If you like Misson Of Burma or Yo La Tengo and speak German, Tocotronic offers a jangly, propulsive dose of indie songcraft. While the CMJ set digests it lovingly, the dance DJs out there can fixate on the Superpitcher and Wassermann mixes, especially the nine-minute Maxi version, which uses handclaps, treated guitar samples and melodic tech-house synth stabs as building material. The finished edifice is a sturdy club track that cloudbursts mid-track into warm, smothering feedback.
Lightheaded Wrong Way
“Relax, kick back, you had a long day we‘re taking you everywhere except the wrong way,” relays this animated Portland, OR based trio on the title track of their sophomore album. MCs Braille, Othello, and MC/beatsmith Ohmega Watts encourage listeners to unwind to their upbeat hip-hop, which readily inspires head nodding, finger popping and, on occasion, floor rocking (see the pulsating, b-boy-friendly cut “In The Building”). With their pleasing rhythm and uplifting raps, Lightheaded does a commendable job in ensuring that each of their listeners has a good day.
Various Artists Overdrive: A DJ Mix By Aphrodite
When former XLR8R 12″ editor and matey Ron Nachmann would slap on the latest single by UK d&b don Aphrodite a collective groan would rise up from the office (especially from my corner). I‘d grumble, “Not that cheesy guy who‘s best friends with DJ Rap and plays raves called ‘Excalibur IV: The Reckoning‘.” Ron would reply with a pithy, “Don‘t hate, appreciate!” So here I am, regaling Aphrodite for assembling and mixing high-energy jungle tunes, including his collabo‘s with deceased MC Stevie Hyper-D and diva Beverly Knight. In fact, Aphrodite‘s tunes outshine the comp‘s generic snare-rolling tearouts from Benny Page, Distorted Minds, or The Force. Overdrive delivers its implied impact.
Lomax, Kubiks & Bcee Do We Fall
Only on its eighth release, Wildstyle has infused the drum & bass scene with the same kind of quality music and intricate arrangements that Defunked and Soul:r initiated a few years ago. Both sides of this single feature super-clean drum programming, sparse, sweet swathes of pads, string samples and an array of ear-catching sound effects. I‘m partial to Lomax and Bcee‘s exotic and shimmering track Impossible “Dream,” built on atmospheric Arp synths, orchestral strings and a Turkish flute riff. Dreamy.
Danger Doom The Mouse And The Mask
Big ups, Adult Swim! Not only has Cartoon Network‘s groundbreaking animation bloc turned out some of the best popcult television since MTV killed Liquid Television, but it has thrown its weight behind one of the best releases of the year. Where else are you going to hear MF Doom (who‘s quickly becoming indie-hop‘s collab champ) name-drop the brilliant Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law in a rhyme? Exactly. Hot off a recent beat-jacking streak with Gorillaz and the brainy grift of Jay-Z known as The Grey Album, Dangermouse mans the decks ably, keeping the frenetic beats steamrolling beneath Doom‘s resin-soaked baritone on blazing tracks like “El Chupa Nibre,” “Old School” (featuring Talib Kweli) and “The Mask,” a team-up with Ghostface. Awash in rampant banality, the bling metaverse should study this joint up and down. Because they must learn. Grab this shit and spin it silly.
Ammoncontact New Birth
Ahhhhh. There‘s nothing like soaking in Carlos Nino and Fabian Ammon‘s spare machine funk for an hour or so to clear the War on Terror cobwebs. The kinetic bass of New Birth chillers like “A Satellite‘s Return” and “Omniverses” can send you into a deep trance-the stripped-down grooves of the duo‘s latest are totally conducive to minimalist mind trips, wherever you‘re taking them. Things pick up somewhat when rapper Lil Sci pontificates in earnest about race and reparations on “My People,” but New Birth, Ammoncontact‘s first joint for Ninja Tune, is a mostly laid-back affair with beats to spare.
Continental What Was Gained From What Was Lost
Post-rock junkies like me can never get enough of bands like Continental, who lie somewhere between The Six Parts Seven and The Album Leaf on the genre‘s experimental Richter scale. In other words, instrumental compositions like “Sown,” “Ghost War,” and “August Ends” are crystalline beauties that descend only barely into noise, begging the question: “What would Mogwai think?” Sure, the album closer “Pillow Talk” tears up structure a bit, but then a somber, hushed affair like “No Shorty” evens everything out. Bottom line? Continental may not like distortion pedals too much, but they still know how to make guitars cry.
Bakura Reach The Sky Album Sampler
Evolving from their Bedford, UK-based band The Collective Unconscious, Dominic “Domu” Stanton and Robert Marin‘s Bakura project has taken a live approach to broken boogie studio numbers. Tracks like the rude “Bada”-a speedy, spacey fusion number featuring aerobic live horn fills and jagged, locomotive beats-and the disco-funk influenced “Play That Game” and “Lately” foreshadow an emotive but party-ready collection from this dynamic duo.
Funky Technicians Legends of Love
Total Science returns under their jazzy, uplifting Funky Technicians alias for the first release on DJ Hype and Pascal‘s new imprint, Liqweed. Quiff and Spinback find a balance between tough drums and engaging, melodic compositions. Both “Legends of Love” and “One World” mesh soul-drenched vocal samples (Donnie Hathaway!) with rolling rhythms. As usual, I‘m mesmerized.
Sensi Allstars Versus Control Z Big Riddim
Well, this is definitely a British breakbeat single. How do I know? Doctor Who Moog leads? Check. Soundclash vocal samples? Check. Bits of acid and “Mentasm” synth stabs? Check. “Big Riddim” is a tad generic, but engineered so deftly that it remains an effective club tune. “Decade of Jungle” is more of the same with better bass programming.
