AWKWARD MOVEMENTS

Raynulds - Sub.fm 29/1/12

2012-01-30T05:10:00.000-08:00

Raynulds' first cover show for the New Year saw him smash it on Sub.fm yesterday. Especially enjoyed the Skull Disco dedication at the end. What an amazing label they were. Unreleased Gremino goodness and a forthcoming NKC joint were also mad highlights, check it out below.

via Mixcloud

Covering for 7below on www.sub.fm - definitely one of my favourite radio sessions so far... This week I rolled through some unreleased tunes from NKC (remixed by Maddslinky aka Zed Bias), Zoltan and Gremino, along with one of my own productions (a remix of Addison Groove) - first time I've ever played my own material on the radio. Also dropped some Skull Disco classics towards the end. Thanks to Granholme Recordings and Gremino for hooking me up with the
unreleased tracks!

Out to everyone who was locked in for this. Usual slot is every second Saturday, 11am-1pm.

Sub FM - 29th January - Covering for 7below by Raynulds on Mixcloud

Henry Flint x DJ Food Exhibition @ Pure Evil

2012-01-27T14:29:00.000-08:00

After blowing us away with the planetarium show last week, we didn't think there was much else to share on Strictly Kev's new DJ Food album, The Search Engine. Last night, however, we were lucky to be invited down to a new exhibition opening, where Henry Flint was displaying the sketches, concepts and artwork behind the aesthetic of the album, promo and show.

Already a hero to us graphic novel fans from his classic work on 2000 A.D. and Judge Dredd, Henry Flint took over the gallery with original sketches from his past comic work, unseen creations and ideas based on his new(ish) book Broadcast: The TV Doodles Of Henry Flint, as well as the DJ Food workings. There were even one-off Serato plates in frames (each unique) for sale, graced with the DJ Food designs from him and Kev. The gallery was heaving (free beer + East London art gallery = hipster contest) but the DJs were good and the exhibition stunning, bringing back memories from my first appreciations of Henry's work and early listenings of Ninja Tune.

The exhibition's on over at one of (if not) our favourite London spots, The Pure Evil Gallery, running from now until the 12th of Feb, till 6pm each day.

Big ups to all involved, flyer and more info below.

An exhibition of artwork from DJ Food's album 'The Search Engine' and Henry Flint's book 'Broadcast'. Original art, photos, limited edition prints and postcard records, sound installation and more...

DJ Food, aka Strictly Kev, has read the British sci-fi comic 2000ad, home of Judge Dredd, since he was 8 years old. He's also been collecting original art from it for over a decade and a large proportion of his collection is the work of one man - Henry Flint. Studying at Falmouth University, Henry has worked in comics since the early 90's - mostly for the anthology title 2000ad but also for US publishers like Marvel, DC and Vertigo. He slowly refined his craft and became a fan favourite with his ultra-detailed storytelling, seemingly able to combine several different styles from the comic's first golden age in the 80's alongside his own distinctive pen work. He has drawn many of the comic's main characters, including Judge Dredd, as well as created his own characters Shakara and Zombo with fellow script writers. One of his latest illustrations graces the cover of a collection of Alan Moore's short stories, first published in the title in the 80's.

Upon buying some art from Henry a few years ago, Kev discovered several postcards with crazed characters and abstracts included in the package, promotion for a small local exhibition in Exeter of Henry's 'doodles'. The images were exactly what he had been looking for as the starting point for the artwork on a series of EPs he was making, later to form an album on Ninja Tune. Henry sent a stack of images for Kev to pick from and gave him permission to colour them for the artwork, which were issued as foldout poster covers on three 12" EPs.

By the time the album was ready to be compiled Kev had a solid visual direction and commissioned Henry to draw "a cosmonaut, hanging in space, strapped into an unfeasibly large backpack, the kind you could only wear in zero gravity". The result became the cover of 'The Search Engine'. Coupled with press shots of Kev in a replica astronaut suit, shot by photographer Will Cooper-Mitchell, this completed a sci-fi theme with Kev's colours fleshing out the black and white line drawings. Incidentally, since the start of the collaboration, Henry was approached by a publisher with a view to compiling these drawings into a book, which has just been published under the title 'Broadcast' by Aam Markosia.

The exhibition will feature lots of original Flint artwork including drawings and elements used to create most of the artwork surrounding the album as well as comic pages from Kev's personal collection. Cooper-Mitchell photos will be on display as well and high quality signed giclee prints will be available to buy as well as a limited edition postcard record made specially for the show. Kev's love of psychedelic art will also be in evidence with typographic mandalas, zoetrope discs and unique splatter vinyl DJ controller records on display to complete the picture. An audio visual installation in the basement, based around the album, will also be present.

Derrick May 'Slices' Interview

2012-01-24T04:16:00.000-08:00

We've been following Derrick May interviews and articles since we attended his four hour lecture in Melbourne many years ago (a lot of that time was spent talking about Strings Of Life I remember). 'The Innovator' is a proper legend, one of the Belleville Three who continues to shape what happens around us, and everytime he steps in to Phonica he's a genuinely nice guy, giving enough respect back to the people selling wax. In his production days he made tracks that still sound fresh today - this Rhyhtim Is Rhythim plate hasn't left my record bag since purchase. This most recent interview with Slices is a reminder of how hard he works, how talented he is behind decks and that he's earned the praise he receives as one of the fathers of techno.

It's also worth shouting out Universal Techno once more, which s an incredible techno documentary done for the French audience, and has one of my all time favourite music doco scenes. A young Derrick May is interviewed while photographing The Michigan Theatre, talking about the tragedy of it being turned in to a car park. The whole thing can be viewed online form the link above.

Sometimes Mayday just gets it so right, and in the below interview he hits the nail on the head in regards to DJing. The way DJs are coming up has changed drastically in even the last five years, as has the crossover of producer to DJ, but it doesn't mean the quality of the art form should suffer. Anyone spinning tunes should take a few minutes to check what Derrick's saying.

Lapalux Signs To Brainfeeder

2012-01-21T02:49:00.000-08:00

It's under a year since we found out about Lapalux via Many Faces Out Of Focus, the EP he dropped in limited cassette form on Pictures Music. We were well impressed from that offering and apparently not the only ones. It's recently been announced that the 23 year old Essex producer has been picked up by Brainfeeder, the label owned, run and operated by one Flying Lotus out of LA.

The seven track EP's going by the name of When You're Gone - and this time around Lapalux comes correct with a wax pressing alongside the digital download option. Both versions can be pre-ordered now for a 6th of Feb delivery on the mp3s and wavs and the 22nd for the physical. Strangely enough the vinyl with mp3 download is cheaper than the wavs. Having sneaked in an early listen there's no doubt that the Lapalux has kicked his productions up a gear. Intensely complex and perfectly off-kilter, there's some beautiful listening here, a nice addition to the Brainfeeder roster.

Press release below and some preview snippets via Lapalux soundcloud.

via Brainfeeder

Stuart Howard aka Lapalux has come up with something special for his first release with Cali’s finest, Brainfeeder. When You're Gone is an EP of such poise and beauty, one listen is enough to know you’re onto something special.

Lapalux bathes your brain in lush textures, surprising and explosive atmospheres set in unencountered, unearthly spaces, all somehow perfectly set against catchy rolling choruses informed by pop and commercial R&B. Whether working with a singer like Py (on “Moments”), or deconstructing found samples and his own voice, Howard stretches, bends and warps sound to make soul – not plastic posturing but real emotion made of synthetic sound.

1. 102 Hours of Introductions
2. Moments (Feat. PY)
3. Gone
4. Yellow 90's
5. Construction Deconstruction
6. Gutter Glitter
7. Face Down, Eyes Shut

Lapalux - "When You're Gone" EP Sampler (Brainfeeder) - Available on the 7th Feb 2012 by Lapalux

Gutter Glitter (Taken From the "When You're Gone" EP Available 7th Feb on Brainfeeder) by Lapalux

If you like what you're hearing make sure you get down to Village Underground in a few weeks time. Lapalux is playing the night on Friday the 2nd of March with Teebs and Samiyam headlining then Om Unit and Young Montana? closing off an incredible lineup. Flyer below, get tickets here, more info closer to the date.

RIP Etta James 1938 - 2012

2012-01-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

We're very sad to hear about the passing of a true legend of music, jazz vocalist Etta James. Throughout her career Etta's style was transcendent of genres, it was in fact my father who was heavily country music and rock n roll loving that introduced me to her. As an instantly recognisable singer Etta's style was her own, never imitated but impacting most everyone who made themselves familiar with her catalogue.

via Rolling Stone

Etta James, one of the great voices of the 20th century who fused R&B with gospel and blues, and scored landmark hits with "At Last," "Tell Mama" and "All I Could Do Was Cry," died today from complications related to leukemia. She was 73. James had been battling health problems for many years.

