Since the strange “hiatus” for Deerhunter was announced last year, frontman Bradford Cox has been busy making music under his Atlas Sound guise, crafting what he called, in a recent interview, “a quiet rebellion.” Cox’s music under this name is markedly more ambient and melodic than that of Deerhunter, though his lyrics are no less urgent and cathartic.
Jan Jelinek’s best loops find humanity in the machine. He extracts the richest milliseconds from simple tones–a note from a jazz organ or a guitar’s hum–and loops them without falling into numbing redundancy. This MP3-only release has his post-techno compatriots remixing such loops from his underrated Tierbeobachtungen album and launches them in brilliant and sometimes baffling directions. Thomas Fehlmann and Frank Bretschneider’s dusk-lit guitar textures and drones treat Jelinek’s most evocative moments as engines for Autobahn trips. In the other corner is Andrew Pekler and Hanno Leichtmann’s digital cut-up of feedback, crowd chatter, and jagged tones. Ah, the things humans do to machines.
Remember Tigra, formerly of L’Trimm? Well, she’s a lady now, but she still loves the boom. Her solo debut, Please Mr. Boombox, easily supercedes anything she’s done before; more clubcore than electropop, it references the Miami bass sound while pushing in exciting new directions. “Cars That Go Boom” couldn’t possibly prepare your ears for the razor-sharp sass of “Switchblade Kitty,” the nostalgic poignancy of “They Stole My Radio” (with MC Lyte), or the poetic sensuality of “A Moon Song.” Tigra brings it rather fiercely on the mic–employing sing-song cadences, hip-hop haikus, and even un peu de Francais over bass-heavy beats with plenty of builds and breakdowns–think M.I.A. without the political baggage.
Besides her 10-plus-year career as a DJ, Barbara Presinger has explored numerous angles of the music business, from working on as a freelance writer and radio promoter to starting the now-famous ~scape imprint with Stefan Betke (a.k.a. Pole). While the dancefloor is her number one passion, she has, in recent years, expanded her sets to include everything from hip-hop to dub, often pairing these genres with her trademark house and techno style. Get a taste of her many abilities as a DJ here, or perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to catch one of her sets in the near future.
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Tracklisting
1. Simian Mobile Disco “Hustler – Shackleton Remix” (wichita)
2. Benjamin Brunn “Raymond” (Binemusik)
3. Pole “Pferd – The Mole´s Lost in The Wood Mix” (˜scape)
4. The Attendants “For The Love Of Low Top” (Inner Sunset)
5. Melchior Productions “Out There” (Perlon)
6. Mike Huckaby “wavetable no 9” (s y n t h)
7. Mountain People “Mountain 005.2” (Mountain People)
8. Christian Burkhardt “Dressless” (Oslo)
9. Losoul “Synchro” (Playhouse)
10. John Tejada “Auskeeping” (Palette)
11. Zed Bias “Bare Knuckle” (Sick Trumpet)
12. Gemini “In My Head – Freaks Remix” (Classic)
13. Cabanne “Boulinge” (Minibar)
14. 100 Hz “Trust Love” (High-Phen Music Delivery)
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Author, music critic, historian, and blogger extraordinaire Simon Reynolds has just announced he’ll be expanding, updating, and reissuing his famed book, Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture, to include more recent events in the history of electronic music.
The book (which goes by the title Generation Ecstasy in the U.S.), was originally published 10 years ago, but is still widely considered one of the most comprehensive chronicles of rave and electronic music. Since Reynolds is a master at analysis and can tell a history with as much intelligence and humor as a top-rated novelist, it will be thrilling to read his take on the last decade. Six new chapters–covering the trance resurgence, 2step, the nu-’80s, electro, grime, breakcore, dubstep, and more–have been added.
Currently the book is only being reissued in the U.K. (in February). No word yet as to whether or not a U.S. edition will surface. If you’re not in Britain, pick a copy up on your next trip to London or cross your fingers and hope they send the new version Stateside soon.
Ghislain Poirier has announced the release of his Ninja Tune debut, No Ground Under–and some extra-special promotion to go along with it.
The Montreal-based DJ and producer has prepped a podcast called Bastard Bass, which features segments from the new album as well as a couple of his remixes. The 40-minute mix is about as bass-heavy as Poirier gets, and shows off the wide palette of musical styles (grime, dancehall, ragga, to name a few) he is capable of.
The actual album will hit the U.S. on January 29. In the meantime, check the podast here and get bouncin’.
