Smalltown Supersound is a Norwegian label that defines itself by the artists on the label and not through a unifying aesthetic; yet, they've decided to release a sampler of all of their artists, from the minimalistic and pulsing sounds of Elektro Nova/Electro Nova, to the melancholic beauty of Continental Fruit, to the abstract electronics of Lasse Marhaug, to Jazzkammer's glitch electronica, to Kim Hiorthoy's wonderful and warm mixture of the organic and the electronic, and to the slow, beautiful and hypnotic sound of Monopot. ----* ----* Nonesuch Explorer Titles! : ----*
An international electronic compilation from Canadian label Suction that features "Robot Music" by Lali Puna, Lowfish, Solvent, David Kristian, and Pest(e).
Volume Two of an international electronic compilation series from Canadian label Suction. This one features more "Robot Music" by isan, Pluxus, Lowfish, Solvent, G.D.Luxxe, D'Carangelo, Tinfoil Teakettle, Brioche Kretzaal, Pest(e), Perspects, and Skanfrom.
After being AWOL for a year or so, this longtime fave is now back in stock, and the timing is perfect since we've been raving about a bunch of similar comps of cool vintage French new wave/punk/electro stuff recently like Bippp and IVG and Des Jeunes Gens Modernes. If you liked those, you gotta check this out, 'especially if you're into the proggier side of things.
This one was kind of a sleeper hit when we first listed it. I mean, we knew it was a cool record, but boy did people like it. We sold a ton and then the label ran out. At last it's been repressed, so here it is again. Definitely recommended!
France. Synths. 1977-83. Intrigued? You should be. This comp, compiled by a couple of today's top trainspotting electronica mavens, highlights what are indeed some obscure, awesome French entries into the field of proto-techno. Richard Pinhas of Heldon we've talked about recently, also Metal Boys, and you might remember Ruth from a reissue a while back, but there's plenty of names here we're getting acquainted with for the first time: Nini Raviolette, Mathematiques Modernes, Kas Product, The (Hypothetical) Prophets, Moderne, The Droids... Sixteen tracks in all of sinister prog/pop electronics, droning ambience, Magmoid robotics, futurepunk, and sci-fi dance darkness. So young, so cold - so stylish.
No doubt we've loved so much of what Italians Do It Better has released recently, in so many ways they really helped reignite the love of dance music in indie culture. With different shades of smoky, slow burning spaced out disco, techno and house music, their roster really reads like an exciting list of some of our favorite synth heavy late night dance floor favorites. Solid Gold is a collection of tracks from 12" singles IDIB have released over the last few years by folks like Invisible Conga People, T&K, Bottin, Twisted Wires, and even Beyonce's sister Solange. We dig this collection so much because as much as we like so much of the Johnny Jewel fueled sounds that have come from the Italians Do It Better camp (Glass Candy, Chromatics, Desire), it's nice to hear a set of songs that have a bit of a different angle and perspective to dance music, than just one group/guy's vision. From total spaced out ravers to cold and thrilling chillers we've been listening to this loud and nonstop ever since it came in to the shop. We even noticed that folks who are usually a bit dance music shy are getting way into this as there are so many awesome prog and psyched out synth moments on this record.
Much like their last compilation After Dark, Italians Do It Better have once again provided us with a seamless compilation that flows so perfectly from start to finish and is making us move in the most sensual and satisfying ways. So smoking!
Oh my god, are you ready for this? Mouse on Mars, Porter Ricks, Coldcut, Sloan, Noto, Neotropic, Pan Sonic, Farmer's Manual, Surgeon, Jimi Tenor, DJ Vadim...54 tracks total. From the annual electronic music festival in Spain.
Low price 4 disk set commemorating the seventh annual "Barcelona International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Arts" that just happened this last June. We were pretty excited when we saw this, hoping we'd get to finally hear the much touted embarrassing Funkstorung "shout out" track, but alas this is not the live concert album we'd dreamed about along with sugar plums. Nope. Instead it's a compilation of all previously released tracks from a wide variety of artists in field of... ahem... "Advanced Music". Such notables as Pan American, Carl Cox, Rich Hawtin, Christian Vogel, Dr. Rockit, Kit Clayton, Autechre, Panacea, Mira Calix, Hecker, Francisco Lopez, Otomo Yoshihide w/ Sachiko m, Add n to (x), Merzbow and much more. But for anyone just dipping into the area of "IDM" and electronic music in general, this is a darn cheap and fairly rounded introduction.
