Happy new year everyone! 2013 was a special one for us here at Truants so we wanted to take some time to look back at some of the articles, interviews, people, and music that made it so memorable. We appreciate every person that has ever contributed to the site, read our words, listened to our sounds, and put up with our bad (great) jokes. We’ve highlighted five Truancy Volumes, four interviews and three other articles below that we thought might be nice to revisit and relive; don’t forget though, there’s a plethora of stuff you can find if you look through the site. You can find all our rap and hip-hop related posts here, an overview of all our Sunday’s Bests can be found here, and if you’re looking for some mixes the crew are feeling, this link might help you. 2013 was also the year of our fresh, new SoundCloud; all our Truancy Volumes, Function of the Nows, and exclusive giveaways are always uploaded to our account so get checking! We’re really looking forward to 2014, with loads of new features, and a group of new crew members, here’s looking at this year being even better than the last.

Truancy Volume 79: Shawn O’Sullivan. Shawn O’Sullivan is one of the more opinionated people in electronic music. On top of that, he has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of little known or recognized strains of music. During our conversation, he referenced his angst filled teenage years and the various types of music that accompanied it; that explains why his music tends to veer toward brooding, borderline thunderous, techno. From gabber to industrial, his taste for sonically destructive forms of music balances his cool composure. Under a variety of alias including Vapauteen, Civil Duty (in conjunction with Beau Wanzer), Further Reductions (with Katie Rose), and his band Led Er Est, he keeps himself more than busy. What’s next for him isn’t entirely clear, but he’s in no way slowing down, musically. His most recent work comes via Anthony Parasole’s fledging imprint, The Corner and New York Staple L.I.E.S. (under Vapauteen.) With numerous collaborations and a few records on the hush, we can expect to see his name (or variations of it) crop up more frequently. Below, is an excerpt from our chat. He’s also dusted off a few records and contributed the 79th installment in our Truancy Volume series. Read more: Truancy Volume 79: Shawn O’Sullivan

Truancy Volume 66: DJ Paypal. DJ Paypal is one of those internet gems that seems hell bent on nothing more than unleashing his rapturous brand of good times unto the world. Stylistically, the largely anonymous producer is smooth and glossy, yet supercharged with hyperactive footwork percussion and a kitschified energy that radiates from each of his tracks. This is real, lightning speed, party music, designed for the giddiest cases of Saturday night fever. And hopefully all this will become apparent when you press play on the excellent, hour-long mix he has put together for us, jam-packed full of exclusives from Clicks & Whistles, Daedelus, satanicpornocultshop and, of course, DJ Paypal himself. Read more: Truancy Volume 66: DJ Paypal 

Truancy Volume 77: Asusu. Releasing his records in an unhurried pace, Asusu released five records over the last three years. His first two, “Small Hours / Taurean” and “No Kya” (including an F remix), were given a home at Project Squared, and he later collaborated with the the Berlin based techno producer Furesshu on a record that came out on Immense Records. His last two releases (“Sister” and “Velez/Rendering“) found a home on the principled Livity Sound label, which Stennett co-runs with Kowton and Peverelist. Other than running the label, Asusu, Kowton and Peverelist frequently collaborate on music and started playing live shows together more recently. As a little taster of what to expect from his sets, Stennett jumped in the mix for our seventy-seventh Truancy Volume and dispatched about an hour of garage, jungle and other styles of music mixed together. Find out yourself and hit the play button below while reading our interview with Asusu, where he touches on topics like his love for sounds, Livity Sound’s upcoming projects and their live show and of the newest instalment of our Truancy Volume series itself. Read more: Truancy Volume 77: Asusu

Truancy Volume 84: The Range. When we heard from the guys over at Donky Pitch that their boy The Range was releasing an album on the label a couple of months ago, we jumped at the opportunity to speak to him and were delighted at the chance to have him feature as our eighty-fourth Truancy Volume. James Hinton, the man behind The Range, has been causing quite a stir recently, especially with the much anticipated Nonfiction LP dropping in October. Albums like Nonfiction don’t come around very often; by which we mean, the ones that hit you in a way you never expected at 4pm on a grim afternoon in Yorkshire, or blindside you on the bus as the all too hurried world passes you by. Because that’s what James does, he stops time. Not in your conventional ‘Bernard’s Watch‘ kind of way, but in a way that makes you more aware of your surroundings, that makes you consider them in ways you might not have before. It’s so meticulous, so perfectly rendered that it’s obvious to even the most unattuned ear that this project is one to take notice of. As you can imagine then, everyone at the Truants Mansion were pretty happy when the tracklist from The Range’s Truancy Volume hit their inboxes. We managed to catch up with him after his first UK/EU tour and the release of his beautiful second album ‘Nonfiction’, which meant we had an abundance of questions to throw his way. James waxes lyrical about the English accent, talks about the album format, and presents us with a mix that is both punchy and delicate; proving to us (like we ever needed proof) that he is one talented man. Read more: Truancy Volume 84: The Range

