This is mind numbing (in the very best sense of the word) next level presentation of club music with the added installation element. Tour dates listed here, hope to see you at the New York one, LA and San Francisco dates this week.
Domino Recordings new signing Wild Beasts scream out “hey we”re talented” right from the start of their record, this kind of record is a gateway drug to lure more people away from pop and into supporting independent. The singers voice is similar to Antony’s[sang with Bjork and Hercules and Love Affair] which is a niche sound kind of like Joanne Newsome, you love it or you hate it but with the catchy backing its hard not to love it.
I found Bear In Heaven accidentally by having to DJ an all Rock n’ Roll 4 hour DJ set Saturday night(which was really hard to do by the way if you want it to sound refreshing). I think what grabbed me was how it reminded me of the Daniel Johnson’s record Lazrus and the Phil Collins like vocal effect accompanied by the synths, that combo was what sold me.
A new one from James Pants, like his label mate Dam Funk but a bit more soulful and less boogie. Stones Throw newer signings[Mayer Hawthorne, Dam Funk, James Pants, etc] this year have just been dominating me, I want what Putter Butter Wolf is having, his A+R skills are right on the mark.
My long time friend Miguel also the guy that taught me how to DJ suggested that I check out Floating Points, pretty low key house that does a great job of tying together West Coast and Detroit House by using elements of what both regions are known for.
[audio:kingmen.mp3] [audio:udou.mp3] [audio:thinmoon.mp3] [audio:vboogie.mp3]
The heart of 2009’s year in the music scene has to go to the very passionate Dâm Funk, the man has stuck with west coast funk & boogie thru many years. I got to see him play last night and as he entertained I could tell he was born to do this and nothing else. I even asked for his autograph that’s how amazed I was by his presence and I even met Aziz Ansari[which I thought would of been the biggest and best thing 2 years ago] and saw Josh Hartnett[who I had no idea who he was until someone explained his career to me] the same night and didn’t ask anything from them.
A good amount of people that haven’t heard of him compared it to 2Pac but no matter what its compared to no one is going to play keytar 4 feet from your face and high five the crowd and ask them if they’re having a good night every 10 minutes. His LP Toeachizown is out now
[audio:df_l.mp3] [audio:df_v.mp3] [audio:df_k.mp3]
W’eve posted a few songs of Kelpe’s in the past on the blog, a real talent, always unique when it comes to his detail, this song in the second half kind of sounds like he’s playing a few dying toy instruments but its still really good. His new LP seems to be reaching a diverse audience, I wish him luck, he deserves it.
With all this cold coming thru, I just needed to hear Summertime(an edit of it) one last time before I descend into ambient/shoegaze-ville
I can’t find much about Joy Orbison, I only see an EP under his belt but he sounds promising, reminds me of a less gltichy Machinedrum, hope to hear more.
I went to see SV4 dj the other night, he dropped this Stimming track that made me become pretty rude, you know when you’re in a conversation with someone and you stop looking at them and go interrupt the DJ and ask him what he’s playing, pretty rude but well worth finding out what this song was.
[audio:ibath.mp3] [audio:lastorder.mp3] [audio:mngo.mp3] [audio:anger.mp3]
I don’t do much actual design on Moodgadget, mostly just thinking up the concept for the covers and work side to side with the designers sometimes. This series is one that i’m pretty proud of done by Alex/HeadUp[he posts a ton in the comment sections on the ISO50 blog] and I, the goal was to have a strong 2-D iconic image that was related to the genre a bit but also a weapon in a way (i.e. disco having a razor for your hardcore late night clubbers and a razor also being a weapon in a way), a changing 3-color color scheme, and simple consistent text layout, kind of like a label for a vinyl but digital only. The series will come out in 3’s and each being a different round and we’ll go up to 12 and this hopefully will help define genres in the electronic music world. Below is a little more info on the series:
“Moodgadget has caved in to its most savage and pugilistic desires to see electronic genres battle to the death, leaving the listener with the sense of euphoria you get from watching your favorite kung-fu flick, or that adrenaline rush that comes from a flare-up of tempers.
Make no mistake though, the Versus series, while born from a sense of friendly competition, is dedicated to revealing the diversity within each genre. Like a sumo wrestler taking on a fencer, the style of each musician is unique, their approach exotic, the result is pure entertainment, and the battle itself becomes more appealing than the outcome.
