Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World got some mainstream attention in NRC Next: ‘Not all the remakes are evenly succesful, but I’m sure Eno will appreciate this album. After all, he always encouraged breaking down conventions.’
Lobo by Garçon Taupe, elected dance track of 2009 on Eclectro, made it into the playlist of Nalden, a prominent Dutch lifestyle blogger.
The Almighty Internet by Spoelstra has just been released, but already got two great reviews. Vital Weekly: ‘Shut down Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and go that nice bar around the corner, and have some of this great music, preferably played by Spoelstra, sweating over his equipment. Loud is best, cold beer in your hand, and Spoelstra’s quirky electro beats, chopped up synth lines, bits of noise will do the rest.’ Incendiary Magazine on Spoelstra: ‘I love it, and if you like the oddball, you’ll love it too.’
Incendiary Magazine also reviewed Katadreuffe’s Quel Gargantua EP: ‘It’s a long time I heard any band so wound up and truculent, to be honest. Fantastic stuff.’
The Dutch magazine Fret reviews three Narrominded releases in their January/February issue. On Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World: ‘This other other green world doesn’t make you happy; hopefully this gloomy undertone isn’t a prediction for the near future. But besides that, this compilation is cool, relaxed, deep and groovy.’ [read more] They were a little less enthousiastic about Slow Country for Old Men by Psychon: ‘A carefully composed diary that never actually gets exciting, but nonetheless is nice to listen to.’ [read more] However, they recommend Korrels by Living Ornaments: ‘A firm and powerful piece of work.’ [read more] Belgian e-zine Kwadratuur is also very excited about Korrels: ‘The two sound doctors behind this project are very talented.’ And last but not least, the radio program Beautiful Extremes again played some Narrominded tracks: Here Is the Night (Another Version by Spoelstra) by Hunter Complex from the Here Is the Night EP and Huppy Capsule by Garçon Taupe from Split LP #4. Listen to the fragment from the broadcast on January 19 in the player below.
Some Narrominded related press in the first week of 2010! Newspaper Haarlems Dagblad published a small article about Garçon Taupe’s election for best dance track of 2009 and his contributions to Poke 20 and Retro Retry 2. Read the article here. Belgian website Kwadratuur reviews Retro Retry 2: ‘This pleasant listen brings you contemporary and slightly futuristic electronics. This album makes a very nice blueprint for the latest generation of laptop artists in the Netherlands.’ USA based webzine PopMatters has some doubts about the album: ‘Too much context gets sacrificed for too little connection’. And finally, the Dutch website Festivalinfo writes: ‘Narrominded again presents a delicious collection of underground tracks on their fourth Split LP. Maybe the disadvantage of the Split LP format is that the styles don’t match completely, but the electro fan will find two great EP’s here anyway.’ There are also some charts going on: Split LP #4 holds a #2 position on OOR’s Underground Top 5, and Garçon Taupe’s Lobo holds a #8 in Remute’s RA DJ Charts. Also, the radio program Beautiful Extremes, hosted by Oscar Smit, played the tracks Lobo by Garçon Taupe and Here Is the Night (Coen Oscar Polack’s Morning Version) by Hunter Complex from the Here Is the Night EP. Listen to the fragment from the broadcast on January 5 in the player below.
Webzine Eclectro has just presented the outcome of their annual election for best dance track. We’re happy to announce that Garçon Taupe’s Lobo, from Narrominded Split LP#4, found it’s way to the number one spot! It seems to have been quite a rocky road to the end result, so many thanks to everybody who voted for Lobo. You can download the full track for free! Legowelt’s In Dark Trees, taken from our Retro Retry 2 album, made it to a thirteenth place. If you want to hear In Dark Trees, go to VPRO 3voor12’s Luisterpaal, where you can check out the full album in streaming audio.
Two reviews for Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World this week. According to dance magazine DJ Broadcast ‘Another Another Green World is actually a nice way to get introduced to Eno’s work and to check out the original album while your at it. A good idea and well done.’ Festivalinfo says ‘all tracks, maybe except Spoelstra’s, shine with respect for the original version. Still, all artists stay true to their own sound, making this album mainly a good introduction to the fourteen participating acts.’
Three updates about the new Split LP by Garçon Taupe and Legowelt. You can listen to the entire lp on 3voor12’s Luisterpaal. Also, we have made the track Lobo by Garçon Taupe available as a free download. And the radio program Beautiful Extremes again played a track by Garçon Taupe from Split LP #4. Listen to the fragment from the broadcast on December 8 in the player below. We also had some airplay on Kink FM. The radio program X-Rated played the tracks St. Elmo’s Fire by Rude 66 (November 29) and In Dark Trees by Legowelt (December 6) from Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World.
Music magazine OOR reviews Split LP #4 by Garçon Taupe / Legowelt. We don’t need a lot of words to summarize the review, this will do: “World class electro. This album alone is enough reason to get yourself a record player.” Read the full review here (in Dutch). Also, the radio program Beautiful Extremes, online radio by Studio 80, played the track In Dark Trees by Legowelt from Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World and the track Huppy Capsule by Garçon Taupe from Split LP #4 by Garçon Taupe / Legowelt. Listen to the fragment from the broadcast on December 1 in the player below.
The online dance magazine 365Mag rates Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World 8.5 out of 10. ‘Whereas lots of compilations tend to result in shallow a dime a dozen releases, this one actually takes the listener down an intriguing trip through the depths of electronica in its best form.’ In their review of Split LP #4 the oldest online source for music reviews Vital Weekly says: ‘Garçon Taupe plays rudimentary electro poptunes, that are actually quite nice. He mixes good ol’ fashioned 80s synthi-pop with 90s techno, but in a very playful manner. Legowelt play altogether a somewhat darker tune. Nice tracks too, but not on par with Garçon Taupe.’
The radio program Beautiful Extremes, online radio by Studio 80, played the track Sky Saw by FFF from Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World. Listen to the fragment from the broadcast on November 10 in the player below.
In their review of Retro Retry 2: Another Another Green World the music zine Kindamuzik says the album sounds balanced. ‘Catchy rhythms alternate with modest pieces and repetitive sounds.’ According to them The Big Ship by Coen Oscar Polack is the highlight of the album. ’A moody recreation of Eno’s dramatic composition.’ MusicFrom.NL also reviewed the album. ‘An enjoyable record that sounds as whole, despite the diverse perspectives.’ They also think Spoelstra’s track sounds like your uncle Arie who bought an €80 keyboard and loaded some MIDI files in it. Spoelstra responds: ‘I’m considering demanding a rectification. My keyboard cost me €200.’ Retro Retry 2 was presented in Het Patronaat in Haarlem last weekend. Click here to check out some pics.
