The Studio - West Coast

apparently it's a limited vinyl release from last year, with an expanded CD now available. Shame I've blown my credit card limit!

sounds of SANTANA vol. LVCMXXXXXIVIII

spoke to magnus from the studio and am trying to get him to NYC.

And not just the Disco Inferno of the EPs but also those early percussive efforts on In Debt. "No Comply" though is all weird overlapping keyboard and piano melodies, kinda Reichian sample-pop.

Slowly slowly starting to see more talk about this. Still perhaps my favourite album of the year, interchanging with Panda Bear. Not surprisingly, the remixes floating around are great - I love how Todd Terje's remix of "Life's a Beach" starts out funky and very very slowly gets all moody like the original, and it's got such a wet aqueous groove too. And the Brennan Green remix of "West Side" is like a really sensitive dub version, moving around some parts, cutting out the vocals and adding some morose bleepy keyboards but otherwise preserving everything loveable about the original.

Also really really liking Studio's remix/remake of The Shout Out Loud's "Impossible", which is bright shiny pop by their standards - The Cure's "In Between Days" meets Disco Inferno's "The Athiest's Burden" meets... I'm not sure.

i've fallen in love with this band, but have only heard 2 songs (Origin & Life's a Beach). would love to hear a full length. i bought the remix 12" of Life's a Beach and was terribly dissapointed. i didn't realize it was only remixes and not the original version. and the remixes just sounded like mellow house tracks to me. lost most of the live instruments that i liked about it to begin with and returned it the next day.

also, how come the mp3s i've gotten are listed as "A Studio"? not The Studio or just Studio?

i can't believe you returned that 12"

also one of my favorites this year, yearbook 1

also, uh, jaxon, there's a link to their west coast 12" in a thread linked to in this thread

i highly recommend strategy's "future rock" for anyone who is feeling studio

http://brainwashed.com/common/htdocs/discog/krank108.html

i agree about the vocal songs.. pretty shit.. but lifes a beach? jesus.. really nice.. this is one of the best produced records (yearbook 1) ive heard in a long time.

the vocals on the strategy album are a total bummer. whats going on here?

maybe you just don't like vocals

I'm waiting for my yearbook CD after really enjoying the remixes 12", the Todd Terje is fantastic, pitched on the edge of being, like the record shop label said, 'chilled out bar groove', I'm amazed they get something so great out of these rainforest and hippy signifiers. Certain points in that track, a bit more colour is gradually added and it feels like a huge psychedelic build, but still fairly restrained and smooth overall.

'west coast' is amazing

hang on, no, i mean 'out there'

i think the terje remix is anything but chilled out, but that's a minor quibble as it's one of my favorite remixes in a year that has been jammed with them. i haven't heard the album yet. can't believe i missed this thread the first time around.

Yeah, it's a great disc. Those upthread who drew comparisons between this and The Cure are OTM.

maybe i should try to download the 2 Life's a Beach remixes and actually, you know, like listen to them. i just figured it wasn't something i'd ever play out (like that happens so often), so i didn't need to own the vinyl

i was really surprised to read your comment upthread! the bassline in the terje is just too boogie to be house. it reminds me of the mary jane girls. so there's the rick james thing and on top of it there is cure (meets basic channel) san francisco summer beach atmospherics. and then fat techno claps and cowbells and a sense of humor. i am so smitten by this song.

What the where the who. This all sounds potentially interesting.

i love how enigmatic the band name and album title are. cover art is great too.

jaxon - for some reason when i ripped the promo CD i got, iTunes listed the artist as "A Studio" so I would guess your rip came from that as well...

you know, you fellas are right! this is great! agree w/ all the aforementioned reference points, but would add in the mood of all those great Associates 12"s w/ the cool b-sides. and special commendation for the exquisite guitar. thank you ilx!

Ned I sincerely believe you will love them.

It's kinda of odd how similar the Prins Thomas and Todd Terje remixes of "Life's a Beach" are - both have the funky bassline, the endless layering of effects, the faithful redeployment of the guitar. The Terje remix is slightly more brisk and uptempo, and I slightly prefer it, but they're both great.

Cutty those Strategy samples are excellent. Will have to track that album down.

fwiw, Out There is my least favorite track.

now to track down the remixes...

http://www.myspace.com/aeroplanemusiclove

^ sooo good.

i downloaded Life's a Beach remixes. eh. prins thomas remix is cool. kinda spaced out, but i still stand by what i said. it lost the balearic rock edge that i liked and just became sorta "dance music". no need to keep 12"

"West Side" does = the Balearic Cure. Out've the forest and onto the beach.

this has been repressed. hooray!

That Yearbook cover art is fantastic.

Has Spencer seen it or heard this, I wonder?

Cutty! That Strategy album is like... Luomo making a post-rock record? Or a post-rock group making a Luomo record? Whatever, if I had a Microsoft Wizard program that made albums for me at least one of them would probably turn out like this. Not sure if I love love love it yet but will def. keep listening.

2007 is so the year I became a corny balearic fuxx.

i think balearic is one of those words like minimal. it has meaning that is more like residue. i like a lot of recent music like this because it is musical as opposed to most of the contemporary dance music i immerse myself in which is music that for most of the 00s has been design-obsessed (similar to a lot of contemporary pop and hip hop and even alterna-rock). it's just tiring after awhile.

tim have you heard kuniyuki takahashi?

i'm glad you like it tim--i've been listening to it quite a lot, maybe it needs its own thread

I want this and the Strategy record. I want them now.

Was 'West Coast' just an EP then? Does 'Yearbook 1' have different versions of these songs?

yearbook 1 has longer versions of two songs, a shorter version of one, and two extra songs from this 12". those aren't on the west coast reissue that's just come out, but it has the full versions of everything else (and is a double 12" if you have it on vinyl).

this is really fantastic. up there with the LCD record, for me.

i'm glad you like it tim--i've been listening to it quite a lot, maybe it needs its own thread

yes please!

Has it even gotten a legit release yet?

am i on everyone's killfile or something? yes, it has been reissued.

i thought they were talking about the Strategy record, lil man

Strategy record has definitely been released - saw it in the shops the other day.

I have a real copy of it in my office now and am listening to it - released mid-July in the UK, got it from Amazon.

Very good indeed, btw.

HAS L0u1s J@gger HEARD STRATEGY?

Taking L0u1s J@gger (By Strategy)

Hahaha I like how L0u1s J@gger is auto-encrypted.

Also, Ned would like this.

You would, Ned.

please don't spoil a good thread

Have I not recommended this to Ned before? It's like a birthday cake for Ned with sparklers that explode when you light them forming fireworks in the shape of "NED RAGGETT!!!"

You totally recommended it to me upthread! And quite happily I am getting a promo copy this week.

I thought that was The Studio? Which should be waiting at home for me. Is there a separate Strategy thread now?

apparently there is an epic studio remix of the new a mountain of one single!

leo?

no, LEO!

that strategy album is just ok. first 2 songs and "Stop Spinning" are nice balearic disco dub (not dubby disco), but the rest of it is kinda mellow shoegazy m83 stuff which didn't do anything for me.

same here

xpost - we should probably just have a nü-balearic thread to differentiate it from the beardo disco thread.

The piano in track 3 of the Studio album is totally AR Kane.

whatevr jaxon

also have a new remix of "west side" by brennan green

I'm liking Strategy WAY more than Studio.

new remix of "west side" by brennan green

Meantime, the Studio album is here in the mail, and I will listen in a bit.

Okay, the Disco Inferno connection I don't sense either, though I can see what Tim is driving at. But the comment in the first post from him -- "superbly glistening eighties art-rock sheen" -- is appropriate for the album as a whole, no question. I'm not feeling immediate overwhelming "Whoa, LUV" yet, but I am v. impressed.

I'm with Ned, but I can see grower potential. The glistening bit is spot on. What it reminds me most of, I guess, is early Cure. There's a similar sense of space and that overall mood of chilly summer dawns, that I get from 'Japanese Whispers' or '17 Seconds'.

But it's more 'up,' to put it simply.

Yeah if the Cure had recorded '17 sec' in Nassau, it might have come out this way.

I'm liking this. It hits all my Factory fetishist buttons in all the right ways. I do hear a bit of the Cure in there too.

The Disco Inferno comparison is more in relation to the "No Comply"/"Radio Edit" single.

The guitars in Origin are fucking awesome. This is growing on me. I wish they had a real drummer, I think.

Track 3 is so fucking "i"-era AR Kane it hurts.

Even his enunciation is a little bit like thingy's. It reminds me of the one that reminds me of Bjork circa Debut.

i would be their real drummmer

Nick do you have West Coast or Yearbook I? Which track are you referring to?

West Coast. Self Service is the AR Kane-ish one. I've just reviewed the album for Stylus so I'll say no more!

