Fittingly after last time's dive into Carpenter Brut what would be the first thing I come across on soundcloud? Another iteration of the We Are Number One meme, which there are about to be plenty more mixes like this of now that the stems are available. It's had its funny moments for sure so I gave this one a shot. But its actually like really good, to the point where the vocals don't even sound that out of place. I'll wait with bted breath for the extended one to come out, but for now enjoy both it and it's instrumental counterpart.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Saturday, 17 December 2016
Monday, 12 December 2016
At The Joinery
Another post I've been holding onto for a while here. Let me tell you a little tale about me and synthwave. I was obviously well one that Kavinsky train since day one, I did see some people start making similar stuff that didn't have the electro lean of Kavinsky's stuff, but didn't really keep up with it aside from the occasional Lazerhawk or Perturbator. And that was fine, it got me by for a while and I was content. Flash back to two years ago when I first lay ears on Carpenter Brut...
My first exposure came in the form of the violently explosive Roller Mobster through Hotline Miami 2. This wasn't the plinky 'outrun' style of synthwave I'd seen around the 'net before, and it went hand in had with the neon drenched fast-paced violence that is the Hotline Miami experience. It does take on more retro style elements later on mind, taking a funky turn on a breakdown around the 2 minute 20 mark.
And I apologise for what may be the 4th time I've posted Roller Mobster, but it was important to lay the background (honest!). Anyway, one of the reasons I was drawn into Carpenter Brut in the first place is how different his overall aesthetic was. Most Synthwave I'd seen was all sci-fi, old 80's anime and retro-futurism (not that there's anything wrong with those but it was quite played out). Brut on the other hand is all about low budget 80's horror schtick, so expect lots of slightly occult imagery like goat skulls and the like, alongside some slightly seedy titles like Le Perv.
The closing song to the Hotline Miami 2 LP and a slightly different beast next. No pun intended there, but it is originally from the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which did feature some beasties and a strong Lovecraft streak. Clocking in at 6 minutes long, Escape... does take a little while to get going, but it's a solid listen all the way through and it all makes the eventual payoff at 5:20 all that more sweeter.
-Claude Van Foxbat
My first exposure came in the form of the violently explosive Roller Mobster through Hotline Miami 2. This wasn't the plinky 'outrun' style of synthwave I'd seen around the 'net before, and it went hand in had with the neon drenched fast-paced violence that is the Hotline Miami experience. It does take on more retro style elements later on mind, taking a funky turn on a breakdown around the 2 minute 20 mark.
And I apologise for what may be the 4th time I've posted Roller Mobster, but it was important to lay the background (honest!). Anyway, one of the reasons I was drawn into Carpenter Brut in the first place is how different his overall aesthetic was. Most Synthwave I'd seen was all sci-fi, old 80's anime and retro-futurism (not that there's anything wrong with those but it was quite played out). Brut on the other hand is all about low budget 80's horror schtick, so expect lots of slightly occult imagery like goat skulls and the like, alongside some slightly seedy titles like Le Perv.
The closing song to the Hotline Miami 2 LP and a slightly different beast next. No pun intended there, but it is originally from the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, which did feature some beasties and a strong Lovecraft streak. Clocking in at 6 minutes long, Escape... does take a little while to get going, but it's a solid listen all the way through and it all makes the eventual payoff at 5:20 all that more sweeter.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Time To Split
Frequent readers should know by now that I'm no stranger to posting game soundtracks. But this time I'm going to cover something a little special to me, I've said before that I give some credit to games in general for making me realise electronic music was my thing and what I'm about to cover was one of many that had a hand in that. I've held off posting any of this for petty much the entire time I've written here and now seems a good time as any.
Yeah we're talking TimeSplitters 2, the frantic arcadey shooter that occupied much of a young Foxbat's time. The main composer for TS2 was Graeme Norgate, who like most of the Free Radical crew was ex-Rare and himself is responsible for some tunes from GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64. We're going to start off with the TS2 version of Streets, which blew me away when I was younger, I'd never heard straight-up trance in a game that wasn't licensed music, and it accompanied the often frenzied shootouts on the map in spectacular fashion.
There's a wide variety of moods and genres explored as one would expect from the games time-hopping aesthetic. It gets remarkably chill at points too, take the theme for the industrial tiles in the mapmaker mode, not necessarily what you'd expect in a fast-paced FPS but it works out. I only really got to appreciate it on it's own like this, my experience with it in the game was quite limited, usually brief snippets caught while everyone was reloading in splitscreen.
The single-player had some gorgeous tunes too, a lot of quite ambient stuff come to think of it. TS2 is also one of the things that made me realise I dug cyberpunk before I knew what cyberpunk was even called. Returning t it, it's fun to see all the little references put in too, I didn't catch the significance of "Neo Tokyo 2019" back then, and the level itself is pretty much a love letter to Blade Runner and Graeme's soundtrack has hints of Vangelis' soundtrack too, which only makes me love it more.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Yeah we're talking TimeSplitters 2, the frantic arcadey shooter that occupied much of a young Foxbat's time. The main composer for TS2 was Graeme Norgate, who like most of the Free Radical crew was ex-Rare and himself is responsible for some tunes from GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64. We're going to start off with the TS2 version of Streets, which blew me away when I was younger, I'd never heard straight-up trance in a game that wasn't licensed music, and it accompanied the often frenzied shootouts on the map in spectacular fashion.
There's a wide variety of moods and genres explored as one would expect from the games time-hopping aesthetic. It gets remarkably chill at points too, take the theme for the industrial tiles in the mapmaker mode, not necessarily what you'd expect in a fast-paced FPS but it works out. I only really got to appreciate it on it's own like this, my experience with it in the game was quite limited, usually brief snippets caught while everyone was reloading in splitscreen.
The single-player had some gorgeous tunes too, a lot of quite ambient stuff come to think of it. TS2 is also one of the things that made me realise I dug cyberpunk before I knew what cyberpunk was even called. Returning t it, it's fun to see all the little references put in too, I didn't catch the significance of "Neo Tokyo 2019" back then, and the level itself is pretty much a love letter to Blade Runner and Graeme's soundtrack has hints of Vangelis' soundtrack too, which only makes me love it more.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Saturday, 3 December 2016
An ADULT. Retrospective, Vol. 2
A little late on this one but I'll elaborate in a little while. One of the things you'll find out quickly about ADULT. is that sometimes it can be incredibly hard to google related terms. We're covering the Nausea EP / LP this time (Discogs calls it a mini-album), and you'll notice the cover below is very small, one of the casualties of the aforementioned goole issue, searching for "ADULT. Nausea" gets you all kinds of results that aren't to do with the band
The opening and title track is a bit of a different beast from the ADULT. sound you're used to; there's a whole lot more bleepy electronics going on, which I'm not sure suits ADULT's overall style, that's more Freezepop's territory. Nicola's delivery is sparse but on point as usual though.
Nausea does however mark the first appearance of one of my favourites, Skinlike. It's again a bit more upbeat than usual, but not as bleepy as the title tune so Ithink it works out better. It's a shame that the whole album seems to go oft unmentioned in the whole electroclash scene, I can see it fitting right in with Kittin & Hacker's stuff on International Deejay Gigolo at the time, full of 2real lyrics like "Just when I think I'm in control I fall apart again" and in fact they did appear on a remix EP for Tuxedomoon on International Deejay Gigolo around this time.
Another early version of a tune that would get reprises on later releases, Nicola's delivery is again sparse here, that might be an unfair comparison to make though, as this is still early in the release timeline, but things are spiced up a little bit with a few lines with more melodic delivery than usual. I still prefer the cleaned up and slightly reworked version from Resuscitation more, but it's still a solid tune regardless.
-Claude Van Foxbat
The opening and title track is a bit of a different beast from the ADULT. sound you're used to; there's a whole lot more bleepy electronics going on, which I'm not sure suits ADULT's overall style, that's more Freezepop's territory. Nicola's delivery is sparse but on point as usual though.
Nausea does however mark the first appearance of one of my favourites, Skinlike. It's again a bit more upbeat than usual, but not as bleepy as the title tune so Ithink it works out better. It's a shame that the whole album seems to go oft unmentioned in the whole electroclash scene, I can see it fitting right in with Kittin & Hacker's stuff on International Deejay Gigolo at the time, full of 2real lyrics like "Just when I think I'm in control I fall apart again" and in fact they did appear on a remix EP for Tuxedomoon on International Deejay Gigolo around this time.
Another early version of a tune that would get reprises on later releases, Nicola's delivery is again sparse here, that might be an unfair comparison to make though, as this is still early in the release timeline, but things are spiced up a little bit with a few lines with more melodic delivery than usual. I still prefer the cleaned up and slightly reworked version from Resuscitation more, but it's still a solid tune regardless.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
A Bit Of Summer In Winter
Cold Snap over in jolly ol' England. But thankfully my man Celadon has finally got around to knocking out his latest release, which as the title says should provide me a little bit of audio warmth when I'm waiting for the train in the early morning frost tomorrow. I've probably said enough about Celadon at this point but for those not in the know, tune in for some Plone-esque indie electronic stuff, kinda like some Bibio stuff too come to think of it. It's even on spotify too if you wanna listen on the go
-Claude Van Foxbat
-Claude Van Foxbat
Monday, 21 November 2016
Aloha Alola
It's only fitting with a new generation of pokemon making the rounds that we go back and cover some more Celadon City. And it just so happens he has another sample of his upcoming release for us to boot. Natural kicks off with some filed recordings and on the whole feels effortlessly smooth like much of CC's wok. Which is kinda funny because he had this to say about it: "Natural had been a tough song to finish for the last year and a half. For weeks I would sit and listen to this one song, and later would find something wrong. Its funny that I labeled the track natural, since I was having such a rough time finishing it. What I can say though it that I learned what it means to be natural and confident in your work. It is what makes this collection of songs even more important to me."
And alsomy main man and long time blog pal Evan hit 1 million plays on his soundcloud, so I'm giving him a shoutout too. Not asked him about what the description of this one means, but I'd get it in your ears quick cos it sounds like it may not be up forever. That and I'm a sucker for a bit of bebop too.
