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Thursday, 11 March
Album of the Week
One of 2010s most anticipated Dubstep/D'n'B albums lands on Digital Soundboy, featuring an all-star UK urban dance cast of Burial, Rodigan, Roots Manuva, Newham Gens and Donae'o. Just in case all that government-disapproved megaweed has addled your mind, we shouldn't forget that his debut 'This Too Shall Pass' was a landmark LP for the D'n'B fraternity. As a follow-up 'Foundation' certainly builds on a few of its themes, while also incorporating his new dubstep style to effortlessly alternate between the two tempo regions. Blatantly, the Burial link-up on 'Vial' is one of the biggest attr… Read more
Single of the Week
*STRICTLY LIMITED VINYL EDITION - INCLUDES THE KILLER BULLION REMIX, PLUS A PAIR OF DEEP AND DEADLY REWORKS FROM LUKID, AND THE RETURN OF BOGDAN RACZYNSKI* Osborne (aka Soundmurderer) hands his Ghostly International catalogue over to Bullion, Bogdan Raczynski and Lukid for a wickedly varied remix package. Bullion starts the session with a terrific remix of 'Afrika' sounding uncannily like Boards Of Canada revising Fela Kuti. Its totally fresh and on the money - possibly the best and most original thing we've heard from Bullion yet. The undeniably talented Bogdan Raczynski makes a rare app… Read more
Single of the Week
Untold and LV step into the future with a slab of advanced Afro-tek backed with a Mount Kimbie remix on Hemlock recordings. The collaboratory effort on the A-side is exceptional, with Untold kneading maleable subbass into fluid forms at the bottom of the spectrum while melodic percussion plugs the gaps between post-garage shuffle and shoulder-dipping Afro-flex. Noticably LV's contribution comes in the stealthy camouflage of smoked dub vibes, favouring spooked FX and crackling textures woven into the rhythm with a deft crispness. Providing a lighter counterpoint on the flipside Mount Kimbi… Read more
Single of the Week
Latest single to be lifted from the inescapably addictive XX album features suitably weighty remixes from Untold, The Blue Nile, Nosaj Thing and Delorean. From the bloodied edge of the Dubstep vanguard, Untold's remix is the certified highlight, using his bone-dry palette of percussion and eye-quivering subs to turn 'Islands' into an exceptional XXXX'step anthem. Just add those vocals and let the shivers commence. In an inspired move from the band, the second mix comes from enigmatic Scots The Blue Nile, who live up to their mystical status with a wee dram of economical post-punk percussi… Read more
Album of the Week
*KILLER DEBUT FROM DEM HUNGER, FUSING SQUASHED BEATS, HEAVILY NARCOTIC FOUND SOUNDS, DRONES, 8-BIT SYNTHS, FIELD RECORDINGS AND FILM SAMPLES - WE HAVE JUST 30 OF THESE TAPES!* Dem Hunger gets our weekly WTF?! award for his debut release 'Caveman Smack' on the Leaving Records label. And believe us - this is a very good thing. A little research tells us this fella is behind a string of highly respected mixtapes, which makes a lot of sense when you encounter the psychotomimetic collages of his music. It's like The Gaslamp Killer has finally lost it and locked himself in the studio pretending… Read more
Album of the Week
Beautiful gatefold edition of 'Profondo Rosso', Goblin's amazing debut album, and also their first working alongside Dario Argento. Here, they would find their style of synth and drums driven prog-rock drama that suited the stylish celloid imagery so, so well. This symbiosis of sound and cinematography lead to 'Profondo Rosso' originally selling over 1 million copies within one year of release in 1975, topping the Italian album charts for twelve months and occupying a space in the history books as one of the most revered soundtracks of all time. We can hear elements of the Yes, Genesis an… Read more
Album of the Week
This most revered and productive of contemporary ambient composers issues his latest album via Japanese label, Slow Flow Rec, following in the footsteps of Home Normal boss Ian Hawgood and Celer, whose In Escaping Lakes was one of the duo's finest releases in a prolific 2009. For Winterreise, Orsi turns to a wrong-footingly simple list of devices: "guitar, effects, old keyboards" and creates an absorbing six-part suite. The Italian composer continues to operate at the top end of his field, making music that's tangibly organic and far more real-time in its feel than much of the computer-… Read more