"Self Service" is maybe my favourite a lot of the time, especially when the vocalist sings "(something) (something) against you!" and then he has this syncopated "ooh ooh ooh ooh" in time with a keyboard riff and the beat. The rhythms on it are amazing, esp. in the second half. Shame it was edited for Yearbook I.

Second listen last night brought everything more into focus, I have to say.

did you smoke a doobie?

this has been my #1 this year since january

did you smoke a doobie?

Yeah, yours.

I wanna listen to this poolside at cocktail time.

LOL at this comment from i guess i'm floating
I'm really getting sick of these ridiculous Scandinavian "indie pop" musicians making crappy pop music slightly deviating from mainstream radio in order to gain the favor of music-connoisseurs wannabes. What happened to the days when "indie rock" meant Guided By Voices and Beat Happening and Sebadoh and Pavement and Neutral Milk Hotel and The Velvet Underground?

People like that are beyond saving.

Yeah!! What happened to grunge music, man?!

can't. stop. listening.

also quite amazed at tim's opening post, had you already lived for some time with the album when you wrote that? it's so accurate! and yes, "west coast" is totally cure ca. 17 seconds (an album i just recently bought & heard, btw). those "delicately pushed piano stabs" in "self service" are indeed very ar kaney. love that glorious guitar that comes in after 3 mins.

nothing much to add. i'm gonna put it on again.

It grows very wonderfully -- Willem is quite right, this adds on with relistenings, and you sense its own logic come to the fore.

Willem I was writing that as I listened for the first time!

BRAGGIN 2007

;D

true, but also I was shocked and pleased at how much I felt i clicked with this album from the very first note.

can't. stop. listening.

^^^^THIIIIIISSSSSS

very much a summer album so understandable

2x12" repress is such great news too.

already said it on the nu-balearic thread, but this is now the soundtrack to my 60 minute coastal commute every day.

i like all three remixes so far but def. prefer the originals.

just got up. and put it on again. it's a bright morning, too.

first studio song i heard was a remix, actually. the terje one. while commuting, though the scenery of my commute is nowhere near as impressive (or, dare i say, balearic?) as gr8080's.

It's great to see that this album now appears to have taken off a bit. Was it the remixes that did it I wonder?

I think it was just the fact of its getting rereleased, Tim!

well, for me anyway. went to their myspace, heard great songs, checked this thread, ordered the album - which then finally arrived this week. there's so much to get out of this record.

xpost yeah that's possibly important, too. probably the reason it arrived as late as it did... record of the week at a few uk online shops.

this thread and the remixes 4 me.

Fucking hell this is the best thing I have heard since Fujiya and Miyagi!

And I'll get to be reviewing it for the AMG. :-)

I want to buy everything right now!

Heavens!

xp

Shit, those handclaps on Life's a Beach. Best band since Junior Boys. Best band since the Shangri-Las for fucks sake.

1 No Comply (5:40)
2 Radio Edit (9:51)

have moved on to these and am loving the shit out of them. i wish they would re-release this 12".

also, Forced Exposure has the 2x12" for less than $20 US.

has anyone heard their first three 7"s?

OK, just tracked them down.

The first two sound like Franz Ferdinand.

The third one has an early version of "Origin" but its called "Shake You Down By The River"

On Yearbook I there's a full version called "Origin (Shake You Down By The River)" which is great - kind of like "Self Service" but sleazier, and building up to a great climax of which the "Origin" snippet on West Coast forms a part.

This is all a bit confusing, but I think the versions on Yearbook 1 are identical to the versions on the 2x12"

I've noticed based on this that the versions on Yearbook 1 are apparently the same length as on West Coast, allowing for the subtraction of the first two tracks. Is there a difference at all?

I don't think there is one, just the two tracks. West Coast is more readily available to purchase though? Shame, I think "Radio Edit" is my fave track!

The West Coast LP (2006) had much, much shorter versions of Origin and Indo, and a longer version of Self Service.

West Coast 2LP (2007) are the same versions that are on Yearbook 1.

I'm DLing the 2006 version and will give it a listen tomorrow.

anyone know where i can find a copy of the No Comply 12"?

So, the biggest difference between the 2006 LP and the 2007 2LP is Self Service. The version on the 2006 LP is longer and has more of a baggy Stone Roses beat, riding a little bit more of a consistent groove, whereas the 2007 version is a bit more pop-song-structured, with the steel drums more prominent, calling a bit more attention to its different parts. Definately two completely different recordings. This song also falls into different slots in the track order on the two versions of the album. Love them both; the 2006 version would work better in a DJ set.

The 2006 version of Origin is really only the last two minutes of the 2007 version. The 2007 version is a re-recording of a song on their third 7", Shake You Down By the River, which is why it appears on Yearbook 1 as Origin (Shake You Down By the River). Yet the same version appears on the 2007 2LP as just Origin.

Indo is great on both versions, albeit 4 times as long on the 2007 version. The two sound like they could both be from the same recording.

As far as I can tell, Out There, West Coast, and Life's A Beach! are the same.

Like I said, confusing.

So, while Tim's take upthread is spot on, he was really listening to a different album than most of us are listening to now.

i was so happy when i received yearbook 1 and found the longer indo on it

cutty do you have West Coast (2006) on vinyl or digitally?

i think my favorite track so far is "west coast", but the whole album is good. i have the first release of the album on cd. can't decide whether to splurge on the re-press.

i have mp3 rip off vinyls

also i claim to be the first person the mention studio on this message board

Let's see the evidence.

sounds of SANTANA vol. LVCMXXXXXIVIII

Friday, January 5, 2007 11:42 AM (7 months ago)

let it be known

http://www.ordination.org/baptize.jpg

L->R: Me, Cutty

just picked up the vinyl from the post office.

:) :) :)

so glad to see you repping strategy, cutty. that and radicalfashion are prolly my two favorite records of the year.

cutty looks like he's trying to make Jesus punch himself in the face. "why are you hitting yourself?" big brother style.

but they're totally beardos

JESUS WAS A BEARDO

possible idead for:

-bumper stickers
-1" pins
-t shirts
-re-edit label
-rolling paper co.

idea

oh i repped that radicalfashion album pretty hard too on some noise thread

i miss my ygs

i can't believe i missed this thread before! this is so, so awesome.

the thread or the record?

The posters on it.

^ that's actually my least favorite part :(

the thread is kinda awesome for the enthusiasm - i read it at work in the morning and had to wait until last night to hear the record. but the record is really awesome.

whenever it's on i just feel so relaxed and happy. i hope this effect continues.

i listened to this again. it's still good

I keep on meaning to recommend the band to Simon Reynolds - they remind me of a complaint he made last year about the post-punk revival, being that while everyone had cottoned on to the tense jerking disco-punk blast sound, so far few if anyone had revived the slower, eerie, beautiful side of post-punk, like the slow moments on Remain in Light.

They have a mix up at allez-allez.co.uk very much on their krautrocky side, slow, drifty and lots of arpeggios (soundtrack for new-age porno?), the shitty bitrate really hurts the more subtle stuff. I prefer the Matias Aguayo one below (amazing!)

Fantastic record.

Christ, and here I was thinking that this is why I download things before buying them— this album just seems aggressively OK. Like, yeah, has Cure tones. Cure meets Banco de Gaia. Wind chimes? Again, this seems like OK music to just have on in the background, but I am totally not getting the "BEST ALBUM EVAR!"-ness of it.

listen again.

Thanks, that's helpful.

:) :) :)

He's right, IEC -- took me a second listen for it to fully click.

and a doob.

i'm listening to the mix up at allez-allez.co.uk. this quote kinda bugs me.

rasmus has kindly supplied us with this week's session; 'the blue room mix part 1' is packed with beats and treats from the depths of his dusty crates - in fact so deep that the tracklisting must remain secret!

i've heard or own more than half the stuff on there.

kinda why i started this thread elitism, privacy, djs, blogs and "giving away stuff"

although, i really want to know who did the Riders on the Storm cover.

and all the non-beardo/balearic, anglophiles that came onto this thread because of the cure and talk talk references, have you guys heard the A Mountain of One eps?

I'm a balearic beardless beardo anglophile but I have (despite my best efforts) not heard the A Mountain of One EPs yet.

they're as good or better

Eh, i'm kind of over them. The "cant be serious" cover is still gr8, but the rest of the material i'm just not feeling anymore. maybe i'll come back around.

my ignored mountain of one thread

playing live next thursday in stepney.

feeling MoO waaay more than Studio or Map of shitty dadrock.

but Studio is a close second and MoA a distant third.

i claim to be the first person the mention AMO1 on this message board

</cutty>

im stil deep into those amo1 EPs but i only listen to music when im stoned so what do i know

this album is terrific, too

and i probably would have liked it a few years ago before i got into dance music. i dont know that thats a compliment, though.

ok i re-listened and i guess its just "Innocent Line" that grates on me. its like two lyrics away from MOR Christian Rock.

the rest is grate!

yeah i usually skip innocent line and the reprise now, but i think the last 3 trax are killer. i like the first ep better tho i think, esp. cant be serious and freefall

This is AMO1's MySpace page, right? These songs are great!