-Claude Van Foxbat
And alsomy main man and long time blog pal Evan hit 1 million plays on his soundcloud, so I'm giving him a shoutout too. Not asked him about what the description of this one means, but I'd get it in your ears quick cos it sounds like it may not be up forever. That and I'm a sucker for a bit of bebop too.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 18 November 2016
Pod3
A special longer edition of the podcast this time, partly to make up for how long it's been between them and partly because we have a lot of tunes to discuss this time around. Why has it taken us so long? Well I suppose you'll have to listen to find out, join us for that and to hear us reminisce about the glory days of dubstep and electro circa 2007.
Opening:
Nicholas Jaar – No
Adam’s picks:
Blac Youngsta x Quavo – Come Thru
Anthony Naples - Moscato
Rimbudian - Let Me Beat U
Ackroyd - Bend Sinister
Alex Burkat – Pay the Rent
Claude’s Selections
Röyksopp – Never Ever
Felix Da Housecat – We
D1 – I’m Loving
Crookers - Boxer
DJ Mehdi – Anything Is Possible
Outro:
Uncle Sam - Round The World Girls (Tes La Rok Remix)
Conquest - Forever
Opening:
Nicholas Jaar – No
Adam’s picks:
Blac Youngsta x Quavo – Come Thru
Anthony Naples - Moscato
Rimbudian - Let Me Beat U
Ackroyd - Bend Sinister
Alex Burkat – Pay the Rent
Claude’s Selections
Röyksopp – Never Ever
Felix Da Housecat – We
D1 – I’m Loving
Crookers - Boxer
DJ Mehdi – Anything Is Possible
Outro:
Uncle Sam - Round The World Girls (Tes La Rok Remix)
Conquest - Forever
Tuesday, 15 November 2016
An ADULT. Retrospective, Vol. 1
Another day, another series that was delayed through no fault of my own. Anyway, me and a friend did have this on vinyl but I don't know where my rip of it has gone so this not so great quality version I found will have to do for now. But that's kinda fitting cos electroclash always had that rough quality to it. More info after the art.
Yes we're talking about ADULT. today, a little underrated in the world of electroclash imo, but I did their punky take on it. Starting this post of with one of their earlier releases and the one I first heard, the New-Phonies EP. Starting with Hand To Phone, I first heard this in some bootleg in the early 2000's and it's been on my mind ever since, between this and Kittenz & Thee Glitz my love affair with electroclash was sealed and to this day I still adore Miss Kittin and Nicola Kuperus' monotone delivery. This isn't my favourite version of Hand To Phone, (that'll come up in future) bu even so it's still fantastic.
If I had it my way I'd post the whole thing because it's only 4 tracks and each is a fantastic crash course in electroclash, but I'll show some restraint. Moving back up the tracklist to the opening track and my opening lines about ADULT. being a bit more punk sounding than other electroclash acts becomes a little clearer. The quintessential introduction to ADULT.'s overall sound too, frantic lectronics backed with Nicola's rhythmic delivery.
The only track we're missing out here Don't Talk sees the introduction of another electroclash cornerstone as it's about phone sex. Granted it's not as explicitly obscene as Peaches or some Mount Sims but it's there. Anyway onto the last track Your Lies. Just in case they hadn't done enough to secure my heart, they went ahead and thew in some very subtle vocoder on the last track (or at least it's subtle on this release). Not sure it's the perfect track to close with but it certainly makes an impression.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Yes we're talking about ADULT. today, a little underrated in the world of electroclash imo, but I did their punky take on it. Starting this post of with one of their earlier releases and the one I first heard, the New-Phonies EP. Starting with Hand To Phone, I first heard this in some bootleg in the early 2000's and it's been on my mind ever since, between this and Kittenz & Thee Glitz my love affair with electroclash was sealed and to this day I still adore Miss Kittin and Nicola Kuperus' monotone delivery. This isn't my favourite version of Hand To Phone, (that'll come up in future) bu even so it's still fantastic.
If I had it my way I'd post the whole thing because it's only 4 tracks and each is a fantastic crash course in electroclash, but I'll show some restraint. Moving back up the tracklist to the opening track and my opening lines about ADULT. being a bit more punk sounding than other electroclash acts becomes a little clearer. The quintessential introduction to ADULT.'s overall sound too, frantic lectronics backed with Nicola's rhythmic delivery.
The only track we're missing out here Don't Talk sees the introduction of another electroclash cornerstone as it's about phone sex. Granted it's not as explicitly obscene as Peaches or some Mount Sims but it's there. Anyway onto the last track Your Lies. Just in case they hadn't done enough to secure my heart, they went ahead and thew in some very subtle vocoder on the last track (or at least it's subtle on this release). Not sure it's the perfect track to close with but it certainly makes an impression.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Saturday, 12 November 2016
Days Of Thunder
Thought I'd fallen behind again but pleased to see that I haven't yet! Going to cover some more obscure OPN side projects this time, I try to keep the ambient to a minimum cos I know it's not everyone's bag but this one in particular has been striking a cord with me at the mo. (2020 edit: apologies for the YT players, this is a pretty obscure release that's nowhere else)
There's only 4 tracks to the Days Of Thunder EP, a collaboration between Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never and Mark McGuire, formerly of Emeralds (though they were still together when this was released). So all in all as you would expect from those names, a pretty solid combination, it wastes no time getting down to early OPN Juno-60 goodness. I adore the bassy backing synths coming in around a minute in, I'm a sucker for the Juno stuff anyway but that is something else.
Mark McGuire's contributions are a little more pronounced on track 2, which is more of a meandering ambient piece in comparison to the synth jam vibes of Flight Simulator, it's a nice contrast to have some acoustic accompaniment to the usual synthetics of OPN's work. It does go off on a Clark-esque distortion kick around halfway through though, and as much as I like that I would love to hear another track in a similar style, the collaboration a little more obvious.
And finally Sky Ramping, given the title you think it'd be a perfect summation of the EP but I don't think so. It's still nice like, the whole structure has a lot in common with another OPN tune called Nest 5900, and McGuire's influence is again not as clear. Still it's nice to hear, the EP as a whole is very nice with nary a weak point on it, it's just a shame that Flight Simulator steals the show so early.
-Claude Van Foxbat
There's only 4 tracks to the Days Of Thunder EP, a collaboration between Daniel Lopatin of Oneohtrix Point Never and Mark McGuire, formerly of Emeralds (though they were still together when this was released). So all in all as you would expect from those names, a pretty solid combination, it wastes no time getting down to early OPN Juno-60 goodness. I adore the bassy backing synths coming in around a minute in, I'm a sucker for the Juno stuff anyway but that is something else.
Mark McGuire's contributions are a little more pronounced on track 2, which is more of a meandering ambient piece in comparison to the synth jam vibes of Flight Simulator, it's a nice contrast to have some acoustic accompaniment to the usual synthetics of OPN's work. It does go off on a Clark-esque distortion kick around halfway through though, and as much as I like that I would love to hear another track in a similar style, the collaboration a little more obvious.
And finally Sky Ramping, given the title you think it'd be a perfect summation of the EP but I don't think so. It's still nice like, the whole structure has a lot in common with another OPN tune called Nest 5900, and McGuire's influence is again not as clear. Still it's nice to hear, the EP as a whole is very nice with nary a weak point on it, it's just a shame that Flight Simulator steals the show so early.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 1 November 2016
Back With Celadon
Our long time pal Celadon is back with more feelgood vibes to brighten up your midweek. Taken from upcoming EP Summeryoung I held off putting this one up in the hopes he'd drop a couple more but alas nothing yet. Here's what the man himself has to say about it:
"This EP was formed from the recent unstable moments of my life. I always found time to sit down after long days at school and write skeletons of songs. It wasn't until the summer that everything connected for me and I found the right moods for the EP. Emotion is always a central part in my songwriting, and so constantly I am trying harder and harder to deal with those moments and hopefully molding it into music that I can learn and grow from."
I can kinda relate as a fellow arty folk, I've still got a million and one side projects on the go like always, but there's not nearly as much pressure to deliver now I've graduated. Which is actually quite nice, I like to bounce between things so I don't get burned out, now with the added bonus of being able to take my time with them. Regardless, enjoy the tune and I will be back with the final Röyksopp part shortly!
-Claude Van Foxbat
"This EP was formed from the recent unstable moments of my life. I always found time to sit down after long days at school and write skeletons of songs. It wasn't until the summer that everything connected for me and I found the right moods for the EP. Emotion is always a central part in my songwriting, and so constantly I am trying harder and harder to deal with those moments and hopefully molding it into music that I can learn and grow from."
I can kinda relate as a fellow arty folk, I've still got a million and one side projects on the go like always, but there's not nearly as much pressure to deliver now I've graduated. Which is actually quite nice, I like to bounce between things so I don't get burned out, now with the added bonus of being able to take my time with them. Regardless, enjoy the tune and I will be back with the final Röyksopp part shortly!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 30 October 2016
Flyin' South For Winter
Bit of a different post this time around, a leftover from the Submithub roundups that didn't fit in any of the other ones. So instead I did some digging and instead of picking one track got my dannies on the full EP (with Kin Klavé's permission of course. And what a generous EP offering it is, more recently I've been used to 2-3 track EPs with maybe a remix if you're lucky, so to have Volare clock in with 6 tunes of decent length is a breath of fresh air. More on that after the embedded EP itself, note the superb cover art, that printed style is very evocative of Sigur Rós' Takk... era, with the added bonus of if you pick it up on CD each cover being different and printed personally by Kin Klavé (more info on that at the bandcamp page)
So let's breakdown the EP shall we? There is an intro track but I will be skipping onto track 2, Isola, it was the one I first heard via submithub and I think is the default first play over on the bandcamp page. And a pretty listen it is, I do always appreciate some downtempo in my inbox which is part of the reason I went digging. That and I do always like a smidgen of strings in my electronic from time to time, and the eastern styled ones on show here are a treat to listen to.
