the // sonic // minefield

>>>Move Forward >>>

2011-12-28T12:54:00.009Z

Let’s look to 2012 and check out some artists on the new side that I think are well worth keeping an ear out for. They’re in no real order and ultimately just people I want to hear more from next year, check it.

Preditah
For reasons unknown he still hasn’t had a solo track out on wax, just the sick remix of Trim’s ‘I Am’ on Butterz, ‘Circle’ is a killer grime track that deserves some attention on wax. He’s got plenty more in the bag too. His style is rude yet slinky. He can twist out some serious beats that flow as hard as the hit.

Splurt Diablo
Another badman grime producer, this time in the form of Family Tree’s Splurt Diablo. He’s another guy that hits it hard and differently. Alongside Preditah, Faze Miyake and Darq E Freaker they’re the guys killing it outside of the Butterz camp in grime right now.

Dro Carey
Pretty sure I tipped him last year too and you know what he killed it and I’m still hyped for whats to come in ’12. He had some killer tracks on Trilogy Tapes, Hum & Buzz as well as Ramp. I’d love to see what he can do over a full length but I’d settle for a handful of killer 12”s again any day. His sound is twisted.

Champion
He had a big year in ’11 bring out consistent 12”s of UK Funky, something scene hasn’t quite come to terms with doing outside of a select few for some reason. I’ve got a feeling his ’11 highlights are just the tip of the iceberg though; ‘Lose Control’, ‘Lighter’ and ‘Sensitivity’ with vocals from Ruby Lee Ryder are too big.

Jhene Aiko
She made a quality mixtape in ’11 that I just kept going back to. It hit the spot for me in that dreamy R&B vibe where The Weeknd, Drake and Frank Ocean couldn’t. Her voice is sublime and the beats feel pretty effortless. I’d settle for something as quality as ‘Stranger’ in ’12 and I’ll leave happy.

Kevin McPhee
He’s been impressive with a run of 12”s for [Nakedlunch], Hypercolour, Idle Hands and remixes on Fourth Wave, Man Make Music over the last year but I bet its only the tip of the iceberg. His sound is deeply twisted and hypnotic sitting somewhere between deep house, bass and hyper coloured synth experiments. Well worth a look.

Gerry Read
Gerry has been on the radar for a while making some seriously deep dub infused techno for the likes of Dark Arx, but by the end of the year he really spread his wings with a twisted take on deep house and bass vibes for Fourth Wave that really grabbed my attention. He just keeps rolling out the odd ball bangers, so I can’t wait for his ’12 material.

Teeth
‘Shawty’ was such a wicked track; it really grabbed your attention. He dropped several other quality releases in ’11 too, yet I can just see him making another anthem in ’12 simply because one of the best tracks I’ve heard from him ‘Vibrate’ still hasn’t hit wax.

Lando Kal
As half of Lazer Sword he’s always been a load of fun, but Lando broke out this year with some quality R&B sampling, colour fuelled synth vibes of his own, taking in house, garage and bass like many had in ’11 but his twist on it oozed quality and banged hard. Tracks for Hotflush and Rush Hour really caught my ear, more is welcome, vibes.

Vessel
Vessel is part of the Young Echo collective out of Bristol who are doing a lot right now and the EP on Left Blank showed us another reason why they’re on to something. Like a few of my other tips Vessel seem to sit in their own world between deep dubbed out house, twisted synth experiments and hefty bass weight. I’m pretty hypnotised.

Lapalux
After a quality showing on his SR mix this year he really got me on board, with a Brainfeeder release on the way he’s been grabbing the attention of the likes of FlyLo by the sounds of things too. His EP on Pictures Music this year was quality. That dusty, decayed, twisted take on beat music really sucks you in.

El Kid
Mixing twisted electronics akin to post-punk/synth experiments with dance beats El Kid has nailed it with a 12” on Left Blank in ’11 and also showed his slow burning funk’d up house vibes on Immerse. El Kid has reach and I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with next. He’s part of the Young Echo crew out of Bristol, they’re all well worth a watch, keep an eye on Kahn, Zhou, Vessel & Jabu too.

Torus
Day dreaming, early morning hangover music of the highest order, sink in and feel the vibes. He’s from The Hague and makes some irresistibly neat and subtle electronics with a bright twisted atmosphere. Keep an ear to the ground for this one.

Brey
He’s a badman that’s been kind of keeping it on the down low this last year, I first tripped up on one of his beats inside one of those epic free zips Butterz gave away. It was a mad percussive remix of one of their beats; I just had to investigate more. His sound is twisted as you can hear in his remix of Javeon McCarthy’s ‘Love Without A Heart’ which easily out does the original for me. Hopefuly he’ll ease out something freaky for us in 2012.

Ossie
With other Hyperdub artists DVA and Cooly G dropping albums in ’12, which I’m also looking forward to, I just hope that Ossie has similar ambitions because he’s a killer producer with some serious scope. Plus I can’t get ‘Tarantula’ and ‘Set The Tone’ out of my head so I’m seriously in need for more where that came from.

Swing Ting
Raw, low slung and swung UK funky hybrids are the call of the day for this lot and I’m all for it, they have a hip-hop swagger to them somehow too. They’ve kept it dark and hard with their 12”s in ’11 you can place them somewhere between Mosca’s slinky rawness, Breach’s rudeboy workouts and the spaced out vibes of Beneath and that isn’t a bad place to be.

Beneath
They sound like the dark underbelly of UK Funky, like a neverland where Youngsta rules. Its heavy, dark and swung, just the way we like it. The debut EP on No Symbols isn’t far off dropping and it’s just the tip of the iceberg if the mix he did for Blackdown is anything to go by.

NKC
He’s got a raw energetic dance floor thing going on has NKC, his Pyramid’s EP on Forefront really hit the spot for me. It’s a tough UK funky hybrid with some bashy attitude and a house lean that sits somewhere between Cosmin TRG’s Rush Hour vibes on tracks like ‘Sirop’ and my next pick, Presk... He brings the energy and gets things moving, can’t wait for more.

Presk
He really hit a vibe with his release on Fourth Wave this year, a twisted broken, sample laced, big and bashy dance floor vibe. He later paired it with some garage slink and techy sounds for 12”s on Doc Daneeka’s Ten Thousand Yen label and Audio Culture with another Dutch badman Cinnaman. His tracks have rarely been out of my record bag and I would love more to join them.

Objekt
He makes some solid slabs of broken bass heavy techno akin to 2562/A Made Up Sound. He’s already dropped some quality #’d 12”s on his own label and a big remix for SBTRKT amongst others. He’s just getting started and alongside guys like Blawan and Pariah and their Karenn project they’re keeping raw techno vibes alive.

TRC
When he showed up on Butterz this year I couldn’t stop playing ‘Skipping Rope’ it’s a twisting flexing slab of grimy bassline that I couldn’t help but move to. Tracks from that EP kept coming back too, TRC found himself as the foundation for two of the best vocal grime tracks around in ’11 when Trim rode ‘I Am’ and Royal T did a twisted garage take on ‘Oo Aa Ee’ for the killer ‘Boo You’ with P Money, Blacks and Stickman. I’m itching for more fire from TRC in ’12.

DJ Q
His 1Xtra show is one of the only reasons to tune into the station his bassline, meets garage and grime vibes have been killing it. He’s one hell of a selecta and no slouch when it comes to production too, his remix of S-X ‘wooo’ bred a new lease of life into the already addictive track when it dropped on Butterz earlier in the year, plus his outing on BBK’s Tropical 2 was pure summer time vibes. But when the killer refix ‘Brandy & Coke’ drops next year on a cheeky white for Local Action he could really have a runaway dance floor bomb on his hands.

Nguzunuguzu
With their mix ‘The Perfect Lullaby’ they fused that Night Slugs, UK Bass vibe to R&B and made some seriously luscious refixes to great effect. Then killed it later in the year with an EP on Kingdom’s Fade To Mind label with a spooked out bashy, drum machine wielding, synth heavy selection that was pretty irresistible.

Ruby Lee Ryder
She’s absolutely killed it in ’11 on just two tracks: Terror Danjah’s rawkus big room grime anthem ‘Full Attention’ and Champion’s bumpy funky number ‘Sensitivity’. I don’t think I’ve been this hyped about a UK funk vocalist since I heard Katy B on ‘As I’ or ‘Tell Me’. Hopefully we’ll see Ruby Lee keep on the sick beats from people like that for a while yet, because it sounds far too good. We can only dream of pop this raw and fun to spread in ’12... Maybe with vocalists like Ruby Lee, Terri Walker, Lily McKenzie and Miss Fire the UK is onto something.

LHF
They’re another one I tipped last year and they didn’t slouch either continuing their killer shows on Sub FM and dropping a quality handful of 12”s on Keysound from various producers in the crew. They still sound like no one else, they make their own world and its one I want to hear more of. More 12”s, more sets, maybe an album and I’m more than happy.

Main Attrakionz
In ’11 the Green Ova gang kinda nailed that spaced out euphoric vibe on their countless mixtapes. ASAP Rocky and Lil B kind of took the attention when it came to that Clams Casino vibe in hip-hop in ’11 but for me Main Attrakionz where way ahead of the pack and it’s something I hope they keep rolling in the new year.

I’ve already gone on for too long and have no doubt missed a bunch but there you go, happy New Year. Keep it locked.

Honorable Mentions: Helix, Golau Glau, Ghosting Season, Young L, Logos, Visionist, Kahn, Dropping Gems, Wanda Group, DjRUM, Artifact, King Louie. Knowing Looks, Gang Colours, Pedestrian, Gunplay, Ifan Dafydd, Palace, Mosca, 5kinandbone5, Cooly G, Tom Trago, Bok Bok, Throwing Snow, Manny, Hookworms, Space Dimention Controller, Hype Williams, Laurel Halo, Jam City, Damu, Erra, Alex Zen, Starlito, Royal T, Kowton, Maxmillion Dunbar, Darksky, Walton, Funkystepz, T.Williams, Nochexxx, October, Outboxx, Hodge, Maya Jane Coles, DVA, Chairman Kato, J.G.

Golau Glau presents: Libraries & Vinyl / Saturday 12th November, 2.30pm @ Test Space, Leeds.

2011-11-04T11:15:00.004Z

My favourite silver pop duo/project Golau Glau are running an exhibition at the Test Space in Leeds from 10th-13th November 2011. They’re an interesting one, an anonymous collective that caught my ear a while back so much so we at SR caught up with them and gave away an EP earlier in the year. So when they ask for me to head down the road with some records I’m more than willing...

In their words the Exhibition will feature...

‘A new sound and photography work about the closure of public libraries, ‘Public Interest’, and a selection of other sound works, videos and photographs by Golau Glau. There will be a programme/zine to accompany the exhibition, and it’s free to get in’.

As well as that they’ve put together a killer opening line-up featuring some serious local talent: Hookworms are doing their thing live so expect a psyched-out dream-like stare rock vibe from them. Runners are turning in a DJ set, so it sounds like we’re in for a mad one there. Plus Ewan Jamieson from the ace local photo site A Negative Narrative touches down with a set of his own. You know its all people Golau Glau like...

EXHIBITION LAUNCH: Thursday 10th November, 7.30pm, FREE ENTRY

All well and good you say, but here comes the (other) good bit...

‘James Balf from Sonic Router will be playing a laid-back vinyl-only DJ set and Lauren Smith from Voices for the Library is doing a talk on public library closures’

Yeah I’ll be spinning a 90-odd min selection for Golau Glau right after the talk from Lauren. I’ve never played after a lass talking about library closures before so it should be a nice change of pace. Plus this is one of the reason I love Golau Glau they keep it outside the box and get some interesting ideas rolling. I figure they feel the passion and energy people have for the two subjects make for an interesting juxtaposition. One that’ll make for an event that’ll reach a different audience than it usually would.

Head down Thursday for some bands, I’m hoping to make it. Then reach on Saturday where I’ll be playing a laid back selection of oddities, slow motion house, synth explorations, plenty of bass and anything else I can fit in my record bag.

Test Space are event producers, promoters, artists and curators. Test Space is also currently a physical space in the centre of Leeds, hosting exhibitions, gigs, live performance, theatre, pop up restaurants and club nights.

Test Space, Unit 2-4 Melbourne Street, Leeds LS2 7PS

http://golauglau.wordpress.com/
http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk
http://www.sonicrouter.com/
www.testspaceleeds.com

Trim – I Am [Butterz]

2011-07-21T19:20:00.002+01:00

Trim is prolific, this year alone he’s released four mixtapes. The grime scene veteran, ex-Roll Deep member and an undisputed grime war hero that isn’t shy of barring with the best has been on one of late, he seems revitalised as his ehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifpic work rate suggest. He’s got something to say and the beats to back it up. The last time he hit wax was on an experimental eski-esq banger from Becoming Real and that’s just the tip of the ice-burg when it comes to Trim taking on some seriously out there beats. He’s barred on everyone from Starkey to Harmonic 313 in a quest to explore new ground. Hooking up with Butterz seems natural, they’ve been putting out quality instrumentals the last few years that always hit hard but kept it interesting too plus they’ve been crying out for full vocal treatment after some hardcore radio testing with some fine MCs on Rinse.

Trust Butterz to get some quality cuts from Trim and put them on wax, picking Trim after the garage leaning grime banger ‘Boo You’ from P Money & Blacks is a no brainer. They keep that ‘Phase Two’ vision on track by bringing in the MCs and continues to expand their sound. Here Trim vocals two absolute percy’s from the Butterz impressive back catalogue: TRC’s ‘Skipping Rope’ and D.O.K.’s ‘Chemical Planet’ with a remix of the title track from Birmingham’s Preditah to round off the package.

TRC’s instro does exactly what it says on the label, it’s got that skip and Trim hits his stride with his vocal version ‘I Am’ with a tight flow that matches the supple beat bar for bar. Those midi hi-hats and horns next to those irresistibly funky synth lines have that melancholic vibe that suits the introspective self depreciating bars he spits, lines like ‘Put myself in a pickle and belittle myself, piggy in the middle trying to wiggle myself out, I’m the only one who can let myself down’ or ‘East side we’ve got flees, sniffs, we’ve got weed’ and the chorus ‘this is what I am...’ really fit that down key synth melody. But that track still has that grime edge, since the skip is relentless and the synth bright enough to bring out that dark-side humour Trim has which also means it fits that confidence and bravado of lines such as ‘Trim’s in the rave don’t bring your girl out’, ‘I’m a star I can light the sky, with no fireworks’ or the twisted ‘when I creep I have the whole room crawling’ just as well. It’s Trim being Trim you get what you see.

Preditah turns in a filter heavy remix of ‘I Am’, that still manages to keep that sweeping synth funk but adds a stop start kicking rhythm to replace that energetic bump the original has, it’s got a moody edge to it that suits Trim’s vocals especially on the chorus. The skippy flow Trim brings in his bars play off the laid back widescreen energy of Preditah’s instro to add a nice bit of tension that really teases out the introspection and turns the track from a bumping party track to a late night blazer, the mood is flipped.

The flip ‘Notice Now’ see’s Trim upping the aggression over D.O.K.’s Sonic inspired banger ‘Chemical Planet’, he rides that tough funk with some serious bravado, chatting about how you’ve got to take note and when he goes in like he does on this 12” it’s hard not to agree. If you wade into his stream of mixtapes this year you get sizeable glimpses of just how good Trim is but that star really shines when you get a concentrated dose such as this.

http://trimcrises.com/
http://www.butterz.co.uk/
http://butterzrecords.bigcartel.com/

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Sonic Router at Fabric This Friday

2011-06-30T09:55:00.003+01:00

We’re very honoured to be hosting room three at Fabric alongside some of our favourite labels Hessle Audio and Tectonic this Friday. Get down early since the bill is jam packed with names you don’t want to miss. Plus Sonic Router DJs will be kicking off proceedings in room three: MLR 10-11 & Me (jimitheexploder) 11-12.

You still have a little time to enter our competition to win tickets by heading over here.

See you down the front.

http://www.fabriclondon.com/
http://www.sonicrouter.com/

XXXY, My Panda Shall Fly, Nightwave, Throwing Snow, Seams, Anthony C & Me @ The Nest, Dalston LDN. 27th May / Forefront @ The Lamp, Hull. 28th May

2011-05-25T12:49:00.005+01:00

Catch me at The Nest at the end of the month: I’m spinning with XXXY, My Panda Shall Fly, Nightwave, Throwing Snow, Seams and Anthony C in London for God Don’t Like It. The line-up is big and there events are solid, it’ll be a good way to start your long bank holiday weekend. Then I’m switching it up in Hull with Forefront Recordings: head honcho Webstarr is putting together a soundclash and invited me along. He just put out a record from Slackk and has one on the way from NKC and they both sound like hot ones. If you’re in the area drop in it’ll be live.

Grab the promo mix I did for God Don’t Like It bellow.

Kevin McPhee – Get in With You (LV remix) [[Nakedlunch]]
Mau’lin – Deeper Than the Sun [Ho Tep]
Boddika – Soul What [Swamp 81]
FaltyDL – Hip Love [Ramp]
Unknown Artist – Unknown [Analogue Solutions]
Head High – It’s A Love Thing (Piano Invasion) [Power House]
Thomas Bangalter – I Don’t Know Why [Roulé]
Maurice Donovan – Satisfied [ssssssss]
Funkystepz – Fuller [Hyperdub]
Champion – Loose Control [Hardrive]
Ossie – Tarantula [Lightworks]
Elgato – Music (Body Mix) [Hessle Audio]
DJ Qu – Babyluv [Strength Music]
Addison Groove – Minuets of Funk [3024]
Dark Sky – High Rise [Blunted Robots]
Desto – Glass Clouds [Ramp]
Silkie – Float [Deep Medi]
Alex Zen – Pimp Shoes [Berkane Sol]
S-X – Woooo (DJ Q Remix) [Butterz]
Teeth – Shawty [502]
Ekoplekz – Dayton Romance [Mordant Music]

More. http://www.goddontlikeit.co.uk/post/5541909637/we-are-very-much-looking-forward-to-having-jimi

Jimi the Exploder mix for God Don't Like It by Anthonygdli

Free before 10pm, £5 after, close at 4am @ The Nest.

Tickets: http://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/780/chk/2605

http://www.ilovethenest.com/

http://www.goddontlikeit.co.uk/

http://forefront-recordings.co.uk/

http://www.thelamphull.co.uk/

Sonic Router x Hivemind x Xpldr Session // 24.04.11 @ 10-12pm GMT

2011-04-24T10:44:00.002+01:00

SR has a fresh new look, we’ve re-launched check it out on http://www.sonicrouter.com/ plus I’m on the radio tonight at 10-12pm GMT over on http://www.hivemind.fm/.

Since this weekend is a long slow hot Easter weekend I’m going to play it as such so tune in for a slow burning, spaced out, BBQ lighting, sun beaming session. We’re going to take it from 110 upwards, I’m keeping it long and loose. Long blends, deep grooves, BBQ beats.

It’s the Easter, eggs out warm down. All wax, crackle included, keep locked for DJ dates in May.

My last show can be found here.

Sonic Router X Hivemind.Fm: Xpldr Session - 27.03.2011 by Sonic Router on Mixcloud

Archive and tracklist on SR later...

http://www.hivemind.fm/
http://www.mixcloud.com/sonicrouter/
http://www.facebook.com/SonicRouterLDN
http://www.sonicrouter.com/

Ekoplekz – Memowrekz [Mordant Music]

2011-04-16T10:51:00.002+01:00

Ekoplekz first came into view via. Punch Drunk late last year and it was an unexpected and downright refreshing release for the label that acted like a pallet cleanser. Not many people expected a dubbed-out beat-less noisy analogue freak out from one of the leading lights of the, for want of a better word… dubstep scene. Peverelist’s open policy of putting out pretty much anything he’s feeling as long as you’re from Bristol paid off yet again though. When you dig a bit deeper the move makes a lot of sense, noisy freak outs aren’t to far removed from dubtsep’s outer limits as the label in question here: Mordant Music has been working with another Bristol freak from the scene Shackleton for years, he draws together those distant yarns in his own way. You can connect threads further field too: Ben UFO pretty much played a noise set the other night on Rinse, debuting some extreme guitar excursions by Andrew Coltrane from Trilogy Tapes that’s a label who’ve dropped a 12” from Dro Carey who has been known to get a bit dissonant with his sound pallet all while keeping that dance slant rolling, same goes for Egyptrixx and his noisy past you hear filter into his Night Slugs… Then you have the general love for people like Hype Williams and Forest Swords from the scene… But right now we’re concentrating on the latest long-player/double-cassette and don’t worry digital collection from Bristol’s improvisational analogue experimentalist Ekoplekz.

