A lot of organizations have high minded compassionate principles but still breed exclusivity into their events. There are a lot of subtle things people can do to invite or not invite. The people behind Radical Inclusion have been done pretty much every single thing you could possibly do to be inviting, and I hope they’re rewarded for it. The event is bringing in some amazing talent from Philadelphia and matching it with Gotham luminaries, throbbing visuals and a “door experience” by EZ Almighty, another member of the Philly Bass aristocracy. I’m not experienced, but I can’t wait to be.
Lucky Cheng’s on the West Side near the park is a prime location for an event, especially when it comes to being accessible and not pissing off any one of the outer borough crossing crews. You can get to Queens, Jersey, and even the Bronx from here without too much trouble, though if you live in Staten Island, you’re still fucked and should re-evaluate your life choices. There is of course staggered ticket pricing so those of modest means can attend, while those that have a bit more in their pockets can support more right off the bat. Mantis Garden did some fabulous work at PEX Summer Fest this year and considering the work that has been done by those involved, I doubt any of us will be disappointed.
KOAN Sound has taken their production value and artistic sensibilities to a whole new level with their EP “Sanctuary” that was just released with Asa. The collaboration is another step in their distancing from the harder, steppier sounds that populated a lot of their earlier work. There’s a lot of good stuff here, with elements of glitch, trap, chillstep, dubstep, UK garage, R&B and ambient mixed to produce some amazing future classic sounds. Asa put out a great little ep with an artist named Stumbleine, and he’s been on my radar ever since. This EP continues to impress upon me that OWSLA is one of the best, if not the best label out there at picking new and excellent creations to push into the ears of the post-Skrillex world.
I’m not sure how Monday is treating you, but just in case you’re getting your ass kicked by the beginning of the work week, check out this track. It’s been on repeat for me since it dropped on October 11th. The tune is an instant classic that I assume will be put into such wide rotation/use over the next 3 months that I’ll be seeing it advertising an SUV before too long. There is a triumphant feel to every moment of the tune. At 2:30, the track pulls back into an oft-used vocal line that gives the song this hopeful feeling as it builds slowly but gradually. The pressure and anthem feeling is undeniable, and the track just screams serotonin when it pushes out into the breakdown. It’s quick, with everything over and done with by five minutes, thirty seconds, and it’s a free download. With all of this hype, I’m not sure why you’re still reading this. Put the track into your earholes and keep a look out for We Are Mako, because you’ll be hearing about them soon enough.
(Check out my latest album review for Old Timey Hedgehog here:
This month, I’m presenting a combo graphic novel & debut album from some very talented people calling themselves the Chronicles of Sound. The idea is fresh and well executed. I saw them live an age ago, and their live covers of fan favorites can be found here, here and here. But, this is about their album, which is based around a concept I absolutely love. It’s a soundtrack to an accompanying graphic novel, telling the first part of the story and introducing the world the characters exist in. The non-rotating planet idea & sound-as-weapon arcs are intriguing, and it’s drawn quite well for a free download. There’s a hunger that can be felt in both the music and the art, where you can tell people are super into this. There are undertones of Interstella 5555 for the more well-versed in Daft Punk among you, which is a huge compliment.
With the falling of the leaves brings the hiking of the skirts & the costuming of the masses. Starting from around October 10th to Halloween, Gothamites can expect a calvalcade of cacaphonous costume parties. That time of year when it’s acceptable to dress up as a Sexy Ronald McDonald or DeadPool, just because. One of the better offerings this year is going to be the Heroes of the Underground brought to you by the glorious human beings at Carmel Productions (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/163448247192921/).
(Update: Stanton Warriors visa had issues, so they won’t be there, but Joro Boro & DJ Shakey will be there! Should be a full house and it’ll still be an amazing time! Keep it going and get over there!)
Back after the summer break, the party scene in NYC is heating back up. As the kids are back at NYU, the burners are home from the playa & the social-climbers have returned from the Hamptons, let’s get back to where we once belonged. In case you’re not done partying on a boat for the season, my friends at Vitamin B and Gemini & Scorpio bring forth one last naval adventure before it gets too cold to be waiting in line on the pier for the bouncer to stop fucking around with wristbands while your date is shivering their ass off. Gemini & Scorpio are lending a hand as well, so this should be a great mix of people buccaneering around Manhattan for a few hours. Captained by the nautical marvel himself, Guncle, I think we’re in for a wonderful time featuring a fantastic group of seamen performers.
