ParanoidZen

I've been meaning to post this one for a while. ParanoidZen is Boston's own Jester Ronin, member of the Vermin Street Collective. His sound ranges from pulsing, ambient meditations of "infinity worship" to glitch hop and even breaks paired perfectly with samples of world music. He's got some really interesting transitions too (see Om Shiva).

Look for upcoming shows and all things ParanoidZen at:
http://paranoidzen.com/home.cfm

Om Shiva (Radio Edit) by ParanoidZen

Somewhere over the Rainbow (DnB Remix) by ParanoidZen

Tuvan Lullaby by ParanoidZen

Russ Chimes - "Midnight Club"

Interesting, to say the least.

Eleven Tigers - "Stableface"

I haven't heard music this good in a long time. I really really REALLY enjoyed this entire album, "Clouds are Mountains", from start to finish. Apparently it's an extremely talented Lithuanian producer based out of London, making fantastic music. The sound design is really varied and moody, consistently moving to new heights and lows at different points. Each track blends into the next flawlessly, an extremely seamless listen. At points the album is dark and brooding, then uplifting and gentle at others. The most varied, ambient, and interesting dubstep I have heard in a long time.

Buy it here

Columbus - "Lovemachine"

Columbus - Lovemachine from The Crystal Beach on Vimeo.

Another crazy video here for a house dude named Columbus. Not even that stoked on his music but I thought this video was really cool. Check it out

Houratron - "Corporate Occult"

"CORPORATE OCCULT" Huoratron Music Video from Cédric BLAISBOIS on Vimeo.

Whoa. Seriously, whoa now. Heavy/dark porno meets horror flick. HEAVY

Leviathan Jones - "Machete"

Free original 320 electro track.

Machete by Leviathan Jones

Patrice - "Aint Got No"

Amazing visuals in this video. Features the work of photographer JR, whose iconic large-scale images of people's faces have been put up in various places around the world. Plus naked people dancing around fires. What more can you ask for?

BT - 1.618

Absolutely gorgeous music and video here from BT. Beautiful composition on the video, and his whole oeuvre is pretty impressive, a wide range of electronic music styles. This song is from his album "A Binary Life", you can read a little more about it here.

Noisia and Mayhem feat. KRS One - "Exodus"

Stunning images of sonic/visual warfare. Captures the feel of hardcore electronic sounds and what they might look like in the mind of a twisted dude like Alex Lehmann. Loving the dark/computer-generated mayhem in this vid. OH yeah, and the bottom video is mad fun too, just not quite as elaborate. Big ups Noisia!

The Future of Turntablism

Multi Touch Light Table: GERGWERK from GERG WERK on Vimeo.

Nuff said. Looks siiick.

F.O.O.L.

F.O.O.L. stands for Fuck Our Ordinary Lives. And goddamn, they make some of the dopest, hardest electro I've heard in a long time, if ever. Swedish duo consistently produces high-quality, extremely dark and dirty electro beats. It's hard to find too much info about them online, but they are definitely blowing up in some circles. I have included two of their tracks that were released for free, and you can listen to more of their stuff on their Soundcloud profile. I'm a huge, huge fan of these guys, check em out..

F.O.O.L. - Rising Drunk Stars

Redial - The Boss (F.O.O.L. remix)

Soundcloud page

Joe Biden From Space

Maybe you've seen this too many times already, maybe you think it doesn't belong in an electronic music blog, but maybe it's the greatest pop song made in years.

FRED THE RAVER

HAHAHA don't have to say much about this one. Bass in yo face!

Shapeshifters - "Helter Skelter"

Don't really know anything about these guys, but what I know is that this video is pretty fun. Seriously, this video is just mad fun and goofy, and a bit of a break from the darker/harder stuff I've been blogging on recently. Surreal, funky, and tripped out are a few other ways I'd describe this. Peep the subtle jab at Deadmau5 around the 1:45 mark haha. Jammin' for sure on this one..

Soundcloud profile, with some nice tasty mixes

Borgore feat. Diplo - "Sunsets"

Not much to say here. Borgore is one of the HEAVIEST dubstep dudes out there, if you haven't heard him yet get on it. Heavy, heavy stuff. The track below is one of my all-time favorite dubstep bangers, just pure sickness.

Skrillex - "My Name Is Skrillex" EP

LA Electro producer Skrillex released his new EP for free on his website. Dirty, hardcore electro beats, not for the weak of heart. Saw him referred to as "Metal Electro", and that makes sense after you listen to it. Definitely feelin' it though, go and check it out, some really sicknasty electro bangers for sure. Dude's got a SICK promo video, that's also a fact.

Get it here

Take - "Implosions"

TAKE "Implosions" from Alpha Pup on Vimeo.

