Santa Muerte Mix For The Astral Plane

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February 18, 2015
Mixes
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From an outsider perspective, Texas might appear to be a relative backwater in the dance music world, or, at best, a node for its worse proclivities, but that appearance is misguiding and the state has produced some of the most exciting artists, labels and nascent aesthetics in recent years. And that’s ignoring the state’s multitudinous contributions to hip hop dance, from Houston/Port Arthur’s long running dominance to Dorrough, Lil Twist and DJ Chose out of Dallas. Labels like #FEELINGS and Freshmore have championed self-referential hybrid forms while Austin has grown into a hub for young producers looking to find a sound, a way and a community. Among all of the youthful energy coming out of Austin and Houston, it would be easy to imagine the Texan avant-garde springing up out of the dust in the past several years, but that would overlook the influence of some of the scene’s elder statesmen. It can’t be stressed more that for every Rabit, Lotic or Mike G hailing from or reping Texas, there was an influencer, either direct or subliminal, who was there to breach grime, ballroom, etc., or even to match those styles with dembow or reggaeton.

And as far as Houston goes, it’s hard to look beyond the influence of Sines and his Freshmore imprint, a veritable institution that has been pushing diasporic bass sounds for the better part of the last four years. Recently, Sines joined up with fellow producer Panchitron, the Los Angeles-born producer who now resides in Houston, to form Santa Muerte. Focused on the intersectionality of contemporary dance music sub-culture, the duo has turned their focus on everything from instrumental grime abstractions to the wonderfully tinny direction that reggaeton has taken in the past decade. The name puts a focus on death, more specifically an understanding of how death is understood by the living, and the Santa Muerte sound is undeniably dark, a sweltering trip through choral VSTs, ballroom abrasions and the memorable crunch of the dembow loop. That being said, Santa Muerte is a project firmly focused on the dancefloor and while the attitude might be focused more on sonic muck, their originals, edits and mixes do tend to be wildly effective in the hip shaking department.

As a study of American dance sub-culture, Santa Muerte has been wildly successful, avoiding the pitfalls of mindless appropriation, historical revision and general dishonesty. The avant-garde fringes of the dance music world can often position themselves in too serious of a light, or worse, too seriously ironic, but Santa Muerte appears to be a project focused on honestly and earnestly working through, matching up and blending the United States’ (and beyond) veritable treasure trove of regional genres, styles, sub-cultures and aesthetics.

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Premiere: Copout – “Fluttering”

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February 12, 2015
New Music
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With releases from Air Max ’97, She’s Drunk and Arctic to its name, London’s Liminal Sounds outlet has quickly become one of the go to labels for the sort of percussive club material and grime constructions we know and love. With one of the best mix series in the game and a deep stable of insightful interviews and release coverage, Liminal also still functions as one of the best blogs in dance music, a balancing act easier said than done. Last month, Air Max ’97’s all-enveloping Fruit Crush EP arrived on Liminal, his second release on the imprint and the label’s best release to date. With AM97 as a sort of flagship artist, Liminal’s aesthetic has begun to narrow and on March 9, the label will release Liminality 01, the first in a series of EPs “that will provide a space for tracks that sit outside of the confines of our usual release schedule, offering a platform to producers that are new to the label and laying the foundations for future records.” On a similar wavelength to some of the singles clubs popping up here and there, Liminality 01 features Copout, Bushido, Shining Force, JGYB and Archer, each respective producer flexing their own unique take garage, grime and more. Copout’s “Fluttering” was the immediate standout to us, although the five tracker is a fully engaging listen through and through, a slinky club track lead by on beat brass and a haunting melodic strut. Brooklyn’s Copout, who has previously released EPs with Drippin and LOLGurlz, is a welcome addition to the Liminal team, a move that naturally expands its reach to the United States. Liminality 01 is out on March 9.

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Giveaway: Girl Unit, MikeQ, Helix & Patrick Brian @ The Lash Pop Up (1/14)

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February 11, 2015
Contest
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This Valentines Day brings another stacked night of dance music in Los Angeles and while you might be torn on where your night will end up, Club IHC has done about as much as they possibly could to bring you and your buds our to The Lash Pop Up this Saturday (1/14). A rare appearance from London’s Girl Unit, fresh off a new release from his Hysterics side project, tops off the night, which is also augmented by fellow Night Slugs/Fade 2 Mind badmen MikeQ and Helix. LA’s own Patrick Brian, who we last caught on our very own Heterotopia Remixes tape, rounds out a fantastic bill that should bring out some of the finest in grime, ballroom and ghetto house. Once again, IHC has gifted our readers a pair of tickets, winnable in exchange for your favorite Qween Beat (or Qween Beat related) energizer. As the sonic side of ballroom has expanded with reckless abandon, we all need to recognize and show respect to both the innovators and the young guns currently flexing their muscle. MikeQ is a figurehead of sorts and we’re lucky to have him out. Enter below and we’ll see you at the dance.

