If bands such as All India Radio wet your whistle then she should be adding Beaten By Them’s new EP, People Start Listening, to the list of albums that you need to buy. This truly international group (they hail from San Francisco, New York and Melbourne) have been wowing music lovers for a while now and while their new EP is a step in a new direction it could well be their finest work to date.

It may only be a four-tracker, but at least it is four tracks of pure quilty. ‘Damp Sky 3’ is a moody piece of ambient music that even John Foxx would be proud to produce… it really is a stunning track.

Then there is ‘Rumours Of Madness’ an atomospheric and industrial sounding track that rises to such sharp points that any listener sitting too close to the speaker is guaranteed to get a little shock. You just have to love a track that has the ability to evoke an emotion like that from someone.

‘Damp Sky 4’ is a dark and sinister track with strong bass beat while ‘It Can Take You Higher’ sees the group uses their guitars more which brings a rockier sound to the track… think in mind of something that Melbourne band Laura would produce.

If you’re looking for something a little different than you can’t go wrong with People Start Listening by Beaten By Them… these talented musicians just get better and better with each album they release.

Rating: 

Dave Griffiths

From the second this Sydney band’s debut album starts spinning in your CD player, you’ll find yourself drowning in a wave of synthesized symphony.

Artificial Heart is an absolutely brilliant piece of electronica and not only is the motif of the title played up to a T – the CD is labelled as an “Installing Disc”, and even the press release comes across more like a notification from the doctor’s office – but it really says something that Valley Forge was able to craft such an intriguing soundtrack straight off the bat. Things get off to an appropriate start with Power Up, which – after a cavalcade of offbeat and industrial sounds – closes on the high-pitched beeping of a heart monitor. The second track, Machine-Built Rythym, sets the tone for the majority what remains: A wondrous and entrancing fusion of digitized dialogue, synthesizers, and a hefty amount of bass.

A few pop-styled vocal offerings get thrown into the mix and even Kamahl (yes, you read correctly) makes a guest appearance on the 11th – and second-to-last – track, Wayfaring Stranger. I can honestly say that I appreciate Valley Forge’s willingness to experiment since its something that – in my experience – bands don’t do enough of.  But that said, these tracks really did throw me for a loop and it took me a moment or two to get back into the groove of things.

But the sudden tonal shifts present are in no way a bad thing, because it helps make the album unique, and its great to hear such strong and energetic efforts from Australian bands. Artificial Heart is, without a doubt, a truly transcendental trip of an album. Its off-kilter, inconsistent, and its easily one of the most structurally bizarre albums I’ve heard in a while. To be completely honest, the only other album I’ve heard I could possibly compare to this would be Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy film score. And if that doesn’t speak of Valley Forge’s talents, I really don’t know what will.

Caley Bethune

This has to be one of the strangest releases of 2012, I say strange but well worth a listen. The Asthmatix are a Sydney-based quartet who boast that they mix hip-hop with Jewish culture, although I would argue that they are in the vein of electronica groups such as sonicanimation… a little strange but certainly worth a listen. Their latest release, the Go Team Go EP won’t be everyone…but if you’re looking for something a little different then you’ll want to give this a go.

Key track, ‘Latke’ sees The Asthmatix go for a simple electronic sound mixed with violin while the title track, ‘Go Team Go’, is simply some smooth electronica over playground noise.

‘Look Out’ is one of the highlights of the EP, its Middle Eastern sound makes it a clear standout (and a track that I had on repeat for a while) while the extremely short ‘Gaia (Live Mix)’ certainly embraces some Jewish folklore.

The Go Team Go EP is a little out there but there are some electronic fans out there that I know who will embrace it for its uniqueness.

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Dave Griffiths

Anybody that has seen the film Rabbit Proof Fence will tell you that didgeridoo player Ganga Giri is a talented musician, his work with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack was sensational. That is why it is such a shame that he has released something like this album, Good Voodoo.

Listening to Good Voodoo makes you feel like you’ve travelled back in time to the 90s… the time of bad dance music. The title track and it’s follow-up ‘Get Started’ most likely would have dance fans of the 90s cringing as it’s Scatman-inspired rapper takes all your concentration away from Ganga Giri and his fantastic playing.

The female vocals of ‘Pacha Mama’ sound more modern, but then along come ‘Samba Reggae’, ‘Jump Up’ and ‘Don’t Follow The Guru (Remix)’ all that once again go back to that awful 90s sound… and yes the dreaded Scatman rapper raises his head again.

Ganga Giri then finally finds his groove with ‘Travelling Too’ a track that embraces Aboriginal culture and sounds amazing. ‘Byami (Our Creator)’ keeps the goodness coming and it’s catchy sounds soon becomes infectious. ‘Stand Strong’ and ‘Want To Live In Free’ bring some smoothness to the album but then unfortunately along comes ‘Gade Gade’ and ‘Dhal Dub’, again two awful songs. Luckily, however the album finishes on a good note with ‘Sacred Words’ again a worthy listen.

It’s always sad when a good artist releases a bad album and unfortunately there is very little to be said about Good Voodoo that can salvage it.

