Since 2000, Toronto native Jeremy Caulfield has been championing challenging minimal techno via his Dumb-Unit company. While this imprint hasn’t garnered the hipster cachet of other labels of comparable quality, its track record is among the strongest in the world. Detached Works [01] is a double-barreled salvo of pelvis-swiveling minimal techno that reasserts just how excellent Caulfield’s reign as producer, DJ, and A&R man has been. Disc One offers a sampling of D-U’s hottest specimens from the last two years. Thoroughbred minimalist producers like Butane, Sweet N Candy, Alejandro Vivanco, and Caulfield himself explore the quirky and the scientific with equal fervor. The results strike a balance between Orac’s and Perlon’s hedonistic yet rigorous aesthetics. Disc Two finds Caulfield mixing 21 tracks from his pals (including Osvaldo, Barem, Franco Cinelli, and Italoboyz), straight from the techno illuminati’s private stashes. It’s all deep, strange, aerodynamic, and zipping-down-the-Autobahn fantastic.
Fennesz & Sakamoto Cendre
On Cendre, Christian Fennesz plants a forest for composer Ryuichi Sakamoto to get lost in. The Austrian fuzz abstractionist sets down his usual bed of serene guitar and digital noise that fogs the air while Sakamoto’s piano melodies delicately fall into the ether. Ambient artists may have trod similar ground in the past, but there are still sublime moments. Fennesz draws most of the attention-his vivid timbres prick the skin like dusk sunlight on “Kokoro,” and his guitar drones walk skyward on “Amorph.” The only weakness is that Sakamoto’s loud piano sometimes intrudes on Fennesz’s soft ambient backgrounds. Still, Cendre is a fine soundtrack for watching the day end.
Daily Download: Kafini “Fast (Feat. Keak Da Sneak)”
For those who don’t stay in the East Bay, Kafani’s “Fast” will be heard trying to bust out of many-a-trunks at any given point in the day. The alternate version featuring Keak Da Sneak is more of the lazer-beam production that’s got the nation in a hyphy-uproar. Drink an energy drink and jump around like a fool to this one.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo
Noise tweaker and guitar god Omar Rodriguez-Lopez pushed the envelope harder on his last solo effort A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume One. But give the guy a break, as this is just one of four albums The Mars Volta honcho wrote and recorded while in Amsterdam in 2005. Featuring Amputechre apocrypha and Omar’s upcoming soundtrack for the film El Bufalo de la Noche, this disc is a mash of tracks and time signatures. “The Lukewarm” and “Luxury of Infancy” are short experiments with sound effects and guitar leads, while the psych-rock “Rapid Fire Tollbooth,” a fan favorite, finally gets laid down on disc for posterity. Prog has never rocked so hard.
Various Artists Shut Up and Dance! Updated
You might think a collaboration between the Berlin Staatsballet and the same city’s Berghain techno club would result in something friction-filled or incongruous but Shut Up and Dance! isn’t so crassly contrary. The invitation to Luciano, nsi., Sleeparchive, âme, and the 7th Plain (a.k.a. Luke Slater) to score a ballet production to be premiered at the latter’s near-legendary venue has produced a curiously agreeable suite of four tracks that are variously playful, emotive, austere, and tranquil. Working well in sequence, they highlight, more than anything, that techno is readily at ease in numerous contexts.
The Week In Music, June 8
The identity of a boy thrown off the stage by hip-hop star Akon has been discovered. The 15 year-old’s mother called the police following the incident, but it remains unclear as to whether or not there will be charges filed against the singer. The boy threw something at Akon, who then ordered security guards to bring the offender on stage. At this point Akon took off his shirt, put the boy on his shoulders, and hurled him at the crowd.
Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora lost Heather Locklear, then he lost her friend Denise Richards. Hey, at least he has his health, right? Maybe not. He recently checked in to a rehabilitation center in Los Angeles for an undisclosed issue. Good luck getting off the juice, cowboy.
Memphis-based soul label Stax is turning 50, and still going strong. Those unfamiliar with this influential label, shame on you, but here’s some background info anyway. Stax rose from humble beginnings, and eventually released tracks like Otis Redding’s “(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay” and Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man.” The label also set a positive example by being a productive interracial label in the South during the civil rights era.
The body of John Pike –drummer for the new-wave indie band Ra Ra Riot–was recently discovered in Providence, RI. Following a show the group played, he and another member went to a house party. Pike left with his cell phone, and wasn’t seen again. His body was found off Wilbur’s Point in 7 feet of water. No official cause of death has been announced. Our hearts go out to his friends and family.
Previous Week In Music Entries
June 1
Future Loop In Fine Form
So you weren’t raving during the heyday of Planet Dog’s UK-based outdoor events and label output? That’s okay; a PD veteran is back, with a retrospective album and new remix single to kick off a new phase of dynamic, dubby electronic sounds. The artist in question is Mark Barrott, who’s nom du musique, Future Loop Foundation, has produced storied releases since 1996, including the lauded, eclectic full-length albums Time & Bass and Conditions For Living.
A new album, to be released July 30 and titled Memories From A Fading Room (Louisiana Recording), is described by his label as a “highly personal and organic album, hooked around vocal source material using electronic and acoustic instruments to present a synth-centered orchestral album that sparkles with originality and wit.”