Single of the Week
Finders Keepers' Compacta series uncovers a hard rocking diamond in Soreng Santi's psych-rock slaying version of 'Iron Man'. Until his freakish death in 1982, Soreng was responsible for a string of Thai hard-rock, with his cover of the Sabbath standard counting among his greatest achievements. The track works exactly as you'd imagine, replacing Ozzie's howl with an exotic incantation which we can only assume has been translated directly, while the band recreate that crushing riff and breakbeat with a commendable force. On the flipside we get the strange fruit of 'Dub Fai Kuigan', a superb… Read more
Album of the Week
*Limited Second part to this amazing set exploring the ghostly echoes emanating from old Wagner recordings, slowly disintegrating into a haunted landscape of frayed tape loops and gradually exposed vapour trails of forgotten sounds and memories...so good* Following on from where its equally enigmatic predecessor left off, Plays Wagner Part 2 finds Pat Maherr returning with another volume of dark, phantasmagorical soundscapes. These somnolent, dreamlike passages bear all the hallmarks of that most overused of buzzwords: hauntology, and there's little avoiding comparisons between Indignant… Read more
Album of the Week
*Another highly anticipated limited vinyl pressing from the excellent Digitalis imprint - this time from Boxhead Ensemble's Scott Tuma who manages to weave a sound that incorporates dense and unsettling field recordings with Takoma-esque porchside strums, wiry violin, rhythmic metal scrapes, music-box interludes, spectral banjo plucks and distant piano sequences. 400 copies only for the world* Dandelion' arrives with no small amount of anticipation. The first thing we hear is the exaggerated whirr of phased tape treatments opening up to expose beautiful, disjointed music box chimes that … Read more
Single of the Week
Altered Natives drops the much awaited follow-up to the 2009 anthem 'Rass Out' backed up with a kinky Zed Bias remix. The three tracks here cut a little deeper than their predecessors, stirring a burning deep house flavour into the brukked-up ruffage to suit current dancefloor moods. 'Believe In Me' feat Sascha Williamson comes in two versions, the extended AN original built from convective keys and small traces of the break/bass from 'Rass Out', and the kinky percussive mix from Zed Bias on the flip. Those looking for a straight-up killah should dash for 'Raaatid Einstein' fuelled by chu… Read more
Album of the Week
*HEAVYWEIGHT 2010 REISSUE OF THIS ABSOLUTELY CASSIC ELECTRONIC SOUNDTRACK FROM GOBLIN - GATEFOLD VINYL WITH A CUT-OUT POPUP INSERT* Goblin's seminal soundtrack to the equally famous Dario Argento flick 'Suspiria' has just made our week, dropping on heavyweight vinyl housed in a luxury gatefold sleeve with a freakin' pop-up centre! As successive generations of audiences have discovered, Goblin's Italian prog-rock is practically inseparable from the visual delights/horror of Argento's celluloid creations. Like Tangerine Dream and Michael Mann, or Popol Vuh and Werner Herzog, their music con… Read more
Single of the Week
Blunted Robots' Shortstuff and Mickey Pearce (aka Martin Kemp) merge talents on Ramp's latest. Both sides rank among the best we've heard from these two, crashing multiple styles like a skanker in a china shop. 'Tripped Up' trims B-more, Electro-funk and clipped party-step into a thrilling mass. There's shades of Kingdom's NYC ruff-house bounce, splayed with a sense of stylishly controlled UK urban flavour to fire up the party good and proper. Wile out fun! On the flip 'Coconuts' slashes dischordant strings over grimy bass splurts and Zomby-esque wonky synth bobbles to strut with a neon r… Read more
Recommended release
*Vital 2010 reissue, stamped white label styles* One of the best techno 12"S ever - finally back in stock! Much like his cohorts Regis and Surgeon, Female has continued to pursue an uncompromising path through the most disturbed and outrageously tight Techno variants you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing. Pounding with a skittering skip that sounds like the imaginary conflagration created by Autechre had they decided to produce dubstep within a techno template - is there anyone really producing anything this heavy, sharp and innovative in the Techno community? Industrial technoid futurism that is quite simply in a league of its own. Massive.
