Flying Lotus Releases EP on Warp
“I didn’t want cats to think I just did one thing, or one style,” says L.A.-based Steven Ellison (a.k.a. Flying Lotus) of Reset, a new EP and his debut release for Warp Records. “[This] EP was a chance to start over with a new perspective and vision.”
True to his words, Ellison uses Reset to show that although hip-hop provides the musical backbone for most of his work (see 2006’s 1983 (Plug Research) and his self-professed love of Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle), the producer is also capable of making hip-swinging soul (“Tea Leaf Dancers”), choppy Autechre-like beats and bleeps (“Spicy Sammich”), and ominous, rolling melodies that induce slow, cautious head-nodding. If 1983 made Ellison an artist worthy of attention, the precision and variety on Reset prove him worthy of his new place in the Warp family.
Fans of Lotus who are also aspiring video directors should check the Radar Festival for a chance to submit videos for “Tea Leaf Dancers.”
Reset is out October 2, 2007 on Warp.
Tracklisting
1. Tea Leaf Dancers
2. Vegas Collie
3. Massage Situation
4. Spicy Sammich
5. Bonus Beat
6. Dance Floor Stalker
Wiley “50/50”
Playtime Is Over is 15 tracks of UK grime pioneer Wiley waxing poetic about his life and background (including a track dedicated to his newborn daughter!) over rough bass hooks and smashing keyboard tones. The MC has announced that Playtime will be his last album as an MC, so it’s well advised to jump on this. Photo by Andy Whitton.
Caribou Andorra
With his fourth full-length, Dan “Caribou” Snaith compiles his finest collection yet of freakbeat fills and darting trills. This tribal collage melds the lyrical introspection of The Zombies with the percussive insistence of Can, echoing the blearier, balmier harmonies of Elliott Smith and Dennis Wilson with Silver Apples-esque oscillations. Snaith plays or programs every single warble, sleigh bell, and whistle, save for one guest vocal from Junior Boys’ Jeremy Greenspan. But perhaps the most surprising moment is the euphoric trance-recalling redeeming melody (think Binary Finary’s “1998”) that ascends through flushed closing track “Niobe,” which dilates and contracts like one of the rave scene’s expandable phosphorescent spheres. The last three tracks are more caliginous, but equally proud psyche-pop tone poems.
Carlton Patterson & King Tubby Black & White in Dub
We should all know King Tubby-dub’s founding father-by now. Carlton Patterson’s a bit more obscure, unless you happened to be around Kingston, Jamaica’s Waterhouse studio between the years of 1974 and 1982, when Patterson was producing artists like Barrington Levy and Horace Andy. Black & White in Dub collects 21 tracks from that era-all engineered by Tubby, with the exception of one King Jammy-mixed tune. Highlights include Ansel Collins’ organ doodles on “Zone Dub” and Bobby Kalphat’s Augustus Pablo-esque melodica on “Liberation Front.” Worth checking for ’70s roots collectors and Tubbyphiles, but skippable if you prefer updated variations on the dub theme.
How To Make A Mixtape
DJ Eleven and Matthew Africa are responsible for one of the year’s best mixtapes – Dirty Raps: The Best of Too $hort. In this episode, they walk you through how they did it – from choosing songs down to preferred kbps rates for MP3s, and give a nice history of Too $hort and mixtapes themselves along the way.
Chart: Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Top Ten
After the band’s recent Dandelion Gum (Graveface) release, there has been something of a Black Moth Super Rainbow insurgence amongst everyone from high-level hip-hop fanatics to neo-psych, Aquarius Records clients. The Pittsburgh-based group members (The Seven Fields of Aphelion, Power Pill Fist, Iffernaut, Father Hummingbird, and Tobacco, all of whom have solo projects under their respective monikers) have already amassed tours with the likes of Aesop Rock and The Flaming Lips, bringing rural psych-pop to huge stages across the US. XLR8R caught up with Tobacco to see what ten records inspired the band’s analog invasion.
Dandelion Gum is out now on Graveface. Graveface
Tobacco of Black Moth Super Rainbow Chart
1. Odd Nosdam Level Live Wires (Anticon)
2. Daniel Higgs Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot (Thrill Jockey)
3. JelGreenball 3rd (Anticon)
4. Aesop RockNone Shall Pass Definitive Jux
5. The Black Keys Rubber Factory (Fat Possum)
6. LoneEverything Is Changing Colour (Vu-us)
7. Longmont Potion Castle5 (Reptilian)
8. EluviumCopia (Temporary Residence)
9. Hair PoliceThe Empty Quarter (Harbinger Sound)
10. Circus DevilsSgt. Disco (Ipecac)
Tour Dates
09/05 Cincinnati, OH: Southgate House
09/06 Chicago, IL: Abbey Theater
09/07 Chicago, IL: Aragon Theater
09/09 Minneapolis, MN: The Myth
09/10 Omaha, NE: Waiting Room
09/12 Kansas City, KS: Uptown Theater
09/14 Colorado Springs, CO: Black Sheep
09/16 Salt Lake City, UT: Urban Lounge
09/18 Vancouver, BC: Orpheum Theater
09/19 Portland, OR: Roseland Theater
09/20 Seattle, WA: Paramount Theater
09/22 Eugene, OR: WOW Hall
09/25 Pomona, CA: Glasshouse
09/28 Santa Barbara, CA: Magic Lantern
09/29 Upland, CA: The Wire
10/06 Visalia, CA: The Cellar Door
10/10 San Francisco, CA: Fillmore
10/12 Los Angeles, CA: Henry Fonda Theatre
10/13 Phoenix, AZ: Clubhouse
10/14 Albuquerque, NM: Sunshine Theatre
10/15 Durango, CO: Abbey Theatre
10/17 Colorado Springs, CO: Black Sheep
10/18 Denver, CO: Cervantes
10/19 Boulder, CO: Fox Theatre
10/20 Ft. Collins, CO: Aggie Theatre
10/22 Salt Lake City, UT: In The Venue
10/25 Portland, OR: Wonder Ballroom
10/26 Vancouver, BC: Commodore Ballroom
10/27 Bellingham, WA: Nightlight
10/28 Seattle, WA: Showbox
10/30 Eugene, OR: WOW Hall
11/07 Asheville, NC: Orange Peel
11/09 Orlando, FL: Social Pavilion
11/10 Miami, FL: Studio A
11/12 Baton Rouge, LA: Spanish Moon
11/13 New Orleans, LA: House of Blues
11/14 Houston, TX: Warehouse
11/16 Dallas, TX: The Loft
11/17 Austin, TX: Emo’s
11/19 Nashville, TN: Cannery
11/20 Atlanta, GA: MJQ
None Shall Pass
Seattle’s Decibel Festival Showcases Announced
Seattle’s 4th annual Decibel Festival has already announced its line-up, and for the 2007 edition, and festival goers should be well-surprised and pleased by this, the most in-depth artist roster in Decibel’s history. This year features a taste of the old and the new, with both prominent and under-the-radar artists.
