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Author Archives: Gabe Meier

The Dropping Gems Interview w/ Aaron Meola (Label Head) and DJAO

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June 12, 2012
2012, Interviews
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If you follow major media outlets, electronic dance music is all the rage nowadays. It has all the makings of a major news story: money, fame, drugs and overblown egos. Up here in the Pacific Northwest though, we have our own spirit of electronic music spearheaded by the Dropping Gems collective/label/production company. Made up of 10 artists/groups spread from Portland to Seattle, DG is one of the foremost purveyors in forward thinking electronic music, not just in the Northwest, or on the West Coast, but across the globe. For those of you unacquainted to the DG sound, you can check out (and download) the impeccable Gem Drops and Gem Drops 2 compilations.

We were lucky enough to have a conversation with label head Aaron Meola and Seattle-based DJAO about a wide range of topics. We spoke on DG’s DIY ethos, electronic music as an innovating force, psychedelia and more. We learned that DG is a tight knit community of artists with an admirable, envelope pushing mindset regarding performance, community in music and friendship. Catch the whole interview after the jump. It’s well worth your time to dig into the minds of two of the most interesting figures in music.

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Famous Eno And MC Bring Radio Culture To The Digital Age

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June 12, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Unorthodox releases are a rarity in the digital age. This is not a knock on sites like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, we adore both, but it’s undeniable that creativity is oftentimes lacking in contemporary releases. Famous Eno and Mixpak Records are hear to end that trend. An ode to London’s long history of legendary FM radio, All Good FM is an amalgamation of London’s many sounds from grime to dancehall to funky. From the press release:

London has many a legendary FM radio station, from Kool to Kiss, Rude to BBC. This summer, Famous Eno adds yet another to the mix: All Good FM. With this release, the London DJ/producer (formerly half of rhythm gangsters Warrior One) explores all the best qualities of pirate radio: surprise, variety and the unadulterated sound of the underground.

On top of that, MC Stitch plays radio DJ, lacing Famous Eno’s beat with rhymes, shout outs and general debauchery. On top of that, the EP features remixes from Famous Eno himself, Arvene and Misk and Dj Sliink. Yeah, that DJ Sliink. Stream previews from the EP below and get it yourself over at Juno.

devonwho is the Perfect Stranger

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June 11, 2012
New Music
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Photo by Patti Miller

Most of the music we feature on this site falls outside of traditional genre limitations. This is partially a conscious choice on our part and partially just an observation on the overall music landscape. Open-minded, envelope pushing artists generally buck tradition whether that means mixing genres, sounds, or whatever else tickles their fancy. The best releases though aren’t necessarily the most mind-numbingly challenging, but the ones that evoke a simple, yet profound, response. San Francisco’s devonwho did exactly that with his newest release, Perfect Strangers Vol. 1. Tagged as “future funk”, the tape relies heavily on 8 bit samples, but unlike fellow video game sample enthusiasts Groundislava and Jonwayne, the beats on Perfect Strangers contain an airy, welcoming quality that bely their synthetic nature. devonwho also does manage to invoke an undeniable amount of funk into the tape. Even at its crunchiest moment on “taurus/shorty”, the 8 bit noises impart the phonk over some expertly programmed skittering drums. Stream Perfect Strangers Vol. 1 below or cop it for $6 (well worth it).

Preview The New TNGHT (Hudson Mohawke + Lunice) EP

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June 11, 2012
New Music
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I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning and this isn’t even the full release. First impression; holy fuck the world is not ready. For the uninformed, TNGHT is the pairing of Glaswegian Hudson Mohawke and Montréalais Lunice, both distinguished members of the LuckyMe Collective. These two have been making some of the foremost experimental hip hop/bass music/whatever you want to call it for years and this collaboration will probably end up tearing some sort of hole in the time space continuum, or at least my sanity. The EP is set for a July 23/24 release on Warp Records. A vinyl tracklist is attached to the video, which surprisingly doesn’t include the uncompromising “R U Ready”. Nonetheless, it’s not like either artist to sit on genius material, so I would expect the track to be on the digital version, or a second (!) TNGHT release. Get all the goodness below.

Vinyl Tracklist:
A1. Top Floor
A2. Goooo
A3. Higher Ground
B1. Bugg’n
B2. Easy Easy

New Koreless – “Lost In Tokyo”

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June 11, 2012
New Music
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It seems as if everyone has their own label/imprint these days. Not a complaint by any means, just an observation. Jacques Greene, in conjunction with Joseph Coghill has been running Vase-Forever for the past several months, releasing tunes from Greene himself and Arclight. The label’s third release comes from Glaswegian producer/DJ Koreless and is really quite something. Inviting in the most visceral sense of the word, “Lost In Tokyo” invokes those late night subway/bus trips whipping by empty streetlight after streetlight. After the melodrama though, the deliberate four on the floor beat evolves into a whole new animal, slowly growing until it’s at a frenzied clip. “Lost In Tokyo” doesn’t have a  release date yet, but the single/EP will feature a remix from Greene himself, quite the treat in its own right. Stream the preview below.

