Browse by Artist: BASS CLEF

Artist:	BASS CLEF
Title:	A Smile Is a Curve That Straightens Most Things
Label:	BLANK TAPES (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	BLANK 003CD

"Blank Tapes are proud to release the debut album from Bass Clef, aka Ralph Cumbers. Having spent years refining and distilling his sound, Ralph finally locked himself in his tiny studio in Hackney 8 months ago to emerge with a clutch of demos that contained some of the freshest, most dazzling beats that the Blank Tapes posse had heard in years. Anyone familiar with his earlier release as RLF for labels like Rex or Hombre will notice a distinct progression in his sound. Gone is the clatter and clutter and higher tempos, instead things have been eased to the steady heartbeat of dubstep. But there the similarities with the fashionable new genre end. Utilizing just an old cassette four-track (ask yr parents), a drum machine, a sampler, a vintage synth and valve compressor, Ralph has conceived a striking and original debut. Opting out of the race for the latest sequencer/processor/sound card which drives much IDM, Ralph is somewhat of a connoisseur of vintage analog equipment, polishing his literally broken beats with analog fx held together with blue tac gives his work a wholly unique character, charm and depth. Think the viral dubspaces of Mad Professor, the DIY intimacy of Third Eye Foundation and the brain-teasing beat-programming of AFX, all with live interventions on trombone, theremin and cowbells and you're nearly there. PR by Hermana, so expect the same kind of response as with Scatter, the last Blank Tapes album, if not more."

Artist:	BASS CLEF
Title:	The Opera EP
Label:	BLANK TAPES (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$9.00
Catalog #:	BLANK 004EP

"Bass Clef's ascendancy to cult stardom continues with this cracking bit of vinyl. Two highlights from the Smile Is A Curve... album have been chosen alongside a brand new, never heard before tune to constitute The Opera EP for your listening pleasure. 'Cannot Be Straightened' leaps from your speakers, slaps you across the cheeks, then tickles your balls all in one fluid movement that will leave you in a confused but pleasant daze. 'Opera' is a slightly more refined affair, but only just. Intricate programming of beats paired with a glorious synth melody make this an electro-boogie monster with a big heart. 'Don't Ask Me To Forgive You' takes a more melancholic angle on the whole wonky dubstep thing. A bit like 'Careless Whisper' re-imagined by Throbbing Gristle."

Artist:	BASS CLEF
Title:	Zamyatin Tapes Volume 1
Label:	BLANK TAPES (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	BLANK 008EP

"Bass Clef returns with this first installment in a two-part series. Picking up where 'Cannot Be Straightened' left off, 'One Hundred Point Three' is a cerebral assault on the dance floor. Constructed around a monolithic bassline, this track will shake the fillings from your teeth. Taking a sidestep to the left, '23 Tunnel Chords' tantilizes with meandering melodies reminiscent of mid-'90s IDM, before finally dropping with a free-for-all turbo-rave 2-step. The flip is dedicated to a bastard gabba-punk garage, somehow infused with a poptastic euphoria that has to be listened to to be believed."

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