I see why you mention them on this thread, sorta kinda.

well studio is in their top friends

Those A Mountain of One tracks on their myspace page sound amazing. "Ride" sort of splits the difference between Studio and the Mungolian Jet Set remix of Lindstrom's "A Blast of Loser" (a total beardo/balearic classic in my opinion).

Oh my God "Freefall"!!! I love those resonant 80s rock vocals.

did i just imagine reading that Studio is doing a remix on the next AM01 release?

no, i guess i didnt

:)

CONSPIRACY

ned i think you'd like AMO1.

it might take three or four listens though.

I'll make you listen to it for me and then I'll write the review based on your humming.

(I think my AMG review is up but I am annoyed in that I didn't properly mention the vinyl release.)

The AMO1 stuff on their myspace page sounds even more eighties rock sheen than Studio, to the point where I can imagine it being off-putting to some people, but it also reminds me of Bark Psychosis a bit - especially of the early ambienty songs on Independence. There's a real sense of vastness.

Hmmm. When's an actual CD out?

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w46/amountainofone/Quotes.jpg

Doh.

i have to say, all i've got to go on for either of these bands is the stuff on myspace, and while The Studio was pretty much love at first listen, AMO1 has not grabbed me yet. almost too 'rock' if that makes sense? but then listening on one crappy earphone while at work is prob not the best way in...

sample of A Mountain Of One - Brown Piano (Studio Version):

http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/mp3/A%20Mountain%20Of%20One%20-%20Brown%20Piano%20Studio%20Version.mp3

Funny, it sounds exactly how I would think Studio covering AMO1 would sound.

nice review, ned.

but you got the opening sentance backwards.

Too many different editions of this album I tells ya! (Andy, you're reading this thread, can you clean it up?)

where is Ned's review?

allmusic

nice. and props to baaderonixx! :)

yes--nice review.

especially "...almost as if a previous decade's sonic elements had been liberated from the songwriting context of their time and reassembled in new ways."

Thank yer all.

where is this review? i keep thinking that studio is kind of like a post-rock jane's addiction.

sorry, found the review info by reading up the thread all of four posts...still half-asleep.

jane's addiction?

yep, their early stuff for sure.

uh, nooo

there's totally the same oceanic thing going on. it's not meant as a strictly literal comparison.

Yay at my lil' analogy being picked up by Ned!

Cheers, as they say.

I am enjoying West Coast more now... Still not a big fan of the Life's A Beach thing.

Does this have US distro?

Yes, Forced Exposure.

yeah it just came out in the states. I bought the vinyl last week.

took me a while to really "get" this but I totally love it now

the vox sorta remind me of duran duran. but i like the vox, and i like duran duran.

btw the official pressing of the brennan green remix of 'west side' should be out soon. in the meantime if anyone's interested to hear it there's a clip on his myspace(.com/chinatown)

hey jaxon, could you list any tracks you can identify from the Blue Room Mix? in particular the track before the riders on the storm cover.

so i don't really know half, but whatevs.

00:00 Pan Pipes of The Andes - Incantation (at least that's what someone in the comments said)
1:21 ? synthy cosmic
8:33 Richard Wahnfried - Time Actor
14:25 ? cosmic. (really like)
20:45 Sky - Westway
24:35 heard it. i forget what it is?
27:21 ? kinda boring cosmic
34:43 doors cover
42:28 ? heavy bass arpegios. really nice

lol

oh well. the "kinda boring cosmic" track before the doors cover remains unidentified. thanks for the other tracks though, i might look into those.

oh yeah, sorry, that's the one you liked, hah :-/

lol

-- gr8080, Monday, 27 August 2007 16:22 (5 hours ago) Link

Hi Dere,

Late to the party on this one, but after much considered listening, I can conclude that West Coast is utterly classic (and that's after initially hating the vocals).

The opening and closing tracks are monumental.

I can honestly say this is the best recommendation of something that I was previously totally ignorant about that I've had since frequenting this site (narrowly pipping Maurice Fulton), so thanks a lot.

And on that basis I'm hotly anticipating A Mountain of One.

I bought this over the weekend (the reisssued West Coast LP, not Yearbook One). It's great. Sounds more Oakenfold-produced Mondays than anything else, but that is no bad thing. Lush.

I HAVE JUST THIS MINUTE FINISHED LISTENING TO THE OPENING TRACK OF THIS ALBUM AND IT IS SO GOOD

OH MY FUCKING GOD I TYPED THE WORDS 'SO GOOD' AND HE SANG THOSE WORDS LIKE 2 SECONDS LATER

THIS RECORD AND I ARE PSYCHIC BRETHREN

OK 'Origin' is something truly beautiful.

Imagine giving something sincere praise. More fool me.

Louis is sincere, I hope.

This is certainly my fave and most listened to LP this year. So good in every circumstance.

I have typed 'so good' too.

Louis is sincere, I hope.

Of that I have no doubt.

I'm totally sincere! I'd have never come remotely close to knowing about this but for ILM, but radio silence from the music presses has contrasted starkly with a 200+ post thread here!

I've also obtained Strategy's new record, and now they sit together in my iTunes, many consecutive plays awaiting them. Studio's is the more immediate, that's for sure.

The Strategy record isn't bad, but if you wanna compare, Studio trounces them.

HEY GUYS IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT GOOD MUSIC THE STUDIO REMIX OF AMO1'S "BROWN PIANO" IS A GOOD PLACE TO START

There's another Studio mix here. I haven't listened to it yet though.

I saw these guys DJ the other week and they were really good. I only know it's them now though as this is the first time I've seen a picture of them.

this only makes any sense to me when it's sunny

probably intentional

am i the only person hearing shades of Screamadelica in this?

all the brits and anglophiles on this thread make me sick

:(

don't worry, i like you

'origin' will be my obsession for the next week

who are the anglophiles?

This is one of those records I hardly ever listen to in its entirety because I can't stop playing Out There.

Aw, 'Out There' is good, but when I type its name into iTunes search, it's only the second-best long-form electronic odyssey that comes up. :-D

It is, however, one of those songs that actually keeps getting better throughout its run-time, and for that I love it.

Agreed - the key to the success of this track is that every different sonic motif seems more magical than the one that preceded it.

am i the only person hearing shades of Screamadelica in this?

Screamadelica the song, definitely; Screamdelica the album, not so sure.

who are the anglophiles?

people comparing this to primal scream, happy mondays, cure, disco inferno, ar kane. all bands (besides maybe the cure) that i would never listen to. what i'm hearing is closer to this description from the warm HQ blog

Taking its influences from the rhythmic structure of Krautrock, mixing electronic beats with beautiful looped cosmic guitar work, Ashra / Gottsching style and at other times tracks are reminiscent of early 80s work by Arthur Russell, having a similar kind of post-punk alt-disco fragility. Part Balearic, part cosmic, part new wave, part Krautrock, "West Coast is one debut not to be missed!

plus lots of roxy music (yes i know they're british)

Well, you should listen to Disco Inferno but that's a separate matter (as I mumbled above, I didn't quite hear them in West Coast). The Cure connection in the vocals and bass at a couple of points is pretty clear, I think, and AR Kane were Russell freaks so there's that. Anyway, larger point -- rather than saying, "Instead of THAT batch of influences I hear THIS (because I like it more and therefore I am validated)" wouldn't it make more sense to say, "This can all be part of it."

Jaxon let us know when Ned webmails you to get your address for mailing the D.I. cdrs.

if that was ever gonna happen, it woulda been 3 years go
Does one need to be British to enjoy Disco Inferno, Bark Psychosis & AR Kane?

jaxon, the influence of the mondays and the cure on he record is pretty large on this record - just because you don't like them, or think you don't, doesn't mean it's not a big part what's going on here. "i hear good times calling me... solid good times!" is pure sean ryder as is the vocal on the next track. No Comply could so easily be reconfigured in my head as a mondays tune.

srsly, the guitar hook from kinky afro could fit pretty easily play over self service.

lol jaxon u on ILM.

i meant loose fit riff not kinky afro riff.

Hmm, not so sure about the Mondays. For me the that "solid good times" is pure Cure (say Japanese Whispers era).

