Tag Archive: electronica


THE BLAND, THE BOP AND THE BEATS

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June 15, 2015

PLAID / M+A / CLARK – Villa Torlonia, San Mauro Pascoli, Italy

acieloaperto_12-giugnoIn the first of an excellent series of ‘a cielo aperto’ (open-air) summer concerts in Romagna organised by RetroPopClub, an impressive line up of three IDM electronica-orientated acts were given an hour each to strut their stuff.

London duo Plaid (Andy Turner and Ed Handley) opened proceedings with a solid but visually dull set. Two guys standing behind laptops is not the most thrilling spectacle at the best of times and the music was not dynamic enough to compensate for this. A few visuals were projected on the walls of the building behind but did nothing to hold the attention.

Local heroes, M+A from just up the road in Forlì put on a much more crowd-friendly show to warm up the atmosphere admirably. On record they are the duo M (Michael Ducci – vocals) and A (Alessandro Degli Angelo on keyboards). For the live show Marco Frattini adds some meaty percussion as a welcome alternative to soulless drum machines. Continue reading →

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THE WIRE’S DIGITAL ARCHIVE

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June 10, 2013

Steve Lacey on the front cover of the first issue of The Wire from Summer, 1982

Today, The Wire  announced that every back issue of the UK-based magazine is now available to  subscribers online and via the iPad, iPhone and Android apps.

You can peruse more than 350 issues which includes some issues that have been unavailable for up to three decades.

It’s hard to know where to start and I imagine that ,initially, I’ll be dipping into the archive on a fairly random basis.

I was interested to read the editorial in the first  issue  from Summer 1982, which gives an insight into how the remit of the mag has broadened; this states:  “The Wire’s brief will be to cover the field of contemporary jazz and improvised music – the happenings of now with a clear nod to its past greatness and wink at its possible future”.

The digital world that makes it possible to scan these back issues has also had a huge impact on the world of experimental music. Jazz still has a place in the current magazine but this has to compete with genres that include electronica, ambient, noise, weird folk and avant rock.

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IN THE CHAMBER WITH GUISEPPE LELASI

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November 26, 2011

A council chamber complete with chandelier is an unlikely venue in which to experience some experimental electonica.

This is the setting for opening concert of the 4th edition of the Màntica Festival in Cesena, Italy. Over the course of nine days there is an eclectic programme of workshops, seminars, projections and concerts with no particular theme that I can detect other than to provide a showcase for artists operating well beyond the mainstream.

For the free concert by Guiseppe Lelasi, we are guided formally into the chamber. After the ad-hoc seating arrangements have been sorted out, the lights are switched off so that the only illumination is from Lelasi’s laptop and his mixing board. Visually, it was as exciting as watching a scientist doing late night research in his lab. Continue reading →

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