We're very proud to present the debut show from regular SR contributor James Balf. Catch our more upfront focused show on the 2nd Sunday of the month and the Xpldr Sessions every 4th Sunday. Same time: 10pm - 12am.
Eagle Rock, LA based label Not Not Fun has been producing the goods for well over a year now with nare a single mistep in its release schedule. Run by Britt and Amanda Brown NNF has been a focal point for heavy lidded lowest-of-the-lo-fi straight to tape bejewelled, silk-screened rumbling and mumblings since 2004, but in the last couple of years has been ramping its output up into the stars with an accelerating trajectory of future household names that has included Abe Vigoda, Ducktails, High Wolf, Matrix Metals, Sun Araw, Dylan Ettinger, Magic Lantern and of course, a lotta Pocahaunted. Now they have released the second full length 12” from Peaking Lights, the similarly wedded couple Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis (formerly of the propulsive angular guitar band Numbers). 936 is a release set to blaze this band's name into the firmament.
After a couple of split singles they released their first full album Imaginary Falcons back in 2009 through both Night People and Not Not Fun to some seriously wowed acclaim. In 2010 they released a split with Wet Hair on NNF's Bored Fortress 7” series and then the Space Primitive cassette on Night People and again on 12” through NNF. All their releases so far have involved fantastically spun out psychedelic embraces of themes, woven through spatial enhancers, psychotropic distorters, emotional compression, circuit bent trinkets and charmingly weathered keyboards that belong from within the realms of the junk-rock circuit, but none have quite hinted at the full potential realised in this release.
A mossy collage of root-bound tape-loop drone opens the album, offering a sense of intuitive awakening from the sleep since Imaginary Falcons, that tips the listener gently into the album itself with 'All The Sun That Shines.' The lead track released several weeks ago with the crate-digging collage video by Amanda Brown lays a big hook into the listener with a fat island bassline that throbs through its core, marking this out as a different entity to their former work. Comparisons to Amanda Brown's final album with (the NNF supergroup incarnation of) Pocahaunted are easy to make with the distinct dub and reggae influence a common thread amongst much recent NNF releases, but Peaking Lights are the band to have incorporated the most essential essences of dub experimentation cast from the desk of the Black Ark, ingesting and regurgitating them instinctively into the noise-band psych-folk of the West Coast US.
Long slow moving King Tubby basslines appear on several tracks, providing ample cushioning for the raft of cosmic effects and reverbed chords to flutter off into haunting repetitions of increasing opaqueness, snatches of circuit bending burst apart and melt back into the ether in increasingly deep and psychedelic successions. The suitably epic closer 'Summertime,' heralds what sounds like it could collapse into a huge speaker destroying wobble, then settles into a malleable pulse, Indra's cool vocals smoothing over what could sound demented without her presence. Joined by a lead melody tone that is both chilling and uplifting her vocal loop ushers in a host of glitchy rattling and humming opening a portal through which exotic otherworldy entities spill through.
The third track is potentially the highlight, dealing in the most sensual sonic experimentation of the record; the bobbing bottom end of 'Amazing and Wonderful' is sprinkled with soft feedback ringing out in fading ripples of delay, echo heavy guitar vibrations and an intimate tapestry of muted arpeggios descend down melody lines that cross each other like dancing lovers. What made Imaginary Falcons such a warming and beatific experience is blushed through this one track, and it's soporific euphoria that transcends all that came before it.
This album is one long slow, sustained process of sensual enlightenment. There's a total awareness of which sonic textures best nurture each other, with noises offering more in the way of melody and musicality than just surface aesthetics the relationships each element of the mix has to one another, of the space each incorporates, the dynamics that can be achieved by the anticipation of sound in the silence. This is elevated, intimate music making that may never appear from the hands and minds of another artist. This incarnation of Peaking Lights exists on another creative plane of being, like star crossed lovers set adrift on hypnagogic bliss.
After catching the wind and floating into our attention span with his releases on Wigflex's first 3 split releases Taylor has a new album coming and a new moniker to release it under. Taken from his middle names, whereas Taylor was his surname, Morris Cowan will release Circa on Zaubernuss, a sub label of German imprint, Traum.
We made him the subject of the February instalment of our Quietus column after he sent us the music and to quote ourselves his "compositions are sprawling 7 minute-plus slices of electronica, set firmly at the techno tempo, they're extra melodic, working away from the heat and intensity of a dancefloor as well as they do on it. Much like his Wigflex counterpart Hizatron, Taylor crafts a sound set completely his own, setting his kick drums back a little so that the melody draws the focus."
To live alongside the article he kindly put together a mix showcasing his production work which we've packaged up as part one of our 70th Sonic Router Mix. Stream only at this time it features a load of album tracks and many an unreleased gem from his hard drive...
1. Taylor – CMB [Super] 2. Taylor – Noob [On The Edge] 3. Morris Cowan – Flutterby [forthcoming Zaubernuss] 4. Morris Cowan – Sunnyville [forthcoming Zaubernuss] 5. Morris Cowan – Magnetor [forthcoming Zaubernuss] 6. Morris Cowan – Conflate [forthcoming Zaubernuss] 7. Morris Cowan – The Good Ship Fellow [Connect for Music] 8. Thomas Bjerring – Ice (Morris Cowan Remix) [Traum] 9. Morris Cowan – Afield [Super]
...but to run as his entry in our humble mix series he's today provided a downloadable mix, or SR #70.2, for your enjoyment. Described in his own words as "house/boogie tempo for the most part.. it's a mix, but i'm not quite sure what it is," its the second part of the duo of mixes he provided in lieu of his debut album and this being our 2nd birthday month.
