Manchester based producer Fantastic Mr Fox celebrates his appearance in the Hemlock Recordings (the label run by Untold that has not yet but a single foot wrong) room at Plan B on Friday 14th March for Hyp!Hyp!Hype! with a mix. Check the flyer for the full lineup, any LDN heads not at Bloc that w/e would do well to check it out.
01 Washed Out "Get Up" (Mexican Summer) 02 Lukid "Veto" (Werk) 03 King Midas Sound "Lost" (Hyperdub) 04 Rotating Assembly "Orchestra Hall" (Sound Signature) 05 Anthony Shakir "Shake it Up Dub (Remix)" (KMS) 06 Robert Owens "Bring Down the Walls" (Trax) 07 Lone "Once in a While" (Werk) 08 Jacob Korn "Grosskariert" (Permanent Vacation) 09 Joy Orbison "The Shrew Would Have Cushioned the Blow (Actress remix)" (Aus) 10 Prince "When Doves Cry" (Warner Bros) 11 Dez Williams "Abandoned Emotions" (Cheap) 12 DJ Duke "Future Blast" (Music For Your Ears) 13 Glass Domain "Interlock" (Clone) 14 Drexciya "Lost Vessel" (Tresor) 15 The Future "Daz" (Black Melody) 16 Aardvarck "Tulti" (Eat Concrete) 17 Motor City Drum Ensemble "Raw Cuts #5" (Faces) 18 Basic Soul Unit "Hopy Unity Vision" (New Kanada) 19 Adonis "No Way Back" (Trax) 20 K-Alexi "Vertigo" (Transmat) 21 J Dilla "Nothing Like This" (Stones Throw)
If like me, you saw the behind the scenes snaps, forgot about them, subsequently got sent the mp3s, bummed the shit out of the Guido remix, playing it to death and every opportunity and then kinda forgot about the video; then this is for you.
If Symptoms Persist label boss Wedge informs us:
"This is the video we made for the first release on ISP - Wedge and Shadz - 'Running Away.' The video was shot at a remote location in South Wales and filmed on 16mm..."
This month's Sonic Router: Suburban Sine Wave Surfing URB.com column is now live-o.
Focussing on the forthcoming long players February has brought announcements of, it includes words on works from Ikonika, Vex'd, F, Kontext, Roska, Eleven Tigers and Clubroot.
Kan Kick - Pop Tunes, Morning Paper Illum Sphere - Never Lie Twice J88 - Stupid Lies Harmonic 313 & Wiley - Scar Ackie - Call Me Rambo Illum Sphere- Go Killum Oddisee & Ken Starr - This Is Hip-Hop Salma Agha - Come Closer Don Leisure & Rodski - Loose Women Joker - Tron! Africa Hitech - Glangslap Three 6 Mafia - Tear Da Club Up Someone - Just A Sketch Computer Jay - Maintain (Falty DL Remix) Lab Rat XL - Lab Rat 1 Illum Sphere - Titan Sole Fusion - Bass Tone Alfredo Y Su Salsa Montanera - La Escoba Anthony Shakir - Roaming Rainbow Team - My Darling Exquisite Taste - It's You That's Happening Lone - Once In A While Krystal Klear - Since Then Untold - Flexible Africa Hitech - Said Speed Jammer - Better Than (Lorn Remix) Illum Sphere - Supercharged The Beatles - Polythene Pam Champion Soul (feat. Ronyx) - Holdin' On (Dr. Who Dat? Remix) Dabrye - Gimme Lowlands
First leakage from South London MC,Tranqill's 'The Hidden Treasures' EP on the ever reliable One Handed Music imprint. An exciting visual teaser directed by Haydn Davies.
You can also have yourself a merry little DL of the track over at Tranqill's bandcamp site, where you can conveniently pre-order the Vinyl EP or grab the mp3 release.
The dark cave like womb of Plastic People's dance floor, lit by that one iconic red light (pictured), is one of those places its easy to feel completely comfortable. Ever since I first went there, traveling the width of London to go to a night where you could get your own tracks played on one of the UKs most respected soundsystems (later I learned about the incredible heritage the CDR nights have amongst hip hop folk), its been one of those places you get incredibly excited to see people play.
Personally, I've never attended religiously enough to become part of the bar's furniture, but Ihave had some of my most musical epiphanies there. Hudson Mohawke and Nosaj Thing's respective launch parties spring immediately to mind but the first time Joker, Starkey, Untold played there are landmarks in my history and I don't think they would've been half as memorable had it not been for the (literal) warmth, and power of the sound system packed into the recesses of that tiny room.
Now, unless you're twitter/facebook ignorant you'll have undoubtedly seen that the police are threatening to review Plastic People's license on the grounds that the way the management have been operating the club has breached the existing terms of its licence and failed to prevent crime and disorder and public nuisance.
Here is the management's official statement:
The notice outside the club’s premises will be there till the 11th March, which is the closing date for representations to be made by ‘interested parties’ for or against the closure or any other outcome of the review.
After the 11th, the licensing department at Hackney Council will, within 10 days, write to all parties concerned to invite them to a sub-committee hearing on a given date at a given address where they would make their case. That hearing should take place by the 31st of March.
