After a big 2011, 2012 is the year of house. All over clubland and the broadsheets, even your favourite dubstep producers are dropping the tempo below 130 BPMs and going four to the floor crazy. The focus is back on big tunes primed for the floor with hooks to get the girls dancing. This mix is a sort of best of 2011 with some other notable additions. After 3 attempts to live mix this and messing up the recordings I decided to smash it out old school. Hope you enjoy, I've included a tracklist cos I'm a nice guy.
A little bit more of the dark stuff. Exploring the crossover point between rumbling industrial style techno and ultra spare, expansive post dubstep. The second part is a selection of classic post punk that mines a seam of heavy funk bass and scratchy guitars with some brainmelting electronics.
To celebrate Halloween here's a 2 hour descent into hellish dark ambient, modern classical & OST, screaming noise, & deathly droning metal. Not for the squeemish! Best listened to alone in an abandoned mental asylum at 4 in the morning. Tracklist on request.
I've had another mix removed thanks to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act so I'm going to have to go back to (that's a lot of to's) tracklists on request which is hella annoying if i'm perfectly honest. I'm fully understanding of the reasoning behind pulling links down and fair play to them, but when there's blogs by the dozen that give away entire records in their hundreds then its frustrating that my little corner of the internet is getting hit. So just to be extra awkward i'm putting up a mix of tracks by UK producer Blawan because he doesn't have an album out. Blawan is ace by the way, got that proper fresh UK post dubstep/funky/techno/house sound down to perfection and added a drizzle of classic acid. So anyways bollocks to the DMCA and whichever record company lackey thoughtlessly crushed my blogosphere dream, download this fucker, stick the volume up to 11 and get your goddamn bogle on.
In an unwelcome first for the Blog I've had a mix removed due to copyright infringement. I presume the infringement in question was Lone's Radiohead remix (as it appears they are hammering any links to the RMX CD) but because the notice was sent to Google and the service they send their notices to is not up to date I can't confirm that its defo them. Its a shame really because the mix was fair solid and I would have thought that it was exactly the type of context that the song worked well in, but due to the way record companies try to keep records offline its been caught in a blanket attack on all leaks of the RMX stuff. Once again I'm presuming its the Radiohead track that has caused the problem as the rest of the mix is by producers/on labels that I have used before with no issues.
Never mind, I'm going to redo the mix without the offending track (maybe live mix it for a change) and Re-up ASAP, we'll see if it stays up this time. More stuff to follow as well so keep em peeled. Peace out Bill
Pace change ahoy, this right here is a mix of sadcore songs from the likes of Bonnie Prince Billy & Smog, some post rock & modern classical all mixed together with drones and dark ambient. I've tried to keep an Americana feel running throughout, its the perfect soundtrack for a long midnight drive down route 66.
This has been RE-UPLOADED as of the 12/07/11 due to a botched mix, Its no longer botched!!!
Disco most definitely does not suck. This is some cheeky disco style house, with loads of stuff from the new king of the disco edit, The Revenge, who rules. Loving his stuff and the new Tiger & Woods record as well. Download the mix, stick on your white suit & strut your stuff on down to the ground!!
Speaks for itself, check the tracklist in the comments bit, if you like classic dance music you should find something to enjoy. Lots of layering going on, a song playing by itself is rare, 80 odd tracks in just over an hour.Hope you like it!DANCE DANCE DANCE - Right Click & Saveas
Panda Bear (Noah Lennox to his mother) is great. He makes classy pop music. His tracks are always wildly experimental recalling a swathe of influences from 60's pop to minimal techno, but they're always catchy and his voice, reminiscent of Brian & Carl Wilson on the harmonies, always adds to any song he applies it to. He's own tracks are where it truly shines though.
In celebration of the imminent release of the new Panda Bear album here's a mix of old and new Panda tracks (nothing pre Person Pitch though) some Animal Collective tracks and some notable guest appearances.
Everyone else seemed to go Radiohead mad at the weekend so I thought I'd put my oar in.
Disclaimer - the whole review is IN MY OPINION, please add those 3 words before every sentence to save me the bother of writing them. Also there is a reference to geeky fans. This isn’t meant to be disparaging, I am a geeky fan too, just not a geeky Radiohead fan.
First off the packaging and release of the album seems highly exploitative. To position themselves as against/outside the profit driven nature of the major labels is fine, to then make the 1st physical release of the record (the normal CD edition won't be available till March) £30 in a package they must know their quite geeky fans will buy in droves is slightly hypocritical. They know their fan base are the box set generation, a mate of mine bought the In Rainbows "discbox" edition containing the CD & double vinyl despite not having a record player. Is this a ploy to cover costs or a sincere attempt to create a memorable package? My slightly cynical guess is that it covers both bases, Thom having his cake and eating it (or throwing it against the wall and sampling the splat sounds for a drum break).
