#c.z. wang

[beats-and-bites]

Thx @nixandolli

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 285: CZW and Neo Image

Mood Hut devotees have always wondered about a curious hole in the label’s discography, for in 2014, the Vancouver crew moved from House of Door’s The Dolphin Hotel Affair Vol. 1 (MH005) to Jack J’s Looking Forward to You single (MH007), thus mysteriously skipping over MH006. An errant comment made on the Mood Hut Discogs page back in 2016 suggested that the release was indeed coming, but other than that, it has remained a giant question mark and with each passing year, seemed less and less likely to ever drop. Parallel to this, there was an unreleased yet certified Mood Hut classic floating around the internet…a zoner hip hop and haze house anthem that leaked via misplaced CD-Rs, circulated widely, and even made its way onto a Jayda G Boiler Room set. And given the amazing strength of the track, it was always hard to imagine how or why it never made its way to vinyl. Luckily in 2019, we’ve arrived at a convergence and now, the mysteries of MH006 and the hip hop house banger have finally been solved by the Just Off Wave / Open Mic Beat 12″.

The architects of “Just Off Wave” are Mood Hut mainstays C.Z. Wang and Neo Image, who years ago crafted a slice of buoyant club magic…minimal yet suffused with pop energy and cosmic ethereality, as pads waver and electro lasers fire above airy house beatscapes. Then pushing the song towards total earworm perfection are the sleepy-eyed raps, all stoner voices pitch-shifting and smooth lyricisms stoking peak-time party ecstasy, with everything flowing from Separated at Birth (a well known Canadian hip hop duo operating here under an alias). It’s truly remarkable, especially given that it was written over five years ago, and shows that even in their earliest days, the Mood Hut crew were swinging wide and soaring to impossible heights. And though “Just Off Wave” is itself worth the admission price, of course that’s not all, for there’s also “Open Mic Beat”….a freaky drum machine improv that, according to the label, "got its legs at early Mood Hut parties where it became a natural prompt, encouraging microphone-grabbing party guests to step up and freestyle.”

CZW and Neo Image - Just Off Wave / Open Mic Beat (Mood Hut, 2019) “Just Off Wave” comes to life on double time clicks, splashing rides, analog snares, and bouncy four-four kicks until time-morphing delay spirals wash the rhythms away, leaving angelic pads to sigh while sub-bass bubbles float the soul. A syrupy, stoned, and temporally slowed voice repeats “just off wave / just on wave” as the rhythms rush back in, now carried by jacking house bass and melodic tom-tom percolations. At some point, a synthesized diva screams from the void, sending shivers up the spine while Kraftwerk-ian electro lasers add touches of electro-magic to the hip house glide. As the beats drop away once again, a feminine voice begins her calming raps…all lyrical, heavy lidded, and flowing smoothly on echowaves. And once the beat drops back in, it’s all so heady and intoxicating, taking me back to 90s radio jams from TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and Missy Elliot as I sing along: “wasn’t a party / more like a parade / we’re out here riding / I’m heavy and I’m paid” (that’s my best guess at least). Perhaps no better party starter has ever been written, with effervescent house rhythms riding hypnotically and the ethereal pads bathing the mix in layers of haunted sorrow as everyone jumps together, hands in the air, singing along to a zoned out west coast anthem. The rest of the track sees the two Separated at Birth members locked into a hypnotic call and response, with dopamine title chants alternating with laid back lyrical spells, and at some point even the feminine voice backs into delirious repetitions of “just on wave”. The virtual diva scream returns and breaks the mix down one last time, with the low down masculine voice now running through zany delay trails while surrounded by cloudform pads. And after one more turn of the spellbinding rap hypnotics, we end on a stretch of club heavy rhythmics.

Earth moving bass pulsations underly frenetic phaser hats and grooving snares in “Open Mic Beat,” with rimshots rocketing out of control and galactic oscillations spinning towards the stars. Roland cowbells fire in counterpoint as the rhythms pull in and out and house pads suck the air out of the mix, with everything chained to psychosonic drum sorcery and wigged out beat science. Kick drums are swathed in clouds of sub-bass sensuality and each hit causes the soul to vibrate at universal frequencies until zooming echo fx and feedback modulations wash it all away, setting up a moment of anticipation before the jaw-dropping rhythms return, now with deep house chords melting down from the sky. At certain moments, the mix reduces to soft cymbal tapping and clicking bass drums while ethereal melodies and LSD tracers zoom in and out of the stereo field. But we always return to the overwhelming beat cascades, all cracking claps backgrounding cymbals, snares, and rimshots as they dance through delirium patterns. Cowbells tickle the mind amidst extended stretches of abstract rhythmic militance, with the only transitions coming from heady cymbal switch-ups. Towards the end, the drums dispersing for another extended stretch of beatless ambiance wherein house pads sound sickly and weak while surrounding chaotic rimshot patterns. For a moment, it feels as if everything is about to vaporize and fade away, but eventually, the rhythmic psychedelia returns for one last section of hallucinogenic body magic. And each time I listen, my mind goes wild trying to imagine anyone freestyling to such a wigged out piece of machine drum sorcery…surely the kind of thing only attempted by the most courageous or faded amongst the Mood Hut partiers.

