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Qazi’s Disposable 2022 – Highlights

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Preface: managing my expectations

When I concluded my round-up for 2021 on this site, I explained that I initially thought the year would be uneventful as we wait for 2022 to deliver. However, they’ve both been equally great – I had a lot to fondly look back on at the end of last year… and at the same time, there have been a few releases this year that I either lost interest in or didn’t have time for. That’s not to say that I don’t have a “Qazi’s Disposable 2022” highlight reel to talk about, however. Let’s begin.

Qazi’s Disposable 2022: Watching

Qazi's Disposable 2022

As with most years, my 2022 has been spent doing a lot of catching up. My Prime Video subscription – combined with a busy Blu-Ray release schedule – means that I’m rarely short of things to watch, and so my film highlights have included some recent physical media releases as well as the occasional curio that I’ve streamed. For instance, I finally surrendered to the hype and bought Encanto following its disc release on February, and even though you could tell where it was going, it was still a fun ride. The premise initially sounds quite outlandish, following the lives of a family of gifted individuals… however, the plights facing each member – concerns of meeting expectations, of expanding horizons – can be relatable. I also rolled the dice with The Matrix Resurrections – it worked well as a reboot and was more interesting than the second and third films, but it definitely went to some weird places. I enjoyed the moments of self-referential meta commentary, and of course the action scenes were immaculate, but at times it did feel a little bit self-indulgent. A far more successful evening with Keanu came when I finally watched the copy of Bill & Ted Face The Music that I’d been waiting on for months – most of the jokes landed well, prior knowledge of the other films isn’t compulsory and I enjoyed the way in which the narrative kept shifting focus between Bill & Ted’s adventure and the journey that their daughters were going on.

The curios I watched were more random and slightly trashy, and most of them were watched on Prime Video. For example, one of the last films I watched before writing this was Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Until now, the only Terminator films I had watched were the first two, and I had the feeling that sci-fi fans would probably want me to pretend that any other movies after the second don’t exist. Personally I didn’t think it was a disaster, but it’s definitely not necessary viewing. The T-X is an impressive machine but it doesn’t quite have the menacing presence of a T-1000. However, the time-jumped John Connor was likeable enough, and a spectacular road chase scene in the first half of the movie felt like a cute homage to T2’s equivalent. Also, I’ll give an honourable mention to the 2014 Riley Stearns film Faults; a story about a man hired to “deprogram” a daughter influenced by a cult. Whilst it was no classic, the premise and the performance made it very compelling to watch, and the fact that the two lead characters had various quirks and flaws gave the story some surprising levity.

Qazi’s Disposable 2022: Listening

Qazi's Disposable 2022

The first thing that came to mind in my music-oriented draft for the “Qazi’s Disposable 2022” document was that this was the year I dropped Spotify. Well, for the moment. Following the Joe Rogan controversy and community fallout, many people on Twitter campaigned to persuade people to use alternative streaming services, and the truth is that since February of this year I’ve listened to most of my music through Tidal. The algorithm hasn’t always been as great at recommending things, but I discover music through Twitter and Youtube as well, so as long as you find ways to help yourself, there’s no massive loss. Honestly though, it’s been pretty good at streaming the random bass music that I find out about on Twitter – the range of artists and labels is a lot broader than I initially feared.

It hasn’t been a big year for new releases but what was there was fine. After all, I can’t complain about getting a new Leftfield album in December – four months after seeing them at Lakefest, in one of the best live music sets I’ve been to. Outside of that, I enjoyed “Closer” by Noisia, as well as various EPs from Wilkinson, Logistics and more. Right now, the “Forms” EP from Bungle is probably my favourite release of the year, but Leftfield’s “This Is What We Do” is a very close second. On a more personal note, I also got hold of an actual CD player after years of listening to music on my desktop. The humble Bush CD-78B-BTFM boombox I selected is hardly going to make the walls shake with bass, but it’s a lot more convenient than using my PC for everything, and the added bonus of Bluetooth means that I don’t have to listen to so many tunes on my mobile.

Qazi’s Disposable 2022: Playing

Qazi's Disposable 2022

Paradoxically, this year in gaming was simultaneously extremely busy for me and somewhat quiet. At the time of writing I’ve only bought about three “games” that were actually released this year, with one being an expansion (Destiny 2: The Witch Queen) and another being a re-release on new formats (Persona 5 Royal). So it’s no surprise that the only brand new 2022 game I’ve played – Elden Ring – has overshadowed everything else. Even though my initial playthrough lasted just over a month, the experience stayed with me and made a lasting impression. What could have been a miserable time exploring an open world full of impossible encounters ended up being revelatory; defeat wasn’t a mere setback anymore – it was an invitation to explore elsewhere in the game’s open environment. Simply put, Elden Ring’s world shames the icon-filled maps of Ubisoft and Rockstar, whilst also feeling more refreshing than From’s earlier dark fantasy action RPGs.