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

There are a lot of groups out there trying to mix that electronic sound with mashes of rock and punk, but by far the best Australian group doing it, are the lads from Queensland who simply go by the name Teleprompter. There self-titled debut EP shows the whole world just how good these guys really are.

The EP begins with the mellow ‘Dinobot’, that has some smooth from Mitch Exton but doesn’t really show what these guys are truly capable of doing. But then comes ‘Banshee’ a track so good that you can only really liken it to the legendary Joy Division.

The energy that comes from ‘Lung-Tied’ and ‘Lambrda’ is a real shock, and while Exton’s vocals really shine it is the punk intensity that really hits you. The remix of ‘Boxcutter’ then really shows the electronic side to Teleprompter, and by now you’ll be wanting to put this EP into your Top Ten albums of the year.

This is a stunning debut by Teleprompter and it’s scary to think how good these guys could become over the years. This self-titled EP is an amazing album that you’ll want to listen to over and over again.

Dave Griffiths

Being asked to mix a disc for Ministry Of Sound’s Sessions series of CDs is the holy grail for DJs and this time around (Sessions it is two Aussies at the helm – Tommy Trash (who also mixed a disc on Sessions 6) and Sydney-sider Sam La More.

La More kicks off Disc One with the tribal sounding ‘We Run The Night’ and seems to mash together all genres of dance music with absolute ease. Of course there are anthems from the likes of TV Rock, Dune vs Alesso, MYNC Project, Axwell, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and PNAU but they are well mixed in with pop tracks such as ‘Who’s That Chick?’ (David Guetta feat. Rihanna) and ‘Coming Home’ (Diddy), while even classic tracks like ‘Sweet Dreams’ get worked over by artists such as Avicil. By far the standout here is Sander van Doorn feat Carol Lee with ‘Love Is Darkness’.

Tommy Trash continues with more of the same with his mix covering everything from the smooth ‘Ready 2 Go’ to club favorites like ‘Tonite’. However Trash seems to be captivated by heavy basslines (with ‘Dead Meat’ and ‘Turbulance’) and catchy tracks (like ‘Animate’, ‘Bass Down Low’, ‘Turn Up The Volume’ and ‘2.0’). Although Trash needs to be congratulated for bringing two of the best dance tracks of the year to the table – ‘Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites’ (Skrillex) and the very powerful ‘Blind Faith’ (Chase & Status) sound absolutely amazing.

Another fine Sessions CD from Ministry Of Sound, this is a great listen and a must have for dance fans.

Dave Griffiths

In the late 90’s a new style of dance music started creeping out of the clubs of South London. It’s taken a while for the strange form of electronica to take hold but now in 2011 we see it dominating the charts, so much so that Ministry Of Sound had decided to dedicate a two CD pack to it… the only problem I can see is that Israeli DJ Borgore may not have been the ideal person to mix CD 1 if Ministry Of Sound are hoping that this album may attract more people to becoming a fan of Dubstep.

Borgore’s heavy style of music certainly won’t win people over to the genre as it doesn’t showcase it in the real light. While his mixes of tracks like Document Ones’ ‘Closer’ and his own ‘Love’ work wonderfully well but tracks like ‘Ho! Riddim’ sound like you have fallen into an intergalactic war rather than listening to a CD, while ‘Brace For Impact’, ‘Sunsets’, ‘Squid Attack’ and ‘Foes’ sounds like they may have been recorded by Transformers rather than a DJ. The graphic sexual nature of ‘Afro Blue’ and ‘Spaceship’ could be really off-putting for some female listeners as well.

However it is Disc Two that saves this compilation. Mixed by the legendary Will Styles he manages to create a Dubstep disc that you feel will appeal to the masses, and win over a few new fans for the genre. Classics such as Itch-E & Scratch-E’s ‘Sweetness & Light’ sound brilliant remixed while popular tracks like The Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Dispostion’ and Dead Prez’s ‘Bigger Than Hip Hop’ are well worth a listen. Styles certainly knows how to put together a compilation and adds variety with everything covered from the popesque ‘Animale’, old style jungle beats with ‘Badman Riddim’, reggae with ‘Slew Dem’ and anthems such as ‘Me & You’.

All up The Sounds Of Dubstep is a worthy addition to your collection but you may find yourself skipping over Disc One and giving Disc Two more of a workout.

Dave Griffiths

One of the most-anticipated dance/electronic albums of the year has finally landed. Crystal Fighters have been getting attention worldwide, due largely to their hit single “I Love London” and also because of their unique sound that sees them mix traditional folk music from the Basque region with modern dance/electronica… which surprisingly sounds brilliant, making Star Of Love one of the must haves of 2011.

The album kicks off with the tribal sounding “Solar System” and is quickly followed by the Sam Sparro-esque “Xtatic Truth” which despite the fact of having repetitive lyrics is as catchy-as-all-hell. The strange lyrical stylings of “I Do This Everyday” start off sounding really annoying but do grow on you. The vocals as so electronic that if you hate electronic music than you are best to keep well clear.

