30 January 2008







The Permanent Vacation label drop another winner of a twelve, this time from the implausibly named (if you're British anyway) Only Fools And Horses. Mercifully there's no knock-off VCRs or faulty furniture here, only the finest in big-sounding, punk-funk bass-led nu disco in the form of the original mix which is bolstered by going all dubby and driving halfway through. Flip it over and Holy Ghost! (fresh from sweeping all who stood before them via their release for DFA) get in on the remix act on their more delicate version. - Phonica. I can't make it sound more appealing than that. Wait - Spectacle Wins wins, wins, wins!



Only Fools And Horses - Spectacle Wins (Holy Ghost! Remix) (alt link)






28 January 2008






If The Flaming Lips made a Bond theme tune it might sound a bit like this. Taken from Dominique Leone's self-titled EP released on Lindstrom's Feedelity label. Experimental multi-infleunced electronica that sounds a cut above.



Dominique Leone - Claire
(alt link)



If you've been loving Foals and whatever then you will perhaps like this from a more overlooked contemporary - Lawrence Wasser. Energetic guitar dance noise.



Lawrence Wasser - Der Lift (alt link)





24 January 2008







It is great to see some new material from Siriusmo. The Berlin wunderkind has turned his hand to some incredibly fresh tunes on his latest release 'All The Girls'. There is not a mediocre track to be found here, just straight up pumping electro funk jams. Some of the catchiest tracks i've heard this year. 'All The Girls' also comes with remixes and edits from the very finest - Modeselektor and Yuksek. A great progression from his earlier yet also excellent 'Minirock' EP



Siriusmo - Girls Rock
(alt link)



And to follow that, something just as good. Ali Renault as i've mentioned before is a talented London producer who releases blissful disco tinged electronics on the Dissident label. Excellent stuff - similar to Bogdan Irkuk which can only be a good thing.



Ali Renault - Cuffs
(alt link)



Lovefingers I love you.



Neftali's Beast - Land Of The Drums (alt link)







22 January 2008







It is all about the analog synth today.


Sexy Italo beats


Sun La Chan - Catch (Disco Devil Remix) (alt link)


Sinister Detroit treats


Exzakt - Beatbox (alt link)


Japanese Telecom - Virtual Origami


In this time of global uncertainty I have decided I want to move to London. Discontented northerner seeks relocation. Help me.






21 January 2008






The
best remixed by the best.



D.I.M. - Is You (Les Petits Pilous Remix) (alt link)



Part of an excellent set of D.I.M. remixes available over at Beatport including a Jesse Keeler re-work. Nice!


In clothing related news - how good is the Dover Street Market sale! I returned a good few Pounds lighter but considerably more polished. For you Ed Banger nerds you can find a load of So Me's t-shirts online for sale over at Revolver's online store - but you probably knew that already.




17 January 2008







One of the more elegant French producers - Danton Eeprom, creates a dizzying atmosphere with his minimal electro grooves. The use of echoes works really well on this track.




Danton Eeprom - One thing Leads To Another (alt link)
BUY



A bit more upbeat is this outstanding track from fellow French duo [T]ekel. I love how the synths are all over the place. Great.



[T]ekel - Bezu Christ (alt link)
BUY



Laters, i'm off to London to see Nathan Fake and be a complete spendthrift for the weekend.



Nathan Fake - Grandfathered








16 January 2008







Trashy electro cover of 1983 italo classic!




Ear Pwr - Spacer Woman (alt link)



What a great song to cover. Ear Pwr are from North Carolina and have been doing gigs with the likes of Crystal Castles throughout last year. They make fine pop-electro songs about aircraft, aliens and dancing! When I first heard the original Spacer Woman by Charlie a few years ago I was completely mesmerized by it - being one of the first italo tracks i'd ever heard I was taken aback by more than its inherent pop charm, it made me want to be in space (a feeling i'd never felt before). Cheap synth sounds producing insane hooks, monolithic drum beats and icy cold vocals, simply incredible and a sound i've craved ever since.



Charlie - Spacer Woman (alt link)









15 January 2008







Montreal's
aRTIST oF tHE yEAR make squelchy electro tunes whilst at all times hinting at other genres thus creating [insert amalgamated genre]. Its all good though. Taken from their Wreck La Discotheque album.



aRTIST oF tHE yEAR - Yeah!!! (alt link)



Furthering the skills of glitch and guitar is my long-time fave - Electric Company.



Electric Company - Recalcitrant Remote Comptroller (alt link)



And sticking with the Tigerbeat6 roster of artists. Watch out for a DAT Politics UK tour in April where they'll be showing the other kids just how to do it. After all, they are old hands and have been belting out chiptunes and trashy electro through two millennia.



