The Power Of Memes

A shorter one this time around, a little later than I anticipated because I had a hell of a week last week, but I also made a point to not bring my IRL stuff onto the blog so much this year so I'll put a pin in it there. A real fun one this time for a post theme - I've made multiple comments over the years that it doesn't matter so much *where* you discover some music and in fact sometimes the most random sources can be the greatest treasure trove of that kind of thing. So we come to talking about the internet meme, I have tons of songs in my collection that have been memed or featured in memes over the years, so I thought I'd shine the spotlight on a few.

This is a topic I can see myself revisiting, but today's entry is going to focus on two main examples. Electronic Music and memes go waaaaay back, we're talking back to the YTMND days, from Coburn's We Interrupt This Program soundtracking the NEDM meme, to Max Coveri's Running In The 90's being many a non-Initial D fan's intro to Eurobeat on 'lol internet' to the entire Caramelldansen phenomenon, it's been a phenomenon for a long, long time - and for a lot of folks (like me), it was often the first time hearing these tracks.

So colour me surpised when around 2015 I began to see a massive uptick in memes of a song I already knew - Bag Raiders' Shooting Stars. I'd already become quite familiar with Bag Raiders through all the electro I was consuming around the time it came out, but there were just so many questions about the whole thing. Why that specific track? Why so long after it's initial 08/09 release? That's a whole other discussion that could be a post on its own, though there was a bump in popularity in their native Australia around 2013 or so. To put all that aside, Shooting Stars was already one of my favourites from the album so I was ore than happy to see 'em get more exposure. I can highly recommend the album as a whole if you like what you hear here, the whole thing has this very fun almost pop-like feel to it that really sets it apart from all the other Electro House that was making waves around the time. Think more Chromeo than Justice.

Bag Raiders · Shooting Stars

The other one comes from Vine (cor, remember Vine?) Back in the heydey of syntheave was a clip of a woman and her cat set to HOME's Resonance. I didn't really give it much thought at the time, years later I'd run into some HOME tracks through another source and think that I recognised the style - sure enough with a little reasearch I was proved right. Between that and We're Finally Landing being used as the opening theme for SummoningSalt's deep dives into Speedrunning history, there's a good chance that you may have heard HOME before without realising. Another case of me heartily recommending the album this is from if you like the sound of this one, HOME's brand of synthwave has this lovely lo-fi streak running throughout that gives it a real comfy feeling that makes it stand out in my collection.



And it's tracks like this that remind us all of the importance of including the source with anything you make because remember: your next shitpost could be the first step on someone's musical journey. Joking aside, I do my best to credit tracks wherever possible, and it seems like on the whole people are getting better at it too (and there are song identifying bots to fill in the gaps too). It's incredible the reach that a silly viral vdeo trend can give a track, I'm willing to bet more than a handful of people had Bag Raiders become one of their favourite artists off the heels of the meme - and I'm more than happy to welcome them to the world of electronic music. There's plenty of room in this tent for all of us, and a massive list of genres to peruse and find something that suits you! And of course, until next time - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Digital Ephemera

Having gone through the archives of this blog, I've been no stranger to dead links, deleted SoundClouds and artists that seem to have just disappeared - that's just the way things go in this age really, some things are lucky to be archived but there's bound to be tons of stuff that's pretty much lost forever. That's why I'm always vocally in support of artists and labels doing their best to make sure their work is as available as it can be. Today we're looking back at Ford & Lopatin (formerly known as Games) and the curious case of their SoundCloud.

I was (and am, I suppose) a big fan of all things that Ford & Lopatin put out, from their spiritual successor to the pioneering vaporwave Eccojams tape with the Heaven Can Wait mixtapes, to the love letter to the 80's that was their album Channel Pressure, there's not a dud release to be had.

They were pretty popular at the time too, the That We Can Play EP made waves at the time, which makes their eventual drop off all the more unusual - they had a mad flurry of releases in 2011 under the new 'Ford & Lopatin' name and then... nothing.

There's something a little sad about seeing the last upload date reading '11 years ago' (but at least they *are* available I suppose). It's a bit like walking through a dead mall - fitting, given the vaporwave underpinnings of the duo. And speaking of 'Vapor', as in something that's announced but is never actually released, their final upload is a tune that I'm pretty sure doesn't appear anywhere else in their discography. Which is a shame because it's a lovely addition - a crash course in Games/Ford & Lopatin's style with some divine sample work.

