About You

So here I am drafting up new ideas for a post, when coincidence strikes again. More on that in a minute because I have some good news! My very first semester at Uni ends soon so that means I have more free time to channel into sending tunes your way, so that's very nice indeed.

I decided to throw in another track from Stenchman's annual free LP Moo Fire, this time with a remix under his new Philestine alias that I'm really digging the sound of. This track keeps it low key, but as Stenchy said on his FB page that's entirely the point, keeping his usual work under Stenchman and working on something different under another name is a smart move for sure.

Philestine · DJ SHADOW FT LITTLE DRAGON - SCALE IT BACK (PHILESTINE REMIX)

And with that I just had to include this nice little mid-LP bit that's in there as well. Oddly enough under Stenchman even though I think it errs a bit more on the Philestine sound that his usual affair. Anyway, the tune does serve as a nice interlude sandwiched between two full on dubstep tunes it creates a nice gap that Stench has used to similar effect on his other free LPs.



I recently revisited Röyksopp's stellar Junior, and I'd completely forgotten about that Japanese Bonus Track I'd picked up at some point. It's a proper quality tune, it has that lovely sound that makes up the majority of Junior and it's a shame that they didn't just included it as a final track on every pressing. I suppose the bittersweet musings from Lykke Li on the track are a bit too much of a contrast to the largely upbeat tracklist, but I think that's what makes it work so well as a final track before the ambient stylings of the follow up Senior.

It was around now I noticed a theme occurring, after I picked this next one it was pretty much sealed. Another album I've recently dug out again, Felix Da Housecat's He Was King, and another track with a 'You' in it. A lot of the electropoppy stuff on He Was King is pretty great, especially as a compliment to the sounds of Junior.



Bringing this theme to a close we have Peaches, with a cut from her LP I Feel Cream. This tune in particular was produced by good old Simian Mobile Disco, their influence kind of shines through, but it's not overly pronounced. Of course Peaches herself makes the track, a far cry from the days of Fuck The Pain Away in terms of lyrical content and delivery.

Peaches Rocks · Lose You

And Me,
-Claude Van Foxbat

Altered State

I'm pretty burnt out at the moment. Having just finished a 3000 word essay on Rave Culture and how it responded to the media and the Public Order Act 1994 and still having multiple deadlines rapidly approaching and projects needing to be done left right and center it's not pleasant. But if there's anything I've learned in the past couple of years is you've just gotta get on with it, because as I so eloquently put it "No one likes a morbid bastard".

But you know what's always good? Music. And that's what we're here for right? Have another instrumental cut from that oh so obscure electrolash LP by Golden Boy Or. Going back to check on my first post from this album I found I'd put it up just about a year ago, by coincidence I'd taken this album out of my rotation because I'd grown sick from hearing it all the time. Now it's back with in all it's early 2000's glory and it's slightly too long title, enjoy.



Another tune from way back is one of Wisp's reworkings of AFX's Selected Ambient Works Vol. II. When I first downloaded these about 3 years ago I didn't think it would work at all, but Wisp surprised me alright. And even when I thought it'd ruin SAW V.II for me it didn't. Unfortunately I don't listen to much of his work outside of these reworks, but I can tell you one thing, he deserves a whole lot of credit for turning a purely ambient track into this.

Another reworking of AFX next, with David Firth's acoustic reworking of a tune from the unreleased (but floating around the 'net) tape Melodies From Mars featured on Locust Toybox's Remixes And Other Crap release. It translates rather well to the format change actually, and comes out sounding a little bit like a cut from Firth's other folk/acoustic project Grape Digging Sharon Fruits.

Locust Toybox · Melodies From Mars 9 (AFX COVER)

Bringing us full circle with another bit of early 2000's electroclash goodness with Ladytron. Same deal as with Golden Boy here, recently put this LP back in after getting sick of hearing it so many times. Unlike Golden Boy however, Ladytron have more than one album so that's easily solved. Here's one of my favourites from 604, I'm reluctant to lump the whole record into the electroclash label, but a lot of tracks have that monotone culture critique that is a big hallmark of the scene, especially on Playgirl. regardless, enjoy the tune!

