Once again, Detroit shows the world it’s not void of new talent. After Kyle Hall unearthed the lo-fi sounds of Manuel Gonzales it seems fitting that Argot, a label based in Detroit’s sister city Chicago, would unveil the uptempo and manic synthesizers of Elizabeth Merrick-Jefferson. Last month she released her debut 12-inch, “Urban Off Road” […]
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Five Mixes Are Better Than One Pt. XV
If you ask any DJ he (or she) will undoubtedly tell you that stringing together a coherent set of his (or her) musical taste in an hour is near impossible, yet somehow once every month FunkinEven does via his Apron Records show on NTS. Typically, it’s filled with throwback tunes from before many of us […]
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Recommended: Various Artists – Think & Change
The level of buzz and excitement around “Think & Change” should not come as a shock. Since Boddika founded the label three years ago, Nonplus has become one of the most esteemed names in drum & bass, dubstep and techno. Instra:mental – the duo comprised of Boddika and Jon Convex – dominated the label’s early […]
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Exclusive: Dro Carey – Casanova Breakneck
Last week, Dro Carey, the hyper-talented Aussie with releases on Templar Sound, Hum + Buzz and The Trilogy Tapes, stepped up for us with a Truancy-themed mix inspired by the structure of Dre’s tapes from the ’80s: techno followed by rap followed by his own productions. Before RAMP Recordings puts out his debut album later in the year, Dro will self-release […]
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Mike Will’s Best Pt. XXVIII
“I don’t say I’m gonna make a beat for anybody [specific]. I’m gonna make a beat that’s harder than the last. How different can it get? How out the box can I go on this beat? How can I smoke the last beat? How can I make the bass hit harder? How can I make […]
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Recommended: Untzz – BDOH001
Another day, another label, right? You’ll hear a lot of heads, old and young, moaning about the over-saturation of the market, complaining about the proliferation of record labels run by just-come young guns looking to make quick cash money. Let yourself get comfortable in that state of smug knowledge b2b overstated ennui, and you might […]
Read moreTruancy Volume 65: October
There’s always that sense of hesitant laziness when asking someone what sort of music they’re into, only to have them reply with the slightly frustrating old “you know, a bit of everything.” However with Julian Raymond Smith, otherwise known as Bristol based producer October, a bit of everything seems like quite a fitting phrase to […]
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Valentine’s Best Pt. XXVII
Happy ❤alentine’s day, dear Truants readers! To celebrate, we have gathered some of our favourite mixes and tracks to score your evening. To continue, please dial 7-7-3-TRUANTS. Listening to Mikky Ekko blurs the already jagged lines between indie, R&B, and pop, though his last single “Pull Me Down” may fall more into the latter there’s no […]
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Recommended: Pseudogeddon – Jungle Footwork Compilation
What a wonderful symbiosis jungle and juke are. Their similarities are well documented yet, whether tempo, bass pressure or sampling philosophy, are rarely as well executed as on this Om Unit-curated collection. The original proposal for the marriage of the two genres was supposedly formed independently but at around the same time by Machinedrum and […]
Read moreTruancy Volume 64: Iron Galaxy
The democratization of the music industry should make it easier for talented artists to gain an audience, but if the last few years have shown us anything it’s that this was a blessing and a curse. There seems to be a constant flow of questionable and plain terrible music hitting the web daily, making it […]
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Download: Oneman – Solitaire Vol. 1
It’s well-documented, almost to the point of redundancy, how Oneman has built his reputation as a DJ and selector organically. Though despite having never dabbled in production, the Standard Place ringleader and Rinse FM veteran has managed to carve out a comfortable niche for himself. His sets are renowned for throwing up surprising little sonic […]
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Recommended: Alis – Azimuth EP
It’s been an interesting path for Sabina Plamenova. Moving between the worlds of dubstep and techno, featuring on Surgeon’s Fabric mix and collaborating with Jamie Woon (the pair met at RBMA 2008), she then drifted towards tough house music, often peppering tracks with her own abstract vocals. This led her to establish a new alias, […]
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