So this is it, sorry for the lack of updates but I went away for the weekend, and finally being on a proper schedule again doesn't help. Anyways here's some songs seeing me through the day to day.
Alex Colville - New Moon (1980)
Starting with a lil' extra the folks at warp were so nice to give me back when Mind Bokeh was new. There's not much different from the LP version here aside from the shorter intro, but that's a pretty big plus. It's been a fair few years sine this came out and it's still as solid as it was back then.
Another return to the Flying Lotus demos that are floating about the net. They're full of hidden gems that wouldn't see the light of day otherwise, I almost wish FlyLo still did these occasionally, but his new direction is pretty sick so I can't complain.
And finally the bonus track tucked away at the end of Lucky Boy. I just pulled the LP out along with all my old Ed Banger gear after listening to a ton of Mehdi's pre-Ed Banger work and it's been a trip in nostalgia for sure, even now I've branched out into all sorts of stuff I still got a soft spot for the brand of electro put out by the Ed Rec lot. Another great we lost too soon.
'Bout two days left till I start Uni, hopefully won't impact the posting too much but just in case here's a quickie before I pop off. My long time subwoofer buddy Stenchman dropped a new tune under his house-y Philestine alias and I am in love with the into on it. Poor Stench is criminally underrated when he can do Dub, Hip Hop and House really bloody well.
Been touching more on the world of experimental electronic in prep for when I get my hands on the new AFX. Of course Warp remains the king in that area, and after many months stashed away cos I burned out on listening to it I am reminded why Clark's Body Riddle is one of my favourite albums, gorgeously produced throughout, even if sometimes feels like it's going to blow your head off.
Also I've been diggin the Selektor's older tunes recently (though Monkeytown is still my favourite). This one features Maxïmo Park, another Warp act and the collaboration works real well. Modeselektor really have a way with vocal stuff, as shown on their work with Thom Yorke and this is no different. Solid closer to a solid album.
For the first time in forever I tried to tie all my posts together into a cohesive theme, bear with me cos it might get a bit loosely defined later but w/e, enjoy the tunes!
Dabs Myla - Anywhere
Starting with another Swede on my radar, like El Huervo and The Knife before him, Simon Viklund is a frequent dabbler in soundtracks. And he does it very, very well. The build in atmosphere here is great, the slow build from hip hop to full on drum & bass is intense and the samples only add to it.
Originally I was only going to post that part, but after some listening I thought that would be letting Mr. Viklund's skills down. There is no build on this one, it goes from nothing to full intensity in about 2 seconds, there is a breakdown to steady yourself with, but it's not long before we're back to breakin' beats.
Staying on soundtracks, the E-Z Rollers' Weekend World was put to great use in Guy Ritchie's comedy-crime caper Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. This tune in particular really captures the vibe and that weird late to end of the 90's space it existed in. Definitely check out the LP if you're on the market for more jazzy Drum & Bass vibes
Shamelessly stealing an idea me and Adam cooked up after his latest special depressing edition of the wingman series, we're gonna cover some sad songs today in what will hopefully be a semi-regular feature (and what may be the first ever collabrative post in ilictronix history) Tunes and more after the art.
Edward Hopper - Summer In The City (1950)
Starting off with the absolutely crushing end to The Knife's Silent Shout. Here the album dumps all the twisted electropop sensibilities that underlined the whole album and gets real for a second. Like From Off To On some tracks before it, it's a pitch shifted ambient trip in introversion.
"Was it worth it? Could it be worse than this?"
It's probably a bit of a cliché to mention Portishead here, but I'm gonna do it anyway just because a few lines here real resonate with me, and I'd be lying if I didn't say the way Beth Gibbons delivers the lines is pretty much perfect.
"For it's such a lovely day to have to always feel this way"
Broadcast may not be the first band that jumps to mind given their usual sound, but there's more than enough downbeat stuff to go around. I've already given out some love to the lonely vibe of their earlier tune Lights Out, but there's some quality pieces on The Noise Made By People too.
"How wrong I'll be, none of us have anything"
-Claude Van Foxbat
Adam's Picks
First on my list today is a track from Instra:Mental and I heard this one thursday night when James Blake played it on his residency on Radio 1. I've had this one on repeat for 3 days now and has really sucked my joy. A pretty danceable track with some pretty sinister undertones and a heartbreaking vocal sample makes this track really special. Oh, don't forget those out of this world synths.
"Ill be waiting around, I'm sorry"
Next we have a new one from Aphex Twin. Off his stellar new album Syro the closing track is a pretty bitter sweet one. It sounds like a rain cloud on a bright and sunny day.
I'm sure your all familiar with this one but its still a favorite downer of mine. Stripped, barebones, and vulnerable is that makes this track memorable for me.