Also The King Of Limbs website claims the physical release is (perhaps) the world’s first 'Newspaper Album' which suggests none of the band are very familiar with the work of progressive rock titans Jethro Tull whose classic 1972 concept album 'Thick As A Brick'came wrapped in a full scale 12 page newspaper, complete with written articles with allusions to the music contained within (I've got my dad's original copy of 'Thick...' and it's great, although he has filled in the dot to dot, which, it transpires, is a picture of duck salivating at the sight of a topless lady!).
Phil Selway - Missing, if anyone has seen Phil please contact the band.
Onto the music!! First question to ask is has Phil Selway been sacked? Has he died and been replaced with a lookalike, McCartney style?? If you play 'Feral' backwards does it say "Phil is dead, and his replacement can't play drums" All of the drums sound programmed or quantized, leaving none of the space or feeling of live drums. It’s obvious from the first track 'Bloom' that Flying Lotus, whose record 'Cosmogramma' Thom guested on in 2010, is a massive influence on the rhythm of the record. But where Flylo's J-Dilla influenced beats have a messy swing, the beats on TKOL sound too intricate and clean, programmed to within an inch of their life, particularly on 'Morning Mr Magpie' a jazzy loop groping for a tune. The first 5 tracks all follow the same basic template to varying degrees of success, 'Little By Little' with its looser funkier percussion and intertwining guitars probably being the pick of the bunch, even if it appears to be a riff on 'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks'!
The record starts to step forward and open up during the last third, 'Codex' with its plaintive piano and simple unfussy arrangement harks back to 'How To Disappear Completely' or even 'The Tourist' for atmosphere and feel. 'Give Up The Ghost' opens with field recorded birdsong (which I admit I am a sucker for) with multitracked vocals and a lovely folky guitar line, building stealthily before Thom's lead vocal soars above the tune for a moment. Often when the band do this type of track they can sound quite whiney, 'Give Up...' manages to avoid this, sounding resigned and melancholic rather than morose. Final track 'Separator' is back to sound of the first half of the record, but midway through a cheeky soul lick is introduced to save the day, the whole track raises from that point and could almost be called funky (almost).
Oh happy Thom.
Overall though, the record is a disappointment, and feels like part of a holding pattern. I can't help but compare it to 'OK Computer' and, like everything else they've done since, it comes up short. The range of experimentation aligned with beautifully written, catchy and exciting music on 'OK...' is staggering and I sympathise with anyone trying to follow it. 'Kid A' was an interesting side step but I can't help but feel it diverted the band into a narrow alley approaching a dead end. Following 'OK...' in 1999 its reported that Ed O'Brian wanted to strip the band’s sound back and do an album of 3 minute guitar pop songs, maybe this is still a direction the band could take. I for one would love to hear that record and I doubt I’m alone in that sentiment. They could release it in tasteful, minimal packaging and price it as cheaply as possible, make a killing without selling out and really stick two fingers up at the major labels. If they want they could get a bunch of top name underground producers to remix it and you'll have the best of both worlds. If only life was so simple!
First post for a while, sorry about that, I've been busy I promise. Not sure what to classify this as other than melodic house, although I have seen a couple of the tracks described horribly as "progressive house" but don't let that put you off. As you can tell I've been loving this stuff lately particulary Midlands stuff, I'm really looking forward to what he does in 2011. All the tracks are tuneful, soulful & funky, but never cheesy, enjoy!
caribou - hannibal nicolas jaar - keep me there david's lyre - in arms (pearson sound remix) lone - the birds don't fly this high james blake - i mind nicolas jaar - time for us pantha du prunce - a nomads retreat midland & furiku - leitmotif (midland remix) superpitcher - friday night gold panda - vanilla minus julio bashmore - ask yourself (midland remix) caribou - sun (midland re-edit) roman fluegal - how to spread lies lone - once in a while (midland remix) the field - foals xIII remix dj dom - plastic people moderat - out of sight mount kimbie - maybes james blake - the wilhelm scream
Dance music peoples! 2:02:58 of 127BPM grooves in fact. Covers plenty ground as well, fairly eclectic and quick moving for the 1st hour then stretched and pulsing for the 2nd. Throw in some leftfield turns along the way and you've got gold!