Nine exclusive tracks licensed by Thrill Jockey from Mouse on Mars� Sonig label -- with f.x. randomiz, Microstoria, Vert, Wang Inc., Lithops, etc. Nice, layered, melodic electronica. Mellow and lulling. Recommended!
Irregular? Indeed! This compilation jumps around in total hyperactive fashion. It's made up of the fifteen tracks from three of the previously released, limited edition Sonig Irregular Series 12"s: Schlammpeitziger (the first four tracks), Jason Forrest (the second five) and Wevie De Crepon (the final six). It'll have you bouncin' off the walls in no time. AQ regulars might already be familiar with the first two fellows German gent Schlammpeitziger for his kooky, heavily squidge-laden Augenwischwaldmoppgefloete cd and Jason Forrest for his spasmodic glitchy jumble o' fun under his own name as well as the moniker Donna Summer. If you dig the sounds of People Like Us or Wobbly, you should definitely check out this trio of artists and vice versa. Oh yeah, and adding further to the irregular nature of this release, when we scanned the cover art into our computer, the image came out black instead of the bright kelly green that it actually is (at least to our eyes!).
Here's a fine way to get acquainted with SF label Expel Records who put out the lovely Brookhaven album. If you've had a chance to hear and enjoy that record or if you're a fan of such mellow groups like The Album Leaf, Tristeza or Languis, you're certain to enjoy this compilation featuring a couple nice tracks from Brookhaven as well as Telefecteau, Roche, Clay Payton, Ecru, and Hinokuma. They all fall somewhere on a spectrum of minimal electronics blended with more traditional indie-type elements (guitars, live drums). Funky sampled beats and cold, beautiful synth washes, little lo-fi keyboard bedroom recordings-like and more polished productions all find their way into this collection, hopefully signalling more full lengths on the way from Expel artists. Quite nice!
Something about this cd, about the way it looked, made me predisposed to like it. Maybe the reindeer on the front, or the solid shade of pink used on the back and spine. I like reindeer, and I like pink cd packaging. Nothing wrong with that. Aside from what it looks like, though, I was also curious to check out "the Electro Sound of Finland" as this compilation is proclaimed by Dutch label Bunker. After all, stuff from Finland is always weird and cool and also I happen to be a very casual fan of electro, that '80s-retro techno style that's pretty hip these days. Apparently it has got quite a few practicioners in Finland, a country whose electronica output we'd previously associated mainly with the clinical sterility of Pan Sonic and the minimal dub techno of Vladislav Delay. But it seems that Finns like to get sweaty on the dance floor as well as in the sauna, happily shakin' it to the home-grown robotic funk bass-crunch and blip-bleep of such artists as Huaratron, Deceptions, V.U.L.V.A., Imatran Voima, Polytron, Nu Science, Kings Of Techno, New York City Survivors, and Alpha Males, who number among the dozen Finnish electro acts represented here. I think think the only one on this comp I'd really heard of before is Mr. Velcro Fastener (who did "The Trooper" on that nutty electro tribute to Iron Maiden disc we loved last year) but all of 'em are pretty great.
A diverse collection of hard techno & angular electronica from Cologne, Germany... featuring Mouse on Mars, Schlammpeitziger, F.X. Ramdomiz, Club Off Chaos, Dr. Walker, and many more.
