Review: Scuba - Triangulation...

Triangulation (definition): The location of an unknown point.

What initially strikes me upon listening to Scuba’s sophomore effort however is that the Hot Flush Records boss knows exactly where he’s at. Despite running his own label (home to recent critical faves Mount Kimbie), holding a residency at Berlin’s legendary Berghain and releasing music under two different monikers (SCB is his more techno orientated sound), Paul Rose has managed to produce an album that stands out as one of the best of the year.

While Rose may move between the boundaries of electronic music, there is still a unifying theme to his productions. Pressure, depth and melody are often present, and whether the track in particular leans towards dubstep, techno, or (more recently) drum n bass, it’s always very ‘Scuba-ish’. These three genres do provide the backbone to the album, but they’re blended so well that it would be unfair to categorise it as anything other than ‘post-dubstep’ and leave it at that.

After opener Descent informs us that we’re in for some deep listening, second track Latch explodes into action after a relaxed start with a half-step drum pattern and mounting synth line. Minerals employs the sound of dripping water as a percussion tool, while You Got Me takes the heaviest stab at drum n bass of any track on the album.

Album highlight Before comes thumping out of the speakers with a beat that would snap your neck if it weren’t so, well, ambient. A chopped-up vocal sample provides the hook, and the synths provide an aural signpost that is completely recognisable after only one listen. So You Think You’re Special provides an uplifting counterpoint to the darker tracks on the record, containing as it does the lines ‘Here you’ll find the one/Here in the sun’.

All told, Triangulation is a beguiling, cohesive album that more than justifies being listened to as a whole, and only on repeat listens does it reveal hitherto unseen intricacies and depths that are simply hinted at with a cursory glance. A must for any discerning fan of music, electronic or otherwise.

Crabs out of 5: 4.5

Buy it at Boomkat

We Have Band - WHB...

I'm sure that being in the loop and au courant has its advantages, but it sure does take a lot of effort to stay on top of the game. What with the proliferation of music being thrown at the listener from all sides, separating the wheat from chaff can be hard work. Which is why at the Eclectic Hermit nowadays you will only find me posting about music that i really, actually, like.

WHB have been on my radar since the start of last year, having won the Glatonbury emerging talent competition, released a couple of superb singles and floated a few demo tracks of material around the web. I saw them twice at Glastonbury and they shot straight to the top of my bands of '09 mental list.

Well due to my total ineptitude at staying on top of the latest music news, it was only yesterday I found out that WHB are releasing their eponymous debut album on April 5th.

Tracklisting:

01. Piano
02. Buffet
03. Divisive
04. Love, What You Doing?
05. Oh!
06. How To Make Friends
07. Honeytrap
08. Hear It In The Cans
09. Centrefolds And Empty Screens
10. You Came Out
11. WHB
12. Hero Knows

Feel free to pre-order the album here.

The Divisive EP was released yesterday, buy it at 7Digital.

Divisive comes backed by four remixes, not including this one by DJ Mujava of Township Funk fame.

Download: We Have Band - Divisive (DJ Mujava Edit) (YSI)

The video for Divisive sees the band acting as a human font and being extremely patient with the directors.

We Have Band - Divisive - by JUL & MAT from JUL & MAT on Vimeo.

And finally, the unreleased demo of You've Had Band, the track that really piqued my interest in this fantastic group. I believe it will appear on the album as Centrefolds And Empty Screens.

Download: We Have Band - You've Had Band (YSI)

Deep Medi...

I've spent much of the day delving into the archives of Mala, DMZ, and Deep Medi Musik. I started digging last week after checking out Mala's interview/lecture for the Red Bull Music Academy. It's amazing what you can do with some Discogs info and a bit of googling.

Out this month on the Deep Medi imprint is Mark Pritchard's Elephant Dub/Heavy As A Stone 12". Heavy As A Stone is stunning, I just had to loop it 3 times in a row to appreciate what's going on in this track. Very essential stuff.



Read what Boomkat have to say on the matter and get your copy here, before it's sold out.

