Riding on the back of a FACT mix and two (!) (one and two) “Party Packages” for Truants, East London grime don Spooky is on a real roll as of late. Always known as one of the very best grime DJs (often playing four or more sets a week on London’s long-running Deja Vu FM), Spooky has rightfully been getting more and more acclaim for the production side of his artistic acumen. On August 12, he will release “Baby”, a rollicking bassline jam, on Unknown To The Unknown. The release will feature a stacked remix lineup, ranging from Matrixxman’s buttery house to Flava D’s stringent garage manipulations. Spooky also carried out what we were all vaguely imagining, utilizing the four bar melody and bass hits of Kanye West’s “New Slaves” to create an unparalleled grime bootleg. Stream below and throw one up for the don.
New Music
New Jeremih – “Ex-To-See”
It doesn’t take much to get us excited about a new Jeremih album, but with the latest news that Cashmere Cat will be involved (with video evidence) and now “Ex-To-See”, our enthusiasm is boiling over. Even that mediocre Game-assisted jawn couldn’t dissuade our swooning ways. Thumpy Johnson is slated to be released by the end of the calendar year (fingers crossed) and is slated to have one Sean Combs playing the roll of executive producer. It will also surely host a slew of delectable features along the lines of Natasha Moseley and Ludacris. “Ex-To-See” is a song about drugs, exes and the club. It’s classic Jeremih fodder, complete with noodling melodies, assuaging synth washes and some not quite recognizable vocal manipulation. It’s also up for a free download at the moment. Not one to be missed.
New Key Nyata – “The Shadowed Diamond” (Prod. Key Nyata)
Based on Spaceghostpurrp’s uneven social media commentary, I’m unsure if Raider Klan is still an entity. It could have been dissolved months ago, its creative letter use discarded and its variegated elements thrown to the wind. It could be operating, waiting to strike and further impose its outlaw rhetoric on the hip hop listening public. Or maybe Spaceghostpurrp, Amber London and Yung Simmie are locked away in an underground lair plotting the demise of A$AP Mob. Regardless, in between Simmie’s Shut Up & Vibe Vol. 1 (formerly Basement Musik) and London’s Tru 2 Tha Phonk the (former) Klan has been putting numbers on the board with striking regularity. Seattle’s own (former) Klan representative, Key Nyata, has also been creating a respectable niche for himself via his dark, viscous rhymes and DJ U-Neek in the digital era production. “The Shadowed Diamond” was previewed months ago, but today we received the full version in all of its glory. In the past Nyata’s flow has been obfuscated under the many layers of his dense beat work, but “The Shadowed Diamond” highlights both his referential lyrical matter and production acumen flawlessly. The song will be the title track of Nyata’s next album.
Zodiac Remixes Glass Animals’ “Black Mambo”
Toronto-based producer Zodiac (aka Jeremy Rose) has been relatively quiet since the release of his self-titled EP on Jacques Greene’s Vase-Forever label and the whole Abel Tesfaye fiasco. With the exception of a remix for Arclight and a feature in RBMA’s #Hashtag video series, the lightning rod producer has been almost entirely absent from the music listening public’s general consciousness. Woe is us, the silence is suffocating. With remarkable timing though, Rose emerged today with a remix for Glass Animals, our favorite British psychedelic R&B act and one of the most underrated acts on either side of the Atlantic. In typical fashion, the remix shows remarkable restraint, relying on reverberating synth pads and the deep, stultified sonics that have become Rose’s greatest signifiers. Oh and you should really listen to Glass Animals if they haven’t already entered your library. Stream Zodiac’s remix below and pre-order the 12″ here (out July 29 on Wolf Tone).