This selection of long-forgotten disco favorites is surprisingly decent (not great, but better than mediocre) -- full of trilling organs, declamatory guitarpicking, solid bouncy bass, and barked lyrics a la Chic. The sort of stuff played at Studio 54, the
This compilation documents a project that brought together a handful of German writers and electronic musicians to digitally mess with an series of historic radio plays, using this material (without any necessary reference to its original content or purpose) to compose new "soundstories" live on air. Participants include To Rococo Rot, Console, and Hans Platzgumer among other less
Everyone knows we at aQuarius love us some comps. That much should be clear on pretty much any list, and lately we've gotten some interesting compilations that place a new and different emphasis on things instead of merely throwing together a bunch of great tracks from whatever genre. The ones that stand out the clearest are the recent Dirty Water albums, which include artists who aren't necessarily "punk" in the '77 studded leather jacket way, but undoubtedly punk as fuck in their iconoclastic assault on the status quo. That's why you'll find Albert Ayler next to Captain Beefheart and Mott the Hoople, artists that inspired the great big giant fuck you to society that we all know and love. With Spacelines, we have a particularly intriguing batch of tunes put together by none other than Sonic Boom himself, and anyone in love with Spacemen 3, Spectrum, or Spiritualized (sorry Sonic!) will most likely dig this shit BIG TIME. It all makes perfect sense and while it's a bummer that there is no information about anybody here, they are for the most part familiar enough that you should already know what they're about or not have any trouble finding all the relevant info. Instead, this comp is a bit like hanging out and burning one down with your ol' buddy Sonic Boom.
The album kicks off with the Staples Singers' "This May Be The Last Time", the obvious roots for the Stones song and a clear influence on the Spacemen 3, sounding a lot like their rendition of "May The Circle Be Unbroken". Bo Diddley is next with "You Don't Care", a classic albeit stripped to the bare bones example of the man's trademark rhythm, its minimal approach clearly a huge influence on a band like Spacemen 3. "Transparent Radiation", which we described as perhaps one of Spacemen 3's finest moments, is presented here by its authors the Red Crayola in a super bare demo form. It's funny hearing Mayo Thompson singing with a sort of fey vocal and laughing from time to time. There are also contributions from Washington Phillips and Jessie Mae Hemphill, who should be familiar to many of you from recent Mississippi Records titles. Other highlights include "Can't Let Go" by Evie Sands (the melody of which was utilized with completely stellar results in Spectrum's "How You Satisfy Me"), Juicy Lucy with their swampy original version of "Just One Time" covered by Spacemen 3 as "Mary Anne", Daniel Johnston, MC5, and northwest garage legends the Wailers. At 23 songs on a single cd, this one may be perfect for those who might have had difficulty gulping down the massive double disc Dirty Water sets. All in all, a seriously kick ass collection, one that proves how many of the greatest bands are perhaps, more than anything else, great interpreters.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Totally cool remixes from the likes of Doctor Rockit, Dr. Israel, Alec Empire, Witchman, Two Lone Swordsmen, DJ Wally, Spectre, etc. Sideburn is a subsidiary of Crippled Dick Hot Wax, and boy do those guys have good taste in electronic music.
You suckers without turntables are spared once again. The last eight split 12"s in Fat Cat's amazing series finally get digitized and compiled for convenient listening. Tracks from Dat Politics, Christoph De Babalon, Kid 606, Fennesz, Main, Avey Tare, Matmos, David Grubbs, Ultra-Red and loads more!
Documenting the latest in click / pop dub trickery, "Staedtizism" is a compilation assembled and released by Stefan Betke (aka Pole). Whereas the ping-pong production of Lee Scratch Perry's schizoid '70s dub was terminally stoned, the Pole school of digidubbery (currently enrolling new students) doesn't make smoking pot a prerequisite to knob twiddling. Rather the clean and sober approach after many moons of tweaker behavior may be a more appropriate context for this increasingly canonized style of electronica. As a whole, "Staedtizism" encapsulates this digidub sound with each artist embracing a tonal palette that remains fairly similar on all of these cuts (bright electron flashes digitally decomposed through delay into frigid ambience). With Pole's recently released third album being a tepid rehashing of his previous ideas, the variety of patterned abstractions and rhythmic inventions from this lineup makes for a much better listen. Contributers include Vladislav Delay, Pole (of course), Kit Clayton, Thomas Fehlmann (ex-Orb), Burnt Freidman, Gramm, Trash Aesthetic, The Modernist, and To Rococo Rot & I-Sound.
