zomby nation

where were you in 92? i was in school, on holiday in france, yeah whatever. if you’ve ever read a blog in your life you’ve probably heard of zomby, and his cut-up jungle/ghetto/bmore/dubstep/unclassifiable album/mixtape with a title inspired by a line from m.i.a.’s xr2. have you heard that he’s playing in dublin? mag-turned-website-turned-radio-show-turned-promoter analogue is bringing him over to dublin this weekend, and it promises to be an interesting event.

playing the twisted pepper, where i’ve recently seen fake blood, dj funk and the ridiculously good residents such as barry redsetta, shortie and frank sweeney, he will hopefully indulge the whims of the sell-out crowd (the buzz surrounding this gig is palpable) with some choice gems from wwui92 and his various eps from the last two years, while blowing everyone away with intriguing and innovative experimental pieces like sky high, which appeared unceremoniously on his twitter this past week. but then again, if he did what we expected it wouldn’t be very interesting, would it? imagine he just showed up and played 75 minutes of think breaks and sci-fi samples. it’d still be epic. see you there.

in the meantime, read the masked man’s interview in the fader for an insight into the twisted mind of this enigmatic character.

Zomby – Pills
Zomby – Sky High (extract)

interviews are go

i’m finally getting my interview game back. see here for details of my recent chat with the juan maclean. more to follow later in the year hopefully. watch this space etc.

tweets ahead

just had a look at some of my old tweets on the analogue account last year. go follow!

Pukkelpop just kicked off properly with Santogold. In the next tent over, DJ Mehdi is banging out Surkin’s White Knight to mild appreciation from the Belgians 3:11 PM Aug 14th, 2008 from txt

Róisín Murphy is definitely the coolest living Irish person. 10:19 PM Aug 14th, 2008 from txt

If it’s just Sinden on the decks with some added MCs can it really be called “The Count and Sinden (Live)”? We want Hervé! 1:41 PM Aug 15th, 2008 from txt

Let dem know you gon bomb de place Diplo, let dem know you gon bomb de place Diplo… Bangin! 6:36 PM Aug 15th, 2008 from txt

Being at Lovebox is embarrassing… 7:28 PM Aug 23rd, 2008 from txt

Although I must say, N*E*R*D are ROCKING it. Backseat Love sounds great! 8:27 PM Aug 23rd, 2008 from txt

This is the worst festival I’ve ever been to. Oh no a preposition! 9:50 PM Aug 23rd, 2008 from txt

sub-standard

lately i’ve been trying to be a blogger by day, a sub-editor by evening and a dj by night. i’ve met with relative success. maybe i need a bit more of the blogging, but hey, i’m getting there. i posted a link to my interview with belgian electro-rock outfit the subs on facebook and a friend pointed out the obvious joke.

which i’d missed somehow.

anyway don’t forget that these crazy belgians will be shaking transmission to the ground tomorrow night. as well as that, we’re still looking for any budding producers out there who feel like tackling their latest single, fuck that shit. ahem. finally we’ve got prizes for costumes tomorrow night courtesy of bud ice – they’ll be given out before 12.30am so make sure you get in early.

i feel nothing

i was given falling off the lavender bridge to review on my birthday last year, and it was not what i expected. out of nowhere came one of my favourite albums of the year. his was one of the standout performances for me at primavera (see above). then gorky of bonde do rolê did a crazy remix of galaxy of the lost that was nothing like the original but still kicked ass. and since then, there’s been nothing. till now. over on his website, lightspeed champion is giving away a new track called heavy purple. a dramatic intro leads into some sparse percussion, a delicate guitar solo and some mumbling from dev. it’s a dark song, and heavily reverbed warbling about feeling nothing lends to the ominous sounds that permeate. a spoken word outro wraps up the track with an even darker sense of foreboding. my guess is that he’s really been shaken by the financial crisis, watching what it’s done to his fellow man. that or he’s having bad dreams again.

Lightspeed Champion – Heavy Purple
Lightspeed Champion – Galaxy of The Lost (Bonde do Rolê Remix)

summer’s almost gone

it’s raining bucketloads right now, as you can see from the view out my window. oh well, we had a few days of sunshine, so i guess i can’t complain. yesterday saw three elections in dublin south, as well as a visit to kennedy’s to see shadow dancer. they didn’t disappoint, and tracks like be happy and what is natural sounded even better live than they do on record. they’re both lovely chaps too.

i also FINALLY finished that joe and will ask? interview. joe kindly sent me what he says is his favourite track of theirs right now, their remix of fairmont‘s gazebo. check it out, and have a read of the interview here.

The Doors – Summer’s Almost Gone
Fairmont – Gazebo (Joe and Will Ask? remix)

shadow dancer – golden traxe

i wrote this review a few months ago for publication in analogue magazine, but alas it never went to print. i never did anything with it so i figured i should post it ahead of the guys’ performance at kennedy’s tonight. see you there.

The problem with reviewing albums like Golden Traxe is that it’s hard to tell if what sounds good at home will sound good in a club. Signed to Boys Noize Records in 2007, Liverpool duo Shadow Dancer have been putting out tracks and remixes that fit in with the noisy electro sound of that label. Thankfully, they have managed to create an album that, as well as being full of certified club bangers, also makes sense on the headphones. Unlike much of that label’s output, most of the tracks on Golden Traxe are more than just functional club music. Across 12 tracks they’ve managed to fit in a host of sounds and influences, and not in any way that implies musical pilfering. The closest comparison that seems appropriate is to Mr. Oizo, as, like the eccentric Frenchman, they operate in a manner that combines the sublime, the ridiculous, and the just plain silly. The title track has a hint of funky house, Be Happy sounds like space-age filtered disco, while Lower Left incorporates elements of proper acid house. All of these influences come together without ever sounding forced, and each track manages to have its own “Shadow Dancer” sound. Here is an album for fans of electro, but one that can be appreciated in both daylight and darkness.

and it rained all night

i wasn’t too happy with my diplo piece for analogue last year, so it’s great to see an insightful interview with him over on discodust. got word today of a few potential pre-picnic analogue interviews – watch this space. also joe and will ask? interview on its way later this week.

i just got a mixcloud account – it’s invite only right now but keep checking and it should be free for all soon enough.

it’s raining heavily so i’m listening to burial…

…and the sky is grey

the weather’s been really horrible today. proper rainy. at times like this i really envy my brother living in la. not the rest of the time obviously… a few minutes ago there was a beautiful wash of sunshine across preston, or at least the preston i can see out my window (deepdale included), but now it’s gone. oh, it’s back. orange and balmy.

my review of last night’s show is here. check it. and this is the tee i picked up. it does say “the juan maclean”, honest…

i’m waiting for the young lovers cd (aka hervé) to arrive in the post, and i can feel a lengthy blog coming about that one. in the meantime, enjoy this album sampler – it’s blindingly good.