Top 10: Addled, K’NAAN, Ramadanman

Addled
Heartbreachno
Moodgadget
Release Date: February 17

The four tracks on this EP—from one Ryan Cavangh, who also records as Worst Friends with John Paul Jones—start slow and soft, then crescendo into complex string arrangements, synth melodies, and sharp beats. It’s a well-established fact by now that not all music in the realm of techno is faceless and soulless—the emotive spirit of this release is further affirmation. JM

MP3: “Where Am I?”

Fennesz
Black Sea
Touch
Release Date: Out Now

In stark contrast to 2004’s Venice, its pop filigree braided from semi-directed transients and maws of static, Black Sea feels ever more disassociated, yet maintains an affecting heft. Far less centered on the granular residue of individual note strikes, these eight tracks are topped by a head of aerated reverb that gradually crowns with subtle melodies. Without a single punch, it leaves you breathless. TW

Horace Andy and Ashley Beedle
Inspiration/Information 2
Strut
Release Date: February

Reggae legends Horace Andy and Ashley Beedle joined forces to collaborate for the second installment in Strut’s ongoing series (Sly & Robbie and Amp Fiddler released the first volume in 2008). Roots and club reggae meet on this pleasantly laidback collection. JM

Late of the Pier
Fantasy Black Channel
Astralwerks
Release Date: Out Now

Vocalist Sam Eastgate carries this album, the debut full-length from these four Castle Donnigan, U.K.-based lads. Fantasy might have been in danger of falling into the “just another nu-rave record” trap, but with Eastgate screeching indecipherable words in full falsetto, then suddenly dipping into low octaves while singsing about suicide and cheap wine, the album becomes a sometimes-hilarious, always energetic pack of tunes. MN

MP3: “Heartbeat”

Various
Fabric 43: Metro Area
Fabric
Release Date: Out Now

With disco’s undeniable resurgence in recent years, it comes as no surprise that Brooklyn duo Metro Area would be tapped for its own installment of the vaunted Fabric mix series. Fabric 43 provides a great window into the sounds that inspire Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani. Digging heavily into oddball later disco from the mid-’80s, many of the tracks show flourishes of electro and ’80s funk, sounds oft-ignored by disco revivalists. SR

K’NAAN
ABCs
A&M/Octone
Release Date: Out Now

Given that he’s from Somalia, it’s no surprise that rapper K’NAAN uses guns, war, lack of education, and life on the streets as subject matter on “ABCs.” His lyrics are made all the more intense by the driving rhythm that sits beneath, and an instrumental version of the song, as well as a couple of acapellas (talk about intense), complete this EP.

Gaiser
Blank Fade
Minus
Release Date: Out Now

If there’s one lesson we have learned from 2008, it’s that minimal techno is not nearly evil enough. On Blank Fade, Detroit’s Jon Gaiser injects pitch-black dread into the heart of his distinct brand of techno. Steamrolling basslines, droplets of toxic rain, and ghostly sirens all coalesce into swinging, propulsive grooves that stretch into a never-ending night. TS

Ramadanman
“Core/Dayrider”
Soul Jazz
Release Date: Out Now

This North Londoner has been releasing singles under the name Ramadanman (try saying that three times fast) since 2006 on a variety of labels—Bare Dubs, Tempa, and Fabric being a few of them. For this release, he’s crafted a set of minmalistic dubstep cuts in which the snare is the most prominent instrument. A good reminder that not all dubstep has to be dark and dirty. MN

Abe Vigoda
Reviver
Post Present Medium
Release Date: February 17

Reviver follows 2008’s full-length, Skeleton, and finds the four-man-strong, Los Angeles-based outfit quite at home in their version of punk. Sometimes shoegaze-influenced and sometimes tropical-tinged, this EP rarely stays in one musical style for long, which makes it a good listen for ADD-addled folks like this writer. MN

The Long Lost
The Long Lost
Ninja Tune
Release Date: March 3

They say true love is a force, but here, it’s like a gentle breeze that floats through the open window of some quaint house in the woods. The Darlingtons strum acoustic guitars and sing sweetly back and forth to one another, and with track titles like “The Art of Kissing” and “Domestics,” it’s clear that Daedelus and his wife Laura are in a pretty blissful partnership. Naturally, the former’s signature beatmaking style shows up on several tracks as well. JM

Text by Jennifer Marston, Shawn Reynaldo, Tony Ware, Tim Saputo, and Maverick Newberry.

