The Locust - Molecular Genetics From the Gold Standard Labs

For a band who dress like locusts onstage, whose average song length is under a minute and have song titles such as 'Priest With the Sexual Transmit', it's hard to understand who may have brought forward the idea of an almost b-side album; the band, or their record label, or whether it might even be a bit of an 'in' joke.

Regardless of music ethics though, ‘Molecular Genetics From the Gold Standard Labs’ and its forty four tracks tread through what The Locust fans will have come to expect with classics such as my personal favourite, 'The Half-Eaten Sausage Would Like To See You In His Office'. For those uninitiated listeners, I can only issue a warning for anything The Locust do. Listening to The Locust is like watching a sex scene with your parents, or walking into your parents room when they are having sex, or being the best man in a wedding where the bride doesn't turn up. It's an uncomfortable and abrasive attack on what your ears assume music should be. Awkward time and tempo changes, nonsensical yelps, frantic drumming, and for the most part, completely bizarre electronic use make The Locust a strange listen, even for a person like me who has already heard them a million times. But that's where I actually think The Locust are brilliant, get beyond the quirky costumes, the satirical and often sexual song titles and what you find is an intelligent band, who may not be to everyone's taste but are doing something that no other band is willing to risk right now.

If you aren't a The Locust fan already, buy at your peril.

4 / 5

www.facebook.com/thelocustofficial

The Cinematic Orchestra - In Motion #1

We live in a fantastic era of music. An era where the electronic and the organic can be molded so beautifully and crisply together. The Cinematic Orchestra are fronting this era, lifting inspiration from the heart melting melodies of classical music and orchestral playing mashing them together with jazz drumming and electronica in a way that shouldn't work but yet does, like putting jam and peanut butter together.

The Cinematic Orchestra's last release Ma Fleur was a breath of fresh air, spearheaded by the increasingly popular To Build a Home it was beautiful and dramatic but even that, towards the end of the record, felt samey, drowning in the downbeat sludge of The Cinematic Orchestra's musical style. In Motion #1 seems to be a remedy of that, more upbeat, more dramatic, more haunting, more powerful, more destructive and yet possibly the most sensitive we've seen The Cinematic Orchestra to date, it is clear that collaborating with others has paid dividends when it comes to this album.

In Motion #1 is The Cinematic Orchestra's response to visuals that have inspired them, and the album does just that for the listener, softly lifting them away from their record player and their bedrooms and placing them in a summers field. Personally, I can't think of anything better on a day like today that encapsulates a British summer.

4 / 5

www.facebook.com/cinematicorchestra

Behind every brilliant musician there is a faultless hardworking PR agent, or a superb producer, or a pitch perfect session musician. None of these get the attention they deserve, and most wouldn't want to. But what about those even further behind the scenes, who in an ever growing need for innovative sound and lighting gear have to knuckle down and keep constantly ahead of the curve despite their lack of creative fame?

When I was asked to speak to Vince De Franco I didn't know what to expect, in all honesty, I didn't know who he even was and it has only dawned on me now that perhaps, in his own right, I was talking to a musical genius...

So first of all for those who don’t know, including myself, can you tell us who you are and what you do?

[Vince:] My name is Vince De Franco and I founded a company called Synesthesia Corporation. We create technologies and products based on my experience as a musician and my background in Physics and Electrical Engineering.

You first invented the Dimension Beam. Can you tell us a little about it?

[Vince:] The Dimension Beam is a patented active sensing zone of infrared light that triggers and controls sound. The one-sided system detects exactly how much IR is being reflected back toward its transmitter and measures the movement of your hand or an object down to the millimeter. You can do things like hit a chord on your electric guitar and as you drop the neck the pitch drops, or your distortion gets heavier. Or, move your hand a few inches through space to play through a couple octaves of a scale on your synth, every mm of space being another note.

A basic licensed version, called the D-Beam, exists now in most Roland keyboard and synth gear.

The D-Beam went on to be used by artists such as U2 and Stevie Wonder as well as many others. Did you ever think that it would become so widespread, popularly used by such huge artists?

[Vince:] The instant the idea for the Dimension Beam popped into my head I knew it was something I really wanted to use in my own setup. I felt that the product would become widespread, but not as quickly as it did. We barely had time to build a few units for an upcoming NAMM show and a couple days after the show I got a call from the U2 office saying The Edge wanted to record with a Dimension Beam.

Things just kept going from there.

You then created the Mandala with Tool drummer Danny Carey. Can you tell us first what the Mandala is, and tell us how you became involved with Tool?

