The last couple of tracks have been decidedly difficult to follow. They represent experimentation in layered, minimal and textured environments, carried out over a career. After much deliberation, I settled on a track that pushes Mogwai—a band traditionally known for pairing lush soundscapes against uproarious white noise to create often entirely instrumental compositions—out of their comfort zone and into a totally unchartered creative space. This track represents a similar kind of experimentation as the last few, only confined to a simple five-minute expression.

The heart of Mexican Grand Prix pits a hushed intonation against intrepid robot-speak, creating a certain kind of refined intensity that wouldn’t exist if either of the vocal tracks was heard in isolation. I appreciate the subtle balance of the electronic- and organ-induced rhythm that kicks off the track against the clapping layered into the synth- and guitar-heavy post-rock fade out. The flawless layering and consistently subtle texture makes the exercise feel effortless, yet refined.

This track is as much about push as it is about pull, and definitively proves that Mogwai are more than just Scottish slow-burn post-rock kings.

t. woodford

Sorry for the wait gents, but seriously—how do you follow James Blake?

London-based electronic producer Patten is truly an enigma. Like a real enigma. No photos of the man exist, he answers interview questions in URLs and other people’s YouTube videos.

His new record GLAQJO XAACSSO has been receiving mixed reviews, most of which claim the record is too off-kilter to be enjoyable. His methods are similar to James Blake’s—samples chopped and stretched into an entirely new emotional space. Perhaps Patten is a little looser in his technique but I’ve always found the results exciting, otherworldly and strangely calming. Ice, the GLAQJO XAACSSO captures the Patten sound perfectly.

b.klops

For me, James Blake is literally an enigma. A critically acclaimed artist that, for the most part produces music so impossibly stripped down and minimal, it’s barely recognizable as music at all. Every minute is the beginning of a pop song. Instruments layer in. But never coalesce. Pure texture and emotion. It’s quite an achievement.

The Wilhelm Scream, a haunting case in point. An absolutely tortured treatise of soulful minimalism. I encourage you to look it up, and listen to it with the lights off. A good wind down the day experience. It was almost my selection for track 6. But I feared it might bring us to a screeching halt right when we should be picking up steam. So I give us CMYK. A bewildering remix/mashup of  Aaliyah and Kelis, but distorted and rearranged so much, all that we have left is uniquely James Blake.

I’ll only add, that the addition of two new authors to the mix train has already changed the dynamic considerably. In a refreshing way. Mr. Joosse and I can perhaps beat ourselves up a little less over whether or not we are posting the most perfect next song and enjoy this new diversity.

r. smigielski

King Creosote is like an insomniac uncle, tinkering about the garage in the middle of the night. He’s amassed dozens of albums and home-recorded hundreds of tracks—the coastal Scottish equivalent of John Darnielle—and released them on CD-Rs and 7”s on his own label. He began cleaning up his sound around 2004 and last year reached what may be the pinnacle of his career, a collaboration with electronic artist Jon Hopkins. Few traces remain of the scrappy, ragged DIY quality of old songs re-recorded over and over to make his whole discography yet more serpentine. But in place of that is the definite sound of a man getting older and being surprisingly okay with it, ready to trade in the four-track for the two-car.

I labored over 10 or so KC tracks from the last decade, any of which would’ve been great but led us down wildly divergent paths (the mopey singer-songwriter, the droning guitar player, the happy accordion folkie, the sampling-heavy weirdo, etc.) In the end, I couldn’t pass up the grown-up-edness of this track, a Hopkins-remixed version of the highlight from Diamond Mine. Its melody and optimism bloom gradually, like the spring always around the corner.

m. joosse

At first blush, By Your Side has a nice kind of romantic resonance. Though, if you dig a layer deeper, a sense of desperation begins to surface, which transitions into a much more emotional plea. The tense of the phrase “all I wanted was to be your housewife” reveals the true intention of the track, and builds on the if described in the previous track. To that end, I’m left wondering whether this is commentary on a relationship gone sour, or a simple longing for on opportunity that was never posed.

While the subtle layering and beautifully-articulated emotion remains, the sunny swagger and romantic disposition of the first few tracks begins to fade.

t. woodford

Got it together Again? Let’s Call It Off?

On a personal note I had an ex-girlfriend who’s tiny lapdog was named “Little Bit.” Oh, the memories.

And, pro-tip: throw this jam on a mix tape and you will make out, son.

b.klops

Got it together Again had a wonderful sunny swagger and romantic disposition to it. It’s deft combination of co-lead vocals, electronic hum and warm toned classiness, proved to be a really hard combination to build on. Once, again the second track of each volume is one of the toughest to post. It requires an ability to understand the zag is track 1 building from the previous volumes zig. There are so many options. More synthyness? Warm grooviness? Vintage Americana?

