Projections is one of the early 2015 releases (02/23) but even with the months gone by it’s an album that has a consistently growing number of plays in my iTunes. Romare (cover image) is influenced by Romare Bearden, a well-known cut’n’paste artist/collagist, and that influence comes through vividly in Projections. The album is subtly adventurous with atmospheric opening sounds, vivid vocal samples, heavy hooks, and full of surprises. Highlight tracks are “Lover Man,” “Motherless Child,” and “Work Song,” though the collection needs to be heard in order – at least the first time.

Lane 8 Rise

Lane 8 is known for his collaborative skills with both vocalists and other producers. Whether it’s a remix of a well-known ODESZA track or a Lane 8 original, his tracks have a certain je ne sais quoi. Rise is a great example of his multiple talents bringing together his signature instrumental sounds and the voices of Solomon Grey, Matthew Dear and Patrick Baker into a single journey. The record starts on a high note with “Loving You” and takes you on an emotional roller coaster with tracks like “Undercover” (give it time to grow on you) and “Hot As You Want.”

Maribou State Portraits

The debut album of Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, aka Maribou State, Portraits is like a box full of pleasant surprises. The album was released on Counter Records, a Ninja Tune imprint, and it is immediately clear why the label took interest in the duo: their sound is a combination of emotive instrumentation and clean rhythms with an occasional oriental influence and rich textures. Start this listen out of order with “Steal,” featuring Holly Walker.

Marcus Marr & Chet Faker Work EP

This four-track release came as a bit of a surprise. Marr and Faker bring the best out of each other – punchy dance beats and balanced, imprinting vocals. It’s hard to tell how many times I went through the EP, but I can shamelessly admit that “Birthday Card” was played on an aggressive repeat.

Yppah Tiny Pause

Yppah took a break, a fairly long break since his last record in 2012 (Eighty One) but the time lost was more than made up with his latest release, Tiny Pause. The album is an intimate collection of tracks built around his signature sound (a blend of electronic, psychedelic and rock influences). The tracks are a progression of sounds from chill background music like “Spider Hands” to faster songs that need to be heard loud, like “Bushmills.”

Until The Ribbon Breaks A Lesson Unlearnt

Having had just listened to the album on the day of the release, I had the pleasure of attending a UTRB show the night of it’s release. Since that night this trio holds a special place in my musical soul. Clean, emotional, at times political and surprisingly adventurous in their collaborations with Run the Jewels in “Revolution Indifference,” UTRB are what pop music should grow up to be.

Humans Noontide

Humans are one of those bands you probably know about because a friend insisted that you listen to “Ennio.” Or maybe you accidentally saw them at a festival, one of many they appeared at this year. Who knows, maybe you discovered them all on your own because you’re cool like that. However you learn about Humans you are likely to keep tabs on them in the future. The bottom line is that this BC duo are why local producers should not be overlooked – Noontide is an expertly produced, dramatic and memorable record that comes to life in full color during a live performance.

Bob Moses Days Gone By

Bob Moses dropped their debut album Days Gone By on September 18th, but by then their fan-base was already filling club venues around North America. This is a band that went from zero to a hundred in a year and undoubtedly will keep surprising the music industry in the future. Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance bring together organic band sounds into an all-electronic production project fronted by a live guitar on tour.

Khai If You

Khai has been dropping tracks one at a time for a few months, each one repeat worthy so when the full EP came together in a single release as If You it was one to add to the favourites. Khai’s voice is calming and the music itself is very gentle, ethereal in a way, but don’t mistake if for background music – If You is an early party staple, something you can play before breaking into the two previously mentioned albums. 

Tora High Enough

Another full release from Australia, Tora make lush, lyrical electronic music. At times giving way to vocals without any musical accompaniment, the band is playful and adventurous with their mixes. This is easily the year’s most overlooked release.

The post Editor’s pick: 10 best albums of 2015 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Rose Blanton: Tell me about how you came to do a collaboration with Run The Jewels. What was the process like?

Pete Lawrie Winfield: I was working with a rapper in Brooklyn called Mr.MotherFuckingExquire and he asked me who my favorite rapper was and I said El-P. He ended up knowing El-P and sent him some of my music. I randomly received an email for El-P saying ‘I loved your song “Pressure.” I’m making an album with Run The Jewels. Would you like to sing a hook on it?’ I said ‘of course!’ So when it came time for our record, we did a sort of swap.

RB: A lot of your music makes social commentary. Are you hoping that your music will get to a level where it influences change?

James Gordon: We try to avoid too much commentary. We’re not trying to be a proxy or be political. But having said that, Elliot does has a degree in politics so there are strands of that in our genetic make up as a band. We wouldn’t deliberately ever try to say were masters of the universe. But we do enjoy talking about how technology gets in our face as a race, like an apocalypse where machines and computers take over.

RB: Are we facing a terminator scenario?

