DreamWalker - Exodus

The London-based label colony productions (sic) has a relatively low output, offering a scant 34 releases though 18 years of existence. But those few releases are all up to par with even the most challenging current works of bass magic. Boasting recent releases from Triptych, K.L.O (and a solo album by Lone Drum), and now Colorado wunderkind DreamWalker, the imprint remains as much of a relevant force today as it was in the early 2000's when it was created by Dave Tipper and Mike Wallis to release their collaborative project Crunch.

Through its fierce experimentalism, this new three-track DreamWalker release Exodus slides neatly into both the label's catalogue and into DreamWalker's own small discography. Alongside his first EP, the self-released Reality Control, we see his commitment to psychedelic bass as a means of storytelling. More focused on tone, mood, and composition than flexing sound design chops, Exodus is a sure mark of balance and growth for the 24-year-old midtempo magician.

While Exodus is a full track shorter than Reality Control, it makes better use of its time to generate an emotional response from the listener. Beginning with a low and slow dub, the masterful bass drips with atmosphere and drenches the opener “The Gate” with an intense yet withdrawn attitude. The commanding presence of strings tightens the attention as the threatening door creak, reverb snaps, and the wind-up gear sounds create the sensation of a wide open space. There’s a slight climax which builds atmosphere as the EP moves toward its true peak and title track, which steps onto the scene ready to break the beat.

A fancy arpeggio-laden synth in “Exodus” double-times notes with a clean, digital voice both fiercely rhythmic and conversationally melodic; this is the brain of the track, asserting itself in the dark dub setting. A warm fuzz takes over in the second half, introducing distortion before ripping into hardcore saws and heavy midbass roars. After “Exodus” blows the listener away with unpredictable and imaginative harshness, sounds both intense and cerebral mix to form a coherent marriage of mind and body before fading into black.

The final track “Stem Slime” is effectively wraps the release by not overextending the mood created across the EP. It’s a strong glitch-hop track in its own right (the composition of whiz-bang sound is replete with shocking novelty), but the built-up atmosphere lacks true layering and then dissipates almost entirely, which may leave listeners wanting. The bleep bloops and drip drops are pretty wild and raucous, but the spacious sensation and dark dub setting from the first two tracks is absent, overpowered by an outpouring of creative noises.

DreamWalker’s creative edge is sharply felt on Exodus. The release possesses a unifying mood, and the individual expressions of each track are not lost through the EP’s overall transition from dark dub to glitch hop. DreamWalker's commitment to beautiful oscillations is undoubtedly a gift to seekers of cutting edge sound design. Given the caliber of the producers who have released on colony productions, Exodus puts DreamWalker in the realms of giants, and he measures up decently.

FOLLOW DreamWalker: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Spotify / Facebook

Kalaha - Mama Ngoma

Sometimes bands combine seemingly disparate music styles into one cohesive sound. In doing so, they remind listeners that styles which may seem far apart either physically, stylistically, or both, are actually closer to one another than they appear. The Danish group Kalaha allows us to experience this phenomenon through their new EP Mama Ngoma. As the group’s first release in almost two years, Mama Ngoma paints a dreamscape of energetic electronica from a foundation of traditional West African music.

Kalaha was born as a live act at the Strøm Festival in Copenhagen where the band members - Rumpistol (Jens Christiansen), Spejderrobot (Mikael Elkjær), guitarist Niclas Knudsen, and drummer Emil de Waal - came together in haste to offer a “supergroup” performance to enliven the festival. Since then, Kalaha has recorded four studio releases and taken the stage together more than 100 times, where they’re acclaimed for whipping audiences into dance-driven frenzies. “All of the band members have very strong knowledge in at least one of the musical styles/genres mentioned,” Emil writes via email. A prolific percussionist, he’s described as the “backbone” of the band. “Nevertheless, we have very different ways of approaching the music…Somehow we respect each other´s approaches in a way that allows the diverse music styles to flow and blend freely.”

The EP pays homage to West African musical styles, particularly highlife, which earned its name because performances originally took place in exclusive, high-society settings where musicians played traditional Akan (a West African meta-ethnicity) rhythms and melodies through amplified instruments. These motifs are jumping-off points for Kalaha, but not ideas to be emulated “I don't think of Kalaha as a band that aims to recreate tradition,” Mikael writes. “We are more into being inspired by music we know and like. The different genres and traditions are more of a inspirational framework that allows us to make and play music we love.”

The two electronic musicians in the group, Rumpistol and Spejderrobot, are also its producers. In this role they are absolutely dialed-in, no pun intended. They mix electronic and acoustic material masterfully. The drums, rich and organic in timbre, shuffle and strike like a strong dance beat while synthesizers shine in colorful contrast to electric guitar licks. Kalaha has no traditional bassist, and usually Jens and Mikael mix synthesizers with different characteristics to create driving bass rhythms. On Mama Ngoma, however, they invited Danish bassist Flemming Muus and Louis Winding to track basslines.

“Dragon Jenny”, the first single from Mama Ngoma, is also its most plainly beautiful song. At just over six minutes long, “Dragon Jenny” moves through different atmospheres that are first inviting, then disorienting, but ultimately euphoric. Tonal percussion and a deep, twanging bassline by Muus (“We bring the bass part with us live in Spejderrobot´s computer,” says Emil) combine to create an undulating pocket groove. Just past the four-minute mark, one of Knudsen’s most choice guitar licks rings out, and one can’t help but smile upon hearing it.

“Malaika” demonstrates a natural psychedelia, a feeling of mind exploration that’s not schmaltzy or forced. “When we did the very first two rehearsals of ‘Malaika’” Jens writes, “we tried it with a straight up disco beat but also with a 'Higher Ground'-like funk shuffle. None of them really worked, so I suggested the idea of turning the tempo down 30 bpm and making it into a kind of G-funk track for the first part merging into afro-beat on the last part. Niclas came up with the talk-box and the little catchy afro-funk riffs, Louis provided the bass, Emil the drums and in the end it became something entirely different than originally intended, which I think is the magic of working collectively.”

On his “anagram” remix of “Malaika”, the New York City-based producer (and co-founder of The Rust Music) MALAKAI picks up on the psychedelia and delivers a digitized, spaced-out reimagining. The swing and hip-hop influence in MALAKAI’s drum pattern is a nice change of pace among the EP’s galloping afrobeat style. The “Cape Star” remix from fellow Danish producer Bwoy De Bhajan is the sleeper song on Mama Ngoma. If you’re not actively listening to it, the striking minimalist beauty may pass over your head. But get cued in for this cut, and you’ll find yourself immersed in a refreshing psychological swim across the meditative musical spaces that Bwoy de Bhajan creates. “I find it very enjoyable when the personality of the individual remixing is clearly present in the remix,” Mikael writes “I think both remixes share that quality.”

By bridging gaps across geography, time and style, Kalaha continues to make the music of the future in the present. The band’s own future includes a full-length release in 2019 titled Mandala, to which Jens calls Mama Ngoma a “prologue”. If you enjoy the vibe of Mama Ngoma, you already know to stay chooned until then.

FOLLOW Kalaha: Official / Spotify / Facebook / Instagram

Primate - Out Of Time

From the moment the calendars rolled over to 2018, the vast score of musicians and producers inhabiting our musical sphere have been firing off one stellar release after another. Seemingly standing atop the shoulders of giants, Primate is a creator of the highest accord, and he utilized his precious time with a remarkable patience to craft the aural opus Out Of Time. While there is no shame in adapting to and riding the creative waves that influence genre development within electronic music, there is an incalculable worth in blazing a trail beyond the present scope of one’s assumed musical boundaries. In practical terms, that means taking exceptionally brilliant compositional risks, and Primate is no stranger to experimental arrangements.

