Thursday, August 31, 2006

This just in: Pitchfork is dead to me.

Now, anyone that reads this site on a regular basis knows I seldom editorialize, instead simply showing my support/endorsement with the tracks I choose to post. Every now again I do feel the need to vent about something. In this case, it is my hatred for Pitchfork Media.

One prominent reason is the 1/2 star Uffie review linked above. The piece is not only one of mammiest things I've read in some time, but its clearly the scribblings of a self-loathing hipster-- the kind that lusts for the vacant-eyed, terryclothed rompered nymphs on Cobrasnake he publicly decries-- and absolutely hates himself for it.

Also, this was published by the same website that brought you a recent review claiming Rex the Dog to be a "minimal" producer (among other transgressions). No big surprise, then, that this review claims Uffie's beau, Feadz, to be a "French House" producer, a la Cassius. Have a look at Feadz' discogs listing here and check for yourself. Lots of BPitch, Trax, Ed Banger, etc. If anything he's a hip hop DJ that's branched out. A little due dilligence goes a long way, Mr. Pytlik.

Now, I'm not defending Uffie's 12' as some sort of epic, groundbreaking vision, but it is indeed a fun, saccharin sweet tune thats gotten a good amount of plays for its cheeky take on hip-pop. With the exception of "The Month In..." series, written by people that actually live and breathe their subject matter, Pitchfork is dead to me.

Uffie- Pop the Glock

(I originally posted this back in January but I'm re-posting so everyone can make up their own minds)

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Thursday, August 24, 2006

This track makes me want to move to Australia, pronto:

Van She- Kelly
Van She- Kelly (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix)

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

And now for the counterpoint to John Irving's piece in the Guardian last week. Hitchens in attack mode:

Snake in the Grass- The pompous, hypocritical hucksterism of Günter Grass (Slate)


Various Production- Hater

Tuesday, August 22, 2006



Thanks to a hot tip from my pal Justin, I've been really into the Rub N Tug- Better with a Spoonful of Leather mix. Word on the street is it is all 45's played on 33 and the resulting sound is somewhere between Danny Wang and old Plastikman (bear with me here). Chopped and screwed twisted disco at its finest.

Check out this cut from the mix for a taste of the sound:

Rub N Tug- Slipps


Not sure what the original song is. If anyone knows, drop a comment.

Also, a reminder to go check in with Nate over at unconscious repeat. He's been on a serious roll lately, and the blog is a must-read.

-cjn
Is Steve Aoki the James Lavelle of the Blog era? Discuss.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

I SWITCHED UP THE BEAT OF THE DRUM

D4L- Laffy Taffy
Kelis- Bossy (Switch remix)


This was kindly posted to me by the man himself, Greg Wilson. He's a nice guy and top-tier DJ that needs to get back to NYC asap, as he absolutely killed it at APT last time. The title of the CDR he sent is, "Greg Wilson Edits, Mash-ups, Mixes 05/06 Season" and I cannot stop listening to this cut:

Sugardaddy- Love honey

Buy Credit to the Edit here.
Fairmont- Gazebo
Shackleton- Blood on my hands

Friday, August 18, 2006

A provocative defense:

John Irving- Günter Grass is my hero, as a writer and a moral compass (Guardian UK)
Alice Coltrane Feat. Pharoah Sanders & Joe Henderson- Blue Nile
Super_Collider- Messagesacomin

Red Astaire- Marvin's Groove

I've posted this track before in the past, but I really feel like I should articulate how special of a remix it is. With a few subtle touches, Red Astaire ups the melancholia quotient in Gaye's original and coaxes much more emotion out of the vocal by virtue of his arrangement. By adding simple keys, gentle, pulsing drum programming, and percussion constructed from clips and hisses of static, the result is incredibly intimate and stirring enough to make the hairs stand up on your arm.

