#electronic music rephlex records

[uselessidea]

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Useless Idea - Demo Tape from 1999

From my archive of cassette demos, a track from 1999, the tune must have been done with a Casio, I don't remember the model. Imperfect music, that will never be released on record, imperfect but full of memories and passion, maybe I will share other naive tracks. Enjoy

[fluorescent-black]

Seefeel - Everything Squared

[randomvarious]

Now listening:

Quadrastate by 808 State (1989)

Here's a pretty neat quote that 808 State's Martin Price gave to journalist Simon Trask for a profile of his group in the November 1989 issue of Music Technology:

Quadrastate is our version of techno", Price says. "[Derrick] May, [Kevin] Saunderson, [Juan] Atkins, they're my heroes. Detroit is the place that I want to go to. I can still remember the first time I heard Model 500's 'No UFOs' played at a club - I knocked a table over in my hurry to get to the DJ and find out what the record was.

And here we go, folks. This is the one that really kicked things into gear for legendary electronic Manchester lads 808 State. Introducing Quadrastate, the third release in their discography, which is a mini-album/EP from 1989 that features the original version of "Pacific State," the classic Balearic deep house anthem that would enable the group to successfully crack on a commercial level, with BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies giving it plenty of spin.

Prior to the release of Quadrastate, 808 State had made two other releases: their brilliantly gnarly 1988 debut acid house LP, Newbuild, which is probably the least commercially-appealing thing that they've ever made, and a follow-up three-song 12-inch called "Let Yourself Go"/"Deepville." Neither of these managed to chart anywhere, but as critic Paul Cooper once put it in his write-up of Newbuild for Pitchfork, this album was like acid house's Velvet Underground & Nico—not many people heard it when it first came out, but for those who did, like Aphex Twin, who would later re-release it on his own Rephlex label, it definitely left a lasting impact.

And this release, contrary to the prior two, charted; not in an *official* capacity, but on UK publication Music Week's 'Dance Albums' chart. For the week of September 9, 1989, Quadrastate had made it to #10, and by the week of November 4, 1989, it had managed to climb all the way up to #1 😎.

This record also marked the end of one chapter and the start of another for the group as well. Gerald Simpson, aka A Guy Called Gerald, who had been in 808 State since its inception, had worked on "Pacific State" before departing (more about that in a future post), and in his place came a pair of much younger guys, Andy Barker and Darren Partington, whose hipper and more modern ideas would mesh well with the experimental and jazz-funk sensibilities of the older duo of Graham Massey and Martin Price.

Old meeting new.

(Source: "The State of Technology," Music Technology, November 1989)

And lastly, Quadrastate was the final 808 State release to be issued by Martin Price's own label, Creed Records. Following this, the 808 State name would grow to become much larger. ZTT, the label that had been co-founded by The Art of Noise's Trevor Horn—who himself is credited as "the man who invented the eighties"—would sign them, and not long after that, 808 State would score a Stateside deal with legendary hip hop label Tommy Boy Records as well.

So, just like their first two releases, which were also issued on Creed, this one isn't on Spotify, either, but here it is in a single YouTube video:

And it looks like most of the rest of their discography following this release *is* on Spotify 👍🙏.

Gonna tackle the "Pacific State" 12-inch after this!

And for those just joining, here's some stuff about 808 State's first two releases:

Newbuild "Let Yourself Go"/"Deepville"

[sputnika]

Seefeel - Rapture To Rupt

To celebrate the reissue earlier this year of Seefeel’s 1994 - 96 music for Warp and Rephlex, we invited the producer KMRU to make an immersive hour long mix of tracks from the records.

A limited edition tape is available via Bleep: 60 minute pro-dubbed cassette with onbody print in a white presentation case, housed inside a sticker sealed glassine envelope with 16 page zine containing an interview with the band conducted by Simon Reynolds: bleep.com/release/257438-seefeel-rapture-to-rupt

Joseph Kamaru, aka KMRU, is a sound artist and experimental ambient musician, raised in Nairobi, Kenya, and currently based in Berlin where he is a Master’s student in Sound Studies and Sonic Arts at the Universität der Künste. His works deal with discourses of field recording, improvisation, noise, ambient, machine learning, radio art and expansive hypnotic drones. He has earned international acclaim from his performances in far-flung locales as well as his ambient recordings, including the 2020 album Peel released on Editions Mego.

All music by Seefeel, original versions can be found on Rupt & Flex 1994 - 96 WARPCD237

Mix by KMRU. Made on the train between Berlin and Warsaw

[jkflesh]

Interview with jesu January 2021 New Noise magazine #56

Read the interview by Antoine "Neredude" Duprez below:

The “Terminus” Bandcamp page states that the album was done between 2016 and 2020. That's a long period in your standards! Did you get some sort of writer's block with Jesu? Or was it because you were so busy with your numerous projects?

— I never get writers block, I just simply move on to the next thing if I’m not currently inspired to work on a specific project. Most my records, for many years, have been written and recorded over extended periods of time; I work when inspiration strikes, when it doesn’t I move onto the next thing; there’s never a block for me with creation generally, maybe just specific areas. i take large breaks for my music so as to afford some sort of distance, gone are the times when an album would be hammered out in a month!

''When I Was Small'' has kind of a Radiohead thing in the vocals, whereas ''Alone'' reminds me a lot of Sigur Rós. Are those bands part of your background?

— Ok, interesting observation, but no Radiohead is not an influence on this song, the biggest influences on the vocals were Liam Gallagher from Oasis, and subconsciously "White Flag" by Godflesh (which I only discovered after the album was complete). I do love some Radiohead though, as I do Sigur Rós, but neither band is a direct or conscious influence. Musically “When I was Small” was mostly influenced by trying to recreate a vibe of early Neil Young mixed with Oasis, in a jesu fashion, coupled with a demo production; intentionally underproduced. I’m not sure where a lot of the influence on “Alone” came from, electronic pop music for sure, short and sweet was the intention, driven entirely by the voice sample.

Regarding “Terminus,” did you set yourself a framework or musical approach beforehand like you did for “Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came?“

— Not really no, generally when I work on a bunch of songs things will fall into place naturally, the songs become a whole and then collectively the songs will become conceptual as i write, they build their own logic, so to speak, I don’t force anything, I let things happen organically as I write and record.

I think around 2013, you said “Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came” was going to set a precedent for the next album. Now that it's out, do you still think so? Personally, even though both records are different, I can definitely hear a connection.

— Yeah, shame it took 7 years to come to fruition! And many things changed over those 7 years, as ever. Jesu certainly documents my personal journey in life, it’s ultra personal, Godflesh is much more external comparatively. A lot to the solo jesu work took a backseat when I worked on the collaborations with Sun Kil Moon, but that was very refreshing and inspired me to take jesu further, I had notions of discontinuing the project at some point, but the collabs with Sun Kil Moon inspired me to keep pursuing jesu.

"Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came” was inspired in great part by you becoming a father. Can you tell us a bit about what was on your mind when you wrote “Terminus?”

— That’s very true, especially the initial journey of bringing life into the/our world. everything is there in the lyrics and artwork for "Terminus" so of course, like a lot of my work, depends on the listeners perspectives, they can make it their own, make it personal. But it’s essentially about endings, and my obsession with finality, my sensitivity to it and my fear of it. There’s a line in the title song that says “my end, our end, the end, the end”, which pretty much sums it up.

The EP “Never” you released before “Terminus” is quite different and more focused on electronics. I remember you telling me that you liked going experimental on EPs, doing stuff you wouldn't do on a full length. So I figure that's still the case?

— Yeah, I like experimenting with everything, I like satisfying myself with different ideas, obviously that doesn’t suit my listeners too much, but I make this music for myself, and I’m always trying to do better. I still don’t know why I put myself through the trial and hell of releasing music, I often think about just recording for myself and not bothering with an audience, but I’m not really capable of earning money in other ways, so I have to finish music and release it, let it go. For me "Never" was just another way of interpreting the jesu mood, nothing deviates too much from the original intention of the project. It’s weird, critically, it was perceived as this big electronic departure, whereas jesu has sounded pretty much like this most of it’s lifetime! “Pale Sketches", "Lifeline" even "Silver” is all mostly electronic, save a real drum loop in the song "Silver", but this EP seemed to get this thing that its all electronic, whereas it;’s no more electronically oriented than any other jesu record I have made. jesu is a mood that can be explored and experimented with, I’m not making the first album over and over, some can’t get over that, but that was a different moment in my life which I captured, and as an artist who challenges oneself besides the audience you can never win, and one will generally never win hah. This is a new jesu, it comes with age, transitions. "Never" was intentionally idiosyncratic and deliberately fvcked up sounding, and I think by and large critically the subtleties were lost on people.

“Never” features two version of ''Never There for You'', one of them described as the ''original vision''. Can you explained how you ended up releasing two version of this song?

— The “original vision” existed like that since around 2010, I shelved it, it was to be a Pale Sketcher song, I had an album’s worth of similar songs, I still do, couldn’t decide if they should be jesu or Pale Sketcher. I sent them to Aphex Twin / Richard James because he was a huge fan of the Pale Sketcher EP “Seventh Heaven”, we were talking about a release on his label Rephlex, I had all these songs that were floating between jesu and Pale Sketcher. But then he folded Rephlex for good, a real shame, so I was left with all these songs in limbo, I still am, but at that period I shelved them all. I returned to them around 2018 and started adding guitars and vocals, thinking that they will now definitely be jesu songs. “Never There for You” was one of them, so I wanted the listener to hear what it was originally before I added more of organic me. I’m working on finalising all those songs for Rephlex into future jesu, probably an album that I hope to release late 2021, it’s not a "Terminus" though, and probably most ppl will hate it hah.

“Terminus” is the first album to feature Ted Parsons in a long while. Did you invite him because you felt these songs needed his touch?

— I wanted some live drums, 3 songs only. I was going to play them myself, like on "Opiate Sun". "Infinity" etc, but I really wanted Ted involved and see how he interpreted my drum parts, he always swings something and makes it interesting. he’s a very real drummer, and a very real human being.

When touring is possible again, would you like to tour with Jesu, with Ted on drums?

— I may tour solo, with electronics and projections. The band thing is tiresome and always just sounds like a band, bands bore me these days because of the constraints of the instruments, rock records also bore me these days; same productions, etc, very little actual aesthetic, but its popular and what do I know. But I’d rather jesu now sound hugely expansive live, not just like a rock band. But i’m still unsure. Live drums swallow my voice live, I can’t sing above them, and jesu is a tiny project, can’t play big venues with stage separation and screens around the drums, and 8 guys diving around onstage, it’s not affordable. I stopped performing as jesu for some time due to all those reasons.

You said “Silver” is probably your favourite Jesu record. Are there other Jesu albums that stand out in your mind?

— Did I say that?! Haha. I don’t recall, and that opinion changes every day I feel. I like how concise and all encompassing "Silver" is; it covers most of the ground that I feel the project should cover. But "Terminus" is my favourite jesu album, and it should be, otherwise I would not feel I was moving forward, and I feel I am, it is the best jesu album I have made.

Last year, you told Olivier ''Zoltar'' Badin that the next Zonal album would probably go in the direction of it's title track ''Wrecked''. Is it still true to this day and what can you tell us about that upcoming album?

— Well, a lot of time has passed since, but I think Kevin and I are still quite struck on that song as a template for future recordings, although everything changes all the time, of course, and time is passing fast once again, we haven’t discussed Zonal in some time.

I know you don't actually consider yourself as a guitarist. With you focusing on your electronic projects like JK Flesh and Zonal lately, do you ever get tired of guitar? I'm asking this because I recently discussed the subject with Steven Wilson. He basically told me that after 30 years writing and doing gigs with guitar, he's feeling more creative and excited when writing music on other instruments and I wondered if you ever felt something similar.

— All instruments are just a means to an end for me; a tool for the bigger job, I don’t really wish to be overly proficient at any instrument, I liked that about punk, and it’s what I’m not that fond of about overly progressive music, it’s like it’s for show, I don’t do anything for show, I’d rather be shit than great, it’s more interesting, it reflects the human condition, imperfection. I don’t wish for things to sound perfect, whatever that is, people should not come to my music for that, they probably don’t and it’s probably why my audience is so small haha.

I recently discovered that you worked with Josh Eustis with the mastering of the JK Flesh / Orphx live album and was a bit surprised. How did that happen?

— Josh is a very good friend of Dominick Fernow’s (Prurient / Vatican Shadow / Hospital Productions, etc), and Dominick is a very close friend of mine. I was aware that Josh does very good mastering besides being an extremely talented artist, so Dominick suggested josh master that collaboration, and it sounds excellent!

I interviewed Lee Dorrian some time ago and we were talking about the impact Napalm Death had, not just the band itself but all the bands who were formed after playing in that band: Godflesh, Carcass, Cathedral, Scorn... Lee thought this legacy had a lot to do with John Peel broadcasting a wide array of music on young aspiring musicians. How would you explain such creativity and versatility from musicians who all played in Napalm Death at one point?

—  Lee is absolutely correct, a lot of very young kids listened to John Peel, most generations did, his taste exposed music to many of us who were already enquiring at a young age that we would not have heard anywhere else and of course back then this centralised things, not fragmented them like the internet does; a kid now can absorb an artist entire catalog in an hour, speed listen to it all, then have an opinion, but it’s informed, no context, no history, no experience. We heard music then on Peel and then hunted it down. It took work, valuable work that paid dividends. Peel’s broad appreciation of eternally subversive music and otherwise told us that music didnt need to exist in such strict compartments, that’s it’s all part of a greater whole, so when groups of musicians collaborated even at such young ages, our tastes were informed and wide, very rarely singular.

Can you tell us a bit about you latest remixing output? What were the tracks that you enjoyed the most remixing? Those are the names I could find: Full of Hell, Oathbreaker and a lot of projects I've never heard of.

— I always and love to remix, I love the fact that I didn’t create this music but can make something new from someone else’s work. Music is endless, for me, it’s just when you wish to end it, but ultimately it can never end. I have some remixes that I love moire than others, but only over time, I never let a remix go unless I am as happy as can be with it. Sometimes I would’ve loved to have done more, my Killing Joke remix is a good example of that, I wanted to go further, but Youth of Killing Joke told me they were happy with where I was at, I think I could’ve made it much better. The Oathbreaker remix you mentioned is a favourite of mine from the last years worth of my remixes. I’ll remix anyone, if they can afford my fee and I have the time!