"i hear good times calling me... solid good times!" is pure sean ryder

Reminds me more of Flowered Up "Weekender", perhaps because there's a slight cockney lilt to the accent. ( I do realise they're Swedish)

Thing is "Part Balearic, part cosmic, part new wave, part Krautrock" is a perfect description of the Mondays. So it might be a matter of shared influences. I mean, it was Oakenfold in his post-summer of love ibizan incarnation who produced pills and thrills, you know. Have you heard Bob's Your Uncle?

Studio def have more lead guitar and the slight reggaeish thing.

Anyway, it's a great record.

There;s definitely a faint thuggishness about the vocals sometimes, that may be a borrowed thing, too. Leaning on a vocal style from another language without quite realising the feel - maybe you US/Aus people don't pick that up, but it's (and I shudder to write this) almost reminiscent of Hard-Fi or something at times.

OK - Studio has been doing some great remixes (or remakes as they call it themselves)recently. Shout Out Louds "Imposssible", Rubies "The Keyes" and most recently the B-side to A Mountain of Ones new 12 "Brown Piano". The latter can be found here:
http://www.discobelle.net/2007/09/18/a-mountain-of-one-studio-remix/

Good stuff while you're waiting for a follow-up to West Coast/Yearbook 1

I don't know wtf "balearic disco" is, but I'm surprised no one has compared this to Out Hud.

i cant believe you didnt hear this til now

(because its so jaymc-ish!)

I think I must've overlooked the thread because the name of the group/album sounded so generic.

too bad you found it

cause now yr talking about out hud and shit

u had to realize a lot of this stuff doesnt have quite the same resonance when taken out of balaeric context

Out Hud is awesome! RIP.

I mean, Tim mentioned Arthur Russell in the opening post, and Out Hud were compared to Arthur Russell a lot, too.

6 degrees of out hud

Cutty is in Holy Hail.
Cat from Fannypack is in Holy Hail.
Fannypack recorded on Tommy Boy Records.
Capone-N-Noreaga recorded on Tommy Boy Records.
The Neptunes produced Noreaga.
The Neptunes are in the band N*E*R*D.
The DFA remixed N*E*R*D.
James Murphy of the DFA is in LCD Soundsystem.
Tyler Pope used to be LCD Soundsystem.
Tyler Pope was in Out Hud.

way too many degrees, you can get there in two jumps

update .xls lazy zing

Did you suck Nic Offer's dick or something?

sigh

Cutty has used both LCD screens and soundsystems
the words "LCD" and "soundsystem" combine to form "LCD Soundsystem"
LCD Soundsystem has a song called "All My Friends"
All my friends like Studio
Cutty plays music in studios.

holy hail is on the same label as !!! side project free blood

The DFA remixed N*E*R*D.

this is a cheap connection. ethan does rjd2/no limit blends but that doesn't count in six degrees of master p

I don't understand your last sentence at all.

Does the fact that the DFA remix of "She Wants to Move" was released on one of their official remix albums make it less cheap?

i want to know that james murphy actually hung out w/ pharell in the sauna or it doesn't count

where is gavin

lol @ this turn of conversation

wtf deej.

wtf deej all three of you.

-- gr8080, Friday, September 21, 2007 12:30 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

sorry, didn't mean to turn this into rolling snap

they're remixing the new kylie single?!?!

!

A Mountain of One - Collected Works

Received in the post today.

Tear-jerkingly fantastic. And very earnest too, which is refreshing in today's super cynical climate.

Sniffle.

their "remake" of the kylie single is great! but not as good as their remake of "brown piano."

its the same formula, too

http://www.discobelle.net/2007/10/18/studio-version/

jangly guitars make every song good!

still #1 album of the year.

i agree

kylie links are dead. can someone leo?

http://www.sendspace.com/file/mgyovc

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/340/maxwi5.jpg

thx max

haha thx max.

got this on ILM recommendation and side 2 is the one that really blows my mind, I love those cutup vocals.

Listening to this album last month, on headphones, with a beer, on a Balearic beach watching the sun go down over the sea = probably my most contented moment of the year. I unresevedly fucking love this album now.

Damn, I should have had this with me in Hawaii. Oh well.

gr8080 was playing it in his car at one point, though, so that worked.

life's a beach, ILX

OMG that Kylie mix. Can these guys please become pop producers immediately. Surely Goldfrapp or somebody are looking for a new sound rightaboutnow.

fuck this kylie remix is awesome.

Yeah, it's like the best possible outcome you could expect from the phrase "Studio remix Kylie". I love how they make their sound just that much lighter and airier for her so that you can hear the pop song beating at the center of the remix, while not sacrificing a bit of their own atmospheric attractions. That guitar refrain is glorious.

Also, people who like the spacier/percussive end of Studio's stuff should really check out Deadbeat's Resident Advisor podcast.

someday in the future there will be a plugin in reason that just cranks out "studio remakes" of whatever songs you want and adds that awesome guitar and beat and i will never listen to anything else again

Wow, this remix is one of the best things I've heard all year! Thanks max!

i also have this if ppl are interested the keys (studio remix) - the rubies

yeah this is fire

oh i love that rubies remix - where can i get it at good quality? is it out?

thanks max

loving the remix, thanks max

yeah if someone has a better quality rip of that id love to hear it

is that the 96kbps rip that's been floating around the blogs?

super good but the quality just kills it :(

i don't know...all these Studio remixes are making me like them less. reducing it to a formula, i suppose.

(Good shout on the Deadbeat podcast by the way Tim, this is wonderful)

Is West Coast itself still only available on vinyl? I have no problem with Yearbook 1 per se (elongated version of Origin especially). But the edited version of Self Service breaks my heart, especially as it does away with my favourite bit (the trancey Europop keyboards playing softly in the background in the middle, that then pitch up).

i have a CD called West Coast...isn't it Yearbook 1 that's still vinyl only?

i don't think west coast was ever on cd? do you have a promo?

http://www.phonicarecords.co.uk/detail.aspx?ID=22810

nope i bought it from here: http://www.inf000.com/

but it has the extended Out There and the shorter Self Service, which is what Matt has on Yearbook? i'm so confused..

extended Origin i mean

it's the same edition as the 2007 west coast lp, which means same tracklisting as 2006 west coast lp but with yearbook 1 versions of the songs

we've been through this upthread.

To be clear:

The long version of "Self Service" and the short versions of "Indo" and "Origin" are only on the 2006 edition of West Coast.

The versions of the tracks on the the 2007 edition of West Coast are the same as on Yearbook 1, however the tracklisting is the same as for the 2006 edition of West Coast.

The 2007 edition of West Coast is available on both vinyl and CD. The 2006 edition was only ever released on vinyl.

It does seem odd that they went for the shorter version of "Self Service" for the re-release - despite the edition of the piano it's not a patch on the original extended version.

can't be bothered to check if anyone's posted live vids upthread ...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=p2k5nwddr7s

bit of a tighter budget than daft punk :)

kylie remix makes me wanna roll around in the surf with a lover

How long is the longer / better version of 'Self Service'? On the copy I have, it's 8m 16s...

That's the long version. The short version is only about 4 or 5 minutes.

and the short version is the newer version.

http://www.inf000.com/INFORMATION_files/infcd1_artwork_web.jpg
the old school cd back looks sick

Love it!

Having lived with the newer versions of the songs for a couple of days I will happily give up the old Self Service if it means getting the new, longer Indo. Those two intertwining guitar refrains = sublime! I love the way it feels so propulsive despite the fact there's not a sniff of a beat.

That and the revamped Origin (love that chunky bassline) have cemented its album-of-the-year status for me.

Tonight this seems like the best album in the world.

so, that 120 Days album is kind of like a really bad version of this, maybe?
Will Lindstrom as producer improve them at all?

omg that cover

<3

no comply 12":
http://groupies.plansanddesign.com/uploaded_images/s_nc-732158.png

+ West Coast LP:
http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/512s7MHBxbL._SS400_.jpg

= yearbook 1 CD
http://www.thestylepress.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/studio.jpg

Will Lindstrom as producer improve them at all?

wait what?

oh wait you mean 120 days. never mind.

why is this totally impossible to find?

order it from amazon.

unlesss you want the 12" or something.

http://www.inf000.com/

that's what I'm talkin 'bout - thx man!

holy shit $40!

lol. amazon has the CD new for 14.99 but if you want the LP idk what to tell you.

goddamn weak dollar

other than it's probably worth $40 tbh.

I only asked cuz I've been keeping an eye out for this at various record stores and never ever seen it anywhere. I dunno, maybe for xmas...

we've had it at Amoeba here in SF for months....

Information was being distro'd by Amato, who went down spectacularly a few weeks ago. here in SF, i was buying them through Forced Exposure (who bought thru Amato), and we were getting them at a decent domestic price - it retailed for $15. Since Amato went down, Forced is out of stock and who knows when they'll restock.

