TUNETOURIST

A Mix, eight months in the thinking about doing...

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:31:47 PDT

The infrequency of these mixes could be taken as a sign of either perfectionism or plain idleness. But time lets the selections settle a little and the more permanent tracks of the last year rise to the surface.

This one is a little more analogue in places, with less 'functional' stuff - except for that Boris Horel thing which I couldn't resist after hearing it out a few weeks back.

There's even half-an-hour of Berghain-shaped trouble at the end.

On the off chance that a couple of people failed to clear out their RSS feeds, here it is:

At Home With The Hoodies Mix 2

Tracklisting

Avon Sparkle - Newworldaquarium
A Crippled Left Wing Soars With The Right (DJ Sprinkles' Steal This Record Remix) - Terre Thaemlitz
Long Drive - Andy Stott
Pause (Isolee Mix) - Will Saul
Workshop - Move D
Red Cloud (Minilogue Remix) - Sian
Workshop - Evan Tuell
Foly feat. Sibiri Samake - dOP
Close To Me - Boris Horel
I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Re-Edit) - Chic
Workshop - Benjamin Brun
Wax 10 - Shed
Double Trouble - Pied Plat
Subzero - Ben Klock
X - Claro Intelecto
Vacuum Stance - LoSoul

The tunetourist podcast, back from the dead

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:48:22 PDT

It's not the same as the original Tunetourist podcast series but with the dulcet tones of Messers Gilbert and Poletti long since a footnote in the history of digital music, this is the 'all music no bored-sounding blokes talking shit' version.

Precisely 90 minutes of the finest electronic shizzle, including a few recent gems from John Tejada, Luciano and DJ Koze. Use the sendspace link below to download.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0k4p59

Tracklisting - At Home With The Hoodies 01

Turning Point - John Tejada
Jive - Pikaya
Ribbons - Four Tet
Crazy Circus (Guido Schneider mix) - Matthias Tanzmann
Break Free - Michael Ho, Lil Dirty
Floppy - Alex Picone
Crazy Place (Luciano mix) - Dave Aju
Radar - HOSH & Stimming
Boiling Point Returns - FYM
Naked (DJ Koze mix) - Sid Le Rock
Pink Boots - Thomas Schumacher
Falling Stars - Smith N Hack
Nebula - Delta Funktionen
I Want To Sleep - DJ Koze
Acid In My Fridge - Dinky
Akustik - Par Grindvik
K-Maze - Radioslave

Six months off: some reviews

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:09:13 PDT

Well, obviously, tunetourist has been on holiday. We had a nice tropical break but now we're back to the coalface in London.

So, whilst you can expect a few more Brazilian tips it's largely musical business as usual here. We'll try and resume some sort of service in the coming weeks and months - starting with a few reviews yet to be published by Uncut magazine.

The Luciano mix has rarely been off the stereo since I saw him play outside in the morning at Sunday Adventure Club in Berlin; a really nice balance of house and techno with lovely organic patterns and groove. Dettmann's Berghain mix is as staunchly techno as you'd expect and a few 'difficult' transitions creep in but that's kind of the point. No Ableton and a refusal to conform to the monotone unanimity of many mixed comps. All power to him.

Luciano, meanwhile, probably grew-up listening to Gilberto Gil and Tamba Trio; "Frevo Rasgado" may just get called 'the Brazilian Sgt Pepper' with as much lazy (and condescending) regularity as Caetano Veloso gets called 'the Brazilian Bob Dylan'. A wicked intro to Tropicalia anyway and, as I allude to in the review, one less obviously sanctioned by Beck, Stereolab et al than the oiginal 'Tropicalia' LP.

VARIOUS - Fabric 41: Luciano (FABRIC)
4/5
Mustachioed Chilean electronic figurehead in the mix
Emerging as one of the key expat Chileans behind the thriving European dance scene, Luciano has long shared billing with Ricardo Villalobos. It’s a misleading association as the Cadenza label boss’ sound is neither as proggy nor ‘difficult’. In recent years, Luciano has worked more and more Latin groove into his pristine sound and this restrained mix proves one of Fabric’s most rewarding recent offerings. A clear personal aesthetic colours the selection which flows as if time were no object through highlights like Galluzzi and Schneider’s unavoidable “Albertino” and Johnny D’s “Orbitalife”. A perfect soundtrack to Easy Jet Sundays in European sunshine.

VARIOUS - Berghain 02: Marcel Dettmann (OSTGUT)
4/5
Whilst the average DJ at London’s Fabric club is lucky to exceed two hours, Marcel Dettmann starts work at six AM and plays for 12 at Berghain. It’s a commitment to a borderline purist notion of the techno aesthetic that finds its ultimate expression on this Berlin dancefloor. This refreshingly rough-hewn mix manages to capture a little of the magic.

GILBERTO GIL - Frevo Rasgado / Cérebro Eletrônico (EL RECORDS)
4/5
Hipsters head straight for the Tropicalia LP and Os Mutantes’ debut but the second from Brazil’s culture minister, released in 1969, is as perfect a summation of the scene’s seamless blend of pop, politics and unhinged experimentation as you’ll find. Created by the dream team of Gil, Mutantes and Tropicalia’s resident arranger, Rogerio Duprat, this ranks amongst 60s Brazil’s finest.

TAMBA TRIO - The Miraculous Tamba Trio (EL RECORDS)
3/5
A selection culled from four releases by this early 60s bossa trio famed for their version of Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada”, this is Brazil as painted on innumerable chill out albums. Later efforts prove they could play hard enough to clear a hotel lobby - “Consolacion” in particular is an astonishing reconfiguration of the possibilities of the trio format.

Felix Hot Chip picks the tunes

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 09:13:02 PST

Here's a selection of 10 fine and widely available shots of sunshine - courtesy of Hot Chip's techno guru Felix who was kind enough to share some faves with Tunetourist recently:

Controversy – Prince

I think we should start with this one because Prince is quite a big Hot Chip influence, obviously. I’ve always really liked this track; it’s got a really kind of immediate groove to it that’s really good. A real classic, funky song.

Gotta Serve Somebody - Bob Dylan

One of his Christian era songs, it was a real hit at the time and I like the idea of this critically unpopular period of 'Bob Music' actually getting somewhere in the charts. A really great song.

In My Secret Life – Leonard Cohen

On his quite recent album “Ten New Songs”, it’s latterday Leonard Cohen with quite corny electronic music in the background and I really love it. I think it’s very deep.

The Fat Lady Of Limbourg - Brian Eno

It’s on “Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy” and it’s kind of a short and very surreal song that tells a kind of story that I used to get endless joy listening to when I was a stoned teenager. And I still get joy listening to it now.

