Metal Postcard Records

Wax Audio WebsiteImagine This made it into (John Peel’s) Festive 50 for 2005 . The Festive 50 is a UK music institution and having one of our releases in this chart voted by listeners is a great honour.
You can see and listen to the festive 50 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onemusic/huw/festive50.shtmlAfter an eon of dull booty action, here comes a sure fire classic. words taken from g dubya ‘ speeches, rearranged and put to the tune of ‘imagine’. imagine the world’s most powerful baby boomer getting sentimental with the world’s most revered peace anthem. it’s a mash up / cut up special that is utterly, utterly essential. limited edition 7″ only with hand stamped / numbered labels.
Rough Trade Records (London) You Tube – Imagine This
You Tube – Born In A Bad Place
You Tube – Two Time Blonde

Dsico (that no talent hack) ‘City Stirs’ (Metal Postcard).
By all accounts much loved by those cool dudes down at Go Home Productions as well as turntable terrorising dj’s the world over…..‘Morning City Stirs’ is deadlier still, a sluttish meeting of Joy Division, DAF and Front 242 in a seedy backstreet haunt, posing and preening cold wave super groove underpinned with a seriously floor flattening hypnotic bass grind that’s so grimy and horny to the touch you’ll feel you’ll need a cold shower afterwards. Flip the disc for the 12 mix of ‘When you gonna love me’ and the lacerating proto Kraut grind of ‘You can wait’, an unhinged slice of head tripping cosmic pop with unresolved personality issues to boot  Losing Today.comIn a perfect world this would be huge and given time don’t be surprised if it is. His Punk As Pussy ep is the best, most deranged thing of joyful abandon I have heard in ages. Mark Moore You Tube – I Wanna Be Sedated
You Tube – Smells Like Electro
You Tube – 50 Cent – In Da Club (dsico in da electro remix)Check For dsico’s newest work at http://lukedsico.bandcamp.com/

We’ve released the following by Streaky Jake / Swoop SwoopWhat’s Wrong Nothing (CD)
It’s Spring 7″
Somewhere In The Shadows (CD)
Lust Collage (CD)Cyclic  Defrost Interview Swoop SwoopSomewhere in the Shadows is the first album to be released under Gorman’s Swoop Swoop alias, on Sean Hocking’s now Hong Kong-based label Metal Postcard. Filled with delicious, subtle takes on acoustic guitar and minor forays into electronic elements, there’s no one phrase to pin down the aesthetic. Instead, there are influences, sounds, and fragments. “I love Bob Dylan,” Gorman says. “I remember listening to ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ once and that really affected me, the sound and everything about it. I was into the blues for a long time, not so much anymore.”Harmonious Beach Boys pop also gets a look-in too, alongside a childhood fascination with punk. “When I was in high school I listened to Dead Kennedys, American punk bands, but then I kind of got over that. I used to play a lot of punk with Lucas but it wasn’t very good.”

The story behind Gorman’s evolution, as Streaky Jake at least, is just as intriguing as the tales of the young Lucas McCain. It all began in September 2005 when an unmarked demo arrived for review here at Cyclic Defrost. Alex Crowfoot (Ollo) reviewed the record What’s Wrong? Nothing, with its hand-etched sleeve, for issue 12. As there was no way for Crowfoot to contact its author, in the review he invited the musician to contact him to mix and master the record.

“hello my friends the Americans came to Iraq to kill muslims and take our oil but now they lost all their money and they have a muslim president haha. Some people send me angry messages.

To them i say: I WANT YOU ALL TO HATE ME SO YOU CAN LOVE EACH OTHER peace Ali aka DJ Foundation”
“scorched beats strafed with machine gun fire, the apocalyptic, bellicose ravings and fury of jihadists, religious leaders and western politicians and samples from the buckled scaffolding of western pop …embrace this debut’s fractured ferocity and morbid wit” The Wire

“Fierce black comedy on war, terrorism and trans-national mutual loathing…occupies the rarified Venn diagram where Negativland, Public Enemy and techno cross” Mojo

“Truly excellent…satire-laced, booty-shaking beats…Iraq’s premier exponent of tough uncompromising electro” DJ

“I laugh out loud but feel shivers down my spine… one of the most joyous, disturbing, funny and sad albums I’ve ever heard.”  Mark Moore (S-Express), QX

