Betamax Format this Sunday!

risc

Hi from Risc.

We have four things to tell you:

1: Betamax Format single out this Sunday
2: Reviews of Red Bridge
3: Badges!
4: Zod stuff

1: Betamax Format single out this Sunday.

This Sunday, the 20th of March, Betamax Format launch their debut 7" single, 'XXX Robot' / 'Raus! Raus!' at Lazybird.

Things you should know about Betamax Format: They toured Ireland with The Wedding Present last month. They sound like a relentless analogue synth assault made for killing people to. They scare children. Daft Punk rip them off. They have vocals, and drums, and loads of cool noises.

The single is on heavy 70g vinyl, with a 300gsm recycled card cover, and it's fantastic.

Support comes from (retards), who play sick music for sick people on a mini-Korg and various other things. And we'll be giving some of our cool new badges out at the door, so get there early.

2: Reviews of Red Bridge.

Our compilation album, Red Bridge (risc007), has been out for about a month now, so we thought we'd give you some of the reviews thus far. Some are very good, some are generally good and some are gibberish (but none are bad!), so we hope this selection gives a fair reflection of that fickle beast, 'critical acclaim'. By the way, if you don't like reading reviews, skip ahead now.


Neil Dunphy, The Sunday Tribune:

It's not often you can listen to a compilation without having to employ judicious use of the skip button, but with these 17 independent Irish bands and artists, the diversity of styles doesn't jar one bit. At first the mostly down-tempo ambient electronica is understated and cool, but subsequent listens reveal a dramatic, baroque quality.

Mostly instrumental passages that rock out in the right places, the innovation scarcely errs on the side of pretentiousness. Stand-out track is Miriam Ingram's 'Cartoon Stair'.

Night-time music which could appease any morning, for Eu10.99 it's well worth the trip.

4 / 5


Michelle Dalton, Eclectic Honey:

It’s always quite difficult to review compilation albums. For the most part, they’re inconsistent, shabby affairs, buoyed up by the presence of a few notable names, and fillered-up to the point of no return.

Red Bridge is not this; It's a snapshot of embryonic Irish bands and artists, and while there’s heavyweights aplenty - with notably fantastic contributions from electronica gurus Northstation, Herv, Rollers/Sparkers and The Last Sound - the lesser known names don’t let the side down. Aside from the music, however, Red Bridge should be marvelled for its packaging; a lovingly-put-together cardboard sleeve that makes you wish that others would take such care and attention.

Surely the “I heart Herv” t-shirt label can’t be too far down the line. Not content with having one fantastic album to his name, he looks like he’s about to repeat the success of Snap Hands if 'Mystery Condiment' is anything to go by, a creation which proves to be just as deceptively melodic as ever. Thread Pulls engulf their offering of 'Nearly There' with throbbing digitised bass, while Bird on Wire & Dave Nuremberg’s beautiful 'Dry Cleanse' offers abstractions drenched with various layers of sound that will keep even the most ardent electronica fan happy.

However, much of this record is surprisingly accessible enough to find a relatively wide listnership. Agitated Radio Plot’s contribution is a haunting instrumental lament, and with Maersk’s post-rock delicacy, '26.07.04', both steer well clear of any bleeps and glitches. Miriam Ingram’s lovely centrepoint of 'Cartoon Stair' offers a Nina-Hynes-esque vocal warmth against stuttering electronics, and Medea’s pop swing of 'Beside Me' offers another lyrical jaunt. So I guess branding Red Bridge as an instrumental record isn’t entirely accurate.

Don’t be scared off by the misconception that Red Bridge is exclusively an electronic offering; there’s much here for those who love music in general. A paean to the wordless art form, and one that’s definitely worth investigating.


Bogey, Mongrel:

Electro? Ireland? (Like that Peter Kay sketch about his dad - garlic bread? Garl-ic Bread? Garl-ic? Bread?) There's some guff but Northstation, Betamax Format and Medea are all bellweathers, all three putting paid to Moby's lofty effort at mixing a New Romantic aesthetic with bingi-bongi beatz. Fat drums, meaty guitars and - ohmygod - interesting electronic music? You don't know you're born.

79%


Paul Watts, Anorak:

After spending the past few years as Compactrisc, the Dublin label has changed to Risc Records, presumably to avoid confusion with a US company sharing their old name. This long-in-the-making compilation marks their first release under the new moniker, their seventh overall. Not too bad for a small local label with decidedly experimental leanings.

The CD begins with a cool track from Betamax Format (Ireland's answer to Add N to (X), seemingly) and Northstation's abstract-funky "Bear Cub". Good start, and the level stays pretty high after that. E+S=B's awesome krautrocking "Milkshake" itself almost justifies the compilation's existence, but tracks by Bird On Wire & Dave Nuremberg (wierd but good electronica), Tremors (throbbing drone metal), label co-founder Herv (found-sound collage) and Piratio's atmospheric 'An Eagle Named Tahisia' are also highlights.

A few minor quibbles, though: Thread Pulls' 'Nearly There' does little to shake the feeling that they're more than a Sonic Youth tribute band (admittedly, a good one); Miriam Ingram's 'Cartoon Stair' is a fundamentally nice song ruined by innapropriate studio trickery; Maersk and Medea sound like any number of indie bands, and the Rollers/Sparkers track isn't new, having appeared on their debut album last year.

Despite these small complaints, this ambitious and diverse compilation is a very good introduction to one fact of Dublin's electronic and rock underground. Recommended.


3: Badges!

We have badges. They say 'risc.' on them. Email us back and we'll give you one.

4: Zod stuff

The Zod night last month was a great success, and thanks a million to everyone who came along. We're going to have a few of the Zod releases in the shops in Ireland soon, so make sure to keep an eye out. There are pictures from the night on the Zod website; go to http://www.zodrecords.com and click on 'Live' and 'Europe 2005'.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.

xxx
Tom & Herv
Risc Records

Links:

http://www.riscrecords.com
http://www.betamaxformat.com
http://retards.plasticdonkey.com
http://www.lazybird.org
http://www.zodrecords.com

risc

on sale tomorrow night: