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Dave Aju Announces Details of Forthcoming Full-Length Album

Words: Taylor Fife

VA-Collaborations (Mixed By The Audible Suspects

Cage & Aviary - Migrations.

Jamie Paton and Nigel Of Bermondsey have been making music as Cage & Aviary since 2007, with releases on Andy Blake's Dissident label and DFA's European arm (Death From Abroad) among others. Their music is a slow and sleazy style of disco, often with strummed guitars and falsetto vocals—in other words, a natural fit for Internasjonal, the label run by Norwegian DJ and producer Prins Thomas, on which they make their debut with Migration. The album features ten previously unreleased tracks and two new versions of past singles: "Television Train" and "Giorgio Carpenter." The track "Lean On Me" features a guest appearance from Denise Johnson, a vocalist whose past credits include work with Primal Scream and A Certain Ratio. Tracklist 01. Giorgio Carpenter (Director's Cut) 02. Friday the 14th Part IV 03. In Todd We Trust 04. Television Train (Platform II) 05. Infatuation 06. The Smackdown 07. Good Egg, Bad Apple 08. Dead Dancers 09. Colourless Plastic 10. Beat N Other Path 11. Lean On Me 12. Migration

An artist taking years to put out their first full-length album is nothing new. A record morphs from one thing to another as there’s often a huge disconnect between cultivating ideas and actual recording. It’s often a double-edged sword, as anticipation for the album might reach its fever pitch long before the actual release. As is the case with London duo Jamie Paton and Nigel of Bermondsey, aka Cage & Aviary.

Migration was an album I had been anticipating for years, actually, and by the time it finally came out, I had no idea it actually came out. After a string of singles on various labels and after the launch of their own label, Cage & Aviary were primed to make a huge splash in the dance rock genre. “Television Train” came out on DFA Records’ short-lived Death From Abroad label, with “Beat-N-Path” a year later on Mock & Toof’s Tiny Sticks imprint. Both were terrific and expansive singles that proved the band was more than a pet project for the two entrepreneurs.

“Television Train” has received a redesign for Migration, cutting the originally twelve minute track in half and turning it into a radio edit of sorts, tweaking the vocals and making the entire song a little more pop-oriented. For those new to the act, it will probably be the album’s highlight, as “Television Train” is immediately funky and fun, but for those looking for an entirely new Cage & Aviary, it’s a disappointment to see such an ambitious track scaled back quite a bit. The same can be said for what was once “Beat-N-Path,” now “Beat N Other Path” on the final album. The track is a bit more muddled and the crazy, pitch-deformed bass of the original is no longer focus on the album version. So the two tracks which have been redone for Migration are sort of hit and miss, but as for the rest of the album, it’s pretty spectacular work.

“Good Egg Bad Apple” takes on the same sort of tone as “Television Train,” playing with traditional disco beats and makes something that’s not entirely unlike Lindstrøm or Jaques Renault. The vocals are something like a vocal warmup mixed through a thousand different effects, making this demon-esque sort of noise that’s both out of place while remaining playful. Guitar chords chime in and out, keyboards and cow bells dance around and after nearly six minutes “Good Egg Bad Apple” comes together as one of the most mysteriously terrific tracks on the album. And I think this is a lot of what Cage & Aviary stand for, just playing around with different patterns and creating something that challenges the listener just enough, but also maintains a rhythm and style that’s never off putting. I know that’s the goal for a lot of artists, and often the outcome, but on Migration, Nigel and Paton really do put together interesting pieces of music that fit well into an album – a feat rarely achieved in this loosely defined genre. The entire project comes together on “Colourless Plastic,” a massive and psychedelic dance single. The song begins with no music, but rather a voice hurriedly saying “do we want to be colourless broken plastic figures joined together by elastic ropes and reasons to be sinful, yes we do.” In this one breath, Cage & Aviary have taken this idea of unidentifiable music and stated it outright, backing it with the music to match. Sure, the track’s backbone is a standard kick drum and shake that listeners will come to love on the album, but it’s Migration’s best track for all the patches of music that join the canvas. As the one line of dialogue repeats throughout, another voice joins in to whisper “to be sinful” repeatedly, backed by a massive guitar that sounds stripped from a Tame Impala or Ty Segall song. It’s a stark juxtaposition, but not the only one. There’s also a robot voice yelling the song’s title and a bridge of electronic drums that are nothing short of cheesy – a word I use in only the most complimentary of ways.

Our hand-written notes? Barely even smudged.

The notebooks use a “paper impregnation” process (which is less risque then it sounds) to force a mixture of water-based protectants into the paper while it’s still in giant rolls. The recyclable paper remains soft, but doesn’t tear, even when wet. What’s more, the pressurized cartridge in the bundled pen worked even after we left it in a freezer overnight (though it did peter out a bit when writing through a puddle on one of the notebook’s pages).

For all the effort we put into beating up the Rite in the Rain books, it wasn’t until we set one on fire that we managed to do any real damage.

While you might not think that the simple act of writing could ever be badass, writing on a Rite in the Rain could quickly change your opinion. Already a go-to for field biologists, we have a feeling these badass little books could develop a following among adventuresome journalists. And if you ever draw a map to buried treasure, make sure it’s on one of these. It’ll be worth the $4 to $55 you’ll pay for the notebook, depending on the size, binding, and case.

Podcast 238: BNJMN

Words: Shawn Reynaldo

Right out of the gate, BNJMN (a.k.a. Ben Thomas) made a strong impression on the electronic-music landscape. Last year, the shadowy young Brit dropped two LPs via the esteemed Rush Hour imprint, both of which showcased a unique brand of house and techno that was simultaneously dark, hazy, and dreamily emotive. It's no fluke that BNJMN wound up on XLR8R's list of 2011's Best New Artists, which is why we invited him to put together an exclusive mix for our podcast series. Demonstrating the same kind of reverence for lush melodies and synth-bathed rhythms that can be found in his own production, the mix finds BNJMN reaching for tunes steeped in rich sonic textures. That's not to say that his podcast isn't aimed toward the dancefloor; on the contrary, the young artist appears to have a taste for the classics, particularly the driving analog pulse of classic Chicago house and the legions of followers it's inspired over the years. Listening to the mix, it's clear that BNJMN is an artist who wants to speak to both your body and your mind.

01 Mr. Fingers "Waterfall" (Jack Trax) 02 Xosar "Ghosthaus (Legowelt Remix)" (Rush Hour) 03 The Oliverwho Factory "Galactic Transit (Recall Instrumental)" (Rush Hour) 04 Oleg Poliakov "Rainy Dayz (Portable Remix)" (Circus Company) 05 Lucien-N-Luciano "Blind Behaviour" (Peacefrog) 06 Lego Feet "Keyop" (Skam) 07 Terekke "Damn" (L.I.E.S.) 08 John Talabot "So Will Be Now" (Permanent Vacation) 09 Round Two feat. Andy Caine "New Day" (Main Street)

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