Untold, aka producer Jack Dunning, released his first record a little over a year ago on Hessle Audio (the fabulous “Kingdom”), and soon after started Hemlock Recordings, specializing in his own brand of experimental dupstep. Now he’s back for more on Ramadanman and Pangaea’s label with “I Can’t Stop This Feeling,” pushing his sound, and indeed the sound known as dubstep, further into uncharted waters. That Untold’s music sounds unlike most of his peers is a given, but on “I Can’t Stop This Feeling” he manages to surprise even those who’ve followed his releases, turning in two absolutely mad tunes bursting at the seams with creativity.
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Various Artists, Dérive Vol. 1
June 23, 2009 – 8:25 AM
One of my very favorite records of last year was the fifth transmission from Workshop, anchored by an incredible standalone Benjamin Brunn track and earning its keep with complementary stunners from Da Halz and Rising Sun (names then unknown to me). So I felt a little quickening of the heart as I scanned the tracklist of this, the first release from the new Diamonds & Pearls-distributed Dérive Schallplatten. This record, too, is headed by an outstanding Brunn track, and offers the mystique of a pair of new names in Achim Maerz and Christopher Rau. The comparisons more or less end there, but this Hamburg-centric platter is nevertheless an exciting, sonically eclectic collection.
Brackles/Shortstuff, Broken Harp
June 22, 2009 – 9:58 PM
A true rising star of the dubstep scene, Brackles is already a frequent fixture at London’s Sunday night Fwd sessions and as his recent FACT mix testifies he knows how to put the tunes together. Sharing a double headed winner late last year with Shortstuff on Geiom’s Berkane Sol label, the pair team up proper in 2009 for “Broken Harp” on Pollen.
Efdemin, Métisse 2.5
June 18, 2009 – 9:59 PM
Some two years after the original release of “Acid Bells,” Efdemin’s subtle and refined piece of minimalism, Martyn gets his hands on it and takes it to a whole new level. This had apparently been in the works for some time but was held off until Martyn’s full length was released. While you can hear the unmistakably bold drums employed by the Dutchman in his “Dark Mix,” there’s not a lick of the sweet pads and soothing textures that proliferated Great Lengths. Instead, Martyn heightens the percussion, adding densely packed tribal elements on top of the metallic bells from the original and fires up a barely contained bass line, like a monster come down from the hills to frighten the poor village folk. Uneasy strings are drawn out and just seem to hang in the air, adding tension to the track, playing off the brash sound of the bells.
King Midas Sound, Dub Heavy-Hearts And Ghosts EP
June 17, 2009 – 10:25 PM
Truly deserving of the tag future dub, the music created by Kevin Martin of The Bug and vocalist Roger Robinson sits somewhere to the left of dubstep entirely, occupying a cavernous chamber of otherworldly bass and washed out soul stylings. With only two original tracks to their discography, it may seem a tad early in their history to be releasing an EP of versions, though I suspect any new King Midas Sound material will be welcomed by fans ahead of their hugely anticipated debut full length.
BBH: DJ Jasper, Automation EP
June 17, 2009 – 8:27 AM
The end of the nineties was a very interesting time in techno for America. While the focus had squarely been on Detroit for some years, people like Damon Wild, Freddy Fresh, Joey Beltram, Steve Stoll, Woody McBride and Frankie Bones were already highlighting other pockets of forward thinking synthetic electronics. Few though factored in San Francisco as a hotbed of techno activity; its name synonymous with tripped out house and the warehouse parties that made use of the cheap space in the Soma area. Two labels went a long way to dispel this generalization of the city though — Organised Noise and Cytrax. The latter was set up by Kit Clayton, Steve Tang and John Mendez. The label was host to a small like-minded group of friends — among them Sutekh, Markus Miller, Twerk and DJ Jasper. Their releases were undeniably influenced by the tracky style of Chicago’s Relief Records but with a nod to electro; they were also infused with a more experimental flavor, which Kit Clayton especially would go on to explore further via his output on Pole’s ~scape imprint among others.
Urban Tribe, Social Engineering
June 16, 2009 – 9:11 PM
Under the Urban Tribe moniker, Detroit’s Sherard Ingram quickly built a following for his quality down-tempo fare with help from labels like Mo Wax and collaborators such as Kenny Dixon Jr., Carl Craig, and Anthony Shakir. Since then, and under a variety of guises, he’s increasingly trended toward sped-up, acid-inflected electro and, in the process, conspicuously added James Stinson to the above list. Social Engineering is one of the more feverish entries to Ingram’s catalog, and surely one of the best.
