Every year, between October and December, major studios like to release their Oscar contenders… It’s a time of year where releases are characterized by serious writing, director-driven filmmaking, and demanding acting.

Every year, around January, I think we’ve all noticed the trend that major producers like to release their festival anthems — those samey, major key, busy, vocal pieces that we’re all supposed to get good ‘n used to so we can travel across the continent without hearing anything unfamiliar.

I can think of two that got their “official” drop dates in the last couple weeks; Avicii ft. Nervo – You’re Gonna Love Again, and Thomas Gold and Dirty South ft. Kate Elsworth – Eyes Wide Open.

I can list a lot of differences between each song, mainly the trademarks any producer might leave on his tracks — the reverb heavy, staccato, and up-swinging synths sit on every track by Bergling has ever done, from his Tim Berg days to the Avicii era; Messrs. Gold and South maintain a much more even, melodic (slightly discordant) feel. I think, though, that I can say what I’ve been dancing around: both these songs, while examples of fine craftsmanship, are different only in content (different notes, different words), and in terms of stylistic tics. Because each song does the exact same work, and will likely appear in the same sets in the coming months (and especially festival season), they suffer from fundamental sameness.

I think that the fundamental, and I do use that word again deliberately, similarities between these two songs tell us something minor and innocuous, what makes a successful song, and something major and insidious, which brings to mind George Santayana’s aphorism “The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again.”

So — common elements of two songs tailored for broad, festival appeal. Listen to the dynamic, pitch corrected (female) vocals delivering uncomplicated messages about realization of human contact (assurances one will love again, “close my eyes I’m next to you,” etc) and thinly veiled references to MDMA. Notice the repetitive, build-drop verse structure. Every chord is, of course, major. I think we have a new genre emergent from the explosion in popularity of house music — House-less Music.

Houseless Music, that is, music that is designed to be played in fields at festivals and for crowds of tens of thousands in impersonal arenas is a marketable commodity with its own superstars (SHM, Avicii, Alesso, just to name three Swedes) and the radio airplay (and broad appeal) of an Eminem song five years ago.

Despite their different backgrounds, House-Less superstars Afrojack, Alesso, Avicii, and Calvin Harris are all billed near the top of the 2012 Coachella lineup. Ten years ago, the only act like this near the top billing at the same festival was Tiesto.

Okay. Electronic Dance Music is the new Rock’n’Roll, and has a broad “arena” genre emergent from its own popularity… in other Obviousness News, the sky is blue, America will pursue its foreign policy interests in Asia, and coffee tastes great. However, this realization brings me to my next point about history, and its repetition.

According to a certain 19th century German whose surname rhymes with “sparks,” every epoch contains the seeds of its own downfall — in terms of history, it is oppression that leads to uprising, but in terms of music, it is popularity that leads to the dreaded uncoolness.

It was the backlash against over-commercialization that killed Disco and made mention of its name a tauntable offense. It was the backlash against crass materialism that forced inventive hip-hop underground. Pop killed rock in the same way that Darth Vader killed Anakin — the personality was entirely subsumed, but the form (five piece band with a guitar and a singer and rock-beat) was largely the same.

It will be the backlash against contentless, uncomplicated, and fundamentally (there’s that word again) samey arena filling House-Less songs that come out every year between January and March in our world’s perverse version of Oscar season that will lead us all dancing and raving to march into the sea.

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It’s only been one year since the birth of Edinburgh, UK-based netlabel Cut Records but their ninth release and first of 2012 is a rightful indication of Cut’s maturity. Founded by DJ/Producer/Designer DFRNT in January 2011, Cut plays host to an assemblage of upstart UK producers. Suave, chilled-out dub-techno with elements of UK garage is the predominant style found on the majority of Cut’s releases.

As I said above, Existance’s ‘Miles Apart EP’ is a strong indicator of how far Cut has progressed in the past year. ‘Miles Apart’ is one of Cut’s strongest releases thus far and the 3 tracks play like a cumulative statement of Cut’s catalogue. Leadoff track ”Miles Apart (Concepts)” is a gorgeous melange of deep-dubstep-influenced rhythms and downtempo ambience. “Uninhabited” and “Pelennor Fields” are rife with piano flourishes, reverberating synths, and breakbeat rhythms that owe more to Garage than Dubstep.

Aside from their fantastic music, something truly mature and admirable about Cut is their mission statement:

    “Cut is a netlabel providing free music with an emphasis on quality. Our aim is to                                                                                

show you that free music can be as valued and highly regarded as any other.” (via Bandcamp)

On the heels of the SOPA/PIPA shenanigans, this goal seems especially profound.