As always, there will be engaging visual showcases and after parties for days, and in honor of the event, XLR8R is highlighting a few performances not to be missed.
Decibel takes place September 20-23, 2007, across several venues in Seattle.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Death of the Party Showcase
Music By: Diplo, Switch, Simian Mobile Disco, and others.
Venue: Neumo’s
It’s expected that any party featuring Diplo, Switch, and SMD under one roof is going to go off, but when said party is the kickoff event for three days of festival mayhem, it’s advised you stay up all night.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Rage and the Machine
Music By: Motor, Guns ‘N’ Bombs, Killmemorycrash, and others.
Venue: Neumo’s
Not only is this night one of the few stops on London-based band Motor’s tour, but it’s also a listening party for Modeselektor’s Happy Birthday! release. Get out your black leather gloves and earplugs.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Ambient landscapes: Past, Present, and Future
Music By: Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd, Biosphere, Rafael Irisarri, and others.
Venue: Townhall
These legendary Brian Eno and Cocteau Twins collaborators gear up for a long-overdue live performance. Prepare to be engulfed by piano scores, cinematic guitarlines, and lots of serene visuals equal.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Headfuk/Mothership Showcases
Music By: Wolfgang Flur (Kraftwerk), Chris De Luca vs. Phon.o, Claude VonStroke, Italoboys, and others.
Venue: Neumo’s
Breakbeat, electro, and minimal techno butt heads for this massively dynamic Decibel closeout show!
Guns ‘N’ Bombs will play the Rage and the Machine party on Friday night.
Alice Russell: Next Generation Soul
The voice is unmistakable as it answers the phone: slightly nasal but with depth to it, a touch raspy, and colored with an ever-so-British accent. It belongs to Brighton-based soul chanteuse Alice Russell, who’s home for a while, and enjoying a well-deserved respite from a touring schedule that has taken her from Australia to Holland to the U.S. Unfortunately, she explains, her rest is a short one. “On Friday we’re going to Paris again. I’ve just been looking and the flights are all ridiculously expensive, so it’s gonna be a crazy one. Road trip, baby!”
Russell is equally as playful and freewheeling a vocalist as she is a traveler, moving effortlessly from high-pitched and gritty funk calls to deep jazz croons. Her versatility and adventurousness shine through on all her releases, from her original full-length My Favourite Letters, to the dozen or so tracks she’s made with multitalented labelmate Quantic and his Soul Orchestra (many of which appear on two compilations of her work, Under the Munka Moon I and II). She’s currently working on a second album, again recorded by redheaded production whiz Alex Cowan (a.k.a. TM Juke), that’s due out on Tru Thoughts at the end of the year.
Drawing on a recent rediscovery of David Axelrod and tons of old soul, the new LP sounds to be a steady progression of Russell’s already accomplished work. “For a lot of people, [soul is] black American music from certain places,” explains Russell, who, with her rosy cheeks, blonde locks, and azure eyes, is the very definition of blue-eyed soul. “For me soulfulness is just a love of what you do and trying to get that expression out. Soulful music is truthful music with genuine honesty in it.”
Russell is the real deal, and the industry is taking note. Thanks to a recent backstage encounter, she struck up a promising friendship with drummer ?uestlove and The Roots. “I recently just went and got up with them at the Black Lilly event in Philadelphia,” she boasts, having performed alongside the band and prominent Philly vocalists like Jill Scott and Ursula Rucker. In addition Russell has forthcoming releases with New Zealand dubsters Fat Freddy’s Drop in the pipeline, and is keeping her fingers crossed for an appearance on the forthcoming Massive Attack LP.
The breadth of her past, current, and future collaborations begs the question: Are there any other contemporary artists she’d like to work with?
“To be honest’ still wanna do some stuff with Will [Quantic], but he’s moved to Colombia so if we wanna do that I have to find a little holiday in my spare time. Mr. ?uestlove, I’m still trying to hunt him down. Prince? Stevie Wonder?” She laughs. “Hey, they’re only people!”
