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

Mods are away, Post Trap!

Poor Trap, one of the biggest implosions of a genre since "Witch House" had its heyday. What was a fresh take on Dirty South, is now a room filling EDM parody of itself.

With a slew of high profile album releases from the always amazing Warp Records, we could see a return to form for this promising genre. Let's take a look at the year ahead.



Rustie - Green Language 

I'm going to be honest I was not too hot on Rustie's Glass Swords when it dropped. I guess my ears were not ready for that type of sugary but heavy hitting sound. I think I finally "Got" Rustie after his Radio One Essential Mix. It was a burst of treble and bass in every direction and things just clicked. He has been busy remixing everyone from Pusha T to Bloc Party and had some production credits on Danny Brown's OLD.

His follow up to Glass Swords sounds to be even brighter and bigger than the debut, Green Language is out August 14th.





Hudson Mohawke - UNTITLED 

Hudson Mohawke is one of the biggest names to come out of Warp and the stellar Lucky Me collective, and is quickly becoming a household name.

One of the biggest and most impressive career trajectories in recent memory, hudmo is blowing up in every way possible. Featured on GTA V, signed to Kanye's G.O.O.D. music, his side project TNGHT had its biggest year ever. His solo album should is coming out sometime this year on Warp, and will feature the biggest bangers of the year, guaranteed.


Lunice - UNTITLED 

Believe it or not apart from Flying Lotus it was Lunice who really got me into Future Beats, his "Stacker Upper" EP was a breath of fresh air. Hitmane's Anthem was played on repeat all summer along with Fancy Forty, and its remix from Rustie (We have gone full circle) The other half of TNGHT with Hudson Mohawke, Lunice is poised to have a breakout year with his debut. We really don't know much about this one, or if its going to be out on just Lucky Me or Lucky Me and Warp like TNGHT's debut was. All we know is the singles and the rumored tracks are hot hot hot.







-Adam 

Advent Calendar

Hi



Lucky Me decided to upload one new song everyday until christmas from artist such as Rustie, Hudson Mohawke or Lunice. You can check them all out here but but I'll give you my 3 favorites.

You can download every song from the Advent Calendar on the official Lucky Me website







And as if this wasn't enough good news, The Glitch Mob released a song from their upcoming album that will drop in February. The song is called Can't Kill Us and gives me high hopes for their new album, it still has that great Glitch Mob sound, distorted synths and bass plus their signature drums, love it.



Enjoy!

-LRNT

USA Club Mixes

Hey there It's time I talk about the album I can't stop listening at the moment, Surkin - USA Club Mixes. This album is a gathering of clubby remixes and live edits of tracks from his album USA, the simple sight of the tracklist makes you know it's gonna be great. Let's detail these tracks now.



Canblaster, one of the members of Club Cheval, starts the album with a 5 minutes mix of every track from USA, great mix structure, I like the fact that they started the album with this, it feels liks it's a reminder of track you're going to hear.



Quattro was one of my fav from USA, and Feadz can make great things as much as seriously weird things so I was excited and worried at the same time. Well, after a few seconds I totally stopped worrying, Feadz KILLS it right here, the progression is so great I can't decide if I prefer this version or the original...

03 Surkin – Love Shot (Djedjotronic & Noob Remix)

A duo that is used to work together, they slowed down a bit the very fast and oldschool track that Love Shot is, clearly not the best thing they could have done with the track in my opinion. It works, it's a great and very different remix, the alteration they did on the voice is pretty neat, but not what I was expecting from Noob & Djedjotrnic.



It's no secret that Rustie is a crowd killer, last three concerts I went to I heard his stuff during DJ sets and no one could resist it. Let's sum up this track in three words, Clap, Clap and Clap. The clapping in this remix added to the hip hop style Rustie has makes a mind blowing club mix of what already was one of the best tracks from USA.

05 Surkin – Gold island (Bok Bok & L-vis 1990 Remix)

Bok Bok isn't someone I'm familiar with, heard of the guy but that's about it, in this collab with L-Vis 1990 they went for a very minimalistic approach of Gold Island, very similar to what L-Vis usually makes, so it's really a matter of taste, I for one think this track isn't bad but lacks of a little something that would make it a major song on the album. The track feels too long for the lack of evolution.



Club Cheval (Canlbaster, Myd, Panteros666 and Sam Tiba ) outdid therselves on this one, the synth and the voices are a perfect match. They blend a lot of different aspects of electro in this remix, and it works very well, the original was really calm, this is the complete opposite, things happen every 3 seconds.



First live mix on the album, for one of the most "Surkinesque" track on the original one. This live mix is emblematic of what Surkin is live, a man full of energy, whose hands and head never stop moving, always adding something to the track he plays. The only downside here is that it's far too short, not even 4 minutes sadly...

