Of course, there probably was a press release with this CD, but with that long since vanished into the chaos of the itm? office, it relies on some surfing and guesswork to establish that this brown-sleeved CD is the 3rd release in the series of EPs from Fence Records electronic offshoot DeFence. (The ‘03’ on the sleeve is a giveaway while the legend 10×10 tells us that there’s 10 in the series of what, when not CD promos, are ordinarily a 10” singles.)
And this is Viva Stereo. Distinctive beats, the slightly strangulated processed vocals of mainman Stuart Gray, and a hypnotic first number. VS can veer from ambient to experimental to what we hope is a past phase of vaguely Ian Brown beats, but here they are at their strength for making danceable edgy alt.pop. The second track (our investigation’s not gone any further) is a floaty wee pop number with less of the ’alt’ about it. Much has been made of Found in recent months, but if you want intelligent foot-tapping atmospheric tunes then why look further than these guys?
Con Brio we know little about apart from the fact that they share this EP with Viva Stereo. Quite different from their mates, they make glitchy breakbeats which submerge the synths which float in and out of the mix, while on their second tune, it’s a choral drone and piano which lay out a piece of calm, almost pastoral music, though still with distinct blips and whirrs providing the percussion. All rather nice, and definitely worth seeking out (via google, or via the link which we discovered: http://www.de-fencerecords.com)