The Miles Apart EP is available as a ‘pay-what-you-want’ download on Cut’s Bandcamp:

Visit www.cutmusic.org for more brilliant Cut releases

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Mickey Moonlight is one of today’s most eccentric Electro producers. The British Ed Banger constituent has released two EPs to date, and likes to describe his music as ‘Science Fiction Exotica’. After a period of honing his production, and earning himself a little name recognition, the time is ripe for Moonlight’s grand expedition. With the help of his Time Axis Manipulation Corporation, Mickey Moonlight takes his listener on a journey to a wonderful, sometimes chilling future, full of Love-Bots, DNA ‘perfection’, and intergalactic travel.

The album is not a technical masterpiece, but rather, it’s a conceptual pleasure in its boundless idiosyncrasy and variety. From Sub-Saharan Mali, Moonlight alludes to ethnic Dogon mythology of extraterrestrials surfacing from the landed spacecraft Pelu Tolo (a shortened sample from his most recent EP).  Moonlight evokes the vintage synthesis of Vangelis’s Blade Runner soundtrack – with a sanguine and haunting atmosphere during the Trans-friendly opener ‘Welcome Aboard’, and with deep hanging synths, and distant distorted distopian ambiance in ‘A Big Ship Passing’. ‘We’ll Meet Again’, with vocals from Marina Gasolina, is a welcome return home with its downtempo funk; otherwise, Moonlight seems to keep his listener in strange and foreign places.

In more typical Ed Rec fashion, ‘Diamonds in the Mind of Talula’ is the album’s standard post-Daft Punk fare, providing The TAM Corp’s most introspective sounds with its emotional piano chords and soft synth arpeggios. Diamonds’ thoughtfulness isn’t all that long lived however, as Mickey decides two tracks later to indulge in the kitsch-psych melodies of ‘Buckaroo Banzai’. That’s alright though – by then, he’s earned the right to let his peculiarity fully realize itself.

While there’s probably insufficient evidence to conclude that Mickey Moonlight produced this album during an acid-induced road trip from Accra to Niamey, with an Isaac Asimov reincarnate as companion, I think it’s fair not to rule it out as a possibility. Mickey Moonlight has stated that he had to cut many tracks from the final album, and that he looks forward to releasing more material in the not-too-distant future. I imagine his being able to transcend time and all would probably make that an easy timeline to manage.

Mickey Moonlight and the Time Axis Manipulation Corporation is available now on iTunes from Ed Banger Records.

Mickey Moonlight – This Son by edbangerrecords

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I had an interesting conversation with a friend last night after attending Control @ The Avalon, where Daedelus and Nosaj Thing were playing. I’m not sure why I haven’t brought the subject up on Salacious before now: DJs are getting fucking lazy.

At one point late in the night I fell victim to unfortunate timing when walking past the back bar, which houses a separate soundsystem and DJ set up. A couple of (probably) very green locals were playing ‘Skrillex – Kill Everybody’.

The resulting conversation made me question just what a DJ is, exactly.

modern performance tools and interfaces solve a problem for the DJ, not the audience

Now I’m not here to hate on Skrillex. Every dubstep set I threw down this summer had some Skrillex in it, and each of the three times I saw him perform I had an awesome time.

What I AM doing is hating on the lack of imagination on part of the DJ duo rocking the back room at The Avalon.

Maybe this is unfair, singling out these guys. In fact I kinda feel like an asshole for most of this article so far. Believe me when I say I shed a single tear.

ALL good musicians are like the fucking horse-whisperer of crowds

Sure, all these great performance tools can up your game. You can juggle 57 tracks at once, A-B mix, program your drums on the fly, AND you can even tweet ‘hey mum guess wat I’m deejaying and I just twat’ while you turn your oven on and set the Roomba Robot to ‘Scare Dog’ mode, all from the same device. Cool!

The problem is that modern performance tools and interfaces solve a problem for the DJ, not the audience. And the result from what I’ve seen is NOT an average ‘upping’ of game.

But that’s a digression I want to avoid here. Yes, I acknowledge that you can do some crazy fucking shit with all these rad devices.

But what is a DJ, really? What’s the function? Let me lay it out for you with as little focus on “technical skills” as possible.

1. Programming.

A good DJ has excellent programming skills. They know that the tempo and style demanded of an opener differs from that of a headliner. They know how to build the energy of a party by sequencing tracks appropriately.

That, and they’re a fucking individual with their own goddamn taste.

