Aquarius
Back in 2006, we reviewed a record by a mysterious band (or
person) called Part Timer. Whose sound was a gorgeous lush dreamfolk,
overlaid with bits of glitch and electronic skitter. At the time, that
sort of thing was all the rage, for a band to take their pedestrian
folk or indie pop, and then cover it with electronic bits, to make it
edgy or hip or whatever. But Part Timer seemed to effortlessly transcend
that. Their sound organic, but with the various electronic elements
an integral part of not just the sound, but the composition as well.
On a trip to Japan about a year ago, we took a long train ride through
the countryside, up a mountain, to a monastery tucked way on top of
a forest covered mountain. That record was the soundtrack, and it was
perfect, the sound of green trees rushing past, little villages tucked
into the mountain side, the movement of the train, the blue skies, the
world rushing by, clouds, birds, the sound is just s soft and lovely
and tranquil and beautiful.
We were super excited to discover that there was in fact another Part
Timer record, which we finally managed to get from a tiny Japanese label,
and we're happy to report, it's just as gorgeous as the other one.
Acoustic guitars weave tranquil little melodies, super spare rhythms
are constructed from bits of glitch and record crackle, the sound of
birds and children playing constantly in the background, like this is
the soundtrack to some warm afternoon stroll though a tiny village,
cobblestone streets, the world lush and verdant, bits of vocals surface
here and there, offering the tiniest hint of melody, muted chiming bells
ring out, simple melodies plucked out on old pianos, the sound of creaking
machinery, moaning violins, sweeping strings, it sounds like a lot of
sound, but the sound is never dense or cluttered, instead it's spacious
and airy, nearly weightless at times, the sound of floating on a puffy
white cloud through a crystal clear summer sky.
At its heart Blau is a simple soft folk record, but the folk drifts
through strange landscapes of subtle sonic variation, the electronic
bits never intrusive, gently complimenting the lilting guitars, the
voices and textures and field recordings wrapped around the melodies
like some soft down comforter, everything about Blau is tranquil and
dreamlike, warm and so utterly soothing. Some of the prettiest pop folk
we've ever heard.
De:Bug
Und gleich noch ein Album auf Flau. Part Timer (John McCaffrey)
spielte bei den Clickits und sitzt mittendrin in der Szene um The Remote
Viewer & Moteer. Sein erstes Album haben wir noch gut im Ohr und
"Blue" stellt seinen Sound auf ein komplett neues Level. Nicola
von Empress und Andrew von The Remote Viewer steuern Vocals bei, das
australische Streichquartett "Fourplay" spielt sich die Seele
aus dem Leib und auch sonst ist alles kompletter Bliss. Hier sitzt alles
perfekt. Die feinen Melodien der Gitarre, das getupfte Piano, die immer
im richtigen Moment durchschimmernden Beats, das gesampelte Lachen von
Menschen, die man noch nie selber getroffen hat. Auch wenn ich nach
wie vor nichts mit dem Begriff Laptop-Folk anfangen kann ... bei Part
Timer macht das irgendwie Sinn, auch wenn es nur ein kleiner Aspekt
dieser Platte ist. Einfach toll.
Boomkat
Trust these immaculate Japanese imprints to bring us some of
the most beautiful homespun music we've heard this year, and even though
Part Timer is the work of Moteer's John McCaffrey, everything about
this gorgeous cd evokes the spirit and wide-eyed mystery of Japan, presumably
why Tokyo's Flau label has given it a home. Treading that sublime line
between lonesome acoustic composition and delicate electronic tampering,
the sound of Part Timer will be familiar to those of you enamoured with
the music made by the likes of Helios, The Remote Viewer and Tunng,
covered in that misty-eyed sheen that cant help but tug at the heartstrings
without ever coming across as overly emotional. Album opener "theme
from Part Timer" is just sublime, some old recordings of a long
forgotten day out at the beach shimmer away in the background while
a resonant acoustic guitar provides the emotional backbone around which
delicate strings and timeless chord progressions suck you into a world
of blissful nostalgia. "Hide All You Like" is the first of
a couple of tracks featuring the instantly recognisable vocals of Nicola
Hodgkinson (of Empress fame), and with a detached melancholy her voice
drags this material into another dimension, away from the more familiar
confines of instrumental music and into the same kind of musical domain
inhabited by the likes of the aforementioned Tunng. "Sudden Loss"
is another standout piece, a lonely violin and prepared acoustic guitar
nervously igniting the track into a blissful musical arrangement not
unlike something out of Bruce Langhorne's gorgeous soundtrack for "The
Hired Hand", with only the odd digital Malfunction betraying the
music's 21st century origins. "Blue" is just a gorgeous album,
produced with a singular musical vision that's impossible not to adore,
layered with a plethora of homespun musical signatures that transcend
any kind of laptop music you could think of, and housed in the kind
of typically lavish Japanese packaging that makes it utterly irresistible.
