Fans of sample based artists like Kid Koala, The Avalanches, and Cut Chemist will enjoy the new 7″ single by NickNack called “Strangest Secret” b/w “Gathering Shadow”. The two songs are a hint of what appears on his forthcoming album, but Crowd Control Records are releasing it in the handy 7″ single format. You can also download the songs as 320kbps MP3’s for whatever price you want to pay, including $0.00, click here for details. If you do download it for free and like what you hear, then opt for the vinyl 45.
The full length album, Dearly Departed, will be out sometime this spring.
If you are a record collector or a vinyl newbie, you have no doubt seen this photo posted and Tweeted countless times on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. While it is very cool, it is not a new thing to see “the inner walls” of a vinyl record groove. Similar photographs have been posted for years, especially when comparisons were made between vinyl and compact disc.
Fellow vinyl junkie DJ Shadow knows about the “inner juices” that lie within his record collection. Back in 2002 on tour in support of his Private Press album, he introduced a number of great visuals as he played his songs, one of which involved what I call “the exploration of a groove”. It’s a computer generated film which begins in outer space, slowly making its way to Earth before reaching a yard where a few people are having a barbeque and listening to records on a pair of Technics turntables while a record crate sits close buy. It gets closer, and as soon as you think it can’t get any closer, it moves closer to the record stylus and cartridge. It is then that the film takes it one step closer: by going into the groove (watch it from the beginning, but the magic moment begins around the 2:00 mark):
When I saw DJ Shadow on this tour in Seattle on June 9th, 2002, this film was shown as “Fixed Income” was played. I myself got chicken skin because I actually had a similar idea for a film in the 8th grade, which means I must’ve seen similar photos of a magnified record sometime in the 80’s. I wanted to be an artist that showed films behind me because I was a huge Pink Floyd fan, and they were a band who used incredible visuals through backdrop films on a number of tours. When I saw Shadow do it, I thought “shit, he did it”, and I said that with approval. Shadow wanted to be the early bird that got the worm as depicted on graphics used for the promotion of The Private Press. As for me, there was a comic strip in Mad Magazine which stated “the early bird catches the worm, but who catches the early bird?” I wanted to be the one to do it before the early bird. I did not have a chance, but to realize someone else had the same idea was satisfaction enough. The Private Press tour was documented on the DVD In Tune And On Time: Live!, where you’ll be able to see the above video in HQ form.
There’s a really good 12″ EP coming out from the Dutch label Relatives that is worth checking out. Four artists, four songs. The record features great electronica/dance music from Axel Karakasis, Zule, Wyrus & Matija Marinic, and Boriqua Tribez, so if you’re a fan of techno that pushes the limits, get this. You can order your copy from Juno UK. To hear excerpts from each of the songs, clicking this will open up WinAmp to listen to an audio stream from Juno.
Jon Kennedy has yet another 45 release coming out, this one bringing “Boom Clack” together with “Mr. Brown”, credited to KRS Jon vs. Bob Marley so get your hands on this one. You can order your copies from Organik Recordings.
Kingdom has turned Shyvonne’s “Mindreader” inside out and has turned it into a wicked club track. The song, b/w “You” is being released as a 10″ single by Acephale Records, and it sounds like it will seriously turn some heads no matter where you play it.
You can order your copy here. Only 500 copies will be made, so snatch doubles while you can.
When I popped in Nedry’s Condors (Monotreme), the first thing I thought of when I was listening to the electronic beats buzzing and tweezing was Chemical Brothers. As the vocals came in, I said “oh, Björk lite”, but that’s unfair.
Vocalist Ayu Okakita has been in a number of groups over the years, but now she’s with Nedry, who are also Matt Parker and Chris Amblin. Okakita’s voice is very smooth, delicate, sensual, and eerie all at the same time, singing something that may come off like a loud whisper but is really just her reserved way of singing with power. She doesn’t over do it, so songs like “Four Layers Of Pink”, “Scattered”, and “Where The Dead Birds Go” could bring back flashbacks of the best works of Portishead or Gina Rene and Soulstice. What I love are the layers of sound Amblin and Parker create, especially as things move from dreamy to abrasive in a Shirley Manson fashion. When she sings in a manner that may sound like she’s borderlne out-of-control, the music backs that feeling up and the mood is always right where it needs to be.
The album cover consists of a pixelated eagle, which in a way may help inform the listener about the unpredictable sounds within.
(vinyl version comes with a CD of the full album) |
Holy Hail received some nice words with the release of last year’s EP, The Dying Party, and now they’re about to go on tour in support of a new EP (title to be announced), both happening in April. They were able to find friendship with the band Florence and the Machine, and together they’ll brave the unpredictable spring weather of the Americas. Here are the dates for their tour:
04.05.10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts
04.07.10 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
04.09.10 – Manhattan, NY @ Terminal 5
04.10.10 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Center
04.12.10 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
04.14.10 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
04.15.10 – Seattle, WA @ the Showbox
04.17.10 – Portland, OR @ the Mezzanine
If you live in or near New York City, you’ll be able to catch them at The Armory this Sunday (March 7th), where they’ll most likely play tracks from the new EP.
Zang Tuum Tumb (or Zang Tumb Tuum if you wish, ZTT for short) were responsible for 808 State’s success around the world in the 90’s. Twenty years later, ZTT are about to release brand new remasters from the electronica group.
I reviewed two of my favorite 808 albums, 808:90 and ex:ex. You can read a review of both discs by clicking to Okayplayer.com.
This is an older video (the video came out last November) but was only made aware of it recently, so I pass it along. This is from Comfort Fit’s album, Polyshuffle, on the Tokyo Dawn label.
Esther Duijn has been entertaining fans and nightclub fanatics in the Netherlands and throughout Europe with her music and extensive DJ sets. She continues to push the possibilities of sound with a new 12″ single on a brand new label in Portugal, Exquisite Music.
Side A is a track simply called “Track 1″ and is credited to D.A.D., which is Duijn, Anonym, and Steady Douglas. Anonym is the only American in the trio, and is very secretive about his work (thus his name). Side B features “Zuidwest” by Duijn and Douglas.
The 12″ was released on February 12th and can be ordered through Decks.de.
Duijn has also archived a number of her DJ sets on her Soundcloud page, which you can download for free.