Mantissa is also an early highlight, a much more hip-hop influenced piece than the previous that takes me back to many a bleary-eyed night up searching for the bump music from [adult swim], where it would have probably been right at home. Speaking of nostalgia, towards the end I get that same warm and fuzzy vibe as I do from Röyksopp's Sparks too. Which is followed by even more variety, with Helvellyn having more than a bit of a house streak to it. It almost reminds me of the Salt City Orchestra remix of Marshall Jefferson's Mushrooms, I always love hearing having that slow layering of elements over time.
Overall, a very refreshing change. And it came at an opportune time too, just as I was digging through old Rephlex stuff like Global Goon and Cylob to scratch my mellow IDM-style itch. Granted, Volare is probably closer to The Flashbulb in tone, particularly on Drums & Sounds 1 but that's not a bad thing at all either. I'm not sure I can make my mind up about the variety though; on one hand it's nice to hear, and taking on so many genres competently is impressive within itself, but at times I'd catch myself wanting to hear a full EP of one particular style, but saying that there's a fair degree of consistency between them all so in the long run I suppose isn't too big of an issue.
Very strong for a debut EP, I don't even have any mastering gripes like I ocassionally have with debuts, it's just up to Kin Klavé where they take their sounds from here!
You can find more Kin Klavé on:
Twitter
Soundcloud
Facebook
Bandcamp
-Claude Van Foxbat
So let's breakdown the EP shall we? There is an intro track but I will be skipping onto track 2, Isola, it was the one I first heard via submithub and I think is the default first play over on the bandcamp page. And a pretty listen it is, I do always appreciate some downtempo in my inbox which is part of the reason I went digging. That and I do always like a smidgen of strings in my electronic from time to time, and the eastern styled ones on show here are a treat to listen to.
Mantissa is also an early highlight, a much more hip-hop influenced piece than the previous that takes me back to many a bleary-eyed night up searching for the bump music from [adult swim], where it would have probably been right at home. Speaking of nostalgia, towards the end I get that same warm and fuzzy vibe as I do from Röyksopp's Sparks too. Which is followed by even more variety, with Helvellyn having more than a bit of a house streak to it. It almost reminds me of the Salt City Orchestra remix of Marshall Jefferson's Mushrooms, I always love hearing having that slow layering of elements over time.
Overall, a very refreshing change. And it came at an opportune time too, just as I was digging through old Rephlex stuff like Global Goon and Cylob to scratch my mellow IDM-style itch. Granted, Volare is probably closer to The Flashbulb in tone, particularly on Drums & Sounds 1 but that's not a bad thing at all either. I'm not sure I can make my mind up about the variety though; on one hand it's nice to hear, and taking on so many genres competently is impressive within itself, but at times I'd catch myself wanting to hear a full EP of one particular style, but saying that there's a fair degree of consistency between them all so in the long run I suppose isn't too big of an issue.
Very strong for a debut EP, I don't even have any mastering gripes like I ocassionally have with debuts, it's just up to Kin Klavé where they take their sounds from here!
You can find more Kin Klavé on:
Soundcloud
Bandcamp
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 20 October 2016
Passed Me By
I managed to somehow miss that MSTRKRFT did a new LP back in July. I mean, I knew they were back doin' stuff but there's been no real hints or anything, disogs even says it ain't out in non-promo form outside of Canada yet. So let's have an impromptu first Impressions / review thing shall we?
I'd heard a few people mention this one in looking up other impressions of it, and I was pleasantly surprised to be truthful. I'd only heard Little Red Hen off this thing, and that seemed to be an expansion on their occasional kinda minimal abrasive stuff as seen on Neon Knights and such. Runaway on the other hand, is pretty much the old MSTRKRFT formula updated to 2016, honestly it could almost be a lost remix from the blog house glory days, which makes it doubly surprising why I've heard nothing about it. And as much as I'd love an LP invoking the spirit of 2007, I'm also happy that they didn't do that, more on that next.
Party Line is more abstract than your usual MSTRKRFT affair for sure, and boy is it much more abrasive than even the hardest parts of The Looks or Fist Of God, and that ending is abrupt as can be. Despite not sounding much like their ususal output and me harping on about them no retreading ground, this one still sounds like it would be at home in some DJ sets from the time. Especially going by the Mr. Oizo bootlegs I have. Speaking of...
Oizo gives it the once over too, and does some harking back of his own with that drum loop taken straight from Lyn Collins's Think (About It), the end result sounding like an amalgamation of the sounds of Analog Worms Attack, Moustache (Half A Scissor) and Lambs Anger wrapped into one. It's a little on the short side and just kind of ends without any fanfare too. There's a bunch of remixes of the other tracks too, including a Juke style rework of Runaway from blog friend from way, way back The Phantom's Revenge, here's hoping that it gets a European release and that they get included, I remember we had to wait a long time to get Fist Of God over here so there's hope yet.
-Claude Van Foxbat
I'd heard a few people mention this one in looking up other impressions of it, and I was pleasantly surprised to be truthful. I'd only heard Little Red Hen off this thing, and that seemed to be an expansion on their occasional kinda minimal abrasive stuff as seen on Neon Knights and such. Runaway on the other hand, is pretty much the old MSTRKRFT formula updated to 2016, honestly it could almost be a lost remix from the blog house glory days, which makes it doubly surprising why I've heard nothing about it. And as much as I'd love an LP invoking the spirit of 2007, I'm also happy that they didn't do that, more on that next.
Party Line is more abstract than your usual MSTRKRFT affair for sure, and boy is it much more abrasive than even the hardest parts of The Looks or Fist Of God, and that ending is abrupt as can be. Despite not sounding much like their ususal output and me harping on about them no retreading ground, this one still sounds like it would be at home in some DJ sets from the time. Especially going by the Mr. Oizo bootlegs I have. Speaking of...
Oizo gives it the once over too, and does some harking back of his own with that drum loop taken straight from Lyn Collins's Think (About It), the end result sounding like an amalgamation of the sounds of Analog Worms Attack, Moustache (Half A Scissor) and Lambs Anger wrapped into one. It's a little on the short side and just kind of ends without any fanfare too. There's a bunch of remixes of the other tracks too, including a Juke style rework of Runaway from blog friend from way, way back The Phantom's Revenge, here's hoping that it gets a European release and that they get included, I remember we had to wait a long time to get Fist Of God over here so there's hope yet.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Midweek Hip Hop
How y'all doin'? I am back with some hip hop style stuff to brighten your day either way. Starting off with some folks from the submithub roundups that I said I'd keep tabs on. Well it's already paying off, with Best Friend doing their best to keep my instrumental itch scratched with their newest EP Daylight (which is coincidentally also the name of one of my favourite hip hop EPs from Aesop Rock). The sampling is once again on point, not so much brass this time some lovely cut up flutes the likes of which I haven't heard since the E-Z Rollers' Weekend World.
Time for more of the Metal Fingers compilation now which was a big source for my instrumental needs for a long time. As the name would suggest, it's largely made up of MF Doom instrumentals, all of whoch named after some variety of spice. Each time I pick one to post I have to force myself from not just putting up the whole compilation. If you're a fan of Doom or just have an interest in the instrumental side of things I highly recommend checking it out.
And finally this one wasn't planned to be here originally, but it just came up on shuffle and thought why not. For those unaware, this is a lil' something by one of our long time pals Evan, he's appeared on here under many different aliases and the couple of tapes he did under the Deadbeat Demon moniker have a special place in my collection. The guy's real busy making moves and producing for folk over in the states at the moment, I think the few tapes I have from him can tide me over till he drops another one though.
Song is missing from the internet! Sorry folks.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Time for more of the Metal Fingers compilation now which was a big source for my instrumental needs for a long time. As the name would suggest, it's largely made up of MF Doom instrumentals, all of whoch named after some variety of spice. Each time I pick one to post I have to force myself from not just putting up the whole compilation. If you're a fan of Doom or just have an interest in the instrumental side of things I highly recommend checking it out.
And finally this one wasn't planned to be here originally, but it just came up on shuffle and thought why not. For those unaware, this is a lil' something by one of our long time pals Evan, he's appeared on here under many different aliases and the couple of tapes he did under the Deadbeat Demon moniker have a special place in my collection. The guy's real busy making moves and producing for folk over in the states at the moment, I think the few tapes I have from him can tide me over till he drops another one though.
Song is missing from the internet! Sorry folks.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
(Almost) In The Doghouse
Nearly fell behind schedule, but I'm about to clutch it now! Starting with a rare soundcloud feed hit courtesy of Celdaon City. Taken from the Happy Doghouse's newest EP that came out last week, it ain't strictly electronic in the purest sense but I'm diggin' it. This one in particular has been a standout, it's almost like a less lo-fi, more indie version of Bibio, and with the whole dreamy thing it's got goin on it ain't hard to see why our mate Celadon City was so taken by it.
The same applies to the title track, Above The Stars. It's got just the right blend of chill and slight melancholy to make a perfect closing track. Oh, and the post-rock style explosion of sound that happens around 1:25 is nothing short of gorgeous too.
-Claude Van Foxbat
The same applies to the title track, Above The Stars. It's got just the right blend of chill and slight melancholy to make a perfect closing track. Oh, and the post-rock style explosion of sound that happens around 1:25 is nothing short of gorgeous too.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 30 September 2016
Ilictronix Podcast Episode 2: The Series Begins
We're back again with another round of us talking tunes, this time we talk a little about new rumblings from Massive Attack, detroit techno, the closure of Fabric and even a little bit about British food spreads. Same as before you can find the tracklist below, and stay tuned for our proposed tentative schedule of one of these every other week!
