Lockah Set To Release Next EP On Mad Decent’s Jeffree’s

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June 5, 2012
2012, New Music
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If you put your thumb on the heartbeat of electronic music, you’d be forced to believe that bigger is better. More is more is more. Maximalism is the new and only book. This is true to a certain extent. Rustie’s Glass Swords might have been the pinnacle of the all or nothing disposition, but an innumerable amount of styles have bloomed over the last calendar year. Take Lone’s Galaxy Garden for example. The album is maximalist in every sense of the word, synthesizer heavy, borrowing from dozens of sources, etc., but has a distinctly clean and organized demeanor compared to the day-glo frenzy of Rustie. Abderdeen native and founder of Tuff Wax Lockah occupies a unique place in the contemporary maximalist landscape. Initially, I thought he fit into the Rustie/Hudson Mohawke camp and he does in some manners. The effusive crescendos, sweeping keys and nods to Southern hip hop all recall the LuckyMe members.

But then I started to see more Lone. Lockah takes the amphetamine driven energy of Rustie and simmers it down to a cool state. It isn’t as much make party music as it is music for the drive home. It’s optimistic in an excitingly overt manner. Take “The Sour Drink From The Ocean” for example. It’s not an easy task to make Southern rap percussion sound pensive and measured, but that’s exactly what Lockah does. The track soars with each synth wash, borrowing heavily from the trance of yore, without falling into cliche as the vocals repeat the same epithet over and over again. This is some dramatic, roll credits shit. Luckily for all of us, Lockah’s new EP, When U Stop Feeling Like A Weirdo & Become A Threat, will be released on Mad Decent’s Jeffree’s imprint (who have been absolutely untouchable lately ) on June 14 for free. In the meantime, stream “The Sour Drink From The Ocean” below and head over to XLR8R for a free download.

Hot Chip Keep It Funky On The Essential Mix

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June 5, 2012
Mixes, New Music, Remixes
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American pop radio = where oversized egos have piss fights about shitty pop festivals. British pop radio = where oversized talents lay down groundbreaking beats/rhymes/vibes on a  nightly basis. Case  in point, the recent Joe Goddard-helmed Hot Chip stab at Radio One’s Essential Mix. Today’s “indie” landscape is full of boring white people making boring white people music. Sorry for being frank. Hot Chip are one of the few exceptions. On the surface, they are just as pale and overtly ironic as the rest of their bunch, but they differentiate themselves from the crowd via a dominating grasp on the phonk. Yes, these London white boys have as good a grasp on 80’s era funk as anyone dis side of Damon Riddick. The mix spans a number of styles, from disco to funky to house, but the overarching funk is readily apparent. Goddard’s The 2 Bears side project makes a few appearances, most notably via a remix of Wiley’s “Skankin”, as do several Hot Chip originals. On a side note, is it just me or is Pete Tong doing a far better job curating the Essential Mix than he has in years past? Scuba, L-Vis 1990, Rustie, Nico Jaar and Martyn, just to name a few, have already graced the show. I’m thoroughly enjoying the two hour program, week in and week out. Anyways, Hot Chip’s fifth studio album, In Our Heads, is set for a June 11 release on Domino. Find the full tracklist after the jump.

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Jim-E Stack Remixes Kirko Bangz’s “Drank In My Cup”

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June 4, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Last September, New Orleans by way of San Francisco producer Jim-E Stack let loose his seminal remix of one of 2011’s most ubiquitous tracks, A$AP Rocky’s “Purple Swag”. The track set the stage for a number of hip hop indebted American bass producers from Shlohmo to Baauer to dominate 2012. Stack, now a member of LA’s Body High roster, just put in another burner, this time a remix of Kirko Bangz’s syruppy crossover hit “Drank In My Cup”. Brenmar took a stab at the track back in March resulting in a bubbly club smasher, but Stack takes a decidedly different take. A stomp box immediately ups the tempo, but saxophone arpeggios and otherworldly wind chimes transforms Bangz’s H-Town anthem into a sentimental ode to lean and the fairer sex. We unfortunately only access to a stream at this point so give it a spin above.

