#simon lam

[atcostmag]

Kllo - Back to You

Breaking a twelve-month silence, Kllo, the Australia duo of Chloe Kaul and Simon Lam, present their latest track “Back to You” in anticipation of their yet-to-be titled sophomore album. Fading in and out with its nostalgic blur, “Back to You” is presented in the format of a blurry daydream and as a recall to better times. Denoting the strain of distance in a relationship, the track is noted by its revisiting anacrusis as its looping pick-ups draw in the percussive yet contradictory soft of Chloe’s purring vocal silk. With its lyrics simple yet poignant through its articulate emphasis and dislodging emotion, the downtempo feel of the track’s break beats came to be by dwelling on the sounds of a not-so-distant past as vocalist Chloe Kaul expands:

“We get together and usually start searching for an inspiring sound or a sample, then playing it with a beat, simple chords and a melody and gradually build a structure from there. It’s the most honest that way, therefore the easiest to make a song as we don’t overthink it or lose the initial feeling and become mechanical.

‘Back To You’ draws influences from the early 2000′s. We had an old school approach when it came to the recording process by incorporating cassettes for the ad-libs and an old sampler for the main riff. We'd spent some time in LA recently, and being there reminded us of the 'American sound' that we both grew up with. ‘Back To You’ is a good insight into what's to come in our next body of work.”

You can check out the track and its ethereal visualizer below:

[sillymovietrailer]

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

This film is a bit of a landmark in Hong Kong cinema.  This received their Category III rating, the highest film certification Hong Kong could give out, a bit like the UK R18 or the US NC-17, but it was a notable early case of getting this rating not for sexual content, but for violence.  Having seen the film, I can understand why!  Of course this did limit a lot the film’s marketability in Hong Kong, and I love with this trailer how they tried to get around the issue.  Riki-Oh is based off a manga, so any time there’s something particular violent in the trailer, they show the appropriate page from the original instead!  That’s kind of ingenious, especially given that the artwork is black & white, so it wouldn’t be as realistic.  How do these moments look in the actual film?  Well, here’s Moviebob’s review, which has quite a few clips from the film in there, and you can see.

Now this has become something of a cult favourite for… well, obvious reasons, it’s completely insane with the gore levels!  However, for me at least, I’m not so keen, not least for the fact that the violence level here is to a degree and tone that it does kind of make me a bit sick.  I appreciate that this may be me finally entering my “old man yells at cloud” phase, but the just sheer onslaught of unpleasantness just doesn’t work for me.  Works like Peter Jackson’s early films had a cartoony tone which made the splatter work for me, this one however tries too hard to have that late 80s/early 90s manga serious tone.  In different hands that might have made the violence more ridiculous, but here just makes me feel more queasy.  It might be the cheapness of the effects, the particular kind of… chunky fake blood and grue they used that gets to me.  Mind, that cheapness is also what prevents this from actually making me sick, noticing how rubbery some of it is; pretty much none of the headsculpts used of any of the actors look right at all, definitely not looking like actual skin!

There are some definite plus points in here; I can’t fault the film for the ingenuity and bravery for trying many of the effects. The martial arts scenes are very well done, especially by Ricky himself Fan Siu-Wong and Yukari Oshima, a Japanese stunt performer who’s had quite the career, starting from Super Sentai and Metal Heroes shows, to being a full on star in the Philippines under stage name Cynthia Luster.  I will say that this movie is a unique experience, and fans of Fist of the North Star might get a bit from it, as the manga was basically a huge rip-off of that series, so this is the closest we’ve gotten to a good live action version so far… I said GOOD live action version!  This one’s cult status might also be partly down to that Category III business I mentioned above; like with the video nasties, a lot of film fans take a list like that as a personal challenge.  If you can take the violence levels, I’d say it’s certainly worth checking out at least once; it’s not for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s not for you!

