Robot Elephant Records

Definitely among Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Modern Witch vs. Os Ovni Split 7” and the Modern Witch - In Your Eyes 7”

I wouldn’t have anything to add to feastofbeast:

Modern Witch - In Your Eyes

So bummed I missed this Modern Witch release.  Major sad kittens.  I was all about their last vinyl 7” split with Os Ovni (still available here), but somehow this one drifted under my radar.  Unfortunate cause both tracks are by far their best.  More dynamic and refined with the same dark goth synths you crave…Check you the other track also streamin on SnDcLd here, which has a decidedly Crystal Castles feel to it.

In Your Eyes b/w Black Curtains 7”  - Modern Witch is Ltd to 300 copies and sadly sold out OOP.

Correction it is nearly sold out, but Rough Trade has a couple copies left.  Act quick if you care, I was super psyched!

One can only hope for a full length soon.  Sooner. I want now. 

Previously heres: Modern Witch Desire 7”

Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Ourobonic Plague - Gaap

Ourobonic Plague is something like the mad professor of distorted Hip Hop beats with geek lyrics (see Alec Holland Is Dead), cinematic tentaculous drones (see The Kraken) and blackened techno anthems (see Sea Beyond) - and for us definitely one of the most exciting artists to look out for 2012!  He dropped tracks and EPs here and there, and the Gaap EP is the pinnacle of his work, yet… 

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Panda Bear - Tomboy

Alright I was a bit lazy lately to follow this up, but now I am posting the rest of our favourite sounds, before we move into fresh territory next week by announcing some releases.

One of the best things this year was definitely Panda Bear -Tomboy. The album is just magnificent, it’s got it’s own very distinct sound, transporting it’s very own emotional note that is somewhere between bliss and melancholy - in that respect it’s following up it’s predecessor Person Pitch perfectly, although it might not reach it’s all round brilliantness - the first half of Tomboy is higher to rate then the second half, with a run of 3 songs in the beginning - “You Can Count On Me”, “Tomboy” and “Slow Motion” that are to be regarded as possibly the best 3 songs this year…

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Parly B - Every Manor (Ghost Town Remix)

Moving into Dub territory - Parly B is a digital dubber from Doncaster, UK, and made one of our favourite party tunes ( and much more.. ) in 2011, and we are dead certain that he will be one of the people to watch out for in 2012… 

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Roly Porter - Aftertime - LP out on Subtext

Coming along largely Dune-inspired, the solo debut of one half of noise dub-steppers Vex’d is a late addition to my favourite records - and what a brilliant and self-assured one it is! Finely grained, carefully applied noise comes with some rather carefully placed Dub-undertones, with surprisingly pleasant symphonic parts filled in between.

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Old Apparatus - Self-Titled EP and Zebulon EP out on Deep Medi

Mind-bending post-industrial noise meditations and irresistible dub step grooves marked the arrival of Old Apparatus, and captured my mind until this very day, together with their fantastic live A/V shows 

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Andy Stott - We Stay Together EP / Passed By Me EP - out on Modern Love

These 2 EPs from Manchester Techno Dub mainstay Andy Stott are probably the best produced and mastered records I ever heard, even though they are going along a rather sluggish 110 BPM, they have an incredible punch and dynamics, not sure if anything ever can top that.

Also the sounds and varieties on those two EPs are just incredible, Andy Stott is a sound and groove researcher par excellence.

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Tim Hecker - The Piano Drop - from “Ravedeath, 1972”

This is all together probably my favourite release of 2011 - a beautiful manifesto of symphonic noise exploration, a mind blowing style of composition, an emotional roller coaster ride that goes beyond everything else that has been released in the past 12 months… 

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Zomby-  Blue Orchid - from “Dedication”

Enigmatic producer Zomby is crossing chip tune with dub step in this beautiful track that is one of my favourites from this year, and for sure a combination of sounds that will surface more often in the future,  I reckon…  

The whole album “Dedication”, which is out on 4AD, is a masterpiece, and actually rather accessible and pop-oriented. 

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Robot Elephant Records favourite Sounds of 2011 - Fatima Al Qadiri - Vatican Vibes - from “Genre-Specific Xperience” EP

Alright Christmas is over, new year of 2012 is looming in a couple of days - it’s time to wrap up what’s past - but is it really past? No, I think the sounds of 2011 will be staying with us… in any case in the next couple of days I will post some things that stood out for us in 2011, music-wise … starting with Fatima Al Qadiri - Vatican Vibes, which came late into my consciousness, being an amazingly cool ethno-dance-step track with strong steel drum action, not to mention the incredible music video for the track!

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