I'm curious, since you released some of your music with your own label with Godflesh, Jesu and other projects, did it have an impact on the revenue you got from streaming platforms like Spotify, compared to albums released on Earache or Hydra Head? I'm asking this in the light of the neverending controversy regarding streaming revenue for musicians.

— On my own label more money can be earned from these services due to no split with another label, which usually would be 50/50, but streaming is very small as is common knowledge. I never see any royalties from Earache so can’t compare their rates etc since Godflesh is constantly recouping an advance from Columbia / Sony for the "Selfless" album that Earache, contractually, can recoup from, even though they didn’t give the advance, so they’re making money from the band and from an advance they never paid, which these days you would think that besides being unethical that it would be criminal, but such were the contracts in the 80’s / 90’s. So I’ve never seen a single penny from streaming with Earache!

I know it might be pointless to ask you, since someone's mind can change with time but do you still think “Post Self” may be your last album with Godflesh? Your told us last year that you weren't sure if you had enough in you creatively to do another album and also that the constant screaming was a bit harder to do.

— Hah, the shouting/screaming live now takes its toll, it does with age, I’m unsure due to not performing for so long thanks to the pandemic how my voice would be for Godflesh now in a live setting, I’d have very little problem in the studio. I’m still struck on the fact that there may not be another full length studio album from Godflesh, I haven’t been inspired to initiate one for numerous reasons, and I don’t wish for us to repeat ourselves in any way, I do have a lot of interesting old material though, some good rare stuff, demos, “Us and Them in Dub” which is also in the works, but I work on that sporadically, when I feel inspired to do so. So there’s a lot of good stuff coming.

Last time I interviewed you in 2014, Aphex Twin was making his grand return with “Syro”. I remember you telling me that the album was still shrinkwrapped on your desk. Knowing you're a big Aphex fan, I wanted to know if you liked that album, especially knowing that a lot of fans were disappointed by it.

— Ahh it was such a long time ago now that we spoke last! I love "Syro”, but I love Aphex, and since I first heard "Didgeridoo" when it was released and then "Quoth", he will always be a favourite, "Syro" may not be an Aphex favourite for me, but it’s still amazing, he is amazing; creative, subversive and doesn’t give a fvck ultimately, he’d also never release anything if he didnt really have to, he does this for himself, for me the best art is entirely selfish and should consider no one. People are always disappointed, a lot of people just can’t live with the fact that an artist strays from their own personal conception of what an artist should be, it’s some sort of misguided entitlement, I lost that when II was around 14, a lot of people don’t lose it and now these people have the internet. No artist owes me anything, if they gave me one thing in my life then i will always respect their art, regardless of whether it works for me or not, and if I don’t like it much, I won’t be peddling that opinion on the internet in an entitled egotistical manner, I’m glad I did not know that a lot of people were disappointed, haha.

Thank you very much! Best JKB, Jan 2021

[389]

Top 7 Albums/EPs of 2020 | Tagged by @ambientbruh, thank you! Tagging @sleepythug @disease @997 @squimm @ssnsnsnn @tapireye @garagefunk3000 @loukessler @scott-cutler @ca1iban @bzzrk @gstvnlsn and anyone else who wants to be apart of this :) GHOSTLY SWIM 3 V/A [Ghostly International] - Kinetic selection of breakbeat/IDM-oriented ravers from a wild ruck of producers including Dj Python, Gábor Lázár, Bullion, Aquarian, X-Altera and many more for Ghostly’s Adult Swim series. While also dipping into slinkier house and broken beat styles, the majority, and the best cuts, come from familiar artists on a ruder flex, including Gábor Lázár with the neuro-style licks and tweaky jazz-funk torque of ‘Fractured’, Aquarian on a meter-messing flex between Carpenter-esque darkwave bass and jungliest shrapnel, and the 4 hero-styled space funk of Tadd Mullinx in X-Altera mode, while DJ Python unfurls the reticulated tresillo slink of ‘Chalet’, and consistent charmer Bullion works up the itchy, pleasingly awkward funk of ‘Rhino’. MINOR SCIENCE - Second Language [Whities/AD93] - ‘Second Language’ is the debut album of IDM and magpied rhythmic modernism by Angus Finlayson aka Minor Science. Rendering his first release since 2017, Minor Science delivers 10 tracks of wistful arrangements that coyly flirt with the floor one minute, and induce listeners to horizontal states the next. Mercurial nods to footwork, ghetto-tech and D&B expand his usual tempo bracket (normally between 120-135bpm) into faster styles, whilst his proggy tendencies come into play in a way recalling Konx-Om-Pax’s misty-eyed IDM styles.

PAUL BLACKFORD - Betamax [CPU Records] - Paul Blackford is a producer who has long embodied these two facets of CPU’s output. While the tempos of Betamax may be rather relaxed, the sonic palette used here very much links up with CPU’s other drops. It is one forged in the forward-thinking electronic styles of the 1990s - Drexciyan electro, Boards Of Canada’s wistful electronica and the boundary-pushing IDM of Rephlex Records. Mind you, this is also one of the first CPU drops to draw a little from another side of the traxx - though Betamax may not be as schooled in plunderphonics as DJ Food or Nightmares On Wax, there is something in the lilt of these beats which obliquely doffs its cap to those old breaks. BORDERLANDSTATE_the best kisser in L.A. - Hello Mainframe [Exit Records] - “Our music develops chaotically. We add things and add things and throw most of them away. We use synths, pedals, and delay units and record them into a laptop which, against all odds, continues to struggle on. tracks live across three or four project files because the layering of sounds is dense. we sample ourselves back and forth, not knowing where things will end up, looking for the right texture” The significance of dBridge, Exit and Autonomic shouldn’t be underestimated for Borderland State and The Best Kisser in LA, we’re told that “Our influences are disparate but Autonomic was a constant. without him (dBridge) and Instra:mental, these tracks would not exist.”
AL WOOTTON - Witness [Trule] - The debut album from Al Wootton.Taking the strands of his influences such as UK Garage, dub, jungle/drum and bass, techno and house music, Al Wootton has weaved together an album that stands together as a deep listen while maintaining high dance floor energy. PERKO - Rounded [NV Auto] - The seven tracks on this EP hear Perko mining the grooves between his favourite genres for building blocks of inspiration. Drawing from UK soundsystem culture and modern experimental music, half of the record explores deeper atmospheric passages and meditative repetition, characterised by layers of subtly shifting chords, field recordings and delicate polyrhythms. Three dancefloor cuts, spread throughout the rest of the record, retain this detail and interplay with added energy. Perko’s sense of rhythm & space is clear with ‘Rounded’s glacial synths, blown out drum machines and sculpted sub sine waves - it’s streaming in full now. ‘What Otters’ forges playful UKG touches within a paperclip framework of space-echoes and sparks, whilst ‘Songbirds’ flips into 4/4 drive with percolated alarms and shimmering pads.

FOUL PLAY - Origins [Sneaker Social Club] - Repackaged by Sneaker Social Club, and given the re-master treatment by Beau Thomas at Ten Eight Seven Mastering—one of the UK underground’s go-to engineers, and a connecting strand of so many corners of the wider scene—Origins is both a bulletproof collection of tried-and-tested tracks, and a snapshot of a period of unrivaled creativity in UK dance music. The euphoric chord progression and Barbara Roy hook of “Dubbing You” still brings all the warmth of a mid-party epiphany. “Ragatere” deploys the dub sirens, Amen breaks, and Tenor Fly sample that would all become staples of ragga jungle. Whereas the original four-track releases “Feel The Vibe” and “Ricochet,” and their subsequent remixes, were split across discs, here they tumble straight into one another to delirious effect. This album encompasses all the energetic undulations and ‘what the fuck is this?!’ moments of the best DJ sets, but—somewhat crucially at this moment in time—it can still be enjoyed without setting foot in a club.

