Listen/download
hereThis marks No 41 in the illustrious Blogariddims mix series, helmed by Droid and co. at
weareie. If you'd like details on past podcasts, check
here for a round up of the first 40 that Droid has conviently summed up. Suffice to say its been a constant source of new music and ideas to me. The the breadth of this project never ceases to amaze me.
So, firstly, big thanks to Droid for asking me to contribute. It was daunting, to say the least, given the scope of the whole series and the calibre of all involved.
The mix covers some angles of my DJing/listening habits, with somewhat of an emphasis of dubstep, but also propped up with bits and pieces that verge on that territory, while remaining pleasantly immune to convenient pigeon-holing While its not exactly a enourmous in its breadth, hopefully it covers a bit of ground, I get bored either playing or listening to 20 tracks in a row linked by nothing more than the fact that they all came from the same section in the record shop. For me, it was hearing dubstep in a similar context to this that really made it click for me initially, most notably through a few mixes by
El Kano and the
Gutterbreakz radio series (RIP), taking in techno, electro, breaks and various mangled electronics in addition to dubstep.
It also pretty much reflects the direction from which I got into it; from an interest in dub, as well as through DJing techno/electro. So it seemed like a logical progression from Basic Channel/Rhythm and Sound, bass heavy techno like Christian Vogel, Neil Landstrumm, as well as the breakier side of UK things – from MuZiq through to Si Begg, etc. I had little or no knowledge of UK garage, through which a lot of people reached this point, and while jungle was an influence, Id pretty much missed all the good times when I started buying records around 95/96.
I made this using 75% vinyl/25% Serato, in one shot, except for the pitch trickery on the final track. It was my first time making a mix using Serato, and a lot of the run up to ercording this involved just trying to get my head around the sheer quantity of music that was suddenly at my fingertips. Im still in two minds about it. In some ways, budget limitations aligned nicely with being able to really get to know and make the most out of the music I bought, whereas this seems like another highway to disposability.. we'll see.
Anyway, its like this;
1. Colors - Pharaoh Sanders – Impulse!
2. Sunshine (12" mix) – Boxcutter- Planet Mu
3. L.V and Erol Bellot – Globetrotting – Hyperdub
4. Ontological Ground of Being – Timeblind – Soot
5. Naked - Shackleton – Skull Disco
6. Anthrax Sandwich (Today's Special) – Badawi - Asphodel
7. Chamber – Pinch – Soul Jazz
8. Untitled – Wasteland – Transparent
9. Angels - Vex'd - Planet Mu
10. Tasty Mission - Christian Vogel - Tresor
11. Myanmar – Timeblind- Soot
12. Response –Rustie- Stuffrecords
13. Deep Under – Elemental – Hotflush
14. Direckt Jive - Remind –Detroit Underground
15. Anti-War Dub – Digital Mystikz – DMZ
16. Monolake – Invisible - Monolake / Imbalance Computer Music
17. Digital Tsumani – Drexciya – Tresor
18. Find My Way – Kode 9/Massive Music – Hyperdub
19. Dem Never Know – Rhythm and Sound w/ Jah Cotton (Sleeparchive Rmx) – Burial Mix
1. Colors - Pharaoh Sanders – Impulse!
From the 1969 Karma release, though I have it on a best of that I got for 99 cents.
Pharaoh Sanders bigs up Nature/colour. This is gorgeous.
2. Sunshine (12" mix) – Boxcutter- Planet Mu
It floats over the
Boxcutter track nicely too, I think, whose debt to Sanders is fairly evident, not least in the title of this EP – Tauhid, - referencing Sanders album of the same name. I think before I actually heard Boxcutter, Id read
this, which in retrospect, was pretty bang on.
3. L.V and Erol Bellot – Globetrotting – Hyperdub
Next up is
LV featuring Errol Bellot. Shades of Rhythm and Sound here, and a really restrained accompaniment to Bellots vocals, with a gradually swelling bass and organ skank.
Hyperdub showcasing the exact opposite of the more common cut and paste approach taken when it comes to the requisite Jamaican vocal content.
4. Ontological Ground of Being – Timeblind – Soot
This
Timeblind track is the first of two in the mix, released on Dj /rupture's consistently great
Soot label. Timeblind's been pumping out quality techno forever, appearing early on in the Missile and Plus 8 catalogues, as well as sometimes ragga-inflected, mangled electronica on Kit Claytons Orthlong Musork, so this seems a logical trajectory. The production is immense on this, as with the whole EP. Also this one also syncs up melodically quite nicely with Shackleton's Naked.
5. Naked - Shackleton –
Skull DiscoI think this might be the first Shackleton track I ever bought. I remember listening to it beforehand through crappy computer speakers on Boomkat, and the bass drop still blowing me away. Some interesting commentary from him on the influence of Sufi, Muslim Gauze and PiL on Dj Rupture's radio show
here .
6. Anthrax Sandwich (Today's Special) – Badawi - Asphodel
The Badawi (
Raz Mesinai ) track is takes that mid-east percussion of Shackleton a step further. This is from the Final Warning EP on
Asphodel , and all the tracks have this same ridiculous frenetic drum lines in them with looped reedy melodies over the top. Really interesting producer.