A few months ago I also covered my experiences of a classic Square RPG on this site, with my belated look at Final Fantasy V Advance. I wasn’t expecting anything too mindblowing from the game – especially not after trying FFVI and Chrono Trigger – but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth offered by the job and ability system. With the power to take a learned ability from one job and keep it whilst learning a new job, a character can have several specialties (a thief who knows white magic, or a monk who can use summons) – and this opens up a lot of options during combat. It’s a lot more enjoyable than using jobs in something like FFI or FFIII, and although the story wasn’t that exciting, it made the gameplay frequently feel rewarding.

I’m expecting my gaming year to be more interesting in 2023, even without an Elden Ring on the horizon. I didn’t want to make too many impulse purchases this year, or end up with too many half-finished games – but it’s allowed me to fully appreciate the games that I have made time for, at least.

Qazi’s Disposable Miscellany: Streaming

Okay, it’s not exactly a conventional part of an annual round-up, but I did enjoy doing some more streaming this year. My setup has barely changed from before – most of my streaming is on PC only, with the help of XSplit and Twitch – and I’m still not ready to start offering voiceover or facecam just yet, but there’s something about the promise of streaming a game that incentivises a player to persist with it. The majority of this year’s streamed footage came from Final Fantasy III – a game that I gave up on many years ago, but managed to complete in June. It’s not really the best RPG I’ve played, and it can be a bit of a slog, but the way it was left unfinished had haunted me for too long. I’m glad that I finally have some closure, but I want to keep doing more broadcasts, and I definitely have one or two more streams in mind for the new year.

Moving forward

I already have some plans for 2023 – an endless backlog of films I want to watch, some gaming/streaming pet projects I have vague ideas about… and I’m sure that more new tech, in some form, is inevitable. 2023 could just be another year of me making up for lost time whilst catching up on old things, but I hope to cover some new experiences too. As always, thanks to anyone who’s read, shared or commented on our content, and we hope you enjoy the festive period and the new year. Also, make sure that you take a look at Dan’s Disposable 2022 for an alternative take on the year in entertainment.

Noisia’s “Closer” out now

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Back in April of this year – when I covered the Critical Music compilation “20 Years of Underground Sonics”, I mentioned that things might be pretty busy for me in terms of covering interesting bass music releases, because Noisia’s “Closer” was just around the corner, and here we are. They’ve mentioned that it’s their third and final album, and in the days leading up to its release I wasn’t sure where I should set my expectations. Their debut, “Split the Atom”, was a refreshing and energetic approach to electronic music and drum and bass; I still listen to plenty of tracks from the Special Edition release today, and so many tracks were shot through with a distinctive sense of character and identity. This was something I found to be a little lacking in the follow-up album “Outer Edges” – there were still some pretty great tunes (courtesy of Anomaly and The Entangled), but other tracks struggled to find that sense of identity. Layers would be built up and achieve a slow-burn appeal, and then they would be over before there was any kind of payoff. It was a great way for the group to explore a different pace and vibe, but it left me wondering which way Noisia’s “Closer” would go.

Noisia’s “Closer” – a return to form

I needn’t have worried that much, it seems. Noisia’s “Closer” feels much more comfortable finding its groove when compared to Outer Edges, and there are many more tracks that establish their own sense of identity when compared to that difficult second album. In fact, I might go as far as saying that it has more variety than Split The Atom. With “Shutters” you find yourself listening to rapid lo-fi beeps that sound like they’re coming out of an 8-bit micro as they get blended with twee melodies, but then you’re thrown into “Halcyon”; a track with The Upbeats that’s more, well, upbeat, and changes the mood whilst retaining a distinct “Noisia” identity. It’s like the group decided that as this would be their final album they could have a little more fun. That sense of fun – the desire to have more variety and defy expectations – might disappoint those who come into the album expecting a particular sound, but generally I like the result. If you follow Noisia’s updates outside of their main studio album releases you might recoginse some returning tracks: for instance, “Shibuya Pet Store” from the “No Sleep Til… Japan (and Iceland)” Kickstarter project, or “Pleasure Model” (we covered the music video back in 2018.) A particularly bold tune is “The Hole Pt.1”; a complex “17/8” piece whose rhythm creates an unusual but compelling vibe of its own (and almost feels like a musical puzzle as you try to pin down that time signature…)

Worthy finale

If this is the last we hear of Noisia, it’s a great way to go out. I would easily rate this up there with Split The Atom, and the collaborations offer a lot of variety. Beyond Noisia’s “Closer”, I know that the members have individual projects going on (in particular I follow Thijs de Vlieger’s work a lot via his Twitter account @ThysMusic – but I know that Nik Roos and Martijn van Sonderen have accounts at @niknoisia and @ensernoisia respectively), so hopefully you can still enjoy their work in various new ways.

