From apprehension to affirmation in 3 easy steps

I don't know about you, but sometimes the ennui of day to day life sometimes makes me feel a bit jaded about music. Is it really as good as I've been saying? Was I wrong to rant with such vitriolic hatred about mainstream genres? Is it really fair to describe certain musicians as 'fiercely glowing incandescent gems of inspiration in a barren cultural wasteland'?
Of course this malaise lasted for all of a second, of course I'm right, it was a damn good description and mainstream music deserves all the abuse that I can muster. Of course I'd never make such wild statements without some serious backup so here's the proof, read it and weep society (you know who you are).

Since parting ways with Vex'd partner Roly, Jamie Vex'd has blessed us all with a handful of devastating releases, from the awesome In System Travel EP to this unspeakably good remix of Starkey's Miracles. And now after a timely alias switch and a lengthy quiet period, enter the hypercoloured, laser driven, colliding synth universe of Kuedo. This first release Dream Sequence E.P is breathtaking, it sounds as though some crazed vivisectionist has spliced together Flying Lotus, Burial, Loops Haunt, Joker, Ginz and Rustie, packed the resulting monstrosity into a prototype spaceship and blasted it into a parallel universe populated by glowing ethereral beings. Not one to overhype things I suggest you go grab it for a listen and make your own opinions, but without even a trace of hyperbole this is the finest production I've heard this year.

At the other end of a similar spectrum Illum Sphere has steadily been building a name for himself with immaculately produced hiphop shoegaze. Since co-founding the outstanding Hoya Hoya night in Manchester, his production has been subject to a lethargic release schedule, but despite this everything has been absolutely on point. After his debut Incoming Ep and a couple of remixes for the likes of Om Unit and Martyn, his most recent release Long Live the Plan is one of the freshest things the UK beat movement has produced in recent memory. From the air raid interlaced intro the epic dystopian scene is set and what follows is a series of stunning interpretations of the current UK scene, skipping two step nestles in between sparse hip hop and stripped back dub, a miasma of dark synths and crackles overwhelm the stumbling beats before retreating, ghostlike back to the shadows. Of the seven tracks it's hard to pick a favourite so I'm going to pick two: Shadowman, in all it's broodingly beauty and Psycho as it ponderously stomps into your head with its infectious drums and metallic distortion.

Finally, after flailing around and shouting at anyone who'll listen for the last month or so, it figures that I should probably commit my adulation for Free the Robots to this blog rather than wasting everyone else's time and my own energy on babbling incoherently about how good he is. As it stands he's only had the two releases , Free the Robots EP and a collaboration with the (Mother Fucking) Gaslamp Killer, The Killer Robots EP. Both are an utterly brilliant blend of hip hop, jazz, psych rock, samba, prog rock and techo, with some of the crispest and most intricate drums in existence and more production skills that you could shake a studio stable of his contempories at. The only real comparisons I can really draw are the Gaslamp Killer himself, DJ Shadow and Hexstatic but the influences and evocations are wide ranging and numerous. For a taster of his eclectic and perfectly blended styles check out this Low End Theory Podcast (right click and save as), this one for Paris Dj's (same again), this one for Rich Soil and this t-shirt. The new album, CTRL ALT DELETE drops later this year.

As a little bonus for you all, here's a mix I made at the behest of my mate 'Broke Ted' Bil: Bils Weighty Wreck Quest. It's a bit messy in places but ignore that and try to enjoy it for what it is, an ugly mix of heavywieght tunes.

Tracklist

Intro: Long Live the Plan - Illum Sphere
01: Shadowman - Illum Sphere
02: Glow - Kuedo
03: Zisou (everything Up) - Zero 7 (Joker Remix)
04: Digidesign - Joker (Om Unit's Pop Lock Remix)
05: Simon Says - Pharoe Monche (Slugbed Remix)
06: Impact Omnihammer - Loops Haunt
07: Radiant Industry - Jamie Vex'd
08: Starfox - Kuedo
09: Dwrcan - Bibio (Eskmo Remix)
10: Lightgrids - Om Unit (Illum Sphere Remix)
11: Secrets - Flying Lotus (Soundmurderer Refix)
12: Evil Man - Shafiq Husayn (Flying Lotus Remix)
13: Boreal Moonlight -Pine
14: Stinkin Skunk - SRC
15: Skyfire - Slugabed
16: Teeth - Shlohmo
17: Joplin - Loops Haunt
18: Sketches - Fantastic Mr Fox
19: Broken Love - Bass Clef
>>> Change Interlude - Ras G Vs Muse
20: Superman (live) - Jogger

Just a quick tip

Brace yourselves for this, It's out in May so you've just about got enough time to ensure your brains are safely secured before it drops...