Ford & Lopatin · GAMES - No Disguise

I thought while I was there I'd talk about some of their other work - MIDI Drift is one of those tracks that comes up once in a blue moon and just blindsides me. The explosion of sound that signals the beginning is just lovely - some synth power chords and that ripped from the 80's bassline set you up for the experience ahead. It may sound a little cliché now, but at the time these two were at the cutting edge of that sound. To quote a release page for the EP: "That We Can Play is a six track EP to soundtrack a midnight ride in the Delorean, stereo aflame, racing down moonlit avenues; all strobing synth-bass jams, gated drum pads and starkissed, monophonic melodies."

Ford & Lopatin · Games - MIDI DRIFT

Playing us out is Strawberry Skies, one of my all time favourites since its release, a standout on the tracklist as it's the only one with vocal accompaniment. Laurel Halo's voice does wonders for the atmosphere here, between the lyrical content and her delivery, she really completes that hazy, dreamy feel - especially on that distant sounding intro, which you could be forgiven for thinking is a sample from a movie. I imagine it also lets the production side flex a little bit more as well, between this and Kavinsky's Nightcall released the same year, I was all ready for a full on retro synthpop revival at the time.

Ford & Lopatin · Games - Strawberry Skies feat. Laurel Halo

It's still a fantastic EP and definitely worth going back to, or checking out in full if it passed you by the first time. The label the early Games releases were on - Hippos In Tanks - is sadly defunct, but their backc atalogue is readily available digitally from what I could tell. I would recommend Bleep personally, but other distributors are available. As much as I'd love to hear a new Ford & Lopatin record, I think the two stopped at the right time, just before the synthwave and general 'chillwave' overexposure explosion. For what it's worth, I love a lot of what Lopatin has been putting out under his main Oneohtrix Point Never alias, and Joel Ford has plenty of synthpop stuff to check out with Young Ejecta. So in a way, the two of them never really left my collection.

And that'll about do it for this post, got a little bit more poetic in parts there, but I have been meaning to stretch my legs into that territory again. Hope you've found something to enjoy here, I'll be back soon enough with more, but until then - as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Not Quite

So some things are still broken, but I'm making baby steps every time I sit down and take a look at things, it's fast becoming one of those tech troubleshooting tales where it could be one of a million things at hand - compounded further by the fact I inherited this site and really don't know anything about the inner workings AND having to troubleshoot across multiple sites. Still, I'm trying to keep active despite it all. I think I can do this, I just need a hand is all.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser - The Endless Way to You (1967)

So this one is gonna be extra short as a result, here's a selection of troubleshooting tracks I've had on in the background. They're all of a specific type, each one very fitting for scrolling through bug reports, fixes and everything in-between while neurons fire and my eyes glaze over a bit. Starting with a bit from the massive Touched Two compilation, a fittingly hi-tech almost ambient piece - a perfect accompaniment and another high quality offering from the compilation.



Moving back to more familiar faces next with Boards Of Canada. A piece from The Campfire Headphase that I initially wasn't too hot on but have since come around to in time. To paraphrase myself from ages ago: Slow This Bird Down captures a muggy, close night in audio form. On the whole Headphase is not as sinister as Geogaddi, it's been a long time since I listened to it as I completely burned myself out on all things BoC a little while back, but coming back to both this and Tomorrow's Harvest has been a real delight.



And finally some Washed Out. I have mixed feelings about Within & Without - from the artwork down to the songs themselves, it's Washed Out at his most twee 'indie' chillwave style - drenched in reverb and with distant almost mumbled vocals. And yet I can't find myself disliking it. Yeah, the content is a little dated but I've got a lot of love for the formula - I do prefer the version of this track that appeared on the 2010 edition of the Adult Swim Singles Program, I'm not sure if it's the lower bitrate playing tricks but it sounds a little rawer in execution, giving a nice extra lo-fi feeling to everything. A fun record to dig out once in a while, if a bit formulaic, especially if you've come off the heels of the Life Of Leisure EP



And that'll be all for now, a very much cut down post compared to my previous efforts, but once all this mess is sorted out I promise I'll be back to the regular jaunt! I'll be back around soon enough with more but until then - as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Belated Bandcamps

Running a little behind schedule with this 'un - had a packed weekend for a change and just didn't get around to it is all! I am back with my promised Bandcamp scoops, big haul this time but a lot of it I've already talked about in the run up - Mehdi's MPC 2021 and Soichi Terada's Asakusa Light leading the charge. Still, among them there are a few fine EPs and other miscellany that are worth mentioning, let's have a see.