Back in August of 2009 a video appeared on youtube from UK funky production team and Rinse FM regulars, Ill Blu and ever since that track has been lodged in my brain. That tune turned out to be ‘Meltdown’ the title track on the first 12” to be released on Numbers in 2011. With only a few other releases on wax - the phenomenal ‘Time To Get Nasty’ from The Fantastic 4 EP, the undisputed anthem in their ‘Pull It’ w/ Shystie, the odd remix here and there plus last year’s Hyperdub release of ‘Bellion’ b/w ‘Dragon Pop’ - it’s a pleasure to see them unleash some of that fire. Listeners to their ever growing collection of dubplates - which you can hear when you tune into their Rinse show (Tue, 11-1am) – will be more than aware of their combination of rude bass and supple hard-hitting percussion is on show here.
‘Meltdown’ comes right out the gate with galloping tribal drums, showcasing that irresistible percussive vibrancy that Ill Blu personify. Before you know it those skipping snare hits -that five in a bar flutter they’re so good at - skits over the bass tones and you’re shaking so much more than just a leg. Coupled with pulsing bass drops, acidic alien synth tweaks and melodramatic melodic ascents, - one of which sounds suspiciously like when you get spotted by a guard on Metal Gear Solid and have to go into hiding – well... let’s just say this one is a banger.
The other two track ‘Overdose’ and ‘Chelt’ aren’t to shabby either; skippy rhythms that ooze energy, rudeness and pure vibes are handed out in spades. ‘Overdose’ bleeps and bubbles in fine style, Ill Blu know how to get some dramatic dance floor tension rolling, here playing the vibey bleeps against over-saturated buzzy bass tones. The rolling snares and rushing synths on ‘Chelt’ make you feel like you’re at carnival, those raw bass hits are back and coupled with a euphoric electro rush and spaced out key melodies.
If by the end of this EP a robotic voice chanting “Ill Ill Blu Blu…” isn’t music to your ears then you’re just going to have to reach for the rewind.
Operating as Lazer Sword, Lando Kal and Low Limit have to date released a trio of singles and an album on the Innovative Leisure imprint. Having both made a name for themselves as singular entities with a smattering of beats on compilations like Beat Dimensions and a split 12” that minted the Numbers imprint the duo were focusing a little deeper on their joint project last year, working to create a synthesized haze of beat music on their debut eponymous album. With a selection of fifteen tracks that trickle up from a hip hop pace to a slow mo house tempo, it got a little overlooked back in November in our opinion. Beats like ‘Owl Tats’ and ‘Web Swag’ still bang - with their sound rooted in everything from southern hip hop to dubstep - and ‘Def Work’ should move any bass centric dancefloor that’s lucky enough to see it.
Everything included on the album seems like it’s been digitized specifically to give it a Tron like futurism, it’s all blossoming whirs and little intricate beat shuffles, but far be it from us to just give you a textual summation, we’re giving you the opportunity to grab a copy of it – and a borrowers mansion full of other prizes – courtesy of our family over at Earnest Endeavours.
Ahead of their date at the EE February throwdown next Wednesday – which also features sets from Cali based Edwardianist, Daedelus, Philly grime nutball Starkey and the first lady of Brainfeeder, TOKiMONSTA – we’ve been chosen as an outlet for you to grab two copies of the Lazer Sword album (on CD as well as on vinyl, that’s why we said 2), a copy of the ‘Batman’ 12”, the first single from the album which features remixes by Rustie and Nguzunguzu, a copy of the ‘Shot in the Night’ 7” - a slice of blue vinyl that isn’t on the album – a Lazer Sword t shirtand2 tickets to the EE event itself so you can see them rock the secret venue in tandem and maybe even buy them a soft drink and tell them that you really like their glasses.
To scoop the swag just email us the answer to the below question by next Tuesday (22/02).
Q: Lazer Sword’s first 12” for Innovative Leisure was called what?
a) Gucci Sweatshirt b) Gucci Network c) Gucci Footwork
The winner will be notified by email. Please make sure you can attend the event before entering.
Raffertie’s Super imprint is going from strength to strength of late. Being in a privileged position to hear their music early, we can confirm that they’re tapping into a lot of corners that you probably wouldn’t expect given the 4 releases the label has put out to date. There’s a definite depth and commitment to the cause inherent to what the team behind the label are doing, their choice of remixers and the presentation of their releases speaks measures of their passion for design as much as the music.
PhOtOmachine, a faceless Brixton resident, is the latest producer to step out on the label, with his Technicolour EP and again, it’s a welcome display of club sculpted productions. Harnessing the swirl of a synthesizer as much as the warm thud of his kick drum on the eponymous track it’s obvious from the first listen that its music made to solely to move you. With percussive elements that trickle in the gaps between the bass stomp, ‘Technicolour’ explodes around the 4 minute mark, underpinning the repetitive vocal chant with a looping bass line that nails the whole track to the floor.
