Friday, September 28, 2007

Living For The Weekend

Thank god Mr Soft’s back! Seeing as he’s nicely rounded up a fair few musical treats to get your ears around, I thought that I’d round up the weekend’s clubbing activities in London and Bristol. It’s yet another hectic weekend in the South West for us – too many parties, not enough time! Our friends who run the Byte nights are celebrating their first birthday with an extremely ambitious (yet going by their previous parties, it’s going to be fucking rammed) three day bender at Native that’s very much on a traditional Bristol tip. Suburban Base and Planet Mu’s Bizzy B headlines the Friday with a rinsing D&B set, whilst Pirate Soundsystem and Malice & Enzyme battle it out for the battle for the title of ‘the real nu-ravers’ with an hardcore breaks vs. electro-house face off that will, well, literally take your face off. Things take a groovier turn on the Saturday with a funk and soul set from Hundred Strong, and the Sunday’s all about the dubstep. Much has been said about headliner Chef’s previous appearances in the city, so I’m pretty sure that Transition’s master engineer is going to do the business again with a selection of dubplates so upfront, they probably won’t come out til at least 2010. There’s loads of other people filling up the bills, so go to the Byte site (http://www.byte.moonfruit.com/) or their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/byteclub) for more info.

If you fancy your dubstep with a twist of techno, however (and on a Friday night rather than a Sunday), then you should head down to Four:Twenty’s new monthly night down at Timbuk2 for a killer line-up. Daniel Stefanik (Moon Harbour/Mobilee/Statik) heads up the main room with his dubwise clickiness alongside Four:Twenty’s own James Mowbray, whilst the dubsteppers take over the the second room with sets from hometown hero Peverelist (check his incendiary The Grind/Erstwhile Rhythm release on his own Punch Drunk imprint if you haven’t already) and Skull Disco’s Appleblim. Quite a large bill, I think you’ll agree. I’ve heard on the grapevine that they’ve already booked Matthias Tanzmann and Solomun for future dates, so keep a look out for those.

As Byte are busy with their birthday shenanigans, myself and Puffin Jack’ll be taking over their weekly Sunday Sessions down at The Park (just off The Triangle) alongside our best before: compadre and iDJ editor Sell By Dave (best before: is back by the way, but more of that another time). Things kick off at 8 and finish at 2 in the morning, so pop down for a few drinks and a wiggle to our melange of house, disco, techno, italo, and whatever else takes our fancy. We’ve been ordered by Byte head honcho Basic DJ to ‘keep things lively’, so expect us to be kicking out the jams, proper TAPE style.

So…. London, London, London… No idea what’s going on this Friday at all, but there’s a mammoth marathon of techno over the Saturday and Sunday that’ll test the endurance of all but the hardiest ravers. Things start off at Fabric on Saturday night, where Ricardo Villalobos will be launching his ‘Fabric 36’ mix with a star studded line-up. Joining him in the main room will be English starlet Jamie Jones and resident DJ Craig Richards, whilst Bruno Pronsato (Orac/Telegraph/Philpot) completes room one’s billing with his masterful jacked up glitchfest of a live set (as witnessed at under_score last year). As if that wasn’t enough, you’ve got the uber-minimal Detriot legend that is Robert Hood in the second room, and Chateau Flight’s Gilb’r in room three if all that techno gets a bit much for your poor ears. If Ricardo’s previous Fabric appearances are anything to go by, the main room will definitely still be going into the early afternoon, so you’ll get plenty of pops and clicks for your buck.

If, by 2pm, you’re still in a fit enough state to remember your name, you might want to think about traversing across town to Kings Cross for the last Secretsundaze party of the season. This time it’s held on the terrace of Canvas, and they’ve got a pretty stellar bill to send the summer off with a bang. It’s been getting pretty cold out of late, so make sure you wrap up warm and take your Thermos whilst you enjoy sets from Poker Flat and Dial’s respective svengalis, Steve Bug and Lawrence (this time performing under his Sten guise). You Londoners are bloody spoilt, aren’t you? Things wrap up at 10pm so there’s plenty of time to nip home and enjoy a cuppa and the Studio LP before preparing for work on Monday. Failing that, I guess the T-Bar will be open til god knows when…

Anyway, take care of yourselves and your raving buddies, and we’ll see you next week when we’ve got roundups of the latest compilations to hit the shelves from Cadenza, Sender, and Fabric, a showcase of the Beard Science label, and the fabled ‘HMS Cokehead’ mix that myself, Joe Hart, and Dan Kelly put together during one wrong morning earlier this year. Au revoir!