J. E. H. MacDonald - Lake McArthur, Yoho Park (1924)

First up, one of many EPs that got added to my list when I went on a big electro kick a while back. I try and pick up one every now and then just for variety. No Moon came recommended to me after picking up a Jensen Interceptor tune from the Craigie Knowes label, after hearing the excellently titled Exoplanet Vibe Cult I promptly stuck it on my wishlist (which would then expand several sizes and get a bit lost in the chaos). I'm always on the market for more Spacey stuff, and the title track from Infinite Dreamz instantly came into orbit in that zone as soon as I hit play. Extremely lush to begin with but don't let that fool you - it's not long before it gets counterpointed with some deliciously retro handclaps, and before long you find yourself in the final half or so with some surprisingly heavy kicks for garnish. If your taste is at all similar to mine the whole EP is worth a look, it's only 3 tracks but each one is a solid entry.



Somethin' a little more ambient next, it's been a while since I picked up any, and I had wishlisted some stuff from Hinako Omori a little while back when I was looking up artists from R&S's limited release In Order To Care compilation. Voyage is a lovely synth-drenched ambient EP. Recalling early Betrayed In The Octagon-era Oneohtrix Point Never, only it's not a Juno on show this time. I've got a deep love for ambient music anyway but that goes double for heavily synthesised pieces like Voyage - the synthetic otherworldly feel was what drew me into electronic music in the first place after all. The two tracks are lovely, delicate pieces: Teleport is the shorter of the two by quite a ways, but still uses its length to explore some interesting sounds: some distant vocals twin effortlessly with the synth swoops and other flourishes. Voyage> remains my favourite of them both though, it too has lots of little intricacies that make it perfect for repeat visits - I could live in its sonic ocean forever.



I also picked up HOME's Odyssey, an album you might know of from the track Resonance Meeting at the intersection of Vaporwave, Chillwave and Synthwave, it's a record that carries with it quite the reputation, almost a relic of those albums from the 90's that you've heard without knowing you've heard it, like Moby's Play for example. That's partially why I held off on actually getting it for so long if I'm honest - I took a break from those genres ages ago while the dust settled. It is true that HOME has a formula here that every track can pretty much be broken down into, but I'd be lying if I said the end result wasn't catchy, and for a minimum price of $2 it's a bit of a steal. I've gone with a deeper cut than the usual ones you might hear when the album's discussed, one of the bonus tracks included in this re-release. A previously unreleased demo, you can certainly hear the influence of other synthwave releases here on Soak in particular - it sounds a little like the tunes Jasper Byrne was making for Hotline Miami, albeit with a softer edge.



And finally some Tofubeats. I've had bits and pieces from him from various compilations over the years but never really followed up on them, before ending up on my BC wishlist from one of the many deep dives I did however long ago. TB's Bandcamp is an odd one, it looks like there's a lot there, but you'll find that most of the 'releases' are just placeholders and can't actually be bought - some of them look like they were for sale in the past and now aren't as well, among other mysteries. Still, scattered among them are some that you can still pick up, and for fairly cheap too given the exhange rate for Yen. Touch is one of a few that I found and added to the cart this time around, and one I think shows off TB's production side very well indeed. I've picked out Touch E for just that reason as well, it's an instrumental edit of Touch A that appears both on this EP and on TB's album Lost Decade. Tofubeat's style is an interesting fusion of J-Pop and Hip Hop, one that could be potentially alienating at times - for example on Touch A the beats are paired with this hyper pitched up vocal which I can go wither way with depending on the day. So I've gone ahead and chosen Touch E, which is an instrumental version of A to really give TB's production time to shine - and it really does shine on this one.