08 Surkin – Harry feat. Bobmo (Strip Steve Remix)

Stip Steve is one of the best thing that happened to Boys Noize records. This remix is emblematic of the artists I like at Boys Noize, very dark and progressive club music. It has nothing in common with the original Harry, a good alternative.

09 Surkin – Silver island (Para One Remix)

The track I'm always dying to hear, the Para One remix, especially when it's a remix of Silver Island. Well sadly, as much as I like Para One, this remix was disapointing in a few ways, I would have expected something in the way of Nevrosis, he went for a remix that's more the kind of thing you like to hear in the lounge, not bad but not mind blowing either.

10 Surkin – End Morning (Das Glow Remix)

Das Glow releases another "creepy" remix as usual. Distorted voices in the back, weird noises almost all the time and agonizing synth, if you like his style, you're in for a treet.



Broskinski aka the guy that remixes everything is obviously here, playing a lot with the vocals as he always does then going for his very recognizable style on the synths and drums. That's one of my favs on the album the progression of the track is just brilliant.

12 Surkin – Never Let Go feat. Kevin irving (A-Trak Remix)

Another man that remixes a lot of things, A-Trak made something really cool here, definitely something I'm sure I'll hear a lot this year. His objective was obviously to make something you'll hear in clubs more than the original track that wouldn't fit very well, he succeded.

13 Surkin – Silver Springs Anthem (Bobmo Remix)

Really not that much to say about Bobmo's remix, I find it very average, it's not bad in any way, but it doesn't bring anything to the album which is a shame when you see what he did with Surking on the two original tracks he worked on.



The other live mix almost sounds like a brand new track, it's so different from the original one. This sounds like the prefect way to finish a live sadly I didn't see Surkin live since the release of USA so I don't know if that's how he uses it, might as well be an opener. Anyway, point is, that track gives great justice to Surkin's live skills, he's an amazing entertainer, go to one of his gig if you have the chance.



Jackson gives us here an organic/wonky/orchestral reprise of White Knight Two, this man lives in another world, a world where he makes anything he wants, such as 10 minutes long remixes that will blow your mind or crazy things to what is probably the greatest track Surkin ever released. It was a very bold move, but what a GREAT move, hats off Jackson.

To sum up, even though the album has a few tracks that aren't amazing, the whole thing is just great, a must buy. 9/10

Enjoy!
-Here

10 albums from 2011

I finally made up my mind about that top 10 so here it is.

#10 Andrew Bayer - It's Artificial





#9 R/D - Liquid Heart Keeper





#8 Ill Skillz - Nectar And Ambrosia Ill Skillz - Memorizer



#7 Alecks Awklr - Believer

Alecks Awklr - Harps At Ease

Alecks Awklr - ESC Rope

#6 Childish Gambino - CAMP

Childish Gambino · Heartbeat

Childish Gambino · Sunrise

#5 Rustie - Glass Swords





#4 Surkin - USA





#3 Modeselektor - Monkeytown





#2 SBTRKT - SBTRKT





#1 Mondkopf - Rising Doom







-Here

September Review : Glass Swords

September Review : Birdy Nam Nam - Defiant Order

September Review : Modeselektor - Monkeytown

I would have hard times trying to explain how Rustie sounds. Electro, hip hop, aqua crunk, garage, jungle, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW, just shouting words that sound cool and might be appropriate..



Rustie is an artist I discovered, with Hudson Mohawke, two years ago during a Warp/Ed Banger party in Paris. Those two guys blew my mind.

So, what to expect from this album ? 13 tracks, 13 ways to bang your head, 13 synths, claps, drums and weird vocals to discovere how versatile Rustie is.

First song of the album is Glass Swords, it's more of an intro, but a damn good intro, a "how to use electric guitar in an electro song".



The next one is Flash Back, a lot of little sounds reminding the synths used by Hudson Mohawke, might be a little tribute, I don't know.



Surph, oh, just another regular Rustie track, wait no, it's amazing.



A song that really got me thinking is Hover Traps. You can hear those powerful Trance synths you hear all the time. Well, he took them to another level, simple as that.





City Star is another example of the things he's able to create. Hip Hop Electro at its finest.



Ultra Thizz, banger of the album.



All Nite sounds like he sampled the chorus of a 1996 summer hit, throwed it into acid, that would be the result.



It might not fit everyone's taste, because Rustie is pretty weird to listen to. Anyway, that album is ridiculously great, no wonder that guy is signed on Warp, they don't release half finished albums filled up with average tracks. Rustie took his time, and I'm glad he did because he came back with something that is even a bit above what he usually releases.

So that was the third album review of September. Of course other albums came out during this month, but I don't really have enough time to buy/listen/write about everything and I don't enjoy making review of things I do not enjoy. So yes, all three albums are amazing to me, because they are from artists I really digg, I might not really be objective about everything, but I tried !

enjoy!
-Here