Vivian Koch
Beyond Contact

Debut album from Alex Ho out of Los Angeles.In his foundational essay on Los Angeles, L.A. Glows, the essayist Lawrence Weschler speaks on the city's uncanny, immediately recognizable light; "The late-afternoon light of Los Angeles—golden pink off the bay through the smog and onto the palm fronds." Weschler traces the city's mysterious refracted light from the iconic paintings of David Hockney through the city's frequent portrayal on film and TV, noting its ability to put residents into a state of "egoless bliss."Similarly, Alex Ho's new album for Music From Memory, 'Move Through It', radiates with the unmistakable LA glow. While the Pasadena native's studio work is just now coming to light, Ho has long been a fixture in the Los Angeles dance music scene, throwing what are perhaps the city's most musically expansive warehouse events and carving out a singular voice as a DJ, as heard on his brilliant Moony Habits show for NTS. The eight-track record, however, lands in a more contemplative zone, better suited for a golden hour drive than a night out.Though it's his first record, 'Move Through It' is the accomplished work of a fully-formed artist, produced patiently between 2017 and 2020 with help from friends including Baba Stiltz, Phil Cho, Damon Palermo and John Jones. "Mark," the Koanic track conclusion side A, is an arpeggiated slow burn reminiscent of Pino Donaggio's brilliant score for Brian De Palma's 1984 film Body Double. Ho's stunning, pure falsetto soars above gentle melodies. "Miss Suzuki," the piece that originally caught the ear of MFM's Jamie Tiller and Tako, opens the record with a blue, cinematic sway. Ho's facility for poignant melodies—easily conveyed through saxophone, vibes, various keyboards and his own voice—shines on "College Crest Drive," as well as the title track. The lyrical "Move Through It" and the restrained and beautiful closing cut, "TYFC," are abetted by glimmering Kraut guitar figures courtesy of John Jones.While Ho's rhythms and melodies paint a crystal-clear musical vision, the music's emotional centre is more elusive, indicative of a yearning feeling synonymous with the City Of Angels. Hitting these hazy and subtle notes, Move Through It falls within a canon of sun-addled records spanning from Herb Alpert's "Rotation" to Dam-Funk's Private Life trilogy as Garrett. An immersive and concise statement, Alex Ho's 'Move Through It' is as warm and uncanny as the city that inspired it, a definitive LA album.

Great garage stomper!

New vaporous LP from Aboutface. A climate emergency-themed project combining field recordings, spoken word, lucid dreaming with leftfield, ambient and dnb. TIP!Press text, which is way too long.. 🤣__________________________________Gatefold Vinyl. Limited Edition. A self-release. All artist profits from this release are to be donated to Extinction Rebellion’s legal fund to help provide counsel to those protesting against contributors to the climate emergency, much needed since the UK government have decided to criminalise disruptive protesting, at a time when civil disobedience is urgently needed most to force action and help mitigate the climate emergency. Conceptual artist Aboutface reveals his vaporous new LP, a vital climate emergency-themed project which utilises poetry collected from his dreams alongside sound recordings captured during polar expeditions to Antarctica’s most vulnerable areas c/o the Alfred Wegener Institute - a centre for polar and marine research. Featuring long-term violin collaborator Taro and dream prose reciter Leyla Pillai, it explores a surreal intersection between the collective dream realm and the disappearing polar cryosphere. The water that glows like dancing glass cuts crimson comes after his warmly-received debut LP on revered experimental London label AD93. Released last September, the four-tracker titled °s was inspired by patterns found in urban nature, such as the fibonacci sequence, and it also introduced Aboutface’s lucid leanings into poetry as an inspiration source to spur sound creation. Weaving between experimental, ambient and leftfield territory, his follow up comes off of a three-month period of dream journaling. “A recurring theme of flooding came through,” he explains. “I’d see a railway line that led into the sea; a room filled with seawater; a city centre flooded.” He’d become adept at recalling their content in more detail, which was further aided by a meditation practice to prolong the hypnopompic state - the state of consciousness leading out of sleep. “Revisiting and reflecting on this theme, I decided to pursue a project based on glaciology and rising sea levels. Following some initial research, I initiated a dialogue with the Alfred Wegener Institute, who kindly granted access to their incredibly valuable expedition recordings. A lot of these are taken from polar locations that aren’t there anymore, as well as the mammals that once inhabited it, because the glaciers and ice shelves are retreating rapidly. This LP presents a piece of aural history in that regard.” Another interesting development in Aboutface’s processes was his ability to see dream prose. Sections of text literally seen in his dreams became the song titles in advance of the music being made and influenced the songs through musical interpretation. “Take the title track - I saw this line of text typed out in red on an old typewriter.” Next came his acrylic painting of a glacier with a background made from recycled plastic cosmetic bottles collected from the UK’s coastlines. Aboutface and violinist Taro would then take turns performing to and in front of the painting as a guide. “The track starts off with traditional harmonious nature sounds - birdsong, a gentle stream and insects. It progresses to synthetic representations of nature in a dystopic future, such as the sounds of a printer mimicking a seagull, and the metallic drones of machinery being shaped to imitate the crashing of sea waves. Taro used his violin to interpret the painting textures and an acceleration of glacial ice density loss and subsequent climate destruction - his playing starting as a gentle meandering, then progressing to sharp foreboding arpeggios all in one 12-minute improvised take. I then used this as the master unedited template to build my own musical interpretations and composition around.” Perhaps the most poignant of the tracks is the opener. Featuring the evocative sound of ice falling into the sea and breaking away from an ice shelf that’s since retreated towards the Antarctic landscape, the track is a masterclass in affective composition. “ ‘Small hands and feet in the sand show you the great illusion’ comes from a dream in which I saw a group of children on the beach, articulating their perspective through drawings in the sand, revealing the truth in what’s truly important, right now and for our future. You can hear sea leopard calls throughout which sounds like underwater lasers reflecting off the glacial base. I shaped and composed their vocalisations to have an evocative impact on the listener, which I think is achieved, especially with the pensive quality and prowess of Taro’s playing.” Concerned with a lack of transparency of the true environmental impact of music releases, Ben is also including an essay which highlights the hidden environmental cost of current music consumption, and the potential reforms to stimulate industry action with the aim to contribute to music becoming more environmentally sustainable and energy transparent. Enabling consumers and artist’s alike to exercise their judicious right to make an environmentally informed choice to release or consume music, in a time of climate emergency. Eco-friendly recycled vinyl , limited to 300 copies only. Mastering and lacquer cut by Ruy Mariné at Dubplates & Mastering. Meditators are also invited to immerse themselves in a bonus package of polar soundscape compositions, crafted by Aboutface for guided dream meditations to aid lucidity and recollection. Available on request.

Groovy house

Mori-ri, mori-ra, life goes on - brraaaaah