Memowrekz is an epic thirty three track workout of dub infused dissonant synth music, it’s a tough one to pin down. It’s the sound of the Radiophonic workshop on a bender, blazed-out taking Dr. Who on an adventure through cavernous warehouse full of abandoned synths and dub records, in some sort of alternative universe where they’ve come alive, joined forces and have minds of their own. But this time the Doctor just chills out and vibes off the mutant soundboy’s and rolls another… It’s a dystopian vision but one that draws you in, it’s dissonant but never gets overtly confrontational. Its tough to draw comparisons, the record sits somewhere within that bunch of freaks on Olde English Spelling Bee: Stella Om Source and maybe even Forest Swords, its got the synths of one and the heavy dub of the other. But that’s to simplistic… You could draw lines with the Not Not Fun stable: Sun Araw’s and Peaking Lights dub-psych jams, both the heavy and breezy angles... It even fits next to Oneohtrix Point Never, but its way more free flowing, compelling and as much as I dig last years ‘Returnal’ it seems simplistic and rigid compared to Ekoplekz. This is the album I wish that one was in some ways.

The free flowing nature of these tracks brought on by the improvisational nature of the way Ekoplekz works really shows and pays dividends. Deep synth squiggles get shaped before your eyes. Beats bubble under, when they appear at all. Echo drenched surges of noise build layers of intensity on top of the warm synth tones. It’s intertwined with the odd bass and guitar line, dropped deep into the synthetic ocean of sound. The aesthetic should surely be harder work than it is, but Memowerkz makes for a really enjoyable listen. Blissful bright passages making each tonal change in mood and texture really pop, the extremes are balanced with ease, it’ll grab you, draw you in and take you somewhere you wouldn’t expect. Ekoplekz and Mordant Music are a killer combination: wrap your ears around this.

Mix: Electronic Explorations #146: Ekoplekz

http://ekoplekznews.wordpress.com/
http://soundcloud.com/ekoplekz
http://www.mordantmusic.com/

Originally written for the revamped and fresh looking: http://www.sonicrouter.com/

Sonic Router x Hivemind x Xpldr Session // 27.03.11 @ 10-12pm GMT

2011-03-26T15:34:00.001Z

This Sunday 10-12pm GMT I’m back on Hivemind FM for Sonic Router lock in to hear a load of fresh wax on the Xpldr Session. Big up Oli for the last show which you can find in the archives on our mixcloud along with our other shows. Scribble it down: every second and fourth Sunday of the month, lock in, and end your week with SR. Join our facebook group for updates and listen to our track of the day while you’re at it.

http://www.hivemind.fm/
http://www.mixcloud.com/sonicrouter/
http://www.facebook.com/SonicRouterLDN
http://www.sonicrouter.com/

Esben & The Witch – Violet Cries [Matador]

2011-03-01T17:27:00.002Z

Brooding post-rock addled haunted indie soundscapes are what Brighton trio Esben & The Witch deal in. They’ve been on my radar since the very promising EP ‘33’ appeared a year ago, meanwhile they’ve been honing their skills at gigs and in the studio. Only to get picked up by indie big guns Matador, they even landed a spot on the BBC sound of poll and unleash this, their debut album. It’s an assured slow burning long player that shows a young band with plenty of vision and a load of potential. To my ears at least they can sound like If Zola Jesus had a slightly more epic, atmospheric hazy sound and binged on post-rock then you’d get somewhere close, there is a haunted disconcerting beauty to them both. If you took Warpaint out of their garage and recorded them having a near death experience through blown amplifiers in a bigger garage with more plug sockets for drum machines and effects units, you wouldn’t be far off either. They even stand quite well with Laurel Halo’s off-kilter lo-fi pop too. It cold even be said there’s a hint of Portishead in there somewhere but that’s enough comparisons: on with the album.

They build soundscapes that slowly unveil: opener ‘Argyria’ melts into view before teasing a more song like structure then seeping into the next track ‘Marching Song’ which makss a welcome re-appearance from the ‘33’ EP and its sounding better than ever its all high drama and pent up tension. The melancholy, delicate beauty of ‘Marine Fields Grow’ is one to really sink into. We’re really rolling with the one two punch of ‘Chorea’ and ‘Warpath’ slap bang in the middle of the record. They both have a bit of drive and intensity its where the album starts to burst into energy, emerging out of the hazy unsettling dreamscapes into something more sinister. ‘Chorea’ has some seriously luscious shimmering guitars, machine drums and sweeping vocal melodies. While ‘Warpath’ runs with a different kind of energy, there is a melodic, other-worldly spiky almost HEALTH-like post-punk shimmer to the guitar lines before it all drops into a spaced out state of bliss.

We get all tender again with ‘Eumendies’ hushed tones, layers of sound and bubbling building electronics that flow out of the quite before getting a bit twisted and upping the energy and fragmenting into bursts of noise and haunted melody and back again then right when you least expect it, an indie disco thump... The final track ‘Swans’ chimes, drones and rings into effect and ushers Violet Cries out in fine off centre style that goes from haunting dissonant passages of shimmering melody it’s a sweet low key ending. Esben & The Witch are a young band that have really found their feet with the debut album, they’re still growing and mutating but they’ve got confidence in their sound and it shows. The song writing, vocals and soundscapes all come together beautifully. Violet Cries is an interesting listen and a solid record, they’re ones to keep an eye on, they’ll be one of the best new bands around for a while.

Video: Esben & The Witch - Warpath

Buy: http://esbenandthewitch.bigcartel.com/

http://www.esbenandthewitch.co.uk/
http://www.matadorrecords.com/

Sonic Router x Hivemind x The Xpldr Session // 27.02.2011 @ 10-12pm GMT

2011-02-26T13:03:00.003Z

‘Catch Jimi The Exploder presenting The Xpldr Session for Sonic Router every 4th Sunday at the same time from 27th Feb 2011’

Yeah I’m stepping up from my ustream sessions to hosting my first radio show on Hivemind FM this weekend for Sonic Router. I’ll be taking over every fourth Sunday of the month @ 10-12pm GMT from Oli, he’s still doing the second Sunday of every month so you know. Just a quick heads up to remind people it’s coming. Get ready to lock in, jump in the chat room. Expect a range of vibes, loads of beats and bass. It’s going to be live!

Listen: http://www.hivemind.fm/

Archive: http://www.mixcloud.com/sonicrouter/

http://www.sonicrouter.com/

LHF – EP2: The Line Path [Keysound]

2011-02-05T10:36:00.002Z

LHF are a shadowy organisation and to be honest that’s just the way we like it. They comprise of a production crew of about seven. They keep it tight and have built a world of their own that seems both far-reaching and contained all at once. You never know which way they’re going to turn next when you listen to their sets but it always fits and sounds unmistakeably LHF. The Line Path EP is split between producers Amen Ra and Double Helix two of the group’s core members.

Double Helix keeps the bumping rhythmic dubtep patterns going like on the previous EP. The horn samples give ‘Chamber of Light’ a Wu Tang kind of feel when they hit, well Wu Tang if they also featured Mala on the buttons. The drums and space are as infectious as ever; Double Helix has got a way with programming that really gets things bumping. Tablas, woodblocks and all manner of percussive nuggets just keep rolling on the next track ‘Bass 2 Dark’ too. Bursts of jabbering bass synths hit out of the rhythmic shuffle and pulsing sub bass.

Amen Ra’s track ‘Candy Rain’ sounds like it could be taken from the Brainfeeder stable, its got a similar de-tuned, melted vibe that a lot of Samiyam’s work has. The unlikely coupling of what sounds like an accordion or a synth version of it, steppy rhythms and warm lazy bass tones give the track a bright lilting funk. It’s undoubtedly a highlight. He rounds of the 12” with a techy dystopian vision on ‘Trifle’, its all dusty driving synths and gritty textures played like the soundtrack to a sci-fi race scene set in the ruins of Detroit.

The Line Path wets the appetite, which is a good thing considering the amount of quality material they’ve got. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. Two EPs in and I’m already hoping an album is on the horizon.

http://www.myspace.com/raizms
http://www.myspace.com/helixier
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=343822987445
http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/

Amen Ra & Vibezin Live @ The Boiler Room
http://boilerroom.tv/amen-ra-vibezins-60-min-mix/

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Royal T – Orangeade EP [Butterz]

2011-01-27T23:58:00.003Z

With a few 12”s already under his belt as well as some impressive tracks here and there Royal T has been making all the right moves, ‘Beat Fighter’ and his ‘Hot Ones’ remix have barely left the bag since they dropped. So here he is with his latest EP on Butterz, who’ve had a hell of a run lately with percy’s from TRC and DOK still very much fresh in the mind, plus the much called for vinyl release of the sublime ‘Wooo’ riddim by SX, anyway on with the T.

Fizz and bubble into action with ‘Orangeade’ a rhythmically skippy hyped up grime weapon that bangs hard with enough intensity to keep floors alight. Atmospheric pads and synth whines shuffle into bumpy beats and big bass tones to great effect on this one, it oozes hyper-funk. Remember a cheeky Beastie Boys single called ‘Alive’ well ‘Whistle Song’ isn’t it but the whistle melody does make me want to sing ‘dip dip dive, so-socialise open up your ears and open up your eyes’ over the top of it. In fact it sounds like what would happen if Daft Punk did too many lines of coke/glasses of orangeade whipped out the talky-box, lived in Bow and remixed it at 140bpm. Which obviously means it’s a catchy little banger... The return on the devil mix concept is a welcome one, especially when it’s done well. In the hands of the likes of Zomby, Untold and more recently Logos the beat-less/restrained twisted grime instro pioneered by Wiley is an inspired creation. Royal T also pulls it off on ‘Music Please (Devil Mix)’ morphing the hyped up synth leads into a pent up hypnotic gem that keeps on brooding.

Royal T is really starting to show his versatility and is growing into his own now ‘Orangeade’ bangs differently. They’ll be plenty more on the horizon too as you’ll no doubt know if you’ve heard his slinky garage remix of TRC on the radio recently. He shows some serious breadth and quality keep an eye out. Just a quick word on the promo video too the OGz: P Money, Lil Dee and Blacks go in hard they’re tight and sharp on T’s beats its one of the best promos around.

Buy: http://butterzrecords.bigcartel.com/

http://www.butterz.co.uk/
http://royaltmusic.tumblr.com/

Originally written for Sonic Router. Check out the Interview and Mix.

Dro Carey – Venus Knock EP [The Trilogy Tapes]

2011-01-20T13:06:00.002Z

The young Australian producer is one to keep an eye on this year; his blend of haunted hip-hop is really on point. The debut 12” is a super limited affair for The Trilogy Tapes so get in quick. If you miss it don’t fret because we’ll be hearing more, Ikonika has already mentioned picking him up for a release on Hum & Buzz. The ‘Venus Knock’ EP shows Dro Carey flexing his muscles and knocking out some seriously twisted mutations. Imagine a heavier variant on the ghostly R&B of How To Dress Well or Hype Williams playing off the computer funk of Actress or 10-20 and the twisting bass heavy drum machine/sample workouts of DJ Rashad then you’ll be somewhere close.

We start with a strong opener with the brooding ‘Get Rid Of This Guy’, which takes rolling 808 drum patterns and plays them off a menacing sluggish synth tone. Along with the infectious chopped vocal motifs it’s a real winner. Quick on its heels is the booming title track ‘Venus Knock’, bass hits punch wholes in your chest as an angry buzz swoops into view through a post-industrial haze it’s sinister. Flip the wax over for the slow motion smudge of ‘Dead Keys’, which feels like its come fresh off the set of a horror film with a scene set in a Chicago house club. The vocal hits twisted in and out of shape against the creeping backdrop. While the closer ‘Glitter Variables’ sounds like a submarine in trouble sampled and chopped into the form of a lost Dance Mania record. A solid EP all round.

Dro Carey Trilogy Tapes Promo from DC vampira on Vimeo.

Buy: http://www.thetrilogytapes.com/ttt/

Web: http://www.thetrilogytapes.com/

Blog: http://drocar.tumblr.com/

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Looking Forward >>>

2010-12-31T15:43:00.006Z

There is plenty of music to look forward to in ’11 as always, so much so that this list could go on forever. So I’ve chosen a load of people I’m looking forward to hearing more of in the coming year. Plus I’m keeping it to people that are either bubbling under, pretty new, just need shouting about or have something cool on the way I’m excited about.

LHF
They dropped plenty of teasers in ’10 their first EP for Keysound is just the tip of the iceberg just check out their massive radio/mix archives for proof. More EPs and hopefully an album on the way in ’11 means we’re all in for a treat. They’ve built their own world that sounds unlike anything else but gets close to what I’d imagine Flying Lotus soundclashing DMZ on a pirate radio station in another dimension would be like.

Martin Kemp
Easily sitting quietly at the forefront of the UK’s dance underground the Blunted one keeps the quality stuff creeping out consistently. His sound has so much bump, flex and weight that they’re a pleasure to dig out. Its got to be tough to make a tough yet supple house groove that really flexes but he makes it sound easy. More of that will make ’11 more than a pleasure.

T.Williams
He’s been so consistent with his deep techy bass addled vision of the UK house sound in ’10. I’m always reaching for his beats and those of his Deep Teknologi label mates. There is something about the dark side of UK Funky that really appeals to me, the balance of rough and raw with a subtle soulful flex is a killer combination.

Kassem Mosse
At the front end of ’10 I was still pretty bored of house/techno it had been years since I’d been excited by the sound. UK funky and its hybrids slowly brought me back to that tempo and this man Kassem Mosse alongside, MMM, Kyle Hall, Omar S and John Roberts feel it again. A steady stream of 12”s would keep me hooked for sure.

Bakey Ustl
His debut EP on Unthank is one of the most fucked up and compelling house 10”s I’ve heard for some time. I’m really looking forward to hearing what’s up his sleeve for ‘11. More curveballs and mad house grooves are more than welcome around these parts.

Jam City
He’s been taking it kind of slow in ’10 after some hefty hype before anything had really happened he kept his cool and a couple of 12”s later and I’m on board, expect big things from the Night Slugger next year. Rumours of an album on the horizon and god know what else should see that he has a big year. His sound is just infectious, that raw blend of eski grime, supple electro and an ear for turning things on their heads are a good combination.

Non Person
He just dropped a few hints in ’10 but its wet my appetite that’s for sure. The 12” on Clouds label Channel Zero is a killer slice of out there hip-hop with a heavy bass music thread running through it. Sitting somewhere in no mans land between Clouds, Brainfeeder and Mount Kimbie, Non Person finds a place of his own. I’d love to hear more.

Damu
Every time a track of his comes on the radio my ears prick up. There is something about his synths and infectious melodies that puts him next to the likes of Hyetal, Rustie and half of Night Slugs as someone that can bring a load of emotion to a dance floor in a twisted euphoric ball of energy. With releases on the way for Keysound and Local Action in the pipeline he’s going to be making moves and I can’t wait to hear it.

Esben and the Witch
Like quite a few tips here they where one of mine for last year as well and they delivered some quality stuff bubbled under and got singed to Matador, where they’ll be releasing their debut album ‘Violet Cries’ next year. Top quality brooding post-rock drenched indie music.

Dro Carey
Hazy dreamlike visions of hip-hop and R&B from a youngster from OZ, he’s had one 12” so far on Trilogy Tapes, a load of tumblr posted bootlegs and the odd mix. It all sounds pretty irresistible I’m intrigued. With forthcoming material on Ikonika’s Hum & Buzz label and god knows what else he’s got to be one to watch.

Golau Glau
The mysterious silver pop duo have been a top tip of mine for some time now, they’ve got an album in the works and have been in the lab getting their sound down. No one does the haunted silver pop like them and I for one can’t wait to hear what they come up with.

Murdz 86
He’s a UK Funky machine, raw house sounds with some of the most infectious percussion around. Its tough but with a load of flex, big bass and dance floor potential. Along with the likes of Funkystepz, Ill Blu, Coobe Beatz and Mad One, Murdz is someone I’d love to see releases from in ’11 because every time I tune into Live FM his tracks make my head turn.

Royal T
He’s been around a while but has built up a nice set of 12”s over the last year or so for the likes of No Hats No Hoods and Butterz, which are a solid foundation to build on for this coming year. He’s always switching up and coming differently with his sound by making grime bangers that fit his vibe and spread it out all at once. Alongside SRC, TRC, Teeza, Swindle, Darq E Freaker, Spooky and a load of others grime beats are in good hands.

So many more…

Mixes of 2010

2010-12-27T13:37:00.008Z

This is a tough one the amount of mixes that can be found online is pretty insane, week in week out another arrives and gets a play. So off the top of my head I bring to you a selection of the finest mixes from this year. They come in no particular order, so don’t watch the ranking...

The Final Ruffage Session w/ Ben UFO, Ramadanma & Pangaea
What a way to start a year by killing off one of the best radio shows around: Ruffage Sessions. It was the brainchild of the above Hessle Audio crew, they made moves from their Leeds base with this show, not to mention their club night that went by the same name, which also ended this year in a quality send off with Shackleton, Kode9 and every Hessle guy within a 1m radius. This show was a special four-hour send off on Sub FM before the crew headed off to new things. It was bitter sweat at the time but ever since the crew have moved onto bigger things so its all good.
http://www.dubstepforum.com/the-final-ruffage-session-4-hour-archive-tracklisting-t124153.html

Bonus Best of Ruffage Sessions
http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2010/01/download-best-of-ruffage-sessions.html

Burial & Kode9 for Mary Anne Hobbs’ last show on Radio One
This was a watershed moment this year, Mary Anne Hobbs left radio one for pastures new after leaving one hell of a legacy and impact that rings through the UK underground far and wide. She managed to coax out Burial for a mix with non other than Kode9 and it’s a special one that’s for sure.
http://www.mediafire.com/?t09r1c7swgxctpu

Ben UFO - Hessle Forever and Ever and Ever Mix #62 for LuckyMe
If your some kind of fool that doesn’t tune into the Hessle Audio show on Rinse every other thursday or so w/ regulars like Pangaea and Ramadanman or go to clubs then you’re missing out on one of the best DJs around in Ben UFO. His record bags are deep his mixing is insane, genres clash in the smoothest most unexpected ways, he’s the one and this will give you a taste.
http://thisisluckyme.com/html/1music/mixtapes.html

LHF – Keepers of the Light Mix
This mysterious crew turn in mix after mix of solid gold on Sub FM and from their studio’s, they where one of my tips for ’10 and they continue to be for 2011 and you can see why from getting your ears around Keepers of the Light. I’m not messing around when I say they carve their own unique sound out in these mixes, it’s a world of its own.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&gid=343822987445

Petchy on Live FM
Its tough to pin point an actual mix here, he’s on the radio most weeks and kills it every time with his MC Topsee. They epitomised UK Funky in 2010 with their raw charismatic pirate radio party vibes. Tune in to see for yourself or you’re missing out big time but catch the vibe from this teaser.
http://www.mediafire.com/?qv07ob8bkz1zlzi

DJ Spinn & DJ Rashad’s Mix #195 for Fact
Two original juke heads go deep into the mix for fact and show us how its done Chicago style, which is a refreshing change to hearing bits from people from outside of the scene or cruising youtube, which was about the only way we could hear this until this year. It’s a mix full of hypnotic party vibes with a load of soul and drum machine workouts to die for.
http://www.factmag.com/2010/10/22/fact-mix-195-dj-spinn-dj-rashad/

Addison Groove Mix #157 for Fact
Headhunter went ape-shit this year and decided to break juke in the UK, he got addicted to the drum-machine/sample workouts and took it upon himself to make his own variants of the Chicago sound all while representing the native sounds of Rashad, Spinn and many more to UK audiences, it caused a hell of a stir and you can taste it in this mix. If you didn’t already have it this one from late last year is a must too: http://soundcloud.com/headhunter/headhunter-juke-mix-december-2009
http://www.factmag.com/2010/06/11/fact-mix-157-addison-groove/