Intro - Agga Kharn – Vamp
Claude's Picks:
Massive Attack – The Spoils
Mr. Oizo – Intro (Kirk’s Back)
El Huervo - Daisuke
Octave One – Burujha
A:xus – Callin’ U (Extended Vocal Mix)
Adam’s Picks:
Rezzett – Zootie
SFV Acid – Cheddar Mercedes
Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Journey Of The Dragons
Nookie - Give A Little Love (94 Remix)
Project Pablo – Closer
Outro: Games - No Disguise
Intro - Agga Kharn – Vamp
Claude's Picks:
Massive Attack – The Spoils
Mr. Oizo – Intro (Kirk’s Back)
El Huervo - Daisuke
Octave One – Burujha
A:xus – Callin’ U (Extended Vocal Mix)
Adam’s Picks:
Rezzett – Zootie
SFV Acid – Cheddar Mercedes
Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Journey Of The Dragons
Nookie - Give A Little Love (94 Remix)
Project Pablo – Closer
Outro: Games - No Disguise
Wednesday, 28 September 2016
We Miss You
Today would have been Trish Keenan's birthday. One of my favourite voices from one of my favourite Warp acts, she's had a profound effect on my life and has seen me through some rough spots. The surviving Broadcast member James Cargill keeps fairly active in putting things up around anniversary time which is something I really admire, not only because it's lovely to hear bits and pieces of demos and things that influenced them but also because it must be incredibly difficult to continue on without Trish, and digging through the archives must only compound that.
Here's to you Trish, you've given me plenty of entertainment through the years and that will only continue. Thank you for everything.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Here's to you Trish, you've given me plenty of entertainment through the years and that will only continue. Thank you for everything.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Saturday, 24 September 2016
A Touch Of Yellow Ochre
Went looking through my list of artists to check up on (which is a giant .txt that I am forever behind on), I decided to start from the bottom this time and was treated to some relics that I had noted next to them (On Grooveshark). With that I thought I was out of luck, and I almost was because trying to google 'Ochre' is an excercise in futility. Luckily I found my way with some digging, couldn't find the specific song I'd noted but found some others that hit the same notes and make me remember why it's on the list. Let's go.
It's been a while since I've touched on any IDM style stuff, for a while it was my bread 'n butter. Ochre comes out sounding a little bit like Plaid meets Autechre to my ears. As you can hear above, the usual smooth synths with the slightly off kilter beat combo is alive and well here. I've been missing this for some time and I'm happier than ever to have it back.
The album these are from in particular seems to be hitting all the things I like about Autechre, which is to say the meld of the melodic and the glitch combination. I'm actually quite surprised the album came out when it did actually, it's from 2004 and with the exception of The Flashbulb, I though the usual IDM crowd had abandoned that sound around then. It's proving difficult to get my hands on actually, so this post should serve as a reminder too.
skipping forward 10 years now, and we have a piece from a charity compilation. Not a lot has changed structure wise; the synths are still smooth as, the glitchy percussion is still there. Though I'd say not a lot really needed to, only real complaints I have is the song's half over before all the elements are introduced, which is a shame cos I could do with more of that thermemin-esque sound in my life.
-Claude Van Foxbat
It's been a while since I've touched on any IDM style stuff, for a while it was my bread 'n butter. Ochre comes out sounding a little bit like Plaid meets Autechre to my ears. As you can hear above, the usual smooth synths with the slightly off kilter beat combo is alive and well here. I've been missing this for some time and I'm happier than ever to have it back.
The album these are from in particular seems to be hitting all the things I like about Autechre, which is to say the meld of the melodic and the glitch combination. I'm actually quite surprised the album came out when it did actually, it's from 2004 and with the exception of The Flashbulb, I though the usual IDM crowd had abandoned that sound around then. It's proving difficult to get my hands on actually, so this post should serve as a reminder too.
skipping forward 10 years now, and we have a piece from a charity compilation. Not a lot has changed structure wise; the synths are still smooth as, the glitchy percussion is still there. Though I'd say not a lot really needed to, only real complaints I have is the song's half over before all the elements are introduced, which is a shame cos I could do with more of that thermemin-esque sound in my life.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 18 September 2016
Replacement Audio Service
Well this *was* supposed to be another look at old school 90's techno courtesy of Mijk Van Dijk but I'm having trouble getting my hands on it. Suppose that goes with the territory of bein' semi-obscure and me trying to pick up a mix compilation of his only released in Japan in 1998 probably didn't help none either. Instead I have another nostalgia tinged special for ye, with Celadon City lending his hand to Blink 182's I Miss You, join me in a trip back to the early 00's.
Apologies for not being what I intended, but the sequel to what this post was meant to be seems to be on track, so lookout in a couple days for some late 90's electronic stuff that I may have posted some of recently!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Apologies for not being what I intended, but the sequel to what this post was meant to be seems to be on track, so lookout in a couple days for some late 90's electronic stuff that I may have posted some of recently!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 16 September 2016
Heaven Can (Still) Wait
Been holding off on putting this one up for a long time, but it just can't wait anymore. I've been playing this on the regular on and off for about a year by now, so I think it's earned it. Heaven Can Wait is a 3-part mixtape series by Ford & Lopatin (who went by Games back then), for those familiar with Lopatin's Eccojams, Vol. 1, it's like that but dialed back a bit, there's no 4 minute loops of a tiny fragment of Toto's Africa here, just more Games flavored retro electronics. As the series name suggests, the first part starts with a vapourwave tinted rework of Sandra's Heaven Can Wait. As for part two, well it starts with the same treatment of Angela Bofill's Can't Slow Down
While not having any original Games pieces on any of them, they're still a good listen as well as an interesting insight into their combined inspirations. A lot easier to digest that some of the Eccojams stuff too, so this is a good place to get into that kinda thing!
-Claude Van Foxbat
While not having any original Games pieces on any of them, they're still a good listen as well as an interesting insight into their combined inspirations. A lot easier to digest that some of the Eccojams stuff too, so this is a good place to get into that kinda thing!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Wednesday, 14 September 2016
The SubmitHub Roundup, Vol. 4
The submissions train keeps on rollin' on, and it continues to keep exposing me to stuff I wouldn't have otherwise gone out to hear. This one came to me billing itself as minimal which I normally shy away from cos it doesn't tend to be my bag, but I gave it a go and was rewarded in due course. I was digging the intro from the get go but I wasn't expecting the vocal side of things to crop up and that only made me fall harder given my well documented love affair with treated vocals. It makes to whole thing feel like a hazy half remembered retro experimental tune a la Laurie Anderson. Which I suppose is only fitting given the cover art:
I was surprised more folks hadn't jumped on the sadboy electronic train after James Blake started to get big (or maybe they did and I just didn't hear any of it). There's certainly a little bit of Blake on display here for sure, though packaged with some more uplifting electronics for accompaniment rather than the disparate, cold touches as heard on The Wilhelm Scream and such. I do think that some of the slight vocal distortion would worked well here too, but at the same time that might have made 'em fade too much into the background, might be somethin' t experiment with in future either way!
Rounding off with even more hip hop stuff. I've always liked some brass in my hip hop ever since I heard Gorillaz's Rock The House, and Teddy Bear delivers in spades. And the artwork is on point again too. No idea if it's sampled or original but either way it'd feel right at home on a Mr. Scruff production, and the final hurrah starting around 2:30 brings about the end in spectacular fashion.
-Claude Van Foxbat
I was surprised more folks hadn't jumped on the sadboy electronic train after James Blake started to get big (or maybe they did and I just didn't hear any of it). There's certainly a little bit of Blake on display here for sure, though packaged with some more uplifting electronics for accompaniment rather than the disparate, cold touches as heard on The Wilhelm Scream and such. I do think that some of the slight vocal distortion would worked well here too, but at the same time that might have made 'em fade too much into the background, might be somethin' t experiment with in future either way!
Rounding off with even more hip hop stuff. I've always liked some brass in my hip hop ever since I heard Gorillaz's Rock The House, and Teddy Bear delivers in spades. And the artwork is on point again too. No idea if it's sampled or original but either way it'd feel right at home on a Mr. Scruff production, and the final hurrah starting around 2:30 brings about the end in spectacular fashion.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 13 September 2016
The Project Has Landed
So, after around a year plus of teasing, the mystery can finally be dropped. Here's the oh-so-secret project me and Adam were working on, the ilictronix podcast has landed! Join me and Adam as we talk about some tunes, the many confusing instances of Ghost In The Shell, and Björk.
Doesn't look like the tracklist is live on mixcloud yet, but I kept it on file so I might as well post it here too. Stay tuned for more, it took a while for us to get it done but I really like the format and I think we could do a lot with it. But for now I'll jet and just leave you with the tunes!
Intro - EQD - EQD#002A
Claude's Picks:
Philestine – Genius In A Bottle (Mix 3)
Cornelius – Deep Breathing
Games - Take Me To The Top (From the Heaven Can Wait, Vol. 2 mixtape)
Zombie Nation - Velcrosquat Light
Björk - Immature (Mark Bell's Version)
Adam’s Picks:
Bulgarian State Television Female Choir - Pilentze Pee
SAFE - Don't Worry
Tom E. Vercetti - Future Perfect
Peshay - Piano Tune
Mad Rey - Quartier Sex
Outro: DJ Rashad - Leavin'
Doesn't look like the tracklist is live on mixcloud yet, but I kept it on file so I might as well post it here too. Stay tuned for more, it took a while for us to get it done but I really like the format and I think we could do a lot with it. But for now I'll jet and just leave you with the tunes!
Intro - EQD - EQD#002A
Claude's Picks:
Philestine – Genius In A Bottle (Mix 3)
Cornelius – Deep Breathing
Games - Take Me To The Top (From the Heaven Can Wait, Vol. 2 mixtape)
Zombie Nation - Velcrosquat Light
Björk - Immature (Mark Bell's Version)
Adam’s Picks:
Bulgarian State Television Female Choir - Pilentze Pee
SAFE - Don't Worry
Tom E. Vercetti - Future Perfect
Peshay - Piano Tune
Mad Rey - Quartier Sex
Outro: DJ Rashad - Leavin'
Monday, 5 September 2016
Tricks 2
Got a few other cool labels to add to the sound-cloud white list, no surprise Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder is there, which is a real blessing because as it turns out there was some Thundercat I had managed to miss about a year back. And thankfully we are not limited to 30 second previews so we call all bask in the funky goodness of Thundecat. Enjoy.