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Trends Mix For The Astral Plane

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February 11, 2015
Mixes
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From afar, it’s often difficult to tell who’s really gaining traction in the UK. That is, not just blog hype, but real support from a wide variety of producers, MCs and radio hosts. We’re lucky to be able to utilize the Internet to “engage” with the history of garage, dubstep, grime, etc., but gauging the present is another story. When a producer, DJ, etc. is really bubbling though, it’s not something we’re going to miss and that’s exactly what we’ve seen with Oxford’s Trends, a producer whose club tracks have been supported by Spooky, Slimzee, Slackk and everyone in between, as well as MCs like Flirta D, Riko Dan and Manga.

Having produced grime and drum and bass for the better part of a decade, Trends has the pedigree to work with the aforementioned list of stars and his unremitting style is perfect for the rave. Firmly in the tradition of Youngstar and early Plastician (Plasticman at the time), Trends has boiled grime down to its most important constituent elements, allowing for visceral reactions from both MC and crowd. His aesthetic is undeniably rough and the “banger” tag isn’t unwelcome, making tracks like “Catchphrase” and his remix of TC4’s “La La La” difficult to imagine outside of the rave/pirate radio context. That’s not to say that Trends’ work is one dimensional though, just that he’s dug out and excelled in a niche. And if you’ve ever seen Trends play out or tuned in to one of his radio sets, his Astral Plane mix will come as no surprise, a head first leap into bars from Novelist, Manga and more, Trends’ direct-as-ever production techniques flashing all over its 30 minute run time. It could be argued that this mix isn’t for the faint of heart, but that’s a silly, hardboiled platitude and this mix is a perfect shot in the arm for anyone remotely curious about grime, soundsystem culture, the ardkore ‘nuum or, well, bars in general.

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Giveaway: P.O.W. Presents: Daedelus, Boogie & Zeroh

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February 10, 2015
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This Thursday, the Passion of the Weiss crew are bringing an LA lineup for the ages to The Echoplex. With Daedelus headlining and prodigal Southland rappers Boogie and Zeroh backing up the tweed-clad beatsmith, P.O.W. has brought out a bill that should match the energy of the best Low End Theory nights in the more spacious environ of The Echoplex. If you’re unfamiliar with Passion, Jeff Weiss and his posse of talented writers, polemicists, essayists and grumblers provide some of, if not the best, music criticism around and, more importantly, aren’t beholden to any sort of code, advertising constraints or, ahem, moral ground.

We’ve been gifted a pair of tickets to Thursday’s happening and all you have to do to be considered for said tickets is enter your favorite track Daedelus’ rich catalogue. For a little help re-remembering the depths of the West LA born producer’s discography, see here and choose wisely. Hope to see you all this Thursday.

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Premiere: Cakes Da Killa – “It’s Not Over (Sake Mix)” (Prod. Drippin)

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February 9, 2015
New Music, Remixes
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Combining one of the most creative presentations in the game with an instantly memorable flow, Cakes Da Killa‘s Hunger Pangs remained in constant circulation in our “office” since its release in Summer 2014. In order to further the energy surrounding the original release, Cakes got together a collection of producers to remix, rework and refresh the original tape, bringing in Rizzla, Rye Rye, Uniiqu3, Drippin and more. The Deluxe Edition has a definite ballroom flavor to it, but can’t be reduced to a product for or of the New York scene, instead functioning as Cakes’ idiosyncratic take on the sound and its various mutations. The Hunger Pangs Deluxe Edition is out now and can be found at Cakes’ web store, but we’ve been presented with a chance to hand out Drippin’s contribution, a “Sake” version of “It’s Not Ovah”. Last scene on these pages turning in our most popular Astral Plane mix to date, the Norwegian producer had a banner 2014, releasing his debut Silver Cloak EP on Lit City Trax and rocketing into the general club music consciousness. His contribution to the Deluxe Edition is in line with his previous work, all smacking snares and vertical propulsion, while Cakes adds vital energy to  the metallic construction.