James had an enormously turbulent personal life with numerous periods of drug addiction and poverty, but she channeled all of that heartache into her music. "There's a lot going on Etta James' voice," Bonnie Raitt told Rolling Stone in 2008. "A lot of pain, a lot of life, most of all, a lot of strength. She can be so raucous and down one song, and then break your heart with her subtlety and finesse the next. As raw as Etta is, there's a great intelligence and wisdom in her singing."

Born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles in 1938, James was largely abandoned by her teenage mother at a young age, and was raised by her grandparents and foster families. She formed the the doo-wop singing group Creolettes with her friends in the early 1950s, and they even scored a minor hit with "Roll Me Henry" in 1955.

James signed as a solo act to Chess Records in 1960, kicking off the first great period of her long career. Working with producers Harvey Fuqua and Ralph Bass, she landed on the charts with "My Dearest Darling" and "All I Could Do Is Cry." Leonard Chess heard tremendous potential in her voice, and in 1961 had her record the ballad "At Last" with a string section. The song became a massive hit, and remained her signature song for the rest of her career.

Despite her incredible success, James started to use heroin in the mid-1960s and it began to have serious effects on her career. At various points she was committed to a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital, though she still occasionally scored hits – most notable the R&B classic "Tell Mama" in 1967.

In the 1970s, James hit the club circuit to support herself. The Rolling Stones took her on tour in 1978, which exposed her music to a whole new generation of rock fans. That same year she signed to Warner Brothers and cut the classic LP Deep in the Night with Jerry Wexler. Her drug habit resumed in the 1980s, but a 1988 stay at the Betty Ford Clinic set her on a much better course. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

James continued to tour until illness sidelined her a couple of years ago. She made headlines in 2009 when she criticized Beyoncé's performance of "At Last" at President Obama's inauguration, but the public didn't realize that she was suffering from dementia at that point.

In 1997, James spoke with Rolling Stone about her life. "Life's been rough," she said. "But life's been good. If I had to go back and do it all over again, I would live it the exact same way."

At an astounding 71 years of age Etta James released her final album, and incredible songs they were too part of her now completed catalogue. It's the earlier material which first turned our ears, and has resonated across generations and scenes. Turn on TV and you won't have to wait long to hear some Etta James on a commercial or show. Even Flo Rida's currently riding success off the back of sampling her singing abilities.

RIP Etta James.

DJ Nature November Mixes

2012-01-19T03:15:00.000-08:00

Out to Liam D of SpaceBass fame for bringing this one to our attention the other night. Those guys killed it at CAMP last time around, hanging for their next party but in the meantime I'd recommend staying on top of their transmissions as and when they throw them up: http://liamski.podomatic.com/.

Truth be told if you're reading this from Japan or the UK you should properly know about DJ Milo of The Wild Bunch; if not check out the full bio here. Following on from the creation of 'the Bristol sound' in 1991 Milo launched the DJ Nature alias only to quickly retire it from production credits for almost 20 years. Hooking up with Golf Channel in 2010 saw DJ Nature step back on the scene in flawless form, and over the last two years he's released some of our favourite slow-mo disco, stunning deep house and edits to boot. Good news then that he's announced on his soundcloud page that there's an album on the way, limited 2 x 12" set that's no doubt going to fly.

Despite being a New York resident since the early 90s, it's in Japan that Milo has his biggest fanbase outside the UK. A few weeks ago, he posted up the three mixes below for download, titled the Japan Recovery Mission Supplement. Not sure the story behind the JRMS title, but can say that this is a bit over three hours of essential listening.

We consider Milo / DJ Nature part of the elite of true-school talent, never rushing his mixes, building it from the ground up and vibing off the audience. DJing is much more than beat matching and DJ Nature embodies the entire ethos of being a proper selector.

nov mix part 1 - dj.nature (Japan recovery mission supplement) by dj nature

nov mix part 1 - dj.nature (Japan recovery mission supplement) by dj nature

nov mix part 3 - dj.nature (final) dj-nature (JRMS) by dj nature

ASC - 'Droids' / 'Never Enough' [Samurai Red Seal]

2012-01-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

Maybe there's been a bit of a knock-on effect here, having rinsed the Plug LP since its release and finally taking time to fill the gaps in my collection of Rockwell releases. Have to give a quick shout then to a dnb record that arrived on promo and has been kicking itself round in my head for a good few hours after listening. Need this on wax.

It's the new plate from one ASC, who's body of work I'm finding out to be mostly ignorant of, having only picked up his releases on Nonplus and Exit Records to date. As it happens ASC has had a ton of material out recently and this newest two-tracker on Samurai Red Seal has properly grabbed my attention. Originally scheduled for a late 2011 release the Droids / Never Enough package has just dropped this week, and is quite a stunning offering.

Both tracks here are equally brilliant, similar in style and relentless in their flow and structure that combine for heavily addictive and hypnotic listening. Tech-influenced and clinical in their delivery, really looking forward to playing these out. Looking forward to getting through the rest of his catalogue too.

Boomkat got it pretty spot on in their short and sweet review; check what they said below, stream below that.

New Zealand's Samurai Red Seal find ASC in limber form on two excellent hardsteppers. Frontside 'Droid' is all tendon-twitching syncopation anchored by inverted kicks and massive subbass; a genuine future junglist roller if we've heard one. Flipside 'Never Enough' sustains the pressure with body-orchestrating steppers' drums inna hyper-cyber soundsphere. You know what we mean, yeah? Dead good, this!

ASC - Samurai Red Seal 014 - Out Now! by Samurai Music

Tape-Echo Newspaper: Issue 1

2012-01-16T05:26:00.000-08:00

I should pre-empt this by letting you know that only 250 copies have been made of Issue 1 - beg, borrow and steal if you have to but this is some print you want to own.

A few months back we posted on Analog Love, a photo exhibition documenting the Bristol underground scene, accompanied by an amazingly unique zine of the same name. Curated by Alex Digard of Tape-Echo website fame the success of the project possibly served as a catalyst to take it a step further.

Tape-Echo Issue 1 has just launched in its specialised newspaper format, proving once again that quality print is far from dead.

Utilising DIY sparsity, the A4-size issue is an entirely type-written work of art, keeping in line with the underground music ethos of quality over quantity.

Tape-Echo publication 001 from Tape-Echo on Vimeo.

On the content tip, Tape-Echo couldn't be more spot-on as a focal point for the ever mutating underground electronic scene. Ekoplekz features in the early pages, followed by a punk-attituded 'start your own label' article focusing around Star Delta Mastering studios in Bristol. The legendary Dubloaded night and Darkestral Recordings also appear in the 32-page edition. A lot is actually written by Digard himself, though all contributing writers have approached the subjects of their writing as points of genuine interest, and the fact that Tape-Echo is free of advertising no doubt helps them stick to their manifesto of being 'a community based publication' and a 'physical reaction against the Internet's insatiable appetite for the next big thing.'

This is the type of thinking the underground scene needs to rally around when it comes to press coverage. Each new issue of Tape-Echo is set to be launched at a Boundary Object event, looking to be released quarterly.

Check below for more info on what's covered and shots from inside the printed copy. Images jacked from the Tape-Echo shop, which you can check out here for more info and to pick up a copy: http://tapeecho.bigcartel.com/

DJ Food at The Royal Observatory [LDN 19.1.12]

2012-01-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

Something special to catch on the live tip, DJ Food are heading out to Greenwich to take over London's only public planetarium with a bespoke AV show. Having recently dropped Magpies Maps and Moons - part three of three in a vinyl release series that started with One Man's Weird Is Another Man's World back in 2009 - there's now a full length album to look forward to for those that missed out on the wax editions, released 23rd of this month.

Titled The Search Engine the release will collect the three limited wax plates, pushing the experimental world of DJ Food to a larger audience. Although they've stated there's no official theme behind the tracks, there's certainly the one familiar sonic landscape that all the tracks have come from. What else would you expect from the sound of DJ Food?

Ninja Tune have been perfectly on form with the creativity of their launches, recently immersing audiences in the imaginary space world of Kid Koala for the Space Cadet launch, then the live show and exhibition for Isam by Amon Tobin being some of the most innovative events of 2011. The launch of The Search Engine looks to be no different, with an amazing lineup and customised planetarium show to boot it's going to be a unique experience you don't want to miss.

Full details on the night below. We're hoping to be there with review and possibly some photos from the night for the day after. It's also worth shouting out that The Search Engine continues the tradition of incredible artwork (the vinyl came with posters), all of which will be on display at the end of the month, more details on that later.

via Ninja Tune

To celebrate the release of DJ Food’s new album The Search Engine, Ninja Tune, Strictly Kev and the good people of Royal Observatory Greenwich are pleased as punch to present a very special show (or shows, depending on how you look at it) in London’s only public planetarium!