Gorgeous music - brought to you with a massive recommendation.
Lost In Austin
Blue is a homespun assortment of digitally laced, mostly instrumental
folk. beautifully meandering in between acoustic composition and delicate
electronic tampering, blue takes up a cozy residence with similar, recent
releases like helios' ayres and the work of the remote viewer. resonant
guitar, fragile strings, antique sound clips... it's a gorgeous album.
Ondefixe
Quoi de neuf sous le soleil de Melbourne,
lieu de résidence de John McCaffrey ? En dehors d’un changement de cap
qui voit sa musique migrer du label anglais Moteer vers le nippon Flau,
sa nature est à peine chamboulée. Ce dont on pourra difficilement se
plaindre étant donné l’affection que nous lui portons.
Précautionneusement, Part Timer continue d’enchevêtrer des boucles résonnantes
de guitare au caractère pastoral et nostalgique, tout en laissant s’y
immiscer des résidus de piano, mélodica et flutes pour un résultat des
plus bucoliques. Les rythmiques naissent d’engrenages de cliquetis horlogers
et de matières chiffonnées. Mais cette folktronica de chambre à la douceur
exemplaire et familière, toujours proche de l’esthétique instaurée par
Moteer (Andrew Johnson des Remote Viewer et Nicola Hodgkinson d’Empress
sont de la partie vocale), se drape d’un linceul texturé plus étoffé
que par le passé et affiche sur sa liste d’invités inédits les cordes
frottées du Fourplay string quartet.
L’usage des fields recordings et des voix, et la manière dont John s’amuse
à les détourner et à les concasser, rapproche un peu plus son univers
sonore des récents travaux de The books, surtout lorsque celui-ci se
pare de pizzicati sautillants (Four timer mix 2).
Après une double compil inaugurale camouflant de remarquables perles
(Echod), un album qui fait concurrence à la jolie Piana (le Mirror flake
de Cokiyu), la luminosité de ce Blue continue d’imposer Flau parmi les
petits labels qui comptent.
Rating 8.5
Linus Records
"Blue" is a nostalgic electro acoustic sound with
which that he played his acoustic guitar,strings and piano are loosening
comfortable tone,light microbeats by clicks/glitch and delicate electronic
sound by minute noise and electronics softly mixes. John produced as
transiently as similar former work from moteer. the outlook on the world
doesn't change,but blue doesn't have the dimness of silence like 1st
album. -the beat of some tracks are strengthening andthe thickness of
harmony has gone out to the sound a little more - it's where a "blue"
nostalgic air permeates through field-recording and voice sample, feature
guest Andrew Johnson from The Remote Viewer and Nicola Hodgkinson from
Empress are participated in this lp,mastered by Ryuta Mizulami.It's
recommended in the people of fans such as the moteer, The Remote Viewer,
and The Boats.
Norman Records
'Blue' is also the title of a new collection by Part Timer on
Japanese label Flau. This collection continues the slightly introspective
strain of music popular amongst bedroom musicians and the like. A little
more progressive than the Melodium CDR, this set combines the organic
and synthetic to summon up a mode that anticipates the current boom
for all things folk. With a previous release on Moteer it's not surprising
to find a couple of collaborators from that imprint, notably Andrew
Johnson (Remote Viewer) and Nicola Hodgkinson (Empress). With an extensive
use of vocals, field recordings, strings and found sound this is a warm
collection clocking up 14 tracks in total.