[atcostmag]

Kllo - Affection

The first single since the release of summer 2020's "Maybe We Could" LP, Melbourne-based duo Kllo return with infectious single "Affection". An ode to the irresistibility of an undeniable love, "Affection" whirls to the prose of a" call and answer" hook; immersing in the oceanic quality of its sustaining textures. While the track thematically eschews the typical melancholy of vocalist Chloe Kaul's sullen compositions, the single is noted by the sharply, punctuated staccato of its break beats.

Check out the track below:

[atcostmag]

Armlock - Power of a Waterfall

The debut track from former Ill’s members Hamish Mitchell and Simon Lam (Kllo, Nearly Oratario), Melbourne’s latest indie act Armlock enters with “Power of a Waterfall”. A track whose quiet warmth is defined by its burnished grit, the single balances saturating guitar acoustics to the hazy, calm of vocalist Lam’s vocals. A gentle monologue and pep talk, “Power of a Waterfall” is lushly-nuanced yet minimally structured track with its allegorical storytelling. Adjoining its sharp snaring staccatos and coarsely-textured guitar strings, a gentle legato fuses its otherwise discordant textures.

You can check out the track and video below:  

Trust by Armlock

[atcostmag]

Kllo - Maybe We Could (LP) - 2020 - Record of the Year Review

Maybe We Could (LP) Kllo Released: July 17th, 2020 / Good Manners  Words: Peter Quincy Ng

A record so grueling in its emotional labor that it nearly led the duo into dissolution, Kllo's resilient effort on "Maybe We Could"  is both a landmark and revelation in electronic music production. Composed of distant cousins, vocalist Chloe Kaul and producer Simon Lam, the Melbourne duo made a name for themselves combining coherent lyricism to upbeat dance tempos. After constant touring and hitting creative stagnation, Kllo went back to the drawing board creating what they termed, "music that doesn't exist but we want to hear". Moving away from rather their straightforward and visual storytelling from the last record, "Maybe We Could" is offers a more sophisticated evolution in sound. Eschewing the two-step garage formulations from previous full-length "Backwater", “Maybe We Could” takes a less linear route; visceral and even at times quite cryptic. Combining incongruent and even contradicting textures to stunning effect, in one feel swoop, Kllo's "Maybe We Could" edges between blissful euphoria and sudden despair. It's a sound thoughtfully carrying through its lyrics, melodies or even just the tiny inflections in Chloe's voice in that convey an ocean's depth in emotion. Resilience in the face of adversity, the fitting album is an easy first in the year 2020. An album whose emotional nuances become more substantial with each listen, "Maybe We Could” has its songs continually vying for your attention as the tracks slowly reveal their latent ethos. 

"Cursed"

"Takes a lot of love to lose the person you do Hope there's still a place for me like I have for you Silence, I'm ultraviolet, When you are out there, there's nothing like it."

Certainly understanding the concept of "first impressions", "Cursed" impacts with a heartbreaking emotion. A tearful serenade subdued by the blurring race of its muted percussion, "Cursed" echoes of its painful longing through its gentle submission and quiet surrender; a devastation that is undeniably beautiful in its undertaking.

"Still Here"

The lead single to their sophomore effort, "Still Here" gathers its momentum through the quickening gallop of its broken-beat, rave percussion. Finding clarity against the swift of its animated tempo, the track finds clarity in Chloe's guiding vocal calm. Alluding to kinship and compassion amidst abandonment, the metaphors to "Still Here" act as resilient motion of defiance through struggle and perseverance.

"Insomnia"

In what would be Kllo's second single, "Insomnia" draws from Simon's influences on his solo act "Nearly Oratorio". Combining a piano-driven production, the track refracts against its aqueous blur, as its cascading ripple of glowing melodies reflect the glimmering call of Chloe’s crystalline beckon.  

“My Gemini”

An infectious club thumper, the brilliance behind “My Gemini” lies in its masterful use of reverb. Coming off harder and more rigidly than the album’s others, the industrial potency of “My Gemini” stalks with a gauging distance, with the magnetic push and pull of its massive sound measured by its immersive soak of bassy textures. 