And since I was there I thought I'd share a couple more of my favourites from Apocalypse too. Heartbreaks + Setbacks remains one of the few tunes that I HAVE to listen to all the way through when it comes on, it wastes no time getting ot the meat of things and I will always be all ears.
-Claude Van Foxbat
And since I was there I thought I'd share a couple more of my favourites from Apocalypse too. Heartbreaks + Setbacks remains one of the few tunes that I HAVE to listen to all the way through when it comes on, it wastes no time getting ot the meat of things and I will always be all ears.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Tips And Tricks
Remember how I was saying that I had a real soundcloud drought going on? Well I found a couple workarounds for that. Sure, a lot of shit may be locked behind soundcloud go now meaning you only get 30 seconds or so of material, but there are some cool folks out there that have yet to fall to the wave of it.
Take Four Tet here, now I should say that I can never make my mind up about Four Tet, like Plaid and so many others it tends to be hit and miss with me. And when Oneohtrix Point Never gets to rework something now that is *very* hit and miss given his usual styles and all. But the ed result is actually pretty nice even if it doe stake a while to get going.
Now the second trick that's helped a whole lot. Instead of going after the usual spate of artists, go diggin' in your library for semi-obscure techno producers and see if they're still kicking. Luckily for me, Mijk Van Dijk is, here with a remix of Billie Ray Martin. It's kinda funny too, in a world where soundcloud is limiting people to 30 secs of songs, here Mijk is calling a 6 minute slice a 'snippet'. The tune itself is very nice, chock full of bass but still quite minimal, which is a tad unusual for me, but then again Mijk has always been one of the few minimal folk who I dig.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Take Four Tet here, now I should say that I can never make my mind up about Four Tet, like Plaid and so many others it tends to be hit and miss with me. And when Oneohtrix Point Never gets to rework something now that is *very* hit and miss given his usual styles and all. But the ed result is actually pretty nice even if it doe stake a while to get going.
Now the second trick that's helped a whole lot. Instead of going after the usual spate of artists, go diggin' in your library for semi-obscure techno producers and see if they're still kicking. Luckily for me, Mijk Van Dijk is, here with a remix of Billie Ray Martin. It's kinda funny too, in a world where soundcloud is limiting people to 30 secs of songs, here Mijk is calling a 6 minute slice a 'snippet'. The tune itself is very nice, chock full of bass but still quite minimal, which is a tad unusual for me, but then again Mijk has always been one of the few minimal folk who I dig.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 28 August 2016
The SubmitHub Roundup, Vol. 1
It should come as no surprise to frequent readers that I sometimes meander when it comes to getting things done. Whether its making posts to remind me that I still need to check out certain artists, or even posts in general sometimes I wouldn't exactly say I have an amazing track record. But alas, the soundcloud drought was getting to me and I was itching to find new ways of finding things, enter an email I got back in may.
Submithub is the name, and cutting out my legwork is its game. Instead of crawling soundcloud feeds we get people coming to us, which can be a bit of a burden but it's been smooth sailing so far. Serving up the first proper submission was the above, which is giving me that early Pretty Lights hip hop style nostalgia, and will feel right at home between the other "You"'s in my collection from Bibio and Gold Panda.
One thing I'm also learning to be is less cynical. It kinda naturally happens after years of email bombardment for whatever promo list has scrubbed your deets that week. Having a visual helps (even if it is still, and it's also I'm a massive sucker for the old cyan/magenta scheme). Not too hot on the treatment of the vocals here but I'll be damned if the frantic piano stabs and noodling around 2:10 don't take me right back to the early 00's dance days.
You also get treated to some pretty unusual stuff too, and not in a bad way either. Much like me father before me I do like for there to be some strings in my electronics. It's something we've covered a little before, Admittedly it's usually in the form of Venetian Snares' Rossz Csillag Alatt Született or SomethingALaMode which we covered way back in 2010. Certainly wouldn't mind more experimentation with the sound, moody Trip Hop and strings are a match made in heaven.
And there you have it, as such expect more frequent updates with this kinda thing now that I am free of the shackles of soundcloud digging. Expect the usual programming with a few of these sprinkled through out, now to see about sorting the next big project - the site redesign, stay tuned!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Submithub is the name, and cutting out my legwork is its game. Instead of crawling soundcloud feeds we get people coming to us, which can be a bit of a burden but it's been smooth sailing so far. Serving up the first proper submission was the above, which is giving me that early Pretty Lights hip hop style nostalgia, and will feel right at home between the other "You"'s in my collection from Bibio and Gold Panda.
One thing I'm also learning to be is less cynical. It kinda naturally happens after years of email bombardment for whatever promo list has scrubbed your deets that week. Having a visual helps (even if it is still, and it's also I'm a massive sucker for the old cyan/magenta scheme). Not too hot on the treatment of the vocals here but I'll be damned if the frantic piano stabs and noodling around 2:10 don't take me right back to the early 00's dance days.
You also get treated to some pretty unusual stuff too, and not in a bad way either. Much like me father before me I do like for there to be some strings in my electronics. It's something we've covered a little before, Admittedly it's usually in the form of Venetian Snares' Rossz Csillag Alatt Született or SomethingALaMode which we covered way back in 2010. Certainly wouldn't mind more experimentation with the sound, moody Trip Hop and strings are a match made in heaven.
And there you have it, as such expect more frequent updates with this kinda thing now that I am free of the shackles of soundcloud digging. Expect the usual programming with a few of these sprinkled through out, now to see about sorting the next big project - the site redesign, stay tuned!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 26 August 2016
Vintage Oizo (Part 2)
Moving more into familiar territory for part 2, just one year on from his debut #1 EP, Oizo's output here should be incredibly familiar for anyone with any knowledge of either Flat Beat or Analog Worms Attack. From the artwork down to the structure and sounds, Oizo is really finding his groove when it comes to slightly off kilter Electro stuff.
And he wastes no time letting you know that, with a turntablism infused rework of Kirk from the #1EP, something that'd later appear on the Analog Worms Attack LP, only with later Ed Banger bloke Feadz on the scratching duties.
And it's not long before we get stuck into that crunchy Electro goodness that made Flat Beat, in fact when Levi's jumped on the Oizo and Flat Eric hype train for a series of advertisements, this is one of the tunes that featured. With Eric making the electro burbles with his mouth of course.
That's not to say that the minimal edge from the previous EP is all gone however, it's there a little bit on M-Seq but Tweeter Trouble has it going on in spades. Speaking of tweeters too, this one's a pretty good shout if you're looking to test the bass side of your setup. I have it playing now at about 3/4 the usual volume and it's still rattling my desk a fair bit.
It's not all gritty mind you, there's some little funky side pieces going on as well. This one feels like a precursor to the very Oizo titled Last Night A DJ Killed My Dog, which I suppose is very fitting in itself given the title of it.
-Claude Van Foxbat
And he wastes no time letting you know that, with a turntablism infused rework of Kirk from the #1EP, something that'd later appear on the Analog Worms Attack LP, only with later Ed Banger bloke Feadz on the scratching duties.
And it's not long before we get stuck into that crunchy Electro goodness that made Flat Beat, in fact when Levi's jumped on the Oizo and Flat Eric hype train for a series of advertisements, this is one of the tunes that featured. With Eric making the electro burbles with his mouth of course.
That's not to say that the minimal edge from the previous EP is all gone however, it's there a little bit on M-Seq but Tweeter Trouble has it going on in spades. Speaking of tweeters too, this one's a pretty good shout if you're looking to test the bass side of your setup. I have it playing now at about 3/4 the usual volume and it's still rattling my desk a fair bit.
It's not all gritty mind you, there's some little funky side pieces going on as well. This one feels like a precursor to the very Oizo titled Last Night A DJ Killed My Dog, which I suppose is very fitting in itself given the title of it.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 23 August 2016
Vintage Oizo (Part 1)
With Mr. Oizo's new LP All Wet looming on the horizon I'd like to take a minute or two to dive into his extensive back catalogue. Now of course most of you are familiar with Flat Beat, and Flat Eric has been a constant presence in his work, even appearing in pixellated format on the cover of All Wet, but we're going to a time before all that. Back to Oizo's debut in fact, with a litte EP simply called #1.
This is 1997, a good couple of years or so before Flat Beat and Analog Worms Attack, and the most striking thing of all about this EP is the difference to the sound that's prevalent on both those. Those a whole lot of straight up conventional house tunes on here with perhaps a little bit of a minimal streak too. Which, while a far cry from his later work are still solid.
Not to say there aren't more than a few hints of the direction he would take, immediately after Kirk you're greeted with the same sinister electro come hip hop that ran throughout Analog Worms Attack. It's not quite there yet, which is a given if the year in the mix title is anything to go by, but the rough drums and scattered samples are definitely hallmarks that would come up again.
There's some middle ground too, upon revisiting I could easily see Ke-Ele appearing as a B-side to one of the Analog Worms Attack singles, though it sounds a lot smoother than anything on either there or this EP so far. It's aged incredibly well, and I definitely recommend both this and the full EP if you're into Oizo.
Signing off with the penultimate track, Krumpf is the opposite of all I've just said. There's no hints of the future Oizo to be had here, and the whole thing does sound like a late 90's house record. But that's not to say it's bad (I actually dig it a whole lot), even if it's not for you it's still interesting to hear, especially considering it in comparison to Oizo's releases since.
-Claude Van Foxbat
This is 1997, a good couple of years or so before Flat Beat and Analog Worms Attack, and the most striking thing of all about this EP is the difference to the sound that's prevalent on both those. Those a whole lot of straight up conventional house tunes on here with perhaps a little bit of a minimal streak too. Which, while a far cry from his later work are still solid.
Not to say there aren't more than a few hints of the direction he would take, immediately after Kirk you're greeted with the same sinister electro come hip hop that ran throughout Analog Worms Attack. It's not quite there yet, which is a given if the year in the mix title is anything to go by, but the rough drums and scattered samples are definitely hallmarks that would come up again.
There's some middle ground too, upon revisiting I could easily see Ke-Ele appearing as a B-side to one of the Analog Worms Attack singles, though it sounds a lot smoother than anything on either there or this EP so far. It's aged incredibly well, and I definitely recommend both this and the full EP if you're into Oizo.