Sigur Ros- O Fridur

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Here's my recent contribution to Stylus' electronic music column. Yes, I normally write about stuff that I'm really feeling, but it just seems to me that some producers are phoning it in all too often lately and need to be called on it. My case in point:

Toby Tobias
A Close Shave
REKIDS / REKIDS 003
June 2006

Toby Tobias’ debut on Radio Slave’s Rekids label strikes me as being excessively stiff, but not in the deliberate, Kraftwerk-ian sense. It starts off with a rigid, mechanical percussion loop and adds layers of synth arpeggios that are stacked in a linear, building block fashion that comes across a bit too rudimentary. Opt for the remix on the flip, where Prins Thomas strips away the clutter, blurs and softens the tones, all the while brushing the track with his organic, space-disco vibe. It's not his finest remix, but one certainly worthy of merit and a considerable improvement over the original.

Listen to the track and tell me if you agree:

Toby Tobias- A close shave
Alice Machine- Night Hunt
Gina X- No G.D.M.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Saturday, August 05, 2006


"San Francisco" (1998) by Andreas Gursky.

One of my favorite photographers and one of my favorite hotels, the Park Hyatt off the Embarcadero in SF.

A random smattering of tunes:

Rick Ross- Hustlin'
Fleetwood Mac- The Chain (just fast forward to 3:04. epic, brah.)
Yume Bitsu- Song one
Slicker- Knock me down girl

And now, how to be a minimal hipster. Sherburne make the tea!
Greetings from DC.

This is easily one of my favorite pieces from Richard D. James' Selected Ambient Works:

Aphex Twin- Rhubarb

Thursday, August 03, 2006

SWELTER

Boom Bip- Last walk around mirror lake
Midnight Mike- Sunrise
Broker/Dealer- Stormy

Also, been vibing on Richard Carnage's latest disco mix over here. Tracks by Liquid Liquid, Richie Havens, edits from Greg Wilson, etc. Lovely.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Petter-Some Polyphony
Keith Kenniff- Door of our home
The new Stylus Beatz is out today, and I've got a review of the new Padded Cell 12'. Check it!

Thursday, July 27, 2006

FYI: Philip Sherburne's new Month in Techno column is up at Pitchfork.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Monday, July 24, 2006

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Attention New York City: Mathew Jonson is playing live at PS1 on the 19th of August. Don't sleep on this one.

Friday, July 21, 2006

A quick mid-year, top-ten chart of albums/ singles/ ep's that have been doing it for me so far:

Marsen Jules- Les Fleurs (City Center Offices)
Burial-s/t (Hyperdub)
Cobblestone Jazz- Dump Truck/Peace Offering (Wagon Repair)
The Knife- Silent Shout (Rabid)
DJ Koze- Kosi Comes Around Remixes Part 1 (Kompakt)
Dabrye- Two/Three (Ghostly)
Dwayne Sodahberk- Cut Open (Tigerbeat6)
Padded Cell- Are you anywhere (DC)
Alex Smoke- Paradolia (Soma)
Delta 5- Singles and Sessions 1979-1981 (Kill Rock Stars)

And- drumroll please...My favorite ever mix from Beats in Space:

The Avalanches- November 29, 2001

Listen to the Beach Boys "Matchpoint of our Love" into a slowed down Chemical Brothers "Star Guitar," into a sped-up KLF "3 AM Eternal" into what sounds like West London broken beat version of "Breathe, stop" played at plus 8 like whoa. Highlight? Dropping the intro to the live version of Underworld's Cowgirl/ Rezza over "It Began in Africa" and mixing in the intro to "Welcome to the Jungle" over it. Listen please.
Roni Size- Brown paper bag
Roni Size- Share the fall
Boom Bip- Closed shoulders (cLOUDDEAD Remix)
Fennesz- Perlen Für Euch

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Slate's Fred Kaplan weighs in on the lack of any substantive US diplomatic involvement.
Rhythm & Sound- Dem Never Know (Sleeparchive Remix) w/ Jah Cotton
Sleeparchive- Bleep 4

Oh, and Mr. Ewan Pearson has some new recommendations for you over here.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Gregory from Belgravia Dispatch weighs in on the lack of US diplomatic involvement in Israel over the past few days:

