The Underground of Happiness

One of the most spellbinding shows I’ve been to in the last few years was the Irish debut in January 2012 of A Winged Victory For The Sullen in support of the release of their self-titled first album. I wrote some words on the gig at the time, it really was pretty monumental. In fact, hearing that music live in the presence of another 100 people or so was bordering on emotional. http://www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.ie/2012/01/winged-victory-for-sullen-half-moon.html So the second album by Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltzie is quite an event for me. And it doesn’t disappoint. I’m afraid words like grandeur and majesty will have to do once again to describe this slowly shifting maelstrom of strings, piano and ambient hum. And as with the first album, despite (maybe because of?) the poise of the music, the restraint, there’s still something deeply romantic about it. What does that mean? Well, it seems to connote some vague sense of human yearning, something primal...

A glorious re-introduction to the world of A Winged Victory For The Sullen , a duo who played one of the best shows I've been at in recent years in January 2012 . I've been trying to put my finger on why this music is so affecting. I think it's got to do with the simplicity of the raw materials - primal drones generated by strings or electronics, a general floating, whirring ambience, melodies pared back to the bone. But put together these amount to so much more than the sum of the parts. 'Atomos VII' adds some padded percussion to the mix, briefly, but mostly the atmosphere is one of serene, swelling, deeply-felt emotion. This is a piece of music that genuinely qualifies for that great hackneyed description. This really is a beautiful thing. April 28 will see the return of A Winged Victory For The Sullen with the release of 'ATOMOS VII'. It forms the first installment leading up to the release of the second studio album 'ATOMOS', and sc...

New music from A Winged Victory For The Sullen this week (pictured), a characteristically serene and gorgeous slow-build with strings, boding well for their new album. Something beautiful too from Golden Retriever , a Portland duo who make a kind of minimalist electronica with modular synths. Brilliant. Also new material from Polar Bear , bringing free jazz and some other stuff into pop music. And Brace/Choir making very tasty drone pop. Also room for old faves Band of Clouds, Rebecca Collins and The Altered Hours , all playing live in Ireland soon. And new faves The New Mendicants, Jacques Caramac and Kiran Leonard keeping the world safe for jangle, glam and prog, respectively. More on these pages as ever. Feb 18 2014 show w/AWVFTS,Band of Clouds,Golden Retriever,Polar Bear,Brace/Choir,Altered Hours++ by Theundergroundofhappiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www....

Photo: Antje Taiga A couple of weeks ago, I did a phone interview with Nils Frahm for WeAreNoise . He was in London, in the middle of a tour, which would take him on to Cork and Dublin later that week. As with all the Erased Tapes artists, it seems, he came across as a thoroughly nice, rounded individual, genuinely concerned for and interested in the feedback and reaction of fans to his music. Interesting also to hear him talk about discovering something by accident (in rehearsal) but then running with it. I didn't get to see him play, unfortunately, but I believe it was pretty special. First published at http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/11/nils-frahm-interview/ . Hi Nils, can I ask you first about your new EP, Screws , which you recorded while you had a broken thumb earlier in the year. How did you come to record an EP in that state?! It was against doctor’s advice to rest, wasn’t it? Yeah that’s right. It wasn’t really planned to become an EP, I just thoug...

Two pieces of clapping music to start the show this week, from Dirty Projectors and Pollens (who sound like they are influenced by the Projectors, and that's fine by me). Just from Chevron could be a modern form of the protest song. New music from two fine English bands, Dutch Uncles and Fossil Collective ; two great slices of prog pop, from windings and Wires Under Tension , the latter with a great orchestral heft to it; the latest in both the Collision/Detection and Days & Nights at the Takeaway (pictured) series; Ariel Pink pondering international espionage, that Peter Broderick gospel mantra I can't get out of my head and two absolutely wonderful brass arrangements, from Myles Manley and David Byrne & St Vincent . You can't beat a bit of brass, in fairness. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 241 Tues Oct 30 2012 11.00am-...

Nestled in the middle of Peter Broderick's new album is an unassuming 2 minute track with the weighty title Proposed solution to the mystery of the soul . Let me try to sum it up. It's like an evolving gospel refrain fed into a meditation mantra (" first you've got a soul that's awake while you're asleep "), complete with finger cymbals and the convex sound of a glass bottle of water being struck. That's all. Just a number of Peter Broderick vocals to fill it out, and rounding off with a second refrain - " I love when words ring out true ". It's intoxicating, basically. I can't get enough of it. Even embedded in an album that is full of surprises - Broderick delves into beatboxing and RnB rhythms, a capella recitals and semi-sound design style dual conversations - I'm finding I can't get past this song. The album began life as a series of home recordings some of which he offered to fans for free on his flickr page. The ...

