NHKyx - yx aka 1ch aka Solo 6.9

                Last time I saw NHK they had a small EP called “Unununium” on Raster Noton. This particular release excludes the second half of that duo, specifically Toshio Munehiro, but it retains a lot of the power of that EP. Compared to the previous offering, this one feels a lot less focused. Rappers, gliding house tracks, and loopy techno battle it out for dominance. Kouhei Matsunaga handles it with grace for the most part. 

                The harder tracks are the better ones. “2^ndplus” starts off where their EP ended. A weird rhythm starts coming together as a half-melody forms from random collections of noise. “261” sounds positively grime-laden. I enjoy how the bass sounds disgusting, the whistle, and the slight percussion. When NHKyx focuses on heavier sounds, it reaps greater rewards. Perhaps the heaviest song would be “257” which nearly suffocates the listener with distortion. 

                Samples are introduced. “Plants” does a fantastic job of sounding like a future Adult Swim bump. Yes, it is that smooth. Other sample laden songs like “421” don’t fare as well, sounding a bit off and overstuffed with random effects. 

                Finally, there are the dullards of the tracks. The rapping is terrible. Whenever you hear the song begin with lyrics, skip the track. I know NHKyx is interested in hip hop (the productions make that clear) but the rappers just don’t gel well with his music. Rather than coming across as a good collaboration, I feel the rappers suck the energy out of his music. 

                Kouhei does a good job is showing why he belongs on Skam Records. Unfortunately the difference between good and bad tracks is extremely stark. This may not be as noticeable, but considering the album is almost 70 minutes long I get the impression had he excised some of the tracks on here, it would be a great improvement. Really, he does a pretty good job, just keep in mind you may need to skip some of the dregs.

VHS Head – Video Club 6.2

                 Alright, this was the beginning of what actually panned out to be a fully excellent project. Here you’re given glimpses of the interesting production techniques, and forms their songs would eventually take. Unfortunately, they were still in the process of solidifying a few things. You can hear it through each song as they continually refine their sound. 

                Since it is only 4 tracks long (a 15 second piece doesn’t count as a song) it is fairly easy to see which sort of paths they took or didn’t take. “Kinaid” gives hints of their eventual sound. Halfway in they stumble upon something approximating a groove of sorts. Still it is too hyperactive. The next two song suffer from being too unfocused and unenergetic.

                Out of the four, “Video Club” is the winner. Right from the beginning, they tease around with the groove a little bit, baiting you. When they decide to actually deliver on that promise, you’re given a pretty excellent groove. Then a perfect melody comes in the middle of things, and a transition worthy of their full-length comes in. This is the song that convinced me that perhaps their full length might be a thing of true beauty (which it of course ended up being).

                Generally speaking, only “Video Club” is the one worth seeking out. The rest of the tracks show a group working on getting its act together.

VHS Head – Trademark Ribbons of Gold 8.3

You might remember VHS Head made a brief appearance in 2009’s very busy release schedule. His EP “Video Club” was sort of mysterious, conjuring up images of derelict technology. With “Trademark Ribbons of Gold” he continues in the same fashion.

Skam did a fairly decent job picking this guy out, though I don’t believe the rumors that state a member of Boards of Canada was involved. Much more realistically, it sounds like a project Jackson and his Computer Band might have created. The beats and editing are very similar, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t behind this.But if he is, he's definitely improved since the last time I heard him.

Anyway, whoever created it did a good job. There are some fairly excellent tracks on here, like “Remote Control” which sort of continues into infinity. Melodies upon melodies cross and intersect to form some truly great moments.  Skam really outdid them this time; I haven’t been this excited about anything from them since Gescom’s last release. 

There are some things to get over with this album. For one, there are 20 tracks that go on for over an hour. Plus, the amount of ideas being juggled around might worry a casual listener. Really, you can start anywhere, but I’d probably say the aforementioned track is a good place to start, along with “Red Lens Effect” and the weird song “Franco Zoom to Nowhere” which is as bizarre as it sounds.

So ease in slowly with it, it is actually worth it. Plus, it is doubly nice for Skam to remind me of why I used to like it so much.Oh yeah, this a big grower.