In the world of sound design, Primate is refreshingly biological in comparison to his contemporaries, and eschews adopting typical synthesis in favor of deliciously home-brewed tones and textures. Out Of Time is an extremely matured display of the Primate vision, and it absolutely smashes all expectations. So much of the sonic palette that is elemental to the Primate mode rests around the glide of his synthesis; his choice of notes stretch and fold into one another with a melodramatic legato that carries the emotional weight and output of his tracks. “Natural Brilliance” is an excellent example of this motif, with the lead tone of the track engaging the staccato response of Ill Chill’s lyricism through elongated stretches and subtle twists. Propping up this high-frequency dance is a vibrant blend of foley work rustling between the skip and bounce of his fluid drum work, which has become a staple feature of every Primate production. “Mislead” is the subtle sleeper of EP, wherein it provides in utter smoothness what it lacks in intensity. The rhythm is a hypnotic 4/4 hip-hop L-ride that flows in parallel to the most sultry chords found anywhere on this EP, carefully popping in and out of the mix like sunshine through a forest canopy. Resting underneath all of the fan-fair is a boisterous bass line that can only be served justice through a concert-grade subwoofer, creating a veritable cushion for the softer elements. The title track, “Out Of Time”, rides along a choice downtempo bounce, its bass lines pulsating with that reverberant buzz so favored by Primate. The slow serenade ramps up over the course of the track, culminating in a mad dash of drum and bass rhythms with an impact akin to rolling thunder. Each song on the EP is given not only room to breathe, but room to evolve over time in the listeners ear. The first few play-throughs will yield the immediate magic of Primate productions, but it is the constant return to these tracks that will turn over their sonic layers and secrets beneath the surface.

Genres are a fickle thing, and for musicians who wish to adopt and adapt styles within the ever rapidly-changing landscape of electronic music, genres can be limiting and musically castrating. Primate has the keen and prized ability to look at his compositions from the bird's eye view, outside the bounds of genre. He sees every space between the details, and then compliments that space with yet another responding frequency. The word “layering” does not do his process justice, as his music is not stacked like logs or bricks. It is a crisscrossed, interwoven, biosynthetic matrix of sound and intent. As always, remain vigilantly plugged into the catalog of Primate, and you'll be thoroughly rewarded in kind, every time.

FOLLOW Primate: Bandcamp / Soundcloud / Facebook / Spotify

VALE - Dmitri's Table Compilation

With a nonstop release cycle and a seemingly endless cadre of producers in their pocket, VALE has become a one-stop-shop for the darker textures and compositions of broken beat electronic music. Having tapped into the likes of Kursa, Seppa, Hurtdeer, and Whynnel over three years ago, it is a safe bet that they possess a keen understanding for the most hair-raising musings from around the world. In just the last year alone, VALE has released tracks from Smigonaut, Voljum, Wessanders, Hullabaloo, and Resonant Language, showcasing the skillsets of what are surely tomorrow’s dons of low-end production. Following up their massive Awareness compilation, their fresh compilation Dimitri’s Table is a parred-down, tactile assortment of nuclear powered sound design.

The concept of Dimitri’s Table is at once both novel and elementary; Elements combine to form compounds. Compounds have different properties from the elements they are composed of. Reflecting this ethos, every track on the compilation is a collaborative effort. In some contrast to previous VALE releases, this collection of tunes carries an atmospheric weight that is often left behind in favor of razor-sharp bass design and tonal aggression. The first track, “Zappified”, is a 4x4 doozy rendered with all manner of vowel-esque wobbles and crescendo’d bass courtesy of Carlo Frick and Abelation. KLIINE, DMR, and Walrus Tales join forces once again with their track “Eccentric“, a vivacious drum & bass adventure with a little half-time flirting around near the end of the composition. Channeling emotive flavor, Phicizist and Zain Wolf utilize specific note relationships, building and breaking tension with the use of distorted harmonics and rhythmic turnarounds in “Stages of Depression“. DFNKT and GEMO take things through a glitched-out matrix in “Wobble“, breaking apart waveforms inside of granular synthesis. Closing out the compilation, Waeys and Dayle bust out perhaps the thickest sauce of them all in “Merge“, with pulsating, resampled textures rupturing speaker cones and eardrums alike.

2018 has seen dozens of high-octane producers sling their biggest and baddest tunes to date, and for those at the top of that spectrum, VALE is a platform unlike most others. Maintaining a clear musical palette is paramount to the success of a label, and that’s the cornerstone of this compilation’s experience. After a year of non-stop releases and spotlights, one can only wonder what continues to brew deep in the VALE laboratories.

FOLLOW VALE: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Facebook

Dust Collectors - Seasonal Sounds 5: Fall

Each season has its unique, universally familiar vibrations. There’s an atmosphere within and around people, a strange phenomena of feeling that comes about when the senses of a season - its sounds, smells, temperatures and patterns of light - combine within the individual. There’s certain music that corresponds in the ear of the beholder with any atmosphere. That is to say that each season has its rhythms. And one could suggest that few rhythms synchronize so well with Autumn than the wispy, sepia-tone, melancholic movement of lo-fi beats music.

In its curation efforts Dust Collectors is true to its name. Based in Boston, Massachusetts and distributing worldwide, the label has been releasing for just over one year but their growth and development has been rapid, as the tracklist on this compilation attests to. Some labels specialize in the spacey, some in the especially trashy or avant garde. Others go for a classic sound, and more, like the leaders at Chillhop Music strive for the cleanest, most rehearsed, if you will, presentation of beats. That’s no disrespect, of course. If anything is true, it’s that everyone enjoys different vibes, and audiences vary even within niche musical communities. Although it truly has a bit of all these sounds, their new compilation Seasonal Sounds 5 helps establish the Dust Collectors in the realm of the rough hewn, in-the-pocket, dusty shuffling sound. They aim at and strike this specific nerve in the beats world.

Side B of this compilaiton is a journey. Cinematic horns open the curtain but they’re soon distorted and pitched out. Suddenly a shuffle steps into the silence. Guitar and key samples dangle over a subtle but strong head-nod made for New York City sidewalks. Then comes a cut from New Jersey’s own slr (“sailor”), who has been releasing a ton of beats again in the past few months. B3 finds Stan Forbee of Melbourne, Australia offering “whistle tune”,one of our favorites from Seasonal Sounds 5. His work with the keys, a sort of rhodes-y sound, is his calling card, and he can deftly arrange multiple melodies to great emotional effect. There’s Flitz&Suppe from Cologne, Germany, cut from a more classical cloth and emphasizing clarity and straightforward note relationships. This is followed by a joint from the Grammy-award winner Cookin’ Soul out of Spain then a spin from Danish feels master Axian.

The back end of the compilation opens sup pace for experimentation. Here one finds another stand out rhythm, this one from Bretsil & Soft Eyes. Bret aka Bretsil is one of multiple managers of the Dust Collectors. His work ethic and enthusiasm are inspiring. Before he even receives your Facebook message, the “responding” icon appears. Video chatting with Bret, he mentions that he “used to make electro music that was really bad”. He’s moved by ambient work, especially that of Brian Eno, and these experimental and electronic influences are apparent on “blues”. For a moment, it’s as if one has stepped back in time from the online world of beats into the scenic sonic codex of a Boards of Canada record. This is meditative trip hop that helps the mind bring itself to a single, still point. The beauty of Seasonal Sounds 5, though, is that just a minute later the listener gets hit with a joint from Juma, a whirlwind of brass and vaudeville bounce with a soulful melody and big boisterous bass drum. This 180-degree turn pulls the listener out of Samadhi and back to pounding the pavement.

It’s surprising and encouraging that a label with the size and relative clout of Dust Collectors can assemble so much talent on four tape sides. Pulling together the time and talents of any grouping of musicians is a worthy achievement. DC should be commended for curating music from strong names so intentionally in a musical community that can seem homogeneous if seen from afar or even at mid-range.

But once experienced from within, this community appears as a diverse, dynamic and constantly evolving deal. There are trends and movements, associations between artists, organizations and patrons that drive forward certain sounds and ideas to the short shrift of others. So much of it, of course, takes place online and at a distance. To curate a compilation, to stand at the center of that, outstretch imaginary limbs in invitation and proposal, and then reap a bountiful harvest of excellent music is, in a word, magical. It’s also a phenomena or approach that’s unique to the 21st Century so far. Or if not unique to it, the curation process can certainly manifest with more flexibility and dynamism nowadays after the explosion of digital music. It appears the Dust Collectors will continue to leverage these circumstances to create gem releases for beat heads everywhere.

The more spins this compilation gets, the more magic and beauty leap from in between its kicks and snares. Somehow each tune is a downtempo banger, the sort of song that’s placid, smooth, even wistful, yet it brings on a tangible high energy, a hope and excitement for a new season.

