POSTS TAGGED : Applescal

Applescal – ‘Harmony Two’

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Dutch producer, Pascal Terstappen aka Applescal, has long been a firm favourite in these parts. Terstappen’s output thus far has been nothing short of masterly. Always a marriage of both quality and quantity, he’s rarely left us waiting around too long for something new and exciting to listen to, and that’s the way we like it.

On that subject, Applescal is back with a brand new track ‘Harmony Two’, and it is a tune! It is a deep, dark beast of slow burning techno with hard-edged analogue beats, it twists and it turns, delving into deeper and darker sonic terrains. Delivered with pin point accuracy, it expertly exudes an atmosphere of suspense and tension, that builds and transfixes to a glorious climactic finish. ‘Harmony Two’ sounds menacing and threatening, dangerous even. It would be a perfect soundtrack to companion a no-nonsense ’80s action hero, who, against all the odds and the clock battles to save the world. Snake Plissken would dig this shit.

Lifted from a new Atomnation Records compilation, Unfold, Applescal’s new one sits alongside David Douglas & Young Montana?, Koett, Olaf Stuut, Dauwd, Sau Poler, Gidge and more. The whole record deserves much further investigation, it’ll be worth the time. You can check it out here.

 

 

BarryGruff January 2016 Playlist

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Your regular monthly round up all the blog action, in a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured throughout the month.

January was a busy month, especially for new record announcements and whatnot. We had tunes from The Coral, Yuck, Sea Pinks, Steve Mason, exmagician, Ulrika Spacek, Coves and The Last Shadow Puppets, from their respective, new and forthcoming albums. We had introductions to Bousada, ACCU and Honey Moon, while there were excellent new singles/EPs from Seazoo, Allure, Applescal, Marta Ffion, Courtney Barnett, Shit Robot and Golden Fable. Oh, and there were two new episodes of ‘Millions Like Us’, Justin Beats & I’s new music podcast extravaganza for 604now (if you missed them, check ’em here). You can also subscribe to ‘Millions Like Us’ on iTunes & Podcast Republic or find us on Facebook & Twitter.

Well then, that’s that for another month – listen to BarryGruff’s January 2016 playlist below. Enjoy!

 

Millions Like Us Podcast – Episode #9

We’re thrilled to share yet another Millions Like Us podcast with you all. It’s great to back with the latest in a series of music podcasts hosted by Justin & I, in conjunction with Vancouver news & culture site 604now.

On a bi-weekly basis we aim to please, providing relief from all life’s toils* with some lively and entertaining chat and eclectic selection of fabulous music from metro Vancouver and elsewhere. There’s plenty in there, well over an hour in fact, of great tunes and plenty of chat.

You can read more on it over here and of course, listen below (and the tracklist (with links) is after the jump too). You can subscribe to ‘Millions Like Us’ on iTunes & Podcast Republic or find us on Facebook & Twitter. Or you can email us at millionslikeuspodcast[at]gmail[dot]com.

2016 has been good to us so far, so thanks for all the support thus far and once again, thanks for listening!

 *May not actually do that.

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Applescal – ‘Leone Highway’

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‘Leone Highway’ is the new single from Dutch producer, Pascal Terstappen aka Applescal.

Set for release before the end of this month, ‘Leone Highway’ is the Dutch master’s first new material since last year’s wonderful album, For. Just like the aforementioned album and previous productions, we’re presented with another stunning piece of work. A lushly produced patchwork of melodic sounds, it naturally glides along an addictive synth-line embellished along its way by all manner of assorted samples, chimes and stabs of synth. ‘Leone Highway’ is as dazzling display of Applescal’s savoir faire as anything he’s done before. Top class!

‘Leone Highway’ is out on January 22nd via Atomnationand accompanied with a B-side track titled ‘Isomethyl’. Check the former below.

 

BarryGruff Albums of the Year (2015)

BGs Albums of the year 2015So it is that time of year again, lists, lists and more lists. Well, not be out done, here are my 41 (yes 41, and yes it’s a weird number) albums of 2015.

It has been such a good year for new albums, probably the best since I started the blog back in 2010. So much so that there is very little difference between the top 5, top 10, top 15 and so on. So without further ado, here are my favourite records from 2015:

There is also a Spotify playlist of the Top 20 albums, to save you time and hassle (it’s here).

41. Only Real – Jerk At The End of the Line’

40. Rozi Plain – ‘Friend’

39. Wildling – ‘Molecules To Moon’

38. The School – ‘Wasting Away And Wondering’

37. Sweet Baboo – ‘Boombox Ballads’

36. The Stammer – ‘Days In Between’

35. SexWitch – Sex Witch’

34. Faith Healer – ‘Cosmic Troubles’

33. Girl Band – ‘Holding Hands With Jamie’

32. Joanna Gruesome – ‘Peanut Butter’

31. Fort Romeau – ‘Insides

30. Soft Serve – ‘S/t’

29. Applescal – ‘For’

28. Zefur Wolves – ‘Zefur Wolves’

27. Hot Chip – ‘Why Make Sense?’

26. Drenge – ‘Undertow’

25. The Charlatans – ‘Modern Nature’

24. Gaz Coombes – ‘Matador’

23. Bill Ryder-Jones – ‘West Kirby County Primary’

22. Drinks – ‘Hermits on Holiday’

21. The Expert – Dynamic Drift

20. Boxed In – ‘Boxed In’

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BarryGruff’s Albums of 2015 So Far……

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I’m not exactly the best at keeping you and the site up-to-date with album reviews, to be honest, it’s the old enemy time. Discovering the hours to scribble some thoughts about this album or that has become rather elusive, but thankfully finding time to listen to albums, and music in general, is less of an issue.