Mala Myspace
DMZ Myspace
Mala Discogs

Oh aye, and the other half of DMZ, Coki, is at The Faversham in Leeds this Friday with Joy Orb and Brackles. Get on down.

Magnetic Man...

If you didn't know, Skream + Benga + Artwork = Magnetic Man.

You might think that the originators and innovators of the dubstep sound would be content to rest on their collective laurels and let a new slew of producers take the mantle, but they are still pushing forward into new territory as The Cyberman EP shows in abundance.

Much attention has been lavished on the title track, but it's Eclipse that captured my attention. What with all the stabbing synths, staccato drums and, of course, a nice bit of wobble, you may need a neck massage after listening. Be warned, this is big.

Magnetic Man - Eclipse (YSI)

Blackdown posted an interview with the guys recently, well worth a read in you're interested in dubstep history.

Buy the EP at Boomkat

Thanks Brain(feeder)!...

Well Hot Damn! That Flying Lotus chap sure knows how to start a record label. His new Brainfeeder roster includes Samiyam, Ras G, The Gaslamp Killer, FLYamSAM, Mono/Poly, Teebs, Dr. Strangeloop, Lorn, Matthewdavid, Ques, Daedelus and many more.

New Daedelus EP/Mini-album 'Righteous Fists of Harmony is out March 22nd.

MP3: Order of the Golden Dawn ft. Laura Darling (YSI)

Below is the new video for 'Fin de Siecle'.

Daedelus "Righteous Fists of Harmony" from DestroyRockMusic Inc. on Vimeo.

If you're anywhere near big London Town on the 10th of March you have to check out the Brainfeeder sessions @ Fabric. How's this for a line-up:

Nosaj Thing
Tokimonsta
Dimlite
Gaslamp Killer
Daedalus
Flying Lotus
Dorian Concept
Martyn & Kode9

I imagine that will get quite raucous.

brainfeedersite.com
myspace.com/brainfeeder
twitter.com/BrainFeeder
vimeo.com/brainfeeder

Whack my Bonobo...

"Simon Green aka Bonobo returns with one of the key cuts from his forthcoming album, “Black Sands”. Drawing as much on the rhythms of two-step as the lush soundscapes for which he’s best known, “Eyesdown” also features a remarkable vocal from Andreya Triana and enough fuzzed-out sub-bass for a binful of dubsteppers. Classic and contemporary, melancholy and exhilarating all at once, “Eyesdown” sounds like the kind of record Massive Attack could be making if they were starting out now."

Well that's what the PR says, but listening to the track i've no idea how they came up with that Massive Attack reference. Still though, tis a good 'un, and well worth a few clicks of your mouse.

The drums are reminding me of Mujava's Towship Funk too, which is no bad thing.

Listen/Download/Pre-order here.

Hold your Tunng...

My favourite experimental folk band, Tunng, are set to release their new album And Then We Saw Land on March 1st on Full Time Hobby records. From the Tunng site:

"Our new album '..And Then We Saw Land' will be released on March 1st. It's available to pre-order on CD, LP, MP3 download and FLAC lossless audio download, as part of an exclusive bundle which includes a live DVD of the our Twisted Folk collaboration with desert dudes Tinariwen. You can pre-order the album (and DVD) from Full Time Hobby and if you would like to download a taster track right now click here!"

Well go on then! I've just ordered the CD/T-shirt bundle.

George & Caplin get remix'd...

Plastic Sound Supply are a record & art label from Denver, CO, USA, specializing in genre defying experimental electronic music and art.

They're celebrating the release of George & Caplin's 'He Really Got Through to Advertising' remix album with a free MP3, and how could I resist?

This Cacheflow remix from the album is right up my street. The term 'melting pot' may have been coined for just such an occasion, as Cacheflow segues seamlessly from glitchy futurism to dubstep-lite and all the way through to folksy, ambient beats.

Grab it for yourself here (Right-click)

Preview & buy MP3s from the album here

You bring me Joy...

