Flying Ibex “You Dared Me (Rough Fields Surf Bus Mix)”

Having just released its Habits LP via the Bomb Shop imprint, UK trio Flying Ibex has recruited fellow Londoner Rough Fields (pictured above) to rework album track “You Dared Me.” Clearly up to the task, Rough Fields turns in a remix that lives up to his moniker, bathing the original in a seemingly endless wash of blissful, all-encompassing noise—essentially running the song through a field of crispy electronics which result in an enticingly rough tone. We should also add that the sea-life field recordings and melodically resonant bassline are a nice touch, too.

You Dared Me (Rough Fields Surf Bus Mix)

Kyson The Water’s Way

Though the Friends of Friends label hasn’t exactly followed one aesthetic philosophy while building its roster, the new presence of Berlin-by-way-of-Australia producer Kyson in the imprint’s stable makes a lot of sense. On the artist’s debut full-length, Kyson crafts productions that appear a few steps farther along the path from labelmate Shlohmo’s first releases, making use of the textural percussion and hazy melodies which marked the SoCal producer’s style early on. But Kyson has evolved his sound beyond that base, absorbing more worldly elements and adding unabashed layers of his own voice into the arsenal. Where Shlohmo once draped himself in moody disillusionment, Kyson’s tracks have a more uplifting, self-reflective quality. However, while it’s clear that Kyson is a promising talent over the course of his 10-track debut album, his is a promise that sometimes goes unfulfilled on The Water’s Way.

To be fair, Kyson is fighting a bit of an uphill battle from the start. The world of blissful beats is one that has become overpopulated in recent years; as such, finding pockets of innovation in this corner of the electronic spectrum is becoming an increasingly difficult task. Still, to his credit, Kyson does not sound like he is someone who simply wants to cover the same ground as his predecessors or co-opt any particular style. His attempts may not always be resounding successes, but glimpses of a unique production voice do shine through. The Water’s Way begins with one of its better efforts, weaving an almost overwhelming assemblage of heavenly tones and Eastern-touched strings around a Mount Kimbie-indebted halftime skip, while—a bit down the line—the rushing, triplet-swung “Ran Away” sounds like a refortified Baths with its reverb-washed, high-register vocals and swirling pads. Though these two examples bear comparison to somewhat like-minded artists, this is one of the hazards of making one’s name in a crowded field—one’s resemblance to those who came before is hard to go unnoticed. Even the ambient-leaning, interlude-like “Moments in the Background” shares some solid connections to the work of Dntel (circa his defining Life Is Full of Possibilities LP), which is certainly not a bad comparison to elicit, but it’s one that is hard to ignore nonetheless.

The Water’s Way‘s only major downfalls come when Kyson elects to make his own vocals the focus of his productions. While there are some instances of the young producer using his voice tastefully, tracks like “Missing Things” and “She Said to Me Quietly” demonstrate the opposite. Kyson can certainly sing, but that doesn’t mean he has to, and on these songs, the addition of outright lyrical content throws off the already teetering balance his hybrid productions are attempting to strike. Considering the beds on top of which they are presented—in the case of “Missing Things,” a heavy-handed orgy of side-chained chords, and on “She Said to Me Quietly,” a bizarrely assembled ensemble of tribal loops, shuffling drums, and continuously ascending synths—Kyson’s passionate vocals push the tracks too far into overdramatic territory. Putting together an album’s worth of blissful electronic hybrids is no easy task, as it’s easy to wind up with a collection of downtempo, adult-contemporary-ish electronic-pop tunes that serious listeners will avoid. Kyson is still learning where the line is, especially on songs like “How Long,” whose live drums, falsetto vocals, and predictable rush of washing synths just doesn’t quite work.

Still, there is definitely a light at the end of Kyson’s tunnel; the album’s closing effort, “Shadow’s Cross,” makes the best case for the artist moving forward. The song is catchy, but well-balanced, as its simple melodies never take off too far and its arrangement is given plenty of room to breathe. It’s a formula that’s unfortunately lacking on the rest of the record. Furthermore, the tune even finds Kyson incorporating his own voice in manner that seems fitting, offering small stanzas that serve to make the man’s voice sound as much like a musical instrument as it does a vessel for his ambiguous lyrics. “Shadow’s Cross” is a promising note to end on, and one that ultimately signals that, though The Water’s Way may not be the subject of heaps of praise, giving up on Kyson at this point would certainly be a mistake.

Tar Feather “Folded Meals”

Portuguese artist Tar Feather (a.k.a. Diogo Tudela) bathes his peculiar productions in an amorphous muck, so much so that their rhythms can barely peek through the hanging fog. On “Folded Meals,” a track taken from his forthcoming Heavy Metals LP (out on September 30 via Easy Pieces), Tudela crafts an uncanny mood by folding in swathes of analog pads above unsettling squeaks and clatter. Eventually, a coherent beat does emerge, and like the best moments from Actress’ or Lukid’s recent work, Tar Feather succeeds at integrating myth and mystery with his electronics.

