Die in Genf lebende, in Lyon, mit Vorfahren aus Kamerun, geborene Emilie Nana ist ein Wunderkind. 'The Meeting Legacy' beinhaltet eine eklektische Selektion, die Vieles von dem beinhaltet, was Emilie ausmacht.
'The Meeting Legacy' umfasst 11 Stücke, inclusive Like You, welches bereits Anfang 2013 auf Compost Black Label als Maxi veröffentlicht wurde. Die Black Label # 61 wurde digital veröffentlicht und die Black Label # 95 gibt es auf Vinyl. 2013 war das eine von fünf EPs, die Emilie Nana bis dato herausgebracht hatte. I'm Childish, So What!, was erstmals im Sommer 2015 als Teil der COMPOST 500 - Compilation zu hören. Dieses Juwel ist von Emilie's Neffen inspiriert und basiert auf der Idee, dass wir, egal in welcher Lebensphase, stets zu uns selbst stehen sollen. Es ist der einzige Track auf dem Album mit französischen Vocals und vermittelt ein getragenes, leicht verrücktes, regelloses Gefühl, ein absolut fantasievolles Glanzstück. Drei Stücke des Albums: Tolstoy' Changes, Music und The Meeting Legacy, werden 2016 als Compost Black Label - Remix - Maxi erscheinen, mit Remixen von Manoo, Beanfield & Thomas Herb, Floyd Lavine.
The Meeting Legacy, der Titeltrack des Albums, ist purer Musik-Aktivismus. Der Text stammt von Elaine Brown, eine schwarze amerikanische Aktivistin und Künstlerin, Vorsitzende der Black Panther Partei. Der Bass dieses gemächlich stolzierenden Kampfsymbols ist Nana-esk und die Vocals heben sich mit Leichtigkeit ab und positionieren diesen Track auf ergreifende Weise.
Black Like Me erhebt einen fortwährenden Anspruch auf Fiktion und Non-Fiktion und verkörpert die gelebten und kenntnisreichen Erfahrungen Emilie Nanas. Eine warme, melodiöse Kreation, mit einfachsten Lyrics und im Hintergrund dümpelnden Marimbas. Es ist die musikalische Interpretation des Buches 'Black Like Me' von John Howard Griffin. Er erzählt hier die Geschichte des weissen Journalisten, der sich einer Hautverdunkelung unterzog, um sich im schwarzen Leben des separierten Südens der U.S.A. zu engagieren. Emilie's musikalische Interpretation erfasst die bunten kulturellen Äußerungen, welchen der weisse Journalist im gelebten schwarzen Alltag begegnet.
Track Fünf des Albums, dem inoffiziellen 'letzten Track von Teil 1' heist Confessions Of No Language. Während Emilie Nana hier ihre innersten Erfahrungen transponiert, oder transportiert, zielt sie auf eine 'gewisse' Körperzone. Welche Das muss man hören.
Das Album beginnt mit Off The Street, die wilden Begleiterscheinungen einer durchfeierten Nacht von Party-Girls, geht weiter mit dem, durch die frühen 90er Jahre von Janet Jackson und Prince beeinflussten Music, bei dem wir Emilie Nana sehr warm und cool erleben. Schliesslich entdecken wir sie in Inward Path, wenn sie resümiert, dass es mehr Glücklichkeit als Traurigkeit gibt, da immer Hoffnung in uns selbst existiert.
Dieses Werk erfreut sich an dem Erguss aus Nana's grazilem und dennoch lebhaftem Wesen und trachtet erfolgreich nach dem Brechen der Regeln, mit denen Kunst oft behaftet ist. Indem sie ihr Leben vergegenwärtigt, führt sie uns gekonnt, mit Kindesaugen, Teenage-Erfahrungen bis erwachsenen Sehnsüchten und ausgereif-ten Konversationen, durch Subkultur, Kampf und verschiedenen sozialen Einflüsse. Nach vier Jahren Produktionszeit, liefert Emilie Nana ein Album, das ihr verspielten, aber reifen Geist widerspiegelt und ihre Seele miteinbezieht, The Meeting Legacy.