"People get crushed like biscuit crumbs and get laid down in the bitumen"
Been a couple of days quiet now, gearing up for going back for my final and 3rd year at uni. Not going as bad as I thought, here's hoping everything all right with you lot. Either way so here's some musical accompaniment for y'all to enjoy.
Andy Warhol - Portrait Of Debbie Harry On An Amiga (1985)
Starting off with house legend Romanthony on Bangalter's Roulé label (which is pretty much all flawless releases). As much as I love the housey vibes of the original, the R&B mix is where the tune really shines.
Normally I associate the Massive lads with their distincly moodier outputs post-Mezzanine, but their debut has some more upbeat tunes to it, from Hymn Of The Big Wheel to the cult classic Unfinished Sympathy there's a fair few. This one is by far and away my favourite though, good cover to boot.
Playing us out is a tune from Apparat that's seen me through some tough times. Like all of Walls, the buildup on this one is pretty intense and the production overall is just gorgeous. The last quarter of the track is a definite highlight I'd recommend checking out the album if you dig this, it's easily one of my all time favourites.
As part of my dissertation I'm looking up samples and stuff such as the Amen Break and that, and because of that I've been digging in my old school section for more material and I'm really liking it, tunes after the art!
Keith Haring - Pop Shop VI (1989)
Starting off with my first rave loves The Prodigy. I fully blame them for my love of cheesy piano this track is pretty testament to that. Tracks like Charly and Out Of Space are what I think of first when it comes to The Prodigy, pretty much what I think of full stop when I cast my mind back to my psuedo-rave days.
I've mentioned before in a post abut how around 1993/4 Drum & Bass tends to get torn between it's hardcore roots and the more recognisable styles of Drum & Bass. This track here is no exception, it's from 1993 and honestly the breaks that get introduced could easily be taken from a Current Value or even a more sedate Venetian Snares tune, it's absolutely mental.
The same is exhibited here by Omni Trio, though this track sounds considerably more dated than Digable Bass, or hell even the legendary Renegade Saraes from around the same time. Still, I think it's important to see the evolution of genres; the samples here are kinda like what the Prodigy were pulling up there on Your Love, only with beakbeats behind it.
Autumn, the days aren't as long, the leaves are turning brown and dying and your summer romances are coming to an end. We have brought you a couple of wingman posts and hopefully you all found that special someone. But its time to look at the other side of things and make a killer list to listen to when that knot becomes unfurled leaving you more hollow than a jack-o-lantern.
Lets go with the obvious pick first, The xx - Sunset. We talk about The XX a lot on this site and it would be easy to post Coexist in its entirety but due to copyright reasons and not wanting to bum you out too hard we will just do one of the standout tracks.
"I always thought it was sad
The way we act like strangers
After all that we had
We act like we had never met."
Oh yeah that's right, embrace those feels. You might still see her at the grocery store or at Starbucks getting her Soy Latte, but she doesn't even acknowledge you. She probably got a new haircut too, symbolizing that she is now a different person and there is no room for you in her life anymore.
The next track is off SBTRKT's newest album "Wonder Where We Land" and features vocals from Sampha. A sad and haunting piano ballad kills the vibe on the album but is perfect for this list.
"Would I lie to myself just to be close to somebody else"
You probably changed for her didn't you? She said she loved the Smiths and I'm sure you agreed and said you loved her Morrisey tattoo. Its ok, we've all been there, she isint coming back though so sell those Arcade Fire tickets you bought her for Christmas and be thankful that you don't have to go anymore. We all know Reflektor was a disappointment but you lied to yourself and got the vinyl anyway.
The best way to get over someone is to spend time with a new fling. FKA Twigs should fill that void for you.
"Was I just a number to you?"
The dizzying beat and the her breathless cry's are perfect sounds after you find out that your dream girl was blowing her tattoo artist while you both were together. Yes you were just a number to her. You think she really cares that your drinking canned wine crying about her? Clean yourself up man, you'll be ok.
One of the best benifits to being dumped is that you are allowed a free pass to listen to and love Coldplay.
"Late night watching TV
Used to be you here beside me
Used to be your arms around me
Your body on my body"
Yeah, unfortunately she wasn't "getting breakfast with friends" once a week while you were at work. What did you expect though? She cheated on her boyfriend at the time with you, what makes you think she wouldn't do the same thing again? Hey look on the bright side, you don't have to watch Pretty Little Liars anymore, I mean she didn't even like Hannah! Now you get to sit in your boxers and watch Modern Family and know you will never have that.
Finishing off this list is something a bit more left-field from Keyshia Cole.
"Can't say I'm not hurt
I'll be damned if I'm broken
What we had is now hers
Let her know she can have it"
When you first met she told you she was a Christian and a born again virgin but you knew better, she even had a kid. She tells you that she drank too much moonshine and had a 5 man train run on her a week after you spend Thanksgiving with her family in Ohio. Some people never change.
So get a new haircut, buy some fresh threads, hit the gym and keep being incredible, thinks will be ok for you in the end!
