Fol Chen | Cable TV (Liars Remix)

February 28th, 2009 Stu

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Let’s do ‘pop’ for five minutes: albeit right-angled, Liars remixed pop – no Gaga here. LA quintet Fol Chen draft Liars drummer Julian Gross for a reversioned take on their new cut, ‘Cable TV’.

For all the promise Liars might bring, it’s a restrained beast (oddly close to the original as if the remix is merely an itchy-fingered refix); sounding all the while like Gross is trying to boot a robot Geisha into life, while an indie-chip kid fumbles with the strings from behind.

Imbibe the original and nine other slices on the new Nabokov-referencing album ‘Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made’ on Asthmatic Kitty.

Fol Chen – Cable TV (Liars Remix) | mp3

Bonus: Fol Chen – No Wedding Cake (Remix by Matthew David) | mp3

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Cauto | Despertar

February 23rd, 2009 Stu

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Born into a family of musicians, it’s unsurprising that it’s taken Barcelona’s Cauto no time at all to make his mark on the dub/step & electronic community. With releases on dj/Rupture’s Dutty Artz (on the excellent Dutty Remix Zero release), and Spanish labels Discontinu and Disboot, he’s quickly developing a small, yet impressive, back catalogue that’s about to augmented by a Filastine remix and a second EP for Disboot.

His new, free download release, ‘Despertar’ (tr: ‘to wake up’), kicks into play with a brush of lightly scattered, percussive dubstep, full of tight, angular edits and chopped dub vocals. This type of off-point, beat manipulation is perhaps his signature move, particularly when interplayed with strings and washes. It’s clear that his classical training is liberally deployed, yet meticulously deposited, as if he’s mindful not to suffocate the sense of space around. Taste a sample below, and download the full EP release at disboot.net.

Cauto – Despartar | mp3

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Micachu | Filthy Friends Mixtape

February 22nd, 2009 Stu

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21-year-old Mica Levi aka Micachu has already done her work for the year. She’s already delivered an album (Rough Trade, March 9th), ‘Jewellery’ produced by Matthew Herbert, that sounds undeniably authentic and original, which – in this day and age of spiraling, referential hype – is nothing to be sniffed at. And whilst it’s just as undeniable that a press and blog deluge is sure to follow, Micachu’s skewed take on genuine post-punk sensibilities, delivered with a part-pop, part-acoustic verve, all dressed in Patrick Wolf’s clothing, is uncharacteristically worthy of the attendant clamour.

Classically trained, Micachu’s ‘Filthy Friends’ mixtape is a fine example of her stance on music, ricocheting between genres (hip hop, grime, experimental electronica, spoken word, jazz, dubstep) and featuring Toddla T, Golden Silvers, Capitol K, Kwes, Man Like Me and poet Jack Penate. Also below, Hyperdub’s LV delivers a mix that’s so intrinsically fucked-up and literally off-beat that it sounds like a complete mistake. Thankfully, after the third listen, it all finally makes beautiful sense.

Micachu – Filthy Friends Mixtape | mp3

Bonus: Michachu – Lips (LV Remix) | download page

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Lemonade | Sunchips (Bookworms Remix)

February 17th, 2009 Stu

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Let’s talk about the name first: Lemonade sounds as if they are a pre-teen, happy-clappy, singalong, soda-popping bunch of adrenalised muppets. It is not the wisest choice of names for what is actually a rather interesting band – it’s the sort of name that actually encourages people to look away, to say to themselves “I’m not the sort of person who listens to bands called Lemonade”. This would be a great shame, for there is actually much to enjoy from this San Francisco trio.

Coming on like a ramshackle, juiced-up younger cousin to Hot Chip, Lemonade map out a path that leads the 1s and 0s into a drunken tussle with a cupboard full of percussive paraphenalia. Dare I say it might be something akin to El Guincho fronting 90s one hit wonders EMF? Unbelievable, yes.

If all that terrifies you, blow into a paper bag for this download. This (somewhat far removed) echo drenched remix comes from fellow SF producer, Bookworms, who also recently threw his talents over a remix of Mi Ami’s ‘African Rhythms’. The boy’s certainly keeping good company.