Autres Directions
A peine plus solide, le nouvel album de John McCaffrey sous
le pseudonyme de Part Timer (soit le deuxième, depuis la fin de Clickits,
duo dans lequel il exerçait) sort chez Flau. Le précédent, éponyme,
était sorti chez Moteer. De ce fait, on retrouve, invités ici, des collaborateurs
réguliers du label anglais, soit Andrew Johnson (The Remote Viewer)
et Nicola Hodgkinson (Empress). Chez Part Timer, la création musicale
s’accompagne le plus souvent de boucles, qui voient les instruments
acoustiques dynamisés par des rythmiques répétitives : guitare acoustique,
piano et mélodicas cotoient des accidents sonores divers et des rythmiques
évidentes qui ont vite fait de provoquer la dérive de l’esprit. Certes,
Blue ne bouleverse pas les codes de la folktronica, mais il atteint
notamment un joli sommet de lenteur mélancolique sur Somewhere That
You Feel Safe (la belle voie de Nicola y fait tout son effet) et se
tient sans souci sur la longueur. Une confirmation qui n’étonne pas
de la part de McCaffrey.
EtherREAL
Un an tout juste après son premier long-format, paru sur Moteer,
Part Timer nous propose déjà un nouvel album. Sortant cette fois-ci
sur flau, label japonais, celui-ci se fait un peu plus ambitieux dans
sa démarche, notamment par l’adjonction d’un quatuor à cordes sur cinq
des quatorze morceaux.
Intégrant ce dernier à son electronica feutrée (guitare acoustique comme
fondement mélodique, textures légèrement granuleuses, rythmiques peu
agressives), John McCaffrey continue cependant à opérer avec une grande
discrétion, toujours au service de ses ambiances parfois pastorales
(Hide All You Like et son flûtiau, Sudden Loss et sa guitare pincée),
parfois plus urbaines (Samsa Cries in the Thunder). Une nouvelle fois
accompagné de Nicola Hodgkinson d’Empress au chant (Hide All You Like
et surtout Somewhere That You Feel Safe), l’Australien met celle-ci
plus en avant que par le passé (ou alors s’agit-il de la chanteuse qui
s’impose davantage ?) pour un résultat très probant.
Lorgnant avec force par moments vers une folk-electronica déjà bien
balisée (Four Timer (Mix Two) et ses pizzicati de cordes), Part Timer
peine globalement à captiver l’attention : assurément bien exécutée,
faisant montre d’un savoir faire réel pourtant dénué d’ostentation,
sa musique n’arrive que trop rarement à nous toucher. Toutefois, les
pièces dans lesquelles le quatuor à cordes est pleinement utilisé sortent
du lot (notamment Gentlemen Please), apportant une densité supplémentaire
à un ensemble qui en manque malheureusement quelquefois (faiblesse qu’on
avait déjà pu stigmatiser sur le premier album de l’Australien).
The Sillent Ballet
It's only fitting that John McCaffrey's Part Timer project finds
a home on Japan's Flau label, as the electroacoustic stylings contained
therein are all too similar to many contemporary Japanese experimental
artists. The sensibilities are seasonal in nature, harking upon the
cyclic nature often present in Eastern works and providing an interactive
"East meets West" framework in which the disc may unravel/unwind.
Although some context helps to bring McCaffrey's work into full focus,
it's not necessary to enjoy the material he's compiled here.
Blue is not merely as melancholic as the name may suggest -- or at least
our Western minds are trained to suggest -- perhaps it has an entirely
different implication in Eastern cultures. Regardless, we're treated
to a buffet of tracks that are as confident as they are fragile, calling
upon folk and electronic experimentalists to create something intimate
and sincere. The album exudes a coziness and warmth from cover to cover
which will ease the listener into a soothing state of minds.
The front end of the disc is really engaging. The first five tracks
are more confrontational than the rest of the album, which gets the
listener interested in the process behind Blue but doesn't abandon the
fragile landscape McCaffrey is working with and will fully expoit later
in the album. This shift is noticeable for other reasons, the largest
being that this is the point where McCaffrey becomes more acoustically
minded than before, where electronics where at the forefront previously.
It should be fairly simple to detect such a change in the nature of
music, but the detail had eluded me for several spins of the album,
which certainly speaks towards the subtlety of that McCaffrey is capalbe
of achieving.
