Thursday 29 December 2011

Soulless Central presents: Top 7 Albums of 2011

It's that time of year where many music blogs, magazines, websites and what have you start waxing lyrical about what they consider to be their top 10 albums of the year etc..

Here at Soulless Central, you'll never find the likes of Adele, Professor Green(?), Coldplay or other such R&B/hip-hop nonesense that seem to dominate (what were) our music charts in our list...

The internet is certainly where it's at these days..

while the radio churns out 'spoon fed' manafactured trash on a daily basis, the T'internet is a veritable breeding ground for homegrown talent..

Please attend, as i list my TOP 7 (just to be different) albums of 2011..

7. John Foxx and The Maths - Interplay



6. Grouper - AIA




5. Geigertek (Neil Fellowes) - Soundtrack for City Living



4. Pye Corner Audio - Black Mill Tapes Vol 2: Do You Synthesize?



3. Spacedog - Juice for the Baby



2. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves




1. The Advisory Circle - As the Crow Flies

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Winter's coming..

Winter draws ever closer and here to prepare you for the long haul is a new Soulless Party Mix.. Though i must warn you.. It's quite scary..

Monday 12 September 2011

Soulless Party interview..




Those pleasant chaps over at Project Moonbase have put up the full Soulless Party interview on their blog page.. You can hear how the idea for Electronic Encounters came about and a little bit more on The Soulless Party's background...

Project Moonbase PMB045B: Kev Oyston Interview


Visit the Project Moonbase website to hear more from the recent future

Wednesday 17 August 2011

The 'secret project' has landed...

Finally, The Electronic Encounters album is here.. Relax, and drift away to another cosmos or imagine you're part of this classic Spielberg movie. Enjoy sounds from the likes of the brilliant Pye Corner Audio, the lovely Golau Glau or enjoy the light heartedness of the sublime Dolly Dolly..
Drift off to another galaxy with the dreamy sounds of Neil Fellowes or communicate with another species with the funky Sublevel, or why not Check out Devil's Tower with the likes of Vic Mars and The Soulless Party.. All these artist's feature and more with ELECTRONIC ENCOUNTERS...

Download your FREE copy now from here




Monday 13 June 2011

Bonjour from Monroeville



The boffin's at the Monroeville Music centre have been boffining away hard at their new release, Les Défauts des Fabrication.

Tweaky, scrathcy and down right sublime, Its an EP filled with character about actual 'real' characters...(Really check them out!)

This little gem has a rightful place on anyones tape deck.. Canadian Radiophonics anyone? :)

I highly recommend you get this as soon as it is fully released for cassette..

Meantime you can download a couple of tracks from Les Défauts des Fabrication here

Today would be a good time to do that.. ;)

Friday 20 May 2011

The music of the clock...




The thing i loved most about german electronic wizards Kraftwerk, was their uncanny ability to write brilliant and mesmerizing music to accompany such mundane everyday objects and concepts such as motorway's, computer's or bicycles..

I used to anticipate their next album being about a radiator or a greenhouse...
Alas, those albums never came in to being..

Today, we bearly find a 'concept' album of such ilk in the music shops or in the 'music' chart. (Its not even a chart anymore but more of a 'menu' for kids.)

However, who should step up to the mark to fulfill our cravings of a concept album but good old Jon Brooks.

Yes it is he of 'The Advisory Cirle' and 'Cafe Kaput' fame who has 'kraftily' put together this polished little 'werk' of art, giving us all a new everyday concept and object to marvel about!

The humble alarm clock.

Not just any alarm clock though... Its the Braun AB-30 alarm clock to be precise and this little album is dedicated to it and it's creator Deiter Rams.



Born in 1932 in Hesse, Germany Deiter Rams started out his working life as an architect and carpenter.

In the 1950's He joined electronic manafacturers Braun to become their head designer.

In his time there he helped create cutting edge Slide projectors, Record Players and shelving systems but more notably he was the brain behind the Braun AB-30 alarm clock.

Jon Brooks recieved this clock for his 15th birthday, no doubt spending every waking hour of his young life hitting the snooze button and probably, as we all do, taking the clock for granted.. Until later on in life where he hit upon the idea to take this beloved clock and 'break it down' as it were.