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Gari Romalis and Lello Di Franco - Dreamin For the uninitiated, our man Gary Romalis is the unsung master of Detroit's house and techno scene. Having DJed across the motor city's top venues for the last three decades, Gary is somewhat of a seminal figure for many of Detroit's DJs currently at the forefront. Following a slew of high quality releases on various labels over the past few years, Gary now unleashes that special flavour on us for SKYLAX 142! He is not alone though. With him, he brings all round Italian partymaker, and top selector in his own right, Lello Di Franco. Let me tell you, this duo's collaboration is something to behold. Throughout all 3 tracks on the record, Gary and Lello maintain the essence of what the Detroit underground is all about; stripped back tracks with soul that never feel like they go 'big' for the sake of it. While Dreamin (Wanda Mix) may be packing a big kick and power clap combo, it's the elegantly filtered, jazzy sample that will leave you wishing that the track lasted forever. The vibe takes a dip right into the deep in Detroit Underground (Beat Dat Mix). Spacious pad synths alongside a mesmeric vocal carry us through. Taking a step back up, Afrobeat rounds off the EP, made with a solid toolkit of afro-centric samples.
We are glad to introduce 'FAREED' half part of the French duo 'SOCIETY OF SILENCE' for his first solo Ep on a label. With the 'Phausis Ep', Fareed offers an interesting balance between emotional melodies and organic textures, raw sonorities : the result is full of tension and very personal : another point of view on the Techno. We choose three original tracks and ask to our friend Voiski to work on a aerial and refreshing remix which sticks perfectly with the original project. Enjoy ...
Alex Arnout's vinyl debut on Infuse finds the London based producer in fine form. Title track Primal drifts along on warm pads with a fresh female spoken vocal with 6 Million Ways offering up a dancefloor roller.
The flip side sees This Beat offering up flecks of acid with Alex's trademark tight production whilst label head Enzo Siragusa and Seb Zito provide a tidy alternative take of primal to round off the ep....
Among guitar aficionados, they don't come much heavier than acid-drenched enigma Eddie Hazel. A founding father of Funkadelic and responsible for the blazing "Maggot Brain" solo, he released just one album. A concentrated dose of guitar-driven psychedelic soul and loping funk-rock, Game, Dames And Guitar Thangs(1977) was co-produced by George Clinton and features the full Mothership crew. Despite impeccable credentials, the album sank and dropped out of print for years, becoming a sought-after collector's item for funkateers ever since. Mercifully addressing the dubious legitimacy and quality of previous reissues, Be With Records present a worthy and welcome 180 gram edition, limited to 500 copies.
Possessing a rare ability to be showy whilst maintaining subtlety, Hazel took Jimi Hendrix's style to his own new level. Here, his fuzz-tinged wah-fuelled guitar licks shimmer across seven brain-bending tracks, showcasing highly inventive virtuoso playing and searing riffs. The LP famously opens with the most soaring, soulful version of "California Dreamin'" you've ever heard. Eschewing the structure of The Mamas & The Papas' hit, Hazel slows the pace, adding a pronounced longing to create a truly emotive reworking. Virtually unrecognizable, Hazel's exquisite arrangement recalled Hendrix's rendering of Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" and his delicately distorted guitar work propels the track into the stratosphere.
The much-sampled "Frantic Moment" - sumptuous head-nod G-Funk a full 15 years early - is essentially a Parliament song whilst "So Goes The Story" showcases Bootsy Collins' rubber-band basslines. The incredible, grooved out version of The Beatles' masterpiece "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" even manages to evoke early Sabbath. Using the original as a template to jam off, he turns the classic sideways into a monster guitar freakout, tossing off lick after lick with enviable nonchalance. The wild "Physical Love" follows, allowing Hazel and the sizzling Bernie Worrell to strut their stuff before funky instrumental "What About It" ignites pure dance floor fire.