There are several technical skills that can enhance your programming (briefly, and not exhaustive) including phrase matching and knowledge of song structure, harmonic mixing, and lets not forget looking like you’re having a good fucking time / put your hands up / hype hype hype “MAKE SOME FUCKING NOISE DETROIT!!!” skills on the microphone.

2. Crowd-whispering.

Hell this doesn’t just go for DJs.. ALL good musicians are like the fucking horse-whisperer of crowds.

They engage with the crowd effectively. If a DJ is paying attention, gives half a shit or more about whether their dancers are having a good time, and isn’t a complete moron, they can make pretty good guesses about what shit people are enjoying, what isn’t working, and thus what should be played next.

Careful not to blow your wad too early though!

3. Breaking fucking records.

Real fucking DJs break records. Period.

If you aren’t breaking records then you’re a fucking jukebox. Remember #2 though; if your too-artsy techno isn’t working, SWITCHITUP!

What am I missing?

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TIL the difference between the 405 and the 110 is the type of traffic – bougie and gangsta, respectively.

Ice Cube Celebrates The Eames for Pacific Standard Time the birth of the LA art scene. For more info on Ice Cube & The Eames visit http://pacificstandardtime.org

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So Re:mix Lab is half over, and I am half dead from the series of open-bar x no-cover parties that have been running this week down at 401 S. Main St. Suffice it to say, the capacity crowds and top notch artists have made for an atmosphere conducive to partying.

There is a weekend full of events left: everything from DJ lessons to DJ dance parties, and of course… Underground Rebel Bingo!! Check the full schedule here, and make sure to RSVP – admittance is free, but only on guestlist!!

Night One – Anna Lunoe, Them Jeans, Yeasayer & College

The first night was not your standard dance party. First up was Anna Lunoe, who threw down some sexy disco jams that got the place properly heated.

Next was Them Jeans. He spun some more disco, and delved in to some throwback rap that, predictably, proved to be a big hit with the fashionable LA crowd.

For me the third act, Caught a Ghost, was the feature of the night.

These guys played a rad mix of indie dance and rock, with plenty of disparate influences (northern soul, blues, doo-wop) to keep the musically oriented on their toes.

My favourite track of theirs was Sleeping at Night. Video below.

The night capped off with performances by College and Yeasayer, who had us dancing until we didn’t have to go home, but couldn’t stay there. (Photo gallery below)

Click photo + use left/right directional keys to navigate

Night Two – RE:Generation Film Debut and Artist Q&A + Dance Party

The second night in the Re:mix Lab series put several of my favourite artists in the same room: DJ Premier, my favourite hip-hop producer of all time, Skrillex, the biggest artist of the year, Erykah Badu, aka Lady of Rage, aka the First Lady of Neo-Soul, one of the finest female vocalists of all time, and last but certainly not least, The Crystal Method, dance music veterans of over TWO DECADES, were all in attendance.

Skrillex:

The beginning of the Doors thing was up in the air, I was nervous to commit to something if I didn’t feel like i have a real connection.

Any collaboration you have to have trust and faith in that other person or artist or group, and hopefully they have trust and faith in you because it’s a personal thing. You consult with each other… I don’t want to do a collaboration if I’m telling someone what to do and vice versa, but if you can be vulnerable for a second and sit back and let them do what they do and vice versa, those are the most successful tracks at the end of the day.

DJ Premier:

Q: DJ Premier, you took on the classical world and really challenged yourself on a whole other level with this project. Why did you choose the classical world, and were you ever sorry that you did?

A: When Richard Bishop and my manager Fat Gary brought the idea to me… once they told me who else was involved, cuz my manager knows I’m picky about what I step in to because I’m very, very, VERY protective of my image, and my reputation. In the hip-hop world I’m a god, and I’ve established my strategy [huge cheering and applause]. The classical world – I’ve sampled classical music – but I have a greater respect for it now… I like challenges, and I like stuff that I’m not used to. In the hip-hop world I’ma always do it the way I do it, and he’s saying “you’re gonna get a tutor, and all this!”

My tutor Bruce, he reminded me of the hip-hop world. He said “we don’t like calling it classical, cuz that’s putting it in a box”. In the hip-hop world we’re the same way.. “don’t call me nothin.” I’m part of the culture and you either know it or you don’t. That made me open up even more to him, what he was trying to explain, and try to listen to it in a different way. Now I want to go to an opera!

The best takeaway for me was how passionately Sonny (Skrillex) spoke about the creative process. The key for him, he says, is the willingness to be vulnerable:

Like the drama you were mentioning before… it’s not even drama, its the natural progression of when you open yourself up to another artist. When you’re willing to share yourself and also share your criticisms, and get that back as well from other people you respect, and at that moment you have mutual respect, if you’re open to that you can create something incredible. So to do that with people that are SO before my time, and create something that’s really beautiful afterwards and say I wanna have that feeling. The very beginning they started to jam over my loops, and the whole room caught on fire…after that it was like lets make some music, and it wasn’t about the cameras.