Here are a list of my most listened and loved records of 2015 so far with Spotify links and playlists for overall albums of 2015. There are plenty of playlists on Spotify and Soundcloud and on the blog too. Oh, and with regards to albums *cough, cough*, you can still download GruffWuff, a 19 track compilation celebrating 5 years of BarryGruff, for FREE from bandcamp, *cough, cough*.

Top 24 albums of 2015 so far…

01. Czarface – ‘Every Hero Needs A Villain’

02. H. Hawkline – ‘In The Pink Of Condition’

03. Villagers – ‘Darling Arithmetic

04. Blur – ‘The Magic Whip’

05. Ghost Culture – ‘Ghost Culture’

06. Boxed In – ‘Boxed In’

07. Django Django – ‘Born Under Saturn’

08. Girlpool – ‘Before The World Was Big’

09. Stealing Sheep – ‘Not Real’

10. The Charlatans – ‘Modern Nature’

11. Courtney Barnett – ‘Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit’

12. Gaz Coombes – ‘Matador’

13. Hot Chip – ‘Why Make Sense?’

14. Applescal – ‘For’

15. Public Service Broadcasting – ‘The Race For Space’

16. Jamie xx – ‘In Colour’

17. Sen Segur – ‘Films’

18. Zefur Wolves – ‘Zefur Wolves’

19. Faith Healer – ‘Cosmic Troubles’

20. Mowbird – ‘One-Offs’

21. Joanna Gruesome – ‘Peanut Butter’

22. Fort Romeau – ‘Insides’

23. Rozi Plain – ‘Friend’

24. Pale Honey – ‘Pale Honey’

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Applescal – ‘Japanese Bubbles’

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Dutch producer Applescal will release his new album, For on May 18th through Atomnation and with a week or so to go till the album’s release, he’s revealed his new single ‘Japanese Bubbles’.

As ever with Applescal, the new single is of premium quality. Sitting somewhere between late-night after hours and the dance floor, Applescal weaves his magic with soft, floating melodies, flourishes of playful percussion, a light scattering of keys and warm production, creating a real sense of atmosphere. A lush, late-night lullaby, it sets a mood allowing you to drift into deep, contemplative thought as it trickles through your consciousness. We’ve already had a taste of the album with ‘Airports’ – a vibrant summery mix of floating dreamy synths, bright, airy dance beats and sunny chimes – add to that ‘Japanese Bubbles’, and the follow up to 2013’s rather brilliant Dreaming In Key, is shaping up nicely.

Check out ‘Japanese Bubbles’ below.

BarryGruff’s March 2015 Playlist

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A regular monthly feature to the blog; a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

It was a pretty big month for the blog to be fair. We celebrated 5 years of BarryGruff with GruffWuff; a 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging. If somehow you missed all the hoo-ha about ‘GruffWuff’, there’s more info here & you can download / stream it here: Bandcamp / Soundcloud.

Aside from this rather significant milestone, there was the return of Tame Impala, Applescal, Crocodiles and Cian Ciaran with new tracks ahead of their respective albums, and new singles from Teleman, Telegram, Girls Names, Tandem Felix, The Dead Heavys, CaStLeS and Spies. Also featuring on the playlist are: Django Django, Ulrika Spacek, By The Sea, Hippies Vs Ghosts and O Emperor.

Listen to BarryGruff`s March 2015 playlist below. The track listing is after the jump:

 

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Applescal – ‘Airports’

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Following 2013’s rather brilliant Dreaming In Key, Dutch producer Applescal aka Pascal Terstappen is set to return with a new LP in May on his Atomnation label.

The first taster from said album is new single, ‘Airports’, suggesting an evolution of sorts. Dreamy synths float above a bright and airy dance beat and sunny chimes, as he embracing slightly cheerier and brighter take on his signature ambient techno and electronica. In doing so, Terstappen has distilled (for me at least) a really vibrant summery air. The almost semi-Balearic moments, sunny chimes and electro grooves etch out a sense of excitement for summer days and nights to come, while whipping up a sense of nostalgia for those long sine gone. An overwhelmingly deep, immersive and intimate listening experience, it is a spine-tingling magical promise of things to come. Things are certainly shaping up nicely for the new record.

You can check ‘Airports’ out below now. Applescal’s new album album For will be released on May 18th via Atomnation.

Applescal – ‘The Veil’

Dutch producer Applescal has launched a new digital single series through his own Atomnation imprint, and the first offering is ‘The Veil’, and it essentially continues where he left off on last year’s album, Dreaming in Key (which is not a bad scenario at all).

‘The Veil’ is a pulsating and somber experience, built around a dark rhythmic core and majestic progression that paves a long and winding path through a chilling but familiar hinterland between electronica & techno. The murky origins of this dark and bubbling slow-burner are expanded upon by hazy chants, swirling synth and subtle melodic embellishments, chugging relentlessly toward a well of deep, haunting and mysterious well of rich sounds. Top quality stuff once more from Applescal who’s single series is supposed to continue in weeks to come over on Atomnation’s Bandcamp page.

For now though there is ‘The Veil’ in all it’s murky but beautiful glory. You can ‘name you price’ and download ‘The Veil’ from here.