Eddie Hazel was a pioneering guitar genius, but his troubled lifestyle led to a dearth of recorded material that demonstrated his strengths. It's a wonderful thing, then, that this lost classic is available on vinyl again. Possibly the finest slice of P-Funk you've never heard, it's a record that will make your brain dance and one every funk fan needs.
- A1: Lost Women 3:15
- A2: Over Under Sideways Down 2:23
- A3: The Nazz Are Blue 3:07
- A4: I Can't Make Your Way 2:28
- A5: Rack My Mind 3:15
- A6: Farewell 1:32
- B1: Hot House Of Omagararshid 2:48
- B2: Jeff's Boogie 2:25
- B3: He's Always There 2:32
- B4: Turn Into Earth 3:17
- B5: What Do You Want 3:26
- B6: Ever Since The World Began 2:07
- B7: Happenings Ten Years Time Ago 2:57
- B8: Psycho Daisies 1:50
The English blues rock band The Yardbirds released
their album Roger the Engineer in 1966. It was the
only Yardbirds album with all original material.
Although the record was officially titled Yardbirds it has
since its release been referred to as Roger the
Engineer, a title stemming from the cover drawing of
the record's audio engineer Roger Cameron by band
member Chris Dreja. Due to the influence of Jeff
Beck's experimentation with guitar distortion, the
album is considered a precursor to heavy metal.
This 2016 LP reissue features the bonus non-album
single Happenings Ten Years Time Ago b/w Psycho
Daisies at the end of Side B.
In den 1970er-Jahren lebte Edward Larry Gordon als Comedian und Musiker in New York und tingelte durch
die Clubs des Greenwich Village. Einer Eingebung folgend tauschte er eines Tages seine Gitarre gegen eine
Zither, gab sich den Namen Laraaji und spielte fortan auf der Straße. Brian Eno, der damals in New York
lebte, hörte Laraajis Spiel und bot ihm an, mit ihm ins Studio zu gehen. Daraus entstand das von Eno
produzierte Album "Ambient 3: Day Of Radiance". Laraaji nutzte sein offen gestimmtes Instrument leicht
elektrifiziert und höchstwahrscheinlich mit freundlicher Studiotechnikunterstützung seines Förderers Brian
Eno. 1980 erschien das gute Stück und gilt heute als Meisterwerk der frühen Ambient-Musik. Jetzt wird es als
CD und Vinyl (+ CD) wieder veröffentlicht.
- CD 1-1: S.p.y 'One Last Quest
- CD 1-2: Joe Syntax Feat. Jono Mccleery 'Sightlines
- CD 1-3: Lsb Feat. Sophia Wardman 'If You're Here
- CD 1-4: Fred V & Grafix 'Green Destiny
- CD 1-5: Keenofeat. Whiney 'Hold Ya
- CD 1-6: Netsky 'Memory Lane
- CD 1-7: Logistics Feat. Nightshade And Sarah Callander 'Crystal Skies
- CD 1-8: Mistabishi 'She Lied
- CD 1-9: Muffler 'Waves Breaking
- CD 1-10: Fred V & Grafix Feat.etherwood'forest Fires
- CD 1-11: Nu:logicfeat. Robert Manos 'Shoot Me Down
- CD 1-12: High Contrast 'Everything's Different' (Feat. Ian Shaw) (Calibre Remix)
- CD 1-13: Metrik'borealis
- CD 1-14: Etherwoodfeat. Rockynti'spoken
- CD 1-15: Nu:logic'what I've Always Waited For
- CD 1-16: Anile'to Live Without
- CD 1-17: Camo & Krooked 'Afterlife
- CD 1-18: Cyantific & Matrix 'Cover Story
- CD 1-19: Nu:tonefeat. Ben Westbeech 'The Feeling
- CD 1-20: High Contrast 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
- CD 1-21: London Elektricity 'Had A Little Fight
- CD 1-22: Fred V & Grafix 'Recognise
