Summer Dub & Bass (IMP 46, May 2009)

May’s mix has finally been completed right at the end of July. A terrible state of affairs that I can blame on all sorts – mostly I am saying that it’s because I was working on the best mix I might ever make if I can actually ever finish it. More on that when it’s done. Instead of that I conceded defeat for the time being and put together a load of grinding bass heavy dub tech and ambient soulful dubstep. This is the first part of my Summer Trilogy - named in an homage to Oneida’s Kill Yr Parents trilogy for sure.




Summer Dub & Bass (IMP 46, May 2009)

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Tracklist:


01. Mount Kimbie - Verticals
02. La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream’s Lets Get Ravey Remix)
03. Kwaidan - Masaki
04. Raffertie - Sugar
05. Bar 9 - Coalescence
06. 16 Bit - Chainsaw Calligraphy
07. Bombaman - Rear End
08. Egyptrixx - Godzilla
09. Joker - Snake Eater
10. Ramadanman & Appleblim - Justify
11. Peverelist - Clunk Click, Every Trip
12. Silkie - Purple Love
13. Goth Trad - Far East Assassin (Distance Remix)
14. Coki - Goblin

Thrash Hits Nachmystium Review

I was recently approached by Thrash Hits magazine to write about US Black Metal for them and they seem to be happy for me to flex a bit and really go for it across the whole world of the genre which is awesome news and a thoroughly welcome development for me. I have a couple of pieces in the works on Canadian and Saudi Arabian BM but my first piece for them went up last night - a review of the new Nachtmystium EP, Doomsday Derelicts.

Read it: HERE

Songs of the year so far

Halfway through month six of 2009 seems like a suitable time to drop some kind of landmark for the year. I will definitely be doing another top 100 tracks of the year come December/January. The kind of exhaustion it made me feel last year was masochistically enjoyable and it was a far more popular and well received exercise than I imagined it would be. But that's for later, just so you know its coming and to prepare yourselves, for now I just want to drop my current two favourite songs so far.

I don't think revealing my relationship with these two songs is going to give too much away at this stage, anything can happen in the next six months, song, album, demo releases and my own opinions, but halfway through the year these are the two songs that for me have, in one instance have distilled and defined the sound of the year so far, and in the other created a whole separate world just a sidestep from this one furnishing it with songcraft of genuine genius and arresting lyricism.

The first 3 months were totally owned by Mount Kimbie's Maybes from the Maybes EP on Hotflush. Ostensibly a soulful dubstep and bass label this branch out in sound totally spun the game around on its head and incorporated some kind of shoegaze element into the continually evolving beast that is dubstep. The track features a rippling echo of a guitar part for half its length before dropping a bassline bomb and shuddering stuttering female vocal hook along with the electronic ornamentation. Simply put; Icy cool.


The second of the two is Sunset Rubdown's Nightingale/December Song from Dragonslayer on Jagjaguwar. For the first few listens it was the first half of this album that I found especially compelling then suddenly I could get past this one song - or rather, I had to skip straight to it: "Let me hammer this point home" - and more than that, the structure of it is the pinnacle of everything the album tries to create (and does successfully across it's entire length), but here it all comes together in the buzzy electronic drum beat and voice of valour and heroism striding across it, the euphoric swell of the verse into the chorus, the sensual eroticism of "sacrificial virgins" and "fast explosions" and the organ breakdown/build up. After all that, I'm not sure whether the ending is a bit of a let down or not but by then it's too late to worry about a simple thing like that.


So far I have about 30 songs vying to get in my top ten of the year, but these two are my current obsessions. Let me know if they become yours.

MxBx

Home Shopping

Yesterday I received a lot of stuff in the post all on the same day and last week I got a whole stack of records I'd been waiting a while on receiving. I've got a lot of listening to do! A few of these are albums from my top 10 last year that I promised myself I'd buy and I only got round to it now, the rest are brand new exciting. The Wormsblood 12" is amazing - it's the blue/black splatterfest up there. The grey Heavy Winged is really nice too, real heavy. These things are objects of beauty. Adam also gave me all the albums he's been working on recently, so there's a journey of about 5 hours of deep claustrophobic psychologically challenging drone I am about to embark on.

Adam Lygo – Legend Of The Grey Woods (Hive Music)
Adam Lygo – The Mythology Of Mirrors (Hive Music)
Adam Lygo – The Mythology Of The Spiral (Hive Music)
Adam Lygo – Virus (Hive Music)
Amesoeurs – Amesoeurs (Profound Lore)
FNU Ronnies - 12" (Night People)
Harvestman - In A Dark Tongue (Neurot)
Heavy Winged - Waking Shaking 12” (Aurora Borealis)
Horna - Sanojesi Aarelle (Debemur Morti / Moribumd)
Invisible/Sarah Walpole – A Life In Whispers (Hive Music)
Our Love Will Destroy The World - Stillborn Plague Angels 12” (Dekorder)
Ride For Revenge - Wisdom Of The Few (Bestial Burst)
Sylvester Anfang II – Sylvester Anfang II (Aurora Borealis)
U.S. Christmas - Eat The Low Dogs (Neurot)
Wooden Shjips – Dos (Holy Mountain)
Wormsblood - In The Stars 12” (Aurora Borealis)

Not For Resale: Quad Throw Salchow

Quad Throw Salchow Myspace

The Swarovski Mix (IMP 45, April 2009)

Like a lot of the mixes I make this has been based on me noticing a theme running through a lot of the music – usually artists names – that I have been listening to. I am making a concerted effort to be a bit more intellectual about things, but am failing dismally – the proof is clear in the title of this mix. After noticing a lot of jewels in my playlists – Emeralds, Diamonds, Crystals - I realised they were nearly all Crystals so I just went with those and came up with the most stupid, cheap name and artwork I could think of. It’s a really varied selection of music though, so I think it works. I got away with it. Just. I am under duress to stress that the Mr Crystal Face track is one of the greatest pieces of music ever created.

There. I said it.




















The Swarovski Mix (IMP 45, April 2009)

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01. Crystal Plumage - Three Mothers III
02. Mr Crystal Face - Polar Bears
03. Crystal Castles - Untrust Us
04. Crystal Fighters - Xtatic Truth
05. Lazer Crystal - hotpinkbmx
06. Crystal Antlers - Parting Song For The Torn Sky
07. The Crystal Unicorn - The Light The Light
08. Crystal Stilts - Crippled Croon
09. Crystal Shards - Two Hard
10. Crystal Dragon - ‘Untitled 2’

NFR @ NWFA Fringe Festival Weekender

Super stunning Fringe Festival weekender starring Meatbreak and Fokka Wolfe!!

These flyers say we're djing after bands, but we're on from 8 til midnight. Change of plans! Because the best laid ones.....


THE NICE WEATHER FOR AIRSTRIKES FESTIVAL
Brighton Fringe 22 -24 May Bank Holiday 2009
FREE ENTRY!!!
“A weekend of PostRock, Shoegaze, PostPunk, AntiPop, and loopladen soundscapes from Brighton’s Nice Weather For Airstrikes Records.”

* BANDS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT
* ALL DAY SUNDAY ACOUSTIC AND LOOPS
* NOT FOR RESALE DJS FROM 8 - MIDNIGHT
* AT THE DRUIDS ARMS, Ditchling Road, Brighton