Richard Davis

Richard Davis's last album, Details, was one of my highlights from last year. I would have made several posts of it before now but I was dumb and bought it from itunes because they had it first. Its locked up with their crappy DRM and the bit rate is 128 too. So in honor of that great album here is a video thanks to youtube and kitty-yo's forward thinking idea for putting stuff up there.

Idol Tryouts homage number 2

Ok, so I talked on the last post about revelations concerning listening to full length albums. Well this is the other album I sat down with last weekend. Previously I had gotten wrapped up in the ambient side of Idol Tryouts and posted about it further down the page.

Well, I am here to say that disk one blows number two out of the water. This is a very well aranged cd. The tracks flow smoothly and there are an incredible number of standout tracks. Daniel Wang and Lawrence both contribute great stuff that would usually fall more in line with the stuff I regualrly post here, but this album is about so much more than just great dance tracks. Aparently New Wave is making a comeback cause that is the phrase that comes to mind when I hear some of these tunes. That by the way is not a disparaging remark. As a child of the 80s, poppy electronic music ladden with hooks is buried in my DNA. I loved punk and thrash but I had a soft spot for OMD too.

There is a special dance bonus tacked on to the end of one of these tracks so don't fast forward if you hear dead air. Oh yea and the Junior Boys remixed one of these tracks. Look out for their new album soon.

Mobius Band - The Loving Sounds of Static (Junior Boys Remix)

Skelatons & The Girl Faced Boys - Fit Black Man

Jay Haze

Realizations

This weekend I had somewhat of a startling encounter with music. Well, maybe not startling, but it sure was cool.
Like many of you out there in blogistechnostan I listen to the majority of my music now on mp3. Computer speakers most of the time and a car stereo plugged into an ipod. Its great, it allows me to listen to tons of different stuff and has opened my mind considerably. However, it must be noted that in comparison to a cd, mp3s can suck. The audio quality is iffy, especially if like me you like BASS. Also although I have little lamented the loss of the album it turns out that the artform isn't dead yet.
I beat the kids off of the TV/DVD/stereo with subbass this weekend and sat down with a couple of albums that just blew my mind.
Pictured here Modeselektor, whose remixes I blogged about previously, released their debut full length earlier this year. The album had some stunning singles which I duly noted in my mind and promptly moved on. The album itself is GREAT though. Out of 11 or 12 tracks there are maybe a couple that I didn't identify with. The style of the album ranges from stuttery euro-crunk to icy detroit techno that is incredibly well produced and just plain engaging. The track Kill Bill vol.4 is simply an awesome rave anthem as well. I cranked the sub and just rocked out for an hour solid.
So the lesson children is dont forget your roots. Sit down with an album every once in a while. Relax into the experience. I just wish I had the time to sit down with a couple of mates and listen to records like I used to, but I guess this is what I am doing on my blog, in a way.

Modeselektor - Vote or Die

Modeselektor - Silikon (feat Sasha Perera)

who is Sasha Perera?

Grime and Punishment

Although Vex'd is not strictly grime, more like dubstep, I had that damn title running around in my head for ages so thought I would just toss it off for the hell of it.

This fucking album is mental. I had been holding off waiting to try and find something by Skream or any of the dubstep artists not so closely identified with IDM but I have been cheating myself. This came out ages ago and it rocks. Distorted raging bass with an industrial tinge. If this album had come out when I had been younger I would have probably been doing crimes to it rather than the confused medly of hardcore/metal and Butthole Surfers style weirdness that fueled my youthful rage. The rips are only at 160 so the bass is not going to be as spectacular as it should be but that should give you cause to purchase it.

Check out some newer tracks at their myspace

Vex'd - Lion V.I.P.

Vex'd - Fire

I think Fire actually samples Skinny Puppy

Ada

This week is killing me. I have about 30 to 35 pages of papers to write and finals are coming up on my ass as well. My work schedule changed too so I am not at home at my usual hours which makes posting a bit of a hell.

On a brighter note I was scanning through my work machine listening to old tunes when I realized that I had never posted any Ada and if there are some of you out there that had never heard Ellen Allien then you sure as hell didn't catch Ada.

I loved her from the minute I got hipped to her over at ILM. Poppy yet banging techno that just satisfied. I am a big fan of the Kompakt Pop sublabel and I consider her an honorary member. I got this album, Blondie, the second Forced Exposure picked it up for distribution in the States which was several long years ago. I am patiently waiting for the follow up but in the meantime here are a couple of older tracks that have totally stood the test of time for me.

Ada - The Red Shoes

Ada - Our Love Never Dies

Giorgio Gigli

This stuff does put me in the mind of the word motorik.
Long and insistant and helplessly hypnotic. Could this even be minimal trance?

I wish I had more to write and something snappy to say but I just like this tune. Perhaps sometimes that is all that needs to be said.

Giorgio Gigli - I Can't Breathe




On an unrelated subject. When is Sleep Archive going to sell his stuff online? Anyone out there with an answer? That shit is dope but I want to pay for some of it.

Lonnie Liston Smith

This one goes out to my man the groove merchantComing through with beats for which I've been searching. Like two sealed copies of Expansions I'm like tom vu with yachts and mansions.

