ASC is an artist that's basically associated with the Autonomic label, home to a sort of sparse, industrial, somewhat more drum and bass version of dubstep. The productions are usually really tight and controlled in their rhythms, and pretty minimal when it comes to how thick they lay on the synths. It's a pretty unique style. The artists that run Autonomic are Instra:mental, whose track 'Watching You' was on my list of best tracks for 2009. D-Bridge is also a big name on the label and compliments the overall vibe pretty nicely.
ASC still produces for Autonomic, but started his own label called Auxiliary to host his own works, and so far he's released some pretty brilliant stuff on it. The thing about the track 'Reality Check' for me is that I've been waiting almost exactly ten months to buy it. That's one of the pitfalls of the electronic scene, is that artists will hand their tracks over to someone putting together a mix wayyy in advance of the actual release. Sometimes upwards of a year, and sometimes will simply never release the track at all. It's insanely frustrating, but I guess pretty rewarding still in the end.
This particular track was definitely worth the wait. It's easily in my top few favorites of the year. It holds true to overall Autonomic sound. The bass and snares have sort of an industrial pump and push to them, the rhythm production is pretty tightly wound and controlled, and though the synthwork is relatively minimal, it's extremely lush and quite frankly, amazingly gorgeous. There are synth flourishes that completely open up the space of the track, leaving me awestruck. A vocal sample appears throughout to a sweetly mysterious effect, as an utterly beautiful chime-like melody blooms in the background. It's a very nicely layered composition. The rest of the Certainties EP that it comes from is also pretty interesting and certainly worth checking out. har har. but really though, this track is really something special.
Shed seems to be an artist that exists somewhere in the nether-realm between Berlin/minimal techno and London dub sensibilities. Whatever you want to call it (I personally have a strong distaste for labels because I think they sometimes oversimplify the music), it's extremely well delivered. Shed is one of very few artists that I would put near the same category as Richard D. James, and that's really saying a lot if you know how absurdly obsessed with him I've been over the years. The main criteria for that is just originality of sound and delivery mostly and he excels in both those categories. And for the record, I'm also taking into account his newer release, The Traveller, which I'll review in the near future.
The album, Shedding The Past, does to some extent seem to live up to it's name, but in a kind of an ironic way. It gets back to the basics of good minimal techno, with a surface-level inclination towards driving, repetitive beats. But I suppose is 'shedding the past' by reinventing them in a what ends up being a truly current, original way. Nothing too radical, just the obvious subtle difference that comes with perspective on past works, and more advanced production tools at one's disposal. With that seemingly simple format though, he is able to express a great deal within it. To the average listener, some tracks might seem overly repetitive or simplistic. But that's kind of the point of techno anyway: a slow, hypnotic build that draws you in over time.
Either way, Shed demonstrates the awareness of someone that really put serious thought and care into what they were producing, and you can sense it in the results. Much like Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, the tracks just feel right. And beyond any description of the qualities of a particular album, that feeling towards it is really what distinguishes greatness from something relatively forgettable. This one definitely belongs to the former.
ah yes, the spirit of hallow'a eve is upon us. and what better way to celebrate than through some dark, semi-ambient electronic music?
the Raime EP is the debut of a group that are pretty new to the scene, but it's already pretty clear where they stand musically. their compositions are generally pretty cavernous in terms of the musical space they provide: vocals appearing and disappearing in and out of the background, drums pattering away in the distance, little lightning strikes of bass, and a consistent sub frequency to add some weight to it throughout it all. 'this foundry' is a slow-burner of a track and definitely possesses the kind of hypnotic quality that comes with repetition and minimalist tendencies. it all comes through to a pretty remarkable effect. definitely one of the top releases of the year thus far.
Once again, I basically don't know exactly what to call this. I'm just going to preface every post with that from now on. I just like to appreciate the "is"-ness of music rather than categorize it, for the most part. But somehow I still manage to contribute this blog of excellence.
This is... something-step. Definitely has some 'step' in it. Maybe... inverted-step? I dunno. Either way, it should be known that I think it's great. Next(Current now, digital age, sorry)-level greatness. Crazy good new style. This is basically what I live for in music.
