Vintage Oizo (Part Two) [2020 Repost]

NOTE: Hi there! I'm going through the backcatalogue and re-publishing all the posts I can find. I'm re-posting them as new articles too just so there is visible content going up. This post is originally from August 2016 (which should hopefully explain some of the dated references!)

Enjoy,
-CVF

Moving more into familiar territory for part 2, just one year on from his debut #1 EP, Oizo's output here should be incredibly familiar for anyone with any knowledge of either Flat Beat or Analog Worms Attack. From the artwork down to the structure and sounds, Oizo is really finding his groove when it comes to slightly off kilter Electro stuff.

And he wastes no time letting you know that, with a turntablism infused rework of Kirk from the #1EP, something that'd later appear on the Analog Worms Attack LP, only with later Ed Banger bloke Feadz on the scratching duties.



And it's not long before we get stuck into that crunchy Electro goodness that made Flat Beat, in fact when Levi's jumped on the Oizo and Flat Eric hype train for a series of advertisements, this is one of the tunes that featured. With Eric making the electro burbles with his mouth of course.



That's not to say that the minimal edge from the previous EP is all gone however, it's there a little bit on M-Seq but Tweeter Trouble has it going on in spades. Speaking of tweeters too, this one's a pretty good shout if you're looking to test the bass side of your setup. I have it playing now at about 3/4 the usual volume and it's still rattling my desk a fair bit.



It's not all gritty mind you, there's some little funky side pieces going on as well. This one feels like a precursor to the very Oizo titled Last Night A DJ Killed My Dog, which I suppose is very fitting in itself given the title of it.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Vintage Oizo (Part One) [2020 Repost]

NOTE: Hi there! I'm going through the backcatalogue and re-publishing all the posts I can find. I'm re-posting them as new articles too just so there is visible content going up. This post is originally from August 2016 (which should hopefully explain some of the dated references!)

Enjoy,
-CVF

With Mr. Oizo's new LP All Wet looming on the horizon I'd like to take a minute or two to dive into his extensive back catalogue. Now of course most of you are familiar with Flat Beat, and Flat Eric has been a constant presence in his work, even appearing in pixellated format on the cover of All Wet, but we're going to a time before all that. Back to Oizo's debut in fact, with a little EP simply called #1.

This is 1997, a good couple of years or so before Flat Beat and Analog Worms Attack, and the most striking thing of all about this EP is the difference to the sound that's prevalent on both those. Those a whole lot of straight up conventional house tunes on here with perhaps a little bit of a minimal streak too. Which, while a far cry from his later work are still solid.



Not to say there aren't more than a few hints of the direction he would take, immediately after Kirk you're greeted with the same sinister electro come hip hop that ran throughout Analog Worms Attack. It's not quite there yet, which is a given if the year in the mix title is anything to go by, but the rough drums and scattered samples are definitely hallmarks that would come up again.



There's some middle ground too, upon revisiting I could easily see Ke-Ele appearing as a B-side to one of the Analog Worms Attack singles, though it sounds a lot smoother than anything on either there or this EP so far. It's aged incredibly well, and I definitely recommend both this and the full EP if you're into Oizo.



Signing off with the penultimate track, Krumpf is the opposite of all I've just said. There's no hints of the future Oizo to be had here, and the whole thing does sound like a late 90's house record. But that's not to say it's bad (I actually dig it a whole lot), even if it's not for you it's still interesting to hear, especially considering it in comparison to Oizo's releases since.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Uncertain Times

Hi again. I'd apologise once more for the extreme delay on any post but I'm sure you're all aware we have bigger issues on our collective plates at the moment. With that in mind I am going to try update here now and then to just give y'all something to read that isn't doomy. Starting with a reminder that my Ambient releases are available over on Bandcamp, for free if you would like. They have always been Pay What You Want and will continue to be so. I know personally how much music can mean, and I am a firm believer in accessibility to music (especially if you don't have the means to pay for it), so don't feel like you have to give me anything for them at all, and I hope you enjoy. (if you don't want to use bandcamp, there are direct links to my releases at the bottom of this post!)









Don't want to use Bandcamp or would prefer a direct download? no worries, I have you covered. Here are links to get the above releases from our own hosting as .zips!:

Compiled
Near Future Blues EP
Dive EP

Stay safe out there folks,
-Claude Van Foxbat

Luv'd Up

Hello! I am back with a completed version of something I've been knocking about for many a month now. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, originally started as a 4-tracker for the podcast but I since span it off into what you see below. I took the opportunity to make an old school mixtape like the ones I've already been making, you know the kind you make FOR a person or whatever. Anyway, here's 42 minutes of tunes dedicated to that special someone who knows who they are. Is it perfectly mixed? Not at all, but I hope that feeling shines through here and you find something you quite like. We start out strong with some smoothness from Tsutchie, then take a tour of all things downtempo afterwards, culminating in my favourite love song of all time, The Knife's Heartbeats. Join me, won't you? (Tracklist below!)



TRACKLIST:
Jun Sasaki - Juice (TV Version) [0:00]
Tsutchie - You [1:00]
Massive Attack - Polaroid Girl [5:44]
Cornelius - Drop (The Tusen Takk Rework by Kings Of Convenience) [8:25]
Boom Bip - Last Walk Around Mirror Lake (Boards Of Canada Remix) [12:20]
Bang Bang - Bye Bye Blues [16:30]
R·O·N - Love Come [21:31]
Bibio - Haikuesque (When She Laughs) [22:40]
The Flashbulb - We Are Alone In A City [24:40]
Yoko Kanno - ís [29:50]
The Knife - Heartbeats (Live) [32:20]
Mitsuto Suzuki - Sound Of Dream [36:40]