Bow! Clams Clasino Presents Instrumental Mixtape 2

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June 4, 2012
2012, New Music
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And just like that, it happened. I usually take some time to listen to a release through and through before posting it, but well, it might be worth it to get caught up in the hype machine every once in a while. The tape features instrumentals of tracks by A$AP Rocky (“Wassup”, “Bass”, “Leaf” and “Palace”), Mac Miller (“One Last Thing”, “Angels”), Lil B (“I’m God”, “Unchain Me”), as well as remixes of Lana Del Rey, Washed Out and XV. It’s extraordinary how much more palatable the Mac Miller instrumentals are  than their originally unbearable incantations. Two brand new tracks, an original mix of The Weeknd’s “The Fall” off of Echoes of Silence and an unreleased Clams joint called “Human” are also on the tape. Roll one up, grab your double cup and do what you do. Download below.

Download: Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape 2

Viette Covers The Wallflowers, Remixes Old Gregg

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June 4, 2012
2012, New Music, Remixes
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Every once in a while, a song comes along that puts you on your ass, not because of its wobble bass or snare rolls, but because of its immense beauty and utilization of silence. Los Angeles by way of Wisconsin producer Viette, also known as our very own Will Mitchell, has done just that and more with his cover of The Wallflowers “One Headlight”. Before I self-combust, I’ll get this out of the way; James Blake blah blah blah; Mount Kimbie blah blah blah. Yeah, Mitchell utilizes emotive vocals. Yeah, he does it at an unconventional tempo. Yeah, this cover is fucking beautiful. The vocals strain to be at the forefront as percussion entirely built via Mitchell banging assorted shit on his desk percolates below the surface and Jakob Dylan’s guitar wallows in the foreground. For someone who’s been “bangin Mannie Fresh since age 13” though, “One Headlight” is just one side of Viette’s production dichotomy. “The Funk” represents the  stark other side. Once you get passed the fact that it samples Old Gregg (I’m not sure I have), “The Funk” is a stripped down trap cut that quivers and belches as much as it bangs. That’s a good thing. Comparing “One Headlight” with “The Funk” is like comparing apples and orange. Fuck that, it’s like comparing a Wallflowers cover to an Old Gregg sampling trap track. Whichever one tickles your fancy more, we love both, watch out for this kid and stream/download “One Headlight” and “The Funk” below.

LyteSho Drops Fifth Tape of 2012, Chainsaw EP

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June 3, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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As distraught as it makes me, the majority of the hip hop listening populace holds a certain disdain for the instrumental tape. In my opinion, this is because a lack of respect for the production side of the bidness, but it’s also because instrumental tapes are so often monotonously clunky. Despite these reservations, the instrumental tape is exactly where Pennsylvanian LyteSho excels. The Chainsaw EP, LyteSho’s fifth release of 2012, is yet another fastidious release from the 19 year old Wilkes-Barre resident. Coming in at just under 16 minutes, the tape is long enough to give you a taste of the direction the young producer is moving without boring you with the asinine details. A remix of Shlohmo’s “Birthday Beat” breaks the tape up nicely, without breaking the flow. Chainsaw is not a mixtape, but moves in enough of a quietly controlled manner that it might as well be. LyteSho removes some of the sticky gauze that has both aided and weighed down previously releases, resulting in a more clear-eyed, down to earth product. The EP is probably his most true to form collection of straight up hip hop beats. Like all of his previous releases, Chainsaw is available for free on Bandcamp. Stream and download below.

Branko behind Mad Decent’s latest Jeffree’s offering (w/ remix support from French Fries, Beataucue, and Astronomar)

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June 1, 2012
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What up readers, if you’ve made it this far it’s clear you already know what it is. Allow me to explain. My name’s Jeremy, I grew up in San Francisco and have long been an aficionado of thought-provoking electronic tunes. In recent years, my eyes/ears have been turned towards the burgeoning UK bass scene spearheaded by Jamie xx (among others) and by labels like Night Slugs and 50 Weapons. Artists like Nicolas Jaar, Cedaa, Claude Vonstroke and Diplo, however, leave me plenty of reason to be excited about of the current state American electronic music. But enough about me, on to the music.

