Future Jazz par excellence!

Since bagging the rather lush 5 x 10" box set of the Innerzone Orchestra LP 'Programmed', I've been kicking myself repeatedly for not having discovered such an immense album in all the time I've been burrowing my head into music full throttle. There are so many different vibes that emanate from each record side, and having it split across 5 bits o' wax really helps appreciate this.

I'll admit now to being a newbie as far as the real Detroit heritage goes. It's only recently that I'm finally starting to understand and appreciate Carl Craig (having rinsed out 'The Album Formerly Known As...' yesterday). There's a mental check-list of names I need to take the time to discover fully (Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Kenny Larkin, Derrick May, Theo Parrish etc.) but to hear 'Programmed' and hear the lines truly blur between jazz and techno and everything that exists between them was pretty monumental for me. Having heard the way people postulate about Detroit techno and all it's intricacies, I was yet to realise the vision so many of these producers have for myself.

So if you get a chance to pick up this album do - it's prime-time grade A home listening bliss, perfect to warm your bones while the weather goes to shit.

Back from the store...

In textbook music geekery fashion I am currently (metaphorically) rolling around in a pile of delightful records picked up from a quality second hand store on the binternet. Here's a list of the treats that I snagged:

Innerzone Orchestra (aka Carl Craig & friends) - Programmed (5 x 10" box set mmmmm)
Moodymann - I Can't Kick This Feeling When It Hits / Music People (12")
Baby Ford - Normal (inc. AFX Helston Flora Remix hell yes!) (12")
Neil Landstrumm - Pro Audio (2 x 12")
Pole - 45/45 (12")
Tim Wright - The Searcher / The Walk (12")
Super_Collider - It Won't Be Long (12")
Stefan Goldmann - The Schnich Schnach EP (12")
Alton Miller - EP (12")
John Tejada & Justin Maxwell - 2 Speaker Dream (12")
Carl Craig - Science Fiction (12")
Move D - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (12")
Radioactive Man - Dive & Lie Wrecked (12")
Murcof - Utopia Remixes (with the immense Sutekh remix :) (12")

Nice to get a few classics for a change!

Picking up Sine Waves

Producer of the week for me is Todd Sines. He's notched up an impressive series of releases over the years for the likes of Carl Craig's Planet E, veteran label Peacefrog, Andy Vaz's new vintage imprint Yore, and to my mind he is one of the most visionary 4/4 artists out there.

His sound can lurch from crisp, minimal funk jackhammers under the .Xtrak name to the deepest sensual house aimed squarely at the bedroom, but it all has an unmistakable leftfield bent to it. Experimental isn't the right word for his tunes, they simply breathe a life of their own, too addictive to be academic and too weird to be popular. Anyway, here's the Click-Wobble picks from the Sines back catalogue.

Todd Sines & Natacha Labelle - 'Overlap' [Planet E] - Seductive vocals, downtempo blue keys and a ever-so-slightly jerking rhythm make this an absolute winner.

Todd Sines & Natacha Labelle - 'Broad_Band' [Frankie] - Every track on this EP is a belter, whether it's the underwater electro funk of 'Thick Satin' or the moody haze of 'Elastic'.

Cron - 'Interrupt' [Chair] - Deep, sparse electro from one of Todd's aliases. A real hypnosis job.

.Xtrak - 'Don't Stop' [Yore] - After more than ten years leaving his .Xtrak moniker lying dormant, Todd resurrected it for Yore and packed a serious old skool punch with the tracks that resulted. Razor-sharp hi-hats, snares that sound like tiny controlled explosions and plenty of acid.

