Recommended: Schoolboy Q – “Habits & Contradictions”
Schoolboy Q’s sophomore outing, “Habits & Contradictions” (#HnC) is a giant leap in progress over his debut in just about every way. It’s a tightly paced, freshly produced new west banger that never lets up even in the interlude. We gave you a few reasons last year for why you should already be listening to Q but this album is an even better place to start.
“Sacreligious” opens the album unconventionally with a sad, depressed gangsta rap track. The soundtrack to a drowning is one of the few ways to accurately describe what the beat sounds like. That soundscape backing up lines like “betrayed by a lot of homies, all my friends stay on shuffle.” The album is full of unexpected gems and sounds like this. The album manages to find some niche where it manages to give you an exciting sound while still sounding so familiar, and Q sounds at home in every groove. While there are quite a few slightly more positive tracks on the album, such as the fucked up anthem “Hands On The Wheel” featuring every blogs current favorite rapper A$AP Rocky, Q shines on the more sinister toned songs. The simple but effective flip of Portishead on “Raymond 1969” perfectly comments the hard, don’t give a fuck gangster lyrical concept used for the track. “Fucking making a killing but I ain’t dying up in prison/ Fully loaded clip, my brain up to the ceiling.” Another dark highlight is “Nightmare On Figg St.” Produced by A$AP’s own ASAP Ty, Q finds right off the start and never loses it. It is the very definition of a sinister sound. to the point of almost nasuea.
The year just started and still there’s no question that this album will be one of twenty-twelve’s strongest. Ridiculous ad-libs, catchy hooks (“Weed and brews, life for me is just weed and brews”), and an absolutely killer beat selection are just a few reasons why Schoolboy Q is one of the more exciting rappers in his generation. ”Habits & Contradictions” doesn’t ask to be in your heavy rotation playlist, it demands it.
Schoolboy Q’s “Habits & Contradictions” is available now on Itunes.
04. February 2012 by Donny Marks
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Review: Sines – Money Girl EP
Houston based producer Sines embodies exactly the type of American hip hop that is universally loved. Hood vocal samples, coked out hi hats, and sparse 808s all doused in stripped horns and leads makes up Sines’ arsenal and on his latest EP “Money Girl” he fires all five off almost perfectly. The entire EP, which was released on his own Freshmore label, is just over 12 minutes; there are no five-minute intros here, this music is made for the dance floor and aggressive mixing.
In the right hands, the title track “Money Girl”, could have a crowd repeating the well known sample with fader cuts. Everything in it is precisely where it needs to be, the keys have you hooked almost instantly with horns that easily give the track an anthem-like feel. Instant visions of loads of people popping bottles left and right with an enormous man throwing money into crowded floor of club-goers are bound to bubble up. Listening to “Mind Riddim” its obviously begging for an MC, preferably someone like Rick Ross or Juicy J. Eerie pads creep into the track, the type that has a person looking over their shoulder as he walks home. Sines once again brings it home with the stadium horns making this twist on trap rap one of the highlights of the EP. “Get Dun Up” builds on the formula Sines has applied throughout the whole EP, polished hip hop beats that are aggressive enough for even the toughest ones to want to stay on the floor and at the same time catchy enough to get the rest moving. Sampling this Midwest hip hop record he creates a vibe that is either preparing people to fight or for a dance off. The EP’s final track “G’s Up” slightly touches the Bass music scene with his use sub bass and glitch synths common in a lot of experimental beat driven music. Once again the big room horns that push the song along enter the equation.
Mind Riddim-OUT NOW ON FRESHMORE by Sines
This is clearly a hip hop record begging for some MCs, but still capable of standing on its on feet in a club environment. It’s by no means a flawless record, as some elements feel over used, but overall the tracks stay fresh and ready to get people hype for the club or keep the energy up inside. As said in the intro of “Get Dun Up” “I’ve been in this mother f***** since day one and I ain’t trying to get out” so expect Sines to be around for a while serving us up his own brand of hip hop for the foreseeable future.