Actually... before I go, here’s a sneak preview of the bill for Fabric’s 8th birthday celebrations. The Thursday and Friday aren’t really to my tastes, but the Saturday honestly is absolutely ridiculous. There’s not many nights where I could say that I’d happily stay in all three rooms for the duration, but if you look at the line-up for this bad boy, I think you’ll heartily agree.

Saturday 20 October @ Fabric
10pm-10am
£15/£12 (NUS/Fabric First Members)


ROOM ONE:
Craig Richards, Terry Francis, Ellen Allien, Cobblestone Jazz (Live), Tobi Neumann, Dyed Soundorom
ROOM TWO:
Ivan Smagghe, Optimo (JG Wilkes), I-f, Black Devil Disco Club (Live)
ROOM THREE:
Rub N Tug, Omar-S, Pete Herbert, Matthias Heilbronn

See what I mean about you Londoners being spoilt? See you down at the front… of one of the rooms anyway!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

FACTs of life...


Picture: David Tompkinson


Check out the website of my dear employers FACT for a couple of stories that might interest you...

First up, Kompakt head honcho and all-round legend Michael Mayer talks to us about quitting smoking and making the (in my opinion well dodgy) Supermayer Save The World album with his old mucker Superpitcher. Also check out the Q&A with Michael we did on this very blog late last year.
Check: http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/da/61298

Secondly, Ralph Cumbers, aka Bass Clef (pictured), who's been winning many a fan with his uniquely rambunctious, leftfield take on dubstep, is the subject of a wee spotlight feature. Nazi fairgrounds, Guinness and theremins all feature...
Check: http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/da/61469


And while I'm here, a few recommendations...

PURE P - THE LOVE SONG / 5 ON IT // G.A.M.M.
The latest G.A.M.M. re-edit 12" comes courtesy of Pure P, who supplies fresh, speaker-shaking beats to hip-hop to Luniz's '5 on It' and Bush Babees' 'The Love Song'. It's the instrumentals that really make this record worth picking up. Super-essential.

STILL GOING - STILL GOING THEME / ON & ON // DFA
After months, MONTHS of inexplicable delay, this piano-led future-classic is finally available on 12". Don't even consider not buying it.

THEY CAME FROM THE STARS I SAW THEM - SIGNALS (EMPEROR MACHINE MIXES) // THISISNOTANEXIT
Our good friends ThisIsNotAnExit drop the latest 12" from passionately shambolic psyche-pop outfit They Came From The Stars. Andy Meecham supplies a vocal and dub version under his Emperor Machine moniker, and wham, bam, they're narco-disco dancefloor killer. As if it could be any other way.

DJ BLAQSTARR - SHAKE IT TO THE GROUND (CLAUDE VON STROKE REMIX) // MAD DECENT
Ignore the Switch, Diplo and original versions and head straight for Von Strokes ultra-reduced mix, which is basically nothing but a rough-house beat and dirty vocal, a la Percolator. Fucking HUGE.

MINDLESS BOOGIE - MORNING DEW (PRINS THOMAS MIX) // MINDLESS BOOGIE
Nazareth's desert cock-rock classic gets re-rubbed by Prins; anyone who heard the original on Todd Terje's 'Ironkuru' remix will know what an unusual but surefire winner this is. Fans of Map of Aprica should seek it out post haste.



Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Stereo Image


Woah, two posts in as many days. I must be unwell.

A short post - because if there's something I've realized in my four-month sabbatical from blogging, it's that short posts do just the same job as long ones - on the subject of Stereo Image. Now, this band strike me as the kind who've already been written about extensively by the internet seekers who can tell me the name of every good group etc., but their debut single is good enough for me to presume otherwise and contribute some more hype to their incredibly worthy cause. Stereo Image's pedigree is, anyhow, near-impeccable: the vocals are provided by San Serac, whose 'Tyrant' single on Output was much-loved by many; the production by Johnny Dark, founder member of Junior Boys (and the brains behind Last Exit - see below). You can't really go wrong with a combo like that, and sure enough, Stereo Image shoot and score with 'Red Nights' and even more so with B-side 'Pack Moves' - crunching tech-step rhythms down below, 80s synth colourings on the mid-range and Nat doing a nice line in Bowie-esque croon-falsetto-croon up top. Pop perfection. I'm not sure if 'Red Nights'/'Pack Moves' will see its way onto 7" or exist only as download; either way, buy it when it lands.

Visit www.myspace.com/stereoimageband for sound-clips.


This post was brought to you by...

1. Manitoba - Start Breaking My Heart LP [Domino]
2. Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck LP [Young Turks]
3. Goldie - Inner City Life [Frrr]
4. Talk Talk - Talk Talk [EMI]
5. Nazareth - Morning Dew (Prins Thomas Edit) [Mindless Boogie]

Monday, September 24, 2007

Soft's summer sure shots...


