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Author Archives: Gabe Meier

Preview Tsvi’s Forthcoming ‘Set You Free’ EP On Nervous Horizons

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September 22, 2015
New Music
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Since last year’s Malfunction EP, Tsvi’s sound has seemed to condense and expand in equal measure, his sparkly overtures into boogie funk-inspired work have mostly gone by the wayside in favor of halting metallic efforts like “Something” and, more recently, the London-based producer’s edit of Scratcha DVA’s “The End”. The cut up synth work and shimmering surfaces are still there, but in some cases, Tsvi has gone in another direction, offering up banging four-on-the-floor techno (see: “Aquaflush” and his remix of Drones Club’s “Changeling”). Maybe it’s the dialogue with DVA, Mickey Pearce and other likeminded artists, but Tsvi, and Nervous Horizon in general, has been delving into increasingly bizarre, entangled forms of club music and the results are jaw dropping across the board.

There’s no release date yet, but Tsvi’s Set You Free EP will mark the second solo release on Nervous Horizon (after Wallwork & RZR’s Don’t Panic EP) and, if you’ve been listening to Tsvi & Crack Palace’s Radar Radio slots or the Swamp81 Rinse show, you’ll recognize much of the direction the artist and label are beginning to embark on. Across several solo tunes, a collaboration with Luru and remixes from Lokane and Luru, raw, machinic noise is the modus operandi on Set Me Free, whether that be scraping snares or pulses found throughout. The Nervous Horizon crew is packed with talent these days and yet Tsvi still manages to shine through each and every time, delineating exactly what makes the label so unique while pushing it further. Be on the lookout for more news regarding Set You Free and check out a radio rip of Luru’s edit of the title track after the jump.

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Premiere: Sugur Shane – Vintage Rebel (Feat. Deshawn Timothy) (Prod. Jeb1)

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September 21, 2015
New Music
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Back in June, web outlet/community Classical Trax released two volumes of grime compilation Architecture in quick succession, bringing in artists like Maribor, Morten_HD, Archer, Korma and more to show off just how many different mutations of the UK sound has arisen. And while it might be a stretch to consider everything on Architecture: Chapter One and Two as following format established by the genre’s forefathers, the nomenclature still seems to fit in a vague sense. On September 30, Classical Trax will release a Deluxe Edition of the Architecture tapes, another stab at the London-centric sound with a new group of talent involved. Today, we’ve got Sugur Shane‘s Jeb1-produced and Deshawn Timothy-assisted “Vintage Rebel”, bringing together the two Philadelphia MCs with some classic-sounding sample chop production. Less an attempt to shoehorn a ballroom production template into grime or vise versa, “Vintage Rebel” features Sugur Shane and Deshawn Timothy spitting at their finest over Spooky-esque production, Jeb1’s cut up beat providing the perfect backdrop for the MC’s verbal acrobatics. Look out for Architecture: Deluxe Edition on September 30 and be sure to check out The Levels Are Very High‘s promo video for the tape after the jump. Artwork for the tape is by Jared Leopard.

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Premiere: Moslem Priest – Can I Get A

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September 18, 2015
New Music
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Photo by Euseng Seto

If you’ve been lucky enough to hear and/or own some of Malaysian artist Moslem Priest‘s many dubs, you’ll know the man born Farhan Yassin has a load of talent and a twisted rhythmic sensibility. One of the hardest working producers in the general club music sphere, Yassin’s Soundcloud is chock full of one-offs, remixes and other sonic goodies and despite a lack of official releases to his name, you could easily derive three to four albums worth of material based only on what’s already public. Next week, Rushmore‘s Trax Couture label brings Moslem Priest in for the second to last World Series, a slight derivation from the past few efforts in the serial, but a fit nonetheless with regards to its ruthless percussive sensibilities and functionality in the dance. World Series Vol. 11 is comprised of five sub bass-heavy efforts from Moslem Priest, an exercise in unconventional arrangements and robust, metallic noise. “Can I Get A” is an undulating, rolling techno number that contorts into a maelstrom of paranoiac synth work over its six minutes. It’s a track fit for warehouse play that doesn’t fit into any existing “warehouse techno” format, a divergence from past four-on-the-floor that draws from grime’s sparse arrangements and in-your-face attitude. World Series Vol. 11 is out September 28 on Trax Couture. Hit the jump for clips from the full EP.