It would then be up to the Committee to decide on the eventual outcome which could be one or more of these:
(a) To revoke the license altogether; (b) To suspend the license for a period not exceeding three months; (c) To modify the conditions of the license;
Once a decision has been made, we would be notified and in the worst case scenario, we would have the option of appealing, but our current aim is to work with the Police and the Licensing Authority to find a solution that is satisfactory to all.
A collection of people involved in the club are setting up a Committee called Friends of Plastic People. They will gather people’s experiences of working with and attending Plastic People over the years. They will meet this week and no doubt they will let you know how you can help.
I would urge everyone to hold back on making representations to the Police or the Council in the meantime, but by all means carry on spreading the word.
So for the lack of a better phrase, keep your eyes peeled for word on how you can help register your dismay at one of LDN's most potent music institutions, home of FWD>>, CDR, Warm and Medium amongst numerous other nights, being under threat.
To mark the announcement of his full UK tour, The Pegasus Rising Tour, Hudson Mohawke has upped a bootleg of Jodeci's 'Freek'n'You' - made in the vein of his much celebrated 'Oops' remix - as well as the third installment in his annual Valentines Slow Jams mix series.
The internet is a beautiful thing when two hot to trot producers can get to link up over it. Here's the result, an exclusive, heavy as fuck 2 minute + remix of Slugabed's 'Pressure' by Belgian producer Dynooo.
After slaughtering our recent Sonic Router is 1 rave with his midnight slot earlier this month, we've been expecting big things from Gemmy. With word leaking months ago that his debut album for Planet Mu was ready (though its still to appear in the ether as of yet) there's been a couple of remixes surfacing of late including one on the grassroots Carbon Logic initiative; as well as a couple of sides on two of M4 Records most recent (split 12"s with Wedge) releases.
This mix also comes at a particularly pertinent time for Rob Booth who, with this mix, celebrates his 100th show. Booth's Electronic Explorations podcast has been a constantly great source of music since I first discovered it around about show 21, and looking back through the ample and, quite frankly stacked, list of guest mixes, its more than evident that there isn't any podcast series out there as committed to bringing quality electronic music direct to your iTunes as EE.
London based Subeena is another one of those producers that floats between the margins of several genres, seemingly taking delight in confounding any simplistic attempt to categorise her music. Ostensibly connected to dubstep, in so far as its skeletal percussive framework and focus on low-end motion were touchstones, her recent Planet Mu release ‘Solidify’ was essentially a standalone creature. Its strongly defined song narrative and gauzy synth melodies, along with Om’Mas Keith and Jamie Woon’s honeyed vocals, brought the final result closer to a kind of slo-mo electronic soul. She follows a similar path on the follow-up for Opit, but the pace has been upped considerably, tracing similar lines to the cosmic house and garage vibes of her similarly minded contemporaries on the Eglo label, Floating Points and Alexander Nut.
In fact, ‘Picture’ sounds a little like the cousin of Floating Points’ mercurial ‘Vacuum Boogie,’ built around thick, blocky chords and heavily filtered backing ambience that weaves in and out of a hypnotic percussive figure. The London connection is evident once again, in the track’s bubbling sub-bass and the spacious nature of its house-tinted rhythm, but it’s the pulse of London’s pirates shot into orbit with a headful of Lindstrom’s space disco. If anything, ‘Spectrums’ stretches even further from earth, its constantly shifting dynamics and eddies of reverb tapping into some otherworldly, pleasantly dissociated headspace.
Although driven by the ebb and flow of dance music, and with more than a little deep house in their genetic code, it’s hard not to feel that a little of these tracks’ charm would be lost in the mix. A little like most of Floating Points’ recent material, Subeena‘s productions are so defiantly musical that not to listen to them in their entirety would do her a disservice – further evidence that there’s far more churning in the melting-pot of London’s ever-shifting bass scene than simple floor-filling fodder. Space is the place, man.
Words: Rory Gibb Out: "still not sure when it's out exactly but should be very soon"
Bristol's grasp on dubstep is undeniable... There's something about the city that breeds great music, from the hyperactive colouration of people like Joker, Gemmy, Guido and Hyetal, to the deepness of Pinch's Tectonic imprint (home to 2562 and Jack Sparrow amongst others) and beyond into the technoid void of people like Peverelist and Kowton.
And so its with a smattering of smugness we present you with Rhythm Factory's Friday line up bringing the best of the South West to East London...
Pinch Peverelist Redlight Gemmy & Guido Hyetal DJ Derek
Venue: The Rhythm Factory Date: Feb 26th Doors: 10pm - 5.30am Cost: £5 (Advance)/£8 NUS/£10 Door After 12
Ahead of his debut artist album, 'Dissociate,' dropping next month of the Bristol birthed Immerse imprint, Kontext has put together a free EP of older material.
Cue gumpf: "'Acid Pasta EP' is not a brand new piece of work. It's a best part of personal skill improvement I worked on at home studio in years 2005-2006. I wanted to find out if I could create something totally different from drum'n'bass and downtempo that I used to produce then. Something more about minimal 4x4 techno/house kinds of music.
Archive also includes some previews from my forthcoming Dissociate LP on Immerse Records (official release date: 26th of March 2010)"
When twitter blows up and word quickly spreads about something happening right on the radio right there and then, that you miss because you didn't yet have an iPhone with the Rinse.fm app, it can be somewhat of an annoyance. But luckily, thanks to his generosity, you can download/stream/file next to all the other boom mixes on your hard drive, Om Unit's guest mix for Plastician's Rinse show which was broadcast earlier this week.