Peverelist Mix #218 for Resident Advisor
He’s got to be one of my favourite producers around, no one sounds like him and that goes for his DJ sets too. His mixing is tight and selection on point, he lets the music breathe and find its own feat perfectly. Here you can see him blur the lines between dub, techno and dubstep in a distinctly Bristol way.
http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=218

Levon Vincent Mix #46 for mnmlssgs
This came early in the year and still kills it big time. His spacious, tracky dubbed-out techno sound already feels timeless in its own way. If you like to get lost in a groove then you’ll be swimming in this one. Deep NY underground house sounds just keep bumping, it’s a subtle one that gets under the skin that’s for sure.
http://mnmlssg.blogspot.com/2010/01/mnml-ssgs-mx46-levon-vincent.html

Shackleton Mix #133 for Electronic Explorations
Rob Booth’s EE mixes have been an inspiration for some time now and he pulls in one hell of a guest on this one. Shackleton’s sets are more like hypnotic tribal freak-outs than mixes. He plays live via laptop instead of DJing and does it the only way he knows how… Like a post-apocalyptic bass-addled thing, no one sounds like Shackleton. Its dark yet groovy spaced out and intense. His Fact CD has to be one of the best since Omar S too.
http://electronicexplorations.org/the-show/shackleton/

Kyle Hall & Floating Points on Rinse FM
Two amazing producers/DJs get together and cause mayhem on the airwaves by digging deep into their crates to create a vibe so big it stretched from Detroit to London. Rare house and techno gems sat alongside modern UK bass variants and laid back funk rollers with ease. You get the feeling these guys could keep mixing for days and it wouldn’t get tired.
http://www.bedtimebunnage.com/2010/07/floating-points-b2b-kyle-hall-rinse-fm-2hrs/

Brainfeeder Radio w/ Flying Lotus, The Gaslamp Killer, Ras G, Samiyam, Daedelus, Jeremiah Jae, Tokimonsta, Teebs, Strangeloop, matthewdavid, Kode9 and more…
Flying Lotus decided to celebrate the release of Cosmogramma and enjoy 420 with an epic live session that went on for hours from his crew Brainfeeder and anyone else that was in town. It was pure vibes all night long.
http://dublab.com/labnotes/brainfeeder-radio-presents%E2%80%A6cosmogramma-special-420/

Darkstar Mix for 20jazzfunkgrates and Fact Mix # 200
This mix came right at the top of the year and showcased Darkstar’s vision, it was some kind of utopia with plenty of soul and space filtered through twenty-first century machines. If you book end it with their Fact mix last month (http://www.factmag.com/2010/11/08/fact-mix-200-darkstar/) you get some kind of insight into a group that created one of the best slow burning albums this year
http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/2009/12/download-darkstar-xxjfg-mix.html

Club Autonomic’s Layer Podcast Series
This was one hell of a series that set the tone of Autonomic’s moves this year. Headed by Instra:mental & dBridge the crew unleashed genre bending blends of techno, d’n’b, house, indie, old school electro and god knows what else in a seamless mix of new and old wearing their influences on their sleeves and reaching out into the unknown all at once. Oh yeah they also ran one of the best labels around Nonplus+
http://www.club-autonomic.com/

Braiden’s Journey Home Mix for Low End Spasm
One of the best DJs around is on Rinse most weeks, right now he’s showcasing an irresistible melting together of sounds that range from old school electro to UK bass variants via house and techno. He does it like no one else. This mix from earlier in the year gives you an idea of what he’s been about, but tune into his Rinse show for further reaching up to date selections they can’t be messed with. His breakout single ‘The Alps’ isn’t to shabby either.
http://dot-alt.blogspot.com/2010/02/braiden-journey-home.html

Elijah & Skilliam Mix # 175 for Xlr8r
The Butterz crew killed it this year bringing fresh new life into instrumental grime, making moves as DJs and by setting up a label they showed there was still a raw party vibe hiding in grime’s underbelly. They kept it upfront with talent new and old, Terror Danjah, Swindle, Starkey and DOK feature heavily as well as up and comers like Royal T, SRC, TRC… Pure energy. This mix showcases their sound as well as any other they dropped this year.
http://www.xlr8r.com/podcast/2010/11/elijah-skilliam

Geiom’s mix for Planet Mu
He always puts out a solid mix, here we get a quality blend of sleek techy funky and many of its hybrids. It’s the mix that introduced me to Stella Om Source too. Quality producer, quality label, quality DJ.
http://www.mixcloud.com/planetmu/geiom-planet-mu-mix/

Terre Thaemlitz Mix #188 for RA
A laid-back mix of ambient material and other quality selections from DJ Sprinkles, Terre crosses genres and spans many years here to great effect, it’s a beauty.
http://www.residentadvisor.net/podcast-episode.aspx?id=188

Since this list has been mostly about Internet downloads a shout out needs to go out to all those inspirational cats on the radio who week in week out turn in incredible moments of musical bliss: Dusk & Blackdown, Oneman, Brackles, Bok Bok, Elijah & Skilliam, more Petchy and any time Jackmaster reaches.

Not to mention all the Sonic Router mixes. My personal favourites have to be: Blawan, Non Person, Pariah, Clubroot, SRC, Dynooo, Orphan101, Icicle, Hypno, Distal, Desto, Oli’s bleep and Hivemind’s and Always Everything’s too, Eighteen, oh and Xpldr #1/#2/#3 by me if I had to give myself a shout…

Golau Glou – Myrrh & Myth

2010-12-13T14:57:00.003Z

My favourite mysterious silver pop duo Golau Glou have made a Christmas EP for you all, you can grab it for free below, plus they’ve made a video for each track. At some point there will be a remix EP featuring the likes of Ghost Box’s The Advisory Circle and the wonderful Worriedaboutsatan. They’ve also been working hard on an album I for one can’t wait.

Yew from Golau Glau on Vimeo.

Watch: http://www.vimeo.com/album/1488740

Download: http://golauglau.bandcamp.com/

Latest tracks by Golau Glau

http://golauglau.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/golauglau

Richard Skelton

2010-12-12T14:54:00.002Z

I wrote this for my friends over at Always Everything a while ago but its perfect Sunday music so have it again and check them out too, AE is a new website you should keep an eye on. They’re operating in a fuzzy sonic landscape joining the dots between disparate locations a bit like this review right here…

Proper murky, greyed out Autumnal colours. Fog. Landscapes. Richard Skelton thrives in an area where dense collages of sound and that organic shape shifting nature of, well nature takes hold… just look at that artwork, its pretty much what comes into view out of my car window every morning as I transcend hills and look over plateaus. Spectacular views obscured by atmospheric other ideas... Bleak, ghostly landforms fighting for attention through the cloud and fog, plants echoing a vague hue of green in the meagre repressed light they’re offered. I swear the atmosphere is against the whole idea of photosynthesis… Skelton takes these fogged-out instrumental sessions of cello and string and plays them relentlessly. Building layers of sound like some sort of post-rock, ambient beast thriving in the freedom that only the modern classical, boomkat sphere can bring him. Niche as it sounds Landings deserves an audience outside of that. Big time, it’s the soundtrack to the mornings you missed while you where busy sleeping or waiting for the light to come up. It’s the country flexing itself in the morning dew while those early shimmers of light slowly start to energise the life around it. You can feel the cold fresh air fill your lungs, the deep warm breathe filter out slowly. Its like the whole album takes place in that transitional period between light hitting the ground and you actually feeling the heat of the sunlight. Cold shivers of strung instruments itch urgently into loops and layers, carving out dramatic glimpses of landscapes you’ve passed through. The unyielding atmosphere is urgent yet blissful, like you’ve come to a halt in that car journey I vaguely mentioned above and got out.... You stop and see that this previously fleeting set of landforms, colours, climate, is a new existence, a harsh yet strangely beautiful place that echoes calm as much as it does hostility. In short, you’re going to get cold but if you look a little further you’re going to find a whole different experience that’s rife for exploration.

http://richardskelton.wordpress.com/
http://landings.wordpress.com/

Richard Skelton has Clouwbeck on the way soon hear fragments of ‘From Which the River Rise’ here…

Clouwbeck ~ From Which the River Rises by sustain-release

Originally written for ae.

Xpldr #3

2010-12-08T00:00:00.003Z

Its been a long time since I left you, without a dope beat to step to...

Xpldr#3 by Xpldr on Mixcloud

Vainqueur - Rangers – Extension [Scion Versions]
Airehead – Paper Street (Nick Høppner Remix) [BRAiNMATH]
John Roberts – Ever or Not [Dial]
Wbeeza – Boom [Third Ear]
Omar S - Solely Supported [FXHE]
Mood II Swing – Sunlight In My Eyes [Core]
Actress – Always Human [Honest Jon’s]
Bakey Ustl – A Tender Place [Unthank]
Kassem Mosse – We Speak To Those [Non Plus+]
Kyle Hall – Osc2 [Third Ear]
Levon Vincent – Woman is the Devil [Deconstruct]
Tazz – Lost [Underground Quality]
Braiden – The Alps [Doldrums]
Elgato – Blue [Hessle Audio]
Even Tuell – Workshop 11 Side A [Workshop]
Stellar Om Source – Copper Dream [Olde English Spelling Bee]

All wax, one take, two beers, one pasty, some snow and a beard…

Clap your hands if you want to fuck.

Download: http://www.sendspace.com/file/7jkhki

Stream: http://www.mixcloud.com/xpldr/xpldr3/

You may have missed…

Xpldr #1: Stream / Download

Xpldr #2: Stream / Download

More from me…

Sonic Router: http://sonicrouter.blogspot.com/

Sonic Minefield: http://thesonicminefeild.blogspot.com/

Xpldr: http://xpldr.tumblr.com/

Silkie - City Limits Vol 1.2 [Deep Medi]

2010-10-23T10:27:00.002+01:00

Since at least Christmas last year a Silkie track has been running around my head, the video bellow captures when I first heard it, Anti Social where having a crimbo-spesh on Rinse FM and played a track I’d never heard before that was so full of vibes it just kept playing on my memories ever since. It turns out that track was ‘80s Baby’ a track you can hear on City Limits Vol 1.2 the bridge gap between last years fantastic City Limits Vol.1 album and the follow up Vol.2. A series of 12”s you wont find on the next album or the last and by the sounds of it Silkie isn’t messing.

This is the one I’ve been waiting for: ‘80s Baby’ has a rolling street soul feel to it like a London variant on Detroit techno, midnight machine funk that just keeps coming. Sweeping pads, bumpy rhythms and funk stabs made from plastic sax, lounge piano and 80s tinged funky synth keys that sound like they’ve been beamed in from a forgotten Cameo record. It all comes together with a hypnotic loved up vibe that’s just irresistible. The flip ‘Bass Junkie’ sounds like the tougher brother of ‘80s Baby’ it hits hard instead of rolling. Rattling breaks shimmy over bass pulses and funk’d up synth lines that sound like aliens chatting each other up. It keeps some of that blissed-out funk but twists it into gnarly shapes that are pretty relentless.

Keep the 12”s rolling, when Silkie hits his stride there isn’t anyone like him ‘80s Baby’ is pure vibes, hi-tech London soul through and through. With three more platters of material on the way before the second album Silkie will keep us doing that gangsta boogie right the way through.

http://www.deepmedi.com/

Originally writen for Sonic Router.

Peverelist & Hyetal – The Hum/rrrr [Punch Drunk]

2010-10-10T13:43:00.001+01:00

Massive collaboration from two of Bristol’s finest, it comes off the back of their two solo releases: Peverelist’s ‘Better Ways Of Living’ and Hyetal’s ‘Phoenix’ 12”s both of which wont leave my bag in a hurry. The two producers first melted their sonic sensibilities when Peverelist remixed ‘Pixel Rainbow Sequence’ to great effect, twisting the original into a trippy number that still sounds like nothing else around. This time the two hook up for some original productions. With Peverelist’s knack for hypnotic techy dubbed-out sounds and Hyetal’s bittersweet melodic sensibilities it’s a collaboration just aching to happen.

The two tracks ‘The Hum’ and ‘rrrr’ feel like early electro experiments that where forgotten but dug up, rearranged and lovingly finished especially to move some dance floors. There’s a retro feel in there somewhere but one that’s brought on by the melancholic melodies and synthesized sounds rather than any kind of revivalism, because nothing really sounds like this collaboration. You never know who did what in collab’s like this but you can hear Peverelist’s swirling dubbed-out percussive ticks and bumpy rhythms and Hyetal’s knack for shimmering synthesized melody in both the tracks. They’re hypnotic and introspective but the bright synth tones and subtle funk keep them from being ultra deep eyes down material. There’s an uplifting quality to the tracks that hits that magic bittersweet spot which gets me every time.

Punch Drunk is a buy on sight label already and this 12” is just sublime. It’s the sound of two artists flexing their production skills and it coming together so on point that it makes me wonder if there’s more.

http://www.myspace.com/punchdrunkrecords
http://soundcloud.com/punchdrunkrecords
http://www.myspace.com/thepeverelist
http://www.myspace.com/hyetalmusic

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Xpldr #2

2010-10-07T21:37:00.002+01:00

Xpldr#2 by Xpldr on Mixcloud

It’s been about a month since my last Xpldr Session and even longer since Xpldr#1 so its about time you got something fresh. Welcome to Xpldr#2 I’ve gone for some dark dubbed-out funky flavours diffused with techno tangents, hyper-coloured house and some major curveballs.

Commix – Be True (Burial Remix) [Metal Headz]
T.Williams – Afric [Local Action]
Cooly G – Phat Si [Hyperdub]
Fris-T – Deep Mover [502]
Bowly – Idee D’un Tropique [Berkane Sol]
Ill Blu – Dragon Pop [Hyperdub]
Lil Silva – A Million [Night Slugs]
Robert Hood – Clash [M-Plant]
Dexplicit Feat. Sweets – Follow Me (DJ Naughty Remix) [DXP North]
Apple – Siegalizer [White]
Martin Kemp – Wot U Got [Blunted Robots]
Swag – I Need A Freak (Freaksbusinessasusualredo) [Version]
Mr Oizo – Last Night A DJ Saved My Dog [F-Communications]
Ikonika – Aqueous Cream [Hum & Buzz]
Simon/off – No Pills [Immerse]
Likhan’ – Boxin [7even]
Los Hermanos – Quetzal [UR/Los Hermanos]
Dopplereffekt – Myon-Neutrino [International Deejay Gigolo’s]

One take, all wax.

Stream: http://www.mixcloud.com/xpldr/xpldr2/

Download: http://www.sendspace.com/file/7t6k83

James Blake – The Bells Sketch [Hessle Audio] / CMYK [R&S] / Klavierwerke [R&S]

2010-09-27T20:09:00.003+01:00

Where to start with James Blake? He’s a unique talent making seriously twisted synthesized gems that can range from full on dance floor movers to bittersweet introspective soul. One of my blog projects Sonic Router was probably one of the first to interview and get an article on him via Oli’s column at The Quietus right after before he dropped the ESSENTIAL ‘Stop What You’re Doing’ remix and after the sublime first 12” on Untold’s Hemlock label. A release that is still in my bag and a firm favourite sounding as fresh as it did when Distance first dropped the dub on his Rinse show that got everyone’s attention. Ever since he’s been making waves, getting attention outside of the scene and dropping some seriously good 12”s/EPs. A low-key collaboration with Airehead on BRAiNMATH, one for the always on point Hessle Audio, whose quality control is just insanely high and another for legendary old school techno label R&S who seem to be making a return to my radar for the first time in years after dropping a brilliant few records from Pariah and now the guy in question.

For some reason I’ve not got around to writing much on him here so a rundown of his last three EPs is in order because I can’t stop playing them. He shows some range over the three from the stripped back percussive elements on The Bells Sketch EP to the shape shifting R&B sampling gems on CMYK or the mellow eerie bedroom soul on the latest addition Klavierwerke.

The Hessle release has a percy on it in the form of ‘Buzzard & Kestrel’ the rhythms are irresistible, they subtly roll out with a heavy groove before the synths are unleashed in a sudden flourish. It’s the paired back minimal clicks and booms of the percussion that do it for me here. The title track and ‘Give A Man A Rod’ are something else too, both melodramatic synthesizer jams that make people move in strange ways when they’re dropped in the dance. The collision of laid back funk and twisted synths on ‘The Bells Sketch’ is a killer combination, it’s a huge sounding track with so much pent up energy its unreal. ‘Give A Man A Rod’ is a subtler affair, a spaced out funk number that seems like its been beamed in from an intergalactic cocktail bar.

The two R&S EPs come from different angels CMKY plays around with that popular production trick of taking slinky R&B vocals and twisting them into new shapes. But instead of re-treding that post-Burial emotional landscape Blake morphs the likes of Aaliyah and Kelis into freaky funk jams like the anthemic title track with its looping mantra of ‘Look I found her, red coat, look I found her’ over bleepy melodies reminiscent of Peverelist’s ‘Roll With The Punches’ a track which he’s also made a cheeky remix of, but its the twisting euphoric synth rushes that lead into the big bass drops that really shake things up. The rest of the EP is a more low key affair reaching for subtler highs and drops that are designed to tug at your heartstrings rather than make you loose your shit.

It’s the latest EP entitled Klavierwerke that takes that mellow side and really runs with it though. James has hinted at his paired down vocal side for sometime with covers of Feist’s ‘Limit To Your Love’ with him accompanied by piano. Here he doesn’t go into full on vocal mode but hints at it by using his voice as another instrument, chopping bits in and out here and there. It’s all pretty chilled out, haunted and melancholy, really introspective. The title track has a late night deep house feel running through it that’s channelled through a hazy bedroom soul. At many points in the EP like on ‘Tell Her Safe’ when the hazy piano and vocal loop intro takes hold you think he could break out into full song at any point, but it’s the restrained mellow vibe that wins over and it’s a killer EP for it. The fragments of song get twisted into these new shapes and contexts that’s way more interesting than straight up song craft, but then that’s a talent he no doubt has somewhere too.

Who knows what else he’s got up his sleeve, go and see him DJ and you’ll see yet another side to him. As well as fresh dubs from the guy taking in all those vibes mentioned above you get some seriously adventurous combinations in the mix. It’ll make you wonder why Coki doesn’t produce for Beyonce for one… Plus if you’ve never experienced his remix of Untold in the flesh on a crowded dance floor you’re missing out big time. Now my catch up session is over you go and do the same.

http://www.myspace.com/jamesblakeproduction

Pamelia Kurstin and Seb Rochford duo @ The Shed, Brawby Village Hall. 25 September 2010

2010-09-26T11:59:00.004+01:00

The Shed goes back to its original home of Brawby for a special show from Pamelia Kurstin and Seb Rochford who come together showcasing an interesting project; one I’d never thought I’d witness, let alone in a Shed… Pamelia Kurstin on theramin and Seb Rochford on drums. Plus Seb Rochford went on the road the day before in a van taking in hotspots such as Kirkbymoorside and Helmsley, pulling up and playing with the doors shut. Something I missed unfortunately but this lot didn’t… But tonight its time to head to Brawby for some Shed Bitter and a good show, what to expect? No idea.

Pamelia Kurstin hails form California has a background in upright bass, a skill she adapted and really ran wild with to create a unique and creative theramin playing style of her own. The sounds she creates is something else, I’ve never heard anything like it. One minute she’s creating low-slung slow motion funk by messing with frequencies and looping them into new shapes with pedals, synths and effects. The next its eerie b-movie soundscapes via a Aphex Twin–esq Selected Ambient Works collage of sound or a Herbie Hancock electro-funk. Whole tracks were created live with such control and precision. Seb Rochford accompanied her with some seriously creative drumming; accenting the compositions with anything from incidental meandering through lilting funk and intense shed rattling drum workouts. It was a hypnotic experience swimming in layers of theramin built from the ground up infront of you.

My prediction is that drum & theramin will take off just like drum & bass did, expect to hear it take over soon. The pair have an album on the way for the Slowfoot label and after tonight’s performance its one I’m keeping an eye out for. As always The Shed continues to be one of the most inspiring and entertaining venues around, bringing something new to the table with each season.

http://www.myspace.com/pameliakurstin
http://www.angelfire.com/freak/pamelia_kurstin/welcome1.htm
http://www.myspace.com/sebastianrochford
http://www.theshed.co.uk/
http://www.vangig.co.uk/

*Photo by Susan Balf in Kirkbymoorside market place, 24th September 2010.

