Working in collaboration with contemporary classical composer Tom Hodge, Max Cooper‘s Fragmented Self Pt. 1 is the first installment in an ongoing series of EPs. Lifted from that release is “Fragments of Self,” which has just been treated to a music video by director Nick Cobby. The piece positions 3-D objects inside of vast, curved spaces—all of which appear bleached and sterile. Within those spaces, gooey-textured and prismic figures contort in response to Hodge’s stammering piano licks. As the video progresses, its visuals become more organic and detailed, so much so that the items seem real and borderline tangible. The effect just adds to the disjointed and conflicting emotions of Max Cooper’s production.
Theo Parrish Preps New 12″, Shares Previews
Due out at the end of the month, Theo Parrish‘s new Long Walk In Your Sun 12″ is set to be released via his own Sound Signature imprint, with previews of its tracks available to hear now. Parrish has had a busy year after releasing the Dance of Medusa EP back in January, curating the Black Jazz Signature compilation, and dropping a remix of Mala. Next up, his Long Walk In Your Sun record will feature two tracks of new material from the seminal house producer. The titular track sees Parrish exploring lush, synth-based jazz, while b-side “Strawberry Dragon” is an uptempo and easy-listening affair. Previews of both new productions from Parrish can be streamed below. (via Juno Plus)
Bobby Draino “Brain Drain (Cloudface Edit)”
As the “pop-house” trend continues to grow and bring dance music to a different audience, those working with left-of-center sounds have more space to fill than ever. One such artist occupying that realm is Vancouver’s Bobby Draino, whose previous work has generally been harsher than most of the offerings from LA label 100% Silk. Nevertheless, that didn’t dissuade the imprint from issuing his recently released Brain Drain EP, which features Cloudface‘s edit of the title track. After a reverb-fueled intro, the fellow Canadian producer works the tune’s dark, driving kick into a frenzy with the help of an acid-inflected melody and flickering, forceful hi-hats. It all makes for a stormy vibe with atmospheric elements that only swell larger and larger as the track progresses.
This Week in Music Tech: Tom Trago’s Studio, Korg x littleBits, Pioneer DDJ-SB, Modular Patchblocks, and More
Two intriguing developments in the world of compact modular-synth building—Korg’s collaboration with littleBits and the recently launched Patchblocks project—made this an interesting week for gear, along with the announcement of a new and extremely affordable Pioneer DJ controller, new headphones from AIAIAI, and a look around Tom Trago’s brand-new Amsterdam studio. It’s all in the latest edition of This Week in Music Tech.
Our regular In the Studio series returned this week with veteran Dutch producer Tom Trago showing us around his new studio digs in Amsterdam. The full interview and picture set—which shows off Trago’s enviable synth and hardware collection—can be seen in full here.
Korg has partnered with open-source electronics company littleBits to create a new DIY synth kit which will become available the first week of December. Offering “an assortment of 12 electronic Bits modules that instantly snap together with magnets to create circuits like those used in Korg’s famous analog synthesizers,” the kit will allow users to build their own circuits from 10 separate projects included in the step-by-step guidebook. The forthcoming littleBits Synth Kits will be available for $159, and more details can be found here.
This week, Pioneer unveiled the DDJ-SB, an entry-level digital DJ controller designed to work with Serato. The two-channel unit is the most compact and affordable of Pioneer’s recently launched DDJ-S line, coming in with an MSRP of $299. The upcoming unit will be available beginning January of next year; more info can be found here.
AIAIAI has just introduced the TMA-1 X, a product intended to serve as the company’s entry-level DJ headphone. Smaller and lighter than the popular TMA-1 headphones, the TMA-1 X is a closed, dynamic set of headphones said to be suitable for “DJing, monitoring, and [using with] mobile devices.” The TMA-1 X will become available on November 28, retailing for around $129. More information can be found here.