- CD 1-23: Camo & Krooked 'Change Me' (Submorphics Remix)
- CD 2-1: London Elektricity 'Rewind' (Makoto Remix)
- CD 2-2: Logistics 'Together
- CD 2-3: Stray 'Frost
- CD 2-4: Etherwoodfeat. Georgia Yates And Bev Lee Harling 'Falling Out Of Consciousness
- CD 2-5: Hugh Hardie Feat. Kyan 'Tearing Me Apart
- CD 2-6: Logistics 'Over And Out
- CD 2-7: Subwave 'Stars Get Down
- CD 2-8: Nu:logic'morning Light
- CD 2-9: S.p.y 'Love Hurts
- CD 2-10: Phuturistixfeat. Jenna G 'Beautiful' (Nu:toneremix)
- CD 2-11: Netsky 'Endless Search
- CD 2-12: Nu:tone'system' (Matrix And Futurebound Remix)
- CD 2-13: Makoto &T-Ak'voyager
- CD 2-14: London Elektricity 'Fast Soul Music
- CD 2-15: Etherwood'weightless
- CD 2-16: Keeno Feat. Pat Fulgoni 'As One
- CD 2-17: Danny Byrd (Feat. Brookes Brothers) 'Gold Rush
- CD 2-18: Technimatic'the Golden Section
- CD 2-19: High Contrast 'Lovesick
- CD 2-20: Logistics 'Sendai Song
- CD 2-21: Tokyo Prose 'Songbird
- CD 2-22: Sinistarr & Kiat 'Black Diamonds
- CD 2-23: Danny Byrd 'Soul Function
* Hospital Records present their latest compilation 'Fast Soul Music' - a welcomed lesson in the art of soul-inspired drum & bass of the high-speed variety. After nineteen years spent building upon it's lounge-core esthetic their extensive library of smooth-rolling sounds is at the ready, now it's time to get retrospective.
* From the work of thirty artists, a carefully selected forty-six tracks highlight the quintessential sounds of soul music in the Hospital Records back catalogue. Not only effortlessly blending classics from Hospital mainstays London Elektricity, High Contrast, Danny Byrd, Nu:Tone, S.P.Y and Logistics but also showcasing the fresh wave of talent that's reached our ears in recent years. The work of Fred V & Grafix, Hugh Hardie, Keeno, Etherwood, Anile, Tokyo Prose and Technimatic showcasing just how prominent soul music is in drum & bass today.
* Accompanying this two-CD collectors item is a perfectly polished mix by longstanding practitioner and newest member of the Hospital A+R team, Nu:Tone. With over two hours of soul-inspired sounds that effortlessly create the ideal soundtrack for any daydream-filled afternoon.
* With a nod back to London Elektricity's '03 classic 'Fast Soul Music' and a look forward to the fresh influx of talent passing through, Hospital Record's latest compilation provides any drum & bass fan with a chance to rediscover those once forgotten gems and dust off the cobwebs from their favourite nostalgia-fuelling drum & bass anthems.
* Digital Marketing: Youtube upload schedule for music and video content on Hospital Records YouTube channel - (260k subscribers), cross promotion exclusive mix upload with UKF Youtube channel.
* Press / Promotion: Comprehensive campaign in-house serving all UK music and dance titles as well as national, regional and student press - Mixmag, DJ, Trap, Notion, Music Week, Future Music, Time Out, Metro, London Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Independent, Dazed + Confused, Vice, The Wire, The Fly, Vice Magazine, Clash. Kmag (interview), D&BA (interview). UKF Website and Youtube Channel. Reddit AMA, FACT Mag TV interview.
