Things usually fare well for film geeks when they show a passion for making music. By film “geeks”, I’m not referring to that friend who can name every David Lynch or Lars von Trier film. They might know every underground film in existence, but if they have no knowledge of production or the film aesthetic than they are merely a critic (and probably a bad one at that). This is not to say that an artist cannot simultaneously be an enthusiast of his own medium, and vice versa. The potential for artistic growth is wonderfully sporadic and somewhat randomized, and when it comes to film-savvy people there tends to be a greater advantage for them to grasp the necessities of quality music. It somewhat mirrors the tendencies of a quality film after all, where atmosphere, performance, and stylistic consistency are vital aspects. In a sense, even though mise en scène is visually bound, music has its own form of it. The subtle, sometimes indescribable tendencies that take place in music set the scene, and it is reliant on the artist to formulate the proper visual and/or audible accompaniment within their medium.

John Kowalski and Rian Trench named their band Solar Bears as a tribute to famed Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. The two had always shared a love for cinema, but it is hard to say if it ever trumped their love for music. Considering the degree of success they have experienced in the latter thus far, one could say their decision to focus on Solar Bears is in the best of their interests. When speaking about their music, their interest in film immediately emerges. “With Moroder, for instance in Scarface, some of the pieces are quite minimal but they are very effective,” Kowalski said excitedly in an interview with Dummy, who would also enforce the duo’s enthusiasm with their “ability to paint a vivid landscape with a relatively minimal palette; creating resonant textures from very little”. Judging by their colorfully atmospherically music, you get the sense they would produce something evolutionary on film… something that evolves from monochromatic dullness to a thriving gloss of colors and imagery. Their own music would be a perfect backdrop considering it can pull precisely the same thing off.

Solar Bears’ debut LP, She Was Coloured In, contains a rather apt cover image. You see a red woman crossing her hands with reflections of her by her side, all set in a different color. The colors actually reflect the three monochrome images on a TV – RGB – and the woman’s figure looks as if it is fading out against analog video noise. As one of the better electronic debuts of 2010, She Was Coloured In shows the band’s range of flexibility. They can at one point sound like a producer of lullabies, with soft sweeping synths collaborating with luxurious orchestral elements, like the lucid twinkle of arpeggios in “Solarization” or the exotic “Cub”, which dabbles in woodwind-like sounds over chirpy synth pads. That a song called “Quiet Planet” represents one of their more rambunctious works is ironic, but it certainly show their infectious works more in the vein of a Röyksopp or Ratatat. Their restrained efforts may be more impressive though, at least for those accustomed to more organic and atmospheric works by artists like Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Their music recalls Kraftwerk’s innate abilities to turn electronic sounds into consummate atmospheres, whether it be complete with lavish hooks or developmental chaos. The chiptune-like percussion maintains a steady futuristic tone, often in 4/4 and accompanied by instruments that are both organic and technological. Like the interlude in “Forest of Fountains”, around 02:19, when it goes from a funk-like trance into a soft interlude of guitars. The transition is mesmerizing, as the cohesiveness of the journey is worth listening for alone. Their bass also has a tendency to sound organic, like in “Children of the Times” where a deep bass tone resonates alongside a vocoder and soft electro-keys, and it is one component of an essentially powerful rhythm section. At least for the sound they successfully produce here. They tread an appropriate line between naturally existent field recordings and man-made electronica, pushing forth an interesting emphasis on the production of their own music in the process. The sonorous tone of the synth pad throughout “Twin Stars” has a cinematic feel to it, almost like the build-up to a frenzied battle in some sophisticated manga re-enactment. The little flicker of synths that gradually add on contribute to the pulsating suspense. With examples like these, the duo are clearly masters of believable soundscapes, and their elaborate songwriting and production really go a long way in separating Solar Bears from the masses of atmospherically-dependent electronic artists.

RIYL: Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Röyksopp, Ratatat, Gauntlet Hair, Twin Shadow, Tamaryn, Candy Claws, Women, Neu!, Elektric Music, Klaus Schulze, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, New Order, OMD, Orbital, Ultravox, Front 242, Laibach, Harmonia, Yello, Telex, Depeche Mode, Can

Solar Bears – Forest Of Fountains

Solar Bears – Children of the Times

Solar Bears – She Was Coloured In

Planet Mu Records

MySpace

BUY

The post Solar Bears in Space appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

by Jay Mattson

I love to dance.  I feel that this claim deserves some clarification, though.  I’m 23 years old and have never been to a proper dance club.  The mix of top 40 rap hits and overly-conscious attendees do not appeal to me.  That being said, my college years were spent frequenting house parties with dedicated rooms full of kids dancing to the beats of off-beat artists.  With this in mind, I’ve scoured my music collection to find some of the best songs that can get a room full of Bright Eyes-centric hipsters up and moving.

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MSTRKRFT
“Bounce (feat. N.O.R.E. & Isis)
Fist of God

I am a huge fan of the now-defunct Death From Above 1979.  Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger unfortunately parted ways, but Keeler went on to join Al-P to form MSTRKRFT, a more electronics-oriented project that still encompasses DFA1979’s dance-punk essence.  “Bounce” is the first single from their sophomore album, Fist of God, and is a seriously fun listen.  Manipulation is the name of the game and MSTRKRFT is excellent at their craft.  The band has remixed songs from Bloc Party, John Legend, Little Sister, Wolfmother, Usher and many more.  The grandiose swell of “Bounce” makes you want to do just that, and bounce with them the whole way through.