Seems like every man and his blog has posted the Joy Orbison BSRkR 01 mix over the past 6 months, so I won't bother repeating it here. However there is one track from it that i just can't get out of my head. Here's a decription of the track by the ever lyrical 20jazzfunkgreats:

"The last C.O.M.B.i. edits 12 is killer, this mystery Japanese wizard gets the party going like the old skool was N.O.W. on one side, and get down well nocturnal on the flip, which is what we are bringing you: a metronomic disco funk beast that slides menacing across streets of a deep blue which resemble, for a moment, colossal coralline reefs across whose ancient underwater surfaces flicker hallucinatory shadows, the echoes of a dramatic score to make all Chromatics fans lose their shit do spread like blood spilling from wounds inflicted with frantic strings that stab the soul of a beautiful ghost of unbearable loneliness and mad longing."

Indeed.

C.O.M.B.I. - It a late (YSI)

If you live in The North and fancy seeing Joy Orbison spinning his impeccable tastes live, you couldn't do much better than seeing him headline The Faversham in Leeds on February 26th, alongside Coki, Floating Points and Brackles.

What a ridiculous line-up. Tickets here. See you there.

Drowning in a sea of wav...

Or a sea of mp3, if you're less inclined towards a pun and more towards correctness.

Over two years ago I published what ranks among my most popular blog posts ever. (It had four comments, although one was spam).

It was an A to Z of tracks that I was into, and looking back at it now I think the list stands up as a pretty good and varied barometer of what was around at the time. Think of it as an extremely local Hype Machine if you will. It was partly topical (Bat for Lashes), but mostly it was an excuse for me to post up an eclectic bunch of tunes (which is what this blog was started for in the first place).

This week I was reading an article in The Guardian that mentioned something about how music in its digital form was losing out to solid formats because of its vast availability and the increasingly unlimited storage capacity of digital players/hard-drives. I have been feeling this myself over the last couple of years, having moved almost exclusively from purchasing CDs and vinyl to exclusively downloading mp3s.

So this post is actually only an excuse for me to sift through my laptop in an attempt to try and connect with some of the music that has been languishing there, unlistened, while searching for more, more, more on the neverending network of blogs, websites and online record shops over the last year or so.

I've got hold of more new music in the last year than at any other time in my life, and it was hard to pick only one artist for each letter (should it be Burial&Four Tet/Benga/Boxcutter/Bok Bok/Bat for Lashes etc) but who knows, there may be more A to Zs in the future.

If you have any suggestions/comments/praise/hate, stick a comment in below. And it goes without saying: if you like the artist, do something to support them like buying a gig ticket, mp3 or even better, a CD!

A is for Aardvarck - Untitled 2 (Bloom 3)

B is for Boy 8-bit - The Cricket Scores

C is for Caspa - Back to '93

D is for Darkstar - Aidy's Girl is a Computer (Kyle Hall Oats remix)

E is for Emika - Drop the Other (Scuba's Vulpine mix)

F is for Fever Ray - Seven (Martyn's Seventh mix)

G is for Gemmy - Rainbow Road

H is for Hudson Mohawke - ZooOOoom

I is for Ikonika - Smuck

J is for Joy Orbison - J. Doe

K is for King Midas Sound - Lost

L is for L-Vis 1990 - Come Together

M is for Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement

N is for Nosaj Thing - IOIO

O is for Optimus Grime - Immortal

P is for Peter, Bjorn & John - It Don't Move Me (Weird Tapes remix)

Q is for Q-Tip - Renaissance Rap remix (ft. Busta Rhymes/Raekwon/Lil' Wayne)

R is for Rustie - Zig-Zag

S is for Skream - Dutch Flowerz

T is for Toddla T - Rice & Peas (ft. Mr Versatile)

U is for Untold - Stop What You're Doing (James Blake remix)

V is for Visti & Meyland - Yes Ma'am (Trentemoller remix)

W is for White Denim - I Start to Run

X is for The XX - Heart Skipped A Beat

Y is for Yeasayer - One (MMMatthias remix)

Z is for Zomby - Tarantula

Download A to M here (Z-Share)

Download N to Z here (Z-Share)

The post artwork is taken from The Gashlycrumb Tinies, an illustrated poem by Edward Gorey. View it here.

