Somehow you better realize when the music you're dancing to comes from people that have been exploited, the best tribute you can have is setting yourself loose in unity with the exploited.Theo Parrish
Unsound 2019 – Complicity and Accountability: Our Agency in Counterculture
Below is the streamlined transcript and audio recording for a panel I moderated at Unsound 2019 in Kraków last October, programmed with the festival’s theme of ‘Solidarity’ in mind. Since then, COVID-19 has revealed the fragilities not only of global underground music ecosystems, but of the globalised, capital-driven world as a whole. Within music, artists, […]
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Interview: Okkyung Lee
Okkyung Lee has spent over two decades playing experimental music around the world. Though known for her dissonant, wiry cello-playing and her invigorating use of extended techniques, she has never settled. On her 2005 LP Nihm, harsh noise exercises share space with rhythmic jazz workouts and melodic laments. More recently, her explorations have led to […]
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Recommended: Astral Black – Frass FM 5
Astral Black returned earlier this year with the fifth instalment of their Frass FM compilation series. Curated by Jon Phonics, the label has built up a good reputation for quality releases over the years. With tracks from Impey, Lil Jabba and Polonis in previous Frass FM records, this fifth edition seeks to provide a snapshot […]
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Truancy Volume 264: Turtle Bugg
New Jersey, New York and Detroit. Three of the key cities in the development of house music in the United States. Turtle Bugg was born in Jersey, lived in New York for a long time and now resides in Detroit. It’s fair to say these locales influenced his approach as a DJ, as well as […]
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Recommended: FUJI||||||||||TA – iki
The debut album from FUJI||||||||||TA (AKA Fujita Yosuke) has its own history, spanning some 11 years. iki comprises four pieces, each improvised on a pipe organ the sound artist finished building for himself back in 2009. The instrument has been a mainstay of his performances ever since, appearing at small improv shows and in immersive […]
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Truancy Volume 263: Identified Patient
Having formed a trademark sound that flirted between electro, EBM, acid, wave sounds, post punk and industrial, Identified Patient’s penchant for club and genre experimentation always left the door open for a producer wanting to keep things fresh and interesting with every release going forward. His debut EP, The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, landed via Common […]
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Interview: Clemency
With a background originating among Sheffield’s DIY/independent punk scene and now existing as an explosive part of Manchester’s DJing circuit, Clemency was always destined to thrive in liminal spaces. The producer and DJ has spent the past few years gaining a reputation for dropping the dark and dubby right in with frazzled techno, tense-yet-cathartic hardcore […]
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Truancy Volume 262: Gabber Modus Operandi
As Gabber Modus Operandi, vocalist Ican Harem and DJ Kasimyn have spent the past couple of years raising hell across their native Bali and beyond. The duo connected over their shared love of disparate musics, including metal, grindcore and noise from the local punk scene, regional sounds like dangdut, koplo and gamelan plus footwork, happy […]
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Truancy Volume 261: Thomas Martojo
You will, of course, be familiar with the work of Thomas Martojo. The internationally recognised dance music brand, Dekmantel, for which he is partly responsible, continues to be a signature moment within a claustrophobic festival landscape. On the other hand, the Dekmantel label consistently serves as a reliable litmus test of who you should be aware of […]
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Truancy Volume 260: SHYBOI
Everything SHYBOI seemingly touches is delivered intuitively and with intent. Her sets may not be planned, but they feed off the crowd’s energy in a sort of unspoken symbiotic exchange. She may also casually mention a documentary she’s worked on, without letting the audience in on the fact it’s been several years in the making […]
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Interview: Minor Science
Minor Science is an alias of Angus Finlayson, initially known as a music writer for sites such as Resident Advisor before surprising many with the release of his debut 12″ as Minor Science on Will Bankhead’s The Trilogy Tapes in 2014. An impressive, intriguing five-tracker, it showed a willingness to explore unexpected terrain in the […]
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