Given that the re-birth of TAPE's clubnight is just around the corner, I thought it's about time I start throwing my bantam weight around these pages again. Simple as that, so let's get on with it...Below, a chart consisting of twenty tunes that have stood the test of a long summer's listening and palpably improved my life along the way. Some are as yet unreleased, some are old, some are re-issues, some are dancefloor-oriented, some are not. All are fucking good. So, in no particular order...


JUNIOR BOYS - LAST EXIT // DOMINO Re-issue
So, having had our fill of Junior Boys Mk. 2 – So This is Goodbye being, at times, a little too emo for my tastes, but still home to some incredible songs – especially ‘In The Morning’ which, having already being remixed expertly by Alex Smoke at the beginning of the year (or was it last year?), was given a fresh lease of life by Hot Chip on The Dead Horse E.P. (the result being, like Carl Craig’s mix of ‘Like A Child’, one of the tracks of 2007) – a Domino re-issue gives people like myself who were unfamiliar with Junior Boys Mk. 1 a chance to catch up (did that gargantuan sentence make any sense? I doubt it). Last Exit is, for the most part, the work of Jeremy Greenspan and the now departed Johnny Dark. I don’t know how much credit I should assign to the latter, but Last Exit really is a fantastic album – the production, so much more so than that on So This Is Goodybe, tends towards a brilliantly gritty, techno-inflected 2-step blueprint, the hard electronics and skippy-but-bassy rhythms offsetting Greenspan’s syrupy navel-gazing perfectly. The CD re-issue includes remixes from Fennesz and Caribou, and deserves your dollar.


TANGERINE DREAM - LOVE ON A REAL TRAIN // VIRGIN
I’ve never known how to approach the ‘Dream’s massive oeuvre – an oeuvre riddled, I know, with inconsistencies, works of genius and total turkeys made and released within months of each other. I was pleased, then, when a colleague alerted me to Tangerine Dream’s involvement in the soundtrack to seminal 80s Tom Cruise vehicle Risky Business. Love on A Real Train, the last of (I think) five TD contributions to the score, is an incredibly romantic, evocative synthscape which sounds at once like a future that will probably never come and, er, the 1980s. That, my friends, is the sound of success.


CHAZ JANKEL - MY OCCUPATION // TIRK compilation
Chaz Jankel is another artist I was totally unaware of until recently. Or so I thought. I realize now, having lapped up this sparkling retrospective from Tirk, that I was familiar with at least two of the ex-Blockhead's songs – the prodigiously annoying ‘Number One’ and ‘Ai No Corrida’; but judging from this compilation, those two chart hits are some distance from his best work. Essentially Yazoo-esque high-fidelity disco with amazing synth work, pin-sharp production and afrobeat/punk-funk percussion, it’s party music and it’s gay as hell and all the better for it.


V/A - A KIND OF AWE AND REVERENCE AND WONDER // TWISTED NERVE compilation
I’m not sure why, but I’ve recently experienced a surge of interest in Andy Votel’s Manc-based imprint Twisted Nerve. Actually, I have a good idea why: this summer I recently returned to buying vinyl after a year’s, er, sabbatical (in truth, because I was a blog-raping student and needed more money for cigs, pints and assorted piffle – it shames me to recall it), and thus the aesthetic passion and attention to detail Twisted Nerve shows in its physical products stands out immediately from the racks. But the music titillates too: Toolshed (led by 808:State’s Graham Massey) provides the highlight to this compilation, not to mention Voice of the Seven Woods, who, on both his self-titled LP and the track he contributes to this compilation, does a nice line in acid-fried, instrumental folk that suits autumn’s fringe nicely. If you could avoid the faux-naïve indie-pop outings and self-reflexive krautscapes that continue to pepper Twisted Nerve’s catalogue (and therefore this compilation), you’d probably consider it one of the world’s finest musical stables.


STILL GOING - STILL GOING THEME // DFA/EMI
I’ve ranted about this tune so much over at FACT that I can’t really summon the energy to do it again here. Suffice to say, ‘Still Going Theme’ is the work of Eric Duncan (of Rub-N-Tug) and Olivier Spencer (R-N-T’s engineer and former member of dodgy electro-house trio Mr Negative); it also happens to be one of the best tracks DFA has put out not just this year, but ever. It’s dubby piano-house, with a clarity to its production and sound design that’s awe-inspiring, and it’s quietly momentous melody will stay with you a forever. There’s a snipped to be heard on James Murphy and Pat Mahoney’s brilliant, disco-only Fabriclive mix CD, but by the time that comes out I presume ‘Still Going Theme’ will be doing the rounds anyway. You’re strongly recommended to buy it.


ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - PEACEBONE (PANTHA DU PRINCE REMIX) // DOMINO USA
It didn’t cause a massive stir at the time of release, but as 2007 has worn on, Pantha Du Prince’s This Bliss LP, and the track ‘Saturn Strobe’ in particular, have grown hugely in my, and probably your, estimation. Here, Henrik Weber (as he’s known to his ma) takes the last single by Baltimore’s Animal Collective and basically turns it into a Pantha Du Prince record. Seriously, listen to the original and then the remix in quick succession and their utter remoteness from each other will surely make you chuckle. Still, it doesn’t hurt to have another Pantha Du Prince record in your life; and what’s more, the original is actually in and of itself a great song by a hugely overrated band.


MODESELEKTOR - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! // BPITCH CONTROL
If there’s one thing that’s dogged the world of house and techno over the past year or so, no, over the past twenty years or so, it’s a terrible propensity for taking itself too seriously. The return of Modeselektor, then, is to be welcomed – the ape-fixated Berliners have once again turned out an LP that’s incredibly stupid and incredibly likeable. The Siriusmo-featuring track is my personal fave, but this is an album your ears can ride from start to finish without fear of boredom. I was also recently introduced to Modeselektor’s Boogybytes mix CD selection – which in turn introduced me to a wealth of bangers I’d not heard before, including Mu-ziq’s sci-fi breakcore wonder ‘Mu-ziq Theme’. Have a sniff.


BOOF - FIRST DATE // VALVE
This track is currently the one and only track in Maurice Fulton’s myspace player. And what a track. A piece of very 90s-sounding, jazzy downbeat, ‘First Date’ paints a bittersweet picture which suits its title perfectly, poignant strings and shuffling drums giving this track the depth and momentum of real love itself (excuse me, I'm a sentimental toad). Anyhow, this track is available on the album, A Soft Kiss By A Rose, which Maurice made as Boof; alas, it never received a vinyl release.


STUDIO - WEST COAST // INFORMATION
If you haven’t yet heard every Tom, Dick and Heinrich raving about this badboy then, well, for your own sake open some new lines of communication. Originally released in ’06 in a limited run, a timely re-press has seen this LP rightfully receive foaming-at-the-mouth levels of excitement and acclaim. I’ve listened to this record hundreds upon hundreds of times, and I’ve yet to get bored of it. Studio create widescreen, Balearic-referencing soundscapes of unbelievable beauty, melody and (please forgive me) funk. Any fan of Lindstrom, Fleetwood Mac, The Happy Mondays, Primal Scream or The Durutti Column, jesus, any fan of music, who hasn’t heard West Coast – stop reading this and buy your copy NOW. See also their remix of A Mountain of One's 'Brown Piano' - it's nice.


THE BUG - SKENG // HYPERDUB
Every time my interest in dubstep (or, excuse me, bass music) wanes a little, a record like this seems to come along and forcefully re-connect me with the joys of wanton woofer-bating. ‘Skeng’ is a vocal track, but the vocals come courtesy of two of grime’s finest MC’s: Killa P and Roll Deep’s Flow Dan. P and Dan do such a good job with their bleak, properly gangster baritone drawls, but as the ever-reliable Boomkat noted, this kind of MCing is often overbearing in the extreme - 'Skeng' works because their voices are submerged and overpowered by the sheer immensity of The Bug’s production. This is, as Solid Groove once said, sick.


CHLOE - THE WAITING ROOM // KILL THE DJ
Again, a record which I’ve spoken and written about so fondly and passionately over the past month or so that I struggle to do it again. All I can say is, this is a fantastically stylish and substantial record, one which effortlessly flits between techno function, traditional song and textural innovation and ends up being the best avant-minded pop album of ’07 so far (sorry Matthew, you almost had it). If even half the music-loving public was genuinely as open-minded as they claim to be, this would be a bestselling crossover hit. That’s unlikely to happen, but don’t let that stop you picking it up – trust me, you’ll still be playing it ten years from now.


MOODYMANN - I'D RATHER BE LONELY [KDJ]
Moodymann’s catalogue scares me, I won’t lie to you. A bit like Theo Parrish. I mean, where do you dip in? Well, I heard someone spinning ‘I’d Rather Be Lonely’, Kenny Dixon Jr’s latest one-sided 12”, and suddenly realized that a doorway had opened for me. What a track this is. I mean…Amp Fiddler’s vocals, the jazzy keys, the drums...Urban psychedelia of the highest order. Phenomenal. Phenomenal.


LAWRENCE - THE NIGHT WILL LAST FOREVER // MUTE/DIAL/LADOMAT
Another oldie, but I only really heard this record for the first time two months ago. I’ve acquired a copy since, and while it fails to trump the heaven-sent arrangements, melodies and production of its follow-up (The Absence of Blight), it’s intricate and expressive enough to shit on 90% of records ever made. Peter Kersten is a genius, of that there can be no doubt. His latest on Dial (‘Pond’) and Mule Electronic (‘Rabbit Tube’) are more abstract but finely textured works – check them out.