Lemonade – Sunchips (Bookworms Remix) | download page

info | Lemonade MySpace

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Underlapper | Meanderthal (Cleptocleptics Remix)

February 8th, 2009 Stu

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When Underlapper first emerged, a collection of their own homespun CD-Rs went into circulation, track titles scrawled in green biro on TDK branded inlays. This demarkation clearly suggested that Underlapper were still in their embryonic phase, that they hadn’t quite decided that the world was ready for them. Yet the music itself, and their accompanying gigs, clearly showed a band who were more than ready to face the future. What they lacked in confidence, they more than made up for in their approach to experimentation and a willingness to imbibe influences from all corners, including those that might potentially discourage a swelling fan base.

Although experimental and post-rock influences were writ large, when Underlapper’s album ‘What Came Forth From The Sea’ finally dropped in 2004, they had taken an odd detour into Anticon country and had infused their sound with raw, Australian hip-hop vocals. Though unexpected, it did herald the fact that Underlapper were determined to diversify their sound and to eschew the notion to ‘play ball’ with expectations. To their eternal credit, there remains to this day no other example of Australian post-rock hip-hop. For this fact alone, even if that was end of their tale, Underlapper would have found themselves in 6pt black type in a tiny corner of the Australian Music history books.

Spool forward two years, and Underlapper drop kicked the hip-hop for their 2007 release ‘Red Spring’ – a release that should have come from a band twice their age, playing together for twice as long. Indeed, it could have come have come straight off the shipping container from Scandanavia, with sounds reminiscent of some of Iceland’s finest, minus the attendant histrionics. ‘Red Spring’ was a quiet melee of electronics and acoustics – pianos, flutes and bass all skirting around arpeggios and droplets of digitalism – somewhat disguising the inherent truth that Underlapper can write some simple and beautiful songs.

And so to ‘Red Spring Remixes’, released this month on Sydney’s Feral Media. Thirteen tracks recontextualise the original collection with a cast list that reads like a Who’s Who of Australia’s next wave of experimental artists – Broken Chip, Part Timer, Faux Pas, Karoshi, Aheadphonehome and, on the track below, Tom Smith aka Cleptoclectics, bursting out of his Prefuse-like skin to share a spiraling piece of sun-kissed beat science.

Underlapper – Meanderthal (Cleptocleptics Remix) | mp3

Join Feral Media’s mailing list for full details of the album release date and supporting stores.

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Three Trapped Tigers | 1

February 6th, 2009 Stu

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One of the best things about the recent All Tomorrows Parties was getting my brain scrubbed with dirty wire wool by Fuck Buttons. A blissful assault from start to finish, it was one of the most sensational live aural experiences I’ve had since witnessing The Boredoms live back in 2002 (who were incidentally supporting John Cale at the time, oddest master & servant relationship of all time).

But imagine if Fuck Buttons did actually believe in taking a breath, in pausing for a second to take stock, and not only that, decided to indulge in a little bit of Four Tet / Pivot style angular frippery and Lightning Bolt tubthumping, before counting to three and diving back in again. London improv trio Three Trapped Tigers are trapped in that moment. It’s hard to keep up, but like a late night meeting with a tub of Ambrosia Custard, you just want to keep going – even after it’s long gone.

The debut EP is out now on Blood & Paper. Do it via Paypal at myspace.com/threetrappedtigers.

Three Tapped Tigers – 1 | mp3

Three Tapped Tigers – 3 | mp3

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Discontent | Mixtape One

February 6th, 2009 Stu

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If you’re new to the Discontent blog, greetings. Here’s a quick way to catch up on what you might have missed over the last few months – Discontent Mixtape One.

This mixtape features a selection of tracks posted on the blog since its launch in November last year. All the tracks have been published freely online by artists or labels, so feel free to post the link or distribute the mixtape. If you do, please also link back to http://www.discontentblog.com. Enjoy…

Discontent – Mixtape One | rapidshare download

1 Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart (Instrumental Edit) [Sweden]
2 Harmonic 313 – Dirtbox [Australia]
3 Lone – Beach Bump [England]
4 The Long Lost – Woebegone (Flying Lotus’ Luckiest Charm) [U.S.]
5 Fantastikoi Hxoi – Kyriarxoi Tou Sympantos [Greece]
6 Ghoul – Fuck Math [Australia]
7 Mi Ami – African Rhythms [U.S.]
8 Hudson Mohawke – Polkadot Blues [Scotland]
9 Pacheko – Green Bull (B Bull Mix) [Venezuela]
10 Filastine – B’talla (feat. Rabah) [U.S.]
11 AGF aka Antye Greie – Disturbia [Germany]
12 The Sight Below – With Her Kiss (I’d Pass The Sky) [U.S.]
13 Sleeps In Oysters – Moths’ Wings For John [England]
14 Salem – Brustreet [U.S.]