The show will be A bespoke AV live show by DJ Food made in conjunction with astronomers from The Royal Observatory Greenwich, using art from The Search Engine, images from Kev’s own visual archive, plus a wealth of material provided by the astronomers themselves (who, it goes without saying, really know their cosmic slop). Lasting 45 minutes, the performance will be a unique, remixed version of the album with exclusive material and a one time only experience. The whole kit and caboodle will be presented on the huge, hemispherical screen, a single high-resolution laser projector creating an immersive 360 degree visual environment. There honestly isn't a better way to experience this album, unless it’s by being dipped in a vat of high grade LSD.

Due to the limited capacity of the Planetarium there will be 3 separate 45-minute shows by DJ Food at 7.30, 8.30 and 9.30pm. All of them will be the same, so you only need to book for one. However, before and after your slot you can hang out in the DJ Food-curated foyer bar plus the Astronomy Galleries. The bar experience will be enlived by space-themed DJ sets from Narrick Peparcett (Cinematic Orchestra/DJ Food), DK (Solid Steel) and 2econd Class Citizen. Whatever time your viewing is at, come early, have a few drinks and enjoy a great night out, it’s all over by 11pm - result!

And just to make it feel even more like an eccentric away-day, coaches will be provided to shuttle people from St. Mary's Gate or Greenwich train station up to the Observatory (and back again), although admittedly that’s mainly because entry through Greenwich Park on foot isn't permitted after 6pm.

The History Of The Boombox Mini-Doc

2012-01-11T02:05:00.000-08:00

Just revisited this the other day, off the back of The Boombox Project which exhibited last month. Although not a brand new offering, this mini-doc is straight classic and just too good not to share; out to NPR Music over in the states who are responsible for getting this up.

Hosted by photographer and ‘boombox connoisseur’ Lyle Owerko (curator and author of The Boombox Project) and the one and only Fab 5 Freddy, the pair respectively offer up the studied and experienced social importance of this icon of the streets and hip-hop, up to it’s demise in the present day.

Best of all are the iconic and rare shots of some of the classic ‘boxes; including a graphic of the original 8-track boombox.

Plug - 'Back On Time' LP

2012-01-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

Really in to this LP, having rinsed it over the weekend. A debut release of old material from what I'm learning was a legendary underground project about a decade and a half ago; Luke Vibert (also known as Wagon Christ) under the drum n bass alias of Plug. In 1996 the experimental wizardry of Vibert birthed this project in the form of long-player Drum 'n' Bass for Papa. I've still not heard it, but evidently the record was largely ignored by the drum n bass community at the time, achieving cult status at the time from electronic experimenters looking from outside in to the scene.

On it as always with their reissues, Ninjatune have released the follow-up album for Plug, material taken off DAT tapes that were recorded in the mid '90s that never saw the light of day. Back On Time bucks the trend of low-quality and overpriced cash-cow represses - an incredible collection of ten tracks never before released that still sound fresh, if not even more advanced than what the digital age has brought us of late (Rockwell excluded).

It's not hard to see why the mid-90s dnb scene didn't embrace Plug as much as the Aphex Twin fans might have. Although drum n bass structured (including the ubiquitous 'amen break'), the building blocks for the music are drawn from outside the rave-associated genre. Boomkat have gone ahead and adopted the "avant-jungle" tag which suits quite nicely I think, given the flowing experimental nature of it. The psych samples would fit comfortable in a Cherrystones or Andy Votel edit, and Alec Empire would be proud of some of the IDM change-ups. It wouldn't be complete then without some jazzed-out basslines floating across a bit of hip-hop swing, flavours of Wagon Christ joints to come and the more surprising side of Luke Vibert's DJ sets that we've come to love.

Press release below sums up the whole story and the music quite nicely. Massive tip on this.

via Ninjatune

In early 2011 Luke Vibert (who happened to be bringing to Ninja Tune HQ cushions designed like 808 drum machines as a present!) said that he had just found some, long-lost never heard before DATs dated 1995-1998 and entitled Plug. This we are sure will bring bearded pogoing type excitement for many of you but for those that doesn't happen to here's a quick recap....

In 1996 Blue Angel Recordings (later Blue Planet) an imprint of the legendary Rising High label released the Drum 'N' Bass for Papa album by Plug AKA West Country king of kitschtronica Luke Vibert, whom at that time had only released under his Wagon Christ moniker. The album cover was an old picture of his professional magician grandfather Frank which only added to the oddness in the best of ways. The album was largely ignored by the D'n'B purists at the time, however it was hailed by many beyond, and remains to this day one of the acclaimed records to emerge from the buoyant and hugely influential electronic scene of the south-west in the 90's. Alongside people like Aphex Twin, Tom Middleton, Grant Wilson-Claridge and Jeremy Simmonds and away from the lights and police of the big cities they put on club nights, filled cassettes with new tunes, hijacked the pirates and revelled in all that was original, twisted and like nothing else before. And whilst there is no doubting the talent of all these individuals, it has always been Vibert's keen sense of humour and also funk that enabled him to evolve to a stage to make a landmark release such as Drum 'N' Bass for Papa.

So a few years later and somewhat ahead of the curve, Vibert shook up D'n'B - at that point no album had been released in the genre that departed from the formulaic template. Avant-jungle that wasn't made for the "club", the album was an eccentric bolt from the blue, it shocked many of Vibert's contemporaries but went on to influence many, most notably Squarepusher.

At the same time Luke's Wagon Christ project was being snapped up by Chemical Brothers A+R man at Virgin Records for his 3rd album, so a new name was needed for his eccentric d'n'b output, and Plug was born. Until now Plug has yielded just one album - possibly only a humble man like Luke Vibert would have a whole album of top-quality electronic tracks just sat around for over 15 years and not release them. The 10 tracks on offer here include the proto-garage vocal stylings of "Feeling So Special", the demented circus-organs of "No Reality", the hilariously titled "Come On My Skeleton", the old-skool rinse out of "Mind Bending", the skewed bollywoodisms of "A Quick Plug for A New Shot" and all with impeccably produced jungle credentials as the bed.

Sounding brand new as well as being a lost classic from a electronic icon, Back On Time is a release that anybody interested in the progression of dance music should be very curious to hear and enjoy.

Awkward Movements Sessions #42 - Paris A.M.

2012-01-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Paris A.M. aka Tom Lee is one of the main heads holding it down for the London scene, bringing his impeccably diverse music tastes to a wider audience by balancing a variety of projects. Now that there's a notable absence on Resonance.fm with him finishing up Sine Of The Times, we needed to get him next for a mix.

The mix is mainly made up of tunes from this year that I didn't get chance to play during my time on Sine Of The Times (http://www.sineofthetimes.net), with a few classics thrown in for good measure. For more mixes and any productions check out http://soundcloud.com/paris-a-m

Kerri Chandler - So It Begins Again (DC10 Mix) [Madhouse Records]
Locked Groove - Drowning [Hotflush]
Pacific Blue - Industry Part 1 [Pacific Blue]
Rejected - For The People (Ben Klock Remix) [Rejected]
Cosmin TRG - Izolat [50 Weapons]
Vrill - UV [Ostgut Ton]
EQD - #111 03 [Equalized]
Beastie Respond - Syncopy (Blawan's Trecther Mechanica) [Teal Recordings]
VCMG - Spock (Regis Remix) [Mute]
Caribou - Sun (Midland Re-edit) [White]
Guido Schneider - Moved (Refreshed) [Pokerflat]
Untold - Little Things Like That [Clone Basement Series]
Wandler - Get Together (Jonas Kopp Get Alone Remix) [KumQuat Tunes]
Truncate - Concentrate [Truncate]
Objekt - Clk Recovery [Objekt]
EQD - #111 10 [Equalized]

Samurai.fm: http://samurai.fm/awkward-movements/awkward-movements-sessions-42-paris-a-m-1
Ltd. Download: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2275094/awkmo42_parisam.mp3

The Heatwave presents Showtime! - A Rollo Jackson Film

2012-01-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

Rollo Jackson can do no wrong at present. After the success of Tape Crackers last year, he's kicked it up a notch and returned with a recording of a show which united three generations of emcees on the same stage. Teaming up with famed London system, The Heatwave (more on them later) for the event and production of Showtime!, the cast features the heavyweight pioneers of the London bashment scene; even just having Wiley and General Levy on the same bill is crazy enough, and both individually deliver enough "Holy Shit!" moments for a lifetime caught on film from the one night.

Sometimes, we admit, it's a struggle to sit and watch live performances on a television but the pace of the performances and natural flow of the interviews steeped in underground music history makes it impossible to look away. Throughout the DVD, there's a feeling of jump-up empathy balanced perfectly with the impact this culture and music has had on people and scenes that are often taken for granted before their story can be properly told. Imagine the bass equivalent of Scorsese and The Band's legendary Last Stand - it has the same natural feel throughout.

Check the preview and press release below.

via The Heatwave

The Heatwave are known for throwing mad parties, and Showtime on 15th June 2011 was madder than most. But Showtime was more than just a party. It was an explosion of UK dancehall history, bringing together legends from every era of UK rave music to share the mic and spit lyrics over classic dancehall riddims.

