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Mixes

Dro Carey Guest Mix For The Astral Plane

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December 3, 2012
Mixes
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DroCarey

When we first asked Eugene Hector if he would be willing to contribute to our Guest Mix series, we were fully aware that the possibilities for what we might receive from the Sydney-native. A straight-up hip hop mix full of Brick Squad Monopoly and Max B tracks wouldn’t have surprised us, but neither would a true school juke mix, or anything in between for that matter. Following the release of his first LP as Tuff Sherm though, it’s only right that Hector laid down a mixture of obscure British/German techno and tracks from his recent Shrapnel Maestro LP. For those who haven’t been following the many sobriquets Hector has adopted over the past few years, Tuff Sherm is his most dancefloor-oriented project, working mainly in the techno and house realms. Despite a fairly dark vibe overall, Hector juxtaposes dense atmospherics with more upbeat warm vibes repeatedly for an enveloping experience that grows on you every time you listen. Stream/Download below, hit the jump for the full tracklist and grab Shrapnel Maestro here.

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Sounds From The Astral Plane (Thank You Flying Lotus)

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December 2, 2012
Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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Can we talk about Steven Ellison for a moment? Just take a few minutes out of this lovely Sunday afternoon to recognize what the man stands for and what he represents in the 2012 music landscape. This little piece probably won’t include anything that hasn’t been said, but it’s so worth reiterating it, especially this week. As Flying Lotus, Steven Ellison has produced some of the most divergent, thought provoking and challenging electronic music of the past 20 or so years. Since his arrival, Mr. Ellison has essentially put Los Angeles’ instrumental hip hop movement, known by most as the “beat scene”, on his back, pushing it into international waters. Despite being the figurehead of this movement, touring incessantly and heading a hugely successful label, he is still the very best at what he does. Furthermore, he seems to genuinely enjoy making music, meeting fans and performing. If you’ve ever seen a Flying Lotus set, you know what I’m talking about. That ear-to-ear smile is just impossible not to replicate. That’s why it isn’t even remotely surprising that Ellison devised and followed through on the Captain Murphy project. Ok, his above-average rapping ability is a little surprising, but the fact that he would release a free album featuring a menagerie of the best MC’s and producers in hip hop shouldn’t be. So before getting to the rest of this week’s sounds, can we all take a moment to thank Steven Ellison? He deserves that much from us.

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Toro Y Moi At Boiler Room LA

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December 1, 2012
Live, Mixes
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toro y moi

It’s always fun to see where artists gather influence from and there isn’t a better way to go about this than listening to what they listen to. A fan can go about this in several ways: reading interviews and listening to the influencers they inevitably mention, digging into the history of the sound and/or genre they are working within, or listening to mixes (if available) that artist has mixed or curated. Combining all three is probably your best bet to get into the head of ______, but going the mix route is probably the most efficient. Chaz Bundick aka Toro Y Moi obviously gathers influence from a ton of disparate sources, belying the “chillwave” denotation often attributed to the South Carolina-native. Recently, Bundick laid down an hour long set at Boiler Room Los Angeles, laying into some classic house and more contemporary garage, all with the immensely soulful spirit he attacks his recorded music with. As always, the LA crowd is underwhelming so I recommend you download the mix below and take it with you on an excursion through the forest or something.

JETS (Jimmy Edgar & Machinedrum) Explore Clubland In Latest FACT Mix

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November 26, 2012
Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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The partnership between Jimmy Edgar and Machinedrum makes too much sense. The two came up in similar fashions, crafting their own individual takes on electro and club music and now reside in Berlin. Despite the superpower implications of their JETS project, the buildup to their self-titled EP felt somewhat restrained, as if excitement was implied instead of exuded. The Jets EP is an impressive release in every sense of the word, borrowing dance from tropes from across the bass music sphere with the result being four tightly wound balls of energy. What the EP lacks though is a certain flair for the dramatic that is readily apparent in both Edgar and Stewart’s solo work. As technically proficient as the EP is, it lacks a certain rawness that can transform a release from just another EP into something that will be played out years down the road.

Regardless of the EP’s relative shortcomings, the partnership between Edgar and Stewart is sure to bear more succulent fruit, the first sign of which comes in the form of their contribution to FACT Mag’s mix series. Rife with exclusives, the mix is a 75+ minute marathon through a club wasteland, littered with the defiled carcasses of dozens of sub-genres. There is unreleased JETS material, as well as unreleased solo jawns from Edgar and Stewart. There is a break for old timey radio ads. There is a Machinedrum remix of Triple Six Mafia’s “Who Run It” (!!!) an Edgar remix of Body Language’s “Lose My Head”. If you’re looking for an introduction to the ambiguities of club and/or bass music, look no further than this mix. I just got excited about JETS all over again. Stream and download below.

Sounds From The Astral Plane (R.I.P. Austin Peralta)

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November 25, 2012
Live, Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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I can’t pretend to have known Austin Peralta or to be profound enough to properly eulogize him, but what I can do is recognize the enormous outpouring of love for a young man and transcendent musician who has tragically passed away. It’s easy to portray false love/appreciation through a computer screen, but I truly believe in the genuine nature of the hundreds of tributes that have popped up across the web. I remember seeing Austin at Low End Theory earlier this year and remarking on the ingenuity of his (quite literally) mind melting solos, but leaving halfway through the set nonetheless. Whether it was a lack of patience or just pure laziness, I can’t remember, but Austin’s passing has enlarged a feeling of deep personal regret. On a larger scale, Austin’s passing, like his music, is a remark on the ephemeral nature of life itself. So please, listen to this recording from Austin’s release party in Eagle Rock last year and recognize the incandescence that was Austin Peralta.

