Wednesday 29 June 2011

Promos of the Week

Right, time for a new feature.

Every day, we get a healthy stack of promo emails. Quite a lot of them are shit, but a few of them sneak pass the crap-o-meter and I think some of these should get more recognition, so every week, i'll post my 3 or 4 favourite promos.

I should warn you though, that I don't get all of the promos that are sent. Prez forwards me a batch of them every day or two, so the ones I post, are the ones i get on my inbox.

Anyway, onto the tracks.

The first one is by a group called Laser Sex. Bit of an odd name. They're from Scranton, Pennsylvania and this is their first single "Dr. Thunder Nose".

It is a nice, flowing track with a deep feeling to it. It's a bit hard to describe, but the highlight is the guitar. Shame about the ending vocal samples though, they don't make much sense here.



This next one is by CROPS, a Melbourne based british artist, who also gives us his first single, "Ana".

With fantastic vocals, this is a smooth and relaxing track, with a great use of synths and with a beat that just gives it that extra bit of force.

CROPS - Ana

Finally, we have something a bit funkier, by Claude Perdu, who we featured not long ago.

This is a remix for Faisal's "Journey" that entered a competition but sadly didn't win.

It has a fantastic bassline and the sample work follows right behind it. I can't figure out how this remix didn't win, this is what all House music should be like.



Enjoy!


Surf's up,
Alex.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Intro To Epilogue

So, I'm still kinda on an electro kick, and having nearly exhausted my current supply I was craving some new stuff. that's when I checked my e-mails and saw this: The latest release from a group called Galactaron; an electro group with a Drexciya-esque backstory - a group of aliens on their first visit to earth. To make music with their new human friend Emily Wong of course.



The track they linked me is pretty sweet, avoiding cliche electro elements and dabbling in vocoders (which for me is ALWAYS a bonus). It also has a fairly unique twist in that every word in the lyrics is in a different language, ranging from Afrikaans to Russian, while this idea sounds a bit sketchy on paper, the end result actually sounds really good, almost comparable to some tracks from Squarepusher's Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator. (you can download it from their soundcloud, I can't upload it at the minute as I'm on a borrowed laptop)

Galactaron - Epilogue by galactaron

And here are a few more of their tracks I liked from their soundcloud:


Galactaron - First Contact by galactaron



Galactaron - With Just One Moon by galactaron



Galactaron - Wǒmen Move On by galactaron


Find Galactaron on:
Soundcloud
Bandcamp
Facebook

Outer Space, To Find Another Race,
-Claude Van Foxbat

Promises

My life is pretty crazy these days, and I apologize for not posting more often. But you know how things go sometimes... I graduated a few weeks ago, discovered I didn't technically have the math credits to graduate, decided to start a non-profit organization, entered into a relationship that is both the best thing ever and ridiculously complicated, and to top it off I'm still trying to pay off my Moog Voyager and I don't have a job. So if I'm not here again, you can assume it has something to do with one of those things.

In the meantime, have this.

Saturday 18 June 2011

Para Onism

Hi there

I Have a few free minutes, and I'm in a "Para One mood" so here are some songs related to it !

First, Birdy Nam Nam's newest track, from their forthcoming LP (it will be released September 19th). The song was produced by Para One.





Slice & Soda is in fact San Serac + Para One.





He also works with Bobmo and Surkin under the name Marble Players, they also creadted the label Marble Records, more about that in the interview at the end of the post.



One of my favorite solo original prod from him.





And two remixes, including one featuring his friend the french MC/producer Teki Latex.



Animal Machine - Persona (Para One remix)

Also, here is a recent interview, made by Etienne Perrin, you can watch other nice interviews on his website Imetrages



You'll hear from Marble records again very soon.

Enjoy!
-Here

Friday 10 June 2011

Nite's Sizzlin' Summer Track Picks 11'

Hello guys and gals,It's been a while. A long time to be precise, and my have I been busy with getting accepted in college, finding and getting a job (Courtesy Clerk for Kroger FTW!), and graduating from High School, which felt really good to be honest. Well now I am back! For how long that is, I cannot say, but I shall post for as long as I can, even into college, when I have time. But let's get on with the tracks I have in store for you :)

First up is a new and sexy track from a good friend of mine, Evil Stereo (I'm sure you remember him from Power Glove Records. If not, look him up). Going under the alias, Silver Age Scientist (for just this once, I believe) he cooks up a high-velocity electro track with kickin drums, major synth leads, and some samples you may or may not recognize (*cough* zelda *cough*). I found this insanely fun and would be a powerful track to play in DJ set's. Definitely a must-listen for summer tunes.



Next up is a track from Sandy Rivera (AKA Kings of Tomorrow) and Yasmeen. The track, aptly named Love, gives off a nice electronic vibe with sexy vocals and a piano playing in the background,making it even more grandiose. This track will make you believe in love.



Next up is a rather interesting track from Todd Terry. Dubbed I am your DJ, it gives off a unique electro-house feel with sensual vocals and vibes. It truly just shows the versatility that one of the founding house artists can bring to the table.



And speaking of founding fathers of house...



And now,a Nuyorican Soul mix of Afro Celt Sound System: A group who blends West African vibes with Celtic music and Electronica. With the Nuyorican Soul mix, it brings out more power into it, giving it a tribal-esque feel to it. You shall love it.



And because I'm done with government enforced school...here's a wonderful mix of Alice Cooper's School's Out by TEAM BANZAI.