[Vince:] The Mandala is an electric drum with a patented membrane technology for its surface which detects the position of a strike every millimeter from its center to its edge. Other electric drums have about two zones from center to edge, but the Mandala has 128. Instead of acting as a big on/off switch like other pads, the Mandala's entire surface can be used to the player's advantage.

I first met the Tool guys at Timothy Leary's house in the 90's. Soon after that my band opened for them and then I played synth with them and contributed to their albums for some years before Danny challenged me to make the Mandala Drum system. He has since permanently integrated seven Mandala Drums into his live and studio acoustic drum setup and they're now a big part of many Tool songs.

How do you feel the work that you do helps musicians?

[Vince:] Imagine if a painter in their studio only had brushes that were 6 inches wide and 3 inches thick. A lot of the nuance of their strokes would be lost or wasted because of the low resolution of that tool which is the bridge to their canvas. Instruments such as the Mandala Drum and the Dimension Beam offer a higher resolution that helps the artist realize their creation or performance to a finer degree based on what they're feeling. Techniques and nuances previously not able to be captured now become an element of the art.

In terms of helping musicians, The Mandala can allow people to play pitch perfect. Do you think it is important in an electronic sense, to open up music for anyone regardless of skill or talent, or is that potentially quite economically dangerous for the music market?

[Vince:] I think it's essential in an overall sense to open up music for everyone, and certain operational modes of the Mandala Drum help do that. If you play only the white keys on a keyboard you'll stay completely in key with no effort, and it's been that way since before electricity was harnessed as a tool for humanity. Realities like that are the little bonuses which offer beginners a doorway into the world of musical creation and once you're hooked there's an infinity of uncharted tonal and rhythmic territory to explore for the rest of your life.

I feel it would be a confident bet to say that the excitement of being able to play a no-mistakes Casiotone solo over a preprogrammed track lured many a child into a lifetime of music, and the music market has benefitted greatly because of it.

Many musicians are more interested in the more organic creation of music and may not be able to get their head around your creations. Do you often come across musicians like this, and how have you encouraged them to try something like the Mandala out?

[Vince:] I've never recruited musicians to play any of my creations over the years. Curiosity leads them to these devices, but it's not necessary for anyone to get their heads around my creations because they're more heart related than mind related.

Drummers have spent countless hours of their lives beating on a piece of stretched mylar with wooden sticks. If I redirect their sticks to a Mandala Drum an added dimension becomes apparent in their playing which was always present, just not able to be harnessed, but now it can. Musicians are feeling that enhancement and tapping into new places with abilities they already have.

Working behind the scenes in the music business like you do, how do you view current music, as a hot bed of talent, or a dross pool of untalented but well marketed nobodies, and what do you feel of your work in relation to this?

[Vince:] There are hotbeds of musical talent in the world and it would be nice if the mainstream music business helped spread awareness of their offerings a bit more.

Our work with the Mandala is to get more people drumming, keep them drumming, and offer them the most versatile and sensitive drums in the world. One aspect of that versatility is the ability to fine tune the steepness of the learning curve associated with drumming. Drumming is one of the earliest forms of human communication, and music can be a great cultural unifier.

Hopefully the Mandala Drum ignites a spark in a little kid somewhere out there who will become a 21st century Mozart.

Obviously your work is hugely inspired by the more electronic side of music. Is that how you envisage music in the future, and how do you think that will affect the output of music?

[Vince:] I envisage the underpinnings of music in the future to be much like today. In a hit song today you may very well hear instruments which have existed for centuries playing along with electronic instruments which were just invented. Synthesizers and acoustic guitars and pianos and Mandala Drums all coexisting as colors in the palette of the creator. The more the merrier if used in ways which are appealing to the hearts and minds of the beholders.

What will be interesting is the ways these instruments are learned and the techniques used to control them. More people will be playing instruments in more ways and creating more music and the potential for great music creation will be higher.

So finally, the big question. What are you working on next?

[Vince:]That's a secret!...but the goal is to make instruments as flexible and easy to expand as possible.

You can see and buy Vince's products via http://synesthesiacorp.com/

2econd Class Citizen - The Small Minority

Timing is everything when it comes to music. Six months ago I don't think I even would have given 2econd Class Citizen a moment of my time but in the midst of my current ambient, electronica, dubstep, whatever you want to call it binge, 'The Small Minority' seems to fit in perfectly.

