Posts in Music

Bibio has really stepped it up on his new album Ambivalence Avenue, his older LPs don’t get me wrong are gorgeous and exactly what i personally want to hear but what a way keep your sound and it becoming more inviting for a newer audience that i’m sure will now start searching for his back catalog. Abrasion has a hints of Jannis voice from Choir of Young Believers and I even think Neil Young would be into this and that makes me pretty happy to think about.

My friend last night shared this Rachel’s song with me called Systems/Layers which is from an album that’s a collaborative dance/theater piece with the New York ensemble SITI Company. It’s perfect to collect yourself too, I have a feeling its going to become a nice go to song if you ever feel too distracted and overwhelmed.

You know I had to sneak in something dubby and techno-ish into this post so there is something 4/4 involved, I couldn’t think of a more gentle way to follow the Rachel’s track then including something by debut dub techno artist June from the UK, a real heavy yet elegant track. Languor has these moments where you feel like the song is just going to flutter by and float off like some dense gas that just decides to vaporize.

The same friend that suggested to listen to the Rachel’s also told me to listen to Moving Units, not really my cup of tea because usually I don’t listen to what people are singing about since I listen to mostly instrumental music but in the last minute I do like how he sounds.

Bibio – Abrasion

Rachel’s – Systems/Layers

June – Languor

Moving Units – Hearts Departed

Recently I posted a debut track by Slow Hands which is coming out on Brooklyn’s Wolf+Lamb label, you may know Ryan from New York’s DJ duo Worst Friends which our Tom Croose is the other half of. I asked Ryan to focus on something eclectic and something for designers and creatives to listen to while working instead of something a little more dance driven and Ryan really delivered by using everything from Slum Village to The Steve Miller Band to DFA’s Woolfy.

Once you get to the Project Sandro track you’ll end up in a slow and steady groove — it slays actually — I’ve been waiting for something like this for awhile and the ending movie sample is pretty sweet.
Look for the next couple of mixes to be non-genre specific and melodic and hopefully something that exposes the diversity in electronic/rock/etc music.

The iPhone photo was taken while Ryan was asleep and then Scott came in and made it proper.

TRACKLIST
Alice In Wonderland (Soundtrack) – The Garden & All In The Golden Afternoon
Slum Village – Fourth and Back
Sade – Sweetest Taboo (Slow Hands edit)
The Steve Miller Band – Fly Like An Eagle
Soulphiction – Prison Song (Feat. Marcin Oz)
Aldo del Lago, Tolousse y Alain Junot – La Isla Bonita
Ab Orchestra – La Isla Bonita
David Bowie – Magic Dance
Project Sandro – Blazer
Woolfy vs. Projections – Isabella
Trus’me – Drilling
Wareika – Belonging (Vocal)
Tensnake – Holding Back (My Love)
Slow Hands – Fast Tongue
Chateau Flight – Instand Replay
Talking Heads – Sax And Violins
Dan Auerbac – When The Night Comes
Princess Outro

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

Slow Hands – “Afternoon To-Night” Mix

Niagara Falls has a composing genius in their hands, hell, burn down that wax museum they have and make a stage close to the water fall and let Wisp play live weekly, the town needs something fresh and cinematic and Wisp would never disappoint for one moment, he could be their Blue Man Group.

Reid Dunn might be known to some of his close internet friends as someone that plays fantasy video games, hangs out on the WATMM forum and leaves polite comments once in a while, works the night shift, and might not jump onto AOL messenger until 3am every night until morning sending you clips of tracks he makes thru the day. All that is great and all but he has reached some musicians dream which is to release on Richard D. James’ record label Rephlex and pretty much put everyone to shame in the IDM world.

If you haven’t listened to his new LP The Shimmering Hour then you haven’t heard Aphex Twin served to you on a silver platter with some of the finest tweaks, iron man marathon speed and maximized sound quality. Honestly, I put it on this record and I feel like i’m about to ride in on a horse into a village and burn that whole thing down, which isn’t a bad dorky thing its just that epic and fantasy filled. Some songs I feel like i’m feasting with foreign kings and riding on dragons that have 3 heads as a level 60 Gunslinger Destromath but thats besides the point, its Reid the kid that I thought since 2004 would be huge one day and after 5 years he has become a favorite composer of many electronic fans and seriously not to plug him but for any video game company that needs a sound designer and you think Amon Tobin or Richard Devine is the top of the line well then you need to give Reid one day to compose you something for any scene and i’ll bet my left arm(i’m left handed) he’ll make it perfect. Alright, i’ve gone overboard and thats what happens when you’re listening to this record and writing about it.