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A Kickstarter campaign for Patchblocks is already well beyond reaching its goal, but more than 20 days remain for the project to continue to gather funding. The Patchblocks units are used to build modular audio devices with single, programmable “blocks” that can be programmed digitally but pass and manipulate audio through hardware. The video above explains the concept behind Patchblocks and shows some of the most basic functions single and multiple blocks are able to accomplish. To contribute to the Patchblocks Kickstarter, head here.
XLR8R scribe Leo Maymind recently had a chat with noted French synth hacker Gligli, discussing how the man hacked his Sequential Circuits Prophet 600 synth to develop a homemade, comprehensive update to the unit known for its sluggish envelopes and other unwanted quirks. The two also went on to discuss the other DIY synth projects that have Gligli excited and just geek out in general. The full interview can be read over on Noisey.
Press Play: Paul Woolford, Kingdom, Tensnake, Fennesz, and More
We’ve got quite a few reasons to be excited to share the latest edition of Press Play. Namely, artists like Paul Woolford, Kingdom, Conforce, Autre Ne Veut, Vatican Shadow, Jim-E Stack, Starslinger, and Tensnake dropped new remixes, DJ sets, original productions, collaborative tunes, album teasers, and more this week. It’s quite a bit to take in, so we suggest that everyone gets to clicking on those play buttons after the jump.
Shit Robot feat. Reggie Watts “We Got A Love (Paul Woolford Remix)”
Mapei “Don’t Wait (Kingdom Remix)”
Pet Shop Boys “Thursday (Tensnake Remix)”
Autre Ne Veut x Fennesz “Alive”
Conforce “Abundance of Selves”
Jim-E Stack “Run”
Previews of remixes for Function’s Incubation LP, produced by Recondite, Vatican Shadow, Rrose, and NSI.
bEEdEEgEE “Flowers (feat. Lovefoxxx)”
Ahnnu’s Battered Sphinx cassette for NNA Tapes
Duppy Gun talks recording in Jamaica.
Star Slinger’s warm-up mix for Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival
Pezzner “Bell and Whistle”
Today, Seattle techno mainstay Pezzner releases his new LP, Last Night in Utopia, a 15-track effort which showcases the veteran DJ/producer’s noted “ability to trapeze between disco, house, and techno.” Appearing early on in the record is “Bell and Whistle,” a cheeky, tech-minded cut that spends as much time delivering vividly hi-fi sound design as it does cultivating some sophisticated dancefloor vibes. The first half of Pezzner’s track is a bit unassuming—light chords methodically build as swirling FX enhance the tunes edges. But after the halfway mark, an ensemble of unwieldy percussion appears, adding to the rhythmic sway of “Bell and Whistle” until it takes the tune surprisingly far off the rails.
MGUN Some Tracks
A large part of the appeal of Manuel Gonzales’ tracks is surely the Detroit producer’s ample use of distortion. Much of his catalog as MGUN, which draws on his city’s multifaceted dance-music tradition, has arrived caked in grit, the results sounding like warped relics found in the gutter, contorted by time and environment. Nevertheless, Gonzales’ music retains an urgency that makes him a worthwhile contributor to the contemporary scene. Some Tracks, his latest EP, is not an exceptional entry, but it offers a decent overview of the artist’s style.
To be fair, Some Tracks isn’t nearly as reverent to the past as some of his other records (none of which are all-out rehashes). Gonzales is doing a fine job of creating and exploring his own signatures. An obvious highlight is “Fiber” (and its redux “Taft”), a punchy, off-balance stepper that truly deserves better than to be lumped in as “electro,” but that’s the genre it hews closest to. It’s the latest in a line of exciting takes on the sound, following up his wonderful “Laser Jam” from the recent Blunt Run EP, and several pieces from Kyle Hall’s The Boat Party. The piece features some tinny, echoing stabs, but its hook is its bassy bump, which crisply knocks with just the right amount of swing. Elsewhere, “Mask” pairs corroded drums and a spectral, hovering melody, while “Mean While” makes the most of its few elements, with shuddering, dubby drums underpinning a line that moves like a radio signal squealing in and out of coherence. On “Extort,” the producer adds frantic, creaking synths to an aggressive pace, lacing it with flanged snare bursts. As much as that track might touch on blueprints laid by the likes of Steve Poindexter, Gonzales’ approach here seems just as influenced by noise music—it’s feral, gruff, and piercingly redolent of the dilapidated Rust Belt from which it came.
