take ‘em up

From the Cradle to the Rave is a near perfect album, and “Take Em Up” is one reason why: The interplay between Marcus “Shit Robot” Lambkin’s loping synthesizer disco funk and Nancy Whang’s unflappable vocals is, simply, great. Now, that track yields added dividends through its pairing with a collection of remixes from an eclectic group of estimable artists. Birmingham, England’s Mark E contributes his Black Country Dub, a reworking that adds a robot-precise, thudding beat to minimal arrangements, and then overlays the whole structure with room-filling synths. Marcus Marr takes things slowly, opening with brooding synths and solitary vocals that burst into blissful electronic pop at the chorus. The digital release adds two tracks: A John Talabot remix that feels like a laidback house party that really gets going when it relocates to a disco floor. And Germany’s Michael Mayer’s epically inventive take on “Tuff Enuff” – another From the Cradle to the Rave standout – is an otherworldly listening experience that literally builds toward take off.
- Kali Holloway

dfa webstore : itunes

because xxxchange needs all the blog love he can get!

i featured ghostdad’s acid yazz last week (which is still super awesome and features xxxchange tracks such as his remix of charlotte gainsbourg) and now i wanna draw your attention to a new project from xxxchange, ghostdad and devlin. they’ve done a new track under the name win win, which is a pretty appropriate moniker. the track is called releaserpm (no i’ve no idea either), and it features vocals from lizzi bougatsos, who if you don’t know is a member of gang gang dance. remember what i said? win win. the track is hosted on the fader, and got a mention on p4k, but it needs our attention because…..

never think that dudes, NEVER…

shake yuh waist

this is fun.

most blogged

new cut copy single – there’s a european tour coming up, with more dates to follow, so expect to see them in tripod some time next year.

Aman Ellis interview

Originally from Alabama and now based in Brooklyn, ModyWorks signing Aman Ellis makes electronic music that varies from extra-terrestrial-minded techno (All The Things) to down-south trip-hop (The Cacti). I spoke to him about his recent releases, his ongoing efforts in crossing musical boundaries, and how he’s inspired by BBQ.

First of all, what was the starting point for your recent Cacti EP?

Well, I’ve always been interested in the beat culture, specially the West Coast stuff. So I’ve always wanted to do a record that way. It’s a totally different style of production. One day I stumbled upon this hidden record store in Brooklyn with all the pristine records for $1. There were all these great old school records; jazz, classical, Hawaiian. Stuff like Exotic Strings, ya know! Now it’s my secret spot where I can go and I’m guaranteed to find something crazy.

I bought a bunch of vinyls in the hopes of doing the kind of record I’d always admired. I wanted a very melodic record with a melancholic, almost antique vibe to it. I wanted the dirt from the records. The scratches and pops play a big part in the way this EP sounds. For me, it’s the scratchy sounds and off-beat rhythms juxtaposed against the very pleasant melodies that makes it cool.

a fat guy in a t-shirt doing all the singing

so last night i ended up getting some last-minute tickets to lcd soundsystem in tripod. i’ve never seen the place so full. i had a spot directly behind the sound desk and couldn’t move from start to finish. i hate to be that guy but the lines “people don’t dance no more, they just stand there like this, they cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and diss” could kind of have been written about me. i won’t moan about or diss the band. not one bit. the show was awesome. i bopped a little bit. but i don’t get this whole hurling drinks and glo-sticks in the air business. last night’s crowd was wild. i guess maybe it was the positive expression of the pain felt by a disenfranchised and angry youth, given the fraught situation the nation is in. but then again, at €40+ a pop for tickets, and three sold-out shows, i doubt this youth was the most disenfranchised. but that’s moot i suppose. everyone is angry. and this isn’t that kind of blog.

last night’s show was magnificent – inspiring musicianship, unflappable focus, genuine humility in the face of overwhelming adulation, and a true sense of unparallelled joy in performance. and off stage, i really feel i have to mention how great the lights were. with a show like that you could just have spotlights and the odd strobe, but the variety, innovation and, dare i say it, humour of the lighting was definitely a highlight. the people at tonight’s show (hopefully) got to miss the bullshit bailout conference earlier, for a night of fall-of-the-empire abandon. so this is a volte face, forget what i said at the start. dance yrself clean.

flashing for money

what else are you going to do at the weekend other than sit in from the cold and the rain listening to good mixes? the first comes from one of the greats, grandmaster flash, live at the metamorphose festival in japan last september.

Much like the mythological Trojan War, the beginnings of hip hop music are shrouded in fable and legend. We do know this much however – Grandmaster Flash was there. He not only pioneered the hip hop style of DJing, but he invented many of the foundational techniques of the trade. Back-cueing, beat juggling, and record scratching just to name a few. Combined with his rap group, The Furious Five, Flash went on to massive early 80s chart success on the Sugarhill label. Singles like The Message and Scorpio broke new musical ground, not only in the hip hop world, but also in the burgeoning electronic scene. Flash kept active throughout the 80s, releasing records both as solo artist and with the Furious Five. Since then, Flash has gone on to DJ across the globe, playing his infamous blend of party classics – all delivered with his signature cut-and-paste style. Listen here as he rocks the main stage at Metamorphose in Japan.

shrobot

shit robot is in town to support lcd soundsystem every night this weekend at tripod, and then back next week with underworld in the rds.

clive onion

i’ve been a fan of joe and will ask since i first came across their remix of alena’s turn it around – i later discovered they were both as big fans of euphoric 90s trance as i was, hence that remix, and another for mario piu’s communication. you know, that one with the interference and that girl imploring that “somebody answer the phone”… anyway since then they’ve put out a very small number of releases, focusing on quality instead of quantity. fabric of win was one of my favourite tracks last year – in fact i just included it in my round-up of button factory favourites for transmission – and this year i’ve really loved man the cannons and their remix of booka shade. recently they’ve been putting their energy into their new night vikings at ministry of sound in london (you can check out their mixes for the night here), but that’s not to say they’ve been ignoring the tune side of things. new effort clive onion is a massive departure, it sounds completely unlike anything they’ve done before, yet you can still tell it’s a joe and will ask track. as the blurb on the deadly people soundcloud puts it:

The guys were asked to remix Yeasayer. They ended up writing a killer bassline that sounded weird with the Yeasayer parts. So they wrote a brand new song, sampled Arcade Fire and delivered it the next day.

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

the forthcoming remake of brighton rock

dj lil’ elle