Put A Straw Under Baby – Brian Eno

This features Robert Wyatt doing backing vocals and it's got one of those melodies that’s been stuck in my head for the last 20 years or so… So, there must be something pretty amazing about it.

Dominik Eulberg & Gabriel Ananda – Harzer Roller

It got a very kind of organic feel to it, it feels like two musicians experimenting together in a kind of live way but in the context of a minimal techno dance track. From that point of view I think it’s quite close to some of Hot Chip’s music although some people might not see the connection, there’s a very live music feel to it I think.

Noze – Love Affair

This was on our DJ Kicks compilation; a very poppy, quite immediate song with a good groove to it in a slightly unhinged… very unhinged way, in fact.

Apples And Oranges – Pink Floyd

A psychedelic number from when they still had a good Syd Barrett kind of influence, before they went depressing and prog rock. This one’s got completely demented vocal refrains in it and it’s just very odd sounding, quite frightening to listen to. I like the fact that it got to number three in the UK charts.

Whip It – Devo

Just because the way that they used synthesiser sounds is really brilliant, I think. Particularly on this one. They use a kind of percussive synth sound, just the right side of being a bit nerdy and experimental with computers and synthesisers but making something really immediate and funky.

Neon Lights – Kraftwerk

Just a very beautiful piece of electronic music which - when I used to listen to it - it made you think that you could do things with electronic music that you didn’t necessarily think you could do before. It’s very gentle and light but at the same time it’s got this kind of propulsion to it.

Will Ashon picks the tunes

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:07:02 PST

Here's Big Dada label boss and acclaimed novelist Will Ashon picking the tunes, both from his own label and general faves. Lots of great stuff some of which we asked Will to tie up with reference to the Big Dada ethos, some of which was just buzzing around his head. It's a good insight into the mindset of a great British label, one that turned 10-years-old last year.

Roots Manuva – Witness

Probably our biggest club record and the biggest single we’ve ever had. I think it’s one of the all-time great basslines and some superb wonky drum programming from Mr Manuva. When he plays it live he says bands always have trouble ‘cause they try to be in time and the whole point is that it’s out of time. It’s a nice summary of the Big Dada label ethos really: it’s the wrongness that makes it right.

Bjork - Earth Intruders (XXXchange Remix)

It’s a fantastic remix. I think that Alex Epton – the guy who produced the Spank Rock album – is an amazing producer and this is one of the best remixes I’ve heard for a while. He’s turned it into a really low-slung, quite baggy remix which is quite bizarre for an American to have come up with.

Fiery Furnaces – Duplexes Of The Dead

From their latest album Widow City, this is just a killer, short psych pop song. What I like about them is that they’ve always done their own thing, whether it’s sensible commercially or not – down to making an album with their Grandmother singing the whole thing (which I bought and I can tell you is completely unlistenable). I kind of like that spirit, when musicians do exactly what they want to without any fear of the consequences.

Company Flow – Simple

The New York underground scene in the mid-nineties was a big influence on setting up Big Dada and I think that of those groups, Company Flow was probably the most cutting-edge and exciting. I remember picking up their first EP in a shop in New York and getting home and playing it and being amazed that anyone was doing anything like it.

Wu-Tang Clan – Proteck Ya Neck

Really the whole first album, just a huge record and out of step with everything else that was going on at the time and very exciting. Tough and stripped back compared with all the bloated stuff that was going on in the mainstream at the time. I was never a really big fan of the west coast, Snoop Dogg stuff…

The Specials - I Can’t Stand It

From their brilliant second album which, in a way, is a good reference point for Big Dada: where a British group very influenced by Jamaican music stepped out of that and made something which could only be made in the UK. Big Dada is an album label really and I think this is a great album in that it runs from start to finish and works as an album.

Bromhead’s Jacket - What Ifs And Maybes

I think they’re a really good, young guitar group – we actually tried to do something with them but in the end they decided to stay where they were. That would have been a departure for us, except for the fact that the lyricist in his teen years listened to hip hop and it shows in his style. I just think it’s a really good little tune.

Freestyle Fellowship – Seventh Seal

Once again, anything off the first album would do just as well. They were part of the whole Los Angeles underground scene of the early nineties that started around a café called The Good Life. They had freestyle sessions there and, along with the New York underground scene of the same time, this was one of the things that made me want to start a label. Amazing lyrically and an amazing group that never really got the props that they deserve.

Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U

An amazing record, I remember hearing about it and getting it on white label and I was staggered by it, really excited. Then I got all the Wiley stuff and Kano’s first thing and it was a really exciting time. It was something we really wanted to get involved in but due to the speed at which things move from underground to overground we missed that limited window where we’d have been able to afford to sign anyone and we had to wait a long time for it to settle down again. It was good to do Wiley’s record this year.

Slimm Calhoun – It’s Okay

It’s got Andre 3000 from Outkast on it and it’s a really good example of what makes him special. The track is an extended misogynistic rant about groupies but then Andre 3000 comes in and manages to do his verse from the point of view of the groupie. It’s one of those moments when you think, “Jesus, this man is clever.” It’s an incredible verse, brilliantly done. He’s a genius.

TTC – Dans Le Club

For a label that’s probably more known for its albums than its singles, this is probably Big Dada’s other big club record. An amazing beat from Para One: hugely pummelling and powerful. And then TTC do their French, nasal weirdness all over the top to beautiful effect.

Infinite Livez – Worcestershire Sauce

This is on the Well Deep compilation: a track about eating crisps… only it isn’t. Infinite is the archetypal Big Dada artist in that he just does what he wants to do regardless of whether people think he’s a mad pervert or whatever.

New Flesh – Stick And Move

Stick And Move, although it’s a bit slower, in terms of the sound and the vocals is kind of proto-Grime in a way. They’re another group that I think have consistently produced cutting-edge black British music and have largely been ignored for it. As a collective they’re one of the most important acts we’ve had on the label.

John Coltrane – Spiritual

From Live At The Village Vanguard which I was lucky enough to snaffle off my Dad… it’s just them playing their arses off really. I like a lot of jazz and Coltrane isn’t necessarily my favourite but that particular session is amazing.

Sizzla – Grow You Locks

A lot of the British stuff we’ve done on Big Dada sits between two influences: hip hop from America and reggae, dancehall and dub from the Caribbean which is where a lot of our black British artists’ families come from. It’s just nice to have something on there that reflects the Caribbean tradition as well.

Cadence Weapon – Sharks

A good mix-up of someone who is fascinated by electronic music and also hip hop. He combines the two really well, especially on this track: it’s got a really harsh electronic sound but, in terms of the way he raps, he still sounds like he’s from that tradition that I was talking about that goes back beyond Company Flow. People who put too many syllables in their rhymes, basically…

Flying Lotus – Reset EP

From a hip hop background, as a piece of instrumental music it’s the thing that has grabbed me most in the last six months. I think instrumental music is as much about creating a mood as anything and this has got a real feel to it, it doesn’t just feel like a retread of Mo Wax. I think his stuff is going to be great.