03. February 2012 by Jonathon Alcindor
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Five Mixes Are Better Than One Pt. VIII
Soundtrack to last summer, it’s about time we brushed the dust off this one and had another listen in order to pull us out of our dead-of-winter blues. Featuring tracks from fellow LuckyMe crewmates like Hudson Mohawke, Lunice, and Machinedrum, as well as a smattering of feel-good bits like Pretty Girl Swag and Juke Ya Girl – this is one to blast with the windows rolled down, if you’re blessed enough not to be trapped in a parka right now. If you aren’t then that’s alright too, this mix practically radiates Vitamin D out of your speakers. The mix itself serves as a reflection of why we love Éclair Fifi and respect her so much as a DJ – it jumps between Rustie and Jeremih, Dorian Concept and Beyonce, Devo and Boddika, and has the most fun while doing so (find the tracklisting here).
Stream: URB: Eclair Fifi Exclusive Mix
When a musician is from East London you never hear the end of it, but no-one ever seems to keen to represent West. Produce Brey isn’t afraid to step up though. Everyone panicking in a Notting Hill townhouse can breathe a sigh of relief, Brey hasn’t let you down. We’re pretty familiar with Brey’s dexterity here at Truants, but this latest mixtape for Red Bull Music Academy showcases his skill in keeping it eclectic without losing hold of a determined vibe, which for the sake of brevity we’ll simply call ‘deep’. This mix features an Aaliyah song you haven’t heard five million times yet, ‘BTSTU’ (which you have heard five million times but still love, admit it), a track from “freak folk” sample addict tUnE-yArDs as well as a disco tune from a 1980s Bollywood star. Plus there’s a whole bunch of unreleased Brey material, including a song called – wait for it – “Hannah Montagne de la Cocaine”. Why not, Brey. Why the hell not.
Brey’s Die Wunderful Red Bull Mixtape (Die Schmutzigen Kollektion) by Brey
Who Paddy exactly is, we couldn’t tell you. We simply don’t know much about the man – his real name is Patrick O’Neill, he works for Honest Jons and the sub-label of Mute Records Liberation Technologies. He’s a DJ from London who has his own show on NTS Live, and respectively plays records for two hours on the station twice a month on Fridays, from 4PM to 6PM. Paddy plays a terrific selection of old and new house and techno records on his show: most of his selection is completely new to our ears every time, making all of his shows a thoroughly enjoyable listen from start to end. Up for stream below is a recording from half a year ago with Joy O guesting on his show, kindly re-hosted by Dummy Magazine: there is a little bit of Smalville, some Deetron, Steve Bug and a lot more electronic graciousness in there. If we could embed any of his solo shows we would, but technology doesn’t allow it. For the love of impeccable selection, listen to some of his older shows here and if you want to catch his show live, you can find the full NTS schedule here.
Joy Orbison NTS radio mix by DummyMag
Kuhn is young Bennett from Brooklyn, NYC, Astro Nautico boss man and recently signed to Civil Music. You should know his Slime Beach 12″. Celebrating a handful of live gigs in the UK the folks at Red Bull invited Kuhn to answer a few questions and asked a mixtape. Kuhn provides 60 minutes of überkitchy R&B, Juke and Ghetto Tech, Hip Hop, and a remarkable amount of Brit Rap a.k.a. Grime. Not the most subtle collection of tunes you might be able to imagine but his tape is great fun and goes along very well with the production aesthetics of Astro Nautico, Kuhn, and Bass Music Zeitgeist in general.
Link: Introducing Mix #3: Kuhn
Two things that are really cool right now: 90s club music and Scandinavians. That hunger you feel to combine these two things has finally been satisfied by Swedish electro shoegaze duo Koralleven, who open their mix for Oki-Ni with some ethereal ghostliness from Ayshay and then follow it up with Baby D’s “Let Me Be Your Fantasy”. What do you expect from people that named one of their albums ‘An Album by Koralleven’ – these guys are just too crazy! But seriously, this mix is a really fun trip that goes from classic Belgian techno to a Mahayana Buddhist sutra like it’s not even a thing. Now that’s cool.
Link: oki-ni: ONANDONANDON by Korallreven
Words by: Cayley MacArthur, Immy Soraya, Sven Swift and Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura.
Five Mixes Are Better Than One archive.
