Salacious Sound » Music Commentary

Avicii – Silhouettes: an indie crossover hit?

totem — Thu, 24 May 2012 01:03:58 +0000

Today, a surprising turn of events took place within the music blog circuit and the EDM community. Renowned Swedish house producer Avicii’s follow-up single to last year’s ubiquitous anthem “Levels” was named ‘Best New Track’ by the governing force in indie music, Pitchfork. With the exception of their recent Skrillex interview, this is the first time Pitchfork has favourably acknowledged “mainstream” electronica.While they were early supporters of electronic artists such as James Blake, SBTRKT, Grimes, and Rustie, up until now, Pitchfork has been quite ignorant towards the more accessible side of EDM. Nowhere on Pitchfork will you find album or track reviews of anything by Deadmau5, Wolfgang Gartner, Porter Robinson, Knife Party, Pretty Lights, Dada Life….the list goes on and on. I find that very surprising considering the wide range of genres that P4k does cover. They have always championed hip-hop, R&B, pop, and more recently metal, along with general ‘indie’. I’ve noticed in recent years that Pitchfork has been attempting to expand their horizons, endorsing a broader range of genres.

When Pitchfork began in 1995, their focus was more on independent rock music. Through the years, they have grown to be recognized as a sort of “indie Bible” or, to put it bluntly, the site that all the hipster kids go to to find out about “obscure” bands so they can claim they knew about them “before they got big”. However, in recent years it has become apparent that the writers at Pitchfork have made an effort to include less of the ‘indie’ and more of the mainstream. For example, Nicki Minaj‘s smash hit “Super Bass” and Beyonce‘s electrifying “Countdown” hold the 4th and 7th place spots on Pitchfork’s Top 100 Tracks of 2011. Yes, they still cover the indie rock and the experimental but lately, it seems that Pitchfork is trying to appeal to a larger audience.

That brings me to Avicii‘s latest anthem “Silhouettes”. The fact that Pitchfork even bothered to review “Silhouettes” (they didn’t review “Levels”) and not to mention, that the writer of the review was Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber is evidence that Pitchfork has finally embraced the popular side of EDM. So, what does this mean for the electronic music scene? As Pitchfork continues to monopolize the blogosphere, what is to become of indie, EDM, and us here at Salacious? I’m no psychic but I am going to predict that Pitchfork will continue to cover mainstream electronic music, further blurring the lines between indie and mainstream. Before you know it, all the hipster kids are going to be wearing neon and asking you if you’ve heard of Tim Berg. Alright, that might be a bit extreme but hey, this is 2012 and anything could happen. If my prediction holds true, it’s going to be pretty damn annoying when Pitchfork starts encroaching on Salacious territory. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen though. Seriously Pitchfork, you’re like the Wal-Mart of blogs, leave room for the little guys! On the bright side, this might provoke more people to open their ears to artists like Avicii or Skrillex instead of simply dismissing them as “uncool” or “mainstream”. Really, who could be a better ambassador for EDM than euphoric-house overlord Avicii? As Ryan Schreiber puts it:

“Avicii is one of the few artists from his world whose singles work as well for me in headphones as they do on festival stages, and his knack for balancing pure FM pop hooks with genuinely affecting vocal tracks makes his wide-eyed positivity an easy pill to swallow.”

Feed Me expresses frustration with ‘the game’

Cal — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:10:24 +0000

This morning Feed Me jumped on his Facebook fan page to express frustration with what he describes as the ‘greatest game in the world’ – sticking to talking points and not revealing too much in return for magazine or online publicity.

His commentary on music publicity is interesting enough in and of itself, but for true fans of Feed Me it’s also a window in to his life, and revealing of his motivations for making great art.

source

‎’This is the greatest game in the world.’

I’ve almost stopped doing interviews because I’m achieving nothing. If you want to find something out about me, ask me personally. If it catches my eye, I’ll respond, but dragging through another interview that no one thought about for more than two minutes seems like treading very boring water. Not that they’ve all been that way; but it’s the trend.