DAT Politics - V.I.D.E.O. Tape (alt link)



So yeah, that was all pretty fun. But let's get dark. Before Burial's Untrue there was this from Mystery Artist. Ok so it's not even dubstep - but there are some pretty similar eerie sounds in there and it is certainly some breathtakingly atmospheric electronic music. Taken from Gwane Mone EP. 'The production here is just utterly devastating, a squashed assembly of tight percussion and low undercurrents of mood and menacing melody, perfectly embodied by A-Side opener "Jinn", tumbling into a freefall of Gescom-ised beats and eerie soundtracking - totaly fierce. "Gwane Mone" on the flip sounds like its operating in two time signatures at once - on the one hand a black vision of industrial decline in slow motion, on the other a percussive blitzkrieg that shows no mercy - utterly sick material' - Boomkat (Who I trust implicitly)



Mystery Artist - Gwane Mone (alt link)


Mystery Artist - Jinn (alt link)








14 January 2008







Blank Dogs make fuzzed out lo-fi psychadelic gems similar to Ariel Pink but with a tad more punk influence. Keep an eye out for a new full length this year.



Blank Dogs - Leaving The Light On (alt link)



Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - For Kate I Wait (alt link)




I must sleep now. Klimek will help me do this. Dedications is an outstanding example of ambient music.



Klimek - Ruined A Day (Buenos Aires) (alt link)



And the most beautiful and interesting piece of music you might ever hear (IMHO) - i've posted it before I know, but it is impossible to tire of.



Asa-Chang & Junray - Hana



zzzz





11 January 2008







Shake or Lean? The decision is yours.



40 Thieves - Shake & Bounce (alt link)



Bassy perpetuating space disco beats from 40 Thieves. Exquisite. Taken from the excellent Redux released four track 12" that is available HERE.



Duke Dumont - Lean & Bounce
(alt link)



I always thought Final Level was the best track off Duke Dumont's Regality EP, turns out I was wrong - I heard Lean & Bounce played when I was out in the Londons the other week and it totally won me over. Heavy stuff.






9 January 2008







My love for techno keeps increasing, but as my love for it grows so does my realisation of just how much techno music there is out there. I still feel like I know nothing about the genre - which is probably true. I do know what I like though, so here we go.

My picks:


Stephan Bodzin - Planet Ypsilon
(alt link)
Taken from Bodzin's fantastic Liebe Ist.... LP. Must have for any Holden fan.



Hug - Tiny Stars (alt link)
A.K.A. John Dahlback. Minimal goodness.



PUZIQUe - Suite 9
(alt link)
Disjointed techno brilliance from this Boys Noize incarnation.



Jori Hulkkonen - Mr.Drive

Icy fresh track from Hulkkonen - I am in love with this!



Crackdown - Politic Velvet (alt link)
Acidic bassline gets you moving every time!



Gino's & Snake Plissken - Ingenuous
(alt link)
Fans of Booka Shade will love this.



Vergel Evans - Metal Stabbs (circa. 1997)
Super minimal analogue techno from Vergel Evans



Farben - Beautone
A.K.A. Jan Jelinek delivers some minimal techno bliss.






Techno Video (epiletics DO NOT click)

Motor - Drive






BTW M8s. If you like the drawing above you can get it printed on a fine quality tee from Concrete Hermit.




4 January 2008








Principles Of Geometry - A Mountain For President (feat Sebastien Tellier)
(alt link)





HeartsRevolution - Prism Effect (alt link)




Two of the finest instances of electronic consonance that I have heard recently. Principles Of Geometry have teamed up with Sebastien Tellier on vocals to produce nothing short of incredible. Years behind - light years ahead. A Mountain For President EP out on Tigersushi also features a typically outstanding rework from Joakim - the man can do no wrong. Also, keep your eyes peeled for Tellier's third album - it's due out pretty soon and if Sexual Sportswear is anything to go by it stands to be something quite special indeed. Ice cream sellers HeartsRevolution are just so contagious, Prism Effect has been one of my most listened to electro-pop slices of recent months and is taken from the fun filled Choose your Own Adventure release.




3 January 2008







Chromatics covering Dion DiMucci's famous track The Wanderer. It's actually quite an apt song to cover given where Chromatics are at musically. Dion said this about the original: "At its roots, it's more than meets the eye. The Wanderer is black music filtered through an Italian neighborhood that comes out with an attitude... But you know, The Wanderer is really a sad song. A lot of guys don't understand that."



Chromatics - The Wanderer (alt link)








2 January 2008







Back to normality.




Map Of Africa - Freaky Ways (alt link)




Map Of Africa are two beardo disco bods cum dad tinged rock exponents. Their self-titled album on Whatever We Want Records is a marvellous collection of ambient psych-rock tunes. Whereas fellow retro rock revivalists Yeasayer opt for the more experimental approach throughout, Map Of Africa tend to employ classic guitar rock at the fore whilst at the same time never losing the sound of their disco roots. Prepare to be won over.



Over the festive period I finally got around to watching the excellent Studio Ghibli cartoon My Neighbour Totoro. As I was watching it I realised that Girlsarshort used one of the songs from the film as a sample for their track Florida Pines. If you haven't heard Girlsareshort then basically they are one half of MSTRKRFT and the songs made are super sweet fun with hip hop beats and samples aplenty.




Girlsareshort - Florida Pines (alt link)


Girlsareshort - Osaka (alt link)