In the feature length Showtime film, Rollo Jackson (Tape Crackers, Toddla T, Hot Chip) captures the magical live performances and takes us behind the bright lights and onstage hype, conducting in-depth interviews with pioneers of the UK bashment scene like Glamma Kid, Stush, Skibadee and Riko Dan. The result is an epic document of UK music culture and a vital piece of oral history, telling a story which is often forgotten or misrepresented by the mainstream.

In the lead up to the DVD release The Heatwave featured a preview show of the material on their Rinse.fm slot, now archived on mixcloud as below.

Showtime DVD preview on Rinse FM 11/12/11 by The Heatwave on Mixcloud

'Stasis Is Death' - RIP Sandwell District (or 'Sandwell Deceastrict')

2012-01-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

As it was delicately put "I smell an art student"...

...but that doesn't entirely take away from the loss of one of our favorite labels, that just in the last 12 months has been getting the credit it deserves. Sandwell District became 'buy on sight' records followed by 'purchase-entire-back-catalogue.' Still calling each other c**ts and discussing broken shoulders from bar fights with each other - as per the Wire feature last issue - perhaps it was time to call it a day before the world was robbed entirely of one of the three talented producers that made up Sandwell District at the hands of the other core members.

As well as producing incredible plates month after month Sandwell as a label also worked as a history lesson, making us dig a bit deeper in to the history and values of the involved members, introducing these pioneers to a wider audience and projects that weren't even on their own label. The fact that Karl O'Connor (Regis) was making the tracks on White Savage Dance as early as 1988 is simply mind-blowing. And while the first five years focussed around underground techno releases from Karl, John Mendez (Silent Servant) and David Sumner (Function) under various guises, the last 12-15 months has seen the collective branching out with new artists such as Rrose and throwing themselves in to increasingly experimental projects.

Still, evidently the live show will live on and records will still be produced on different labels, you'll just have to actually do a bit of research before buying this time around.

Here's a few of our favourites from their time together.

A day after the announcement they also posted a mix on their blog, which you can download here, check the tracklisting and image below.

WhereNext? : (Sounds) Quarterly #1

Black Time - A Boring Day For The Boredom Boys

Cabaret Voltaire - Protection

The Satyrs - Yesterday’s Hero

Eric Random - Fade In

Front - Polaroid

Powell - The Ongoing Significance Of Steel And Flesh

Delia Derbyshire & Barry Bermange - Falling

Stephen Mallinder - Cool Down

Sandra Electronics - Clean Air

Snowy Red - Sinkin’ Down

Karl O’ Connor and Peter Sutton - Paralyzing

Vatican Shadow - CIA Contractor Freed Over Pakistan Killings

Young Hunting - Embers From The Pyre

Malaria! - Kaltes Klares Wasser

The Vivids - Mt Radiant

Ike Yard - Night After Night

The KVB - In to the Night

Regis - Blinding Horses

Sandwell District - Untitled B

John Maus - The Crucifix

Minny Pops - Secret Story

Throbbing Gristle - Exotica

Avrocar - Maiden 39

In Trance 95 - 21st Century European Temptation

Raime - You Will Lift Your Frame Clear

Throbbing Gristle - United

Sandwell District - Untitled A

HTRK - Slo Glo

Aphex Twin - I

Death in June - Crush My Love

Charts of 2011

2012-01-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

As usual top charts of 2011 all came in different formats, with some taking more liberties than others in cramming as many records, news events ad whatever else they could in. Also most people have chosen not to rank their releases (thanks Jimmy Monsta Funk who started the trend last year and now everyone's tried it on) I've preserved them here as they were emailed to me.

Thanks to everyone for a brilliant year and watch 2012 for some massiveness, starting with our first two plates of the year from Daojia and NKC respectively, due out March and April (so probably August September).

You may notice the absence of Kamikaze from this list, but as always he's on another level - if you haven't done so yet check his own special page for 700 minutes of music he recorded for his 2011 Top 100.

Keith P

For the first time ever I found myself buying masses of LPs on wax, as opposed to singles as in previous years. Whether the full length format has evolved or my ears have turned to home listening I've no idea, but an amazing year for LPs no doubt.

Singles / EPs
1. Head High - It's A Love Thing [Power House]
2. Tyree - Nuthin Wrong [Mojuba]
3. Appointment - Too Raw 4 You [Appointment]
4. Anthony 'Shake' Shakir - Piper EP [Frictional Recordings]
5. Kassem Mosse - Workshop 12 [Workshop]
6. Paperclip People - 4 My Peepz (Dubfire / Locodice remixes) [Planet E]
7. Mike Dehnert - MD2.4 [MD2]
8. Old Apparatus - Old Apparatus [Deep Medi Musik]
9. Paul Bennett - Modernista Two [Modernista]
10. Sbtrkt / Objekt - Sbjkt 1 [White]

Full Lengths
1. Container - LP [Spectrum Spools]
2. Thundercat – The Golden Age of Apocalypse [Brainfeeder]
3. The Dirtbombs - Party Store [In The Red Records]
4. Blue Daisy - The Sunday Project [Black Acre]
5. Ekoplekz - Intrusive Incdentalz Vol 1 [Punch Drunk]
6. o1o (Aybee) - Futurespective [Further]
7. Andy Stott - Passed Me By [Modern Love]
8. Peaking Lights - 936 [Not Not Fun]
9. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica [Software]
10. Scan 7 - Techno Brings People Together CD [Cratesavers International]

Honourable mentions: Carl Craig, Psycatron, Paul Woolford and Francois K destroying Ewer Street Car Park for one of the best parties ever; Legend Of Zelda Turns 25 and celebrates in style; Underground Resistance smashing it with ever-important reissues as heads rediscover Detroit; Rollo Jackson releases 'Tape Crackers' on DVD; Apart Summer Art Show in London; Tempo Clash launches with the best residents lineup ever;

Worst occurrence of 2011: Import records become a standard 10 pound spend - even if they're one sided and sleeveless

Jimmy Monsta Funk

In no particular order:

1. Lejak - Blue Bandit (Council House)
1. Bruno Gauthier - Existing Reality EP (CTF)
1. Trentmoller - Shades Of Marble (kINK remix) (In My Room)
1. Reggie Dokes - High Tek Soul EP (Kuumba)
1. Omar S - Here's Your Trance Now Dance! (Shadow Ray remix) (FXHE)
1. Rag - Rage (MOS)
1. Piet Van Dongen - Vulcanic Ass (Audiomatique)
1. Floorplan - Sanctified EP (M Plant)
1. Tralopscinor – Always Did, Always Will (Dekmantel)
1. Ricardo Miranda - 102point7 (Stilove4music)

Honourable mentions:
Compilation CD: Various Artists - Scan 7 Presents Techno Brings People Together (a cracking compilation of Techno music from all over the globe and curated by Motor City legend Scan 7).

Event: 20 years of Planet E with Carl Craig at Ewer Street Car Park in London (it was fantastic hearing C2 dip into his heavyweight back catalogue on a loud sound system).

Film: The Artist (this film features almost no dialogue and is a homage to the transition from silent films to talkies between 1927 - 1932, if you are a film geek like me, you'll love it)

Documentary: All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (another show-stopping doco by Adam Curtis, this time dealing with the rise of Randian thinking, providing more grist for the dystopian mill).

Book: Kill Your Friends by John Niven (Although this book was released before 2011, I only managed to get to grips with it this year. Think American Psycho meets the British Music industry; very dark, very funny and not for the easily offended).

Documentary: The Beat Is The Law - Fanfare For The Common People (most people will jump on this film about the Sheffield music scene for Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley, however the coverage of Fon studios, Warp Records and in particular the genius that is Rob Gordon makes this is must see for EDM fans too!)

Raynulds

Taking it a step further Raynulds also delivered a Best Of in the form of his Sub.fm show, check underneath to stream from his mixcloud.

1: Peverelist - Dance Til The Police Come - Hessle Audio
2: Scuba - Feel It - Hotflush
3: Graphics - Wiping The Eye - Granholme
4: Levon Vincent - Impressions Of A Rainstorm - Novel Sound
5: Objekt - CLK Recovery - Objekt
6: West Norwood Cassette Library - Get Lifted (Karenn Remix) - WNCL Recordings
7: Guy Andrews - Shades - Hemlock Recordings
8: George Fitzgerald - Hearts - Man Make Music
9: Paul Woolford - Let It Go (Komonazmuk & Appleblim Remix)
10: Swindle - Mood Swings VIP - Butterz

Albums & Compilations:
1: 116 & Rising - Hessle Audio
2: Kuedo - Severant - Planet Mu
3: Martyn - Ghost People - Brainfeeder
4: Back and 4th - Hotflush
5: Ekoplekz - Intrusive Incidentalz - Punch Drunk

Honorable mentions:
Music: Butterz reviving instrumental grime single-handedly; Tri Angle Records; tracky house from Analogue Cops, ItaloJohnson, Relative Records; Eros Records; Floating Points in general.

