Cyclic Defrost
http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/blog/?p=1635
For unassuming and occasionally awkward producer (and radio presenter) Tim Shiel, Faux Pas is an unexpectedly bold musical alter-ego – all dancing drums, whimsical synth sounds and an alluring sense of movement. In this, his third release (predated by another EP and an album), he shows off his skill as a remixer – with three reworkings sandwiched between a couple of top Faux Pas productions.
Changes' half dozen tracks are a fine summer six-pack – easy to take to the party, and not overwhelming enough to exhaust one's stamina. Originals 'Changes' and 'Coach' (and 'Coach in reverse', which is pretty much as the title suggests) are engaging pieces of collage-driven electronica - with sampled notes, drums, and hits rather than significant chunks of other recordings. They both skitter away in a solid fashion; it's no great stretch of the imagination that 'Changes' might become a quiet dancefloor hit, with its gently sweeping melodies and vocal hook. Shiel has a knack for cueing the, er, changes before loops outstay their welcome.
What I suspect will be the clincher for many, though, is the remix of Pikelet's 'Bug In Mouth'. It's like an early 90s commercial house hit, with frown'n'glide synth hooks and a beat which sends my mind straight to some cheesy beach party; flames on bamboo poles, congas being played into the night. It might just be the party at the end of the world, and I hear the kick drum echoing a little across the water, which ripples listlessly in the still-smoldering night. Pikelet's swooning vocal gives way to an unbelievably tacky portamento noodle, and even that can't spoil the mood.
In other words, it's somewhat naff on paper - but on a pair of speakers, it's really, really good.
Stepping back to pre-Apocalypse for a moment, and the Aleks and the Ramps and Zeal remixes round it off nicely. The Ramps' 'Pisces vs Aquarius' gets the cabin fever treatment, with its elemental drums pulled to the front alongside a couple of buzzingly ominous chords. Aleks' distorted vocals propel the song until it winds down into a breakdown/outro – similar to that of the original track, but with extra sugar-coating. Still on the sugary tip, Faux Pas injects Zeal's 'Yumi and the Sky' with a couple of Ramps banjo lines (taken from 'Graveyard Etiquette') which sit surprisingly well with Zeal's soft, boyish croon. Add a calypso mid section that resembles a detergent ad, and you're somewhere close to picturing it. Perhaps. - Jon Tjhia
Mess and Noise
http://www.messandnoise.com/releases/5822
Just in time for the festive season comes this Walkers' half-dozen from Melbourne artist/producer Tim Shiel, an EP of short and sweet pleasures. It's a mixed selection in every sense: half new tracks, half remixes of Zeal, Pikelet and Aleks and the Ramps, respectively.
It's no surprise that the title track is attracting national radio play. 'Changes' is a well-constructed slice of electro-pop, built on a simple enough 4/4 beat but with enough augmentation to keep it interesting. Flute-like synth sounds whirl in and out, and a crooner-ish vocal sample – like a sped-up Sinatra singing down a long-distance phone line – brings the Avalanches to mind. "Every time I think that I'm the only one who's lonely someone calls for me" – the mood is unmistakably summery, and I'm guessing that many an indie disco will be giving 'Changes' a flogging over the coming months.
The remix of Pikelet's 'Bug-In-Mouth' has a similar forward momentum, reinforcing the woozy layers of the original song with an insistent rhythmic scaffold, until about two-thirds through, when the beat drops out for a few moments and the texture becomes wispier, more spacious, as accordion and tinkling outer space sounds peek through. It's a nice reworking. I'm not sure that the remix of the Ramps' 'Pisces vs Aquarius' is as successful, but I can certainly imagine the band crafting a suitably manic dance routine to go with the pounding drums and hyperactive vocal 'oh-oh-ohs' that ping across the mix. The sugar-rush continues across 'Coach' and 'Coach In Reverse', two brief tracks that meld decorative high-pitched squiggles with a warm synthesised bass. Enjoy, but don't overdo it. - Emmy Hennings
Zebra MagazineFaux Pas' Tim Shiel knows how to arrange a tune and he wants you to know it too: his new EP combines new tracks and remixes for other artists in an unabashed display of magpie found-sound dance-pop at its most decadent and impressive, setting excitable sampled rhythms against an assortment of tinkles and twinkles and fleeting genre affectations. Rounding up remixes for third parties is a good idea: there's so much going on in Faux Pas' dense arrangements that without a song to anchor everything on the parade of details can appear diffuse. I'm not convinced that Shiel has worked out what he wants to do with songs though: even on his charmingly wistful remix of Pikelet's Bug-in-Mouth, there's a sense that emotive stylistic effects are being gestured towards rather than achieved. But it's the scope of the Faux Pas project that makes such partial successes so fascinating, and the real deal such a tantalising prospect. - Tim Finney
Rave Magazinehttp://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/7043/181/Faux Pas is Tim Shiel from Melbourne and for a guy who's so into Paul McCartney this EP is focused strangely on the fun, dancier end of the electro-pop spectrum. While certainly half in the laptop school of electronica it's got the right beats and rhythmic sensibilities to carry it well out of the headphones and perhaps even onto the dancefloors. Title track 'Changes' is a multi-layered and well-paced jam with seriously good adventures into tone and texture. Later on the EP, 'Coach' is similarly successful with it's mysterious synth scales floating atop hand-claps and keyboard glimmers. It's always fresh to hear electronic music that lacks pretension and goes straight for the heart and body rather than just the brain. Tim Shiel's favourite Beatle may be Paul but he's got the style and focus to craft brilliantly poppy jams. - Richard Macfarlane
InpressSingle of the week
When the meek eventually inherit the earth, bedroom laptop-pop makers will doubtlessly be at the front of the line, eager to reap the benefits of locking themselves away in their rooms for years on and losing track of time, hygiene and a well-rounded social life. Who knows about the finitudes of Faux Pas' (aka Tim Shiel's) personal traits but god bless his meld of stuttering beats, hand claps and flute samples into a looped-out wall of sound that's so gloriously psychedelic - and yet surprisingly soulful - you'll want to do buckets and watch your screensaver for hours... or something like that. - Adrian May
i think people don't really know what to make of it. thats ok