“Somehow”

A track that can be seen as analogous to works from Kllo’s debut album “Backwater”, “Somehow” glistens with its alliterating prose. Contrasting its anxious deliberations with a blissful presence, the track combs through its heavenly air in a quick swoop of percolating guitar and synth.  

“Maybe We Could”

“And push on, maybe we...”

Like all well-written productions whether it be film or music, direction is not just about inserting the flashiest and attention-grabbing elements. Simply put, Kllo had a series of hits namely “Potential” or “Back to You” which were likely cut  from the album due to pacing more than anything. Serving as the record’s namesake, the placement of “Maybe We Could” serves as not only interlude but reinforces the album’s topical narrative. Though slow and retiring, “Maybe We Could” is emphasized through the heart-rendering pain of Chloe Kaul’s voice. Mirrored by the quick blip of her intermittent words, the track’s sallying force though fragmented in its hazy thought, gathers strength through repetition serving as the album’s mantra. 

“Ironhand”

Slow and severe in its harsh defeatism, the gentle piano air of “Ironhand” is weighed down by Chloe’s sullen melancholy. Through its storytelling narratives, quiet moments of “sunshine on your shoulders and drinking soda and lime” seem rather ordinary at first, yet as the track transitions these banalities become ever-perninent. Noted by its distressing cry of piercing falsetto vocals, a longing for that better past is put on display in the most striking manner. 

“1 UP”

A pensive immersion measured by the gentle topography of meditative saturation, “1 UP” is quantified in the graduality of its kinetic sound. Alliterating wordplay and short anacruses, are reflected in the elastic force of the track as the dusky calm of the track is underlined by the staccato pulse of its percussion. Building on a slow, gradual crescendo, the track is most substantially noted by its ascendant prose, bridging to an apex of dream-weaving ethereality. 

"A Mirror” 

Holding itself more texturally, than lyrically “A Mirror” is carried by its gentle brush of breezy, harp-like textures and the reassuring calm Chloe’s vox. Pitched down vocal slows and techno percussion converge at a blissful precipice on this largely instrumental effort.

“Just Checking In”

Juxtaposing warm soca melodies that bind to Chloe’s cautious R&B prose, “Just Checking In” stands as Kllo’s obscurant album closer. Dark symphonies of stringed elements mesh with pitched-up vocals as the track walks through its crepuscular fade. Using vocals from Chloe’s ghostly avatar to pair up against the cold somber of Kaul’s words, “Just Checking In” is held in its paradoxical manner, distorting the reality of her lyrical certainty in this curious and most perplexing track. 

You can check out the album below on SoundCloud or through Spotify HERE:

Kllo · Maybe We Could

[atcostmag]

Yergurl - Until We Meet Again

A hyper-saccharine rush of future-pop adrenaline, yergurl shares with us latest track “Until We Meet Again”. Racing through riveting percussion and glimmering synths, the track is a single high on emotion as raving drum and bass sentiment pound through. Echoed by its video which dreams up a storm of late 90′s nostalgia, the track’s many anachronisms converge at a precipice of heavenly falsetto and blissful naivete. Speaking about on the track’s premise as a breakup song and as follow-up to her ode to romance “Skateboard”, yergurl, the musical persona of Bendigo, Australia’s Fae Scott had this to say:

“'Until We Meet Again' is about breaking up with someone u still love. I wrote ‘UWMA’ after a very amicable break up and we were saying that we’d like to get together again if our life situations allow. My previous single 'Skateboard' was written at the very start of the relationship when I thought it was gonna be a short lived high school romance and ‘UWMA’ is our break-up song. His face features in the music video, just like how he actually featured in the ‘Skateboard’ video so it brings our story full circle. So I see ‘UWMA’ as the ending of the ‘Skateboard’ story.... for now.”

