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Author Archives: Gabe Meier

D33J Remixes Brandy’s “Vacant Feelings”

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October 20, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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If you even remotely follow North American beat/club music (and I use those terms in the broadest sense), you’ve probably noticed a steady stream of artists from the Wedidit Collective blowing like volcanoes over the past year. First, Shlohmo grabbed the Pitchforkians hearts via Bad Vibes, then RL Grime and Salva took over frat row in the aftermath of “Mercy”. Most recently, Ryan Hemsworth and Groundislava have garnered affection from across the blogoverse. If I had to guess who was next up in line, it would have to be recent LA transplant Djavan Santos aka D33J. Recently signed to Anticon, D33J has been on fire in the remix game recently, taking on everyone from Astral Plane favorite Kid Smpl to Sigur Ros. His latest rework exploit comes in the form of Brandy’s “Vacant Feelings”, and only  reinforces Santos as one of the most emotionally exploitative producers in the game right now. Stream below and download here.

Jackmaster Soundtracks Your Girlfriend’s Next House Party

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October 20, 2012
Mixes
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Jackmaster is one sixth of the legendary Numbers crew, Rinse.FM regular and something of a relic in 2012. In this day and age, the concept of the DJ as separate from producer, as purveyor of what is cool and fresh is outdated. Guys like Jackmaster, Annie Mac, Ben UFO and Oneman are most likely the last of their kind. Radio shows are increasingly being helmed by the likes of Skream & Benga, Diplo, etc. and respectable DJ skills are on a precipitous decline on a mainstream level. I’ve never been lucky enough to see Jackmaster perform live (and I do consider what he does performance), I have been a religious listener of his Rinse.FM show and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Yesterday saw the release of Volume #3 of his Tweak-A-Holic series, replete with “vibey” 80’s hits. The mix gets going with Toto’s “Georgy Porgy” and moves on and on from there. Stream the mix below and head here to download it in exchange for your email.

New xxyyxx – “Lay Down”

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October 19, 2012
New Music
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A whole lot of fuss has been made over Orlando teenager Marcel Everett aka xxyyxx over the past year, the large majority of it entirely warranted. The beat prodigy has continually impressed and has an impressive ability to manipulate samples in an innovative fashion. If I had to criticize Everett on one point, it would a lack of complexity in his percussion. 2011’s self-titled debut was, by and large, a success, but the album gets monotonous at times, mainly because of the standard Ableton drum packs (not saying that’s what he used). The water droplet noises and skittering hi-hats in “Lay Down” on the other hand, mark a huge step forward for Everett and an increased attention to detail. The track’s downloads have run out, but you can stream below and hopefully a link will emerge in the next few days.

S-Type Remixes Pusha T’s “What Dreams Are Made Of”

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October 19, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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A few months ago, I wrote a little retrospective on British produces remixing (mostly) Southern hip hop and it looks like I might need to write an addendum soon. Glasgow native S-Type let loose the brilliantly bombastic Billboard EP earlier this week on LuckyMe and he’s already back for more, remixing Pusha T’s “What Dreams Are Made Of”. Like Billboard, this remix is all huge synths and cracking 808s, only furthering S-Type’s position as the don of triumphant, walking out of a burning building, “Down goes Frazier” beats. The track was supposed to be on a joint Decon/LuckyMe venture that would have matched Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, Lunice and more remixing various Pusha T songs, but the project never materialized. Stream and download below.

 

New Julio Bashmore – “Husk”

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October 19, 2012
New Music
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So Broadwalk Records is Julio Bashmore’s record label and the outlet for song of the year candidate “Au Seve”. In the five months since the Bristol native launched Broadwalk, the label has only released three singles, but when those singles are from Bashmore himself and Zed Bias alter ego Maddslinky, I can’t really be mad. Quality over quantity right? So you might be asking yourself why should I listen to listen to an 8 minute house song now? Haven’t those been irrelevant for like two decades? Regardless of the whole garage house resurgence talk, few listeners have the patience to listen to an eight minute song. To be honest with you, I usually don’t have the patience to listen to an 8 minute song. Unless it’s by Kendrick Lamar. “Husk” just has that hip swangin’ quality that Mr. Bashmore has all but mastered at this point and 8 minutes never sounded so good. And it’s Friday so fuck it. Stream below.

Stream Ryan Hemsworth’s FACT Mix, Jeremih Remix

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October 19, 2012
Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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You can call him Bill Russell! Or Ryan… Mr. Hemsworth does share some qualities with the all time great Celtic, namely a statesmanlike record of consistency and timely performances. Not one to skimp on a mix, Hemsworth brings 60+ minutes of tunes from Green Ova, MMG and Baauer to FACT Mag. It’s probably his most self-centered mix and it might just be my favorite. More Hemsworth is certainly not a bad thing. And that “Fuck You All The Time” remix. Fuxwidit. Stream the mix and the Jeremih remix below.

