Based in East Vancouver, Ranta has been a freelance music scribe since 2004. His bylines have appeared in such publications as Exclaim!, CBC Music, PopMatters and Tiny Mix Tapes. He has also performed jury duty for the Polaris Music Prize, Pazz & Jop, and Juno Awards. Ranta graduated with distinction from SFU’s Contemporary Arts program with a BFA in music in the summer of 2012.
Features
Thursday, April 4 2013
It's Going to Get Dark: An Interview with the Milk Carton Kids
As they toured in support of their 2011 albums, given away for free online, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan sat down with PopMatters to drink whiskey and discuss the folk scene, the Canadian Football League, The Simpsons, and the Rocky Mountains.
Thursday, October 1 2009
Hey Buddy, Got a Spare Time Machine? Ask Pepe Deluxé
The day will come when Spare Time Machine is revered as the masterpiece it is by the crowd it deserves. Luckily, Tomi Paajaanen and James Spectrum have this happy pill to keep them sane until that day arrives.
Columns
Monday, December 17 2012
Cuts Without Pastes: Electronic Music Artists that Fell Through the Cracks
Not everyone can be Al Walser. Despite their abilities and efforts, some producers didn't click with their audiences, ending up in some kind of digital purgatory. Alan Ranta looks at a few artists that, for various reasons, slipped through the cracks.
Thursday, May 3 2012
Party Machine: The Rise of Canadian Electronic Music
If Toronto is having a Seattle moment, as The New York Times called it, it's fair to say that Canadian electronic music is having a Chicago/Detroit moment.
Thursday, February 9 2012
Playing Guarde: Music Metacreation and the Vanguard
To create something or to create something that creates something; that is a question. But if you lead an electric horse to art, does it dream of the avant-garde?
Tuesday, June 7 2011
Idle Chatter About Paul Lansky
With "Notjustmoreidlechatter", Paul Lansky attempted to make a piece that would withstand the monotony of archival recording, future-proofed against the technological developments in the field of digital sound manipulation.
Friday, May 6 2011
Soundscape Mix #14: Ancient Communication
How we see things is affected by how we say things. This mix is a reflection on formerly prominent methods and modes of communication, such as the typewriter, cassette tape, and radio. Enjoy your cultural evolution.
Reviews
Friday, September 14 2012
Cristian Vogel: The Inertials
Forget everything you know about Cristian Vogel ... unless you've never heard of him, in which case, prepare to learn a lot about Cristian Vogel, care of his finest work in 20 years or so.
Monday, July 2 2012
Krazy Baldhead: The Noise in the Sky
Unlike most Ed Banger releases, producer Pierre-Antoine Grison allows the time to enjoy the journey of his sophomore album, rather than just careening listeners from one place to another.
Friday, June 29 2012
Various Artists: Personal Space
Considering where we are now in looking back at this pre-MIDI era of the late '70s and early '80s, at the first generation of bedroom producers, staggeringly obvious become the true effects of Dr. Robert Moog's lifelong efforts to make electronic music more accessible.
Thursday, June 28 2012
Lorn: Ask the Dust
Where Marcos Ortega's 2010 debut was a rather static affair, Ask the Dust establishes the young producer as one of the most dynamic and distinct talents on Ninja Tune's impressive roster.
Monday, May 14 2012
Lords of Acid: Deep Chills
Just when you thought they were gone, Belgian electro-industrial artists come raging back with their first new album in over a decade… Much like herpes.
Blogs
Thursday, January 31 2013
Fake Shark Real Zombie - "Get Weird" (video) (PopMatters Premiere)
This shit won't rot your brain, but it might eat it.
Wednesday, October 10 2012
No Sinner - "Love is a Madness" (video) (PopMatters Premiere)
"I have loved to the point of madness; that which is called madness, that which to me, is the only sensible way to love." - Françoise Sagan
Tuesday, August 7 2012
Laetitia Sadier - "The Rule of the Game" (video) + Tour Dates
An ethereal video from one of the most important political pop albums of the past decade.
Tuesday, July 17 2012
Pepe Deluxé – "Go Supersonic" (video / stream)
Typically, when a band releases a video for their new single, they release a video for their new single. That video is often a series of spiffy, moving images that relate visually and/or thematically to the song that accompanies it, for the purpose of selling said song. Pepe Deluxé is not a typical band.
