Thursday 28 August 2014

Mid Week Grab Bag

Chiho Aoshima - Sky (2006)

As titled, a bunch of tunes I dig from a grab bag of genres. Get yer eyes and ears some deliciousness. Commix to start with their combo of new and old skool drum & bass sensibilities. This one stands out because it's the only track from the LP with a full vocal accompaniment. Ad it works really really well



Everybody's favourite Norwegians again (sorry A-Ha). It's actually been a while since I've heard this one, and while I was digging found there was some controvesy between Torbjorn and a previous band he was in called Drum Island. Thought that this track and one of theirs called Lift were too similar, really it's pretty much because they both use the same sample. Still a solid string the to 'Sopp's bow.



And finally some more chillwave goodness courtesy of Ford & Lopatin from back when they were called Games. This was actually the first song of theirs I heard and I was taken immediately, that was four years ago and I'm still stunned by how fresh it sounds, it's very well put together.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Sad

Not been too sure how I feel the past couple of days. It's not upbeat that's for sure, but I'm not sinking into a pool of sadness either. Rest assured i's not exactly the time for four to the floor hard house, here's some choice picks of the last 48 hours.

Gregory Crewdson - Untitled (From the Beneath The Roses series)

Click for huge (2717 x 1766 px)

I know Oneohtrix Point Never comes up a lot as one of my favourite ambient dealers but I cannot stress enough how well Daniel Lopatin does what he does. Take this rare bit from short lived side project Dania Shapes. It's gorgeously put together with lush synths being the order of the day here. However the Dania Shapes stuff he did has a certain glitchy element to it, one that gets more pronounced in this track as it goes on.



The same applies here. When another of my favourite ambient crafters gets involved with OPN the result is just magical. The intro to this LP is absolutely beautiful as is the track itself, the melody introduced around 46 seconds in is unmistakably Lopatin. It has a glitchy side but feels much more naturalistic than the digital artifacts of the Dania Shapes material.



More from Noise-rock group HEALTH's ambient soundtrack catalogue now. It's not often I can say I've seen ambient sensibilities applied to actual instruments, but this is certainly one if not the only example I have. Definitely a much rougher sounding beast in comparison to the previous The guitar work may not be incredibly complex, but it is very effective when setting the atmosphere, much like Pills and Pain from the same soundtrack.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Sunday 24 August 2014

Morning After

Went out again didn't I, and had some time to reflect back on things on my stroll through town. Have a mixed bag of some post-night out musical accompaniment courtesy of me.

Edward Hopper - Summer Interior

More Sneaker Pimps remixes, and another example of a mix I like more than the original from Becoming X. Fold injects Roll On with a much more sinister trip hop vibe than the original, no doubt helped by Kelli Dayton being on point as usual.



Golden Boy's only full length is still pretty special, the collab between him and Kittin is a bit of a rarity, but is a mainstay in my library because I never tire of it. Here's a real sedate minimal-y number from near the end of the LP, it's grown on me with time for sure.



And finally Skream with a standout piece of dubstep from the early days of the scene. His debut album; Skream! is chock full of classics, but as the sun started to catch up with me there was only one song that fit. Still one of the finest instrumentals out there, got an awesome vibe that is almost unmatched.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Thursday 21 August 2014

Yet Another Mix

Went soundcloud hopping again only to find Clark had dropped a mix on my birthday for the tenth birthday of the Little Big Agency. Like Plaid's I posted not too long back, this is a pretty eclectic selection, maybe even moreso than theirs. Regardless it's a solid mix and gives a nice insight into what makes Clark tick and feeds into his unique style of muical grit. Tracklist below as ususal!



