From the fourth installment of Great Stuff’s Munich Disco Tech EP series, “Violin Land (Car Mix)” is a large slice of whimsically minimal techno from Italian duo Dariush & DJDa. The song follows an entrancingly narrow path into blissful oblivion, but not without breaking away from its hypnotic beat for the occasional violin and percussion solo. The whole EP, comprised entirely of songs produced by duos, is available now for preview on the Great Stuff website.
Like many of his fans, I lost interest in Luke Slater’s career after 2002’s flawed stab at accessibility, Alright on Top. That he’s resorted to his Planetary Assault Systems handle implies that Slater’s ready to return to the sort of heady, tough techno of his mid-’90s heyday, and Temporary Suspension delivers just that. This is sci-fi-inflected, peak-time material, full of psychedelic production touches and propelled by remorseless, tower-leveling beats, usually at panic-inducing, galloping clips. Most of the tracks here are disorienting, redolent of dystopian atmospheres and complex machinery gone awry, particularly on “Om the Def” and “Attack of the Mutant Camels.” Lacking the jaggedly funky electro elements of the best Luke Slater albums, Wireless and Freek Funk, Temporary Suspension finds PAS in full-on Andromeda Strain mode. The album’s a thrilling comeback from a major talent who’s regained his (inter)stellar touch.
This October, Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label will celebrate its 100th release with a special remix compilation, featuring tracks from the 19-years-running back-catalog remixed by friends of the producer/DJ extraordinaire. As well, the iconic Plus 8 logo will undergo a redesign. And here’s where you come in: Plus 8 is asking its fans to reinterpret one of the label’s five logos from the past. The best submissions will be integrated as part of the special anniversary release. The prizes are yet to be announced, but you can bet the rewards will be something good (?).
To get started, download the contest rules and image files now. The final date for entries is August 14, 2009.
This time around, XLR8R‘s Inbox sits down with Angeleno soul sister Georgia Anne Muldrow. Ms. One discusses lost dreams, candle wax, unique family members, and doing away with European philosophy and the idea of clothing as a source of identity. Muldrow’s third full-length, Umsindo, is out now on SomeOthaShip.
XLR8R: What are you listening to right now?
Georgia Anne Muldrow: Holy Smokes by Dudley Perkins.
What’s the weirdest story you ever heard about yourself?
It was on a scroll that my Auntie JulMar gave me. It said I was an ancient avatar who decided to come to planet earth to help raise the awareness of humankind. I loved it.
In what band did you want to be when you were 15?
Parliament Funkadelic. Or Wonderlove.
Worst live show experience?
Yes, long ago. I remember. No one [in the band] could remember the music at show time, so I just sang by myself at the end of the show.
Favorite city in which to play?
I love ’em all!
Do you play any of the instruments that your father invented?
Nope, but his soul is all over my expression, and I love that.
What is your favorite thing that you own?
Poppa’s guitars.
Name one item of clothing you can’t live without.
Sorry, I just don’t think that way. Clothing does not define me at all.
If you could reduce your music to a single word, what would it be?
Fonk.
For what did you always get into trouble when you were little?
Experimenting with candle wax.
What other artist would you most like to work with?
Holy smokes, I have no idea. Maybe Declaime would be fun.
What’s the last thing you read?
Secrets of the Lymphatic System: The Fountain of Youth is Within Us written by Tapzyana Thomas.
Complete this sentence: In the future…
European philosophy shall be obsolete.
Stupidest thing you’ve done in the last 12 months?
Forgetting to write my dreams down… They could have made me some money!
What’s next?
Many tings, my friend. Many tings.
Maybe you heard, Apple has released the next generation of Logic Pro. Then again, maybe you didn’t hear, as the announcement received surprisingly little pomp and circumstance. No tradeshow unveiling, no exhaustive public beta. But Apple believes you will hear the difference in your engineering as the new Logic Pro suite—featuring Pro 9, MainStage 2, Soundtrack Pro 3, Compressor 3.5—features over 200 new features, the most noteworthy of which are virtualization and manipulation tools. The new Logic initiative, much like Propellerhead’s upcoming Record, is that any artist can now feel more comfortable also being an engineer. And if you regularly paint with effects pedals and consider out-of-time audio to be wet clay, then the Amp Designer, Pedalboard, and Flex Time features may well be your palette, easel, and kiln. Amp Designer and Pedalboard look to take a bite out the Native Instruments’ Guitar Rig and IK Multimedia AmpliTube market, offering 25 heads to pair with an equal amount of cabinets (and three mics), plus 30 stompboxes to string along and creatively submerge your signal (none of these are licensed so the names are generic, but their visual modeling belies their historical origins). These tone tools be used in channel strips or within MainStage’s live rig, where there are also new Playback and Loopback plug-ins to allow solo performers accompaniment by either pre-recorded audio or their own rhythm/lead loops (are guitars the new turntables again?). Or you can ReWire your rig alongside Reason or Ableton Live.