And that'll be all for this time, apologies for the slight delay on the roundup, I got a little sidetracked. Through the thick of it now though, so there shouldn't be any hassle in the near future. Hope you've found some things in here to interest you, even if it was a little eclectic! A bit of a return to form actually when you put it that way. The wishlist is always growing so be sure to tune in again next month for another cross section of tunes, until then - as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

(Trying To) Wind Down

Juan Gris - The Open Window (1921)

Things have been a bit hectic as of late, and because of that I haven't managed to keep on top of my emails which only adds to the chaos. I sat down and rifled through them this morning and something I really appreciate is when Bandcamp keeps me up to date with artists I've bought from, so many times over the last couple of years an album or EP release has just completely passed me by and this helps mitigate that a bit, doubly so if you follow a label's bandcamp and see *all* their releases that way. They're ramping up lately which is to be expected with Bandcamp Firdays becoming a regular fixture. Here's a couple of things from both the new list and my archives:

And what better way to try and soothe than with the old tried and tested lo-fi style hip hop. I know it's become a bit of a meme in modern times (like so many other genres I like!) but I'll always carry a certain fondness for it, dating back to my times of staying up far too late and watching [adult swim] commercial breaks with that same vibe. I struggle to critique the genre in all honesty, it's pretty hard to get wrong; pick a nice sounding sample and you're pretty much there. I'm not super well versed in it admittedly, it's something I indulge in every now and then. Axian is one of the few examples I have in my library, and I had a look at the new stuff they have put up recently (though this one is originally form 2017 it's 'new' to Bandcamp) and Seasons Change really hit the spot. After being inactive for a long time this was a super sweet thing to come back to.



And just for old times sake, the original tune of theirs that I never actually posted about but included on a podcast way back when we used to do them. This one is a lovely slow-jam lo-fi'd version of Duvet by Bôa, which is one of my all time favourite songs in the non-electronic side of things. It was a lovely serendipitous moment where it appeared in my youtube auto-playlists for a long time but I assumed like so many one-off fan tracks that it wasn't anywhere else, only one lazy day did I read the description and find the Bandcamp page, and for a solitary dollar it was certainly worth it. Something both me and Axian agree on is that perhaps a little more of the original should have been included here, there's a small tease at the end of what could have been if that were the case. Not even the original lyrics, just a little more of that guitar work would have been a great closer.



Another one from the archives, I picked up Jasper Byrne's Night after hearing the title track on Adult Swim's synthwave as hell Fever Dreams compilation, and of course adoring his pieces from the Hotline Miami soundtracks from long before that. It's a lovely little album, although if you're coming off the Hotline Miami soundtracks don't go in expecting full-on synthwave ultra-violence. Having said that however, Bliss does have the feel of Miami from those soundtracks, having the same smooth synth melodies that were present on that track and the breakdowns of Voyager too. While it's got that neon-drenched vibe going on but overall has more of a chillwave style influence, like a slightly retro electronic version of Washed Out's Life Of Leisure, doubly so with those hazy vocals. They appear on a few tracks from this album and they're a nice addition, Jasper's instrumental work is gorgeous on it's own but the addition of vocals is super refreshing to hear.



And finally, yet another artist with a connection to Adult Swim for me, Casino Versus Japan. I've regrettably not really taken a really deep dive into their works in all these years, which is an absolute crime considering I've had Go Hawaii for ages, my original copy being a very low quality version from limewire of all places. Consider this then another one of my usual 'friendly reminders' to myself to actually do that in future. In the meantime, have one of my favourites from Go Hawaii, Local Forecast. It's a lovely little piece of melodic, squelchy home-brewed sounding electronic. The beat is a little harsher than I remember but that could be these laptop speakers that I'm stuck with at the minute. Be sure to stay tuned after the main tune fades out! there's an absolutely divine little bonus ambient piece on the end that I could immerse myself in for ever.



And so ends this time's slightly scatterbrained selection of things. As mentioned last time things might be getting a little more sparse from here on out so I hope you can have patience, as we all know a lot of things are a bit of a mess right now. Not to dwell on the negative though, I hop that firstly you are all well and secondly that you find some things you really dig in this selection. And finally, as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Heaven Can Wait (2020 Re-visit)

NOTE: Hi there! I'm going through the backcatalogue and re-publishing all the posts I can find. Something a little different this time as the original article was thin on the ground, so I actually wrote up a couple of new paragraphs about the content. Should you want to see the original post You can find it here.

