Author Archives: Gabe Meier

If you’ve been following the deluge of “new wave” grime round-ups in recent months, the name Glacial Sound will be quite familiar at this point. Often lumped in with fellow upstart outposts like Goon Club Allstars, Coyote Records and Liminal Sounds, the Dublin-based imprint only has two releases to its name to date, but label-head Paul Purcell has flipped a keen eye for talent and an adoration for vinyl into a groundswell of UK and international support. Launched last June via Rabit’s now scene-defining Double Dragon EP, Glacial Sound is nominally a grime label, but if you’ve spent any time with the aforementioned Rabit release or Murlo’s highly touted Last Dance EP, you’ll know that Purcell’s vision far surpasses anything that could traditionally be dubbed grime. Double Dragon is a spacious effort that derives much of its sound palette from Wiley’s Devil Mixes, but exists in a protean universe of wildly twisting melodic content that defies its influences. Hailing from Houston, Rabit exists far from grime’s epicenter, but has managed to funnel some of its most left-field elements into a final product that eschews the more stultified components of the original product.

Whereas Rabit has developed and maintained a sound that is mutually exclusive in its own right, Murlo has synthesized the bright sound palettes and skittering rhythms of Caribbean music like soca and dancehall into an ornate, fully original byproduct. More than just about any other producer, Murlo’s music, especially Last Dance, mirrors the multi-cultural, multi-denominational nature of contemporary London.

Both Double Dragon and Last Dance have created a sustainable platform for Glacial Sound and the future seems bright with an upcoming Rabit & Logos white label in store. In a remarkably short time, Purcell has attained what most labels struggle over for years: an idiosyncratic identity. For Astral Plane Mix 018, we asked Paul to showcase Glacial Sound and to give our readers a taste of what he’s listening to at the moment. The result is a whirlwind journey through the kaleidoscopic sounds of London and grime’s various mutations. We also asked Paul what he likes to listen to when he’s on the go as there is a certain sense of movement (or lack thereof) that is inherent in the Glacial Sound aesthetic. Check out Paul’s addition to our guest mix series below and hit the jump for his on-the-go selections and track list.

New Wen – “Intro (Family)”

By Gabe Meier

February 4, 2014

New Music

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On March 17, Owen Darby aka Wen will release the Signals LP on Dusk & Blackdown’s Keysound Recordings. As Wen’s debut full length, the album will offer up a kaleidoscopic view of UK pirate radio culture, London’s urban, grey-scale aesthetic and other signifiers we’ve come to expect in his productions. “Intro (Family)” is a swirling combination of eski/8 bar/wot u call it stabs and cinematic synth pads. The perpetual MC chants below the track’s surface, but acts more as a foil to the beatific pads and whirling spin backs. In the end, it’s a self-described intro, but the track shines more than enough light into Wen’s thought process to get us chuffed for the album.

Logos Mix For The Astral Plane

By Gabe Meier

January 29, 2014

Mixes, New Music, Uncategorizable

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Dusk & Blackdown’s Keysound Recordings label functioned as a home for experimentation and left-field recordings for the past several years, churning out more than their fair share of seminal records. With the recent spate of grime “revivalists” (sorry) in mind, the label has released the likes of Visionist, Rabit, Moleskin and others, preferring a sub-freezing, enveloping take on the traditional sounds of Wiley, XTC and Musical Mob. While their are more than enough examples to choose from, Logos‘ 2012 Kowloon EP exemplifies the brittle, yet protean sound that the aforementioned producers, Keysound and, especially, Slackk’s monthly mixes have come to exemplify. Crystalline in nature, Kowloon has been compared to the piano compositions of Phillip Glass, relying more on wispy melodies than on machinegun snare bursts or patois banter. 2013’s Cold Mission LP (also on Keysound) acts as an apogee of this sound, an exquisitely constructed 11 song album with several collaborations and out-of-nowhere interruptions to keep the listener on edge.