Stefan Betke (aka Pole) looks at his urban surroundings in Berlin with the same saddened gaze with which Carl Craig beholds his Detroit. Both of these electronica musicians bear witness to the dystopian elements of their hometowns, by creating different, but equally expressive musics which act as depressingly sympathetic soundtracks to the urban plight of their respective cities while
While Carl Craig's techno fits perfectly in with the mythologies of the Motor City, Betke's work is better suited to the headphones of a walkman and the slower speed of the pedestrian. Betke himself describes his Scape label as presenting various neo-dub soundtracks for an urban state of mind. "Staedtizism 2" is certainly a perfect mix tape for Betke to enjoy on his way throughout Berlin. Yet only about half of this compilation falls close to Pole's personal brand of digital dub with contributions from System, Jan Jelenik, Nolte, and Bus. The non-digital dub contingent of this compilation revolves mostly around the way-out California electronica sounds of the Phthalo and Plug Research labels, with tracks from Low Res, Headset, John Tejada (whose contribution is a really nice downtempo house number woven together with post-rock guitar lines, sounding a lot like AQ-faves Fridge!), and Kit Clayton (offering a distinctly difficult track of Reichian piano arppegiations).
In contrast to the majority of electronica collections, "Staeditizm 2" has a nice personal touch that keeps this from seeming like it's merely a compilation of the flavors of the month.
Stefan Betke (aka Pole) has centered the third in the "Staedtizism" series for his ~scape label on the dialogue between hip-hop and its constant appropriation of other artforms. Like the Mille Plateaux compilation "Electric Ladyland: Click-Hop Version 1.0," "Staedtizism 3" seeks to reverse that dialogue by applying the tropes of hip-hop to ~scape's highly specialized form of techno-dub-minimalism. Quite frankly, it doesn't work. The obvious reason for "Staedtizism 3"s failings is that hip-hop succeeds through its adaptability, something which the minimalism of Chain Reaction, Pole, and Monolake completely lacks due to its dedication to tight mathematical programming and structural integrity. Thus, the skeletal hip-hop productions of "Staedtizism 3" have all of the trappings of ProTools polish as each of these tracks are composed from very clean blocks with hammond organ samples, jazz-y basslines, and spartan breakbeats all scrubbed of their sensuality, physicality, and general funkiness. What little vocal acrobatics found on this record are merely in the form of digitally clipped samples. Groan. The case could be made that this is another post-ironic piece of electronica; but either way, this is hip-hop that you're supposed to think about. Who the hell needs that?
Andrew Pekler, Bus, Jan Jelinek, Cappablack, Kit Clayton, John Tejada, Thomas Fehlmann, Deadbeat, Process, Gazoo, Antonelli Electr., and System are the suspects for this one.
This is the third installment in an ongoing series of compilations of experimental and avant garde artists, with its profits directed toward the National Coalition Against Censorship. Compiled by Elliot Sharp, the general concept here is to compose a
From the formidable Bay Area music collective known as Entartete Kunst comes this potent compilation which in their words is "a radical assault on the mediocrity of our everyday lives, state government and corporate fascism". It features nineteen tracks by over a dozen outspoken underground artists from around the globe. Styles run the gamut including hip hop, grime and dub. Standouts include Monkeytribe and E.K. Collective.
Note: If you've got the vinyl version, you should be alerted to the fact that this cd contains new mixes and other exclusive material not on the LP.
Electronic drone soundscape experimentation by Jim O'Rourke, Ryoji Ikeda, Alan Lamb, David Toop, Christophe Charles, Paul Schutze, Akira Yamamichi and others, collected by the Japanese label CCI.
Pretty soon we're gonna have to stop complaining about not getting enough dubstep. Elsewhere on this list you'll find the double cd collection from PDX label Lo Dubs, and now we've got this, another killer collection from Soul Jazz, a follow up to their Box Of Dub collection. But where Box Of Dub seemed to cover a wide sonic spectrum of dubstep and modern dub, Steppa's Delight is all the current hyped shit, dubplates, white labels, singles, lots of names we already know and love, Kode9, Benga, The Bug, Shackleton, but loads more we've never heard before.