Dr Strangeloop - Easy Listening for our Future Children

Haarpynooyeer

It's unspeakably hot. You can't go outside, you can't even leave the shelter of the air conditioned living room. When I tried to go for a shower I almost axed myself on the sink after slipping in a pool of my own foot sweat. Fortunately being stuck indoors is an excuse to listen to new tunes all day whilst the missus ventures forth into the outside world in search of employment. Don't hate me this is what's known as gradual acclimatisation. Anyway I hope you're sitting comfortably and ready for some heavy new beats for a brand new year, which by all appearances promises to be a good one. After a long Internet drought we're back in the game and I've been all "fatty in a cake shop" for the last couple of days, so to get the ball rolling here are a few sparkling gems of musical freshness for you all to enjoy.

Debruit has been turning heads for a little while now, but until he released his new EP Spatio Temporel I was yet to be wholly taken with his sound. These four new tracks are a stunning combination of playful manipulation and wholesome bass, standing alone in their ability to make you chuckle uncontrollably, shake your head in disbelief and bounce like a possessed kangaroo all within the same bar. Cleverly looped and cut samples, cheeky vocal led drops and splashes of furious wobble all combine to produce some of the freshest beats this year so far, not that the year is barely five minutes old yet, but I figure they'll stand the test of time with ease.

I've already mentioned Shlohmo in recent months but a rerelease of his Shlohmoshun EP deserves an extra shout. Complete with remixes from artistes de jour, Tokimonsta, Devonwho, Fulgeance and Low Limit this repackage boasts some tighter mastering, two new tracks and a few nice tweaks to the original tracks which only serves to enhance their lush, subtly affecting atmospherics. Teeth is the standout of the new tracks, bringing static crackle and pin prick percussion before dropping a tearout bassline that could probably shear off your ears if played loud enough. My pick of the guest spots is the Devonwho remix of 7am, compressing the original sounds into squashed bleeps and tight edits before unleashing tribal drums that roll the tune through to a satisfying close.

A special mention must go out to Loops Haunt for his début release (that underground cassette promo aside) Impact OmniHammer b/w Joplin. Since their original airing on various promo mixes these two brain tenderising beats have evolved yet further from their already impressive roots and I for one am overjoyed that I too can now drop two of my favourite tunes at a cost of less than £2. Hold tight for Loops Haunt madness in this coming week with his Rubber Sun Grenade EP dropping on Fortified Audio. If you haven't checked this startling talent out yet please grab his Promo Mixes (1 & 2) and Electronic Explorations showcase from earlier last year and brace yourself for some sonic mischief of the highest order.

Finally a brief word on a slept on album from last year that friends recently brought to my attention; Medschool newcomer, Bop's first offering to the world of ephemeral Drum and Bass. Clear Your Mind is vaguely reminiscent of Instramental and Consequence, but elements of glitch and IDM shine through the wash of atmospherics, drawing more appropriate comparisons to artists like Shlohmo or Kelpe. Haunting, melancholic synths are perforated by laser guided, needle sharp, bit crushed percussion, incredibly unpredictable in the sparsity or cluster of it's arrangement. The resulting composition is a beautifully spacious work of individuality sprinkled with just the right amount of glitch to keep things bubbling along nicely. All in all a well worthy addition to anyone's collection and another much needed boost in credibility for the DnB scene.

Enough chatter for now, night has fallen and it's just about cool enough to go lie down without sweating a small lake into the mattress. No time to relax though for now is the hour of the mosquito onslaught. Subtropical life isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Christmas!

You all need this in your lives...

GLK - A Decade of Flying Lotus

It's a gift that just keeps giving.

Festive Shit: Part 2

Have you seen all the fucking lights? When did December become an excuse for massive energy consumption? They're everywhere, lit up like a neon birthday cake, draining the power grid, owners grinning proudly in the local newspaper. I don't remember this happening on such a wide scale in the past but times they are changing it seems and I suppose polar bears are just going to have to deal with it. Apologies if this all sounds somewhat cantankerous, but its difficult to maintain a sense of what's right when you're wilting in 35 degrees, 100 percent humidity and fluorescent Santa keeps waving at you from the neighbour's roof. Anyway, in a bid to avoid being sucked into the crass consumer circus that's marauding around outside my door I've battened down the hatches and fired up the headphones for a spot of music appreciation.

