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April 29, 2008

A Walkabout with Carl Craig


The Wire has posted the complete, unedited transcript of my "Invisible Jukebox" with Carl Craig, in which we listen to Throbbing Gristle, Ron Hardy, tape edits, the Music Box, Brian Eno & David Byrne, Junior Boys, the Grammys, Harry Bertoia, Terry Riley, His Name Is Alive, Recloose, Phil Ranelin and Vibe, the Electrifying Mojo, Cabaret Voltaire, Robert Hood, A Number of Names, Petre Inspirescu, Herbie Hancock, Narod Niki, dubstep and more. I came out of the interview more impressed than ever with Craig -- not just for his music and knowledge but even more for his spirit and generosity. You can read the full interview here.

April 17, 2008

Allez Allez Allez Allez

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I'm thrilled to once again to offer a new mix through the always awesome Allez-Allez, home to guest mixes from the likes of Luke Abbott, 20 Jazz Funk Greats, Lo Recordings' Jon Tye, Thisisnotanexit, Jacques Renault, Lindstrøm, Nathan Fake, Guido Schneider, Ewan Pearson, and... well you get the point. (Not to mention a slew of great mixes from residents Sam and Weekend Steve.)

Here's a description and setlist for the hourlong mix; please click on over to Allez-Allez to download the goods.

"a few weeks ago, there was snow falling in portland, oregon—not enough to stick, but enough to make you wonder if the winter, or even just the ubiquitous northwest grey, would ever break. Then, last saturday, kapow: tulips opened, a snowy mount hood gleamed against a robin's-egg sky, and temperatures soared to 75 degrees—the perfect conditions for an impromptu backyard barbecue. (visiting home, meanwhile, has provided the perfect conditions for pulling out old favorites that had fallen by the wayside, like H3ÖH's astonishing "mind loss" — how could I have forgotten about that track?). the results, more or less "deep" or "house" (or even, sure, "deep house") in nature, are mildly schizophrenic, mixing the bleak and streamlined with the lush and overgrown. call it seasonal dissonance."

newworldromantic - spirit (delsin, 2002)
H3ÖH - mind loss (ash international, 1993)
newworldaquariuum - trespassers (delsin, 2000)
brendon moeller - jazz (third ear, 2007)
sasse - soul sounds (dirt crew solid diamond remix) (moodmusic, 2005)
session victim - no friends (no power) (real soon, 2008)
justin martin - the sad piano (charles webster remix) (buzzin fly, 2004)
furry phreaks - tearful (miso, 2004)
pepe bradock - 4 (atavisme, 2003)
i:cube - tunnel vision (versatile, 2003)
jamie lloyd - what we have (…is a zwicker remix) (future classic, 2007)

April 10, 2008

Bonus Beats

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I edited and cleaned up my portion of the recent Beta Lounge session described below; for a limited time it's available for download as a 192kbps MP3. Two full hours of music!

No tracklist as of yet, but the set includes cuts from Quietpoint, DJ Koze, dOP, Kalabrese, Andy Stott, Thomas Melchior, dOP, Jackmate, Rhadoo, Moodymann, Polder, Clé, Sebastien San, Roland Appel, Kassem Mosse, Closer Musik (more or less in that order, with a few extra tracks I'm spacing on)... Varying degrees of deep, in other words. Enjoy!

April 09, 2008

A chaotic March brings April charts

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Long overdue, I'm back at the blog--and back, for that matter, in Portland, Oregon while I deal with some immigration issues. Word to the wise: never watch Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel late at night, alone, while feeling melancholic about the concept of national borders. While I'm dusting off the jetlag, here are a few recent projects:


* Gudrun Gut feature in The Wire (April 2008)

* Interview with William Basinski to launch later this week at eMusic

* Brazil's rraurl.com spoke to me about Pitchfork, techno, and bringing Villalobos to the rock kids (the article's in Portuguese -- and no, I don't speak it; thanks to Jade Augusto Gola for the translation efforts)


Finally, here's an April Top 10... Click on the links for label pages, MySpaces and the like; you'll generally find an audio sample at one or more of those.

Kassem Mosse, Untitled (A) (Workshop)
Strange, shuddering, melancholic electro with a deep house underpinning (or vice versa). Featured on Ellen Allien's new Boogeybytes Vol. 04 and, come to think of it, my recent Betalounge mix. An instant classic.

Jackmate, "Buccaneer" (Phil E)
Another shudderer, with a steamroller of an 808 set to cruise control and one of the lushest arrangements of the year.

dOP, "Foly feat. Sibiri Samaké" (Milnor Modern)
My new favorite Frenchmen flesh out organic minimal house with vocals by their collaborator Foly, recorded in Senegal—this ain't no sample-pack bullshit.

Daniel Bortz, "Südwind" (Pastamusik)
Ravy but understated; old-school but definitely new. I can't quite figure out what it is about this cut that grabs me so, but since when was techno reasonable?

Daniel Meteo, "Beautiful (Junction SM Remix)" (Kalk Pets)
More 808 action, featuring a melody as delicate as the rhythm is tough.

Sebbo, "Watamu Beach" (Desolat)
African vocals, dubby chords and redlining drum machines, in just the right proportions.

Style of Eye, "The Big Kazoo" (Dirtybird)
I've never been a huge Dirtybird fan, but this tune is so blithely stupid and fun, who am I to argue? Kills curmudgeons dead.

Clé, "Nomads (Mathias Tanzmann Remix)" (Poker Flat)
Everything I said above could probably go for this one as well. What can I say? I'm a sucker for big, garish syncopations like this one.

D'Julz, "Just So U Know" (Ovum)
Yes, another carnival banger, about as serious as a pie in the face, but with a dark, brain-warping feel. What's the only thing scarier than being stuck in an elevator? Being stuck in an elevator at a clown convention—on acid.

Peter Van Hoesen, "L.O.C. (Philip Sherburne's Lungbutter Remix)" (Lan Muzic)
Out soon on white label—until then, you'll have to take my word for it. You can hear the original over at Peter's MySpace, linked above.