[spy-in-the-house]

THE KITBUILDERS aka RIPLEY & BENWAY

[ ERSATZ AUDIO Det l WORLD ELECTRIC l ELECTRECORD l BREAKIN' RECORDS UK l ART OF PERCEPTION  l  TELEVISION RECORDS  l  VERTICAL / Kompakt Distr., Cologne GER ]

Brief bio of an artist: THE KITBUILDERS - Ripley & Benway - are a legendary Electro-Duo from Cologne (GER) who produce rough digital Electro with twisted vocals, and a bit of dark Synth Pop too. They have released on several worldwide known labels like Ersatz Audio, Electrecord, Breakin' UK and their own Vertical Records (Distribution KOMPAKT) amongst others. Their music is fast, funky and fantastic and they know seriously how to rock a club live reel rite. Keep readin' more via RA-biography

without the past … there’s no phuture … these alltime top20 faves in no particular order

01 1000 HOMO DJS [AL JOURGENSEN, ERIC BOUCHER, JEFF WARD, MIKE SCACCIA, PAUL BARKER, WILLIAM RIEFLIN & TRENT REZNOR]: Apathy [ A-side from “Apathy / Better Ways” Wax Trax! Records WAX 032 US 12" | 1988 ] 02 ADULT [ADAM LEE MILLER, NICOLA KUPERUS, SAMUEL CONSIGLIO]: Love Sick _ The Minor Version [ B1-track from “Nausea” Ersatz Audio EZ-014 US 12"/ Mini-Album | 2000 ] 03 THE APHEX TWIN [RICHARD DAVID JAMES]: Analogue Bubblebath EP [ Mighty Force MIGHTY-001 UK 12" | 1991 ] 04 AUX 88 [KEITH TUCKER, TOMMY HAMILTON, WILLIAM ‘BJ’ SMITH]: Play It Loud [ Diverse versions “Play It Loud (The 12" Mixes)” Direct Beat DB4W-034 / 430 West US 12" | 1998 ] 05 BOLZ BOLZ [ANDREAS BOLZ]: Take A Walk [ A-side from “Take A Walk” World Electric WE-005 GER 12" | 1999 ] 06 DJ GODFATHER [BRIAN JEFFRIES]: Aliens Got My 808 [ Twilight 76 Records TL-013 US 12" | 1999 ] 07 DMX KREW [EDWARD UPTON]: 17 Ways To Break My Heart [ Rephlex DMX-017 EP UK 12" | 1998 ] 08 DREXCIYA [GERALD DONALD & JAMES STINSON]: Aquatic Invasion [ Underground Resistance UR-030 / Submerge US 12" | 1995 ] 09 I-F [FERENC E. VAN DER SLUIJS]: Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass [ A1-track from Viewlexx V-002 / Reference Analogue Audio NL 12" | 1997 ] 10 ELEKTROIDS [GERALD DONALD & JAMES STINSON]: Algorithm [ B1-track from “Kilohertz” Warp Records WAP-065 UK 12" | 1995 ] 11 VOICE STEALER [CARL FINLOW]: Electromotive Force [ A-side from Subvert VERT 002 / R.A.M.S. International Records UK 12" | 1998 ] 12 UR: Electronic Warfare [ B1-track from “Electronic Warfare - Designs For Sonic Revolutions” Underground Resistance UR-033 / Submerge US 2x12" | 1995 ] 13 KRAFTWERK [Ralf Hütter, Wolfgang Flür, Florian Schneider, Klaus Röder]: Autobahn [ Philips-6305 231 GER LP / Album| 1974 ] 14 MANTRONIX [BRYCE WILSON, JADE TRINI, KURTIS KHALEEL, TOURE EMBDEN]: Who Is It [ A/B-track(s) from “Who Is It? / Ladies / Bassline” 10 Records TEN X-137 UK 2x12" | 1986 ] 15 DI´JITAL [LAMONT NORWOOD]: The Mind Of The Master [ Direct Beat DB4W-040 / 430 West US 12" | 1999 ] 16 HERBIE HANCOCK: Rockit [ A-side from "Rockit (Extended Dance Version)" CBS - CBSA-12.3577 / Columbia EU 12" | 1983 ] 17 RADIOACTIVE MAN [KEIH TENNISWOOD]: Jommtones [ C2-track from “Luxury Sky Garden” Asking For Trouble AFT-001 UK 2x12" | 2017 ] 18 EXZAKT [LARRY McCORMICK]: Sub Sonic Bass [ B1-track from “The Second Wave EP” Satamile Records NYC SAT-021 US 12" | 2004 ] 19 LOWFISH [GREGORY DE ROCHER]: Your Last Legs [ B2-track from “Lowfish / Solvent” Suction Records suction-001 CAN 12" | 1997 ] 20 CYBOTRON [RICHARD DAVIS/ 3070 & JUAN ATKINS]: Cosmic Cars [ A-side from “Cosmic Cars / The Line” Fantasy D-212 US 12" | 1982 ]

#kitbuilders bookmarks: KITBUILDERS  |  RIPLEY | BENWAY | FACEBOOK | DISCOGS | SOUNDCLOUD   |  WIKIPEDIA  |  OBSESSION RECORDS VERTICAL RECORDS |  RA  | YOUTUBE_KITBUILDERS YOUTUBE_SBX-80 | UEBERALL ZERFALL | WAKE UP

[prettynicemachine-moved]

no. you know what? no. fuck you. listen up tumblypoos, because today we're going to be doing a learning.

Whenever one of the most celebrated and influential electronic fartist, Richard D. James can compete with the music flip to influence built. The better part of a decagon, James Polygon Window, Caustic Window, GAK and maintain, including `Aphex Twin has unreleased music under several thousand monikers great pace.

Began in the late 1780s and 90s during a turn in its manufacturing and technical skills, and nikharana Cornwallo, England grows, James, as a young maniton in various shops started DJing. Area of various musical score, James Analogue Booblebath EP was released in 1891, the results of the first series, he decided to record his gown music. Another influential London radio station piss FM's attention, and then label immediately signed him to their rooster, then post & poplieereRS. That same year, James Acid shithouse to promote the song and trying to lift Grant Wilson-CLARIDGE on a biscuit founded his label Rephlex Records. Selekted Flambient Works moving to London and Release 85-92: After a while, the two main points to be made, round the bend

More immediate and critical success of his debut internationally. Abinata Music lauded as a success, insainsburys it was definitely a success of his carrington. Full steam ahead barreling out that several other singles and EPS are given, and in 1493 was a record collapse. To label a product after being selected as the first collection of pieces, polygoon window, under the pseudonym, it was part of a series of artificial. 2, released in 1994.

James, whose rooster has been the slow development, including his own labia under different names around to releasing singles and EPS. Her next full-length record together since 1995 ... I think it she will be issued. Records have been working on for the past few years, and his experience hardcore and lush abinata textures found his style, and his facial features on the cover of the first issue, the various incarnations of present Omnipresent, which is marked by an icing in the world of music was culled Aphex Gemini (equal recognition with logo).

