Machine Ate My Blog Post

I hope you all had a good weekend and aren't hating the fact that you've got to go back to work as much as I am! If anyone's got any decent jobs going, I'm your man! Writing, A&Ring... Anything that involves smoking a lot of cigarettes and listening to a lot of music will suit me down to the ground! As you'll have probably already read, our Puffin (pictured above) played Giant Robot's 3rd birthday party last Friday night, and boy did he rock it. Giant Robot's one of those nights where the crowd just want boshing anthem after anthem, and our boy managed to do it both tastefully and successfully. Personal highlights for me included the killer Tekel mix of Metope's 'Second Skin', Beltram's 'Energy Flash', and Hug's 'Birds'; and I couldn't help but flip out with the rest of the crowd to the closing trio of Alkan's Franz mix, Wink's 'Higher States of Consciousness', and Graffiti's 'What's The Problem'. Our next outing will be at our own Mutant Pop night this Friday at the Arc Bar in Bristol, and for once we've got a residents' special on our hands. Entry's free before 11pm, so come on down for a bit of a boogie as we wildstyle into the night.

Soft's continuing his hiatus while he sorts his life out, so I've readied a little chart for you all. 11 releases, 10 tracks, all get the Carnage seal of approval. Remember though - buy the records or at least get a good quality version from the usual mp3 retailers.

Carnage's Current Listening Chart:

1) MY MY - BUTTERFLIES & ZEBRAS // AUS Quite a departure from his usual skeletal sound, the new My My release is a cosmic stomper that’s the sort of thing you might expect to come from a Morgan Geist and Superpitcher collaboration (ie. my wettest dreams come true). Ambient synths swirl around the hushed handclaps and slo-mo bouncing bassline, only for proceedings to end all too quickly with a gorgeous beatless finish. It’s the best thing he’s done so far and that’s no mean feat as ‘Klatta’ and ‘Serpentine’ were both mindblowing releases on the Playhouse label.

2) GAVIN HERLIHY - MACHINE ATE MY HOMEWORK // MOODMUSIC Mixmag writer Gavin proves that critics can actually produce great tracks (well… that’s one so far) with this pulsing, minimal-not-minimal bleep fest of a track that’s going to see a full release on Sasse’s Moodmusic label very soon. Upfront copies have been available at Phonica for a week or so now, so get in there fast if you don’t want to wait for the full release.

3) ESCORT - STARLIGHT (ALL VERSIONS) // ESCORT US Did you ever find yourself wondering what would happen if Kelley Polar went and did a really gay disco track with none of the intricate subtlety of his album? Wonder no longer, as New York’s Escort step onto the scene with ‘Starlight’ – a song that’s just perfect in every way. I’ve got no doubt in my mind that this is the nu-disco anthem of 2006, although it sounds like it was made in 1980. Classic disco guitar and bass collide with a simplistic yet spot on synth line, and you’ve got some lovely little string flourishes to top it all off. There’s very little difference between the three versions (including a great dub mix from Metro Area’s Darshan Jesrani), but if it ain't broke...

Download:
Escort - Starlight (Vocal Mix) // Escort US [EDIT: link taken down by artist's request]. Visit http://myspace.com/weareescort to stream audio]

4) GABRIEL ANANDA - DOPPELWHIPPER (LIVE) // PLATZHIRSCH The b-side to Ananda’s recent ‘Miracel Whop’ release is an epic 9 minute minimal monster with more peaks and troughs than you can shake a stick at. This is a prime example of the art of building tension and releasing it with perfect precision in order to induce mass dancefloor hysteria. Listen and learn.

Download:
Gabriel Ananda – Doppelwhipper (Live) // Platzhirsch

5A) SOLENOID - NIGHT BEACH 12" // COMMUNITY LIBRARY
5B) SOLENOID - SUPERNATURE LP // ORAC Two superb releases from Portland’s Solenoid (also known as mashup mentalist DJ Brokenwindow) - the first a single on his and Strategy’s fantastically diverse Community Library imprint, and the second his sophomore full length under that name on Orac. As Solenoid he’s taking a wide range of influences from italo, Detroit techno, electro-house, and IDM, whacking them into his analogue blender, and whipping up some musical soup that’ll heal all but the illest of ears. He’s got quite a brash, colourful production ethic that’s quite refreshing in today’s environment of Ableton/Reason producers. His 'Supernature' LP deserves to kick up quite a fuss, although due to its non-conformity to current scenes I fear that it may not have the impact that it should. The 12” on ComLib is just as essential, and showcases the bouncy acidic italo-techno side of his sound. I hear that it’s out of press at the moment, so if you see it lying around anywhere then I’d snap it up right away. Also, head over to the Community Library site for a bunch of superb mixes from Strategy and Brokenwindow including a 'Skacid' mix. Yes, you heard right - ska and acid house collide in a wonderfully ear opening fashion. [EDIT: Everything's now been taken down, but Solenoid's Community Library tracks will remain up for another 7 days. They're both top notch and the record's out of press so get them while you can!]

