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Only three days after debuting the a-side of his first official single in two years, Kode9 has uploaded the b-side for public consumption. Opening with Nintendo charms, “Kan” quickly devolves into a barebones audial assault that will test even the largest sound systems. Most Kode9 tracks aren’t “bangers” in the traditional (knock you off your feet) sense, because there’s something almost uncanny about the way he mangles dubstep, garage, grime, etc. into his ultra-specific blueprint. “Xingfu Lu”/”Kan” is out next Monday (4/29) on Hyperdub.

Sasquatch Artist Of The Month: Killer Mike

By Gabe Meier

April 8, 2013

Festivals, Live, Uncategorizable

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Over the coming months, we’ll be highlighting a series of artists performing at Sasquatch Music Festival 2013 between May 24-27 at The Gorge Amphitheater in Quincy, Washington. Instead of a typical overview/introduction to each act, we’ll attempt to highlight what and how they’ll enhance the always wonderful Sasquatch experience. If you missed the initial lineup announcement, you can catch it here!

The Gorge has never been an especially great place to see hip hop, in part because of the Pacific Northwest’s general antipathy towards non-caucasian forms of the genre. That’s not to say that the residents of the Northwest’s urban locales don’t listen to non-white rappers, it’s just that, for the most part, they’d prefer someone, let’s say, a little less challenging. Coming straight out of Atlanta, GA, Killer Mike is the definition of challenging. A long time Dungeon Family (Outkast, Goodie Mobb, Organized Noize, etc. for the uninitiated) affiliate, the man born Michael Render has been challenging what it means to be both a Southern rapper and a “conscious” rapper for the better part of the past decade-plus. A critical darling in some circles, it wasn’t until this past year’s R.A.P. Music LP, entirely produced by El-P, that he became a wide-spread critical darling.

Stream: Killer Mike – “Reagan”

Last week, I was lucky enough to catch Mike at Paid Dues Festival and his performance stood out in stacked day that included performances from Black Hipppy, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib and Mobb Deep. Whether showing off his powerful, stark flow or going on an anti-Reagan screed, Mike owned the stage and managed to flip some controversial/heavy subject matter into an engrossing stage performance. If you’ve witnessed “political” hip hop on stage, you know that an overly passionate (*cough* Immortal Technique *cough*) performer can make the audience rather uncomfortable. Killer Mike manages to put forth thought provoking, anti-establishment ideals without making the audience uncomfortable, which is far easier said than done. I doubt that Mike will have a prime time slot on the lineup, but I promise you that his show will be one of the most powerful, long lasting performances of Memorial Day weekend.

Stream: Killer Mike – “Swimming” (Prod. Flying Lotus)

New Lapalux – “Forlorn” feat. Busdriver

By Gabe Meier

February 28, 2013

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Lapalux’s debut album comes out next month on Brainfeeder, but that isn’t going to stop the Essex-based producer from releasing excellent free jam after excellent free jam. The latest comes in the form of “Forlorn”, a Busdriver assisted rappity rap track that sees the Los Angeles-based MC go double-time over some fittingly astral production. Stream “Forlorn” below and grab it from Lapalux’s Bandcamp for free.99.

Sasquatch Artist Of The Month: John Talabot

By Gabe Meier

February 25, 2013

Festivals, Uncategorizable

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Much fuss has been made about the supposed lack of “EDM” figureheads at major American festivals this year, critics pointing to Coachella’s lack of a Swedish House Mafia-type headliner or the fact that Daft Punk have not shown up on any lineups (again). To a lesser extent, Sasquatch fans have complained about the Banana Shack’s (dance tent) shift in focus away from boom-or-bust DJs (think Nero, Wolfgang Gartner in the past), some commenters even going as far as to lament the lack of electronic artists period. Woe is the life of a 16 year old. While we shudder to think about how much Sasquatch shelled out for Steve Aoki, it is true that the festival has moved away from the kid-friendly acts that have dominated the Shack in recent years and towards, shall we say, something a bit more mature. Illustrating that point, we’ve decided to put the focus on our favorite Catalonian producer, John Talabot.

Hailing from Barcelona, Talabot has been an integral part of the Catalonian club scene for years, formerly as a techno DJ and currently as one of its most prominent acts. In short, Talabot emerged in 2009 after a pseudonym change and has released music on German label Permanent Vacation, Young Turks and his own Hivern Discs imprint. Talabot released his debut LP, fIN, last year and has captured the hearts of dance freaks and indie kids with equal fervor.