JG: Definitely  [laughs]

RB: Pete, you wrote “Pressure” at a time of high stress, do you think you have to be stressed out or poor or in uncomfortable situations to produce better music?  Like if you’re happy and sane, does your music get boring?

PLW: We were actually having this conversation recently. At the time of writing “Pressure” I was under a lot of stress and uncertainty. I didn’t know where I’d end up or where I was going to go. I was sleeping on the studio floor and writing about all these things. So a lot of the lyrics ended up being personal. The record is a snap shot of where I was and I think that’s what will happen with this next record, which is now a much more positive place. We were saying perhaps were far too happy. [laughs] So the next record may be far too happy.

RB: Perhaps a little boring?

PLW: Yeah, that or like Reggae Christmas carols. [laughs]

RB: Hopefully, not. So why the transition from Republic to Cobalt records?

PLW: Republic is a major record label that works on the premise that you’ll work out commercial records and have quick success. I have always felt like we were a band that certainly wants a career and wants to evolve at our own pace. So working somewhere like cobalt allows us freedom, creative freedom. We feel much more comfortable with a smaller team, a smaller roster and being allowed to do what we want creatively.

JG: That’s a very diplomatic way of saying we got tossed. [laughs]

PLW: But it really was a blessing in disguise.

RB: I definitely agree. I think with smaller record companies you able to hold on to your integrity as an artist…  Your music is very production heavy. Does this make it more difficult or harder to convey your music in a live setting?

PLW: At first it was, because we were misguided in the sense that we thought the live shows should be a recreation of the record but as we evolved and played more we realized it doesn’t have to be the same animal. We’ve made it more human, put some mistakes in there ya know?

RB: I’m really glad that you have come to that because I think the beauty of live music is the mistakes and how raw it is. You’re only going to make yourself better, and happier and more unique the more you accept that as you continue to go out there and play shows and do tours.  

PLW: Absolutely, vulnerability is key.

RB: So what is the next obstacle for you guys as a band? What do you want to concur next?

PLW: We would love to make a second record, keep making music and change the way we make music. Our agenda really is to approach the second record with what we just talked about. Make it more human and less perfect.

RB: Is there anything else you want to share with your fans? 

PLW: Yeah, so we’ve sort of got a bucket list. James would like to do a gig in space and Elliot would like to go a gig on a submarine. We want to play Glastonbury. We want to be on Jools Holland.

RB: Sounds like some milestones. Best of luck with those and thanks for you time.

The post Finding the humanity in music: An interview with Until The Ribbon Breaks appeared first on Quip Magazine.

UTRB have been compare to the likes of Bowie, Prince, Portishead, and Massive Attack – all good artists of comparison. Having now seen UTRB live I would argue they sound like a love child of ODESZA and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Patchy beats, surprising samples, melodic rhythms and soft but sharp vocals over deep lyrics push this trio into a unique grown up territory of music.

All members of the band are in their own way multi-talented James Gordon plays keys and percussion among other things, Elliot Wall drums and programs together with Gordon while Pete Lawrie Winfield represents on the mic, guitar and you guessed it, the trumpet.

Fronted by Winfield’s commanding personality UTBR build a rather impressive stage presence. With tracks ranging from soft and powerful like “Goldfish” to the upbeat dance rhythms in “A Taste of Silver” the audience seemed to be both impressed and entertained.

Having just released their 11-track debut album, A Lesson Unlearnt, UTRB are on tour supporting London Grammar and their first post-release show happened to be at Toronto’s Sound Academy. Not a place where you commonly see new bands but being associated with London Grammar has it’s perks. One of those perks is a newly developed 700 people fan-base – Toronto may have not been very familiar with UTBR before but they will now definitely remember the band.

The post Until The Ribbon Breaks takes Toronto appeared first on Quip Magazine.

That wide spectrum of influences can sometimes have a negative effect on the cohesion of an album, with artists looking to show off how many different sounds they can cram into one song. However, with lyrics like “I was half-cut / from a full cup,” UTRB finds subtle ways to show that, despite their considerable musical abilities, they are still down to have a good time.

Speaking of good times, Run the Jewels makes a welcome appearance on “Revolution Indifference,” lending some of their hard-earned street cred to the track, and they’re a perfect fit to the mixed tempos UTRB uses.  They also match the low-key, anti-establishment attitude of the band, in that they value staying true to the art form above producing catchy singles.

If there is one negative to say about the album, it’s that there isn’t one song (“Revolution” included) that you could show to a friend and say “check this out, this band is great.” Instead, you’d have to gift them the entire album and say, “give it a good listen from front to back.” In the glory days of the cassette tape, that was the only way to do it, and maybe that’s why the band is named as such. Because taken as an entire album, it would be worth listening to until the ribbon breaks.

Release date: January 20, 2015

The post Unlearning Lessons with Until the Ribbon Breaks appeared first on Quip Magazine.