Noisia’s “Closer” – where to go

If you want to check out Noisia’s “Closer” for yourself, it’s available now on most good streaming platforms, you can buy the MP3s from Beatport or Bandcamp, and you can order pre-order the CD or vinyl box (ETA June and December respectively) at the Vision Recordings store.

Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former revealed

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Earlier this week the Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former was released on YouTube and announced on various social networks. Whilst I don’t follow Former a whole lot and had mixed feelings about Noisia’s last studio album Outer Edges, I’m always interested in anything new they have to show, and I first caught a tease of the video after seeing a tweet from Noisia last Friday that announced when the video would be available. Fast-forward back to today, after watching the Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former a number of times, and I’ve come away impressed by the way in which the slow and intense sound captured in the track has been complimented by such interesting imagery. The song Pleasure Model was originally released as part of Former’s Edge Mecha EP last year – again, I don’t follow Former’s music as much as I do Noisia which is why there wasn’t much coverage of the EP on these pages – but collaborations such as this and the Noisia/Upbeats release Dead Limit are always a good way to bring my attention to an artist or group that wasn’t really on my radar that much in the past.

Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former – slow and colourful

Pleasure Model video by Noisia
People in a similar position to me might be drawn by Noisia’s involvement and expect some breakneck drums and big drops, but instead as you watch the Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former you’re treated to a slow and soothing ambience that builds up with a steady rhythm and distorted vocals, taking a moment to wind down a bit later on before building up a final time as the song draws to a close. As ever, it helps to have headphones that shut out any noise from the room so that you can get the most out of the buzzy bass and surreal synth noises. What it lacks in any escalation of tempo it makes up for with the many layers of noise and the soundscape that’s created with those layers. Meanwhile the video shows colourful abstract landscapes, powerful use of light and dark, as well as a bunch of oddball individuals. Deliberate visual glitches flick around for brief moments and the use of strobing lights and blurry movement all adds to the overall experience.

Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former – wrapped up

As a song it’s certainly no Could This Be or Anomaly in terms of absurdly fast drum patterns, and I saw a few comments from people who were disappointed by this, but it’s easy to forget that these are musicians – Noisia especially – who are just as capable of delivering slower musical experiences that have plenty of depth. I thought that Outer Edges was a bit of a mixed bag but even I started to enjoy the low-key rhythms of The Entangled** after enough listens. Watching the Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former… you’re listening to something even slower than The Entangled but that fierce distortion and unnerving vocal contribution almost make up for any lack of urgency felt throughout the video. It’s almost – almost – the same kind of raw and pure noise that you might expect from “The Day Is My Enemy”-era Prodigy, and if you like that kind of sound, the Pleasure Model video by Noisia and Former is worth four and a bit minutes of your time. Meanwhile, if you like a more offbeat video accompanying your beats, turn the display size up and the lights down if you want to get wrapped up in the experience.

You can find Edge Mecha on Former’s SoundCloud here or alternatively you can listen to it on Spotify here

Listen to the entirety of Noisia’s Outer Edges on YouTube

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If you haven’t bought Outer Edges by Noisia and feel like checking out the album online without the interruptions you might get on, say, a free Spotify account, there might still be a solution. Earlier this week their official twitter account announced that, following requests from fans, you can now listen to the entirety of Outer Edges on Youtube; the group have uploaded the entire album to the Noisia YouTube channel as one continuous video. This means that anyone with an internet connection can now drive the entire break room/office/household (delete as applicable) nuts with the bass noise of Mantra, the slick beats of Anomaly or other sounds from any of the other tracks on the album.

Outer Edges on YouTube – worth listening to again

Outer Edges on Youtube

However, I know what you’re thinking. I’m rambling about Outer Edges on Youtube even though I decided to lay into the album in my original review? Admittedly, I still think that Split The Atom is better in terms of overall quality, and Outer Edges didn’t have quite so many standout tracks that resonated with me… However, it’s still definitely worth listening to if you get the chance, and there are plenty of tunes that other listeners might enjoy more than I did. Having Outer Edges on YouTube will allow more people to make their mind up, and I’m definitely going to go back to it from time to time (despite having the CD on a nearby shelf and being able to get high quality rips… but the YouTube version is at least a bit more convenient.)