As mentioned a few weeks ago, Peter Broderick's new album comes out next month on Erased Tapes , These walls of mine . In case you didn't come across it already, he recently released this live video of one of the standout songs from it, I've tried . It has some of the vocal looping that Broderick has come to be known for, but employed in more of a beatboxing fashion. This gives the song, and much of the album, an intriguingly RnB flavour (flava?). That's one direction I didn't see coming. Regardless, it's still brilliant. More of the album on the show, and here, over the coming weeks.

Jesus, there's no stopping Peter Broderick . After already releasing a new album this year on Bella Union , the excellent http://www.itstartshear.com (yes, it's a web address, try typing it in your browser, and more here ), he's now announced another new album to come out in October on Erased Tapes . These walls of mine is the title. Here's some background from PB. “I had recently been experimenting at home with a microphone and a laptop, recording and uploading new songs for free online, each one alongside a photo and some words, and open to comments from the outside world. At some point Robert (Erased Tapes label founder) started listening to the music and felt compelled to encourage me to compile an album with all this material. His reaction to ‘These Walls of Mine’ (the song, not the album) was exactly how I felt about the music. I wasn’t sure if I loved it or hated it. But I loved the feeling of that uncertainty, of surprising myself and others around me. A...

So as you know, Erased Tapes is 5 years old (reminder here ). And, unlike most 5-year olds, who tend to be on the receiving end of presents, this one just keeps on giving. Among other things this week, new music from Icelandic composer Olafur Arnalds . It's a 7 inch single featuring two pieces of music written for dance performances. Here's some detail on it. This limited edition single captures two exciting tracks for two dance projects. The first 'Endalaus II' was created for 'Endalaus' by Norwegian Choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen, commissioned and performed by the Iceland Dance company. Fans will recognise the track as one of the highlights from Ólafur's recent live shows, creating an emotional punch against the classical strings. 'For Teda', the second song is for London-based company Neon Dance and part of choreographer Adrienne Hart's on-going project 'Archived'it'. It brings forward a new concept in online interaction b...

One of my favourite labels, Erased Tapes , celebrates 5 years in business. It's been responsible for some of the best music of the last few years, music that I'm fondest of, that's really stayed with me. The first time I came across the label was when I interviewed Peter Broderick in 2009 when he played in Cork. After the interview, as we were passing the merch stand, he handed me a CD copy of Music from Falling for Trees , a soundtrack to a recently composed dance piece. It was quite brilliant, I soon discovered. And that lead on to Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, World's End Girlfriend , and so on. To mark the 5 years, the label are undertaking a landmark tour with three of the aforementioned. Here are the details. London/Berlin-based record label Erased Tapes celebrates five years of fusing classical and contemporary music. To recognise this milestone, Erased Tapes label founder Robert Raths has set up a number of events and releases...

Another gem on Erased Tapes , which seems like it's a bottomless pit of treasures in fairness. Here's an album of carefully shifting but still affecting electronica. From the swirling, beat-driven Cogs and chemicals ; to the sublime drift of the title track with its chopped up piano pattern and layered harmonies; to the euphoric, shoegazey uplift of Where you go I will follow and something like pastoral drum machine music on Crack in the clouds . Also the glorious machine drone of Irons in fires is a great way to end the album. Thoroughly recommended. The British Expeditionary Force – Commotion (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo .

Beautiful new animation to Olafur Arnalds' Near light , from last year's Living Room Songs EP on Erased Tapes . The film was made by Lam Ho Tak and it comes across like a monochromatic, Twilight Zone version of Studio Ghibli . And of course the music is a perfect balance of restraint and emotion. Arnalds is just about to embark on an extensive European tour, check the dates here .

One of our favourite labels around here is Erased Tapes , home to some of the most beautiful records of the last few years - Peter Broderick's soundtrack work, Nils Frahm's solo piano (and collaborative) albums, Olafur Arnalds' chamber music and, most recently, A Winged Victory for the Sullen's swoonsome, ambient instrumentals, to name just a few ( the latter's gig in Cork a few weeks ago was also up there for me among my all-time highlights of gigs in this, or any, city). Well, they're celebrating their 5th birthday and to mark the occasion they're giving away a free sampler featuring everyone on the roster. You can sample the sampler below, to avail of the download just register on their website . There was apparently a surprise party for label founder Robert Raths in Berlin , some of which was recorded - have a look at Peter Broderick, Nils Frahm and friend Martyn playing here. "Erased Tapes: Five Years Old!" from Erased Tapes on Vimeo...

