Telefon Tel Aviv
Map of What is Effortless
The latest release from Telefon Tel Aviv is sure to please any lover of downtempo electronica. Josh Eustis and Charles Cooper weave lush orchestrations, beautiful vocals, and subtle electronic glitches and beats into masterpieces. The album incorporates several vocalists, whose soulful style could be considered cheesy, if it weren't for the brilliant production of Eustis and Cooper. If there is a way to bring a new definition of soul music into the limelight, Telefon Tel Aviv captures it on this disc. Map of What is Effortless is full of warmth, beauty and headphoneworthy production. This is one of the most moving albums I have heard in the past year and worth checking out.
Grade: A
— Casey Boyer, host of "Breakfast for Beatlovers"
9 a.m. to noon Mondays
Air Talkie Walkie
Squarepusher Ultravisitor
Every so often an album entrances the college radio circuit with a refusal to let up. The French duo Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, known as Air, has released another pleasing atmospheric pop record that has KJHK hitting play repeatedly. Upon first listen, it is nearly impossible not to draw parallels to the duo's 1998 debut, Moon Safari, which achieved global commercial success. Laden with haunting and beautiful melodies, Talkie Walkie once again proves that Air is a master of down tempo soundscapes.
"Alone in Kyotoa," the single composed for Sophia Coppala's Lost in Translation, echoes the mood of the entire album: a melancholy erotica that touches at simplicity as it slowly floats skywards.
However, Talkie Walkie is different in that, for the first time no guest vocalists are used. Dunckel and Godin croon with minimal electronic voice effects. This is due to the production of Nigel Godrich, who delved out Radiohead's last four albums and Beck's Mutations.
— Nick Ray, host of "Cultural Coitus" midnight to 2 a.m. Wednesdays
Grade: A+
A good electronic artist is, at the beginning, like a child on a sugar high: crazy, and sporadic. But as all children do, electronic artists eventually mature. Sometimes it throws them off the charts into oblivion, but other times what they end up with is a masterpiece.
This album is amazing in so many ways. First, the production is almost flawless. The tracks bleed into each other beautifully, taking the listener up and down, from hardcore drum bass to twisted electrojazz. This is what Squarepusher does. Sometimes it is overwhelming, sometimes it is just eerie.
In the case of the Brit Tom Jenkinson, aka Squarepusher, the latter applies. His newest album, the yet-to-be-released Ultravisitor, has a more mature sound than his previous albums, but this is in no way a bad thing.
This album is a beautiful mix of multiple genres, but at the same time. Squarepusher appears to bare his sweet tooth, as a few of the tracks are short, haunting electronic orchestras. So indulge, because this album should win an award.
Grade: A+
- Collin LaJoie, KJHK DJ 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays
Madlib Shades of Blue
Blue Note Records was first established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolf. Since then Blue Note has revolutionized the standards of jazz recordings. Madlib, a.k.a. Otis Jackson Jr., released Shades Of Blue as a tribute to the renowned label and its unbelievable musicians. The record contains Madlib's remixes of his favorite and most influential Blue Note recordings from the 60s and 70s. The remixes add a new dimension to the Blue Note catalog through hip-hop production and guest MCs. Overall, the album is excellent from beginning to end and would be a great addition to the music collection of jazz lovers young and old.
Grade: B+
— Rory Flynn, host of "Breakfast for Beatlovers"
9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays
Grade: B+
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Jayplay 2.26.04