“If anyone deserves 99 virgins at the pearly gates it’s DJ Foundation” 9/10 iDJ

You Tube – Ghad
You Tube – Hot Girls Hot Guys

The Emergency make the music of tomorrow you imagined in a hazy childhood daydream. By combining disco beats, shimmering synths and dubbed out vocal effects they weave a web of heavy cosmic pop that avoids sounding quotational or disposable.
Starting out in 2001 when Milo Kossowski enlisted two friends to play some synthesiser instrumentals he’d written for a music festival in an art gallery, The Emergency were pioneers of the current wave of Melbourne synth bands. Always following their vision and always staying true to their DIY roots, The Emergency have attracted attention worldwide which has seen them lauded by taste-making blogs such as 20jazzfunkgreats.co.uk, headline the Hanoi International Music Festival and be handpicked to support Glass Candy for the US band’s only Melbourne show.
For the last three years a two-piece of Milo (vox/keys) and Morgan McWaters (keys/machines), the Emergency have been busy in the studio producing a series of vinyl singles (Spending Time 7” 2007, Forever/Too Much 12” 2008) and remixes (Catcall, The Slits, SSION). In 2009 The Emergency will see their second long player Dreams That Money Can Buy released, which includes contributions from Catcall, producer D.Block and Outrun bassist Mark O’Keeffe. The album was entirely recorded and produced by the band in their own studio using a blend of vintage and modern instruments and effects, and the freedom of recording and mixing at their own pace has allowed the songs to be refined and polished to perfection. The band use the full-length format to expand from their roots of 3-minute pop songs to longer workouts that take the listener on a sonic journey to the outer limits of the cosmos, as well as offering up some pure pop diamonds.News from Ibiza… disco is back in it’s most psychedelic form. Names to drop: Hercules & Love Affair, Glass Candy and The Emergency. Vogue (UK)(The Emergency’s Apache Beat remix) takes their recent single off into another, dreamy galaxy. NME (UK)I’ve meant to write about The Emergency for ages, and now it’s the moment, relish the second before you press play below as one of anticipation before bliss, an electric impulse later finds you floating in the zero-g space of their synthetic world, skies of an orange gradient such as those summoned by Vangelis in the mournful multi-track suggestions of See You Later, or hegemonic alchemists Chris and Cosey, an eternal carousel of neon tubes curling upon each other like genetic algorithms, coupling, swirling and growing into the perfect shape of an electroid pop gem endowed with the same baroque & languid sexuality of Sebastian Tellier’s vanilla butterfly soul, it could have well found a home in the perfectly curated museum of the LCD Soundsystem’s debut album, a statue of liquid metal of Rodinesque beauty getting off with Marc Almond in the luminous spaces of a modernist corridor.
20 Jazz Funk Greats (UK)In a word stunning. More club floor decimation from the Metal Postcard stable. This brooding beauty will appeal to everyone from disciples of Kraftwerk to lovers of DAF, gloriously parched with a retro accent and liberally dipped with stark minimalist grooves, this dislocated euro disko funk wrap ripples warily like a ‘music for the masses’ era Depeche Mode. Losing Today (UK)

Forever / Too Much is… that rare form of dance music that’s enjoyable on an inward-looking cerebral level as much as it is under the lights of the dancefloor. The dirty after-hours antithesis to the vacuous more polished proponents of the genre. thevine.com.au (Australia)

You Tube – Forever
You Tube – Too Much
You Tube – Haunt You

NHOZ Website8 bit punk from brooklyn who’s played with the gossip..chk chk chk!!..mint chicks and others.We say imagine Alec Empire and LCD sitting down with Jello Biafra at the fag end of the 43rd president’s reign..America spends, the war is lost…apathy is everywhere.This Song Will Change Your Life…..”Alex Billig now lives in Williamsburg and runs around screaming as the one-man shrill electro-noise creature Never Heard of Zeppelin. He used to intern at CMJ, he dreams of a place with no alarm clocks, and he’s never heard of a very famous band.” Village Voice NYC
Buy @ Klicktrack

You Tube – Popular Demand (Video 1)
You Tube – Popular Demand (Video 3)
You Tube – Popular Demand (Video 4)
You Tube – This Song

As simple and disjointed as they are, there is a kind of logic to those instrumentals. However, all the vocals are provided by a demonic but monotonous Speak & SpellPop MattersYou Tube – Pissing In A River
You Tube – In The Year 2525
You Tube – This Land Is Your Land