Truancy Volume 74: munno. In the spring of 2012 munno released his debut EP “Early Idle” through his Bandcamp. The EP received little fanfare initially but gained prowess as his name circulated among some of the breakout acts of 2012, specifically Evenings and Ryan Hemsworth. With his “Based Remixes“ – an impressive reimagining of some of the Based God’s more memorable tracks – and a strong mix released by The Villa, we talked to munno about his influences, Montreal and the Truancy Volume he kindly mixed for us. Described as coming “straight from the heart piece” by the man himself, this mix touches on genres from all over. Notice the R. Kelly drop 13 minutes in and don’t sleep on the fthrsn (previously featured here on Truants) tune 40 minutes in, not to mention the featuring of his friends and Montreal kinfolk in Evenings, Ryan Hemsworth, Tommy Kruise, and Malky. Read more: Introducing: munno

Interview with Surgeon. It is almost an unworkable mission to write a befitting preamble to a conversation with Surgeon  that encompasses everything the frontiersman of techno has done in his career. It is not because we do not want to write a circumstantial opening statement, but rather  because there is an inordinate deal of to his back catalogue and musical passage we could rave on about for days. Starting out from his original home in Birmingham in the early nineties, Anthony Child has constantly kept himself in harness; a few projects being the releases of his six full-length outings and his collaborative work with Karl O’Connor as British Murder Boys, to the birth of Dynamic Tension Records and co-running the House Of God events for two decades. Child’s output has been as strong as ever: this year alone saw the reformation of the British Murder Boys for a one-off gig in Tokyo, the twenty year anniversary of the House Of God parties, the emergence of his alliance with Blawan under their Trade moniker, an album of mesmerising experimental ambient on NNA Tapes and a monthly show on the London radio station Rinse FM. We briefly caught up with Tony over e-mail to speak about his reunion with Regis at the start of the year and its location, why it is that Coil stands out to him and a handful of other topics.  Read more: Interview: Surgeon

Interview with Gifted & Blessed. For a decade Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker has released music on labels such as Sound In Color, his own Gifted & Blessed imprint, Eglo Records, and more recently Wild Oats. On every record and with a multitude of names his work ethic and ability to carve out ear-perking synthetic melodies has shown through. Ahead of his appearance this Friday at Tape we spoke with him under his most widely known alias Gifted & Blessed. Our conversation touched on how his upbringing and siblings shaped the types of music he listens to and creates today, as well as his constant struggle to remain free from tags or pigeonholing genres. Having come up with some of LA’s finest producers and musicians, Whittaker has worked vehemently to distinguish himself as more than a beat maker or analogue music aficionado and so far has succeeded by masking himself in layers of aliases. If anything became clear in our chat it’s that he prizes his freedom – in music and in life. His tour schedule has led to a production spontaneity many musicians strive for, but have difficulties executing – making quality music on the road. His plans for this year are exactly what you would expect from a ego-free musician – release more music, tour, and enjoy life, which includes a move to New Mexico. Read more: Interview: Gifted & Blessed 

Interview with Nosaj Thing. At the beginning of the year, Nosaj Thing broke his three-year radio silence by releasing his much-awaited “Home” LP on Innovative Leisure after his first record “Drift” was released on Alpha Pup Records in 2009. In terms of how beat- and melody-driven “Drift” was, Jason Chung’s sophomore effort did not pick up where his debut left off musically. His followup “Home”, however, still resonated with the driving factors of the Los Angeles-based producer in his ability to create music that is emotion-driven, enchantingly layered and simply beautiful to listen to. Still, the ethereal album is evidently not a necessary indication for what we can expect from Jason in time to come. His recent collaboration with Chance The Rapper curated by Yours Truly SF displays both his firm grasp over a variety of sounds as well as his defining hip-hop influences. We had the chance to speak with Jason a while back in Amsterdam during his first European tour for “Home”, and caught up with him about the making of his latest record, his new label Timetable, vocal collaborations and Los Angeles. Read more: Interview: Nosaj Thing

Interview with Best Available Technology. Often abbreviated as BAT, Best Available Technology is the alias of Portland based producer Kevin Palmer. First appearing in 2012 on Stephen Bishop’s now highly prolific label Opal Tapes as a split release with OND TON; BAT then went on to put out the impressive Excavated Tapes 1992-1999, Vol. 1 the following year on the always on point Astro:Dyanamics. Delving deep into a massive cassette collection he found when clearing his loft, the release featured some of the audio explorations he produced and recorded to tape throughout the nineties. Despite some of the tunes being made more than over a decade ago, BAT’s sounds operate effortlessly between approximations of warped techno, house and industrial noise rhythms that comfortably fit alongside the productions of some of his fellow label partners. With a seven track EP also released on Further and his recent contribution to the excellent BASH series on Style Upon Styles we had a long chat with Kevin about his formative years listening to hip hop, the Forbidden Planet soundtrack and his video creations among other things. With the news of a forthcoming EP on a well respected UK label and the prospect of some exciting collaborations too, Best Available Technology might be one of the most humble yet interesting producers to emerge in the last two years.  Read more: Interview: Best Available Technology