T.Williams – Chop & Screw EP [Deep Teknologi]

2010-09-23T18:59:00.002+01:00

T.Williams’ EP on Local Action is a personal favourite; he’s rolling on a dark, techy flex that gets pretty addictive. After the last two quality releases on Deep Teknologi from Zander Hardy and J.Bevan recently the label boss steps up with a three track EP all of his own that picks up where the Local Action EP left off and even shows off a bigger room sound on one track.

Opening with ‘Chop & Screw’ we walk right into peak time on some hazy Ibiza dance floor, bumpy disco, funk loops build like a filter house track. A trick I wasn’t expecting to hear on a dark techy, UK funky release and at first it was hard to get on board with. But when the beats drop into a punchy, rolling rhythm with a deep flexing bassline and skittish snare hits its hard not to feel it.

Things get darker with the rest of the EP, ‘Hard Cash’ and ‘In The Deep’ sound like they’ve been carved out of heavy summer heat. They bump and flex shaking themselves free from a dense haze of bass and dubbed-out frequencies. The basslines on both of these get thing moving, ‘Hard Cash’ pulses and drones until unleashing deadly down turning rave stabs and ‘In The Deep’ has a pulsing funk to it. Maybe its T.Williams grimy side coming out again, these are dark with a restrained swagger that means business.

Another solid EP coming out of the Deep Teknologi crew, if you’re looking for a fix of that dark, rolling, techy stuff with enough flex in it to get things moving then you can’t go far wrong.

http://www.soundcloud.com/deepteknologi
http://www.facebook.com/deepteknologi
http://www.myspace.com/deepteknologi

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Breach – Fatherless/(Doc Daneeka’s Mrr Snrz Rmx)/Man Up [PTN]

2010-09-17T21:39:00.002+01:00

PTN are on it right now, the new offshoot from Ramp specialising in variants of the house persuasion from, for want of a better word the bass scene… featuring artists like Hackman, Doc Daneeka, Hypno and now Breach, PTN reaches its forth platter with the tribal anthem ‘Fatherless’, which has been hitting dance floors hard for some time. Breach is the ‘house’ alter-ego of Ben Westbeech a multi talented musician/producer who’s turned his hand to anything from d’n’b to dropping soul-addled vocals for people all over the place, but that’s another story…

It’s the raw physical power the simple elements of over the top tribal drum workouts and looping flutes combining that make ‘Fatherless’ such an anthem. Not since the Beastie Boy’s ‘Flute Loop’ have I heard such a killer hook from the instrument. It keeps rolling and rolling pretty relentlessly over the booming kicks, snare splashes and tribal percussion you can pretty much sing-along to. The icing on the cake is a quick fire sample declaring the mantra ‘Fatherless’. Doc Daneeka brings the originals almost dubstep sounding lilt further into house territory with a four four kick, relentless fizzling snares and pulsing bassline. It doesn’t add much but doesn’t detract either for that slightly different vibe. The b-side cut ‘Man Up’ is subtler but just as tribal, echoing the likes of Julio Bashmore, looping chants and swirling tabla’s that get twisted out of all proportion bring the energy before the drop.

This 12” is pure dance floor fire, big and brash and seriously addictive. ‘Fatherless’ has summer anthem written all over it’s grinning face. This track is getting rinsed all over the place and rightly so. It wouldn’t be surprising if the big room house and electro guys found it too, it’s just to much fun. Enjoy it while you can.

http://www.ramprecordings.com/
http://www.myspace.com/benwestbeech
http://www.myspace.com/breachmusicuk

Written for Sonic Router.

Last Ever Mary Anne Hobbs Show w/ Kode9 & Burial

2010-09-09T17:27:00.001+01:00

It’s was the last Mary Anne Hobbs show last night, she’s a legend and has introduced me to so much music over the years. Big up Mary!

Listen again here. It features a quality mix by these two…

Kode9 & Burial

01. Speedy J – Tesla
02. Zomby – Natalia’s Song
03. Brandy – Never Say Never (El-B version 1)
04. Brandy – Never Say Never (El-B version 2)
05. Brandy – Angel (X-Men vocal mix)
06. Laurie Spiegel – Voices Within – A Requiem
07. Alena – Turn It Around (Hard House Bantons Mandy Mix)
08. Cooly G – Him Da Biz
09. Theo Parrish – Soul Control feat. Alena Waters
10. KMFH aka Kyle Hall – Girl U So Strong (Wild Oats)
11. Terror Danjah – S.O.S.
12. Darkstar – 2 Chords
13. Prince – Condition of the Heart
14. Erykah Badu – Telephone
15. Foul Play – Being With U Rmx
16. A Guy called Gerald – Silent Cry

http://www.maryannehobbs.com/

V.I.V.E.K. – Feel It EP [Deep Medi]

2010-09-01T17:27:00.004+01:00

Four track double pack from one of Deep Medi’s finest new signings V.I.V.E.K. It comes on the back of his first Medi release last year ‘Kulture/Meditation Rock’ and countless dubplates that you can hear when you go see him play or tune into some Anti Social Entertainment on Rinse FM. He fuses digidub soundsystem deep bass culture with some seriously rolling percussion, a hint of Berlin techno and those Medi vibes, eyes down, blissed-out, heavy weight music.

The title track kicks things off in fine style, ‘Feel It’ has some of the most infectious rolling Tablas, the percussion is sublime. A vocal sample declaring the weight of your bass and the largeness of your soundsystem is all you need to usher in a chest thumping sub sonic bass tone and the track is off, there is no way back you’re sucked into that soup of sub bass frequencies. Tick-toc its ‘Grandfather Clock’ a big track, the clock counts down to a dance floor meltdown when the metronome-like sample, half tempo drum patterns and hefty bass melts into blazing techno buzzes that just keep coming, it’s those killer synths that make it, they come from nowhere. It’s one for the big rooms.

The deeply blissful ‘Motherland’ is one for the eyes down crew, subtle but weighty bass pulses roll off half stepping rhythms, Tablas and all that good stuff all accented with Indian vocals instrumentation. It’s so deep, minimal and all round good vibes. It would make Youngsta proud. The final track ‘Strategy’ is a roller with a garage kind of swing to it, it skips along with big room dub techno chords twisting in and out of the bumpy beats it really comes alive and picks up the pace. The Feel It EP is pure vibes all the way: Subtle, heavy weight music from V.I.V.E.K.

http://www.myspace.com/vivek321
http://www.myspace.com/deepmedi
http://deepmedi.com/

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Xpldr Sessions #4

2010-08-21T16:18:00.005+01:00

Live session from the attic with special guest Farlie my sister, it’s a send off special as she’s moving to Bristol. She’ll be hosting, picking some of her favourite tracks for the mix and giving shout outs. Tune in @ 8:00-ish bellow or here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/xplodersessions Stream videos at Ustream

The Hundred In The Hands – Dressed In Dresden (Kyle Hall Remix) [Warp]
Martyn – Seventy Four (Redshaped Remix) [3024]
SCB – 20_4 [SCB]
Al Tourettes – Sunken [Apple Pips]
Roman Lindau – Keppra [Ostgut Ton]
MMM – Nous Sommes MMM [MMM]
Egyptrixx – Everybody Bleeding [Kingdom Remix]
Kode9 ft. Spaceape – You Don’t Wash [K7!]
Altered Natives – Believe In Me ft. Sacha Williamson [Fresh Minuet Music]
Karizma – Necessary Madness [R2]
DJ Rush – Cruising [Dance Mania]
DJ Naughty – Firepower [Roska Kicks & Snares]
Jam City – Ecstasy Refix [Night Slugs]
Ramadanman – Grab Somebody [White]
DJ C – Jump Up & Bounce [West Norwood Cassette Library]
Lady Saw & Cecile – Loser (Bubblez Refix) [White]
MJ Cole – Volcano Riddim [Prolific]
Bowly – Idee Dun Tropique [Berkane Sol]
Kidkut – Ilove04 [Apple Pips]
El-B – Lyrical Tempo [Tempa]
FaltyDL – Phreqaflex [Planet Mu]
Blackstreet – I Need a Dub (Jeremy Sylvester Remix) [White]
Basement Jaxx – Red Alert (Steve Gurley Remix) [XL]
Geiom ft Marita – Sugar Coated Lover [Berkane Sol]
SBTRKT & Sampha – Break Off [Ramp]
Shortstuff – Herb Face [Ramp]
Ill Blu – Dragon Pop [Hyperdub]
Bakongo – Amhara [Brainmath]
Jackal Youth - Let Me Be [Reduction]
A Made Up Sound – Alarm [A Made Up Sound]
Ramadanman – Work Them [Swamp 81]
DVA – New World Order [DVA Music]
Martin Kemp – Fix [Blunted Robots]
Mr. Mageeka – Different Lekstrix [Numbers]
Marcus Price & Carli – Var E Näääken (Girl Unit Remix) [Palms Out Sounds]
Girl Unit – IRL [Night Slugs]
Addison Groove – Dumb Shit [Swamp 81]
Ramadanman – Glut [Hemlock]
Joe – Claptrap [Hessel Audio]
James Blake – CMKY [R&S]
Guido – Mad Sax [Punch Drunk]
SRC – Ryouku [No Hoods No Hats]
Joker – Gully Brooke Lane [Terrorhythm]
Terror Danjah – Space Traveller [Planet Mu]
Starkey ft Durtty Goodz – Gutter Music [Keysound]
Kuedo – Star Fox [Planet Mu]
Maniac - Thug [Terrorhythm]
Zomby – Kaliko [Hyperdub]
The Bug ft. Killa P & Flow Dan – Skeng [Hyperdub]
Blawan – Iddy [Hessel Audio]
Mala – Eyez [DMZ]
Effdem – Acid Bells (Martyn Bitter Sweat Remix) [Curle]
UR – Transition [UR]
De La Soul - All Good (MJ Cole Remix) [XL]

Pariah – Safehouses EP [R&S]

2010-08-20T19:21:00.003+01:00

Pariah drops a double pack on the recently refreshed and vibrant R&S records, six tracks of pure Pariah. He shows us some breadth and flexes his production muscles in all directions, from tribal dance floor workouts to deep house textures and tweaked out hip-hop variants all with a slight garage strain rolling through it.

Percussive roller ‘The Slump’ drops hard, from tribal accented beats into an almighty bass pulse that would make Untold and Ramadanman proud. Eski-like beats stomp under the building layers of percussion and bass weight until a release comes in the form of melodic soulful vocal samples and twilight pads. Like a garage cousin of Rishi Romero’s 'African Forest' in a head on collision with Pulse-X and a healthy does of melancholic melody. It’s a big one. With its deep and housy vibes ‘Prism’ is a welcome addition to the front end of this EP, where the dance floor takes front stage. It’s a subtle number mind, keeping it close with a tight and bumpy percussive roll. Synth’s refract and spin off in different directions over building wide screen pads before a pulsing bass line gets things moving.

The late night vibes of ‘Railroad’ get things nice and blissful, Pariah flexes his off-kilter atmospheric hip-hop muscles. He merges that vibe with a slinky garage bump with ease, its like you’re stuck on a bus mid summer, heavy with sweat. Sweeping melodies with an emotional pull get pushed into shape by deep bass flourishes and junglist breaks before it all melts into field recordings and the next track ‘Crossed Out’ which takes off where ‘Prisim’ left but with a rattling garage bump more prominent… you could fit it next to recent efforts from George Fitzgerald or Hyetal with ease.

The final two see Pariah in atmospheric mode, first up is ‘C - Beams’ where he brings out his inner Dilla, which he plays out under field recordings, bittersweet soundtrack pianos and computer game lilted funk. Things go deeper still with atmospheric drones on the closing track ‘Safehouses’, its almost reminiscent of GAS in some ways, its layers of sound wrapping itself around your ears before it engulfs you in a bed of looping tones. A solid EP that has range and scope, taking in different moods and atmospheres, the dance floor tracks will be in people’s bags for a while yet and the rest will mesmerise on those late nights.

http://www.myspace.com/pariahbeats
http://www.rsrecords.com/

Sonic Router Mix

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Onra – Long Distance [All City]

2010-08-07T20:29:00.002+01:00

Shimmering 80s nostalgia channelled through off-centre hip-hop beats and an infectious wave of boogie enhanced synth funk. This is the latest album from French producer Onra, Long Distance echoes the late night cityscapes on its front cover. Hinting at DâM-Funk’s retro boogie, but with hip-hop beat tape style rather than a live jam, or Hudson Mohawke at his least ADHD, maybe even an off-kilter Discovery era Daft Punk if they kept up break-dancing a lowered the tempo. Onra likes a concept, his last LP Chinoiseries was made up of samples he picked up on a trip to Saigon and this one switches it all together to concentrate on a wave of 80s funk, boogie and R&B.

The cosmic mantra ‘I want to hear future funk’ on ‘My Comet’ ushers in the first wave of spectral soul. ‘Rock On’ brings the boogie, with crunchy snare hits and lilting bass. ‘Send Me Your Love’ manages to both sound like Phil Collins soaked in cheese and woozy nighttime cool all at once, straggling the line between the two brilliantly. Another highlight, ‘Moving’ feels like a DJ Screw take on Cameo, mellow slowed down syrup funk.

When Onra works with vocalists it all comes together brilliantly, ‘High Hopes ft. Reggie B’ echoes new jack swing and 80s soul. ‘The One ft. T3 of Slum Village’ spits some verses over old school clattering electro breaks. Its Hudson Mohawke collaborator Olivier Daysoul that stands out with his Outkast-esq soul, this works best on title track ‘Long Distance’ where we see him at his most subtle.

The woozy-tape-warp soul of ‘Don’t Stop’ is another highlight; you can just sink into this one and vibe off the space and funk of it all. The phasing hypnotic soul of ‘Wonderland’ keeps driving forward, windows down, sleeves rolled up into the sunset. ‘L.I.A.B.’ keeps the cut-up grooves coming that’ll make your head nod before oozing into the final cut ‘Cherry’, which shimmers with a late night vibes.

Long Distance is a fine album Onra commits himself to the 80s R&B boogie concept and pulls it off in fine style. Put this on during a hazy summer evening, put on some shades even though its dark, it’ll protect your eyes from all the umbrellas in your cocktail when you’re nodding your head to these jams.

Onra - Long Distance - New Album (Teaser) from enozoib on Vimeo.

http://www.myspace.com/onra

V/A – Dark Matter: Multiverse 2004-2009 [Tectonic]

2010-08-01T12:33:00.002+01:00

You may know Multiverse without even knowing it, they’re an umbrella organisation and studio in Bristol that has helped many artists and labels get their music out there. The network of labels alone is pretty special, with: Pinch’s Tectonic that’s been rolling deep at the forefront of dubstep since day one and it’s diverse sister label Earwax, Joker’s Kapsize with its purple hyper-funk, October’s techno offshoot Caravan and Baobinga’s rough house imprint Build all on the roster. As you can imagine a lot of ground is covered on this Dark Matter retrospective.

Storming out of the blocks comes Vex’d with their tough, breaky style. Ravey bass pulses with a ton of energy and dub accents. It’s an early highlight. October shows an early dubstep production off by remixing Circuit Breakers, if you ever caught that Immerse 12” last year where he really goes in with two grimy hard hitting raw slabs of it you’ll know what to expect here. Later on the compilation you’ll catch more of his techno-oriented stuff he’s doing at present… You’ll be in for a treat. Pinch makes his first appearance with a weighty number in collaboration with P Dutty, its full of space, bass and a pent up aggression. Skream turns in a big dubby production with some serious bass weight. But its Joker’s ‘Stuck in the System’ that really grabs you, the grimy favourite twists computer game strings and a dirty south aesthetic into a twisted synth workout, it’s a real peak. He smooths out that style on his collaboration with Ginz on ‘Purple City’ here too, with real sing along synths. A personal favourite of mine ‘Techno Dread’ by 2562 still hits hard, with its relentless bass line and skippy, addictive drum patterns. Bristol legend RSD offers up his sublime remix of Pinch and Yolanda’s ‘Get Up’, the smooth vocals ride his dubbed out basslines perfectly, it’s a track that keeps rolling with a joyful soulful vibe. The first CD ends on the tough broken house of Baobinga & ID which really pops and swings.

The second disc really takes off with Vex’d dropping ‘Pop pop’ a heavy skippy number. Loefah & Skream come together on the fantastic ’28 Grams’, which has a weightlessness to it, the wobbly bassline ricochets off into orbit while a solid slab of sub keeps it tethered to the ground. Cyrus follows that up with the sublime ‘Indian Stomp’ with, as you’d expect Indian samples and killer percussion that rolls and bumps hard, its one of the highlights of the compilation for me. If that wasn’t enough already Pinch comes and drops ‘Qawwali / Brighter Day’ which is just pure bliss. Its got that deep meditative vibe about it that’s so addictive and appealing about early dubstep. The bassline drones and pulses with a weighty pressure that draws you in deep as the drums, pads and melodies get your head nodding. Loefah turns up on his own this time with the spacious and powerful ‘System’. ‘Uranium’ by Moving Ninja shows off similar space but with added atmosphere, they really know how to build it from raw field recordings and synth pads. October is back and in techno mode, tough four to the floor kicks and microscopic samples get cut into bumpy shapes all over the place on the addictive ‘Three Drops’, which drops into as the name suggests a three drop synth loop that really gets things moving, and when it melts into wide screen synths its something else. He pulls off another highlight with ‘Euro Dance Hit’ which comes on like a lost Daniel Bell production fighting its way through a crowded room, its all space and tension. A killer 2562 track from his last album ‘Unbalance’, which is full of colour and presence gets book-ended by two impressive productions from Emptyset to finish off the compilation, the dub techno duo really bring it with the heavy ‘Gate 4’ which sounds like it could flatten a house and the more laid back ‘Demian’ which is so smooth and full of vibes its unreal.

The music speaks for its self really, a diverse bunch. Many of the tracks sound as fresh as when they first dropped. It’s a retrospective you can really get involved with and a good jumping off point for exploring the artists and labels involved. The Multiverse really shows what presence it’s had in the scene with this compilation; it runs deep to the roots of the genre and all its factions as well as showing how important it is to the city it occupies.

http://www.multiverse-music.com/

Mix: Xpldr # 1

2010-07-30T20:04:00.002+01:00

Xpldr#1 by Xpldr on Mixcloud

Last Friday I dropped a mix over on my mini blog xpldr. And its been getting a really good reaction from the odd blog big up Simon, and forums all over the place, so here it is on the main site…

Mount Kimbie – Mayor [Hotflush]
MMM – Lets Git It On [MMM]
Altered Natives – Crop Duster [3024]
T.Williams – Anthem [Local Action]
Jackal Youth – Let Me Be [Reduction]
A Made Up Sound – Alarm [A Made Up Sound]
Ramadanman – Work Them [Swamp 81]
DVA – New World Order [DVA Music]
Martin Kemp – Fix [Blunted Robots]
Ramadanman – Fall Short [Swamp 81]
Peverelist – Better Ways Of Living [Punch Drunk]
Amen Ra & Double Helix – Steelz [Keysound]
Joe – Digest [Apple Pips]
Blawan – Iddy [Hessle Audio]
Mala – Living Different [DMZ]

Donwload: http://www.sendspace.com/file/1f0kmd

From 120-odd to 140-ish in 45mins, all wax, one take, live.

Mount Kimbie – Crooks & Lovers [Hotflush]

2010-07-24T16:55:00.002+01:00

Just two EPs in and you knew Mount Kimbie would be an act you’d love to hear an album from. Dom and Kai emerged almost out of nowhere into the dubstep scene and never quite fit in sonically at least; they just got embraced into the fold for making quality music. Crooks & Lovers their debut full length sees them spreading out a little from the EP format with ease and creating a cohesive and diverse record. There sound is hard to pin down; they float from ambient found-soundscapes full of twisted field recordings to rhythms that pop off like mutated strands of R&B from a parallel dimension. They sonic contemporise could be anyone from Boards Of Canada to Timberland via the UK bass scene. You never know quite where the tracks are headed or what’s coming next, you could be drawn down a path that leads to bliss or a busy dance floor. This all comes together in one Mount Kimbie shaped package that never feels forced.