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Fat Planet Year Two | 2005

February 5th, 2009 Stu

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To celebrate the second anniversay of the Fat Planet radio show on FBi 94.5FM, this mixtape – published in December 2005 – ripped together a number of downloads that featured on fatplanet.com.au during the preceeding twelve months. From baile funk to euro-crunk (ahh, remember that?), from Japanese post-punk to Bollywood breakcore, this CD-length compilation celebrated “all that was great about music in 2005″. Seems like a lifetime ago already.

DOWNLOAD: FAT PLANET YEAR TWO (2005) | rapidshare

DOWNLOAD: FAT PLANET YEAR TWO Artwork | pdf

Tracklisting & Liner Notes:

Notes taken from posts during in 2005 on fatplanet.com.au

1. MC VANESSINHA [BRAZIL] danca de peteca

“an interview with dj marlboro on hyperdub:”In a famous quote, Chuck D refers to rap as the black CNN. In many respects Rio or baile funk could be referred to as favela CNN. That is, it’s used as a medium to convey how the people who live in the Brazilian favelas really feel using their own language, idioms and slang. baile funk is basically a strain of Miami Bass breakbeat, but much cruder and ruffer in it’s production. There is a healthy anything-goes and fuck-fashion attitude to using samples… It’s prole-like unpretentiousness and complete lack of “cool” makes it a scene apart from the rave and club scene dominated by São Paulo and the fashion conscious Paulistas. But ironically, baile Funk is the original Brazilian electronic dance music stemming from the incredibly popular Rio sound-systems of the 70’s.”

2. STACS OF STAMINA [SWEDEN] donne moi un poisson (ft. ttc)

“let me just clear one thing up right now – stacs of stamina’s album ‘tivoli’ is one of the best albums of 2005. easy. and with it comes a hilarious new genre classification – ‘euro-crunk’… it proves just how dramatic crunk can be when we take some of the less agile MCs out of the equation – at once both deliciously deft and deleriously blunt, ‘tivoli’ sets an impossible standard against which future challengers will be judged.”

3. ENDUSER [US:OHIO] not so distant drums

“never before has bollywood sounded so mind-altering than in this breakcore / broken beat widescreen presentation courtesy of ohio’s enduser, aka solo producer lynn standafer. both bhangra and breakcore can be found filed away in my cd library, i just never assumed i would ever find them together in the same temple. and now that i have, their marriage seems absolutely right and absolutely essential.”

4. NETTLE [SPAIN] myanmar (timeblind remix)

“a one time classical saxophonist, timeblind has made his way through a multiplicity of genres to get to where he is today – from free jazz, industrial, acid house, techno to broken beat, breakcore and dub… this was originally released on nettle’s ‘firecamp stories remixed’ series – nettle being another psuedonym for the talented dj and producer dj rupture.”

5. DJ BC vs M.I.A. [U.S. / SRI LANKA] quem vai encontrar a festa da maconha?

“a sweet bootleg from dj bc, mixing m.i.a.’s ‘galang’, a 1962 bossa track called ‘quem quiser encontar o amor’, plus gloria gaynor, dj paris and some dialogue from an anti-drug movie.”

6. SLAM REVOLUTION [SENEGAL] wax degg

“more african hip-hop thanks to our friends at nomadic wax. both tracks are taken from their new release “african underground vol. 1 hip-hop senegal” which aims to provide a contemporary snap-shot from what is arguably africa’s home of hip hop. unlike many compilations claiming to be the ‘real deal’, this is actually the genuine article – recorded on location in dakar, calling on artists that you’re unlikely to hear anywhere else any time soon.”

7. VISIONARY UNDERGROUND [ENGLAND] 100 vibes

“a four piece from london, their remarkable fusion of contemporary breaks with a clear asian influence takes asian dub foundation’s template and moves it further towards the dancefloor.”

8. SHUKAR COLLECTIVE [ROMANIA] blooz gypsy

” the core trio play what is known as ‘ursari’, a style of music traditionally created by men in order to encourage their (tamed) pet bears to dance for their amusement… it’s traditionally played using spoons, barrels and other wooden percussion and, in this album, there’s also a tom waits-esque gutteral vocal that gives the music a rich, rough hue. add to this tradition a succession of breaks, a few rounds of turntablism and some avant-garde electronica and you’re served with a genuinely unique and original sound.”