Solar Bears - Twin Stars (Lone Remix) Homework - Fissa Tune Redinho - Boy Racer Zombies For Money - Kolkata (Dirty Version) Giorgio Morodor - The Chase (Original Midnight Express Mix) 19.26.1.18.5 - Horizontal Ground 02 Side A Liquid Liquid - Optimo (An Optimo (Espacio) Mix John Spencer Blues Explosion - R.I. Got Soul Simian Mobile Disco - Aspic Herve - I Can Get Down Super Furry Animals - Inaugural Trams Oni Ayhun - OAR004-A The Boats - Maps Of Nowhere Sparks - Beat The Clock The Emperor Machine - You Clapper Consistant - Instant Linkwood And House Of Traps - Barely Eagle Kelis - Acapella Silent Servant - Silent Servant Regis Edit Tara Cross - Tempus Fugit Dettmann - Irritant Sandra Electronics - It Slipped her Mind Crash Course In Science - Flying Turns Cold Cave - Life Magazine Pantha Du Prince - Stick To My Side Carl Craig & Moritz Von Oswald - Villalobos "Uli, Mein Ponyhof" Rmx Capracara - Opal Rush Substance - Relish (Shed Remix) Shed - Hello Bleep Oni Ayhun - OAR003-B October - That Placid (Ewan Pearson Remix) NDF - Since We Last Met Matias Aguayo - Minimal 19.454.18.5.25.5.18 - Ghosts On Acid Cologne Tape - Render 2 (Magazine Edit) Rasmus - Tonto's Release
To quote wikipedia "Drag (also referred to as witch house, screwgaze or crunk shoegaze) is a debated term used to describe a genre of dark electronic music" To hell with the pigeonholes! In the last year or so a group of mostly unrelated producers from both sides of the Atlantic have struck on a sound that combines the production techniques of modern electronica, Dub, Hip hop & RnB with a more post punk, goth & shoegaze/drone outlook. Adding more than just a little touch of the occult & references to horror films & soundtracks, they have grown out of the Hauntology movement, creating atmospheric & heavy psychedelic music for dark nights. The 1st of the 2 mixes is unbeatmatched & more esoteric with the tracks flowing nicely into each other, I've added a few samples for atmosphere and some tracks from (IMO) the illegitimate godfathers of the sound Boards of Canada, V/Vm, Burial & Shackleton. Mix 2 is a straight out Haunted House megamix, 68BPM for maximum drag. Occult Mixtape 1 - Right Click & Saveas Balam Acab - Big Boy Aleister Crowley - The Call Of the Second Aethyr Forest Swords - Glory Gongs oOoOO - No Summer4u Boards Of Canada - In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country The Jonestown Death Tape Babe Rainbow - Popcommon These New Puritans - Hologram (SALEM Remix) MF Doom - Gazzillion Ear (Babe Rainbow Remix) Demdike Stare - Bardo Thodol Shackleton - In The Void Forest Swords - Hjurt Balam Acab - See Birds Oneohtrix Point Never - LL (Stresswave Edit) Dark & Lonely Water Information film Burial - Homeless oOoOO - Mumbai The Stranger - Over The Moor, I Am On The Moor Mater Suspiria Vision - Call Of The Witches Moon Wiring Club - Living Furniture Blair Witch Project Ending The Caretaker - False Memory Syndrome Babe Rainbow - Care GR†LLGR†LL - if u cAn dR3Am - pRinc3ss3s Aleister Crowley - The Poet Demdike Stare - The Stars are Moving
Occult Mixtape 2 - Right Click & Saveas Babe Rainbow - Demon Salem - Redlights ▲▲▲\\\ - Beta-Tape-Warp White Ring - IxC999 Balam Acab - Regret Making Mistakes GR†LLGR†LL - 07 - SaiLoRsbLaCKvirGiNmiLFs Gucci Mane - Round 1 SALEM Remix Gucci Mane - Bird Flu SALEM Remix oOoOO - No Summer4u Mater Suspiria Vision - The Witch House of Hansel and Gretel Laurel Halo - Something I Never Had SALEM - Whenusleep GR†LLGR†LL - 8myh (Ariel-LittleMermaid Ocean Version) feat DirtyPrid3 SALEM - Tent ▲▲▲\\\ - Spit Shine Balam Acab - Heavy Ling Things Mater Suspiria Vision - eXorcism of the hippies oOoOO - SedSUMTING Mater Suspiria Vision - The Afterlife (hypnagogic remix)
Kyle Bobby Dunn is a Brooklyn based, Canadian born minimalist composer & sound artist. His 2CD set "A Young Persons Guide To..." is available now on Low Point Records (check the review).
Here is my interview with the very amenable Mr Dunn.
