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viewing 1 To 25 of 28 items
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12"
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VFORM 035EP
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12"
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VFORM 036EP
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"His first UK release, 'Working In The Factory' is a compelling introduction to the man, with a typically mordant, sinuously articulated lyric that ponders rose-colored nostalgia -- a time when 'life was in black and white and people knew wrong from right... If your country went to war you'd sign up in a minute...'. Underpinned by a languid, hypnotic backbeat, glistening electric pianos and an almost New Order-like bass line, 'Working In The Factory' is a mellow, reflective gem with burning righteousness in its soul. Imagine a more intense De La Soul, or a Pacific coast The Streets and you're getting close, though you just need to open your ears to realize that McEnroe's deal is a unique and undeniable thing -- not just the sum of tasteful influences. A 12" only release (though the lead track it's set to appear on McEnroe's forthcoming Five Years In The Factory album), the single is backed with an instrumental 'Working In The Factory', plus two versions of the wry-but-slammin', double bass propelled 'Party People' -- the vocal version features a fresh, tongue-twisting delivery, while the instrumental explores hitherto uncharted dub/jazz/groove vistas."
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CD
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VFORM 035CD
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"The ever-prolific Adrian Corker and Paul Conboy return with Six For Five. Featuring two brand new tracks and three remarkable Radiant Idiot remixes; this is an EP that captures a band nearing its creative peak, happy, willing and able to open its fertile landscapes to some similarly inclined fellow travellers. Radiohead and Beta Band aficionados should be herded toward it pronto. Whether it be the clipped guitar matrices, lulling percussion or beguiling keyboard and recorder melodies of the title track, or 'Okay Okay's' delightful folk flourishes (featuring Paul Conboy's intimate vocal debut -- and what a convincing debut!) -- this is Corker/Conboy's sublime musical vision refined to an irresistible quintessence; and then some. While the three distinctive remixes -- by ex-Gastr del Sol mainstay and Fat Cat recording artist David Grubbs, plus one each from Derailer and Xela -- are equally persuasive and lend this alluring sonic tableau the kind of coherent beauty most remix projects never even approach."
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2LP
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VFORM 038LP
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CD
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VFORM 038CD
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"Raised in the prairie city of Winnipeg but now based in Vancouver, 26-year-old McEnroe (not, as the man himself puts it, to be confused with that 'washed up tennis guy') offers a grainy, articulate and consistently provocative response to US alt.hip hop. In common with similarly predisposed countrymen Buck 65 and Sixtoo, McEnroe welds politically savvy, cliché-free rhymes to music whose bewitching sampledelic warp and weft is underpinned by a delirious retinue of skewed, raw but always mercilessly funky beats. No one trick pony, McEnroe is also the brains behind Vancouver's Peanuts & Corn label and is now established as a key player in the distribution and dissemination of hip hop across Canada. It comes as no surprise, then, to find many of his lyrics taking a brutally satirical dissecting knife to the more questionable machinations of the music biz, while simultaneously hymning the isolation and community of the Canadian hip hop scene. Influenced by artists as diverse as Public Enemy, De La Soul and Main Source, McEnroe has been cutting tracks since 1994 -- culminating in 2003's widely acclaimed, unapologetically political Disenfranchised album. 5 Years In The Factory extrapolates from there. Its musical highlights are many and various -- from the guttural wah-wah guitar/tablas/string samples that decorate the smooth-grooved 'One More Tomorrow' to the adroitly manipulated (Neptune's-style) music boxes of 'Dumb It Down' and the hypnotic, languid beats and magical toy pianos of 'Billy's Vision'. All-in-all, a cavalcade of right thinking, left-leaning wordage, radical rhythmic assaults and a luminous musicality that lodges instantly and permanently in the pleasure centers, 5 Years In The Factory is a bewitching addition to the Canadian hip hop canon. While Buck 65 and Sixtoo will be looking to their laurels, the wider hip hop universe should also now be on full alert."
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CD
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VFORM 034CD
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"A name to conjure with if you're a fan of the Drag City/Domino back catalogue, Mike Fellow's multi-instrumental élan has graced some of the most significant records in the US underground canon -- though, where most would accentuate the reflected glory, Fellows insists on keeping his famous paymasters off his CV. Limited Storyline Guest is an album of sublime collisions: John Fahey-esque country-folk guitar picking set against gossamer laptop processing; lonesome instrumental passages ceding to rich, multi-harmony choruses; parlour piano one minute, alien drum machines the next. Somehow Fellow's wry ache of a voice and consistent musical judiciousness unite the disparate threads into a thing of beguiling, toe-tapping homogeneity."