A well known electronic music magazine recently wanted to do a few page spread about my production techniques. They sent me a list of preliminary questions; what plugins do I use for ‘dirty’ sounds, what makes a good ‘drop’, how much ‘filth is too much filth’? Who wrote this? I could play the system; give away minimal information in exchange for some printed coverage, but at this point, fuck it. The Mau5hax thing was great; I got to interface with talented people and enjoy making music. I learnt as well as got involved. I didn’t sit and have my mechanical techniques picked at while my actual motivation was ignored; we made decisions together.

I don’t mind the occasional production Q, but what happened to mystery in music and art? There’s YouTube tutorials for days now online. Look it up; these production conversations are redundant. The truth and effect comes in the sincerity and composition of the actual piece. If I read an interview with an artist of any type, what I want to know is the ‘why’ – not the ‘how’. Why as electronic artists are we constricted to being quizzed monotonously about our techniques, and not ever our motivation? The reason anything I made sounds the way it did is because I sat and worked out every single piece of it myself. Give every one of us the same tools, and see what we all end up with – it’s our differences in expression and decision making that makes us.

I’m doing this because I honestly don’t know what else I can do. Music and art for me is a necessary release, and once people picked up on what I was making I was thrown into it. I was a bottled up, angry teenager, and I was completely consumed by the satisfaction I’d found in this new idea of making my own music. It consumed my life and I found I loved what it brought to it, and now I’m on an endless journey to see where it takes me, and where I can take it. Because of it, my entire late teenage and adult life I’ve been travelling the world, from Spor to Feed Me, constantly humbled by the people I’ve met, things I’ve seen, extremes I’ve lived through – I’m nothing but overwhelmingly grateful, it’s almost too much.

Some of it has been physically and mentally tough, but so far I’ve never quit. It’s never left my mind that should I drop dead, there’s a million people who would kill to take my place. I don’t believe in luck necessarily; I carved this out myself, but I am honoured to have what I have. If you’re going to complain about your reality when you’re living another persons dream, then I think you need a massive reality check. No one’s forcing you. Music is magic; and I think as artists we have a duty to keep it that way, not dissolve it down into presets, complaints, one-upmanship and catering to the market. It’s not all pink candy-floss cloud rides, and I think it looks fake if you depict it that way, but it really could be a lot fucking worse.

I used to lie and listen to my favourite records and daydream about how they were thought up, get lost in the sounds. There was no one to ask or study, and the resulting domino effect of speculation led me to my own ideas. It’s always been the unknown that’s motivated me. Spor was what I fell in to, but Feed Me is my world, a projection of a piece of me, and a way of expressing whatever I feel like. I couldn’t have built what I have without you guys supporting me, but I’ll always be creating and writing it none the less. I love you all for letting me take it this far.

I don’t normally post my opinions on here, but I’ve never got anywhere by playing the game, and sometimes I just feel I need to 1) say thanks, and 2) say why. TLDR.

Feeeed.

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Azealia Banks and Diplo “F*ck Up the Fun” [MP3]

totem — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:22:35 +0000

Well, this is certainly a collaboration that was “written in the stars.” It seemed only a matter of time until the omnipresent Diplo took an interest in the compelling, young rapper Azealia Banks. Although the specific details of this collab are unknown for the time being, it makes sense that Diplo would be the one to seek out Azealia.You have to admit, the guy’s got a real knack for picking out up-and-coming hip-hop/pop stars. Nevertheless, “up-and-coming” feels like an understatement when referring to Banks’ catapult launch to blogosphere ubiquity. With big support from “indie mecca” Pitchfork and a plethora of other blogs, Banks has become 2012′s hot topic.

I think part of the reason that she has been able to garner so much attention is because of her music’s foundation in two presently burgeoning genres: hip-hop and electronica. Yeah, she’s cute and she has a ridiculously good flow but what I find really exciting about Azealia is her uncanny ability to re-purpose left-field electronica tracks. Her 3 most popular songs feature production from Lazy J, Lone, and Machinedrum. These artists (specifically Lone and Machinedrum) inhabit a unique branch of electronic music that you would never expect to hear anyone rapping over. Nevertheless, they sound perfectly at home next to Azealia’s spastic rhymes. Azealia Banks’ music bridges the divide between pop, hip-hop, and electronica. For someone unfamiliar with the more esoteric forms of electronica, Banks’ music will come as a testament to the remarkable diversity and potential of electronic music.