The flip, ‘Sine Language,’ also puts you square in the middle of that darkened club space, eyes flitting up to the ceiling, to the drink in your hand and then around to the faces next to you that are all locked in a unified stare to the DJ booth. It’s an instant thing with the B side, it’s a soundsystem workout waiting to happen, hitting like early 2562 but with a more melancholy lean.
PhOtOmachine tracks are a welcome addition, they progress and twist into new manifestations without compromising their main dancefloor objectives, keeping the attention when their let fly and also popping out cleanly in the mix. We shot him some questions to quell our curiosity and honour him offering up our 69th Sonic Router mix...
SR: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
PhOtOmachine: I’m PhOtOmachine, a producer and DJ from London pushing square pegs in round holes. I push buttons on old machines and sometimes things happen.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
I actually have a career in the music business. I think everyone working in music should get involved in the art side of it. Otherwise you might as well be in any other office. My days consists of syncing music to TV commercial and video games and signing artists to a seminal UK Independent label.
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do so?
I grew up around a Reggae soundsystem called Saxon so had always been to studios since I was young. It was buying records that made me want to make music. It starts off with turntables and mixer and before long you’ve got a sampler and keyboard. I used to go to Black Market records with my mini disk player and get them to play my tunes on the shop floor. I liked the DIY ethos that came with club music. You could make tunes in a tower block and shift units to record stores directly.
According to your biog info you’ve worked with MJ Cole and El-B – two pioneers in their own right. How deep did the work go? Do you think their influence has rubbed off on your music?
Yes. With Matt Cole I assisted his manager at the time he released his first album and occasionally I used to go to the Soho records shops and select a few tunes for him. I was at the early FWD parties in West End and one day Matt came down and introduced me to EL-B. EL had been really helpful in the studio from day dot. He’s one of the few pioneers and not afraid to drop knowledge.
What’s your production set up like?
A cross between analog and digital... I’ve got things that are older than me. That’s what seems to work for me but you can use anything really. The computer changed everything but I try not to work like everyone else does. Equipment is nothing without ideas so I still go back my old Mini Discs to hear what I did when I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. They sound bad but the ideas were great.
How would you describe your sound?
I’m feeling really at home with techno tinged grooves with a nod to the garage sound. I don’t just mean 2 step I mean the whole garage thing of twisting up the US house sound. It’s just a coincidence that geographically my studio is situated in the middle of the suburbs next to Actress and EL-B’s and sonically that’s what seems to happen too.
PhOtOmachine - Sine Language [Super]
You share an affinity to people like Martyn – in terms of providing a solid house groove with movement defining percussion on top - and those who build beats with a dancefloor in mind. What kind of music do you listen to in your own time?
Thanks. Martyn is a great producer – one of the few that has a distinctive sound. Because of my job I get sent lots of music and because of who I am I’m constantly consuming new tunes. I listen to lots; too much in fact. I have a big Studio One reggae collection and a love for Prince and Biggie. Nothing beats hearing music at its birth. Hearing dancehall in Jamaica for example is a rite of passage. Reggae producers have been pioneering for decades and I’d probably say that’s what I listen to most. That and early 80’s disco records...
What is an inspiration for you?
People; or more precisely going out to dark clubs. The next morning I want to soundtrack the entire night and capture the feeling in a 6 minute track. I remember going to a jungle rave watching DJ Ron and being mesmerized. I’d never heard of him but he had his name in lights and 1000 people dancing. My parents relaxed attitude to music genre was inspiring too. I’d hear the Bangles next to Buju Banton and not flinch.
Are there any producers you rate that the world should know about? Any peeps not getting the props you think they deserve?
The world needs to pay more attention to Funkineven. He’s already getting lots of props but he should get more. He’s such a dope producer. He’s another one who’s got his own sound and doing what he does really well. If he drops an album he’ll blow up.
You’ve got an EP forthcoming on Super – you’re the second artist on the label we’ve had curate a mix for us this year. Can you tell us a bit about that and shed some light on what else people can expect from you in 2011...
The Technicolour EP; I’m really happy with it actually. It works well and is more or less exactly how I imagined it would come out. It’s dark and light. Someone said on soundcloud the other day that it makes them want to dance and cry at the same time – that hit the nail on the head. I’m looking to release a few more EP’s this year and keep busy. Some classic styles and others on a more mutant tip.
Tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve put together for us…
The mix is a little taster of what I play out in clubs. I’ve included a track I’m working on called ‘Freakquency,’ which is currently only available on the Technicolour coloured cassettes that you might find about.* Be quick there are only a handful of them I’ve been told.
Any words of wisdom, for our readers?
The Internet is a hyper reality. You can’t always believe the hype.
1. Greymatter - Seventh Disco 2. Daniel Wang - Not Feeling It 3. 24 Hour Experience - All Nighter 4. Ben Westbeech - Falling (Deetron Acid Dub) 5. Martyn & Mike Slott - All Nights 6. Julio Bashmore - Battle For Middle You 7. Cosmin TRG - Izolat 8. Hackman - Made Up My Mind 9. Omar S - Soley Supported 10. Bad Autopsy - Callback 11. Boddika - Boddika's House 12. Seiji - More of You 13. SBTRKT - Breakout 14. PhOtOmachine - FreaKQuency
Words: Oli Marlow
PhOtOmachine’s Technicolour EP is out now on Super.
* We’ve actually kindly been given a couple of these very cassettes to give away here. To scoop one send us an email with the answer to the below question by the 1st March.
