The guys at M-nus are seriously on fire. One after the other, this label's back to back releases just keep getting better and better. Here's a guy I can't wait to hear more of - canadian producer Hobo. He's been around for a year or so, within this time his tracks have already clearly matured. IMO these are two of the hottest tracks around right now. I've also attached a podcast he did early this year. Turn up those subs and enjoy!
Take an hour to check out this BBC documentary on the origins and downfall of Krautrock. BBC generally makes awesome documentaries, but I especially loved this one.
According to Nielsen SoundScan (a media practice that monitors entertainment sales worldwide), vinyl and digital sales both reached record highs this year. The vinyl industry is everything but dying down, with a predicted overall sale of around 2.8 million for 2009 (= almost a 50% raise compared to the 1.9 million in 2008). A benchmark since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.
Fun fact: 70% of all vinyl sales are rock albums.
Vinyls, however, make up for less than 1% of overall sales. Digital tracks are predicted to pass the 1 billion mark, not including digital albums, which already surpassed last years 65 million in mid November.
"The two trends - digital sales on one hand, vinyl records on the other - could not be more different. For all the efficiencies of digital music's distribution and supply chain, vinyl counters with an equally expensive and inefficient process. Yet, the two are on the rise. There is no doubt digital formats represents the future of recorded music. iTunes is just the beginning. New types of digital services promise to change how consumers acquire and experience music. Yet the concurrent rise of digital and vinyl tells us this: Through their purchases of vinyl, a small yet dedicated group of music fans are showing artists and labels that digital does not fill all their needs."
So contrary to the general opinion, the music market seems as flourishing as ever. Sure, there will always be people that take advantage of the almost limitless possibilities of downloading music for free. But true fans and people with a conscience will use these possibilities for evaluatory purposes and buy the track afterward - if they like it. That, in my opinion, is fair enough. And, contrary to the millions of tracks on youtube that are falsely labeled "HQ", buying the music you like is the only way that ensures the highest possible quality!
Tweakers like me cream themselves over the thought of owning a Monome or a Tenori On. Monomes are built in small batches, so they're pretty hard to find new, plus the prices of both the Monome and the Tenori On keep the whole thing a daydream. Now instead of waiting some years for the price to possibly go down, the guy in this clip uses Nonome, a monome emulator for the Novation Launchpad (Launchpad ranges around 179 EURO/$ 200-250), and flin (cyclic poly-rhythm MIDI music box) in order to operate the Launchpad like you would a Monome.
While we're all eagerly anticipating the release of his 4th studio album "The Colossus", the guys at Motherboard.tv sent some stoner down to Phillie to hang out with Ramble John Krohn aka RJD2 (one of my personal fav's) at his place for a lesson in cobbler-making and an even more exciting tour of his sweeeeeet home studio, filled with vintage awesomeness. The dude was definitely paying more attention to the cobbler.
Here's what RJD2 had to say about his new album:
"10 years! My god, that is a LIFETIME! I cant believe I have been making records on a national level for 10 years. In 1999, I was just making these little beats in my bedroom for release on an independent label. Fast forward to 2009, and I'm... making these little beats in my bedroom for release on an independent label. Okay, to be fair, some things have changed — a bigger studio, I OWN the studio, I OWN the independent label, and instead of driving 10 blocks to a gig in my hometown, I fly 10 hours to a gig in another country. But when it all comes down to its most basic level, the goal is still the same — to make a piece of music that is going to hopefully rearrange your brain, or at least provide some relief from real life for a moment or two. As The Third Hand was my first TRULY solo album, with NO guest performances whatsoever, I decided to do the opposite of sorts this time — an album that is as collaborative as possible, an overview of all the different types of working approaches Ive used over the years. Some songs are strictly sample-based; some are live; some songs are completely instrumental while others are vocal songs , some have guest vocalists, a few songs I sing myself; and I brought a few rappers on board. As this was all tracked at the same time and in the same place, it has a nice cohesive feel to it, but retains the diversity throughout that I think has become a trademark. It features Phonte Coleman (Little Brother, Foreign Exchange), Kenna (Star Trak, VA Beach), Aaron Livingston (The Roots Guns Are Drawn), Columbus MCs The Catalyst, Illogic, and NP, and a slew of instrumentalists. And I think I can safely say this is the most sonically lush and varied record Ive ever created. The album also marks my debut behind the drum kit (Games You Can Win,The Shining Path, Tin Flower,Gypsy Caravan,Walk With Me). Save for A Sons Cycle which features MCs, all songs were written and arranged by myself. When my instincts were telling me that something like horns, flute, or mandolin were needed, I hit the Rolodex. Same goes for the execution of vocals — if a songs vision was something I couldnt pull off myself, I went on the hunt for the right person to pull it off. Id rather not spend time describing the music, but I honestly do feel that this album is a kaleidoscopic look forward, as well as back."
