Tuesday 6 October 2009

I might just replace you with a match stick and gasoline


Just a quick one as I have plenty of media law to be reading about. If you havn't heard of this guy, Andy Hull, or either of the two of his projects - Right Away, Great Captain! (his solo project) or Manchester Orchestra (his band) - then you shouldn't really ever be allowed to listen to music.

He is a hero. RAGC is melodic, pained, angst, folk poetry, whereas Manchester Orchestra takes his unbelievable talent for writing meaningful, powerful lyrics and support it all with an entire band behind it.
I've just got hold of the second RAGC album, 'The Eventually Home' and it is no disappointment. I could never do the four albums linked to this man justice in one quick post, so i'll just post a quick track and hopefully tease you in.

Right Away, Great Captain! - Right Ahead, You Sailor!

Don't be afraid of the nautical terminology; it's all just part of setting the scene.

Thursday 1 October 2009

Active


It's not worth apologising for being away every time I post because I post so infrequently. My journalism course is almost in full flow and this blog may become the vehicle by which I blog about my training and general advance towards journalistic professionalism...or something.


In the meantime, here's my latest (and only) mix. It starts off with some rather large techno, moves through tech-house and the new sub-genre of 'midget', then into some lovely blunt electro. It will blow you away.


Umek - You Might Hear Nothing
Xavi P - Sugar Milk
Regis - HE.3
Dahlback and Dahlback - Forsberg Loves The Acid
Jori Hulkkonen - Sharped Dressed Acid Man
Designer Drugs - Back Up In This (Nadastrom Remix)
Justin Martin & Claude Vonstroke - Beat That Bird
Renaissance Man - Aloha
Riva Starr - Squash
Silvio Ecomo & Chukie - Moombah (AfroJack Remix)
Zoo Brazil - Technik
Sharooz - Get Off
Curses! - What I Need
Chromeo - Bonafied Lovin' (Jori Hulkkonen Remix)

Sunday 7 June 2009

It's been far too long...


It has been months and months since i posted here. The main reason behind this is that i've been stumbling towards the finish line of my degree. I'm now done. What a hero, eh? A separate reason is that i tried to do a post about Cursive a few weeks ago and it wouldn't let me so i became hugely disillusioned. Anyway, i'm back now...ish. I'm still pretty lazy.


Here's a small pick of where i've been heading over the past few months -


Umek - a techno producer who's been around for as long as time, apparently, but i only came across recently. His productions are crisp and his direction is lovely. His work seems to be techno in the variety of Popof - kind of rumbling, with 'pops' all over the show, but the tracks are more solid than some of Popof's work and seem to offer more variation. Check out 'You might hear nothing' for a prime example. In the mean while, here's....


NOTHING - my internet is ridiculously slow and does not like uploading songs of Umek's quality. Don't complain, i've given you the tip, go out and buy his stuff.


Das Glow seems to have gotten unrivalled praise for his re-do of The Faint's 'Mirror Error'. I, personally, don't think it's that great. Yeh, it's different and a bit trippy, but it's nothing to write home about. I'm not saying the Boys Noize edit of it is much better, but i think he gives it a slightly darker, more purposeful touch.




Sorry that post wasn't all you've ever dreamed of. I'm now writing reviews for Data Transmission - ch ch ch ch ch ch check it out.

Friday 1 May 2009

Spanish Breakfast


The last couple of weeks I have been downloading a lot of artist albums and full mixes as opposed to single releases and e.p.s. Through this I have stumbled across a few absolutely golden albums -

Osborne's self-titled release on Spectral Sound, which spans from high-tempo acid to spacey disco, certainly lives up to the standard set out on previous releases from the label.

Bavarian Gigolo, DJ Hell's album "Teufelswerk" is nothing short of brilliant, one of my favourite albums so far this year (I won't talk at length about this here, but expect a posting dedicated to Hell in the near future).

Not that long ago I downloaded a track, "Bora", by an artist called Rone. A progressive melodic minimal track with French spoken-word over the top, it transports you (as stupid as it sounds) into a field in the baking sun, the same sort of feeling I got when I first heard "Beautiful Life" by Gui Boratto a couple of years ago. Special.

After doing a bit of research on the artist and finding out that the Parisian Erwan Castex has support from major players like Sasha and Agoria, it was no surprise that the album was of the same high quality as the stand-out track, "Bora".

Go out and buy this album. It's perfect for the summer. Here's "Bora feat. Alain Damasio".
Lovely.



Wednesday 15 April 2009

Haus Haus Haus




Due to the terrible weather in Spain at the moment I sat myself down and recorded a new mix!

Full of Housey goodness!

 La Mezcla - Michael Cleis 

 Miranda - Gel Abril

 Ear to Mouth - Hennon

 Snice - Ray Okpara

 Internal Call - Pablo Bolivar

 Disco BZRK - Kabale und Liebe

 Outbreak - DJ T.

 Natty Dread - Williams

 Love Machine - Anton Pieete

 Chunky Buddha - Oscar G.

 Yogoto - Spencer Parker


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WM8JFUON


Enjoy!


Warehouse.



Erol, Simian Mobile Disco, Surkin, Digitalism, Metro Area, and Yuksek all played at the Warehouse Project last Sunday and I was there to watch.

Highlights of the night included, but were not limited to...


-Surkin playing the Laidback Luke remix of White Knight Two

-Yuksek playing his remix of Ugodzilla

-Simian opening with Animal Collective - My Girls

-Surkin and Yukseks' silhouetted hairstyles

-Jupiter Room's lovely tech-house

-Erol opening with new Boys Noize and ending with Bathroom Gurgle

-Digitalism being the most physically mis-matched DJ pair around


The new Boys Noize is pretty cool. Enjoy the vocoding lyrics, but it may get old. Worked well as an opener.

The Animal Collective track, surprisingly, was a beautiful, very atmospheric opener and sounded balearic on the underground car-park's soundsystem. Simian's mixing and track selection throughout was brilliant.
Also, kudos to my good friend, who goes by the name of Delcourt, who will be periodically updating this blog with his own, invasive take on music. He'll be dealing with things more tech-y and what not. Ciao.
x

Thursday 9 April 2009

DJ T.




Thomas Koch ... a bit of an institution; with releases on Poker Flat, Get Physical and it's sister label Kindisch (one of my favourite labels at the moment) he seems to me to be going from strength to strength. Oh and did I mention he co-founded Get Physical?!
His tracks merge between tech-house and minimal and have an understated charm, but still manage to get stuck in your head.


The first track I came across a while ago was his collaboration with Thomas Schumacher on the Get Physical compilation GPM100. "May Contain Nuts" is so very simple....it needed a few listens before I got it. It's perfect mid-set material to bounce to! 


His latest release on Kindisch, "Booty Call", is a slow-rising track with a drop that sounds just like something from my old Master System. The Daniel Melhart remix is noteworthy as it brings a bit more life into the tune, utilising the synth breakdown from the start. I would highly recommend purchasing this ep. 


His new release on Poker Flat, "After Dark" is also a stormer. Personally I prefer the b-side...a bit more club-friendly....go and buy it!


Here's the original mix of Booty Call in glorious 320 kbps....play it loud.