“Champion Sound” sees Crystal Fighters call on a Latin/tropical sound and that same sound continues with Plage which is catchy enough to be the next single. The choir vocals on “In The Summer” make it some brilliant sounding electronica while “At Home” is one of the sweetest songs ever recorded.

Big single “I Love London” has been heard in clubs all around the world while “Swallow” seems to mix all the sounds of the album into one track. It makes use of flamenco, hip-hop, smooth vocals, and tropical sounds with a strong electronica feel and ends up being one hell of a track.

“With You” sees Crystal Fighters sound a lot like Deep Forrest while the smooth “Follow” is well worth another listen. The special edition also features acoustic versions of “At Home”, “Plage”, “Champion Sound” and “Follow”, as well as the Spanish version “Xtatic Truth”. Each track sounds dramatically different to the original version and certainly deserves to be included on the album… they aren’t just tacked on for fun.

The unique sound of Crystal Fighters really makes “Star Of Love” the perfect album for anyone that loves their music to be a little different.

Dave Griffiths

You wouldn’t know by listening to most of the rap/hip-hop that makes it to radio today but there was once a time when rappers used their music to get across their feelings. Not how they feel about ‘bitches or hoes” or how much bling they have, but instead their feelings about politics and other things close to their hearts. Well Lasers shows that Lupe Fiasco knows how to stay true to that old-style rap philosophy.

While the world has fallen at the feet at rappers like Usher and Kanye West, the very talented Lupe Fiasco has been plying his trade in the shadows and now Lasers sees him break-out into the spotlight and truly announce himself as one of the best rappers going around at the moment.

Lupe Fiasco teams up with Sarah Green on “Letting Go” and shows the world that not all commercial R&B has to be crappy and lame, and then he really announces himself with “Words That I Never Said”, a track that seems call the War On Terror bullshit while also taking a swipe at some Muslims… see a rapper that has the guts to come out and say what he feels.

“Till I Get There” sees Fiasco get heartfelt about his career and why he is in the rap game while the very-electronic “I Don’t Care Right Now” is catchy enough to be the next radio single. “Out Of My Head” sees Fiasco team up with Trey Songz and momentarily head down the commericial track with a song about a girl, it doesn’t fit his normal style and the only thing that saves it from being a complete disaster is that it has a real Michael Jackson sound to it.

“The Show Goes On” is an amazing track but you can’t help but wonder if the fact that it has been played to death on Australian TV may mean it has lost it’s heartfelt message. MDMA steps up to the mic on the emotional “Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways)” and once again Fiasco’s great songwriting abilities are on show.

“Coming Up” is a truly forgettable song while :State Run Radio” may sound cheesy but if you listen carefully it takes a fair swipe at modern radio and the military. Fiasco mixes his styles up with the Ministry Of Sound-esque “Break The Chain” and then takes his fans on a poetic history listen with the very important ‘All Black Everything”. Lasers then closes with the smooth “Never Forget You” which is sung with true meaning by Fiasco and John Legend.

Dave Griffiths

Over the years Ministry Of Sound Anthologies have become a Bible to dance music fans in the same way that any Triple J Hottest 100 is a must have for those who love alternative music. Now Ministry Of Sound have branched out and released Anthems: Hip-Hop to celebrate thirty years of hip-hop… a three disc set no less. But seriously perhaps they should stick to dance music because while Ministry Of Sound claim they have captured the 54 greatest hip-hop tracks of all time, they have certainly missed the mark.

Clearly what Ministry Of Sound meant to say was they have captured 54 hip-hop songs that were cheap enough to purchase because these albums are loaded with ordinary tracks (that could hardly be considered hits… and certainly don’t deserve to have the word ‘Greatest’ placed anywhere near them) while there are some huge omissions, such as 2Pac (surely with the number of times we hear “California Love” each year that should have be remembered) and Lil’ Kim (a huge mover and shaker in the hip-hop world). Other strange choices include “Forgot About Dre” as one of Eminem’s best songs (how about including one of his hits???) and “Joints & Jam” by The Black Eyed Peas… doesn’t take a genius to work out that it certainly wasn’t one of their greatest hits.

Disc One is the biggest offender with only OutKast’s “Ms. Jackson” and Missy Elliott’s “Get UR Freak On” saving it from being a complete waste of time. Disc Two certainly saves the day with 50 Cent, Ice Cube, DMX, Cypress Hill, Nelly, Slat-N-Pepa and The Notorious B.I.G. making for one hell of a party mix. It’s also nice to see “Kick, Push” by Lupe Fiasco getting a little bit of love… he has to be one of the most underrated hip-hop artists going around. Disc Three is again another right off with only Run-DMC, Tone Loc and Kelis there to save the day.

It seems Ministry Of Sound set itself a task beyond it’s reach when it tried to fill 3 discs with hits, there are certainly more than 3 discs worth of hip-hop hits out there, Ministry Of Sound just chose the wrong ones (or couldn’t get the rights to the ones they wanted… we have to give the benefit of the doubt there). Perhaps they would have been better just trying to make a single disc of hits and doing the genre proud.

Dave Griffiths