Tangram

Unassuming cover, kick-ass contents...

An admission: I love dubstep. I know it's quite trendy to knock it and having listened to quite a few albums filled with nothing but Whomp-Whomp-Whomp, I can see why it's fallen out of favour so fast. But if there's one electronic sub-genre that feels like the future, it's this one. Music for spaceships, albeit dark stricken ones, set adrift with deadly aliens lurking around every corner.

And that's how I'd describe Tangram by Reso. Part breakbeat, part dark electronica, all earth-shattering bassline, this is dubstep from the year 3000. From the epic opener 'Exoframe' onwards, with its sci-fi breaks, soundtrack synthesisers and relentless bass, Tangram throws one hard-edged tune after another. 'Creature', quite appropriately, feels like something from another planet, throwing tough beats at you from the outset, before 'Axion' takes the pace up another level with some epic freeform drumming and terrifyingly big bassy wobble. It's thrilling stuff - just don't listen with the lights off.



The album does have lighter moments, 'Coronium' is a spacey ambient piece, leading up to 'Simple Pleasures' a slow breakbeat number with more sounds made from the infinite. 'Virtua Rhythm' is old skool DnB, with a hint of early 00's video game beat 'em up soundtrack thrown in for good measure.

From 'Nempo' onwards things get darker and darker, big drums, crushing bass and metallic screeches are tempered against an almost oriental sound. 'Backwards glance' is a funky slice of sci-fi two-step, before 'Half life's' epic synths build and stunning bass hits build up to the album's stand out track: 'Ishimura'. Sampling science fiction horror video game Dead Space, this is a track every bit as frightening as facing flesh eating aliens in the dark. Closer 'Tabris' is a frenzy of breaks and bass, a joyfully noisy affair that gets the blood pumping like a rocket trip to an far away world.

Tangram is dubstep, but not as we know it. And I'm proud to say I love it...

Audio candy

Cool cover, even cooler tunes...

Maybe it's because today was a sunny day. Maybe it's because I had the iPod on random. Maybe it's because it's a staggering 13 years since this album was released, but today felt as good a time as any to talk about one of the sweetest electronic albums I own, Lemon Jelly's debut: KY.

A collection of EPs made into one incredibly lovely LP, it's the audio equivalent of confectionery; a bag of sonic sweeties that surprises with every bite. The whole album feels sugar-coated in loveliness, with samples that make you grin and warm beats that wrap you in a sunshine of sound. This is undoubtedly a summer kind of album, but with enough magic to make you feel a little christmassy at the same time.

As I've already mentioned, this album is a decade and three old now and despite its brilliance, every time I mention it to people I'm faced with blank looks. This just isn't on. I mean just listen to it...


Opening track 'In the Bath' sets the tone nicely. Downbeat, chilled but with a warm sense of humour throughout it blew me away from the first time I heard it. Things get even better with 'His Majesty King Raam' a sparkling children's lullaby that makes beautiful use of strings and glockenspiel before a gentle drop beat and laid back scratching takes it down to the beach. This masterpiece is then followed by my favourite track on the album, 'The Staunton Lick'. The tune bizarrely starts like an audio instructional piece for playing a guitar chord (the Staunton Lick itself) before being joined by other summery guitars and beats. You can feel the temperature go up by several degrees as soon as it starts, clouds part, rays shine down. Bliss.
Quirky samples play a huge part in making KY special. Lemon Jelly have a knack for finding shiny pieces of audio goodness, odd pieces of dialogue taken from everything from children's TV to self help CDs to-where-on-earth-did-they-find-that? nuggets - not to mention beats that get the head nodding and the feet tapping. At the time the music from KY appeared in adverts, TV promos, TV programmes (pretty sure Spaced included practically the whole album), films (Swordfish, for one) and shops and bars across the land. But now? Barely anyone remembers KY, which is a shame because the music of Lemon Jelly has aged well for such a fun and lighthearted piece.
We all need a little sweetness in our lives, so make sure you grab yourself a dollop of Lemon Jelly. You won't regret it...