MARK E - R&B DRUNKIE // GOLF CHANNEL
It’s a party record, simple as that – one so simple and so potent that anyone who DJs in a public place should automatically own one, maybe two copies. ‘R&B Drunkie’’s basis is a Janet Jackson song (don’t ask me which), given a New York disco bump, spit and polish by Manchester’s Mark E. That’s all there is to it, really – no severe edits, no massive builds or breaks – just a heavy, 4x4 R&B track for dancing and life-affirmation.


L.PIERRE - DIP // MELODIC
Some records induce you such an exquisite, borderline-unbearable sense of place, are so evocative and visual, that you struggle to believe others can be as stimulated by the same record. This album, released earlier in 2007 to very little fanfare, is for me one such record – it puts me in mind of dreams, childhood memories and shards of half-remembered TV shows that are dizzying in their, er, vividity. Much of this is, I’m certain, down to Lucky Pierre himself – former Arab Strapper Aidan Moffat, with a small accompanying ensemble – who’s named the tracks on ‘Dip’ and designed its sleeve in such a way as to summon memories (or imagined memories) of a quintessentially British seaside bleakness/hopefulness. There’s even shameless tide sounds, actually. So not so personal at all. But still a brilliant album – the second track on Side A has the power put a rosy tint on near any distress or disappointment you could possibly suffer. The very fact that this LP has made me speak in as wanky fashion as I just have should make you seek out a copy even faster.


THE SOFT PINK TRUTH - DO YOU PARTY? // SOUNDSLIKE
This is one messy sounding record, for sure, and it’s been around for a couple of years, but…what an album. The Soft Pink Truth, like its parent project Matmos, manages to affect a tricky synthesis of humour, high-falutin’ concept and spot-on production that most electronic musicians would struggle to comprehend, let alone execute; unfortunately, the music, or at least the structuring and sequencing of that music, sometimes suffers. There are considerable shortcomings to Do You Party?, shortcomings it’s difficult to confidently track or verbalize, but shortcomings all the same. The simple fact of SPT’s existence, however, fills me with such scintillating fucking indie-kid joy that I’m happy to let him (Drew Daniel) get on with it. If you’re based in or near London, make sure you catch him live at The Rocket on Holloway Road next month as part of The Wire’s 25th anniversary celebrations.


SMITH & MUDD - VEGETABLE SQUARE // CLAREMONT 56
Carnage (among others) has been singing the praises of Mudd to me for over a year now (hell, we even feature an interview with the fella on this site); and though I didn’t doubt his testimony for a second (an mp3 of ‘54B’ was an indication of Mudd’s talents), it’s taken me this long to register fully quite the extent of those talents. I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of his Claremont 56 LP in the post, but the latest 12” on his label of the same name has been satisfying me plenty in the meantime. The impossibly lush Idjut Boys remix is a particularly enchanting listen, and boy is it a long listen. Last Saturday I popped it on the turntable, then realized I was out of fags or teabags or some such and nipped out to the newsagent down the road. I came back fifteen minutes later, and the ‘Version Idjuts’ was still happily unfolding, so beautiful and beatific in its Balearic vision that for a minute London’s raw chicken-coloured sky took on an Ibizan glow. Serious. Oh, and after years of modest disco service, it’s been great to see the Idjuts step into the limelight a little this year – their remixes of this, that Kenneth Bager tune and Altz (on Death From Abroad) are all sterling and worthy of your attention.


FLYING LOTUS - RESET EP // WARP
When I think of Warp these days, it’s difficult not to think of Maximo Park and their twat-in-a-hat of a frontman. Of course, it goes without saying that Warp was once the home of incredible innovation in the electronic arts. It still is, to some extent, but each new Gravenhurst record seems to take it further away. Thank fuck, then, for the new EP from Flying Lotus, some Californian chap who’s name I can’t remember but is apparently Alice Coltrane’s nephew or something. His ‘Reset’ EP, out very soon on Warp, is a wonderful distillation of everything that was good about, er, trip-hop. Nice breaks, cleverly teased soul samples and other 90s staples make up these tracks’ mass, but the squelchy, distorted basslines and general sense of focus are more in keeping with today. Check the ‘Lotus’s myspace for his excellent remix of a Mr Oizo track; apparently the two of ‘em are working on tracks together at the moment n’all…


ARIL BRIKHA - EX MACHINA [PEACEFROG]
OK, so a lot of it sounds like Sasha. but if, like me, you have an enduring weakness for the genre which will, no matter what creative peaks it reaches, forever be known as "trendy trance", then you're in for a treat. A lack of vinyl release has prevented this album from becoming the word-of-mouth hit it almost certainly would have; consider this all the word-of-mouth you need, and consider buying the CD immediately.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

How Deep Is Your Bruv?