Nettwerk Music Group · Ladytron - Discotraxx - Best of 00-10

Super Flat,
-Claude Van Foxbat

Cold Snap

Evening all, while the university has me blogging away on a Personal & Professional Practice module, I thought I'd hit you up with a few tunes before I forget again. It's taken a cold turn here in the UK. Shocker, I know, but we thought we'd escaped after a fairly mild winter. No such luck unfortunately, but unlike everyone else I actually like the cold, and it gives me a nice opportunity to share tunes before I realise how much work I have to do again.

Kicking it off with some fittingly cold tunes first, with another cut from thew black sheep of Massive Attack albums, 100th Window. I've recently got back into this LP, and I can see why I left it alone for a while, a lot of the tracks towards the end are 8+ minutes long and end up hogging a lot of space on my SD card. Still, they've made a return recently and they are just as nice as ever.



Keepin' it European with my long time favourites The Knife. They've recently announced both a new album and a whole tour to promote it, but in the meantime I'll keep their third LP Silent Shout in rotation like I always do. It's hands down one of my favourite records of all time, it properly nails the aesthetic its going for.



And finally ending our cold jaunt is James Blake, his shelf wobbling cover of Feist's Limit To Your Love is pretty sweet, especially when that Fever Ray-esque voice tweaking gets involved towards the end. If you need help testing your system's bass, go ahead and skip to about 55 seconds in.



Not to leave you all out in the cold I thought I'd round it out with a couple warmer tracks. Starting with LA local FlyLo of course, I'd forgotten I had his July Heat bootleg tape lying around so I came across it today and went ahead and dug it out. There's some sweet ones on here for sure, here's one I'm feeling right now thanks to that tidy bassline.



And finally a fast riser in my collection of beatcrafters, its Knxwledge again with another cut from the Old Klouds LP, which is chock full of lovely instrumentals that you should definitely check out if hip hop's your thing. This one's a gem that pops up near the end of the album.



Nuts,
- Claude Van Foxbat

A New Day

So I thought I'd get around to laying down the very first post of 2013 before I jet off to Uni again tomorrow, just like old times it's gonna be me throwing up what tunes I'm feeling at the minute. Let's dive right in.

My good pal Evan laid a new tape on us not too long ago, this time he stretches out a bit and mixes up the usual hip hop affair with some Drum & Bass experiments he's been teasing us with for a while. I'll be sure to tell him to not be worried too much, cos this tune is way up there with my favourites in Liquid and Jungle.

Deadbeat Demon - Worlds Apart

More from the Stench again with another slice from his free album this year Moo Fire. Like the Demon, Stenchman gets his Amen Break on in this one and gives us a nice Jungle/Garage mix up in the vein of Skream. That piano hook is right on the money when it comes to living up to that Old School title for sure.

Stenchman - Back To The Old School

Again with another installment from Moo Fire but hear me out. I can't stand most stuff billed as dubstep these days, luckily Stench and his dub bud Suspect (appearing here as Suspicious Stench, get it?) have mostly kept it in line. This track is a little out of character in comparison to their usual output but still has that sound that is uniquely theirs. That and it has a lot more structure to it that straight up wobbles throughout.

Speaking of back to the old school,I finally got my hands on one of my favourite remixes of all time the other day; The Hacker's Fadin' Away, brilliantly reworked by Dima AKA Vitalic, and this tune pretty much has all the hallmarks of Poney EP and OK Cowboy era Vitalic on it. This tune is 13 years old but you wouldn't believe it, it was fresh when I first heard it in '07 and it's still as quality as it was on my first listen. Deffo check it out if you've not heard this one before.

Vitalic Official · The Hacker - Fadin' Away (Dima Remix)

And finally we have a cut from renowned beat butcher Venetian Snares. VS has a staggering amount of albums under his belt, this one come from his latest from 2010 which shares the same title as the album itself. It's the usual VS affair with skittering breakbeats littered throughout, though I would say this is definitely more accessible than the strings 'n beats combo on Rossz Csillag Alatt Született.



2013 AD,
- Claude Van Foxbat