The latest roster addition over at Kastle‘s Symbols label is UK producer Walter Ego, who dropped his Shadows EP just today. Whereas the record’s title track is more reminiscent of Burial’s oft-borrowed sound, “Rebounds” is undoubtedly more upbeat, percussive, and well-suited for the club. The song’s chopped vocals hover over a steady groove that’s spearheaded by the deep and wavy bassline, which is punctuated by dynamic accents coming from Walter Ego’s smacking claps and tinny cymbal crashes.
Nostalgia in music can be a tricky thing. In most cases, a balance is sought somewhere between the reverence an artist has for a certain bygone era or style and their ability to fit that into a modern context. Greeen Linez���the duo of Tokyo-based producer A Taut Line and Chris Greenberg of indie-lounge outfit Hong Kong in the ’60s—is not bashful about its love for cheeseball jazz and new-age spiced muzak on Things That Fade, the group’s debut LP (which follows the self-titled EP the pair dropped along the same lines last year). Complete with the occasional nods to ’90s dance music, the album hits on a few worthwhile combinations, but largely proves exhausting in its unrelenting retro indulgences.
Things That Fade starts off on a good foot with the opening “March 12th Street,” a track which somehow fits dark and stoney jazz, G-funk, and a bit of LA boogie into a nicely polished package. From there, Greeen Linez continues to churn up similarly glossy pieces of downtempo, focusing on its main point of inspiration: the kind of unoffensive instrumental jazz and synth-based soundtrack music which was all too easy to find in the late ’70s and on through the ’80s. Thankfully, the pair doesn’t leave this sound entirely untouched, adding hints of Dam-Funk style smoothness and heavier, more modern, snare-focused drum programming. But, for better or worse, Greeen Linez does just a bit too good of a job emulating its nostalgic musical obsessions, and it can be hard to remember at times that you’re listening to a record that was made in 2012.
At one point, the pair ups the energy with a double dose of house-tempoed outings, “Fantasy Glide” and “Cubic Mentality,” the first of which produces one of the LP’s best moments. The sliding groove and airy synths the tune offers renders “Fantasy Glide” an appropriate title, but the thick bass and inescapable melodies are what really make the song work, landing the production somewhere along the lines of a more synth-based and shiny Metro Area. The following “Cubic Mentality” doesn’t find a way to float with the same enticing air though, and largely marks the point of the record where the novelty begins to wear thin. If Things That Fade had ended with “Fantasy Glide,” a really fun and disarmingly inviting EP may have resulted, but almost an hour’s worth of the duo’s smooth stylings proves to be just too much.
To their credit, the members of Greeen Linez show they are capable of exceptional production value on this debut and the pair surely accomplished what they set out to do, touching on some decent ideas and a few tracks that could largely stand on their own. Unfortunately, the duo’s unwavering dedication to an often cringe-worthy section of the musical past just isn’t the easiest thing to stomach.
The latest collection of vintage sounds scheduled to arrive from the crate diggers at Strut is a two-disc “definitive retrospective” for DJ/producer Cajmere‘s seminal Chicago label, Cajual. Called Only 4 U. The Sound of Cajmere & Cajual Records 1992-2012, the 23-track offering spans roughly 20 years of releases—with appearances from the likes of Derrick Carter, Masters at Work, singer Dajae, Gemini, and label head Curtis A. Jones as both Cajmere and Green Velvet, among others—and comes packaged with rare photos from the Cajual archives and liner notes written by Bill Brewster of DJ History. Before Only 4 U drops on October 30, you can take a look at the sizable run of veritable house and garage classics—including a remastered version of the original mix of “Percolator”—which doubles as its tracklist, below.