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Premiere: Organ Tapes – 心雨

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September 17, 2015
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Next week, London outfit Tobago Tracks will release Organ Tapes‘ debut mixtape, the vocal-heavy WORD LIFE. First grabbing our attention via his collaborative (with Pitcheno) cover of Future and Kanye West’s “I Won”, Organ Tapes has become one of our favorite artists over the past few months, both for his beatific, slightly androgynous vocal work and for his bizarre, ambient-noise heavy beat work. “心雨”, from WORD LIFE, recalls Mario Winans and Chief Keef in equal measure, a track with a slightly underwater feel and one of the strongest vocals to date in the Organ Tapes catalogue. Be sure to check out Organ Tapes’ Astral Plane mix and look out for the release of WORD LIFE on September 23.

Stripped Down To Almost Nothing: An Interview With Letta

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September 16, 2015
Interviews
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It’s another blistering day as Letta and I sit outside the Arts District warehouse he’s currently staying at. Los Angeles’ famed beat scene is the topic of conversation, or, more accurately, the lack of recent innovation in Los Angeles’ beat scene. “I can’t fuck with anymore 404 drum machines or those god damn jazzy seventh chords that sound like Nintendo. How long can you do that?” Hailing from the Northwest, Tony Nicoletta has followed a roundabout path to his current location, a path rife with internal struggle, addiction and violence. Letta is also sick of the deluge of kids following outfits like Team Supreme and Soulection. “If I were that positive I would be married and be a real estate agent and have a huge house. All this shit that makes LA seem so laid back and peaceful gets to me.”

With his debut Testimony LP out on October 9, Letta has a lot on his mind and while LA’s hoards of teenage trap DJs are a drag, the album’s background soon takes over the conversation. “I did the hip hop thing for a really long time. Always slower than the boom bap-y stuff, more on a Portishead tip. I was always making shit at 65-70 BPM. I just sampled shit for years.” The conversation takes a detour to the tragic passing of legendary Brownsville rapper Sean P, one of Letta’s favorite MCs and an immensely relatable figure. Nonetheless, Nicoletta later laments that “words are dead” and, at least for now, he’s working almost entirely with the instrumental format, blending the occasional sample into the mix but largely letting his pensive, harmonically thorough productions shine on their own.

Letta first came across grime in the early 2000s, initially attracted by the sparse arrangements and dark minimalism of Wiley, Ruff Sqwad and Tinchy Strider. The MCs reminded him of East Coast rap’s rougher streak, the cold, no-fucks-given attitude that would also attract him to Portishead and Gang of Four. In fact, Letta’s dad was in several Seattle and Bellingham-based synth pop bands, an uneven (but unsurprising) musical lineage that included the passing down of an Ensoniq ESQ-1. Years later, after a long stint in a methadone clinic, Letta would utilize a Casio-101 to begin to realize the sound found throughout Testimony, a cavernous blend of twisting, heart-wrenching synth lines and punchy drum programming loosely based in classic grime, but more akin to the style pumped out by other Coyote artists like Spokes and Last Japan, as well as much of Mr. Mitch’s Gobstopper roster.

Hit the jump to read the full Letta feature interview…

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Decibel Festival 2015 Preview & Most Anticipated Acts

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September 15, 2015
Festivals, Live
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The trip back to my hometown of Seattle for Decibel Festival almost seems like routine at this point, an annual late-September jaunt back to the Northwest to see what the festival has to offer and how it has adapted to the city’s rapidly changing landscape. While past festival’s have proven to be fertile party zones, highlights coming from after hours events and day time boat parties, Decibel 2015 looks to have a healthy dose of the more cerebral side of the electronic music spectrum, acts like Laurel Halo, Tim Hecker and Kid Smpl standing out more than the deluge of house, techno and beats acts that make up the rest of the bill. Of course, Marcel Dettman, The Black Madonna and the indomitable Jlin have us all a flutter, but there’s something about sitting in the Triple Door at 6 PM or catching the early sets at Neumos or The Crocodile that seems especially cathartic this time time around. Maybe it’s the time of year or maybe I’m getting older, but there’s only so much tech house one individual can take. Without further ado, our three most anticipated acts at this year’s Decibel Festival. See you out there.

1.) Jlin – Discwoman – Thursday, September 24 – Re-Bar

As Chicago’s footwork movement has gone worldwide, more and more artists from the city itself and the surroundings have begun to attract critical attention. Jlin, a Gary, Indiana based steel worker, released her debut album, Dark Energy, on Planet Mu in March and the album still stands up as one of the genre’s most nerve-bending experiments and a record that can hardly be called footwork. Angular, paranoid and full of pent up, raw movement, Dark Energy fits almost seemingly in the void between “body” music and “mind” music, binding a vicious approach to mind numbingly complex drum programming and an almost unrivaled spacial awareness. Jlin wil be performing at the Discwoman showcase, alongside Natasha Kmeto, Young Ejecta, Raica and Experimental Housewife, on Thursday night on Re-Bar.