Right out of the gate, it's already a winner, with Kode9's "9 Samurai", a dubstep classic if there ever was, sounding like the RZA gone dubstep, ominous cinematic samples, a strange skittery beat, brief squalls of intense synth buzz, some creepy spoken word, this is like the dubstep version of that ubiquitous Massive Attack song, groove but so full of dread. Would be surprised if this didn't start showing up in soundtracks pretty soon (Guy Ritchie? You listening?). Next up is Benga, who while not as grim sounding, still offers up some intense minor key grooves, complex skitter, and some jagged buzzing synth melodies. Shackleton's "Blood On My Hands" we already loved from that Skull Disco comp a while back, and it still sounds amazing, murky and menacing, the drums muted and murky, except for the occasional gunshot-like snare blast, mumbled vocals, haunting swells and deep atmospherics. The Bug Teams up with Warrior Queen, for a dense slab of buzz, some super heavy low end, a slithery bass line, simple stripped down beats, and some crazy catchy sing songy toasting. There's even some grime here and there, with Skepta contributing a killer convoluted flow to Plastician's "Intensive Snare". Uncle Sam's dubstep is almost straight old school reggae, except for that little dubby shuffle. Goth-Trad offers up some seriously darkened dub, the neverending bassline buzz, the clattery percussion, the haunting sampled vocals, a horror movie melody straight out of Halloween. Shit, we could go on and on, track by track, but by now you probably realize this is a must have. Like we mentioned in the Lo Dubs review, the dubstep and grime obsessed absolutely need this, and if you dug Milanese, Kode9 and the Box Of Dub comps then this too is another must have.
The first Steppa's Delight dubstep comp on Soul Jazz totally knocked our socks off. We're so desperate for new dubstep and grime all the time, and we have such limited access to limited 12"s and white label dubplates, that we anxiously await the release of comps, hoping they'll compile some of the best jams, and usually offer up a bunch of new tracks as well.
Since the last Steppa's Delight comp though, a funny thing happened, dubstep continued to mutate and transform and is now something totally different than it was 18 months ago. The core sounds and structure remains the same, THAT beat, and THAT groove, the deep wobbly bass, but the sounds aren't so dark, or sinister, instead, the sound of dubstep has gotten a bit dancier, looking back to jungle and even house, incorporating more melody, more vocals, the sound almost more electro, with buzzy synths wrapped around that rumbling wobble. That said, there's still some darkness lurking in the grooves, and as much as we dig almost everything here, we can't help but lean toward those darker jams, Kutz's "Hardbody" is buzzy and bleak and ominous, "Purple City" by Joker & Ginz starts out all skittery and dancey, but then explodes with some of the fiercest most distorted bass on the comp.
A bunch of the tracks are super stripped down and skeletal, reminding us of some of the Skull Disco 12"s, all barebones and minimal, and some of the tracks are super atmospheric and ethereal. Killer stuff for sure, but be warned, if you're looking for stuff like Kode9 or Burial, you won't find much of that here, but if you're looking for big stuttery beats, thick throbbing bass synth wobble and can't get enough of that dubstep 'step, then this should definitely hold you over until the next comp...
Finally got this on vinyl! This is part one...
The first Steppa's Delight dubstep comp on Soul Jazz totally knocked our socks off. We're so desperate for new dubstep and grime all the time, and we have such limited access to limited 12"s and white label dubplates, that we anxiously await the release of comps, hoping they'll compile some of the best jams, and usually offer up a bunch of new tracks as well.
Since the last Steppa's Delight comp though, a funny thing happened, dubstep continued to mutate and transform and is now something totally different than it was 18 months ago. The core sounds and structure remains the same, THAT beat, and THAT groove, the deep wobbly bass, but the sounds aren't so dark, or sinister, instead, the sound of dubstep has gotten a bit dancier, looking back to jungle and even house, incorporating more melody, more vocals, the sound almost more electro, with buzzy synths wrapped around that rumbling wobble. That said, there's still some darkness lurking in the grooves, and as much as we dig almost everything here, we can't help but lean toward those darker jams, Kutz's "Hardbody" is buzzy and bleak and ominous, "Purple City" by Joker & Ginz starts out all skittery and dancey, but then explodes with some of the fiercest most distorted bass on the comp.