Hopefully this track satisfies at least the last two—being a great example of something fairly American sounding coming from a bunch of swedes.

r. smigielski

As I’m sure I’ve said before here, I usually like to kick off a mix with something that blows away as much of the audience as possible. Start with the fireworks, set the bar high, scamper away gleefully. But damn if I wasn’t infected by Mixel Pixel’s low-key charm and co-lead singing. It’s hard to turn your back on that and aim for the rafters when there’s something so pleasant happening at eye level.

“Got it Together Again” is a cover of “another unfinished song” by Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra (the quote marks are Lee’s, from the tribute album in his honor). It’s, perhaps in every sense of the word, a true ditty: brief, delightful, catchy as anything, riding a slight electronic hum and thumping bassline. Saint Etienne turns in possibly its most straightforward song ever and brings along a German singer doing a rather dry American accent and wonderful harmony. And before you know it they’re off to the pub (or the Coke machine) and that’s that. Coming off a volume with a decidedly European bent, it’s nice to at least pretend to be American for a couple of minutes.

m. joosse

Mr. Joosse commented at the last volume how interesting it was that the last track usually differs so much from the first in each volume. And I now find it equally interesting at how generally consistent this one was throughout. Perhaps he and I were just perfectly happy to lounge in this lush synth pop territory for a while and use up all the tracks, i’ve been obsessing over for years now.  Heck, I didn’t get to use nearly half the tracks I had set aside along the way. I can only hope we keep on the path and create a sister volume with number 9. However I am sure we will take a left turn here pretty soon, and ending up digging up equally fertile ground elsewhere. We always do.

I hope you dear reader, fully understand how absolutely GOLD this volume is. The hits just keep coming for fifteen tracks straight. Nary a hint of mediocrity any where in its vicinity. I know we say this every time, but this volume just might be my favorite one yet.

r. smigielski

Download the Mix as a 126 MB zip file.
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email us if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:

01. Nightcall by Kavinsky
02. Never Known Love by Thieves Like Us
03. Night Drive by Chromatics
04. Claudia Lewis by M83
05. Dream Cars by Neon Neon
06. Bring Us Closer Together by Hooray for Earth
07. Feel the Love by Cut Copy
08. Matter of Time by The Chain Gang of 1974
09. Still Sound by Toro Y Moi
10. Bad Street by Twin Sister
11. VCR by The XX
12. Leak at the Disco by Baxter Drury
13. California by EMA
14. Barnacle by Lovers
15. Sinking Feeling by Mixel Pixel

So many things all coming together with this last track in a most satisfying mix thread. The male female vocals ala The XX. The narrative of Mr Baxter. The mix of organic and electronic instrumentation from Cut Copy. The quirk of Bad Street. The love-lorn longing of M83 and the Chromatics. And the sweet hummability from the stand out Barnacle. All wrapped in the bow of warm optimism that Mr. Joosse longed for.

r. smigielski

Silly me. I chased my own tail for three days looking for the right song to follow EMA, going through piles of CDs to find a suitable complement. But the first time I played “California,” there was a voice deep in the back of my head going, She sounds like Lovers. Go get Lovers. I didn’t listen to it until I sat frustrated with all of my other options. Not surprisingly, it worked the best.

So here’s Lovers and, Carolyn Berk’s voice aside, it doesn’t have much to too much to do with EMA. My favorite mixes are the ones which echo what came before instead of be strictly linear, so I didn’t want to pass up the chance to help Mr. Smigielski close this particular loop or offer some warm voices and renewed optimism. And speaking of optimism, I wanted to note that this is my 50^th posting to the NEIMT. Here’s to the next 50.

m. joosse

A narrative vocal style. Heavy atmospherics. Minimalist, analog-at-heart instrumentation. EMA straddles an interesting line between naked raw emotions and cooler than hip detachment – all swimming beneath a sea of fuzzy, white-out static. EMA has made a sound out of making the absolute most out of almost nothing. Lone piano notes pierce and drone their way through 4 minutes of rambling beauty about displacement, alienation, and frustration. This is one of the few artists to emerge on my radar in 2012 and actually leave a lasting impression.

r. smigielski

The XX’s minimalism is their secret weapon—it can come across as slacker naivety, but it provides a lot of space for the listener to live in. You hear every instrument, every note, every word without pretension.

Baxter Dury has that same kind of minimalism, and though everything’s cranked up a few notches, he makes sure it’s all still crystal clear. The bass is the first thing you notice, but then you hear the intake of breath by the background singer at the chorus, the wonderful chord change by the guitars, the mechanized drumbeat, every rotor blade sound. Even his thick Cockney speaking voice shows that this is a guy who doesn’t give a shit if you think he’s talented or just cheeky.