Os Mutantes – A Minha Menina

Just a fantastic pop tune. Good in that it came out at a time when no one expected fantastic pop records to come out of Brazil. One of the distinct things about Big Dada compared to other hip hop labels is that I think we’ve always taken a very international view of the music so it’s good to have a bit of an international flavour to my playlist.

2007 in 100 tunes

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:19:57 PST

Absolutely the last of the end-of-year lists. Promise. But we thought that an iMix would be the best way of presenting this mammoth selection of the tunes on heaviest rotation chez Tunetourist throughout 2007.

Boys love lists, we know this, but these things are a justifiable endeavour if only to remind yourself of just how much incredible music comes out in any given year. The industry itself may sailing off with nary a paddle to its name but it doesn’t seem to be making the slightest bit of difference to the quality of the music. So we may be out of work soon but we’ll never be sonically undernourished.

Click through to the iMix and you can check out 30-second samples of all of 100 tracks here. They’re belters.

Pete Rock, NY's Finest

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:03:50 PST

Perhaps if Kanye, Just Blaze, Mos Def and Swizz Beats say the kids ought to check out Uncle Pete Rock, then the kids will be duly schooled. Certainly, the sight of Kanye putting aside his ego to shower praise on this archetypal New York producer should shock a few people into paying attention - although his contention that Pete Rock invented the remix is a little spurious.

The really worrying thing here is the prevalence of R&B acts in the studio clips, let’s hope Pete hasn’t made an album’s worth of the weak half of "Soul Survivor" without any “Tru Master” business.

Tunetourist's 2007 with beats

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:15:43 PST

Resident Advisor kindly solicited Tunetourist for some end-of-year charts last week and so we narrowed the focus and concentrated on the beats (as we have been doing for most of the year, if we're honest). All in order, we have 20 tracks, five remixes, five artist albums, five producers and five DJs.

On the DJs front, we don't get out to this stuff as much as we'd like to but most of those in our top 5 have manned the decks on some great nights out - Ben Klock is the sound of Berghain, Weatherall played a great set at the SFA afterparty last month, Anja Schneider upstairs at Weekend in Berlin, Hot Chip playing to the street on Broadway Market... Efdemin we selected merely on the strength of a couple of great mixes found online. He plays a Sud Electronique party at a warehouse in Dlaston on 15th December, so we may finally get chance to check him out.

Top 20 Tracks (including remixes)

DJ Koze - Maripossa (Kompakt)
Good To Be Alive - Matthew Dear (Ghostly)
Rainbow Delta - Len Faki (Ostgut Ton)
Confessions Of An English Opium Eater - Danton Eeprom (Infine)
Atlas - Battles (DJ Koze Remix) (Warp)
Clt - Monomachine (Paradigma)
Falling Stars - Smith N Hack (Smith N Hack)
Black Beauty - Dapayk & Padberg (Mo's Ferry)
Ribcage - Dubfire (Desolat)
Papercup - Sleeparchive (Sleeparchive)
Elementary Lover (DJ Koze Remix) - Matthew Dear
Night - Benga & Coki (Tempa)
Reflection Nebula 056n - Tadeo (Apnea)
Bell Clap Dance - Radioslave (Rekids)
Khes - Dapayk & Padberg (Mo's Ferry)
Endorphin - Burial (Hyperdub)
Der Kammblaser - Ruede Hagelstein (Lebensfreude Records)
Low Profile (2000 And One Remix) - Lazy Fat People
Acid Bells - Efdemin (Curle)
Juror No. 9 - Adultnapper (Audiomatique)

Top Five Remixes

Battles - Atlas (DJ Koze Remix) (Warp)
Elementary Lover (DJ Koze Remix) - Matthew Dear
Low Profile (2000 And One Remix) - Lazy Fat People
Do It Again (Audion Remix) - The Chemical Brothers (Virgin)
Blood On My Hands - Shakleton (Villalobos Remix) (Skull Disco)

Top Five Artist Albums

Matthew Dear - Asa Breed (Ghostly)
Sound Of Silver - LCD Soundsystem (DFA)
Untrue - Burial (Hyperdub)
Kala - M.I.A. (XL)
Happy Birthday - Modeselektor (B Pitch)

Top Five Producers

Matthew Dear
DJ Koze
James Murphy
Danton Eeprom
Efdemin

Top Five DJs

Ben Klock
Andy Weatherall
Anja Schneider
Hot Chip
Efdemin

Radiohead's "In Rainbows"

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 08:22:59 PDT

Tunetourist joined the queue this morning to put hand in pocket and shell out for the new Radiohead album, “In Rainbows”. It was easy; we’re listening to it right now. There was some speculation from friends more heavily involved in the business of selling music online than we are that the mighty agitators of modern music had bitten off more than they could chew trying to birth their creation to all those eager fans at 7am. Servers would crash; Radiohead would suffer the same public relations disaster as befell the formerly sainted Michael Eavis. But then, people whose livelihoods depend on selling digital music would say that wouldn’t they?

We’re still not crystal clear what they’re trying to achieve by allowing us to choose our own price for the record. Mostly, it seems that the band who broke the US with the help of a nascent, illegal Napster (rather than the numbing slog of the tour bus) are again courting the more controversial elements of the zeitgeist for massive publicity. (Surely it’s a mark of how brilliantly Radiohead have managed public opinion that it strikes an almost vulgar chord putting the words ‘Radiohead’ and ‘publicity’ in the same sentence.)

You wonder how much this morning’s most punctual critics – Paul Morley on the Guardian blog and John Mulvey on his Uncut blog have both written impressively hasty appraisals – managed to pay for the record being so accustomed to the legitimate ‘free music’ that still arrives on writers’ doormats in Jiffy bags. We paid £3… well, £3.45 once you factor in the card-handling fee. It seems a fair price; we’ll certainly buy the CD next year, if not the extravagantly priced £40 box set.

So what of the music? Paul Morley’s smart but typically discursive review applies a caveat to every statement which goes something like this: “I’m writing a live review of the record as I listen to it therefore I must not fall into the trap of thinking this about it before I’ve really had chance to consider it: insert heavily qualified observation.” Not so much a cop out as a necessary reservation, to really cast judgement on a Radiohead album at this stage would be daft.