The woozy opener ‘Tunnel Vision’ bumps with a hip-hop shuffle, that brews under spaced out guitar strums, distant vocals and field recordings of what sounds like a summers day in a park. It all melts seamlessly into ‘Would Know’, which cuts through a wind tunnel of noise with big bass tones, clicks and bleeps before releasing some soulful vocal cut ups into the mix before it steps it up a gear a little with quicker loops and beats. It’s a mesmerising piece and an early highlight: the video isn’t half bad either... ‘Before I Move Off’ starts like something from Druqks before morphing into a slinky guitar led number with the off-key Druqks-esq dissonant loops creating a freaky background to a funky little lick and popping R&B drum hits, vocal snippets and anything else they can get their hands on. It sounds like they’ll make percussion out of anything from found sounds to vocal ticks. There is an almost post-punk vibe to this track when the live bass and guitars start rolling, like they’re channelling 80s synth pop, post-punk and Two Lone Swordsman all at once.

The electro-esq ‘Blind Night Errand’ sounds like the most dubstep thing Mount Kimbie have committed to wax. It rolls into action with a tweaked out driving bass line that gets more and more twisted as it rolls along and block rocking electro beats, when that breathless little vocal tick hits its sublime. Guitars spring back into action on ‘Adriatic’, a folky aesthetic run along side more propulsive hip-hop ones in a way you wouldn’t really expect. It’s a little sketch that flows into another highlight from the middle of the record ‘Carbonated’, like a laid back variant on Terror Danjah’s ‘Air Bubble’ it pops and fizzes like the name suggests. With filtered airy tones and reverberating beats that roll through an almost James Blake-like organ/keyboard melody that has a sweet laid back gospel feel to it. They pack so much melody into every element of the music they make, its like everything sings off each other perfectly. ‘Ruby’ is he most like anything from the Maybes EP here along with ‘Field’, its got a slight post-rock twinge to it. Droning atmospherics find their way through lilting beats, low-down bass tones and subtle synth flourishes before switching up into a more upbeat flow. ‘Ode To Bear’ is an almost folky inclusion, its sunny and pastoral in a Mount Kimbie kind of way, laid back and subtle with shuffling beats and bitter sweat melodies.

The one two punch of ‘Field’ and ‘Mayor’ is one that keeps me coming back to the album time and time again, the pulsing techno build of ‘Field’ just keeps coming before it all twists into a sunny guitar jam as if out of nowhere. But the album really peaks with the wonderful ‘Mayor’, it filters and bumps into action in a mutated soulful house kind of fashion, with percussive clicks and bubbles bringing some energy before the synths really take off, glowing and twisting from arpeggiated flourishes to a tough head nodding crescendo. The way the bass plays off the beat and synths is pretty sublime, its low and funky and hits you just right. Closing with the melancholic ‘Between Time’ gives the whole thing a bitter sweat end of the night kind of feel.

With Crooks & Lovers Mount Kimbie pull off something that is tough to balance, its an album that’s both easy to get on board with and keeps you tuning back in, it’s a slow burner but easy to digest. It’s an intimate album that flows from mood to mood with ease, peaking and dipping again before it makes the transition again into a higher gear… Its chilled passages compliment the more twisted dance infused elements brilliantly they melt into each other with ease. You don’t quite know what’s coming next, the tracks twist and fold into shapes before your ears.

http://www.myspace.com/mountkimbie
http://www.hotflushrecordings.com/

Download: Mount Kimbie – Field (Via. Xlr8r)

LHF – EP1: Enter In Silence… [Keysound]

2010-07-22T21:08:00.002+01:00

The LHF collective are made up of many but this four track EP, the first in a series or two for Keysound before they drop a full length comes from Double Helix, Amen Ra and Low Density Matter. Filling in the blanks somewhere between Digital Mystikz, Dusk & Blackdown and Flying Lotus: LFH are a wide-ranging project that takes in not only London’s diverse culture but a global sonic pallet and offsets it with pirate radio sensibilities. It’s hard to pin LHF down. If you’ve been following their Sub FM show United Vibes where they often take up the airwaves with dub after dub or the showcases on Dusk & Blackdown’s Rinse show you’ll know what to expect here, if not you’re in for a surprise.

The first two come from Amen Ra and Double Helix, they head the group co-ordinating it all as far as I can tell. ‘Steelz’ is a heavily rhythmic number with chimes, bongos and god knows what else playing off field recordings, voice samples and a grimy synth lead to create a real roller. On a similar tip comes ‘Broken Glass’, with its choppy drums that lilt and roll in hypnotic ways around Indian chants and tension filled synth loops before descending into a wormhole of bass.

Double Helix ventures out on his own on ‘Deep Life’, which chills things out a little with widescreen pads and diva samples echoing through the night with a bitter sweat call ‘deeeeeeper’ that ushers in a big snare and punchy kick over a buzzy bassline. The only track on the EP not to come from the above is ‘Blue Steel’ a Low Density Matter production that is pure vibes. Trickling water, sci-fi accents, late night jazz stylings and a killer sample or two that you may well recognise from early rave hits that have echoed through the ages one pretty obvious another not so much... ahem. They’re two little dance floor ascents that have been used so much by dance heads and they still sound fresh today and really make this track. It kind of sums up LHF’s skill at taking the vaguely familiar and filtering it through a prism so it refracts and comes out twisted into new shapes and colours slightly removed from the reality you expected.

Enter In Silence… is a quality EP that only shows the tip of the iceberg of what LHF has to offer. They thrive in a parallel universe of their own that runs alongside dubstep culture, a niche they’ve been working for some time and the fruits of those late night pirate radio session and studio freak-outs have been worth the wait. Bring on the full crew and more releases.

Download: LHF - Who Are The Keepers Of The Light? Group Mix

http://www.myspace.com/raizms
http://www.myspace.com/helixier
http://www.myspace.com/deepsidewax
http://www.myspace.com/octaviour
http://www.myspace.com/soularman
http://www.myspace.com/lowdensitymaterial
http://www.myspace.com/nofixedabodebrudda
http://www.myspace.com/vibezindj
http://www.myspace.com/keysoundrecordings
http://blackdownsoundboy.blogspot.com/

C.R.S.T. – Revival EP [Well Rounded]

2010-07-17T15:26:00.002+01:00

Well Rounded follow up some pretty addictive releases from the likes of Deadboy and Hackman with another bumpy offering from new crew on the block C.R.S.T. who are picking up those garage vibes and really running with them. Where some ‘Wot Do U Call It?’/’Future Garage’ doesn’t have that slinky garage bump or anything resembling 2-step C.R.S.T. really do. They vibe off the old school for sure, you can hear Armand Van Helden’s speed garage or DJ Zinc’s rave-adled broken garage from years back on Bingo as much as you can MJ Cole or EL-B but its kept vibrant from the sheer rawness and dance floor energy, its four bumpy ones from here on in…

Phone lines bubble into action on the opening number ‘Dial The Operator’ with simple bleepy melodic stabs and snappy garage beats before a big old Bingo era Zinc-esq bassline pulses underneath it all. Things get a little more four to the floor on ‘May Not Be Real’ bit it gets funk’d up with skipy percussive accents and bitter sweat diva samples bubbling over it all. Things get kind of Armand Van Helden on ‘Need You’, its reminiscent of his hit ‘You Don’t Know Me’ in the drums at least, it bumps along in fine style before dropping some plastic jazz samples for good measure. The ultra skipy ‘Walk On’ lilts with little percussive flutters that play off the one note bass pulse that sounds like an alien species of frog trying to get your attention, its all held together with chopped up samples and loops.

The Brighton label is making moves and dropping releases that keep on creeping up on you. Deadboy and Hackman are so musical and slinky that reaching for them in a set just puts a smile on your face and C.R.S.T. does the same in a different way. They do it a little bit tracky and with a stronger garage flex. This is one for the mix when you want it fun and bumpy.

http://www.myspace.com/wellroundedrecords
http://www.myspace.com/crstuk

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Sepalcure – Love Pressure [Hotflush]

2010-07-12T20:22:00.001+01:00

Duo coming right out of NYC joining the dots between deep house nostalgia, the faint echo of garage and today’s dubstep variants. Chunky, wood carved rhythms balance toughness with a slinky rolling sound. Chopped and screwed house diva’s bring some spectral soul through the hazy sub and twisted synths. Sitting somewhere between recent material from Joy Orbison, FaltyDL, Scuba and Fantasitc Mr Fox, Sepalcure fit in nicely but with an edge all their own. It’s the depth of it all coupled with a visceral sense of emotion and atmospheric space that runs through the tracks that shows they’ve got their own niche.

The airy tones of ‘Love Pressure’ open up the EP and spread out into sweeping chords layering themselves under tweaked diva samples that ooze a melancholic, cathartic presences though the whole track. It’s the bumping kicks and lilting percussive accents that play over the deep bass that keep things moving though. ‘Down’ moves in a similar fashion, with the vocals pitching up and down, this time over more colourful, smeared synth tones that bridge dissonance and melody all at once. Yet again it’s the rolling percussive licks that bring movement to the space and dissonance of the bass and synths. Seplacure use the treated diva samples brilliantly too, in the wrong hands its another cliché used in so much dance music and especially in a post-Burial dubstep landscape but its pulled of in style here.

The flip rolls out in a similar fashion; ‘Every Day Of My Life’ is a slow grooving, blissful roller. With jazzy accents, subtle wobble bass and those chopped and screwed vocal hooks. Laid back, late night vibes. ‘The Warning’ fizzes into action with more of those bitter sweat, soul drenched melodies before driving right into some half stepping house grooves that balance a smooth, slow kick with some seriously infectious tribal percussive bubbles. Sepalcure do their thing on this 12”, its all so subtle but has a kick to it with some large bass grooves and irresistible drum patterns that just keep things rolling nicely. I’d like to hear what else they have up their sleeves.

Sepalcure - Every Day of my Life from sougwen on Vimeo.

Sepalcure - Love Pressure EP [HF025] by Hotflush

http://www.myspace.com/sepalcure
http://www.sepalcure.com/
http://www.hotflushrecordings.com/

Roof Light – Kirkwood Gaps/What Makes You So Special [Highpoint Lowlife]

2010-07-03T17:00:00.001+01:00

Double-header business from Roof Light, he’s dropping an album Kirkwood Gaps and a physical slice of wax What Makes You So Special on Highpoint Lowlife. The 12” EP is one for the DJs: Garage or bumpy house rhythms, deep sub, dubbed out flavours and bleepy computer game melodies, reminiscent of another Highpoint Lowlife artist Hot City at times and maybe Actress at others. While the album Kirkwood Gaps gets a bit tripy with a wider ranging sound that sits somewhere between the ambiance of Boards of Canada and off-centre hip-hop variants as well as the garage influence.

Kirkwood Gaps opens in an almost ambient fashion with tracks like ‘ Marrying Maidens Fair Of Willow’ setting the tone with distant crackles and shimmering guitar or ‘Kite Tails And Redwings’ and ‘Daytrips And Starlight’ which have their blissful melodies shaken to their foundations by crunchy broken beats, it sounds like it could be a section lifted from a Cold Cut mix. The glitchy ‘Drawing Near To The Printed’ rolls and lilts with a lazy groove and deep bass that’s pretty addictive, sometimes echoing something you’d hear from the Brainfeeder crew. Things get switched up a little when ‘Outline To Cross’ and ‘Hold It Back’ comes into view the latter with its smeared synths, rolling subs and bumpy drum patterns skip and bubble like a cross between Zed Bias, Todd Edwards and Kyle Hall. It melts and shifts from one mood to the other with melody and bass taking over from skittish grooves, like it’s a section taken from a DJ mix that’s been morphed into a full track. The dream like state of ‘Losing My Mind’ keeps things slow and bumpy with plenty of dubby bass playing under the shape shifting vocal coda. ‘Taro’ is in a similar vain but with added cut up diva samples. ‘Late Into The Evening’ brings the tempo back down with another slow burning blessed-out number. The way the album flows from early morning ambiance to bumpy midnight grooves before melting into the night is seamless.

The title track to What Makes You So Special mixes dub accents with punchy beats that pop off in all directions rolling in broken garage kind of fashion and bass tones that shake from the unknown. ‘Face Up (To Your Sensibilities)’ sounds like a deep underwater disco remake of Mario, slow house beats play off computer game sound effects and the odd echo of funky guitar, all sweeping through a soup of reverberating vocal goo, its pretty hypnotic. ‘Praying’ To T.E.’ comes on all bumpy and funky with fun cut up vocals skipping all over the beats and a bassline that wont give up until you’re moving. Things go a little bit underwater again with ‘Cakes, Biscuits and How's Yer Father’, its got a vibe not dissimilar to FaltyDL with its woozy blissful soundscapes that get punctuated by deep funky bass licks and skippy almost spectral garage beats.

Two solid releases from Roof Light, they do Highpoint Lowlife proud as it winds down its release schedule. If you want to go on a journey from blissful ambiance through glitchy otherworldly hip-hop to bumpy garage this is exactly what you need. Kirkwood Gaps gets under your skin and really starts to hit hard in its second half after easing you in with some hypnotic soundscapes. The 12” What Makes You So Special is a fun one too keeping it bumpy throughout.

Roof Light - sampler for forthcoming album and 12" by sideb0ard

Buy: Roof Light – Kirkwood Gaps [Highpoint Lowlife]

http://soundcloud.com/rooflight
http://highpointlowlife.com/

George Fitzgerald – The Let Down/Weakness [Hotflush Two]

2010-06-29T14:08:00.002+01:00

The debut release from George Fitzgerald comes in the form of two slinky deep house/garage hybrids that keep it slow and emotional, rewiring the circuits between genres in that neverland that the dubstep scene has created in its search for dance floor bliss. He shares similarities with Joy Orbison, which is no surprise since he’s been picked up by his Doldrums label as well as sitting next to him on the Hotflush roster. They both have a way with melody and a meditative slinky bump to their music. Its pretty smooth stuff that comes alive in sets with its bitter-sweat emotional pull and punchy, bumpy beats.

Organic rhythms and warm, soulful tones usher in the first track ‘The Let Down’, it’s like a mini melodrama in the way it builds with the focus on melody and dance floor sadness before releasing that tension through big house stabs and bumping drum patterns. The flip opens with teasing melancholy pads ‘Weakness’ and a slight dub techno air before a bumpy groove slips into its stride with a head nodding smoothness that flips and twists as it rolls making you move without even realising. Its subtle stuff that builds to a nice meditative drop where things get a little bumpy with chopped up vocals taking a more prominent roll, weaving between ascending synth tones and bursts of deep bass that reach out of the grooves and really give some impact.

Two really quality, slinky little numbers from what looks to be an already pretty accomplished producer. Look out for this one, he’s bound to have more where this came from.

http://www.myspace.com/georgefitzgeraldmusic
http://www.manmakemusic.com/
http://www.hotflushrecordings.com/

Blawan – Jackel Ter9’s/Ste Shine - Mid-life Crisis [Folk Wood]

2010-06-27T17:11:00.002+01:00

Double-header featuring Blawan and Ste Shine taking a side each. Blawan came out the blocks hard with his first release on Hassle Audio, tough and percussive, just the way we like it. Hard tribal beats got chopped and flipped into rolling grime-like approximations of garage and dubstep via a rolling techno sensibility that hits in the perfect place between dance floor prowess and deep propulsive head nodding energy that verges on the meditative if you weren’t so busy catching those rhythms. His second release comes on Folk Wood with Ste Shine, whose deeper vision balances out the 12” nicely.

The lazer guided synths blips on ‘Jackel Ter9’s’ ride the rolling grooves like a twisted sibling of grimes past with smeared synth textures taking over adding a twisted energy that really bursts out the speakers. Vibes of Kode9’s ‘Black Sun’ can be heard in the down tuned synth squiggles, but its taken into a different place. Plus the rhythmic patterns echo the tough tribalism of his first release, a garage dubstep hybrid that does that dubstep thing of balancing space and time to create dance floor tension that oozes pent up energy.

Ste Shine drops an altogether deeper and more spaced out track, ‘Mid-life Crisis’ harness melodic synth patterns and the original dubstep vibe that gets twisted into a tense almost sinogrime shape that gets crossed with this early Warp-like energy. Drum hits get tweaked and dubbed into orbit, bass pulses hit the chest and the synths get seriously hypnotic with their melodies.

There is a stripped back simplicity to these tracks that keeps the energy tightly wound and raw. Blawan brings the energy and really kills it yet again and Ste Shine takes it deep. Solid 12”.

http://www.myspace.com/blawan
http://www.myspace.com/steshine
http://www.myspace.com/folkwood

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Xplodersessions on the road…

2010-06-26T12:50:00.005+01:00

…Kind of, I’m rolling over for a Yardcast with Ste Shine [Folk Wood] and Blawan [Hessle Audio] may be passing through too. You can join us later tonight, sometime after 8:00pm or so on:

www.ustream.tv/channel/steshinedub

Streaming live video by Ustream
Expect dubstep, funky, garage, grime, wot-u-call-it? and back-to-back action.

12”+

2010-06-12T03:56:00.005+01:00

Back once again with the renegade run down… of 12” from my record bag, which I haven’t had chance to chat about elsewhere. You can catch me dropping a few of these in a mix on my last Xplodersession if you like. But here are some words if you’re deaf and still like collecting 12”s. Lock in to Sonic Router on Hivemind.fm this Sunday night 10-12pm with MLR for some fresh jams too… Words!

T.Williams – Afric/Anthem/Flooring [Local Action]
Tough, dark and techy UK funky vibes from Deep Teknologi’s T.Williams: Anthem and Flooring slay it, the former building tension and hitting hard while the latter brings a smidgen of almost Detroit sense of techno melody into the mix. Afric dubs things out a bit more leaving plenty of space between the tight funky drums.

Marcus Price & Carli - Mat Bira Kvinnor Weed EP [Palms Out Sound]
Heavy remix package featuring loads of Night Slugs related producers flipping the Dutch duo’s tough electro-tinged floor shakers. Bok Bok is the one for me, a tripped out drum machine workout close to Girl Unit’s juke inspired IRL. Girl Unit Features too with a cracker alongside Double Dutch and Kingdom.

MJ Cole – Riddim EP [Prolific Recordings]
Big riddim’s built to take over dance floors, MJ Cole flexing his crossover muscles blending grimy UK Funky and want sounds like a mad-mans vision of minimal techno and electro. The Volcano and Thekla riddims destroy it with shape shifting bass lines that keeps you on your toes and tons of energy, they turn heads.

Joe – Claptrap/Level Crossing [Hessle Audio]
One of my favourite Hessle releases has to be Rut/Grimelight, they get regular plays and this 12” is set to stay in my bag just as long. Claptrap is the deep percussive dubstep lovers ‘Hey Mickey’ with full on clap-along action, coughs and splutters aplenty and some of the most addictive drums around. Level Crossing takes things a little deeper with soca-addled rhythms and bursts of bass that cut through the subtle plucky melodies.

Orson – Madness/808 Dub [Version]
One of Berlin’s original dubstep heads drops a couple of deep bass workouts on his own label: Madness is the one here, teasing you with a long atmospheric build and pulses of sub before dropping some hip shaking tribal percussion its almost Loefah/Digital Mystkiz-esq in its execution. The flip works that drum machine into big half step patterns and wobbles the low end in subtle ways, a fine 12”.

SRC – Gold Coins [Numbers]
Grime producer SRC is coming with pure fire on wax this year, bringing those 8-bit Gameboy boogie vibes into the mix that got him noticed with the mad Mario sampling Goomba and twisting it into new shapes. Deep bass, hyper-funk synth bleeps, Technicolor grime textures that leave the dance floor with a vibrant glow.

Ramadanman – Glut/Tempest [Hemlock]
Massive 12”, subtly hitting the middle ground between Hessle’s deep percussive dance floor vibes and Addison Grooves Juke inspired dubstep manoeuvres. Glut bangs and beeps, which Tempest takes it a little deeper with a bittersweet spaced-out breakdown. Bring on the Swamp 81 12”, Work Them is fire…

A Made Up Sound – Alarm/Crisis [A Made Up Sound]
2562 slips seamlessly into his other moniker with two deadly shattered techno tracks that pack a punch and keep rolling despite their broken nature. Twisted synth lines shimmy through deep bass and techy accents on Alarm and Crisis rolls on a more straight forward house groove with jabbering energetic bass leads before it all melts into an intense spaced-out more melodic affair.