Could you tell me a little about your background. Musically? Very little traditional background, aside from loving a lot of classical and traditional instruments like horns, strings, and piano. My method of composing is not easily comparable to someone who went to music school for composition. I used to sneak into music schools and recruit members creepishly and randomly for my works though.
What were your early influences that made you want to get involved in music? From as far back as I can remember, the first musical ventures were because of what was happening for me in life and how I related to a lot of soundtrack composer's music. I was that weirdo who often liked the musical scores to films almost more than the films themselves, at times. But it was a real concoction of things. I grew up in some odd places, and I think places and faces have probably had the most heft and influence to my work.
What are the processes you go through when creating a piece of music? The piece starts like a scrap or fragmented idea and even if its all my playing in a piece, it grows in a very small and sluggish way. If I work with other players they are presented the formula and asked to play to it or I dictate how I want it played rather than have them freely improvise over it. When the chunks are in the right places I can spend a great deal or a short time at the computer reprocessing and arranging the piece.
Do you see yourself primarily as a composer or a producer? I've been heavily both for several years now, but I've been working with better engineers and sound people recently on fresher recordings.
Is there an ambient scene in New York or any sort of underground scene you are involved with? There might be, I'm not aware of one. I don't really like to consider myself an ambient person or anything like that. The musical zones and people working in New York are spread out but there is a general community that is nice. I really like what has been done with Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, Doron Sadja at Shinkoyo and the Paris London West Nile bunch that recently went under in Williamsburg, and whoever is brave enough to host these ridiculous performances of us idiot kids. New York can be a very disgusting place, so its nice to meet passionate un-disgusting people from time to time, but its hardly a scene.
What led to you releasing your compilation on a British label? Gareth is a really nice dude and actually recommended doing a release as a 2 CD after he heard the Fervency recordings and some other stuff. I like that he's doing stuff he actually likes and cares for. It's cool that he's up in Nottingham too, I hope to visit England and Europe soon.
What are your thoughts on the modern ambient/avant-garde scene? Are there any particular labels or artists you'd like to work with? It's kind of disturbing and I don't know if I really fit in anywhere. I've been to a lot of events and shows, but would honestly just rather go see classical performances at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln center, if I had the money. A friend of mine works at the New York Philharmonic and is hooking me up with some tickets for Ligeti's obscure Opera, so that should be nice. I saw Feldman's six hour String Quartet No. 2 recently which was absolutely fantastic. I think I've been lucky to work with who I have worked with and don't know of anyone really special until I meet them. That goes for labels too.
What do you think of the music industry as a whole? Do you think there are enough outlets for producers like yourself? I think it's pretty awful. Maybe it'll get better in time, but I'm just not that perky or enthusiastic about the music world we live in or what's 'thriving.' I think other people are getting pretty nauseous from it as well. The product that is music is also pretty disgusting at this point and its nice that there are people keeping music alive how they want it, it's also just kind of sad. It's hard for me to talk about because music is almost equal parts negative and positive for me and trying to deliver that in my work is both frustrating and refreshing.
Are you interested in other creative outlets, multimedia or art installations for example? I've done some. In Canada I did outdoor sound processing of ice, snow, wood, fire, alienated human emotions and tried to cultivate other mental states.
Do you play live? If so what sort of set up do you use?
Play live too often lately, but it's mostly me on guitar or piano and I have a nice crew of string players that have joined me more and more. That's all processed.
Can you list 5 artists or songs or records (or even films or whatever you want!) that have influenced you, or just stuff you like at the moment!
Really into Wagner's masterworks at the moment, a lot of old cheesy soundtracks including Henry Mancini and the 'Wave' album by Antonio Carlos Jobim, a lot Mozart, Brahms, really boring classical stuff and I've been strangely revisiting the Beavis & Butt-head episodes... something strangely static and depressing and faded about that cartoon. The landscapes are usually more interesting than what's being said, even if it's just their living room wall.
For a genre with such a seemingly narrow appeal, the world of ambient drone can appear to be a very crowded and daunting place. From the decaying loops of William Basinski, through the classical melodies of Stars of the Lid to the empty horror of Deathprod's aural viruses, it would seem that there are few avenues left for the sonic explorer to probe.
While not really a groundbreaking record by any means, “A Young Persons guide to...” makes a stand in the teeming market place by being both an entertaining and engrossing listen. Kyle employs a patience and lightness of touch in his compositions that give the record a floating, dreamy quality, and there are always interesting moments where the listener can come back to earth. Second track “The Tributary (For Voices Lost)” for example has a drifting cinematic quality before a mournful key change around the 7 minute mark snaps you back to life. This plaintive tone bleeds into the twinkling splendour of “There’s no end to your Beauty”, the heart of real instrumentation mixing seamlessly with computer processed soundscapes.
