SR Mix #76: Outboxx [Immerse]

Bristol’s Immerse Records were one of the first people to really support this site, with their label boss Kidkut providing one of our first mixes and with their output. Having released a texturally brilliant album by Kontext called Dissociate, along with a steady stream of great 12”s last year (from people like XI, Arkist, Late, Simon/off and Cloak & Dagger) their first release of 2011 comes from Outboxx, a pairing of Bristolian producers pushing a decidedly more house tempoed groove.

Jacob Martin (who also produces as Hodge - his excellent ‘Conjecture’ is out now digitally through Pollen) and Matt Lambert’s debut 12” under the moniker, ‘Kate Libby’s’ b/w ‘Bertie’s Groove,’ feels live, as if it was somewhat improvised during a particularly fruitful session. ‘Bertie’s Groove’ is overly infectious, the lush chord and bass progression splintering off into shards of pure sunshine, whilst ‘Kate Libby’s’ is more stripped back, powered by the constant shuffle of the handclap. Outboxx’s is purist house music; a little ponderous, produced with a sheen and built with a steady injection of musicality – something that doesn’t surprise when the duo’s partnership is broken down into specific roles.

With news of their second single being signed to Well Rounded’s house music offshoot, Well Rounded Housing Project, we caught up with the guys to peddle our snapshot Q&A and grab our 76th Sonic Router Mix - an extended session though likeminded grooves.

SR: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info? Whats the Ouboxx project all about?

Jake: It’s just us jamming, having some fun and making some music!

It’s more straight up house music. Is that something you’ve always been interested in? Are you influenced by certain producers or tracks?

Jake: Yeah we are. Loads of them. We’re generally influenced by music that sounds kinda raw and crackly… lots of 80s funk, garage and house music...

You are a duo. How does the partnership work in the studio?

Matt : I’m on the keys...

Jake: I’m on the computer making the beats, the partnership works well – it’s fun. We basically just jam...

I know you producer other stuff under different names but how did you first get into making this kind of music? What was it that infected you to do so?

Jake : When we make music we don’t really have an idea or direction at first, just jam for a while and see what happens. We both are really into a wide range of music and what we are making is a result of that.

Matt : I’ve played keys for more than 10 years on and off and been in a few funk bands and am interested to keep up that side of things as well but I’m getting more and more into electronic/dance music by the day. I’m influenced by people like Benji B, Gilles Peterson – People that generally play good music.

What’s your production set up like?

Jake: The set up is Matt’s Nord, some AKG mics, a R-09hr and Cubase. The hand held recorder is really important as it enables us to use field recordings; the voice in Kate Libby’s is a recording of shouting at a fireworks display. The keys on the tracks are all audio, no midi, we generally try and just get one takes from Matt to give the music a natural feel.



You’re Bristol based. The city has a shining reputation for dubstep/bass music in general, how is the house scene down there? Is it something you go out to a lot?

Jake: It seems the genres are really blending in Bristol, currently when going out you end up hearing a mix of genres which is what we love. There’s always something exciting going on in Bristol, for example this weekend we went down and saw 2562 play in the Idle Hands record store which was amazing, such a great, intimate atmosphere.

Immerse has often represented more of a dancefloor edge, but with releases like the Kontext album, it put itself into slower, more introspective territories. What’s it like to have your first tune out with them?

Jake: Its real cool, Adam Kidkut is a great guy and its nice putting out our first tune through friends in Bristol…. that just kinda makes sense to us. Immerse has some really exciting stuff emerging from less established producers, definitely a label to watch.

And the follow up is on the Well Rounded Housing Project. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Jake: The follow up is two tunes rooted in house music but also a slower hip hop track (‘Brighten My Day’) with Naomi Jeremy which kinda rounds off the release nicely for us. Its great being able to put out what we want with no restrictions on style, Donga is real open minded like that.

Anything else forthcoming?
Jake: Not as of yet, we have a few tunes that we have only just finished so time will tell I guess...

Tell us a little bit about the mix you’ve put together for us…

Jake: The mix is just tunes we are loving at the moment, it ran over an hour and it could have gone on for a lot longer. The mix starts out with some of the slower hip hop stuff we are really feeling and moves into house music. The Behling & Simpson and Portrait guys are ones to watch out for, loving their music... the new Appleblim & October Schmorgasbord release is a killer collaboration. Oh and had to put in the Andy Mac and Kidkut + Arkist tracks. Big big tunes!

Any words of wisdom, for our readers?

Matt : Jakes alright really.

Jake : Don’t try and take a photo with Matt. Ever.