Terrible name aside (well, not so much terrible name but that 2 is god awful) and stomach churning bad album artwork, 'The Small Minority' in part goes where many wouldn't dare to and does so through diversity. While artists like RJD2 and DJ Shadow have done the hip-hop or trip-hop thing to death, and successfully may I add, 2econd Class Citizen brings that style to the forefront adding an ambience many will have heard on Four Tet's last release 'There Is Love In You', and the almost soulful mainstream vocal style that made artists like Burial so popular. That isn't what sets 2econd Class Citizen aside in a genre already full with spellbinding artists though. What sets 2econd Class Citizen apart is this added to the natural, organic folk influence that Aaron Thomason surely picked up during his upbringing in the rural parts of England.

'The Small Minority' isn't for everyone. It isn't middle of the road, yet at the same time it isn't brash and in your face. What it is, is often trip-hop, folk, hip-hop, electronica, interesting and above all, never failing to be challenging. One of my surprise listens of the year, I beg you to check this album out.

4/5

www.2econdclasscitizen.com/

Rumer - Boys Don't Cry

So, somehow I have managed to avoid anything involving Rumer up until this point. I don't know whether that was intentional, or whether it's because I have this strange innate habit of switching channels anytime something dreary that my nan might listen to comes onto Jools Holland.

'Boys Don't Cry' is the second album from Rumer coming after the highly successful 'Seasons of my Soul' and is a collection of (it's here that I shudder) covers of seventies songs. Now, to be honest the whole cover album thing isn't so bad, done to death yes, but if you do something new with the music and don't croon along like say Rod Stewart these days then you can get away with it - just. Okay, 'Boys Don't Cry' is hardly Rod Stewart churning milk from the cash cow, but at the same time it's so very safe, so very middle ground, and well, just so bloody nice that I honestly can't stand it.

Music is so bloody brilliant. It is able to empower people, change lives, excite and bring its listener to its knees. With 'Boys Don't Cry' Rumer is only doing one thing; lulling me to sleep.

2/5

www.rumer.co.uk/

I Am Oak - Nowhere or Tammensaari

So many have claimed that advancements in music technology have allowed for people to create music that wouldn't have been able to before which has lead to an oversaturated market drowned in unlistenable non-talent. When music critics say this though, they clearly haven't heard I Am Oak, the brainchild of Thijs Kuijken who creates music gloriously minimalist folk from the comfort of his own bedroom.

Latest album, 'Nowhere Or Tammensaari' flirts with the idea of folk from the off with opener 'Famine', with its strummed guitar at the forefront alongside sombre and often haunting vocals. That isn't to say that I Am Oak are folk per se, after all songs like 'Drooom' have deep thrashings of distortion clanging in the distance that you would perhaps find in a noise band, and 'Vares Vares' vocally flirts with a foreign-slash-English exchange which while indescribable in terms of meaning is interesting to say the least.

It's true, music is over-saturated. I get sent dozens of CDs and review requests and half the time the music isn't even well rehearsed. Bedroom music can go so very wrong, but every once in a while you find a gem of an album and you realise how important it is that everyone has the ability to create and record music if they want. I Am Oak's 'Nowhere Or Tammensaari' is this gem of an album and I am so glad I have been able to listen to it. You will be too, so sort it.

4/5

www.iamoak.com

Some bands are destined to be on the fringes of popularity trends within music. Douglas Robinson must have found himself increasingly toeing the line of the 'emo' craze with his previous band, Victory Record signed, The Sleeping. After the split of The Sleeping, Robinson quickly brushed himself off and got straight back into the ‘game’. I caught up with the now Night Verses vocalist to ask him about his new band and the reasons behind releasing their debut EP for free via their website, while being treated to an honest account on genres, the music scene today and to quite frankly be left in awe of a musician clearly passionate in his new band.

Hello, for those who don't know you can you explain who you are, and how you came to be?

I'm Douglas Robinson and I am the vocalist for Night Verses.

Long story short.... I had moved out to Hollywood and wound up attending a show out there where the band happened to be playing. I had moved to clear my head, regroup my thoughts and get away from music for a bit at a point in my life where things just weren't going well.

A mutual friend had asked me to attend a show he put together and despite every bone in my body wanting to decline the invitation, I swallowed my stubbornness and headed out to the show. I saw the band play instrumentally and I was hooked. Watching them was one of the most changing experiences I have had in a long time. I can say it was a big part of my restoration in music.

You said that when you first saw the band they were vocal-less. At what point did the band see vocals as necessary, and were you always first choice?

There were other singers before myself but they just never seemed to work out for the band. Despite all of the troubles the band kept going through, they continued to write for the pure sake of music and wanting to better themselves. Most bands would have called it quits if they had gone through what these three have went through. But... they kept going and here we are.

