Say what you will about Canadian health care, you crazy Republicans, but you can’t argue (well, sure you can, but, well, you know…) that Canadian tax dollars flowing toward the country’s national broadcaster aren’t well spent when they facilitate mind-melting musical meetings like this one. Here Fucked Up and Annie-Claude Deschênes of Duchess Says collaborate at CBC Radio 3’s Montreal studios for a monumental Bande à Part session!
More than a year after his debut full-length on the Dubsided label, What Do You Do if You Don’t, Berliner by way of London Jesse Rose has prepped a series of two 12″ records to be released as his Sleep Less EP. The two records will be titled Sleep Less (Night One) and Sleep Less (Night Two), and will feature the original and dub versions of tracks “Non-Stop” and “(Where Were You) Last Night,” along with one rendition of “You Know It” on the second release. Each 12″ will be released on separate dates, May 19 and June 3 respectively, and will serve as the first solo release from Rose on his own Made to Play label.
Jamie Stewart, the mastermind behind veteran indie band Xiu Xiu, has been using wonky electronics to create his sinisterly playful and completely abrasive sounds since his first album, 2002’s Knife Play. Moving deeper into the 21st century, Stewart continues to employ new approaches in creating the electronic elements that color his fractured pop tunes, including the Korg DS-10 software for the Nintendo DS, modeled after Korg’s classic MS-10 synth. Here Stewart gives us the lowdown on the DS-10’s moving parts, and explains how Xiu Xiu’s touchpad compositions came to life on Dear God, I Hate Myself, the band’s newest record for Kill Rock Stars.
1. Drum machine
On the DS-10, there are four drum sounds and four drum tracks, which can be step-written or tap-written with four little “pads” on the screen. The step-writing has the wonderful feature of being divided into seven octaves, so your kick sound can go anywhere from sub-bass to tiny clicks. As well, you can use a virtual knob style interface to create analog drum sounds from scratch. Never having had the money for a real analog drum machine, this opened my ears to that world in a new way. The Congotronics style melodic bass drum on “Apple for a Brain” was a product of this interface.
2. Synths
There are two mono synths and two sequencers. Like the drum machine, the synths can be step-written or played on a touchscreen keyboard, and also have seven octaves. The touchscreen is a little tough to play because it is so small, but it is useful to work out parts or try harmonies with a previously programmed line. You can program the sounds for both synths in the same way as the drums, with virtual knob controllers over all the basic parameters. There is also, like the Korg, a patch-bay screen to manipulate pitch and the filter against square, saw, and triangle waves.
3. Sequencer
On the song “Secret Motel,” which I wrote on trains during a European tour using only the DS-10, I used the sequencers for incredibly fast and intertwining lines going bonkers all up and down multiple octaves with zimzam death-cute sounds.
4. Effects
You can apply chorus, flanger, and a good-sounding delay to each drum sound individually, further enhancing your creativity. (It makes for fantastic Martin Hannett-style permutations.) On Roland drum boxes I have used, you couldn’t put individual effects on a single drum sound. For “Dear God, I Hate Myself,” being able to do this made the drums, which are the main part of the song, feel much more freaked out and odd. These are not as incredible as the programming, but they can add a finishing touch to a sound.
5. Kaoss Pad
The two Kaoss Pads are touchscreens that can, depending upon where you place the stylus on an X/Y axis, control two different parameters of a sound. You can sweep across the screen and turn up the distortion while turning up the release on the EG filter. You can then record this move in real time in the sequencer. The “knobs” will then continue to change the sound as you played it with the beat.
Calgary, Alberta’s Smalltown DJs contributed this track to the Do It To It compilation recently released by the Minneapolis-based design house Burlesque of North America. “Autograph” kicks off the 17-track affair with an immediate thumping beat before a pitched-down vocal loop and a plethora of percussive synths join the mix. The hyperactive elements eventually adhere together for an upbeat future-house number that’s equal parts Miami club scene and dirty East Coast warehouse rave
Sweden’s Alf Tumble transports fellow Stockholm resident Rigas‘ latest single from one side of the disco-house spectrum to the other. While the original version of “Helpless” relies more on flourishing pianos and live drum sounds, Tumble’s rework is a tad more contemporary sounding with electro-leaning timbres and a more synthetic vibe overall. Regardless of style, both feature a plaintive vocal melody that’s sure to hit home with just about everyone still on the dancefloor late into the night.
Helpless (Alf Tumble Discoteca Remix)
Even in their earliest form, Autechre tracks had a handmade feel, assembled from richly manipulated sounds rather than standardized electronic building blocks. Oversteps is the latest product of the duo’s Max/MSP wizardry, and it recoups some of the coherence of their earlier, almost clubby songs with the more lateral processing and cryptic shapes of its predecessor, Quaristice. So while it’s not surprising that the results cover broad stylistic territory, it feels strange at first to find Booth and Brown back in a coherent musical zone. “known(1)”‘s processional synth harpsichord and plastic trumpet bleats even manage to cut a figure somehow close to late-era Coil. Other tracks—in the Autechre tradition—aren’t comparable to anything except Autechre, but as “see on see” proves, structured chaos can have feelings, too. It’s nice to find a little mystification from a duo that often prizes rigor over imagery.
We’d safely wager that the opening bassline—a distorted mouth-made melody—on Jamie Lidell‘s latest single is one of the strangest sounds you’re likely to hear coming from a pop artist this year. By the same token, this music video for “The Ring” is likely to be one of the coolest videos you’ll see all year. Seemingly shot from the viewpoint of a few barely focused Holga and medium-format cameras, the video features a solo Lidell waxing lovelorn and wacky in and around a sandy beach—singing the blues about dreams, rings, and shorelines. “The Ring” is taken from Compass, the forthcoming third album from Jamie Lidell, out May 18 via Warp.
The opening track of Subiza, the third full-length album from Barcelona’s much-lauded synth-pop outfit Delorean, sounds like nothing other than pure, ecstatic joy. The sentiment mirrors those of fans awaiting the XLR8Rcover stars‘ forthcoming record, and “Stay Close” provides the perfect taste of what to expect from the quartet. Bouncing sub-basslines, syncopated synth melodies, a host of angelic vocal samples, and intimate, heartfelt singing from frontman Ekhi Lopetegi float around a subtle UK funky-inspired beat—creating a sum far more rapturous than its parts.
Subiza is out June 8 on True Panther, and available for pre-order now.
The field recording of a playground that starts off “You Got the Love” fits the theme of Inner Child, a compilation whose proceeds go to benefit Atlanta’s Dream House for Kids, from which the track is taken, but is a bit less instep with the song itself. Kastle‘s soulful number is equal parts mysterious, Burial-esque dubstep and classic piano house, but not the least bit childish or playful in any way. Both the poignant vocal melody and solid production work are trademarks of an artist that takes his work seriously. Regardless, the thoughtful, grooving sounds heard within “Love” are sure to stand out amongst the other contributed tracks on the philanthropic release.
LA’s beat-centric Alpha Pup label recently added a new producer to its ranks with the melodic sub-loving styles of Take and his debut full-length, Only Mountain. Taken from said debut, “Incredibright” is a bit of a beguiling title for this slice of wobbling dubstep. The reverberated piano flourishes and plinking synth melodies, uh, brighten up the track, but—for the most part—Take’s mid-album jam is ruled by crunchy space trash and woozily sinister low-frequency sounds.