Just intercepted a few Cosmogramma promo tracks that have been floating around the internet (the Cosmogramma group on last.fm, specifically) for about a month now. And I gotta admit, they sound pretty promising. Album's due out on May 4th, but if you live in the bay area I highly recommend that you catch both Mr. Lotus and ultra-UK-electronic pioneer Kode9 at the Mezzanine on March 27th. I saw that same combo last year (along with The Bug) and it was mind-blowingly good. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
While I am rather sad that I could not actually be in Krakow, Poland for this delightful Unsound Festival, I am also rather lucky that the set from UK electronic producer Untold was recorded through a live feed and then distributed to the masses on www.dubstepforum.com. It's got all the goods and is a good representation of the continuing flurry of creative forces in the UK and elsewhere in dubstep, techno, and everything in between. He keeps it fresh and interesting, wobble free, and forward thinking.
It starts out with a ton of energy, horns blazing, party anthems flying, and then around the 15 minute mark pivots to a long stretch of dark and moody stuff. the transition point is a remix of lil wayne's 'a milli'. i know what you might be thinking, and i agree. 'a milli' is a tired, tired song that needs to be put to rest. but i'm not lying when i say that this particular remix is totally worth listening to, largely due to the fact that the repeating "a milli" hook isn't used anywhere within it. the beginning of the set is completely off the hook, and then goes off the deep end after this remix.
Untold's tracks make appearances throughout and his tracks have a super funky style that the rest of the mix reflects well. it's funky in a weird way. weird yet solid banging rhythms, start and stop melodies, all kinds of craziness. to sum it up: it's pretty heavy, but still fun. overall it's a pretty special style and there are some truly stand-out tracks consistently throughout. this is the cutting edge of uk electronic music.
the tracklist was compiled pretty well by a few dedicated peeps that are tuned into the scene, but unfortunately still has a few missing pieces. i'll try to find a complete list soon.
01)Untold - ?
02)Untold - Stop What You're Doing
03)dj c? - 'jump up and bounce' (3:35)
04)RedLight - Wind Up Your Body Gal(5:20)
05)? - ? (7:05)
06)Shortstuff & Hyetal - Don't Sleep
07)Redlight - Pick Up The Phone
08)Untold - Anaconda (13:55)
09)Lil' Wayne - A millie (Harmonimix remix) (16:00)
10)Untold - You Didn't Win the Holiday (18:00)
11)TRG - Strobe Lick (20:35)
12)Joy Orbison - J. Doe (22:35)
13)Pangaea - Router (25:45)
14)Untold & D Franklin - Beacon (28:15)
15)Blawan - Fram (30:13)
16)The xx - Islands (Untold remix) (31:30)
17)bad memory (34:00)
18)Untold - Gonna Work Out Fine (37:00)
19)Untold - Bad Girls (39:15)
20)L-Vis 1990 - Hide (40:30)
21)? - ? (42:30)
22)bad memory (44:15)
23)Untold - Never Went Away (45:45)
24)TRG - Siberian Poker (47:50)
25)Mount Kimbie - Sketch on Glass (49:00)
26)Ramadanman - Bleeper (51:15)
27)Untold - Don't Know. Don't Care. (54:00)
28)Brackles - Rawkus (57:10)
29)James Blake - Air & Lack Thereof (58:45)
30)Untold - Stop What You're Doing (James Blake remix) (60:55)
I'm basically at a loss for words for what an amazing year 2009 was for virtually all types of electronic music. I don't think I've ever witnessed such an intense creative burst within any other scene of music. It was a truly epic year. Live, on tape, and on record.
It was led by an amorphous seven-headed monster known as dubstep, a genre that is essentially defined by nothing other than a requirement for a snare drum hit on the third beat and some syncopated rhythms. And bass. Lots and lots of bass. But the great thing is that that broad definition left a ton of room for experimentation.
There were so many inventive offshoots and reworkings of whatever original dubstep sound might have existed, that it was basically impossible to keep up with them all. It almost seemed as if the best artists out there were creating their own sub-genres, not just their own sounds.