Hezbollah rocket-fire kills 8 Israeli civilians in Haifa, and over 100 Lebanese (mostly civilians as well) are now dead too in the ongoing violence. Olmert is promising a response with "far-reaching consequences" to the Haifa attack. Israeli infantry reserves are reportedly being called up, and there are reports Syrian reserves are as well. It is not unlikely, given the escalating violence, that a major Israeli ground incursion may be in the cards over the coming days, especially if continued application of airpower over the coming days does not serve to prevent further major attacks on the Israeli heartland. Meantime, the U.S. Secretary of State is not traveling to the region, or even, apparently, thinking in serious fashion about the broad parameters of a realistically workable cease-fire, as apparently events don't yet warrant such expenditure of American diplomatic prestige and capital. That's rather interesting, you might say.

Also, an analysis re: why the US is looking to others in this instance. Some key points:
The reasons the U.S. is watching this crisis from the sidelines are many: The Bush administration has been preoccupied with Iraq, it does not have diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern countries that matter in this escalation, and it has been unwilling to pressure Israel to avoid military response when Tel Aviv's security is threatened. The U.S. position represents a change from earlier days — such as the administration of the first President Bush, who enlisted diplomats like James Baker and Brent Skowcroft to ease tensions — when America brought pressure to bear on all parties, including Israel, to slam the Pandora's box back shut.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Sort of an odd track, but you've gotta love the bassline in this one. It'll grow on you, promise.

Paul Kalkbrenner- Dockyard

Slate's Jack Shafer on Gawker Media's Nick Denton.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

I realize these have been floating around elsewhere, but grab 'em if you haven't had the chance to listen:

Henrik Schwarz/Ame/Dixon feat. Derrick Carter- Where we at?
Brightblack Morninglight- Everybody Daylight

Also, in some sad news, Syd Barrett, of Pink Floyd fame, passed away today.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

How to smile 63 percent more during the day:
Download Royksopp's Eple as your polyphonic ringtone. Tried and true.
I've got some downtime after having just missed an early AM flight, so a few things for you:

I don't know much about this mix other than a. its quite good and b. it was handed out at the Kompakt beach party in Barcelona during Sonar. I'm assuming it has something to do with Mayer and Lazarus' London and Ibiza-based Stink nights. If anyone has additional info, please pass along and I will update accordingly. Cheers to Jimmy Jung for sending this.

Michael Mayer/ Damian Lazarus mix.

Other stuff:

-The new issue of the Pop Manifesto is up and running. Check out my brief interview with Vitalic if you get a second. There's also a cool interview with my pal Gordon Hull of Surface 2 Air.

-Richard Carnage of Tape fame with his "Don't Techno for an answer" mix available for your consumption here. Tracklist here.

-One Louder with a good post on the KLF.

-Nick Parish with some good Sonar photos and recaps.

And a few reposts for good measure:

Love is All- Make out fall out make up
Broker/Dealer- Stormy
Unkle- In a state (DFA mix)

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Happy Fourth!

A few things:

-My friend and Boldtype editor Toby Warner reporting from Senegal.

-Rory Stewart's account of his 2002 walk across Afghanistan is a must-read. Check out an NYT review here.

-Stop by Modifyer for a weekly smattering of the most interesting new electronic tracks. This girl spends crazy time listening and discovering new sounds for your benefit.

-Philip Sherburne's got a new mix up from Lolita in Barcelona. For those of you in the area, he plays with Konrad(ical) Black at Raum the 27th of July. Check it if you can.

-DJ Rupture's blog is a must for your bookmarks. He's got plenty of great mixes on there.

-Sick Girls!

-Wagon Repair's put out the new Cobblestone Jazz EP, and Mr. Soft at Tape has one of his incredibly insightful (and hilarious) reviews included in a comprehensive roundup of new rackords.

-In case you missed it from a few weeks back, here's my Flavorpill review of Dwayne Sodahberk's new one. It is a really cool record that's worth your time. Promise!