Nights: Warm @ Plastic People, Late Night Jam, Hessle Audio @ XOYO,
Man Make Music @ The Star

Everything else: Folly for a Flyover, Barrowjams, Occupy Everything & the 99%.

Sub FM - 31st December - Best of 2011 by Raynulds on Mixcloud

Daojia

Favourite tracks of the year (also in no order - either we're all indecisive sissies or music is on a massive uptick, I'd like to think it's the latter)

1. Kahn - Helter Skelter [Punch Drunk Records]
1. DJ Spinn - I Really Feel [Planet Mu]
1. Synkro & Indigo - Guidance [Exit Recordings]
1. Splurt - The Return VIP [Oil Gang]
1. Tokimonsta ft. Gavin Turek - Darkest (Dim) [Brainfeeder]
1. Blackwax - Offkey [Tube10]
1. Submotion Orchestra - All Yours [Exceptional Records]
1. Y2D - Idolatry [Lifestyle Recordings]
1. SX - Woo Riddim [Butterz]
1. BCee - Chameleon [Spearhead Records]- Darkest (Dim) [Brainfeeder]

Honourable (unreleased) mentions: Grifta - As Late As It Seems, Paranoise - Diamonds, DJ Clap - Future Love, Special Ed - Guns of Navarone, Mr. Liddz - Ech(t)o, Submerse - Touch Me (All Night Long), Bon Iver - Wash (Seath Remix), TC - Tap Ho (Taxman Remix), LOL Boys - Moments in Heatbreak.... this list is inexhaustible so I'll stop here.

Guilty pleasure: Rusko - Everyday (Netsky Remix) - the epitome of corny drumstep euphoria, sounds as monumental as a pasty computer nerd getting his first boner during that seizure episode of Pokemon.

I might just cry, too much good shit emerging from the shadows of every genre this year. Oil Gang been killing it - they're reinvigorating grime for sure (almost merits two entries if I was to include Darq E Freaker - Cherryade). Tuff Wax doing a bang up job of representing my home city of Aberdeen, Yoin - Tired Of Me [forthcoming Squelch & Clap] would be another big one to watch from that camp in 2012. Numbers' Jamie xx plate. This is all before considering EP's as wholesome musical artifacts in their own right, Taz's Neurotica EP? Snow Ghosts - Lost At Sea EP? Both C.R.S.T EPs?.... can we extend this to top 20... or 30 (50?)

Charity Queen

Here's the Charity Queen selection. No order for me either I'm afraid. I can't bring myself to say that an album of gentle lo-fi pop is better/worse than album of all-out glitch assault.

1. Julia Holter - Tragedy (Leaving)
1. Alva Noto - Univrs (Raster-Noton)
1. Holy Other - With U (Tri-Angle)
1. KWJAZ - KWJAZ (Not Not Fun)
1. Andy Stott - Passed Me By / We Stay Together (Modern Love)
1. Peaking Lights - 936 (Not Not Fun)
1. Tropic of Cancer - The Sorrow of Two Blooms (Blackest Ever Black)
1. Heatsick - Intersex (Pan)
1. Shlohmo - Bad Vibes (Friends of Friends)
1. Machinedrum - Room(s) (Planet Mu)

On the reissue front, shouts go out to Pan Records for beautifully packaged reissues of Ghedalia Tazartes, Hecker, Trevor Wishart and many others, Mississippi Records for yet another prolific year of quality vintage Americana, and to Chris and Cosey of Throbbing Gristle for single handedly overseeing the reissue of Throbbing Gristle's back catalogue, personally remastering all the artwork/zines that came with the records as well as the audio itself.

Kamikaze Top 100 of 2011

2012-01-01T03:53:00.000-08:00

As is the time of the year we sent out the call for 'Best Of...' charts from the crew, which will be going up soon. Kamikaze flatly refused to do a top 10 - saying he needed at least 100 records as it'd been such a sterling year. He's actually taken it one step further and recording them in to a mammoth 700 minute countdown show.

Until you've spent some time in Kamikaze towers (decorated with his own artworks ala Psycho and The Birds stencils above and to the side) it may be hard to fathom just how committed Paul Ackroyd is to the cause. As he outlines below, 2011 saw him doing 120 hours of radio...I think people have had psychiatriatic help over less. He's opened our eyes to a host of new artists and sounds - which we're constantly humbled by - and no doubt he will continue to do so in the year ahead.

Greetings all

In celebration of 2011 being such a fuckin splendid year for music, I've recorded a massive show detailing my own personal Top 100 records of the year. Too much great music out this year to mention it all, and hundreds of essential records that didn't even make the Top 100. But for those that did make the cut I've compiled a 700-minute long countdown show, split into five segments of 20 tracks each, which you can hear now on www.mixcloud.com/kamikaze and www.samurai.fm/kamikaze. [All five shows are currently on Mixcloud, whilst the first three installments are on Samurai, with the other two to follow over the coming days...] Links to all below, plus a giant list of the Top 100 tucked away at the bottom of this page for your perusal. Not to want to give too much away, but a small disclaimer required here, as my Number One record for 2011 was actually released last year, but it didn't make it to any UK shops before January of this year, and it's a very special record to me, so please forgive me for that. Anyway special label love to, among many others, Mississippi, Sandwell District, Raster Noton, Modern Love, Editions Mego, and my label of the year, Pan Recordings. For a scene that I've always associated with CD releases, it's been a total fucking revelation discovering of Pan's existence this year. Artist thanks goes to, again, far too many to mention, but the list below should cover a few thank yous, though is by no means exhaustive. Just keep making good tunes, that's all I ask of you all.

Besides this Top 100 nonsense, I've got new Dandelion Radio, Reel Rebels Radio, Samurai FM, and Mixcloud shows to tell you about. Information on those below.

That's about it for now. Thank you to everyone who has shown support and listened this year. Between Dandelion Radio, Samurai FM, Mixcloud, Reel Rebels Radio, and Awkward Movements, I clocked up 120 hours of shows this year, triple what I achieved in 2010, so it's all going very much in the right direction. And I know there are plenty of you out there who have listened to the vast majority of those shows, for which I'm eternally grateful. So pleased to be sharing the music with you all. Anyway here's to plenty more of that next year. I'll not be around a great deal over the coming weeks as I'm long overdue a total studio rebuild, but will return soon.

Thank you everyone, and I hope 2012 brings you plenty more ace records
Happy New Year to you all xx

Kamikaze Top 100 2011 Radio Shows
(Full chart at the bottom of the page)

Part One [#100 - #81].
http://www.mixcloud.com/kamikaze/kamikaze-2011-top-100-100-81/
http://samurai.fm/kamikaze/kamikaze-top100-2011-part-one

Kamikaze 2011 Top 100 [#100-#81]. by Kamikaze on Mixcloud

Part Two [#80 - #61].
http://www.mixcloud.com/kamikaze/kamikaze-2011-top-100-80-61/
http://samurai.fm/kamikaze/kamikaze-top100-2011-part-two-1

Kamikaze 2011 Top 100 [#80 - #61]. by Kamikaze on Mixcloud

Part Three [#60 - #41].
http://www.mixcloud.com/kamikaze/kamikaze-2011-top-100-60-41/
http://samurai.fm/kamikaze/kamikaze-top100-2011-part-three

Kamikaze 2011 Top 100 [#60 - #41]. by Kamikaze on Mixcloud

Part Four [#40 - #21].
http://www.mixcloud.com/kamikaze/kamikaze-2011-top-100-40-21/
http://samurai.fm/kamikaze/kamikaze-top100-2011-part-four

Kamikaze 2011 Top 100 [#40 - #21]. by Kamikaze on Mixcloud

Part Five [#20 - #1].
http://www.mixcloud.com/kamikaze/kamikaze-2011-top-100-20-1/
http://samurai.fm/kamikaze/kamikaze-top100-2011-part-five