Earl here with a new round of track reviews for ya!
Lets get right into it,
First up is another song by Brika, whose track "Expectations" was featured on here earlier. This song, entitled "Options" is a love song about having other lovers somtimes, sure to be a hit with your girlfriend!
Next up is a very exciting track for me personally because its the first single from a solo project by a dude named Maxim Reality (you know that guy from a group you might know called "The Prodigy") Its called Wolf and its for free! FREE.
This song is called "Struggling" by DRDR.
Listen to it.
It has an excellent mood.
tenouttaten
DATBREAKDOWNTOO
And last but not least, we have a VERY funky EP by Persona La Ave called "Relation" which is half of their Temptation/Relation project.
I love every song on this, check it out here
I owe Squarepusher a lot, between him and AFX and Boards Of Canada they were my my first dip into the wold of experimental electronic, and Warp Records as a whole which pretty much led to my position here. The man himself has a good number of releases under his belt, so in a few spare minutes I had I threw together a little look back over his releases and picked out some of my favourties, that I ever so creativley titled Pushin' Squares. Tracklist after the album art comp!
2020 Update: Currently the mix isn't hosted anywhere, it can't be on mixcloud b/c it's all Squarepusher, and I don't have room on the ilictronix soundcloud for it either. The mix isn't that good anyway so in lieu of that have players for each track below:
Tracklist:
Sad Robot Goes Funny (Music For Robots, 2014)
Now that I don't need to tpe an opening thanks to that picture, onto the tracks. Starting off suitably with a bit from Modeselektor's Monkeytown, Busdriver lends himself well to the overall style of the LP, and the shelf wobbling backing tune from the 'selektors never goes amiss.
continuing the AFX hype train, here's a little but you might recognise from the infamous Rubber Johnny video. Taken from the last proper album we had from him (before the announcement of Syro), Drukqs changes atmospheres at breakneck pace, changing from soothing introspecive piano pieces, the the all out beat butchery AFX is known for.
And finally, some FlyLo from the Los Angeles, honestly wish this one had been included on the album proper, the floor rattling beats and the various 8-bit bleeps going on in the background are a pretty perfect summary of LA era FlyLo.
It got real late before I remembered I should have posted today, have a speedy sleepy playlist I've just thrown together, but first some more gorgeous extreme high res art from Ed Hopper.
Starting off with soundtrack piece from OPN, this one's been a mainstay for around a year now and I still love it just as much every time, it's full of lush synths and other electronic goodies. Here's hoping Lopatin gets picked up for more soundtracking duties in future, he clearly has a knack for it.
Standout midpoint from The KLF's aptly named Chill Out. Bit of an odd choice of sounds for a post dancefloor comedown record, but they make it work in top form. Fits in amazingly well with the overall 'imaginary USA roadtrip' theme the album has running throughout.
With the new Aphex Twin record on the horizon, now would be a good time to reflect on what is possibly the highlight of the man's career. Even after doing an in depth review on every one of his albums on Warp I still have nothing but love for Selected Ambient Works Vol. II. Considering AFX is normally known for his experimental streak, it's nice to hear him tackle something more sedate. CHeck the album out if this is your fist exposure, it's reputation is well deserved.
Got a real hankering today for a certain type of tune I have precious little of. You'll see what I mean in a few, I'll explain a bit more after the art!
Jim Rosenquist - Dog Descending A Staircase (1979)
Right, so it' this kinda song here. I can't really explain it but the Knife's early work is chock full of solid examples, the kind of low budget DIY synth action that my long time music buddy described as "like something from the Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack".
Of course, Plone are a mainstay in this style, their playful electronics are never far when I get this itch, I wish they had more releases to their name though, I could see a tune like this going down well in the current music scene.
And Broadcast even dabbled in it on their electronic oriented LP Tender Buttons. Titled after the Gertrude Stein poem of the same name, the track (and the whole album really) are amazingly well done considering the band at this point was a skeleton crew of Cargill & Keenan.
Turns out I have a while yet before I got back to Uni, so more tunes to be put on it is then! Starting off with a fairly new one from the Stenchman I spied n his soundcloud the other day, it's another stonking good example of why I love his productions, he nails a whole range of atmospheres and genres effortlessly. I'm loving (what I assume is) the sample work on this one, check it out.
I was going to save all of this Blu Mar Ten for one big post about obscure-ish albums but it was too good to pass up here. The album is mostly chill house and other ambient stuff, surprising considering Mar Ten made their name doing Drum & Bass. It's a little misguide din parts but it hits a bunch of high notes. Exhibit A:
And finally one of my all time favourites. I honestly can't believe it's been 4 years since this one came out, I remmber my first listen as if it were yesterday and I still fll in love with it all over again as soon as that intro hits. The album might have had a mixed reception but I still think this intro kills it and sets up the vibe nicely. Look it up if you missed it the fist time round!
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