Pictured: K’naan

Last Week: Faunts, Luomo, Devin the Dude

Podcast 69: Mochipet Presents Daly City Records

For the latest XLR8R Podcast, Daly City Records label boss David Wang, better known as Mochipet, showcases many different sounds from his label (as well as the many different ways one can wear a purple jumpsuit).

Starting with his own tracks, off his Master P on Atari release, Wang unrolls a mix of future bass, warped hip-hop, and crunked-out electro, weaving in cuts from Eprom, The Flying Skulls, Lupe Fiasco, and his own remix of Jamie Lidell’s “Little Bit of Feel Good.” And there’s that take on “Thriller,” from the unreleased and brilliantly titled Michael Jackson Loves Dubstep.

Daly City
01 Mochipet – “Pythagorean Hyphy Proof”
02 Mochipet – “Master P on Atari”
03 Mochipet – “Robo Crunk Juice”
04 Mochipet – “Mike Jones Remix”
05 Mochipet – “Turbo Thizz Petnation”
06 Mochipet – “Sumo Hertz”
07 Mochipet – “Mashall Bass Stacks A Milli Remix”
08 Mochipet – “Complex Players Dub”
09 Mochipet – “NDVendetta”
10 Jantsen- “Jazzstepa Masher”
11 Mochipet – “It Ain’t Trickin If Ya Got It”
12 Three Six Mafia ft. UGK – “Sippin’ On Da Syrup (Accapella)”
13 Mochipet – “Rkelly Remix”
14 Mochipet – “Thriller in Dub”
15 Mochipet – “Drop The Cellie vs. Spank Rock”
16 Mochipet – “BossPet” – Daly City
17 Eprom – “64Bytes” – Addictech
18 Build128 – “Kiss Kiss Remix”
19 The Flying Skulls – “Skulls & Angles”
20 Mochipet – “Spring (Featuring Daedelus)”
21 Mochipet – “Prolonging Forever”
22 Mochipet – “Underwater Aardvark B-Boy Beats (Featuring Roman Ruins)”
23 Lupe Fiasco – “Kick Push (Accapella)”
24 Mochipet – “Fool (Featuring Spaceheater)”
25 Jamie Lidell -“Little Bit Of Feel Good (Mochipet Remix)”
26 Mochipet – “Memories”

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Podcast_Mix_2009_01_15

Keak Da Sneak and San Quinn “Welcome to Scokland”

While the lead single off Keak Da Sneak and San Quinn‘s Welcome to Scokland is a tad too close to cheeseville for our liking, this track, also off the new album, sounds more like the rough-edged hip-hop we’ve come to expect from these two—almost. Keak and San Quinn got their hands on a synthesizer, and the upbeat feel of the track indicates they had a lot of fun with the instrument. Then there’s the multi-layered vocal chorus that makes for an odd-but-compelling contrast to Keak’s scratchy rhymes. Welcome to Scokland is out now.

Keak Da Sneak and San Quinn – Welcome To Scokland 1

Jeremy Jay Announces Sophomore Album

One year after the release of his debut album, A Place Where We Could Go, Jeremy Jay is ready to unleash another batch of garage-tinged pop with Slow Dance.

The self-proclaimed romantic, who, it’s widely agreed on, seems like a ’50s doo-wop singer that suddenly found himself in a punk club, was reportedly so excited about the process of songwriting he ended up with several extra tracks. The resulting single, “Love Everlasting,” out January 20, will give us four new Jeremy Jay tracks to listen to while we await the full-length’s release on March 24. As usual, all tracks are set to come out on Calvin Johnson’s K Records.

Jay will play shows across Europe in February and March that start, appropriately, on Valentine’s Day.