Songs are presented as Rounds, a one-two-punch of tracks from the opposites sides of the spectrum. In Round 1, experience Dubstep tracks from Guardian and Shigeto, Round 2 features Alt Hip Hop from Mux Mool and Charles Trees, and Round 3 brings Disco producers Worst Friends and Mogi Grumbles into the ring.”
[audio:beatitup.mp3] [audio:exodus.mp3] [audio:skihive.mp3]
Resident Advisor swooped in probably grabbed the best musician at the moment to do a Halloween themed mix for us, Fever Ray. I just don’t remember them contacting her since i’m her boyfriend and all and I should of known about this (just kidding, only in my dreams). Another great perk that comes along with the RA Podcast’s is the short interview, here’s a few snip its from it:
RA: What came first with Fever Ray, the music or the aesthetic? And how do they two inform each other?
Fever Ray: Music always comes first. It is the difficult part. The visual aspect of Fever Ray is more of a great hobby after the hard work is done.
RA: What have you been working on recently?
Fever Ray: I have been touring with Fever Ray and with The Knife I am just about to finish the studio version of the opera, Tomorrow in a Year.
TRACKLISTING
Neil Young – Guitar Solo 1
Yo La Tengo – Everyday
Journey To Ixtlan – Corpse On The Mesa
Jad & David Fair – Nosferatu
Zola Jesus – Devil Take You
Bruce Haack – Mean Old Devil
Krause – Duo Canopolis
Burial Hex – Will To Chapel
Suicide – Ghost Rider
Amadou & Miriam – Ja Pense À Toi
Shackleton – Death Is Not Final
Entombed – Night Of The Vampire
Maddalena Fagandini – Interval Signals
Burundi: Musiques Traditionnelles – Chant Avec Cithare
DOWNLOAD THE MIX HERE
[audio:feverrayhallo.mp3]
Today might be one of the finer selections in a while on the experimental/dense end, some real nice songs that should ride out all the way thru. I’ve only heard good things about Kranky’s one man show White Rainbow, glorious builds and thick lo-fi looping and nearly each song at 15 mins! just what I wanted, looks like Best Of ’09 candidate. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
When I heard Tim Hecker + remix I was all over these, cold and airy yet soo appealing.
I just figured out the F*ck Buttons sound, i’m really glad they followed thru with a similar sound on this record, makes them more of a leader of this sound in my eyes.
I know some of you might not like this Vitalic sound but i’m hoping this record can knock Justice off their high horse, the production is really strong and I feel like Vitalic has some substance compared to Justice especially the other songs on the record, it might be clubby but the attention spent on certain sounds to make a party jump off puts a smile on my face.
[audio:strollers.mp3] [audio:timshift.mp3] [audio:lisbonfu.mp3] [audio:vitlips.mp3]
Wow. just wow. this new single from The Horrors is one of the more subdued but catchy singles of the year. I know I know the band’s aesthetic or how they carry themselves might not be everyone’s cup of tea but musically its just refreshing, at times it reminds me of why I loved U2’s Achtung Baby or INXS when I was really young and I have to name drop those records because everyone else is saying Joy Division. The video below is simple and stylized pretty well, good lookin’ band.
Ariel Pink melts together some of the more popular sounds that we’re the softer side of the 70’s but adds that lo-fi touch. He would be the last character i’d expect to use a saxophone but makes it work, can’t wait to buy this record.
Zomby is one of the more well known dubstep guys in the US I think because of his digital releases get a ton of love on iTunes US and eMusic, he can be hit or miss for me but Digital Fauna grabs me right away with its catchy drive, nothing reaching for attention, and this switch up to shuffle right in the middle of the song.
You know how if you sometimes see something more than 7 times and then you finally are like okay i’ll buy in and I guess i’ll check it out, that’s how it was with Fruit Bats. I’m still on the fence of if I like it, I guess I can add it to my upbeat Americana folder, in there with America and a few Old Neil Young songs I like….there, not to shabby, maybe i’ll put it on cassette and drive cross country with it.
[audio:newhorrors.mp3] [audio:arielhear.mp3] [audio:digzomby.mp3] [audio:fruitbats.mp3]