(images from my personal copy)

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C.Z. WANG and NEO IMAGE / JUST OFF WAVE : MOOD HUT (12")  カナダの人気レーベルMood Hutから、ずっと欠番になっていた6番が遂にリリース！People Plus名義で同レーベルから作品を発表していたC.Z. Wangと、同じく同レーベルから作品を発表していたNeo Imageとによるコラボで、小気味良いトラックに幻想的なシンセ、ポエトリーのようなヴォーカルにハマるA面のタイトル曲が最高！  https://www.stradarecords.com/shop/item/22598/index.php  #c.z.wang #peopleplus #neoimage #justoffwave #moodhut #deephouse #vocalhouse #12inch #kobe #motomachi #recordshop #vinyl #vinyljunkies #dj #stradarecords   (Strada Records) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3gjf9RAYdk/?igshid=ibrpr6dlgnok

[nvlv]

Lighting | Look Dev Reel - 2017 - Vol. 2 from Patrick O'Connor on Vimeo.

Here are some of the shots I had the opportunity to work on for Justice League (2017) & The Dark Tower (2017) @ MPC Vancouver.

Shot 1 (0:07) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 2 (0:10) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 3 (0:15) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 4 (0:19) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for shot lighting on all characters and Obelisk - Environment and Volumes by Abraham Ibáñez

Shot 5 (0:31) - Aquaman, Parademons, & Skrunda | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 6 (0:33) - Tower | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 7 (0:42) - Tower | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 8 (0:46) - House Demon | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 9 (0:49) - House Demon | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 10 (0:51) - Glass Shard (Bottom Half) | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Shot 11 (0:53) - Aquaman, Parademon, & Skrunda | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 12 (0:55) - Steppenwolf, Parademons, & Lair | Responsible for all shot lighting

Shot 13 (1:00) - Tower | Responsible for all lighting + shot look dev adjustments

Music | Unreleased C.Z. Wang Track (Ripped and Re-Edited from Anthony Naples NTS Radio - 25th January 2017 Mix)

Thanks for watching!

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 257: People Plus

To enter the Mood Hut is to completely free your mind, body, and spirit, letting go of all notions of boundary, genre, and form in the act of total surrender to the immersive fantasy worlds of this enigmatic collective. Though one can still loosely categorize their sound by ill-defined references to sun-kissed haze house, lo-fi psychedelia, and stoner zoner ambient, the group has proven their longevity and vitality time and time again by venturing ever further out with each subsequent release. And as the years pass, it becomes increasingly hard to pin down or guess where these mysterious musicians will travel next. After a heroic 2017 run, Mood Hut slowed their pace to a simmer during 2018 with only one release: the colorful, smooth, and energetic jazz house vibrations of Local Artist’s Dancer / Dreamer 12.” But 2019 looks to be more active, starting with the evocative fusion landscapes and cosmic jazz dreamworlds of Third Space by People Plus. 

The duo of C.Z. Wang and Joli B debuted People Plus last year, releasing an EP of ethereal drug fogs and jacking house beats on Incensio. But as good as Olympus Mons was, it did little to prepare me for the visionary exotica grooves of Third Space, which takes the duo’s hazy Vancouver vibe and launches it into the stratosphere by adding in touches of leftfield downtempo, interstellar acid jazz, tropical fusion, futuristic chill-out, and burning breakbeat funk. As well, a hyperlink printed on the A-side leads to the Casa de Haiku…a virtual reconstruction of People Plus’ studio. A vaporwave room floats amongst the clouds, adorned with the Third Space artwork and featuring interactive plant sonics, juggling orb lamps, rotating rugs and wall fixtures, glowing doorways, TV static, and Lynch-ian staircases that either loop back into the same room or head downwards into a glowing green cave (where snippets of the track “Jungle Room” are looped). There is even a playable synth and drum machine, allowing for simplistic recreations of Wang’s and Joli B’s otherworldly jam outs.