-Finally, a cool mini-Minus doc via Youtube, which brought "Gem Sweater" to this blog earlier in the week. Thanks to Hector for pointing it out.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Tuesday, June 27, 2006



Lopazz-Ciegos

A series of talks given at the TED conference in Monterey are now available in podcast and direct download. Check 'em out.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

GOLDEN AGE OF AIR TRAVEL?






"Airbus has unveiled a novel “super first class” concept on its revamped A380 cabin mock-up in Toulouse which could debut on the aircraft with some of the early operators."

I'm really doubting this will ever see production. With walk-up business class fares on New York to London hovering around $8,000 return, somehow I doubt there would be a market between this level, and that of the private jet. Perhaps on Emirates or Singapore, (as the article indicates), but when you consider how much space is being taken up in this suite, it doesn't seem sustainable. It is always frustrating to see the mock-ups of new airplanes, because all of the artist renditions show these lovely, luxurious spaces with workout centers, lounges, etc. The reality is each available square inch will be crammed with seats.

I am intrigued with the new entrants into the NYC-London route, Maxjet and Eos. The former offers promotional fares for around $1500 return for the route (similar to a premium economy fare on Virgin), but offers a better seat, better meals, better lounge access, and the fact that you don't have to deal with the terrible Heathrow 7am customs queue, though you do have to fly into Stansted. Early reports from friends indicate a satisfying experience, though they only have one plane going back and forth, meaning if your flight is canceled, things get messed up.

Eos is much more expensive, but based on the reviews I've read, is quite nice. They advertise 48 people on a plane built for 220, and the meal service, amentities, etc are all first class. For now, according to today's Times, "the airline is breaking even financially. June load factors will be above 70 percent, and 100 corporate clients have signed up. Eos said it would add a second daily flight between New York and London Stansted Airport in September.

It will be very interesting to see how both of these fare (har har) going forward. There is a market for what they're providing, but it comes down to execution and sustainable business models in an increasingly difficult sector.

Update:
According to Dan Crivello, a MAXjet pilot, "MAXjet is acquiring more airplanes to have spares. We just took delivery of airplane number 3 and have put bids on airplane 4 and 5.

In the meantime, rest assured. MAXjet has a reciprocal agreement with Virgin Atlantic and will book you on that airline if there is cancellation."

Monday, June 19, 2006

Sunday, June 18, 2006

OH, THAT VOICE

Wait for a quiet, humid night (preferably with crickets chirping) when you are alone in your house. Turn off the lights. Pour yourself a double of Lagavulin and go listen to Scott Walker's Drift on repeat.

Friday, June 16, 2006

This commentary is what music blogging should be all the time.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

THE CAT AND THE CANARY



"Karl Rove was told by prosecutors today that he won't be charged with any crimes in the investigation into the leak of a C.I.A. officer's identity." Check out the expression on his companion's face. Need I say more?
SAVE THE DATE



The Long Blondes will be playing some stateside dates in late July, including NYC. Check the Whats Your Rupture? page for the details.

The Long Blondes- Giddy Stratospheres

Friday, June 09, 2006

THE SOUND OF MIDNIGHT BLUE



The new Burial self-titled album on Hyperdub is absolutely incredible. Seek it out as soon as you can. I can't believe I slept on this. I used to pay a good amount of attention to dubstep a few years back, but have slipped and this is an excelllent reason to refocus on the genre. Here's a Pitchfork article on the album, and a link to Boomkat to pick it up. One for the best-of lists this year, to be sure.

Burial-Distant Lights

Thanks to my friend and Flavorpill Managing editor Jake Lancaster for tipping me off on both the album, and the fact that it is a bedroom recording. Wow.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Jacen Solo- Dancefloor Tingles
Duplex- Cosmic Dancer
THINKING IN BULLETS

-Dial enthusiasts will be pleased to hear that the new Pantha Du Prince Lichten 12' is out on pre-release over at Kompakt Mp3. While you're at it, pick up the whole label back catalogue. You won't be sorry.

-Mr. Pearson has a new Enthusiasm column up on his site. Go read!

-La Decadance with the new Simian track, "Hustler".