Stay safe and enjoy,
-CVF

I occasionally re-stumble upon the 3 mixtapes that short lived Joel Ford & Daniel Lopatin project Games put out. If you're at all familliar with Joel or Daniel's work you will see some parallels. The way I always like to boil it down is that these mixtapes are a much, much more accessible version of Daniel's founding Vaporwave project Eccojams

The methodology is fairly similar though, chopped and screwed version of retro songs; but whereas Eccojams was more experimental a la John Oswald's Plunderphonics, the Heaven Can Wait series is very listenable indeed, it's amazing how brilliant some of those melodies sound when slowed down (but as long time readers will know, I am a sucker for any kind of vocal distortion to boot). The first instalment is my favourite I think, but there are choice cuts throughout. If you dig volume one most certainly check out the other 2!



-Claude Van Foxbat

Ilictronix Podcast: Sample Stories & Adam's Mini Mix

Claude and Adam talk about their favorite tracks of the week. Claude takes listeners on a story of sampling and shares how different tracks can use a sample. Adam shares a mini mix.

We return! This time we both tactically deploy little somethin' somethin's we've been holding in the wings. I lead the episode by using The Nightmares On Wax track to set up my three-in-a-row set of songs revolving around one sample (and the original too), with some more funky stuff courtesy of Chromeo and Thundercat rounding out my choices for this week. Adam treats us to something he's mentioned a few times in the past, in lieu of our usual tnes 'n talk combo, Adam instead gives us a mix he did the night we recorded! It's an idea I've mulled in my mind when there's been a few scheduling conflicts that might have made me unable to appear, so I'm more than happy to see it work out so well. Also I apologise in advance for the slightly rambling tangent I go on towards the end of the sample stories section, I make some good points and all but we were having connectivity issues, in the interest of keeping our audio synced I went a little off the cuff! Of course, the full tracklist and show notes follow as always:

Tracklist:
Intro:
Nightmares On Wax - You Wish

Claude’s picks:
Chromeo - Don't Turn The Lights On
Gary Low - I Want You
Miss Kittin & The Hacker - The Beach
Washed Out - Feel It All Around
Thundercat - Heartbreaks + Setbacks


Adam’s Mix
Geography Of Heaven - Pinky Promise
R.M - Chikyu-u 002
Cosmjn - Sunset Soul
Viceversa - Flat Earth
Rimbaudian - Let Me Beat U
Rythm Plate - String Thing
Lousie Chen - Reach (Raw Mix)

Outro:
Ian Pooley - Feel It



Show Notes:
Oh boy here we go. Starting off with the sample I mentioned at the beginning, You Wish HEAVILY takes elements from Judy Clay & William Bell's Private Number, like from the word go. Which is funny 'cos I was holding onto this to make another instalment of sample stories, because it's also heavily sampled in Pretty Light's Finally Moving too in pretty much the same fashion.



A little light on the show notes this week, and I can **guarantee** that I will have forgotten a couple, it's late here in the UK so I'll have a proper listen over the next couple days and fill in any I find. To repeat what I said at the end of my section of this episode, I ask you all to be safe out there and of course to enjoy the music naturally. See you all next week for more from Myself and Adam, we'll leave the light on for ya.

-Claude Van Foxbat

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.

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

Releases for Days

Remember how I just said that people I've been following recently have been destroying it with releases this year? Well, time to add another to the list heres recent but long time bud Celadon City with his latest EP.



As we've come to expect its chock full of lovely sounds to get you feelin' all fuzzy inside, the first track on this list is giving me serious Flashbulb vibes, but with less IDM going on. The smoothness of track 3, pictureperfect is also a highlight,. Celadon consistently kills it with lush sounds and this one is no different. I'm loving those arpeggios too.

If you like it be sure to pick it up on his bandcamp, and you can always find more stuff on Soundcloud, as well as keep up to speed with what he's up to on Twitter or Facebook, but until then I'll keep hanging on for more sweet tunes.
-Claude Van Foxbat

The Best Laid Plans...

Well, this is awkward. I completley forgot I'm away this weekend. I went to check in with Adam to see if he could cook up something for ya but he's off to Pitchfork Fest so I can't rope him into doing a write up. So here I am again posting even more Celadon City, mainly because that's all I've had on but also because he dropped a new collab tune today and it's very sweet indeed:



About as lush as we've come to expect from Celadon for sure, I can't get enough of the vibe. Apologies for the semi-cop out again, BUT I did update the sidebar playlist. A bit late I know but still, check it out. I promise you all a proper art + tracks post by me come Monday. I'll see y'all then ❤.

