Podcast 290: Ejeca

Ejeca (a.k.a. Garry McCartney) burst on the scene in 2012—most notably with “You” (a collaborative track with Bicep) and the Horizon EP—and the Belfast-based producer’s pace hasn’t slowed in 2013. Shortly after we tabbed him as an “Artist to Watch” during Bubblin’ Up Week back in January, the man dropped the Frequency EP via Last Night on Earth, and he has two more offerings making their way into the world this month—the Different Rules EP on Lokee Musik and the Life in Flux EP for 2020 Vision. Ejeca’s profile is undoubtedly on the rise, although some of this momentum is undoubtedly due to the fact that he’s often been lumped in with the current wave of ’90s house and garage revivalism. Curious to find out if that was all the young artist had up his sleeve, we invited him to participate in the XLR8R podcast series. Much to our surprise, Ejeca used the opportunity to deliver a sort of mission statement, assembling a mix that not only explores multiple moods, sounds, genres, and tempos, but also consists of nothing but his own tunes, all of which are previously unreleased. The podcast begins on a clever note, as the “Intro” buries some playful retro rhythms beneath crackling static; apparently, Ejeca isn’t an artist without a sense of humor about himself. On the whole though, listeners hoping for a mix loaded with sounds cribbed from Kerri Chandler and MK will likely be disappointed, as Ejeca spends most of the next 45 minutes piecing together lush melodies, off-kilter drum patterns, and a generally chilled atmosphere. Make no mistake, the podcast does have its housey moments, and even flirts with techno and electro on occasion, but overall, it’s best described as a diverse listen. If Ejeca was concerned about being pigeonholed as a certain type of producer, this podcast should go a long way toward putting those fears to bed.

01 Ejeca “Intro”
02 Ejeca “Need to Know”
03 Ejeca “Metronome”
04 Ejeca “Integrate”
05 Ejeca “Within Us”
06 Ejeca “Cosmo”
07 Ejeca “Same Light”
08 Ejeca “Legoland”
09 Ejeca “In Her Eyes”
10 Ejeca “Forest”
11 Ejeca “Ascanio”
12 Ejeca “We’ll Meet Again…”

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Vosper & Bozzwell “Music for the Lost and Dead (Matt Walsh Remix)”*Throne of Blood*

Londoner Matt Walsh hasn’t always been into house. His bio over on SoundCloud lovingly looks back on “being the only indie kid” at prog-house nights, and being continuously ejected from venues for having the gall to wear shoes to them. As his ears and age advanced, however, he has come to find house music as a sort of “middle ground,” segueing into a commitment to the scene (having curated his own label Clouded Vision) and his own evolving solo productions. New York-based label Throne of Blood recently reached out to Walsh for this remix of Vosper & Bozzwell‘s twilight-tinged “Music for the Love and Dead,” and while it’s easy to say Walsh’s remix is an exciting listen, it doesn’t do the small details justice. On his version, the producer dismantles the original track’s backdrop, leaving only a small portion of the original vocals to vibe in the background as tightly sequenced kicks and swirling keyboards gel together. “Music for the Lost and Dead (Matt Walsh Remix)” closes out Vosper & Bozzwell’s recently released 12″, the rest of which can be previewed after the jump.

Music for the Lost and Dead (Matt Walsh Remix)

Ana Helder Beating PC EP

In our review of last year’s One Night in Cómeme, Vol. 1 (the inaugural release of the pan-Latin Cómeme label’s compilation series), we described the Matias Aguayo-helmed imprint’s stable of artists as a group that’s “dead serious about being playful.” With her second effort for the label, burgeoning Argentinian producer Ana Helder again fits right in with the label’s characteristic approach, satisfying an appetite for off-the-wall sonics and eccentric production choices while never losing sight of a dancefloor where fun is given priority over power.

Helder’s brand of dance music seems to have little concern for a grid, as its drum-machine house beats can sound like they were played live before being looped into four- and eight-bar phrases. The many bits of percussion and overlaying rhythms which join the swung kicks, snares, and hats also seem happy to not adhere to a strict timeline, yielding grooves which are intoxicatingly loose and carefree—a feeling that extends to the melodic and chordal aspects of Helder’s tracks as well. On most of the Beating PC EP, the producer sounds like she is orchestrating a jam between the miniature keys, pleasantly toy-like synths, funky guitar, and post-punk-informed bass that appears in each of the record’s five offerings. Seldom does a concrete structure shape the songs, but rather Helder allows the elements to freely run together, every so often dropping pieces at a moment’s notice or turning abruptly into new themes.