Folded Meals

Slackk Failed Gods EP

London producer Slackk‘s new six-track EP for Local Action, Failed Gods, arrives on the back of steadily building hype around the creative resurgence of grime. Though he’s previously released music via Numbers and Unknown to the Unknown, and last year dropped the Raw Missions EP for Local Action, Slackk (a.k.a. Paul Lynch) has arguably delivered his most inventive record to date here. The six tracks on Failed Gods play fairly fast and loose with their grime framework, and score points for their almost baroque arrangements and deliciously creepy atmosphere.

The first thing one hears on the EP, in the first bars of “Empty Bottles,” is a winding, centrifugal synth line, which is underpinned by a sparse bass drum before further synths and cold, clattering percussion are added to the mix. The effect is slow and dizzying, and the track’s clean lines and icy sheen are more than a little hypnotic. Lynch showcases his aggressive side on the storming “Shogun Assassin,” which pairs a techno pulse with menacing synthesized strings and seriously dirty percussion, complete with plenty of gunshot noises. The EP’s probable highlight is “Silk Road,” which opens on what sounds uncannily like a sample of the theme from Twin Peaks before introducing a goofy synth melody and glittering keys. Keeping things at a slow tempo, the track hits on a vibe halfway between The Legend of Zelda and a luxury spa, and its deliberate playfulness is both a sharp contrast from the rest of the EP and a hint at a far more textural direction from the producer—something which is only confirmed by the bizarro-ambient of the following track, “Room Made Vague.” Failed Gods‘ closer “Jackpines” further explores this kind of atmospheric territory, as its simple, creeping melodies and thick, loping bass create an excellent, horror-movie-soundtrack-like effect. It’s telling that many of the record’s best moments are often its more ambient ones, allowing Lynch to explore his deft, surreal grasp of melody. Ultimately, Failed Gods highlights what a versatile producer Lynch has become. It’s difficult to think of any other artists exploring the outer reaches of grime so deftly, while maintaining the roughness that’s a hallmark of the genre.

Trainwreck: Claude VonStroke

By dance-music standards, San Francisco’s Claude VonStroke (a.k.a. Barclay Crenshaw) is practically a household name at this point. Since founding the Dirtybird label in 2005, the producer has consistently delivered infectiously bassy hybrids of techno and house, which he routinely injects with healthy doses of humor. Urban Animal, his third and latest album, finds him continuing this tradition, and notably features a collaboration with Chicago ghetto-house mainstay DJ Nehpets, a unique addition to Crenshaw’s wide array of musical associates. (His Discogs page features everyone from Bootsy Collins to Girl Unit). However, one doesn’t acquire such a bubbly, worldly reputation without suffering a few mishaps along the way. They’re even still happening to him. Our Trainwreck series usually serves as a catchall for line-of-duty mishaps, whether they happen in the club or not. Here though, Crenshaw details a few actual trainwrecks, from his most recent to the one that started it all.

I’ve been pretty lucky, and I’m pretty anal about my set-up, so I haven’t had a ton of [problems]. But like two weeks ago I had one that was pretty bad, where all the DJs in front of me were triggering Ableton clips, and so nobody checked whether the monitors worked. And I didn’t have a tour manager with me—this isn’t even the bad one, I’m giving you a couple [of stories]. I’m giving this as an example. [laughs]

I just got up on the stage in front of 15,000 people in Chicago at North Coast Festival, and the monitors were like two seconds behind the mix, and the entire soundsystem was right under my feet. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but basically there was no possible way to mix. I started just watching the LEDs on the mixer, thinking of every possible track I could think of that had a washout, or a weird ending, and I was like hard cutting between stuff, backspinning out of tracks. I put a whole set together of crazy drum & bass breakdowns. Everybody at the end was like, “That was the greatest!” and I was like, “Oh my god, that was not the greatest.” [laughs] The reason that I brought that one up is because I’ve been doing it for 10 years, so even though that was completely terrifying, I was like, “Whatever, I’ll be fine.” Because after you’ve been through a bunch of bad ones, you’re like, “Okay, I can just make it happen.” So I think the worst ones for everyone are always going to be in the beginning. And my worst one, psychologically, is not going to sound that bad, but it was definitely the worst one ever.