::

DOWNLOAD: Outboxx – Sonic Router Mix #76



Tracklist:

Outboxx - Brighten my day (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Sesped - Bastards (forthcoming Pollen)
Deft - Blade Runner Blues (unreleased)
Rob Hindle - Buenos Aires 2am read by Jonathan Tafler (LateNightTales)
Grooveman Spot - Going On (Jazzy Sport)
Portrait - Moving on (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Anthony Shakir - Detroit State (Space Dimension Controller Remix) (Rush Hour)
Outboxx - Kate Libby (Immerse)
Chez Damier - Soul Minimal (Mojuba)
Outboxx - Bertie's Groove (Immerse)
Behling and simpson - Politics (unreleased)
Kidkut + Arkist - One Year Later (forthcoming Hot Flush
October & Appleblim - NY Fizzzzzz (forthcoming Smorgasbord)
Kowton - She Don't Jack (Idle Hands)
Andy Mac - Asteroid (forthcoming Punch Drunk)
Gerry Read - Untitled (forthcoming Fourth Wave)
Bakey Ustl - A Tender Place (Unthank)
Vessel - Glitter (unreleased)
Mean Poppa Lean - Personality (Leon remix) (forthcoming Well Rounded Housing Project)
Outboxx -Falling Apart ft Naomi Jeremy (unreleased)
Domu - Save it ft Face (Tru Thoughts)

DOWNLOAD: Appleblim - fabric 'Main Room' Mix

Sonic Router's editor spoke to Apple Pips boss Appleblim ahead of his appearance at fabric on the 12th March and "in Appleblim’s trademark gentlemanly fashion, when we asked him if he had anything on the horizon ahead of the show he went above and beyond both the call of duty and our expectations, providing us with a 90 min mix of super fresh material and giving the world what is probably the first public airing on over 50% of these tracks (only a couple of them are reportedly available at this time)."

Read the full article here and learn about his forthcoming projects and collaborations. You can catch him performing alongside his old Skull Disco cohort Shackleton and Ricardo Villalobos at fabric on 12th March.

DOWNLOAD: Appleblim - fabric 'Main Room' Mix



Tracklist:

1. Butahn Tiger Rescue - Beginner's Waltz - excerpt (Kompakt)
2. October & Borai - I Didn't Mean To (forthcoming Apple Pips)
3. Kowton - She Don't Jack (Idle Hands)
4. Axel Bowman - Naomi (forthcoming Glass Table)
5. October & Appleblim - NY Fizzzzzz (forthcoming Smorgasbord)
6. George Fitzgerald - We Bilateral (forthcoming Hotflush)
7. Al Tourettes - Badger (forthcoming Bloc / Baselogic)
8. SCB - Loss (forthcoming Aus Music)
9. Pulsar - Coconut Shuffle (unreleased)
10. Sunday Roast - Choices (Soulserious)
11. Arkist & Kidkut - Vanilla Imitate (forthcoming Hotflush)
12. Phat Chex - Can't Stop - (unreleased)
13. Paul Woolford - Let It Go - Komonazmuk & Appleblim Remix (forthcoming Intimacy Music)
14. Gatekeeper - Atmosphere Processor (forthcoming Apple Pips)
15. Gatekeeper - Let Us in (forthcoming Apple Pips)
16. Arkist - Fill My Coffee (forthcoming Apple Pips)
17. Gatekeeper & Kidkut – Alpha Apex (unreleased)
18. Gatekeeper & Kidkut - Code Red (unreleased)
19. Arkist - Rendezvous (forthcoming Apple Pips)

DOWNLOAD: October - Hotflush Podcast

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.



DOWNLOAD: October - Hotflush Podcast

Tracklist:

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...

Link:
http://www.myspace.com/djoctober

INTERVIEW: Emptyset [Caravan]

Whilst our immediate relationship with the Caravan record label may have started through its close association with Pinch’s label management company Multiverse, the label's music could not be more different from Tectonic’s output. Caravan boss October kindly dealt us an amazing addition to our mix series a few months back to set the tailgated tone and since then, along with discussing the merits of Green Day’s early career, we’ve generally kept in radio contact.

The new, self titled, album from Emptyset - the duo of Paul Purgas and James ‘Ginz’ Ginsburg - has graciously found a home on October's label and thanks to our sideline in love of textures from people like Murcof, Fennesz and Phillip Jeck and our attendance of festivals like 2008’s Venn Festival, it’s also found a spiritual home with us, in our mutated ADHD riddle headspace.