Outer Edges on YouTube – additional content

Outer Edges on Youtube

The complete video comes in at a little under 59 minutes, so there’s a lot of content there to enjoy. The video doesn’t really have much in terms of visual content – abstract shades of grey moving around within the letters of each song’s name – but you’re probably going to have the YouTube window on another tab whilst you do other things anyway, and if you want official videos you can look around the Noisia YouTube channel for the ones that are available. Otherwise, enjoy nearly an hour of fancy Noisia noises at the link below.

You can find the Outer Edges video on YouTube here – and if you want to read my original review, you can do so here

Noisia: Outer Edges album review

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Outer Edges is the second studio album to be released by the Dutch electronic trio known as Noisia. The debut album “Split The Atom” was released around 2010 (unfortunately Disposable Media had yet to be relaunched so it was never covered) and delivered an energetic and inventive selection of drum and bass tunes, leaving fans eager for more. Whilst Noisia has kept itself busy with things like the special edition release of Split The Atom, collaborations with The Upbeats, music for DmC and more, the release of Outer Edges is a welcome reminder of why we found the debut album so enjoyable. Unfortunately, this new release has had a troubled launch – a leak of the album meant that Noisia had to act fast, and so they put the album up on their web store more than a month in advance of the planned September 16 release date. Their sadness and frustration over the situation was palpable when they sent out a message on Facebook detailing what had happened, but fans have shown support and sympathy on social media channels – Disposable Media itself appreciates that this is far from the launch they would have wanted, and respects the course of action taken.

Outer Edges – easing you in

Outer Edges contains a lot of what you would expect from a new Noisia release – there is plenty of energetic drum and bass in there, a few more low-key tracks, a few slower tracks, and a whole that seems varied in quality but contains a few standouts. The short intro track “The Approach” hardly goes anywhere but is a nice way of easing in to “Anomaly” – one of the tracks that had been previewed on Soundcloud and remains a standout with its shifts in rhythm and well-rounded structure. I had been listening to Anomaly repeatedly for quite some time whilst waiting for the album, and it still hasn’t lost any of its appeal. “Collider” then slows things down a bit but still has plenty of big beats and harsh effects that give it lots of flavour, as well as moments of calm amongst the noise. It could be said that a few core hooks are repeated too often and the song could be shorter and still find fans, but it’s still worth a listen. “Vigilantes” is a more curious track; slow beats, squelchy effects and warped samples create something that’s a welcome change of pace, but despite the catchy rhythms it still feels more like an interlude than something with any staying power.

Outer Edges

Outer Edges – momentum and missed opportunity

Moving on, the track “Tentacles” makes its identity known from the outset, with increasingly distorted repititions of the word “tentacles” before a steady beat comes in and is accompanied with wobbly effects. It’s one of the more forgettable tracks on the album, and like Vigilantes it feels a little bit like filler. The following track “Voodoo” starts off promisingly, with great drum rolls and build-ups, but the payoff is a little lacking to begin with; there are steady beats and washy effects that overstay their welcome a little bit, and just as you think the tune is starting to pick up again, there’s another slightly disappointing drop. A real missed opportunity. “Mantra” is a little more successful with its build-up in that the beat drop complements the layers that have already been built, rather than coming across as an anticlimax. Additionally, it maintains its sense of momentum throughout, and I think that it joins Anomaly as one of the more successful tracks. The short track “Surfaceless” also acts as a welcome interlude; it’s surprisingly chilled and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It would make a great contrast from something with fast pace and lots of noise, but sadly “Straight Hook” doesn’t take advantage of this possibility – the lack of structure and identity make it rather forgettable, and the slightly offbeat nature of certain elements doesn’t even save it with novelty value.

Outer Edges

Outer Edges – great intros and lack of character

“Stonewalled” makes a good effort at trying to save things with a simple but quick base rhythm in the beginning, and it kind of succeeds in doing more with less; it doesn’t sound like there’s a whole lot to the track, but what’s there makes for good listening and it’s over before you start to think it might drag on. “Motion Blur” follows and has a dreamy intro with no backbeat that transitions into a fairly simple bass and beat with some pleasing ambience. It’s not a particularly exciting track, but it’s not too offensive either. “The Entangled” has slow pseudo-dubstep rhythms complementing melodic beeps that have a pleasing, almost chiptune-style quality to them, and the drops and build-ups aren’t bad, but again it feels a little slow compared to the likes of “Mantra” and “Anomaly”. The following track “Exavolt” doesn’t do much to help the cause either; the unique rhythm and rich ambience don’t sit well with the sporadic beeps in other moments and it’s another track lacking in character. Meanwhile “Into Dust” spends far too long on its build-up to deliver anything of interest in time.