Q: Who made the ‘808 Reduction’ remix of PhOtOmachine’s ‘Technicolour’?
Winners will be picked at random and will be notified by email.
Accurate or not, there’s always a certain canon that immediately springs to mind when you think of Bristol. The likes of Peverelist, Rob Smith, Headhunter/Addison Groove, Appleblim and Pinch make up part of a core group who’ve had a major hand in developing the scene into its current state of health. Up until fairly recently it felt as though they remained the central hub in the city, but over the last couple of years or so there’s been a real burst of activity from a newer generation of producers taking inspiration from those that came before them. With new music coming from people like Hodge and Artifact on what feels like a daily basis, and the rise (and rise) of Julio Bashmore, it feels as though Bristol is currently poised to unleash another wave of sound on a largely unsuspecting rest of the country.
Kahn’s another one to add to that list; part of the Sureskank collective (which also includes recent Punch Drunk signee Superisk), he’s an established DJ presence within the city already and recently released the garage-infused Altar EP on A Future Without. This new release for Punch Drunk represents a considerable step upward though – along with Superisk’s ‘Find Your Way’ it’s another great example of Peverelist’s seemingly effortless ability to squeeze great tracks out of newer producers. In this case, fitting neatly with their casually hipster-psychedelic (hah) artwork, both ‘Like We Used To’ and ‘Helter Skelter’ wring surprisingly dance-friendly results from tightly meshed layers of synth.
The former betrays a sophisticated grasp of melody and composition, setting a deftly sliced vocal refrain adrift in space above a gradually developing percussive backbone. Impressively, at certain tiny moments the two appear to snag upon one another as momentary harmonies flicker before dissipating. The same trick is used, sans vocals, for ‘Helter Skelter’, which, as its name suggests, spirals around buoyant pulses of effervescent synth and diffuse, skittering percussion that’s not a million miles away from Peverelist’s own signature drum sound. The overall effect is both energising and calming at once, perhaps mimicking that wobbly lucidity it’s only possible to achieve at three or four in the morning, assisted by a headful of sub-bass and cheap booze.
As localised a sound as the current strains of house tempoed music emanating from London are, its humbling to think that everything can reach the furthest corners of the globe, thanks, undoubtedly, to the invention of the internet and the level of reach its given producers. The New York based Contakt - who has this week released his debut EP for the Local Action label - is one of the many benefactors of the information superhighway, able to discover and follow new trends and productions happening here and represent them properly in his adopted home at his co-run TURBOTAX parties.
His 3 tracker single ‘Not Forgotten’ also benefits from the technoid edge of UK funky, it sits comfortably alongside releases from the Deep Teknologi camp and the work of T.Williams, which can also be found on Local Action. Contakt brings his own distinctive vibe to proceedings, his tracks full of dry kicks that hit hard and snares that sound like a rally cry for listeners to shake their hypes in time to the carving synthesized riffs. He straddles an odd boundary that hasn’t really been breached yet, keeping his productions raw with an unabashed dancefloor bump, yet rooting his sounds in a deep techno pallet.
We caught up with him on the week of his release, to grab our 68th Sonic Router mix and discuss many things, including his production, the state of play in the US of A and that fertile middle ground between techno and London house music...
SR: What do you do on the daily and where are you from?
Contakt: I grew up in Lansing, Michigan, which is remarkable only in how unremarkable of a city it is. Much like the rest of the rust belt, Lansing is a very blue-collar city, hit hard over the last two decades by the disintegration of the auto industry and the accompanying loss of jobs. Even though Lansing is the capital of Michigan, there wasn’t and still isn’t much going on, so we would head to Chicago or Detroit for concerts, raves, etc and as soon as I was done with school I moved to NYC and have been here ever since working in the music industry and media.
What’s the scene like out in NY? You’ve got Dub War kicking off, FaltyDL dropping Sushi science all over his beats, Sepalcure making Natalie Portman dance in blockbusters…
The scene in NYC is different than a lot of people think. It’s smaller than you would expect for being one of the biggest, densest cities in the states, in fact, the scene for this music in America is much smaller than you would expect from a country so huge. It seems much different from London, where there can be several clubs the same night, all with amazing DJs booked and all having a successful night. Even electronic music is “underground” in the states, and that underground is just starting to discover dubstep (and by that I mean brostep), so whatever this music is called is the underground of the underground. The nice thing about it being small is the intimacy and the friendship. When FaltyDL plays all the DJs from Dub War, TURRBOTAX®, and all the artists tend to come out and support each other and have fun – the same goes for visiting DJs which is really fun.
What first brought you to the UK sounds?
Right around 2000, I somehow discovered 2-step, I don’t even remember how, but I immediately fell in love with the melodies and rhythms and was hunting down as many MJ Cole, Artful Dodger, So Solid, and even Craig David. Back then finding these records was a true challenge (and expensive) without the convenience of the online stores we have access to now so I bought what few records I could find. The collective rediscovery and reinvention of these sounds by people like Burial, FaltyDL, and Zomby has been equally, if not even more so inspiring.
What first got you into production and what’s your set-up like? Have you got a favourite bit of kit and how do you approach working in the studio?