‘Emptyset,’ as an album, is an exploration of low end frequency like no other. Its slow tribal thumps sit atop a brutal chorus of bass and droning atmospherics, perplexing the use of the techno prefix a tad by its eons of space and conceptual ideas. It’s a full on aural immersion - seemingly inspired as much by its Bristolian surroundings as by its musical contemporaries - that needs to be consumed whole to be understood.

We locked the duo down to Multiverse HQ, got them to spin us together a mix and give us the good word on their album project...

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

Emptyset: The project began in 2005 after we both met through the Bristol music scene. We were from different backgrounds but realised there was a crossover in our way of thinking and a shared set of musical reference points that we wanted to explore. So from there we started experimenting with a sound that connected our interest in rhythm, bass and sonic detailing.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

When not working on music James Ginzburg manages the Multiverse network of labels, and Paul Purgas works as a curator of contemporary art as well as running the Body Hammer night in London.



How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?

We'd had experience with producing and performing music prior to working on emptyset. This particular project presented us with an opportunity to define a sonic world and look at what was possible in terms of signal chains and experimental textures.

What’s your production set up like?

We wrote the entire album in the Multiverse Studio. The signal chain we used was based on using Logic 8 as a playback device for the noise and sine waves and sending it through a series of valve compressors and EQs, various transistor based gear and series of microphones set up in the control room and on amplifiers set up in other isolated rooms. We wanted to create situations where the music came alive from its own side by finding the points within signal chains where distortion begins to form before it overpowers. If you listened to our source material it would sound pathetic, everything interesting happens in the relationship between different elements in the chain.

Where/who do you take inspiration from while making music?

Inspiration is fundamental to the project, if we don't feel the sense of immediacy or an urge to create we know it isn't right for us to get into the studio, so we just go back to conversations and discussions and when an idea begins to form we eventually get back to work. That seems to be the only workflow that feels natural and productive.

How did you get into techno?

Techno music was something that we've always been interested as a medium, but in essence we have always treated it as simply one reference point amongst many. That seemed to be the best relationship that enabled us to work with more freedom and flexibility.

Where did the Emptyset moniker come from? The ‘structure without content’ concept is quite interesting...

As the music started to emerge we needed to find a title that would help tie together the source ideas we were working with. The name inevitably helped us think about music functioning as a formal container for a wider universe that we could step into and start to deconstruct. In essence we wanted to think about the relationship between absence and presence and what that would translate to sonically.

How does the partnership between you guys work?

Ginz acted as engineer, but the creative partnership worked more in terms of us creating situations where we could float around the studio environment without working, bringing in ideas and conversations about what was going on in our life (usually our collective propensity for attracting awkward and complicated situations with women) and waiting for moments when the time felt right to sit down. Most of the time this was late at night when we thought we had talked for too long and nothing was going to happen that day and thought we might as well have a little go before going off our own ways.



Your debut album, also called ‘Emptyset,’ is out now. In your own words what can people expect from it?

The album was an opportunity to take some time out from making twelve inch records and instead focus on a more substantial interlocking piece of music that felt like an in-depth exploration. The process we used was geared towards a bedrock set of rhythms that gave a foundation for sonic events and generative textures.

In the accompanying album information Bristol is cited as a major influence to your music. It’s written about in an incredibly passionate almost romantic way. How do you consider the turmoil of redevelopment and the city’s history has affected your music?

Bristol over the past ten years has been in a constant battle with counter-urbanisation. The collapse of the city centre and the migration of services to the outskirts created a vacuum. From here central dereliction, abandonment and decay became a stark reality, and Bristol became in essence a city without a heart, a more fragmented type of urbanism. These influences around us were definitely feeding back into the sound we were creating.



Bristol’s affiliation for dubstep is pretty well publicised but how does it fare for the more brazen techno?

Techno music definitely has a presence in the city, something collectives like under_score and cuisine have worked hard to ensure, though it is still more of an underground.



What other producers should we be looking out for pushing the forward thinking deep techno sounds?

Louis Digital the former Warp/Arcola producer will be starting up a new label called City of Quartz next year. His 'Unspecified Enemies' record with CiM was a big inspiration, so we are looking forward to that. 


Tell us about the mix you’ve made for us. There is a diverse range of artists involved from classic house producers to ambient/deep experimentations through dubstep, techno and beyond... what makes you bring all these strands together?

There has been such a diverse range of music that has inspired and interested us that DJing offers a good medium for sewing all these connections together. Mixing is simply an opportunity to think about how sounds come together in a very immediate and raw way, and cross patching genres and influences is often where the most interesting results happen.



