Catching Up

It's been a little while hasn't it? I originally planned to pen this yesterday but you know how things get, especially at this time of year. Anyway, I thought I'd do a little catch up on what's happened since last time I posted, which as it turns out is quite a bit. Let's not beat around the bush no more and dive right in.

Lajos Tihanyi - Three Trees (1922)



The elephant in the room and one of the funnier stories to come from the electronic music world in recent years involves Hudson Mohwake - his signature brand of wonky beats went a little viral over the weekend due to a Reddit post from some guy who had Cbat on his, quote, 'sex playlist'. I've always found the idea of those kinds of playlists weird anyway, but I gotta agree with the general consensus here that of all songs, of all HudMo's discography, Cbat is a wild choice for such a thing. HudMo is currently revelling in it as you can see from the description on the newly uploaded Cbat video, and in true HudMo fashion found the whole thing hilarious over on twitter, and no doubt appreciated more eyes on his work just as he has a new album out!

In-between all that you'll find a lot of heated debate about the song itself, plenty of the usual arguments that come up with anything electronic "hurr its robot farts" and the like, but on the flipside I bet more than a handful of people have found the man's work through this - and as I've said in the past: be it soundtracks, memes or whatever, more folk into electronic music is always good in my book. I can't really hold it against the negative crew either, Cbat is pretty abstract once it gets going, and truth be told its not my favourite from the Satin Panthers EP. If you're like me though and want more of that rave inspired intro to immerse yourself in, the closing track from the EP Thank You has you covered, and is a little more accessible than Cbat.



If that appeals to you then I'd highly recommend diving into the HudMo archives! Personally, I'm also going to throw in a hearty recommendation for Rising 5 from the man's debut album Butter. I'd actually suggest that as the perfect place to start actually, the whole LP is very nicely balanced and is a solid intro to HudMo's sound. Rising 5 is one of those tracks that I will not hear for a long long time, but fall in love all over again from the first bars of the intro - all the sweeter when it gets to the totally bombastic meat of the track with that eastern inspired hook.



Other than that, the only other thing thats happened is I missed Bandcamp Friday for the first time ever. No particular reason, it did kind of sneak up on me due to the gap between the last one, but I've also been busy so haven't had time to line up releases to pickup - and I was also in the pub for a lot of Friday so that may have been a factor. That doesn't mean I don't have eyes on things though, I make sure to browse my wishlist every now and then just to keep it fresh in my memory. And then I take the opportunity to make a post of the content to further remind myself!

I went a little deeper in my list than usual this time to see if there was anything deep down I'd not mentioned yet. There I found Baths, an alias of Will Wiesenfeld. I first became aware of through FlyLo's Ideas+Drafts+Loops freebie and the delightfully twee animated series Bee & Puppycat, for which he did the soundtrack. The soundtrack is no longer available legitimately which is a shame as they are all lovely little instrumental pieces. I've gone instead for a track from Cerulean that comes sort of close to having the same vibe.

Aminals, if the title didn't tip you off already, is firmly in that territory - a playful piece of cut-up hip hop. If you're a fan of the more hip-hop styled bits of Bibio's work, tracks like this and Maximalist are very much of the same school. Aminals perhaps more so with the samples of rambling children a la Fire Ant, but the samples on Maximalist do very much remind me of parts from Ambivalence Avenue.





And I think that'll be all for today, I did have a couple more tracks lined up but this has fast gotten longer than I anticipated, think I'll pop them aces back up my sleeve for next time! It's kept at least sonically consistent this way. I'll try and write the other tracks up sooner rather than later, but as mentioned up top this is a busy time of year for me so there may be a slight delay. Rest assured I'll be back soon enough with more but until then, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

November Has Come

Francis Bacon - Head VI (Year)

Had grand ideas about starting up another week of Bite-sized Bits and all that but you know what? It's only Tuesday and I've already had enough, people up to their usual bullshit and it's frankly baffling. But you don't come here to hear me vent, so let's get into the meat of today. In what's fast becoming a roundabout once-a-month trend I've decided to just chuck down some more cathartic tunes down instead, a return to the more classic post format really.

Grabbed a random selection this time but there are some usual suspects in there. Some of which I think have come up before, the first one definitely has - Clark's recreation of Milanese's So Malleable. A Very different beast to the original: fully loaded with Clark's trademark grit but with a proper old school Drill & Bass edge that recalls classic Warp, especially early Squarepusher. The last quarter takes a total ambient turn as well, which operates as a nice cooling off period after the bevy of breaks. Pretty wild to see Clark tackle some hard Drum & Bass compared to his usual works, but he does real well.



More from Alec Lambert next, with one of the more soundtrack-y bits from Heaven Will Be Mine. I've been enamoured with it for a while as you might have been able to tell from the repeated appearances it keeps making - it does a fantastic job of setting the mood even separated from the visuals, particularly for Electrotoxin, I'd say you could hazard a guess at the style of it from this alone. This one is at home being actively listened to as it is in the background, which I suppose goes without saying when it comes to soundtrack work but the point stands. Full of great little touches throughout - tiny digital glitches that make the whole thing feel off kilter for one, but my favourite is the super time-stretched breakdown starting around 2:10 or so, I've always been a sucker for that kind of effect anyway but the way the mix drops back in like a sucker punch afterwards makes it all the more visceral to boot.