FOLLOW Dust Collectors: Spotify / Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Instagram / Facebook

TRACKLIST:

Side A
1. Dweeb - oolong
2. Leo The Kid - Elder Flower
3. Flughand - Fogu
4. Graves - Arc
5. Keem the Cipher - hindsight
6. Oxela - dustoiche
7. Burnt Grapes - Beat Coat
8. Kuranes - night.stroll
9. Radicule. - morning dew
10. HM Surf - rito
11. Linanthem - home
12. Nimzo - Stars
13. Memory - Time // Change

Side B
1. Loop.holes - Oh Mama
2. slr - curb
3. Stan Forebee - Whistle Tune
4. Goosetaf - Smokin Chimneys
5. Yimello - waves
6. Flitz&Suppe - nothing to do
7. Cookin Soul - That Flame
8. Axian - Drive
9. Cheeki - doze
10. Leaf Beach - White Sage
11. Soho - Carolina

Side C
1. G Mills x Aimless - Bubble
2. DeeB - And...Retain
3. kckflp - raw
4. stxn.x - castor & poluxxx
5. Made in M - Frape
6. Fushou - Plummet
7. Knowmadic - sometimes it matters
8. Druid - darker nights
9. Misc.Inc - Agena
10. tkdwn. - one step
11. ideism - orbit

Side D
1. Smuv - Indigo
2. moffen - without a care 
3. b0nds - full moons
4. smeyeul. x speechless - dust
5. bretsil x softeyez - blues
6. Ka$tro - The Moon Rises
7. Juma - Ms. Paynt
8. Sleepdealer - Polaroid
9. Elaquent - Go Figure

DeeZnauts - Disruptor

DeeZ and Smigonaut are two Boston-dwelling bass mages practiced largely in the crafts of halftime and glitch hop. In the past, the convergence of their sound waves on tracks like “Moonlit Excursions” and “Lost at Sea” has been revelatory. It’s also hinted at the potential for crossover between the two producers while boosting each individual’s signal into the other’s territory. Now, the inevitable has happened. The two have alchemized their labor into a single project and Street Ritual now blesses the world with Disruptor, the first release from the hilariously-named DeeZNauts. This EP - the 150th release from Street Ritual - is fittingly a testament to the evolving sounds of the next generation of electronic enthusiasts.

The title track plays largely to the Smigonaut sound, emphasizing a glitch hop rhythm and swagger, and plunking out a midi melody cobbled from snare rims. The fuzzy distortion on the midbass shines bright as a firm halftime presence. They create a funky time signature and squeeze these sounds into unpredictable shapes, pitches, and patterns. By contrast, the crowded cacophony in “Scale the Perimeter”, while frenetic, is a short-lived two minutes and 20 seconds of tightly-wound go-hard with no wonky side-trips. The track has a distinct DeeZ halftime feel, introducing heavier flow through furious drum breaks. Smigonaut’s influence is felt in the occasional Mario-sounding chiptune throwback.

The truly majestic fusion that illustrates the potential of DeeZNauts appears on lead-off single “Escape Pod”. The contemplative synth wanders through a dark and spacey halftime dub with a quickly shuffling snare pattern, while textural elements are brought to the fore. After ambience is built with wood percussion and echo chambers, the final third drops into a growling space engine that shifts gears and blasts the listener into a different headspace. This track, the most balanced of the bunch, tells its story well. “Observatory”, a collaboration with Hullabalo0, is the wildcard of Disruptor. It presents a smattering of lounging solos in keys and guitar, while a smoky crowd speaks leisurely over a reverb-dipped sax. The rhythm is almost an afterthought, a structure to prop up the smooth jazz experiment with sweet melodies to swim through while soft fuzz'n'pop moments resonate with a vinyl nostalgia.

With Disruptor, DeeZNauts establishes itself as a new force of bass magic, a stunning challenge to co-create your art with neighboring aesthetics, and a testament to the influence the pair of producers have on one another. This EP is a brilliantly curated listen that emphasizes every element of the combination in turn, speaking its story in a scant four tracks but wasting no time. Armed with a diverse spell book of new music and a name sure to elicit laughs when read off a lineup, DeeZ and Smigonaut declare here their continued commitment to the craft and culture.

FOLLOW DeeZNauts: Soundcloud / Facebook

FOLLOW DeeZ:   Bandcamp  /  Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

FOLLOW Smigonaut:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Twitter   /   Instagram

VALE Singles: Voljum & Devisored

The deep underground label VALE adds to their ongoing stream of far-out, bass-heavy singles today with two raw tunes from two relatively unknown and international producers, voljum and Devisored. The label is gaining recognition for its curation of dark, high-brow experimental bass music. This go-round, they may have outdone themselves.

“monotony” from voljum is just reckless. The complexity here leaves one at a loss for words. It’s like a gauntlet of pro-level snips from the sound design spectrum, from fuzzy to smooth, colorful to sharp, metallic, aqueous and unheard. The crystal clear string bass and flute arrangement in the bridge creates a catchy melody, feigning accessibility. The arrangement - intro, drop, bridge, drop (reprise) - is standard, but the content is absolutely bonkers. “monotony” (the irony of the title reveals itself after a few listens) is clearly composed with the power and precision of a well-schooled musician and the abandon of a mad scientist.

Sparked primarily by the “ghost production” credentials listed on the voljum’s SoundCloud, ongoing discussions have speculated on the producer’s true identity. He offers a comprehensive intake form for ghost production requests, where customers can submit a track in styles ranging from Complextro, Future Garage, and Moombhacore to the usual Dubstep, Drumstep, etc. Customers can obtain the music in any format from an .mp3 to an Ableton 10 project file ( for an additional 95 euros). There may be something to this speculation. Or, voljum could simply be the 18-year-old classical pianist composing electronic music in his spare time, as his SoundCloud suggests. Is voljum the Lebron James of neuro? Either way, obviously stay chooned.

For all this, the second producer on the docket, Devisored (pronounced 'Dev-eye-zerD'), may be even more enigmatic. Hailing from India and with far fewer followers than voljum, Devisored has just two tracks available to the public. “Vulcan”, his third, runs for almost five and a half minutes. Although it’s climactic and possesses some extreme and challenging sound design, it’s more drawn out and emotionally dynamic than the cut from voljum, with development and separate movements. In this way it’s both a counterbalance and a perfect match with “monotony”.

Here’s a tip of the cap to VALE for pairing singles from such unknown artists and popping them off. Here’s another to the artist that plays out “monotony” in one of his or her next sets.

FOLLOW voljum: Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Spotify

FOLLOW Devisored: Soundcloud

High Dude - Withstanding EP

Operating deep in the shadow realms of the Artist is High Dude, a producer, visual artist and PhD student with an innocuous name but a captivating, black electronic sound. The producer’s new release, a four-track mixed-tempo trip down the rabbit hole called Withstanding, is available today on the always dark and lurking digital label VALE.

High Dude, who hails from France, has strong views on art, both with regard to his own creative endeavors and Art at-large. “Art is nothing but the ideal, only worth the ideal; if it's limited to a mere imitation, copy or counterfeit nature, it will do better to abstain; it would only display its own insignificance, by dishonoring the very objects it had imitated.” So said Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in 1865, who is quoted on High Dude’s SoundCloud account. Indeed this rings true. Art that merely imitates is not really art at all, and ought to be left alone. On Withstanding, High Dude matches these bold beliefs with a highly cultivated and intentional sound. Although he deftly incorporates popular threads in broken beat electronic music, these four cuts are distinguished as unique creations possible of arising only from one mind - High Dude’s - at one point in time - right now.

Across the EP, High Dude flexes foundational European styles like dubstep and drum and bass. His take on each style, though, is far from traditional. With “Artless” (what superb entendre - High Dude is also a poet) the producer places sophisticated, grainy sound design and well-manipulated foley samples within an arrangement defined by the simple tempo and dark, atmospheric pads native to dubstep.

As a sucker for 170+ bpm music, your correspondent’s favorite tune on this release is “Epicenter”. It’s a mental take on drum and bass. Small, diamond-cut glitches and other delightful details perk one part of the ears while the undulating synthesizers grab hold of the body. The percussion is acoustic and classy, and a muffled voice that sounds like an airport announcement acts as a subtle, disorienting touch. The song closes in a deep, aqueous ambiance that lasts for mere seconds but projects great power. “Shaman’s Weeping” is mysterious, seemingly unable to settle on which emotion it wants to project, therefore leaving the listener in a perplexing limbo. Stylistically, the tune is noteworthy for it’s strange interpretation of psydub material

“My productions aren’t there to entertain. They cannot be consumed. You must think to understand them and accept them as they are. As pieces of art.” These words come from High Dude himself aka Lohan. Someone so self-aware of his creative products deserves a deeper look from listeners who are enthusiastic about the ideas and subtext behind art. If one endeavors to investigate his catalog, peep prior releases on Outtallectuals, Aquatic Collective, and Upscale Audio.

FOLLOW High Dude: Official / Soundcloud / Instagram

Futexture - Amphibelle

Amphibelle is the first release from the experimental glitch producer Futexture in almost four years. The intricate arrangements, masterful sound design and thematic continuity across the six-track EP suggest that this long hiatus has been kind to Futexture aka David Krantz from Asheville, North Carolina. The music is inspired by the “movement and archetypal expression(s)” of water, according to David, who describes how he was “knee deep in a slowly moving stream” when he was “overcome by an extremely intricate and overwhelming auditory hallucination” prompted in part by the rushing water. Amphibelle is David’s attempt to recreate and depict that experience in sound. As such, it’s only appropriate that the record is released to the world by Aquatic Collective.

The six songs at first sound vastly different from one another. In this way, the composition is all over the map. By no means is it sloppy, though, it’s just difficult to identify by genre, or to associate it with common tropes or genres other than “glitch” (Amphibelle has many of them). There are common threads woven through the entire release. These include complexity in sound design and arrangement and an auditory imitation of the infinite expressiveness of water.

The second half of “Syntax” is nothing short of incredible. The stacked frequencies forming the lead melody are chill-inducing. The melody sounds almost like a blues waltz played out on synthesizers that surge forward in high contrast to the light background riffing on keys and pads. In the background, minute glitches patter like the sound of pouring water. “Plengi” again has aquatic synthesis, although now it’s more robust, like a gush instead of a trickle. Atop a quasi-dub aesthetic, an emotive mandolin plucks away in a style between four-bar blues and classical Spanish playing. On this track, Futexture demonstrates his knack for designing sounds that are crisp but not necessarily musical, and arranging them in such a way as to give them a musical function.

“Through the Edge of Never”, particularly in its reprise or second half, offers a beautiful sonic glimpse of the duality between the chaos and order inherent in a rushing body of water. A stoic set of chords contrasts with a heavy archetypal breakbeat laden with saturation and heavy reverb. The title track, though, has to be the superlative song on the record. The array of audio material crammed into this one track is dizzying. It pivots on a dime again and again from one soundscape to an entirely different one while somehow still maintaining a sense of thematic continuity.

All 100 percent of the money spent on Amphibelle will be donated to help provide clean water for the Secoya tribe in Ecuador and help the tribe buy back ancestral land they were evicted from in the 1940’s (learn more at amphibelle.com). Although Futexture has been quiet for years now, fans still express the impact that his earlier music made on them. This release reestablishes that Futexture is indeed still operating on an elevated playing field, creating experimental electronic music in league with any of the style’s great practitioners.

FOLLOW Futexture:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

wassuop - Drawing a Blank

wassuop is the musical project of Patrick Sproull out of Oakland, California that was born in the wide expressiveness of midtempo then buoyed considerably by the sheer magnetism of glitch hop. His funky broken beats hammer out a joyful sub-pulse across the spectrum of frequencies while telling stories through a vocal midbass element. His debut album Sunset Architect was a sonic achievement that unlocked his potential and earned immediate exposure through the releasing label Street Ritual. Now, Drawing a Blank released through the Bellingham, Washington-based label Danktronics symbolizes a salute northward. Since that first release in June of 2016, wassuop has played out for the Pacific Northwest’s true fans more times than perhaps any other group. Drawing a Blank is not only a thirst-quencher for the fanbase he has garnished but also a darker take on the same colors used in Sunset Architect.

Danktronics are quite the set of glitch gangsters, and their influence is reflected in the tracks wassuop chose to release through the label. “Lysergic Tempura” channels the Middle Eastern influences in the plucked strings that were already used to a crystallizing effect on “Wet Jewelry” off Sunset Architect. Now, wassuop’s fresh take on these influences has a weightless natural percussion combined with more swagger and sludge in its commanding sound design. The title track uses similar twangs over a magnificent and teeming glitch sub-pulse. The sound design then takes hold and moves forward to absorb the audience's attention, before dropping well-rounded bass tones in upbeat triplets. “Grossly Incandescent” shines a light on the darkness of the echoing reverb on a kick drum, with glitches that smear their colors and growl with a lisp. This soupy mess of sounds maintains a clean beat, and as a result is both danceable and jaw-droppingly abstract, truly encapsulating the mood of the album in its final track.

The real humdinger is the penultimate track, which is generally the best place to break up the mood in any four-track EP. “Licked” begins with the shining light of the arpeggiator, before leading the way with a cowbell deep in a reverb pit, and finally dropping into a spare, low-end get down that alternates with the cowbell's clarity. Ponderously wandering through a synth melody, the midbass gets fuzzier and lazily blows raspberries at the listener. Suddenly, the song appears to trail off as the melody resolves, but it comes winding back with a vengeance, cutting delicious polyrhythms that mete out an entirely new story. While Drawing a Blank is a far departure from the relentless optimism of wassuop’s first release that so magically caught our ear, the growth feels organic and comfortable given the influential relationship the producer has maintained with the Pacific Northwest.

A wassuop release through Danktronics not only affirms the relationship between him and his distant squadron of fans, it also provides a potential flashpoint between the two. The once unknown label that, by some underground magic, would release music from artists with larger followings than the label alongside completely unknown producers, is now releasing music from artists with smaller but diverse followings, creating a cross-pollination of audiences. Both wassuop and Danktronics are breaking the mold of their local scene by forming lasting artistic relationships in the early years of their development.

There is an air of excitement around midtempo glitch in the state of Washington that is irrepressibly growing, and Drawing a Blank is emblematic of this growth. Even in a vacuum, this new album is a huge step for Patrick artistically, proving his midnight dancefloor accessibility with a swill of confidence that maintains his effortlessly synesthetic sound design and attentiveness to the sub-pulse. Despite the dark ambiance of his new wonky tunes, the future of wassuop looks bright.

FOLLOW wassuop:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook

FOLLOW Danktronics:   Bandcamp   /   Soundcloud   /   Facebook

VALE Singles: WESSANDERS

VALE is a digital label with a judicious ear for sharp, dark sound. Often, that sound is presented through a progressive arrangement or a unique take on rhythm. The label's latest single, "Mouth Breather" from New England experimental bass producer WESSANDERS, hits on these themes like a bullseye.  

Straightforward minor chords weave spiderwebs and cast shadows above spidery synthesis. The song goes through three consecutive "build-drop" sequences, with a full soundscape ducking out to reveal a pocket packed with a swelling bassline and perky percussion that shifts in time and tempo. WESSANDERS aka Kai Felsman likes to leave some space in the mix for each piece of audio to breathe. That's definitely the case with "Mouth Breather". There's enough musical elements here to make it complex, but not so many as to overwhelm. The foley sounds snap into syncopation with the infected synthesis. The bassline and drum beat interlock and project an angular groove. 

The atmosphere on this cut is low-slung and spooky throughout, in the style of VALE. It's only slightly darker than the vibes WESSANDERS usually curates, and it's certainly got the same aggression that marks the rest of his catalog. To date, Kai has not released an extended or long play besides a mini-mix from around Christmas time. He clearly knows how to flex a digital audio workstation, though. The complex arrangement of the tune also signals that his familiarity with music writing may run deep. Hopefully more work from this young producer is waiting in the wings somewhere. 

FOLLOW Wessanders:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp

Seppa & Chalky - Bright Spots

It’s no secret that this publication has a bit of a crush on Slug Wife, but it might have just exploded into full-blown infatuation as the label takes a 180-degree turn away from their business as usual like massive bass lines and shredded synthesis. The lead gastropod Seppa has collaborated with a previously-unsung instrumentalist to whip up a bonafide jazz production, Bright Spots, that will leave any set of ears in a fit of ecstacy. The collaborative partner in question here goes by the moniker of Chalky, and is a local musician of repute over in Slug territory, the United Kingdom. Bunched together with Seppa, who apparently has more than a knack for shredding a saxophone in his free time, they’ve produced a record that’s worth its weight in musical gold.

When fans think of Slug Wife, they probably don't envision a jazz composition. That is the half the beauty of this record; it smashes the assumed M.O. of the entire label releasing it. Yet even in tossing away the presumed conventions of a Seppa production, it retains a certain veneer that is all the same typical of his releases. The percussion is incredibly bright and biting, crunching through the mix with the same major compression that’s usually fit for more visceral interpretations of music. Melodiously, it’s nothing short of rich in its texture and arrangement. The instrumental dialogue is presented with a fluid mastery as each tone dances in tandem with the harmonies and rhythmic pulses around it. Chalky lays down most of the instrumentation, and melds vivacious guitar chops with Seppa’s high-octane saxophone lines throughout the record. The entire 13-track album avoids musical ramblings and run-on phrasing, instead honing in on the finer details of each auditory climax and point of tension.

The composition of each song is fine-tuned to the slightest detail, as in “The Fiddler”, with complimentary string lines bouncing along the semitones in between harmonized slices of brass. “Slowdow” takes on minor scales and modal shifts, rocking between the ominous and the noire and climaxing into a pure mood potion that swims in the head long after the song has ended. Tapping into the power of staccato movement, “Time To Kill Again” keeps it short and sweet with bouncing pockets of rhythm sliding into smooth musings and tactile chord phrasing. Overall, the entire album is best characterized by its opening track, “Boss Rat Jam Man”, which exudes the exact attitude its name projects. Exceptionally delicious instrumental interactions bring to the mind granular images of red-carpet ballrooms and the posh aesthetic of modern jazz’s flashier epochs. While it appears to have been designed to be enjoyed top to bottom in one shot, the record plays out as a tonally brimming and well-meshed experience regardless of starting position or track order.

The first glimpse of Slug Wife’s bold step at shedding its usual veneer began with their Wack Lack series, which showcases “battlewax” more befitting of scratch DJs and vocalists. Bright Spots is an ambitious dive into territory that is yet another step away from the public sonic associations made with such titans of unconventional bass music. For all of Seppa’s production prowess and musical affluence, the real spotlight here is on Chalky, who by the admission of his production partner should be unveiling even more aural butter in the months following this first major release. As always, those Anglican slugs are never found resting on their laurels, instead constantly pushing the envelope of their total musical explorations and output. Bright Spots is a stellar edition to an already explosive release catalog, and is surely indicative of further left-field developments in the world of Slug Wife.

FOLLOW Seppa:  Bandcamp  /  Soundcloud  /  Facebook

FOLLOW Chalky:  Soundcloud  /  Bandcamp  /  Facebook
 

Mindex - Membrain EP

Mindex has always had a flair for gradual evolution in sound design, but his newest collection of work firmly reminds us just how deep his rabbit hole goes. The Membrain EP boasts an ominous atmosphere drenched in meticulous audio experimentation. In addition to top-notch mix-down and mastering across the EP, the musical inflections and harmonies are indicative of a producer who’s as much focused on the intention of the music as he is on tearing through unsuspecting sound systems. The casual effervescence that was carried throughout his earlier catalog gives way for a sound that is far denser in its impact, and surprisingly visceral. The EP is being released through Time Resonance Music, owned and operated by Mindex himself. As with his previous release, the Eclipse EP, Threyda has partnered up with Mindex to release a physical, high-quality print of the mind-bending album artwork composed by frequent Mindex collaborator Archan Nair.

"Membrain" starts off the EP with a brain-busting interpretation of 140/70bpm system music. The interlocking synthesis melodies twist and wrap around one another as the wider sonic elements envelope all remaining stereo space. The mid-range bass tones are fresh relief from some of the more popular motifs at the moment, with Mindex instead capitalizing on harmonics and strong filter sweeps throughout the bass line. The drum line is the most straightforward aspect of the arrangement, but leaves no momentum behind.

"Erosion" elaborates further within the 70bpm spectrum, going for a slapstick rhythm that gradually turns over to include all manner of high-register percussive shuffles. The drums are easily the main force of the track, exuding the "glitch factor" that spices up electronic productions beyond their relative musical shelf lives. The low-end synthesis squeezes into the mix from whatever interstellar toothpaste tube it was born in, gurgling through the pockets of space left between massive juggles of snares and hi-hats.  The subtle melodious elements flutter in and out of focus, creating a musical duality of frequencies simultaneously razor-sharp and round-edged.

"Cluster Overload" picks up the pace to around 80bpm, and is the sole mid-tempo song on the EP. Once again, the percussion takes the first spotlight, with smacks, crashes, and crumples darting back and forth throughout the composition. The melody synthesis is sparing and direct, carrying the arrangement through a musical journey that is entirely esoteric. On the other hand, the bass synthesis is gratuitous and constantly morphing into all manner of folds and slices. The elasticity of these mid-range tones has them blasting back and forth like a boomerang amongst the accompanying musical elements, and is the clear glue that reinforces the whole composition.

"Underconscious" closes the EP, slowing things back down a bit and sending the head-space into full hypnosis. The matrixed lead elements take on a droning phenotype, stretching and slaying along the rolled beat underneath. The bass designs are less erratic arrangement than in the previous tracks, with a more staid sonic presentation. The drum lines spurt upward and outward at the end of each phrase, coming to life in moments of musical turnaround and then receding back to the spacial floor of the mix.

Once again, Mindex leaves no sonic stone unturned in his elaborate experimentations and musical musings. For a character as reserved as Slava (Mindex), his music embodies a certain digital bravado that many others can't quite reach. When digesting the Membrain EP, be sure to take the whole thing in one shot, as the tracks have a (not so) curious way of blending right into one another for a seamless aural experience. For the fall, Mindex is currently slated to sling his talents at A Higher Halloween in Philadelphia, PA, for an annual halloween throwdown. If you're in the area, or you're feeling adventurous enough to seek it out from afar, make sure to find yourself directly in the prime vector of the sound system when he rises to the decks.

FOLLOW Mindex:  Bandcamp  /  Facebook  /  Soundcloud  

FOLLOW Theyda: Facebook  /  Website

FOLLOW Time Resonance Music:  Facebook  /  Bandcamp

Kromuh - Fragments EP

One of the hallmarks of well-done neuro hop is a squeaky clean stereo spread. The sounds could not be dirtier, but the mix-downs are spacious and sewn up. Kromuh, a versatile young producer from the Midwest, offers just this kind of well-balanced but hard-hitting composition on his new four-track EP Fragments.

Kromuh is the musical identity of Tyler Endicott who hails from Indianapolis, Indiana, although he currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. He plays frequently in both cities and often appears on lineups curated by Notion Presents, a crew that continually offers some of the coldest live bass music in the windy city. Although he's been producing electronic music for over four years, Kromuh used to lean more towards future funk, and psy dub stylings before that, relying on the cultivation of atmospheres. Recently though he's been sharpening his sound design skills and pushing out impressive neuro bass. Fragments is focused on creating moments; wild, cathartic flashes when the lightning strikes the same moment that the thunder claps. 

The trappings of vogueing halftime music can be heard on Fragments. Kromuh is not pioneering any arrangements here, but he is slam dunking a sound that is very popular right now. The sound design is precise and not played out. With so much amazing neuro sound filling the airwaves, it's not easy to walk that line. Although it leaves a little to be desired at times in terms of overall impact, the percussion is varied in tempo and detailed. Tiny hi-hats click throughout "Bent" that would be barely audible on earbuds, but which round out the mix in ways that a passive listening may not reveal.  The mix is spacious, allowing the sub-frequencies to rise and meet high-end, sine-compressed nastiness in the middle, splitting the listener's cranium. 

"Lost" is a particularly large cut. Kromuh mixes a little purple synthesizer - always nice to hear, almost like a throwback - with some syrupy neuro bass. The vocal sample is particularly well chosen and manipulated, and there's a healthy amount of space for each sonic element to breath. Sometimes when producers go for the jugular they end up clogging the mix with too much sound, but again "Lost" eludes this trap. Overall, it's just a really hype track that virtually any crowd would mess with. We wouldn't be surprised to hear some other performers drop this in their sets as summer turns into autumn. 

Who's to say Kromuh will stay in the neuro bass and halftime wheelhouse given the winding path of his musical exploration to date. Although with Fragments, his most impressive work to date, he's carved out a small spot for himself in that wheelhouse should he chose to remain there. 

FOLLOW Kromuh:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook   /   Instagram

WISDOM - SKYVUE

Coming in at exactly 30 minutes long, SKYVUE from Texas-based beats producer WISDOM is a meditative journey. WISDOM uses thumping rhythms and spaced out, distant melodies to activate strong psychological currents within his listeners. 

Speaking in superlatives can be dangerous, but WISDOM aka Alec may have some of the cleanest and most impactful percussion in the beats game right now. All the percussive elements are sampled from different sources but coated in the same lacquer so that each beat becomes a cohesive collage. One could spend the entire 30 minutes of the album, and some surely will, trying to pick apart that collage.

His kicks are round and muffled but forceful. They fall all over the mix seemingly at random, so while the head is steady rocking to a consistent cracking, rim-shot snare, the kick is moving around inside four bars unpredictably. The hi-hat samples are diversified both in their source and their velocity (i.e. loudness) to add that "human touch" to the drum beat. All his percussion is compressed masterfully so that it leaps out of the mix, nearly startling the listener on a couple occasions. 

Some stand-out tracks from this release include "EARTHTONED", "LTD", "GIVE AND TAKE" and "SIESTA". With "EARTHTONED", Wisdom explores a unique tempo, while the rest of the album sticks to boom-bap. The bass line is composed of low-frequencies so seemingly bottomless that they're reminiscent of electronic music. Balancing this brilliantly is a melancholic piano sample that leverages not just the notes played but also their deep resonance. 

The next cut "GIVE AND TAKE" brings the tempo back with quiet ferocity. Sampled woodwinds blow while a guitar lick ducks in and out of the mix. WISDOM relies on guitar samples for chromatic effect. They're rarely prominent, essentially they're in the pocket, but they add great color to the stereo image. "LTD" rocks at this same pace, and may be our favorite cut on SKYVUE. The sway of the percussion is simply irresistible, with the kick possessing a tangible bouncing-back effect. Here the melodic backing is at its most sparse, too, with a guitar lick taking the lead over a lush backdrop of pads. 

WISDOM has been a favorite of The Rust Music for some time, and he was featured in our Lo-Fi Sundays column in early 2018 right after the release of his first album DINGE. We'd hoped the prodigal production and dreamlike essence cultivated on that release was no fluke. Indeed it was not. With this second release, WISDOM continues to flex superb production skills, combined with intelligent songwriting and that intangible creator's touch that can create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

One would be wise to keep their ears on this producer. Alec is young and still at university. His skills are only going to increase, but will they be matched by a parallel increase in passion? There's just one intelligible vocal sample on the whole album, and it closes the final track. "I just can't fucking learn, I'm too stupid, remember?" Whatever pathology is at play behind this music, the product is pure gold. 

FOLLOW WISDOM:   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Bandcamp

Jade Cicada - Fish Juice

More than a year after his last major release, our favorite cicadomorpha has unleashed his most crisp studio production to date; Jade Cicada’s Fish Juice is a one-inch-punch of high-powered, jazztastic neuro music. In the time since Eolian Oms first graced the ears of eager fans, Cicada aka Skyler Golden has been hot on the block touring aggressively and quietly leveling up his sound design and engineering capabilities. The progress in his work is clearer than sunlight.

Fish Juice isolates itself as the most particularly brolic collection of tunes in the Jade Cicada discography, as it sees the artist refining a number of textures and sonic motifs that he has become fond of. The highly processed veneer of his tonal design has become his most striking characteristic, especially considering the thorough extent to which harmonics play a role in the arrangement of this entire EP. The processing chains on the bass lines have the Midas’ Touch we’ve grown so familiar to, but with a refined and precise approach to filter sweeps, cuts, and rhythmic response.

The release gets off to a rolling start with assorted jazz chords in “Fish Juice" and a shuffled drumline quickly picks up pace. The massively ducked kicks and snares are a staple of Jade Cicada's mixdown process, and they absolutely smack the head back and forth into a head-nod that you didn't know you signed on for. Once the low end drops into the mix, the laser-precision synthesis bursts through the speaker cones like a nylon rope whipping against steel plates. The gated reverb all over the track brings out some serious stereo imaging on what, on the surface, seems like a fairly straightforward tune.

“Dusty Lungs” features Chris Karns, a world-renowned turntablist who has his hands literally all over the eclectic world of electronic music. Rocking with a constant hip-hop rhythm, Karn’s vinyl scratching is morphed by Skyler into a wild bevy of harmonics and pure aural manipulation. The choice bursts of synthesis throughout the composition flesh out the spongier textures, wrapping around the last turnarounds in each measure and bringing you right with them. Besides the Wonky Llama project, a side project of Skyler’s with Houston-based producer Schmoop, Jade Cicada rarely collaborates with other artists.  

“More Cowbell” is exactly as rowdy as it sounds. Featuring the fattest bass line on this side of the milky way, this whole track is an excellent way to play basketball with one's own head. What begins as a vivacious little bob of a beat rapidly unfolds into the same nylon rope whipcord that smacks notes and harmonies all over the composition. Tread carefully, though. If you hit the second stretch of the tune, you'll get blasted by resampled low-end nastiness and risk a permanent case of stank face.

Closing out the EP, “Wire Skulls” is a melodious adventure through the arrangement and compositional capabilities of Jade Cicada. Putting aside for a moment off-kilter synthesis and aggressive breakdowns, this track recalls the earlier atmospheres of Jade Cicada’s catalog. Tonal blends that go down smoother than fresh water, complimentary bubbles popping throughout the mix, and precise bass work that folds together in a constant crescendo somewhere between a lullaby and hypnosis.

Without so much as a hiccup, Jade Cicada continues his upward production trend, with Fish Juice pushing his unique flavor of nuero music towards a logical evolution. As always, he sets himself a cut above the rest with advanced arrangements and sizzling audio engineering tricks. Jade Cicada is featured on a number of lineups to close out the summer, including Elements NYC on August 11, Solasta Festival on August 17-18, and Astral Lights in September. If chunky, juicy, sine-crushing beats are your thing, then waste no effort in getting yourself front and center at his next performance.

FOLLOW Jade Cicada:   Web   /   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Bandcamp  

Dami - Mazy//Waves

There are intersections between lo-fi beats and ambient music. In some instances, the emotions these different genres target and the moods they cultivate are very similar. The same pads and synthesizers draped over dusty beats sound sublime when isolated into an ambient soundscape. Dami, a new ambient project between lo-fi beatmakers Bretsil and Dweeb, is a product of these intersections. 

Their first release, titled Mazy//Waves after it’s two tracks, is not the only new ambient project to emerge from the beats community. The release comes courtesy of Drift, a new ambient label created as an offshoot of Inner Ocean Records. Inner Ocean began in 2012 as an ambient imprint before turning to hip-hop, jazz and soul beats. It’s founder Cory Giordano used to curate ambient music at Shambhala Music Festival in his “hippy electronic music days”. Drift, then, finds this label coming full circle. 

Dami is not the ambient music many electronic heads may be familiar with, dense with sound design or squiggling synthesis. Although the stereo spread is indeed full, and particularly rich during the closing of “Waves”, the composition is more sparse and leaves more to the imagination. Dami is aligned with ambient music as conceived by artists like Brian Eno, whom Bretsil cites as a tremendous influence. Although short in length, Mazy//Waves is mighty pleasant. A paradoxically warm and harmless tension is established on the first track, “Mazy”. This feeling rolls into the second tune, “Waves, although it’s coated in some static synthesis likely courtesy of the lo-fi stalwart sleepdealer who is featured here. The tension releases and the sound spreads like water across a table as the second track concludes. 

Mazy//Waves is a small sampling of what’s to come from this project, which includes a full-length release. Dweeb and Bretsil, aka Bret from Boston initiated the project because they wanted to explore soundscapes beyond their beats and introduce other fans and artists to a style of music that’s not always accessible. “The goal here is to collaborate with great lo-fi artists and make more people aware of the genre,” says Bret, who also helps to manage a lo-fi label called Dust Collectors. “Although I think lo-fi is moving in a more ambient direction, too,” he says. Indeed, ambient tropes are becoming more prominent across the lo-fi hip-hop spectrum, and that’s a far cry from where the genre began. By featuring ambient tunes deep within their compilations, Inner Ocean has been particularly instrumental in this subtle movement. 

According to Bret, he and Dweeb the beet farmer aren’t the only ones interested in this ambient endeavor. The upcoming Dami album will feature contributions from some very notable beat makers. For its part, Drift, too, will have much more to offer in the near future. One would be wise, then, to stay chooned. 

FOLLOW DAMI:   Spotify

FOLLOW DRIFT:   Bandcamp   /   Spotify

Maxfield - Under the Pink Umbrella

Sometimes it feels like alternative electronic music has reached a critical mass; as if all the experiments have been run through, the wildest sounds have all been played out, and the arrangements have been mashed up so thoroughly that we're through the ringer and a straight-up four-four beat has become innovative.

Within this landscape, the Boston-based producer Maxfield feels right at home. A string of EPs and singles tied together across Gravitas, Wormhole, and The Rust Music in the past year has perked ears in the right places, but with so much excellent music dropping daily, it wasn't cutting through the noise. Now, as his performance schedule has begun to ramp up this festival season, Maxfield comes with Under the Pink Umbrella on Street Ritual. It's his strongest work to date, breaching the surface with dynamic tunes that bear his own unique fingerprint as a producer. Ironically, though, Under the Pink Umbrella is less the product of a concerted effort towards an envisioned goal, but rather the result of a wandering creativity that Jake Maxfield has been wise enough to indulge.  

Across his catalog, Maxfield blurs the already hazy distinctions between sub-genres of electronic music. Under the Pink Umbrella expands on this thread. “As electronic music gets a little more popular the fan base is getting a little more educated about, like, what makes a genre a genre," Jake told me at the Psychedelic Sleepover in June. "People hear certain sounds ...for so many years now that they know those sounds and they know what defines a genre. I like to take bits of that and then smash them together, so that people are like, 'woah, what is this.'” Take "Tiny Hand Low Five" as an example. There's no discernible genre at play here, or even a familiar pattern or movement. It's refreshing. The lead melody is carried by a heavy bass synthesizer that strives forward like a giant roaming the countryside. The breakdown is full of darting and ducking effects, the kind of vowel-sounding synthesis epitomized by the Formant synthesizer. "Some people think of electronic music and they think of clubs and stuff," says Jake, "but this was kind of a shift towards a more 'go out in the woods and get abducted by aliens' kind of vibe." Touche. 

(Credit: Kyle Harrington)

For all the value in experimentation, some people including your correspondent are just partial towards a straight-forward bumping beat. Give me a kick, snare and a little swing and I'm aces. That's what Maxfield delivers on "Kids These Days", our standout cut on Under the Pink Umbrella. The organic percussion is well executed and the sound design is so crisp. Split seconds of synthesis sound like laser beams poking in between sandy, open hi-hats. A whopping snare guides the arrangement and a sprinkling of cowbell adds texture to the mix.  The inspiration behind the tune is relatable. "There’s these really young kids making all this mind altering music," Jake says. "You’ll hear the wildest song and your friend's like, 'you know that kids like 14?' It’s just about envy, and the motivation that comes form envy. That day I had heard something that was just so good that came from someone a couple years younger than me. I had this knot in my stomach until I got something out,  and the 'Kids These Days' idea is what started from that."

The EP winds down with a special cut, almost a ballad or ballet called "Outsource to Outerspace". It takes courage to put a slow, seven-minute song on your EP in this climate where producers are all jockeying for the limited attention spans of listeners. This song has deep meaning for Jake, though. It offers an enchanting and reposeful end to a roller coaster of an EP. Despite the calm setting, Maxfield opens up the hatch on his sound design with more force and fullness here than anywhere else on the EP.  The main movement is replicated across several instruments, and an electric guitar played by Jake himself wails into outerspace like someone begging a question, lost in their own thoughts. 

Jake's introduction to electronic music was atypical, and that may in part account for his tending toward unique, left-field composition. He attended Berklee College of Music seeking to become "the world's shreddiest, nastiest guitar player", but soon found that he had too much ground to cover on his peers for this dream to become a reality. On a whim he took an introductory Music Technology course and the rest, as they say, is history. "When you’re doing music education for a long time, you learn a bunch about rhythm, you learn a bunch about harmony, you play instruments, and you do all these things. But nobody was ever like 'what if you could change the sound of that instrument?'" With his roots in the world of tonal instrumentation and his branches reaching out into the exciting realms of sound synthesis and automated percussion, Maxfield is uniquely positioned to push boundaries in electronic music. While impressive, Under the Pink Umbrella feels like just a starting point. 

FOLLOW Maxfield:   Soundcloud   /   Bandcamp   /   Facebook   /   Spotify   /   Instagram

Inner Ocean Records - BLESS Vol. 2

(Artwork: Zom Kashwak)

Discovering new producers in the realm of instrumental hip-hop and jazz can be challenging. Songs often go as quickly as they come. Artist names are nondescript and sometimes impossible to find through search engines. The process of music discovery itself can seem elusive in this sub-genre. Sitting down with a new beat tape from a reputable collective can be a fruitful way to overcome this challenge.

The collectives - independent labels from across the world which vary in their sophistication and infrastructure - track and compile the best in beats for their compilations. By doing so they make music more accessible to fans. They offer a harmless shortcut through the process of music discovery, and become a tool that enables the listener to dig deeper.

Few imprints make this process as easy and enriching as Inner Ocean Records, the progressive independent label based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that today presents the second iteration of their seminal BLESS compilation series. BLESS Vol. 2 is a triumph of curation, offering almost four hours of music from 99 producers. The producers range in notoriety from globally ranking beat legends like Vancouver's bsd.u to individuals like Mojarra - Da Smokefish from Colombia who has 24 Soundcloud followers. 

Bless Vol. 2  gives a nod to the international nature of the beats community. Artists on the compilation represent 25 countries. The cover art was designed across the world from Calgary by Zom Kashwak of the Philippines. With almost 100 contributing producers of varying backgrounds, styles, and sounds, the sonic aesthetic across the compilation is startlingly consistent. That's not to say it's flat or unvaried, rather that certain common threads run throughout it.

The music is not hard or particularly rough-hewn, although STLNDRMS from Atlanta, Georgia has a nice cut on there. Its not exceedingly jazzy despite contributions from artists like ØDYSSEE of Paris, France. The BLESS series curates more specifically towards the spacey, airy, experimental side of beats music. Take for example the string of tracks on Side A from "forgettable" by baechulgi to "[dragon.wave]" by Borealism. These are ethereal, meditative soundscapes as much ambient music as hip-hop. This run includes our favorite track on the compilation, "Somber" by G Mills. With a project so large and diverse, future listening is bound to reveal hidden gems and new favorites, of course. For now the perfected alignment in  "Somber" has us hooked. But find your way to the back of Bless Vol. 2 and you're bouncing disembodied in a raw, stoned, trip hop sound approached from another angle entirely. 

The BLESS series is compiled through submission, then selection. Artists submit three tracks to Inner Ocean, and the label picks one to include. Inner Ocean's Creative Director Mike MacDonald heads up the intake process. Though he's been full-time with Inner Ocean for under a year, Mike and Inner Ocean's founder Cory Giordano have known each other in Calgary for almost a decade. Processing the submissions can be consuming, surely, but Mike appreciates the end result. “When I was young and making beats, if I had the opportunity to get on a compilation from a label that I knew, I would have shit my pants," Mike told me over evening coffees off Union Square in New York City. He's wearing a beanie, a flannel shirt with asymmetrical paneling, and a constant, compelling grin. "It would have pushed me to go further, you know? You need some resistance in everything you do, but you need a cookie every once in a while too. You need a rewards system and a resistance system.” 

The spaced-out lo-fi vibe is less dominant on Vol. 2 than it was on Bless Vol. 1. The first installment in the BLESS series was co-curated by Saikei Collective out of the Philippines and O-nei-ric Tapes out of Syndey, Australia. Both of these imprints are out there in terms of their sound, particularly the latter. They were not directly involved in the curation of Vol. 2. The quasi-psychedelic tone they set carries over, but there's more jazz, more lounge. 