To whet appetites for the new recording, Barrott enlisted some of contemporary dance music’s most exciting producers to remix parts of the album, starting with the ambient epic, “The Sea and the Sky.” X-Press 2’s Ashley Beedle ably injects his trademark soulful dance signature into his Earth mix and then brings back the sumptuous strings for his Orchestral Reprise at the end of the EP. New interpretations of album tracks by some of the best producers from downtempo and electronic music will also be released over the summer, including mixes from Go! Team, Tunng, and The Beauty Room.
A video for “The Sea And The Sky” constitutes part of an upcoming DVD release, in which BAFTA nominee Annie Watson edits Super8 footage of Mark’s childhood to the lush soundtrack of FLF.
EP Tracklisting
1. The Sea And The Sky (Original)
2. The Sea And The Sky (Ashley Beedle’s Earth Mix)
3. The Sea And The Sky (TG’s Angry Trucker Mix)
4. The Sea And The Sky (Padded Cell Remix)
5. The Sea And The Sky (Beedle’s Orchestral Reprise)
P.S.1 Announces Warm Up Line Up
New York’s P.S.1 Contemporary Arts Center (an affiliate of the MoMA) is once again in tune with the spirit of summer, with another edition of its acclaimed summer music series, Warm Up, scheduled. New Yorkers will likely brave the heat and head outside each Saturday afternoon for live performances from a variety of artists and genres, and, as with previous years, P.S.1 doesn’t skimp on the lineup. The city’s weekends will see domination from team DFA, Troubleman, and A Touch of Class, amongst a battalion of other world-class warriors. Is it hot in here?
Warm Up will be streamed live on Art Radio WPS1.org through September 1. All events take place starting at 3.00 p.m. (EST) at P.S.1. Contemporary Art Center, 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Queens. For those who want to get super-involved with this year’s festivities, check the P.S.1. site for info on volunteering.
June 30
Invisible Conga People
Tim & Tim (Tim Goldsworthy and Tim Sweeny)
The Juan Maclean
Shit Robot
BLARVUSTER
July 7
A Touch of Class
Lee Douglas (Rong Music)
Services
Kudu
Preacher and the Knife
Bubblyfish/Tristan Perich
July 14
Poni Hoax
The Penelopes
Frustration
Morpheus
JB Wiz
Ex Nihilo Crew
July 21
Dennis Ferrer
The Martinez Brothers
Plus Guests TBA
July 28
Ursula 1000
Tim “Love” Lee
Ramon Santana
Wunmi and Unicornicopia
August 4
TBA
August 11
Trouble Man Unlimited/Italians Do It Better bring you
Glass Candy
Mike Simonetti
A special guest DJ
Elliot Sharp
August 18
DJ Spun
Ben Cook (a.k.a. Stranger)
Eric Duncan (Rub n Tug)
Woolfy Projections
Dewanatron & Ray Sweeten and Zach Layton
August 25
Escort
Felix Dickinson
LoVid and David Linton
September 1
I.C.E. (International Chamber Ensemble)
Very Special Guests TBA
Podcast: A Touch of Class
We’ve been waiting for this mix a hot minute, and A Touch of Class did not disappoint. Prime on making electro fun again, the New York-based duo, who has been working since the late ‘90s, has already remixed The Gossip and Le Tigre, signed Services (members of Flux Information Sciences), and found a way to make synth-generated music sound warmer than any old-timer’s Moog ever could.
On this exclusive endeavor for XLR8R‘s DJ Mix Podcast series, ATOC mashes up the cosmic guitar luster of Soft Rocks with LSB and Todd Terje, then turns the mix into an all-out electro-feast, complete with tracks from Justice, Simian Mobile Disco, and the Klaxons. Clubs and desktop speakers are in for a treat.
Listen to this podcast using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.
Tracklisting
1. Ennio Morricone “60 Seconds to What” (BMG International)
2. Kid Creole & The Coconuts “Annie (ATOC Edit)” (CDR)
3. K.I.D. “Don’t Stop” (Sam)
4. Skatt Bros. “Walk The Night” (Casablanca)
5. Soft Rocks “The Devil Made Us Do It” (Disco Power Play)
6. LSB “F.O.G.” (Eskimo)
7. Justice “D.A.N.C.E.” (Ed Banger)
8. The Ones “Ultramodern (ATOC Old School Dub)” (A Touch Of Class)
9. Todd Terje “Eurodans” (Full Pupp)
10. The Decemberists “A Perfect Crime #2 (ATOC Remix)” (Virgin)
11. Klaxons “Gravity’s Rainbow (Soulwax Remix)” (white)
12. Simian Mobile Disco “Hustler” (Kitsune)
13. Services “Element of Danger (MSTRKRFT Remix)” (A Touch Of Class)
14. Harry Thurman “Underwater (ATOC Edit)” (CDR)
15. Mach “On & On” (Remix Records)
16. The Chaplin Band “Il Veliero” (Pierrot)
Gear Alert: Gemini MPX 40
In the club world, vinyl will never die, but that’s no reason to blaspheme new technology. Nowadays, everyone from the world-renowned to the bedroom DJs are jumping on the Serrato and Traktor bandwagons, and hardware profiteers are scrambling to keep up with the audio-cyclone that’s taking out studios and bar soundsystems.
Enter, the Gemini MPX 40, a shockproof, touch-sensitive mp3 CD player that is closest piece of hardware to legitimately compete with software giants. Featuring an über-sensitive jog wheel, a lit-up LCD, two sample banks, instant reverse, and extreme pitch control, this nice little piece of machinery could fare well at any venue. Just make sure you don’t have any budget constraints when you go shopping for one.
MSRP: $299.99, geminidj.com