At this point, we’ve left it to other, more talented writers to espouse the venerable qualities and inherent frigidity of Cold Mission, so instead we reached out to the man himself (born James Parker) and asked for a contribution to our guest mix series. After a few months of emailing back-and-forth, we wrangled the following 30 minutes of hazy techno, forceful drum tracks and 90s Memphis rap. The track list has been left intentionally vague, but if you’ve been following us, you’ll surely recognize a few choice cuts and will surely recognize more as they emerge (or not) in the future. Enjoy.

Sinjin Hawke & MikeQ Collaborate On “ThunderScan”

By Gabe Meier

January 27, 2014

New Music, Videos

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It’s always a pleasure to post the best press shot in music, in no small part because the song it accompanies is always a smasher. Sinjin Hawke evolved into an unstoppable beast in 2013 through a series of remixes and collaborations and 2014 will likely end up being one of those “leap” years for the producer that everyone talks about. Whether he’s revamping ghetto house or doing Just Blaze better than Just Blaze (or with Just Blaze for that matter), the Barcelona-based producer has elicited an innumerable amount of excited yelps from this listener. If I had to pick a highlight from Sinjin’s 2013 , it would have to be the establishment of the visual-focused Fractal Fantasy series, a collaborative effort with significant other Zora Jones that has featured L-Vis 1990, Morri$ and Ms. Jones herself. The latest Fractal Fantasy effort, titled “ThunderScan”, comes from Sinjin and Fade To Mind/Qween Beat talisman MikeQ. If you’ve followed Sinjin’s progression over the past several years, the vocal twists and irregular pacing will not come as a surprise, but with MikeQ’s ballroom “ha”s and crashes thrown into the mix, “ThunderScan” appears to exist in a wild, unpredictable state. Watch the video and it will all make sense.

New Mumdance – “It’s Peak (Club Mix)”

By Gabe Meier

January 23, 2014

New Music

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The pairing of Mumdance with Unknown to the Unknown is as exciting a premise as we’ve heard in quite some time. With releases on Keysound, Tectonic and several American labels under his belt, plus a few wildly successful collaborations with Logos, Mumdance has solidified his rave credentials and is ready for the big-time. The Springtime EP does not have a release date yet, but we’ve been gifted a taste of it in the form of “It’s Peak (Club Mix)”, a knife-like techno jam that has our legs moving in some type of way. “It’s Peak (Club Mix)” is spiky and inundated by a dripping water sample, but also retains its rave credentials and maintains a slinky quality. It’s everything at once, a quality that has rocketed Mumdance into the general consciousness over the past several years.

Stream Jubilee’s Pull Ova EP + Salva Remix

By Gabe Meier

January 23, 2014

New Music, Remixes

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With 2012’s Pop It! EP, Jubilee made her purpose of fusing Miami bass with contemporary American dance music styles very clear. The EP was met with mixed reviews, but in the months since its release, the Brooklyn-resident and Mixpak reppin’ DJ/producer has proven the ability (again and again and again) to infuse the stripped down, booty-focused nature of Miami, Uncle Luke and strip clubs into a relatively contemporary formation. On January 28, we can all celebrate the Eastern seaboard and its respective dance sub-cultures via the Pull Ova EP, which also be released on Mixpak. The EP features a tone-changing remix from Salva, plenty of Miami signifiers and two wildly entertaining originals in “I-95” and “Pull Ova”. There are also plenty of nods to Chicago and Detroit, specifically with regards to jit and Dance Mania, references that are always appreciated. Stream the EP below and if you’re in the Brooklyn area next weekend, hit up the release party, which will also feature Dubbel Dutch, Dre Skull and others.

New LiL JaBBA – “Skates”

By Gabe Meier

January 21, 2014

New Music

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As a recent inductee into the vaunted Teklife crew, Brooklyn-resident Alexander Shaw aka LiL JaBBA has been receiving quite a bit of shine in recent months, shine that was solidified with the brilliant Scales EP on Tom Lea’s Local Action imprint. As both a producer and visual artist, Shaw maintains an impeccable ear for texture, working highly emotive concepts into his often hyper-speed dance concoctions. Self-described as an “iced over cave Riddim”, JaBBA’s latest effort goes by the name of “Skate” and is a molasses slow slumper that retains the indignantly pretty sound he has become known for. At some point in the coming months, Shaw will release an EP on the True Panther imprint, an EP that will hopefully see the Australian born producer exploring more icy terrains.

