by Rasmus on July 28, 2010
Jamie Jones – Ruckus
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I like Jamie Jones. Apart from what you hear about his divine dj-skills and the general hype cycle, he seems like a nice guy. His music is also solid; perhaps not quite justifying the hype, but we’re getting there.
By now it seems strange to me that I did not discover Summertime until… well, until this summer. I guess strange things happen when you’re caught up in all kinds of mediocre electro. Anyway, the fact that I slept on Mr Jones’ productions at first doesn’t mean that I’m afraid to admit that I repeated the succes, albeit this time only by some weeks.
Ruckus has now hit the streets, and my guess is that if you enjoyed Summertime, this record would get a prominent spot in your bag. It’s deep, yes. But where Summertime ached towards a strained climax, the greatness of Ruckus lies in the disco feel that piles on top of Mr Jones’ signature bass work. Deep boogie. It’s as solid as you would expect him, but most of all it’s actually a lot of fun without being cheeky. When was the last time you could say that about a record?
Graphic high five via Emil Kozak
by Rasmus on July 24, 2010
Uncork the champagne; Going Other Places has now been around for two years! I still remember those very infant moments on a WordPress domain until the blog graduated to a real .com affair after several bitchslaps from the lovely fellas watching over the DMCA. Now, we’re rolling here, the music is better than ever (at least in my humble opinion), and your are more numerous and more lovely than I could have ever hoped for.
Thank you very very much for reading. Whether you’ve been on here from the very first blurb, only just came here, or were just on your way towards clicking away again, it means more than you can imagine to have you here.
I had planned some grandiose ways of celebrating this. Since I’ve been awfully sick most of the week, those plans will remain plans for now. Music for a music blog-anniversary seems kind of mandatory… The equivalent of cake, I guess. Until I get my musical cooking skill straight, let me just say thank you for coming, thank you for reading, and thank your for sticking around. Let’s have another tho, shall we?
by Rasmus on July 19, 2010
Download Field (streaming will come later)
What expectations should you have when you put on Mount Kimbie‘s new album, Crooks & Lovers? In fact, dealing with your expectations to the duo’s 11 new cuts may be the hardest thing about the album. Because just what could you expect from two guys who have spent a good deal of the last couple of years teasing us with their take on how far dubstep can be from its retired wobble incarnation.
With opener Tunnel Vision, you expectations will get their first revision. Not that acoustic guitar strumming is a turn-off in any way. It’s just not what you would have expected from a duo who seems to have been raised with both hands firmly placed on the synthesizer’s keys. On the other hand, that initial moment of surprise quickly fades as the electronic elements fade in and reveals a side of Mount Kimbie that we like to think we know.
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be any less surprised by the remaining 10 tracks on a first listen. Fragile melodies composed of bleeps and vocal samples are served up next to bursts of synths as the most logical thing in the world. Before I Move On stands in sharp contrast to Blind Night Errand, as does Field to Mayor. From a duo who seems eager to surprise, it’s slightly ironic that the feeling of an ‘album’ comes from the predictability of the compositions’ relation to each other.
That being said, there’s a surplus of originality and ideas on Crooks & Lovers. While it may be nowhere near (or perhaps just) what you expected, the album will reward your patience with one of the most interesting listens of 2010. A good lesson to take with you from this record is that you don’t have to sacrifice pop sensibility for experiments. That’s something that something that a lot of producers could remember when they look at Crooks & Lovers topping many a list of the best albums of 2010.
Graphic high five via Sarah Dayo
by Rasmus on July 16, 2010
Reade Truth – Let’s Go To Heaven (Original Mix)
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Thou shalt never underestimate the power of sampling. Neither should you forget how bad sampling kills good music. Overdo your sampling, play it off too cheesy, or phone it in. Either solution will lead you to the road to oblivion. If you do it right, however, the sky is the limit.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how much sampling is enough. Of course it’s a fluid answer with a lot of “it depends on the song” and blablabla, but really, is there anything you can’t do these days? Deadboy samples cheesy r’n'b, James Blake made a colourful EP out of it, and now we’re moving into the technosphere.