Ryan Hemsworth Remixes Flocka’s “Karma”

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June 8, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Pay for what, girl you better for this

Remember that Waka Flocka track towards the beginning of Ryan Hemsworth’s Live For The Funk mix? The one that sounded like he was rapping over some sort of new age bedtime psalm? Well, Ryan has let it loose to run rampant on the general public. Continuing his hot streak, “Cold & Tempered” takes Flocka remixes (and there is no dearth of Flocka remixes) in a whole new direction, managing to inhabit the worlds of turn’t recklessness and insightful banter. Quite a feat for Mr. Hemsworth. Stream below and catch a download here.

Sasquatch 2012 Roundup

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June 7, 2012
2012, Festivals, Live, Uncategorizable
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It’s been almost two weeks since we first pulled up to the cow pastures of George, WA and well, our daily lives just don’t quite contain the same excitement we experienced during those four transcendent days at the Gorge Amphitheater. Nonetheless, we take great pleasure in rehashing our adventures via set recaps and photos. Sasquatch has come and gone, but memories of dusty walks to and from the campsite, an innumerable amount of mind-blowing sets and many, many pretty lights are oh so fresh in our minds. It’s a bittersweet moment as we conclude our coverage of the very best weekend of the year, but it also means that Sasquatch is only 350-something days away. Enjoy.

AraabMuzik (Saturday @ Banana Shack)

Active Child (Sunday @ Yeti Stage)

Star Slinger (Sunday @ Banana Shack)

SBTRKT (Monday @ Banana Shack)

Friday/Monday Photo Gallery

Saturday/Sunday Photo Gallery

Grown Folk and LOL Boys Prep First Young Adults 12″

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June 7, 2012
New Music
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If you’ve even remotely followed our social media activity, you’ve surely noticed we have somewhat of an obsession over the Leeor Brown headed Friends of Friends label. When I heard that Brown, along with DJ David Fisher, was starting up a more house oriented label, I could barely contain my enthusiasm. One of my favorite facets of FoF is its broad style and genre sensibilities, but some straightforward four on the floor madness is also good in my book. Young Adults will celebrate its first release, courtesy of Grown Folk and LOL Boys, on June 19th. Yesterday, the first track on YA001 was let loose on Soundcloud and the two production duos went bananas on this one. For the uninitiated, Grown Folk are a Montreal duo who have begun to get their name out, both based on their production acumen and their spot as Main Attrakionz’ DJ’s. I believe you already know Jerome and Markus of LOL Boys. “Ghostpath” relies heavily on the TB-303 for the majority of the track and before long it fully takes over. The track is more complex than most acid tracks, but still far more understated than most of LOL Boys previous work. I can’t wait to hear that bassline destroy the dancefloor in a live setting. Stream below and cop YA001 on 12″ June 19.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti And Dâm-Funk Collaborate On “Baby” Cover

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June 7, 2012
New Music
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Last year, Dâm-Funk remixed Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’s magisterial “Fight Night” with surprising success. As incredible as Dâm’s original work is, I’ve never been a huge fan of his remixes. Maintaining the innate beauty of Ariel’s original, Dâm infused a solid helping of his trademark scuzzy synthesizer funk, resulting in a final product I’m sure Ariel would be plenty proud of (conjecture of course). It appears that Ariel did take notice and has enlisted Dâm to assist on a new album cut. “Baby” is a cover of Donny and Joe Emerson’s ubiquitous 1979 hit. Staying relatively true to the original, Ariel adds several levels of haze to modernize the truly beautiful baby making anthem and Dâm assists with some strained vocals to up the sex appeal. The cover will be on Ariel Pink’s upcoming Mature Themes, due out August 21 on 4AD. Stream above.

New Skips – “Gravel Pit”

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June 6, 2012
New Music
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A while back, we interviewed a young Leeds producer by the name of Skips. It was brief and honestly we could have done a far better job asking Q’s. Kind of wish we had a do over. We’ve both come a long way since though. Skips has continued to develop his house stylings over the past few months and transformed into a  commanding presence behind the boards. We’ve gotten slightly better at this whole writing deal (at least in our own minds). Skips’ newest track “Gravel Pit” demonstrates his investment in the house trade. With a slight nod to Chicago house, this track is as deliberate as they come. Simple and direct, “Gravel Pit” represents the more overt side of Skips’ production dichotomy. It’s not often that I laud simplicity, but Skips possesses the maturity with regards to arrangements to make a track like this immensely succesful. Stream “Gravel Pit” below.