2.) The Black Madonna – Bottom Forty – Thursday, September 24 – The Crocodile

Resident at Chicago’s legendary Smart Bar and now international auteur of all things good and holy in the world of house, techno and disco, The Black Madonna is someone we can all look up to, for her skills on deck, her multifaceted production work and her constant struggle for gender equality in the dance music sphere. One of the most exciting American deejays, the woman born Marea Stamper is something of a jack of all trades, playing party starting sets without coming across ostentatious, work that can be heard in her recent Bunker and Boiler Room podcasts. The Black Madonna plays at the Bottom Forty showcases, alongside Daniel Avery and Nark, on Thursday night at The Crocodile.

3.) Tim Hecker – Optical: Dark Overtone – Saturday, September 26 – The Triple Door

Everything I could say about Tim Hecker has probably already been said, but the chance to see his full ensemble (I just missed his performance with Tyondai Braxton in Los Angeles) is one of the main reasons for attending this year’s festival. Slated to play in Seattle jazz club The Triple Door, Hecker’s synesthetic, fever dream-esques compositions are truly one of a kind, bringing ambient into the noise world and vice versa. At once deafening, soothing and hallucinogenic, the Montreal artist’s past few albums, especially Virgins and Ravedeath, 1972 have been immensely important to me personally and have served as an entry point to the more abstract, sit down part of the electronic music world. Hecker will be performing at the Dark Overtone showcase, alongside Dasha Rush and Alexander Lewis, on Saturday night at The Triple Door.

Outlook Festival 2015: Boy Better Know, Mumdance, Deep Medi Steal Show In Midst Of Thunderstorms

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September 14, 2015
Festivals, Live
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Photo by Dan Medhurst

A few years back, while on time off from a study abroad period in Morocco, I was able to attend MS Dockville, a smallish festival in Hamburg featuring the likes of Oneohtrix Point Never, Holy Other and Michachu and the Shapes. Having only attended American festivals to that point, my opinion of music festivals was bleak to say the least, literal fights for space and air in what could easily be described as gigantic cesspools of humanity. MS Dockville was a welcome reprieve from the glut and general decrepitude of the American festival, both in terms of programming and general respect on the part of attendees. There was no more space at the festival grounds in Hamburg than a midsize US soiree, but the way attendees interacted with the music and each other gave the whole event a neat, cozy overtone.

Since that weekend, I’ve been aching to return to a European festival and when a friend proffered the idea of making the trip to Pula, Croatia for Outlook Festival, the soundsystem culture-focused event happening across five days in an Austro-Hungarian fort on the Adriatic Sea, the opportunity was almost too good to pass up. The legend of Outlook and Fort Punta Christo runs deep and feasting on the lineup, especially names like Boy Better Know and Kromestar that us Americans can only dream of seeing on normal terms, became a regular activity in the months and weeks before the festival, the anticipation becoming almost overwhelming as we began our 30 hour jaunt across ocean and land to reach the small coastal city.

Looking back now, a week after Outlook’s world class soundsystems finally shut down, it’s hard to imagine we were on a beach watching Hatcha and DJ EZ play out classic-laden sets or at the festival’s unmatched Moat stage brucking out as Acre and Mumdance shook down the entire Fort at the Tectonic 10 party. And more than any individual set, the opportunity to attend a festival with near-total support for its modus operandi. In short, most of the people at this year’s festival were there because of their dedication to soundsystem culture and/or its various modern forms. With a few exceptions at the top of the bill, Outlook’s lineup was composed of labels, parties and artists outside of the general public eye, meaning the likes of Amy Becker, Parris and DJ Milktray having the opportunity to lay down high energy sets in front of huge, adoring crowds.

Hit the jump for a full run down of The Astral Plane team’s experience at Outlook Festival in Pula, Croatia…

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Premiere: Arkitect – Foucault’s Dream (Imaabs Remix) [+ World Tour!]

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September 9, 2015
New Music, Remixes
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imaabs

If you’ve been following our Heterotopia and Heterotopia Remixes series, you’ll have known that we planned on releasing a third volume of remixes featuring a host of our favorite artists, both from the original release and from other spheres. For various reasons, that volume didn’t come together in a timely fashion, but several tracks were made and several others might appear in the future. Imaabs’ clubby take on Arkitect’s “Foucault’s Dream” was one of the tracks that did come into fruition and after a little mastering work, it’s more than ready for public consumption. On top of that, Imaabs just embarked on a huge world tour, hitting dates across South America, North America and Europe. As one of the original Heterotopia artists and a long time friend and ally of the site, it’s a real pleasure to see this tour come together and for his name to spread across the world. Enjoy this free download of Imaabs’ club opus of a remix and be sure to catch him in your city over these next few months.