DJ Naughty – Firepower EP [Roska Kicks & Snares]

2010-06-10T19:41:00.002+01:00

UK Funky has been lighting up dance floors outside of its scene more and more this last few years, branching out of its thriving London underground roots with great success. Names like Lil Silva are getting picked up by Night Slugs, Ill Blue have a Hyperdub release on the cards, Altered Natives should be dropping something on Martyn’s 3024 label and Roska is always keeping a steady stream of releasing from himself and others on Kicks & Snares like this one from: DJ Naughty, he’s been around for some time doing his thing and releasing funky gems that get the dance going and this 12” is no exception.

Roska steps up with a remix of ‘Quicktime’ adding his trademark sonic signature and tough syncopated drum patterns that just roll under a fully loaded sub bass line designed to make you shake it. The melody pops in and out all dubby and funky, reminiscent of music I’d expect to hear in Cuba or something. Roska strips back the original to its rawest elements, taking away the ravey bass but it still works a treat. The highlight here has to be the soulful soca roller ‘Firepower’ bumps and shimmies at you like a subtle variant on the foundations DVA laid with ‘Jelly Roll’, its less loony tunes than that track and more meditative utilising a dub vibe alongside some sine wave synth bass workouts to create a slinky track. The low down and funky drum workout on ‘Gearshift’ makes your hips move even before the dubbed out samples and bassline drops. It’s a minimal roller that just keeps going, ready for the mix.

Download: DJ Naughty – Quicktime (Roska Remix) [Via. Rinse.fm]

http://www.myspace.com/djnaughtyuk
http://www.myspace.com/rosiroska
http://www.roska.co.uk/

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Zander Hardy – Hard EP [Deep Teknologi]

2010-06-05T15:22:00.003+01:00

This is some seriously dark and techy UK funky, it’s the sound of a dark basement with a big soundsystem, no lights and plenty of slinky dancing. West-Londoner Zander Hardy drops the second release on Deep Teknologi in the shape of the three-track EP Hard. This Zander Hardy 12” follows in the wake of T. Williams and Cooly G who have been making similarly dark and stripped back UK funky material of late, keeping things simple, rolling and dubby all while keeping one eye firmly on the dance floor.

The bumping industrial clatter of ‘Attack’ manages to stay rolling and slinky while keeping its menacing darkness and wide-screen bass pulses all via a sinister sci-fi Blade Runner-esq atmosphere. The harder, ‘Signalling (To The Chosen One’s)’ buzzes with a frazzled digital dissidence above driving UK funky drum patterns, like a warning signal that the party will self destruct if you don’t keep moving. We get more soulful on ‘Get Away’ with its eerie atmosphere and smoky chords over big pulsing drum kicks and bass tones that just keep rolling and make you shake like only UK funky can.

This darker end of UK funky is keeping me interested right now: Deep Teknologi and Zander Hardy hit the right buttons. Alongside other UK funky mutations from the likes of Altered Natives, DVA and Night Slugs to name but a few they hold their own and keep things diverse in your record box.

Deep Teknologi - Mary Anne Hobbs Mix - BBC Radio 1 by deepteknologi

http://www.myspace.com/zanderhardy
http://myspace.com/deepteknologi
http://soundcloud.com/deepteknologi
http://ustream.tv/deepteknologi
http://twitter.com/deepteknologi
http://facebook.com/deepteknologi

Xplodersessions.

2010-05-31T16:52:00.005+01:00

Mixing live in the attic… Playing some dubstep, grime, garage, uk funky, house, techno, skweee, hip-hop, electronica, beats, bass new and old.

Bank holiday boogie.

Lock in: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/xplodersessions

Live Videos by Ustream

Listen again here: http://www.ustream.tv/myvideos/1/7357650

First part of the set got lost in the technicals.

Tracklist:

Instra:mental – Let’s Talk [Naked Lunch]
Kowton – Hunger [Idle Hands]
Actress – Machine and Voice [Non Plus+]
Kyle Hall – Luv 4 KMFH [Wild Oats]
Julio Bashmore – World Peace [Dirtybird]
Instra:mental – Leave It All Behind [Apple Pips]
Sylvester – Rock The Box (Dub) [Cool Tempo]
Acidwolf – Blue Morning Drive [030303]
Der Zyklus – Formenverwandler [International Deejay Gigolo’s]
Kraftwerk – Expo 2000 (Underground Resistance Mix) [EMI]
Mount Kimbie – Surged (FaltyDL Remix) [Hotflush]
A Made Up Sound – Sun Touch [A Made Up Sound]
DVA – Natty [Hyperdub]
Doc Daneeka – Deadly Rhythm [PNT]
Ikonika – Idiot (Altered Natives Remix) [Hyperdub]
T.Williams – Flooring [Local Action]
A Made Up Sound – Alarm [A Made Up Sound]
Hanuman – Bola (Atki2 Remix) [Idle Hands]
T.Williams – Anthem [Local Action]
Altered Natives – Raaaatid Einstien [Fresh Minute Music]
DVA – Ganja [Hyperdub]
DJ Rush – Cruising [Dance Mania]
R1 Ryders – Rubberband VIP [R1 Records]
MJ Cole – Thekla Riddim [Prolific]
Lil Silva – A Million [Night Slugs]
Perempay & Dee - Buss It [White]
DJ NG ft. Katy B – Tell Me (Club Mix) [Data]
Emvee – Glitch Dub [Wireblock]
MJ Cole ft. Serocee – AO (MJs Open Your Gob Dubb) [Prolific]
Bok Bok ft. Bubbz – Citizens Dub [Blunted Robots]
Marcus Price & Carli – Var E Naaaken (Bok Bok Remix) [Palms Out Sound]
Girl Unit – IRL [Night Slugs]
Addison Groove – Dumb Shit [Swamp 81]
Ramadanman – Glut [Hemlock]
Rossi B & Luca – E10 Riddim [Planet Mu]
Africa Hitech – Blen [Warp]
Brackles – Lizard [Apple Pips]
Untold – Flexible [BRAiNMATH]
Blawan – Fram [Hessel Audio]
Shortstuff & Mickey Pearce – Tripped Up [Ramp]
Egyptrixx – Hexagon Ya [Aaahh! Real Monsters]
Terror Danjah – Acid [Hyperdub]
Swindle – Air Miles [Planet Mu]
James Blake – CMYK [R&S]
Guido – Mad Sax [Punch Drunk]
Otis Reading – (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay [Atlantic]

Safe.

LV ft. Josh Idehen – ‘38 EP’ [Keysound]

2010-05-28T20:33:00.006+01:00

LV have a sound all their own, the three man production team make a subtle digital dub music that has its roots firmly in the dub tradition all while pushing forward into territories unknown. Having released slow burning gems on Hyperdub, Hemlock and 2nd Drops to name but a few they hook up with Dusk & Blackdown’s Keysound recordings for a concept record inspired by the #38 bus route out of Clapton. Vocalist Josh Idehen takes on the persona of five separate passengers, spitting street poetry from their points of view. Sitting somewhere between the urban dread and decay of Kode9 and Spaceape’s beat-less ‘Sine Of The Dub’ or a less post apocalyptic version of ‘London Zoo’ by The Bug, LV carve a more human, free flowing niche that echoes Gil Scott-Heron as much as it does London’s bass continuum.

With its infectious dub bounce and flow ‘Lost’ is a highlight right from the off. The opening lines “It’s obvious you don’t get on with this metropolis” roll of Josh’s tongue with ease, taking cues from grime but with an altogether looser flow. You’re soon hooked and ready to explore the city’s characters on the #38. The track plays off the tension between people trying to get on with the city and how it sometimes seems to be working against you. The dark brooding nature of ‘Early Mob’ with its nocturnal beats, sounds like something taken from Thomas Bangalter’s soundtrack to French revenge flick Irréversible, only more dub-wise. With lyrics about rolling with your crew and feeling like you own the place, a nonchalant swagger and pent up aggression. It’s a raw, menacing ride. The beat on ‘Your Coat’ comes off like a hybrid of digital dub and deep house, with flowing melodies and rolling four to the floor kicks. Josh lets loose here, unleashing an unhinged flow. Its infectious, those beats shimmy against the bass tones to create a bumpin’ number. The flip is more laid back, ‘Walk It’ rolls with a subtle head nodding dub vibe and free flowing rhyming over the lounge lizard Rhodes chords and conga rhythms. ‘Face Of God’, with its live sounding dub bass plucks and R&B finger clicks punctuating the bittersweet soul of the airy pads and heartbeat percussion ends the EP with a blissful vibe, musically at least. The vocals deal with religious beliefs and free associations to do with life, death and judgement.

Keysound often explore the culture of London via its bass led excursions, Dusk & Blackdown’s own Margins Music took us on a ride through the fringes of the city and this EP feels like it follows on from that. LV and Josh Idehen bring the #38 bus route to life echoing the city’s atmosphere and people. Painting a sonic picture with words and sound even if you’re not familiar with the places it’s like a street bass novella. LV’s productions are creepers, getting under your skin with their subtle vibes, but this EP might be their most realised, instant and engaging yet all while keeping that depth and musical vision.

LV ft. Josh Idehen ‘38’ EP Promomix

http://www.myspace.com/keysoundrecordings
http://www.myspace.com/lvbass

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Pursuit Grooves – Fox Trot Mannerisms [Tectonic]

2010-05-21T00:39:00.001+01:00

Tectonic are one of the staples in the dubstep scene a label that has been doing it since day one showcasing some of the deepest and darkest sounds from the raw and rolling to techno inspired gems, a diverse spectrum for sure but until now they hadn’t really released anything that wasn’t dubstep, even the slower dub techno numbers by 2562 or the trippy soul of Flying Lotus fit the loose genre tag dubstep has become be it in tempo or vibe. Well Pursuit Grooves changes that: Vanese Smith The Brooklyn producer/MC/vocalist makes a soulful broken house hybrid that oozes with a hypnotic charm that could fit anywhere between the loose touchstones of Kyle Hall’s Detroit techno or the UK hip-hop hybrid of Floating Points. Fox Trot Mannerisms…

We open with ‘Pressure’, a looping piano number that rolls to a bumpy pulse and ebbs from jazzy and sublime to raw and punchy the whole time. She jumps from rapping to singing with ease, ridding the wonked-out beat with a woozy atmospheric flow. The buzzing bassline of ‘Start Something’ growls and bubbles against some bumpin’ beats before switching groove, like a spaced out jazz variant on grime. Much like Kyle Halls recent Hyperdub release, the track ‘Mr Softee’ feels like dubstep despite not really being it at all. It’s the clattering drums, big base, dubbed out vibe and warm fuzzy synths that do it.

A highlight has to be the deeply hypnotic ‘Shabaps’, which has this airy, hyper-soul feel to it. Drum machines drop cowbells and claves into spaced out vocal samples, before melting into an addictive groove and luscious synth pads. It makes me melt… ‘Whisper’ is pure gold too taking that woozy future soul into a shimmering melancholic avenue of sound, that breaks out of creepy film samples and brain clattering drum frequencies. The sound of hip-hop and house beamed into deep space. The vibe continues with ‘Tweezers’, which has a mellow jacking feel to it. Chopped up samples twisting and looping into hypnotic shapes. The closer, ‘Cosey’ which just keeps those drum grooves rolling and the spaced out synths shimmering like Detroit techno lost in time.

A hypnotic set of tracks that ooze soul and raw energy brought on by the samples and drums, they loop with an intensity and power that offsets the spaced out charm of her synths and vocals brilliantly. Pursuit Grooves brings something really different and pretty addictive to Tectonic with Fox Trot Mannerisms, recommended.

http://www.myspace.com/vjsmith
http://www.myspace.com/tectonicrecordings

Moments in Space

2010-05-19T01:10:00.007+01:00

Sometimes I don’t have time to talk about everything I want to, often videos and random links don’t get shared on Sonic Minefield, as I like to keep this space for words. This made me set up xpldr on tumblr: a news feed of sorts for this site where I could quickly put up links and share them via a RSS feed on Sonic Minefield and Twitter. Sometimes to remind myself to write about them later and others to just spread them around a bit more to anyone watching, so here are some of my recent favourite posts…

Listen: DJ Roc – The Crack Album (Via. Nasty Sonix)

Hype: ‘A resurrected DJ mix/album by DJ Roc, originally called ‘Juke City: The Crack Capital’ I believe, from a long gone internet archive/stream, pieced together lovingly by Drilla’. Juke’s raw energy is doing it for me right now.

Watch: JME & Tempa T – CD Is Dead

JME always brings it differently; his simple wordplay creeps up on you until you find yourself shouting ‘serious’ at passers by from your car. Tempz keeps it minimal too on this grime beat that seems to take inspiration from electro when it was electro (raw drum machines and synth bass) not lame chart fodder and blog house. Not quite as catchy as ‘Over Me’ but solid none the less.

Watch: Redlight ft. Roses Gabor - Stupid [Digital Soundboy]

Rough and slinky, the fine line UK funky walks when it’s at its best is pulled off in style here with an official video and forthcoming release on d’n’b lable Digital Soundboy. Big gnarly bass and R&B vocals keep the dance floor moving.

Watch: Golau Glau - ‘Held’

One of my favourite unsigned Silver Pop act has been moved by the current election enough to make some tracks, ‘Held’ sees them place footage from old party political broadcasts to their music. More from them on Sonic Minefield always.

Watch: Rude Kid – Jack Daniels

Massive grime instrumental gets an official video. The first I’d ever seen and the heads could only offer up Skepta’s DTI as another example from grime’s closet too.

Mix: Geiom for Soul Motive

GeiomixbySoul Motive

From Wolf Eyes to Sticky in minuets via Hizatron and more, I don’t need to say much here its Geiom…

Watch: Trim – Monkey

One of my favourite MCs drops a massive track complete with hood video. I love it when Trim goes in on a dirty swaggering beat, ‘Hands on my goolies’.

Listen: Slackk – Eski House Mix

Grimetapes.com founder keeps it raw with some Eski House renditions for Lower End Spasam. Taking inspiration from early grime legends like Wiley, Ruff Squad, Jammer and god knows who else to create a UK Funky variant that vibes off all that energy.

Watch: Ill Blue’s ‘Youtube Master Piece’…

Huge sounding track that will hopefully find its way out eventually. The rolling drums are too much, and that bass is just stupid.

Watch: Sun Araw – Deep Cover

DEEP COVER - SUN ARAW from CatCakes on Vimeo.

Super dubbed out and psychedelic rock jam from Not Not Fun’s Sun Araw. Heavy Deeds was a big album for me last year and this new track keeps that trend going.

Listen: oOoOO

HeartsbyoOoOO

Slow motion syrup drenched lo-fi indie leaning electronica from the mysterious oOoOO, who I picked up from uber hip blog xxjfgs: http://www.20jazzfunkgreats.co.uk/ who re-ignited my love for indie-geddon blogs no end, oh and they put up a killed mix by Darkstar late last year.

Watch: Dot Rotten – The Rotten Club News Report (Woo Riddim)

Dot Rotten has been one of my favourite MCs along with Trim, Durrty Goodz, D Double E and P Money for some time, Wiley too just for releasing his old instrumentals… The Woo Riddim has caught MCs attention, D Double E has killed it and so has Dot, I still can’t decide who’s is on top. Dot’s seems so personal and full of drama, plus he’s made an official video so he’s got to be the one for now, you also download it as part of Logan Sama’s Still Keepin It Grimy Mixtape. Hopefully D Double E will drop his sometime…

That’s it for now…

Illum Sphere – Go Killum/Technopolis/Titan [3024]

2010-05-16T15:49:00.003+01:00

The eighth release on Martyn’s 3024 label comes from Manchester beat maker Illum Sphere who has been responsible for some killer off-centre hip-hop instrumentals for the likes off Fat City and the Hoya:Hoya club night, which has been joining the dots between the fringes of dubstep and hip-hop in fine style with the likes Martyn rubbing shoulders with Flying Lotus, Dam-Funk and Ikonika to name but a few that have passed through it’s doors. It’s his second outing on 3024 after remixing Martyn’s beat-less surge ‘Brilliant Orange’ from what was essentially a segway on his fantastic album Great Lengths, but in Illum’s hands it was flipped and extended into a full, pulsing, emotional slab of atmospheric beat work and this platter carries on in that vain.

The crackle fest that is ‘Go Killum’ gets things off to a good start, fitting somewhere between Flying Lotus, Actress and Kyle Hall, bumpin’ with a skeletal warm soundsystem funk. The sound of being lost, driving around a city at night. Light trails fly past, your apprehensive but feel at home in your motor, heaters on stereo turned up.

The low-slung magic of ‘Technopolis’ isn’t to dissimilar to the Flying Lotus workout ‘Disco Balls’ from Hyperdub’s ‘5’ compilation: Off-kilter slow and punchy house grooves and a funky as hell synth bass groove that has that warm tweaked-out buzz. This is an altogether more spaced out affair though, putting emphasis on the crackle, atmospheric pads and jazz-house subtleties. The drums get the head nodding as layers of sub bass squirm in all directions… The energetic synth surges of ‘Titan’ pick up the pace and bring a dose of euphoria to the platter. Digital crickets chirp like sprites in a computer game night scene as you hurtle past, windows down, hair blowing, bass rumbling into the distance.

A slab of hi-tech soul from 3024, Illume Sphere keeps it warm and loose. The sound of the city on a muggy night when everything seems to be buckling under the heat, a heavy atmosphere that only lifts every time a breeze blows past elusively or you hit 50 mph in a 30 zone.

Originally written for Sonic Router.

http://www.myspace.com/theillumsphere
http://hoya-hoya.blogspot.com/
http://3024world.blogspot.com/

Mandelbrot – Effect/Delay [Highpoint Lowlife]

2010-05-14T10:08:00.001+01:00

Highpoint Lowlife makes a slight departure with this one, unleashing some noisy guitar drenched splattergedon and forgoing the electronica for a moment with an album from Keung Mandelbrot. He’s gone for the one take fly by the seat of your pants approach utilising the ‘10 fingers, 6 strings, 18 pedals, and no overdubs’ method to record the four tracks, which veer from the sublime and dreamy to the raw and abrasive sometimes all at once.

Opening track ‘Effect/Delay’ filters in with a riff that quickly descends into noisy loops and burnt out psychedelics. Layers of sound rush in all directions, dissident but with an otherworldly beauty and purpose: Like a noisier extended guitar solo that got out of hand from the Pixies track ‘Vamos’ and accidentally came loose from its hyper-punk ties as Santiago got more and more adventurous, attaching a rocket to his guitar which then drifted off into orbit, and they’ve just let it go… to have a life of its own floating up there never to return to the lucrative business of rocking stadiums as a reformed cult band’s favourite solo.

The extraterrestrial vibes continue on ‘Hope/Delay’ – Blissful loops and twinkling soundscapes surge into a dissident wall of noise before melting out of the intensity into an altogether more sinister, melancholy plateau, which again gives way to surges of blistering sound. Post-rock progressions and noise drenched passages sit side by side in an ever-evolving cycle of sound. The otherworldly charm only broken by the uneasy atmosphere of ‘Nervous/Delay’, which really does live up to its name: nagging tonal glitches buzz and tweak into different shapes. It’s the sonic opposite to the dreamy moments on Effect/Delay and maybe too much for some but the mood quickly switches as the smouldering ‘Twilight/Delay’ creeps into action: the frazzled guitar sounds like a burnt out mess of wires. Firing on empty cylinders before burning out into bursts of noise, from exhausted struggle to final exhilarating push. It’s something to behold, a slow moving cathartic release executed in style.

Effect/Delay is an experimental noise record that still manages to sound accessible, for every abrasive face splattering section there is another of melodic bliss. It never feels self-indulgent either. Mandelbrot keeps it dynamic with ever shifting moods and subtle progressions, holding your interest the whole time playing with your emotions with a visceral sonic pallet. A mesmerising set piece showing versatility and vision but overall an engaging ride.