Premiere: Newbody – “2 Much Of U (Music For Your Plants Remix)”

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February 6, 2015
New Music, Remixes
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By most standards, Estonian producer Norman Orro aka Music For Your Plants resides at the fringe of what can be considered dance music, his output a cataclysm of warring natural and technological elements. Last year’s PAN EP, a component in DIS Mag’s “Disaster Issue”, was one of the most exhilarating sonic entities released all year, 15 minutes of bleeding techno futurism subsumed under a gauze of bleeding over saturation. Orro’s latest releases comes in a surprising place, a remix on Los Angeles neo-soul housers Newbody’s latest single. Released on Interscape Records (Traxman, Karmelloz, DJ Paypal), Newbody’s “Think!”, as well as b-side “2 Much Of U”, is a fairly straight forward house number, but the remixes, also from Karmelloz, Ultrademon and D/P/I, are anything but. And while the other remixes take the originals into deep bliss with a New York flavor (Karmelloz), ardkore madness (Ultrademon) and disintegrated footwork (D/P/I), MFYP’s rework actually appears to be the most digestible on first listen. Of course, Orr’s work only ever really functions as a facsimile of what digestible, major-chord-inclined music is supposed to sound like, deconstructing the pop apparatus into its, sometimes thrilling, sometimes melancholy-inspiring, constituent elements. Download, MFYP’s remix below and check out Think!, out February 10, here.

Premiere: Ezekiel – “Gurrrr Swag (MikeQ & Divoli S’vere Remix)”

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February 5, 2015
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Our infatuation with Divoli S’vere is well documented and it goes without saying that MikeQ‘s touch is golden and while their respective solo work is also special, their collaborations always seem to take it a little higher. Their latest comes via a remix of Ezekiel‘s “Gurrr Swag” on Parisian imprint Moveltraxx‘s Street Bangers Factory #01, out now digitally and next week on vinyl. Alongside contributions from footwork up-and-comers EQ Why and DJ Earl, MikeQ and Divoli’s contribution is the best of the bunch, a rabid ballroom tune that, like the duo’s best work, is both a hugely functional runway hit and an elastic dance floor bomb, suitable for any number of ramp-up-the-energy situations. As the only ballroom track on Street Bangers Factory, this remix of “Gurrr Swag” sounds even more monolithic and energizing, placing alongside “She Wants” as one of the duo’s most effective joints. Buy Street Bangers Factory #01 in digital form here and stream the whole tape courtesy of FACT Mag here.

Premiere: Orlando Volcano – “Tool & Die”

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February 4, 2015
New Music
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One of a growing collection of New York-based producers to embrace the rougher side of the club music spectrum, European-born Orlando Volcano has developed a reputation over the past few months for slinky R&B refixes and haunting beat work for vocalists like Jay Boogie and Chapman. Volcano’s next project, the Low Key EP, is his most complete to date, a three tracker that could easily be brought up as a lighter flip side to Mumdance’s driving 909 productions. “Tool & Die” is the most dance ready of the bunch, a squalid rush through rigid percussion and a disarmingly twinkly melody. Along with a premiere of “Tool & Die”, Orlando granted us the opportunity to bring you a snippet of the track’s video, directed by Insomgnac, a disorienting, panopticon-tweaking visual that functions as a fitting addendum to the original.

Sami Baha Mix For The Astral Plane

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February 4, 2015
Mixes
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With a simple refrain (“he ballin’ like the mavericks”), Turkish producer Sami Baha became a tantalizing figure, an almost entirely unknown quanity on one hand, but an artist who had crosshatched an aesthetic into the muddy earth of club music with surprising ease. “BA VIRD V1” was an instantly recognizable hit, a cornucopia of infamous loon samples, 808 bells and start-stop, electro-paced percussion, but it also achieved a style, maximalism, that has been out of vogue for several years now. Like Young Thug’s flow, Baha’s aesthetic is one of overload, and like Thug’s elastic, structure-crushing flow, there’s more than a little Lil Wayne alien DNA floating about. That unquantifiable DNA is what connects Baha’s productions to Glass Swords and not “mediocre trap hit 2013”, both a taste for chaos and a simple, undefinable sensibility. It’s what separates Visionist from the choral VST wielding masses and Evian Christ from the aforementioned trap masses. Sonic experimentation and a preference for grit and harsh sounds each play a part, but it also comes down to visual presentation and the simple avoidance of cringeworthy motifs. Regardless, Baha has developed an incredibly likable sound that touches on Atlanta rap, grime and kuduro, a clever combo that might end up overwrought in a less effective producer’s hands, but comes across effortless in the Turk’s repertoire.