7. Chamber – Pinch – Soul Jazz
This is probably my favorite track of the Soul Jazz comp it comes fromm which I found a bit hit and miss. It's a cavernous tune. Really simple and reductionist approach by
Pinch , and every track you mix into it seems to sound better as a result.
8. Untitled – Wasteland – Transparent
....like this one. Wasteland is a collaboration between Dj Scud and I –Sound. Both probably better known for their other projects, Scud as Ambush label boss and producer of raw as fuck industrial –esque jungle and I Sound as part time collaborator with To Roccocco Rot (Also former buyer for the excellent Kims NYC, where I probably bought half these tunes, so respect for that!). The Wasteland stuff is covers fairly brooding atmospheric hip hop paced material, this track being one of the more danceable, with these great ravey stabs. Leads in nicely to the Vexd track too.
9. Angels - Vex'd -
Planet MuGod, is this already 3 years old? Sounds great still.
Vex'd really perfected that dark hard edged dubstep sound without the monotony that seemed to plague a lot of 'breakstep'. I also loved how their sound complemented straight up techno so nicely, finding their way into Surgeons sets regularly.
10. Tasty Mission - Christian Vogel - Tresor
Which is where
Christian Vogel comes in here. Constantly innovative techno from this guy, and maybe one of the few still mining that vein that used to bang out such off the wall techno that still had a ton of gritty funk to it – Subhead, the
Scandinavia and Sativae labels, etc
11. Myanmar – Timeblind- Soot
The second Timeblind track is a remix of
Nettle a Dj/rupture-related project on the NY based
Agriculture label. This whole remix series is stunning by the way, with excellent mixes from DJ Scud, Leafcutter John and Com.a, to mention a few. This one in particular ive played to death, but I love it. Completely haphazard, constantly evolving.
12. Response –Rustie- Stuffrecords
Then comes
Rustie. Boy of the hour lately with his wildly fucked midrange synths and, but I still prefer this 2007 release over any of the new ones, which make me feel a little seasick after a while. Dubstep vibes, but crammed with more colour than the mans hoodies. Ive never really gone in for the plastified reggae of Skream so much, but theres something about the dayglo skank in this track that I fucking love.
13. Deep Under – Elemental –
Hotflush One of my favourite Hotflush releases, and my favourite
Elemental release by a long shot. This track has ridiculous momentum, propelled along by a big rolling break and swathes of bass echo.
14. Direckt Jive - Remind –Detroit Underground
I have to confess to only finding out who this was yesterday, in preparing the tracklist, although Ive been caning it since I first got it,. Though its partly cause the Artwork on Kero's
Detroit Underground releases, which is lovely, are really hard to read. My excuse anyway. So its Direckt Jive apparently, who I know very little about, but regardless, Ive been buying these releases on sight. This is taken from Vol. 3. This is a real gem, coming along in a series that's covered fairly spannered electronica of the Schematic variety - Kero, Venetian Snares, Richard Devine, Otto Von Schirach, to name a few - , but for me this track stands out.
15. Anti-War Dub – Digital Mystikz – DMZ
It also seems to have been made to be mixed with
Mala's seminal Anti War Dub, so I can barely imagine them individually at this point. This still bowls me over. I think I heard it at Dub War in NYC in 2005 for the first time – the first time Id heard any dubstep on a proper rig, so it all clicked.
16. Monolake – Invisible - Monolake / Imbalance Computer Music
I wanted to put something by
Monolake on here, and as usual, was spoiled for choice in terms of deep weighty techno with really impeccable production. This almost has this two steppy feel to it too tbough, so I figured it fit with what went before.
17. Digital Tsumani – Drexciya – Tresor
What to say about this? This takes heads off. This tune I heard for the first time in a
Dj Stingray set. Possibly the greatest 4/4 Drexciya track going in my opinion, taken from the Harnessed the Storm Album. I remember cranking it out of the headphones while staring really intently at the screen of my computer, frowning like hell. Its fast as fuck, so I had to wind it down to -6, but it still barrels along. Unsurpassable.
18. Find My Way – Kode 9/Massive Music – Hyperdub
More Hyperdub action here. I felt weird about mixing anything with a skank in it into Drexciya, but this seemed to work. Kode 9, the bossman.
19. Dem Never Know – Rhythm and Sound w/ Jah Cotton (
Sleeparchive Rmx) – Burial Mix
Finally, some nod to
Rhythm and Sound seemed called for, as oblique as this one is. This is from the See Mi Yah remix series on Burial Mix Id only picked up the Carl Craig remix, and ignored this one based on a few Sleeparchive tracks Id heard that I wasn't crazy about. This is a whole different story though, and couldn't be further from the uber-cold minimalism of Hospital Tracks releases. Its got a nice intro of minute or two before the half-time 4/4 comes in, so I used that to crank it down to its proper tempo. Cant be having Jah Cotton toasting at +8!