And finally, a soulful house track from Osunlade



Thursday 9 June 2011

Oh, Hello Again

Exactly a year ago today, I made my very first post on here. Writing for a music blog had been a aspiration of mine, but I never thought I'd have the supply of tracks to work with it. I applied to ilictronix both times positions became available, and in hindsight my first effort was not exactly stellar to say the least. When I saw that positions were open last year, I attempted again, this time with much more effort and a lot more music experience under my belt. for a long time reader of music blogs it was a dream come true, if a bit overwhelming wondering what to post and hoping people will like what you put up; I eventually settled into it, and here we are now.



What's changed in the time between then and now? well, quite a lot actually: everything from my writing style and the ever growing record collection of mine to life in general has changed in some way. For example, if you'd have told me a year ago I'd be an art student, I wouldn't believe you. Then there's Photography which was something people always told me I should do, so I did! That's going pretty well too, resulting in some snazzy artsy stuff like what you see above. This new creative centric work regime is something I never thought I'd like, but I do, the freedom you're allowed compared to other subjects is quite something.

But enough about me, let's talk about you. Or rather, your music. First up is a track I really wanted to include in my first post but couldn't get ahold of it in time, more Boards Of Canada's early stuff that's more techno based than their later work.



Now I know you all hate on the cliché dubstep sound, but there's two sides to every coin, right? Here's something comparable to Pangaea's Router that was posted a while back, check it out if you're looking for some lighthearted sounds and not shelf wobbling basslines.



Next is the first ever Nightmares On Wax track (well, tracks) I heard, originally made for 1999's Carboot Soul, it instead appeared on the soundtrack to 2000 film Kevin & Perry Go Large along with Ethinc Majority from Carboot Soul. I still think it's one of NOW's best ever tracks.





And just because I'm on an electro kick at the moment (and I know some of you won't read any of this anyway) take a break from my usually eclectic track selections and enjoy some of my favourite electro tunes I've collected over the years. Some are old, some are new, turn off the light, read a book. you are ready.





















Toasted Until Browned,
-Claude Van Foxbat

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Tracks and more tracks

Alright so, I'm still pretty busy and I don't have a lot of time to write so this post is simply a melting pot of tracks I've heard over the weekend and seemed good enought for your ears !

First, Xinobi. While listening to The Magician's Magic Tape 8 at a friends party where I DJ by clicking play on the first track on The Magician's soundcloud page (yeah, I'm that good) I heard a track, thinking "WHAT IS THIS ? ME GUSTA !".

The track happened to be Hawaii from his EP Best Of Me, and it's pretty weird that I never tried to find it before, because it is legendary.





Here are three other tracks from Xinobi that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do.







Totally changing genre now. Oldschool Dubstep by Benga.



No idea how I ended up listening to this, but I kinda liked it.





Something funkier from a nice french guy called Daze. Keep that name in mind my friends.



Back to basics with a Sinden edit



And as a bonus, three tracks from The Phantom's Revenge's May chart.







Enjoy
-Here

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Drums And Bass?

As you may have seen, a few weeks ago I got on a bit of a drum 'n bass kick, and decided I didn't have enough. Cue me trawling all over the place to find something similar to what I liked, which if you don't know much about D&B is quite a task but I eventually found some stuff I dug. And that's what I'm here to share with you today! First up is Commix, a duo hailing from Cambridge that I found through Goldie's legendary Metalheadz label. Their first album, Call To Mind, is much more "traditional" than the other tracks I'll be posting, but it's quite accessible, you don't have to be a hardcore D&B Junkie to enjoy it. Take Emily's Smile for example a very smooth track with swooping synths and speedy breaks, it's the epitome of Metalheadz.



The same applies to another track that caught my ear, the intro to Strictly is nothing short of amazing, and it soon gives way to some heavy waves of bass, with fleeting fragments of the smooth intro returning now and then. Headphones or a decent speaker setup recommended for this one.



The next artist that held my attention was Netsky, Belgian electro producer turned onto D&B by labelmate High Contrast. Netsky brings a unique combination to the table due to his electro background, as you will hear on tracks such as Iron Heart and Pirate Bay.



His self-titled debut also has some fairly chilled out tracks, it was a difficult choice to make between Moving With You and this track, in the end Endless Search won because it sounds like the soulful late 90's underground Garage and House I used to listen to way back when, and it's a nice change to the usual D&B sound.





Stenchman is a producer I've been meaning to post about for a while, his unique brand of dubstep is the only kind I can listen to nowadays. Stenchman doesn't just do dubstep however, he sometimes puts out Drum & Bass tracks that often combine elements of both, take this track: Antimatter.

Stenchman - Antimatter

This track was given out for free last Christmas by Stenchman himself, creatively titled Stenchamn's Christmas Album this is another fairly smooth track that I really enjoy, it's just a shame that it's so short.

Stenchman - The Cosmological Constant

And playing us out, the first proper (IE: not Squarepusher) Drum & Bass Album I bought, Chase & Status' More Than Alot, which I picked up after seeing them live, the album is pretty great all the way through, starting with Can't Get Enough.



My absolute favourite from the album however is Take Me Away, I can always come back to it no matter what, and it will still be as good as I remember it, demanding at least a couple of listens before I move on.



There's an awful lot of Drum & Bass out there, take this as my beginner's guide for the person who doesn't know a lot about D&B and is looking for a place to start, these tracks worked for me, and hopefully will for you as well!. All I Ever, -Claude Van Foxbat