Niggy Tardust

Trent Reznor’s war against the major labels continues today as protege Saul Williams releases his new album direct to the public. Similar to Radiohead’s latest album, if you don’t want to pay for “Niggy Tardust“, you can still get it legally. However, if you’re willing to part with a mere 5 US dollars you can get it at a massive 320Kbps.

Earlier today I laid my money down via my PayPal account and can report that the record is a “Ghetto Gothic” masterpiece. Reznor’s involvement is perfectly obvious throughout. He contributes music, vocals, and production to the record that ends up having an industrial hip hop feel very similar to Year Zero.

It’s great to see the Reznor / Williams partnership blossom in this way. I remember the spectacle of Williams and his DJ winning over a Nine Inch Nails audience in Manchester with his powerful aural / poetic assult. He amusingly introduced one song by saying “This is a song about when at the end of the day, you take off your black shirt, and your still black”.

“Niggy Tardust” is an excellent record available extremely cheaply. I hope the gamble pays off and we start seeing a lot more records released this way.

KIK

Today I’d like to advise you to checkout a band that hail from my hometown of Sheffield in the UK, KIK. Delivering dark electronic rock featuring Rolling Stones esque sleaze, they manage to maintain a slick and stylish sound while lyrically pushing Led Zeppelin style misogyny to almost uncomfortable levels.

KIK’s music makes for a very exciting proposition, but unfortunately, a proposition it remains for the time being, as KIK are yet to get “the right deal” for their already compete debut album, RockScar.

For now, however, you can at least temporarily satiate your decadent disposition, with the material available on the band’s MySpace profile, where you’ll get instant gratification whatever you decide to click on first, but if you want to go straight to the “best” song, you’re first stop should be Crack Whore Barbie, a track that will bring you into a luxurious vampiric-vogue head-space within the first four bars.

Nic Endo – Cold Metal Perfection

Nic Endo became notable as the mysterious presence at the back of the stage producing Atari Teenage Riot’s chaotic music while the other three members took turns spiting vitriolic lyrics at the audience. Since the dissolution of Atari Teenage Riot in the year 2000, Endo has continually collaborated with Atari Teenage Riot leader Alec Empire on his solo work as well as producing her own solo records. Which leads us to the subject of this post Cold Metal Perfection.

Leaving behind the relentless noize of her White Heat outing in favour of a sound inspired by soundtracks of black and white noir and horror films (in an interview she mentioned Carnival of Souls as a key example) and combining elements of free jazz with electronic music, Cold Metal Perfection is a powerfully immersive experience, thick with haunting electroic sounds, and capable of transfering you to a tense and mysterious alternative reality.

A key moment in the album is Le Sacrifice (Cercles Mysterieux), an interpretation of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, including a sample of the sinister repeated string phrase from from the Spring Round Dances section.

Opening track Man-Eater, one of the few up tempo moments on the album, provides another highpoint, including a sample of famous Bauhaus track Bela Legosi’s Dead.

Cold Metal Perfection is a true solo album, with absolutly no musicians, producers, engineers, or mixers credited except Endo herself, and as sch serves as a showcase for Endo’s mastery of electronic sound manipulation, and the depth of her musiccal capabilities.

Check out samples from the album on Nic Endo’s MySpace profile.

Rustisism

Thanks to the vibrant folk / ceilidh scene here in Sheffield, I’ve had the opputunity to develop something of a taste for music with that rustic feel to it.

Recently (via the Dresden Dolls) I’ve come across a few bands that appeal to these sentiments within me. The Other Flesh of Stockholm and Humanwine from the Boston scene are the two such bands that have had the most impact on me. Both achieve that quality of simultaneous melancholy and life-affirming vibrancy that gives this kind of music it’s powerful allure, and as such, I suggest you check them out.

Bringing in a “Sax New Age”

I highly recommend you check out Autonervous. With slick, low down sythns, understated saxophone playing, and sultry vocals this “vox/sax duo” sound like the coolest nightclub in town, if only it was a bit cooler.