Lonnie Liston Smith makes soulful jazz that everyone should enjoy at least once. Have a great weekend and I hope its as sunny, joyful, and hopeful as this track is.

Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echos - Expansions

Around the House

I first came into contact with Herbert purely by accident in his Doctor Rockit disguise. Mid 90s lables such as Clear and Warp were pioneering a back to electro revival that produced some great tracks. Herbert's work appeared on just about every compilation that the labels put out and so I had a great exposure to the tunes. Many years later, around the time Bodily Functions came out, I was floating between generes looking for something new to turn me on. I found the album discounted in a second hand music store and suddenly discovered myself back with an old friend. He was a bridge between the emerging microhouse secene and the melodicism of electronica. I dug into the back catalog and discovered Around the House which was much more housey than Bodily Functions. It has a traditional house feel but with an updated style of sampling that seems to owe some debt to Todd Edwards.

Herbert - Close To Me

Shake your ass

In keeping with my discription of nhAr's music as shaking your ass. I thought I would go out a little further into booty bumping territory with an old chestnut. Phoenicia are pioneers of Miami's Schematic label, where combining the rigidity of Autechre's processes to the city's well known penchant for Booty Bass comes naturally. I scored this ep years ago and this track used to flavor 2 out of every 3 mix tapes I made for over a year.

Phoenicia - Odd Job (Soul Oddity Rhythm Box Version)

Mobilee Records

I am just starting to dig into the catalog of Mobilee. Originally drawn in by the recomendations of Oh My Gosh and the guys over at Tape, it took some of Pan-Pot's work to actually get me to purchase some tunes. Strangely, as I mentioned it just recently in an entirely different context, the label's work seems to have an air of IDM about it. The tracks have a fine level of detail that could almost be characterized as Baroque minimalism. The mix on this particular track by nHaR has perfect separation. Every little thing in its place. It is a bit of a slow groover rather than a minimalist anthem, shaking the ass and the head rather than aiming for a hands in the air feeling.

nHaR - Hexoflip

There is no cure...

Tape

Thanks to Mr. Soft over at Tape for hooking me up with some linkage. They are right out there at the edge posting tunes that keep me up to date in ways that even ILM couldn't do.

Something every "head" should have

Such an awesome album. I just replaced my old vinyl copy with a new remastered version on cd, with an extra cd of the original mixes done by John Cale before Iggy went back in and de artified them. 1969 is one of the great rock songs of all time and We will fall was probably my first introduction to drone. No matter which song you are talking about, on this album its all about the handclaps.

The Stooges - 1969

The Stooges - We will fall

Ennio

To make up for my not entirely positive review of the Marcus Guenter album here is a track by an always masterly composer. Does Ennio Morricone need an introduction? From Wikipedia "Ennio Morricone (born November 10, 1928, Rome) is an Italian composer, especially noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores of more than 500 films and TV series."

Reading through the Wiki entry it seems that he worked with Morrisey on his last album as well! Crazy. Anyway this is just one lovely little tune suitable for playing in a chill out room or to start the night off with a bit of suspense. I can only imagine what a huge chugging kick drum would sound like mixed into the end of this track.

from Morricone Aromatico which is an all around great album by the way

Ennio Morricone - Piume Di Cristallo

Markus Guentner

Went out and got the latest Ware album this weekend by ambient songsmith Markus Guenter. This however was not an ambient album, but a forey into tech minimalism that honestly sounds as if he has been listening to a ton of Kompakt or Dial from about a year or two ago. I am not completely convinced as of yet, but driving to work yesterday this track came on the ole ipod and I started bobbing and weaving through highway traffic and actually turned it up.

From Lovely Society

Marcus Guenter - All the Time (Renalto Figoli Remix)

Just when I think I am out, they pull me back in.

I have pretty much ignored the world of "electronica" or IDM for a while now. After years of pursuing every limited release, and the fetishization of labels like Warp and Sahko, I just felt that the train had run its course. Well we of weak willpower rarely give anything up forever, and this goes double when Ghostly puts out a cd of tech with a free sampler of idm or SMM (Sensual Machine Music?). A promo priced attractively at 5.99 also sweetened the deal. So here are a couple of choice selections from the SMM cd.

Richard Devine is well known for his fiercely abrasive music and for working for Nike and Disney.

Richard Devine - Murman

Cepia are completely unknown to me, but I like their lovely noise.

Cepia - Ramp

Ellen Allien

This post is a big shout out to Bruce over at Angry Robot. He was mentioning that he had heard good things about Ellen Allien but had not as yet listened to anything. I promised to rectify the situation and so here we are. Ellen first appeared on my radar as head of BPitch Control, which had the inimitable Sascha Funke on its roster. I found the mix cd Weiss.mix on sale over at Amoeba and I was hooked. She skips across boundries throwing bangers together from seemingly disparate generes to create one of my favorite mixes of all time. Berlinette was an apparent attempt to synthezize all those generes into a cohesive whole. As she has progressed she has stripped down her sound considerably. Here are a collection of tunes that span her albums.

From Berlinette Ellen Allien - Sehnsucht

From Remix Collection Sascha Funke - Forms and Shapes(Ellen Allien Remix)
From Thrills Ellen Allien - Down

Be sure to check out her recent work with apparat and her myspace page for new tunes