JEFF019, the newest installment of Mad Decent’s free-to-download Jeffree’s imprint–which in the past has brought us releases from producers like Baauer, Bwana and Flosstradamus, as well as Diplo, himself–comes by way of Branko. Once called J-Wow, Branko apparently ceded his original moniker to “a certain Italian-American from Jersey with the same name.” Guido beef aside, a couple of these remixes BANG. French Fries lowers the intensity of the original without sacrificing anything in the way of quality. Wait for that first bass hit and you’ll be hooked. French electroheads Beataucue also go frikin IN on Branko’s “Going In Hard,” which features up and coming Tampa rapper Dominique Young Unique. You can download the whole EP here (though I’ll warn you Mediafire’s been sketching me out lately): http://www.mediafire.com/?ccwuxac3wqti5l3
The tracks are also available for individual download on the Mad Decent Soundcloud page.

AraabMuzik at Sasquatch Music Festival

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June 1, 2012
Festivals, Live
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AraabMuzik is something of an enigma. He’s managed to entice worlds as disparate as New York hip hop, dance festival crowds and the Pitchforkians. He’s worked with Dipset for years, crafting some of their most grimy bangers. He’s played alongside just about every major American dance act in the past six months at festivals across the country. The trance sampling Electronic Dream, an extension of the Dipset Trance Party mixtapes, was one of the most innovative albums that’s come out in quite some time. Besides the now ubiquitous drum patterns, I doubt anyone would guess that the guy who produced “Streetz Tonight” also worked behind the boards on “Salute”. His virtually unmatched production dexterity in the pop realm is what got him on festival stages, but his work on them has catapulted him into a higher realm of popularity. Utilizing his background as a drummer, Araab attacks two MPC’s on stage with remarkable aplomb. Most have seen the videos, but it’s quite a spectacle in person. That’s the issue with it though, it’s a spectacle.

I’ve seen Araab twice now and honestly, it gets boring after 20 minutes or so. After that 20 minute point, the show settles into a malaise of snares, hi hats and mediocre dubstep. Now this isn’t a rant against the ills of “brostep” or anything of that sort. I can enjoy some Nero or Rusko just as much as the next guy if I’m in the right mind state. But by the time Araab had worked in the fourth straight Skrillex song, he looked like a caricature up there, pecking away at the MPC pads. My issue with his set is mostly due to song selection. For god sakes, how do you only play one track off of Electronic Dream? But his MPC work gets old too. He’s not so much crafting beats, new or old, on stage as he is fuxing around with percussion over them. It’s a novelty. Breathtaking for 15 minutes. Trite and monotonous by 20.

That being said, the majority of the crowd remained enthused for the 45 minute runtime despite the fairly early start (5:40). Dressed in camo head to toe, he remained intensely focused on the pads in front of him, rarely looking up to see the crowd in front. He’s not much of a performer by his looks (he might be 5′ 6″), but he makes up for it by doing far more than just about any other DJ out there. Maybe I’m just a hater and Araab’s set is the greatest thing since the introduction of the airhorn into DJ sets. With his production chops though, I have faith that he can improve his live set into something more complete. Step off the Skrillex throttle for quick sec. Take a breath and maybe I won’t look like this in minute 40.

Frank B and the Classic Chicago House Sound

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June 1, 2012
New Music
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We’ve mentioned the perils of an artist appropriating musical styles from far away locales several times at The Astral Plane. There are obvious pros and cons and whether the artist is successful or not more or less comes down to their ability to pay attention to detail. That’s not to say that an artist needs to follow a specific blueprint, but they do need to take into account the historical implications of their work. The old informs the new just as much as the new informs the old. When I listened to Dublin producer/DJ Frank B’s “Chain Of Fools” Chicago House was all I could think about. The vocals, kick and funky bassline all seemed straight of The Warehouse. I’m no Chicago House aficionado by any standards, but I can recognize the classic sound.

As much as I enjoyed the track right off the bat, that association worried me, probably due to my naïveté. Why should I care that a track with such quality, tight production is informed by another city’s genre? Well, eventually I got over the silly distinctions that plague my mind and learned to enjoy “Chain Of Fools” for what it is; one of the best house tracks to come out in quite some time. Beautifully entrancing and hard hitting at the same time on a classic The Juan Maclean tip. It makes me sad that music like this is so often overlooked while… I’m sure sure you know where I’m going with this so end rant. Anyways, give the track a rinse below and head over to XLR8R for a free download.