Vitamin B had an unfortunate incident at the now departed House of Yes after some overzealous NYPD decided to pad their quotas for the month and are throwing a joint fundraiser with G&S to defray legal costs and re-ornament Guncle . The resident DJ Jedi Masters of Vitamin B will be bomping some of the choicest cuts, samples, jams, tunes and whatever else they found in their gargantuan aural archives. Tektite, Tim the Enchanter & Barney Iller (who has been discussed on this blog previously here, here and here), will be joined by a very good friend, $mall Change.
This guy has the best sense of funk, disco, dub, soul and smooth house I’ve ever heard, and he’s adding some breaks-y fun into the mix to ensure the Stanton Warriors are buttressed with hours of quality sonic therapy on either side of their live set. You heard me right. Stanton Freaking Warriors.
The Stanton Warriors are one of those groups you’d probably recognize instantly, if you realized how often their remixes/tracks are pushed into some of your favorite sets. These guys have a list of remixes longer than the baggy JNCO pants I wore back in high school, and they’ve maintained an impressive track record of live competence with quality releases. They’re a fantastic pick up for Vitamin B, who have been steadily pulling in impressive talent month after month this year. And, to cap it off, it’s not only on a boat, but it’ll be ending on the early side, so you can scamper off to another party afterwards and brag about how awesome your evening’s been already. See you there!
Last week, Above & Beyond really turned it up when it came to song choice, overall vibe and guest mix choice. I cannot emphasize enough how impressed I am with this. I’ve only caught the new weekly that Above & Beyond did after changing the name to Group Therapy almost a year ago, and it seems I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. The mixing is tight, the tracks are some of the best I’ve heard from the genre as of late, and the energy keeps building.
I’m a big fan of the structure of the show, starting kind of sparkly, but then getting strong quickly. The amount of talking is minimal, and well done when it happens. The section switch over at the hour mark is fantastic, and allows for the mixes to remain a manageable size. Especially for those of us who listen on the go, allowing me to listen in segments makes it much more likely I’ll listen to all of it. Highlights of the first hour include Mord Fustang’s Something Right Meow off Plasmapool, BT & Fractal’s City Life and a gorgeous instrumental mix of Armin’s new track Beautiful Life.
Push The Button allows some fan to turn up the energy on the mix. It’s a great crowd builder and I’d love to be able to choose one track for a mix of one of my favorite groups. Especially one as competent as Above & Beyond. The Madeon track that follows is triumphant and by 8min in there’s this massive feel to the mix, before it pulls wonderfully back into Way You Know by Matt Lange. And before you know it, Seven Lions has arrived. And there was much rejoicing.
Not only does he start out with his remix of Above & Beyond’s “On My Way To Heaven” but he follows it up with stellar track after stellar track. This 30min set has both his most recent track “Strangers” but even drops a few non-SL tracks down which make for a sweet round out to the mix. Listen to it loud.
I have been waiting for this remix project for probably close to 15 years. One of the first places I discovered new electronic music was www.overclockedremix.org, one of the perennially under-valued resources for video game and chiptune music online.
You should be excited. If you’re not. Get excited. This week, I’m bringing you not one, but two psychedelic locomotives for your face.
First up, Infected Mushroom are continuing their fantastic collaboration series “Friends with Mushrooms” off Dim Mak. This time around, 5 tracks, featuring 2 guest artists and a vocalist, really punch up the muscle when it comes to bass, synth and wobble. It seems Erev & Duvdev have really gotten into dubstep, but as opposed to using loops/beatpacks or something, they’re doing what they do best, making the sounds themselves. If you don’t believe me, listen to the first track with Savant on a system with bass. Savant’s a surprisingly heavy choice for the track, but 4:40 into the tune, you find yourself in a very nice trancey place, with the Inf. Shroom vocals teasing you. Make sure to check out Savant’s tunes here (and his video game, which is pretty ill as well).
Now is Gold has the quintessential IM feel, with their triumphant vocals, guitar-driven beats, and everything you remember about Meduzz, Muse Breaks & Becoming Insane. The beat remains on point and there’s an almost groovy feel to the chords that dance along the persistently hard pacing & beat. Definitely a new favorite when it comes to a track to play people when they ask what the hell the Israeli dudes with the crazy mushrooms at festies is. Bomp it. You’ll thank me. Nerds on Mushrooms brings in the Pegboard Nerds, a sound I wasn’t familiar with before. There’s a glitchy, dubby, almost ragga feel to the collab that jives (what? it works.) with the rocking style of IM.