9. KONONO NO.1 [CONGO] ditshe tshiekutala

“konono no.1 are one of the most original groups operating in africa today, mainly due to their use of the electrified / amplified traditional instruments – a style known in congo as ‘tradi-modern’. boiled down, it’s old school analogue electronic music – thumb pianos, megaphones, pots & pans, old car parts etc, all amplified to the point of almost absurd distortion. if any modern euro-electro pioneer was making this, we’d be hailing them a genius – yet, konono no.1 have being doing their own DIY thing for nearly 25 years.”

10. MUGISON [ICELAND] sad as a truck

“iceland’s mugison is a wonderful contradiction of styles – from his abstract soundtrack album’ niceland’, to the downtempo folktronica of his excellent debut ‘lonely mountain’ and finally to the beat-heavy, fuzzrock mp3 ’sad as a truck’ from his second album ‘mugimama is this onkey music?’ (sounds like something beck should be making if you drew a more leftfield graph from ‘loser’).”

11. WE ACEDIASTS [JAPAN] ibasho

“the four piece (three from japan, one from new jersey) recorded two tracks with dfa, both of which can be found on their release ‘pre acediasts’, along with six other tracks recorded in tokyo. this mp3 is a rare opportunity to hear the producers stripped right back, a minimal marriage of trademark post-punk 4-4, krautrock, psych and post-rock. ”

12. BALUN [PUERTO RICO] the glass bicycle

“balun are a three-piece from puerto rico… i’m getting the feeling that central and south american electronica is growing in favour and it’s certainly finding some public attention beyond appaearing on the now-standard ‘neuvo latino’ compilations.”

13. THE TINY [SWEDEN] closer

“a three piece from stockholm, the tiny digest all that is bold and beautiful about smoky, torch-song jazz and refract it through a lens that’s been sitting in the pockets of bjork or kate bush. vocalist / pianist and writer, ellekari, onces more takes a seemingly familiar skewed vocal technique into new territories, and essentially proves what we always suspected – incredible though such vocals are, they are best displayed to their advantage in the jazz field.”

14. HUUN HUR TU [TUVA] kongurei

“this band from tuva, the country that holds the distinction of being the most ‘land-locked’ in the world, i.e. furthest away from any ocean. their combination of throat-singing and traditional local instruments makes for a rare and unique slice of music.”

Posted in Mixtapes. | 1 Comment »

Mountains | Choral

February 5th, 2009 Stu

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A few weeks back, I hit All Tommorrow’s Parties in Sydney and caught Harmonia, featuring some of the legendary players in 1970s krautrock and electronica – Neu’s Michael Rother, Dieter Mobius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. They appeared on a sun-drenched harbourside stage in the middle of the afternoon, which – depending on your point of view – was either the best or the worst place to see them. Nonetheless, it ticked off another in the ongoing list “Artists That I Must See Before They Or I Die”.

This brings us circuitously to Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, trading as Mountains – an act which feed directly from Harmonia’s spacial continuum. Harmonia is actually a perfect departure point, particularly the influence of Michael Rother’s guitar work, as we check our passports at the start of Mountain’s latest album release ‘Choral’. But such a direct reference doesn’t detract from the precise, sculpted expertise that Mountains exhibit, as they layer exquisite electronic excursions with reverb guitar fuzz, sun-kissed strings and a cherry-pick of acoustic instrumentation. The net result is an expansive savanna that stretches out in front of us, peppered with references to specific trajectories, yet stacked with seemingly infinite possibilities. Six tracks build together to form the album, which is available from February 17th via Thrill Jockey.

Mountains have curated their own label, Apestaartje, over the last ten years – featuring many examples of similar experimentation, including earlier Mountains releases. Despite experiencing some neglect in recent times, their web site contains a full release catalog and accompanying audio streams.

Mountains – Choral | mp3

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Various Production & Gerry Mitchell | Clerks

February 1st, 2009 Stu

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For their next full-length, Various Production indulge in the type of Scottish miserablism not seen since the early days of Arab Strap. As evidenced on this upfront promo, Scottish poet Gerry Mitchell’s intense, suffocating readings could be well served by Various’ incessant need to hop genres with each release. Let us hope that the album, ‘The Invisible Lodger’ fuses more than just their regular dramatic dubstep productions, and additionally opts for the rural English folk songs and peculiar sea shanties that pepper their back catalogue.

‘The Invisible Lodger’ is available from Fire Records on 23rd February. The Various release slate also includes forthcoming rmxs from Actress & Rustie, and a new EP release, ‘Ramp’ in March.

Various Production & Gerry Mitchell – Clerks | mp3

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