Once again, there is a weekend full of events left. Check the full schedule here, and make sure to RSVP – admittance is free, but only on guestlist!!

For other premium content generated from the series, including videos from the events, check the widget below:

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Sorry about making you spit your vodka-redbull all over your macbook, but Salacious (an electronic music blog) is totally about to write about Neon Indian (an alleged rock band).

Bizarre, right?

Strap in and and hear me out.

Bands like Neon Indian, Toro Y Moi, and Surfer Blood used more or less electronic instrumentation and techniques (think sampling, four-on-the-floor house beats, and the now-pervasive “hey, I’m an instrument, too!” laptop), with an indie rock aesthetic (plaid, shoegaze, and proper bands who play non-laptop instruments). They were grouped together by the monolithic blogosphere into a schizophrenic genre called “Chillwave” that was as much 80s pop as it was 90s shoegaze and 00s electronic. You with me? Cool.

Hipster Runoff, a satirical blog about hipsters, was the coalescent point for thought about the emergent genre, and that blog’s focus on Neon Indian made the band the de facto princes of the distributed fiefdom. Hipster Runoff may have been “just joking” about Chillwave (it’s clear they were satirical… I don’t think “Chillwave” is a moniker that any sincere thinker would coin), but there was something too substantial there, and interest remained strong. Well, until it dropped off the scene and was replaced a couple summers later by a new silly-named genre (Moombahton, anyone?).

Now it’s 2011, and since we’re on the verge of a new financial crisis (good thing I have all these blog dollars…), I figured we might do a little “where are they now” about Neon Indian and Chillwave more generally… by drawing parallels to the show at Heaven on Nov 16th.

Argument One: Chillwave is equally intelligible as either electronic music, or “indie” pop, but not as both at once. To my point, from Neon Indian’s new album (Era Extrana), Polish Girl is a highly danceable song with a filtered beat, synth progression, and a pop-house feel. The appropriate way to dance to this song is to jump. From the same album, Fallout is a more traditionally shoegaze song, with an 8th note rock groove and use of synthesizers more as a keyboard than dance inducer… The appropriate way to dance to this song is to look at the ground with your hands at your sides. If you really want to “rock out,” you can take a drag on your cigarette (I’m looking at you, South Park goth kids!). Guess what happened at the concert? Exactly this. It’s not a division by album (where Neon Indian started more-electronic, and became more-indie rock, or vice-versa), but a division by song. Chillwave, overall, then, does not fuse two distinct genres, but rather, produces songs that exist in both.

Argument Two: Electronic-type Chillwave songs are their own category within electronic music, and Chillwave is more distinctive as a category of electronic music than as a category of rock music. I can extend my point beyond Neon Indian as well: Washed Out’s Belong and Toro Y Moi’s Blessa fit in the same category of chilled out, chopped up, pastel-coloured, and, most importantly, decidedly non-rock beats. They avoid the 8th-note rock groove, and they avoid rock instrumentation. I am not arguing that all popular Chillwave is electronic-type (Neon Indian’s Terminally Chill is an example of an extraordinarily popular rock-type Chillwave song), but rather, that electronic Chillwave is far more distinctive as a kind of chillout that does not recourse to the smoothness of lounge, and that lets us keep the rough aesthetic that we seem to have fallen in love with over the last few years. As a genre of rock, on the other hand, it seems to fit in a little too well with the shoegaze/indie pop bands, and seems (with the exception of a few standouts) fairly forgettable. Case in point: the audience’s attention was almost entirely contingent on how synth- and laptop-heavy any particular song was. Even when Palomo raged around the stage during The Blindside Kiss, a hard fucking song if I’ve ever heard one, the audience was not caught up in the energy.

I guess this review is written more to Chillwave producers and bands (I think this is the only genre where we have both producers and bands as equal contributors?). You are better at electronic than at rock. Avoid implosion (Earmilk started nailing the Chillwave coffin shut two weeks ago, but we keep our hopes up here at Salacious) by emphasizing the electronic aspects of your music. What we saw at the show at Heaven was, ultimately, a great reaction to songs like Polish Girl, “kick ass laser display” (in the words of Bearded Magazine’s Ben Wood), and a band who is caught between two largely contradictory impulses. Chillwave, with the wave of releases that came in the second half of 2011, is facing an Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Problem. If it wants immortality, it had better drink from the right cup.