You can argue how much sampling matters when you’re pulling the quotes from what Google tells me is a 1976 movie. In this case, I’m more interested in how Reade Truth uses the sample to spice up Let’s Go To Heaven. I mean, how perfect is this track as a set-opener? Treat your listeners to some dialoge about wanting/not wanting to have sex, and then jump straight to the real action. Pow.
Considering the innocent tone of the opening, the rest of the track comes off as even more haunting. Deep techno with overtones of strings that strain the obvious Berghain/Ostgut Ton parallel. When it peaks, and it does after a couple of teasers, there may be a little too much string action for your sensitive technobuds. See past those strings, however, and you’ll realize that the underlying groove can make you forgive a lot.
Graphic high five via Dinner for Mouschi (and somwhat NSFW). But isn’t that a double rainbow?!
by Rasmus on July 14, 2010
Anton Zap – Classic Dub
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Is there anything classic about Anton Zap‘s latest release? It’s hard to characterize it as groundbreaking, but on the other hand, classic somehow seems like the wrong adjective.
Classic Dub is far from standard, classic fare. Sitting neatly as the first track on Zap’s recent You Are Not Alone EP, the track challenges your perception of the typical opening track (or patience, depending on your point of view). With nearly four minutes of slow motion loop exercise before a hi-hat breaks the idyllic picture, Zap is definitely not aiming towards more mainstream appeal.
For the rest of us that is a good thing. If Zap continues to release tracks that work both samples and ever alternating sound bites into the mix and refrain from sacrificing any of his original sound, this will not be the last time that I express my love for him on here. Nor will it be the last time that you lean back and enjoy one of the finest producers that Moscow has contributed with to the deep house scene.
Graphic high five via but does it float
by Rasmus on July 12, 2010
DJ Sprinkles – Grand Central Pt. I (Deep Into The Bowel of House)
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I just had a near-life experience.
I meant to post something fresh and cutting edge. I’ll save that for tomorrow. After days of rising temperatures and humidity, the rain finally came tonight. Riding my bike home in 25 degrees, pouring rain and a raging thunderstorm was intimidating by itself. Sending DJ Sprinkles‘ Grand Central Pt. I through my headphones proved to be both slightly terrifying and surprisingly appropriate.
The drowsy bass line, the occasional flash of light, the nervous count until the thunder drowned out Thaemlitz’ encounter with New York City. I may just be melodramatic (and somewhat overwhelmed), but if the Midtown 120 Blues were about anything other than the disappearance of the motives that drove deep house forward originally, they would be about situations like this.
Graphic high five via Supersonic Electronic
by Rasmus on July 9, 2010
The Gathering – In My System (Jef K Remix)
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As a way to come down after coming home from Roskilde, here’s a track that has been scouted for as hotly as anything this season. Ever since people eventually returned from Villalobos’ Fabric set, the rumors about a certain system (some even went for sister) track were in the air. This lead to the usual spectacle of distorted Youtube videos and a whole lot of guesswork, before The Gathering stepped forward as the creators of the track.
Chez Damier turned out to be the man with the plan, with four helping hands from Jef K and Chris Carrier (who both share remix duties on the record). With two split-up vocal samples following the groove throughout the track, Damier makes the track strikingly accessible without falling prey to the horrors of vocal house.
Was this track then worth waiting and searching for? Is it a product of metaphysical perfection that just begs to sit at the top of your yearly lists with a good distance to number two? Or is it, perhaps, just an effective floorfiller that is more ambitious than your average slab of wax? A tool, but, mind you, a great one? I lean towards the latter.
Oh, and should you already have reached a point where the familiarity of the Jef K remix makes your ears bleed, be sure to check out Chris Carrier’s Tex Mix of the track. Less vocals, more bass, and a lot more action in the sub-frequencies. Fast-paced and long enough to let you sink into the groove.