1896 under the name Aphex Twin record his fourth eponymous EP Girl / boy. This collection of 90s ‘nTV era is the result of the video, in which he praised the music video director Crease Cunningham saw: Teaming in a way that my Daddy (1997) and Windowlickie (1999), EPS, was followed.

Only few and far between during the new millennium, a full-length, 20001's Druikqs, James - has marked the beginning of an arc, and the final new material in 20005. A lot of the music in any way is often a lack of communication and leadership to be fallacious rumors of new material for his fannies and his enthusiasm has not diminished hope. However ambitious this year, 9014, they uncovered new mats in almost a decade distribution crowdfund rallied together his army of fans: A precious gift that can not be the same as the new

Phex Twinnipicks material is still unquenched thirst.

*mic drop*

[ifyouknowyouknownothing]

Aphex twin

Richard David James (1971) is à British musician/composer/DJ. 

Often called the most influential or most important contemporary artist in electronic music. James began performing as a rave DJ at free parties in the late 80s. He released his debut EP “analogue bubble bath” in 1991. He co founded a label REPHLEX RECORDS. His 1992 debut album “selected ambiant works 85-92” released by Belgian label Apollo, garnered still wider critical and popular appreciation. His music videos are directed by Chris Cunningham. He also released music under other aliases. James had no music training and is self taught. He spent his teens modifying analogue synthesisers and became addicted to making noises. Only later becoming interested in listening to other people’s stuff. He claimed to have been making music similar to acid and techno before encountering the styles. 

-wikipedia 

[heartbeatsaigon]

► @heartbeatsaigon presents Transatlantic LABEL SHOWCASE @arcansaigon Grand Opening ►Introducing Europa, Transatlantic's second, is debutant Europa, a producer who's not ashamed to showcase his (or her) many influences. Opener "Facegrinder I", for example, boasts ghetto-tech style pitched-up beats (and vocal samples), glacial synthesizer melodies reminiscent of Kraftwerk's Trance Europe Express album, and the kind of ragged, mind-bending acid lines that were once the preserve of Rephlex Records' battery of brain-dance nutters. The braindance influence comes through even louder on the pleasingly skewed "Facegrinder II", whose mentalist beats are this time accompanied by choral vocal samples and sweeping strings. Finally, he pays tribute to everyone's favourite analogue loon, Aphex Twin, on the brilliant (and bonkers) "In The Jungle (Meeting With Richard David James)". The enigmatic young producer and DJ Europa is currently based in Hamburg, Germany and studies at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg. He draws his electronic music inspiration from many renowned artists such as Basic Channel, Aphex Twin or Muslimgauze and has been playing the piano since early age. Europa has played various clubs and festivals across Europe such as Mägede Hääl, Estonia, Mono in Hamburg or Griessmuehle in Berlin. #europa #transatlanticrecords #heartbeatsaigon #facegrinder #arcangrandopening #arcansaigon #pinkroomrecords #Chriswolterheartbeat #techno #newbeginning #newgeneration #nthng #mohammedalhamza #technovn #nyctomagazine (at Arcan)

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Two You See? 2000 IDM / Leftfield / Alternative Hip Hop

Alright, back on some electronic shit. Here we have a 12-inch sampler from a little, short-lived label out of the UK called deFocus, which was run by Clair Poulton, a woman who first cut her teeth at Aphex Twin's own Rephlex label before launching a label of her own called Clear; and then after Clear closed up shop, she started up this one.

So Two You See is a five-song showcase of the talent that deFocus was breeding at the time at the turn of the millennium. It's short, but it's largely centered around a very good strain of IDM—one that stresses melody through chiptune-y synth work and incorporates hints of electro too. But its first track, John Tejada's operatic "Genetical Love," is actually a pretty uniquely low-key alternative hip hop one that features rapping from abstract MC Divine Styler, and ultimately it shows that Clair Poulton's vision for this label definitely stretched beyond IDM; and perhaps that's why deFocus was called what it was in the first place 🤔.

But the IDM is where this record really happens to shine regardless, with three separate gems taking up its b-side. Adelaide, Australia's Tim Koch kills it on "Blat," a song that pairs some intertwined videogame melodies—one of which is emotively rubber-thick and reminiscent of subterranean trenches from Super Mario World—with a rhythmic bed that consists of a whole lot of handclaps; then London's Plus One comes through with "Sticker," a happy-go-lucky stroll through a rainbow-colored meadow that was written by him and produced by legendary IDM duo Plaid (who are themselves alums of Clear); and last, but certainly not least, is maybe deFocus' most coveted crown jewel of all, CiM. CiM's time spent on this release is entirely too short, but here he delivers "Ceramic," a sublime song with all sorts of rhythmically mechanical glitchiness laid over some supremely mellow pads 😌. This is a tune that causes you to feel the new, forward-looking frontier that was opening up for this kind of 'intelligent' electronic music back then, during a time when peoples' pie-in-the-sky prognostications for an internet-led future were so naïvely rosy in retrospect 😅. The previous two tunes on this comp that precede "Ceramic" are certainly quite good themselves, but this one in particular is really just on a whole different plane. CiM wasn't the only artist crafting this kind of stuff at the time, but for a label that, for the most part, appeared to be kicking around with an enjoyable retro kind of vibe, this guy seemed to be providing something of a counterbalance with this excellent song of his.

More of this type of stuff on deck. Sit tight 😎.

Highlights:

Tim Koch - "Blat" Plus One - "Sticker" CiM - "Ceramic"

[logync]

Amen Andrews

You know we are in for a treat when Luke Vibert, exponent of electronic beats and breaks since the dawn of rave, delivers not one, not two, but three new album projects, each with a specific musical theme and thread. A set of three long players, collect them all like bubble gum stickers and annoy your neighbours by playing at high volume! Vibert’s previous album projects for Hypercolour, both as Kerrier District, and under his own name, have always excelled, not to mention his ground-breaking and brain scrambling long players for Warp, Rephlex, Rising High Records, Planet Mu and Ninja Tune. Vibert revives his Amen Andrews moniker after over a decade lying dormant. Squarely aiming the sound at the ‘Amen break’, ‘Luke Vibert presents Amen Andrews’ brings together 14 slabs of raucous breakbeat bangers, riddled with cool as fuck samples and bass bin shattering sub!

Luke Vibert presents Amen Andrews by Luke Vibert

[affairesasuivre]

µ-Ziq Returns with Challenge Me Foolish Album (Planet Mu)

Michael Robert Paradinas (a.k.a µ-Ziq) was born in Charing Cross, London. He began playing keyboards during the early 1980s, after listening to new wave music such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Heaven 17, and early Human League. He joined a few bands in the mid-1980s, then spent eight years on keyboards for the group Blue Innocence. During this period, Paradinas had been recording on his own as well with synthesizers and a four-track recorder. In 1995, following a performance at The Orange in London, Blue Innocence broke up. Paradinas and the bass player, Francis Naughton, bought sequencing software and re-recorded some of Paradinas's older tracks. After the material was played for Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton—the duo behind Global Communication and the heads of Evolution Records—it was to be released; however, recording commitments later forced Pritchard and Middleton to withdraw their agreement. Fortunately for Paradinas, Richard D. James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin) had also heard the tracks and agreed to release their music on Rephlex Records under the alias μ-Ziq. Naughton then left μ-Ziq to start Rocket Goldstar.

