: “Galeria de la Luz”.

Pitchfork:
…stretches the ethereality of dream pop into blissout, as strings, wordless vocals, and guitar bleed together in swatches of psychedelic color…Function argue convincingly that sometimes you have to leave the planning behind and go on instinct.

Dusted Magazine:
Almost impossibly beautiful

Links:
www.cafeoto.co.uk | www.room40.org | www.tujikonoriko.com | www.lawrenceenglish.com | www.functionensemble.com | www.touchmusic.org.uk | www.inventingzero.net