I bought some from one our UK distros as a stopgap - but they're hitting the floor for $23, a huge bummer. On the flipside, i contacted the label themselves who agreed to sell me as many as i wanted for the same price Forced was selling them. if you can wait, i would. the price will come down soon enough.

the forced e website still has the 2LP for $18 listed: http://www.forcedexposure.com/artists/studio.html

aah yeah, i'm specifically talking about CD's...

well they still have the cd for $15

their website is (often) wrong, i can guarantee you they're out of it.

http://i4.tinypic.com/8c31u2r.png

i would jump on that...

only 4 left

yeah butl... where can one buy the No Comply 12"??

I must be lookin in the wrong section/asking the wrong clerk BATTAGS

yeah butl... where can one buy the No Comply 12"??

-- nerve_pylon, Friday, December 7, 2007 9:21 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

good luck.

West Coast + AMO1 Remix + Kylie Remix = they are kind of the best band in the world at the moment.

Has anyone produced a decent edit of Out There yet (quantized, a little more DJ-friendly structure, and a bit higher tempo)? Not looking for a complete remix or overhaul just something workable.

i got "west coast" at rasputin for around $15 but i'm sorta bummed about it because finney makes it sound like "yearbook 1" is more essential

yeah i'd like to know how hard i should try and find yearbook 1. is it actually better than west coast?? i guess essential is a good word.

and i'm sorta bummed because finney makes the long version of "self service" sound very u+k. maybe they will release a single comp type thing for the US market? "no comply" + long version of "self service" + early service EPs + "east side" + brennan green / lindstrom / prins thomas remixes, please?

what if studio did a dj kicks, i bet it would be awesome

the 2007 version has the shorter version of "self service" both are great

Vahid you can be happy with West Coast I think - "No Comply" and "Radio Edit" are actually the weakest tracks on Yearbook I (although oddly they occupy opposite ends of the Studio spectrum - the former being their most compressed pop and the latter being their most formless and spacey). If Yearbook I actually had the long version of "Self Service" on it it might be more U&K.

The short version of "Self Service" is great anyway, just not quite as... I will post the long version of "Self Service" here for people who've missed out a bit later on.

BTW yes a Studio DJ Kicks would be great.

still loving this.

blatant rip-off of The Doors' 'Peacefrog' with the guitar at the end of 'Self Service' though.

While I don’t disagree No Comply and Radio Edit are the weakest tunes on Yearbook 1 both are still fantastic. Radio Edit especially.

just heard "radio edit", might be my fav thing by them.

no comply's weird, too - it was the only real obstacle to liking the group when i first heard it, as i didn't especially like the song at first listen and figured the rest was probably similar - but it's only really the first couple minutes that brings it down, and i like the second half of the song as much as about anything from the more song-y sections of the album. though i suppose that could be down to boredom through familiarity, cause i usually skipped the track when the record started to grow on me

extended version of self service: http://www.sendspace.com/file/rbc8c5

thanks a lot, max.

good shit, max.

here's the love is all remix - turn the radio off (studio remake)

has anyone heard their bongo mix of impossible? or a better version of that rubies mix

i have that shout out louds remix @ 128, its pretty good

West Coast/Yearbook 1 = what I wanted Appliance to sound like all the time.

(Ned: email me with any fixes that need to be made [if they still need to be made].)

http://inf000.com/artists.html

"INFCD3 Yearbook 2 - Out in spring 08!"

Anyone have any more information on this?

Also, where i could pick up Yearbook 1 on cd in the UK?

anybond gonna spend 25 pounds on a tshirt? i am actually tempted

*anybody*

I'd probably be tempted if it was made in a small.

Some thoughts re recent Studio remixes (Kylie, Love Is All, Williams, A Mountain of One):

Interesting how all of these fit much more cleanly into prevailing tide of Balearic revivalism than their actual album does - they sound more enamoured of the disco beat on these remixes, and more distant from post-punk or baggy rhythms.

I wonder if this stronger disco infatuation will carry through to their future work.

The lack of a need to tie their wanderings down to one of their own songs also makes them both more expansive and wispy (longer sections where the grooves just wander around on 4X4 propulsion and sparing bass and background strings and echo and flashes of incadescent spanish guitar, without the need to fit into some overarching theme) and more obvious and cheesy (said effects are introduced simply because they sound good).

Like, the point halfway through the "Love on a Real Train" where sudden cut-up snippets of vocals drift in and the whole arrangement seems to bubble over.... brilliant.

The "Turn The Radio Off" remix is even cheesier: the middle-section with the "eh eh eh eh eh" background vocal and the lead vocal comes in is totally Ibiza in the mid-90s sense as much as the 1987 or 2007 sense.

i dont have anything to add to that except to say the bass on the love is a real train just blows my mind. one of those things that, when it comes on, you cant concentrate on anything else.

what if studio did a dj kicks, i bet it would be awesome
Don't know if people know about this mix
listening for the first time now.

http://www.allez-allez.co.uk/uploaded_images/studio_press_image-776961.jpg

spoke to magnus from the studio and am trying to get him to NYC.

-- cutty (mcutt), Saturday, January 27, 2007 10:44 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

and what happened with this????

only just hitting me how good 'No Comply' is. Mondays/Flowered Up vibe unavoidable.

i love this album

want
http://inf000.com/images/Stu001.gif

when i listen to this band i feel like they should rule the world

that tshirt is out of print. of course. (i was looking at it too and thought about spending 25 pounds for a second) these guys are really kind of aesthetically perfect aren't they? it actually sort of bothered me at first.

the album cover is awesome. that shirt is even better.

williams 12" comes on white vinyl. the non-studio remake is quite good but the studio version rules all.

Oh man that Rubies remix (and I haven't heard it in a non low quality version yet either) is sooooo gorgeous.

has anybody caught any of their recent live dj sets? comments?

their dj skills are sub-par,their record collection is not. proceed with caution.

i bought this CD and lost it before i even played it.

i'm bummed that they don't play more as a live band.

you can hear the a-side of the first release by Fontan on Studio's Information label at their myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/fntn

i found their early stuff on the internets (2001 - 2002) and damn, they got really good over that 4 year span. origin (shake u down by the river) is the only thing that lasted from that period.

i bought this CD and lost it before i even played it.

-- jed_, Friday, March 21, 2008 11:04 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Link

how jaded is that

genuine LOL

There's a tremendous mix by them here - couple of really clunky transitions but their track selection is pretty much faultless.

I would REALLY LIKE a tracklisting for this, especially need to know what that Kate Bush-esque track is about 25mins in.

I am very excited indeed about tomorrow's Studio/Ame/Chromatics/Simonetti mentalism.

Sally Oldfield - Hide & Seek

And yes it's pretty astonishing. Sally is Mike Oldfield's sister! Can anyone report back on her albums? Judging from the covers the early ones (from late 70s/early 80s) look like lost balearic prog-Britfolk-pop classics, like a proto-Enya maybe.

I'd love to make a mixtape of just stuff like this - Happy Rhodes in particular could totally be repositioned as a hipster curio if you chose the right tracks.

A friend of mine who's really into minimal, dub-techno, dubstep etc. as well as a fair swathe of indie grabbed me recently and handed me his iPod and said "you gotta listen to this, it's amazing!!!" -it was the Ashley Beedle remix of "Running Up That Hill" in the middle of a DJ set, he had no idea what it was.

I am very excited indeed about tomorrow's Studio/Ame/Chromatics/Simonetti mentalism.

who's going? i might be up for this

The site says:

LASERMAGNETIC/WARM LATE-NIGHT SPECIAL
Room 1/2 Chromatics (Live), Mike Simonetti, Ame, Studio, Skull Juice + Lasermagnetic & warm Residents. This party goes from MIDNIGHT til MIDDAY!!!!!

Does anyone know what time Chromatics play? I have to work Sunday and I'm not sure what to do :(

Room 1
Warm / Lasermagnetic Residents - 09:00pm - 11:00pm
Mike Simonetti - 11:00pm - 12.30am
Chromatics - LIVE - 12:30am - 1: 30am
Mike Simonetti - 01:30am - 02:30am
Ame - 2.30am - 07.30am
Special Secret Guests - 07.30am - 09.30am
Horse Meat Disco (Jim/James/Severino) v Warm v Lasermagnetic - 09.30am - Midday

Room 2
Warm / Lasermagnetic Residents - 9:00pm - 11:30pm
Skull Juice - 11:30pm - 12:30am
Studio - 12:30am - 03:00am
Skull Juice - 03:00am - 05:00am
Warm / Lasermagnetic Residents - 05:00am - 07:00am

from http://www.residentadvisor.net/forum-read.aspx?id=39732

I quite fancy it, but I'm not very good at staying up late or going 'clubbing' rather than 'indie-discoing' and I'm going to see Low anyway. RA says it might be sold out too.

