Oliver Arditi

Blog archive

  • Saturday Summary 015

    Saturday Summary 015

    Freemium, and streaming models that offer entirely chimerical value are struggling this week. Which is nice. Pointless middlemen are finding it harder to get by in a market where they can no longer control access, and where ideological control structures are slipping away (or are starting to reflect a reshaped power structure). Oops, did I… Read more

  • Word Or Object – They Shoot Horses, But Why? (dark ambient/ drone)

    Word Or Object – They Shoot Horses, But Why? (dark ambient/ drone)

    The cover of this release shows a dead horse still harnessed to the broken cart before which it met its demise. This is a different sort of horse shooting than that referenced in the title: this beast was (one presumes) executed for its usefulness to its killer’s enemy, or simply killed as a byproduct of… Read more

  • Chattabox And Samuel Otis – Hard Graft (hip-hop)

    Chattabox And Samuel Otis – Hard Graft (hip-hop)

    Thankfully it’s no longer necessary to pretend to be American to be taken seriously as a rapper, Brains McCloud & Silibil notwithstanding. Now you can spit lahk you be comin’ from sahf London unarmeen? Or you can ignore the scene’s prescriptions, and do what comes naturally. A big part of this album’s appeal (and it… Read more

  • datapuddle – MonkeySkyMonkey (indie/ folktronica)

    datapuddle – MonkeySkyMonkey (indie/ folktronica)

    This is an entertaining and individualistic album, that makes you laugh one minute, with its absurdist, science-fiction tinged humour, and then, while your mouth is still open, slaps you with something altogether less superficial. This is music with something to say, and it says it without going to either extreme, of ramming it down your… Read more

  • Sissters – There’s A Party In My Mouth But You’re Not Invited (post-punk/ noise rock/ art-punk)

    Sissters – There’s A Party In My Mouth But You’re Not Invited (post-punk/ noise rock/ art-punk)

    The word experimental is over-used in descriptions of avant-garde music, and is not always meaningful: who are we as listeners to judge whether an artist is conducting an experiment, or whether the sounds we hear represent their mature practice? However, experimental or not, There’s A Party In My Mouth And You’re Not Invited contains a… Read more

  • Monday Musings: What Do Musicians Mean, And Does It Matter?

    Monday Musings: What Do Musicians Mean, And Does It Matter?

    Music fans very often want to know something about the author of their favourite sounds. It is a widespread assumption that details of an artist’s biography or personality can provide an insight into their art: while this may or may not be the case, it is undeniable that the idea of the artist, as it… Read more