I first got into production through in the mid 90’s inspired by hip-hop producers like Premier, Pete Rock, J-Dilla (then known as Jaydee) as well as electro sounds of Cybotron/Model 500, Aux88, and Drexciya. My best friend bought an MPC2000 that I had unlimited access to and I essentially ended up skipping class most of my last year of high school (secondary school) to teach myself how to make beats. It wasn’t until I moved to NYC that I really developed my skills working with J-Zone. He was my first true mentor and I learned so many priceless techniques from him that I still utilize today.
My studio these days is a combination of hardware and software after long period of using only hardware, and short period of using only software. That said, I am firm believer in it not being what you use, it’s how you use it. I have old hip-hop “beat tapes” that were just MPC straight to mini-disc that still sound good in this really raw way (it’s my current Moby Dick), and loads of amazing 90’s techno and house was recorded to cassette 4-track. I will say, I do have one piece of gear that I do truly love and use on every track; the E-Mu SP-1200. It’s a 12 bit sampler with only 10 seconds total of sample time, but it sounds amazing, it’s really chunky, dark, and gritty and the filter has a really distinct “ringing” sound that can’t be imitated.
How would you describe your sound? There is this sweet vibe going around right now, which somehow unites the loose raw end of techno with the hyped up sounds of the UK underground. You seem to play with those sounds yourself. How do you get it to work?
It seems like you have really nailed the description – it may sound simplistic, or even obvious, but I think my sound really reflects the music I have grown up on and DJed for years. If you listen, there are little references to everyone from Kevin Saunderson to Just Blaze to Shortstuff and to be honest, I don’t know how I get it to work, it’s one of those things that I turn on my sampler or synth and this is what comes out.
Tell us about TURRBOTAX®, how are the nights going, what inspired it and what have you got in store for up and coming events?
It’s been a tremendous couple of years for TURRBOTAX® and 2011 is off to an amazing start. We really couldn’t be any more thankful. Rem Koolhaus and I conceived the idea as a reaction to there being no club nights in NYC (or even America) focusing on the new sounds we were hearing from UK artists like Untold, Cooly G, Brackles, Roska, etc as well as the local club scene’s focus on what people are wearing, club photography, and being seen. We wanted to do a night strictly focused on experiencing groundbreaking music with the vibe we grew up on – out of control basement and warehouse parties, not posh clubs with photographers, horrible “emcees,” and overpriced drinks. Thankfully people find it as refreshing and exciting as we do - every month I find myself as excited a fan as I am a resident. I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world that Laurel Halo shares a bill with Kyle Hall and Shortstuff, or Todd Edwards with Lemonade, or Doc Daneeka with Delorean. People not from NYC always think our line-ups look a bit odd on paper, but when you hear the artists/DJs in the context of the night it really connects the dots in a way you wouldn’t expect.
You’ve got you’re debut EP on the way with Local Action tell us a bit about that release, what’s the inspiration for the tracks?
The record just came out this week which is (of course) really exciting. I have to say this entire experience has been overwhelmingly positive. I have worked at record distributors, labels, in media, etc through out my career and I couldn’t imagine a better response. The inspiration for ‘Not Forgotten’ is a bit personal, but the vibe of tracks I think reflect all 15 years of being a DJ and collecting records – everything from Innercity to Pete Rock to Martyn. I am not sure if anyone else hears it, but I feel it.
Who hooked up that sweet Rolando remix? He’s a bit of a techno legend, its not every day you get remixed by a guy from Underground Resistance, how’s that feel?
To be honest, it feels like a dream to have a hero remix one of your songs. I remember when Rolando hit the scene in the 90’s and he has been a massive influence and inspiration to me ever since. We met this summer in the UK and admittedly, as an adult, I was nervous and reverted back to a 16 year old techno fan at first. Just meeting was an amazing moment, hearing stories and insight from someone with so much experience and talent is something that you can’t put a price tag on, and to for him to do a remix is beyond words.
What music are you feeling at the moment, any producers you think the world should know about?
It’s a really exciting time for music right now, maybe even the most exciting time I have experienced. There is something really special going on (even if it doesn’t have a genre name) and the speed things are changing and evolving is really interesting. There are so many great records that have come out recently or are on the way from the next “stars” of this sound – folks like DJ Dom, xxxy, Optimum, and Jacques Greene, etc who are all making outstanding records and all pushing things in different directions.
After this Local Action 12” arrives what have you got in store for us? Any more releases you can chat about on the horizon…
2011 is off to hectic start, I am not sure about release dates yet, but I feel like I have spent almost every day this year in my studio. The next projects I have coming up are remixes for Grizzly and Palms Out Sounds, a sophomore single for Local Action, a collaboration with Mayster from TURRBOTAX® on Dutty Artz and a return to the UK for more gigs, pints, and haggis this summer.
Tell us about the mix you’ve turned in for us...
This mix I didn’t focus on exclusives (although there are a few on there), I really just went for records I love to play. One noteworthy song is Los Hermanos - ‘Tescat,’ specifically because it’s 10 years old, yet sounds totally fresh. Mixing the old with the new is a big part of how I play, there are so many outstanding, but forgotten records out there that still sound ahead of their time – the new Planet E compilation, and the Shake one last year are great places to start, but they are just the tip of the iceberg.
Have you got any words of wisdom for our readers?
I wish I had some words of wisdom for your readers; perhaps they have some for me?
