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Various Artists - Floored Memory… Fading Location
| Drownedinsound |
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Fat Cat have already established themselves as possibly the UK's most ambitious, forward-thinking record label of modern times. Not content with releasing the earliest works of revered artists such as Sigur Ros and Animal Collective, they're also pretty adept when it comes to spotting homegrown talent before the rest of us too, having unleashed the likes of Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad on unsuspecting audiences to fanfares from both critics and punters alike. In between times, their instrumental offshoot 130701, named as such because it was established on 13th July 2001, has also been pivotal in providing a platform for up-and-coming artists who create musical passages rather than songs. Although initially created as a separate entity to release post-rock supergroup Set Fire To Flames debut 'Sings Reign Rebuilder', from which the evocative 'Steal Compass/Drive North/Disappear' is taken to open proceedings here, 130701 has since become something of a blueprint outlet for instrumental based musicians worldwide whose creations don't quite fit stately into any genre or roster. Comprising eleven tracks in all and showcasing the works of four artists, Max Richter, Hauschka, Sylvain Chaveau and the aforementioned Set Fire To Flames, Floored Memory...Fading Location is one of those compilations that doesn't quite measure up as separate sums of parts....full text |
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| State |
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Fair play to Fat Cat records. Firstly, to set up the 130701 imprint with the sole aim of releasing records of contemporary instrumental albums (hardly a path to a life of sloth and riches), but to also fill it with such music of unquestionable passion and feeling really deserves some plaudits. Bands from The Frames to Trash Can Sinatras have opened albums with instrumental songs but these always seemed like intros or novelties. This label gives a home for musicians who fall outside the broad “band/solo artist” category, and perhaps outside the classical too. “Cinematic” would be one apt, but slightly lazy term, to describe the 12 songs on this album, essentially a collection of one song from each of the 12 albums released by the imprint so far, from just four different artists. Mainly dwelling on strings and piano, the pieces of music become “cinematic” in that they create beautiful atmospheres for your mind to go wandering in. Lost ships seem to float about in the fog on Max Richter’s ‘January Timelapse’ and Hauschka’s ‘Waiting For The Bus’ could be just that, albeit in much sunnier, less stressed places than the streets of our big cities....full text |
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| Theskinny |
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Floored Memory...Fading Location, a compilation from FatCat’s instrumental imprint 130701, is a musical exploration of the head. The four artists featured are unusual and fulfilling, if moderately melancholic. Set Fire To Flames, the Montreal supergroup featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt Zion, are the least accessible of the four. The collective's connection to post-rock royalty is obvious: minimalist, ambient noise, with the odd recurring melody, juxtaposed against discordant, unsettling piano. The result is eerily epic, but slightly draining. Having scored the music for the acclaimed Waltz With Bashir, German-born pianist Max Richter creates nostalgic, almost overwhelming music. Cradle Song For A (Interstate B3), with childlike melodies, is the easiest listen of the Richter songs that feature, offset well by the more experimental slow motion offerings, with morse code and radio calls placed subliminally underneath....full text |
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