Chang Wording Girl reviewed in The Wire. The following review of Neon Eon appears in the August 2005 issue of The Wire“Originally a trio of South Korean guitarists formed to accompany modern reinterpretations of traditional mask dances, Chang Wording Girl have evolved into an electrifying mixture of abstraction and harmony, focusing their energies on a succession of musical projects. Now joined by two vocalists, this is the groups first album to be released beyond the domestic market, and its dramatic noise collages seem decisively divorced from any specific regional or cultural origins.
Including guitar-generated pulses and drones and sudden jumps in volume and intensity, Neon Eon presents an uncompromising sound, a single piece of music that shifts restlessly between moods and arrangements for more than 20 minutes, never settling into anything resembling a comfortable groove, but opting for an episodic series of compressed but intense tableaux.
Amid the processed fuzziness, grit and aural clutter, there are hints at melody, small snippets of twanging guitar, suggestive of a fleeting, ghostlike harmony struggling to be heard. The vocals are deadpan, robotic narratives, competing with the clamour of the group, adding one more layer to this monumental but mutable sound sculpture. With a last volley of noisy, electric siren calls followed by echoing drones, swoops and dives, the music comes to an abrupt halt, suggesting perhaps that the group may well extend themselves further, with only considerations of duration offering any kind of barrier.”

You Tube - CocksuckerThe Google-proof London School of Economics has created one of the weirder dubstep tracks in recent memory, liberally sampling The Rolling Stones’ “Cocksucker Blues” as well as Primal Scream, ending with a dark, atmospheric piece that will certainly be echoing at late-night parties throughout the winter months. The video for the track is even stranger, featuring eerily slowed-down footage of Mick and the boys at New York’s Danceteria club in the early 1980s   XLR8R

emusic

Ltd CDR Release from the artist: 50 Copies OnlyI bet all the Perth bands that aren’t sunny, jangly indie pop get real shitty with the assumptions that they’ll sound like the Bank Holidays or Institut Polaire or whoever. Erasers are basically the opposite of that stereotype: cold as ice, smooth as glass. This isn’t car music. It’s propulsive, sure, but there’s a serenity to the way this space jam throbs and glides forward and a faraway quality to the vocals that make the song sound like it was recorded on the moon, maybe, or the edge of a giant chasm. It’s supposedly influenced by elements of post-punk, post-rock and drone, and at this stage when you hear those genres being dropped you have good reason to move the fuck on to something else, but the good news is Erasers cherrypick the sounds you wanna hear: they’re like post-punk when it sounded like it was made by melancholic machines, post-rock when it wasn’t background music and drone when… well, I don’t know drone, but I know what I like. I like Erasers.
Rose Quartz BlogAvailable as a digital release atAmazon
i tunes

It was back in 2004 when I first heard the work of Joe Scerri AKA Lake Lustre. Although it encompassed a wide variety of styles, ‘Indecipherabilia’ was essentially a superior chill-out record. With twice as many tracks, ‘Mountain Math’ is the follow-up, which presumably has given Scerri even more licence to experiment. Much of ‘Mountain Math’ is as inventive as his debut. For instance, ‘Ghosts As Guests’ brings in African influences but it is the guest appearances which are most memorable. Thanks to its sensitive vocals and delicate but modern electronica, ‘Shoplifter’ calls to mind the romantic pop of Junior Boys, ‘Good Day’s Damage’ is a nice slice of fragrant soul whilst ‘(I Am An) Inland Sea’ indicates why David Sylvian is listed as one of Scerri’s MySpace friends. Leonard’s Lair Blogitunes
emusicYou Tube – Shoplifter
You Tube – Cul de Sac

Though their kindred spirits are a little left of traditional notions of hip-hop, Kid Static still lays nimble, easygoing rhymes over the dense and busy production of Yea Big, who also plays the gawky, sweatband-and-gym-short adorned hypeman for Static on stage. Whether you’re a fan of glitch-inspired sci-fi rap production or not, Yea Big’s work here is a potent argument for continuing to work the niche: it’s always chintzy and threatening, robotic and organic, teeth-gritting and head-bobbing all at once. Pitchfork

You Tube –  Bots
You Tube –  Stomp The Pedal
You Tube –  The Life Here
You Tube –  Acapella

It’s because of groups like WOW that I find electronic pop chart-toppers like The Presets and Cut Copy so incredibly dull. Whilst technically pigeonholed in the same field, the Sydney duo separate themselves from the others by creating music free of tiresome cliches and overly obvious influences. The two tracks on this, their debut 7″ release, literally burst out of the speakers with hard disco punches and pop sensibility.The A-side, Common Species, is pure pop bliss. The homemade feel of the music attached to the chest-thumping bragging creates a lovely contrast. The fury of electronic overlays, coming and going as they please amongst the continual pounding background, makes for a highly enjoyable three minutes of structured chaos.On the B-side, When You’re Dead, the method of attack is very similar, but given a slightly darker edge with the male vocals stripping away a lot of the carefree fun. The track, in a blaze of punk-like chanting, collapses into a messy heap, knocking home the idea that this group isn’t happy simply following a linear path with their music. Poloroids of AndroidsSydney boy/girl duo WOW seem to have come up out of nowhere — and bam, hitting us upside the head In short WOW encompasses that signature Australia sound you already know and love: dirty synth mixed with guitar that will make you shake and dance in your skinny jeans.
Big Stereo Blog / Los AngelesYou Tube – Icy Cold
You Tube – Icy Cold (Bumblebeez Remix)