Signing off with the penultimate track, Krumpf is the opposite of all I've just said. There's no hints of the future Oizo to be had here, and the whole thing does sound like a late 90's house record. But that's not to say it's bad (I actually dig it a whole lot), even if it's not for you it's still interesting to hear, especially considering it in comparison to Oizo's releases since.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 12 August 2016
Back From The Grave
Hoo boy it has been a while. I guess I missed my semi annual track dump after all eh? Long story short I did some dumb shit on my birthday and it took me out of commission until today, but I am back with an array of recovery songs. Lessgo.
Think I mentioned in passing a long time ago but it bears repeating now, I urge you all to make a sick/hungover/headache playlist because sometimes when you have a migraine you don't want throbbing TB-303s to come into the mix. It's done me wonders so far and I thought I'd repost one of my latest additions to it.
Bit of a diversion now, wanted to find a good streamer of this but soundcloud is garbo now. Regardless, here's some of the new Massive Attack. There's nothing like the moody instrumentals of the Massive lads and Hope Sandoval's forever melancholy delivery to ease the weekend in. I hope she becomes a frequent fixture of theirs in future, had my eye on her since the Mazzy Star days, and her parts on Heligoland were golden too.
Shan't all be doom and gloom and bring your Friday down mind. Here's another more uplifting Hotline tune to see you out. It's quite smooth considering what else there is on offer here, almost the spiritual successor to Jasper Byrne's Miami from the first OST. That'll be all, and it shouldn't be so long till I see you again!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - At The Rat Mort (1899)
Think I mentioned in passing a long time ago but it bears repeating now, I urge you all to make a sick/hungover/headache playlist because sometimes when you have a migraine you don't want throbbing TB-303s to come into the mix. It's done me wonders so far and I thought I'd repost one of my latest additions to it.
Bit of a diversion now, wanted to find a good streamer of this but soundcloud is garbo now. Regardless, here's some of the new Massive Attack. There's nothing like the moody instrumentals of the Massive lads and Hope Sandoval's forever melancholy delivery to ease the weekend in. I hope she becomes a frequent fixture of theirs in future, had my eye on her since the Mazzy Star days, and her parts on Heligoland were golden too.
Shan't all be doom and gloom and bring your Friday down mind. Here's another more uplifting Hotline tune to see you out. It's quite smooth considering what else there is on offer here, almost the spiritual successor to Jasper Byrne's Miami from the first OST. That'll be all, and it shouldn't be so long till I see you again!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 5 August 2016
Friday Bread
Ralph Hotere - Hang In There Mate (2011)
In need of a pick me up today so here are some smooth as ever tunes for both of us. Starting with Nightmares On Wax once again, my favourite descriptor of this track will always be that it's like if trip hop was made in a more tropical location than Bristol. It rings true throughout too, it's got N.O.W's trademark positive vibe in there in spades, pretty much the antithesis of the gloomy side of trip hop.
Some old school Clark too, back when he was still billed as Chris Clark. Lord Of The Dance is a real standout there, in amongst the early markings of his later trademark distortion comes this little happy numbr. I'll forever love the sounds on offer here, it's a joy to listen to.
On that same note, my summer album of 2007 or so is back once again. Simian Mobile Disco's debut LP is short but very very sweet indeed, I Believe being one of many highlights, featuring Simon Lord from the original Simian lineup to boot. Part of me wishes they'd get him back as a guest and revisit the style, but at the same time it's a perfect time capsule of the sound that I'm happy with it as-is.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 28 July 2016
Through The Machine
Guess who made a surprise appearance on my radar t'other day. It's been a long time since I've heard any rumblings from Maybe The Moon, last I recall they only had a couple songs on their soundcloud but they were scratching my occasional electropop itch something fierce. And then out of nowhere there's not only a few more tracks but an EP announcement too? They're spoiling me.
I'm trying to ease off the comparisons when it comes to these things, but I'll be damned if the Au Revoir Simone comparison isn't apt as ever from the get go. The opening tune also has me very interested in any pure instrumentals that they could put out. Not to disparage Karmen's vocal contributions mind, but I am very much on the market for some 604-era Ladytron goodness like Mu-Tron.
The EP itself is out right now, you can scoop it from Bandcamp. It's name your price so if needs must you can get it for free, but feel free to throw a couple quid their way if it tickles your fancy. I will most definitely keep my eyes on these two for any further developments, they always seem to come 'round when I'm looking for sonds in that vein.
-Claude Van Foxbat
I'm trying to ease off the comparisons when it comes to these things, but I'll be damned if the Au Revoir Simone comparison isn't apt as ever from the get go. The opening tune also has me very interested in any pure instrumentals that they could put out. Not to disparage Karmen's vocal contributions mind, but I am very much on the market for some 604-era Ladytron goodness like Mu-Tron.
The EP itself is out right now, you can scoop it from Bandcamp. It's name your price so if needs must you can get it for free, but feel free to throw a couple quid their way if it tickles your fancy. I will most definitely keep my eyes on these two for any further developments, they always seem to come 'round when I'm looking for sonds in that vein.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Dear John
I've had a passing interest in James for a while now, (you probably know 'em from the cult classic Laid) like other britpop style groups of the time I thought they'd called it a long time ago. Now imagine my surprise when I got to look up Laid to show to a friend, they actually dropped a new LP in March. While not strictly electronic 100%, this one is giving me a little of the feeling I get around Röyksopp's Junior & Senior. There's an arty video to boot. It's been stuck in my head all day and with any luck now you have it too.
I tried to find a alt streamer too, but it's not even up on their official soundcloud and Spotify embeds don't work too well anymore so this'll have to do for now. I'll be back in due course with more sounds for you.
-Claude Van Foxbat
I tried to find a alt streamer too, but it's not even up on their official soundcloud and Spotify embeds don't work too well anymore so this'll have to do for now. I'll be back in due course with more sounds for you.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 21 July 2016
Enter The Vault
Dunno what I'd do without Celadon City to brighten up my soundcloud feed. After the last few times have come up peanuts he's really spoiling me as of late. This time we have another compilation dealie that he appears on, and it's a treat for the ears as usual. It's nice to see him constantly experimenting with sounds (though I am still waiting for the vocoders to make a reappearance), and they always sound pretty polished too given how fat they come around. Check out the comp and CC's tune below!
-Claude Van Foxbat
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 14 July 2016
Catching Up
Trust the day I go out of town to be the day I get some emails that are pretty important and I had planned to write a post too, so the plan for that went out the window. All covered now though so I can tell you the latest news as a backup, after reaching the 4K follower milestone on Soundcloud, our long time good vibes pal Celadon City has a little something to share with us. And it's just as pretty as ever.
Apologies again for the rushed post, but I'll make it up to y'all. You know I'm good for it. Until then ave yourself a lazy afternoon courtesy of the above.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Apologies again for the rushed post, but I'll make it up to y'all. You know I'm good for it. Until then ave yourself a lazy afternoon courtesy of the above.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 8 July 2016
Echo's Answer
Was listening back to mine and Adam's project and there's a bit in it where I talk about Broadcast a little. I've tried to keep it to a minimum in the actual posts because I bet I could go on for days about how much I love 'em but I thought I'd finally break and have a little cross section of some favourites. Starting off with the first of theirs I heard beyond America's Boy.
A lot of my picks have a bit of a melancholy streak to them, it's something that's always appeared on their releases even going back to their fist, not to say that they don't have more upbeat (albeit often abstract) songs mind. Much like Beth Gibbons of Portishead, I absolutely adore Keenan's delivery and there are plenty of times where I've been in her shoes with what she describes.
Rounding out with the penultimate track from Tender Buttons, it ushers in the end of the album nicely, it's the bittersweet goodbye before moment of reflection offered by the purely ambient final track. I'd always hoped for more to come, but those tapes mentioned by the band's survivor James Cargill don't seem to be surfacing, or were perhaps already used in the Berberian Sound Studio soundtrack. I am more than content with what we have however, they'll always be a highlight of Warp's roster for me.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
Tuesday Clouds
Beginning to think there might be some shenanigans going on when it comes to my semi-regular soundcloud dumps. Whenever I plan one out and set a day for posting it, it always buckets down outside. Not that it's too much of an issue like, because I can always count on my soundcloud feed to brighten things up, starting with another one from Smoothie Tunes. I've re-writtten this bit about 4 times as the track progresses, it's like a meeting of smooth A:xus meets 2-step garage and then, not content with that throws in some MIDI sounding sax towards the end.
Next is yet another hip hop instrumental (I know shock horror). Slightly different from my usual hip hop instrumental love affairs this time though, go beyond the piano and yu're treated to some lovely electronic organ style sounds that I'm pretty sure I've heard on some of the unreleased or early version of Gorillaz's Plastic Beach.
And more smooth electronics to play us out. It's not long before the heavy electro stuff comes in, all backed up by some extra funky sounding synth too. Think some parts of the mix might be mastered a bit loud in all honesty, but it almost gets that Los Angeles FlyLo compression going on and really there's bigger problems than that when it comes to production isn't there? Just watch your speakers/headphones around 1:32 or so :).
-Claude Van Foxbat
Next is yet another hip hop instrumental (I know shock horror). Slightly different from my usual hip hop instrumental love affairs this time though, go beyond the piano and yu're treated to some lovely electronic organ style sounds that I'm pretty sure I've heard on some of the unreleased or early version of Gorillaz's Plastic Beach.
And more smooth electronics to play us out. It's not long before the heavy electro stuff comes in, all backed up by some extra funky sounding synth too. Think some parts of the mix might be mastered a bit loud in all honesty, but it almost gets that Los Angeles FlyLo compression going on and really there's bigger problems than that when it comes to production isn't there? Just watch your speakers/headphones around 1:32 or so :).