Some really twisted, wonky visuals here from L.A. beatmaker Take. If you haven't got his latest LP, "Only Mountains", get it now. I swear it's not as dark as this song/video. Still, really diggin' the trippy feel to this, pretty ominous for real. Reminds me a lot of the EPROM video from a while back, same mechanoid/terror feel. Dirrrty..

Major Lazer vs. La Roux - "LazerProof"

So, La Roux is probably one of the most popular artists to remix at the moment. If you haven't heard the Skream remix of her track "In For The Kill", you've probably been living under a rock. Anyways, not the biggest fan of her stuff but have to admit she's got a good voice for electronic remixes. So yeah, saw this album out a while ago and resisted downloading it at first, but have to admit it's pretty good. It mashes together La Roux's songs with Major Lazer's first album and some unreleased cuts. Definitely some good party music here for sure, check it out. Free download too.

Download it here

Peppermill Records - "2999"

Yo this shit is SOOO cool! Seriously. Just found out about this project. Apparently Peppermill records, one of many newish electronic labels I have never heard of, recently started this project. What is it?

Well, they had a contest or something, collected a bunch of funky/futuristic bangers, and are going to release them, one a week, FREE, FOR A YEAR! Not only that, they have a bunch of reallly legit names scheduled - Robot Koch, Kraddy, ill.gates, Slugabed. Some of the dopest producers in bass music right now in my opinion. Definitely super excited, first couple tracks are dope so far. And to top it off, they have custom graphic design for each track with a futuristic art piece inspired by the tune.

Don't sleep on this, definitely check it out


2999

Nick Thayer - "Empire State of Mind remix"

Empire State Of Mind (Nick Thayer Remix) by Nick Thayer

Man, feeling this track so much right now! I was never that keen on the original, thought it was cool but got so fuckin' played out so quickly. I mean you couldn't walk in ANYWHERE, be it a restaurant, bar, club, whatever, and not hear this song within five minutes. At least that's what it felt like.

Anyways, what I'm slowly coming to terms with is that while I will probably always loathe and despise pop music, I have a real soft spot for cheesy pop songs remixed with an electronic beat. It could be a drum'n'bass beat like this, dubstep, electro-house, whatever - the remix ALWAYS beats the original IMHO. I put a couple other really good examples I've been digging below. Datsik put out a sick dubstep version of M83's "We Own The Sky", not even a pop song really but either way enhances the original. Then there's a drum and bass version of Snow Patrol "Open Your Eyes" - never liked music like Snow Patrol but this remix is uplifting and beautiful to me. What do you think?

Xxxy - "Fela"

Man, really feelin' this dude's style. Used his remix of Radiohead's Straight to Video on a recent mix I put out, and did a little more research today since I've been seeing his name pop up a few places on the blogosphere. Some really funky, 2-step UK style tracks, including this absolute banger, "Fela!!" I always liked Fela Kuti, the late African king of afrobeat, crazy mofo who used to perform with a 30 piece band, etc.. I attached a video of him so you can get a decent idea of his style. Anyway, Xxxy kills it on the remix here, absolute brilliance. Check out his Soundcloud for more tunes, including free downloads of this track and a few others..

Xxxy - Fela!! by xxxy

My House Is Your House by Leviathan Jones



Xxxy Soundcloud page

Boredoms - "77 Boadrum"

77 BOA DRUM trailer from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Holy crap. If you didn't know about this, check it out. In 7/7/07 at 7:07 PM, one of the iconic leaders of Japanese psych-rock legends the Boredoms, EYE, conducted a massive 77 person drum circle in Brooklyn. Thrill Jockey is set to release a DVD of the performance on 7/7/10 (Big surpise with the date huh). It featured famous drummers from all sorts of indie rock bands like Hella, Ponytail, etc.. I hadn't actually seen any footage from it before now, but remember hearing about it and thinking, of course. Only the Boredoms would put together something so ridiculous. Check out "Vision Creation Newsun", my personal favorite album of theirs, for a point of reference/introduction to their music.

Last.fm page

Olafur Arnolds - "Ljosio"

Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo.

Without going too much into details, I've been going through a really tough point in my life. Much emotional distress and questioning of life's purpose, etc..

The music of this Icelandic prodigy Olafur Arnolds has really helped me to reach a small bit of peace. He composes gorgeous, neo-classical works that feature subtle use of electronics on some songs but strictly acoustic instruments on others. Ethereal, inspiring, powerful, and delicate are but a few of the adjectives one can use to describe his work. I own his original album "Eulogy for Evolution" as well as one of his newer works "Dyad 1909", but have yet to pick up his second full length "..and they escaped the weight of darkness". I simply have too much respect for this artist to download it I want to wait until I can buy it.

Here is a link to a series of 7 songs he released for free on the internet and where you can learn a bit more about him.