Intro Om Unit - Lightgrids (Illum Sphere remix) (all city) Freddy Todd - Can't Fathom This (Om Unit Remix) (carcrashset) Om Unit - Wonderlust (dub plate) Om Unit - Cradle (terrorhythm) Foreign Beggars - Move Higher (Om Unit Remix) (dub plate) The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Power Of Love (Om Unit's 5am Dub) (A word from DR Channard) Om Unit - Fibonacci 10 (dub plate) Pixelord - Cybernator (Om Unit Remix) (forthcoming Error Broadcast) Om Unit - The Timps (dub plate) Mizz Beats - My World (Om Unit Remix) (dub plate) Om Unit - Searching (dub plate)
Catch Om on the 5th March at the Original Cultures showcase at Corbet Place in Truman Brewery.
Unless you've been locked in a toilet for the last 6 months - fending off starvation through the consumption of toilet duck tablets and Imperial Leather - you'll have no doubt heard of Ramp Recordings; and the constantly mesmerizing roster of artists - including trailblazers like Shortstuff, Slugabed, Desto, Tokimonsta and Zomby amongst numerous others - that releases music on the imprint.
Kmag have just upped a guest mix from label lynchpin Tom, which features a whole heap of exciting ass material that's forthcoming on the label.
Channelling that productive pocket of the underground where labels like Echodub and Formant Recordings seem to deservedly flourish, Canadian producer HxdB, has to date released only one physical 12", 'Prism,' on the Manchester based label Mindset. But on the strength of it - particularly the rolling sophistication of the single's Bside 'Showdown At The Cinema' - and of those few listens to his digital releases on the afore mentioned Echodub and Dubkraft labels, along with his Electronic Explorations mix, we asked him to craft something for us to better introduce his music to the globe.
In between flights to Thailand, he shot us a link to his mix instalment, humbly questioning if we were still up for having him. Luckily he had us sold at the F - 'Phase One' > DJ Madd - 'I Know It's You' transition...
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
HxdB: I'm 32 years old from Vancouver, Canada. I love pie.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
Whats the reasoning behind the Hexadecibel/HxdB moniker?
Hexadecibel is a play on words. This ties into my nerdiness... Hexadecimal is a positional numeral system with a radix (told you it was nerdy), and of course decibel is a measurement of sound, so I figured it sounded clever. HxdB is just to keep it simple for people.
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?
Well, many, many moons ago (nearly a decade now) I was thoroughly entrenched in electronic music in it's many forms and had always been fascinated with computers, it was just a natural step for me to try my shot at production. I started producing with my best friend under the alias MIDIevil, we progressed quickly using a "borrowed" version of Fruity Loops and managed to knock out a dozen or so half-decent tunes. We both had many things change in our lives and the music fell by the wayside for quite some time. What REALLY inspired me to get back into it were 2 separate events. The first, was the very first time I heard dubstep, it was at a gig listening to my now friends Ben and Josh Searles (Daega Sound), which completely blew me away. The second was my epiphany moment, listening to Skream play at Shambhala music festival here in BC on a 90k watt system. The rest as they say is history, I just HAD to give it another stab.
What’s your production set up like?
Well, it's changed quite a bit over the years, having gone through an old EMU E4X sampler, Korg Triton, Oberheim Xpander, various external effects, and several mixers. Currently I'm running a rather crippled setup after my last mixer (Korg Zero 8) died on me. FL Studio is my main DAW, but I've been using Ableton Live more and more recently. I run an Echo Gina24 soundcard, Novation MIDI controller, Korg KP3 & KRK Rokit 8s speakers and a KRK 10" sub, along with a cornucopia of effects and VST synths. Recently though I've fallen head over heels in love with the VST synth, Sylenth1 and nearly all of my analogue sounds come from it.
Where do you take inspiration from while making music?
I get inspired from everything around me... sights I see, friends, experiences both good and bad. I live in such an amazing city it's hard not to be inspired all the time. Also, I hear so much incredible music from my producer friends, I'm constantly trying to improve and try new things with my sound.
How would you describe your sound?
Hehe, I was afraid you'd ask this question because I hate to describe it without sounding like a dork. I guess you could say that my sound is deep and soulful, I draw a lot of inspiration from jazz and blues sounds and the melodies and harmonies they use. I like to always try and give my songs a dance-floor edge while keeping the emotional content high. My dubstep is tinged with sprinklings of garage, 2-step, techno, house and drum n bass.
What’s the scene like in Vancouver?
2 words... A, MAZING. There are a number of great promoters in the city that have done a great job of building a fun and safe scene, with a seemingly endless supply of top-shelf shows. Everyone gets along and co-operates, it's a marvel really. Not to mention all of the other awesome producers, DJs and supporters here. I think it's like a "perfect-storm" of talent and timing. Unfortunately, I don't think many of Vancouver’s talented producers have been given the international acclaim I believe they deserve, so I'm going to flagrantly promote them right now! Max Ulis, DJ Cure, Taal Mala, Self Evident, Phowa, Calamalka, M. Red, Ill-Esha, Longwalkshortdock, Clix, Glitchy & Scratchy and a whole host of others are all doing very large things at this moment and I expect the world to see MUCH more from Vancouver in 2010.