Recommended release
From the Glasgow enclave of the Forward Strategy Group comes a new label dedicated to purist and purified techno minimalism. The first release on the label comes from Smear, who pares back the driving functionalism of previous releases to expose a pulsing mechanical core fuelled by ice-cold bleeps and subbass sculpted kicks. Fans of Sleeparchive and Mika Vainio, you've been warned! Newcomer Adrian Ross takes control on the flipside, slowing the track down to a sluggish dread throb with dense layers of drone followed by an Retail & Leisure take on dubstep with half-timed pace and stoically… Read more
Recommended release
Second single to be lifted from Pantha Du Prince's highly acclaimed 'Black Noise' album, featuring remixes from Efdemin, Four Tet, and Lawrence. Famously, 'Stick To My Side' features an invaluable contribution from Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear who lends his hypnotic Beach Boy charms to a lush pulse of supremely hi-end tech-house music. Efdemin folds the track inwards, concentrating on spherical bell tones and supple deep house rhythms, reserving Noah's distinct chants until the ripest moment. Four Tet meanwhile finds himself revolving in a a phasing channel of flanging NYC-style hi-hats and… Read more
Single of the Week
Whetting the appetite for the forthcoming 'Triangulation' album, Scuba gives two varied rhythmic vantage points on Funk and neo D'n'B from his Berin/UK perspective. Both tracks display the huge advancements in his sound from the 'Mutual Antipathy' era, taking on Funky-synced traits in the percussion of 'You Got Me' while adding a melancholy build of glossy synthlines, while 'So You Think You're Special' comes from the emotionally charged halfstep angle of the Autonomic crew with interesting percussion and a sci-fi female housed at it's melodic core. Strictly limited copies, DON'T sleep!
Recommended release
'Steptoe' on the A-side of this platter is simply one of the best tracks we've ever heard from Calibre. He joins the ranks of Amit, Instra:mental and more recently Nether with a locked-on halfstepper finding the groove between rigid programming and sumptuous bass weight. For the junglists - MASSIVE TWELVE.
Recommended release
Lush new Gatefold edition from the Italian AMS imprint! Goblin's fourth album, completed and released in 1978, is widely considered to be their finest moment on wax. 'Il Fantastico Viaggio Del "Baggarozo" Mark' is certainly their most ebulliant, featuring a cavalcade of epic synth arrangements from Claudio Simonetti in proggy-rock and psyched-out Euro disco styles all marked with Massimo Morante's urgent Italian vocals. "Baggozzo" is a concept cycle of songs revolving around the theme of a bug named Mark who lives in a technicolour land, meeting other creatures and having mad adventures a… Read more
Recommended release
An incredible new edition of this classic album from mighty Electronic-Prog pioneers Goblin, 'Roller' was released in 1975, in between the better known 'Profondo Rosso' and 'Suspiria' LPs. It's one of the few inclusions in their catalogue not intended for use as the soundtrack to an Argento film. Instead, it features the group in freestyle mode with complex percussive arrangements and a typically great use of synths, probably best heard on the self-titled 11-minute epic 'Goblin'. This reissue comes housed in glossy full-colour gatefold sleeve with original artwork and heavyweight vinyl pressing - unmissable.
Recommended release
Eglo records assemble a stellar set of deep-leaning gangster funk for Fatima's debut solo single featuring beats from Dam-Funk, Funkineven and Veebeeo. The 'Mindtravelin' EP follows her appearance on Funkineven's 'Kleer' with a choice set of future vintage modern soul. On the A-side Dam-Funk works Fatima's harmonised tingles into an ace electro-funk jam for 'Warm Eyes' but our interest has been diverted by the two shockers from Funkineven on the flip. His fluid, kinetic and ultimately cooool-as-f*ck synthlines provide thrilling surfaces to reflect Fatima's bold vocals, complementing her w… Read more
Recommended release
Koss has personified the essence of lush electronica with his previous releases for the Mule Electronic label and this album is a real treat for the ears, breezily drifting from cotton-coated beatless scapes sewn with field recordings on 'Dream' to slo-house driven modern classicism with 'Ocean waves' and the crystalline dubscapes of 'Jumoku'. Also guaranteed highlights come from the Berlin styled ambience of 'N.O.W' with its curling Vangelis-style synth pads and shore lapping rhythms while the majestic 'Odyssey' should be enough to send anyone deep under in the lovliest sense possible. Fans of Rod Modell should not hesitate investing in this album.