What else is coming up for the project?

At present we are taking some time off after completing the album. We are putting together some loose ideas for a new record which will involve spatial recordings so that is in the pipeline.

Any words of wisdom for our readers?

It will all happen in its own time.


::

DOWNLOAD: Emptyset – Sonic Router Mix



Tracklist:

Fennesz - Happy Audio
Emptyset - Over
Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Pattern 1
Villalobos & Tanaka - Fumiyandric
Peverelist - Erstwhile Rhythm
Wax - 10001
A Made Up Sound - Bounce
Shake - Frictionalized
Taho - Energy Fields (Quince Remix)
Carl Craig - It's a Wonderful Life
Radioslave - Tantakatan
Rhythm is Rhythm - Move It (Only Mix)
Mark Broom - Bournewood (Soundhack Remix)
Peverelist - Infinity is Now
Fuzzy Logic - Bangers & Mash Vol.2
Robert Hood - Hoodmusic 2
Nitzer Ebb - Join in the Chant (Instrumental)
Lil' Louis - New York
Unspecified Enemies

Link:
www.myspace.com/emptysetmusic

INTERVIEW: October [Caravan]

October is someone who came to our attention through Pinch; who has been pushing out the Caravan Records message through his publishing company for a while now. But the most engulfing thing about October's work is not the healthy rep of its recommender but the fact that the tracks are so heftily immeadiate and painstakingly arranged to give each sound maximum impact and direction.

A true producer in the craftman sense of the word we sat Julian Raymond Smith in front of his computer and asked him a few things...

Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?

October: These days I’m most well known as a producer, engineer and vinyl disc jockey of techno music. However, I’ve been involved with other genres of music since the mid 90’s, starting off doing the jungle thing which led me into the world of electronic music. I’m also known for my broken-beat/dub-step productions done for labels such as; Fluid Ounce and some remixes for Ninja Tune about 5/6 years back. There’s also a shady breakbeat past but I’m not too proud of those misguided years. It just wasn’t for me and struggled lots trying to make straight up mindless dancefloor shit.

Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?

Uh... Don’t know if I want to answer this one. Sometimes lots, sometimes little. I get up, have some breakfast then reply to about 10.000 emails and try and leave some feedback on a mountain of promos I get sent. Then I travel to various microcosms in the past and future, seeking out adventures in a plethora of galaxies and altered universes of variant dimensions in search of musical inspiration. Though, as one can imagine, the travelling takes up most of our human conception of time so when I actually fall back down and burn through our atmosphere; I generally need to relax before a gather my samples and nestle myself back in the comfort of my studio and all its toys.

How did you get into recording music?

Don’t really know, it’s just something I have to do whether I like it or not. I generally have a fear of making music but these small parasite’s living on me make me do it or else I suffer greatly at their evil demands... It wasn’t really a conscious decision – I just started making music. Playing guitar and splicing cassette tapes at about 12 years old. Before that I used to paint, draw and build model aeroplane’s whilst listening to Nirvana, Sonic Youth and lots of other noisy punk rock or weird Frank Zappa shit.

What’s your production set up like?

Mainly analogue based but of course use a computer running Logic. I’ve been through various synths both bought and borrowed like: Moog, Juno 106, DX7, MS20, Sequential Circuits, Yamaha FM7, Casio, Farfisa and some strange old drum-machines. I also use a big Tascam 16 channel analogue desk, some TLAudio valve stuff for processing plus I still use a Revox and Tascam reel to reel for tape processing. I also have an electric guitar collection which includes some nice vintage pedals and amps. Oh Yeah, and a drum kit and thousands of records. There’s more shit but we’ll be here for ages...

What are some of your influences on your sound? How would you describe your music? Can you name check 3 artists who influence your production?

Weird noises made by broken equipment, old movies and found sounds I guess. My sound can be obscure, un-nerving and very dark to some but I just like creating tension and keeping everything a bit subdued, sparse and giving it its own texture. I like to give each sound its own place so you could feel like you can reach out and touch it. It’s almost an impossible question to answer but my biggest influences are probably: Bernard Herrmann, King Tubby and Sonic Youth.

Why the seasonal moniker? Are you influenced by the world around and the changes it goes through in that particular month?

I am most definitely influenced by the world around but not just in the month of October. I’m influenced all year round. Why I’m called October is a question I get asked a lot and I’d like to think it’s because of some special reason but it’s just because I was born in October and it’s a cool looking word. It also means the month of dirt in Icelandic I believe and I guess my music sounds like a dark, windy and chilling autumnal afternoon.