I bought a ticket months ago because I've been dying to see Chromatics, but I'm old and fat and non-clubby and bummed about having to get to West London post-Chromatics and then get up and work and... fuck!

I wonder who the "special secret guests" are... probably not a band, I guess, with a 2 hour slot like that.

I guess I should just go for it. I know I'll have at least 5 people coming up to me through the night thinking I'm the bouncer. Depressing.

The music on that Sally Oldfield sounds like it could be Goblin! The initial riff sounds like something off the Deep Red soundtrack. (No great surprise I guess since they copped a good bit've their act from her bro in the first place).

Steve - it's sold out, as far as I can tell. There might be a very limited number of tickets available on the door and someone else who's going with us might have one spare but otherwise looks a bit late.

I'm not sure how special or secret those Special Secret Guests would have to be to get me staying past 7.30, mind.

I guess I hoped it might be Glass Candy, but apparently there were some issues getting them to come on this tour (which was supposed to be the plan originally, I heard).

The special guests are someone DJing somewhere else in London on that night, or so I read.

Looks like Yearbook 2 will be a collection of their 'Versions'.

i will buy it

i bought yearbook 1 for like $60 when it cames out, fucking kroners

Looks like Yearbook 2 will be a collection of their 'Versions'.

-- arghkaybee, Thursday, May 1, 2008 7:35 PM (Yesterday)

godammit

Cool! When?

i love studio.

via myspace

COMING UP
The Little Ones - Morning Tide (Version by Studio)
Fontän - Early Morning (Version by Studio)
INFCD3 CD Yearbook 2 (Versions by Studio)

also

MOTION
(No dj/live activity at all for now)

^^^^ :( they need to tour

2nd of June is the UK release for Yearbook 2.

Just got this from Bengans:

http://www.bengans.se/popup/STUDIO_2/mall_konvolut.jpg

129:- (EXKL. FRAKT 29:-) RELEASE 28/5

Med sin debut "Yearbook 1" 2007 satte Dan Lissvik och Rasmus Hägg aka. Studio sitt namn ordentligt på världskartan. Hyllningar över hela världen och utsålda konserter följde denna minst sagt stil och banbrytande duo från Göteborg. Inte minst var bandet ett hett namn på remixmarknaden och "Yearbook 2" väver samman dessa mixar som tidigare ej funnits tillängliga på CD. Och det är inga smånamn som Studio kan lägga på sin remix-merit lista.
Shout Out Louds, A Mountain Of One, Tangerine Dream och till och med självaste Kylie Minogue.

In english

The new album from swedish remix-masters Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg aka Studio is soon to be released. If you liked Yearbook 1, you will not be disappointed with this!

Tracklist:
A Mountain Of One - Brown piano (remake by Studio)
Shout Out Louds - Impossible (possible remake by Studio)
Love Is All - Turn the radio off (remake by Studio)
Rubies - Room without a key (version by Studio)
Brennan Green - Escape from chinatown (version by Studio)
Kylie Minogue - 2 hearts (version by Studio)
Williams/Tangerine Dream - Love on a real train (version by Studio)

Ohmigod the very idea of that last track is amazing.

you havent heard it, matt?

whenever i think about forthcoming eurodyssey this band start playing in my head

which is constantly

This just made the queue.

excited about this if it gets a vinyl release.

Shame there's nothing i haven't heard already on this. I'll probably still pick it up anyway.

It'll work as a good album.

nice cover

I have already made this album, although with a different track order. It's great though!

from factmagazine:

Gothenburg-based duo Studio will release Yearbook 2, a compilation of their remixes, on June 16 through independent label Information.

The follow-up to 2007's glorious West Coast (one of both FACT and Rough Trade's top 10 albums of the year) consists of 7 reversions (they're more like epic Balearic dubs) that Rasmus Hagg and Dan Lissvik previously created for the likes of Kylie, Love Is All, A Mountain of One and all-girl trio Rubies.

Described by us, among others, as the missing link betweeen The Cure, Manuel Gottsching and LCD Soundsystem, produced by Martin Hannett, Studio had planned to release their second artist album this summer. However, the pair have scrapped tracks they were working on and are now planning to take a live band into the studio with them this autumn. The resulting LP is expected in early 2009.

For now, at least, there's Yearbook 2...

west coast >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> yearbook 2

live band!! goodbye drum machines at the very least, then

btw would anyone mind upping the chinatown version? any good?

not sure what to expect with a live band, tho -- don't want to be reactionary hater, but i'd rather not see them try to break into the indie scene, & they're hardly shying away from it judging from their choice in bands to remix

there's some videos on youtube of the studio palooza tour from last year. maybe this is a taste of things to come. light show~!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2k5nwddr7s

I would much rather see them with a live band than behind laptops to be honest. The thing that's so great about West Coast is how they've made something so carefully constructed, so precisely sculpted, feel so organic and loose. But I'm not sure that approach would translate to the stage - full band all the way for me.

how much of the stuff on the last album was live?

Ah right, you're talking about the second record. Not sure it would make a huge difference to the end product, except maybe the beats, presumably they can afford to hire session musicians this time around.

"not sure what to expect with a live band, tho -- don't want to be reactionary hater, but i'd rather not see them try to break into the indie scene, & they're hardly shying away from it judging from their choice in bands to remix"

Although interestingly their remixes are by and large less indie sounding than the album - or at least more obviously enamoured with disco and sans wailing vocals.

Otherwise I get where you're coming from. I guess it depends on how they do it. I'm hoping that live band doesn't = live studio performance, because what's clear from both the first album and the remixes is how much of the magic of their work comes from the editing and overdubbing process.

But I suspect what "live band" means is: a lot of recording of session musicians and then editing/overdubbing everything into one piece.

"their choice in bands to remix" = the bands that are offering them cash. It's not like they're phoning up Love is All and begging to remix them. That's not how it goes.

it's not a criticism, patrick! but they're pretty hot right now - yearbook 1 / west coast got into plenty year end lists, they're remixing kylie minogue, and they're balearic's ambassador to the ilx-crit world - so yeah, i think they do get some choice so far as who they want to remix

i'm interviewing studio this week. any ideas?

(this is for real and, yes, i've never done an interview before. eek!)

(actually i did interview my girlfriend for my blog haha)

ask them why the u.s. release is missing 2 cuts~~ >:(

yeah and why did they edit "self service"

Ask them why I didn't cross reference West Coast with Yearbook 1 before I bought both only to discover the latter's got all of the former.

The weather is finally right to give this album another spin.

Listened to it this morning, and felt very summery.

Pre-order Yearbook 2 from www.inf000.com now

Payment through PayPal with free shipping worldwide. The CD will be delivered to you within two weeks.

www.inf000.com

via the fb page

Their rework of AMO1's "Brown Piano" is quite good.

none of the Y2 tracks reach the heights of 'out there' or 'west coast' but this is still one of the best releases of the year.

Ha ha poortheatre that's like a capsule summary of my review!

you heard it here first, folks

it's a remix compilation

Actually I'd probably rate the "2 Hearts" remix about as high as "West Side" maybe. Hard to say.

But it sounds more like Studio than it sounds like Kylie or Love Is All. On first listen I thought I might prefer it to YB1, but I'll think about that for a while. It's possible that I just prefer other singing to their singing.

I'm probably reading too much into things, but on the sleeve different tracks are described as 'versions', 'remixes' and 'remakes' - does this mean they might have actually re-recorded the songs themselves rather than working with original tracks?

Actually I'd probably rate the "2 Hearts" remix about as high as "West Side" maybe.

this gets a "yup" from me.

just noticed this looks to be upcoming ...

The Little Ones - Morning Tide (Version by Studio)
Fontän - Early Morning (Version by Studio)

eagerly awaiting the fontan record

What do Fontan actually sound like?

You can hear one track on their myspace

http://www.myspace.com/fntn

Intersting comparison to 'Flow Motion' in Tim F's review. I should give that album a new "recontextualized balearic" spin

Weird - that band The Little Ones seem to know people in big time indie remix land. They're pretty standard indie guitar pop, a'la Death Cab, but their last single had Stereolab and Crystal Castles remixes on it. Now Studio. Huh.

tim,

is pitchfork really the most appropriate platform from which to complain about ILE?

???

The most widespread and painfully boring critical line on "nu-Balearic" music is that its primary function is to render previously intolerable music tolerable-to-hipsters, redeeming Elton John or Paul Simon via the canny addition of a disco beat and some dub echo. This take isn't wrong, exactly, but it's the kind of sociological analysis that makes you hate the world a little bit more after reading it, rather like earnest discussions of how to woo soccer moms for votes.

maybe it was unintentional

^^^ we talked about this on the balearic thread, i think ilm mostly agrees w/ tim

rather than being the targets of his ire

i was referring to: rather like earnest discussions of how to woo soccer moms for votes.

but maybe tim doesn't read rolling primary threads

haha got it

rather like earnest discussions of how to woo soccer moms for votes.

