To Rococo Rot & I-Sound - Hungry Ghost

To Rococo Rot & I-Sound - Hungry Ghost (Mute, mute 9153-2, 2001) (FLAC)

I was first exposed to To Rococo Rot because of the prior album, The Amateur View.  It has a sound that was different than other cds out there (to me).  Warm but clinical, to be brief.  This cd pushed those sounds and bleeps further into a dubbier and louder field.  This is one of those albums to put on and drift.  I was very lucky to have seen them live in London at some crazy brick club under a bridge.  Excellent show, to say the least.  There is an ep that preceded this album, that has some alternate versions... I'll probably post it in the next month or so.

Reviews:

Boomkat: The return of To Rococo Rot is one that we have anticipated eagerly here at the Neck. Recorded in collaboration with NYC wunderkid I-Sound, 'Music Is A Hungry Ghost' is a simply staggering piece of evocative beauty. Having pretty much invented the seamless fuse of harmonic accoustics and electronics, the brothers Lippok and Bernd Jestram have taken their time in producing what will inevitably be regarded as one of the finest LP's of 2001. Following the hazy radiophonic workshop signals of LP opener 'a Number of Things', 'For A Moment' eases in with Veiculo-era crisp key percussion and an array of spaciously vast background disturbances and a melody line that shifts... escalates until reaching an almost fairytale crescendo with I-sounds' static-scratch that makes use of turntablist techniques in a way that takes repeated listens to decipher. The almost painfully beautiful 'first' utilises a single looped bass sound and interwieves itself with found sounds and frequency modulations before ending abruptly before outstaying its welcome. 'From Dream To Daylight', featuring the tantalising Violin playing of Alexander Balanescu, is almost painfully heartwarming. We truly can't imagine anyone failing to be moved by this sublime piece of music......electrified subtle percussion, semi-accoustic guitars providing the engrossing bassline, midnight violins and all manner of subtle sonic manipulations taking place somewhere in the distance. There are too many highlights to this magical album and, we think, we are only just strating to get a grip on proceedings amongst the 15 tracks on offer. Sublime.

allmusic.com:  Though they quickly traded the warm electronic pop of The Amateur View for a colder vision of primitivist synth pop and atmospheric noise, To Rococo Rot proved with Music Is a Hungry Ghost that they're still at the top of their game artistically. Though they occasionally reference some familiar forms -- swirling ambient noise reminiscent of Oval as well as the angular, downtempo indie rock often found on Tortoise records -- the trio (plus guest I-Sound) clearly has a knack for creating music that's understated yet deeply felt. "First" frames a few beautiful, atmospheric chords around downtempo heart-monitor beats, while "Pantone" transforms a series of compact disc errors into surprisingly lush trance-state ambience. Two of the highlights are "From Dream to Daylight" and "Along the Route," a pair of Tortoise-styled tracks featuring another guest, violinist Alexander Balanescu, merging contemporary classical into experimental techno.

^^ I like the reference to Tortoise meets Oval.

I can't find any vids of songs from this album.  You could go here to the discogs page and play the songs there.  Here's some vids from the previous album, which I can post if you guys are up for it.




Check it!!!