TAPE Radio - Show #32: 'How Deep Is Your Bruv?'
Forss - Journeyman (Trickski Remix) // Sonar Kollektiv
October - Homosapiens // Caravan
Carl Craig - Sandstorms (Quentin Harris Remix) // CD-R
Terre Thaemlitz - She's Hard (Max Mohr Remix) // Mule Musiq
James Priestley & Dan Berkson - Chariots // Simple
Outlines - Listen To The Drums (Jazzanova Remix - Dixon Edit) // Sonar Kollektiv
Vangelis - Let It Happen (Beatfanatic Remix) // G.A.M.M.
Motorcitysoul - Space Katzle // Aus
Kaoru Inoue - The Secret Field (Todd Terje Remix) // Mule Musiq
Matthew Dear - Elementary Lover (DJ Koze Remix) // Ghostly
Thomas Fehlmann - T.R.N.T.T.F // Kompakt
Schaeben & Voss Ft. Schad Privat - Put Up Job // Kompakt
Turbo Crystal - Another Glass (Fabrizio Mammarella Instrumental Mix) // CD-R
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (Ashley Beedle Edit) // CD-R

Listen:
TAPE Radio - Show #32: 'How Deep Is Your Bruv?'

As you can guess by the post's title, the latest radio instalment is pretty damn deep. Prepare to hypnotize yourselves with new bits from Trickski, Priestley & Berkson, Motorcitysoul, and Kaoru Inoue (the Todd Terje mix is featured here, but the original tracks are ultra lush guitar noodlings that need to be heard - seek them out!). We've also got exclusive remixes from Quentin Harris, Ashley Beedle and Fabrizio Mammarella, plus the B2 from our good friend October's latest (and first techno oriented) release. This is the one that's been charted by Ripperton in his latest chart for Resident Advisor, but the other tracks on the 12" (due October 1st on his own Caravan label) ooze just as much quality as 'Homosapiens'. If you've been a regular listener to the radio shows , then you'll have already heard his Neptunes/Booka Shade hybrid (honestly, there isn't really a better way to describe it) 'There's A Glitch In My Soup' a couple of times alongside other unreleased material from his vault, but the Ronseal-esque 'Three Drops' on the A should seal your love for this man. Ripperton's become such a big fan over the last month that he's approached our boy for a release on his Perspectiv label, which should hopefully come out early next year. Did I also mention he was playing our party this Friday? *cough*

Anyway, here are the set times for Friday's final chapter in the Mutant Pop saga:

22:00-23:45 :: Luke Malcher b2b Harry Glazebrook
23:45-01:00 :: Lukas b2b Credible
01:00-02:10 :: Jamie Curnock b2b Patrick Bolton (4 deck Serato set)
02:10-03:20 :: October
03:20-04:00 :: Puffin Jack b2b Richard Carnage (Mutant Pop classics set)

Full info on all the guests can be found
here. I should be back next week with a debauched late night selection from myself, Joe Hart, and Dan Kelly, plus a run down of what's been floating my musical boat of late. In the meantime, have a good weekend, and we hope to see some of you down at Native on Friday for what's sure to be a messy, messy affair.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Quick Fix

Our very own Kiran Sande (a.k.a. Mr Soft) is at it again with another of his Contemporary Fix columns over at the FACT website. There's an interview with Mathew Jonson concerning the forthcoming Cobblestone Jazz LP, whilst he also waxes lyrical about Chloe, Villalobos, Portable, and Chateau Flight's forthcoming offerings. Check it out here.

Few other things to update you on - first and foremost, the new Emptyset 12" hit selected shelves this week. If you heard the first one, then you'll know what to expect - sub heavy reduced techno that'll rock the club to the core. Copies of the first one are already difficult to get hold of (there's three on Discogs if you're still trying to find one), but grab the latest one from Boomkat while you can.