As a belligerent fan of drum and bass it's been a real pleasure to hear the material that the likes of D Bridge, Instramental and Bop have been contributing to the scene lately, for a while it seemed like there was no hope for the heavyweight champion of underground genres but a stripped down, atmospheric approach and plenty of dystopian soundscaping seems to have done the trick. All in good time too it seems, with D Bridge's impeccable latest offering The Gemini Principle still sending an icy shockwave around the globe, newcomer Consequence drops a more than suitable successor, Live For Never on the Exit Label. It soon becomes clear why D Bridge was so keen to release this debut LP from a relatively unknown artist, the similarities are instantly recognisable, but whilst they share a penchant for intelligent drum edits and otherworldly synths, it's clear that Consequence has drawn his influences from many and varied purveyors of dark and ambient music. In contrast yet in compliment to beats worthy of Photek, Instramental or Bukem are flourishes of Burialesque sampling and distortion at play amongst melodies and atmosphericss that could have been plucked from the mind of Vangelis or Eno. The whole album has the feel of the soundtrack to a movie set in a centuries distant, space borne adaptation of Tokyo, floating like a metal hive over the shattered remnants of a ruined Earth. Forgive me for being melodramatic but this really has to be heard to be fully appreciated, I haven't been this surprised by Drum and Bass since I first listened to Current Value, and in this case the shock and awe are inspired by truly affecting music rather than all out ear bashing.

I've also been somewhat caught unawares by Bass Clef's latest album, May the Bridges I Burn Light the Way, which takes the staccato 2-step of The Zamayatin Tapes and grafts it onto some crazy Soca drums and whistles before assaulting your ears like a mescaline powered favella soundsystem made entirely out of pieces of the M25. If you could imagine such a thing. To be entirely honest the enthusiasm and vigour of it all became a bit too much around halfway through the album but on the last couple of tracks this demented whirlwind of noise fades into utter serenity. Broken Love sounds like it came from another world entirely, softly building nostalgic strings over breathy, mechanical percussion before unleashing offbeat jazz drums, gently moaning voices on the wind and a melting brass band, then all of a sudden the midpoint of the track sees all this disappear into one of the loveliest tunes I've heard in some time, complete with subtly glitched drum edits and a damn fine horn section. Finally another unexpected gem, Halliwick, rounds off proceedings with marching beats accompanied by lush strings, rolling pulsating bass another fine Brass chorus. All of which sort of begs the question, why on earth haven't we heard more of this side of Bass Clef in the past and will we get more in future? Here's to hoping so, after the initial onslaught of tracks 1-7 it's just about the only thing keeping me from climbing the house next door with a bottle of Cachaca and a golf club.

But fear not, festive rage can also be averted in any of the following ways:

Getting hold of Tapes' E.P, Hissing Theatricals, which fires bursts of 8 bit sunshine up your face in the manner of a dub loving Atari in the throes of a fatal power surge.

Seeking out Loops Haunt's head mangling Electronic Explorations mix, an experience so unsettling that it will leave you sobbing with confusion as you struggle to rearrange your thoughts.

Or listening to Aardvarck's new Bloom 4 E.P. Possibly the most interesting approach to music at 140 bpm I've heard all year.

Enjoy yourselves over this most festive of seasons, I'm off for some more Cheesecake and G&T's on the Verandah, it certainly beats glaring at the miserable weather and drinking until I'm numb enough to venture outside. Happy Christmas!

Festive Shit: Part 1

Sometimes Christmas gets in the way of lots of things, such as having spare money, free time, decent television etc. Unfortunately there also seems to be a whole heap of awesome music dropping all around the place so I've decided to treat myself (and you) to a whole heap of goodness, despite the detrimental effect on buying presents for my friends and family. Don't ever say that I don't do anything for you.

After Ambivalence Avenue turned out to be one of my favourite surprises of the year I snapped up Bibio's latest release The Apple and the Tooth as soon as it was available. The first four tunes are a slight departure from Ambivalence Avenue, his sound seems to becoming more layered and crowded but richer for it, however the true selling point of the record is the all-star remix line-up that follows. Gems amongst these are the Eskmo remix of Dwcan, which incorporates the San Fransiscan's swinging, atmospheric flex into the original's dark and creeping textures to great effect; an incredible Gentlemen Losers' remix of Haikuesque, taking on a beautiful, melancholy edge, before a haunting organ comes in to raise all the hairs on the back of your neck; and Bibio's own remix of "the palm of your wave", which winds gypsy-folk fairground strains sinuously around the original vocal like a hypnotic fortune teller pickpocketing your ears. It may not be a full album release but it's certainly worth that money you were saving for a fibre optic Christmas tree.