I see you run the Pressing Issues label with DJ Cure; how did that come about and what sounds does the imprint represent?
Well, Pressing Issues started off as somewhat of an experiment in label management with a focus on community involvement. The label started on dubstepforum.com and was unique in that forum community members could vote on the music that would eventually be released on vinyl. The label did 2 successful vinyl releases but unfortunately, was put to the wayside due to PI committee members' increasingly busy lives. The label was given to Cure so that he could take the reigns and keep it moving along. This is where I came in, when he asked me to take part. Since then, we've put together an impressive list of demos from some of our favourite producers and are currently inches from posting the poll for 003. We've streamlined our process and plan to keep things rolling well into the future. Expect a tune from XI entitled 'Gravity' on 003, and for 004 we have a BIG surprise up our sleeves in the form of a tune from one of the top luminaries (in my ever-so-humble opinion) in the sound. The sound we're focusing on is big, deep, dance-floor, bass music.
What have you got coming up this year?
I've got 12"s upcoming on Formant Recordings, Surface Tension, 2 on Rob Sparx's Migration, hopefully another release on Mindset, perhaps also one on Syte and O-Dessa's Open Earz, and also hopefully 1 more on DubKraft. Digitally you can expect to see releases on Betamorph, Gamma Audio, Echodub & Kursed. As far as gigs go, the only thing major is a show at Burning Man, everything else is tentative, so I can't really comment.
Tell us about the mix you’ve done for us, what tracks just had to be included?
I wanted to do a mix that fully encapsulates what you could expect from a hxdb show, progressive mixing and a mix that tells a story...Something that starts in 1 place and ends somewhere else entirely different. I wanted to have some of my own material in there alongside some of what I feel is the finest of the unsung producers, alongside some of the top producers in the game. XI - 'Gravity' for obvious reasons was just a must, NumberNin6's tune is amazing and Distal - 'Attempt at Yellow' is just a killer.
Have you got any words of wisdom for our readers?
Be open minded with music!!!! Compartmentalizing music is harmful to creativity… Oh and, don't eat yellow snow.
New clip from Starkey, succinctly timed before the release of his sophomore album, 'Ear Drums & Black Holes' on Planet Mu, due 19th April - though this is him embracing his compositional side. An orchestral work rather than the brash street bass fuelled energy fans are used to.
Senseless honcho and all round vibeathon DeVille just linked an exclusive mix for the excellent ScenexScience blog featuring a shit load of forthcoming Senseless material.
Portland raised, LA based beat maker devonwho is the nuts. Releasing his stew of seriously warped head nodding heat on labels like Rush Hour, Fat City and his own Klipmode imprint he's got our full attention right about now.
Perfect timing then that he's releasing a re-worked version of his album 'Funraiser Vol 1: Thumbtracks' for free via bandcamp. Featuring versions by people like P.U.D.G.E, Shlohmo, TOKiMONSTA, Matthew David and Teebs its well worth the 0.0003 of a calorie you'll exert by clicking on the below link.
As the world drools at the prospect of a Roska (Roska-Roska-Roska...) full length album, the man like Monsta has been making animated birds sing on a short preview clip for 'Squark.'
And ahead of the release of what is essentially the first UK funky artist album of any merit to date on Rinse Recordings on the 27th March, Roska has given out a few track previews which you can stream at your leisure over at the excellent Pipedown blog.
1. D-Malice - Visions - Roska Special 2. Roska - In Your Handbag - Fingaprint Remix 3. Deadboy - If You Want Me 4. Roska - Feeline VIP 5. Zinc - Music Makers 6. Roska ft Nikki - Energy 7. Altered Natives - Rass Out 8. Sticky & Paleface - Open Your Eyes (Roska Loves Congos Mix) 9. Roska - Time Stamp 10. DVA - Nasty Nasty Nasty (Roska Remix) 11. L-Vis 1990 - Zahonda 12. Untold - Just For You (Roska Remix)
With all this writing, linking and posting about regular mix series I'm starting to feel like a parrot - minus the dressing in bright colours shit, I'm a closet goth and proud of it, whut? - I'm constantly repeating myself for the sake of a cheap laugh... but shit... people like Ballers/Lucky Me, XLR8R and FACT are always coming with a gully selection that it's becoming real hard not to impart some of my obvious passion for their audio/internet skills onto you.
With that said, this next Ballers Mix comes from Samoyed, a man who runs Flask Records and shares his production moniker with a suitably fluffy breed of Siberian dog. The tracklist is packed full of dope people and includes exclusive business from Lukid and Rekordah with a specialist wandering eye over some pearls from the forthcoming Flask catalogue.