Download:
Solenoid – Night Beach // Community Library

Download:
Solenoid – Sam Clam’s Disco // Community Library

Download:
Solenoid – Bezoar Tides // Orac

6) FIELDS - SONG FOR THE FIELDS (EWAN PEARSON KOSMISCHE DUB) // WHITE Ewan’s made it no secret that he absolutely adored this track when it first came out, and while you may find it strange that he hasn’t retained much from the original, it’s obvious that a lot of love has gone into crafting his latest remixing effort. The cut up xylophone on its own is pure genius, but add to that the buzzing synths, the restrained and functional use of the vocal, and the killer drop six minutes in, and you’ve got one of Mr Pearson’s finest mixes to date. Pop over to his Myspace for a listen, and wait eagerly for the full release later this year.

7) DANIELE BALDELLI - COSMIC SOUND LP // MEDIANE With the resurgence of the low tempo cosmic/Balearic sound well underway, it seems that cosmic pioneer Daniele Baldelli’s back to mop up the acclaim that he deserves. Constructed using vintage analogue equipment and old samples, it’s a snapshot of the type of sets that he used to play in Italy that gave him such a huge reputation back in the day. Strangely enough, people would turn up at his club only to hang out taking drugs in the car park while listening to his mixtapes. He’s also had a 12” out recently on Gomma which is also worth picking up if you’re not into buying releases on CD.

Download:
Daniele Baldelli – Cosmic Tune // Mediane

Download:
Daniele Baldelli – Explorer // Mediane

8) ADA - CALL THE TUNE // AREAL Will she ever put a foot wrong? Judging by the sign of this, her latest 12” on Cologne’s Areal label, that’ll be a no. Ada (real name Michaela Dippel) either just doesn’t produce shit records, or her level of quality control is something for her to be incredibly proud of. The percussion’s less brash than previous material, but the grinding synths remain on an atmospheric builder of a track that manages to be incredibly dark yet hints at a glimmer of light at the end of the techno tunnel.

Download:
Ada – Call The Tune // Areal

9) STEPHEN MALKMUS - KINDLING FOR THE MASTER (MAJOR SWELLINGS REMIX) // DOMINO Prins Thomas returns under his Major Swellings guise for the first time since last year’s essential self titled LP. A killer bassline holds the groove in place while Prins pulls off his usual porno-disco trickery, while Malkmus’ vocal straddles the same white boy funk territory as a young David Byrne. What may start as a major swelling will almost certainly finish up as a wet, sticky patch on your trousers by the end of the track. Filthily gorgeous stuff as usual from Hans Peter Lindstrom’s best buddy.

Download:
Stephen Malkmus – Kindling For The Master (Major Swellings Remix) // Domino

10) MINILOGUE – THE GIRL FROM BOTANY BAY // WIR IM RHYTHMUS I’ve been a bit late with cottoning on to this due to the average nature of a lot of their past releases, but I’ve been listening to this non-stop over the past couple of months. Originally released back in March as Wir Im Rhythmus’ debut, it’s a big ‘fuck you’ to anyone who believes that techno is music just for the club and shouldn’t go anywhere near a home stereo. That’s not to say that it doesn’t work really well on a floor, but its beautiful swelling melody and delicate breakdowns are equally suited to doing the washing up to, or even just lying back on your bed with a big reefer and an even bigger smile on your face. If you’ve been appreciating the records coming out on James Holden’s Border Community label, then you’ll absolutely love this. Celestial techno just the way I like it.

Download:
Minilogue – The Girl From Botany Bay // Wir Im Rhythmus

If you're a label/artist/fellow enthusiast and want to send me some tracks to write about or DJ with, then get them over to richardcarnes@hotmail.co.uk. I'm also in the embryonic stages of planning a little trip over to the US for some dates for around April time next year, so if you'd like to put us on then get in touch through my e-mail or my personal Myspace. Cheers!