01. Rolando – Junie – Ostgut Ton 02. Shy One – Comfortable (Numan Remix) – DVA Music 03. Cosmin TRG – Seperat – 50 Weapons 04. Martin Kemp – Cracks – Unreleased 05. Aril Brikha – Read Only Memory (Octave One Remix) – Art of Vengeance 06. DJ Dom – Untitled – Ptn 07. Robert Hood – Clash – M Plant 08. Contakt – Not Forgotten (Rolando Remix) – Local Action 09. Los Hermanos – Tescat – Los Hermanos 10. Julio Bashmore – Ribble to Amazon – 3024 11. xxxy – Think Twice – Unreleased 12. Contakt – Still Up – Unreleased
Contakt’s ‘Not Forgotten’ is out now on Local Action.
Conspira, 23Hz and Numaestro’s label, Iberian Records – those who gave Octa Push an outlet with their eponymous EP – step out once again and bring out the good time vibes with their latest collated 12”, Tax Haven. Featuring a track a piece from Relocate, Mr Gasparov and Nehuen the three producers all bring a different vibe to this pre-emptively tropical release, providing cut-up, sample heavy break-laden garage, laid back, loved-up, sun blazing dance floor soul and raw, colourful UK funky hybrids.
Relocate turns in an energetic diva blazing bumpy garage number with ‘Soul Survivor,’ the beats kick hard and relentlessly like a cross between UKG and jackin’ Chicago house. The bass is deep, the samples euphoric and its all brought together with cut up horn stabs and disco strings. It’s all pretty reminiscent of hey-day 4x4 UKG and thankfully it’s addictive as hell, thanks in no small part to the beautifully percussive drum breakdown. The summer time vibes really shine through on Mr Gasparvo’s cut with vocalist G.Rina ‘Transient Love,’ It’s a punchy dubbed-out shimmering, tropical gem that sounds like a laid back beach party replete with Care Bear waiters and bubble gum fixtures and fittings.
The flip is the all out dancefloor track on the EP and Nehuen’s ‘Between Love and Hate’ is made up of the raw artefacts of UK funky: relenteless snares and bass that just never gives in. Those bass tones make me wonder if I’ve heard it in Petchy set (though I probably haven’t) especially when they’re played off by the heavy handed beats. There is an eerie urgent air to the production brought on by that swirling grime-esque dubby mouth organ melody but it’s all brought back down to earth by warm chord stabs that bubble along in their own blissful way.
“Fuck the media hype, scribes sniping at me and mine, Megatron clocking Autobots with the eagle eye. They got you covered; eye colour to your sneaker size, revolutionaries demonised, Mother Earth colonised, stolen culture commodified.” – Jehst – ‘Brimstone Rock’ [Low Life]
Whilst BBC’s ‘Sound of’ poll has bought the world Adele, many a great self deprecating interview from Gold Panda and um, Jessie J, there’s never been a nomination that’s impacted quite so hard on the wider dubstep community than that of James Blake – a producer who’s musicality and measured approach to production, releases and general profile has seen him win fans for his music alone, accumulating merit thanks to the genuinely different ways he moved a dancefloor. Blake’s eponymous debut album though, has little, well nothing in fact, to do with a dancefloor. It’s a lonely listen. An isolating thirty plus minutes of personal fragility compensated for with a brittle backdrop of stripped back instrumentation and the occasional caterwauling crescendo. It’s also completely brilliant, in an emotively introverted kind of way.
For Blake, the way his work has been publicised with an emphasis on his emergence from the dubstep scene does his song writing a disservice. ‘Limit To Your Love,’ his breakout ‘song,’ does contain basslines that will rattle the air conditioning units of every venue its played in, but the rest of album - particularly the latter part - is a baroque drift that lacks the kind of instantaneous impact, inherent within any dance music. Dispelling any notion of that myth with the slow follow up single ‘Wilhelms Scream,’ which honestly feels too echoey and emotional to be leading into N-Dubz, Jason Derulo or Black Eyed Peas on the BBC’s A-list playlist for daytime radio, Blake’s pushing his real self out there poignantly, upping his sensitivity and vocal layering to new levels.
Using a lot of the same techniques as his earlier work - namely his two preceeding EPs for R&S, CMYK and Klaviwerke - letting his compositions breathe and move fluidly, layering melodies and maddeningly pitched vocal samples and using drums sparingly, Blake creates his own world; all be it one that might break down in a fit of flailing limbs and self harm if you blew on it too hard. But that’s this record’s core strength; it’s woefully sad, full of downtrodden lyricism and outsider concerns; a collection of a developing man’s feelings captured in lo-fi glory.
The 4th edition of our podcast, the one that we make for Bleep.com, just went live.
Having missed January, we had a bit more stock to choose from, so we've collated music from brilliant producers like Pavan, Breton, Instra:mental, Roedilus, Julio Bashmore, Pearson Sound, Lunice (pictured), Jam City and Shackleton in this February themed edition.