Buy: Mandelbrot – Effect/Delay [Highpoint Lowlife]

http://mandelbrotset.co.uk/
http://highpointlowlife.com/

Quack Quack – Slow As An Eyeball [Cuckundoo Records]

2010-05-10T19:51:00.003+01:00

Summer is fast approaching and whether the sun shines or you want to try and tease it out from behind the clouds, as you have to do sometimes in the UK… The soundtrack could well be made by Quack Quack a three piece from Leeds that consists of members from local bands: Bilge Pump and Two Minuet Noodles and Chops. Together they make an interesting sound that fits somewhere between breezy sun drenched indie pop, tropical party music and African township funk with a pinch of jazz, all done in an instrumental fun time party post-rock kind of way. All by utilising bass, keys and drums they keep it stripped back and to the point, keeping it freewheeling but never to cluttered. They remind me of another favourite Leeds band The Dragon Rapide, who are long gone now but had a similar breezy way of doing things all be it through different means. This is Quack Quack’s debut album: Slow As An Eyeball…

After an eerier opening with the slow and spaced out beach jam ‘Perpetual Spinach’ one of the first highlights has to be ‘D Motherfucker D’, which you can grab free bellow. Looping organ riffs, sounding like reverberating tappy guitar hooks swirl in all direction and play off the funk created by the drums and bass. This joyous, yet laid-back approach continues on ‘Three’, which has a playful edge to it. They also keep the rhythms varied and jazzy, to keep the flow interesting and make you want to move, this works brilliantly on ‘Phonehenge’, oh yeah the track titles bring a smile to your face too. The skipping twilight funk jam ‘Big Sounds’, keeps things bouncing with an infectious bassline and rolling drums before sliding into nocturnal space-jazz and back again.

When the organ is really unleashed like on ‘Bird Parliament’ or ‘Toc H’ Quack Quack can come across as a cleaner, lighter sounding Sun Araw without the hazy weight of the world heaviness, they really bringing out a 70s-esq-psyche/prog element to great effect. They even branch out into a Rhubarb and Custard on a sunny day outing soundtrack on ‘Cakes Are Easy. The almost-title track ‘As Slow As An Eyeball’ really ups the pace, as quick fire drum patterns play off swirling keyboard melodies. You also get a surprise appearance from some mad sax and drums by Seb Rochford and Pete Wareham from Polar Bear/Acoustic Ladyland, they bring an extra bag of energy to the track it makes for an outstanding highlight. ‘Jack Of None’ finishes the album off in fine style too, keeping that momentum going with yet more sax and guitars bringing a heavy party atmosphere, like Acoustic Ladyland from another dimension populated mainly by psychedelic beach parties.

Slow As An Eyeball is a very enjoyable album that oozes fun. Quack Quack are a solid band that have a quirky, joyous sound that stay the right side of cheese at all times. Come and join a tropical party there is room for everyone.

Download: Quack Quack – Jack of None (via. rcrdlbl)

Quack Quack - D Motherfucker D by cuckundoo

http://www.cuckundoorecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thisisquackquack
http://www.thisisquackquack.co.uk/
http://twitter.com/thisisquack

Ikonika – Contact, Want, Love, Have [Hyperdub]

2010-05-09T20:55:00.001+01:00

The Mega Drive generation has been in full effect in recent years, people who grew up with 8-bit bleep tones engrained on their brains from bashing buttons and chasing pixels have been translating those influences into their art. You can hear this ‘PlayStation boogie’ in the ever-blurring fringes of the dubstep scene, its been devouring the bleeps like a ghost chased Pacman and showing it off with pride. Not only that though it’s all being twisted through other influences and that makes it a hard album to pin down, she’s got a unique voice that touches on so much and comes out in directions that are hard to imagine. You get the upfront playfulness of modern R&B and the sweet syrupy bleep funk of Skweee or the aforementioned computer game soundtracks playing off the dark, heavy bass weight of dubstep and a diverse rhythm-scape that seems to feed on anything from skippy garage to tough and rough uk funky hybrids via a hardcore punk sensibility. Ikonika’s debut 12” with the addictive and sinuous ‘Please’ really got me hooked back in 2008 and her debut album in 2010 does the same.

Power up with ‘Ikonoklast (insert coin)’ and before you know it ‘Idiot’ is unleashed on you, this dropped on a 12” recently with a fantastic Altered Natives remix that strips back the hyperactive bleeps and bumps up the chunky house funk vibes, it’s a killer track… The original bubbles with energy and comes alive on dance floors thanks to its bouncy bassline all while it leaves it’s Gameboy hook in your head for days. The epic, sweeping synth lines of ‘Yoshimitsu’ and the slow burning, ‘Fish’ with there subtly shifting melodic patterns feel like your sinking into a sea of neon bliss, the latter especially has been one that always seems to creep into my sets. The drums skip, bubble and roll around the ebbing digital tide perfectly.

The massively heavy and spaced out ‘R.E.S.O.O.L.’, which turns out to be looser backwards is one of those tracks you didn’t see coming. Its got all the hallmarks of her sound but twists them in a way I couldn’t predict, a pixelated Godzilla attach that grinds, growls and swirls with mysterious melody. The dark 80s/90s-esq synth workout ‘They Are All Loosing The War’ feels like grime work its way back in a time machine to a techno rave in a dark warehouse. The next two may be familiar if you’ve been following Ikonika: ‘Millie’ has been a favourite of mine for a while; the twisted off-kilter woozy synth patterns bounce off the deep bass tones perfectly. And the beats go from punchy half step and rock-like to pumping energy fuelled dance floor shakers. ‘Sarah Michael’ appeared on the ‘5’ compilation last year, it’s a track that has grown on me considerably. When the bass drops it kicks a hell of a punch and those Street Fighter-esq melodies really work their way under your skin. ‘Continue?’ really does remind you of the moment in a game where you die and have to choose to reboot or give up, but with this album it’s an easy choice. Keep rolling…

The latter half of the album gets more percussive, taking pointers from uk funky’s hard soca bump. It’s an influence that’s really taking hold in the dubstep scene over the last few years probably thanks to its addictiveness in the dance, and Ikonika takes on this influence with ease. ‘Heston’ bumps hard with digi-snares, claps and kicks that make you want to shake it alongside roller-rink melodies and deep comforting bass, it’s a subtle one. The hard hitting ‘Psoriasis’ reminds me of Lil Silva the uk funky don with his square-wave synths and raw grimy dance floor power, filtered through the Ikonika prism of bleeps and short circuits. ‘Video’ Delays’ takes those chunky house drums and off-sets it with hypnotic Bladerunner synth lines. The last push comes in the form of ‘Look (final boss stage)’, which has that Lil Silva vibe again, tough grimy and fun. ‘Red Marker Pens (good ending)’ ebbs and flows with a melodic kind of bliss channelled through the swirling pads, synths and hypnotic bass tones.

Contact, Want, Love, Have is a seriously addictive album. I’ve been to busy playing it to bother writing about it, but it has to be done or I’d feel like something is missing. It’s a really fun coherent piece and the first full-length artist album to showcase the bleepy synth led direction that Hyperdub have been playing with over the last few years. Ikonika makes a world of her own here, there are some kind of boundaries set up somewhere but she moves freely between them, keeping things interesting and diverse within her distinct sound. The way the music progresses from bumps and bleeps to smeared syrup drenched passages is pretty addictive. The melodies are so catchy and the bass so hard it’s like she’s mutated things so much that some kind of new hardcore-pop-r&b-hyper-dance hybrid has been created where the lead singer has been replaced by synths and everything has been cranked up for maximum enjoyment.

http://www.myspace.com/ikonika
http://www.myspace.com/hyperdub

Live: Deerhunter / The Fresh & Onlys @ The Cockpit, Leeds. 5th May 2010

2010-05-07T03:24:00.006+01:00

Deerhunter are personal favourites of mine, Cryptograms and Microcastle are never to far from my stereo, so when they swing through town it’s a must. This time they come to The Cockpit a venue I’ve not ventured into for a gig for around four years, maybe more. As venues go it’s not really my bag and Deerhunter have always gone down a treat at probably my favourite venue for bands in Leeds, The Brudenell Social Club. But they’ll bring me out on a muggy night midweek whatever... They’re doing a quick tour as warm-up for their slot at the ATP festival and slipping in the odd new song into their sets, which should wet your appetite if like me your hoping they whip out an album at some point this year, fingers crossed.

Support comes in the form of The Fresh & Onlys from San Francisco, a band I’d only stumbled upon a few days before when wondering about who else was playing. They sound a bit countrified in a blue grass meets noisy garage rock or psychedelic punk kind of way on myspace, and in the flesh that was toned down a bit and sounded more like straight up US bar room rock: A spaced out, pretty melodic yet raw set of tracks. They left me intrigued but not overly excited.

Deerhunter came out loud and in full effect, oceans of noise, layers of atmosphere. Really living up to the ambient-punk tag, I’ve seen them chat about, more than ever. The crowd either seemed detached or tired due to the midweek slot or the massive sounds the band created, meaning the band and crowd found it hard to connect. This didn’t stop it from sounding awesome though, they just did things a little more laid back, prolonged and spaced out, in almost Krautrock jam-like freakouts. This really stood out on ‘Nothing Ever Happened’ and the encore, which culminated in some serious noise, and looping feedback after a brilliant sample/speech from god knows who. The rest is a haze of feedback, bopping, Bradford’s English accent impression and talk of the election…

oh yeah and more music, echoes of ‘Helicopters’ a new track you can hear online now via the Marc Riley show on 6music... A Patti Smith cover or mention of one, maybe not? They just said something about her on stage. A post-punk funked-up dubbed-out INXS meets Jay-Z’s ‘99 Problems’ version of ‘Rainwater Cassette Exchange’, you bet. Some of these may have only happened in my head… Like the one that I thought sounded a bit like ‘Under The Sea’ from The Little Mermaid film minus steel drums and comedy Lobster. It really did have a washed out aquatic vibe going on though, ummm. New track, probably ‘Fountain Stairs’ if forums are correct and the appearance of an old track from Turn It Up Faggot, ‘Adorno’, I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard any of that era’s material live until now so that was a bonus. ‘Little Kids’ and ‘Cryptograms’ sounded as fresh as ever as did the beautifully catchy ‘Cover Me (Slowly)/Agoraphobia’. All in all Deerhunter brought it and brightened up my Wednesday night with some ambient-punk bliss, they remain one of the leading lights in my indie world.

Leeds set list/picture thanks to Lewis, check out the cool story behind it here.
Intro / Cryptograms / Never Stops / Fountain Stairs / Little Kids / Rainwater Cassette Exchange /
Cover Me (Slowly) / Agoraphobia / Operation / Hazel St / Nothing Ever Happens / Helicopter / Vox Celeste / Adorno / Encores: Dr Glass / Calvary Scars

…Before I go, grab some Deerhunter goodies over at their blog, Micromix 26 a selection of killer tracks from Chris Bell to Sun Ra. And the too good to pass up: Carve your Initials Into The Walls Of The Night, an early limited CD-R which just features Moses and Bradford playing with tapes as an early incarnation of the band in 2005.

Download: Deerhunter – Micromix 26

Download – Deerhunter – Carve Your Initials Into The Walls Of The Night

http://www.myspace.com/thefreshonlys
http://www.myspace.com/deerhunter
http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/

Swindle – Air Miles EP [Planet Mu]

2010-05-06T23:29:00.002+01:00

Swindle comes at grime from a different angle, bringing a unique vibe to the table. He can drop melodic funk or dirty rave bombs at the drop of a hat. His last outing on Planet Mu came on the form of a quality funk’d up remix of Terror Danjah’s ‘Zumpi Hunter’, which came on like a grime, skweee funk hybrid. But with the Air Miles EP he steps out on his own with four tracks showing his diverse style.

The a-side throws down some killer material with ‘Air Miles’ opening proceedings. It sees Swindle in rave mode making a grime instrumental that is so banging and twisted that I’m yet to hear an MC ride it right, but that’s no bad thing as this track more than has the balls for it. The energy is in the melodic tension-building intro; pads and skipping percussion lead into a deadly drop that bounces into action hard and ravey. If you put it next to Terror Danjah’s ‘Acid’ it’s like grime has done a Marty McFly and found its way to ’92, dripping with energy and a massive grin on its face. Another highlight is ‘Daredevil’ which creates some serious hyperfunk without stepping the line into cheesy midi funk tinkling. Its all big brash and snappy, big basslines and instruments that sound like they’re being squeezed through a talky box.

The flip leaves me a bit colder, ‘Coffee’ and ‘Molly’ have a Big Beat feel to them when they whip out the tweaked and filtered guitars, and just step over the line from fun to cheese. ‘Molly’ redeems it’s self with a killer bassline that growls and twists with plenty of funk. ‘Coffee’ has a good skippy feel to it and brings some hi-tech soul. The production, like on the whole EP is spot on, its all so musical and put together amazingly but following on from ‘Air Miles’ and ‘Daredevil’ is a hard task.

His playful style is unique in grime; it brings a hyped-up funk brightness into sets that transcends the genre. The Air Miles EP is party music with hype, funk and hart. Swindle has landed.

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Download: LuckyMe mix #63. Swindle - Klipto Mix

http://www.myspace.com/swindleproductions
http://www.planet.mu/

12"

2010-05-04T01:44:00.004+01:00

More picks from my bulbous record bag… this sporadic feature seems to have slowed down a bit since I got a new pair of 1210s and I’ve started using ustream for even more sporadic shows. But here is another selection of music I didn’t get around to writing about elsewhere but just couldn’t help mentioning…

Non Person - Presenser / Mi Empress [Channel Zero]
After turning in one of my favourite recent mixes for Sonic Router the Finnish producer drops two twisted hip-hop infused dubstep gems for Clouds Channel Zero label. Mesmerising and dense but with an experimental playfulness these tracks shift and bubble in strange ways, seriously addictive.

Mark Pritchard – Elephant Dub/Heavy As Stone [Deep Medi]
Elephant Dub does exactly as it says on the tin, sounds like an elephant creating it’s own dubplate. Its such a heavy, plodding beast it makes you wonder if the complaints about half-step seem like a distant memory, until you hear a boring half-stepper… The flip channels FlyLo’s ‘Tea Leaf Dancers’ and an epic sense of soul into a deep heads down number.

Shortstuff/Taylor – Regression/Squeege [Wigflex]
Sublime 12” from Wigflex upping the game once more with Shorstuff bringing a flexible slinky ‘what you call it?’ number that echoes uk funky, broken house, grime, Detroit techno and dubstep all in one cohesive dance floor bomb. Taylor rolls out a slice of seriously blissfully melodic techno that feels like early AFX but built for the dance floor, playful, hypnotic with a pinch of melancholy.

SCB – 20_4/3_5 [SCB]
Scuba takes a brake from making techno infused dubstep and makes dubstep infused techno instead, and its way more different to how that statement sounds. He drops one of my favourite albums of the year so far and still has the pace to drop a couple of slow burning deep nuggets of techno bliss.

Desto – Disappearing Reappearing Ink/Broken Memory [Ramp]
Finally you can get hold of these tracks: bleepy computer game soundtrack eski-beat grime meets broken dubstep, again in Finland. Equal parts uplifting and playful as well as intense and heavy. Arpeggios squiggle and bass tones shake your chest plate. Both tracks nail it, more Desto please!

Rossi B & Luca – E10 Riddim/Police Are Come Run ft. Killa P [Planet Mu]
Massive riddim that fuses a funky carnival vibe with a hard hitting grime intensity to great effect, just like Lil Silva takes grimy bass into funky Rossi B & Luca switch it the other way around and absolutely nail it. Killa P turns in a hard as hell vocal version too completing a tough 12” that will be in my bag for some time.

Africa Hitech – Blen/Rmx/The Sound Of Tomorow [Warp]
Mark Pritchard joins forces with Steve Spacek for a brand new project that is looking very promising. Blen is a fuzzy digital dance floor beast that fuses an African house style party vibe with a Harmonic 313-like electronica, while the remix plays up the funky vibe more and turns down the digital aspects, both kill it. The flip flows on a meditative tip with an epic dreamy song.

LV & Untold – Beacon/(Mount Kimbie Remix) [Hemlock]
Big collaboration that I first heard in the mix Untold did for us at Sonic Router way back… A deep and warm dub style workout that clicks and winds with an organic eyes down dance floor experience. Mount Kimbie up the good time vibes and add a smidgen of glitch addled garage along with their addictive melodic sensibilities.

Brackles – 6am El Gordos [BRAiNMATH]

2010-05-03T02:41:00.002+01:00

This one sided slab of wax comes to you from the mysterious BRAiNMATH who have been carving a niche of their own with music from a diverse bunch: Zomby, SBTRKT, Spiders, Untold, Airhead and James Blake all bringing tracks to the table that sit with the BRAiNMATH aesthetic but never pin it down to just one sound. And the next platter comes from Brackles who as a producer, DJ and label curator with Shortstuff at Blunted Robots has been pushing the flexible broken garage meets uk funky sound, bringing bumpy beats and plenty of energy to the dance.

The first Brackles 12” to drop was a quality number called ‘Glazed’ on Berkane Sol which somehow harnessed the grimy attitude of Dizzee Rascal’s ‘I Luv U’ in its bumpin’ drum patterns and raw energy as well as a deep dubbed out techno-like atmosphere. Well ‘6am El Gordos’ feels like the tropical cousin of ‘Glazed’. Shuffling soca beats, pulsing bass tones that shake the floor, skipping snares and hats, as well as synths that sound like they’ve been made under high air pressure for maximum energy, this all underpin soulful loved up vocal samples that bring a summery edge to the production.

Originally written for Sonic Router.

http://www.myspace.com/brackles
http://www.myspace.com/brainmathbrainmath

Calibre – Tenopause/Discreet Dub [Deep Medi]

2010-04-30T20:09:00.002+01:00

Calibre makes his second outing on Mala’s Deep Medi imprint; the first was a subtle rolling garage-like affair that had all the hallmarks of Calibre’s sound as well as Deep Medi’s the two are just made for each other. Dubstep and D’n’B have always had a dialog whether it be jungle influencing producers to make the music they do today, all be it filtered through a different prism or people from either scene stepping into the next domain to give their take on the sound. It’s been a fertile area for creativity with the likes of Instra:mental, Breakage and Kryptic Minds all finding their own voice in the dubstep world or Skream, Scuba and Ramadanman playing with D’n’B. Calibre flexes his dubstep tempo muscles here with two diverse productions.

The highlight here has to be ‘Tenopause’, Calibre’s knack for subtle rolling percussive bliss is in full effect. The hi-hats draw you in with their fluid forward motion and when they play off the kicks and that addictive bass line that pulses with a hypnotic energy before flailing off into open space like its ricocheted off a passing space cruiser, you’re into eyes down zoned out head nod territory. ‘Discreet Dub’ is a more spaced out affair, slowing things down to a half step and upping the atmosphere. Deep Medi really is fitting for this one; the bass seduces you into a state of bliss as it shifts amongst the eerie Middle Eastern melodies. Deep Medi bringing diversity in their deepness yet again and Calibre keeps things rolling.

Originally written for Sonic Router.

www.deepmedi.com
www.myspace.com/deepmedi
www.myspace.com/sigrecs1

Rare Villains – Embezzlementals [Highpoint Lowlife]

2010-04-26T15:35:00.002+01:00

Atmospheric hip-hop instrumentals from the new Highpoint Lowlife signing Rare Villains, a Dutch duo who make some late night, stripped back stealth mode beats. Embezzlementals is a thirty minuet beat tape that is heavy on the low-end, electro synths and crisp beats. It all sounds so sinister that it could soundtrack a smoky late night cartoon crime thriller.

The open credits start in that fashion as the smoke machine whirs into action on the synth led ‘Anthremedieum’ with its slow deliberate beats and cityscape sensibilities. ‘Last Train’ rolls through with a lob-sided swagger and melancholic darkness. Rare Villains keep it simple, never cluttered. The addictive bass and melodies of ‘Status Angry’ sound like Dr. Dre has been taken down an ally for questioning by a shady organisation on a scene cut from Blade Runner. The eerier jazz-like digi shuffle of ‘Harmony’ oozes into the smeared synths of ‘Dychoned’ and you feel that you should be making your own diabolical plot or make some kind of shadowy shipment.