Review: DJ Rashad – Rollin EP. After years of ruling the battlegrounds of Chicago, DJ Rashad has, in a surprising yet hugely appropriate turn of events, stepped up for British superlabel Hyperdub and presented a set of the most forward-thinking footwork that you’re likely to hear in months. If you’ve experienced one of Kode9’s inimitable sets in the past year or tuned in to the Hyperdub Rinse slot, you’ll be familiar with the labelhead’s ability to effortlessly assimilate the genre into the labyrinth history of British dance music as well as the idiosyncratic sound of his label. That ability carries through into this release, where Rashad, in parallel, imbues his mongrel sound with a sense of melancholy, thus fitting in comfortably with Hyperdub’s tendency to thrive on depleted serotonin levels. Read more: Review: DJ Rashad – Rollin EP 

Track-By-Track: Drake – Nothing Was The Same. It may come as no surprise to our readers that most of the crew are huge Drake fans. Imagine then, the conversation around the Truants mansion for almost the entirety of September, it seemed pretty natural to put these discussions into words for the rest of the internet to read. You’ll read controversial views like: “the chip on Drake’s shoulder has definitely gotten bigger and my tolerance for it is getting lower”, and love like “By being hyper self-reflective, he and his team have managed to recognise his own weaknesses and manipulate them into working in his favour, knowing where to use which talent.”. Read more: Track-By-Track: Drake – Nothing Was The Same

Reccommended: Mssingno – Mssingno EP. You know a release has really resonated with you when it dominates your listening time disproportionately; receiving a battering on loop for days-on-end despite all the other music you should probably be discovering, writing about or whatever. You know its special when it garners a track ID request from your usually resolutely disinterested girlfriend for the first time in months, and its ability to incite emotional breakdowns is noted all over Twitter (a little tongue-in-cheek of course but you get the picture). MssingNo’s self-titled debut EP is one of those ones, an emotionally-charged rollercoaster of swooning highs and deep-rooted lows that tugs on the heart strings with reckless abandon, whilst retaining the edge, bite and rhythm to work within club sets. The beats themselves bang hard in places, but where these tracks really come through and hit the spot is with their disarming harmonies; synth-rich blankets of sound interwoven beautifully with sparkling cascades of icy melody, wandering vocal loops and swaying basslines assembled with near-classical music levels of composition. The ear and musical aptitude required to build melodies with such a powerful emotive effect is no doubt an innate talent, and one that he has in abundance. And whilst these skewed R&B-come-grime tracks aren’t anything particularly new or ground-breaking on paper, MssingNo quite simply does it better, smashing most other efforts out of the park and carving a sound as rare as the Pokemon glitch he is named after. Read more: Recommended: MssingNo – MssingNo EP

(In no particular order) Riccardo Villella, Jon Alcindor, Cayley MacArthur, Aidan Hanratty, Sindhuja Shyam, Sam Billetdeaux, Simon Docherty, Tim Willis, Stephanie Neptune, Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura, Soraya Brouwer, Jess Melia, Eradj Yakubov, Sophie Kindreich, Maya Kalev, Jack Murphy, Gabe Meier, Warren O’Neil, Oli Grant, Kyle Brayton, Matt Coombs, Donny Marks, Ian Maxwell, Michelle Myers, Tobias Shine, Oscar Thompson, Gabriel Herrera, Meaghan Garvey, Matt Gibney, Joseph Jackson, Sven Swift, Givenchy, Alan, Zora, Phil Krogt and Subbacultcha for the infinite good vibes, Colors, Justin Bieber, Joe Kowton and the whole Livity Team, Ryan Hemsworth and Aeneas and Charlotte all the blackout crew, Dave Grinnell and the Donky Pitch bros, These Guys, Ross J. Platt, TAPE and Rush Hour, Nino and Daniel at Riff Raff, Riff Raff himself, TJ and Milo and Power Vacuum, Voiski, Guy Andrews, Dane Bradshaw at Two Plates, Ajay Jayaram and Dolan Bergin at Broken and Uneven, Rob Booth at Houndstooth/the Fabric cru, Oli Marlow,  Jacob Martin, Tony Surgeon, Fallon McWilliams, Jackmaster, Tom and Maya and Lauren and the whole Dekmantel crew, all Hessle everything, O.U.R. F.I.R.S.T. L.O.V.E. L.I.E.S, Bendtner and Arshavin, Semtek, Jack at Hotflush, #1 Best Norwood Cassette Library, Phil Canty, Tri Angle, Tommy Kruise, Pariah, RVNG, Beatnick, Brick Squad Monopoly. <3