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teamsupreme-machinedrumToday, we have another offer in tandem with the fine folks at IHC Presents to bring you tickets to this Friday’s (11/21) edition of the Team Supreme night, featuring Machinedrum, Doctor Jeep, Grenier & Petey Clicks’ collaborative project Nevermind and a host of Los Angeles residents. Over the past years, Team Supreme has mutated, expanded and splintered, the beat collaboration project taking on, losing and amassing new members with ease. The Team Supreme club night, on the other hand, has become something of a Los Angeles outpost for the bucket hat-clad masses, drawing kids from across the Los Angeles and San Fernando basins to Echo Park’s Echoplex. This week, the crew has brought out Ninja Tune’s own Machinedrum, fellow New York bassline roller Doctor Jeep and LA collaborative project Nevermind to the table.

While often delving a bit too deep into the droll neverscape of Southern California beatwork, Team Supreme have put together a lovely lineup this Friday and the folks at IHC have granted us with a pair of tickets. All you have to do is comment below with your favorite Machinedrum track and we’ll let the winner know their booty has been won Friday morning.

grenier-meets-archie-pelago

On first listen, Grenier and Archie Pelago seem an odd pairing, the former cultivating a strong following in the ambiguous West Coast “bass” scene under both his Grenier nom de guerre and his DJG alter ego, while the latter’s live instrument-based house output have endeared them to the NYC faithful. That being said, Grenier has released his fair share of chunky house and Archie Pelago show an unrestrained willingness to collaborate and experiment so maybe that reactionary observation isn’t so accurate after all. In May, UK label Melodic will release Grenier meets Archie Pelago, a 12 track effort that promises to usher in Summer with a light-hearted, meticulously textured take on the four-on-the-floor blueprint we all know and love. The album was conceived on a “hazy, early spring afternoon in the basement of an art gallery in San Francisco”, but that doesn’t mean it’s full of dense, elegiac house that is only fit for the most adventurous dance floors. Instead, Grenier meets Archie Pelago is an immediately accessible, gratifying affair, featuring alluring strings, twangy bass and a cohesive Summer sun thread that rejects the pastiche that come of live instrumentation in dance music.

“Swoon” is the first single from the album and epitomizes everything noted above, from the tightly wound rhythmic structure to the melancholic string work. On a simple level, the song is elegant and beatific, offering up the perfect soundtrack for a day party, but that’s not all it offers. In its composition and instrumental arrangement, “Swoon” conveys a range emotional concepts that belie the melancholy strings that makes up the brunt of its melody. There are hints of triumphalism in the horns and an obstinate digital futurism in the synthetic bleeps. Overall, the song’s whole is far more valuable than its constituent parts. The album won’t be released until May 19, but you can stream “Swoon” now and pre-order the full LP here.

Over the past few weeks, several track I was blown away by at the Groundislava/Salva/Tomas Barfod/Shlohmo show at the Echoplex have surfaced in some format or another. First, it was Girl Unit’s “Ensemble (Club Mix)”. Next up, RL Grime let loose “Trap On Acid”. Well, I’m a little late on this one, but if you saw me incoherently stomping my feet when Salva played it out, you’d want to hear it immediately. If you don’t know, Salva is the head of Frite Nite and Grenier, under the DJG moniker, has been making some of the best Dubstep and Drum & Bass this side of the Atlantic since 2006. “Wake The Dead” is the A-Side of the FTNT014 and the out and out banger while B-Side “Forest Floor” is far deeper. “Wake The Dead” features brash claps and synth stabs, occasionally interrupted by some classic soulful Garage vocals. Both artists signature styles are readily apparent, and the track transitions effortlessly between half-step and two-step, bringing London, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco together. “Forest Floor” brings Grenier’s Jungle roots to mind with a tribal beat spurring warm synth washes accentuated by chopped R&B vocals. Whereas “Wake The Dead” aims straight for a driving club atmosphere, “Forest Floor” brings the listener to the same atmosphere before they even realize it. Overall, a short, but promising debut collaboration from the two California residents. Stream the tracks below and head over to Frite Nite to cop FTN014.