serviceav press

infantjoy - where the night goes

a project that involves paul 'i used to be part of the art of noise you know' morley and  james banbury (the auteurs) is obviously going to get some interest from old ztt heads like myself. so, when the album first got spun @ ireallylovemusic hq to say the effect was one of indifference would be an understatement. 57 minutes of sublime piano heavy melodies and deep studio electronic pulses which gave little in the way of a pop thrill that i anticipated.

where was the twisted irony that i was wanting ? where was the cutting edge experimentation ? where was the fun ?

then i read the press release, and found that the album is a revised update of the much cited erik satie musics with a backbone of a concept spread across the 12 tracks. to quote the details provided :

'each track takes place at a certain point during the night .. the album begins just after 11 o'clock at night and ends a few minutes before 9 in the morning')'

subsequently, the following listens became more understandable, as i appreciated the reasons and ideas for this rather special experiment, especially when enjoyed through headphones, which is a must to fully connect with the music on offer.

for the majority of the album  slow drifting melodies collide with beautiful calm dominating during such tracks as the opener 'the departure', or 'application 1', whereas in other places, there are indeed subtle pushings of the aural envelop, for example, during the broken vocals of 'just before midnight', where a laid back trip hop groove holds together the vocoders, piano and modern subsonic bleeps in such a way that you don't notice the overall chilling disturbance factor that permeates throughout, or, the sharply focussed and out of place guitar line that breaks the midi-clicked peace in 'nearing the sun'.

'someone was saying' actually features pauls vocals in a strangely enjoyable distorted manner of course, but the distinctive tones are definitely his, and match the synthetic sound that surrounds the largely indecipherable wordplay, though it must be stressed, pauls presence on this track is a rare feature for this album as most of the record is purely instrumental (acoustic or electronic). another highlight, 'ghosts', a cover version of an old japan track, features vocals by sarah nixey from black box recorder. her breathy vocals add a welcome human element to the ambient tricks and wooshes to stunning efffect. suspect that paul and james will want to use her talents more for the projects second album, should the chance arise.

of course, there is little more to add for this album, other than if you want to hear some beautiful piano music enhanced by modern studio production with dips into orbital's way with melody, pete namlooks ambient fax records classics, or indeed any of the downtempo masters such as massive attack, then this album should be definitely on your post christmas lookout list.

just don't expect to laugh much.

sleep tight.

written by mark e from ireallylovemusic

*Infantjoy. Where the Night Goes
Talking of concepts and music actually living up to them… this Satie-honoring venture from Mr. Morley and friend… surprised me. And I prefer their invocation of "Kate Bush" (from an alternate universe where she fronted Japan) to the actual real-world resurrection (Well, so far anyway--promise to try harder. How rockist, though: an album you have to work at, persevere past the tame surface to appreciate the depth!)

from: Blissblog

Sarah Nixey – The Collector (Service AV)

It's easy to forget what a distinctive and haunting voice Sarah Nixey has, a clipped and imposing wind that could freeze an ocean. With the indomitably sarcastic Luke Haines and John Moore behind her in Black Box Recorder it often felt a little too masters and puppet, though Nixey shines here as an independent voice. This is more pure pop with a hint of melodrama rather than the arch clinical and curmudgeonly BBR and it suits her; it's more Kylie and less wily, and while the narrative is a two dimensional metaphor about a lepidopterist casting nets and stealing beauty, the simplicity works even if the concept feels a little worn.
playlouder.com bunch of 45s

XFM

Richard Madeley comments to Paul Morley how much he likes the Infantjoy album.
"...I wouldn't say I did if I didn't!" says Richard.
How very lovely.

Newsnight man bids to become the new Eno.

So here's the deal - Paul Morley used to be a noise in ZTT records and dabbled with Art of Noise before devoting his time to writing and being a critic on BBC Radio 4's Front Row and BBC 2's Newsnight Review. James Banbury lent his musical craft to the music of the Auteurs, Richard Ashcroft, Katherine Jenkins and even played cello on the theme from Star Trek - Enterprise.

Together they've teamed up to create what they term new wave ambient pop. Not sure how new wave it is, but it's certainly ambient, lending heavily from Brian Eno and fulfilling their admitted starting point of Erik Satie's Gymnopedies.
Of course the danger is that it just becomes background music, just becomes something to offer a musical backdrop to a modern art installation.
But just when the music is becoming lost in the distance Infantjoy offer their cover of Japan's Ghosts. Black Box Recorder's Sarah Nixey sings in Kate Bush style and it's beautiful.
It does, of course, raise the vexing question, how good would it have been to have more covers in this ambient form?
written by Lileth Burgett

i-Pod: Ghosts
Label: Sony/BMG
Rating: 3.5/5