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following on from his two previous critically acclaimed albums, 'dark days exit' reflects felix’s forays into classical instrumentation whilst still audibly remaining true to his unique style, walking a thin line between lush and disconcerting beat scapes. felix describes it as his first “true album”, where he feels the music represents his vision alone. the result is a truly beautiful electronica album, mixed and arranged with absolute genius – each track has distinct character, never slipping into the wallpaper monotony of current lounge fodder. TRACKS: dark days exit is available on itunes worldwide (compost records release) PRESS
QUOTES: "an inspired and deep album of esoteric kindness and warm technology" - peter kruder / g-stone "miss teardrop is a sublime brill supertune.. sneaking carefully into your ears and remaining there for a long long time... excellent" - richard dorfmeister "stunning album" - laurent garnier "dark days exit’s all-round unabashed loveliness could possibly convert even the most misanthropic marilyn manson fan" – bbc collective’s paul clarke "it has the dark sparkle of air`s `moon safari`, random trippy flashes of pink floyd´s earlier sounds, and if david lynch had based `twin peaks` in cape town´s city bowl, then this would work as the soundtrack." - sa / rockdigest "he's clearly an architect, a visionary, and his ongoing musical creations bear testament to this. his tunes — a collection of collages, textures interwoven with lucid melodies and twisted, yet simple, beats — stand tall in an industry which all too often rewards the followers rather than the innovators." - stephen timm / iafrica.com "laband's music reminds one of modern classical composers like reich and glass, leftfield electronica artists like boards of canada, aphex twin and the audio pranksters at ninja tune. it is head music which makes your foot tap. it is delicate, yet earthily funky.." xxxxx charles leonard 48 hours "the latest offering from mr laband is a real alice in wonderland soundtrack; surreal but wonderful. ..a melodic overture of good sounds with an off-beat melancholy which reminds me of autumn." - cape etc "though both laband's previous albums were superb in every respect, they pale in comparison to his new masterpiece - an album so far removed from the usual electronic fodder that it is impossible to categorise. most great albums are." - jon craig canavan / SL magazine "the soundtrack for sensitive people's lives - very recommendable." - martin gretschmann / the notwist / console “sometimes dark and sinister, always a little melancholy, infused with a retro hipness that is entirely cocktail inspiring. felix´s greatest quality must be his use of space – the music breathes with space around the beats, fresh fresh fresh. infinitely listenable, especially outdoors.“ - world online “an insane swirling ambient dub glitch freak show.“ - dazed & confused magazine “the album is a warm space of melody and rhythm that lets you move through colours of nostalgia and déjá vu with endless possibilities of hearing something new.“ - philippa cameron “laband´s superbly-layerd, multi-tiered soundscapes are tantalizingly tranquil and intriguingly unique – they amble like ambient and slip into the bloodstream like liquid lsd.“ - rage.co.za “...if you have too less money to travel to south africa, no problem, just listen to “dark days exit“ and close your eyes...“ - nat queen cool / sounds good inc. “kraftwerks´s autobahn might have been a prelude but this is the omega! fur sure!” - helene ramos galagarza “the new album takes felix's music deeper than before. 'whistling in tongues' is a hypnotic tune perfect for late-night driving.“ - ennio styles |
the
sound of music
by mick raubenheimer amuzine.co.za
no-one is sure where it began. as early as 1917 erik satie's new ballet 'parade' caused quite a stir with its frollicking bleepwork of sirens, pirrouetting typewriters and lottery wheels a-curtsy - a riot ensued; a recuperative two decades passed before edgard varese unleashed 'ionisation', a percussion-from-hell monstrosity with bigger and better sirens (not a ballet):more riots. alittle to the side john cage could be seen violating the fragile harmonic nervous-system of his grand piano by inserting screwdrivers and rusted bolts into its intestines.
what were they after?
roundabout 1916 the original dixieland jazz band had unsuspecting audiences squirming in seats with their members inventing new melodies and asserting them over and into the anticipated song-structures, a year later their hugely succesful vinyls would popularise the then-fledgling form Jazz - that 'idiom' of music that has contributed more than any other to freeing music from the shackles of prescription and predicate and into her own skies.
but all this was no more than an obscure premonition: it would take a clenched handful of decades for experimental classical music to be regarded as more than a contradiction in terms, and that raw passion black-american jazz was soon glad-wrapped into stale formulae for the neat delight of coffee-table generations.
all this has changed.
the fertile energy unleashed by these original frustrates has found its ground and soon the very skies will be dancing to the tune of their own mad ephemera..
all around the world a new music is coyly undusting itself, smiling shyly into the millennial dawn as strummed by the disparately intertwooned likes of aphex twin, badly drawn boy, bjork, kalahari surfers, looper, radiohead, tortoise and myriads squirming snugly with them in the alphabets of sound.
for the first time a music is being embraced, and therefor funded, the stylistic parameters of which are being defined (or hinted at) by nothing but the given composer's idiosyncratic whims and wit. and not only in that infinitely wealthy vista of humanity we idealize as overseas lads and gems - there is something delightedly south african swooning itself on our very own shores thanks to the pioneering balls and womb of a company called african dope (the unabashed champions of local madness) and now a mysterious new label aptly scribed open record.
open record
has deliciously unveiled itself through the simultaneous release of
four artists anonymous to the scrutiny of south african music at
large (with the relative exception of benguela, who have released a
disc of discretional repute elsewhere). recognizable only by a trademark
halo of circles embossed on their cardboard-sleeved covers and the sheer
anonymity of the artists (save, ahem, you-know..), open record is offering
rare and wonderful fruit indeed..
joined by nothing but a passionate relation to the muse and original expression of their affairs with her the artists spotlighted create their own psycho-cosms of sound, of the beauty they experience in and with music. and it tells. each disc has an individual voice, tapestrying the involved composer's experiences in note and beat.
the music is as gratifying as the energy which promotes it: free-floating (or thumping, or scampering, as applies..) between the instruments involved it is above all music emancipated from categorization, the only code applicable being the artists' obvious love of and intimacy with their medium. these are not folk who settled with the traditional compromise of establishing themselves commercially in order to facilitate their art through side-projects.. instead they've been tinkering in the shadows, honing their art and biding their breath.
which is why open record should be sent christmas greetings and good cheer all year round. For grand and voluptuous exhalations these are, and may they inaugurate new breath!
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open
01 enkeleen ek is legio full details buy online |
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open
02 alex van heerden & derek gripper sagtevlei full details buy online |
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open
03 brendon bussy diesel geiger full details buy online |
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open
04 benguela sui full details buy online |
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open
05 derek gripper blomdoorns full details buy online |
ARTISTS |
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alex
van heerden |
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all rights reserved.
CONTACT
ross campbell
iliketea@iafrica.com
cape town
south africa
distributed
in south africa by
kurse music distribution
contact alastair
tel: +27 21 424 1959
fax: +27 21 424 4051 alastair@kursemusic.co.za
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