You better run fast...

Seeing as my last post about Yeasayer got taken down for copyright infringement, i thought it might be nice to share some music that the artist themselves has already made freely available.

If you are a) into the Swedish reggae scene or b) been keeping up with the european snowboard films this year, you may well have heard of Congo Man Crew. If not, now's the time to get involved. Their Myspace and Facebook pages provide scant biographical information, but the music more than speaks for itself.

Deep roots reggae laden with tasty riddims and vocal hooks is what the crew is about, and you can download their latest EP Run Fast ft. Mysticman right here.

Download: Run Fast EP (Z-Share)

Congospace

Their music features on Jolly Roger, the latest flick from the Pirates crew.

Check the trailer below.

The Christmas Chiller...

Yes yes y'all, Christmas is upon us with a capital C. Snow has fallen all around us, children have been playing and having fun, and it might even be the season for love and understanding.

All this aside however, if your celebrations are proving to be a little more stressful and tiresome than you would like, here's a piece of music that may give you a little respite from the madness.

Released in February of this year, Cinematic Dubstep Vol. 2 is the soundtrack to a film that hasn't yet been made. The final track on the compilation was the one that hit me hardest. 6 minutes of skittering drums, and synths that hit you like waves. Check this out on a good pair of headphones with a drink in your hand and feel the stress wash away.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Cogent - The Guard

Discogs
Stream & Buy at Digital Tunes

Slam & Groove 4 - Mixed by Optimus Gryme...

This does what it says on the tin, the latest in the Slam & Groove series is a serious heavyweight mix. Get it while you can, Noize Zealand is on the rise!

Featuring 30 tracks of pure Dubstep goodness from some of the world's top producers including Datsik, Chasing Shadows, Excision, Kryptic Minds & Optimus Gryme.

Direct links:

Good Quality (192kbps : Faster Download Time, approx 8 mins)
http://www.mediafire.com/?iejozmzlnit

Best Quality (320 kbps : Medium Download Time, approx 11 mins) http://www.mediafire.com/?mhyiyjmyiyz

Tracklist:

1. DR. ISRAEL - GANGSTA N POLICE
2. DISTANCE - HEADSTRUNG
3. FREELAND - ROCK ON [EMALKAY REMIX]
4. TIKI - TANGAROA VIP [BULLETPROOF REMIX]
5. OPTIMUS GRYME - SING IT TO ME
6. NERO - BAD TRIP [BAR 9 REMIX]
7. CHASING SHADOWS - AMIRAH
8. 12TH PLANET & DATSIK - TEXX MARS
9. STEREO TYPE - SHOCK [NERO REMIX]
10. CHASING SHADOWS - ILL
11. ULTRABLACK - BEAR TRAP [EXCISION REMIX]
12. OPTIMUS GRYME - MEZZANINE [VIP]
13. VASKI - RESONATE
14. DON GOLIATH - NO SOUNDBWOY NO CRY [DZ REMIX]
15. TRUTH - INTERNATIONAL
16. OPTIMUS GRYME & BULLETPROOF - BUNGALORE
17. BULLETPROOF - SAN CROW
18. PLANAS & RUCKSPIN - THE NATURE OF IT
19. SCHEMA - CHUTNEY GRIP
20. BOOT - SPEECHLESS
21. DISTANCE - TRAFFIC [GOTH TRAD REMIX]
22. BREAKAGE - HIGHER
23. ROB SPARX - BLOODBATH
24. EXCISION & THE SUBDIVISION - TITANIUM
25. KRYPTIC MINDS - ONE OF US
26. BLACK SUN EMPIRE - THE INVASION
27. KRYPTIC MINDS - SIX DEGREES
28. SUB SCAPE - NOTHING'S WRONG
29. SUB SCAPE - ARTIFICIAL DREAMER
30. ANNE RANI - FALL [TECH ITCH REMIX]

For more Free Dubstep Mixes go to: http://www.optimusgryme.co.nz/downloads

And check out http://www.nzdubstep.blogspot.com/ for more scene info

Return of the Mac...