The title track and following “Eat Me” are the strongest tracks birthed by Helder’s adventurous approach. Focusing on tastefully sun-kissed musical themes, the tunes are infused with an inviting buoyancy due to their swinging drum loops and unexpectedly active basslines (which sound as if they were played on a real bass guitar). While the opening cut “Puqui” takes on a similar but more synth-focused approach to that heard on “Beating PC” and “Eat Me,” the EP closes on a darker note with “Berberecho” and “Voy a Ver,” working the record’s recurring elements into more brooding atmospheres.

Only two official releases into her journey as a Cómeme affiliate, Ana Helder sounds like she’s been here all along. Considering the label’s distinctiveness and reputation, that is not a feat to be taken lightly.

Bromley “Make ’em Clap”**

Bristol-based trio Bromley is a relatively fresh outfit wihtin the UK city’s production/DJ scene, as it has no official release to its name. From the sound of “Make ’em Clap,” though, the group will clearly be ready for one soon. The bass-focused tune has all the calling cards of a floor-filler—precisely tuned kicks, an inviting shuffle, revolving patterns of space-age synths, and a set of unquestionably sticky vocal hooks. It all makes for the kind of track one might expect from Dirtybird’s current crop of artists, with an extra dose of Bristol bass weight thrown in for good measure.

Make ’em Clap

Sleeparchive A Man Dies in the Street Pt. 1

For many years, Roger Semsroth claimed that his Sleeparchive project would only release material on its own eponymous label—and, for much of the aughts, it was like that. It took seminal techno imprint Tresor getting involved for him to try another outlet. On paper, it’s a perfect pairing, as both entities are invested in the kind of heavy, countercultural ethos championed by the likes of Underground Resistance in the ’90s. But so far, there just hasn’t been that much material, with only one release, Ronan Point, since the dawn of the new decade. Much like that EP, A Man Dies in the Street Pt. 1, his first offering since, is an exercise in what it means to make practical, no-frills techno loops.

Like many prior Sleeparchive EPs, his latest is programmatic in nature. It’s named after a photo series by Hungarian-born photographer George Brassaï, an artist best known for his surrealistically framed shots of life in the underbelly of pre-WWII Paris. A Man Dies in the Street is exactly what it says it is, with eight shots depicting the aftermath of a sudden death that includes rubberneckers, an ambulance, and eventually, an empty sidewalk. The most important thing, however, is the vantage; Brassaï documents the action from the detached perspective of an apartment window high above, lending his work a weirdly objective matter-of-factness.

Semsroth’s four tracks have much of the same feeling, even though not much of the content recalls the source material specifically. “1” starts out with a heavy kick and an EBM bass riff in the vein of early Nitzer Ebb. “2” pulls the low end out, throws in some background noise, and lets a bleeping synth lead take the reigns. “3” takes a tougher angle, with a pummeling kick drum and crunchy, arpeggiating bass. “4” applies some Basic Channel atmospherics, letting a lead ostinato echo out over sizzling tape hiss. All of these musical ideas manage to convey a general sense of dread, which is repeated in each instance without any real variation to speak of. Instead, a nearly static loop is expressed, allowed to run for four minutes, and then brutally cut off. This lack of complexity does become grating in a non-club setting, but it makes for good material in a DJ set—and that seems to be entirely the intention.

oOoOO Announces Debut LP and Upcoming Tour, Shares First Single

oOoOO (a.k.a. Chris Dexter) has announced that his project’s long-awaited debut LP will arrive this summer, over a year after his XLR8R Pick’d Our Loving is Hurting Us EP, and has offered its first single and a list of tour dates in the meantime. Without Your Love is scheduled to drop on June 24 as the first release from the Kompakt-distributed Nihjgt Feelings label, a venture founded by Dexter and “a handful of local music aficionados” based in the “Turkish island of Bozcaada.” The album—which will be Dexter’s first record not released via Tri Angle since 2010—will be preceded by a European and North American tour set to kick off on April 19 in Poland, eventually finishing its run on June 8 in Calgary. Before then, oOoOO’s latest single, “Stay Here (feat. ML),” can be streamed in the player below, where his upcoming tour dates can also be found.