Kamikaze 2011 Top 100 [#20 - #1]. by Kamikaze on Mixcloud

2011 Top 100 Chart

#100 Kangding Ray - Or [Raster Noton]
#99 Planningtorock - The Breaks [DFA]
#98 Daniel Thomas Freeman - The Beauty Of Doubting Yourself [Home Normal]
#97 Roll The Dice - In Dust [Leaf]
#96 Shlohmo - Bad Vibes [Friends Of Friends]
#95 Angel - 26000 [Editions Mego]
#94 Merzbow - Jigokuhen [Important]
#93 Stephen Hess+Christopher McFall - The Inescapable Fox [Under The Spire]
#92 Richard H Kirk - Be Brave [Downwards]
#91 Deepchord - Hash-Bar Remnants Pt1 [Soma]
#90 Wooden Shjips - West [Thrill Jockey]
#89 The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World [HAFTW]
#88 Pelican Daughters - Fishbones and Wishbones [Forced Nostalgia]
#87 Robert Hood - The Greatest Dancer [M-Plant]
#86 Oni Ayhun - Meets Shangaan Elektro [Honest Jons]
#85 Anne-James Chaton - Evenements 09 [Raster Noton]
#84 The KVB - Into The Night [Downwards]
#83 Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground [Mississippi]
#82 Edouard-Leon Scott De Martinville - Au Clair De La Lune [Parlortone]
#81 Eli Keszler - Cold Pin [Pan]
#80 Boddika - You Tell Me [Nonplus]
#79 Wolfgang Voigt - Du Musst Nichts Sagen [Profan]
#78 KPLR - Untitled [Digitalis]
#77 Various - Ishilan N-Tenere [Mississippi]
#76 Andrew Pekler - Sentimental Favourites [Dekorder]
#75 Old Apparatus - Old Apparatus [Deep Medi]
#74 2562 - Fever [When In Doubt]
#73 Blawan - What You Do With What You Have [R+S]
#72 Pole - Waldgeschichten [Pole]
#71 Keith Fullerton Whitman - 101105 [Dekorder]
#70 Demdike Stare - Tryptych Bonus [Modern Love]
#69 Gaz Howell - Ground [Modern Love]
#68 Blawan - Bohla [R+S]
#67 Powell - The Ongoing Significance Of Steel & Flesh [Diagonal]
#66 Various - Highlife Time Vol 2 [Vampisoul]
#65 Anworth Kirk - Avonwaith [Pre-Cert Home Entertainment]
#64 Throbbing Gristle - D.o.A. [Industrial]
#63 Mark McGuire - Get Lost [Editions Mego]
#62 Prefuse 73 - The Only She Chapters [Warp]
#61 Kid Koala - Space Cadet [Ninja Tune]
#60 Mark Fell+Peter Rehberg - Kubu [Editions Mego]
#59 Dalglish - Benacah Drann Deachd [Highpoint Lowlife]
#58 Mahmoud Ahmed - Jegoul Naw Betwa [Mississippi]
#57 White Hills - H-p1 [Thrill Jockey]
#56 Tropic Of Cancer - The Sorrow Of Two Blooms [Blackest Ever Black]
#55 Cut Hands - Afronoise 1 [Susan Lawly]
#54 Cicciolina Holocaust - Albeit Albeit [Forced Nostalgia]
#53 Vladislav Delay Quartet - Vladislav Delay Quartet [Honest Jons]
#52 Sculpture - Toad Blinker [Dekorder]
#51 Various - The Black Caribs Of Belize [Soul Jazz]
#50 Byetone - Symeta [Raster Noton]
#49 Mark Fell - Periodic Orbits Of A Dynamic System Related To A Knot [Editions Mego]
#48 Machinedrum - Room(s) [Planet Mu]
#47 R/S - USA [Pan]
#46 Demdike Stare - Make Do+Mend 02 [Finders Keepers]
#45 Heatsick - Intersex [Pan]
#44 Various - Pietre Preziose E Oro Fino [Moi J'Connais]
#43 Various - Brass Pins+Match Heads [Mississippi/Canary]
#42 Function - Through The Shadow Glass [Break New Soil]
#41 Various - Fanafody [Mississippi/Cultural Knot]
#40 bvdub - Tribes At The Temple of Silence [Home Normal]
#39 Temporal Marauder - Temporal Marauder Makes You Feel [Spectrum Spools]
#38 Function - SDSMP3 [Sandwell District]
#37 Barn Owl - Shadowland [Thrill Jockey]
#36 Tropic Of Cancer - The End Of All Things [Downwards]
#35 Hecker - Sun Pandamonium [Pan]
#34 Various - Opika Pende [Dust To Digital]
#33 Various - Last Time Around [Mississippi/MRP]
#32 Various - The Rain Don't Fall On Me [Mississippi]
#31 Julia Holter - Tragedy [Leaving]
#30 Maurizio Bianchi - Symphony For A Genocide [Sterile]
#29 Andy Stott - Passed Me By [Modern Love]
#28 Various - Street Musicians Of Yogyakarta [Mississippi]
#27 Marcel Dettmann - Translation [Ost Gut Ton]
#26 Yves De Mey - Counting Triggers [Sandwell District]
#25 Myrmyr - Fire Star [Under The Spire]
#24 Silent Servant - Hypnosis In The Modern Age [Sandwell District]
#23 Vladislav Delay - Vantaa [Raster Noton]
#22 Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972 [Kranky]
#21 Rrose - Merchant Of Salt [Sandwell District]
#20 Rrose - Primary Evidence [Sandwell District]
#19 Regis - In A Syrian Tongue [Blackest Ever Black]
#18 Peaking Lights - 936 [Not Not Fun]
#17 Zdenek Liska - Mala Morska Vila [Finders Keepers]
#16 Actress - Surfers Hymn [Kompakt]
#15 Fennesz - Seven Stars [Touch]
#14 Rail Band - Buffet Hotel De La Gare [Superfly]
#13 Cyclo - id [Raster Noton]
#12 The Haxan Cloak - The Haxan Cloak [Aurora Borealis]
#11 Demdike Stare - Elemental Pts 1&2 [Modern Love]
#10 Alva Noto - Univrs [Raster Noton]
#09 Andy Stott - We Stay Together [Modern Love]
#08 Various - In The Storm So Long [Mississippi]
#07 Miles - Facets [Modern Love]
#06 Mark Fell - Manitutshu [Editions Mego]
#05 Various - Historische Aufnahmen [Gagarin]
#04 Ghedalia Tazartes - Repas Froid [Pan]
#03 Container - LP [Spectrum Spools]
#02 Rrose+Bob Ostertag - Motormouth Variations [Sandwell District]
#01 Joseph Hammer - I Love You, Please Love Me Too [Pan]

Live From The K-Hole - Chairman Kato / Tommy Tempa / Sarah Johns

2011-12-31T06:02:00.000-08:00

You'd think having seen through an EP with Chairman Kato we'd be somewhat used to his creative outbursts or random activities that seem to make slightly more sense inside his head than in the real world. You'd be wrong. Only he could make a New Years Day broadcast called 'Live From The K-Hole' seem so depressingly appealing. The fact that Rob McDougall is involved means that the pairings' random thought processing will thankfully have some form of coherency for the rest of us. We've no idea what they'll be doing, only that we don't want to miss it.

Full email below, see you on the other side :)

Dear Earthlings...

Christmas is over and a new year is upon us. Admit it- you're broke, bloated and blown out. Another year is over....

...Which is the perfect time for Chairman Kato and friends to beam themselves into your living room/bedroom/brain. On January 1st 2012 at 20:00 GMT Chairman Kato and partner-in-crime Rob McDougall will transmit the first 'Live From the K-Hole', featuring live music recorded in Kato's infamous synagogue studio. Snort some Gaviscon downers, pull the duvet over your face and slide away to an hour and a half of music and silly shenanigans.

For the inaugural broadcast Kato has invited his close comrade Tommy Tempa, who released his excellent 'Quixotic' EP earlier this year on Somethinksounds, to join him on the decks. Two boys, simply on two decks and mixer, bringing you the finest in blubbeat and chubstep from throughout the ages.

Sarah Johns, ethereal chanteuse and curator of the immersive, theatrical Sarah Johns Music Parties, will also be performing 2 of her beguiling songs. She is something of a veteran when it comes to impromptu performance, as revelers in parks across the land will testify.

Chairman Kato will also be performing live versions of some of the material from his recent 'Science and Romance' EP.

Broadcast links will be available here, we will make the exact address available in the hour before we go live (from 19:00 GMT onwards). For running updates see Chairman Kato's Twitter feed or Facebook page.

We look forward to meeting you all.
With love from the year 2038.

Chairman Kato

xxx

Separate Minds (1988) - Trackmaster Lou (Scan 7) / Marc Kinchen (MK) / Terrence Parker

2011-12-30T13:09:00.000-08:00

A classic project from 1988 that is often overlooked, despite these brilliant times where we seem to be looking back to Detroit with new interest. Two records to their name, Separate Minds were a collaboration of masses, highlighted once more the further we dig in to the somewhat mysterious world of Scan 7 and the militancy and legend that is Trackmaster Lou.

It was Trackmaster who brought together Marc Kinchen, Terrence Parker and himself as Separate Minds to record an EP for Express Records, the debut offering from some Detroit pioneers, followed up only the once in 1993 with the Troubled World EP on the Direct Hit label. Afterwards they went their separate ways, impacting the world of dance music with three incredibly influential solo careers.

Terrence Parker has been one of the few original cats (he just celebrated 30 years in the music game) to cross over respectfully (remixing mainstream but keeping his style underground) and continues to smash it live every time. If you're not familiar with the name, you'll no doubt be impressed with the way he mixes - the 'telephone man' as a DJ sounds like no one else in his style of blending two records together, even in the digital age mixes inimitably able to put a signature over a set. MK followed a similar path, having commercial success (getting Celine Dion a number 1, at one point being the in house producer for Will Smith and now working with his daughter Willow), but when making house kept it legitimate, working under aliases such as 4th Measure Men, turning out classics like the below.