His latest album on Amazon.

Low Limit - "Trapper Keeper"

Some dark, twisted, dirty electro abstract hip hop beats. Just the way I like it. If you haven't heard of this guy, check him out. One half of the world famous Lazer Sword duo, based out of San Francisco. Enjoy this twisted vid, I know I did

Low Limit - Trapperkeeper from Paul Trillo on Vimeo.

Happy 4th!

Happy fourthofjuly everyone! I just wanted to pass on this mix by Coralcola, just made for the 2010 bbq scene. The butterflies fly away about 10mins in. Gotta love that the internet can connect a musician so closely to his listeners that he can drop a free mix and share a holiday with them. Enjoy!


Coralcola's Fourth of July 2K10 Burnt Out Worcester BBQ Mix

Wighnomy Brothers

Robag Wruhme and Soren Bodner have been making music together for 17 years and it shows. Their sets last for hours and never exhaust with bottomless creativity. They are definitely my favorite of the Kompact techno tribe. I had they pleasure of being at their US debut last year and it was easily the best night I've ever had at Middlesex. They really know how to work the crowd on the dancefloor with a control that must come from their European experience and can be hard to come by in local acts. Plus they look like Ewoks. You know you're not going to get a conventional set when see these two get up. They approach music with a pensive if not spiritual respect. Robag produces most of what they play but it's telling that Soren produces as well and doesn't release it to anyone, not even Robag! I'm sure I'm not the only one dying to hear what he's been up to that's too sacred to share.

Here's one great recording of a set they did in Athens 2007:
Wighnomy Bros - Athens 7/07

There's an interview with Robag here for more info.

Orelha Negra - "Orelha Negra"

Some of the most positively upbeat and funky tracks I've heard in a good long time. Don't know too much about this band except they're from Portugal and sound dope, nothing particularly groundbreaking I guess but constantly engaging and moving. Really, really feel-good funky instrumental vibes here, was especially feelin' "Forca da Razao" and "Entre", but everything flows nicely. Definitely don't sleep on this album.

Download it here

Leviathan Jones - "Barracude Style"

Barracuda style by Leviathan Jones

Recent DJ set I recorded live, no editing.

Pfadfinderei & Modeselektor - "Construction Desert"

Via Boomkat:
Absolutely immense DVD package from acclaimed Berlin design house Pfadfinderei, the people responsible for Bpitch Control’s graphic design and, in particular, working closely with the unstoppable Modeselektor. ‘Labland’ features over an hour of completely exclusive music from Modeselektor - a visual music album pioneering a tight combination of music, film & graphic design in mindboggling ways. The emphasis here, of course, is on tight edits – both in terms of visual and audio editing, squashed rhythms, bass, shapes & colours, inventing a new kind of synchronicity. Pfadfinderei distort, twist and warp space in response to Modeselektor’s mashed-up samples and low-end heavy backdrops, an absolutely deadly mix. Easily the best DVD we’ve seen of its kind – for all intents and purposes a brand new Modeselektor album given an extra dimension or two, all recorded in beautifully crisp 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. A massive recommendation!!!!

Buy the full DVD here

Cocorosie and Ramona Falls music videos

A couple of really interesting, bizarre, highly creative music videos. I don't usually listen to music like this but the videos are dope.

CocoRosie - Lemonade from Souterrain Transmissions on Vimeo.

Ramona Falls - Russia from Souterrain Transmissions on Vimeo.

Scratch Session w/ Dj Qbert, The Gaslamp Killer, Free the Robots, and Nosaj Thing

4 of my favorite DJ's together in the same room. Ohhh yeah..

BoomBaptist - Beat Tape 2010

Nice big package of beats (27 total) from one mr. BoomBaptist. Not the best name, but not that bad either and fits with the music he's doing. Really Dilla-oriented, stutter-step raw hip hop grooves fused with soulful samples, bouncy bass lines, and nice bubbling synth lines. Just the way I like my beats - futuristic but retro. Nothing too crazy but nice sounds, definitely worth a listen and the download is free too.

BoomBaptist Bandcamp page

Robot Koch - "Listen to them fade" EP

Oh man. I was pumped when I saw this album up, paid for it and everything. Robot Koch is definitely one of my favorite producers at the moment, this Berlin based producer has such a crazy good unique style. Lovin' this record, a widely diverse range of dubstep, tribal, vocal, and just twisted soundscapes. Dubbed out, fuzzy, and definitely wonky to the fullest, Robot Koch makes music for robots indeed. Check out a free track posted on XL8R and if you dig it, buy the full-length EP (it's only like 7 bucks or so). Definitely well worth your money.