Also, if you're in our fair city of Bristol this weekend, make sure you don't miss this one:
I'll be there, and so will anyone with any taste in decent house music! Rest yourselves well for next weekend, however, as we've got the double whammy of Mutant Pop (with October and Lukas playing amongst others) at Native on the Friday, and under_score at Blue Mountain with Baby Ford and Raudive on Saturday.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Back On The Disco Train

TAPE Radio - Show #31: 'Back On The Disco Train'
Art Bleek - Between Yesterday & Tomorrow (Li'll Bo Tweak's 80's Latenite Boogie Mix) // Loungin'
Talking Heads - Pull Up The Roots (Ron Hardy Edit) // CD-R
Kelley Polar - Rosenband (Magic Tim's Instrumental Version) // Environ
George Thomson - Laid Back Snack Attack // Crosstown Rebels
Chloe - Brashov // Kill The DJ
Dennis Ferrer - Touch The Sky (Quentin Harris Remix) // CD-R
The Nova Dream Sequence - Dream 8 // Compost
Basteroid - Pulsador De Alarma // Areal
Bang Goes - Tres Acid // Stattmusik
Dapayk & Padberg - Island // Mo's Ferry Prod.
SCSI-9 - Cologne // Trapez
Cobblestone Jazz - PDB // Wagon Repair
Will Saul - 3000AD // Simple
Daniel Mehlhart - Planetarium // Karmarouge
Maxime Dangles - Love Water // K2
Lawrence - Rabbit Tube // Mule Electronic
Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (Rico's Edit) // Pointless Edits
Double - The Captain Of Her Heart // Polydor

Listen:
TAPE Radio - Show #31: 'Back On The Disco Train'

So you wait for a bus... You know the rest of the story. Quite a few new bits this week, from Chloe's growling kraut-tronics from her forthcoming 'The Waiting Room' LP, through to the lush kaleidoscopic tones of Lawrence on Mule, all via one of Basteroid's melodious yet melancholy bangers from his 'Upset Ducks' LP. There's still a few older nuggets though, like George Thomson's 'Laid Back Snack Attack' - a cheeky vocal slammer that Crosstown Rebels wouldn't go near with a bargepole nowadays. Shame, really. I used to quite like some of the poppier CR releases, like the remix of Jahcoozi's 'Fish' and even Mish Mash's 'Speechless' (which got relicensed by big UK label Data and bastardised with about fifteen godawful remixes). Speaking of which, hasn't someone picked up Skwerl's 'All Woman' lately? I can't bear to think of how bad the remixes are going to be... Anyway, buy the original one on the 'Members Of The Trick' series - it's the b-side 'Betaserc' that's the dancefloor killer. Until next time!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Come On My Selektor

As promised, here's the live set from Modeselektor that I've been promising for the last couple of weeks. It features their 2006 collaboration with Ninjaman along with quite a few cuts from 'Happy Birthday!' (which should be out in your local emporium sometime this week), but listen out for the exclusive remixes of Thom Yorke and Ghislain Poirier that feature on there - both of them are bassweight bangers of the highest order.

Modeselektor feat. Puppetmastaz - The Darkside Of The Sun
Modeselektor feat. TTC - 2000007
Modeselektor feat. Ninjaman - Weed Wid Da Macka
Modeselektor - Godspeed
Thom Yorke - Skip Divided (Modeselektor Remix)
Modeselektor - Black Block
Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke - The White Flash
Ghislain Poirier feat. Face T - Blazin' (Modeselektor Remix)
Modeselektor - Edgar


Download:
Modeselektor - TAPEd Live

Monday, September 10, 2007

Radio Ga Ga

It's been a bit quiet on the radio show front due to a few problems that I've been having with the Viva systems (and my own laziness of course), but things should be a bit more regular from now on. Here's the show that was meant to broadcast an absolute age ago, but don't worry as there'll be a new one this week.

TAPE Radio: Show #30 - 'Got It Right'
Justus Kohncke - Elan (Dub) // CD-R
Metro Area - Miura (Maelstrom Edit) // CD-R
The Green Men - The Fog (Darshan Jesrani Remix) // Moodmusic
Deepchord - Celestialis // Modern Love
Solomun & Gebruder Ton - Tagesschau (Jackmate Remix) // Diynamic
Matzak - Girl In Water // Boxer
Cobblestone Jazz - W // Wagon Repair
Roland Appel - Dark Soldier // Sonar Kollektiv
Blaze - Lovelee Dae (Carl Craig's 70 Degrees And Sunny Remix) // Playhouse
Ryuichi Sakamoto - We Love You // Virgin
Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I'm A Wonderful Thing, Baby (Greg Wilson Edit) // KAT
Sally Shapiro - I Know (SLL Dub Remix) // CD-R
My My - Fast Freeze // Cocoon
Wighnomy Brothers - My Gloomy Head // Freude Am Tanzen
Kelley Polar - Chrysanthemum // Environ
Dennis Parker - Like An Eagle (Todd Terje Edit) // CD-R


Listen:
TAPE Radio - Show #30: 'Got It Right'