Acid Reign continues the Innovaders tradition of taking acid in order to produce micro modular – thick acid house 3/5
Urb Magazine (USA)

Credited with helping revive new york’s acid house scene, the innovaders have taken their cues from such legends as derrick may and adonis and turned out a stunning lo-fi acid assault. the emphasis is on melody and soul as all great techno should be
Rough Trade / London

The Innovaders ’Acid Reign’ (Metal Postcard). Last time out they had us in a state of frantic frenzy with that rather neat DSICO (that no talent hack) ’City Stirs’ release – this time around Metal Postcard get to walloping the hi-fi with the aid of the Innovaders. The Innovaders for those unfamiliar (such as us) are duo Rocco and Brendan who it seems like nothing more than holding to siege all the trendiest underground spots with their amorphous genre splicing goody bag of acid induced floor shaking head set humping groove
Losing Today.com

These young men dabble in the profession of constructing gritty acid house tracks, and melodic electro disco toons that may or may not have a hint of Italo swirling around them.
Acid Reign has six tracks of bumping electronic funk with the emphasis on the robotic disco that emanated out of Chicago in that halcyon era of early house music. The track Innovaded (From the Drum Machine) is quite rocking and will be making its way into my dj sets quite soon, as will You’ll Never Get Out Of This Club Alive. The final track, We Get Open is very acidic, very nasty, pretty damned funky and melodic all at once, and will definitely set dance floors on fire.
Nitewise.com

You Tube – Bedford Ave Mulletgirl Theme

 

Ollo

 

 

Reviews

“THE IF IF”

“If it’s not the trippy guitar solos on “summer salt” that weave you into the boys interplanetary web it’ll be the always shifting synth pads that reel you in and take you under”
[XLR8R :: USA]

“The second album from Sydney’s Ollo, The If If, doesn’t disappoint; it’s a strange and imaginative collection of anti-pop songs that uses simple, melodic electronica to create trance-like soundscapes. …an eerie and well crafted musical excursion where you never quite know where you’re heading, or where you’ve just been.”
[Rolling Stone :: 3.5 stars]

“…an electro downbeat tour de force… has to be one of the best albums I have heard this year.”
[FurtherNoise :: UK]

“Like an Aussie Beta Band with a touch of the kind of playful sound of acts like Department of Eagles, Errors and Tunng. Very promising.”
[Pure Groove :: UK]

“Intimate and affecting”
[Cyclic Defrost]

“…a headphone treat… impressive”
[3D World]

“A sweaty and heaving carnival of hip jerking exotica… Classy stuff”
[Losing Today :: UK]

“ESSENTIAL STUFF…”
[Rough Trade :: UK]

 

“sleeper”

” An aural alchemist. This album is diverse and compelling while delivering something that is whole and complete.”
[Tim Ritchie :: Radio National]

” Sleeper is atmospheric, with a slight pop sensibility and a heady dose of jazz – a bit of moonless night with a touch of sun glinting off snow…perhaps I should take Ollo to the next party, they’re much more clever and fun than I.”
[XLR8R :: USA]

“Sleeper is nothing short of great, great record… in a just world Sleeper’s qualities would elevate the boys to the cultural heights currently ridden by kids like Manitoba, Fourtet & Prefuse 73″
[VIBEWIRE.NET]

“…sublime and satisfying.” A strong debut, and great artwork”
[3D World]

“Addictive Summer listening.” “A mesmerising journey” “Serious(ly) beautiful music and a carefree sense of humour”
[inthemix.com.au :: Editor’s pick]

“An amazing sonic journey” “Musically arresting and clever… perfectly plotted, yet never restrictive.” “An Australian dance album to get excited about”
[SX magazine]

For “The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)”

“ The reworking of Fun Boy Three’s The Lunatics (Have Taken Over The Asylum) by Sydney duo Ollo is simply the best song on the album. It has the rare spark of inspiration for a perfect piece of off-kilter pop music. Picked up by Triple J, it will be big.”
[Canberra Times]