’26.4.5.91’ and the closer ‘Bonkar’ both come off sounding like a glitch addled broken version of ‘Tortured’ by Coki that’s been found in a NYC back street gutter after a soundclash that got nasty, but the with the high end taken out and added hip-hop swagger. The head nodding bass bump of ‘Prophet’s Walk’ keeps the minimalist funk coming, the snappy snares and gangsta melodies make it a highlight. ‘Villain Steez’ keeps the darkness coming with buzzy synth tones and a moody atmosphere that turns even more sinister on ‘East-Berlin’ with its gritty rumbling undertones.

Rare Villains have created a beat tape that drips in darkness and a subtly menacing atmosphere all made through minimal synth lines, deep bass and snappy beats. You’ll find yourself coming back for more.

Buy: Rare Villains – Embezzlementals [Highpoint Lowlife]

http://www.rarevillains.com/
http://highpointlowlife.com/

Worriedaboutsatan – Heart Monitor

2010-04-19T15:08:00.002+01:00

Brand new material from Worriedaboutsatan is always welcome around these parts so the super limited single (100 only) Heart Monitor, which you can grab if you’re quick here, picks up where the fantastic Arrivals left off. Swooping postrock addled minimal techno infused beauty.

The intro ‘Eyes closed’ surges into the main event ‘Heart Monitor’ with ease, a track which sees Worriedaboutsatan use the vocal talents of Greg Hoepffner who emotes the coda, ‘give me your heavy heart’ in a sweet gentle tone over a bed of bubbling beats and bleep that echo the titles message, the wide screen bass tones add another layer of emotion to the record, subtly bringing a mysterious physical feeling into the mix that pulls you with it sucking you into the track. Pulsing electronics and slow progressing melodies make this a tender slice of electronica that just keeps building subtly and aches with raw emotion. This track is a personal favourite for sure.

The single keeps the theme going with ‘Respirator’ with eerie loops of echo drenched breathing and rumbling tones pulsating under emotional female vocals and distant guitars before it all rolls off into nothing. You’ll also find her.eyes.like_static remixing ‘Heart Monitor’ and they do a fine job just like they did on the Arrivals Remixed compilation to ‘You’re In My Thoughts’. They take the original’s tender emotion and flip it into a mass outpour of abrasive, passionate energy. Distorting the melodies and making it screech with raw slow and deliberate power.

It comes in a beautifully put together package with the CD, which also includes the stems for you remixers out there, a badge, cloth print and a page from a 70s cardiology book, which is an interesting read. Worriedaboutsatan keep dropping moving slices of postrock/minimal/electronica that blur the lines of those genres with ease. Heart Monitor is one to treasure.

Buy: Worriedaboutsatan - Heart Monitor

http://www.worriedaboutsatan.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/worriedaboutsatan
http://worriedaboutsatan.bigcartel.com/

Xploder Sessions.

2010-04-17T18:39:00.008+01:00

Was tonight @ 8:00pm for just over two hours…

Mixing live in my attic… Playing some dubstep, grime, garage, uk funky, house, techno, skweee, hip-hop, electro, beats, bass new and old. You can listen again bellow.

Listen: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6252731

The tracklist goes a little something like this:

Randy Barracuda – Ketamine Strut
Deadboy – If U Want Me
Hanuman - Bola (Atki2 remix)
Hackman – Multicultural
SBTRKT – 20:20
Altered Natives ft. Sasha Williamson – Believe In Me
Cooly G – Love Dub
Joy Orbison – The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow (Actress' Neu Haus So Glo Mix)
Kowton – County Man
Karizma – Drumz Nightmare
Mosca – Square One
MJ Cole ft. Serocee – AO (MJ Open Up Your Gob Dub)
Smith & Mighty ft. Niji 40 – B-Line Fi Blow
Sully – In Some Patern
Pangaea – Sunset Yellow
Joy Orbison – So Derobe
Ramadanman – I Beg You
Hudson Mohawke – Velvet Peel
Kelis ft. Andre 3000 – Millionaire
Instra:mental ft. dBridge – Watching You
Randy Barracuda – Hungry For Another Touch
Scuba – So You Think You’re Special
RSD – Green Hill
Rossi B & Luca – E10 Riddim
Addison Groove – Footcrab
Loefah – Its Yours
Joker – Tron
Terror Danjah – Bipolar
DJ Madd – Reasonz
Quest – The Unknown
Silkie – Test
Mala – Changes
Peverelist – Roll With The Punches
Untold – Stop What You’re Doing
Ikonika - Idiot
Terror Danjah – Air Bubble
Desto – Disappearing Reappearing Ink
Kyle Hall – You Know What I Feel
Shut Up And Dance - Epileptic (Martyn remix)
Headhunter – Sex At The Prom
Mr Lager ft. Alys Blaze - Tell Me
V.I.V.E.K. - Kulture

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/xplodersessions

Pariah – Detroit Falls/Orpheus [R&S]

2010-04-14T19:59:00.003+01:00

This 10” has been in the works for a while and sees Pariah drop his first non-remix/original artist works. After his spaced-out garage re-work of indie darlings The xx we get two slices of some of the finest funk and soul driven hip-hop leaning garage hybrids around and his debut release for the legendary R&S records.

‘Detroit Falls’ twists Motown’s soul into a bumping garage ghost, vocals get morphed into chopped up hooks and looped piano samples give the whole track a very hip-hop feel. Subtly bubbling synth melodies top it all off and the whole thing comes together with a bit of funky swagger. The real highlight is the rolling medative soul on show with ‘Orpheus’, it sits somewhere between the spectral garage of Burial and the bumping dance floor styles of Fantastic Mr Fox and the soul of FaltyDL: its deep and introspective but with some serious flex and garage rhythms, not to mention some seriously hypnotic bass tones.

We’re set to hear more from Pariah, with a double 12” to come on R&S to name but one. His soul drenched melodic take on garage really creeps up on you. Pure vibes.

http://www.myspace.com/pariahbeats
http://www.rsrecords.com/

Originally writen for Sonic Router.

Brandy - Angel In Disguise (Fantastic Mr Fox Remix) / Erykah Badu – On & On (Pariah Remix) [ERCA Mystery Projects]

2010-04-10T22:48:00.005+01:00

Two hotshot producers take on some seriously soulful R&B tracks and twist them into their own unique shapes. Fantastic Mr Fox comes hot off the back of the brilliant Sketches EP on Black Ache, while Pariah warms things up in anticipation for his R&S material dropping. Both of these artists are very different but share some traits: An off-kilter soulful vibe fed through bassy synth funk and deconstructed garage rhythms, it’s a sound that suits an R&B bootleg down to a tea. FMF takes on Brandy and Pariah goes for Erykah Badu.

First up FMF with a swooning bleep and bass synth workout backed with garage rhythms and ghostly fragments of Brandy vocals. Its super smooth and spaced out, taking the obscured vocal coda that goes something like, ‘I love you when it rains’ and twists it into a twisted hook. Pariah comes with so much soul it’ll make you melt. He takes the original vocals and makes a new backing full of bumping R&B drums and floating synth lines full of melody and morphs it with his own haunted off-centre hip-hop-garage sound.

Both artists make a uniquely off-centre, wistful and melancholy garage-esq take on some R&B big guns in fine style. Not only are they fun counterparts of to artist’s original work but they should also bring some serious soul to the dance floor.

Fantastic Mr Fox – Sonic Router Mix

Pariah – Sonic Router Mix

http://www.myspace.com/fmforigami

http://www.myspace.com/pariahbeats

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Joker – Tron/VIP [Kapsize]

2010-04-06T00:22:00.004+01:00

This is a track that can’t be stopped, a certified anthem that has to be unleashed on the public while it’s hot. It’s so hot it can’t be left until Joker finishes his album the track is just too big to be confined and sat on. It’s not to often an anthem comes around that you’ll hear everyone in the dubstep scene and a fair few beyond play out, but ‘Tron’ is one of them and has been for some time, maybe pre-dating the last scene wide anthem ‘Hyph Mngo’ and the latest upstart ‘Footcrab’. At a time where there is so much talk of the scene expanding and bleeding in all directions, ‘Tron’ shows that there is still a united core at work behind dubstep and one with depth too if you take those three examples. So to write words about this track seems almost futile, as you’ve either heard it and even sung along to it’s twisted synth lines, hell you may have even choreographed a dance to it… But if you haven’t heard it, first of all where have you been? And come inside you’re in for a real treat, you’ll be throwing gun fingers from your neon glow bike in no time.

The 5th release on Joker’s Kapsize label is born: ‘Tron’ takes Joker’s hyper addictive synth funk aesthetic and really lets it wile out. It’s smoother than breakthrough anthem ‘Gully Brooke Lane’ but more deranged than ‘Digidesign’. It’s a track that sounds like it’s born out of the last few years of Joker playing bigger and bigger raves, a track that doesn’t hold back. It’s smooth yet hyper-filth all at once, blurring the lines of dubstep and grime along with crunked out hip-hop. The intro springs into action like a hyped up circus/big-top soundtrack and not unlike a grimy vision of Quest’s ‘The Seafront’ before really letting loose. Then you get the drop, THAT drop: pent up energy, compressed and unleashed through vintage synths and hyeprfunk melody lines that burst and flutter as they progress over fat bass tones and punchy drums. The nearest you’ll get to ‘Tron’ in Joker released material is his work with the badman that is Ginz, but if you’ve stepped inside one of Joker’s sets you’ll no doubt know, ‘My Trance Girl’ and ‘There She Goes’ are on a similar tip.

The VIP is a hot one too, smoothing out the edges and upping the funk to create a track that is what you may imagine the rumoured Silkie collaborations to sound like if/when they surface. Smooth supped up late night street soul. Plus it’s a welcome twist up of the original to throw the floor, which is handy when the original is so well played. Joker blurs the lines and leads the way with his dubstep meets grime hybrids. Fitting in with Terror Danjah and Swindle as much as he does Gemmy and Guido, let alone Skream and Benga. ‘Tron’ is finally unleashed it’s a firm declaration of intent by Joker to shake up dance floors.

Joker "TRON" (original mix) by Multiverse

Joker "TRON" (VIP Mix) by Multiverse

http://www.myspace.com/thejokerproductions
http://www.myspace.com/kapsize1
http://www.kapsize.com/

Kyle Hall – The Dirty Thouz EP [Wild Oats] | Kaychunk/You Know What I [Hyperdub]

2010-04-04T18:06:00.005+01:00

Two pretty different releases from the young Detroit producer: The Dirty Thouz EP on his own Wild Oats imprint takes a route down the almost lo-fi clockwork techno avenue, a retro leaning spectral take on the Detroit techno sound, full of soul and rolling glitchy hip-hop-esq beats. While the Hyperdub offering is a more straight up techno effort but with a twist.

The Detroit axis of vaguely new artists from the aforementioned Kyle Hall to Omar-S have reunited my love for techno, which has been on the wane slightly in favour of dubstep, UK funky hybrids and hip-hop beats over the last few years at least. These guys almost sound like the Detroit equivalent of what Burial is to garage and dubstep. They channel the ghosts of their cities dance music past, keeping it slightly elusive and a tad nostalgic while still pushing it in new and interesting directions. But Kyle Hall and Omar-S aim more squarely at the dance floors while they’re at it.

The two KMFH tracks from Dirty Thouz, ‘I'm KMFH GIRL!’ and ‘Luv 4 KMFH’ show Kyle at his most soulful and sparse, with woozy winding synth lines and bleep funk bass tones over winding beats that feel like they’re warping like they’re being played off a broken tape deck. They balance soulful warmth with a haunted machine like skeletal existence brilliantly. They fit somewhere between 80s b-boy electro, the twisted hip-hop soul of J Dilla and the ghosts of Detroit’s past.

The opener on the Hyperdub 12”, ‘Kaychunk’ is a rolling techno affair, twisting and flexing in an almost garage-like fashion but sticking pretty firmly to Kyle’s deep funk drenched techno. Bleeping lead lines and squelching bass that really brings the boogie is the flavour here. Reminiscent of DaM-Funk at times but in a KMFH state of mind at all times. But it’s ‘You Know What I’ that see Kyle Hall playing with a dubstep tempo and creating a lush, synth funk techno track that meets somewhere between the purple funk of Bristol or LA, the deep lush techno of Detroit and the spaced out bass-soul of London’s dubstep sounds, its an unexpected and very welcome twist. Both 12”s show a unique side to his productions and re-affirm his one to watch status.

Kyle Hall - EXCLUSIVE fabric Blog Mix by fabric

http://www.myspace.com/kylehalldetroit
http://www.myspace.com/hyperdub

12”

2010-04-02T12:13:00.004+01:00

It’s back, the assorted records from my bag post of music I’ve been wanting to chat about but hadn’t got round to it yet… This month I catch up on a few that I’ve not been able to stop playing.

Addison Groove – Footcrab/Dumb Shit [Swamp81]
Anthem of the moment sees Headhunter in a juke inspired beat down. Bass heavy 808/909 drum patterns, chopped and looped vocals and an insane amount of dance floor moving energy. This is so addictive it could do with its own dance routine.

Joy Orbison – The Shrew EP [Aus Music]
He’s back hot on the heels of last years hyped Mngo and the fantasitic J.Doe. This time is a slow burning gem of a release on the renowned techno label Aus Music. ‘So Derobe’ is the pick for me, restrained melodic euphoria over rolling beats, bliss. Actress drops in a subtle rework too.

James Blake – Bells Sketch EP [Hessle Audio]
Following up his insane Untold remix and low-key collaboration with Airhead on BRAiNMATH comes a diverse three tracker of twisted soul infused, blues addled R&B meets dubstep funk. Yeah he’s hard to pin down, but has a sound all his own. ‘Buzzard And Kestral’ is rhythmic joy on wax.

Bok Bok ft. Bubbz/Brackles & Shortstuff – Citizens Dub/Pipey D [Blunted Robots]
Pure party jams from Bok Bok, destroying it with adrenaline fuelled ascending descending bass tones with a grimey electro beast that should give you a big shit-eating grin. The flip sees the label bosses bring out the winding rave gear, keeping it funky and broken.

Altered Natives – Believe In Me ft. Sacha Williamson/(Zed Bias Club Mix)/Raaaatid Einstien [Fresh Minute Music]
Smooth spaced out vocal cut that brings the soulful house vibes coming on a track you get so hypnotised by you don’t want it to stop. ‘Raaaatid Einstien’ ups the hype with a raw energetic funky cut that should keep the floor moving in fine style.

Egyptrixx – Battle For North America EP [Aaahh! Real Monsters]
Bubbling electro infused dubstep/funky hybrids ‘Hexagon Ya’ is THE one with A ‘Citezen Dub’-like ability to twist floors out of proportion with addictive ascending bass tones, builds and drops. The rest is suitably on it and they’ve got a Night Slugs on the way too, killer stuff.

Kuedo – Dream Sequence EP [Planet Mu]
Jamie Vex’d debts’ his Kuedo name with a damaging EP. Taking the off-centre bright synth led hip-hop meets dubstep he’s been destroying it with since his ‘Twitch’ rework and last years In System Travel EP, and shaping it further into his own vision. ‘Star Fox’ is a real gem and makes me nostalgic for my old SNES.

Slugabed – Ultra Heat Treated EP [Planet Mu]
Sluga gets deep down and dirty with his own gnarly hyper coloured vision of hip-hop, like the evil twin to the already slightly deranged Kuedo EP, he makes harsh dance floor noise in the most fun way possible, which shows you can keep it dirty and send it sideways all at once.

Terror Danjah – Bipolar EP [Butterz]

2010-03-31T00:04:00.003+01:00

Butterz drop their debut release with three grime bombs built to shake floors by Terror Danjah and his evil twin D.O.K. who turns in a remix. The two Rinse FM grime DJ’s Elijah and Skilliam have been making waves of late tearing up the airwaves with solid sets of grime instrumental fire, it’s been a force to reckon with and a refreshing change of pace from MC led mixtape beats that all to often lacked the vitality and hype that grime can have. To lead the charge they come fully loaded with the Bipolar EP.

The gremlin cackle signifies Terror’s return and kicks into action ‘Bipolar’ bright and chirpy first with neon synth pulses before dropping into some gravely basstones. The whole track feels like Terror Danjah in dubstep mode, but with his very unique raw and energetic approach, it’s hype and dirty. The most addictive track here has to be ‘Air Bubble’ the bursting popcorn rhythms get under your skin and bring the boogie. The hyper-funk synth lines and bass manoeuvres twists and turn and play off the bubble-boogie rhythm loops perfectly. D.O.K. takes on a percy with his ‘Sidechain’ remix getting things moving with a geezer coda chanting ‘come on lets ‘av it’ and when the monstrous bass funk hits and the pumping kicks are let loose you’ve got to obey. By the time the next vocal comes in, ‘if I’m going to have it, I’m going to have it large’ it feels like you’ve been sucked into a techno party in another diminution.

Quality first drop from Butterz who’ve got plenty more up their sleeve, Terror Danjah and D.O.K. are on form here. Pair this up with their recent outing on Hyperdub and you’ve started a 2010 grime 12” collection.

Buy @ Uptown Records

Butterz001 - Terror Danjah - Bipolar EP from Butterz on Vimeo.

http://verybutterz.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/butterzuk
http://www.myspace.com/terrordanjah
http://www.myspace.com/dokmusic

P.S. If you’re a producer get over to the Butterz blog and pick up the parts to ‘Air Bubble’ for your chance to remix Terror Danjah, just for the kicks. Also, hear the remixes so far…

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Live: Anna Rose Carter / Worriedaboutsatan / Her Name Is Calla @ Holy Trinity Church, Leeds. 29th March 2010

2010-03-30T02:19:00.002+01:00

Every time I drive to Leeds its raining and tonight was no exception. But this time it wasn’t to go to the sub bass deep end that is Exodus but a Church in the centre of town to see some post-rock in the shape of Worriedaboutsatan and Her Name Is Calla two bands I’ve been wanting to catch live for some time. Worriedaboutsatan because they’re a certified Sonic Minefield favourite after what must be years of listening to their demos and assorted releases such as the wonderful ‘Arrivals’ and the remixes that followed. And Her Name Is Calla as after the Worrier recommended them I kind of fell for the epic restrained emotion of their music. Plus tonight we get a bonus act in the shape of pianist Anna Rose Carter, who I’m unfortunate to say we only caught the end of due to traffic and rain, the little we heard was just beautiful in the church setting and it set the tone for the rest…

Worriedaboutsatan opened with their latest single ‘Heart Monitor’, which you grab from them over the course of their tour and on their website when they come back and if they have any left. The gentle guitar loops and pulsing electronics really become huge mesmerising pieces in the live setting. Plus the vocal, ‘give me your heavy heart’ becomes an emotional mantra that cuts through the loops. Feeling the twisted electronic grooves of their music come alive in such a setting is a real experience too, the beats punch through the epic hall while percussive clicks bubble in all directions. When the bass really drops on ‘Arrivals’ under the slow-mo house kick and bowed-guitar lines it really hits you and has a visceral emotional impact. Hypnotic and beautiful all at once, Worriedabotsatan make the electronics sound like a human pulse while reaching deep into your soul with some seriously moving soundscapes.

Her Name Is Calla played as a seven piece and where the organic counterbalance to the electronics of …satan, utalising guitar, bass and drums along with cello, violin, flute, trombone and keys as well as bits I probably missed. They have a very restrained sound and love the slow reveal. They go from soft, stripped back and touching to grand full crescendos. They played their forthcoming album, ‘The Quiet Lamb’ in its entirety and it was a journey to behold. Each track was so epic and emotive, taking in hushed, intimate moments such as the wonderful single ‘Long Grass’ to pure post-rock crescendos. Their music reminds me of a quite walk in the woods, they have a very natural, organic sound like they’ve carved it lovingly out of fallen trees. In this setting the songs where like a meditative calm and a cathartic workout all at once.

All the artists made the Holy Trinity Church their home tonight, they all connect the dots between each other’s music somehow. With the gentle solo piano of Anna Rose Carter linking with the organic epics of Her Name is Calla who in turn play off the post-rock meets minimal techno/electronica of Worriedaboutsatan. It made for a wonderful bill and a brilliant gig that’s left me with a Zen like calm. Be sure to catch them on the rest of the tour, which is winding its way around the UK and Europe over the coming months.

http://www.myspace.com/annarosecarter
http://www.myspace.com/worriedaboutsatan
http://www.myspace.com/hernameiscalla
http://www.hernameiscalla.co.uk/
http://worriedaboutsatan.co.uk/