Bastard Bass Tracklisting
1. No More Blood feat. Face-T
2. Road Ride Riddim
3. East Montreal Riddim
4. Propaganda Riddim
5. Exils feat. Abdelhak Rahal
6. Dizzee Rascal – Fix Up, Look Sharp (Ghislain Poirier Remix)
7. City Walking feat. Abdominal
8. Hit & Red
9. La Ronde
10. One Hand Can’t Clap
11. Bounce-moi
12. Robe Riddim
13. Ladies & Gentleman feat. Ambitieux, DJ Netik
14. DJ C / Zulu – Darling (Ghislain Poirier Remix)
15. Go Ballistic feat. Zulu
16. Outkast Riddim (Ghislain Poirier Refix)
17. Blazin feat. Face-T (DJ C Remix)
18. Blazin feat. Face-T
19. Pampa Pimp
20. Mangnen l’boulé feat. Nik Myo
21. ESG Riddim (Ghislain Poirier Refix)
22. Diaspora
23. Bunji Garlin & JMC Triveni – Doi Festival (Ghislain Poirier Remix)
24. Jusqu’en haut feat. Face-T
25. Lil’ Wayne – Dopeman feat. Birdman (Ghislain Poirier Remix)
26. Pour te réchauffer feat. TTT, Omnikrom
27. Close The News
No Ground Under Tracklisting
1. Courto
2. Blazin (feat Face-T)
3. Jusqu’en Haut (feat Omnikrom)
4. Hit & Red
5. No More Blood (feat Face-T)
6. Go Ballistic (feat Zulu)
7. One Hand Can’t Clap
8. City Walking (feat Abdominal)
9. Ladies & Gentleman (feat Ambitieux, DJ Netik)
10. It’s A War War War
11. Exils (feat Abdelhak Rahal)
12. Dem Nah Like Me (feat Mr Lee G)
13. Diaspora
14. Mangnen L’Boulé (feat Nik Myo)
Prepare to don your surgical masks and enthusiasm for strange indie rock. Clinic is back, with a fifth full-length entitled Do It! that’s said to be a combination of psych-rock, tango, John Denver-esque acoustics, and dancefloor numbers. Hardly a surprising mix, considering the band once claimed on its website to sound like no other band out there, and most would agree with that statement.
The masked quartet will also release a free single, “Free Not Free”/”Thor,” which will be available from the band’s website starting February 1. Do It! will be out on Domino April 8, with a tour to follow.
Tracklisting
1. Memories
2. Tomorrow
3. The Witch (Made to Measure)
4. Free Not Free
5. Shopping Bag
6. Corpus Christi
7. Emotions
8. High Coin
9. Mary & Eddie
10. Winged Wheel
11. Coda
Tour Dates
05/08 Brooklyn, NY: Music Hall of Williamsburg
05/09 Boston, MA: Paradise
05/10 Montreal, QC: La Sala Rossa
05/11 Toronto, ON: Lee’s Palace
05/12 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
05/13 Minneapolis, MN: 7th Street Entry
05/16 Vancouver, BC: Richards on Richards
05/17 Seattle, WA: Neumos
05/18 Portland, OR: Doug Fir Lounge
05/19 San Francisco, CA: The Independent
05/20 Los Angeles, CA: Troubadour
05/23 Austin, TX: Emo’s
05/24 Baton Rouge, LA: Spanish Moon
05/25 Atlanta, GA: The Earl
05/26 Chapel Hill, NC: Cat’s Cradle
05/27 Lancaster, PA: Chameleon Club
05/28 Washington, DC: Black Cat
05/29 Baltimore, MD: Sonar
05/30 Philadelphia, PA: Johnny Brenda’s
05/31 New York, NY: Bowery Ballroom
Unless you never heard the reedy sneer of the Violent Femmes’ Gordan Gano and The Pixies’ Black Francis, or you completely missed the affected phrasing of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, there’s no denying Brooklyn’s Blood on the Wall’s awkward caterwauls come with ingrained precedents. But with this rumpled revivalist trio the foundation is so strong there’s always a way to craft an accommodating floor plan and accessorize it with soused jangle and splayed arrangements. All the late ’80s college-rawk cast-offs coagulate into an atonal, unhinged, and altogether pleasing condensation of agitated splatter. A somewhat heavier third full-length, Blood on the Wall’s latest still manages to avoid being heavy-handed with its heritage.
With its seven crawling orchestrations of dark, experimental pop, Autistic Daughters’ breathtaking Uneasy Flowers–the second full-length from the New Zealand trio–simply isn’t long enough. The album centers around a protagonist named Rehana, and backing his journey, the band offers listeners gloomy, tension-filled pieces that are isolating and transformative. While the record is overcast with piercing electric guitars, scratchy acoustics, and singer Dean Roberts’ cold delivery, the group adds subtle touches of drums, electronics, noise, and piano–strides that illuminate the album’s autumnal presence with a soft, warming glow. Uneasy Flowers is a finely executed collection of chilling, beautiful sounds.
You’ve heard of remixing an album, but how about releasing a t-shirt and skateboard deck line that pays homage to an album? That’s exactly what Ghostface Killah has done for his new album, The Big Doe Rehab, teaming up with New York-based streetwear company Zoo York to dole out the goods.
The design features custom graphics based on Ghostface and the many monikers he has collected and released under during the last 15 years. Both t-shirt and deck will be limited to 500 copies and available in February exclusively through in-store and online promotional opportunities from Def Jam, Cornerstone Promotion, and Zoo York.
