Roche “Ice Job”

Lately, it seems like all a producer needs for a solid track is one really good idea, coupled with a small handful of complimentary sounds. For “Ice Job,” by San Francisco producer Roche, that one good idea is a ghostly descending melody looped ad infinitum, paired with some subtle bass tones undulating underneath it and the accompanying polyrhythms. The ongoing loop (we can’t quite tell what instrument it is exactly) seems like it’ll never stop, but somewhere around the 4:20 mark (go figure!), it takes a reprieve and wafts about in a brief limbo while the beat and bass continue to groove like nothing’s changed. Roche’s mesmerizing proto-house cut is the lead song on his recently released four-track Degage EP, which you can nab for a decent price here.

Ice Job

S-Type “Terry Nutkins”

For the third release from Glasgow’s Phuturelabs imprint, fellow Scotsman S-Type hooks up a few purply, nod-worthy cuts, which include this mid-tempo jam, “Terry Nutkins.” The tune starts grooving from the get-go with a stuttering melody and a hip-hop beat bouncing in half-time, occasionally peppered with some warped vocal exclamations, and takes no time joining up with an arsenal of keys—organs, lead synths, pads, wobble bass, etc.—that grows larger and larger with each passing minute. At times, S-Type’s production is a bit anthemic, a bit grimy, a bit wonky, and a bit (as said before) purple, but no matter which sound “Terry Nutkins” pushes, it remains ready, willing, and able to move you at the push of a play button.

Terry Nutkins

Video: The Books’ “I Didn’t Know That”

Leave it to New York sound artists The Books to make something out of anything. First, they made one of the most interesting and enjoyable albums to be heard this year out of self-help tapes, recordings of children’s stories, and other pieces of “humanity’s sonic hodgepodge” (as our 9/10 review of The Way Out puts it). And now, the duo of Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong made a wacky music video for their funky “I Didn’t Know That” tune with manipulated VHS footage of golfers, car explosions, airbag testing, and plenty of other randomness. The concept and execution of the video, which was directed by Zammuto himself, are as original and entertaining as the song itself, and make for some pretty darn good watching altogether.

Nosaj Thing “Fog (Jamie xx Remix)”

Pretty much everyone into contemporary indie music knows that The xx has some serious chops, and gradually, it’s becoming ever-apparent that at least one of the band’s three members has his own solo chops, too. Jamie xx has been showing us what he’s made of with his upcoming single for Numbers and a couple of choice remixes, including this new jam for Nosaj Thing‘s forthcoming Drift Remixed record. This re-work of “Fog” is a spooky, shuffling, and off-kilter bass tune that alternates between a sluggishly staggering pace and subtly spirited mood. On his production, Jamie xx keeps true to the original’s cavernous sounds and those arpeggiating melodies that are so reminiscent of the “Castle Theme” from Super Mario Bros. (via Pitchfork)

Fog (Jamie xx Remix)

Tensnake to Tour North America This November

Hamburg’s disco- and house-indebted DJ/producer Tensnake (a.k.a. Marco Niemerski, featured in our pages here) is taking his wealth of club-friendly dance music—including the breakout “Coma Cat” single—across the pond for a 10-day tour of North America, starting on November 11. Hot on the heels of Niemerski’s recently released double-disc mix album, Tensnake In the House, the tunesmith will traipse across the US and up into Canada before ending up at Le Poisson Rouge in New York on November 20. You can check out the full list of Tensnake’s tour dates below.

November 11th – U Hall, Washington DC
November 12th – Smart Bar, Chicago, IL
November 13th – A Club Called Rhonda, Los Angeles, CA
November 14th – Public Works, San Francisco, CA
November 16th – Scion Show, New York, NY
November 18th – Wrong Bar, Toronto, ON
November 19th – Voyeur, Philadelphia, PA
November 20th – Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY

Fool’s Gold Records Drop First Compilation Today

Though the Downtown-affiliated imprint has been in business for nearly four years now, Fool’s Gold, the label run by DJs A-Trak (pictured above) and Nick Catchdubs, is only now releasing its first compilation. Today, Fool’s Gold Vol. 1 dropped both online and IRL, featuring a 14-song tracklist of completely brand-new music from the label’s roster. Party-starting artists like Kid Sister, Lil B, Treasure Fingers, Tensnake, Kingdom, Jokers of the Scene, Trackademicks, A-Trak, Congorock, and LA Riots, among others, all make appearances on Vol. 1, which you can nab for around $10. You can check out the artwork and tracklist below.