02. February 2012 by Crew
Categories: Downloads, Mixtapes |
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Truancy Volume 38: Bondax
What were you doing in your last year of school? Nerding out in the library or setting fire to the common room? Either way we’ll hazard a guess that the majority of you weren’t getting signed to record labels and producing smooth jams. Lancaster duo Bondax, however, are doing just that. They’re all over the internet with their remixes and despite the fact that they only started producing about five minutes ago they’ve already been featured on lineups with the likes of Joker. Not bad for two guys that are only just wrapping up sixth form. After getting hooked on the beautifully sweet ‘All I Want’ we decided to catch up with the lads behind the loops, Adam Kaye and George Townsend.
All I Want by Bondax
So you guys are pretty new to the game and most of the blog posts I’ve seen about you focus on how young you are. What else is fresh about Bondax? Adam: ”I wouldn’t say it’s fresh, but it is a bit weird that we’re from the countryside!” George: ”There isn’t anything like us from our area. We’re the only the people doing what we’re doing where we’re from apart from one out our mates. We’re a product of the internet really. The music that influences us doesn’t come from our local area. It’s weird because ten years ago this would never have happened. Although people complain about the way music gets stolen online, it’s so much easier to hear things that influence us. We’re different kinds of people as well, I’m really into sport and fell into music, whereas Adam comes from a musical background. I’m the electronic side and Adam is more of a composer. Every time I see anything about us online I see the words ‘future garage’ or ‘post-dubstep’ but really we never had any intention of making those things. We just fell into that kind of sound. But we’re young, we’re still working out what we wanna make. Our music is just all about happiness at the moment really!”
Do you have a pre-concieved mood or setting that you aim for your music to be played in? G: ”Yeah, with ‘Just Smile for Me’, I remember making that and thinking that it’d sound cool on a big system, but with a lot of the other tracks we’ve moved away from making club-ready music. For our original stuff it’s mostly just dreamy ideas and it just happens that we use an electronic structure.”
So how do you see yourself fitting into the UK electronic scene at the moment, if at all? A: ”It’s weird, because we were making stuff that sounded like French house at first! Actually the first track that we made sounded like garage.” G: ”Yeah we didn’t mean it to but it kind of ended up being garage. But we didn’t even really know what garage was! I can remember Craig David tracks seeming like really crappy tracks! But the sound we came up with was a kind of accident. We just put some stuff together and it just happened to be quite similar to what was going on. We’re quite influenced by Mount Kimbie as well. We don’t claim to be anything new at all. But we didn’t mean to be so completely immersed in one scene. You go on soundcloud now and there are hundred of tracks with Beyonce samples. But at the start we were thinking, who’s really sampling r’n’b?”
Last Japan – Settle Down (Bondax Remix) by Bondax
What track do you wish you’d written, sample-based or otherwise? “G: Jai Paul, “BTSTU”…I just think that track’s really clever. Its so soft but the lyrics cut quite deep, and the way it progresses, drops and builds…I think it’s just a quality track. Anything by Radiohead as well.” A: ”If I made any song that sounded like D’Angelo or Erykah Badu I’d be pretty pleased with myself! Or LCD Soundsystem. I tried to raise money to see that last LCD show in New York! Then I realised how much the flights were…” G: ”One of my favourite people at the moment is Toro Y Moi…which is just really hipster music. Isn’t that original but it’s just really good catchy music. We’re just massively into loads of music, really. Especially Adam. I was just in a house mindset before I met Adam.” A: ”And George introduced me to loads of electronic stuff. We used to just sit and talk about how good Mstrkrft were, and Simian Mobile Disco.” G: “It’s funny, what people regard as some of the worst electronic music was what actually got us into electronic music.”
You were talking about rock and indie influences, but who do you really rate in terms of electronic music? G: ”MJ Cole, and quite a lot of the garage producers.” A: ”There are lots of producers I respect for lots of different reasons. Julio Bashmore is an obvious one but he’s amazing.”
What’s going on now in terms of releases? G: ”Our first release came out on Four 40 who have been really great to us. But we are in talks with some other labels at the moment, and the EP will be coming out really soon. And we’d love to do some fully vocal tracks this year. We’d like to do some more songs with a chorus-and-verse structure rather than a build-and-drop, if you see what I mean. But those are just ideas at the moment.”