There's heaps more out there to discover, but this should give you somewhere to start. For a surprisingly large amount of free tracks check out his website: Toddsines.com

Musical discovery of the day - Dakimh

Another pleasant musical surprise happened to me today whilst listening to the recent Mary Anne Hobbs compilation 'Evangeline' on Planet Mu. There's some pretty cracking tracks on there from the big guns; Shackleton, Flying Lotus, Pinch, Surgeon etc. but the tune that really grabbed me whilst I typed an email or whatever was 'Done' by Dakimh. It's an oddity, definitely sitting in the soulful dubstep camp, but with a hooky synth/vocal humming interplay that hooks you in from the start. The oddness comes in the form of the extended vocal, which (dare I say it) has an almost RnB "flava" to it. My knee jerk reaction is of course to set fire to the offending tune and never let it darken my ears again. However, this tune pulls off such freaky moves and would be lost without. Instead what you end up with is a deep, meditative track with fullsome bass growls that'll have you rocking in your armchair like there's nothing faster than 75 bpm.

And the crazy thing in all of this? Dakimh is in fact none other than proper filth peddlers Vex'd moonlighting as sensitive types. The only tune they've done to date is this one for the compilation, but here's hoping there's more to follow. You can hear it in it's entirety at their MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/dakimh

A Netlabel Hero - Danieto

It's always great to discover someone whose music has been kicking around in your collection for ages, and even better when you discover they put out most of their material on free netlabels! I first heard of Danieto on the Mutek 05 compilation (released to highlight the immense electronic festie that goes on in Montreal and other places every year) with the sumptuous 'Amanecer Zencillo'.

Only yesterday did I stick the track on and realise I needed more from this ace producer. Here's what I found:

'Ciencias Incultas' EP - Miga - an ace Chilean netlabel that puts out a staggering amount of high quality tunage.

'Agranelado' EP - Pueblo Nuevo - another South American operation with an extensive back catalogue to delve into.

You can also catch a beautiful Danieto track called 'Arpegios' on the recent compilation 'TRO50' on the Tropic netlabel. Basically if you like deep, dubby soundscapes with intricate glitch arrangements and enough groove to keep things interesting, you should definitely check this stuff out. Rich textures, plenty of colour, and utterly engrossing.

Free treats

More Frivolous-shaped news here, as a release under his own name surfaces on top-drawer netlabel Thinner. With an immense back catalog full of deep, emotive techno, the label has done well to score the wares of Daniel Gardner, not normally one to dip his toes into the vast pool of online labels.

The track 'Under The Shower Tower' is a sumptuous take on deep house, losing the wispy pads in favour of warm, low-end chords and a gently tweaked vocal jibe, before crescendoing with a rich tapestry of strings, synths and some incredible distorted bass. An understated masterpiece.

The accompanying Alland Bayo remix takes the deepness even further, turning out a restrained re-interpretation built to slip comfortably into the early part of the night.

Download it here:

http://www.thinner.cc/pages/releases/releases_detail.php?id=thn101

And check out the rest of the label too! The likes of Eloi Brunelle (head of the excellent Epsilonlab netlabel) and Digtitalis have done releases for them in the past.

Delete Second Birthday & Multivitamins

The house and techno party I co-run down in Bournemouth is gearing up for it's second birthday. We're playing host to London imprint Multivitamins, with Sebastian Russell playing live and Doudou Malicious and Arnaud Le Texier DJing. It will be the last in the monthly stint of parties we have been throwing at Dusk Till Dawn, so we're gearing up for a massive after-party to make sure we give the town the send off it deserves.

Multivitamins will be celebrating their fourth birthday in London on August 30 at The Rhythm Factory. The stonking line-up sees the mighty dOP headline, who have been sprinkling their unique flair and diverse style all over labels like Circus Company, Orac and Milnor Modern.

Also playing are Sebastian Russell, and Audio Dependent who has put out two immense tunes on our net label, Alt Recordings.

Note: For some weird reason Blogger has uploaded the poster with inverted colours. You can see the normal one here.

S-Max Live Set!

Here's a rather tasty radio show I stumbled across on my internet travels. Dubsquare host a weekly show on Sub FM (top notch online dubstep station) and they take a positively leftfield approach to programming their shows. Boogizm "lord of the wonkiest 4/4 possible" S-Max is the guest for this one, chatting about his love of dubstep and playing an hour long live set at the end. Dynamite!