-In other news, for those in NYC, check out the Chromatics and Glass Candy out at Night Time. And for some late night action, check out the Damian Lazarus "Get Lost" party over at Love afterwards.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

NYC-
Here's the PS1 Warm up series schedule:

July 1: Danny Krivit, Francois K, Joe Claussell (Body & Soul Ten Year Reunion)
July 8: The Idjut Boys, Phil South
July 15: Todd Terje, Kudu (live), Citizen Kane
July 22: A Guy Called Gerald (live), San Serac (live), Derek Plaslaiko
July 29: The Juan Maclean (live), Adam X (live), Jeffrey Sfire
August 5: Agnes B. Presents...
August 12: Rub-n-Tug, Escort (live)
August 19: Mathew Johnson (live), Beppe Loda, Lee Douglas, Jeremy Campbell
August 26: The Glimmers + a special guest
September 2: Carl Craig, Gamal Awad, special guest

Friday, June 02, 2006

TONIGHT, NYC

David Holmes w/ Andy Votel
when: Fri 6.2 (10pm)
where: APT (419 W 13th St, 212.414.4245)
price: $12 / $10 advance

David Holmes' current day job finds him melding the underground and the mainstream; pairing long-lost soul rarities, other vinyl gems, and his own edits with top-tier Hollywood blockbusters like Ocean's Twelve. Though the producer and archivist has long had an interest in soundtrack work of this sort, his DJing pedigree is certainly up-to-nick as well. Extremely versatile and able to play to a small, sweaty Northern soul crowd one night and an anthemic techno big-room the next, Holmes joins another high-caliber selector/collector: Twisted Nerve label head Andy Votel. Sure to delight vinyl-obsessives of ethno-psych, Krautrock, bizzaro-folk, prog, deep soul, funk, and more. (CJN)
mbv-only shallow


spacemen 3- suicide (live)

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Apparat- Berlin

A kind soul sent this to me after my laptop (and all my digital music) was nicked awhile back and its been one of the most frequently played cuts on ze new G4. Next-level techno. Tip!
A good Boomkat editorial by Adam Park on the influential Sähkö label, purveyors of "stripped down, unvarnished machine music."
Daniel Wang- Warped

Friday, May 26, 2006

W....T....F....
The new Tres Demented release-- Green Velvet meets Blackstrobe, but darker. Wha! Also, the new Soulphiction is so rave.



Dwayne Sodahberk-Open Cuts

I'm really excited about this record. Also, bonus points for beds of sea kelp on the cover. Buy it here for ten bones. I'm in the process of writing a review. Stay tuned.

Also, the Tape boys alerted me to some really interesting netlabels that are releasing great music for free. Go to Synergy and check track 1 on the Pep Gaya, and swing Corpid by to check the new Drei Farben House EP.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Philip Sherburne's new Month in Techno column is up. Go read!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

BITS & BOBS

Finally, Nate Cunningham has a blogga! He will bring you music that is, "the warmth of the sun, infinite space, liquid phase, swampy tremolo, underwater echo, old circuits exposed, melted tape, disintegrated calm."

Random tangent but such a vivid description brings to mind this little genius piece of writing from Jess Harvell on BoC's Geogaddi:

For all their production nous (BoC records just leap outta the speakers at you, even at low volume) there was something kind of HAIRY about Geogaddi. Like if you picked up one of their samplers and shook it a bunch of dirt and leaves and twigs would spill out. Like it had been pickled in a mason jar in a basement for a decade. Like it was made by cyborg homesteaders who were "just trying to make do with what we have." It fit the whole Drudic/Branch Davidian vibe they were working. Like Krautrock, it blurred twee/creepy/kozmik until a line like "1969/in the sunshine" sounded like the bummest trip ever. But it was also seductive, pleasurable.
Anyhow, check it often, cos' this kid knows his stuff.

Meanwhile, Karl Briedrick holds it down with, "klonopin waves, dusty jams, and chlorine feels" on his blog, Burnt brown sounds.