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LP
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VFORM 034LP
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CD
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VFORM 033CD
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"London's prolific Adrian Corker and Paul Conboy are back with another beguiling offering. Fresh from writing the next Bomb The Bass album with Tim Simenon, the duo have been galvanized into expanding their palette beyond the (albeit beautiful and widely acclaimed) post rock of their debut. An invitingly hazy warp and weft of languid grooves and glistening keyboards, Radiant Idiot recalls Can at their most tranquil and hypnotic, or the motorik art-rock glide of later period Talk Talk, yet retains a remarkable glow that is all its own."
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LP
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VFORM 033LP
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CD
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VFORM 030CD
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"Yes, he's aware that title might just have been used before and, yes, that's (partly at least,) why the man known to his mates as Matt Haines, has adopted the Rip Off Artist monicker... (previous ROA albums include Electric Ladyland, Pump and Brian Salad Surgery... you get the picture...). Top drawer, esoteric techno house with a melodic undertow (often just plain old fashioned 'catchy'), Pet Sounds blends acrobatic digital workouts with occasional droll lyrics and never-less-than-propulsive neo-funk grooves. The Rip Off Artist is the alias of Los Angeles resident Matt Haines who runs his own inflatable label and is infamous for re-inventing his personal history on a regular basis. Whether or not he's really a Mexican émigré, part-time country session musician or an off-duty oil rig operative, Haines has recorded for the likes of Mille Plateaux, Bottrop-Boy and Massive Advance and has worked with Atom Heart's Uwe Schmidt, amongst others."
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2LP
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VFORM 023LP
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Double LP version. "The long playing debut album from London based duo Corker / Conboy aka Adrian Corker and Paul Conboy. Contributors to the project include Jono Podmore of Irmin Schmidt (Can) + Kumo fame. The album draws influences from a variety of differing reference points that the duo have become synonymous with over the years from African and Brazilian roots music through to Chicago post rock right back to the more worldly experimental approaches."
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12"
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VFORM 029EP
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"A stonking double-header, this latest release comprises two compelling sides of utilitarian digi-funk from the techno house top drawer. Ornamented with shards of electronic glitz and a beguiling (and, dammit, dead catchy!) vocal chorus hymning the diminutive 1/8 jack socket of the title, the a side is propulsive, mesmeric dance floor fare with the ROA's trademark wit at full throttle. AA-side double diamond also hammers along like a demented heartbeat machine, while all manner of digital scree erupts, making woofers woof like big old hounds and tweeters shriek for joy."
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2LP
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VFORM 028LP
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CD
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VFORM 028CD
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"As eclectic as remix albums can be, this set of make-overs from 2002's critically-acclaimed We Can Fix It opus (also on Vertical Form), finds Sweden's Henrik Johansson (aka Smyglyssna) in the company of Soft Pink Truth (one half of San Franciscan electronic enfants terribles Matmos), underground hip hop star (and Lex recording artist) Boom Bip, hipper-than-thou west coast Anticon luminaries Sixtoo and Restiform Bodies, along with eerie Icelandic soundscapers Einoma and Brighton rock/electronic fusionists Fujiya & Miyagi. Smyglyssna also adds one of his own remixes and one previously unavailable solo track. Like the We Can Fix It album itself, this will appeal to fans of Warp-style electronic futurism and Skam grooves -- but it's eclectic remix means that everything from beautiful ambient soundscaping to crunching Krautrock beats and eerie atmospherics get a look in. it really works as a smart, modernist album in its own right -- and clocking in at less than 40 minutes, it hardly outstays its welcome, instead inviting instant replay."
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VFORM 023CD
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"The long playing debut album from London based duo Corker / Conboy aka Adrian Corker and Paul Conboy or otherwise known as APE and Soul Circuit. Contributors to the project include Jono Podmore of Irmin Schmidt (Can) + Kumo fame and Luke Gifford both on production duties along with percussionist Pete Carey and trumpeter Ian Dixon, with all other instruments and programming by the duo themselves. The album draws influences from a variety of differing reference points that the duo have become synonymous with over the years from African and Brazilian roots music through to Chicago post rock right back to the more worldly experimental approaches and leanings of visionaries such as that of ECM artists Jan Garbarek and Pierre Favre. In Light Of That Learnt Later is the soundtrack to Corker / Conboy's wonderfully charismatic and emotive world. Filled with whispers of charm and heart moving melancholia, their delicate and intricate approach to music making provides and inspiring glimpse into the world of instrumental acoustic music and shaped harmonics."