Mweslee - Variations Pour CX Pallas (nod navigators) Rekordah - Green Check (unreleased) Caural feat. Diverse - Blacktops & Plains (Choclate Ind) DAK - Wego (Leaving) Architeq - Mind Games (Samoyed remix) (Tirk) Radiq - Rude Boy Anthem (Logistic) Samoyed - fir (demo) Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood Ferguson - All For Love (Extended) (Alpha Pup) Samoyed - Slump (unreleased) The Poacher and The Ghillie - Herself (forthcoming on Flask) Comfort Fit - Superposition (Remix) (Tokyo Dawn) Stoopz and Breeze - Mercury Morris (Butter Made) Fingers inc. - Mystery of Love (instrumental) (DJ int) Telepathe - In Your Line (Rupture & Shadetek remix) (Dutty Artz) Lukid - Eye Begins to See (unreleased) Kentphonic - Hiya Kaya (Stalwart) Kenny Dope - Sown Bwoy (Dope Wax) Manitoba - Dundas, Ontario (Remix) (Leaf) Groove Chronicles - Stone Cold (DPR) 8Bitch - In the Moog for Love (unreleased) Mast - Bullocks Running (forthcoming on Flask)
Untold’s 'Gonna Work Out Fine EP' was a floor stopper, the instigator of countless “what the fuck is this?” moments in the middle of a night. But if ‘Stop What You’re Doing’ is still enough to halt a dancefloor in its tracks entirely, it’s a soft and welcoming hug compared with some of the tracks he’s been piecing together since. ‘Bad Girls,’ his contribution to Fabric’s Elevator Music compilation, jerked back and forth like an unruly child having a full-on temper tantrum, and his remix of Baobinga’s ‘Ride It’ hits the neural circuits so hard it’s nigh on impossible to tell whether that’s pleasure or pain hitting your gut. An exercise in barely restrained dementia, the track’s central drum motif circles in an ever-tightening loop around trademark Untold bass stabs and twisting, pained sampleplay. It’s intense to the point of inducing nausea, and I’m still trying to work out whether that’s entirely a good thing.
Next to such a wonderfully sadistic piece of work, Baobinga’s original never quite stood a chance. Which is a shame in a way, as it’s an addictive – if slightly straightforward – march through what-u-call-it territory, riding off a cheeky cowbell riff that wouldn’t sound out of place on a DFA record circa 2002. Its precise house groove can’t help but lack some of the rhythmic fluidity of his earlier ‘Tongue Riddim’ release though, as limb-flailing acrobatics are substituted for head-nods to a tight four-to-the-floor pulse.
Sometimes you miss stuff... you get yourself so caught up in planning something, traveling somewhere or babysitting your sister's schizophrenic cat that those little bits pass you by. This is what apparently happened to me over the last week or two, so here you have it... a round up.
::
Given away after his EP, 'Long Live The Plan,' took longer than expected to appear in/on digital outlets (it's there now btw), MCR's Illum Sphere dropped 'Agent White' for free.
Starkbot Beats gave away a remix of The Constellations track 'Setback' last week too. A prelude to his awe inspiring album, 'Ear Drums & Black Holes,' which is dropping imminently on Planet Mu.
Bristol producers Wedge & Aesoteric gave up a free download of their 'Use Only As Directed' track ahead of the Apple Pips takeover at fabric this Friday night.
Your friendly neighbourhood pop duo, Darkstar, also leaked a track called 'Automating' which apparently didn't make the final cut for their forthcoming Hyperdub album. A nice little insight into their new material...
And to round it off, LV spun together an exclusive mix of mainly South African house music for Blackdown. As always there's an accompanying interview that makes anyone else's knowledge about music sound slim to weak in comparison. READ/DOWNLOAD:LV - OKZHARP Mix
Tracklist:
Okmalumkoolkat - OK Zharp intro ? - Ketokole Big Nuz - Le Ngoma DJ Killer & Nyekx aka Blackboyz - Killer in the Jungle French Fries feat Bambounou - Coconut LV - Dream Cargo slomo rub Tshwara feat DJ Menace - ? ? - Bring Me Love DJ Clock - Track 13 ? - The Offering Dikota- Track 6 DJ Cndo - Terminator Big Nuz with Tira, Bonz Twitty - Superman ? - Nkosana ? - ? ? - Arise and Shine Scratcha DVA - Dump Spin - Track 3 ? - ? Zomby – Balloon People DJ Fork and Knife vs Cabbage - Track 4 Mujava feat Tamara and K - Alostro Brothers of Peace feat Zulu & Costa - Bop Killers ? - Wild Percussions LV & Fletcher - Michael Jones (LV dub)
Unless you count Joker, whose sound easily flits between the genre cracks, Hyperdub haven’t released any grime before, which is a pretty amazing feat considering Kode9 has always been a strong advocate of the sound. Maybe there just wasn’t much need for grime on Hyperdub over its 5 year tenure, the labels dark distopian sound in the early years may not have suited grime so afluently; but now the horizons have expanded and the raw synth led hyper-funk of more recent material opens the doors back up for producers like Terror Danjah and DOK.
‘Acid’ sees Danjah on an old skool rave tip merging his hard skipping dense funk with ’92 Hoover synths that aren’t far off being a homage to The Prodigy’s ‘Charlie,’ minus the cartoon cat samples, here replaced with some seriously big hooks and drum programming to die/dance for. ‘Pro Plus’ sees Terror Danjah hook up with the underrated DOK - a producer sometimes described as Danjah’s evil twin who stays in the shadows, lurking with intent - who also has a distinctive sound that’s maybe a little more percussive than Terror’s. Sub bass grooves and swirling synth melodies ensue getting things bumping with a a spacious drum groove.