XL8R Free Track - "Listen To Them Fade" feat. Grace

Buy the album on Juno

Seahorse Drivers

I don't know much about this duo operating out of a "dark basement" somewhere in Germany but they posted this on their site:

">>>>>P H I L O S O P H Y>>>>> VISION SEAHORSE DRIVERS will be a big family. M I S S I O N We offer CRISPY TECHNO enriched with SPICY SOUNDS."

The sounds are pretty spicy. They're interesting and complex at least. Seahorse Drivers compose harsh loops over a straightforward and unrelenting techno pulse. The cutting is quick and the sounds are constantly changing in what pleasantly sounds like a herd of copy machines on the fritz. Industrial "CRISPY".

They're album "We Deliver Soul" is downloadable here.

Bit1 - "Bits and Peace"

Simple, minimalist, hip hop inspired beats here. Definitely enjoying it, free download. Bit crushed, chippy distorted sounds, mellow vibe to this project overall.

http://bit1.bandcamp.com/

Excepter

If multi-hour long rituals of improvisational electronic music is your thing, then Excepter is your band. They have an approach to music that is becoming more and more scarce in the age of multitrack home recording heroes; they believe in the act of playing music. With a current line up of six members, this group is all about the communication between players, and with the audience as well (member Jon Nicholson compares their sets to a game of exquisite corpse with instruments). With this dedication to "the performance", Excepter posted all of the live sets from last year's tour online as podcasts (publishing them from the road so fans could follow along from anywhere). They can all still be downloaded here.

They have a new album out called Presidence which complies the best of a 14 hour long marathon concert in Brooklyn during the 2008 election, aimed at affecting the political outcome with their musical power to control the collective conscious. Founding member John Fell Ryan, compares these marathon sessions to yoga and that can be what listening to Excepter feels like too. It's hard to escape the trance of their possessed group drone. Using all analog equipment they musically capitalize on the simple, repetitive nature of the instruments. If the extended pysch jams are a bit much for you, then at least check out their (more accessable) album "Debt Dept" which is even more amazing then this video for "Kill People".

Mos Dub

Some dope mashups for sure right here. Mos Def mixed with old school reggae joints. "Johnny Too Bad" sounds a lot cooler with Mos Def rappin' on top of it, for sure. Do yourself a favor and check this one out if you like hip hop, reggae, or just good music.

Download / Stream

Wadzilla Mansion 5.8.10

(Above pictures are not mine, taken from the Wadzilla Facebook profile)


Had the pleasure of checking out the infamous Wadzilla Mansion this past weekend. It's an Allston-based, live music venue started by a couple Northeastern kids including some old friends of mine. Really good concept, providing quality, cheap indie music on a consistent basis, as they have parties every other week it seems. The range of shows they book is quite diverse, from folk nights to hip hop to label release parties.

I was over there recently for a show they had, featuring Born Empty, KID:NAP:KIN, and Dirty Dishes. I had never heard of any of these bands before, but in the indie rock world there are always way too many bands to keep track of anyways. Missed the first act, but was there for KID:NAP:KIN rockin' out pretty hard. The last band, Dirty Dishes was pretty good too. Sweet venue, really packed little basement area full of kids, with a corner for the band all painted nicely. The acoustics were great and you could hear the music from the whole house, which I really liked. Allston is tight like that because you can blast music anytime, especially in that neighborhood.

Anyways, definitely a cool setup and wish them the best in the future. They are always accepting demos for booking in the future, this is their website here and you can check 'em out on Facebook here

Tres Fronteras by Nucleic




Recent collaboration between my good friends Neff and Kenney and myself. Turned out pretty nice, what do you think?

The elusive Godspeed returns

"The internet is a petty, tyrannical monster"

Recent note on their website indicates rumblings of activity from this post-rock juggernaut. Huge influence on me when I was growing up, very excited to see what they get into in the future. Heavy, dark, majestic, orchestral are but a few of the adjectives one could use to describe their music. For now, I can at least look forward to Silver Mt. Zion playing Cambridge in a few days..

Neff and Kenney @ the Western Front 4.22.10

Had the pleasure of watching my friends Neff and Kenney perform the other week at the Western Front in Cambridge. Tim Kenney is the other contributor to this blog, and a very talented musician as well, so it was definitely a great event. Really talented, diverse line-up, other acts included Manadub (roots dub style), Eat Cloud (experimental one-piece noise project) and Truman Peyote, a three-piece psychedelic noise group. Really talented array of musicians, and Neff and Kenney's show was no disappointment. Trademark dissonant sounds colliding with elegant synth lines and crunchy drum patterns. I attached a video so you can get some idea of their live performance. Galen, a friend of the band, provided live bicycle-powered electricity for their instruments, as you can see in the video.

Check out more of their stuff here on Soundcloud.

