Browse by Label: MOTEER (UK)

Artist:	CLICKITS
Title:	Express Gifts
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 004CD

"Coming to us fresh on The Remote Viewer's curated label Moteer, from deep somewhere in steep Lancashire, Express Gifts is the debut album from Clickits, amblicated and friably impressive, distilling the essence of melancholic reflection down into a surprising, uplifting album. Opening with what at first appears to be the most ethereal of rhythms, 'Aramaic' slowly reveals it's internal glory as sodden beats cast a glistening web around snatched guitar melodies and faraway strings: a composition so beautiful it'll make your teeth ache. Clickits borrow the Murcof schematic -- the closer 'Was Until Today' slowly allows disparate elements -- disassociated voices, xylophones, benign twinkles and reduced deepfolk bodypops to accrue into a wonderful, cohesive summation to a genuinely remarkable record. As intense and beautiful, as involved with the questions of light and dark as a candle seen in moonlight."

Artist:	MINIMUM CHIPS
Title:	Lady Grey
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 006CD

Minimum Chips are an Australian five piece, and after a slew of Aussie-only releases, they have finally joined the Moteer family. Lady Grey is a collection of tracks taken from their Sound Asleep EP and Kitchen Tea Thankyou release, and gives the perfect introduction to one of down-under's best kept secrets. The first thing you hear from these tracks is the band's deft and undeniable ability to create classic pop music; in the same way that Stereolab and Broadcast have wowed us with their '60s swooning and lilting analog pop sensibilities, Minimum Chips are the next in line to win over our hearts and souls. We can only assume it's the perpetual sun that does it, but there's a baked, warming vibe present on this album that their contemporaries can only hint at, and a home-cooked feeling which makes it so much more honest. This release starts with "Cold Afternoon," a slice of pop perfection with nods to Low, Francoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg in its smoldering and sultry half-tempo swing. Organs slice through heartbreaking vocals and tape saturated percussion to create something memorable and gorgeous. Another high point is the dream pop excess of "Know You Too Well," which squashes the influence of Stereolab and the Concretes into a carefree ode to brighter days and lighter moments. Another incredible addition to the already reliable Moteer catalog, this is an album to re-affirm your love of life, and to take you singing and dancing into the autumn months.

Artist:	PART TIMER
Title:	Part Timer
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 007CD

This is the debut album from John McCaffrey, one half of UK-based Clickits. It's safe to say that all good things come to the patient among us, and John McCaffrey has created a record for those calmer moments; the times in life where all that's left to do is to sit and watch the world go by, to realize where we are and take in the sounds around us. Part Timer is a time capsule of a record, a decomposing wooden box of long-forgotten English folk cassettes buried for countless years before being rediscovered and then reworked all over again as McCaffrey has seen fit. There is the hand of a master at work, engineering music that could be as old as time and weaving his influences in and out of each track. We hear fingerprints of The Books or Jan Jelinek and his warm vignettes -- but McCaffrey's touch is his own, and the quaint worlds he effortlessly conjures up could come from his mind alone. Featuring the vocals of Nicola Hodgkinson of Empress, the album's defining moment comes on "We Made A Big Mistake," which sees Hodgkinson's dulcet tones accompanied by distant piano and decaying glitch-laden percussion. It sounds as peaceful as a half-heard lullaby, and McCaffrey's skilled production seems perfectly matched with the like-minded vocalist. Around the album's halfway point we reach the Wild West lament of "Sad Little Dennis," a cinematic horn-laden ode to sun-baked lands and creaking architecture. And this is the true power of Part Timer, that within such a small space of time he can create such a rich and visual experience, all it requires is patience.

Artist:	BOATS
Title:	Tomorrow Time
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 008CD

The well-practiced UK duo of Andrew Hargreaves and Craig Tattersall (The Remote Viewer, ex-Hood) are now up to their third album and have possibly come up with their most defined statement yet. After conquering the mighty piano on their homespun and beautiful We Made It For You, the two have now made the ultimate Christmas card with Tomorrow Time. At least, it's the Christmas card you wish you could send; with titles such as "You're an Idiot" and "A Sincere Fuck You," it's a far cry from garden-bound robins and snowy idylls. However The Boats have not injected their loving music with this harsh sentiment: you'll be pleased to know that they're as warm and delicate as ever and are joined by vocalists Chris Stewart and Elaine Reynolds who aid in the band's quest to weave the most pleasing micro-pop yet borne on our fair earth. "May Our Enemies Never Find Happiness" is a sterling example of this sentiment, with Stewart's silken vocals punctuated by Tattersall and Hargreaves' endearing percussive glitches and frosty melodies blending the two elements together seamlessly. Taking cues from the extended Moteer family of Hood, Clickits, Empress and of course, The Remote Viewer, these tracks sink instantly into the lore of their self-created genre. Elsewhere, Reynolds can be heard murmuring seductively on the heartbreaking "If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?" On Tomorrow Time we see a band who have successfully moved their style forward rather than repeat themselves, experimenting with their own form and their own preference, and in doing so have come up with another endearing and expertly-produced addition to their catalog. As the nights get darker and the sky threatens to shower us with snow once more, there seems no better time for Tattersall and Hargreaves' grand vision. Chop some logs for the fire, curl up with a loved one, and let The Boats sail into your dreams.