Kassem Mosse, Workshop 08
June 16, 2009 – 8:15 AM
Workshop releases only a few records a year, emphasizing quality over quantity. Luckily for buyers this means each new Workshop record can be bought without hesitation, as there hasn’t been a dud in the bunch. They turn away from whatever may be popular at the time and shoot for longevity, opting for records that reveal themselves over time. After what was, for my money, the best record in the series (the sometimes ethereal, other times ghastly “Workshop 03”), Kassem Mosse steps up once again and give us “Workshop 08,” a contender for the label’s standout release.
The Chain, Letting Go
June 15, 2009 – 11:40 PM
London’s Dan Foat and Nathan Boddy released “Droidnosh” on Mule Electronic last year as Foat & Boddy. But just because they’ve named their new project after a song on Rumours doesn’t mean the newly resurgent R & S has gone soft on us. If the pounding rhythms and undulating synths found on the first release since their rechristening are any indication, The Chain wish to have their name taken quite literally. “Letting Go” contains the sort of well-oiled machine music you’d expect from the Belgian, home-away-from-home of Detroit techno. Can The Chain take the label’s classic rave style and, like Radio Slave and Shed (remixing Steve Lawler) on its last two slabs, give us a reason to buy off the new release shelf instead of digging through the used bin for the classics?
Igor Stravinsky, Le Sacre Du Printemps (Stefan Goldmann Edit)
June 11, 2009 – 7:45 PM
Writing in 1626, Francis Bacon described “…sound-houses, where we practise and demonstrate all sounds and their generation… we make divers tremblings and warblings of sounds… We have all means to convey sounds in trunks and pipes, in strange lines and distances.” (The New Atlantis).The manipulation of sounds, found or manufactured, into the futuristic and new is an impulse that has accompanied the musical urge, it would seem, for hundreds of years. It motivated Luigi Russolo to build his intonarumori at the turn of the last century: these were huge horns attached to boxes, the full set of which would fill a large room. In performances with classical orchestras after the first World War, Russolo elevated his mechanical tinkering into something that might have been the first true electronic music. Around the same time, Igor Stravinsky released his “Le Sacre Du Printemps,” a piece widely thought to be a cornerstone in musicological development.
Cobblestone Jazz, Traffic Jam EP
June 10, 2009 – 11:42 PM
After what seems like a lengthy hiatus (at the current release rate, two years in the house/techno 12″ market feels more like 10) and lukewarm reviews of their debut album, 23 Seconds, Cobblestone Jazz’s return makes no apologies for directness. The band’s penchant for improvisation is a driving force in their creative process and always features heavily in their live performances, but with the “Traffic Jam EP” there is less jazz spontaneity on display and more techno fundamentals at work. The trio makes use of programming assistance from occasional band partner, The Mole, from The Modern Deep Left Quartet. Where their previous collaboration resulted in raw house experimentalism, this EP doesn’t pussyfoot around.
Lee Curtiss, The Mantra EP
June 9, 2009 – 11:16 PM
The young Lee, long-time Detroiter, Seth Troxler’s former roommate, last seen trafficking in a loose cabal made of Wolves, Lambs and Crosstown Rebels, kick starts a new label by the Zürich-based Cityfox crew. In case you were curious about Lee’s agenda, the opening vocals should fill you in: “I’m only here for one night, but I’m playing for keeps. Sex, drugs and magic, baby, no time for sleep. ” A hard-hitting DJ’s creed for sure. The sparse, wired-tight rolling beats and insistent horndog bass line underneath leave little room for doubt that the man means what he says.
Ernesto Ferreyra, Siluetas
June 9, 2009 – 12:37 AM
After an uncharacteristic period of inactivity from the end of 2008 through the first couple months of 2009 (previously the label had been issuing new releases about every six weeks like clockwork), Cadenza took the unusual step of putting out five releases basically on top of each other. On one hand, the approach makes a big splash in the marketplace and keeps the label’s name in the headlines a bit longeer and more prominently than it might otherwise be. On the other hand, the glut of releases tends to dull the impact of the music as the already fairly uniform Cadenza sound can’t help but get repetitive in such large doses.