-Claude Van Foxbat

Even More Celadon (Links broken as of 2020)

I was going to lay off covering my man Celadon City for a while because I always like to get variety in my posts, but goddamn I just can't, he's consistently knocking it out of the park in terms of quality and release schedules, seriosuly I haven't seen this much music I dig released in such a short time frame since the great electro epidemic of 07-09.

Anways, he's back with a new EP, and I'll just quote what he has to say about it because it pretty much does my job:
"Albums and EP are a way that one can tell a story. An EP can also set a mood in the room, put a person to sleep, inspire someone to go outside, and much more. Those types of projects have brought me to places, and have inspired me to write my own stories. “Warm Notes For You” is an EP that is meant to be played through in its entirety, for it is a story. The most beautiful thing about music is that you can interpret it however you want.".

And with that: Enjoy.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Soundcloud Roundup: The Sequel

More soundcloud times now, because my feed refreshes with neat stuff practically daily. Starting off again with more from my recent music buddy Celadon City. I said to the man himsef over twitter last time that his recent output reminds me a little of what Plone were putting out back in the late 90's, and this one manages to be even more like that. Not too long ago I was saying that Plone's playful electronic had no modern equivalent, but I guess I've found it now.



Been working on a new showreel for a while, and Abrev. was a strong candidate for my soundtrack for a while, barely losing out to some instrumental Crystal Castles. I first saw him over on /r/Cyberpunk_Music and his output his more than often in that techy near future vein. Check it out if you need some sounds to have on while you hack the planet.



Handy forward from Jay showed me this song he originally sent us on the 1st (but I didn't get for some reason). A bit late on the train but it was dropped in celebration of the Supreme Court decision on Gay Marriage. As we all know though a LOT of dance music owes itself to LGBT+ people, and any an all support is welcome. Also the title reminds me of Robert Owens' I'll Be Your Friend



-Claude Van Foxbat

Things I've Seen

It is hot as shit right now. And I'm ding all I can to avoid rendering videos on my rig to hopefully keep the temps down, so I had a look around to see what I had waiting for me to post. Starting with more from my recent bud Celadon City, if ever there were a time his tunes were apt it'd be now with this heat. Once again he kills it on the intro, and once again I have yet another song to add to my summer collection.



Something a little different now, got a line dropped on twitter the other day which doesn't often happen with promos for me outside of Mississippi a while back. But it works out because you have to keep your pitch punchy. I actually meant to put this up last time but it didn't fit with the techy post. A duo from a bit further south than I, with laid back 2-step garage-esque track and a video that does it's best to keep the spirit of slightly surreal dance music videos alive.



And finally one last tune from Kevatta that I could have done with last night as I hoped for a breeze to come through my window. Once again perfectly scratches my hip hop instrumental itch. Definitely going to keep my eye on their feed from now on for more of this.



-Claude Van Foxbat

More Celadon

Apologies for the long weekend folks, had my final exhibition which was a rip-roaring good time. As penance have some more stuff from Celadon City and his Safari collective crew, a cutesy backronym meaning Sounds And Friends Always Rebirth Imagination. Check 'em out.



Find more Safari on:
Twitter
Bandcamp
Facebook

Out In't Garden

Recent music buddy of mine Celadon City finally got around to putting out his latest release deal. And it's pretty gorgeous. You know how every time I posted a tune from Icarus I've been saying it's instantly in my summer playlist? Yeah they're all well and good through the day but Mr. City here, much like Pretty Lights before him, makes tunes for a more homey environment. Or as the man himself pus it: "garden-party electronica"



But wait there's more. Even with the cold breeze plaguing us here in England at the minute, these tunes are doing their bit and making everything feel a little bit more toasty. I'm in love with the second half of this one, it's chock full of little flourishes and gorgeous sounds.



Not to say there's nothing on offer here if you're lookin' for more upbeat dancy stuff. There's also a remix of the title track that gives it a little house injection that does actually sound a little like the Icarus stuff I've posted. I was skeptical at first (as I am with 90% of remixes) but it's a very nice compliment to the sweetness on offer here.



Find more Celadon City on:
Twitter
Soundcloud
Facebook


-Claude Van Foxbat

Bank Robbery

Even more bank holidays incoming. Strange how we have so many in the spring innit? almost as if we make 'em up to get extra time off. Of course we don't mind, that would be preposterous. Anyways, to wash the taste of my shameless plug out of yer ears, here's some more tune.

Patrick Nagel - 1446

More Vitalic because hot damn have I missed me some quality electro in my recent rotations. Have an extended version of Poison Lips from Flashmob which unfortunately got relegated to a B-Side on an EP. While it is a little long to be the album version, it should have been anyway.



Games have been back in my rotaton too, because in addition to my electro throwback I needed to go back to when chillwave was cool too. The influence of Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1 is pretty obvious here from Lopatin, not that I mind much before getting stuck into all it's haziness.



Also reposting the UNKLE track from a while back because not only am I a thicky bobo and forgot to check the code before I posted, I'm still digging the tune in all it's depressive glory. Must remember to get more UNKLE soon, the debut LP is coming back on me something strong.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Turnin' Tables 2: Electric Boogaloo

Sorry for the quiet patch, been bloody busy with interviewing new course applicants again. Good news is we're all done on that front so I can lavish you with audio again so without further ado lessgo:

Pam Glew - Mika (2011)

Remnants of my Cyberpunk binge remain as I am digging a bunch of soundtrack stuff.Yoko Kanno's reputation is well deserved in the soundtrack world, and her techy contributions to the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex are pretty special, here's a taster with Monochrome:



It's not all distant techy stuff tho, as recently I've been giving what could be my favourite beat of all time a revisit. The tune that turned me onto Blockhead when I checked out the credits on Aesop Rock's Daylight EP, it's just as sweet without Aes's lyrical contributions:



And I've also been giving Games a fair spin. After exhausting the Ford & Lopatin album I've been revisiting their old EPs and Mixtapes. And Strawberry Skies is still as solid as it was on release, Lopatin must know I'm a sucker for his kind of synth sound, I fall in love with it every time.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Crumbs

I dun goofed in that last post so Hype only archived the first tune. And I really like watching the little numbers go up so I am here to post again in the hopes of giving me something to do in my downtime.

James Doolin - City Of Glass (1990)

Thought I make it up in style with a tune I've been holding onto for a long time. From one of my most favourite titled albums ever; Chicago, Detroit, Redruth comes this one. It doesn't matter how bad the day's been yo ucan't help but smile from the first few seconds. Them beats ain't too bad neither.



Coming full circle now, here's a tune I deconstructed for my first year essay. Coming off the heels of my dissertation it looks basic now, but Autechre's protest EP still has it's moments. Here's by far the best track Flutter which is programmed so that no bar of beats is the same which is pretty interesting to listen to. Heads up it sounds even better if you slow it down like 10-20%, try it!



And finally Ex-Games turned Ford & Lopatin with their breed of 80's infused chillwave goodness. Bearly missed a spot on my cyberpunk playlist from the artwork alone. Dug out the LP again ad it is still very nice, really wish they'd come out with some more stuff in the near future.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Mid Week Grab Bag

Chiho Aoshima - Sky (2006)

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



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



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



-Claude Van Foxbat

Eclecticism #2

Here's some tunes, a picture I made, and some writing I wrote. Read my writing if you want.

Polar Noise

First up, Girl Talk; sampling so fine, it's like a quilt made of musical silk.



Japanese electronic pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra rock out this tune. I just love the entire vibe. Lyrics of sadness & despair, the synths stabbing, swelling and grinding.



One of my favourite track by old-school-digital hip hop group Mantronix. Simple loop, with a sweet simple beat. I will admit, it does sound a little repetitive, but it's such a good sample that it doesn't really matter, because you should be too busy enjoying those sweet sounds. The vocals mix it up a bit, and distract from about 4 minutes of the same loop.



I've had this one going quite often for the last two weeks. That 80's sound that I've been searching for, I finally found in this song. It's not over the top with those horrid synth sounds, but it's still clearly from that era. The amazing vocal work carries a really smooth melody throughout, helping to meld those shorter synth lines together. 



I'll admit that Apogee is not my favourite from Awake; but it is still amazingly well produced, and for that, I love it. The drums simply blow me away, particularly in that intro. The compression is clearly taking its toll on that kick and it works so beautifully, helping to really bring out that energetic first minute and a bit. It's still a Tycho tune, so in all honesty, it's not really anything new. There is a small section that utilises a sampling type sound, and a little bit more guitar. 



-Sulphties