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New Music Weekly – March ‘10

This month’s column marks the first time it’s also being published over on Kmag (the new online home of the now defunct Knowledge magazine). So you can now read it here or there, as you wish. Monthly new music fill up, you know the deal.

Playlist of the month

This month’s playlist has a distinct electronic/dance music edge to it from producers in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Not really on purpose, just a lot of quality electronic music in my inbox recently.

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First up is Dokkebi Q, a Japanese duo composed of Gorgonn on the boards and Kiki (aka Hitomi from King Midas Sound) on vocals (as well as production I believe). These guys have been making music together for a while from their Dalston home though I first met them when I was living in Tokyo in ‘08, round about the time they started to make some noise on the dubstep and alternative electronic ’scenes’. Titled ‘Hardcore Cherry Bonbon’ the album should be out in the coming months via their 3qreq imprint – it’s a compilation of new and older tracks, twisting between dub, jungle and breakcore/noise with surprising ease. I’ve picked ‘Black Vomit’ as a preview. Don’t let the name fool you though, it’s a surprisingly mellow dub ballad with edited amens and some lovely singing by Kiki. Keep an eye out on their site for more news of the release. And if you haven’t yet also look at their side projects including King Midas Sound (with The Bug and Roger Robinson) and Devilman.

Next is Funki Porcini, a name that should be familiar to anyone who like me spent too much time obsessing over releases by Ninja Tune in the 90s. The funky mushroom man returns with a new LP on Ninja this May. Titled ‘On’ is a real delight of an album, a perfect continuation of his work in the 90s with a distinct mellow, some may call it ambient vibe to it. Personally it’s hitting the spot. I’ve chosen ‘Undermud’ as a taster, and I think it gives a nice insight into the whole album. If you can’t wait till May you can bag his previous album on his bandcamp for a fiver.

Vex’d shouldn’t really need any introduction, considering the fundamental part they played in the birth of the dubstep sound and scene with their debut album ‘Degenerate’ on Planet Mu back in ‘05. Having geographically separated a few years later, with Roly moving to Bristol and Jamie to Berlin, the duo have reformed (well sort of) for a long overdue second opus on Mu. Combining previously released singles and tracks with some new ones, ‘Cloud Seed’ is as good a follow up as the fans are going to get and definitely shows that the duo are still heads above most when it comes to the quality of their productions and delivering style over substance. I’ve picked ‘Disposition’ with Jest on vocals over one of their previously released singles (I can’t remember which one though – anyone?) – a perfect blend of hip hop and dubstep if you will. I heavily recommend you check the album, which should be out this month, as it’s full of gems you may have missed like their amazing remix of Plaid. And the new tracks are pretty bad too. And if you’re wondering what they’ve been up to since Degenerate, check Jamie’s solo stuff on Mu under both Jamie Vex’d and Kuedo. Styles for days.

We stay with Berlin-based UK ex-pats with a track from the forthcoming Scuba album, his second, due out end of the month on his Hotflush imprint. ‘Triangulation’ is as beautiful as its predecessor, no mean feat considering both the expectations and difficulties of producing an album within a dance music genre. Scuba is by far one of the most able producers to achieve this though and the whole thing is quite frankly perfect, varying in styles, moods and atmospheres effortlessly and without once leaving you wanting to skip ahead. I’ve picked ‘So You Think You’re Special’ which has a haunting female vocal that reminds me a lot of the recent Club Autonomic work DBridge and Instra:mental have been doing. And I mean that in a good way. Definitely album of the month for me.

Pursuit Grooves is a New York-based female producer and singer whose latest mini-album, ‘Fox Trot Mannerisms’, is being released by Bristol label Tectonic, home to Pinch, Joker and RSD among others. To say I was surprised to hear she would be releasing on the label is an understatement, but it’s the good kind of surprise. Not just because she’s a talented artist, but also because it shows that Tectonic is another label that understands the need to step away from being boxed and instead focus on releasing quality music, regardless of tags. Back to the music though, she manages to cover some serious ground over 7 tracks, and most of which you probably wouldn’t expect on a Tectonic release. ‘Shabaps’ is smooth, with tinges of house and definitely hits the spot. She also has a mean live show so we’ll hopefully have more chances of catching her once this drops, which should be early April.

Rounding things up this month is Cali-based Free the Robots whose debut album for Alpha Pup (the label behind the now semi-legendary Low End Theory parties) drops end of the month. ‘Ctrl Alt Delete’ has been a long time coming and the wait was worth it. If you’ve been following the rise of the beats/electronic hip hop scene over the last couple of years then you’ll have a good idea what to expect, as Free the Robots is very much part of the L.A beat scene. The album however eschews the more obvious, sample-based, straight-up beat approach for a more electronic one, heavy on both the sub and the rhythmic intricacies. Sort of like IDM you can dance to (j/k). Ironically ‘Turkish Voodoo’ is the one track on the album that has more of a sample-based approach to it, being built around a, you guessed it, Turkish funk sample. It’s dope though and so is the rest of the album. Check the Alpha Pup site for a freebie that gives you an idea of the more sub-heavy, dancefloor tracks on there.