Tracklisting:

Dubsquare Radio August 14th 2008

Amen Ra & Double Helix - Shadows (unreleased)
Kode 9 & The Spaceape - Stalker (Hyperdub)
Ca.tter - Athen (unreleased)
DQ1 - Wear The Crown (Tectonic)
El Rakkas - Dine Alone (unreleased)
Ramadanman - Offal (Souljazz)
IZC - Arctic Dawn (unreleased)
Point B - Gymede (Combat)
El-Tuff - Deep Deep Love/Qualifide Remix (2tuff4u)
M-Dubs - Over Here (White)
Wookie - ? (Manchoo)
Zinc - 138 Trek/Zed Bias Remix (Phaze One)
Digital Mystikz - Conference (Souljazz)
*** S-Max favorite dubstep cuts ***
Neil Landstrumm - Yorkshire Steel Cybernetics (Planet mu)
Pole - Steingarten/Shackleton Remix (?)
*** S-Max interview & live-set ***

Check the other shows here: http://www.dubsquare.net/

Direct link to the show: http://www.dubsquare.net/mp3s/dsq2008aug14_smax_izc.mp3

FreeRotation - the best festival in the UK?

This week a small contingent of the more clued-up party heads in the UK are preparing themselves for one of the highlights of the calendar, as the second FreeRotation Festival takes place. Based in Baskerville Hall in the beautiful Welsh countryside, last year saw an intimate crowd of like-minded people coming together to celebrate everything great about minimal techno, micro-house and dubstep in a comfortable, relaxed setting. This year should have cranked up a notch with an expected higher turn out and an additional stage on the lawn, so who's playing that we can get oh so excited about?!

Dandy Jack & Sonja Moonear - Junction SM - combining DJing and live performance like few others out there, the psychedelic, tropical sound of Chilean maestro Dandy Jack collides perfectly with Sonja's vast record box for a set that never plays the same way twice.

Lawrence - Dial Recordings bod with a lush, deep techno sound that washes through you like some kind of relaxing matter. My personal fave of his is the 'Spark' EP on Ghostly - every track a winner!

Shackleton - dubstep bad boy extraordinaire, his live sets have been evolving at an exponential rate, with his appearance at Bloc earlier in the year damn near tearing the roof off. A juggernaut of bass with more than enough trippy percussion to keep you locked down.

Andy Stott - wasn't too sure about his live head to head with Claro Intelecto at Bloc (on paper it should have been genius!) but Andy's album 'Merciless' on Modern Love simply cannot be argued with. Emotion-heavy, introspective techno with gorgeous melodies and original sound-design.

Portable/Bodycode - The mad professor of modern techno, Alan Abraham's various projects all fizz and pop with the kind of hectic creative energy that people heard in early Detroit or Chicago business. His Bodycode full-length on Spectral is a masterpiece of spannered rhythms, and his live set will pack in more of the same. He's got a Perlon record coming out soon too!

Tom Ellis, Leif, Joe Ellis, Steevio, Tom Demac, Duckett - The producers most closely involved with FreeRotation (and Steevio who runs it), and they're also some of the most talented peeps on the bill.

And that's just the icing on the cake. A full (damage) report will be issued at some point next week. For now, keep safe...

Patrick Russell - one for the conoisseurs

Check out the Mentalux homepage for a series of downloadable mixes from Detroit based DJ Patrick Russell. His deep, dark selections reach out to techno, electronica and beyond, a true masterclass in the artistic mix that goes beyond the boundaries of a dancefloor.

Every one of the mixes is a winner, and his release on Circus Company with Seth Troxler is an immense slice of disturbed early hours disco damage, with the kind of freshness that Audion had in abundance when Matthew Dear first unleashed it on our ears.

Feast.

Frivolous - anything but...

An artist recommendation for you to start the week off
- Frivolous.

Known to his folks as Daniel Gardner, he's been releasing records for six years now, including two LPs. Originating from Montreal, his sound shares the same quirky, soulful ethic as a large chunk of the Canadian set (Akufen, Mike Shannon, Deadbeat etc etc) but with even more of the living breathing heart that makes that particular brand of electronic music so inviting.