“Miniatures” and “Sinkhole” both have a weird, slow, low-key vibe that helps the two tracks to complement one another and create another interesting interlude, although the latter relies on its sampled chatter a little too much for my liking. “Miniatures” at least has a nice chilled vibe to it, even if that’s not what you might expect from the likes of Noisia. Anyway, as the album draws to a close there’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said; catchy beats that need a song with a stronger sense of structure and progression, tracks that could have ended a little sooner, build-ups that aren’t justified by the drops, chopped-up samples that don’t add enough to the mix of sounds, and occassional flashes of brilliance (the second half of “Get Deaded”)

Outer Edges

Outer Edges – difficult second album?

There’s no doubt that Outer Edges has a lot of good content and is at least worth a listen on streaming sites, but when Split The Atom had the great vocals and big drops of “My World”, or the superb structure of “Shellshock”, or the iconic sound of “Stigma”…you start to wonder what the equivalents are on Outer Edges. “Anomaly” has a lot of flavour and never gets old, and “The Entangled” may improve with repeat listens, but the standouts aren’t immediately evident… For the moment, we recommend giving this some time with streaming services before you commit to a purchase.

Noisia & The Upbeats: Dead Limit EP Review

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Since the release of their debut studio album Split the Atom in 2010, Noisia have been keeping themselves busy in various areas of electronic music, from their soundtrack for the rebooted Devil May Cry video game to their EP releases such as Purpose and Incessant.

Released on August 31st, Dead Limit is their latest offering. It’s an EP produced in partnership with producers Dylan Jones and Jeremy Glenn – better known as The Upbeats – and despite some of the songs not feeling like they have a lot of substance to them, all are enjoyable tunes to include in your playlist of choice.

Dead Limit by Noisia & The Upbeats

Dead Limit

The title track has all of the large build-ups and big drops you’d expect from Noisia and The Upbeats, with more and more effects being layered on and dropped out as the song progresses, clean snares complementing fat kick-drum beats.

It risks overstaying its welcome a little when the middle of the track feels like it isn’t really going anywhere, but the outro soon cuts in before you get a chance to notice this.

 

Inverse

Following on from the title track, Inverse combines menacing bass wobbles and a slow but relentless rhythm with more playful melodic elements and changes in tempo part-way through. With so much going on, there’s a lot to enjoy in this second part of the EP.

Inverse is always keen to bring different elements into the track and lose others, or change the mood of the song when you least expect it. It’s a track that never stays in one place for too long.

 

Dead Limit banner - Noisia and The Upbeats 1240x260

Omnivore and Mouthbreather

The third track Omnivore treats the listener to about one full minute of build-up before settling into an enjoyable rhythm, with the beats sticking to one main pattern free of too much variation as the rest of the song treats its audience to bassy buzzes and more squishy effects that somehow all work together within the simple but constant rhythm.

Based on a selection of vocal samples that explore the nature of, yes, people who breathe through their mouths, Mouthbreather is the final track on the EP. It’s the kind of sampled weirdness that all fans of electronic music have been familiar with for years and it helps to give the track a bit of identity and range, making it stand out among the other tracks through its quirky quotes and heavy breathing noises towards the end.

Noisia

 

The Dead Limit EP

Each of the four songs seems to roll along at a fairly similar tempo that is great for long mixes. Even though this creates the risk of giving the four tracks a rather ‘samey’ feel overall, it’s the kind of EP that begs to be listened to in one session rather than shuffling the individual tracks into a playlist of your own. Sometimes the epic build-ups are let down by beats that don’t have much variety going on, but more often than not the songs have a lot of back-and-forthing between different ‘moods’, such as calm and relaxed sections that are followed by bass-heavy segments that come out of nowhere.

Other EPs by Noisia (and other collaborations with them) have led to tracks that are instantly interesting and likeable – the Evol Intent collaboration “Long Gone” on the Purpose EP would fall into this category, for instance. However, when listening to Dead Limit it feels like the songs need a few repeat plays to really grow on the listener. If you don’t care too much for that and just like strong rhythms and powerful bass, then this EP is recommended. From the diversity of Inverse to the random talky bits of Mouthbreather, it’s a fun selection of tracks. The whole EP comes and goes within around twenty minutes yet still finds its own identity within that short time, setting itself apart from other Noisia EPs whilst delivering another great series of tunes.

 

Listen for yourself at Noisia SoundCloud.

 

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