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Mutant Pop's Last Dance

MUTANT POP'S LAST DANCE
Friday 21st September
Native, Small St
£4, £3 before 11

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. So it's my job, sadly, to announce the demise of our beloved Mutant Pop parties. Our brothers-in-arms Mike and Gaz have decided to call it a day as far as promoting is concerned, and we wish them well with their future musical ventures (they currently hold a residency at Jay Curnock and Pat Bolton's upcoming Void nights). It's been a great 18 months doing the night with them, albeit with its ups and downs, but I'd like to think that the moments on the dancefloor have made it all worthwhile for them. I'd like to take this moment to thank all the guests who've played for us (Butane, October, Nightmoves, Mock'n'Toof, Simon Rigg, Skull Juice, Italoboyz, Arveene & Matagouri, Emptyset, Florian Meindl, Matthew Styles, James Hurley & Dan Reilly, Bill Brewster, Axel Bartsch, Lukas, and our numerous supporting DJs - I'd list them all but I'd be here all day!), and also the people who've come through the doors of the Arc Bar and Native to boogie with us.

So - no more Mutant Pop? We found ourselves in a bit of a quandry, but what better way to go out than with a big shebang with the people that are, in our humble opinion, the creme de la creme of Bristol's electronic talent. Here's the bill for our final shakedown:

October (Caravan / Fluid Ounce / Lot 49)
Jules headlined one of the earliest Mutant Pop parties back in the Arc bar days, and since then we've seen him blossom from strength to strength. Originally peddling a meticulous broken sound for Fluid Ounce and Lot 49, over the last couple of years his productions have moved far away from what he's known best for. Fans and friends have been eagerly awaiting the release of his fresh material, and thankfully, now is the time. Jules' new label, Caravan, will be launching on the 1st October (what a stunt!) with his first 12" release, the 'Three Drops' EP, with records from Emptyset and TG to follow later in the year alongside his second 12", 'Invitation'. Fans of the Hardwax and Modern Love camps take note. For this one, expect some irresistably fresh, atmospheric, and all out funked up techno that'll get your head and feet moving in equal measures.

Lukas (Player's Paradise) b2b Credible (Buoyancy)
Partners in the ill-fated System project at this very venue (a midweek electronic night with ridiculously good guests... what were we thinking?! Ever the optimists, I guess...), they've grown close to our hearts with their wide ranging electronic manifesto. Top blokes, top tastes, and Lukas has been causing a bit of a stir across the continent with his 'Eraser' 12" (which even got a play on D Ramirez's Essential Mix for Radio 1) on Dirt Crew sub-label Player's Paradise. Pumping tech-house is the order of the day on the EP, but don't be fooled - he's got plenty more tricks up his sleeve when it comes to his DJ sets. With Break 3000, Martinez, Marcello Giordani, Sasse, Tensnake, and Tigerskin all making appearances on Player's Paradise, he's definitely in good company with his debut release. Expect much more from him in the near future, and I hear rumours that Credible's been working overtime on his new studio setup. We eagerly await the results...

Jamie Curnock b2b Patrick Bolton (Void) - 4 Deck Serato Set
So they've stolen Mike and Gaz away from us with their new Void night at Soho, but as we're such lovely chaps we're willing to forgive and forget their underhand methods and invite them on board for the final blowout. Serato wizards Jay (pictured right) and Pat have long been impressing the city's crowds with their deft technoid selection and mixing, and I'm sure the same will apply this time around.

Luke Malcher (under_score) b2b Harry Glazebrook (West Country Shakedown)
Normalise cohorts Harry and Luke are true wild cards. You never know what they'll be up to, be it reductionist techno, UK garage, bassline house, or boompty bangers. Their respective under_score and West Country Shakedown nights are the place to be if you fancy a wiggle, and they'll be importing their good vibrations down to Native for the night.

Puffin Jack b2b Richard Carnage (TAPE / Mutant Pop)
Err, yes. That'll be us. House, techno, dubstep, disco - you know the score.

I must stress here that we begged Mike and Gaz to play the final party multiple times, but they politely declined. It won't be the same without you, boys! They'll be down at Native giving it large on the floor, however, so come on down and let's send Mutant Pop out with a bang!

On an altogether lighter note, TAPE will be taking over the slot in November with a big, natch, HUGE booking for a venue as intimate as Native. Keep your browsers locked on to TAPE for the upcoming ticket details. I bet you can't contain your excitement, can you?
Plus, if you're thinking of making a full weekend of things, you could do a lot worse than heading to the fully TAPE endorsed under_score party at Blue Mountain on Saturday. Oliver Ho is his Raudive guise is good enough, but when you've got motherfucking Baby Ford on the bill as well, you know that the floor's going to be worked to a pulp by 6am on Sunday morning. Puffin's also on the bill in the upstairs room, though previous Mutant Pop guest Jobody and the under_score residents (including the legendary Paul Purgas of Emptyset fame) will be making sure that you're going to have a hard time dragging yourself away from the main room. In a word? Messy.
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