Trance Party is my favorite of the 5 tracks. I know, you’re super surprised. Totes. But their full-on, rock-drenched psy-trance chops come swirling back into view and you wonder why they ever left and for how long they’ll be staying this time around. The answer is almost eight minutes. It’s the dance-y, driving stuff that they melt faces with all over the world. There’s a lot to like here, and I hope it finds its way into a set or two before the end of the summer. The French is a track to round out the EP, focus on the rock side of IM, let them cut loose and confuse the fuck out of us when it comes to titles. The tune has some stabby synth work and heavy guitars to back them up. There’s a signature focus on original sounds and big room sounds at that. The lack of vocals give it a muted feel and it lets you down a bit more gently as the last track. Hit it up in the youtube below, and get at the iTunes and Beatport portals to pick it up.
Next up, I am delighted to present the next offering from Shpongle. The jaw-droppingly talented, well outfitted and completely insane duo of Raja Ram & Simon Posford return to bring you a circus of delight and some creepily gorgeous music. Brain in a Fishtank was released a week or two ago (the days, they bleed together), and less than a minute in, you’re being whisked into a fantastical world with the sounds of Simon and the flute of Raja pulling you deeper into this swirling miasma of sound. The bass drops and you’re off. Top-notch vocals compliment the totally original soundscape, building a lush jungle of harmony and discord. It goes a bit mad at times, but comes back to itself as your mind often does. I’ve been a fan of Shpongle since 2004, and they remain some of the best producing duos around. How The Jellyfish Jumped Up The Mountain both continues the long, storied tradition of Shpongle tracks having superbly surrealist names, but it’s pretty cool too. The bass that it pulls into is barely there but really keeps it hurtling along, like a rock skipping across a lake. As if it slowed down it would sink. The song pushes into more of the wacky universe that is the mind of Simon Posford, and makes me think of a lot of people dancing around a fire. The classical violin, the banging organic drums and the tribal feel will keep you jumping in the night. Plus, creepy-as-shit vocals at the end.
Juggling Molecules brings in some fun world-beat-y & power guitar work. And some wistful, chanty vocals, some bizarrely appropriate…is that banjo work? You really never are sure, at least when you listen to it sober. Oh, and there’s some weird jolly sounds too, so run around and enjoy. Further Adventures in Shpongleland starts ominously, as many of Shpongle’s can, but smooths into the echoic beats that we’ve loved since Tales of the Inexpressible. The more downtempo track throbs along and gives a good background to a nice glass of red wine, if that makes any sense.
The Epiphany of Mrs. Kugla starts off vaguely panic inducing. There’s a surprisingly operatic feel to the tune that reminds of Zimmer, with the same level of swarm as a Batman movie theme. There’s a pull down into some fun bassy string work, with some past-invoking chromatic steel drums that remind strongly of Nothing Lasts to my delight. The vocals combined with some lovely strings swing the track back into this euphoric feel that almost shimmers at times. Tickling the Amygdala (really spell check, you don’t know that’s a word? For shame.) has some fun with tuning bowls and modulated resonance and harmonics in ways only Shpongle can. It almost feels like it stalls and melts into your ears, being replaced by a much more high-powered beat that almost baits you to keep up and rambles forward ahead of you, spouting gibberish to throw off your focus. All the while the actual soaring guitar powers into your mind. There’s a fun dovetailing of a lot of the elements heard over the EP on the back end of this track, as you’d expect from the Impresarios of UK Psy. It glides away and leaves you wanting to go play the Shpongle discography. Put it into your face, and don’t stop rocking.
Origami Sound is fast becoming one of my favorite indie labels. Their choices are incredible and different in ways I’m only starting to appreciate.
A four-track joint, the EP is done by a Scotsman (allegedly) called Hostage. His take on lush, deep house is a surprising but welcome one. The tracks are groovy and possess an almost liquid quality. There’s a smoothness to them that evokes well dressed people in expensive neighborhoods looking cool while searching for meaning. Zephyrus starts out with this deep, round sound and keeps reminding me of a special kind of party. The one you’re not quite sure how you ended up or why you’re there, but you end up staying a while because it’s just a bit more chill than you expected, so there’s no need to rush.
Terry Gotham 