A bunch of the tracks are super stripped down and skeletal, reminding us of some of the Skull Disco 12"s, all barebones and minimal, and some of the tracks are super atmospheric and ethereal. Killer stuff for sure, but be warned, if you're looking for stuff like Kode9 or Burial, you won't find much of that here, but if you're looking for big stuttery beats, thick throbbing bass synth wobble and can't get enough of that dubstep 'step, then this should definitely hold you over until the next comp...
Finally got this on vinyl! This is part two...
The first Steppa's Delight dubstep comp on Soul Jazz totally knocked our socks off. We're so desperate for new dubstep and grime all the time, and we have such limited access to limited 12"s and white label dubplates, that we anxiously await the release of comps, hoping they'll compile some of the best jams, and usually offer up a bunch of new tracks as well.
Since the last Steppa's Delight comp though, a funny thing happened, dubstep continued to mutate and transform and is now something totally different than it was 18 months ago. The core sounds and structure remains the same, THAT beat, and THAT groove, the deep wobbly bass, but the sounds aren't so dark, or sinister, instead, the sound of dubstep has gotten a bit dancier, looking back to jungle and even house, incorporating more melody, more vocals, the sound almost more electro, with buzzy synths wrapped around that rumbling wobble. That said, there's still some darkness lurking in the grooves, and as much as we dig almost everything here, we can't help but lean toward those darker jams, Kutz's "Hardbody" is buzzy and bleak and ominous, "Purple City" by Joker & Ginz starts out all skittery and dancey, but then explodes with some of the fiercest most distorted bass on the comp.
A bunch of the tracks are super stripped down and skeletal, reminding us of some of the Skull Disco 12"s, all barebones and minimal, and some of the tracks are super atmospheric and ethereal. Killer stuff for sure, but be warned, if you're looking for stuff like Kode9 or Burial, you won't find much of that here, but if you're looking for big stuttery beats, thick throbbing bass synth wobble and can't get enough of that dubstep 'step, then this should definitely hold you over until the next comp...
Pretty soon we're gonna have to stop complaining about not getting enough dubstep. Elsewhere on this list you'll find the double cd collection from PDX label Lo Dubs, and now we've got this, another killer collection from Soul Jazz, a follow up to their Box Of Dub collection. But where Box Of Dub seemed to cover a wide sonic spectrum of dubstep and modern dub, Steppa's Delight is all the current hyped shit, dubplates, white labels, singles, lots of names we already know and love, Kode9, Benga, The Bug, Shackleton, but loads more we've never heard before.
Right out of the gate, it's already a winner, with Kode9's "9 Samurai", a dubstep classic if there ever was, sounding like the RZA gone dubstep, ominous cinematic samples, a strange skittery beat, brief squalls of intense synth buzz, some creepy spoken word, this is like the dubstep version of that ubiquitous Massive Attack song, groove but so full of dread. Would be surprised if this didn't start showing up in soundtracks pretty soon (Guy Ritchie? You listening?). Next up is Benga, who while not as grim sounding, still offers up some intense minor key grooves, complex skitter, and some jagged buzzing synth melodies. Shackleton's "Blood On My Hands" we already loved from that Skull Disco comp a while back, and it still sounds amazing, murky and menacing, the drums muted and murky, except for the occasional gunshot-like snare blast, mumbled vocals, haunting swells and deep atmospherics. The Bug Teams up with Warrior Queen, for a dense slab of buzz, some super heavy low end, a slithery bass line, simple stripped down beats, and some crazy catchy sing songy toasting. There's even some grime here and there, with Skepta contributing a killer convoluted flow to Plastician's "Intensive Snare". Uncle Sam's dubstep is almost straight old school reggae, except for that little dubby shuffle. Goth-Trad offers up some seriously darkened dub, the neverending bassline buzz, the clattery percussion, the haunting sampled vocals, a horror movie melody straight out of Halloween. Shit, we could go on and on, track by track, but by now you probably realize this is a must have. Like we mentioned in the Lo Dubs review, the dubstep and grime obsessed absolutely need this, and if you dug Milanese, Kode9 and the Box Of Dub comps then this too is another must have.