All this being said, “Fuck up the Fun” is not quite what I was hoping for from this collaboration. Azealia’s rapping is as sharp as ever but it’s Diplo’s production that I find disappointing. I don’t know if it’s just me but the whole marching-band drum rhythms just did not vibe with me. Diplo’s usual hard-hitting, in-your-face production seems to be lacking here. I feel like he could have tried something a bit more offhand and spontaneous to accentuate Azealia’s lightning fast flow better. She kills it regardless. My only problem with this track is that it sounds a bit rushed on Diplo’s part, it certainly had potential to be something more. Maybe it’s just that Azealia sounds best with more eccentric, left-field stylings that defy the conventions of a hip-hop beat. Her charm lies in her unpredictability.

Azealia Banks’ debut album entitled “Broke with Expensive Taste” is set to drop in September of this year

New tracks from Brenmar, Pictureplane and LILINTERNET featured on free mixtape

totem — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:30:42 +0000

The Worldwide Gallery Traxx 2012 Mixtape is based upon somewhat of an idiosyncratic concept. Featuring nine tracks from the likes of: Brenmar, M.E.S.H., Craxxxmurf, Dju Dju, Pictureplane, Asa Cossaboom, Slava, LILINTERNET, and o F F Love; the mix is built around samples from 100 telephone conversations with gallery receptionists across the world concerning said “Worldwide Gallery’s” white cube interior. I’m not quite sure if this is meant to hold some deeper meaning (about receptionists?) or whether it is a stylistic choice but nonetheless, it creates an aura of mystery around the project.

In regards to the musical style, all 9 tracks on the mixtape seem to fit into what I would call ‘nu-rave’. Often-times we hear Skrillex or Deadmau5 being heralded as the leaders of a ‘new rave generation’ and while they have their place, I would argue that artists such as Pictureplane, LILINTERNET, Teengirl Fantasy and Unicorn Kid (former 2 not featured on the mixtape) are the underground kingpins of the real ‘nu-rave’. The Worldwide Gallery Traxx Mixtape is a good place to start if you’re are unfamiliar with this esoteric ‘rave’ sound. Taking cues from hip-hop and R&B (as is the latest trend in electronica) Brenmar starts off the mix with silky smooth synth and a bass-heavy rhythm. Other highlights include Craxxxmurf‘s whimsical Rihanna-sampling cut “Best Time I Never Had”, Asa Cossaboom‘s super-charged rave anthem “Don’t Have to Call Me” and LILINTERNET‘s Waka Flocka Flame-sampling hardstyle rave track “Paintin”. All the tracks on the mixtape share this common ‘nu-rave’ aesthetic that encompasses retro rave, R&B/hip-hop, and progressive house stylings. They tend towards new experimental sounds and that is exactly what I believe a contemporary adaptation of a pre-existing genre should do. The artists on this mixtape, although they may sound obscure to you, are pushing the boundaries of rave and electronica in general. They don’t settle for the usual or what’s popular, instead, they explore new territory. No one likes a re-hash anyways.

Download the Worldwide Gallery Traxx 2012 Mixtape here:

Tracklisting:

Brenmar – Intro (0.00)
M.E.S.H. – Pretty White (3.02)
Craxxxmurf – Best Time I Never Had (7.41)
Dju Dju – Coming Down (11.50)
Pictureplane – Light Games (15.37)
Asa Cossaboom – Don’t Have to Call Me (20.32)
Slava – Speechless (25.48)
LILINTERNET – Paintin’ (28.58)
o F F Love – When You’re Gone / Outro (31.46)

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Why do you fail to recognize beauty?

Cal — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:19:28 +0000

I’ve seen this story floating around a lot lately, and wanted to share it with you all.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Update: JKelles alerted me to this video

Download 2 new tracks from Diplo’s Express Yourself – EP

totem — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:32:34 +0000

Hey Diplo, did you not say back in December that the Express Yourself – EP would be released in January?! Well, that never happened. It’s okay though Dip, we know you’re a busy man. Oh and by the way, that Valentine’s Day gift from you and Usher was suuuuper sweet!

