It’s been just over a year since LA collective Fade to Mind inaugurated the launch of their label with a mix from label co-founder Prince William. At this time last year, it would have been nearly impossible to predict the omnidirectional explosion of the American club music scene into new strongholds like Kansas, Texas, or Oregon. But thanks to Fade to Mind and other forward-pushing labels like Body High, listeners have been feasting on an all-you-can-eat buffet of new club sounds, which continue to develop rapidly as young producers eschew the concept of genre boundaries in the name of innovation. Last week, Fade to Mind uploaded a white-hot mix from Portland-based producer Massacooramaan, whose recent “Dead Long Time” EP stands as one of the label’s best releases to date. “FADEMIX002,” clocking in at just under 50 minutes, is a veritable sample platter of the contemporary American club styles and influences that appear in Quam’s productions, from reggaeton to dancehall to ghetto house to New Jersey house, to an ample selection of tracks that could only be filed as “other.” While he goes all over the map at a pace that would exhaust most DJs, his prowess as a selector shines through and, more importantly, he manages to hold everything together by using juke and footwork influences as a lowest common denominator. This one’s available for free download, and it’s worth every MB of your hard drive space!
Stream: Massacooramaan – FADEMIX002
Tom Trago’s mix for Patta will control. Tom Trago and Patta are two of Amsterdam’s finest exports and don’t need a lengthy introduction: one is an influential figure in both the local and international electronic music scene and the other is an influential brand responsible for a great portion of fantastic street wear Patta, currently in between two locations and temporarily residing at a Coffee Company store in the city, asked Tom Trago to mix together the final installment for their B.L.E.N.D. series, following up on FS Green. Tom Trago’s contribution to the series, an honorable closer, came in the form of the “PATTA S.E.X. MIXTAPE” and as Tom Trago’s own tags on the mix indicate, it is filled with the rare occurrence named sex house. And indeed, the mix is a sensual one: the mix is packed over an hour of sultry tracks that are highly vocal driven and nothing short of groove. From beginning to end, Trago holds your attention going from going via the familiar to the unknown and at no moment the mix becomes anything even resembling repetitive as we are used from the selector, Trago digs that little bit deeper than your usual DJ and avoids playing the anticipated jams. All killer, no filler. This mix should introduce you to a few new tracks and is a good reminder of how good of a DJ Tom Trago is. Get your sequin gloves out and let this be your introduction to the weekend, and don’t forget to write October the first down in your planner as his new collaborative EP with San Proper and Cinnaman “Rise Up” will be coming out on that day. Until then, this tape should keep you satisfied.
Stream: Tom Trago – PATTA S.E.X. MIXTAPE
Earlier this month Underground Resistance associate and honorary Drexciyan DJ Stingray came correct with a 45 minute depth charge promoting his appearance at Vancouver’s New Forms Festival. The last couple of years have seen a number of Stingray releases surface on Truants favourites [NakedLunch], Unknown To The Unknown and TRUST, propelling the analogue spirituality of former comrades Stinson & Donald to dizzying new BPMs. Combining skittering kick drum flurries and heart melting Detroit synth pads, the result is strange contradiction of inertia and acceleration that is as compelling as it is confusing. The same principles inform his manic DJing style, one molded through motorcycle bar B2B sessons with Kenny Dixon JR in the nineties. Blitzing through 21 tracks of high-octane machine-funk, Stingray lets aquatic basslines vie for attention beneath a relentless rhythmic workout of unprecedented intensity. Considering the tunnel vision at work in crafting his powerful aesthetic, it’s no wonder that the similarly singularly-minded Drexciya recruited him as their club representative.
Download: DJ Stingray – New Forms Mix.
Once upon a time, a long time ago (alright, early 2010), there was a blog with a small-but-promising mix series and a lovely header. Unfortunately for Basics, it faded out before it really got rolling. It was through one of their mixes that we first heard of Koreless, who at the time of his contribution was just 18 years old. We still have his half-hour long BASICS002 mix laying in our iTunes as he’s blooming as a producer. His most recent release “Lost in Tokyo,” on LuckyMe family Jacques Greene’s Vase imprint, shows a direct evolution from some of his earliest works that he shares here (“4D” and “Up Down Up Down”). This one’s for fans of digging way back to feel more in-tune with the artists they follow currently, at the risk of feeling a bit voyeuristic. In this case, we found out we had a lot in common with Yung Koreless, and also got to hear a very short but very beautiful unreleased gem called “Wings” at the very end.
Download: Koreless – BASICS002
“Calibre, you’re too much.” says SP:MC, Calibre’s only 10 minutes into his set. It has probably more to do with everything that has happened prior to that moment, not the track currently spinning. A musical career that has contained 7 full length albums, over 60 singles & EPs whilst maintaining the highest level of artistic integrity since that first 12’’ on Quadraphonic in 1998. It’s taken from Ambra Night for Soul:ution 2011: a set containing only Calibre tracks, the majority of which come from his own label Signature Records. It outlines the immense talent of the man, exemplifying the originality that his sound consists of. The recording bursts with atmosphere from the night with the legendary SP:MC doing what he does best – heightening the levels of music to something else all together. You’ll be hard pressed to find a finer live recorded mix.
Stream: Calibre & SP:MC live at Soul:ution / Sun & Bass 2011.
Words by: Sam Billetdeaux, Soraya Brouwer, Simon Docherty, Cayley MacArthur & Ross J. Platt.
Basics002: Koreless Tracklist
Calibre & SP:MC Mix Tracklist
0:00 Calibre – Windows [Signature]
4:30 Calibre – Who’s Singing [Signature]
7:45 Calibre – Notting Hill [Signature]
10:40 Calibre – Mirage [Signature]
13:40 Calibre – ?
18:00 Calibre – Even If [Signature]
23:00 Calibre – Hummer [Samurai Red Seal]
28:56 ST Files & Calibre – Falling Down [GreyAudio]
31:10 Calibre Feat. DRS – Escation
34:26 Calibre – Garbage Man [Signature]
38:00 Calibre – Fire & Water [Soul:R]
40:49 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden (Calibre Remix) [Polydor]
46:02 Calibre Feat. DRS – Fear of Letting Go [Signature]
47:53 Calibre – Whril [Signature]
51:32 Calibre Feat. DRS – People Never Change [Signature]
56:40 Calibre – Can’t Stop This Fire [Bassbin]
