Browsing Tag

Electronic Jazz

Jazz meets chiptune in Samuel Weaver’s latest score, Saviour Complex

With touches of House of Fun by the Madness grooving through the polyphonic funk of the jazz & chiptune amalgam, the UK-based artist Samuel Weaver concocted a superfluously ingenuity-driven score for the standout single in his debut album, Telechora!

Hitting play on Saviour Complex may be moderately akin to an acid trip due to the artist’s tendency to delve into sonic novelty despite his discernible composition and instrumental talents, but the euphoria-instilled vibrancy of the soundscape will lift you higher than any tab of acid ever could.

Given that intellectualism oozes from every progression, especially when the dissonance of sufferers with saviour complexes starts to manifest in the funk, at 17 years old, the composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has the music industry at his prodigal feet.

Saviour Complex charged in on its white knight syndrome on August 19th; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Interview: Poseidon’s Alley led us through the ingenuity in his sophomore album, Blackberries, which unravels as a nostalgically juiced amalgam of prog-rock, synthwave and jazz

After pouring jazzy synthwave tones served with a slice of prog-rock panache in our ears with his sophomore album, Blackberries, the classically-trained LA-based artist, Poseidon’s Alley spilt his genre-melding secrets.

Poseidon’s Alley, welcome to A&R Factory! Can you tell us a little about your sophomore album, Blackberries?

“Thanks! Blackberries is an album that I would describe as genre-bending, groove-based instrumental music. It’s my second LP under the “Poseidon’s Alley” moniker, and I think personally it’s a big step up both production and composition-wise. Unlike my debut album — which I think sounds a little bit more eclectic, abstract, and overall happier — Blackberries is pretty moody throughout and tries to paint these dark, synth-y soundscapes layered with dreamy guitar lines that feel nostalgic, wistful, and even melodramatic at times.

I worked on the album on and off from 2018 to 2022, a period of time that obviously includes the pandemic as well as some personal loss that I went through. So, not the easiest of times for me, or most people, and I think you’ll hear that reflected pretty well through these mostly minor key vibes happening on the record. In fact, I actually let the album sit 85% finished without touching anything for over a year, before finally pulling myself out of the mire and finishing what I started. I called the album Blackberries in a little nod to the Pacific Northwest where they grow (and I live), as sort of a personal “silver lining” metaphor — that these thorny, painful plants still ultimately produce something sweet.”

It’s quite the melting pot of genres; was this something that happened naturally?

“Yes — my compositional style, I would probably compare to abstract painting. Other than the mood I’m in when I start a piece, I don’t really push myself consciously in any direction — I just go where my ear takes me. I actually kind of wish my music wasn’t quite so hard to pin down, because it makes it incredibly difficult to fit yourself in these narrow boxes that the big Spotify playlists kinda require you to be in. First of all, I make instrumental music, which is already sort of disqualifying yourself for a lot of listeners. Besides not having vocals, I’m too synthwave for the prog-style playlists, too guitar-forward for the synthwave playlists, and too complex for some of the lo-fi or indietronica playlists.

But at the end of the day, I’m going to follow the classic Rick Rubin advice and just make the music that I want to hear, rather than artificially trying to stick to a style just to more easily find an audience. And when people do click with Poseidon’s Alley — which, when they do, is thanks in large part to several smaller playlist curators who have found and generously featured me — the response I’ve gotten has been really encouraging to just be myself.”

The spacey amalgam of prog, synthwave and jazz is definitely something we have never heard before; what inspired the album?

“It’s a pure, subconscious reflection of the music that has inspired and impacted me the most in my life. Until my late 20s, I really mostly listened to (and played) guitar-centric prog rock. As a music student and professor, I’ve naturally gone quite deep into classical and jazz for years at a time. That background really forms the basis of the way I approach musical structure, which is classical, and the way I hear and think about harmony, which is jazz. And in the last few years, synthwave, chillwave, vaporwave, all of that stuff really scratched this strong nostalgic itch I have for the 80s and early 90s, and the vibes of the world during my early childhood.

Anyway, I think on most of the songs on Blackberries, the influences are pretty evenly blended. But you also have tracks like “Farewell, August Macke” which is like an “Alfa Mist meets Men I Trust”-inspired jazz tune. You can really hear the Dream Theater-esque prog rock influence on “Gatsby’s Green Light” and “Object Permanence” at the end of the album. And I think “Knight of the Mirrors” and “Rosa Californica” are the two biggest love letters to the retrowave artists that inspire me like Lazerhawk, A.L.I.S.O.N., Lucy in Disguise, and Eagle Eyed Tiger.”

How did your classical training interplay with writing Blackberries and bringing it to life?

“My classical training was the best thing that ever happened to me as a musician just in general because it gave me the context and tools to understand what I’m doing harmonically and melodically instead of just fumbling around in the dark hoping to get lucky. I’m biased as a music educator, but I strongly feel that internalized knowledge of music theory just opens up these amazing worlds of possibilities for a composer, and helps to push and evolve your ear in ways that make music more rich and exciting.

My classical training started with my amazing guitar teacher Rick Sailon who gave me a head start as a teenager, continued at Los Angeles Valley College and Cal State University Northridge, and finished after grad school at the University of Southern California. Once you’ve gone through that many years of thinking about music through this theory-based framework, it’s kind of impossible to turn it off. But I wouldn’t want to!”