Stream: John Talabot – “So Will Be Now” feat. Pional

Talabot makes disco-inflected music, but not like anything you’ve heard before. The drums are tough and cut deeper than most other artists of his ilk and his vocals (contributed by Talabot himself and oftentime collaborator Pional), synth work and various samples are often drenched in waves of distortion that seems to echo from the deepest depths of the mix. Basslines are equally drawn out and momentous, tightly wound balls of energy that carry all the funk of early electro producers like Arabian Prince and Egyptian Lover. Talabot’s insistence on eschewing the formulaic nature of (most) house music allows for his songs to not only be amazing DJ tools, but to operate as functional pop music. “So Will Be Now” and “Destiny” are the prime example of this and both have been lauded by Pitchfork and other influential publications for their ear-worm qualities.

Stream: John Talabot – “Destiny” feat. Pional

It’s no surprise that both “So Will Be Now” and “Destiny” are assisted by fellow Catalonian Pional who contributes vocals to several Talabot jams and often plays a huge part in his live set up. Unfortunately, Pional (as far as we know) will not be joining Talabot at The Gorge, a large albeit not all-defeating loss. Sasquatch doesn’t always make it 100% clear whether artists will be performing a live or DJ set (see: SBTRKT last year), but we’re going to go by the fact that there’s no “DJ” in parentheses next to Talabot’s name on the lineup and assume that he’s playing a live set.

Stream: John Talabot Live @ 10 Days Off Festival

So imagine this: Talabot manipulating a mess of drum machines and samplers on stage as the sun slowly dips into the Columbia River and before you even realize it, the vocals of “Sunshine” begin to eclipse a muddy heap of distortion and twinkling chimes and come to coalesce perfectly with the razor sharp kicks. You’ve been waiting for this moment of blissful satisfaction for the past hour and when it hits, it’s impossible not to get swept up in the moment. Patience pays off after all.

On James Blake’s Retrograde Motion

By dildoshaggins

February 12, 2013

New Music, Uncategorizable

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I fear that humanity and subtlety are dying virtues in music. Every day, it becomes easier for artists to stack their work with more, as access to and ease of implementation of new sounds is pushed to a new horizon with the creation of every new song or instrument. In the quest to create the sound of the future, an additive, maximalist process of creation is often unavoidable seductive. In both vernacular and mindset, “hugeness” has become an uncomfortably universal end. For many, making a tune that fucks the club up is enough, and even amongst those with higher artistic ends, faced with an existence moving further and further into the “realm” of the internet and social media, the novelty of our new mechanized consciousness is an enticing subject matter, especially for the electronic musician. I’m puzzled and perturbed that, in an age of endless imitation, nobody makes club music with a level of sensuality and soul remotely close to that of Jacques Greene. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy and admire music that addresses the new digital landscape, but I worry that contemporary music neglects any truly inventive exploration of the “old-fashioned” troubadour-fodder of love, uncertainty and pathos. Call me nostalgic, but I’m starting to miss the beating heart and wit of the singer-songwriter.

Hit the jump to read on…

Shigeto Drops Some Beats 4 Dilla

By 5amAndrus

February 7, 2013

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First of all, happy birthday to the legend, the great J Dilla who’s signature sound inspired a lot of the music we write about here. Today, Ghostly International beatsmith Shigeto released a Soundcloud set that’s “All raw. Unfinished. Made in an hour or so with friends. Inspired my J Dilla’s effortless and relentless output.”

This is a special collection of tracks and one that does justice to J Dilla’s experimentation, workhorse mentality, soulful sound, and tendency to put you in a percussive headlock. On the flip-side, If you take a step back, some of these tracks sound more indebted to the current state of electronic beat music in general than to Dilla’s influence specifically, and that just proves his influence was so great It’s hard to say where you can or can’t hear Jay Dee-isms. The raw acoustic drums, chopped vocal samples, lingering hi-end textures, and big bass-lines definitely take us back. The Joseph Deas collaborations are a personal favorite for drifting off. I hope we see them collaborating more in the future. Stream and download below.