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Death From Above 1979
“Blood on Our Hands (Justice Remix)”
Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides

If the original track was ill, this is deadly.  Corny word-play aside, DFA1979’s remix album, which came out about a year before the duo’s official split in late 2006, is amazing and redundant at the same time.  While the band employed excellent producers, more than half of the entire album is populated by remixes of their biggest singles, “Romantic Rights” and “Black History Month.”  The Justice remix of “Blood on our Hands” made my list because of it’s very Justice-esque attitude. Cacophonous, sporadic and electro-drenched, it took the song to a whole new level.

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Ratatat
“Memphis Bleek – Alright”
Ratatat Remixes, Vol. 2

I had a gamut of Ratatat music to chose from, but for the purposes of your indie dance party, the Ratatat Remixes albums are pinnacle.  Vol. 1 was released in 2004 and Vol. 2 came out in 2007.  Both albums have amazing selections restructured with Ratatat’s original beats replacing the original sounds.  While almost any track from either album can work for this list, Memphis Bleek’s “Alright” is a standout as it successfully integrates a piano melody into the mix that provides such a grandiose nature that it’s hard to turn away.

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Major Lazer
“Keep It Goin’ Louder (feat. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze)”
Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do

I was a bit late to jump onto the Major Lazer boat.  Major Lazer is the collaboration of DJ/Producers Diplo and Switch.  Their debut album came out in June 2009 and collectively stunned the dancehall/trip-hop/reggae scenes by delivering some of the heaviest and infectious tracks in quite a while.  My favorite song on the album is “Keep It Goin’ Louder”, an all-out surge of electronics and dub-step beats.  Vocals from Ricky Blaze and Nina Sky compliment the mood almost perfectly.  You’ll want to listen to this one on repeat.

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Sleigh Bells
“Crown on the Ground”
2HELLWU (CD-R)

Without even a legitimate single pressed yet, Sleigh Bells is positioned to take the underground music scene by storm.  The pairing of Derek Miller (formerly of Poison the Well, of all things) and Alexis Krauss has yielded mighty results.  Focusing on growling, lo-fi aesthetic paired with throbbing beats creates a noisy, trippy, absolutely amazing dance experience.  They’re already set to play both 2010 Coachella Music & Arts Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival, again, with no official releases as of this date.

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MGMT
“Kids”
Oracular Spectacular

Oh, MGMT…will you ever relive this level of hype, this amount of stardom?  In 2008, Columbia Records (?!?!) released MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular album to a growing audience, primarily because of the nostalgic/futuristic jam, “Kids.”  It makes sense that “Kids” was MGMT’s biggest hit, as it had appeared, in one iteration or another, on every one of their prior releases.  Of course, their Columbia release provided listeners with the best version, the most clean and well-produced.  And while the band achieved a sort-of international stardom, one wonders if they can make lightning strike twice (has anyone heard “Flash Delirium?; not that good.)  I’m satisfied listening to MGMT from 2008, reveling in “Kids”s stupendous minimalism fused with hazy electronic banter.

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M.I.A.
“20 Dollar”
Kala

Yes it came out in 2007, and no it’s not “Paper Planes.”  In fact, that track is one of my least favorite songs on Kala, M.I.A.’s last release.  “$20” is a far better, far more bumpin’ alternative hip-hop track than “Paper Planes” could ever aspire to be.  This song about the Sri Lankan civil war, it’s ramifications on it’s people and how they’re forced to take up arms is fascinating, erratically engaging and well-produced by Diplo and Switch (or Major Lazer.)

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Julian Casablancas
“11th Dimension”
Phrazes for the Young

I never thought I’d be including a track from a member of the Strokes on a dance party list.  But alas, the world changes in surprising ways.  Casablancas’ 2009 solo outing, Phrazes for the Young, was pretty damn good.  Granted, it was no Strokes album, but it satiated my thirst while I wait for the Strokes’ 2010 album.  “11th Dimension” is by and far one of the best tracks on the album and perhaps the dance-iest.  Hypnotic synthesizers and Casablancas’ ridiculously luring vocal stylings are a fantastic match that makes for a great track.  While it’s still reminiscent of the Strokes, Casablancas has made a name for himself in the vein of electro-pop dance music (which may sound weird, but sounds excellent.)

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Hot Chip
“And I Was a Boy From School”
The Warning

This has been a favorite of mine since I heard it back in 2006.  Hot Chip knows how to work their way around a dance beat and no song makes this more evident than The Warning’s “And I Was a Boy From School.”  A constant electro-bump sets the perfect backdrop for a ‘story’ of some ridiculous relationship between the song’s “Boy” character and his perpetual love interest.  This one keeps the party moving.

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Crystal Castles
“Black Panther”
Crystal Castles

I was lucky enough to see Crystal Castles live at Coachella Music Festival 2009 and it was amazing.  Even though they went on 30 minutes late, the electronic duo of Ethan Kath and Alice Glass can only be described as epic.  Kath’s electronica/dance/techno music coupled with Glass’ erratic vocals are astounding and “Black Panther”, being one of the more straightforward and technically refined songs on their debut album makes it a perfect addition to any dance party playlist.

The post Your Indie Dance Party, Vol. 1 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.