After twitter ruminations and rogue facebook updates broke the news of an imminent 2010 Brainfeeder LDN showcase - the two previous events were held at a warehouse location in Shoreditch - we're happy to be able to confirm that, yes, the Flying Lotus helmed Brainfeeder family is traversing the oceans and once again coming to London this March.
With the presence of the Red Bull Music Academy weighing heavy on our nation's capital this month, FlyLo has teamed up with the RBMA crew to bring his label's party to fabric on the 10th March.
Featuring a factual whos who in instrumental hip hop, the line up is hands down, jawdropping. Dimlite - the originator - alongside the only man alive capable of playing a micro korg with a shoe and making it sound beautiful, Dorian Concept, alongside future dubstep masters Kode 9 and Martyn, plus the bountiful energetics of Gaslamp Killer, Daedelus and J Rocc. Topped and tailed by Warp's wonderboy Flying Lotus (whose 2nd LP for the label, 'Cosmogramma,' is due around Easter time) and former Sonic Router mix giver (thats the official title of all SR featured artists), Tokimonsta.
Infrasonics boss Spatial hooked up a mix for FACT - including a hell of a lot of exclusive material from his label including beats from Hot City, Ike Release (who released a split 12" on the label last year) and new signings xxxy, Gon, Jamie Grind and people like VVV and Atki2 - ahead of the Infrasonics Rave at a warehouse in Hackney this Saturday (info on that here).
Ahead of his first release for Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label, an 8 track mini album called 'Righteous Fists Of Harmony' which'll be out on the 22nd March, the Victorian dressing gentlefellow, Daedelus, has eeped out a promo video for the record...
Throwing an aural curveball into your iTunes subscription, Caravan Records boss man, October, has put together the latest in Hotflush's podcast series; but contrary to the run of upfront mixes from people like Sigha, Skipple and Hotflush honcho Scuba, October selects from the finest grunge and sleezey rock bands giving us an insight into his love for Killing Joke, The Butthole Surfers and The Jesus Lizard.
1. (Intro) Audionaut -'Sea & Sky Part 2 (Caravan) 2. Neu! - 'Hallogallo' (Gronland) 3. Wooden Shjips - 'Contact' (Disco Frisco) 4. Johnny Richmond & The Modern Lovers - 'She's Cracked' 5. Killing Joke - 'Change' (Virgin) 6. DAF - 'Der Musollini (Mute) 7. Adriana Sings 'Me and my rhythm box' (Liquid Sky OST) 8. Big Black - 'The Model' (Touch & Go) 9. Tri-Pod Jimmie - 'Autumn Leaves' (DCG) 10. Butthole Surfers - '22 Going On 23' (Touch & Go) 11. The Jesus Lizard - 'Happy Bunny Goes Fluff-Fluff Along' (Touch & Go) 12. Earth 2 - 'The Gold and the Feaceted' (Sub Pop) 13. Sonic Youth - 'The Burning Spear' (SST) 14. PIL - 'Theme' (Virgin) 15. Killdozer - 'Hush' (Touch & Go) 16. Sleep - 'Dragonaut' (Earache Records) 17. Melvins - 'It's Shoved' (Boner Records) 18. Scratch Acid - 'Greatest Gift' (Touch & Go) 19. The Heroine Sheiks - 'Grab The Wheel' (Rubric Records) 20. Babes In Toyland - 'Bluebell' (Reprise Records) 21. Cows - 'Heave Ho' (Amphetamine Reptile) 22. Rapeman - 'Trowser Minnow' (Touch & Go) 23. Meat Puppets - 'Up On The Sun' (SST Ryko Issue) 24. Foreign Bodies -'The Incredible Truth' (Amphetamine Reptile) 25. Nirvana - 'Beans' (Geffen) 26. (Outro) Audionaut - 'Sea & Sky' (Caravan)
Look out for October's latest single 'Flat Top Muscle' b/w 'Memory Man' dropping sometime in March on Caravan; its a glorious example of his micro-produced techno brilliance. 'Memory Man' is just retarded good...
"Are you ready!?!" That’s Rude Kid’s trademark sonic stamp - much like the 'Ross Car Ross Car Ross Car' sting that Roska uses or the manic cackle Terror Danjah repeatedly creeps out – and those three words have become synonymous of incoming quality when you hear it in the mix. The grime producer has been a staple of sets for so long now: shows or mixtapes hardly go by without you hearing that familiar phrase. It’s not his first time out on the No Hoods No Hats label either with the conveniently titled ‘Are You Ready EP’ preceding this one by a good few months.
The title track ‘Jack Daniels’ is a freak hybrid of hard pulsing techno, dubstep, funky and grime. The four to the floor kicks and beefy bass pulses wouldn’t be to out of place in an old Laurent Garnier set next to‘Crispy Bacon’ or ‘Acid Eiffel’ but they’re equally at home in the boxes of grime DJs too; it’s a track that bangs hard and will always add energy to any set. Rude Kid follows this with the instrumental to his shake up of Man Like Me’s ‘London Town,’ a bubbling garage number with a grime flex, piano licks, skippy drums, rudeboy bass that pretty much hits the spot.
The flip is the grimiest: ‘Emergency’ brings out the big guns with its dirty, grizzly bass tones, raw funk and cheeky rave stabs. ‘Best Crawler,’ a collaboration with recent Hyperdub signing Terror Danjah, is the highlight of a solid package though, it’s got the hard-funk and raw power of both producers, along with both of their sonic trademarks. Plus the flip between huge bass pulses, grimy violins, Gameboy-esq bleeps and propulsive, musical trance-like elements just kills it.
