Randy Barracuda | Swkee Like A Pig

April 1st, 2009 Stu

A new interview with Randy Barracuda over at skweee.com reminded me that I should get back into the skwee loop and post more of this Scandanavian blend of bleep-tronica, twitch hip hop, r&b and funk. By no means a new phenomena (earliest sightings fall back to 2005), Randy Barracuda dropped both of these tracks for the Flogsta Dancehall label in 2006, also featuring as standouts on the genre’s defining compilation in 2007, Museum Of Future Sound Vol.1.

In this new interview, Randy mentions upcoming releases on his Harmönia label from Rigas Den Andre (titled The Valla Torg EP) and from Yöt, and makes it clear that he has no interest in being a posterboy for the movement – the future of skweee, he notes, “is not really my concern.”

His debut solo album, which apparently might “deal with esoteric and numerological issues” (although tongue could well be firmly in cheek) drops on Flogsta on September 11th 2009.

Randy Barracuda – Skweee Like A Pig | mp3

Randy Barracuda – Rick James Is Dead | mp3

img | a.j.gazmen

Tags: flogstadancehall, harmonia, randybarracuda, skwee

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Mountains | Choral

February 5th, 2009 Stu

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

img | josef stuefer

Tags: chicago, harmonia, mountains, thrill jockey, u.s.

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Mesak | The International

November 8th, 2008 Stu

With a URL such as skweee.com, SKWEEELICIOUS! is putting itself out there as a defacto official home of the growing Scandanavian electronic movement.  Blending bleep-tronica, twitch hip hop and 8-bit funk, Skweee is created by a large, loose collective of almost exclusively Finnish and Swedish producers and will be appreciated by lovers of Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, Quarta 330 and their ilk.  Skweeelicious has posted an interview with Mesak – producer and founder of one of the two main Skweee labels, Harmonia.

“The skweee is about to shatter in dozens of subgenres by all the artists performing their own music so strong that it slowly blends into being just top music and great artists. As there is more worldwide attention more people get into it and start producing or organizing parties. I think no one really knows what is going to happen. It’s also bit worrying if it gets popular.”

Mesak – The International | mp3

Tags: harmonia, mesak, skwee

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