Just Smile For Me Ft Bobbie Gordon by Bondax
And finally who’s your dream vocalist? A: ”Alicia Keys. Or John Legend!” G: ”Although saying that I’d probably be too intimidated to work with him! But I can’t think of anyone better than that. Or maybe Diana Ross! She’s a big influence on us.”
VOLUME 38: BONDAX
Intro (Days To Come) – Bonobo [Ninja Tune]
Expect the Bondax EP “Reverie” in the very near future. In the meantime, they’ll be playing Corsica on February 9th.
02. February 2012 by Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura
Categories: Interviews, Mixtapes, Various |
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Stream: The 2 Bears – Increase Your Faith (Daniel Avery Remix)
Daniel Avery, until now better known as Stopmakingme, has thus far been responsible for some barn-storming tracks and remixes, some exciting collaborations with Justin Robertson’s Deadstock 33s project, and more DJ sets than we can care to number. Right now he’s impressing with his ability to take things out of the club. As well as his relentless remix of Jokers of The Scene’s “Black Mountie”, he recently caught our attention with a limited-release cassette-only mix called “Divided Love”, which covered in two sides the acid-inflected house he’s so good at sharing with us, as well as the darker, more melancholy hues of his personality. This remix of “Increase Your Faith” by The 2 Bears would fit right in on that tape’s second side.
Built around a descending four-note phrase taken from the mid-way point of the Bears’ original track – itself a shuffling, dancefloor-oriented affair – Avery’s take is eight minutes of unsettling ambience, gentle disquiet. Over these eight bars he layers disembodied vocal wailing, restrained distortion and the ever-growing droning hum that constitutes the track’s bassline. Shimmering flecks of melody offer glimpses of sunshine, but it all drifts away into that simple bell phrase, itself fading to nothingness. It’s a world away from the club-friendly yet no less excellent work he’s been churning out over the last two years, and it’s an exciting direction for us to watch him take. Right now it’s only available on the bonus edition of The 2 Bears’ “Be Strong” album, which is out now on DFA. Reason enough to nab a copy, right?
The 2 Bears – Increase Your Faith (Daniel Avery Remix) by Daniel Avery/Stopmakingme
31. January 2012 by Aidan Hanratty
Categories: Various |
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Recommended: Ssaliva – RZA
Ssaliva is another moniker of Francois Boulanger, the Belgian gentleman formerly known as Kingfisherg and more recently, Cupp Cave. Boulanger released his 10″ debut ‘RZA’ on Bruxelles-based Vlek Records after a cassette tape on Leaving Records in February 2011. The label issued his Cupp Cave debut ‘Dice Pool’ not much earlier last year and although the tone on ‘RZA’ and ‘Dice Pool’ is not completely different, it makes sense to have both records released under different monikers.
Francois Boulanger is easily recognized for his warm and erratic sound. Tape hiss and VHS-style glitches soak 80s R&B samples, ambient textures and wayward beats. Hints of mistuned Tropicalia and Krautrock can be detected in his music. The overall feel is sultry and vague, like this very VHS tape of Blue Lagoon you played just too often. With Cupp Cave, however, the House elements clearly dominate. In contract, Ssaliva is more into sound experimentation and grounded in instrumental Hip Hop beat-wise. No wonder Boulanger was picked up by Leaving Records and featured on Dublab frequently.
‘RZA’ brings the formula in beautiful shape. ‘Black Soul’ is seasick R&B, ‘SPA82′ marries upbeat 808 programming with detuned synthesizers and billowing bass dubs. ‘Tridimensional’ sounds like a 1980s version of Cluster (listen below), much in line with ‘Savaan’ which also draws influence from German minimal electro. ‘B Adventures’, ‘Night Landing’, and most of all ‘Hobo4030′ come with a decent electro boogie/ old school Hip Hop flavour that combines beautifully with the warped melody.
‘RZA’ by Ssalvia is out on golden 10″ vinyl in screen printed sleeves. Still above taken from From Bruxelles to Vilnius on Vimeo.