Glitch Mob @ Middle East 5.5.10

Man. What a sick show last night. Boston really came out to represent last night at the Middle East, at one of the dopest shows I've ever seen there. West coast bass monsters the Glitch Mob headlined, with opening sets from Free The Robots and Deru.

I got to the show around 9:45, and found out that the opening sets had switched, meaning I had missed Free The Robots. I was kinda bummed, since I'm a big fan of the new album, which I did a post on a while back.. Anyways, walked into Deru gettin' down, doin' his thing. One of the things I noticed was that his main controller was an APC40! The same Ableton controller I bought not too long ago and have been happily using. Other then that though, I wasn't really that big into his set. His music was pretty rhythmic and pumpin', but lacked a certain edge and for some reason I wasn't that into it. Same thing with his album actually, or at least one of his recent ones. Not bad by any means, but just not my thing exactly. Dude had a lot of energy on stage though and had the crowd moving pretty well, so I gave him credit.

Glitch Mob was the reason everyone was there, and they definitely came through in a large way. On a smoke break outside with friends (Tim my fellow contributor on this blog actually among them) we could see the line to get in stretching down the street. The venue wasn't sold out initially but it must have been by the end of the night. They came on, and mentioned how it was an important show since it was Edit's hometown and his parents were in the audience actually, then proceeded to murder the floor for the next two hours. Visuals were complex, they brought out a bunch of different instruments, and bass was always present and heavy. Their songs are really heady, synth filled epic, banger type songs, and their set lasted a really respectably long time.

Killer, killer show. Got a nice video and a couple good pics to get some idea, and attached a video to a recent music project they did recently, filming large-scale projections in a LA warehouse district. Alright, that's it for now, peace.

Encanti - Glitchography

Back in February, I made it out for alot of the Together Festival events, but the highlight of the whole festival for me was the Zebbler/Encanti set at the Hansel and Gretel VJ showcase at Mass Art (download it from the embedded player below). Glitchography collects his recordings from 2005-2007 and is full of mind-blowing moments that showcase the beauty and complexity of digital music. It takes skills to make "99 Luft Ballons" interesting again. He's part of a community of local artists known as Vermin Street based out of Charlestown.

This Saturday, Encanti will be performing at Visions at The Good Life bar downtown. With Mistaker and Die Young also on the bill, it's going to be an amazing spring night in Boston. The DJ scene here is really thriving now and these are three of it's best at one bar!

Glitchography



We Came Together by encanti

OpenLabs Neko XXL

Well, one can dream. At almost $7,000, this is one toy that neither me nor any of my friends will most likely be able to afford soon, but wow, what a beast. Combines everything you'd ever want for audio production, recording, and performance into one crazy unit. Built-in Ableton, Reason, and thousands of plug-ins barely tap the surface of the capabilities featured here. Too bad I'd have to win the lottery to afford this sucker..



http://www.audiomidi.com/NeKo-XXL-P11887.aspx

Coralcola - Egggirl

Based in Worchester, Coralcola (Mikey Lee) plays out around the Boston area alot (luckily!) and this new EP has remixes by some of the best DJs in town. It's great to hear all these talented locals working off each other's sounds. If you see any of these names on a flyer, go to the show!

EGGGIRL

Intergalactic Panty Raid by Nucleic

Intergalactic Panty Raid by Nucleic

Beastie Boys "Intergalactic" x PantyRaid "Get the money" x Bronzed Chorus "EDWD to Georgia"

Jus' Like Music Presents - "Oscillations Pt. 1 and 2"

Had to do a post on this collection right here, seen this a few places out in the blogosphere. The good people at Jus' Like Music have provided 2 high quality, free compilations of future hop/dubstep/wonky sounds, and they definitely don't leave one disappointed. Featuring the likes of Slugabed, Alex B, KidKanevil, Om Unit, and Lunice, there are over 40 original, bangin' electronic tracks featured here from a wide range of talented artists. All released for free, on their Bandcamp page. Broken Haze "Block", the opening track on Part One, sounds sick with the volume turned up, nice glitchy bleeps and heavy bass. Check it out..


Jus' Like Music Bandcamp link

Leonard Dstroy - "Higher Ground"

Tons of talented dudes out there producin' tunes under the radar. Soundcloud is a really good way of coming across a lot of this, literally thousands of producers posting stuff in all spectrum of genres. Lotta, lotta dope sounds out there, tons of people you've definitely heard of.

This guy sent me a link to his album today on Soundcloud, and I have to say it's definitely worth a listen. Very much in the style of what I've been listening to lately, electronic hip hop with lots of bleeps and bloops. Some really chilled, progressive beats on this 15 track album. Check it out!

http://leonarddstroy.bandcamp.com/

SolarBeat

http://www.whitevinyldesign.com/solarbeat/


Hmmm...Don't really know what to say about this, but pretty interesting. Dig the concept for sure.