(please note the artwork above is only partially the final art used for the release, I just enjoyed that section of the cover a lot more)

Wisp – Picatrix

Wisp – Teddy Oggie

Wisp – The Fire Above

Wisp – Katabatic

I was going to save this Juno song for the perfect ending for a mix because I think it blows a lot of similar bands like Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, etc out of the water if you compared best song to best song. The recording of the vocal could be one of my favorites, the builds are not too drastic but still have these epic parts to them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

How did I miss The Autumns? probably because i’m not a fan of the guys vocal but lyrically and sonically they’re outstanding, what do you think? I can’t imagine how they sound now though.

Tom Croose’s partner as Worst Friends goes under the name Slow Hands, he’s a classically trained guitarist that makes slow house/disco that pretty much sound like it’s inspired by Sade which might be the best direction for the future of slow disco and comes so natural to Ryan’s style of making music.

This Herrmann & Kleine song could calm anyone with its digital fake waves in the distance, child toy melodies, and dreamy keys, all that comes to mind is taking a calm nap in a foreign city.

Juno – The Great Salt Lake / Into the Lavender Crevices of Evening the Otters Have Been Pushed

The Autumns – The Garden Ends

Slow Hands – Fast Tongue

Herrmann & Kleine – Sitting Next to You (closer)

Brooklyn has a lot of talented musicians, some of them follow the trends that keeps a room of sweaty hip people moving but usually it’s never original or very formulaic and similar sounding. One group that i’ve been lucky to see a handful of times is Body Language which does a catchy amount of soulful harmonic indie dance. The 3 piece consists of Matt Young, Grant Wheeler, and Ang Bess who all share the workload of entertaining us by bringing out old synths, voiceboxes, and xylophones on stage. If you want to see them they open up for Passion Pit and Miike Snow this week in New York.

Cassettes Won’t Listen has been stuck in my head all week long, I am trying to figure out who he sounds like, maybe its what I want video games to sound like or its kind of a mixture of if Eliot Lipp made 4/4 material instead of hip hop and he invited IDM specialist Wisp to help make the music and they had to use studio instruments, I know thats a odd comparison since i’m name dropping but it is what it is.

Proem is just one of those musicians that surfaced during the IDM boom and grabbed a lot of the attention of fans during the mid 2000’s and now kind of goes down in my mind as an important piece of keeping that genre afloat. he has a similar sound to Marumari which is that melodic and dreamy Aphex Twin sound with tons of texture on his notes and each one kind of flutters by kind of like this Arovane song.

Body Language – Sandwiches (Body Language Remix)

Cassettes Won’t Listen – Into The Hillside

Proem – I Don’t Know How To Tell

Arovane – Instant Gods Out of the Box

Lawrence makes techno poetry as Kompakt calls it and I couldn’t agree more, even if we go back to some of his recent releases the phrase still holds up. Teaser which was featured on his Teaser EP and on the Total 3 compilation on Kompakt has this great slow swing to it and sounds like a huge ship cuts thru a thick night fog while a young women on the ship smokes and speaks thru the song.

I never would of expect a label like Minus to put out something as sexy as this Geometry track, usually we get bouncey, distant, cold minimal techno from them and this track sounds like something Arab Strap or Colder would of made.

I don’t know anything about Tim Toh, I just got the song from a friend and once I heard it and let it play all the way thru I was pretty blown away on how many elements of different styles show up in the song that make it beautiful. The song One crosses over so many genres its unbelievable, a definite necessity for fans of Dial and old Traum releases.

New Go! Team remix of Black Moth Super Rainbow pretty and PBS-ish like an old Stereolab but more on the happy side.

Lawrence – Teaser

Run Stop Restore – Geometry

Tim Toh – One

BMSR – Twin of Myself (Go! Team Remix)

I love the concept behind this release of Casino Versus Japan and Freescha, a split EP with a couple tracks from each artist on a CD. I think more artist should be open to this idea, Daedelus recently started a label that is doing this called Friends of Friends and it looks very promising, also on a side note did everyone know that Freescha did a song for Britney Spears called Heaven on Earth??

I’ve been really impressed with tracks by Nôze, their remix of Franz Ferdinand is a simple yet very effective track for the dancefloor. The combination of that flute, synth and tambourine make me actually like this Franz Ferdinand song.

I wonder who picks the remixers for Moby? Do you think he does? I know he djs a lot in New York but does he play this kind of music? Well this Holy Ghost! remix and the recent Apparat remix are some top choices, i’ll post the Apparat one next week, this one you can add to your weekend night out mix even though its a bit older.