Graphic high five via Behance
by Rasmus on July 6, 2010
Scheduling concerts at Roskilde at 2.45 AM is brutal. Once we reached those wee morning hours at Roskilde 2010, my body was yearning for a good night’s sleep before I would wake up to a sauna-like tent in just a handful of hours. But, come on. Moderat in the middle of the night? How could you walk away from that?
You could, but it took a great deal of self-determination. As people drizzled into the Cosmopol tent after returning from 1997 & Prodigy, what at first seemed to be a small and mellow crowd suddenly turned into a tent full of expectations. Moderat were welcomed with great cheers, and as their beautiful visuals and raw sound took over the tent, the darkness was no longer best used for sleeping.
I managed to postpone my body’s obvious ache for sleep for half an hour, so this may not be the most well-rounded review you’ll read. Still, half an hour in the company of Moderat & Pfanderai’s visuals was well worth it. After just a couple of minutes, the crowd, many of who I imagine had just been smashed at the Prodigy show, already showed its support. Mathias Aguayo‘s mellow warm-up set was quickly just history, and we all surrendered whatever energy we had left to Moderat’s peaks and booms. For me at least, that was not much, but experiencing such a good vibe at Cosmopol was easily worth those hours of sleep.
by Rasmus on July 6, 2010
If I can sell out once and only once, it will be by writing this post. Sure, you could argue that Pitchfork made it perfectly acceptable for the hipster crowd to appreciate Robyn‘s heartbreak club pop and that RA will eventually be catching on, but writing about how great her show was when my next post will most likely be recommending something house or Hotflush, Robyn seems slightly off.
On the other hand, I could write a lengthy post about how she achieves much of what I imagine many underground electronic producers strive for. She has a strong catalogue of songs that resonates perfectly with a tent of 17,000, delivers her lyrics on top of a band that plays tighter than tight, and is able to control a party like few others. I’m not saying that Robyn should be placed next to Ricardo. Just that her music was perfect for that crowd in that exact situation.
Seeing her deliver an encore while being close to tears in 2008 still stands as a major concert experience for me, so Saturday’s concert was mainly a question of how well her performance would stack up against her Cosmopol venture. She did well. If house music is indeed about suffering, Robyn has found the right recipe to mix sing along with solid grooves. She will probably not fit in your cutting edge dj set, but lean back for a minute or go see her live, and you’ll learn that pop is far from dead and that it may even be cooler than you think.
by Rasmus on July 6, 2010
Not booking Turboweekend to Roskilde 2009 was a major mistake. Having just released what was arguably one of the best Danish albums in several years (and of 2009 by far), the band seemed like an obvious pick to grace the Roskilde poster. Back then, I was sad they did not come. Saturday at Roskilde 2010, I was happy that they waited a year.
Roskilde definitely does something to everyone attending, whether they’re hiding out in the media village or going full on bonanza in the camping area. I like to think that this applies to artists, too, especially if they consider Roskilde their home turf (count Erlend Øye in here). With Turboweekend announced just days before the festival opened its gates, I was amazed by how different their set was from the last time I saw them. Admittedly, it’s been some time, but seeing them in a full-on club set was still a surprise to me, albeit a pleasant one.
With Silas Bjerregaard’s powerful presence from the very first note, the concert took off with Up With The Smoke – Down With The Ash left the ground not long after. For a band that had previously relied on international big shots for their dancefloor success (see Tiesto and Joker), Turboweekend seemed to have decided that they were perfectly capable of making Odeon move themselves.
Radio hits from Ghost of a Chance flowed into older tunes with smooth transitions, all while a tight band made sure we only lost focus when the need for water became too hard to ignore. Dance rock is such a dirty word, and artists who define their music as such often fall short in both aspects. Therefore, it was refreshing to see a band where abandoning guitars for synths seems like a natural choice, and where the enthusiastic performance was matched with an equally enthusiastic crowd. Turboweekend has the potential to go very very far, and I imagine that someone at Roskilde’s booking team is chuffed that they booked them to fire up Odeon. At least I and a couple of thousands others are.