Pretty soon we're gonna have to stop complaining about not getting enough dubstep. Elsewhere on this list you'll find the double cd collection from PDX label Lo Dubs, and now we've got this, another killer collection from Soul Jazz, a follow up to their Box Of Dub collection. But where Box Of Dub seemed to cover a wide sonic spectrum of dubstep and modern dub, Steppa's Delight is all the current hyped shit, dubplates, white labels, singles, lots of names we already know and love, Kode9, Benga, The Bug, Shackleton, but loads more we've never heard before.
Right out of the gate, it's already a winner, with Kode9's "9 Samurai", a dubstep classic if there ever was, sounding like the RZA gone dubstep, ominous cinematic samples, a strange skittery beat, brief squalls of intense synth buzz, some creepy spoken word, this is like the dubstep version of that ubiquitous Massive Attack song, groove but so full of dread. Would be surprised if this didn't start showing up in soundtracks pretty soon (Guy Ritchie? You listening?). Next up is Benga, who while not as grim sounding, still offers up some intense minor key grooves, complex skitter, and some jagged buzzing synth melodies. Shackleton's "Blood On My Hands" we already loved from that Skull Disco comp a while back, and it still sounds amazing, murky and menacing, the drums muted and murky, except for the occasional gunshot-like snare blast, mumbled vocals, haunting swells and deep atmospherics. The Bug Teams up with Warrior Queen, for a dense slab of buzz, some super heavy low end, a slithery bass line, simple stripped down beats, and some crazy catchy sing songy toasting. There's even some grime here and there, with Skepta contributing a killer convoluted flow to Plastician's "Intensive Snare". Uncle Sam's dubstep is almost straight old school reggae, except for that little dubby shuffle. Goth-Trad offers up some seriously darkened dub, the neverending bassline buzz, the clattery percussion, the haunting sampled vocals, a horror movie melody straight out of Halloween. Shit, we could go on and on, track by track, but by now you probably realize this is a must have. Like we mentioned in the Lo Dubs review, the dubstep and grime obsessed absolutely need this, and if you dug Milanese, Kode9 and the Box Of Dub comps then this too is another must have.
Volumes four and five of Toyo's Science Series of split singles, scientifically restructured for confusion and discomfort. Artists featured this time around (unintentionally?) reside in the regions of San Francisco, CA and Olympia, WA. Erase Errata kick off the
Most of us have come to know the DJ as a behind the scenes mover and shaker, not so much the star attraction, but more of a journeyman, playing the records, not playing ON the records, but the DJ in the heyday of reggae and dub culture was very much right in front of the action. The main attraction in most cases. Often adding their own voice loud and proud over the top of whatever sounds happened to be spinning. Screaming, singing, rapping, goofing, adding much of the DJ's individual personality to the dubbed out grooves. Soul Jazz has once again used its master key to the Studio One vaults for this, the second collection of Studio One DJ's. Digging deeper into the dancehalls of Jamaica in the 70's and coming out with a bunch of gems. If you're a fan of all things Soul Jazz, Trojan, Dancehall and the like, this is absolutely essential.
Two discs of blissed out thumping pulsing Kompakt style minimalist techno. Late night chillout, early morning groove, cold and clinical but strangely somehow soft and warm. Killer!