Musical round up of the month

Freebies and others found online for your aural pleasure.

Mux Mool – Viking Funeral EP
Mux Mool has just released his new album, ‘Skulltaste’, on Ghostly International today. In case you’re not familiar with the man, if so I recommend you fix up asap, here’s a free EP called Viking Funeral the label gave away in the run up to the release.

Himuro Yoshiteru – do it ourself EP
<a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/himuro-yoshiteru.bandcamp.com/album/do-it-ourself-ep');" href="http://himuro-yoshiteru.bandcamp.com/album/do-it-ourself-ep">the cursed man by Himuro Yoshiteru</a>

Himuro is a Tokyo-based producer I met/discovered via Soundcloud. Like many of the Japanese producers I know he manages to have a certain uniqueness to his productions that sets them apart from the template approach too many people rely on today,
whether in hip hop or electronic music. This self-released EP can be purchased for 350yen, which is I think about 3 pounds these days. Look out for his album ‘Where Does Sound Come From’ on Murder Channel later this month. It’s big, bad and heavy.

Brey – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Brey – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy by Brey

Brey is someone else I discovered via Soundcloud. And every new tune he puts up grabs my attention. This is one of the latest, and I recommend you check his page for more.

Om Unit remixes
Remixes by omunit

I’m not even going to lie, Om Unit is one my closest friends so I am biased. But his music has been getting a lot of attention recently and that’s because it deserves it. With a long-overdue EP on Terrorhythm in the next month, a 7″ on All-City records earlier this year and lots more coming up he’s going to be in a lot of places this year. The above Soundcloud set rounds up five of his upcoming remixes, including the mighty Digidesign one and a free Mahavishnu Orchestra one on a late night tip. Get to know if you haven’t yet.

Bug – Cosmic Lab
<a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/shop.bugmusic.net/album/cosmic-lab-20-winks');" href="http://shop.bugmusic.net/album/cosmic-lab-20-winks">Cosmic Lab by BUG</a>

Last one this month is courtesy of London-producer Bug (someone may want to tell him about the other Bug btw) who has released the above single for free via his bandcamp and in association with the recently founded Jus Like Music records, an offshot of the Jus Like Music blog. Definitely a nice opening shot which should make following this guy around interesting.

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Instant Ramen mini reviews 3 – Itsuki Abegg Ramen

I'm resurrecting the instant ramen mini review series, in many parts thanks to my lovely friend Liza who sent me a copy of the totally amazing Gakken Mook for Instant Ramen (http://www.bk1.jp/product/03158305). 50+ pages of ideas on how to make instant ramen into proper dishes – some of the recipes are off the hook.

Tonight's ramen is the Itsuki Abegg one, widely available in the west and pretty cheap (it's about a pound fifty in London's Japanese supermarkets). You can find it on Rakuten here http://en.item.rakuten.com/o/everfree/319224/379319/. Itsuki is a pretty big instant ramen brand, they make the pretty good Kumamoto Mokkosu which was the first one I reviewed. You can peep the whole series of reviews here http://www.lo-la.co.uk/tag/mini-reviews/.

I tried to use the mook as inspiration for the toppings and ended up making a rather tasty chicken, garlic, sesame and cabbage combo with a hint of Chinese spicy paste. Worked a treat with some beni shouga on the side! As for the ramen itself…

Broth – 2 spoons (out of 5). Not sure if it's because the pack I had was slightly out of date but the broth really wasn't all that. Best I can make with my Kanji ability is that it should be a type of tonkotsu broth, yet it tasted and smelt really weak. Will have to give it another spin to see if it was off.
Noodles – 4 sticks (out of 5). Best instant noodles I've had so far, as good as any dried soumen style ones I've had and very nice. Quick to cook, a mere 3 minutes in-out affair.
Overall – 2.5 sweaty salarymen (out of 5). The broth let it down but the noodles clinch it at the half way mark. The toppings were also ideal to spice the whole thing up, but considering they're entirely separate it stays at 2.5.

More coming now that I'm getting my Ramen game back on.

Posted via email from Laurent’s pot of randomness

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New Visual Weekly – March ‘10

Disclaimer – a lot of the images in this month's visual round up come courtesy of the excellent ISO 50 blog (http://blog.iso50.com) which you should definitely check out if you haven't – as far as design and music, these guys have it on lock. The above image is taken from a post about North Korean propaganda posters which features some pretty fascinating stuff – see it all here http://blog.iso50.com/2010/02/02/north-korean-propaganda-posters/

This one is courtesy of Jakub, who writes on ISO50. I never knew of the Perry Bible Fellowship until then. It's been discontinued by the looks of it, but lots to look at in the archive – http://pbfcomics.com/

Next up is some pretty mind blowing shadow art. The image speaks for itself. Check the full series here – http://beautifuldecay.com/2010/03/10/shadow-art/ I am amazed at just the patience it would require to do something like this.

Last of the images courtesy of an amazing set of photos from London in the 60s. Retro appeal, view them all here –

On the video tip I'll start with another little shameless promo. The above video documents the opening party for the Original Cultures exhibition which ran last month. The crazy man in a beard and hood is me.