Reports of his live sets tell of home-made equipment creating a feast for the eyes as well as the ears, and you just need to check out his DIY page to see the kinds of creations this manically creative mind has come up with (Broken-Ruler Music Box, Frivo-lozikel (a pedal-powered reverb unit), Double Cable-Tub Bass).

And as for the tunes, they veer between truly soul-stirring moments of uplifting beauty to head-down groove-laden funk, all shot through with a sense of humour that enhances the music rather than detracting from it. Here's the SB&B recommended list:

Frivolous - 'Song Of The Kwanning Bird' - (Karloff) - A lovely little funk-out with a wonky piano line and all manner of smiley dancefloor dynamics.

Frivolous - 'Kisses (Spilt Milk Mix)' - (Proptronix) - taken from the 'XXX EP', sampling old-time country tune Kisses Sweeter Than Wine and giving it a hefty dose of funk (and check the aluminium can sampling - tight!)

Frivolous - 'Island Of Sanctity (v.2)' - (~Scape) - A recent single for Pole's label, with a real stop-in-your-tracks musical moment as the mournful blues vocal drops away to a belter of a house beat.

Frivolous - 'Midnight Black Indulgence' - (~Scape) - The latest Frivolous LP released some time last year, with all manner of moods touched upon. Check the 'Post Depression' skit for some ace Only Fools & Horses sampling.

Frivolous - 'Busy Bee' - (Trimsound) - Dropped as part of the last ace Trimsound compilation, this has got some great considered electro snarls, great vocal snippets and yet more of that hip-swivelling stuff.

For more info on this immense producer check the following links:

Frivolous Home Page
Free streaming tunes at New Music Canada
Frivolous Discogs page

Dubstep / techno refinery from Martyn

Yes, I'm afraid I will be harping on about Martyn for some time - his signature downtempo jazz chords over considered skittish beats have really struck a, er... note with me. This mix was recorded for US net radio station Future Breaks, which primarily concerns itself with D&B (Martyn also being a merchant of crisp drum & bass), but made an exception for this cool set moving from deep dubstep through to some nice stripped down techno. Feast thyselves!

Martyn in the mix: Future Breaks.FM

Tracklist:

1- burial - wounded [hyperdub]
2- martyn - jw on a good night [unreleased]
3- massive music - find my way kode9 remix [hyperdub]
4- martyn - shadowcasting [revolver]
5- appleblim - gold & silver [skull disco]
6- toasty - splash [destructive]
7- hijak - babylon timewarp [deep medi]
8- rhythm & sound - distance [rhythm & sound]
9- atjazz - for real [innervisions]
10- common factor - get down [playhouse]
11- cobblestone jazz - india in me mix 1 [wagon repair]
12- ricardo villalobos - dummolator [perlon]
13- ripperton - tainted words plasmik remix [connaisseur]
14- abe duque - i am your man [abe duque records]
15- agnes - hi-murda [perspectiv records]
16- kenneth graham - love dialed in [visage recordings]
17- lazy fat people - pixelgirl c2 remix [?]
18- minilogue - ahck jichael mackson remix [WIR]
19- shackleton - blood on my hands villalobos’ apocalypso now mix [skull disco]
20- mala - left leg out [dmz]

Tobin mash up the place - Bloc 2008

For those of you that were witness to the mighty Amon Tobin dropping some dark matter beats at the epic Bloc Weekend 2008, I have sourced this link to his set. It's not 100% soundboard quality, but it's in pretty good nick considering the malice with which his beats always fly out of the speakers. Enjoy :)

Amon Tobin Live At Bloc Weekend 2008 | Postbocks.com

Back once again like a renegade master...

After a shocking two-year absence I've decided to resurrect this wee blog of mine and share my own personal journey through the technicolour world of music with anyone who is bored at work / lacks a social life / wafts around like a lord or lady of leisure (much like myself).

And what better way to resurrect such things than with a catch up on some of the particularly hot records I've come across recently!

I stopped in at Rooted Records in Bristol today to drop off a dubplate for Tom Peverelist and of course tripped, fell and landed in a pile of records. Thoroughly embarassed by the whole situation I bought a few of them to make it seem deliberate.