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12"
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VFORM 021
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"After a long break since his last solo recordings Nick Rapaccioli returns to Vertical Form with the first single of a planned trilogy of releases. Having spent the last 18 months co-writing Leftfield's Rhythm & Stealth album and touring extensively as part of their live set up, his solo productions can now finally take precedence over everything else and this double A-sided single clearly represents that. Written with contrasting digital and analog techniques, both tracks define a development in electronic dance music not heard this side of the water for quite some time. Each cut is perfectly formed and executed with intricate precision whilst cleverly pushing the envelope of both experimental and dancefloor based music to entirely new levels. 'Compare' is a tough, heavy and driving groove built around tightly programmed electronic drums coupled with warped distorted chords and driving bassline, made complete with an array of stunts and tricks to rival some of the most sophisticated of today's electronic music. 'Skima' is a slightly more dj friendly affair, structured around a handful of key sounds, sequences and idea's. Driven by a distinctively heavy bottom end and left to groove endlessly on its own accord to immense effect."
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VFORM 015CD
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"After months of production, tweaking and final adjustments the album finally see's the light of day, clocking in at 46 minutes in length, with 9 tracks in total, each cut individually incorporating Smyglyssna's signature sound whilst offering a new funkier and more diverse edge to his production approach. Through careful combination of sophisticated software use, along with more traditional analog production techniques, Smyglyssna creates a sound that looks to the past for reference whilst simultaneously defining a take on the future. Working with a variety of hip hop sensibilities along with a variety of differing electro and techno sound aesthetics, We Can Fix It works on a variety of levels providing listeners with a body of work documentative of both a generation of music along with his own vast array of musical influences. Cut's such as 'Mights It Be's And If It Were's' look to early '90s Detroit scraping through remnants of Carl Craig's 69 project and Stacey Pullen's Kosmik Messenger outputs whilst reinventing their take on the format of electronic funk by breathing new forms of synthesis into the construction of these types of groove. 'Triangular Ears' adopts a similarly fresh take on the format of experimental and avant hip hop by providing a backdrop of crisp, distorted drum beats alongside a more alternative selection of playful melodies and tight programming creating a groove at home in a variety of environments. 'Foaming Prairie' provides a beautifully crafted momentary breath of heart felt ambience to calm and console the listener whilst also providing a small insight into an alternative side of the smyglyssna sound. In all, an album of constant diversity, rhythmic essentials and heartfelt emotion packed with an obsession of sound and invention."
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2LP
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VFORM 019LP
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CD
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VFORM 019CD
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First album, repressed. "Einóma is the work of two close Icelandic friends and long time studio partners. Having initially dabbled in the world of short film making commencing from the tender age of 13 years old, an early fascination was developed for sound and its ability as a tool to compliment and often drive storytelling. This dominant fascination within their work soon became more and more prominent to eventually override the filmmaking and to take primary importance within their creative goals. Initially adopting a sound of pure ambience and filmic sensibility, their production approach slowly developed into more rhythmically oriented pieces along with a backdrop of their much loved soundtrack oriented aesthetic. Having released only one EP to date on the Icelandic Uni:Form label, Undir Feilnótum is their debut album and first release of many with Vertical Form. Their work cleverly combines elements of both influence and invention that so much of todays electronic output falls short of, whilst simultaneously maintaining and balancing a distinct production approach that firmly places their sound within the premier league of experimental recording outfits. Undir Feilnótum is a dark and deeply atmospheric album, incorporating eight tracks clocking in at 38 minutes in length, each cut firmly demonstrates their obsessive skill for programming, intricate sequencing and rhythmic construction providing a body of work consisting of varying themes, moods and tempo's whilst continually forging ahead with a fresh outlook on both their own sound and the format of contemporary electronics."
