ISO50

Hey IS050 gang! Mr. Alexander was kind enough to ask for a guest post on some music I enjoy. I decided to mostly feature some music which has inspired and surrounds my Sepalcure project (alongside the talented Machinedrum). These are the repeats – the jams I can listen to over and over without ever wearing em out.

1) Mount Kimbie – Sketch on Glass

A near unbearably long intro, IDM inspired percussion and a final vocoded 1.5 minutes to die for. I remember heading over to Fort Greene Park last year when this EP dropped just to sit under the trees and listen to this jam on repeat. Took the day off just to do so. I know I looked at the clouds a bunch.

Seriously though. Check these guys – they are some seriously talented kids with an equally engrossing live show. Whenever Jakub writes about how IDM is back, just under a new guise, it makes me think of our Hotflush label mates, Mount Kimbie.

2) TRG – Broken Heart (Martyn’s DCM Remix)

Without this track, Sepalcure may never have happened. #realtalk

I remember a friend sending me this in late 2007 and my subsequent loss of the ability to listen to anything else. The chords, the vocal, the wooden snares – I can honestly say this track got me back into dance music in a big way. There was literally nothing else like it at the time. Wooden snares are a dime a dozen these days (I’m guilty of abusing the shit outta them myself), and with this broken beat take on dubstep and techno at an all time peak, maybe its a good time to look back at where it all started.

3) Falty DL – MY FRIENDS WILL ALWAYS SAY…

Prolific is an understatement. Drew Lustman has had over two dozen releases in the past two genre-spanning years. Weaving everything from IDM to Disco to 2 Step to Acid, homeboy Lustman is one to watch in 2011. There’s a great story somewhere in there about him being at a Percussion Lab rooftop party years back and deciding to move to NYC because of it but we’ll save that for another time. The thing I love about Falty’s production is you can almost immediately tell its him. In a genre saturated with cookie cutter preset tracks, thats something special.

This track is one of my favorites of his – takes a great idea and keeps it simple. The chords, vocal sample, garage beat – its prime goose bump material.

4) Johann Johannsson – melodia (iii)

One of the saddest pieces of music I’ve ever heard. This one oozes melancholy and defeat. I actually think I cried a bit when I saw Johannsson perform this at Le Poisson Rouge a couple years back. The whole Fordlandia album holds a special place in my heart – one of those places you don’t necessarily want to revisit, but was vital to have during a particular time of your life. I feel like this is a good counter piece to the aforementioned dance music gems. Music with an entirely different purpose. You may think Burial sounds pretty good in the rain, but it doesn’t match the absolute gut wrenching, soul destroying event which is “melodia” in a downpour. I made myself promise to listen to less sad music last year though, so thats all on you.