This is a list carefully put together by someone with a fiery romance-novel-like passion for this type of music, so I really hope you enjoy it. Within it there are some obligatory dubstep bangers, a whole gang of variations on the sound, and a whole other set of sounds that I can hardly define. But either way, Happy new year everyone. Here's some excellent music to welcome you into the future.
****First up is an initial set of artists that I think had the most original and captivating sounds of the year. There'll be more artists of the same calibre in the next entry, along with a list (and samples) of tracks that were totally essential from some less important but still pretty amazing people. Oh and of course this music must be listened to at extremely loud volumes. it must!
Eskmo
I decided to start the list off by reppin' the best town on the best coast: San Francisco.
This guy Eskmo has one of the crunchiest, craziest sounds I've heard in quite a while, and certainly one of the most original. You can hear an extended version of his sound on his Colorbrain Mix on Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder site. Or you can download either his Hypercolor EP or the Let Them Sing 12". But for now, here's 'San Francisco'.
Joker is brilliant, that's about it. I could post any track he's released this year and it would be impressive. Like a lot of artists in his field his releases were mostly singles or 12"s, but if you want to understand his sound for 2009 just look to his and Ginz's DataTransmission Mix.
Mount Kimbie I discovered while making this list and I'm extremely thankful that I did. The two EPs they released were Sketch On Glass and Maybes, both nearly perfect. After track after track of intense bass up the wazoo all year, it was incredibly pleasant to sit back and relax over something more subtle. I don't know how many more synonyms I can keep coming up with for original and brilliant, but they are certainly both those things. I'm just going to be quiet now and let you listen.
Egyptrixx is pretty new to the scene as far as I know. At least he's just getting started. And what an awesome start it is. He's got a perfect handle on the heavy wobble sound (his has it's own Toronto twist), but also knows how to open it up like a psychedelic window. 'Godzilla' is a perfect example of a 'dubstep banger' done right. And 'Hexagon Ya', which for the life of me I could not find an actual copy of online (which is why it's ripped from a mix), is the dubstep equivalent of taking DMT. The space-time continuum gets torn apart and a gang of 5th-dimensional elves manifest spontaneously to teach you the nature of language. That's basically what it sounds like.
Zomby and Joker have one major thing in common: they can do no wrong. Zomby relentlessly put out single after single, EP after EP, and they were all great. One big reason for that (which is true for Joker also) is that they did a brilliant job, from the outset of their career, of developing an iconic sound. Zomby's is playful, sinister, lush, and spritely. The One Foot Ahead of the Other EP is his major release for 2009.
Nosaj Thing has carved out a definite space for himself in the musical landscape. His LP: Drift was solid without a doubt, but his true talent lies in his ability to put on a show. His Visual Show at the Downtown Independent in LA was truly a breathtaking spectacle. The visuals were minimal but perfectly suited to what was playing through the speakers. The effect of that combined stimulation gave me chills on the back of my neck. It was awe-inspiring. For an extra dose of NT's stylings, check out his XLR8R Mix.
Saturday was the Eagle Rock Music Festival, a free event that I only learned about last night. Knowing how these free festivals tend to be, I was expecting a lot of shitty lowest-common-denominator local acts to be playing. Surprisingly, there were a few bands I actually wanted to see, so Rob and I decided to check it out. We got there a couple hours after the festival began (it was scheduled to run from 4-11PM).
The first acts we wanted to see were a couple of local dubstep DJs we had seen a few weeks back, opening for Mary Anne Hobbs and Flying Lotus. Gaslamp Killer was first, and I'm kind of bummed I didn't get any pics or video of him, because he's visually one of the most entertaining DJs to watch. Imagine Animal from the Muppets playing air trumpet and doing energetic dance moves, and you'll have the general idea. His set was mostly Eastern European and Middle Eastern music, which wasn't what I had expected. I assume he was tailoring his set to the all ages crowd, and perhaps taking the opportunity to take a break from dubstep.