Yes, this is a fool's errand.

the gipsy kings comparison is funny. reminds me of when i was doing the music for a fashion show and suggested some studio tracks ... and was told they might be a little too "world". which i thought was hilarious knowing that they're from sweden and look like this

heh, i thought of the primaries thread on that line too.

I think I have read the primaries thread once or twice but to be honest I kinda made up that comparison on the spot.

I'm amazed that a mongrel would click on the primaries threads, let alone follow them closely!

I certainly didn't follow them closely...

i'm amazed that a mongrel knows what a soccer mom is! don't they have rugby moms down there?

Australian Football League moms or soccer moms (or rather "mums") where I am - rugby isn't very big in my state.

The "Balearic" moniker really confuses me. I mean - I have a track on that "Nu Balearica" cd that just came out (yo. I'm broke) but my shit sounds nothing like Gypsy Kings or has sun-kissed-beachy-guitar-jangle/congas/swoops-on-E. What is this "Balearica"?

BAMBOLEOOO BAMBOLEOOOO

Will balearic help us gain a better appreciation of teh Gypsy Kings?

Teh Gypsy Queen would be a good name for a is the name of my balearic remix/edits outfit.

I listened to this album (+ Yearbook One tracks) during the coach trip from Roma to Firenze. Perfect.

I can't see this album working well while travelling, but I'll try it next week when taking the train to Marseilles.

wow really? i can't think of anything but travelling with this music, or at least certain locations, landscapes, destinations (not as specific as the album title and imagery suggests). the Balearic tag is obv a big factor in this...but other than that it's progressive, atmospheric, rhythmic music generally - how's that not perfect for travel?

I see it more suited to open spaces. Maybe playing on a small boombox poolside or on the terrasse of a rented house somewhere in the South of Europe, very late or very early.

i would listen to it en route to said rented house. and then again in the rented house. and then again on the way home. it transcends environs.

I often think of taking it to the beach with me, but it might seem forced. now, if i stumbled onto a beach...

I have listened to this album since my last summer hols and just the thought of putting it back on next week in the south of france is getting me excited. yumm

Am going to Corsica soon and this is going to get maximum plays

yeah I listened to this on the beach in tel aviv and it was an A+++++ experience

i can't find the long version of Self Service anywhere! loving absolutely everything i've heard from these guys. really hope their live show is as good as it looks on those Studio Palooza clips on YouTube.

i listen to it on my commute.

Dan Lissvik of Studio produced The Embassy's new single "State '08" and it's ace. Blissful indie-pop with a balearic touch. It's topping my summer jams right now.

http://www.theembassy.info

argh holy fuck, MY EARS!

You can get Studio t-shirts from Phonica at the minute. They're 30 fucking quid though.

25 if you order them through the Information website (I'm wearing mine now! beautiful off-white)

25 fucking quid!

I can't find a proper image of the shirts!

lemmetry:
http://www.inf000.com/images/stu004.gif

There's also this one:

http://www.phonicarecords.co.uk/images/sleeves/info001tblkl.jpg

nice one

I just absolutely love the fact Pitchfork never reviewed West Coast. They've been on a hot roll lately, reviewing "it" bands (mostly honestly very good ones, like Fleet Foxes). Similar to Cutty's thread, the inner hipster in me is frustrated by people who only use Pitchfork to listen to new music. However, it seems Pitchfork has been quick to spot (or influence) the newest trends, and finging West Coast on my own is a rare victory.

I'm lame.

I think a review of the rereleased West Coast after having already reviewed Yearbook 1 would probably have been a bit redundant though.

i listen to it on my commute.

-- gr8080, Wednesday, 25 June 2008 19:31 (Yesterday)

um, that's the east coast dawg. :-p

finding West Coast on my own is a rare victory.

i don't really see the difference between finding out about a record on pitchfork and finding out about a record on ILM.

its the same distance either way

xp

Yeah, fwiw we were going to review WC but we knew Y1 was on the way so we waited and only reviewed that.

Is there a thread about yearbook 2 which I did not know existed until five minutes ago?

you're on it.

oh right, i never clicked the skipping posts thing and I didn't see!

Want this, watching it spin would be nice. When I first heard West Side it sounded like an amazing thing and it still does.

I want the "No Comply" t-shirt black on white.

: (

We are what is wrong with the world.

No, I think you'll find that's all the people not digging on Studio.

These guys remind me a lot of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEx7pkmFc6s

i went to their studio in göteborg today. i don't know what the published interview is going to look like, but before i forget everything they said when i wasn't recording...

-that Fact magazine info about scrapping tracks for a live studio album in 2009 was either never true or no longer true. they're working on one new remix, overseeing fontän's debut album (who play live instruments; i got the feeling that studio were going to tour vicariously through them).. they don't have any definite album release plans, although they have three albums worth of material 'in the can.' they're unsure when or if they'll release any of it. (west side was culled from material that dates back to 2003)´
-vahid: they had to edit self-servce to fit it on cd.
-'balearic music' is any music played while wearing a sailor hat.

for the record, these are some of the coolest, nicest, humblest dudes i've ever met. i even got some t-shirts haha

(i met air france, too, if anyone's has q's)

-'balearic music' is any music played while wearing a sailor hat.

poortheatre, where do you write for??

nowhere, really. a friend of mine is starting a small culture magazine (Futureclaw) and asked me if i wanted to write something for it, and it turned out to be an interview with studio. i was going to sweden anyway to visit some friends, so i did the interview in person. and i just e-mailed air france because i was in town.. g-burg is really cool. great time of the year to visit.

I hope it went something like this:
Studio: Ja, ve have tre albums already, how you say, in the can.
poorteater: ysi?

finally getting around to listening these dudes, playing yearbook 2 right now and it's.....kind of boring?

Start with their original stuff at least!

yearbook 2 = major disappointment, good tracks but i already heard it all! :(

none of the Y2 tracks reach the heights of 'out there' or 'west coast' but this is still one of the best releases of the year.

-- poortheatre, Monday, June 23, 2008 5:33 AM (4 weeks ago) Bookmark Link

Ha ha poortheatre that's like a capsule summary of my review!

-- Tim F, Monday, June 23, 2008 5:44 AM (4 weeks ago) Bookmark Link

you heard it here first, folks

-- poortheatre, Monday, June 23, 2008 5:57 AM (4 weeks ago) Bookmark Link

it's a remix compilation

-- cutty, Monday, June 23, 2008 7:40 AM (4 weeks ago) Bookmark Link

I'm way more impressed by their original material than I am by their remixes.

Impossible kills everything else on here, despite me thinking nothing could bowl over Kylie. I was wrong.

Many thanks to Tim F. & Co. for your references to Disco Inferno - a discovery nearly as great as West Coast itself.

Fwiw (and impressively, to me, anyway), iTunes (US) sells the otherwise out-of-print "In Debt" in the "iTunes Plus" mode.

upcoming projects in order:

-remix windsurf ('the last remix')
-finish supervising ('curating') fontan album
-supervise album of Oslo band called Century

I'm glad I didn't shell out $30 for this. its okay I guess but my favorite song was the shortest one, the rest just kinda went on and on aimlessly.

hate it when songs last more than 4 minutes

then what are you doing on The Studio - West Coast thread?

real talk, right there.

The idea that Way Out could be 'aimless' had me briefly reassessing my definition of 'aim', and then I realised it was bollocks.

srsly question ppl who don't like this band

So, has anyone heard the Fontän single? Got it from iTunes.
It's a gorgeous song, hazy Pink Floyd like vocals, solid driving drums and terrific double-barreled guitars (what a rush when they come in for the first time so early in the song). Remixes by A Mountain of One (with a bassline reminiscent of Air, Twilight Zone synths and "Love Like Blood" lite guitars) and Studio who reconstruct the song in their typical fashion.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=260258754743&Category=306&_trksid=p3907.m29

want^

another typically awesome studio mix, on pink vinyl!

So, has anyone heard the Fontän single?

yes and it's awesome, Mo1 AND Studio, and the original is a great track too.

It's this, right? The :30 samples do have a Pink Floyd quality to them.

italians do it better have their own version of studio now, tiedye

loving the little ones mix. i hope the next full length sounds more like that and "no comply" than the AM01 and kylie remakes. not hating just like one sound a little better than the other.

i ordered west coast from the information site and they sent me yearbook 2 for free

lol ----> http://www.zshare.net/audio/183918348b0d986a/

yikes. that is a terrible remix. it's not worth the 13mb folks!

i still play West Coast in full once a week or so.

