I am posting this tonnage of music in anticipation of my other load of music.
The Deeep - Life LightOnce you get past Tri Angle and Salem, Witch House stops looking so bad. I've come around to Hype Williams, and next in line is the unfortunately named (aren't they all?) The Deeep, who are definitely aiming to tap into that Chris & Cosey synthwave sound, all chilly lady vox and humming synths and, yes, a "hard" hip hop beat on standout "Mudd". They don't do a bad job of it!
The Deeep very recently charmed us with their muggy avant-disco for 100% Silk, but 'Life Light', released on cassette in 2010, is a much darker, tormented affair. The mugginess is still firmly apparent but the disco is all but gone, save some blunted beats on 'Slow Coaster' and 'Mudd', but you'd hardly dance to them. The real mood of these six tracks is subterranean and slightly occult, thanks largely to the hypnotic catharsis and sub-Carpenter-esque synth drones, especially on the amazing two part 'Ballad Of The Abyssal Plain' and the much stranger 'Dream'. Really pushing the right buttons here. Another great, hugely rewarding album from Not Not Fun.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zeejmgx7djabskq
Ill Blu - Meltdown EPFunky / Grime hybrids, focus on the Funky. For fans of Breach, Doc Daneeka, et al. The lead track could fit easily into another Trainspotting soundtrack. The computer-vox selector shout-outs are grating, but the music is prime dancefloor stuff.
The UKs most feted yet elusive Funky/House production duo drop the one we've been waiting for. Three tracks round and ten ton heavy, the 'Meltdown' EP is a rare instance of Ill Blu leasing material to ears outside their tight knit network of producers - to date they've only dropped one twelve on Hyperdub, the sophisticated ruffige of 'Bellion/Dragon Pop', and are best known for major label remixes of geordie gynoid, Cheryl Cole and Hot Chip, plus an underground banger for Shystie. Between the advanced tribal ruckus of 'Meltdown', the heat-seeking synth and siren blast of 'Overdose' or the sweet 'n sour flex of 'Chelt' this is one of the hottest plates on the table right now. Pure badness!
http://www.mediafire.com/?lhn2c4wewylvo2r
Photomachine - Technicolour EPAnybody who can get Throwing Snow and Raffertie to pull remix duties has to be pretty great, and this doesn't disappoint. Excellent rave-flecked techno, not unlike Headhunter's recent stuff. I was surprised that the originals were as good as the remixes, given that I've never heard of Photomachine before. Throwing Snow's treatment is akin to Burial's poppier moments.
Brixton's PhOtOmachine have yielded a tidy crop of remixes for the likes of Mercury-cursed Speech Debelle (alongside El-B) and Unicorn Kid in the last few years. Their debut solo lands on the fledgling Super imprint, backed with remixes by Throwing Snow, Optimum and Raffertie. 'Technicolour' scrapes a kinky swing from micro-house style percussion and neat Garage bassline, while 'Sine Language' accentuates a deadly 2-step groove with dynamic synth patterning and a lovely synthetic accordion flourish. On a remix tip, Throwing Snow gives the vocals an androgynous Fever Ray treatment, twysting the rhythm between broken House and tip-toeing Juke, while Optimum goes on a driving deeper Tech-House mission and Raffertie scrambles the beat for a febrile garage scuttle.
http://www.mediafire.com/?6g90rn60y5f658a
Unicity - Distance EPReally lovely synth soundscapes, like
Geogaddi's more minimalist songs or Ash Ra Tempel's guitar-free stuff. Meticulously arranged, as well - these aren't tossed off or formless. Tracks are of easily digestible length, too. Awesome study music.
A charming suite of six ambient miniatures from Unicity, making a debut appearance on the Analog Quadrant. We could reference a ton of ambient practitioners but these are just pure and simple beatless synthesizer vignettes that express something that just can't be spoken. Quite lovely.
http://www.mediafire.com/?d6va2qn1799aawe
Miles Sagnia - Transmission EPSleek, beautiful melody-oriented modern House - the shimmering synth line that sort of serves as a "chorus" to the first track is getting constantly stuck in my head.
Autonomic's fifth release is a debut from two producers called They Live. 'Pure Palms' is among the most esoteric cuts in the label's short history, a cinematic side of mid-skool, Autechre-esque synth signatures, rippling percussive pulses and velveteen bass drones with a deeply evocative accentuation. 'Don't Know What To Say' nods to Modeselektor's school of percussive IDM dexterity, all sheer digital textures, scurrying micro rhythms and an awe-inspiring sense of space and wonderment benefitting from advanced spatialisation techniques. Comes housed in die-cut Autonomic jacket with color inner.
http://www.mediafire.com/?7zn1j7jy17542yz
Chaim - AliveLatest LP-length release from the masters of all things Tech House at Bpitch Control. Pretty diverse stuff!