1. Pavan - Afrika [Harmonia] 2. Pixelord - Fish Touch [Error Broadcast] 3. Breton - Hours Away [Hemlock] 4. Wbeeza - Manual Mode [Third Ear] 5. Roedilus - Regenwurm [Bureau B] 6. Instra:mental - Detuned Heart [Autonomic] 7. Morgan Zarante - Hookid [Hyperdub] 8. Lunice - Purp Walk [Lucky Me] 9. Ad Bourke - 100 [Cininite] 10. Julio Bashmore - Battle For Middle You [PMR] 11. Jam City - Magic Drops [Night Slugs] 12. MIA - It Takes A Muscle (Pearson Sound Remix) [XL] 13. Jacques Greene - Holdin' On [Lucky Me] 14. SBTRKT - Hide or Seek [Young Turks] 15. Girl Unit - IRL (Bok Bok Remix) [Night Slugs] 16. Shackleton - Man On A String Pt 1 & 2 [Woe to the Sceptic Heart] 17. Instra:mental - Voyeur [Disfigured Dubz] 18. Arkist - Out Of The Sun [Deca Rhythm] 19. Orphan101 - Disemble [Apple Pips] 20. Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX - NY Is Killing Me [XL]
DJ Dom may have made his debut for the on form PTN label late last year, with four lush slices of flexible house music, but now he’s stepping out on Brackles and Shortstuff’s excellent Blunted Robots label. Joining the impressive roster of releases from the likes of Mickey Pearce, Martin Kemp and Night Slugs very own Bok Bok, Dom’s 12” may well be the smoothest Blunted release yet, taking queues from the deeper side of house and playing it off rawer UK vibes. It echoes the current sets from Rinse FM regular Brackles, who seems to be really enjoying exploring this side of things more and more of late.
It proper sounds like summer is on the way when the hazy good time vibes of ‘Sunshowers’ rolls in, all laid back warm chords, supple bumpy percussive kicks and snatched hits. First heard on Brackles' 'Songs For Endless Cities Mix' the screwed vocals give a woozy air to the track and the dubbed-out organ stabs and echoing bass squelches really bring that brightness alive, living up to the epiphany hinted at in the title. The drawn out heavy EQ sections where the track gets cut out into nothing but highs is pure vibes too, building expectation perfectly. The flip rolls out on a similar tip though ‘You Can’t See Me’ skips and builds with more urgency thanks to the dubby pads, twisted synth smears and fragments of 8-bit bleeps that shatter across the track. It’s the deep sub stabs, acid bubbles and flexible beats that root it to the floor while the synths take you up into those airy, blissed-out territories.
Sitting somewhere in the UK neverland where the likes of DJ Naughty and Martin Kemp can coexist without to much squabbling, Dom’s first outing on Blunted Robots can sit nicely next to the soulful side of Smoove Kriminal or T.Williams just as well as it does here.
For all our love of bastard house and the overloaded synth explosions of the current instrumental hip hop and skweee that we harp on about endlessly, it ain’t half clean sounding. OK admittedly, someone like Egyptrixx - whose just announced his debut album Bible Eyes will be released on Night Slugs in early March - uses a little more of that sheet noise aesthetic, trusting a lot of his stylistics to the overbearing presence inherent in his sound, but sometimes our ears just hanker for that completely immersive, brooding, drum kit falling down the stairs type of beat music. Plus, as Slugabed so eloquently pointed out recently, there’s not been so much of the slow, slow stuff round these parts recently.
Enter then Chairman Kato, a London dweller whose productions simultaneously imbibe the foreboding spirit of early El-P (think The Cold Vein more than Fantastic Damage) and Shackleton’s passion for drawn out drones as melodies. Texturally, it’s often hard to beat the crunch and depth in sound that you get from using analogue equipment, and Kato’s forthcoming EP for Pictures Music , the Wildfire EP, displays precisely what we mean by that sweeping statement. 5 tracks strong it revels in its own darkness, perfectly creating a darkened and lonely person’s dream state. ‘Gemini Eyes’ might well be the more floaty of the productions on offer on the EP, due out this Valentine’s Day, but with its sandpapered edges, scuffed synthesizers and far off kick drum it’s more of a turmoil inducer, coming on more cerebral than the obvious smash and blap of ‘Thuddd’ or the fierce head nod of ‘No Coincidence.’
As Pictures themselves put it in some early correspondence: “it's pretty fresh compared to all the other stuff that seems to be cycling around and there’s not a 2step beat in sight.” From one listen their point is overtly evident; Kato’s music is at once hypnotically subtle and tempered like gravel, probably the over-riding reason we wanted to see what he’d throw down for his contribution to our mix series…
SR: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Chairman Kato: I am Chairman Kato, a producer based in Hackney, East London, mate. I stay up all night making music and drinking Gaviscon. I am sponsored by Nong Shim Shrimp Crackers and Pictures Music.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
My nocturnal habits tend to get in the way of doing anything meaningful during the day time. I have paid the bills by allowing my body to be used for experimental research into the effects of anti-oxidants in oriental teas. This is conducted in the low lit basement of a teashop in East London on Mondays and Fridays.
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do so?
Good question. I’m trying to trace it so I can undo the damage and get my life back together, maybe get a job and an Alfa Romeo or something. When I was a teenager I just had the feeling that listening to music wasn’t enough, that I needed to participate. Picked up a couple of instruments, did the usual thing of having a shit band, then started going out in Birmingham, got into DJing and later production.
What’s your production set up like?
It varies really, depending on what mood I’m in....got a lot of vinyl, some synths, some cutlery, a fridge nearby (essential). I ram most things through a vintage tape machine and make the meters go all nice and red. I often have a film on with the sound down too for extra mind-fuckery.
How would you describe your sound?
Raoul Moate’s ipod.