Artist:	AUS
Title:	Curveland
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 009CD

Aus is Yasuhiko Fukuzono from Tokyo, Japan, and this is his fifth solo album. Fukuzono is a mere 23 years of age, and already he has put his name to a quite substantial body of work, developing his production talents from glacial electronic experimentation to pure vocal pop. This latest release shows a sensitive side to Fukuzono's production and slots in perfectly to the Moteer core sound. Tempered glitches and subtle melodies are draped with ethereal pads and utterly charming female vocals, and it comes as little surprise to hear that the musician moonlights as a soundtrack producer. Indeed, there is something delicately cinematic about Curveland, and not in the way you might think -- there's none of the menace of Angelo Badalamenti or the forced grandeur of John Williams here, rather, we are treated to the soundtrack of a simple film about love, say, Brief Encounter or fittingly, Lost in Translation. The best comparison might be made with the fabulous Piana (released on Taylor Deupree's Happy label) who similarly made waves on the electronic scene with her delicate synthetic pop sounds, yet Fukuzono also has something deeply unique. Unlike his contemporaries in the Japanese scene, he seems to fit in perfectly with Moteer's pastoral and unashamedly British vision -- long green grass, knitted sweaters and hot cups of tea. This bright-eyed homespun sentiment is exactly what makes Curveland so hard to forget -- so don't resist, let Fukuzono wrap you up with the most gorgeous audio this side of Tokyo.

Artist:	EL FOG
Title:	Reverberate Slowly
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 010CD

Reverberate Slowly is a smoky collection of gorgeous late-night dub miniatures from mysterious Berlin-based producer, El Fog. Sounding at times like a less academic Jan Jelinek or a hopelessly innocent Rhythm and Sound, deceptively complex click, hiss and pop rhythms are used to underpin a series of minimal elements (Rhodes and vibraphone tones, sleepy acoustic guitar, samples of piano and double bass) that slowly resonate through each track, quietly pulsing and reverberating as suggested by the album's evocative title. "Mountain Dub" sets the tone, and as a simple keyboard phrase is repeated over vinyl crackles and low throbs, you are drawn effortlessly into the murky vapor. This is further explored with "Silent Soaring" and "El Cloud" which both consolidate the misty mood, building a complex mesh of rhythms from soft clicks and pops while never descending into mindless digital manipulation. It is this human aspect that gives Reverberate Slowly its beating heart, and makes it such an appropriate release on the fast-growing Moteer catalog. Unlike so many albums in the genre, it has a fragile personality and many layers to uncover on each subsequent listen. Reverberate Slowly is a totally seductive listening experience that won't fail to draw you into its moonlit night-time mood.

Artist:	THEODORE AND HAMBLIN
Title:	The Scientific Contrast
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 011CD

The Scientific Contrast is the debut release from mysterious German producers Kibbee Theodore and Bernd Hamblin, and the 11th release from The Remote Viewer-curated imprint, Moteer. With this record, the "Moteer sound" takes a more electronic turn, harking back to the early days of labels like City Centre Offices and Morr Music. It's clear that The Remote Viewer's first album has been a strong influence here, as well as the earlier albums from people like Static. But without simply re-using the hooks and tricks of the past, Theodore and Hamblin coat everything in a layer of warm and homey goodness that is unquestionably fresh and undoubtedly Moteer. Over its twelve tracks, The Scientific Contrast is varied at the same time as being cohesive, from the four-on-the-floor danceability of "Hernd" to the fuzzy ambience of "Mndel," each song is full of unexpected turns and subtleties. The child-like digital chimes of "Balmpe" will take you back to a time of innocence; of long school holidays and scraped knees, of Casio keyboards and Speak-and-Spells. The music on display here softly and gently moves into your psyche to calm your aching bones and relax you after a long day. Theodore and Hamblin have found themselves a spiritual home at Moteer; fitting perfectly with the label's penchant for hushed and delicate releases, with the duo's nostalgic and naive sound never falling into the realms of kitsch. After the success of other Moteer acts such as The Boats or Clickits, this release is bound to appeal to fans of the aforementioned artists as well as anyone else who is interested in introspective music full of mystery and fragility.

Artist:	NEED MORE SOURCES
Title:	Shed
Label:	MOTEER (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MOTEER 012CD

This is the first full-length release by the UK's Need More Sources (Chris Stewart). With this debut, yet another dimension of sound is incorporated into the Moteer extended family, through delicate orchestration and evocative, Satie-inspired piano. Reminiscent of everyone from Colleen to Jon Brion, Ryuichi Sakamoto to Ted Barnes, Shed stands up as one of the label's most inspired releases to date. Nothing is really known about Chris Stewart, except what is presented to us through the ten songs of Shed. But it's better that way -- the songs relish in their anonymity, encouraging the listener to overlay their own personal stories of love and loss over the wordless lyricism of string quartets and hushed guitars. Sentimental without becoming twee or melodramatic, Stewart owes a similar debt to modern American folk music as the likes of Max Richter or Goldmund, with tracks such as "Storm" and "Rain." Nine tracks in and the clouds break for a moment, as "Sun" warms us with its glorious beams of light. Questionably the highlight of the album, the listener is treated to some of the most beautiful strings this side of Vaughan Williams, as a solemn guitar quietly strums. The level of quality and workmanship that all have come to expect from Moteer has now been raised to the next level, thanks to the beautiful intricacy of Need More Sources. What an age we live in; where pocket symphonies can grow from spare bedrooms (or sheds) around the globe and change your outlook and perception of modern music forever.

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