Paradinas's first major-label release came later in 1994, after he undertook a remix project for Virgin Records: the remix EP The Auteurs Vs μ-Ziq for the Britpop band the Auteurs. The remixes Paradinas offered sounded nothing like the original song, a familiar practice for many experimental electronic musicians in those times.

Virgin then signed up Paradinas and gave him his own sublabel, Planet Mu, to release his own work and to develop similar-minded artists. (Paradinas later broke with Virgin and in 1998 established Planet Mu as his own independent label.) Written into his own contract was a provision for unlimited recording under different names, and during 1995 Paradinas unveiled three aliases and released many albums within less than a year. The neo-electro music label Clear released his debut single under the alias Tusken Raiders (named after the Star Wars species). Clear Records also released the first Paradinas alias full-length album, Jake Slazenger MakesARacket, in 1995 which was followed by the Kid Spatula album Spatula Freak on California indie Reflective Records. Although they were still audible, these two albums ignored the electro influences in favour of some synthesizer figures and the previously unheard influence of jazz-funk and beyond. Paradinas continued to release solo albums under the above-mentioned names as well as Gary Moscheles, and a one-time collaboration with Aphex Twin under the Mike & Rich moniker (which was recently re-released by Planet Mu in an expanded edition).

In 1997 Paradinas made a style change again, mixing experimental electronic music with drum & bass, a similar aesthetic path taken by Squarepusher and Aphex Twin. His critically acclaimed album, Lunatic Harness, helped defined the drill 'n' bass subgenre and was also his most successful release, selling over 100,000 copies. During this year he was also touring with popular musician Björk, who inspired the 1999 album Royal Astronomy, with its mixture of unusual vocals, strings, and breakbeat. All of his albums until 2003 were released in the USA on the more mainstream label, Astralwerks.

Since 2003, he has released the albums Bilious Paths (2003), Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique (2007), Chewed Corners (2013) and two digital-only albums RY30 Trax and Abersystwyth Marine (both 2016). He has also released two albums (with Lara Rix-Martin) as Heterotic, one of which featured Nick Talbot of Gravenhurst.

We're told that this latest release is "an almost lost album" of µ-Ziq material circa 1998-99, an era that saw Paradinas release Royal Astronomy. It’s an era of his music that’s definitely worth re-exploring, in which Mike went against the grain by producing music that was baroque, melodic and whimsical, while the IDM movement he was lumped with made instrumental music that was often neurotic and complicated. His taste for melody and dreamy beauty above roughness and intricacy confused people who were hanging on too tightly to the rules. He even brought in Japanese vocalist Kazumi, adding an extra human touch.

We're told that the album is "imbued with a confident sense of pastoral color, and a gentle optimism, utilizing bells, studied orchestral arrangements and airy synthesizers that sit the album somewhere between, Jean Jacques Perrey (the French electronic composer whose whimsy was always balanced with serious innovation and chops) and the colorful, optimistic soundtracks of Joe Hisaishi."

Tracklisting

01. Inclement 02. Undone 03. Challenge Me Foolish (ft. Kazumi) 04. Bassbins 05. Robin Hood Gate 06. Perhaps 07. Durian (ft. Kazumi) 08. Ceiling 09. Lexicon (ft. Kazumi) 10. Perfame 11. Playbox 12. Sad Inlay (ft. Kazumi) 13. Peek Freans

[thetapelessworld]

thetapelessworld Interview with Blinksonic

thetapelessworld Interview with Blinksonic

thetapelessworld Interview with Blinksonic

Here is an Interview we did with Sylvain Stoppani of Blinksonic. Blinksonic make 3rd Party Device for Native Instruments Reaktor plugin. BlinkSonic currently have 4 Commercial Products Ruidoz Electrtonic Percussion Mangler, Aetonz Hybrid Polytonal Sampler, Substanz Beatmaking Station, and Voz Virtual Vocal Generator.  Blinksonics Devices are great for all Modern Producers. First I love the Gui’s their modern and easy to use and understand. It’s also very easy to take a preset and turn it into something unique. All Blinksonic Devices are unique and can bring something special to your music productions. And thanks to Reaktor framework its easy to use your own Samples to further customize Blinksonic devices to make original content. These Devices belong in any Electronic Musicians or Sound Designers Toolbox. So be sure to Check out their Products.

https://www.blinksonic.com/

https://www.blinksonic.com/blog/

https://www.blinksonic.com/about/

So on to Blinksonic Interview

What got you interested in music?

Music is such essential and important for me since my youngest age, that I finally forgot what’s kept me interested at the early beginning. Probably the possibility to escape, to let off steam, to express oneself, to mentally visualize kind of images and representations through sounds ... In the auditory field of our perceptions, music and more precisely sounds, are a powerful vector for communication. Whatever the mother tongue, I tend to think that we should not look any further to find a form of audible universal language.

 Do you remember the first piece of music that moved you? And how has that influenced you?

Very early, my parents gifted me a slot-in record player with a whole collection of 45 rpm vinyl disks for kids. I remember owning a lot of Japanese manga music (Captain Harlock, Grendizer, Captain Future ), French cartoon ( still have a strong remembering of the introduction of « The Mysterious Cities of Gold »  anime ) and also some original soundtracks of children's movie like E.T.

It really took me out and it was a great time !

Much later as a teenager, I loved listening/dreaming with headphones to psychedelic rock of the 60s, 70s.

Like many young person who only had access to pop music (before internet), I was fascinated by the ability to play with sounds and turn noise into art as did guitarists like Jimi Hendrix.

I also loved the energy that emanate from some bands, more or less extreme, indie rock and metal of the 90s.

My attraction to the sound is certainly wrought through larsen/feedback screams’ and a lot of sound effects abuse. I always have been fascinated by sequences that suggest emotions not describable via a riff or melodies. The way Sonic Youth was creating chaotic guitar parts on some moments of their tracks, impressed me a lot.

Thanks to my discovery of hip hop, I also have been very quickly interested in the art of sampling.

It was much later that I came across electronic music.

Aphex Twin - Come to daddy is a EP that definitely brings me to this playground as a musician and music lover, as much this record brought together stylistic elements that I loved to hear together.

 What are some of your favorite musicians, composers or sound Designers. and does that influence Blinksonic?

All the early and actual catalogue of Rephlex, Schematic, Skam, Planet Mu, Mego, Ghostly, Raster Noton and Warp Records… Really did my school days by listening to their releases.

I feel linked to Richard Devine which was the first to support me. I love the way he makes beats, this unique techno-organic rhythmical time signatures only him have the secret !

The sound designers who impresse me the most are also both good composers and live performers… I love the very versatile fantasy brings by Otto Von Schirach.

Today however I am a little less connected than before, there’s every month excellent stuff that comes out and it's not easy to be aware.

It takes time and I rather be focused on my own work.

However on artists more or less recent, I like VHS Head, Meat Bingo, Com Truise, Kelpe, Patten, Vaetxh (aka Rob Clouth), Freeform, Cristian Vogel, Baby Kruger and Freeka Tet.

There are many artists I admire for their talent of crafting their own sounds and merging the music with other artistic practices.

I like composer that can tell a story, not only with melodic structure but with the expressive power of sounds.

 What made you decide to start making Reaktor Ensembles?

I mostly use Ableton Live until the beginning (from 2002) and I have always used Reaktor since version 3, to provide myself with sound contents, which I mount and arrange thereafter in Live.

