Bleep Update 7th March

2007 Roundup
It may only be March but 2007 has already seen a bumper crop of great releases ranging from the intense electronic soundscapes of Amon Tobin and Clark to the incendiary indie of Bloc Party and the Emperor Machine's future-retro disco, this week we round up a selection of the best releases from this year that have all been receiving heavy rotation here at Bleep towers. All of these releases come in standard MP3 encoded at the maximum quality of 320kbps. Clicking on a release will take you to Bleep where you can listen to the whole thing in full.

Bleep exclusive: Each track has individual embedded artwork by Openmind (aka DJ Food).
Foley Room, Amon Tobin's 7th album sees the sampling auteur make a quantum leap on from his previous experiments in sound manipulation. Having previously worked with vinyl as his primary sample source with Foley Room he has painstakingly assembled hours of recordings made out 'in the field' of sounds ranging from the roar of tigers to the buzzing of wasps, the clatter of kitchen utensils and the throbbing engines of motorbikes to act as his sound palette. Combined with recordings of musicians such as the Kronos Quartet, Stefan Schneider and Sarah Pagi, Amon has gone onto create a deeply textured album of dense atmospheric sound-scapes that easily stands up to, if not surpasses, his impressive back catalogue.
Also available in FLAC Here

Last year's Body Riddle may have seen Chris Clark lose his first name, but it gained him a whole new legion of fans. It's heavily processed intricate sounds and rhythmic inventiveness made it one of the albums of 2006. Luckily we haven't had to wait long for a follow up in the shape of the 6 track Ted EP, which takes in everything from distressed malfunctioning hip-hop beats to raga like drones and glacial piano melodies. The EP also includes a gorgeous remix of Ted by Mush Records' Bibio who unexpectedly re-interprets the track as an folk guitar drenched campfire strumalong.
Also available in FLAC Here

Hailed as their best album yet, Myth Takes grabs the blueprint laid down on their 2004 set 'Louden Up Now' and tightens the whole thing up a notch or two. Over 10 tracks the 8 piece NYC band lay down the heaviest sounds of their career to date. Much more focused then on previous releases, Myth Takes heads stright for the heart of the dancefloor with it's solid, locked down percussion and dirty punk funk rhythms providing a rock solid base for their more experimental moments.
Also available in FLAC Here

A playfull and inventive album from Planet Mu's The Gasman. Despite rattling along at a breakneck pace, the chopped up bleeps, breaks and rave stabs reveal a lighter touch than many of his noisecore obsessed peers with melodies on tracks such as Cubicle and Vigor that wouldn't sound out of place on a new Plaid album. A standout album from one of the strongest labels out there at the moment.
Also available in FLAC Here

With a back catalogue as extensive as the legendary reggae label Trojan, the main dilemma is just how to get it out of the vaults and into the hands of the public. Their latest idea is to ask musicians who have made their name in other genres to compile their favourites. The first up and perhaps most surprising is Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, who has put together a remarkedly upbeat selection of vintage reggae like Marcia Aitken's gorgeous 'I'm Still In Love' and Derrick Harriott's 'Let Me Down Easy' and deeper, spacey sounds from dub legends such as Lee 'Scratch' Perry and The Scientist.

The second album from Sunderland's Field Music see's the band's early promise come to fruition. 12 tracks of bottled sunshine that references bands as diverse as The Beach Boys, ELO, Supertramp but manages to sound so much more than just the sum of their influences. Short, sharp and to the point, this is how pop music should be made. Although ideally listened to in an open topped cadillac as you sweep through America, 'Tones Of Town' will still bring a little joy into your life when you're crammed onto your train in the morning rush hour.

Not content with being a third of rave legends Bizarre Inc and then a half of disco punkers Chicken Lips, in 2003 Andy Meecham began recording brilliantly strange space age disco as The Emperor Machine. 'Vertical Tones and Horizontal Noise' compiles the last 6 12"s into one bacofoil wrapped package of far-out cosmic music that sounds like the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's Delia Derbyshire jamming with Can at Studio 54. Essential late night music for fans of vintage synthesizers the size of cupboards.

2005's Silent Alarm may have catapulted Bloc Party into the major league from out of nowhere, but if the band had any nerves about following it up, it doesnt show on 'A weekend In The City'. Success though hasn't bought happiness and their sophomore effort is a darker, angrier collection of tracks with lead singer Kel Okereke particularly uimpressed with the state of modern life. Rather than retreat though the band have come out fighting and musically 'A Weekend In The City' is a tour de force, veering from widescreen epicness to fierce angular new wave agit-pop and is sure to be one of the defining indie albums of the year.

The debut album from sometime Super Numeri member Pop Levi finally arrives via the new Ninja Tune affiliated Counter Recordings. Where Super Numeri mixed the cosmic jazz of Alice Coltrane with the angular teutonic rhythms of Can or Neu, Pop Levi's solo album presents an updated psychedelic mersey-beat sound with touches of folk, glam and garage rock thrown in for good measure. A startling vision of what the Beatles may have sounded like if they had been fronted by Marc Bolan.

If you've worn out your copy of 'Veneer' by Jose Gonzalez then the next best thing has just arrived in the shape of singer-songwriter (and ex bare knuckle fighter!) Findlay Brown's 'Separated By The Sea'. Tipped for huge things this year, he as already managed to make crippling debt sound beautiful with his track 'Come Home' soundtracking the latest Mastercard advert and doesnt drop the ball once over the course of the 11 tracks on offer here. Beautiful folk-pop that tugs at the heart strings without coming across as schmaltzy over sentimental rubbish, 'Separated By The Sea' announces the arrival of a very special talent who will be plastered all over your Sunday supplements by the Summer.