As for Trackmaster Lou - no mainstream, no compromise. Just going from strength to strength or his cause, still smashing live analogue shows, running his own wax label and remains the figurehead for underground electronic music.

This first record for any of the names here, however, was as suspected 1988. The year the term 'techno' was said to have been first used and the year of the now famous Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit compilation was released. We're talking 20 years ago, possibly the finest hour for the future of music just as techno was being unleashed on to the world. Perhaps this is why the incredible debut record and project falls by the wayside in favor of Rythim Is Rythim or similar high-profiled and reissued workings.

This is a big plate, try and snag a copy in good condition.

Conlon Nancarrow - Music / Book / Events

2011-12-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

Kamikaze and I were recording a show for NTS the other day and he dropped in something from 1935 by an artist named Conlon Nancarrow. He mentioned at the time that Nancarrow had often composed music too fast or complicated for the human player, so took to punching holes manually in to piano roll for the piano player. In essence, he was one of the first composers to use musical instruments as mechanical machines to then create music that couldn't be replicated by playing the piano live - a forerunner to all electronic composition we take for granted.

If you're not familiar with it check the link above, or take my word for it that a piano player is essentially a self-playing piano. The piano roll works as pre-programmed music - sheets of paper or metallic roll with holes punched in it that tell the piano what notes to play. We're talking layering sequencing on an analog instrument that would be in almost every house, over half a century before the tools of Detroit.

As an accomplished musician it might be strange to consider that instead of composing for a band or himself he dedicated his career and amazing works to rolls of virtually uncredited composition. It was, however, his communist views and even his fighting in the Spanish Civil War that led to his harassment back home in the United States, and as a result the move to Mexico in 1940.

It was in his workshop in Mexico that Nancarrow created the compositions on piano roll, pushing Baroq-esque, ragtime, blues, jazz and many other piano styles beyond the limits of eight fingers and two thumbs. Living and working alone, his work entered the bourgeois houses who championed the piano player throughout it's popularity, and not until 1977 was his work collected and credited on the first of four album releases. As a result Nancarrow started to become known for his work slightly more in the '80s, up until his death in 1997.

Kyle Gann is a musicologist (yes that's a real thing) / writer and the man behind the book The Music Of Conlon Nancarrow, check the blurb below which is a better and more concise biographical overview than I could come up with.

The expatriate American experimentalist composer Conlon Nancarrow is increasingly recognized as having one of the most innovative musical minds of this century. His music, almost all written for player piano, is the most rhythmically complex ever written, couched in intricate contrapuntal systems using up to twelve different tempos at the same time. Yet despite its complexity, Nancarrow's music drew its early influence from the jazz pianism of Art Tatum and Earl Hines and from the rhythms of Indian music; Nancarrow's whirlwinds of notes are joyously physical in their energy. Composed in almost complete isolation from 1940, this music has achieved international fame only in the last few years.

Born in 1912, the son of the mayor of Texarkana, Nancarrow fought in the Lincoln Brigade, then fled America to Mexico City to avoid being hounded for his former Communist affiliations. The author travelled to Mexico City to research Nancarrow's music and to discuss it with him. He analyses sixty-five works, virtually the composer's complete output, and includes a biographical chapter containing much information never before published.

Like so many musical pioneers before him, Conlon Nancarrow again is an artist who's appreciated more for his unique boundary pushing talents after his death then for what was coming out of his workshop at the time. A few years back Other Minds Records released a newly remastered version of the original 1977 recordings on 4 CDs, aptly titled Studies For A Piano Player Vol. 1- 4 inclusive of a 52-page booklet with the original liner notes by James Tenney, an essay by producer Charles Amirkhanian and 24 illustrations.

We'd recommend checking it out, as well as the weekend dedicated to his music, happening at the Southbank Centre, April 2012. Starting on the morning of Saturday the 21st, Perfect Constructions: The Music of Conlon Nancarrow is a total of 12 concerts ranging from dedications to player piano concerts of his works.

More on that closer to the event, but in the meantime information and link below.

via Southbank Ticketing

Conlon Nancarrow was one of the most enigmatic, freethinking composers of 20th-century American music. Ostracised in the US for his communist politics, he moved to Mexico and lived there until his death in 1997. There he experimented with player-pianos – mechanised instruments that play pre-programmed compositions – and wrote music with a wide range of influences, including jazz.

György Ligeti described Nancarrow as ‘the greatest discovery since Webern and Ives… the best of any composer living today’. Join us for a special weekend exploring Nancarrow’s work, including performances by London Sinfonietta and the Arditti String Quartet.

Awkward Movements Sessions #41 - Who:Ratio

2011-12-23T02:10:00.000-08:00

From day one of knowing who:ratio the man's been an educator and proper vinyl figurehead. 2001 or 2002 was the year he gave me my first DJ Krush plate and blew my mind. Back then he was MCing and DJing with Foreign Dub, jungle crew from around Sydney, and spreading the love as far as he could. He was also forcing us and those around him to experiment more with music in what we were playing and buying to appreciate. Now based in Romania, the concept behind this selection is an interesting as the mix itself.

First session from Romanian DJ who:ratio, purveyor of many things electronic and aloof comic book geek. This mix titled 120 Mix Principles (as in BPMs), taking it all back to the one tempo these tracks were designed to be played at, finely selected and layered / mixed / sequenced / transitioned / whatevers - digitally.

"If a wax mix is a meditation on music, than this is a study of that pre/post-meditation.

The idea behind the concept "mix principles / principles of mixing" is the study of and what is actually "mixing / beat-mixing music"? Before we had direct drive and analog pitch shifting to fine digital pitch adjust and now the oh-so-easy sync function, there was just the music and the mixer. In my slow acceptance of the digital format I found that I started to neglect the music and not pay as much attention to the tracks because it has become so easy to get ... unlike when buying vinyl, storing it is just forking out for another hard-drive. So limiting myself to basic software(Toast 9) for making/sequencing/mixing the session, i've found myself really thinking and listening again to the pieces and how they fit or at least should sound together in order to tell the story. But without getting stuck into BS soap-box babble all i can say is that i still enjoy and have fun mixing".

Sarp Yilmaz - My Baby Got to Go [Apparel Music]
Ugly Drums - Is It Worth It? [Quintessentials]
Christopher Rau - For You and for Me [Aim]
Aeromaschine - Not So [Baalsaal Records]
Prommer & Barck - Journey (KiNK Remix Hoez 2 Dollah Edit) [Derwin]
Vakula - Unthank 2_3 [Unthank]
Szare - Triplicate [Horizontal Ground]
Emptyset - Avichi [CLR]
Ozka - Square Beauty [Ann Aimee]
Lifes Track - Lifes Track 07 [Bosconi Records]
Stojche - Basement Rascal [Argumento Music Group]
Tom Trago - Once Upon A Time In Amsterdam [Rush Hour]

Samurai.fm: http://www.awkwardmovements.com/2011/12/awkward-movements-sessions-41-whoratio.html
Ltd. Download: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2275094/awkmo41_whoratio.mp3

RIP Nilesh Patel aka Nilz at The Exchange

2011-12-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

via Jimmy Monsta Funk

Yesterday I heard news of the untimely passing of Nilesh Patel (aka Nilz at The Exchange) and felt compelled to write something down in his honour.

To inveterate records collectors like my extended crew and I, Nilz was a legend without compare.

He worked as a mastering engineer at The Exchange after completing college in 1989 right to way up to the day before his death yesterday (21/12.2011).

He worked extensively on records by Daft Punk (plus the associated Roule and Crydamoure labels), Richie Hawtin / Plastikman and Bjork; and releases from the following diverse record labels (amongst others): NovaMute, Missile, Drumcode, Metalheads, Emotif, SOUR, Rotation, Downwards, Cosmic, Jericho, Kombination Research, M_nus, F-Communications, One Little Indian, Soma, Intec, End Recordings, Proper, Primate, Africanism, Logistic, Phoenix G, Full Pupp, Kitsune, Poker Flat, Cadenza, Skint, Ed Banger, Wichita, Domino, Rush Hour, Eskimo, Young Turks, XL, Ninja Tune, Yellow Productions.

His incredible ears gave full justice to hardcore, breakbeat, jungle, drum and bass, techno, trip-hop, house, electro and many other styles of music; in fact I was totally taken aback by how many records I own that feature his mastering input.

It wasn't just his ability to deal with thunderous baselines and crisp high-hats, his skill at mastering minimal techno tracks on wax, but also (and in particular) his subtlety with 'intelligent' drum and bass; where records can go from loud to quiet and back again in an instant!

Take a look at his discogs page and you will see the 1800+ productions he worked on, covering a wide range of genres.