My girlfriend is called Caroline.

Fleetwood Mac have a song called Caroline that I hadn't heard of until last month. (It was released in 1987. What's 22 in blog years?)

The bottom line is that the song is huge in the best 80s way possible. Tons of echo on the drums and a massive chorus that I still can't get out of my head.

Regardless of what my girlfriend is called I would have posted this track anyway because it's a beast, but i like the synergy nonetheless.

Whatever music you're in to, take a break from it for 3 minutes and 49 seconds and turn those speakers up.

Fleetwood Mac - Caroline (YSI)

Buy Tango in the Night

Noise Zealand style...

I spent this summer in New Zealand, and between all the skiing and partying managed to dig up a few gems from the local scene.

Optimus Gryme aka Charlie B is the biggest name in the NZ dubstep game right now. I saw him play live at the BASE 10 year party in Wanaka, and was surprised the roof was still on the building by the end of his set.

He released his debut LP back in June, and his Annihilation of the Ego EP is considered one of the best records of the year. If you like your beats heavy, smooth and experimental then this is the guy to check out.

Optimus Gryme - Immortal

Optimus Gryme - A Billy (ft. Billy Fluid)

Buy Optimus Gryme @ Beatport
Grymepace
Check out nzdubstep.com for more info, tour dates and free mixes

Purple Trinity...

I've been listening to a lot of Dubstep this summer, and Joker is one producer who's really caught my ear. Part of the Purple Trinity group with Guido and Gemmy, his bright, technicolour beats are just what the scene needs to revive itself after getting slightly sidetracked into the 'who can make the heaviest bassline' thing. The Purple Trinity's brand of psychedelic dub is much more my thing.

So to catch you up, a mix from each.

Joker - Purple Wow Sound Mix (Z-Share)

Tracklist:
1. Heny g – Delayed Style
2. Silkie – 7-1
3. Joker & Ginz – Purple City
4. Joker – Psychedelic Runway
5. Joker – Gullybrook Plain
6. Joker – Digidesign
7. Guido – Tango 140
8. Gemmy – Espaniola (SOMETHING LIKE THAT )
9. Gemmy – The Box Remix #2
10. Gemmy – BT Tower
11. Gemmy – Back 2 The Future 2012
12. Gemmy – ……
13. Joker – Do it
14. Joker – Early morning
15. Benga – Buzzin’
16. RSD – Naked Mario Kart
17. Skream – Unknown
18. Silkie – Weird Piano
19. Quest – The Unknown
20. Rude kid – Are You Ready (Instrumental)
21. Maniac – Three Crows
22. Joker & Rustie – Play Doe
23. Joker – Untitled

Guido Mini Mix (Save as)

Tracklist:
Guido - Tantalized
Guido, Aarya & Ruthless - Beautiful Complication
Guido - Chakra
Guido - You Do It Right
Guido - Orchestral Lab
Gemmy - Johnny 5
Guido - Mad Sax
Joker - Do It!
Guido - Tango
Joker - Digidesign

Gemmy - Mix for Fact magazine (Sendspace)

Tracklisting:
Jakes - 'Nyabingi'
Rustie - 'Black Block' Remix
Gemmy - 'Purple Moon'
Gemmy - 'Johnny 5'
Kutz - 'Spaceman' VIP
Davinche - 'Jam Hot' Remix
Joker & Ginz - 'Purple City'
Joker - 'Do It'
Gemmy - 'Shanti Riddim'
Gemmy - 'Kodoma'
Gemmy - 'Rusty Tin'
RSD - 'Pretty Bright Light'
Gemmy - 'Bk 2 The Future'

Further reading on the Trinity and Purple sound.

myspace.com/guidoproductions
myspace.com/thejokerproductions
myspace.com/djgemmy

One more (Ninja) Tune...