I’m well-aware that Dury’s narrating style is something of an acquired taste, though again, don’t let it cause you to overlook something special—in this case, some acutely interesting lyrics (“The Chiswick disco had a leak of egos, and I waded through it like an oil spillage…”) If you’re looking for an even better example of this storytelling, with an even more addictive bassline, seek out his 2005 track “Cocaine Man,” a stone-cold classic of English indie rock.

m. joosse

Frankly, I don’t know how Mr. Joosse does it. Responding with a reply song in a day or sometimes in a matter of hours. I have spent the better part of a week listening to Bad Street and three solid contenders for the next track, paralyzed by indecision. I kept hoping that percolating on it for another day would make the choice suddenly obvious. Only to uncover other possible contender. So with this I am just jumping in going with my gut.

The Mercury Prize winning The XX are the synth pop band only the “aughts” could produce. Combining traditional organic instruments with mechanical beats and synth touches, they produce some hauntingly beautiful pop that is perfect for the dreamy quality of the mix thus far. And VCR is proof positive. I feel like it delivers on the 80′s urban vibe in spades. When I listen to it I can only imagine walking the rain soaked streets of NYC late into the night.

r. smigielski

I’m glad we’re veering in a more organic direction, because let’s be honest: I was getting as tired of typing the phrase “synth-pop,” as I’m sure you were reading it.

So in this world tour of…that phrase…we finally arrive at the New York version. Twin Sister is equal parts ZE Records disco, Talking Heads urbane punk, Debbie Harry seduction, and Santigold playfulness. Technically, Hooray for Earth are from the same city, but while that band sounds like it’s being broadcast from a zeppelin over Manhattan, “Bad Street” is ground-level, gliding along narrow streets and breezing through packed intersections. It incorporates brief glimpses of soul, funk, Hair-style singalongs, and more, like passing storefront AM radios on a sunny afternoon. It’s another winner from this year, and a track I hope will make your iPod’s designated “walking through a city” mix.

m. joosse

r. smigielski

One of the first synth-pop bands I got to know was New Order. Not the hip “Blue Monday”-era New Order—that came later—but the post-hiatus “Crystal”-era New Order. Get Ready is one of my favorite albums of the last decade, and what I liked most was that every song on that album took its sweet time getting to where it was going. Usually there was a minute-long instrumental buildup before the vocal started, then three or so minutes of fairly basic groove, then another minute-long instrumental outro. All of this had a calming effect, with each track unfolding gradually, causing the album as a whole to feel quite lived-in for its hour-long runtime. As a result, there didn’t have to be much experimentation on the band’s part; each track followed the same basic template for success.

I mention all of this because The Chain Gang of 1974’s Wayward Fire is a similar album, with many songs passing the five-minute mark thanks to that same relaxed wind-roll-unwind structure. “Matter of Time” is definitely not a groundbreaking song. It doesn’t do anything unusual in that same ground between Chromatics and Cut Copy we’ve been exploring this volume. But it’s a whole lot of fun, with everything sounding massive and glittering-clean. Sometimes the wish to play a song for everyone trumps every other need.

m. joosse

The only track for the longest time I thought I could post was Fascination by Alphabeat. A track that has an identical melodic undertone. It is a simply breathtaking track that Mr. Joosse exposed me to a couple years ago. It is sublime. Go find it.

But I couldn’t possibly post that. That would be like Joosse responding to himself. I have more self respect than that. So I give this really great ditty by Cut Copy. Wonderful 80′s references that start off a little rock pop but end up a whole lot synth pop.

Again, sorry for the delay. Let’s get this mix going again.

r. smigielski

I hate to keep pulling from my “Best of 2011” iTunes folder, but I suppose it’s a good problem to have when hunting for quality mix tracks. There’s been a lot of excellent synth-pop released this year, including Hooray for Earth’s True Loves, which is chock-full of songs I’m certain Mssrs. Rhys and Bip would approve of. True Loves has an awesome low end, rumbling and powerful enough to anchor the often-airy vocals. Every song has a different set of nice touches, and on “Bring Us Closer Together” those include shakers, tambourines, buzzsaw effects, miner sounds, soul-singer background vocals, clipped guitars and a hook so epic it stretches beyond the horizon line.

m. joosse

Things have taken a bright and shiny stainless steel turn here. We’ve made to through the desert and landed in sunny and crisp LA. This is what happens when “super” frontman Gruff Rhys teams up with Boom Bip to make an album about the life of John DeLorean. We get to ride around in dream cars. Now let’s see if these bastards can do 90.

r. smigielski