Archive for February, 2011

Today Teeel’s debut EP Amulet came out, you might remember him from the Dry Waves compilation that we gave away for free or the Generic Man video we did using his song. At first listen you might just want to throw him under the bus with artists like Washed Out, Toro Y Moi, Millionyoung etc that all have fallen under the chillwave tag at one point in their music careers. I think Teeel sticks out for me because he went the hi-fi route and everything isn’t dragged thru the tape hiss(gods knows that isn’t a bad thing) but you can tell he’s comfortable with a clear output which is a breathe of fresh air. Download his single for free here or pick up the discounted EP here.

This Gatekeeper song touches on a sound that i’ve loved since I was little. Believe me this isn’t a bad thing but combine dreamy(probably not the best word) scene music from the TV show Airwolf with Paul Hertzog’s soundtrack(specific songs) for Bloodsport and your talking about my favorite childhood music that was coming out of the television. I mean I could also describe all same-y and compare it to Moroder or some of the better synthy Italo but that has been covered before.

When I want dub thats more on the electronic tip I know I can rely on Deadbeat, he’s been doing it for awhile now, I wish he didn’t veer off into minimal techno but this track Deep Structure always reminds me of what I fell in love with in Detroit Techno, let it ride out, I love it when Techno isn’t soo in your face but locks into a great long groove.

You know if i’m posting on Foxes In Fiction that means something is being given away for FREE. That generous and kind Canadian is at it again with a free 2 tracker, think bubbles with a stutter floating in circles inside a silo somewhere in Winnipeg.

The beach music will never die, it might be hip and then hated but you can’t deny a home for beautiful music like this Beach Fossils, if you see their new record pick it up and I swear you’ll find out that one summer night it will hit the spot just don’t force it.

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmop7EAY1Zg

While digging around for more info on the “found” work of Vivian Meier, I stumbled onto Todd Bieber’s video detailing his discovery of a roll of film in Prospect Park. He shows some of the (well shot) photography and wonders if he’ll ever find the people who took them. While this is an interesting story, I didn’t find it all that poignant until I read Peter Kirn’s take on Create Digital Motion.

Indeed, we are losing touch more and more with physical media. Perhaps this is a good thing for many reasons, but as a musician I struggle with the most meaningful way to release my work. I grew up focusing on the media as a sort of physical manifestation of the art that it contained. Perhaps it was just my childhood fascination with all things printed and ephemeral, but I do feel a definite disconnect now between myself and my –all digital– music collection. I personally like the idea of a physical object to represents an otherwise unsee-able art form.

I realize that we are marching inexorably towards a physical media-free future (and for most of us, we’re already there), but I’d love to see more ideas like IDEO’s C60 Redux concept; an RFID music system that plays on the strengths of physical and digital media. A system like this might not always be as practical as purely digital music, but I for one would love to experience music at home this way.

More at Create Digital Motion, NPR, TechGear

The new Radiohead album popped up yesterday, if you’d like to at least hear a stream of it before you bought it then listen above. To be honest there isn’t a bad song on this, a solid listen straight thru for me. What I love about each song:

The King Of Limbs tracklist:
01 “Bloom” – The loose drumming with the looped keys.

02 “Morning Mr Magpie” – Again excellent drumming, this time tight and when it meshes with the airy break down, you almost feel like your getting lifted off your feet.

03 “Little By Little” – One of my least favorite, the electronic ride throws me off alil but Thom’s voice holds it together with the reverse backing instrumental popping up.

04 “Feral” – Alright now were talking, some of that dark low tone driving with Thom samples sprinkled around perfectly, probably my favorite track.

05 “Lotus Flower” – That short fluttering synth with the bass line.

06 “Codex” – Ladies and Gentlemen the brass section.

07 “Give Up The Ghost” – That lo-fi recording of Thom’s voice towards the end looping.

08 “Separator” – One of the strongest songs on this album, loving the echoed out guitars toward the second half that keep the track floating.

Photography by: Sebastian Edge

Even if this Pantha Du Prince song wasn’t good i’d probably still post the album art but i’m glad I found this amazing Four Tet remix to go with it, you know how it goes its Four Tet and its loopy and gorgeous.

My good friend Danny aka Philistine DSGN aka The Tower of Light made me aware of 2 things recently: 1. Old PJ Harvey where the electronics are really dark 2. Odd Future with Tyler The Creator, both blowing my mind.

I was really geeked for the new Isolee record, I mean just hoping for magic and I could really only find one song that I fell in love with and it was In Our Country, I hope some singles pop up over the next few months.

This video below isn’t the best for the work place, just an FYI

Some pretty incredible footage from the Phantom Flex high-speed digital camera shot at 2,564 fps. While this is impressive, it starts to be a little bit less so when you consider the price: around $150,000. Hopefully this kind of performance starts to trickle down sooner than later.

Resident Advisor posted a great mix from Caribou which features his new project under the name Daphni that really made my ears happy. Check the mix out and listen for the Daphni tracks if you’re following along with the track order. He comes big right off the bat with Yes, I Know, I NEED that on vinyl.

TRACKLIST
Barnt – What Is A Number, That A Man May Know It?
Daphni – Yes, I Know
The Jellies – Jive Baby On A Saturday Night
Hounds of Hate – Purple Stuff
Daphni – Deep Blue
Colored Mushroom & The Medicine Rocks – The Route To The Medicine Rocks
Daphni – Buck Dance
Harmonious Thelonious – Verwobene Muziek
Harmonious Thelonious – Mokambo
Bakey Ustl – A Tender Place
Daphni – Scratch
DJ Elmoe – Whea Yo Ghost At, Whea Yo Dead Man
Daphni – Ye Ye
Kingdom – Fogs
[Voyager overdubs]
Lone – Angel Brain
Ricardo Villalobos – Peculiar
Charanjit Singh – Raga Malkauns
DJ Clap Pina – Unakunukulpan
Thomas Mapfumo – Shumba (Daphni Edit)
Edward Larry Gordon – All Pervading

Came across these interesting variations of the great Josef Muller Brockmann’s Beethoven poster and was pleased to see the alternate use of negative space. These variations were created during a 100 day workshop by Jessica Svendsen—see more versions here.

Via Designspiration

(more…)

Carpark Records was holding a remix contest at Gorilla vs. Bear and i’ve been searching for them and selected a few of my favorites, lets us do our own voting shall we? comment below and let me know your favorite.

Architect Craig Steely has done an outstanding job renovating this high-rise loft apartment/penthouse. His inspiration came from mood of 70’s space rock and ambient music artists such as Cluster, Brian Eno and Michael Rother. This is really evident in the floor to ceiling ambient light installation on one side of the main living area. The light wall displays videos that are slowed down and each pixel is paired to a 2 inch LED behind the wall. This is what creates the large 8-bit-like pattern. Not only is this light wall really great, but the view is quite possibly one of the best in all of San Francisco. In the pictures after the jump you can see Alcatraz Island and the surrounding bay.

Considering that I’m currently in the process of relocating, it doesn’t help to be looking at such amazing apartments like these—the time will come though.

Via Wanken

(more…)