Sampling every click, drone, beep and tick, Brooks has deftly put together and organized these 'filtered' samples turning them in to charming pieces of electronic and very 'germanic' sounding music..

One can immediately reference the usual references like i have at the start of this piece, but listen carefully to how he exercises these samples and you will start to hear shade's of 'The Art of Noise'!

I am, and no doubt forever will be a fan of Mr. Brooks's music.
I gush like a school girl at every release he and fellow Ghostboxer (Rev.) Jim Jupp have made and i find both of their respective works inspiring to say the least.

Both have somehow, singlehandedly created the soundtrack to my childhood.. Or perhaps it was 'a' childhood that never was..
Whatever it was, it wasnt Bucks Fizz or Bay City Rollers i kept hearing being played on the wireless in the background..

No!it was Brooks and Jupp!

To download Jon Brooks 'Music for Deiter Rams' Here's a link

Download it now!.. :)

Wednesday 27 April 2011

The Return of Motorbikes in Tokyo



Just to let you know there's a re-issued album from my 'other' band MOTORBIKES IN TOKYO entitled "Music and Machines" and it's available for digital download at BANDCAMP.
The sound is more "electropop" than "my usual droney experimental stuff" but electronic all the same..

I do hope you enjoy it if you manage to grab a listen..

Here's a link if you'd like to download it.. :)

Saturday 23 April 2011

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Sublevel - Total Erosion



Do you miss the 70's? Even if you hadnt existed in the 70's, i bet some of you still wished you had!

Well, i've found a way to transport yourself back to that particularly 'zowie' time, and thats through the medium of music.. Sublevel's music to be precise!
This is Sublevel's first proper release, and it's entitled 'Total Erosion'..

Strap in, switch on and you'll soon find yourself on a cool, crisp leisurely cruise through low tempo disco beats and soft retro synthesis..

You will definately feel transported back to a time that was but wasn't.. If you know what i mean.. ;)

Total Erosion is available to buy through Bandcamp at the loving price of £10..
Here is the link

Enjoy!

KO

Saturday 5 March 2011



So it's here at last.
The first EP release from Soulless Party.
Inspired by 70's/80's british science fiction shows, 'Exploring Radio Space' plays like a document of 'Found Phonics' that were plucked from radio waves sent into space..
Hope you enjoy it..

Exploring Radio Space is available to buy at Bandcamp..
This is your link

Friday 25 February 2011

Label to watch..

Gotta put a good word out for this bloke.



Dan Hoal from Los Angeles is a rather dab hand at knocking out a good tune and his production/engineering work is second to none.. He's worked with the likes of Aimee Mann, The French Kicks and more notably the great Nancy Sinatra.

He's just launched his own record label 'Hollywood Fly Records' which promises to deliver some quality, down to earth bands and music.

The man has great and varied taste in music. You only have to hear what he's doing with the brilliant up and coming Kid Moxie..



I may sound a bit biased here as i've also had the pleasure to work with the Moxies and Dan but i have to say, i do look forward to hearing new things from these guys and the label.

Check out Dans new label and Kid Moxie here

Good luck Dan. ;)

KO

New Hong Kong in the 60's album.. Now!



Dreamy, dreamy... so damn dreamy! Thats why i love this bunch so much...

Here for the first time in british air, is the much awaited release of HK60's first proper album 'My Fantoms'..

Capturing the forgotten past that never was and sounds of 60's/70's stereo test albums, My Fantoms oozes a summery, breeziness that basically makes you want to be lying in some corn field in Devon or somewhere with a loved one watching the clouds drift by..

Particular floaty driftiness is found in tracks like 'At your Door'(love that synth in the mid8), 'All at sea' and the title track itself..

Often times i am reminded of early Saint Etienne in Fox Base Alpha mode.. Lovely!

A track that immediately makes me quite excited in a rather nerdy way is the wibbly wobbly 'Les Petits Chasseurs Au Bord Du Lac Lunaire', a synthy affair that sounds like a cross between very early Depeche Mode B-Sides and Alan Hawkshaw..

All in all, a very pleasurable listening experience and an album which for sure i will be listening very close to this summer.. ;)

You can download Fantoms from here