New Kevin Gates – “Don’t Know”

By Gabe Meier

January 16, 2014

New Music

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Kevin Gates is an interesting figure, someone who has both captivated the rap listening internet and built a vast, homegrown fan-base in his native Baton Rouge. In 2013, Gates released a mixtape (The Luca Brasi Story) and a self-released album (Stranger Than Fiction), both critically acclaimed efforts. He also appeared on songs with Migos, Starlito, Ty Dolla $, Pusha T, pushing his name into cities across the West and East Coast. Despite all that success, Gates did not have (to my knowledge) a single national radio hit and still has not released a major label album. In that sense, Gates is an anomaly in today’s national rap landscape, a financially soluble artist with a groundswell of support that still does not have that song or that album attributed to his name. At this point in his career, Gates might actually have more in common with Curren$y or Freddie Gibbs circa 2008. The next several years will decide whether Gates will take the Future route, evolving into an impressive radio monster that still retains a good deal of artistic integrity, or the Gangsta Gibbs route, a rapper with popular, yet a somewhat stultified career.

“Don’t Know” isn’t the song that will send Gates on either of the aforementioned routes, but it does represent his variegated skill set. He shows braggadocio (“don’t know no bitch I can’t hit”) and street solvency. He name drops Macaulay Culkin. He delves into his deeply troubled past, although it’s largely in passing and the storytelling is milquetoast compared to what he shows on tracks like “Neon Lights” and “430 AM”. The beat is pretty standard 808 Mafia and/or Zaytoven and/or Southside fare, acting as a more than capable backing for Gates’ boasts and strangled singing. Compared to Stranger Than Fiction, “Don’t Know” is a fairly straight-forward affair, lacking in both the production ingenuity and emotional affectivity the album offered. That being said, the song has the ability to draw in a wider audience, dispensing of all that damn storytelling that can bog down a good pop song. While “Don’t Know” will not push Gates into the world of radio pop, it does serve as indicator of how and where the Baton Rouge rapper will progress over the coming months and years.

New Brenmar – “Medusa” (Feat. Rush Davis)

By Gabe Meier

January 16, 2014

New Music

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For the past several years, Brenmar has been strutting his innate ability for producing dancefloor heaters on the US circuit, linking up with innumerable collaborators and becoming a household name in the club music world. These days, it looks like the New York resident might just have outgrown his shoes, producing bigger, more elaborate productions that resemble Mike Will Made It’s work more than anything coming out of his hometown of Chicago (or Jersey/Baltimore/Philly for that matter). On February 18, he will release High End Times Vol. 1, his first all originals mixtape and a striking effort that will surely enlarge his sound and fan-base. Featuring the likes of Sasha Go Hard and Mykki Blanco, the tape features a bevy of intriguing vocalists. Based on the Rush Davis featuring “Medusa”, High End Times might end up as seminal tape, melding radio ready R&B production with a regional club aesthetic, tied together by Davis’ mouthwatering performance. Stream/download “Medusa” below and be sure to mark down February 18 on the calendar.

Southern Hospitality Contribute FACT Mix 420

By Gabe Meier

January 15, 2014

Mixes

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Southern Hospitality is a blog, party, label and crew promoting the very best in hip hop and club music, preferably the bombastic land where the two meet. Rob Pursey and Davey Boy Smith have been imprinting the Southern Hospitality name on just about everything over the past several years, whether that means throwing the best damn rap party in London or releasing wild collaborative efforts from Danny Brown and Darq E Freaker. FACT Mag decided to grab Rob and Davey for their 420th mix and the result is the synthesis of the Southern Hospitality way. Essentially a list of what you should have been listening to over the past year and what you will be listening to over the next, this mix won’t be leaving the rotation for quite some time.