So, now you feel you have the road-honed chops, rockin’ the mic with the pantyhose and all that, but once you do some tracking you realize your timing is still a bit off. That’s where Flex Time comes in, offering an elastic approach to correcting tempo that will be familiar to those who use Pro Tools. You could quantize it, but that can come across a bit mechanical, so Flex Time analyzes the waveform and offers up the ability to (re)align individual beats non-destructively and in real-time. Also newly useful for the studio session savior are Drum Replacer and Selective Track Import features, which aid the swapping of specifics in or between projects. Varispeed and Speed Fades allow your sounds to brake or peel out from the pack. The Space Designer has a ton of new impulses. And there’s lots of other goodies for control mapping, etc. Price of admission? An introductory price of $499, or upgrade options from $199-$299. Oh, and you need OSX 10.5.7, and perhaps an ear for melody. Logic can’t do everything.
The ambitiously eclectic U.K. label Leaf has put together a sampler of their current roster, called Don’t Run Over the Birds, Please. The nine-song compilation, featuring an exclusive track from Murcof and versions of tracks from upcoming albums on Leaf, is available for $1.99 through MP3 distributors, such as Bleep or Boomkat, or for absolutely free if you subscribe to the label’s newsletter before the end of August. Judging from what we’ve heard so far, both options are spectacular deals. We’ve got the tracklist below.
1. Efterklang & The Danish National Chamber Orchestra – Frida Found A Friend (live)
2. A Hawk And A Hacksaw – Kertész
3. Nancy Elizabeth – Tow The Line
4. Murcof – Excerpt #1
5. Vladislav Delay – Melankolia (edit)
6. Essie Jain – I Remember It Just Like This
7. volcano! – So Many Lemons
pictured Icy Demons
As a resident DJ at L.A.’s infamous Low End Theory, The Gaslamp Killer has built a reputation for rocking dancefloors with his bass-heavy selections and testing people’s patience with his proclivity for jumping on the mic. Love him or hate him, he’ll soon be dropping his debut EP My Troubled Mind on Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label. “Anything Worse” is the first offering, a surprisingly restrained number that combines midtempo breaks with some ominous synths and glitchy skronk.
My Troubled Mind will be released on August 4. Photo by Theo Jemison.
A quick update following the passing of Dash Snow, the Manhattan-based artist who died last week at the age of 27: NYC’s Deitch Projects Gallery has kicked off a memorial retrospective of Snow’s works, which will also feature yet-to-be-seen photos and video of the young artist. The gallery’s facade has been painted over with fire-extinguisher foam bearing Snow’s graf tag, SACER, and the tribute runs until August 15.
Heavy guitars, frenetic scratching, and some God-awful singing pervade Eyedea and Abilities’ By the Throat, the Minnesota duo’s third LP and first in five years. As with most rap/rock Frankensteins, it ain’t always pretty. But if you can get past Eyedea’s whiny, nasal delivery and respect Abilities’ tense, unorthodox production, you’ll find gems in their neurosis. Eyedea continues to paint vivid imagery while waxing emo about war, addiction, and love. Tracks like “Smile, “Burn Fetish,” and “Sky Diver” boast both the former battle champ’s wordplay and ability to grab listeners’ emotions, well, by the throat. Though By the Throat is fearless in its honest and artistic expression, it’ll take a diehard E&A fan to truly appreciate it.
Jega’s first release in seven years has been nothing if not anticipated. Ranging over every possible type of music that’s come out on Planet Mu, Variance lacks clarity and originality, ultimately feeling both overdone and incomplete at the same time. There are some great moments here—the hyper-precise, skittering beats of “Kyoto,” the bloopy beat trickery of “Aerodynamic,” and the lovely “Aqueminae,” reminiscent of Aphex Twin in his prettier prime. But as a double CD, it feels too stuffed with ideas, a collection rather than an arc, and too much of it has been done better elsewhere by others. True collectors may want to grab Variance, but if you’re searching for music that really grabs you, look elsewhere.