Oh, hello there. It's been a while, but I keep getting fine slices of aural science delivered directly to my inbox by the good folks over at Ninja Tune records, and who am I to deny their artists the essential air of hype and publicity (even though this blog has the readership of the proverbial one man and his dog) that music makers so relish in these days of multi-faceted media platforms? No-one, that's who.

Fink's track 'All Cried Out' has been a favourite of mine since it featured on his Biscuits for Breakfast album all the way back in '06. He released latest album Sort of Revolution this summer, and to celebrate an i-tunes only release of Sort of Versions (acoustic versions of tracks old and new) i'm giving you his take on R.E.M.'s 'The Apologist'. The ghost of John Martyn pervades, but never dominates Fink's work, which is by turns original, evocative and engaging.

Fink - The Apologist (acoustic)

Get Sort of Versions here
Get Sort of Revolution here
Finkspace

Now I know that PR folks can stir up a lot of BS about their hot new artist, but I must say comparing Emika to Fever Ray, The Knife and Burial (three of my favourites) in one sentence more than piqued my interest. Add to that a remix by none other than Scuba and I was a goner.

I'm a big fan of Scuba's crackly, claustrophobic and driving production, and this track delivers on all accounts. It also reminds me of another of Hot Flush Records talents, Vaccine.

The single 'Drop The Other' plus remixes is out on the 18th January on Ninja Tune. Big.

Emika - Drop The Other (Scuba's Vulpine Remix)

Emikaspace
Scubaspace

Why can't I have a smart dog like that?...

This, and a couple of other questions, has been raised by Rex The Dog's remix of new Fever Ray single Triangle Walks. (Eclectic Hermit trivia, The Knife were the first artist to be posted here on this blog).

Questions such as: Why can't Rex The Dog do an entire Knife remix album? How does Karin Andersson manage to write such damn good songs? Why can't I keep the smile off my face?

I for one would love an LP full of hands-in-the-air italo-swedish disco tracks, so let's make it happen. The petition starts here.

Fever Ray - Triangle Walks (Rex The Dog Remix)

Buy Fever Ray - Fever Ray

Buy Rex The Dog £4.98 on Amazon! Get your hands on it.

Hey! I know that song! #1...

The first in what may become an occasional series of posts that deals with well known tracks and the original music they sampled.

In today's case we have the modern classic Aint Got Time To Waste by Aim, which took inspiration from Marc Moulin/Placebo's Humpty Dumpty.

The Marc Moulin version appeared on the playlist at my work last month. It reminded me just how good Mr Turner's work is, and brought memories flooding back of playing Tony Hawks for hours on end in my teenage years.

Marc Moulin/Placebo - Humpty Dumpty (YSI)

Aim - 'Aint Got Time to Waste (YSI)

I believe Cold Water Music was reissued last year with a couple of bonus tracks, but here's a link to the original on Amazon.

Side note: Cold Water Music also features one of my favourite covers of all time (see above).

I was at Glastonbury when...

We Have Band played The Queens Head, when Skream dropped In For The Kill, when Crookers tore the metaphorical roof off, when Blur stormed the Pyramid, when a hundred other things happened, including the death of Michael Jackson. I was about to watch Metronomy when I heard the news, and walking about the site in the early hours of Thursday night with crowds of people dancing outside the Jerk Chicken bar to old MJ hits was a surreal sight.

I saw We Have Band twice over the weekend, firstly on Thursday right after Maximo Park had just opened the festival at The Queens Head stage, and secondly on the John Peel stage on Sunday. As you might expect, Thursday's gig was full of energy and excitement, the crowd was well into it, and i felt a real thrill about seeing live music again. Sunday was a tough slot for the band, as no amount of enthusiasm from them was going to gee a crowd up early on a Sunday afternoon after 3 days of revelling behind them.

Swiftly re-dubbed I Can Haz Band? (by me), they have firmly rooted themselves into my consciousness as a group destined for big things, and the tracks You've Had Band and Honeytrap have rarely been off my stereo since the festival.

We Have Band - You've Had Band (YSI)

We Have Band - Honeytrap (live) (YSI)

They recently released You Came Out on Kill Em All, buy it at Boomkat.

Wehavemyspace