“In Rainbows” throws up a few interesting questions though. Most of these for us concern the issues of progress and maturity: what constitutes the endless forward motion that we desperately require from Radiohead? Over at Tunetourist, the band really began delivering on their massive reputation when “Kid A” came out in 2000. Remember this was a time when the Beta Band represented the pinnacle of the machine-human interface in popular rock music. “Everything In Its Right Place” sang out of our speakers back then like a prayer answered; the innovations of three decades of electronic music finding song amongst the texturally detailed and rhythmically urgent grace of what has always been reductively summarised as ‘dance music’. ‘Electronica’ if you prefer to remain a snob. This record – despite the false step of opening track “15 Step” which brings both Radiohead regulars Autechre and Thom’s buddies Modeselektor to mind in its opening bars – prefers ‘organic’ instrumentation to machines.

Nonetheless, there’s progress here from the last record. “Hail To The Thief”, as good as it obviously is, felt like a band returning for one last waltz with the sound so beloved of those fans who noisily complained throughout the “Kid A”/“Amnesiac” exercise. “In Rainbows” doesn’t, at first glance, feel like a compromise. Rather, it perhaps finds Radiohead in a similar place to the Wilco that recorded “Sky Blue Sky”, in working process at least. Satisfied that their experiments have opened new micro-vistas within their essentially traditional song writing process they're ready to enjoy themselves as musicians once again. The playing approaches a folksy warmth on some songs that’s most un-Radiohead, even if Thom’s clichéd anomie and the band’s default grandeur suggest a band, as Paul Morley puts it, “looking at themselves in the mirror… rocking and wailing somewhere between mystically and apocalyptically.”

Honestly, though, we’ve listened to it twice and it sounds great, particularly “15 Step”, “Nude”, “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”, “Faust Arp”, “House Of Cards”, the much discussed “Videotape”. The album is bathed in wonderful strings – the arrangements on “Faust Arp” specifically recall Nick Drake’s “River Man” – and Yorke seems finally to be emerging as a coherent voice rather than a chatter of refracted paranoiac slogans. “In Rainbows”, we’re tempted to suggest, is progress and maturity of the best kind.

Not another Acid House compilation

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 02:14:06 PDT

Don't ask why but everything has gone Acid House at Tunetourist HQ today. Maybe it's got something to do with the UK's Guardian newspaper catching on that the spirit of the movement is now firmly resident in post-Wall Berlin (sample quote: "Hedonistic freedom will always hold special significance for those who have known the absolute lack of any freedom"). But, in a brief break from our usual fwd>> agenda, we're going back to its earliest incarnations for inspiration.

Seldom though has the sound of 1988 - 90 as we recall it been captured adequately on a compilation album; even Soul Jazz's "Acid" comp beat a well well-worn and geographically focussed path through jackin' Chicago house. So, we hereby launch our manifesto for the first truly as yet un-compiled history of a certain strain of the movement we're happy to call Acid House.

Manuel Gottsching - "E2 - E4" (Disk Union reissue)

Let's kick off with the daddy of them all, Manuel Gottsching's majestic "E2 - E4"; 23 minutes of otherworldly inspiration that hit this member of Krautrock act Ash Ra Temple like a thunderbolt, sometime in 1981. Yes, 1981. If you don't recognise this minimal exercise in modal groove in its original form, you may recall it from the endlessly re-issued 'Balearic' dance classic "Sueno Latino" which first landed in 1989 and which rips off Gottsching's vision wholesale. Here, you can listen to 25 years of electronic music being mapped out in gently undulating grooves with an insistence and restraint that dance music has only had the courage to return to in recent years.

Neal Howard – “Indulge” (Network)

Some Derrick May track or other, usually the sublime "Strings Of Life" or bleeps 'n' bass-defining "Nude Photo" ought really to crop up at this point but instead we've opted for lesser-known Detroit-producer Neal Howard and a track called "Indulge". It was licensed to Network Records - a key UK distributor of the Detroit sound in the UK throughout the late 80s and early 90s. Usually the internet yields something on most artists, however minor. Here though, we have little supporting information for you. Nonetheless, this feels more like an unofficial follow-up to "Strings Of Life" than anything Derrick May released and points the way to the lusher techno soundscapes of second-wave Detroit producers like Carl Craig. Originally recorded in 1988 it still sounds wonderfully fresh.

Ron Trent - "Altered States" (Warehouse)

Sadly, Ron Trent is now probably better-known for meandering cod-spiritual house music of the kind proffered by Joe Clausell et al but once upon a time he was capable of delivering this aircraft hanger-proportioned epic techno belter. Later, he'd go on to more or less single-handedly define 'deep house' through the early nineties output of his Prescription label and seminal releases with Chez Damier, like "The Foot Therapy EP".

Suburban Knight - "The Art Of Stalking" (Transmat)

Another in our admittedly Detroit-centric take on the Acid House story which hails from the Motor City. This 1990 release from James Pennington is our only track from a foot solider of the legendary Underground Resistance. Included here because it neatly prefigures the 'dark side' sounds that would invade the euphoria rush of rave in '91.

Soft House Company - "What You Need" (Irma Casa Di Primordine)
Sha-Lor - "I'm In Love" (Gentie)

The Italo influence that soundtracked the sweaty joy of Nude nights at the Hacienda throughout '89 and '90 is summarised as well by "What You Need" as any other track. Don't ask us to tell you any more about it... Same goes for this '88 classic from Sha-Lor which was reissued by Mike Pickering's Deconstruction label in '89 and is one of the Hac's most enduring vocal house moments; one of the few that's still an absolute pleasure to hear. Beautifully dubby and restrained, it’s hard imagining such an elegant record rubbing shoulders with Black Box on Manchester's most hallowed dancefloor.

Nightmares On Wax - Aftermath [LFO Remix] (Warp)
Ital Rockers - "Ital's Anthem" (Bassic)
Renegade Soundwave - Thunder (Mute)

The Northern bleep moment is rightly remembered for LFO's eponymous earth-quaking debut and Nightmares On Wax's double-headed assault, "Aftermath/I'm For Real". On our alternative guide we leave both of those to other comps and opt instead for LFO's sublime remix of Nightmares On Wax. See what we did there. "Ital's Anthem" was one of the heaviest tracks to force its way inside our young ears back in 1990. Released by the Leeds label that ran parallel to Sheffield's Warp for a while, it is techno as understood by kids more accustomed to reggae 'blues parties' than 'Balearic' beats. Can you see rave coming yet? Finally, 80s industrialists Renegade Soundwave were uncommonly inspired on their 1990 release "Renegade Soundwave In Dub" which yielded "Thunder", another proto-rave anthem that, oddly enough, used to get mixed into Jimmy Somerville at the Hacienda.

Rum & Black – “Slaves” (Shut Up & Dance)

Finally, one that clearly points us off in the direction of jungle, when the East London kids got involved. Here's where things began to fracture and, arguably, Acid House span off in different dirctions. The London 'summer of '88' lot were already sneering about sweaty 'Acid Teds' but the break with 4/4 beats and increasing importance of breakbeats really seems like a good place to leave it.