Back in London the Grievous Angel Redux of Margins Music has dropped on Keysound and it's fucking awesome. It's comforting to see that rather than adopting the tried and tested methods of mashing together two tunes into one catchy monstrosity, Grievous Angel has deftly interwoven his source material into an entirely new piece of music which is worthy of it's predecessor's name and reputation. In the same regard he avoided the easy option of simply rearranging the original tracks into one continuous mix and instead produced a living, breathing hybrid monster. It's almost as though London ate Margins Music and let it digest for a while before exhaling the whole mixture in one hour long episode of sublime flatulence. Snatches of vocal bubble up through the blended textures, the drums chatter amongst themselves and whole neighbourhoods breeze by in an instant leaving only a lingering suggestion of their existence. If anything this Redux surpasses the original in it's attempt to capture the sound and essence of the fringes of the London scene, although I will concede that I may be getting slightly carried away here.

Something I've been after for a while now is The invisible Lodger, a collab between the outstanding Various Production and morose Scottish poet Gerry Mitchell. I'm not going to lie, parts of this album could drive a fragile mind into a helpless spiral of depression and self harm, but for those of a sunnier disposition this is a masterful combination of stark, brooding electronics and subtly affecting spoken word. Mitchell's delivery swings from eye gouging misery to a playful almost singsong delivery, belieing the morbid undercurrent of the subject matter. Accordingly the production echoes the tone of each poem, at times overwhelming the grumbling, shambolic verse with blurred synths and undulating static, at others beautifully complimenting the lilting Scottish cadences with typical VP pinpoint accuracy. Unfortunately there never seems to be the right time to listen to it, I tried to pop it on in the car with the missus the other day but she was having none of it, probably best left to headphones on an evening train ride through a bleak industrial cityscape

Right, there's more but frankly fuck this, I'm off to a secret bush rave. No time for grendelcaking, I'll post again when I'm not climbing trees and singing like a squirell.

Broken Ted News

I've been a little removed from the musical world recently, due in part to various upheavals in life but also to excessive drinking and tearful goodbyes. Needless to say the first re-immersion in sound drew a whole plethora of new and exciting prospects, largely thanks to some friends of mine who have been keeping a weather eye on the usual channels whilst I've been out of action. Notably the Broken Ted, who's been exploring the various avenues of glitch and ephemera to recommend:

Shlohmo, who's E.P.s, Shlohofi and Schlomoshun are dancing around the periphery of my mind like esoteric pixies hellbent on stealing my thoughts. The former is a delicate arrangement of ethereal glitched out beats, definitely best listened to on a very lazy Sunday afternoon or in a state of entranced reflection. The latter is more easily reconcilable, slipping in somewhere between Ras G, Nosaj Thing and Eskmo; sort of slumped Hip Hop with skipping drum patterns and a warm afterglow of softly diffused bass.

Tokimonsta, who is coming on leaps and bounds with every mixtape. Her latest offering which takes the form of a promo for Donkey Pitch and Sonic Router can be found here, and I suggest everyone with a modicum of interest should read her interview with Sonic Router and make every effort to catch her at Donkey Pitch in Brighton on the 26/11/09.

And another Slugabed Mix (for Dummy this time around), which ticks all the disgusting boxes you could ever dream of. I've started to wonder whether my new found admiration for his music is merely a personal rebellion against the derivative, hyper processed, auto-tuned world of Pop dross, but then I listen to it again and it blows such thoughts clean out of my mind with the force of a sonic jackhammer.

All this said I haven't been completely idle, I stumbled across this new Blank Blue set on Dublab the other day and I was pleasantly surprised. They've taken on a couple of new band members and stiffened up their sound somewhat, it's basically what Blank blue would sound like if they were a blasting desert Rock ensemble instead of a psychedelic west coast Folk-Hop two piece. Not sure whether that's progress exactly but my dog likes it and that's good enough for me.

Speaking of which I put some dubstep on earlier and Facie (the dog), started growling along to the music every time the sub kicked in. In the past she's howled along to the blues and barked/whined to anything else with rhythmic guitars and keys. This latest approach is new to me and if anything is a seal of approval I'd say that this would be it. I'm tempted to contact Kryptic Minds with the news but I doubt they'd be as excited as I was when I heard her rendition of Six Degrees. It is entirely possible that staying at my parents house is driving me insane.

Finally I have a recommendation straight out of the left field for anyone that enjoys atmospheric soundscapes in the vein of Boards of Canada or Access to Arasaka. Oneohtrix Point Never produce the sort of music that evokes Alien Skies, Dystopian Cityscapes and the very limits of the known universe. It doesn't do a whole lot but then again it doesn't really have to. Go buy it here and close your eyes of a couple of hours, it's probably worth it.