Mike Gao Premiers ‘Beta World Peace’

By 5amAndrus

January 30, 2013

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I was first introduced to Los Angeles/San Diego producer Mike Gao’s music when I peeped a Daisuke Tanabe collaboration as I was just getting into ECM (Ear Candy Music, I just coined that). At the time it wasn’t easy to find much work of his, but what I did hear was enough to convince me that I should keep watching this guy. His blend of hip hop, space funk, abstraction, textures, and a sound design repertoire that could pull it all together cohesively meant he was going to do some serious damage. Enter Beta World Peace.

Without exception, these are seven bangers. Each track is a creature that lurches along with its own personality, palpitates, and slobbers kicks, hats and snares as it walks. Where Gao excels is in sculpting and sequencing sounds in an original way. His sound design game is off the charts.

The bass that welcomes us to Gao’s world in “Vamos” is redonkulous, and the redonkulosity doesn’t let up for 24 minutes. There’s something deliberately sticky and thick about the drum and bass processing that makes his beats feel like they’re scratching and clawing at your speaker cones. In “Comin Off That High” we are treated to some old school rave/footwork/juke sounding stuff. Then Gao does a quick synth stretch and throws us into the trap pit, then pulls us back out to do it again. I don’t know what high I’m supposed to be coming off of but it’s not working.

Though it’s clear Gao shines at sound design and beat-smithery, sometimes this means the work sacrifices the song as a work of art for the indulgence in these wild sonic acrobatics, but what is at first a challenging meandering feel at its best becomes a language Gao can use to explore horizontal collage and the element of surprise.

“Udon Quixote”, exemplifies this habit. The first minute is a sustained onslaught of synth heavy space funk with crunchy bass. Then without warning we cut to a totally different section based only on a vocal sample and a jazz horn section. As quickly as it disappeared, our tasty space groove reappears. To Gao’s credit, the two sections are kept in the same sound-world by the drum processing and tempo consistency, and the juxtaposition of the minimal section with the synth explosion brings new focus to the power of that complex jazz/soul chord progression.

“Precipice (Precipitate)” stands out as the most successful extreme of this idiosyncratic meandering quality as Gao succeeds in being minimal, intricate, and specific while juggling disparate sonic elements and transitions the song to a confident new place with the almost breakbeat sounding drum roll sample sounding oh so perfectly woven into place. The difference here is that subtle sounds like those sunny synth chords are maintained throughout the transition to gradually pull us into a new place.

Across the board, Beta World Peace Gao creates ear candy and high energy, booming beats. Knowing Gao’s work ethic and track record, this is just a preview of bigger things to come for its producer. World Peace 1.0?

Mike Gao’s ‘Beta World Peace’ is available now via HW&W.

Destiny’s Child And Justin Timberlake Make The World A Better Place

By dildoshaggins

January 14, 2013

New Music, Uncategorizable

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In these dark times of pop music, two of R&B’s seminal masterminds have emerged from the shadows and injected a little class into America’s pop lexicon. New singles from two of the most commercially successful acts in recent memory, Destiny’s Child and Justin Timberlake are backed by production from Pharrell and Timbaland respectively, and rather than buckling to the “EDM”-tainted sound that characterizes most of today’s radio smashes, both producers provide soulful, gritty pieces of future-oriented revivalism that make me smile.

As a genre, R&B possesses a futurism that is firmly rooted in music tradition, one of the traits that make it so critically satisfying. Old soul samples are juxtaposed against contemporary crooning, making for a rich listening experience that appeals to people young and old. In the world of half-assed electro house beats and Jason Derulo, that populist appeal is smothered by a digital sheen; cheap thrills take the place of musicality in a more traditional sense. 2013’s first two big budget singles utterly abandon the oppressive polish of the pop output of the past few years and bring back the realness. A sexy swing knocks the barrage of over-compressed kick drums out of the spotlight and I think the world is a slightly better place as a result.

Hit the jump for the full review…

Finding The Groove With Rhonda

By dildoshaggins

January 3, 2013

Live, Uncategorizable

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On December 14, 2012, I met a Club Called Rhonda and she took me to dance music heaven.

Samo Sound Boy was there (Body High in that mothafucka), Total Freedom was there (Fade to Mind in that mothafucka), and all the way from Bristol, UK, the one and only Julio Bashmore lent us his surly face and impeccable house music (Broadwalk Records in that mothafucka).

There were beautiful women, there were beautiful men, beautiful men dressed as women, beautiful women dressed as men, and beautiful people that escape such silly classifications. I was sweating (woo!), and so was the ceiling. I think Rhonda, Samo, and Julio changed my life, so hit the jump and let me tell you about it.