Tracklist:
The Field - No. No…
Jon Hopkins - Collider
Alex Smoke - Dust
Simian Ghost - Echoes of Songs (Luke Abbott Remix)
Tim Exile - 31022013
Holly Herndon - Chorus
Emika - 3 Hours
Dopplereffekt - Gene Silencing
Letherette - Restless
Hubie Davison - Mannequin Move
Dinos Chapman - Untitled #1 (Live In Moscow)
Wesley Matsell - Future Beacon
Clouds - Consciousness
Physical Therapy - Huminbeen
Jimmy Edgar - Mercurio
Planningtorock - Human Drama (Paula Temple Remix)
Akkord - Conveyor
Dadub + Retina.it - Kykeon
Clark - Superscope
Stellar Om Source - Polarity
Objekt - Agnes Demise
Kommune1 - Kronos
LFO - Butterslut
Call Super - Black Octagons
Laurel Halo - Chance Of Rain
Visionist - Snakes
Truss - Redbrook
Mouse On Mars - Spezmodia
Jam City - Worst Illusion
Slava - Better
Ikonika - You Won't Find It There
ADULT - Idle (Second Thoughts)


-Claude Van Foxbat

Monday 18 August 2014

Lets Talk About Young Turks: A Newbie Guide

Unless you have been living under a rock, Future Garage and Future R&B are in right now. Unknown to most, a small imprint of XL Records is putting out some of the most groundbreaking and forward thinking Future Garage music right now. It's only a matter of time before things hit critical mass. That imprint is Young Turks, and believe it or not your probably are already familiar with some of the work they have put out already.



I should'nt need too give much detail about XL Records, let's just say if you've listened to Adele, The White Stripes, Thom Yorke, or Vampire Weekend, you know who XL Records are. With an impressive parent label, Young Turks takes things even further with big names that release remix's and side projects and acts that will make it big tomorrow. Now, lets talk about the biggest things to ever come out of this imprint and dig our way more "obscure"

Yes, this Drake track is produced and heavily sampled from Jamie XX's and Gil Scott Heron's "I'll take care of you".



Speaking of Drake.....


The vocals are from the talented crooner Sampha, who is also on Young Turks. Sampha also worked with imprint mate SBTRKT,




Oh snap we are going down the rabbit hole but lets come up real quick for another heavy hitter "The XX"




One of the biggest names to come out of the imprint this year is FKA Twigs, I don't mind FKA Twigs, LP1 and LP2 have had heavy rotations from me, and she put on amazing performance at Pitchfork Festival this year. I'm the only one with this opinion but it really doesn't suck me in like everything else that Young Turks is putting out. Don't worry I'm sure I'll change my mind and post a gushing post about their next album. For now though I get why its popular, but maybe I'm having a Weeknd deja vu. Fingers crossed she doesn't put out a "Kiss Land"   EDIT: Shit bangs in the right ways possible, everyone listen to LP1 all week, I was wrong, I'm hooked. Sorry.



FKA Twigs - Video Girl [click to download] |HTML5|


You might be thinking that you have their "sound" down, but really no, because also on this imprint is "Holy Fuck" Yes, thats one of the worst names of all time but man that music grooves. They have perfected this kind of live, chaotic hardware set sound that would fit nicely on something like DFA Records.




Maybe this EP found me at the right time or maybe it's the sudden cold front thats hit Chicago but this release from Quirky might be my new favorite thing out of this imprint.







With releases like that its not fair to write off Young Turks as a "Small Label'. They have had so much success that they recently started another imprint named "Whitites". Here is their first release.



 OOOOH yeah thats the stuff...


-Adam




Saturday 16 August 2014

Working On The Weekend

Watch Captain Earth
NEW TRACKS!

Starting us off today is a really smooth remix of the track "Till Sunrise" by Goldroom. Pacifico took the song and turned it into an evening at the beach. Tenouttaten, excellent work




Next up we have another remix, this time by Edmonson for the Seb Wildblood track "Hunney"




I'm a sucker for beautiful voices, and Zella Day definitely has a beautiful voice, check out "Compass"



last but not least, i will share a track from one of my favorite artists right now, Makonnen, dude has been blowing up in Atlanta and recently got a Drake feature on his song "Tuesday" but this is not Tuesday.




