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Ancient Mechanisms

by LV

supported by
John Cratchley
John Cratchley thumbnail
John Cratchley The nostalgic edge of the old sampled pianos mixed with cutting edge glitch technology creates a lot of tension here, I think, and gives an overall feeling of pathos to the pieces...Hamasyan is on great form (listening to a lot of his Komitas interpretations at present...which lead me to this...)
JoronJoron
JoronJoron thumbnail
JoronJoron Stunning, lush album with intertwined moments of pure grooves, experimentalism and jazz. Favorite track: Yarimo feat. Tigran Hamasyan.
Deidre House
Deidre House thumbnail
Deidre House Though the bulk of this album is held up with accessibly danceable beats, there's a thread of avant-garde progressivism winding its way through that sets it apart. It goes all over the place, from lively grooves to pensive ambience, incorporating jazzy flavors throughout. Tigran Hamasyan's contributions take it from good to great. Favorite track: Jump And Rech feat. Tigran Hamasyan.
𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝
𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 thumbnail
𝕋𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝 Just perfect from start to finish. An album that is so lush, complex and amazingly fluid. Pick your favourite (if you can). One of the finest albums of the year for me! Favorite track: Infinite Spring feat. Tigran Hamasyan.
Andrew Jervis
Andrew Jervis thumbnail
Andrew Jervis One of the prettiest and most engaging listens of the year. Next level Innerzone Orchestra stylings. Favorite track: Hammers And Roses feat. Tigran Hamasyan.
michael rütten
michael rütten thumbnail
michael rütten now what it is? jazz, electronica, bass music, avant-garde, …? a bit of all, blended in such a nice and fresh way. some of the most modern sounds i have been listening to so far this year. big. Favorite track: Transition.
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1.
Carillon 02:24
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Transition 04:18
5.
Quick Return 00:30
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Dar Souiri 05:50
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Detent 01:09
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about

LV - Ancient Mechanisms
BWOOD0143CD/LP/DD

‘Ancient Mechanisms’ is the fourth album by globetrotting London production duo LV. It traces a train of thought that was sparked by a live session with Tigran Hamasyan back in 2012: two and a half years down the line and a trip to Belgium later, the finished record is as much about the workings of musical artefacts as it is about putting the virtuoso pianist into new contexts.

The duo, made up of Simon Williams and Will Horrocks, found the insides and mechanisms (hint) of the instruments they were working with to be of increasing interest as the project developed. They found a discarded, portable piano in the former’s new flat and spent hours painstakingly recording its notes, creaks and noises. This left them in possession of a MIDI keyboard that sounded like something from “a bar in a wild west movie” and featured heavily on the album. ‘Ruiselede’ makes reference to the town whose piano museum in which they were able to record Hamasyan playing on its collection of antique grand pianos.

LV have always thrived by working with new collaborators and environments. In the past there’s been joint efforts with London poet Josh Idehen and journeys to South Africa for kwaito-infused productions with Johannesburg MCs. It was from working with Hamasyan that their attention began to shift to the piano itself. “We got into the sound that instruments make themselves, not just the production of the sound,” says Williams, “We got into the actual sound of keys being hit.”

Anyone who heard the Maida Vale session that laid the foundations for the album will know how exciting it was to hear delicate jazz musicality at play with UK-tinged dance rhythms. ‘Jump and Reach’ builds on that potential, with circling piano going toe to toe with rolling drums and stabs of bass. But Hamasyan wasn’t just providing pretty riffs for them to work with, he also fed into the process of how they worked. As Horrocks says, “His musical interests are much more broad than perhaps people would expect,” something that’s on show in ‘Infinite Spring’ where his penchant for looping pedals has produced a wash of sound easy to fall adrift in.

The exploration of what lay inside the instruments in front of them is the thread holding this unique record together: strands ranging from foreign surroundings to the darker corners of London’s club lineage are channelled into exploring that idea. There are field recordings of Belgium’s streets along with snare hits in ‘Transition’ that nod to the studio where a nascent dubstep’s sparse aesthetic was born. As an album, it draws together disparate interests in a way that feels compellingly coherent.

“Ancient Mechanisms” is released 9th October on Brownswood Recordings

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released October 9, 2015

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LV London, UK

South London duo LV, made up of Simon Williams and Will Horrocks have been at the forefront of UK electronic productions since 2007, beginning their musical endeavours together around 2000 while at university . Formerly a trio, including Gervase Gordon (Okzharp), LV have again and again shown an inventive flare for distinctly unique sounds. ... more

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