IX Tab and Hoofus - The Blow Volume 1

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 20 / 11 / 2016

Label: Front and Follow
Format: Tape

Fine first instalment in a new cassette series of electronica which features Suffolk band Hoofus and South-West artist IX Tab

Review

With no CD or LP scheduled in the foreseeing future, 'The Blow Volume 1' is available on cassette, which features David Armes' Red Plate Prints, and download. C86 electro miniatures and intermezzos refusing to come down. Enticing tunes with glittering flames and electronic sparks. Hoofus, from the Suffolk coast, on Side One offers crisp, quirky and at times mythically clueless short bursts of electronic glitches, which are sometimes cascading, sometimes compositional, such as with 'Despite Everything', which leads into 'Twentythree Seven'- it lasts 2:37m; most titles are self-explanatory - and is performed on a dying out harpsichord. 'Swab Decks of Black Ships' juggles with patterns in illogical brightness, though 'Onwards Ever Always', which is based on a funny square dance marching theme, beats I. By this stage you'll have heard some of this year's finest moments in music. In between these there is a curious tribute with 'Embers', a brooding tapestry of computer sounds. 'Salvage and Reclamation' alas is cut short, just as it starts to evolve and is instead the end of the tape. Having switched to Side Two, IX Tab, the lesser romantic of the two, glides in like a spaceship. IX Tab hails from England's South-West. His compositions are of a curious nature. 'Harvest', for example, is riddled with wary and anxious-sounding electronica, but it ends with church chorals. The flautist on 'To All Others' appears otherworldly or, erm, ethnic and stages some mighty fine disorientation. The mini'symphony 'The Herepath Comes Away' kicks off in Germanic fashion, transforms into modern composition and features a subtle brass section just before the end, adding a great sense of depth in sound. The two of them churn out quite terrific tracks, leaving room for one's imagination.'The Blow Volume' N.1 is a very generous beginning to the series. If you are into (early) Chris & Cosey, you might like this (a lot).

Track Listing:-

1 Begin Thee Begone
2 We Faded with the Mists
3 Despite Everything
4 Twentythree Seven
5 Navigate in the Dark
6 Swab Decks of Black Ships
7 Embers
8 Edgeland Industries
9 Onwards Ever Always
10 Salvage and Reclaimation
11 Steel Dreaming
12 Dirty Mushroom
13 The Early Owl
14 The Ministry of Ontological Insecurity
15 To All Others
16 Harvest
17 The Herepath Comes Away
18 Flauter
19 The Ploughs & Machines