Sur-Terre.Net is an interactive project by the Parisian multi-disciplinarian Gregory Chatonsky, involving film, sound, and a generative web interface. With only a cursory glance at the website (go figure, it's www.sur-terre.net), it appears that the work deals with layers of observation and being observed within social spaces, all with a vaguely psycho-sexual overtone. The project also happens to incorporate a very impressive soundtrack from a who's who in the world of abstract electronica and fractured sound-art: Fennesz, Scanner, Francisco Lopez, Steve Roden, Tim Hecker, Hazard, Pita, General Magic, and many others! We'll leave discussion of the sociological insights of the entire Sur-Terre.net project to the experts (or if you want to tell us what you think about it, be our guest!); but we most definitely can say that the soundtrack is exemplary almost from start to finish. The one minor hiccup is the clumsy rhythms of the Vladislav Delay track, but beyond that, richly textured electronic ambience and static vibrations dominate the compilation, laced with historical allegories, memory, disillusionment, and dislocation. Standouts include Fennesz' impeccable blurring of pixel-points, Atau Tanaka's eerie field recording manipulations, Francisco Lopez' grinding swells of gritty hiss, and even the sometimes lackluster Scanner contributes a brilliant piece of crepuscular electronics more in keeping with Biosphere's work. Unlike a lot of compilations which merely collect interesting tracks to be unceremoniously dumped onto the iPod, the soundtrack to Sur-Terre.net is totally engaging from start to finish. Recommended.
One of two new dubstep comps on this week's list. The other is a sort-of-mixtape from DJ/beat maker Diplo, and is more a collection of dancefloor destroying party jams, big beats, HUGE wobbly basslines, booming system sort of stuff, and then there's this one, a double disc collection of past, present and future 12"s cut on the legendary lathe at Transition Studio, which is South London dubstep HQ, with most of those 12"s being released on one of the two in-house labels, Transition and Ringo. A quick look at the lineup should be all it takes: Distance, Skream, Cluekid, Kromestar, LD, Coki, Benga and more, all the big names, as well as a handful of up and comers, crafting some seriously deep and dubbed out darkness.
And that is basically the difference between these two comps, obviously, we're nuts for dubstep so we think both are essential, but the Diplo one is the one you're gonna blast in your car, the one that will get you out on the dancefloor and all sweaty, where this one is more laid back, stripped down, this is for after hours, winding down, late night drinks, chilling out, making out, and sure, you might blast this in your car, but you'd have the windows up, speeding down the highway, into a black expanse, or rolling slowly through rainswept empty city streets.
Low slung, dubbed out, skittery and stuttery, the beats minimal, the bass still warbly and wobbly, but more muted, this one's more about mood and atmosphere, and has some of our favorite dubstep jams yet.
Benga's "The Germ" is a haunting cinematic spy theme, with some very old school sounding horns, draped over the pulsing bass buzz and the skeletal rhythm. Distance and Skream team up on "Wiseman", a sample heavy bit of dubbed out crawl, dark and atmospheric, laced with occasional swells of ultra dense rib cage rattling bass. Kromestar takes that dubstep bass wobble and works it, choped and looped, sped up and slowed down, layered, pulled apart, the song is mostly a single stripped down beat without it, but that bass is so heavy and hooky and groovy and goddamn great! And speaking of heavy bass, Coki takes it even further out on "Goblin", playing that synth bass like some sort of metal guitar, buzzy and fuzzy and distorted and totally blown out. LD swaps his dubstep for some classic jungle on "Guerilla Warfare", a hazy old school drum and bass workout. We could go on, but needless to say, two discs, full to overflowing with some of the best dubstep out there, and if you're like us, you're gonna want this. Actually NEED this. This AND that Diplo dubstep comp. Cuz really, this is the perfect companion to that comp, one hard and heavy, one deep and dark, both totally bad ass...
Don't be fooled by the title, this new fancily book-packaged compilation actually leans much more heavily on electro sounds than disco. Sort of a melting together of the two genres with the former as the dominant. Tagged in the liner notes as the "new disco",
Okay, nevermind the birthday cake! Here's a double disc compilation to mark ten years for the German label Kitty-Yo! The mountain of exclusive and previously unreleased aural gifts is stacked 26 tracks high and included are ones from familiar faces Tarwater, Laub, Richard Davis, Gold Chains and Sue Cie, To Rococo Rot, Maximillian Hecker, Peaches and Gonzales, Jimi Tenor, and Louie Austen as well as less familiar ones Sex In Dallas And Biladoll, Taylor Savvy, Spyritual, Raz Ohara, Preed, Kante, Rhythm King And Her Friends Rechenzentrum, Litwinenko and Jay Haze.