People Plus - Third Space (Mood Hut, 2019) The title track features the synths of Kenzo Niwa and begins in a world of rhythmic anxiety, with jacking kick patterns fading in and out while cymbals shuffle and simmer. Intoxicating and looping bass grooves join the flow…the track wanting to lock into a jazz house groove but instead blurring and morphing nervously amidst hovering smoke, shrouded noise, and dreamy Rhodes pianos. Eventually it all flows together, with scatting pianos chords and storming downbeat jazz rhythms flowing like Black Mahogani-era Moodyman, as celestial synth sparkles, zany squiggle spirals, and psychedelic tracers swirl around fiery fusion e-pianos. “Ascension” follows with four-four kicks storming beneath shuffling hat patterns, with everything flowing through soft dub echoes. Wiggly synth leads solo into the night and sustaining Rhodes chords cast a twilight glow while claps crack through reverb caverns. Eventually a breaky snare pattern enters…the song now soaring through starfields of future jazz and  house perfection, with swinging bass riffs jamming out in support, marimba’s splashing through sea-spray slapback, and bending arcs of laser magic filtering between black hole vapors and fried solo fire. At some point, the melodic atmospheres and jazz break snares cut away, leaving a bass guitar to chug energetically beneath machine cymbals while snares and kicks vibe through flaming funk flourishes. And as the gliding groove returns, it now floats beneath a harp made of cosmic gemstones weaving oceanic spells while crazed fusion synths sing alongside melting e-piano dreamspells and scatting textures of electro-brass.

At the center of it all sits the epic “Jungle Room,” with new age mermaid drones flowing over a psychedelic Rhodes riff, all freaky future fusion magic backgrounded by static snares, sub-kick pulses, and heatwave chord flashes. Then comes one of the tightest and most infectious drum performances I’ve ever heard, as Jeff Barton sources a burning breakbeat jam out with hi-hats spitting fire and cutting against heady snare flams while big bulbous kicks pulse on an acid jazz groove. If that wasn’t perfect enough, People Plus then drop in this incredible plucked contrabass loop as the track morphs into blazing modal fusion bop swirled around by ethereal cosmic hazes. Subtle static riffs and acid blips intercut the stereo field and the kick drums sometimes pull away, leaving behind stretches of floating space jazz. And during one such rhythmic drop out, spiraling Rhodes strands flow above noisey clicks that eventually develop into freaky leads of fiery blues psychedelia as the mesmeric breakbeats resume their sci-fi glide, with everything soaring beneath tranced out voice cut-ups. I’m reminded of Fontanelle (and thus of early-70s Miles Davis), though it’s all imbued with atmospheres 90s chill-out and a dreamy rave haze. And as the song progresses, the mix is increasingly washed over by drunken brass waves and scorching static weirdness until a moment where it all explodes into a supernova of free jazz skronk. Then following a stretch where feedback tracers weave euphoria melodies over crazed Rhodes fluids and stand-up bass riff hypnotics, we cut into a dreamy coda…the vibe still breaky, but also floaty and spaced out…with oceanic wavefronts generating paradise fantasias that are periodically disturbed by sickly synthesizer colorations.

In “O.S.C. 1”, cowbells and percussive fluids are cut to pieces by hissing hi-hats, which bring with them tropical pianos and a lofi machine samba. Electro-toms circle through robotic fills and glassy keyboards drop dreamy jazz chords while animalistic calls are evoked by synthesis. Wobbling basslines slide upwards over tropical disco kicks and soft shakers, their tones sounding like cosmic tubas while alighting on mechanized fusion adventures and subdued funk solos. E-pianos transition into a bouncing rainforest funk riff and their gemstone trails are caught within crazed echo webs as we ascend into a chaotic climax, with the groove riding as smoothly as ever while blasting sirens and intergalactic sound streaks overwhelm the stereo field. It’s a night-soaked balearic jam out…the sound of dense jungle meeting white sand beach, with wavering guitars chords developing into descending arpeggios of dark desert spiritualism while ringing bells generate a golden shimmer. Closer “Journey to Being” is the most mystically aligned trip here and begins with crystal healing rotations, floating ice clouds, subterranean bass drones, and oceanic sparkles all underlying blasts of solar synthesis. Sumptuous subsonic pulses snake through exotica lines as a gaseous groove emerges, with slappy bass funk riffs locking in with barely there snares, pitch-shifting toms, hand drum tribalisms, and jacking acid lullabies. And after tapped rides flow through buzzing insect drones, glowing Rhodes atmospheres, cyborg breaths, hovering ocean hazes, and ringing glass bells, the song ends with fragile melodies of springtide beauty flowing down from a cloudy sky.

(images from my personal copy)

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PEOPLE PLUS / THIRD SPACE : MOOD HUT (12")  Jack Jの作品にも参加していたChristopher Wang = C.Z. WangによるプロジェクトPeople Plusが12インチをリリース！トロピカルで多彩、そして洗練されたプロダクションに思わず唸る珠玉の全5曲！    http://www.stradarecords.com/shop/item/22035/index.php #peopleplus #thirdspace #moodhut #jackj #christopherwang #c.z.wang #jazz #tropical #balearic #12inch #kobe #motomachi #recordshop #vinyl #vinyljunkies #dj #stradarecords (Strada Records) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzGJu1mgFC0/?igshid=lkbxl8023eec