Better than "Old School Euphoria", we hope.

Let’s go back, way back…

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 03:38:35 PDT

The soundtrack to the original hip hop movie Wild Style gets a re-release for its 25th anniversary next month. Not the first document of hip hop culture, the 1982 film and soundtrack nonetheless seems as good a place to start as anywhere. Hugely influential in every respect, the tracks here from the likes of Cold Crush Brothers, Busy Bee, Rammellzee, Double Trouble and DJs Grand Wizard Theodore and Fab Five Freddy seem to blueprint most of the music that followed from the Beastie Boys to A Tribe Called Quest. Musically, Wild Style still finds hip hop stuck in the disco instrumentals phase of the Sugar Hill Gang era and the backing tracks - produced by Blondie’s Chris Stein - are largely indistinguishable.

The film also gets the deluxe repackage treatment with Rhino releasing a version with remastered audiovisuals and extras including interviews with the film’s stars, the aforementioned MCs and DJs themselves, and footage from the 20th anniversary reunion concert.

If that isn’t enough to satiate your hunger for back-in-the-day hip hop goodness, the 'rhyme inspector' Percee P releases his long-awaited official album debut this month on one of our favourite labels, Stones Throw. We say ‘long-awaited’ but, really, most people gave up waiting 10 years ago. Percee is frequently described these days a ‘fast rap’ legend, known for a style that recalls the mighty Big Daddy Kane for his Vesuvial way with the adjectives. It’s a long story but somehow Percee managed to play his part in both the late 80s and mid-90s hip hop boom periods and this album, appropriately titled “Perseverance”, manages to summarise much of the best of both. Stones Throw’s special weapon, Madlib, steps up to produce and sounds great delivering a more straight-up set than his recent jazz and beatstrumental excursions, making this one of the strongest artist albums the label has released in a while.

Kompakt action

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 04:47:34 PDT

This time of year is always busy for techno’s renaissance label, Kompakt, the Cologne-based Empire founded by Michael Mayer, Jürgen Paape and Wolfgang Voigt. It’s around this time that they unleash the latest in their mammoth double CD “Total” compilation series – this year its “Total 8” – and throw a big bash at Popkomm and the C/o Pop event in Cologne. This year they follow it all up with a secondary strike from two of the label’s biggest artists, working under the combined moniker of Superpitcher, Michael Mayer and Superpitcher release “Save The World” next week, but more of that later.

“Total 8” has been the subject of some critical griping amongst the indie community and admittedly it’s a somewhat hit and miss affair. But there are plenty of reasons here to seek out the best of it. Jürgen Paape brings classic stalking and stabbing Cologne techno restraint to "Nord", while Robert Babicz’ remix of label star Gui Boratto’s "Mr Decay" bounces with the kind of irrepressibly groovy micro-twitches you’d expect from Spanish producers like Alex Under.

There’s nothing from indie darling The Field but the label’s acclaimed shift into gently sombre emotional terrain is represented instead by The Rice Twins. "Can I Say" already pegs them as potential crossover darlings with its elegant rethink of trance’s cruder emotional touch points. Amongst the record’s less inspiring moments, Aril Brikha’s overrated tribute to Berlin’s great techno shrine "Berghain" is wheeled out, but a more fitting tribute to the drama and dynamics of that legendary dancefloor comes from DJ Koze’s wonderful "Mariposa". Building through quietly intense swathes of noise that merge the functional drone of machines with the unexpected melodies they might sing as they work, it comes on like a symphony of engines learning to take their first graceful flight. Hear it in Berghain and you might fall over.

Supermayer’s “Save The World” is a step into new terrain for the label, Mayer and Superpitcher shaking off the confines of the Cologne sound to stretch out into more organic textures, live instruments and groovier disco territory, all whilst maintaining the label’s trademarked restraint. Superpitcher brings club dynamics to Mayer’s deft control of texture and the pair of them may be just the men to graft new, more organic sounds onto the over-familiar minimal framework and find something new within. They still find time for a few straight-up Kompakt-style bangers – “Saturndays” is as good as any club 12” released so far this year and “Planet Of The Sick” and “Two Of Us” won’t upset the purists. Elsewhere though, there are a few surprises, foremost amongst them the “Billy Jean” reconfigurations of “The Art Of Letting Go”.

Klaxons win Mercury Music Prize

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 08:56:42 PDT

Congratulations to Tunetourist favourites the Klaxons who won last night’s 2007 Mercury Music Prize. We won’t mask slight disappointment that it didn’t go to Bat For Lashes who, along with Amy Winehouse, gave the performance of the night but no doubt the prize’s mandate to award innovation is as well served by the Klaxons as anyone.

It was a clear surprise, though, to both band and the assembled industry throng, the room letting out a gasp as Jules Holland announced the winner. Jamie Reynolds – with sutured and strapped foot from his recent stage dive misadventures - James Righton, Simon Taylor-Davis and Steffan Halpern were by turns endearingly touched, shocked and awed, pathetically gurning and aimlessly posturing, as they collected the award. It was as if midway through their natural response the amphetamines kicked back in and they remembered an earlier pact not to ‘do a Gwyneth’ if they won, but completely forgot how they'd planned to make a rock’n’roll impression in the first place.

"I think they have rewarded forward thinking music," Jamie Reynolds said after the event. “We have made the most forward thinking record since I don't know how long.” Somehow we failed to feel quite the same thrill as when Dizzee Rascal surprised the event in 2003, winning with his genuinely radical “Boy In Da Corner”.

Bon Anniversaire Big Dada

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:42:48 PDT

Ten years have passed since music journalist Will Ashon established the UK’s finest hip hop label in conjunction with Ninja Tune and presented the country’s rap CV on ’97 compilation “Black Whole Styles”. Few of us knew who Roots Manuva or New Flesh were back then, some of us had yet to discover Saul Williams and Lewis Parker who also featured heavily on that seminal double LP. Ten years later and we’re still learning. How many people had come across Spank Rock – arguably the most original and instinctively fresh sound to emerge from the genre in the last couple of years – before Big Dada unleashed their album “YoYoYoYoYo” last year? And this year has seen Rollie Pemberton aka Cadence Weapon find an audience for his reinvigorated take on leftfield hip hop on British shores thanks to a licensing deal with the label.

Then there are those acts that you can’t imagine anywhere else. Juice Aleem has contributed to his share of the label’s better moments either as part of New Flesh or Gamma, the latter’s ace “Killer Apps” still a bonafide party classic. Infinite Livez is the situationist nutter in residence, if you haven’t seen “The Adventures Of The Lactating Man” video, well, you’ve, er, missed out on one of the promo art’s most idiosyncratic moments.