You use found sounds and loops along with all sorts of studio equipment how do you go about collecting these found sounds and what was the last sound that you found inspired you to make a track?

I mainly record things in my house but I’ve been doing it for more than a decade now so I still have sounds I’ve never used. Over the years I have built up such a huge library of samples I sometimes just dig into them. The best sound I found recently is the crackling of reel to reel tape and the recorded destruction of a cheap guitar I once had. Don’t think I’ll ever get bored of sampling that - so much texture.

When you play out do you use vinyl or CDRs or laptop and why? Where do you stand on the whole digital/vinyl debate?

I mainly use vinyl but sometimes CDR’s if a have something new and fresh to test out. I like to use 3 turntables as I like playing tools. I don’t understand how just using a laptop is considered live. It’s more live when you manually have to mix a record. However, I think using a laptop running Ableton in combination with decks, adds a great slant to a DJ set. Don’t get me started on the whole vinyl/digital thing – vinyl will always be superior in every way. The weirdest thing for me is people’s surprise that I still use vinyl. I can totally relate to DJ’s who just need to use CDR’s because of the weight restrictions on flights these days but just downloading nothing but low quality mp3’s – I’m sorry but that’s just plain weird and alien to me.

I see you were on the bill at Bloc this year how was that gig and did you get to see anyone else, who blew you away?

Yeah Bloc was great – I played 8am to 9am so you could imagine what that was like. Super-duper! All my close mates were there too so the fun was extra fun! I ashamedly slept through Scientist and the Upsetters but caught Robert Hood who was the best thing after Scientist my mates say. So for me it was Hood’s performance that really did it for me – uber sparse analogue sounds! I also really enjoyed Joe Hart filling in for Metro Area – really good electro. I have to say, Afrika Bambaata was atrocious and it was like being at a proper Butlins family disco. Tunes you’ve heard over and over and over and over and over again plus he took half an hour off Carl Craig’s set due to his late arrival. None of us we’re happy about that...

What was your inspiration behind starting Caravan? Was it simply to create a vehicle for your music?

Yeah fraid so... The idea has been there for years, it just took a while for it to grow.

Your latest project on the label is out shortly... What inspired the mix Recession Vol.1? Was it a label showcase type of thing?

It just seemed like the perfect time to do the album, plus I really wanted the world to hear all these great tracks I accumulated since the start of the label. There are a few special October bits from about 2004 in there that seemed to fit in with the ethos of the mix – see if you can guess which ones...

Who else is on the label?

Not many people. Emptyset, Jilt Van Moorst and myself are the main artists on the label but we’ve been lucky enough to have worked with artists like: Ripperton, Agnes, Markus Guentner, Etalon, Mathew Leutwyler and T.G. Also gonna be working with a member of Underground Resistance on a collaborative project and hopefully (when he has time) a Move D remix of an October track of his choice. Expect an album from Emptyset at some some point too!

What plans do you have for your music in the future? An artist album perhaps? What are you working on right now?

Without giving too much away – yes I’m planning to do an album for sure but when is another question… My next project is a cosmic disco EP I’m gonna be doing for Ewan Pearson’s amazing Miseriecord imprint. I’m most excited about this as I love my good disco and cosmic spacey stuff. I’m also working on some pretty sparse dubbed out, slight Detriot style pieces at the moment for a special project plus Emptyset and myself will be working on something with a founding UR (Underground Resistance) member – who? I cannot say at this moment. You’ll all just have to wait and find out.

Any words of wisdom you’d like to give to the users of the world wide interweb?

Don’t use facebook. Keep buying music and vinyl. Tickle a cop, hug your neighbour and kiss a homeless person.

::



'Recession Vol. 1' is out now on Caravan Recordings... and we've kindly been given two CD copies to give away to you, our adoring public.

TO WIN: Simply be the first to email sonicrouter(at)gmail.com with the words "recession you say?" in the subject line.

::

EXCLUSIVE DOWNLOAD: October - Sonic Router Mix



Tracklist:

1. October – Say Again (Perspectiv)
2. Blagger – Strange Behaviour [DJ Koze aka Swahimi Remix] (Perspectiv)
3. October – Control Room Interior (Caravan)
4. Unknown Artist – Last Flight To Colonge (Do Not Resist The Beat!)
5. Silent Servant – Violencia (Sandwell District)
6. Unknown Artist – Equalized 002 (White Label)
7. Unknown Artist – Wax 10001 (White Label)
8. Tyche – Annealled (Wandering)
9. October – My Left Tool (Perspectiv)

Link:
www.myspace.com/djoctober