After a string of warmly received singles for the label since 2008, Chaim drops his debut album of Discoid-Tech-House on BPitch. Fans of skillfully crafted, pop-tinted and soulful House music will be in their element here, especially with the glorious single track 'U & Eye' featuring vox from Meital De Razon, and the deeper counterpoint of 'Wish' featuring Berlin's vocalist-about-town, Snax. The rest of the album is dedicated to stone solid dancefloor tracks, cuts like the uplifting old-skool meets new vibes of 'Runaway Frequencies', the piano-heavy chug of 'Naturalness' and the lush synth-driven tech-disco flourish of 'Popsky'.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zderv88arsw31hb
Duffstep - Getting to SiriusAfter a surging Ravehaus EP for Saigon Recordings, Duffstep drops a full length of less Rave-y, more House-y tunes. They sound pretty different from everything else he's done. The Duff Disco remixes I posted awhile back are edits of songs from this album.
Up until now the name 'Duffstep' has been hidden in the seedy underground of inner-city London, from which Jeremy Duffy has spent years plotting a possible escape route, with those in the know watching his career unfold steadily in the meantime. His record label 'Join The Dots' was born along with his other moniker, the funk-producing Duff Disco. Club nights and festival appearances followed, which have seen the former High Barnet native share a stage with the likes of Flying Lotus, Commix and Kode 9, and with his own European Tour imminent, 2011 is looking like the year in which he may just escape.
Debut album 'Getting To Sirius' sets a marker for where the man wants to get to. Ancient Greeks believed that Sirius' appearance as the brightest star in the night sky marked the start of summer whereby all women became aroused. If Duffy's chat is as impressive as his production then don't introduce him to your missus any time soon.
The feel of the album is a down tempo future garage sound penned for the home rather than in a club. Coining the name 'Duffstep' was a smart move though whether it'll start a genre in its own right as Leftfield did in the 90's remains to be seen. Opener 'Free' sets the tone immediately with a broken beat sat underneath shimmering percussion and an echoed vocal stab. It's a head-nodder or foot-tapper depending on your preference and sets up the Laurent Garnier-supported 'My Kiss' nicely.
The production is faultless as the beat saunters forward like a drunk on his walk home from the pub. Purposeful yet in no hurry, the breakdown at the halfway point has a Balearic feel, before the beat is turned up once more. The album plays like a set with the driving baseline and hypnotic brass section of 'On & On' juxtaposing the funk-laden 'Love The Freak', before the warpy 'Backseat' bowls into view.
It is fair to say that with down tempo albums of this ilk, Crooks and Lovers for example, some tracks do not stand as tall when listened to in isolation, or on shuffle, and there are a couple on 'Sirius,' 'Tired' and 'Love' proving more filler than thriller.
Penultimate track 'The Way It's Got To Be' marries an incomprehensible druggy vocal with the cleanest sounding 4x4 beat on the album. It's all a tease to the live show as the soundscapes return and the beat goes back into hiding as quickly as it appeared.
'Happy days' is the pick of the bunch however, with it's Air-like melody and female vocal perfectly contrasting the 11 tracks before it. It is a perfect 7am festival tune, sun-drenched and smiling, thoughts switch to home before the most warped baseline on the album drops and you're left thinking where the fuck did that come from? Then, just as quickly as it smashes you on your arse, it disappears again, behind the thick layers of production, and the smile returns.
With 'Getting to Sirius,' Duffstep manages to create a personal sound constantly in flux, twisting and spinning around a central axis whilst managing to retain a pleasing unpredictability. If the album had been released when it was finished a year and a half ago then it would score higher as the sound would've been fresher still, as it is the bar has been set for the producer to better in years to come. The only limit for the Duffstep mission to Sirius is the sky.
http://www.mediafire.com/?62cqgy2ae7brca5
Laura Gibson & Ethan Rose - Bridge CarolsLovely, hypnotic drone-folk from Laura Gibson and Ethan Rose, like an engineered hybrid of Joanna Newsom and Grouper. The album's front-loaded with great songs but if you're not averse to more conventional folk the back half's pretty strong too. Had to commission a purchase from the_pied_piper due to the album's being locked off for USians on Boomkat, he might have some more things to say about it!
http://www.mediafire.com/?h4ilbab6cnx65qn