Hit the jump for the rest of the sounds…

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WD4D Exhibits Tasteful Sensibility In Live N Love Set

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November 20, 2012
Live, Mixes
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The Pacific Northwest’s electronic music scene has been a slumbering giant for quite some time, harboring enough talent to rival other major metropolis’, but without the vehicle to promote it. Over the past few years, the scene has begun to rev its engine and install important infrastructure that will ensure success for artists and labels for years to come. Much of the success to date is due to Decibel Festival, the annual four day event of all things good. Decibel has given shine to some of our favorite local labels including Dropping Gems, Hush Hush and Car Crash Set, and its organizers assist the scene all year long. Waylon Dungan aka WD4D is one of Seattle’s most talented producers and one that would most likely have been largely ignored a decade ago. Dungan has performed several times at Decibel and is a resident at weekly Stop Biting events. He recently opened for Astral Plane favorite Kid Smpl and Sweatson Klank (formerly Take) and exhibited a tasteful sensibility in his selections that is quite indicative of the scene as a whole. The set features a spattering of tracks from some of our favorite artists, as well as a few WD4D exclusives. As the Northwest awakens from its sleep, producers like WD4D and Kid Smpl will be at the tip of the wave so get acquainted. Stream and download below.

Stream New Karenn (Blawan & Pariah) EP, Mix For Rinse.FM

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November 19, 2012
Mixes, New Music
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As individuals, Blawan and Pariah are two of the most talked about names in British electronic music, both mutating and exploiting bass music into new and exciting territories. As Karenn, the duo are techno masterminds, explorers of all things dark and grimy. Last week, the duo released their second vinyl-only EP, SHEWORKS004, consisting of six stripped down/bare bones tracks with immense propulsion behind them. The EP is not for the faint of heart, but if you have a powerful system at your disposal, you would be remiss not to rinse it. And speaking of rinsing, Karenn took over Hessle Audio’s weekly Rinse.FM show last Thursday to celebrate the EP release. You can stream snippets of SHEWORKS004 below and download Pariah and Blawan’s Rinse.FM mix here (right click).

Night Slugs In This Mothafucka

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November 19, 2012
Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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From the opening salvo of “Night Slugs in this mothafucka, Fade To Mind’s in this mothafucka”, the listener pretty much knows what they’re getting into with L-Vis 1990’s NSMIX002: 70 minutes of the eclectic, mind melting jams from the foremost purveyors of club music. The mix was recorded at Dubspot NYC and features several unreleased L-Vis originals and remixes as well as an unreleased Bok Bok/Tom Trago collaboration and Girl Unit’s “Double Take Pt. 2”. L-Vis keeps it in the Night Slugs/Fade To Mind family for the most part, rinsing tunes by KW Griff, MikeQ, Jam City and more. Stream and download the mix below and peep the tracklist after the jump.

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Sounds From The Astral Plane (Reboot)

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November 18, 2012
Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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The below quote in from David Foster Wallace and Mark Costello’s Signifying Rappers, a discussion on hip hop and race, as well as a thorough criticism of rapidly changing, turn of the century media forms. I felt it was probably more worthwhile than the brief commentary I was going to plaster here instead.

You may now be getting some hazy idea of the sorts of really quite scary possibilities with which the rap we like is replete. And, hazier, of how complicated this stuff of sampler-from-outside can be. What’s remained passing strange, for use, is the vague threat’s appeal. The unease and ambivalence with which the rare white at the window loves rap renders that love no less love. Whence the fear, though, is really no matter. For look at the world, at the masses we’re part of. At what you look at closest. The plain 80s data is that, whereas love, devotion, passion seem only to divide, it’s fear and strangeness that bind crowds, fill halls, unite Us, somehow, as audience, under the great tent.

Discuss.

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Bok Bok And Girl Unit Use Hardware In Heaven

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November 13, 2012
Live, Mixes
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There has been a growing trend in electronic music where traditional “DJ” acts are starting to perform “Live” sets. Now, I’m not talking about a DJ playing only their own music off of CDJ’s. Not some progressive house bullshit. I’m talking about an artist who has spent much of their life DJing, moving into the live realm, complete with drum machines, synthesizers and other hardware. Like every other trend, the results have been hit and miss. Some artists just don’t really know how to utilize the hardware they use in the studio in a live setting. Others are just plain bad at it. Pariah and Blawan’s Karenn project is an example of an act doing it live (fuck it) and doing it well.

It has been a relatively quiet year in the Night Slugs camp, and with the exception of Girl Unit’s huge Club Rez EP, some might be lead to believe that the foremost purveyors in club music are sitting on their laurels. Those people are mistaken. Bok Bok and Girl Unit’s recent one off set at London nightclub Heaven showed the two established producers breaking into new ground, utilizing hardware to the fullest extent for a raw, new live experience. The duo brought a TR-909, Drumtraks, Polysix, Juno 106 and an MPC with them and the results are marvelous, highlighting the technical skill of both producers as well as the malleable nature of using hardware. Girl Unit’s “Ensemble” sounds far more powerful in this setting and the occasional blips in the show add a human texture that doesn’t really appear in your standard DJ set.

Even though many (most?) of the live sets being trotted out are unrefined, it’s a good sign that electronic musicians are diversifying their bonds and moving into new territory. I respect the art of DJing as much as anyone, but it can only go so far and the reproduction of a sound on stage actively refutes the “pushing buttons”/”laptop musician” mentality.