If any of you are in town this Saturday i’ll be djing with Trus’me and Worst Friends at some Circus/Performing Art/craziness at S.L.A.M. Warehouse, i’ve posted a track of Trus’me before awhile back in October, I might like this Drilling track even more now.

Casino Versus Japan – Come Along, Do

Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls (Noze Remix)

Moby – I Love To Move In Here (Holy Ghost! Remix)

Trus’me – Drilling

I really don’t know what to say about Dirty Projectors, I like the synth part and the girl vocals are growing on me slowly, its definitely a nice change up for radio charting indie pop. I would love to hear your guys thoughts on it.

Last weekend I went to Public Assembly which is a venue here in Brooklyn to hear Alva Noto play but I missed his set instead I caught Byetone which was an amazing show, i’d post pictures but they look kind of crappy. If you haven’t heard much from the Raster Noton label then here is a nice intro of the more gentle side of the label from Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto.

I’ve been seeing more posts on CocoRosie recently which means maybe a new record is in the works? I remember loving this song and playing it at this wine bar weekly every time I DJed, the kitten samples kinda make me laugh, just makes me think if you sat down to make music when would you ever decide to add those to your song?

Yasume takes me back to the more geeky IDM music that had substance and still kept the warmth so it never felt too digital, really nice to hear on a nice system and not my 70USD Altec Lansing computer speakers.

Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is the Move

Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto – Logic Moon

CocoRosie -Noah’s Ark

Yasume – 2112 Cresent Heights

For some of you that don’t know Bleep is the digital retail store for the label Warp Records that carries specific labels and artists that they hand select. They just released a great compilation called “Showcase Vol. 1” and here’s the best part: its only 1£ or $2(USD) for all 11 songs! So I went ahead and picked 4 of the songs that i’d alone just pay a buck each for, don’t worry there isn’t ever going to be a pack rat issue in your iTunes so just pick it up.

When has Bibio ever wronged us on this blog? never has and never will, the man honestly makes some of the most gorgeous originals and remixes and this one is no different than the rest. Just think maybe we can get him to do a Tycho remix?!

I have a feeling i’ve already post this Bullion song but it was unmastered or ripped from vinyl and muffled. If you haven’t heard of Bullion then you should know that he kills it by mashing up Beach Boys and J Dilla.

Om Unit reminds me of the classic Aphex Twin track Didgeridoo but just a great edit in 2009, if you can get into this you’re definitely a friend in my book.

Kelpe does that sound that I still don’t how to make because I just feel too white, its that sound if I had to show you visually it would look like im playing with a Jacob’s Ladder toy and its getting stuck once in a while in its own ropes.

Lone – Midnight Feast (Bibio remix)

Bullion – Time For Us All To Love

Om Unit – Scatterclocks

Kelpe – Skylla

I know, it’s been way too long since we updated the Playlist, but the third installment is finally here. It’s sort of all over the place and I tried to add in a few extra tracks to make it worth the wait so there should be a little something for everyone. This will be the last one I personally compile for a little while, we’ve got some guest playlists lined up for the coming months and they should drop more punctually than this one (once a month or so). Also still working on the recall feature so you can go back and listen to past playlists, I’ll post on that when it’s ready. For now, sit back, relax, and click “Play” at the top of the center column (RSS readers must visit the site). Enjoy!

Track Listing: [Comment on this Playlist]

800BELOVED – GALAXIES
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – YOUNG ADULT FRICTION
GRIZZLY BEAR – CHEERLEADER
THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE – 1517
BIBIO – AMBIVALENCE AVENUE
DEERHUNTER – AGORAPHOBIA
EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT – UPPER EAST SIDE
BULLION – LONG PROMISED – ORIGINAL MIX
J DILLA – GOBSTOPPER
MUX MOOL – NIGHT COURT
ELIOT LIPP – BEAMRIDER
MODERAT – A NEW ERROR
DEASTRO – LIGHT POWERED
MAX TUNDRA – WHICH SONG
NATHAN FAKE – SUPERPOSITIONS
ROYKSOPP – HAPPY UP HERE
DAMN ARMS – DESTINATION PT. I
EVERYWHERE FT. MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD
FEVER RAY – WHEN I GROW UP (VERSION BY LISSVIK)
TIM HECKER – SEA OF PULSES
TYCHO – COASTAL BRAKE MANUAL REMIX
PANDA BEAR – I’M NOT
A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW – WATERY (DROWNING IS JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR BEING BURRIED ALIVE UNDER WATER)
AIRIEL – CINNAMON
SHIGETO/A SETTING SUN – POLAROID ROMANCE
ARIEL PINK’S HAUNTED GRAFFITI – FOR KATE I WAIT
CHRIST – PYLONESQUE