Who was involved in the making of your new album?

“I wrote, played, and mixed everything on the album. My incredibly talented fiancée Monica does all the album artwork for Poseidon’s Alley. And it was mastered by Elliot James Mulhern who’s an audio legend in LA.”

You’re a part-time music professor too; what do you think your students would have to say about the release?

“That’s a great question — they’re usually surprised that someone who spends most of his time talking about Beethoven, Bach, and Charlie Parker creates music like this in his spare time, and not, like, string quartets or something. To my beloved students, all I can say is: smash that like and follow button for the Spotify algorithm!”

Are there any future releases in the pipeline?

“This definitely won’t be the last Poseidon’s Alley album. I feel my ability as a composer and recording engineer are getting stronger with every song I work on, and I’m excited to keep building on that. After the darkness explored on Blackberries, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next album is quite a bit lighter. I’m super inspired by the music I’ve been listening to lately including Khruangbin, Her’s, Men I Trust, Hello Meteor, and Pacific Coliseum. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear those influences reflected back on the next LP! But yeah, my focus for the next few months is on trying to support Blackberries and get it into the ears of people who would dig this kind of music, but maybe don’t know it exists yet.”

Check out Poseidon’s Alley on Spotify, Instagram and his official website.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

Paper White and the Lake synthesised Avant Garde electronica in their latest release, Need Everything

For their latest release, ‘Need Everything’, the leftfield electronica producer, Paper White and the Lake collaborated with Chris Peters to create a jazzy feat of synthesised electronica that utilises textures of 80s synthpop in the spacey soundscape that brims with uninhibited authenticity.

The tamed melodic discord that comes complete with stabbing horns may be a little too Avant-Garde for the mainstream, but for any fans of experimental art with the capacity to disturb the comfortable, Need Everything is everything you need on your playlists.

Take the psychedelic trip with Need Everything for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Eldad Ben Naim has delivered his hypnotic electro-jazz fusion score, Welcome Night

With a score that feels like a jazzier and smokier version of Bladerunner’s aural phonoaesthetic, Eldad Ben Naim’s seminal single, Welcome Night, is a hypnotic introduction to the jazz fusion virtuoso’s gift when it comes to laying down beguilingly elegant arrangements.

The electro-jazz instrumental soundscape puts a polyphonic spin on the blazing solos that you’d expect to blast from a sax or guitar, giving the score a playfully eccentric edge, but never compromising on the high-brow alchemy which keeps flowing your way throughout the entire duration of the 6-minute release. If you’re not left entranced by the outro, you should be pretty worried about the state of your soul.

You can check out Eldad Ben Naim’s single, Welcome Night for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nick Tello brings his stunning, ambitious signature with ‘The Artist’

‘The Artist’ is six minutes fifty-two seconds of jazzy, (initially) lounge-bar piano-led (mostly-) instrumental composition, part musical movement, part art piece, rotating its way through guitars, samples, and orchestral instrumentation and percussion, always with the same repeating melody-line. It’s freeform, experimental, and hugely ambitious, with multiple layered tracks compounding that repetitive ostinato phrase; apparently three years in the making and a month to mix, with ambient background-chatter samples, reverb-soaked drums, strings, and that constant piano, programmed TR-808 patterns and electronic instrumentation, and even the smash of a glass. There’s twists and turns, rests and pauses, pitch-shifts and tempo and timbre-changes, classical finger-picked guitar mixing with engineered notes and sampled speech, but always a return to the familiar, beautiful piano refrain. It’s an absolute work of art, delicate, potent, and powerful, and a definite labour of love. A stunning, sublime achievement.

You can hear ‘The Artist’ on Spotify. Follow Nick Tello on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Kenta Insense – Turntable: Blissfully Sun-Soaked Jazz-Infused Instrumental Hip Hop

https://soundcloud.com/kentainsense/turntable

For many, Summer 2020 may feel cancelled. Yet, as long as we have blissfully sun-soaked vibing mixes such as Kenta Insense’s recently released single “Turntable”, it’s impossible to feel totally pessimistic about the season.

The Brooklyn-based DJ and producer prepared an indulgent cocktail of transcendence with Turntable. There’s a vitality amidst the ambience of the soundscape and effortless ease within the structure of the naturally flowing mix which you will definitely want to add to your playlists to get a repeat dose of tranquillity.

You can check out Kenta Insense’s latest single Turntable along with their other recent releases for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wade C. Long – Norm’s Place: Arcanely Constructed Alt Jazz

https://soundcloud.com/wade-long/norms-place

Up and coming LA artist Wade C. Long’s mesmeric blend of RnB, Jazz, House, and Gospel has made him one of the most distinctive artists we’ve heard in quite some time.

Their recently released single “Norm’s Place” is arcanely stunning. Yet rather than just offering a pleasant aural delight to lose yourself within, you’ll be hooked into each progression as you come to appreciate the ingenuity of Wade C. Long’s improvisational style. He found the perfect balance between chaos and catharsis in Norm’s Place. Dare I say David Lynch wouldn’t be able to orchestrate a soundscape as mind-melting as this?

With the usual time signatures safely out of the window, the jarring stabbing notes cut through the concordance of the lucid instrumental harmonies and efficaciously invite you into an aurally altered state.

You can check out Wade C. Long’s single for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast