Alon Mor - Long Awaited Journey

Warping into existence at the end of last week, aural virtuoso Alon Mor released his highly anticipated sophomore album, Long Awaited Journey. It is without equal or comparison in the spectrum of human musical endeavors, combining distinct motifs from classical compositions, jazz arrangements, sonic atmospheres, and wonderfully deranged synthesis. His haunting and imaginative soundscapes paint themselves within the listener's mind as distinctly vibrant, emotional, and conscientious adventures, representing a sensory syntax espoused by humans since man first realized his connection the auditory world.

Each song on the album is intertwined in a multitude of genres, manifesting musical colorations far beyond the scope of the proto-typical electronic music producer; To simply call Alon Mor a "producer", or even just the blanket term "musician", is to do him an unforgivable disservice. Each title that can be used to describe a man of his talents and creative output seems to fall far short of the mark. Thankfully, Alon himself vocalizes his preferred title best: "My music is me."

To dive into the album is to dissociate from your immediate auditory and conscious surroundings: it is a straight drop from reality into one of the deeper musical rabbit holes in existence. It transports you from the steep, blood-red plateaus of the desert to the melancholy view of a rainy day through dusty windows. Every step along the way is wrought with melodious twists and turns that gather inertia, slingshotting off of every din and chime, culminating in explosive, orchestral releases that quickly drown amongst a vicious torrent of sound design that seems like the call-to-arms of some far-off space-aged civilization. You become the audience, the orchestra, the conductor, the tension, and the release. 

The music of Alon Mor is a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, shrouded in an enigma; it is not meant for those who find comfort in the mundane, but instead for the brave explorers and pioneers of emotion, sensuality, and cognition. An audiophile's paradise, Long Awaited Journey is but the next step in a life-long endeavor to manifest every tangent of musicality and coalesce all of it into an interlocking matrix of exploratory sonic deliverance. 

"As a little boy, I used to spin round and round and make noises. Everybody called it 'explosions'. But 'they' didn’t understand me. My grandmother once said, 'He never stopped making explosions; he started making music.'" - Alon Mor

FOLLOW ALON MOR:   Bandcamp   /   Spotify   /   Soundcloud   /   Facebook

Scatz Tells Tales with "Illgamesh" off Neurons Vol. 1 Compilation

Considered one of mankind's earliest great stories, the Epic of Gilgamesh is a 4,000-year old Mesopotamian tale of an archetypal hero king. Thus the sonic storyteller Scatz is bold to parlay this piece of history into the name of his newest tune,  "Illgamesh", the fourth track from Elemental Minded Promotions' thick 11-part compilation Neurons Vol. 1. New cuts from the compilation will continue to drop on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays throughout November. 

The absence of traditional song structure is fundamental to Scatz music. This may give one the impression that the music is another misdirected mess of bass mayhem. On the contrary, by avoiding traditional song patterns Scatz accesses a more fluid form of compostion, creating one-of-a-kind movements - stories - that hold listeners at attention. "I’ve always been passionate about the magical craft and power of storytelling," Scatz tells us. His real name is Mitch Bilodeau, and in addition to producing he co-founded the vital left-field bass platform WUMP Collective with his brother Ronny from their home base in Connecticut. 

 "Illgamesh" darts in all directions. The mythical Mesopotamian king flashes back and forth, felling the Great Cedar with powerful kick drums, slaying the Bull of Heaven with broad and sharp synthesizers, and seeking eternal life with immortal melodies. Chopped samples from Mitch's own voice - "I will live another day" - are manipulated into mere vocal blips, glitching with guitar samples to producing a disorienting effect. The drums are smashing, with a particularly thorough kick. There's a grab-bag of glitches throughout the song, but Scatz maintains space in the mix, generating a laid-back atmosphere during intervals between pounding, somewhat purple bass. "The “ill-” in the title was my attempt to humorously transport the idea of this old figure of lore into the interweb-driven, meme-centric, modern society that we call home," Mitch says. "I like to think @illgamesh would be his Twitter handle if he were around today." 

Ultimately "Illgamesh" is an unconventional take on a sound - bass music -which is, well, unconventional in itself. The tracks adds special flavor to the already dynamic Neurons Vol. 1. Stay chooned to The Rust throughout November as we highlight more choice cuts from the compilation (full tracklist below).

1. Pluto Era - Nautilus
2. tsimba & Smigonaut - Headspace
3. Maxfield - Little Death In The Morning Sun
4. Scatz - Illgamesh
5. iX - Desert Form
6. Jizzy Fra - Sensi Star Dub
7. Face Plant - French Press
8. Phydra - Particle Board
9. Keota - Wook Flu
10. DeeZ - Juice ft. Frequency Fodder
11. Zoo Logic - Void

Follow Scatz:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp    /   Twitter   /   Instagram

A.M. Architect - Color Field

Hailing from San Antonio, eclectic sound pioneers Diego Chavez and Daniel Stanush are the duo behind A.M. Architect. The breadth and scope of their artistic prowess seems limitless, blending together a diverse palette of lush, floral tones, pinpoint sound design, meticulously mutated foley, and their own skillsets as cinematographers and motion graphics designers. On November 11th, 2017, A.M. Architect released Color Field, an extensive downtempo journey through the sonic multiverse. In tandem with the musical release, the duo released an accompanying short film and a special “artifact” to bring a personification to the spirit of the LP.

The album is an interwoven matrix of tonal blends, nuanced percussive elements, and atmospheric colorations that speak to a softer side of the human musical spectrum. Each song is its own gift-wrapped adventure. Every moment of tension and point of release is entirely unique and curated to fit the motif like a tailored suit. A mesmerizing flourish of pianos, synthesizers, guitars, disembodied vocals, and subterranean bass lines mesh together to create this auditory masterpiece.

The accompanying video, also entitled “Color Field”, is a melancholy immersion into the ethos of the Color Field album. It opens with a woman in her bathroom staring into the mirror with a pervasive sense of situational abandonment. All comfort is thrown out the window in favor of hair-splitting anxiety. As the film progresses, the woman listens to instructional tapes created by an entity known as “The Spectra Institute”, which seek to explain an experimental therapy that claims to rid the user of self-doubt, lethargy, and painful life experiences.

“At the Spectra Institute, our sensory enhancement programs are structured to help you exist at your fullest potential. Memories connected to a physical or emotional trauma are held by circuitries in the limbic system. These memories can be accessed through reflections, refractions, inflections, and specific wavelengths of light.” What began as an incredibly muted color pallet gradually begins to expand and increase, following the trope of discovery, a return to situational awareness. The films’ thesis presents itself when the woman begins to read a book, entitled “Light on the Path”, and a small newspaper clipping falls out. The headline reads “Will man see more than he knows?”, with the address for the Spectra Institute. It implies a kind of awakening, a form of realization wherein man might leave Plato’s cave of ignorance, and be touched by the light of emotional truth and healing. It is an astounding visual companion to the album, making the release a multi-sensory experience of top-flight design.

As an added token, a limited number of audio-visual “artifacts” have been released, alongside an accompanying 20-song extended soundtrack. The artifact is a visual fx processor that creates gradient, chromatic environments and can be hooked up to larger screens and speaker equipment to amplify the experience. It is variation on a similar device seen in the short film that engages the user’s emotional memory. Altogether, it is the final touch on this artistic exploration of the senses and their interconnectedness.

A.M. Architect continues to push the envelope of arrangement, composition, production, sampling, and the interplay of art mediums with an unparalleled grace and focus. Color Field is an ode to our emotional sensibilities, and the very human ties that bind us to our memories and experiences. Keep an eye out for future releases from A.M. Architect through the multi-medium art label, 79ancestors.

FOLLOW A.M. Architect:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

Smigonaut & Tsimba Collab on Elemental Minded Compilation "Neurons Vol. 1"

Elemental Minded Promotions (EMP) has earned a reputation for touring top-shelf bass music through Connecticut and the greater Northeast. They now embark on a new venture with the release of Neurons Vol. 1, a dynamic 11-track compilation of exclusive tracks from EMP’s favorite up-and-coming producers.

Taking an alternative approach, tracks will drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout November instead of all at once. The first cut, "Nautilus" by Pluto Era, premiered earlier this week. The compilation contains tracks from each artist represented by the management arm of EMP - DeeZ, Keota, Scatz, Smigonaut, & Tsimba - and The Rust will highlight each one.

Today we offer "Headspace" by Smigonaut & Tsimba, the first collaboration between these producers. It's not what we expected. We can't recall any drum & bass releases from Smigonaut, and haven't heard this tempo from Tsimba in years. 

“We were both chillin’ one night listening to some drum & bass and talking about how we want to make more of it,” says Mark Evans Musto a.k.a. Tsimba. “He [Smigonaut] approached me with the melody and it was on.”

Simple but clean synth pads backlight the track. A subtle bassline beneath balances well with the prominent piano melody above, creating a mellow but driving groove. Tsimba’s drums are physically engaging throughout, with the hi-hats running like a 100-meter dash. When the song appears to be verging on reprise, it drops into a half-time shakedown with all the fuzzy sound design and off-kilter percussion that we have grown to expect from these two.

Mark has been working with EMP longer than any other artist. "He really was basically there for the birth of EMP," says founder Tyler Hettel.  "We kind of wanted to see how far we both could make it within the music business and what two kids from CT could do."

The path which led Josh Kipersztok a.k.a. Smigonaut to EMP was more roundabout. A superior sound sculptor, Josh attended Berklee College of Music (where he met  collaborator Skyler Golden a.k.a. Jade Cicada) and currently works for iZotope, a company that designs award-winning audio software and production plug-ins. “I met Josh through Andy [DeeZ] when Andy remixed 'Lost At Sea'," says Tyler. "I loved Andy's remix and when I dove deeper into Smigonaut's catalog I was thoroughly impressed." Forgive us, Tyler, but impressive is an understatement, and "Headspace", is a unique and unexpected addition to that catalog.

We would be caught off guard if either performer dropped “Headspace” in a set. Our next opportunity to hear this comes when the Swarm Tour swoops through Smigonaut’s hometown of Boston on 11/30. Josh will be lending support alongside fellow EMP artist Keota.

Stay chooned to The Rust throughout November as we highlight more choice cuts from Neurons Vol. 1 (full track list below).

1. Pluto Era - Nautilus
2. tsimba & Smigonaut - Headspace
3. Maxfield - Little Death In The Morning Sun
4. Scatz - Illgamesh
5. iX - Desert Form
6. Jizzy Fra - Sensi Star Dub
7. Face Plant - French Press
8. Phydra - Particle Board
9. Keota - Wook Flu
10. DeeZ - Juice ft. Frequency Fodder
11. Zoo Logic - Void

Follow Smigonaut:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /    Bandcamp 

Follow Tsimba:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /    Bandcamp   /   Instagram

Wonk#ay Records - Feed the Contagious

Bass music is, in its purest form, a powerfully aggressive blanket-genre that thrives off of the manipulation of visceral, razor-sharp tones that thwack right in the chest and pulse deep in the eardrums. As Halloween rolls around each year, the spirit of the occasion has a tendency to creep its way into even the finest threads of low-end brutalism, and this time, the result is nothing short of skull-splitting: FEED THE CONTAGIOUS, a brand new compilation of specifically-produced tunes, hits the airwaves today via Wonk#Ay Records. 

Hailing from Brighton, UK, Wonk#Ay records began in 2004 as an initiative to immerse the Brighton club scene in free events hosting experimental music. By 2008, the official record label was born, and the operation was spearheaded by the release of their first compilation, GnomeOrWar, which featured a host of international artists showcasing an eclectic collection of lightning-paced psybient tracks. Within a few years the label began to shift their focus towards mid-tempo, glitch, dubstep, drum-&-bass, neuro, and techno, and would go on to greatly expand their talent pool; Kursa, Seppa, Dystopik, Hurtdeerand their label mates represent the face of Wonk#Ay Records, and together create the war-brand responsible for their label's most potent release to date. 

FEED THE CONTAGIOUS is a nuclear powerhouse of bone-smashing breakdowns, combining the talent of a multi-faceted team of top-flight producers and bass enthusiasts. It is a neural labyrinth of sine-wave compression synthesis, saturation, blistering percussion, and of course, pulverizing bass lines. Bringing each of their trademark styles to the table, this compilation is as much a cooperation amongst these sub-frequency dons as it is a competition for the most brutal, rhythmic cacophony. 

Kursa and Seppa concoct a potion of the highest magnitude, as expected and always delivered. Friendly Fade takes halftime d-n-b and flips it right on its head, panning back and forth between crunchy shuffles and meticulous blast-beats, bringing in aggressive timbres akin to British metal and punk music. Brief flashes of melodious pads are quickly washed away by a torrent of low-end obliteration wrapped in a percussive hailstorm.

Zimbu brings down the hammer with an industrial-era soundscape; Planets In Orbit vibrates to a metal-on-metal frequency, with a blistering bass tone complimented by a steel pipe snare on the most favorable downbeats, leaving just enough room for a bevy of atmospheric glitches to tighten the mix and randomize the direction.

Dystopik cranks up the bpm for his contribution, coming up to bat with a wild halftime d-n-b onslaught called Pulled to Pieces. Granular textures float amidst a sea of white noise and hard-wired kicks and snares battling for dominance. The mean-mugged FM bass synthesizers fire off like a malfunctioning machine gun, spraying the auditory field with a maelstrom of sub-bass and squared-off frequencies.

Wonk#Ay spares absolutely no expense or effort in their collaborative efforts with an ecosystem of top-flight producers. The FEED THE CONTAGIOUS compilation is a Trojan warhorse in an over-saturated sea of similar tones and musical stylings. The necessity to stand out, when much of modern bass music seems a simulacrum of itself, is met with outstanding sound design, mix downs, mastering, and deliberately "throwing the kitchen sink at the wall". All listeners should take the proper time to submerge themselves into each track in this collection, and when the end of the road is reached, Wonk#Ay Records has a wildly impressive back-catalog spanning back to 2008, all 100% FREE (with the option of donation), with quality being the absolute first defining marker of every release. This compilation has just been released into the hands of the masses, and we already can't wait for what Wonk#Ay has next up their sleeves.

FOLLOW Wonk#Ay Records:   Official   /   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

CharlestheFirst Continues Honing His Sound With Single "Void"

The young Californian bass music producer CharlestheFirst just dropped a new single on Bandcamp today entitled “Void”. Raw and reckless, “Void” somehow strikes a balance between light and heavy, dirty and smooth. Walls of watery bass back erratic combinations of sound design, with no two combos appearing to repeat themselves. 

Charles presents a bit of bravado to with a trappin’ vocal sample, but he has every reason to strut at the moment. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for a music producer is to distinguish one's music from the rest - to create a distinct imprint, a sound which audiences can pick out of the seemingly endless influx of new music we experience in this day and age. CharlestheFirst has managed to accomplish that at an impressively early stage in his young career. "Void" offers a new look into his signature style and sound design.

FOLLOW Charlesthefirst:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

Waterchild & Space Cadet - Premonitions

Bringing out the right flavors for “world music” is often times a daunting task; finding the proper timbres, creating an atmosphere of realism, and injecting the perfect porridge of nostalgia takes a musical mind that’s ready to put down tropes and typical schemas in favor of unbridled sonic exploration. Waterchild and Space Cadet bring to the table an atypical, yet absolutely archetypal bevy of rhythms, grooves, chops, cuts, and pulsating bass lines through their newest collaborative EP, Premonitions.

Following up their 2016 release, Impressions, their most recent creation is a modal, global souffle of indigenous percussion mingled with dungeon-ready synthesis, emotionally intelligent melodies layered on top of and behind a soup of auditory glitches and intentional missteps.

“Choice is the act of hesitation we make before making a decision. It is a mental wobbling.” So aptly named, Mental Wobble starts off the EP with a delicious groove smoothie, combining a balanced, steady rhythm with a-rhythmic subtleties and fluttering movements of top layer synthesis that can do no more or less than bring a comfortable smile to the listener’s face.

Oshun takes us on a journey towards the musicality of the far east, eschewing 3rds and 4ths in musical scales and fleshing out the beautiful interplay of Hirojoshi-esque note architecture. The bass never takes the spotlight, instead opting to play the role of a veritable cushion for the lighter, airy frequencies, giving the track a full base and flavour that fills up every part of the audible spectrum.

The final track on the EP is without question the most eclectic, and is incredibly specific in its intention while remaining absolutely non-specific in its direction. Akashi is an ambient adventure, filled with drips, clicks, plops, scrapes, oscillations, and scale interplay. There is a constant, but gradual ebb and flow, rising and building with a palpable tension, only to then dive farther down a mysterious rabbit hole. Beneath an omnipresent ascending and descending melody, choice flares of synthesizers and bubbly textures ooze to the surface, culminating in an satisfying, system-wide mainframe shutdown to close out this incredible journey.

Musicians; Producers; Auditory shamans. Waterchild and Space Cadet display a deeply educated understanding of the tools at their disposal, their own musical minds, and how to juxtapose those assets against each other to craft something beyond a typical product; Something that breathes on its own without any need for reference or perspective. You needn’t become acquainted with anything other than your own ears to enjoy the pallet of tones presented on the Premonitions EP. In fact, after just a single listen through this release, you might feel inclined to jump headfirst into the rest of these musicians’ incredible catalogs.

FOLLOW Waterchild:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp

FOLLOW Space Cadet:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp   /   Spotify

Inner Ocean Records Drops Futures Vol. 4 Compilation on Cassette Store Day

There may not be a more appropriate way to celebrate Cassette Store Day, October 14th, than pressing play on FUTURES Vol. 4, a two-plus hour tape of scratchy, stoic lo-fi and ambient beats from premiere independent label Inner Ocean Records. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Inner Ocean’s name reflects both the expanse of mountain, sky and plains which surrounds Calgary, and the well of creativity within ourselves that stirs with the experience of music. 62 tracks by 62 artists, most of them exclusive to the tape, spill across the stereo spread on FUTURES Vol. 4, the latest installment in a running compilation series which continues to look ahead, promoting new sounds and new artists through an old but timeless format. 

Conceived by a handful of record labels in 2013, Cassette Store Day is a growing celebration. It lacks the pull or popularity of Record Store Day, but its intention is different. “CSD is focused on celebrating cassettes rather than supporting shops,” according to cassettestoreday.com. While for many labels today is an occasion to reach into the past and re-release classic albums on tape, for Inner Ocean it’s another opportunity to slide into the future, and the future is chill. 

Almost four years ago, FUTURES Vol. 1 was Inner Ocean’s first compilation. “There was always an element of looking ahead when compiling them,”, says Inner Ocean Records founder Cory Giordano, “whether it be new directions in sound, working with new artists or simply a soundtrack for moving forward in life.” Then, the compilation was a vehicle for Inner Ocean to promote its own artists (the label currently has approximately 25 producers on its roster). Now, the compilation is open to submissions, allowing Inner Ocean to work with more artists and connect with more people in the community.  We counted only three cuts from Inner Ocean artists on FUTURES Vol. 4. This is a testament to Inner Ocean’s reputation, and its ability to help foster the lo-fi community. 

FUTURES Vol. 4 naturally embraces more than just lo-fi. The scratchy, stripped down, instrumental style pioneered by the likes J Dilla and Nujabes is a starting point to expand upon. Jazz tropes, ambient textures and experimental tones saturate the compilation and help to refresh or redirect its movement as it rolls along. Experimentation and boundary busting within the lo-fi lexicon has been the calling card of the FUTURES tapes. Yet regardless of how far a song stretches from familiarity, it is the ambience, the chill, delicately put forth with pads, drum machines and cozy cut samples, that serves as the compilation’s common denominator.

A lo-fi compilation is ideal for Cassette Store Day because as Cory tells us tape cassettes are inherently low fidelity and do not present the full frequency range. “You can get the cassettes loaded with a few different types of tape, each offering their own sound characteristics,” he says. “Though they all have hiss and have that subtle, tape-saturated tone.” Since its inception in 2012, little music leaves Inner Ocean Records unless packaged in at least one physical format. With the cassette format naturally lending itself to lo-fi soundscapes, Inner Ocean’s embrace of the genre has been a fateful marriage of music to material. 

“If listening to vinyl is likened to watching movies shot and projected on gorgeously rich film stock, listening to tapes is like watching 90’s movies on VHS, a little gritty but nostalgic and satisfying,” says Cory. When you can cram 1,000 tunes on one memory stick, there’s great pride and intention to the selection of physical formats. There’s also great expense and labor involved, but for Inner Ocean it’s a labor of love. 

“As nice as it is to be able to stream any song you want at any moment, Cory rhapsodizes, “that immediate access somehow takes away from the magic of music. There’s nothing like throwing down your vinyl collection on some turntables and hanging out with your friends, or tossing a tape into your car and cruising to some chill beats.” 

With such a large compilation, its best to breeze through the entire thing side by side and get totally lost in the lo-fi. But for reference we’ll offer our favorite cut from each side. On tape no. 1, it’s got to be the love song of love songs “Propose To My Drum Machine”  by PRGMAT on Side A, and the oriental and experimental sound of “Breathingfire” by Yunnan on Side B. For tape no. 2 we favor the R&B noire vibe of Jake and Bake’s “Got Myself a Present” on Side A and the wobbly “Flip Da Scrip” by Korey Wade on Side B. 

You can purchase the tape at Inner Ocean's website. If you don’t have a cassette player, you can still scoop up FUTURES Vol. 4 on mp3 to explore this massive compilation. If you like what you hear, stay chooned. We’ll likely feature more extraordinarily chill music from Inner Ocean Records in our new LoFi Sundays column. 

FOLLOW Inner Ocean Records:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Spotify   /   Instagram

Boukas Blends Beats and Dub on A Song For Samantha EP

Beatmaking is undoubtedly an art. As such it is composed of many styles, each with its own nuances. On his new EP A Song for Samantha Dennis Boukas of Stockholm, Sweden, or just Boukas when he's on the beat, showcases his own style - a delightful hybrid of dub and J Dilla influence peppered with a pinch of jazz. Boukas released this project with NINETOFIVE Records, which exclusively releases some of the finest contemporary hip-hop production this side of the galaxy. 

The kick and snare work on this EP is as crisp and well-sampled as anything we've heard, the strongest example being the percussion in the title track. "A Song for Samantha" matches a jumpy beat with a lilting, melancholic piano melody for an emotionally ambiguous vibe. This vibe encases the entire release truly, but it's most pronounced here on the title track. The shimmering guitar sample and light wash of cymbals in the background fill out the composition with great color. 

"Astral Traveling" may be our favorite cut from the release, with subtle synthesizers indeed invoking a sort of interstellar daydream. The bassline is so firm yet unpronounced, yielding center stage to the whizzing and washing miscellany of electronic timbres. 

The influence of dub, which Dennis cites as a major influence, is most evident on "Shape of Things" and "I Have Been Here Before". Boukas effortlessly weaves the echoing soundscape, drawling pace, and earthy percussion of dub music into a more traditional lo-fi hip hop beat, creating something novel and refreshing.  It's almost as if two beats are being put forth simultaneously - almost. On "Shape of Things" there's a bit less boom bap and a bit more tom and rimshot work in the vein of dub. The percussion is masterfully sampled, resonating across a layer of jazzy ride cymbals and punctuated by a mercurial trumpet sample. 

While the archetypal boom-bap will never fade away, beatmakers like Boukas grab our ear and satiate our spirit when they build on that boom bap and generate fresh vibes. Boukas has a full, "raw" beat tape coming soon via Worldwide Beatmakers, so stay chooned. 

Check out Boukas at NINETOFIVE Records HERE

FOLLOW Boukas:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp

Tipper - Lattice

Lattice is a style of framework that calls for criss-crossing strips of wood or metal, layering and interlocking different pieces to create a ‘network’ of calculated entanglement. The music of premier sound sculptor Dave Tipper exists in a similar manner, weaving seemingly unconnected sounds and emotion into intricate, multiplicitous organisms that ebb and flow in construction with each subsequent live performance.

Much like his tunes, which incorporate elements of an abundance of musical styles, a dedicated community has begun to form around his music. Fellow artists and fans from across the map intertwine in a latticed network that grows organically as more criss-crossed strips of interest and glorious bewilderment are affixed. What began as a single ‘Tipper & Friends’ event last summer at Spirit of Suwannee Music Park  has blossomed into a series of tight-knit gatherings that excel in bringing together those of us who enjoy the bizarre – with the Sultan of Strange at the proverbial helm. As the community evolves and develops, so does the music.

Tipper’s latest release, aptly dubbed Lattice, is only 4 songs, but it’s jam packed with an intense flavor that lingers on the palate long after the project concludes. There’s no debating that music can take you elsewhere - unfamiliar instruments may evoke visions of far off countries, or a particular tune may make you feel like you’re in a lush forest or jungle. Hell, some compositions may transport you to another planet – but what’s interesting about Tipper’s music is that the ‘locations’ it can bring you to are abstract, uncharted and ostensibly inconceivable.  You know you’ve left, you know you’re not at home… but where you’ve wound up is impossible to comprehend.

Like his previous two releases, “Lattice” contains 3 saucy uptempo brain-bruisers and one delightfully decadent downtempo production – a VIP of “Dreamsters” from Dave’s last full length release, “Forward Escape.” These abnormal sonic amalgams pull the appendages every which way like a medieval quartering, while the encephalon struggles to process – both in the finest way imaginable, of course. It’s clear that Dave Tipper simply isn’t pulling from the same pool… the only explanation is that he’s plucking from a puddle of primordial ooze.

Ultimately, “Lattice” is a beacon of hope; a lighthouse in an endless abyss of monotony, and a sine qua non in any experimental music collection. 

Pick up your copy HERE through the homies at Addictech.com

FOLLOW Tipper:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp

Jon Kennedy's Masterful Trip-Hop Odyssey HA!

With subtle brilliance, producer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Kennedy builds upon a near two-decade career with HA!,  setting the standard again for balanced, break-based downtempo hip-hop music. This robust 15-track album, released September 22nd, exhibits a strain of musical expressionism which can only be described as rare, painting a soundscape full of life and variable emotion without a hint of din or dissonance, without a trace of zealous exhibitionism.

Grasping the extent of Kennedy’s musicianship and the breadth of composition within HA! requires some context. Kennedy cites Peter Frampton, Electric Light Orchestra, David Essex, and Geoff Wayne’s “War of the Worlds” as some of his earliest influences. His brother’s affinity for classic rock oriented Kennedy towards guitar-driven musical concepts. He was quickly signed onto the independent British label Tru Thoughts after one of his demo CDs was played on the UK-based radio show, Brighton’s Juice in 2000. After releasing three more LPs, including two on the legendary UK label Grand Central, Kennedy founded his own label in 2009, signing a half a dozen artists onto Jon Kennedy Federation and self-releasing his fifth LP, Corporeal. During these formative years, he also created under the aliases 777, KRS Jon, and with the group Snare Force One.

As a label owner, Kennedy encourages artists to send tunes directly to him, or offer him a physical copy of their work at his shows. Kennedy himself was first “discovered” after handing a tape to legendary UK DJ Mr. Scruff at a gig. Today he keeps a vinyl collection of over 6,000 plates. When he’s not spinning DJ sets from Romania to Ukraine, and from England to Vietnam, he performs with an ambitious live outfit, conducting guitar, bass, keyboard, flute, and alto sax from his command center and musical home behind the drum kit.

Throughout his career, the musicality and tonal direction of Kennedy’s work has evolved from slice-and-loop trip-hop beats into multi-instrumental organic composition marked by acoustic fidelity, musical dialogue, and balanced arrangements.

A drummer before all else, he grounds every note and noise on Ha! in a garden of perfect, pocket percussion. The shine of ride cymbals, the pitter-patter of raspy snares, the shake of the tambourine, and the steadfast kick offer a backdrop upon which familiar melodies and delicate tonal sprinkles shine in beautiful relief. Ha! Can easily slide into the listening rotation of any discerning audiophile.

The album opens with the title track, a soulful head-nodder which Kennedy also reprises to close the album, this time weaving in colorful vocals from Adjua. Kennedy maintains a smooth blend and stable balance of sonic elements throughout the album. His mixing and mastering is seamless. No single lead or instrument stand too far apart from another, yet nothing is lost or buried.

“I could see the clouds boiling, starlight was coming down through the eye,” says a voice to open the dazzling cut “Twilight”. “There was absolutely nothing blocking this light from the stars. And I’ve got this straight shot into the heavens, and all the stars were there and the light coming down was bright.” The bassline, of a delightful timbre and likely recorded on a stand-up bass, strikes back and forth like the arm of a clock. After counting time on the hi-hat for a few measures, a boom-bap beat steps into the mix punctuated by what sounds like one of the cleanest snare drums in recorded history. The tune meanders through space, when towards the end a winsome acoustic guitar lick, assumedly played by Kennedy himself, offers a catalyst for fresh and cosmic thoughts.

“Iron Lung” serves up the deepest bassline on the album, a stomping swaggering system sound with a flush, jet-engineered synthesizer - electronica’s counterpart to the distorted guitar - that struts overtop the quaking sub bass. Within the musical rests, a scratchy bagpipe wales out a tone adding color to the refrains.

A pure elemental groove of drum and bass swells like a wave throughout the album, and the gravitational undertones of “Jupiter Calling” form the crest of this wave. A bass synthesizer sings out a triumphant, atavistic melody, setting a foundation solid as bedrock for a dance between funked-out drums, hi-hats splashing like huge falling raindrops, and a shifty, maneuvering bassline with a groove of its own to match its percussive partner.

Kennedy also writes and performs his own vocals, producing moments of profound poetry on Ha!. “You can be a slave to the TV, or you can get up and look around,” Kennedy offers on “Slave to the TV”. “I’m inside this box of fear and laughter, like my past lives it’s you I’m after.” Drums shuffle beneath a spaced-out mode of notes in the middle of a heated dialogue, acquiescing tension, begging an unanswered question from the listener.

“The Runner” floats on for what feels like an eternity. The longest song on the album, it’s also the most serene. One could justifiably identify this as downtempo, but it forgoes the electronic associations of downtempo which are so common this side of the pond, generating its soothing vibe instead with a calm cuddle between bass, drums, soft and sustained guitar playing, and melancholic vocal samples.

“I think you genuinely have to be an exhibitionist to really be a star” says a voice at the outset of “Burn Me”. While the drums flitter swiftly, a symphonic string movement leads the listener into an unfamiliar space. An unintelligible but emotionally stirring vocal sample again brings up unanswered questions.

Jon Kennedy’s music typifies the expression that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The parts - traditional instruments, plaintive samples, vocals, bits of rock, hip-hop, jazz - are combined to create something extraordinary, something beyond. The same could be said of Kennedy’s career. LP’s, singles, sets, videos, collaborations, mixes, artists signed and influences mined through the Jon Kennedy Federation coalesce into a distinguished body of work, a resplendent whole which after spinning through HA! front to back, one can hardly help but investigate further.

Kennedy has also been gracious enough to provide the seventh installment of Rusted Rhythms. This exclusive 65-minute mix features some of our favorite cuts from “HA!”, a handful of older tracks and remixes from Kennedy, and highly exclusive remixes and unreleased tunes from legends like 6blocc and Reso. Not to mention that the mix was done in one take on control vinyl - all solid state needle on records.

Take the opportunity to enjoy highlights from an already seamless album alongside unreleased gems in this continuous mix, while catching a glimpse of Kennedy’s wider catalog. We promise there’s a handful of heavy surprises in there, too!

Pick up HA! here and make sure to check out Jon's subscription service, which includes all of his 11 previous releases and all forthcoming music as well!

FOLLOW Jon Kennedy:   Jon Kennedy Federation   /   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp   /   Instagram

Co-Written by Pasquale Zinna & Mark McNulty

Aleph Conjures Lo-Fi Bass Music on Vol. 1

Without having the thrill of listening to ALEPH before, one would be excused for overlooking his overtly unassuming new EP, Vol. 1, released through the wonderful Renraku Global Media. One would be robbed of a visceral pleasure. Take a pinch of time today to digest this one, which has all the space-age, low-end blitzkrieg sound loved so universally, revisioned in a spectrum and soundscape that is often reserved for the more hip-hop oriented genres of electronic music and production.

With so many chasing the cleanest, most manicured dirty sound, a fundamentally lo-fi bass music is difficult to conceptualize. ALEPH presents this music - dirty distorted sharp bass beats coated in lo-fi texture - with startling originality on Vol. 1. After a few tunes one begins to hear how Vol. 1, titled with such inaugural flourish, could indeed be a start for something great. Burnished basslines, asymmetrical sound synthesis, and dusted percussion dominate the EP, but not without a touch of hair-splitting nuance in musicality.

Dive deep into the record and one will bring back to the surface a special sort of tango between brutal neck-breakers, swampy face-melters, and a dash of downtempo fluidity. Two tracks serve as avatars of this one-off stylization of what are otherwise a set of straightforward but disparate genres; “Solomon”, and “Scintillations”. “Solomon” unleashes a firestorm of gritty sub lines, flared up with carefully placed punches in the higher octaves to bring that veritable “glitch”, satisfying the listeners’ want for a-rhythmic, laser beam syntax. “Scintillations” thrives in it’s own wake as the counterpoint to the entire EP. It’s the most melodious effort on the collection, eschewing crunchy subs and freaky mid-range synthesis for a more scaled-down approach. The careful drum programming, coupled with distinctly distorted pad melodies, screams to be rendered in the highest fidelity possible, but that would be the antithesis of this track, and of what appears as the entire ethos of the EP.

It is specifically the dust and dirt that so many would rather wash away that add full flavor and flow to Vol. 1, summoning images of rainy, city alleyways littered with half-glittering tin tchotchkes clattering together in a breeze. Certainly the release demands multiple run-throughs to hone in on the eclectic sound design choices. Fortunately, you can take as much time as you need - until Volume 2, of course.

FOLLOW Aleph:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   

Pete Satürn Releases Mystifying Ritual Grass EP with Instigate Recordings

Pete Satürn hails from somewhere between Rhea and Hyperion. Floating among these mighty moons of the mystic planet Saturn, the artist must have absorbed and reflected upon the elemental admixture of solar sound known as the “music of the spheres.” He’s channeled this into his two-track Ritual Grass EP and his INSTiFREE010 track "Parallel Vision," coming courtesy of Instigate Recordings out of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

Instigate Recordings focuses on heavy basslines and hard-hitting beats while maintaining mood and texture. That sweet spot’s not easy to locate, and we commend any collective that tries to do so in earnest. Ritual Grass plies depth and atmosphere primarily, but not at the expense of a good vibratory rhythm. Mr. Saturn uses resonance and reverberation to establish an ambience across all three cuts that is nothing if not interplanetary, starting with the whispering solar wind on “Parallel Vision." 

Pete’s percussion is steady, strong, and helps to stabilize songs that are difficult to pin down in the absence of any big time bass or synthesizers. Each track, particularly “Ritual Grass", floats back and forth through space tethered to the Earth by a thin but sturdy rope of kicks, a smattering of hand drums, and a consistent hi-hat and ride cymbal. Common hallmarks of dubstep do appear on the EP, like the Rastaman horn samples and chopped beat on “Dawnlight Riddim", but they’re not overindulged or used to excess. It’s an engaging dubstep journey but not a wild one, meditative but not dark, and unique in its power to ebb and calm the passions of the listener instead of riling them up. 

On the heels of the atmospheric Ritual Grass EP and it's companion freebie, perhaps Instigate Recordings is gearing up to nudge the needle back in the direction of heavy beats and big basslines. You’ll have to stay chooned to find out. 

FOLLOW Pete Saturn:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook

Mettakin - Oneironautic

Freshly minted through Street Ritual, Mettakin just dropped off the latest entheogenic pressure cooker: It’s gritty in the basslines, squishy in the midrange, and melty in the melodies and harmonies. Pulsing with complimentary frequencies and accompanied by a deliberate haphazard regard for conventional music theory, Oneironautic is the next benchmark in overtly particular sound design.

The EP is a juiced-up beat smoothie, begging to be sipped and slurped by anyone who feels the need to rearrange their sensory perception and attitude about the current direction of broken beat music. Every composition is a glitch fondue, with textures and musical turnarounds spilling over the edge of a hardy core comprised entirely of an almost mischievous understanding and use of rhythm and arrangement in conventional songwriting. Currently available for download on Street Ritual’s website, be sure to donate some dollars & cents and grab a copy of Oneironautic to breathe some fresh air into your head-holes. If you like what you hear and want to fill your ears with a simulacrum of bass-tasters, you can subscribe to Street Ritual’s catalog for 5$ a month, which will provide access to all currently released material, as well as all future releases.

FOLLOW Mettakin:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp

LSN Offers Atypical Dubstep EP "Control Vol. 1"

The title of the first cut from LSN's Control EP Pt. 1 says it all - “Creative”. This is not your grandpappy’s dubstep. The arrangements on this three-track release are atypical and thought-provoking, with a sound design that's both raw and razor sharp - ultimately, it's mental. Tension slowly builds from the moment the first track begins, culminating in an unrestrained explosion of bass and drum at the conclusion of the EP. 

The snarling bassline on “Creative” must be heard to be believed; wide and engulfing but with distinct contours. Fortunately, acute compression still allows the drums to have their day in the mix among all the bass. As this alien frequency kicks in, Control EP Pt. 1 initiates a hostile takeover of your mind and senses.

Perhaps with a hint of irony, the middle track is titled “Formulas”. Anything but formulaic, the song features a visceral and exceedingly physical low-end beneath a pattern of percussion that is sonically crisp and clear, yet violent in its approach. 

These aggressive drums give no quarter, rolling right into to ”Mofockas”. The cut begins as a masterpiece of minimalism, a shrill and sandy synthesizer serving as the only distraction from the tribal dance between kick and snare. The arrangement becomes more involved as distorted vocal samples and competing melodic flourishes are introduced. The conclusion is simply vicious, and one-ups with ease much of the filthy futuristic sound design coming out of the States these days.

LSN has offered several tracks on the ambitious underground London imprint UpriseAudio before Control EP Pt. 1. The label has catapulted to the forefront of underground dubstep since its conception in 2012, in no small way thanks LSN and other creative composers akin to him. We can’t help but stay chooned for the second installment of Control.

Control EP Vol. 1 releases 2017-09-18, but you can pre-order from Beatport here

FOLLOW LSN:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp

Soulacybin - Slug Cuddles

When someone says the word “crisp”, what do you picture? Greasy potato chips? Delicious bacon? A cool, autumn afternoon? Maybe even the texture of freshly washed bed sheets? What if I told you that there was a platonically perfect form of crisp, via Soulacybin? If you misread that as a psychoactive compound, you’d be forgiven for the simple mistake, considering the aural work of Soulacybin literally breathes psychedelia. As an artist who has consistently evolved over the course of every release, Slug Cuddles absolutely follows suit with a bevy of instrumental interplay, carefully placed tonal dissonance, organically developed percussion lines, and a certain swagger that merges the head-nod with a head high. The album is a veritable display of how glitch-hop and it’s psybient cousin have developed over the last 5 or so years to grow from a dance-floor friendly, breakbeat bonanza to an intelligently designed and meticulously developed I.V. drip of brain-swelling music.

Coming right out of the gate swinging, and maneuvering with footwork not seen since the dawn of the 1920’s speak-easy, “Shrums” is the diplomatic middle ground between the pulsing bass lines that have been spearheaded by our favorite glitch artists for years on end, and the structural progression of psydub and it’s trance-related varieties. No wild builds, no buck wild drops. In their place is an exploratory dive right onto the dance floor with a rhythmic scheme that carries you from start to finish; a dance instructor that forgoes rule books and conventions and opts instead to let your body’s movements speak for itself.

“Dangatang” is all about that certain sway, leading with percussion reminiscent of drum kernels popping in the microwave. The movements of the disembodied guitar samples over an augmented scale introduce a subtle eastern feel that eschews the convention of a spiritual undertone, and gradually raises the level of abject aggression and adrenaline bursting out of the mix. The synth work evolves throughout to become a snake-tailed lay-line, folding you in and out of tonality and rhythm until you’re womping and warping harder than a thin piece of sheet metal.

The album wraps up with a track called “Empathogenetic”, and it sticks out as an emerald in a sea of sapphires. Using tasteful fills and breaks to bridge the development of the song, you’re constantly introduced and reintroduced to a plethora of plucks, jabs, stabs, slashes, and splashes of crunchy bass tones and sharp, round-topped synthesizers dancing back and forth in the soundscape like a super-concentrated fluid; it’s viscous and slippery and its main objective is to twist you inside out until you look like simple torus.

I could sit here and tell you the story of every track on the album, but that would be a disservice. You owe it to yourself to take a good hour out of your day, find a good sound system, and have a lackadaisical afternoon curated by a top-notch producer, and an album that sets a gold standard for intelligent design within electronic music. If you’re feeling eager and ready to get down with Soulacybin and the best of the rest, then get yourself ready to take a trek to Oregon in August for the Oregon Global Eclipse Festival. Soulacybin plays during the late night on that Friday, and is sure to fill your time masterfully, bringing up the vibe of the celebration at hand.

FOLLOW Soulacybin:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp

K.L.O. - X EP & Y EP

K.L.O. slaps. It’s as simple as that. They've only been producing music together for a few years, but when they get in the lab together they wreak havoc, and destruction is imminent. Each contributing producer has an eclectic catalogue and a stylistic range to be reckoned with. Where the three of them overlap is K.L.O. - an outrageous, festering filth-ridden locomotive barreling through unchartered glitch hop territory.  An audio mean mug, every damn time. Throw it on and look at the faces around you. Never a dull moment with Kursa, Lone Drum & Osmetic.

And it doesn’t stop there… These cats don’t only put asses in seats, they get ‘em gyrating too. These beats take control and get them limbs on linguine while synapses samba in that dome of yours.

Just over a year after their debut release as a trio, Acid Scratch, the gang delivers yet again, with not one, but two EPs: X & Y. What’s interesting about these projects (outside of their earth-shattering sound design, succinct sampling, and toothsome grooves), is that they’re going to be released simultaneously on two labels - SLUG WIFE & Colony Productions, respectively.

SLUG WIFE is a newly launched label headed by Kursa and Seppa (the featured artist on the EP released on his label, “X”). There hasn’t been much released through SLUG WIFE just yet, but the first three releases have been of a superb caliber. The artists featured on the label are adepts of UK Glitch Hop, a niché genre that has shown exponential growth and backing in the US over the past year. “X” is right at home at SLUG WIFE with its rambunctious energy and Hip-Hop influence. There’s a certain attitude that comes with Hip Hop culture, and “X” manages to channel that properly, while also using samples only as a compliment, not a focus. Adding Seppa along for the ride also brings a gooey, wretched discharge of chunky slime to the table. You can actually hear the tar pits of repulsiveness bubbling in “Throw a Wobbla.” The sample is exceedingly on point, as I don’t think anyone could have been prepared for a hefty helping of K.L.O - let alone a full plate of seconds… which brings us to “Y.”

“Y” is set to release on Colony - the brainchild of one Mike Wallis, aka Osmetic, and has been consistently releasing quality music for over 15 years. It’s only right that these three would be right at home on Colony. “Y” takes a slightly different approach to the K.L.O. sound by highlighting the more low-key aspects of the group’s style. Now, don’t get me wrong, “Y” is still bangin’ in every sense of the word - the beats knock and the energy is still palpable. The instantly recognizable difference between “X” and “Y” is the magnitude of viciousness. “Y” has a chiller, more laid-back vibe and beckons for knee-swinging and hip swaying reminiscent of the Drunken Master’s Zui Quan styles. Don’t mistake the cool, calm and collected demeanor for a lack of temperament - the nefarious triumvirate still tears it up on “Y,” but the auditory onslaught is slightly more strategic and calculated. Lone Drum's scratching is also given a bit more space to shine. Where “X” provides listeners with an excellent collection of high energy neckbreakers, “Y” breathes new life into the sonic realm of head nod. Both EPs showcase the group’s prowess in innovative sound design and the chemistry is undeniable. 

Keep your ears open for an upcoming US tour with both K.L.O. & Seppa, and make sure to check them out at Tipper’s 4321 Event August 17-21 at Astral Valley in French Village, MO

Purchase “X” here      Purchase “Y” here

FOLLOW K.L.O.:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook

- Wyler