Diplo, being the generous dude that he is, has finally released a couple tracks from his ‘Express Yourself’ – EP as free downloads!! You may recognize the title track from the EP sampler that was released back in December. It features New Orleans bounce rapper Nicky Da B and standard Diplo hysteria. The other track is an electro take on The Trashmen‘s classic “Surfin Bird”. It’s fun, engaging and even comic at times. You’ve done it again Diplo! I am entertained….

The emergent genre you’ll hear at 2012 festivals, and the spectre of Studio 54

Jamie Q — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:14:41 +0000

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.

Existance – Miles Apart EP

totem — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:52:41 +0000

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

Mickey Moonlight and the Time Axis Manipulation Corporation – Review

Larratt Vaughan — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:39:57 +0000

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

Actually… Your Grandma Doesn’t F*cking DJ.

Cal — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 03:51:34 +0000

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?

Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames [Video]

Cal — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 01:21:33 +0000

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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Re:mix Lab Update – Kickoff and RE:Generation ft Skrillex, DJ Premier, Erykah Badu, Crystal Method

Cal — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:39:38 +0000

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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Low Tide for Chill Wave?

Jamie Q — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:35:49 +0000

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

Ambitious Producer ‘Aech_Rom’ Sedates and Stimulates

totem — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:30:54 +0000

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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Crush On You – Brodinski Remix

Esker — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 01:04:03 +0000

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

James Blake Plays Toronto, Chides Contemporaries for Abandoning the Ethos of Dubstep

Alexandra — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:25:45 +0000

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.

Justice – Audio, Video, Disco EP Review

Larratt Vaughan — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:32:31 +0000

Justice has come back with a vengeance, and is on the cusp of one of this years most anticipated releases. Ed Banger proprietor Busy P is certainly up living up to his role as hypeman for the effort, sharing ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ with the crowds of LA’s Hard Summer party in August. After Busy P played these tracks at various shows around the world, and issued a preview-reel soundcloud on his blog, The ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ EP has dropped, a month before the full album carrying the same name.

As previously covered, Justice is not your run of the mill electro act. A group that in many ways paved the way for the contemporary Electro genre seems to have gotten more rock’n’roll. While Civilization strongly alluded to The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’, especially easy to hear in the Adidas ad edit, the track ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ takes their sound in a different direction. The lead organ is less abrasive as was heard in ‘Waters of Nazareth’, and the track contains contrasts subtler than those in Cross.

In ‘Helix’, long time French-touch followers may be reminded of the original electric guitar riff-house crossover, Daft Punk’s Aerodynamic. Above the shredding, Justice adds in some fitting vocal samples for character, seemingly inspired by the production of label-mate SebastiAn. While it plays heavier than ‘Audio, Video, Disco’, Helix somehow still listens easy. Those who enjoyed the screeching strings of stress, or the violent distortion employed liberally throughout Cross will have to just wait and see if something filthier surfaces on the album.

Two ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ remixes also make it into the release. Para One infuses acid-house and coked-out dutch-style bleep-bloop electro with the original for results that may be more palatable for some late night DJs. Mickey Moonlight contributes as well, going for a simple bass guitar foundation underneath the catchy vocal hook, and building up into a more developed sound with electric guitar and crowd samples; it’s an organic counterbalance to Para One’s work. Two adequate remixes, but unfortunately no Soulwax / Phantom pt. II caliber reworkings here kids.

The Audio, Video, Disco EP tells us a lot about Justice’s new direction. The tracks are in keeping with what Xavier has said about the new album, in that it’s more daytime listening and less nighttime; more country and less city. In their review of Justice’s debut album Cross, Pitchfork described the sound as being like ‘the caress of a sledgehammer’. While it’s impossible to tell what type of blunt instrument I’m being caressed with here, it’s fair to say that it’s a little lighter this time around.

The ‘Audio, Video Disco’ EP is available now on iTunes from Ed Banger Records.

Justice’s full album, ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ drops October 25th.