Slow Dance
01 We were there
02 In this Lonely Town
03 Gallop
04 Canter Canter
05 Slow Dance
06 Winter Wonder
07 Will You Dance with Me?
08 Breaking the Ice
09 Slow Dance 2
10 Where Could Go Tonight?

“Love Everlasting”
01 Love Everlasting
02 Lite Beam
03 Jet Stream
04 Love Everlasting (Winter Version)

Dates
02/14 Cologne, Germany – King George
02/15 Bruges, Belgium – Cactus*
02/16 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique*
02/17 Zurich, Switzerland – Rote Fabrick, Ziegel Oh Lac*
02/19 Paris, France – Point Ephemere
02/20 Saint Malo, France – Route Du Rock Festival
02/21 Barcelona, Spain – CCCB Museum
02/22 Galacia, Spain – Salon Teatro
02/25 Madrid, Spain – Moby Dick
02/26 Seville, Spain – Malandar Club
02/28 Zaragoza, Spain – La Lata de Bombillas
03/02 Marina Di Massa, Italy – Tago Mago
03/05 Vienna, Austria – Arena
03/06 Prague, Czech Republic – Club 007 Strahov^

* = w/ Deerhunter
6 = w/ Botanica

Photo by Larissa James.

Lithops “Handed”

Jan St. Werner stepped away from his work with Von Sudenfed and Mouse on Mars to release another album under his Lithops guise. The resulting YE VIOLS, which will drop January 27, is limited to a mere 1,000 copies that will come packaged with an 11″ x 17″ poster and a hand-printed cover (that’s on recycled paper, no less).

“Handed” originally premiered at at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin, accompanying an exhibition by Rosa Barba and David Maljkovic. Ever the experimentalist, Werner’s turned over yet-another eclectic collage.

YE VIOLS
01 Graf
02 Handed
03 Sebquenz
04 21. Jhrdt
05 In Nitro
06 Apps 1
07 Apps 2
08 Bacchus
09 Penrose Ave.
10 Inductech
11 Wammo

Lithops Handed

Gaiser Blank Fade

If there’s one lesson we have learned from 2008, it’s that minimal techno is not nearly evil enough. On Blank Fade, Detroit’s Jon Gaiser injects pitch-black dread into the heart of his distinct brand of techno. Steamrolling basslines, droplets of toxic rain, and ghostly sirens all coalesce into swinging, propulsive grooves that stretch into a never-ending night. Gaiser demonstrates his knack for creating arrangements that are both claustrophobic and spacious, crafting an hour-long ride through some of the most banging, evil minimal tracks to date, not to mention some dark-ambient business that would leave Deathprod envious. At its most compelling (“Trunkated,” “Leave It,” “Decending Order”), Blank Fade paints a picture of a raging warehouse party at the edge of hell.

Five Star by Murderbot

Kansas City bass fiend and blogger Murderbot discusses the dark, sexy, and cheesy essentials of the late ’80s electronic body music known as Belgian New Beat.

Snowy Red – “Euroshima-Wardance” – (Antler, 1988)
This tune came out on Antler (later to become Antler-Subway), one of several labels co-owned by Lords of Acid founder Maurice Engelen (a.k.a. Praga Khan). It’s a dark slow-burner of the late ’80s “Cold War nuclear tension as a metaphor for dancefloor sexual tension” school of songwriting. The lyrics aren’t particularly meaningful (or even coherent), but considering that New Beat was basically a merger of Industrial and Italo-disco, you really shouldn’t be expecting poetry.

TNT Clan – “Blow Up the DJ” – (Subway, 1988)
TNT Clan is actually New Beat super-producers Morton, Sherman, and Belluci (two of the guys from EBM group Poésie Noire and the other co-owner of Antler-Subway). “Blow Up the DJ” is essentially happy hardcore at 110 bpm. It’s got a lot of the Coldcut/MARRS-style samples that were ubiquitous in 1988, a chipmunked sample of Kiss, and Jade 4 U delivering one of the worst raps in history. It is embarrassingly cutesy, relentlessly chipper, and one of my all-time faves.