And one more worthy of mention. Midnight Mike is posting a lot of rarities from his crates over at 12 AM Maternal.Its safe to say that this is music you won't be finding elsewhere in the blogosphere.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Some nice cuts to be had over at My Own Language.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Selections:
Plastikman-Psyk
Love is All- Make out Fall Out Make Up
The Beach Boys- Do you like worms?
Section 25- Looking from a hilltop
Joakim- Woundelife on Brayt a Cool
Music for Robots with a 1999 Villalobos track from the Salvador LP. While you are there, download anything Blair has ever put up, as he's got incredibly good taste in music, especially electronic things.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

SOME THOUGHTS

In Palm Beach at the moment. Catching up with loads of music and walking on the beach.

-If you haven't yet, check this excellent jukebox jury with M.Mayer. Well worth a read!

-Also, just got nearly bowled over by "Jet" on Ellen Allien & Apparat's Orchestra of Bubbles. This is truly an outstanding album. Go pick it up.

-Keen to keep listening to Unai's A Love Moderne on Force. I love what I've heard so far.

-Check MC's blog with tracks you've likely never heard (and should!)

-Starting to assemble the next XLR8R column. As always, drop me a line if there are promo 12's that are doing it for you.

Good night and good luck.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

DAFTNDIRECT




Thx Jimmy.

Monday, May 08, 2006

An addition to the links sidebar: a new electronic music MP3 blog, Modyfier.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

THINGS, BRIEFLY

-An interesting Joan Didion interview from 1971, here.

-Very keen to check out the Thursday night party in Toronto that the Daughters of Invention put on. If its half as good as the music they are posting regularly then waaa!

-The TAPE boys killing it per usual.

-Sherburne on Ellen Allien and Apparat's Orchestra of Bubbles over at Pitchfork.

-Jimmy with a lovely piece of writing to sum up his winter as a ski instructor in St. Moritz (affectionately known as the Glitz). Can I ditch NYC's winter next year and do this instead?

-Geeta on audiophiles and a frightening new Japanese trend.

-Catch rightfully giving props to the new Prince Language/ DJ Lindsey track (listen here.)

-Go add DJ Oro's new profile on Myspace, and download that nice little edit he did of Gnarls.

-As for me, just finished a draft of a piece on Dabrye, forthcoming in RE:UP magazine. I'm in San Francisco at the moment, going to check out Pier Bucci tonight. Its nice to be in California, even if I've had my nose in a laptop for a bit longer than I would have liked. Back to NYC on the red-eye tomorrow night. For those in town, come check Roy Dank DJing with some other peeps at Bembe in the BK. Nice space, should be chill, and Mr. Dank has promised some nice slow burners...

Finally, a lovely Magnetic Fields cover for those who haven't heard it:

!!!- Take Ecstacy With Me

Friday, May 05, 2006

Me on Akufen in this week's Flavorpill.net:

First Fridays feat. Akufen
when: Fri 5.5 (9pm-1am)
where: Guggenheim Museum (1071 5th Ave, 212.423.3500)
price: $20

Akufen made what was perhaps microhouse's grandest statement in 2002 with his full length My Way. Its raw materials consisted of short-wave radio snippets painstakingly chopped and reassembled into a complex mosaic with thick, funky bass lines and jackin' kicks to delight heads and hips in equal measure. The genre has since firmly established itself, and Akufen has kept pace with subsequent 12-inches, an ambient-oriented project under his real name, Marc Leclair, and a brilliant Fabric DJ mix, which displays his work as well as the talent of several like-minded producers. Tonight, after a live set of danceable dub, rubbery rhythms, and digital funk from Montréal duo Luci, Akufen gets behind the decks as a preview of the musical innovation to be displayed later this month at Mutek.

-CJN

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

the sea and the gulls- seagulls.

salt air, bleached wood, dunes, sun and hamburger buns. nantucket chic.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

EXCLUSIVE

A great little cumbia edit of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," done by my good friend Gavin Burnett aka DJ Oro based in Buenos Aires. Really enjoying this one.

Gnarls Barkley- Crazy (DJ Oro cumbria edit)
New Boards of Canada video for Dayvan Cowboy.