Hit the jump for the full tracklist…

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500

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October 18, 2012
2012, Uncategorizable
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Eleven months ago, Madeline, Austin and I began a conversation that would eventually lead to the establishment of The Astral Plane. All three of us wanted to write about music, but more importantly, we wanted to share the music that has irrevocably affected our lives with an audience outside of our immediate group of friends. In January, we created an account with WordPress, officially putting The Astral Plane in motion. Finally, we were the music aficionados we had always dreamed of being… except that we kind of sucked at it. See, we’re all competent people, solid writers and obsessive music fans, but there is a steep learning curve in an endeavor like this.

Ten and a half months later and I’d like to think we don’t suck anymore. Today marks my 500th post and I’m going to use the occasion to offer a HUGE thank you to my fellow writer and all of the artists who have participated in interviews and contributed mixes, but most importantly to every single one of you who has responded to our writing positively or negatively and those of you who follow us on a regular basis. I am also going to use the occasion to discuss the role of context in music journalism and what motivates myself to do this damn thing.

First off, thank you to Madeline, Austin and Will for entertaining my absurd ramblings, supporting me at every turn and turning in some of the best music on the series of tubes some might call the internet. Sam, you’ve only been with us for a few weeks, but your artwork and writing are already an integral part of the operation. The Astral Plane would not be what it is without you guys.

Thank you to all of the artists who have graciously committed their time and energy to interviews. I’m looking at you The Philosofist, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Stavrogin, Skips, Hobo D, Room E, Baauer, Rick from Beat Cinema, Ryan Hemsworth, Co. Fee, Haleek Maul, Aaron Meola and DJAO, Cedaa, Dane and Preston of TeamSupreme and Devonwho. Alex Ruder from Hush Hush Records and Ill Cosby from Car Crash Set. It means the world to me that I am able to talk with the people that drive me on a personal level like these incredible human beings.

It is something of a dream come true to have the musicians I adore actually to compile mixes for me. Well maybe not specifically for me, but having Yesh, Riley Lake (our own Dildo Shaggins), DVMSTR, Kong, Boeboe, Stavrogin and Rap Class to flex their collective muscle behind the decks, providing us with some of the best mixes you will hear all year, is a privilege I never believed would be within reach. We have big things in the works on this front so stay tuned in.

Continue after the jump…

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BadBadNotGood Got The Iron Fists

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October 17, 2012
New Music
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So the legendary Wu-Tang Clan aren’t what they once were. Once you accept that, their new music will be far more palatable. Unfortunately, as Jeff Weiss eloquently lays out here, it is impossible to not compare the new with the old and to come to conclusions regarding the state of the group and its worth within your own personal life. That’s why I’m going to focus on BadBadNotGood instead. On the late side of 40, Rae, Ghost, U-God and Kool G Rap come as correct as you’d expect them to on a RZA/Quentin Tarantino project. I’ll leave it at that.

Back in April, I was lucky enough to see BadBadNotGood not once, not twice, but 6 or 7 (it’s a little murky) times at Coachella. The Toronto youngsters were the house band and performed warm up/cool down sets in the campground before and after the festival each day and to be honest with you, it was probably my favorite part of the festival. In just over a year, the trio has gone from unknown jazz/hip hop cover band to, and I might be off-base here, but the best/go-to live band in hip hop that is not named The Roots. They’ve covered everyone from James Blake to Waka Flocka and performed with Frank Ocean and Pharaoh Monch… just to name a few. Recently, BadBadNotGood have dipped their toes into the production pool… and when I say dipped their toes, I mean gone the fuck in with some of the most legendary MCs in history.

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New Gerry Read – “Let’s Make It Deeper”

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October 17, 2012
New Music
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In the few interviews that 20 year-old British producer Gerry Read has given, he’s espoused an antagonism towards escapist club culture, as opposed to introspection in the actual music creation process. Read’s music has often been referred to as minimalist, but it’s actually fairly noisy, opting for a clattering approach that vaguely acts as deep house, but really exists in a category of its own. Read’s displeasure over the state of club culture is readily apparent in his music as well, refusing to submit to the standard paradigms of House music and even ignoring the trends (impressive as they may be) of his UK counterparts like Joy Orbison, Pearson Sound, etc.. Read’s latest effort, “Let’s Make It Deeper”, will appear on his debut full-length, Jummy, which is set to be released on November 19 via 4th Wave. Stream below.

Listen To Unreleased Max B Track From 2005

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October 17, 2012
New Music
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Like countless other rappers before him, the legend of Max B has grown exponentially since he was sentenced to 75 years in prison in 2005 on murder conspiracy and armed robbery. In the years since, forums have obsessed over minuscule details of Charlie Wingate’s career and while petering out, the “wavy” phenomenon still has some stamina. The whole legal situation is really unfortunate, and while I clearly don’t know the first thing about it, I feel for all of the parties involved. With the whole introspective, post-808s and Heartbreaks taking over hip hop with Drake as patron saint, Max B comes to mind a lot. While often drunk and silly (as opposed to talking about being drunk), he was years ahead of his time with regards to introspection and self-awareness. “Keep Your Head Up” is a an unreleased Cool and Dre produced track circa 2005 and is especially apt considering Charlie’s dire situation. The beat is pretty similar to Jay Rock’s “All My Life” (which Cool and Dre also produced) and is quintessentially mid-aughts for better or worse. Not Mr. Wingate’s best work, but boy does it feel good to hear that voice again. It’s been too long.