Boy Toy – “Touch My Body” – (Kaos Dance, 1989)
Lords of Acid are like William Shatner: Once upon a time they were stupid, over-the-top, and delightful. Eventually they realized what everybody was laughing at and became this strained, self-aware meta-joke that, frankly, is difficult to watch. Boy Toy was a Lords of Acid side-project from the peak of their career; T.J. Hooker-era LoA, if you will. “Touch My Body” is a grimy acid tune with characteristic Lords lyrics: simple, repetitive, sex-obsessed. Slutty dungeon music at its best.

The Weathermen – “Bang!” – (Play It Again Sam, 1989)
The Weathermen are Jean-Marc Lederman (Belgian synth nerd who played with Fad Gadget and Gene Loves Jezebel) and Bruce Geduldig (American, formerly of Tuxedomoon). “Bang!,” their second big single, is a cheery party anthem about hating your job and getting drunk to forget about it. It’s got some great through-the-looking-glass reflections on American culture from hardcore culture junkies, plus it referenced Telex about 16 years before “Losing My Edge” made you internet indie hipsters think of doing it.

HNO3 – “Doughnut Dollies” – (R&S, 1988)
This was an early release on rave super-label R&S, back when it was just known as Ferrari (hence the horse logo). It’s by Eric Beysens, one of the DJs from Boccaccio (the Studio 54 of New Beat). The slow tempo of New Beat can be daunting, but “Doughnut Dollies” uses the pace to its advantage, harnessing that extra smidgen of space between the drums to heighten the percussive elements, creating a kind of void between the beats for a dancer to fall into. Kind of like a K-hole. Or dubstep.

Señor Coconut “Showroom Dummies (Kraftwerk Cover)”

Most artists just talk about their musical influences. Señor Coconut prefers to make tribute albums for his, and now that he’s finished giving a nod to Daft Punk, he’s ready to revisit his El Baile Alemán. Originally released in 2000, the album is a collection of Latin electronic covers of Kraftwerk songs, including the famous “Showroom Dummies,” which, here, sounds fit for a cocktail party at the ocean, although we surmise the club kids also go crazy for this one. Nacional recently re-released the album in digital format.

Senor – Coconut Showroom Dummies

Lonliness

Dynamic unveiled this video from Stimming just hours ago. “Lonliness” is the Hamburg-based producer’s debut single, and it should quench any doubt that harmonicas can’t be embedded into a minimal techno composition (assuming anyone’s actually stopped to ponder that concept).

Stimming’s sporting more hair than in previous months, and getting his rave on in this video, which also features a creepy-looking guy who spends a lot of time grooming himself and walking around, presumably in search of said rave.

Odd Nosdam Scores Skate Film

David P. Madson (a.ka. Odd Nosdam) has made public his enthusiasm for skateboards with his latest offering. The S.F.-based producer teamed up with Element Skateboards to score the film This is My Element, and, as is usually the case with this hard-working lad, he’s gone beyond the call of duty here. Madson tailored each track on the new album to fit the style of its respective skateboarder, which means he dabbled in everything from boom-bap to folk rock. Since tracks go by titles like “Trunk Bomb,” “Wig Smasher,” and “Ethereal Slap,” we can make a relatively educated guess as to which styles match which songs.

The film itself is currently available, while the soundtrack will be released on March 10 through anticon.

T.I.M.E.
01 Zone Coaster
02 T.I.M.E. In
03 Cop Crush
04 We Bad Apples
05 Trunk Bomb
06 Top Rank
07 Fly Mode
08 Ethereal Slap
09 Root Bark
10 One for Dallas
11 Root Loop
12 Wig Smasher
13 T.I.M.E. Out

Madson also has a few gigs for those in the Bay Area:

01/15 Berkeley, CA – Missouri*
01/28 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop*
02/05 San Francisco, CA – Underground S.F.^

* = DJ Set
^ = live set

MP3: “Forever Heavy (Shoegangster/JB Remix)”

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