Some Dopplereffekt now, this one has a nasty habit of coming and going in and out of availability on other streaming services, but thankfully Bandcamp is always there as a backup. The A-side of the Tetrahymena EP is a masterclass in my favourite bits of Dopplereffekt. Cold, clinical, calculating electro / techno stuff. Dark waves of plunging bass and ethereal almost MIDI voices make it by far and away the standout track on here. Not to say the other tracks aren't as good though, the high tech vibes of Gene Silencing are also trademark Dopplereffekt as well, albeit the softer side when compared to the all out darkness of Tetrahymena.



And finally a bit of Noisia, with a release I thought I wish listed but didn't. Noisia have done a fair bit of soundtrack work over the last few years or so, and thankfully they have most of it collected on their label's page for easy access. Not so much their older releases, but I figure that's just red tape from before they made their own label and/or releases that weren't on their own anyway. Regardless, I'm going to steal a bit of the BC page description here to set the tone: 'Armajet is a game with its roots in 90’s twitch shooters. Hardcore, unforgiving, instant, inhuman.' between that and the actual shoutout to the soundtrack of Unreal Tournament '99 from them in their description, I was on board before even hitting play.

Keeping in that 90's shooter theme we have Wallhack. It, like Electrotoxin, is quite soundtrack-y as far as Noisia productions go - straying a little from the Drum & Bass you might know them for, bordering pehaps more on the Dubstep side of things. But it's been a while since I've touched anything of that kind so I'm into it a little bit, a proper little stomper this one, a fine finale to this selection.



Man, it has been a while since a longer one like this hasn't it? Can't guarantee it'll stay like this for long just because this time of year is super busy for me but I might make an effort to put more of these down, it's been a fun switch up. Can't say when I'll be back with another post but it shouldn't be *too* long. But until then, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Wonky Weather

Scouting for more little things that I might have missed over the years as potential upcoming sccops which has led me back to my longtime companion Warp Records once again, more specifically that era around the time I started writing the whole Warped History posts. I've mentioned before that while I am intensley proud (if a little embarrased at some of my teenage writing) of that series, I spent so long looking back att he history of Warp that I missed some of the then-new releases. I have obviuosuly since gone on to pick them up in the years since but I figured I'd shine a light on them here.

Kicking off with Rustie, I first heard of Rustie through some Dubstep remixes way back when - imagine my surprise then when Glass Swords drops in 2011 with this wild and almost sickly sweet sugary sound to it. It's one that I always struggle to pin down with one genre as it bounces all over the place across the 13 tracks - but of you're looking for somethin' to chase the blues away, this would be it. Coming back to it now, I could see it being overly obnoxious to some ears, but if I'm being honest that is part of the appeal to me (see also: my love of Eurobeat). We're not talking about a track from the album this time though, instead I've gone for a B-side fron the Ultra-Thizz EP - Dreamzz. While my favourites are still tracks like All Nite or the A-side to this EP, this track does a fantastic job of demoing the Glass Swords ethos but isn't quite as tooth decaying levels of sweet as some of the others. If the thundering kicks and squealing electrics of this one appeal to you, most certainly check out the rest of Glass Swords!



Staying in that same wheelhouse with Hudson Mohawke next. He's gone on to great things in the interim years, but my first real exposure to his work was a combination of the Polyfolk Dance EP and his debut full length for Warp - Butter. Much like Glass Swords it also bounces all over the place during its runtime but feels a little more... unfocused. There are a ton of great sounds and ideas explored here, but they never stick around for very long. But that's a very small complaint in the grand scheme of the album, it's been fun to come back to it 10+ years later and have it sound still as interesting as back then. It's a wild ride to be sure, one that can leave you a little dazed and confused on the other side, but on the way you get some absolutely stonking tunes: from the Sitar infused Rising 5 to what I've picked today with FUSE: the bombastic claps from the intro let you know what you're in for, and that melody is perfect to be 'sung' along to with a heavy slur like we all used to do with Kernkraft 400.



Finally straying a bit from the Wonky side of things with a little FlyLo. The accompanying EPs for Los Angeles are a real treat that I overlooked for a long time, the tracklists are a little misleading at times - while some of the tracks here are as featured on LA (even the ones that have the same titles are sometimes alternate mixes to just confuse things further) - there are tons of B-Sides and alternate mixes on show too. There's some great exploration of the FlyLo sound here too: there are tracks that clearly take influence from the the dubstep and garage of artists like Burial in RobertaFlack (Heart Beat Mix), the second half of Secrets (Refix) goes on a really raw Drum & Bass / Jungle style kick. There's even a bit of vintage FlyLo revival on here too with an 8-bit chiptune rendition of Auntie's Lock/Infinitum closing out the EP.