After a quick nudge in the right direction by the minds behind Brighton's skweee heavy night, Donky Pitch, we've come across a gem in Boss Kite and his free 4 tracker 'Clef Basset.' Drawing from the same circuit boards as his Scandinavian synthesizer bretheren he's got an impeccable talent for swampy bass frequencies and glittery flutters of uber melodics.
Since falling into Pariah’s music after a myspace six-degrees-of-separation type delve, we’ve kept up a constant barrage of instant messages. With his debut single on R&S due shortly and his remix work for people like Ellie Goulding (yeah... you probably would) and The XX getting him attention from promoters and listeners alike ,we thought it was prime time for Pariah time round here.
See him below in the answers and the mix…
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Pariah: Hey there. My name's Arthur and I'm 21. I was born and grew up in Scotland but I moved down to London about four years ago now and I've been producing music for just over a year now.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
Most days I'm at uni where I study English Literature. This year I've got a lot more work so I haven't had as much time as I would like to write music, but the course is interesting so I'm not complaining too much. I also write for a music blog called Inverted Audio but, again due to workload, I haven't written for a while.
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?
Well, I play guitar and piano so I've been in quite a few bands over the years and when I was about 16 I used to mess about on Logic with a friend because we had it on a computer at school. Nothing really came of it and I didn't learn shit about production. But ever since then I've always wanted to produce but I just never had the software. It wasn't until I got my Macbook Pro that I was finally able to make a start.
What’s your production set up like?
I run Logic 8 Express on a Macbook Pro and I use Genelec 8020a monitors. I also have a second hand Alesis Micron but I still haven't gotten round to getting all the cables to connect it to my soundcard and so I haven't really made good use of it yet which is probably very silly of me.
Where do you take inspiration from while making music? How did you get into dubstep?
I guess I got in to dubstep a lot later than most people. Towards the end of 2007. It was ‘Untrue’ by Burial that really made me take notice. Truthfully, I don't think there has ever been a record that has such an enormous emotional impact on me as that album has. So yeah, a lot of my inspiration comes from Burial.
I'm a massive fan of Brian Eno, Global Communication, Boards of Canada and ‘Selected Ambient Works’ era Aphex Twin. It was the first electronic music that I got into and, to this day, it remains my favourite. I go completely nuts for how texturally rich the music is.
My list of influences is stupidly long and it would be silly for me to try and name them all. Everyone from J.Dilla through to Arvo Part via bands like Cursed, Pavement, My Bloody Valentine and Sun 0))).
How would you describe your sound?
To be honest, I don't think I've been making music long enough or have enough tunes to really have a 'sound' yet. I'm still in the early stages of production knowledge so I'm still experimenting with techniques and ideas. I guess all of my tunes are pretty 'nice' and most use vocals in them but I don't know if that quiet merits having a 'sound' just yet. That being said, listenability is an important aspect that I take into account when I make tunes. I want my tunes to stand out on their own as tracks that you can listen to rather than simply incorporate into a mix.
There is a lot of soul in your music. What draws you to the soul/R&B/garage sounds?
For me, vocals are an essential part of the music I make. Pretty much all of my favourite dance tunes use vocals in them. It’s not a particularly profound thing to say but, for me, the use of vocals really adds to the emotional weight of a tune. It gives the tune a hook, something memorable, something human.
Can you also tell us a little about your relationship with garage, your tracks have that sort of bouncy vibe to them. Did you grow up with it around you on pirates and all that or is it just in your blood to make beats like that?
I would be the biggest liar in the world if I said that I grew up listening to dance music on the pirates. When garage was at its peak, I was quite young and I hadn't really found my musical feet yet. I really didn't appreciate it fully. I thought it was all a little bit too cheesy for me and it’s only as I've grown up that I've looked back and realised how amazing some of those tunes were. I'm completely obsessed by the rhythm of garage. It has such natural 'danceability' to it which is something that I think a lot of the more straight up dubstep lacks. Since getting into it, it’s been a real pleasure searching for tunes on ebay and discogs. It amazes me that so much of this stuff is worth next to nothing nowadays. It’s a shame really because it’s great music. Stuff like Dem 2 'Baby Your So Sexy' and Nu Klass A – ‘The Rhythm (Steve Gurley Remix)’ get me every single time I hear them. Beautiful stuff!
You’ve got some releases coming on R&S, tell us a little about those and what it’s like to be on a label with such a history in dance music that stretches back all the way to the early 90’s.
It’s such an honour to be putting out music on R&S. I mean, it was the label that pretty much got me into dance music. Listening to their back catalogue, some of those early 90's rave tunes still sound so fresh and innovative today. The first thing coming out is ‘Orpheus’/ ‘Detroit Falls’ on a 10" and that, hopefully, will be out in the next few months or so.
The next release is going to be a 6 track EP coming out on a 2x12". Two of the tracks that should find their way onto that release are in the mix I've done. If everything goes according to plan, it should come out pretty soon after ‘Detroit Falls’/’Orpheus.’ I'm really excited to be working with them and, this year, they are definitely one of the labels to look out for. Some of the releases that they have coming up are completely next level.