After bands split usually their members feel the need to have a break from music. What has compelled you to get back to making music so quickly after The Sleeping, and what was it about this band that drew you to wanting to sing for them?

Well, The Sleeping was still active when I had moved away from NY. It was rough on all of us because we (The Sleeping) were just about to record our final record, 'The Big Deep' when I decided to disconnect myself. That was definitely my break from music.

Once I moved away, things started coming back together for me. I started to get inspired again and that's why so much of 'The Big Deep' is about running away from your problems and coming back around to face them. Anyway, we started touring off of 'The Big Deep' and I had reconnected with (Night Verses) Nick, Aric and Reilly at one of the shows out in California. We spoke about the future and shortly after that is when we started sending music back and forth for ideas and whatnot.

The Sleeping was still active and everyone knew I was working with these new musicians but I was still holding myself from fully moving forward. So, once The Sleeping amicably called it quits is when it finally gave me a sense of closure and that's when Night Verses started moving forward one hundred percent.

You are releasing your debut EP, Out of the Sky, for free via your website. What are the reasons behind this?

We want to show the people what we are about. Music is our passion and our whole being. So, we wanted to give away our first batch of songs to let everyone know that this music is here for all of you and it's going to shine through all of the insincerity that's out there right now. We want the whole world to know that you don't have to follow specific genres, dramas or trends to bring your music to attention. We want to be a band that changes the game because we believe music needs a change. We want people to remember music for its messages and vibes. We want to bring the regime of musical dramas and insincere trends to its knees.

The production on the EP is just mind blowing. Can you tell us anything about the recording process, and how it may have differed to your recording experiences previously?

Everything differs from past recording experiences. This is a completely new unit and that alone makes the recording process unlike any other. Aside from pushing buttons, playing instruments and any other physical aspect of recording a record, a producer's methods will always differ from the next. Everyone has their own routines, vibes and special tricks up their sleeves. That's one of the factors that make recording such an amazing experience. Recording with Kris Crummett was perfect for us. We really admired his work on Closure In Moscow's 'First Temple' and felt that he can really understand what we are trying to achieve as a band.

I can sit here and go over the whole process with you but it's better to keep all of that a bit of a mystery. Just listen to the EP and catch the vibes for yourself. Thank you for the compliment, by the way.

Like you implied earlier, the band don’t really follow genres. Musically I found it very hard to pin down the EP with its experimental and electronica elements molding with a rock sound. How would you describe the EP's sound and what inspires you all musically?

We don't really know how to describe our sound either. In all honesty, we don't want to describe it.

Music, in our opinion, should never be pinned down. A lot of people spend their time trying to put things into categories and that's when people forget the true message behind music and any art. Art is expression and expression should never be restricted. Personally, I don't listen to something and automatically categorize it nor would I ever want to. I listen to what moves me until something else comes along and brings me to that next point.

As for inspiration, everyday life inspires this band. We are around music twenty four seven and find rhythms, patterns and melodies in everything around us. Whether we are listening to others' music or creating our own we are constantly surrounded by it and wouldn't have it any other way.

There seem to be so many ideas bursting through each song on the EP. How did you approach the song writing process for the EP?

These were some of the band's first songs written before I was in the picture. So, being that I live in NY and they live in CA, they sent the songs to me and I tracked my vocal ideas before we went into the studio.

Nick, Aric and Reilly work very hard to craft the songs but they do it in a very natural and exciting way. I do the same when it's my turn, vocally. We write music because we love it and it's amazing for us because, aside from the excitement, we are bettering ourselves as a unit and as individual musicians.

The same approach goes when we are all in a room together. We just have fun and work non-stop. No one idea is a wrong idea. We adjust things here and there until the song is complete and we enjoy every second of it.

You’ve been on a big indie label previously, but Night Verses self-released this EP, why is this? Are there any plans to sign with a label in the future?

There are big plans for us but it's important to let people know that we will keep going no matter who or what comes along. We are a band because of our love for music.

What are your touring plans? Have there been any thoughts to the band coming to Europe, and more importantly the UK?

We have a show in NYC on June 29th and there are other tours in the works. I could tell you all specifics but it's better to just find out soon enough for yourselves.

Beyond this release are there any plans for another EP or a full length any time soon? And if so, how do you think you will release it, digitally or physically?

We have tons and tons of songs... we are just waiting for the right moments. There will definitely be a full length in the near future. You'll just have to keep an eye out.

Finally, if you only had five words to try and sell the EP what would they be?

"Check it out for yourself"

You can download Night Verses' Out of the Sky for FREE at www.nightverses.com