Marina Faib - "Whisper of Trees"

Somethin' really relaxing and calming about this video, I like the vocals I guess. Some really down-tempo, mellow dubstep.

Growing

I saw Growing last Halloween when they opened for Fuck Buttons. Their set was really energetic, bouncy, flowing, ribcage-shaking loud: Everything you could want. Their recordings (and there's alot) however, never seemed to capture any of what I saw live.

Finally their new album Pumps! delivers in a big way! Their rhythmic noise reminds me of Black Dice and the concert experience was similar to them too, but Pumps! really outdoes Repo for me (and I'm a huge Dice fan).

PUMPS!

Embassadors - "Coptic Dub"

Some really nice, mellow, down-tempo jazz here. Don't know much about this group, but I definitely have been enjoying their record. European in origin, they are a fairly newish group, having had their debut performance only in 2007.

This may not be the most action-packed, upbeat record, but is full of quality music nonetheless. I always say you can never have enough good jazz, and this is most definitely good jazz. Delicate, swinging drum brushes and double bass lines provide the backdrop for melancholic, melodic trumpet (or maybe reed) leads. The music ebbs and flows gently, with a continous but not overwhelming pulse. Subtle, understated at times, this record will satisfy any fans of modern jazz or good, down-tempo music.

Get it here

A Sunny Day in Glasgow

I dig ASDiG. I have been following this band since their debut, "Scribble Mural Comic Journal" came out a few years ago and immediately blew my mind. It's one of those records that makes everyone ask you "who is this?". It seemed for a while though that they were not going to last as one by one, the original members seemed to lose interest in the project and move onto to other things. Founder Ben Daniels managed to keep it going though and it seems they've finally come into their own as a band. Their new album "Ashes Grammar" was well worth the wait.

I saw them play at Great Scott's in Allston last night and their set was awesome! Alot of their music sounds like it would be dependent on technology and the recording process because it's so detailed but they pulled it all off flawlessly last night. Very impressive to hear live. For a band based on guitar/bass/drums their music feels very "electronic". Any of their studio albums are worth hunting down online and I strongly recommend the vinyl version of "Scribble Mural" for it's Side D remixes (Asobi Seksu's is mint).

Here's a recording of them playing live at Radio K in Minnesota.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow live @ Radio K

Emancipator @ Harper's Ferry 3.26 with Wobblesauce

So yeah, haven't been making it out to shows at all lately. Been way too busy at home working on music in Ableton and to some extent Pro Tools. I did make the effort out to see Emancipator, although there have been a ton of other shows recently that I missed, Debruit being a standout. That being said, Emancipator rocked Harper's Ferry last friday and I was there to catch it. I took the beautiful Maria Alejandra, a Colombian friend of mine, and we both agreed it was an awesome show.

Wobblesauce was the opening band, who I had heard of from a couple places. They had played at Wadzilla Mansion, a friend of mine from school's new music venue in Allston among other places I remember seeing them listed. I've actually sampled a song of theirs, since their album is free to download and worth a listen.Anyways, they had a really chill but rockin' jamtronica type sound that really did a good job loosening up the crowd.

Their music was like the Disco Biscuits I guess, although I don't really listen to much of that stuff myself. Some really nice, Santana/Dead style guitar licks paired up with some flowing, groovy key work and electronic button mashing, with a good bass and drums backing. Played some good reggae/dub stuff I was feeling in particular, plus their opening album track "Rubadub DUB" as a closer was definitely pretty rockin'.

Smoke break later, out came a couple girls and what was probably Emancipator on the stage. The girls, hot of course, started setting up a large white paint canvass on an easel. It was really cool, his show had live painting the whole time. Anyways, he started playing and was pretty much in complete control for the rest of the night. If you're not familiar with his music, it's downtempo and melodic for the most part, but nonetheless pretty powerful, with choirs, string sections, and much more. I was definitely curious to see what his live performance was like, in context with the chillout aspect of his albums, but he definitely didn't disappoint.

He played mostly original material, and it was nicely varied from the original but also retaining the initial magic I heard in his records. His songs are really atmospheric and emotional, with dense layers of sound combining in uplifting and powerful passages. And it all has awesome beats, in varying combinations, largely hip hop based. He blended in a remix of Nas "If I could rule the world", dope track for sure and his take on it was definitely pretty sweet.

My roommate was leaving for Japan in a few days and we were throwing her a goodbye party, so I had to leave after a solid hour and half of dancing, but I left feeling exhilarated and very happy. The girls had completed a really solid work of art already and were still adding small finishing touches as I left, timed perfectly to the duration of the set no doubt. Great concert overall, definitely one of the better shows I've ever been to. Look forward to more music from Emancipator in the future and wish the dude much success, he definitely deserves it.