Relaunch! (Obey City – “Fallin”)
All it took was a simple email. Earlier this morning, a representative from LuckyMe shot on email to The Astral Plane team asking us to take down an “embarrassing” press photo of Obey City that we had posted last March. In the quest to find the image in our media archives, I got sidetracked and, to make a long story short, became remarkably nostalgic. See, I’ve been working a full time job and, unfortunately, the blog has fallen by the wayside. It was just one of those occasions where priorities had to be shifted and The Astral Plane fell into disrepair. Don’t think that our lovely readers (the few that are left at least) and the artists we cover have been forgotten though. It’s with pleasure that our team is looking to relaunch and get back on the proverbial (blogging) horse. It made all too much sense that LuckyMe/Obey City gave us this initial propulsion as the Glasgow label and Brooklyn producer have been a constant on these pages since our inception last January. Obey City will release his LuckyMe debut, the Champagne Sounds EP, on August 6 with another beverage influenced EP (Merlot Sounds) coming soon after. You might recognize “Fallin” from Rustie’s (still) seminal Essential Mix from last year. Expect to see a lot more of this and that on The Astral Plane in the coming days, weeks and months. As always, we love you!
New Nacho Picasso – “Fuck Rio”
Fuck groupies, am I right? Black narcissus aka Nacho Picasso hits out at Rio on “Fuck Rio” (who would have thunk it?), who may or may not be real. And by hit out, I mean spit some of the most quotable diss diss parables we’ve heard in quite some time. These lines wouldn’t sound quite right if they weren’t spit via Nacho’s lethargic, badman flow.
New Boards Of Canada – “Reach For The Dead”
First off, it took me a while to totally get Boards Of Canada. See, I was six when Music Has A Right To Children and didn’t get around to the duo’s deeper catalogue until last year. If you were worried though, it finally clicked for me around the time I was revisiting Hi Scores. There’s a supernaturally grounded quality about BoC that I still haven’t been able to put my finger on, but it’s there. On June 10, BoC will release Tomorrow’s Harvest on Warp, their first full length since 2005’s The Campfire Headphase. You can listen to “Reach For The Dead” now. It’s excellent in that BoC way. Oh and pre-order the album here. Please.
Ryan Hemsworth Gives Back With Free ‘Still Awake’ EP
Before becoming the Ryan Hemsworth, Ryan Hemsworth was a relatively unknown Halifax-native with a penchant for web-based jollies. In the past twelve months though, the man who first caught our attention via a string of quality remixes and free EPs has toured Europe, aligned himself with the ever-subversive Wedidit collective and engrained himself in the transposable joint worlds of Tumblr/Soundcloud. Hemsworth has also diversified his sound, extending himself into the realms of Jersey club and out-and-out house, as well as refining his hip hop production palate. Today, we received the Still Awake EP, an all-free-everything offering that reverts to the Hemsworth we originally fell in love with way back when. Still Awake is full of breezy house and hip hop numbers, replete with enough chipmunk vocals and airy synths to engage even the most jaded listener. The first five tracks are delightfully elevated, but the EP really kicks into gear with “All Our Thoughts Are Physical” and Japanese producer Taquwami’s remix of “Perfectly”, a seductive off-kilter jam that changes the tone of the EP entirely. It feels like the Tokyo-based producer is on the tip of everyone’s collective tongue these days and it’s only a matter of time before his music becomes ubiquitous. It usually only takes one remix or guest feature to make that happen and we applaud Hemsworth for sticking with his guns and supporting such a prodigious, yet under appreciated musician. Stream Taquwami’s remix below, hit the jump to stream the full EP and download the whole damn thang here.
Don’t Blame Boardwalk
Dreamy pop music always has a place in the summer months and there’s an early frontrunner for king of the beach. Los Angeles duo Boardwalk built their own equipment, have already been signed by Stones Throw (who appear to be less and less interested in hip hop every day) and just released their first single on flexidisc. I’m sure you can infer something from that by reading Simon Reynolds’ Retromania, but I prefer to just take it as is. Later this summer, the duo will release their debut full length so you’ll just have to bathe in the false reality nostalgia established by “I’m To Blame” until then.
Fort Romeau Remixes Holy Other’s “Held”
It makes all too must sense that Ghostly International’s resident minimal house don Fort Romeau would take on similarly left field act Holy Other’s “Held” and the results do not disappoint. The track is the result of a tour the two embarked on last year and features the mysterious R&B acts ethereal vocals superimposed over a simmering bassline that operates in a similar fashion to John Talabot & Pional’s “Destiny”. Transcendent collaborations like this don’t come around all that often, so download below and maybe even give the two artists a shout on the cloud of sound.