Click photo + use left/right directional keys to navigate

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Thomas J. Rubeli, a.k.a. Aech_Rom, is a relatively unknown producer from Switzerland who makes beautiful and inspired electronic music.  Although one might be inclined to label Aech_Rom as Drum & Bass or IDM, these labels are merely part of the equation when considering his genre.

It is difficult to place Aech_Rom’s music into one specific genre. His styles range from Glitch to Ambient, IDM, Breakbeat, Drum & Bass, Drill & Bass, Experimental, and even Chiptune. Certainly, Rubeli’s style is derived from similarly varied artists like Aphex Twin, Autechre, or Squarepusher but Rubeli does not blatantly mimic these artists.

No, in fact, he creates a unique atmosphere that surrounds his music and somehow captures both the serene and the chaotic. Rubeli’s take on a sound that could potentially sound dated or unoriginal is instead quite refreshing and modernized.

Aech_Rom’s latest release Llen Part 1: LN47 Arrival (out now for free download on Complex Sound Sagacity) gives sufficient proof that Rubeli has a seat reserved for him in ‘Electronica Heaven’…right next to Richard D. James.

(A big thanks goes out to Xander for showing me “Sick Duck”… yes it is SICK!)

Llen – Part I : LN47 Arrival by Aech_Rom 

And here’s some Chiptune for all you ‘Chipheads’:

Misawa by Aech_Rom 

You can support Aech_Rom through Bandcamp by making a donation when you purchase his stunning ‘Safe From There’ LP:

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The times have certainly changed since The Jets.

Brodinski’s rendition makes this ELECTRIC.

Yet to be released.
Nero – Crush On You (Brodinski Rmx) by Brodinski

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Rainy weather aside, the atmosphere at James Blake’s performance at the Phoenix Concert Hall was one of unreserved anticipation. The crowd that filled the Phoenix was a soggy, but eclectic, mix of hip twenty-somethings, all of whom fell silent as Blake’s lanky figure took to the stage. Blake immediately hypnotized the crowd in a trance of vibrating bass, intricate drums and hauntingly beautiful vocals that have come to capture his renowned post-dub sound.

The most moving moment came with his performance of “To Care (Like You)”. The tempo was a sensual reflection of the human passion, with a mantra of vocals that made the performance irresistible. I left the venue intoxicated and even more enamored with James Blake and his craft.

Following his showing at the Phoenix that past night, I awoke to find the web abuzz with his name. Much of the attention was in response to his comments on the evolving dubstep scene in a recent interview with the Boston Phoenix:

I think the dubstep that has come over to the US, and certain producers — who I can’t even be bothered naming — have definitely hit upon a sort of frat-boy market where there’s this macho-ism being reflected in the sounds and the way the music makes you feel. And to me, that is a million miles away from where dubstep started. It is a million miles away from the ethos of it. It’s been influenced so much by electro and rave, into who can make the dirtiest, filthiest bass sound, almost like a pissing competition, and that’s not really necessary. And I just think that largely that is not going to appeal to women. I find that whole side of things to be pretty frustrating, because that is a direct misrepresentation of the sound as far as I’m concerned.

Truthfully, most art suffers from distortion by popularization, often resulting in a léger-version of the what adherents to the genre would refer to as the epitomized form or main ‘ethos’ of the sound. Nevertheless, Blake’s statements leave me more inquisitive than anything.

Who defines the authentic ethos of a genre? Should diversions from the purest form of the genre be discouraged?

Is Blake presumptuous to reduce other versions of the genre with the label of a lesser merit?
For any genre of music, this reoccurring problem arises with increased popularity.

‘Classicists’ within the scene are often filled with contempt when the genre becomes marketable and diluted by the ‘evils’ of the mainstream. Soon the authenticity of many sub-genres comes into question following the predictable pattern of a genre’s transition from the underground to the scrutiny of the mainstream. Reluctantly, the trajectory of many of these genres becomes unavoidable, with many final products being a watered- down, mass-produced sound marketed for the general public.

James Blake’s statement raises the issue of whether dubstep has reached this pivotal point. Is dubstep destined to suffer the same fate as the tiresome indie ‘buzz band’ phenomenon? Will consumers’ patience soon outweigh their appreciation for a performance like James Blake’s, instead seeking quick-and-easy crowd-pleasers such as Skrillex?

It would be a shame to believe that this is the case, but I hold out hope for a happy medium. Idealism, pretension and trends aside, the way the music makes you feel is what is of the utmost importance. If you are able to find enjoyment, entertainment, or inspiration from any variation of the genre, the music has served its purpose.

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