Here are 12 (given his mastery of the 12 inch record, I thought it apt) highlights showcasing his unique talents (ironically, I'm giving you links to encoded videos. If you want to experience the real deal, pick up some of these tracks on vinyl to really hear the fully rounded sound from this unique 'master of mastering').

Gone but never forgotten. Rest in Peace Nilz.

Fol Chen x monome x Machine Project present the Tetrafol

2011-12-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

The crew at monome dropped through an email saying that there were some models of the gs64 and gs128 available to ship straight away - and whilst I'm not technically minded or making enough to be able to buy one, it did get me back on their site which I used to obsess over.

On it was a very cool little video based around a new device called Tetrafol, designed in conjunction with a group I know not much about called Fol Chen and Machine Project, who we should all be learning about on a daily basis - but more on them another time.

Priced at $100 it was finally something from monome that I could actually afford (or at least could if it wasn't December). It's a wooden pyramid of sorts whose inner workings pick up on movement and space, and manipulates the sound recordings based on the motion and orientation.

Evidently Fol Chen have been recording with it already, and claim to have invented something that they themselves see as a studio instrument. Whilst I totally disagree with this line of thought about it being a 'practical instrument', it is pretty unique, stylish and new way to mess about with samples. While being quite gimmicky I'd rather see this used live than an iPad.

They ship with Fol Chen created samples loaded in, but the real joy is going to come from uploading and tweaking sounds you've used previously to experiment with it properly. Check the video below for a proper outline. As with most monome projects the plans are open source so if you're so inclined you can build or further explore the electronics yourself.

Fol Chen - The Tetrafol from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo.

Fol Chen has joined forces with Monome and Machine Project to bring you the Tetrafol.

The Tetrafol is a hand-held tangible electronic sound toy. Circuits enclosed by a wooden tetrahedron detect orientation and motion-gestures to modify the playback of a collection of Fol Chen's micro-compositions, allowing the user to explore sound through physical manipulation.

The battery-powered device has its own internal speaker but can additionally be hooked up to a headphone or amplifier.

The circuit and firmware are based on open-source hardware and is itself published as open-source, allowing anyone interested to learn about its deepest inner-workings.

This is a LIMITED EDITION OF 100.

Appointment UK

2011-12-19T15:24:00.000-08:00

This is some proper raw house, the type that we're in love with at the moment. Out to Nicole who was pumping this in Sounds Of The Universe definitely turning a few heads with it's brutality, making us look a bit deeper.

New tracks on vinyl only release from the artist(s) and label known as Appointment Records - the combined efforts of Lucretio and Marieu aka The Analogue Cops alongside Emg and John Swing aka Live Jam. As well as their own individual labels Lucretio (Machines State) and Marieu (Enlightened Wax) are best known as the heads behind Restoration Records, who teamed up with Eduardo De La Calle in their early days for some oft-underrated joints.

Probably first on the release radar for two big remixes for a Moodymann classic, Appointment have just dropped their fifth 12", that (as you can read below) is designed to 'push vinyl properties to their thermodynamical limits.'

Four tracks, raw, untitled and delivered on hand-stamped platters to shatter a deck or two. Limited, so get on them before they sell out. This is proper house that skates across techno for the dirty, unhinged underground heads...get on that ish. Press release below and some samples (the only embeddable ones I could find) under that.

via Clone
'Hard-edged, hefty, raw: “Reconstruction” was produced in London on a swift intense single day of recordings and mastered at The Carvery in the same week directly from a saturated tape without any compression or limiting, pushing the vinyl properties to their thermodynamical limits.

The 4 advanced tracks walk through techno and house territories, merging U.K. and German tradition with an american approach to the analogue mixing desk. The point of impact of these compositions goes beyond minimalism and hits straight on the dancefloor.'

¡Vampiros en La Habana!

2011-12-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

A conversation on South America the other night made me pull this out and be reminded of my love for it, and more importantly the impact this film had in opening my ears to Latin jazz in a new context (thanks Claude and Gio!). The below was originally done for Shook about two years ago, but having just revisited the film for the upteenth time thought I'd get on the repost...

Released in 1985, ¡Vampiros en La Habana! - translated as Vampires in Havana - was an animated feature length film from Juan Padrón, and the crowning jewel in an underrated career. The Cuban cartoonist directed six animated feature films throughout his career in his native country, countless comic strips and animated shorts starring his creation Elpidio Valdés, and is now recognised as Cuba's premier animation director.

The politically and sexually-charged ¡Vampiros... manages to spoof of American gangsta and vampire films, and is often compared as the European cousin of Fritz The Cat (if you're not familiar with that Ralph Bakshi work of genius I'd recommend checking it out). In the same way that it's American equivalent delved in to the depths of it's underground jazz scene for a cult soundtrack, ¡Vampiros sees legendary Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval put forward what I personally believe his most memorable performances from an illustrious career. The music in general is simply stunning.

Without giving too much away the plot focuses around Joseph Emmanuel von Dracula, aka Pepito - a trumpet player in 1930s Havana. Blissfully unaware that he is a vampire, his time away from the bandstand is spent dabbling in quasi-terrorist plots to overthrow the Cuban government of dictator, Gerardo Machado. His uncle, Bernhardt Amadeus von Dracula, is the son of Count Dracula, and has been using him as a test subject for a formula that negates the usually fatal effects of sunlight.

Enter a Chicago-based vampire crime syndicate and a group of capitalist vampires with members from several countries in Europe. Both parties have learned of the formula and wish to possess it for different reasons—the Chicago group to suppress it and thus maintain their monopoly on indoor, artificial beach resorts, and the Europeans to market it as "Vampisol" and make a bundle selling it off. When Pepito learns of his true heritage (and his uncle's wish to give the formula away to vampires everywhere) he becomes the target of a multi-pronged manhunt, leading all parties involved on a wild chase through some of the seediest neighborhoods of Havana.

For those interested in the quirkiness and fun of the movie, you can skip the next bit, which is an Amazon review I found from one Dana Garrett, who breaks down the plot in political terms:

Wolfgang Amadeus von Dracula has discovered a formula that will allow vampires everywhere to enjoy the sunlight by day. Wolfgang knows that his formula is successful because he has given it to his nephew for many years and the sunlight does not harm him. The nephew, Pepe, doesn't know he is a vampire. Because Pepe is liberated to enjoy the sunlight, he thinks nothing of enjoying his life as an individual (he is a trumpet player with healthy sexual appetite) and as a revolutionary, a member of a group intent on assassinating a right-wing general. He is, in effect, socialism's "new man."

It is significant that Pepe doesn't initially know he is a vampire. By not knowing his origin, he is able to lead his life unaware and unaffected by the personal nature that the formula transforms. Wolfgang (who is in some respects like Marx) intends to make the formula available to all vampires free of charge. The lack of the formula keeps vampires longing for the ability to enjoy sunlight as well as dependent on wealthy elite vampires who provide them with artificial sunlight for a hefty price. In short, the vampires are not truly liberated but must accept bastardized versions of true freedom

Wolfgang's offer to socialize the formula becomes the occasion for the audience to see the true nature of the vampires. Rival vampire syndicates battle each other and with Pepe and Wolfgang to control the formula. The syndicates (representing competing capitalist elite groups) are composed of two factions: one that wishes to repress knowledge of the formula altogether (thus preserving the status quo as well as their financial interests as peddlers of artificial daytime tropical beaches) and another that wishes to merchandise the formula to vampires for profit. In the end, Pepe broadcasts the formula by radio to all vampires, reminiscent of Castro's radio broadcasts to Cubans near the end of the Batista dictatorship.

Heavy I know. The beauty of this movie for me has always been the secrecy in which it passed hand-to-hand. As we all know, record collectors are a nerdy bunch so it was the amazing Spanish record label Vampi Soul who's fans seemed to carry it's legacy on. I first saw the movie after an invite to a screening from a Romanian friend, who had found a VHS recording of the movie in a market stall. As probably the only person in the room that night who didn't speak Spanish, the first viewing was rough going having to have everything explained to me (no subtitles obviously), but instantly addictive. I searched for years for my own VHS original but never found one.

I recently learnt that there was an American DVD release, done in English. That said, rumour on the grapevine is that the whole thing in it's original tongue can be viewed online, and there's a trailer below.

Neal Birnie - Stambridge Soul 45s Mix

2011-12-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

Urban Allstar representer Neal Birnie has been one of my favourite London DJs for time, even before he hit 21. Probably the most naturally talented man I've seen behind the decks, the last few years he's been honing his collection and skills digging and unearthing tunes at the highest level, and finally getting the props he deserves from his regular night at Vibe Bar in East London.

You'll also find him behind the counter at Sounds Of The Universe, always up for a chat and recommending tuneage, so if you can't catch him live it's worth popping in to say hi and see what's new.

A recent trip to Chicago and time spent in a warehouse of 45s inspired this latest selection, something he's been promising for ages that's well worth the wait. No tracklisting, just an hour of incredibly dope soul music.

Stambridge Soul 45's by Neal Birnie