Like the Little Ones mix, prefer the Fontan remix.

the Little Ones mix is a good summer jam (kinda wish they woulda rolled out that short vamp they tag on the end) but the Fontan version is typically amazing studio

needs more elements from the original tune, imo. at least some more of the vocal.

the little ones remix needs 100% less vocal.

Dan Lissvik (one half of) will release a solo album at the end of next month, through Information. No vocs on this one :)
http://www.myspace.com/danlissvik (loving B1)

i like his voice

ha i was just listening to this and i had to skip fwd every time his terrible voice comes in...really spoils the album, i only ever really play 'out there' now.

xpost

me too, f the hataz

Don't like the vocals. Love the music.

The vocals are perfect faux-Cure mopery.

I hope that myspace photo is actually him.

yeah, it's him, that's his arm tattoo.

or "sleeve", if you like.

The samples sound great - very intricate and delicate. Some of the rhythm tracks are mindboggling. Together the music sort of traces this careful constellation between Durutti Column and Oner Ozur.

this is exciting! sounds goodd. anyone know where in nyc i can buy the fontan 12"?

its funny how much this sounds like exactly 1/2 of studio

i hope the other half releases an album thats all spanish-y guitar and synth fills

perfect faux-Cure mopery

"perfect" is not an adjective which should ever be near a phrase like "faux-cure mopery"!

Lex I love you but you're hardly going to have a nuanced judgement regarding this issue!

I mean I'm confidently guessing our disagreement here goes well past Studio to include The Tough Alliance, Shy Child, Animal Collective/Panda Bear, JLC remixes of The Killers etc. - basically any mixture of (or, from your perspective, contamination of) dancey or electronic arrangements with white male vocals.

I'm not trying to parody your position BTW - I have also held with it at certain times. But one of the things that (specifically) the "Mr. Brightside" remix made me realize was that my long-standing disinterest with what we might call the indie impulse wasn't tied to the properties of indie music (guitars, stodgy "grooves", slightly whiny or plaintive sounding male vocals, a fear of sex or physicality etc.) but rather the way all of these things were inevitably articulated together, such that you couldn't have one without the others. Call it the "hegemonic predictability" of these traits.

What i realized was: break the hegemony, and I can enjoy these traits again. So, like, I can see for you that "The Cure goes to the beach" becomes a detractor because it involves "The Cure", whereas for me any band whose reference point was "The Cure" alone would probably not interest me, but the "...goes to the beach" both interests me and actually makes "The Cure" (as a signifier) interesting again.

i like a whole load of electronic music w/white male vox! including the jlc killers rmx (though i look askance at this tipping over into actual original killers appreciation). junior boys, kelley polar, franck garcia, even booka shade's newer vocal tracks. the studio singer's voice is so ridiculously strained and inadequate though, i find it works against what the music's doing too much...the music is so focused on blissfulness, and the strained clumsiness of the voice is too disruptive. it's like he wants to be like the black devil disco club singer but falls woefully short.

i've never heard the tough alliance or shy child, but i think you know about my very real, very visceral dislike of animal collective

i think his voice fits perfectly, nice n languid. don't think he sounds that much like robert smith.

i definitely prefer studio's instrumental tracks to their tracks with vocals. but for me it's so much the singer's voice itself, it's just that the presence of vocals make the tracks feel more ordinary somehow... i think i agree with lex when he says it works against the music. i definitely can't experience the same level of escapism with "west side" and "self service" as i can with "out there" and "life's a beach".

ooops that should be "it's not so much the singer's voice itself"

he's got a nice voice overall but he's kind of like the waterboys guy in that he slips back and forth through blatant imitation of other vocalists (smith, shaun ryder, bernard sumner..)

but in general that kind of behavior doesn't really bother me if the music's really good.

i think he's actually better than sumner

Not hard.

i know but the point is it doesn't stop loads of New Order songs being awesome.

infinitely preferable to whichever dude does the vocals for the Tough Alliance, with those plaintive qualities taken about ten notches up.

;_; I wuv TTA's vocals.

aw. well, different opinions and so on...

TTA's music is pretty and lots of fun, I just keep picturing the vocalist as a Swedish Tom DeLonge.

I like to think it's actually both of them singing and they just have identical voices. They seem to alternate miming duties in their video clips at any rate.

i think Tough Alliance featuring Dr Alban is my fantasy pop of the week

Ha ha I am fantasizing about that now too Steve. That sort of idea is what facebook groups are for.

I would take Prydz ft. Alban at this point to be honest

don't think it's the vocals with studio as much as maybe lines like "is it because we have tropical needs", which feels too close to pastiche to me. Not enough to ruin the songs or anything, I still love the whole thing. I can see arguments against, though.

I've always been to O_o at those lyrics to consider whether they might be pastiche: "Is it because we are a likable breed? Is it because we've got tropical needs?"

too

dude posted on ilx

Hello!
Does anybody know the Lyrics to "Fairy Tales" with Stockholm Monsters???
Its very important to me.
So if you do, Please send it to me!
✧✧✧@srv✧✧✧.c✧✧

― Dan Lissvik, Monday, January 3, 2005 4:54 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Haha, I was about to revive this with a link:

Stockholm Monsters!!!!!!

beat you to it

awesome

i dan we all have a boner for you!!!!!!!

i mean "hi" or "hej" dan.

grady otm

I would take Prydz ft. Alban at this point to be honest

Read this as Prydz ft Allbarn... christ alive

^ i have those slippers

hot damn!

i know. they're really comfortable

Known for their Balearic rock edits on their own imprint, Parlour are now set to do a mix for Information that consists only of rare and unreleased tracks from their long-time friends Frak.

Frak were present on the Swedish experimental synth scene throughout the late '80s and early '90s, and released a swathe of material. Most of this only saw the light of day on cassette, with the group bridging out to vinyl in the later stages of their career. Parlour have had a long-term connection to Börft, who released Frak's work originally, and are set to compile some of the rarer cassette-only material as a mix on Studio's Information label.

Parlour have spent hours going through all of the old Frak tapes, and have compiled the highlights into a continuous 57 minute mix that spans new beat, acid house and more minimal synth workouts. Spotters might be unhappy that no tracklisting will be contained, but with Frak anonymity was certainly part of the point and the compilation serves as a great introduction to their cassette-only material from 1988-1992.

Tracklist
01. 57.30

Information release Frak - 88-92 Extended Tempo Mix by Parlour on 17th November.
http://inf000.com/images/infcd4_artwork_web.jpg

^this sounds like an elaborate prank, but i guess it's real.

also the d lissvik album snippets sound so good, can't wait to get it.

o wow, that video wouldn't play for me before. awesome!

wow i didn't know parlour was connected to information/studio in any way. the "amor/capriccio" 7" was prettty awesome, can't wait to see what they do with synth wave tracks!

have parlour done anything other than that one 7"?

if anyone uses last.fm, the "the studio" channel is pretty good ^_^

i can't even find them on discogs

the D. Lissvik album is great, been really groovin on it the past couple days. obviously from the clip there's lots of 'eastern' influences and a few tracks that sound remarkably like Studio but most of it is a bit more exploratory/spacious than the Studio material.

do you have it at Amoeba Mike?

nvm i was too excited, ordered from INF with a poster too!

"do you have it at Amoeba Mike?"

or, do you know when you'll have it?

it comes out on 11/24 according to the one-sheet but I doubt we will see it at Amoeba for another couple weeks at least. will let ya'll know when it's out...

Why doesn't anyone else think "Origin" is super awesome?

"Origin is a "throwaway" piece (well, when you compare its 2 minutes to "Out There"'s 16 minute extravagance) that is nonetheless totally compelling, buzzy rock bass stomp topped by spiderweb guitar and a storm of echoey effects - elegantly dirty, and sounding nothing like the tracks which precede it.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, January 27, 2007 6:01 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark

you're not alone

I should note that description doesn't apply to the full glory of "Origin (Shake You Down By The River)" on Yearbook 1.

back to the d. lissvik-- the whole album is so fantastic. sounds like a peyote-fueled jam session with himself

how can i hear this

jaxon's linked to track 5 from it just up there ^^^

i mean ALL OF IT

oh ok yr greedy. yeah i dont know, i want to listen to all of it also. i've ordered it from their website + am now just patiently waiting

has anyone heard the singles from 2001-2 listed here? http://srvc.se/artists/studio/

ppl talk abt them at the beginning of this thread i think, i remember someone saying that they sound like franz ferdinand

yes i downloaded them before oink went down. one has "shake you down by the river" almost exactly as it appears on the 2007 version of the LP "origin (shake you down by the river)"

grady whats yr emales

Also, is there a way to hear the full lenth versions of the tracks that were cut down for the re-issue of "West Coast"?

i finally got the extended 'self service' on slsk the other day