From Paris (TTC), via the Bay Area (cLOUDDEAD) and onto the Bronx (Mike Ladd/Infesticons), the label has managed to avoid becoming that most endangered of species, the UK Hip Hop Label. In fact, latest UK signing Wiley confirms the wide berth with which Ashon’s office has regarded the purist backpacker mentality.

To celebrate their decade, Big Dada have a double CD/DVD for us which they claim covers just about every artist album they’ve released to date. “Well Deep: Ten Years Of Big Dada Recordings” arrives in early October with some essential hip hop units for those still in need of schooling. And, honestly, it can't be easy work trying to make money out of an independent hip hop label these days. We should be grateful for their perseverance, especially if there'sanother 10 years of this quality in them.

M.I.A. – “Kala”

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:25:32 PDT

It can be a struggle to see through the hype with M.I.A., past the global music fetishisation that Diplo talked up around the street sounds of Brazilian favela funk, the militant posturing and fluro-ethnic styling. But things may be about to change. Content until now to leave us to insert an influential mate when we weren’t sure where the ideas were coming from, she spoke out recently in an interview with Pitchfork and furiously denied the notion that she defers to her talented friends. “I just find it a bit upsetting and kind of insulting that I can't have any ideas on my own because I'm a female,” she raged.

“For me to come from a mud hut and to be here and shouting in front of a disco, it took me 15 years. And that's all I represent. Everything boiled down is that, that's all it is. If I get it back to Africa, this is what I've accomplished.” This time the album backs up the claim. As it flits around the global bassbin “Kala”’s relationship with its sources seems far less forced – M.I.A. recorded on the road in India, Trinidad, Australia, Japan and London. Shortly after getting a flat in Brooklyn with the intention of settling in New York to work on the record, she ran into visa trouble and was denied entry, and the absence of a metropolitan base proves the record’s saving grace.

But it’s no easier to pin down than its predecessor, either for those looking to summarise the sounds or the objectives of the artist herself. You still listen with half an ear cocked to the possibility that this is all some grand scam perpetrated by a bunch of trustafarians from Notting Hill. But this time the political posturing isn’t quite so thuddingly crass. Instead of shouting about its fourth generation immigrant experience it actually sounds like it as bootlegged world beats collide with the Western version of pop history and the production techniques of contemporary black music.

And, regardless of the tolerance you have for M.I.A.’s delivery, she at least uses ‘rap’ like the democratic medium it ought to be. A point that’s glaringly obvious on “Mango Pickle Down River” which features rapping from four young Aboriginal MCs who sound like a hip hop project in a young offenders institution. Hardly Nas and Primo, then, this is raw, unskilled, and yet oddly compelling in its honesty. “Jimmy” is a rework of an old Bollywood number from a film called Disco Dancer, which M.I.A. was fond of whilst growing up, and provides not only some much-needed dropping of the hip production mask but also one of the album’s most obvious hits. The other is the thrillingly subversive pop of “Paper Planes” which should yet prove to be the first top 10 single about forging passports.

“Boyz” and “Bird Flu” you’ve probably already heard, add to them the Timbaland-produced “Come Around” (relegated to hidden track status) and that adds up to at least five clear single-worthy tracks on a record that’s equally at home with the percussive emissions of “Bamboo Banger” and crunk weirdness of “$20”. You better start taking M.I.A. seriously.

Exclusive: Bonde do Role LIVE at Nag Nag Nag

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 08:32:21 PDT

As mentioned before, the lovely people at Domino have been kind enough to supply Tunetourist with some exclusive live footage of Brazil's premier funk carioca group, Bonde do Rolé. Our first installment sees a typically high-charged, enthusiastic rendition of the soon to be re-released single Solta O Frango. Stay tuned for more live treats over the next few days.

Incoming Hip Hop

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:20:09 PDT

With a glut of fine hip hop set to drop over the next couple of months, including albums from major players Common and Talib Kweli as well as more underground names like Oh No, here’s three that we’ve already managed to get our hands on.

Oh No – Dr. No’s Oxperiment (Stones Throw)
Released August 06

Like Oh No’s previous album “Exodus Into Unheard Rhymes” - built entirely from samples of music by “Hair” producer Galt MacDermot - this collection of 28 instrumental tracks comes with a new sampling conceit. This time the Oxnard, California producer and younger brother of Madlib has restricted himself to the lurid grooves of label manager Egon’s collection of Turkish and Middle Eastern psych and Italian prog. The result is the label’s most inspired instrumental offering since Dilla’s “Donuts”. But where that album celebrated those treasured and well-worn soul gems from Dilla’s childhood, “Dr No’s Oxperiment” revels in the extreme otherness of its sources, crafting the heaviest of beats out of the fuzz psych of 70s artists like Selda and mining incredible swing from the music’s non-western scales.

Talib Kweli – “Ear Drum” (Blacksmith Music / Warners)
Released September 3

Up until track 10 this is sounding like Kweli’s most rewarding effort since his true solo debut, 2002’s “Quality”. Rather than crowbarring smart rhymes into clumsy metre, he sounds on point, his flow natural and relaxed. He’s kept a fairly tight control on the contributions from his excellent production line-up, including Madlib, Kanye West, Just Blaze and Pete Rock. Even will.i.am - current rent-a-hip-hop-hitmaker to any major label MC looking for a juicy crossover hit - has acquitted himself acceptably on the Jean Grae-featuring, “Say Something”. It’s a decent enough example of the typical 2007 major label hip hop album made by committee, with most of the right people sitting on the board. Why then does it labour its way on through to 16 tracks, with all the weakest material programmed into the record’s final 30 minutes? It’s a tired trick this scattergun programming and it falls wide of its intention to score mass appeal, only leaving the artist looking woefully unfocussed.

Cadence Weapon – Breaking Kayfabe (Big Dada)
Released September 24

Rollie Pemberton is the 21-year-old Canadian MC, producer and Pitchfork journalist who took time out of writing his popular Razorblade Runner blog to refix artists like Lady Sovereign and DFA 1979 and then release this Canadian debut back in 2005. Finally, the album gets a UK issue courtesy of the persistently forward-thinking Big Dada label where it finds a niche somewhere between the jarring leftfield efforts of signings like NMS and the electro-party bass of Spank Rock. The thrillingly claustrophobic “Grim Fandango” and “Black Hand” provide highlights and Pemberton proves a brilliant wordsmith and dextrous MC, when he’s not drowning his vocal in screaming, overdriven synth.

Animal Collective – Coronet, Elephant & Castle 11/07/07

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:05:05 PDT

If their forthcoming album suggests that Baltimore’s reliably eccentric -noise pop adventurers are reigning in the mayhem, there’s little sign tonight that they’ve lost any of their gleeful sense of adventure. Certainly, ‘Strawberry Jam’ errs towards more traditional and concise structures. Gone are the epic 15-minute excursions into the wilder recesses of the collective's brain, replaced by a new found sense of restraint, the longest track peaking at just under seven minutes.