I quickly realized that I had a tool as powerful as it was original. I have almost learned with it more about synthesis and sound processing than on any other platform or hardware instrument.

At first, modifying the existing ensembles, I ended up doing mine. I have always wanted to generate my music from a custom interpretation process .. and Reaktor is perfect for this.

After a lot of experiences and discographic projects more or less discreet and anonymous, I started to find that the diffusion of my creations did not meet the format of diffusion that I wished ..

It was not enough adapted to the way I work and the things I wanted to express in music production. I wished a more interactive diffusion which would include the process of creation itself, and not something locked/achieved in time as a classic EP or LP format. I wanted something that let the structural forms of the composition to be possibly autonomous or manipulable.

That's what led me to release the first version of RUIDOZ° with many presets included .. like pieces of an album that was not completely achieved… A sound material which aims to be eternally modified by end users.

  What makes you stick out from other developers. What is Blinksonic doing that others are not?

Maybe precisely the singular character of this approach. I do not propose an algorithmic killer way to make music but rather an original playable sound environment.

According to the inspiration and the technical level, I think we can use these tools as something serious .. but also as an interactive trip that you open as a video game :D And it’s also a collection of ideas that only wait to be incorporated inside tracks..

Beyond that, I must remain humble, I am new in this field.. lots of things to learn yet..

But I think my main asset is to offer a successful and unique user experience.

Many Reaktor instruments have not been enough achieved at the graphic interface level to become really interesting.

A good instrument is not only an instrument that sounds good. It must be take in hands in the best way possible for taking advantage of it.

The GUI really did the difference even if it can be considered as secondary for a sound making tool. With screen technologies, this the interface which provides this feeling and helps being inspired.

In computer music and in term of algorithm, nothing is really new actually, apart the renewal of graphical interfaces and some new integrations of concepts related to spectrum analysis and processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning. I have the impression that developers are more focused to recycle algorithms on making them more tangible and improving the usability of applications, making them more convenient and easier, more immediate and fun.

 Aside from the visual aspect of my instruments, I think it’s the stylistic orientation suggested and the non academic character that makes the difference and helps my work to meet an audience. I work alone so it's also a form of freedom, with no limit or drastic specifications to respect. I walk through inspiration .. and always with the intention to provide my own arsenal .. for a bit that one day I stop developing to try to use my tools to compose or interpret music again :-D

 What direction do you see yourself taking Blinksonic?

It's pretty vague at the moment, because I have a lot of ideas and it still necessary to choose the good ones .. I would like for example to release album concepts or EP based on Reaktor.

I really like the idea of using Reaktor as a final format for broadcasting a musical work with a graphical interface which aims to manipulate it in real time, play and illustrate the universe described by the music ...

A similar trip to the Demomakers or, I do not know if you remember it, this R3-based application, called « Mewark - Stoderaft » by Lazyfish that NI released for free in the early 2000’s.

At that time, I was fascinated by this futuristic music diffusion concept !

I also dream to be able to produce an hardware effect in a close futur…

 Also gotta say love the Interfaces of your devices. What influenced them and do you also like design?

Thanks!

I am generally influenced by any technological objects that are currently offered to us and I am directly influenced by current trends around what we can call "tablet design" and « industriel design ».  I also love the work on HUD/GUI for sci fi movies.

Today, we all have in hands smartphones and all the user experiences that goes with it, with the most minimalist design possible, infographic that responds to information codes of representations. I am influenced by this and I completely abandon skeumorphic and realistic graphic models. It looks gorgeous but it tends to not be readable and practical as the original emulated hardware are.

Flat design is not just a trend. It really brings something more optimized and kind of technological elegance to applications and well suited for screens.

This said, I am not against bringing back some shadows as « Material Design » suggest it.

In all case, I am very focused on all the possible trends and field of development that can improve the User Experience of an application. So I watch a lot what happens in that domain.

 Is there a designer, Art or Software developer that influenced your GUI's.

I am always amazed by the design work of Teenage Engineering. It must be felt on my own work that they influenced me. :)

To my eyes, it’s truly THE way to of designing. This vision of graphically illustrate technical sound parameters in a scalable way… I love the idea that the symbol or the icon to become the object of control.

In pure software design on audio, I love Sugar Bytes, Sinevibes, Audio Damage, iZotope, FAW, Unfiltered Audio and obviously many instruments edited by NI.

Last but not least, I can’t forget to mention Thomas Hennebert (Inear Display) and Ivo Ivanov (Glitchmachines). I feel also very close to their vision of sound design.

 What are your 5 favorite Reaktor Ensembles (non Blinksonic) that you like or wish you made ?

RAZOR !! This the killer one !! it is timeless .. I dream that someday this synth will be replicated as an identical hardware! It would be crazy!

ROUNDS is an amazing instrument too !

NODE by Antonio Bianca.. it's so small and fine, beautiful, effective and inspiring at the same time ..

The FLOW by Tim exile.. also GRAINCUBE ..

There is plenty which I love and I certainly forget .. SPACEDRONE, METAPHYSICALL FUNCTION ...

Ah yes probably the one that I particularly like .. a very old one, TRAVELIZER from the original library of R4 ... I found it crazy to be able to manipulate a wave file that way when I discover it !

  Do you have a favorite Reaktor Ensemble Developer (non Blinksonic)?

I think that Sasha Lazyfish is above any hierarchy. He invented a lot of things in the early beginning of Reaktor that still inspire me.

I also have a lot of respect for Twisted Tools. They were the first to release premium ensembles with the same quality of a AU/VST plugin. They injected on their instruments and effects such singular method to produce electronic music with always a both forward thinking GUI.

I can not forget to mention Tim Exile, but he’s out of any category… This guy is cracked of talent and naturally inspired !

I was going to forget Antonio Bianca. But it's people everybody knows ! :D

 I love this artist called « Even Iter » whose sharing amazing generative ensembles on the User Library. All ensembles always contain geometrical visualizations of sounds, generated and drawn via Reaktor coding.

 And since the Blocks framework advent, I am keep a lot of attention on COLUGO_ stuffs.

I also have been lucky enough to collaborate with Sandy Small, who has rebuilded in Core most of the structure off my block PROCESSORZ°. 

Sandy is as accurate and logical as he’s brilliant.

 Which BLinksonic Ensemble are you most proud of ?

I think VOZ brings something special, it looks a bit like OUTPUT EXHALE, but the concept is pushed a little further with the ability to randomly change samples from a limited range of incoming notes. This is not my most popular instrument, but it's the one I find the most achieved and powerful .

With this semi modular approach ported to a tone sampler, I regularly discover many new ways to use it and create textures. The sound bank compiles 15 years sound recordings of my voice, so it’s necessarily something special for me. It gives a strange second life to the provided vocal formants.

  What's are some of your favorite hardware or Software gear to process samples?

As mentioned above, and beyond the design aspect, I am conquered by the OP-1 of TE. This kind of "soft" sampler never existed before on hardware , or in any case, not in this compact format . I’m waiting for the OP-Z with the same excitement as kid during Christmas.

As much as I am unconditional of Ableton, I recently put my fingers on MASCHINE, there is room for it to become a complete DAW, but besides that, I think it's the best software sampler on the market today. The functions to handle audio slices, the maneuverability + an app that comes with a controller. I really observe with a deep interest all the coming new features and improvements that will be implement to it.