04-19 Gdansk, Poland – Buffet (DJ)
04-20 Warsaw, Poland – Cafe Kulturalna (DJ)
04- 25 London – Birthdays
04-26 Krems, Austria – Donaufestival
04-28 Sheffield, UK – Bungalows and Bears
05-01 Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
05-04 San Francisco – Public Works
05-13 San Diego – Soda Bar
05-14 Phoenix – Crescent Ballroom
05-16 Austin – Red 7
05-21 Richmond, VA – Strange Matter
05-22 Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall
05-23 Brooklyn – Glasslands
05-24 Boston – Middle East Upstairs
05-28 Pittsburgh – 6118
06-01 Chicago – Lincoln Hall
06-04 Hollywood – Dim Mak Studios
06-05 Seattle – TBA
06-06 Vancouver – Fortune Sound Club
06-07 Portland – Mississippi Studios
06-08 Calgary – HiFi Club

Jacques Renault Delivers Mix for Gomma

Jacques Renault has reinvigorated his musical output in 2013, after spending the past two years quietly co-running the Let’s Play House imprint. The DJ/producer released his latest single, “Back to You,” in January, got remixed by Almost just last Friday, and has opened this week with a new mix for longstanding German house label Gomma. Apparently born out of a few bottles of red wine and a chat with Gomma boss Mr. Munk at a party in Rome, Renault’s mix is an hour-long, 15-track offering of Gomma tracks both old and forthcoming. 100% Gomma is streaming in full below, where the tracklist is also available to browse.

1) Leroy Hanghofer – Pin (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
2) Dimitri From Paris & Los Amigos Invisibles – Glad To Know You (Ray Mang Flying Dub)
3) Capablanca & T. Keeler – No Hay Dub
4) GBs – Lucky In Vichy
5) Severino Horse Meat Disco – Bounce
6) Daniel Avery & The Deadstock 33s – Nylon Icon
7) Headman – It Rough (Chicken Lips Remix)
8) Baldelli – Phobos
9) DJ Steef – Venusian Missing
10) The Glimmers – Awake
11) Munk – Keep My Secret (Jacques Renault Remix)
12) Mercury – Man
13) The Barking Dogs feat. Tom Trago – Your High
14) Telonius – Control
15) The Deadstock 33s – Tic Tic Toc

Watch Jacques Greene Collaborate in the Studio

As part of its recently launched Song from Scratch series—the first installment of which featured Shlohmo and Jeremih—Yours Truly has brought together Montreal producer Jacques Greene and vocalist Tinashe to work on an exclusive track, presenting highlights from their creative process in a new video. In the short clip, the two artists discuss their joint approach to songwriting and production between bits of actual keyboard and vocal performances recorded while working in Los Angeles locale Village Studios. Jacques Greene’s and Tinashe’s resulting effort will be available as a free download sometime tomorrow, but before then, the mini-doc about the joint session can be found below.

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Watch Todd Edwards Talk Studio Sessions, the West Coast, and Daft Punk

“It’s been difficult keeping this secret,” Todd Edwards says at the outset of the new Collaborators clip from The Creators Project. Edwards has not worked with Daft Punk since 2001, when he co-wrote and sang on Discovery single “Face to Face,” which helps explain the energetic and emotional way he describes his experience working on the French duo’s upcoming new record, Random Access Memories. The New Jersey-born DJ/producer has been making music on his own for 20 years, often taking a sparse, space-filled “micro sample” approach to sequencing his tunes. He describes at length the various experimental approaches he and Daft Punk took to building cuts for the record, a mix of live instrumentation (which Edwards was somewhat unfamiliar with) and cutting up samples of those recordings on the spot. Edwards also shares that Daft Punk specifically set out to create a “West Coast” vibe for Random Access Memories, and that his three-week experience working on the record was so inspiring that he ended up moving from New Jersey to Southern California. The full interview can be watched below.

Avid Announces Pro Tools 11

Avid has announced an upgrade to its flagship audio workstation, sharing details of the upcoming release of Pro Tools 11. The latest version of the DAW is said to feature a “newly designed architecture [that] turbo-charges production with more plug-in processing and the ability to run more virtual instruments.” Some of the software’s key features include a redesigned audio engine with 64-bit architecture, the ability of offline bouncing, expanded metering capabilities, and more. A brief video preview of Pro Tools 11 can be watched below, and a much more comprehensive look at the forthcoming program—clocking in at over 40 minutes—can be viewed here.

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