You did a fantastic remix for The xx how did that come about?
Thank you very much! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I think that The XX are the most promising band around at the moment... Every single track by them is amazing and they do such great covers. That Kyla 'Do You Mind' cover was incredible. Very sexy. It’s so rare for bands who are massively hyped to live up to the hype but they truly deserve all the praise that they have received.
I was asked by Caius who runs Young Turks to do it and it was actually the easiest remix that I've done and that's probably because of the strength of the original song. I made the basis of it in about an hour and a half and then just spent time on and off for a couple of weeks tweaking it. The vocals were such a pleasure to work with and I really enjoyed doing it.
Who are you feeling musically inside and outside of the scene right now?
Inside of the scene, James Blake, Mount Kimbie and the Hessle/Hemlock lot are doing truly amazing things right now. Recently, I've heard so much good new music but there's one producer, Bad Autopsy, that has really made me sit up and listen. He's already being played out by Braiden and Oneman on Rinse and my mix opens with one of his tunes; definitely worth checking out.
I wiped the dust off the Bok Bok and Manara Niche Mix as well the other day. It had just been sitting on my hard-drive and I'd completely forgotten how amazing it is. I have a real soft spot for bassline/niche but I don't know much about it. Although, in general, it’s a bit ridiculous, I find that the some of the melodies and vocals used have a real sense of heartbreak around them. It’s hard to describe what I'm trying to get at but there is real emotion in some of those tunes.
Outside of the scene, I've been listening a lot to Heather Broderick who's the little sister of composer Peter Broderick. She released her debut album at the end of last year and it’s stunning; William Basinski, the new Four Tet record and Jay Electronica have all been on repeat too.
Tell us about the mix you’ve made for us, what tracks where screaming out for you to include?
I did this mix using Serato and vinyl. I tried to incorporate all the styles of music that I like to play out so there's a bit of house, techno, garage and 'what do you call it.' When it goes into the garage section it was completely spontaneous and unplanned so I'm glad that it turned out nicely. The tune that I had to include above everything else was ‘The Bells Sketch’ by James Blake [forthcoming on Hessle Audio]. I've been obsessed with it ever since I first heard it sometime last year. Also, the Hanuman tune.... deeeeeep as fuck!
What other releases have you got in the pipeline?
After my first two releases for R&S, I'm doing a single on Black Acre and then something on Young Turks. I should have another single out on R&S in between these two which will consist of a Detroit influenced house track that I've done with someone doing a remix on the flip. There are a couple of other things planned but nothing's set in stone so I don't want to jinx it.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to our readers, any words of wisdom?
I wish that Stephen Fry was my uncle and that David Attenborough was my grandad haha.
The last time the Infrasonics camp put on a rave we piked an exclusive mix out of Ike Release but alas for their 2nd event outing we've got nothing; nothing but the word to spread on another low key, warehouse bash that this time features TVO going back to back with Goodhand and the awesome xxxy alongside Ike, Infrasonics honcho Spatial and the Wifey DJs.
Don't miss business.
Infrasonics Rave 002 - Sat 20 Feb, 10pm - late The Camp Basement 70-74 City Road, London EC1Y 74
Ahead of the 1st Its All About party at Gramaphone in a couple of weeks Deamonds has put together a promo mix repping the kind of steez you can expect on the night.
1. Shakedown - At Night - Martin Buttrich Dub Mix 2. Andrea Oliva - 9 Seconds With Jazz 3. Chris Lattner - Sick 4. Tini - That's Right 5. Thodoris Triantafillou & CJ Jeff - Got To Be 6. Deep Teknologi - In The Deep 7. Tim Green - Lone Time 8. Palmez - Black B - David Jones Remix 9. Marlon D - Trust The Drum 10. Kris Wadsworth - Direct 11. Dj T - Try To Understand 12. Chocolate Puma Beats - Soul Mokassa 13. L-Vis 1990 - United Groove - Kingdom Remix 14. Jam City - What I Think About You 15. Scratcha DVA - Natty 16. Johnny D - Point Of No Return
All personal bias aside - go read the liner notes - 'Elevator Music Vol. 1' is an impeccable collection of beats and fresh ideas from some extremely talented underground producers. Joining the likes of Mosca, Julio Bashmore, Hackman and Doc Daneeka with more established artists like the work of Martyn, Untold and Starkey pays dividends in the end listen and an extremely high percentage of these tracks are a sheer pleasure to mix.
Zackey Force Funk - The Split [2009] Luke Eargoggle - The Swedish Code [2003] The Other People Place - Let Me Be Me [2001] Drexciya - 700 Million Light Years From Earth [2002] Bangkok Impact - Junge Dame mit Freundliche Telefonstimme [Legowelt rmx] [2003] Drexciya - Journey Home [1995] Little Jinder - Youth Blood [Bok Bok remix] [2009] Egyptian Lover - Freak A Holic [1986] Underground Resistance - Electronic Warfare [1995] Legowelt - Disco Bitch [1999] Ikonika - Space Ugly [2010] Anthony Rother - Luzifer [2006] Bass Junkie VS The Dexorcist - Robot Movement [2006] Nukubus - Second Moon [2003] Rebound X - Rhythm & Gash [2006] Underground Resistance - Final Frontier [1991]
The url of this site has been changed. Please update your bookmarks!
