At first listen, the first full-length from Boy in Static (23-year-old Alex Chen) sounds strangely familiar, though it‘s hard to pinpoint from whence the déjà vu springs. Is this Múm meets My Bloody Valentine? Mouse on Mars meets Sparklehorse? With rather astonishingly fine production (Chen plays almost all the instruments here and created the whole album from his bedroom), Newborn harkens back to all these and more, striking a delicate balance between the pinprick micro-circuitry of Chen‘s laptop and the lo-fi fuzz of his acoustic guitar and hushed vocals. It‘s official, kids: Indietronica is the new emo.
Silent Witness Jump Gate
Silent Witness returns to his own DNAudio label with the futuristic “Jump Gate,” taking you through spiraling sound tunnels and dropping you off into amorphous bass tones and scattered drum programming to impressive results. On the other hand, “Amazon” beautifully builds into a dirty funky piece, but gets stale way too quickly.
Davide Carbone & Kubiks Frisco Disco
Lesser-known producers Davide Carbone and Kubiks combine to flex their collective muscle on this Industry twelve. “Frisco Disco” lightly blows through lush keys, sweet vocals and subtly seductive bass, but with enough stomp to keep it from suffering from Kenny G syndrome. The flip, “My Thing,” also melts jazz, soul, and funk elements together with a nice downtempo breakdown halfway through.
Logistics Millionare
Logistics continues to push his soulful rollers from one quality label to the next. “Millionaire” makes its mark on Innerground with cushion-warming synths that weave in and out of low-end frequencies and tickling vocal clips resulting in pure musical momentum. Don‘t ignore “Front to Back” as it also moves through funk-infused flavor and is strictly for the liquid lovers.
Fred Ones Phobia Of Doors
Sonic Sum cohort Fred Ones makes his bid for RJD2-level status with his own producer‘s album, Phobia of Doors, a promising listen that falls a bit short. Fred Ones‘ production is impeccable, handling delicate strings and satisfying thump on “Evolve,” jangling electro on “One Last Stab” and a slow, thick Asian dub on “Some Seeds.” The guest rhymers are a mixed bag, with Life Long spinning a great anti-commercial tale on “The Puppet M.C.” and Yazeed conjuring an Asimov-level sci-fi epic on “2087,” but Slug just chases his tail on the tail-chasing yarn “Sex and More.”
Jack Dangers Loudness Clarifies/Electronic Music From Tapelab
What Steve Reich and John Cage did with electronics and musique concrète in the 20th century, Jack Dangers is deftly handling in the 21st. Loudness Clarifies/Electronic Music From Tapelab is his sophomore double-set for ¡mportant!, featuring guests David Wright (Code Indigo, Callisto) and Jon Drukman (Bass Kittens, The Ultraviolet Catastrophe). Dangers gets dancey first with Meat Beat Manifesto-esque boombity-boom beats-and-breaks on disc one, and electro-noodly on the next, with nifty goodies from his Marin Tapelab studio. His hero is the ultra-rare (as in one left) 600-lb. EMS Synthi 100 and its awesome bloops and bleeps. Dangers‘ dual sounds endure masterfully!
Dissent 3 Swap Meet Seers
Despite being overshadowed by labelmates DJ Zeph and Variable Unit, Dissent isn‘t a group that can be easily dismissed. Their progressive jazztronic stance mixes musical improvisation with dancefloor sensibilities, resulting in an album experimental enough to take chances, yet grounded enough to deliver results. Lead Dissenter Gregory Howe (who also runs the Wide Hive label) has assembled a talented ensemble whose technical musical chops never get in the way of the groove. Mixing Moogs, saxophones, conga drums, violas, violins and stand-up bass with sample loops, synthesizers, and electronic beats, Swap Meet Seers‘ vibrancy proves in no uncertain terns that acid jazz didn‘t die, it only multiplied.
GB Soundtrack for Sunrise
The phrase “future soul” has always seemed like a bit of an oxymoron. According to the ancient Egyptians, our souls are eternal, so putting a time stamp on them can be a wee bit pretentious. But how else to describe GB‘s music, which doesn‘t exactly fit into any other quantifiable musical category? Soundtrack for Sunrise slides along somewhere in-between progressive, dubby breaks, highly musical boom-bap beats, and technology-infused, melodic vocal jazz (“Livre” features Brazilian legends Flora Purim and Airto Moreira). You may want to call GB “future funk” so as not to offend the gods, yet there‘s enough sonic science in his rhythmic meter to please the Neteru of Khemit themselves. Equally suited for a party on Earth or the after-party in the afterlife.
Tubby T Ready She Ready (Photek Rmx)
Photek reworks a dancehall scorcher by Tubby T based on the Spanish Fly riddim. A half-time intro keeps the vocal chorus intact, giving this tune the feel of a song, not just a club track. The first breakdown is devastating, with Tubby dedicating the track to all the girls and shouting “blaze it up” over a heavy snare roll. A rude boy calls out “buu buu buu” as the bass switches to a heavy Reece rinseout.
MF Grimm Gingerbread Man
As a teaser for his upcoming album American Hunger, New York rhyme vet MF Grimm returns with two new joints. “Gingerbread Man” plays like a throwback to his Grimm Reaper days, with bloodthirsty verses sprayed over DJ Crucial‘s chunky drums and chopped guitars. The flipside, “My Love,” is a mellower affair, with triumphant lyrics set to MF Doom‘s ridiculously smooth piano-laced beat.