* Radio / Internet: Comprehensive in house campain from Hospital Records. BBC Radio1 & 1Xtra support from Mistajam, Friction, B Traits, Annie Mac, Andi Durrant (Kiss), Eddy Temple-Morris (X-FM), DJ Hype (Kiss), D&BA TV Takeover, Rinse FM Hospital Records Show, Hospital Podcast Hospital Records Podcast USA series, Kmag Podcast, Ministry of Sound Podcast. D&BA Podcast, Hospital records Website, Hospital Facebook (262K Likes), Twitter (64K Followers), Soundcloud (48k followers), YouTube (238k subscribers), Hospital Records Mailing List (53k Subscribers)
aG CD 1-7 | Logistics feat. Nightshade and Sarah Callander 'Crystal Skies'
DISC 2
This release blows the trio's instrumental palette wide open for a single continuous piece.
Begun as a one-off collaboration in 2009, the trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi has now become a solid working group, refining its craft through a series of annual concerts at Tokyo's legendary SuperDeluxe. Much of their recorded work has focused on their intense, ritualistic take on the rock power trio of electric guitar, bass and drums, with last year's 'now while it's still warm let us pour in all the mystery' (BT09) containing a series of instant compositions of stunning power and concision that demonstrated how familiar and attuned to one another the three have become.
Presenting the entire first set of the trio's March 2013 concert at SuperDeluxe (the second set will follow on Black Truffle later this year), 'only wanting to melt beautifully away is it a lack of contentment that stirs affection for those things said to be as of yet unseen', their fifth release, blows the instrumental palette wide open for a single continuous piece focused on acoustic strings, synth, flute and percussion. Featuring one of Haino's most delicate and moving recorded vocal performances, the opening section of the record takes the form of a spare duet between O'Rourke's 12-string acoustic guitar and Haino's kantele (a Finnish variant of the dulcimer), behind which Ambarchi provides a hovering backdrop of wine glass tones. While on previous releases the listener has often sensed that Haino was firmly in the driver's seat, here O'Rourke takes centre stage with an acoustic guitar performance that takes the lyricism of John Abercrombie or Ralph Towner and refracts it through the free improvisation tradition of his mentors Derek Bailey and Henry Kaiser. The atmosphere of meditative, abstracted song is reminiscent of some of Haino's greatest recordings, such as the legendary 'Live In The First Year Of The Heisei' volumes recorded with Kan Mikami.
Zeitgeber and L.B Dub Corp split the second in Stroboscopic Artefacts' series of fifth anniversary records. Zeitgeber is the collaborative project of SA label boss Lucy and Dutch techno royalty Speedy J. Their joint alias birthed an exceptional long-player last year and has since been presented as a b2b act at festivals and clubs around the world. 'Totemism' is their first officially released output since that album, and is every bit as compelling. 'Totemism' opens with distant, reverberating bells and a thin film of hiss and crackle. But, one minute in, heavy and incessant drums cut through the ambience, hitting you straight in the chest. The surrounding atmosphere evolves and filters in-and-out of the mix until, halfway through, the track takes an unexpected turn with an elastic bassline and acid squelches. Then, the drums hit you again. This is an 11 minute masterclass in widescreen, narrative techno from two of the scene's most experienced and inventive producers. Luke Slater, a man of many aliases, slips into L.B Dub Corp mode for the B-side of this record. This particular moniker of Slater's generally trades in raw, culturally-inspired house music, though has also appeared on Stroboscopic's Stellate series with two deep and beatless dubs. For his contribution to SA's 5 Year anniversary, Slater re-visits a classic club cut of his own, delivering 'Take It Down Again (In Dub)'. 'Take It Down Again' is a brilliantly-realised exercise in tension, dub delay and mixing board creativity, all made to shine by a dose of oddball musicality and sampling. This version of 2010's 'Take It Down' is more restrained and tonally varied, equipped to instil a brooding and tribal darkness on the floor.