"Closing the Opera House" begins to dip itself back into the
experimental routine of the album's beginning, which brings us full
circle once again. Otherwise, standout tracks include "Unknown,"
"Hide All You Like," "Gentlemen Please," and "Samsa
Cries in Thunder." The inherent charm of the album forces me to
compare it to recent exploits by Epic45 and Early Song, both of which
should keep Part Timer good company. Additionally, the elements of folktronica
are certainly reminiscent of Mum in a good way, however, Part Timer
is almost calm and reserved and shies away from excessive displays of
musicality. Simplicity is key, always.
All in all, Blue comes recommended. Those who enjoy the works of the
related artists should definitely pick up a copy immediately, and the
sincere quality to McCaffrey's music may also persuade some naysayers
that there's something of value here.
Sentire a Scoltare
E’ un po’ che non usiamo la parola folktronica. Un termine che
fino a un anno e mezzo fa saltava fuori ogni due per tre e che attualmente
pare ricondursi al Tunng sound, una deriva catto-poppy, oltre che l’emblema
di un ritorno alla canzone (e al country). In origine era tutta un’altra
musica, si parlava di pittura sonora peculiare, di un pop inteso come
pop-art magari (ascolta/vedi quei colori-sample sparati, quelle gettate
elettro sulla tela), oppure di film-sonori postmodernamente naturalistici
che erano un po’ come dire “torniamo alla natura nell’impossibilità
di sentirla senza la tecnologia” (Orla Wren, il catalogo Expanding e
Moteer). Ora troppo spesso si parla d’elettro folk bonariamente popular
quando le produzioni più “colte” si tingono di scuro (vedi Type) o ancora
svoltano al cantato (vedi Helios ma anche i The Books stessi). Un capitolo
chiuso? Sembrerebbe, se non recuperassimo Blue, uscito a settembre per
l’etichetta nipponica Flau e non ancora distribuito in Italia.
Ci piace credere che il britannico John McCaffrey (della cricca Moteer)
sia l’unico rimasto a farsi carico del quadro di partenza, come ci piace
ancor di più ascoltare nelle nuove composizioni (anche un paio di remix),
una sintesi compiuta del sottobosco sonoro australo-albionico che s’è
agitato sull’onda americana. C’è una sola canzone cantata nell’album
(la sodale Nicola Hodgkinson in Somewhere That You Feel), il resto è
vernice: paesaggi romantico-nostalgici dai caldi pastelli (ospite –
e novità rispetto all’omonimo Part Timer - il quartetto d’archi australiano
Fourplay), origami jap e qualche minuto groviglio cromatico electro
qua e là. Uno stato di grazia di quelli da far invidia. Un disco folktronico
tardivo ma definitivo. D’ora in poi soltanto bugie. (7.0/10)
Ink 19
Part Timer's Blue picks up where the Rachel's collective left
off a half-decade ago. This is a disc full of chamber music refracted
through multiple layers of experimentation and boundary pushing. For
the most part, PT keeps things fluid and bubbly, playing with a Pinback-like
elasticity, but the sound delves into the lonesome West on "Theme
From Part Timer" and flutters on pastoral acoustic guitar lines
and cascading analogue melodies on "Hens Teeth." On the whole,
Blue is unpretentious even in its incongruous arty moments. The disc's
only bruises come through on the glitchy, remix fare with chopped-up,
field-recorded vocals like "Four Timer (Mix Two)." Excising
these broken break beats next time around will shore up Part Timer's
sound into something that's both cutting edge and soundtrack-worthy.
Textura
Blue collects fourteen pastoral “laptop folk” settings by Part
Timer (Melbourne-based John McCaffrey) into a splendid and evocative
package. The former Clickits member merges his own acoustic guitar,
field recordings, and clicking beats with the keening strings of the
Australian quartet Fourplay and the vocal talents of Nicola Hodgkinson.
Opener “Theme From Part Timer” sets the scene with acoustic guitar augmented
by string stirrings and outdoor field recordings (children playing,
birds, water), and the thirteen treatments that follow perpetuate its
tranquil ambiance. “Hide All You Like” is like an early morning, back
porch country picking session emanating from some fairy tale fantasia,
and is further boosted by added sweetening from Hodgkinson whose delicate
voice also deepens the dreaminess of “Somewhere That You Feel.” Elsewhere,
“Unknown” is distinguished by shimmering harp lattices, “Closing the
Opera House” electronically splinters a heavenly flow of angelic voices
into shards, and two versions of “Four Timer” mix creaky old pianos,
sour string tones, and voice fragments into bold collages. Superb stuff.
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