Mount Kimbie "Crooks And Lovers" Hotflush 19/07/2010
If you wanted to make an electronic album which encompassed the current global trends in bass music around the 140bpm mark, you would be hard pressed to come up with something better than Mount Kimbie's debut. Following on from 2 EPs and remixes for the likes of hot indie bands Foals and The Big Pink, Crooks and Lovers gives the south London duo their full length introduction. Combining lost guitar chords and vocal fragments with dubstep, wonky and leftfield hip hop beats to form an dreamy organic whole. With much of the instrumentation drawing influence from the likes of Four Tet and Boards of Canada this is certainly not a dancefloor record. Perhaps the most instantly likable track is the first single “Mayor” (youtube below) with its undecipherable vocal chorus and unconventionally plucked harpsichord riff. Other highlights include, the more future garage inspired “Blind Night Errand” and "Adriatic" which sounds like a tune creating after a sampling session at a band practice. If you like this album, I recommend you check out other releases on the brilliant Hotflush imprint who also do a regular podcast.
You Can stream the whole album for one week only here.
Tracklist:
Tunnelvision Would Know Before I Move Off Blind Night Errand Adriatic Carbonated Ruby Ode To Bear Field Mayor Between Time
Spor / Apex"Knock You Down (remix)"Lifted Music 3/5/2010
After a string of great releases from the likes of Spor, The Upbeats and Apex, Forward thinking Drum 'n' Bass Label Lifted Music broaden the field with their first Dubstep release, a remix 12" of Spor's "Knock you down" and Apex's "Nowhere to Run" by Eskmo and Datsik & Excision respectively. Knock you down is a powerful Stomping take on the original accompanied by a heavy guitar style riff. On the flip Canadian producers Eskmo and Datsik deliver a gnarly twisted bassline remix that would give 16Bit a run for their money. We look forward to more Dubstep being release on lifted soon.
There are very strong links between the worlds of Electronic(a) and Jazz Music; both seek to discover new sounds and question the traditional forms that define a piece of Music. Like his label mate Squarepusher did recently on Just a Souvenir, Flying Lotus delivers an album soaked in Jazz philosophy. Where Square's roots lie in UK Drum 'n' Bass, Lotus's are more in leftfield Hip Hop. But Steven Ellison is no stranger to the world of Jazz. As a member of the Coltrane family, he was brought up with its ideals of experimentation. But make no mistake, Cosmogramma is more than an interesting, experimental record of which not a single melody will be remembered. Tracks like "And The World Laughs With You" with Thom Yorke on vocal duties and "Do The Astral Plane" with it's Barber Shop style loop re-contextualized over a swung house beat give more an impression of Lotus' live sets. The wild bass guitar improvisations on "Pickled" and "German Haircut" help the music free itself from the often over structured approach that often comes with using sequencing software. Cosmogramma lives up to the high expectations of this album to provide a more well rounded, textured and diverse journey than the critically acclaimed Los Angeles album.
1. Burial vs. Fourtet - Moth 2. Luke Vibert - Acid 2000 3. Boards of Canada - Midas Touch 4. Metro Area - Miura Bootleg 5. Bjork - Big Time Sensuality 6. Joy Orbison - So Derobe 7. Bop - Clear Your Mind 8. Falty DL - Anxiety 9. Martyn - Mega Drive Generation 10. Pangea - Memories 11. 2000F feat. J Kamata - You Don't Know What Love Is 12. Joy Orbison - Hymph Mngo 13. Ruckspin - Jibber 14. Millie and Andrea - Ever Since You Came Down 15. Prodigy - Out Of Space 16. Skream - Burning Up 17. Foul Play - Finest Illusion (Legal Mix) 18. Deep Blue - The Helicopter Tune 19. Origin Unknown - Valley Of The Shadows 20. Martsman - Hallow 21. Instramental - Watching You --END OF TAPE--
King Midas Sound "Waiting For You" Hyperdub November 2009
I first discovered the true meaning of dub in a Vauxhall basement where an art student friend of mine played me old Jah Shaka 7” off a rig with enough bass to destroy a whole block of houses. Having learned from that experience, to understand this record, it should be enjoyed, not on puny bass free ipod headphones, but on a good sound system with a little vinyl crackle (let's keep our fingers crossed for the vinyl release). Waiting For You is the album Massive Attack would have made with King Tubby in a post dubstep world. The album is full of minimal textures which are decorated with beautifully authentic analogue delays and reverbs; a wonderful mix with Roger Robinson’s poetic lyrics and sun soaked accent. Earth a Kill Ya, one of the highlights describes his grandmother’s philosophy on poverty and a need for environmental awareness.
“Look how they poison all the water, And sellin’ it back to us in plastic bottles”
Robinson’s deep warm voice is nicely contrasted with his haunting falsetto and occasional vocals from Hitomi. The record is itself has a haunting vibe about it, as on the ghostly metalophone melodies of Meltdown and Blue. Lost, another highlight is a dancier number full of steppy rhythms and a wonky plucked melody. Waiting For You exposes a whole new side to Kevin Martin who we know better for his dancehall infused Dubstep productions as The Bug. Together with Robinson, they have successfully managed to keep the records authentic and true to its musical heritage whilst giving it a very modern edge. Another great piece of Bass music from Kode 9’s Hyperdub imprint…
King Midas sound also recently did a very nice mix for Fact Magazine.