dedicated to promote young and evolving artists and to present musical diamonds in the rough, raster-noton is curating the unun series, which name derives from the atomic numbers of the chemical elements 111-119. »vortices« is ueno masaaki's first release on raster-noton, and the seventh release of this series.ueno masaaki takes his musical cue from natural phenomenon and laws of nature by trying to reconstruct, not simulating them. the results are mainly rhythmical patterns that set off a chain reaction, expanding and contracting and creating new formations all the time.the four tracks he presents on the EP are characterized by solid sound structures that appear to be very harsh and straight, sometimes even brutal, whereas the high pace even intensifies this impression. apparently repetitive at first sight, the tracks are in fact highly complex and intelligently arranged, presenting unforeseen breaks and shifts in direction.
117 Presents Forbidden Codes.
This compilation project is compiled and envisioned by DJ Trace, a veteran of UK dance music.New School players Verb and Quartz take on two classics to kick things off.
Mutant and Sonar get a modern and minimal touch up on crystal clear 10" collectors vinyl. Three more 10's continue this sonic experience featuring a group of the finest underground producers in today's scene.Kid Lib, Tim Reaper, Gremlinz & Homemade Weapons, Friske, Fade and Genotype appear over 3 plates.
Artist's on the LP display their 2014 vision which compliments the direction that 117 is heading.This moves far away from the soulless noise that plagues in various electronic dance music genres today. They use in this compilation, modern studio techniques enhanced with a passion and respect for the history of drum&bass.This LP is not to be filed under throwaway music.
Breaks and vibes unite to reminisce the days agone whilst outlining a new blueprint that pushes the boundaries of music technology.The essence of the 117 sound is explored and continues into the 24 digital tracks written by a gifted selection of hand picked talent from around the world.
Now is your turn to be possessed by the sounds of the 'Forbidden Codes' Released 28th April via ST Holdings.Mastered by Beau @ Ten Eight Seven, London.
- CD 1: State Of Mind & Black Sun Empire Unconscious
- CD 2: State Of Mind Feat. Mc Dino Ghosts
- CD 3: State Of Mind You Control Me
- CD 4: State Of Mind Feat. Perceive Mr. Cover Up
- CD 5: State Of Mind Danse Macabre
- CD 6: State Of Mind Bigger Faster Stronger
- CD 7: State Of Mind Feat. Sascha Vee Black Raven
- CD 8: State Of Mind No-Operative
- CD 9: State Of Mind Where You At
- CD 10: State Of Mind Rain Maker
- CD 11: State Of Mind & Black Sun Empire & Codebreaker Long Time Dead
- CD 12: State Of Mind Response Signal
- CD 13: State Of Mind & Nymfo Put It On
- CD 14: State Of Mind Fast Life
Following the release of virtuoso new singles Mr. Cover Up and No-Operative across January and February, seminal DnB duo State Of Mind are to present their fourth album, Eat The Rich, on March 31st. To be released by Black Sun Empire s Blackout imprint, the album celebrates some of the best work of their career to date, underlining their remarkable pedigree and with it, their ability to fuse darker, hard-edged sounds with genuine dance floor mcredibility. Famed for their rugged basslines, steely percussion and huge, driving synth lines, State Of Mind also showcase different sides to their craftsmanship on Eat The Rich, with a number of vocal features taking centre stage. As well as NZ
rapper PercIEve s appearance on the storming, tear-out anthem Mr. Cover Up, the duo also join forces with promising songstress Sacha Vee on the wonderfully eerie Black Raven; although still bullish in style, it highlights a softer, more thoughtful side to State Of Mind. Heavyweight second single No-Operative is also an album highlight, as are further future dance floor anthems like Where You At and Put It On, as well as two unique collaborations with fellow revered DnB figureheads Black Sun Empire. To compliment the rich diversity of sound on offer, the idiosyncratic, breaks-driven heat of Fast Life and the outer-worldly, synth-laden intro on U Control Me complete what is a stunning, career-defining album.