Visit RJD2's website to pre-order his upcoming album AND for a chance to win limited edition packages, tickets to his shows and a private DJ lesson with the man himself. How cool is that?!
I stumbled over a few goodies that should surely be interesting to fans of Kraftwerk (and beyond).
Think about the pioneers of electronic music - Kraftwerk should immediately come to mind. Their works have been sampled (Depeche Mode, Chemical Bros, Jay-Z, MC Lyte, Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay) and covered (U2, Rammstein, Santogold, Cardigans, The Cure) by hundreds of artists and influenced many, many more. But Kraftwerk's groundbreaking sound not only helped shape electronic music as we know it; other genres - mainly modern pop music and hip-hop - would not be the same either if it wasn't for them. "Trans Europe Express" was sampled on Afrika Bambaata's "Planet Rock" (considered one the first "mainstream" hip-hop tracks), Jay-Z kicked off his commercial success with a Kraftwerk sample in "Sunshine". Take a look at this list of artists that have sampled or covered Kraftwerk.. Pretty crazy.
So here's a kewl documentary from swedish tv about Kraftwerk, their approach to sound, their love for synthies and their impact on music (interviews w/ Bjork, Moby and others)
Here are six 1-hour-compilations ofKraftwerk covers froma huuuge collection of artists - compiled by Strictly Kev (aka DJ Food), courtesy of BosBos.net
1. Michael Bailey – And Finally Here’s Music 2. Fearless 4 – Rockin’ It 3. Pelding – It’s More Fun To Compute 4. Trouble Funk – Trouble Funk Express 5. Makoto Inoue – Europe Endless/Neon Lights 6. Unknown – Radioactivity 7. Senor Coconut – Trans Europe Express 8. Senor Coconut – The Man Machine 9. Souxsie & The Banshees – Hall Of Mirrors 10. Senor Coconut – The Robots 11. Balanescu Quartet – The Robots 12. Tafkafb – Waltz Mit Der Robot 13. Apoptygma Berzerk – Ohm Sweet Ohm 14. Frenchbloke & Son – Neon Love (cha cha cha) 15. Jason Moran – Planet Rock 16. Tremelo Beeer Gut – Das Model 17. Big Black – The Model 18. Rammstein – Das Model 19. Ride – The Model 20. Frenchbloke & Son – Sexy Model 21. Buffalo Daughter – Autobahn 22. Dark Side Of The Autobahn – Dark Side Of The Autobahn 23. Rot Front Trikont – The Robots 24. Senor Coconut – Showroom Dummies 25. Girls On Top – I Want To Dance With Numbers 26. Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force – Planet Rock (Elecktric Music Classic Mix) 27. Coptic Rain – The Robots 28. Erasure – Blue Savannah (Remix) 29. Dmx Krew – Showroom Dummies 30. Melt Banana – Showroom Dummies 31. Aqua Vista – The Model 32. Senor Coconut – Home Computer 33. Senor Coconut – Tour De France 34. Elakelaiset – Poro (Reindeer/Robots)
1. Das Erste Wiener Gemueseorchester (First Viennese Vegetable Orchestra) – Radio Activity 2. Casio VL80 Calculator – Computer World 3. April Nine – Radioactivity 4. Papa Dee – The Model 5. Laether Strip – Showroom Dummies 6. P.O.D. – Die Roboter 7. The One You Love – Trans Europe Express 8. Uter – Ohm Sweet Ohm 9. Terre Thaemlitz – Ruckzuck 10. The Manatees – The Model + Jerky Boys – The Gay Model 11. Chris Whitely – The Model 12. Hikashu -The Model 13. The Treble Spankers – The Model 14. Miladojka Youneed – Pocket Calculator (Live) 15. Satoru Wono (Feat. Meiwa Denki) – Dentaku 16. Black Wedding – Taschenrechner 17. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions – Pocket Calculator (Live) 18. Senor Coconut – Radioactivity 19. Diplo – Percao (Feat. Pantera Os Danadinhos) 20. Drop Da Bomb – Computerworld 21. Dhiva – Tashenrechner 22. P.M. Dawn – If I Wuz U 23. The Balanescu Quartet – Pocket Calculator 24. Erasure – Blue Savannah (Die Deutchse Remix) 25. Laiboforcen – Numbers 26. Anthony Rother – Numbers/Computerwelt 27. Dynamix II – Techno Bass 28. Le Juan Love Feat. DJ Man – Mega Mix (House Style) 29. Anthony Rother – Trans Europe Express 30. Kurtis Mantronik – Original Electron 31. Snakefinger – The Model 32. Galaxy Sound Orchestra – The Model 33. David Byrne & The Balanescu Quartet – The Model (Live) 34. Frenchbloke & Son – Sexy Model (Strings) 35. Electric Six – The Model 36. Westbam – Monkey Say, Monkey Do 37. Think Tank – Hack Attack 38. The Balanescu Quartet – Computer Love
1. Skanfrom – Phon Sweet Phon 2. Compulsion – Home Computer (Live) 3. Evil Twin – The Lady & The Lake 4. DJ Danielson – Partisans Of The Lesser Known 5. Mannequin Depressives – The Model 6. The Cardigans – Das Model 7. Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows – Modela 8. Jack n Madness – I Like Percussion 9. Z-Entropa – Antenna 10. U2 – Neon Lights 11. Makoto Inoue – Europe Endless/Neon Lights 12. Koto – Trans Europe Express 13. Empire State Human – Hall Of Mirrors 14. Terre Thaemlitz – Schaufensterpuppen 15. Bowery Electric – Freedom Fighter (Remix) 16. X-Ecutioners – A Journey Into Sound 17. Jay-Z – (Always Be My) Sunshine 18. MC Lyte – Cha Cha Cha 19. 2 Live Crew – My Dick Almighty 20. Mitja V.S. – Neon Lights 21. Frenchbloke & Son – No Expo 22. Terre Thaemlitz – Mensche Machine 23. Fink – Autobahn 24. Tragic Comedy – Autobahn 25. Gary Lucas – Autobahn 26. Kimitaka Matumae – Atem/Harmonika 27. Beitthron – Airwaves 28. Teruo Nakano – Computer Love 29. Alva Noto – Man Machine 30. Xcranium – The Man Machine 31. Terre Thaemlitz – Tour De France 32. Terre Thaemlitz – Morgen Spazergang 33. Skanfrom – Phon Sweet Phon 34. Xingu Hill – Electric Cafe
1. DJ Flywheel – Solid Steel Intro 2. Bigg Ocean Mobb IV-1-5 – Gangster Driven 3. Wagon Christ – Unknown Studio Session 4. Coldplay – Talk (Instrumental Demo) 5. MC Duke – I’m Riffin’ 6. X-Men – It’s More Fun To Sample 7. DMX Krew – Homecomputer 8. Luke Vibert – Homewerk 9. P.L – Transeuropa Express 10. Rodney Baker – Numbers 11. Torul – It’s More Fun To Compute 12. Alenia – Home Computer 13. LCD Soundsystem – Disco Infiltrator 14. MAW Electronic – Tranz 15. Love Tractor – Neon Lights 16. Bass Junkie – Robotechno 17. Coldplay – Talk (Thin White Duke Remix) 18. Beck – Get Real Paid 19. Poison Clan – Dance All Nite 20. Audio Science – Trans Europe Express 21. Yoshinori Sunahara – The Telephone Call 22. Biochip C – Steal It And Deal It (DMX Krew Edit) 23. Zoot Woman – The Model 24. Partia – Das Model 25. King Automatic – The Model 26. Top of the Pops – Autobahn 27. Gorefest – Autobahn 28. Balanescu Quartet – Autobahn 29. Roni Size (Feat. Rahzel) – Out Of Breath 30. DJ Godfather – Ping Pong/Ping Beatz 31. Ionic Vision – Tour De France 32. Fresh Prince And Ready Rock C – Live At Union Sq. Outtake 33. DJ Craze – DMC 2000 Final Routine 34. Morocco Moe – Task & The Beat Konductor – Open (Space) 35. Trans Am – Man Machine (Live) 36. Coldcut – Everything’s Under Control (Theory 0.1) 37. Rozmarinke – Radioactivity 38. Videosex – Spacelab (Gus Gus Remix) 39. Albert Kuvezin And Yat-kha – Man Machine