Recommended release
Yes blud. Skepta's club anthem 'Badboy' lands on a 1-track CD issue featuring all the pop-grime hooks a gangsta could wish for...
Recommended release
Breakage teases the dubstep and D'n'B posse ahead of his sophomore LP 'Foundation' with a limited 4-track 2x12" for Digital Soundboy! 'Open Up' inaugurates the session with a tightly wound steppers killer, using the barest of ingredients - dub chords, rolling dread bass, evil sirens and Mala-esque rhythm programming - to build a superb dramatic tension. Meanwhile 'Old Skool Ting' and 'Foundation' shows the past and present of Breakage's junglist oeuvre with two stylish rinse-offs and 'Over' slips into garage mode with a darker 2-step flex embellished with deeply soulful vocals and beautif… Read more
Recommended release
Friendly Fires and DFA band Holy Ghost indulge in a spot of mutual appreciation and cover each other's songs for this new release. The former do a superb job with 'Hold On', really making it their own via the band's by-now finely honed brand of indie-funk. Shuffling disco drums and rubbery Bootsy Collins-inspired basslines dictate the pace, while some well placed dub-style edits, effects laden guitar and (you guessed it) cowbell all help the mix blossom. Holy Ghost's take on FF's 'On Board' goes for a more laidback electronic feel than the original, calling upon the assistance of the "… Read more
Southside Dubstars round up their crew for a double disc 'Greatest Hits' compilation. In comparison to say, Deep Medi, who've been running for approxiamtely the same length of time and just released their first comp, we can come to the conclusion that Southside Dubstars have always picked the grimiest, rudest and blatantly raving joints for release. Their roster includes everyone from Wiley to Hatcha to Skream and Benga, who all contribute their underground classics for the first time on CD. Skream appears under his Mr Keys alias with a rude 8-bar cut on 'SS Exclusive Trk 1', plus there's Kromestar's anthemic 'Scott' under his … Read more
Recommended release
This format features not only the sixteen-track live album but also the brilliant Emmett Malloy-directed tour documentary DVD. In addition to proper concert performances the documentary features great behind the scenes footage, plus excepts from some of the stranger, side-shows the band played (e.g. on a boat, in a bowling alley - that sort of thing) during their 2007 trek across Canada. The film is a pretty indispensible document for even the most casual of White Stripes fans, and the between-concert material alone makes the film pretty darn essential. On the audio disc you can hear t… Read more
Recommended release
*REPRESSED ON TRANSLUCENT RED VINYL WITH NEW ARTWORK* Initially released in January 1982, Flex Your Head was the very first full-length release from Dischord Records. The LP packs 32 songs by 11 of Washington DC's greatest ever punk and hardcore bands. Expect material from Minor Threat, Teen Idles, State Of Alert, Red C and Iron Cross among others. This album has been reissued several times over, rightfully kept in print as a significant historical document. Each version seems to have been presented in a slightly different fashion however: "Different pressings of this sampler have fe… Read more
Previously heard on DFA, Mock & Toof setup shop at their own Tiny Sticks label for their new batch of material. 'Farewell To Wendo' precedes the duo's debut album Tuning Echoes, and finds them toying with more experimental song-like formats - it isn't so obviously a futuristic disco cut as we've previously heard, but more a flamboyant avant-pop concoction that happens to be something you can dance to. B-side 'Day Ken Died' keeps the hooks coming, while two remixes round off the package: one from Brontosaurus Maximus and another from Rush Hour's KiNK & Neville Watson who introduce an acid house slant to the A-side original.
Limited to a run of just 250 copies, this 12" single by Norwegian pop queen Annie comes packed with remixes: there are vocal and instrumental versions of an Emperor Machine remix, calling upon squelchy funk basslines and disco grooves, while Justin Robertson goes a little deeper, serving up a high energy, full-blooded house cut. Perhaps more surprising still is the fun dubstep overhaul supplied by Sunkh Knight, but for all this fine work, it's surely the straight-down-the-middle pop of the original that remains the quintessential contribution to the 12". 'My Love Is Better' was produced with notorious chart monopolisers Xenom… Read more