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12"
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VFORM 018
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"The release marks an entirely new level in their production approach which compromises a slightly more jazz tinged element to their warped minimal house sound by incorporating a number of live elements including trumpet and piano to a sparse, raw and experimental house groove. Drawn out over eight minutes in length the groove develops in a number of differing directions continually building into a fresh and distinctive dancefloor groove perfect for the more discerning and adventurous of club and backroom environments. The b side see's a welcome return for Nick Rapaccioli with a flawless remake of Nelson. By deconstructing the original groove to its basic components and reworking the groove from a differing view point an entirely new cut of the original is created. Maintaining groove and funk throughout and never venturing too far away from the dancefloor the rework takes things to a different level with a slightly more experimental and minimal approach that holds the essential element of groove firmly in place. Nelson Reprise is an altogether different approach and offers an alternative viewpoint of the original in the form of a more relaxed lounge oriented version. Whilst still holding onto the live elements of the initial groove and adopting a more folk oriented easy listening flavor the reprise provides a suitably apt closure to the single."
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12"
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VFORM 016
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"In preparation for Pan American's River Made No Sound album (released on Kranky in the US), 'Renzo' has been put together as a subtle taster of what is soon to come from this highly acclaimed production project. Three tracks are included, each exclusive to this EP, clocking in at just under thirty minutes playing the time. Each track drifts effortlessly through the varying emotions and feelings that the Pan American project has become synonymous with, whilst also providing a calculated glimpse of what is yet to come. The EP opens with 'Running Dog (Reborn)', a deep and spatial visionary journey that plays heavily with dub based sound aesthetics whilst maintaining a balance with techno and electronic production techniques. 'Toy Triggers', is a short ambient piece that drifts through the motions of melancholia and hopeful melody, allowing for change and paving the way for the closing groove. 'Renzo', which is essentially the key track here, provides a valuable insight into why Pan American has become such a highly acclaimed production project. Containing all the classic trademarks of early Pan American productions by combining the ever present elements of warmth, groove and feeling, the track drifts further and further into the use of haunting melodies and atmospherics, an element very much at the heart of forthcoming River Made No Sound album."
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2LP
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VFORM 014LP
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Double LP version. Same 12 tracks as the CD.
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VFORM 014CD
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Artists featured: Pan American, Kim Hiorthøy, Iso68, Corker/Conboy. "Pro Bono Publico, is a various artists project with a difference. A project concentrating purely on the concept of emotion in modern music through using traditional and acoustic production techniques as opposed to that of machine made music. Four different artists / production outfits were chosen, each of which, from entirely different creative circles around the globe; Chicago, Oslo, Hamburg and London. Each of the contributors, whilst having never met and being situated hundreds, if not thousands of miles apart, all share a common view in terms of their passionate musical idea's and constant thirst for emotive music. Each of the contributors were asked to supply three specifically written tracks that explored the various emotive states and feelings within their music using predominantly acoustic production approaches. Of course, this idea and concept can sound somewhat complicated and even slightly pretentious when put down on paper, the project however couldn't be further away from either of these tag's. In essence, its about getting back to grass roots. Beautiful, moving and heart felt music made with real instruments by individuals that understand how to translate feeling into music."
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2LP
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VFORM 013LP
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CD
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VFORM 013CD
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"Piiri is the alter ego of the legendary Ilpo Vaisanen, one half of the world renowned Finnish Pan Sonic duo. Originally written and released in 1999 GPU is taken from the highly sought after Jarru EP released by Marko Laine's Mind Records imprint. The original version of this cut is re-released here along with five alternative remixed versions by Farben, Pan American, Smyglyssna, Dual Excitor and Phonem. First up is the original version, a dreamy jazz timed rhythm track, minimal in structure yet deeply moving and funk filled. Farben destructs and extracts minute particles and reforms the entire groove into a dirty, playful bottom heavy groove perfect for the more discerning and adventurous of dancefloor environments. To follow, recent Vertical Form signing Pan American rewires the rhythmic essentials of the original and adds a more detailed complex narrative to the groove with the addition of a deeper level of abstraction and atmosphere. Smyglyssna steps up the pace with yet another classic outing of hip hop fuelled concrete funk soaked with remnants of the original played in a differing context. Dual Excitor, a new London based production outfit regenerate the entire groove by building an entirely new piece made up of layer upon layer of processed and sampled parts of the initial groove accumulating in a stylistic conversion not heard on this side of the water for quite some time. Last of all Phonem begins a new chapter in his production story by adopting and experimenting with a new dimension in software sound research. Carefully chosen components and snippets of Piiri's production work are selected and combined with a range of MAX produced sounds, the results being that of a more sparse, diverse and spatial take on both his own sound and Ilpo's initial vision."
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