31. January 2012 by Sven
Categories: Releases |
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Introducing: 214 / J. Alvarez
Originally from Florida, Chris Roman is better known as 214 and has settled down in Seattle, Washington where he spends his free time constructing dark yet funky old school electro. He’s been making music for over a decade now, but in the last year he’s released EPs on labels such as Habour City Sorrow, Car Crash Set, and Outside Recordings each one delivering pounding 808 driven beats. These releases led to him being invited to perform at both Bloc 2011 and Seattle’s very own Decibel Festival last year. His hard work has not gone unnoticed with his sound firmly grounded in the past but eyes towards the future, he’s received recognition across the genre spectrum; his tracks have been played by the likes of Bok Bok, Peter Van Hosen, Boddika and Skudge. This year is looking to be his biggest yet with labels prepping releases from both his 214 and new J. Alvarez monikers. Given the momentum behind him we’ve asked him to take a moment to shed some light on his latest projects. If you need some material to get familiar with, his Soundcloud is a good indication of his production capabilities as there are well over ten tracks to be found there and quite a few mixes that include some real gems.
Hi Chris! How’s it going and what have you been working on over the last few months? “The last few months have been busy with production. I manage a day job and music so I’ve always been tight with time. I’ve been veering more towards the house spectrum over the last twelve months. I’ve been strictly producing Electro for a long time and have been feeling bored with my own productions and began experimenting with different styles. “
You’re obviously influenced by early Electro; what are some artists you grew up listening to that left a mark on you? “Kraftwerk, World Class Wrecking Crew, Mantronix, Hashim, Cybotron, Jonzun Crew, YMO, Two Lone Swordsmen, Drexicya, Elecktroids, Simulant, the list could go on really. “
You’ve worked a lot with Car Crash Set, a label who’s output over the last year or so has really helped define and bring new talent to the “scene” in North America. How did your relationship with them come about, considering how different your sound is from what they generally push? “If I recall, I met Will (Ill Cosby) via a music mailing list local to the Northwest, mainly Seattle and Portland. I moved out here from Florida without really knowing anyone so I wanted to get my music out to the local scene. He replied to one of my mixes and we realized we had a lot of common, both into similar music and growing up on the East Coast. I’ve sent him my tunes ever since.”
Seattle seems to have a very close knit musical community, any collaborations in future? “I don’t collaborate much, but I’m currently working on tracks with another Car Crash Set artist QP. And I’ve got another collab in the works with someone from Berlin, but until it comes to fruition I’d like to keep it unknown.”
Now let’s move onto a new project of yours. Tell us a little about you’re new moniker, what are your goals for this alias and what void is it filling that couldn’t be addressed with 214? “I mentioned earlier I’ve been venturing into the house spectrum over the last couple of months. I think it’s natural that when you stick to anything too long and it starts to become stale, creativity flourishes in other areas. I started dabbling in slower tempos, 4/4 patterns, and UK influenced sounds. Things came naturally and I was having fun with music again. I built enough tracks I was confident with and started sending out demos. Hypercolour was the first label to follow up with me and wanted to sign an EP. I knew of Hypercolour from their Maya Jane Coles EP and was really excited to be working with them as I knew they were going to be a label to watch in the coming months. Initially I was just going to use my 214 moniker, but I decided to create a new alias to separate the 2 styles of sound since they’re so far apart and most people just know me for Electro. So J.Alvarez was born. “
You’re slated to work with several established labels in 2012, can you give us any details? “This is the year I’m most excited for releases. I’ll be releasing 214 and debuting J.Alvarez 12”s. I’m unsure of the schedule yet, but I have an upcoming EP for Fortified Audio as 214, an EP for Frustrated Funk as 214, an EP for Hypercolour as J.Alvarez, and another EP for a well known label out of NY that I won’t mention for now because I’m working on one more track for that one. “
And now a few rapid-fire questions… Any upcoming gigs we can catch you at? “At the moment, I’ve only got local gigs over the next few weeks. Hoping I can tour once these EPs are officially out. “
What artist do you have your eyes on in 2012? “Maceo Plex and Boddika.”
What track makes it’s way into your dj sets the most and why? “Simulant – Wav Form. This is one of the best electro tracks ever written. Pure robotic funk.”
What’s the biggest tune in your bag at the moment? “Adonis – No Way Back. An absolute classic from Trax. Although this will probably change with each gig.”
In case you missed it, here’s a download for a freebie from 214.
214_Epoch J2000 (free download, acid jam) by 214_electro
29. January 2012 by Jonathon Alcindor
Categories: Interviews |
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