With a European tour in support of the album set to commence in March, ahead of further headline dates in Australia and New Zealand throughout April, Eat The Rich is set to cast State Of Mind into the spotlight like never before.
This return of Ferox records sees an enthusiastic response from all. The label has forthcoming releases from many original Ferox artists and some new recruits and collaborations along the way. This, the first release in 5 years, sees label head-honcho Russ Gabriel in action under his Too Funk guise. From the first 'Return Of Too Funk EP' to the later 'Hotel Ibis' and Derrick Carter's remix of 'Venus Fly Trap', Russ's Too Funk grooves have been jacking dance floors on both sides of the Atlantic since 1995. This latest offering, 'Phase 3', is a 45 rpm two tracker of House goodness only available on vinyl. No clear favourite has emerged from the two sides, among the selective few that have heard it. Like much of the wealthy Ferox catalogue before it, this is proper House Music with an electric twinge.
Once again Danse Club Records have unearthed a forgotten and sorely overlooked house track here, then they have enlisted a fine pair of contemporary producers - Sqim and Deepchild - to remix it and bring it right up to date. The original, 'Who's Dick Is This' is a 1994 kicking house bomb by the mysterious Princess Di, who released but three EPs during the 90s on Music Station with this track being the pick of the bunch. German producer Sqim is associated with labels like Exploited and Play It Down and firstly offers up a Ghetto Mix of the track. The result is a big and physical house track with sleazy samples, heavyweight drums and a kinetic energy throughout The warm up mix by the same man is a much deeper affair, as you'd expect from the name. This one resides in a much warmer and more inviting groove and is coloured with deft synths as it slowly builds in phases. The elastic vocals dart about above the drums, bringing with them a lively sense of soul and funk before Deepchild offers his own two unique versions.From quirky, stripped-back techno injected with soul to deep, dub-inflected excursions, Berlin based Australian Deepchild can do it all. Here he offers his 'Cockumentary Retug' a ragged and raging techno version riddled with spoken word samples culled from a documentary about penis size. Its dark and involving and sure will get great reactions on the floor. The final version is a straight dub that journeys in a heavy groove, has some weird spoken word snippets melted into it and is lit up with some celestial synth patterns in the latter half.
Idiot Savant Masterpieces is the 3rd release and the first full solo EP by Amir Alexander on the Vanguard Sound record label. On display is Amir's somewhat off kilter take on U.S. dance music. An approach so different that one critic described the work of Amir and his crew as Idiot Savant Masterpieces. All bases are covered, acid, deep, big room, and banging techno with a little hip house thrown in for good measure. Vanguard Sound is quickly establishing itself as a label to watch so serious collectors should buy this one on sight!
The Realest of the Real! - An acid/ hip house hybrid banger that draws influence from the classic acid and hip house vibes. With vocals written and performed by Amir himself, this track combines 303 808 and 909 sounds with Amir's "street chants" to create a vibe that looks back to classic Chicago while pushing it forward and into the future.
Sonic Weaponry! - An insidious techno groove that grabs you by the neck on the first note, and never lets go. Tough banging drums combine with a staccato analog synth passage that charges like an advancing army. The rubbery bass line joins the fray to incite utter madness as this deceptively minimalistic track whips the floor into a mad frenzy.
Rebel Music (Version One)! - A big room Banger lead by a phrenetic sine wave bass line that never lets up. Deliberate, yet, stuttering percussion anchors the track. The accompanying synth ostinato continuously shifts as huge lush chords blow through like gale force winds. Black Panther's H. Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael drop science about the nature of rebellion in the U.S.