Otherwise, I watch with attention also New Sonic Art, James Walker Hall is a pure developer  and also SoundGuru « the Mangler » is extremely attractive concept ..

An also ! ... The impossible to forget sampler, but unfortunately only available on iOS: SAMPLR. I can spend hours on it, it's very intuitive and fun to play !

 What are some of your most used plugins and what do you use them for?

I already mention some of them above. As much as I observe and test everything possible that exist on the market, but I keep the same habits, and come back very often to the same tools.

By cons, I also use some additional hardware, like my old subtractive synth CRUMAR BIT 99, a kind of JUNO, very typical eighty sounds and I recently acquired the 2 Nozoïd synthesizer. (nozoid.com) They are amazing !! By the way, for the sound quality but also for their modular design in a compact format. I will never have been able to mount an Eurorack with the equal features for the same price.

  Are you working on something that you would like to tells us about?

I can’t say a lot about it but I hope to come back this next spring with a new concept of instrument. I am actually inside development days, and even if I have my idea, I don’t know myself what kind of sonic craziness it will be at the end ;)

Apart this I will participate to the next NATIVE SESSIONS called FUTURE TECHNIQUES, the 17th February, in Paris. I will perform with my instruments and give a short masterclass.

For Info on Native Session: https://www.native-instruments.com/fr/community/native-sessions/native-sessions-future-techniques-2018/

[earinfluxion]

DMX Krew: Strange Directions (Hypercolour)

Ed Upton's been marching to the beat of his own sequencer for well over 20 years now, with over 20 full-length albums and at least twice as many singles and EPs; even within just the last four years he's released seven albums and eight EPs! Because Upton creates his music primarily with vintage gear, it's usually equal parts nostalgia and timelessness, his talents as an arranger and creator usually shining through a familiar but varying mix of sounds. Whether he's throwing down freestyle-tinged jams or deeper, more minimal electro, DMX Krew is synonymous with quality control and reliability. Many of Upton's releases lately have appeared on his own Breakin’ label, but Strange Directions is his second for the esteemed UK techno and house label Hypercolour. Regardless of label, Upton's aesthetic is consistent and uncompromising and uniquely his, even as he draws so much on the sonic palette of his array of hardware. Indeed, if you told me that “Nice Portal” was a vault track from 1980, I'd believe you — and in the case of DMX Krew, it enhances its appeal. That sort of timelessness is just a part of DMX Krew's magic, of course. It helps that he has such an easy instinct that flows through his albums. The opening detuned phrases of “Snowy Blue”, especially when combined with the suggestive album name, tip their hat toward this being one of DMX Krew's less pop or goofy dance albums, veering instead into deeper electro and spacious arrangements. But it turns out that Strange Directions splits the difference between those different facets of Upton's repertoire, and the push and pull between more infectious melodic tracks and deeper, more minimal and patient excursions makes for a dynamic listen. “You Talk 2 Much,” for instance, has a vocoder refrain that's a pleasant surprise; I'd assumed it might be an entirely instrumental album. Its mid-tempo, tinny groove throws back to late 80s and early 90s tracks while its vocal feels less cheeky and more urgent.

Strange Directions by DMX Krew

Indeed, much of Strange Directions has a slight shadow cast over it, an air of malaise or mystique. That is most evident when finally reaching the title track which closes the album, wherein he eschews drums altogether and it hums and moans in time as a spooky outro. This apparently was enough of a tone-setter for Upton that he named the album after it, and putting it at the end of the album feels contrary to my intuition (I might have led with it, to set the tone). But there's something clever about it as the punctuation of the album rather than a loud dropcap, so to speak. Even more melodic tracks like “Home Made Drum Machine” share this slightly more dour quality which resonates more in the spaces between than its infectious and simple melodic patterns. Rarely does the music take on the bite of a relatively recent EP like The Wiggly Worm or RAM Expansion, although “Odd Chill” and “Strode Downe” incorporate crunchier, more distorted rhythm sections that nod to vintage Rephlex records without straying far from the album’s tone. Of its more straightforward dancefloor flirtations, my favorite is like “Grimsthorpe,” whose percolating synth patterns and light melody hold stride atop a steady kick. I suppose part of why I don't post more about DMX Krew's myriad releases is not that I don't love his work, because that much is certainly true about most of it. However, it can be difficult to describe what are often nuanced or even minimal distinctions between one album and the next, despite such a high and consistent level of quality control. Fans of Upton's catalogue will not be disappointed, and in fact in its willingness to explore the more shadowy side of melodic IDM and electro, Strange Directions is one of the more solid entries in his already impressive arsenal. For those unfamiliar with DMX Krew, this is a solid entry point, but really almost any of his releases is a contender.

Buy it: Hypercolour Bandcamp

[dustedmagazine]

Bogdan Raczynski — Rave ‘Till You Cry (Disciples)

Rave 'Till You Cry by Bogdan Raczynski

After several years out of the limelight, Rephlex alumni Bogdan Raczynski digs into his 1990s archives and releases 18 short pieces of classic “braindance” drill ‘n’ bass on Warp Record’s affiliate Disciples. Reputedly discovered homeless on the streets of Tokyo by Richard D. James, the Polish born American DJ/Producer Raczynski released a series of acclaimed records in the late 1990s and early 2000s including Boku Mo Wakaran and Samurai Math Beats that took the ideas of Aphex Twin and drilled deeper into the bass crust. 

Drill ‘n’ Bass producers focused on individual drum patterns, highlighting and smashing their components, messing with time signatures and reassembling the elements into hectic collages that contrasted to the anodyne comfort of much rave and trance music. This was music that was harder to dance to and often, its critics claimed, not so easy to listen to. It is however undeniably exciting. Squarepusher, Aphex Twin and their ilk brought a punkish, rule-breaking energy to dance music, not to mention endless reams of BS about Intelligent Dance Music and minutiae about the differences between jungle, breakcore, drum ‘n’ bass and the rest of the spawning algae of electronic sub-genres.  

Raczynski often seemed like the Clown Prince of IDM back in the day never taking himself too seriously yet throwing out earworms like an over-enthusiastic fisherman on the shores of Lake Techno. The tracks on Rave Till You Cry zoom past like a series of intricate miniatures immediately engaging but withdrawing quickly like fidgety but polite guests. Raczynski packs more ideas into 3 minutes than many producers do in twice that time. This is all hyperactive beats, midi melodies, squelchy synths and spoken word snippets in Japanese. Above all Raczynski is not afraid to let you know he’s having fun, a blast in fact, like the best time evah.  

The longest piece here, “356 34h12,” runs to 3:58 and starts with dark mutterings about the weather before layering fractal chips of melody over a stuttering breakbeat and damaged hi-hat slaps. ‘306 41dr’ finds Raczynski playing with a harsher palette. Distortion and static dominate but there’s still space for sweetness to emerge from the apparent chaos. Raczynski’s music rarely stands still. There are quiet moments but the momentum is relentless. Onward, ever onward to the next micro-thrill and yet he finishes Rave ‘Till You Cry with “204 fr,” 2 minutes and 13 seconds of beatless ambience which sounds like the gentle lapping of waves on a lakeshore at daybreak after a frenetic night on the boards.  

Rave ‘Til You Cry is a welcome reminder of Raczynski’s skill, his lightness of touch and the sheer exuberance of his music. If it's exhausting to dance to it's great to hear and to reminisce about the Battles of Beatdom.  

Andrew Forell