-Claude Van Foxbat
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Linkys
Been a while since I've done something in this vein, it's nice to have some ammo for it though. Here's another piece from Celadon City. Long time followers should be no stranger to his easy going feelgood style that we've come ot know and love by now. But this one's slightly different. I missed it the first time he put it up, but managed to get around to it this time. Not so much rough FlyLo Los Angeles compression on this one, it reminds me more of Soichi Terada's Drum & Bass work and the Ape Escape OST. But more importantly....
A long time ago I says it was important to remember the roots of electronic stuff. I know that can sound like pretentious waffle but you can plainly see the effect of stuff like Disco and Italo on future developments. I've mentioned to CC before that his stuff reminds me of short lived band Plone and their playful electronic, but Dawnjogger reminded me of something a little different. Jean-Jacques Perrey to be exact, using tape, scissors and a Moog he's made all kinds of radical (for the time at least) electronic stuff in a similar vein. This one here is from 1968 which to put in perspective is 10 years before raftwerk would release The Model. Unfortunatle it's my first time being limited by soundcloud pro, but it gives you enough of an idea, and find his stuff is all over on YouTube in full too.
-Claude Van Foxbat
A long time ago I says it was important to remember the roots of electronic stuff. I know that can sound like pretentious waffle but you can plainly see the effect of stuff like Disco and Italo on future developments. I've mentioned to CC before that his stuff reminds me of short lived band Plone and their playful electronic, but Dawnjogger reminded me of something a little different. Jean-Jacques Perrey to be exact, using tape, scissors and a Moog he's made all kinds of radical (for the time at least) electronic stuff in a similar vein. This one here is from 1968 which to put in perspective is 10 years before raftwerk would release The Model. Unfortunatle it's my first time being limited by soundcloud pro, but it gives you enough of an idea, and find his stuff is all over on YouTube in full too.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Friday, 17 June 2016
Friday Clouds
Hoo doggy summer has crashed and burned here in the UK. Not much of a surprise I know but things were looking up for a while I promise! I did see a hedgehog in the garden though so that's a plus. Luckily I have my man Celadon City to brighten my skies with sound. Here's his latest he's teasing us with.
I'm still on a Ford & Lopatin streak as of late. Think this was one of the last things they put out under Games and it's a damn fine send off if I do say so. Much more of a hip hop style angle to it than the usual screwed vapourwavy style sampling of their EPs.
-Claude Van Foxbat
I'm still on a Ford & Lopatin streak as of late. Think this was one of the last things they put out under Games and it's a damn fine send off if I do say so. Much more of a hip hop style angle to it than the usual screwed vapourwavy style sampling of their EPs.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 14 June 2016
Heaven Can Wait
A lil' busy this week but I should manage. Originally planned to do another soundcloud dump but the feed was coming up thin. So instead I went to see if I could find a streamer of one of my favourite mixtapes to save me some bandwidth and what would you know I did. So please enjoy some early Ford & Lopatin goodness, which definitely has a lot more in common with Lopatin's Eccojams series than other Games material and even their later stuff under Ford & Lopatin. So settle in for a roundabout half hour of retro style goodness, and I'll see you soon.
-Claude Van Foxbat
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 12 June 2016
Soundcloud Rain
Back again with a couple soundcloud specials for you. Wasting no time and jumping right into some ambient infused IDM-style stuff that wouldn't sound too out of place on a Plaid or The Flashbulb LP. Been a nice accompaniment as I do some menial file management, not as a negative on the tune mind, just the lovely sounds make shifting folders a little bit more enjoyable.
And finally a lil' collabo action from my man Celadon from the upcoming Blend & Press Play Compilation from Smoothie Tunes. I've heard of them in passing before but regrettably never checked them out. Anyway, Mr. City's penchant for gorgeously smooth synth remains, and I am especially in love with the lo-fi one coming in around 2 minutes in.
-Claude Van Foxbat
And finally a lil' collabo action from my man Celadon from the upcoming Blend & Press Play Compilation from Smoothie Tunes. I've heard of them in passing before but regrettably never checked them out. Anyway, Mr. City's penchant for gorgeously smooth synth remains, and I am especially in love with the lo-fi one coming in around 2 minutes in.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Cyberpunk Soundtrack Action
I like bars and I like Cyberpunk. So once again I am spoiled by the fact that VA-11 HALL-A exists. It also helps it has a pretty solid soundtrack to boot. Here's a preview of the kinda stuff on offer; equal parts Sega CD style vapourwave and Hotline Miami style synthwave that is supremely My Aesthetic (tm).
There's also a second volume with 44 tracks for charity that I was going to post too, but I think I'll hang onto that one for a rainy day. Be sure to check out Garoad's Bandcamp if your interest is piqued though!
-Claude Van Foxbat
There's also a second volume with 44 tracks for charity that I was going to post too, but I think I'll hang onto that one for a rainy day. Be sure to check out Garoad's Bandcamp if your interest is piqued though!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Saturday, 4 June 2016
MIDI Memories
Real Life(™) strikes again. It's the longest gap I can remember, which isn't too bad all things considered. But I noticed so I thought I'd swing by with a lil somethin' somethin' for ya. Should be no surprise that I'm a huge fan of both retro tech and AFX. Well thanks to soundcloud I get to meet both those interests in one compact packge. Observe:
It's like if Richard D. James made Doom .wads as well as music. And to be frank I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't knocked out a couple custom maps in his time given the kinda guy he is. I'm surprised the Bass came through so well on the Ageispolis cover, but then again when MIDIs were a thing I only had tinny PC speakers. Until next time!
-Claude Van Foxbat
It's like if Richard D. James made Doom .wads as well as music. And to be frank I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't knocked out a couple custom maps in his time given the kinda guy he is. I'm surprised the Bass came through so well on the Ageispolis cover, but then again when MIDIs were a thing I only had tinny PC speakers. Until next time!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 19 May 2016
Always Returning
You may have noticed it's been a lil' quiet on the Celadon City front for a while. I can't blame the guy after the album release and finals season, and all but there's been a gap in my schedule for that special brand of lush electronic.
Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that no more, CC is back with more happy sounds for ye,and just in time for the dawn of summer. it's certainly nice to have him back, I could do without the tease at the end of the soundcloud description though!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that no more, CC is back with more happy sounds for ye,and just in time for the dawn of summer. it's certainly nice to have him back, I could do without the tease at the end of the soundcloud description though!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Monday, 16 May 2016
Slightly Perturbed
Oh boy was I ever excited to see this one in my inbox. It should come as no surprise to any regulars I love me some cyberpunk Sci-Fi and some Hotline Miami synthwavy goodness, and do I have a treat for you if you also dig that kind of thing. Let's go.
Click here for uncensored
Now, if that artwork didn't tip you off, Perturbator is one of the big names of the scene I see a lot, alongside say Carpenter Brut and Lazerhawk, there's a whole lot of retro influence drawn from, mainly 80's anime and seedy occult slasher flicks. It's with some slight shame I admit I haven't kept up with 'Bator's actual releases so much, but like many a great cyberpunk inspired musician before him there's a glut of world-building and story behind the LP which I will put up now:
It's not always instantaneous release of Synthwave violence though, one of the strengths of Perturbator I've come to know is that the composition of the tracks to achieve a certain atmosphere is top notch. Thankfully it's not long before The Uncanny Valley gives us a stellar example of both these. Keep an eye out for the inevitable AMVs of this one in the near future.
I've always liked the more downbeat pieces on offer too, and this album features probably my favourite of them all so far. There's certainly a comparison to be made between the sound of this one and Vapourwave, but that was going to be a given seeing as they both derive a lot of inspiration from 80's anime. Still, it feels very authentic, I don't think it'd sound too out of place coming out of a Sega CD game (specifically Snatcher).
And finally the album's title track, one final synth filled swan song to see it out. As much as it's sounds cliché I definitely think there's a strong cinematic element to the LP as a whole and not just because of the cited influences from say Akira and Ghost In The Shell, even this one feels like ti was structured to accompany a finale into credits roll, complete with a fade at the end for a teaser for the next one to show.
Once again I sheepishly apologise for not having properly dug into Perturbator's back-catalogue before, but I'm sure if I posted my backlog of things I have to pick up you'd understand! Regardless, I highly recommend checking Perturbator and the like out if this kinda sound is scratching an itch for you, there's plenty out there to get stuck into you can start over at /r/outrun or even better...
Find more Perturbator on:
Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Youtube
Twitter
-Claude Van Foxbat
Now, if that artwork didn't tip you off, Perturbator is one of the big names of the scene I see a lot, alongside say Carpenter Brut and Lazerhawk, there's a whole lot of retro influence drawn from, mainly 80's anime and seedy occult slasher flicks. It's with some slight shame I admit I haven't kept up with 'Bator's actual releases so much, but like many a great cyberpunk inspired musician before him there's a glut of world-building and story behind the LP which I will put up now:
"The album continues in the same story thread as the artist's previous works, taking place 24 years after the finale of “Dangerous Days.” Focus shifts from the world of Nocturne City into the future alleys of Tokyo, after the finale of the War Against Machines."And with that, lets begin. From the get go it's not hard to see why the devs of Hotline Miami picked up on it, from all I've heard that slightly menacing off kilter sound has been perfected. As is to be expected from a tune with a title like this.
It's not always instantaneous release of Synthwave violence though, one of the strengths of Perturbator I've come to know is that the composition of the tracks to achieve a certain atmosphere is top notch. Thankfully it's not long before The Uncanny Valley gives us a stellar example of both these. Keep an eye out for the inevitable AMVs of this one in the near future.
I've always liked the more downbeat pieces on offer too, and this album features probably my favourite of them all so far. There's certainly a comparison to be made between the sound of this one and Vapourwave, but that was going to be a given seeing as they both derive a lot of inspiration from 80's anime. Still, it feels very authentic, I don't think it'd sound too out of place coming out of a Sega CD game (specifically Snatcher).
And finally the album's title track, one final synth filled swan song to see it out. As much as it's sounds cliché I definitely think there's a strong cinematic element to the LP as a whole and not just because of the cited influences from say Akira and Ghost In The Shell, even this one feels like ti was structured to accompany a finale into credits roll, complete with a fade at the end for a teaser for the next one to show.