JUSTICE “AUDIO VIDEO DISCO” (video edit) by edbangerrecords

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Max Aristid – Flight of the Bumble Bee

Jamie Q — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:52:33 +0000

Max Aristid – Flight of the Bumble Bee by Dancewax Recordings

I was derping on the internets, as is my habit while I’m watching the clock and waiting to move far away, and I found this minimal-techno beauty from Berlin-based producer Max Aristid. You wouldn’t expect five minutes of dreamy, far-away, filtered synths paired with a simple eighth-note groove would compel anything but insomniac yawns from bored suburban dads lying awake at night in post-modern David Lynch inspired “art house films”…

BUT!

I find this track particularly fascinating. It’s not a banger, it won’t get a crowd raging, etc… But it does bring a smile to your face while it echos Rimsky-Korsakov in the timing, the key, and the overall feel of the song. Plus, when did you last hear sounds of nature put together with a beat in such a clean way? Aristid’s track requires multiple listens; just compare the ebb and flow of the bee buzzing with the timing of synths and the beats. If you count 1-2-3-4, each downbeat has the bees swarm, and each upbeat has the bees recede into the background. Give it a listen!

More Drama Surrounding Avicii vs Leona Lewis Tracks

Cal — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 14:22:08 +0000

For back story on this issue you can refer to two of my earlier articles here and here.

The Guardian is reporting that Leona Lewis is facing a potential injunction, and will be unable to release Collide on Simon Cowell’s label Syco if Tim Bergling aka Avicii is successful at convincing “the high court” (I’m assuming British) that they should stop her from doing so. The basis? Avicii’s team alleges:

that Leona Lewis’s Collide “is a straight re-recording” of the earlier version of the song of the same name with the instrumental from Avicii.

Based on the following sequence of events:
1. Original instrumental track Penguin is shopped out for vocals.
2. Avicii team receives track Collide, and rejects it in favour of Fade Into Darkness.
3. Syco hears Collide and decides they want it for Leona Lewis, so they contact team Avicii. Team Avicii rejects their request.

If Leona Lewis took the instrumental that was being shopped out, tossed her vox on it wholesale and is now trying to sell it, then tough luck. She deserves whatever she gets, and I would hope she’d get a (metaphorical) pineapple in the ass.

Of course, not a single person who knows the music industry thinks that is what happened. If any flunkie like me knows how much it costs to re-create a track, the execs at Syco definitely knew, and that is what they did (I am guessing without proof, but compare the tracks at the bottom of this article if you want some evidence). People have been doing this for ages, and its a legitimate practice because, basically, you can’t copyright something like a progression of chords. Re-creating tracks and re-recording vocals is a service that’s sold on the internet for a couple thousand bucks, so if I’m at Syco and faced with the choice of paying a fraction of what I anticipate I’ll sell, then I do it to avoid the lawsuit.

Team Avicii must be on the same page with me here, so then why apply for the injunction if you don’t think a reasonable judge will give it to you? Either you think you’re special and deserve special protection, or you have some ulterior motive (ie making it really public that Leona Lewis copied you wholesale).

My two cents? Give up the battle, Team Avicii. It’s not worth it. Tim made the better track anyway, everyone knows it, and spending a bunch of money on an injunction probably isn’t going to boost your record sales proportional to that cost. That’s not to mention the emotional investment in going through with this, and I imagine tensions are already running high there. Give up being butthurt (respectfully). Instead, get back to focusing on being awesome, since that’s what you guys are good at anyway.

Avicii – Fade Into Darkness (Vocal Club Mix) by salacioussound

Avicii – Fade Into Darkness

Leona Lewis – Collide

Preview Modeselektor’s Upcoming Third LP ‘Monkeytown’

totem — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:54:48 +0000

F.Y.I. the beloved German electronic duo of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary a.k.a. ‘Modeselektor’ are set to drop their new album “Monkeytown” on September 30. To save us the agony of waiting until then Modeselektor have been nice enough to allow us a sneak preview, posting 45 second clips of every song on the album to their Soundcloud. Now, I know listening to clips of songs is kind of a tease but come on man, ” don’t those Thom Yorke tracks sound sweet?”

Modeselektor “Monkeytown” (MONKEYTOWN015) OUT BETWEEN SEP27-OCT04 by Modeselektor

Monkeytown is being released on Bronsert and Szary’s Monkeytown Records