Check his first album out here

Off to San Francisco, so probably no posts for a week or so. Gonna have some dope new ish up my sleeve when I get back though, for sure. Peace and love.

Mux Mool - "Skulltaste"

Definitely had to post on this one. Mux Mool is a Brooklyn based producer putting out music on Ghostly International, who have a pretty eclectic yet dope lineup. This album is his first full length work, and what a debut. Clocking in at 20 (!) tracks, this album is chock full of quality electronic hip hop and abstract beats. His sonic range as a producer is really impressive, the record encompasses all types of styles, from electro to breakbeat to DNB to video game music. All firmly rooted in hip hop, I might add, which really seals the deal for me. It's a record that grows on you as well, as repeated listens reveal new production details and surprises. Definitely someone to keep an eye on, hopefully he'll be going on tour to support this record.

Standout tracks for me were "Skulltaste", "Death 9000", and "Air Justins". Whole record is dope though, definitely check it out.

"Skulltaste" (2010)

Much Love for the Plastic People

Kieran Hebden has been making great music as Four Tet for years now but his recent material is his best so far. I saw him play the Middle East last month and was blown away by his set, which like this album, "Much Love for the Plastic People", was full of energy and ideas with a great pace and smooth transitions. The album is one mix track that lasts for over an hour and never gets boring. It was released in December 2009 (a month before his new full length, "There is Love in You"). It was never for sale, but free copies were given out at the club Plastic People in London to commemorate the end of his year long residency there. A lot of the material on the new album is in the mix and it's interesting to hear a different take on it all. There's bouncy techno beats, some world beat, vocal sections, and even a drum and sax duet. Much love for Four Tet!


Much Love for the Plastic People


Just as a comparison, here's a recording of a Four Tet live set from the NYC show of that same tour. I like that he changes up his samples often enough that the mix is pretty different from "Much Love" (all the world music sequences are gone). It's interesting to hear the differences between how he plays live and how the studio mix feels.
Live at LPR NYC 17th Feb 2010 by Four Tet

R.I.P. Nujabes

This post is a shout out to Nujabes, a talented Japanese hip hop producer that passed away recently. He was 36 years old and died in a motor vehicle accident, needless to say unfortunate. Really diggin' this one album I found of his, but I'm sure the rest of his work is pretty decent too. Overall relaxing, smooth, jazzy vibes on each track with gifted MC's providing counterpoint. R.I.P., respect.

Metaphorical Music (2003)

Kinetic Sculpture

From www.artcom.de:

The Kinetic Sculpture is a metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design. 714 metal spheres, hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually-controlled stepper motors and covering the area of six square meters, animate a seven minute long mechatronic narrative. In the beginning, moving chaotically, then evolving to several competing forms that eventually resolve to the finished object, the Kinetic Sculpture creates an artistic visualisation of the process of form-finding in different variations.
Technology: 714 metal spheres, individually controllable with millimetre
accuracy; cable winches with individual high-precision
motors for each sphere; software for defining animation
paths and controlling motion.

LICHTFRONT x GROSSE8 Augmented Sculpture

Augmented Sculpture by GROSSE8 & LICHTFRONT / Passagen 2010 from Lichtfront on Vimeo.

Pretty damn cool, no? Nuff said..

Nucleic - Sabretooth mix (Feat. Waters)

Sabretooth mix (feat. Waters) by Nucleic


Pleased to present here the Sabertooth Mix, v2.0 featuring Lionel "Waters" Semedo.

This track is a re-working of older material plus some new sounds, tailored to fit the vocal stylings of Waters Semedo. Many thanks to Waters for his time and energy on this project, I'm fairly pleased with the result. As usual, please, let me know what you think.

Peace, love, and beats!

Free The Robots - "Control Alt Delete"

Debut album here from Free The Robots, aka Chris Alfaro, even though he's been producing for years now. Official release March 30th on Alpha Pup records, but as you may know by now I stay committed to bringing you the freshest, nicest cuts. This guy is going to be HUGE, really enjoying his sound.

Heard a couple cuts from him before, but this album blows everything else outa the water. His style is pretty damn unique, especially in today's oversaturated electronic music scene. The tracks all bounce, but in different ways, and with tons of crazy futuristic styles. He uses a lot of chippy/8bit sounds, combined with thick dubstep style bass lines and crispy beats. He uses the trademark dubstep wobble sound in a new/fresh way, splicing it with off-beat hiphop sounds and claps. Highlights for me were "Mental Universe" and "Turbulence", but the whole album is dope. Even has one of the dudes from Mars Volta on a track, givin' you an example of the eclecticism represented here.

