Album Review: Like A Machine - The Emperor Machine

Andy Meecham's new album as The Emperor Machine follows a slew of slinky singles featuring his new vocal partner and it mostly delivers on the promise of those releases that led us up to this point.

Meecham has specifically highlighted his love of the album format, paying tribute to the fact that albums enable you to get 'weirder' in a way shorter forms of music do not... That combined with that new (still curiously unnamed) vocalist gives Like A Machine a left-field analogue component that certainly benefits his sound.

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Opening with the evil bass-heavy sounds of Theme From Magical Ring, Like A Machine initially sounds like a bad-ass sci-fi funk exploitation flick. It screams out for someone to create a version with some rhymes dropped on it - the thick and sinister and slow melodies the sickest hip-hop track you never heard.

Theme From Magical Ring is quickly followed by a stripped back, more raw and punk influenced version of the title track and lead single. It is another similarly aggressive and foreboding piece, full of the sensuality it always had but back here with added vitriol. At three-and-a-half-minutes it will leave you wanting, but perhaps that is a statement in itself.

The first six-minutes of Like A Machine are almost certainly its best, but that says more about  how electric they feel than it does of the rest of the album. Current single RMI Is All I Want introduces a disco swagger that re-occurs a couple of times through the album, particularly on the Todd Terje featuring So.Ma.So - expect plenty of analogue synth and bass lines that make your backside bounce. Both are playful yet grimey.

Free from the constraints of the single format The Emperor Machine concept benefits in exactly the increased expansiveness Meecham has alluded to. That rework of the title track would never lead a single, and there are moments of psychedelic weirdness - as on the slow and cosmic Sonique. Varied and assertive, Like A Machine is a weird, but enjoyable, trip.

Like A Machine is out on May 19 through Southern Fried. Pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD and MP3 [affiliate links]. Preview RMI Is All I Want on Soundcloud below:

Buy on Beatport: http://bit.ly/RMIBeatport Buy on iTunes: http://bit.ly/1f9OP2v Buy vinyl: http://bit.ly/RMIvinyl Taken from the album 'Like A Machine' coming soon: http://bit.ly/EMLikeAMachineAmazon http://www.facebook.com/theemperormachine

EP Review: Pass It On - The Joy Boys

Pass It On is the debut release from The Joy Boys, a collaboration between long-term friends Raf Daddy (one half of The 2 Bears, along with Joe Goddard of Hot Chip) and Toby Young (aka bootleg producer youngTEE).

It's a typically chunky house production with plenty of ravey touches focused on the dancefloor, even more so than The 2 Bears. Opening with 'The Wake', the EP kicks things off with some carnival sounding brass and samba inspired shuffling drums. The track builds with a some intensity, throwing in laser blasts and vicious bass stabs, and comes off like a midnight spent losing yourself in Brazil.

The title track is a little slower to build but becomes a bit psychotic, vocal snippets applied as percussion and cut up synths providing what there is of a melody. An evil bassline and the chanted vocals create a dark, twisted track.

'Shake The Tip' has more Latin rhythms, a bouncy bass and some screeching synths, and it points the way to the EP's rave obsessed conclusion but feels a bit flat in comparison. 'Kitchen Sink' closes, and the title is doubtlessly a self-parody of the fact that the duo seem to throw about twice as many ideas at each track as the need to, and here probably even more... We have rave horns, whistles and a love of the grimey south-London sound that suits these guys so well.

This is undoubtedly little more than music to lose your shit to, but within that confine it's pretty classy. Keep your eyes peeled for a launch party in Peckham on 14 September.

Pass It On is out now on Southern Fried Records, available on MP3 from Amazon.co.uk [affiliate link]. Preview via Soundcloud below:

For FREE MUSIC MONDAY today we have a brand new tune from The Joy Boys aka Raf Daddy (from The 2 Bears with Hot Chip's Joe Goddard) and Toby Young (better known as bootleg specialist youngTEE). Both hailing from South London, the pair have illustrious discographies to their names that span house, disco, funk, soul and plenty more besides.

EP Review: Like a Machine - The Emperor Machine

The filthy undertones on this new release from Andy Meecham never manage to sit far below the surface.

Back with the first Emperor Machine release in almost four years, Meecham's latest release comes through Norman Cook's Southern Fried label and precedes a new album, due later this year. Work on that album has focused on collaborations with a new vocalist, who somewhat bizarrely remains nameless on the press release and replaces Meecham's previous (occasional) vocal partner (his wife).

Judging by the content of the title track here Mrs Meecham has every right to be worried... Like A Machine is a big, sensual monster of a record. With glorious arpeggiated synths and lose punk-funk drumming it melds cosmic disco and electroclash to create a record built on the best bits of house and techno's last ten years. It's a long, expansive and chaotic record. And if you want evidence of what was on Meecham's mind when he made it, just check out that ridiculous cover...

The EP opens with the Extended Erotic Vocal but also includes an instrumental version and the Stretched Erotic Dub, a more experimental, loser take on the opener that edges closer towards the sort of acid funk of a DFA release. Andrew Weatherall provides another version (ironically for Weatherall, it's actually shorter than the a-side). It is much more minimal in comparison, and with additional male spoken vocals it feels darker, full of fuzz and analogue synth.

Digital versions of the release also feature bonus track System Seven Hundred, a menacing groove that builds into a strung-out hypnotic monster... It's less immediate than the title track but potentially has more longevity. It's clear Meecham is trying something a little different here - let's keep an eye on what happens with the album.

​Like a Machine is out now on Southern Fried Records, order from Amazon.co.uk on MP3 or Vinyl [affiliate links].

EP Review: Flash Of Light - Luca C & Brigante feat. Róisín Murphy

​It is hard not to have a big wobbly soft-spot for Róisín Murphy. She has been responsible for a number of great records over the years, both as part of Moloko and on her own, particularly excellent solo album Overpowered. A collaboration with Luca C & Brigante then was always going to be at least worth a listen, particularly on the back of the duo's recent run of EPs, a run which includes the brilliant Ali Love featuring 'Different Morals'.

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​Flash Of Light - Luca C & Brigante feat. Róisín Murphy

Murphy was apparently drawn to a collaboration after hearing Luca C & Brigante's production work, noting it's apocalyptic feeling, stating it was "as if I was listening to the sound of a party at the end of world". And it is that theme - of dancing through to the end, having one last chance to say goodbye - that this collaboration is based on.

The fact that the lyrics were inspired by the feeling Murphy took from hearing Luca C & Brigante's other productions shows. The atmosphere of this track, with its gentle, attentively programmed bass and fragile melody perfectly compliment the vocal. This is a record with heart and feeling running through its seam - it is typical of Róisín and she highlights the capabilities of her collaborators.

Diynamic label boss Solomun nudges things in a slightly deeper direction, layering some synth work and vocal edits to create a tasteful alternative version. Tale Of Us & Mind Against team up to make a harsher, tech-heavy version but it is unfortunately unsuccessful, lacking the sophistication of the original. The final remix comes courtesy of Blond:ish and is similarly tech-influenced and ultimately similarly unnecessary. Still, stick to the original and Solomun's versions and this is a package well worth grabbing.

​Flash Of Light is released through Southern Fried on 22 October, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on 12" and MP3 [affiliate links].

Check out a preview of the Solomun mix below: