Same Name Game

Claudio Bravo - Coke Love (1971)

Following through on an idea I had years ago and could have sworn I'd already done a few times - wherin I post duets of tunes that have the same titles. Naturally, the ammo you have for this sort of post only increases with time, and amongst my thousands of tracks there was bound to be some crossover. The real challenge comes from finding ones that are readily available to stream from BC though, I've managed to get all of them on there this time though.

Let's start off with a little bit of a easy one - two Berlins from Moderat and Modeselektor respectively. Of course, Moderat is made up of Modeselektor and Apparat so perhaps cheating a bit, but interesting to see the two different takes from each. We'll start with Moderat's Berlin as it was the first of the two to be released - a surprisingly sedate number from the otherwise minimal and glitchy tones of tracks before and after it. Now of course you all know I am a complete sucker for any and all ambient interludes and this one is no different, it's a gorgeous little breakwater that ushers in the final quarter of the album. Apparat's influence is very clear to hear on this one, especially in the final ten seconds or so, which use almost exactly the same tone of synth as on Over And Over from Apparat's Walls some years prior.



A stark contrast to Modeselektor's Berlin - a bombastic slice of electro house from that era that wastes no time in getting going. The album it's from, Monkeytown, is probably my favourite of the bunch that the 'Selektor boys have put out - but I'm more than willing to admit that a big part of that is a sort of nostalgia for the time when it came out, it was an incredible year for this brand of high energy releases: Teenage Bad Girl's Backwash, Rustie's Glass Swords among others leading the charge. Looking over the track list now, I'm hard pressed to pick out any weak points, the whole album is pretty tightly produced - don't be dissuaded by the amount of 'Featuring' credits on it, each one is finely selected and runs the full gamut from Thom Yorke to Busdriver. Perhaps a little short at 11 tracks but that's nothing when they're all so good. Berlin is one of the high points though for all the reasons I mentioned above, I just love the sound that Modeselektor had around this time, and this one (and really the whole album) are absolutely coated in it.



The theme of contrasts continues with the next two - partially inspired by my last post where I revisited Graeme Norgate's OST work. We'll flip the format this time and hit up the uptempo one first with the opening track from Perturbator's The Uncanny Valley. Perturbator's brand of synthwave is one of my favourites, I was aware of them in passing but like so many others out there I only really took a closer look after the Hotline Miami soundtrack introduced me in full, and what a perfect fit Peturbator's sound is, perfectly at home in the slightly psychedelic ultra-violent world of Hotline Miami. The Uncanny Valley continues that trend, much more cinematic feeling than previous releases, but that's to be expected if you read into the background lore of the album: all about a technological cult in the year 2112. With Neo Tokyo as the opening track it'd be easy to assume this is all full power synthwave for the full runtime but there are some real nice downtempo bits nestled in there too - my favourite of which being Femme Fatale. Tune in and log on, get a load of this.



And finally, another bit from Norgate. His NeoTokyo is a very different beast to Perturbator's and takes more than a few cues from Blade Runner (which to be fair, the level itself did as well if the '2019' date on it didn't make it clear enough). The past few times I've talked up Norgate's work it's been upbeat ones but the man certainly knows how to set an atmosphere - tracks like this and the Siberia theme do a fantastic job of setting the tone for the levels in question. Again quite cinematic actually, not bad for the soundtrack to what is on paper an arcade FPS. Having said that it does suffer a little from being a mite cliché at times with the stock samples used to create that kind of generic 'eastern' feel, but in my case the nostalgia overpowers that. Still, even so I think it has a charm to it, the non-sample contributions are as good as ever, though for the complete effect you'll need to play some ambient rain sounds in the background to match how it is in the game!



And that will be all for this time around, I have another couple lined up but they probably won't use the Bandcamp players so I've put them to one side for a potential sequel along with any others that I might come across in the meantime. This one took a little longer than I expected but that's purely down to me meandering a bit, I wanted to finish it up last night but it was one of those Murphy's Law kind of nights you know? Anyway, you don't come to the blog to hear me vent so I'll call it here. Hope all of you folks in the USA have a good Thanksgiving weekend and as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Bite-sized Bits 11

Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart - Composition No. 15 (1925)

The revisiting trend continues, after a long time in storage I've dug out the Moderat again. But in the interest of variety though, I've skipped over II this time though as I think I definitely over did that, instead we're going back to their debut on the album front - the self titled Moderat.

To be fair I also completely rinsed parts of the debut too, Rusty Nails is potentially one of my most played tracks of all time after all. I was of the opinion for a long time that II was a much better album but I've grown to appreciate more of the original on revisit. I remember feeling like it was a bit long in the tooth but it's only 15 tracks (13 for the non-deluxe), but maybe over the years my definition of 'long' has changed!

Coming back there are plenty of signposts of the direction they'd take on II, the self titled is a little more varied, a little more minimal in parts but also sporting quite a healthy IDM streak which both Modeselektor and Apparat both dabbled in previously. Today I've picked a tune that has grown on me massively - Nasty Silence, which dwells pretty heavily in that IDM side of things, with perhaps a hint of Post-Rock to the structure as you can pretty cleanly divide it into two halves as it builds to a crescendo and then falls back into a more ambient feel. It's pretty wild to me that I pretty much forgot about this one, it's very much up my alley in terms of sound - I might have to come back and do a full on Retro Review of this one someday.



This album, and all of Moderat's work actually, has incredible visual direction. The cover illustrations are always a highlight - and the design work and videos from Pfadfinderei are usually a real treat too (and not to mention amazing 'research' work when I was in Art School). That'll wrap today's entry, expect the next couple of posts to be things that I'm planning to pick up for the upcoming Bandcamp Friday (and also look up if they're actually doing it this month too!) As always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

Selected Selections

I've been looking over my listening for the past year or so because I felt like I had forgotten a bunch of things that I'd liked and meant to pick up (this is due in part to the sheer amount of Eurobeat that's been giving me the energy over that time). And sure enough, there are little bits and pieces from days gone that I haven't heard in forever, or things I came across - wish-listed and then promptly forgot about. So what better way to remind me of them than to write up a little breakdown of them?

Gerard Fromanger - Corps à corps, bleu (2006)

Going old first of all with Modeselektor's I Love You. Tucked away at the end of their debut LP Hello Mom!, it's a massive contrast to the stuttering electro house that makes up the main body of the album. It's a little bit of a throwback to their more IDM stuff as well, like 2003's Don't Panic. I Love You isn't quite as intense on the IDM styling as that one, but you can certainly see the hallmarks still. I love it when Modeselektor drop a tune like this every now and the, their main electro stuff is solid as ever don't get me wrong, but as you longtime readers will know - I am a total sucker for any and all things even slightly downtempo. Beautifully smooth and just a damn fine piece of electronic.



Another album that I *technically* went back to - Ochre's A Midsummer Nice Dream. It's one of those I'll put away for a while and then dig out again once I've gotten the itch again. Well last time I got it I found out there was a 15th Anniversary reissue with a bunch of bonus tracks on it (6 to be precise) which was a real bonus. I found Ochre when I was looking to expand my IDM horizons many moons ago, that's how I found artists like The Flashbulb as well - Midsummer is a nice album in that regard and full of the hallmarks you'd come to expect from a record falling under that umbrella: techy sounds and juxtaposition between the smooth synths and the off-kilter beats. I've chosen one of the bonus tracks that stood out to me this time Passing Landscapes which I think does a great job of demonstrating what I just mentioned, but also captures the whole sound aesthetic of the album as well. If I had one complaint it's that the beats can be a little harsh sounding at times, this track is no exception to that rule, sometimes I find myself wishing they'd take a little break and let those synths shine a bit more (which to be fair, they do drop out of the mix to do just that towards the end!), but that's small potatoes really.



And finally a bit from Legowelt. It was a bit overwhelming diving into the discogs of Legowelt because there is a lot to go at, but I decided to do it because the name was cropping up a lot on compilations and remix credits of stuff I was getting a little while back. Contrary to the others I've talked about so far, Experiential Awakening is a track that I had to force myself to put down because I knew it was one of those that I would completely burn myself out on if I could - it's nestled in some of my playlists and one of these days I'll have to pick up the whole LP. It's a divine bit of techy almost deep house. But unlike the laid-back almost loungy brand of Deep House I normally enjoy, this one feels very driving and was absolutely perfect for working through the slew of 8 AM emails that I was getting for a while, it makes the 8 minutes of it's runtime feel like no time at all. Like the tail end of the Drunken Kong post last time, tracks like this make me seriously want to make another of my mixtape thingies, and I am certainly going to use this post as a reminder that I need to check out this LP in full around the next Bandcamp Friday.



That'll do it for this entry - I hope some of these selections twig your ear as much as they did mine, I know I was guilty of having slept on Modeselektor for a long time, and their debut even more - something I need to work on again as they have new material coming out very soon. Maybe time for a non-retro review? Anyway, we're getting off topic again - so as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

For The Archives

We return to a familiar format this week: tunes I've discovered along the way that I'm posting to remind myself to pick up some point soon (probably when the next Bandcamp Friday happens!). I initially thought that this post would be a bit thin on the ground, but it turns out that I forgot to wishlist a few things on Bandcamp so now it's looking a lot healthier. Let's get into it.

Richard Hamilton - Archive I (1981)

First up is something that I would have sworn was in my collection somewhere, but like so many other songs and LPs over time it never did. At the time it was the peak of me being into this kind of sound - between Bibio and the other Warp crew I had a real hankering for this kind of off kilter hip-hop. The album this is from, Lucky Shiner was Gold Panda's debut - and what a debut it was. You couldn't escape this song around then if the YouTube algorithm had even the slightest idea that you liked electronic music. I distinctly remember eventually biting the bullet and saying "oh, go on then" and giving it a listen and really liking it. So how does it hold up 10 years on? Well, I still like it that's for sure, but that itch I had back then for this sound isn't as prominent as it was. I don't mean that to be too negative though, as I said it's still a really neat track - part of me is really into that frantic sample triggering style. And now would be a good time to pick it up, as it's being re-issued for the 10th anniversary with a bunch of bonus tracks as well. Better late than never, eh?



For all my love of Modeselektor I am very much unfamiliar with a great deal of their output. I have vague memories of Art & Cash, the former track of the EP being some predictably pretentious synth unpleasantness. That doesn't excuse me never checking out the remixes though (though in my defence, there are lots and lots of them!). Enter the SBTRKT remix of Art & Cash, I've been thinking a lot about SBTRKT recently - (I was thinking of doing a Retro Review post on his debut mainly, an album that still sounds real fresh to my ears but I digress) and I realised I'd never heard this remix, so I gave it a spin. While certainly different to the sound of his debut, you can still find some distinctly SBTRKT hallmarks, Sampha on the vocals for one. It's an incredible remix, turning the rolling electro of the original Cash into a much more lighthearted 2-step Garage style. I am totally loving the 8-bit style warbles throughout this one, reminding me very much of Flying Lotus' Kill Your Co-Workers from around the same time in that aspect.



And finally, a tale as old as time. Yet another holdover that I discovered way back on Grooveshark(!) and have been meaning to check out ever since. Grooveshark's recommends sent me in the direction of a bunch of artists I might not have found otherwise, tucked away on Planet Mu (μ-Ziq's label, naturally) is an album by Skyler McGlothlin under their Nautilis alias - the rhythmically pleasing to say Are You An Axolotl.

I'm not familiar with Skyler's other work, but I can tell you I fall in love all over again whenever this track comes up - it appeals to that side of me that I always struggle to pin down a good way to describe, from those times where I would stay up far too late making weird animations and watching [adult swim] bumps (and jamming to their exceptional music choices for them). And that's actually a really apt comparison for this track, Why It Got To Be So Damn Tough would fit right in as a piece of bump music, (I haven't checked but it wouldn't surprise me if it already had been used as such) the combination of the simple guitar loop backed with beats and occasionally cut up and turntable-ised is practically the distilled formula for what they'd choose for the music. Reminding me a little of Benn Jordan's work as The Flashbulb, but with a more trip/hip-hop style, I think it's an absolutely stellar choice as an album closer.



I'm surprised how well this post flows together, normally when I make a post like this is can be a bit all over the place but these three play out togteher quite nicely. Posts may still be a bit thin on the ground going forward as IRL things continue to pick up, but I plan to restore some more old posts in the meantime as well. Blogger's had a facelift which makes should make parsing the code of those older posts much easier than before, in a pinch I may re-publish some as new posts as I did in the early days of lockdown so apologies in advance for any re-runs!

And as always - Stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF

We'll Do It Live (2020)

NOTE: Hi there! This is an older post that I've re-published and am re-posting as new articles too just so there is visible content going up. Note that the next post will be an original one! This post is originally from January 2016.

Enjoy,
-CVF

This week seems to be going an awful lot quicker than the last, to the point where I haven't even managed to get some tracks lined up on the side to post. Bear with me as I half wing it half shuffle it to find some tunes for this one.

Wassily Kandinsky - Dominant Curve (1936)

Let's start with what got me up this morning shall we? M|O|O|N's Hydrogen is permanently drilled into my skull thanks to Hotline Miami. I can't think of much to say about it in all honesty, it's been a part of my library for so long it's just another piece of the puzzle. Sometimes I think it could do with a little more variety but that doesn't stop it from being a cracking tune.



On the flipside, a tune I have wanted to animate to since I first heard it. I never will because I love it too much, I'd hate to ruin it even temporarily through overexposure like so many other songs I have done projects to. That and I think Pfadfinderei could do a much better job than I could anyway.



I've let Los Angeles back in for another round or two as well, and even then that's only because I get exhausted on my stock of FlyLo so I retire all of it in one go. I'd be lying if I said I didn't adore Los Angeles in all it's noisy glory, it's like an Analog Worms Attack for the 21st century.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Not Quite Spring Cleaning

I've been doing some drive cleaning as it has been long overdue. And some of the things you find are incredible, it's like doing an archaeological dig on your own memories. Poetic-ism aside, one thing I did find was a half-finished mixtape dealio that I took the liberty of finishing and putting up on mixcloud. An interesting insight into the kind of stuff I was listening to ~6 or so years ago. It takes an ambient turn in the latter half, the more things change the more they stay the same it would seem! Tracklist after the player:



Tracklist:
Aphex Twin - Yellow Calx
Modeselektor - Don't Panic
Autechre - Nine
Plaid - Ralome
Global Goon - Long Whiney
Squarepusher - Goodnight Jade

Ilictronix Podcast: Down With The Sickness

"Claude explores the genres and artists he has mentioned in passing during previous episodes. Adam is sick and shares a bedridden playlist."

We can't catch a break these past couple weeks, between weather delays and various inconveniences last week we had our fair share. This week has it's own flavour though, as Adam is besotted with some kind of dreaded lurgy. Still it served as good inspiration for his selections this week, opening with the incredible vintage Clark with Slow Spines from Empty The Bones Of You. We soon hit my patch tho, which this week is loosley themed around artists I've mentioned in passing or have otherwise overlooked in the past episodes.

Peaches to start with, I was originally going to say in the episode that I didn't think she'd done anything since but a quick look at discogs quickly proved that wrong (though it kept I Feel Cream's reputation as the 'cleanest' Peaches album though. Still goes hard even coming up on 10 years later. Rex The Dog also makes his first appearance, I sum up my thoughts on the album pretty succinctly in the episode, but the short of it is that it's a quality bit of house that suffers (only slightly) from being cut down slightly from the OG versions of the tracks. Ladytron also appear, think it's their first time too which is surprising for how much I like them. My pick for this week comes from their later works, but I touch on their history while discussing. Adam also drops some extra knowledge about one of their albums that I didn't know.

Rounding out with Modeselektor (who I think I have mentioned before, but again not this album). Miss Kittin also makes her first solo appearance too, which would have been really fitting had I chosen something from her first album I Com but I went with the second Batbox instead. Most of what I said for I Com applies to this album too, they're full of gorgeous breakdowns and of course Kittin's trademark vocals.

Adam's selections for this week are the most eclectic they've been so far, which is only fitting given his predicament. I must say they at least flow together very very well, which is something I always try to implement in mine. Saying that they are also essentially the sequel to his scrapped super depressing winter selections from last week which would have been nice to hear, if a little bleak back-to-back, it's nice to hear something other than garge piano stabs for a change too (I joke, I joke). I owe Adam thanks anyway for soldiering on despite being gravely ill, and for getting the episode edited and uploaded on time to boot! Tracks and a singular show note after the linebreak:

Tracklist:
Intro:
Chris Clark - Slow Spines

Claude’s picks:
Peaches - I Feel Cream
Rex The Dog - Bubblicious
Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch
Modeselektor - (I Can't Sleep) Without Music
Miss Kittin - Play Me A Tape


Adam’s Picks
Kemikal - Graffiti
James Blake - Overgrown
Galcher Lustwerk - Idhouse
Total Art Of Percussion - Wuhan Wuchang
Juan Atkins - Riod

Outro:
Ellen Allien & Apparat - Way Out


SHOW NOTES:
Adam linked me to his little slice of childhood fever-dream trauma (that made him become one with electronic music) turns out it was a clip from Superman III of all things, so now both you and I are clearer on what exactly he was on about.

And with that, we'll see y'all next week, where we'll be bringing you more selections, same time same channel!

-Claude Van Foxbat

Ilictronix Podcast: Tech (And Relationship) Issues

Claude and Adam discuss and play their favorite tracks of the week. This Week Claude shares a user submitted track from Dispak and shares cuts from Apparat, Modeslektor and Wisp. Adam processes a breakup and shares a comforting playlist

This week's ilictronix podcast is now live! I carefully skirt the idea of just using cuts from my Cyberpunk playlist once again, instead focusing more on a specific 'techy' sound. I don't mean techno by that, and I hope my classification becomes clear after the first couple of songs. Opening with Squarepusher's deliciously smooth Plug Me In, before sharing a submitted track and diving deep once again into the semi-obscure of my collection with a host of Aphex Twin bootlegs from Wisp. Adam changed up his selections last minute in response to the situation mentioned above, nothing like the super depressive Gloomy Sunday playlist we used to make; Adam takes us on a tour of his mind and share some audio-based comfort during his trying times. An interesting (if unfortunate in terms of circumstance) methodology, always interested to hear what he comes up with and this week was especially good in that regard. We had some slight technical issues during the first few songs, but thanks to our method of locally recording our inputs we've managed to work around it with little to no other issues! Tracklist and show notes follow as always:

Tracklist:
Intro:
Squarepusher - Plug Me In

Claude’s picks:
Dispak - Koshkina
Apparat - Get Out Of Your Krib
Modeselektor - Don't Panic
Aphex Twin - Z Twig (Reworked By Wisp)
Ben Prunty - Mantis (Battle)


Adam’s Picks
Drexciya - Aqua Worm Hole
Basic Channel - Q Loop
Mala - Alicia
Millsart - Gamma Player
Fingers Inc. - Can You Feel It

Outro:
Golden Donna - Should


Show Notes:
A lot of show notes this week, starting off with Dispak's EP that I talked about as my first selection You can pick up their EP on bandcamp, the EP also has the full description I was trying to read when talking about the EP (only to be foiled by my internet dying as it was loading). It's a short one at 3 tracks, but if you enjoyed the sounds of Koshkina or any of my other choices this week I highly recommend checking it out.

I was slightly wrong about the Wisp Reworks of Selected Ambient Works 2 they were actually released way back in '04, but on a now-defunct net-label called TavCOM Records. It's not a high quality release, the tracks vary from 128-192kbps but they're still a nice listen. I managed to find the arcive site where I'm pretty sure I originally picked the EP up from. At any rate, you can find the link here to grab the EP if you so choose (It's a direct download of a .zip).

And finally, as mentioned on the show, you CAN get FTL's soundtrack from Steam, but if you want it in 320/FLAC I'd recommend buying it from Ben Prunty's Bandcamp, where you can ot only find his soundtracks for FTL and Into The Breach, but his other music projects too. As mentioned on the show, the FTL soundtrack is well worth picking up, and even comes with extra goodies like the notes from Ben himself about the tracks. And also be sure to get the expanded FTL: Advanced Edition Soundtrack too, it's a handful of extra tunes Ben did for a big update for the game and is well worth your time if you've enjoyed what you've heard so far. it's a name-your-price release so you can scoop it for free if you want also.

Spotify Monthly Selections October

Slight noise issues prevented us from recording a *full* episode of the podcast today, so we're going to pick it up again tomorrow. But that actually gave me a chance to looky at the post list and notice I hadn't posted this months spotify playlist and a rundown of my choices. So let's put it on and have us a little dance shall we?

Well, I say that like the selections don't have something in common with my podcast selections for this week. That is they lean on the downtempo side of things. It's also a bit of a nostalgia dive into what I was listening to (and what was new) when I was at university. A lot of these tracks were excellent backing for my AfterEffects animations, starting with the fantastically detuned and distorted sound of Clark's Tooth Moves. We keep it Warp for the meantime with one of my favourites from Cosmogramma after me and Adam gave our mixed opinions on the album I thought I'd at least talk a little bit possibly about it.



A tune I made the mistake of animating a show-reel to, I can now just again appreciate SBTRKT's Never Never however many years after I've graduated, I'd completely forgotten about that incredibly deep bassline for one. Sampha's vocals in combo with the production make for a deliciously smooth package that I've fallen for once again. I remember writing a review of Moderat's II when it was released, and I distinctly remember immediately being head over heels for Let In The Light. Admittedly you all know I have a massive weakness for distorted vocals of any kind, but lately I've been all about those thunderous drums.

Similarly another album I reviewed at the time, Squarepusher's Shobaleader One d'Demonstrator (which actually got a follow up not too long ago finally). It received mixed opinions at the time but man I will always adore that intro track. Once again, full disclosure I love me some vocoder/talkbox goodness but hot damn talk about establishing an aesthetic effectively. I've seen a lot of comments comparing the album to Daft Punk oddly, I can see similarities to bits of Discovery sure but even then that's a stretch, I much prefer the descriptor I've used since a few weeks after the review: Space Jazz.

Which somehow made me think of Ladytron's Destroy Everything You Touch, one of the standouts from Witching Hour, with Marnie's vocals on point as usual. Another dive into my University listenings with the beautifully laboured strings and beats combo of Apparat's You Don't Know Me, and the surprisingly downtempo Green Light Go from Modeselektor. Rounded out with a random pick of a Tokimonsta tune I like (reminder to me to actually pick up some of her stuff finally). Rounded out with the absolutley crushing Amarillo from the Gorillaz's slightly underrated album The Fall, a fantastic sound if the "mostly composed on an iPad" tale is to be believed.

-Claude Van Foxabt

We'll Do It Live

This week seems to be going an awful lot quicker than the last, to the point where I haven't even managed to get some tracks lined up on the side to post. Bear with me as I half wing it half shuffle it to find some tunes for this one.

Wassily Kandinsky - Dominant Curve (1936)

Let's start with what got me up this morning shall we? M|O|O|N's Hydrogen is permanently drilled into my skull thanks to Hotline Miami. I can't think of much to say about it in all honesty, it's been a part of my library for so long it's just another piece of the puzzle. Sometimes I think it could do with a little more variety but that doesn't stop it from being a cracking tune.



On the flipside, a tune I have wanted to animate to since I first heard it. I never will because I love it too much, I'd hate to ruin it even temporarily through overexposure like so many other songs I have done projects to. That and I think Pfadfinderei could do a much better job than I could anyway.



I've let Los Angeles back in for another round or two as well, and even then that's only because I get exhausted on my stock of FlyLo so I retire all of it in one go. I'd be lying if I said I didn't adore Los Angeles in all it's noisy glory, it's like an Analog Worms Attack for the 21st century.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Be Back Soon

Out of town for the weekend again, I'm just dropping by to leave you some words and sounds to keep you company while I'm out. A bit like leaving the radio on so your dog doesn't go mental and eat the blinds.

Futura - Nuevo Negro Futura (2008)

Accompanying my PDF layout adventures today has been Modeselektor. Truth be told I'm not a massive fan of their more minimal compositions, or minimal in general for that matter. But today something about B.M.I is ticking the boxes. Might be therapeutic listening as I painstakingly alter the kerning of text.



Leading the jazzy charge in my library alongside the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack is even more Mr. Scruff. I'm actually more of a fan of the regular album version with some solid lyrical throwdowns from Roots Manuva but the 10th anniversary re-issue includes this nice instrumental of it, and I shan't turn my nose up to free extras.



More UNKLE, breaking away from the moody trip-hop vibe that I adore, we have more of a display of DJ Shadow's contributions to the debut. Part 2 of Drums Of Death is chock full of turntablism, samples and more emceeing. Part 2 is my favourite of the two, and rings in the downtempo last part of the album in in beautiful fashion.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Commission

Apologies again for the quiet patch, but I done found myself a freelance job. Lucky for you it was a pretty speedy turnaround, so I can share with you the tunes I was jamming to while editing!

Chiho Aoshima - Yuyake Chan Miss Sunset (2006)

I always feel like I don't like The Chem' Bros. as much as I should. Don't get me wrong I love Exit Planet Dust and all that for sure but I don't really keep up with them as I should. Regardless when they hit their high points they really do, I've been looping this one for years and I'm not likely to stop now.



Remember when I was meant to give you a break from Simon Viklund? Turns out I LIED because this came on while I was editing and I forgot how much of a jam it was, this thing has some wicked bass in it. I'd love to see an album from the guy, if his soundtracks are anything to go by it'd be solid.



Also saw a return to form for the final track from Happy Birthday!, featuring Warp Records dwellers Maxïmo Park. Shame they've done nothing together since, the 'Selektor's style works real good with their contributions and I'd love to see where they take it with their current sound.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Midweek Madness

Guess what, after a seemingly hectic schedule I now have Easter off, so I'm going to do the usual celebration and hook you up with some tunes courtesy of what I'm feeling at the moment. Tracks as always after the art!

VitaliV - Blue Blue Chip

Been sticking to the usual mode of shuffle instead of subscribing to a dedicated editing soundtrack, which leads to some good moments like when Modeselektor pop up to say hello with Let Your Love Grow. Makes the tedium go a little bit easier when this one comes on.



Even more so when the massive pile of stuff I've added to my library recently comes up, with Simon Viklund's consistently great soundtrack for Payday ringing in my ears as I shift anchor points and keyframe lights. Just as good for jamming to as it is for heistin' to.



Also surprisingly a lot of my old Bloody Beetroots stuff has been coming up which is always nice. Can't say I've kept up with them since the release of the LP this is taken from, Romborama, maybe one of these days I'll have to catch up. But for now, I'm going to be transported back to 2009 on those lovely syths.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Updater

Seems weird for me to have to only go in one day a week but have more work to do but hey ho, thats how things is. I'll still drop by now and then to give out tunes. Like right now for example!

Takashi Murakami - Jellyfish Eyes

Not been too long since I posted this one but it's been repeating on me hard. I've told the tale of Autechre's protest EP before, both in a post and a full 3 page essay I did like 2 years ago. Long story short, in the early 90s the UK government tries to ban outdoor raves with 'repetitive beats', Autechre respond by writing a tune in which no two bars have the same beats. Classic, and the tune's not too bad neither.



On a vocoder kick again as usual and one of my favourtie underrated bits from Monkeytown is helping me scratch that itch. Deliciously smooth, 'Selektor have a penchant for the chiller side of things, here's hopign for more with this vibe on the follow up!



Also decided to go all out and put all the Analords on my phone for commute listenin'. AFX remains a wizard with analogue gear, even when it isn't in the extreme style of say Drukqus or any of the later Aphex Twin LPs. This one will always be a favourite.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Wuv

Taking the weekend off as usual, realised I didn't stockpile any valentine's mixes like I have done in the past. Oh, cock. Instead have some kinda love-y songs I guess? that seems like a thing I could do to make up for it (and also the slow posts).

Romeo Britto -First Love

Been on a Björk type of thing lately, and I've been itching to post this one again, the tune and infamous video that introduced me to both her and Chris Cunningham and tickled my cyberpunk itch before I even knew I had one (or even what Cyerpunk was).



On that same line I will shamelessly re-post what is to this day till my favourite lovesong in the world: The live version of The Knife's Heartbeats. While no doubt influenced by José Gonzalez's cover that gave it a new atmosphere, The Knife aren't one to be beaten at their own song, and they return with the definitive version. Absolute classic.



Throwback to Simian Mobile Disco's debut. Honestly the tracks here have aged incredibly well, it's coming up on 8 years old now and it's all still pretty fresh. It's chock full of gorgeous electro of the era, and this one along with I Believe are fantastic singalong tracks that I never tire of.



Just realised there's no instrumentals on here, so have an extra bonus from the Modeselektor lads, serving up some smooth synthy goodness with the simply titled I Love You, and I'll see y'all soon with more songs to get you by.



-Claude Van Foxbat

With A Bang 3: Revelations

That time again, where CVF lays down some ammo for your prospective new year's get togethers or whatever you lot are planning. The one time of year (one day late this time) where I ration the words for this one and instead just hand out some ammo to blast on NYE to make sure yours is the best sounding night on the block. So without further ado here we go!

Takashi Murakami - Tan Tan Bo (2001)

You go on out and have yourselves a awesome night with this lot and as always stay safe, enjoy the music and have yourselves a very nice New Year from all of us here at ilictronix! We'll see you on the other side in 2015!

Philestine · GENIUS IN A BOTTLE

Pre-Uni Throwdown

'Bout two days left till I start Uni, hopefully won't impact the posting too much but just in case here's a quickie before I pop off. My long time subwoofer buddy Stenchman dropped a new tune under his house-y Philestine alias and I am in love with the into on it. Poor Stench is criminally underrated when he can do Dub, Hip Hop and House really bloody well.



Been touching more on the world of experimental electronic in prep for when I get my hands on the new AFX. Of course Warp remains the king in that area, and after many months stashed away cos I burned out on listening to it I am reminded why Clark's Body Riddle is one of my favourite albums, gorgeously produced throughout, even if sometimes feels like it's going to blow your head off.



Also I've been diggin the Selektor's older tunes recently (though Monkeytown is still my favourite). This one features Maxïmo Park, another Warp act and the collaboration works real well. Modeselektor really have a way with vocal stuff, as shown on their work with Thom Yorke and this is no different. Solid closer to a solid album.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Monday Monkey

Now that I don't need to tpe an opening thanks to that picture, onto the tracks. Starting off suitably with a bit from Modeselektor's Monkeytown, Busdriver lends himself well to the overall style of the LP, and the shelf wobbling backing tune from the 'selektors never goes amiss.



continuing the AFX hype train, here's a little but you might recognise from the infamous Rubber Johnny video. Taken from the last proper album we had from him (before the announcement of Syro), Drukqs changes atmospheres at breakneck pace, changing from soothing introspecive piano pieces, the the all out beat butchery AFX is known for.



And finally, some FlyLo from the Los Angeles, honestly wish this one had been included on the album proper, the floor rattling beats and the various 8-bit bleeps going on in the background are a pretty perfect summary of LA era FlyLo.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Winding Down

Waiting on my results for the year is not an easy time, lucky my long time buddy the shuffle button was there to lend a helping hand and pretty much nailed it this time. Tracks after your daily dose of culture in picture form!

Jim Rosenquist - Myth and Technology F - Fly (1982)

Dug out Felix's excellently titled Devin Dazzle & The Neon Fever LP yesterday, could have sworn I'd posted all my favourites from it, imagine my surprise when I hadn't. Harking back to the diamond days of the Kittenz & Thee Glitz, this here is a sleazy slow number that dabbles a little bit in French. Real standout, and a unique vibe from Felix, if a little short.



Then straight away I got dumped into the retro-futuristic vibes from the end of Teenage Bad Girl's debut with even more french. Think electro house meets a power ballad a la Take My Breath Away and you're almost there, save for their then trademark vocoder, A lovely more darker turn than the electro vibes on tracks like Cocotte.



And finally a bit of Moderat's newest, I wasn't expecting this the first time I dove into the LP, after the minimal-meets-garage theme their self titled had. It's a pleasant surprise mind, Apparat has shown his mettle with downtempo stuff before, so to hear it taken on by both him and Modeselektor is a real treat.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Let There Be Tracks

Got on an old school kick earlier today as I do every now and then. Back in my bloghopping days when I first started coming here and was picking up a boatload of new tracks every week. Times and taste have changed since then, but I do still have a place in my collection for the old electro.

Atelier Olschinsky - Organic 02

Title track from TBG's follow up, featuring their occasional 80's tinged sound as shown on Aviateur but with a much more post-Kavinsky influence. The album was a little ropey in spots but I'll be damned if they didn't nail it with this one.



Simian Mobile Disco's debut is probably one of the most solid I own, for their first full length it's quality throughout if a little short. Here's track four featuring Char Johnson, surprisingly she's done no other tracks since, thought a lot of people would have picked her up based on the strength of this.



And lastly, them Modeselektor lads. I put Happy Birthday! away for a long time, but now I think it's time for it to trade places with Monkeytown. I came late to their unique blend of electro, IDM and the occasional bit of Hip Hop which is a shame because it's real refreshing. Definitely check them out if you missed the boat like me.



-Claude Van Foxbat