A Winged Victory for the Sullen played in Cork during the week - part of their still-proceeding European tour - a gig I'd been looking forward to with great anticipation for quite a while. If you've never heard the name before, there's some notes on the album on this link. http://www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com/2011/09/winged-victory-for-sullen-winged.html The gig turned out to be a memorable experience, one that will stay with me for some time, a bright, shining highlight of the last 12 months of music (which have been pretty memorable all round). Here's a review I wrote for Cork-based webzine Noise , which is reprinted in full from this link, with kind permission. http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/01/a-winged-victory-for-the-sullen-half-moon-theatre-cork-jan-18th-2012/ The Half Moon Theatre (the radical wing of Cork Opera House ) moonlights as an arthouse cinema these days, so no venue could be more appropriate, I thought, to house the first I...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 198 Tues Nov 22 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/1569957061/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_22_2011.m4a Playlist Left with Pictures - River Avon ( playing Arctic Circle @ Union Chapel, Islington, Dec 10, *midday ) Olafur Arnalds - Near light Bachelorette - Blanket ( playing Whelan's Upstairs, Dublin, Dec 1 ) Butcvher the Bar - Alpha Street West The Grunts - Into submission ( playing The Roundy, Cork, Dec 8 ) Crystal Stilts - Dark eyes *d'load i'view with Crystal Stilts here http://soundcloud.com/underground-of-happiness2/crystal-stilts-interview Bill Ryder-Jones - Give me a name Future Islands - Balance ( playing Whelan's, Dublin, Mar 10 2012 ) Mint Julep ...

As a follow-up to the post the other day on Olafur Arnalds' new release, Living room songs , you can also stream my favourite track from it on Erased Tapes' soundcloud now. The aquatic electronics and sumptuous strings make it worth every second of the 3.28. Ólafur Arnalds - Near Light by erasedtapes

It’s a triple whammy for Erased Tapes this month (following Nils Frahm and Peter Broderick albums). We were big fans around here of Arnalds’ last album, …and they have escaped the weight of darkness . This latest project saw him create and record a song from scratch every day for a week in October, making the results available immediately in video format to fans, from his apartment in Reykjavik . It’s a stunningly beautiful collection, laden with strings but lightened by skipping electronics, and grounded with trademark lachrymose piano. I notice Arnalds is currently on tour with Ryuchi Sakamoto and there is a valid comparison to be drawn in the air of dignified melancholy you’ll find here. Superb.

Another notable release from the prolific Mr Broderick. It’s a double A-sided single featuring the only sung track from Music for Confluence (album reviewed here ), backed with an instrumental from another soundtrack he’s found time to work on, Grace and Mercy , a documentary about Haiti after last year’s earthquake. Purchasers of the single get the added benefit of a digital download of the full 14-track soundtrack to the latter. Having heard it - it’s another hauntingly beautiful series of piano and guitar-centred instrumentals wrapped in an ambient gauze - I recommend you do the same. The man’s ability to evoke a range of emotions from a few (deceptively) simple materials is quite amazing. The wonderfully woozy Fibromyalgia , with a chorus of sliding, drunken violins, is my own favourite. Peter Broderick – Old Time (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo . Grace + Mercy. A Film of Haitians helping Haitians. from luis pena on Vimeo . Confluence (Official Trailer) ...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 197 Tues Nov 15 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/3963518144/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_15_2011.m4a Playlist Richmond Fontaine feat. Deborah Kelly - Inventory Bill Ryder-Jones - Leaning (Star of Sweden) Crystal Stilts - Dark eyes *d'load i'view with Crystal Stilts here http://soundcloud.com/underground-of-happiness2/crystal-stilts-interview Diagrams - Tall buildings (radio edit) Peter Broderick - Old time (from the soundtrack of the film Confluence ) Nils Frahm - Keep Roll the Dice - Calling all workers ( playing ATP's Nightmare Before Christmas, Minehead, Dec 9-11 ) Yann Tiersen - I'm gonna live anyhow ( playing Jeff Mangum's ATP, Minehead, Mar 9-1...

Another set of sublime neo-classical instrumentals from the Berlin resident, which shed new light on the full dynamic range of the piano. By close-miking the instrument from the inside, and playing the keys softly (it’s practically his signature style), Frahm exposes an unexpected set of sounds. Actually, the album almost qualifies as a field recording where the field is the inside of a piano, and the listener is surrounded by the sounds of the room fed through its natural reverb and decay, at least as much as the notes coming from the keys. The resulting arrangements feature microscopic rumbles and creaks and clicks as a kind of supporting orchestra arrived from the wings, and headphones are recommended/essential to get the full benefit. The title apparently derives from Frahm’s need to quieten the piano notes to show consideration for his neighbours during his nocturnal practice sessions. To achieve this effect, he layered thick felt in front of the piano strings. At times though ...