Taken individually the tracks recall the finest ambient music without being too in thrall of its peers. There are hints of Aphex Twin, Stars of the Lid, Goldmund and others scattered throughout the runtime, but taken as a whole it’s an original and satisfying record that wears its heart on its sleeve. The care and attention over the 6 year span of its creation is obvious from the first listen and even with its hefty run time it doesn’t feel like there’s a wasted second on there. Highly recommended.
Part 2
Excellent double CD of laid back ambience and drone, great for listening to at work or while trying to sleep in a 12 person dorm in a hostel in Warsaw while on a stag do. You can be listening to it for a while, zone out totally then phase back in at another point of the record and I love that. Lovely combination of sounds as well, both natural & computer processed and the crossover is never jolting. If you like ambient music you can’t go wrong here, it’s tuneful, spacious and a breath of fresh air compared with some of the more dark ambient that’s in favour at the moment. GO AND BUY!
Only about 10 years late, The Warp10 package is rightly remembered as a top class collection, I've not included anything from the 3rd set "10+3 Remixes". This is pure Chicago house, Detroit techno, Sheffield Bleep a couple of Manchester tracks, 39 tracks in 1 hour megamix style.
Tracks in the original CD orders - INFLUENCES- 1. Let's get brutal - Nitro Deluxe 2. Can u feel it - Mr Fingers 3. Dub love - Master C&J 4. No way back (vocal) - Adonis 5. Morning after - Fallout 6. The Sound - Reese & Santonio 7. Off to battle - Model 500 8. Computer madness - Steve Poindexter 9. Nude photo - Rhythim is Rhythim 10. It's my life - Da Posse 11. Acid tracks - Phuture 12. Theme - Unique 3 13. Let yourself go (303 Mix) - 808 State 14. Voodoo ray + - A Guy Called Gerald 15. Bang bang you're mine (Rock Me Gently Orig Radio) - Bang The Party 16. My Medusa - K Alexi Shelby 17. The Acid Life - Farley Jackmaster Funk 18. Can't Stop (Acid)Rain Forest Mix) 19. In a vision - Virgo Four 20. Ital's Anthem (Trebledown/Bassup Mix) - Ital Rockers 21. Soul thunder - Juno
CLASSICS- 1. Track with no name - Forgemasters 2. Dextrous - Nightmares On Wax 3. Testone - Sweet Exorcist 4. Hey hey! Can U relate? - DJ Mink 5. LFO - (Leeds Warehouse Mix) 6. Track 4 - LFO 7. Probe - LFO 8. Aftermath (LFO Remix) - Nightmares on Wax 9. Testfour - Sweet Exorcist 10. I'm For Real - Nightmares on Wax 11. Aftermath - Nightmares on Wax 12. Tricky Disco - Tricky Disco 13. Yeah You (Robert's Mix) - The Step 14. Clonk (Freebase) - Sweet Exorcist 15. Join The Future -Tuff Little Unit 16. A Case of Funk - Nightmares on Wax 17. Feel it - Coco Steel and Lovebomb 18. Loop - LFO Versus F.U.S.E
Straight ahead dancefloor action for party goers who wear sandals & socks. Wobbly goodness, dodgy synths, an utterly ridiculous (& Exclusive!!) rave version of 'March of the Empire' and lots more besides. ENJOY!
Tracklist - MMM - Donna Amanda Blank - Might Like You Better Hot Pink Delorean - Fake Warp to Bloody Mars Major Lazer - Pon De Floor Martyn - Hear Me (Zomby Mix) MMM _ Nous Sommes Levon Vencent - Light Night Jam Bill Withers - Who Is He (Henrik Schwartz Edit) Joy Orbison - Wet Look Terror Danjah - Acid Raffertie - Wobble Horror Bok Bok Feat Bubbz - Citizens Dub Raffertie - Pumpin Like Reeboks Brackles - Rawkus R Kelly vs Major Lazer - Ignition (Keep It Remixing Louder) Hardcore Han Solo - I've Got A Bad Feeling About This Lonely Island - Ardy Party (Kid Icarus Remix)
After a big 2011, 2012 is the year of house. All over clubland and the broadsheets, even your favourite dubstep producers are dropping the tempo below 130 BPMs and going four to the floor crazy. The focus is back on big tunes primed for the floor with hooks to get the girls dancing. This mix is a sort of best of 2011 with some other notable additions. After 3 attempts to live mix this and messing up the recordings I decided to smash it out old school. Hope you enjoy, I've included a tracklist cos I'm a nice guy.
