Georgia Girls | The Astral Plane

With an Astral Plane mix in the books and a standout track on Heterotopia still fresh in our memory, Berlin’s Jacques Gaspard Biberkopf is one of our very favorite artists, drawing lines from Lorenzo Senni to Jersey club and NBA Jam. The critical theory minded producer fascination with the voice and, in particular, sports highlight clips, has shown up throughout his mix and production work and his latest effort, long form production mix Video, a combination of the sort of crystalline trance-scapes favored by the aforementioned Senni, oft-indecipherable vocal snippets and bone crunching percussive workouts based in Jersey club, kuduro and grime. Video can be read as shrewd commentary on audial representation and the human voice or the sensationalist, machismo-focused quality of sports highlights, but both critiques take on a different quality when enmeshed in 41:56 of industrial spatial dynamics and in-your-face club music. Unlike much of Biberkopf’s previous material though, Video never really breaks through into the world of club music, remaining firmly on the periphery. It’s a thrilling listen nonetheless, an at times shocking composition (entirely Biberkopf originals) that is delightfully incoherent and aesthetically cohesive at the same time, seeming to skip across the temporal plane with reckless abandon. Biberkopf is certainly an artist of our time and along with the likes of TCF, M.E.S.H. and Why Be, appears to be reworking a critical view of the club. Find a full track list for Video after the jump.

The holidays are the one time of year when I appreciate the fact that my Facebook and Twitter feeds are flooded with promotional posts. That’s because the holidays are the time for giving, specifically the time when producers dump all of their bootlegs/edits/unfinished tracks on the unsuspecting masses. The quality is generally a mixed bag, but we’ve received a deluge of heat in the past few days that deserves its fair due. On the raps front, Lil B, King Louie, Fredo Santana, Lil Silk and Fabolous have let loose new tapes over the past week or so. All deserve your attention, although save Lil B’s 05 Fuck Em and maybe spend a little more time with Silk and Louie.

The good folks at Mixpak were also kind enough to hand out a bundle of free tracks from their roster and beyond. The Holiday Bundle evokes the grime, dancehall and soca-based riddim culture that Dre Skull has so carefully curated over the past few years. Sudanim, Murlo and Koyote all bring their best to the table.

You’ve likely seen these already as well, but big hitters Flying Lotus, Zed Bias, Ryan Hemsworth Clams Casino all gave bundles of tracks away in the past few days. Casino’s third Instrumental Mixtape is probably the most cohesive attempt of the bunch, but FlyLo’s assorted beats, remixes and bootlegs offer some intriguing insight into the producer and his cohort’s recording processes. The Hemsworth collection is largely edits he’s designed for live play and the “Post-Rock Tears” version of Future’s “Honest” is a real beauty. Two step legend Zed Bias handed over 200 MB of live recording, remixes and production work under both his ZB sobriquet and his Maddslinky nom de plume.

—The Astral Plane

Archive

Tag Archives: Georgia Girls

Jacque Gaspard Biberkopf Releases Long Form ‘Video’ Productions

Holiday Freebie Round-Up

Hit the jump for a jambalaya of free tracks…