1. Treasure Fingers f. Haley Small – Keep Up
2. Vega – No Reasons (Tensnake Remix)
3. Sammy Bananas – Move Your Body
4. Trackademicks – The Best Stroke
5. A-Trak f. CyHi Da Prynce – Ray Ban Vision
6. Kid Sister – Don’t Stop Movin
7. Lil B – Freeze
8. The Suzan – Animal
9. Flosstradamus – Cape Town Get Down
10. LA Riots – Control Your Tuba
11. Congorock – Babylon (Riton Remix)
12. Kingdom f. Tiombe Lockhart – Remember
13. Jokers of The Scene f. vitaminsforyou – Power Slave
14. Nacho Lovers – Zero Time

Sumsun “Ants”

You see, guys, not everyone associated with the beat scene has to match a wobbly bass tone with a herky-jerky rhythm, throw in a couple of samples, and call it a tune. Like Leaving Records affiliate and hot weather lover Sumsun shows on his “Ants” track, it’s okay to drop a simple beat (that’s perfectly in time), wrap it in a single sun-bleached soundscape that’s as beautifully orchestrated as it is lo-fi and indecipherable, and ride the waves for about four minutes. The producer, born Judson Rogers, reminds us a bit of what we’ve been hearing from Teebs lately, but with a more prominent dancefloor beat and a slightly stronger slant toward chillwave. We’ll see how the rest of Sumsun’s record compares when Leaving Records drops Samo Milagro on November 2.

Ants

Maddslinky Make a Change

Seven years after his LP, Make Your Peace, paved the way for what the whole world now calls dubstep, Maddslinky is back. In fact, he never actually went away, but the recent popularity of music inspired by his early work has brought the man also known as Zed Bias back to everyone’s attention.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Make a Change doesn’t set out to test the ear. The opening track is an uplifting wedge of soulful house—featuring British soul singer Omar—that sets us up for a proper album with proper songs. The production is classic Zed Bias (909 hi-hats, piano melodies, Juno synths, garage percussion), the programming is concise, and as a result, the strongest beats are those with vocals. On “Hiding Place,” half-step drums swagger beneath an enchanting hook, courtesy of Taniah; “Inspiration Meditation” features Paul Randolph brooding over a thick square-wave riff, guided by flickers of crisp percussion; and on “Fly,” Jenna G (most commonly seen standing next to DJ Zinc) rides a surging house jam that is destined for the record bags of UK funky DJs like Marcus Nasty.

There is, however, an exception that disproves the rule. The album’s highpoint comes courtesy of an instrumental track—featured on Martyn’s 2009 Fabric mix CD—entitled “Lost on Tenori Street.” Mesmerizing from start to finish, the track swirls around a dreamy melody, played on a marimba, that creates an effect something like a sedated shangaan electro. Sublime.

Radio Slave to Tour US This Week and Next

Kicking off later this week in Washington, D.C., Berlin-based DJ/producer Radio Slave will spend a handful of days in October and November touring the United States in support of his forthcoming album to be released as The Machine, Red Head. The tour lasts from October 28 until November 6, with six performances squeezed into that time. Red Head drops on November 8 via Radio Slave’s own Rekids label, and you can check out the list of tour dates below.

Thursday 28th Oct. – U Street Music Hall – Washington, D.C.
Friday 29th Oct. – District 36 – New York
Sunday 31st Oct. – Electric Pickle – Miami
Thursday 4th Nov. – Vessel – San Francisco
Friday 5th Nov. – Spy Bar – Chicago
Saturday 6th Nov. – Supper Club – Los Angeles

Wiley “It’s Wiley”

Between his incessant Twitter feed, lengthy Ustream broadcasts, unloading of free tracks online, random guest appearances, and the like, 2010 has turned out to be quite an unconventionally big year for UK grime icon Wiley. We say “unconventionally big” because, despite not releasing a proper album and only one official single, Wiley seems to have popped up on everyone’s radar multiple times throughout the year. Continuing in that fashion, Wiley delivers this fresh tune, which he recorded while spending some time in Jamaica (incidentally, what happened to the Ustreams from that trip?). Wiley is in top form as he spits his whirlwind verse over producer Prodigal’s banging, brand-new Showa Eski Riddim—waxing somewhat nonsensical for a large part of his stream-of-consciousness flow, but we wouldn’t take our Eskiboy any other way. You can check out more versions of Prodigal’s riddim from Lady Chann, Ward 21, Natalie Storm, and more when it drops late next month. (Editor’s note: It’s been brought to our attention that Wiley’s vocal here may just be a sped up version of his flow from the “From the Drop” track with MJ Cole. Pending further investigations, it seems we’ve been duped. Update: Prodigal tells us Wiley did indeed record these vocals live, as indicated by the consistent “Showa Eski” mentions. Regardless, it seems Wiley pulled a fast one and recycled his flows a bit. Oh, Eskiboy!)

It’s Wiley

It’s Wiley

It’s Wiley

It’s Wiley

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