Paranerd - Silktrops (Touched Music)

[Touched Music]

Artist : Paranerd

Title: Silktrops

Label: Touched Music

Cat no: TM38

Format: CD 100 Only/Digital

Country: U.K.

Style: IDM/Electronica Release Date August 25th 2017

 

Description.

The excellent Touched Music for Macmillan Cancer Support, standby to release the third album by Canadian producer Paranerd, ‘Silktrops’. It’s dropping this week on CD and digital formats, with striking, colourful cover art and a promise to provide acid, ambient, braindance music.

From the first track, Paul Goguen delivers on all fronts, with funky, laid back beats, reminiscent of early Detroit techno and lush interweaving pads and melodies. If braindance music is the ability of it to transport the listener to a faraway place with disco dancing astronauts, ‘Droid Shop’, ‘Fmeem’ and ‘Silktrops’ pack in enough dream inducing ambience and head bopping rhythm, to take you there instantly (wherever ‘there’ is for you!).

The pace drops a few BPMs for the beautiful ‘Bellint’, awash with atmosphere and echo, a subtle vocal sample and some stunning detuned melodies. The melodies seemingly cross the divide back to a punchy faster beat for ‘Froz’, creating a nice contrast to the filter swept low harmonies and light high accents that create a sense of a cold, lunar freeze.

‘Drome’ takes us back to the outer space disco, before ‘Lunabear’ growls over a wonderful rolling bass line. Then the beats drop out for a trip with ‘Voso’, with delayed melodic stabs and though provoking chord changes.

‘Lentslide’ and ‘Vacate Fine Nancy’ introduce an almost breakbeat sounding element to the album, still with those perfect chord shifts and atmospheric touches, ending all too soon with the gorgeous off kilter beats of ‘Clutch from a past to State a Present’.

The whole work has a cohesive, ambient heart that beats gently throughout each track. Melodies and rhythms stack against each other, before melting through the synapses and if that isn’t the definition of acid, ambient, braindance music then I’ll eat my space helmet. A wonderful package that makes you feel good twice; Once for the aural pleasure and second because it’s all for a good cause. This album has put Paranerd, Paul Goguen and his many aliases on my radar and I look forward to listening to ‘Silktrops’ many times, while I hunt down previous releases and look forward to more to come.

Words By Murray Heath

 

https://soundcloud.com/touched-music/paranerd-silkrops-01-droid-shop

[Touched Music]

[xox]

congratz, paranerd! really great stuff bro

[Guest]

Thanks, xox! This album is pretty poppy. I also made that video of stupidly close iPhone footage of my gear.

Many thanks to Martin for releasing it and many thanks to the WATMM community for being a constant source of insight, info, talent, entertainment, and support. :)

[xox]

poppy or not doesn't matter, it's good! keep up the good work! 

[BUNKUM]

https://youtu.be/h3BD2S4zs_4

Lush!

[th555]

Nice one, always enjoy your musics P-nerd

[Guest]

Thank you, BUNKUM and th555. It means a lot.

I've always had a hard time talking about my music, but I figure I owe a few words on the making of this album.

It's all done on hardware with some minimal editing in Pro Tools. It's mostly Monomachine, Volca Bass, Volca Keys, Volca FM, Volca Sample, TR-8, Quadraverb or Midiverb II. All sequenced by the Monomachine.

I compiled the tracks from a large pool of finished tracks which I whittled down to the tracks I could still listen to after repeated listens. I also listened to feedback from other producer/DJ friends. 

Most of the tracks share a theme of melodic and harmonic counterpoint fit into pop structures. Martin makes the Plaid and Black Dog comparison which is apt, but I'm not that familiar with their music other than a handful from compilations. I'm a lot more influenced by the 1995 album "Mock Up, Scale Down" by The Super Friendz and I think I'm subconsciously trying to make an album as melodically and harmonically rich as that album. It's a perfect pop album, I highly recommend it!

The artwork was done by a long time friend of mine and I let him do what he wanted after listening to album. I think it suits the lonely yet optimistic vibe of the music very well.

Hope you guys dig it.

[BUNKUM]

Nice insight, cheers. I look forward to the Mixlr on Friday

[Touched Music]

Out Now 

Limited CD & Digital 

https://touched.bandcamp.com/album/silktrops

[BUNKUM]

Bought

[Touched Music]

Have a Nice Bank Holiday 

[ganus]

This album is really good, classic, catchy braindance jams. My favorites are Drome, Bellint, and Fmeem. Got that good good Paranerd sound, but I'm also getting a bit of a Bochum Welt vibe, especially from Fmeem.