Enjoy!

- Earl 

Another Rainy Saturday

As is often the case in England, it's been raining all day but I don't mind too much. After 20 years you kinda just accept it. Anyways I'm back again for the usual tunes & rt combo, here we go!

Gustave Caillebotte - L'Yerres, effet de pluie (1875)

Dug out Little Dragon's debut again, wish I'd have heard of them around the time, for a first album it's very solid. There's not any tracks I could do without, which is unusual for a 12 tracker. It's chock Full of well produced numbers like this one.



Omni Trio remains one of my favourtie all time producers of D&B, I've got a collection of his stuff dating back to about 1993 and the fact he's managed to keep me interested all that time is no mean feat. The subtle evolution in his style is pretty great to follow, moving from the hardcore/jungle vibes of old into more chilled sounds such as this:



Another debut now, with the also brilliant Taking Up Your Precious Time from Pretty Lights. Full from end to end of sample infused chill hip-hop vibes. It can be a bit daunting to listen to in full at 15 tracks, but as individual parts they're all incredibly sweet. You can still pick this album up for free over on the Pretty Lights website too!



-Claude Van Foxbat

Thursday 14 August 2014

New FlyLo Incoming

After a few days of dropping some suitably trippy accompanying art on us though his Facebook, and revealing the impresive list of collaborators, FlyLo dropped the new teaser for his upcoming LP coming this October, charmingly titled You're Dead!.



I'm feeling this one a lot, a nice change of pace after taking a while to get into Cosmogramma and Until The Quiet Comes, it's got a real jazzy vibe running throughout that is giving me early Squarepusher vibes. A bit early to call it just from the preview, but the new direction and art collaboration look to be on the right track. we'll let you know more as it happens!

-Claude Van Foxbat

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Not Long Now

Sorry for the slowing of updates, off back to uni soon and trying to get all my shit in order before then. anyways here's some more of the musical selections of moi for you enjoy!

Burhan Doğançay - Bonjour Marilyn (2009)

Starting off with more lo-fi trip/hip hop goodness from El Huervo, this time with a bonus of some lovely accordion like chiptune-y synths layered on over the top that are giving me Vangelis' Blade Runner vibes. Reading that back it doesn't sound too great but trust me, the Swede pulls it off in style.



More from of of my favourite beat crafters Knxwledge. The Intro to this one always throws me off, makes me think I got the video edit of AFX's Windowlicker on somewhere. It's incredibly short but my my my that beat is brilliant. Deffo bump-worthy, wouldn't mind an extended cut but this'll do just fine for now. Just don't make me try pronounce that title



And finally a rare example of turntablism I have in my libary, I love this track so much I should probably go out and find some more. A young Feadz & Mr. Oizo lend their hands to the scratching and beats respectivley for this little interlude, and the end result is one of the best moments on Analog Worms Attack.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Sunday 10 August 2014

Day 3: Still Alive

Hello again! I know it's been quiet on my front but that's because I've been doing normal 20 year old things like filing taxes and whatnot. Nah, just joshin ya, I've been living it up a little but now is time for music. Tacks after more art.

Atelier Olschinsky - Ghost Cities Remix (02)

Sitting at the tippy top of my music player every time I start it is this little number here. I've heard the first ten seconds like 1000 times before I set the shuffle off, but for once in a very long time I sat through it, and it's still as good as ever. The whole albums is chock full of that lovely clash between the lush synths and the broken beats.



And in a prime example of shuffle being absolutely aced we segue nicely into some Locust Toybox. Noon is by far and away my favourite album of his and shows off a good deal of his musical influences. This one here's a lot like The Flashbulb meets some chiptunes and most of Warp Record's output. By the way you can still get 99% of Locust Toybox's discography for free (and legally) over HERE.