O-nei-ric has since stopped pressing physical tapes citing a lack of sales, and Saikei has dramatically scaled back its releases. In late 2017, Saikei offered a compilation with a title typifing the tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation one sometimes sees in the online lo-fi community, "SAIKEI COLLECTIVE IS DED LMAO". It's no small challenge to remain commercially viable as an independent label while trafficking in content like instrumental hip-hop that has traditionally lacked broad commercial appeal. That Inner Ocean Records remains not only viable but vibrant is a testament to their quality curation and their organizational strength. The label doesn't retain any of the proceeds from the Bless series, though. According to their website;

100% of the proceeds from the sale of BLESS Vol.2 will be donated to a variety of Micro Loan programs for Women, Sustainable Water and Agriculture projects, Refugees, Education, Health Care and the Arts. The funds from the Micro Loans are paid back over time and it’s our promise to the supporters of this album that we will perpetually reinvest those funds back into future Micro Loans. This way the funds can continue to support people who need it for many years ahead.

Inner Ocean releases a ton of LPs and EPs, but Cory favors the inclusivity that compilations afford. "Compilations are perfect, because everyone can be featured," he said in the coffee shop, stirring over a tea. "I'm feeling good about this tea thing," he said to Mike, joking but only slightly. (See track 73 on the compilation, "Coffee Cult" by Ridhorules). Cory wore a black Inner Ocean crew neck with the label's signature swirl logo dominating his torso. He's soft-spoken and more overtly philosophical than Mike. Their demeanors are synchronized only in their mutual affinity for the beanie. "I never want to be that label that says 'we only do this or we only work with these people'. I want anybody who’s doing something cool to be able to say ‘hey I’m going to get in on that’."

Inner Ocean releases always come within at least one physical format. Bless Vol. 2 is available on cassette tape, the lo-fi trademark, but the label has also decided to press a selection of tracks onto a limited double LP crowdfunded through Q-rates. We're eager to find out which tracks are selected. In the interim, we offer our favorites cuts from each tape side of the compilation.

Inner Ocean strives to release music that will still resonate three to five to ten years into the future. By compiling stellar work with a concentrated aesthetic from both the world's best beat makers and unknown bedroom producers, they've hit their mark yet again with Bless Vol. 2. To ensure your own experience with this compilation lasts, pick up a hard copy over on their website. Bless up. 

FOLLOW Inner Ocean Records:   

Official   /   Soundcloud   /   Spotify   /   Instagram   /   Facebook 

C1 - organic_kid - Crises      
C2 - Harris Cole - Glas    
C3 - Stan Forebee - The Calm      
C4 - drkmnd - Loop For Thought      
C5 - Blankanvas - GLOOM      
C6 - biosphere - A Lonely Journey     
C7 - Poik Lounge - Albert Hoffman's Diary    
C8 - Senoy x Joce - Dust House     
C9 - Jake and Bake Beats - Medulla Oblongata       
C10 - elginnnn - Stay Over If U Want     
C11 - Odeeno - Dullforest      
C12 - Smika - Orange      
C13 - ZOD1AC - Khosmos     
C14 - Howiewonder - Black Maybe      
C15 - Mojarra DaSmokefish - Culture     
C16 - IAMSENPAI - Day or Night       
C17 - Don_Solo - Serenade     
C18 - Furozh - Dem Lights      
C19 - Vagabond Maurice & Brad Kemp - String From the Sky       
C20 - Jung Fellaz - Cosmopolitics         
C21 - Drips Zacheer - Earthlike      
C22 - Behind Clouds - We Wander Into The Sky Hoping Never To Be Found        
C23 - bloom - Up In The Clouds     
C24 - linanthem - Gratitude      
C25 - Ridhorules - Coffee Cult        

D1 - Jack Dean - Porch     
D2 - GoldenChild - Fallin In’     
D3 - Phoenix Manson - Portsea     
D4 - jus. - On It         
D5 - One t.w.o - Mpcissle      
D6 - Skullkid - Rift       
D7 - Slumgod - p o w e r g l i d e         
D8 - Dayzero - Central Airport        
D9 - Yume - b r o o k l y n s u m m e r       
D10 - Urban Shaman - Kings     
D11 - pjzero - The Rainy    
D12 - Mora - falling.      
D13 - Wise One - Aye     
D14 - Limbo - Bumpy Ride    
D15 - Joe Nora - Hope I'm Never Like That      
D16 - Sohee x Adalei's - Stiffyready      
D17 - Aair - Night      
D18 - Grumpysnorlax - Float     
D19 - Cocoamilo - Limonada      
D20 - BIDO - exp.      
D21 - ChasBeats - Smoke Under The Stars      
D22 - Bretsil and Mirrorish - Dreaming  
D23 - Type Raw - Kankickz     
D24 - JFilt - Sunny Georgia      
D25 - Druid - Cold Water     
D26 - Soul Choppa- Sunsets       

TRACKLIST:

A1 - TiMT - Bury the Past (feat.Haruki Ishida)      
A2 - Nymano - Summer Bump     
A3 - Bunko Stew - Surmount      
A4 - Kazumi Kaneda - Laser        
A5 - Funkonami - Rolling Through      
A6 - Telemakus - Relax       
A7 - STLNDRMS - Coolin       
A8 - bsd.u - 4 [bump]       
A9 - Oatmello - Piazza      
A10 - fantompower - The Universe Inside You      
A11 - baechulgi - Forgettable       
A12 - G Mills - Somber        
A13 - Idealism - Walk        
A14 - Arbour (x _houseplants) - Fresh Air       
A15 - Borealism - [dragon.wave]         
A16 - Defla - Warcry
A17 - EMERLD - Special K       
A18 - Dominic Pierce - Dark Coconut      
A19 - Goosetaf - Waterfalls        
A20 - BROCKBEATS - Scenery         
A21 - Mecca:83 -Preach! (feat brothermartino)     
A22 - ØDYSSEE - Amaranth       
A23 - RoY. - SynTaX (Prod.Alzeus)      
A24 - Kawfee - Almost Home   

B1 - Rhakim Ali - The Lounge           
B2 - shogonodo - Some Clouds In My Head     
B3 - Knowmadic - Flow   
B4 - Radicule. - Rose og++     
B5 - BryZone_ybp - Forgive Me    
B6 - Arvo To Me - hshshs     
B7 - tkdwn. - (you can) get thru    
B8 - Seneca B - Moons       
B9 - plcmnt - Circular          
B10 - Smeyeul. - Bless Up    
B11 - mingi pak - Clouds.    
B12 - PRGMAT - Ignoresation      
B13 - Kreaem - L'apre midi       
B14 - lucky.s - Cathartic    
B15 - RudeManners - In Da Hood     
B16 - Sadiva - Learning       
B17 - SHHP - Cosmic Love     
B18 - Dominic J. Marshall - Sardonyx          
B19 - Funk.Shu - GROOVE SUHMOE         
B20 - Ciasco - Spring Water
B21 - MentPlus - D Freak Flip    
B22 - NELAC - Trippin’         
B23 - mellowmnd - Futura Session    
B24 - Rikinish - Lemonade         

VALE Singles: Walrus Tales & Anti_Negative & Kliine

Diving into the Mariana Trench of electronic music does not require any certifications, expert training, student loans, or even a manual. What it does require, however, is an appetite voracious enough to track the sheer volume of releases on a daily basis. Enter VALE, an upstart label that specializes in all things dark, doom, and gloom within contemporary bass music. This week they present a triple threat production between Walrus Tales, Anti_Negative, and Kliine, and it most certainly slaps.

The track creeps in from the get go with synthesis crawling around the frequency spectrum, and quickly drops into a full crunch of neuro-hop. The percussion is particularly alluring all over the track with an extremely organic timbre, a la good sample choice, as well as crisp compression to bust each tone through the speakers. The track dips in and out of intensity, mulling over gentle piano melodies whilst allowing the darker elements to assemble in the background. Come the last minute of the track the ears are treated to a maelstrom of high velocity cuts and stabs, only for the tune's elements to fall back over itself and end on a righteous key line. 

If what you seek is hi-fi low-end production coupled with a grim attitude, then look no further. VALE has a consistent release cycle to make sure everyone gets their just deserts on time, every time. Keep both ears focused on this small collective of sonic muckrakers, or risk falling behind on the latest in all things cutting-edge and experimental.

FOLLOW Vale:  Facebook   /   Soundcloud