I had just put out my first big tracks, and I’m on maybe my second or third trip total to Europe. And I’m playing in Fabric for the first time ever. I’ve heard about Fabric forever, you know, I’m going to Fabric, it’s Fabric’s birthday party. Everybody’s there—publishers are there, managers are there—in the booth is the owner of Ghostly, Matthew Dear, Rob Mello, all these people. I’m already terrified anyway. I keep putting my headphones into the headphone jack on the mixer, and I can’t really hear anything coming out of the cue. But I think it’s my fault because I’m so green. I’m just like, “I’m not going to say anything, right? I’m fucking it up. It’s not them, it’s me.” So I can kind of hear it and I’m like, “Maybe it’s just this mixer, and my headphones aren’t loud enough and I’m just going to have to battle through this.” So I put on my first record and completely trainwreck into the second record. It’s basically the first time anybody’s heard me on a big platform in England ever. In my brain and my heart and my stomach, I thought that my whole entire DJ career was over. For some reason, that trainwreck never leaves me, ever. I can never forget it. And then, as soon as it happened, the sound guy came over. In Fabric, they don’t ask you why you fucked up. They ask you if everything’s okay. [laughs] That’s like their trick: “Is everything okay? Are you sure everything is okay?” I’m like, “I don’t know, I can’t really hear out of the headphones.” And then he puts on the headphones, and then he does a Fonzie and just bashes the headphones into the headphone jack, and then it’s full volume for the rest of the gig. But I still feel like shit. I never forget it, it’s scarred into my brain.

In a similar situation, on the same trip or the trip right after, I was on Pete Tong’s [show], my first time ever on Radio 1. They just put me in the studio and they’re like, “Most of the time everybody just records this and sends it to us, but we’re going to make you do it live.” And it’s like a live 20-minute mix while they just chat in the other room. Right before I go on, the engineer comes into the room and goes, “I’m really sorry, but we’ve never really got this DJ set-up to work correctly, so there’s going to be a one-second delay between the monitors and the headphones. But you’re going live on Radio 1 at 9 p.m. Right now. Go!” [laughs] Trying to do the math in your brain of one second off is so much harder than DJing. That was a total nightmare as well.

Every story that’s bad for me is just like, the equipment is fucked up. I just haven’t figured it out yet. Don’t put yourself in situations where the equipment is going to be fucked up. I still haven’t learned my lesson and I still don’t bring a tour manager. Someday I’ll figure it out.

Video: Tropic of Cancer “Plant Lilies at My Head”

The solo project of Camello Lobo, Tropic of Cancer has been slowly narrowing in on a unique melancholic sound, an unsettling angle she also takes on her latest video. Taken from Lobo’s recently released Restless Idylls album, “Plant Lilies at My Head” is a moody, slow-burning drone that builds upon layers of distant vocals and a plaintive, chorused guitar line. The track’s accompanying video uses grainy footage and muted color palette to coincide with the slow unraveling of Tropic of Cancer’s song, the effects of which feel eerily heavy.

Listen to a New Jam City-Produced Track from Kelela

After getting word of LA vocalist Kelela‘s forthcoming mixtape for Fade to Mind earlier this month, we now have one more piece of the puzzle, a brand-new song produced by Night Slugs affiliate Jam City. Considering that Kelela’s 13-track Cut 4 Me mixtape is out on October 1, this new tune and the Nguzunguzu-produced contribution which popped up earlier this month may be our only previews of the fast-approaching release before it arrives next week. Thankfully, they provide just enough of Kelela’s forward-thinking R&B-isms to properly whet our palette. “Keep It Cool” can be streamed in full below.

Makoto “Ritual”

Tokyo producer Makoto has kept himself busy for many years now exploring the myraid of sonic landscapes where soul-flecked and jazz-informed productions meet with unapologetic bassweight. The man’s forthcoming Primitive EP is set to offer five of his latest findings in this area, including the percussion-heavy “Ritual.” Positioned around a vocal sample describing some sort of drum-focused ritual, Makoto wastes no time laying on a thick groove that rolls on and on, adorning itself with echoing piano chords and a carefully assembled chorus of syncopated percussion patterns as it tumbles forward. Like most of the Japanese artist’s work, “Ritual” is outside of exact classification, but still tremendously infectious. Makoto’s five-track Primitive EP is set to drop on October 8 via R&S sub-label Apollo.

Ritual

Red Rack’em Announces New 12″ for PTN, Shares New Track

UK-born, Berlin-based DJ/producer Red Rack’em (a.k.a Danny Berman) has announced a new 12″ for RAMP sub-label PTN. The “I Trusted You” b/w “Converse” record finds Berman digging his heels into a hard, blurry techno backdrop rife with punishing sub frequencies. As the a-side cut streaming below illustrates, Red Rack’em seems to be immersing himself in the type of tough, uncompromising techno that Berlin has become known for. “I Trusted You” b/w “Converse” is scheduled for an October 28 release.

Anstam Remixes Moderat and Siriusmo on Upcoming 12″ for 50Weapons

Berlin producer Anstam (a.k.a. Lars Stöwe) has announced his return to Modeselektor’s 50Weapons imprint with news of an upcoming remix 12″. Following the Stones and Woods LP, Anstam: The Remixes finds Stowe takeing on Moderat‘s recent single “Gita,” bringing to light the song’s pop undertones, while on the b-side, he turns “Stinky Wig” by labelmate Siriusmo into a four-on-the-floor burner. Anstam also has plans to stay busy on the road throughout the fall, first supporting Moderat in Europe, then heading to Japan to open for Thom Yorke’s Atoms For Peace supergroup. In the meanwhile, Anstam: The Remixes will drop on October 11.

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