CD 1
1. CAJMERE – PERCOLATOR (Remastered Original mix)
2. CAJMERE – CONFLICT
3. CAJMERE – CHIT CHAT (Clubhouse remix)
4. CAJMERE feat. DAJAE – BRIGHTER DAYS (Louie’s Masters At Work mix)
5. CAJMERE feat. DERRICK CARTER – DREAM STATES
6. CAJMERE feat. TERENCE FM – FEELIN’ KINDA HIGH (Vocal mix)
7. DAJAE – GET UP OFF ME (Cajmere’s mix)
8. GEMINI – IF YOU GOT TO BELIEVE IN SOMETHING
9. DAJAE – DAY BY DAY (Chez ‘N’ Trent vocal mix)
10. CAJMERE – HOUSE-WERK (Original mix)
11. CAJMERE feat. WALTER PHILIPS – MIDNIGHT (Original mix)
12. DAJAE – U GOT ME UP (Danny Tenaglia’s Club version)
CD 2
1. GLENN UNDERGROUND – BEYOND
2. GEMINI – LE FUSION
3. JOHNNY FIASCO – TAURUS
4. BRAXTON HOLMES presents JOHN REDMAN – PEOPLE EVERYDAY (12” mix Basement Boys Style)
5. ADAM – MOMENTS IN TIME
6. G.U. – THE WHEEL
7. DEEP SENSATION – GET TOGETHER (Deep Vocal mix)
8. ANDRE HARRIS – I CAN’T TAKE IT (Andre’s Original)
9. CAJMERE – SAY U WILL (Original mix)
10. GREEN VELVET presents JAMIE PRINCIPAL – LALALALALA (NSIDE MY MIND)
11. CAJMERE & RUSSOUL – LET’S DANCE
UK-based producer Lorenz System (formerly known as Beacon, who you may remember from previousposts) has a few tracks bubbling up from his new moniker, one of which is the pounding, dreamy, and synth-heavy “2k.” The production opens with a dark bassline and punchy beat, but is quickly joined by more playful elements. Quick claps, starry synths, and freestyle-esque rhythms help balance out the intro’s moodier side, and just as “2k”‘s vibe really starts to pick up, everything cuts out right at the peak.
East Coast DJ/producer and Italians Do It Better label head Mike Simonetti has announced that his latest project, a new label he’s named New Jersey, will release a 12″ featuring two collaborative tracks from Simonetti and Monty Luke. Calling themselves Billions & Billions, the pair’s “The Dance” b/w “Tractor Beam” record will mark the first offering from New Jersey, which will reportedly focus on releasing “house and techno” 12″s. You can stream both sides of that single below. (via Pitchfork)
A few weeks ago, we posted an exclusive track from Japanese producer Makoto, and now, a video for the title track from his upcoming EP for Apollo (arriving on August 20) has surfaced. The minimal and geometric clip was directed by Hiroha Natsu, and features various split-screen shots of people clad in black and white, cups filled with various liquids, and a two-toned table. The strange visuals for Makoto’s “Another Generation” seem to be based around the idea of spilled milk, which happens frequently as the tunesmith’s fast-paced and glisten production plays on.
UK “goth-pop” chanteuse Charli XCX (pictured above) gets a bare-bones reworking here, courtesy of Numbers affiliate Deadboy. The shadowy tunesmith picks apart the singer’s edgy new single, “You’re the One,” only nabbing fragments of her vocal performance to weave throughout a tumbling bassline and garage-leaning rhythm, all of which makes for an unsettling-but-effective dancefloor tune.
You’re the One (Deadboy Remix)
Everybody’s favorite ’80s-obsessed synth guru, Com Truise is the latest addition to Adult Swim‘s ongoing singles series, which has already seen contributions from the likes of The Field and Flying Lotus. The Ghostly-signed producer is offering his “Chemical Legs” tune—which finds the artist born Seth Haley taking an unexpected turn on the mic, in addition to his usual jamming on vintage electronics—for free download, here.
Today, UK DJ/producers Untold and DJ Q submitted brand-new mixes to Resident Advisor and FACT, respectively. The Hemlock label boss, who we spoke to in today’s Chatterbox feature, described his mix in an interview with RA as “something suitable for a motorway drive at night,” as it’s filled with shadowy tracks from producers like Blawan, Midland, Pariah, and Sei A, among others. DJ Q keeps it more light-hearted, however, and curates a DJ set with cuts from young-guns Disclosure, NY garage don Todd Edwards, Lil Silva, Medlar, the bassline-obsessed tunesmith himself, and many more. You can check out Untold’s RA mix, here, and DJ Q’s mix for FACT, here.
The sweeping synth-pop of :papercutz seems to have made ripples among a number of producers. The Portugal-based artist’s “Rivers” single has been remixed by everyone from Synkro to Nowa Huta to Stalker, and now, Ikonika (pictured above) has joined the club. On her remix, Ikonika, who recently dropped her I Make Lists EP, preserves much of the original’s vocal lines. Rhythmically speaking, however, she doesn’t really stray far from her usual drum-heavy style, adhering to a steady 4/4 beat replete with synths and skittering hi-hat taps.