Korg and littleBits Partner on New Synth Kit
Renowned gear manufacturers—and a company that has continually moved towards more compact products in recent months—Korg has partnered with open-source electronics company littleBits to create a new DIY synth kit. The kit, which will become available the first week of December, offers “an assortment of 12 electronic Bits modules that instantly snap together with magnets to create circuits like those used in Korg’s famous analog synthesizers.” Included in the kit will be modules such as power, oscillator (x2), filter, envelope, delay, keyboard, micro-sequencer, mix, split, random, and synth speaker. Using these modules and an accompanying booklet, users can build their own circuits from 10 separate projects, though it’s imaginable that more adventurous and knowledgeable users may be able to reconfigure components into circuits of their own design.
According to a press release, the forthcoming Synth Kits will be available for $159, and it’s also worth noting that although Korg Japan did collaborate on the technology used in these kits, they are not “official” Korg products in the sense that Korg will not be manufacturing or distributing them. That will be left up to littleBits, who will make the units available via its webstore and select retailers. More details on the littleBits Synth Kit can be found here, and a quirky-but-illuminating video of multi-talented artist Reggie Watts putting the Synth Kit in action can be seen below.
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Janka Nabay “Somebody (Snasen Remix)”
We last heard from upstart Oslo producer Snasen on his reworking of Solar Year’s “Magic Idea,” and he’s now resurfaced with this remix of “Somebody,” a track taken from Sierra Leonean Janka Nabay‘s mystical album En Yay Sah. Snasen—who has a debut full-length due to arrive via Sellout! early next year—has a way of transforming straightforward source material into swirling, crystalline bits of sound, as he throws Nabay’s vocals into an echo chamber and surrounds it with a bubbling synth swell and chirping lead riffs. It’s far removed from the driving, percussion-focused arrangement of the original tune, but the producer’s spacey arrangement of “Somebody (Snasen Remix)” feels natural nonetheless.
Hubie Davison I Won’t Be There
For his debut release, Hubie Davison has demonstrated a sense of artistic clarity and originality that most veteran musicians would be proud to call their own. I Won’t Be There does borrow from some of the more obvious bits of the 2013 zeitgeist—twisted vocal hits, R&B and classic-house influences, for example—but perhaps due to his study of music composition in London, Davison sidesteps musical redundancy by creating a novel foundation for his aesthetic.
Structurally, I Won’t Be There shares some common ground with Four Tet’s more recent output, as Davison crafts extended sections that layer musical elements to great atmospheric effect. That said, he’s undoubtedly an artist with his own particular style; tracks like “Yeh Sai” and “Mannequin Move” almost come to a complete halt in the middle, breathing dramatically before reconfiguring themselves. “Yeh Sai” is especially innovative, as it starts with a minute-long introduction of circulating synth harmonics before fading to silence and launching into a second introductory minute of percussive chords; meanwhile, a beat slowly formulates and establishes the hook that sustains the rest of the piece.
The title track is gripping from its first moments. A simple bassline accented by light-handed percussion and the odd bit of resonant noise is joined by familiar twisted vocal shots, but Davison uses them to develop harmony and texture to beguiling effect. As piano fleshes out the chord structure, a four-to-the-floor kick gives the composition momentum. It’s comforting, nostalgic, and novel all at once.
“No Shirt, No Shoes” takes a page from Shlohmo with a lonesome guitar hook bolstered by a kick and rimshot. But as the track progresses, the drone of an outside chord adds just a hint of dissonance, changing the way the underpinning elements land in the mix. This moment typifies the experience of the EP—it’s a shift in context that’s subtle, but comes with great impact.