Martyn - 'Natural Selection / Vancouver' - (3024) - this guys is moistening my britches more than anyone else at the moment. Pushing the delicious techno / dubstep crossover that's so hot right now, both sides of this record are essential tunes. Cool-as-Vanilla-Ice jazz chords and tricksy steppy beats with a solid 4/4 drive underneath make this a seriosuly addictive brew. Keep 'em peeled for the immense 2562 remix of 'Vancouver' dropping in September.

Shut Up and Dance - 'Epileptic' - (SUAD) - the A-side is exactly what you'd expect from the breakbeat rave survivors, but I'm more interested in the B-side, featuring a remix from my new best friend Martyn. The wonderfully titled 'No Strobe Mix' is essentially a Martyn tune in it's own right, featuring the kind of keys that will undoubtedly make people's ears prick up in the club and go 'No way! What is this tune?!' - it's a hottie for sure.

Pole - '90/90' - (Mute) - this single was lifted off the immense Pole ft. Fat Jon album. If you don't know, it's a masterclass in minimal dub flavours, not dancefloor by any stretch of the imagination, but rather a haunting cocktail of smoky soundscapes with some smoothly delivered and lyrically inventive MCing over the top. This single features 'Slow Motion' in various original/instrumental/acapella forms, but also has an awesome additional track called 'I Can't Hear (Ska Version)' featuring August Engkilde on upright bass and Thomas Haas on sax. It's actually quite upbeat for Pole.

LFO - 'We Are Back' - (Warp) - taking it way back, this is the sort of record that made kids scream and mothers weep back in good old 1991. Possibly one of the most evil of LFO tracks, with an insane vocoder and clattering industrial beats that make you scared not to dance. This was in immensely good nick considering it's 17 years old, and it'll always take me back to seeing Squarepusher do an old-skool house / hardcore / jungle set at Wang in Hackney a few years back.

I also stopped off at Fopp on a birthday present mission which of course turned into a bargain record binge as well :)

Murcof - 'Martes' - (Leaf) - A truly monumental album, surely a benchmark in the micro-sampling world? Fusing achingly beautiful orchestral samples and the tiniest of clicks and pops, the whole vibe of this album is one of those magical transportation devices. Like a tardis, but it sounds a lot nicer. You should get all the music this man has ever produced (and also check the Sutekh remix of Memoria!)

Autechre - 'Quaristice' - (Warp) - it took me a while to get round to buying it, and one day, somewhere down the line, I may share my thoughts on it. I've listened to it once and of course my mind melted - it's Autechre after all. I'll keep you posted.

Two Lone Swordsmen - 'Tiny Reminders' - (Warp) - It was about bloody time I paid tribute to this incredible album by actually buying it. Words cannot describe how confused I am at the direction 2LS took after this - I really don't dig the garage rock thang at all. This however is a masterclass in minimal electro grooves before a load of tossers started trying to make it. Wobbly basslines, freaky samples and more grooves than an old man's face.

Various Artists - 'Aritifical Intelligence' - (Warp) - a classic back in the day comp. from Warp when Aphex called himself The Dice Man (his effort is in fact the 'Polygon Window' tune that kicks off 'Surfing On Sine Waves'), has some lovely early B12 efforts under their Musicology moniker, an Autechre track so primitive as to make you smile when you hear what they're up to these days, Richie Hawtin under the name of UP!, Speedy J and others. Early future techno at it's finest.

Various Artists - 'Warp 10+1 Influences' - (Warp) - yes it was something of a Warp binge. This is my final piece in the puzzle of the lovely triple-headed release Warp did to celebrate ten years of mind-bending sonics, and it's got some greats on there. Model 500's 'Off To Battle', Mr Fingers 'Can You Feel It', Phuture's 'Acid Tracks', 'Voodoo Ray', basically a whole lot of aciiiiiid and the most ridiculous (but also kind of great) tune I've heard in a long time, 'Bang Bang You're Mine [Rock Me Gently Original Radio Mix]' by Bang The Party. The vocal has to be heard to be believed.

And there's more records in the post to me - huzzah!!