Who are You - The "Deepest" track of the four opens with a beautiful ascending/ descending flute like synth passage that instantly sets the soul adrift. The hard and jumpy kicks interplay with a throbbing rhythmic bass that bubbles like a boiling cauldron. About halfway in a driving synth ostinato comes in to push the track forward. In the middle there is a dreamy
*The product of a move from South Carolina to Berkeley, CA and the subsequent extended separation from loved ones, Toro Y Moi's third full-length, Anything in Return, puts Chaz Bundick right in the middle of the producer/songwriter dichotomy that his first two albums established.
*There's a pervasive sense of peace with his tendency to dabble in both sides of the modern music-making spectrum, and he sounds comfortable engaging in intuitive pop production and putting forth the impression of unmediated id.
*The producer's hand is prominent- not least in the sampled "yeah"s and "uh"s that give the album a hip-hop-indebted confidence- and many of the songs feature the 4/4 beats and deftly employed effects usually associated with house music. Tracks like "High Living" and "Day One" show a considerably Californian influence, their languid funk redolent of a West Coast temperament, and elsewhere- not least on lead single, "So Many Details"- the record plays with darker atmospheres than we're used to hearing from Toro Y Moi. Sounding quite assured in what some may call this songwriter's return to producer-hood, Anything in Return is Bundick uninhibited by issues of genre, an album that feels like the artist's essence.
*Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Chaz Bundick has been toying with various musical projects since early adolescence. Having spent his formative years playing in punk and indie rock acts, his protean Toro Y Moi project has been his vessel for further musical exploration since 2001. During his time spent studying graphic design at the University of South Carolina, Chaz became increasingly focused on his solo work, incorporating electronics and allowing a wider range of influences- French house, Brian Wilson's pop, 80s R&B, and Stones Throw hip-hop- to show up in his music. By the time he graduated in spring 2009, Chaz had refined his sound to something all his own. Music journals across the board touted his hazy recordings as the sound of the summer, and he released his debut album, Causers of This in early 2010.
*Since then, Bundick has proven himself to be not just a prolific musician, but a diverse one as well, letting each successive release broaden the scope of the Toro Y Moi oeuvre. The funky psych-pop of 2011's Underneath the Pine evinced an artist who could create similar atmospheres even without the aid of source material and drum machines. His Freaking Out EP, a handful of singles and remixes, and a retrospective box-set plot points all along the producer/songwriter spectrum in which he's worked since his debut, and Anything In Return is another exciting offering that shows he's still not ready to settle into any one genre.
New Jersey based producer Jorge Velez returns to Echovolt under his brand new guise Bridge & Tunnel Kids with three tripped out, psychedelic journeys of the Detroit kind plus a remix by fellow 'outsider' Willie Burns!
DJ / Press Quotes
2012 was a prolific year for the New Jersey based producer Jorge Velez also know as Professor Genius. He recently spread even more his name with his 'MMT Tape Series' release on Rush Hour Recordings and the blinding sountrack-ish 'Hassan' album on the notorious L.I.E.S. from New York.
Jorge Velez and William Burnett joined their forces in 2009 and their collaboration tracks became the first release on the Echovolt label's catalog. Their debut EP came under the name 'PG&S - Motorik EP' and contained some freaky krautrock electronics.
After four years, Jorge Velez and William Burnett (aka Willie Burns) return to Echovolt. This time Jorge Velez delivers three tripped out, psychedelic journeys of the Detroit kind under his brand new guise Bridge & Tunnel Kids. This fresh Echovolt release is topped off by a remix by fellow 'outsider' Willie Burns with his unique sound signature!
'Believe" delivers a consummate body of work with which Nicole's considerable abilities in the studio are clear for all to hear. A wide-range of sounds that is sure to appeal to the idiosyncratic tastes of the various sub-sections of electronic music community. Furthermore, it lives up to the high-standards of previous Drumcode long-players and is an engrossing and impressive debut; and one that offers a smooth segue into the next chapter of an already exciting career.
Kicking off with the industrial techno grooves of 'Come And Lay' with the bass-heavy 'Do Your Thing' on the flipside.




