You share an affinity to people like Lukid, Cloaks and those who build beats out of rougher stuff. What kind of music do you listen to in your own time?
I definitely do respect people like that because they have an appreciation of depth and texture, which is something I try to spend a lot of time on. I listen to a loooot of different stuff....let me pull out my ipod and see what I’m on at the moment... Ducktails, Tame Impala, Robag Wruhme, Dakota Suite, Tommy Tempa, Tom Trago, Forest Swords, Broadcast….
What is an inspiration for you?
Being in London; mainly. Being here exposes me to so many ridiculously good things and interesting people. I get a lot of creative energy from this place. I feel lucky to be here.
Are there any producers you rate that the world should know about? Any peeps not getting the props you think they deserve?
My good friend Tommy Tempa is someone you’re going to be hearing about. Nochexxx is criminally underrated and hopefully that’s going to change this year. The first release on Five Easy Pieces is going to be an EP by a duo called Chesca Royalty that has some riddim and bounce.
You’ve got an EP forthcoming on Pictures Music. Can you tell us a bit about that and shed some light on what else people can expect from you in 2011?
The Wildfire EP is my first EP as Chairman Kato, I’m very excited to be working with the Pictures boys. It’s got a bump to it but it’s not particularly dancefloor orientated... lots of noise, lots of tape saturation, with little bits of light in there to stop you killing yourself.
There’s going to be plenty more from me in 2011. Currently putting another EP together and then I’m going to decide what the hell I’m going to do with massive pile of stuff I’ve got sitting here. Basically I’m gonna be putting out more EPs in various places and possibly an album. Also I’m working on an audiovisual installation. Oh yeah, and a live show.
Tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve put together for us…
I really enjoyed doing this mix. I knew that it would be easy to get waylaid for days short listing tracks so I just pulled out stuff that was to hand and took it from there. I think it’s important to vary tempos and styles in a mix to keep it interesting so as well as new stuff by people like Hype Williams and John Roberts I couldn’t resist throwing in some Joy Division and one of my favourite 7s, by the Fabulous Three. There’s a track by Broadcast there in tribute to Trish Keenan [who passed away recently], which I’m still in shock about.
Any words of wisdom, for our readers?
Don’t wear your jacket inside and chew your food properly.
In some ways it’s odd that Joe Cowton has been swiftly filed alongside the bass music masses, when the majority of his tracks share far more with the slo-mo experiments of Berlin’s Workshop label than with anything that’s evolved from the London or Bristol scenes. That said, it’s in part due to his history in dubstep and the labels he’s been associated with, with a stunning first release on Martin Clark’s Keysound imprint and an equally impressive follow-up on Idle Hands. And there are certain traits in his music that warrant immediate comparisons with his UK contemporaries: though they’re recognisable as house, Kowton’s tracks are dark, slow and spacious to the extent that they generate the same feeling of creeping dread that characterised early dubstep. His beats, meanwhile, are swung to the point that they sound liable to fall apart at any time, a legacy of two-step’s latent influence.
Where his music sets itself apart though, not simply from London or Bristol but from anywhere, is its sultry, almost coy attitude; you can practically hear hips start to move as ‘Stasis (G Mix)’ swings into action for the first time. And his tracks are brooding rather than simply moody; instead of standing in the corner, eyes-down-hood-up, they’re akin to dancers who are obviously, almost painfully conscious of every move their bodies make. That aspect was thrown into sharp, silhouetted relief on last year’s awe-inspiring ‘Basic Music Knowledge’, where each of the few elements within the track – a handful of percussive tics, a pair of tightly locked bass and melody lines – flex like individual muscles on a lean frame.
This latest 12” for Idle Hands goes one better. Like the rest of his output it’s unerringly dark in tone, but subtly increases the pace and dancefloor heft. With ‘She Don’t Jack’, it’s possible to imagine it doing serious damage to peak time club crowds – something you certainly wouldn’t have assumed of his previous music. It’s tough to expect anything so stripped back and plain odd to hit dancers like a depth charge, but then it’s also remarkably difficult to envisage any other reaction. ‘Drunk On Sunday’ is closer in tone to some of Workshop’s valium-addled obscurities, less immediate but just as precociously brilliant; here sub-bass takes on an unearthly sense of physicality, at times threatening to overwhelm even on headphones, beneath dissonant winds that whistle through its derelict structure.
Another essential 12” on a label that’s fast turning into one of the UK’s best, from a producer already several leagues ahead of most of the pack, irrespective of location.
We've made no bones of our love for the work of Brackles & Shorstuff over the past few years, interviewing both and keeping in regular contact since the early days of our webspace. To celebrate the launch of their own home on the internet (complete with resplendent artwork courtesy of Wigflex boss man Spam Chop), the dynamic duo are giving a way a free EP from the first artist to release on the label, the faceless, Mickey Pearce. Its three tracks of bootlegs reportedly created by robbing "the work of people more fortunate than himself and passing it off as his own."
Working over Ms Dynamite and Redlight's 'What You Talking About' and JME's 'CD is Dead' with a bonus clip that attacks Wiley's 'It's Wiley' (who according to RWD mag is back making music ready for a release once again on Big Dada) in his own manic, big big drum, ADHD infested style it's time for Mickey to step up from the shadow's joining the ranks of his Blunted Robots brethren, forever immortalised on these here pages.