Mixed by Kllo’s Simon Lam, you can check out the brilliant production and gleaming electronics from yergurl’s latest effort alongside the track’s dreamy predecessor “Skateboard”:

“Skateboard”

yergurl · skateboard

“Until We Meet Again:

yergurl · until we meet again

[atcostmag]

Juice Webster - Let the Dog Out

The debut video single from Julia “Juice” Webster, the Australian artist from Melbourne duo Hemm shares track “Let the Dog Out”. A euphemism for the quotidian, Webster’s track seeks to address the heavy feelings one encounters in the midst of life’s big questions and obstacles. With the track, Juice reflects these burdens in a visceral rawness, channeling her influences Cat Power, Emmylou Harris, Jeff Buckley and the ilk. 

Viewed through the burnished grit of its folk-guitar organic, “Let the Dog Out” reflects a blissful melancholy. Noted by the sweet falsetto tenderness of Webster’s vulnerable prose, the ebb and flow of the track is mirrored by a gentle anacrusis. Working towards a convergence of heavenly flourishes, the single’s wounded blues and soaring of ornamentation define the track at its critical juncture. Shot on a quiet June day in between days of Melbourne’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the track produced by KLLO’s Simon Lam reflects Julia’s moments of  quiet contemplation before the awaiting storm:

“'Let The Dog Out' is about waking up in the morning and straight away anticipating the onset of the heavy feelings that stem from the big questions. It’s about trying your best to fight them off by going for a walk to be around other people, or by trying to believe in something in order to find meaning, but not quite being able to. I didn’t grow up in a religious household, nor did I attend a religious school, but I find that when I’m struggling to comprehend certain events or happenings, I have this real desire to believe in some greater power in order to make sense of them. I, like many other people, feel very affected by unjust stories; bad things happening to good people  and in those moments I just really wish that I truly believed there was a reason for it. 'Let The Dog Out' is about this desire.'”

To comment on the continuous habit of the song and its accompanying video which shadows the track, Juice had this to add:

“'We were lucky enough to shoot the clip on a day in June in between lockdowns in Melbourne. We wanted to keep it pretty simple with the idea of just walking and walking and walking for a whole day. The song has a real continuous and repetitive motion to it, and we wanted that to be reflected in the video.'”

“Let the Dog Out” is preceded by the oceanic tranquil and flowing guitars of her debut record and extended play, “You Who Was Myself”:

“You Who Was Myself” EP

Juice Webster · You Who Was Myself

“Let the Dog Out”

Juice Webster · Let The Dog Out

[atcostmag]

Darcy Baylis, LUCIANBLOMKAMP, Nearly Oratorio - Madison

A  triumvirate of three prolific Australian producers, Darcy Baylis, LUCIANBLOMKAMP and Simon Lam of Kllo/Nearly Oratario sign-up for a one-off collaboration with track “Madison”. A slow, pensive track written about its protagonist “Madison”, the track details the quotidian and mundane frivolities of a personal relationship before it seemingly meets its own demise. Reflecting a certainly duality, the dreamy coax of its lullabied bleak interweaves the track’s euphoric harmonies and the dysphoric undertones of its lyrics. Riding over the muted sparse of its resonant percussive tones and solemn piano tones, the track gently glimmers to its quiet flame of its vocal R&B warmth. Speaking about their collaboration Darcy Baylis who now finds himself in Berlin commented on how the labelmates and its three producers’ visions culminated in the singularity of their creative vision “Madison”:

'In the summer of 2019, Simon, Lucian and I were meeting up regularly for a few weeks trying to work on a new project. Everyday basically felt like a new genre exercise, passing random ideas back and forth, but when we made this one I could tell we all felt really special about it. I feel like it's the perfect meeting point of what we all do individually; 90′s breakbeats, shoegaze vocals, some analog synths. I was just trying to capture the vibe of that summer forever.”

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You can check out the collaborative track and its visualizer below:

Good Manners · Madison (Darcy Baylis + LUCIANBLOMKAMP + Nearly Oratorio)