1. New David – Computer Love (mp3) 2. Glass Candy – Computer Love (Italians Do It Better) 3. 8-bit Operators – Computer Love (Astralwerks) 4. Kraftwerk – It’s More Fun To Compute (Busy P remix) (mp3) 5. DJ Tameil – Trans Newark Express (Money Studies) 6. Between The Sheets – Late Night Radio (Bootlegs) 7. Keith Mansfield – Electromatics (A&B) (KPM) 8. The Simonsound – Tour De Mars (Project Blue Book) 9. 8-Bit Operators – The Robots (Die Roboter) (Astralwerks) 10. Santogold – Anne (Switch mix) (CDR) 11. Dreamland Happy Times For All – Showroom Dummies (Spill) 12. Christian Prommer – Trans Europa Express (Sonar Kollektiv) 13. Doormouse – Werkin’ It (Addict Records) 14. Para One – It’s More Fun To Compute (Phonofile.dk/The Orchard) 15. 8-Bit Operators - Pocket Calculator (Astralwerks) 16. Hajime Fukuma – Musique Non Stop (FGL Productions) 17. Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet – Autobahn (mp3) 18. New David – Autobahn (mp3) 19. Antediluvian Rocking Horse – Craft Work Out (Spill) 20. Fleetwood Mac – The Chain (Warner Brothers) 21. Vibravoid – Ruckzuck (Fruits De Mer) 22. Clowns Smiling Backwards – Hall Of Mirrors (Spill) 23. The Cure – Like Cockatoos (Rhino/WEA) 24. Death in Vegas – Zugaga (Drone) 25. Soma Mestizo – Trans Europe Express (Soma Mestizo) 26. Two Litre Dolby With Chris Smith – Radioactivity (Spill) 27. Huon – Upfield Bike Path (Spill) 28. New David – Expo 2000 (mp3) Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
Word has been on the street for about a year now that Steve Goodman (Kode9) - owner of the Hyperdub label and DJ extraordinaire - is writing a book. Well it's finally being released this month on MIT Press, and it looks to be a very interesting read.
Traversing philosophy, science, fiction, aesthetics, and popular culture, he maps a (dis)continuum of vibrational force, encompassing police and military research into acoustic means of crowd control, the corporate deployment of sonic branding, and the intense sonic encounters of sound art and music culture.
The book concludes by speculating about the concept of "unsound," or the not yet heard, and how it "relates to both the peripheries of auditory perception and the unactualized nexus of rhythms and frequencies within audible bandwidths." (p xx of Introduction chapter)
You can get a better feel for this interesting subject by reading a couple of sample chapters:
I've been hearing some really impressive stuff from Bok Bok, L-Vis 1990, Manara and the NIGHT SLUGS crew [facebook fan page] this year. A lot of crunked-up 4x4 UK BASS funky/grime/dub/gutterhouse that doesn't quite sound like much else out at the moment. For the last 6 months or more they've been hosting parties in London backed by FACT Mag called FANTASTIC FOUR, where they host 4 top notch DJs for free (next one coming up on Dec 3rd has Roska, Scratcha DVA, D-Malice & Ill Blu...and the one after that on the 18th has Lil Silva, Ikonika & Oneman coming thru).
I got a chance to see them opening up for Joker at the Trouble & Bass party last weekend in NYC at Santos Party House, and to me their set was much stronger than Joker's - much more enthusiasm, danceability and flow. This took my by surprise considering the whole reason I went was to catch 2009 MVP Joker in action.
I emplore you to tune in to Night Slugs on their monthly radio show on SUB.FM.
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