Linkwood Family, Miles Away (Intrusion Dubs)
June 8, 2009 – 8:25 AM
When used as an adjective to describe music, “deep” means different things to different people. While the exact definition has proven to be elusive and subject to some contentious discussions in the dance community, most agree you know a record is “deep” when you hear it. Case in point: the original version of Linkwood Family’s “Miles Away” is deep. The debut release on the Firecracker imprint that found its way into the crates of everyone from Derrick May to Moodymann started with a mournful Miles Davis-esque trumpet solo over some lonesome keys and moved into a late-night house bounce and a vocal line bordering on torch song territory. Soulful, jazzy, warm, and melancholy, “Miles Away” featured all the hallmarks of a “deep house” record and then some.
Milton Bradley, Dystopian Vision
June 7, 2009 – 7:23 PM
Do Not Resist The Beat!—should we consider that a listening strategy? “Dystopian Vision,” Milton Bradley’s second release this year for his own willfully obscure label, encapsulates some of the most abrasive, pulverizing techno sound design a producer can commit to record without completely alienating the floor. But if you’re willing to stick your head over Mr. Bradley’s 500 copy, limited-edition hole into hell, you might just find some serious, sulfury funk gurgling up from the deep.
Scuba, Klinik/Hundreds and Thousands
June 4, 2009 – 8:25 AM
Hot on the tail of his remix packages from A Mutual Antipathy, Paul Rose has started the year with two killer remixes for Alpha Rhythm and Fever Ray. Following on from those is his new twelve on Hotflush which will further cement his status as one of the most compelling producers out.
Anton Zap, Outside EP
June 3, 2009 – 11:10 PM
There was a time you had to keep your ear close to the ground to get an accurate read on the whereabouts of true deep house. That is no longer the case as more labels have recently emerged to help push the sound to the foreground. And with that are pushing artists who are dedicated to keeping the deep house revival moving in the right direction. Anton Zap is one such artist. The Moscow-based producer earned instant street cred with just a handful of releases on Underground Quality and Quintessentials over the past two years. With his latest release, the “Outside EP” for Uzuri, Zap reveals a growing confidence and development of his own sound.
BBH: 3MB feat. Magic Juan Atkins, Jazz Is The Teacher
June 3, 2009 – 8:14 AM
By 1992, the spiritual kinship between the cities of Detroit and Berlin had existed for years. But despite the invisible conduit of ideas and inspiration flowing back and forth between the world’s electronic dance music capitols, there was precious little actual collaboration to show for it — just a handful of tracks, really, though a symbiosis of ideas and a definitive kinship was in full flower. 3MB was the German half of the equation, featuring Moritz von Oswald and Thomas Fehlmann who would go on to produce pioneering music of their own. The pair had worked a year previous with Detroit techno pioneer Eddie “Flashin” Fowlkes, though the group only truly collaborated on two tracks on the double LP released under their names. By all accounts, however, the work between Atkins, von Oswald and Fehlmann was a true melting pot, the music showcased on the group’s self-titled double LP released by Tresor in 1993.
Deuce, Deuce EP
June 2, 2009 – 8:22 AM
So far in 2009, Ostgut Tonträger has charted a course favoring harder, more aggressive sounds than in previous years. As the label arm of Berlin’s preeminent Berghain club, whose name has become synonymous with dark and uncompromising techno, this isn’t entirely surprising. Prominent resident DJs/producers Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock have also seen their stock skyrocket since the label launched in late 2005, furthering the case for harder stuff. And while a discography notched with several releases from Prosumer & Murat Tepeli, 12″s from MyMy and Âme, and the Shut Up and Dance! Updated compilation evinces diverse tastes, one wonders if Ostgut Ton’s recent focus portends a broader shift. If commissioning an EP and album from Luke Slater’s ferocious Planetary Assault Systems project was the tipping point, the “Deuce EP,” a collaborative effort from Dettmann and Shed, lays bare how astringent and foreboding the path ahead may be.
Cooly G, Narst/Love Dub
June 1, 2009 – 9:58 PM
Although Hyperdub has rightly earned its reputation as one of the world’s leading dubstep labels, the scope of its sound is far more complicated. Burial’s spectral aesthetic owes much to 2-step and garage; Zomby and Joker are pioneers of whatever they’re calling wonky these days; and label head Kode9’s sews together bits and pieces of hip-hop, Baltimore breaks, 2-step, dubstep, and mostly recently the nascent sounds of funky. With the latter most genre quickly gathering steam and admirers, it was only a matter of time before Hyperdub signed their own funky producer — South London’s Cooly G.