Once again I sheepishly apologise for not having properly dug into Perturbator's back-catalogue before, but I'm sure if I posted my backlog of things I have to pick up you'd understand! Regardless, I highly recommend checking Perturbator and the like out if this kinda sound is scratching an itch for you, there's plenty out there to get stuck into you can start over at /r/outrun or even better...
Find more Perturbator on:
Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Youtube
-Claude Van Foxbat
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Tuesday
Frederic Leighton - Songs Without Words (1860)
Not feelin' so hot again, so once again be prepared for more downbeat offerings. Not ideal given it's getting warmer but I ain't feelin' up to it right now. Starting with an instrumental as in the spirit of the painting above, here's an ambient piece from the usual noise rock folks of HEALTH.
Revisiting Blu Mar Ten hot off the heels of the international bent Thievery Corp sent me on. It's been in my collection for a long, long time. And like HEALTH's example above is a bit of a far cry from their Drum & Bass stuff, check out their debut if you're in the mood for some downtempo vibes with some house sprinkled in.
Röyksopp's Senior also fits that bill to an extent, though I'd probably say errs more on the ambient side throughout. Didn't think it'd been six years since the album came out, it's still pretty fresh in my mind, but then again even though there's only a year between it and the electropop sweetness of the previous album Junior, that gap felt like forever. Time is weird like that.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Hangin'
Claude Monet - Impression, Sunrise (1873)
Hello, it is a sunny day here in England,it was yesterday too which is why I'm takin' it easy after an eve of merriment and a pretty big fire. So here are some tunes that I am on ATM. Starting with Massive Attack's Weather Storm again, only this time it's slightly ironic cos there's no rain for once.
Here's one I always forget about. Thanks to shuffle tho I get treated to it every now and then and it's a treat. There are some rough patches on Daft Club for sure, but that's to be expected given it's a remix album and all. Thankfully, Romanthony's acoustic take on One More Time isn't among them.
And just for funsies, one of the smooth jazzy drum & bass numbers from the E-Z Rollers' Weekend World. The opening for it is gorgeous for starters and it only keeps it up from there. Suppose you could call it Liquid, but I don't think Liquid Drum & Bass was a thing in '98 when it came out. Anyways I'm off again, enjoy!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Wednesday, 4 May 2016
That Time Again
George Stefanescu - Harlequin’s Sadness (1978)
Been a surprisingly fine couple of weeks but it looks like that downbeat train has pulled into the station again. Shan't dwell too long mind, onto some Massive Attack to start. Del Naja's delivery remains on point, and the slightly unnerving instrumentation certainly helps deliver that classic Massive darkness.
Since we're talking vocals, lets pay Karin Dreijer a visit. Those of you who are regulars will know she's pretty far up there when it comes to my favourite voices. Here's The Kinfe's live version of Heartbeats in which the sibling duo absolutely nail it.
And finally my all time favourite from Kenji Kawai's soundtrack to the original Ghost In The Shell. The entire album is a masterpiece of dark ambient, but Nightstalker (and the scene it plays over) pretty much summarise the entire atmosphere in just under 2 minutes. A gorgeous piece that I definitely recommend.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 21 April 2016
It's Grim Up North
Someone must have an eye out for me, you should all know by now I'm a big fiend for trip and hip hop but also me home county of Yorkshire. Well last night I got dropped a line and it ticks all those boxes, so it goes without saying that there may be some slight bias on display here. Let's get stuck in.
If you're not from 'round here you won't know that up north has a bit of a reputation for bein' a little rough round the edges since all the industry up and went. It's been a bit of time since I've heard that sentiment set to audio, but the Ceiling Demons do it very well here, between The Streets and LSK I thought I had my fill but this 'un here's doing it for me. The proper norvern vocal contributions on offer won't be for everyone, but I dig 'em and they should hold up well in future unlike Mike Skinner's bars about Nintendo 64's on Original Pirate Material.
Now onto the meat of it. Nothing about the smooth instrumental above could have prepared me for their latest offering. It's much more aggressive than Even If, the metallic flourishes and the shelf wobbling basslines combine to make a fittingly menacing industrious feel. Reminds me a little bit of the more violent parts of Massive Attack's Mezzanine.
I will certainly be keeping an eye out for 'em in future based on what I've seen, I'm always down for hearing more local producers, should spice things up rather than me just namedropping Nightmares On Wax and Soft Cell. I've only just missed 'em in town a couple nights ago too, but I'm sure they'll come back through again soon enough.
You can find more Ceiling Demons on:
Twitter
Soundcloud
Spotify
Bandcamp
-Claude Van Foxbat
Joseph Mallord William Turner - Richmond, Yorkshire (1819)
If you're not from 'round here you won't know that up north has a bit of a reputation for bein' a little rough round the edges since all the industry up and went. It's been a bit of time since I've heard that sentiment set to audio, but the Ceiling Demons do it very well here, between The Streets and LSK I thought I had my fill but this 'un here's doing it for me. The proper norvern vocal contributions on offer won't be for everyone, but I dig 'em and they should hold up well in future unlike Mike Skinner's bars about Nintendo 64's on Original Pirate Material.
Now onto the meat of it. Nothing about the smooth instrumental above could have prepared me for their latest offering. It's much more aggressive than Even If, the metallic flourishes and the shelf wobbling basslines combine to make a fittingly menacing industrious feel. Reminds me a little bit of the more violent parts of Massive Attack's Mezzanine.
I will certainly be keeping an eye out for 'em in future based on what I've seen, I'm always down for hearing more local producers, should spice things up rather than me just namedropping Nightmares On Wax and Soft Cell. I've only just missed 'em in town a couple nights ago too, but I'm sure they'll come back through again soon enough.
You can find more Ceiling Demons on:
Soundcloud
Spotify
Bandcamp
-Claude Van Foxbat
Monday, 18 April 2016
Runnin' Behind
Nicholas Roerich - Sadness (Two In Boat) (1939)
Oh wow it's been a lil' while hasn't it. Suppose I should rectify that and apologise for the gap for I have been the saddest boy lately. With that in mind les get into some tune. You weren't expecting some Felix Da Housecat now were ya? Kittenz & Thee Glitz gets pretty mellow in parts, and to my surprise I hadn't posted this surprisingly R&B bit so here ya go.
Bit of a departure now as we revisit BoC country. Y'know if you asked me to pick a single favourite Boards song, I don't think I could do it. BUT what I could do is tell you individual parts of their discogs that I fall madly in love with every time, and that's where Kid For Today comes in, specifically at 1:09 which might have a tad to do with it being the same sounds as on Olson
And leaving y'all with another mellow cut from Röyksopp's Junior. Coming back to this one it feels like it could've gone either way and just have easily fit on Senior as well, which I suppose is fitting and all seeing as it's carefully placed near the end of the LP.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Thursday, 7 April 2016
End Of Week Entertainment Scenario #1
John Atkinson Grimshaw - Boar Lane, Leeds (1881)
Back again with the regular rundown of tunes, keeping it to a theme lately things are staying kinda blue (and not in the rude sense neither). Here's the bonus version of UNKLE's Unreal instrumental, this time with Ian Brown of Stone Roses fame over the top of it.
After namedropping it recently I couldn't help myself from putting Protection up again. I still need to track down the single version with all the other alternate mixes but the original is still very nice indeed. do yourself a favour and look up the video if you haven't seen it too.
Also gotta give a nod to Vangelis' soundtrack work for Blade Runner, which has it's own reputation already but s extra special for me because it's an intersection of two of my biggest interests; Cyberpunk Sci-Fit and lush ambient synths. And it's about time I brought it out again.
-Claude Van Foxbat
Monday, 14 March 2016
Belated Monday Updates
Fell behind a little again, but I m prepared. This time it's a good old soundcloud roundup because I've been meaning to for about 2 weeks at this point. And look who's back, that's right it's everyone's favourite vowel hating Canadians MSTRKRFT! Boy I do love their electro stuff from back in the day, I wonder what they've been cooking up in the meantime...
Oh my, is that... Acid? It's a bold move all things considered, I'm sure everyone (probably me too tbh) would like to see the glory days of blog electro return but as controversial as this move is, I kinda like it. Sometimes you gotta have abrasion in there and it's done pretty well here. It's a bit like the darker half of Daft Punk's Homework, the Rollin' & Scratchin' compared to Da Funk
Unfortunately that's all for the abrasive stuff, moving onto the tune I've been meaning to put up for those two weeks! Not a real lot to say, hits all my instrumental hip hop buttons and that wh-wah is giving me major flashbacks to Nightmares On Wax's remix of Olive's You're Not Alone and that is a very good thing indeed.
Playing us out is a bit more of an upbeat period piece. Calls itself dub-lounge but methinks it's a bit too fast for either, but that's really not a concern. Enjoy the bassline and I'll see you again with more in couple of days!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Oh my, is that... Acid? It's a bold move all things considered, I'm sure everyone (probably me too tbh) would like to see the glory days of blog electro return but as controversial as this move is, I kinda like it. Sometimes you gotta have abrasion in there and it's done pretty well here. It's a bit like the darker half of Daft Punk's Homework, the Rollin' & Scratchin' compared to Da Funk
Unfortunately that's all for the abrasive stuff, moving onto the tune I've been meaning to put up for those two weeks! Not a real lot to say, hits all my instrumental hip hop buttons and that wh-wah is giving me major flashbacks to Nightmares On Wax's remix of Olive's You're Not Alone and that is a very good thing indeed.
Playing us out is a bit more of an upbeat period piece. Calls itself dub-lounge but methinks it's a bit too fast for either, but that's really not a concern. Enjoy the bassline and I'll see you again with more in couple of days!
-Claude Van Foxbat
Sunday, 6 March 2016
A Lil' Behind
Fell back a little bit but I done had a busy weekend so I think I can let myself off this time. And I had something lined up to post too, remember when I covered Blog buddy Joe's label with the then-current Choco Love? well there's been a tasty batch of remixes just come off the line, and hopefully they'll be enough to keep you satisfied until I can dedicate some time to a proper long form post.
-Claude Van Foxbat
-Claude Van Foxbat
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