That's not to suggest they've turned into The Fratellis overnight - they’re still capeable of wigging out and howling like banshees over a cacophonous mixture of electronics and guitars. And that’s perhaps why it’s so surprising that they can fill venues like the Astoria and tonight's 2,200 capacity Coronet without comprising their signature esoteric sound. Maybe it's their knack for balancing a pop sensibility with experimentalism that draws in such a varied fanbase. The regular assortment of straight up indie-kids, older avant-garde types and hardcore scenesters are all present this evening - eyes glazed, staring at the band, heads feverishly nodding.

Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist - resembling a trio of stoned Beach Boys circa 'Surf's Up' - take to the stage just after 10pm, mysteriously lacking guitarist Deakin. But this doesn't hold them back as all three take to their banks of kit and wring from their machines a mesmerising set, incorporating a sizable portion of the new album alongside old favourites like “Who Can Win A Rabbit” and “Grass”.

Strangely, there’s no live instrumentation this evening bar a couple of keyboards and a cymbal crash shared by Mr. Bear and Tare but those guitar sounds are coming from somewhere, perhaps from Geologist's bank of noises. In fact, it's this approach that makes them resemble more of a knob-twiddling techno outfit than an indie / noise band, emphasised as an array of percussive noises are looped into a swirling 4/4 beat for what seems like the majority of the performance. This driving rhythm is offset nicely by their three-part vocal harmonies, trademark screeching feedback and all manner of other melodic delights, to whip up a wondrous psych-out which lasts most of the evening.

With Domino behind the new album a new legion of fans may be about to stumble across Animal Collective’s raucous invention – next stop Brixton Academy? They’ll most likely remain far too willful a proposition for that level of success and that’s probably how it should be. Long may we cherish these mavericks.

Justin Steele

Wu-Tang Clan – Hammersmith Apollo, July 5

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:23:00 PDT

You don’t go to Wu-Tang gigs expecting to lose yourself in the music, in fact you’re lucky if you can hear the music over the dismally engineered sound and combined shouting of whichever members have deigned to turn up. You’re more likely to be there to pay homage to one of late 20th century music’s most enduring cultural colossuses, an affiliation of talent, innovation and raw energy the like of which has rarely been seen.

It’s a hit and miss affair this pilgrimage, often disappointed by shoddy turnouts from the Clan or worse than dismal live productions but at Hammersmith Apollo last week they delivered a full house, even bringing film star and errant child Method Man back into the fold. To add to the congenial atmosphere of family reunion, it also happened to be both Wu-patriarch, RZA, and Inspectah Deck’s birthdays, so each member was equipped with a bottle of Dom Perignon and the Cognac flowed liberally throughout the night. So much so, that both a virtually immobile Raekwon and visibly shitfaced Streetlife were seriously worse-for-wear.

Last time they attacked this same stage back in 2004 it was Ghostface Killah that led proceedings, rightfully hailed as the only member consistent enough in his solo efforts to have earned the unfailing respect of the crowd. But tonight, despite stunning triumphs with his last two albums, Ghost takes a back seat to the hyperactive Method Man as the crowd celebrates his return to the brotherhood. Meth - perhaps because he can hold his drink - bounds about the stage with the energy of a hyperactive teen, frequently throws himself into the crowd and even overshadows the RZA in his command of the audience. Finally, we get to hear “Method Man” and “Bring The Pain” as they were intended and verses from “Ice Cream” to the still-peerless posse cut “Protect Ya Neck” (“Can I get a "sue"? / Nuff respect due to the one-six-ooh”) are elevated by his utterly distinctive, artful drawl.

At the heart of the celebration is the communion between fan and group, both ecstatic that it’s still possible to draw all these people together to celebrate the Wu revolution so many years on. It's good to see an act evidently having so much fun for a change and a hip hop show where the performers really respect and appreciate their crowd. Whether or not we can plausibly expect great things from the forthcoming “8 Diagrams” – and, honestly, you wouldn’t write it off – its difficult to name another act that’s enjoyed 15 years quite like this.

Some June highlights

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:22:12 PDT

Here's an assortment of treats that have descended upon the Tunetourist headquarters over the last thirty days. Top quality US indie from Road and Reckless, techno - of both the Detroit and minimal varities - from the likes of Hard Wax and Vinyl Club, some first-rate reggae from Aquarius and some personal selections thrown in for good measure.

Phat Kat feat. Elzhi – Cold Steel (Look Records)
Seems J Dilla saved some of his best beats for fellow Detroit resident and old buddy Phat Kat. A surprisingly hard beat for Dilla this fierce track thunders along with snapping hi-hats and a Neptunes-esque electric bass whilst Phat Kat rips it with his vitriolic commentary. It's been floating around for while now but it must be heard.

Animal Collective – Peacebone (Domino)
With this lead-off single from their forthcoming Domino-released LP ‘Strawberry Jam’ the Tunetourist favourites are doing what they do best: making manic, warm-hearted indie music that oozes creativity.

Shape of Broad Minds feat. DOOM – Let’s Go (Lex Records)
After last year’s ace Beat Journey LP Jneiro Jarel has returned – and he’s brought some friends with him. This highlight, and single, from the forthcoming LP ‘Craft of the Lost Art’ is a spacey, disco-laden effort featuring the not inconsiderable talents of the Super-Villain himself. Don’t sleep.

Pan-Pot – What is What (Mobilee)
It’s getting ever harder to separate the dwindling wheat from the chaff in Berlin’s over- saturated minimal techno scene these days but Pan-Pot shine through with their latest release on Mobilee. Perhaps influenced by Sleeparchive’s ultra-reduced production, it’s a similar aesthetic but with a far groovier edge.

Lavender Diamond – My Shadow Is A Monday (Matador)
A dreamy, almost anthemic indie-folk record courtesy of this LA quartet. Becky Stark and co effortlessly conjure the late 60s / early 70s country pop sounds of Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt to marvellous effect.

Alborosie – Kingston Town (Forward Recording)
A relative newcomer to the Jamaican Roots and Dancehall scene, this Italian reggae artist chronicles the highs and lows of life in the capital. An impressive and heavy roots tune not too dissimilar to Damian Marley’s recent efforts.

Kubra – Unknown Swimming Object (AW Records)
A very impressive debut 12” from these Rotterdam based neo-Detroiters. A loving homage to deep Motor-City techno, which also harks back to the Artificial Intelligence sound of early Warp releases.