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Premiere: Kastle – Jasmine

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September 9, 2015
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Developed around a hypothetical not-so-distant future world, Symbols boss Kastle‘s forthcoming Polytopia EP is his conceptually engaging and sonically extravagant release to date, eschewing the form-based bonds that tend to define and constrict most dance music. Across six songs, the Los Angeles-residing producer works through tempo and genre with ease, expanding on the pitched down vocal work of his past releases and strutting a sound that prides its kinks and distortions instead of half-assedly burying them. We’ve got “Jasmine” for you today, one of the only tracks on Polytopia that functions sans vocals and a relatively party-amicable track in a record full of dense, emotionally-wrenching work. Sitting a comfortable 140, “Jasmine” pulses and reacts to its symphonic major melody, contorting blown out kicks below rubbery noises and what comes across as some sort of alien hydraulic system. Polytopia is out September 18 through Symbols and can be pre-ordered here.

Lorenzo_BITW & Mina – Tombura (w/ Q&A)

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September 7, 2015
Interviews
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Part of Los Angeles outlet Friends of Friends’ inaugural Singles Series, Lorenzo_BITW’s & Mina’s “Tombura” comes in as one of the shapeshifting label’s most dancefloor-oriented products yet, a blazing UK funky anthem primed for Carnival takeover and play well into the cold months. Cheekily utilizing steel drums for the tracks only melodic function, the Rome-based Lorenzo and the London-based Mina have a surprising hit on hand for their first collaboration, combining the former’s rhythmic ingenuity (see: “Drumz”, “Guava Swim” and “Congo Natty”) with the latter’s ear for addictive melodies, often found on her Boko Boko sessions on Radar Radio. “Tombura” is out now on FoF and can be bought here and here. Scroll through a quick Q&A with the artists and some rubiks cube talk.

Can you tell us about the creative process behind this collaboration and what strengths each of you brought to the table to make “Tombura” what it is?

MINA: Collaborating was always something we had wanted to do since we met in Leeds a few years ago. I came up with the idea for the track originally, and it reminded me of Lorenzo’s tunes, so I sent to him to see if he wanted to work on it with me together. The first time he sent it back to me it already sounded so good, it just took a few more times sent back and forth before it was finished, very straight-foward! I think I am stronger with melodic stuff and Lorenzo is better at the rhythmical side of things, we compliment each other very well!

LORENZO: Hannah sent me a rough idea of the track, i absolutely loved the melody at first and it something it captures my attention immediately. From there i kind of built some drums around it, and we keep exchanging versions of the track till it was done.

Any more collabs coming up, with eachother or otherwise?

MINA: Yeah, we definitely want to work on more stuff together given that its had such a positive reaction! I’m currently working on a track with a producer from London called Mokadem, and I’m off to Freetown, Sierra Leone in December to collaborate with local MCs and vocalists. I’m very excited, there is such a vast amount of raw talent in Freetown.

LORENZO: Me and Hannah will work on more music together soon and i am really excited about it. I am doing some music with Tsvi (part of the Nervous Horizion crew), who is another Italian producer and he’s really talented.

What’s been your best DJ moment in recent memory?

MINA: Playing in a banana plantation in Ghana! On a huge soundsystem in the jungle with about 500 people going nuts to afrobeats all night. Out to the Asa Baako crew, its an incredibly beautiful and unique festival!

LORENZO: Guesting on rinse.fm for Marcus Nasty back in June was an incredible moment as i always loved radio, and especially station like Rinse, plus the dj equipment was really good there, i wish i can always use that.

What are you guys passionate about outside of music?

MINA: Rubik’s cubes!

LORENZO: It’s mainly music for me, i used to take a lot of pictures and i still do. Photography has always intrigued me but it never as much as music does.

What else is in the pipeline for your individual projects like BITW and Boko! Boko!?

MINA: Boko! Boko! as a collective is continually growing and expanding, our next party is September 26th. Whilst it’s foremost about pushing forward thinking sounds from around the world, we are also using it as platform to encourage female participation within music. We just want to normalise the idea of men and women playing alongside one another, diversity makes a better party!

LORENZO: Got a couple of tracks inside some compilations, and a couple of remixes coming up. Plus I want to dj more in Italy, and i would like to start getting more recognition over here.