Possibly the best UK hip hop release in a long, long time. Out now, visit http://tranqill.bandcamp.com to get yours.

This guy has been signed to Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label. The free stuff he's put out hasn't really caught my ear that much but this video is pretty nice.

Recutting the Beastie Boys' Sabotage with footage from Battlestar Galactica. Genius.

Found this one a few hours ago. Love the drawing style and how it fits the music. Might have to look at the two artists who made this in more detail.

Last one. O.N.O Machine Live is possibly one of the best live shows I ever saw while I was living in Tokyo. This man is so slept on it's painful. I don't think he's ever played outside of Japan despite a discography that runs more than ten years deep. I hear he's playing with Brainfeeder for their Tokyo gig though, let's hope that helps get him more attention. He's using 2 MPCs and an SP alongside a bunch of effects, but it's not hip hop as you know it.

Till next month!

Posted via email from Laurent’s pot of randomness

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Brainfeeder London part 3 – The brain food matures

Last night Fabric hosted one of the last sessions from the 2010 London edition of the Red Bull Music Academy (which ends this week) with a showcase from the Brainfeeder label – the (brain)child of Flying Lotus.

Since Brainfeeder first appeared in the global music consciousness nearly 4 years ago it’s come a long way. Back in 2007 Brainfeeder was a radio show, something I haven’t really seen mentioned anywhere strangely enough. This radio show, hosted on the legendary Dublab, was a showcase of both Flying Lotus’ work and that of his L.A and worldwide peers, most of whom at the time were still mostly ‘unknowns’ outside of beat/hip hop nerd circles – Ras G, Gaslamp Killer, Nosaj Thing, Hudson Mohawke and Samiyam to name a few of those who appeared on the two shows that took place in 2007 and then 2008. That last show was a precursor to the Los Angeles album released a few months later in June ‘08 on Warp Records and which propelled Flying Lotus, and his cohorts, to worldwide fame in both underground and even overground circles (the man will be supporting Thom Yorke for the tour of his new band this year – that’s definitely pretty overground).

Around the time of the second show I remember an interview with Flying Lotus on Benji B’s show where he first hinted at Brainfeeder becoming a label – a vehicle for the release of music, and soon enough also art, made by his friends and peers in the L.A scene. That became a reality in late 2008 and the label soon moved from an mp3-only, releasing-the-work-of-friends approach to a much more ’serious’ one. It now boasts an eclectic roster of artists from across the U.S.A, has worldwide distribution and has been putting on some of the most interesting parties in America, Europe and Japan. Which brings us nicely back to last night.

If memory serves me right the first Brainfeeder event was in London in June 08, to celebrate the launch of the Los Angeles album. I remember being on the other side of the world at that time in Japan and drooling over the line up, wishing I could be there. That event marked the beginning of Brainfeeder as a live event, an event that connects the music and online ties of the label and artists with the real world and a public eager for fresh, new sounds performed live in a variety of set ups: from straight up DJ sets from GLK to laptop sets by Fly Lo, 303 bass beatings by Ras G and insane microkorg fuckery by Dorian Concept (to name a few). In June 09 the second Brainfeeder London event returned to its East London car park roots to much love from a surprisingly diverse audience – you can read my review of that one here. Since its beginning in June 08 Brainfeeder has hosted events in Barcelona, Tokyo, Korea, New York and of course its hometown of L.A with a new regular session at the Downtown Independent which combines the new visual element of the collective with its music side as well as a much-deserved nod to L.A’s original beat scene-founding night ‘Sketchbook’ (reborn and hosted on the rooftop of the venue where the main shows take place).

Continue reading “Brainfeeder London part 3 – The brain food matures”

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Original Cultures London 2010 is over…

Photo by Charlie Whatley

Last week was the second edition of Original Cultures, this time taking place in London. I worked for about 8 months on this, with the last two months a solid 7-day a week affair juggling 9-5, radio shows, writing and preparations and logistics for the whole thing. Let’s just say I breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the show ended on Friday!

Much blogging, photography-ing, tweeting and assorted on the fly documentation took place – check the round up of links below in case you missed anything. Videos and audio are incoming, most likely over the next two months. We’re definitely aiming to have the documentary for London ready by early summer instead of the 8 or so months it took us to get the docu from the first event ready.

The whole thing was amazing for me, and I won’t repeat what I’ve already written in the blogs but it has really been another great experience, with so much learnt and so much more to take forward for the next event. Ideas are already buzzing in my head again and I can’t wait to get started, despite how happy I was for it to be over, even if just for a week.

Big big thanks to the artists, the crew and all those who helped us and supported us. You know who you are and you have my eternal gratitude. Until the next one. Peace!

Original Cultures London 2010 – online documentation
Tumblr blog – featuring photos, videos, and other media taken on the fly as it happened
Daily blogs – from artists, organisers and editors
Photos – including opening and closing party from exhibition, daily workshops and final showcase
Videos – currently mainly on the fly and joke videos shot throughout the week, proper ones coming soon
Audio – from our exhibition and soon audio from the showcase too
Facebook – fan us and read up on all the madness in one place

Posted in Music, Online Portfolio.

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