DJ nobody
Next up was DJ Nobody, who weirdly was playing several blocks away at the other end of the festival. I'm not sure why he and Gaslamp Killer weren't on the same stage. At any rate, he played some pretty cool songs, including one ridiculous Mars Volta remix, but he definitely seemed to be half-assing it when it came to blending songs and, you know, actually DJing. It wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as the last time I saw him, either.
robedoor
Robedoor were another band that I had seen in the last month, opening for Ducktails at the L'Keg Gallery. I was pretty impressed the first time I saw them, and was looking forward to seeing them again. Unfortunately it took a little while to find the American Legion Hall in which they were playing- it was the only indoor venue at the festival, and tucked away on a side street past a bunch of food vendors. We got there in time for their two last songs, both noisy, heavy jams. They were pretty great.
pocahaunted
We journeyed to the nearest gas station so I could grab an energy drink, and returned to the American Legion Hall to catch Pocahaunted. They shared members with Robedoor, which I think I had heard about but then subsequently forgotten. They played a mixture of dub, funk, noise and rock. It was pretty killer.
"Wow," I thought as the energy drink started to kick in, "this band is really good!"
"Those two singers are really cute!"
"I feel great!"
"...I should drink more of this energy drink!"
no age
Although Pocahaunted ended their set quite a bit later than the schedule had predicted, it was still well before No Age were supposed to go on. We trekked back to the stage DJ Nobody had been on in order to catch Peanut Butter Wolf, but it turned out that stage was even further behind schedule than the Amercan Legion had been. So we returned to the stage No Age were playing on, and waited for the show to start. No Age are yet another band I've seen recently (come to think of it all of these acts play pretty frequently), and I'm not super into them, so I wasn't really dying to see them again or anything. Their set started out terribly- the sound from the speakers was so muddy and indistinguishable that all you could hear was a wash of guitar. But soon enough they added another amp to the stage, and things improved. It didn't really compare to their set at FYF Fest, but it was still good to see all the local kids getting super psyched for it. We left to go check out Peanut Butter Wolf, but the sound on his stage was so quiet that it was actually kind of infuriating to try and watch. So we bounced. All in all, pretty great for a free festival.
I've been listening to a lot of dubstep recently, and have been trying to get a handle on what exactly "funky" and "wonky" are. And during my efforts to learn more about "wonky", this guy came across my path. My first impression on hearing the name "Hudson Mohawke" was, "If this lousy pun represents the level of creativity this guy operates on, this is gonna suck". And then I heard claims of his being Glasgow's answer to Flying Lotus, and my eyes rolled so hard I temporarily went on a journey to the center of my mind. "Yeah right" I thought, "like Glasgow could possible have anyone like Flying Lotus. I'm pretty sure hip-hop doesn't even exist in that corner of the world". BUT!!! This completely blew me away, no exaggeration. The last time I remember being initially so impressed about a hip-hop/electronic music hybrid is probably the first time I heard One Word Extinguisher, six years ago. Maybe I'm just in a good mood today, though. The album pictured above- Polyfolk Dance- is Hudson Mohawke's (sometimes known as Hudson Mo or Hud Mo) debut EP for Warp, and his most recent release. The overall sound is dense and hazy, glitchy, very multilayered, and brings to mind not just Prefuse 73, but also Four Tet, Daedelus and yeah, Flying Lotus. The omnipresent vinyl crackle that Flying Lotus and J Dilla put to such good work is here, but so too are an array of synths and other inorganic sounds. But the combination never feels strained or forced. I think so far this year, this is the most exciting hip-hop-related release I've heard.
Hudson Mohawke - Polkadot Blues This is an older release of his, and I think his first proper release, the "Ooops! EP". It's his only release so far that features actual rapping on it, although as far as I know, all of these songs are remixes of older songs- the titular track is a remix of an R'n'B song from 2002 (about masturbation! daaaaaang). I generally prefer rap to instrumental hip-hop, so I'd love to hear Hudson Mohawke make more work like this or even produce some original beats for a rapper. Short, but great. And "Jelly 'n' Jam" makes me miss hyphy.
Hudson Mohawke - Jelly 'n' Jam This is another older release, the "6x7" single. It's a little more downtempo and stoned than his other releases. I especially like the last track, "Star Crackout", which has a very pretty melody, and kind of makes me think of some of Aphex Twin's older and more melodic work, or Savath & Savalas.