But I've gone with the slightly unassuming RobertaFlack (Other Mix), a much more hip-hop styled version of the original that brings it more in line with the other big hitters from the album like Parisian Goldfish and Camel, with a little bit of that old school FlyLo 8-bit treatment as well. I played Los Angeles to death around when it came out to the point where I almost got sick of it - but even then I think it might just sneak to the top of my favourite FlyLo production along with the Reset EP (which would have been here as well but its not on Warp's bandcamp for some reason). Maybe it's because I know the main album front to back, but hearing something new in the LA style like this takes me right back to that mindset of when I first heard it. I still have a lot of love for this style, as of right now I'm falling head over heels again for the final minute or so of this one - just plain fantastic work from FlyLo.



And that'll do for this entry, a little busy for the next few days so there might be a bit of a gap again but nothing too extreme. I do have some ideas floating around but the tracks in question might have to be non-bandcamp streamers which is a bit of a pain to work out the embeds and all. But, I suppose I can make do with that just once in a while, we've had a pretty good streak going as of late after all. In the meantime though: as always, Stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

All About the Bass

One of the biggest things I'm ashamed of is that I haven't been paying close attention to the imprint Night Slugs. I've unfortunately only heard select tracks from label head DJ Bok Bok and the stellar debut album from Kelela. I really need to dive deeper because everything I've heard from this crew has been unbelievable. Take for example this stellar cut from Jam City. The track Aqua  Box from the Waterworx EP is a great introduction to the Night Slugs sound. Huge basslines and distant sirens create a hazy and dense atmosphere.

One of the most curious signings recently was Chicago footwork artist DJ Slugo being signed to Nicolas Jaar's Other People imprint. We discussed the imprint before here on ilictronix and reading that makes this signing even more curious. Where much of Other People was Microhouse, DJ Slugo is all about maximalism. More really is more on his Ghetto House bass behemoths. Taking the best elements of Booty Bass, Detroit Juke and footwork, track I Ain't Yo Baby Daddy was heavy on my rotation this week. An infectious vocal sample *I Ain't Yo Baby Daddy* is somehow both dizzying and dazzling.

Remember when Evian Christ wasn't working with Kanye or making huge trap bangers? Yeah me either until I relistened to his Kings and Them mixtape. Lean sounding MYD is a bonafide hustlers anthem. Even though fuzzy reverb soaked R&B is becoming a parody of itself its nice to hear songs like this that remind you why this style grew so fast in the first place.

evian christ · MYD

Next we have a somewhat rare mix from our good friend ARCA. His work on the new Bjork album and the Sheep Mix he presented at this years HBA fashion show sets this promising producer up for a unforgettable year. This is not the first time he has worked with the framed streetware company though. Back in 2012 he did a mix with Fader for MOMA PS1 and remixed some tracks on a Hood By Air mixtape. This whole mix is stellar but the moneyshot is the remix of Ocean Gang, which features a syrupy chopped sample of Beamer, Benz, or Bently. 

-Adam 

Revisiting an old friend: Sepalcure

Fate is a bizarre phenomenon. You have those albums where your lukewarm when you first heard them and then overtime life happens and you rediscover and fall in love with the record. This just happened to me with Sepalcure's self titled album. Sepalcure is a super group consisting of Praveen Sharma and Machinedrum and this release is better than anything Machinedrum has put out. (#SHOTSFIRED)

I was never super hot on all the post dub-step especially around 2011. But after spending a lot of time with Jamie XX, James Blake and Mount Kimbie I think I "got it" and was finally ready. Yes this album came out in '11 but its literally the only I can listen to right now, and that's saying something because Death Grips just dropped a surprise album with Bjork. 
Lets go through some of my favorite cuts off the album and revisit this monster of an album. 



This one starts off pretty average, but then around the 2:30 mark that beautiful synth rolls in and just whisks you away. 





A pretty stellar Reggae vibe on this one. The manipulated vocal sample just swirls around with that echo'ed piano, its dizzying but in the best way possible. 






The real meat of the album, one of my favorite beats of all time. Its dark, busy and the production keeps all the intricate layers of track in place so nothing sounds blown out. Once that bottom end comes in, you know this is a special track. The urgency of the beat is what makes it whet my whistle. 



-Adam 

Soular Harmony

Hey guy's, it's Nite again, here with another post for you guys! Today I'm going to take you on a little trip, and introduce you to one of my favorite new(ish) artists to hit the electronic scene: Soular Order.

Soular Order, aka Jon Maynard, is a Bass Music Producer/Musician from Manchester, UK. Ranging from Future Garage to ethereal ambiance, Maynard uses a combination  of Burial-esque Vocal sounds and Bass-saturated beats to create a track that is chill, yet invigorating at the same time. Whether it's something chill you're looking for, or you need something to dance to, Soular Order's got it for you.


Now that the introductions out of the way, here's a taste of what to expect from him:

SOULAR ORDER · Soular Order - Clear Skies

Finally, to keep things orderly (heh), Here's three fantastic remixes that he did on other artist's tracks. They are well worth the listen.

SOULAR ORDER · nExow - Wonders (Soular Order Remix)

 Enjoy! If you like what you see here, you can always check out his soundcloud here or his facebook page, if you're too lazy. Peace, Nite