Speaking of warp, I'll leave y'all now with probably my favourite example of the early-mid 90's bleepy ambient techno they were putting out under the {Artificial Intelligence} series. Autechre's entry is a far cry from their later work for sure, and while they might not care for it too much themselves these days, it's still top notch techno that's remarkably futuristic considering it's so old it can legally drink in the USA. I highly recommend you check it out.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Friday 8 August 2014

We Are Six! (And I Am 20)

In a happy accident, both mine and the blogs birthday fall on the same day. I like to take time out to thank all y'all for supporting us through the rough and good times, and also my newfound stellar writing crew without whom I'd still be flying the good ship Ilictronix solo. But enough o' that, onto songs!

We've come a long way, baby

This here is just gonna be a rundown of some of my all time favourites, starting with my long time Nordic buddies The Knife. Their third LP Silent Shout is one of the few albums I'd rank up there in my 10/10 list. Doubly so if you get your hands on the special edition with the live show on it. Enjoy the gorgeous rendition of Heartbeats from that LP.



Not often I dwell too much into hip hop, but I owe this track among others for setting me off on the second wave of my instrumental interest. Thanks to that randomer on the now defunct turntable.fm for introducing me to this cat. Never get tied of this one, a little short but just as sweet every single time.



No reflective post would be complete without a shouout to the electronic music of my yoof. Last time it was Paul Rayner with my smalltown cruising anthem Feel Me. This time it's the frankly amazing garage rework of the Spin Spin Sugar. Just as good today as it was in '98, perhaps even more with the new garage revival thing.



I think Warp also deserve a shoutout for all they've done for me, easily one of my favourite record labels ever. And of course a big thank you to the Aphex Twin too, for setting me off into the world of more experimental electronic (or IDM in the blogosphere). Celebrate with one of my favourite AFX tracks, stick around for the absolutely killer outro starting at 4:48!



And that be that, hope to see y'all again this time next year, until then keep on keeping on, stay safe and enjoy the music!

-Claude Van Foxbat

Tuesday 5 August 2014

Beat Me Up 2: Electric Boogaloo

In a shocking turn of events I'm still scratching that hip hop itch so have some more tunes I'm digging these days.

KAWS - Without an Agreement (2009)

More FlyLo demo stuff to start, showing off a little more of the experimental stuff he'd go on to explore further. This one wouldn't sound too out of place on his debut LP 1983, I'd love to hear that bassline in proper good quality, but it's pretty solid as-is.



Tucked away about half way trough a mostly Drum & Bass album comes this track, the tune that made me realise I liked trip hop before I knew what trip hop was. Way back in 1999 I heard this tune and it's never left my head since: short, simple and catchy is the winning combination here.



And finally another addition to the trip hop bow courtesy of James Lavelle and DJ Shadow. Posted the vocal remix of this one a while back (Be There) and honestly I'm not sure which I like better, but today it's the instrumental by a long stretch. That opening sample kills it every time.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Monday 4 August 2014

An Hour Of Plaid

Came across this on my soundcloud feed again, and I paused. I've heard most mixes from artists I follow, certainly a fair share on Warp too. But Plaid never really seemed the type to do that kinda thing, then I hit play. It's eclectic mix befitting their output, and unlike the Nightmares On Wax mix I posted a while back it actually has a tracklist! Check it out below.



Tracklist
Mast - Ascen
John Wizards - Muizenberg
Music Box - November
Saget - Satellite
Max Cooper - Impacts
Mr. Oizo - Flip Bat
Wesley Matsell - Total Order Of Being
Lover Over Entropy - Groundswell
Atom™ - Ich Bin Meine Mascine
Rain Dog - Regolith
Arovane - Vraill
Sevendeaths - All Night Graves
Edoc - I Don't Know What Is Happening
Visonia & Dopplereffekt - Die Reisen
Shatter Hands - Knifin Around
Pause - Sink
Lazlo - Turning Tide


-Claude Van Foxbat