Get it here

Access to Arasaka - "Oppidan"

Dark, glitchy, ambient soundscapes from this upcoming NYC-based producer. Sounds like a modern day soundtrack to Blade Runner, for some reason. Futuristic, moody, hints of industrial noise and plenty of synths. I liked the artist's description, taken from his myspace:

this is my desire for a dark future with neon cities and cyberware.

my longing for fully interactive neural internet, gang warfare, and corporations acting as governments.

monolithic arcologies reaching for the sky in a city that's constantly shrouded by rain.

it's what i would hear in the soundtrack of the chatsubo. in freezone. in the metaverse.

it is the aural vision of the world i wish i lived in.


Download here

Debruit - "Heart Beats For Haiti"

Damn this dude is dope. Seriously one of the most jumpy, bouncy beat-makers I've heard in a while. Originally from Paris, Debruit has toured all over Europe and the US, including an upcoming appearance at Music Ecology in Boston soon! His sound utilizes a severely chopped blend of African sounds, vocoder effects, and crazy synth noises, all on top of slightly staccato/off-beat hip hop beats. Really solid, funky stuff, definitely one of my favorite new artists.

As an indicator of how talented this dude is, he released this album within 4 DAYS of the Haitian earthquake as a benefit album. So, even though most of the stuff I post about here I post free links to, this one you should pay for. It's for a good cause - 100% of the proceeds go to Haitian relief funds. Used a bunch of Haitian music samples on top of it. Don't sleep, this guy is wayyy too funky.

"Heart Beats For Haiti" (2010)

Nucleic - "El Segundo/The second"

El Segundo by Nucleic


My 2nd mix in Ableton Live using the APC40. Bit smoother and tighter then the first one, also twice as long.
Samples, roughly in order, include: Frank-n-dank, Beats Antique, Mogwai, A.M. Architect, Shlomo, Spinach Prince, Kaly Live Dub, Shipwrek, Joker, Jambassa, Son Lux, Santo & Johnny, etc..

Please, comments welcome!

Shipwrek - "Journal"

Tim - ask and you shall recieve. No, but seriously this album is awesome and I've been meaning to post it anyways. I think I played it four times in a row in it's entirety the first time I heard it. Couldn't find too much online about this guy, but he's an electronic music producer from the San Francisco area. Big ups again to my girl/friend Lila for introducing me to his album.

Really nice blend of sounds here. He is obviously influenced by the typical "whomp" sound of San Francisco/west coast but doesn't let it permeate his work entirely. Rather his sound can be categorized as a really enjoyable mix of acoustic and electronic sounds. Bass heavy, rattling synth lines fade away into mellow, ambient acoustic guitar/melodic passages. The opening track "Speakeasy" is pretty much a bumpin, epic banger but from there the album goes in many directions. Sounds equally as good coming from headphones as it does bumping out of giant speakers.

Don't sleep on this.

Modus Operandi - "First Mix"

Yeah, that's right. It's my own mix, finally. After years and years of listening to DJ's, being a DJ to a small degree myself, and countless shows, I am giving back. I bought an APC40 and have been relentlessly on the path to mastering it. This first mix is a result of my last four days or so spent accumulating and arranging samples and performing them with the controller. Artists sampled, among others, are Jaga Jazzist, Godspeed, Gaslamp Killer, Felix Laband, Ginormous, Isaac Hayes, etc..

Please, I'd love any and all comments, criticisms, whatever. Lemme know what you're thinking, please. Cheers.

Numero Uno by Nucleic

Ginormous - "At Night, Under Artificial Lights"

Whoa now.
Sometimes you just hear a track, and you kinda just stop thinking about everything else and just listen for a sec. "At Night, Under Artificial Lights" hits like that, the title track on this album just hits hard. Specific, booming, glitchy electronic sound that I've been really getting into in the last month or so. Real name is Brian Konietzko, blah blah...Reminds me of a lot of west coast glitch artists, simple, but epic. The sound fits the name of this dude, Ginormous indeed. Playing it loudly in good speakers is a must. As an aspiring DJ this is definitely getting added into the mix. Rest of the album isn't bad either.


EPIC. GINORMOUS.

Rinpa Eshidan - "Cube"

Fascinating, really cool stuff here. Latest video from Rinpa Eshidan, a Japanese artist collective. The video pretty much speaks for itself, but suffice to say their philosophy is powerful and inspiring. It highlights the temporary nature of art and to a smaller degree existence, in that nothing they create is permanent. Therefore their work retains an extremely organic characteristic, as they are constantly re-inventing and tweaking their imagery. Vaguely reminds me of the Tibetan monk practice of carefully assembling a meticulously constructed mandala made of sand particles, only to sweep it all away upon completion.

This "Cube" video was my favorite, but they have a bunch more on their YouTube channel, check em out. It looks like they are selling a compilation DVD, I bet it's pretty sweet if you wanna support them...