Oh No – Hot Fire (Stones Throw)
Oh No tries to out-do older brother Madlib in the obscure sample stakes. Delving into rare and raw psych from Turkey, Lebanon, Greece and Italy the Oxnard, CA native delivers on his third effort – ‘Dr. No’s Oxperiment’. With this track being one of many highlights from the 28 on offer.

Blonde Redhead – 23 (4AD)
The title track from the latest LP by Japanese and Italian NYC residents, Blonde Redhead, recalls early nineties indie rock in the best possible sense. My Bloody Valentine’s poppier moments weigh in alongside a sizeable chunk of St. Etienne for good measure.

Interview: Matthew Dear pt. 2

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:10:02 PDT

Apologies for the delay, here's the second part of our interview with Detroit 'experimental pop' producer, Matthew Dear. Incidentally, his album "Asa Breed" is out this week and we reckon it's one of the most exciting of the last few months, well worth picking up.

Q: How do you decide if you’re working on Audion, Matthew Dear or False stuff on any given day?

A: Well I’m always doing everything. Right now I’ve been a bit too busy touring and trying to get the album out, I honestly haven’t sat down in the studio for a couple of months. I’ve just done a couple of remixes and that’s it. I’d like to get some more Audion songs down and we’re probably going to put out another Audion album early next year. I like the dual personalities, I love techno music, I love the environment of the club and I love being able to DJ, stay up late and get into that style of music. I also like playing with the band now, so there’s really no ‘favourite’ in my book, I’m just going to try and do both really well and if one suffers, I’ll take a break from it but I don’t want to give up completely.

Q: What sort of live environment suits this record? Are you taking it to the clubs?

A: I’ve tried to pick more rock style stuff for these shows, I don’t want to play the same places that I’ve played as Audion. I really just want to make a split and let my audience know more about each act individually, rather than going to the same club they saw Audion.

Q: Have you done the full live show at a UK venue before?

A: No never, I’m going to hopefully. Right now we’ve just got a festival lined-up. It’s just tough because I have to re-write the book on everything I’ve built up so far in terms of touring. When you tour you obviously build relationships with venues and promoters and then if you come out with a completely new project that appeals to a different set of people you have to find new venues and it can be a bit tricky.

Q: You were compared to LCD Soundsystem in a recent review, which seems rather off the mark to us…

A: What I’ve found doing interviews and talking to people, everybody has their own favourite song and everybody has their own favourite comparison. I’ve heard everything from the ones I thought – Arthur Russell, Brian Eno, Talking Heads – to Joy Division, some bands I never even knew of, some really obscure bands that made me think I was more credible than I am. A lot of these artists were just future-thinking electronic artists, mixing rhythm and melody like you talked about, they’re mixing pop structure with art structure… And I’d like to think that’s what I’m trying to do. I think we’re all just trying to carry the torch of modern experimental pop music.

Q: Do you feel affiliated to any particular artists working at the moment?

A: Not so much, I think I just see myself as part of a generation of artists that are branching out and trying new things because of technology becoming so rampantly available. I don’t want to say I’m just a genre mixer; I’m not like an electro house, vocal micro-house singer. I don’t like those labels, I just like to think of myself as making experimental pop music. In terms of other artists I’d like to hope I’m something like Four Tet who takes a different approach with each album. Anyone who just tries something new each time, like The Liars, they’re not getting locked into one style. I like Susumu Yokota, every album I hear by him is a new experience, it's like he’s really trying to adapt technology and express himself differently with each album. We’re not the same artist over and over again and we can constantly reinvent ourselves.

Q: There’s a critical short-sightedness in the UK that insists on pigeon-holing electronic acts who transfer to the live arena…

A: That’s a shame. I’m not trying to be an Underworld or a Chemical Brothers, I’m not trying to make electronic music like that again. I think people do just get stuck in this genrefication, they need it to be one thing. ‘This is where he’s coming from – he’s a DJ, he plays at techno parties in Berlin so this must be what he’s trying to say.’ I’m not trying to be a techno frontman, I’m just trying to be a musical frontman.

Q: Putting aside the associations of 'minimal' as a genre of electronic music, do you consider your music as minimalist?

A: Well I use a lot of spare sound. My new definition for minimalism in techno music is, there are a lot of small sounds and minute sounds happening although the music can be very broad and very expansive, it can still be minimalistic to a certain degree because there’s a lot of detail and care put into the production. There can be a lot of little things happening at once. In my mind that’s what ‘minimal techno’ has become because, obviously, the songs aren’t very sparse anymore, they’re pretty energetic and club-storming. So really it’s just the attention to detail and I definitely have a lot of that in my music, I’ll spend hours on one loop and make every sound perfect in my mind. So in that sense I think its minimalist because I’m really stripping it down to the bare elements and really working on every sound, trying to make it perfect.

Q: What do you make of the music coming out of the techno scene at the moment?

A: It’s a bit oversaturated right now but I still hear the diamonds in the rough that are well worth the wait. Mainly, I think it’s because with technology these days – programmes like Ableton Live and computers getting a lot faster and cheaper – you’re finding more and more people all over the world, kids in some random corner of Spain or all the way over to Argentina, are making music constantly. Unfortunately with that you’re getting a lot of repetition and people just doing the same thing over and over again.

The Fratellis Interview

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 10:46:55 PDT

More interviews from this year's Glastonbury Festival in the below posts, including a rather 'sleepy' Fratellis, not exactly showing the strain as they prepared for their first ever Glasto performance on the Pyramid Stage.

The Hours Interview

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 10:47:22 PDT

News: Doherty, UK festivals, Dizzee, Animal Collective

noreply@blogger.com (tunetourist) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:38:00 PDT

Pete Doherty pleaded guilty to charges of possessing crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis yesterday and has been ordered to undergo yet more rehab. Sentencing has been deferred until August 7, after the singer emerges from a likely 5-day course of treatment at a centre in Harrogate. After turning up two hours late, Doherty reportedly wept in court and struggled to give his correct address, eventually declaring that he is now resident in Hackney and no longer living with Kate Moss in North London. Leaving the court he told reporters, “It’s rehab or jail. I was going to rehab anyway, to be honest with you, but this is a little push.”

Meanwhile, here’s a great review of Pete’s “Books Of Albion” from yesterday’s Guardian.

The miserable British weather has put paid to nine planned open-air events planned by the Classical Prom Company, either by deterring potential customers from making a ticket purchase or simply by rendering proposed sites “completely sodden.” As a result the organisation behind the events has gone into liquidation. Obviously, the ramifications for the UK festival industry could be immense. If things continue as they are what hope is there for those events still struggling to sell tickets to the unprecedented number of festivals taking place this year?

Now then, here’s a couple of new videos that got us excited this morning

Dizzee Rascal – “Old Skool” (aka "Pussyole")

Animal Collective – “Fireworks”